diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291-8.txt | 3847 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 80783 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 83451 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291-h/36291-h.htm | 3987 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291.txt | 3847 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 36291.zip | bin | 0 -> 80783 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
9 files changed, 11697 insertions, 0 deletions
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/36291-8.txt b/36291-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94c2e1f --- /dev/null +++ b/36291-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3847 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ormond, Volume III (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 III (of 3) + or, The Secret Witness + + +Author: Charles Brockden Brown + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36291] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (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 II: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36290 + + + Images of the original pages are available through + the the Google Books Library Project. See + http://books.google.com/books?id=aRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8 + + + + + +ORMOND; + +Or, + +The Secret Witness. + +by + +B. C. BROWN, + +Author of Wieland, or Transformation. + +In Three Volumes. + +VOL. III. + + +"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 + + + * * * * * + + +TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE + +LADY CASTLEREAGH, + +THESE VOLUMES + +are respectfully inscribed, + +by her Ladyship's + +most obedient, and humble Servant, + +HENRY COLBURN. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +"My father, in proportion as he grew old and rich, became weary of +Aleppo. His natal soil, had it been the haunt of Calmucks or Bedouins, +his fancy would have transformed into Paradise. No wonder that the +equitable aristocracy and the peaceful husbandmen of Ragusa should be +endeared to his heart by comparison with Egyptian plagues and Turkish +tyranny. Besides, he lived for his children as well as himself. Their +education and future lot required him to seek a permanent home. + +"He embarked, with his wife and offspring, at Scanderoon. No immediate +conveyance to Ragusa offering, the appearance of the plague in Syria +induced him to hasten his departure. He entered a French vessel for +Marseilles. After being three days at sea, one of the crew was seized by +the fatal disease which had depopulated all the towns upon the coast. +The voyage was made with more than usual despatch; but, before we +reached our port, my mother and half the crew perished. My father died +in the Lazaretto, more through grief than disease. + +"My brother and I were children and helpless. My father's fortune was on +board this vessel, and was left by his death to the mercy of the +captain. This man was honest, and consigned us and our property to the +merchant with whom he dealt. Happily for us, our protector was childless +and of scrupulous integrity. We henceforth became his adopted children. +My brother's education and my own were conducted on the justest +principles. + +"At the end of four years, our protector found it expedient to make a +voyage to Cayenne. His brother was an extensive proprietor in that +colony, but his sudden death made way for the succession of our friend. +To establish his claims, his presence was necessary on the spot. He was +little qualified for arduous enterprises, and his age demanded repose; +but, his own acquisitions having been small, and being desirous of +leaving us in possession of competence, he cheerfully embarked. + +"Meanwhile, my brother was placed at a celebrated seminary in the Pays +de Vaud, and I was sent to a sister who resided at Verona. I was at this +time fourteen years old,--one year younger than my brother, whom, since +that period, I have neither heard of nor seen. + +"I was now a woman, and qualified to judge and act for myself. The +character of my new friend was austere and devout, and there were so +many incongenial points between us that but little tranquillity was +enjoyed under her control. The priest who discharged the office of her +confessor thought proper to entertain views with regard to me, grossly +inconsistent with the sanctity of his profession. He was a man of +profound dissimulation and masterly address. His efforts, however, were +repelled with disdain. My security against his attempts lay in the +uncouthness and deformity which nature had bestowed upon his person and +visage, rather than in the firmness of my own principles. + +"The courtship of Father Bartoli, the austerities of Madame Roselli, the +disgustful or insipid occupations to which I was condemned, made me +impatiently wish for a change; but my father (so I will call him) had +decreed that I should remain under his sister's guardianship till his +return from Guiana. When this would happen was uncertain. Events +unforeseen might protract it for years, but it could not arrive in less +than a twelvemonth. + +"I was incessantly preyed upon by discontent. My solitude was loathsome. +I panted after liberty and friendship, and the want of these were not +recompensed by luxury and quiet, and by the instructions in useful +science which I received from Bartoli, who, though detested as a +hypocrite and lover, was venerable as a scholar. He would fain have been +an Abelard, but it was not his fate to meet with an Eloisa. + +"Two years passed away in this durance. My miseries were exquisite. I am +almost at a loss to account for the unhappiness of that time, for, +looking back upon it, I perceive that an equal period could not have +been spent with more benefit. For the sake of being near me, Bartoli +importunately offered his instructions. He had nothing to communicate +but metaphysics and geometry. These were little to my taste, but I could +not keep him at a distance. I had no other alternative than to endure +him as a lover or a teacher. His passion for science was at least equal +to that which ho entertained for me, and both these passions combined to +make him a sedulous instructor. He was a disciple of the newest +doctrines respecting matter and mind. He denied the impenetrability of +the first, and the immateriality of the second. These he endeavoured to +inculcate upon me, as well as to subvert my religious tenets, because he +delighted, like all men, in transfusing his opinions, and because he +regarded my piety as the only obstacle to his designs. He succeeded in +dissolving the spell of ignorance, but not in producing that kind of +acquiescence he wished. He had, in this respect, to struggle not only +with my principles, but my weakness. He might have overcome every +obstacle but my abhorrence of deformity and age. To cure me of this +aversion was beyond his power. My servitude grew daily more painful. I +grew tired of chasing a comet to its aphelion, and of untying the knot +of an infinite series. A change in my condition became indispensable to +my very existence. Languor and sadness, and unwillingness to eat or to +move, were at last my perpetual attendants! + +"Madame Roselli was alarmed at my condition. The sources of my +inquietude were incomprehensible to her. The truth was, that I scarcely +understood them myself, and my endeavours to explain them to my friend +merely instilled into her an opinion that I was either lunatic or +deceitful. She complained and admonished; but my disinclination to my +usual employments would not be conquered, and my health rapidly +declined. A physician, who was called, confessed that my case was beyond +his power to understand, but recommended, as a sort of desperate +expedient, a change of scene. A succession and variety of objects might +possibly contribute to my cure. + +"At this time there arrived, at Verona, Lady D'Arcy,--an Englishwoman +of fortune and rank, and a strenuous Catholic. Her husband had lately +died; and, in order to divert her grief, as well as to gratify her +curiosity in viewing the great seat of her religion, she had come to +Italy. Intercourse took place between her and Madame Roselli. By this +means she gained a knowledge of my person and condition, and kindly +offered to take me under her protection. She meant to traverse every +part of Italy, and was willing that I should accompany her in all her +wanderings. + +"This offer was gratefully accepted, in spite of the artifices and +remonstrances of Bartoli. My companion speedily contracted for me the +affection of a mother. She was without kindred of her own religion, +having acquired her faith, not by inheritance, but conversion. She +desired to abjure her native country, and to bind herself, by every +social tie, to a people who adhered to the same faith. Me she promised +to adopt as her daughter, provided her first impressions in my favour +were not belied by my future deportment. + +"My principles were opposite to hers; but habit, an aversion to +displease my friend, my passion for knowledge, which my new condition +enabled me to gratify, all combined to make me a deceiver. But my +imposture was merely of a negative kind; I deceived her rather by +forbearance to contradict, and by acting as she acted, than by open +assent and zealous concurrence. My new state was, on this account, not +devoid of inconvenience. The general deportment and sentiments of Lady +D'Arcy testified a vigorous and pure mind. New avenues to knowledge, by +converse with mankind and with books, and by the survey of new scenes, +were open for my use. Gratitude and veneration attached me to my friend, +and made the task of pleasing her, by a seeming conformity of +sentiments, less irksome. + +"During this interval, no tidings were received by his sister, at +Verona, respecting the fate of Sebastian Roselli. The supposition of +his death was too plausible not to be adopted. What influence this +disaster possessed over my brother's destiny, I know not. The generosity +of Lady D'Arcy hindered me from experiencing any disadvantage from this +circumstance. Fortune seemed to have decreed that I should not be +reduced to the condition of an orphan. + +"At an age and in a situation like mine, I could not remain long +unacquainted with love. My abode at Rome introduced me to the knowledge +of a youth from England, who had every property which I regarded as +worthy of esteem. He was a kinsman of--Lady D'Arcy, and as such admitted +at her house on the most familiar footing. His patrimony was extremely +slender, but was in his own possession. He had no intention of +increasing it by any professional pursuit, but was contented with the +frugal provision it afforded. He proposed no other end of his existence +than the acquisition of virtue and knowledge. + +"The property of Lady D'Arcy was subject to her own disposal, but, on +the failure of a testament, this youth was, in legal succession, the +next heir. He was well acquainted with her temper and views, but, in the +midst of urbanity and gentleness, studied none of those concealments of +opinion which would have secured him her favour. That he was not of her +own faith was an insuperable, but the only, obstacle to the admission of +his claims. + +"If conformity of age and opinions, and the mutual fascination of love, +be a suitable basis for marriage, Wentworth and I were destined for each +other. Mutual disclosure added sanctity to our affection; but, the +happiness of Lady D'Arcy being made to depend upon the dissolution of +our compact, the heroism of Wentworth made him hasten to dissolve it. As +soon as she discovered our attachment, she displayed symptoms of the +deepest anguish. In addition to religious motives, her fondness for me +forbade her to exist but in my society and in the belief of the purity +of my faith. The contention, on my part, was vehement between the +regards due to her felicity and to my own. Had Wentworth left me the +power to decide, my decision would doubtless have evinced the frailty of +my fortitude and the strength of my passion; but, having informed me +fully of the reasons of his conduct, he precipitately retired from Rome. +He left me no means of tracing his footsteps and of assailing his +weakness by expostulation and entreaty. + +"Lady D'Arcy was no less eager to abandon a spot where her happiness had +been so imminently endangered. Our next residence was Palermo. I will +not dwell upon the sensations produced by this disappointment in me. I +review them with astonishment and self-compassion. If I thought it +possible for me to sink again into imbecility so ignominious, I should +be disposed to kill myself. + +"There was no end to vows of fondness and tokens of gratitude in Lady +D'Arcy. Her future life should be devoted to compensate me for this +sacrifice. Nothing could console her in that single state in which she +intended to live, but the consolations of my fellowship. Her conduct +coincided for some time with these professions, and my anguish was +allayed by the contemplation of the happiness conferred upon one whom I +revered. + +"My friend could not be charged with dissimulation and artifice. Her +character had been mistaken by herself as well as by me. Devout +affections seemed to have filled her heart, to the exclusion of any +object besides myself. She cherished with romantic tenderness the memory +of her husband, and imagined that a single state was indispensably +enjoined upon her by religious duty. This persuasion, however, was +subverted by the arts of a Spanish cavalier, young, opulent, and +romantic as herself in devotion. An event like this might, indeed, have +been easily predicted, by those who reflected that the lady was still in +the bloom of life, ardent in her temper, and bewitching in her manners. + +"The fondness she had lavished upon me was now, in some degree, +transferred to a new object; but I still received the treatment due to a +beloved daughter. She was solicitous as ever to promote my +gratification, and a diminution of kindness would not have been +suspected by those who had not witnessed the excesses of her former +passion. Her marriage with the Spaniard removed the obstacle to union +with Wentworth. This man, however, had set himself beyond the reach of +my inquiries. Had there been the shadow of a clue afforded me, I should +certainly have sought him to the ends of the world. + +"I continued to reside with my friend, and accompanied her and her +husband to Spain. Antonio de Leyva was a man of probity. His mind was +enlightened by knowledge and his actions dictated by humanity. Though +but little older than myself, and young enough to be the son of his +spouse, his deportment to me was a model of rectitude and delicacy. I +spent a year in Spain, partly in the mountains of Castile and partly at +Segovia. New manners and a new language occupied my attention for a +time; but these, losing their novelty, lost their power to please. I +betook myself to books, to beguile the tediousness and diversify the +tenor of my life. + +"This would not have long availed; but I was relieved from new +repinings, by the appointment of Antonio de Leyva to a diplomatic office +at Vienna. Thither we accordingly repaired. A coincidence of +circumstances had led me wide from the path of ambition and study +usually allotted to my sex and age. From the computation of eclipses, I +now betook myself to the study of man. My proficiency, when I allowed it +to be seen, attracted great attention. Instead of adulation and +gallantry, I was engaged in watching the conduct of states and revolving +the theories of politicians. + +"Superficial observers were either incredulous with regard to my +character, or connected a stupid wonder with their belief. My +attainments and habits they did not see to be perfectly consonant with +the principles of human nature. They unavoidably flowed from the illicit +attachment of Bartoli, and the erring magnanimity of Wentworth. Aversion +to the priest was the grand inciter of my former studies; the love of +Wentworth, whom I hoped once more to meet, made me labour to exclude the +importunities of others, and to qualify myself for securing his +affections. + +"Since our parting in Italy, Wentworth had traversed Syria and Egypt, +and arrived some months after me at Vienna. He was on the point of +leaving the city, when accident informed me of his being there. An +interview was effected, and, our former sentiments respecting each other +having undergone no change, we were united. Madame de Leyva reluctantly +concurred with our wishes, and, at parting, forced upon me a +considerable sum of money. + +"Wentworth's was a character not frequently met with in the world. He +was a political enthusiast, who esteemed nothing more graceful or +glorious than to die for the liberties of mankind. He had traversed +Greece with an imagination full of the exploits of ancient times, and +derived, from contemplating Thermopylæ and Marathon, an enthusiasm that +bordered upon frenzy. + +"It was now the third year of the Revolutionary War in America, and, +previous to our meeting at Vienna, he had formed the resolution of +repairing thither and tendering his service to the Congress as a +volunteer. Our marriage made no change in his plans. My soul was +engrossed by two passions,--a wild spirit of adventure, and a boundless +devotion to him. I vowed to accompany him in every danger, to vie with +him in military ardour, to combat and to die by his side. + +"I delighted to assume the male dress, to acquire skill at the sword, +and dexterity in every boisterous exercise. The timidity that commonly +attends women gradually vanished. I felt as if imbued by a soul that was +a stranger to the sexual distinction. We embarked at Brest, in a frigate +destined for St. Domingo. A desperate conflict with an English ship in +the Bay of Biscay was my first introduction to a scene of tumult and +danger of whose true nature I had formed no previous conception. At +first I was spiritless and full of dismay. Experience, however, +gradually reconciled me to the life that I had chosen. + +"A fortunate shot, by dismasting the enemy, allowed us to prosecute our +voyage unmolested. At Cape François we found a ship which transported +us, after various perils, to Richmond, in Virginia. I will not carry you +through the adventures of four years. You, sitting all your life in +peaceful corners, can scarcely imagine that variety of hardship and +turmoil which attends the female who lives in a camp. + +"Few would sustain these hardships with better grace than I did. I could +seldom be prevailed on to remain at a distance, and inactive, when my +husband was in battle, and more than once rescued him from death by the +seasonable destruction of his adversary. + +"At the repulse of the Americans at Germantown, Wentworth was wounded +and taken prisoner. I obtained permission to attend his sick-bed and +supply that care without which he would assuredly have died. Being +imperfectly recovered, he was sent to England and subjected to a +rigorous imprisonment. Milder treatment might have permitted his +complete restoration to health; but, as it was, he died. + +"His kindred were noble, and rich, and powerful; but it was difficult to +make them acquainted with Wentworth's situation. Their assistance, when +demanded, was readily afforded; but it came too late to prevent his +death. Me they snatched from my voluntary prison, and employed every +friendly art to efface from my mind the images of recent calamity. + +"Wentworth's singularities of conduct and opinion had estranged him at +an early age from his family. They felt little regret at his fate, but +every motive concurred to secure their affection and succour to me. My +character was known to many officers, returned from America, whose +report, joined with the influence of my conversation, rendered me an +object to be gazed at by thousands. Strange vicissitude! Now immersed in +the infection of a military hospital, the sport of a wayward fortune, +struggling with cold and hunger, with negligence and contumely. A month +after, passing into scenes of gayety and luxury, exhibited at operas and +masquerades, made the theme of inquiry and encomium at every place of +resort, and caressed by the most illustrious among the votaries of +science and the advocates of the American cause. + +"Here I again met Madame de Leyva. This woman was perpetually assuming +new forms. She was a sincere convert to the Catholic religion, but she +was open to every new impression. She was the dupe of every powerful +reasoner, and assumed with equal facility the most opposite shapes. She +had again reverted to the Protestant religion, and, governed by a +headlong zeal in whatever cause she engaged, she had sacrificed her +husband and child to a new conviction. + +"The instrument of this change was a man who passed, at that time, for a +Frenchman. He was young, accomplished, and addressful, but was not +suspected of having been prompted by illicit views, or of having seduced +the lady from allegiance to her husband as well as to her God. De Leyva, +however, who was sincere in his religion as well as his love, was hasty +to avenge this injury, and, in a contest with the Frenchman, was killed. +His wife adopted at once her ancient religion and country, and was once +more an Englishwoman. + +"At our meeting her affection for me seemed to be revived, and the most +passionate entreaties were used to detain me in England. My previous +arrangements would not suffer it. I foresaw restraints and +inconveniences from the violence and caprice of her passions, and +intended henceforth to keep my liberty inviolate by any species of +engagement, either of friendship or marriage. My habits were French, and +I proposed henceforward to take up my abode at Paris. Since his voyage +to Guiana, I had heard no tidings of Sebastian Roselli. This man's image +was cherished with filial emotions, and I conceived that the sight of +him would amply reward a longer journey than from London to Marseilles. + +"Beyond my hopes, I found him in his ancient abode. The voyage, and a +residence of three years at Cayenne, had been beneficial to his +appearance and health. He greeted me with paternal tenderness, and +admitted me to a full participation of his fortune, which the sale of +his American property had greatly enhanced. He was a stranger to the +fate of my brother. On his return home he had gone to Switzerland, with +a view of ascertaining his destiny. The youth, a few months after his +arrival at Lausanne, had eloped with a companion, and had hitherto +eluded all Roselli's searches and inquiries. My father was easily +prevailed upon to transfer his residence from Provence to Paris." + +Here Martinette paused, and, marking the clock, "It is time," resumed +she, "to begone. Are you not weary of my tale? On the day I entered +France, I entered the twenty-third year of my age, so that my promise of +detailing my youthful adventures is fulfilled. I must away. Till we meet +again, farewell." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Such was the wild series of Martinette's adventures. Each incident +fastened on the memory of Constantia, and gave birth to numberless +reflections. Her prospect of mankind seemed to be enlarged, on a sudden, +to double its ancient dimensions. Ormond's narratives had carried her +beyond the Mississippi, and into the deserts of Siberia. He had +recounted the perils of a Russian war, and painted the manners of +Mongols and Naudowessies. Her new friend had led her back to the +civilized world and portrayed the other half of the species. Men, in +their two forms of savage and refined, had been scrutinized by these +observers; and what was wanting in the delineations of the one was +liberally supplied by the other. + +Eleven years in the life of Martinette was unrelated. Her conversation +suggested the opinion that this interval had been spent in France. It +was obvious to suppose that a woman thus fearless and sagacious had not +been inactive at a period like the present, which called forth talents +and courage without distinction of sex, and had been particularly +distinguished by female enterprise and heroism. Her name easily led to +the suspicion of concurrence with the subverters of monarchy, and of +participation in their fall. Her flight from the merciless tribunals of +the faction that now reigned would explain present appearances. + +Martinette brought to their next interview an air of uncommon +exultation. On this being remarked, she communicated the tidings of the +fall of the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre. Her eyes sparkled, and +every feature was pregnant with delight, while she unfolded, with her +accustomed energy, the particulars of this tremendous revolution. The +blood which it occasioned to flow was mentioned without any symptoms of +disgust or horror. + +Constantia ventured to ask if this incident was likely to influence her +own condition. + +"Yes. It will open the way for my return." + +"Then you think of returning to a scene of so much danger?" + +"Danger, my girl? It is my element. I am an adorer of liberty, and +liberty without peril can never exist." + +"But so much bloodshed and injustice! Does not your heart shrink from +the view of a scene of massacre and tumult, such as Paris has lately +exhibited and will probably continue to exhibit?" + +"Thou talkest, Constantia, in a way scarcely worthy of thy good sense. +Have I not been three years in a camp? What are bleeding wounds and +mangled corpses, when accustomed to the daily sight of them for years? +Am I not a lover of liberty? and must I not exult in the fall of +tyrants, and regret only that my hand had no share in their +destruction?" + +"But a woman--how can the heart of woman be inured to the shedding of +blood?" + +"Have women, I beseech thee, no capacity to reason and infer? Are they +less open than men to the influence of habit? My hand never faltered +when liberty demanded the victim. If thou wert with me at Paris, I could +show thee a fusil of two barrels, which is precious beyond any other +relic, merely because it enabled me to kill thirteen officers at +Jemappe. Two of these were emigrant nobles, whom I knew and loved before +the Revolution, but the cause they had since espoused cancelled their +claims to mercy." + +"What!" said the startled Constantia; "have you fought in the ranks?" + +"Certainly. Hundreds of my sex have done the same. Some were impelled by +the enthusiasm of love, and some by a mere passion for war; some by the +contagion of example; and some--with whom I myself must be ranked--by a +generous devotion to liberty. Brunswick and Saxe-Coburg had to contend +with whole regiments of women,--regiments they would have formed, if +they had been collected into separate bodies. + +"I will tell thee a secret. Thou wouldst never have seen Martinette de +Beauvais, if Brunswick had deferred one day longer his orders for +retreating into Germany." + +"How so?" + +"She would have died by her own hand." + +"What could lead to such an outrage?" + +"The love of liberty." + +"I cannot comprehend how that love should prompt you to suicide." + +"I will tell thee. The plan was formed, and could not miscarry. A woman +was to play the part of a banished Royalist, was to repair to the +Prussian camp, and to gain admission to the general. This would have +easily been granted to a female and an ex-noble. There she was to +assassinate the enemy of her country, and to attest her magnanimity by +slaughtering herself. I was weak enough to regret the ignominious +retreat of the Prussians, because it precluded the necessity of such a +sacrifice." + +This was related with accents and looks that sufficiently attested its +truth. Constantia shuddered, and drew back, to contemplate more +deliberately the features of her guest. Hitherto she had read in them +nothing that bespoke the desperate courage of a martyr and the deep +designing of an assassin. The image which her mind had reflected from +the deportment of this woman was changed. The likeness which she had, +feigned to herself was no longer seen. She felt that antipathy was +preparing to displace love. These sentiments, however, she concealed, +and suffered the conversation to proceed. + +Their discourse now turned upon the exploits of several women who +mingled in the tumults of the capital and in the armies on the +frontiers. Instances were mentioned of ferocity in some, and magnanimity +in others, which almost surpassed belief. Constantia listened greedily, +though not with approbation, and acquired, at every sentence, new desire +to be acquainted with the personal history of Martinette. On mentioning +this wish, her friend said that she endeavoured to amuse her exile by +composing her own memoirs, and that, on her next visit, she would bring +with her the volume, which she would suffer Constantia to read. + +A separation of a week elapsed. She felt some impatience for the renewal +of their intercourse, and for the perusal of the volume that had been +mentioned. One evening Sarah Baxter, whom Constantia had placed in her +own occasional service, entered the room with marks of great joy and +surprise, and informed her that she at length had discovered Miss +Monrose. From her abrupt and prolix account, it appeared that Sarah had +overtaken Miss Monrose in the street, and, guided by her own curiosity, +as well as by the wish to gratify her mistress, she had followed the +stranger. To her utter astonishment, the lady had paused at Mr. Dudley's +door, with a seeming resolution to enter it, but presently resumed her +way. Instead of pursuing her steps farther, Sarah had stopped to +communicate this intelligence to Constantia. Having delivered her news, +she hastened away, but, returning, in a moment, with a countenance of +new surprise, she informed her mistress that on leaving the house she +had met Miss Monrose at the door, on the point of entering. She added +that the stranger had inquired for Constantia, and was now waiting +below. + +Constantia took no time to reflect upon an incident so unexpected and so +strange, but proceeded forthwith to the parlour. Martinette only was +there. It did not instantly occur to her that this lady and Mademoiselle +Monrose might possibly be the same. The inquiries she made speedily +removed her doubts, and it now appeared that the woman about whose +destiny she had formed so many conjectures and fostered so much anxiety +was no other than the daughter of Roselli. + +Having readily answered her questions, Martinette inquired, in her turn, +into the motives of her friend's curiosity. These were explained by a +succinct account of the transactions to which the deceased Baxter had +been a witness. Constantia concluded with mentioning her own reflections +on the tale, and intimating her wish to be informed how Martinette had +extricated herself from a situation so calamitous. + +"Is there any room for wonder on that head?" replied the guest. "It was +absurd to stay longer in the house. Having finished the interment of +Roselli, (soldier-fashion,) for he was the man who suffered his foolish +regrets to destroy him, I forsook the house. Roselli was by no means +poor, but he could not consent to live at ease, or to live at all, while +his country endured such horrible oppressions, and when so many of his +friends had perished. I complied with his humour, because it could not +be changed, and I revered him too much to desert him." + +"But whither," said Constantia, "could you seek shelter at a time like +that? The city was desolate, and a wandering female could scarcely be +received under any roof. All inhabited houses were closed at that hour, +and the fear of infection would have shut them against you if they had +not been already so." + +"Hast thou forgotten that there were at that time at least ten thousand +French in this city, fugitives from Marat and from St. Domingo? That +they lived in utter fearlessness of the reigning disease,--sung and +loitered in the public walks, and prattled at their doors, with all +their customary unconcern? Supposest thou that there were none among +these who would receive a countrywoman, even if her name had not been +Martinette de Beauvais? Thy fancy has depicted strange things; but +believe me that, without a farthing and without a name, I should not +have incurred the slightest inconvenience. The death of Roselli I +foresaw, because it was gradual in its approach, and was sought by him +as a good. My grief, therefore, was exhausted before it came, and I +rejoiced at his death, because it was the close of all his sorrows. The +rueful pictures of my distress and weakness which were given by Baxter +existed only in his own fancy." + +Martinette pleaded an engagement, and took her leave, professing to have +come merely to leave with her the promised manuscript. This interview, +though short, was productive of many reflections on the deceitfulness of +appearances, and on the variety of maxims by which the conduct of human +beings is regulated. She was accustomed to impart all her thoughts and +relate every new incident to her father. With this view she now hied to +his apartment. This hour it was her custom, when disengaged, always to +spend with him. + +She found Mr. Dudley busy in revolving a scheme which various +circumstances had suggested and gradually conducted to maturity. No +period of his life had been equally delightful with that portion of his +youth which he had spent in Italy. The climate, the language, the +manners of the people, and the sources of intellectual gratification in +painting and music, were congenial to his taste. He had reluctantly +forsaken these enchanting seats, at the summons of his father, but, on +his return to his native country, had encountered nothing but ignominy +and pain. Poverty and blindness had beset his path, and it seemed as if +it were impossible to fly too far from the scene of his disasters. His +misfortunes could not be concealed from others, and every thing around +him seemed to renew the memory of all that he had suffered. All the +events of his youth served to entice him to Italy, while all the +incidents of his subsequent life concurred to render disgustful his +present abode. + +His daughter's happiness was not to be forgotten. This he imagined would +be eminently promoted by the scheme. It would open to her new avenues to +knowledge. It would snatch her from the odious pursuit of Ormond, and, +by a variety of objects and adventures, efface from her mind any +impression which his dangerous artifices might have made upon it. + +This project was now communicated to Constantia. Every argument adapted +to influence her choice was employed. He justly conceived that the only +obstacle to her adoption of it related to Ormond. He expatiated on the +dubious character of this man, the wildness of his schemes, and the +magnitude of his errors. What could be expected from a man, half of +whose life had been spent at the head of a band of Cossacks, spreading +devastation in the regions of the Danube, and supporting by flagitious +intrigues the tyranny of Catharine, and the other half in traversing +inhospitable countries, and extinguishing what remained of clemency and +justice by intercourse with savages? + +It was admitted that his energies were great, but misdirected, and that +to restore them to the guidance of truth was not in itself impossible; +but it was so with relation to any power that she possessed. Conformity +would flow from their marriage, but this conformity was not to be +expected from him. It was not his custom to abjure any of his doctrines +or recede from any of his claims. She knew likewise the conditions of +their union. She must go with him to some corner of the world where his +boasted system was established. What was the road to it he had carefully +concealed, but it was evident that it lay beyond the precincts of +civilized existence. + +Whatever were her ultimate decision, it was at least proper to delay it. +Six years were yet wanting of that period at which only she formerly +considered marriage as proper. To all the general motives for deferring +her choice, the conduct of Ormond superadded the weightiest. Their +correspondence might continue, but her residence in Europe and converse +with mankind might enlighten her judgement and qualify her for a more +rational decision. + +Constantia was not uninfluenced by these reasonings. Instead of +reluctantly admitting them, she somewhat wondered that they had not been +suggested by her own reflections. Her imagination anticipated her +entrance on that mighty scene with emotions little less than rapturous. +Her studies had conferred a thousand ideal charms on a theatre where +Scipio and Cæsar had performed their parts. Her wishes were no less +importunate to gaze upon the Alps and Pyrenees, and to vivify and +chasten the images collected from books, by comparing them with their +real prototypes. + +No social ties existed to hold her to America. Her only kinsman and +friend would be the companion of her journeys. This project was likewise +recommended by advantages of which she only was qualified to judge. +Sophia Westwyn had embarked, four years previous to this date, for +England, in company with an English lady and her husband. The +arrangements that were made forbade either of the friends to hope for a +future meeting. Yet now, by virtue of this project, this meeting seemed +no longer to be hopeless. + +This burst of new ideas and now hopes on the mind of Constantia took +place in the course of a single hour. No change in her external +situation had been wrought, and yet her mind had undergone the most +signal revolution. Tho novelty as well as greatness of the prospect kept +her in a state of elevation and awe, more ravishing than any she had +ever experienced. Anticipations of intercourse with nature in her most +august forms, with men in diversified states of society, with the +posterity of Greeks and Romans, and with the actors that were now upon +the stage, and, above all, with the being whom absence and the want of +other attachments had, in some sort, contributed to deify, made this +night pass away upon the wings of transport. + +The hesitation which existed on parting with her father speedily gave +place to an ardour impatient of the least delay. She saw no impediments +to the immediate commencement of the voyage. To delay it a month, or +even a week, seemed to be unprofitable tardiness. In this ferment of her +thoughts, she was neither able nor willing to sleep. In arranging the +means of departure and anticipating the events that would successively +arise, there was abundant food for contemplation. + +She marked the first dawnings of the day, and rose. She felt reluctance +to break upon her father's morning slumbers, but considered that her +motives were extremely urgent, and that the pleasure afforded him by her +zealous approbation of his scheme would amply compensate him for this +unseasonable intrusion on his rest. She hastened therefore to his +chamber. She entered with blithesome steps, and softly drew aside the +curtain. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Unhappy Constantia! At the moment when thy dearest hopes had budded +afresh, when the clouds of insecurity and disquiet had retired from thy +vision, wast thou assailed by the great subverter of human schemes. Thou +sawest nothing in futurity but an eternal variation and succession of +delights. Thou wast hastening to forget dangers and sorrows which thou +fondly imaginedst were never to return. This day was to be the outset of +a new career; existence was henceforth to be embellished with enjoyments +hitherto scarcely within the reach of hope. + +Alas! thy predictions of calamity seldom failed to be verified. Not so +thy prognostics of pleasure. These, though fortified by every +calculation of contingencies, were edifices grounded upon nothing. Thy +life was a struggle with malignant destiny,--a contest for happiness in +which thou wast fated to be overcome. + +She stooped to kiss the venerable cheek of her father, and, by +whispering, to break his slumber. Her eye was no sooner fixed upon his +countenance, than she started back and shrieked. She had no power to +forbear. Her outcries were piercing and vehement. They ceased only with +the cessation of breath. She sunk upon a chair in a state partaking more +of death than of life, mechanically prompted to give vent to her agonies +in shrieks, but incapable of uttering a sound. + +The alarm called her servants to the spot. They beheld her dumb, wildly +gazing, and gesticulating in a way that indicated frenzy. She made no +resistance to their efforts, but permitted them to carry her back to her +own chamber. Sarah called upon her to speak, and to explain the cause +of these appearances; but the shock which she had endured seemed to have +irretrievably destroyed her powers of utterance. + +The terrors of the affectionate Sarah were increased. She kneeled by the +bedside of her mistress, and, with streaming eyes, besought the unhappy +lady to compose herself. Perhaps the sight of weeping in another +possessed a sympathetic influence, or nature had made provision for this +salutary change. However that be, a torrent of tears now came to her +succour, and rescued her from a paroxysm of insanity which its longer +continuance might have set beyond the reach of cure. + +Meanwhile, a glance at his master's countenance made Fabian fully +acquainted with the nature of the scene. The ghastly visage of Mr. +Dudley showed that he was dead, and that he had died in some terrific +and mysterious manner. As soon as this faithful servant recovered from +surprise, the first expedient which his ingenuity suggested was to fly +with tidings of this event to Mr. Melbourne. That gentleman instantly +obeyed the summons. With the power of weeping, Constantia recovered the +power of reflection. This, for a time, served her only as a medium of +anguish. Melbourne mingled his tears with hers, and endeavoured, by +suitable remonstrances, to revive her fortitude. + +The filial passion is perhaps instinctive to man; but its energy is +modified by various circumstances. Every event in the life of Constantia +contributed to heighten this passion beyond customary bounds. In the +habit of perpetual attendance on her father, of deriving from him her +knowledge, and sharing with him the hourly fruits of observation and +reflection, his existence seemed blended with her own. There was no +other whose concurrence and council she could claim, with whom a +domestic and uninterrupted alliance could be maintained. The only bond +of consanguinity was loosened, the only prop of friendship was taken +away. + +Others, perhaps, would have observed that her father's existence had +been merely a source of obstruction and perplexity; that she had +hitherto acted by her own wisdom, and would find, hereafter, less +difficulty in her choice of schemes, and fewer impediments to the +execution. These reflections occurred not to her. This disaster had +increased, to an insupportable degree, the vacancy and dreariness of her +existence. The face she was habituated to behold had disappeared +forever; the voice whose mild and affecting tones had so long been +familiar to her ears was hushed into eternal silence. The felicity to +which she clung was ravished away; nothing remained to hinder her from +sinking into utter despair. + +The first transports of grief having subsided, a source of consolation +seemed to be opened in the belief that her father had only changed one +form of being for another; that he still lived to be the guardian of her +peace and honour, to enter the recesses of her thought, to forewarn her +of evil and invite her to good. She grasped at these images with +eagerness, and fostered them as the only solaces of her calamity. They +were not adapted to inspire her with cheerfulness, but they sublimed her +sensations, and added an inexplicable fascination to sorrow. + +It was unavoidable sometimes to reflect upon the nature of that death +which had occurred. Tokens were sufficiently apparent that outward +violence had been the cause. Who could be the performer of so black a +deed, by what motives he was guided, were topics of fruitless +conjecture. She mused upon this subject, not from the thirst of +vengeance, but from a mournful curiosity. Had the perpetrator stood +before her and challenged retribution, she would not have lifted a +finger to accuse or to punish. The evil already endured left her no +power to concert and execute projects for extending that evil to others. +Her mind was unnerved, and recoiled with loathing from considerations of +abstract justice, or political utility, when they prompted to the +prosecution of the murderer. + +Melbourne was actuated by different views, but on this subject he was +painfully bewildered. Mr. Dudley's deportment to his servants and +neighbours was gentle and humane. He had no dealings with the +trafficking or labouring part of mankind. The fund which supplied his +cravings of necessity or habit was his daughter's. His recreations and +employments were harmless and lonely. The evil purpose was limited to +his death, for his chamber was exactly in the same state in which +negligent security had left it. No midnight footstep or voice, no +unbarred door or lifted window, afforded tokens of the presence or +traces of the entrance or flight of the assassin. + +The meditations of Constantia, however, could not fail in some of their +circuities to encounter the image of Craig. His agency in the +impoverishment of her father, and in the scheme by which she had like to +have been loaded with the penalties of forgery, was of an impervious and +unprecedented kind. Motives were unveiled by time, in some degree +accounting for his treacherous proceeding; but there was room to suppose +an inborn propensity to mischief. Was he not the author of this new +evil? His motives and his means were equally inscrutable, but their +inscrutability might flow from her own defects in discernment and +knowledge, and time might supply her defects in this as in former +instances. + +These images were casual. The causes of the evil were seldom +contemplated. Her mind was rarely at liberty to wander from reflection +on her irremediable loss. Frequently, when confused by distressful +recollections, she would detect herself going to her father's chamber. +Often his well-known accents would ring in her ears, and the momentary +impulse would be to answer his calls. Her reluctance to sit down to her +meals without her usual companion could scarcely be surmounted. + +In this state of mind, the image of the only friend who survived, or +whose destiny, at least, was doubtful, occurred to her. She sunk into +fits of deeper abstraction and dissolved away in tears of more agonizing +tenderness. A week after her father's interment, she shut herself up in +her chamber, to torment herself with fruitless remembrances. The name of +Sophia Westwyn was pronounced, and the ditty that solemnized their +parting was sung. Now, more than formerly, she became sensible of the +loss of that portrait which had been deposited in the hands of M'Crea as +a pledge. As soon as her change of fortune had supplied her with the +means of redeeming it, she hastened to M'Crea for that end. To her +unspeakable disappointment, he was absent from the city; he had taken a +long journey, and the exact period of his return could not be +ascertained. His clerks refused to deliver the picture, or even, by +searching, to discover whether it was still in their master's +possession. This application had frequently and lately been repeated, +but without success; M'Crea had not yet returned, and his family were +equally in the dark as to the day on which his return might be expected. + +She determined, on this occasion, to renew her visit. Her incessant +disappointments had almost extinguished hope, and she made inquiries at +his door, with a faltering accent and sinking heart. These emotions were +changed into surprise and delight, when answer was made that he had just +arrived. She was instantly conducted into his presence. + +The countenance of M'Crea easily denoted that his visitant was by no +means acceptable. There was a mixture of embarrassment and sullenness in +his air, which was far from being diminished when the purpose of this +visit was explained. Constantia reminded him of the offer and acceptance +of this pledge, and of the conditions with which the transaction was +accompanied. + +He acknowledged, with some hesitation, that a promise had been given to +retain the pledge until it were in her power to redeem it; but the long +delay, the urgency of his own wants, and particularly the ill treatment +which he conceived himself to have suffered in the transaction +respecting the forged note, had, in his own opinion, absolved him from +this promise. He had therefore sold the picture to a goldsmith, for as +much as the gold about it was worth. + +This information produced, in the heart of Constantia, a contest between +indignation and sorrow, that for a time debarred her from speech. She +stifled the anger that was, at length, rising to her lips, and calmly +inquired to whom the picture had been sold. + +M'Crea answered that for his part he had little dealings in gold and +silver, but every thing of that kind which fell to his share he +transacted with Mr. D----. This person was one of the most eminent of +his profession. His character and place of abode were universally +known. Tho only expedient that remained was to apply to him, and to +ascertain, forthwith, the destiny of the picture. It was too probable +that, when separated from its case, the portrait was thrown away or +destroyed, as a mere encumbrance, but the truth was too momentous to be +made the sport of mere probability. She left the house of M'Crea, and +hastened to that of the goldsmith. + +The circumstance was easily recalled to his remembrance. It was true +that such a picture had been offered for sale, and that he had purchased +it. The workmanship was curious, and he felt unwilling to destroy it. He +therefore hung it up in his shop and indulged the hope that a purchaser +would some time be attracted by the mere beauty of the toy. + +Constantia's hopes were revived by these tidings, and she earnestly +inquired if it were still in his possession. + +"No. A young gentleman had entered his shop some months before: the +picture had caught his fancy, and he had given a price which the artist +owned he should not have demanded, had he not been encouraged by the +eagerness which the gentleman betrayed to possess it." + +"Who was this gentleman? Had there been any previous acquaintance +between them? What was his name, his profession, and where was he to be +found?" + +"Really," the goldsmith answered, "he was ignorant respecting all those +particulars. Previously to this purchase, the gentleman had sometimes +visited his shop; but he did not recollect to have since seen him. He +was unacquainted with his name and his residence." + +"What appeared to be his motives for purchasing this picture?" + +"The customer appeared highly pleased with it. Pleasure, rather than +surprise, seemed to be produced by the sight of it. If I were permitted +to judge," continued the artist, "I should imagine that the young man +was acquainted with the original. To say the truth, I hinted as much at +the time, and I did not see that he discouraged the supposition. Indeed, +I cannot conceive how the picture could otherwise have gained any value +in his eyes." + +This only heightened the eagerness of Constantia to trace the footsteps +of the youth. It was obvious to suppose some communication or connection +between her friend and this purchaser. She repeated her inquiries, and +the goldsmith, after some consideration, said, "Why, on second thoughts, +I seem to have some notion of having seen a figure like that of my +customer go into a lodging-house in Front Street, some time before I met +with him at my shop." + +The situation of this house being satisfactorily described, and the +artist being able to afford her no further information, except as to +stature and guise, she took her leave. There were two motives impelling +her to prosecute her search after this person,--the desire of regaining +this portrait and of procuring tidings of her friend. Involved as she +was in ignorance, it was impossible to conjecture how far this incident +would be subservient to these inestimable purposes. To procure an +interview with this stranger was the first measure which prudence +suggested. + +She knew not his name or his person. He was once seen entering a +lodging-house. Thither she must immediately repair; but how to introduce +herself, how to describe the person of whom she was in search, she knew +not. She was beset with embarrassments and difficulties. While her +attention was entangled by these, she proceeded unconsciously on her +way, and stopped not until she reached the mansion that had been +described. Here she paused to collect her thoughts. + +She found no relief in deliberation. Every moment added to her +perplexity and indecision. Irresistibly impelled by her wishes, she at +length, in a mood that partook of desperate, advanced to the door and +knocked. The summons was immediately obeyed by a woman of decent +appearance. A pause ensued, which Constantia at length terminated by a +request to see the mistress of the house. + +The lady courteously answered that she was the person, and immediately +ushered her visitant into an apartment. Constantia being seated, the +lady waited for the disclosure of her message. To prolong the silence +was only to multiply embarrassments. She reverted to the state of her +feelings, and saw that they flowed from inconsistency and folly. One +vigorous effort was sufficient to restore her to composure and +self-command. + +She began with apologizing for a visit unpreceded by an introduction. +The object of her inquiries was a person with whom it was of the utmost +moment that she should procure a meeting, but whom, by an unfortunate +concurrence of circumstances, she was unable to describe by the usual +incidents of name and profession. Her knowledge was confined to his +external appearance, and to the probability of his being an inmate of +this house at the beginning of the year. She then proceeded to describe +his person and dress. + +"It is true," said the lady; "such a one as you describe has boarded in +this house. His name was Martynne. I have good reason to remember him, +for he lived with me three months, and then left the country without +paying for his board." + +"He has gone, then?" said Constantia, greatly discouraged by these +tidings. + +"Yes. He was a man of specious manners and loud pretensions. He came +from England, bringing with him forged recommendatory letters, and, +after passing from one end of the country to the other, contracting +debts which he never paid and making bargains which he never fulfilled, +he suddenly disappeared. It is likely that he has returned to Europe." + +"Had he no kindred, no friends, no companions?" + +"He found none here. He made pretences to alliances in England, which +better information has, I believe, since shown to be false." + +This was the sum of the information procurable from this source. +Constantia was unable to conceal her chagrin. These symptoms were +observed by the lady, whose curiosity was awakened in turn. Questions +were obliquely started, inviting Constantia to a disclosure of her +thoughts. No advantage would arise from confidence, and the guest, after +a few minutes of abstraction and silence, rose to take her leave. + +During this conference, some one appeared to be negligently sporting +with the keys of a harpsichord, in the next apartment. The notes were +too irregular and faint to make a forcible impression on the ear. In the +present state of her mind, Constantia was merely conscious of the sound, +in the intervals of conversation. Having arisen from her seat, her +anxiety to obtain some information that might lead to the point she +wished made her again pause. She endeavoured to invent some new +interrogatory better suited to her purpose than those which had already +been employed. A silence on both sides ensued. + +During this interval, the unseen musician suddenly refrained from +rambling, and glided into notes of some refinement and complexity. The +cadence was aerial; but a thunderbolt, falling at her feet, would not +have communicated a more visible shock to the senses of Constantia. A +glance that denoted a tumult of soul bordering on distraction was now +fixed upon the door that led into the room from whence the harmony +proceeded. Instantly the cadence was revived, and some accompanying +voice was heard to warble,-- + + "Ah! far beyond this world of woes + We meet to part,--to part no more." + +Joy and grief, in their sudden onset and their violent extremes, +approach so nearly in their influence on human beings as scarce to be +distinguished. Constantia's frame was still enfeebled by her recent +distresses. The torrent of emotion was too abrupt and too vehement. Her +faculties were overwhelmed, and she sunk upon the floor motionless and +without sense, but not till she had faintly articulated,-- + +"My God! My God! This is a joy unmerited and too great." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +I must be forgiven if I now introduce myself on the stage. Sophia +Westwyn is the friend of Constantia, and the writer of this narrative. +So far as my fate was connected with that of my friend, it is worthy to +be known. That connection has constituted the joy and misery of my +existence, and has prompted me to undertake this task. + +I assume no merit from the desire of knowledge and superiority to +temptation. There is little of which I can boast; but that little I +derived, instrumentally, from Constantia. Poor as my attainments are, it +is to her that I am indebted for them all. Life itself was the gift of +her father, but my virtue and felicity are her gifts. That I am neither +indigent nor profligate, flows from her bounty. + +I am not unaware of the divine superintendence,--of the claims upon my +gratitude and service which pertain to my God. I know that all physical +and moral agents are merely instrumental to the purpose that he wills; +but, though the great Author of being and felicity must not be +forgotten, it is neither possible nor just to overlook the claims upon +our love with which our fellow-beings are invested. + +The supreme love does not absorb, but chastens and enforces, all +subordinate affections. In proportion to the rectitude of my perceptions +and the ardour of my piety, must I clearly discern and fervently love +the excellence discovered in my fellow-beings, and industriously promote +their improvement and felicity. + +From my infancy to my seventeenth year, I lived in the house of Mr. +Dudley. On the day of my birth I was deserted by my mother. Her temper +was more akin to that of tigress than woman. Yet that is unjust; for +beasts cherish their offspring. No natures but human are capable of that +depravity which makes insensible to the claims of innocence and +helplessness. + +But let me not recall her to memory. Have I not enough of sorrow? Yet to +omit my causes of disquiet, the unprecedented forlornness of my +condition, and the persecutions of an unnatural parent, would be to +leave my character a problem, and the sources of my love of Miss Dudley +unexplored. Yet I must not dwell upon that complication of iniquities, +that savage ferocity and unextinguishable hatred of me, which +characterized my unhappy mother. + +I was not safe under the protection of Mr. Dudley, nor happy in the +caresses of his daughter. My mother asserted the privilege of that +relation: she laboured for years to obtain the control of my person and +actions, to snatch me from a peaceful and chaste asylum, and detain me +in her own house, where, indeed, I should not have been in want of +raiment and food; but where-- + +O my mother! Let me not dishonour thy name! Yet it is not in my power to +enhance thy infamy. Thy crimes, unequalled as they were, were perhaps +expiated by thy penitence. Thy offences are too well known; but perhaps +they who witnessed thy freaks of intoxication, thy defiance of public +shame, the enormity of thy pollutions, the infatuation that made thee +glory in the pursuit of a loathsome and detestable trade, may be +strangers to the remorse and the abstinence which accompanied the close +of thy ignominious life. + +For ten years was my peace incessantly molested by the menaces or +machinations of my mother. The longer she meditated my destruction, the +more tenacious of her purpose and indefatigable in her efforts she +became. That my mind was harassed with perpetual alarms was not enough. +The fame and tranquillity of Mr. Dudley and his daughter were hourly +assailed. My mother resigned herself to the impulses of malignity and +rage. Headlong passions, and a vigorous though perverted understanding, +were hers. Hence, her stratagems to undermine the reputation of my +protector, and to bereave him of domestic comfort, were subtle and +profound. Had she not herself been careless of that good which she +endeavoured to wrest from others, her artifices could scarcely have been +frustrated. + +In proportion to the hazard which accrued to my protector and friend, +the more ardent their zeal in my defence and their affection for my +person became. They watched over me with ineffable solicitude. At all +hours and in every occupation, I was the companion of Constantia. All my +wants were supplied in the same proportion as hers. The tenderness of +Mr. Dudley seemed equally divided between us. I partook of his +instructions, and the means of every intellectual and personal +gratification were lavished upon me. + +The speed of my mother's career in infamy was at length slackened. She +left New York, which had long been the theatre of her vices. Actuated by +a now caprice, she determined to travel through the Southern States. +Early indulgence was the cause of her ruin, but her parents had given +her the embellishments of a fashionable education. She delighted to +assume all parts, and personate the most opposite characters. She now +resolved to carry a new name, and the mask of virtue, into scenes +hitherto unvisited. + +She journeyed as far as Charleston. Here she met an inexperienced youth, +lately arrived from England, and in possession of an ample fortune. Her +speciousness and artifices seduced him into a precipitate marriage. Her +true character, however, could not be long concealed by herself, and her +vices had been too conspicuous for her long to escape recognition. Her +husband was infatuated by her blandishments. To abandon her, or to +contemplate her depravity with unconcern, were equally beyond his power. +Romantic in his sentiments, his fortitude was unequal to his +disappointments, and he speedily sunk into the grave. By a similar +refinement in generosity, he bequeathed to her his property. + +With this accession of wealth, she returned to her ancient abode. The +mask lately worn seemed preparing to be thrown aside, and her profligate +habits to be resumed with more eagerness than ever; but an unexpected +and total revolution was effected, by the exhortations of a Methodist +divine. Her heart seemed, on a sudden, to be remoulded, her vices and +the abettors of them were abjured, she shut out the intrusions of +society, and prepared to expiate, by the rigours of abstinence and the +bitterness of tears, the offences of her past life. + +In this, as in her former career, she was unacquainted with restraint +and moderation. Her remorses gained strength in proportion as she +cherished them. She brooded over the images of her guilt, till the +possibility of forgiveness and remission disappeared. Her treatment of +her daughter and her husband constituted the chief source of her +torment. Her awakened conscience refused her a momentary respite from +its persecutions. Her thoughts became, by rapid degrees, tempestuous and +gloomy, and it was at length evident that her condition was maniacal. + +In this state, she was to me an object, no longer of terror, but +compassion. She was surrounded by hirelings, devoid of personal +attachment, and anxious only to convert her misfortunes to their own +advantage. This evil it was my duty to obviate. My presence, for a time, +only enhanced the vehemence of her malady; but at length it was only by +my attendance and soothing that she was diverted from the fellest +purposes. Shocking execrations and outrages, resolutions and efforts to +destroy herself and those around her, were sure to take place in my +absence. The moment I appeared before her, her fury abated, her +gesticulations were becalmed, and her voice exerted only in incoherent +and pathetic lamentations. + +These scenes, though so different from those which I had formerly been +condemned to witness, were scarcely less excruciating. The friendship of +Constantia Dudley was my only consolation. She took up her abode with +me, and shared with me every disgustful and perilous office which my +mother's insanity prescribed. + +Of this consolation, however, it was my fate to be bereaved. My mother's +state was deplorable, and no remedy hitherto employed was efficacious. A +voyage to England was conceived likely to benefit, by change of +temperature and scenes, and by the opportunity it would afford of trying +the superior skill of English physicians. This scheme, after various +struggles on my part, was adopted. It was detestable to my imagination, +because it severed me from that friend in whose existence mine was +involved, and without whose participation knowledge lost its attractions +and society became a torment. + +The prescriptions of my duty could not be disguised or disobeyed, and we +parted. A mutual engagement was formed to record every sentiment and +relate every event that happened in the life of either, and no +opportunity of communicating information was to be omitted. This +engagement was punctually performed on my part. I sought out every +method of conveyance to my friend, and took infinite pains to procure +tidings from her; but all were ineffectual. + +My mother's malady declined, but was succeeded by a pulmonary disease, +which threatened her speedy destruction. By the restoration of her +understanding, the purpose of her voyage was obtained, and my impatience +to return, which the inexplicable and ominous silence of my friend daily +increased, prompted me to exert all my powers of persuasion to induce +her to revisit America. + +My mother's frenzy was a salutary crisis in her moral history. She +looked back upon her past conduct with unspeakable loathing, but this +retrospect only invigorated her devotion and her virtue; but the thought +of returning to the scene of her unhappiness and infamy could not be +endured. Besides, life, in her eyes, possessed considerable attractions, +and her physicians flattered her with recovery from her present disease, +if she would change the atmosphere of England for that of Languedoc and +Naples. + +I followed her with murmurs and reluctance. To desert her in her present +critical state would have been inhuman. My mother's aversions and +attachments, habits and views, were dissonant with my own. Conformity of +sentiments and impressions of maternal tenderness did not exist to bind +us to each other. My attendance was assiduous, but it was the sense of +duty that rendered my attendance a supportable task. + +Her decay was eminently gradual. No time seemed to diminish her appetite +for novelty and change. During three years we traversed every part of +France, Switzerland, and Italy. I could not but attend to surrounding +scenes, and mark the progress of the mighty revolution, whose effects, +like agitation in a fluid, gradually spread from Paris, the centre, over +the face of the neighbouring kingdoms; but there passed not a day or an +hour in which the image of Constantia was not recalled, in which the +most pungent regrets were not felt at the inexplicable silence which had +been observed by her, and the most vehement longings indulged to return +to my native country. My exertions to ascertain her condition by +indirect means, by interrogating natives of America with whom I chanced +to meet, were unwearied, but, for a long period, ineffectual. + +During this pilgrimage, Rome was thrice visited. My mother's +indisposition was hastening to a crisis, and she formed the resolution +of closing her life at the bottom of Vesuvius. We stopped, for the sake +of a few days' repose, at Rome. On the morning after our arrival, I +accompanied some friends to view the public edifices. Casting my eyes +over the vast and ruinous interior of the Coliseum, my attention was +fixed by the figure of a young man whom, after a moment's pause, I +recollected to have seen in the streets of New York. At a distance from +home, mere community of country is no inconsiderable bond of affection. +The social spirit prompts us to cling even to inanimate objects, when +they remind us of ancient fellowships and juvenile attachments. + +A servant was despatched to summon this stranger, who recognised a +countrywoman with a pleasure equal to that which I had received. On +nearer view, this person, whose name was Courtland, did not belie my +favourable prepossessions. Our intercourse was soon established on a +footing of confidence and intimacy. + +The destiny of Constantia was always uppermost in my thoughts. This +person's acquaintance was originally sought chiefly in the hope of +obtaining from him some information respecting my friend. On inquiry, I +discovered that he had left his native city seven months after me. +Having tasked his recollection and compared a number of facts, the name +of Dudley at length recurred to him. He had casually heard the history +of Craig's imposture and its consequences. These were now related as +circumstantially as a memory occupied by subsequent incidents enabled +him. The tale had been told to him, in a domestic circle which he was +accustomed to frequent, by the person who purchased Mr. Dudley's lute +and restored it to its previous owner on the conditions formerly +mentioned. + +This tale filled me with anguish and doubt. My impatience to search out +this unfortunate girl, and share with her her sorrows or relieve them, +was anew excited by this mournful intelligence. That Constantia Dudley +was reduced to beggary was too abhorrent to my feelings to receive +credit; yet the sale of her father's property, comprising even his +furniture and clothing, seemed to prove that she had fallen even to this +depth. This enabled me in some degree to account for her silence. Her +generous spirit would induce her to conceal misfortunes from her friend +which no communication would alleviate. It was possible that she had +selected some new abode, and that, in consequence, the letters I had +written, and which amounted to volumes, had never reached her hands. + +My mother's state would not suffer me to obey the impulse of my heart. +Her frame was verging towards dissolution. Courtland's engagements +allowed him to accompany us to Naples, and here the long series of my +mother's pilgrimages closed in death. Her obsequies were no sooner +performed, than I determined to set out on my long-projected voyage. My +mother's property, which, in consequence of her decease, devolved upon +me, was not inconsiderable. There is scarcely any good so dear to a +rational being as competence. I was not unacquainted with its benefits, +but this acquisition was valuable to mo chiefly as it enabled me to +reunite my fate to that of Constantia. + +Courtland was my countryman and friend. He was destitute of fortune, and +had been led to Europe partly by the spirit of adventure, and partly on +a mercantile project. He had made sale of his property on advantageous +terms, in the ports of France, and resolved to consume the produce in +examining this scene of heroic exploits and memorable revolutions. His +slender stock, though frugally and even parsimoniously administered, was +nearly exhausted; and, at the time of our meeting at Rome, he was making +reluctant preparations to return. + +Sufficient opportunity was afforded us, in an unrestrained and domestic +intercourse of three months, which succeeded our Roman interview, to +gain a knowledge of each other. There was that conformity of tastes and +views between us which could scarcely fail, at an age and in a situation +like ours, to give birth to tenderness. My resolution to hasten to +America was peculiarly unwelcome to my friend. He had offered to be my +companion, but this offer my regard to his interest obliged me to +decline; but I was willing to compensate him for this denial, as well as +to gratify my own heart, by an immediate marriage. + +So long a residence in England and Italy had given birth to friendships +and connections of the dearest kind. I had no view but to spend my life +with Courtland, in the midst of my maternal kindred, who were English. A +voyage to America and reunion with Constantia were previously +indispensable; but I hoped that my friend might be prevailed upon, and +that her disconnected situation would permit her to return with me to +Europe. If this end could not be accomplished, it was my inflexible +purpose to live and die with her. Suitably to this arrangement, +Courtland was to repair to London, and wait patiently till I should be +able to rejoin him there, or to summon him to meet me in America. + +A week after my mother's death, I became a wife, and embarked the next +day, at Naples, in a Ragusan ship, destined for New York. The voyage was +tempestuous and tedious. The vessel was necessitated to make a short +stay at Toulon. The state of that city, however, then in possession of +the English and besieged by the revolutionary forces, was adverse to +commercial views. Happily, we resumed our voyage on the day previous to +that on which the place was evacuated by the British. Our seasonable +departure rescued us from witnessing a scene of horrors of which the +history of former wars furnishes us with few examples. + +A cold and boisterous navigation awaited us. My palpitations and +inquietudes augmented as we approached the American coast. I shall not +forget the sensations which I experienced on the sight of the Beacon at +Sandy Hook. It was first seen at midnight, in a stormy and beclouded +atmosphere, emerging from the waves, whose fluctuation allowed it, for +some time, to be visible only by fits. This token of approaching land +affected me as much as if I had reached the threshold of my friend's +dwelling. + +At length we entered the port, and I viewed, with high-raised but +inexplicable feelings, objects with which I had been from infancy +familiar. The flagstaff erected on the Battery recalled to my +imagination the pleasures of the evening and morning walks which I had +taken on that spot with the lost Constantia. The dream was fondly +cherished, that the figure which I saw loitering along the terrace was +hers. + +On disembarking, I gazed at every female passenger, in hope that it was +she whom I sought. An absence of three years had obliterated from my +memory none of the images which attended me on my departure. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +After a night of repose rather than of sleep, I began the search after +my friend. I went to the house which the Dudleys formerly inhabited, and +which had been the asylum of my infancy. It was now occupied by +strangers, by whom no account could be given of its former tenants. I +obtained directions to the owner of the house. He was equally unable to +satisfy my curiosity. The purchase had been made at a public sale, and +terms had been settled, not with Dudley, but with the sheriff. + +It is needless to say that the history of Craig's imposture and its +consequences were confirmed by every one who resided at that period in +New York. The Dudleys were well remembered, and their disappearance, +immediately after their fall, had been generally noticed; but whither +they had retired was a problem which no one was able to solve. + +This evasion was strange. By what motives the Dudleys were induced to +change their ancient abode could be vaguely guessed. My friend's +grandfather was a native of the West Indies. Descendants of the same +stock still resided in Tobago. They might be affluent, and to them it +was possible that Mr. Dudley, in this change of fortune, had betaken +himself for relief. This was a mournful expedient, since it would raise +a barrier between my friend and myself scarcely to be surmounted. + +Constantia's mother was stolen by Mr. Dudley from a convent at Amiens. +There were no affinities, therefore, to draw them to France. Her +grandmother was a native of Baltimore, of a family of some note, by name +Ridgeley. This family might still exist, and have either afforded an +asylum to the Dudleys, or, at least, be apprized of their destiny. It +was obvious to conclude that they no longer existed within the precincts +of New York. A journey to Baltimore was the next expedient. + +This journey was made in the depth of winter, and by the speediest +conveyance. I made no more than a day's sojourn in Philadelphia. The +epidemic by which that city had been lately ravaged, I had not heard of +till my arrival in America. Its devastations were then painted to my +fancy in the most formidable colours. A few months only had elapsed +since its extinction, and I expected to see numerous marks of misery and +depopulation. + +To my no small surprise, however, no vestiges of this calamity were to +be discerned. All houses were open, all streets thronged, and all faces +thoughtless or busy. The arts and the amusements of life seemed as +sedulously cultivated as ever. Little did I then think what had been, +and what at that moment was, the condition of my friend. I stopped for +the sake of respite from fatigue, and did not, therefore, pass much time +in the streets. Perhaps, had I walked seasonably abroad, we might have +encountered each other, and thus have saved ourselves from a thousand +anxieties. + +At Baltimore I made myself known, without the formality of introduction, +to the Ridgeleys. They acknowledged their relationship to Mr. Dudley, +but professed absolute ignorance of his fate. Indirect intercourse only +had been maintained, formerly, by Dudley with his mother's kindred. They +had heard of his misfortune a twelvemonth after it happened; but what +measures had been subsequently pursued, their kinsman had not thought +proper to inform them. + +The failure of this expedient almost bereft me of hope. Neither my own +imagination nor the Ridgeleys could suggest any new mode by which my +purpose was likely to be accomplished. To leave America without +obtaining the end of my visit could not be thought of without agony; and +yet the continuance of my stay promised me no relief from my +uncertainties. + +On this theme I ruminated without ceasing. I recalled every conversation +and incident of former times, and sought in them a clue by which my +present conjectures might be guided. One night, immersed alone in my +chamber, my thoughts were thus employed. My train of meditation was, on +this occasion, new. From the review of particulars from which no +satisfaction had hitherto been gained, I passed to a vague and +comprehensive retrospect. + +Mr. Dudley's early life, his profession of a painter, his zeal in this +pursuit, and his reluctance to quit it, were remembered. Would he not +revert to this profession when other means of subsistence were gone? It +is true, similar obstacles with those which had formerly occasioned his +resort to a different path existed at present, and no painter of his +name was to be found in Philadelphia, Baltimore, or New York. But would +it not occur to him, that the patronage denied to his skill by the +frugal and unpolished habits of his countrymen might, with more +probability of success, be sought from the opulence and luxury of +London? Nay, had he not once affirmed, in my hearing, that, if he ever +were reduced to poverty, this was the method he would pursue? + +This conjecture was too bewitching to be easily dismissed. Every new +reflection augmented its force. I was suddenly raised by it from the +deepest melancholy to the region of lofty and gay hopes. Happiness, of +which I had begun to imagine myself irretrievably bereft, seemed once +more to approach within my reach. Constantia would not only be found, +but be met in the midst of those comforts which her father's skill could +not fail to procure, and on that very stage where I most desired to +encounter her. Mr. Dudley had many friends and associates of his youth +in London. Filial duty had repelled their importunities to fix his abode +in Europe, when summoned home by his father. On his father's death these +solicitations had been renewed, but were disregarded for reasons which +he, afterwards, himself confessed were fallacious. That they would a +third time be preferred, and would regulate his conduct, seemed to me +incontestable. + +I regarded with wonder and deep regret the infatuation that had +hitherto excluded these images from my understanding and my memory. How +many dangers and toils had I endured since my embarkation at Naples, to +the present moment! How many lingering minutes had I told since my first +interview with Courtland! All were owing to my own stupidity. Had my +present thoughts been seasonably suggested, I might long since have been +restored to the embraces of my friend, without the necessity of an +hour's separation from my husband. + +These were evils to be repaired as far as it was possible. Nothing now +remained but to procure a passage to Europe. For this end diligent +inquiries were immediately set on foot. A vessel was found, which, in a +few weeks, would set out upon the voyage. Having bespoken a conveyance, +it was incumbent on me to sustain with patience the unwelcome delay. + +Meanwhile, my mind, delivered from the dejection and perplexities that +lately haunted it, was capable of some attention to surrounding objects. +I marked the peculiarities of manners and language in my new abode, and +studied the effects which a political and religious system so opposite +to that with which I had conversed in Italy and Switzerland had +produced. I found that the difference between Europe and America lay +chiefly in this:--that, in the former, all things tended to extremes, +whereas, in the latter, all things tended to the same level. Genius, and +virtue, and happiness, on these shores, were distinguished by a sort of +mediocrity. Conditions were less unequal, and men were strangers to the +heights of enjoyment and the depths of misery to which the inhabitants +of Europe are accustomed. + +I received friendly notice and hospitable treatment from the Ridgeleys. +These people were mercantile and plodding in their habits. I found in +their social circle little exercise for the sympathies of my heart, and +willingly accepted their aid to enlarge the sphere of my observation. + +About a week before my intended embarkation, and when suitable +preparation had been made for that event, a lady arrived in town, who +was cousin to my Constantia. She had frequently been mentioned in +favourable terms in my hearing. She had passed her life in a rural +abode with her father, who cultivated his own domain, lying forty miles +from Baltimore. + +On an offer being made to introduce us to each other, I consented to +know one whose chief recommendation in my eyes consisted in her affinity +to Constantia Dudley. I found an artless and attractive female, +unpolished and undepraved by much intercourse with mankind. At first +sight, I was powerfully struck by the resemblance of her features to +those of my friend, which sufficiently denoted their connection with a +common stock. + +The first interview afforded mutual satisfaction. On our second meeting, +discourse insensibly led to the mention of Miss Dudley, and of the +design which had brought me to America. She was deeply affected by the +earnestness with which I expatiated on her cousin's merits, and by the +proofs which my conduct had given of unlimited attachment. + +I dwelt immediately on the measures which I had hitherto ineffectually +pursued to trace her footsteps, and detailed the grounds of my present +belief that we should meet in London. During this recital, my companion +sighed and wept. When I finished my tale, her tears, instead of ceasing, +flowed with new vehemence. This appearance excited some surprise, and I +ventured to ask the cause of her grief. + +"Alas!" she replied, "I am personally a stranger to my cousin, but her +character has been amply displayed to me by one who knew her well. I +weep to think how much she has suffered. How much excellence we have +lost!" + +"Nay," said I, "all her sufferings will, I hope, be compensated, and I +by no means consider her as lost. If my search in London be +unsuccessful, then shall I indeed despair." + +"Despair, then, already," said my sobbing companion, "for your search +will be unsuccessful. How I feel for your disappointment! but it cannot +be known too soon. My cousin is dead!" + +These tidings were communicated with tokens of sincerity and sorrow that +left me no room to doubt that they were believed by the relater. My own +emotions were suspended till interrogations had obtained a knowledge of +her reasons for crediting this fatal event, and till she had explained +the time and manner of her death. A friend of Miss Ridgeley's father had +witnessed the devastations of the yellow fever in Philadelphia. He was +apprized of the relationship that subsisted between his friend and the +Dudleys. He gave a minute and circumstantial account of the arts of +Craig. He mentioned the removal of my friends to Philadelphia, their +obscure and indigent life, and, finally, their falling victims to the +pestilence. + +He related the means by which he became apprized of their fate, and drew +a picture of their death, surpassing all that imagination can conceive +of shocking and deplorable. The quarter where they lived was nearly +desolate. Their house was shut up, and, for a time, imagined to be +uninhabited. Some suspicions being awakened in those who superintended +the burial of the dead, the house was entered, and the father and child +discovered to be dead. The former was stretched upon his wretched +pallet, while the daughter was found on the floor of the lower room, in +a state that denoted the sufferance not only of disease, but of famine. + +This tale was false. Subsequent discoveries proved this to be a +detestable artifice of Craig, who, stimulated by incurable habits, had +invented these disasters, for the purpose of enhancing the opinion of +his humanity and of furthering his views on the fortune and daughter of +Mr. Ridgeley. + +Its falsehood, however, I had as yet no means of ascertaining. I +received it as true, and at once dismissed all my claims upon futurity. +All hope of happiness, in this mutable and sublunary scene, was fled. +Nothing remained but to join my friend in a world where woes are at an +end and virtue finds recompense. "Surely," said I, "there will some time +be a close to calamity and discord. To those whose lives have been +blameless, but harassed by inquietudes to which not their own but the +errors of others have given birth, a fortress will hereafter be +assigned unassailable by change, impregnable to sorrow. + +"O my ill-fated Constantia! I will live to cherish thy remembrance, and +to emulate thy virtue. I will endure the privation of thy friendship and +the vicissitudes that shall befall me, and draw my consolation and +courage from the foresight of no distant close to this terrestrial +scene, and of ultimate and everlasting union with thee." + +This consideration, though it kept me from confusion and despair, could +not, but with the healing aid of time, render me tranquil or strenuous. +My strength was unequal to the struggle of my passions. The ship in +which I engaged to embark could not wait for my restoration to health, +and I was left behind. + +Mary Ridgeley was artless and affectionate. She saw that her society was +dearer to me than that of any other, and was therefore seldom willing to +leave my chamber. Her presence, less on her own account than by reason +of her personal resemblance and her affinity by birth to Constantia, was +a powerful solace. + +I had nothing to detain me longer in America. I was anxious to change my +present lonely state, for the communion of those friends in England, and +the performance of those duties, which were left to me. I was informed +that a British packet would shortly sail from New York. My frame was +sunk into greater weakness than I had felt at any former period; and I +conceived that to return to New York by water was more commodious than +to perform the journey by land. + +This arrangement was likewise destined to be disappointed. One morning I +visited, according to my custom, Mary Ridgeley. I found her in a temper +somewhat inclined to gayety. She rallied me, with great archness, on the +care with which I had concealed from her a tender engagement into which +I had lately entered. + +I supposed myself to comprehend her allusion, and therefore answered +that accident, rather than design, had made me silent on the subject of +marriage. She had hitherto known me by no appellation but Sophia +Courtland. I had thought it needless to inform her that I was indebted +for my name to my husband, Courtland being his name. + +"All that," said my friend, "I know already. And so you sagely think +that my knowledge goes no further than that? We are not bound to love +our husbands longer than their lives. There is no crime, I believe, in +referring the living to the dead; and most heartily do congratulate you +on your present choice." + +"What mean you? I confess, your discourse surpasses my comprehension." + +At that moment the bell at the door rung a loud peal. Miss Ridgeley +hastened down at this signal, saying, with much significance,-- + +"I am a poor hand at solving a riddle. Here comes one who, if I mistake +not, will find no difficulty in clearing up your doubts." + +Presently she came up, and said, with a smile of still greater archness, +"Here is a young gentleman, a friend of mine, to whom I must have the +pleasure of introducing you. He has come for the special purpose of +solving my riddle." I attended her to the parlour without hesitation. + +She presented me, with great formality, to a youth, whose appearance did +not greatly prepossess me in favour of his judgement. He approached me +with an air supercilious and ceremonious; but the moment he caught a +glance at my face, he shrunk back, visibly confounded and embarrassed. A +pause ensued, in which Miss Ridgeley had opportunity to detect the error +into which she had been led by the vanity of this young man. + +"How now, Mr. Martynne!" said my friend, in a tone of ridicule; "is it +possible you do not know the lady who is the queen of your affections, +the tender and indulgent fair one whose portrait you carry in your +bosom, and whose image you daily and nightly bedew with your tears and +kisses?" + +Mr. Martynne's confusion, instead of being subdued by his struggle, only +grew more conspicuous; and, after a few incoherent speeches and +apologies, during which he carefully avoided encountering my eyes, he +hastily departed. + +I applied to my friend, with great earnestness, for an explanation of +this scene. It seems that, in the course of conversation with him on the +preceding day, he had suffered a portrait which hung at his breast to +catch Miss Ridgeley's eye. On her betraying a desire to inspect it more +nearly, he readily produced it. My image had been too well copied by the +artist not to be instantly recognised. + +She concealed her knowledge of the original, and, by questions well +adapted to the purpose, easily drew from him confessions that this was +the portrait of his mistress. He let fall sundry innuendoes and +surmises, tending to impress her with a notion of the rank, fortune, and +intellectual accomplishments of the nymph, and particularly of the +doting fondness and measureless confidence with which she regarded him. + +Her imperfect knowledge of my situation left her in some doubt as to the +truth of these pretensions, and she was willing to ascertain the truth +by bringing about an interview. To guard against evasions and artifice +in the lover, she carefully concealed from him her knowledge of the +original, and merely pretended that a friend of hers was far more +beautiful than her whom this picture represented. She added, that she +expected a visit from her friend the next morning, and was willing, by +showing her to Mr. Martynne, to convince him how much he was mistaken in +supposing the perfections of his mistress unrivalled. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Martynne, while ho expressed his confidence that the experiment would +only confirm his triumph, readily assented to the proposal, and the +interview above described took place, accordingly, the next morning. Had +he not been taken by surprise, it is likely the address of a man who +possessed no contemptible powers would have extricated him from some of +his embarrassment. + +That my portrait should be in the possession of one whom I had never +before seen, and whose character and manners entitled him to no respect, +was a source of some surprise. This mode of multiplying faces is +extremely prevalent in this age, and was eminently characteristic of +those with whom I had associated in different parts of Europe. The +nature of my thoughts had modified my features into an expression which +my friends were pleased to consider as a model for those who desired to +personify the genius of suffering and resignation. + +Hence, among those whose religion permitted their devotion to a picture +of a female, the symbols of their chosen deity were added to features +and shape that resembled mine. My own caprice, as well as that of +others, always dictated a symbolical, and, in every new instance, a +different accompaniment of this kind. Hence was offered the means of +tracing the history of that picture which Martynne possessed. + +It had been accurately examined by Miss Ridgeley, and her description of +the frame in which it was placed instantly informed me that it was the +same which, at our parting, I left in the possession of Constantia. My +friend and myself were desirous of employing the skill of a Saxon +painter, by name Eckstein. Each of us were drawn by him, she with the +cincture of Venus, and I with the crescent of Dian. This symbol was +still conspicuous on the brow of that image which Miss Ridgeley had +examined, and served to identify the original proprietor. + +This circumstance tended to confirm my fears that Constantia was dead, +since that she would part with this picture during her life was not to +be believed. It was of little moment to discover how it came into the +hands of the present possessor. Those who carried her remains to the +grave had probably torn it from her neck and afterwards disposed of it +for money. + +By whatever means, honest or illicit, it had been acquired by Martynne, +it was proper that it should be restored to me. It was valuable to me, +because it had been the property of one whom I loved, and it might prove +highly injurious to my fame and my happiness, as the tool of this man's +vanity and the attestor of his falsehood. I therefore wrote him a +letter, acquainting him with my reasons for desiring the repossession of +this picture, and offering a price for it at least double its value as a +mere article of traffic. Martynne accepted the terms. He transmitted the +picture, and with it a note, apologizing for the artifice of which he +had been guilty, and mentioning, in order to justify his acceptance of +the price which I had offered, that he had lately purchased it for an +equal sum, of a goldsmith in Philadelphia. + +This information suggested a new reflection. Constantia had engaged to +preserve, for the use of her friend, copious and accurate memorials of +her life. Copies of these were, on suitable occasions, to be transmitted +to me during my residence abroad. These I had never received, but it was +highly probable that her punctuality, in the performance of the first +part of her engagement, had been equal to my own. + +What, I asked, had become of these precious memorials? In the wreck of +her property were these irretrievably engulfed? It was not probable that +they had been wantonly destroyed. They had fallen, perhaps, into hands +careless or unconscious of their value, or still lay, unknown and +neglected, at the bottom of some closet or chest. Their recovery might +be effected by vehement exertions, or by some miraculous accident. +Suitable inquiries, carried on among those who were active in those +scenes of calamity, might afford some clue by which the fate of the +Dudleys, and the disposition of their property, might come into fuller +light. These inquiries could be made only in Philadelphia, and thither, +for that purpose, I now resolved to repair. There was still an interval +of some weeks before the departure of the packet in which I proposed to +embark. + +Having returned to the capital, I devoted all my zeal to my darling +project. My efforts, however, were without success. Those who +administered charity and succour during that memorable season, and who +survived, could remove none of my doubts, nor answer any of my +inquiries. Innumerable tales, equally disastrous with those which Miss +Ridgeley had heard, were related; but, for a considerable period, none +of their circumstances were sufficiently accordant with the history of +the Dudleys. + +It is worthy of remark, in how many ways, and by what complexity of +motives, human curiosity is awakened and knowledge obtained. By its +connection with my darling purpose, every event in the history of this +memorable pest was earnestly sought and deeply pondered. The powerful +considerations which governed me made me slight those punctilious +impediments which, in other circumstances, would have debarred me from +intercourse with the immediate actors and observers. I found none who +were unwilling to expatiate on this topic, or to communicate the +knowledge they possessed. Their details were copious in particulars and +vivid in minuteness. They exhibited the state of manners, the +diversified effects of evil or heroic passions, and the endless forms +which sickness and poverty assume in the obscure recesses of a +commercial and populous city. + +Some of these details are too precious to be lost. It is above all +things necessary that we should be thoroughly acquainted with the +condition of our fellow-beings. Justice and compassion are the fruit of +knowledge. The misery that overspreads so large a part of mankind exists +chiefly because those who are able to relieve it do not know that it +exists. Forcibly to paint the evil, seldom fails to excite the virtue of +the spectator and seduce him into wishes, at least, if not into +exertions, of beneficence. + +The circumstances in which I was placed were, perhaps, wholly singular. +Hence, the knowledge I obtained was more comprehensive and authentic +than was possessed by any one, even of the immediate actors or +sufferers. This knowledge will not be useless to myself or to the world. +The motives which dictated the present narrative will hinder me from +relinquishing the pen till my fund of observation and experience be +exhausted. Meanwhile, let me resume the thread of my tale. + +The period allowed me before my departure was nearly expired, and my +purpose seemed to be as far from its accomplishment as ever. One evening +I visited a lady who was the widow of a physician whose disinterested +exertions had cost him his life. She dwelt with pathetic earnestness on +the particulars of her own distress, and listened with deep attention to +the inquiries and doubts which I had laid before her. + +After a pause of consideration, she said that an incident like that +related by me she had previously heard from one of her friends, whose +name she mentioned. This person was one of those whose office consisted +in searching out the sufferers, and affording them unsought and +unsolicited relief. She was offering to introduce me to this person, +when he entered the apartment. + +After the usual compliments, my friend led the conversation as I wished. +Between Mr. Thompson's tale and that related to Miss Ridgeley there was +an obvious resemblance. The sufferers resided in an obscure alley. They +had shut themselves up from all intercourse with their neighbours, and +had died, neglected and unknown. Mr. Thompson was vested with the +superintendence of this district, and had passed the house frequently +without suspicion of its being tenanted. + +He was at length informed, by one of those who conducted a hearse, that +he had seen the window in the upper story of this house lifted and a +female show herself. It was night, and the hearseman chanced to be +passing the door. He immediately supposed that the person stood in need +of his services, and stopped. + +This procedure was comprehended by the person at the window, who, +leaning out, addressed him in a broken and feeble voice. She asked him +why he had not taken a different route, and upbraided him for inhumanity +in leading his noisy vehicle past her door. She wanted repose, but the +ceaseless rumbling of his wheels would not allow her the sweet respite +of a moment. + +This invective was singular, and uttered in a voice which united the +utmost degree of earnestness with a feebleness that rendered it almost +inarticulate. The man was at a loss for a suitable answer. His pause +only increased the impatience of the person at the window, who called +upon him, in a still more anxious tone, to proceed, and entreated him to +avoid this alley for the future. + +He answered that he must come whenever the occasion called him; that +three persons now lay dead in this alley, and that he must be +expeditious in their removal; but that he would return as seldom and +make as little noise as possible. + +He was interrupted by new exclamations and upbraidings. These terminated +in a burst of tears, and assertions that God and man were her +enemies,--that they were determined to destroy her; but she trusted that +the time would come when their own experience would avenge her wrongs, +and teach them some compassion for the misery of others. Saying this, +she shut the window with violence, and retired from it, sobbing with a +vehemence that could be distinctly overheard by him in the street. + +He paused for some time, listening when this passion should cease. The +habitation was slight, and he imagined that he heard her traversing the +floor. While he stayed, she continued to vent her anguish in +exclamations and sighs and passionate weeping. It did not appear that +any other person was within. + +Mr. Thompson, being next day informed of these incidents, endeavoured to +enter the house; but his signals, though loud and frequently repeated, +being unnoticed, he was obliged to gain admission by violence. An old +man, and a female lovely in the midst of emaciation and decay, were +discovered without signs of life. The death of the latter appeared to +have been very recent. + +In examining the house, no traces of other inhabitants were to be found. +Nothing serviceable as food was discovered, but the remnants of mouldy +bread scattered on a table. No information could be gathered from +neighbours respecting the condition and name of these unfortunate +people. They had taken possession of this house during the rage of this +malady, and refrained from all communication with their neighbours. + +There was too much resemblance between this and the story formerly +heard, not to produce the belief that they related to the same persons. +All that remained was to obtain directions to the proprietor of this +dwelling, and exact from him all that he knew respecting his tenants. + +I found in him a man of worth and affability. He readily related, that a +man applied to him for the use of this house, and that the application +was received. At the beginning of the pestilence, a numerous family +inhabited this tenement, but had died in rapid succession. This new +applicant was the first to apprize him of this circumstance, and +appeared extremely anxious to enter on immediate possession. + +It was intimated to him that danger would arise from the pestilential +condition of the house. Unless cleansed and purified, disease would be +unavoidably contracted. The inconvenience and hazard this applicant was +willing to encounter, and, at length, hinted that no alternative was +allowed him by his present landlord but to lie in the street or to +procure some other abode. + +"What was the external appearance of this person?" + +"He was infirm, past the middle age, of melancholy aspect and indigent +garb. A year had since elapsed, and more characteristic particulars had +not been remarked, or were forgotten. The name had been mentioned, but, +in the midst of more recent and momentous transactions, had vanished +from remembrance. Dudley, or Dolby, or Hadley, seemed to approach more +nearly than any other sounds." + +Permission to inspect the house was readily granted. It had remained, +since that period, unoccupied. The furniture and goods were scanty and +wretched, and he did not care to endanger his safety by meddling with +them. He believed that they had not been removed or touched. + +I was insensible of any hazard which attended my visit, and, with the +guidance of a servant, who felt as little apprehension as myself, +hastened to the spot. I found nothing but tables and chairs. Clothing +was nowhere to be seen. An earthen pot, without handle, and broken, +stood upon the kitchen-hearth. No other implement or vessel for the +preparation of food appeared. + +These forlorn appearances were accounted for by the servant, by +supposing the house to have been long since rifled of every thing worth +the trouble of removal, by the villains who occupied the neighbouring +houses,--this alley, it seems, being noted for the profligacy of its +inhabitants. + +When I reflected that a wretched hovel like this had been, probably, the +last retreat of the Dudleys, when I painted their sufferings, of which +the numberless tales of distress of which I had lately been an auditor +enabled me to form an adequate conception, I felt as if to lie down and +expire on the very spot where Constantia had fallen was the only +sacrifice to friendship which time had left to me. + +From this house I wandered to the field where the dead had been, +promiscuously and by hundreds, interred. I counted the long series of +graves, which were closely ranged, and, being recently levelled, +exhibited the appearance of a harrowed field. Methought I could have +given thousands to know in what spot the body of my friend lay, that I +might moisten the sacred earth with my tears. Boards hastily nailed +together formed the best receptacle which the exigencies of the time +could grant to the dead. Many corpses were thrown into a single +excavation, and all distinctions founded on merit and rank were +obliterated. The father and child had been placed in the same cart and +thrown into the same hole. + +Despairing, by any longer stay in the city, to effect my purpose, and +the period of my embarkation being near, I prepared to resume my +journey. I should have set out the next day, but, a family with whom I +had made acquaintance expecting to proceed to New York within a week, I +consented to be their companion, and, for that end, to delay my +departure. + +Meanwhile, I shut myself up in my apartment, and pursued avocations that +were adapted to the melancholy tenor of my thoughts. The day preceding +that appointed for my journey arrived. It was necessary to complete my +arrangements with the family with whom I was to travel, and to settle +with the lady whose apartments I occupied. + +On how slender threads does our destiny hang! Had not a momentary +impulse tempted me to sing my favourite ditty to the harpsichord, to +beguile the short interval during which my hostess was conversing with +her visitor in the next apartment, I should have speeded to New York, +have embarked for Europe, and been eternally severed from my friend, +whom I believed to have died in frenzy and beggary, but who was alive +and affluent, and who sought me with a diligence scarcely inferior to my +own. We imagined ourselves severed from each other by death or by +impassable seas; but, at the moment when our hopes had sunk to the +lowest ebb, a mysterious destiny conducted our footsteps to the same +spot. + +I heard a murmuring exclamation; I heard my hostess call, in a voice of +terror, for help; I rushed into the room; I saw one stretched on the +floor, in the attitude of death; I sprung forward and fixed my eyes upon +her countenance; I clasped my hands and articulated, "Constantia!" + +She speedily recovered from her swoon. Her eyes opened; she moved, she +spoke. Still methought it was an illusion of the senses that created the +phantom. I could not bear to withdraw my eyes from her countenance. If +they wandered for a moment, I fell into doubt and perplexity, and again +fixed them upon her, to assure myself of her existence. + +The succeeding three days were spent in a state of dizziness and +intoxication. The ordinary functions of nature were disturbed. The +appetite for sleep and for food were confounded and lost amidst the +impetuosities of a master-passion. To look and to talk to each other +afforded enchanting occupation for every moment. I would not part from +her side, but eat and slept, walked and mused and read, with my arm +locked in hers, and with her breath fanning my cheek. + +I have indeed much to learn. Sophia Courtland has never been wise. Her +affections disdain the cold dictates of discretion, and spurn at every +limit that contending duties and mixed obligations prescribe. + +And yet, O precious inebriation of the heart! O pre-eminent love! what +pleasure of reason or of sense can stand in competition with those +attendant upon thee? Whether thou hiest to the fanes of a benevolent +deity, or layest all thy homage at the feet of one who most visibly +resembles the perfections of our Maker, surely thy sanction is divine, +thy boon is happiness! + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The tumults of curiosity and pleasure did not speedily subside. The +story of each other's wanderings was told with endless amplification and +minuteness. Henceforth, the stream of our existence was to mix; we were +to act and to think in common; casual witnesses and written testimony +should become superfluous. Eyes and ears were to be eternally employed +upon the conduct of each other; death, when it should come, was not to +be deplored, because it was an unavoidable and brief privation to her +that should survive. Being, under any modification, is dear; but that +state to which death is a passage is all-desirable to virtue and +all-compensating to grief. + +Meanwhile, precedent events were made the themes of endless +conversation. Every incident and passion in the course of four years was +revived and exhibited. The name of Ormond was, of course, frequently +repeated by my friend. His features and deportment were described; her +meditations and resolutions, with regard to him, fully disclosed. My +counsel was asked, in what manner it became her to act. + +I could not but harbour aversion to a scheme which should tend to sever +me from Constantia, or to give me a competitor in her affections. +Besides this, the properties of Ormond were of too mysterious a nature +to make him worthy of acceptance. Little more was known concerning him +than what he himself had disclosed to the Dudleys, but this knowledge +would suffice to invalidate his claims. + +He had dwelt, in his conversations with Constantia, sparingly on his own +concerns. Yet he did not hide from her that he had been left in early +youth to his own guidance; that he had embraced, when almost a child, +the trade of arms; that he had found service and promotion in the armies +of Potemkin and Romanzow; that he had executed secret and diplomatic +functions at Constantinople and Berlin; that in the latter city he had +met with schemers and reasoners who aimed at the new-modelling of the +world, and the subversion of all that has hitherto been conceived +elementary and fundamental in the constitution of man and of government; +that some of those reformers had secretly united to break down the +military and monarchical fabric of German policy; that others, more +wisely, had devoted their secret efforts, not to overturn, but to build; +that, for this end, they embraced an exploring and colonizing project; +that he had allied himself to these, and for the promotion of their +projects had spent six years of his life in journeys by sea and land, in +tracts unfrequented till then by any European. + +What were the moral or political maxims which this adventurous and +visionary sect had adopted, and what was the seat of their new-born +empire,--whether on the shore of an _austral_ continent, or in the heart +of desert America,--he carefully concealed. These were exhibited or +hidden, or shifted, according to his purpose. Not to reveal too much, +and not to tire curiosity or overtask belief, was his daily labour. He +talked of alliance with the family whose name he bore, and who had lost +their honours and estates by the Hanoverian succession to the crown of +England. + +I had seen too much of innovation and imposture, in, France and Italy, +not to regard a man like this with aversion and fear. The mind of my +friend was wavering and unsuspicious. She had lived at a distance from +scenes where principles are hourly put to the test of experiment; where +all extremes of fortitude and pusillanimity are accustomed to meet; +where recluse virtue and speculative heroism gives place, as if by +magic, to the last excesses of debauchery and wickedness; where pillage +and murder are engrafted on systems of all-embracing and self-oblivious +benevolence, and the good of mankind is professed to be pursued with +bonds of association and covenants of secrecy. Hence, my friend had +decided without the sanction of experience, had allowed herself to +wander into untried paths, and had hearkened to positions pregnant with +destruction and ignominy. + +It was not difficult to exhibit in their true light the enormous errors +of this man, and the danger of prolonging their intercourse. Her assent +to accompany me to England was readily obtained. Too much despatch could +not be used; but the disposal of her property must first take place. +This was necessarily productive of some delay. + +I had been made, contrary to inclination, expert in the management of +all affairs relative to property. My mother's lunacy, subsequent +disease, and death, had imposed upon me obligations and cares little +suitable to my sex and age. They could not be eluded or transferred to +others; and, by degrees, experience enlarged my knowledge and +familiarized my tasks. + +It was agreed that I should visit and inspect my friend's estate in +Jersey, while she remained in her present abode, to put an end to the +views and expectations of Ormond, and to make preparation for her +voyage. We were reconciled to a temporary separation by the necessity +that prescribed it. + +During our residence together, the mind of Constantia was kept in +perpetual ferment. The second day after my departure, the turbulence of +her feelings began to subside, and she found herself at leisure to +pursue those measures which her present situation prescribed. + +The time prefixed by Ormond for the termination of his absence had +nearly arrived. Her resolutions respecting this man, lately formed, now +occurred to her. Her heart drooped as she revolved the necessity of +disuniting their fates; but that this disunion was proper could not +admit of doubt. How information of her present views might be most +satisfactorily imparted to him, was a question not instantly decided. +She reflected on the impetuosity of his character, and conceived that +her intentions might be most conveniently unfolded in a letter. This +letter she immediately sat down to write. Just then the door opened, and +Ormond entered the apartment. + +She was somewhat, and for a moment, startled by this abrupt and +unlooked-for entrance. Yet she greeted him with pleasure. Her greeting +was received with coldness. A second glance at his countenance informed +her that his mind was somewhat discomposed. + +Folding his hands on his breast, ho stalked to the window and looked up +at the moon. Presently he withdrew his gaze from this object, and fixed +it upon Constantia. He spoke, but his words were produced by a kind of +effort. + +"Fit emblem," he exclaimed, "of human versatility! One impediment is +gone. I hoped it was the only one. But no! the removal of that merely +made room for another. Let this be removed. Well, fate will interplace a +third. All our toils will thus be frustrated, and the ruin will finally +redound upon our heads." There he stopped. + +This strain could not be interpreted by Constantia. She smiled, and, +without noticing his incoherences, proceeded to inquire into his +adventures during their separation. He listened to her, but his eyes, +fixed upon hers, and his solemnity of aspect, were immovable. When she +paused, he seated himself close to her, and, grasping her hand with a +vehemence that almost pained her, said,-- + +"Look at me; steadfastly. Can you read my thoughts? Can your discernment +reach the bounds of my knowledge and the bottom of my purposes? Catch +you not a view of the monsters that are starting into birth _here_?" +(and he put his left hand to his forehead.) "But you cannot. Should I +paint them to you verbally, you would call me jester or deceiver. What +pity that you have not instruments for piercing into thoughts!" + +"I presume," said Constantia, affecting cheerfulness which she did not +feel, "such instruments would be useless to me. You never scruple to say +what you think. Your designs are no sooner conceived than they are +expressed. All you know, all you wish, and all you purpose, are known +to others as soon as to yourself. No scruples of decorum, no foresight +of consequences, are obstacles in your way." + +"True," replied he; "all obstacles are trampled under foot but one." + +"What is the insuperable one?" + +"Incredulity in him that hears. I must not say what will not be +credited. I must not relate feats and avow schemes, when my hearer will +say, 'Those feats were never performed; these schemes are not yours.' I +care not if the truth of my tenets and the practicability of my purposes +be denied. Still, I will openly maintain them; but when my assertions +will themselves be disbelieved, when it is denied that I adopt the creed +and project the plans which I affirm to be adopted and projected by me, +it is needless to affirm. + +"To-morrow I mean to ascertain the height of the lunar mountains by +travelling to the top of them. Then I will station myself in the track +of the last comet, and wait till its circumvolution suffers me to leap +upon it; then, by walking on its surface, I will ascertain whether it be +hot enough to burn my soles. Do you believe that this can be done?" + +"No." + +"Do you believe, in consequence of my assertion, that I design to do +this, and that, in my apprehension, it is easy to be done?" + +"Not unless I previously believe you to be lunatic." + +"Then why should I assert my purposes? Why speak, when the hearer will +infer nothing from my speech but that I am either lunatic or liar?" + +"In that predicament, silence is best." + +"In that predicament I now stand. I am not going to unfold myself. Just +now, I pitied thee for want of eyes. 'Twas a foolish compassion. Thou +art happy, because thou seest not an inch before thee or behind." Here +he was for a moment buried in thought; then, breaking from his reverie, +he said, "So your father is dead?" + +"True," said Constantia, endeavouring to suppress her rising emotions; +"he is no more. It is so recent an event that I imagined you a stranger +to it." + +"False imagination! Thinkest thou I would refrain from knowing what so +nearly concerns us both? Perhaps your opinion of my ignorance extends +beyond this. Perhaps I know not your fruitless search for a picture. +Perhaps I neither followed you nor led you to a being called Sophia +Courtland. I was not present at the meeting. I am unapprized of the +effects of your romantic passion for each other. I did not witness the +rapturous effusions and inexorable counsels of the newcomer. I know not +the contents of the letter which you are preparing to write." + +As he spoke this, the accents of Ormond gradually augmented in +vehemence. His countenance bespoke a deepening inquietude and growing +passion. He stopped at the mention of the letter, because his voice was +overpowered by emotion. This pause afforded room for the astonishment of +Constantia. Her interviews and conversations with me took place at +seasons of general repose, when all doors were fast and avenues shut, in +the midst of silence, and in the bosom of retirement. The theme of our +discourse was, commonly, too sacred for any ears but our own; +disclosures were of too intimate and delicate a nature for any but a +female audience; they were too injurious to the fame and peace of Ormond +for him to be admitted to partake of them: yet his words implied a full +acquaintance with recent events, and with purposes and deliberations +shrouded, as we imagined, in impenetrable secrecy. + +As soon as Constantia recovered from the confusion of these thoughts, +she eagerly questioned him:--"What do you know? How do you know what has +happened, or what is intended?" + +"Poor Constantia!" he exclaimed, in a tone bitter and sarcastic. "How +hopeless is thy ignorance! To enlighten thee is past my power. What +do I know? Every thing. Not a tittle has escaped me. Thy letter is +superfluous; I know its contents before they are written. I was +to be told that a soldier and a traveller, a man who refused his +faith to dreams, and his homage to shadows, merited only scorn and +forgetfulness. That thy affections and person were due to another; that +intercourse between us was henceforth to cease; that preparation was +making for a voyage to Britain, and that Ormond was to walk to his grave +alone!" + +In spite of harsh tones and inflexible features, these words were +accompanied with somewhat that betrayed a mind full of discord and +agony. Constantia's astonishment was mingled with dejection. The +discovery of a passion deeper and less curable than she suspected--the +perception of embarrassments and difficulties in the path which she had +chosen, that had not previously occurred to her--threw her mind into +anxious suspense. + +The measures she had previously concerted were still approved. To part +from Ormond was enjoined by every dictate of discretion and duty. An +explanation of her motives and views could not take place more +seasonably than at present. Every consideration of justice to herself +and humanity to Ormond made it desirable that this interview should be +the last. By inexplicable means, he had gained a knowledge of her +intentions. It was expedient, therefore, to state them with clearness +and force. In what words this was to be done, was the subject of +momentary deliberation. + +Her thoughts were discerned, and her speech anticipated, by her +companion:--"Why droopest thou, and why thus silent, Constantia? The +secret of thy fate will never be detected. Till thy destiny be finished, +it will not be the topic of a single fear. But not for thyself, but me, +art thou concerned. Thou dreadest, yet determinest, to confirm my +predictions of thy voyage to Europe and thy severance from me. + +"Dismiss thy inquietudes on that score. What misery thy scorn and thy +rejection are able to inflict is inflicted already. Thy decision was +known to me as soon as it was formed. Thy motives were known. Not an +argument or plea of thy counsellor, not a syllable of her invective, not +a sound of her persuasive rhetoric, escaped my hearing. I know thy +decree to be immutable. As my doubts, so my wishes have taken their +flight. Perhaps, in the depth of thy ignorance, it was supposed that I +should struggle to reverse thy purpose by menaces or supplications; that +I should boast of the cruelty with which I should avenge an imaginary +wrong upon myself. No. All is very well. Go. Not a whisper of objection +or reluctance shalt thou hear from me." + +"If I could think," said Constantia, with tremulous hesitation, "that +you part from me without anger; that you see the rectitude of my +proceeding--" + +"Anger! Rectitude! I pr'ythee, peace. I know thou art going.--I know +that all objection to thy purpose would be vain. Thinkest thou that thy +stay, undictated by love, the mere fruit of compassion, would afford me +pleasure or crown my wishes? No. I am not so dastardly a wretch. There +was something in thy power to bestow, but thy will accords not with thy +power. I merit not the boon, and thou refusest it. I am content." + +Here Ormond fixed more significant eyes upon her. "Poor Constantia!" he +continued. "Shall I warn thee of the danger that awaits thee? For what +end? To elude it is impossible. It will come, and thou, perhaps, wilt be +unhappy. Foresight that enables not to shun, only precreates, the evil. + +"Come it will. Though future, it knows not the empire of contingency. An +inexorable and immutable decree enjoins it. Perhaps it is thy nature to +meet with calmness what cannot be shunned. Perhaps, when it is past, thy +reason will perceive its irrevocable nature, and restore thee to peace. +Such is the conduct of the wise; but such, I fear, the education of +Constantia Dudley will debar her from pursuing. + +"Fain would I regard it as the test of thy wisdom. I look upon thy past +life. All the forms of genuine adversity have beset thy youth. Poverty, +disease, servile labour, a criminal and hapless parent, have been evils +which thou hast not ungracefully sustained. An absent friend and +murdered father were added to thy list of woes, and here thy courage was +deficient. Thy soul was proof against substantial misery, but sunk into +helpless cowardice at the sight of phantoms. + +"One more disaster remains. To call it by its true name would be useless +or pernicious. Useless, because thou wouldst pronounce its occurrence +impossible; pernicious, because, if its possibility were granted, the +omen would distract thee with fear. How shall I describe it? Is it loss +of fame? No. The deed will be unwitnessed by a human creature. Thy +reputation will be spotless, for nothing will be done by thee unsuitable +to the tenor of thy past life. Calumny will not be heard to whisper. All +that know thee will be lavish of their eulogies as ever. Their eulogies +will be as justly merited. Of this merit thou wilt entertain as just and +as adequate conceptions as now. + +"It is no repetition of the evils thou hast already endured; it is +neither drudgery, nor sickness, nor privation of friends. Strange +perverseness of human reason! It is an evil; it will be thought upon +with agony; it will close up all the sources of pleasurable +recollection; it will exterminate hope; it will endear oblivion, and +push thee into an untimely grave. Yet to grasp it is impossible. The +moment we inspect it nearly, it vanishes. Thy claims to human +approbation and divine applause will be undiminished and unaltered by +it. The testimony of approving conscience will have lost none of its +explicitness and energy. Yet thou wilt feed upon sighs; thy tears will +flow without remission; thou wilt grow enamoured of death, and perhaps +wilt anticipate the stroke of disease. + +"Yet perhaps my prediction is groundless as my knowledge. Perhaps thy +discernment will avail to make thee wise and happy. Perhaps thou wilt +perceive thy privilege of sympathetic and intellectual activity to be +untouched. Heaven grant the non-fulfilment of my prophecy, thy +disenthralment from error, and the perpetuation of thy happiness." + +Saying this, Ormond withdrew. His words were always accompanied with +gestures and looks and tones that fastened the attention of the hearer; +but the terms of his present discourse afforded, independently of +gesticulation and utterance, sufficient motives to attention and +remembrance. He was gone, but his image was contemplated by Constantia; +his words still rung in her ears. + +The letter she designed to compose was rendered, by this interview, +unnecessary. Meanings of which she and her friend alone were conscious +were discovered by Ormond, through some other medium than words; yet +that was impossible. A being unendowed with preternatural attributes +could gain the information which this man possessed, only by the +exertion of his senses. + +All human precautions had been used to baffle the attempts of any secret +witness. She recalled to mind the circumstances in which conversations +with her friend had taken place. All had been retirement, secrecy, and +silence. The hours usually dedicated to sleep had been devoted to this +better purpose. Much had been said, in a voice low and scarcely louder +than a whisper. To have overheard it at the distance of a few feet was +apparently impossible. + +Their conversations had not been recorded by her. It could not be +believed that this had been done by Sophia Courtland. Had Ormond and her +friend met during the interval that had elapsed between her separation +from the latter and her meeting with the former? Human events are +conjoined by links imperceptible to keenest eyes. Of Ormond's means of +information she was wholly unapprized. Perhaps accident would some time +unfold them. One thing was incontestable:--that her schemes and her +reasons for adopting them were known to him. + +What unforeseen effects had that knowledge produced! In what ambiguous +terms had he couched his prognostics of some mighty evil that awaited +her! He had given a terrible but contradictory description of her +destiny. An event was to happen, akin to no calamity which she had +already endured, disconnected with all which the imagination of man is +accustomed to deprecate, capable of urging her to suicide, and yet of a +kind which left it undecided whether she would regard it with +indifference. + +What reliance should she place upon prophetic incoherences thus wild? +What precautions should she take against a danger thus inscrutable and +imminent? + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +These incidents and reflections were speedily transmitted to me. I had +always believed the character and machinations of Ormond to be worthy of +caution and fear. His means of information I did not pretend, and +thought it useless, to investigate. We cannot hide our actions and +thoughts from one of powerful sagacity, whom the detection sufficiently +interests to make him use all the methods of detection in his power. The +study of concealment is, in all cases, fruitless or hurtful. All that +duty enjoins is to design and to execute nothing which may not be +approved by a divine and omniscient Observer. Human scrutiny is neither +to be solicited nor shunned. Human approbation or censure can never be +exempt from injustice, because our limited perceptions debar us from a +thorough knowledge of any actions and motives but our own. + +On reviewing what had passed between Constantia and me, I recollected +nothing incompatible with purity and rectitude. That Ormond was apprized +of all that had passed, I by no means inferred from the tenor of his +conversation with Constantia; nor, if this had been incontestably +proved, should I have experienced any trepidation or anxiety on that +account. + +His obscure and indirect menaces of evil were of more importance. His +discourse on this topic seemed susceptible only of two constructions. +Either he intended some fatal mischief, and was willing to torment her +by fears, while he concealed from her the nature of her danger, that he +might hinder her from guarding her safety by suitable precautions; or, +being hopeless of rendering her propitious to his wishes, his malice was +satisfied with leaving her a legacy of apprehension and doubt. +Constantia's unacquaintance with the doctrines of that school in which +Ormond was probably instructed led her to regard the conduct of this man +with more curiosity and wonder than fear. She saw nothing but a +disposition to sport with her ignorance and bewilder her with doubts. + +I do not believe myself destitute of courage. Rightly to estimate the +danger and encounter it with firmness are worthy of a rational being; +but to place our security in thoughtlessness and blindness is only less +ignoble than cowardice. I could not forget the proofs of violence which +accompanied the death of Mr. Dudley. I could not overlook, in the recent +conversation with Constantia, Ormond's allusion to her murdered father. +It was possible that the nature of this death had been accidentally +imparted to him; but it was likewise possible that his was the knowledge +of one who performed the act. + +The enormity of this deed appeared by no means incongruous with the +sentiments of Ormond. Human life is momentous or trivial in our eyes, +according to the course which our habits and opinions have taken. +Passion greedily accepts, and habit readily offers, the sacrifice of +another's life, and reason obeys the impulse of education and desire. + +A youth of eighteen, a volunteer in a Russian army encamped in +Bessarabia, made prey of a Tartar girl, found in the field of a recent +battle. Conducting her to his quarters, he met a friend, who, on some +pretence, claimed the victim. From angry words they betook themselves to +swords. A combat ensued, in which the first claimant ran his antagonist +through the body. He then bore his prize unmolested away, and, having +exercised brutality of one kind upon the helpless victim, stabbed her to +the heart, as an offering to the _manes_ of Sarsefield, the friend whom +he had slain. Next morning, willing more signally to expiate his guilt, +he rushed alone upon a troop of Turkish foragers, and brought away five +heads, suspended, by their gory locks, to his horse's mane. These he +cast upon the grave of Sarsefield, and conceived himself fully to have +expiated yesterday's offence. In reward for his prowess, the general +gave him a commission in the Cossack troops. This youth was Ormond; and +such is a specimen of his exploits during a military career of eight +years, in a warfare the most savage and implacable, and, at the same +time, the most iniquitous and wanton, which history records. + +With passions and habits like these, the life of another was a trifling +sacrifice to vengeance or impatience. How Mr. Dudley had excited the +resentment of Ormond, by what means the assassin had accomplished his +intention without awakening alarm or incurring suspicion, it was not for +me to discover. The inextricability of human events, the imperviousness +of cunning, and the obduracy of malice, I had frequent occasions to +remark. + +I did not labour to vanquish the security of my friend. As to +precautions, they were useless. There was no fortress, guarded by +barriers of stone and iron and watched by sentinels that never slept, to +which she might retire from his stratagems. If there were such a +retreat, it would scarcely avail her against a foe circumspect and +subtle as Ormond. + +I pondered on the condition of my friend. I reviewed the incidents of +her life. I compared her lot with that of others. I could not but +discover a sort of incurable malignity in her fate. I felt as if it were +denied to her to enjoy a long life or permanent tranquillity. I asked +myself what she had done, entitling her to this incessant persecution. +Impatience and murmuring took place of sorrow and fear in my heart. When +I reflected that all human agency was merely subservient to a divine +purpose, I fell into fits of accusation and impiety. + +This injustice was transient, and soberer views convinced me that every +scheme, comprising the whole, must be productive of partial and +temporary evil. The sufferings of Constantia were limited to a moment; +they were the unavoidable appendages of terrestrial existence; they +formed the only avenue to wisdom, and the only claim to uninterrupted +fruition and eternal repose in an after-scene. + +The course of my reflections, and the issue to which they led, were +unforeseen by myself. Fondly as I doted upon this woman, methought I +could resign her to the grave without a murmur or a tear. While my +thoughts were calmed by resignation, and my fancy occupied with nothing +but the briefness of that space and evanescence of that time which +severs the living from the dead, I contemplated, almost with +complacency, a violent or untimely close to her existence. + +This loftiness of mind could not always be accomplished or constantly +maintained. One effect of my fears was to hasten my departure to Europe. +There existed no impediment but the want of a suitable conveyance. In +the first packet that should leave America, it was determined to secure +a passage. Mr. Melbourne consented to take charge of Constantia's +property, and, after the sale of it, to transmit to her the money that +should thence arise. + +Meanwhile, I was anxious that Constantia should leave her present abode +and join me in New York. She willingly adopted this arrangement, but +conceived it necessary to spend a few days at her house in Jersey. She +could reach the latter place without much deviation from the straight +road, and she was desirous of resurveying a spot where many of her +infantile days had been spent. + +This house and domain I have already mentioned to have once belonged to +Mr. Dudley. It was selected with the judgement and adorned with the taste +of a disciple of the schools of Florence and Vicenza. In his view, +cultivation was subservient to the picturesque, and a mansion was +erected, eminent for nothing but chastity of ornaments and simplicity of +structure. The massive parts were of stone; the outer surfaces were +smooth, snow-white, and diversified by apertures and cornices, in which +a cement uncommonly tenacious was wrought into proportions the most +correct and forms the most graceful. The floors, walls, and ceilings, +consisted of a still more exquisitely-tempered substance, and were +painted by Mr. Dudley's own hand. All appendages of this building, as +seats, tables, and cabinets, were modelled by the owner's particular +direction, and in a manner scrupulously classical. + +He had scarcely entered on the enjoyment of this splendid possession, +when it was ravished away. No privation was endured with more impatience +than this; but, happily, it was purchased by one who left Mr. Dudley's +arrangements unmolested, and who shortly after conveyed it entire to +Ormond. By him it was finally appropriated to the use of Helena Cleves, +and now, by a singular contexture of events, it had reverted to those +hands in which the death of the original proprietor, if no other change +had been made in his condition, would have left it. The farm still +remained in the tenure of a German emigrant, who held it partly on +condition of preserving the garden and mansion in safety and in perfect +order. + +This retreat was now revisited by Constantia, after an interval of four +years. Autumn had made some progress, but the aspect of nature was, so +to speak, more significant than at any other season. She was agreeably +accommodated under the tenant's roof, and found a nameless pleasure in +traversing spaces in which every object prompted an endless train of +recollections. + +Her sensations were not foreseen. They led to a state of mind +inconsistent, in some degree, with the projects adopted in obedience to +the suggestions of a friend. Every thing in this scene had been created +and modelled by the genius of her father. It was a kind of fane, +sanctified by his imaginary presence. + +To consign the fruits of his industry and invention to foreign and +unsparing hands seemed a kind of sacrilege, for which she almost feared +that the dead would rise to upbraid her. Those images which bind us to +our natal soil, to the abode of our innocent and careless youth, were +recalled to her fancy by the scenes which she now beheld. These were +enforced by considerations of the dangers which attended her voyage from +storms and from enemies, and from the tendency to revolution and war +which seemed to actuate all the nations of Europe. Her native country +was by no means exempt from similar tendencies, but these evils were +less imminent, and its manners and government, in their present +modifications, were unspeakably more favourable to the dignity and +improvement of the human race than those which prevailed in any part of +the ancient world. + +My solicitations and my obligation to repair to England overweighed her +objections, but her new reflections led her to form new determinations +with regard to this part of her property. She concluded to retain +possession, and hoped that some future event would allow her to return +to this favourite spot without forfeiture of my society. An abode of +some years in Europe would more eminently qualify her for the enjoyment +of retirement and safety in her native country. The time that should +elapse before her embarkation, she was desirous of passing among the +shades of this romantic retreat. + +I was by no means reconciled to this proceeding. I loved my friend too +well to endure any needless separation without repining. In addition to +this, the image of Ormond haunted my thoughts, and gave birth to +incessant but indefinable fears. I believed that her safety would very +little depend upon the nature of her abode, or the number or +watchfulness of her companions. My nearness to her person would +frustrate no stratagem, nor promote any other end than my own +entanglement in the same fold. Still, that I was not apprized each hour +of her condition, that her state was lonely and sequestered, were +sources of disquiet, the obvious remedy to which was her coming to New +York. Preparations for departure were assigned to me, and these required +my continuance in the city. + +Once a week, Laffert, her tenant, visited, for purposes of traffic, the +city. He was the medium of our correspondence. To him I intrusted a +letter, in which my dissatisfaction at her absence, and the causes which +gave it birth, were freely confessed. + +The confidence of safety seldom deserted my friend. Since her mysterious +conversation with Ormond, he had utterly vanished. Previous to that +interview, his visits or his letters were incessant and punctual; but +since, no token was given that he existed. Two months had elapsed. He +gave her no reason to expect a cessation of intercourse. He had parted +from her with his usual abruptness and informality. She did not conceive +it incumbent on her to search him out, but she would not have been +displeased with an opportunity to discuss with him more fully the +motives of her conduct. This opportunity had been hitherto denied. + +Her occupations in her present retreat were, for the most part, dictated +by caprice or by chance. The mildness of autumn permitted her to ramble, +during the day, from one rock and one grove to another. There was a +luxury in musing, and in the sensations which the scenery and silence +produced, which, in consequence of her long estrangement from them, were +accompanied with all the attractions of novelty, and from which she +would not consent to withdraw. + +In the evening she usually retired to the mansion, and shut herself up +in that apartment which, in the original structure of the house, had +been designed for study, and no part of whose furniture had been removed +or displaced. It was a kind of closet on the second floor, illuminated +by a spacious window, through which a landscape of uncommon amplitude +and beauty was presented to the view. Here the pleasures of the day were +revived, by recalling and enumerating them in letters to her friend. She +always quitted this recess with reluctance, and seldom till the night +was half spent. + +One evening she retired hither when the sun had just dipped beneath the +horizon. Her implements of writing were prepared; but, before the pen +was assumed, her eyes rested for a moment on the variegated hues which +were poured out upon the western sky and upon the scene of intermingled +waters, copses, and fields. The view comprised a part of the road which +led to this dwelling. It was partially and distantly seen, and the +passage of horses or men was betokened chiefly by the dust which was +raised by their footsteps. + +A token of this kind now caught her attention. It fixed her eye chiefly +by the picturesque effect produced by interposing its obscurity between +her and the splendours which the sun had left. Presently she gained a +faint view of a man and horse. This circumstance laid no claim to +attention, and she was withdrawing her eye, when the traveller's +stopping and dismounting at the gate made her renew her scrutiny. This +was reinforced by something in the figure and movements of the horseman +which reminded her of Ormond. + +She started from her seat with some degree of palpitation. Whence this +arose, whether from fear or from joy, or from intermixed emotions, it +would not be easy to ascertain. Having entered the gate, the visitant, +remounting his horse, set the animal on full speed. Every moment brought +him nearer, and added to her first belief. He stopped not till he +reached the mansion. The person of Ormond was distinctly recognised. + +An interview at this dusky and lonely hour, in circumstances so abrupt +and unexpected, could not fail to surprise, and, in some degree, to +alarm. The substance of his last conversation was recalled. The evils +which were darkly and ambiguously predicted thronged to her memory. It +seemed as if the present moment was to be, in some way, decisive of her +fate. This visit she did not hesitate to suppose designed for her, but +somewhat uncommonly momentous must have prompted him to take so long a +journey. + +The rooms on the lower floor were dark, the windows and doors being +fastened. She had entered the house by the principal door, and this was +the only one at present unlocked. The room in which she sat was over the +hall, and the massive door beneath could not be opened without noisy +signals. The question that occurred to her, by what means Ormond would +gain admittance to her presence, she supposed would be instantly +decided. She listened to hear his footsteps on the pavement, or the +creaking of hinges. The silence, however, continued profound as before. + +After a minute's pause, she approached the window more nearly and +endeavoured to gain a view of the space before the house. She saw +nothing but the horse, whose bridle was thrown over his neck, and who +was left at liberty to pick up what scanty herbage the lawn afforded to +his hunger. The rider had disappeared. + +It now occurred to her that this visit had a purpose different from that +which she at first conjectured. It was easily conceived that Ormond was +unacquainted with her residence at this spot. The knowledge could only +be imparted to him by indirect or illicit means. That these means had +been employed by him, she was by no means authorized to infer from the +silence and distance he had lately maintained. But if an interview with +her were not the purpose of his coming, how should she interpret it? + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +While occupied with these reflections, the light hastily disappeared, +and darkness, rendered, by a cloudy atmosphere, uncommonly intense, +succeeded. She had the means of lighting a lamp that hung against the +wall, but had been too much immersed in thought to notice the deepening +of the gloom. Recovering from her reverie, she looked around her with +some degree of trepidation, and prepared to strike a spark that would +enable her to light her lamp. + +She had hitherto indulged an habitual indifference to danger. Now the +presence of Ormond, the unknown purpose that led him hither, and the +defencelessness of her condition, inspired her with apprehensions to +which she had hitherto been a stranger. She had been accustomed to pass +many nocturnal hours in this closet. Till now, nothing had occurred that +made her enter it with circumspection or continue in it with reluctance. + +Her sensations were no longer tranquil. Each minute that she spent in +this recess appeared to multiply her hazards. To linger here appeared to +her the height of culpable temerity. She hastily resolved to return to +the farmer's dwelling, and, on the morrow, to repair to New York. For +this end she was desirous to produce a light. The materials were at +hand. + +She lifted her hand to strike the flint, when her ear caught a sound +which betokened the opening of the door that led into the next +apartment. Her motion was suspended, and she listened as well as a +throbbing heart would permit. That Ormond's was the hand that opened, +was the first suggestion of her fears. The motives of this unseasonable +entrance could not be reconciled with her safety. He had given no +warning of his approach, and the door was opened with tardiness and +seeming caution. + +Sounds continued, of which no distinct conception could be obtained, or +the cause that produced them assigned. The floors of every apartment +being composed, like the walls and ceiling, of cement, footsteps were +rendered almost undistinguishable. It was plain, however, that some one +approached her own door. + +The panic and confusion that now invaded her was owing to surprise, and +to the singularity of her situation. The mansion was desolate and +lonely. It was night. She was immersed in darkness. She had not the +means, and was unaccustomed to the office, of repelling personal +injuries. What injuries she had reason to dread, who was the agent, and +what were his motives, were subjects Of vague and incoherent meditation. + +Meanwhile, low and imperfect sounds, that had in them more of inanimate +than human, assailed her ear. Presently they ceased. An inexplicable +fear deterred her from calling. Light would have exercised a friendly +influence. This it was in her power to produce, but not without motion +and noise; and these, by occasioning the discovery of her being in the +closet, might possibly enhance her danger. + +Conceptions like these were unworthy of the mind of Constantia. An +interval of silence succeeded, interrupted only by the whistling of the +blast without. It was sufficient for the restoration of her courage. She +blushed at the cowardice which had trembled at a sound. She considered +that Ormond might, indeed, be near, but that he was probably unconscious +of her situation. His coming was not with the circumspection of an +enemy. He might be acquainted with the place of her retreat, and had +come to obtain an interview, with no clandestine or mysterious purposes. +The noises she had heard had, doubtless, proceeded from the next +apartment, but might be produced by some harmless or vagrant creature. + +These considerations restored her tranquillity. They enabled her, +deliberately, to create a light, but they did not dissuade her from +leaving the house. Omens of evil seemed to be connected with this +solitary and darksome abode. Besides, Ormond had unquestionably entered +upon this scene It could not be doubted that she was the object of his +visit. The farm-house was a place of meeting more suitable and safe than +any other. Thither, therefore, she determined immediately to return. + +The closet had but one door, and this led into the chamber where the +sounds had arisen. Through this chamber, therefore, she was obliged to +pass, in order to reach the staircase, which terminated in the hall +below. + +Bearing the light in her left hand, she withdrew the bolt of the door +and opened. In spite of courageous efforts, she opened with +unwillingness, and shuddered to throw a glance forward or advance a step +into the room. This was not needed, to reveal to her the cause of her +late disturbance. Her eye instantly lighted on the body of a man, +supine, motionless, stretched on the floor, close to the door through +which she was about to pass. + +A spectacle like this was qualified to startle her. She shrunk back, and +fixed a more steadfast eye upon the prostrate person. There was no mark +of blood or of wounds, but there was something in the attitude more +significant of death than of sleep. His face rested on the floor, and +his ragged locks concealed what part of his visage was not hidden by his +posture. His garb was characterized by fashionable elegance, but was +polluted with dust. + +The image that first occurred to her was that of Ormond. This instantly +gave place to another, which was familiar to her apprehension. It was at +first too indistinctly seen to suggest a name. She continued to gaze and +to be lost in fearful astonishment. Was this the person whose entrance +had been overheard, and who had dragged himself hither to die at her +door? Yet, in that case, would not groans and expiring efforts have +testified his condition and invoked her succour? Was he not brought +hither in the arms of his assassin? She mused upon the possible motives +that induced some one thus to act, and upon the connection that might +subsist between her destiny and that of the dead. + +Her meditations, however fruitless in other respects, could not fail to +show her the propriety of hastening from this spot. To scrutinize the +form or face of the dead was a task to which her courage was unequal. +Suitably accompanied and guarded, she would not scruple to return and +ascertain, by the most sedulous examination, the cause of this ominous +event. + +She stepped over the breathless corpse, and hurried to the staircase. It +became her to maintain the command of her muscles and joints, and to +proceed without faltering or hesitation. Scarcely had she reached the +entrance of the hall, when, casting anxious looks forward, she beheld a +human figure. No scrutiny was requisite to inform her that this was +Ormond. + +She stopped. He approached her with looks and gestures placid but +solemn. There was nothing in his countenance rugged or malignant. On the +contrary, there were tokens of compassion. + +"So," said he, "I expected to meet you. Alight, gleaming from the +window, marked you out. This and Laffert's directions have guided me." + +"What," said Constantia, with discomposure in her accent, "was your +motive for seeking me?" + +"Have you forgotten," said Ormond, "what passed at our last interview? +The evil that I then predicted is at hand. Perhaps you were incredulous; +you accounted me a madman or deceiver; now I am come to witness the +fulfilment of my words and the completion of your destiny. To rescue you +I have not come: that is not within the compass of human powers. + +"Poor Constantia," he continued, in tones that manifested genuine +sympathy, "look upon thyself as lost. The toils that beset thee are +inextricable. Summon up thy patience to endure the evil. Now will the +last and heaviest trial betide thy fortitude. I could weep for thee, if +my manly nature would permit. This is the scene of thy calamity, and +this the hour." + +These words were adapted to excite curiosity mingled with terror. +Ormond's deportment was of an unexampled tenor, as well as that evil +which he had so ambiguously predicted. He offered no protection from +danger, and yet gave no proof of being himself an agent or auxiliary. +After a minute's pause, Constantia, recovering a firm tone, said,-- + +"Mr. Ormond, your recent deportment but ill accords with your +professions of sincerity and plain dealing. What your purpose is, or +whether you have any purpose, I am at a loss to conjecture. Whether you +most deserve censure or ridicule, is a point which you afford me not the +means of deciding, and to which, unless on your own account, I am +indifferent. If you are willing to be more explicit, or if there be any +topic on which you wish further to converse, I will not refuse your +company to Laffert's dwelling. Longer to remain here would be indiscreet +and absurd." + +So saying, she motioned towards the door. Ormond was passive, and seemed +indisposed to prevent her departure, till she laid her hand upon the +lock. He then, without moving from his place, exclaimed,-- + +"Stay! Must this meeting, which fate ordains to be the last, be so +short? Must a time and place so suitable for what remains to be said and +done be neglected or misused? No. You charge me with duplicity, and deem +my conduct either ridiculous or criminal. I have stated my reasons for +concealment, but these have failed to convince you. Well, here is now an +end to doubt. All ambiguities are preparing to vanish." + +When Ormond began to speak, Constantia paused to hearken to him. His +vehemence was not of that nature which threatened to obstruct her +passage. It was by entreaty that he apparently endeavoured to detain her +steps, and not by violence. Hence arose her patience to listen. He +continued:-- + +"Constantia! thy father is dead. Art thou not desirous of detecting the +author of his fate? Will it afford thee no consolation to know that the +deed is punished? Wilt thou suffer me to drag the murderer to thy feet? +Thy justice will be gratified by this sacrifice. Somewhat will be due to +him who avenged thy wrong in the blood of the perpetrator. What sayest +thou? Grant me thy permission, and in a moment I will drag him hither." + +These words called up the image of the person whose corpse she had +lately seen. It was readily conceived that to him Ormond alluded; but +this was the assassin of her father, and his crime had been detected and +punished by Ormond! These images had no other effect than to urge her +departure: she again applied her hand to the lock, and said,-- + +"This scene must not be prolonged. My father's death I desire not to +hear explained or to see revenged, but whatever information you are +willing or able to communicate must be deferred." + +"Nay," interrupted Ormond, with augmented vehemence, "art thou equally +devoid of curiosity and justice? Thinkest thou that the enmity which +bereft thy father of life will not seek thy own? There are evils which I +cannot prevent thee from enduring, but there are, likewise, ills which +my counsel will enable thee and thy friend to shun. Save me from +witnessing thy death. Thy father's destiny is sealed; all that remained +was to punish his assassin; but thou and thy Sophia still live. Why +should ye perish by a like stroke?" + +This intimation was sufficient to arrest the steps of Constantia. She +withdrew her hand from the door, and fixed eyes of the deepest anxiety +on Ormond:--"What mean you? How am I to understand--" + +"Ah!" said Ormond, "I see thou wilt consent to stay. Thy detention shall +not be long. Remain where thou art during one moment,--merely while I +drag hither thy enemy and show thee a visage which thou wilt not be slow +to recognise." Saying this, he hastily ascended the staircase, and +quickly passed beyond her sight. + +Deportment thus mysterious could not fail of bewildering her thoughts. +There was somewhat in the looks and accents of Ormond, different from +former appearances; tokens of a hidden purpose and a smothered meaning +were perceptible,--a mixture of the inoffensive and the lawless, which, +added to the loneliness and silence that encompassed her, produced a +faltering emotion. Her curiosity was overpowered by her fear, and the +resolution was suddenly conceived of seizing this opportunity to escape. + +A third time she put her hand to the lock and attempted to open. The +effort was ineffectual. The door that was accustomed to obey the +gentlest touch was now immovable. She had lately unlocked and passed +through it. Her eager inspection convinced her that the principal bolt +was still withdrawn, but a small one was now perceived, of whose +existence she had not been apprized, and over which her key had no +power. + +Now did she first harbour a fear that was intelligible in its dictates. +Now did she first perceive herself sinking in the toils of some lurking +enemy. Hope whispered that this foe was not Ormond. His conduct had +bespoken no willingness to put constraint upon her steps. He talked not +as if he was aware of this obstruction, and yet his seeming acquiescence +might have flowed from a knowledge that she had no power to remove +beyond his reach. + +He warned her of danger to her life, of which he was her self-appointed +rescuer. His counsel was to arm her with sufficient caution; the peril +that awaited her was imminent; this was the time and place of its +occurrence, and here she was compelled to remain, till the power that +fastened would condescend to loose the door. There were other avenues to +the hall. These were accustomed to be locked; but Ormond had found +access, and, if all continued fast, it was incontestable that he was the +author of this new impediment. + +The other avenues were hastily examined. All were bolted and locked. The +first impulse led her to call for help from without; but the mansion was +distant from Laffert's habitation. This spot was wholly unfrequented. No +passenger was likely to be stationed where her call could be heard. +Besides, this forcible detention might operate for a short time, and be +attended with no mischievous consequences. Whatever was to come, it was +her duty to collect her courage and encounter it. + +Tho steps of Ormond above now gave tokens of his approach. Vigilant +observance of this man was all that her situation permitted. A vehement +effort restored her to some degree of composure. Her stifled +palpitations allowed her steadfastly to notice him as he now descended +the stairs, bearing a lifeless body in his arms. "There!" said he, as he +cast it at her feet; "whose countenance is that? Who would imagine that +features like those belonged to an assassin and impostor?" + +Closed eyelids and fallen muscles could not hide from her lineaments so +often seen. She shrunk back and exclaimed, "Thomas Craig!" + +A pause succeeded, in which she alternately gazed at the countenance of +this unfortunate wretch and at Ormond. At length, the latter +exclaimed,-- + +"Well, my girl, hast thou examined him? Dost thou recognise a friend or +an enemy?" + +"I know him well: but how came this? What purpose brought him hither? +Who was the author of his fate?" + +"Have I not already told thee that Ormond was his own avenger and thine? +To thee and to me he has been a robber. To him thy father is indebted +for the loss not only of property but life. Did crimes like these merit +a less punishment? And what recompense is due to him whose vigilance +pursued him hither and made him pay for his offences with his blood? +What benefit have I received at thy hand to authorize me, for thy sake, +to take away his life?" + +"No benefit received from me," said Constantia, "would justify such an +act. I should have abhorred myself for annexing to my benefits so bloody +a condition. It calls for no gratitude or recompense. Its suitable +attendant is remorse. That he is a thief, I know but too well; that my +father died by his hand is incredible. No motives or means--" + +"Why so?" interrupted Ormond. "Does not sleep seal up the senses? Cannot +closets be unlocked at midnight? Cannot adjoining houses communicate by +doors? Cannot these doors be hidden from suspicion by a sheet of +canvas?" + +These words were of startling and abundant import. They reminded her of +circumstances in her father's chamber, which sufficiently explained the +means by which his life was assailed. The closet, and its canvas-covered +wall; the adjoining house untenanted and shut up--but this house, though +unoccupied, belonged to Ormond. From the inferences which flowed hence, +her attention was withdrawn by her companion, who continued:-- + +"Do these means imply the interposal of a miracle? His motives? What +scruples can be expected from a man inured from infancy to cunning and +pillage? Will he abstain from murder when urged by excruciating poverty, +by menaces of persecution, by terror of expiring on the gallows?" + +Tumultuous suspicions were now awakened in the mind of Constantia. Her +faltering voice scarcely allowed her to ask, "How know _you_ that Craig +was thus guilty?--that these were his incitements and means?" + +Ormond's solemnity now gave place to a tone of sarcasm and looks of +exultation:--"Poor Constantia! Thou art still pestered with incredulity +and doubts! My veracity is still in question! My knowledge, girl, is +infallible. That these were his means of access I cannot be ignorant, +for I pointed them out. He was urged by these motives, for they were +stated and enforced by me. His was the deed, for I stood beside him when +it was done." + +These, indeed, were terms that stood in no need of further explanation. +The veil that shrouded this formidable being was lifted high enough to +make him be regarded with inexplicable horror. What his future acts +should be, how his omens of ill were to be solved, were still involved +in uncertainty. + +In the midst of fears for her own safety, by which Constantia was now +assailed, the image of her father was revived; keen regret and vehement +upbraiding were conjured up. + +"Craig, then, was the instrument, and yours the instigation, that +destroyed my father! In what had he offended you? What cause had he +given for resentment?" + +"Cause!" replied he, with impetuous accents. "Resentment! None. My +motive was benevolent; my deed conferred a benefit. I gave him sight and +took away his life, from motives equally wise. Know you not that Ormond +was fool enough to set value on the affections of a woman? These were +sought with preposterous anxiety and endless labour. Among other +facilitators of his purpose, he summoned gratitude to his aid. To +snatch you from poverty, to restore his sight to your father, were +expected to operate as incentives to love. + +"But here I was the dupe of error. A thousand prejudices stood in my +way. These, provided our intercourse were not obstructed, I hoped to +subdue. The rage of innovation seized your father: this, blended with a +mortal antipathy to me, made him labour to seduce you from the bosom of +your peaceful country; to make you enter on a boisterous sea; to visit +lands where all is havoc and hostility; to snatch you from the influence +of my arguments. + +"This new obstacle I was bound to remove. While revolving the means, +chance and his evil destiny threw Craig in my way. I soon convinced him +that his reputation and his life were in my hands. His retention of +these depended upon my will, on the performance of conditions which I +prescribed. + +"My happiness and yours depended on your concurrence with my wishes. +Your father's life was an obstacle to your concurrence. For killing him, +therefore, I may claim your gratitude. His death was a due and +disinterested offering at the altar of your felicity and mine. + +"My deed was not injurious to him. At his age, death, whose coming at +some period is inevitable, could not be distant. To make it unforeseen +and brief, and void of pain,--to preclude the torments of a lingering +malady, a slow and visible descent to the grave,--was the dictate of +beneficence. But of what value was a continuance of his life? Either you +would have gone with him to Europe or have stayed at home with me. In +the first case, his life would have been rapidly consumed by perils and +cares. In the second, separation from you, and union with me,--a being +so detestable,--would equally have poisoned his existence. + +"Craig's cowardice and crimes made him a pliant and commodious tool. I +pointed out the way. The unsuspected door which led into the closet of +your father's chamber was made, by my direction, during the life of +Helena. By this avenue I was wont to post myself where all your +conversations could be overheard. By this avenue an entrance and +retreat were afforded to the agent of my newest purpose. + +"Fool that I was! I solaced myself with the belief that all impediments +were now smoothed, when a new enemy appeared. My folly lasted as long as +my hope. I saw that to gain your affections, fortified by antiquated +scruples and obsequious to the guidance of this new monitor, was +impossible. It is not my way to toil after that which is beyond my +reach. If the greater good be inaccessible, I learn to be contented with +the less. + +"I have served you with successless sedulity. I have set an engine in +act to obliterate an obstacle to your felicity, and lay your father at +rest. Under my guidance, this engine was productive only of good. +Governed by itself or by another, it will only work you harm. I have, +therefore, hastened to destroy it. Lo! it is now before you motionless +and impotent. + +"For this complexity of benefit I look for no reward. I am not tired of +well-doing. Having ceased to labour for an unattainable good, I have +come hither to possess myself of all that I now crave, and by the same +deed to afford you an illustrious opportunity to signalize your wisdom +and your fortitude." + +During this speech, the mind of Constantia became more deeply pervaded +with dread of some overhanging but incomprehensible evil. The strongest +impulse was to gain a safe asylum, at a distance from this spot and from +the presence of this extraordinary being. This impulse was followed by +the recollection that her liberty was taken away, that egress from the +hall was denied her, and that this restriction might be part of some +conspiracy of Ormond against her life. + +Security from danger like this would be, in the first place, sought, by +one of Constantia's sex and opinions, in flight. This had been rendered, +by some fatal chance or by the precautions of her foe, impracticable. +Stratagem or force was all that remained to elude or disarm her +adversary. For the contrivance and execution of fraud, all the habits of +her life and all the maxims of her education had conspired to unfit her. +Her force of muscles would avail her nothing against the superior +energy of Ormond. + +She remembered that to inflict death was no iniquitous exertion of +self-defence, and that the penknife which she held in her hand was +capable of this service. She had used it to remove any lurking +obstruction in the wards of her key, supposing, for a time, this to be +the cause of her failing to withdraw the bolt of the door. This resource +was, indeed, scarcely less disastrous and deplorable than any fate from +which it could rescue her. Some uncertainty still involved the +intentions of Ormond. As soon as he paused, she spoke:-- + +"How am I to understand this prelude? Let me know the full extent of my +danger,--why it is that I am hindered from leaving this house, and why +this interview was sought." + +"Ah, Constantia, this, indeed, is merely a prelude to a scene that is to +terminate my influence over thy fate. When this is past I have sworn to +part with thee forever. Art thou still dubious of my purpose? Art thou +not a woman? And have I not entreated for thy love and been rejected? + +"Canst thou imagine that I aim at thy life? My avowals of love were +sincere; my passion was vehement and undisguised. It gave dignity and +value to a gift in thy power, as a woman, to bestow. This has been +denied. That gift has lost none of its value in my eyes. What thou +refusest to bestow it is in my power to extort. I came for that end. +When this end is accomplished, I will restore thee to liberty." + +These words were accompanied by looks that rendered all explanation of +their meaning useless. The evil reserved for her, hitherto obscured by +half-disclosed and contradictory attributes, was now sufficiently +apparent. The truth in this respect unveiled itself with the rapidity +and brightness of an electrical flash. + +She was silent. She cast her eyes at the windows and doors. Escape +through them was hopeless. She looked at those lineaments of Ormond +which evinced his disdain of supplication and inexorable passions. She +felt that entreaty and argument would be vain; that all appeals to his +compassion and benevolence would counteract her purpose, since, in the +unexampled conformation of this man's mind, these principles were made +subservient to his most flagitious designs. Considerations of justice +and pity were made, by a fatal perverseness of reasoning, champions and +bulwarks of his most atrocious mistakes. + +The last extremes of opposition, the most violent expedients for +defence, would be justified by being indispensable. To find safety for +her honour, even in the blood of an assailant, was the prescription of +duty. Tho equity of this species of defence was not, in the present +confusion of her mind, a subject of momentary doubt. + +To forewarn him of her desperate purpose would be to furnish him with +means of counteraction. Her weapon would easily be wrested from her +feeble hand. Ineffectual opposition would only precipitate her evil +destiny. A rage, contented with nothing less than her life, might be +awakened in his bosom. But was not this to be desired? Death, untimely +and violent, was better than the loss of honour. + +This thought led to a new series of reflections. She involuntarily +shrunk from the act of killing: but would her efforts to destroy her +adversary be effectual? Would not his strength and dexterity easily +repel or elude them? Her power in this respect was questionable, but her +power was undeniably sufficient to a different end. The instrument which +could not rescue her from this injury by the destruction of another +might save her from it by her own destruction. + +These thoughts rapidly occurred; but the resolution to which they led +was scarcely formed, when Ormond advanced towards her. She recoiled a +few steps, and, showing the knife which she held, said,-- + +"Ormond! Beware! Know that my unalterable resolution is to die +uninjured. I have the means in my power. Stop where you are; one step +more, and I plunge this knife into my heart. I know that to contend with +your strength or your reason would be vain. To turn this weapon against +you I should not fear, if I were sure of success; but to that I will +not trust. To save a greater good by the sacrifice of life is in my +power, and that sacrifice shall be made." + +"Poor Constantia!" replied Ormond, in a tone of contempt; "so thou +preferrest thy imaginary honour to life! To escape this injury without a +name or substance, without connection with the past or future, without +contamination of thy purity or thraldom of thy will, thou wilt kill +thyself; put an end to thy activity in virtue's cause; rob thy friend of +her solace, the world of thy beneficence, thyself of being and pleasure? + +"I shall be grieved for the fatal issue of my experiment; I shall mourn +over thy martyrdom to the most opprobrious and contemptible of all +errors: but that thou shouldst undergo the trial is decreed. There is +still an interval of hope that thy cowardice is counterfeited, or that +it will give place to wisdom and courage. + +"Whatever thou intendest by way of prevention or cure, it behooves thee +to employ with steadfastness. Die with the guilt of suicide and the +brand of cowardice upon thy memory, or live with thy claims to felicity +and approbation undiminished. Choose which thou wilt. Thy decision is of +moment to thyself, but of none to me. Living or dead, the prize that I +have in view shall be mine." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +It will be requisite to withdraw your attention from this scene for a +moment, and fix it on myself. My impatience of my friend's delay, for +some days preceding this disastrous interview, became continually more +painful. As the time of our departure approached, my dread of some +misfortune or impediment increased. Ormond's disappearance from the +scene contributed but little to my consolation. To wrap his purposes in +mystery, to place himself at seeming distance, was the usual artifice of +such as he,--was necessary to the maturing of his project and the +hopeless entanglement of his victim. I saw no means of placing the +safety of my friend beyond his reach. Between different methods of +procedure, there was, however, room for choice. Her present abode was +more hazardous than an abode in the city. To be alone argued a state +more defenceless and perilous than to be attended by me. + +I wrote her an urgent admonition to return. My remonstrances were +couched in such terms as, in my own opinion, laid her under the +necessity of immediate compliance. The letter was despatched by the +usual messenger, and for some hours I solaced myself with the prospect +of a speedy meeting. + +These thoughts gave place to doubt and apprehension. I began to distrust +the efficacy of my arguments, and to invent a thousand reasons, inducing +her, in defiance of my rhetoric, at least to protract her absence. These +reasons I had not previously conceived, and had not, therefore, +attempted, in my letter, to invalidate their force. This omission was +possible to be supplied in a second epistle; but, meanwhile, time would +be lost, and my new arguments might, like the old, fail to convince +her. At least, the tongue was a much more versatile and powerful +advocate than the pen; and, by hastening to her habitation, I might +either compel her to return with me, or ward off danger by my presence, +or share it with her. I finally resolved to join her by the speediest +conveyance. + +This resolution was suggested by the meditations of a sleepless night. I +rose with the dawn, and sought out the means of transporting myself, +with most celerity, to the abode of my friend. A stage-boat, accustomed +twice a day to cross New York Bay to Staten Island, was prevailed upon, +by liberal offers, to set out upon the voyage at the dawn of day. The +sky was gloomy, and the air boisterous and unsettled. The wind, suddenly +becoming tempestuous and adverse, rendered the voyage at once tedious +and full of peril. A voyage of nine miles was not effected in less than +eight hours and without imminent and hairbreadth danger of being +drowned. + +Fifteen miles of the journey remained to be performed by land. A +carriage, with the utmost difficulty, was procured, but lank horses and +a crazy vehicle were but little in unison with my impatience. We reached +not Amboy ferry till some hours after nightfall. I was rowed across the +Sound, and proceeded to accomplish the remainder of my journey--about +three miles--on foot. + +I was actuated to this speed by indefinite but powerful motives. The +belief that my speedy arrival was essential to the rescue of my friend +from some inexplicable injury haunted me with ceaseless importunity. On +no account would I have consented to postpone this precipitate +expedition till the morrow. + +I at length arrived at Dudley's farm-house. The inhabitants were struck +with wonder at the sight of me. My clothes were stained by the water by +which every passenger was copiously sprinkled during our boisterous +navigation, and soiled by dust; my frame was almost overpowered by +fatigue and abstinence. + +To my anxious inquiries respecting my friend, they told me that her +evenings were usually spent at the mansion, where it was probable she +was now to be found. They were not apprized of any inconvenience or +danger that betided her. It was her custom sometimes to prolong her +absence till midnight. + +I could not applaud the discretion nor censure the temerity of this +proceeding. My mind was harassed by unintelligible omens and +self-confuted fears. To obviate the danger and to banish my inquietudes +was my first duty. For this end I hastened to the mansion. Having passed +the intervening hillocks and copses, I gained a view of the front of the +building. My heart suddenly sunk, on observing that no apartment--not +even that in which I knew it was her custom to sit at these unseasonable +hours--was illuminated. A gleam from the window of the study I should +have regarded as an argument at once of her presence and her safety. + +I approached the house with misgiving and faltering steps. The gate +leading into a spacious court was open. A sound on one side attracted my +attention. In the present state of my thoughts, any near or unexplained +sound sufficed to startle me. Looking towards the quarter whence my +panic was excited, I espied, through the dusk, a horse grazing, with his +bridle thrown over his neck. + +This appearance was a new source of perplexity and alarm. The inference +was unavoidable that a visitant was here. Who that visitant was, and how +he was now employed, was a subject of eager but fruitless curiosity. +Within and around the mansion, all was buried in the deepest repose. I +now approached the principal door, and, looking through the keyhole, +perceived a lamp, standing on the lowest step of the staircase. It shed +a pale light over the lofty ceiling and marble balustrades. No face or +movement of a human being was perceptible. + +These tokens assured me that some one was within: they also accounted +for the non-appearance of light at the window above. I withdrew my eye +from this avenue, and was preparing to knock loudly for admission, when +my attention was awakened by some one who advanced to the door from the +inside and seemed busily engaged in unlocking. I started back and waited +with impatience till the door should open and the person issue forth. + +Presently I heard a voice within exclaim, in accents of mingled terror +and grief, "Oh, what--what will become of me? Shall I never be released +from this detested prison?" + +The voice was that of Constantia. It penetrated to my heart like an +icebolt. I once more darted a glance through the crevice. A figure, with +difficulty recognised to be that of my friend, now appeared in sight. +Her hands were clasped on her breast, her eyes wildly fixed upon the +ceiling and streaming with tears, and her hair unbound and falling +confusedly over her bosom and neck. + +My sensations scarcely permitted me to call, "Constantia! For Heaven's +sake, what has happened to you? Open the door, I beseech you." + +"What voice is that? Sophia Courtland! O my friend! I am imprisoned! +Some demon has barred the door, beyond my power to unfasten. Ah, why +comest thou so late? Thy succour would have somewhat profited if sooner +given; but now, the lost Constantia--" Here her voice sunk into +convulsive sobs. + +In the midst of my own despair, on perceiving the fulfilment of my +apprehensions, and what I regarded as the fatal execution of some +project of Ormond, I was not insensible to the suggestions of prudence. +I entreated my friend to retain her courage, while I flew to Laffert's +and returned with suitable assistance to burst open the door. + +The people of the farm-house readily obeyed my summons. Accompanied by +three men of powerful sinews, sons and servants of the farmer, I +returned with the utmost expedition to the mansion. The lamp still +remained in its former place, but our loudest calls were unanswered. The +silence was uninterrupted and profound. + +The door yielded to strenuous and repeated efforts, and I rushed into +the hall. The first object that met my sight was my friend, stretched +upon the floor, pale and motionless, supine, and with all the tokens of +death. + +From this object my attention was speedily attracted by two figures, +breathless and supine like that of Constantia. One of them was Ormond. A +smile of disdain still sat upon his features. The wound by which he fell +was secret, and was scarcely betrayed by the effusion of a drop of +blood. The face of the third victim was familiar to my early days. It +was that of the impostor whose artifice had torn from Mr. Dudley his +peace and fortune. + +An explication of this scene was hopeless. By what disastrous and +inscrutable fate a place like this became the scene of such complicated +havoc, to whom Craig was indebted for his death, what evil had been +meditated or inflicted by Ormond, and by what means his project had +arrived at this bloody consummation, were topics of wild and fearful +conjecture. + +But my friend--the first impulse of my fears was to regard her as dead. +Hope and a closer observation outrooted, or, at least, suspended, this +opinion. One of the men lifted her in his arms. No trace of blood or +mark of fatal violence was discoverable, and the effusion of cold water +restored her, though slowly, to life. + +To withdraw her from this spectacle of death was my first care. She +suffered herself to be led to the farm-house. She was carried to her +chamber. For a time she appeared incapable of recollection. She grasped +my hand, as I sat by her bedside, but scarcely gave any other tokens of +life. + +From this state of inactivity she gradually recovered. I was actuated by +a thousand forebodings, but refrained from molesting her by +interrogation or condolence. I watched by her side in silence, but was +eager to collect from her own lips an account of this mysterious +transaction. + +At length she opened her eyes, and appeared to recollect her present +situation, and the events which led to it. I inquired into her +condition, and asked if there were any thing in my power to procure or +perform for her. + +"Oh, my friend," she answered, "what have I done, what have I suffered, +within the last dreadful hour! The remembrance, though insupportable, +will never leave me. You can do nothing for my relief. All I claim is +your compassion and your sympathy." + +"I hope," said I, "that nothing has happened to load you with guilt or +with shame?" + +"Alas! I know not. My deed was scarcely the fruit of intention. It was +suggested by a momentary frenzy. I saw no other means of escaping from +vileness and pollution. I was menaced with an evil worse than death. I +forebore till my strength was almost subdued: the lapse of another +moment would have placed me beyond hope. + +"My stroke was desperate and at random. It answered my purpose too well. +He cast at me a look of terrible upbraiding, but spoke not. His heart +was pierced, and he sunk, as if struck by lightning, at my feet. O much +erring and unhappy Ormond! That thou shouldst thus untimely perish! That +I should be thy executioner!" + +These words sufficiently explained the scene that I had witnessed. The +violence of Ormond had been repulsed by equal violence. His foul +attempts had been prevented by his death. Not to deplore the necessity +which had produced this act was impossible; but, since this necessity +existed, it was surely not a deed to be thought upon with lasting +horror, or to be allowed to generate remorse. + +In consequence of this catastrophe, arduous duties had devolved upon me. +The people that surrounded me were powerless with terror. Their +ignorance and cowardice left them at a loss how to act in this +emergency. They besought my direction, and willingly performed whatever +I thought proper to enjoin upon them. + +No deliberation was necessary to acquaint me with my duty. Laffert was +despatched to the nearest magistrate with a letter, in which his +immediate presence was entreated and these transactions were briefly +explained. Early the next day the formalities of justice, in the +inspection of the bodies and the examination of witnesses, were +executed. It would be needless to dwell on the particulars of this +catastrophe. A sufficient explanation has been given of the causes that +led to it. They were such as exempted my friend from legal +animadversion. Her act was prompted by motives which every scheme of +jurisprudence known in the world not only exculpates, but applauds. To +state these motives before a tribunal hastily formed and exercising its +functions on the spot was a task not to be avoided, though infinitely +painful. Remonstrances the most urgent and pathetic could scarcely +conquer her reluctance. + +This task, however, was easy, in comparison with that which remained. To +restore health and equanimity to my friend; to repel the erroneous +accusations of her conscience; to hinder her from musing, with eternal +anguish, upon this catastrophe; to lay the spirit of secret upbraiding +by which she was incessantly tormented, which bereft her of repose, +empoisoned all her enjoyments, and menaced not only the subversion of +her peace but the speedy destruction of her life, became my next +employment. + +My counsels and remonstrances were not wholly inefficacious. They +afforded me the prospect of her ultimate restoration to tranquillity. +Meanwhile, I called to my aid the influence of time and of a change of +scene. I hastened to embark with her for Europe. Our voyage was +tempestuous and dangerous, but storms and perils at length gave way to +security and repose. + +Before our voyage was commenced, I endeavoured to procure tidings of the +true condition and designs of Ormond. My information extended no further +than that he had put his American property into the hands of Mr. +Melbourne, and was preparing to embark for France. Courtland, who has +since been at Paris, and who, while there, became confidentially +acquainted with Martinette de Beauvais, has communicated facts of an +unexpected nature. + +At the period of Ormond's return to Philadelphia, at which his last +interview with Constantia in that city took place, he visited +Martinette. He avowed himself to be her brother, and supported his +pretensions by relating the incidents of his early life. A separation at +the age of fifteen, and which had lasted for the same number of years, +may be supposed to have considerably changed the countenance and figure +she had formerly known. His relationship was chiefly proved by the +enumeration of incidents of which her brother only could be apprized. + +He possessed a minute acquaintance with her own adventures, but +concealed from her the means by which he had procured the knowledge. He +had rarely and imperfectly alluded to his own opinions and projects, and +had maintained an invariable silence on the subject of his connection +with Constantia and Helena. Being informed of her intention to return to +France, he readily complied with her request to accompany her in this +voyage. His intentions in this respect were frustrated by the dreadful +catastrophe that has been just related. Respecting this event, +Martinette had collected only vague and perplexing information. +Courtland, though able to remove her doubts, thought proper to withhold +from her the knowledge he possessed. + +Since her arrival in England, the life of my friend has experienced +little variation. Of her personal deportment and domestic habits you +have been a witness. These, therefore, it would be needless for me to +exhibit. It is sufficient to have related events which the recentness of +your intercourse with her hindered you from knowing but by means of some +formal narrative like the present. She and her friend only were able to +impart to you the knowledge which you have so anxiously sought. In +consideration of your merits and of your attachment to my friend, I have +consented to devote my leisure to this task. + +It is now finished; and I have only to add my wishes that the perusal of +this tale may afford you as much instruction as the contemplation of the +sufferings and vicissitudes of Constantia Dudley has afforded to me. +Farewell. + +THE END. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (OF 3)*** + + +******* This file should be named 36291-8.txt or 36291-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/2/9/36291 + + + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://www.gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: +http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/36291-8.zip b/36291-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8971c31 --- /dev/null +++ b/36291-8.zip diff --git a/36291-h.zip b/36291-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5ba7858 --- /dev/null +++ b/36291-h.zip diff --git a/36291-h/36291-h.htm b/36291-h/36291-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e10708 --- /dev/null +++ b/36291-h/36291-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3987 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ormond, Volume III (of 3), by Charles Brockden Brown</title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +a:link {color: #800000; text-decoration: none; } + +v:link {color: #800000; text-decoration: none; } + +.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + +.bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + +.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + +.br {border-right: solid 2px;} + +.bbox {border: solid 2px;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +.small {font-size: 0.8em;} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + height: 4px; + border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ + border-style: solid; + border-color: #000000; + clear: both; } + pre {font-size: 85%;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ormond, Volume III (of 3), by Charles +Brockden Brown</h1> +<pre> +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 <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Ormond, Volume III (of 3)</p> +<p> or, The Secret Witness</p> +<p>Author: Charles Brockden Brown</p> +<p>Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36291]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (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/36290/36290-h/36290-h.htm">Volume II</a>: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36290<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=aRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8"> + http://books.google.com/books?id=aRgGAAAAQAAJ&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 /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</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. III.</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><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h3> + + +<p>"My father, in proportion as he grew old and rich, became weary of +Aleppo. His natal soil, had it been the haunt of Calmucks or Bedouins, +his fancy would have transformed into Paradise. No wonder that the +equitable aristocracy and the peaceful husbandmen of Ragusa should be +endeared to his heart by comparison with Egyptian plagues and Turkish +tyranny. Besides, he lived for his children as well as himself. Their +education and future lot required him to seek a permanent home.</p> + +<p>"He embarked, with his wife and offspring, at Scanderoon. No immediate +conveyance to Ragusa offering, the appearance of the plague in Syria +induced him to hasten his departure. He entered a French vessel for +Marseilles. After being three days at sea, one of the crew was seized by +the fatal disease which had depopulated all the towns upon the coast. +The voyage was made with more than usual despatch; but, before we +reached our port, my mother and half the crew perished. My father died +in the Lazaretto, more through grief than disease.</p> + +<p>"My brother and I were children and helpless. My father's fortune was on +board this vessel, and was left by his death to the mercy of the +captain. This man was honest, and consigned us and our property to the +merchant with whom he dealt. Happily for us, our protector was childless +and of scrupulous integrity. We henceforth became his adopted children. +My brother's education and my own were conducted on the justest +principles.</p> + +<p>"At the end of four years, our protector found it expedient to make a +voyage to Cayenne. His brother was an extensive proprietor in that +colony, but his sudden death made way for the succession of our friend. +To establish his claims, his presence was necessary on the spot. He was +little qualified for arduous enterprises, and his age demanded repose; +but, his own acquisitions having been small, and being desirous of +leaving us in possession of competence, he cheerfully embarked.</p> + +<p>"Meanwhile, my brother was placed at a celebrated seminary in the Pays +de Vaud, and I was sent to a sister who resided at Verona. I was at this +time fourteen years old,—one year younger than my brother, whom, since +that period, I have neither heard of nor seen.</p> + +<p>"I was now a woman, and qualified to judge and act for myself. The +character of my new friend was austere and devout, and there were so +many incongenial points between us that but little tranquillity was +enjoyed under her control. The priest who discharged the office of her +confessor thought proper to entertain views with regard to me, grossly +inconsistent with the sanctity of his profession. He was a man of +profound dissimulation and masterly address. His efforts, however, were +repelled with disdain. My security against his attempts lay in the +uncouthness and deformity which nature had bestowed upon his person and +visage, rather than in the firmness of my own principles.</p> + +<p>"The courtship of Father Bartoli, the austerities of Madame Roselli, the +disgustful or insipid occupations to which I was condemned, made me +impatiently wish for a change; but my father (so I will call him) had +decreed that I should remain under his sister's guardianship till his +return from Guiana. When this would happen was uncertain. Events +unforeseen might protract it for years, but it could not arrive in less +than a twelvemonth.</p> + +<p>"I was incessantly preyed upon by discontent. My solitude was loathsome. +I panted after liberty and friendship, and the want of these were not +recompensed by luxury and quiet, and by the instructions in useful +science which I received from Bartoli, who, though detested as a +hypocrite and lover, was venerable as a scholar. He would fain have been +an Abelard, but it was not his fate to meet with an Eloisa.</p> + +<p>"Two years passed away in this durance. My miseries were exquisite. I am +almost at a loss to account for the unhappiness of that time, for, +looking back upon it, I perceive that an equal period could not have +been spent with more benefit. For the sake of being near me, Bartoli +importunately offered his instructions. He had nothing to communicate +but metaphysics and geometry. These were little to my taste, but I could +not keep him at a distance. I had no other alternative than to endure +him as a lover or a teacher. His passion for science was at least equal +to that which ho entertained for me, and both these passions combined to +make him a sedulous instructor. He was a disciple of the newest +doctrines respecting matter and mind. He denied the impenetrability of +the first, and the immateriality of the second. These he endeavoured to +inculcate upon me, as well as to subvert my religious tenets, because he +delighted, like all men, in transfusing his opinions, and because he +regarded my piety as the only obstacle to his designs. He succeeded in +dissolving the spell of ignorance, but not in producing that kind of +acquiescence he wished. He had, in this respect, to struggle not only +with my principles, but my weakness. He might have overcome every +obstacle but my abhorrence of deformity and age. To cure me of this +aversion was beyond his power. My servitude grew daily more painful. I +grew tired of chasing a comet to its aphelion, and of untying the knot +of an infinite series. A change in my condition became indispensable to +my very existence. Languor and sadness, and unwillingness to eat or to +move, were at last my perpetual attendants!</p> + +<p>"Madame Roselli was alarmed at my condition. The sources of my +inquietude were incomprehensible to her. The truth was, that I scarcely +understood them myself, and my endeavours to explain them to my friend +merely instilled into her an opinion that I was either lunatic or +deceitful. She complained and admonished; but my disinclination to my +usual employments would not be conquered, and my health rapidly +declined. A physician, who was called, confessed that my case was beyond +his power to understand, but recommended, as a sort of desperate +expedient, a change of scene. A succession and variety of objects might +possibly contribute to my cure.</p> + +<p>"At this time there arrived, at Verona, Lady D'Arcy,—an Englishwoman +of fortune and rank, and a strenuous Catholic. Her husband had lately +died; and, in order to divert her grief, as well as to gratify her +curiosity in viewing the great seat of her religion, she had come to +Italy. Intercourse took place between her and Madame Roselli. By this +means she gained a knowledge of my person and condition, and kindly +offered to take me under her protection. She meant to traverse every +part of Italy, and was willing that I should accompany her in all her +wanderings.</p> + +<p>"This offer was gratefully accepted, in spite of the artifices and +remonstrances of Bartoli. My companion speedily contracted for me the +affection of a mother. She was without kindred of her own religion, +having acquired her faith, not by inheritance, but conversion. She +desired to abjure her native country, and to bind herself, by every +social tie, to a people who adhered to the same faith. Me she promised +to adopt as her daughter, provided her first impressions in my favour +were not belied by my future deportment.</p> + +<p>"My principles were opposite to hers; but habit, an aversion to +displease my friend, my passion for knowledge, which my new condition +enabled me to gratify, all combined to make me a deceiver. But my +imposture was merely of a negative kind; I deceived her rather by +forbearance to contradict, and by acting as she acted, than by open +assent and zealous concurrence. My new state was, on this account, not +devoid of inconvenience. The general deportment and sentiments of Lady +D'Arcy testified a vigorous and pure mind. New avenues to knowledge, by +converse with mankind and with books, and by the survey of new scenes, +were open for my use. Gratitude and veneration attached me to my friend, +and made the task of pleasing her, by a seeming conformity of +sentiments, less irksome.</p> + +<p>"During this interval, no tidings were received by his sister, at +Verona, respecting the fate of Sebastian Roselli. The supposition of +his death was too plausible not to be adopted. What influence this +disaster possessed over my brother's destiny, I know not. The generosity +of Lady D'Arcy hindered me from experiencing any disadvantage from this +circumstance. Fortune seemed to have decreed that I should not be +reduced to the condition of an orphan.</p> + +<p>"At an age and in a situation like mine, I could not remain long +unacquainted with love. My abode at Rome introduced me to the knowledge +of a youth from England, who had every property which I regarded as +worthy of esteem. He was a kinsman of—Lady D'Arcy, and as such admitted +at her house on the most familiar footing. His patrimony was extremely +slender, but was in his own possession. He had no intention of +increasing it by any professional pursuit, but was contented with the +frugal provision it afforded. He proposed no other end of his existence +than the acquisition of virtue and knowledge.</p> + +<p>"The property of Lady D'Arcy was subject to her own disposal, but, on +the failure of a testament, this youth was, in legal succession, the +next heir. He was well acquainted with her temper and views, but, in the +midst of urbanity and gentleness, studied none of those concealments of +opinion which would have secured him her favour. That he was not of her +own faith was an insuperable, but the only, obstacle to the admission of +his claims.</p> + +<p>"If conformity of age and opinions, and the mutual fascination of love, +be a suitable basis for marriage, Wentworth and I were destined for each +other. Mutual disclosure added sanctity to our affection; but, the +happiness of Lady D'Arcy being made to depend upon the dissolution of +our compact, the heroism of Wentworth made him hasten to dissolve it. As +soon as she discovered our attachment, she displayed symptoms of the +deepest anguish. In addition to religious motives, her fondness for me +forbade her to exist but in my society and in the belief of the purity +of my faith. The contention, on my part, was vehement between the +regards due to her felicity and to my own. Had Wentworth left me the +power to decide, my decision would doubtless have evinced the frailty of +my fortitude and the strength of my passion; but, having informed me +fully of the reasons of his conduct, he precipitately retired from Rome. +He left me no means of tracing his footsteps and of assailing his +weakness by expostulation and entreaty.</p> + +<p>"Lady D'Arcy was no less eager to abandon a spot where her happiness had +been so imminently endangered. Our next residence was Palermo. I will +not dwell upon the sensations produced by this disappointment in me. I +review them with astonishment and self-compassion. If I thought it +possible for me to sink again into imbecility so ignominious, I should +be disposed to kill myself.</p> + +<p>"There was no end to vows of fondness and tokens of gratitude in Lady +D'Arcy. Her future life should be devoted to compensate me for this +sacrifice. Nothing could console her in that single state in which she +intended to live, but the consolations of my fellowship. Her conduct +coincided for some time with these professions, and my anguish was +allayed by the contemplation of the happiness conferred upon one whom I +revered.</p> + +<p>"My friend could not be charged with dissimulation and artifice. Her +character had been mistaken by herself as well as by me. Devout +affections seemed to have filled her heart, to the exclusion of any +object besides myself. She cherished with romantic tenderness the memory +of her husband, and imagined that a single state was indispensably +enjoined upon her by religious duty. This persuasion, however, was +subverted by the arts of a Spanish cavalier, young, opulent, and +romantic as herself in devotion. An event like this might, indeed, have +been easily predicted, by those who reflected that the lady was still in +the bloom of life, ardent in her temper, and bewitching in her manners.</p> + +<p>"The fondness she had lavished upon me was now, in some degree, +transferred to a new object; but I still received the treatment due to a +beloved daughter. She was solicitous as ever to promote my +gratification, and a diminution of kindness would not have been +suspected by those who had not witnessed the excesses of her former +passion. Her marriage with the Spaniard removed the obstacle to union +with Wentworth. This man, however, had set himself beyond the reach of +my inquiries. Had there been the shadow of a clue afforded me, I should +certainly have sought him to the ends of the world.</p> + +<p>"I continued to reside with my friend, and accompanied her and her +husband to Spain. Antonio de Leyva was a man of probity. His mind was +enlightened by knowledge and his actions dictated by humanity. Though +but little older than myself, and young enough to be the son of his +spouse, his deportment to me was a model of rectitude and delicacy. I +spent a year in Spain, partly in the mountains of Castile and partly at +Segovia. New manners and a new language occupied my attention for a +time; but these, losing their novelty, lost their power to please. I +betook myself to books, to beguile the tediousness and diversify the +tenor of my life.</p> + +<p>"This would not have long availed; but I was relieved from new +repinings, by the appointment of Antonio de Leyva to a diplomatic office +at Vienna. Thither we accordingly repaired. A coincidence of +circumstances had led me wide from the path of ambition and study +usually allotted to my sex and age. From the computation of eclipses, I +now betook myself to the study of man. My proficiency, when I allowed it +to be seen, attracted great attention. Instead of adulation and +gallantry, I was engaged in watching the conduct of states and revolving +the theories of politicians.</p> + +<p>"Superficial observers were either incredulous with regard to my +character, or connected a stupid wonder with their belief. My +attainments and habits they did not see to be perfectly consonant with +the principles of human nature. They unavoidably flowed from the illicit +attachment of Bartoli, and the erring magnanimity of Wentworth. Aversion +to the priest was the grand inciter of my former studies; the love of +Wentworth, whom I hoped once more to meet, made me labour to exclude the +importunities of others, and to qualify myself for securing his +affections.</p> + +<p>"Since our parting in Italy, Wentworth had traversed Syria and Egypt, +and arrived some months after me at Vienna. He was on the point of +leaving the city, when accident informed me of his being there. An +interview was effected, and, our former sentiments respecting each other +having undergone no change, we were united. Madame de Leyva reluctantly +concurred with our wishes, and, at parting, forced upon me a +considerable sum of money.</p> + +<p>"Wentworth's was a character not frequently met with in the world. He +was a political enthusiast, who esteemed nothing more graceful or +glorious than to die for the liberties of mankind. He had traversed +Greece with an imagination full of the exploits of ancient times, and +derived, from contemplating Thermopylæ and Marathon, an enthusiasm that +bordered upon frenzy.</p> + +<p>"It was now the third year of the Revolutionary War in America, and, +previous to our meeting at Vienna, he had formed the resolution of +repairing thither and tendering his service to the Congress as a +volunteer. Our marriage made no change in his plans. My soul was +engrossed by two passions,—a wild spirit of adventure, and a boundless +devotion to him. I vowed to accompany him in every danger, to vie with +him in military ardour, to combat and to die by his side.</p> + +<p>"I delighted to assume the male dress, to acquire skill at the sword, +and dexterity in every boisterous exercise. The timidity that commonly +attends women gradually vanished. I felt as if imbued by a soul that was +a stranger to the sexual distinction. We embarked at Brest, in a frigate +destined for St. Domingo. A desperate conflict with an English ship in +the Bay of Biscay was my first introduction to a scene of tumult and +danger of whose true nature I had formed no previous conception. At +first I was spiritless and full of dismay. Experience, however, +gradually reconciled me to the life that I had chosen.</p> + +<p>"A fortunate shot, by dismasting the enemy, allowed us to prosecute our +voyage unmolested. At Cape François we found a ship which transported +us, after various perils, to Richmond, in Virginia. I will not carry you +through the adventures of four years. You, sitting all your life in +peaceful corners, can scarcely imagine that variety of hardship and +turmoil which attends the female who lives in a camp.</p> + +<p>"Few would sustain these hardships with better grace than I did. I could +seldom be prevailed on to remain at a distance, and inactive, when my +husband was in battle, and more than once rescued him from death by the +seasonable destruction of his adversary.</p> + +<p>"At the repulse of the Americans at Germantown, Wentworth was wounded +and taken prisoner. I obtained permission to attend his sick-bed and +supply that care without which he would assuredly have died. Being +imperfectly recovered, he was sent to England and subjected to a +rigorous imprisonment. Milder treatment might have permitted his +complete restoration to health; but, as it was, he died.</p> + +<p>"His kindred were noble, and rich, and powerful; but it was difficult to +make them acquainted with Wentworth's situation. Their assistance, when +demanded, was readily afforded; but it came too late to prevent his +death. Me they snatched from my voluntary prison, and employed every +friendly art to efface from my mind the images of recent calamity.</p> + +<p>"Wentworth's singularities of conduct and opinion had estranged him at +an early age from his family. They felt little regret at his fate, but +every motive concurred to secure their affection and succour to me. My +character was known to many officers, returned from America, whose +report, joined with the influence of my conversation, rendered me an +object to be gazed at by thousands. Strange vicissitude! Now immersed in +the infection of a military hospital, the sport of a wayward fortune, +struggling with cold and hunger, with negligence and contumely. A month +after, passing into scenes of gayety and luxury, exhibited at operas and +masquerades, made the theme of inquiry and encomium at every place of +resort, and caressed by the most illustrious among the votaries of +science and the advocates of the American cause.</p> + +<p>"Here I again met Madame de Leyva. This woman was perpetually assuming +new forms. She was a sincere convert to the Catholic religion, but she +was open to every new impression. She was the dupe of every powerful +reasoner, and assumed with equal facility the most opposite shapes. She +had again reverted to the Protestant religion, and, governed by a +headlong zeal in whatever cause she engaged, she had sacrificed her +husband and child to a new conviction.</p> + +<p>"The instrument of this change was a man who passed, at that time, for a +Frenchman. He was young, accomplished, and addressful, but was not +suspected of having been prompted by illicit views, or of having seduced +the lady from allegiance to her husband as well as to her God. De Leyva, +however, who was sincere in his religion as well as his love, was hasty +to avenge this injury, and, in a contest with the Frenchman, was killed. +His wife adopted at once her ancient religion and country, and was once +more an Englishwoman.</p> + +<p>"At our meeting her affection for me seemed to be revived, and the most +passionate entreaties were used to detain me in England. My previous +arrangements would not suffer it. I foresaw restraints and +inconveniences from the violence and caprice of her passions, and +intended henceforth to keep my liberty inviolate by any species of +engagement, either of friendship or marriage. My habits were French, and +I proposed henceforward to take up my abode at Paris. Since his voyage +to Guiana, I had heard no tidings of Sebastian Roselli. This man's image +was cherished with filial emotions, and I conceived that the sight of +him would amply reward a longer journey than from London to Marseilles.</p> + +<p>"Beyond my hopes, I found him in his ancient abode. The voyage, and a +residence of three years at Cayenne, had been beneficial to his +appearance and health. He greeted me with paternal tenderness, and +admitted me to a full participation of his fortune, which the sale of +his American property had greatly enhanced. He was a stranger to the +fate of my brother. On his return home he had gone to Switzerland, with +a view of ascertaining his destiny. The youth, a few months after his +arrival at Lausanne, had eloped with a companion, and had hitherto +eluded all Roselli's searches and inquiries. My father was easily +prevailed upon to transfer his residence from Provence to Paris."</p> + +<p>Here Martinette paused, and, marking the clock, "It is time," resumed +she, "to begone. Are you not weary of my tale? On the day I entered +France, I entered the twenty-third year of my age, so that my promise of +detailing my youthful adventures is fulfilled. I must away. Till we meet +again, farewell."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h3> + + +<p>Such was the wild series of Martinette's adventures. Each incident +fastened on the memory of Constantia, and gave birth to numberless +reflections. Her prospect of mankind seemed to be enlarged, on a sudden, +to double its ancient dimensions. Ormond's narratives had carried her +beyond the Mississippi, and into the deserts of Siberia. He had +recounted the perils of a Russian war, and painted the manners of +Mongols and Naudowessies. Her new friend had led her back to the +civilized world and portrayed the other half of the species. Men, in +their two forms of savage and refined, had been scrutinized by these +observers; and what was wanting in the delineations of the one was +liberally supplied by the other.</p> + +<p>Eleven years in the life of Martinette was unrelated. Her conversation +suggested the opinion that this interval had been spent in France. It +was obvious to suppose that a woman thus fearless and sagacious had not +been inactive at a period like the present, which called forth talents +and courage without distinction of sex, and had been particularly +distinguished by female enterprise and heroism. Her name easily led to +the suspicion of concurrence with the subverters of monarchy, and of +participation in their fall. Her flight from the merciless tribunals of +the faction that now reigned would explain present appearances.</p> + +<p>Martinette brought to their next interview an air of uncommon +exultation. On this being remarked, she communicated the tidings of the +fall of the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre. Her eyes sparkled, and +every feature was pregnant with delight, while she unfolded, with her +accustomed energy, the particulars of this tremendous revolution. The +blood which it occasioned to flow was mentioned without any symptoms of +disgust or horror.</p> + +<p>Constantia ventured to ask if this incident was likely to influence her +own condition.</p> + +<p>"Yes. It will open the way for my return."</p> + +<p>"Then you think of returning to a scene of so much danger?"</p> + +<p>"Danger, my girl? It is my element. I am an adorer of liberty, and +liberty without peril can never exist."</p> + +<p>"But so much bloodshed and injustice! Does not your heart shrink from +the view of a scene of massacre and tumult, such as Paris has lately +exhibited and will probably continue to exhibit?"</p> + +<p>"Thou talkest, Constantia, in a way scarcely worthy of thy good sense. +Have I not been three years in a camp? What are bleeding wounds and +mangled corpses, when accustomed to the daily sight of them for years? +Am I not a lover of liberty? and must I not exult in the fall of +tyrants, and regret only that my hand had no share in their +destruction?"</p> + +<p>"But a woman—how can the heart of woman be inured to the shedding of +blood?"</p> + +<p>"Have women, I beseech thee, no capacity to reason and infer? Are they +less open than men to the influence of habit? My hand never faltered +when liberty demanded the victim. If thou wert with me at Paris, I could +show thee a fusil of two barrels, which is precious beyond any other +relic, merely because it enabled me to kill thirteen officers at +Jemappe. Two of these were emigrant nobles, whom I knew and loved before +the Revolution, but the cause they had since espoused cancelled their +claims to mercy."</p> + +<p>"What!" said the startled Constantia; "have you fought in the ranks?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. Hundreds of my sex have done the same. Some were impelled by +the enthusiasm of love, and some by a mere passion for war; some by the +contagion of example; and some—with whom I myself must be ranked—by a +generous devotion to liberty. Brunswick and Saxe-Coburg had to contend +with whole regiments of women,—regiments they would have formed, if +they had been collected into separate bodies.</p> + +<p>"I will tell thee a secret. Thou wouldst never have seen Martinette de +Beauvais, if Brunswick had deferred one day longer his orders for +retreating into Germany."</p> + +<p>"How so?"</p> + +<p>"She would have died by her own hand."</p> + +<p>"What could lead to such an outrage?"</p> + +<p>"The love of liberty."</p> + +<p>"I cannot comprehend how that love should prompt you to suicide."</p> + +<p>"I will tell thee. The plan was formed, and could not miscarry. A woman +was to play the part of a banished Royalist, was to repair to the +Prussian camp, and to gain admission to the general. This would have +easily been granted to a female and an ex-noble. There she was to +assassinate the enemy of her country, and to attest her magnanimity by +slaughtering herself. I was weak enough to regret the ignominious +retreat of the Prussians, because it precluded the necessity of such a +sacrifice."</p> + +<p>This was related with accents and looks that sufficiently attested its +truth. Constantia shuddered, and drew back, to contemplate more +deliberately the features of her guest. Hitherto she had read in them +nothing that bespoke the desperate courage of a martyr and the deep +designing of an assassin. The image which her mind had reflected from +the deportment of this woman was changed. The likeness which she had, +feigned to herself was no longer seen. She felt that antipathy was +preparing to displace love. These sentiments, however, she concealed, +and suffered the conversation to proceed.</p> + +<p>Their discourse now turned upon the exploits of several women who +mingled in the tumults of the capital and in the armies on the +frontiers. Instances were mentioned of ferocity in some, and magnanimity +in others, which almost surpassed belief. Constantia listened greedily, +though not with approbation, and acquired, at every sentence, new desire +to be acquainted with the personal history of Martinette. On mentioning +this wish, her friend said that she endeavoured to amuse her exile by +composing her own memoirs, and that, on her next visit, she would bring +with her the volume, which she would suffer Constantia to read.</p> + +<p>A separation of a week elapsed. She felt some impatience for the renewal +of their intercourse, and for the perusal of the volume that had been +mentioned. One evening Sarah Baxter, whom Constantia had placed in her +own occasional service, entered the room with marks of great joy and +surprise, and informed her that she at length had discovered Miss +Monrose. From her abrupt and prolix account, it appeared that Sarah had +overtaken Miss Monrose in the street, and, guided by her own curiosity, +as well as by the wish to gratify her mistress, she had followed the +stranger. To her utter astonishment, the lady had paused at Mr. Dudley's +door, with a seeming resolution to enter it, but presently resumed her +way. Instead of pursuing her steps farther, Sarah had stopped to +communicate this intelligence to Constantia. Having delivered her news, +she hastened away, but, returning, in a moment, with a countenance of +new surprise, she informed her mistress that on leaving the house she +had met Miss Monrose at the door, on the point of entering. She added +that the stranger had inquired for Constantia, and was now waiting +below.</p> + +<p>Constantia took no time to reflect upon an incident so unexpected and so +strange, but proceeded forthwith to the parlour. Martinette only was +there. It did not instantly occur to her that this lady and Mademoiselle +Monrose might possibly be the same. The inquiries she made speedily +removed her doubts, and it now appeared that the woman about whose +destiny she had formed so many conjectures and fostered so much anxiety +was no other than the daughter of Roselli.</p> + +<p>Having readily answered her questions, Martinette inquired, in her turn, +into the motives of her friend's curiosity. These were explained by a +succinct account of the transactions to which the deceased Baxter had +been a witness. Constantia concluded with mentioning her own reflections +on the tale, and intimating her wish to be informed how Martinette had +extricated herself from a situation so calamitous.</p> + +<p>"Is there any room for wonder on that head?" replied the guest. "It was +absurd to stay longer in the house. Having finished the interment of +Roselli, (soldier-fashion,) for he was the man who suffered his foolish +regrets to destroy him, I forsook the house. Roselli was by no means +poor, but he could not consent to live at ease, or to live at all, while +his country endured such horrible oppressions, and when so many of his +friends had perished. I complied with his humour, because it could not +be changed, and I revered him too much to desert him."</p> + +<p>"But whither," said Constantia, "could you seek shelter at a time like +that? The city was desolate, and a wandering female could scarcely be +received under any roof. All inhabited houses were closed at that hour, +and the fear of infection would have shut them against you if they had +not been already so."</p> + +<p>"Hast thou forgotten that there were at that time at least ten thousand +French in this city, fugitives from Marat and from St. Domingo? That +they lived in utter fearlessness of the reigning disease,—sung and +loitered in the public walks, and prattled at their doors, with all +their customary unconcern? Supposest thou that there were none among +these who would receive a countrywoman, even if her name had not been +Martinette de Beauvais? Thy fancy has depicted strange things; but +believe me that, without a farthing and without a name, I should not +have incurred the slightest inconvenience. The death of Roselli I +foresaw, because it was gradual in its approach, and was sought by him +as a good. My grief, therefore, was exhausted before it came, and I +rejoiced at his death, because it was the close of all his sorrows. The +rueful pictures of my distress and weakness which were given by Baxter +existed only in his own fancy."</p> + +<p>Martinette pleaded an engagement, and took her leave, professing to have +come merely to leave with her the promised manuscript. This interview, +though short, was productive of many reflections on the deceitfulness of +appearances, and on the variety of maxims by which the conduct of human +beings is regulated. She was accustomed to impart all her thoughts and +relate every new incident to her father. With this view she now hied to +his apartment. This hour it was her custom, when disengaged, always to +spend with him.</p> + +<p>She found Mr. Dudley busy in revolving a scheme which various +circumstances had suggested and gradually conducted to maturity. No +period of his life had been equally delightful with that portion of his +youth which he had spent in Italy. The climate, the language, the +manners of the people, and the sources of intellectual gratification in +painting and music, were congenial to his taste. He had reluctantly +forsaken these enchanting seats, at the summons of his father, but, on +his return to his native country, had encountered nothing but ignominy +and pain. Poverty and blindness had beset his path, and it seemed as if +it were impossible to fly too far from the scene of his disasters. His +misfortunes could not be concealed from others, and every thing around +him seemed to renew the memory of all that he had suffered. All the +events of his youth served to entice him to Italy, while all the +incidents of his subsequent life concurred to render disgustful his +present abode.</p> + +<p>His daughter's happiness was not to be forgotten. This he imagined would +be eminently promoted by the scheme. It would open to her new avenues to +knowledge. It would snatch her from the odious pursuit of Ormond, and, +by a variety of objects and adventures, efface from her mind any +impression which his dangerous artifices might have made upon it.</p> + +<p>This project was now communicated to Constantia. Every argument adapted +to influence her choice was employed. He justly conceived that the only +obstacle to her adoption of it related to Ormond. He expatiated on the +dubious character of this man, the wildness of his schemes, and the +magnitude of his errors. What could be expected from a man, half of +whose life had been spent at the head of a band of Cossacks, spreading +devastation in the regions of the Danube, and supporting by flagitious +intrigues the tyranny of Catharine, and the other half in traversing +inhospitable countries, and extinguishing what remained of clemency and +justice by intercourse with savages?</p> + +<p>It was admitted that his energies were great, but misdirected, and that +to restore them to the guidance of truth was not in itself impossible; +but it was so with relation to any power that she possessed. Conformity +would flow from their marriage, but this conformity was not to be +expected from him. It was not his custom to abjure any of his doctrines +or recede from any of his claims. She knew likewise the conditions of +their union. She must go with him to some corner of the world where his +boasted system was established. What was the road to it he had carefully +concealed, but it was evident that it lay beyond the precincts of +civilized existence.</p> + +<p>Whatever were her ultimate decision, it was at least proper to delay it. +Six years were yet wanting of that period at which only she formerly +considered marriage as proper. To all the general motives for deferring +her choice, the conduct of Ormond superadded the weightiest. Their +correspondence might continue, but her residence in Europe and converse +with mankind might enlighten her judgement and qualify her for a more +rational decision.</p> + +<p>Constantia was not uninfluenced by these reasonings. Instead of +reluctantly admitting them, she somewhat wondered that they had not been +suggested by her own reflections. Her imagination anticipated her +entrance on that mighty scene with emotions little less than rapturous. +Her studies had conferred a thousand ideal charms on a theatre where +Scipio and Cæsar had performed their parts. Her wishes were no less +importunate to gaze upon the Alps and Pyrenees, and to vivify and +chasten the images collected from books, by comparing them with their +real prototypes.</p> + +<p>No social ties existed to hold her to America. Her only kinsman and +friend would be the companion of her journeys. This project was likewise +recommended by advantages of which she only was qualified to judge. +Sophia Westwyn had embarked, four years previous to this date, for +England, in company with an English lady and her husband. The +arrangements that were made forbade either of the friends to hope for a +future meeting. Yet now, by virtue of this project, this meeting seemed +no longer to be hopeless.</p> + +<p>This burst of new ideas and now hopes on the mind of Constantia took +place in the course of a single hour. No change in her external +situation had been wrought, and yet her mind had undergone the most +signal revolution. Tho novelty as well as greatness of the prospect kept +her in a state of elevation and awe, more ravishing than any she had +ever experienced. Anticipations of intercourse with nature in her most +august forms, with men in diversified states of society, with the +posterity of Greeks and Romans, and with the actors that were now upon +the stage, and, above all, with the being whom absence and the want of +other attachments had, in some sort, contributed to deify, made this +night pass away upon the wings of transport.</p> + +<p>The hesitation which existed on parting with her father speedily gave +place to an ardour impatient of the least delay. She saw no impediments +to the immediate commencement of the voyage. To delay it a month, or +even a week, seemed to be unprofitable tardiness. In this ferment of her +thoughts, she was neither able nor willing to sleep. In arranging the +means of departure and anticipating the events that would successively +arise, there was abundant food for contemplation.</p> + +<p>She marked the first dawnings of the day, and rose. She felt reluctance +to break upon her father's morning slumbers, but considered that her +motives were extremely urgent, and that the pleasure afforded him by her +zealous approbation of his scheme would amply compensate him for this +unseasonable intrusion on his rest. She hastened therefore to his +chamber. She entered with blithesome steps, and softly drew aside the +curtain.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h3> + + +<p>Unhappy Constantia! At the moment when thy dearest hopes had budded +afresh, when the clouds of insecurity and disquiet had retired from thy +vision, wast thou assailed by the great subverter of human schemes. Thou +sawest nothing in futurity but an eternal variation and succession of +delights. Thou wast hastening to forget dangers and sorrows which thou +fondly imaginedst were never to return. This day was to be the outset of +a new career; existence was henceforth to be embellished with enjoyments +hitherto scarcely within the reach of hope.</p> + +<p>Alas! thy predictions of calamity seldom failed to be verified. Not so +thy prognostics of pleasure. These, though fortified by every +calculation of contingencies, were edifices grounded upon nothing. Thy +life was a struggle with malignant destiny,—a contest for happiness in +which thou wast fated to be overcome.</p> + +<p>She stooped to kiss the venerable cheek of her father, and, by +whispering, to break his slumber. Her eye was no sooner fixed upon his +countenance, than she started back and shrieked. She had no power to +forbear. Her outcries were piercing and vehement. They ceased only with +the cessation of breath. She sunk upon a chair in a state partaking more +of death than of life, mechanically prompted to give vent to her agonies +in shrieks, but incapable of uttering a sound.</p> + +<p>The alarm called her servants to the spot. They beheld her dumb, wildly +gazing, and gesticulating in a way that indicated frenzy. She made no +resistance to their efforts, but permitted them to carry her back to her +own chamber. Sarah called upon her to speak, and to explain the cause +of these appearances; but the shock which she had endured seemed to have +irretrievably destroyed her powers of utterance.</p> + +<p>The terrors of the affectionate Sarah were increased. She kneeled by the +bedside of her mistress, and, with streaming eyes, besought the unhappy +lady to compose herself. Perhaps the sight of weeping in another +possessed a sympathetic influence, or nature had made provision for this +salutary change. However that be, a torrent of tears now came to her +succour, and rescued her from a paroxysm of insanity which its longer +continuance might have set beyond the reach of cure.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, a glance at his master's countenance made Fabian fully +acquainted with the nature of the scene. The ghastly visage of Mr. +Dudley showed that he was dead, and that he had died in some terrific +and mysterious manner. As soon as this faithful servant recovered from +surprise, the first expedient which his ingenuity suggested was to fly +with tidings of this event to Mr. Melbourne. That gentleman instantly +obeyed the summons. With the power of weeping, Constantia recovered the +power of reflection. This, for a time, served her only as a medium of +anguish. Melbourne mingled his tears with hers, and endeavoured, by +suitable remonstrances, to revive her fortitude.</p> + +<p>The filial passion is perhaps instinctive to man; but its energy is +modified by various circumstances. Every event in the life of Constantia +contributed to heighten this passion beyond customary bounds. In the +habit of perpetual attendance on her father, of deriving from him her +knowledge, and sharing with him the hourly fruits of observation and +reflection, his existence seemed blended with her own. There was no +other whose concurrence and council she could claim, with whom a +domestic and uninterrupted alliance could be maintained. The only bond +of consanguinity was loosened, the only prop of friendship was taken +away.</p> + +<p>Others, perhaps, would have observed that her father's existence had +been merely a source of obstruction and perplexity; that she had +hitherto acted by her own wisdom, and would find, hereafter, less +difficulty in her choice of schemes, and fewer impediments to the +execution. These reflections occurred not to her. This disaster had +increased, to an insupportable degree, the vacancy and dreariness of her +existence. The face she was habituated to behold had disappeared +forever; the voice whose mild and affecting tones had so long been +familiar to her ears was hushed into eternal silence. The felicity to +which she clung was ravished away; nothing remained to hinder her from +sinking into utter despair.</p> + +<p>The first transports of grief having subsided, a source of consolation +seemed to be opened in the belief that her father had only changed one +form of being for another; that he still lived to be the guardian of her +peace and honour, to enter the recesses of her thought, to forewarn her +of evil and invite her to good. She grasped at these images with +eagerness, and fostered them as the only solaces of her calamity. They +were not adapted to inspire her with cheerfulness, but they sublimed her +sensations, and added an inexplicable fascination to sorrow.</p> + +<p>It was unavoidable sometimes to reflect upon the nature of that death +which had occurred. Tokens were sufficiently apparent that outward +violence had been the cause. Who could be the performer of so black a +deed, by what motives he was guided, were topics of fruitless +conjecture. She mused upon this subject, not from the thirst of +vengeance, but from a mournful curiosity. Had the perpetrator stood +before her and challenged retribution, she would not have lifted a +finger to accuse or to punish. The evil already endured left her no +power to concert and execute projects for extending that evil to others. +Her mind was unnerved, and recoiled with loathing from considerations of +abstract justice, or political utility, when they prompted to the +prosecution of the murderer.</p> + +<p>Melbourne was actuated by different views, but on this subject he was +painfully bewildered. Mr. Dudley's deportment to his servants and +neighbours was gentle and humane. He had no dealings with the +trafficking or labouring part of mankind. The fund which supplied his +cravings of necessity or habit was his daughter's. His recreations and +employments were harmless and lonely. The evil purpose was limited to +his death, for his chamber was exactly in the same state in which +negligent security had left it. No midnight footstep or voice, no +unbarred door or lifted window, afforded tokens of the presence or +traces of the entrance or flight of the assassin.</p> + +<p>The meditations of Constantia, however, could not fail in some of their +circuities to encounter the image of Craig. His agency in the +impoverishment of her father, and in the scheme by which she had like to +have been loaded with the penalties of forgery, was of an impervious and +unprecedented kind. Motives were unveiled by time, in some degree +accounting for his treacherous proceeding; but there was room to suppose +an inborn propensity to mischief. Was he not the author of this new +evil? His motives and his means were equally inscrutable, but their +inscrutability might flow from her own defects in discernment and +knowledge, and time might supply her defects in this as in former +instances.</p> + +<p>These images were casual. The causes of the evil were seldom +contemplated. Her mind was rarely at liberty to wander from reflection +on her irremediable loss. Frequently, when confused by distressful +recollections, she would detect herself going to her father's chamber. +Often his well-known accents would ring in her ears, and the momentary +impulse would be to answer his calls. Her reluctance to sit down to her +meals without her usual companion could scarcely be surmounted.</p> + +<p>In this state of mind, the image of the only friend who survived, or +whose destiny, at least, was doubtful, occurred to her. She sunk into +fits of deeper abstraction and dissolved away in tears of more agonizing +tenderness. A week after her father's interment, she shut herself up in +her chamber, to torment herself with fruitless remembrances. The name of +Sophia Westwyn was pronounced, and the ditty that solemnized their +parting was sung. Now, more than formerly, she became sensible of the +loss of that portrait which had been deposited in the hands of M'Crea as +a pledge. As soon as her change of fortune had supplied her with the +means of redeeming it, she hastened to M'Crea for that end. To her +unspeakable disappointment, he was absent from the city; he had taken a +long journey, and the exact period of his return could not be +ascertained. His clerks refused to deliver the picture, or even, by +searching, to discover whether it was still in their master's +possession. This application had frequently and lately been repeated, +but without success; M'Crea had not yet returned, and his family were +equally in the dark as to the day on which his return might be expected.</p> + +<p>She determined, on this occasion, to renew her visit. Her incessant +disappointments had almost extinguished hope, and she made inquiries at +his door, with a faltering accent and sinking heart. These emotions were +changed into surprise and delight, when answer was made that he had just +arrived. She was instantly conducted into his presence.</p> + +<p>The countenance of M'Crea easily denoted that his visitant was by no +means acceptable. There was a mixture of embarrassment and sullenness in +his air, which was far from being diminished when the purpose of this +visit was explained. Constantia reminded him of the offer and acceptance +of this pledge, and of the conditions with which the transaction was +accompanied.</p> + +<p>He acknowledged, with some hesitation, that a promise had been given to +retain the pledge until it were in her power to redeem it; but the long +delay, the urgency of his own wants, and particularly the ill treatment +which he conceived himself to have suffered in the transaction +respecting the forged note, had, in his own opinion, absolved him from +this promise. He had therefore sold the picture to a goldsmith, for as +much as the gold about it was worth.</p> + +<p>This information produced, in the heart of Constantia, a contest between +indignation and sorrow, that for a time debarred her from speech. She +stifled the anger that was, at length, rising to her lips, and calmly +inquired to whom the picture had been sold.</p> + +<p>M'Crea answered that for his part he had little dealings in gold and +silver, but every thing of that kind which fell to his share he +transacted with Mr. D——. This person was one of the most eminent of +his profession. His character and place of abode were universally +known. Tho only expedient that remained was to apply to him, and to +ascertain, forthwith, the destiny of the picture. It was too probable +that, when separated from its case, the portrait was thrown away or +destroyed, as a mere encumbrance, but the truth was too momentous to be +made the sport of mere probability. She left the house of M'Crea, and +hastened to that of the goldsmith.</p> + +<p>The circumstance was easily recalled to his remembrance. It was true +that such a picture had been offered for sale, and that he had purchased +it. The workmanship was curious, and he felt unwilling to destroy it. He +therefore hung it up in his shop and indulged the hope that a purchaser +would some time be attracted by the mere beauty of the toy.</p> + +<p>Constantia's hopes were revived by these tidings, and she earnestly +inquired if it were still in his possession.</p> + +<p>"No. A young gentleman had entered his shop some months before: the +picture had caught his fancy, and he had given a price which the artist +owned he should not have demanded, had he not been encouraged by the +eagerness which the gentleman betrayed to possess it."</p> + +<p>"Who was this gentleman? Had there been any previous acquaintance +between them? What was his name, his profession, and where was he to be +found?"</p> + +<p>"Really," the goldsmith answered, "he was ignorant respecting all those +particulars. Previously to this purchase, the gentleman had sometimes +visited his shop; but he did not recollect to have since seen him. He +was unacquainted with his name and his residence."</p> + +<p>"What appeared to be his motives for purchasing this picture?"</p> + +<p>"The customer appeared highly pleased with it. Pleasure, rather than +surprise, seemed to be produced by the sight of it. If I were permitted +to judge," continued the artist, "I should imagine that the young man +was acquainted with the original. To say the truth, I hinted as much at +the time, and I did not see that he discouraged the supposition. Indeed, +I cannot conceive how the picture could otherwise have gained any value +in his eyes."</p> + +<p>This only heightened the eagerness of Constantia to trace the footsteps +of the youth. It was obvious to suppose some communication or connection +between her friend and this purchaser. She repeated her inquiries, and +the goldsmith, after some consideration, said, "Why, on second thoughts, +I seem to have some notion of having seen a figure like that of my +customer go into a lodging-house in Front Street, some time before I met +with him at my shop."</p> + +<p>The situation of this house being satisfactorily described, and the +artist being able to afford her no further information, except as to +stature and guise, she took her leave. There were two motives impelling +her to prosecute her search after this person,—the desire of regaining +this portrait and of procuring tidings of her friend. Involved as she +was in ignorance, it was impossible to conjecture how far this incident +would be subservient to these inestimable purposes. To procure an +interview with this stranger was the first measure which prudence +suggested.</p> + +<p>She knew not his name or his person. He was once seen entering a +lodging-house. Thither she must immediately repair; but how to introduce +herself, how to describe the person of whom she was in search, she knew +not. She was beset with embarrassments and difficulties. While her +attention was entangled by these, she proceeded unconsciously on her +way, and stopped not until she reached the mansion that had been +described. Here she paused to collect her thoughts.</p> + +<p>She found no relief in deliberation. Every moment added to her +perplexity and indecision. Irresistibly impelled by her wishes, she at +length, in a mood that partook of desperate, advanced to the door and +knocked. The summons was immediately obeyed by a woman of decent +appearance. A pause ensued, which Constantia at length terminated by a +request to see the mistress of the house.</p> + +<p>The lady courteously answered that she was the person, and immediately +ushered her visitant into an apartment. Constantia being seated, the +lady waited for the disclosure of her message. To prolong the silence +was only to multiply embarrassments. She reverted to the state of her +feelings, and saw that they flowed from inconsistency and folly. One +vigorous effort was sufficient to restore her to composure and +self-command.</p> + +<p>She began with apologizing for a visit unpreceded by an introduction. +The object of her inquiries was a person with whom it was of the utmost +moment that she should procure a meeting, but whom, by an unfortunate +concurrence of circumstances, she was unable to describe by the usual +incidents of name and profession. Her knowledge was confined to his +external appearance, and to the probability of his being an inmate of +this house at the beginning of the year. She then proceeded to describe +his person and dress.</p> + +<p>"It is true," said the lady; "such a one as you describe has boarded in +this house. His name was Martynne. I have good reason to remember him, +for he lived with me three months, and then left the country without +paying for his board."</p> + +<p>"He has gone, then?" said Constantia, greatly discouraged by these +tidings.</p> + +<p>"Yes. He was a man of specious manners and loud pretensions. He came +from England, bringing with him forged recommendatory letters, and, +after passing from one end of the country to the other, contracting +debts which he never paid and making bargains which he never fulfilled, +he suddenly disappeared. It is likely that he has returned to Europe."</p> + +<p>"Had he no kindred, no friends, no companions?"</p> + +<p>"He found none here. He made pretences to alliances in England, which +better information has, I believe, since shown to be false."</p> + +<p>This was the sum of the information procurable from this source. +Constantia was unable to conceal her chagrin. These symptoms were +observed by the lady, whose curiosity was awakened in turn. Questions +were obliquely started, inviting Constantia to a disclosure of her +thoughts. No advantage would arise from confidence, and the guest, after +a few minutes of abstraction and silence, rose to take her leave.</p> + +<p>During this conference, some one appeared to be negligently sporting +with the keys of a harpsichord, in the next apartment. The notes were +too irregular and faint to make a forcible impression on the ear. In the +present state of her mind, Constantia was merely conscious of the sound, +in the intervals of conversation. Having arisen from her seat, her +anxiety to obtain some information that might lead to the point she +wished made her again pause. She endeavoured to invent some new +interrogatory better suited to her purpose than those which had already +been employed. A silence on both sides ensued.</p> + +<p>During this interval, the unseen musician suddenly refrained from +rambling, and glided into notes of some refinement and complexity. The +cadence was aerial; but a thunderbolt, falling at her feet, would not +have communicated a more visible shock to the senses of Constantia. A +glance that denoted a tumult of soul bordering on distraction was now +fixed upon the door that led into the room from whence the harmony +proceeded. Instantly the cadence was revived, and some accompanying +voice was heard to warble,—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Ah! far beyond this world of woes</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">We meet to part,—to part no more."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Joy and grief, in their sudden onset and their violent extremes, +approach so nearly in their influence on human beings as scarce to be +distinguished. Constantia's frame was still enfeebled by her recent +distresses. The torrent of emotion was too abrupt and too vehement. Her +faculties were overwhelmed, and she sunk upon the floor motionless and +without sense, but not till she had faintly articulated,—</p> + +<p>"My God! My God! This is a joy unmerited and too great."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + + +<p>I must be forgiven if I now introduce myself on the stage. Sophia +Westwyn is the friend of Constantia, and the writer of this narrative. +So far as my fate was connected with that of my friend, it is worthy to +be known. That connection has constituted the joy and misery of my +existence, and has prompted me to undertake this task.</p> + +<p>I assume no merit from the desire of knowledge and superiority to +temptation. There is little of which I can boast; but that little I +derived, instrumentally, from Constantia. Poor as my attainments are, it +is to her that I am indebted for them all. Life itself was the gift of +her father, but my virtue and felicity are her gifts. That I am neither +indigent nor profligate, flows from her bounty.</p> + +<p>I am not unaware of the divine superintendence,—of the claims upon my +gratitude and service which pertain to my God. I know that all physical +and moral agents are merely instrumental to the purpose that he wills; +but, though the great Author of being and felicity must not be +forgotten, it is neither possible nor just to overlook the claims upon +our love with which our fellow-beings are invested.</p> + +<p>The supreme love does not absorb, but chastens and enforces, all +subordinate affections. In proportion to the rectitude of my perceptions +and the ardour of my piety, must I clearly discern and fervently love +the excellence discovered in my fellow-beings, and industriously promote +their improvement and felicity.</p> + +<p>From my infancy to my seventeenth year, I lived in the house of Mr. +Dudley. On the day of my birth I was deserted by my mother. Her temper +was more akin to that of tigress than woman. Yet that is unjust; for +beasts cherish their offspring. No natures but human are capable of that +depravity which makes insensible to the claims of innocence and +helplessness.</p> + +<p>But let me not recall her to memory. Have I not enough of sorrow? Yet to +omit my causes of disquiet, the unprecedented forlornness of my +condition, and the persecutions of an unnatural parent, would be to +leave my character a problem, and the sources of my love of Miss Dudley +unexplored. Yet I must not dwell upon that complication of iniquities, +that savage ferocity and unextinguishable hatred of me, which +characterized my unhappy mother.</p> + +<p>I was not safe under the protection of Mr. Dudley, nor happy in the +caresses of his daughter. My mother asserted the privilege of that +relation: she laboured for years to obtain the control of my person and +actions, to snatch me from a peaceful and chaste asylum, and detain me +in her own house, where, indeed, I should not have been in want of +raiment and food; but where—</p> + +<p>O my mother! Let me not dishonour thy name! Yet it is not in my power to +enhance thy infamy. Thy crimes, unequalled as they were, were perhaps +expiated by thy penitence. Thy offences are too well known; but perhaps +they who witnessed thy freaks of intoxication, thy defiance of public +shame, the enormity of thy pollutions, the infatuation that made thee +glory in the pursuit of a loathsome and detestable trade, may be +strangers to the remorse and the abstinence which accompanied the close +of thy ignominious life.</p> + +<p>For ten years was my peace incessantly molested by the menaces or +machinations of my mother. The longer she meditated my destruction, the +more tenacious of her purpose and indefatigable in her efforts she +became. That my mind was harassed with perpetual alarms was not enough. +The fame and tranquillity of Mr. Dudley and his daughter were hourly +assailed. My mother resigned herself to the impulses of malignity and +rage. Headlong passions, and a vigorous though perverted understanding, +were hers. Hence, her stratagems to undermine the reputation of my +protector, and to bereave him of domestic comfort, were subtle and +profound. Had she not herself been careless of that good which she +endeavoured to wrest from others, her artifices could scarcely have been +frustrated.</p> + +<p>In proportion to the hazard which accrued to my protector and friend, +the more ardent their zeal in my defence and their affection for my +person became. They watched over me with ineffable solicitude. At all +hours and in every occupation, I was the companion of Constantia. All my +wants were supplied in the same proportion as hers. The tenderness of +Mr. Dudley seemed equally divided between us. I partook of his +instructions, and the means of every intellectual and personal +gratification were lavished upon me.</p> + +<p>The speed of my mother's career in infamy was at length slackened. She +left New York, which had long been the theatre of her vices. Actuated by +a now caprice, she determined to travel through the Southern States. +Early indulgence was the cause of her ruin, but her parents had given +her the embellishments of a fashionable education. She delighted to +assume all parts, and personate the most opposite characters. She now +resolved to carry a new name, and the mask of virtue, into scenes +hitherto unvisited.</p> + +<p>She journeyed as far as Charleston. Here she met an inexperienced youth, +lately arrived from England, and in possession of an ample fortune. Her +speciousness and artifices seduced him into a precipitate marriage. Her +true character, however, could not be long concealed by herself, and her +vices had been too conspicuous for her long to escape recognition. Her +husband was infatuated by her blandishments. To abandon her, or to +contemplate her depravity with unconcern, were equally beyond his power. +Romantic in his sentiments, his fortitude was unequal to his +disappointments, and he speedily sunk into the grave. By a similar +refinement in generosity, he bequeathed to her his property.</p> + +<p>With this accession of wealth, she returned to her ancient abode. The +mask lately worn seemed preparing to be thrown aside, and her profligate +habits to be resumed with more eagerness than ever; but an unexpected +and total revolution was effected, by the exhortations of a Methodist +divine. Her heart seemed, on a sudden, to be remoulded, her vices and +the abettors of them were abjured, she shut out the intrusions of +society, and prepared to expiate, by the rigours of abstinence and the +bitterness of tears, the offences of her past life.</p> + +<p>In this, as in her former career, she was unacquainted with restraint +and moderation. Her remorses gained strength in proportion as she +cherished them. She brooded over the images of her guilt, till the +possibility of forgiveness and remission disappeared. Her treatment of +her daughter and her husband constituted the chief source of her +torment. Her awakened conscience refused her a momentary respite from +its persecutions. Her thoughts became, by rapid degrees, tempestuous and +gloomy, and it was at length evident that her condition was maniacal.</p> + +<p>In this state, she was to me an object, no longer of terror, but +compassion. She was surrounded by hirelings, devoid of personal +attachment, and anxious only to convert her misfortunes to their own +advantage. This evil it was my duty to obviate. My presence, for a time, +only enhanced the vehemence of her malady; but at length it was only by +my attendance and soothing that she was diverted from the fellest +purposes. Shocking execrations and outrages, resolutions and efforts to +destroy herself and those around her, were sure to take place in my +absence. The moment I appeared before her, her fury abated, her +gesticulations were becalmed, and her voice exerted only in incoherent +and pathetic lamentations.</p> + +<p>These scenes, though so different from those which I had formerly been +condemned to witness, were scarcely less excruciating. The friendship of +Constantia Dudley was my only consolation. She took up her abode with +me, and shared with me every disgustful and perilous office which my +mother's insanity prescribed.</p> + +<p>Of this consolation, however, it was my fate to be bereaved. My mother's +state was deplorable, and no remedy hitherto employed was efficacious. A +voyage to England was conceived likely to benefit, by change of +temperature and scenes, and by the opportunity it would afford of trying +the superior skill of English physicians. This scheme, after various +struggles on my part, was adopted. It was detestable to my imagination, +because it severed me from that friend in whose existence mine was +involved, and without whose participation knowledge lost its attractions +and society became a torment.</p> + +<p>The prescriptions of my duty could not be disguised or disobeyed, and we +parted. A mutual engagement was formed to record every sentiment and +relate every event that happened in the life of either, and no +opportunity of communicating information was to be omitted. This +engagement was punctually performed on my part. I sought out every +method of conveyance to my friend, and took infinite pains to procure +tidings from her; but all were ineffectual.</p> + +<p>My mother's malady declined, but was succeeded by a pulmonary disease, +which threatened her speedy destruction. By the restoration of her +understanding, the purpose of her voyage was obtained, and my impatience +to return, which the inexplicable and ominous silence of my friend daily +increased, prompted me to exert all my powers of persuasion to induce +her to revisit America.</p> + +<p>My mother's frenzy was a salutary crisis in her moral history. She +looked back upon her past conduct with unspeakable loathing, but this +retrospect only invigorated her devotion and her virtue; but the thought +of returning to the scene of her unhappiness and infamy could not be +endured. Besides, life, in her eyes, possessed considerable attractions, +and her physicians flattered her with recovery from her present disease, +if she would change the atmosphere of England for that of Languedoc and +Naples.</p> + +<p>I followed her with murmurs and reluctance. To desert her in her present +critical state would have been inhuman. My mother's aversions and +attachments, habits and views, were dissonant with my own. Conformity of +sentiments and impressions of maternal tenderness did not exist to bind +us to each other. My attendance was assiduous, but it was the sense of +duty that rendered my attendance a supportable task.</p> + +<p>Her decay was eminently gradual. No time seemed to diminish her appetite +for novelty and change. During three years we traversed every part of +France, Switzerland, and Italy. I could not but attend to surrounding +scenes, and mark the progress of the mighty revolution, whose effects, +like agitation in a fluid, gradually spread from Paris, the centre, over +the face of the neighbouring kingdoms; but there passed not a day or an +hour in which the image of Constantia was not recalled, in which the +most pungent regrets were not felt at the inexplicable silence which had +been observed by her, and the most vehement longings indulged to return +to my native country. My exertions to ascertain her condition by +indirect means, by interrogating natives of America with whom I chanced +to meet, were unwearied, but, for a long period, ineffectual.</p> + +<p>During this pilgrimage, Rome was thrice visited. My mother's +indisposition was hastening to a crisis, and she formed the resolution +of closing her life at the bottom of Vesuvius. We stopped, for the sake +of a few days' repose, at Rome. On the morning after our arrival, I +accompanied some friends to view the public edifices. Casting my eyes +over the vast and ruinous interior of the Coliseum, my attention was +fixed by the figure of a young man whom, after a moment's pause, I +recollected to have seen in the streets of New York. At a distance from +home, mere community of country is no inconsiderable bond of affection. +The social spirit prompts us to cling even to inanimate objects, when +they remind us of ancient fellowships and juvenile attachments.</p> + +<p>A servant was despatched to summon this stranger, who recognised a +countrywoman with a pleasure equal to that which I had received. On +nearer view, this person, whose name was Courtland, did not belie my +favourable prepossessions. Our intercourse was soon established on a +footing of confidence and intimacy.</p> + +<p>The destiny of Constantia was always uppermost in my thoughts. This +person's acquaintance was originally sought chiefly in the hope of +obtaining from him some information respecting my friend. On inquiry, I +discovered that he had left his native city seven months after me. +Having tasked his recollection and compared a number of facts, the name +of Dudley at length recurred to him. He had casually heard the history +of Craig's imposture and its consequences. These were now related as +circumstantially as a memory occupied by subsequent incidents enabled +him. The tale had been told to him, in a domestic circle which he was +accustomed to frequent, by the person who purchased Mr. Dudley's lute +and restored it to its previous owner on the conditions formerly +mentioned.</p> + +<p>This tale filled me with anguish and doubt. My impatience to search out +this unfortunate girl, and share with her her sorrows or relieve them, +was anew excited by this mournful intelligence. That Constantia Dudley +was reduced to beggary was too abhorrent to my feelings to receive +credit; yet the sale of her father's property, comprising even his +furniture and clothing, seemed to prove that she had fallen even to this +depth. This enabled me in some degree to account for her silence. Her +generous spirit would induce her to conceal misfortunes from her friend +which no communication would alleviate. It was possible that she had +selected some new abode, and that, in consequence, the letters I had +written, and which amounted to volumes, had never reached her hands.</p> + +<p>My mother's state would not suffer me to obey the impulse of my heart. +Her frame was verging towards dissolution. Courtland's engagements +allowed him to accompany us to Naples, and here the long series of my +mother's pilgrimages closed in death. Her obsequies were no sooner +performed, than I determined to set out on my long-projected voyage. My +mother's property, which, in consequence of her decease, devolved upon +me, was not inconsiderable. There is scarcely any good so dear to a +rational being as competence. I was not unacquainted with its benefits, +but this acquisition was valuable to mo chiefly as it enabled me to +reunite my fate to that of Constantia.</p> + +<p>Courtland was my countryman and friend. He was destitute of fortune, and +had been led to Europe partly by the spirit of adventure, and partly on +a mercantile project. He had made sale of his property on advantageous +terms, in the ports of France, and resolved to consume the produce in +examining this scene of heroic exploits and memorable revolutions. His +slender stock, though frugally and even parsimoniously administered, was +nearly exhausted; and, at the time of our meeting at Rome, he was making +reluctant preparations to return.</p> + +<p>Sufficient opportunity was afforded us, in an unrestrained and domestic +intercourse of three months, which succeeded our Roman interview, to +gain a knowledge of each other. There was that conformity of tastes and +views between us which could scarcely fail, at an age and in a situation +like ours, to give birth to tenderness. My resolution to hasten to +America was peculiarly unwelcome to my friend. He had offered to be my +companion, but this offer my regard to his interest obliged me to +decline; but I was willing to compensate him for this denial, as well as +to gratify my own heart, by an immediate marriage.</p> + +<p>So long a residence in England and Italy had given birth to friendships +and connections of the dearest kind. I had no view but to spend my life +with Courtland, in the midst of my maternal kindred, who were English. A +voyage to America and reunion with Constantia were previously +indispensable; but I hoped that my friend might be prevailed upon, and +that her disconnected situation would permit her to return with me to +Europe. If this end could not be accomplished, it was my inflexible +purpose to live and die with her. Suitably to this arrangement, +Courtland was to repair to London, and wait patiently till I should be +able to rejoin him there, or to summon him to meet me in America.</p> + +<p>A week after my mother's death, I became a wife, and embarked the next +day, at Naples, in a Ragusan ship, destined for New York. The voyage was +tempestuous and tedious. The vessel was necessitated to make a short +stay at Toulon. The state of that city, however, then in possession of +the English and besieged by the revolutionary forces, was adverse to +commercial views. Happily, we resumed our voyage on the day previous to +that on which the place was evacuated by the British. Our seasonable +departure rescued us from witnessing a scene of horrors of which the +history of former wars furnishes us with few examples.</p> + +<p>A cold and boisterous navigation awaited us. My palpitations and +inquietudes augmented as we approached the American coast. I shall not +forget the sensations which I experienced on the sight of the Beacon at +Sandy Hook. It was first seen at midnight, in a stormy and beclouded +atmosphere, emerging from the waves, whose fluctuation allowed it, for +some time, to be visible only by fits. This token of approaching land +affected me as much as if I had reached the threshold of my friend's +dwelling.</p> + +<p>At length we entered the port, and I viewed, with high-raised but +inexplicable feelings, objects with which I had been from infancy +familiar. The flagstaff erected on the Battery recalled to my +imagination the pleasures of the evening and morning walks which I had +taken on that spot with the lost Constantia. The dream was fondly +cherished, that the figure which I saw loitering along the terrace was +hers.</p> + +<p>On disembarking, I gazed at every female passenger, in hope that it was +she whom I sought. An absence of three years had obliterated from my +memory none of the images which attended me on my departure.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h3> + + +<p>After a night of repose rather than of sleep, I began the search after +my friend. I went to the house which the Dudleys formerly inhabited, and +which had been the asylum of my infancy. It was now occupied by +strangers, by whom no account could be given of its former tenants. I +obtained directions to the owner of the house. He was equally unable to +satisfy my curiosity. The purchase had been made at a public sale, and +terms had been settled, not with Dudley, but with the sheriff.</p> + +<p>It is needless to say that the history of Craig's imposture and its +consequences were confirmed by every one who resided at that period in +New York. The Dudleys were well remembered, and their disappearance, +immediately after their fall, had been generally noticed; but whither +they had retired was a problem which no one was able to solve.</p> + +<p>This evasion was strange. By what motives the Dudleys were induced to +change their ancient abode could be vaguely guessed. My friend's +grandfather was a native of the West Indies. Descendants of the same +stock still resided in Tobago. They might be affluent, and to them it +was possible that Mr. Dudley, in this change of fortune, had betaken +himself for relief. This was a mournful expedient, since it would raise +a barrier between my friend and myself scarcely to be surmounted.</p> + +<p>Constantia's mother was stolen by Mr. Dudley from a convent at Amiens. +There were no affinities, therefore, to draw them to France. Her +grandmother was a native of Baltimore, of a family of some note, by name +Ridgeley. This family might still exist, and have either afforded an +asylum to the Dudleys, or, at least, be apprized of their destiny. It +was obvious to conclude that they no longer existed within the precincts +of New York. A journey to Baltimore was the next expedient.</p> + +<p>This journey was made in the depth of winter, and by the speediest +conveyance. I made no more than a day's sojourn in Philadelphia. The +epidemic by which that city had been lately ravaged, I had not heard of +till my arrival in America. Its devastations were then painted to my +fancy in the most formidable colours. A few months only had elapsed +since its extinction, and I expected to see numerous marks of misery and +depopulation.</p> + +<p>To my no small surprise, however, no vestiges of this calamity were to +be discerned. All houses were open, all streets thronged, and all faces +thoughtless or busy. The arts and the amusements of life seemed as +sedulously cultivated as ever. Little did I then think what had been, +and what at that moment was, the condition of my friend. I stopped for +the sake of respite from fatigue, and did not, therefore, pass much time +in the streets. Perhaps, had I walked seasonably abroad, we might have +encountered each other, and thus have saved ourselves from a thousand +anxieties.</p> + +<p>At Baltimore I made myself known, without the formality of introduction, +to the Ridgeleys. They acknowledged their relationship to Mr. Dudley, +but professed absolute ignorance of his fate. Indirect intercourse only +had been maintained, formerly, by Dudley with his mother's kindred. They +had heard of his misfortune a twelvemonth after it happened; but what +measures had been subsequently pursued, their kinsman had not thought +proper to inform them.</p> + +<p>The failure of this expedient almost bereft me of hope. Neither my own +imagination nor the Ridgeleys could suggest any new mode by which my +purpose was likely to be accomplished. To leave America without +obtaining the end of my visit could not be thought of without agony; and +yet the continuance of my stay promised me no relief from my +uncertainties.</p> + +<p>On this theme I ruminated without ceasing. I recalled every conversation +and incident of former times, and sought in them a clue by which my +present conjectures might be guided. One night, immersed alone in my +chamber, my thoughts were thus employed. My train of meditation was, on +this occasion, new. From the review of particulars from which no +satisfaction had hitherto been gained, I passed to a vague and +comprehensive retrospect.</p> + +<p>Mr. Dudley's early life, his profession of a painter, his zeal in this +pursuit, and his reluctance to quit it, were remembered. Would he not +revert to this profession when other means of subsistence were gone? It +is true, similar obstacles with those which had formerly occasioned his +resort to a different path existed at present, and no painter of his +name was to be found in Philadelphia, Baltimore, or New York. But would +it not occur to him, that the patronage denied to his skill by the +frugal and unpolished habits of his countrymen might, with more +probability of success, be sought from the opulence and luxury of +London? Nay, had he not once affirmed, in my hearing, that, if he ever +were reduced to poverty, this was the method he would pursue?</p> + +<p>This conjecture was too bewitching to be easily dismissed. Every new +reflection augmented its force. I was suddenly raised by it from the +deepest melancholy to the region of lofty and gay hopes. Happiness, of +which I had begun to imagine myself irretrievably bereft, seemed once +more to approach within my reach. Constantia would not only be found, +but be met in the midst of those comforts which her father's skill could +not fail to procure, and on that very stage where I most desired to +encounter her. Mr. Dudley had many friends and associates of his youth +in London. Filial duty had repelled their importunities to fix his abode +in Europe, when summoned home by his father. On his father's death these +solicitations had been renewed, but were disregarded for reasons which +he, afterwards, himself confessed were fallacious. That they would a +third time be preferred, and would regulate his conduct, seemed to me +incontestable.</p> + +<p>I regarded with wonder and deep regret the infatuation that had +hitherto excluded these images from my understanding and my memory. How +many dangers and toils had I endured since my embarkation at Naples, to +the present moment! How many lingering minutes had I told since my first +interview with Courtland! All were owing to my own stupidity. Had my +present thoughts been seasonably suggested, I might long since have been +restored to the embraces of my friend, without the necessity of an +hour's separation from my husband.</p> + +<p>These were evils to be repaired as far as it was possible. Nothing now +remained but to procure a passage to Europe. For this end diligent +inquiries were immediately set on foot. A vessel was found, which, in a +few weeks, would set out upon the voyage. Having bespoken a conveyance, +it was incumbent on me to sustain with patience the unwelcome delay.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, my mind, delivered from the dejection and perplexities that +lately haunted it, was capable of some attention to surrounding objects. +I marked the peculiarities of manners and language in my new abode, and +studied the effects which a political and religious system so opposite +to that with which I had conversed in Italy and Switzerland had +produced. I found that the difference between Europe and America lay +chiefly in this:—that, in the former, all things tended to extremes, +whereas, in the latter, all things tended to the same level. Genius, and +virtue, and happiness, on these shores, were distinguished by a sort of +mediocrity. Conditions were less unequal, and men were strangers to the +heights of enjoyment and the depths of misery to which the inhabitants +of Europe are accustomed.</p> + +<p>I received friendly notice and hospitable treatment from the Ridgeleys. +These people were mercantile and plodding in their habits. I found in +their social circle little exercise for the sympathies of my heart, and +willingly accepted their aid to enlarge the sphere of my observation.</p> + +<p>About a week before my intended embarkation, and when suitable +preparation had been made for that event, a lady arrived in town, who +was cousin to my Constantia. She had frequently been mentioned in +favourable terms in my hearing. She had passed her life in a rural +abode with her father, who cultivated his own domain, lying forty miles +from Baltimore.</p> + +<p>On an offer being made to introduce us to each other, I consented to +know one whose chief recommendation in my eyes consisted in her affinity +to Constantia Dudley. I found an artless and attractive female, +unpolished and undepraved by much intercourse with mankind. At first +sight, I was powerfully struck by the resemblance of her features to +those of my friend, which sufficiently denoted their connection with a +common stock.</p> + +<p>The first interview afforded mutual satisfaction. On our second meeting, +discourse insensibly led to the mention of Miss Dudley, and of the +design which had brought me to America. She was deeply affected by the +earnestness with which I expatiated on her cousin's merits, and by the +proofs which my conduct had given of unlimited attachment.</p> + +<p>I dwelt immediately on the measures which I had hitherto ineffectually +pursued to trace her footsteps, and detailed the grounds of my present +belief that we should meet in London. During this recital, my companion +sighed and wept. When I finished my tale, her tears, instead of ceasing, +flowed with new vehemence. This appearance excited some surprise, and I +ventured to ask the cause of her grief.</p> + +<p>"Alas!" she replied, "I am personally a stranger to my cousin, but her +character has been amply displayed to me by one who knew her well. I +weep to think how much she has suffered. How much excellence we have +lost!"</p> + +<p>"Nay," said I, "all her sufferings will, I hope, be compensated, and I +by no means consider her as lost. If my search in London be +unsuccessful, then shall I indeed despair."</p> + +<p>"Despair, then, already," said my sobbing companion, "for your search +will be unsuccessful. How I feel for your disappointment! but it cannot +be known too soon. My cousin is dead!"</p> + +<p>These tidings were communicated with tokens of sincerity and sorrow that +left me no room to doubt that they were believed by the relater. My own +emotions were suspended till interrogations had obtained a knowledge of +her reasons for crediting this fatal event, and till she had explained +the time and manner of her death. A friend of Miss Ridgeley's father had +witnessed the devastations of the yellow fever in Philadelphia. He was +apprized of the relationship that subsisted between his friend and the +Dudleys. He gave a minute and circumstantial account of the arts of +Craig. He mentioned the removal of my friends to Philadelphia, their +obscure and indigent life, and, finally, their falling victims to the +pestilence.</p> + +<p>He related the means by which he became apprized of their fate, and drew +a picture of their death, surpassing all that imagination can conceive +of shocking and deplorable. The quarter where they lived was nearly +desolate. Their house was shut up, and, for a time, imagined to be +uninhabited. Some suspicions being awakened in those who superintended +the burial of the dead, the house was entered, and the father and child +discovered to be dead. The former was stretched upon his wretched +pallet, while the daughter was found on the floor of the lower room, in +a state that denoted the sufferance not only of disease, but of famine.</p> + +<p>This tale was false. Subsequent discoveries proved this to be a +detestable artifice of Craig, who, stimulated by incurable habits, had +invented these disasters, for the purpose of enhancing the opinion of +his humanity and of furthering his views on the fortune and daughter of +Mr. Ridgeley.</p> + +<p>Its falsehood, however, I had as yet no means of ascertaining. I +received it as true, and at once dismissed all my claims upon futurity. +All hope of happiness, in this mutable and sublunary scene, was fled. +Nothing remained but to join my friend in a world where woes are at an +end and virtue finds recompense. "Surely," said I, "there will some time +be a close to calamity and discord. To those whose lives have been +blameless, but harassed by inquietudes to which not their own but the +errors of others have given birth, a fortress will hereafter be +assigned unassailable by change, impregnable to sorrow.</p> + +<p>"O my ill-fated Constantia! I will live to cherish thy remembrance, and +to emulate thy virtue. I will endure the privation of thy friendship and +the vicissitudes that shall befall me, and draw my consolation and +courage from the foresight of no distant close to this terrestrial +scene, and of ultimate and everlasting union with thee."</p> + +<p>This consideration, though it kept me from confusion and despair, could +not, but with the healing aid of time, render me tranquil or strenuous. +My strength was unequal to the struggle of my passions. The ship in +which I engaged to embark could not wait for my restoration to health, +and I was left behind.</p> + +<p>Mary Ridgeley was artless and affectionate. She saw that her society was +dearer to me than that of any other, and was therefore seldom willing to +leave my chamber. Her presence, less on her own account than by reason +of her personal resemblance and her affinity by birth to Constantia, was +a powerful solace.</p> + +<p>I had nothing to detain me longer in America. I was anxious to change my +present lonely state, for the communion of those friends in England, and +the performance of those duties, which were left to me. I was informed +that a British packet would shortly sail from New York. My frame was +sunk into greater weakness than I had felt at any former period; and I +conceived that to return to New York by water was more commodious than +to perform the journey by land.</p> + +<p>This arrangement was likewise destined to be disappointed. One morning I +visited, according to my custom, Mary Ridgeley. I found her in a temper +somewhat inclined to gayety. She rallied me, with great archness, on the +care with which I had concealed from her a tender engagement into which +I had lately entered.</p> + +<p>I supposed myself to comprehend her allusion, and therefore answered +that accident, rather than design, had made me silent on the subject of +marriage. She had hitherto known me by no appellation but Sophia +Courtland. I had thought it needless to inform her that I was indebted +for my name to my husband, Courtland being his name.</p> + +<p>"All that," said my friend, "I know already. And so you sagely think +that my knowledge goes no further than that? We are not bound to love +our husbands longer than their lives. There is no crime, I believe, in +referring the living to the dead; and most heartily do congratulate you +on your present choice."</p> + +<p>"What mean you? I confess, your discourse surpasses my comprehension."</p> + +<p>At that moment the bell at the door rung a loud peal. Miss Ridgeley +hastened down at this signal, saying, with much significance,—</p> + +<p>"I am a poor hand at solving a riddle. Here comes one who, if I mistake +not, will find no difficulty in clearing up your doubts."</p> + +<p>Presently she came up, and said, with a smile of still greater archness, +"Here is a young gentleman, a friend of mine, to whom I must have the +pleasure of introducing you. He has come for the special purpose of +solving my riddle." I attended her to the parlour without hesitation.</p> + +<p>She presented me, with great formality, to a youth, whose appearance did +not greatly prepossess me in favour of his judgement. He approached me +with an air supercilious and ceremonious; but the moment he caught a +glance at my face, he shrunk back, visibly confounded and embarrassed. A +pause ensued, in which Miss Ridgeley had opportunity to detect the error +into which she had been led by the vanity of this young man.</p> + +<p>"How now, Mr. Martynne!" said my friend, in a tone of ridicule; "is it +possible you do not know the lady who is the queen of your affections, +the tender and indulgent fair one whose portrait you carry in your +bosom, and whose image you daily and nightly bedew with your tears and +kisses?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Martynne's confusion, instead of being subdued by his struggle, only +grew more conspicuous; and, after a few incoherent speeches and +apologies, during which he carefully avoided encountering my eyes, he +hastily departed.</p> + +<p>I applied to my friend, with great earnestness, for an explanation of +this scene. It seems that, in the course of conversation with him on the +preceding day, he had suffered a portrait which hung at his breast to +catch Miss Ridgeley's eye. On her betraying a desire to inspect it more +nearly, he readily produced it. My image had been too well copied by the +artist not to be instantly recognised.</p> + +<p>She concealed her knowledge of the original, and, by questions well +adapted to the purpose, easily drew from him confessions that this was +the portrait of his mistress. He let fall sundry innuendoes and +surmises, tending to impress her with a notion of the rank, fortune, and +intellectual accomplishments of the nymph, and particularly of the +doting fondness and measureless confidence with which she regarded him.</p> + +<p>Her imperfect knowledge of my situation left her in some doubt as to the +truth of these pretensions, and she was willing to ascertain the truth +by bringing about an interview. To guard against evasions and artifice +in the lover, she carefully concealed from him her knowledge of the +original, and merely pretended that a friend of hers was far more +beautiful than her whom this picture represented. She added, that she +expected a visit from her friend the next morning, and was willing, by +showing her to Mr. Martynne, to convince him how much he was mistaken in +supposing the perfections of his mistress unrivalled.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h3> + + +<p>Martynne, while ho expressed his confidence that the experiment would +only confirm his triumph, readily assented to the proposal, and the +interview above described took place, accordingly, the next morning. Had +he not been taken by surprise, it is likely the address of a man who +possessed no contemptible powers would have extricated him from some of +his embarrassment.</p> + +<p>That my portrait should be in the possession of one whom I had never +before seen, and whose character and manners entitled him to no respect, +was a source of some surprise. This mode of multiplying faces is +extremely prevalent in this age, and was eminently characteristic of +those with whom I had associated in different parts of Europe. The +nature of my thoughts had modified my features into an expression which +my friends were pleased to consider as a model for those who desired to +personify the genius of suffering and resignation.</p> + +<p>Hence, among those whose religion permitted their devotion to a picture +of a female, the symbols of their chosen deity were added to features +and shape that resembled mine. My own caprice, as well as that of +others, always dictated a symbolical, and, in every new instance, a +different accompaniment of this kind. Hence was offered the means of +tracing the history of that picture which Martynne possessed.</p> + +<p>It had been accurately examined by Miss Ridgeley, and her description of +the frame in which it was placed instantly informed me that it was the +same which, at our parting, I left in the possession of Constantia. My +friend and myself were desirous of employing the skill of a Saxon +painter, by name Eckstein. Each of us were drawn by him, she with the +cincture of Venus, and I with the crescent of Dian. This symbol was +still conspicuous on the brow of that image which Miss Ridgeley had +examined, and served to identify the original proprietor.</p> + +<p>This circumstance tended to confirm my fears that Constantia was dead, +since that she would part with this picture during her life was not to +be believed. It was of little moment to discover how it came into the +hands of the present possessor. Those who carried her remains to the +grave had probably torn it from her neck and afterwards disposed of it +for money.</p> + +<p>By whatever means, honest or illicit, it had been acquired by Martynne, +it was proper that it should be restored to me. It was valuable to me, +because it had been the property of one whom I loved, and it might prove +highly injurious to my fame and my happiness, as the tool of this man's +vanity and the attestor of his falsehood. I therefore wrote him a +letter, acquainting him with my reasons for desiring the repossession of +this picture, and offering a price for it at least double its value as a +mere article of traffic. Martynne accepted the terms. He transmitted the +picture, and with it a note, apologizing for the artifice of which he +had been guilty, and mentioning, in order to justify his acceptance of +the price which I had offered, that he had lately purchased it for an +equal sum, of a goldsmith in Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>This information suggested a new reflection. Constantia had engaged to +preserve, for the use of her friend, copious and accurate memorials of +her life. Copies of these were, on suitable occasions, to be transmitted +to me during my residence abroad. These I had never received, but it was +highly probable that her punctuality, in the performance of the first +part of her engagement, had been equal to my own.</p> + +<p>What, I asked, had become of these precious memorials? In the wreck of +her property were these irretrievably engulfed? It was not probable that +they had been wantonly destroyed. They had fallen, perhaps, into hands +careless or unconscious of their value, or still lay, unknown and +neglected, at the bottom of some closet or chest. Their recovery might +be effected by vehement exertions, or by some miraculous accident. +Suitable inquiries, carried on among those who were active in those +scenes of calamity, might afford some clue by which the fate of the +Dudleys, and the disposition of their property, might come into fuller +light. These inquiries could be made only in Philadelphia, and thither, +for that purpose, I now resolved to repair. There was still an interval +of some weeks before the departure of the packet in which I proposed to +embark.</p> + +<p>Having returned to the capital, I devoted all my zeal to my darling +project. My efforts, however, were without success. Those who +administered charity and succour during that memorable season, and who +survived, could remove none of my doubts, nor answer any of my +inquiries. Innumerable tales, equally disastrous with those which Miss +Ridgeley had heard, were related; but, for a considerable period, none +of their circumstances were sufficiently accordant with the history of +the Dudleys.</p> + +<p>It is worthy of remark, in how many ways, and by what complexity of +motives, human curiosity is awakened and knowledge obtained. By its +connection with my darling purpose, every event in the history of this +memorable pest was earnestly sought and deeply pondered. The powerful +considerations which governed me made me slight those punctilious +impediments which, in other circumstances, would have debarred me from +intercourse with the immediate actors and observers. I found none who +were unwilling to expatiate on this topic, or to communicate the +knowledge they possessed. Their details were copious in particulars and +vivid in minuteness. They exhibited the state of manners, the +diversified effects of evil or heroic passions, and the endless forms +which sickness and poverty assume in the obscure recesses of a +commercial and populous city.</p> + +<p>Some of these details are too precious to be lost. It is above all +things necessary that we should be thoroughly acquainted with the +condition of our fellow-beings. Justice and compassion are the fruit of +knowledge. The misery that overspreads so large a part of mankind exists +chiefly because those who are able to relieve it do not know that it +exists. Forcibly to paint the evil, seldom fails to excite the virtue of +the spectator and seduce him into wishes, at least, if not into +exertions, of beneficence.</p> + +<p>The circumstances in which I was placed were, perhaps, wholly singular. +Hence, the knowledge I obtained was more comprehensive and authentic +than was possessed by any one, even of the immediate actors or +sufferers. This knowledge will not be useless to myself or to the world. +The motives which dictated the present narrative will hinder me from +relinquishing the pen till my fund of observation and experience be +exhausted. Meanwhile, let me resume the thread of my tale.</p> + +<p>The period allowed me before my departure was nearly expired, and my +purpose seemed to be as far from its accomplishment as ever. One evening +I visited a lady who was the widow of a physician whose disinterested +exertions had cost him his life. She dwelt with pathetic earnestness on +the particulars of her own distress, and listened with deep attention to +the inquiries and doubts which I had laid before her.</p> + +<p>After a pause of consideration, she said that an incident like that +related by me she had previously heard from one of her friends, whose +name she mentioned. This person was one of those whose office consisted +in searching out the sufferers, and affording them unsought and +unsolicited relief. She was offering to introduce me to this person, +when he entered the apartment.</p> + +<p>After the usual compliments, my friend led the conversation as I wished. +Between Mr. Thompson's tale and that related to Miss Ridgeley there was +an obvious resemblance. The sufferers resided in an obscure alley. They +had shut themselves up from all intercourse with their neighbours, and +had died, neglected and unknown. Mr. Thompson was vested with the +superintendence of this district, and had passed the house frequently +without suspicion of its being tenanted.</p> + +<p>He was at length informed, by one of those who conducted a hearse, that +he had seen the window in the upper story of this house lifted and a +female show herself. It was night, and the hearseman chanced to be +passing the door. He immediately supposed that the person stood in need +of his services, and stopped.</p> + +<p>This procedure was comprehended by the person at the window, who, +leaning out, addressed him in a broken and feeble voice. She asked him +why he had not taken a different route, and upbraided him for inhumanity +in leading his noisy vehicle past her door. She wanted repose, but the +ceaseless rumbling of his wheels would not allow her the sweet respite +of a moment.</p> + +<p>This invective was singular, and uttered in a voice which united the +utmost degree of earnestness with a feebleness that rendered it almost +inarticulate. The man was at a loss for a suitable answer. His pause +only increased the impatience of the person at the window, who called +upon him, in a still more anxious tone, to proceed, and entreated him to +avoid this alley for the future.</p> + +<p>He answered that he must come whenever the occasion called him; that +three persons now lay dead in this alley, and that he must be +expeditious in their removal; but that he would return as seldom and +make as little noise as possible.</p> + +<p>He was interrupted by new exclamations and upbraidings. These terminated +in a burst of tears, and assertions that God and man were her +enemies,—that they were determined to destroy her; but she trusted that +the time would come when their own experience would avenge her wrongs, +and teach them some compassion for the misery of others. Saying this, +she shut the window with violence, and retired from it, sobbing with a +vehemence that could be distinctly overheard by him in the street.</p> + +<p>He paused for some time, listening when this passion should cease. The +habitation was slight, and he imagined that he heard her traversing the +floor. While he stayed, she continued to vent her anguish in +exclamations and sighs and passionate weeping. It did not appear that +any other person was within.</p> + +<p>Mr. Thompson, being next day informed of these incidents, endeavoured to +enter the house; but his signals, though loud and frequently repeated, +being unnoticed, he was obliged to gain admission by violence. An old +man, and a female lovely in the midst of emaciation and decay, were +discovered without signs of life. The death of the latter appeared to +have been very recent.</p> + +<p>In examining the house, no traces of other inhabitants were to be found. +Nothing serviceable as food was discovered, but the remnants of mouldy +bread scattered on a table. No information could be gathered from +neighbours respecting the condition and name of these unfortunate +people. They had taken possession of this house during the rage of this +malady, and refrained from all communication with their neighbours.</p> + +<p>There was too much resemblance between this and the story formerly +heard, not to produce the belief that they related to the same persons. +All that remained was to obtain directions to the proprietor of this +dwelling, and exact from him all that he knew respecting his tenants.</p> + +<p>I found in him a man of worth and affability. He readily related, that a +man applied to him for the use of this house, and that the application +was received. At the beginning of the pestilence, a numerous family +inhabited this tenement, but had died in rapid succession. This new +applicant was the first to apprize him of this circumstance, and +appeared extremely anxious to enter on immediate possession.</p> + +<p>It was intimated to him that danger would arise from the pestilential +condition of the house. Unless cleansed and purified, disease would be +unavoidably contracted. The inconvenience and hazard this applicant was +willing to encounter, and, at length, hinted that no alternative was +allowed him by his present landlord but to lie in the street or to +procure some other abode.</p> + +<p>"What was the external appearance of this person?"</p> + +<p>"He was infirm, past the middle age, of melancholy aspect and indigent +garb. A year had since elapsed, and more characteristic particulars had +not been remarked, or were forgotten. The name had been mentioned, but, +in the midst of more recent and momentous transactions, had vanished +from remembrance. Dudley, or Dolby, or Hadley, seemed to approach more +nearly than any other sounds."</p> + +<p>Permission to inspect the house was readily granted. It had remained, +since that period, unoccupied. The furniture and goods were scanty and +wretched, and he did not care to endanger his safety by meddling with +them. He believed that they had not been removed or touched.</p> + +<p>I was insensible of any hazard which attended my visit, and, with the +guidance of a servant, who felt as little apprehension as myself, +hastened to the spot. I found nothing but tables and chairs. Clothing +was nowhere to be seen. An earthen pot, without handle, and broken, +stood upon the kitchen-hearth. No other implement or vessel for the +preparation of food appeared.</p> + +<p>These forlorn appearances were accounted for by the servant, by +supposing the house to have been long since rifled of every thing worth +the trouble of removal, by the villains who occupied the neighbouring +houses,—this alley, it seems, being noted for the profligacy of its +inhabitants.</p> + +<p>When I reflected that a wretched hovel like this had been, probably, the +last retreat of the Dudleys, when I painted their sufferings, of which +the numberless tales of distress of which I had lately been an auditor +enabled me to form an adequate conception, I felt as if to lie down and +expire on the very spot where Constantia had fallen was the only +sacrifice to friendship which time had left to me.</p> + +<p>From this house I wandered to the field where the dead had been, +promiscuously and by hundreds, interred. I counted the long series of +graves, which were closely ranged, and, being recently levelled, +exhibited the appearance of a harrowed field. Methought I could have +given thousands to know in what spot the body of my friend lay, that I +might moisten the sacred earth with my tears. Boards hastily nailed +together formed the best receptacle which the exigencies of the time +could grant to the dead. Many corpses were thrown into a single +excavation, and all distinctions founded on merit and rank were +obliterated. The father and child had been placed in the same cart and +thrown into the same hole.</p> + +<p>Despairing, by any longer stay in the city, to effect my purpose, and +the period of my embarkation being near, I prepared to resume my +journey. I should have set out the next day, but, a family with whom I +had made acquaintance expecting to proceed to New York within a week, I +consented to be their companion, and, for that end, to delay my +departure.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, I shut myself up in my apartment, and pursued avocations that +were adapted to the melancholy tenor of my thoughts. The day preceding +that appointed for my journey arrived. It was necessary to complete my +arrangements with the family with whom I was to travel, and to settle +with the lady whose apartments I occupied.</p> + +<p>On how slender threads does our destiny hang! Had not a momentary +impulse tempted me to sing my favourite ditty to the harpsichord, to +beguile the short interval during which my hostess was conversing with +her visitor in the next apartment, I should have speeded to New York, +have embarked for Europe, and been eternally severed from my friend, +whom I believed to have died in frenzy and beggary, but who was alive +and affluent, and who sought me with a diligence scarcely inferior to my +own. We imagined ourselves severed from each other by death or by +impassable seas; but, at the moment when our hopes had sunk to the +lowest ebb, a mysterious destiny conducted our footsteps to the same +spot.</p> + +<p>I heard a murmuring exclamation; I heard my hostess call, in a voice of +terror, for help; I rushed into the room; I saw one stretched on the +floor, in the attitude of death; I sprung forward and fixed my eyes upon +her countenance; I clasped my hands and articulated, "Constantia!"</p> + +<p>She speedily recovered from her swoon. Her eyes opened; she moved, she +spoke. Still methought it was an illusion of the senses that created the +phantom. I could not bear to withdraw my eyes from her countenance. If +they wandered for a moment, I fell into doubt and perplexity, and again +fixed them upon her, to assure myself of her existence.</p> + +<p>The succeeding three days were spent in a state of dizziness and +intoxication. The ordinary functions of nature were disturbed. The +appetite for sleep and for food were confounded and lost amidst the +impetuosities of a master-passion. To look and to talk to each other +afforded enchanting occupation for every moment. I would not part from +her side, but eat and slept, walked and mused and read, with my arm +locked in hers, and with her breath fanning my cheek.</p> + +<p>I have indeed much to learn. Sophia Courtland has never been wise. Her +affections disdain the cold dictates of discretion, and spurn at every +limit that contending duties and mixed obligations prescribe.</p> + +<p>And yet, O precious inebriation of the heart! O pre-eminent love! what +pleasure of reason or of sense can stand in competition with those +attendant upon thee? Whether thou hiest to the fanes of a benevolent +deity, or layest all thy homage at the feet of one who most visibly +resembles the perfections of our Maker, surely thy sanction is divine, +thy boon is happiness!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h3> + + +<p>The tumults of curiosity and pleasure did not speedily subside. The +story of each other's wanderings was told with endless amplification and +minuteness. Henceforth, the stream of our existence was to mix; we were +to act and to think in common; casual witnesses and written testimony +should become superfluous. Eyes and ears were to be eternally employed +upon the conduct of each other; death, when it should come, was not to +be deplored, because it was an unavoidable and brief privation to her +that should survive. Being, under any modification, is dear; but that +state to which death is a passage is all-desirable to virtue and +all-compensating to grief.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, precedent events were made the themes of endless +conversation. Every incident and passion in the course of four years was +revived and exhibited. The name of Ormond was, of course, frequently +repeated by my friend. His features and deportment were described; her +meditations and resolutions, with regard to him, fully disclosed. My +counsel was asked, in what manner it became her to act.</p> + +<p>I could not but harbour aversion to a scheme which should tend to sever +me from Constantia, or to give me a competitor in her affections. +Besides this, the properties of Ormond were of too mysterious a nature +to make him worthy of acceptance. Little more was known concerning him +than what he himself had disclosed to the Dudleys, but this knowledge +would suffice to invalidate his claims.</p> + +<p>He had dwelt, in his conversations with Constantia, sparingly on his own +concerns. Yet he did not hide from her that he had been left in early +youth to his own guidance; that he had embraced, when almost a child, +the trade of arms; that he had found service and promotion in the armies +of Potemkin and Romanzow; that he had executed secret and diplomatic +functions at Constantinople and Berlin; that in the latter city he had +met with schemers and reasoners who aimed at the new-modelling of the +world, and the subversion of all that has hitherto been conceived +elementary and fundamental in the constitution of man and of government; +that some of those reformers had secretly united to break down the +military and monarchical fabric of German policy; that others, more +wisely, had devoted their secret efforts, not to overturn, but to build; +that, for this end, they embraced an exploring and colonizing project; +that he had allied himself to these, and for the promotion of their +projects had spent six years of his life in journeys by sea and land, in +tracts unfrequented till then by any European.</p> + +<p>What were the moral or political maxims which this adventurous and +visionary sect had adopted, and what was the seat of their new-born +empire,—whether on the shore of an <i>austral</i> continent, or in the heart +of desert America,—he carefully concealed. These were exhibited or +hidden, or shifted, according to his purpose. Not to reveal too much, +and not to tire curiosity or overtask belief, was his daily labour. He +talked of alliance with the family whose name he bore, and who had lost +their honours and estates by the Hanoverian succession to the crown of +England.</p> + +<p>I had seen too much of innovation and imposture, in, France and Italy, +not to regard a man like this with aversion and fear. The mind of my +friend was wavering and unsuspicious. She had lived at a distance from +scenes where principles are hourly put to the test of experiment; where +all extremes of fortitude and pusillanimity are accustomed to meet; +where recluse virtue and speculative heroism gives place, as if by +magic, to the last excesses of debauchery and wickedness; where pillage +and murder are engrafted on systems of all-embracing and self-oblivious +benevolence, and the good of mankind is professed to be pursued with +bonds of association and covenants of secrecy. Hence, my friend had +decided without the sanction of experience, had allowed herself to +wander into untried paths, and had hearkened to positions pregnant with +destruction and ignominy.</p> + +<p>It was not difficult to exhibit in their true light the enormous errors +of this man, and the danger of prolonging their intercourse. Her assent +to accompany me to England was readily obtained. Too much despatch could +not be used; but the disposal of her property must first take place. +This was necessarily productive of some delay.</p> + +<p>I had been made, contrary to inclination, expert in the management of +all affairs relative to property. My mother's lunacy, subsequent +disease, and death, had imposed upon me obligations and cares little +suitable to my sex and age. They could not be eluded or transferred to +others; and, by degrees, experience enlarged my knowledge and +familiarized my tasks.</p> + +<p>It was agreed that I should visit and inspect my friend's estate in +Jersey, while she remained in her present abode, to put an end to the +views and expectations of Ormond, and to make preparation for her +voyage. We were reconciled to a temporary separation by the necessity +that prescribed it.</p> + +<p>During our residence together, the mind of Constantia was kept in +perpetual ferment. The second day after my departure, the turbulence of +her feelings began to subside, and she found herself at leisure to +pursue those measures which her present situation prescribed.</p> + +<p>The time prefixed by Ormond for the termination of his absence had +nearly arrived. Her resolutions respecting this man, lately formed, now +occurred to her. Her heart drooped as she revolved the necessity of +disuniting their fates; but that this disunion was proper could not +admit of doubt. How information of her present views might be most +satisfactorily imparted to him, was a question not instantly decided. +She reflected on the impetuosity of his character, and conceived that +her intentions might be most conveniently unfolded in a letter. This +letter she immediately sat down to write. Just then the door opened, and +Ormond entered the apartment.</p> + +<p>She was somewhat, and for a moment, startled by this abrupt and +unlooked-for entrance. Yet she greeted him with pleasure. Her greeting +was received with coldness. A second glance at his countenance informed +her that his mind was somewhat discomposed.</p> + +<p>Folding his hands on his breast, ho stalked to the window and looked up +at the moon. Presently he withdrew his gaze from this object, and fixed +it upon Constantia. He spoke, but his words were produced by a kind of +effort.</p> + +<p>"Fit emblem," he exclaimed, "of human versatility! One impediment is +gone. I hoped it was the only one. But no! the removal of that merely +made room for another. Let this be removed. Well, fate will interplace a +third. All our toils will thus be frustrated, and the ruin will finally +redound upon our heads." There he stopped.</p> + +<p>This strain could not be interpreted by Constantia. She smiled, and, +without noticing his incoherences, proceeded to inquire into his +adventures during their separation. He listened to her, but his eyes, +fixed upon hers, and his solemnity of aspect, were immovable. When she +paused, he seated himself close to her, and, grasping her hand with a +vehemence that almost pained her, said,—</p> + +<p>"Look at me; steadfastly. Can you read my thoughts? Can your discernment +reach the bounds of my knowledge and the bottom of my purposes? Catch +you not a view of the monsters that are starting into birth <i>here</i>?" +(and he put his left hand to his forehead.) "But you cannot. Should I +paint them to you verbally, you would call me jester or deceiver. What +pity that you have not instruments for piercing into thoughts!"</p> + +<p>"I presume," said Constantia, affecting cheerfulness which she did not +feel, "such instruments would be useless to me. You never scruple to say +what you think. Your designs are no sooner conceived than they are +expressed. All you know, all you wish, and all you purpose, are known +to others as soon as to yourself. No scruples of decorum, no foresight +of consequences, are obstacles in your way."</p> + +<p>"True," replied he; "all obstacles are trampled under foot but one."</p> + +<p>"What is the insuperable one?"</p> + +<p>"Incredulity in him that hears. I must not say what will not be +credited. I must not relate feats and avow schemes, when my hearer will +say, 'Those feats were never performed; these schemes are not yours.' I +care not if the truth of my tenets and the practicability of my purposes +be denied. Still, I will openly maintain them; but when my assertions +will themselves be disbelieved, when it is denied that I adopt the creed +and project the plans which I affirm to be adopted and projected by me, +it is needless to affirm.</p> + +<p>"To-morrow I mean to ascertain the height of the lunar mountains by +travelling to the top of them. Then I will station myself in the track +of the last comet, and wait till its circumvolution suffers me to leap +upon it; then, by walking on its surface, I will ascertain whether it be +hot enough to burn my soles. Do you believe that this can be done?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Do you believe, in consequence of my assertion, that I design to do +this, and that, in my apprehension, it is easy to be done?"</p> + +<p>"Not unless I previously believe you to be lunatic."</p> + +<p>"Then why should I assert my purposes? Why speak, when the hearer will +infer nothing from my speech but that I am either lunatic or liar?"</p> + +<p>"In that predicament, silence is best."</p> + +<p>"In that predicament I now stand. I am not going to unfold myself. Just +now, I pitied thee for want of eyes. 'Twas a foolish compassion. Thou +art happy, because thou seest not an inch before thee or behind." Here +he was for a moment buried in thought; then, breaking from his reverie, +he said, "So your father is dead?"</p> + +<p>"True," said Constantia, endeavouring to suppress her rising emotions; +"he is no more. It is so recent an event that I imagined you a stranger +to it."</p> + +<p>"False imagination! Thinkest thou I would refrain from knowing what so +nearly concerns us both? Perhaps your opinion of my ignorance extends +beyond this. Perhaps I know not your fruitless search for a picture. +Perhaps I neither followed you nor led you to a being called Sophia +Courtland. I was not present at the meeting. I am unapprized of the +effects of your romantic passion for each other. I did not witness the +rapturous effusions and inexorable counsels of the newcomer. I know not +the contents of the letter which you are preparing to write."</p> + +<p>As he spoke this, the accents of Ormond gradually augmented in +vehemence. His countenance bespoke a deepening inquietude and growing +passion. He stopped at the mention of the letter, because his voice was +overpowered by emotion. This pause afforded room for the astonishment of +Constantia. Her interviews and conversations with me took place at +seasons of general repose, when all doors were fast and avenues shut, in +the midst of silence, and in the bosom of retirement. The theme of our +discourse was, commonly, too sacred for any ears but our own; +disclosures were of too intimate and delicate a nature for any but a +female audience; they were too injurious to the fame and peace of Ormond +for him to be admitted to partake of them: yet his words implied a full +acquaintance with recent events, and with purposes and deliberations +shrouded, as we imagined, in impenetrable secrecy.</p> + +<p>As soon as Constantia recovered from the confusion of these thoughts, +she eagerly questioned him:—"What do you know? How do you know what has +happened, or what is intended?"</p> + +<p>"Poor Constantia!" he exclaimed, in a tone bitter and sarcastic. "How +hopeless is thy ignorance! To enlighten thee is past my power. What do I +know? Every thing. Not a tittle has escaped me. Thy letter is +superfluous; I know its contents before they are written. I was to be +told that a soldier and a traveller, a man who refused his faith to +dreams, and his homage to shadows, merited only scorn and +forgetfulness. That thy affections and person were due to another; that +intercourse between us was henceforth to cease; that preparation was +making for a voyage to Britain, and that Ormond was to walk to his grave +alone!"</p> + +<p>In spite of harsh tones and inflexible features, these words were +accompanied with somewhat that betrayed a mind full of discord and +agony. Constantia's astonishment was mingled with dejection. The +discovery of a passion deeper and less curable than she suspected—the +perception of embarrassments and difficulties in the path which she had +chosen, that had not previously occurred to her—threw her mind into +anxious suspense.</p> + +<p>The measures she had previously concerted were still approved. To part +from Ormond was enjoined by every dictate of discretion and duty. An +explanation of her motives and views could not take place more +seasonably than at present. Every consideration of justice to herself +and humanity to Ormond made it desirable that this interview should be +the last. By inexplicable means, he had gained a knowledge of her +intentions. It was expedient, therefore, to state them with clearness +and force. In what words this was to be done, was the subject of +momentary deliberation.</p> + +<p>Her thoughts were discerned, and her speech anticipated, by her +companion:—"Why droopest thou, and why thus silent, Constantia? The +secret of thy fate will never be detected. Till thy destiny be finished, +it will not be the topic of a single fear. But not for thyself, but me, +art thou concerned. Thou dreadest, yet determinest, to confirm my +predictions of thy voyage to Europe and thy severance from me.</p> + +<p>"Dismiss thy inquietudes on that score. What misery thy scorn and thy +rejection are able to inflict is inflicted already. Thy decision was +known to me as soon as it was formed. Thy motives were known. Not an +argument or plea of thy counsellor, not a syllable of her invective, not +a sound of her persuasive rhetoric, escaped my hearing. I know thy +decree to be immutable. As my doubts, so my wishes have taken their +flight. Perhaps, in the depth of thy ignorance, it was supposed that I +should struggle to reverse thy purpose by menaces or supplications; that +I should boast of the cruelty with which I should avenge an imaginary +wrong upon myself. No. All is very well. Go. Not a whisper of objection +or reluctance shalt thou hear from me."</p> + +<p>"If I could think," said Constantia, with tremulous hesitation, "that +you part from me without anger; that you see the rectitude of my +proceeding—"</p> + +<p>"Anger! Rectitude! I pr'ythee, peace. I know thou art going.—I know +that all objection to thy purpose would be vain. Thinkest thou that thy +stay, undictated by love, the mere fruit of compassion, would afford me +pleasure or crown my wishes? No. I am not so dastardly a wretch. There +was something in thy power to bestow, but thy will accords not with thy +power. I merit not the boon, and thou refusest it. I am content."</p> + +<p>Here Ormond fixed more significant eyes upon her. "Poor Constantia!" he +continued. "Shall I warn thee of the danger that awaits thee? For what +end? To elude it is impossible. It will come, and thou, perhaps, wilt be +unhappy. Foresight that enables not to shun, only precreates, the evil.</p> + +<p>"Come it will. Though future, it knows not the empire of contingency. An +inexorable and immutable decree enjoins it. Perhaps it is thy nature to +meet with calmness what cannot be shunned. Perhaps, when it is past, thy +reason will perceive its irrevocable nature, and restore thee to peace. +Such is the conduct of the wise; but such, I fear, the education of +Constantia Dudley will debar her from pursuing.</p> + +<p>"Fain would I regard it as the test of thy wisdom. I look upon thy past +life. All the forms of genuine adversity have beset thy youth. Poverty, +disease, servile labour, a criminal and hapless parent, have been evils +which thou hast not ungracefully sustained. An absent friend and +murdered father were added to thy list of woes, and here thy courage was +deficient. Thy soul was proof against substantial misery, but sunk into +helpless cowardice at the sight of phantoms.</p> + +<p>"One more disaster remains. To call it by its true name would be useless +or pernicious. Useless, because thou wouldst pronounce its occurrence +impossible; pernicious, because, if its possibility were granted, the +omen would distract thee with fear. How shall I describe it? Is it loss +of fame? No. The deed will be unwitnessed by a human creature. Thy +reputation will be spotless, for nothing will be done by thee unsuitable +to the tenor of thy past life. Calumny will not be heard to whisper. All +that know thee will be lavish of their eulogies as ever. Their eulogies +will be as justly merited. Of this merit thou wilt entertain as just and +as adequate conceptions as now.</p> + +<p>"It is no repetition of the evils thou hast already endured; it is +neither drudgery, nor sickness, nor privation of friends. Strange +perverseness of human reason! It is an evil; it will be thought upon +with agony; it will close up all the sources of pleasurable +recollection; it will exterminate hope; it will endear oblivion, and +push thee into an untimely grave. Yet to grasp it is impossible. The +moment we inspect it nearly, it vanishes. Thy claims to human +approbation and divine applause will be undiminished and unaltered by +it. The testimony of approving conscience will have lost none of its +explicitness and energy. Yet thou wilt feed upon sighs; thy tears will +flow without remission; thou wilt grow enamoured of death, and perhaps +wilt anticipate the stroke of disease.</p> + +<p>"Yet perhaps my prediction is groundless as my knowledge. Perhaps thy +discernment will avail to make thee wise and happy. Perhaps thou wilt +perceive thy privilege of sympathetic and intellectual activity to be +untouched. Heaven grant the non-fulfilment of my prophecy, thy +disenthralment from error, and the perpetuation of thy happiness."</p> + +<p>Saying this, Ormond withdrew. His words were always accompanied with +gestures and looks and tones that fastened the attention of the hearer; +but the terms of his present discourse afforded, independently of +gesticulation and utterance, sufficient motives to attention and +remembrance. He was gone, but his image was contemplated by Constantia; +his words still rung in her ears.</p> + +<p>The letter she designed to compose was rendered, by this interview, +unnecessary. Meanings of which she and her friend alone were conscious +were discovered by Ormond, through some other medium than words; yet +that was impossible. A being unendowed with preternatural attributes +could gain the information which this man possessed, only by the +exertion of his senses.</p> + +<p>All human precautions had been used to baffle the attempts of any secret +witness. She recalled to mind the circumstances in which conversations +with her friend had taken place. All had been retirement, secrecy, and +silence. The hours usually dedicated to sleep had been devoted to this +better purpose. Much had been said, in a voice low and scarcely louder +than a whisper. To have overheard it at the distance of a few feet was +apparently impossible.</p> + +<p>Their conversations had not been recorded by her. It could not be +believed that this had been done by Sophia Courtland. Had Ormond and her +friend met during the interval that had elapsed between her separation +from the latter and her meeting with the former? Human events are +conjoined by links imperceptible to keenest eyes. Of Ormond's means of +information she was wholly unapprized. Perhaps accident would some time +unfold them. One thing was incontestable:—that her schemes and her +reasons for adopting them were known to him.</p> + +<p>What unforeseen effects had that knowledge produced! In what ambiguous +terms had he couched his prognostics of some mighty evil that awaited +her! He had given a terrible but contradictory description of her +destiny. An event was to happen, akin to no calamity which she had +already endured, disconnected with all which the imagination of man is +accustomed to deprecate, capable of urging her to suicide, and yet of a +kind which left it undecided whether she would regard it with +indifference.</p> + +<p>What reliance should she place upon prophetic incoherences thus wild? +What precautions should she take against a danger thus inscrutable and +imminent?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + + +<p>These incidents and reflections were speedily transmitted to me. I had +always believed the character and machinations of Ormond to be worthy of +caution and fear. His means of information I did not pretend, and +thought it useless, to investigate. We cannot hide our actions and +thoughts from one of powerful sagacity, whom the detection sufficiently +interests to make him use all the methods of detection in his power. The +study of concealment is, in all cases, fruitless or hurtful. All that +duty enjoins is to design and to execute nothing which may not be +approved by a divine and omniscient Observer. Human scrutiny is neither +to be solicited nor shunned. Human approbation or censure can never be +exempt from injustice, because our limited perceptions debar us from a +thorough knowledge of any actions and motives but our own.</p> + +<p>On reviewing what had passed between Constantia and me, I recollected +nothing incompatible with purity and rectitude. That Ormond was apprized +of all that had passed, I by no means inferred from the tenor of his +conversation with Constantia; nor, if this had been incontestably +proved, should I have experienced any trepidation or anxiety on that +account.</p> + +<p>His obscure and indirect menaces of evil were of more importance. His +discourse on this topic seemed susceptible only of two constructions. +Either he intended some fatal mischief, and was willing to torment her +by fears, while he concealed from her the nature of her danger, that he +might hinder her from guarding her safety by suitable precautions; or, +being hopeless of rendering her propitious to his wishes, his malice was +satisfied with leaving her a legacy of apprehension and doubt. +Constantia's unacquaintance with the doctrines of that school in which +Ormond was probably instructed led her to regard the conduct of this man +with more curiosity and wonder than fear. She saw nothing but a +disposition to sport with her ignorance and bewilder her with doubts.</p> + +<p>I do not believe myself destitute of courage. Rightly to estimate the +danger and encounter it with firmness are worthy of a rational being; +but to place our security in thoughtlessness and blindness is only less +ignoble than cowardice. I could not forget the proofs of violence which +accompanied the death of Mr. Dudley. I could not overlook, in the recent +conversation with Constantia, Ormond's allusion to her murdered father. +It was possible that the nature of this death had been accidentally +imparted to him; but it was likewise possible that his was the knowledge +of one who performed the act.</p> + +<p>The enormity of this deed appeared by no means incongruous with the +sentiments of Ormond. Human life is momentous or trivial in our eyes, +according to the course which our habits and opinions have taken. +Passion greedily accepts, and habit readily offers, the sacrifice of +another's life, and reason obeys the impulse of education and desire.</p> + +<p>A youth of eighteen, a volunteer in a Russian army encamped in +Bessarabia, made prey of a Tartar girl, found in the field of a recent +battle. Conducting her to his quarters, he met a friend, who, on some +pretence, claimed the victim. From angry words they betook themselves to +swords. A combat ensued, in which the first claimant ran his antagonist +through the body. He then bore his prize unmolested away, and, having +exercised brutality of one kind upon the helpless victim, stabbed her to +the heart, as an offering to the <i>manes</i> of Sarsefield, the friend whom +he had slain. Next morning, willing more signally to expiate his guilt, +he rushed alone upon a troop of Turkish foragers, and brought away five +heads, suspended, by their gory locks, to his horse's mane. These he +cast upon the grave of Sarsefield, and conceived himself fully to have +expiated yesterday's offence. In reward for his prowess, the general +gave him a commission in the Cossack troops. This youth was Ormond; and +such is a specimen of his exploits during a military career of eight +years, in a warfare the most savage and implacable, and, at the same +time, the most iniquitous and wanton, which history records.</p> + +<p>With passions and habits like these, the life of another was a trifling +sacrifice to vengeance or impatience. How Mr. Dudley had excited the +resentment of Ormond, by what means the assassin had accomplished his +intention without awakening alarm or incurring suspicion, it was not for +me to discover. The inextricability of human events, the imperviousness +of cunning, and the obduracy of malice, I had frequent occasions to +remark.</p> + +<p>I did not labour to vanquish the security of my friend. As to +precautions, they were useless. There was no fortress, guarded by +barriers of stone and iron and watched by sentinels that never slept, to +which she might retire from his stratagems. If there were such a +retreat, it would scarcely avail her against a foe circumspect and +subtle as Ormond.</p> + +<p>I pondered on the condition of my friend. I reviewed the incidents of +her life. I compared her lot with that of others. I could not but +discover a sort of incurable malignity in her fate. I felt as if it were +denied to her to enjoy a long life or permanent tranquillity. I asked +myself what she had done, entitling her to this incessant persecution. +Impatience and murmuring took place of sorrow and fear in my heart. When +I reflected that all human agency was merely subservient to a divine +purpose, I fell into fits of accusation and impiety.</p> + +<p>This injustice was transient, and soberer views convinced me that every +scheme, comprising the whole, must be productive of partial and +temporary evil. The sufferings of Constantia were limited to a moment; +they were the unavoidable appendages of terrestrial existence; they +formed the only avenue to wisdom, and the only claim to uninterrupted +fruition and eternal repose in an after-scene.</p> + +<p>The course of my reflections, and the issue to which they led, were +unforeseen by myself. Fondly as I doted upon this woman, methought I +could resign her to the grave without a murmur or a tear. While my +thoughts were calmed by resignation, and my fancy occupied with nothing +but the briefness of that space and evanescence of that time which +severs the living from the dead, I contemplated, almost with +complacency, a violent or untimely close to her existence.</p> + +<p>This loftiness of mind could not always be accomplished or constantly +maintained. One effect of my fears was to hasten my departure to Europe. +There existed no impediment but the want of a suitable conveyance. In +the first packet that should leave America, it was determined to secure +a passage. Mr. Melbourne consented to take charge of Constantia's +property, and, after the sale of it, to transmit to her the money that +should thence arise.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, I was anxious that Constantia should leave her present abode +and join me in New York. She willingly adopted this arrangement, but +conceived it necessary to spend a few days at her house in Jersey. She +could reach the latter place without much deviation from the straight +road, and she was desirous of resurveying a spot where many of her +infantile days had been spent.</p> + +<p>This house and domain I have already mentioned to have once belonged to +Mr. Dudley. It was selected with the judgement and adorned with the taste +of a disciple of the schools of Florence and Vicenza. In his view, +cultivation was subservient to the picturesque, and a mansion was +erected, eminent for nothing but chastity of ornaments and simplicity of +structure. The massive parts were of stone; the outer surfaces were +smooth, snow-white, and diversified by apertures and cornices, in which +a cement uncommonly tenacious was wrought into proportions the most +correct and forms the most graceful. The floors, walls, and ceilings, +consisted of a still more exquisitely-tempered substance, and were +painted by Mr. Dudley's own hand. All appendages of this building, as +seats, tables, and cabinets, were modelled by the owner's particular +direction, and in a manner scrupulously classical.</p> + +<p>He had scarcely entered on the enjoyment of this splendid possession, +when it was ravished away. No privation was endured with more impatience +than this; but, happily, it was purchased by one who left Mr. Dudley's +arrangements unmolested, and who shortly after conveyed it entire to +Ormond. By him it was finally appropriated to the use of Helena Cleves, +and now, by a singular contexture of events, it had reverted to those +hands in which the death of the original proprietor, if no other change +had been made in his condition, would have left it. The farm still +remained in the tenure of a German emigrant, who held it partly on +condition of preserving the garden and mansion in safety and in perfect +order.</p> + +<p>This retreat was now revisited by Constantia, after an interval of four +years. Autumn had made some progress, but the aspect of nature was, so +to speak, more significant than at any other season. She was agreeably +accommodated under the tenant's roof, and found a nameless pleasure in +traversing spaces in which every object prompted an endless train of +recollections.</p> + +<p>Her sensations were not foreseen. They led to a state of mind +inconsistent, in some degree, with the projects adopted in obedience to +the suggestions of a friend. Every thing in this scene had been created +and modelled by the genius of her father. It was a kind of fane, +sanctified by his imaginary presence.</p> + +<p>To consign the fruits of his industry and invention to foreign and +unsparing hands seemed a kind of sacrilege, for which she almost feared +that the dead would rise to upbraid her. Those images which bind us to +our natal soil, to the abode of our innocent and careless youth, were +recalled to her fancy by the scenes which she now beheld. These were +enforced by considerations of the dangers which attended her voyage from +storms and from enemies, and from the tendency to revolution and war +which seemed to actuate all the nations of Europe. Her native country +was by no means exempt from similar tendencies, but these evils were +less imminent, and its manners and government, in their present +modifications, were unspeakably more favourable to the dignity and +improvement of the human race than those which prevailed in any part of +the ancient world.</p> + +<p>My solicitations and my obligation to repair to England overweighed her +objections, but her new reflections led her to form new determinations +with regard to this part of her property. She concluded to retain +possession, and hoped that some future event would allow her to return +to this favourite spot without forfeiture of my society. An abode of +some years in Europe would more eminently qualify her for the enjoyment +of retirement and safety in her native country. The time that should +elapse before her embarkation, she was desirous of passing among the +shades of this romantic retreat.</p> + +<p>I was by no means reconciled to this proceeding. I loved my friend too +well to endure any needless separation without repining. In addition to +this, the image of Ormond haunted my thoughts, and gave birth to +incessant but indefinable fears. I believed that her safety would very +little depend upon the nature of her abode, or the number or +watchfulness of her companions. My nearness to her person would +frustrate no stratagem, nor promote any other end than my own +entanglement in the same fold. Still, that I was not apprized each hour +of her condition, that her state was lonely and sequestered, were +sources of disquiet, the obvious remedy to which was her coming to New +York. Preparations for departure were assigned to me, and these required +my continuance in the city.</p> + +<p>Once a week, Laffert, her tenant, visited, for purposes of traffic, the +city. He was the medium of our correspondence. To him I intrusted a +letter, in which my dissatisfaction at her absence, and the causes which +gave it birth, were freely confessed.</p> + +<p>The confidence of safety seldom deserted my friend. Since her mysterious +conversation with Ormond, he had utterly vanished. Previous to that +interview, his visits or his letters were incessant and punctual; but +since, no token was given that he existed. Two months had elapsed. He +gave her no reason to expect a cessation of intercourse. He had parted +from her with his usual abruptness and informality. She did not conceive +it incumbent on her to search him out, but she would not have been +displeased with an opportunity to discuss with him more fully the +motives of her conduct. This opportunity had been hitherto denied.</p> + +<p>Her occupations in her present retreat were, for the most part, dictated +by caprice or by chance. The mildness of autumn permitted her to ramble, +during the day, from one rock and one grove to another. There was a +luxury in musing, and in the sensations which the scenery and silence +produced, which, in consequence of her long estrangement from them, were +accompanied with all the attractions of novelty, and from which she +would not consent to withdraw.</p> + +<p>In the evening she usually retired to the mansion, and shut herself up +in that apartment which, in the original structure of the house, had +been designed for study, and no part of whose furniture had been removed +or displaced. It was a kind of closet on the second floor, illuminated +by a spacious window, through which a landscape of uncommon amplitude +and beauty was presented to the view. Here the pleasures of the day were +revived, by recalling and enumerating them in letters to her friend. She +always quitted this recess with reluctance, and seldom till the night +was half spent.</p> + +<p>One evening she retired hither when the sun had just dipped beneath the +horizon. Her implements of writing were prepared; but, before the pen +was assumed, her eyes rested for a moment on the variegated hues which +were poured out upon the western sky and upon the scene of intermingled +waters, copses, and fields. The view comprised a part of the road which +led to this dwelling. It was partially and distantly seen, and the +passage of horses or men was betokened chiefly by the dust which was +raised by their footsteps.</p> + +<p>A token of this kind now caught her attention. It fixed her eye chiefly +by the picturesque effect produced by interposing its obscurity between +her and the splendours which the sun had left. Presently she gained a +faint view of a man and horse. This circumstance laid no claim to +attention, and she was withdrawing her eye, when the traveller's +stopping and dismounting at the gate made her renew her scrutiny. This +was reinforced by something in the figure and movements of the horseman +which reminded her of Ormond.</p> + +<p>She started from her seat with some degree of palpitation. Whence this +arose, whether from fear or from joy, or from intermixed emotions, it +would not be easy to ascertain. Having entered the gate, the visitant, +remounting his horse, set the animal on full speed. Every moment brought +him nearer, and added to her first belief. He stopped not till he +reached the mansion. The person of Ormond was distinctly recognised.</p> + +<p>An interview at this dusky and lonely hour, in circumstances so abrupt +and unexpected, could not fail to surprise, and, in some degree, to +alarm. The substance of his last conversation was recalled. The evils +which were darkly and ambiguously predicted thronged to her memory. It +seemed as if the present moment was to be, in some way, decisive of her +fate. This visit she did not hesitate to suppose designed for her, but +somewhat uncommonly momentous must have prompted him to take so long a +journey.</p> + +<p>The rooms on the lower floor were dark, the windows and doors being +fastened. She had entered the house by the principal door, and this was +the only one at present unlocked. The room in which she sat was over the +hall, and the massive door beneath could not be opened without noisy +signals. The question that occurred to her, by what means Ormond would +gain admittance to her presence, she supposed would be instantly +decided. She listened to hear his footsteps on the pavement, or the +creaking of hinges. The silence, however, continued profound as before.</p> + +<p>After a minute's pause, she approached the window more nearly and +endeavoured to gain a view of the space before the house. She saw +nothing but the horse, whose bridle was thrown over his neck, and who +was left at liberty to pick up what scanty herbage the lawn afforded to +his hunger. The rider had disappeared.</p> + +<p>It now occurred to her that this visit had a purpose different from that +which she at first conjectured. It was easily conceived that Ormond was +unacquainted with her residence at this spot. The knowledge could only +be imparted to him by indirect or illicit means. That these means had +been employed by him, she was by no means authorized to infer from the +silence and distance he had lately maintained. But if an interview with +her were not the purpose of his coming, how should she interpret it?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h3> + + +<p>While occupied with these reflections, the light hastily disappeared, +and darkness, rendered, by a cloudy atmosphere, uncommonly intense, +succeeded. She had the means of lighting a lamp that hung against the +wall, but had been too much immersed in thought to notice the deepening +of the gloom. Recovering from her reverie, she looked around her with +some degree of trepidation, and prepared to strike a spark that would +enable her to light her lamp.</p> + +<p>She had hitherto indulged an habitual indifference to danger. Now the +presence of Ormond, the unknown purpose that led him hither, and the +defencelessness of her condition, inspired her with apprehensions to +which she had hitherto been a stranger. She had been accustomed to pass +many nocturnal hours in this closet. Till now, nothing had occurred that +made her enter it with circumspection or continue in it with reluctance.</p> + +<p>Her sensations were no longer tranquil. Each minute that she spent in +this recess appeared to multiply her hazards. To linger here appeared to +her the height of culpable temerity. She hastily resolved to return to +the farmer's dwelling, and, on the morrow, to repair to New York. For +this end she was desirous to produce a light. The materials were at +hand.</p> + +<p>She lifted her hand to strike the flint, when her ear caught a sound +which betokened the opening of the door that led into the next +apartment. Her motion was suspended, and she listened as well as a +throbbing heart would permit. That Ormond's was the hand that opened, +was the first suggestion of her fears. The motives of this unseasonable +entrance could not be reconciled with her safety. He had given no +warning of his approach, and the door was opened with tardiness and +seeming caution.</p> + +<p>Sounds continued, of which no distinct conception could be obtained, or +the cause that produced them assigned. The floors of every apartment +being composed, like the walls and ceiling, of cement, footsteps were +rendered almost undistinguishable. It was plain, however, that some one +approached her own door.</p> + +<p>The panic and confusion that now invaded her was owing to surprise, and +to the singularity of her situation. The mansion was desolate and +lonely. It was night. She was immersed in darkness. She had not the +means, and was unaccustomed to the office, of repelling personal +injuries. What injuries she had reason to dread, who was the agent, and +what were his motives, were subjects Of vague and incoherent meditation.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, low and imperfect sounds, that had in them more of inanimate +than human, assailed her ear. Presently they ceased. An inexplicable +fear deterred her from calling. Light would have exercised a friendly +influence. This it was in her power to produce, but not without motion +and noise; and these, by occasioning the discovery of her being in the +closet, might possibly enhance her danger.</p> + +<p>Conceptions like these were unworthy of the mind of Constantia. An +interval of silence succeeded, interrupted only by the whistling of the +blast without. It was sufficient for the restoration of her courage. She +blushed at the cowardice which had trembled at a sound. She considered +that Ormond might, indeed, be near, but that he was probably unconscious +of her situation. His coming was not with the circumspection of an +enemy. He might be acquainted with the place of her retreat, and had +come to obtain an interview, with no clandestine or mysterious purposes. +The noises she had heard had, doubtless, proceeded from the next +apartment, but might be produced by some harmless or vagrant creature.</p> + +<p>These considerations restored her tranquillity. They enabled her, +deliberately, to create a light, but they did not dissuade her from +leaving the house. Omens of evil seemed to be connected with this +solitary and darksome abode. Besides, Ormond had unquestionably entered +upon this scene It could not be doubted that she was the object of his +visit. The farm-house was a place of meeting more suitable and safe than +any other. Thither, therefore, she determined immediately to return.</p> + +<p>The closet had but one door, and this led into the chamber where the +sounds had arisen. Through this chamber, therefore, she was obliged to +pass, in order to reach the staircase, which terminated in the hall +below.</p> + +<p>Bearing the light in her left hand, she withdrew the bolt of the door +and opened. In spite of courageous efforts, she opened with +unwillingness, and shuddered to throw a glance forward or advance a step +into the room. This was not needed, to reveal to her the cause of her +late disturbance. Her eye instantly lighted on the body of a man, +supine, motionless, stretched on the floor, close to the door through +which she was about to pass.</p> + +<p>A spectacle like this was qualified to startle her. She shrunk back, and +fixed a more steadfast eye upon the prostrate person. There was no mark +of blood or of wounds, but there was something in the attitude more +significant of death than of sleep. His face rested on the floor, and +his ragged locks concealed what part of his visage was not hidden by his +posture. His garb was characterized by fashionable elegance, but was +polluted with dust.</p> + +<p>The image that first occurred to her was that of Ormond. This instantly +gave place to another, which was familiar to her apprehension. It was at +first too indistinctly seen to suggest a name. She continued to gaze and +to be lost in fearful astonishment. Was this the person whose entrance +had been overheard, and who had dragged himself hither to die at her +door? Yet, in that case, would not groans and expiring efforts have +testified his condition and invoked her succour? Was he not brought +hither in the arms of his assassin? She mused upon the possible motives +that induced some one thus to act, and upon the connection that might +subsist between her destiny and that of the dead.</p> + +<p>Her meditations, however fruitless in other respects, could not fail to +show her the propriety of hastening from this spot. To scrutinize the +form or face of the dead was a task to which her courage was unequal. +Suitably accompanied and guarded, she would not scruple to return and +ascertain, by the most sedulous examination, the cause of this ominous +event.</p> + +<p>She stepped over the breathless corpse, and hurried to the staircase. It +became her to maintain the command of her muscles and joints, and to +proceed without faltering or hesitation. Scarcely had she reached the +entrance of the hall, when, casting anxious looks forward, she beheld a +human figure. No scrutiny was requisite to inform her that this was +Ormond.</p> + +<p>She stopped. He approached her with looks and gestures placid but +solemn. There was nothing in his countenance rugged or malignant. On the +contrary, there were tokens of compassion.</p> + +<p>"So," said he, "I expected to meet you. Alight, gleaming from the +window, marked you out. This and Laffert's directions have guided me."</p> + +<p>"What," said Constantia, with discomposure in her accent, "was your +motive for seeking me?"</p> + +<p>"Have you forgotten," said Ormond, "what passed at our last interview? +The evil that I then predicted is at hand. Perhaps you were incredulous; +you accounted me a madman or deceiver; now I am come to witness the +fulfilment of my words and the completion of your destiny. To rescue you +I have not come: that is not within the compass of human powers.</p> + +<p>"Poor Constantia," he continued, in tones that manifested genuine +sympathy, "look upon thyself as lost. The toils that beset thee are +inextricable. Summon up thy patience to endure the evil. Now will the +last and heaviest trial betide thy fortitude. I could weep for thee, if +my manly nature would permit. This is the scene of thy calamity, and +this the hour."</p> + +<p>These words were adapted to excite curiosity mingled with terror. +Ormond's deportment was of an unexampled tenor, as well as that evil +which he had so ambiguously predicted. He offered no protection from +danger, and yet gave no proof of being himself an agent or auxiliary. +After a minute's pause, Constantia, recovering a firm tone, said,—</p> + +<p>"Mr. Ormond, your recent deportment but ill accords with your +professions of sincerity and plain dealing. What your purpose is, or +whether you have any purpose, I am at a loss to conjecture. Whether you +most deserve censure or ridicule, is a point which you afford me not the +means of deciding, and to which, unless on your own account, I am +indifferent. If you are willing to be more explicit, or if there be any +topic on which you wish further to converse, I will not refuse your +company to Laffert's dwelling. Longer to remain here would be indiscreet +and absurd."</p> + +<p>So saying, she motioned towards the door. Ormond was passive, and seemed +indisposed to prevent her departure, till she laid her hand upon the +lock. He then, without moving from his place, exclaimed,—</p> + +<p>"Stay! Must this meeting, which fate ordains to be the last, be so +short? Must a time and place so suitable for what remains to be said and +done be neglected or misused? No. You charge me with duplicity, and deem +my conduct either ridiculous or criminal. I have stated my reasons for +concealment, but these have failed to convince you. Well, here is now an +end to doubt. All ambiguities are preparing to vanish."</p> + +<p>When Ormond began to speak, Constantia paused to hearken to him. His +vehemence was not of that nature which threatened to obstruct her +passage. It was by entreaty that he apparently endeavoured to detain her +steps, and not by violence. Hence arose her patience to listen. He +continued:—</p> + +<p>"Constantia! thy father is dead. Art thou not desirous of detecting the +author of his fate? Will it afford thee no consolation to know that the +deed is punished? Wilt thou suffer me to drag the murderer to thy feet? +Thy justice will be gratified by this sacrifice. Somewhat will be due to +him who avenged thy wrong in the blood of the perpetrator. What sayest +thou? Grant me thy permission, and in a moment I will drag him hither."</p> + +<p>These words called up the image of the person whose corpse she had +lately seen. It was readily conceived that to him Ormond alluded; but +this was the assassin of her father, and his crime had been detected and +punished by Ormond! These images had no other effect than to urge her +departure: she again applied her hand to the lock, and said,—</p> + +<p>"This scene must not be prolonged. My father's death I desire not to +hear explained or to see revenged, but whatever information you are +willing or able to communicate must be deferred."</p> + +<p>"Nay," interrupted Ormond, with augmented vehemence, "art thou equally +devoid of curiosity and justice? Thinkest thou that the enmity which +bereft thy father of life will not seek thy own? There are evils which I +cannot prevent thee from enduring, but there are, likewise, ills which +my counsel will enable thee and thy friend to shun. Save me from +witnessing thy death. Thy father's destiny is sealed; all that remained +was to punish his assassin; but thou and thy Sophia still live. Why +should ye perish by a like stroke?"</p> + +<p>This intimation was sufficient to arrest the steps of Constantia. She +withdrew her hand from the door, and fixed eyes of the deepest anxiety +on Ormond:—"What mean you? How am I to understand—"</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Ormond, "I see thou wilt consent to stay. Thy detention shall +not be long. Remain where thou art during one moment,—merely while I +drag hither thy enemy and show thee a visage which thou wilt not be slow +to recognise." Saying this, he hastily ascended the staircase, and +quickly passed beyond her sight.</p> + +<p>Deportment thus mysterious could not fail of bewildering her thoughts. +There was somewhat in the looks and accents of Ormond, different from +former appearances; tokens of a hidden purpose and a smothered meaning +were perceptible,—a mixture of the inoffensive and the lawless, which, +added to the loneliness and silence that encompassed her, produced a +faltering emotion. Her curiosity was overpowered by her fear, and the +resolution was suddenly conceived of seizing this opportunity to escape.</p> + +<p>A third time she put her hand to the lock and attempted to open. The +effort was ineffectual. The door that was accustomed to obey the +gentlest touch was now immovable. She had lately unlocked and passed +through it. Her eager inspection convinced her that the principal bolt +was still withdrawn, but a small one was now perceived, of whose +existence she had not been apprized, and over which her key had no +power.</p> + +<p>Now did she first harbour a fear that was intelligible in its dictates. +Now did she first perceive herself sinking in the toils of some lurking +enemy. Hope whispered that this foe was not Ormond. His conduct had +bespoken no willingness to put constraint upon her steps. He talked not +as if he was aware of this obstruction, and yet his seeming acquiescence +might have flowed from a knowledge that she had no power to remove +beyond his reach.</p> + +<p>He warned her of danger to her life, of which he was her self-appointed +rescuer. His counsel was to arm her with sufficient caution; the peril +that awaited her was imminent; this was the time and place of its +occurrence, and here she was compelled to remain, till the power that +fastened would condescend to loose the door. There were other avenues to +the hall. These were accustomed to be locked; but Ormond had found +access, and, if all continued fast, it was incontestable that he was the +author of this new impediment.</p> + +<p>The other avenues were hastily examined. All were bolted and locked. The +first impulse led her to call for help from without; but the mansion was +distant from Laffert's habitation. This spot was wholly unfrequented. No +passenger was likely to be stationed where her call could be heard. +Besides, this forcible detention might operate for a short time, and be +attended with no mischievous consequences. Whatever was to come, it was +her duty to collect her courage and encounter it.</p> + +<p>Tho steps of Ormond above now gave tokens of his approach. Vigilant +observance of this man was all that her situation permitted. A vehement +effort restored her to some degree of composure. Her stifled +palpitations allowed her steadfastly to notice him as he now descended +the stairs, bearing a lifeless body in his arms. "There!" said he, as he +cast it at her feet; "whose countenance is that? Who would imagine that +features like those belonged to an assassin and impostor?"</p> + +<p>Closed eyelids and fallen muscles could not hide from her lineaments so +often seen. She shrunk back and exclaimed, "Thomas Craig!"</p> + +<p>A pause succeeded, in which she alternately gazed at the countenance of +this unfortunate wretch and at Ormond. At length, the latter +exclaimed,—</p> + +<p>"Well, my girl, hast thou examined him? Dost thou recognise a friend or +an enemy?"</p> + +<p>"I know him well: but how came this? What purpose brought him hither? +Who was the author of his fate?"</p> + +<p>"Have I not already told thee that Ormond was his own avenger and thine? +To thee and to me he has been a robber. To him thy father is indebted +for the loss not only of property but life. Did crimes like these merit +a less punishment? And what recompense is due to him whose vigilance +pursued him hither and made him pay for his offences with his blood? +What benefit have I received at thy hand to authorize me, for thy sake, +to take away his life?"</p> + +<p>"No benefit received from me," said Constantia, "would justify such an +act. I should have abhorred myself for annexing to my benefits so bloody +a condition. It calls for no gratitude or recompense. Its suitable +attendant is remorse. That he is a thief, I know but too well; that my +father died by his hand is incredible. No motives or means—"</p> + +<p>"Why so?" interrupted Ormond. "Does not sleep seal up the senses? Cannot +closets be unlocked at midnight? Cannot adjoining houses communicate by +doors? Cannot these doors be hidden from suspicion by a sheet of +canvas?"</p> + +<p>These words were of startling and abundant import. They reminded her of +circumstances in her father's chamber, which sufficiently explained the +means by which his life was assailed. The closet, and its canvas-covered +wall; the adjoining house untenanted and shut up—but this house, though +unoccupied, belonged to Ormond. From the inferences which flowed hence, +her attention was withdrawn by her companion, who continued:—</p> + +<p>"Do these means imply the interposal of a miracle? His motives? What +scruples can be expected from a man inured from infancy to cunning and +pillage? Will he abstain from murder when urged by excruciating poverty, +by menaces of persecution, by terror of expiring on the gallows?"</p> + +<p>Tumultuous suspicions were now awakened in the mind of Constantia. Her +faltering voice scarcely allowed her to ask, "How know <i>you</i> that Craig +was thus guilty?—that these were his incitements and means?"</p> + +<p>Ormond's solemnity now gave place to a tone of sarcasm and looks of +exultation:—"Poor Constantia! Thou art still pestered with incredulity +and doubts! My veracity is still in question! My knowledge, girl, is +infallible. That these were his means of access I cannot be ignorant, +for I pointed them out. He was urged by these motives, for they were +stated and enforced by me. His was the deed, for I stood beside him when +it was done."</p> + +<p>These, indeed, were terms that stood in no need of further explanation. +The veil that shrouded this formidable being was lifted high enough to +make him be regarded with inexplicable horror. What his future acts +should be, how his omens of ill were to be solved, were still involved +in uncertainty.</p> + +<p>In the midst of fears for her own safety, by which Constantia was now +assailed, the image of her father was revived; keen regret and vehement +upbraiding were conjured up.</p> + +<p>"Craig, then, was the instrument, and yours the instigation, that +destroyed my father! In what had he offended you? What cause had he +given for resentment?"</p> + +<p>"Cause!" replied he, with impetuous accents. "Resentment! None. My +motive was benevolent; my deed conferred a benefit. I gave him sight and +took away his life, from motives equally wise. Know you not that Ormond +was fool enough to set value on the affections of a woman? These were +sought with preposterous anxiety and endless labour. Among other +facilitators of his purpose, he summoned gratitude to his aid. To +snatch you from poverty, to restore his sight to your father, were +expected to operate as incentives to love.</p> + +<p>"But here I was the dupe of error. A thousand prejudices stood in my +way. These, provided our intercourse were not obstructed, I hoped to +subdue. The rage of innovation seized your father: this, blended with a +mortal antipathy to me, made him labour to seduce you from the bosom of +your peaceful country; to make you enter on a boisterous sea; to visit +lands where all is havoc and hostility; to snatch you from the influence +of my arguments.</p> + +<p>"This new obstacle I was bound to remove. While revolving the means, +chance and his evil destiny threw Craig in my way. I soon convinced him +that his reputation and his life were in my hands. His retention of +these depended upon my will, on the performance of conditions which I +prescribed.</p> + +<p>"My happiness and yours depended on your concurrence with my wishes. +Your father's life was an obstacle to your concurrence. For killing him, +therefore, I may claim your gratitude. His death was a due and +disinterested offering at the altar of your felicity and mine.</p> + +<p>"My deed was not injurious to him. At his age, death, whose coming at +some period is inevitable, could not be distant. To make it unforeseen +and brief, and void of pain,—to preclude the torments of a lingering +malady, a slow and visible descent to the grave,—was the dictate of +beneficence. But of what value was a continuance of his life? Either you +would have gone with him to Europe or have stayed at home with me. In +the first case, his life would have been rapidly consumed by perils and +cares. In the second, separation from you, and union with me,—a being +so detestable,—would equally have poisoned his existence.</p> + +<p>"Craig's cowardice and crimes made him a pliant and commodious tool. I +pointed out the way. The unsuspected door which led into the closet of +your father's chamber was made, by my direction, during the life of +Helena. By this avenue I was wont to post myself where all your +conversations could be overheard. By this avenue an entrance and +retreat were afforded to the agent of my newest purpose.</p> + +<p>"Fool that I was! I solaced myself with the belief that all impediments +were now smoothed, when a new enemy appeared. My folly lasted as long as +my hope. I saw that to gain your affections, fortified by antiquated +scruples and obsequious to the guidance of this new monitor, was +impossible. It is not my way to toil after that which is beyond my +reach. If the greater good be inaccessible, I learn to be contented with +the less.</p> + +<p>"I have served you with successless sedulity. I have set an engine in +act to obliterate an obstacle to your felicity, and lay your father at +rest. Under my guidance, this engine was productive only of good. +Governed by itself or by another, it will only work you harm. I have, +therefore, hastened to destroy it. Lo! it is now before you motionless +and impotent.</p> + +<p>"For this complexity of benefit I look for no reward. I am not tired of +well-doing. Having ceased to labour for an unattainable good, I have +come hither to possess myself of all that I now crave, and by the same +deed to afford you an illustrious opportunity to signalize your wisdom +and your fortitude."</p> + +<p>During this speech, the mind of Constantia became more deeply pervaded +with dread of some overhanging but incomprehensible evil. The strongest +impulse was to gain a safe asylum, at a distance from this spot and from +the presence of this extraordinary being. This impulse was followed by +the recollection that her liberty was taken away, that egress from the +hall was denied her, and that this restriction might be part of some +conspiracy of Ormond against her life.</p> + +<p>Security from danger like this would be, in the first place, sought, by +one of Constantia's sex and opinions, in flight. This had been rendered, +by some fatal chance or by the precautions of her foe, impracticable. +Stratagem or force was all that remained to elude or disarm her +adversary. For the contrivance and execution of fraud, all the habits of +her life and all the maxims of her education had conspired to unfit her. +Her force of muscles would avail her nothing against the superior +energy of Ormond.</p> + +<p>She remembered that to inflict death was no iniquitous exertion of +self-defence, and that the penknife which she held in her hand was +capable of this service. She had used it to remove any lurking +obstruction in the wards of her key, supposing, for a time, this to be +the cause of her failing to withdraw the bolt of the door. This resource +was, indeed, scarcely less disastrous and deplorable than any fate from +which it could rescue her. Some uncertainty still involved the +intentions of Ormond. As soon as he paused, she spoke:—</p> + +<p>"How am I to understand this prelude? Let me know the full extent of my +danger,—why it is that I am hindered from leaving this house, and why +this interview was sought."</p> + +<p>"Ah, Constantia, this, indeed, is merely a prelude to a scene that is to +terminate my influence over thy fate. When this is past I have sworn to +part with thee forever. Art thou still dubious of my purpose? Art thou +not a woman? And have I not entreated for thy love and been rejected?</p> + +<p>"Canst thou imagine that I aim at thy life? My avowals of love were +sincere; my passion was vehement and undisguised. It gave dignity and +value to a gift in thy power, as a woman, to bestow. This has been +denied. That gift has lost none of its value in my eyes. What thou +refusest to bestow it is in my power to extort. I came for that end. +When this end is accomplished, I will restore thee to liberty."</p> + +<p>These words were accompanied by looks that rendered all explanation of +their meaning useless. The evil reserved for her, hitherto obscured by +half-disclosed and contradictory attributes, was now sufficiently +apparent. The truth in this respect unveiled itself with the rapidity +and brightness of an electrical flash.</p> + +<p>She was silent. She cast her eyes at the windows and doors. Escape +through them was hopeless. She looked at those lineaments of Ormond +which evinced his disdain of supplication and inexorable passions. She +felt that entreaty and argument would be vain; that all appeals to his +compassion and benevolence would counteract her purpose, since, in the +unexampled conformation of this man's mind, these principles were made +subservient to his most flagitious designs. Considerations of justice +and pity were made, by a fatal perverseness of reasoning, champions and +bulwarks of his most atrocious mistakes.</p> + +<p>The last extremes of opposition, the most violent expedients for +defence, would be justified by being indispensable. To find safety for +her honour, even in the blood of an assailant, was the prescription of +duty. Tho equity of this species of defence was not, in the present +confusion of her mind, a subject of momentary doubt.</p> + +<p>To forewarn him of her desperate purpose would be to furnish him with +means of counteraction. Her weapon would easily be wrested from her +feeble hand. Ineffectual opposition would only precipitate her evil +destiny. A rage, contented with nothing less than her life, might be +awakened in his bosom. But was not this to be desired? Death, untimely +and violent, was better than the loss of honour.</p> + +<p>This thought led to a new series of reflections. She involuntarily +shrunk from the act of killing: but would her efforts to destroy her +adversary be effectual? Would not his strength and dexterity easily +repel or elude them? Her power in this respect was questionable, but her +power was undeniably sufficient to a different end. The instrument which +could not rescue her from this injury by the destruction of another +might save her from it by her own destruction.</p> + +<p>These thoughts rapidly occurred; but the resolution to which they led +was scarcely formed, when Ormond advanced towards her. She recoiled a +few steps, and, showing the knife which she held, said,—</p> + +<p>"Ormond! Beware! Know that my unalterable resolution is to die +uninjured. I have the means in my power. Stop where you are; one step +more, and I plunge this knife into my heart. I know that to contend with +your strength or your reason would be vain. To turn this weapon against +you I should not fear, if I were sure of success; but to that I will +not trust. To save a greater good by the sacrifice of life is in my +power, and that sacrifice shall be made."</p> + +<p>"Poor Constantia!" replied Ormond, in a tone of contempt; "so thou +preferrest thy imaginary honour to life! To escape this injury without a +name or substance, without connection with the past or future, without +contamination of thy purity or thraldom of thy will, thou wilt kill +thyself; put an end to thy activity in virtue's cause; rob thy friend of +her solace, the world of thy beneficence, thyself of being and pleasure?</p> + +<p>"I shall be grieved for the fatal issue of my experiment; I shall mourn +over thy martyrdom to the most opprobrious and contemptible of all +errors: but that thou shouldst undergo the trial is decreed. There is +still an interval of hope that thy cowardice is counterfeited, or that +it will give place to wisdom and courage.</p> + +<p>"Whatever thou intendest by way of prevention or cure, it behooves thee +to employ with steadfastness. Die with the guilt of suicide and the +brand of cowardice upon thy memory, or live with thy claims to felicity +and approbation undiminished. Choose which thou wilt. Thy decision is of +moment to thyself, but of none to me. Living or dead, the prize that I +have in view shall be mine."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h3> + + +<p>It will be requisite to withdraw your attention from this scene for a +moment, and fix it on myself. My impatience of my friend's delay, for +some days preceding this disastrous interview, became continually more +painful. As the time of our departure approached, my dread of some +misfortune or impediment increased. Ormond's disappearance from the +scene contributed but little to my consolation. To wrap his purposes in +mystery, to place himself at seeming distance, was the usual artifice of +such as he,—was necessary to the maturing of his project and the +hopeless entanglement of his victim. I saw no means of placing the +safety of my friend beyond his reach. Between different methods of +procedure, there was, however, room for choice. Her present abode was +more hazardous than an abode in the city. To be alone argued a state +more defenceless and perilous than to be attended by me.</p> + +<p>I wrote her an urgent admonition to return. My remonstrances were +couched in such terms as, in my own opinion, laid her under the +necessity of immediate compliance. The letter was despatched by the +usual messenger, and for some hours I solaced myself with the prospect +of a speedy meeting.</p> + +<p>These thoughts gave place to doubt and apprehension. I began to distrust +the efficacy of my arguments, and to invent a thousand reasons, inducing +her, in defiance of my rhetoric, at least to protract her absence. These +reasons I had not previously conceived, and had not, therefore, +attempted, in my letter, to invalidate their force. This omission was +possible to be supplied in a second epistle; but, meanwhile, time would +be lost, and my new arguments might, like the old, fail to convince +her. At least, the tongue was a much more versatile and powerful +advocate than the pen; and, by hastening to her habitation, I might +either compel her to return with me, or ward off danger by my presence, +or share it with her. I finally resolved to join her by the speediest +conveyance.</p> + +<p>This resolution was suggested by the meditations of a sleepless night. I +rose with the dawn, and sought out the means of transporting myself, +with most celerity, to the abode of my friend. A stage-boat, accustomed +twice a day to cross New York Bay to Staten Island, was prevailed upon, +by liberal offers, to set out upon the voyage at the dawn of day. The +sky was gloomy, and the air boisterous and unsettled. The wind, suddenly +becoming tempestuous and adverse, rendered the voyage at once tedious +and full of peril. A voyage of nine miles was not effected in less than +eight hours and without imminent and hairbreadth danger of being +drowned.</p> + +<p>Fifteen miles of the journey remained to be performed by land. A +carriage, with the utmost difficulty, was procured, but lank horses and +a crazy vehicle were but little in unison with my impatience. We reached +not Amboy ferry till some hours after nightfall. I was rowed across the +Sound, and proceeded to accomplish the remainder of my journey—about +three miles—on foot.</p> + +<p>I was actuated to this speed by indefinite but powerful motives. The +belief that my speedy arrival was essential to the rescue of my friend +from some inexplicable injury haunted me with ceaseless importunity. On +no account would I have consented to postpone this precipitate +expedition till the morrow.</p> + +<p>I at length arrived at Dudley's farm-house. The inhabitants were struck +with wonder at the sight of me. My clothes were stained by the water by +which every passenger was copiously sprinkled during our boisterous +navigation, and soiled by dust; my frame was almost overpowered by +fatigue and abstinence.</p> + +<p>To my anxious inquiries respecting my friend, they told me that her +evenings were usually spent at the mansion, where it was probable she +was now to be found. They were not apprized of any inconvenience or +danger that betided her. It was her custom sometimes to prolong her +absence till midnight.</p> + +<p>I could not applaud the discretion nor censure the temerity of this +proceeding. My mind was harassed by unintelligible omens and +self-confuted fears. To obviate the danger and to banish my inquietudes +was my first duty. For this end I hastened to the mansion. Having passed +the intervening hillocks and copses, I gained a view of the front of the +building. My heart suddenly sunk, on observing that no apartment—not +even that in which I knew it was her custom to sit at these unseasonable +hours—was illuminated. A gleam from the window of the study I should +have regarded as an argument at once of her presence and her safety.</p> + +<p>I approached the house with misgiving and faltering steps. The gate +leading into a spacious court was open. A sound on one side attracted my +attention. In the present state of my thoughts, any near or unexplained +sound sufficed to startle me. Looking towards the quarter whence my +panic was excited, I espied, through the dusk, a horse grazing, with his +bridle thrown over his neck.</p> + +<p>This appearance was a new source of perplexity and alarm. The inference +was unavoidable that a visitant was here. Who that visitant was, and how +he was now employed, was a subject of eager but fruitless curiosity. +Within and around the mansion, all was buried in the deepest repose. I +now approached the principal door, and, looking through the keyhole, +perceived a lamp, standing on the lowest step of the staircase. It shed +a pale light over the lofty ceiling and marble balustrades. No face or +movement of a human being was perceptible.</p> + +<p>These tokens assured me that some one was within: they also accounted +for the non-appearance of light at the window above. I withdrew my eye +from this avenue, and was preparing to knock loudly for admission, when +my attention was awakened by some one who advanced to the door from the +inside and seemed busily engaged in unlocking. I started back and waited +with impatience till the door should open and the person issue forth.</p> + +<p>Presently I heard a voice within exclaim, in accents of mingled terror +and grief, "Oh, what—what will become of me? Shall I never be released +from this detested prison?"</p> + +<p>The voice was that of Constantia. It penetrated to my heart like an +icebolt. I once more darted a glance through the crevice. A figure, with +difficulty recognised to be that of my friend, now appeared in sight. +Her hands were clasped on her breast, her eyes wildly fixed upon the +ceiling and streaming with tears, and her hair unbound and falling +confusedly over her bosom and neck.</p> + +<p>My sensations scarcely permitted me to call, "Constantia! For Heaven's +sake, what has happened to you? Open the door, I beseech you."</p> + +<p>"What voice is that? Sophia Courtland! O my friend! I am imprisoned! +Some demon has barred the door, beyond my power to unfasten. Ah, why +comest thou so late? Thy succour would have somewhat profited if sooner +given; but now, the lost Constantia—" Here her voice sunk into +convulsive sobs.</p> + +<p>In the midst of my own despair, on perceiving the fulfilment of my +apprehensions, and what I regarded as the fatal execution of some +project of Ormond, I was not insensible to the suggestions of prudence. +I entreated my friend to retain her courage, while I flew to Laffert's +and returned with suitable assistance to burst open the door.</p> + +<p>The people of the farm-house readily obeyed my summons. Accompanied by +three men of powerful sinews, sons and servants of the farmer, I +returned with the utmost expedition to the mansion. The lamp still +remained in its former place, but our loudest calls were unanswered. The +silence was uninterrupted and profound.</p> + +<p>The door yielded to strenuous and repeated efforts, and I rushed into +the hall. The first object that met my sight was my friend, stretched +upon the floor, pale and motionless, supine, and with all the tokens of +death.</p> + +<p>From this object my attention was speedily attracted by two figures, +breathless and supine like that of Constantia. One of them was Ormond. A +smile of disdain still sat upon his features. The wound by which he fell +was secret, and was scarcely betrayed by the effusion of a drop of +blood. The face of the third victim was familiar to my early days. It +was that of the impostor whose artifice had torn from Mr. Dudley his +peace and fortune.</p> + +<p>An explication of this scene was hopeless. By what disastrous and +inscrutable fate a place like this became the scene of such complicated +havoc, to whom Craig was indebted for his death, what evil had been +meditated or inflicted by Ormond, and by what means his project had +arrived at this bloody consummation, were topics of wild and fearful +conjecture.</p> + +<p>But my friend—the first impulse of my fears was to regard her as dead. +Hope and a closer observation outrooted, or, at least, suspended, this +opinion. One of the men lifted her in his arms. No trace of blood or +mark of fatal violence was discoverable, and the effusion of cold water +restored her, though slowly, to life.</p> + +<p>To withdraw her from this spectacle of death was my first care. She +suffered herself to be led to the farm-house. She was carried to her +chamber. For a time she appeared incapable of recollection. She grasped +my hand, as I sat by her bedside, but scarcely gave any other tokens of +life.</p> + +<p>From this state of inactivity she gradually recovered. I was actuated by +a thousand forebodings, but refrained from molesting her by +interrogation or condolence. I watched by her side in silence, but was +eager to collect from her own lips an account of this mysterious +transaction.</p> + +<p>At length she opened her eyes, and appeared to recollect her present +situation, and the events which led to it. I inquired into her +condition, and asked if there were any thing in my power to procure or +perform for her.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my friend," she answered, "what have I done, what have I suffered, +within the last dreadful hour! The remembrance, though insupportable, +will never leave me. You can do nothing for my relief. All I claim is +your compassion and your sympathy."</p> + +<p>"I hope," said I, "that nothing has happened to load you with guilt or +with shame?"</p> + +<p>"Alas! I know not. My deed was scarcely the fruit of intention. It was +suggested by a momentary frenzy. I saw no other means of escaping from +vileness and pollution. I was menaced with an evil worse than death. I +forebore till my strength was almost subdued: the lapse of another +moment would have placed me beyond hope.</p> + +<p>"My stroke was desperate and at random. It answered my purpose too well. +He cast at me a look of terrible upbraiding, but spoke not. His heart +was pierced, and he sunk, as if struck by lightning, at my feet. O much +erring and unhappy Ormond! That thou shouldst thus untimely perish! That +I should be thy executioner!"</p> + +<p>These words sufficiently explained the scene that I had witnessed. The +violence of Ormond had been repulsed by equal violence. His foul +attempts had been prevented by his death. Not to deplore the necessity +which had produced this act was impossible; but, since this necessity +existed, it was surely not a deed to be thought upon with lasting +horror, or to be allowed to generate remorse.</p> + +<p>In consequence of this catastrophe, arduous duties had devolved upon me. +The people that surrounded me were powerless with terror. Their +ignorance and cowardice left them at a loss how to act in this +emergency. They besought my direction, and willingly performed whatever +I thought proper to enjoin upon them.</p> + +<p>No deliberation was necessary to acquaint me with my duty. Laffert was +despatched to the nearest magistrate with a letter, in which his +immediate presence was entreated and these transactions were briefly +explained. Early the next day the formalities of justice, in the +inspection of the bodies and the examination of witnesses, were +executed. It would be needless to dwell on the particulars of this +catastrophe. A sufficient explanation has been given of the causes that +led to it. They were such as exempted my friend from legal +animadversion. Her act was prompted by motives which every scheme of +jurisprudence known in the world not only exculpates, but applauds. To +state these motives before a tribunal hastily formed and exercising its +functions on the spot was a task not to be avoided, though infinitely +painful. Remonstrances the most urgent and pathetic could scarcely +conquer her reluctance.</p> + +<p>This task, however, was easy, in comparison with that which remained. To +restore health and equanimity to my friend; to repel the erroneous +accusations of her conscience; to hinder her from musing, with eternal +anguish, upon this catastrophe; to lay the spirit of secret upbraiding +by which she was incessantly tormented, which bereft her of repose, +empoisoned all her enjoyments, and menaced not only the subversion of +her peace but the speedy destruction of her life, became my next +employment.</p> + +<p>My counsels and remonstrances were not wholly inefficacious. They +afforded me the prospect of her ultimate restoration to tranquillity. +Meanwhile, I called to my aid the influence of time and of a change of +scene. I hastened to embark with her for Europe. Our voyage was +tempestuous and dangerous, but storms and perils at length gave way to +security and repose.</p> + +<p>Before our voyage was commenced, I endeavoured to procure tidings of the +true condition and designs of Ormond. My information extended no further +than that he had put his American property into the hands of Mr. +Melbourne, and was preparing to embark for France. Courtland, who has +since been at Paris, and who, while there, became confidentially +acquainted with Martinette de Beauvais, has communicated facts of an +unexpected nature.</p> + +<p>At the period of Ormond's return to Philadelphia, at which his last +interview with Constantia in that city took place, he visited +Martinette. He avowed himself to be her brother, and supported his +pretensions by relating the incidents of his early life. A separation at +the age of fifteen, and which had lasted for the same number of years, +may be supposed to have considerably changed the countenance and figure +she had formerly known. His relationship was chiefly proved by the +enumeration of incidents of which her brother only could be apprized.</p> + +<p>He possessed a minute acquaintance with her own adventures, but +concealed from her the means by which he had procured the knowledge. He +had rarely and imperfectly alluded to his own opinions and projects, and +had maintained an invariable silence on the subject of his connection +with Constantia and Helena. Being informed of her intention to return to +France, he readily complied with her request to accompany her in this +voyage. His intentions in this respect were frustrated by the dreadful +catastrophe that has been just related. Respecting this event, +Martinette had collected only vague and perplexing information. +Courtland, though able to remove her doubts, thought proper to withhold +from her the knowledge he possessed.</p> + +<p>Since her arrival in England, the life of my friend has experienced +little variation. Of her personal deportment and domestic habits you +have been a witness. These, therefore, it would be needless for me to +exhibit. It is sufficient to have related events which the recentness of +your intercourse with her hindered you from knowing but by means of some +formal narrative like the present. She and her friend only were able to +impart to you the knowledge which you have so anxiously sought. In +consideration of your merits and of your attachment to my friend, I have +consented to devote my leisure to this task.</p> + +<p>It is now finished; and I have only to add my wishes that the perusal of +this tale may afford you as much instruction as the contemplation of the +sufferings and vicissitudes of Constantia Dudley has afforded to me. +Farewell.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p>THE END.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (OF 3)***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 36291-h.txt or 36291-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/2/9/36291">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/2/9/36291</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/36291.txt b/36291.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..378f0d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/36291.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3847 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ormond, Volume III (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 III (of 3) + or, The Secret Witness + + +Author: Charles Brockden Brown + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36291] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (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 II: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36290 + + + Images of the original pages are available through + the the Google Books Library Project. See + http://books.google.com/books?id=aRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8 + + + + + +ORMOND; + +Or, + +The Secret Witness. + +by + +B. C. BROWN, + +Author of Wieland, or Transformation. + +In Three Volumes. + +VOL. III. + + +"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 + + + * * * * * + + +TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE + +LADY CASTLEREAGH, + +THESE VOLUMES + +are respectfully inscribed, + +by her Ladyship's + +most obedient, and humble Servant, + +HENRY COLBURN. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +"My father, in proportion as he grew old and rich, became weary of +Aleppo. His natal soil, had it been the haunt of Calmucks or Bedouins, +his fancy would have transformed into Paradise. No wonder that the +equitable aristocracy and the peaceful husbandmen of Ragusa should be +endeared to his heart by comparison with Egyptian plagues and Turkish +tyranny. Besides, he lived for his children as well as himself. Their +education and future lot required him to seek a permanent home. + +"He embarked, with his wife and offspring, at Scanderoon. No immediate +conveyance to Ragusa offering, the appearance of the plague in Syria +induced him to hasten his departure. He entered a French vessel for +Marseilles. After being three days at sea, one of the crew was seized by +the fatal disease which had depopulated all the towns upon the coast. +The voyage was made with more than usual despatch; but, before we +reached our port, my mother and half the crew perished. My father died +in the Lazaretto, more through grief than disease. + +"My brother and I were children and helpless. My father's fortune was on +board this vessel, and was left by his death to the mercy of the +captain. This man was honest, and consigned us and our property to the +merchant with whom he dealt. Happily for us, our protector was childless +and of scrupulous integrity. We henceforth became his adopted children. +My brother's education and my own were conducted on the justest +principles. + +"At the end of four years, our protector found it expedient to make a +voyage to Cayenne. His brother was an extensive proprietor in that +colony, but his sudden death made way for the succession of our friend. +To establish his claims, his presence was necessary on the spot. He was +little qualified for arduous enterprises, and his age demanded repose; +but, his own acquisitions having been small, and being desirous of +leaving us in possession of competence, he cheerfully embarked. + +"Meanwhile, my brother was placed at a celebrated seminary in the Pays +de Vaud, and I was sent to a sister who resided at Verona. I was at this +time fourteen years old,--one year younger than my brother, whom, since +that period, I have neither heard of nor seen. + +"I was now a woman, and qualified to judge and act for myself. The +character of my new friend was austere and devout, and there were so +many incongenial points between us that but little tranquillity was +enjoyed under her control. The priest who discharged the office of her +confessor thought proper to entertain views with regard to me, grossly +inconsistent with the sanctity of his profession. He was a man of +profound dissimulation and masterly address. His efforts, however, were +repelled with disdain. My security against his attempts lay in the +uncouthness and deformity which nature had bestowed upon his person and +visage, rather than in the firmness of my own principles. + +"The courtship of Father Bartoli, the austerities of Madame Roselli, the +disgustful or insipid occupations to which I was condemned, made me +impatiently wish for a change; but my father (so I will call him) had +decreed that I should remain under his sister's guardianship till his +return from Guiana. When this would happen was uncertain. Events +unforeseen might protract it for years, but it could not arrive in less +than a twelvemonth. + +"I was incessantly preyed upon by discontent. My solitude was loathsome. +I panted after liberty and friendship, and the want of these were not +recompensed by luxury and quiet, and by the instructions in useful +science which I received from Bartoli, who, though detested as a +hypocrite and lover, was venerable as a scholar. He would fain have been +an Abelard, but it was not his fate to meet with an Eloisa. + +"Two years passed away in this durance. My miseries were exquisite. I am +almost at a loss to account for the unhappiness of that time, for, +looking back upon it, I perceive that an equal period could not have +been spent with more benefit. For the sake of being near me, Bartoli +importunately offered his instructions. He had nothing to communicate +but metaphysics and geometry. These were little to my taste, but I could +not keep him at a distance. I had no other alternative than to endure +him as a lover or a teacher. His passion for science was at least equal +to that which ho entertained for me, and both these passions combined to +make him a sedulous instructor. He was a disciple of the newest +doctrines respecting matter and mind. He denied the impenetrability of +the first, and the immateriality of the second. These he endeavoured to +inculcate upon me, as well as to subvert my religious tenets, because he +delighted, like all men, in transfusing his opinions, and because he +regarded my piety as the only obstacle to his designs. He succeeded in +dissolving the spell of ignorance, but not in producing that kind of +acquiescence he wished. He had, in this respect, to struggle not only +with my principles, but my weakness. He might have overcome every +obstacle but my abhorrence of deformity and age. To cure me of this +aversion was beyond his power. My servitude grew daily more painful. I +grew tired of chasing a comet to its aphelion, and of untying the knot +of an infinite series. A change in my condition became indispensable to +my very existence. Languor and sadness, and unwillingness to eat or to +move, were at last my perpetual attendants! + +"Madame Roselli was alarmed at my condition. The sources of my +inquietude were incomprehensible to her. The truth was, that I scarcely +understood them myself, and my endeavours to explain them to my friend +merely instilled into her an opinion that I was either lunatic or +deceitful. She complained and admonished; but my disinclination to my +usual employments would not be conquered, and my health rapidly +declined. A physician, who was called, confessed that my case was beyond +his power to understand, but recommended, as a sort of desperate +expedient, a change of scene. A succession and variety of objects might +possibly contribute to my cure. + +"At this time there arrived, at Verona, Lady D'Arcy,--an Englishwoman +of fortune and rank, and a strenuous Catholic. Her husband had lately +died; and, in order to divert her grief, as well as to gratify her +curiosity in viewing the great seat of her religion, she had come to +Italy. Intercourse took place between her and Madame Roselli. By this +means she gained a knowledge of my person and condition, and kindly +offered to take me under her protection. She meant to traverse every +part of Italy, and was willing that I should accompany her in all her +wanderings. + +"This offer was gratefully accepted, in spite of the artifices and +remonstrances of Bartoli. My companion speedily contracted for me the +affection of a mother. She was without kindred of her own religion, +having acquired her faith, not by inheritance, but conversion. She +desired to abjure her native country, and to bind herself, by every +social tie, to a people who adhered to the same faith. Me she promised +to adopt as her daughter, provided her first impressions in my favour +were not belied by my future deportment. + +"My principles were opposite to hers; but habit, an aversion to +displease my friend, my passion for knowledge, which my new condition +enabled me to gratify, all combined to make me a deceiver. But my +imposture was merely of a negative kind; I deceived her rather by +forbearance to contradict, and by acting as she acted, than by open +assent and zealous concurrence. My new state was, on this account, not +devoid of inconvenience. The general deportment and sentiments of Lady +D'Arcy testified a vigorous and pure mind. New avenues to knowledge, by +converse with mankind and with books, and by the survey of new scenes, +were open for my use. Gratitude and veneration attached me to my friend, +and made the task of pleasing her, by a seeming conformity of +sentiments, less irksome. + +"During this interval, no tidings were received by his sister, at +Verona, respecting the fate of Sebastian Roselli. The supposition of +his death was too plausible not to be adopted. What influence this +disaster possessed over my brother's destiny, I know not. The generosity +of Lady D'Arcy hindered me from experiencing any disadvantage from this +circumstance. Fortune seemed to have decreed that I should not be +reduced to the condition of an orphan. + +"At an age and in a situation like mine, I could not remain long +unacquainted with love. My abode at Rome introduced me to the knowledge +of a youth from England, who had every property which I regarded as +worthy of esteem. He was a kinsman of--Lady D'Arcy, and as such admitted +at her house on the most familiar footing. His patrimony was extremely +slender, but was in his own possession. He had no intention of +increasing it by any professional pursuit, but was contented with the +frugal provision it afforded. He proposed no other end of his existence +than the acquisition of virtue and knowledge. + +"The property of Lady D'Arcy was subject to her own disposal, but, on +the failure of a testament, this youth was, in legal succession, the +next heir. He was well acquainted with her temper and views, but, in the +midst of urbanity and gentleness, studied none of those concealments of +opinion which would have secured him her favour. That he was not of her +own faith was an insuperable, but the only, obstacle to the admission of +his claims. + +"If conformity of age and opinions, and the mutual fascination of love, +be a suitable basis for marriage, Wentworth and I were destined for each +other. Mutual disclosure added sanctity to our affection; but, the +happiness of Lady D'Arcy being made to depend upon the dissolution of +our compact, the heroism of Wentworth made him hasten to dissolve it. As +soon as she discovered our attachment, she displayed symptoms of the +deepest anguish. In addition to religious motives, her fondness for me +forbade her to exist but in my society and in the belief of the purity +of my faith. The contention, on my part, was vehement between the +regards due to her felicity and to my own. Had Wentworth left me the +power to decide, my decision would doubtless have evinced the frailty of +my fortitude and the strength of my passion; but, having informed me +fully of the reasons of his conduct, he precipitately retired from Rome. +He left me no means of tracing his footsteps and of assailing his +weakness by expostulation and entreaty. + +"Lady D'Arcy was no less eager to abandon a spot where her happiness had +been so imminently endangered. Our next residence was Palermo. I will +not dwell upon the sensations produced by this disappointment in me. I +review them with astonishment and self-compassion. If I thought it +possible for me to sink again into imbecility so ignominious, I should +be disposed to kill myself. + +"There was no end to vows of fondness and tokens of gratitude in Lady +D'Arcy. Her future life should be devoted to compensate me for this +sacrifice. Nothing could console her in that single state in which she +intended to live, but the consolations of my fellowship. Her conduct +coincided for some time with these professions, and my anguish was +allayed by the contemplation of the happiness conferred upon one whom I +revered. + +"My friend could not be charged with dissimulation and artifice. Her +character had been mistaken by herself as well as by me. Devout +affections seemed to have filled her heart, to the exclusion of any +object besides myself. She cherished with romantic tenderness the memory +of her husband, and imagined that a single state was indispensably +enjoined upon her by religious duty. This persuasion, however, was +subverted by the arts of a Spanish cavalier, young, opulent, and +romantic as herself in devotion. An event like this might, indeed, have +been easily predicted, by those who reflected that the lady was still in +the bloom of life, ardent in her temper, and bewitching in her manners. + +"The fondness she had lavished upon me was now, in some degree, +transferred to a new object; but I still received the treatment due to a +beloved daughter. She was solicitous as ever to promote my +gratification, and a diminution of kindness would not have been +suspected by those who had not witnessed the excesses of her former +passion. Her marriage with the Spaniard removed the obstacle to union +with Wentworth. This man, however, had set himself beyond the reach of +my inquiries. Had there been the shadow of a clue afforded me, I should +certainly have sought him to the ends of the world. + +"I continued to reside with my friend, and accompanied her and her +husband to Spain. Antonio de Leyva was a man of probity. His mind was +enlightened by knowledge and his actions dictated by humanity. Though +but little older than myself, and young enough to be the son of his +spouse, his deportment to me was a model of rectitude and delicacy. I +spent a year in Spain, partly in the mountains of Castile and partly at +Segovia. New manners and a new language occupied my attention for a +time; but these, losing their novelty, lost their power to please. I +betook myself to books, to beguile the tediousness and diversify the +tenor of my life. + +"This would not have long availed; but I was relieved from new +repinings, by the appointment of Antonio de Leyva to a diplomatic office +at Vienna. Thither we accordingly repaired. A coincidence of +circumstances had led me wide from the path of ambition and study +usually allotted to my sex and age. From the computation of eclipses, I +now betook myself to the study of man. My proficiency, when I allowed it +to be seen, attracted great attention. Instead of adulation and +gallantry, I was engaged in watching the conduct of states and revolving +the theories of politicians. + +"Superficial observers were either incredulous with regard to my +character, or connected a stupid wonder with their belief. My +attainments and habits they did not see to be perfectly consonant with +the principles of human nature. They unavoidably flowed from the illicit +attachment of Bartoli, and the erring magnanimity of Wentworth. Aversion +to the priest was the grand inciter of my former studies; the love of +Wentworth, whom I hoped once more to meet, made me labour to exclude the +importunities of others, and to qualify myself for securing his +affections. + +"Since our parting in Italy, Wentworth had traversed Syria and Egypt, +and arrived some months after me at Vienna. He was on the point of +leaving the city, when accident informed me of his being there. An +interview was effected, and, our former sentiments respecting each other +having undergone no change, we were united. Madame de Leyva reluctantly +concurred with our wishes, and, at parting, forced upon me a +considerable sum of money. + +"Wentworth's was a character not frequently met with in the world. He +was a political enthusiast, who esteemed nothing more graceful or +glorious than to die for the liberties of mankind. He had traversed +Greece with an imagination full of the exploits of ancient times, and +derived, from contemplating Thermopylae and Marathon, an enthusiasm that +bordered upon frenzy. + +"It was now the third year of the Revolutionary War in America, and, +previous to our meeting at Vienna, he had formed the resolution of +repairing thither and tendering his service to the Congress as a +volunteer. Our marriage made no change in his plans. My soul was +engrossed by two passions,--a wild spirit of adventure, and a boundless +devotion to him. I vowed to accompany him in every danger, to vie with +him in military ardour, to combat and to die by his side. + +"I delighted to assume the male dress, to acquire skill at the sword, +and dexterity in every boisterous exercise. The timidity that commonly +attends women gradually vanished. I felt as if imbued by a soul that was +a stranger to the sexual distinction. We embarked at Brest, in a frigate +destined for St. Domingo. A desperate conflict with an English ship in +the Bay of Biscay was my first introduction to a scene of tumult and +danger of whose true nature I had formed no previous conception. At +first I was spiritless and full of dismay. Experience, however, +gradually reconciled me to the life that I had chosen. + +"A fortunate shot, by dismasting the enemy, allowed us to prosecute our +voyage unmolested. At Cape Francois we found a ship which transported +us, after various perils, to Richmond, in Virginia. I will not carry you +through the adventures of four years. You, sitting all your life in +peaceful corners, can scarcely imagine that variety of hardship and +turmoil which attends the female who lives in a camp. + +"Few would sustain these hardships with better grace than I did. I could +seldom be prevailed on to remain at a distance, and inactive, when my +husband was in battle, and more than once rescued him from death by the +seasonable destruction of his adversary. + +"At the repulse of the Americans at Germantown, Wentworth was wounded +and taken prisoner. I obtained permission to attend his sick-bed and +supply that care without which he would assuredly have died. Being +imperfectly recovered, he was sent to England and subjected to a +rigorous imprisonment. Milder treatment might have permitted his +complete restoration to health; but, as it was, he died. + +"His kindred were noble, and rich, and powerful; but it was difficult to +make them acquainted with Wentworth's situation. Their assistance, when +demanded, was readily afforded; but it came too late to prevent his +death. Me they snatched from my voluntary prison, and employed every +friendly art to efface from my mind the images of recent calamity. + +"Wentworth's singularities of conduct and opinion had estranged him at +an early age from his family. They felt little regret at his fate, but +every motive concurred to secure their affection and succour to me. My +character was known to many officers, returned from America, whose +report, joined with the influence of my conversation, rendered me an +object to be gazed at by thousands. Strange vicissitude! Now immersed in +the infection of a military hospital, the sport of a wayward fortune, +struggling with cold and hunger, with negligence and contumely. A month +after, passing into scenes of gayety and luxury, exhibited at operas and +masquerades, made the theme of inquiry and encomium at every place of +resort, and caressed by the most illustrious among the votaries of +science and the advocates of the American cause. + +"Here I again met Madame de Leyva. This woman was perpetually assuming +new forms. She was a sincere convert to the Catholic religion, but she +was open to every new impression. She was the dupe of every powerful +reasoner, and assumed with equal facility the most opposite shapes. She +had again reverted to the Protestant religion, and, governed by a +headlong zeal in whatever cause she engaged, she had sacrificed her +husband and child to a new conviction. + +"The instrument of this change was a man who passed, at that time, for a +Frenchman. He was young, accomplished, and addressful, but was not +suspected of having been prompted by illicit views, or of having seduced +the lady from allegiance to her husband as well as to her God. De Leyva, +however, who was sincere in his religion as well as his love, was hasty +to avenge this injury, and, in a contest with the Frenchman, was killed. +His wife adopted at once her ancient religion and country, and was once +more an Englishwoman. + +"At our meeting her affection for me seemed to be revived, and the most +passionate entreaties were used to detain me in England. My previous +arrangements would not suffer it. I foresaw restraints and +inconveniences from the violence and caprice of her passions, and +intended henceforth to keep my liberty inviolate by any species of +engagement, either of friendship or marriage. My habits were French, and +I proposed henceforward to take up my abode at Paris. Since his voyage +to Guiana, I had heard no tidings of Sebastian Roselli. This man's image +was cherished with filial emotions, and I conceived that the sight of +him would amply reward a longer journey than from London to Marseilles. + +"Beyond my hopes, I found him in his ancient abode. The voyage, and a +residence of three years at Cayenne, had been beneficial to his +appearance and health. He greeted me with paternal tenderness, and +admitted me to a full participation of his fortune, which the sale of +his American property had greatly enhanced. He was a stranger to the +fate of my brother. On his return home he had gone to Switzerland, with +a view of ascertaining his destiny. The youth, a few months after his +arrival at Lausanne, had eloped with a companion, and had hitherto +eluded all Roselli's searches and inquiries. My father was easily +prevailed upon to transfer his residence from Provence to Paris." + +Here Martinette paused, and, marking the clock, "It is time," resumed +she, "to begone. Are you not weary of my tale? On the day I entered +France, I entered the twenty-third year of my age, so that my promise of +detailing my youthful adventures is fulfilled. I must away. Till we meet +again, farewell." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Such was the wild series of Martinette's adventures. Each incident +fastened on the memory of Constantia, and gave birth to numberless +reflections. Her prospect of mankind seemed to be enlarged, on a sudden, +to double its ancient dimensions. Ormond's narratives had carried her +beyond the Mississippi, and into the deserts of Siberia. He had +recounted the perils of a Russian war, and painted the manners of +Mongols and Naudowessies. Her new friend had led her back to the +civilized world and portrayed the other half of the species. Men, in +their two forms of savage and refined, had been scrutinized by these +observers; and what was wanting in the delineations of the one was +liberally supplied by the other. + +Eleven years in the life of Martinette was unrelated. Her conversation +suggested the opinion that this interval had been spent in France. It +was obvious to suppose that a woman thus fearless and sagacious had not +been inactive at a period like the present, which called forth talents +and courage without distinction of sex, and had been particularly +distinguished by female enterprise and heroism. Her name easily led to +the suspicion of concurrence with the subverters of monarchy, and of +participation in their fall. Her flight from the merciless tribunals of +the faction that now reigned would explain present appearances. + +Martinette brought to their next interview an air of uncommon +exultation. On this being remarked, she communicated the tidings of the +fall of the sanguinary tyranny of Robespierre. Her eyes sparkled, and +every feature was pregnant with delight, while she unfolded, with her +accustomed energy, the particulars of this tremendous revolution. The +blood which it occasioned to flow was mentioned without any symptoms of +disgust or horror. + +Constantia ventured to ask if this incident was likely to influence her +own condition. + +"Yes. It will open the way for my return." + +"Then you think of returning to a scene of so much danger?" + +"Danger, my girl? It is my element. I am an adorer of liberty, and +liberty without peril can never exist." + +"But so much bloodshed and injustice! Does not your heart shrink from +the view of a scene of massacre and tumult, such as Paris has lately +exhibited and will probably continue to exhibit?" + +"Thou talkest, Constantia, in a way scarcely worthy of thy good sense. +Have I not been three years in a camp? What are bleeding wounds and +mangled corpses, when accustomed to the daily sight of them for years? +Am I not a lover of liberty? and must I not exult in the fall of +tyrants, and regret only that my hand had no share in their +destruction?" + +"But a woman--how can the heart of woman be inured to the shedding of +blood?" + +"Have women, I beseech thee, no capacity to reason and infer? Are they +less open than men to the influence of habit? My hand never faltered +when liberty demanded the victim. If thou wert with me at Paris, I could +show thee a fusil of two barrels, which is precious beyond any other +relic, merely because it enabled me to kill thirteen officers at +Jemappe. Two of these were emigrant nobles, whom I knew and loved before +the Revolution, but the cause they had since espoused cancelled their +claims to mercy." + +"What!" said the startled Constantia; "have you fought in the ranks?" + +"Certainly. Hundreds of my sex have done the same. Some were impelled by +the enthusiasm of love, and some by a mere passion for war; some by the +contagion of example; and some--with whom I myself must be ranked--by a +generous devotion to liberty. Brunswick and Saxe-Coburg had to contend +with whole regiments of women,--regiments they would have formed, if +they had been collected into separate bodies. + +"I will tell thee a secret. Thou wouldst never have seen Martinette de +Beauvais, if Brunswick had deferred one day longer his orders for +retreating into Germany." + +"How so?" + +"She would have died by her own hand." + +"What could lead to such an outrage?" + +"The love of liberty." + +"I cannot comprehend how that love should prompt you to suicide." + +"I will tell thee. The plan was formed, and could not miscarry. A woman +was to play the part of a banished Royalist, was to repair to the +Prussian camp, and to gain admission to the general. This would have +easily been granted to a female and an ex-noble. There she was to +assassinate the enemy of her country, and to attest her magnanimity by +slaughtering herself. I was weak enough to regret the ignominious +retreat of the Prussians, because it precluded the necessity of such a +sacrifice." + +This was related with accents and looks that sufficiently attested its +truth. Constantia shuddered, and drew back, to contemplate more +deliberately the features of her guest. Hitherto she had read in them +nothing that bespoke the desperate courage of a martyr and the deep +designing of an assassin. The image which her mind had reflected from +the deportment of this woman was changed. The likeness which she had, +feigned to herself was no longer seen. She felt that antipathy was +preparing to displace love. These sentiments, however, she concealed, +and suffered the conversation to proceed. + +Their discourse now turned upon the exploits of several women who +mingled in the tumults of the capital and in the armies on the +frontiers. Instances were mentioned of ferocity in some, and magnanimity +in others, which almost surpassed belief. Constantia listened greedily, +though not with approbation, and acquired, at every sentence, new desire +to be acquainted with the personal history of Martinette. On mentioning +this wish, her friend said that she endeavoured to amuse her exile by +composing her own memoirs, and that, on her next visit, she would bring +with her the volume, which she would suffer Constantia to read. + +A separation of a week elapsed. She felt some impatience for the renewal +of their intercourse, and for the perusal of the volume that had been +mentioned. One evening Sarah Baxter, whom Constantia had placed in her +own occasional service, entered the room with marks of great joy and +surprise, and informed her that she at length had discovered Miss +Monrose. From her abrupt and prolix account, it appeared that Sarah had +overtaken Miss Monrose in the street, and, guided by her own curiosity, +as well as by the wish to gratify her mistress, she had followed the +stranger. To her utter astonishment, the lady had paused at Mr. Dudley's +door, with a seeming resolution to enter it, but presently resumed her +way. Instead of pursuing her steps farther, Sarah had stopped to +communicate this intelligence to Constantia. Having delivered her news, +she hastened away, but, returning, in a moment, with a countenance of +new surprise, she informed her mistress that on leaving the house she +had met Miss Monrose at the door, on the point of entering. She added +that the stranger had inquired for Constantia, and was now waiting +below. + +Constantia took no time to reflect upon an incident so unexpected and so +strange, but proceeded forthwith to the parlour. Martinette only was +there. It did not instantly occur to her that this lady and Mademoiselle +Monrose might possibly be the same. The inquiries she made speedily +removed her doubts, and it now appeared that the woman about whose +destiny she had formed so many conjectures and fostered so much anxiety +was no other than the daughter of Roselli. + +Having readily answered her questions, Martinette inquired, in her turn, +into the motives of her friend's curiosity. These were explained by a +succinct account of the transactions to which the deceased Baxter had +been a witness. Constantia concluded with mentioning her own reflections +on the tale, and intimating her wish to be informed how Martinette had +extricated herself from a situation so calamitous. + +"Is there any room for wonder on that head?" replied the guest. "It was +absurd to stay longer in the house. Having finished the interment of +Roselli, (soldier-fashion,) for he was the man who suffered his foolish +regrets to destroy him, I forsook the house. Roselli was by no means +poor, but he could not consent to live at ease, or to live at all, while +his country endured such horrible oppressions, and when so many of his +friends had perished. I complied with his humour, because it could not +be changed, and I revered him too much to desert him." + +"But whither," said Constantia, "could you seek shelter at a time like +that? The city was desolate, and a wandering female could scarcely be +received under any roof. All inhabited houses were closed at that hour, +and the fear of infection would have shut them against you if they had +not been already so." + +"Hast thou forgotten that there were at that time at least ten thousand +French in this city, fugitives from Marat and from St. Domingo? That +they lived in utter fearlessness of the reigning disease,--sung and +loitered in the public walks, and prattled at their doors, with all +their customary unconcern? Supposest thou that there were none among +these who would receive a countrywoman, even if her name had not been +Martinette de Beauvais? Thy fancy has depicted strange things; but +believe me that, without a farthing and without a name, I should not +have incurred the slightest inconvenience. The death of Roselli I +foresaw, because it was gradual in its approach, and was sought by him +as a good. My grief, therefore, was exhausted before it came, and I +rejoiced at his death, because it was the close of all his sorrows. The +rueful pictures of my distress and weakness which were given by Baxter +existed only in his own fancy." + +Martinette pleaded an engagement, and took her leave, professing to have +come merely to leave with her the promised manuscript. This interview, +though short, was productive of many reflections on the deceitfulness of +appearances, and on the variety of maxims by which the conduct of human +beings is regulated. She was accustomed to impart all her thoughts and +relate every new incident to her father. With this view she now hied to +his apartment. This hour it was her custom, when disengaged, always to +spend with him. + +She found Mr. Dudley busy in revolving a scheme which various +circumstances had suggested and gradually conducted to maturity. No +period of his life had been equally delightful with that portion of his +youth which he had spent in Italy. The climate, the language, the +manners of the people, and the sources of intellectual gratification in +painting and music, were congenial to his taste. He had reluctantly +forsaken these enchanting seats, at the summons of his father, but, on +his return to his native country, had encountered nothing but ignominy +and pain. Poverty and blindness had beset his path, and it seemed as if +it were impossible to fly too far from the scene of his disasters. His +misfortunes could not be concealed from others, and every thing around +him seemed to renew the memory of all that he had suffered. All the +events of his youth served to entice him to Italy, while all the +incidents of his subsequent life concurred to render disgustful his +present abode. + +His daughter's happiness was not to be forgotten. This he imagined would +be eminently promoted by the scheme. It would open to her new avenues to +knowledge. It would snatch her from the odious pursuit of Ormond, and, +by a variety of objects and adventures, efface from her mind any +impression which his dangerous artifices might have made upon it. + +This project was now communicated to Constantia. Every argument adapted +to influence her choice was employed. He justly conceived that the only +obstacle to her adoption of it related to Ormond. He expatiated on the +dubious character of this man, the wildness of his schemes, and the +magnitude of his errors. What could be expected from a man, half of +whose life had been spent at the head of a band of Cossacks, spreading +devastation in the regions of the Danube, and supporting by flagitious +intrigues the tyranny of Catharine, and the other half in traversing +inhospitable countries, and extinguishing what remained of clemency and +justice by intercourse with savages? + +It was admitted that his energies were great, but misdirected, and that +to restore them to the guidance of truth was not in itself impossible; +but it was so with relation to any power that she possessed. Conformity +would flow from their marriage, but this conformity was not to be +expected from him. It was not his custom to abjure any of his doctrines +or recede from any of his claims. She knew likewise the conditions of +their union. She must go with him to some corner of the world where his +boasted system was established. What was the road to it he had carefully +concealed, but it was evident that it lay beyond the precincts of +civilized existence. + +Whatever were her ultimate decision, it was at least proper to delay it. +Six years were yet wanting of that period at which only she formerly +considered marriage as proper. To all the general motives for deferring +her choice, the conduct of Ormond superadded the weightiest. Their +correspondence might continue, but her residence in Europe and converse +with mankind might enlighten her judgement and qualify her for a more +rational decision. + +Constantia was not uninfluenced by these reasonings. Instead of +reluctantly admitting them, she somewhat wondered that they had not been +suggested by her own reflections. Her imagination anticipated her +entrance on that mighty scene with emotions little less than rapturous. +Her studies had conferred a thousand ideal charms on a theatre where +Scipio and Caesar had performed their parts. Her wishes were no less +importunate to gaze upon the Alps and Pyrenees, and to vivify and +chasten the images collected from books, by comparing them with their +real prototypes. + +No social ties existed to hold her to America. Her only kinsman and +friend would be the companion of her journeys. This project was likewise +recommended by advantages of which she only was qualified to judge. +Sophia Westwyn had embarked, four years previous to this date, for +England, in company with an English lady and her husband. The +arrangements that were made forbade either of the friends to hope for a +future meeting. Yet now, by virtue of this project, this meeting seemed +no longer to be hopeless. + +This burst of new ideas and now hopes on the mind of Constantia took +place in the course of a single hour. No change in her external +situation had been wrought, and yet her mind had undergone the most +signal revolution. Tho novelty as well as greatness of the prospect kept +her in a state of elevation and awe, more ravishing than any she had +ever experienced. Anticipations of intercourse with nature in her most +august forms, with men in diversified states of society, with the +posterity of Greeks and Romans, and with the actors that were now upon +the stage, and, above all, with the being whom absence and the want of +other attachments had, in some sort, contributed to deify, made this +night pass away upon the wings of transport. + +The hesitation which existed on parting with her father speedily gave +place to an ardour impatient of the least delay. She saw no impediments +to the immediate commencement of the voyage. To delay it a month, or +even a week, seemed to be unprofitable tardiness. In this ferment of her +thoughts, she was neither able nor willing to sleep. In arranging the +means of departure and anticipating the events that would successively +arise, there was abundant food for contemplation. + +She marked the first dawnings of the day, and rose. She felt reluctance +to break upon her father's morning slumbers, but considered that her +motives were extremely urgent, and that the pleasure afforded him by her +zealous approbation of his scheme would amply compensate him for this +unseasonable intrusion on his rest. She hastened therefore to his +chamber. She entered with blithesome steps, and softly drew aside the +curtain. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Unhappy Constantia! At the moment when thy dearest hopes had budded +afresh, when the clouds of insecurity and disquiet had retired from thy +vision, wast thou assailed by the great subverter of human schemes. Thou +sawest nothing in futurity but an eternal variation and succession of +delights. Thou wast hastening to forget dangers and sorrows which thou +fondly imaginedst were never to return. This day was to be the outset of +a new career; existence was henceforth to be embellished with enjoyments +hitherto scarcely within the reach of hope. + +Alas! thy predictions of calamity seldom failed to be verified. Not so +thy prognostics of pleasure. These, though fortified by every +calculation of contingencies, were edifices grounded upon nothing. Thy +life was a struggle with malignant destiny,--a contest for happiness in +which thou wast fated to be overcome. + +She stooped to kiss the venerable cheek of her father, and, by +whispering, to break his slumber. Her eye was no sooner fixed upon his +countenance, than she started back and shrieked. She had no power to +forbear. Her outcries were piercing and vehement. They ceased only with +the cessation of breath. She sunk upon a chair in a state partaking more +of death than of life, mechanically prompted to give vent to her agonies +in shrieks, but incapable of uttering a sound. + +The alarm called her servants to the spot. They beheld her dumb, wildly +gazing, and gesticulating in a way that indicated frenzy. She made no +resistance to their efforts, but permitted them to carry her back to her +own chamber. Sarah called upon her to speak, and to explain the cause +of these appearances; but the shock which she had endured seemed to have +irretrievably destroyed her powers of utterance. + +The terrors of the affectionate Sarah were increased. She kneeled by the +bedside of her mistress, and, with streaming eyes, besought the unhappy +lady to compose herself. Perhaps the sight of weeping in another +possessed a sympathetic influence, or nature had made provision for this +salutary change. However that be, a torrent of tears now came to her +succour, and rescued her from a paroxysm of insanity which its longer +continuance might have set beyond the reach of cure. + +Meanwhile, a glance at his master's countenance made Fabian fully +acquainted with the nature of the scene. The ghastly visage of Mr. +Dudley showed that he was dead, and that he had died in some terrific +and mysterious manner. As soon as this faithful servant recovered from +surprise, the first expedient which his ingenuity suggested was to fly +with tidings of this event to Mr. Melbourne. That gentleman instantly +obeyed the summons. With the power of weeping, Constantia recovered the +power of reflection. This, for a time, served her only as a medium of +anguish. Melbourne mingled his tears with hers, and endeavoured, by +suitable remonstrances, to revive her fortitude. + +The filial passion is perhaps instinctive to man; but its energy is +modified by various circumstances. Every event in the life of Constantia +contributed to heighten this passion beyond customary bounds. In the +habit of perpetual attendance on her father, of deriving from him her +knowledge, and sharing with him the hourly fruits of observation and +reflection, his existence seemed blended with her own. There was no +other whose concurrence and council she could claim, with whom a +domestic and uninterrupted alliance could be maintained. The only bond +of consanguinity was loosened, the only prop of friendship was taken +away. + +Others, perhaps, would have observed that her father's existence had +been merely a source of obstruction and perplexity; that she had +hitherto acted by her own wisdom, and would find, hereafter, less +difficulty in her choice of schemes, and fewer impediments to the +execution. These reflections occurred not to her. This disaster had +increased, to an insupportable degree, the vacancy and dreariness of her +existence. The face she was habituated to behold had disappeared +forever; the voice whose mild and affecting tones had so long been +familiar to her ears was hushed into eternal silence. The felicity to +which she clung was ravished away; nothing remained to hinder her from +sinking into utter despair. + +The first transports of grief having subsided, a source of consolation +seemed to be opened in the belief that her father had only changed one +form of being for another; that he still lived to be the guardian of her +peace and honour, to enter the recesses of her thought, to forewarn her +of evil and invite her to good. She grasped at these images with +eagerness, and fostered them as the only solaces of her calamity. They +were not adapted to inspire her with cheerfulness, but they sublimed her +sensations, and added an inexplicable fascination to sorrow. + +It was unavoidable sometimes to reflect upon the nature of that death +which had occurred. Tokens were sufficiently apparent that outward +violence had been the cause. Who could be the performer of so black a +deed, by what motives he was guided, were topics of fruitless +conjecture. She mused upon this subject, not from the thirst of +vengeance, but from a mournful curiosity. Had the perpetrator stood +before her and challenged retribution, she would not have lifted a +finger to accuse or to punish. The evil already endured left her no +power to concert and execute projects for extending that evil to others. +Her mind was unnerved, and recoiled with loathing from considerations of +abstract justice, or political utility, when they prompted to the +prosecution of the murderer. + +Melbourne was actuated by different views, but on this subject he was +painfully bewildered. Mr. Dudley's deportment to his servants and +neighbours was gentle and humane. He had no dealings with the +trafficking or labouring part of mankind. The fund which supplied his +cravings of necessity or habit was his daughter's. His recreations and +employments were harmless and lonely. The evil purpose was limited to +his death, for his chamber was exactly in the same state in which +negligent security had left it. No midnight footstep or voice, no +unbarred door or lifted window, afforded tokens of the presence or +traces of the entrance or flight of the assassin. + +The meditations of Constantia, however, could not fail in some of their +circuities to encounter the image of Craig. His agency in the +impoverishment of her father, and in the scheme by which she had like to +have been loaded with the penalties of forgery, was of an impervious and +unprecedented kind. Motives were unveiled by time, in some degree +accounting for his treacherous proceeding; but there was room to suppose +an inborn propensity to mischief. Was he not the author of this new +evil? His motives and his means were equally inscrutable, but their +inscrutability might flow from her own defects in discernment and +knowledge, and time might supply her defects in this as in former +instances. + +These images were casual. The causes of the evil were seldom +contemplated. Her mind was rarely at liberty to wander from reflection +on her irremediable loss. Frequently, when confused by distressful +recollections, she would detect herself going to her father's chamber. +Often his well-known accents would ring in her ears, and the momentary +impulse would be to answer his calls. Her reluctance to sit down to her +meals without her usual companion could scarcely be surmounted. + +In this state of mind, the image of the only friend who survived, or +whose destiny, at least, was doubtful, occurred to her. She sunk into +fits of deeper abstraction and dissolved away in tears of more agonizing +tenderness. A week after her father's interment, she shut herself up in +her chamber, to torment herself with fruitless remembrances. The name of +Sophia Westwyn was pronounced, and the ditty that solemnized their +parting was sung. Now, more than formerly, she became sensible of the +loss of that portrait which had been deposited in the hands of M'Crea as +a pledge. As soon as her change of fortune had supplied her with the +means of redeeming it, she hastened to M'Crea for that end. To her +unspeakable disappointment, he was absent from the city; he had taken a +long journey, and the exact period of his return could not be +ascertained. His clerks refused to deliver the picture, or even, by +searching, to discover whether it was still in their master's +possession. This application had frequently and lately been repeated, +but without success; M'Crea had not yet returned, and his family were +equally in the dark as to the day on which his return might be expected. + +She determined, on this occasion, to renew her visit. Her incessant +disappointments had almost extinguished hope, and she made inquiries at +his door, with a faltering accent and sinking heart. These emotions were +changed into surprise and delight, when answer was made that he had just +arrived. She was instantly conducted into his presence. + +The countenance of M'Crea easily denoted that his visitant was by no +means acceptable. There was a mixture of embarrassment and sullenness in +his air, which was far from being diminished when the purpose of this +visit was explained. Constantia reminded him of the offer and acceptance +of this pledge, and of the conditions with which the transaction was +accompanied. + +He acknowledged, with some hesitation, that a promise had been given to +retain the pledge until it were in her power to redeem it; but the long +delay, the urgency of his own wants, and particularly the ill treatment +which he conceived himself to have suffered in the transaction +respecting the forged note, had, in his own opinion, absolved him from +this promise. He had therefore sold the picture to a goldsmith, for as +much as the gold about it was worth. + +This information produced, in the heart of Constantia, a contest between +indignation and sorrow, that for a time debarred her from speech. She +stifled the anger that was, at length, rising to her lips, and calmly +inquired to whom the picture had been sold. + +M'Crea answered that for his part he had little dealings in gold and +silver, but every thing of that kind which fell to his share he +transacted with Mr. D----. This person was one of the most eminent of +his profession. His character and place of abode were universally +known. Tho only expedient that remained was to apply to him, and to +ascertain, forthwith, the destiny of the picture. It was too probable +that, when separated from its case, the portrait was thrown away or +destroyed, as a mere encumbrance, but the truth was too momentous to be +made the sport of mere probability. She left the house of M'Crea, and +hastened to that of the goldsmith. + +The circumstance was easily recalled to his remembrance. It was true +that such a picture had been offered for sale, and that he had purchased +it. The workmanship was curious, and he felt unwilling to destroy it. He +therefore hung it up in his shop and indulged the hope that a purchaser +would some time be attracted by the mere beauty of the toy. + +Constantia's hopes were revived by these tidings, and she earnestly +inquired if it were still in his possession. + +"No. A young gentleman had entered his shop some months before: the +picture had caught his fancy, and he had given a price which the artist +owned he should not have demanded, had he not been encouraged by the +eagerness which the gentleman betrayed to possess it." + +"Who was this gentleman? Had there been any previous acquaintance +between them? What was his name, his profession, and where was he to be +found?" + +"Really," the goldsmith answered, "he was ignorant respecting all those +particulars. Previously to this purchase, the gentleman had sometimes +visited his shop; but he did not recollect to have since seen him. He +was unacquainted with his name and his residence." + +"What appeared to be his motives for purchasing this picture?" + +"The customer appeared highly pleased with it. Pleasure, rather than +surprise, seemed to be produced by the sight of it. If I were permitted +to judge," continued the artist, "I should imagine that the young man +was acquainted with the original. To say the truth, I hinted as much at +the time, and I did not see that he discouraged the supposition. Indeed, +I cannot conceive how the picture could otherwise have gained any value +in his eyes." + +This only heightened the eagerness of Constantia to trace the footsteps +of the youth. It was obvious to suppose some communication or connection +between her friend and this purchaser. She repeated her inquiries, and +the goldsmith, after some consideration, said, "Why, on second thoughts, +I seem to have some notion of having seen a figure like that of my +customer go into a lodging-house in Front Street, some time before I met +with him at my shop." + +The situation of this house being satisfactorily described, and the +artist being able to afford her no further information, except as to +stature and guise, she took her leave. There were two motives impelling +her to prosecute her search after this person,--the desire of regaining +this portrait and of procuring tidings of her friend. Involved as she +was in ignorance, it was impossible to conjecture how far this incident +would be subservient to these inestimable purposes. To procure an +interview with this stranger was the first measure which prudence +suggested. + +She knew not his name or his person. He was once seen entering a +lodging-house. Thither she must immediately repair; but how to introduce +herself, how to describe the person of whom she was in search, she knew +not. She was beset with embarrassments and difficulties. While her +attention was entangled by these, she proceeded unconsciously on her +way, and stopped not until she reached the mansion that had been +described. Here she paused to collect her thoughts. + +She found no relief in deliberation. Every moment added to her +perplexity and indecision. Irresistibly impelled by her wishes, she at +length, in a mood that partook of desperate, advanced to the door and +knocked. The summons was immediately obeyed by a woman of decent +appearance. A pause ensued, which Constantia at length terminated by a +request to see the mistress of the house. + +The lady courteously answered that she was the person, and immediately +ushered her visitant into an apartment. Constantia being seated, the +lady waited for the disclosure of her message. To prolong the silence +was only to multiply embarrassments. She reverted to the state of her +feelings, and saw that they flowed from inconsistency and folly. One +vigorous effort was sufficient to restore her to composure and +self-command. + +She began with apologizing for a visit unpreceded by an introduction. +The object of her inquiries was a person with whom it was of the utmost +moment that she should procure a meeting, but whom, by an unfortunate +concurrence of circumstances, she was unable to describe by the usual +incidents of name and profession. Her knowledge was confined to his +external appearance, and to the probability of his being an inmate of +this house at the beginning of the year. She then proceeded to describe +his person and dress. + +"It is true," said the lady; "such a one as you describe has boarded in +this house. His name was Martynne. I have good reason to remember him, +for he lived with me three months, and then left the country without +paying for his board." + +"He has gone, then?" said Constantia, greatly discouraged by these +tidings. + +"Yes. He was a man of specious manners and loud pretensions. He came +from England, bringing with him forged recommendatory letters, and, +after passing from one end of the country to the other, contracting +debts which he never paid and making bargains which he never fulfilled, +he suddenly disappeared. It is likely that he has returned to Europe." + +"Had he no kindred, no friends, no companions?" + +"He found none here. He made pretences to alliances in England, which +better information has, I believe, since shown to be false." + +This was the sum of the information procurable from this source. +Constantia was unable to conceal her chagrin. These symptoms were +observed by the lady, whose curiosity was awakened in turn. Questions +were obliquely started, inviting Constantia to a disclosure of her +thoughts. No advantage would arise from confidence, and the guest, after +a few minutes of abstraction and silence, rose to take her leave. + +During this conference, some one appeared to be negligently sporting +with the keys of a harpsichord, in the next apartment. The notes were +too irregular and faint to make a forcible impression on the ear. In the +present state of her mind, Constantia was merely conscious of the sound, +in the intervals of conversation. Having arisen from her seat, her +anxiety to obtain some information that might lead to the point she +wished made her again pause. She endeavoured to invent some new +interrogatory better suited to her purpose than those which had already +been employed. A silence on both sides ensued. + +During this interval, the unseen musician suddenly refrained from +rambling, and glided into notes of some refinement and complexity. The +cadence was aerial; but a thunderbolt, falling at her feet, would not +have communicated a more visible shock to the senses of Constantia. A +glance that denoted a tumult of soul bordering on distraction was now +fixed upon the door that led into the room from whence the harmony +proceeded. Instantly the cadence was revived, and some accompanying +voice was heard to warble,-- + + "Ah! far beyond this world of woes + We meet to part,--to part no more." + +Joy and grief, in their sudden onset and their violent extremes, +approach so nearly in their influence on human beings as scarce to be +distinguished. Constantia's frame was still enfeebled by her recent +distresses. The torrent of emotion was too abrupt and too vehement. Her +faculties were overwhelmed, and she sunk upon the floor motionless and +without sense, but not till she had faintly articulated,-- + +"My God! My God! This is a joy unmerited and too great." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +I must be forgiven if I now introduce myself on the stage. Sophia +Westwyn is the friend of Constantia, and the writer of this narrative. +So far as my fate was connected with that of my friend, it is worthy to +be known. That connection has constituted the joy and misery of my +existence, and has prompted me to undertake this task. + +I assume no merit from the desire of knowledge and superiority to +temptation. There is little of which I can boast; but that little I +derived, instrumentally, from Constantia. Poor as my attainments are, it +is to her that I am indebted for them all. Life itself was the gift of +her father, but my virtue and felicity are her gifts. That I am neither +indigent nor profligate, flows from her bounty. + +I am not unaware of the divine superintendence,--of the claims upon my +gratitude and service which pertain to my God. I know that all physical +and moral agents are merely instrumental to the purpose that he wills; +but, though the great Author of being and felicity must not be +forgotten, it is neither possible nor just to overlook the claims upon +our love with which our fellow-beings are invested. + +The supreme love does not absorb, but chastens and enforces, all +subordinate affections. In proportion to the rectitude of my perceptions +and the ardour of my piety, must I clearly discern and fervently love +the excellence discovered in my fellow-beings, and industriously promote +their improvement and felicity. + +From my infancy to my seventeenth year, I lived in the house of Mr. +Dudley. On the day of my birth I was deserted by my mother. Her temper +was more akin to that of tigress than woman. Yet that is unjust; for +beasts cherish their offspring. No natures but human are capable of that +depravity which makes insensible to the claims of innocence and +helplessness. + +But let me not recall her to memory. Have I not enough of sorrow? Yet to +omit my causes of disquiet, the unprecedented forlornness of my +condition, and the persecutions of an unnatural parent, would be to +leave my character a problem, and the sources of my love of Miss Dudley +unexplored. Yet I must not dwell upon that complication of iniquities, +that savage ferocity and unextinguishable hatred of me, which +characterized my unhappy mother. + +I was not safe under the protection of Mr. Dudley, nor happy in the +caresses of his daughter. My mother asserted the privilege of that +relation: she laboured for years to obtain the control of my person and +actions, to snatch me from a peaceful and chaste asylum, and detain me +in her own house, where, indeed, I should not have been in want of +raiment and food; but where-- + +O my mother! Let me not dishonour thy name! Yet it is not in my power to +enhance thy infamy. Thy crimes, unequalled as they were, were perhaps +expiated by thy penitence. Thy offences are too well known; but perhaps +they who witnessed thy freaks of intoxication, thy defiance of public +shame, the enormity of thy pollutions, the infatuation that made thee +glory in the pursuit of a loathsome and detestable trade, may be +strangers to the remorse and the abstinence which accompanied the close +of thy ignominious life. + +For ten years was my peace incessantly molested by the menaces or +machinations of my mother. The longer she meditated my destruction, the +more tenacious of her purpose and indefatigable in her efforts she +became. That my mind was harassed with perpetual alarms was not enough. +The fame and tranquillity of Mr. Dudley and his daughter were hourly +assailed. My mother resigned herself to the impulses of malignity and +rage. Headlong passions, and a vigorous though perverted understanding, +were hers. Hence, her stratagems to undermine the reputation of my +protector, and to bereave him of domestic comfort, were subtle and +profound. Had she not herself been careless of that good which she +endeavoured to wrest from others, her artifices could scarcely have been +frustrated. + +In proportion to the hazard which accrued to my protector and friend, +the more ardent their zeal in my defence and their affection for my +person became. They watched over me with ineffable solicitude. At all +hours and in every occupation, I was the companion of Constantia. All my +wants were supplied in the same proportion as hers. The tenderness of +Mr. Dudley seemed equally divided between us. I partook of his +instructions, and the means of every intellectual and personal +gratification were lavished upon me. + +The speed of my mother's career in infamy was at length slackened. She +left New York, which had long been the theatre of her vices. Actuated by +a now caprice, she determined to travel through the Southern States. +Early indulgence was the cause of her ruin, but her parents had given +her the embellishments of a fashionable education. She delighted to +assume all parts, and personate the most opposite characters. She now +resolved to carry a new name, and the mask of virtue, into scenes +hitherto unvisited. + +She journeyed as far as Charleston. Here she met an inexperienced youth, +lately arrived from England, and in possession of an ample fortune. Her +speciousness and artifices seduced him into a precipitate marriage. Her +true character, however, could not be long concealed by herself, and her +vices had been too conspicuous for her long to escape recognition. Her +husband was infatuated by her blandishments. To abandon her, or to +contemplate her depravity with unconcern, were equally beyond his power. +Romantic in his sentiments, his fortitude was unequal to his +disappointments, and he speedily sunk into the grave. By a similar +refinement in generosity, he bequeathed to her his property. + +With this accession of wealth, she returned to her ancient abode. The +mask lately worn seemed preparing to be thrown aside, and her profligate +habits to be resumed with more eagerness than ever; but an unexpected +and total revolution was effected, by the exhortations of a Methodist +divine. Her heart seemed, on a sudden, to be remoulded, her vices and +the abettors of them were abjured, she shut out the intrusions of +society, and prepared to expiate, by the rigours of abstinence and the +bitterness of tears, the offences of her past life. + +In this, as in her former career, she was unacquainted with restraint +and moderation. Her remorses gained strength in proportion as she +cherished them. She brooded over the images of her guilt, till the +possibility of forgiveness and remission disappeared. Her treatment of +her daughter and her husband constituted the chief source of her +torment. Her awakened conscience refused her a momentary respite from +its persecutions. Her thoughts became, by rapid degrees, tempestuous and +gloomy, and it was at length evident that her condition was maniacal. + +In this state, she was to me an object, no longer of terror, but +compassion. She was surrounded by hirelings, devoid of personal +attachment, and anxious only to convert her misfortunes to their own +advantage. This evil it was my duty to obviate. My presence, for a time, +only enhanced the vehemence of her malady; but at length it was only by +my attendance and soothing that she was diverted from the fellest +purposes. Shocking execrations and outrages, resolutions and efforts to +destroy herself and those around her, were sure to take place in my +absence. The moment I appeared before her, her fury abated, her +gesticulations were becalmed, and her voice exerted only in incoherent +and pathetic lamentations. + +These scenes, though so different from those which I had formerly been +condemned to witness, were scarcely less excruciating. The friendship of +Constantia Dudley was my only consolation. She took up her abode with +me, and shared with me every disgustful and perilous office which my +mother's insanity prescribed. + +Of this consolation, however, it was my fate to be bereaved. My mother's +state was deplorable, and no remedy hitherto employed was efficacious. A +voyage to England was conceived likely to benefit, by change of +temperature and scenes, and by the opportunity it would afford of trying +the superior skill of English physicians. This scheme, after various +struggles on my part, was adopted. It was detestable to my imagination, +because it severed me from that friend in whose existence mine was +involved, and without whose participation knowledge lost its attractions +and society became a torment. + +The prescriptions of my duty could not be disguised or disobeyed, and we +parted. A mutual engagement was formed to record every sentiment and +relate every event that happened in the life of either, and no +opportunity of communicating information was to be omitted. This +engagement was punctually performed on my part. I sought out every +method of conveyance to my friend, and took infinite pains to procure +tidings from her; but all were ineffectual. + +My mother's malady declined, but was succeeded by a pulmonary disease, +which threatened her speedy destruction. By the restoration of her +understanding, the purpose of her voyage was obtained, and my impatience +to return, which the inexplicable and ominous silence of my friend daily +increased, prompted me to exert all my powers of persuasion to induce +her to revisit America. + +My mother's frenzy was a salutary crisis in her moral history. She +looked back upon her past conduct with unspeakable loathing, but this +retrospect only invigorated her devotion and her virtue; but the thought +of returning to the scene of her unhappiness and infamy could not be +endured. Besides, life, in her eyes, possessed considerable attractions, +and her physicians flattered her with recovery from her present disease, +if she would change the atmosphere of England for that of Languedoc and +Naples. + +I followed her with murmurs and reluctance. To desert her in her present +critical state would have been inhuman. My mother's aversions and +attachments, habits and views, were dissonant with my own. Conformity of +sentiments and impressions of maternal tenderness did not exist to bind +us to each other. My attendance was assiduous, but it was the sense of +duty that rendered my attendance a supportable task. + +Her decay was eminently gradual. No time seemed to diminish her appetite +for novelty and change. During three years we traversed every part of +France, Switzerland, and Italy. I could not but attend to surrounding +scenes, and mark the progress of the mighty revolution, whose effects, +like agitation in a fluid, gradually spread from Paris, the centre, over +the face of the neighbouring kingdoms; but there passed not a day or an +hour in which the image of Constantia was not recalled, in which the +most pungent regrets were not felt at the inexplicable silence which had +been observed by her, and the most vehement longings indulged to return +to my native country. My exertions to ascertain her condition by +indirect means, by interrogating natives of America with whom I chanced +to meet, were unwearied, but, for a long period, ineffectual. + +During this pilgrimage, Rome was thrice visited. My mother's +indisposition was hastening to a crisis, and she formed the resolution +of closing her life at the bottom of Vesuvius. We stopped, for the sake +of a few days' repose, at Rome. On the morning after our arrival, I +accompanied some friends to view the public edifices. Casting my eyes +over the vast and ruinous interior of the Coliseum, my attention was +fixed by the figure of a young man whom, after a moment's pause, I +recollected to have seen in the streets of New York. At a distance from +home, mere community of country is no inconsiderable bond of affection. +The social spirit prompts us to cling even to inanimate objects, when +they remind us of ancient fellowships and juvenile attachments. + +A servant was despatched to summon this stranger, who recognised a +countrywoman with a pleasure equal to that which I had received. On +nearer view, this person, whose name was Courtland, did not belie my +favourable prepossessions. Our intercourse was soon established on a +footing of confidence and intimacy. + +The destiny of Constantia was always uppermost in my thoughts. This +person's acquaintance was originally sought chiefly in the hope of +obtaining from him some information respecting my friend. On inquiry, I +discovered that he had left his native city seven months after me. +Having tasked his recollection and compared a number of facts, the name +of Dudley at length recurred to him. He had casually heard the history +of Craig's imposture and its consequences. These were now related as +circumstantially as a memory occupied by subsequent incidents enabled +him. The tale had been told to him, in a domestic circle which he was +accustomed to frequent, by the person who purchased Mr. Dudley's lute +and restored it to its previous owner on the conditions formerly +mentioned. + +This tale filled me with anguish and doubt. My impatience to search out +this unfortunate girl, and share with her her sorrows or relieve them, +was anew excited by this mournful intelligence. That Constantia Dudley +was reduced to beggary was too abhorrent to my feelings to receive +credit; yet the sale of her father's property, comprising even his +furniture and clothing, seemed to prove that she had fallen even to this +depth. This enabled me in some degree to account for her silence. Her +generous spirit would induce her to conceal misfortunes from her friend +which no communication would alleviate. It was possible that she had +selected some new abode, and that, in consequence, the letters I had +written, and which amounted to volumes, had never reached her hands. + +My mother's state would not suffer me to obey the impulse of my heart. +Her frame was verging towards dissolution. Courtland's engagements +allowed him to accompany us to Naples, and here the long series of my +mother's pilgrimages closed in death. Her obsequies were no sooner +performed, than I determined to set out on my long-projected voyage. My +mother's property, which, in consequence of her decease, devolved upon +me, was not inconsiderable. There is scarcely any good so dear to a +rational being as competence. I was not unacquainted with its benefits, +but this acquisition was valuable to mo chiefly as it enabled me to +reunite my fate to that of Constantia. + +Courtland was my countryman and friend. He was destitute of fortune, and +had been led to Europe partly by the spirit of adventure, and partly on +a mercantile project. He had made sale of his property on advantageous +terms, in the ports of France, and resolved to consume the produce in +examining this scene of heroic exploits and memorable revolutions. His +slender stock, though frugally and even parsimoniously administered, was +nearly exhausted; and, at the time of our meeting at Rome, he was making +reluctant preparations to return. + +Sufficient opportunity was afforded us, in an unrestrained and domestic +intercourse of three months, which succeeded our Roman interview, to +gain a knowledge of each other. There was that conformity of tastes and +views between us which could scarcely fail, at an age and in a situation +like ours, to give birth to tenderness. My resolution to hasten to +America was peculiarly unwelcome to my friend. He had offered to be my +companion, but this offer my regard to his interest obliged me to +decline; but I was willing to compensate him for this denial, as well as +to gratify my own heart, by an immediate marriage. + +So long a residence in England and Italy had given birth to friendships +and connections of the dearest kind. I had no view but to spend my life +with Courtland, in the midst of my maternal kindred, who were English. A +voyage to America and reunion with Constantia were previously +indispensable; but I hoped that my friend might be prevailed upon, and +that her disconnected situation would permit her to return with me to +Europe. If this end could not be accomplished, it was my inflexible +purpose to live and die with her. Suitably to this arrangement, +Courtland was to repair to London, and wait patiently till I should be +able to rejoin him there, or to summon him to meet me in America. + +A week after my mother's death, I became a wife, and embarked the next +day, at Naples, in a Ragusan ship, destined for New York. The voyage was +tempestuous and tedious. The vessel was necessitated to make a short +stay at Toulon. The state of that city, however, then in possession of +the English and besieged by the revolutionary forces, was adverse to +commercial views. Happily, we resumed our voyage on the day previous to +that on which the place was evacuated by the British. Our seasonable +departure rescued us from witnessing a scene of horrors of which the +history of former wars furnishes us with few examples. + +A cold and boisterous navigation awaited us. My palpitations and +inquietudes augmented as we approached the American coast. I shall not +forget the sensations which I experienced on the sight of the Beacon at +Sandy Hook. It was first seen at midnight, in a stormy and beclouded +atmosphere, emerging from the waves, whose fluctuation allowed it, for +some time, to be visible only by fits. This token of approaching land +affected me as much as if I had reached the threshold of my friend's +dwelling. + +At length we entered the port, and I viewed, with high-raised but +inexplicable feelings, objects with which I had been from infancy +familiar. The flagstaff erected on the Battery recalled to my +imagination the pleasures of the evening and morning walks which I had +taken on that spot with the lost Constantia. The dream was fondly +cherished, that the figure which I saw loitering along the terrace was +hers. + +On disembarking, I gazed at every female passenger, in hope that it was +she whom I sought. An absence of three years had obliterated from my +memory none of the images which attended me on my departure. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +After a night of repose rather than of sleep, I began the search after +my friend. I went to the house which the Dudleys formerly inhabited, and +which had been the asylum of my infancy. It was now occupied by +strangers, by whom no account could be given of its former tenants. I +obtained directions to the owner of the house. He was equally unable to +satisfy my curiosity. The purchase had been made at a public sale, and +terms had been settled, not with Dudley, but with the sheriff. + +It is needless to say that the history of Craig's imposture and its +consequences were confirmed by every one who resided at that period in +New York. The Dudleys were well remembered, and their disappearance, +immediately after their fall, had been generally noticed; but whither +they had retired was a problem which no one was able to solve. + +This evasion was strange. By what motives the Dudleys were induced to +change their ancient abode could be vaguely guessed. My friend's +grandfather was a native of the West Indies. Descendants of the same +stock still resided in Tobago. They might be affluent, and to them it +was possible that Mr. Dudley, in this change of fortune, had betaken +himself for relief. This was a mournful expedient, since it would raise +a barrier between my friend and myself scarcely to be surmounted. + +Constantia's mother was stolen by Mr. Dudley from a convent at Amiens. +There were no affinities, therefore, to draw them to France. Her +grandmother was a native of Baltimore, of a family of some note, by name +Ridgeley. This family might still exist, and have either afforded an +asylum to the Dudleys, or, at least, be apprized of their destiny. It +was obvious to conclude that they no longer existed within the precincts +of New York. A journey to Baltimore was the next expedient. + +This journey was made in the depth of winter, and by the speediest +conveyance. I made no more than a day's sojourn in Philadelphia. The +epidemic by which that city had been lately ravaged, I had not heard of +till my arrival in America. Its devastations were then painted to my +fancy in the most formidable colours. A few months only had elapsed +since its extinction, and I expected to see numerous marks of misery and +depopulation. + +To my no small surprise, however, no vestiges of this calamity were to +be discerned. All houses were open, all streets thronged, and all faces +thoughtless or busy. The arts and the amusements of life seemed as +sedulously cultivated as ever. Little did I then think what had been, +and what at that moment was, the condition of my friend. I stopped for +the sake of respite from fatigue, and did not, therefore, pass much time +in the streets. Perhaps, had I walked seasonably abroad, we might have +encountered each other, and thus have saved ourselves from a thousand +anxieties. + +At Baltimore I made myself known, without the formality of introduction, +to the Ridgeleys. They acknowledged their relationship to Mr. Dudley, +but professed absolute ignorance of his fate. Indirect intercourse only +had been maintained, formerly, by Dudley with his mother's kindred. They +had heard of his misfortune a twelvemonth after it happened; but what +measures had been subsequently pursued, their kinsman had not thought +proper to inform them. + +The failure of this expedient almost bereft me of hope. Neither my own +imagination nor the Ridgeleys could suggest any new mode by which my +purpose was likely to be accomplished. To leave America without +obtaining the end of my visit could not be thought of without agony; and +yet the continuance of my stay promised me no relief from my +uncertainties. + +On this theme I ruminated without ceasing. I recalled every conversation +and incident of former times, and sought in them a clue by which my +present conjectures might be guided. One night, immersed alone in my +chamber, my thoughts were thus employed. My train of meditation was, on +this occasion, new. From the review of particulars from which no +satisfaction had hitherto been gained, I passed to a vague and +comprehensive retrospect. + +Mr. Dudley's early life, his profession of a painter, his zeal in this +pursuit, and his reluctance to quit it, were remembered. Would he not +revert to this profession when other means of subsistence were gone? It +is true, similar obstacles with those which had formerly occasioned his +resort to a different path existed at present, and no painter of his +name was to be found in Philadelphia, Baltimore, or New York. But would +it not occur to him, that the patronage denied to his skill by the +frugal and unpolished habits of his countrymen might, with more +probability of success, be sought from the opulence and luxury of +London? Nay, had he not once affirmed, in my hearing, that, if he ever +were reduced to poverty, this was the method he would pursue? + +This conjecture was too bewitching to be easily dismissed. Every new +reflection augmented its force. I was suddenly raised by it from the +deepest melancholy to the region of lofty and gay hopes. Happiness, of +which I had begun to imagine myself irretrievably bereft, seemed once +more to approach within my reach. Constantia would not only be found, +but be met in the midst of those comforts which her father's skill could +not fail to procure, and on that very stage where I most desired to +encounter her. Mr. Dudley had many friends and associates of his youth +in London. Filial duty had repelled their importunities to fix his abode +in Europe, when summoned home by his father. On his father's death these +solicitations had been renewed, but were disregarded for reasons which +he, afterwards, himself confessed were fallacious. That they would a +third time be preferred, and would regulate his conduct, seemed to me +incontestable. + +I regarded with wonder and deep regret the infatuation that had +hitherto excluded these images from my understanding and my memory. How +many dangers and toils had I endured since my embarkation at Naples, to +the present moment! How many lingering minutes had I told since my first +interview with Courtland! All were owing to my own stupidity. Had my +present thoughts been seasonably suggested, I might long since have been +restored to the embraces of my friend, without the necessity of an +hour's separation from my husband. + +These were evils to be repaired as far as it was possible. Nothing now +remained but to procure a passage to Europe. For this end diligent +inquiries were immediately set on foot. A vessel was found, which, in a +few weeks, would set out upon the voyage. Having bespoken a conveyance, +it was incumbent on me to sustain with patience the unwelcome delay. + +Meanwhile, my mind, delivered from the dejection and perplexities that +lately haunted it, was capable of some attention to surrounding objects. +I marked the peculiarities of manners and language in my new abode, and +studied the effects which a political and religious system so opposite +to that with which I had conversed in Italy and Switzerland had +produced. I found that the difference between Europe and America lay +chiefly in this:--that, in the former, all things tended to extremes, +whereas, in the latter, all things tended to the same level. Genius, and +virtue, and happiness, on these shores, were distinguished by a sort of +mediocrity. Conditions were less unequal, and men were strangers to the +heights of enjoyment and the depths of misery to which the inhabitants +of Europe are accustomed. + +I received friendly notice and hospitable treatment from the Ridgeleys. +These people were mercantile and plodding in their habits. I found in +their social circle little exercise for the sympathies of my heart, and +willingly accepted their aid to enlarge the sphere of my observation. + +About a week before my intended embarkation, and when suitable +preparation had been made for that event, a lady arrived in town, who +was cousin to my Constantia. She had frequently been mentioned in +favourable terms in my hearing. She had passed her life in a rural +abode with her father, who cultivated his own domain, lying forty miles +from Baltimore. + +On an offer being made to introduce us to each other, I consented to +know one whose chief recommendation in my eyes consisted in her affinity +to Constantia Dudley. I found an artless and attractive female, +unpolished and undepraved by much intercourse with mankind. At first +sight, I was powerfully struck by the resemblance of her features to +those of my friend, which sufficiently denoted their connection with a +common stock. + +The first interview afforded mutual satisfaction. On our second meeting, +discourse insensibly led to the mention of Miss Dudley, and of the +design which had brought me to America. She was deeply affected by the +earnestness with which I expatiated on her cousin's merits, and by the +proofs which my conduct had given of unlimited attachment. + +I dwelt immediately on the measures which I had hitherto ineffectually +pursued to trace her footsteps, and detailed the grounds of my present +belief that we should meet in London. During this recital, my companion +sighed and wept. When I finished my tale, her tears, instead of ceasing, +flowed with new vehemence. This appearance excited some surprise, and I +ventured to ask the cause of her grief. + +"Alas!" she replied, "I am personally a stranger to my cousin, but her +character has been amply displayed to me by one who knew her well. I +weep to think how much she has suffered. How much excellence we have +lost!" + +"Nay," said I, "all her sufferings will, I hope, be compensated, and I +by no means consider her as lost. If my search in London be +unsuccessful, then shall I indeed despair." + +"Despair, then, already," said my sobbing companion, "for your search +will be unsuccessful. How I feel for your disappointment! but it cannot +be known too soon. My cousin is dead!" + +These tidings were communicated with tokens of sincerity and sorrow that +left me no room to doubt that they were believed by the relater. My own +emotions were suspended till interrogations had obtained a knowledge of +her reasons for crediting this fatal event, and till she had explained +the time and manner of her death. A friend of Miss Ridgeley's father had +witnessed the devastations of the yellow fever in Philadelphia. He was +apprized of the relationship that subsisted between his friend and the +Dudleys. He gave a minute and circumstantial account of the arts of +Craig. He mentioned the removal of my friends to Philadelphia, their +obscure and indigent life, and, finally, their falling victims to the +pestilence. + +He related the means by which he became apprized of their fate, and drew +a picture of their death, surpassing all that imagination can conceive +of shocking and deplorable. The quarter where they lived was nearly +desolate. Their house was shut up, and, for a time, imagined to be +uninhabited. Some suspicions being awakened in those who superintended +the burial of the dead, the house was entered, and the father and child +discovered to be dead. The former was stretched upon his wretched +pallet, while the daughter was found on the floor of the lower room, in +a state that denoted the sufferance not only of disease, but of famine. + +This tale was false. Subsequent discoveries proved this to be a +detestable artifice of Craig, who, stimulated by incurable habits, had +invented these disasters, for the purpose of enhancing the opinion of +his humanity and of furthering his views on the fortune and daughter of +Mr. Ridgeley. + +Its falsehood, however, I had as yet no means of ascertaining. I +received it as true, and at once dismissed all my claims upon futurity. +All hope of happiness, in this mutable and sublunary scene, was fled. +Nothing remained but to join my friend in a world where woes are at an +end and virtue finds recompense. "Surely," said I, "there will some time +be a close to calamity and discord. To those whose lives have been +blameless, but harassed by inquietudes to which not their own but the +errors of others have given birth, a fortress will hereafter be +assigned unassailable by change, impregnable to sorrow. + +"O my ill-fated Constantia! I will live to cherish thy remembrance, and +to emulate thy virtue. I will endure the privation of thy friendship and +the vicissitudes that shall befall me, and draw my consolation and +courage from the foresight of no distant close to this terrestrial +scene, and of ultimate and everlasting union with thee." + +This consideration, though it kept me from confusion and despair, could +not, but with the healing aid of time, render me tranquil or strenuous. +My strength was unequal to the struggle of my passions. The ship in +which I engaged to embark could not wait for my restoration to health, +and I was left behind. + +Mary Ridgeley was artless and affectionate. She saw that her society was +dearer to me than that of any other, and was therefore seldom willing to +leave my chamber. Her presence, less on her own account than by reason +of her personal resemblance and her affinity by birth to Constantia, was +a powerful solace. + +I had nothing to detain me longer in America. I was anxious to change my +present lonely state, for the communion of those friends in England, and +the performance of those duties, which were left to me. I was informed +that a British packet would shortly sail from New York. My frame was +sunk into greater weakness than I had felt at any former period; and I +conceived that to return to New York by water was more commodious than +to perform the journey by land. + +This arrangement was likewise destined to be disappointed. One morning I +visited, according to my custom, Mary Ridgeley. I found her in a temper +somewhat inclined to gayety. She rallied me, with great archness, on the +care with which I had concealed from her a tender engagement into which +I had lately entered. + +I supposed myself to comprehend her allusion, and therefore answered +that accident, rather than design, had made me silent on the subject of +marriage. She had hitherto known me by no appellation but Sophia +Courtland. I had thought it needless to inform her that I was indebted +for my name to my husband, Courtland being his name. + +"All that," said my friend, "I know already. And so you sagely think +that my knowledge goes no further than that? We are not bound to love +our husbands longer than their lives. There is no crime, I believe, in +referring the living to the dead; and most heartily do congratulate you +on your present choice." + +"What mean you? I confess, your discourse surpasses my comprehension." + +At that moment the bell at the door rung a loud peal. Miss Ridgeley +hastened down at this signal, saying, with much significance,-- + +"I am a poor hand at solving a riddle. Here comes one who, if I mistake +not, will find no difficulty in clearing up your doubts." + +Presently she came up, and said, with a smile of still greater archness, +"Here is a young gentleman, a friend of mine, to whom I must have the +pleasure of introducing you. He has come for the special purpose of +solving my riddle." I attended her to the parlour without hesitation. + +She presented me, with great formality, to a youth, whose appearance did +not greatly prepossess me in favour of his judgement. He approached me +with an air supercilious and ceremonious; but the moment he caught a +glance at my face, he shrunk back, visibly confounded and embarrassed. A +pause ensued, in which Miss Ridgeley had opportunity to detect the error +into which she had been led by the vanity of this young man. + +"How now, Mr. Martynne!" said my friend, in a tone of ridicule; "is it +possible you do not know the lady who is the queen of your affections, +the tender and indulgent fair one whose portrait you carry in your +bosom, and whose image you daily and nightly bedew with your tears and +kisses?" + +Mr. Martynne's confusion, instead of being subdued by his struggle, only +grew more conspicuous; and, after a few incoherent speeches and +apologies, during which he carefully avoided encountering my eyes, he +hastily departed. + +I applied to my friend, with great earnestness, for an explanation of +this scene. It seems that, in the course of conversation with him on the +preceding day, he had suffered a portrait which hung at his breast to +catch Miss Ridgeley's eye. On her betraying a desire to inspect it more +nearly, he readily produced it. My image had been too well copied by the +artist not to be instantly recognised. + +She concealed her knowledge of the original, and, by questions well +adapted to the purpose, easily drew from him confessions that this was +the portrait of his mistress. He let fall sundry innuendoes and +surmises, tending to impress her with a notion of the rank, fortune, and +intellectual accomplishments of the nymph, and particularly of the +doting fondness and measureless confidence with which she regarded him. + +Her imperfect knowledge of my situation left her in some doubt as to the +truth of these pretensions, and she was willing to ascertain the truth +by bringing about an interview. To guard against evasions and artifice +in the lover, she carefully concealed from him her knowledge of the +original, and merely pretended that a friend of hers was far more +beautiful than her whom this picture represented. She added, that she +expected a visit from her friend the next morning, and was willing, by +showing her to Mr. Martynne, to convince him how much he was mistaken in +supposing the perfections of his mistress unrivalled. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Martynne, while ho expressed his confidence that the experiment would +only confirm his triumph, readily assented to the proposal, and the +interview above described took place, accordingly, the next morning. Had +he not been taken by surprise, it is likely the address of a man who +possessed no contemptible powers would have extricated him from some of +his embarrassment. + +That my portrait should be in the possession of one whom I had never +before seen, and whose character and manners entitled him to no respect, +was a source of some surprise. This mode of multiplying faces is +extremely prevalent in this age, and was eminently characteristic of +those with whom I had associated in different parts of Europe. The +nature of my thoughts had modified my features into an expression which +my friends were pleased to consider as a model for those who desired to +personify the genius of suffering and resignation. + +Hence, among those whose religion permitted their devotion to a picture +of a female, the symbols of their chosen deity were added to features +and shape that resembled mine. My own caprice, as well as that of +others, always dictated a symbolical, and, in every new instance, a +different accompaniment of this kind. Hence was offered the means of +tracing the history of that picture which Martynne possessed. + +It had been accurately examined by Miss Ridgeley, and her description of +the frame in which it was placed instantly informed me that it was the +same which, at our parting, I left in the possession of Constantia. My +friend and myself were desirous of employing the skill of a Saxon +painter, by name Eckstein. Each of us were drawn by him, she with the +cincture of Venus, and I with the crescent of Dian. This symbol was +still conspicuous on the brow of that image which Miss Ridgeley had +examined, and served to identify the original proprietor. + +This circumstance tended to confirm my fears that Constantia was dead, +since that she would part with this picture during her life was not to +be believed. It was of little moment to discover how it came into the +hands of the present possessor. Those who carried her remains to the +grave had probably torn it from her neck and afterwards disposed of it +for money. + +By whatever means, honest or illicit, it had been acquired by Martynne, +it was proper that it should be restored to me. It was valuable to me, +because it had been the property of one whom I loved, and it might prove +highly injurious to my fame and my happiness, as the tool of this man's +vanity and the attestor of his falsehood. I therefore wrote him a +letter, acquainting him with my reasons for desiring the repossession of +this picture, and offering a price for it at least double its value as a +mere article of traffic. Martynne accepted the terms. He transmitted the +picture, and with it a note, apologizing for the artifice of which he +had been guilty, and mentioning, in order to justify his acceptance of +the price which I had offered, that he had lately purchased it for an +equal sum, of a goldsmith in Philadelphia. + +This information suggested a new reflection. Constantia had engaged to +preserve, for the use of her friend, copious and accurate memorials of +her life. Copies of these were, on suitable occasions, to be transmitted +to me during my residence abroad. These I had never received, but it was +highly probable that her punctuality, in the performance of the first +part of her engagement, had been equal to my own. + +What, I asked, had become of these precious memorials? In the wreck of +her property were these irretrievably engulfed? It was not probable that +they had been wantonly destroyed. They had fallen, perhaps, into hands +careless or unconscious of their value, or still lay, unknown and +neglected, at the bottom of some closet or chest. Their recovery might +be effected by vehement exertions, or by some miraculous accident. +Suitable inquiries, carried on among those who were active in those +scenes of calamity, might afford some clue by which the fate of the +Dudleys, and the disposition of their property, might come into fuller +light. These inquiries could be made only in Philadelphia, and thither, +for that purpose, I now resolved to repair. There was still an interval +of some weeks before the departure of the packet in which I proposed to +embark. + +Having returned to the capital, I devoted all my zeal to my darling +project. My efforts, however, were without success. Those who +administered charity and succour during that memorable season, and who +survived, could remove none of my doubts, nor answer any of my +inquiries. Innumerable tales, equally disastrous with those which Miss +Ridgeley had heard, were related; but, for a considerable period, none +of their circumstances were sufficiently accordant with the history of +the Dudleys. + +It is worthy of remark, in how many ways, and by what complexity of +motives, human curiosity is awakened and knowledge obtained. By its +connection with my darling purpose, every event in the history of this +memorable pest was earnestly sought and deeply pondered. The powerful +considerations which governed me made me slight those punctilious +impediments which, in other circumstances, would have debarred me from +intercourse with the immediate actors and observers. I found none who +were unwilling to expatiate on this topic, or to communicate the +knowledge they possessed. Their details were copious in particulars and +vivid in minuteness. They exhibited the state of manners, the +diversified effects of evil or heroic passions, and the endless forms +which sickness and poverty assume in the obscure recesses of a +commercial and populous city. + +Some of these details are too precious to be lost. It is above all +things necessary that we should be thoroughly acquainted with the +condition of our fellow-beings. Justice and compassion are the fruit of +knowledge. The misery that overspreads so large a part of mankind exists +chiefly because those who are able to relieve it do not know that it +exists. Forcibly to paint the evil, seldom fails to excite the virtue of +the spectator and seduce him into wishes, at least, if not into +exertions, of beneficence. + +The circumstances in which I was placed were, perhaps, wholly singular. +Hence, the knowledge I obtained was more comprehensive and authentic +than was possessed by any one, even of the immediate actors or +sufferers. This knowledge will not be useless to myself or to the world. +The motives which dictated the present narrative will hinder me from +relinquishing the pen till my fund of observation and experience be +exhausted. Meanwhile, let me resume the thread of my tale. + +The period allowed me before my departure was nearly expired, and my +purpose seemed to be as far from its accomplishment as ever. One evening +I visited a lady who was the widow of a physician whose disinterested +exertions had cost him his life. She dwelt with pathetic earnestness on +the particulars of her own distress, and listened with deep attention to +the inquiries and doubts which I had laid before her. + +After a pause of consideration, she said that an incident like that +related by me she had previously heard from one of her friends, whose +name she mentioned. This person was one of those whose office consisted +in searching out the sufferers, and affording them unsought and +unsolicited relief. She was offering to introduce me to this person, +when he entered the apartment. + +After the usual compliments, my friend led the conversation as I wished. +Between Mr. Thompson's tale and that related to Miss Ridgeley there was +an obvious resemblance. The sufferers resided in an obscure alley. They +had shut themselves up from all intercourse with their neighbours, and +had died, neglected and unknown. Mr. Thompson was vested with the +superintendence of this district, and had passed the house frequently +without suspicion of its being tenanted. + +He was at length informed, by one of those who conducted a hearse, that +he had seen the window in the upper story of this house lifted and a +female show herself. It was night, and the hearseman chanced to be +passing the door. He immediately supposed that the person stood in need +of his services, and stopped. + +This procedure was comprehended by the person at the window, who, +leaning out, addressed him in a broken and feeble voice. She asked him +why he had not taken a different route, and upbraided him for inhumanity +in leading his noisy vehicle past her door. She wanted repose, but the +ceaseless rumbling of his wheels would not allow her the sweet respite +of a moment. + +This invective was singular, and uttered in a voice which united the +utmost degree of earnestness with a feebleness that rendered it almost +inarticulate. The man was at a loss for a suitable answer. His pause +only increased the impatience of the person at the window, who called +upon him, in a still more anxious tone, to proceed, and entreated him to +avoid this alley for the future. + +He answered that he must come whenever the occasion called him; that +three persons now lay dead in this alley, and that he must be +expeditious in their removal; but that he would return as seldom and +make as little noise as possible. + +He was interrupted by new exclamations and upbraidings. These terminated +in a burst of tears, and assertions that God and man were her +enemies,--that they were determined to destroy her; but she trusted that +the time would come when their own experience would avenge her wrongs, +and teach them some compassion for the misery of others. Saying this, +she shut the window with violence, and retired from it, sobbing with a +vehemence that could be distinctly overheard by him in the street. + +He paused for some time, listening when this passion should cease. The +habitation was slight, and he imagined that he heard her traversing the +floor. While he stayed, she continued to vent her anguish in +exclamations and sighs and passionate weeping. It did not appear that +any other person was within. + +Mr. Thompson, being next day informed of these incidents, endeavoured to +enter the house; but his signals, though loud and frequently repeated, +being unnoticed, he was obliged to gain admission by violence. An old +man, and a female lovely in the midst of emaciation and decay, were +discovered without signs of life. The death of the latter appeared to +have been very recent. + +In examining the house, no traces of other inhabitants were to be found. +Nothing serviceable as food was discovered, but the remnants of mouldy +bread scattered on a table. No information could be gathered from +neighbours respecting the condition and name of these unfortunate +people. They had taken possession of this house during the rage of this +malady, and refrained from all communication with their neighbours. + +There was too much resemblance between this and the story formerly +heard, not to produce the belief that they related to the same persons. +All that remained was to obtain directions to the proprietor of this +dwelling, and exact from him all that he knew respecting his tenants. + +I found in him a man of worth and affability. He readily related, that a +man applied to him for the use of this house, and that the application +was received. At the beginning of the pestilence, a numerous family +inhabited this tenement, but had died in rapid succession. This new +applicant was the first to apprize him of this circumstance, and +appeared extremely anxious to enter on immediate possession. + +It was intimated to him that danger would arise from the pestilential +condition of the house. Unless cleansed and purified, disease would be +unavoidably contracted. The inconvenience and hazard this applicant was +willing to encounter, and, at length, hinted that no alternative was +allowed him by his present landlord but to lie in the street or to +procure some other abode. + +"What was the external appearance of this person?" + +"He was infirm, past the middle age, of melancholy aspect and indigent +garb. A year had since elapsed, and more characteristic particulars had +not been remarked, or were forgotten. The name had been mentioned, but, +in the midst of more recent and momentous transactions, had vanished +from remembrance. Dudley, or Dolby, or Hadley, seemed to approach more +nearly than any other sounds." + +Permission to inspect the house was readily granted. It had remained, +since that period, unoccupied. The furniture and goods were scanty and +wretched, and he did not care to endanger his safety by meddling with +them. He believed that they had not been removed or touched. + +I was insensible of any hazard which attended my visit, and, with the +guidance of a servant, who felt as little apprehension as myself, +hastened to the spot. I found nothing but tables and chairs. Clothing +was nowhere to be seen. An earthen pot, without handle, and broken, +stood upon the kitchen-hearth. No other implement or vessel for the +preparation of food appeared. + +These forlorn appearances were accounted for by the servant, by +supposing the house to have been long since rifled of every thing worth +the trouble of removal, by the villains who occupied the neighbouring +houses,--this alley, it seems, being noted for the profligacy of its +inhabitants. + +When I reflected that a wretched hovel like this had been, probably, the +last retreat of the Dudleys, when I painted their sufferings, of which +the numberless tales of distress of which I had lately been an auditor +enabled me to form an adequate conception, I felt as if to lie down and +expire on the very spot where Constantia had fallen was the only +sacrifice to friendship which time had left to me. + +From this house I wandered to the field where the dead had been, +promiscuously and by hundreds, interred. I counted the long series of +graves, which were closely ranged, and, being recently levelled, +exhibited the appearance of a harrowed field. Methought I could have +given thousands to know in what spot the body of my friend lay, that I +might moisten the sacred earth with my tears. Boards hastily nailed +together formed the best receptacle which the exigencies of the time +could grant to the dead. Many corpses were thrown into a single +excavation, and all distinctions founded on merit and rank were +obliterated. The father and child had been placed in the same cart and +thrown into the same hole. + +Despairing, by any longer stay in the city, to effect my purpose, and +the period of my embarkation being near, I prepared to resume my +journey. I should have set out the next day, but, a family with whom I +had made acquaintance expecting to proceed to New York within a week, I +consented to be their companion, and, for that end, to delay my +departure. + +Meanwhile, I shut myself up in my apartment, and pursued avocations that +were adapted to the melancholy tenor of my thoughts. The day preceding +that appointed for my journey arrived. It was necessary to complete my +arrangements with the family with whom I was to travel, and to settle +with the lady whose apartments I occupied. + +On how slender threads does our destiny hang! Had not a momentary +impulse tempted me to sing my favourite ditty to the harpsichord, to +beguile the short interval during which my hostess was conversing with +her visitor in the next apartment, I should have speeded to New York, +have embarked for Europe, and been eternally severed from my friend, +whom I believed to have died in frenzy and beggary, but who was alive +and affluent, and who sought me with a diligence scarcely inferior to my +own. We imagined ourselves severed from each other by death or by +impassable seas; but, at the moment when our hopes had sunk to the +lowest ebb, a mysterious destiny conducted our footsteps to the same +spot. + +I heard a murmuring exclamation; I heard my hostess call, in a voice of +terror, for help; I rushed into the room; I saw one stretched on the +floor, in the attitude of death; I sprung forward and fixed my eyes upon +her countenance; I clasped my hands and articulated, "Constantia!" + +She speedily recovered from her swoon. Her eyes opened; she moved, she +spoke. Still methought it was an illusion of the senses that created the +phantom. I could not bear to withdraw my eyes from her countenance. If +they wandered for a moment, I fell into doubt and perplexity, and again +fixed them upon her, to assure myself of her existence. + +The succeeding three days were spent in a state of dizziness and +intoxication. The ordinary functions of nature were disturbed. The +appetite for sleep and for food were confounded and lost amidst the +impetuosities of a master-passion. To look and to talk to each other +afforded enchanting occupation for every moment. I would not part from +her side, but eat and slept, walked and mused and read, with my arm +locked in hers, and with her breath fanning my cheek. + +I have indeed much to learn. Sophia Courtland has never been wise. Her +affections disdain the cold dictates of discretion, and spurn at every +limit that contending duties and mixed obligations prescribe. + +And yet, O precious inebriation of the heart! O pre-eminent love! what +pleasure of reason or of sense can stand in competition with those +attendant upon thee? Whether thou hiest to the fanes of a benevolent +deity, or layest all thy homage at the feet of one who most visibly +resembles the perfections of our Maker, surely thy sanction is divine, +thy boon is happiness! + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The tumults of curiosity and pleasure did not speedily subside. The +story of each other's wanderings was told with endless amplification and +minuteness. Henceforth, the stream of our existence was to mix; we were +to act and to think in common; casual witnesses and written testimony +should become superfluous. Eyes and ears were to be eternally employed +upon the conduct of each other; death, when it should come, was not to +be deplored, because it was an unavoidable and brief privation to her +that should survive. Being, under any modification, is dear; but that +state to which death is a passage is all-desirable to virtue and +all-compensating to grief. + +Meanwhile, precedent events were made the themes of endless +conversation. Every incident and passion in the course of four years was +revived and exhibited. The name of Ormond was, of course, frequently +repeated by my friend. His features and deportment were described; her +meditations and resolutions, with regard to him, fully disclosed. My +counsel was asked, in what manner it became her to act. + +I could not but harbour aversion to a scheme which should tend to sever +me from Constantia, or to give me a competitor in her affections. +Besides this, the properties of Ormond were of too mysterious a nature +to make him worthy of acceptance. Little more was known concerning him +than what he himself had disclosed to the Dudleys, but this knowledge +would suffice to invalidate his claims. + +He had dwelt, in his conversations with Constantia, sparingly on his own +concerns. Yet he did not hide from her that he had been left in early +youth to his own guidance; that he had embraced, when almost a child, +the trade of arms; that he had found service and promotion in the armies +of Potemkin and Romanzow; that he had executed secret and diplomatic +functions at Constantinople and Berlin; that in the latter city he had +met with schemers and reasoners who aimed at the new-modelling of the +world, and the subversion of all that has hitherto been conceived +elementary and fundamental in the constitution of man and of government; +that some of those reformers had secretly united to break down the +military and monarchical fabric of German policy; that others, more +wisely, had devoted their secret efforts, not to overturn, but to build; +that, for this end, they embraced an exploring and colonizing project; +that he had allied himself to these, and for the promotion of their +projects had spent six years of his life in journeys by sea and land, in +tracts unfrequented till then by any European. + +What were the moral or political maxims which this adventurous and +visionary sect had adopted, and what was the seat of their new-born +empire,--whether on the shore of an _austral_ continent, or in the heart +of desert America,--he carefully concealed. These were exhibited or +hidden, or shifted, according to his purpose. Not to reveal too much, +and not to tire curiosity or overtask belief, was his daily labour. He +talked of alliance with the family whose name he bore, and who had lost +their honours and estates by the Hanoverian succession to the crown of +England. + +I had seen too much of innovation and imposture, in, France and Italy, +not to regard a man like this with aversion and fear. The mind of my +friend was wavering and unsuspicious. She had lived at a distance from +scenes where principles are hourly put to the test of experiment; where +all extremes of fortitude and pusillanimity are accustomed to meet; +where recluse virtue and speculative heroism gives place, as if by +magic, to the last excesses of debauchery and wickedness; where pillage +and murder are engrafted on systems of all-embracing and self-oblivious +benevolence, and the good of mankind is professed to be pursued with +bonds of association and covenants of secrecy. Hence, my friend had +decided without the sanction of experience, had allowed herself to +wander into untried paths, and had hearkened to positions pregnant with +destruction and ignominy. + +It was not difficult to exhibit in their true light the enormous errors +of this man, and the danger of prolonging their intercourse. Her assent +to accompany me to England was readily obtained. Too much despatch could +not be used; but the disposal of her property must first take place. +This was necessarily productive of some delay. + +I had been made, contrary to inclination, expert in the management of +all affairs relative to property. My mother's lunacy, subsequent +disease, and death, had imposed upon me obligations and cares little +suitable to my sex and age. They could not be eluded or transferred to +others; and, by degrees, experience enlarged my knowledge and +familiarized my tasks. + +It was agreed that I should visit and inspect my friend's estate in +Jersey, while she remained in her present abode, to put an end to the +views and expectations of Ormond, and to make preparation for her +voyage. We were reconciled to a temporary separation by the necessity +that prescribed it. + +During our residence together, the mind of Constantia was kept in +perpetual ferment. The second day after my departure, the turbulence of +her feelings began to subside, and she found herself at leisure to +pursue those measures which her present situation prescribed. + +The time prefixed by Ormond for the termination of his absence had +nearly arrived. Her resolutions respecting this man, lately formed, now +occurred to her. Her heart drooped as she revolved the necessity of +disuniting their fates; but that this disunion was proper could not +admit of doubt. How information of her present views might be most +satisfactorily imparted to him, was a question not instantly decided. +She reflected on the impetuosity of his character, and conceived that +her intentions might be most conveniently unfolded in a letter. This +letter she immediately sat down to write. Just then the door opened, and +Ormond entered the apartment. + +She was somewhat, and for a moment, startled by this abrupt and +unlooked-for entrance. Yet she greeted him with pleasure. Her greeting +was received with coldness. A second glance at his countenance informed +her that his mind was somewhat discomposed. + +Folding his hands on his breast, ho stalked to the window and looked up +at the moon. Presently he withdrew his gaze from this object, and fixed +it upon Constantia. He spoke, but his words were produced by a kind of +effort. + +"Fit emblem," he exclaimed, "of human versatility! One impediment is +gone. I hoped it was the only one. But no! the removal of that merely +made room for another. Let this be removed. Well, fate will interplace a +third. All our toils will thus be frustrated, and the ruin will finally +redound upon our heads." There he stopped. + +This strain could not be interpreted by Constantia. She smiled, and, +without noticing his incoherences, proceeded to inquire into his +adventures during their separation. He listened to her, but his eyes, +fixed upon hers, and his solemnity of aspect, were immovable. When she +paused, he seated himself close to her, and, grasping her hand with a +vehemence that almost pained her, said,-- + +"Look at me; steadfastly. Can you read my thoughts? Can your discernment +reach the bounds of my knowledge and the bottom of my purposes? Catch +you not a view of the monsters that are starting into birth _here_?" +(and he put his left hand to his forehead.) "But you cannot. Should I +paint them to you verbally, you would call me jester or deceiver. What +pity that you have not instruments for piercing into thoughts!" + +"I presume," said Constantia, affecting cheerfulness which she did not +feel, "such instruments would be useless to me. You never scruple to say +what you think. Your designs are no sooner conceived than they are +expressed. All you know, all you wish, and all you purpose, are known +to others as soon as to yourself. No scruples of decorum, no foresight +of consequences, are obstacles in your way." + +"True," replied he; "all obstacles are trampled under foot but one." + +"What is the insuperable one?" + +"Incredulity in him that hears. I must not say what will not be +credited. I must not relate feats and avow schemes, when my hearer will +say, 'Those feats were never performed; these schemes are not yours.' I +care not if the truth of my tenets and the practicability of my purposes +be denied. Still, I will openly maintain them; but when my assertions +will themselves be disbelieved, when it is denied that I adopt the creed +and project the plans which I affirm to be adopted and projected by me, +it is needless to affirm. + +"To-morrow I mean to ascertain the height of the lunar mountains by +travelling to the top of them. Then I will station myself in the track +of the last comet, and wait till its circumvolution suffers me to leap +upon it; then, by walking on its surface, I will ascertain whether it be +hot enough to burn my soles. Do you believe that this can be done?" + +"No." + +"Do you believe, in consequence of my assertion, that I design to do +this, and that, in my apprehension, it is easy to be done?" + +"Not unless I previously believe you to be lunatic." + +"Then why should I assert my purposes? Why speak, when the hearer will +infer nothing from my speech but that I am either lunatic or liar?" + +"In that predicament, silence is best." + +"In that predicament I now stand. I am not going to unfold myself. Just +now, I pitied thee for want of eyes. 'Twas a foolish compassion. Thou +art happy, because thou seest not an inch before thee or behind." Here +he was for a moment buried in thought; then, breaking from his reverie, +he said, "So your father is dead?" + +"True," said Constantia, endeavouring to suppress her rising emotions; +"he is no more. It is so recent an event that I imagined you a stranger +to it." + +"False imagination! Thinkest thou I would refrain from knowing what so +nearly concerns us both? Perhaps your opinion of my ignorance extends +beyond this. Perhaps I know not your fruitless search for a picture. +Perhaps I neither followed you nor led you to a being called Sophia +Courtland. I was not present at the meeting. I am unapprized of the +effects of your romantic passion for each other. I did not witness the +rapturous effusions and inexorable counsels of the newcomer. I know not +the contents of the letter which you are preparing to write." + +As he spoke this, the accents of Ormond gradually augmented in +vehemence. His countenance bespoke a deepening inquietude and growing +passion. He stopped at the mention of the letter, because his voice was +overpowered by emotion. This pause afforded room for the astonishment of +Constantia. Her interviews and conversations with me took place at +seasons of general repose, when all doors were fast and avenues shut, in +the midst of silence, and in the bosom of retirement. The theme of our +discourse was, commonly, too sacred for any ears but our own; +disclosures were of too intimate and delicate a nature for any but a +female audience; they were too injurious to the fame and peace of Ormond +for him to be admitted to partake of them: yet his words implied a full +acquaintance with recent events, and with purposes and deliberations +shrouded, as we imagined, in impenetrable secrecy. + +As soon as Constantia recovered from the confusion of these thoughts, +she eagerly questioned him:--"What do you know? How do you know what has +happened, or what is intended?" + +"Poor Constantia!" he exclaimed, in a tone bitter and sarcastic. "How +hopeless is thy ignorance! To enlighten thee is past my power. What +do I know? Every thing. Not a tittle has escaped me. Thy letter is +superfluous; I know its contents before they are written. I was +to be told that a soldier and a traveller, a man who refused his +faith to dreams, and his homage to shadows, merited only scorn and +forgetfulness. That thy affections and person were due to another; that +intercourse between us was henceforth to cease; that preparation was +making for a voyage to Britain, and that Ormond was to walk to his grave +alone!" + +In spite of harsh tones and inflexible features, these words were +accompanied with somewhat that betrayed a mind full of discord and +agony. Constantia's astonishment was mingled with dejection. The +discovery of a passion deeper and less curable than she suspected--the +perception of embarrassments and difficulties in the path which she had +chosen, that had not previously occurred to her--threw her mind into +anxious suspense. + +The measures she had previously concerted were still approved. To part +from Ormond was enjoined by every dictate of discretion and duty. An +explanation of her motives and views could not take place more +seasonably than at present. Every consideration of justice to herself +and humanity to Ormond made it desirable that this interview should be +the last. By inexplicable means, he had gained a knowledge of her +intentions. It was expedient, therefore, to state them with clearness +and force. In what words this was to be done, was the subject of +momentary deliberation. + +Her thoughts were discerned, and her speech anticipated, by her +companion:--"Why droopest thou, and why thus silent, Constantia? The +secret of thy fate will never be detected. Till thy destiny be finished, +it will not be the topic of a single fear. But not for thyself, but me, +art thou concerned. Thou dreadest, yet determinest, to confirm my +predictions of thy voyage to Europe and thy severance from me. + +"Dismiss thy inquietudes on that score. What misery thy scorn and thy +rejection are able to inflict is inflicted already. Thy decision was +known to me as soon as it was formed. Thy motives were known. Not an +argument or plea of thy counsellor, not a syllable of her invective, not +a sound of her persuasive rhetoric, escaped my hearing. I know thy +decree to be immutable. As my doubts, so my wishes have taken their +flight. Perhaps, in the depth of thy ignorance, it was supposed that I +should struggle to reverse thy purpose by menaces or supplications; that +I should boast of the cruelty with which I should avenge an imaginary +wrong upon myself. No. All is very well. Go. Not a whisper of objection +or reluctance shalt thou hear from me." + +"If I could think," said Constantia, with tremulous hesitation, "that +you part from me without anger; that you see the rectitude of my +proceeding--" + +"Anger! Rectitude! I pr'ythee, peace. I know thou art going.--I know +that all objection to thy purpose would be vain. Thinkest thou that thy +stay, undictated by love, the mere fruit of compassion, would afford me +pleasure or crown my wishes? No. I am not so dastardly a wretch. There +was something in thy power to bestow, but thy will accords not with thy +power. I merit not the boon, and thou refusest it. I am content." + +Here Ormond fixed more significant eyes upon her. "Poor Constantia!" he +continued. "Shall I warn thee of the danger that awaits thee? For what +end? To elude it is impossible. It will come, and thou, perhaps, wilt be +unhappy. Foresight that enables not to shun, only precreates, the evil. + +"Come it will. Though future, it knows not the empire of contingency. An +inexorable and immutable decree enjoins it. Perhaps it is thy nature to +meet with calmness what cannot be shunned. Perhaps, when it is past, thy +reason will perceive its irrevocable nature, and restore thee to peace. +Such is the conduct of the wise; but such, I fear, the education of +Constantia Dudley will debar her from pursuing. + +"Fain would I regard it as the test of thy wisdom. I look upon thy past +life. All the forms of genuine adversity have beset thy youth. Poverty, +disease, servile labour, a criminal and hapless parent, have been evils +which thou hast not ungracefully sustained. An absent friend and +murdered father were added to thy list of woes, and here thy courage was +deficient. Thy soul was proof against substantial misery, but sunk into +helpless cowardice at the sight of phantoms. + +"One more disaster remains. To call it by its true name would be useless +or pernicious. Useless, because thou wouldst pronounce its occurrence +impossible; pernicious, because, if its possibility were granted, the +omen would distract thee with fear. How shall I describe it? Is it loss +of fame? No. The deed will be unwitnessed by a human creature. Thy +reputation will be spotless, for nothing will be done by thee unsuitable +to the tenor of thy past life. Calumny will not be heard to whisper. All +that know thee will be lavish of their eulogies as ever. Their eulogies +will be as justly merited. Of this merit thou wilt entertain as just and +as adequate conceptions as now. + +"It is no repetition of the evils thou hast already endured; it is +neither drudgery, nor sickness, nor privation of friends. Strange +perverseness of human reason! It is an evil; it will be thought upon +with agony; it will close up all the sources of pleasurable +recollection; it will exterminate hope; it will endear oblivion, and +push thee into an untimely grave. Yet to grasp it is impossible. The +moment we inspect it nearly, it vanishes. Thy claims to human +approbation and divine applause will be undiminished and unaltered by +it. The testimony of approving conscience will have lost none of its +explicitness and energy. Yet thou wilt feed upon sighs; thy tears will +flow without remission; thou wilt grow enamoured of death, and perhaps +wilt anticipate the stroke of disease. + +"Yet perhaps my prediction is groundless as my knowledge. Perhaps thy +discernment will avail to make thee wise and happy. Perhaps thou wilt +perceive thy privilege of sympathetic and intellectual activity to be +untouched. Heaven grant the non-fulfilment of my prophecy, thy +disenthralment from error, and the perpetuation of thy happiness." + +Saying this, Ormond withdrew. His words were always accompanied with +gestures and looks and tones that fastened the attention of the hearer; +but the terms of his present discourse afforded, independently of +gesticulation and utterance, sufficient motives to attention and +remembrance. He was gone, but his image was contemplated by Constantia; +his words still rung in her ears. + +The letter she designed to compose was rendered, by this interview, +unnecessary. Meanings of which she and her friend alone were conscious +were discovered by Ormond, through some other medium than words; yet +that was impossible. A being unendowed with preternatural attributes +could gain the information which this man possessed, only by the +exertion of his senses. + +All human precautions had been used to baffle the attempts of any secret +witness. She recalled to mind the circumstances in which conversations +with her friend had taken place. All had been retirement, secrecy, and +silence. The hours usually dedicated to sleep had been devoted to this +better purpose. Much had been said, in a voice low and scarcely louder +than a whisper. To have overheard it at the distance of a few feet was +apparently impossible. + +Their conversations had not been recorded by her. It could not be +believed that this had been done by Sophia Courtland. Had Ormond and her +friend met during the interval that had elapsed between her separation +from the latter and her meeting with the former? Human events are +conjoined by links imperceptible to keenest eyes. Of Ormond's means of +information she was wholly unapprized. Perhaps accident would some time +unfold them. One thing was incontestable:--that her schemes and her +reasons for adopting them were known to him. + +What unforeseen effects had that knowledge produced! In what ambiguous +terms had he couched his prognostics of some mighty evil that awaited +her! He had given a terrible but contradictory description of her +destiny. An event was to happen, akin to no calamity which she had +already endured, disconnected with all which the imagination of man is +accustomed to deprecate, capable of urging her to suicide, and yet of a +kind which left it undecided whether she would regard it with +indifference. + +What reliance should she place upon prophetic incoherences thus wild? +What precautions should she take against a danger thus inscrutable and +imminent? + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +These incidents and reflections were speedily transmitted to me. I had +always believed the character and machinations of Ormond to be worthy of +caution and fear. His means of information I did not pretend, and +thought it useless, to investigate. We cannot hide our actions and +thoughts from one of powerful sagacity, whom the detection sufficiently +interests to make him use all the methods of detection in his power. The +study of concealment is, in all cases, fruitless or hurtful. All that +duty enjoins is to design and to execute nothing which may not be +approved by a divine and omniscient Observer. Human scrutiny is neither +to be solicited nor shunned. Human approbation or censure can never be +exempt from injustice, because our limited perceptions debar us from a +thorough knowledge of any actions and motives but our own. + +On reviewing what had passed between Constantia and me, I recollected +nothing incompatible with purity and rectitude. That Ormond was apprized +of all that had passed, I by no means inferred from the tenor of his +conversation with Constantia; nor, if this had been incontestably +proved, should I have experienced any trepidation or anxiety on that +account. + +His obscure and indirect menaces of evil were of more importance. His +discourse on this topic seemed susceptible only of two constructions. +Either he intended some fatal mischief, and was willing to torment her +by fears, while he concealed from her the nature of her danger, that he +might hinder her from guarding her safety by suitable precautions; or, +being hopeless of rendering her propitious to his wishes, his malice was +satisfied with leaving her a legacy of apprehension and doubt. +Constantia's unacquaintance with the doctrines of that school in which +Ormond was probably instructed led her to regard the conduct of this man +with more curiosity and wonder than fear. She saw nothing but a +disposition to sport with her ignorance and bewilder her with doubts. + +I do not believe myself destitute of courage. Rightly to estimate the +danger and encounter it with firmness are worthy of a rational being; +but to place our security in thoughtlessness and blindness is only less +ignoble than cowardice. I could not forget the proofs of violence which +accompanied the death of Mr. Dudley. I could not overlook, in the recent +conversation with Constantia, Ormond's allusion to her murdered father. +It was possible that the nature of this death had been accidentally +imparted to him; but it was likewise possible that his was the knowledge +of one who performed the act. + +The enormity of this deed appeared by no means incongruous with the +sentiments of Ormond. Human life is momentous or trivial in our eyes, +according to the course which our habits and opinions have taken. +Passion greedily accepts, and habit readily offers, the sacrifice of +another's life, and reason obeys the impulse of education and desire. + +A youth of eighteen, a volunteer in a Russian army encamped in +Bessarabia, made prey of a Tartar girl, found in the field of a recent +battle. Conducting her to his quarters, he met a friend, who, on some +pretence, claimed the victim. From angry words they betook themselves to +swords. A combat ensued, in which the first claimant ran his antagonist +through the body. He then bore his prize unmolested away, and, having +exercised brutality of one kind upon the helpless victim, stabbed her to +the heart, as an offering to the _manes_ of Sarsefield, the friend whom +he had slain. Next morning, willing more signally to expiate his guilt, +he rushed alone upon a troop of Turkish foragers, and brought away five +heads, suspended, by their gory locks, to his horse's mane. These he +cast upon the grave of Sarsefield, and conceived himself fully to have +expiated yesterday's offence. In reward for his prowess, the general +gave him a commission in the Cossack troops. This youth was Ormond; and +such is a specimen of his exploits during a military career of eight +years, in a warfare the most savage and implacable, and, at the same +time, the most iniquitous and wanton, which history records. + +With passions and habits like these, the life of another was a trifling +sacrifice to vengeance or impatience. How Mr. Dudley had excited the +resentment of Ormond, by what means the assassin had accomplished his +intention without awakening alarm or incurring suspicion, it was not for +me to discover. The inextricability of human events, the imperviousness +of cunning, and the obduracy of malice, I had frequent occasions to +remark. + +I did not labour to vanquish the security of my friend. As to +precautions, they were useless. There was no fortress, guarded by +barriers of stone and iron and watched by sentinels that never slept, to +which she might retire from his stratagems. If there were such a +retreat, it would scarcely avail her against a foe circumspect and +subtle as Ormond. + +I pondered on the condition of my friend. I reviewed the incidents of +her life. I compared her lot with that of others. I could not but +discover a sort of incurable malignity in her fate. I felt as if it were +denied to her to enjoy a long life or permanent tranquillity. I asked +myself what she had done, entitling her to this incessant persecution. +Impatience and murmuring took place of sorrow and fear in my heart. When +I reflected that all human agency was merely subservient to a divine +purpose, I fell into fits of accusation and impiety. + +This injustice was transient, and soberer views convinced me that every +scheme, comprising the whole, must be productive of partial and +temporary evil. The sufferings of Constantia were limited to a moment; +they were the unavoidable appendages of terrestrial existence; they +formed the only avenue to wisdom, and the only claim to uninterrupted +fruition and eternal repose in an after-scene. + +The course of my reflections, and the issue to which they led, were +unforeseen by myself. Fondly as I doted upon this woman, methought I +could resign her to the grave without a murmur or a tear. While my +thoughts were calmed by resignation, and my fancy occupied with nothing +but the briefness of that space and evanescence of that time which +severs the living from the dead, I contemplated, almost with +complacency, a violent or untimely close to her existence. + +This loftiness of mind could not always be accomplished or constantly +maintained. One effect of my fears was to hasten my departure to Europe. +There existed no impediment but the want of a suitable conveyance. In +the first packet that should leave America, it was determined to secure +a passage. Mr. Melbourne consented to take charge of Constantia's +property, and, after the sale of it, to transmit to her the money that +should thence arise. + +Meanwhile, I was anxious that Constantia should leave her present abode +and join me in New York. She willingly adopted this arrangement, but +conceived it necessary to spend a few days at her house in Jersey. She +could reach the latter place without much deviation from the straight +road, and she was desirous of resurveying a spot where many of her +infantile days had been spent. + +This house and domain I have already mentioned to have once belonged to +Mr. Dudley. It was selected with the judgement and adorned with the taste +of a disciple of the schools of Florence and Vicenza. In his view, +cultivation was subservient to the picturesque, and a mansion was +erected, eminent for nothing but chastity of ornaments and simplicity of +structure. The massive parts were of stone; the outer surfaces were +smooth, snow-white, and diversified by apertures and cornices, in which +a cement uncommonly tenacious was wrought into proportions the most +correct and forms the most graceful. The floors, walls, and ceilings, +consisted of a still more exquisitely-tempered substance, and were +painted by Mr. Dudley's own hand. All appendages of this building, as +seats, tables, and cabinets, were modelled by the owner's particular +direction, and in a manner scrupulously classical. + +He had scarcely entered on the enjoyment of this splendid possession, +when it was ravished away. No privation was endured with more impatience +than this; but, happily, it was purchased by one who left Mr. Dudley's +arrangements unmolested, and who shortly after conveyed it entire to +Ormond. By him it was finally appropriated to the use of Helena Cleves, +and now, by a singular contexture of events, it had reverted to those +hands in which the death of the original proprietor, if no other change +had been made in his condition, would have left it. The farm still +remained in the tenure of a German emigrant, who held it partly on +condition of preserving the garden and mansion in safety and in perfect +order. + +This retreat was now revisited by Constantia, after an interval of four +years. Autumn had made some progress, but the aspect of nature was, so +to speak, more significant than at any other season. She was agreeably +accommodated under the tenant's roof, and found a nameless pleasure in +traversing spaces in which every object prompted an endless train of +recollections. + +Her sensations were not foreseen. They led to a state of mind +inconsistent, in some degree, with the projects adopted in obedience to +the suggestions of a friend. Every thing in this scene had been created +and modelled by the genius of her father. It was a kind of fane, +sanctified by his imaginary presence. + +To consign the fruits of his industry and invention to foreign and +unsparing hands seemed a kind of sacrilege, for which she almost feared +that the dead would rise to upbraid her. Those images which bind us to +our natal soil, to the abode of our innocent and careless youth, were +recalled to her fancy by the scenes which she now beheld. These were +enforced by considerations of the dangers which attended her voyage from +storms and from enemies, and from the tendency to revolution and war +which seemed to actuate all the nations of Europe. Her native country +was by no means exempt from similar tendencies, but these evils were +less imminent, and its manners and government, in their present +modifications, were unspeakably more favourable to the dignity and +improvement of the human race than those which prevailed in any part of +the ancient world. + +My solicitations and my obligation to repair to England overweighed her +objections, but her new reflections led her to form new determinations +with regard to this part of her property. She concluded to retain +possession, and hoped that some future event would allow her to return +to this favourite spot without forfeiture of my society. An abode of +some years in Europe would more eminently qualify her for the enjoyment +of retirement and safety in her native country. The time that should +elapse before her embarkation, she was desirous of passing among the +shades of this romantic retreat. + +I was by no means reconciled to this proceeding. I loved my friend too +well to endure any needless separation without repining. In addition to +this, the image of Ormond haunted my thoughts, and gave birth to +incessant but indefinable fears. I believed that her safety would very +little depend upon the nature of her abode, or the number or +watchfulness of her companions. My nearness to her person would +frustrate no stratagem, nor promote any other end than my own +entanglement in the same fold. Still, that I was not apprized each hour +of her condition, that her state was lonely and sequestered, were +sources of disquiet, the obvious remedy to which was her coming to New +York. Preparations for departure were assigned to me, and these required +my continuance in the city. + +Once a week, Laffert, her tenant, visited, for purposes of traffic, the +city. He was the medium of our correspondence. To him I intrusted a +letter, in which my dissatisfaction at her absence, and the causes which +gave it birth, were freely confessed. + +The confidence of safety seldom deserted my friend. Since her mysterious +conversation with Ormond, he had utterly vanished. Previous to that +interview, his visits or his letters were incessant and punctual; but +since, no token was given that he existed. Two months had elapsed. He +gave her no reason to expect a cessation of intercourse. He had parted +from her with his usual abruptness and informality. She did not conceive +it incumbent on her to search him out, but she would not have been +displeased with an opportunity to discuss with him more fully the +motives of her conduct. This opportunity had been hitherto denied. + +Her occupations in her present retreat were, for the most part, dictated +by caprice or by chance. The mildness of autumn permitted her to ramble, +during the day, from one rock and one grove to another. There was a +luxury in musing, and in the sensations which the scenery and silence +produced, which, in consequence of her long estrangement from them, were +accompanied with all the attractions of novelty, and from which she +would not consent to withdraw. + +In the evening she usually retired to the mansion, and shut herself up +in that apartment which, in the original structure of the house, had +been designed for study, and no part of whose furniture had been removed +or displaced. It was a kind of closet on the second floor, illuminated +by a spacious window, through which a landscape of uncommon amplitude +and beauty was presented to the view. Here the pleasures of the day were +revived, by recalling and enumerating them in letters to her friend. She +always quitted this recess with reluctance, and seldom till the night +was half spent. + +One evening she retired hither when the sun had just dipped beneath the +horizon. Her implements of writing were prepared; but, before the pen +was assumed, her eyes rested for a moment on the variegated hues which +were poured out upon the western sky and upon the scene of intermingled +waters, copses, and fields. The view comprised a part of the road which +led to this dwelling. It was partially and distantly seen, and the +passage of horses or men was betokened chiefly by the dust which was +raised by their footsteps. + +A token of this kind now caught her attention. It fixed her eye chiefly +by the picturesque effect produced by interposing its obscurity between +her and the splendours which the sun had left. Presently she gained a +faint view of a man and horse. This circumstance laid no claim to +attention, and she was withdrawing her eye, when the traveller's +stopping and dismounting at the gate made her renew her scrutiny. This +was reinforced by something in the figure and movements of the horseman +which reminded her of Ormond. + +She started from her seat with some degree of palpitation. Whence this +arose, whether from fear or from joy, or from intermixed emotions, it +would not be easy to ascertain. Having entered the gate, the visitant, +remounting his horse, set the animal on full speed. Every moment brought +him nearer, and added to her first belief. He stopped not till he +reached the mansion. The person of Ormond was distinctly recognised. + +An interview at this dusky and lonely hour, in circumstances so abrupt +and unexpected, could not fail to surprise, and, in some degree, to +alarm. The substance of his last conversation was recalled. The evils +which were darkly and ambiguously predicted thronged to her memory. It +seemed as if the present moment was to be, in some way, decisive of her +fate. This visit she did not hesitate to suppose designed for her, but +somewhat uncommonly momentous must have prompted him to take so long a +journey. + +The rooms on the lower floor were dark, the windows and doors being +fastened. She had entered the house by the principal door, and this was +the only one at present unlocked. The room in which she sat was over the +hall, and the massive door beneath could not be opened without noisy +signals. The question that occurred to her, by what means Ormond would +gain admittance to her presence, she supposed would be instantly +decided. She listened to hear his footsteps on the pavement, or the +creaking of hinges. The silence, however, continued profound as before. + +After a minute's pause, she approached the window more nearly and +endeavoured to gain a view of the space before the house. She saw +nothing but the horse, whose bridle was thrown over his neck, and who +was left at liberty to pick up what scanty herbage the lawn afforded to +his hunger. The rider had disappeared. + +It now occurred to her that this visit had a purpose different from that +which she at first conjectured. It was easily conceived that Ormond was +unacquainted with her residence at this spot. The knowledge could only +be imparted to him by indirect or illicit means. That these means had +been employed by him, she was by no means authorized to infer from the +silence and distance he had lately maintained. But if an interview with +her were not the purpose of his coming, how should she interpret it? + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +While occupied with these reflections, the light hastily disappeared, +and darkness, rendered, by a cloudy atmosphere, uncommonly intense, +succeeded. She had the means of lighting a lamp that hung against the +wall, but had been too much immersed in thought to notice the deepening +of the gloom. Recovering from her reverie, she looked around her with +some degree of trepidation, and prepared to strike a spark that would +enable her to light her lamp. + +She had hitherto indulged an habitual indifference to danger. Now the +presence of Ormond, the unknown purpose that led him hither, and the +defencelessness of her condition, inspired her with apprehensions to +which she had hitherto been a stranger. She had been accustomed to pass +many nocturnal hours in this closet. Till now, nothing had occurred that +made her enter it with circumspection or continue in it with reluctance. + +Her sensations were no longer tranquil. Each minute that she spent in +this recess appeared to multiply her hazards. To linger here appeared to +her the height of culpable temerity. She hastily resolved to return to +the farmer's dwelling, and, on the morrow, to repair to New York. For +this end she was desirous to produce a light. The materials were at +hand. + +She lifted her hand to strike the flint, when her ear caught a sound +which betokened the opening of the door that led into the next +apartment. Her motion was suspended, and she listened as well as a +throbbing heart would permit. That Ormond's was the hand that opened, +was the first suggestion of her fears. The motives of this unseasonable +entrance could not be reconciled with her safety. He had given no +warning of his approach, and the door was opened with tardiness and +seeming caution. + +Sounds continued, of which no distinct conception could be obtained, or +the cause that produced them assigned. The floors of every apartment +being composed, like the walls and ceiling, of cement, footsteps were +rendered almost undistinguishable. It was plain, however, that some one +approached her own door. + +The panic and confusion that now invaded her was owing to surprise, and +to the singularity of her situation. The mansion was desolate and +lonely. It was night. She was immersed in darkness. She had not the +means, and was unaccustomed to the office, of repelling personal +injuries. What injuries she had reason to dread, who was the agent, and +what were his motives, were subjects Of vague and incoherent meditation. + +Meanwhile, low and imperfect sounds, that had in them more of inanimate +than human, assailed her ear. Presently they ceased. An inexplicable +fear deterred her from calling. Light would have exercised a friendly +influence. This it was in her power to produce, but not without motion +and noise; and these, by occasioning the discovery of her being in the +closet, might possibly enhance her danger. + +Conceptions like these were unworthy of the mind of Constantia. An +interval of silence succeeded, interrupted only by the whistling of the +blast without. It was sufficient for the restoration of her courage. She +blushed at the cowardice which had trembled at a sound. She considered +that Ormond might, indeed, be near, but that he was probably unconscious +of her situation. His coming was not with the circumspection of an +enemy. He might be acquainted with the place of her retreat, and had +come to obtain an interview, with no clandestine or mysterious purposes. +The noises she had heard had, doubtless, proceeded from the next +apartment, but might be produced by some harmless or vagrant creature. + +These considerations restored her tranquillity. They enabled her, +deliberately, to create a light, but they did not dissuade her from +leaving the house. Omens of evil seemed to be connected with this +solitary and darksome abode. Besides, Ormond had unquestionably entered +upon this scene It could not be doubted that she was the object of his +visit. The farm-house was a place of meeting more suitable and safe than +any other. Thither, therefore, she determined immediately to return. + +The closet had but one door, and this led into the chamber where the +sounds had arisen. Through this chamber, therefore, she was obliged to +pass, in order to reach the staircase, which terminated in the hall +below. + +Bearing the light in her left hand, she withdrew the bolt of the door +and opened. In spite of courageous efforts, she opened with +unwillingness, and shuddered to throw a glance forward or advance a step +into the room. This was not needed, to reveal to her the cause of her +late disturbance. Her eye instantly lighted on the body of a man, +supine, motionless, stretched on the floor, close to the door through +which she was about to pass. + +A spectacle like this was qualified to startle her. She shrunk back, and +fixed a more steadfast eye upon the prostrate person. There was no mark +of blood or of wounds, but there was something in the attitude more +significant of death than of sleep. His face rested on the floor, and +his ragged locks concealed what part of his visage was not hidden by his +posture. His garb was characterized by fashionable elegance, but was +polluted with dust. + +The image that first occurred to her was that of Ormond. This instantly +gave place to another, which was familiar to her apprehension. It was at +first too indistinctly seen to suggest a name. She continued to gaze and +to be lost in fearful astonishment. Was this the person whose entrance +had been overheard, and who had dragged himself hither to die at her +door? Yet, in that case, would not groans and expiring efforts have +testified his condition and invoked her succour? Was he not brought +hither in the arms of his assassin? She mused upon the possible motives +that induced some one thus to act, and upon the connection that might +subsist between her destiny and that of the dead. + +Her meditations, however fruitless in other respects, could not fail to +show her the propriety of hastening from this spot. To scrutinize the +form or face of the dead was a task to which her courage was unequal. +Suitably accompanied and guarded, she would not scruple to return and +ascertain, by the most sedulous examination, the cause of this ominous +event. + +She stepped over the breathless corpse, and hurried to the staircase. It +became her to maintain the command of her muscles and joints, and to +proceed without faltering or hesitation. Scarcely had she reached the +entrance of the hall, when, casting anxious looks forward, she beheld a +human figure. No scrutiny was requisite to inform her that this was +Ormond. + +She stopped. He approached her with looks and gestures placid but +solemn. There was nothing in his countenance rugged or malignant. On the +contrary, there were tokens of compassion. + +"So," said he, "I expected to meet you. Alight, gleaming from the +window, marked you out. This and Laffert's directions have guided me." + +"What," said Constantia, with discomposure in her accent, "was your +motive for seeking me?" + +"Have you forgotten," said Ormond, "what passed at our last interview? +The evil that I then predicted is at hand. Perhaps you were incredulous; +you accounted me a madman or deceiver; now I am come to witness the +fulfilment of my words and the completion of your destiny. To rescue you +I have not come: that is not within the compass of human powers. + +"Poor Constantia," he continued, in tones that manifested genuine +sympathy, "look upon thyself as lost. The toils that beset thee are +inextricable. Summon up thy patience to endure the evil. Now will the +last and heaviest trial betide thy fortitude. I could weep for thee, if +my manly nature would permit. This is the scene of thy calamity, and +this the hour." + +These words were adapted to excite curiosity mingled with terror. +Ormond's deportment was of an unexampled tenor, as well as that evil +which he had so ambiguously predicted. He offered no protection from +danger, and yet gave no proof of being himself an agent or auxiliary. +After a minute's pause, Constantia, recovering a firm tone, said,-- + +"Mr. Ormond, your recent deportment but ill accords with your +professions of sincerity and plain dealing. What your purpose is, or +whether you have any purpose, I am at a loss to conjecture. Whether you +most deserve censure or ridicule, is a point which you afford me not the +means of deciding, and to which, unless on your own account, I am +indifferent. If you are willing to be more explicit, or if there be any +topic on which you wish further to converse, I will not refuse your +company to Laffert's dwelling. Longer to remain here would be indiscreet +and absurd." + +So saying, she motioned towards the door. Ormond was passive, and seemed +indisposed to prevent her departure, till she laid her hand upon the +lock. He then, without moving from his place, exclaimed,-- + +"Stay! Must this meeting, which fate ordains to be the last, be so +short? Must a time and place so suitable for what remains to be said and +done be neglected or misused? No. You charge me with duplicity, and deem +my conduct either ridiculous or criminal. I have stated my reasons for +concealment, but these have failed to convince you. Well, here is now an +end to doubt. All ambiguities are preparing to vanish." + +When Ormond began to speak, Constantia paused to hearken to him. His +vehemence was not of that nature which threatened to obstruct her +passage. It was by entreaty that he apparently endeavoured to detain her +steps, and not by violence. Hence arose her patience to listen. He +continued:-- + +"Constantia! thy father is dead. Art thou not desirous of detecting the +author of his fate? Will it afford thee no consolation to know that the +deed is punished? Wilt thou suffer me to drag the murderer to thy feet? +Thy justice will be gratified by this sacrifice. Somewhat will be due to +him who avenged thy wrong in the blood of the perpetrator. What sayest +thou? Grant me thy permission, and in a moment I will drag him hither." + +These words called up the image of the person whose corpse she had +lately seen. It was readily conceived that to him Ormond alluded; but +this was the assassin of her father, and his crime had been detected and +punished by Ormond! These images had no other effect than to urge her +departure: she again applied her hand to the lock, and said,-- + +"This scene must not be prolonged. My father's death I desire not to +hear explained or to see revenged, but whatever information you are +willing or able to communicate must be deferred." + +"Nay," interrupted Ormond, with augmented vehemence, "art thou equally +devoid of curiosity and justice? Thinkest thou that the enmity which +bereft thy father of life will not seek thy own? There are evils which I +cannot prevent thee from enduring, but there are, likewise, ills which +my counsel will enable thee and thy friend to shun. Save me from +witnessing thy death. Thy father's destiny is sealed; all that remained +was to punish his assassin; but thou and thy Sophia still live. Why +should ye perish by a like stroke?" + +This intimation was sufficient to arrest the steps of Constantia. She +withdrew her hand from the door, and fixed eyes of the deepest anxiety +on Ormond:--"What mean you? How am I to understand--" + +"Ah!" said Ormond, "I see thou wilt consent to stay. Thy detention shall +not be long. Remain where thou art during one moment,--merely while I +drag hither thy enemy and show thee a visage which thou wilt not be slow +to recognise." Saying this, he hastily ascended the staircase, and +quickly passed beyond her sight. + +Deportment thus mysterious could not fail of bewildering her thoughts. +There was somewhat in the looks and accents of Ormond, different from +former appearances; tokens of a hidden purpose and a smothered meaning +were perceptible,--a mixture of the inoffensive and the lawless, which, +added to the loneliness and silence that encompassed her, produced a +faltering emotion. Her curiosity was overpowered by her fear, and the +resolution was suddenly conceived of seizing this opportunity to escape. + +A third time she put her hand to the lock and attempted to open. The +effort was ineffectual. The door that was accustomed to obey the +gentlest touch was now immovable. She had lately unlocked and passed +through it. Her eager inspection convinced her that the principal bolt +was still withdrawn, but a small one was now perceived, of whose +existence she had not been apprized, and over which her key had no +power. + +Now did she first harbour a fear that was intelligible in its dictates. +Now did she first perceive herself sinking in the toils of some lurking +enemy. Hope whispered that this foe was not Ormond. His conduct had +bespoken no willingness to put constraint upon her steps. He talked not +as if he was aware of this obstruction, and yet his seeming acquiescence +might have flowed from a knowledge that she had no power to remove +beyond his reach. + +He warned her of danger to her life, of which he was her self-appointed +rescuer. His counsel was to arm her with sufficient caution; the peril +that awaited her was imminent; this was the time and place of its +occurrence, and here she was compelled to remain, till the power that +fastened would condescend to loose the door. There were other avenues to +the hall. These were accustomed to be locked; but Ormond had found +access, and, if all continued fast, it was incontestable that he was the +author of this new impediment. + +The other avenues were hastily examined. All were bolted and locked. The +first impulse led her to call for help from without; but the mansion was +distant from Laffert's habitation. This spot was wholly unfrequented. No +passenger was likely to be stationed where her call could be heard. +Besides, this forcible detention might operate for a short time, and be +attended with no mischievous consequences. Whatever was to come, it was +her duty to collect her courage and encounter it. + +Tho steps of Ormond above now gave tokens of his approach. Vigilant +observance of this man was all that her situation permitted. A vehement +effort restored her to some degree of composure. Her stifled +palpitations allowed her steadfastly to notice him as he now descended +the stairs, bearing a lifeless body in his arms. "There!" said he, as he +cast it at her feet; "whose countenance is that? Who would imagine that +features like those belonged to an assassin and impostor?" + +Closed eyelids and fallen muscles could not hide from her lineaments so +often seen. She shrunk back and exclaimed, "Thomas Craig!" + +A pause succeeded, in which she alternately gazed at the countenance of +this unfortunate wretch and at Ormond. At length, the latter +exclaimed,-- + +"Well, my girl, hast thou examined him? Dost thou recognise a friend or +an enemy?" + +"I know him well: but how came this? What purpose brought him hither? +Who was the author of his fate?" + +"Have I not already told thee that Ormond was his own avenger and thine? +To thee and to me he has been a robber. To him thy father is indebted +for the loss not only of property but life. Did crimes like these merit +a less punishment? And what recompense is due to him whose vigilance +pursued him hither and made him pay for his offences with his blood? +What benefit have I received at thy hand to authorize me, for thy sake, +to take away his life?" + +"No benefit received from me," said Constantia, "would justify such an +act. I should have abhorred myself for annexing to my benefits so bloody +a condition. It calls for no gratitude or recompense. Its suitable +attendant is remorse. That he is a thief, I know but too well; that my +father died by his hand is incredible. No motives or means--" + +"Why so?" interrupted Ormond. "Does not sleep seal up the senses? Cannot +closets be unlocked at midnight? Cannot adjoining houses communicate by +doors? Cannot these doors be hidden from suspicion by a sheet of +canvas?" + +These words were of startling and abundant import. They reminded her of +circumstances in her father's chamber, which sufficiently explained the +means by which his life was assailed. The closet, and its canvas-covered +wall; the adjoining house untenanted and shut up--but this house, though +unoccupied, belonged to Ormond. From the inferences which flowed hence, +her attention was withdrawn by her companion, who continued:-- + +"Do these means imply the interposal of a miracle? His motives? What +scruples can be expected from a man inured from infancy to cunning and +pillage? Will he abstain from murder when urged by excruciating poverty, +by menaces of persecution, by terror of expiring on the gallows?" + +Tumultuous suspicions were now awakened in the mind of Constantia. Her +faltering voice scarcely allowed her to ask, "How know _you_ that Craig +was thus guilty?--that these were his incitements and means?" + +Ormond's solemnity now gave place to a tone of sarcasm and looks of +exultation:--"Poor Constantia! Thou art still pestered with incredulity +and doubts! My veracity is still in question! My knowledge, girl, is +infallible. That these were his means of access I cannot be ignorant, +for I pointed them out. He was urged by these motives, for they were +stated and enforced by me. His was the deed, for I stood beside him when +it was done." + +These, indeed, were terms that stood in no need of further explanation. +The veil that shrouded this formidable being was lifted high enough to +make him be regarded with inexplicable horror. What his future acts +should be, how his omens of ill were to be solved, were still involved +in uncertainty. + +In the midst of fears for her own safety, by which Constantia was now +assailed, the image of her father was revived; keen regret and vehement +upbraiding were conjured up. + +"Craig, then, was the instrument, and yours the instigation, that +destroyed my father! In what had he offended you? What cause had he +given for resentment?" + +"Cause!" replied he, with impetuous accents. "Resentment! None. My +motive was benevolent; my deed conferred a benefit. I gave him sight and +took away his life, from motives equally wise. Know you not that Ormond +was fool enough to set value on the affections of a woman? These were +sought with preposterous anxiety and endless labour. Among other +facilitators of his purpose, he summoned gratitude to his aid. To +snatch you from poverty, to restore his sight to your father, were +expected to operate as incentives to love. + +"But here I was the dupe of error. A thousand prejudices stood in my +way. These, provided our intercourse were not obstructed, I hoped to +subdue. The rage of innovation seized your father: this, blended with a +mortal antipathy to me, made him labour to seduce you from the bosom of +your peaceful country; to make you enter on a boisterous sea; to visit +lands where all is havoc and hostility; to snatch you from the influence +of my arguments. + +"This new obstacle I was bound to remove. While revolving the means, +chance and his evil destiny threw Craig in my way. I soon convinced him +that his reputation and his life were in my hands. His retention of +these depended upon my will, on the performance of conditions which I +prescribed. + +"My happiness and yours depended on your concurrence with my wishes. +Your father's life was an obstacle to your concurrence. For killing him, +therefore, I may claim your gratitude. His death was a due and +disinterested offering at the altar of your felicity and mine. + +"My deed was not injurious to him. At his age, death, whose coming at +some period is inevitable, could not be distant. To make it unforeseen +and brief, and void of pain,--to preclude the torments of a lingering +malady, a slow and visible descent to the grave,--was the dictate of +beneficence. But of what value was a continuance of his life? Either you +would have gone with him to Europe or have stayed at home with me. In +the first case, his life would have been rapidly consumed by perils and +cares. In the second, separation from you, and union with me,--a being +so detestable,--would equally have poisoned his existence. + +"Craig's cowardice and crimes made him a pliant and commodious tool. I +pointed out the way. The unsuspected door which led into the closet of +your father's chamber was made, by my direction, during the life of +Helena. By this avenue I was wont to post myself where all your +conversations could be overheard. By this avenue an entrance and +retreat were afforded to the agent of my newest purpose. + +"Fool that I was! I solaced myself with the belief that all impediments +were now smoothed, when a new enemy appeared. My folly lasted as long as +my hope. I saw that to gain your affections, fortified by antiquated +scruples and obsequious to the guidance of this new monitor, was +impossible. It is not my way to toil after that which is beyond my +reach. If the greater good be inaccessible, I learn to be contented with +the less. + +"I have served you with successless sedulity. I have set an engine in +act to obliterate an obstacle to your felicity, and lay your father at +rest. Under my guidance, this engine was productive only of good. +Governed by itself or by another, it will only work you harm. I have, +therefore, hastened to destroy it. Lo! it is now before you motionless +and impotent. + +"For this complexity of benefit I look for no reward. I am not tired of +well-doing. Having ceased to labour for an unattainable good, I have +come hither to possess myself of all that I now crave, and by the same +deed to afford you an illustrious opportunity to signalize your wisdom +and your fortitude." + +During this speech, the mind of Constantia became more deeply pervaded +with dread of some overhanging but incomprehensible evil. The strongest +impulse was to gain a safe asylum, at a distance from this spot and from +the presence of this extraordinary being. This impulse was followed by +the recollection that her liberty was taken away, that egress from the +hall was denied her, and that this restriction might be part of some +conspiracy of Ormond against her life. + +Security from danger like this would be, in the first place, sought, by +one of Constantia's sex and opinions, in flight. This had been rendered, +by some fatal chance or by the precautions of her foe, impracticable. +Stratagem or force was all that remained to elude or disarm her +adversary. For the contrivance and execution of fraud, all the habits of +her life and all the maxims of her education had conspired to unfit her. +Her force of muscles would avail her nothing against the superior +energy of Ormond. + +She remembered that to inflict death was no iniquitous exertion of +self-defence, and that the penknife which she held in her hand was +capable of this service. She had used it to remove any lurking +obstruction in the wards of her key, supposing, for a time, this to be +the cause of her failing to withdraw the bolt of the door. This resource +was, indeed, scarcely less disastrous and deplorable than any fate from +which it could rescue her. Some uncertainty still involved the +intentions of Ormond. As soon as he paused, she spoke:-- + +"How am I to understand this prelude? Let me know the full extent of my +danger,--why it is that I am hindered from leaving this house, and why +this interview was sought." + +"Ah, Constantia, this, indeed, is merely a prelude to a scene that is to +terminate my influence over thy fate. When this is past I have sworn to +part with thee forever. Art thou still dubious of my purpose? Art thou +not a woman? And have I not entreated for thy love and been rejected? + +"Canst thou imagine that I aim at thy life? My avowals of love were +sincere; my passion was vehement and undisguised. It gave dignity and +value to a gift in thy power, as a woman, to bestow. This has been +denied. That gift has lost none of its value in my eyes. What thou +refusest to bestow it is in my power to extort. I came for that end. +When this end is accomplished, I will restore thee to liberty." + +These words were accompanied by looks that rendered all explanation of +their meaning useless. The evil reserved for her, hitherto obscured by +half-disclosed and contradictory attributes, was now sufficiently +apparent. The truth in this respect unveiled itself with the rapidity +and brightness of an electrical flash. + +She was silent. She cast her eyes at the windows and doors. Escape +through them was hopeless. She looked at those lineaments of Ormond +which evinced his disdain of supplication and inexorable passions. She +felt that entreaty and argument would be vain; that all appeals to his +compassion and benevolence would counteract her purpose, since, in the +unexampled conformation of this man's mind, these principles were made +subservient to his most flagitious designs. Considerations of justice +and pity were made, by a fatal perverseness of reasoning, champions and +bulwarks of his most atrocious mistakes. + +The last extremes of opposition, the most violent expedients for +defence, would be justified by being indispensable. To find safety for +her honour, even in the blood of an assailant, was the prescription of +duty. Tho equity of this species of defence was not, in the present +confusion of her mind, a subject of momentary doubt. + +To forewarn him of her desperate purpose would be to furnish him with +means of counteraction. Her weapon would easily be wrested from her +feeble hand. Ineffectual opposition would only precipitate her evil +destiny. A rage, contented with nothing less than her life, might be +awakened in his bosom. But was not this to be desired? Death, untimely +and violent, was better than the loss of honour. + +This thought led to a new series of reflections. She involuntarily +shrunk from the act of killing: but would her efforts to destroy her +adversary be effectual? Would not his strength and dexterity easily +repel or elude them? Her power in this respect was questionable, but her +power was undeniably sufficient to a different end. The instrument which +could not rescue her from this injury by the destruction of another +might save her from it by her own destruction. + +These thoughts rapidly occurred; but the resolution to which they led +was scarcely formed, when Ormond advanced towards her. She recoiled a +few steps, and, showing the knife which she held, said,-- + +"Ormond! Beware! Know that my unalterable resolution is to die +uninjured. I have the means in my power. Stop where you are; one step +more, and I plunge this knife into my heart. I know that to contend with +your strength or your reason would be vain. To turn this weapon against +you I should not fear, if I were sure of success; but to that I will +not trust. To save a greater good by the sacrifice of life is in my +power, and that sacrifice shall be made." + +"Poor Constantia!" replied Ormond, in a tone of contempt; "so thou +preferrest thy imaginary honour to life! To escape this injury without a +name or substance, without connection with the past or future, without +contamination of thy purity or thraldom of thy will, thou wilt kill +thyself; put an end to thy activity in virtue's cause; rob thy friend of +her solace, the world of thy beneficence, thyself of being and pleasure? + +"I shall be grieved for the fatal issue of my experiment; I shall mourn +over thy martyrdom to the most opprobrious and contemptible of all +errors: but that thou shouldst undergo the trial is decreed. There is +still an interval of hope that thy cowardice is counterfeited, or that +it will give place to wisdom and courage. + +"Whatever thou intendest by way of prevention or cure, it behooves thee +to employ with steadfastness. Die with the guilt of suicide and the +brand of cowardice upon thy memory, or live with thy claims to felicity +and approbation undiminished. Choose which thou wilt. Thy decision is of +moment to thyself, but of none to me. Living or dead, the prize that I +have in view shall be mine." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +It will be requisite to withdraw your attention from this scene for a +moment, and fix it on myself. My impatience of my friend's delay, for +some days preceding this disastrous interview, became continually more +painful. As the time of our departure approached, my dread of some +misfortune or impediment increased. Ormond's disappearance from the +scene contributed but little to my consolation. To wrap his purposes in +mystery, to place himself at seeming distance, was the usual artifice of +such as he,--was necessary to the maturing of his project and the +hopeless entanglement of his victim. I saw no means of placing the +safety of my friend beyond his reach. Between different methods of +procedure, there was, however, room for choice. Her present abode was +more hazardous than an abode in the city. To be alone argued a state +more defenceless and perilous than to be attended by me. + +I wrote her an urgent admonition to return. My remonstrances were +couched in such terms as, in my own opinion, laid her under the +necessity of immediate compliance. The letter was despatched by the +usual messenger, and for some hours I solaced myself with the prospect +of a speedy meeting. + +These thoughts gave place to doubt and apprehension. I began to distrust +the efficacy of my arguments, and to invent a thousand reasons, inducing +her, in defiance of my rhetoric, at least to protract her absence. These +reasons I had not previously conceived, and had not, therefore, +attempted, in my letter, to invalidate their force. This omission was +possible to be supplied in a second epistle; but, meanwhile, time would +be lost, and my new arguments might, like the old, fail to convince +her. At least, the tongue was a much more versatile and powerful +advocate than the pen; and, by hastening to her habitation, I might +either compel her to return with me, or ward off danger by my presence, +or share it with her. I finally resolved to join her by the speediest +conveyance. + +This resolution was suggested by the meditations of a sleepless night. I +rose with the dawn, and sought out the means of transporting myself, +with most celerity, to the abode of my friend. A stage-boat, accustomed +twice a day to cross New York Bay to Staten Island, was prevailed upon, +by liberal offers, to set out upon the voyage at the dawn of day. The +sky was gloomy, and the air boisterous and unsettled. The wind, suddenly +becoming tempestuous and adverse, rendered the voyage at once tedious +and full of peril. A voyage of nine miles was not effected in less than +eight hours and without imminent and hairbreadth danger of being +drowned. + +Fifteen miles of the journey remained to be performed by land. A +carriage, with the utmost difficulty, was procured, but lank horses and +a crazy vehicle were but little in unison with my impatience. We reached +not Amboy ferry till some hours after nightfall. I was rowed across the +Sound, and proceeded to accomplish the remainder of my journey--about +three miles--on foot. + +I was actuated to this speed by indefinite but powerful motives. The +belief that my speedy arrival was essential to the rescue of my friend +from some inexplicable injury haunted me with ceaseless importunity. On +no account would I have consented to postpone this precipitate +expedition till the morrow. + +I at length arrived at Dudley's farm-house. The inhabitants were struck +with wonder at the sight of me. My clothes were stained by the water by +which every passenger was copiously sprinkled during our boisterous +navigation, and soiled by dust; my frame was almost overpowered by +fatigue and abstinence. + +To my anxious inquiries respecting my friend, they told me that her +evenings were usually spent at the mansion, where it was probable she +was now to be found. They were not apprized of any inconvenience or +danger that betided her. It was her custom sometimes to prolong her +absence till midnight. + +I could not applaud the discretion nor censure the temerity of this +proceeding. My mind was harassed by unintelligible omens and +self-confuted fears. To obviate the danger and to banish my inquietudes +was my first duty. For this end I hastened to the mansion. Having passed +the intervening hillocks and copses, I gained a view of the front of the +building. My heart suddenly sunk, on observing that no apartment--not +even that in which I knew it was her custom to sit at these unseasonable +hours--was illuminated. A gleam from the window of the study I should +have regarded as an argument at once of her presence and her safety. + +I approached the house with misgiving and faltering steps. The gate +leading into a spacious court was open. A sound on one side attracted my +attention. In the present state of my thoughts, any near or unexplained +sound sufficed to startle me. Looking towards the quarter whence my +panic was excited, I espied, through the dusk, a horse grazing, with his +bridle thrown over his neck. + +This appearance was a new source of perplexity and alarm. The inference +was unavoidable that a visitant was here. Who that visitant was, and how +he was now employed, was a subject of eager but fruitless curiosity. +Within and around the mansion, all was buried in the deepest repose. I +now approached the principal door, and, looking through the keyhole, +perceived a lamp, standing on the lowest step of the staircase. It shed +a pale light over the lofty ceiling and marble balustrades. No face or +movement of a human being was perceptible. + +These tokens assured me that some one was within: they also accounted +for the non-appearance of light at the window above. I withdrew my eye +from this avenue, and was preparing to knock loudly for admission, when +my attention was awakened by some one who advanced to the door from the +inside and seemed busily engaged in unlocking. I started back and waited +with impatience till the door should open and the person issue forth. + +Presently I heard a voice within exclaim, in accents of mingled terror +and grief, "Oh, what--what will become of me? Shall I never be released +from this detested prison?" + +The voice was that of Constantia. It penetrated to my heart like an +icebolt. I once more darted a glance through the crevice. A figure, with +difficulty recognised to be that of my friend, now appeared in sight. +Her hands were clasped on her breast, her eyes wildly fixed upon the +ceiling and streaming with tears, and her hair unbound and falling +confusedly over her bosom and neck. + +My sensations scarcely permitted me to call, "Constantia! For Heaven's +sake, what has happened to you? Open the door, I beseech you." + +"What voice is that? Sophia Courtland! O my friend! I am imprisoned! +Some demon has barred the door, beyond my power to unfasten. Ah, why +comest thou so late? Thy succour would have somewhat profited if sooner +given; but now, the lost Constantia--" Here her voice sunk into +convulsive sobs. + +In the midst of my own despair, on perceiving the fulfilment of my +apprehensions, and what I regarded as the fatal execution of some +project of Ormond, I was not insensible to the suggestions of prudence. +I entreated my friend to retain her courage, while I flew to Laffert's +and returned with suitable assistance to burst open the door. + +The people of the farm-house readily obeyed my summons. Accompanied by +three men of powerful sinews, sons and servants of the farmer, I +returned with the utmost expedition to the mansion. The lamp still +remained in its former place, but our loudest calls were unanswered. The +silence was uninterrupted and profound. + +The door yielded to strenuous and repeated efforts, and I rushed into +the hall. The first object that met my sight was my friend, stretched +upon the floor, pale and motionless, supine, and with all the tokens of +death. + +From this object my attention was speedily attracted by two figures, +breathless and supine like that of Constantia. One of them was Ormond. A +smile of disdain still sat upon his features. The wound by which he fell +was secret, and was scarcely betrayed by the effusion of a drop of +blood. The face of the third victim was familiar to my early days. It +was that of the impostor whose artifice had torn from Mr. Dudley his +peace and fortune. + +An explication of this scene was hopeless. By what disastrous and +inscrutable fate a place like this became the scene of such complicated +havoc, to whom Craig was indebted for his death, what evil had been +meditated or inflicted by Ormond, and by what means his project had +arrived at this bloody consummation, were topics of wild and fearful +conjecture. + +But my friend--the first impulse of my fears was to regard her as dead. +Hope and a closer observation outrooted, or, at least, suspended, this +opinion. One of the men lifted her in his arms. No trace of blood or +mark of fatal violence was discoverable, and the effusion of cold water +restored her, though slowly, to life. + +To withdraw her from this spectacle of death was my first care. She +suffered herself to be led to the farm-house. She was carried to her +chamber. For a time she appeared incapable of recollection. She grasped +my hand, as I sat by her bedside, but scarcely gave any other tokens of +life. + +From this state of inactivity she gradually recovered. I was actuated by +a thousand forebodings, but refrained from molesting her by +interrogation or condolence. I watched by her side in silence, but was +eager to collect from her own lips an account of this mysterious +transaction. + +At length she opened her eyes, and appeared to recollect her present +situation, and the events which led to it. I inquired into her +condition, and asked if there were any thing in my power to procure or +perform for her. + +"Oh, my friend," she answered, "what have I done, what have I suffered, +within the last dreadful hour! The remembrance, though insupportable, +will never leave me. You can do nothing for my relief. All I claim is +your compassion and your sympathy." + +"I hope," said I, "that nothing has happened to load you with guilt or +with shame?" + +"Alas! I know not. My deed was scarcely the fruit of intention. It was +suggested by a momentary frenzy. I saw no other means of escaping from +vileness and pollution. I was menaced with an evil worse than death. I +forebore till my strength was almost subdued: the lapse of another +moment would have placed me beyond hope. + +"My stroke was desperate and at random. It answered my purpose too well. +He cast at me a look of terrible upbraiding, but spoke not. His heart +was pierced, and he sunk, as if struck by lightning, at my feet. O much +erring and unhappy Ormond! That thou shouldst thus untimely perish! That +I should be thy executioner!" + +These words sufficiently explained the scene that I had witnessed. The +violence of Ormond had been repulsed by equal violence. His foul +attempts had been prevented by his death. Not to deplore the necessity +which had produced this act was impossible; but, since this necessity +existed, it was surely not a deed to be thought upon with lasting +horror, or to be allowed to generate remorse. + +In consequence of this catastrophe, arduous duties had devolved upon me. +The people that surrounded me were powerless with terror. Their +ignorance and cowardice left them at a loss how to act in this +emergency. They besought my direction, and willingly performed whatever +I thought proper to enjoin upon them. + +No deliberation was necessary to acquaint me with my duty. Laffert was +despatched to the nearest magistrate with a letter, in which his +immediate presence was entreated and these transactions were briefly +explained. Early the next day the formalities of justice, in the +inspection of the bodies and the examination of witnesses, were +executed. It would be needless to dwell on the particulars of this +catastrophe. A sufficient explanation has been given of the causes that +led to it. They were such as exempted my friend from legal +animadversion. Her act was prompted by motives which every scheme of +jurisprudence known in the world not only exculpates, but applauds. To +state these motives before a tribunal hastily formed and exercising its +functions on the spot was a task not to be avoided, though infinitely +painful. Remonstrances the most urgent and pathetic could scarcely +conquer her reluctance. + +This task, however, was easy, in comparison with that which remained. To +restore health and equanimity to my friend; to repel the erroneous +accusations of her conscience; to hinder her from musing, with eternal +anguish, upon this catastrophe; to lay the spirit of secret upbraiding +by which she was incessantly tormented, which bereft her of repose, +empoisoned all her enjoyments, and menaced not only the subversion of +her peace but the speedy destruction of her life, became my next +employment. + +My counsels and remonstrances were not wholly inefficacious. They +afforded me the prospect of her ultimate restoration to tranquillity. +Meanwhile, I called to my aid the influence of time and of a change of +scene. I hastened to embark with her for Europe. Our voyage was +tempestuous and dangerous, but storms and perils at length gave way to +security and repose. + +Before our voyage was commenced, I endeavoured to procure tidings of the +true condition and designs of Ormond. My information extended no further +than that he had put his American property into the hands of Mr. +Melbourne, and was preparing to embark for France. Courtland, who has +since been at Paris, and who, while there, became confidentially +acquainted with Martinette de Beauvais, has communicated facts of an +unexpected nature. + +At the period of Ormond's return to Philadelphia, at which his last +interview with Constantia in that city took place, he visited +Martinette. He avowed himself to be her brother, and supported his +pretensions by relating the incidents of his early life. A separation at +the age of fifteen, and which had lasted for the same number of years, +may be supposed to have considerably changed the countenance and figure +she had formerly known. His relationship was chiefly proved by the +enumeration of incidents of which her brother only could be apprized. + +He possessed a minute acquaintance with her own adventures, but +concealed from her the means by which he had procured the knowledge. He +had rarely and imperfectly alluded to his own opinions and projects, and +had maintained an invariable silence on the subject of his connection +with Constantia and Helena. Being informed of her intention to return to +France, he readily complied with her request to accompany her in this +voyage. His intentions in this respect were frustrated by the dreadful +catastrophe that has been just related. Respecting this event, +Martinette had collected only vague and perplexing information. +Courtland, though able to remove her doubts, thought proper to withhold +from her the knowledge he possessed. + +Since her arrival in England, the life of my friend has experienced +little variation. Of her personal deportment and domestic habits you +have been a witness. These, therefore, it would be needless for me to +exhibit. It is sufficient to have related events which the recentness of +your intercourse with her hindered you from knowing but by means of some +formal narrative like the present. She and her friend only were able to +impart to you the knowledge which you have so anxiously sought. In +consideration of your merits and of your attachment to my friend, I have +consented to devote my leisure to this task. + +It is now finished; and I have only to add my wishes that the perusal of +this tale may afford you as much instruction as the contemplation of the +sufferings and vicissitudes of Constantia Dudley has afforded to me. +Farewell. + +THE END. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME III (OF 3)*** + + +******* This file should be named 36291.txt or 36291.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/2/9/36291 + + + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://www.gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: +http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/36291.zip b/36291.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..32cd4d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/36291.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4fd44eb --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #36291 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36291) |