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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Watcher, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
-
-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/license
-
-
-Title: The Watcher
-       and other weird stories
-
-Author: J. Sheridan Le Fanu
-
-Illustrator: Brinsley Sheridan Le Fanu
-
-Release Date: August 15, 2012 [EBook #40510]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WATCHER ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Suzanne Shell, eagkw and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-  [Illustration: AS IT PASSED HIM HE THOUGHT HE HEARD IT SAY IN A
-  FURIOUS WHISPER, "STILL ALIVE!"--Page 25.
-                                             [_Frontispiece._]
-
-
-
-
-  [Illustration]
-
-  The Watcher
-  And Other Weird Stories
-
-  by
-  J. Sheridan Le Fanu
-
-  With Twenty-one Illustrations
-  by
-  Brinsley Sheridan Le Fanu
-
-  [Illustration]
-
-  LONDON
-  DOWNEY & CO.
-  12, York Street, Covent Garden
-
-
-
-
-  LONDON:
-  PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LD.,
-  ST. JOHN'S HOUSE, CLERKENWELL, E.C.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-Most of the tales in this volume were written prior to the publication
-of "Uncle Silas," which is, perhaps, the novel by which my father is
-best known. All the stories, with the exception of "The Watcher," were
-included in "The Purcell Papers," edited by Mr. Alfred Perceval Graves
-after my father's death, and published by Messrs. Bentley.
-
-It may be of interest to point out that the central idea in the story
-entitled "Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess" is
-embodied in "Uncle Silas."
-
-When "The Purcell Papers" were appearing in _The Dublin University
-Magazine_ my father supplied the following note, which was reproduced by
-Mr. Graves in his edition of the book:--
-
-  "The residuary legatee of the late Francis Purcell, who has the
-  honour of selecting such of his lamented old friend's manuscripts as
-  may appear fit for publication, in order that the lore which they
-  contain may reach the world before scepticism and utility have
-  robbed our species of the precious gift of credulity, and scornfully
-  kicked before them, or trampled into annihilation those harmless
-  fragments of picturesque superstition which it is our object to
-  preserve, has been subjected to the charge of dealing too largely
-  in the marvellous; and it has been half insinuated that such is his
-  love for _diablerie_, that he is content to wander a mile out of his
-  way in order to meet a fiend or a goblin, and thus to sacrifice all
-  regard for truth and accuracy to the idle hope of affrighting the
-  imagination, and thus pandering to the bad taste of his reader. He
-  begs leave, then, to take this opportunity of asserting his perfect
-  innocence of all the crimes laid to his charge, and to assure his
-  reader that he never pandered to his bad taste, nor went one inch
-  out of his way to introduce witch, fairy, devil, ghost, or any other
-  of the grim fraternity of the redoubted Raw-head-and-bloody-bones.
-  His province touching these tales has been attended with no
-  difficulty and little responsibility; indeed, he is accountable for
-  nothing more than an alteration in the names of persons mentioned
-  therein, when such a step seemed necessary, and for an occasional
-  note, whenever he conceived it possible innocently to edge in a
-  word. These tales have been _written down_ by the Rev. Francis
-  Purcell, P.P., of Drumcoolagh; and in all the instances, which are
-  many, in which the present writer has had an opportunity of
-  comparing the manuscript of his departed friend with the actual
-  traditions current amongst the families whose fortunes they pretend
-  to illustrate, he has uniformly found that whatever of supernatural
-  occurred in the story, so far from being exaggerated by him, had
-  been rather softened down, and, wherever it could be attempted,
-  accounted for."
-
-      BRINSLEY LE FANU.
-
-  _London,
-    November, 1894._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                                     PAGE
-  THE WATCHER                                           1
-
-  PASSAGE IN THE SECRET HISTORY OF AN IRISH COUNTESS   65
-
-  STRANGE EVENT IN THE LIFE OF SCHALKEN THE PAINTER   126
-
-  THE FORTUNES OF SIR ROBERT ARDAGH                   169
-
-  THE DREAM                                           185
-
-  A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY         208
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-The Watcher.
-
-
-It is now more than fifty years since the occurrences which I am about
-to relate caused a strange sensation in the gay society of Dublin. The
-fashionable world, however, is no recorder of traditions; the memory of
-selfishness seldom reaches far; and the events which occasionally
-disturb the polite monotony of its pleasant and heartless progress,
-however stamped with the characters of misery and horror, scarcely
-outlive the gossip of a season, and (except, perhaps, in the remembrance
-of a few more directly interested in the consequences of the
-catastrophe) are in a little time lost to the recollection of all. The
-appetite for scandal, or for horror, has been sated; the incident can
-yield no more of interest or novelty; curiosity, frustrated by
-impenetrable mystery, gives over the pursuit in despair; the tale has
-ceased to be new, grows stale and flat; and so, in a few years, inquiry
-subsides into indifference.
-
-Somewhere about the year 1794, the younger brother of a certain baronet,
-whom I shall call Sir James Barton, returned to Dublin. He had served in
-the navy with some distinction, having commanded one of his Majesty's
-frigates during the greater part of the American war. Captain Barton was
-now apparently some two or three-and-forty years of age. He was an
-intelligent and agreeable companion, when he chose it, though generally
-reserved, and occasionally even moody. In society, however, he deported
-himself as a man of the world and a gentleman. He had not contracted any
-of the noisy brusqueness sometimes acquired at sea; on the contrary, his
-manners were remarkably easy, quiet, and even polished. He was in person
-about the middle size, and somewhat strongly formed; his countenance was
-marked with the lines of thought, and on the whole wore an expression of
-gravity and even of melancholy. Being, however, as we have said, a man
-of perfect breeding, as well as of affluent circumstances and good
-family, he had, of course, ready access to the best society of the
-metropolis, without the necessity of any other credentials. In his
-personal habits Captain Barton was economical. He occupied lodgings in
-one of the then fashionable streets in the south side of the town, kept
-but one horse and one servant, and though a reputed free-thinker, he
-lived an orderly and moral life, indulging neither in gaming, drinking,
-nor any other vicious pursuit, living very much to himself, without
-forming any intimacies, or choosing any companions, and appearing to mix
-in gay society rather for the sake of its bustle and distraction, than
-for any opportunities which it offered of interchanging either thoughts
-or feelings with its votaries. Barton was therefore pronounced a saving,
-prudent, unsocial sort of a fellow, who bid fair to maintain his
-celibacy alike against stratagem and assault, and was likely to live to
-a good old age, die rich and leave his money to a hospital.
-
-It was soon apparent, however, that the nature of Captain Barton's plans
-had been totally misconceived. A young lady, whom we shall call Miss
-Montague, was at this time introduced into the fashionable world of
-Dublin by her aunt, the Dowager Lady Rochdale. Miss Montague was
-decidedly pretty and accomplished, and having some natural cleverness,
-and a great deal of gaiety, became for a while the reigning toast. Her
-popularity, however, gained her, for a time, nothing more than that
-unsubstantial admiration which, however pleasant as an incense to
-vanity, is by no means necessarily antecedent to matrimony, for,
-unhappily for the young lady in question, it was an understood thing,
-that, beyond her personal attractions, she had no kind of earthly
-provision. Such being the state of affairs, it will readily be believed
-that no little surprise was consequent upon the appearance of Captain
-Barton as the avowed lover of the penniless Miss Montague.
-
-His suit prospered, as might have been expected, and in a short time it
-was confidentially communicated by old Lady Rochdale to each of her
-hundred and fifty particular friends in succession, that Captain Barton
-had actually tendered proposals of marriage, with her approbation, to
-her niece, Miss Montague, who had, moreover, accepted the offer of his
-hand, conditionally upon the consent of her father, who was then upon
-his homeward voyage from India, and expected in two or three months
-at furthest. About his consent there could be no doubt. The delay,
-therefore, was one merely of form; they were looked upon as absolutely
-engaged, and Lady Rochdale, with a vigour of old-fashioned decorum with
-which her niece would, no doubt, gladly have dispensed, withdrew her
-thenceforward from all further participation in the gaieties of the
-town. Captain Barton was a constant visitor as well as a frequent guest
-at the house, and was permitted all the privileges and intimacy which a
-betrothed suitor is usually accorded. Such was the relation of parties,
-when the mysterious circumstances which darken this narrative with
-inexplicable melancholy first began to unfold themselves.
-
-Lady Rochdale resided in a handsome mansion at the north side of
-Dublin, and Captain Barton's lodgings, as we have already said, were
-situated at the south. The distance intervening was considerable, and it
-was Captain Barton's habit generally to walk home without an attendant,
-as often as he passed the evening with the old lady and her fair charge.
-His shortest way in such nocturnal walks lay, for a considerable space,
-through a line of streets which had as yet been merely laid out, and
-little more than the foundations of the houses constructed. One night,
-shortly after his engagement with Miss Montague had commenced, he
-happened to remain unusually late, in company only with her and Lady
-Rochdale. The conversation had turned upon the evidences of revelation,
-which he had disputed with the callous scepticism of a confirmed
-infidel. What were called "French principles" had, in those days, found
-their way a good deal into fashionable society, especially that portion
-of it which professed allegiance to Whiggism, and neither the old lady
-nor her charge was so perfectly free from the taint as to look upon
-Captain Barton's views as any serious objection to the proposed union.
-The discussion had degenerated into one upon the supernatural and the
-marvellous, in which he had pursued precisely the same line of argument
-and ridicule. In all this, it is but true to state, Captain Barton was
-guilty of no affectation; the doctrines upon which he insisted were, in
-reality, but too truly the basis of his own fixed belief, if so it
-might be called; and perhaps not the least strange of the many strange
-circumstances connected with this narrative, was the fact that the
-subject of the fearful influences we are about to describe was himself,
-from the deliberate conviction of years, an utter disbeliever in what
-are usually termed preternatural agencies.
-
-It was considerably past midnight when Mr. Barton took his leave, and
-set out upon his solitary walk homeward. He rapidly reached the lonely
-road, with its unfinished dwarf walls tracing the foundations of the
-projected rows of houses on either side. The moon was shining mistily,
-and its imperfect light made the road he trod but additionally dreary;
-that utter silence, which has in it something indefinably exciting,
-reigned there, and made the sound of his steps, which alone broke it,
-unnaturally loud and distinct. He had proceeded thus some way, when on
-a sudden he heard other footsteps, pattering at a measured pace, and,
-as it seemed, about two score steps behind him. The suspicion of being
-dogged is at all times unpleasant; it is, however, especially so in a
-spot so desolate and lonely: and this suspicion became so strong in
-the mind of Captain Barton, that he abruptly turned about to confront
-his pursuers, but, though there was quite sufficient moonlight to
-disclose any object upon the road he had traversed, no form of any
-kind was visible.
-
-The steps he had heard could not have been the reverberation of his
-own, for he stamped his foot upon the ground, and walked briskly up
-and down, in the vain attempt to wake an echo. Though by no means a
-fanciful person, he was at last compelled to charge the sounds upon
-his imagination, and treat them as an illusion. Thus satisfying
-himself, he resumed his walk, and before he had proceeded a dozen
-paces, the mysterious footfalls were again audible from behind, and
-this time, as if with the special design of showing that the sounds
-were not the responses of an echo, the steps sometimes slackened
-nearly to a halt, and sometimes hurried for six or eight strides to
-a run, and again abated to a walk.
-
-Captain Barton, as before, turned suddenly round, and with the same
-result; no object was visible above the deserted level of the road. He
-walked back over the same ground, determined that, whatever might have
-been the cause of the sounds which had so disconcerted him, it should
-not escape his search; the endeavour, however, was unrewarded. In spite
-of all his scepticism, he felt something like a superstitious fear
-stealing fast upon him, and, with these unwonted and uncomfortable
-sensations, he once more turned and pursued his way. There was no
-repetition of these haunting sounds, until he had reached the point
-where he had last stopped to retrace his steps. Here they were resumed,
-and with sudden starts of running, which threatened to bring the unseen
-pursuer close up to the alarmed pedestrian. Captain Barton arrested his
-course as formerly; the unaccountable nature of the occurrence filled
-him with vague and almost horrible sensations, and, yielding to the
-excitement he felt gaining upon him, he shouted, sternly, "Who goes
-there?"
-
-The sound of one's own voice, thus exerted, in utter solitude, and
-followed by total silence, has in it something unpleasantly exciting,
-and he felt a degree of nervousness which, perhaps, from no cause had
-he ever known before. To the very end of this solitary street the
-steps pursued him, and it required a strong effort of stubborn pride
-on his part to resist the impulse that prompted him every moment to
-run for safety at the top of his speed. It was not until he had
-reached his lodging, and sat by his own fireside, that he felt
-sufficiently reassured to arrange and reconsider in his own mind the
-occurrences which had so discomposed him: so little a matter, after
-all, is sufficient to upset the pride of scepticism, and vindicate the
-old simple laws of nature within us.
-
-Mr. Barton was next morning sitting at a late breakfast, reflecting upon
-the incidents of the previous night, with more of inquisitiveness than
-awe--so speedily do gloomy impressions upon the fancy disappear under
-the cheerful influences of day--when a letter just delivered by the
-postman was placed upon the table before him. There was nothing
-remarkable in the address of this missive, except that it was written in
-a hand which he did not know--perhaps it was disguised--for the tall
-narrow characters were sloped backward; and with the self-inflicted
-suspense which we so often see practised in such cases, he puzzled over
-the inscription for a full minute before he broke the seal. When he did
-so, he read the following words, written in the same hand:--
-
-
-"Mr. Barton, late Captain of the _Dolphin_, is warned of _danger_. He
-will do wisely to avoid ---- Street--(here the locality of his last
-night's adventure was named)--if he walks there as usual, he will meet
-with something bad. Let him take warning, once for all, for he has good
-reason to dread
-
-    "THE WATCHER."
-
-
-Captain Barton read and re-read this strange effusion; in every light
-and in every direction he turned it over and over. He examined the paper
-on which it was written, and closely scrutinized the handwriting.
-Defeated here, he turned to the seal; it was nothing but a patch of wax,
-upon which the accidental impression of a coarse thumb was imperfectly
-visible. There was not the slightest mark, no clue or indication of any
-kind, to lead him to even a guess as to its possible origin. The
-writer's object seemed a friendly one, and yet he subscribed himself as
-one whom he had "good reason to dread." Altogether, the letter, its
-author, and its real purpose, were to him an inexplicable puzzle, and
-one, moreover, unpleasantly suggestive, in his mind, of associations
-connected with the last night's adventure.
-
-In obedience to some feeling--perhaps of pride--Mr. Barton did not
-communicate, even to his intended bride, the occurrences which we have
-just detailed. Trifling as they might appear, they had in reality most
-disagreeably affected his imagination, and he cared not to disclose,
-even to the young lady in question, what she might possibly look upon
-as evidences of weakness. The letter might very well be but a hoax,
-and the mysterious footfall but a delusion of his fancy. But although
-he affected to treat the whole affair as unworthy of a thought, it yet
-haunted him pertinaciously, tormenting him with perplexing doubts, and
-depressing him with undefined apprehensions. Certain it is, that for a
-considerable time afterwards he carefully avoided the street indicated
-in the letter as the scene of danger.
-
-It was not until about a week after the receipt of the letter which I
-have transcribed, that anything further occurred to remind Captain
-Barton of its contents, or to counteract the gradual disappearance from
-his mind of the disagreeable impressions which he had then received. He
-was returning one night, after the interval I have stated, from the
-theatre, which was then situated in Crow Street, and having there handed
-Miss Montague and Lady Rochdale into their carriage, he loitered for
-some time with two or three acquaintances. With these, however, he
-parted close to the College, and pursued his way alone. It was now about
-one o'clock, and the streets were quite deserted. During the whole of
-his walk with the companions from whom he had just parted, he had been
-at times painfully aware of the sound of steps, as it seemed, dogging
-them on their way. Once or twice he had looked back, in the uneasy
-anticipation that he was again about to experience the same mysterious
-annoyances which had so much disconcerted him a week before, and
-earnestly hoping that he might _see_ some form from whom the sounds
-might naturally proceed. But the street was deserted; no form was
-visible. Proceeding now quite alone upon his homeward way, he grew
-really nervous and uncomfortable, as he became sensible, with increased
-distinctness, of the well-known and now absolutely dreaded sounds.
-
-By the side of the dead wall which bounded the College Park, the sounds
-followed, recommencing almost simultaneously with his own steps. The
-same unequal pace, sometimes slow, sometimes, for a score yards or so,
-quickened to a run, was audible from behind him. Again and again he
-turned, quickly and stealthily he glanced over his shoulder almost at
-every half-dozen steps; but no one was visible. The horrors of this
-intangible and unseen persecution became gradually all but intolerable;
-and when at last he reached his home his nerves were strung to such a
-pitch of excitement that he could not rest, and did not attempt even to
-lie down until after the daylight had broken.
-
-He was awakened by a knock at his chamber-door, and his servant
-entering, handed him several letters which had just been received by
-the early post. One among them instantly arrested his attention; a
-single glance at the direction aroused him thoroughly. He at once
-recognized its character, and read as follows:--
-
-
-"You may as well think, Captain Barton, to escape from your own shadow
-as from me; do what you may, I will see you as often as I please, and
-you shall see me, for I do not want to hide myself, as you fancy. Do not
-let it trouble your rest, Captain Barton; for, with a _good conscience_,
-what need you fear from the eye of
-
-    "THE WATCHER?"
-
-
-It is scarcely necessary to dwell upon the feelings elicited by a
-perusal of this strange communication. Captain Barton was observed to
-be unusually absent and out of spirits for several days afterwards;
-but no one divined the cause. Whatever he might think as to the
-phantom steps which followed him, there could be no possible illusion
-about the letters he had received; and, to say the least of it, their
-immediate sequence upon the mysterious sounds which had haunted him
-was an odd coincidence. The whole circumstance, in his own mind, was
-vaguely and instinctively connected with certain passages in his past
-life, which, of all others, he hated to remember.
-
-It so happened that just about this time, in addition to his approaching
-nuptials, Captain Barton had fortunately, perhaps, for himself, some
-business of an engrossing kind connected with the adjustment of a
-large and long-litigated claim upon certain properties. The hurry and
-excitement of business had its natural effect in gradually dispelling
-the marked gloom which had for a time occasionally oppressed him, and in
-a little while his spirits had entirely resumed their accustomed tone.
-
-During all this period, however, he was occasionally dismayed by
-indistinct and half-heard repetitions of the same annoyance, and that
-in lonely places, in the day time as well as after nightfall. These
-renewals of the strange impressions from which he had suffered so
-much were, however, desultory and faint, insomuch that often he really
-could not, to his own satisfaction, distinguish between them and the
-mere suggestions of an excited imagination. One evening he walked down
-to the House of Commons with a Mr. Norcott, a Member. As they walked
-down together he was observed to become absent and silent, and to a
-degree so marked as scarcely to consist with good breeding; and this,
-in one who was obviously in all his habits so perfectly a gentleman,
-seemed to argue the pressure of some urgent and absorbing anxiety. It
-was afterwards known that, during the whole of that walk, he had heard
-the well-known footsteps dogging him as he proceeded. This, however,
-was the last time he suffered from this phase of the persecution of
-which he was already the anxious victim. A new and a very different
-one was about to be presented.
-
-Of the new series of impressions which were afterwards gradually to work
-out his destiny, that evening disclosed the first; and but for its
-relation to the train of events which followed, the incident would
-scarcely have been remembered by any one. As they were walking in at the
-passage, a man (of whom his friend could afterwards remember only that
-he was short in stature, looked like a foreigner, and wore a kind of
-travelling-cap) walked very rapidly, and, as if under some fierce
-excitement, directly towards them, muttering to himself fast and
-vehemently the while. This odd-looking person proceeded straight toward
-Barton, who was foremost, and halted, regarding him for a moment or two
-with a look of menace and fury almost maniacal; and then turning about
-as abruptly, he walked before them at the same agitated pace, and
-disappeared by a side passage. Norcott distinctly remembered being a
-good deal shocked at the countenance and bearing of this man, which
-indeed irresistibly impressed him with an undefined sense of danger,
-such as he never felt before or since from the presence of anything
-human; but these sensations were far from amounting to anything so
-disconcerting as to flurry or excite him--he had seen only a singularly
-evil countenance, agitated, as it seemed, with the excitement of
-madness. He was absolutely astonished, however, at the effect of this
-apparition upon Captain Barton. He knew him to be a man of proved
-courage and coolness in real danger, a circumstance which made his
-conduct upon this occasion the more conspicuously odd. He recoiled a
-step or two as the stranger advanced, and clutched his companion's arm
-in silence, with a spasm of agony or terror; and then, as the figure
-disappeared, shoving him roughly back, he followed it for a few paces,
-stopped in great disorder, and sat down upon a form. A countenance more
-ghastly and haggard it was impossible to fancy.
-
-"For God's sake, Barton, what is the matter?" said Norcott, really
-alarmed at his friend's appearance. "You're not hurt, are you? nor
-unwell? What is it?"
-
-"What did he say? I did not hear it. What was it?" asked Barton, wholly
-disregarding the question.
-
-"Tut, tut, nonsense!" said Norcott, greatly surprised; "who cares what
-the fellow said? You are unwell, Barton, decidedly unwell; let me call a
-coach."
-
-"Unwell! Yes, no, not exactly unwell," he said, evidently making an
-effort to recover his self-possession; "but, to say the truth, I am
-fatigued, a little overworked, and perhaps over anxious. You know I have
-been in Chancery, and the winding up of a suit is always a nervous
-affair. I have felt uncomfortable all this evening; but I am better now.
-Come, come, shall we go on?"
-
-"No, no. Take my advice, Barton, and go home; you really do need rest;
-you are looking absolutely ill. I really do insist on your allowing me
-to see you home," replied his companion.
-
-It was obvious that Barton was not himself disinclined to be persuaded.
-He accordingly took his leave, politely declining his friend's offered
-escort. Notwithstanding the few commonplace regrets which Norcott had
-expressed, it was plain that he was just as little deceived as Barton
-himself by the extempore plea of illness with which he had accounted for
-the strange exhibition, and that he even then suspected some lurking
-mystery in the matter.
-
-Norcott called next day at Barton's lodgings, to inquire for him, and
-learned from the servant that he had not left his room since his return
-the night before; but that he was not seriously indisposed, and hoped to
-be out again in a few days. That evening he sent for Doctor Richards,
-then in large and fashionable practice in Dublin, and their interview
-was, it is said, an odd one.
-
-He entered into a detail of his own symptoms in an abstracted and
-desultory kind of way, which seemed to argue a strange want of interest
-in his own cure, and, at all events, made it manifest that there was
-some topic engaging his mind of more engrossing importance than his
-present ailment. He complained of occasional palpitations, and headache.
-Doctor Richards asked him, among other questions, whether there was any
-irritating circumstance or anxiety to account for it. This he denied
-quickly and peevishly; and the physician thereupon declared his opinion,
-that there was nothing amiss except some slight derangement of the
-digestion, for which he accordingly wrote a prescription, and was about
-to withdraw, when Mr. Barton, with the air of a man who suddenly
-recollects a topic which had nearly escaped him, recalled him.
-
-"I beg your pardon, doctor, but I had really almost forgot; will you
-permit me to ask you two or three medical questions?--rather odd ones,
-perhaps, but as a wager depends upon their solution, you will, I hope,
-excuse my unreasonableness."
-
-The physician readily undertook to satisfy the inquirer.
-
-Barton seemed to have some difficulty about opening the proposed
-interrogatories, for he was silent for a minute, then walked to his
-book-case and returned as he had gone; at last he sat down, and said,--
-
-"You'll think them very childish questions, but I can't recover my wager
-without a decision; so I must put them. I want to know first about
-lock-jaw. If a man actually has had that complaint, and appears to have
-died of it--so that in fact a physician of average skill pronounces him
-actually dead--may he, after all, recover?"
-
-Doctor Richards smiled, and shook his head.
-
-"But--but a blunder may be made," resumed Barton. "Suppose an ignorant
-pretender to medical skill; may _he_ be so deceived by any stage of the
-complaint, as to mistake what is only a part of the progress of the
-disease, for death itself?"
-
-"No one who had ever seen death," answered he, "could mistake it in the
-case of lock-jaw."
-
-Barton mused for a few minutes. "I am going to ask you a question,
-perhaps still more childish; but first tell me, are not the regulations
-of foreign hospitals, such as those of, let us say, Lisbon, very lax and
-bungling? May not all kinds of blunders and slips occur in their entries
-of names, and so forth?"
-
-Doctor Richards professed his inability to answer that query.
-
-"Well, then, doctor, here is the last of my questions. You will probably
-laugh at it; but it must out nevertheless. Is there any disease, in all
-the range of human maladies, which would have the effect of perceptibly
-contracting the stature, and the whole frame--causing the man to shrink
-in all his proportions, and yet to preserve his exact resemblance to
-himself in every particular--with the one exception, his height and
-bulk; _any_ disease, mark, no matter how rare, how little believed in,
-generally, which could possibly result in producing such an effect?"
-
-The physician replied with a smile, and a very decided negative.
-
-"Tell me, then," said Barton, abruptly, "if a man be in reasonable fear
-of assault from a lunatic who is at large, can he not procure a warrant
-for his arrest and detention?"
-
-"Really, that is more a lawyer's question than one in my way," replied
-Doctor Richards; "but I believe, on applying to a magistrate, such a
-course would be directed."
-
-The physician then took his leave; but, just as he reached the
-hall-door, remembered that he had left his cane upstairs, and returned.
-His reappearance was awkward, for a piece of paper, which he recognized
-as his own prescription, was slowly burning upon the fire, and Barton
-sitting close by with an expression of settled gloom and dismay. Doctor
-Richards had too much tact to appear to observe what presented itself;
-but he had seen quite enough to assure him that the mind, and not the
-body, of Captain Barton was in reality the seat of his sufferings.
-
-A few days afterwards, the following advertisement appeared in the
-Dublin newspapers:--
-
-"If Sylvester Yelland, formerly a foremast man on board his Majesty's
-frigate _Dolphin_, or his nearest of kin, will apply to Mr. Robery
-Smith, solicitor, at his office, Dame Street, he or they may hear of
-something greatly to his or their advantage. Admission may be had at
-any hour up to twelve o'clock at night for the next fortnight, should
-parties desire to avoid observation; and the strictest secrecy, as to
-all communications intended to be confidential, shall be honourably
-observed."
-
-The _Dolphin_, as we have mentioned, was the vessel which Captain Barton
-had commanded; and this circumstance, connected with the extraordinary
-exertions made by the circulation of hand-bills, etc., as well as by
-repeated advertisements, to secure for this strange notice the utmost
-possible publicity, suggested to Doctor Richards the idea that Captain
-Barton's extreme uneasiness was somehow connected with the individual to
-whom the advertisement was addressed, and he himself the author of it.
-This, however, it is needless to add, was no more than a conjecture. No
-information whatsoever, as to the real purpose of the advertisement
-itself, was divulged by the agent, nor yet any hint as to who his
-employer might be.
-
-Mr. Barton, although he had latterly begun to earn for himself the
-character of a hypochondriac, was yet very far from deserving it.
-Though by no means lively, he had yet, naturally, what are termed
-"even spirits," and was not subject to continual depressions. He soon,
-therefore, began to return to his former habits; and one of the earliest
-symptoms of this healthier tone of spirits was his appearing at a grand
-dinner of the Freemasons, of which worthy fraternity he was himself a
-brother. Barton, who had been at first gloomy and abstracted, drank much
-more freely than was his wont--possibly with the purpose of dispelling
-his own secret anxieties--and under the influence of good wine, and
-pleasant company, became gradually (unlike his usual self) talkative,
-and even noisy. It was under this unwonted excitement that he left his
-company at about half-past ten o'clock; and as conviviality is a strong
-incentive to gallantry, it occurred to him to proceed forthwith to Lady
-Rochdale's, and pass the remainder of the evening with her and his
-destined bride.
-
-Accordingly, he was soon at ---- Street, and chatting gaily with the
-ladies. It is not to be supposed that Captain Barton had exceeded the
-limits which propriety prescribes to good fellowship; he had merely
-taken enough of wine to raise his spirits, without, however, in the
-least degree unsteadying his mind, or affecting his manners. With this
-undue elevation of spirits had supervened an entire oblivion or contempt
-of those undefined apprehensions which had for so long weighed upon his
-mind, and to a certain extent estranged him from society; but as the
-night wore away, and his artificial gaiety began to flag, these painful
-feelings gradually intruded themselves again, and he grew abstracted and
-anxious as heretofore. He took his leave at length, with an unpleasant
-foreboding of some coming mischief, and with a mind haunted with a
-thousand mysterious apprehensions, such as, even while he acutely felt
-their pressure, he, nevertheless, inwardly strove, or affected to
-contemn.
-
-It was his proud defiance of what he considered to be his own weakness
-which prompted him upon this occasion to the course which brought about
-the adventure which we are now about to relate. Mr. Barton might have
-easily called a coach, but he was conscious that his strong inclination
-to do so proceeded from no cause other than what he desperately
-persisted in representing to himself to be his own superstitious
-tremors. He might also have returned home by a route different from that
-against which he had been warned by his mysterious correspondent; but
-for the same reason he dismissed this idea also, and with a dogged and
-half desperate resolution to force matters to a crisis of some kind, to
-see if there were any reality in the causes of his former suffering, and
-if not, satisfactorily to bring their delusiveness to the proof, he
-determined to follow precisely the course which he had trodden upon the
-night so painfully memorable in his own mind as that on which his
-strange persecution had commenced. Though, sooth to say, the pilot who
-for the first time steers his vessel under the muzzles of a hostile
-battery never felt his resolution more severely tasked than did Captain
-Barton, as he breathlessly pursued this solitary path; a path which,
-spite of every effort of scepticism and reason, he felt to be, as
-respected _him_, infested by a malignant influence.
-
-He pursued his way steadily and rapidly, scarcely breathing from
-intensity of suspense; he, however, was troubled by no renewal of the
-dreaded footsteps, and was beginning to feel a return of confidence,
-as, more than three-fourths of the way being accomplished with impunity,
-he approached the long line of twinkling oil lamps which indicated the
-frequented streets. This feeling of self-congratulation was, however,
-but momentary. The report of a musket at some two hundred yards behind
-him, and the whistle of a bullet close to his head, disagreeably and
-startlingly dispelled it. His first impulse was to retrace his steps in
-pursuit of the assassin; but the road on either side was, as we have
-said, embarrassed by the foundations of a street, beyond which extended
-waste fields, full of rubbish and neglected lime and brick kilns, and
-all now as utterly silent as though no sound had ever disturbed their
-dark and unsightly solitude. The futility of attempting, single-handed,
-under such circumstances, a search for the murderer, was apparent,
-especially as no further sound whatever was audible to direct his
-pursuit.
-
-With the tumultuous sensations of one whose life had just been exposed
-to a murderous attempt, and whose escape has been the narrowest
-possible, Captain Barton turned, and without, however, quickening his
-pace actually to a run, hurriedly pursued his way. He had turned, as we
-have said, after a pause of a few seconds, and had just commenced his
-rapid retreat, when on a sudden he met the well-remembered little man in
-the fur cap. The encounter was but momentary. The figure was walking at
-the same exaggerated pace, and with the same strange air of menace as
-before; and as it passed him, he thought he heard it say, in a furious
-whisper, "Still alive, still alive!"
-
-The state of Mr. Barton's spirits began now to work a corresponding
-alteration in his health and looks, and to such a degree that it was
-impossible that the change should escape general remark. For some
-reasons, known but to himself, he took no step whatsoever to bring the
-attempt upon his life, which he had so narrowly escaped, under the
-notice of the authorities; on the contrary, he kept it jealously to
-himself; and it was not for many weeks after the occurrence that he
-mentioned it, and then in strict confidence to a gentleman, the torments
-of his mind at last compelled him to consult a friend.
-
-Spite of his blue devils, however, poor Barton, having no satisfactory
-reason to render to the public for any undue remissness in the
-attentions which his relation to Miss Montague required, was obliged
-to exert himself, and present to the world a confident and cheerful
-bearing. The true source of his sufferings, and every circumstance
-connected with them, he guarded with a reserve so jealous, that it
-seemed dictated by at least a suspicion that the origin of his strange
-persecution was known to himself, and that it was of a nature which,
-upon his own account, he could not or dare not disclose.
-
-The mind thus turned in upon itself, and constantly occupied with a
-haunting anxiety which it dared not reveal, or confide to any human
-breast, became daily more excited; and, of course, more vividly
-impressible, by a system of attack which operated through the nervous
-system; and in this state he was destined to sustain, with increasing
-frequency, the stealthy visitations of that apparition, which from the
-first had seemed to possess so unearthly and terrible a hold upon his
-imagination.
-
-                 *       *       *       *       *
-
-It was about this time that Captain Barton called upon the then
-celebrated preacher, Doctor Macklin, with whom he had a slight
-acquaintance; and an extraordinary conversation ensued. The divine was
-seated in his chambers in college, surrounded with works upon his
-favourite pursuit and deep in theology, when Barton was announced. There
-was something at once embarrassed and excited in his manner, which,
-along with his wan and haggard countenance, impressed the student with
-the unpleasant consciousness that his visitor must have recently
-suffered terribly indeed to account for an alteration so striking, so
-shocking.
-
-After the usual interchange of polite greeting, and a few commonplace
-remarks, Captain Barton, who obviously perceived the surprise which his
-visit had excited, and which Doctor Macklin was unable wholly to
-conceal, interrupted a brief pause by remarking,--
-
-"This is a strange call, Doctor Macklin, perhaps scarcely warranted by
-an acquaintance so slight as mine with you. I should not, under ordinary
-circumstances, have ventured to disturb you, but my visit is neither an
-idle nor impertinent intrusion. I am sure you will not so account it,
-when--"
-
-Doctor Macklin interrupted him with assurances, such as good breeding
-suggested, and Barton resumed,--
-
-"I am come to task your patience by asking your advice. When I say your
-patience, I might, indeed, say more; I might have said your humanity,
-your compassion; for I have been, and am a great sufferer."
-
-"My dear sir," replied the churchman, "it will, indeed, afford me
-infinite gratification if I can give you comfort in any distress of
-mind, but--but--"
-
-"I know what you would say," resumed Barton, quickly. "I am an
-unbeliever, and, therefore, incapable of deriving help from religion,
-but don't take that for granted. At least you must not assume that,
-however unsettled my convictions may be, I do not feel a deep, a very
-deep, interest in the subject. Circumstances have lately forced it upon
-my attention in such a way as to compel me to review the whole question
-in a more candid and teachable spirit, I believe, than I ever studied it
-in before."
-
-"Your difficulties, I take it for granted, refer to the evidences of
-revelation," suggested the clergyman.
-
-"Why--no--yes; in fact I am ashamed to say I have not considered even my
-objections sufficiently to state them connectedly; but--but there is one
-subject on which I feel a peculiar interest."
-
-He paused again, and Doctor Macklin pressed him to proceed.
-
-"The fact is," said Barton, "whatever may be my uncertainty as to the
-authenticity of what we are taught to call revelation, of one fact I am
-deeply and horribly convinced: that there does exist beyond this a
-spiritual world--a system whose workings are generally in mercy hidden
-from us--a system which may be, and which is sometimes, partially and
-terribly revealed. I am sure, I know," continued Barton, with increasing
-excitement, "there is a God--a dreadful God--and that retribution
-follows guilt. In ways, the most mysterious and stupendous; by agencies,
-the most inexplicable and terrific; there is a spiritual system--great
-Heavens, how frightfully I have been convinced!--a system malignant, and
-inexorable, and omnipotent, under whose persecutions I am, and have
-been, suffering the torments of the damned!--yes, sir--yes--the fires
-and frenzy of hell!"
-
-As Barton continued, his agitation became so vehement that the divine
-was shocked and even alarmed. The wild and excited rapidity with which
-he spoke, and, above all, the indefinable horror which stamped his
-features, afforded a contrast to his ordinary cool and unimpassioned
-self-possession, striking and painful in the last degree.
-
-"My dear sir," said Doctor Macklin, after a brief pause, "I fear you
-have been suffering much, indeed; but I venture to predict that the
-depression under which you labour will be found to originate in purely
-physical causes, and that with a change of air and the aid of a few
-tonics, your spirits will return, and the tone of your mind be once more
-cheerful and tranquil as heretofore. There was, after all, more truth
-than we are quite willing to admit in the classic theories which
-assigned the undue predominance of any one affection of the mind to the
-undue action or torpidity of one or other of our bodily organs. Believe
-me, that a little attention to diet, exercise, and the other essentials
-of health, under competent direction, will make you as much yourself as
-you can wish."
-
-"Doctor Macklin," said Barton, with something like a shudder, "I
-_cannot_ delude myself with such a hope. I have no hope to cling to but
-one, and that is, that by some other spiritual agency more potent than
-that which tortures me, _it_ may be combated, and I delivered. If this
-may not be, I am lost--now and for ever lost."
-
-"But, Mr. Barton, you must remember," urged his companion, "that others
-have suffered as you have done, and--"
-
-"No, no, no," interrupted he with irritability; "no, sir, I am not a
-credulous--far from a superstitious man. I have been, perhaps, too much
-the reverse--too sceptical, too slow of belief; but unless I were one
-whom no amount of evidence could convince, unless I were to contemn the
-repeated, the _perpetual_ evidence of my own senses, I am now--now at
-last constrained to believe I have no escape from the conviction, the
-overwhelming certainty, that I am haunted and dogged, go where I may,
-by--by a Demon."
-
-There was an almost preternatural energy of horror in Barton's face, as,
-with its damp and death-like lineaments turned towards his companion, he
-thus delivered himself.
-
-"God help you, my poor friend!" said Doctor Macklin, much shocked. "God
-help you; for, indeed, you _are_ a sufferer, however your sufferings may
-have been caused."
-
-"Ay, ay, God help me," echoed Barton sternly; "but _will_ He help me?
-will He help me?"
-
-"Pray to Him; pray in an humble and trusting spirit," said he.
-
-"Pray, pray," echoed he again; "I can't pray; I could as easily move a
-mountain by an effort of my will. I have not belief enough to pray;
-there is something within me that will not pray. You prescribe
-impossibilities--literal impossibilities."
-
-"You will not find it so, if you will but try," said Doctor Macklin.
-
-"Try! I _have_ tried, and the attempt only fills me with confusion
-and terror. I have tried in vain, and more than in vain. The awful,
-unutterable idea of eternity and infinity oppresses and maddens my
-brain, whenever my mind approaches the contemplation of the Creator;
-I recoil from the effort, scared, confounded, terrified. I tell you,
-Doctor Macklin, if I am to be saved, it must be by other means. The idea
-of the Creator is to me intolerable; my mind cannot support it."
-
-"Say, then, my dear sir," urged he, "say how you would have me serve
-you. What you would learn of me. What can I do or say to relieve you?"
-
-"Listen to me first," replied Captain Barton, with a subdued air, and
-an evident effort to suppress his excitement; "listen to me while I
-detail the circumstances of the terrible persecution under which my
-life has become all but intolerable--a persecution which has made me
-fear _death_ and the world beyond the grave as much as I have grown to
-hate existence."
-
-Barton then proceeded to relate the circumstances which we have already
-detailed, and then continued,--
-
-"This has now become habitual--an accustomed thing. I do not mean the
-actual seeing him in the flesh; thank God, _that_ at least is not
-permitted daily. Thank God, from the unutterable horrors of that
-visitation I have been mercifully allowed intervals of repose, though
-none of security; but from the consciousness that a malignant spirit is
-following and watching me wherever I go, I have never, for a single
-instant, a temporary respite: I am pursued with blasphemies, cries of
-despair, and appalling hatred; I hear those dreadful sounds called after
-me as I turn the corners of streets; they come in the night-time while I
-sit in my chamber alone; they haunt me everywhere, charging me with
-hideous crimes, and--great God!--threatening me with coming vengeance
-and eternal misery! Hush! do you hear _that_?" he cried, with a horrible
-smile of triumph. "There--there, will that convince you?"
-
-The clergyman felt the chillness of horror irresistibly steal over him,
-while, during the wail of a sudden gust of wind, he heard, or fancied he
-heard, the half articulate sounds of rage and derision mingling in their
-sough.
-
-"Well, what do you think of _that_?" at length Barton cried, drawing a
-long breath through his teeth.
-
-"I heard the wind," said Doctor Macklin; "what should I think of it?
-What is there remarkable about it?"
-
-[Illustration: "THE PRINCE OF THE POWERS OF THE AIR!" MUTTERED BARTON.]
-
-"The prince of the powers of the air," muttered Barton, with a shudder.
-
-"Tut, tut! my dear sir!" said the student, with an effort to reassure
-himself; for though it was broad daylight, there was nevertheless
-something disagreeably contagious in the nervous excitement under which
-his visitor so obviously suffered. "You must not give way to those wild
-fancies: you must resist those impulses of the imagination."
-
-"Ay, ay; 'resist the devil, and he will flee from thee,'" said Barton,
-in the same tone; "but _how_ resist him? Ay, there it is: there is the
-rub. What--_what_ am I to do? What _can_ I do?"
-
-"My dear sir, this is fancy," said the man of folios; "you are your own
-tormentor."
-
-"No, no, sir; fancy has no part in it," answered Barton, somewhat
-sternly. "Fancy, forsooth! Was it that made _you_, as well as me, hear,
-but this moment, those appalling accents of hell? Fancy, indeed! No,
-no."
-
-"But you have seen this person frequently," said the ecclesiastic; "why
-have you not accosted or secured him? Is it not somewhat precipitate, to
-say no more, to assume, as you have done, the existence of preternatural
-agency, when, after all, everything may be easily accountable, if only
-proper means were taken to sift the matter."
-
-"There are circumstances connected with this--this _appearance_," said
-Barton, "which it were needless to disclose, but which to _me_ are
-proofs of its horrible and unearthly nature. I know that the being who
-haunts me is not _man_. I say I _know_ this; I could prove it to your
-own conviction." He paused for a minute, and then added, "And as to
-accosting it, I dare not--I could not! When I see it I am powerless; I
-stand in the gaze of death, in the triumphant presence of preterhuman
-power and malignity; my strength, and faculties, and memory all forsake
-me. Oh, God! I fear, sir, you know not what you speak of. Mercy, mercy!
-heaven have pity on me!"
-
-He leaned his elbow on the table, and passed his hand across his eyes,
-as if to exclude some image of horror, muttering the last words of the
-sentence he had just concluded, again and again.
-
-"Dr. Macklin," he said, abruptly raising himself, and looking full upon
-the clergyman with an imploring eye, "I know you will do for me whatever
-may be done. You know now fully the circumstances and the nature of the
-mysterious agency of which I am the victim. I tell you I cannot help
-myself; I cannot hope to escape; I am utterly passive. I conjure you,
-then, to weigh my case well, and if anything may be done for me by
-vicarious supplication, by the intercession of the good, or by any aid
-or influence whatsoever, I implore of you, I adjure you in the name of
-the Most High, give me the benefit of that influence, deliver me from
-the body of this death! Strive for me; pity me! I know you will; you
-cannot refuse this; it is the purpose and object of my visit. Send me
-away with some hope, however little--some faint hope of ultimate
-deliverance, and I will nerve myself to endure, from hour to hour, the
-hideous dream into which my existence is transformed."
-
-Doctor Macklin assured him that all he could do was to pray earnestly
-for him, and that so much he would not fail to do. They parted with a
-hurried and melancholy valediction. Barton hastened to the carriage
-which awaited him at the door, drew the blinds, and drove away, while
-Dr. Macklin returned to his chamber, to ruminate at leisure upon the
-strange interview which had just interrupted his studies.
-
-It was not to be expected that Captain Barton's changed and eccentric
-habits should long escape remark and discussion. Various were the
-theories suggested to account for it. Some attributed the alteration to
-the pressure of secret pecuniary embarrassments; others to a repugnance
-to fulfil an engagement into which he was presumed to have too
-precipitately entered; and others, again, to the supposed incipiency of
-mental disease, which latter, indeed, was the most plausible, as well as
-the most generally received, of the hypotheses circulated in the gossip
-of the day.
-
-From the very commencement of this change, at first so gradual in its
-advances, Miss Montague had, of course, been aware of it. The intimacy
-involved in their peculiar relation, as well as the near interest which
-it inspired, afforded, in her case, alike opportunity and motive for the
-successful exercise of that keen and penetrating observation peculiar
-to the sex. His visits became, at length, so interrupted, and his
-manner, while they lasted, so abstracted, strange, and agitated, that
-Lady Rochdale, after hinting her anxiety and her suspicions more than
-once, at length distinctly stated her anxiety, and pressed for an
-explanation. The explanation was given, and although its nature at first
-relieved the worst solicitudes of the old lady and her niece, yet the
-circumstances which attended it, and the really dreadful consequences
-which it obviously threatened as regarded the spirits, and, indeed, the
-reason, of the now wretched man who made the strange declaration, were
-enough, upon a little reflection, to fill their minds with perturbation
-and alarm.
-
-General Montague, the young lady's father, at length arrived. He had
-himself slightly known Barton, some ten or twelve years previously,
-and being aware of his fortune and connections, was disposed to regard
-him as an unexceptionable and indeed a most desirable match for his
-daughter. He laughed at the story of Barton's supernatural visitations,
-and lost not a moment in calling upon his intended son-in-law.
-
-"My dear Barton," he continued gaily, after a little conversation, "my
-sister tells me that you are a victim to blue devils in quite a new and
-original shape."
-
-Barton changed countenance, and sighed profoundly.
-
-"Come, come; I protest this will never do," continued the General; "you
-are more like a man on his way to the gallows than to the altar. These
-devils have made quite a saint of you."
-
-Barton made an effort to change the conversation.
-
-"No, no, it won't do," said his visitor, laughing; "I am resolved to
-say out what I have to say about this magnificent mock mystery of
-yours. Come, you must not be angry; but, really, it is too bad to see
-you, at your time of life, absolutely frightened into good behaviour,
-like a naughty child, by a bugaboo, and, as far as I can learn, a very
-particularly contemptible one. Seriously, though, my dear Barton, I
-have been a good deal annoyed at what they tell me; but, at the same
-time, thoroughly convinced that there is nothing in the matter that
-may not be cleared up, with just a little attention and management,
-within a week at furthest."
-
-"Ah, General, you do not know--" he began.
-
-"Yes, but I do know quite enough to warrant my confidence," interrupted
-the soldier. "I know that all your annoyance proceeds from the
-occasional appearance of a certain little man in a cap and great-coat,
-with a red vest and bad countenance, who follows you about, and pops
-upon you at the corners of lanes, and throws you into ague fits. Now,
-my dear fellow, I'll make it my business to _catch_ this mischievous
-little mountebank, and either beat him into a jelly with my own hands,
-or have him whipped through the town at the cart's tail."
-
-"If _you_ knew what I know," said Barton, with gloomy agitation, "you
-would speak very differently. Don't imagine that I am so weak and
-foolish as to assume, without proof the most overwhelming, the
-conclusion to which I have been forced. The proofs are here, locked up
-here." As he spoke, he tapped upon his breast, and with an anxious sigh
-continued to walk up and down the room.
-
-"Well, well, Barton," said his visitor, "I'll wager a rump and a dozen
-I collar the ghost, and convince yourself before many days are over."
-
-He was running on in the same strain when he was suddenly arrested,
-and not a little shocked, by observing Barton, who had approached the
-window, stagger slowly back, like one who had received a stunning
-blow--his arm feebly extended towards the street, his face and his very
-lips white as ashes--while he uttered, "There--there--there!"
-
-General Montague started mechanically to his feet, and, from the window
-of the drawing-room, saw a figure corresponding, as well as his hurry
-would permit him to discern, with the description of the person whose
-appearance so constantly and dreadfully disturbed the repose of his
-friend. The figure was just turning from the rails of the area upon
-which it had been leaning, and without waiting to see more, the old
-gentleman snatched his cane and hat, and rushed down the stairs and into
-the street, in the furious hope of securing the person, and punishing
-the audacity of the mysterious stranger. He looked around him, but in
-vain, for any trace of the form he had himself distinctly beheld. He ran
-breathlessly to the nearest corner, expecting to see from thence the
-retreating figure, but no such form was visible. Back and forward, from
-crossing to crossing, he ran at fault, and it was not until the curious
-gaze and laughing countenances of the passers-by reminded him of the
-absurdity of his pursuit, that he checked his hurried pace, lowered his
-walking-cane from the menacing altitude which he had mechanically given
-it, adjusted his hat, and walked composedly back again, inwardly vexed
-and flurried. He found Barton pale and trembling in every joint; they
-both remained silent, though under emotions very different. At last
-Barton whispered, "You saw it?"
-
-"It!--him--someone--you mean--to be sure I did," replied Montague,
-testily. "But where is the good or the harm of seeing him? The fellow
-runs like a lamplighter. I wanted to _catch_ him, but he had stolen away
-before I could reach the hall door. However, it is no great matter; next
-time, I dare say, I'll do better; and, egad, if I once come within
-reach of him, I'll introduce his shoulders to the weight of my cane, in
-a way to make him cry _peccavi_."
-
-Notwithstanding General Montague's undertakings and exhortations,
-however, Barton continued to suffer from the self-same unexplained
-cause. Go how, when, or where he would, he was still constantly dogged
-or confronted by the hateful being who had established over him so
-dreadful and mysterious an influence; nowhere, and at no time, was he
-secure against the odious appearance which haunted him with such
-diabolical perseverance. His depression, misery, and excitement became
-more settled and alarming every day, and the mental agonies that
-ceaselessly preyed upon him began at last so sensibly to affect his
-general health, that Lady Rochdale and General Montague succeeded
-(without, indeed, much difficulty) in persuading him to try a short tour
-on the Continent, in the hope that an entire change of scene would, at
-all events, have the effect of breaking through the influences of local
-association, which the more sceptical of his friends assumed to be by no
-means inoperative in suggesting and perpetuating what they conceived to
-be a mere form of nervous illusion. General Montague, moreover, was
-persuaded that the figure which haunted his intended son-in-law was by
-no means the creation of his own imagination, but, on the contrary,
-a substantial form of flesh and blood, animated by a spiteful and
-obstinate resolution, perhaps with some murderous object in perspective,
-to watch and follow the unfortunate gentleman. Even this hypothesis was
-not a very pleasant one; yet it was plain that if Barton could once be
-convinced that there was nothing preternatural in the phenomenon, which
-he had hitherto regarded in that light, the affair would lose all its
-terrors in his eyes, and wholly cease to exercise upon his health and
-spirits the baneful influence which it had hitherto done. He therefore
-reasoned, that if the annoyance were actually escaped from by mere
-change of scene, it obviously could not have originated in any
-supernatural agency.
-
-Yielding to their persuasions, Barton left Dublin for England,
-accompanied by General Montague. They posted rapidly to London, and
-thence to Dover, whence they took the packet with a fair wind for
-Calais. The General's confidence in the result of the expedition on
-Barton's spirits had risen day by day since their departure from the
-shores of Ireland; for, to the inexpressible relief and delight of
-the latter, he had not, since then, so much as even once fancied a
-repetition of those impressions which had, when at home, drawn him
-gradually down to the very abyss of horror and despair. This exemption
-from what he had begun to regard as the inevitable condition of his
-existence, and the sense of security which began to pervade his mind,
-were inexpressibly delightful; and in the exultation of what he
-considered his deliverance, he indulged in a thousand happy
-anticipations for a future into which so lately he had hardly dared
-to look. In short, both he and his companion secretly congratulated
-themselves upon the termination of that persecution which had been to
-its immediate victim a source of such unspeakable agony.
-
-It was a beautiful day, and a crowd of idlers stood upon the jetty to
-receive the packet, and enjoy the bustle of the new arrivals. Montague
-walked a few paces in advance of his friend, and as he made his way
-through the crowd, a little man touched his arm, and said to him, in a
-broad provincial _patois_,--
-
-"Monsieur is walking too fast; he will lose his sick comrade in the
-throng, for, by my faith, the poor gentleman seems to be fainting."
-
-Montague turned quickly, and observed that Barton did indeed look deadly
-pale. He hastened to his side.
-
-"My poor fellow, are you ill?" he asked anxiously.
-
-The question was unheeded, and twice repeated, ere Barton stammered,--
-
-"I saw him--by ----, I saw him!"
-
-"_Him!_--who?--where?--when did you see him?--where is he?" cried
-Montague, looking around him.
-
-"I saw him--but he is gone," repeated Barton, faintly.
-
-"But where--where? For God's sake, speak," urged Montague, vehemently.
-
-"It is but this moment--_here_," said he.
-
-"But what did he look like?--what had he on?--what did he wear?--quick,
-quick," urged his excited companion, ready to dart among the crowd, and
-collar the delinquent on the spot.
-
-"He touched your arm--he spoke to you--he pointed to me. God be merciful
-to me, there is no escape!" said Barton, in the low, subdued tones of
-intense despair.
-
-Montague had already bustled away in all the flurry of mingled hope and
-indignation; but though the singular _personnel_ of the stranger who had
-accosted him was vividly and perfectly impressed upon his recollection,
-he failed to discover among the crowd even the slightest resemblance to
-him. After a fruitless search, in which he enlisted the services of
-several of the bystanders, who aided all the more zealously as they
-believed he had been robbed, he at length, out of breath and baffled,
-gave over the attempt.
-
-"Ah, my friend, it won't do," said Barton, with the faint voice and
-bewildered, ghastly look of one who has been stunned by some mortal
-shock; "there is no use in contending with it; whatever it is, the
-dreadful association between me and it is now established; I shall never
-escape--never, never!"
-
-"Nonsense, nonsense, my dear fellow; don't talk so," said Montague, with
-something at once of irritation and dismay; "you must not; never mind, I
-say--never mind, we'll jockey the scoundrel yet."
-
-It was, however, but lost labour to endeavour henceforward to inspire
-Barton with one ray of hope; he became utterly desponding. This
-intangible and, as it seemed, utterly inadequate influence was fast
-destroying his energies of intellect, character, and health. His first
-object was now to return to Ireland, there, as he believed, and now
-almost hoped, speedily to die.
-
-To Ireland, accordingly, he came, and one of the first faces he saw upon
-the shore was again that of his implacable and dreaded persecutor.
-Barton seemed at last to have lost not only all enjoyment and every hope
-in existence, but all independence of will besides. He now submitted
-himself passively to the management of the friends most nearly
-interested in his welfare. With the apathy of entire despair, he
-implicitly assented to whatever measures they suggested and advised;
-and, as a last resource, it was determined to remove him to a house of
-Lady Rochdale's in the neighbourhood of Clontarf, where, with the advice
-of his medical attendant (who persisted in his opinion that the whole
-train of impressions resulted merely from some nervous derangement) it
-was resolved that he was to confine himself strictly to the house, and
-to make use only of those apartments which commanded a view of an
-enclosed yard, the gates of which were to be kept jealously locked.
-These precautions would at least secure him against the casual
-appearance of any living form which his excited imagination might
-possibly confound with the spectre which, as it was contended, his
-fancy recognized in every figure that bore even a distant or general
-resemblance to the traits with which he had at first invested it. A
-month or six weeks' absolute seclusion under these conditions, it was
-hoped, might, by interrupting the series of these terrible impressions,
-gradually dispel the predisposing apprehension, and effectually break up
-the associations which had confirmed the supposed disease, and rendered
-recovery hopeless. Cheerful society and that of his friends was to be
-constantly supplied, and on the whole, very sanguine expectations were
-indulged in, that under this treatment the obstinate hypochondria of the
-patient might at length give way.
-
-Accompanied, therefore, by Lady Rochdale, General Montague, and his
-daughter--his own affianced bride--poor Barton, himself never daring to
-cherish a hope of his ultimate emancipation from the strange horrors
-under which his life was literally wasting away, took possession of
-the apartments whose situation protected him against the dreadful
-intrusions from which he shrank with such unutterable terror.
-
-After a little time, a steady persistence in this system began to
-manifest its results in a very marked though gradual improvement alike
-in the health and spirits of the invalid. Not, indeed, that anything
-at all approaching to complete recovery was yet discernible. On the
-contrary, to those who had not seen him since the commencement of his
-strange sufferings, such an alteration would have been apparent as might
-well have shocked them. The improvement, however, such as it was, was
-welcomed with gratitude and delight, especially by the poor young lady,
-whom her attachment to him, as well as her now singularly painful
-position, consequent on his mysterious and protracted illness, rendered
-an object of pity scarcely one degree less to be commiserated than
-himself.
-
-A week passed--a fortnight--a month--and yet no recurrence of the hated
-visitation had agitated and terrified him as before. The treatment had,
-so far, been followed by complete success. The chain of association had
-been broken. The constant pressure upon the overtasked spirits had been
-removed, and, under these comparatively favourable circumstances, the
-sense of social community with the world about him, and something of
-human interest, if not of enjoyment, began to reanimate his mind.
-
-It was about this time that Lady Rochdale, who, like most old ladies of
-the day, was deep in family receipts, and a great pretender to medical
-science, being engaged in the concoction of certain unpalatable mixtures
-of marvellous virtue, despatched her own maid to the kitchen garden with
-a list of herbs which were there to be carefully culled and brought back
-to her for the purpose stated. The hand-maiden, however, returned with
-her task scarce half-completed, and a good deal flurried and alarmed.
-Her mode of accounting for her precipitate retreat and evident agitation
-was odd, and to the old lady unpleasantly startling.
-
-It appeared that she had repaired to the kitchen garden, pursuant to
-her mistress's directions, and had there begun to make the specified
-selection among the rank and neglected herbs which crowded one corner of
-the enclosure, and while engaged in this pleasant labour she carelessly
-sang a fragment of an old song, as she said, "to keep herself company."
-She was, however, interrupted by a sort of mocking echo of the air she
-was singing; and looking up, she saw through the old thorn hedge, which
-surrounded the garden, a singularly ill-looking, little man, whose
-countenance wore the stamp of menace and malignity, standing close to
-her at the other side of the hawthorn screen. She described herself as
-utterly unable to move or speak, while he charged her with a message for
-Captain Barton, the substance of which she distinctly remembered to have
-been to the effect that he, Captain Barton, must come abroad as usual,
-and show himself to his friends out of doors, or else prepare for a
-visit in his own chamber. On concluding this brief message, the stranger
-had, with a threatening air, got down into the outer ditch, and seizing
-the hawthorn stems in his hands, seemed on the point of climbing through
-the fence, a feat which might have been accomplished without much
-difficulty. Without, of course, awaiting this result, the girl, throwing
-down her treasures of thyme and rosemary, had turned and run, with the
-swiftness of terror, to the house. Lady Rochdale commanded her, on pain
-of instant dismissal, to observe an absolute silence respecting all that
-portion of the incident which related to Captain Barton; and, at the
-same time, directed instant search to be made by her men in the garden
-and fields adjacent. This measure, however, was attended with the usual
-unsuccess, and filled with fearful and indefinable misgivings, Lady
-Rochdale communicated the incident to her brother. The story, however,
-until long afterwards, went no further, and of course it was jealously
-guarded from Barton, who continued to mend, though slowly and
-imperfectly.
-
-Barton now began to walk occasionally in the courtyard which we have
-mentioned, and which, being surrounded by a high wall, commanded no view
-beyond its own extent. Here he, therefore, considered himself perfectly
-secure; and, but for a careless violation of orders by one of the
-grooms, he might have enjoyed, at least for some time longer, his
-much-prized immunity. Opening upon the public road, this yard was
-entered by a wooden gate, with a wicket in it, which was further
-defended by an iron gate upon the outside. Strict orders had been given
-to keep them carefully locked; but, in spite of these, it had happened
-that one day, as Barton was slowly pacing this narrow enclosure, in his
-accustomed walk, and reaching the further extremity, was turning to
-retrace his steps, he saw the boarded wicket ajar, and the face of his
-tormentor immovably looking at him through the iron bars. For a few
-seconds he stood riveted to the earth, breathless and bloodless, in the
-fascination of that dreaded gaze, and then fell helplessly upon the
-pavement.
-
-There was he found a few minutes afterwards, and conveyed to his
-room, the apartment which he was never afterwards to leave alive.
-Henceforward, a marked and unaccountable change was observable in the
-tone of his mind. Captain Barton was now no longer the excited and
-despairing man he had been before; a strange alteration had passed upon
-him, an unearthly tranquillity reigned in his mind; it was the
-anticipated stillness of the grave.
-
-"Montague, my friend, this struggle is nearly ended now," he said,
-tranquilly, but with a look of fixed and fearful awe. "I have, at last,
-some comfort from that world of spirits, from which my _punishment_ has
-come. I know now that my sufferings will be soon over."
-
-Montague pressed him to speak on.
-
-"Yes," said he, in a softened voice, "my punishment is nearly ended.
-From sorrow perhaps I shall never, in time or eternity, escape; but
-my _agony_ is almost over. Comfort has been revealed to me, and what
-remains of my allotted struggle I will bear with submission, even with
-hope."
-
-"I am glad to hear you speak so tranquilly, my dear fellow," said
-Montague; "peace and cheerfulness of mind are all you need to make you
-what you were."
-
-"No, no, I never can be that," said he, mournfully. "I am no longer fit
-for life. I am soon to die: I do not shrink from death as I did. I am to
-see _him_ but once again, and then all is ended."
-
-"He said so, then?" suggested Montague.
-
-"_He?_ No, no; good tidings could scarcely come through him; and these
-were good and welcome; and they came so solemnly and sweetly, with
-unutterable love and melancholy, such as I could not, without saying
-more than is needful or fitting, of other long-past scenes and persons,
-fully explain to you." As Barton said this he shed tears.
-
-"Come, come," said Montague, mistaking the source of his emotions, "you
-must not give way. What is it, after all, but a pack of dreams and
-nonsense; or, at worst, the practices of a scheming rascal that enjoys
-his power of playing upon your nerves, and loves to exert it; a sneaking
-vagabond that owes you a grudge, and pays it off this way, not daring to
-try a more manly one."
-
-"A grudge, indeed, he owes me; you say rightly," said Barton, with a
-sullen shudder; "a grudge as you call it. Oh, God! when the justice of
-heaven permits the Evil One to carry out a scheme of vengeance, when
-its execution is committed to the lost and frightful victim of sin, who
-owes his own ruin to the man, the very man, whom he is commissioned to
-pursue; then, indeed, the torments and terrors of hell are anticipated
-on earth. But heaven has dealt mercifully with me: hope has opened to me
-at last; and if death could come without the dreadful sight I am doomed
-to see, I would gladly close my eyes this moment upon the world. But
-though death is welcome, I shrink with an agony you cannot understand;
-a maddening agony, an actual frenzy of terror, from the last encounter
-with that--that DEMON, who has drawn me thus to the verge of the chasm,
-and who is himself to plunge me down. I am to see him again, once more,
-but under circumstances unutterably more terrific than ever."
-
-As Barton thus spoke, he trembled so violently that Montague was really
-alarmed at the extremity of his sudden agitation, and hastened to lead
-him back to the topic which had before seemed to exert so tranquillizing
-an effect upon his mind.
-
-"It was not a dream," he said, after a time; "I was in a different
-state, I felt differently and strangely; and yet it was all as real, as
-clear and vivid, as what I now see and hear; it was a reality."
-
-"And what _did_ you see and hear?" urged his companion.
-
-"When I awakened from the swoon I fell into on seeing _him_," said
-Barton, continuing, as if he had not heard the question, "it was slowly,
-very slowly; I was reclining by the margin of a broad lake, surrounded
-by misty hills, and a soft, melancholy, rose-coloured light illuminated
-it all. It was indescribably sad and lonely, and yet more beautiful than
-any earthly scene. My head was leaning on the lap of a girl, and she was
-singing a strange and wondrous song, that told, I know not how, whether
-by words or harmony, of all my life, all that is past, and all that is
-still to come. And with the song the old feelings that I thought had
-perished within me came back, and tears flowed from my eyes, partly
-for the song and its mysterious beauty, and partly for the unearthly
-sweetness of her voice; yet I know the voice, oh! how well; and I was
-spell-bound as I listened and looked at the strange and solitary scene,
-without stirring, almost without breathing, and, alas! alas! without
-turning my eyes toward the face that I knew was near me, so sweetly
-powerful was the enchantment that held me. And so, slowly and softly,
-the song and scene grew fainter, and ever fainter, to my senses, till
-all was dark and still again. And then I wakened to this world, as you
-saw, comforted, for I knew that I was forgiven much." Barton wept again
-long and bitterly.
-
-From this time, as we have said, the prevailing tone of his mind was one
-of profound and tranquil melancholy. This, however, was not without its
-interruptions. He was thoroughly impressed with the conviction that
-he was to experience another and a final visitation, illimitably
-transcending in horror all he had before experienced. From this
-anticipated and unknown agony he often shrunk in such paroxysms of
-abject terror and distraction, as filled the whole household with dismay
-and superstitious panic. Even those among them who affected to discredit
-the supposition of preternatural agency in the matter, were often in
-their secret souls visited during the darkness and solitude of night
-with qualms and apprehensions which they would not have readily
-confessed; and none of them attempted to dissuade Barton from the
-resolution on which he now systematically acted, of shutting himself up
-in his own apartment. The window-blinds of this room were kept jealously
-down; and his own man was seldom out of his presence, day or night, his
-bed being placed in the same chamber.
-
-This man was an attached and respectable servant; and his duties, in
-addition to those ordinarily imposed upon _valets_, but which Barton's
-independent habits generally dispensed with, were to attend carefully
-to the simple precautions by means of which his master hoped to exclude
-the dreaded intrusion of the "Watcher," as the strange letter he had
-at first received had designated his persecutor. And, in addition to
-attending to these arrangements, which consisted merely in anticipating
-the possibility of his master's being, through any unscreened window
-or opened door, exposed to the dreaded influence, the valet was never
-to suffer him to be for one moment alone: total solitude, even for a
-minute, had become to him now almost as intolerable as the idea of going
-abroad into the public ways; it was an instinctive anticipation of what
-was coming.
-
-It is needless to say, that, under these mysterious and horrible
-circumstances, no steps were taken toward the fulfilment of that
-engagement into which he had entered. There was quite disparity enough
-in point of years, and indeed of habits, between the young lady and
-Captain Barton, to have precluded anything like very vehement or
-romantic attachment on her part. Though grieved and anxious, therefore,
-she was very far from being heart-broken; a circumstance which, for the
-sentimental purposes of our tale, is much to be deplored. But truth must
-be told, especially in a narrative whose chief, if not only, pretensions
-to interest consist in a rigid adherence to facts, or what are so
-reported to have been.
-
-Miss Montague, nevertheless, devoted much of her time to a patient but
-fruitless attempt to cheer the unhappy invalid. She read for him, and
-conversed with him; but it was apparent that whatever exertions he made,
-the endeavour to escape from the one constant and ever-present fear that
-preyed upon him was utterly and miserably unavailing.
-
-Young ladies, as all the world knows, are much given to the cultivation
-of pets; and among those who shared the favour of Miss Montague was a
-fine old owl, which the gardener, who caught him napping among the ivy
-of a ruined stable, had dutifully presented to that young lady.
-
-The caprice which regulates such preferences was manifested in the
-extravagant favour with which this grim and ill-favoured bird was at
-once distinguished by his mistress; and, trifling as this whimsical
-circumstance may seem, I am forced to mention it, inasmuch as it is
-connected, oddly enough, with the concluding scene of the story.
-Barton, so far from sharing in this liking for the new favourite,
-regarded it from the first with an antipathy as violent as it was
-utterly unaccountable. Its very vicinity was insupportable to him. He
-seemed to hate and dread it with a vehemence absolutely laughable, and
-to those who have never witnessed the exhibition of antipathies of
-this kind, his dread would seem all but incredible.
-
-With these few words of preliminary explanation, I shall proceed to
-state the particulars of the last scene in this strange series of
-incidents. It was almost two o'clock one winter's night, and Barton
-was, as usual at that hour, in his bed; the servant we have mentioned
-occupied a smaller bed in the same room, and a candle was burning. The
-man was on a sudden aroused by his master, who said,--
-
-"I can't get it out of my head that that accursed bird has escaped
-somehow, and is lurking in some corner of the room. I have been dreaming
-of him. Get up, Smith, and look about; search for him. Such hateful
-dreams!"
-
-The servant rose, and examined the chamber, and while engaged in so
-doing, he heard the well-known sound, more like a long-drawn gasp than a
-hiss, with which these birds from their secret haunts affright the quiet
-of the night. This ghostly indication of its proximity, for the sound
-proceeded from the passage upon which Barton's chamber-door opened,
-determined the search of the servant, who, opening the door, proceeded a
-step or two forward for the purpose of driving the bird away. He had,
-however, hardly entered the lobby, when the door behind him slowly swung
-to under the impulse, as it seemed, of some gentle current of air; but
-as immediately over the door there was a kind of window, intended in the
-daytime to aid in lighting the passage, and through which the rays of
-the candle were then issuing, the valet could see quite enough for
-his purpose. As he advanced he heard his master (who, lying in a
-well-curtained bed had not, as it seemed, perceived his exit from the
-room) call him by name, and direct him to place the candle on the table
-by his bed. The servant, who was now some way in the long passage, did
-not like to raise his voice for the purpose of replying, lest he should
-startle the sleeping inmates of the house, began to walk hurriedly and
-softly back again, when, to his amazement, he heard a voice in the
-interior of the chamber answering calmly, and the man actually saw,
-through the window which over-topped the door, that the light was slowly
-shifting, as if carried across the chamber in answer to his master's
-call. Palsied by a feeling akin to terror, yet not unmingled with a
-horrible curiosity, he stood breathless and listening at the threshold,
-unable to summon resolution to push open the door and enter. Then came
-a rustling of the curtains, and a sound like that of one who in a low
-voice hushes a child to rest, in the midst of which he heard Barton say,
-in a tone of stifled horror--"Oh, God--oh, my God!" and repeat the same
-exclamation several times. Then ensued a silence, which again was broken
-by the same strange soothing sound; and at last there burst forth, in
-one swelling peal, a yell of agony so appalling and hideous, that, under
-some impulse of ungovernable horror, the man rushed to the door, and
-with his whole strength strove to force it open. Whether it was that, in
-his agitation, he had himself but imperfectly turned the handle, or that
-the door was really secured upon the inside, he failed to effect an
-entrance; and as he tugged and pushed, yell after yell rang louder and
-wilder through the chamber, accompanied all the while by the same
-hushing sounds. Actually freezing with terror, and scarce knowing what
-he did, the man turned and ran down the passage, wringing his hands in
-the extremity of horror and irresolution. At the stair-head he was
-encountered by General Montague, scared and eager, and just as they met
-the fearful sounds had ceased.
-
-"What is it?--who--where is your master?" said Montague, with the
-incoherence of extreme agitation. "Has anything--for God's sake, is
-anything wrong?"
-
-"Lord have mercy on us, it's all over," said the man, staring wildly
-towards his master's chamber. "He's dead, sir; I'm sure he's dead."
-
-Without waiting for inquiry or explanation, Montague, closely followed
-by the servant, hurried to the chamber-door, turned the handle, and
-pushed it open. As the door yielded to his pressure, the ill-omened bird
-of which the servant had been in search, uttering its spectral warning,
-started suddenly from the far side of the bed, and flying through the
-doorway close over their heads, and extinguishing, in its passage, the
-candle which Montague carried, crashed through the skylight that
-overlooked the lobby, and sailed away into the darkness of the outer
-space.
-
-"There it is, God bless us!" whispered the man, after a breathless
-pause.
-
-"Curse that bird!" muttered the general, startled by the suddenness of
-the apparition, and unable to conceal his discomposure.
-
-"The candle was moved," said the man, after another breathless pause;
-"see, they put it by the bed!"
-
-"Draw the curtains, fellow, and don't stand gaping there," whispered
-Montague, sternly.
-
-The man hesitated.
-
-"Hold this, then," said Montague, impatiently, thrusting the candlestick
-into the servant's hand; and himself advancing to the bedside, he drew
-the curtains apart. The light of the candle, which was still burning at
-the bedside, fell upon a figure huddled together, and half upright, at
-the head of the bed. It seemed as though it had shrunk back as far as
-the solid panelling would allow, and the hands were still clutched in
-the bed-clothes.
-
-[Illustration: EXTINGUISHING IN ITS PASSAGE THE CANDLE WHICH MONTAGUE
-CARRIED.]
-
-"Barton, Barton, Barton!" cried the general, with a strange mixture of
-awe and vehemence.
-
-He took the candle, and held it so that it shone full upon his face.
-The features were fixed, stern and white; the jaw was fallen, and the
-sightless eyes, still open, gazed vacantly forward toward the front of
-the bed.
-
-"God Almighty, he's dead!" muttered the general, as he looked upon this
-fearful spectacle. They both continued to gaze upon it in silence for a
-minute or more. "And cold, too," said Montague, withdrawing his hand
-from that of the dead man.
-
-"And see, see; may I never have life, sir," added the man, after another
-pause, with a shudder, "but there was something else on the bed with
-him! Look there--look there; see that, sir!"
-
-As the man thus spoke, he pointed to a deep indenture, as if caused by a
-heavy pressure, near the foot of the bed.
-
-Montague was silent.
-
-"Come, sir, come away, for God's sake!" whispered the man, drawing close
-up to him, and holding fast by his arm, while he glanced fearfully
-round; "what good can be done here now?--come away, for God's sake!"
-
-At this moment they heard the steps of more than one approaching, and
-Montague, hastily desiring the servant to arrest their progress,
-endeavoured to loose the rigid grip with which the fingers of the dead
-man were clutched in the bed-clothes, and drew, as well as he was able,
-the awful figure into a reclining posture. Then closing the curtains
-carefully upon it, he hastened himself to meet those who were
-approaching.
-
-                 *       *       *       *       *
-
-It is needless to follow the personages so slightly connected with this
-narrative into the events of their after lives; it is enough for us to
-remark that no clue to the solution of these mysterious occurrences was
-ever afterwards discovered; and so long an interval having now passed,
-it is scarcely to be expected that time can throw any new light upon
-their inexplicable obscurity. Until the secrets of the earth shall be no
-longer hidden these transactions must remain shrouded in mystery.
-
-The only occurrence in Captain Barton's former life to which reference
-was ever made, as having any possible connection with the sufferings
-with which his existence closed, and which he himself seemed to regard
-as working out a retribution for some grievous sin of his past life, was
-a circumstance which not for several years after his death was brought
-to light. The nature of this disclosure was painful to his relatives and
-discreditable to his memory.
-
-It appeared, then, that some eight years before Captain Barton's final
-return to Dublin, he had formed, in the town of Plymouth, a guilty
-attachment, the object of which was the daughter of one of the ship's
-crew under his command. The father had visited the frailty of his
-unhappy child with extreme harshness, and even brutality, and it was
-said that she had died heart-broken. Presuming upon Barton's implication
-in her guilt, this man had conducted himself towards him with marked
-insolence, and Barton resented this--and what he resented with still
-more exasperated bitterness, his treatment of the unfortunate girl--by
-a systematic exercise of those terrible and arbitrary severities with
-which the regulations of the navy arm those who are responsible for its
-discipline. The man had at length made his escape, while the vessel was
-in port at Lisbon, but died, as it was said, in an hospital in that
-town, of the wounds inflicted in one of his recent and sanguinary
-punishments.
-
-Whether these circumstances in reality bear or not upon the occurrences
-of Barton's after-life, it is of course impossible to say. It seems,
-however, more than probable that they were, at least in his own mind,
-closely associated with them. But however the truth may be as to the
-origin and motives of this mysterious persecution, there can be no
-doubt that, with respect to the agencies by which it was accomplished,
-absolute and impenetrable mystery is like to prevail until the day of
-doom.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess.
-
-
-The following paper is written in a female hand, and was no doubt
-communicated to my much regretted friend by the lady whose early history
-it serves to illustrate, the Countess D----. She is no more--she long
-since died, a childless and a widowed wife, and, as her letter sadly
-predicts, none survive to whom the publication of this narrative can
-prove "injurious, or even painful." Strange! two powerful and wealthy
-families, that in which she was born, and that into which she had
-married, are utterly extinct.
-
-To those who know anything of the history of Irish families, as they
-were less than a century ago, the facts which immediately follow will
-at once suggest the names of the principal actors; and to others
-their publication would be useless--to us, possibly, if not probably
-injurious. I have therefore altered such of the names as might, if
-stated, get us into difficulty; others, belonging to minor characters in
-the strange story, I have left untouched.
-
-                 *       *       *       *       *
-
-MY DEAR FRIEND,--You have asked me to furnish you with a detail of
-the strange events which marked my early history, and I have, without
-hesitation, applied myself to the task, knowing that, while I live, a
-kind consideration for my feelings will prevent you giving publicity to
-the statement; and conscious that, when I am no more, there will not
-survive one to whom the narrative can prove injurious, or even painful.
-
-My mother died when I was quite an infant, and of her I have no
-recollection, even the faintest. By her death, my education and habits
-were left solely to the guidance of my surviving parent; and, so far as
-a stern attention to my religious instruction, and an active anxiety
-evinced by his procuring for me the best masters to perfect me in those
-accomplishments which my station and wealth might seem to require, could
-avail, he amply discharged the task.
-
-My father was what is called an oddity, and his treatment of me, though
-uniformly kind, flowed less from affection and tenderness than from a
-sense of obligation and duty. Indeed, I seldom even spoke to him except
-at meal-times, and then his manner was silent and abrupt; his leisure
-hours, which were many, were passed either in his study or in solitary
-walks; in short, he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness
-or improvement than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own
-duty would seem to claim.
-
-Shortly before my birth, a circumstance had occurred which had
-contributed much to form and to confirm my father's secluded habits--it
-was the fact that a suspicion of murder had fallen upon his younger
-brother, a suspicion not sufficiently definite to lead to an indictment,
-yet strong enough to ruin him in public opinion.
-
-This disgraceful and dreadful doubt cast upon the family name my father
-felt deeply and bitterly, and not the less so that he himself was
-thoroughly convinced of his brother's innocence. The sincerity and
-strength of this impression he shortly afterwards proved in a manner
-which produced the dark events which follow. Before, however, I enter
-upon the statement of them, I ought to relate the circumstances which
-had awakened the suspicion; inasmuch as they are in themselves somewhat
-curious, and, in their effects, most intimately connected with my after
-history.
-
-My uncle, Sir Arthur T----n, was a gay and extravagant man, and,
-among other vices, was ruinously addicted to gaming; this unfortunate
-propensity, even after his fortune had suffered so severely as to render
-inevitable a reduction in his expenses by no means inconsiderable,
-nevertheless continued to actuate him, almost to the exclusion of all
-other pursuits. He was a proud, or rather a vain man, and could not bear
-to make the diminution of his income a matter of gratulation and triumph
-to those with whom he had hitherto competed; and the consequence was
-that he frequented no longer the expensive haunts of dissipation, and
-retired from the gay world, leaving his coterie to discover his reasons
-as best they might.
-
-He did not, however, forego his favourite vice, for, though he could not
-worship his divinity in the costly temples where it was formerly his
-wont to take his stand, yet he found it very possible to bring about him
-a sufficient number of the votaries of chance to answer all his ends.
-The consequence was that Carrickleigh, which was the name of my uncle's
-residence, was never without one or more of such reckless visitors.
-
-It happened that upon one occasion he was visited by one Hugh Tisdall--a
-gentleman of loose habits but of considerable wealth--who had, in early
-youth, travelled with my uncle upon the Continent. The period of his
-visit was winter, and, consequently, the house was nearly deserted
-except by its regular inmates; Mr. Tisdall was therefore highly
-acceptable, particularly as my uncle was aware that his visitor's tastes
-accorded exactly with his own.
-
-Both parties seemed determined to avail themselves of their suitability
-during the brief stay which Mr. Tisdall had promised; the consequence
-was that they shut themselves up in Sir Arthur's private room for nearly
-all the day and the greater part of the night, during the space of
-nearly a week. At the end of this period the servant having one morning,
-as usual, knocked at Mr. Tisdall's bedroom door repeatedly, received no
-answer, and, upon attempting to enter, found that it was locked. This
-appeared suspicious, and the inmates of the house having been alarmed,
-the door was forced open, and, on proceeding to the bed, they found the
-body of its occupant perfectly lifeless, and hanging half-way out, the
-head downwards, and near the floor. One deep wound had been inflicted
-upon the temple, apparently with some blunt instrument, which had
-penetrated the brain; and another blow less effective, probably the
-first aimed, had grazed the head, removing some of the scalp, but
-leaving the skull untouched. The door had been double-locked upon the
-inside, in evidence of which the key still lay where it had been placed
-in the lock.
-
-The window, though not secured on the interior, was closed--a
-circumstance not a little puzzling, as it afforded the only other mode
-of escape from the room; it looked out, too, upon a kind of courtyard,
-round which the old buildings stood, formerly accessible by a narrow
-doorway and passage lying in the oldest side of the quadrangle, but
-which had since been built up, so as to preclude all ingress or egress.
-The room was also upon the second story, and the height of the window
-considerable. Near the bed were found a pair of razors belonging to the
-murdered man, one of them upon the ground and both of them open. The
-weapon which had inflicted the mortal wound was not to be found in
-the room, nor were any footsteps or other traces of the murderer
-discoverable.
-
-At the suggestion of Sir Arthur himself, a coroner was instantly
-summoned to attend, and an inquest was held; nothing, however, in any
-degree conclusive was elicited. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the
-room were carefully examined, in order to ascertain whether they
-contained a trap-door or other concealed mode of entrance--but no such
-thing appeared.
-
-Such was the minuteness of investigation employed that although the
-grate had contained a large fire during the night, they proceeded to
-examine even the very chimney, in order to discover whether escape
-by it were possible; but this attempt, too, was fruitless, for the
-chimney, built in the old fashion, rose in a perfectly perpendicular
-line from the hearth to a height of nearly fourteen feet above the roof,
-affording in its interior scarcely the possibility of ascent, the flue
-being smoothly plastered, and sloping towards the top like an inverted
-funnel. Even if the summit of the chimney were attained, it promised,
-owing to its great height, but a precarious descent upon the sharp and
-steep-ridged roof. The ashes, too, which lay in the grate, and the soot,
-as far as it could be seen, were undisturbed, a circumstance almost
-conclusive.
-
-Sir Arthur was of course examined; his evidence was given with a
-clearness and unreserve which seemed calculated to silence all
-suspicion. He stated that up to the day and night immediately preceding
-the catastrophe, he had lost to a heavy amount, but that, at their last
-sitting, he had not only won back his original loss, but upwards of
-four thousand pounds in addition; in evidence of which he produced
-an acknowledgment of debt to that amount in the handwriting of the
-deceased, and bearing the date of the fatal night. He had mentioned the
-circumstance to his lady, and in presence of some of the domestics;
-which statement was supported by their respective evidence.
-
-One of the jury shrewdly observed that the circumstance of Mr. Tisdall's
-having sustained so heavy a loss might have suggested to some
-ill-minded persons, accidentally hearing it, the plan of robbing him,
-after having murdered him, in such a manner as might make it appear that
-he had committed suicide; a supposition which was strongly supported by
-the razors having been found thus displaced, and removed from their
-case. Two persons had probably been engaged in the attempt, one watching
-by the sleeping man, and ready to strike him in case of his awakening
-suddenly, while the other was procuring the razors and employed in
-inflicting the fatal gash, so as to make it appear to have been the act
-of the murdered man himself. It was said that while the juror was making
-this suggestion Sir Arthur changed colour.
-
-Nothing, however, like legal evidence appeared against him, and the
-consequence was that the verdict was found against a person or persons
-unknown; and for some time the matter was suffered to rest, until, after
-about five months, my father received a letter from a person signing
-himself Andrew Collis, and representing himself to be the cousin of the
-deceased. This letter stated that Sir Arthur was likely to incur not
-merely suspicion, but personal risk, unless he could account for certain
-circumstances connected with the recent murder, and contained a copy of
-a letter written by the deceased, and bearing date--the day of the
-week, and of the month--upon the night the deed of blood had been
-perpetrated. Tisdall's note ran as follows:--
-
-
-"DEAR COLLIS,--I have had sharp work with Sir Arthur; he tried some of
-his stale tricks, but soon found that _I_ was Yorkshire too; it would
-not do--you understand me. We went to the work like good ones, head,
-heart and soul; and, in fact, since I came here, I have lost no time.
-I am rather fagged, but I am sure to be well paid for my hardship; I
-never want sleep so long as I can have the music of a dice-box, and
-wherewithal to pay the piper. As I told you, he tried some of his queer
-turns, but I foiled him like a man, and, in return, gave him more than
-he could relish of the genuine _dead knowledge_.
-
-"In short, I have plucked the old baronet as never baronet was plucked
-before; I have scarce left him the stump of a quill; I have got
-promissory notes in his hand to the amount of--if you like round
-numbers, say, thirty thousand pounds, safely deposited in my portable
-strong-box, _alias_ double-clasped pocket-book. I leave this ruinous old
-rat-hole early on to-morrow, for two reasons--first, I do not want to
-play with Sir Arthur deeper than I think his security, that is, his
-money, or his money's worth, would warrant; and, secondly, because I am
-safer a hundred miles from Sir Arthur than in the house with him. Look
-you, my worthy, I tell you this between ourselves--I may be wrong, but,
-by G----, I am as sure as that I am now living, that Sir A---- attempted
-to poison me last night. So much for old friendship on both sides!
-
-"When I won the last stake, a heavy one enough, my friend leant his
-forehead upon his hands, and you'll laugh when I tell you that his
-head literally smoked like a hot dumpling. I do not know whether his
-agitation was produced by the plan which he had against me, or by his
-having lost so heavily--though it must be allowed that he had reason to
-be a little funked, whichever way his thoughts went; but he pulled
-the bell, and ordered two bottles of champagne. While the fellow was
-bringing them he drew out a promissory note to the full amount, which he
-signed, and, as the man came in with the bottles and glasses, he desired
-him to be off; he filled out a glass for me, and, while he thought my
-eyes were off, for I was putting up his note at the time, he dropped
-something slyly into it, no doubt to sweeten it; but I saw it all, and
-when he handed it to me, I said, with an emphasis which he might or
-might not understand:
-
-"'There is some sediment in this; I'll not drink it.'
-
-"'Is there?' said he, and at the same time snatched it from my hand and
-threw it into the fire. What do you think of that? have I not a tender
-chicken to manage? Win or lose, I will not play beyond five thousand
-to-night, and to-morrow sees me safe out of the reach of Sir Arthur's
-champagne. So, all things considered, I think you must allow that you
-are not the last who have found a knowing boy in
-
-    "Yours to command,
-      "HUGH TISDALL."
-
-
-Of the authenticity of this document I never heard my father express a
-doubt; and I am satisfied that, owing to his strong conviction in favour
-of his brother, he would not have admitted it without sufficient
-inquiry, inasmuch as it tended to confirm the suspicions which already
-existed to his prejudice.
-
-Now, the only point in this letter which made strongly against my
-uncle was the mention of the "double-clasped pocket-book" as the
-receptacle of the papers likely to involve him, for this pocket-book
-was not forthcoming, nor anywhere to be found, nor had any papers
-referring to his gaming transactions been found upon the dead man.
-However, whatever might have been the original intention of this
-Collis, neither my uncle nor my father ever heard more of him; but he
-published the letter in Faulkner's Newspaper, which was shortly
-afterwards made the vehicle of a much more mysterious attack. The
-passage in that periodical to which I allude appeared about four years
-afterwards, and while the fatal occurrence was still fresh in public
-recollection. It commenced by a rambling preface, stating that "a
-_certain person_ whom _certain_ persons thought to be dead, was not
-so, but living, and in full possession of his memory, and moreover
-ready and able to make _great_ delinquents tremble." It then went on
-to describe the murder, without, however, mentioning names; and in
-doing so, it entered into minute and circumstantial particulars of
-which none but an _eye-witness_ could have been possessed, and by
-implications almost too unequivocal to be regarded in the light of
-insinuation, to involve the "_titled gambler_" in the guilt of the
-transaction.
-
-My father at once urged Sir Arthur to proceed against the paper in an
-action of libel; but he would not hear of it, nor consent to my father's
-taking any legal steps whatever in the matter. My father, however, wrote
-in a threatening tone to Faulkner, demanding a surrender of the author
-of the obnoxious article. The answer to this application is still in
-my possession, and is penned in an apologetic tone: it states that
-the manuscript had been handed in, paid for, and inserted as an
-advertisement, without sufficient inquiry, or any knowledge as to whom
-it referred.
-
-No step, however, was taken to clear my uncle's character in the
-judgment of the public; and as he immediately sold a small property,
-the application of the proceeds of which was known to none, he was said
-to have disposed of it to enable himself to buy off the threatened
-information. However the truth might have been, it is certain that no
-charges respecting the mysterious murder were afterwards publicly made
-against my uncle, and, as far as external disturbances were concerned,
-he enjoyed henceforward perfect security and quiet.
-
-A deep and lasting impression, however, had been made upon the public
-mind, and Sir Arthur T----n was no longer visited or noticed by the
-gentry and aristocracy of the county, whose attention and courtesies
-he had hitherto received. He accordingly affected to despise these
-enjoyments which he could not procure, and shunned even that society
-which he might have commanded.
-
-This is all that I need recapitulate of my uncle's history, and I now
-recur to my own. Although my father had never, within my recollection,
-visited, or been visited by, my uncle, each being of sedentary,
-procrastinating, and secluded habits, and their respective residences
-being very far apart--the one lying in the county of Galway, the other
-in that of Cork--he was strongly attached to his brother, and evinced
-his affection by an active correspondence, and by deeply and proudly
-resenting that neglect which had marked Sir Arthur as unfit to mix in
-society.
-
-When I was about eighteen years of age, my father, whose health had been
-gradually declining, died, leaving me in heart wretched and desolate,
-and, owing to his previous seclusion, with few acquaintances, and almost
-no friends.
-
-The provisions of his will were curious, and when I had sufficiently
-come to myself to listen to or comprehend them, surprised me not a
-little: all his vast property was left to me, and to the heirs of my
-body, for ever; and, in default of such heirs, it was to go after my
-death to my uncle, Sir Arthur, without any entail.
-
-At the same time, the will appointed him my guardian, desiring that I
-might be received within his house, and reside with his family, and
-under his care, during the term of my minority; and in consideration of
-the increased expense consequent upon such an arrangement, a handsome
-annuity was allotted to him during the term of my proposed residence.
-
-The object of this last provision I at once understood: my father
-desired, by making it the direct, apparent interest of Sir Arthur that
-I should die without issue, while at the same time placing me wholly
-in his power, to prove to the world how great and unshaken was his
-confidence in his brother's innocence and honour, and also to afford
-him an opportunity of showing that this mark of confidence was not
-unworthily bestowed.
-
-It was a strange, perhaps an idle scheme; but as I had been always
-brought up in the habit of considering my uncle as a deeply-injured man,
-and had been taught, almost as a part of my religion, to regard him as
-the very soul of honour, I felt no further uneasiness respecting the
-arrangement than that likely to result to a timid girl of secluded
-habits from the immediate prospect of taking up her abode for the first
-time in her life among total strangers. Previous to leaving my home,
-which I felt I should do with a heavy heart, I received a most tender
-and affectionate letter from my uncle, calculated, if anything could do
-so, to remove the bitterness of parting from scenes familiar and dear
-from my earliest childhood, and in some degree to reconcile me to the
-change.
-
-It was during a fine autumn that I approached the old domain of
-Carrickleigh. I shall not soon forget the impression of sadness and of
-gloom which all that I saw produced upon my mind; the sunbeams were
-falling with a rich and melancholy tint upon the fine old trees, which
-stood in lordly groups, casting their long, sweeping shadows over rock
-and sward. There was an air of desolation and decay about the spot,
-which amounted almost to desolation; the symptoms of this increased in
-number as we approached the building itself, near which the ground
-had been originally more artificially and carefully cultivated than
-elsewhere, and the neglect consequently more immediately and strikingly
-betrayed itself.
-
-As we proceeded, the road wound near the beds of what had been formerly
-two fish-ponds--now nothing more than stagnant swamps, overgrown with
-rank weeds, and here and there encroached upon by the straggling
-underwood. The avenue itself was much broken, and in many places the
-stones were almost concealed by grass and nettles; the loose stone
-walls which had here and there intersected the broad park were, in
-many places, broken down, so as no longer to answer their original
-purpose as fences; piers were now and then to be seen, but the gates
-were gone. And, to add to the general air of dilapidation, some huge
-trunks were lying scattered through the venerable old trees, either
-the work of the winter storms, or perhaps the victims of some extensive
-but desultory scheme of denudation, which the projector had not capital
-or perseverance to carry into full effect.
-
-After the carriage had travelled a mile of this avenue, we reached the
-summit of rather an abrupt eminence, one of the many which added to the
-picturesqueness, if not to the convenience of this rude passage. From
-the top of this ridge the grey walls of Carrickleigh were visible,
-rising at a small distance in front, and darkened by the hoary
-wood which crowded around them. It was a quadrangular building of
-considerable extent, and the front which lay towards us, and in which
-the great entrance was placed, bore unequivocal marks of antiquity; the
-time-worn, solemn aspect of the old building, the ruinous and deserted
-appearance of the whole place, and the associations which connected
-it with a dark page in the history of my family, combined to depress
-spirits already predisposed for the reception of sombre and dejecting
-impressions.
-
-When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown courtyard before the hall
-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well accorded with that of
-the place which they tenanted, alarmed by the obstreperous barking of a
-great chained dog, ran out from some half-ruinous out-houses, and took
-charge of the horses; the hall door stood open, and I entered a gloomy
-and imperfectly lighted apartment, and found no one within. However, I
-had not long to wait in this awkward predicament, for before my luggage
-had been deposited in the house--indeed, before I had well removed my
-cloak and other wraps, so as to enable me to look around--a young girl
-ran lightly into the hall, and kissing me heartily, and somewhat
-boisterously, exclaimed:
-
-"My dear cousin, my dear Margaret, I am so delighted, so out of breath.
-We did not expect you till ten o'clock; my father is somewhere about the
-place; he must be close at hand. James, Corney--run out and tell your
-master--my brother is seldom at home, at least at any reasonable
-hour--you must be so tired, so fatigued, let me show you to your room.
-See that Lady Margaret's luggage is all brought up, you must lie down
-and rest yourself. Deborah, bring some coffee-- Up these stairs! We are
-so delighted to see you, you cannot think how lonely I have been. How
-steep these stairs are, are they not? I am so glad you are come; I could
-hardly bring myself to believe that you were really coming; how good of
-you, dear Lady Margaret."
-
-There was real good nature and delight in my cousin's greeting, and a
-kind of constitutional confidence of manner which placed me at once at
-ease, and made me feel immediately upon terms of intimacy with her. The
-room into which she ushered me, although partaking in the general air of
-decay which pervaded the mansion and all about it, had nevertheless been
-fitted up with evident attention to comfort, and even with some dingy
-attempt at luxury; but what pleased me most was that it opened, by a
-second door, upon a lobby which communicated with my fair cousin's
-apartment; a circumstance which divested the room, in my eyes, of the
-air of solitude and sadness which would otherwise have characterized
-it, to a degree almost painful to one so dejected in spirits as I was.
-
-After such arrangements as I found necessary were completed, we both
-went down to the parlour, a large wainscoted room, hung round with grim
-old portraits, and, as I was not sorry to see, containing in its ample
-grate a large and cheerful fire. Here my cousin had leisure to talk more
-at ease; and from her I learned something of the manners and the habits
-of the two remaining members of her family, whom I had not yet seen.
-
-On my arrival I had known nothing of the family among whom I was come
-to reside, except that it consisted of three individuals, my uncle,
-and his son and daughter, Lady T----n having been long dead. In
-addition to this very scanty stock of information, I shortly learned
-from my communicative companion that my uncle was, as I had suspected,
-completely reserved in his habits, and besides that, having been
-so far back as she could well recollect, always rather strict (as
-reformed rakes frequently become), he had latterly been growing more
-gloomily and sternly religious than heretofore.
-
-Her account of her brother was far less favourable, though she did not
-say anything directly to his disadvantage. From all that I could gather
-from her, I was led to suppose that he was a specimen of the idle,
-coarse-mannered, profligate, low-minded "squire-archy"--a result which
-might naturally have flowed from the circumstance of his being, as it
-were, outlawed from society, and driven for companionship to grades
-below his own; enjoying, too, the dangerous prerogative of spending much
-money.
-
-However, you may easily suppose that I found nothing in my cousin's
-communication fully to bear me out in so very decided a conclusion.
-
-I awaited the arrival of my uncle, which was every moment to be
-expected, with feelings half of alarm, half of curiosity--a sensation
-which I have often since experienced, though to a less degree, when upon
-the point of standing for the first time in the presence of one of whom
-I have long been in the habit of hearing or thinking with interest.
-
-It was, therefore, with some little perturbation that I heard, first a
-light bustle at the outer door, then a slow step traverse the hall, and
-finally witnessed the door open, and my uncle enter the room. He was a
-striking-looking man; from peculiarities both of person and of garb, the
-whole effect of his appearance amounted to extreme singularity. He was
-tall, and when young his figure must have been strikingly elegant; as it
-was, however, its effect was marred by a very decided stoop. His dress
-was of a sober colour, and in fashion anterior to anything which I could
-remember. It was, however, handsome, and by no means carelessly put on.
-But what completed the singularity of his appearance was his uncut
-white hair, which hung in long, but not at all neglected curls, even
-so far as his shoulders, and which combined with his regularly classic
-features and fine dark eyes, to bestow upon him an air of venerable
-dignity and pride which I have never seen equalled elsewhere. I rose as
-he entered, and met him about the middle of the room; he kissed my cheek
-and both my hands, saying:
-
-"You are most welcome, dear child, as welcome as the command of this
-poor place and all that it contains can make you. I am most rejoiced to
-see you--truly rejoiced. I trust that you are not much fatigued--pray
-be seated again." He led me to my chair, and continued: "I am glad to
-perceive you have made acquaintance with Emily already; I see, in your
-being thus brought together, the foundation of a lasting friendship. You
-are both innocent, and both young. God bless you--God bless you, and
-make you all that I could wish!"
-
-[Illustration: I ROSE AS HE ENTERED.]
-
-He raised his eyes, and remained for a few moments silent, as if in
-secret prayer. I felt that it was impossible that this man, with
-feelings so quick, so warm, so tender, could be the wretch that public
-opinion had represented him to be. I was more than ever convinced of his
-innocence.
-
-His manner was, or appeared to me, most fascinating; there was a mingled
-kindness and courtesy in it which seemed to speak benevolence itself. It
-was a manner which I felt cold art could never have taught; it owed most
-of its charm to its appearing to emanate directly from the heart; it
-must be a genuine index of the owner's mind. So I thought.
-
-My uncle having given me fully to understand that I was most welcome,
-and might command whatever was his own, pressed me to take some
-refreshment; and on my refusing, he observed that previously to bidding
-me good-night, he had one duty further to perform, one in whose
-observance he was convinced I would cheerfully acquiesce.
-
-He then proceeded to read a chapter from the Bible; after which he took
-his leave with the same affectionate kindness with which he had greeted
-me, having repeated his desire that I should consider everything in his
-house as altogether at my disposal. It is needless to say that I was
-much pleased with my uncle--it was impossible to avoid being so; and I
-could not help saying to myself, if such a man as this is not safe from
-the assaults of slander, who is? I felt much happier than I had done
-since my father's death, and enjoyed that night the first refreshing
-sleep which had visited me since that event.
-
-My curiosity respecting my male cousin did not long remain
-unsatisfied--he appeared the next day at dinner. His manners, though not
-so coarse as I had expected, were exceedingly disagreeable; there was an
-assurance and a forwardness for which I was not prepared; there was less
-of the vulgarity of manner, and almost more of that of the mind, than I
-had anticipated. I felt quite uncomfortable in his presence; there was
-just that confidence in his look and tone which would read encouragement
-even in mere toleration; and I felt more disgusted and annoyed at the
-coarse and extravagant compliments which he was pleased from time to
-time to pay me, than perhaps the extent of the atrocity might fully
-have warranted. It was, however, one consolation that he did not often
-appear, being much engrossed by pursuits about which I neither knew nor
-cared anything; but when he did appear, his attentions, either with
-a view to his amusement or to some more serious advantage, were so
-obviously and perseveringly directed to me, that young and inexperienced
-as I was, even _I_ could not be ignorant of his preference. I felt more
-provoked by this odious persecution than I can express, and discouraged
-him with so much vigour, that I employed even rudeness to convince him
-his assiduities were unwelcome; but all in vain.
-
-This had gone on for nearly a twelvemonth, to my infinite annoyance,
-when one day as I was sitting at some needlework with my companion
-Emily, as was my habit, in the parlour, the door opened, and my cousin
-Edward entered the room. There was something, I thought, odd in his
-manner; a kind of struggle between shame and impudence--a kind of flurry
-and ambiguity which made him appear, if possible, more than ordinarily
-disagreeable.
-
-"Your servant, ladies," he said, seating himself at the same time;
-"sorry to spoil your _tête-à-tête_, but never mind! I'll only take
-Emily's place for a minute or two; and then we part for a while,
-fair cousin. Emily, my father wants you in the corner turret. No
-shilly-shally; he's in a hurry." She hesitated. "Be off--tramp, march!"
-he exclaimed, in a tone which the poor girl dared not disobey.
-
-She left the room, and Edward followed her to the door. He stood there
-for a minute or two, as if reflecting what he should say, perhaps
-satisfying himself that no one was within hearing in the hall.
-
-At length he turned about, having closed the door, as if carelessly,
-with his foot; and advancing slowly, as if in deep thought, he took his
-seat at the side of the table opposite to mine.
-
-There was a brief interval of silence, after which he said:
-
-"I imagine that you have a shrewd suspicion of the object of my early
-visit; but I suppose I must go into particulars. Must I?"
-
-"I have no conception," I replied, "what your object may be."
-
-"Well, well," said he, becoming more at his ease as he proceeded,
-"it may be told in a few words. You know that it is totally
-impossible--quite out of the question--that an off-hand young fellow
-like me, and a good-looking girl like yourself, could meet continually,
-as you and I have done, without an attachment--a liking growing up on
-one side or other; in short, I think I have let you know as plain as if
-I spoke it, that I have been in love with you almost from the first time
-I saw you."
-
-He paused; but I was too much horrified to speak. He interpreted my
-silence favourably.
-
-"I can tell you," he continued, "I'm reckoned rather hard to please, and
-very hard to _hit_. I can't say when I was taken with a girl before; so
-you see fortune reserved me----"
-
-Here the odious wretch wound his arm round my waist. The action at
-once restored me to utterance, and with the most indignant vehemence I
-released myself from his hold, and at the same time said:
-
-"I have not been insensible, sir, of your most disagreeable
-attentions--they have long been a source of much annoyance to me; and
-you must be aware that I have marked my disapprobation--my disgust--as
-unequivocally as I possibly could, without actual indelicacy."
-
-I paused, almost out of breath from the rapidity with which I had
-spoken; and, without giving him time to renew the conversation, I
-hastily quitted the room, leaving him in a paroxysm of rage and
-mortification.
-
-As I ascended the stairs, I heard him open the parlour-door with
-violence, and take two or three rapid strides in the direction in which
-I was moving. I was now much frightened, and ran the whole way until I
-reached my room; and having locked the door, I listened breathlessly,
-but heard no sound. This relieved me for the present; but so much had
-I been overcome by the agitation and annoyance attendant upon the scene
-which I had just gone through, that when Emily knocked at my door, I was
-weeping in strong hysterics.
-
-[Illustration: LEAVING HIM IN A PAROXYSM OF RAGE AND MORTIFICATION.]
-
-You will readily conceive my distress, when you reflect upon my strong
-dislike to my cousin Edward, combined with my youth and extreme
-inexperience. Any proposal of such a nature must have agitated me; but
-that it should have come from the man whom of all others I most loathed
-and abhorred, and to whom I had, as clearly as manner could do it,
-expressed the state of my feelings, was almost too overwhelming to be
-borne. It was a calamity, too, in which I could not claim the sympathy
-of my cousin Emily, which had always been extended to me in my minor
-grievances. Still I hoped that it might not be unattended with good; for
-I thought that one inevitable and most welcome consequence would result
-from this painful _eclaircissement_, in the discontinuance of my
-cousin's odious persecution.
-
-When I arose next morning, it was with the fervent hope that I might
-never again behold the face, or even hear the name, of my cousin Edward;
-but such a consummation, though devoutly to be wished, was hardly likely
-to occur. The painful impressions of yesterday were too vivid to be at
-once erased; and I could not help feeling some dim foreboding of coming
-annoyance and evil.
-
-To expect on my suitor's part anything like delicacy or consideration
-for me was out of the question. I saw that he had set his heart upon
-my property, and that he was not likely easily to forego such an
-acquisition--possessing what might have been considered opportunities
-and facilities almost to compel my compliance.
-
-I now keenly felt the unreasonableness of my father's conduct in placing
-me to reside with a family of all whose members, with one exception,
-he was wholly ignorant, and I bitterly felt the helplessness of my
-situation. I determined, however, in case of my cousin's persevering in
-his addresses, to lay all the particulars before my uncle (although
-he had never in kindness or intimacy gone a step beyond our first
-interview), and to throw myself upon his hospitality and his sense of
-honour for protection against a repetition of such scenes.
-
-My cousin's conduct may appear to have been an inadequate cause for
-such serious uneasiness; but my alarm was caused neither by his acts
-nor words, but entirely by his manner, which was strange and even
-intimidating to excess. At the beginning of yesterday's interview there
-was a sort of bullying swagger in his air, which towards the close gave
-place to the brutal vehemence of an undisguised ruffian--a transition
-which had tempted me into a belief that he might seek even forcibly
-to extort from me a consent to his wishes, or by means still more
-horrible, of which I scarcely dared to trust myself to think, to possess
-himself of my property.
-
-I was early next day summoned to attend my uncle in his private room,
-which lay in a corner turret of the old building; and thither I
-accordingly went, wondering all the way what this unusual measure might
-prelude. When I entered the room, he did not rise in his usual courteous
-way to greet me, but simply pointed to a chair opposite to his own. This
-boded nothing agreeable. I sat down, however, silently waiting until he
-should open the conversation.
-
-"Lady Margaret," at length he said, in a tone of greater sternness than
-I had thought him capable of using, "I have hitherto spoken to you as a
-friend, but I have not forgotten that I am also your guardian, and that
-my authority as such gives me a right to control your conduct. I shall
-put a question to you, and I expect and will demand a plain, direct
-answer. Have I rightly been informed that you have contemptuously
-rejected the suit and hand of my son Edward?"
-
-I stammered forth with a good deal of trepidation:
-
-"I believe--that is, I have, sir, rejected my cousin's proposals; and my
-coldness and discouragement might have convinced him that I had
-determined to do so."
-
-"Madam," replied he, with suppressed, but, as it appeared to me,
-intense anger, "I have lived long enough to know that coldness and
-discouragement, and such terms, form the common cant of a worthless
-coquette. You know to the full, as well as I, that _coldness and
-discouragement_ may be so exhibited as to convince their object that he
-is neither distasteful nor indifferent to the person who wears this
-manner. You know, too, none better, that an affected neglect, when
-skilfully managed, is amongst the most formidable of the engines which
-artful beauty can employ. I tell you, madam, that having, without one
-word spoken in discouragement, permitted my son's most marked attentions
-for a twelvemonth or more, you have no right to dismiss him with no
-further explanation than demurely telling him that you had always looked
-coldly upon him; and neither your wealth nor your _ladyship_" (there was
-an emphasis of scorn on the word, which would have become Sir Giles
-Overreach himself) "can warrant you in treating with contempt the
-affectionate regard of an honest heart."
-
-I was too much shocked at this undisguised attempt to bully me into an
-acquiescence in the interested and unprincipled plan for their own
-aggrandizement, which I now perceived my uncle and his son to have
-deliberately entered into, at once to find strength or collectedness to
-frame an answer to what he had said. At length I replied, with some
-firmness:
-
-"In all that you have just now said, sir, you have grossly misstated my
-conduct and motives. Your information must have been most incorrect as
-far as it regards my conduct towards my cousin; my manner towards him
-could have conveyed nothing but dislike; and if anything could have
-added to the strong aversion which I have long felt towards him, it
-would be his attempting thus to trick and frighten me into a marriage
-which he knows to be revolting to me, and which is sought by him only as
-a means for securing to himself whatever property is mine."
-
-As I said this, I fixed my eyes upon those of my uncle, but he was too
-old in the world's ways to falter beneath the gaze of more searching
-eyes than mine; he simply said:
-
-"Are you acquainted with the provisions of your father's will?"
-
-I answered in the affirmative; and he continued:
-
-"Then you must be aware that if my son Edward were--which God
-forbid--the unprincipled, reckless man you pretend to think him"--(here
-he spoke very slowly, as if he intended that every word which escaped
-him should be registered in my memory, while at the same time the
-expression of his countenance underwent a gradual but horrible change,
-and the eyes which he fixed upon me became so darkly vivid, that I
-almost lost sight of everything else)--"if he were what you have
-described him, think you, girl, he could find no briefer means than
-wedding contracts to gain his ends? 'twas but to gripe your slender neck
-until the breath had stopped, and lands, and lakes, and all were his."
-
-[Illustration: "TWAS BUT TO GRIPE YOUR SLENDER NECK UNTIL THE BREATH HAD
-STOPPED."]
-
-I stood staring at him for many minutes after he had ceased to speak,
-fascinated by the terrible serpent-like gaze, until he continued with a
-welcome change of countenance:
-
-"I will not speak again to you upon this topic until one month has
-passed. You shall have time to consider the relative advantages of the
-two courses which are open to you. I should be sorry to hurry you to
-a decision. I am satisfied with having stated my feelings upon the
-subject, and pointed out to you the path of duty. Remember this day
-month--not one word sooner."
-
-He then rose, and I left the room, much agitated and exhausted.
-
-This interview, all the circumstances attending it, but most
-particularly the formidable expression of my uncle's countenance while
-he talked, though hypothetically, of murder, combined to arouse all my
-worst suspicions of him. I dreaded to look upon the face that had so
-recently worn the appalling livery of guilt and malignity. I regarded it
-with the mingled fear and loathing with which one looks upon an object
-which has tortured them in a nightmare.
-
-In a few days after the interview, the particulars of which I have just
-related, I found a note upon my toilet-table, and on opening it I read
-as follows:
-
-
-"MY DEAR LADY MARGARET,
-
-"You will be perhaps surprised to see a strange face in your room
-to-day. I have dismissed your Irish maid, and secured a French one to
-wait upon you--a step rendered necessary by my proposing shortly to
-visit the Continent, with all my family.
-
-    "Your faithful guardian,
-      "ARTHUR T----N."
-
-
-On inquiry, I found that my faithful attendant was actually gone, and
-far on her way to the town of Galway; and in her stead there appeared
-a tall, raw-boned, ill-looking, elderly Frenchwoman, whose sullen and
-presuming manners seemed to imply that her vocation had never before
-been that of a lady's maid. I could not help regarding her as a creature
-of my uncle's, and therefore to be dreaded, even had she been in no
-other way suspicious.
-
-Days and weeks passed away without any, even a momentary doubt upon my
-part, as to the course to be pursued by me. The allotted period had at
-length elapsed; the day arrived on which I was to communicate my
-decision to my uncle. Although my resolution had never for a moment
-wavered, I could not shake off the dread of the approaching colloquy;
-and my heart sank within me as I heard the expected summons.
-
-I had not seen my cousin Edward since the occurrence of the grand
-_eclaircissement_; he must have studiously avoided me--I suppose from
-policy, it could not have been from delicacy. I was prepared for a
-terrific burst of fury from my uncle, as soon as I should make known my
-determination; and I not unreasonably feared that some act of violence
-or of intimidation would next be resorted to.
-
-Filled with these dreary forebodings, I fearfully opened the study door,
-and the next minute I stood in my uncle's presence. He received me with
-a politeness which I dreaded, as arguing a favourable anticipation
-respecting the answer which I was to give; and after some slight delay,
-he began by saying:
-
-"It will be a relief to both of us, I believe, to bring this
-conversation as soon as possible to an issue. You will excuse me, then,
-my dear niece, for speaking with an abruptness which, under other
-circumstances, would be unpardonable. You have, I am certain, given the
-subject of our last interview fair and serious consideration; and I
-trust that you are now prepared with candour to lay your answer before
-me. A few words will suffice--we perfectly understand one another."
-
-He paused, and I, though feeling that I stood upon a mine which might in
-an instant explode, nevertheless answered with perfect composure:
-
-"I must now, sir, make the same reply which I did upon the last
-occasion, and I reiterate the declaration which I then made, that I
-never can nor will, while life and reason remain, consent to a union
-with my cousin Edward."
-
-This announcement wrought no apparent change in Sir Arthur, except that
-he became deadly, almost lividly pale. He seemed lost in dark thought
-for a minute, and then with a slight effort said:
-
-"You have answered me honestly and directly; and you say your
-resolution is unchangeable. Well, would it had been otherwise--would it
-had been otherwise; but be it as it is, I am satisfied."
-
-He gave me his hand--it was cold and damp as death; under an assumed
-calmness, it was evident that he was fearfully agitated. He continued
-to hold my hand with an almost painful pressure, while, as if
-unconsciously, seeming to forget my presence, he muttered:
-
-"Strange, strange, strange, indeed! fatuity, helpless fatuity!" there
-was here a long pause. "Madness indeed to strain a cable that is rotten
-to the very heart--it must break--and then--all goes."
-
-There was again a pause of some minutes, after which, suddenly changing
-his voice and manner to one of wakeful alacrity, he exclaimed:
-
-"Margaret, my son Edward shall plague you no more. He leaves this
-country on to-morrow for France--he shall speak no more upon this
-subject--never, never more--whatever events depended upon your answer
-must now take their own course; but, as for this fruitless proposal, it
-has been tried enough; it can be repeated no more."
-
-At these words he coldly suffered my hand to drop, as if to express
-his total abandonment of all his projected schemes of alliance; and
-certainly the action, with the accompanying words, produced upon my mind
-a more solemn and depressing effect than I believed possible to have
-been caused by the course which I had determined to pursue; it struck
-upon my heart with an awe and heaviness which _will_ accompany the
-accomplishment of an important and irrevocable act, even though no doubt
-or scruple remains to make it possible that the agent should wish it
-undone.
-
-"Well," said my uncle, after a little time, "we now cease to speak upon
-this topic, never to resume it again. Remember you shall have no further
-uneasiness from Edward; he leaves Ireland for France on to-morrow; this
-will be a relief to you. May I depend upon your honour that no word
-touching the subject of this interview shall ever escape you?"
-
-I gave him the desired assurance; he said:
-
-"It is well--I am satisfied; we have nothing more, I believe, to say
-upon either side, and my presence must be a restraint upon you, I shall
-therefore bid you farewell."
-
-I then left the apartment, scarcely knowing what to think of the strange
-interview which had just taken place.
-
-On the next day my uncle took occasion to tell me that Edward had
-actually sailed, if his intention had not been interfered with by
-adverse circumstances; and two days subsequently he actually produced a
-letter from his son, written, as it said, on board, and despatched while
-the ship was getting under weigh. This was a great satisfaction to me
-and as being likely to prove so, it was no doubt communicated to me by
-Sir Arthur.
-
-During all this trying period, I had found infinite consolation in the
-society and sympathy of my dear cousin Emily. I never in after-life
-formed a friendship so close, so fervent, and upon which, in all its
-progress, I could look back with feelings of such unalloyed pleasure,
-upon whose termination I must ever dwell with so deep, yet so
-unembittered regret. In cheerful converse with her I soon recovered my
-spirits considerably, and passed my time agreeably enough, although
-still in the strictest seclusion.
-
-Matters went on sufficiently smooth, although I could not help sometimes
-feeling a momentary, but horrible uncertainty respecting my uncle's
-character; which was not altogether unwarranted by the circumstances of
-the two trying interviews whose particulars I have just detailed. The
-unpleasant impression which these conferences were calculated to leave
-upon my mind was fast wearing away, when there occurred a circumstance,
-slight indeed in itself, but calculated irresistibly to awaken all my
-worst suspicions, and to overwhelm me again with anxiety and terror.
-
-I had one day left the house with my cousin Emily, in order to take a
-ramble of considerable length, for the purpose of sketching some
-favourite views, and she had walked about half a mile, when I perceived
-that we had forgotten our drawing materials, the absence of which
-would have defeated the object of our walk. Laughing at our own
-thoughtlessness, we returned to the house, and leaving Emily without, I
-ran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils, which lay in my
-bedroom.
-
-As I ran up the stairs I was met by the tall, ill-looking Frenchwoman,
-evidently a good deal flurried.
-
-"Que veut, madame?" said she, with a more decided effort to be polite
-than I had ever known her make before.
-
-"No, no--no matter," said I, hastily running by her in the direction of
-my room.
-
-"Madame," cried she, in a high key, "restez ici, s'il vous plait; votre
-chambre n'est pas faite--your room is not ready for your reception yet."
-
-I continued to move on without heeding her. She was some way behind me,
-and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance, for I was
-now upon the very lobby, she made a desperate attempt to seize hold of
-my person: she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl, which she drew
-from my shoulders; but slipping at the same time upon the polished oak
-floor, she fell at full length upon the boards.
-
-A little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange
-woman, I hastily pushed open the door of my room, at which I now stood,
-in order to escape from her; but great was my amazement on entering to
-find the apartment occupied.
-
-The window was open, and beside it stood two male figures; they appeared
-to be examining the fastenings of the casement, and their backs were
-turned towards the door. One of them was my uncle; they both turned on
-my entrance, as if startled. The stranger was booted and cloaked, and
-wore a heavy broad-leafed hat over his brows. He turned but for a
-moment, and averted his face; but I had seen enough to convince me that
-he was no other than my cousin Edward. My uncle had some iron instrument
-in his hand, which he hastily concealed behind his back; and, coming
-towards me, said something as if in an explanatory tone; but I was too
-much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be. He said
-something about "repairs--window-frames--cold, and safety."
-
-I did not wait, however, to ask or to receive explanations, but hastily
-left the room. As I went down the stairs I thought I heard the voice of
-the French woman in all the shrill volubility of excuse, which was met,
-however, by suppressed but vehement imprecations, or what seemed to me
-to be such, in which the voice of my cousin Edward distinctly mingled.
-
-I joined my cousin Emily quite out of breath. I need not say that my
-head was too full of other things to think much of drawing for that day.
-I imparted to her frankly the cause of my alarms, but at the same time
-as gently as I could; and with tears she promised vigilance, and
-devotion, and love. I never had reason for a moment to repent the
-unreserved confidence which I then reposed in her. She was no less
-surprised than I at the unexpected appearance of her brother, whose
-departure for France neither of us had for a moment doubted, but which
-was now proved by his actual presence to be nothing more than an
-imposture, practised, I feared, for no good end.
-
-The situation in which I had found my uncle had removed completely all
-my doubts as to his designs. I magnified suspicions into certainties,
-and dreaded night after night that I should be murdered in my bed. The
-nervousness produced by sleepless nights and days of anxious fears
-increased the horrors of my situation to such a degree, that I at length
-wrote a letter to a Mr. Jefferies, an old and faithful friend of my
-father's, and perfectly acquainted with all his affairs, praying him,
-for God's sake, to relieve me from my present terrible situation, and
-communicating without reserve the nature and grounds of my suspicions.
-
-This letter I kept sealed and directed for two or three days always
-about my person--for discovery would have been ruinous--in expectation
-of an opportunity which might be safely trusted, whereby to have it
-placed in the post-office. As neither Emily nor I was permitted to pass
-beyond the precincts of the demesne itself, which was surrounded by high
-walls formed of dry stone, the difficulty of procuring such an
-opportunity was greatly enhanced.
-
-At this time Emily had a short conversation with her father, which she
-reported to me instantly.
-
-After some indifferent matter, he had asked her whether she and I were
-upon good terms, and whether I was unreserved in my disposition. She
-answered in the affirmative; and he then inquired whether I had been
-much surprised to find him in my chamber on the other day. She answered
-that I had been both surprised and amused.
-
-"And what did she think of George Wilson's appearance?"
-
-"Who?" inquired she.
-
-"Oh, the architect," he answered, "who is to contract for the repairs of
-the house; he is accounted a handsome fellow."
-
-"She could not see his face," said Emily, "and she was in such a hurry
-to escape that she scarcely noticed him."
-
-Sir Arthur appeared satisfied, and the conversation ended.
-
-This slight conversation, repeated accurately to me by Emily, had the
-effect of confirming, if indeed anything was required to do so, all
-that I had before believed as to Edward's actual presence; and I
-naturally became, if possible, more anxious than ever to despatch the
-letter to Mr. Jefferies. An opportunity at length occurred.
-
-As Emily and I were walking one day near the gate of the demesne, a man
-from the village happened to be passing down the avenue from the house;
-the spot was secluded, and as this person was not connected by service
-with those whose observation I dreaded, I committed the letter to his
-keeping, with strict injunctions that he should put it without delay
-into the receiver of the town post-office; at the same time I added a
-suitable gratuity, and the man, having made many protestations of
-punctuality, was soon out of sight.
-
-He was hardly gone when I began to doubt my discretion in having trusted
-this person; but I had no better or safer means of despatching the
-letter, and I was not warranted in suspecting him of such wanton
-dishonesty as an inclination to tamper with it; but I could not be quite
-satisfied of its safety until I had received an answer, which could not
-arrive for a few days. Before I did, however, an event occurred which a
-little surprised me.
-
-I was sitting in my bedroom early in the day, reading by myself, when I
-heard a knock at the door.
-
-"Come in," said I; and my uncle entered the room.
-
-"Will you excuse me?" said he. "I sought you in the parlour, and thence
-I have come here. I desire to say a word with you. I trust that you have
-hitherto found my conduct to you such as that of a guardian towards his
-ward should be."
-
-I dared not withhold my assent.
-
-"And," he continued, "I trust that you have not found me harsh or
-unjust, and that you have perceived, my dear niece, that I have sought
-to make this poor place as agreeable to you as may be."
-
-I assented again; and he put his hand in his pocket, whence he drew a
-folded paper, and dashing it upon the table with startling emphasis, he
-said,--
-
-"Did you write that letter?"
-
-The sudden and fearful alteration of his voice, manner, and face, but,
-more than all, the unexpected production of my letter to Mr. Jefferies,
-which I at once recognized, so confounded and terrified me that I felt
-almost choking.
-
-I could not utter a word.
-
-"Did you write that letter?" he repeated, with slow and intense
-emphasis. "You did, liar and hypocrite! You dared to write this foul and
-infamous libel; but it shall be your last. Men will universally believe
-you mad, if I choose to call for an inquiry. I can make you appear so.
-The suspicions expressed in this letter are the hallucinations and
-alarms of moping lunacy. I have defeated your first attempt, madam; and
-by the holy God, if ever you make another, chains, straw, darkness, and
-the keeper's whip shall be your lasting portion!"
-
-With these astounding words he left the room, leaving me almost
-fainting.
-
-I was now almost reduced to despair; my last cast had failed; I had no
-course left but that of eloping secretly from the castle and placing
-myself under the protection of the nearest magistrate. I felt if this
-were not done, and speedily, that I should be _murdered_.
-
-No one, from mere description, can have an idea of the unmitigated
-horror of my situation--a helpless, weak, inexperienced girl, placed
-under the power and wholly at the mercy of evil men, and feeling that
-she had it not in her power to escape for a moment from the malignant
-influences under which she was probably fated to fall; and with a
-consciousness that if violence, if murder were designed, her dying
-shriek would be lost in void space; no human being would be near to aid
-her, no human interposition could deliver her.
-
-I had seen Edward but once during his visit, and, as I did not meet with
-him again, I began to think that he must have taken his departure--a
-conviction which was to a certain degree satisfactory, as I regarded
-his absence as indicating the removal of immediate danger.
-
-Emily also arrived circuitously at the same conclusion, and not without
-good grounds, for she managed indirectly to learn that Edward's black
-horse had actually been for a day and part of a night in the castle
-stables, just at the time of her brother's supposed visit. The horse had
-gone and, as she argued, the rider must have departed with it.
-
-This point being so far settled, I felt a little less uncomfortable;
-when, being one day alone in my bedroom, I happened to look out from the
-window, and, to my unutterable horror, I beheld, peering through an
-opposite casement, my cousin Edward's face. Had I seen the evil one
-himself in bodily shape, I could not have experienced a more sickening
-revulsion.
-
-I was too much appalled to move at once from the window, but I did so
-soon enough to avoid his eye. He was looking fixedly into the narrow
-quadrangle upon which the window opened. I shrank back unperceived, to
-pass the rest of the day in terror and despair. I went to my room early
-that night, but I was too miserable to sleep.
-
-At about twelve o'clock, feeling very nervous, I determined to call my
-cousin Emily, who slept, you will remember, in the next room, which
-communicated with mine by a second door. By this private entrance I
-found my way into her chamber, and without difficulty persuaded her to
-return to my room and sleep with me. We accordingly lay down together,
-she undressed, and I with my clothes on, for I was every moment walking
-up and down the room, and felt too nervous and miserable to think of
-rest or comfort.
-
-Emily was soon fast asleep, and I lay awake, fervently longing for the
-first pale gleam of morning; reckoning every stroke of the old clock
-with an impatience which made every hour appear like six.
-
-It must have been about one o'clock when I thought I heard a slight
-noise at the partition-door between Emily's room and mine, as if caused
-by somebody turning the key in the lock. I held my breath, and the same
-sound was repeated at the second door of my room--that which opened upon
-the lobby--the sound was here distinctly caused by the revolution of the
-bolt in the lock, and it was followed by a slight pressure upon the door
-itself, as if to ascertain the security of the lock.
-
-The person, whoever it might be, was probably satisfied, for I heard the
-old boards of the lobby creak and strain, as if under the weight of
-somebody moving cautiously over them. My sense of hearing became
-unnaturally, almost painfully acute. I suppose my imagination added
-distinctness to sounds vague in themselves. I thought that I could
-actually hear the breathing of the person who was slowly returning down
-the lobby. At the head of the staircase there appeared to occur a pause;
-and I could distinctly hear two or three sentences hastily whispered;
-the steps then descended the stairs with apparently less caution. I now
-ventured to walk quickly and lightly to the lobby door, and attempted to
-open it; it was indeed fast locked upon the outside, as was also the
-other.
-
-I now felt that the dreadful hour was come; but one desperate expedient
-remained--it was to awaken Emily, and by our united strength to attempt
-to force the partition-door, which was slighter than the other, and
-through this to pass to the lower part of the house, whence it might be
-possible to escape to the grounds, and forth to the village.
-
-I returned to the bedside and shook Emily, but in vain. Nothing that
-I could do availed to produce from her more than a few incoherent
-words--it was a deathlike sleep. She had certainly drunk of some
-narcotic, as had I probably also, spite of all the caution with which
-I had examined everything presented to us to eat or drink.
-
-I now attempted, with as little noise as possible, to force first one
-door, then the other; but all in vain. I believe no strength could have
-effected my object, for both doors opened inwards. I therefore collected
-whatever movables I could carry thither, and piled them against the
-doors, so as to assist me in whatever attempts I should make to
-resist the entrance of those without. I then returned to the bed and
-endeavoured again, but fruitlessly, to awaken my cousin. It was not
-sleep, it was torpor, lethargy, death. I knelt down and prayed with an
-agony of earnestness; and then seating myself upon the bed, I awaited my
-fate with a kind of terrible tranquillity.
-
-I heard a faint clanking sound from the narrow court which I have
-already mentioned, as if caused by the scraping of some iron instrument
-against stones or rubbish. I at first determined not to disturb the
-calmness which I now felt by uselessly watching the proceedings of those
-who sought my life; but as the sounds continued, the horrible curiosity
-which I felt overcame every other emotion, and I determined, at all
-hazards, to gratify it. I therefore crawled upon my knees to the window,
-so as to let the smallest portion of my head appear above the sill.
-
-The moon was shining with an uncertain radiance upon the antique grey
-buildings, and obliquely upon the narrow court beneath, one side of
-which was therefore clearly illuminated, while the other was lost in
-obscurity; the sharp outlines of the old gables, with their nodding
-clusters of ivy, being at first alone visible.
-
-Whoever or whatever occasioned the noise which had excited my curiosity,
-was concealed under the shadow of the dark side of the quadrangle. I
-placed my hand over my eyes to shade them from the moonlight, which was
-so bright as to be almost dazzling, and, peering into the darkness, I
-first dimly, but afterwards gradually almost with full distinctness,
-beheld the form of a man engaged in digging what appeared to be a rude
-hole close under the wall. Some implements, probably a shovel and
-pickaxe, lay beside him, and to these he every now and then applied
-himself as the nature of the ground required. He pursued his task
-rapidly, and with as little noise as possible.
-
-"So," thought I, as, shovelful after shovelful, the dislodged rubbish
-mounted into a heap, "they are digging the grave in which, before two
-hours pass, I must lie, a cold, mangled corpse. I am _theirs_--I cannot
-escape."
-
-I felt as if my reason was leaving me. I started to my feet, and in mere
-despair I applied myself again to each of the two doors alternately. I
-strained every nerve and sinew, but I might as well have attempted, with
-my single strength, to force the building itself from its foundation. I
-threw myself madly upon the ground, and clasped my hands over my eyes as
-if to shut out the horrible images which crowded upon me.
-
-The paroxysm passed away. I prayed once more, with the bitter, agonized
-fervour of one who feels that the hour of death is present and
-inevitable. When I arose, I went once more to the window and looked out,
-just in time to see a shadowy figure glide stealthily along the wall.
-The task was finished. The catastrophe of the tragedy must soon be
-accomplished.
-
-I determined now to defend my life to the last; and that I might be able
-to do so with some effect, I searched the room for something which might
-serve as a weapon; but either through accident, or from an anticipation
-of such a possibility, everything which might have been made available
-for such a purpose had been carefully removed. I must then die tamely,
-and without an effort to defend myself.
-
-A thought suddenly struck me--might it not be possible to escape through
-the door, which the assassin must open in order to enter the room? I
-resolved to make the attempt. I felt assured that the door through which
-ingress to the room would be effected was that which opened upon the
-lobby. It was the more direct way, besides being, for obvious reasons,
-less liable to interruption than the other. I resolved, then, to place
-myself behind a projection of the wall, whose shadow would serve fully
-to conceal me, and when the door should be opened, and before they
-should have discovered the identity of the occupant of the bed, to
-creep noiselessly from the room, and then to trust to Providence for
-escape.
-
-In order to facilitate this scheme, I removed all the lumber which I had
-heaped against the door; and I had nearly completed my arrangements,
-when I perceived the room suddenly darkened by the close approach of
-some shadowy object to the window. On turning my eyes in that direction,
-I observed at the top of the casement, as if suspended from above, first
-the feet, then the legs, then the body, and at length the whole figure
-of a man present himself. It was Edward T----n.
-
-He appeared to be guiding his descent so as to bring his feet upon the
-centre of the stone block which occupied the lower part of the window;
-and, having secured his footing upon this, he kneeled down and began to
-gaze into the room. As the moon was gleaming into the chamber, and the
-bed-curtains were drawn, he was able to distinguish the bed itself and
-its contents. He appeared satisfied with his scrutiny, for he looked up
-and made a sign with his hand, upon which the rope by which his descent
-had been effected was slackened from above, and he proceeded to
-disengage it from his waist; this accomplished, he applied his hands to
-the window-frame, which must have been ingeniously contrived for the
-purpose, for, with apparently no resistance, the whole frame, containing
-casement and all, slipped from its position in the wall, and was by him
-lowered into the room.
-
-The cold night wind waved the bed-curtains, and he paused for a moment;
-all was still again, and he stepped in upon the floor of the room.
-He held in his hand what appeared to be a steel instrument, shaped
-something like a hammer, but larger and sharper at the extremities. This
-he held rather behind him, while, with three long, tip-toe strides, he
-brought himself to the bedside.
-
-I felt that the discovery must now be made, and held my breath in
-momentary expectation of the execration in which he would vent his
-surprise and disappointment. I closed my eyes--there was a pause, but it
-was a short one. I heard two dull blows, given in rapid succession: a
-quivering sigh, and the long-drawn, heavy breathing of the sleeper was
-for ever suspended. I unclosed my eyes, and saw the murderer fling the
-quilt across the head of his victim: he then, with the instrument of
-death still in his hand, proceeded to the lobby door, upon which he
-tapped sharply twice or thrice. A quick step was then heard approaching,
-and a voice whispered something from without. Edward answered, with a
-kind of chuckle, "Her ladyship is past complaining; unlock the door, in
-the devil's name, unless you're afraid to come in, and help me to lift
-the body out of the window."
-
-The key was turned in the lock--the door opened, and my uncle entered
-the room.
-
-I have told you already that I had placed myself under the shade of a
-projection of the wall, close to the door. I had instinctively shrunk
-down, cowering towards the ground, on the entrance of Edward through the
-window. When my uncle entered the room, he and his son both stood so
-very close to me that his hand was every moment upon the point of
-touching my face. I held my breath, and remained motionless as death.
-
-"You had no interruption from the next room?" said my uncle.
-
-"No," was the brief reply.
-
-"Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon
-them. You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?"
-
-"Not twenty drops," replied his son, "and those on the quilt."
-
-"I'm glad it's over," whispered my uncle again. "We must lift the--the
-_thing_ through the window and lay the rubbish over it."
-
-They then turned to the bedside, and, winding the bed-clothes round the
-body, carried it between them slowly to the window, and, exchanging
-a few brief words with some one below, they shoved it over the
-window-sill, and I heard it fall heavily on the ground underneath.
-
-"I'll take the jewels," said my uncle; "there are two caskets in the
-lower drawer."
-
-He proceeded, with an accuracy which, had I been more at ease, would
-have furnished me with matter of astonishment, to lay his hand upon the
-very spot where my jewels lay; and having possessed himself of them, he
-called to his son:
-
-"Is the rope made fast above?"
-
-"I'm not a fool--to be sure it is," replied he.
-
-They then lowered themselves from the window. I now rose lightly and
-cautiously, scarcely daring to breathe, from my place of concealment,
-and was creeping towards the door, when I heard my cousin's voice, in
-a sharp whisper, exclaim: "Scramble up again! G--d d----n you, you've
-forgot to lock the room-door!" and I perceived, by the straining of the
-rope which hung from above, that the mandate was instantly obeyed.
-
-Not a second was to be lost. I passed through the door, which was only
-closed, and moved as rapidly as I could, consistently with stillness,
-along the lobby. Before I had gone many yards, I heard the door through
-which I had just passed double-locked on the inside. I glided down the
-stairs in terror, lest, at every corner, I should meet the murderer or
-one of his accomplices.
-
-I reached the hall, and listened for a moment, to ascertain whether all
-was silent around; no sound was audible. The parlour windows opened on
-the park, and through one of them I might, I thought, easily effect my
-escape. Accordingly, I hastily entered; but, to my consternation, a
-candle was burning in the room, and by its light I saw a figure seated
-at the dinner-table, upon which lay glasses, bottles, and the other
-accompaniments of a drinking-party. Two or three chairs were placed
-about the table irregularly, as if hastily abandoned by their occupants.
-
-A single glance satisfied me that the figure was that of my French
-attendant. She was fast asleep, having probably drunk deeply. There was
-something malignant and ghastly in the calmness of this bad woman's
-features, dimly illuminated as they were by the flickering blaze of the
-candle. A knife lay upon the table, and the terrible thought, struck
-me--"Should I kill this sleeping accomplice, and thus secure my
-retreat?"
-
-Nothing could be easier--it was but to draw the blade across her
-throat--the work of a second. An instant's pause, however, corrected me.
-"No," thought I, "the God who has conducted me thus far through the
-valley of the shadow of death, will not abandon me now. I will fall into
-their hands, or I will escape hence, but it shall be free from the stain
-of blood. His will be done!"
-
-I felt a confidence arising from this reflection, an assurance of
-protection which I cannot describe. There was no other means of escape,
-so I advanced, with a firm step and collected mind, to the window. I
-noiselessly withdrew the bars and unclosed the shutters--I pushed open
-the casement, and, without waiting to look behind me, I ran with my
-utmost speed, scarcely feeling the ground under me, down the avenue,
-taking care to keep upon the grass which bordered it.
-
-I did not for a moment slacken my speed, and I had now gained the centre
-point between the park-gate and the mansion-house. Here the avenue made
-a wider circuit, and in order to avoid delay, I directed my way across
-the smooth sward round which the pathway wound, intending, at the
-opposite side of the flat, at a point which I distinguished by a group
-of old birch-trees, to enter again upon the beaten track, which was from
-thence tolerably direct to the gate.
-
-I had, with my utmost speed, got about half way across this broad flat,
-when the rapid treading of a horse's hoofs struck upon my ear. My heart
-swelled in my bosom as though I would smother. The clattering of
-galloping hoofs approached--I was pursued--they were now upon the sward
-on which I was running--there was not a bush or a bramble to shelter
-me--and, as if to render escape altogether desperate, the moon, which
-had hitherto been obscured, at this moment shone forth with a broad
-clear light, which made every object distinctly visible.
-
-The sounds were now close behind me. I felt my knees bending under me,
-with the sensation which torments one in dreams. I reeled--I stumbled--I
-fell--and at the same instant the cause of my alarm wheeled past me at
-full gallop. It was one of the young fillies which pastured loose about
-the park, whose frolics had thus all but maddened me with terror. I
-scrambled to my feet, and rushed on with weak but rapid steps, my
-sportive companion still galloping round and round me with many a frisk
-and fling, until, at length, more dead than alive, I reached the
-avenue-gate, and crossed the stile, I scarce knew how.
-
-I ran through the village, in which all was silent as the grave, until
-my progress was arrested by the hoarse voice of a sentinel, who cried,
-"Who goes there?" I felt that I was now safe. I turned in the direction
-of the voice, and fell fainting at the soldier's feet. When I came to
-myself, I was sitting in a miserable hovel, surrounded by strange faces,
-all bespeaking curiosity and compassion.
-
-Many soldiers were in it also: indeed, as I afterwards found, it was
-employed as a guard-room by a detachment of troops quartered for that
-night in the town. In a few words I informed their officer of the
-circumstances which had occurred, describing also the appearance of the
-persons engaged in the murder; and he, without loss of time, proceeded
-to the mansion-house of Carrickleigh, taking with him a party of his
-men. But the villains had discovered their mistake, and had effected
-their escape before the arrival of the military.
-
-The Frenchwoman was, however, arrested in the neighbourhood upon the
-next day. She was tried and condemned upon the ensuing assizes; and
-previous to her execution, confessed that "_she had a hand in making
-Hugh Tisdall's bed_." She had been a housekeeper in the castle at the
-time, and a kind of _chère amie_ of my uncle's. She was, in reality,
-able to speak English like a native, but had exclusively used the French
-language, I suppose, to facilitate her disguise. She died the same
-hardened wretch she had lived, confessing her crimes only, as she
-alleged, that her doing so might involve Sir Arthur T----n, the great
-author of her guilt and misery, and whom she now regarded with
-unmitigated detestation.
-
-With the particulars of Sir Arthur's and his son's escape, as far as
-they are known, you are acquainted. You are also in possession of their
-after fate--the terrible, the tremendous retribution which, after long
-delays of many years, finally overtook and crushed them. Wonderful and
-inscrutable are the dealings of God with His creatures.
-
-Deep and fervent as must always be my gratitude to Heaven for my
-deliverance, effected by a chain of providential occurrences, the
-failing of a single link of which must have ensured my destruction, I
-was long before I could look back upon it with other feelings than those
-of bitterness, almost of agony. The only being that had ever really
-loved me, my nearest and dearest friend, ever ready to sympathize, to
-counsel, and to assist--the gayest, the gentlest, the warmest heart; the
-only creature on earth that cared for me--_her_ life had been the price
-of my deliverance; and I then uttered the wish, which no event of my
-long and sorrowful life has taught me to recall, that she had been
-spared, and that, in her stead, _I_ were mouldering in the grave,
-forgotten and at rest.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter.
-
-
-You will no doubt be surprised, my dear friend, at the subject of the
-following narrative. What had I to do with Schalken, or Schalken with
-me? He had returned to his native land, and was probably dead and buried
-before I was born; I never visited Holland, nor spoke with a native of
-that country. So much I believe you already know. I must, then, give you
-my authority, and state to you frankly the ground upon which rests the
-credibility of the strange story which I am about to lay before you.
-
-I was acquainted, in my early days, with a Captain Vandael, whose father
-had served King William in the Low Countries, and also in my own unhappy
-land during the Irish campaigns. I know not how it happened that I
-liked this man's society, spite of his politics and religion: but so it
-was; and it was by means of the free intercourse to which our intimacy
-gave rise that I became possessed of the curious tale which you are
-about to hear.
-
-I had often been struck, while visiting Vandael, by a remarkable
-picture, in which, though no _connoisseur_ myself, I could not fail to
-discern some very strong peculiarities, particularly in the distribution
-of light and shade, as also a certain oddity in the design itself, which
-interested my curiosity. It represented the interior of what might be a
-chamber in some antique religious building--the foreground was occupied
-by a female figure, arrayed in a species of white robe, part of which
-was arranged so as to form a veil. The dress, however, was not strictly
-that of any religious order. In its hand the figure bore a lamp, by
-whose light alone the form and face were illuminated; the features were
-marked by an arch smile, such as pretty women wear when engaged in
-successfully practising some roguish trick; in the background, and
-(excepting where the dim red light of an expiring fire serves to define
-the form) totally in the shade, stood the figure of a man equipped in
-the old fashion, with doublet and so forth, in an attitude of alarm, his
-hand being placed upon the hilt of his sword, which he appeared to be in
-the act of drawing.
-
-"There are some pictures," said I to my friend, "which impress one, I
-know not how, with a conviction that they represent not the mere ideal
-shapes and combinations which have floated through the imagination of
-the artist, but scenes, faces, and situations which have actually
-existed. When I look upon that picture, something assures me that I
-behold the representation of a reality."
-
-Vandael smiled, and, fixing his eyes upon the painting musingly, he
-said,--
-
-"Your fancy has not deceived you, my good friend, for that picture is
-the record, and I believe a faithful one, of a remarkable and mysterious
-occurrence. It was painted by Schalken, and contains, in the face of the
-female figure which occupies the most prominent place in the design, an
-accurate portrait of Rose Velderkaust, the niece of Gerard Douw, the
-first and, I believe, the only love of Godfrey Schalken. My father knew
-the painter well, and from Schalken himself he learned the story of the
-mysterious drama, one scene of which the picture has embodied. This
-painting, which is accounted a fine specimen of Schalken's style, was
-bequeathed to my father by the artist's will, and, as you have observed,
-is a very striking and interesting production."
-
-I had only to request Vandael to tell the story of the painting in order
-to be gratified; and thus it is that I am enabled to submit to you a
-faithful recital of what I heard myself, leaving you to reject or to
-allow the evidence upon which the truth of the tradition depends--with
-this one assurance, that Schalken was an honest, blunt Dutchman, and, I
-believe, wholly incapable of committing a flight of imagination; and
-further, that Vandael, from whom I heard the story, appeared firmly
-convinced of its truth.
-
-There are few forms upon which the mantle of mystery and romance could
-seem to hang more ungracefully than upon that of the uncouth and
-clownish Schalken--the Dutch boor--the rude and dogged, but most cunning
-worker in oils, whose pieces delight the initiated of the present day
-almost as much as his manners disgusted the refined of his own; and yet
-this man, so rude, so dogged, so slovenly, I had almost said so savage
-in mien and manner, during his after successes, had been selected by the
-capricious goddess, in his early life, to figure as the hero of a
-romance by no means devoid of interest or of mystery.
-
-Who can tell how meet he may have been in his young days to play the
-part of the lover or of the hero? who can say that in early life he had
-been the same harsh, unlicked, and rugged boor that, in his maturer age,
-he proved? or how far the neglected rudeness which afterwards marked his
-air, and garb, and manners, may not have been the growth of that
-reckless apathy not unfrequently produced by bitter misfortunes and
-disappointments in early life?
-
-These questions can never now be answered.
-
-We must content ourselves, then, with a plain statement of facts,
-leaving matters of speculation to those who like them.
-
-When Schalken studied under the immortal Gerard Douw, he was a young
-man; and in spite of the phlegmatic constitution and excitable manner
-which he shared, we believe, with his countrymen, he was not incapable
-of deep and vivid impressions, for it is an established fact that the
-young painter looked with considerable interest upon the beautiful niece
-of his wealthy master.
-
-Rose Velderkaust was very young, having, at the period of which we
-speak, not yet attained her seventeenth year; and, if tradition
-speaks truth, she possessed all the soft dimpling charms of the fair,
-light-haired Flemish maidens. Schalken had not studied long in the
-school of Gerard Douw when he felt this interest deepening into
-something of a keener and intenser feeling than was quite consistent
-with the tranquillity of his honest Dutch heart; and at the same time he
-perceived, or thought he perceived, flattering symptoms of a reciprocal
-attachment, and this was quite sufficient to determine whatever
-indecision he might have heretofore experienced, and to lead him to
-devote exclusively to her every hope and feeling of his heart. In short,
-he was as much in love as a Dutchman could be. He was not long in
-making his passion known to the pretty maiden herself, and his
-declaration was followed by a corresponding confession upon her part.
-
-Schalken, howbeit, was a poor man, and he possessed no counterbalancing
-advantages of birth or position to induce the old man to consent to a
-union which must involve his niece and ward in the strugglings and
-difficulties of a young and nearly friendless artist. He was, therefore,
-to wait until time had furnished him with opportunity, and accident with
-success; and then, if his labours were found sufficiently lucrative, it
-was to be hoped that his proposals might at least be listened to by her
-jealous guardian. Months passed away, and, cheered by the smiles of the
-little Rose, Schalken's labours were redoubled, and with such effect and
-improvement as reasonably to promise the realization of his hopes, and
-no contemptible eminence in his art, before many years should have
-elapsed.
-
-The even course of this cheering prosperity was, unfortunately, destined
-to experience a sudden and formidable interruption, and that, too, in a
-manner so strange and mysterious as to baffle all investigation, and
-throw upon the events themselves a shadow of almost supernatural horror.
-
-Schalken had one evening remained in the master's studio considerably
-longer than his more volatile companions, who had gladly availed
-themselves of the excuse which the dusk of evening afforded to withdraw
-from their several tasks, in order to finish a day of labour in the
-jollity and conviviality of the tavern.
-
-But Schalken worked for improvement, or rather for love. Besides, he was
-now engaged merely in sketching a design, an operation which, unlike
-that of colouring, might be continued as long as there was light
-sufficient to distinguish between canvas and charcoal. He had not then,
-nor, indeed, until long after, discovered the peculiar powers of
-his pencil; and he was engaged in composing a group of extremely
-roguish-looking and grotesque imps and demons, who were inflicting
-various ingenious torments upon a perspiring and pot-bellied St.
-Anthony, who reclined in the midst of them, apparently in the last stage
-of drunkenness.
-
-The young artist, however, though incapable of executing, or even of
-appreciating, anything of true sublimity, had nevertheless discernment
-enough to prevent his being by any means satisfied with his work; and
-many were the patient erasures and corrections which the limbs and
-features of saint and devil underwent, yet all without producing in
-their new arrangement anything of improvement or increased effect.
-
-The large, old-fashioned room was silent, and, with the exception
-of himself, quite deserted by its usual inmates. An hour had
-passed--nearly two--without any improved result. Daylight had already
-declined, and twilight was fast giving way to the darkness of night.
-The patience of the young man was exhausted, and he stood before his
-unfinished production, absorbed in no very pleasing ruminations, one
-hand buried in the folds of his long dark hair, and the other holding
-the piece of charcoal which had so ill executed its office, and which he
-now rubbed, without much regard to the sable streaks which it produced,
-with irritable pressure upon his ample Flemish inexpressibles.
-
-"Pshaw!" said the young man aloud, "would that picture, devils, saint,
-and all, were where they should be--in hell!"
-
-A short, sudden laugh, uttered startlingly close to his ear, instantly
-responded to the ejaculation.
-
-The artist turned sharply round, and now for the first time became aware
-that his labours had been overlooked by a stranger.
-
-Within about a yard and a half, and rather behind him, there stood what
-was, or appeared to be, the figure of an elderly man: he wore a short
-cloak, and broad-brimmed hat with a conical crown, and in his hand,
-which was protected with a heavy, gauntlet-shaped glove, he carried a
-long ebony walking-stick, surmounted with what appeared, as it glittered
-dimly in the twilight to be a massive head of gold; and upon his
-breast, through the folds of the cloak, there shone the links of a rich
-chain of the same metal.
-
-The room was so obscure that nothing further of the appearance of the
-figure could be ascertained, and the face was altogether overshadowed by
-the heavy flap of the beaver which overhung it, so that no feature could
-be clearly discerned. A quantity of dark hair escaped from beneath this
-sombre hat, a circumstance which, connected with the firm, upright
-carriage of the intruder, proved that his years could not yet exceed
-threescore or thereabouts.
-
-There was an air of gravity and importance about the garb of this
-person, and something indescribably odd--I might say awful--in the
-perfect, stone-like movelessness of the figure, that effectually checked
-the testy comment which had at once risen to the lips of the irritated
-artist. He therefore, as soon as he had sufficiently recovered the
-surprise, asked the stranger, civilly, to be seated, and desired to know
-if he had any message to leave for his master.
-
-"Tell Gerard Douw," said the unknown, without altering his attitude in
-the smallest degree, "that Mynher Vanderhausen, of Rotterdam, desires to
-speak with him to-morrow evening at this hour, and, if he please, in
-this room, upon matters of weight; that is all. Good-night."
-
-The stranger, having finished this message, turned abruptly, and, with
-a quick but silent step quitted the room before Schalken had time to say
-a word in reply.
-
-The young man felt a curiosity to see in what direction the burgher of
-Rotterdam would turn on quitting the studio, and for that purpose he
-went directly to the window which commanded the door.
-
-A lobby of considerable extent intervened between the inner door of the
-painter's room and the street entrance, so that Schalken occupied the
-post of observation before the old man could possibly have reached the
-street.
-
-He watched in vain, however. There was no other mode of exit.
-
-Had the old man vanished, or was he lurking about the recesses of the
-lobby for some bad purpose? This last suggestion filled the mind of
-Schalken with a vague horror, which was so unaccountably intense as to
-make him alike afraid to remain in the room alone and reluctant to pass
-through the lobby.
-
-However, with an effort which appeared very disproportioned to the
-occasion, he summoned resolution to leave the room, and, having
-double-locked the door, and thrust the key in his pocket, without
-looking to the right or left, he traversed the passage which had so
-recently, perhaps still, contained the person of his mysterious
-visitant, scarcely venturing to breathe till he had arrived in the open
-street.
-
-"Mynher Vanderhausen," said Gerard Douw, within himself, as the
-appointed hour approached; "Mynher Vanderhausen, of Rotterdam! I never
-heard of the man till yesterday. What can he want of me? A portrait,
-perhaps, to be painted; or a younger son or a poor relation to be
-apprenticed; or a collection to be valued; or--pshaw! there's no one in
-Rotterdam to leave me a legacy. Well, whatever the business may be, we
-shall soon know it all."
-
-It was now the close of day, and every easel, except that of Schalken,
-was deserted. Gerard Douw was pacing the apartment with the restless
-step of impatient expectation, every now and then humming a passage from
-a piece of music which he was himself composing; for, though no great
-proficient, he admired the art; sometimes pausing to glance over the
-work of one of his absent pupils, but more frequently placing himself at
-the window, from whence he might observe the passengers who threaded the
-obscure by-street in which his studio was placed.
-
-"Said you not, Godfrey," exclaimed Douw, after a long and fruitless gaze
-from his post of observation, and turning to Schalken--"said you not the
-hour of appointment was at about seven by the clock of the Stadhouse?"
-
-"It had just told seven when I first saw him, sir," answered the
-student.
-
-"The hour is close at hand, then," said the master, consulting a
-horologe as large and as round as a full-grown orange. "Mynher
-Vanderhausen, from Rotterdam--is it not so?"
-
-"Such was the name."
-
-"And an elderly man, richly clad?" continued Douw.
-
-"As well as I might see," replied his pupil. "He could not be young, nor
-yet very old neither, and his dress was rich and grave, as might become
-a citizen of wealth and consideration."
-
-At this moment the sonorous boom of the Stadhouse clock told, stroke
-after stroke, the hour of seven; the eyes of both master and student
-were directed to the door; and it was not until the last peal of the old
-bell had ceased to vibrate, that Douw exclaimed,--
-
-"So, so; we shall have his worship presently--that is, if he means to
-keep his hour; if not, thou mayst wait for him, Godfrey, if you court
-the acquaintance of a capricious burgomaster. As for me, I think our old
-Leyden contains a sufficiency of such commodities, without an
-importation from Rotterdam."
-
-Schalken laughed, as in duty bound; and, after a pause of some minutes,
-Douw suddenly exclaimed,--
-
-"What if it should all prove a jest, a piece of mummery got up by
-Vankarp, or some such worthy! I wish you had run all risks, and
-cudgelled the old burgomaster, stadholder, or whatever else he may be,
-soundly. I would wager a dozen of Rhenish, his worship would have
-pleaded old acquaintance before the third application."
-
-"Here he comes, sir," said Schalken, in a low, admonitory tone; and
-instantly, upon turning towards the door, Gerard Douw observed the same
-figure which had, on the day before, so unexpectedly greeted the vision
-of his pupil Schalken.
-
-There was something in the air and mien of the figure which at once
-satisfied the painter that there was no mummery in the case, and that he
-really stood in the presence of a man of worship; and so, without
-hesitation, he doffed his cap, and courteously saluting the stranger,
-requested him to be seated.
-
-The visitor waved his hand slightly, as if in acknowledgment of the
-courtesy, but remained standing.
-
-"I have the honour to see Mynher Vanderhausen, of Rotterdam?" said
-Gerard Douw.
-
-"The same," was the laconic reply.
-
-"I understand your worship desires to speak with me," continued Douw,
-"and I am here by appointment to wait your commands."
-
-"Is that a man of trust?" said Vanderhausen, turning towards Schalken,
-who stood at a little distance behind his master.
-
-"Certainly," replied Gerard.
-
-"Then let him take this box and get the nearest jeweller or goldsmith to
-value its contents, and let him return hither with a certificate of the
-valuation."
-
-At the same time he placed a small case, about nine inches square, in
-the hands of Gerard Douw, who was as much amazed at its weight as at the
-strange abruptness with which it was handed to him.
-
-In accordance with the wishes of the stranger, he delivered it into the
-hands of Schalken, and repeating _his_ directions, despatched him upon
-the mission.
-
-Schalken disposed his precious charge securely beneath the folds of his
-cloak, and rapidly traversing two or three narrow streets, he stopped at
-a corner house, the lower part of which was then occupied by the shop of
-a Jewish goldsmith.
-
-Schalken entered the shop, and calling the little Hebrew into the
-obscurity of its back recesses, he proceeded to lay before him
-Vanderhausen's packet.
-
-On being examined by the light of a lamp, it appeared entirely cased
-with lead, the outer surface of which was much scraped and soiled, and
-nearly white with age. This was with difficulty partially removed, and
-disclosed beneath a box of some dark and singularly hard wood; this,
-too, was forced, and after the removal of two or three folds of linen,
-its contents proved to be a mass of golden ingots, close packed, and,
-as the Jew declared, of the most perfect quality.
-
-Every ingot underwent the scrutiny of the little Jew, who seemed to feel
-an epicurean delight in touching and testing these morsels of the
-glorious metal; and each one of them was replaced in the box with the
-exclamation,--
-
-"_Mein Gott_, how very perfect! not one grain of alloy--beautiful,
-beautiful!"
-
-The task was at length finished, and the Jew certified under his hand
-that the value of the ingots submitted to his examination amounted to
-many thousand rix-dollars.
-
-With the desired document in his bosom, and the rich box of gold
-carefully pressed under his arm, and concealed by his cloak, he retraced
-his way, and, entering the studio, found his master and the stranger in
-close conference.
-
-Schalken had no sooner left the room, in order to execute the commission
-he had taken in charge, than Vanderhausen addressed Gerard Douw in the
-following terms:
-
-"I may not tarry with you to-night more than a few minutes, and so I
-shall briefly tell you the matter upon which I come. You visited the
-town of Rotterdam some four months ago, and then I saw in the church of
-St. Lawrence your niece, Rose Velderkaust. I desire to marry her, and if
-I satisfy you as to the fact that I am very wealthy--more wealthy than
-any husband you could dream of for her--I expect that you will forward
-my views to the utmost of your authority. If you approve my proposal,
-you must close with it at once, for I cannot command time enough to wait
-for calculations and delays."
-
-Gerard Douw was, perhaps, as much astonished as anyone could be by the
-very unexpected nature of Mynher Vanderhausen's communication; but he
-did not give vent to any unseemly expression of surprise. In addition to
-the motives supplied by prudence and politeness, the painter experienced
-a kind of chill and oppressive sensation--a feeling like that which
-is supposed to affect a man who is placed unconsciously in immediate
-contact with something to which he has a natural antipathy--an undefined
-horror and dread--while standing in the presence of the eccentric
-stranger, which made him very unwilling to say anything that might
-reasonably prove offensive.
-
-"I have no doubt," said Gerard, after two or three prefatory hems, "that
-the connection which you propose would prove alike advantageous and
-honourable to my niece; but you must be aware that she has a will of her
-own, and may not acquiesce in what _we_ may design for her advantage."
-
-"Do not seek to deceive me, Sir Painter," said Vanderhausen; "you are
-her guardian--she is your ward. She is mine if _you_ like to make her
-so."
-
-The man of Rotterdam moved forward a little as he spoke, and Gerard
-Douw, he scarce knew why, inwardly prayed for the speedy return of
-Schalken.
-
-"I desire," said the mysterious gentleman, "to place in your hands at
-once an evidence of my wealth, and a security for my liberal dealing
-with your niece. The lad will return in a minute or two with a sum in
-value five times the fortune which she has a right to expect from a
-husband. This shall lie in your hands, together with her dowry, and you
-may apply the united sum as suits her interest best; it shall be all
-exclusively hers while she lives. Is that liberal?"
-
-Douw assented, and inwardly thought that fortune had been
-extraordinarily kind to his niece. The stranger, he deemed, must be
-most wealthy and generous, and such an offer was not to be despised,
-though made by a humorist, and one of no very prepossessing presence.
-
-Rose had no very high pretensions, for she was almost without dowry;
-indeed, altogether so, excepting so far as the deficiency had been
-supplied by the generosity of her uncle. Neither had she any right to
-raise any scruples against the match on the score of birth, for her own
-origin was by no means elevated; and as to other objections, Gerard
-resolved, and, indeed, by the usages of the time was warranted in
-resolving, not to listen to them for a moment.
-
-"Sir," said he, addressing the stranger, "your offer is most liberal,
-and whatever hesitation I may feel in closing with it immediately,
-arises solely from my not having the honour of knowing anything of your
-family or station. Upon these points you can, of course, satisfy me
-without difficulty?"
-
-"As to my respectability," said the stranger, drily, "you must take that
-for granted at present; pester me with no inquiries; you can discover
-nothing more about me than I choose to make known. You shall have
-sufficient security for my respectability--my word, if you are
-honourable; if you are sordid, my gold."
-
-"A testy old gentleman," thought Douw; "he must have his own way. But,
-all things considered, I am justified in giving my niece to him. Were
-she my own daughter, I would do the like by her. I will not pledge
-myself unnecessarily, however."
-
-"You will not pledge yourself unnecessarily," said Vanderhausen,
-strangely uttering the very words which had just floated through the
-mind of his companion; "but you will do so if it _is_ necessary, I
-presume; and I will show you that I consider it indispensable. If the
-gold I mean to leave in your hands satisfies you, and if you desire that
-my proposal shall not be at once withdrawn, you must, before I leave
-this room, write your name to this engagement."
-
-Having thus spoken, he placed a paper in the hands of Gerard, the
-contents of which expressed an engagement entered into by Gerard Douw,
-to give to Wilken Vanderhausen, of Rotterdam, in marriage, Rose
-Velderkaust, and so forth, within one week of the date hereof.
-
-While the painter was employed in reading this covenant, Schalken, as we
-have stated, entered the studio, and having delivered the box and the
-valuation of the Jew into the hands of the stranger, he was about to
-retire, when Vanderhausen called to him to wait; and, presenting the
-case and the certificate to Gerard Douw, he waited in silence until he
-had satisfied himself by an inspection of both as to the value of the
-pledge left in his hands. At length he said:
-
-"Are you content?"
-
-The painter said "he would fain have another day to consider."
-
-"Not an hour," said the suitor, coolly.
-
-"Well, then," said Douw, "I am content; it is a bargain."
-
-"Then sign at once," said Vanderhausen; "I am weary."
-
-At the same time he produced a small case of writing materials, and
-Gerard signed the important document.
-
-"Let this youth witness the covenant," said the old man; and Godfrey
-Schalken unconsciously signed the instrument which bestowed upon another
-that hand which he had so long regarded as the object and reward of all
-his labours.
-
-The compact being thus completed, the strange visitor folded up the
-paper, and stowed it safely in an inner pocket.
-
-"I will visit you to-morrow night, at nine of the clock, at your house,
-Gerard Douw, and will see the subject of our contract. Farewell." And so
-saying, Wilken Vanderhausen moved stiffly, but rapidly out of the room.
-
-Schalken, eager to resolve his doubts, had placed himself by the window
-in order to watch the street entrance; but the experiment served only to
-support his suspicions, for the old man did not issue from the door.
-This was very strange, very odd, very fearful. He and his master
-returned together, and talked but little on the way, for each had his
-own subjects of reflection, of anxiety, and of hope.
-
-Schalken, however, did not know the ruin which threatened his cherished
-schemes.
-
-Gerard Douw knew nothing of the attachment which had sprung up between
-his pupil and his niece; and even if he had, it is doubtful whether he
-would have regarded its existence as any serious obstruction to the
-wishes of Mynher Vanderhausen.
-
-Marriages were then and there matters of traffic and calculation; and
-it would have appeared as absurd in the eyes of the guardian to make a
-mutual attachment an essential element in a contract of marriage, as it
-would have been to draw up his bonds and receipts in the language of
-chivalrous romance.
-
-The painter, however, did not communicate to his niece the important
-step which he had taken in her behalf, and his resolution arose not from
-any anticipation of opposition on her part, but solely from a ludicrous
-consciousness that if his ward were, as she very naturally might do, to
-ask him to describe the appearance of the bridegroom whom he destined
-for her, he would be forced to confess that he had not seen his face,
-and, if called upon, would find it impossible to identify him.
-
-Upon the next day, Gerard Douw having dined, called his niece to him,
-and having scanned her person with an air of satisfaction, he took her
-hand, and looking upon her pretty, innocent face with a smile of
-kindness, he said:
-
-"Rose, my girl, that face of yours will make your fortune." Rose blushed
-and smiled. "Such faces and such tempers seldom go together, and, when
-they do, the compound is a love-potion which few heads or hearts can
-resist. Trust me, thou wilt soon be a bride, girl. But this is trifling,
-and I am pressed for time, so make ready the large room by eight
-o'clock to-night, and give directions for supper at nine. I expect
-a friend to-night; and observe me, child, do thou trick thyself out
-handsomely. I would not have him think us poor or sluttish."
-
-With these words he left the chamber, and took his way to the room to
-which we have already had occasion to introduce our readers--that in
-which his pupils worked.
-
-When the evening closed in, Gerard called Schalken, who was about to
-take his departure to his obscure and comfortless lodgings, and asked
-him to come home and sup with Rose and Vanderhausen.
-
-The invitation was of course accepted, and Gerard Douw and his pupil
-soon found themselves in the handsome and somewhat antique-looking room
-which had been prepared for the reception of the stranger.
-
-A cheerful wood-fire blazed in the capacious hearth; a little at
-one side an old-fashioned table, with richly-carved legs, was
-placed--destined, no doubt, to receive the supper, for which
-preparations were going forward; and ranged with exact regularity
-stood the tall-backed chairs whose ungracefulness was more than
-counterbalanced by their comfort.
-
-The little party, consisting of Rose, her uncle, and the artist, awaited
-the arrival of the expected visitor with considerable impatience.
-
-Nine o'clock at length came, and with it a summons at the street-door,
-which, being speedily answered, was followed by a slow and emphatic
-tread upon the staircase; the steps moved heavily across the lobby, the
-door of the room in which the party which we have described were
-assembled slowly opened, and there entered a figure which startled,
-almost appalled, the phlegmatic Dutchmen, and nearly made Rose scream
-with affright; it was the form, and arrayed in the garb, of Mynher
-Vanderhausen; the air, the gait, the height was the same, but the
-features had never been seen by any of the party before.
-
-The stranger stopped at the door of the room, and displayed his form and
-face completely. He wore a dark-coloured cloth cloak, which was short
-and full, not falling quite to the knees; his legs were cased in dark
-purple silk stockings, and his shoes were adorned with roses of the same
-colour. The opening of the cloak in front showed the under-suit to
-consist of some very dark, perhaps sable material, and his hands were
-enclosed in a pair of heavy leather gloves which ran up considerably
-above the wrist, in the manner of a gauntlet. In one hand he carried his
-walking-stick and his hat, which he had removed, and the other hung
-heavily by his side. A quantity of grizzled hair descended in long
-tresses from his head, and its folds rested upon the plaits of a stiff
-ruff, which effectually concealed his neck.
-
-So far all was well; but the face!--all the flesh of the face was
-coloured with the bluish leaden hue which is sometimes produced by the
-operation of metallic medicines administered in excessive quantities;
-the eyes were enormous, and the white appeared both above and below the
-iris, which gave to them an expression of insanity, which was heightened
-by their glassy fixedness; the nose was well enough, but the mouth was
-writhed considerably to one side, where it opened in order to give
-egress to two long, discoloured fangs, which projected from the upper
-jaw, far below the lower lip; the hue of the lips themselves bore the
-usual relation to that of the face, and was consequently nearly black.
-The character of the face was malignant, even satanic, to the last
-degree; and, indeed, such a combination of horror could hardly be
-accounted for, except by supposing the corpse of some atrocious
-malefactor, which had long hung blackening upon the gibbet, to have at
-length become the habitation of a demon--the frightful sport of satanic
-possession.
-
-It was remarkable that the worshipful stranger suffered as little as
-possible of his flesh to appear, and that during his visit he did not
-once remove his gloves.
-
-Having stood for some moments at the door, Gerard Douw at length found
-breath and collectedness to bid him welcome, and, with a mute
-inclination of the head, the stranger stepped forward into the room.
-
-There was something indescribably odd, even horrible about all his
-motions, something undefinable, something unnatural, unhuman--it was as
-if the limbs were guided and directed by a spirit unused to the
-management of bodily machinery.
-
-The stranger said hardly anything during his visit, which did not exceed
-half an hour; and the host himself could scarcely muster courage enough
-to utter the few necessary salutations and courtesies: and, indeed, such
-was the nervous terror which the presence of Vanderhausen inspired, that
-very little would have made all his entertainers fly bellowing from the
-room.
-
-They had not so far lost all self-possession, however, as to fail to
-observe two strange peculiarities of their visitor.
-
-During his stay he did not once suffer his eyelids to close, nor even to
-move in the slightest degree; and further, there was a death-like
-stillness in his whole person, owing to the total absence of the heaving
-motion of the chest caused by the process of respiration.
-
-These two peculiarities, though when told they may appear trifling,
-produced a very striking and unpleasant effect when seen and observed.
-Vanderhausen at length relieved the painter of Leyden of his
-inauspicious presence; and with no small gratification the little party
-heard the street door close after him.
-
-"Dear uncle," said Rose, "what a frightful man! I would not see him
-again for the wealth of the States!"
-
-"Tush, foolish girl!" said Douw, whose sensations were anything but
-comfortable. "A man may be as ugly as the devil, and yet if his heart
-and actions are good, he is worth all the pretty-faced, perfumed puppies
-that walk the Mall. Rose, my girl, it is very true he has not thy pretty
-face, but I know him to be wealthy and liberal; and were he ten times
-more ugly--"
-
-"Which is inconceivable," observed Rose.
-
-"These two virtues would be sufficient," continued her uncle, "to
-counterbalance all his deformity; and if not of power sufficient
-actually to alter the shape of the features, at least of efficacy enough
-to prevent one thinking them amiss."
-
-"Do you know, uncle," said Rose, "when I saw him standing at the door,
-I could not get it out of my head that I saw the old, painted, wooden
-figure that used to frighten me so much in the church of St. Laurence at
-Rotterdam."
-
-Gerard laughed, though he could not help inwardly acknowledging the
-justness of the comparison. He was resolved, however, as far as he
-could, to check his niece's inclination to ridicule the ugliness of her
-intended bridegroom, although he was not a little pleased to observe
-that she appeared totally exempt from that mysterious dread of the
-stranger, which, he could not disguise it from himself, considerably
-affected him, as it also did his pupil Godfrey Schalken.
-
-Early on the next day there arrived from various quarters of the town,
-rich presents of silks, velvets, jewellery, and so forth, for Rose; and
-also a packet directed to Gerard Douw, which, on being opened, was found
-to contain a contract of marriage, formally drawn up, between Wilken
-Vanderhausen of the Boom-quay, in Rotterdam, and Rose Velderkaust of
-Leyden, niece to Gerard Douw, master in the art of painting, also of the
-same city; and containing engagements on the part of Vanderhausen to
-make settlements upon his bride far more splendid than he had before led
-her guardian to believe likely, and which were to be secured to her use
-in the most unexceptionable manner possible--the money being placed in
-the hands of Gerard Douw himself.
-
-I have no sentimental scenes to describe, no cruelty of guardians or
-magnanimity of wards, or agonies of lovers. The record I have to make is
-one of sordidness, levity, and interest. In less than a week after the
-first interview which we have just described, the contract of marriage
-was fulfilled, and Schalken saw the prize which he would have risked
-anything to secure, carried off triumphantly by his formidable rival.
-
-For two or three days he absented himself from the school; he then
-returned and worked, if with less cheerfulness, with far more dogged
-resolution than before; the dream of love had given place to that of
-ambition.
-
-Months passed away, and, contrary to his expectation, and, indeed, to
-the direct promise of the parties, Gerard Douw heard nothing of his
-niece or her worshipful spouse. The interest of the money, which was to
-have been demanded in quarterly sums, lay unclaimed in his hands. He
-began to grow extremely uneasy.
-
-Mynher Vanderhausen's direction in Rotterdam he was fully possessed of.
-After some irresolution he finally determined to journey thither--a
-trifling undertaking, and easily accomplished--and thus to satisfy
-himself of the safety and comfort of his ward, for whom he entertained
-an honest and strong affection.
-
-His search was in vain, however. No one in Rotterdam had ever heard of
-Mynher Vanderhausen.
-
-Gerard Douw left not a house in the Boom-quay untried; but all in vain.
-No one could give him any information whatever touching the object of
-his inquiry; and he was obliged to return to Leyden, nothing wiser than
-when he had left it.
-
-On his arrival he hastened to the establishment from which Vanderhausen
-had hired the lumbering, though, considering the times, most luxurious
-vehicle which the bridal party had employed to convey them to Rotterdam.
-From the driver of this machine he learned, that having proceeded by
-slow stages, they had late in the evening approached Rotterdam; but that
-before they entered the city, and while yet nearly a mile from it, a
-small party of men, soberly clad, and after the old fashion, with peaked
-beards and moustaches, standing in the centre of the road, obstructed
-the further progress of the carriage. The driver reined in his horses,
-much fearing, from the obscurity of the hour, and the loneliness of the
-road, that some mischief was intended.
-
-His fears were, however, somewhat allayed by his observing that these
-strange men carried a large litter, of an antique shape, and which they
-immediately set down upon the pavement, whereupon the bridegroom, having
-opened the coach-door from within, descended, and having assisted his
-bride to do likewise, led her, weeping bitterly and wringing her hands,
-to the litter, which they both entered. It was then raised by the men
-who surrounded it, and speedily carried towards the city, and before it
-had proceeded many yards the darkness concealed it from the view of the
-Dutch chariot.
-
-In the inside of the vehicle he found a purse, whose contents more than
-thrice paid the hire of the carriage and man. He saw and could tell
-nothing more of Mynher Vanderhausen and his beautiful lady. This mystery
-was a source of deep anxiety and almost of grief to Gerard Douw.
-
-There was evidently fraud in the dealing of Vanderhausen with him,
-though for what purpose committed he could not imagine. He greatly
-doubted how far it was possible for a man possessing in his countenance
-so strong an evidence of the presence of the most demoniac feelings to
-be in reality anything but a villain; and every day that passed without
-his hearing from or of his niece, instead of inducing him to forget his
-fears, tended more and more to intensify them.
-
-The loss of his niece's cheerful society tended also to depress his
-spirits; and in order to dispel this despondency, which often crept upon
-his mind after his daily employment was over, he was wont frequently to
-prevail upon Schalken to accompany him home, and by his presence to
-dispel, in some degree, the gloom of his otherwise solitary supper.
-
-One evening, the painter and his pupil were sitting by the fire, having
-accomplished a comfortable supper. They had yielded to that silent
-pensiveness sometimes induced by the process of digestion, when their
-reflections were disturbed by a loud sound at the street-door, as if
-occasioned by some person rushing forcibly and repeatedly against it.
-A domestic had run without delay to ascertain the cause of the
-disturbance, and they heard him twice or thrice interrogate the
-applicant for admission, but without producing an answer or any
-cessation of the sounds.
-
-They heard him then open the hall door, and immediately there followed a
-light and rapid tread upon the staircase. Schalken laid his hand on his
-sword, and advanced towards the door. It opened before he reached it,
-and Rose rushed into the room. She looked wild and haggard, and pale
-with exhaustion and terror; but her dress surprised them as much even as
-her unexpected appearance. It consisted of a kind of white woollen
-wrapper, made close about the neck, and descending to the very ground.
-It was much deranged and travel-soiled. The poor creature had hardly
-entered the chamber when she fell senseless on the floor. With some
-difficulty they succeeded in reviving her, and on recovering her senses
-she instantly exclaimed, in a tone of eager, terrified impatience,--
-
-"Wine, wine, quickly, or I'm lost!"
-
-Much alarmed at the strange agitation in which the call was made, they
-at once administered to her wishes, and she drank some wine with a haste
-and eagerness which surprised him. She had hardly swallowed it, when she
-exclaimed with the same urgency,--
-
-"Food, food, at once, or I perish!"
-
-A considerable fragment of a roast joint was upon the table, and
-Schalken immediately proceeded to cut some, but he was anticipated; for
-no sooner had she become aware of its presence than she darted at it
-with the rapacity of a vulture, and, seizing it in her hands, she tore
-off the flesh with her teeth and swallowed it.
-
-When the paroxysm of hunger had been a little appeased, she appeared
-suddenly to become aware how strange her conduct had been, or it may
-have been that other more agitating thoughts recurred to her mind, for
-she began to weep bitterly, and to wring her hands.
-
-"Oh! send for a minister of God," said she; "I am not safe till he
-comes; send for him speedily."
-
-Gerard Douw despatched a messenger instantly, and prevailed on his niece
-to allow him to surrender his bedchamber to her use; he also persuaded
-her to retire to it at once and to rest; her consent was extorted upon
-the condition that they would not leave her for a moment.
-
-"Oh that the holy man were here!" she said; "he can deliver me. The dead
-and the living can never be one--God has forbidden it."
-
-With these mysterious words she surrendered herself to their guidance,
-and they proceeded to the chamber which Gerard Douw had assigned to her
-use.
-
-"Do not--do not leave me for a moment," said she. "I am lost for ever if
-you do."
-
-Gerard Douw's chamber was approached through a spacious apartment, which
-they were now about to enter. Gerard Douw and Schalken each carried a
-wax candle, so that a sufficient degree of light was cast upon all
-surrounding objects. They were now entering the large chamber, which,
-as I have said, communicated with Douw's apartment, when Rose suddenly
-stopped, and, in a whisper which seemed to thrill with horror, she
-said,--
-
-"O God! he is here--he is here! See, see--there he goes!"
-
-She pointed towards the door of the inner room, and Schalken thought
-he saw a shadowy and ill-defined form gliding into that apartment. He
-drew his sword, and raising the candle so as to throw its light with
-increased distinctness upon the objects in the room, he entered the
-chamber into which the figure had glided. No figure was there--nothing
-but the furniture which belonged to the room, and yet he could not be
-deceived as to the fact that something had moved before them into the
-chamber.
-
-A sickening dread came upon him, and the cold perspiration broke out in
-heavy drops upon his forehead; nor was he more composed when he heard
-the increased urgency, the agony of entreaty, with which Rose implored
-them not to leave her for a moment.
-
-"I saw him," said she. "He's here! I cannot be deceived--I know him.
-He's by me--he's with me--he's in the room. Then, for God's sake, as you
-would save, do not stir from beside me!"
-
-They at length prevailed upon her to lie down upon the bed, where she
-continued to urge them to stay by her. She frequently uttered incoherent
-sentences, repeating again and again, "The dead and the living cannot be
-one--God has forbidden it!" and then again, "Rest to the wakeful--sleep
-to the sleep-walkers."
-
-These and such mysterious and broken sentences she continued to utter
-until the clergyman arrived.
-
-Gerard Douw began to fear, naturally enough, that the poor girl, owing
-to terror or ill-treatment, had become deranged; and he half suspected,
-by the suddenness of her appearance, and the unseasonableness of the
-hour, and, above all, from the wildness and terror of her manner, that
-she had made her escape from some place of confinement for lunatics, and
-was in immediate fear of pursuit. He resolved to summon medical advice
-as soon as the mind of his niece had been in some measure set at rest
-by the offices of the clergyman whose attendance she had so earnestly
-desired; and until this object had been attained, he did not venture to
-put any questions to her, which might possibly, by reviving painful or
-horrible recollections, increase her agitation.
-
-The clergyman soon arrived--a man of ascetic countenance and venerable
-age--one whom Gerard Douw respected much, forasmuch as he was a veteran
-polemic, though one, perhaps, more dreaded as a combatant than beloved
-as a Christian--of pure morality, subtle brain, and frozen heart. He
-entered the chamber which communicated with that in which Rose reclined,
-and immediately on his arrival she requested him to pray for her, as for
-one who lay in the hands of Satan, and who could hope for deliverance
-only from Heaven.
-
-That our readers may distinctly understand all the circumstances of the
-event which we are about imperfectly to describe, it is necessary to
-state the relative positions of the parties who were engaged in it.
-The old clergyman and Schalken were in the ante-room of which we have
-already spoken; Rose lay in the inner chamber, the door of which was
-open; and by the side of the bed, at her urgent desire, stood her
-guardian; a candle burned in the bedchamber, and three were lighted in
-the outer apartment.
-
-The old man now cleared his voice, as if about to commence; but before
-he had time to begin, a sudden gust of air blew out the candle which
-served to illuminate the room in which the poor girl lay, and she with
-hurried alarm, exclaimed:
-
-"Godfrey, bring in another candle; the darkness is unsafe."
-
-Gerard Douw, forgetting for the moment her repeated injunctions in the
-immediate impulse, stepped from the bedchamber into the other, in order
-to supply what she desired.
-
-"O God! do not go, dear uncle!" shrieked the unhappy girl; and at the
-same time she sprang from the bed and darted after him, in order, by her
-grasp, to detain him.
-
-But the warning came too late, for scarcely had he passed the threshold,
-and hardly had his niece had time to utter the startling exclamation,
-when the door which divided the two rooms closed violently after him, as
-if swung to by a strong blast of wind.
-
-Schalken and he both rushed to the door, but their united and desperate
-efforts could not avail so much as to shake it.
-
-Shriek after shriek burst from the inner chamber, with all the piercing
-loudness of despairing terror. Schalken and Douw applied every energy
-and strained every nerve to force open the door; but all in vain.
-
-There was no sound of struggling from within, but the screams seemed to
-increase in loudness, and at the same time they heard the bolts of the
-latticed window withdrawn, and the window itself grated upon the sill
-as if thrown open.
-
-One last shriek, so long and piercing and agonized as to be scarcely
-human, swelled from the room, and suddenly there followed a death-like
-silence.
-
-A light step was heard crossing the floor, as if from the bed to the
-window; and almost at the same instant the door gave way, and yielding
-to the pressure of the external applicants, they were nearly
-precipitated into the room. It was empty. The window was open, and
-Schalken sprang to a chair and gazed out upon the street and at the
-canal below. He saw no form, but he beheld, or thought he beheld, the
-waters of the broad canal beneath settling ring after ring in heavy
-circular ripples, as if a moment before disturbed by the immersion of
-some large and heavy mass.
-
-No trace of Rose was ever after discovered, nor was anything certain
-respecting her mysterious wooer detected or even suspected; no clue
-whereby to trace the intricacies of the labyrinth, and to arrive at a
-distinct conclusion was to be found. But an incident occurred, which,
-though it will not be received by our rational readers as at all
-approaching to evidence upon the matter, nevertheless produced a strong
-and a lasting impression upon the mind of Schalken.
-
-[Illustration: THE WATERS OF THE BROAD CANAL BENEATH SETTLING RING AFTER
-RING IN HEAVY CIRCULAR RIPPLES.]
-
-Many years after the events which we have detailed, Schalken, then
-remotely situated, received an intimation of his father's death, and
-of his intended burial upon a fixed day in the church of Rotterdam. It
-was necessary that a very considerable journey should be performed by
-the funeral procession, which, as it will readily be believed, was not
-very numerously attended. Schalken with difficulty arrived in Rotterdam
-late in the day upon which the funeral was appointed to take place. The
-procession had not then arrived. Evening closed in, and still it did not
-appear.
-
-Schalken strolled down to the church--he found it open; notice of the
-arrival of the funeral had been given, and the vault in which the body
-was to be laid had been opened. The official who corresponds to our
-sexton, on seeing a well-dressed gentleman, whose object was to attend
-the expected funeral, pacing the aisle of the church, hospitably invited
-him to share with him the comforts of a blazing wood fire, which as was
-his custom in winter time upon such occasions, he had kindled on the
-hearth of a chamber which communicated by a flight of steps with the
-vault below.
-
-In this chamber Schalken and his entertainer seated themselves; and
-the sexton, after some fruitless attempts to engage his guest in
-conversation, was obliged to apply himself to his tobacco-pipe and can
-to solace his solitude.
-
-In spite of his grief and cares, the fatigues of a rapid journey of
-nearly forty hours gradually overcame the mind and body of Godfrey
-Schalken, and he sank into a deep sleep, from which he was awakened by
-some one shaking him gently by the shoulder. He first thought that the
-old sexton had called him, but _he_ was no longer in the room.
-
-He roused himself, and as soon as he could clearly see what was around
-him, he perceived a female form, clothed in a kind of light robe of
-muslin, part of which was so disposed as to act as a veil, and in her
-hand she carried a lamp. She was moving rather away from him, and
-towards the flight of steps which conducted towards the vaults.
-
-Schalken felt a vague alarm at the sight of this figure, and at the same
-time an irresistible impulse to follow its guidance. He followed it
-towards the vaults, but when it reached the head of the stairs, he
-paused; the figure paused also, and turning gently round, displayed, by
-the light of the lamp it carried, the face and features of his first
-love, Rose Velderkaust. There was nothing horrible, or even sad, in the
-countenance. On the contrary, it wore the same arch smile which used to
-enchant the artist long before in his happy days.
-
-A feeling of awe and of interest, too intense to be resisted, prompted
-him to follow the spectre, if spectre it were. She descended the
-stairs--he followed; and, turning to the left, through a narrow passage
-she led him, to his infinite surprise, into what appeared to be an
-old-fashioned Dutch apartment, such as the pictures of Gerard Douw have
-served to immortalize.
-
-Abundance of costly antique furniture was disposed about the room, and
-in one corner stood a four-post bed, with heavy black cloth curtains
-around it. The figure frequently turned towards him with the same arch
-smile; and when she came to the side of the bed, she drew the curtains,
-and by the light of the lamp which she held towards its contents, she
-disclosed to the horror-stricken painter, sitting bolt upright in the
-bed, the livid and demoniac form of Vanderhausen. Schalken had hardly
-seen him when he fell senseless upon the floor, where he lay until
-discovered, on the next morning, by persons employed in closing the
-passages into the vaults. He was lying in a cell of considerable size,
-which had not been disturbed for a long time, and he had fallen beside
-a large coffin which was supported upon small stone pillars, a security
-against the attacks of vermin.
-
-To his dying day Schalken was satisfied of the reality of the vision
-which he had witnessed, and he has left behind him a curious evidence of
-the impression which it wrought upon his fancy, in a painting executed
-shortly after the event we have narrated, and which is valuable as
-exhibiting not only the peculiarities which have made Schalken's
-pictures sought after, but even more so as presenting a portrait, as
-close and faithful as one taken from memory can be, of his early love,
-Rose Velderkaust, whose mysterious fate must ever remain matter of
-speculation.
-
-[Illustration: SHE DREW THE CURTAINS.]
-
-The picture represents a chamber of antique masonry, such as might be
-found in most old cathedrals, and is lighted faintly by a lamp carried
-in the hand of a female figure, such as we have above attempted to
-describe; and in the background, and to the left of him who examines the
-painting, there stands the form of a man apparently aroused from sleep,
-and by his attitude, his hand being laid upon his sword, exhibiting
-considerable alarm; this last figure is illuminated only by the expiring
-glare of a wood or charcoal fire.
-
-The whole production exhibits a beautiful specimen of that artful and
-singular distribution of light and shade which has rendered the name
-of Schalken immortal among the artists of his country. This tale is
-traditionary, and the reader will easily perceive, by our studiously
-omitting to heighten many points of the narrative, when a little
-additional colouring might have added effect to the recital, that we
-have desired to lay before him, not a figment of the brain, but a
-curious tradition connected with, and belonging to, the biography of
-a famous artist.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh.
-
-    "The earth hath bubbles as the water hath--
-    And these are of them."
-
-
-In the south of Ireland, and on the borders of the county of Limerick,
-there lies a district of two or three miles in length, which is rendered
-interesting by the fact that it is one of the very few spots throughout
-this country in which some vestiges of aboriginal forests still remain.
-It has little or none of the lordly character of the American forest,
-for the axe has felled its oldest and its grandest trees; but in the
-close wood which survives live all the wild and pleasing peculiarities
-of nature: its complete irregularity, its vistas, in whose perspective
-the quiet cattle are browsing; its refreshing glades, where the grey
-rocks arise from amid the nodding fern; the silvery shafts of the old
-birch-trees; the knotted trunks of the hoary oak, the grotesque but
-graceful branches which never shed their honours under the tyrant
-pruning-hook; the soft green sward; the chequered light and shade;
-the wild luxuriant weeds; the lichen and the moss--all are beautiful
-alike in the green freshness of spring or in the sadness and sere of
-autumn. Their beauty is of that kind which makes the heart full with
-joy--appealing to the affections with a power which belongs to nature
-only. This wood runs up, from below the base, to the ridge of a long
-line of irregular hills, having perhaps, in primitive times, formed but
-the skirting of some mighty forest which occupied the level below.
-
-But now, alas! whither have we drifted? whither has the tide of
-civilization borne us? It has passed over a land unprepared for it--it
-has left nakedness behind it; we have lost our forests, but our
-marauders remain; we have destroyed all that is picturesque, while we
-have retained everything that is revolting in barbarism. Through the
-midst of this woodland there runs a deep gully or glen, where the
-stillness of the scene is broken in upon by the brawling of a
-mountain-stream, which, however, in the winter season, swells into
-a rapid and formidable torrent.
-
-There is one point at which the glen becomes extremely deep and narrow;
-the sides descend to the depth of some hundred feet, and are so steep
-as to be nearly perpendicular. The wild trees which have taken root in
-the crannies and chasms of the rock are so intersected and entangled,
-that one can with difficulty catch a glimpse of the stream which wheels,
-flashes, and foams below, as if exulting in the surrounding silence and
-solitude.
-
-This spot was not unwisely chosen, as a point of no ordinary strength,
-for the erection of a massive square tower or keep, one side of which
-rises as if in continuation of the precipitous cliff on which it is
-based. Originally, the only mode of ingress was by a narrow portal in
-the very wall which overtopped the precipice, opening upon a ledge of
-rock which afforded a precarious pathway, cautiously intersected,
-however, by a deep trench cut out with great labour in the living rock;
-so that, in its pristine state, and before the introduction of artillery
-into the art of war, this tower might have been pronounced, and that not
-presumptuously, impregnable.
-
-The progress of improvement and the increasing security of the times
-had, however, tempted its successive proprietors, if not to adorn, at
-least to enlarge their premises, and about the middle of the last
-century, when the castle was last inhabited, the original square tower
-formed but a small part of the edifice.
-
-The castle, and a wide tract of the surrounding country, had from time
-immemorial belonged to a family which, for distinctness, we shall call
-by the name of Ardagh; and owing to the associations which, in Ireland,
-almost always attach to scenes which have long witnessed alike the
-exercise of stern feudal authority, and of that savage hospitality which
-distinguished the good old times, this building has become the subject
-and the scene of many wild and extraordinary traditions. One of them I
-have been enabled, by a personal acquaintance with an eye-witness of the
-events, to trace to its origin; and yet it is hard to say whether the
-events which I am about to record appear more strange and improbable as
-seen through the distorting medium of tradition, or in the appalling
-dimness of uncertainty which surrounds the reality.
-
-Tradition says that, sometime in the last century, Sir Robert Ardagh, a
-young man, and the last heir of that family, went abroad and served in
-foreign armies; and that, having acquired considerable honour and
-emolument, he settled at Castle Ardagh, the building we have just now
-attempted to describe. He was what the country people call a _dark_ man;
-that is, he was considered morose, reserved, and ill-tempered; and, as
-it was supposed from the utter solitude of his life, was upon no terms
-of cordiality with the other members of his family.
-
-The only occasion upon which he broke through the solitary monotony
-of his life was during the continuance of the racing season, and
-immediately subsequent to it; at which time he was to be seen among
-the busiest upon the course, betting deeply and unhesitatingly, and
-invariably with success. Sir Robert was, however, too well known as a
-man of honour, and of too high a family, to be suspected of any unfair
-dealing. He was, moreover, a soldier, and a man of intrepid as well as
-of a haughty character; and no one cared to hazard a surmise, the
-consequences of which would be felt most probably by its originator
-only.
-
-Gossip, however, was not silent; it was remarked that Sir Robert never
-appeared at the race-ground, which was the only place of public resort
-which he frequented, except in company with a certain strange-looking
-person, who was never seen elsewhere, or under other circumstances. It
-was remarked, too, that this man, whose relation to Sir Robert was never
-distinctly ascertained, was the only person to whom he seemed to speak
-unnecessarily; it was observed that while with the country gentry he
-exchanged no further communication than what was unavoidable in
-arranging his sporting transactions, with this person he would converse
-earnestly and frequently. Tradition asserts that, to enhance the
-curiosity which this unaccountable and exclusive preference excited,
-the stranger possessed some striking and unpleasant peculiarities of
-person and of garb--though it is not stated, however, what these
-were--but they, in conjunction with Sir Robert's secluded habits and
-extraordinary run of luck--a success which was supposed to result from
-the suggestions and immediate advice of the unknown--were sufficient to
-warrant report in pronouncing that there was something _queer_ in the
-wind, and in surmising that Sir Robert was playing a fearful and a
-hazardous game, and that, in short, his strange companion was little
-better than the Devil himself.
-
-Years rolled quietly away, and nothing very novel occurred in the
-arrangements of Castle Ardagh, excepting that Sir Robert parted with his
-odd companion, but as nobody could tell whence he came, so nobody could
-say whither he had gone. Sir Robert's habits, however, underwent no
-consequent change; he continued regularly to frequent the race meetings,
-without mixing at all in the convivialities of the gentry, and
-immediately afterwards to relapse into the secluded monotony of his
-ordinary life.
-
-It was said that he had accumulated vast sums of money--and, as his bets
-were always successful and always large, such must have been the case.
-He did not suffer the acquisition of wealth, however, to influence his
-hospitality or his house-keeping--he neither purchased land, nor
-extended his establishment; and his mode of enjoying his money must have
-been altogether that of the miser--consisting merely in the pleasure of
-touching and telling his gold, and in the consciousness of wealth.
-
-Sir Robert's temper, so far from improving, became more than ever gloomy
-and morose. He sometimes carried the indulgence of his evil dispositions
-to such a height that it bordered upon insanity. During these paroxysms
-he would neither eat, drink, nor sleep. On such occasions he insisted on
-perfect privacy, even from the intrusion of his most trusted servants;
-his voice was frequently heard, sometimes in earnest supplication,
-sometimes raised, as if in loud and angry altercation with some unknown
-visitant. Sometimes he would for hours together walk to and fro
-throughout the long oak-wainscoted apartment which he generally
-occupied, with wild gesticulations and agitated pace, in the manner of
-one who has been roused to a state of unnatural excitement by some
-sudden and appalling intimation.
-
-These paroxysms of apparent lunacy were so frightful, that during their
-continuance even his oldest and most faithful domestics dared not
-approach him; consequently his hours of agony were never intruded upon,
-and the mysterious causes of his sufferings appeared likely to remain
-hidden for ever.
-
-On one occasion a fit of this kind continued for an unusual time; the
-ordinary term of their duration--about two days--had been long past,
-and the old servant who generally waited upon Sir Robert after these
-visitations, having in vain listened for the well-known tinkle of his
-master's hand-bell, began to feel extremely anxious; he feared that his
-master might have died from sheer exhaustion, or perhaps put an end to
-his own existence during his miserable depression. These fears at length
-became so strong, that having in vain urged some of his brother servants
-to accompany him, he determined to go up alone, and himself see whether
-any accident had befallen Sir Robert.
-
-He traversed the several passages which conducted from the new to the
-more ancient parts of the mansion, and having arrived in the old hall
-of the castle, the utter silence of the hour--for it was very late in
-the night--the idea of the nature of the enterprise in which he was
-engaging himself, a sensation of remoteness from anything like human
-companionship, but, more than all, the vivid but undefined anticipation
-of something horrible, came upon him with such oppressive weight that
-he hesitated as to whether he should proceed. Real uneasiness, however,
-respecting the fate of his master, for whom he felt that kind of
-attachment which the force of habitual intercourse not unfrequently
-engenders respecting objects not in themselves amiable, and also a
-latent unwillingness to expose his weakness to the ridicule of his
-fellow-servants, combined to overcome his reluctance; and he had just
-placed his foot upon the first step of the staircase which conducted to
-his master's chamber, when his attention was arrested by a low but
-distinct knocking at the hall-door. Not, perhaps, very sorry at finding
-thus an excuse even for deferring his intended expedition, he placed
-the candle upon a stone block which lay in the hall and approached the
-door, uncertain whether his ears had not deceived him. This doubt was
-justified by the circumstance that the hall entrance had been for nearly
-fifty years disused as a mode of ingress to the castle. The situation of
-this gate also, which we have endeavoured to describe, opening upon a
-narrow ledge of rock which overhangs a perilous cliff, rendered it at
-all times, but particularly at night, a dangerous entrance. This
-shelving platform of rock, which formed the only avenue to the door, was
-divided, as I have already stated, by a broad chasm, the planks across
-which had long disappeared, by decay or otherwise; so that it seemed at
-least highly improbable that any man could have found his way across the
-passage in safety to the door, more particularly on a night like this,
-of singular darkness. The old man, therefore, listened attentively, to
-ascertain whether the first application should be followed by another.
-He had not long to wait. The same low but singularly distinct knocking
-was repeated; so low that it seemed as if the applicant had employed
-no harder or heavier instrument than his hand, and yet, despite the
-immense thickness of the door, with such strength that the sound was
-distinctly audible.
-
-The knock was repeated a third time, without any increase of loudness;
-and the old man, obeying an impulse for which to his dying hour he could
-never account, proceeded to remove, one by one, the three great oaken
-bars which secured the door. Time and damp had effectually corroded the
-iron chambers of the lock, so that it afforded little resistance. With
-some effort, as he believed, assisted from without, the old servant
-succeeded in opening the door; and a low, square-built figure,
-apparently that of a man wrapped in a large black cloak, entered
-the hall. The servant could not see much of this visitor with any
-distinctness; his dress appeared foreign, the skirt of his ample cloak
-was thrown over one shoulder; he wore a large felt hat, with a very
-heavy leaf, from under which escaped what appeared to be a mass of long
-sooty-black hair; his feet were cased in heavy riding-boots. Such were
-the few particulars which the servant had time and light to observe. The
-stranger desired him to let his master know instantly that a friend had
-come, by appointment, to settle some business with him. The servant
-hesitated, but a slight motion on the part of his visitor, as if to
-possess himself of the candle, determined him; so, taking it in his
-hand, he ascended the castle stairs, leaving the guest in the hall.
-
-[Illustration: HE PAUSED, BUT THERE WAS NO SOUND.]
-
-On reaching the apartment which opened upon the oak-chamber he was
-surprised to observe the door of that room partly open, and the room
-itself lit up. He paused, but there was no sound; he looked in, and saw
-Sir Robert, his head and the upper part of his body reclining on a
-table, upon which two candles burned; his arms were stretched forward on
-either side, and perfectly motionless; it appeared that, having been
-sitting at the table, he had thus sunk forward, either dead or in a
-swoon. There was no sound of breathing; all was silent, except the
-sharp ticking of a watch, which lay beside the lamp. The servant coughed
-twice or thrice, but with no effect; his fears now almost amounted to
-certainty, and he was approaching the table on which his master partly
-lay, to satisfy himself of his death, when Sir Robert slowly raised his
-head, and, throwing himself back in his chair, fixed his eyes in a
-ghastly and uncertain gaze upon his attendant. At length he said, slowly
-and painfully, as if he dreaded the answer,--
-
-"In God's name, what are you?"
-
-"Sir," said the servant, "a strange gentleman wants to see you below."
-
-At this intimation Sir Robert, starting to his feet and tossing his arms
-wildly upwards, uttered a shriek of such appalling and despairing terror
-that it was almost too fearful for human endurance; and long after the
-sound had ceased it seemed to the terrified imagination of the old
-servant to roll through the deserted passages in bursts of unnatural
-laughter. After a few moments Sir Robert said,--
-
-"Can't you send him away? Why does he come so soon? O Merciful Powers!
-let him leave me for an hour; a little time. I can't see him now; try to
-get him away. You see I can't go down now; I have not strength. O God!
-O God! let him come back in an hour; it is not long to wait. He cannot
-lose anything by it; nothing, nothing, nothing. Tell him that! Say
-anything to him."
-
-The servant went down. In his own words, he did not feel the stairs
-under him till he got to the hall. The figure stood exactly as he had
-left it. He delivered his master's message as coherently as he could.
-The stranger replied in a careless tone:
-
-"If Sir Robert will not come down to me; I must go up to him."
-
-The man returned, and to his surprise he found his master much more
-composed in manner. He listened to the message, and though the cold
-perspiration rose in drops upon his forehead faster than he could wipe
-it away, his manner had lost the dreadful agitation which had marked it
-before. He rose feebly, and casting a last look of agony behind him,
-passed from the room to the lobby, where he signed to his attendant not
-to follow him. The man moved as far as the head of the staircase, from
-whence he had a tolerably distinct view of the hall, which was
-imperfectly lighted by the candle he had left there.
-
-He saw his master reel, rather than walk, down the stairs, clinging all
-the way to the banisters. He walked on, as if about to sink every moment
-from weakness. The figure advanced as if to meet him, and in passing
-struck down the light. The servant could see no more; but there was
-a sound of struggling, renewed at intervals with silent but fearful
-energy. It was evident, however, that the parties were approaching the
-door, for he heard the solid oak sound twice or thrice, as the feet of
-the combatants, in shuffling hither and thither over the floor, struck
-upon it. After a slight pause, he heard the door thrown open with such
-violence that the leaf seemed to strike the side-wall of the hall, for
-it was so dark without that this could only be surmised by the sound.
-The struggle was renewed with an agony and intenseness of energy that
-betrayed itself in deep-drawn gasps. One desperate effort, which
-terminated in the breaking of some part of the door, producing a sound
-as if the door-post was wrenched from its position, was followed by
-another wrestle, evidently upon the narrow ledge which ran outside the
-door, overtopping the precipice. This proved to be the final struggle;
-it was followed by a crashing sound as if some heavy body had fallen
-over, and was rushing down the precipice through the light boughs that
-crossed near the top. All then became still as the grave, except when
-the moan of the night-wind sighed up the wooded glen.
-
-The old servant had not nerve to return through the hall, and to him the
-darkness seemed all but endless; but morning at length came, and with
-it the disclosure of the events of the night. Near the door, upon the
-ground, lay Sir Robert's sword-belt, which had given way in the scuffle.
-A huge splinter from the massive door-post had been wrenched off by
-an almost superhuman effort--one which nothing but the gripe of a
-despairing man could have severed--and on the rocks outside were left
-the marks of the slipping and sliding of feet.
-
-[Illustration: AT THE FOOT OF THE PRECIPICE.]
-
-At the foot of the precipice, not immediately under the castle, but
-dragged some way up the glen, were found the remains of Sir Robert,
-with hardly a vestige of a limb or feature left distinguishable. The
-right hand, however, was uninjured, and in its fingers were clutched,
-with the fixedness of death, a long lock of coarse sooty hair--the only
-direct circumstantial evidence of the presence of a second person.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-The Dream.
-
-
-Dreams! What age, or what country of the world, has not felt and
-acknowledged the mystery of their origin and end? I have thought not a
-little upon the subject, seeing it is one which has been often forced
-upon my attention, and sometimes strangely enough; and yet I have never
-arrived at anything which at all appeared a satisfactory conclusion. It
-does appear that a mental phenomenon so extraordinary cannot be wholly
-without its use. We know, indeed, that in the olden times it has been
-made the organ of communication between the Deity and His creatures;
-and when a dream produces upon a mind, to all appearance hopelessly
-reprobate and depraved, an effect so powerful and so lasting as to break
-down the inveterate habits, and to reform the life of an abandoned
-sinner, we see in the result, in the reformation of morals which
-appeared incorrigible, in the reclamation of a human soul which seemed
-to be irretrievably lost, something more than could be produced by a
-mere chimera of the slumbering fancy, something more than could arise
-from the capricious images of a terrified imagination. And while Reason
-rejects as absurd the superstition which will read a prophecy in every
-dream, she may, without violence to herself, recognize, even in the
-wildest and most incongruous of the wanderings of a slumbering
-intellect, the evidences and the fragments of a language which may be
-spoken, which _has_ been spoken, to terrify, to warn and to command. We
-have reason to believe too, by the promptness of action which in the
-age of the prophets followed all intimations of this kind, and by the
-strength of conviction and strange permanence of the effects resulting
-from certain dreams in latter times--which effects we ourselves may have
-witnessed--that when this medium of communication has been employed
-by the Deity, the evidences of His presence have been unequivocal. My
-thoughts were directed to this subject in a manner to leave a lasting
-impression upon my mind, by the events which I shall now relate, the
-statement of which, however extraordinary, is nevertheless accurate.
-
-About the year 17--, having been appointed to the living of C----h, I
-rented a small house in the town which bears the same name: one morning
-in the month of November, I was awakened before my usual time by my
-servant, who bustled into my bedroom for the purpose of announcing a
-sick call. As the Catholic Church holds her last rites to be totally
-indispensable to the safety of the departing sinner, no conscientious
-clergyman can afford a moment's unnecessary delay, and in little more
-than five minutes I stood ready, cloaked and booted for the road, in the
-small front parlour in which the messenger, who was to act as my guide,
-awaited my coming. I found a poor little girl crying piteously near the
-door, and after some slight difficulty I ascertained that her father was
-either dead or just dying.
-
-"And what may be your father's name, my poor child?" said I. She held
-down her head as if ashamed. I repeated the question, and the wretched
-little creature burst into floods of tears still more bitter than she
-had shed before. At length, almost angered by conduct which appeared to
-me so unreasonable, I began to lose patience, and I said rather
-harshly,--
-
-"If you will not tell me the name of the person to whom you would lead
-me, your silence can arise from no good motive, and I might be justified
-in refusing to go with you at all."
-
-"Oh, don't say that--don't say that!" cried she. "Oh, sir, it was that
-I was afeard of when I would not tell you--I was afeard, when you heard
-his name, you would not come with me; but it is no use hidin' it
-now--it's Pat Connell, the carpenter, your honour."
-
-She looked in my face with the most earnest anxiety, as if her very
-existence depended upon what she should read there. I relieved the child
-at once. The name, indeed, was most unpleasantly familiar to me; but,
-however fruitless my visits and advice might have been at another time,
-the present was too fearful an occasion to suffer my doubts of their
-utility, or my reluctance to re-attempting what appeared a hopeless
-task, to weigh even against the lightest chance that a consciousness of
-his imminent danger might produce in him a more docile and tractable
-disposition. Accordingly I told the child to lead the way, and followed
-her in silence. She hurried rapidly through the long narrow street which
-forms the great thoroughfare of the town. The darkness of the hour,
-rendered still deeper by the close approach of the old-fashioned houses,
-which lowered in tall obscurity on either side of the way; the damp,
-dreary chill which renders the advance of morning peculiarly cheerless,
-combined with the object of my walk--to visit the death-bed of a
-presumptuous sinner, to endeavour, almost against my own conviction,
-to infuse a hope into the heart of a dying reprobate--a drunkard but
-too probably perishing under the consequences of some mad fit of
-intoxication; all these circumstances served to enhance the gloom and
-solemnity of my feelings, as I silently followed my little guide, who
-with quick steps traversed the uneven pavement of the Main Street. After
-a walk of about five minutes, she turned off into a narrow lane, of that
-obscure and comfortless class which is to be found in almost all small
-old-fashioned towns, chill, without ventilation, reeking with all manner
-of offensive effluviĉ, and lined by dingy, smoky, sickly and pent-up
-buildings, frequently not only in a wretched but in a dangerous
-condition.
-
-"Your father has changed his abode since I last visited him, and, I am
-afraid, much for the worse," said I.
-
-"Indeed he has, sir; but we must not complain," replied she. "We have to
-thank God that we have lodging and food, though it's poor enough, it is,
-your honour."
-
-Poor child! thought I. How many an older head might learn wisdom from
-thee--how many a luxurious philosopher, who is skilled to preach but not
-to suffer, might not thy patient words put to the blush! The manner and
-language of my companion were alike above her years and station; and,
-indeed, in all cases in which the cares and sorrows of life have
-anticipated their usual date, and have fallen, as they sometimes do,
-with melancholy prematurity to the lot of childhood, I have observed the
-result to have proved uniformly the same. A young mind, to which joy and
-indulgence have been strangers, and to which suffering and self-denial
-have been familiarized from the first, acquires a solidity and an
-elevation which no other discipline could have bestowed, and which, in
-the present case, communicated a striking but mournful peculiarity to
-the manners, even to the voice, of the child. We paused before a narrow,
-crazy door, which she opened by means of a latch, and we forthwith began
-to ascend the steep and broken stairs which led to the sick man's room.
-
-As we mounted flight after flight towards the garret-floor, I heard more
-and more distinctly the hurried talking of many voices. I could also
-distinguish the low sobbing of a female. On arriving upon the uppermost
-lobby, these sounds became fully audible.
-
-"This way, your honour," said my little conductress; at the same time,
-pushing open a door of patched and half-rotten plank, she admitted me
-into the squalid chamber of death and misery. But one candle, held in
-the fingers of a scared and haggard-looking child, was burning in the
-room, and that so dim that all was twilight or darkness except within
-its immediate influence. The general obscurity, however, served to throw
-into prominent and startling relief the death-bed and its occupant. The
-light fell with horrible clearness upon the blue and swollen features of
-the drunkard. I did not think it possible that a human countenance could
-look so terrific. The lips were black and drawn apart; the teeth were
-firmly set; the eyes a little unclosed, and nothing but the whites
-appearing. Every feature was fixed and livid, and the whole face wore a
-ghastly and rigid expression of despairing terror such as I never saw
-equalled. His hands were crossed upon his breast, and firmly clenched;
-while, as if to add to the corpse-like effect of the whole, some white
-cloths, dipped in water, were wound about the forehead and temples.
-
-As soon as I could remove my eyes from this horrible spectacle, I
-observed my friend Dr. D----, one of the most humane of a humane
-profession, standing by the bedside. He had been attempting, but
-unsuccessfully, to bleed the patient, and had now applied his finger to
-the pulse.
-
-"Is there any hope?" I inquired in a whisper.
-
-A shake of the head was the reply. There was a pause, while he continued
-to hold the wrist; but he waited in vain for the throb of life--it was
-not there: and when he let go the hand, it fell stiffly back into its
-former position upon the other.
-
-"The man is dead," said the physician, as he turned from the bed where
-the terrible figure lay.
-
-Dead! thought I, scarcely venturing to look upon the tremendous and
-revolting spectacle. Dead! without an hour for repentance, even a moment
-for reflection. Dead! without the rites which even the best should have.
-Was there a hope for him? The glaring eyeball, the grinning mouth, the
-distorted brow--that unutterable look in which a painter would have
-sought to embody the fixed despair of the nethermost hell--These were my
-answer.
-
-The poor wife sat at a little distance, crying as if her heart would
-break--the younger children clustered round the bed, looking with
-wondering curiosity upon the form of death, never seen before.
-
-When the first tumult of uncontrollable sorrow had passed away, availing
-myself of the solemnity and impressiveness of the scene, I desired the
-heart-stricken family to accompany me in prayer, and all knelt down
-while I solemnly and fervently repeated some of those prayers which
-appeared most applicable to the occasion. I employed myself thus in a
-manner which I trusted was not unprofitable, at least to the living, for
-about ten minutes; and having accomplished my task, I was the first to
-arise.
-
-I looked upon the poor, sobbing, helpless creatures who knelt so humbly
-around me, and my heart bled for them. With a natural transition I
-turned my eyes from them to the bed in which the body lay; and, great
-God! what was the revulsion, the horror which I experienced on seeing
-the corpse-like, terrific thing seated half upright before me. The white
-cloths which had been wound about the head had now partly slipped from
-their position, and were hanging in grotesque festoons about the face
-and shoulders, while the distorted eyes leered from amid them--
-
-    "A sight to dream of, not to tell."
-
-I stood actually riveted to the spot. The figure nodded its head and
-lifted its arm, I thought, with a menacing gesture. A thousand confused
-and horrible thoughts at once rushed upon my mind. I had often read
-that the body of a presumptuous sinner, who, during life, had been the
-willing creature of every satanic impulse, had been known, after the
-human tenant had deserted it, to become the horrible sport of demoniac
-possession.
-
-I was roused by the piercing scream of the mother, who now, for the
-first time, perceived the change which had taken place. She rushed
-towards the bed, but, stunned by the shock and overcome by the conflict
-of violent emotions, before she reached it she fell prostrate upon the
-floor.
-
-I am perfectly convinced that had I not been startled from the torpidity
-of horror in which I was bound by some powerful and arousing stimulant,
-I should have gazed upon this unearthly apparition until I had fairly
-lost my senses. As it was, however, the spell was broken--superstition
-gave way to reason: the man whom all believed to have been actually dead
-was living!
-
-Dr. D---- was instantly standing by the bedside, and upon examination he
-found that a sudden and copious flow of blood had taken place from the
-wound which the lancet had left; and this, no doubt, had effected his
-sudden and almost preternatural restoration to an existence from which
-all thought he had been for ever removed. The man was still speechless,
-but he seemed to understand the physician when he forbade his repeating
-the painful and fruitless attempts which he made to articulate, and he
-at once resigned himself quietly into his hands.
-
-I left the patient with leeches upon his temples, and bleeding freely,
-apparently with little of the drowsiness which accompanies apoplexy.
-Indeed, Dr. D---- told me that he had never before witnessed a seizure
-which seemed to combine the symptoms of so many kinds, and yet which
-belonged to none of the recognized classes; it certainly was not
-apoplexy, catalepsy, nor _delirium tremens_, and yet it seemed, in some
-degree, to partake of the properties of all. It was strange, but
-stranger things are coming.
-
-During two or three days Dr. D---- would not allow his patient to
-converse in a manner which could excite or exhaust him, with anyone; he
-suffered him merely as briefly as possible to express his immediate
-wants. And it was not until the fourth day after my early visit, the
-particulars of which I have just detailed, that it was thought expedient
-that I should see him, and then only because it appeared that his
-extreme importunity and impatience to meet me were likely to retard
-his recovery more than the mere exhaustion attendant upon a short
-conversation could possibly do. Perhaps, too, my friend entertained some
-hope that if by holy confession his patient's bosom were eased of the
-perilous stuff which no doubt oppressed it, his recovery would be more
-assured and rapid. It was then, as I have said, upon the fourth day
-after my first professional call, that I found myself once more in the
-dreary chamber of want and sickness.
-
-The man was in bed, and appeared low and restless. On my entering the
-room he raised himself in the bed, and muttered, twice or thrice,--
-
-"Thank God! thank God!"
-
-I signed to those of his family who stood by to leave the room, and took
-a chair beside the bed. So soon as we were alone, he said, rather
-doggedly,--
-
-"There's no use in telling me of the sinfulness of bad ways--I know it
-all. I know where they lead to--I have seen everything about it with my
-own eyesight, as plain as I see you." He rolled himself in the bed, as
-if to hide his face in the clothes; and then suddenly raising himself,
-he exclaimed with startling vehemence, "Look, sir! there is no use in
-mincing the matter: I'm blasted with the fires of hell; I have been in
-hell. What do you think of that? In hell--I'm lost for ever--I have not
-a chance. I am damned already--damned--damned!"
-
-The end of this sentence he actually shouted. His vehemence was
-perfectly terrific; he threw himself back, and laughed, and sobbed
-hysterically. I poured some water into a tea-cup, and gave it to him.
-After he had swallowed it, I told him if he had anything to communicate,
-to do so as briefly as he could, and in a manner as little agitating to
-himself as possible; threatening at the same time, though I had no
-intention of doing so, to leave him at once in case he again gave way to
-such passionate excitement.
-
-"It's only foolishness," he continued, "for me to try to thank you for
-coming to such a villain as myself at all. It's no use for me to wish
-good to you, or to bless you; for such as me has no blessings to give."
-
-I told him that I had but done my duty, and urged him to proceed to the
-matter which weighed upon his mind. He then spoke nearly as follows:--
-
-"I came in drunk on Friday night last, and got to my bed here; I don't
-remember how. Sometime in the night it seemed to me I wakened, and
-feeling unasy in myself, I got up out of the bed. I wanted the fresh
-air; but I would not make a noise to open the window, for fear I'd waken
-the crathurs. It was very dark and throublesome to find the door; but at
-last I did get it, and I groped my way out, and went down as asy as I
-could. I felt quite sober, and I counted the steps one after another, as
-I was going down, that I might not stumble at the bottom.
-
-"When I came to the first landing-place--God be about us always!--the
-floor of it sunk under me, and I went down--down--down, till the senses
-almost left me. I do not know how long I was falling, but it seemed to
-me a great while. When I came rightly to myself at last, I was sitting
-near the top of a great table; and I could not see the end of it, if it
-had any, it was so far off. And there was men beyond reckoning sitting
-down all along by it, at each side, as far as I could see at all. I did
-not know at first was it in the open air; but there was a close
-smothering feel in it that was not natural. And there was a kind of
-light that my eyesight never saw before, red and unsteady; and I did not
-see for a long time where it was coming from, until I looked straight
-up, and then I seen that it came from great balls of blood-coloured fire
-that were rolling high overhead with a sort of rushing, trembling sound,
-and I perceived that they shone on the ribs of a great roof of rock
-that was arched overhead instead of the sky. When I seen this, scarce
-knowing what I did, I got up, and I said, 'I have no right to be here; I
-must go.' And the man that was sitting at my left hand only smiled, and
-said, 'Sit down again; you can _never_ leave this place.' And his voice
-was weaker than any child's voice I ever heerd; and when he was done
-speaking he smiled again.
-
-"Then I spoke out very loud and bold, and I said, 'In the name of God,
-let me out of this bad place.' And there was a great man that I did not
-see before, sitting at the end of the table that I was near; and he was
-taller than twelve men, and his face was very proud and terrible to look
-at. And he stood up and stretched out his hand before him; and when he
-stood up, all that was there, great and small, bowed down with a sighing
-sound; and a dread came on my heart, and he looked at me, and I could
-not speak. I felt I was his own, to do what he liked with, for I knew at
-once who he was; and he said, 'If you promise to return, you may depart
-for a season;' and the voice he spoke with was terrible and mournful,
-and the echoes of it went rolling and swelling down the endless cave,
-and mixing with the trembling of the fire overhead; so that when he sat
-down there was a sound after him, all through the place, like the
-roaring of a furnace. And I said, with all the strength I had, 'I
-promise to come back--in God's name let me go!'
-
-"And with that I lost the sight and the hearing of all that was there,
-and when my senses came to me again, I was sitting in the bed with the
-blood all over me, and you and the rest praying around the room."
-
-Here he paused, and wiped away the chill drops which hung upon his
-forehead.
-
-I remained silent for some moments. The vision which he had just
-described struck my imagination not a little, for this was long before
-Vathek and the "Hall of Eblis" had delighted the world; and the
-description which he gave had, as I received it, all the attractions of
-novelty beside the impressiveness which always belongs to the narration
-of an _eye-witness_, whether in the body or in the spirit, of the scenes
-which he describes. There was something, too, in the stern horror with
-which the man related these things, and in the incongruity of his
-description with the vulgarly received notions of the great place of
-punishment, and of its presiding spirit, which struck my mind with awe,
-almost with fear. At length he said, with an expression of horrible,
-imploring earnestness, which I shall never forget,--
-
-"Well, sir, is there any hope; is there any chance at all? or is my soul
-pledged and promised away for ever? is it gone out of my power? must I
-go back to the place?"
-
-In answering him, I had no easy task to perform; for however clear
-might be my internal conviction of the groundlessness of his fears, and
-however strong my scepticism respecting the reality of what he had
-described, I nevertheless felt that his impression to the contrary, and
-his humility and terror resulting from it, might be made available as no
-mean engines in the work of his conversion from profligacy, and of his
-restoration to decent habits and to religious feeling.
-
-I therefore told him that he was to regard his dream rather in the light
-of a warning than in that of a prophecy; that our salvation depended not
-upon the word or deed of a moment, but upon the habits of a life; that,
-in fine, if he at once discarded his idle companions and evil habits,
-and firmly adhered to a sober, industrious, and religious course of
-life, the powers of darkness might claim his soul in vain, for that
-there were higher and firmer pledges than human tongue could utter,
-which promised salvation to him who should repent and lead a new life.
-
-I left him much comforted, and with a promise to return upon the next
-day. I did so, and found him much more cheerful, and without any remains
-of the dogged sullenness which I suppose had arisen from his despair.
-His promises of amendment were given in that tone of deliberate
-earnestness which belongs to deep and solemn determination; and it was
-with no small delight that I observed, after repeated visits, that his
-good resolutions, so far from failing, did but gather strength by time;
-and when I saw that man shake off the idle and debauched companions
-whose society had for years formed alike his amusement and his ruin, and
-revive his long-discarded habits of industry and sobriety, I said within
-myself, There is something more in all this than the operation of an
-idle dream.
-
-One day, some time after his perfect restoration to health, I was
-surprised, on ascending the stairs for the purpose of visiting this
-man, to find him busily employed in nailing down some planks upon the
-landing-place, through which, at the commencement of his mysterious
-vision, it seemed to him that he had sunk. I perceived at once that he
-was strengthening the floor with a view to securing himself against such
-a catastrophe, and could scarcely forbear a smile as I bid "God bless
-his work."
-
-He perceived my thoughts, I suppose, for he immediately said:
-
-"I can never pass over that floor without trembling. I'd leave this
-house if I could, but I can't find another lodging in the town so cheap,
-and I'll not take a better till I've paid off all my debts, please God;
-but I could not be asy in my mind till I made it as safe as I could.
-You'll hardly believe me, your honour, that while I'm working, maybe a
-mile away, my heart is in a flutter the whole way back, with the bare
-thoughts of the two little steps I have to walk upon this bit of a
-floor. So it's no wonder, sir, I'd thry to make it sound and firm with
-any idle timber I have."
-
-I applauded his resolution to pay off his debts, and the steadiness with
-which he perused his plans of conscientious economy, and passed on.
-
-Many months elapsed, and still there appeared no alteration in his
-resolutions of amendment. He was a good workman, and with his better
-habits he recovered his former extensive and profitable employment.
-Everything seemed to promise comfort and respectability. I have little
-more to add, and that shall be told quickly. I had one evening met Pat
-Connell, as he returned from his work, and as usual, after a mutual, and
-on his side respectful salutation, I spoke a few words of encouragement
-and approval. I left him industrious, active, healthy--when next I saw
-him, not three days after, he was a corpse.
-
-The circumstances which marked the event of his death were somewhat
-strange--I might say fearful. The unfortunate man had accidentally met
-an old friend just returned, after a long absence; and in a moment of
-excitement, forgetting everything in the warmth of his joy, he yielded
-to his urgent invitation to accompany him into a public house, which lay
-close by the spot where the encounter had taken place. Connell, however,
-previously to entering the room, had announced his determination to take
-nothing more than the strictest temperance would warrant.
-
-But oh! who can describe the inveterate tenacity with which a drunkard's
-habits cling to him through life? He may repent, he may reform, he may
-look with actual abhorrence upon his past profligacy; but amid all this
-reformation and compunction, who can tell the moment in which the base
-and ruinous propensity may not recur, triumphing over resolution,
-remorse, shame, everything, and prostrating its victim once more in all
-that is destructive and revolting in that fatal vice?
-
-The wretched man left the place in a state of utter intoxication. He was
-brought home nearly insensible, and placed in his bed. The younger part
-of the family retired to rest much after their usual hour; but the poor
-wife remained up sitting by the fire, too much grieved and shocked at
-the occurrence of what she had so little expected, to settle to rest.
-Fatigue, however, at length overcame her, and she sank gradually into an
-uneasy slumber. She could not tell how long she had remained in this
-state; but when she awakened, and immediately on opening her eyes, she
-perceived by the faint red light of the smouldering turf embers, two
-persons, one of whom she recognized as her husband, noiselessly gliding
-out of the room.
-
-"Pat, darling, where are you going?" said she.
-
-There was no answer--the door closed after them; but in a moment she was
-startled and terrified by a loud and heavy crash, as if some ponderous
-body had been hurled down the stair.
-
-[Illustration: NOISELESSLY GLIDING OUT OF THE ROOM.]
-
-Much alarmed, she started up, and going to the head of the staircase,
-she called repeatedly upon her husband, but in vain.
-
-She returned to the room, and with the assistance of her daughter, whom
-I had occasion to mention before, she succeeded in finding and lighting
-a candle, with which she hurried again to the head of the staircase.
-
-At the bottom lay what seemed to be a bundle of clothes, heaped
-together, motionless, lifeless--it was her husband. In going down
-the stairs, for what purpose can never now be known, he had fallen
-helplessly and violently to the bottom, and coming head foremost, the
-spine of the neck had been dislocated by the shock, and instant death
-must have ensued.
-
-The body lay upon that landing-place to which his dream had referred.
-
-It is scarcely worth endeavouring to clear up a single point in a
-narrative where all is mystery; yet I could not help suspecting that the
-second figure which had been seen in the room by Connell's wife on the
-night of his death might have been no other than his own shadow.
-
-I suggested this solution of the difficulty; but she told me that the
-unknown person had been considerably in advance of her husband, and on
-reaching the door, had turned back as if to communicate something to his
-companion.
-
-It was, then, a mystery.
-
-[Illustration: AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS.]
-
-Was the dream verified?--whither had the disembodied spirit sped? who
-can say? We know not. But I left the house of death that day in a state
-of horror which I could not describe. It seemed to me that I was scarce
-awake. I heard and saw everything as if under the spell of a nightmare.
-The coincidence was terrible.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-A Chapter in the history of a Tyrone Family
-
-
-In the following narrative I have endeavoured to give as nearly as
-possible the _ipsissima verba_ of the valued friend from whom I received
-it, conscious that any aberration from _her_ mode of telling the tale of
-her own life would at once impair its accuracy and its effect.
-
-Would that, with her words, I could also bring before you her animated
-gesture, the expressive countenance, the solemn and thrilling air and
-accent with which she related the dark passages in her strange story;
-and, above all, that I could communicate the impressive consciousness
-that the narrator had seen with her own eyes, and personally acted in
-the scenes which she described. These accompaniments, taken with the
-additional circumstance that she who told the tale was one far too
-deeply and sadly impressed with religious principle to misrepresent
-or fabricate what she repeated as fact, gave to the tale a depth of
-interest which the recording of the events themselves could hardly have
-produced.
-
-I became acquainted with the lady from whose lips I heard this narrative
-nearly twenty years since, and the story struck my fancy so much that I
-committed it to paper while it was still fresh in my mind; and should
-its perusal afford you entertainment for a listless half hour, my labour
-shall not have been bestowed in vain.
-
-I find that I have taken the story down as she told it, in the first
-person, and perhaps this is as it should be.
-
-She began as follows:
-
-My maiden name was Richardson, the designation of a family of some
-distinction in the county of Tyrone. I was the younger of two daughters,
-and we were the only children. There was a difference in our ages of
-nearly six years, so that I did not, in my childhood, enjoy that close
-companionship which sisterhood, in other circumstances, necessarily
-involves; and while I was still a child, my sister was married.
-
-The person upon whom she bestowed her hand was a Mr. Carew, a gentleman
-of property and consideration in the north of England.
-
-I remember well the eventful day of the wedding; the thronging
-carriages, the noisy menials, the loud laughter, the merry faces, and
-the gay dresses. Such sights were then new to me, and harmonized ill
-with the sorrowful feelings with which I regarded the event which was to
-separate me from a sister whose tenderness alone had hitherto more than
-supplied all that I wanted in my mother's affection.
-
-The day soon arrived which was to remove the happy couple from Ashtown
-House. The carriage stood at the hall-door, and my poor sister kissed me
-again and again, telling me that I should see her soon.
-
-The carriage drove away, and I gazed after it until my eyes filled with
-tears, and, returning slowly to my chamber, I wept more bitterly and, so
-to speak, more desolately, than ever I had wept before.
-
-My father had never seemed to love or to take an interest in me. He had
-desired a son, and I think he never thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate
-sex.
-
-My having come into the world at all as his child he regarded as a kind
-of fraudulent intrusion; and as his antipathy to me had its origin in an
-imperfection of mine too radical for removal, I never even hoped to
-stand high in his good graces.
-
-My mother was, I dare say, as fond of me as she was of anyone; but she
-was a woman of a masculine and a worldly cast of mind. She had no
-tenderness or sympathy for the weaknesses, or even for the affections,
-of woman's nature, and her demeanour towards me was peremptory, and
-often even harsh.
-
-It is not to be supposed, then, that I found in the society of my
-parents much to supply the loss of my sister. About a year after her
-marriage, we received letters from Mr. Carew, containing accounts of my
-sister's health, which, though not actually alarming, were calculated to
-make us seriously uneasy. The symptoms most dwelt upon were loss of
-appetite, and a cough.
-
-The letters concluded by intimating that he would avail himself of my
-father and mother's repeated invitation to spend some time at Ashtown,
-particularly as the physician who had been consulted as to my sister's
-health had strongly advised a removal to her native air.
-
-There were added repeated assurances that nothing serious was
-apprehended, as it was supposed that a deranged state of the liver was
-the only source of the symptoms which at first had seemed to intimate
-consumption.
-
-In accordance with this announcement, my sister and Mr. Carew arrived in
-Dublin, where one of my father's carriages awaited them, in readiness to
-start upon whatever day or hour they might choose for their departure.
-
-It was arranged that Mr. Carew was, as soon as the day upon which they
-were to leave Dublin was definitely fixed, to write to my father, who
-intended that the two last stages should be performed by his own
-horses, upon whose speed and safety far more reliance might be placed
-than upon those of the ordinary post-horses, which were at that time,
-almost without exception, of the very worst order. The journey, one of
-about ninety miles, was to be divided; the larger portion being reserved
-for the second day.
-
-On Sunday a letter reached us, stating that the party would leave Dublin
-on Monday, and in due course reach Ashtown upon Tuesday evening.
-
-Tuesday came: the evening closed in, and yet no carriage; darkness came
-on, and still no sign of our expected visitors.
-
-Hour after hour passed away, and it was now past twelve; the night was
-remarkably calm, scarce a breath stirring, so that any sound, such as
-that produced by the rapid movement of a vehicle, would have been
-audible at a considerable distance. For some such sound I was feverishly
-listening.
-
-It was, however, my father's rule to close the house at nightfall, and
-the window-shutters being fastened, I was unable to reconnoitre the
-avenue as I would have wished. It was nearly one o'clock, and we began
-almost to despair of seeing them upon that night, when I thought I
-distinguished the sound of wheels, but so remote and faint as to make me
-at first very uncertain. The noise approached; it became louder and
-clearer; it stopped for a moment.
-
-I now heard the shrill screaming of the rusty iron, as the avenue gate
-revolved on its hinges; again came the sound of wheels in rapid motion.
-
-"It is they," said I, starting up; "the carriage is in the avenue."
-
-We all stood for a few moments breathlessly listening. On thundered
-the vehicle with the speed of the whirlwind; crack went the whip, and
-clatter went the wheels, as it rattled over the uneven pavement of the
-court. A general and furious barking from all the dogs about the house
-hailed its arrival.
-
-We hurried to the hall in time to hear the steps let down with the sharp
-clanging noise peculiar to the operation, and the hum of voices exerted
-in the bustle of arrival. The hall door was now thrown open, and we all
-stepped forth to greet our visitors.
-
-The court was perfectly empty; the moon was shining broadly and brightly
-upon all around; nothing was to be seen but the tall trees with their
-long spectral shadows, now wet with the dews of midnight.
-
-We stood gazing from right to left as if suddenly awakened from a dream;
-the dogs walked suspiciously, growling and snuffling about the court,
-and by totally and suddenly ceasing their former loud barking, expressed
-the predominance of fear.
-
-We stared one upon another in perplexity and dismay, and I think I never
-beheld more pale faces assembled. By my father's directions, we looked
-about to find anything which might indicate or account for the noise
-which we had heard; but no such thing was to be seen--even the mire
-which lay upon the avenue was undisturbed. We returned to the house,
-more panic-struck than I can describe.
-
-On the next day, we learned by a messenger, who had ridden hard the
-greater part of the night, that my sister was dead. On Sunday evening
-she had retired to bed rather unwell, and on Monday her indisposition
-declared itself unequivocally to be malignant fever. She became hourly
-worse, and, on Tuesday night, a little after midnight, she expired.
-
-I mention this circumstance, because it was one upon which a thousand
-wild and fantastical reports were founded, though one would have thought
-that the truth scarcely required to be improved upon; and again, because
-it produced a strong and lasting effect upon my spirits, and indeed, I
-am inclined to think, upon my character.
-
-I was, for several years after this occurrence, long after the violence
-of my grief subsided, so wretchedly low-spirited and nervous, that I
-could scarcely be said to live; and during this time, habits of
-indecision, arising out of a listless acquiescence in the will of
-others, a fear of encountering even the slightest opposition, and a
-disposition to shrink from what are commonly called amusements, grew
-upon me so strongly, that I have scarcely even yet altogether overcome
-them.
-
-We saw nothing more of Mr. Carew. He returned to England as soon as the
-melancholy rites attendant upon the event which I have just mentioned
-were performed; and not being altogether inconsolable, he married again
-within two years; after which, owing to the remoteness of our relative
-situations, and other circumstances, we gradually lost sight of him.
-
-I was now an only child; and, as my elder sister had died without issue,
-it was evident that, in the ordinary course of things, my father's
-property, which was altogether in his power, would go to me; and the
-consequence was, that before I was fourteen, Ashtown House was besieged
-by a host of suitors. However, whether it was that I was too young, or
-that none of the aspirants to my hand stood sufficiently high in rank or
-wealth, I was suffered by both parents to do exactly as I pleased; and
-well was it for me, as I afterwards found, that fortune, or rather
-Providence, had so ordained it, that I had not suffered my affections to
-become in any degree engaged, for my mother would never have suffered
-any silly fancy of mine, as she was in the habit of styling an
-attachment, to stand in the way of her ambitious views--views which she
-was determined to carry into effect in defiance of every obstacle, and
-in order to accomplish which she would not have hesitated to sacrifice
-anything so unreasonable and contemptible as a girlish passion.
-
-When I reached the age of sixteen, my mother's plans began to develop
-themselves; and, at her suggestion, we moved to Dublin to sojourn for
-the winter, in order that no time might be lost in disposing of me to
-the best advantage.
-
-I had been too long accustomed to consider myself as of no importance
-whatever, to believe for a moment that I was in reality the cause of all
-the bustle and preparation which surrounded me; and being thus relieved
-from the pain which a consciousness of my real situation would have
-inflicted, I journeyed towards the capital with a feeling of total
-indifference.
-
-My father's wealth and connection had established him in the best
-society, and consequently, upon our arrival in the metropolis, we
-commanded whatever enjoyment or advantages its gaieties afforded.
-
-The tumult and novelty of the scenes in which I was involved did not
-fail considerably to amuse me, and my mind gradually recovered its tone,
-which was naturally cheerful.
-
-It was almost immediately known and reported that I was an heiress, and
-of course my attractions were pretty generally acknowledged.
-
-Among the many gentlemen whom it was my fortune to please, one, ere
-long, established himself in my mother's good graces, to the exclusion
-of all less important aspirants. However, I had not understood or even
-remarked his attentions, nor in the slightest degree suspected his or my
-mother's plans respecting me, when I was made aware of them rather
-abruptly by my mother herself.
-
-We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his residence
-in Stephen's Green, and I was, with the assistance of my waiting-maid,
-employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich ornaments which, in
-profuseness and value, could scarcely have found their equals in any
-private family in Ireland.
-
-I had thrown myself into a lounging-chair beside the fire, listless and
-exhausted after the fatigues of the evening, when I was aroused from the
-reverie into which I had fallen by the sound of footsteps approaching my
-chamber, and my mother entered.
-
-"Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone, "I wish to say a word
-or two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I
-hope?"
-
-"No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my
-seat, with the formal respect so little practised now.
-
-"Sit down, my dear," said she, placing herself upon a chair beside me;
-"I must chat with you for a quarter of an hour or so. Saunders" (to the
-maid), "you may leave the room; do not close the room door, but shut
-that of the lobby."
-
-This precaution against curious ears having been taken as directed, my
-mother proceeded:
-
-"You have observed, I should suppose, my dearest Fanny--indeed, you
-_must_ have observed Lord Glenfallen's marked attentions to you?"
-
-"I assure you, madam--" I began.
-
-"Well, well, that is all right," interrupted my mother. "Of course, you
-must be modest upon the matter; but listen to me for a few moments, my
-love, and I will prove to your satisfaction that your modesty is quite
-unnecessary in this case. You have done better than we could have hoped,
-at least, so very soon. Lord Glenfallen is in love with you. I give you
-joy of your conquest;" and, saying this, my mother kissed my forehead.
-
-"In love with me!" I exclaimed in unfeigned astonishment.
-
-"Yes, in love with you," repeated my mother; "devotedly, distractedly in
-love with you. Why, my dear, what is there wonderful in it? Look in the
-glass, and look at these," she continued, pointing, with a smile, to the
-jewels which I had just removed from my person, and which now lay in a
-glittering heap upon the table.
-
-"May there not--" said I, hesitating between confusion and real alarm,
-"is it not possible that some mistake may be at the bottom of all
-this?"
-
-"Mistake, dearest! none," said my mother. "None; none in the world.
-Judge for yourself; read this, my love." And she placed in my hand a
-letter, addressed to herself, the seal of which was broken. I read it
-through with no small surprise. After some very fine complimentary
-flourishes upon my beauty and perfections, as also upon the antiquity
-and high reputation of our family, it went on to make a formal proposal
-of marriage, to be communicated or not to me at present, as my mother
-should deem expedient; and the letter wound up by a request that the
-writer might be permitted, upon our return to Ashtown House, which was
-soon to take place, as the spring was now tolerably advanced, to visit
-us for a few days, in case his suit was approved.
-
-"Well, well, my dear," said my mother, impatiently; "do you know who
-Lord Glenfallen is?"
-
-"I do, madam," said I, rather timidly; for I dreaded an altercation with
-my mother.
-
-"Well, dear, and what frightens you?" continued she. "Are you afraid of
-a title? What has he done to alarm you? He is neither old nor ugly."
-
-I was silent, though I might have said, "He is neither young nor
-handsome."
-
-"My dear Fanny," continued my mother, "in sober seriousness, you have
-been most fortunate in engaging the affections of a nobleman such as
-Lord Glenfallen, young and wealthy, with first-rate--yes, acknowledged
-_first-rate_ abilities, and of a family whose influence is not exceeded
-by that of any in Ireland. Of course, you see the offer in the same
-light that I do--indeed, I think you _must_."
-
-This was uttered in no very dubious tone. I was so much astonished by
-the suddenness of the whole communication, that I literally did not know
-what to say.
-
-"You are not in love?" said my mother, turning sharply, and fixing her
-dark eyes upon me with severe scrutiny.
-
-"No, madam," said I, promptly; horrified--what young lady would not have
-been?--at such a query.
-
-"I'm glad to hear it," said my mother, drily. "Once, nearly twenty years
-ago, a friend of mine consulted me as to how he should deal with a
-daughter who had made what they call a love-match--beggared herself, and
-disgraced her family; and I said, without hesitation, take no care for
-her, but cast her off. Such punishment I awarded for an offence
-committed against the reputation of a family not my own; and what I
-advised respecting the child of another, with full as small compunction
-I would _do_ with mine. I cannot conceive anything more unreasonable or
-intolerable than that the fortune and the character of a family should
-be marred by the idle caprices of a girl."
-
-She spoke this with great severity, and paused as if she expected some
-observation from me.
-
-I, however, said nothing.
-
-"But I need not explain to you, my dear Fanny," she continued, "my views
-upon this subject; you have always known them well, and I have never yet
-had reason to believe you are likely to offend me voluntarily, or to
-abuse or neglect any of those advantages which reason and duty tell you
-should be improved. Come hither, my dear; kiss me, and do not look so
-frightened. Well, now, about this letter--you need not answer it yet; of
-course, you must be allowed time to make up your mind. In the meantime,
-I will write to his lordship to give him my permission to visit us at
-Ashtown. Good-night, my love."
-
-And thus ended one of the most disagreeable, not to say astounding,
-conversations I had ever had. It would not be easy to describe exactly
-what were my feelings towards Lord Glenfallen;--whatever might have been
-my mother's suspicions, my heart was perfectly disengaged--and hitherto,
-although I had not been made in the slightest degree acquainted with his
-real views, I had liked him very much as an agreeable, well-informed
-man, whom I was always glad to meet in society. He had served in the
-navy in early life, and the polish which his manners received in his
-after intercourse with courts and cities had not served to obliterate
-that frankness of manner which belongs proverbially to the sailor.
-
-Whether this apparent candour went deeper than the outward bearing, I
-was yet to learn. However, there was no doubt that, as far as I had seen
-of Lord Glenfallen, he was, though perhaps not so young as might have
-been desired in a lover, a singularly pleasing man; and whatever feeling
-unfavourable to him had found its way into my mind, arose altogether
-from the dread, not an unreasonable one, that constraint might be
-practised upon my inclinations. I reflected, however, that Lord
-Glenfallen was a wealthy man, and one highly thought of; and although I
-could never expect to love him in the romantic sense of the term, yet I
-had no doubt but that, all things considered, I might be more happy with
-him than I could hope to be at home.
-
-When next I met him it was with no small embarrassment; his tact and
-good breeding, however, soon reassured me, and effectually prevented
-my awkwardness being remarked upon. And I had the satisfaction of
-leaving Dublin for the country with the full conviction that nobody,
-not even those most intimate with me, even suspected the fact of Lord
-Glenfallen's having made me a formal proposal.
-
-This was to me a very serious subject of self-gratulation, for, besides
-my instinctive dread of becoming the topic of the speculations of
-gossip, I felt that if the situation which I occupied in relation to
-him were made publicly known, I should stand committed in a manner which
-would scarcely leave me the power of retraction.
-
-The period at which Lord Glenfallen had arranged to visit Ashtown House
-was now fast approaching, and it became my mother's wish to form me
-thoroughly to her will, and to obtain my consent to the proposed
-marriage before his arrival, so that all things might proceed smoothly,
-without apparent opposition or objection upon my part. Whatever
-objections, therefore, I had entertained were to be subdued; whatever
-disposition to resistance I had exhibited or had been supposed to feel,
-were to be completely eradicated before he made his appearance; and my
-mother addressed herself to the task with a decision and energy against
-which even the barriers her imagination had created could hardly have
-stood.
-
-If she had, however, expected any determined opposition from me, she was
-agreeably disappointed. My heart was perfectly free, and all my feelings
-of liking and preference were in favour of Lord Glenfallen; and I well
-knew that in case I refused to dispose of myself as I was desired, my
-mother had alike the power and the will to render my existence as
-utterly miserable as even the most ill-assorted marriage could possibly
-have made it.
-
-You will remember, my good friend, that I was very young and very
-completely under the control of my parents, both of whom, my mother
-particularly, were unscrupulously determined in matters of this kind,
-and willing, when voluntary obedience on the part of those within their
-power was withheld, to compel a forced acquiescence by an unsparing use
-of all the engines of the most stern and rigorous domestic discipline.
-
-All these combined, not unnaturally induced me to resolve upon yielding
-at once, and without useless opposition, to what appeared almost to be
-my fate.
-
-The appointed time was come, and my now accepted suitor arrived; he was
-in high spirits, and, if possible, more entertaining than ever.
-
-I was not, however, quite in the mood to enjoy his sprightliness; but
-whatever I wanted in gaiety was amply made up in the triumphant and
-gracious good-humour of my mother, whose smiles of benevolence and
-exultation were showered around as bountifully as the summer sunshine.
-
-I will not weary you with unnecessary details. Let it suffice to say,
-that I was married to Lord Glenfallen with all the attendant pomp and
-circumstance of wealth, rank, and grandeur. According to the usage of
-the times, now humanely reformed, the ceremony was made, until long past
-midnight, the season of wild, uproarious, and promiscuous feasting and
-revelry.
-
-Of all this I have a painfully vivid recollection, and particularly of
-the little annoyances inflicted upon me by the dull and coarse jokes of
-the wits and wags who abound in all such places, and upon all such
-occasions.
-
-I was not sorry when, after a few days, Lord Glenfallen's carriage
-appeared at the door to convey us both from Ashtown; for any change
-would have been a relief from the irksomeness of ceremonial and
-formality which the visits received in honour of my newly-acquired
-titles hourly entailed upon me.
-
-[Illustration: THE SEASON OF WILD, UPROARIOUS, AND PROMISCUOUS FEASTING
-AND REVELRY.]
-
-It was arranged that we were to proceed to Cahergillagh, one of the
-Glenfallen estates, lying, however, in a southern county; so that, owing
-to the difficulty of the roads at the time, a tedious journey of three
-days intervened.
-
-I set forth with my noble companion, followed by the regrets of some,
-and by the envy of many; though God knows I little deserved the latter.
-The three days of travel were now almost spent, when passing the brow of
-a wild heathy hill, the domain of Cahergillagh opened suddenly upon our
-view.
-
-It formed a striking and a beautiful scene. A lake of considerable
-extent stretching away towards the west, and reflecting from its broad,
-smooth waters the rich glow of the setting sun, was overhung by steep
-hills, covered by a rich mantle of velvet sward, broken here and there
-by the grey front of some old rock, and exhibiting on their shelving
-sides and on their slopes and hollows every variety of light and shade.
-A thick wood of dwarf oak, birch, and hazel skirted these hills, and
-clothed the shores of the lake, running out in rich luxuriance upon
-every promontory, and spreading upward considerably upon the side of the
-hills.
-
-"There lies the enchanted castle," said Lord Glenfallen, pointing
-towards a considerable level space intervening between two of the
-picturesque hills which rose dimly around the lake.
-
-This little plain was chiefly occupied by the same low, wild wood which
-covered the other parts of the domain; but towards the centre, a mass of
-taller and statelier forest trees stood darkly grouped together, and
-among them stood an ancient square tower, with many buildings of a
-humbler character, forming together the manor-house, or, as it was more
-usually called, the Court of Cahergillagh.
-
-As we approached the level upon which the mansion stood, the winding
-road gave us many glimpses of the time-worn castle and its surrounding
-buildings; and seen as it was through the long vistas of the fine old
-trees, and with the rich glow of evening upon it, I have seldom beheld
-an object more picturesquely striking.
-
-I was glad to perceive, too, that here and there the blue curling smoke
-ascended from stacks of chimneys now hidden by the rich, dark ivy which,
-in a great measure, covered the building. Other indications of comfort
-made themselves manifest as we approached; and indeed, though the place
-was evidently one of considerable antiquity, it had nothing whatever of
-the gloom of decay about it.
-
-"You must not, my love," said Lord Glenfallen, "imagine this place
-worse than it is. I have no taste for antiquity--at least I should
-not choose a house to reside in because it is old. Indeed, I do not
-recollect that I was even so romantic as to overcome my aversion to
-rats and rheumatism, those faithful attendants upon your noble relics
-of feudalism; and I much prefer a snug, modern, unmysterious bedroom,
-with well-aired sheets, to the waving tapestry, mildewed cushions, and
-all the other interesting appliances of romance. However, though I
-cannot promise you all the discomfort generally belonging to an old
-castle, you will find legends and ghostly lore enough to claim your
-respect; and if old Martha be still to the fore, as I trust she is,
-you will soon have a supernatural and appropriate anecdote for every
-closet and corner of the mansion. But here we are--so, without more
-ado, welcome to Cahergillagh!"
-
-We now entered the hall of the castle, and while the domestics were
-employed in conveying our trunks and other luggage which we had
-brought with us for immediate use, to the apartments which Lord
-Glenfallen had selected for himself and me, I went with him into a
-spacious sitting-room, wainscoted with finely-polished black oak, and
-hung round with the portraits of various worthies of the Glenfallen
-family.
-
-This room looked out upon an extensive level covered with the softest
-green sward, and irregularly bounded by the wild wood I have before
-mentioned, through the leafy arcade formed by whose boughs and trunks
-the level beams of the setting sun were pouring. In the distance a group
-of dairy-maids were plying their task, which they accompanied throughout
-with snatches of Irish songs which, mellowed by the distance, floated
-not unpleasingly to the ear; and beside them sat or lay, with all the
-grave importance of conscious protection, six or seven large dogs of
-various kinds. Farther in the distance, and through the cloisters of the
-arching wood, two or three ragged urchins were employed in driving such
-stray kine as had wandered farther than the rest to join their fellows.
-
-As I looked upon the scene which I have described, a feeling of
-tranquillity and happiness came upon me, which I have never experienced
-in so strong a degree; and so strange to me was the sensation that my
-eyes filled with tears.
-
-Lord Glenfallen mistook the cause of my emotion, and taking me kindly
-and tenderly by the hand, he said:
-
-"Do not suppose, my love, that it is my intention to _settle_ here.
-Whenever you desire to leave this, you have only to let me know your
-wish, and it shall be complied with; so I must entreat of you not to
-suffer any circumstances which I can control to give you one moment's
-uneasiness. But here is old Martha; you must be introduced to her, one
-of the heirlooms of our family."
-
-A hale, good-humoured, erect old woman was Martha, and an agreeable
-contrast to the grim, decrepit hag which my fancy had conjured up, as
-the depositary of all the horrible tales in which I doubted not this old
-place was most fruitful.
-
-She welcomed me and her master with a profusion of gratulations,
-alternately kissing our hands and apologizing for the liberty; until at
-length Lord Glenfallen put an end to this somewhat fatiguing ceremonial
-by requesting her to conduct me to my chamber, if it were prepared for
-my reception.
-
-I followed Martha up an old-fashioned oak staircase into a long, dim
-passage, at the end of which lay the door which communicated with the
-apartments which had been selected for our use; here the old woman
-stopped, and respectfully requested me to proceed.
-
-I accordingly opened the door, and was about to enter, when something
-like a mass of black tapestry, as it appeared, disturbed by my sudden
-approach, fell from above the door, so as completely to screen the
-aperture; the startling unexpectedness of the occurrence, and the
-rustling noise which the drapery made in its descent, caused me
-involuntarily to step two or three paces backward. I turned, smiling
-and half-ashamed, to the old servant, and said,--
-
-"You see what a coward I am."
-
-The woman looked puzzled, and, without saying any more, I was about to
-draw aside the curtain and enter the room, when, upon turning to do so,
-I was surprised to find that nothing whatever interposed to obstruct the
-passage.
-
-I went into the room, followed by the servant-woman, and was amazed to
-find that it, like the one below, was wainscoted, and that nothing like
-drapery was to be found near the door.
-
-"Where is it?" said I; "what has become of it?"
-
-"What does your ladyship wish to know?" said the old woman.
-
-"Where is the black curtain that fell across the door, when I attempted
-first to come to my chamber?" answered I.
-
-"The cross of Christ about us!" said the old woman, turning suddenly
-pale.
-
-"What is the matter, my good friend?" said I; "you seem frightened."
-
-"Oh no, no, your ladyship," said the old woman, endeavouring to conceal
-her agitation; but in vain, for tottering towards a chair, she sank into
-it, looking so deadly pale and horror-struck that I thought every moment
-she would faint.
-
-"Merciful God, keep us from harm and danger!" muttered she at length.
-
-"What can have terrified you so?" said I, beginning to fear that she had
-seen something more than had met my eye. "You appear ill, my poor
-woman!"
-
-"Nothing, nothing, my lady," said she, rising. "I beg your ladyship's
-pardon for making so bold. May the great God defend us from misfortune!"
-
-"Martha," said I, "something _has_ frightened you very much, and I
-insist on knowing what it is; your keeping me in the dark upon the
-subject will make me much more uneasy than anything you could tell me.
-I desire you, therefore, to let me know what agitates you; I command you
-to tell me."
-
-"Your ladyship said you saw a black curtain falling across the door when
-you were coming into the room," said the old woman.
-
-"I did," said I; "but though the whole thing appears somewhat strange, I
-cannot see anything in the matter to agitate you so excessively."
-
-"It's for no good you saw that, my lady," said the crone; "something
-terrible is coming. It's a sign, my lady--a sign that never fails."
-
-"Explain, explain what you mean, my good woman," said I, in spite of
-myself, catching more than I could account for, of her superstitious
-terror.
-
-"Whenever something--something _bad_ is going to happen to the
-Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black
-handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces. I saw
-it myself," continued she, lowering her voice, "when I was only a little
-girl, and I'll never forget it. I often heard of it before, though I
-never saw it till then, nor since, praised be God. But I was going into
-Lady Jane's room to waken her in the morning; and sure enough when I got
-first to the bed and began to draw the curtain, something dark was waved
-across the division, but only for a moment; and when I saw rightly into
-the bed, there she was lying cold and dead, God be merciful to me! So,
-my lady, there is small blame to me to be daunted when any one of the
-family sees it; for it's many the story I heard of it, though I saw it
-but once."
-
-I was not of a superstitious turn of mind, yet I could not resist a
-feeling of awe very nearly allied to the fear which my companion had
-so unreservedly expressed; and when you consider my situation, the
-loneliness, antiquity, and gloom of the place, you will allow that the
-weakness was not without excuse.
-
-In spite of old Martha's boding predictions, however, time flowed on in
-an unruffled course. One little incident, however, though trifling in
-itself, I must relate, as it serves to make what follows more
-intelligible.
-
-Upon the day after my arrival, Lord Glenfallen of course desired to make
-me acquainted with the house and domain; and accordingly we set forth
-upon our ramble. When returning, he became for some time silent and
-moody, a state so unusual with him as considerably to excite my
-surprise.
-
-I endeavoured by observations and questions to arouse him--but in vain.
-At length, as we approached the house, he said, as if speaking to
-himself,--
-
-"'Twere madness--madness--madness," repeating the words bitterly; "sure
-and speedy ruin."
-
-There was here a long pause; and at length, turning sharply towards me,
-in a tone very unlike that in which he had hitherto addressed me, he
-said,--
-
-"Do you think it possible that a woman can keep a secret?"
-
-"I am sure," said I, "that women are very much belied upon the score of
-talkativeness, and that I may answer your question with the same
-directness with which you put it--I reply that I _do_ think a woman can
-keep a secret."
-
-"But I do not," said he, drily.
-
-We walked on in silence for a time. I was much astonished at his
-unwonted abruptness--I had almost said rudeness.
-
-After a considerable pause he seemed to recollect himself, and with an
-effort resuming his sprightly manner, he said,--
-
-"Well, well, the next thing to keeping a secret well is not to desire to
-possess one; talkativeness and curiosity generally go together. Now I
-shall make test of you, in the first place, respecting the latter of
-these qualities. I shall be your _Bluebeard_--tush, why do I trifle
-thus? Listen to me, my dear Fanny; I speak now in solemn earnest. What I
-desire is intimately, inseparably connected with your happiness and
-honour as well as my own; and your compliance with my request will not
-be difficult. It will impose upon you a very trifling restraint during
-your sojourn here, which certain events which have occurred since our
-arrival have determined me shall not be a long one. You must promise me,
-upon your sacred honour, that you will visit _only_ that part of the
-castle which can be reached from the front entrance, leaving the back
-entrance and the part of the building commanded immediately by it to the
-menials, as also the small garden whose high wall you see yonder; and
-never at any time seek to pry or peep into them, nor to open the door
-which communicates from the front part of the house through the corridor
-with the back. I do not urge this in jest or in caprice, but from
-a solemn conviction that danger and misery will be the certain
-consequences of your not observing what I prescribe. I cannot explain
-myself further at present. Promise me, then, these things, as you hope
-for peace here and for mercy hereafter."
-
-I did make the promise as desired, and he appeared relieved; his manner
-recovered all its gaiety and elasticity: but the recollection of the
-strange scene which I have just described dwelt painfully upon my mind.
-
-More than a month passed away without any occurrence worth recording;
-but I was not destined to leave Cahergillagh without further adventure.
-One day, intending to enjoy the pleasant sunshine in a ramble through
-the woods, I ran up to my room to procure my hat and cloak. Upon
-entering the chamber I was surprised and somewhat startled to find it
-occupied. Beside the fireplace, and nearly opposite the door, seated in
-a large, old-fashioned elbow-chair, was placed the figure of a lady. She
-appeared to be nearer fifty than forty, and was dressed suitably to her
-age, in a handsome suit of flowered silk; she had a profusion of
-trinkets and jewellery about her person, and many rings upon her
-fingers. But although very rich, her dress was not gaudy or in ill
-taste. But what was remarkable in the lady was, that although her
-features were handsome, and upon the whole pleasing, the pupil of each
-eye was dimmed with the whiteness of cataract, and she was evidently
-stone-blind. I was for some seconds so surprised at this unaccountable
-apparition, that I could not find words to address her.
-
-[Illustration: UPON ENTERING THE CHAMBER, I WAS SURPRISED AND SOMEWHAT
-STARTLED TO FIND IT OCCUPIED.]
-
-"Madam," said I, "there must be some mistake here--this is my
-bedchamber."
-
-"Marry come up," said the lady, sharply; "_your_ chamber! Where is Lord
-Glenfallen?"
-
-"He is below, madam," replied I; "and I am convinced he will be not a
-little surprised to find you here."
-
-"I do not think he will," said she, "with your good leave; talk of what
-you know something about. Tell him I want him. Why does the minx
-dilly-dally so?"
-
-In spite of the awe which this grim lady inspired, there was something
-in her air of confident superiority which, when I considered our
-relative situations, was not a little irritating.
-
-"Do you know, madam, to whom you speak?" said I.
-
-"I neither know nor care," said she; "but I presume that you are some
-one about the house, so again I desire you, if you wish to continue
-here, to bring your master hither forthwith."
-
-"I must tell you, madam," said I, "that I am Lady Glenfallen."
-
-"What's that?" said the stranger, rapidly.
-
-"I say, madam," I repeated, approaching her that I might be more
-distinctly heard, "that I am Lady Glenfallen."
-
-"It's a lie, you trull!" cried she, in an accent which made me start,
-and at the same time, springing forward, she seized me in her grasp, and
-shook me violently, repeating, "It's a lie--it's a lie!" with a rapidity
-and vehemence which swelled every vein of her face. The violence of her
-action, and the fury which convulsed her face, effectually terrified me,
-and disengaging myself from her grasp, I screamed as loud as I could for
-help. The blind woman continued to pour out a torrent of abuse upon me,
-foaming at the mouth with rage, and impotently shaking her clenched fist
-towards me.
-
-I heard Lord Glenfallen's step upon the stairs, and I instantly ran out;
-as I passed him I perceived that he was deadly pale, and just caught the
-words: "I hope that demon has not hurt you?"
-
-I made some answer, I forget what, and he entered the chamber, the door
-of which he locked upon the inside. What passed within I know not; but I
-heard the voices of the two speakers raised in loud and angry
-altercation.
-
-I thought I heard the shrill accents of the woman repeat the words,
-"Let her look to herself;" but I could not be quite sure. This short
-sentence, however, was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful
-meaning.
-
-The storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference of
-more than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and
-agitated.
-
-"That unfortunate woman," said he, "is out of her mind. I daresay she
-treated you to some of her ravings; but you need not dread any further
-interruption from her: I have brought her so far to reason. She did not
-hurt you, I trust."
-
-"No, no," said I; "but she terrified me beyond measure."
-
-"Well," said he, "she is likely to behave better for the future; and I
-dare swear that neither you nor she would desire, after what has passed,
-to meet again."
-
-This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery,
-and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very
-agreeable food for rumination.
-
-All attempts on my part to arrive at the truth were baffled; Lord
-Glenfallen evaded all my inquiries, and at length peremptorily forbade
-any further allusion to the matter. I was thus obliged to rest satisfied
-with what I had actually seen, and to trust to time to resolve the
-perplexities in which the whole transaction had involved me.
-
-Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits gradually underwent a complete and
-most painful change; he became silent and abstracted, his manner to me
-was abrupt and often harsh, some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to
-his mind; and under its influence his spirits sank and his temper became
-soured.
-
-I soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and
-excitement of society produce, than the result of a healthy habit of
-mind; every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate
-good-nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than
-a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind,
-open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, was
-rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly selfish
-man. This was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it from myself
-as long as I could; but the truth was not to be denied, and I was forced
-to believe that my husband no longer loved me, and that he was at little
-pains to conceal the alteration in his sentiments.
-
-One morning after breakfast, Lord Glenfallen had been for some time
-walking silently up and down the room, buried in his moody reflections,
-when pausing suddenly, and turning towards me, he exclaimed:
-
-"I have it--I have it! We must go abroad, and stay there too; and
-if that does not answer, why--why, we must try some more effectual
-expedient. Lady Glenfallen, I have become involved in heavy
-embarrassments. A wife, you know, must share the fortunes of her
-husband, for better for worse; but I will waive my right if you prefer
-remaining here--here at Cahergillagh. For I would not have you seen
-elsewhere without the state to which your rank entitles you; besides, it
-would break your poor mother's heart," he added, with sneering gravity.
-"So make up your mind--Cahergillagh or France. I will start if possible
-in a week, so determine between this and then."
-
-He left the room, and in a few moments I saw him ride past the window,
-followed by a mounted servant. He had directed a domestic to inform me
-that he should not be back until the next day.
-
-I was in very great doubt as to what course of conduct I should pursue
-as to accompanying him in the continental tour so suddenly determined
-upon. I felt that it would be a hazard too great to encounter; for at
-Cahergillagh I had always the consciousness to sustain me, that if his
-temper at any time led him into violent or unwarrantable treatment of
-me, I had a remedy within reach, in the protection and support of my own
-family, from all useful and effective communication with whom, if once
-in France, I should be entirely debarred.
-
-As to remaining at Cahergillagh in solitude, and, for aught I
-knew, exposed to hidden dangers, it appeared to me scarcely less
-objectionable than the former proposition; and yet I feared that with
-one or other I must comply, unless I was prepared to come to an actual
-breach with Lord Glenfallen. Full of these unpleasing doubts and
-perplexities, I retired to rest.
-
-I was wakened, after having slept uneasily for some hours, by some
-person shaking me rudely by the shoulder; a small lamp burned in my
-room, and by its light, to my horror and amazement, I discovered that my
-visitant was the self-same blind old lady who had so terrified me a few
-weeks before.
-
-I started up in the bed, with a view to ring the bell, and alarm the
-domestics; but she instantly anticipated me by saying:
-
-"Do not be frightened, silly girl! If I had wished to harm you, I could
-have done it while you were sleeping; I need not have wakened you.
-Listen to me, now, attentively and fearlessly, for what I have to say
-interests you to the full as much as it does me. Tell me here, in the
-presence of God, did Lord Glenfallen marry you--_actually marry you_?
-Speak the truth, woman."
-
-"As surely as I live and speak," I replied, "did Lord Glenfallen marry
-me, in presence of more than a hundred witnesses."
-
-"Well," continued she, "he should have told you _then_, before you
-married him, that he had a wife living,--that I am his wife. I feel you
-tremble--tush! do not be frightened. I do not mean to harm you. Mark me
-now--you are _not_ his wife. When I make my story known you will be so
-neither in the eye of God nor of man. You must leave this house upon
-to-morrow. Let the world know that your husband has another wife living;
-go you into retirement, and leave him to justice, which will surely
-overtake him. If you remain in this house after to-morrow, you will reap
-the bitter fruits of your sin."
-
-So saying, she quitted the room, leaving me very little disposed to
-sleep.
-
-Here was food for my very worst and most terrible suspicions; still
-there was not enough to remove all doubt. I had no proof of the truth of
-this woman's statement.
-
-Taken by itself, there was nothing to induce me to attach weight to
-it; but when I viewed it in connection with the extraordinary mystery
-of some of Lord Glenfallen's proceedings, his strange anxiety to
-exclude me from certain portions of the mansion, doubtless lest I
-should encounter this person--the strong influence, nay, command which
-she possessed over him, a circumstance clearly established by the very
-fact of her residing in the very place where, of all others, he should
-least have desired to find her--her thus acting, and continuing to act
-in direct contradiction to his wishes; when, I say, I viewed her
-disclosure in connection with all these circumstances, I could not
-help feeling that there was at least a fearful verisimilitude in the
-allegations which she had made.
-
-Still I was not satisfied, nor nearly so. Young minds have a
-reluctance almost insurmountable to believing, upon anything short of
-unquestionable proof, the existence of premeditated guilt in anyone
-whom they have ever trusted; and in support of this feeling I was
-assured that if the assertion of Lord Glenfallen, which nothing in
-this woman's manner had led me to disbelieve, were true, namely that
-her mind was unsound, the whole fabric of my doubts and fears must
-fall to the ground.
-
-I determined to state to Lord Glenfallen freely and accurately the
-substance of the communication which I had just heard, and in his words
-and looks to seek for its proof or refutation. Full of these thoughts,
-I remained wakeful and excited all night, every moment fancying that I
-heard the step or saw the figure of my recent visitor, towards whom I
-felt a species of horror and dread which I can hardly describe.
-
-There was something in her face, though her features had evidently been
-handsome, and were not, at first sight, unpleasing, which, upon a nearer
-inspection, seemed to indicate the habitual prevalence and indulgence
-of evil passions, and a power of expressing mere animal anger with an
-intenseness that I have seldom seen equalled, and to which an almost
-unearthly effect was given by the convulsive quivering of the sightless
-eyes.
-
-You may easily suppose that it was no very pleasing reflection to me to
-consider that, whenever caprice might induce her to return, I was within
-the reach of this violent and, for aught I knew, insane woman, who had,
-upon that very night, spoken to me in a tone of menace, of which her
-mere words, divested of the manner and look with which she uttered them,
-can convey but a faint idea.
-
-Will you believe me when I tell you that I was actually afraid to leave
-my bed in order to secure the door, lest I should again encounter the
-dreadful object lurking in some corner or peeping from behind the
-window-curtains, so very a child was I in my fears?
-
-The morning came, and with it Lord Glenfallen. I knew not, and indeed I
-cared not, where he might have been; my thoughts were wholly engrossed
-by the terrible fears and suspicions which my last night's conference
-had suggested to me. He was, as usual, gloomy and abstracted, and I
-feared in no very fitting mood to hear what I had to say with patience,
-whether the charges were true or false.
-
-I was, however, determined not to suffer the opportunity to pass, or
-Lord Glenfallen to leave the room, until, at all hazards, I had
-unburdened my mind.
-
-"My lord," said I, after a long silence, summoning up all my firmness,
-"my lord, I wish to say a few words to you upon a matter of very great
-importance, of very deep concernment to you and to me."
-
-I fixed my eyes upon him to discern, if possible, whether the
-announcement caused him any uneasiness; but no symptom of any such
-feeling was perceptible.
-
-"Well, my dear," said he, "this is no doubt a very grave preface, and
-portends, I have no doubt, something extraordinary. Pray let us have it
-without more ado."
-
-He took a chair, and seated himself nearly opposite to me.
-
-"My lord," said I, "I have seen the person who alarmed me so much a
-short time since, the blind lady, again, upon last night." His face,
-upon which my eyes were fixed, turned pale; he hesitated for a moment,
-and then said:
-
-"And did you, pray, madam, so totally forget or spurn my express
-command, as to enter that portion of the house from which your promise,
-I might say your oath, excluded you? Answer me that!" he added fiercely.
-
-"My lord," said I, "I have neither forgotten your _commands_, since
-such they were, nor disobeyed them. I was, last night, wakened from my
-sleep, as I lay in my own chamber, and accosted by the person whom I
-have mentioned. How she found access to the room I cannot pretend to
-say."
-
-"Ha! this must be looked to," said he, half reflectively. "And pray,"
-added he quickly, while in turn he fixed his eyes upon me, "what did
-this person say? since some comment upon her communication forms, no
-doubt, the sequel to your preface."
-
-"Your lordship is not mistaken," said I; "her statement was so
-extraordinary that I could not think of withholding it from you. She
-told me, my lord, that you had a wife living at the time you married me,
-and that she was that wife."
-
-Lord Glenfallen became ashy pale, almost livid; he made two or three
-efforts to clear his voice to speak, but in vain, and turning suddenly
-from me, he walked to the window. The horror and dismay which, in the
-olden time, overwhelmed the woman of Endor when her spells unexpectedly
-conjured the dead into her presence, were but types of what I felt when
-thus presented with what appeared to be almost unequivocal evidence of
-the guilt whose existence I had before so strongly doubted.
-
-There was a silence of some moments, during which it were hard to
-conjecture whether I or my companion suffered most.
-
-Lord Glenfallen soon recovered his self-command; he returned to the
-table, again sat down, and said:
-
-"What you have told me has so astonished me, has unfolded such a tissue
-of motiveless guilt, and in a quarter from which I had so little reason
-to look for ingratitude or treachery, that your announcement almost
-deprived me of speech; the person in question, however, has one excuse,
-her mind is, as I told you before, unsettled. You should have remembered
-that, and hesitated to receive as unexceptionable evidence against the
-honour of your husband, the ravings of a lunatic. I now tell you that
-this is the last time I shall speak to you upon this subject, and, in
-the presence of the God who is to judge me, and as I hope for mercy in
-the day of judgment, I swear that the charge thus brought against me is
-utterly false, unfounded, and ridiculous. I defy the world in any point
-to taint my honour; and, as I have never taken the opinion of madmen
-touching your character or morals, I think it but fair to require that
-you will evince a like tenderness for me; and now, once for all, never
-again dare to repeat to me your insulting suspicions, or the clumsy and
-infamous calumnies of fools. I shall instantly let the worthy lady who
-contrived this somewhat original device understand fully my opinion upon
-the matter. Good morning."
-
-And with these words he left me again in doubt, and involved in all the
-horrors of the most agonizing suspense.
-
-I had reason to think that Lord Glenfallen wreaked his vengeance upon
-the author of the strange story which I had heard, with a violence which
-was not satisfied with mere words, for old Martha, with whom I was a
-great favourite, while attending me in my room, told me that she feared
-her master had ill-used the poor blind Dutchwoman, for that she had
-heard her scream as if the very life were leaving her, but added a
-request that I should not speak of what she had told me to any one,
-particularly to the master.
-
-"How do you know that she is a Dutchwoman?" inquired I, anxious to learn
-anything whatever that might throw a light upon the history of this
-person, who seemed to have resolved to mix herself up in my fortunes.
-
-"Why, my lady," answered Martha, "the master often calls her the Dutch
-hag, and other names you would not like to hear, and I am sure she is
-neither English nor Irish; for, whenever they talk together, they speak
-some queer foreign lingo, and fast enough, I'll be bound. But I ought
-not to talk about her at all; it might be as much as my place is worth
-to mention her, only you saw her first yourself, so there can be no
-great harm in speaking of her now."
-
-"How long has this lady been here?" continued I.
-
-"She came early on the morning after your ladyship's arrival," answered
-she; "but do not ask me any more, for the master would think nothing of
-turning me out of doors for daring to speak of her at all, much less to
-_you_, my lady."
-
-I did not like to press the poor woman further, for her reluctance to
-speak on this topic was evident and strong.
-
-You will readily believe that upon the very slight grounds which my
-information afforded, contradicted as it was by the solemn oath of my
-husband, and derived from what was, at best, a very questionable source,
-I could not take any very decisive measures whatever; and as to the
-menace of the strange woman who had thus unaccountably twice intruded
-herself into my chamber, although, at the moment, it occasioned me some
-uneasiness, it was not, even in my eyes, sufficiently formidable to
-induce my departure from Cahergillagh.
-
-A few nights after the scene which I have just mentioned, Lord
-Glenfallen having, as usual, retired early to his study, I was left
-alone in the parlour to amuse myself as best I might.
-
-It was not strange that my thoughts should often recur to the agitating
-scenes in which I had recently taken a part.
-
-The subject of my reflections, the solitude, the silence, and the
-lateness of the hour, as also the depression of spirits to which I had
-of late been a constant prey, tended to produce that nervous excitement
-which places us wholly at the mercy of the imagination.
-
-In order to calm my spirits I was endeavouring to direct my thoughts
-into some more pleasing channel, when I heard, or thought I heard,
-uttered within a few yards of me, in an odd, half-sneering tone, the
-words,--
-
-"There is blood upon your ladyship's throat."
-
-So vivid was the impression that I started to my feet, and involuntarily
-placed my hand upon my neck.
-
-I looked around the room for the speaker, but in vain.
-
-I went then to the room-door, which I opened, and peered into the
-passage, nearly faint with horror lest some leering, shapeless thing
-should greet me upon the threshold.
-
-When I had gazed long enough to assure myself that no strange object was
-within sight,--
-
-"I have been too much of a rake lately; I am racking out my nerves,"
-said I, speaking aloud, with a view to reassure myself.
-
-I rang the bell, and, attended by old Martha, I retired to settle for
-the night.
-
-While the servant was--as was her custom--arranging the lamp which I
-have already stated always burned during the night in my chamber, I was
-employed in undressing, and, in doing so, I had recourse to a large
-looking-glass which occupied a considerable portion of the wall in which
-it was fixed, rising from the ground to a height of about six feet; this
-mirror filled the space of a large panel in the wainscoting opposite the
-foot of the bed.
-
-[Illustration: SOMETHING LIKE A BLACK PALL WAS SLOWLY WAVED.]
-
-I had hardly been before it for the lapse of a minute when something
-like a black pall was slowly waved between me and it.
-
-"Oh, God! there it is," I exclaimed, wildly. "I have seen it again,
-Martha--the black cloth."
-
-"God be merciful to us, then!" answered she, tremulously crossing
-herself. "Some misfortune is over us."
-
-"No, no, Martha," said I, almost instantly recovering my collectedness;
-for, although of a nervous temperament, I had never been superstitious.
-"I do not believe in omens. You know I saw, or fancied I saw, this thing
-before, and nothing followed."
-
-"The Dutch lady came the next morning," replied she.
-
-"But surely her coming scarcely deserved such a dreadful warning," I
-replied.
-
-"She is a strange woman, my lady," said Martha; "and she is not _gone_
-yet--mark my words."
-
-"Well, well, Martha," said I, "I have not wit enough to change your
-opinions, nor inclination to alter mine; so I will talk no more of the
-matter. Good-night," and so I was left to my reflections.
-
-After lying for about an hour awake, I at length fell into a kind of
-doze; but my imagination was very busy, for I was startled from this
-unrefreshing sleep by fancying that I heard a voice close to my face
-exclaim as before,--
-
-"There is blood upon your ladyship's throat."
-
-The words were instantly followed by a loud burst of laughter.
-
-Quaking with horror, I awakened, and heard my husband enter the room.
-Even this was a relief.
-
-Scared as I was, however, by the tricks which my imagination had played
-me, I preferred remaining silent, and pretending to sleep, to attempting
-to engage my husband in conversation, for I well knew that his mood was
-such, that his words would not, in all probability, convey anything that
-had not better be unsaid and unheard.
-
-Lord Glenfallen went into his dressing-room, which lay upon the
-right-hand side of the bed. The door lying open, I could see him by
-himself, at full length upon a sofa, and, in about half an hour, I
-became aware, by his deep and regularly drawn respiration, that he was
-fast asleep.
-
-When slumber refuses to visit one, there is something peculiarly
-irritating, not to the temper, but to the nerves, in the consciousness
-that some one is in your immediate presence, actually enjoying the boon
-which you are seeking in vain; at least, I have always found it so, and
-never more than upon the present occasion.
-
-A thousand annoying imaginations harassed and excited me; every object
-which I looked upon, though ever so familiar, seemed to have acquired
-a strange phantom-like character, the varying shadows thrown by the
-flickering of the lamplight seemed shaping themselves into grotesque and
-unearthly forms, and whenever my eyes wandered to the sleeping figure
-of my husband, his features appeared to undergo the strangest and most
-demoniacal contortions.
-
-Hour after hour was told by the old clock, and each succeeding one found
-me, if possible, less inclined to sleep than its predecessor.
-
-It was now considerably past three; my eyes, in their involuntary
-wanderings, happened to alight upon the large mirror which was, as I
-have said, fixed in the wall opposite the foot of the bed. A view of it
-was commanded from where I lay, through the curtains. As I gazed fixedly
-upon it, I thought I perceived the broad sheet of glass shifting its
-position in relation to the bed; I riveted my eyes upon it with intense
-scrutiny; it was no deception, the mirror, as if acting of its own
-impulse, moved slowly aside, and disclosed a dark aperture in the wall,
-nearly as large as an ordinary door; a figure evidently stood in this,
-but the light was too dim to define it accurately.
-
-It stepped cautiously into the chamber, and with so little noise, that
-had I not actually seen it, I do not think I should have been aware of
-its presence. It was arrayed in a kind of woollen night-dress, and a
-white handkerchief or cloth was bound tightly about the head; I had no
-difficulty, spite of the strangeness of the attire, in recognizing the
-blind woman whom I so much dreaded.
-
-She stooped down, bringing her head nearly to the ground, and in that
-attitude she remained motionless for some moments, no doubt in order to
-ascertain if any suspicious sounds were stirring.
-
-She was apparently satisfied by her observations, for she immediately
-recommenced her silent progress towards a ponderous mahogany
-dressing-table of my husband's. When she had reached it, she paused
-again, and appeared to listen attentively for some minutes; she then
-noiselessly opened one of the drawers, from which, having groped for
-some time, she took something, which I soon perceived to be a case of
-razors. She opened it, and tried the edge of each of the two instruments
-upon the skin of her hand; she quickly selected one, which she fixed
-firmly in her grasp. She now stooped down as before, and having listened
-for a time, she, with the hand that was disengaged, groped her way into
-the dressing-room where Lord Glenfallen lay fast asleep.
-
-I was fixed as if in the tremendous spell of a nightmare. I could not
-stir even a finger; I could not lift my voice; I could not even breathe;
-and though I expected every moment to see the sleeping man murdered, I
-could not even close my eyes to shut out the horrible spectacle which I
-had not the power to avert.
-
-I saw the woman approach the sleeping figure, she laid the unoccupied
-hand lightly along his clothes, and having thus ascertained his
-identity, she, after a brief interval, turned back and again entered my
-chamber; here she bent down again to listen.
-
-I had now not a doubt but that the razor was intended for my throat; yet
-the terrific fascination which had locked all my powers so long, still
-continued to bind me fast.
-
-I felt that my life depended upon the slightest ordinary exertion, and
-yet I could not stir one joint from the position in which I lay, nor
-even make noise enough to waken Lord Glenfallen.
-
-The murderous woman now, with long, silent steps, approached the bed;
-my very heart seemed turning to ice; her left hand, that which was
-disengaged, was upon the pillow; she gradually slid it forward towards
-my head, and in an instant, with the speed of lightning, it was clutched
-in my hair, while, with the other hand, she dashed the razor at my
-throat.
-
-A slight inaccuracy saved me from instant death; the blow fell short,
-the point of the razor grazing my throat. In a moment, I know not how, I
-found myself at the other side of the bed, uttering shriek after shriek;
-the wretch was however determined, if possible, to murder me.
-
-Scrambling along by the curtains, she rushed round the bed towards me;
-I seized the handle of the door to make my escape. It was, however,
-fastened. At all events, I could not open it. From the mere instinct of
-recoiling terror, I shrunk back into a corner. She was now within a yard
-of me. Her hand was upon my face.
-
-I closed my eyes fast, expecting never to open them again, when a blow,
-inflicted from behind by a strong arm, stretched the monster senseless
-at my feet. At the same moment the door opened, and several domestics,
-alarmed by my cries, entered the apartment.
-
-I do not recollect what followed, for I fainted. One swoon succeeded
-another, so long and death-like, that my life was considered very
-doubtful.
-
-At about ten o'clock, however, I sank into a deep and refreshing sleep,
-from which I was awakened at about two, that I might swear my deposition
-before a magistrate, who attended for that purpose.
-
-I accordingly did so, as did also Lord Glenfallen, and the woman was
-fully committed to stand her trial at the ensuing assizes.
-
-I shall never forget the scene which the examination of the blind woman
-and of the other parties afforded.
-
-She was brought into the room in the custody of two servants. She wore
-a kind of flannel wrapper, which had not been changed since the night
-before. It was torn and soiled, and here and there smeared with blood,
-which had flowed in large quantities from a wound in her head. The
-white handkerchief had fallen off in the scuffle, and her grizzled hair
-fell in masses about her wild and deadly pale countenance.
-
-She appeared perfectly composed, however, and the only regret she
-expressed throughout, was at not having succeeded in her attempt, the
-object of which she did not pretend to conceal.
-
-On being asked her name, she called herself the Countess Glenfallen, and
-refused to give any other title.
-
-"The woman's name is Flora Van-Kemp," said Lord Glenfallen.
-
-"It _was_, it _was_, you perjured traitor and cheat!" screamed the
-woman; and then there followed a volley of words in some foreign
-language. "Is there a magistrate here?" she resumed; "I am Lord
-Glenfallen's wife--I'll prove it--write down my words. I am willing to
-be hanged or burned, so _he_ meets his deserts. I did try to kill that
-doll of his; but it was he who put it into my head to do it--two wives
-were too many; I was to murder her, or she was to hang me: listen to all
-I have to say."
-
-Here Lord Glenfallen interrupted.
-
-"I think, sir," said he, addressing the magistrate "that we had better
-proceed to business; this unhappy woman's furious recriminations but
-waste our time. If she refuses to answer your questions, you had better,
-I presume, take my depositions."
-
-"And are you going to swear away my life, you black-perjured murderer?"
-shrieked the woman. "Sir, sir, sir, you must hear me," she continued,
-addressing the magistrate; "I can convict him--he bid me murder that
-girl, and then, when I failed, he came behind me, and struck me down,
-and now he wants to swear away my life. Take down all I say."
-
-"If it is your intention," said the magistrate, "to confess the crime
-with which you stand charged, you may, upon producing sufficient
-evidence, criminate whom you please."
-
-"Evidence!--I have no evidence but myself," said the woman. "I will
-swear it all--write down my testimony--write it down, I say--we shall
-hang side by side, my brave lord--all your own handy-work, my gentle
-husband!"
-
-This was followed by a low, insolent, and sneering laugh, which, from
-one in her situation, was sufficiently horrible.
-
-"I will not at present hear anything," replied he, "but distinct answers
-to the questions which I shall put to you upon this matter."
-
-"Then you shall hear nothing," replied she sullenly, and no inducement
-or intimidation could bring her to speak again.
-
-Lord Glenfallen's deposition and mine were then given, as also those of
-the servants who had entered the room at the moment of my rescue.
-
-The magistrate then intimated that she was committed, and must proceed
-directly to gaol, whither she was brought in a carriage of Lord
-Glenfallen's, for his lordship was naturally by no means indifferent to
-the effect which her vehement accusations against himself might produce,
-if uttered before every chance hearer whom she might meet with between
-Cahergillagh and the place of confinement whither she was despatched.
-
-During the time which intervened between the committal and the trial of
-the prisoner, Lord Glenfallen seemed to suffer agonies of mind which
-baffled all description; he hardly ever slept, and when he did, his
-slumbers seemed but the instruments of new tortures, and his waking
-hours were, if possible, exceeded in intensity of terror by the dreams
-which disturbed his sleep.
-
-Lord Glenfallen rested, if to lie in the mere attitude of repose were
-to do so, in his dressing-room, and thus I had an opportunity of
-witnessing, far oftener than I wished it, the fearful workings of his
-mind. His agony often broke out into such fearful paroxysms that
-delirium and total loss of reason appeared to be impending. He
-frequently spoke of flying from the country, and bringing with him all
-the witnesses of the appalling scene upon which the prosecution was
-founded; then, again, he would fiercely lament that the blow which he
-had inflicted had not ended all.
-
-The assizes arrived, however, and upon the day appointed Lord Glenfallen
-and I attended in order to give our evidence.
-
-The cause was called on, and the prisoner appeared at the bar.
-
-Great curiosity and interest were felt respecting the trial, so that the
-court was crowded to excess.
-
-The prisoner, however, without appearing to take the trouble of
-listening to the indictment, pleaded guilty, and no representations on
-the part of the court availed to induce her to retract her plea.
-
-After much time had been wasted in a fruitless attempt to prevail upon
-her to reconsider her words, the court proceeded, according to the usual
-form, to pass sentence.
-
-This having been done, the prisoner was about to be removed, when she
-said, in a low, distinct voice:
-
-"A word--a word, my lord!--Is Lord Glenfallen here in the court?"
-
-On being told that he was, she raised her voice to a tone of loud
-menace, and continued:
-
-"Hardress, Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of
-justice of two crimes,--first, that you married a second wife while the
-first was living; and again, that you prompted me to the murder, for
-attempting which I am to die. Secure him--chain him--bring him here!"
-
-There was a laugh through the court at these words, which were naturally
-treated by the judge as a violent extemporary recrimination, and the
-woman was desired to be silent.
-
-"You won't take him, then?" she said; "you won't try him? You'll let him
-go free?"
-
-It was intimated by the court that he would certainly be allowed "to go
-free," and she was ordered again to be removed.
-
-Before, however, the mandate was executed, she threw her arms wildly
-into the air, and uttered one piercing shriek so full of preternatural
-rage and despair, that it might fitly have ushered a soul into those
-realms where hope can come no more.
-
-The sound still rang in my ears, months after the voice that had uttered
-it was for ever silent.
-
-The wretched woman was executed in accordance with the sentence which
-had been pronounced.
-
-For some time after this event, Lord Glenfallen appeared, if possible,
-to suffer more than he had done before, and altogether his language,
-which often amounted to half confessions of the guilt imputed to him,
-and all the circumstances connected with the late occurrences, formed a
-mass of evidence so convincing that I wrote to my father, detailing the
-grounds of my fears, and imploring him to come to Cahergillagh without
-delay, in order to remove me from my husband's control, previously to
-taking legal steps for a final separation.
-
-Circumstanced as I was, my existence was little short of intolerable,
-for, besides the fearful suspicions which attached to my husband, I
-plainly perceived that if Lord Glenfallen were not relieved, and that
-speedily, insanity must supervene. I therefore expected my father's
-arrival, or at least a letter to announce it, with indescribable
-impatience.
-
-About a week after the execution had taken place, Lord Glenfallen one
-morning met me with an unusually sprightly air.
-
-"Fanny," said he, "I have it now for the first time in my power to
-explain to your satisfaction everything which has hitherto appeared
-suspicious or mysterious in my conduct. After breakfast come with me to
-my study, and I shall, I hope, make all things clear."
-
-This invitation afforded me more real pleasure than I had experienced
-for months. Something had certainly occurred to tranquillize my
-husband's mind in no ordinary degree, and I thought it by no means
-impossible that he would, in the proposed interview, prove himself the
-most injured and innocent of men.
-
-Full of this hope, I repaired to his study at the appointed hour. He was
-writing busily when I entered the room, and just raising his eyes, he
-requested me to be seated.
-
-I took a chair as he desired, and remained silently awaiting his
-leisure, while he finished, folded, directed, and sealed his letter.
-Laying it then upon the table with the address downward, he said,--
-
-"My dearest Fanny, I know I must have appeared very strange to you and
-very unkind--often even cruel. Before the end of this week I will show
-you the necessity of my conduct--how impossible it was that I should
-have seemed otherwise. I am conscious that many acts of mine must have
-inevitably given rise to painful suspicions--suspicions which, indeed,
-upon one occasion, you very properly communicated to me. I have
-got two letters from a quarter which commands respect, containing
-information as to the course by which I may be enabled to prove the
-negative of all the crimes which even the most credulous suspicion
-could lay to my charge. I expected a third by this morning's post,
-containing documents which will set the matter for ever at rest, but
-owing, no doubt, to some neglect, or perhaps to some difficulty in
-collecting the papers, some inevitable delay, it has not come to hand
-this morning, according to my expectation. I was finishing one to the
-very same quarter when you came in, and if a sound rousing be worth
-anything, I think I shall have a special messenger before two days
-have passed. I have been anxiously considering with myself, as to
-whether I had better imperfectly clear up your doubts by submitting to
-your inspection the two letters which I have already received, or wait
-till I can triumphantly vindicate myself by the production of the
-documents which I have already mentioned, and I have, I think, not
-unnaturally decided upon the latter course. However, there is a person
-in the next room whose testimony is not without its value--excuse me
-for one moment."
-
-So saying, he arose and went to the door of a closet which opened from
-the study; this he unlocked, and half opening the door, he said, "It is
-only I," and then slipped into the room, and carefully closed and locked
-the door behind him.
-
-I immediately heard his voice in animated conversation. My curiosity
-upon the subject of the letter was naturally great, so, smothering any
-little scruples which I might have felt, I resolved to look at the
-address of the letter which lay, as my husband had left it, with its
-face upon the table. I accordingly drew it over to me, and turned up the
-direction.
-
-For two or three moments I could scarce believe my eyes, but there could
-be no mistake--in large characters were traced the words, "To the
-Archangel Gabriel in Heaven."
-
-I had scarcely returned the letter to its original position, and in some
-degree recovered the shock which this unequivocal proof of insanity
-produced, when the closet door was unlocked, and Lord Glenfallen
-re-entered the study, carefully closing and locking the door again upon
-the outside.
-
-"Whom have you there?" inquired I, making a strong effort to appear
-calm.
-
-"Perhaps," said he, musingly, "you might have some objection to seeing
-her, at least for a time."
-
-"Who is it?" repeated I.
-
-"Why," said he, "I see no use in hiding it--the blind Dutchwoman. I have
-been with her the whole morning. She is very anxious to get out of that
-closet; but you know she is odd, she is scarcely to be trusted."
-
-A heavy gust of wind shook the door at this moment with a sound as if
-something more substantial were pushing against it.
-
-"Ha, ha, ha!--do you hear her?" said he, with an obstreperous burst of
-laughter.
-
-The wind died away in a long howl, and Lord Glenfallen, suddenly
-checking his merriment, shrugged his shoulders, and muttered:
-
-"Poor devil, she has been hardly used."
-
-"We had better not tease her at present with questions," said I, in as
-unconcerned a tone as I could assume, although I felt every moment as if
-I should faint.
-
-"Humph! may be so," said he. "Well, come back in an hour or two, or when
-you please, and you will find us here."
-
-He again unlocked the door, and entered with the same precautions which
-he had adopted before, locking the door upon the inside; and as I
-hurried from the room, I heard his voice again exerted as if in eager
-parley.
-
-I can hardly describe my emotions; my hopes had been raised to the
-highest, and now, in an instant, all was gone: the dreadful consummation
-was accomplished--the fearful retribution had fallen upon the guilty
-man--the mind was destroyed, the power to repent was gone.
-
-The agony of the hours which followed what I would still call my awful
-interview with Lord Glenfallen, I cannot describe; my solitude was,
-however, broken in upon by Martha, who came to inform me of the arrival
-of a gentleman, who expected me in the parlour.
-
-I accordingly descended, and, to my great joy, found my father seated by
-the fire.
-
-This expedition upon his part was easily accounted for: my
-communications had touched the honour of the family. I speedily
-informed him of the dreadful malady which had fallen upon the wretched
-man.
-
-My father suggested the necessity of placing some person to watch him,
-to prevent his injuring himself or others.
-
-I rang the bell, and desired that one Edward Cooke, an attached servant
-of the family, should be sent to me.
-
-I told him distinctly and briefly the nature of the service required of
-him, and, attended by him, my father and I proceeded at once to the
-study. The door of the inner room was still closed, and everything in
-the outer chamber remained in the same order in which I had left it.
-
-We then advanced to the closet-door, at which we knocked, but without
-receiving any answer.
-
-We next tried to open the door, but in vain; it was locked upon the
-inside. We knocked more loudly, but in vain.
-
-Seriously alarmed, I desired the servant to force the door, which was,
-after several violent efforts, accomplished, and we entered the closet.
-
-Lord Glenfallen was lying on his face upon a sofa.
-
-"Hush!" said I; "he is asleep." We paused for a moment.
-
-"He is too still for that," said my father.
-
-We all of us felt a strong reluctance to approach the figure.
-
-"Edward," said I, "try whether your master sleeps."
-
-The servant approached the sofa where Lord Glenfallen lay. He leant his
-ear towards the head of the recumbent figure, to ascertain whether the
-sound of breathing was audible. He turned towards us, and said:
-
-"My lady, you had better not wait here; I am sure he is dead!"
-
-"Let me see the face," said I, terribly agitated; "you _may_ be
-mistaken."
-
-The man then, in obedience to my command, turned the body round, and,
-gracious God! what a sight met my view.
-
-The whole breast of the shirt, with its lace frill, was drenched with
-his blood, as was the couch underneath the spot where he lay.
-
-The head hung back, as it seemed, almost severed from the body by a
-frightful gash, which yawned across the throat. The razor which had
-inflicted the wound was found under his body.
-
-All, then, was over; I was never to learn the history in whose
-termination I had been so deeply and so tragically involved.
-
-The severe discipline which my mind had undergone was not bestowed in
-vain. I directed my thoughts and my hopes to that place where there is
-no more sin, nor danger, nor sorrow.
-
-Thus ends a brief tale whose prominent incidents many will recognize as
-having marked the history of a distinguished family; and though it
-refers to a somewhat distant date, we shall be found not to have taken,
-upon that account, any liberties with the facts.
-
-
-THE END.
-
-
-
-
-  LONDON:
-  PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LD.,
-  ST. JOHN'S HOUSE, CLERKENWELL, E.C.
-
-
-
-
-  BY THE AUTHOR OF "BALLYBEG JUNCTION."
-
-  THE
-  MERCHANT OF KILLOGUE
-  A Munster Tale
-
-  BY
-  F. M. ALLEN
-
-  AUTHOR OF "THROUGH GREEN GLASSES," "A HOUSE OF TEARS,"
-  "IN ONE TOWN," ETC., ETC.
-
-  In Three Volumes.
-
-
-THE WORLD.
-
-"An inside and intimate picture of Irish life and character, in phases
-and circumstances which have not, so far as we know, been approached by
-any other novelist or satirist. The work is not describable, it is not
-to be indicated by comparison; the very touch of occasional caricature
-in the election scenes, and in the 'brigand' of the story, O'Ruark,
-which throws out the sheer clear actuality of the people, the places,
-the 'ways'; the extraordinary humour of the talk; the jarring of small
-interests and petty ambitions in the town that is all the world to its
-inhabitants; the swift stroke of fate and sudden investment of the scene
-with tragic interest--are Mr. Downey's own. Mick Moloney's last 'few
-words with the master' is an incident worthy to be placed beside the
-famous death scene in the mountain-pass in 'Tom Burke.'"
-
-
-THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.
-
-"Vivid and convincing sketches of Irish provincial life abound in 'The
-Merchant of Killogue.'... The story is admirably worked up to a
-surprising and startling _dénouement_."
-
-
-WESTMINSTER GAZETTE.
-
-"The only fault we have to find with 'The Merchant of Killogue' is that
-it is too conscientious.... In depicting his characters he shows rare
-skill and knowledge as well as a very considerable gift of humour. They
-are all vivid, distinct, and lifelike.... The workmanship is of quite
-unusual merit."
-
-
-DAILY CHRONICLE.
-
-"Mr. Downey's Celts are human beings, motived by the ordinary motives,
-and talking like rational men and women. His central figure, John
-O'Reilly, is an artistic creation."
-
-
-LITERARY WORLD.
-
-"Natural, strong in local characterisation and colouring, with many
-touches of quaint humour peculiarly Irish and racy, and bright and
-readable from cover to cover."
-
-
-SATURDAY REVIEW.
-
-"There is no questioning the ability of Mr. Edmund Downey's Munster
-tale. It is long since a writer has introduced us to a set of characters
-so fresh, so unlike the usual creations of the novelist."
-
-
-VANITY FAIR.
-
-"Every character in the book is put down in words so subtle and strong
-that for yourself you know the people. There is nothing of the new woman
-in it, and not a line concerning the analyses of soul and body. It is
-just a picture of Irish life which might have been written in shorthand
-as it happened, and written out afterwards in longhand, so clear and
-sharp and vital is it. It is an exciting story, with a thrilling winding
-up."
-
-
-ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE.
-
-"When we say that Mr. Downey reminds us not a little of his great
-precursor, Lever, we are paying him no idle compliment."
-
-
-GUARDIAN.
-
-"One of the best descriptions of Irish life that we have read since
-Lever."
-
-
-SPECTATOR.
-
-"A very bright and vivacious book.... The merchant is a very carefully
-painted portrait, and he is really made to live."
-
-
-THE SUN.
-
-"Before you are half-way through the first chapter of this entertaining
-book you realize that you are here face to face with Ireland drawn from
-the life, that this is fiction not of stale convention but of first-hand
-observation, and that the story demands more than ordinary attention."
-
-
-ATHENĈUM.
-
-"It is pleasant for a reviewer to be able to congratulate him on the
-good account to which he has now turned his extensive acquaintance with
-Irish provincial life."
-
-
-ST. PAUL'S.
-
-"The humour is neither farcical nor conventional, it is the humour of
-situation and character.... The dialogue is animated, easy, and natural
-throughout."
-
-
-LLOYDS'.
-
-"The rich racy humour of Irish life bubbles up in many fantastic forms
-and shapes throughout Mr. Downey's novel."
-
-
-MORNING POST.
-
-"Excellent portraits abound in this tale of Munster."
-
-
-STANDARD.
-
-"The plot acts mainly as a peg on which the author hangs his sketches of
-Irish character, and these are excellently done. The merchant himself
-... is a remarkable study.... O'Ruark is, in his way, quite a creation,
-and his perennial flow of Irish wit is one of the pleasantest things in
-the three volumes."
-
-
-TRUTH.
-
-"The characters and the scenes are excellently drawn."
-
-
-LIVERPOOL MERCURY.
-
-"A story that holds the attention of the reader down to the last page."
-
-
-FREEMAN'S JOURNAL.
-
-"The book has all the interest of a story that we feel derives its life
-from experience."
-
-
-IRISH WEEKLY INDEPENDENT.
-
-"'The Merchant of Killogue' is a book in which high spirits predominate.
-It is no mean compliment to say that two or three chapters read like
-chapters of 'Charles O'Malley' or 'Harry Lorrequer.'"
-
-
-BOSTON (U.S.A.) LITERARY WORLD.
-
-"A remarkable novel of Irish life is 'The Merchant of Killogue.' I do
-not know any novel which paints the life so realistically.... As a
-portrait of the time and the people the book ought to live."
-
-
-  +W. HEINEMANN+, PUBLISHER,
-  BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, LONDON
-
-
-
-
-G. W. APPLETON'S NOVELS.
-
-
-A TERRIBLE LEGACY:
-
-A Tale of the South Downs.
-
-"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. The author revels in
-a good character, and so the book is filled with grotesque oddities, at
-which we laugh consumedly.... A novelist who possesses the rare gift of
-humour. We are grateful for an afternoon of hearty laughter. Could we
-say as much of nine books out of ten?"--_World._
-
-"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. Mr. Appleton has done
-for the South Downs what Mr. Blackmore has done for Exmoor."--_St.
-Stephen's Review._
-
-"It is not in respect of this rare gift of humour that I alone value the
-author. This story is a tale of the South Downs, and Mr. Appleton has
-the power of depicting in words the changing aspects of nature with an
-absolute fidelity to truth. Counties differ, as human faces differ, only
-more so. Mr. Appleton has made the South Downs his own literary
-property."--_Vanity Fair._
-
-"The reader will not be long in discovering that the book is the work of
-a good and clever writer of no mean dramatic powers--whether in point
-of conception or of execution--with much drollery and quaintness at
-command, and a well-developed faculty of dealing with the mysterious,
-and other admirable gifts."--_Illustrated London News._
-
-"Laughter-moving from first to last. Mr. Appleton has written nothing
-better than this."--_Scotsman._
-
-"The readers of this strange romance will be bound to confess that the
-author has held them captive."--_Daily News._
-
-"From first to last absorbs the attention of the reader."--_Morning
-Post._
-
-"The novel is a novel in the true sense of the word, and whoever reads
-it must feel refreshed at finding he is perusing altogether a new style
-of book."--_Observer._
-
-"The novel is a piece of sound workmanship, and distinctly marked
-off from the ordinary run. It is worthy of its author's high
-reputation."--_Weekly Dispatch._
-
-"He has created types that deserve to survive and acquire as much
-popularity as has fallen to the share of some of those of our most
-famous humorists."--_Echo._
-
-"One of the most original works of fiction we have met with for a
-long time, as different from the usual feeble imitations of 'Ouida'
-and 'George Eliot' as a breezy common or a bright spring day is
-from the faint, perfume-laden atmosphere of an aristocratic
-drawing-room."--_London Journal._
-
-"Mr. Appleton's genius seems freer, brighter, and more effective in the
-lighter moods, and he is able to display a varied cultivation without
-the slightest obtrusion of learning."--_Sunday Times._
-
-"'A Terrible Legacy' is a book of great ability and power. It is a
-curious tribute to the vast vitality of Dickens' genius that a
-comparatively new and an able writer should openly take him for a model.
-Mr. Appleton is not a mere imitator: he does not follow in Dickens'
-footsteps by appropriating his materials, but by adopting his point of
-view. He has chosen his master wisely, for his own talent is similar in
-kind."--_New York Daily Graphic._
-
-
-FROZEN HEARTS:
-
-A Romance.
-
-"There is so much power and pathos in the narrative as to give it an
-impress of realism, and it is, on the whole, one that most people can
-read with hearty relish."--_Scotsman._
-
-"'Frozen Hearts' makes high pretensions, and justifies
-them."--_Westminster Review._
-
-"Good melodrama, such as this is, is a sure panacea against dulness, and
-implies the possession of that vigour and _élan_ which every novelist
-should have about him. In some portions, as in the exciting description
-of the barricade fighting, and in the interview between the unjustly
-slandered heroine and the mother who is breaking her own heart with her
-own cruelty, the author rises to real power."--_Globe._
-
-"It is full of all kinds of excitement, and in some places reveals
-evidence of strong dramatic power."--_Academy._
-
-"The story is new and striking.... Some of the less important characters
-are amusing, and the light comedy scenes are above the average.... Mr.
-Appleton possesses the knack, so useful to a novelist, of getting to his
-point without any superfluous matter, and is always original and
-generally correct."--_Sunday Times._
-
-_Victor Hugo_ writes: "Je trouve grand plaisir à la lecture de ce livre.
-Le chapitre sur les troubles à Paris m'a vivement interessé."
-
-
-CATCHING A TARTAR:
-
-A Novel.
-
-"Mr. Appleton's new novel is in every way the equal, if it be not
-positively the superior of 'Frozen Hearts,' the work which established
-his just claims to popularity. It is a capital story, written in a
-most natural and graceful style. The plot is interesting, and all
-the characters are distinct and realistic creations; some, indeed,
-are likely to 'live,' and become by reason of their quaint sayings
-and doings, popular, as were in days of yore some of Dickens' and
-Thackeray's personages. Notably is this the case with John, a most
-original and amusing character, whose pithy sayings provoke many a
-hearty laugh. The intrigue of the story is lively and intricate, but
-so skilfully contrived that the 'situations' never appear forced or
-unnatural. 'Catching a Tartar' is worthy of much praise, and is
-decidedly one of the cleverest novels we have read or reviewed for a
-long time. Mr. Appleton possesses exceptional talent as a novelist, and,
-above all, the rare quality of getting to his point without encumbering
-his narrative with superfluous matter. He is always original, and never
-dull or commonplace. His next venture in the shape of a novel will be
-looked forward to with much interest."--_Morning Post._
-
-"Many able men have come short of being successful novel writers,
-simply because they lacked brightness or lightness or smoothness of
-composition. Mr. Appleton displays these qualities; his book is
-therefore easy to read.... A vein of humour throughout, the effect
-of which is heightened by many a touch of genuine pathos. So
-marked an advance in the course of a single year is deserving of
-note."--_Athenĉum._
-
-"Mr. Appleton has here achieved a very decided success in the way of a
-novel of mystery. We must, if we are honest, admit that our attention
-has been irresistibly enchained throughout the three volumes. The book
-is one, altogether, to be read, and we may safely predict that no one
-who masters the first fifty pages will be the least likely to leave it
-unfinished."--_Graphic._
-
-"The story is contrived with great ingenuity, and told with great skill
-and spirit.... Characters firmly and sharply drawn, with a good deal of
-quiet fun and humour."--_Guardian._
-
-"The narrative moves on briskly, and never lets the attention
-flag."--_Spectator._
-
-
-JACK ALLYN'S FRIENDS:
-
-A Novel.
-
-"Mr. Appleton knows how to write novels of absorbing and unflagging
-interest and of remarkable cleverness, and his latest effort, 'Jack
-Allyn's Friends,' unmistakably possesses these qualities. Much of the
-peculiar interest of the story is derived from the subtlety with which
-the catastrophe is brought about. But there is also a brisk, almost
-boisterous vitality about the book--a sort of vigorous simplicity,
-resembling that of Messrs. Besant and Rice--with abundant humour and
-some cleverly-managed love-making under difficulties. With all these
-characteristics, 'Jack Allyn's Friends' is a novel which even those who
-may pronounce its condemnation from the serene heights of ĉstheticism
-will read and enjoy."--_Scotsman._
-
-"Mr. Appleton has succeeded in writing a novel which combines the
-merits of Miss Braddon with those of Bret Harte. The plot is carefully
-prepared, and the interest sustained until the very close of the third
-volume. The stout old American, Bill Hooker, reminds us of one of Bret
-Harte's Rocky Mountain heroes, whose hearts are of the same sterling
-metal as the ore from their mines."--_Graphic._
-
-"There is no doubt about the interest of this novel. The plot is
-certainly contrived with no little art. The secret is ingeniously kept.
-Suspicion is skilfully directed, first in one direction, then in
-another, and the _dénouement_ will probably be unsuspected. A decidedly
-readable novel."--_Spectator._
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's note
-
-
-For this txt-version text in italics has been surrounded with
-_underscores_, and a spaced-out word with +signs. Text in small
-capitals was changed to all capitals.
-
-A few errors in punctuation were silently corrected. Also the
-following corrections were made:
-
-  In the table of contents "183" was changed to "185" (The Dream 185),
-  also on page
-  38 "behavour" changed to "behaviour" (frightened into good behaviour,
-  like a naughty child)
-  102 "stange" changed to "strange" (to think of the strange interview
-  which had just)
-  102 "communciated" changed to "communicated" (it was no doubt
-  communicated to me)
-  103/4 "he" changed to "she" (favourite views, and she had walked)
-  229 "decrepid" changed to "decrepit" (the grim, decrepit hag which my
-  fancy had)
-  238 "first" changed to "fist" (shaking her clenched fist to me)
-  257 "coninued" changed to "continued" (still continued to bind me)
-
-Otherwise the original text has been preserved, including inconsistent
-hyphenation, and unusual spelling of foreign words.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Watcher, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
-
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