diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/69828-h/69828-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69828-h/69828-h.htm | 22806 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 22806 deletions
diff --git a/old/69828-h/69828-h.htm b/old/69828-h/69828-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index f75b2f3..0000000 --- a/old/69828-h/69828-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,22806 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> - <head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The bride’s fate by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth</title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - body { margin-left: 8%; margin-right: 10%; } - h1 { text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; } - h2 { text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; } - .pageno { right: 1%; font-size: x-small; background-color: inherit; color: silver; - text-indent: 0em; text-align: right; position: absolute; - border: thin solid silver; padding: .1em .2em; font-style: normal; - font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; } - p { text-indent: 0; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-align: justify; } - sup { vertical-align: top; font-size: 0.6em; } - .fss { font-size: 75%; } - .sc { font-variant: small-caps; } - .large { font-size: large; } - .xlarge { font-size: x-large; } - .small { font-size: small; } - .lg-container-b { text-align: center; } - .x-ebookmaker .lg-container-b { clear: both; } - .lg-container-r { text-align: right; } - .x-ebookmaker .lg-container-r { clear: both; } - .linegroup { display: inline-block; text-align: justify; } - .x-ebookmaker .linegroup { display: block; margin-left: 1.5em; } - .linegroup .group { margin: 1em auto; } - .linegroup .line { text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em; } - div.linegroup > :first-child { margin-top: 0; } - .linegroup .in10 { padding-left: 8.0em; } - .linegroup .in12 { padding-left: 9.0em; } - .linegroup .in14 { padding-left: 10.0em; } - .linegroup .in18 { padding-left: 12.0em; } - .linegroup .in2 { padding-left: 4.0em; } - .linegroup .in20 { padding-left: 13.0em; } - .linegroup .in22 { padding-left: 14.0em; } - .linegroup .in28 { padding-left: 17.0em; } - .linegroup .in32 { padding-left: 19.0em; } - .linegroup .in4 { padding-left: 5.0em; } - .linegroup .in6 { padding-left: 6.0em; } - .ol_1 li {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; } - ol.ol_1 {padding-left: 0; margin-left: 2.78%; margin-top: .5em; - margin-bottom: .5em; list-style-type: decimal; } - div.footnote > :first-child { margin-top: 1em; } - div.footnote p { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } - div.pbb { page-break-before: always; } - hr.pb { border: none; border-bottom: thin solid; margin-bottom: 1em; } - .x-ebookmaker hr.pb { display: none; } - .chapter { clear: both; page-break-before: always; } - .figcenter { clear: both; max-width: 100%; margin: 2em auto; text-align: center; } - .figcenter img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; } - .id001 { width:60%; } - .x-ebookmaker .id001 { margin-left:20%; width:60%; } - .ig001 { width:100%; } - .table0 { margin: auto; margin-top: 2em; } - .nf-center { text-align: center; } - .nf-center-c0 { text-align: justify; margin: 0.5em 0; } - .c000 { margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .c001 { page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em; } - .c002 { margin-top: 2em; } - .c003 { margin-top: 1em; } - .c004 { margin-top: 1em; font-size: .9em; } - .c005 { margin-top: 4em; } - .c006 { margin-top: 2em; font-size: .9em; } - .c007 { page-break-before:auto; margin-top: 4em; } - .c008 { vertical-align: top; text-align: right; padding-right: 1em; } - .c009 { vertical-align: top; text-align: justify; text-indent: -1em; - padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; } - .c010 { vertical-align: top; text-align: right; } - .c011 { margin-top: 2em; text-indent: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } - .c012 { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } - .c013 { font-size: .9em; } - .c014 { font-size: .9em; text-indent: 1em; margin-top: 0.25em; - margin-bottom: 0.25em; } - .c015 { text-indent: 0; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } - .c016 { font-size: .9em; text-align: right; } - .c017 { text-decoration: none; } - div.tnotes { padding-left:1em;padding-right:1em;background-color:#E3E4FA; - border:thin solid silver; margin:2em 10% 0 10%; font-family: Georgia, serif; - clear: both; } - .covernote { visibility: hidden; display: none; } - div.tnotes p { text-align: justify; } - .x-ebookmaker .covernote { visibility: visible; display: block; } - .figcenter {font-size: .9em; page-break-inside: avoid; max-width: 100%; } - .x-ebookmaker img {max-height: 30em; max-width: 100%; } - .footnote {font-size: .9em; } - div.footnote p {text-indent: 2em; margin-bottom: .5em; } - .chapter { clear: both; page-break-before: always; } - .ol_1 li {font-size: .9em; } - .x-ebookmaker .ol_1 li {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 0em; } - body {font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify; } - table {font-size: .9em; padding: 1.5em .5em 1em; page-break-inside: avoid; - clear: both; } - div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; } - div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .border {border-style: solid;border-width: 1px; } - .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } -</style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The bride's fate, by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The bride's fate</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>The sequel to "The changed brides"</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 18, 2023 [eBook #69828]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRIDE'S FATE ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'><em>THE BRIDE’S FATE</em><br> <span class='xlarge'>The Sequel to “The Changed Brides”</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><em>By</em></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='small'>“A Leap in the Dark,” “The Lost Lady of Lone,” “Nearest and Dearest,” “Her Mother’s Secret,” “A Beautiful Fiend,” “Victor’s Triumph,” Etc.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em>I have set my life upon a cast,</em></div> - <div class='line'><em>And I will abide the hazard of the die.</em></div> - <div class='line in32'>—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A. L. BURT COMPANY</div> - <div><span class='sc'>Publishers</span> <span class='sc'>New York</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>POPULAR BOOKS</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='large'>By MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='small'>In Handsome Cloth Binding</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='large'>Price per volume, 60 Cents</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Beautiful Fiend, A</div> - <div class='line'>Brandon Coyle’s Wife</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to A Skeleton in the Closet</span></div> - <div class='line'>Bride’s Fate, The</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to The Changed Brides</span></div> - <div class='line'>Bride’s Ordeal, The</div> - <div class='line'>Capitola’s Peril</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to the Hidden Hand</span></div> - <div class='line'>Changed Brides, The</div> - <div class='line'>Cruel as the Grave</div> - <div class='line'>David Lindsay</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Gloria</span></div> - <div class='line'>Deed Without a Name, A</div> - <div class='line'>Dorothy Harcourt’s Secret</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to A Deed Without a Name</span></div> - <div class='line'>“Em”</div> - <div class='line'>Em’s Husband</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to “Em”</span></div> - <div class='line'>Fair Play</div> - <div class='line'>For Whose Sake</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Why Did He Wed Her?</span></div> - <div class='line'>For Woman’s Love</div> - <div class='line'>Fulfilling Her Destiny</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to When Love Commands</span></div> - <div class='line'>Gloria</div> - <div class='line'>Her Love or Her Life</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to The Bride’s Ordeal</span></div> - <div class='line'>Her Mother’s Secret</div> - <div class='line'>Hidden Hand, The</div> - <div class='line'>How He Won Her</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Fair Play</span></div> - <div class='line'>Ishmael</div> - <div class='line'>Leap in the Dark, A</div> - <div class='line'>Lilith</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to the Unloved Wife</span></div> - <div class='line'>Little Nea’s Engagement</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Nearest and Dearest</span></div> - <div class='line'>Lost Heir, The</div> - <div class='line'>Lost Lady of Lone, The</div> - <div class='line'>Love’s Bitterest Cup</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Her Mother’s Secret</span></div> - <div class='line'>Mysterious Marriage, The</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to A Leap in the Dark</span></div> - <div class='line'>Nearest and Dearest</div> - <div class='line'>Noble Lord, A</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to The Lost Heir</span></div> - <div class='line'>Self-Raised</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Ishmael</span></div> - <div class='line'>Skeleton in the Closet, A</div> - <div class='line'>Struggle of a Soul, The</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to The Lost Lady of Lone</span></div> - <div class='line'>Sweet Love’s Atonement</div> - <div class='line'>Test of Love, The</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to A Tortured Heart</span></div> - <div class='line'>To His Fate</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Dorothy Harcourt’s Secret</span></div> - <div class='line'>Tortured Heart, A</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to The Trail of the Serpent</span></div> - <div class='line'>Trail of the Serpent, The</div> - <div class='line'>Tried for Her Life</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Cruel as the Grave</span></div> - <div class='line'>Unloved Wife, The</div> - <div class='line'>Unrequited Love, An</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to For Woman’s Love</span></div> - <div class='line'>Victor’s Triumph</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to A Beautiful Fiend</span></div> - <div class='line'>When Love Commands</div> - <div class='line'>When Shadows Die</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Love’s Bitterest Cup</span></div> - <div class='line'>Why Did He Wed Her?</div> - <div class='line'>Zenobia’s Suitors</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='small'>Sequel to Sweet Love’s Atonement</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price,</div> - <div>A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS</div> - <div>52 Duane Street New York</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> - <tr> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></th> - <th class='c009'> </th> - <th class='c010'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>I.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Unchanging Love</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_5'>5</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>II.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Calm Delights</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>III.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Surprises</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>A Messenger</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_25'>25</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>V.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Fortune</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_34'>34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Entertaining Angels</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_40'>40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Halcyon Days</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_51'>51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>VIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The End of Probation</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_59'>59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>IX.—</td> - <td class='c009'>A May-day Marriage</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_66'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>X.—</td> - <td class='c009'>General Lyon’s Consolation</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_79'>79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>A Joyous Meeting in June</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_88'>88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Mail-Bag</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_97'>97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Old and New</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_102'>102</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Arrival</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_112'>112</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Derby</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_133'>133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Gipsies</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_147'>147</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>How the Parted Met</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_159'>159</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XVIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Waiting and Hoping</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_173'>173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XIX.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Meeting Every Day</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_184'>184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XX.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Ambassadress’ Ball</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_191'>191</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Alexander’s Experience</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_207'>207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Missing Boy</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_227'>227</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Alexander’s Jealousy</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_248'>248</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXIV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Duel</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_256'>256</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Grand Satisfaction</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_268'>268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXVI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Pursuit</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_273'>273</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXVII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Shock</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_288'>288</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXVIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Alexander Strikes a Light</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_307'>307</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXIX.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Alexander’s Discoveries</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_315'>315</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXX.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Little Lenny’s Enemy</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_324'>324</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXXI.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Abduction</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_339'>339</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXXII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Little Lenny’s Adventures</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_354'>354</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXXIII.—</td> - <td class='c009'>Lenny’s Experiences</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_369'>369</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXXIV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Peace-offering</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_374'>374</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c008'>XXXV.—</td> - <td class='c009'>The Peace-offering.—<em>Continued</em></td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_386'>386</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span></div> -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>THE BRIDE’S FATE.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER I.<br> <span class='large'>UNCHANGING LOVE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Kind friends may be to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>But love like hers thou’lt see,</div> - <div class='line in14'>Never again.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Rest, peace, love, comfort were now Drusilla’s portions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was a new experience to the poor, discarded, and -deposed young wife to find herself the central object of -interest in a family like General Lyon’s, her health and -happiness watched over and provided for with the most -affectionate solicitude.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She had not a care in the world. She scarcely had a -regret. She knew the worst. She knew that her last -act had banished Alexander from her side. But when -she looked upon her boy’s face, and reflected that no stigma -now rested upon his baby brow, she could not regret -her act. With the childlike simplicity of her character, -she “accepted the situation.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the sunshine of this sweet old home, her heart expanded -to all kindly sympathies.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She—the orphan girl, who had never been blessed by a -father’s tender care, deeply responded to the affection bestowed -on her by old General Lyon, and really doted on the -fine veteran. At his desire she called him uncle; but -she loved him as a father. She would watch and listen -for his footsteps, in his daily visit to her sick room; and -she would kiss and fondle his aged hands and then lift up -her boy to receive his blessing.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>And often on these occasions the veteran’s eyes filled -with tears, as he glanced from the childish mother to the -child, and murmured:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor children! poor children! while I live you shall -be my children.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was not less kind than her grandfather to Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she, the only daughter, who had never before -known a sister’s companionship, loved Miss Lyon with a -sister’s love, and delighted in her cheerful society.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She felt friendly towards Dick, and was very fond of -the attentive old servants. Indeed, her loving, sunny -spirit went out on all around her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But her greatest joy was in her child. She would -soothe him to sleep with the softest, sweetest notes, and -after laying him in his cradle, she would kneel and gaze -on his sleeping face for hours.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mammy protested against this idolatry; but Drusilla -answered her:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not idolatry, nurse; because I do not place the -gift before the Giver. There is not an instant in my life -that I am not conscious of fervent gratitude to the Lord -for giving me this child, a gift forever and ever; a gift -for time and eternity; oh, nurse, a gift, of which nothing -on earth or in Heaven can deprive me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t say that, ma’am; the Lord might take the -child,” said mammy, solemnly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know that, nurse. The Lord might take him to -Heaven, to save him from the evil in this world; but he -would be safe there, for the Lord would take care of him -for me, and give him back to me when I myself should -reach the Blessed Land,” she answered, reverently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And mammy had nothing more to say.</p> - -<p class='c012'>How closely the young mother watched the tiny growth -of her child, and the faint development of his intelligence. -She could see progress where no one else could perceive -the slightest sign of it. She discovered that “he” “took -notice,” long before any one could be brought to acknowledge -that such a prodigy was possible. Her delight when -her boy first smiled in his sleep, or when she fancied he -did, was something almost ludicrous. She was kneeling -by his cradle, watching his slumbers as usual, when she -suddenly cried out, though in a hushed voice:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>“Oh, Anna! Cousin Anna! look! look! he is laughing, -he is indeed! <em>See</em> how he is laughing!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Lyon came and bent over the cradle. So did -mammy, who drew back again, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lor! why that ain’t no laugh, ma’am; that’s wind—leastways, -it is a grimace caused by wind on the stomach, -and I must give him some catnip when he wakes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now, if Drusilla’s sweet face had been capable of expressing -withering contempt mammy would have been -shrivelled up to a mummy: but as it was she could only -appeal from the nurse to Miss Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, look at him—he <em>is</em> laughing, or, at the very -least, smiling—is he not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling, he is certainly smiling; and you -know the old folks say when an infant smiles in its sleep -it dreams of Heaven and sees angels.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I do believe that is true—it must be true! And -my little cherub sees his guardian angels!” exclaimed -Drusilla, delightedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I tell you, ma’am,” began mammy, “it is nothing but -jest win—Owtch!” she exclaimed, suddenly breaking off -as Anna trod heavily upon her corns.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And presently mammy limped off to make the threatened -catnip tea, leaving the two young women to the enjoyment -of their faith in the sleeping baby’s Heavenly -visions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the first weeks infants’ eyes are of no particular -form, color or expression, but merely little liquid orbs -folded up in fat. But very soon Drusilla made very great -discoveries in her infant’s eyes. Sitting alone one morning, -and gazing down upon the babe that lay smiling on -her lap, she murmured:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Alick, Alick, dear, you have torn yourself away -from me, and have gone. But you could not deprive me -of your <em>eyes</em>, my Alick! They look up at me from my -baby’s face, and while they do so I can never cease to -love you and pray for you, Alick, my Alick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Since his desertion this was the only occasion upon -which she had ever breathed his name, and even now it -was only in half audible murmurs as she talked to herself, -or to her babe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>By the other members of the family, Alexander’s name -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>was never mentioned. General Lyon had given no orders -to this effect, but the subject was tacitly dropped by all -as one unspeakably painful and humiliating.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, who loved the delicate, dove-eyed little -woman with a fatherly fondness, would not let her confine -herself to her own apartments a day longer than was -necessary. He first of all wiled her down to the afternoon -tea, and then after a few days coaxed her down to dinner; -and on the Sunday following sent for her to join the -family circle at breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The “family circle” at this time comprised only General -Lyon, Anna, Dick, and Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick had remained at Old Lyon Hall ever since Alexander’s -exodus, with the exception of one day when he rode -over to Hammondville, where he had left the parson and -the lawyer to tell them that their services would not be -required, and to remunerate and dismiss them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Since that day Dick had made a clean breast of it to his -uncle and had won a conditional consent to his marriage -with Anna; the engagement being encumbered with a -probation of one year.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall be an old maid yet if I live long enough,” said -Anna, laughing when she heard from Dick of this decision. -“My marriage day has been fixed and my marriage interrupted -three times! and at every interruption it has been -deferred for one year, only to be interrupted again at the -end of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t complain of all other interruptions, but -Anna, let us make sure of a marriage this time by going -off by ourselves and getting it done,” said Anna’s -lover.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For shame, Dick,” was all the answer she vouchsafed -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We are of age,” urged her suitor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So much the worse, sir, for we should know better,” -said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Dick ceased to push the question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It drew near the Christmas holidays, and the weather -was very fine for the season.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon invited and pressed his adopted niece to -take drives in the picturesque vicinity of the hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla answered that she wished her first going -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>out should be to the house of God, in acknowledgment -of His great mercy in preserving her and her child amid -so many dangers, and raising up to them such dear -friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the conscientious old soldier could urge the matter -no farther.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One Friday morning Anna and Drusilla were seated -together as usual—the baby sleeping in the cradle between -them—when Anna said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla, my dear, you are going to church next Sunday?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I am; Providence permitting, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know it will be Christening Sunday?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I didn’t, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, it will be. Now wouldn’t you like to have -your boy christened?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes; indeed I should, bless him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I will be his godmother, and grandpa and Dick -shall be his godfathers. You know, being a boy, he will -require two godfathers and one godmother. If he were a -girl, the matter would be reversed. Now what do you -say, my dear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thank you very much, dear Anna, for your kindness -in thinking of all this. And I shall be very grateful to -you and dear uncle and cousin Dick for becoming sponsors -for my darling boy,” said Drusilla, earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the christening is to go on?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly, dear Anna, if you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What name will you give your child?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If dear uncle consents I should like to name my -boy for him—‘Leonard.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And not Alick?” inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was the first time for weeks past that she had uttered -his name; and she did it now in a sort of triumph -in the thought that his discarded wife had ceased to care -for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And not Alick?” she repeated, seeing that Drusilla -hesitated to answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not Alick,” the young mother now replied, calmly -and gravely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is right; I am glad of it! Very glad of it!” -exclaimed Anna, with such righteous indignation and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>exultation combined that the young wife looked at her -in surprise and sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think you mistake me, dear cousin,” she said. -“The only reason why I do not call my child after his -father is this:—I have already <em>one</em> Alick, <em>but</em> one Alick -and I can never have another. I cannot even bear that -my child should have his name. I want but one Alick -in the whole world.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Goodness knows, I think one of that sort would be -quite enough!” exclaimed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked at her in gentle reproach.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it <em>possible</em>, child, that you still love that scamp?” -scornfully demanded Miss Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna dear, yes! He <em>used</em> to love me too; he was -very kind to me, from the days when I was a poor little -sickly, ignorant girl, till within a short time ago. Oh, -Anna, shall the madness of a few months make me forget -all the loving kindness of many long years? Never, -Alick, dear, never,” she murmured, dropping her voice as -in soliloquy; “I will still love you and pray for you and -trust in you—for I know, Alick, dear—<em>when you come to -yourself you will come to me</em>. I can wait for that time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna gazed on the inspired young face in amazement -that gradually gave way to reverence, and even to awe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla,” she said, solemnly, “I retract all I ever said -against Alexander, and I promise never to open my lips -to his prejudice again.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked up gratefully but—inquiringly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your eyes thank me, but you wish to know why I say -this. I will tell you: It is because you make me begin -to believe in that man. Your faith in him affects me. -There <em>must</em> be some great reserve of good somewhere latent -and undeveloped in his nature, to have drawn forth such -a faith as yours. But were he the greatest sinner that -ever darkened the earth, such love as yours would make -him sacred.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER II.<br> <span class='large'>CALM DELIGHTS.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Now has descended a serener hour,</div> - <div class='line'>And with reviving fortunes.—<span class='sc'>Shelley.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The next morning Anna entered Drusilla’s room, followed -by Matty, bearing a large work-basket filled with -cambric white as snow, and lace as fine as cobweb.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Set it down here at my feet, Matty, and go,” said Miss -Lyon, sinking into one of the arm-chairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Opposite to her sat Drusilla, and between them, of -course, lay the sleeping babe in the cradle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here, my dear,” said Anna, calling the young mother’s -attention to the contents of the basket, “I have overhauled -all my bureaus and boxes in search of these materials; -for you know if our baby is to be christened on -Sunday next he must have a fine robe, and you and I must -set to work immediately to make it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, thanks, dear Anna, for your constant thoughtfulness -of me and my babe. I have some very beautifully -embroidered robes at Cedarwood, but nurse did not think -it necessary to bring them, and I have none here but very -plain white slips,” said Drusilla, gratefully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, now get your scissors ready, for I know nothing -about cutting out a baby’s robe, so you will have to do -that part of the work, but I will seam and tuck and gather -and trim with anybody,” said Anna, beginning to unroll -the snowy cambric.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla’s nimble fingers soon shaped out the little -dress, and the two young women set to work on it -with as much delight as ever two little girls took in dressing -a doll.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they had settled the style of the trimming to -their mutual satisfaction, and had then worked in silence -for some time, Drusilla looked up and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>“I wonder if dear General Lyon will like to have me -name my poor discarded little baby after him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course he will. It will be a compliment paid -to him—though a well-merited one to him,” replied -Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, dear, it will not be a compliment paid to him, but -a favor asked by me, and my heart misgives me that possibly -he may not like it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Foolish little heart, to have such misgivings! Why -don’t you set the doubt at rest by asking him and finding -out what he will answer?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, Anna, I cannot do that, because he is so kind -that he would be sure to give me a prompt and cheerful -consent, no matter how much secret reluctance he might -have to the measure.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then if you never propose the matter to him, I don’t -see how you will accomplish your purpose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By <em>your</em> means, dear Anna, I hope to do so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How by my means, you absurd little thing?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I want you to find out in some other delicate way than -by direct questioning whether my wish would be agreeable -to General Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will try; but I warn you, I am a very bad diplomat.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Whether Miss Lyon was really a bad diplomat or not, -she did not seem to think it at all necessary to sound the -General on the subject in the manner Drusilla desired; -but as she sat with her grandfather in the drawing-room -that night, she suddenly said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We are going to have our baby christened next Sunday, -grandpa, and his mother wants to name him after -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does she, indeed, the dear child? I had not expected -such a thing,” exclaimed the old man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is, if you have no objection, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Objection! why I am delighted!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad you like the plan.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Like it? why I have never in my life been more -pleased or more surprised! I shall make Master Leonard -Lyon a very handsome christening present!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s a darling grandpa! But listen. Don’t say a -word to Drusilla about the present, beforehand. She is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>no more mercenary for her child than she is for herself, -and she is the most sensitive person I ever met with in -my life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, Anna! I shall say nothing of the present. -But you, my little housekeeper, you must see that a -proper christening feast is prepared to do honor to our -boy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You may safely leave that to me, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The next morning was cold, dark and stormy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla was forbidden by her nurse to go down-stairs, -and so she had her breakfast up in her own room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the service was cleared away, and she was seated -before the fire, with the babe in her arms, General Lyon -entered the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She arose with a countenance beaming with welcome, -and was about to lay her babe down, that she might set -a chair for her visitor, when he pleasantly signed to her -to resume her seat, and he brought one to the fire for -himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna tells me, my dear, that you design me the honor -of naming your fine boy after me,” he said, seating himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you will please to permit me to do so, sir, the honor -will be mine, and will make me happy,” said Drusilla, -blushing deeply.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child, I cannot express how much I thank you! -how gratified and pleased I feel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked down, quite overpowered by the fervency -of these acknowledgments, on the part of the old -hero.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must know, my dear,” he continued, “I have -always secretly longed for another Leonard Lyon to represent -me, when I shall be gone; but scarcely had a hope -to see one during my life. Leonard Lyon is a very ancient -family name with us, and has been kept up in every -generation, except the last. It failed there, because I had -never been blessed with a son; and my brother had but -one, and he was named after the family of his mother, who -was a Miss Alexander. Thus, you see, the ancient name, -Leonard Lyon, would have become extinct in me, had you -not determined to revive and perpetuate it in your son. -Heaven bless you for the kind thought, my dear, for it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>has made me very happy,” said the old gentleman, earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fervently thank Heaven, sir, for giving me the power -of pleasing you in this matter,” murmured the blushing -young mother, in a low and tremulous voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And this I will say, my child, that the name your boy -will bear, has never, in the thousand years of its existence, -been sullied by a shadow of dishonor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know it has been borne by heroes and sages, and by -none others. I hope and pray that my boy will prove -worthy of his noble ancestry,” fervently breathed Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That I feel sure, he will! If Heaven should grant me -a few more years of life, I shall take great delight in -watching the growth of little Leonard Lyon,” replied the -old gentleman, as he arose, and kissed the mother and the -babe, and left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The following Sunday proved to be a very fine day. -At an early hour, the capacious family carriage of General -Lyon was at the door, well warmed and aired for the reception -of the delicate mother and the tender infant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not even on her first bridal day, had Drusilla looked so -lovely as she did now, when she came down-stairs, dressed -for church, her delicate, pale beauty, still more tenderly -softened by her simple bonnet of white velvet, and wrappings -of white furs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was attended by mammy, dressed in her Sunday’s -best, and carrying the baby, richly arrayed in his christening -robes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, Anna, Drusilla, the nurse and the baby -rode in the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick Hammond, on horseback, escorted them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The parish church was at Saulsburg, six, eight, or ten -miles off, according to conflicting statements. So, early as -they set out, they were not likely to be much too early to -join in the commencement of the service.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they reached the turnpike gate, they found old -Andy on duty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Seeing Dick cantering on in advance of the approaching -carriage, he placed himself behind the gate, and lifted up -both his arms, while he called aloud to his wife:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Jenny, woman! come out wi’ ye, and tak the toll, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>whiles I stand here to keep yon daft laddie frae louping -o’er the bar again!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In answer to the summons, Jenny appeared just in time -to receive Mr. Hammond, who quietly drew rein before -the door, paid for himself, and the carriage behind him, -and then with a bow, rode on his way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The carriage followed; but as it passed, Mrs. Birney got -a glimpse of the passengers inside and after doing so, she -dropped her chin, and lifted her eyebrows, and remained -transfixed and staring, like one demented.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh, woman! what’s come o’er ye? Are ye bewitched?” -questioned Mr. Birney, as he passed her, in -going into the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Na, gudeman, I’m no bewitched; but just amazed -like! Didna ye see yon bonny leddy lying back among -the cushions? She that was all happed about wi’ braw -white velvets and furs?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Aweel, and what of her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hech, gudeman, she’s na ither than the puir bit lassie -that came ben to us that night o’ the grand storm.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hout, woman! hauld your tongue! no’ to ken the -differ between a born leddy like this are, and a young -gilpey like yon!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I ken weel the differ between a leddy and a gilpey. -And I dinna need <em>dress</em> to instruct me in it, either, gudeman. -I kenned the lass was na gilpey when I saw her in -her auld gray cloak; and I kenned her again in the bit -glint I had of her bonny face as she lay back in her braw -velvets and furs, wi’ her wee bairn by her side. Eh! -but I’d like to hear the rights iv that!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The rights o’ what, woman?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The grand wedding pit aff again; the fine bridegroom -ganging aff in a jiffey; this young, bonny leddy and her -bairn made so muckle iv by the whole family. But it’s na -gude to speer questions. The minister will na speak; -the doctor will na speak; the vera serving lads and -lasses will na speak, although on ordinary occasions -they’re a’ unco fond o’ clackin their clavers. But we -shall hear, gude man! we shall hear! Secrets like yon -canna be kept, e’en gif they be stappit up in a bottle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gudewife, ye’ll do weel to gie your attention to your -ain proper business and no meddle wi’ that whilk dinna -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>concern you. The auld general pit us here to keep the -gate, and no to speer questions into his preevate affairs. -And though the situation is na sick a gude ane, it might -be waur. Sae we’ll behoove to gie na offence wi’ meddling,” -said Andy, as he sat down and opened his big Bible -to read.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile the Lyon family went on to church, which -they entered just as the organ had ceased playing and the -minister was opening his book.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was not until after the last lesson of the morning -service was over that the announcement was made:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All persons having children present for baptism will -now bring them forward.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our whole party left their pew and proceeded to the -front.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, as senior sponsor, took the babe in his -arms and presented him to the minister. Dick as junior -sponsor stood by.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was sole godmother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And amid the customary prayers, promises, and benedictions, -the child received the time-honored name of -Leonard Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On their way home, the whole party congratulated each -other with much affection and cheerfulness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But withal, Dick, riding along slowly by the side of the -carriage, was visited with some very serious reflections. -He felt the great moral and religious responsibility of the -office he had undertaken. And thus he communed with -himself:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“General Lyon is aged and cannot be expected to live -very much longer. Anna is a woman. On me must devolve -the duty of looking after that boy. Good Heavens. -However did they come to think of making such a good -for nothing dog as I am godfather to that innocent baby? -It is enough to make my hair stand on end to think of it. -The fact is, I must strike a light and look about myself. -I must, I positively must and will, thoroughly mend my -ways and reform my life! not only for Anna’s sake—who -knows me already, and takes me for better for worse with -her eyes wide open—but for this innocent babe’s sake, -upon whom, without his knowledge or consent, they have -thrust me for a godfather! No more gambling, no more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>drinking, no more carousing with scamps, and squandering -of money, Dick, my boy! Remember that you are -godfather to Master Leonard Lyon, and responsible for -his moral and religious education. And you must be -equal to the occasion and true to the trust.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So profound were Dick’s cogitations that he found himself -at Old Lyon Hall before he was conscious of the fact.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He sprang from his horse in time to assist the old gentleman -and the young ladies to alight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they all entered the house, where Drusilla was -greeted by a pleasant surprise.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER III.<br> <span class='large'>SURPRISES.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Were her eyes open? Yes, and her mouth, too;</div> - <div class='line'>Surprise has this effect to make one dumb,</div> - <div class='line'>Yet leave the gate which eloquence slips through</div> - <div class='line'>As wide as if a long speech were to come.—<span class='sc'>Byron.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The family party first separated to go to their several -chambers to lay aside their outside wrappings and to prepare -for their early Sunday dinner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they met in the drawing-room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, who had more to do than the others, was the -latest to join them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her baby, that had slept soundly during the long ride -from church, was now awake and required attention.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While she was engaged in her sweet maternal duties, -she received a message from General Lyon requesting that -his godson might be brought down into the drawing-room -before dinner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So as soon as the young mother had made herself and -her child presentable, she went down-stairs, followed by -the nurse carrying the babe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the threshold of the room she paused in pleased surprise, -and not so much at the value of the presents displayed -before her, as at the new instance of kindness on -the part of her friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On a round table covered with a fine crimson cloth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>were laid the christening offerings, of great splendor for -their kind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a richly chased silver casket filled with gold -coins from General Lyon. There was a baby’s silver gilt -service—consisting of waiter, pap bowl, water jug, and -drinking mug, cream pot, sugar basin, sugar tongs and -spoons—from Dick. And there was a coral and bells of -the finest coral, purest gold, and most superb workmanship, -from Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle! dear Anna and Dick, how kind, oh how -kind, you all are to me and my boy! I cannot tell you -how much I feel your kindness. I am very grateful; and -I hope, oh, I hope, my dear little Leonard will live to -thank you!” fervently exclaimed Drusilla, pressing the -hand of her aged benefactor to her heart, and lifting her -eyes full of loving gratitude to her young friends, who -stood side by side enjoying her delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, it gives us as much pleasure to offer you -these little tokens of our affection as it can possibly give -you to receive them,” answered General Lyon, drawing -her towards him and touching her forehead with his lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It does indeed, sweet cousin,” added Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Anna, for her answer, silently kissed the young -mother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now to dinner, which has been announced for -twenty minutes,” smiled the old gentleman, drawing -Drusilla’s arm within his own and leading the way to the -dining-room, where a feast of unusual elegance was laid -in honor of the occasion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The day closed in serene enjoyment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Drusilla retired to her room that evening, she -found that the christening presents had been transferred -from the round table in the drawing-room to an elegant -little cabinet that had been purchased to receive them, -and placed in the nursery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before she went to bed she knelt down and thanked -Heaven for the mercies that now blessed her life.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As her head rested on her pillow, with the face of the -sleeping babe near her, softly seen by the subdued light -of the shaded lamp, she wondered at the peace that had -descended upon her troubled spirit and made her calmly -happy.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>Had she then ceased to love her faithless husband?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah, no! for pure love like hers is of immortal life and -cannot die. But she had ceased to sorrow for him, for -sorrow is of mortal birth and cannot live forever.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She felt safe under the fatherly care of the fine old -head of the family, cheerful in the company of her affectionate -young friends Dick and Anna, and happy—oh, -deeply, unutterably happy!—in the possession of her -beautiful boy. She felt no trouble.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Baby fingers, waxen touches pressed it from the mother’s breast.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>She never heard from Alick; but then, as she did not -expect to hear from him, she was not disappointed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She never heard from Cedarwood either; but then as -she had left directions with the servants only to have -letters written to her in case of necessity, she felt that, in -this instance, “no news is good news.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mammy was growing rather restive and desirous of returning -to her home, but Drusilla besought her to remain -a little longer at Old Lyon Hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wait,” she said, “until the next spell of fine weather, -when baby will be able to travel, and I too will return to -Cedarwood. I must not stay away from the home provided -for me by my husband, nor yet tax the hospitality -of my dear friends longer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mammy looked puzzled, for though the faithful old -household servants had carefully forborne to speak of unpleasant -family affairs in the presence of the nurse, whom -they looked upon as a stranger and an alien, still she <em>had</em> -heard enough to give her the impression that young Mr. -Lyon had abandoned his wife. Therefore Mammy was -rather bewildered by this talk of returning to Cedarwood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do not think as the General and the young people -will consent to part with you, ma’am; and indeed I think -it will a’most break all their hearts to lose little Master -Leonard,” said the nurse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know they will not like it, because they are so kind -to us—so very kind, and therefore I have shrunk from -mentioning it to them; but my duty is clear—I must go -to my own home and I must advise them of my purpose -without delay.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>“Well, ma’am, certingly, if they wants your company -ever so, they ain’t got no power to keep you ag’in’ your -will; and so, ma’am, if you is set to go home first fine -spell arter Christmas, I reckon as I can wait and see you -safe through,” said the nurse, graciously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you; it will be a great favor,” replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The time was drawing near to the Christmas holidays—a -season always hitherto observed by the Lyons with -great festivity—when they had been unbounded in their -hospitality and munificent in their presents.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On this occasion, some five or six days before Christmas, -General Lyon sent Dick to Richmond, armed with a -handful of blank checks signed and left to be filled up at -pleasure, and commissioned to purchase the most elegant -and appropriate holiday gifts that he could find for every -member of the family and every household servant; but -above all, to get a handsome perambulator, a crib bedstead, -and—a hobby horse for Master Leonard.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good gracious me, grandpa!” had been Anna’s exclamation -on hearing of this last item, “what on earth do -you think a baby of a few weeks old can do with a hobby -horse?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know, my dear, but I wish to give it to him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He won’t be able to sit on it for three years to come.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I may not live to see that time, my dear, and as -I wish to give it to him I must do so now. It can be -kept for him, you know. And now, while we are on the -subject, I wish to ask you to have one of the many rooms -in this house fitted up as a play-room for him. Let it be -as near the nursery as possible; and whatever childish -treasures I may purchase may be put there and kept until -he is old enough to enjoy them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>This conversation had taken place in the presence of -Drusilla; but as no part of it had been addressed to her, -she only expressed her gratitude for the intended kindness -by glancing thankfully from one speaker to the -other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But she felt more strongly than ever that, however reluctant -she might be to announce her intended departure -from such kind friends, it was incumbent upon her to do -so before they should make any material change in their -household arrangements for her sake.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>So after a little hesitation she commenced:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear friends, while ever I live in this world I shall -remember your goodness to me, and with my last breath -I shall pray Heaven to bless you for it. But——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have pleased <em>ourselves</em> in this, my dear; so say -nothing more about it,” smiled the old gentleman, laying -his hand kindly on her head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks—a thousand thanks, dear sir; but I feel that -I must soon leave you——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Leave us!” echoed General Lyon, Anna and Dick all -in a breath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is time for me to return to my home,” she said, -gently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your home, Drusilla!” said General Lyon, in a grave -and tender voice. “Poor child, where will you find so -proper a home as this, where your relations with us give -you the right to stay, and where our affection for you -makes you more than welcome?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nowhere, indeed, sir, but in the house provided for -me, by—<em>my husband</em>,” answered Drusilla, breathing the -last two words in a scarcely audible tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! he has come to his senses; he has written and -entreated you to join him. For the sake of my faith in -human nature I am glad that he has done so,” said the -General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, he has not yet written to me,” smiled Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you have heard from him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not since that night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then what do you mean, my dear, by talking of the -home he has provided for you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I mean the cottage to which he took me when we -were first married—Cedarwood, near Washington.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where you suffered such cruel mental anguish as I -should think would render the very thought of the place -hateful to you, my poor child,” said General Lyon, compassionately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla gave him a pleading look that seemed to -pray him to say nothing that might even by implication -reproach her absent husband; and then she -added:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There were other memories and associations connected -with Cedarwood, dear sir. The first few weeks of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>my married life were very happy; and my housekeeping -and gardening very cheerful and pleasant.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But all that is changed. Why go back there now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because it is my proper home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yet—he—that man has not invited you to return?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, but then I left of my own accord, and now that I -am able to travel, it is my duty to go back, though uninvited. -I must not wait to be asked to return to my post,” -said the young wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General was silent and thoughtful for a moment -and then he said, firmly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child, you must think no more of this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She looked at him; but hesitated to oppose him, and -when she did answer she spoke gravely and gently:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear sir, it is <em>right</em> for me to go.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla, think no more of this, I say,” he repeated, -and this time with an air of assured authority.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle, why do you say so?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I might answer, it would be too painful to me to part -with you and your boy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks for saying that, sir. I too, feel that to leave -this safe, sweet old home, and these loving friends, will -be very painful; duty often is so; but not for that must -we fail in it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla! I repeat that you must not think of taking -this step! Not only has your unworthy——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She looked at him so deprecatingly, that he broke off -his speech and began anew.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, well, I will not wound you if I can help it, my -dear!—I say, not only has your husband not <em>invited</em> you -to return to your home, but he has positively <em>forbidden</em> -you to do so. Do you remember, poor child, the terms -he used in discarding you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Words spoken in the ‘short madness’ of anger. I do -not wish to remember them, dear General Lyon,” she -sweetly answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child! do you know where to write to him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you think that he will write to you? or do you -hope that he will join you at Cedarwood?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, dear uncle! at least, not for a long time. But -I hope that he will feel some interest in his child, and he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>will inquire about it, and when he finds out what a beautiful -boy it is, he will come to see it; and then, then—for -the boy’s sake he will forgive the mother.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Forgive! Heaven of Heavens, girl! what has he to -forgive in you?” indignantly demanded Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That which a man seldom pardons—although it was -done from love to him and his child,” answered Drusilla, -in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then you really have a hope that he will rejoin you -at Cedarwood?” inquired General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At some future day, sir, yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And in the meanwhile you live alone there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir, not quite; but with my boy and servants.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And how do you propose to support the little establishment, -my dear? Come, I wish to know your ideas; -though I dare say, poor child, you have never thought of -the subject.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, dear sir, I have. In the first place, I have -nearly fifteen hundred dollars in money, left at home; -that will keep us in moderate comfort for two years, especially -as I have abundance of everything else on the -premises—furniture, clothing and provisions, in the house; -and a kitchen garden, an orchard, poultry yard and dairy, -on the place. So, at the very worst, I could keep a market -farm,” smiled Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But in the meanwhile live alone, or with only your -infant babe and your servants?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I tell you, Drusilla, that you must not, shall not -do so,” repeated the General, with emphasis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, sir, why would you hinder me?” she pleaded, lifting -her imploring eyes to his face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For your salvation, dear child,” he answered, very -gently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But how for my salvation, dear uncle?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla, you cannot know, only heaven can know, how -difficult, how <em>impossible</em> it is for a young forsaken wife to -live alone and escape scandal.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, dear sir, if I do right, and trust in the Lord, I -have nothing to fear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor child! I must answer you in the words of -another old bore, as meddlesome as perhaps you think me. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shall not -escape calumny.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, sir, in addition to all that, I mean to be very discreet, -to live very quietly with my little household, and -to see no company whatever, except you and Anna, if you -should honor me with a visit, and to make no visits except -here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you must go to church sometimes; and when -your babe is ailing, you must see a doctor; also it will be -necessary occasionally to have your chimneys swept; and -the tax-gatherer will make you an annual visit.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course, dear sir,” she smiled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And yet you hope to preserve your good name?—Ah, -my dear child, no forsaken wife, living alone can do so, -much less one so very young and inexperienced as yourself. -If the venomous ‘fangs of malice’ can find no other -hold upon you, they will assail you through—the Christian -minister who brings you religious consolation for your -sorrows; the family physician who attends you in your -illness, to save your life; to the legal adviser who manages -your business; the tax-gatherer, the chimney-sweep, -or anybody or everybody whom church, state, or need -should call into your house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, sir! that is very severe! I hope it is not as you -think. I believe better of the world than that,” said -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When the world has stung you nearly to death or to -madness, my dear, you may judge more truly and less -tenderly of it. And now, Drusilla, hear me. You do not -go to Cedarwood; you do not leave our protection until -your husband claims you of us. Let the subject drop -here at once, and forever.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla bowed her head in silence; but she was not -the less resolved at heart to return to Cedarwood, and -risk all dangers, in the hope that her husband might some -day join her there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Destiny had decided Drusilla’s course in another -direction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The event that prevented her return to Cedarwood -shall be related in the next chapter.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER IV.<br> <span class='large'>A MESSENGER.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The boy alighted at the gate,</div> - <div class='line'>But scarce upheld his fainting weight;</div> - <div class='line'>His swarthy visage spake distress,</div> - <div class='line in2'>But this might be from weariness.—<span class='sc'>Byron.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>In the sunshine of affection and happiness Drusilla grew -beautiful and blooming. She loved her truant Alexander -as faithfully as ever, but she loved him in hope and trust, -and not in fear and sorrow. She felt that he was old -enough, big enough and strong enough to take care of -himself, even when out of her sight, while here upon her -lap lay a lovely babe, a gift of the Heavenly Father to her, -a soft little creature whose helplessness solicited her -tenderness, whose innocence deserved it, and whose love -will certainly return it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her baby gave her love for love, and the very faintness -and feebleness of its little signs of love, made these sweet -infant efforts all the more touching and pathetic. How -could she trouble herself about Alexander and his doings -while her little boy lay smiling in her eyes?</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Baby lips will laugh him down.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling boy,” she murmured, gazing fondly -on his face, “you will always love me, and when you grow -up to be a man you will love me all the more, because I -shall be old and feeble.” And her thoughts involuntarily -reverted to the bearded man who had rejoiced in her -health and beauty, but turned coldly away from her when -she was sick and pale, and most needed his love and care.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, who was sitting with her, laughed merrily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked up, with just a shadow of annoyance on -her fair face. And Anna answered the look:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, I laughed at what you said.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, but I spoke truth. I know my darling <em>will</em> -always love me, and when he grows up a tall, strong -man, and I shall be an old and infirm woman, he will love -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>me more tenderly than before, because I <em>am</em> old and infirm,” -persisted the fond mother, stooping her lips to her -boy’s brow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna laughed louder than ever.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, Drusilla,” she said, “you are but sixteen years -old. When your son is grown up, say at twenty, you -will be but thirty-six, in the very maturity of a healthy -woman’s strength and beauty. Your son will be your -dearest friend and companion; if you have lost somewhat -of the wife’s happiness, you will have an unusual share of -the mother’s joy. You are still so young, such a mere -child yourself, that you may take your little son by the -hand with the prospect of going nearly the whole journey -of life together. You will be his playfellow in his childish -sports; his fellow student in his boyish studies, and his -comrade in his youthful travels. You will go on in life -and grow old together—or almost together.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, so we will. I did not think of it before. I was -thinking that the mother of a grown son must be quite an -aged lady. Alick’s mother was quite aged and infirm.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, because she was forty-four years old when Alick -was born, which makes some difference, you know,’ -laughed Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was silence a little while and then Anna said,</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will have much joy in your son, if the Lord -should spare him to you, Drusilla.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The Lord <em>will</em> spare him to me. I feel convinced of -it,” answered the young mother reverently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And every year—nay, every month—your joy will -increase; for as his affections and intelligence develop, he -will grow more and more interesting and attractive to -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It seems to me that he could scarcely ever be more interesting -and attractive than he is now. Look at him, -Anna. See how beautiful are his mute, faint efforts to -express the love he feels, but does not understand. ‘Touch -is the love sense.’ He knows that, at least; and see how -his little hands tremble up towards mine and then drop; -and see the smile dawning in his eyes, and fluttering -around his lips, as if uncertain of itself? Will you tell -me, at what time of a child’s existence it is sweeter and -lovelier than now in its first budding into life?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>Before Anna could answer the question, the door was -opened by mammy, who chirpingly announced:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here is Leo, from Cedarwood, ma’am, bringing letters -for you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she closed the door, leaving Leo standing before -his astonished mistress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is my footman from my old home, dear Anna,” explained -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, turning to the messenger, she held out her hand -and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you do, Leo? You have letters for me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leo slowly took a packet from his pocket, handed them -over to his mistress, and then, lifting both his hands to his -eyes, burst out crying and <span class='fss'>ROARED</span> as only a negro boy -with his feelings hurt can do.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, what is the matter?” anxiously inquired Drusilla, -pausing in the examination of her letters, in her pity -for the distress of the boy—“What is the matter, my -poor Leo?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, mum, it is to see-hee,” sobbed Leo “to see-hee you -so well-hell, and hap-pappy, and to know as I am bring—hing -bad news again! Seems like I was born—horn to -be the death of you, ma’am,” said the boy, scarcely able to -articulate through his sobs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope not, Leo. Sit down and compose yourself. I -trust your master is well.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, mum, he is well enough (<em>wish to Goodness -Gracious he wasn’t!</em>) but he’s done, tored up everything -and—Boo! hoo! ooo!” cried Leo, gushing out into such a -cataract of tears and sobs that he was forced to bury his -face in his big bandana and sink into a seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Compose yourself, Leo, and I will read my letters. -They will explain, I suppose,” said Drusilla, opening the -packet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were three letters from her lawyers, which she -laid aside; and there was one from her husband, which -she opened and read. It ran thus:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c013'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Cedarwood</span>, Dec. 22, 18—.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>“<span class='sc'>Madam</span>:—Had you chosen to remain quietly in the -home I provided for you it should have been yours for -life, with a sufficient income to keep it up. But as you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>voluntarily left it, you have forfeited your right to return -to it, as well as your claims upon me for support. The -place is now dismantled and sold. The messenger who -takes this letter has charge of all your personal effects, and -will deliver them over to you.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c013'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Alexander Lyon.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>We know the time, not so long since, when the young -wife would have screamed, cried or swooned at the reception -of such a letter from her husband.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now, she simply bent forward and laid it on the fire, and -when it blazed up and sank to ashes, she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is gone; and now it shall be forgotten.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she stooped and kissed her babe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leo, stealing an anxious glance at her, misunderstood -the movement and started forward, exclaiming:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, mum! don’t go for to faint; please don’t.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked at him and smiled kindly, saying</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am not likely to do so, my boy. I am strong and -healthy now, thank Heaven! and besides, there is nothing -to faint about. I am only a little sorry that the cottage -is sold.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, mum! don’t! I shall cry again if you do! Oh, -mum, you used to say as how you would make that wilderness -to bloom and blossom as the rose; and so you did, -mum, lovely! But oh, mum! he have turned the beautiful -place into a howling wilderness again!” bawled the -boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never mind, Leo, I will get it back again some day -and restore all its beauty,” said Drusilla, smiling. “And -now, my boy, where is your sister?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She have gone back to Alexandria, mum; but sends -her love and service to you, mum.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the poor pets—the little birds, and the cat and -kittens, Leo?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina has got them all to take care on for you, ma’am, -till you sends for ’em and for her, cause she considers of -herself into your service, ma’am, which likewise so do I.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the cow and calf, and the horses, Leo?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They was sold to the people as bought the place, -ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope they will be kindly treated.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope they will, ma’am; for they did miss you as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>well as me and Pina did; and they showed it in every -way as dumb creeturs could.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And where did you leave my effects, Leo?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I brought as many trunks as I could on the stage with -me, ma’am; and the rest of the boxes is coming down by -wagons. Pina was very careful in packing everything, -ma’am; and here is the money you gave me to keep,” said -Leo, taking a sealed packet from his breast pocket, and -handing it to his mistress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks, my boy; you and your sister have been very -faithful, and I shall certainly retain you both in my service, -and at an increase of wages.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am, neither me, nor yet Pina is mussenary. -We’ll be glad to come back to you on any terms.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, Leo, look here! Here is my baby boy; -when the spring comes he will be big enough for you to -take him on your shoulder and ride him about! Won’t -you and he have a good time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am, what a purty little creetur! But he’s -<em>very</em> little, ain’t he, ma’am?” said Leo, looking shyly at -the baby, which indeed he had been furtively contemplating -ever since he had been in the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, no, Leo; for his age, he is very large, <em>very</em>! -Who is he like, Leo! Look and tell me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leo dutifully looked, and saw well enough who the boy -really was like: but he answered stoutly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is like you, ma’am, and nobody else.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, look again, Leo! His eyes are open now. <em>Now</em> -who is he like?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is the image of <em>you</em>, ma’am, and not another -mortial in the wide world,” repeated Leo, defiantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How <em>can</em> you say that, you stupid boy? Is he not -like his father?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, mum! not the leastest little bit in life! He is -like nobody but you,” persisted the lad, doggedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Leo, you are a mole! You have no eyes! Now go -down to your mother, and tell her to make you comfortable.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, ma’am. I am so glad to see you so well, -ma’am, with such a fine-looking baby. I am so thankful -as you don’t take on about thinks like you used to do,” -replied the lad.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>“I am so much better and stronger now, Leo. But go -and give my message to your mother.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leo bowed and left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So Alick has sold Cedarwood,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a wretch!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Please</em>, Anna—-”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t comprehend your tenderness for that man, -Drusilla! but, there! I will not wound it if I can help it. -I am glad he has sold Cedarwood, however. It settles -the question of your future residence. You must stay -with us now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Anna spoke, General Lyon entered the room, and -came with his pleasant smile and sat down beside his -protégée.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She turned to him, and, laying her hand in his, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My fate is decided for me, dear sir. I have no home -but this, and no protector but you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling, I am very glad.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet, in saying this, the General looked from his adopted -niece to his granddaughter, as if for an explanation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Seeing Drusilla hesitate, Anna answered for her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir, that vill—I mean Mr. Alexander Lyon—has -sold Cedarwood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General now looked from his granddaughter back -to his niece as if demanding confirmation of the news.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” admitted Drusilla, casting down her eyes—in -regret for him, not in sorrow for herself; “he has sold -Cedarwood, but then, you know, dear sir, that I had left -the house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>A flush of shame crimsoned the cheek, a frown of anger -darkened the brow of the veteran soldier.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that man calls himself a Lyon and my nephew! -I am glad now that they never called him Leonard! -There never was a rascally Leonard Lyon yet! And I -am very glad, my dear, that you did not name our noble -boy here Alexander! The infern——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla raised her hand with an imploring and deprecating -gesture.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, well, my dear, I will try not to offend again. -It is true that an old soldier has a right to swear at his -degenerate nephew; but not in the presence of ladies, I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>confess. So let the scound—I mean Alick—go. Yes, let -him go, and joy go with him, especially as, setting the -baseness of the act aside, I am really very glad he <em>has</em> -sold Cedarwood for it settles the question of your residence -with us, my dear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I am glad to stay here,” answered Drusilla, with -a smile. “It is true that I thought it my duty to go back -to Cedarwood, and await there the pleasure of my husband; -and I should have risked everything and gone -there, if he had not sold the place. And I know I should -have had to wait long months or years for his return; -and I should have been very lonely and dreary, and -should have missed you and dear Anna and Dick very -much. No, upon the whole, I cannot say that I am sorry -to be relieved of the duty of going back to Cedarwood to -live alone,” said Drusilla, frankly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s my girl! Sorry? no, I should think you -would not be. What should you want with Cedarwood, -trumpery toy cottage, with its little belt of copsewood, -when you have Old Lyon Hall and its magnificent surroundings -of forests and mountains?—to say nothing of -having <span class='fss'>ME</span> and Anna and Dick!” exclaimed the old man, -holding out his hand to his favorite.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She took it and pressed it to her lips, and then answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yet I love the pretty little wildwood home; and -some day I will buy it back again, even if I have to pay -twice or thrice its value.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon looked up, surprised to hear the discarded -wife and dependent woman talk so bravely of buying -estates at fancy prices, even as Anna had looked at -having heard her speak so freely of retaining her old -servants at double wages. Yet both were pleased, for -they said to themselves—“This proves that she has the -fullest confidence in us, and knows that we will never -let her feel a want, even a fantastic or extravagant want, -unsupplied.” And the General answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is right, my dear girl. So you shall buy it back—to-morrow, -if you like! or as soon after as we can -bring the present proprietor to terms. Mr. Alexander -shall learn that some things can be done as well as others. -But Drusilla, my darling, although we may purchase the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>place and restore it, I do not mean to consent that you -shall ever return there to live alone; remember that.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do not mean to do so, sir. I will never leave you -until my husband calls me back to him,” said Drusilla, -giving him her hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is right! that is sensible! Now, since you are -fond of that little bird-cage, I will set about buying it for -you directly. You shall have it for a New Year’s gift; -and then if you <em>must</em> see the place sometimes, why we -can all go and live there instead of at a hotel, when we -go to Washington for the season.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, how kind, how good you are to me,” breathed -Drusilla, in a soft and low tone, with deep emotion; “but -dear sir, do not think that I thank, or love, or bless you -any the less, when I say that I do not wish this as a gift -from your munificent hands. Dear uncle, I am well -able to afford myself the pleasure of possessing my ‘toy -cottage.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! he <em>has</em> provided handsomely for you, after all! -Come! his villainy is a shade less black—I beg your pardon, -my child! I won’t again! indeed I won’t—I mean -his—transaction is a shade lighter than I supposed it. -Well, I am glad, for his sake, that he has provided for -you. But, Drusilla, my child, I would not take his -money! having denied you his love and protection I -would take nothing else from him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle, although I do not need anything from my -Alick except his love, yet, should he offer anything, I -would gratefully accept it, hoping that his love would -follow. But you are mistaken—he has made no provision -for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What did you mean then, my dear, by refusing Cedarwood -as my gift and saying that you were able to purchase -it yourself?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have a large fortune in my own right, dear sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A fortune in your own right!” echoed Anna, in astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You never mentioned this circumstance before, my -dear,” said the General, in surprise and incredulity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, I had utterly forgotten it until my servant -arrived with these letters from my solicitors. It was very -stupid of me to forget it; but, dear sir, only think how -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>many more important matters there were to drive it out -of my head,” replied Drusilla, deprecatingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For my part, I do not think that anything can be -more important to you, in present circumstances than the -inheritance of a large fortune. It <em>is</em> an inheritance, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, sir,—from my grand-uncle, a merchant of -San Francisco.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And how large is the fortune?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do not know, sir—some millions, I think. Here are -the lawyer’s letters. I have not looked at them yet,” -said Drusilla, putting the “documents” in the hands of -her old friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Astounding indifference!” he murmured to himself -as he put on his spectacles and opened the letters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and Anna watched him attentively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, my dear child, you are a billionaire! You are -probably the wealthiest woman in America!” exclaimed -the General, in astonishment. “That is, if there is no -mistake!” he added. “Are you sure you are the right -heiress?” taking off his spectacles and gazing at Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am quite sure, sir. There are too few of us to afford -room for confusion. In my grand-uncle’s generation, -there were but two of the family left—himself and his -only brother, my grandfather. My grand-uncle, being a -woman hater, lived and died a bachelor. My grandfather -married, and had one only child—my father: who, in his -turn, also married, and had one only child—myself. You -see how plain and simple is the line of descent?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see,” said the General, reflectively; “but, my dear, -it is not sufficient for a set of facts to be true in themselves, -they must be capable of being proved to the satisfaction -of a court of law. Can all these births, marriages, -and deaths be proved, Drusilla?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes sir; there are so few of them—they have -occurred within so short a time, comparatively speaking.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In what manner, my dear? Remember, Drusilla, that -what might convince you or me of a fact might not have -the same effect upon a court.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All that I have said, dear sir, can be established to the -satisfaction of the most scrupulous court that ever existed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>by church registers and court records, family Bibles, tombstones, -papers, letters, and personal friends.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad to hear it. And you know where all these -proofs can be found?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir. Many of them, Bibles, letters, documents, -and so forth, are in my possession. All the others are to -be found in Baltimore.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where a large portion of your inheritance lies, and -where your lawyers live?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; well, my dear, if all this is as you suppose it to -be—and I have no doubt that it is so—your way to fortune -is clear enough! Let me congratulate you, my dear, -on being, perhaps, the richest woman in America!” said -the General, shaking her hands warmly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna also heartily added her own congratulations.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, my child,” said the General, kindly, “let us -attend to this business at once. Your lawyers are -naturally displeased and suspicious at your long delay. -As you are not very much of a business woman, you will -let me take these letters to my study and answer them -for you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, if you would be so kind, dear sir, I should be so -happy.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER V.<br> <span class='large'>FORTUNE.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in28'>Fortune is merry,</div> - <div class='line'>And in this mood will give us anything—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>So General Lyon answered the lawyers’ letters, and in -a more satisfactory manner, it is to be presumed, than -Drusilla had ever done. His illustrious name and exalted -position were in themselves enough to dispel any doubts -that the mysterious reticence of the heiress might have -raised in the minds of her solicitors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having sent his letter off to the post-office, and knowing -that several days must elapse before he could hear -from the solicitors again, the old gentleman dismissed the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>matter from his mind, and addressed himself to the enjoyment -of the Christmas festival now at hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick arrived from Richmond on Christmas Eve, having -in charge several large boxes containing the Christmas -presents.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Among them were the crib, the perambulator and the -hobby horse, which were all deposited for the present in -the room selected and fitted up by Anna, as the future -play-room of little Master Leonard Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna’s and Drusilla’s presents consisted of rich and -costly furs and shawls, from the General; and splendid -jewels and delicate laces from Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The veteran’s gifts were a pair of soft, embroidered -velvet slippers and smoking-cap, from Anna; a warm -quilted dressing-gown from Drusilla; and a new patent -reading-chair of unequalled ingenuity, comfort and convenience, -from Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick’s presents were a fowling-piece of the most superior -workmanship, from his uncle; an embroidered cigar case -from his betrothed; and a smoking-cap from Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Besides these, each male and female servant in the -house was made happy in the possession of a new and -complete Sunday suit.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After the distribution of the presents on Christmas -morning the family went to church.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the end of the service they returned to an early -dinner, and spent the afternoon and evening in social -enjoyment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As usual in the Christmas holidays, General Lyon gave -one large party, to which he invited all his friends and -acquaintances for thirty miles around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And at this party he formally introduced Drusilla as:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My niece, Mrs. Alexander Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this he did with so much quiet dignity, as in most -cases to repress all expression of surprise from those who -could not fail to wonder at such an introduction. And if -any had the temerity to utter their astonishment, they -were courteously silenced by the answer of the stately -old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Old people cannot and ought not to choose for their -sons in affairs of the heart. I had hoped that my nephew -and my granddaughter would have married each other, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>for my sake; but I was wrong. They have each chosen -partners for their own sakes; and they were right. -Come here, Dick: Sir and madam, let me present to you -Mr. Richard Hammond as my future and well-beloved -grandson-in-law.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>After that what could the gossips say or do? Of -course nothing but bow, courtesy and congratulate; -though some among them, being maliciously inclined, -and envying the young heiress of Old Lyon Hall her -beauty and her wealth, did shrug their shoulders and -raise their eyebrows as they whispered together: That -it was very strange Miss Lyon’s marriage being put off -so frequently and she herself at last passed so carelessly -from one bridegroom to another; and that it looked but -too likely she would be an old maid after all; for she -was getting on well in years now!</p> - -<p class='c012'>A very false and spiteful conclusion this, as the beautiful -Anna was not yet twenty-three years old.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Some even had the ill-luck to inquire of the General, -or of Anna, or Dick:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is Mr. Alexander Lyon now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the quiet answer was always the same:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In Washington, attending to the sale of some real -estate there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the conversation would be quickly turned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With the exception of these annoying questions, implied -or directly asked, and which General Lyon knew -must be sooner or later met and answered, and which he -felt had best be settled at once, the party passed off as -pleasantly as any of its predecessors had done.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On this occasion at least there was no failure upon -account of the weather. There never was a finer starlight -winter night to invite people <em>out</em>.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Nor was there any tampering with the lamps of the -long drawing-room; there never was seen a more brilliantly -lighted and warmed saloon to entice people <em>in</em>.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The music was inspiring; the dancing was animated, -the supper excellent. The festivities were kept up all -night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And did Drusilla enjoy the party?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course she did. Why not? She could <em>love</em> forever, -but she could not <em>grieve</em> forever. She was experiencing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>a delightful reaction from her long depression of spirits. -She was young and beautiful, and formed to give and receive -pleasure amid these Christmas festivities. In a -rich white moire antique dress, delicately trimmed with -black lace and black jet, she looked exquisitely pretty. -To please her friends and also a little to please herself -she danced—first with General Lyon, who led her to the -head of a set to open the ball; then with Dick, and -afterwards with any others whom her uncle introduced -to her. And all who made her acquaintance were -charmed with the beauty and sweetness of the lovely, -childlike creature.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A refreshing breakfast was served at seven o’clock; -after which, the guests, well pleased, took leave and departed -by the light of the rising sun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Early in the new year, “mammy,” well paid for her -faithful services and loaded with tokens of her patient’s -good-will, took leave of the family and of her fellow -servants and left Old Lyon Hall to return to her own -home in Alexandria.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was attended by Leo, who was commissioned to -bring down Pina and the birds, the dog, the cat, and the -kittens; for to mammy’s perfect content, the brother and -sister were again to enter together the service of Mrs. -Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have brought up my chillum respectable which it -is allus my pride and ambition so to do, and likewise to -have them engaged in service long o’ the old respectable, -rustycratic families, which none can be more so than the -Lyonses of Old Lyon Hall, and that to <em>my</em> sartain knowledge, -which has heard of them ever since I was born,” -said mammy, on parting with her gossip, Marcy. “And -I hopes, ma’am,” she added, “if you sees my young people -agoing wrong, you’ll make so free for my sake as to correct -them; which their missus, the young madam, is -much too gentle-hearted for to do; but gives them their -own head far too much.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Marcy gave a promise to have an eye upon the boy and -girl—a promise she was but too likely to keep.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so mammy departed, well pleased.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The very day she left, the wagons from Washington -City, containing Drusilla’s personal effects from Cedarwood, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>which had been delayed by the bad condition of -the roads, arrived at Saulsburg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, being duly apprised of the circumstance -by a messenger from the “Foaming Tankard,” sent carts -to meet them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But more than one day was occupied with the removal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For Alexander Lyon, either from pride, compunction, -or a faint revival of the old love, or from all these motives -combined, had sent down not only Drusilla’s wardrobe -and books, but every article of furniture that particularly -appertained to her use. And all these were very carefully -packed, so as to sustain no injury from the roughness of -the roads over which they were brought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was first a whole wagon load of boxes filled with -the rich and costly wearing apparel with which he had -overwhelmed her in the days of his devotion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then there was another load composed of her mosaic -work-table, sewing chair, and footstool; her enameled -writing-desk, work-box and dressing-case; her favorite -sleepy hollow of a resting-chair; and other items too -numerous to mention.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The third load comprised her sweet-toned cottage -piano, her harp, and her guitar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It took two days to transport these things from Saulsburg -to Old Lyon Hall, and it took two more days to unpack -and arrange them all in Drusilla’s apartments.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The fond and faithful young wife contemplated these -dear familiar objects with a strange blending of tenderness, -regret and hope. Each item was associated with -some sweet memory of her lost home and lost love. But -even now she did not weep; she smiled as she whispered -to her heart:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He does not know it, but he loves me still; and some -day he will come and tell me so. I can wait for that -bright day, Alick, my Alick, when I shall place my boy -in your arms and tell you how in the darkest hours I -never ceased to love you and never doubted your love!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was absorbed for a little while, and then once more -she murmured to herself in her beautiful reverie:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For what would love be if darkness could obscure its -light, or wrong destroy its life?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah! if this devoted young wife ever does succeed in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span><span class='fss'>WINNING HER WAY</span> to the heart and conscience of her -husband, she will do it through the power of her love -and faith alone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before the week was out Drusilla had another pleasure, -in the arrival of Leo and Pina with her pets.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She received them all with gladness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am,” exclaimed Pina, “but it does my very -heart good to see you looking so rosy and bright-eyed! -And I’m just dying to see young Master Leonard! And -I am to be his nurse, ain’t I, ma’am? And how is the -dear little darling pet? And, oh, I am so glad to see you -looking so well and so happy!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very happy to see you also, Pina,” said Drusilla, -when the girl had stopped for want of breath. “I hope -you left your mammy well.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, as well as possible, ma’am; but with <em>baby on the -brain</em> as sure as she lives, in regard to talking about little -Master Leonard, which she stands to it is the finest baby -as ever she saw among the hundreds and hundreds as -she has had the honor of—of—of——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina paused for want of words or breath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of first introducing to their friends and relations,” -added Drusilla, laughingly coming to the girl’s relief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am, that is the way to put it,” said Pina, approvingly. -“But please, ma’am, may I see little Master -Leonard?” she pleaded, eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go with Matty first, Pina. She will show you the -room where you are to sleep, and which joins the nursery. -Wash your face and hands, and change your traveling -dress for a clean one, and then come to my chamber, -which is on the other side of the nursery, and I will show -you our baby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. I am a perfect -show for dust and dirt, I know, and in no state to go nigh -a dainty little baby,” said Pina, courtesying, and then following -Matty from the sitting parlor where this interview -had taken place.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And thus Drusilla’s surroundings at Old Lyon Hall -were soon arranged to her perfect satisfaction.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER VI.<br> <span class='large'>ENTERTAINING ANGELS.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Little can we tell, who share</div> - <div class='line'>Our household hearth of love and care;</div> - <div class='line'>Therefore with grave tenderness,</div> - <div class='line'>Should we strive to love and bless</div> - <div class='line'>All who live this little life,</div> - <div class='line'>Soothing sorrows, calming strife,</div> - <div class='line'>Lest we wrong some seraph here,</div> - <div class='line'>Who has left the starry sphere,</div> - <div class='line'>Exiled from the heavens above,</div> - <div class='line'>To fulfil some mortal love.—<span class='sc'>T. Powell.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>In the course of the next week, one or more from every -family who had been invited to the Christmas party, -called, and all who did so, left cards also for Mrs. Alexander -Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Besides this, Mrs. Colonel Seymour, the nearest neighbor -and most intimate friend of the Lyons, issued invitations -for a large party to come off on Twelfth Night. -And the General, Anna, Drusilla and Dick, each received -one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What shall you wear, Drusilla?” inquired Anna, as -the two young women sat together looking at their cards.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Anna, I do not know that I shall go,” answered -Drusilla, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have an instinctive feeling that I should live very -quietly while separated from my husband—live, in fact, -as I should have lived, if I had gone back to Cedarwood -alone.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you had gone back to Cedarwood alone, it would -have been eminently necessary for you to have lived the -life of a hermit, to save your reputation from utter ruin; -and even then you could not have saved your character -from misconstruction and misrepresentation. But now -you are living with us, which makes all the difference. -Here you may freely enjoy all the social pleasures natural -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>to your youth. The most malignant stabber of fair fame -that ever lived would never dare to assail a lady who is -a member of General Lyon’s family,” said Anna, proudly. -“And it was to secure this freedom of action and these -social enjoyments to you, no less than to shield you from -danger that my dear grandfather so firmly insisted on -your remaining with us,” she added.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, how can I be grateful enough to him for all his -loving kindness to me? Oh, Anna, under Divine Providence, -he has been my salvation!” exclaimed Drusilla -her face beaming with gratitude and affection.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very glad you came here as you did, my dear -and gave him the opportunity of doing what he has done. -He has a great large heart, and not objects enough to fill -it. He is very fond of you and your boy, and your presence -here makes him happier. But ‘to return to our muttons’—about -this party at the Seymours. Now, as to -your scruples about going into company, instead of living -secluded on account of Alexander’s desertion,—dismiss -them at once. Leaning on my grandfather’s arm,—for -he is to be your escort, and Dick mine,—you can go anywhere -with safety. But, if there is any other reason why -you do not wish to go to the Seymours, of course you can -stay at home. We wish you to use the most perfect freedom -of action, my dear Drusilla, and we will only interfere -when we see you inclined to immolate yourself upon the -pagan altar of your idol. So, in the matter of the party, -pray do as you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, if you and uncle think it right, I would like -very much to go with you. I enjoy parties. I enjoyed -ours very much.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should think you did. You are not seventeen years -old yet, and all your social pleasures are to come. You -were the beauty of the evening, my little cousin.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no, Anna, oh, no, no, <em>no</em>, Anna! that I never could -be where <em>you</em> are!” exclaimed Drusilla, blushing intensely -with the earnestness of her denial.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense! I am an old maid. I am quite <i><span lang="fr">passée</span></i>. I -am nearly twenty-three years old, and have been out five -seasons!” laughed Anna, with the imperious disdain of -her own words with which a conscious beauty sometimes -says just such things.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>“Oh, Anna, Anna, how can you say such things of yourself? -I would not let any one else say them of you, -Anna! Why, Anna, you know you moved through your -grandfather’s halls that night a perfect queen of beauty. -There was no one who could at all equal or approach -you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, I say! I overheard several people say -that I was not looking so well as usual—that I had seen -my best days, and so forth.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They were envious and spiteful people whom you had -eclipsed, Anna, and, if <em>I</em> had heard them, I should have -given them to know it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>You</em>, you little pigeon, can you peck?” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pigeons can peck, and sharply too, I assure you. And -I should have pecked any one whom I heard saying impertinent -things of you; but I heard nothing of the sort—I -heard only praises and admiration. But there! I declare -you ought not to disparage yourself so as to oblige me to -tell the truth about you to your face, for, in this case, -truth is high praise, and it is perfectly odious to have to -praise a friend to her face,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I agree with you. So, if you will let me have the last -word and say that you really <em>were</em> the beauty of our ball, -I will consent to drop the subject. And now for the other -one! So you would like to go to the Seymours?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, very much, for I enjoy parties. I do not think -I should like to go to one every day or even every week; -but once or twice a month I really should enjoy them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a moderate little belle! Well, and now comes -the next important question. What are we to wear? -Unluckily we cannot order the carriage and drive down -the street to the most fashionable modistes and inspect -the newest styles of dress goods and head-dresses and all -that, as if we were in the city. We are in the country, -and must make our toilet from what we have got in the -house. Heigh ho! it is a great bore, being so far away -from shops.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, oh, Anna, we have got so much in the house. -Think of your magnificent trousseau, with scarcely one of -your many dresses touched yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is all very well. But you know they were made -and trimmed between two and six months ago; and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>every week something new in the way of trimmings and -head-dresses comes up in town. However, we must do -the best we can. It is a country ball and all the guests -will be in the same case, that is one comfort.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not one of them will be so well off as you are with -your trousseau.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is true, and that is another comfort, a very selfish -one however. Well, let me see, I think I will wear -my light blue taffeta, with a white illusion over it, looped -up with bluebells and lilies of the valley, with a wreath -of the same. How will that do?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It will be very pretty and tasteful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you, my darling? What have you to wear? -You know my dresses fit you, and my wardrobe is quite -at your service.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks, dear Anna; but I have a great plenty of -dresses that have never been worn, and of dress goods -that have never been made up. In the first weeks of -our married life my dear Alick bought every rich and -pretty thing he could lay his hands on for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well, then. What shall you wear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know that being in the second year of my mourning, -I am restricted to black and white. I think a black -illusion over black silk, with the sleeves and bosom edged -with ruches of white illusion; pearl necklace and bracelets, -and half open white moss roses in my hair and on -my bosom; white kid gloves and a white fan. There, -Anna dear, I have given you a complete description of -my intended toilet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And nothing could be prettier. Here comes grandpapa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And at that moment the old gentleman entered the -room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dears, if we <em>are</em> immured in the country at -this festive season of the year, we are not likely to be -very dull, are we?” smiled the old gentleman, holding -out his card.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No indeed, sir; that we are not! But what do you -think of Drusilla here? She was really meditating upon -the propriety of giving up all society, and living the life -of a recluse,” said Anna, mischievously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, if such a life is so much to her taste, we have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>no sort of right to object,” the old man replied, in the -same spirit of raillery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it is not to her taste. Drusilla is formed by nature -and disposition to enjoy all innocent social pleasures. -But she imagined that in her peculiar circumstances it -became her duty to retire from the world altogether.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The veteran turned his clear eyes kindly on his protégée, -and taking her hand, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear child, when I gave you a daughter’s place in -my heart and home, and took a father’s position towards -you, I became responsible for the safety of your fair fame -as well as for your person. Both are perfectly secure -under my protection. No one will venture to assail the -one more than the other. Go wherever Anna goes, enjoy -all that she enjoys. It is even well that you should have -the harmless recreations natural to your youth, and that -she should have a companion of her own sex. And I -shall always be your escort.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla pressed the old man’s hand to her heart and -lips; it was her usual way of thanking him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this quite settled the question, if it had not been -settled before.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Twelfth Day came, Anna and Drusilla, beautifully -attired in the dresses they had decided upon, -and escorted by General Lyon, and Dick, went to the -Seymours’ party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As at the Christmas ball, Drusilla’s beauty created a -great sensation; not, indeed, that she was more beautiful -than Miss Lyon, but her beauty was of a fresher type. -As before, General Lyon was her first partner, and Richard -Hammond her second. And after that, there was -great rivalry among the candidates for the honor of her -hand. But she danced only quadrilles; and only with -those presented to her by her uncle. This ball, like all -country balls was kept up all night. But General Lyon’s -age and Drusilla’s maternal solicitude, both rendered it -expedient that they should retire early. So a few minutes -after twelve, the old gentleman and his protégée took -leave, promising that the coachman should have orders -to return at daylight and fetch Anna and Dick home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After this followed other parties given by the country -gentry. And to all of them the Lyons were invited, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>in all the invitations Drusilla was included. And the -lovely young wife was admired by all who saw her, and -beloved by those who came to know her well.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Occasionally, embarrassing questions were asked by -those who had more curiosity than tact, but they were always -skilfully parried by the party to whom they were put.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For instant, when some old crony would venture to ask -the General how it was that Mr. Alick had married this -clergyman’s orphan daughter when all the world supposed -him to be about to marry his cousin Anna, the -General would answer as before:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That projected marriage was a plan of mine and of -my brother’s; and as it was based upon our own wishes -rather than on the affections of our young people, it did -not succeed, and did not deserve to do so. The aged -cannot choose for the young in affairs of the heart. My -nephew married this charming girl privately one year -ago, and the ceremony was repeated publicly in my house -two months since. I gave the bride away. And I am -very much charmed with my niece. My granddaughter -Anna, and my grandnephew, Richard Hammond, will be -united in a few months.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But where is the happy bridegroom now?” might be -the next question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alexander is in Washington negotiating the sale of -real estate,” would be the answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Sometimes a troublesome questioner, in the form of -some young friend or companion would assail Anna, in -some such way as this:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, we were never more surprised in our lives than -when we found out that Alick Lyon had married a parson’s -daughter without a penny. We thought you were -going to take him, Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I preferred Dick,” would be Anna’s frank reply.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I suppose he married the clergyman’s daughter -in a fit of pique.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not at all; it was in a fit of love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And she quite penniless.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg your pardon, she is a very wealthy woman.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What! the clergyman’s daughter?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, for she is a billionaire’s niece, and a sole heiress.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! then it was a mercenary match?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>“Not at all, for he knew nothing of her fortune when -he married her. And now, also, please remember you are -speaking of my cousins.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Beg your pardon, Anna! I mean no harm; and you -know you and I are such old, old friends!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Very often it would be Richard Hammond who would -be called to the witness stand with a—</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hillo, Dick! so you are a lucky dog after all! How -was it now? Come, tell us all about it! Did you cut -Alick out with Anna, or did the pretty little parson’s -daughter cut Anna out with Alick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Each one of us cut all the others out,” Dick would -reply, with owl-like gravity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh? what? stop, don’t go away! How can that be? -We don’t understand!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, if you don’t that’s your look out. <em>I</em> can’t make -you understand.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so Dick would turn off impertinent inquiry.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Fortunately, also, everywhere Drusilla’s face and -manners inspired perfect confidence and warm esteem. -No one could look on her, or hear her speak, and doubt -her goodness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is very queer. There’s a screw loose somewhere; -but whoever may be wrong, <em>she</em> is all right,” was the -verdict of the neighborhood in the young wife’s favor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile a very brisk correspondence went on between -General Lyon on one part, and Messrs. Heneage and Kent -(Drusilla’s lawyers) on the other. The General soon convinced -the legal gentlemen that Anna Drusilla Lyon, born -Stirling, was the heiress of whom they were in search.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Still, where so much was at stake, they were bound to -be very cautious and to receive nothing, not the very -smallest fact, upon trust.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So, though General Lyon very seldom troubled Drusilla -with this correspondence, he did sometimes feel -obliged to come to her for information as to where a -certain important witness was to be found; in what cemetery -a particular tombstone was to be looked for; or in -what parish church such a marriage had been solemnized, -or such a baptism administered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla’s prompt and pointed answers very much -cleared and expedited the business.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>In a more advanced stage of affairs it seemed that she -would have to go up to Baltimore; but General Lyon would -not hear of her taking any trouble that he could save her; -so he wrote to the legal gentlemen, requesting one of the -firm to come down to Old Lyon Hall in person, or to send -a confidential clerk, and promising to pay all expenses of -traveling, loss of time, and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In answer to this letter, Mr. Kent, the junior partner, -arrived at the old hall early in February.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was armed with a formidable bag of documents and -he was closeted all day long with General Lyon in the -study.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One can have no secrets from one’s lawyer any more -than from one’s physician or confessor; and so General -Lyon felt constrained to tell Mr. Kent of the existing -estrangement between the heiress and her husband.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And what I particularly wish,” said the General, confidentially -and earnestly, “is that the whole of this large -inheritance, coming as it does from <em>her</em> family, may be -secured to her separate use, independently of her husband.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that, you are aware, cannot be done, except -though a process of law. She must sue for a separate -maintenance. Even in such a case I doubt whether the -court would adjudge her the <em>whole</em> of this enormous -fortune, or even the half of it. Still it is her only resource,” -answered Lawyer Kent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A resource she will never resort to. It would be vain -and worse than vain to suggest it to her. She worships -her husband; and it is through no fault of hers that they -are estranged. Indeed it was through consideration for -him that she was so reticent last year, as to raise suspicions -in your mind that her claim to the estate was an unjustly -assumed one.... No, Mr. Kent, we must take some other -course to secure the inheritance to her, and without saying -a word to her on the subject either.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is no other way, sir, but by such a suit as I -have suggested.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pardon me I think there is. Mr. Alexander Lyon -has deserted his wife and child and failed to provide for -them. Such is not the course of an honorable man. -Still, as some of the same sort of blood that warms my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>own old heart runs also in his veins, there must be some -little sense of honor sleeping somewhere in his system. -We must awaken it and appeal to it. He must of his -own free will make over all his right, title and interest -in this inheritance to his injured young wife.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does he know of this inheritance, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not one word, I think.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you believe that he will act as you wish?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have not the least doubt of it. Without this fortune -of his wife, he is as rich as Crœsus; and he is also as -proud as Lucifer. Having discarded her, he would not -touch a penny of her money, if it was to save his own -life or hers. So it is not because I think he would waste, -or even use her means, that I wish her fortune settled -upon herself, but because I wish her to be totally independent -of him and to be able to do her own will with -her own money.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see,” said Mr. Kent. “Where is Mr. Alexander -Lyon now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In Washington City, where I would like you to call -upon and apprise him of this large inheritance and of our -wishes in regard to it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do so with pleasure. Pray give me your instructions -at large, and also a letter of introduction to -Mr. Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I had almost sworn never to hold any communication -with that man again. But for his wife’s dear sake I -will write the letter. And now Mr. Kent, there is our -first dinner-bell. Allow me to ring for a servant, who -will show you to a chamber prepared for you. I will -await you here and take you to the dining-room.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The dust-covered lawyer bowed his thanks and followed -the servant who was called to attend him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At dinner that day, the lawyer, for the first time met -his beautiful client, Mrs. Alexander Lyon. And with all -his experience of mankind, great was his wonder that any -man in his sober senses could have abandoned such a -lovely young creature.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Kent stayed two days at Old Lyon Hall, and then, -primed with instructions and with a letter to Alexander, -he left for Washington and Baltimore.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It happened just as General Lyon had predicted.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>Alexander, sulking at his apartments in one of the -most fashionable hotels in the Capital, received the lawyer’s -visit and his uncle’s letter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was immeasurably astonished at the announcement -of his wife’s inheritance of an enormous fortune. At -first, indeed, he listened to the intelligence with scornful -incredulity; but when convinced beyond all doubt of the -truth, his amazement was unbounded. He had never before -heard of the California billionaire, and could not now -realize the fact that poor Drusilla was a great heiress. -He scarcely succeeded in concealing from the lawyer the -excess of his amazement. He was, literally, almost -“stunned” by the news.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The lawyer’s time was precious; so, barely giving Mr. -Alexander a minute to recover his lost breath, and acting -upon General Lyon’s instructions he proposed to the husband -to resign the whole of her newly-inherited wealth -to his discarded wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander arose, a proud disdain curling his lips and -flashing from his eyes, and answered haughtily:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Unquestionably, sir! Prepare the proper papers with -your utmost despatch. I had intended to sail for Europe -in Saturday’s steamer, but I will forfeit my passage and -wait here until these deeds shall be executed; for I could -no more bear to hold an hour’s interest in her inheritance -than I could bear any other sort of ignominy. How soon -can the documents be ready?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Kent could not tell within a day or two—lawyers -never can, you know. But he engaged to prepare them -very early in the next week, in time for Mr. Lyon to embark -upon his voyage on the following Saturday.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so Lawyer Kent went on his way to Baltimore -musing:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is a splendid fellow, and she is a sweet young -creature; they are an admirable pair! What the mischief -can have come between them?—ah, the devil, of -course!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Kent was as good as his word. On Tuesday morning, -he placed the requisite deeds in the hands of Mr. -Lyon, who, in the presence of several witnesses and before -a notary-public, formally signed, sealed, and delivered -them again into the custody of the lawyer.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>And, on Thursday evening, Mr. Kent arrived at Old -Lyon Hall, to announce the successful termination of the -whole business, and to congratulate his client on her accession -to one of the largest fortunes in America.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I think, my dear,” whispered General Lyon to -his protégée, “that you cannot better show your sense of -these gentlemen’s zeal in your cause than by making -them your agents in the management of your financial -affairs.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I perfectly agree with you, my dear uncle. Tell them -so, please,” replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so it was arranged; and Mr. Kent went on his -way rejoicing, “having made a good thing of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And Alick has signed over to me all his material interest -in my fortune! Well, I know he did not need -any part of it; but he would have been welcome, oh, so -heartily welcome, to the whole. At most, I only should -have wanted enough to buy back dear Cedarwood,” said -Drusilla to her gossip, Anna, as they sat together in the -nursery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He did right. How <em>could</em> he have done otherwise -under the circumstances? Even <em>you</em>, with all your loving -faith, must have despised him if, after forsaking you, -he had taken any part of your fortune,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla blushed intensely, at the bare supposition that -her Alick could do anything to make her loyal heart -despise him, and she answered warmly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But he did not do it! He would never do such a -thing. If my Alick has ever erred it has been under the -influence of some great passion amounting almost to madness! -He would not do wrong in cold blood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna did not gainsay her. Miss Lyon had quite given -up arguing with the young wife on the subject of her -husband’s merits. If Drusilla had chosen to assert that -Alexander was the wisest of sages, the bravest of heroes -and the best of saints, Anna would not openly have differed -with her. But now she turned the conversation -from his merits to his movements.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick sails for Europe to-morrow,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, so Mr. Kent says. But do you know what -steamer he goes in, Anna? Mr. Kent did not happen to -name it, and I shrank from asking him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>“There is but one—the Erie. I suppose, of course, he -goes on that. However, on Monday we shall get the New -York papers, and then we can examine the list of passengers, -and see if his name is among them,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And with that answer the young wife had to rest -satisfied.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER VII.<br> <span class='large'>HALCYON DAYS.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A course of days, composing happy weeks,</div> - <div class='line'>And they as happy months; the day is still</div> - <div class='line'>So like the last, as all so firm a pledge</div> - <div class='line'>Of a congenial future, that the wheels</div> - <div class='line'>Of pleasure move without the aid of hope.—<span class='sc'>Wordsworth.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Very early on Monday morning Jacob Junior was dispatched -to Saulsburg to meet the mail and fetch the -papers. The messenger was so diligent that he brought -in the bag and delivered it to his master while the family -sat at breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were no letters for anybody, but all the last Saturday’s -papers had come.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon distributed them. A New York evening -journal fell to Anna’s share. She turned immediately to -look for the news of the outward bound steamers. She -soon found what she was in search of. And as Alick’s -name was still a tacitly dropped word in the presence of -her grandfather, she silently passed the paper to Drusilla, -and pointed to the list of passengers for Liverpool who -sailed by the Erie, from New York, on the Saturday -previous.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked and read among them:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Mr. Alexander Lyon and two servants.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla nodded and smiled, saying in a low voice:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is better so, for the present. I hope that he will -enjoy himself and come home in a happier frame of -mind.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of whom are you speaking, my child?” inquired the -General, raising his eyes from a report of the last great -debate in the Senate.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>“Of Alick. He sailed in the Erie for Liverpool on last -Saturday,” answered Drusilla, quite calmly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! he did? Well, I think it about the best thing -he could have done. I hope he will stay there until he -comes to his senses. Joy go with him!” heartily exclaimed -the old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle!” pleaded Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dear, what now?” I said, “Joy go with -him. That was a benediction, was it not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought it was a sarcasm,” said Drusilla, archly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General coughed slightly and returned to the -perusal of the debate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Mr. Alexander had betaken himself to parts unknown, -and Drusilla was by no means broken-hearted on -that account.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All the tears she was ever destined to shed for him -seemed already to have fallen; all the heart-aches she -was ever to feel for him seemed already to have been -suffered and forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Understand once for all that, though she loved him as -faithfully and hoped in him as trustfully as ever, she no -longer mourned his absence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>I repeat it—she could love forever and hope forever, -but she could not grieve forever—not with her beautiful -bright boy before her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was delightful to see the young mother at this time -of her life. She was the sunshine of that sweet old home. -All the joyousness, hopefulness and truthfulness of childhood -seemed to have returned to her; or, rather, as her -own childhood had not been a particularly happy one, to -have come to her for the first time with her child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She sang in her nursing chair, or at her needle-work, -all the morning; she sang at the piano, or the harp, or -sang duets with Anna or Dick in the evening. She had -a clear, sweet, elastic voice, a pure soprano, perfectly -adapted to the bird-like carols that she most favored.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, whose passion for music had survived -all other enthusiasms, and had even increased with his -declining years, seemed never to grow weary of her delicious -notes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>This pleased Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear grandpa,” she would often repeat, “I am so glad -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>you have her here; and will have her with you when -Dick takes me away. It will be such a comfort to me to -feel you are not lonesome.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know how that may be, my dear. The more -I see of our darling, the more inclined I am to think that -fellow will come to his senses and claim her from us before -we are willing to resign her. And <em>then</em> what shall -I do?” the old man once inquired, with a sigh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then Drusilla put her hand in his, and looked up -in his eyes with all a daughter’s devotion, and answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle, you sheltered me when I had not a friend -in the world. You saved my life and my boy’s life. You -gave him your name, and gave us both a home. And I -will never leave you alone, never—not even for <em>him</em> will -I leave you, until Anna and Dick come home from their -bridal tour to leave you no more.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know it, my child, I know it; I need no assurance -from you to teach me how unselfish you are. But, my -dear girl, do you think I would permit you to sacrifice -your happiness for my sake? No, dear Drusilla, when -our prodigal comes to himself and seeks your love again, -you will be ready and eager to be reunited to him and -you must go with him, although I should be left alone. -And this for <em>your</em> happiness, which must not be sacrificed -for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Happiness? sacrificed? Oh, uncle! father, dear, -dear friend! you do not know my heart. The happiness -would be in staying with you to solace your solitude; the -sacrifice would be in leaving you alone. I <em>could</em> not and -<em>would</em> not do it, no, not even for my dear Alick. Nor -would he wish it; for when he ‘comes to himself,’ as -you say, he will come to his better, nobler self,—his just -and true self.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! my darling, you have great faith in that man.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because I judge him by the whole tenor of his past -life, and not by the last few months of moral insanity!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“May Heaven justify your faith, my dear,” replied the -veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Soon after the Christmas and New Year’s festivities -were over, Richard Hammond made a move towards terminating -his visit. But poor Dick’s nature was so perfectly -transparent that every one knew it was a most reluctant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>move. General Lyon, Anna and Drusilla all knew -that Dick was very desirous of staying at Old Lyon Hall, -and they all felt that the “unlucky dog,” would be much -safer with his relations in the country than among his -“friends” in the city. So when Dick at length named -an early day in February for his departure, the General -said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, boy, stay where you are.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should be glad enough to stay,” Dick frankly answered, -“but you see I feel I am trespassing. Bless my -soul and life, sir, I have been here nearly three months.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What of that? Stay three years. Stay three centuries -if you live so long. My boy, all counted, we are -but four; not enough to crowd this big old house; not -enough to fill it, or half fill it. So, if you find yourself at -ease among us, remain with us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you see, dear grandpa,” said Anna, wickedly, “he -is <em>not</em> at ease among us. He is very restless with us. He -is longing to get back to the city. He is pining for the -society of his esteemed friends—the gallant Captain Reding -and the brave Lieutenant Harpe.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, Anna! that was bloodthirsty!” said Dick -in a grieved and outraged manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then if that is not so, what is the attraction to the -city, Dick?” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing at all. You know that as well as I do.” -Anna did know it, but for all that she answered maliciously:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I can’t think why you wish to leave us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I <em>don’t</em> wish to leave you. I would much rather stay. -I have been here so long, I might well suppose that I had -worn out my welcome. But as you and uncle are kind -enough to tell me that I have not, I <em>will</em> stay, and ‘thank -you too,’ as the girl said to the boy that asked her to have -him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And don’t take it into your head again, Dick, that you -are wearing out your welcome. When we get tired of you, -Dick, I will take it upon myself to send you about your -business.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well, Anna. I hope you will do so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In truth, Dick had enough to keep him in the neighborhood. -Hammond House and Hammondville, forming the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>greater portion of the landed estate he had recently inherited, -lay within a few miles of Old Lyon Hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The whole place was now in charge of a resident bailiff -who was instructed to put it in thorough repair for the reception -of its new master. And these repairs were going -on as fast as circumstances would permit.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The outdoor work was of course frequently suspended -during the inclemency of the weather. But the house was -filled with carpenters, plasterers, painters and paperhangers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And it was well that Dick should occasionally ride there -to overlook these workmen. The most careful instructions -are not often carried out, under these circumstances, without -the frequent presence of the master.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was thought expedient also that Anna, whose home -it would sometime be, should be taken into the counsels -and accompany Dick in his visits of inspection to Hammond -House. And whenever the weather permitted she -went there with him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Hammond House was not to be their permanent home, -however. During the life of General Lyon, they were to -live at Old Lyon Hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Three times a week, when the mail came into Saulsburg -and the letters and papers were brought to Old Lyon -Hall, Drusilla turned to the ship-news. At length she -saw announced the safe arrival of the Erie at Liverpool. -And then she knew that was the last of even indirect -news she might hope to hear of Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But she was not depressed on that account. Her faith, -hope and love were strong. Everybody was very good to -her. Her baby boy was growing in strength, beauty and -intelligence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The spring was to be early this year. The latter days -of February were bright and lovely harbingers of its quick -approach.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the finest hours of the finest days Drusilla took her -baby out for short drives around the park—the nurse -dragging the little carriage and the mother walking by -its side, and Leo often following to open gates or remove -obstacles.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was not unfrequently a high dispute between the -brother and sister as to who should take care of the baby.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>Leo insisted that as the baby was a boy, it was <em>his</em> -right to have charge of him, and declared that he could -see no fitness at all in a girl setting herself up to nurse a -boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina retorted that such a thing as a male nurse never -was heard of either for male or female child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leo would then bring forward his mistress’s promise -that he himself should have a good time with little Master -Leonard, riding him about on his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina would request him to give that piece of information -to the “horse-marines,” who might be credulous -enough to believe his story. As for herself, she rejected -it totally and held fast by her own rights as sole nurse by -appointment of her mistress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Through all these quarrels one fact was evident—the -devotion of the brother and sister to the young child and -his mother, of whom it might almost be said that their -servants were ready to lay down their lives in their service.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla had not given up her favorite project of purchasing -Cedarwood. She had written and instructed her -attorneys to make overtures to the present proprietors of -the place, for that purchase. She told them that she knew -of course the people who had so recently purchased the -property would want a very handsome bonus before they -would consent to part with it again so soon; and that she -was prepared to satisfy their demands, as she preferred -to pay an exorbitant price for the place rather than miss -its possession.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her attorneys, who were long-headed men of business, -in no way given to sentiment or extravagance, wrote in -reply that they hoped with a little patience and good -management to buy the estate at something like a fair -valuation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Drusilla agreed to wait.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile General Lyon had not forgotten that he had -promised to purchase Cedarwood, and bestow it upon Drusilla -as a New Year’s present. And he also set about negotiating -for his purpose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>This reached the ears of Drusilla’s lawyers, who immediately -wrote to ask her if she was aware that her uncle, -also, was after the place.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>Drusilla was not aware of the fact; but now that she -heard of it, she of course understood that the General -could only be seeking it for her sake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So she went to the old gentleman and assured him that -as much as she loved him, she could not possibly receive -so magnificent a present from his hands, but very much -desired to purchase the estate with her own funds.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon laughed, and assured her that his only -motive in trying to buy Cedarwood was to keep his word -to her; but that, if she released him from it, he was ready -to give up the project. “For he was well aware,” he said, -“that to bestow property on a lady who owned warehouses -piled with merchandise in Baltimore and San Francisco, -and merchant ships at sea trading to all parts of the world, -besides bank stock and railway shares in almost every -State, and gold mines in California, to bestow a little bit -of property on such a billionaire would simply be to send -coals to Newcastle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So the General wrote and stopped the proceedings of -<em>his</em> lawyers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla wrote and told <em>hers</em> to go ahead as fast as -they saw fit.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But it was April before any measure of importance was -taken. Then Messrs. Heneage & Kent, who had been as -active and as artful as detectives in the business, wrote to -inform their client that they had discovered that the present -proprietor of Cedarwood, who was a person of very -restless disposition and unsettled habits, had become dissatisfied -with the place and was anxious to dispose of it, -and would do so immediately if he could sell it for as -much as he gave for it. Now, as Alexander Lyon had -sold the estate at some sacrifice during his fit of fury, it -was therefore supposed to be a good bargain. The lawyers -wrote to ask further instructions from their client.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla by return mail directed them to buy Cedarwood -immediately, as her great desire was to possess it as -soon as possible, on any terms. She also requested them -to buy as much of the wooded land around Cedarwood as -they could get at a reasonable, or even at a slightly unreasonable -price, as she intended to improve the place as -much as it would admit of, and wished, among other -things, to have a little home park.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>It was well for this young Fortunata that her attorneys -had much more prudence than herself. They were not -disposed to pay fancy prices for fancy places, even when -they were spending their client’s money instead of their -own, and getting a good percentage on it. So they managed -matters so well that, by the first of May, the whole -business was successfully completed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Cedarwood, with its original twenty-five acres of partially -cleared land, was purchased for twenty thousand -dollars, and one hundred acres of wild forest land lying -all around it was purchased for thirty thousand—the -whole property costing fifty thousand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A very excellent investment,” wrote Heneage & Kent, -“even as a mere country seat; but the land so near the -city is rapidly rising in value; and when you may wish -to do so in future years, you may divide it into half a hundred -villa sites, and sell each part for as much money as -you now pay for the whole.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla was not thinking of land speculations, so -she ran to her friends and, after telling them of the completion -of the purchase of Cedarwood, she exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now we shall have such a beautiful home near -the city to receive us all when we go to Washington to -spend the winter. It will be so much better than a hotel -or boarding-house in the city. It is only half an hour’s -drive from the Capitol. We can live there so comfortable, -and as quiet as we please when we wish to be so, and -enter into all the amusements of the city we like when we -wish to do so. It will only be to start half an hour earlier -when we go to a party or a play, half an hour earlier from -Cedarwood than we should from a hotel in the city, I -mean. And then when we leave a brilliant ball-room or -opera-house, it will be so pleasant to come to a sweet, -quiet home in the woods, instead of a noisy, unwholesome -hotel—don’t you think so, dear uncle?” she said, appealing -to the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling, I do,” answered the old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And shall you like the plan?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very much, my dear child. I never could sleep well -at any of the hotels in Washington or in any other city, -for that matter. The noise of the carriages in the streets -always kept me awake nearly all night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>“And you, Anna—shall you like it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course I shall. I detest hotels. The clean face -towels always smell sour or fetid, for one thing. And -boarding houses and furnished lodgings are almost as -bad.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am delighted! So in future I and my baby shall be -<em>your</em> guests at Old Lyon Hall or at Hammond House during -the summer, and you all shall be my guests at Cedarwood -all the winter. And I shall write to “mammy,” -and offer her and her husband the situations of housekeeper -and head gardener there, at liberal wages. And -they would keep the house and grounds always in good -order, and ready to receive us. Will not that be pleasant, -Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pleasant!” exclaimed Mr. Hammond enthusiastically; -“it will be perfectly delightful.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER VIII.<br> <span class='large'>THE END OF PROBATION.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>From that day forth, in peace and joyous bliss,</div> - <div class='line in2'>They lived together long, without debate;</div> - <div class='line'>No private jars, nor spite of enemies,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Could shake the safe assurance of their state.—<span class='sc'>Spenser.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Besides the natural geniality and sociability of his disposition, -which always moved General Lyon to bring his -friends and relations about him, there were other and even -stronger motives that urged him to invite Richard Hammond -to remain at Old Lyon Hall. The old gentleman -wanted to save “the unlucky dog from his friends,” and -also he wanted to study him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And as weeks and months of close companionship in -the seclusion of the country house passed away, he <em>did</em> -study him. And apparently the study was satisfactory.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All poor Dick’s impulses were altogether good. Indeed, -it was through the very goodness of his nature that he -so often came to grief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick could not bear to say No; and not only ever to -his friends, but not even to his enemies, for his salvation, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>Dick could not endure to inflict pain, not only ever upon -good people but not even upon sinners. And these -amiable traits in his character were used by evil-disposed -people to his injury.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was indeed so much of the woman in Dick’s -gentle and lively nature that very few women could have -loved him as Anna did. But then there was enough of -the man in Anna’s nature to produce an equilibrium of -the sexes in their union.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon noticed all this, and he noticed something -else—namely, that though Dick and Anna certainly loved -each other devotedly, they bore their probation with exemplary -patience.</p> - -<p class='c012'>This touched the heart of the veteran, but still he would -not shorten the time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Moreover, he felt the infirmities of age creeping upon -him, he knew that at his years life was extremely precarious, -and he certainly wanted to see another generation of -Lyons in lineal descent from himself before he should go -home and be no more on earth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet for all this he would not hasten the marriage of -Dick and Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, with her quick perceptions and warm sympathies, -read the hearts of all around, and wished to make -them happy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Like an artful little angel as she was, she chose her opportunity -well.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was a lovely day in the latter part of April, and General -Lyon and herself were sitting alone together in a -front parlor where windows opened upon a conservatory -in full bloom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick and Anna were gone on a visit of inspection of -the works at Hammond House.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General had little Leonard in his arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla was sewing beside them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, my dear, you do not know how much this little -fellow adds to my happiness!” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am always so glad and grateful to hear you say that, -dear uncle, and I hope little Leonard as he grows in intelligence -will be more and more of a comfort to you,” she -replied; and then, after a little pause, she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if little Leonard, who is only my son, gives you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>so much content, how much joy Anna’s children will give -you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know, my dear: and, besides, I may not live -to see them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle, you will live many years yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I cannot hope to do that, my dear. I am past seventy. -I have already lived out the threescore and ten years -allotted as the natural term of a man’s life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, dear uncle, I think all nature teaches us that a -<span class='fss'>CENTURY</span> is the natural term of a man’s life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A pleasant theory, my child. I wish it were a true -one.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I think it is a true one.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why do you think so?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“From analogy. All natural philosophers and historians -who have made the nature and habits of the -animal creation their study have agreed upon this fact; -that all healthy animals, unless their lives are terminated -by violence, live five times as long as it takes them to -grow up. Now it takes the human animal twenty years -at least to grow to maturity; therefore the human animal -really should live five times twenty years, which makes a -round hundred or a <span class='fss'>CENTURY</span>; and I firmly believe it is -intended for him to live that long, if he only acted in accordance -with the laws of life and health. And, dear -uncle, you seem always to have acted so, and therefore I -think you may safely calculate upon living out your century -and then dying the gentle death of mere old age.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is a certain reasonableness in your theory, my -little philosopher.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And there is a roundness and completeness in this -full century of life which is so satisfactory,” said Drusilla, -heartily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my dear, especially to those who love this planet -Earth, with all her failings, as I confess I do,” smiled the -old gentleman. “And besides, I would like to see Anna -and Dick happily married, with a thriving family of boys -and girls about their knees.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, dear uncle, why not let them marry at once?” -pleaded Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Marry at once!’ Drusilla, you astound me, child!” -exclaimed the old gentleman, in unaffected astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>“Yes, marry at once, dear uncle, and then, if you live -to be as old as Methusaleh, you will still have only the -longer time to witness their happiness,” persisted Drusilla, -who, now that she had “broken the ice,” was determined -to go through.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, my dear, I put Richard Hammond upon a probation -of twelve months, and the time has not expired yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is very nearly half gone, though. Five months of -the allotted term has passed away. There are seven -months of penance remaining. Dear uncle, be kind to -them and commute that to one month. Let them marry -in May.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Have they commissioned you to plead their cause, my -dear?” gravely inquired General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no, sir, they have not. And perhaps also you may -think me very presumptuous and impertinent to meddle -in the matter. If you do, I will beg your pardon and be -silent.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, my dear child! I think nothing of the sort. -Speak all your thoughts freely to me. They are good and -true thoughts, I know, though they may not be very -worldly wise. Come now, why should I shorten the probation -of Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, because he has behaved so well. Indeed, dear -uncle, if you really mean that Dick should marry Anna, -I think that you had just as well let him marry her now -as half a year hence. I believe Dick is as good now as he -will ever be, or as any young man can be. Why do you insist -on a probation? If Dick were playing a part in this -good behavior, he could play it six months longer as well -as he has played it six months past, for so great a stake as -Anna’s hand. But he is not playing a part. You know -as well as I do that Dick is as frank, sincere and open-hearted -as his best friend or worst enemy could desire him -to be. He is not playing a part. His present steadiness -is but an earnest of what his whole future life will be, -with Anna by his side. Dear uncle, I really do think -that all Dick’s irregularities grew out of his banishment -from Anna’s society. He sought gay companions—or -rather <em>no</em>; we are sure that he <em>never</em> sought them; but he -allowed himself to fall into their company to find oblivion -for his regrets. With the mere promise of Anna’s hand, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>you see he has dropped his disreputable friends altogether. -With Anna for his wife, he will never be in danger of -taking them up again.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is much reason in what you say, my dear,” -admitted General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And, besides,” said Drusilla, dropping reason and resorting -to sentiment, “it is such a <em>pity</em> not to make them -happy when you have the power to do it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will think of what you have advanced, my dear Drusilla,” -said the veteran, gravely. “But Lord bless my -soul alive!” he added, elevating his eyebrows, “now I do -think of it, the young man himself has not petitioned for -a curtailment of his probation!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Oh, uncle, has he not?</em> Not, not in set terms, perhaps, -because you absolutely forbade him to resume the subject -until the specified year should have terminated; and of -course he felt, and still feels, bound to obey you. But has -not his whole conduct for the last five months been a plea -for the commutation of his sentence? Has not every word, -look and act of his life here been a declaration of devotion -to Anna, a prayer for mercy from you, and a promise of -fidelity to both?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I cannot deny that.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, dear uncle, let them marry at once. Oh, forgive -my plain speech! for you know you told me to speak my -thoughts freely.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then let them marry at once.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is there no other reason you would like to urge why -they should be made happy, as you express it, just now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, dear sir; if you make them wait until the -time of probation is out, it will bring the wedding to the -middle of November—sad November, which is always -gloomy enough in itself and is now doubly gloomy to us -from its associations. Three times Anna’s marriage has -been appointed to take place in November, and three -times it has been defeated—twice by death, and once—but -we will say no more of that. Let us change the -month and even the season, dear sir. Let the marriage -come off in May—this next May it is now beautiful -spring—the best season in the year for a wedding and a -wedding tour. Let them marry and go; and you and I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>and little Leonard will stay here and have a good time -this summer. In autumn they will return and join us -again. And early in the winter we will all go up to -Washington and live at Cedarwood during the season. -Dear uncle, I do think you had better let them get their -wedding tour over this summer. You will miss Anna -very much less in summer than in winter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is very true,” said the General, reflectively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you will let them marry in May?” eagerly inquired -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! I don’t know. I cannot move in the matter -unless the young gentleman does. I cannot fling my -granddaughter at Mr. Dick Hammond’s head!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle! how can you say such things? You -know poor Dick is tongue-tied on that subject for the -present, by your probation, as well as by his sense of -honor. He <em>cannot</em> speak of this without your leave. But -only give him leave by a glance, a nod, a hint, and he will -be on his knees to you to grant his suit and shorten his -probation,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hem! Suppose you give the glance, nod, or hint, -that may be required for the encouragement of this despairing -lover?” proposed the General, archly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That I will, with all my heart and soul,” replied Drusilla, -warmly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The next day at noon, while Drusilla was walking beside -her baby’s carriage out on the lawn, Dick, with his -fishing rod over his back, sauntered up to her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla dropped behind so as to let the carriage and -the nurse get far enough ahead to be out of hearing, and -then she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick, I think if you will ask our uncle to release you -from your promise of silence on a certain subject, that he -will do so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla, do you really think he will? If I thought -so, if I was sure he would not banish me at once from -Anna’s side, I would ask him this moment!” exclaimed -Dick, his eyes dancing with eagerness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He will not banish you. Why should he? You will -<em>break</em> no promise to him; you will only ask him if he sees -fit to <em>release</em> you from your promise of silence on a certain -subject. I think he will give you leave to speak on that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>subject. And, furthermore, when you do speak, I think -he will listen to you favorably.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Drusilla! do you? Do you think so, indeed? If -I thought so, I should be the luckiest dog and the happiest -man in existence.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go try for yourself at once, Dick. He is in his study. -He has just got through his morning papers, and is enjoying -his pipe. The opportunity is highly auspicious. Go -at once, Dick. You will never find him in a more favorable -mood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m off this instant. Heaven bless you, Drusilla, and -make you as happy as I hope to be,” exclaimed Richard -Hammond, dropping his fishing tackle, and dashing away -to put his destiny to the test.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla hastened after her baby’s carriage, overtook it, -and continued to walk beside it, and guard it for more -than an hour longer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She had just turned with it towards the house when -she was met by Dick, who was hastening to greet her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Drusa, Drusa, dear Drusa, it is all right now. -And all through you! And I came to tell you so, and to -thank you, even before I go to tell Anna!” exclaimed -Dick, with his face all beaming with happiness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he seized and kissed Drusilla’s hand, and then -darted off again, in search of Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And thus through Drusilla’s intervention, was Richard -Hammond’s probation commuted, and the marriage of the -lovers appointed to be celebrated about the middle of May.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile Drusilla had written to “mammy,” offering -to her the situation of housekeeper, and to her husband -that of head gardener at Cedarwood. She had directed -her letter to the care of the Reverend Mr. Hopper, at -Alexandria, feeling sure that it would by this means -safely reach the hands of the nurse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In due time Drusilla received an answer, badly written -and worse spelt, yet sufficiently expressive of “mammy’s,” -sentiments on the subject.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She thanked Mrs. Lyon from the bottom of her heart, -and would gladly take the place and try to do her duty -by the mistress. And likewise her old man. She never -expected to have such a piece of good fortune come to her -and her old man in the old ages of their lives. Which it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>had just come in good time too, seeing as her last darter -was agoing to marry and leave her and her old man alone. -And besides, she herself was aged before her time, all -along of spending all the days of her life in close, sick -rooms. And she was mortially glad to leave the profession -of sick nursin’ to younger and stronger wimmin. -Which she was fairly pining for the country, where her -childhood and youth had been passed. She had never -been able to get reconciled to the town, although she had -lived into it for thirty-five years, and she loved to feed -chickens and take care of cows, and make butter and -cheese. And as for her old man, it was the delight of his -life to hoe and rake, and plant and sow, and weed and -trim gardens and vineyards, and sich like. And she was -sure they would both be happier than they had ever -been in all their lives before. And she prayed Heaven to -bless the young madam who had taken such kind thoughts -of them in their age, to insure them so much prosperity -and pleasure.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER IX.<br> <span class='large'>A MAY-DAY MARRIAGE.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Be not amazed at life. ’Tis still</div> - <div class='line in2'>The mode of God with His elect:</div> - <div class='line'>Their hopes exactly to fulfil,</div> - <div class='line in2'>In times and ways they least expect.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Who marry as they choose, and choose</div> - <div class='line in2'>Not as they ought, they mock the priest,</div> - <div class='line'>And leaving out obedience, lose</div> - <div class='line in2'>The finest flavor of the feast.—<span class='sc'>Alford.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The wedding-day of Dick and Anna was fixed for the -fifteenth of May.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then came consultations about the details of the festival.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Should it <em>be</em> a festival?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna thought not. Her marriage had been so often -appointed and so often arrested that she said it would be -best taste now to get it over as quietly as possible. She -and her betrothed, attended only by General Lyon and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>Drusilla, would go to church and be married in their -traveling-dresses, and start immediately on the wedding -tour. Such was Anna’s plan.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But General Lyon would not hear of such a thing. -What! marry off his granddaughter and heiress to his -nephew in such a semi-clandestine manner, as if he were -half-ashamed of the proceeding? What, disappoint all the -young people in the neighborhood, who had every right -to expect a festival on the marriage of Miss Lyon, of Old -Lyon Hall? Not while <em>he</em> was head of the family! Anna -should be married at home. And there should be such a -celebration of the nuptials as the lads and lasses around -the hall should remember to the latest day of their lives.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna urged that in the middle of May the weather -would be too warm for a ball.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon agreed that it would; but added that the -weather would be delightful for a festival in the open air -on the beautiful grounds of the manor; it would be -neither too warm nor too cold, but exactly right for dancing -on the lawn. The marriage ceremony he said should -be performed in the great drawing-room, the wedding -breakfast should be laid in the long dining-room; but -the music and dancing should be enjoyed in the open air.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna laughingly appealed to Dick and to Drusilla to -take her part against this decision of the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla and Dick declined to interfere and remained -conscientiously neutral.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So the will of the General carried the day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>This obstinacy of the old gentleman made it necessary -that a great deal of business should be done, and done at -once, as the time was so short to the wedding-day. Wedding -cards must be printed and circulated. A new trousseau -must be prepared. A sumptuous breakfast must be -devised. Certain deeds must be executed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In furtherance of these works, Dick first went up to -Richmond to deal with lawyers and engravers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And soon after his departure General Lyon and Anna -went to Washington to negotiate with milliners and pastry -cooks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla and her attendants remained in charge of -Old Lyon Hall. She had been affectionately invited to -accompany Anna and the General, but, though her baby -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>was now nearly six months old, she declined either to leave -him at home or to take him on so long and rough a journey. -She thought that her boy and herself were both better in -the country. The General agreed with her, and so she -was left in charge of the premises.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But though she sadly missed her friendly Anna, and -fatherly old General, and gay Dick, yet her life when left -at Old Lyon Hall was very different from what it had -been when she was alone at Cedarwood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here in the old hall she was no longer lonesome and -dreary. She had a plenty of company and of interesting -employment. She had her darling boy and her attentive -servants; and she had visitors from the neighborhood -almost every day; for young Mrs. Alexander Lyon was -growing in favor with the whole neighborhood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here she was not obliged to live a secret life. She would -drive out in her carriage, with her baby and nurse, whenever -she pleased. She could ride out on horseback attended -by her young groom Leo, whenever she liked. She -could return the calls of her country neighbors; she could -accept their invitations to dinner or to tea, and she could -receive and entertain them at home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here she enjoyed the largest liberty. General Lyon and -Anna had both assured her that she would only make -them happier by behaving in all respects as a daughter -of the house, and using it as if it were her own. And -Drusilla, convinced of their perfect sincerity, took them -at their word.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her sweet heart and social spirit took pleasure in this -frequent intercourse with the country ladies and their -little children. She liked to have a whole family, mother, -children and nurses, to spend a long day with her at -home; and almost as well she liked to take her boy and -nurse and go and pass a whole day at the country house -of some friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was gratifying to her also, when her nearest neighbors, -the Seymours, came over and spent an evening with -her. There were but three persons in this family—old -Colonel and Mrs. Seymour, and their youngest daughter -Annie, or Nanny, as they called her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Old Colonel Seymour was a passionate lover of music, -and it was the one grievance of his life that his daughter -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>Nanny had no voice, and no ear, and never could learn to -sing or play on the piano. He could never understand it, -he said, how a girl born with the usual allowance of -senses, with a quick pair of ears, and a nimble tongue, -and who could hear as fast and talk much faster than -anybody he ever saw, should pretend that she did not -know one tune from another! She that was neither deaf, -nor dumb, nor an idiot! It was an incomprehensible fact, -but it was no less a great personal injury to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But his one great delight was to come over to Old Lyon -Hall in the evening, and hear Drusilla sing and play. -Now, we know that her greatest gift was music. She -sang with a passion and power equalled by no one in -private circles, and excelled by but few in professional -life. Honest Colonel Seymour had never in all his earthly -experience had the privilege of hearing a great public -singer. Therefore the performances of Drusilla affected, -I might even say, overwhelmed him or transported him, -with equal wonder and delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla exerted herself hour after hour, and evening -after evening, to please him, and took as much -pleasure herself in the intense appreciation of her one -single old adorer, as ever a great prima donna did in the applause -of a whole world.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the honest old gentleman’s head was fairly turned -with admiration and gratitude.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To think,” he said, as he walked home with his wife -and daughter, one moonlight night, after spending an -evening at Old Lyon Hall, “to think of having such a -voice as that in the neighborhood! to think of being able -to hear it several times a week, for the asking! Oh! it -ought, indeed it ought, to raise the price of real estate in -this locality! And it would do it, too, if people really -could feel what good music is!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Papa,” laughed the old wife, “you are an old gander. -And if you were not gray and bald, and very good, I -should be jealous.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, but mother, such strains! Oh, my Heavens, -such divine strains!” he exclaimed, catching his breath -in ecstasy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What will you do when your St. Cecilia leaves the -neighborhood?” inquired his daughter.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>“Leave the neighborhood! is she going to do that?” -gasped the music-maniac.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They are all going to Washington, next winter, she -says.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we’ll—go too. I say, mother, <em>one</em> season in -town, would not be amiss for Nanny; and so we can take -her there next winter; and then I may swim and soar in -celestial sounds every evening!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Papa, now you are too provoking, and <em>I</em> am jealous,” -said Nanny. “For my part, I don’t like music any more -than I do any other sort of racket. And I do think if -there is one nuisance worse than another, it is a singing -and playing lunatic, filling the whole room full of shrieks -and crashes, just as if a thousand housemaids were -smashing a million of dishes, and squalling together over -the catastrophe!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, child, child, what a misfortune for you to have -been born deaf, as to your divine ears!” answered the old -gentleman in tones of deep and sincere pity and regret.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m sure, papa, I often wish I had been born deaf as -to my bodily ears! I mean, when your divinity is shrieking -and thrashing, and raising such a hullabaloo that I -can’t hear myself speak!” said Nanny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! ‘<em>that</em> accounts for the milk in the cocoanut!’ -You can’t hear yourself speak, and you prefer the sound -of your own sweet voice to the music of the spheres!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If the music of the spheres is <em>that</em> sort of noise, I -certainly do, papa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Goodness, here we are at our own gate! And -now we will drop the subject of music for the rest of the -evening—Kitty, was the missing turkey-gobbler found?” -inquired Mrs. Seymour of the girl who came to open the -door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes’m.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And did the maids finish their task of carding?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes’m.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And did you keep the fire up in my room?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes’m.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is right. The evenings are real chilly and damp -for the time of year. Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the careful wife and mother led the way into the -house.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>Richard Hammond was the first of the absentees to return -to Old Lyon Hall. He came one afternoon, bringing -with him a large packet of handsomely engraved wedding -cards and a bundle of documents, all of which he placed -in Drusilla’s charge to be delivered to General Lyon on -the General’s arrival. Then he took leave of Drusilla, -and went over to Hammond House to wait there until -the return of his uncle and his betrothed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Two days afterwards, General Lyon and Anna came -home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was attended by a pair of dressmakers, and enriched -with no end of finery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon was followed by a French cook and his -apprentices.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Richard Hammond came over to meet them, and consult -over the latest improvements of the bridal programme.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now the business of preparation was accelerated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>First, the wedding cards were sent out far and near. -And the neighborhood, which was not prepared for the -surprise, was electrified.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Next the dressmakers, with every skilful needle-woman -among the housemaids to help them, were set to work on -the trousseau. Of the many dresses that had been made -up for Anna’s marriage, the last November, most had -never been worn and were now in their newest gloss; but -they were not trimmed in the newest fashion, nor were -they all suitable for summer wear; so those first dresses, -had to be altered and newly trimmed, and many new -dresses suitable for the season had to be made up. This -kept all the feminine hands in the house very busy for a -week.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla’s skill, and taste, and willingness to help made -her an invaluable assistant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Only a few days before the one set for the wedding was -the new trousseau finished and packed up, and the new -wedding dress and traveling dress completed and laid -out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now carpenters and upholsterers were brought -down from town, and the house and grounds were fitted -up and decorated for the happy occasion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The French cook and his assistants had the kitchen, -the pantry, the cellar, the plate-closet, and the long dining-room, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>to themselves, and were up to their linen caps in -business.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, it is a notable blessing that one cannot be -bothered with this sort of thing very often, as one is not -likely to be married more than half a dozen times in one’s -life,” said Anna, who was, or affected to be, very much -bored by all this bustle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I hope to Heaven, Anna, we may neither of us -ever be married but once! I trust in the Lord, Anna, -that we may live together to keep our golden wedding-day -half a century hence,” answered Dick, very devoutly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For honest Dick was what the Widow Bedot would -have called very much “solemnized” by the impending -crisis in his fate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Blessed is the bride that the sun shines on.” The -day of days came at last—the auspicious fifteenth of May—clear, -bright, warm, genial, with a light breeze playing -a lively tune, to which all the green leaves danced in glee. -All the flowers bloomed to decorate the scene—all the -birds turned out to sing their congratulations! Never -was seen such a rosery on the lawn; never was heard -such a concert in the groves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The brass band that arrived upon the scene as early as -ten o’clock in the morning, was quite a superfluity. Anna -sent out and ordered the men not to play until the birds -should be silent. So they sat under the shade of the -great oak trees, and had ale served out to them, in which -they drank the health of the bridegroom and the bride, -while they watched the train of carriages that were constantly -coming up, bringing guests to the wedding feast. -Such was the scene on the shaded, flowery lawn.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Even more festive was the scene within the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All the windows of the great drawing-room were thrown -open, letting in all the sunshine and the cool breeze of -this bright May day. The walls were hung with festoons -of fragrant flowers, and the large table in the centre was -loaded with the splendid wedding presents to the bride.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It would take up too much time to tell of all these -presents. You will find them fully described in the -“<cite>Valley Courier</cite>” of that date. They consisted of the -usual sort of offerings for these occasions—“sets” of diamonds, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>emeralds, rubies, pearls and other gems; “sets” -of silver plate; “sets” of fine lace, et cetera.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But we must not omit to mention Drusilla’s munificent -offering to the bride. It was also a “set,” a tea set of -pure gold, whose exquisite workmanship was even of -more value than its costly material.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The appearance of the long dining-room, with the table -laid for the wedding breakfast, should have immortalized -the French cook if he had not been immortalized before. Here, -also, all the windows were thrown open to the light -and air. It would never do, said “Monsieur le Chef,” for -people to be too warm while eating and drinking. Here, -however, were no natural flowers. Their powerful odors, -said “Monsieur,” affected too much the delicious aromas -of the viands. But the walls were decorated with artificial -flowers, with paintings and gildings, and with mirrors -that multiplied the splendors of the scene a thousandfold, -and opened imaginary vistas into unending suites of -splendid saloons on every side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The breakfast table reached nearly the whole length of -the long dining-room, and was multiplied by the mirrored -walls into innumerable other tables on every hand. It -was beautifully decorated and sumptuously loaded; every -variety of flesh, fish, and fowl that was in season, dressed -in the most delicate manner; every sort of rare and rich -fruit and vegetable; wonderful pastries, creams, and ices; -crystallized sweetmeats, cordials, wines, liquors, black -and green teas, and coffee, such as only a Frenchman can -make, were among the good things displayed to delight -the palates of the guests.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the second floor, the bed-chambers and dressing-rooms -wore a gay and festive aspect. There also the windows -were thrown open to the light and air, and shaded -only by the beautiful green trees and flowering vines -without. The beds and dressing-tables were freshly -covered with snow-white drapery; and on each toilet-table -were laid new ivory-handled brushes and combs, -silver flagons of rare perfumery, porcelain pots of pomade; -and about each room were every convenience, -comfort and luxury that a guest could possibly require,—all -provided by a thoughtful hospitality that was careful -and considerate in its minutest details.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>Early in the day these light, fragrant, and delightful -chambers were filled with bevies of fair girls, who were -giving the last effective touches to their own and to each -other’s gay festal dresses, and whose soft talk and silvery -laughter made music all around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They had need to hurry, too; for the hour fixed for -the ceremony was high noon, and they must all be ready -and in their places to see it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The bride’s chamber was the scene of the most interesting -passages. There sat the bride, surrounded by her -bride’s-maids, and lovingly attended by Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna’s dress was a rich white honiton lace robe over a -white silk skirt, made with a low bodice and short sleeves, -both edged with narrow lace. On her neck and arms she -wore a necklace and bracelets of diamonds; on her hair -the wreath of orange blossoms; over her head and shoulders -the deep bridal veil of lace to match her robe; on -her delicate hands kid gloves as white as snow and soft -as down. Her six bride’s-maids were all dressed in white -tulle, with wreaths of white moss-rose buds on their -hair, and veils of white tulle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On this auspicious day Drusilla, for the first time, entirely -laid aside her mourning. She looked beautiful and -blooming, in a dress of rose-colored moire-antique, made -with a low bodice and short sleeves, trimmed with point -lace. On her neck and arms she wore a necklace and -bracelets of pearls; on her young matronly brow a wreath -of half-open blush roses; on her bosom a bouquet of the -same flowers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For this day also her little Leonard was dressed in gala -robes, and sent out upon the lawn in the arms of his nurse -where he remained for the present, gazing with eyes -wide open with astonishment and delight on the wonderful -pageantry around him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The marriage hour struck at length.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The last loitering guests heard it, and hurried down-stairs -to the drawing-room which was already crowded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The bride and her maidens heard it, and began to -smooth out the folds of their dresses, or touch the edges -of their hair, and steal furtive glances at the mirrors to -see that all was right before leaving the chamber and -facing the hundreds of eyes in the drawing-room below.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>Punctually as the last stroke of twelve sounded, the -bridegroom and his attendants came to the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The procession was formed in the usual manner and -passed down-stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Two gentlemen friends who took upon themselves the -office of marshals, opened a way through the crowd for -the bridal cortège to enter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the rug stood the Rev. Dr. Barber, in his surplice, -just as he had stood some six months before; but all the -rest was changed now. That was a dark and stormy -November night. This was a bright and beautiful May day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The bridal party, with due decorum, took their places -before the officiating minister. There was no let or hindrance -now. The face of the blooming bride was as -clearly seen as that of the happy bridegroom. Both parties -responded clearly and distinctly to the questions of -the clergyman. General Lyon, with smiling lips, but -moist eyes, gave the bride away. And the ceremony -proceeded and ended amid the prayers and blessings of -the whole company.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Kisses and congratulations, tears and smiles followed -and took up twice as much time as the preceding solemnity -had.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, at length the company, headed by the two marshals, -marched off to the breakfast room. The ladies -were handed to the table, and the gentlemen waited in -duteous attendance behind them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the feast began.</p> - -<p class='c012'>These ladies did not care so much about the fish, flesh, -or fowl, delicately dressed as these edibles might be. So -they were left almost untouched, for the benefit of the -gentlemen who might come after. But the beautiful -pyramids of pound cake, the snowy alps of frosted cream, -the glittering glaciers of quivering jelly, the icebergs of -frozen custard, the temples of crystallized sweetmeats -and groves of sugared fruits were quickly demolished.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The bride’s cake was cut up and distributed; the piece -containing the prophetic ring falling to the lot of Nanny -Seymour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the right moment the first groomsman arose and -made a speech, which was heartily cheered, and proposed -the health of—</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>“The bride and bridegroom,” which was honored with -bumpers of “<span class='sc'>Cliquot</span>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then the bridegroom arose and returned thanks in -another speech, which was also cheered; and he proposed -the health of—</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our honored host and relative, the venerable General -Lyon,” which was drank by all standing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then the veteran got up and in a few earnest words -expressed his appreciation of the compliment and his -esteem for his guests, and then he gave somebody else’s -health.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Colonel Seymour arose and proposed the health of—</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our beautiful young friend, Mrs. Alexander Lyon.” -And it was honored with enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, some unlucky idiot had the mishap to rise and -name—</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Mr.</em> Alexander Lyon,” tearfully adding—“‘Though -lost to sight, to memory dear.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And a panic fell upon all that part of the company who -knew or suspected the state of the case with that interesting -absentee.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But old General Lyon quickly dispelled the panic. -Would that true gentleman suffer Drusilla’s feelings to -be wounded? No, indeed. He was the very first to fill -his glass and rise to his feet. His example was followed -by all present. And unworthy Alick’s health was drank -with the rest. And while the brave old man honored the -toast with his lips, he prayed in his heart for the prodigal’s -reformation and return.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And oh! how Drusilla understood and loved and -thanked him!</p> - -<p class='c012'>Other speeches were made and other toasts drank.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then tea and coffee were handed around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And one set of feasters gave way to another, like the -flies in the fable of old.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The rising set immediately went out upon the lawn, -where the brass band was in full play on their stand, and -where quadrilles were performed upon the greensward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The feasting in the house and the music and dancing -on the lawn was kept up the whole of that bright May -day, even to the going down of the sun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Never before had the youth of the neighborhood had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>such a surfeit of frolicking. They voted that a marriage -in May weather, and by daylight, with unlimited dance -music, greensward, sunshine and sweetmeats, was the -most delightful thing in the world.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the very height of the festivities, at about four o’clock -in the afternoon, the bride, attended by Drusilla, slipped -quietly away to her own chamber and changed her bridal -robes and veil, for a traveling habit of silver gray Irish -poplin, and a bonnet of gray drawn silk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The traveling carriage had been quietly drawn up to -the door where Richard Hammond waited to take away -his bride, and General Lyon stood to bid farewell to his -child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Anna was ready to go down, she turned and -threw her arms around Drusilla’s neck and burst into -tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Drusa!” she sobbed, “be good to my dear grandfather. -Oh! love him, Drusa, for my sake! I was all he -had left, and it must be so hard to give me up! Oh, -Drusa, love him and pet him. He is old and almost childless. -When I am gone, put little Leonard in his arms; -it will comfort him; and stay with him as much as you -can. It is so sad to be left alone in old age. But I know, -my dear, you will do all you can to console him without -my asking you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed I will, dear Anna,” said Drusilla, through her -falling tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will not be gone long. I shall be back in three -weeks at farthest. I do not like to leave him at his age. -He is past seventy. His time may be short on earth. -How can I tell? That was the reason why I would not -go to Europe for my wedding tour. But oh, Drusilla, I -did not know how much I loved my dear grandfather -until this day. And to think that in the course of nature -I <em>must</em> lose him some day, and may lose him soon,” said -Anna, weeping afresh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling Anna, your grandfather is a very strong -and hale old man; his habits are regular and temperate, -and his life quiet and wholesome. He is likely to live -twenty or thirty years longer,” answered Drusilla, -cheerily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heaven grant it,” fervently breathed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>And then she turned and went down-stairs, followed -by Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-by, my darling. I will kiss you here. I must save -the last one for my dear grandfather,” said Anna, embracing -her friend at the foot of the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-by, and Heaven bless you!” responded Drusilla, -heartily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna went forward to General Lyon, who took her in -his arms, and smiling, kissed and blessed her. And his -last words, as he gave her into the charge of her husband, -were cheerful:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will have a delightful run by moonlight up the -bay, my dear,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, striving to keep back her tears, let Dick lead -her to the carriage, and place her in it. He immediately -followed, and seated himself by her side. Old Jacob -cracked his whip, and the horses started.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So quickly and quietly had this little scene passed, that -the carriage was bowling along the avenue before the -company on the lawn suspected what was being done.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, eager whispers of:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The bride is going! the bride is going!” ran through -the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And quadrilles were suddenly broken up, and dancers -came flocking to the door, knowing that they were too -late to bid her good-by, yet still exclaiming to each other:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The bride is going! the bride is going!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The bride is <em>gone</em>, my dear young friends,” said General -Lyon, kindly, “but she leaves me to make her adieus, -and to pray you not to let her departure interrupt your -enjoyment. The bride and bridegroom have to meet the -Washington steamer that passes the Stormy Petrel landing -at about nine o’clock. Now, ‘on with the dance!’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the young folks immediately took the old gentleman -at his word, and the music struck up, and the dancing -recommenced.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so Anna and Dick departed for Washington city -on their way to New York.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Much discussion had been held on the subject of that -marriage tour. Many suggestions had been made. Europe -had been mentioned. But Anna had scouted <em>that</em> -idea.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>“None but a lunatic,” she had said, “would ever -think of taking a sea voyage, and risking sea-sickness in -the honeymoon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And for her part she positively declined putting Dick’s -love to so severe a test in the earliest days of their married -life.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Such had been Anna’s outspoken objection to the trip -to Europe. But her secret objection was that it would -take her too far and keep her too long from her beloved -and venerable grandfather. So at last it had been settled -to the satisfaction of all parties that they should make a -tour of the Northern cities. And now they had gone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the wedding guests remained. The music and the -dancing were kept up without flagging until the sun set, -and the darkness and dampness of the night had come on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then the two self-appointed “marshals of the day” took -upon themselves to pay and discharge the brass band.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The company soon followed the musicians, and old Lyon -Hall was once more left to peace and quietness.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER X.<br> <span class='large'>GENERAL LYON’S CONSOLATION.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In this dim world of clouding cares</div> - <div class='line in2'>We rarely know till wildered eyes</div> - <div class='line in2'>See white wings lessening up the skies</div> - <div class='line'>The angels with us unawares!—<span class='sc'>Massett.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>After the last guests were gone, the house was very -quiet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon went up to his study.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla lingered a little while below to give orders to -the servants.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Close up all the rooms on this floor now. Disturb -nothing until morning. I wish everything to be kept -very still so that the General may rest and recover from -the fatigue of this exciting day. Marcy, have the tea -served in my sitting room. Leo, do you be up early in -the morning and see that the breakfast parlor—the little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>one—is made very tidy before we come down. The other -rooms had best be left closed until the General goes for -his daily ride. Then they can be restored to order.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having thus given her directions to ensure the comfort -of the old gentleman, Drusilla went up into the nursery -where her little Leonard was laughing, crowing and -screaming in his nurse’s arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do think as he’s beside himself, ma’am,” said Pina. -“He’ll never get over this wedding as long as he lives. -When I had him out on the lawn there, and the band was -playing and the ladies and gentlemen were dancing, he -jumped so as I could hardly keep him from leaping out -of my arms.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He did enjoy it as much as any of us, didn’t he, Pina?” -said the young mother, standing and smiling over the -nurse and child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, didn’t he though, ma’am? Look at him now; -it’s in him yet! And such a time I had bringing him in -the house. He did not want to come in at all, even after -the music went away. He didn’t cry, ma’am, but he -made such signs, and then he fought. Yes, indeed he -did, ma’am, he fought me in the face because I brought -him in.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, Pina, I can hardly believe it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, you may, ma’am! Oh, he’s got a will of his own, -I do tell you! I couldn’t make my peace with him until -I had lighted all the wax candles in the place! See what -an illumination there is, ma’am! Enough to blind any -body but a boy baby. And such work to get him undressed. -He wouldn’t have his finery off forever so -long. He wanted to dance in it. And then, after I had -loosened it and got it off little by little with sheer conjuration, -would you believe it, ma’am? he wanted to -dance in his sacred skin, like a North-American Indian! -I have got his night-gown on at last; though <em>how</em> I ever -got it on with his prancing and dancing, goodness knows. -But, as for his little red shoes, I’ll defy mortial man or -woman to get <em>them</em> off his feet except by main force! -When I try to do it he kicks so fast you would think -there were nineteen pair of feet in nineteen pair of boots -instead of one!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny will let his mammy take off his boots,” said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>Drusilla, kneeling by the baby’s feet and making an -essay.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny would let his mamma do a great many things -to him, but he would by no means let her remove his red -shoes. His little legs flew so fast in resistance that you -could not have told one from the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He means never to part with them, ma’am,” laughed -Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We can take them off when he goes to sleep,” smiled -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But there’s no sleep in his eyes, ma’am, nor won’t be -for hours! He’ll keep awake to watch his boots and to -dance! Goodness gracious me! My arms are almost -pulled out of their sockets holding him while he dances.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will take him presently, Pina, as soon as I change -my dress,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she went and took off her wreath of roses, her -necklace and bracelets of pearl, and her rich moire antique -dress; and put on a neat white muslin wrapper, -whose pure color and perfect fit became her well.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then she took her dancing babe; but not to put him -to sleep just yet. Little Master Leonard had a duty to -do before he could be put to bed. She carried him into -the next room, which was her own pretty private parlor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The room was very inviting. A small, cheerful wood -fire, very acceptable this chilly May evening, was blazing -on the hearth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The tea-table with its snowy, damask cloth, its silver -service and clear China, was standing before the fireplace.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A large easy chair, with a foot cushion was drawn up -on the right side; and Drusilla’s own little sewing chair -was on the left.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Marcy was in attendance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is all quite right. Now do you wait here until -I bring the General in, and then you can serve tea,” said -Drusilla, as with her baby in her arms she passed out -into the hall and on towards General Lyon’s study.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She opened the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The little room was dark and chill, but the lights from -the hall shone in, and revealed to her the form of the old -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>man, seated at the writing table, with his arms folded on -it, and his head bowed down upon them. It was an attitude -of depression, of sleep or of death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of death! a dread pang seized her heart, and held her -spell-bound in the doorway as she gazed on him. He -had not heard her approach. He was not disturbed by -the inflow of light. He remained, indeed, as still as death!</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was afraid to stir, almost to breathe! She had -heard of old men dying just so! Oh, had not his own -brother, his <em>youngest</em> brother, died that way not three -years since?—died sitting in his chair by his Christmas -fire, surrounded by his whole family and friends? died -with nothing on earth to provoke death? died from no -excitement, no grief, no disease apparently?</p> - -<p class='c012'>And here was the elder brother, a man of like constitution, -who had been severely tried this day by the parting -from his beloved and only surviving child, and now had -come away to this chill, dark room, and had sat in solitude -for an hour or more!</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla’s conscience smote her terribly for what she -called the false and fatal delicacy that had prevented her -from following him immediately to his retreat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Oh! if he should be dead, dead alone in this bleak -room, she would never forgive herself, though she had -done all for the best.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All these thoughts and feelings flashed like lightning -through her brain and heart in the moment that she -stood panic-stricken in the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then full of awe, scarcely breathing, she crept near -him, laid her hand upon his shoulder, and murmured -softly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling,” responded the old man, looking up with -a smile.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Heaven!” fervently aspirated Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is the matter, my darling? What troubles -you?” gently questioned the old gentleman, perceiving -her alarm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I—I found you sitting here in the cold and dark, and -I feared that something ailed you. Nothing does?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing, my child, except a little natural but unwise -regret. Certainly, she had to marry. It is a woman’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>destiny. And it is so well that in marrying she will not -have to leave me. Still, still I feel it, darling. She was -all I had left in the world.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She will be back in three weeks, dear uncle; back so -soon that we shall scarcely have time to get the house set -in order again for her reception. And now will you look -at little Lenny? He has come to bid you good-night, and -to ask you to come and take tea with his mamma,” said -Drusilla, seating the boy on the old man’s knee.</p> - -<p class='c012'>By no manner of baby-babble could little Leonard possibly -bid his godfather good-night, or invite him to tea; -but he <em>would</em> put his little arms around the veteran’s -neck, and press his lips to the veteran’s mouth, and -laugh, and own his love and joy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! may heaven forgive me for being so forgetful, so -ungrateful as to say that I had no one but my Anna left -me in the world, when I have little Lenny and his dear -mother,” said the old man, pressing the child to his -bosom, and drawing Drusilla to his side. “But oh! my -dear, you know how it is—how it always has been, and -always will be with poor human nature in all such cases. -The shepherd of the Scripture parable. He thought not -of his ninety and nine sheep, safe in the fold, but he -mourned for the one lost.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Anna is not lost to you, dear uncle. She is only -lost to sight, and that only for a little while. Think, -dear uncle, in the marriage of Anna and Dick you have -not lost a daughter, but gained a son.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is true, my dear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Think how devoted they are to you. They are as -loyal to you as subjects to a sovereign.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know—I know.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They will never leave you unless you send them -away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know; I see what a morbid old fellow I have been.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, not so, I think. Surely it is very natural -that you should have such feelings; but it is also very -desirable that you should rally from them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I will, my dear, I will.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Leonard, fatigued by his former exertions, and -perhaps also a little awed by the solemnity of the discourse, -had remained still for at least three minutes. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>But now he recommenced to prance and dance and express -his impatience in every possible way that a baby of -six months old could.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are almost too much for my stiff old arms, little -fellow!” smiled the General, as he supported the leaping -baby.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, let us go to my room and have some tea,” said -Drusilla, rising and leading the way, followed by the old -man with the child over his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is snug, this is cozy, this is really very comfortable -indeed,” said the General, as he followed Drusilla into -the pretty, cheerful sitting-room and saw the bright fire -and the neat tea-table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, this is pleasant after our day of excitement. -Now kiss little Leonard good-night and let him go to -sleep,” said Drusilla, as she rang her little silver hand-bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina came in to take little Leonard, who leaped to meet -her arms, for he was very fond of her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon pressed the babe to his bosom and kissed -him fondly, and then handed him over to his nurse, who -bore him off to the nursery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Marcy came in with the tea urn.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla made tea for the old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The sound of Pina’s rocking-chair and cradle-song came -soothingly to their ears, as to the child’s for which they -were intended.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is very sweet and peaceful, dear, and I thank -you for it all,” said the General, softly smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, but, dear uncle, it is all your own; and it is I -who should thank you for the happiness of sharing it,” -quietly replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no,” said the General, shaking his head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, yes, yes,” laughed the little lady.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They lingered long over that quiet, pleasant tea; and -then, after she had rang for a servant, and had the table -cleared, she went to the piano and sang and played to the -old gentleman for an hour or more.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She sang all her favorite comic songs, but carefully -eschewed the sentimental ones; for she wished to raise his -spirits and not to melt his heart. Towards the last of her -singing he came and stood behind her; and although he -did not know enough of the notes to turn the pages for her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>at the proper moment, he stood and beat time to the music -and sometimes joined in the chorus.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At last, when she thought he had had enough of it, she -arose and closed the piano.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, after an interval of a few minutes, she took her -Bible and laid it on the table before him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He bowed his head, opened it and read a chapter aloud. -And then they two joined in offering up their evening -worship.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my darling,” said General Lyon, as he arose to -bid her good-night, “I have to thank you for much comfort. -This first evening that I dreaded so much has -passed off very pleasantly. God bless you, my child.” And -so he withdrew from the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla sat on for a little while gazing dreamily into -the fire, and then she also retired to rest, drawing her sleeping -infant to her bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Very early the next morning Drusilla arose, dressed and -went down-stairs to make sure that one room at least of -all that had been thrown into confusion by the wedding -should now be in order for the General’s breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She found that Leo had followed her directions, and -the small breakfast parlor, that occupied an angle of the -house and had windows opening to the east and south, -was prepared for the morning meal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the doors of all the disordered rooms were closed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She went out and gathered a bouquet of early spring -flowers and put them in a vase and placed them on the -breakfast table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she plucked a few young buds of mint and -made an exquisite julep, and sent it up by Leo to her -uncle’s room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Jacob, who had been sent at sunrise to the post-office, -now returned. And Drusilla opened the mail-bag, which -was found to contain nothing but newspapers, which she -folded and laid by the side of her uncle’s plate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she sat down to await his coming.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He came at last, smiling on her as he entered, and took -his seat at the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are the angel of the house, my child,” he said—“the -angel of the house! What should I do now but -for you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>“Dear uncle, what should <em>I</em> do without <em>you</em>? What -should I have done that dreadful night but for your sustaining -arm? All my puny efforts to serve you can never -cancel that debt. I shall never forget that night,” earnestly -answered Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall never forget that night, Drusilla, for it was -then I received—‘an angel unawares.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She could not reply to these words, but blushed so intensely -that the old man forbore farther praise, and merely -saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it does not become you and me to compliment one -another, my darling,” he took up his newspaper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Upon the whole, this was a very cheerful breakfast. -When it was over, the old gentleman ordered his horse, -and went for his daily ride.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla took advantage of his absence to set all the servants -briskly to work to open the closed rooms, and clear -away the debris of yesterday’s great festival, so that by -the time he should return the whole house should be restored -to order.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The abundant remains of the feast were distributed to -the poor around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Moreover, she sent a note to the Seymours, asking them -to come and spend the evening. And the messenger that -carried it brought back their acceptance of the invitation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and her uncle dined tête-à-tête.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the evening the Seymours came according to agreement; -and Drusilla gave them music. They stayed till -ten o’clock, and then took leave.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No wonder that old comrade of mine should go mad -over your music, my darling. I am not a music-maniac -myself, generally, but I am always profoundly affected by -yours,” said the General, when they were gone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again Drusilla blushed deeply under the praise, but -then recovering herself with a light laugh, she answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, you see, uncle, I think this is the way of it. -You and the Colonel inspire me. Such appreciating -hearers as yourself and your friend must necessarily inspire -even the very poorest performer to do her very best.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tut, tut, tut, my child; you know better! But, there, -I will say no more on that subject! Good night, my darling,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>And so closed the first dreaded day of Anna’s absence. -And all the succeeding days were quite as pleasant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla would not let her old friend be lonesome. -She planned visits for him and herself to his favorite -houses; and she invited his favorite friends to dinner or -to tea. She often accompanied the old man on his morning -rides, her gentle white mare ambling by the side of -his steady old horse. She often invited him to take a -seat in the open carriage when she went out in the afternoon -to give her little boy an airing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she played and sang indefatigably to please Colonel -Seymour, so that he might come over every evening, -“rain or shine,” to keep her uncle company.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna’s and Dick’s letters came two or three in a week. -They were not very long, for they were written <i><span lang="fr">en route</span></i>; -but they were interesting and affectionate. They were -filled with graphic sketches of their journey, and with -warm expressions of tenderness for the “dear ones at -home,” and messages of kind regard to good friends around. -The bride and groom were moving rapidly from point to -point along the Canadian frontier, so that in answering -them the General and his niece had to direct their letters -a few stages in advance of the travelers. As, for instance, -the answer of a letter post-marked Lewisburg, would be -directed to Montreal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus, through one happy divertisement or another, but -chiefly through Drusilla’s affectionate solicitude the “days -of absence” slipped imperceptibly away; they had now -brought the close of the last week of the honeymoon. The -travelers were expected home on Saturday evening, and -the house was in perfect order and beauty to receive the -wedded pair.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XI.<br> <span class='large'>A JOYOUS MEETING IN JUNE.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in10'>June with its roses, June</div> - <div class='line'>The gladdest month in the capricious year,</div> - <div class='line'>With its thick foliage and its sunlight clear,</div> - <div class='line in10'>And with a drowsy tune,</div> - <div class='line'>Of the bright, leaping waters as they pass</div> - <div class='line'>Laughingly on amid the springing grass.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Anna and Dick returned rather sooner than they were -expected; but not sooner than Old Lyon Hall was ready, -and its inmates anxious to receive them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On Saturday morning, while General Lyon, Drusilla and -little Leonard with his nurse, were all out on the lawn enjoying -the splendor of the early June day, before breakfast, -the wagon from the Foaming Tankard was seen approaching -the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What can that mean?” inquired the old gentleman, -looking at it, as it rumbled on towards the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Perhaps Anna and Dick to disencumber themselves, -have sent the luggage on in advance,” suggested Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, as they are to come down by to-day’s boat that -would scarcely be worth while,” reflected the old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While they were discussing the question, the wagon, -instead of going round to the servants’ entrance as it -would have done had it contained only luggage, rattled -up to the front of the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the instant it stopped, Anna jumped out, and ran -to her grandfather, who caught her in his arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling daughter,—my darling, darling daughter, -I am so delighted to see you,” he exclaimed over and over -again, as he pressed her to his heart, while she answered -him only with smiles and kisses, and both forgot that -anybody else was waiting to be noticed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile, Dick was shaking hands with Drusilla, and -chirping to little Leonard, and pulling rattles and whistles -and dancing jacks out of his pocket, and in his eagerness -doing everything at the same time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let me look in your face, dear child,” said the old man, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>taking the bride’s head between his hands, and gazing -wistfully into her tearful but laughing eyes; “are you -happy, my Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, dear grandpa,” said Anna, earnestly, as her eyes -overflowed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite happy?” anxiously persisted the veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well—no,” answered Anna, laughing, and making a -face, “perfect bliss is not the boon of mortals, I believe. -And, to tell the truth, I have a <em>corn</em> that troubles me, to -say nothing of the slightest possible twing of neuralgia -caught on the boat last night—moon-gazing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you came on the night boat?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; our first plan was to stop in the city last night, -but we remembered our pleasant trip on the water by -moonlight when we left here four weeks ago, and as the -moon was full, we thought we would come down again -by moonlight, and then, too, we thought it would be so -much pleasanter to reach home this morning, in time to -breakfast with you, and have the whole day before us for -reunion, than to get here late to-night, too tired to walk -or do anything else but get supper and go to bed. Don’t -you agree with me that it was best to come home now,—just -now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling, that I do,” answered the General, -heartily; “but I am sorry you have got neuralgia.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna looked at him, quizzically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am not quite sure that I have got it, or ever had it; -but I am quite certain about the corn. Now, ain’t you -going to speak to Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick! Certainly; how do you do, my dear boy? A -hundred welcomes home!” exclaimed the General, releasing -Anna from his embrace, and turning to greet the “unlucky -dog.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick was then in the act of tossing his godson high in -his arms, until he made him laugh and crow aloud, and -then looking him solemnly in the face, and saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am your godfather, sir. Treat me with more respect, -and don’t be taking me for your equals!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now he turned his bright face, and held out his eager -hand to receive his uncle’s clasp, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very glad to get home, sir, and gladder still to -see you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>Anna had gone to embrace Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How happy I am to see you again!” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I you,” answered Drusa, smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How well you are looking, dear!” exclaimed each to -the other, speaking simultaneously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, Dick, give me little Leonard; I want to look -at him! Remember, sir, if you <em>are</em> his godfather, I am -his godmother, and have my rights. Don’t be trying to -exercise man’s usurped prerogative by ‘claiming the -child,’” said Anna, holding out her hands for the boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall never attempt to assert man’s prerogative -against woman’s rights,” laughed Dick placing the child -in her arms, and then going to pay and dismiss the wagon -which was now unloaded of all the luggage it had brought, -and was ready to go.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless my soul! Anna, my dear, how came you to -return by such a very rude and primitive conveyance as -that?” inquired the General, as the great old wagon rattled -and rumbled past on its way back.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Couldn’t get any other, dear grandpa! The ‘Foaming -Tankard’ don’t boast a carriage of any description -except this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If I had only known, I could have sent the coach to -meet you. I should have sent it anyway this afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you wouldn’t have had me to wait till the afternoon -for it, dear grandpa?” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, no, no! by no means! Only, if I had but -known, I could have so easily sent it. Such a conveyance -for a lady to come in!” exclaimed the old gentleman, as -he gazed after the retreating wagon that rather jumped -and bounced along than rolled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was delightful! It was better than a hard trotting-horse! -I liked to be tossed as much as Master Leonard -himself does! It has given me such a shaking up and -such an appetite for breakfast as I never had before! I -am famished, grandpa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, exactly! exactly! so you must be! Drusa! Drusa, -my dear!” exclaimed the old gentleman, looking around -for his young volunteer housekeeper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla had already vanished within to give her -orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, dear grandpa, I will go to my room to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>change my dress. I presume it is ready for me, and I -know where to find it. Dick, see that the luggage is sent -up,” said Anna, turning to go into the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But she was met at the door by all the household servants, -who had learned her arrival from Drusilla and had -come out to welcome her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Hands were shaken and good-wishes heartily offered -and warmly received, and then Anna passed on to her -apartment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In less than half an hour she hurried down-stairs, looking -fresh and blooming in her white muslin dress with -blue ribbons.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The family were waiting for her in the breakfast room, -and as soon as she entered she was greeted again and -seated in the pleasantest seat at the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All the windows were open, and all the brightness, -beauty, fragrance, and music of June filled the place. -The morning sunshine played upon every polished point; -the fresh breeze danced with every fold of drapery; the -aroma of the clove pink, the cape jessamine, the tea rose, -the clematis, and the heliotrope perfumed the air. Humming-birds -flitted about like winged flowers. And the -song of the thrush in the sweet-briar bush was echoed by -the mocking-bird from the acacia tree!</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a beautiful morning! And what a beautiful -scene! In all our travels, grandpa, we did not see so -sweet an old home as this!” said Anna enthusiastically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad you think so, my dear; but great allowance -must be made for your natural attachment to your birthplace,” -smiled the General, as he sipped his coffee.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, Drusilla, what do you say?” inquired Anna, -appealing to her friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have not seen very much of the world to compare -this with other places; but still, I think you are right, -Anna. It is a ‘sweet old home.’ It is perfectly beautiful, -and besides it seems to me that every one who was -ever born here, or ever lived and died here, must have -been very good and loving, that their spirits still pervade -the place, and make it holy,” said Drusilla, warmly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, you will make me so much in love with my -home that I shall not like to grow old and die and leave -it,” said the General, smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>“Dear uncle, please to believe that there is not the -slightest necessity for you to grow old, much less to die -before your century is completed. And if you do so I -shall think that you will be treating your loving children -very badly,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I <em>do</em>. I think the deaths of most people who die, -come of their indifference to the power that the Lord has -given them of living on. Now, I think that you have the -power to live on in the full possession of all your faculties -to the age of one hundred years at the very least, and -how much longer I don’t know. And I shall take it very -hard of you, if you don’t do it, uncle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hem; I shall try to oblige you my dear,” said the -General, dryly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope you will! for you know I expect you to live to -see your namesake, Leonard Lyon, junior, a bishop, a -judge or a general, (whichever he shall please to be, for -it will depend upon his choice of a profession,) or even -President of the United States. The highest position is -open to competition and you cannot tell what he may be -yet; you must live to see.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you intend to live your century out, Drusilla?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If it please Providence, yes; for I shall try to preserve -the gift of life he has given me. And when I shall be a -hundred years old, my little Leonard will be eighty-four, -and a wigged chief-justice, or a mitred archbishop or -something equally exalted. And I should not wonder if -you should be alive and merry then.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, tut, tut, tut! you are laughing at me, little -Drusa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heaven forbid! People enough have lived to be a -hundred and forty. Henry Jenkins lived to be a hundred -and sixty-nine, and even then he did not die from old -age, or from disease, but from sheer imprudence, I might -say accident, such as would have killed any man at any -age.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear niece, that case was a highly exceptional -one.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, and why shouldn’t you make your own case a -highly exceptional one?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, you are extravagant.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>“Well, maybe I am, in talking about a hundred and -sixty-nine years; but I do positively insist upon your -living a full century. That is only fair.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling, our prayers should be not so much for a -<em>long</em> life as for a <em>good</em> life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I stand corrected,” said Drusilla, reverently; “but for -all that I insist upon the century; for I think it was the -Lord’s design that man should live so long.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let me live so long as my life can be of use to others -and no longer,” said the veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your life is of use to others as long as it gives happiness -to others, and therefore I insist upon the century,” -persisted Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dear, I have no particular objection,” laughed -the General, as they all arose from the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then came the healthful walk around the grounds, the -General with his darling granddaughter hanging on his -arm, and Dick and Drusilla, and the nurse with the baby, -sauntering along promiscuously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>During this walk Anna gave her grandfather a very -sprightly and entertaining description of her journey; and -in return he told her how he and Drusilla had passed their -time at home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick amused Drusilla with spirited sketches of travel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the windings of their walk brought them around -home again, Dick proposed a drive through the forest to -Hammond House to see the progress of the works there -that must, he thought, be now near their completion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And as all assented to the proposition, the General -ordered the large six-seated family carriage; and the -whole party, including little Leonard and his nurse, -started for a long drive through the summer woods to -Hammond House.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was but twelve o’clock noon when they reached the -house—an old mansion standing upon a high headland at -the junction of Wild River with the Upper Potomac.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The woods grew up to the very garden wall and clustered -thick about it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were mountain brooks in the neighborhood, running -down to the Wild River and swelling its stream -before it fell into the Potomac.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The trout fisheries there were considered very fine in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>their season. And it was a part of the family programme -for coming years to spend the fishing season at Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was now the beginning of the trout fishing season, -and so the General and Dick, having seen Drusilla and -Anna safely in the house, procured fishing tackle from -Byles, the overseer, and went down to one of the bright, -gravelly-bedded streams to fish.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna and Drusilla, with the babe and nurse, were -taken by Mrs. Byles to a clean and airy bedroom, where -they laid off their bonnets and sat down to rest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The house was not yet in order; nor could it be said to -be in disorder—the papering, painting, glazing and gilding -were all completed; but the handsome new furniture -remained in its packing cases, and encumbered halls and -passages.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Overseer Byles and his wife occupied rooms in a wing -of the building during the progress of the repairs; but -they were to move to a neighboring cottage as soon as -the house should be ready to receive the family.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our party spent a very pleasant day at Hammond -House.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and Anna, with the baby and the nurse, wandered -about the grounds and along the banks of the -river until they were tired, and then they sat down under -the trees to rest and to talk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>About two o’clock General Lyon and Dick returned -from the trout stream well laden with spoil.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They gave the fish to Mrs. Byles, with a request that -she would have them dressed for their dinner, and have -the table set out in the open air between three broad -oak trees where the shade was thickest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At four o’clock they were called to dinner—a sylvan -repast served <i><span lang="es">al fresco</span></i>.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were trout, roast lamb with mint sauce, and -green peas, potatoes and lettuce, and for dessert cherries, -strawberries and ice-cream. That was all.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if I had known in time that you were coming, -ladies and gentlemen, I would have got up something -more acceptable,” said the housekeeper, apologetically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I defy you to have done that, Mrs. Byles. Your -dinner is excellent,” replied the General. And all the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>other members of the party agreed with him, and proved -their sincerity upon the edibles set before them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Immediately after dinner they were served with excellent -coffee and tea.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then the General ordered the carriage for their return -home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After another pleasant ride through the forest, they -reached Old Lyon Hall at sunset.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have had a delightful day at your other house, -Dick,” said the General, heartily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Our</em> other home, sir, if you please; for if Anna and -myself are to be at home at Old Lyon Hall during one -period of the year, you and Drusilla must be at home at -Hammond House during another part,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And when you wish to spend a winter in Washington -you must all be at home with me at Cedarwood,” -added Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Agreed! agreed!” said General Lyon, Anna and Dick -in a breath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After tea that evening they were pleasantly surprised -by a visit from the Seymours.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It seems the old gentleman had got news of Anna’s -arrival and had come over with his wife and daughter, -ostensibly to welcome home the bride and bridegroom; -but really too glad of a good excuse to hear Drusilla sing -and play.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They spent a long evening; and Drusilla gratified her -old admirer with some very choice music, in which she -was ably assisted by Anna and Dick—Anna singing -second and Dick bass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Early in the next week Mr. and Mrs. Hammond issued -cards for a reception on the following Monday. And -when the appointed day came they received their “dear -five hundred friends” and had a crowded house with the -coming and going of visitors from ten in the morning -until four in the afternoon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this reception was the signal for a round of entertainments -given to the newly married pair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The first of a series was a ball at Colonel Seymour’s, -which was duly honored by all the family from Old Lyon -Hall, including Drusilla, of course.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>Then there was an evening party with music, but not -dancing, at the Reverend Dr. Barber’s.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Even the struggling medical practitioner at Saulsburg -gave a tea-drinking.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And these neighborhood festivities in honor of the bride -were kept up in good old-fashioned country style for a -month or six weeks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the first of July, Hammond House being quite -ready for occupation, the whole family from Old Lyon -Hall went there to spend a few weeks, that the General -might indulge in his favorite pastime of trout-fishing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here they remained until the first of September, when -the near neighborhood of fresh water streams being considered -unwholesome, they returned to Old Lyon Hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now,” said Drusilla, when they were once more -settled, “now it is my turn. Our next migration must be -to Cedarwood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you so anxious to leave the sweet old home?” -inquired General Lyon, a little reproachfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no indeed. Only when we do go, we must go to -Cedarwood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Agreed,” said the General, “we will go there next -winter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so the matter was settled; for though all his -young people were grown up and married, yet the word -of the veteran soldier was law in the family circle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>During all this time Drusilla had not heard from Alexander -or even expected to hear from him. She did not -grieve after him. In the “sweet old home,” in the love -of her dear friends and in the caresses of her darling boy, -she was almost as happy as it is given a mortal to be. -But though she did not mourn over his absence, neither -did she lose her interest in his welfare. She took the -principal London and Paris papers upon the bare possibility -of gaining intelligence of his movements.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Once she found his name in the list of visitors presented -to the Queen at one of her Majesty’s drawing-rooms published -in the “Court Journal.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>On another occasion she saw him announced as one of -the speakers at a public meeting at Exeter Hall, noticed -in the “Morning Chronicle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again he was named as the owner of the winning horse -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>at certain world-renowned races, reported in “Bell’s -Life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>That was all she knew about him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Every week Drusilla received mis-spelled letters from -her steward or housekeeper at Cedarwood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mammy,” chiefly discoursed of cows and calves, hens -and chickens, and ducks and geese.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mammy’s “old man” treated of the condition of the -“craps,” the health of the “hosses,” oxen, sheep, pigs, -and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla having been a pupil of that famous agriculturist, -the late Mrs. Judge Lyon, was well able to give -instructions to her farm-managers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus, busily and happily passed the days of the little -lady, until events occurred again to change the current -of her life.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XII.<br> <span class='large'>THE MAIL-BAG.</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Newspaper! who has never felt the pleasure that it brings?</div> - <div class='line'>It always tells us of so many strange and wondrous things.</div> - <div class='line'>It makes us weep at tales of woe, it fills our hearts with mirth,</div> - <div class='line'>It tells us of the price of stock, and what produce is worth;</div> - <div class='line'>And when and where, and why, and how strange things occur on earth.</div> - <div class='line'>Has war’s loud clarion called to arms? Has lightning struck a tree?</div> - <div class='line'>Has Jenkins broke his leg? Or has there been a storm at sea?</div> - <div class='line'>Has the sea-serpent shown his head? A comet’s tail been seen?</div> - <div class='line'>Or has some heiress with her groom gone off to Gretna Green?</div> - <div class='line'>All this and many marvels more you from this sheet may glean.</div> - <div class='line in6'>—<span class='sc'>J. T. Watson.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>The autumn passed away as pleasantly as the summer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The time drew near when the family from Old Lyon -Hall were to go to Washington for the season.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla wrote to her housekeeper and steward at Cedarwood, -giving them full instructions to prepare the cottage -for the reception of herself and friends, and she enclosed -an order on her banker for the necessary funds.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In due time she received a communication from mammy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>informing her that all things were now ready for the -party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then she consulted her relatives, and together they -fixed upon a early day in January for the migration of -the family. The General did not wish to move before -that time, as he always preferred to spend his Christmas -and New Year’s holidays at Old Lyon Hall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla wrote again, and told her servants on what -day to expect herself and her party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But a very severe fall of snow, coming about the first -of January, blocked up the country roads, impeded travel -and delayed their journey, and also kept back the mails, -so that for many days after the one appointed for their -removal, the family remained at Old Lyon Hall, cut off -from communication with the rest of the world.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When at last there came a change of weather, and the -snow melted and sunk into the earth, or was exhaled into -the air, and the roads though muddy were passable, a -messenger was sent to the post-office at Saulsburg to fetch -the letters and papers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He returned in the afternoon with a mail-bag well stuffed. -He brought it into the small parlor, where the domestic -circle was gathered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Only those who have been under like circumstances -long debarred from news, can realize the avidity with -which that bag was seized and unlocked, and its contents -turned out upon the center table around which the whole -family party immediately clustered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were several unimportant letters for everybody, -which were, however, read with the greatest interest by -these weather-bound recluses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there was one which immediately fixed Drusilla’s -attention. It was from Cedarwood, and dated a few days -back. Mammy was the writer, and after dilating upon -the complete readiness of the cottage to receive the expected -company, she wrote.</p> - -<p class='c011'>“And so we shall be a looking out for you on the fifth, -ma’am. And now, I don’t no as there’s enny dainger, -but before you brings yung Marster Lennud inter this -enfected nayberhood, I deems it my duty to tell you as -how the millignant skarlet fever is a ragin’ here, and a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>karryin’ off duzzins. All the childun at the Drovur’s -Rest have got it; and likewise them that lives right across -the road, opperside the gate as goes inter our place. But -tho’ I deems it my duty for to tell you of this, I doo not no -as there is enny danger, as in coorse yung Marster Lennud -woudent be going amung them.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>Danger? Drusilla grew sick and turned pale at the -very thought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is the matter, my dear?” inquired General Lyon, -looking up from his paper, and noticing her disturbance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She silently handed him the letter. He read it attentively, -and then looking over his spectacles, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course, then, we must not think of going. Scarlet -fever! bless my life and soul! Let us stay where we are.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is it, dear grandpa?” inquired Anna, looking -up from her letter, while Dick laid down his paper to listen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Scarlet fever, my love, raging around Cedarwood, -and slaying as many as King Herod himself. Of course, -we can’t think of such a thing as going there. What, expose -little Leonard to such an infection? Suppose he was -to catch the fever? and—the very idea makes me shudder! -We’ll stay home; we’ll stay home, my children!” -said the old man, emphatically, settling himself once -more to his newspaper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, indeed, he was not sorry to have a good excuse -for relinquishing the journey to Washington, which at -this inclement season of the year could have no attraction -for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if the ladies wish to go to the city, we can take -apartments at one of the hotels,” suggested Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon looked uneasy. He did not wish to go to -Washington on any terms in such bad weather. He would -have gone to Cedarwood, only to keep his word with Drusilla; -but missing that, he did not want to go to a hotel. -And now he was afraid of being outvoted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, however, came to his relief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take apartments? No, I thank you, Dick! We -would all like to go to Cedarwood and see Drusilla’s -‘pretty little wildwood home’ so near the city but, if -we cannot go there, we will not pen ourselves up in a -crowded hotel or boarding-house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>“No; <em>that</em> we won’t!” put in the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I’m sure Drusilla thinks with us,” added Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed I do,” acknowledged Drusa.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So you see you are outvoted, my dear boy,” chuckled -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, as to myself,” said Dick, “I know when I’m well -off, and I had a great deal rather stay here. It was for -the ladies’ sake I spoke.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then here we stay for the present, my children.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so I must write and tell my housekeeper that she -must cover up the furniture and close the rooms for the -winter, as we are not going to Washington this season. -But, my dear uncle, I hope we shall go early in the -spring.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shall go on the very first favorable opportunity, -my dear, you may rely on that,” answered the veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then the sight of Drusilla’s unopened packet of -foreign letters suggested a plan that he immediately proposed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I’ll tell you what, my dears,” he said, “we have -none of us seen Europe yet. Anna and Dick were to have -gone there for a wedding tour, but they would not go so -far away from the old man.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We should not have enjoyed the trip, dear grandpa, -if you had not been with us. Neither I nor Dick cared -to go to Europe until we could all go together.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, please Providence, we will go all together next -spring,” said the General, looking around upon his young -people. “What do you say, Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shall both be delighted,” answered Anna for herself -and her husband, who immediately endorsed her reply.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you, Drusilla, shall you like to go to Europe?” -inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of all things! I have so long wished to see the old -historical world!” she answered, pausing in her work of -opening her foreign packet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, for a little while, sitting around the table, -they were all engaged in looking over the newspapers, each -occasionally reading aloud to the others, who suspended -their own employment to hear any little item of news -supposed to be interesting.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>“I declare there is nothing in our papers. Anything -in yours, dear?” inquired Anna of Drusilla, who had -been the only silent reader of the party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not much of interest to us, over here. We do not -care about the doings in Parliament, or the trials at the -Old Bailey, or the meetings at Exeter Hall, or the murders -in Bermondsey, or even about the movements of royalty -and nobility.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, we do care about that last item. We are -intensely democratic and republican here, and so of course -we are breathlessly anxious to know where ‘Majesty,’ -took an airing, what ‘Royal Highness’ wore to the opera, -and whom ‘Grace’ entertained at dinner!” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then read for yourself, my dear,” answered Drusilla, -passing the “Times.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And <em>to</em> yourself also, my child. We are not interested -in those high themes,” added the General, who was deep -in a senatorial debate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Anna did read to herself for some time, but at -length she exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, here is an item in which I think you will be -interested, all of you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla started and looked up anxiously. She thought -that Anna had come upon some news of Alexander, and -she wondered how she herself could have overlooked such -a matter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Even the General laid down his paper to listen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, what is it, dear?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna read:</p> - -<p class='c014'>“‘The Barony of Killcrichtoun, so long in abeyance, has been -claimed by a young American gentleman in right of his mother. -The barony, it will be remembered, is not a male feoff only; but, -failing male heirs, descends in the female line. The right of the -new claimant is said to be indisputable. He is the great great -grandson and only living descendant of George-Duncan-Bertie-Bruce, -the tenth and last Baron of Killcrichtoun.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I saw <em>that</em>,” said Drusilla, with a look of disappointment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is he?” inquired General Lyon, indifferently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does not say,” answered the reader.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Some poor devil of an adventurer making a donkey -of himself, I suppose,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>“Come, I won’t read you any more sensational news if -that is the way you treat it,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the subject was dropped and forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The family circle then separated, each retiring to his -or her own room, to fill up the time till the dinner hour -with answering letters.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XIII.<br> <span class='large'>OLD AND NEW.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>One in stories of the past,</div> - <div class='line'>One in glories still to last,</div> - <div class='line'>One in speech and one in face,</div> - <div class='line'>One in honest pride of race,</div> - <div class='line'>One in faith and hope and grace.—<span class='sc'>M. F. Turner.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“Let us go very early in the spring. If we stop here -until the season begins to put forth all its beauty, I shall -never be able to leave this ‘sweet old home,’ as Drusa -calls it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus spoke General Lyon one morning in March, when -the family were assembled at breakfast, discussing the -subject of their trip to Europe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then as this is the fifteenth, and the spring is held to -commence about the twenty-first, we had better begin to -see about our voyage at once. Do you wish to start as -early as the first of April?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; that plan would give us but two weeks to get -ready in, and it is necessary to secure berths at least one -month in advance. We shall not go before the middle of -April. Then, also, we shall be sure that the equinoctial -storms are quite over, to their very latest reverberation.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, in any case, we had better fix upon our line of -steamers, and write to the agent at once to take state-rooms,” -suggested Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly,” agreed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And after a little more discussion of the merits of rival -lines and individual steamers, their ship was selected, and -Dick was authorized to write and secure state-rooms, and -to be sure to get them amid-ships.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>Dick wrote, and in due course of mail he received the -agent’s answer, saying that his party could have one state-room -amid-ships and two near the bows.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick showed this letter to the General, and the two in -consultation decided that the choice state-room should be -assigned to Drusilla and her child, while the other -members of the party should take the less desirable -berths.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But we must say nothing to her about it, or she may -refuse to make herself and boy comfortable at our expense, -and insist upon a different arrangement,” said the -General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Dick wrote again to the agent, enclosing a draft upon -a New York banker to pay for the state-rooms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And lively preparations were commenced for the voyage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, who never in her life had been a hundred -miles from home, was delighted with the prospect of -crossing the ocean and traveling in distant countries.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not only was her mind all alert with the anticipations -of intellectual pleasures, but her heart was cheered with -the hope of being nearer to Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was even possible that she might see him, or that -he might see her little Leonard. And so Drusilla went -enthusiastically to work with her preparations.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the whole party made the usual mistake of inexperienced -voyagers—they encumbered themselves with -an unnecessary amount of luggage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As if they were going beyond the bounds of civilization -to live forever away from the possibility of purchasing -the comforts or even the necessaries of life, they packed -clothing by the twelve dozens, and filled many great -trunks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As if the steamer had no store-room or pantry, they -took hampers of canned meats and fruits and jars of -jellies and preserves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And as if there were no surgeon in the staff of officers, -they took a “doctor’s book” and a “physic box,” to say -nothing of boxes of lemons, bottles of peppermint cordial -and cases of soda powders as preventives of sea-sickness, -or of books, magazines, checkers, chessmen, and musical -instruments as preventives of ennui.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>Thus the party of seven had twenty-one large trunks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They took but two servants—Pina to nurse little -Leonard and to wait on Drusilla and Anna; and young -Jacob to attend upon the General and Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Old Jacob, Marcy and Matty were to be left in charge -of Old Lyon Hall. Leo was to go for a visit to his parents -at Cedarwood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All things being ready, the party of voyagers left Old -Lyon Hall on the seventh of April, so as to have a day in -Washington and a few days in New York before the sailing -of the steamer on the fifteenth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon had many friends and acquaintances -either permanently or temporarily residing in Europe. -To add to the number of these he had procured letters -of introduction from distinguished people in America to -their peers in the old world.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was a very pleasant day of sunshine and showers in -the capricious month, when they finally commenced their -journey.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They traveled from Old Lyon Hall to the Stormy Petrel -Landing in the capacious old family carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were followed by two wagons taking their heavy -baggage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At this steamboat landing they took the Sea Gull for -Washington, where they all arrived in good health in the -afternoon of the next day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>According to previous arrangement, they had a hack, -and leaving their luggage at the railway station, went out -to Cedarwood, where mammy and her old man were expecting -to receive them, and where they found everything -prepared for their comfort.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Rooms were aired, beds made and bright little wood-fires -kindled. And an exquisite early supper was in -progress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mammy received her mistress and mistress’s friends -with a mixture of deference and dignity in her manners -that was quite impressive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And her joy over the fine growth and beauty of her -nurseling, little Leonard, was natural and delightful.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The meeting also between Pina and Leo and their parents -was very pleasant to see.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>Our party had reached Cedarwood at the most beautiful -hour of sunset.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and Anna, who saw the place now for -the first time and under its fairest aspect, were delighted -with the cottage and its surroundings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was not an imposing and venerable mansion, overshadowed -by mountains and forests, like Old Lyon Hall, -but it was a pretty, wildwood home, fresh, bright, fair, -and youthful. And Anna was in ecstasies over it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the sparkling shower-gems that glittered in the -rays of the setting sun, from every leaf and flower and -blade of grass, while they added so much to the beauty -of the scene, made it a little too damp for health.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Drusilla pressed her friends to go into the house, -and General Lyon seconded her motion, and drove them -in before him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is all very pretty, my dears,” he said, “but we -don’t want to begin our voyage with bad colds.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So they went into the little drawing-room, with which -you are so well acquainted, the lovely little drawing-room, -where Drusilla had watched out so many weary nights.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A cheerful fire was burning in the grate; and early spring -flowers were blooming in the vases; and the curtains -that separated it from the little dining-room were drawn -aside, showing the snowy damask, shining silver, and -Sevres china, of a well-set supper-table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they had stood before the fire a few moments to -evaporate the slight dampness from their clothes and to -look around upon the pretty place, the servants were -summoned to show them to their several rooms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, attended by mammy, carrying little Leonard, -went up to her own chamber.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was looking very fresh and bright, pretty and attractive, -with its crimson carpet and snowy curtains and its -cheerful wood fire.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But with what feelings did the young wife and mother -enter again this chamber, so filled with sweet and bitter -memories?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Certainly with some sadness at the thoughts of all the -happiness and the misery she had felt in this place. But -also with much thankfulness, that she and her child had -passed through the fiery trials unscathed—had come -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>forth from them sound in body and mind; and were now -blessed with health and happiness and many friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She sank on her knees for a moment and returned sincere -thanks to Divine Providence. And then she arose -and made a few necessary changes in her dress, and went -below, to await her friends in the drawing-room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They soon joined her there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then the supper, prepared with mammy’s best -skill, was placed upon the table and the party sat down -with good appetites to enjoy it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Afterwards Drusilla tried the tone of her new piano, -the one that had been ordered and sent to the cottage by -her agent when she was expecting to take her friends -there to spend the winter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She found it out of tune from disuse, and so gave up -the attempt to bring harmony out of it, for that evening.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She rang and brought “mammy” up into the drawing-room -and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mammy, I shall write to my agent to send a man out -here to put this instrument in tune. And after that you -must make a fire in this room every wet day and you -must play on it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Play on the fire, ma’am!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, on the piano.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“On the pianner!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I tell you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why la, ma’am, I couldn’t do it! It ain’t likely as I -could! I don’t know nothing about it! I couldn’t play a -tune, not no, if the salvation of my mortial soul depended -on to it! I could play on the jewsharp, if that would do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla smiled and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t suppose you could play any pieces on this instrument. -But I tell you what I want you to do. Look -here—”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla opened the piano and sat down before it. -And mammy followed her and stood watching her motions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See, now; begin here at this left hand end and strike -every one of these little ivory keys in turn, just as I do -now, one after the other till you get up here to the right -hand end, and then backwards one after the other till you -get back to the left hand end again. And then do the -same thing with the black keys. You can do that, can’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>you?” asked Drusilla, giving a practical illustration to her -words.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, ma’am, I can do that well enough, and I think -I shall like it. Let’s see, now. I’m to begin at the end -where they groans and roars like sinners in the pit, and -I’m to end at the end where they whistles and chippers -like birds in the bush.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; that is what you are to do for five or ten minutes -every day, or every few days, as you please. And you are -to light a fire here whenever it is very damp. All this is -to keep the instrument in tune, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am, I think I shall like it. I <em>know</em> I shall like -it. And it’s easy enough!” said mammy, standing by her -mistress and touching the keys. “La! what will my old -man say, when he finds out I am larnin’ music on the -pianner, in my ole ages of life, and practysin’ every day -like any boarding-school young lady! Won’t he be took -right offen his feet along with ’stonishment?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very likely. And now that will do, mammy. I know -you will like to spend as much time as possible with Pina, -as she is so soon to leave you, so good night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good night, ma’am. Good night, ladies and gentlemen.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When mammy had left the room, Anna broke out into a -peal of silvery laughter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, upon my word, Drusa,” she said, “I never should -have thought of <em>your</em> device for keeping a piano in tune.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why not? It is an obvious one, under the circumstances.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; but think of the absurdity of having mammy -seated at the piano, thumping upon the keys every day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She will not thump. And there is no absurdity. -She will in this way keep the instrument in tune, and -I should not at all wonder if in the process she should -teach herself to play by ear. She will, if she had the -ordinary musical talent of her race,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then seeing General Lyon was actually nodding, -and that Dick was trying to smother a yawn, she lighted -the bedroom candles.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna put one in Dick’s hand, and waked up the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the party bade each other good-night, and went to -their several rooms.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>The earliest hours next day were spent in the business -that brought Drusilla to Cedarwood—the inspection of her -little estate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, who had spent the best part of his long -life in agricultural pursuits, was well fitted to judge correctly -of such matters. And he pronounced everything -connected with the farm to be very well ordered, and he -complimented “mammy” and her “old man” on the skill -and fidelity with which they had administered affairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>By ten o’clock, the travelers having settled the business -that brought them to Cedarwood, left for Washington -to meet the mid-day train for New York, where they arrived -at eleven o’clock at night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They went to one of the up-town hotels, where they succeeded -in procuring good rooms on the second floor. After -a late but light supper, they retired to rest, and, fatigued -by their long ride, slept soundly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The next morning, Drusilla looked for the first time -upon the great American seaport, as seen from the windows -of her room at the hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From her point of view, she expected to see a thronged -thoroughfare. She was agreeably disappointed, for she -looked down upon a broad, clean, shady street, with a park -on the opposite side, for the house was a quiet up-town -one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While she stood at the window, General Lyon came to -the door to take her down to breakfast, in the public room, -where at one of the little tables she found Anna and Dick -already seated, and waiting for her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After the usual greetings:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is the tenth,” said Anna; “we have six days to -see all that we wish to see in New York, and so we must -be busy, Drusa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” answered Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But first of all, we must go and take a look at our -steamer. I see by this morning’s paper that she got into -port late last night,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You and I can go and do that, sir. The ladies need -not accompany us unless they wish,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, but we <em>do</em> wish,” put in Anna. “I was never inside -of an ocean-steamer in my life. Were you, Drusilla?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course not.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>“And wouldn’t you like to go and take a look at the -floating home in which we are to live for about two weeks?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly I should, unless——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Unless what?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our company should inconvenience uncle or Dick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It will not inconvenience <em>me</em> in the slightest degree. -On the contrary it will give <em>me</em> pleasure. And—it don’t -matter about Dick,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we’ll go,” concluded Anna, rising from the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you had better get ready at once, young ladies, -as we have a great deal-do-to-day after seeing the ship,” -advised the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And Drusilla, if I were in your place, I would let -Pina take little Lenny across the street into the park. -Jacob can go along to look after them both. So they will -be quite safe,” counseled Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla nodded and smiled assent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they went up stairs to put on their bonnets, and -soon came down prepared for the drive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General and Dick were waiting in the hall, and -the hired carriage was at the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Only let me see little Lenny and his attendants safe -in the park first, and then I will join you,” said Drusilla, -who was leading in her hand her little boy; who now, being -seventeen months old, could walk and talk quite prettily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is only across the street. It will not take us two -minutes,” added Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I am so much afraid of his being run over by carriages,” -pleaded the young mother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, go, go!” laughed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla and Anna saw their little charge safely -across the street and within the enclosure of the green -and shaded park; where, with many warnings and instructions -to his attendants, they left him with Pina for his -bearer and Jacob for his body-guard.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they returned and joined their own protectors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See how patiently he is waiting for us! Had ever any -one such a dear, indulgent old uncle as I have?” said -Drusilla, fondly regarding the old man as she approached.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In two more minutes they were all in the carriage, and -rolling down the avenue towards Broadway.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>They were nearly an hour in reaching their ship, which, -with her passengers and freight all discharged, was lying -quietly at her pier.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Led on by Dick, pressing through crowds of people -and climbing over piles of merchandise, and passing over -decks of other boats, our party at last boarded their steamer, -the “Hurona.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Picking his way among coils of ropes and chains, and -folds of canvas and heaps of coal, Dick went up to an -officer on duty on the deck, and showing his tickets requested -to see the rooms engaged by his party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The officer politely acquiesced, called a steward, and -directed him to show the gentleman and his friends to -the first cabin.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man obeyed, and led our party down to the elegantly -furnished floating drawing-room of the steamer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is much finer than anything we ever saw on our -rivers and bays,” said Anna, as she glanced around upon -the velvet carpets, satin damask curtains, heavily gilded -cornices, cheval mirrors, and all the showy appointments -of the place.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is number three, if you please, sir,” said the -steward, opening the ground glass gilded door of a state-room -on their right.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! yes; this is the place in which you will have to -go to housekeeping for two weeks,” said the General, -turning with a smile to Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was a clean, cozy den, with an upper and a lower -berth, and a sofa, wash-stand, shelves and drawers, and -all that was required for convenience.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you think you will be comfortable here?” inquired -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall be <em>very</em> comfortable. This is the largest state-room -I ever saw,” said Drusilla, glancing around approvingly, -although she was too inexperienced to know that -this was indeed one of the very best positions in the ship.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now we will see ours,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the steward led the party far away up to the bows -of the steamer, where he showed them two large, three-cornered -state-rooms, directly opposite each other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Though their position was execrable, they were even -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>much larger and much better furnished than was Drusilla’s.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She noticed their ample size and many conveniences, -and exclaimed;</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am so glad that you have so much space and so -many little drawers and cupboards to put away your -things, and that you are so near each other, too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And in her heart she wished that she could be near -them also; for she could not know that they had the -worst situation while she had the best, or that they -would be harrassed by every motion of the ship, while -she would scarcely feel it at all.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick and Anna smiled and enjoyed her “bliss of ignorance.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having thus inspected their future quarters, they left -the steamer and returned to the hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla had been feeling a little secret anxiety on the -subject of her boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Master Lenny had neither been stolen, run over, -choked, bumped, or injured in any other of the ways she -had feared for him. He was quite safe, and full of a subject -which he called “moodick” and “yed toat;” and -which Drusa interpreted to mean a brass band attached to -a marine corps that had been playing in the park to Lenny’s -great delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That evening our party went to the opera. The next -day they visited the public institutions on the islands in -East River.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And thus with sight-seeing or shopping all day long, -and going to some place of amusement in the evening, -they passed the time until Saturday.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On that morning, at about ten o’clock, they embarked -on board the Hurona, and took up their quarters in the -state-rooms already described.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Hurona sailed at twelve noon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And after a voyage of ten days, which was so calm, -pleasant and uneventful as to leave no incident worth -recording, the Hurona reached the shores of the Old -World.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XIV.<br> <span class='large'>ARRIVAL.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Britain! America! Mother and child,</div> - <div class='line'>Be heartily, happily, reconciled.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Look to the world around;</div> - <div class='line'>Stricken by frenzy, with guilt defiled,</div> - <div class='line'>A storm-tossed ship in the surges wild,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Soon to be wrecked and drowned!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mother and daughter against the world.</div> - <div class='line'>Under your peaceful flags unfurled,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Rights may rally at length;</div> - <div class='line'>While Earth’s hurricane, inwardly curled</div> - <div class='line'>Spent with ruin of wrongs down-hurled</div> - <div class='line in4'>Weakens and wastes its strength.—M. P. T.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>To see for the first time the shores of the old world! -It is indeed like coming to another world! like entering -into another life!</p> - -<p class='c012'>Have we died? Was the vast sheet of water we passed -the River of Death? And is the land we see before us -the abode of departed spirits? If so, is it Hades, or -Elysium? It looks more like Elysium!</p> - -<p class='c012'>So mused Drusilla as she stood dreamily leaning over -the bulwarks of the Hurona, and gazing on the lovely -shores of the Emerald Isle, all glittering in the beams of -the rising sun, as the ship approached the beautiful Cove -of Cork.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She had risen very early and come up on deck alone -to get a quiet first view of the land. All was bustle -around her, for the ship was preparing to lay to for the -purpose of landing the passengers for Ireland. The tiny -steamboat from the shore was already puffing and blowing -its way out to the ocean leviathan to take them off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Men, women and children, servants, porters and baggage -began to throng up from below.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla, plunged in a dream of the past, was -almost unconscious of the confusion around her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Elysium! for certainly it is peopled with the spirits -of departed heroes and sages!” she murmured to herself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>as the rivers of history and tradition rolled through -her memory.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A caressing hand was laid upon her shoulder and a -kind voice said in her ear:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-morning, my child! Well, you see before you -‘Hibernia,’ ‘Erin,’ ‘Ireland,’ the ‘ould counthry!’ Now, -what do you think of it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle, it is a lovely land! Who can look upon -it and not love it? And, oh! what an experience to -look upon it for the first time! It is as if some beautiful -creation of imagination was actually realized to the -senses! To look upon her shores and think of her history, -her legends and her poetry! to almost see the -shades of her dead heroes, sages and minstrels!” said -Drusilla, enthusiastically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dear, I dare say ardent young strangers -like you feel all these things and see all these ghosts. -But I don’t suppose the people who live in the land, or -the mariners that frequent the cove, ever do. Such is -the effect of novelty in your case, and of habit in theirs.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But can <em>any</em> length of habit blind one to such beauty -as this? Oh, look! was ever such brilliant green herbage -spread over the earth, or such heavenly blue sky above it, -or such soft white clouds sailing over it? See those lovely, -billowy hills! as the cloud-shadows pass over them they -seem to rise and fall, like the waves of the ocean, only -more gently! It reminds of something Tennyson said, -What was it? Oh——</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘The hills are shadows and they flow</div> - <div class='line in2'>From form to form and nothing stands;</div> - <div class='line in2'>They melt like mists, the solid lands,</div> - <div class='line'>Like clouds they shape themselves and go.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He was speaking geologically of the changes wrought by -centuries; but here the beautiful green sunlit or cloud-shaded -hills do seem every moment to ‘flow from form to -form,’ ‘to melt like mists,’ ‘like clouds to shape themselves -and go.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are a dreamer, little Drusa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It <em>does</em> seem like a dream. I should not be the least -surprised to wake up and find myself—where?—anywhere -at all in my past life! In my little corner of the housekeeper’s -room in the Chief-Justice’s dwelling; in the lolling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>chair of the little drawing-room at Cedarwood waiting -for Alick to come back; or at dear old Lyon Hall with little -Lenny trying to pull my eyes open. Life seems often very -like a dream.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And always in any great change of scene or circumstances.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And most of all in coming to an old, historical country -like this, that we have always known in imagination, and -never in reality. But look, uncle! do not let us lose the -features of this sweet scene! It will be a picture in our -mind’s eye for many coming years. See, away there on -the horizon, crowning the most distant of the visible hills, -a cluster of old, gray ruins—the remains of some medieval -castle or monastery! And look a little further down. See -the mossy huts, dotted about at long intervals, half hidden -in dells and thickets, and under great trees; and nearer -still, the town with its glittering spires and its forest of -shipping!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my dear, the ninth century and the nineteenth are -brought together in this view!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here the old man felt a pair of tenacious little claws -fasten themselves upon his leg, and a shrill, tiny voice -sing out:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Untle Danpa! Untle Danpa Dennel!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, turning, he saw and lifted up little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny’s language needs translating. He called -or tried to call every one around him by the names he -heard them call each other. Thus, with him, Drusilla was -called “Doosil;” Anna, “Nannan;” Dick, “Dit;” while -General Lyon, who was variously called uncle, grandpa, -or General, was “Untle Danpa” or even Untle “Danpa -Deneral.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my little man, what do you want?” inquired -the General, smiling on the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hee, hee!” cried Lenny, pointing to the shore. -“Mate Doosil tate Lenny home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Make Drusil ‘take Lenny home?’ Why where is -home?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dere, dere! Mate Doosil tate Lenny home!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s not home!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yet tid too! Mate Doosil tate Lenny home, <em>dit minute</em>!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>“You peremptory little despot! what do you mean?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle, you know ever since Lenny lost sight of -land, he has been abroad; now he sees it again, he thinks -it is home!” said Drusilla, smiling on the child. Little -Leonard, with his father’s features inherited much of -his father’s self-will; and so he soon became both obstreperous -and vociferous in his demands to be taken home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mamma will take Lenny over there presently,” said -Drusilla soothingly, as she took the child in her arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know, uncle, our steamer will lie here until this -afternoon, and we shall have time to go on shore for an -hour or so,” she added turning to the veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I suppose Anna and Dick would like it. I know -I should. And—ah; here they come now!” said the -General, as his niece and nephew appeared upon the deck.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a charming view!” exclaimed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is like Fairyland!” cried Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, come! none of that now you know! We’ve -had enough of it! Here’s Drusa been singing its praises -ever since I came to her side. And there, thank goodness, -there’s the breakfast bell! Come down now, and -praise the company’s cook! Two weeks’ trial has proved -him to be incomparable,” said the General, leading the -way to the saloon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After breakfast, the party got ready to go on shore.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The little steamer made several trips between the ship -and the shore, and they availed themselves of its accommodation -to land.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Terrace after terrace they ascended the picturesque -heights of the town until they reached the highest point—“Spy -Hill,”—from which they enjoyed a magnificent -bird’s-eye view of the sea and land—the broad expanse of -the channel; the harbor, with its abrupt headlands and -its countless shipping; its shores, with their beautiful -trees and elegant villas; and the rolling countries beyond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They spent the morning in walking about amid the -charming scenery, until little Lenny, having tired his own -legs and everybody else’s arms, got hungry and sleepy, -and ordered his biggers to give him something to eat and -to put him to bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they went down to the village, entered a pastry-cook’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>shop, and got a light luncheon; and, next, they -hired a boat to take them back to their ship.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They found that they had no time to lose, for she was -getting up her steam to start again; and, if they had not -hastened, they might have been left behind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The steamer sailed at four o’clock that afternoon; but -she encountered rough weather in the channel, so that it -was nearly dark the next day when she reached Liverpool.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now our party felt the inconvenience of having so -much baggage. They were anxious to hasten on to London. -They could see Liverpool at any future time before -their return home; but they wished to reach London -soon enough to enjoy the last few remaining weeks of the -season, and, above all, to be in time to see the “Derby,” -which was to come off in two days. There was a train -to start at six that evening, and if they could have caught -it, they might have reached London by twelve midnight, -in time for a good night’s rest. And if it had not been -for their great quantity of baggage, they could have done -so; but they had twenty-one trunks to be inspected by -the custom-house officers, and had also to wait their turn -to be attended to.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There is much grumbling at these functionaries; but -for my part, I have found them always courteous—doing -their ungracious duty with as much forbearance as they -could conscientiously exercise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have made us lose the train. We wished to go -up to London by the six o’clock express,” growled General -Lyon, as the officer on duty came up at length to examine -the luggage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very sorry, sir; but it could not be helped. There -is a parliamentary goes at ten.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘A parliamentary?’ What the deuce is a ‘parliamentary?’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man looked up in surprise at this traveler’s ignorance, -yet scarcely knew how to enlighten him on so -simple a subject; for the most obvious things are often the -most difficult of explanation to those that do not understand -them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What the mischief is the parliamentary?” again inquired -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>The officer looked up from the open trunk before which -he was kneeling, and answered, slowly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, sir, the parliamentary is——the parliamentary, -you know.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not the express.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So I should judge from its name.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is the slow, heavy train.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everything ‘parliamentary’ is, I should imagine. -When does this ‘parliamentary’ start?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At ten to-night, and gets in at five in the morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A most uncomfortable hour!—too late to go to bed, -and too early to be up! What the deuce makes your -‘parliamentary’ so slow and heavy?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is the people’s train—the accommodation—carries -the three classes of carriages and stops at all the stations.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph-humph!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The first-class carriages are very comfortable, and you -can sleep in them as comfortably as in your own arm-chair.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph! that might do very well for an after-dinner -nap; hardly for a night’s rest!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While they were thus conversing, the custom-house -officer was passing from one trunk to another, lifting -their lids and looking in. He finished, and marked the -lot, and went away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think, grandpa, if you had had ten thousand dollars -worth of smuggled goods in these trunks, and designed to -cheat the revenue of the duties, you could not have gone -to work more cunningly than by talking as you did to -the officer. The man couldn’t attend to what he was -doing for listening to you,” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now what are we to do with all these ‘impediments?’ -I wish for my part, the custom-house fellow had seized the -lot; or that we had encountered a storm at sea, and it -had been found necessary to throw them all overboard to -lighten the ship! It would have saved us a deal of time, -and trouble, and expense. And we have all we really -want in our carpet-bags,” growled the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle, I hope you are not turning into a regular -grumbler? That wouldn’t be like yourself! But you -have done nothing <em>but</em> grumble, ever since you landed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>and without the slightest provocation, you naughty old -uncle!” said Drusilla, saucily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, give me some credit that I do not <span class='fss'>SWEAR</span> as -well as grumble!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle, think what the Dutchman said when he -whipped his sulky son,—Hans, you might as coot say -‘tamn’ as tink ‘tamn!’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusil, I am thinking ‘tamn’ very intently, ever since -I came on shore. Now, where the deuce are the porters? -Now, if this were New York, one would be deafened by -them,” growled the General, showing himself in front.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His grievance was removed, and he was “deafened by -them” and others immediately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Porter, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cab, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fly, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Queen’s hotel?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Adelphi?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Star-and-Garter?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Times, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Were some of the sounds shouted into his ears—not -once, but a score of times.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Queen’s hotel, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Admiral, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Carriage, sir? How many, sir? Where to, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How can I tell when I can’t hear myself think, for -your noise? Dick, answer all these men, and see to the -baggage being taken to the station. Jacob hasn’t knowledge -enough—he would be sure to get it lost; though for -that matter, I wish he would lose it—it would be an immense -relief to me! I shall take Anna and Drusilla over -to that restaurant, to get them out of this din, and to give -them a cup of tea.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, uncle. Pray go and make yourself and the -ladies comfortable,” said Dick, good-humoredly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And let me see,” said the General, examining his watch. -“It is now nine o’clock. The—hem—‘parliamentary’ -starts at ten. We have but an hour to wait. It will not -be worth while to go to a hotel. I think it will be best -for us to stop over there until it is time for us to go to -the station. See to getting our tickets, Dick, will you? -And have a carriage at the door there in time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>“All right, uncle. Make yourself easy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come along, young women! Pina! give me that -child. You look as if you were ready to drop under his -weight.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A sleeping baby is twice as heavy as a waking one, -sir,” said the girl, as she placed the child in the old man’s -arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And regardless of the staring street boys who grinned -at seeing the “old gent” playing nursemaid, he crossed -the street to a cheerful gas-lighted pastry-cook’s shop, -where he and his party were accommodated with a small -private parlor and a neatly-spread tea-table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before they got half through with tea, Dick joined them -and reported that he had procured the tickets for a whole -compartment in the first-class carriages, which he declared -to be quite as comfortable as the civil custom-house -officer had represented them to be.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick was served with a cup of tea, a plate of sallyluns, -toast, periwinkles, shrimps, and the finest strawberries -he had ever seen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick quaffed his tea with avidity, for he was both heated -and thirsty; and he also enjoyed the toast and the sallyluns; -but he glanced suspiciously at the periwinkles and -the shrimps.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What manner of fish, fruit or vegetable may these -be?” he inquired, taking up a plate of periwinkles and -squinting at them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Taste and see,” answered Anna, as with the point of -a pin she delicately drew one from its snail-like shell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla was at the same time peeling a shrimp for little -Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick glanced from one to the other and shuddered. -These tea-table delicacies looked—the one so like an insect, -the other so like a reptile.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Try this, Dick,” coaxed Anna, as she offered him a -morsel from the point of a new pin.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick shrank.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now don’t be prejudiced! Consider what an uninviting -edible is the oyster, in the shell or out of it! Who -that did not know how good it is would ever dare to eat -it? Now try this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, thou modern Eve! I take it, since thou tellst me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>it is ‘good for food,’” sighed Dick, as he gingerly accepted -the dainty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, how do you like it?” inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My temptress, it is delicious! I thank thee for introducing -me to the acquaintance of the periwink.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I knew you would like it,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More s’imp? more s’imp!” called out little Lenny, -for whom his mamma could not peel fast enough.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are they good also, Master Lenny?” smiled Dick, -helping himself to one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Day dood. Mate Nannan peel for woo, Dit,” answered -the little Turk, who evidently thought that women were -made to wait on men and—boys.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They have an exquisite flavor! They are as fine, with -a difference, as the periwinkle itself. Master Lenny, your -humble servant. I’m bound to you for making me -acquainted with the shrimp. I don’t know which of these -two dainties I like the best. After this I can believe in a -man being in love with two——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dishes at the same time,” interjected Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ladies at the same time,” concluded Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More s’imps! More s’imps! Mate Pina peel!” vociferated -the little despot, for whom his mamma could not keep -up the supply.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Pina was called to help; but new hands are awkward -at the shrimp peeling business; and as Pina took a -minute to peel a delicate morsel that Master Lenny swallowed -in a second, he soon called out again:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More s’imps! more s’imps! Mate Nannan peel too!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna good-naturedly complied. But even with her -help the demand continued to be greater than the supply. -And the tiny autocrat, looking around and seeing no -more female slaves at hand, called out:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More s’imps! more s’imps! And make <em>Dit</em> peel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Dick obediently sacrificed his periwinkles, and -cheerfully betook himself to the service of the liliputian -tyrant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But still the demand exceeded the supply, for these vassals -were awkward at the work; so, after glancing dubiously -at his venerable relative, Master Leonard sang out -lustily:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>“More s’imps! more s’imps! And mate Untle Granpa -peel!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the veteran soldier of hard-won fields, the leader -of tens of thousands, smiled submissively and obeyed the -baby boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But there is an end to all things, even to infant despotism, -and so when the three-quarters past nine struck, the -party rose from the table, for they had but fifteen -minutes to catch the train in.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They hurried on their outer garments and hastened -into the hired fly and were driven rapidly to the station.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lively and well-lighted, but by no means noisy or confused -was the scene. There was a very long and heavy -train of carriages, for it carried the “three estates,” but -so orderly were all the arrangements, so exact were the -regulations, so well trained the guards and porters, so -vigilant the police, that all went smoothly and surely as -clock-work.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As if by magic, our travelers soon found themselves in -a first-class carriage, with all their luggage piled on the -roof, flying along with great rapidity, while hedges, fields -and farm-houses, seen dimly in the half light, reeled past -on either side. Though it was ten o’clock post meridian, -yet in these northern latitudes, and at this season, it was -still twilight. The carriage in which our travelers found -themselves was in many respects like the inside of a large -family coach, only it was much more capacious than any -such vehicle. It had eight well-cushioned spring seats—four -front and four back; and glass doors and windows -on the right and left. In recesses under the seats and -racks over them there was ample space for the storage of -all their light luggage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna and Drusilla occupied the back seats, General -Lyon and Dick the front ones. Down on the floor between -them, on a bed made of rugs and shawls, with a -carpet-bag for a pillow, little Lenny, satisfied with shrimps, -was laid asleep. Pina and Leo had seats in a second-class -carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Once shut up in their own carriage with the train in -motion, our travelers were as isolated from all other -people as if they had been making the journey in their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>own family coach. They neither saw nor heard anything -of their fellow-passengers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the first hour they conversed a little with each -other, making comments upon the ride, as:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How long the twilight lasts in these parts;” or:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will this light mist turn to rain before morning?” -or:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a carefully cultivated country! There is no -waste land hereabouts. The whole scene seems to be a -perpetual landscape garden.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But in the second hour they gradually succumbed to -fatigue and drowsiness and dropped off to sleep—each reposing -in a corner as he or she best could, and waking -only when the train would stop at a wayside station, -which, by-the-by, was every few minutes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Whenever it stopped there were passengers to get in or -out, but the train was so very long that the chances were -that these passengers would be a quarter of a mile before -or behind them; and so, though our friends always on -these occasions roused themselves and looked forth, they -saw little beyond the lighted station, the vanishing platform, -and running guards and porters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla always looked from the windows with something -more than curiosity—with eager interest; for since -she landed in England, her uppermost thought had been -that she was in the same country with her Alick; and who -knew but she might meet him anywhere at any moment—even -at one of these wayside stations?</p> - -<p class='c012'>But whenever the train started again, the swift motion, -and the late hour, and the comfortable, not to say luxurious -resting-place lulled her in a light slumber, in which -she was still conscious of the strange, new scene—the -wondrous old country through which she was passing; -feeling that she loved the old motherland of her race, and -loved it well; dreaming that she was returning there after -ages of expatriation; seeing shades of knights in armor, -“old ancestral spirits;” seeing visions of mediæval halls, -with all the barbaric pageantry of long ago, dimly shadowed -forth. Then waking up to note with delight the -fresh, bright rural scenes of to-day—the thickly-sown, -but luxuriantly-growing fields; the green hedges; the -crowded but flourishing gardens; the shrub-shaded, vinecovered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>cottages—the humblest laborer’s hut all mantled -with flowering green creepers that made it look like a -garden bower, the slenderest strip of land among the line -of rails thickly planted with vegetables,—nothing wasted, -nothing ugly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was only a little past midnight, yet it was already -morning, and every moment day broadened.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla continued to gaze with surprise and delight -upon the beautiful land; for, whatever the sky of England -may be, the face of the country, especially in this -region, is very charming.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Sometimes Drusilla’s contemplations would be interrupted -by a restless movement of little Lenny. She would -then stoop and turn him over, and he would fall asleep -again.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and Anna slept so soundly at length that -they were not awakened by the stopping of the train, nor -even by the loud snoring of Dick, who, when in a state of -somnolency, was a fine performer on the proboscis—the -only musical instrument he understood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Long before they reached London, its distant, huge -cloud of smoke and fog hanging upon the horizon greeted -the eye—its distant thunder of blended sounds came softened -to the ear.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Soon they were at Euston Square station, in all the -great crowd and bustle of the parliamentary train’s arrival.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was surprising to them, amid the hundreds of travelers -and the hills of luggage to be cared for, how soon our -party, without much effort on their own part, was attended -to.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before they had time to become impatient, they found -themselves in one cab, followed by their servants in another, -bowling along through the streets of London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was but little past four o’clock, and all the shops -were still closed, and the sidewalks nearly deserted. Only -the earliest bakers’, butchers’, and costermongers’ carts -were abroad, or cabs and vans taking passengers to and -from early trains, or cook-maids at the heads of area stairs, -receiving from the milkman the daily supply.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Even at this early hour, there were many novelties of -the London streets that struck pleasantly upon our travelers’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>eyes, among them the abundance of flowers shown -in almost every open window of every house. But what -pleased Master Lenny most was the costermongers’ little -carts, piled with green vegetables and ripe fruit, and drawn -by little donkeys. Master Lenny took them to be toy-carts -for little boys to play with, and insisted upon being -accommodated with one immediately; nor was he to be -quieted until his mamma promised him a mysterious -pleasure in a donkey-ride at Greenwich.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It is a long drive from Euston Square station to the -Morley House, Trafalgar Square, which had been selected -as their hotel by General Lyon, at the recommendation of -a fellow passenger on board the Hurona.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was nearly five o’clock when they reached the house, -yet few servants seemed to be stirring about it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They could be accommodated with apartments immediately, -said the polite functionary who happened to be on -duty; but he regretted to add that they would have to -wait for breakfast, as the head waiter did not rise until -seven.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Two hours to wait. It is too bad, after such a tiresome -night-ride,” groaned General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had endured nights of toils and days of fasting, in -the battle times of long ago; but he was young then and -the cause was great, so he had rather liked that sort of -life; but it was different with him now that he was old -and fated to abide the pleasure of the head waiter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were shown to large, airy, clean bedrooms, all -near each other, and opening upon the corridors, and having -one private parlor in the suite.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In this parlor our party gathered for a moment to consult. -The delay of breakfast is sometimes felt as a calamity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can we not procure even a cup of coffee for love or -money?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The official was very sorry, but the head waiter would -not rise till seven.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you be so good as to send a chambermaid, then?” -requested Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was very sorry, but he was afraid the chamber-maids -were not yet stirring. The hour was early.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So it is; and we must be reasonable. Servants must -have their rest, you know,” said Drusilla, soothingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>And the really obliging attendant smiled and bowed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let us go to our rooms and make ourselves comfortable -and lie down. Perhaps we shall sleep; at any rate, we -shall rest. The two hours will soon pass,” continued Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no, no! No do ’leep!” objected the head of -the family, who had had his own sleep out and had waked -up hungry. “No do ’leep! More s’imp—more s’imp!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor little fellow, <em>he</em> is hungry,” sighed Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think I can get some warm milk and bread for the -child, ma’am,” said the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I shall be very much obliged to you if you will. -We can wait better than he can,” said Drusilla, gratefully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the man went out and fetched the milk and bread, -which, at first, Lenny refused to touch, peremptorily exclaiming:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no! No b’ed milt!—more s’imp!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But being assured that his slaves could not procure -shrimps for him, he seemed to divine that even despots -cannot compel people to perform impossibilities, and also -being very hungry, he ate his bread and milk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Lenny had finished his meal, the party separated -and went to their bedrooms to lie down for an hour or -two. They did not expect to sleep, but they slept—so -soundly that they did not awake until some time after -seven o’clock, when a waiter rapped at General Lyon’s -door to take his orders about the breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General referred him for instructions to Mrs. -Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And soon the whole party, much refreshed by their -sleep, assembled in the private parlor for breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was after eight, however, before it was finally set -upon the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were fine Mocha coffee, English breakfast tea, -rich cream, sweet butter, fresh eggs, broiled ham and -broiled pigeons, light bread, toast and muffins.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a few minutes our famished travelers were so -closely engaged in discussing these delicacies, that not a -word was wasted upon any other subject than their meal. -But after they had all eaten and were satisfied, they -began to talk of their immediate plans of enjoyment. -The great city held out a thousand attractions to strangers. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>It was an “embarrassment of riches” in the sight-seeing -line that troubled them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where shall we go first?” was the great question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Various answers were returned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To the Royal Academy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Westminster Abbey.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To the Tower.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The British Museum.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“St. Paul’s Cathedral.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The Zoological Gardens.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>These were a few of the suggestions offered; but as the -three young people spoke at once, it was impossible for -their elder and arbitrator to know who favor what.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think, upon reflection,” he said, at length, “that we -had better not attempt any of those great sights just now. -To see either one of them well would be an exhausting -day’s work; and we wish to be fresh for the Derby to-morrow. -The Derby, my children! Come! we shall -have time enough to see everything else afterwards. But -we can only see the Derby to-morrow; so to-day, I think, -we will just take a fly and drive around and leave some -of our letters of introduction, with our present address. -What do you say to that plan?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the plan was of the General’s devising, all agreed -to it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A fly was ordered, and the ladies retired to change -their dresses for the drive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla was the most expeditious with her toilet. She -soon returned to the parlor fully equipped for her drive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny, in charge of his nurse, was standing -within the recess of the front window, dancing with delight -at something he saw outside. Drusilla heard a pair -of shrill, cracked voices in apparent conflict below.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hee! hee! Doosil—hee!” shouted the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla approached, and witnessed for the first time -the renowned Punch and Judy show.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While standing there and enjoying her child’s enjoyment, -she saw a gentleman come forth apparently from -a coffee-room below and start to cross Trafalgar Square; -and with a half-suppressed cry she recognized—</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She had been always looking for him—always expecting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>to see him since she first set foot in England, yet she -had known that her looking was like the search for a -needle in a hay-rick, and her expectations as extravagant -in the first instance as they would be in the last.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now that she actually saw him walk out from the -same house in which she herself was sojourning, the -astonishment and the shock were so great, that she reeled -and held by the window-sill for support.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Without stopping to consider whether the action might -be proper or otherwise, she turned to the waiter who -was engaged in taking away the breakfast service, and -beckoned him to her side. He came, his mouth a little -open with wonder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does that gentleman stop here?” she inquired, pointing -to Mr. Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killcrichtoun? Yes, ma’am, he stops here,” replied -the waiter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, you mistake. You think I mean somebody else; -but I mean <em>that</em> gentleman. Look! he is just half across -the square now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Just so, ma’am, Lord Killcrichtoun of Killcrichtoun, -County of Sutherland, North Britain. Yes, ma’am, he -is here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am sure you mistake. I allude to the gentleman -in gray. Look! now he lifts his hat and replaces it. -There he is passing the corner?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Precisely, ma’am. He is up for the Derby, ma’am, -begging your pardon. My lord goes down to Epsom this -evening, ma’am. Any more commands, ma’am?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks, no; you may go.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla sank down upon the nearest seat, unmindful -of the prattling of her little Lenny, who was still laughing -with delight at the broad absurdities of the puppetshow; -for the whole truth flashed on her now. The -young American gentleman who had claimed the barony -of Killcrichtoun, in the right of his mother, was no other -than her own Alick! And he was living under the same -roof with her! Did he know that she was here, or would -he find it out? Were the names of all new-comers registered -in open books in English hotels as in American -ones? If so, was it his habit to look at them? What -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>would he think if he saw her name on the books of the -hotel—</p> - -<p class='c014'>“<em>Mrs. Alexander Lyon, child, and servant.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Would he happen to see her? Would he wish to see -little Lenny? Suppose he were to meet her—what would -he say or do? He might pass her; but could he pass -little Lenny—charming little Lenny—fair-haired, blue-eyed -little Lenny, with his father’s own features and -complexion?</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was scarcely possible that he could.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And if he should stop to caress his son, to take him -in his arms, to press him to his heart, what next? -Would he stop there, and put the child away again?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not likely! for, setting natural affection aside, now -that he had a title, he would want an heir; and what a -fine, promising one was this?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Or would he perhaps claim the child and take him -from his mother? He <em>could</em> do so. The law would give -him Lenny, though it should break the mother’s heart. -Would he avail himself of this law to tear her child from -her arms?</p> - -<p class='c012'>No, never! she thought; badly as he had treated her -while he had been maddened by the passions of pride -and ambition, he would never while in his sober senses—never -in cold blood deal her such a cruel blow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>True he had once, in bitterly cruel terms, denounced -and renounced her forever; but she thought of his words -whenever they forced themselves upon her memory, only -as the ravings of frenzied anger; she knew that they -would never have been carried out to extremity. Alexander -had told her that she might starve, but she felt in -her heart that he would never even have let her want!</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now she felt sure that, however he might learn to -love his little Lenny,—however he might desire to possess -him, he would never attempt to take him away from -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>No, she was sure that he would rather let little Lenny -lead him back to her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her hopes arose, her heart beat quickly at the thought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Did she then feel no jealous pain at the idea of being reunited -to her husband only through his natural affection -for his child?</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>Not the least. She loved both too purely for such -jealousy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the contrary, she felt that it would be sweet to be -indebted to little Lenny for a reconciliation with his -father. And she knew, besides, that once reconciled to -Alick by <em>any</em> means, and especially by this means, she -could <span class='fss'>WIN HER WAY</span> to his heart, and gain a firmer hold -there than she had ever possessed before.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then her thoughts reverted to his new title:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killcrichtoun—Baron Killcrichtoun of Killcrichtoun.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>From what she had read she knew that it was an almost -barren title, no wealth coming with it,—only an old ruin, -and a few wretched huts in the wildest part of the Highlands -appertaining to it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But in his pride of race he had claimed the title, and no -doubt had gone to great expense to prove his right to it, -and he would probably remain in England to enjoy it, -since in America it would only make him ridiculous.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She herself was strongly attached to her native country -with its bright sunshine, its vast forests and its high -mountains. All her friends and all her fortunes were -there, yet she would gladly expatriate herself to live “anywhere, -anywhere” under the sun, with her Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While she mused, General Lyon, Anna, and Dick came -in, ready for their drive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick said that the fly was waiting.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So, after charging Pina to be very careful of little -Lenny, Drusilla followed her party down-stairs and into -the carriage, and they started—to go first as in duty bound -to leave their cards at the American Embassy, and then -to leave their letters of introduction with the people for -whom they were intended.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They did but stop and send in their cards and letters, -they made no visit anywhere; but preferred to leave it to -the option of their friends and correspondents to make -their acquaintance or not.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They returned to the Morley House at four in the -afternoon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna went into her bedroom to take off her bonnet; -but Drusilla hurried at once into the parlor to look after -her child.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>She found little Lenny quite safe; but boiling over with -excitement, not to say indignation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, what is the matter with my little man?” inquired -the mother, sitting down and lifting the child to -her lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Man! man! tut off Lenny turl!” exclaimed the child, -pointing to his head, while his blue eyes flashed and his -rosy cheeks flushed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cut off Lenny’s curl? Who did it? Pina! who did -this?” inquired Drusilla, looking at the short lock from -which the curl had been severed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, ma’am, I don’t know! I left Master Leonard -in charge of the chambermaid only one minute, while I -ran to get his milk and bread, and when I came back it -was done.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And what did the chambermaid say?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She said as how——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never mind! I had rather hear the account from herself. -Go and try and find that chambermaid, and fetch -her here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina went on the errand and soon returned with a blooming -English girl, who curtsied and stood waiting orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is your name?” inquired Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Susan, ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Susan, did you have charge of this little child -for a few minutes?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am,” answered the girl, blushing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then how came you to let any one cut off his curl?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, ma’am, I couldn’t help it! It was done so -sudden. And I didn’t dare oppose my lord.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My lord?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My Lord Killcrichtoun it was, ma’am, who did it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Killcrichtoun!” repeated Drusilla, as a light broke -on her mind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Killchristian!</em>” exclaimed Pina, in dismay. “<em>Killchristian!!</em> -It’s a wonder he had not cut off the child’s head -as well as his hair! Good gracious! was ever such a -heathenish, savage, barbarious name!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So it was one of the gentlemen of the house who did -it?” inquired Drusilla, striving to control the excess of -her emotions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am; but indeed I thought by the way he behaved -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>that he had a right to do it, and that the child was -some kin to him. He don’t act so like a mad gentleman -in general, ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tell me all about it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, ma’am, now I think upon it, I almost believe he -must have watched his opportunity; for as soon as ever -the nursemaid was gone, he came to the door, looked all -around, and seeing no one but me and my charge, took -the boy up in his arms and hugged him and kissed him -and fondled him, and almost cried over him; and then -before I could suspect, much less prevent his doing it, he -out with his pen-knife and whipped off that pretty golden -curl. And then he hurried away. I think he heard the -nursemaid coming, for she was in the room the next minute. -And you came in almost immediately after, ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then this has just occurred?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not ten minutes ago, ma’am. Anything else, ma’am?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” answered the lady. And the girl withdrew.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla called Pina to follow her and went slowly into -her bedroom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While taking off her bonnet and mantle and changing -her dress for dinner, she was scarcely conscious of what -she was doing. Her thoughts were absorbed by what -had just occurred.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor Alick,” she said; “to love his child, his only son -and only child, and not feel free to caress him! Oh, -Alick, Alick, dear, do you think <em>I</em> would keep him from -you? Much as I love him, you might have him half the -time; you might have him all day, so that you would be -kind to him, and I know you would be, and would let me -have him back at night. Yes, Alick, dear, though you -might never see or speak to <em>me</em> again, I would not keep -the child out of your way. Love your boy, Alick, dear, -and take all the comfort from him you can. He has been -a great comfort to me, Alick, the little son you gave me, -has.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So ran her thoughts as she mechanically put on a mauve -taffeta dress and fastened her point lace collar with a diamond -brooch, scarcely knowing what she wore.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina was also holding discourse, but not with herself -or in silence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My precious little pet,” she said, as she dressed Master -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>Lenny in his embroidered white frock. “My pretty little -darling, did its Pea-nut leave it all alone with a stranger -in a strange land, where Killchristians go about scalping -little babies, my sugar? I will never leave it alone again -as long as I live, or leastways as long as we stay in this -land, where Killchristians cut and hew at babies! Suppose -he had cut off its precious little finger or toe? What -would its Pea-nut have done?” Then turning impatiently -to her mistress, she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ma’am, you don’t seem to care at all now about that -wild beast of a Killchristian rushing in upon little Lenny -like a North American Indian with a drawn knife and -scalping off his hair. Suppose it had been his precious -nose or his ears that the savage took a fancy to? But it’s -my belief after all he was a thief and wanted to sell Lenny’s -pretty golden curls to a lady’s hair-dresser; and he -would have cut all the curls off his head if he hadn’t -heard me coming. Wish I had caught him at his tricks! -Never mind, let me ever catch him near little Lenny -again, that’s all! Lenny will be certain to know him -again, if I do not!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will know him, Pina; but you do not know of -whom you are speaking. The gentleman who cut off -Lenny’s curl had a perfect right to do so. Lord Killcrichtoun -is Mr. Alexander Lyon, or was so until he got his -ancestor’s title. Why should you be so astonished? -Didn’t you know that he was in London?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am,” said Pina, unable to recover from her -astonishment; “but London is a biggish willage, and I -didn’t expect to see him, much less hear him called Killchristian. -Howsever, I think, begging of your pardon, -ma’am, as the name suits him very well. ’Deed it’s much -of a muchness with the other name, for I reckon as lions -kills Christians, and eats ’em too, whenever they get a -chance!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina, you hurt me when you speak in that way of -Lenny’s father.” (A less gentle spirit would have said -to her servant “you <em>offend</em> me.” But Drusilla had much -more tenderness than dignity in her nature and manners.)</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am sorry, ma’am. Indeed, ma’am, I would rather -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>bite off the end of my tongue than let it say anything to -hurt you,” replied Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now notice then, my good girl. It may happen that -you may see Mr. Lyon some time when you are out with -little Lenny. If you should, you must not avoid him. -On the contrary, take the child to him. It will be good -to promote affection between the child and his father.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do as you say, ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla then went into the parlor to join her friends -at dinner. But she said nothing of Lenny’s adventure.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This evening,” said General Lyon, “we go to old -classic Drury Lane. And to-morrow for the Derby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla’s heart beat—but her only, or at least her -chief object in going to the Derby was not to see the -great race, but to see perhaps—her beloved husband.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XV.<br> <span class='large'>THE DERBY.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>I have set my life upon a cast,</div> - <div class='line'>And I will abide the hazard of the die—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“Oh, it is drizzling! I wonder if it is not always drizzling -in this whimpering climate,” grumbled Anna, as she -met Drusilla in their private parlor very early on the -morning of the Derby Day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is but a light drizzle; it will not hurt us and it -may clear off,” suggested Drusilla, hopefully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All ready, my darlings? That is right, for we must -make an early start if we wish to get a good position on -the hill. I don’t know that reserved places are ever taken -in advance for the Derby; but I do know that <em>we</em> have -not secured any. Ring for breakfast, Anna, my child, and -let us have it over. But where is Dick?” inquired the -General, as he joined his young people.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He has stepped around to the livery stable to make -sure of the barouche we engaged. He will be back in a -few minutes,” replied Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He might have left that to the servants; but Dick -can’t keep out of a stable, if only he has the faintest -shadow of an excuse to go into one. Well—he might go -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>into worse places,” said the General, just as the absentee -returned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A strong, well sprung, capacious barouche and a fine -pair of horses! Altogether as good a turn-out as is to be -had for love or money,” said Dick, as he threw himself -into a chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But what is that you have there?” inquired the General, -pointing to a well-sized parcel rolled up in tissue -paper which Mr. Hammond carried in his hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This! Oh, this contains our veils,” answered Dick, -unrolling the parcel and displaying yards of blue, green, -mauve, brown and gray barège.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our—<em>what</em>?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Veils for the Derby. I saw other fellows buying veils -and they told me it was the usual thing to keep off the -dust, you know. There, Anna, there’s a blue one for you. -Needn’t take the trouble to hem it; nobody does; it is -only to be used for one occasion, and is never fit for anything -else afterwards. Here, Drusa, you may have the -green one; and little Lenny the mauve; and now, uncle, -here are two—a gray and a brown, for you and me. I -thought you would like a subdued color best, as I do. -We are to tie them around our hats,” said Dick, offering -the choice of the remaining veils to the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The veteran soldier laughed and shook his head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, uncle, every gentleman wears a veil.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, Dick! somebody has been selling you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, no, they were all buying veils and fastening -them on to their hats.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I’ll be hanged if I make myself ridiculous by -wearing a veil like a girl.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, you’ll get yourself blinded, deafened, stupefied -and suffocated by the dust—eyes, ears, nostrils and -bronchial tubes will all be filled.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should like to know where the dust is to come from -on such a day as this? Do you see how it is raining?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t know, sir! only know what the fellows here -tell me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They are quizzing you, as I said before, that’s my -opinion.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While he spoke the door was opened and Mr. Spencer -and Mr. Tredegar were announced.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>These were two young Americans, who had been fellow-students -with Dick Hammond, and whom the General had -met on the day before and invited to breakfast and to go -to the Derby with his party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After bowing to the ladies and shaking hands with the -gentlemen, the new-comers took the seats offered them, -and commenced upon the all-engrossing subject of the -hour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fine day for the Derby, sir!” said Mr. Spencer, who -had been three years in London attached to the American -Minister’s <em>suite</em>, and might be supposed to be posted -on the subject. “Very fine day for the Derby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fine day! Why, do you see how it is raining?” demanded -the General, in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drizzling, sir, drizzling; just enough to lay the dust.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dust! ah! by the way that reminds me! Here is a -lunatic has brought an assortment of veils, and he says -we must each wear one—men and women both.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, sir—the regular thing, you know, like the -train at court. It is to protect the wearer from the -smothering dust.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But,” said the General, frowning, “as I was just asking -my nephew when you came in, where is the dust to -come from on such a day as this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, sir, it may clear up by the time we shall be coming -home. And it is in the home-coming we raise the -sirocco. We must be prepared for the worst.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Worst? Do you call clear weather the worst?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The worst possible for the Derby, sir. But this is a -truth that you will never be able to believe until you see -it demonstrated. And you will probably see it done -to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they talked, the waiter came in to lay the cloth for -breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Watching his opportunity, he presently came to General -Lyon, and said, in a low, respectful voice:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Beg pardon, sir, but would you like to have a luncheon -put up to take with you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh? Yes, certainly,” replied the General, at the same -time turning towards his young visitors a comically -appealing look, as much as to say:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>“You see even this waiter knows me to be a greenhorn.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What would you please order, sir?” inquired John.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh?—oh, anything at all! something nice and tidy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pigeon-pie, sir, if you please?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Spencer, is pigeon-pie the regular thing?” said the -General, winking at his friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I believe it is <em>one</em> of the regular things. Derby Day -without pigeon-pie would be—an incomplete arrangement.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Spencer, my dear boy, as you are posted, please -receive my carte blanche to order all the ‘regular things,’ -and everything else that is comfortable.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Young Spencer nodded and laughed; took from the -General’s hand a card and a pencil, and made out a liberal -list which he handed to the waiter, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See that all these articles are put into clean hampers, -and stowed away in the boxes of the General’s barouche.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man left the room with the list, and returned with -the breakfast tray.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the family party and their visitors sat down to -the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna presided.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is my godson?” inquired the General, discontented -at the absence of his favorite.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He had his breakfast in my room, an hour ago, so that -he might be got ready to go with us,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! yes, well, I suppose under the circumstances it -was as well,” admitted the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before they had done breakfast, however, Master -Lenny was led in by his nurse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was resplendent in holiday attire and in the anticipation -of some unknown glory that had been promised -him, and for which he saw great preparations going forward, -and which he called in his baby babble “doin’ -Dubby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doin’ Dubby, untle dranpa! Lenny doin’ Dubby, hee -hos wun,” he said, running up to his godfather.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny is going to the Derby to see the horses run, is -he? But Lenny will be the winning horse, I’ll bet,” said -the General, taking the little fellow up on his knee. “Gentlemen,” -he added, turning to his young visitors, “let me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>introduce you to Master Leonard Lyon, the latest representative -of old Leonard Lyon, who——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Came over with the Conqueror,’” suggested Mr. -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who lived here long before the Conqueror was born,” -concluded the General, quietly. “Leonard, my boy, bow -to the gentlemen, and ask them how they do, and say -that you hope they are well.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hope.—<em>Do Dubby</em>,” said Lenny, who could not connect -his sentences very well as yet, holding out his -chubby hand to Mr. Spencer, who was nearest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Grandpa, we will leave Lenny to help you entertain -your friends while we put on our bonnets and mantles,” -said Anna, rising from the table, followed by Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so Master Leonard is going to the Derby? He -is beginning life early,—he is a very fast young gentleman,” -said Mr. Tredegar, taking the child upon his knee.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny doin’ Dubby—hee hos wun,” was the stereotyped -answer of the boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he was taken from one by the other, and prattled -sociably to all until the return of the ladies dressed for -their drive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, Mr. Spencer, you are not in earnest about these -veils? I am not to decorate Dick’s and grandpa’s hats -with them, am I?” laughed Anna, lifting the light cloud-like -pile of barège.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no; not just yet! not until they shall be required. -It has ceased drizzling, but the ground is still too damp -for dust. They can be rolled up and put into their -pockets until wanted.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here, grandpa, here is yours,” said Anna, rolling up -the gray veil lightly, and handing it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, thank you, my dear. Dust or no dust, I am not -going to wear a veil. I would just as soon wear a crinoline!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put it in your own pocket, my dear Mrs. Hammond, -and have it ready for him when he will want it. He will -be glad enough to get it by-and-by,” said Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna took his advice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now are we all quite ready?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>“Quite,” answered everybody else.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, come!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he took Drusilla’s hand, and drew it within his -arm and led the way down-stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A large, open barouche, with a fine pair of horses, stood -waiting the General’s family. A jaunty gig with a spirited -horse awaited the two young gentlemen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and Anna were handed into the back seat. -The General sat in front, and by his side sat Pina with little -Lenny. Dick perched himself up beside the driver. -Jacob rode behind. The two young men were in their gig.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The party started—the General’s barouche taking the -lead.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The drizzling rain had ceased and the clouds were dispersing -before a light wind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The streets of London, always crowded, were now -thronged; but with this difference also,—that nine-tenths -of the people’s faces and the horses’ heads were turned in -one direction, and everybody,—man, woman, and child, -saint and sinner,—was becoming more and more intoxicated; -and not with spirituous or fermented liquors, but with -the Derby Day. Crowded carriages of all descriptions, -saddle-horses, donkeys, and foot-passengers of all ranks -and sexes, thronged the streets; and talk and laughter, -calls and shouts resounded through the air. It looked as -if London were suddenly being evacuated by its whole -population, and the people were making a merry joke of -the matter. And all were pouring towards the south-western -suburb.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In such a throng the progress of our party was necessarily -very slow, yet with none of the <em>tedium</em> of a slow progress. -The great crowd of people and of vehicles going all -one way; the variety of individuals and characters; the -total abandonment of all reserve; the hailings and the -chaffings; the jests and the snatches of song; the grotesque -decorations of some of the horses and carriages, -and even of some of the people; the perfect novelty of the -scene; and the exhilaration of all animated creatures that -composed it, made every step of the progress charming to -the unaccustomed minds and eyes of our new-comers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and Anna were delighted. Little Lenny -shouted. Pina was not a whit behind them in her ecstasies. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>Old General Lyon’s eyes twinkled and lips -smiled, and sometimes he broke into a good hearty laugh. -As for Dick, the oldest Derby goer on the road could not -have got ahead of him in bandying back the jokes that -were bandied at him on the way. Only that Jacob, hanging -on behind, stared with “all his eyes,” and looked as -if he thought he was enjoying a pleasant sort of nightmare.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say, you jolly old howl (owl),” called a cockney -from a neighboring carriage to General Lyon, “where did -you get that gorilla you’ve got perched up behind there, -heh?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“From a country where they muzzle monkeys sometimes,” -retorted Dick, answering for the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So it went on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But this is nothing at all to what it will be when we -are out of London and fairly on to the Epsom road,” -shouted Henry Spencer from his gig behind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I never saw the Carnival at Rome; but I should -think it was not very unlike this,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is the Carnival of London! Old Rome has its -Saturnalia; modern Rome has its Carnival; America has -her Independence Day; but England has her Derby, -equal to all these others rolled into one,” said Francis -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If this is only the beginning it is worth crossing the -Atlantic to see—not the Derby race only, but the Derby -Day!” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Only wait till you get to Epsom!” exclaimed Henry -Spencer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Once fairly upon the Epsom road, our friends found it -as their guests had predicted. The crowd, great as it had -been before, was even greater now. And it thickened -with every mile; the numbers of passengers increasing -twofold, tenfold, a hundred-fold, as they approached the -bourne of their journey.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The road was as one vast river of human beings and -brute creatures, pouring its multitudes towards Epsom. -And every cross country road was as a tributary stream -helping to swell the flood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Every description of wheeled vehicles known to the -civilized world—broughams, barouches, landaus, chaises, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>buggies, sulkies, gigs, rockaways, carryalls, omnibuses, -stages, brakes, carts, drags, wagons, jaunting cars, in an -endless number and variety, and drawn by every available -species of quadrupeds—horses, mules, donkeys, goats, -dogs, oxen—thronged and crushed and pressed together -for miles and miles behind and before on the main road and -up and down every branch road—crowding toward Epsom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In this vast, moving mixed multitude the only saving -feature was this, that they were all moving the same way, -and all, or nearly all, in high, good humor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pressed on all sides as they were—behind, before, on -the right and on the left, our friends in the barouche and -their young guests in the gig, managed to keep together;—sometimes -brought to a standstill, sometimes moving -on at the rate of an inch a minute.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now you understand why it was necessary to start so -early, though Epsom is but fourteen miles from London, -and though the great race does not come off before two -o’clock,” called out young Spencer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; and I begin to see the wisdom of those who -went down to Epsom last night to avoid all this,” answered -the general.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, but they were either old stagers who had experienced -this sort of thing many times before, or else individuals -who had some deep stake in the races to come -off to-day. For my own part, I enjoy the going and returning—the -‘road,’ in short, quite as much as anything -else appertaining to the great Derby Day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is a novel and interesting sight, in its contrasts if -in nothing else,” replied the General, glancing from the -handsome barouche decorated with a duke’s coronet -painted on its panels, and occupied by an aristocratic -party of stately men and elegant women, in splendid apparel, -that crowded him on the right—to the old dilapidated -omnibus, filled within and without with the ragged -refuse of the London streets and alleys, which pressed -him on the left.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But truth to tell, the ragamuffins seemed the merrier, -if not the richer party of the two.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And many jests flew over General Lyon’s head between -the Bohemians in the old omnibus and a young member -of the ducal family who occupied a seat on the box beside -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>the coachman. For that one day “free-born Britons” -of every rank enjoyed something like liberty and -equality—not to say unbridled license.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hey day! What’s the matter now?” exclaimed the -General, as the whole immense march, with much rearing -and plunging of quadrupeds, came to a dead halt.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There’s a lock at the turnpike gate, sir,” called out a -vagrant from the old ‘bus.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A lock on the toll-gate! It’s a shame,” replied the -innocent old gentleman; “the gate should never be -locked in the daytime, and most especially on such a day -as this, when they must keep such a vast multitude of -people waiting while they unlock it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>This speech was greeted by a burst of ironical applause -from all the occupants of the old omnibus, as well as from -all others who heard it. They laughed at the speaker and -chaffed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You change all that when you get into parliament,” -sang out one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say! what’s your name, you jolly old soul? Is it -old King Cole?” inquired another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then all in the old omnibus sang out together:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Old King Cole was a jolly old soul,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And a jolly old soul was he—</div> - <div class='line'>He called for his bottle, and he called for his bowl,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And he called for his comrades three!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick, what the deuce have I said wrong? What do -they mean?” inquired the General, much annoyed at finding -himself the center of observation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have said nothing wrong, and they mean nothing -offensive. It is the Derby Day! That accounts for all, -don’t you see?” answered Dick, laughing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But about the lock. They were chaffing me about -<em>that</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you know that there is <em>now</em> more than one lock at -every turnpike gate. There is the legitimate lock under -the charge of the keeper; and there is a lock of interlocked -carriage wheels, reaching, perhaps, for ten miles -along the road.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I knew once a lock of fourteen miles long, all caused -by an ill conditioned fellow in a brougham, who stopped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>the way at the toll-gate for twenty minutes, disputing -about his change,” said the young gentleman who was -seated beside the coachman on the right-hand carriage; -for on this latitudinarian day English reserve was laid -aside, and strangers spoke together as familiar friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the General’s fine barouche was the center of observation -just now, and all on account of the General’s -“gorilla footman,” as the Bohemians called young Jacob.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Unluckily for his peace to-day, Jacob, with one of the -best hearts in the world, and a tolerably good brain, possessed -all the peculiar features of his race. He had the -low, receding forehead, broad, flat nose, wide, full lips, and -small, retiring chin, jet black skin, and crisp, woolly hair -of the pure Guinea negro—all of which was likely to -render him an object of great amusement to the malicious -crowd, and annoyance to his master and friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say, old cove, you show it free now, like the circus -men do the clowns when they go in procession; but how -much are you going to charge a head to see it when you -get it in a booth on Epsom Heath?” called out one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Marster!” cried Jacob, half crying and ready to swear—“Marster! -only let me, and I’ll jump down and lick the -lot of ’em!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I say, fellows, it can talk!” cried another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let me at ’em!” begged Jacob.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, my boy! You’d get trampled to death -under the horses’ feet before you could grapple with any -of them. They mean no harm. It is the Derby Day. -Give them back as good as they send.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I haven’t got it in me,” sobbed Jake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! yes you have. Let ’em have it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Jake’s idea of “letting ’em have it” was of a more -substantial sort than mere words. Stooping down, he -armed himself with a couple of ale bottles, and flourishing -one in each hand, he threatened one and all of his -aggressors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh! eh! is it growing vicious?” called out some one -with a shout of laughter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The ale bottle flew from Jake’s right hand and knocked -off the hat of the speaker.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I say! look here! none of that now, you know! -that’s carrying things a little too far even for the Derby -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>Day!” exclaimed the bare-headed individual, groping in -vain for his hat, but keeping his good humor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! see here, governor! Here’s your ape getting -dangerous! chain it hup before it ’urts some un!” sang -out another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Away flew the other ale bottle and struck this counsellor -in the chest and knocked him heels over head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hi! ho! here! where’s the police!” called out a half -score of voices.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the police were not forthcoming, and the floored -man picked himself up, laughing merrily and saying -good-humoredly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Boys, we’re getting the worst of it! Better let the -gorilla alone!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the General turned to his coachman, frowning.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Jacob. I am ashamed of you! Here’s a set of poor -fellows out for their rare holiday chaffing you a little -with harmless words, and you answer them with hard -blows!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You told me to ‘let ’em have it,’” muttered Jake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But not in <em>blows</em>; in <em>words</em>, you stupid fellow!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I couldn’t answer ’em so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But suppose they retorted in kind? They can throw -missiles as well as you can.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They are welkim!” grumbled Jake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What, and hurt and maybe kill the ladies? Jake -I’m more ashamed of you than ever.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>A commotion in the crowd ahead, a gradual unloosening -of the lock of wheels, warned our travelers that the -way was clear, and carriages of all sorts moved on, at -first slowly, and then as the throng thinned more rapidly, -until it began to look like the multitudinous race of fast -trotting horses in harness on the Bloomingdale Road.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the quiet “chaffing” became hilarious shouting as -one after another of fast drivers distanced all competitors. -And now indeed the Derby dust arose in clouds like the -sirocco of the desert until every man and mother’s son -had to put on a veil.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Old General Lyon resisted the fate as long as he could, -until, as Harry Spencer had predicted, his eyes, ears -nostrils and bronchial tubes were all so much obstructed -that he was nearly blinded, deafened, suffocated and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>overwhelmed. Then he let Anna dust off his face and -head with an extra pocket-handkerchief, and tie a gray -veil about his hat, as they drove on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wish some sort of a veil could be contrived to protect -these hedges,” said Anna, pointing to the boundaries -of the road on the right and left. “It is a sin to cover -these lovely green hedges with a thick coat of dust. But, -oh, grandpa! look, there’s poetry for you! look at that -sign!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The old gentleman turned and smiled to see a rural -looking wayside inn, embowered in creeping vines and -running roses, and overshadowed by trees, and bearing -the inscription in two lines of rhyme:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Good Beer</div> - <div class='line'>Sold Here.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>A little group of foot passengers to the Derby were sitting -on a bench under a spreading tree, testing the qualities -of the said “good beer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>This and many other simple little way sidescenes, illustrative -of English rural roadside life, which the occasional -opening of the crowd allowed them to catch a glimpse of, -remained as pleasant pictures in the gallery of memory to -contemplate in after-days.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were now ascending a graduated hill; when they -reached its summit they were comparatively free from -the crowd. The carriages before them had gone rapidly -on downward; the carriages behind them were coming -slowly up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Order your coachman to draw up here, General. We -are near Epsom, and from this rising ground, by standing -up in your carriage and using your field-glass, you may -take a bird’s-eye view of Epsom Hill and Heath, with its -surroundings,” said Mr. Tredegar, adding example to precept -by stopping his own horse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General gave orders in accordance with this advice, -and then mounted on his seat, and levelled his field-glass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heavens!” he exclaimed, in his unbounded -amazement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Under his eyes lay a scene of its kind not to be equalled -in this world.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>There were from four to five hundred thousand people -of all ranks, sexes, ages, and conditions,—some with their -horses, carriages, and liveried servants; others with their -donkey-carts, and tents, and wares for sale; others again -with only their own weary limbs and haggard faces, and -fluttering rags,—all gathered together on the hill and -heath of Epsom, or pressing thither by every highway leading -from every point of the compass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I never expected to see such a crowd this side of the -Judgment-day!” said General Lyon, as he resigned the -glass to Anna and assisted her to rise on the seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna gazed long and thoughtfully at the wonderful -scene, and then she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it reminds one of the Judgment-day in something -else beside its great crowd—here, as on that coming day, -saint and sinner, prince and beggar stand together as they -will stand there! It is an exciting and a depressing scene, -grandpa,” she said, as she restored the glass and resumed -her seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla next arose to take a view. And she was no -doubt as deeply impressed by the vastness of the multitude -assembled before her as her uncle and cousin had been, -but her chief thought was still,</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How shall I ever be able to catch a glimpse of my -Alick in such a boundless crowd as this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick was standing by her side, using his own field-glass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Worth crossing the ocean to see, is it not, Drusa?” -he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; even though we know little of horses, and less -of races, and least of all which is likely to win the Derby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Fairy Queen,’ is the favorite, I believe.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What did you say, Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say Mr. Chisholm Cheke’s ‘Fairy Queen’ is the -favorite!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What favorite? Whose favorite?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tut, Drusa! Why the favorite of the turf, of the -stables, and of the betting men! The horse upon whose -success the most money is staked, the one that is expected -to win the Derby!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if everybody knows which horse is likely to win -the Derby, why does any one ever bet on any other?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>“Ah! that I can’t tell,” said Dick, shrugging his shoulders. -“Only this,—the favorite does not <em>always</em> win, in -fact <em>seldom</em> does, I think; it is generally some dark horse -that wins the race.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dark horse? Do the dark ones run better than the -light ones?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Drusa, what a novice you are, my child! I don’t -mean a dark-colored horse; I mean a horse kept dark, -<i><span lang="fr">perdu</span></i>, in retirement, that nobody talks about or hears -about, except certain knowing ones.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And does the dark horse always win?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not always, but often; sometimes some intermediate, -honest horse, that is neither bragged about on -the one hand, nor ‘kept dark’ on the other, surprises -everybody by winning the race, and also occasionally the -favorite wins.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, we will not bet; we are all conscientiously opposed -to betting; but if we were not, we should stake -our money upon the dark horse. But how would we -know him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shouldn’t know him at all; none but the few in -the secret would know him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, come, my children, we are being left behind,” -said the General, impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I do not care much for the winning horse, and -that is the truth. But I care a great deal for the human -interest in this vast scene! Will the Derby ever go -down and pass away, like the other glories of this world? -And will we say to our great grandchildren in the Derby -of their days: ‘Ah, you should have seen the Derby as -it was when we were young!’ Shall we talk so to our -descendants, Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Goodness knows! The Derby may continue to increase -in importance; it ought to do so; I hope it may,” -replied Dick, as he resumed his seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Jacob started his horses and they drove down the hill -at a very rapid rate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On each side of the road were now to be seen the -dustbrown tents of the gypsy wanderers; the decorated -booths of the showmen; the tempting fruit-stalls of the -costermongers; and among them all, groups of country -people and knots of cockneys, and all the heterogeneous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>assembly of bipeds and quadrupeds that on the Derby -Day infest the neighborhood of Epsom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Slowly making their way through all these, our party -reached and passed the first barrier (for Epsom Heath is -divided off into circles, the entrance to each succeeding one -towards the hill or the Grand Stand, commanding a -higher and higher price).</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our friends found themselves upon the heath, that -was occupied by very much the same sort of crowd which -had obstructed the roads leading hither. It was dotted -all over by gipsies’ tents, fruit-stalls, refreshment-stands, -costermongers’ carts, and so forth, and so forth, and animated -by idlers, loafers, peddlers, ballad-singers, image-boys, -fortune-tellers, “confidence” men, and women, -thieves, gamblers, and, in short, every variety of the -lower order of human nature.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Passing through all these—passing barrier after barrier, -and circle after circle, our party at last found themselves -upon the fine breezy and commanding hill, which -was comparatively free from the crowd, and occupied -only by the carriages of the nobility and gentry, filled -with fair women and well-behaved men.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XVI.<br> <span class='large'>THE GIPSIES.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Theirs is the deep lore of the olden time,</div> - <div class='line'>And in it are fine mysteries of the stars</div> - <div class='line'>Solved with a cunning wisdom, and strange thoughts,</div> - <div class='line'>Half prophecy, half poetry, and dreams</div> - <div class='line'>Clearer than truth, and speculations wild</div> - <div class='line'>That touched the secrets of your very soul.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The General and his friends selected the best front -sites that were left vacant, and had their carriages turned -around and the horses taken from them and led away to -distant stalls and fodder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then all reseated themselves and looked around them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What a sight! what a crowd! what a turmoil! Far -as the eye could reach on every side a turbulent sea of -humanity!</p> - -<p class='c012'>Where could the people all have sprung from? Had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>London emptied itself of its population upon Epsom -Heath? Had Paris, St. Petersburg and all the great continental -cities contributed their thousands? Had earth -given up her dead and ocean her prey to swell this crowd?</p> - -<p class='c012'>At first, as I said, all seemed but a turbulent sea of -human beings; but gradually individual images came -out of the confusion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Most prominent among these was the Grand Stand, an -elevated and railed platform or gallery where the gamblers -in horseflesh congregated to make up their betting-books -and watch the race.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And most interesting, especially to ladies, was the -Royal Box, with its cushioned seats, surmounted by its -crown and canopy of state all in burning scarlet and gold. -Neither the queen nor any of the princesses occupied the -Royal Box; only three or four of the princes, with their -lords in waiting, were present.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet toward that box many field-glasses were leveled—Anna’s -among the rest, for—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“A substitute shines brightly as a king,</div> - <div class='line'>Until a king be by.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>And failing the queen’s presence, the queen’s sons were -objects of absorbing interest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Neither Victoria nor any of the princesses are here,” -said Anna, lowering her glass with a look of disappointment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The queen nor the princesses ever come to the Derby. -You may see them at the Ascot Races, however, which -are considered more aristocratic, though very much less -famous and popular than these,” replied Mr. Spencer, who -had left his seat in the gig to come and stand beside General -Lyon’s barouche and talk to the young people.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna next criticized the splendid dresses of the ladies -who filled the open carriages on this hill; and for no -occasion do ladies dress more splendidly than for the -Derby Day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good gracious! Half the milliners and jewelers’ -establishments in London and Paris must be emptied of -their contents,” she exclaimed, as her eyes roved over -the various and dazzling display.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Out from the seething mass of humanity on the heath -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>below came other individual pictures. Here and there a -poor little pale, hollow-cheeked boy creeping feebly along -and peering hungrily about for stray crusts and bones, -or apple parings, and orange peel, dropped from the -luncheon hamper of some prosperous feeder; now and -then some grandly beautiful woman whose flaunting dress -and insolent air proclaimed her a very far fallen angel; -here and there some sunny-eyed child of Italy picking up -a few pennies by singing the “wild songs of his dear -native land,” and everywhere a leather-visaged gipsy -crone trying to improve her own fortunes by telling other -people’s; everywhere professors of all sorts of irregular -arts and sciences; everywhere traders in all kinds of contraband -goods and chattels; and everywhere were the -“efficient police force” trying very successfully not to -keep order; trying very hard not to interfere with the -lawful or unlawful practices of the poor, on this one -gracious day of their license and their happiness. A pickpocket, -if detected, would be arrested, of course; but as -for the rest, gipsies might tell fortunes, and beggars beg, -and starving little children pilfer, with none to punish -them less merciful than the All-Father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was so much to see! such an infinite variety of -life! The Derby race, though the greatest feature of the -day, was not a thousandth part of the sights. If no race -had come off, the assembly itself was well worth coming -to see, and sitting through a whole day to study.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, Drusilla and General Lyon, were well content -to occupy their seats and spend their time in calmly contemplating -the scene before them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the three young men, Dick, Spencer and Tredegar, -wished to mingle with the active life below, and so, making -an excuse to go and get cards of the race they bowed -and left the hill and soon disappeared in the crowd on -the heath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Many other gentlemen who were in attendance upon -the ladies on the hill, also left their carriages and went -down; others who had been down were now coming up;—so -that there was a continual moving about of foot-passengers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look, look, Drusilla! there is a gipsy telling fortunes -at that carriage next but one to us, on the left. Grandpa, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>when she has finished there, do beckon her to come here!” -eagerly exclaimed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, my child! you never want the crone to -tell your fortune.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, but I do indeed!” exclaimed Anna, excitedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tut, tut! you don’t believe in such tomfoolery!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I don’t believe in it of course; but I want to hear -what the gipsy will have to say to me for all that. Do -watch her, grandpa; and, as soon as she has done with -those ladies call her here. Consider, I never saw a gipsy -except upon the stage—never saw a real gipsy in my life -before, and may never have a chance of seeing one again. -Oh, do call her here, grandpa, as soon as she is at liberty!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, well, my dear, you have the right to make a -goose of yourself if you please, and I will help you to do -so. I will beckon her presently.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, there’s Dick come back! Dick, come here, I want -you!” called Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Dick, who had left his companions among their betting -friends and returned to the hill alone, now came up -to the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick, I’m so glad you’ve come back! There’s a gipsy -telling fortunes at that carriage—I want you to bring her -here to tell ours.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Absurdity, Anna dear! you cannot mean to countenance -such impostors?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, that is so uncharitable! How do you know -they are impostors? How do you know but that they -believe in their own art?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do <em>you</em> believe in it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; but I want to have some fun out of the gipsy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well; I consent provided it is meant in jest and -not in earnest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And here, Dick, let us put the gipsy’s powers to a test. -You come in and sit down by me—then take little Lenny -in your arms and play papa. Little Lenny being fair and -flaxen-haired and blue-eyed, with all the Lyon features, -is much more like me than like his own mother whom in -truth he does not at all resemble, and he will easily be -taken for ours. And the more easily because you and I -look as if we had reached years of discretion, while Drusilla -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>seems but a child. Let us play a trick on the gipsy, -and ask her to foretell <em>our</em> boy’s future.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ha! ha! ha! that will be good!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not one word of the conversation since Dick’s return -did Drusilla hear—with her field-glass raised to her eyes, -she was gazing at a particular point on the Grand Stand; -for, even in that boundless crowd, her love had discovered -her Alick—but, ah, discovered him among the desperate -gamblers of the betting ring!</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was blind and deaf to everything else.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile the gipsy had drawn something nearer to -the General’s barouche. She was in fact standing beside -the very next carriage, trying to wheedle the occupants -to have their fortunes told; but they all—a circle of demure -women—sternly warned the sibyl off and threatened -her with the police, at which she laughed and shook -her crisp, black curls.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The police would not trouble a poor gipsy wife like -herself,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then General Lyon bent over the side of his barouche, -and showing her a broad, silver crown, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come here, good woman, and tell these young ladies’ -fortunes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, Heaven bless your handsome face, kind gentleman -but I would like to tell <em>yours</em>, too, for a fine fortune it has -been, and is, and is to be!” said the gipsy coming up to -the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was a small, slight woman, lithe and graceful like -all her race, with a swarthy and somewhat wrinkled face; -with deep-set, brilliant black eyes; crisply curling, tendril-like -black hair; and well-marked black eyebrows. She -did not wear the traditional red cloak and plaid head -kerchief—those have long passed away even from among -her tribe but she wore rather tawdry and shabby finery—a -striped skirt, a black shawl, a straw bonnet trimmed -with ribbons and flowers of many colors, red predominating. -And, upon the whole, her appearance was picturesque -and pleasing. Neither did she address her dupes in the -poetic language of the ideal gipsy—her words and manner -were as real as herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“God save you, fair gentlemen! God save you, sweet -ladies! Shall the poor gipsy tell your fortunes? I see -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>good luck in <em>your</em> face, pretty lady! I see great good -luck! Give the poor gipsy a little, little bit of silver to -cross your hand with, and she will look and see what the -great good fortune is that is in store for you. Do, pretty -lady,” she pleaded in a very sweet, soft, wheedling tone -as she held out her hand to Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mrs. Hammond dropped a shilling in her palm and, -smiling, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My fortune is already told, good woman, but I want -you to foretell the future of my dear little son here.” -And she lifted Lenny from Dick’s arms to her own lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla with a half-suppressed exclamation, now -looked around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Anna gave her a comically beseeching took, and -she yielded the point and turned away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy seemed not to notice this little by-play. She -stood with her hands folded upon her breast and her eyes -fixed upon the ground.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, gipsy! look upon my little son here and read -his future,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy woman raised her glittering black eyes, and, -smiling, shook her tendril-like black curls and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, pretty, fair lady! You think the poor gipsy can -tell what is <em>to come</em>, yet is so blind she cannot see what -is <em>now</em>!—no!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What do you mean, good woman?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The boy is not your son, sweet lady.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not my son! Why, look at him! He is the very -image of me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is very like you, pretty lady; and that shows him -to be of your race; but he is not your son.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you know that?” questioned Anna, beginning -to wonder at the woman’s knowledge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By my art. You have no son, sweet lady. You will -never have a son; but——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, don’t tell me that, gipsy! I didn’t give you a -shilling to purchase bad news.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A sovereign will not buy good news unless it is true, -pretty lady; and the gipsy’s words are true. I was going -to tell you, though you have no son, you will have many -fair daughters, who will live and grow up and marry and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>bear many fine sons, who will grow up and be great men -in the land.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is foretelling the long future with a notable blessing!” -laughed Anna. “But I wish you had promised -these fine sons to me instead of to my future daughters. I -don’t care anything about those very shadowy young -ladies. I don’t know them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy turned to Dick, and with her musical whine -pleaded:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Kind, handsome gentleman, do cross the poor gipsy -wife’s hand with a little, little bit of silver, for telling all -about your wife’s daughters and daughters’ sons, who -will be rulers in the land beyond the sea.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you know that lady is my wife?” inquired -Dick, much astonished.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! good gentleman, can the gipsy know the future -and not know the present? Now, kind, handsome gentleman, -give the poor gipsy a bit of silver for good luck—the -poor gipsy, sweet gentleman! who sees such great, good -fortune for you, and none at all for herself!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then she is no true seeress, or she would see this piece -of good fortune coming to her,” said Dick, as in the largeness -of his heart and the extravagance of his habits he -put into the gipsy’s hands the great American gold coin, -the double eagle, worth nearly five sovereigns.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy had never seen such a coin in her life. It -inspired her, and for once she broke into something like -poetry.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, noble gentleman! you have made the poor gipsy -rich and happy. Ah! kind gentleman, may the stars -rain down blessings on your head as bright as their own -beams! May flowers spring up under your footsteps -wherever you tread! May——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick!” laughed Anna, breaking into the discourse -and cutting short the rhapsody, “I shall lend you out to -some of our old neighbors to walk their barren gardens -into bloom!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come,” said Dick, to change the subject—“come, -gipsy, tell my little cousin’s fortune here. Will she live -to grow up and get married?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy turned at his bidding and looked at Drusilla -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>whose childlike face might have deceived eyes less keenly -penetrating than those of the gipsy seeress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cross the poor gipsy’s hand with a little, little bit of -silver, sweet lady, and let her tell your fortune, my lady? -The gipsy sees rare good luck in your pretty face, my -lady!” said the woman, in a wheedling tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What young creature, unsatisfied and with a deep heart -stake in life, is not in some degree a prey to superstition -and credulity?—is not in secret a would-be diviner of -dreams, interpreter of omens, consulter of the stars, reader -of the future? The restless, longing, impatient heart cannot -wait the slow revelations of time; it would, with rash -hand, rend aside the veil and know the worst or best at -once.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So it was with Drusilla now. She dropped a silver -crown in the gipsy’s hand, and then, half in faith and half -in scorn of that misplaced faith, she held out her palm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The gipsy glanced slightly at the palm, but gazed earnestly -in the face of the young matron.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My lady, you have been a wife and you are a mother, -you have had trouble—long trouble for so short a life, and -a great trouble for so gentle a lady; but it is gone now, -and it will never come back any more.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Heaven for that,” murmured Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you are not satisfied yet. There is something -wanted, my lady. You have a hungry, hungry heart, and -a begging eye. You are longing and famishing for something, -my lady, and you will get it; for the hungry heart -is a mighty heart, and must prevail; and the begging eye -is a conquering eye that will overcome. Sweet, my lady, -grief has gone away, never to come back to you; and joy -will soon come, never to leave you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, if I were sure that were true. If I could only -believe that!” exclaimed Drusilla, earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You may believe it, my lady. You will soon see it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you know it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By my art,” answered the gipsy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she turned to General Lyon and said, coaxingly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! kind, handsome gentleman, you will cross the poor -gipsy’s hand with a little silver to help her, poor thing, -and she will tell you such a good fortune!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“My fortune is all told these many years past, good -woman,” said the General, with a sigh that did not escape -the gipsy’s keen eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! don’t say so, good, dear gentleman. You have -many long and happy years of life to live yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am an old man, gipsy; I have lived out my life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah no, noble gentleman, not so. You are in your -prime. Ah me! with your grand form and handsome -face, you could make many a sweet, pretty lady’s heart -ache yet if you chose; yes, that you could.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, come, my good woman, that is going a little too -far,” laughed the General, not displeased. What old gentleman -ever is with a little flattery?</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is going a <em>great deal</em> too far, grandpa. Come now, -don’t let her be putting courtship and matrimony into -your head. I won’t have any young grandmamma set up -at Old Lyon Hall to lord it over me,” laughed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, my girl! The only way in which I may ever -make any lady’s heart ache, will be by getting the gout, -and growing cross over it, and growling at you and Drusilla -from morning until night,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At that moment a policeman stepped up and put his -hand on the gipsy’s shoulder, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, Gentilly, I have had my eye on you this half -hour. Move on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, bless the dear blue eyes of him,” coaxed the fortune-teller, -turning around and patting the man’s cheeks, -“he’ll never make the poor old gipsy wife move on, now -that she has come up to her luck—such luck, my darling. -Only see what the grand, noble young gentleman has -given the poor gipsy. When the race is over, come up to -my tent, pet, and have a pot of porter and a plate of biled -beef and carrots with his old mother,” she added, patting -him on the cheek again and turning from him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s the way, you see, sir—that’s always the way -with Gentilly,” said the policeman, apologetically, to the -old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know her?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Know Gentilly? Bless you, sir, everybody on the race-course -knows Gentilly and her sister, Patience.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you know no harm of her, I dare say, although -you are a police officer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>“Well, sir, beyond——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, he is not going to tell lies on the old gipsy!—It -will be three o’clock. Come up at my tent for the biled -beef and carrots and the pot of porter,” said the fortune-teller, -laying her hands upon the lips of the police officer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At that moment the two young men stepped up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Gentilly turned to them immediately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tell your fortune, sweet young gentlemen? Cross -the poor gipsy’s hand with silver to tell your fortune.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, thank you,” laughed Spencer. “I have had my -fortune told by members of your tribe at least ten times -to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But here’s half a crown for you if you’ll only go away -and not bother,” added Tredegar, dropping the coin into -the gipsy’s hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Blessings on your handsome face, kind gentleman! -Ah! I could tell you of a fair lady who is thinking of -you,” coaxed Gentilly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And thinking what a long-legged, lantern-jawed, lankhaired -fright the Yankee boy is, no doubt. All right; -you can tell me that another time; but go now and don’t -bother.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Gentilly, you really must move on,” added the -policeman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the fortune-teller, having gleaned all that she -could from the company, did move on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now an agitation like the movement of the wind -upon the waves of the sea or the leaves of the forest -swayed the vast multitude.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What’s the matter now?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The horses—they are coming,” answered Spencer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it the great race? Are they going to start?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not just yet. They are being brought out and walked -around the course to be shown. Here they are!” exclaimed -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All in the barouche stood up, adjusted their field-glasses -and levelled them at the race-course that encircled the -field.</p> - -<p class='c012'>About thirty of the very finest horses in the world, decorated, -and ridden by small, light jockeys in parti-colored -suits and fancy caps, came on in procession and trotted -around the course. Some three years ago these horses -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>“the cream of the cream” of the horse nobility, had been -bred and born to order, and from that time trained for this -Derby—a most careful and costly preparation of three -years for a trial that would be decided in half an hour. -No wonder at the breathless interest they excited even -among those who had no stake in the race.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Involuntary exclamations of admiration and delight -burst from the ladies of our party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What beautiful creatures!” cried Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pity they can’t <em>all</em> win,” added Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The train of horses trotted out of their range of vision, -and disappeared from view on another section of the -circle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is there time to lunch before the great race?” inquired -Dick, with a hungry glance at the hampers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir; they start in fifteen minutes,” answered -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Those fifteen minutes passed in silent waiting. Fortune-telling, -small-trading, ballad-singing, eating and -drinking—all were suspended until the trial upon which -such immense stakes were laid should be over. It was a -holiday,—a festival; yet the hush that preceded the -great event of the day, was like the awful pause before -an execution.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At length the spell was broken. The word went -forth:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They’re starting!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Three hundred thousand people were on their feet in -an instant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They’re coming!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Field-glasses were raised and necks were stretched, and -eyes were strained.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here they are! Here they are!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yes, here they are. The flying train of meteors flashing -past! They are gone while we look! Unaccustomed -eyes cannot trace their flight, or distinguish one horse -from another in the lightning-like passage. A moment -more and the goal is won!</p> - -<p class='c012'>By whom?</p> - -<p class='c012'>It is not certainly known to the crowd just yet. They -say:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lightfoot!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“Wing!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wonder!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>No, none of these. The number flies up on the winning -post:</p> - -<p class='c012'>Number Seven!</p> - -<p class='c012'>And a thousand voices cry out:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fairy Queen!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yes, the favorite has won the race; and Mr. Chisholm -Cheke has made his fortune. Some few others have won -much money, and many have lost, and some are ruined.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Do not look towards the Grand Stand. The haggard -faces of those ruined gamesters will haunt your dreams -to your life’s end.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was wonderful how soon after the great act of this -drama has been performed that the uncompromised crowd -subsided into comparative calmness, and betook themselves -again to their outside amusements—their small -trading, fortune-telling, ballad-singing, et cetera, while -waiting for the next race.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon ordered up his hampers, and his party -had luncheon. After they had finished, the fragments of -their feast were distributed to the little beggars that -thronged around their carriage-wheels.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At four o’clock our party left the ground to return to -London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The evening drive back to London was attended with -all the incidents of the morning drive to Epsom—a hundred-fold -increased—the crowd was thicker, the crush -closer, the noise louder, the dust higher, the danger -greater.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Through all these, however, our party passed safely, and -reached their apartments at the Morley House in time for -an early tea.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XVII.<br> <span class='large'>HOW THE PARTED MET.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>They seemed to those who saw them most,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The careless friends of every day,</div> - <div class='line'>Her smile was still serene and sweet,</div> - <div class='line in2'>His courtesy was free and gay;</div> - <div class='line'>Yet if by one the others name</div> - <div class='line in2'>In some unguarded hour was heard,</div> - <div class='line'>The heart they deemed so cold and tame</div> - <div class='line'>Would flutter like a captured bird.—<span class='sc'>Moncton Milnes</span>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>A few days after the Derby, Anna and Drusilla sat in -their private parlor at the hotel, waiting for the return of -the General and Dick, who had gone out to keep an engagement -with Francis Tredegar, but had promised to be -back in time to take the ladies to the Tower.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny was out with his nurse in the square.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The conversation between the two young women turned -upon the gipsies.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is wonderful, their seeming powers of prophecy or -second sight,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wash I could know their skill to be second sight, -since they prophesied to me such smooth things; but, in -truth, I think it was only <span class='fss'>INSIGHT</span>,” replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Insight?’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing more.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But how did she know that Lenny was not my son -when I told her he was?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By that same gift of insight, which I think they cultivate -to a great perfection. She read you, Anna—she -saw through you. She knew by your manner that you -were Dick’s wife; but also that your bright face had -never been clouded by a mother’s cares.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And by the same power she divined that you were -both wife and mother.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; she looked in my face, not in my hand. They -say that ‘every face is a history, or a prophecy,’—certainly -every face seems to be both to these skilful physiognomists, -the gipsies.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>“It is their insight, then, that gives them such knowledge -of human nature?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course. They may be very ignorant of books, but -they are very learned in men and women.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must have studied the gipsy while she was studying -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did, Anna. I watched her and others of her tribe -while they were telling fortunes. I saw their <em>in</em>sight -gave them a <em>fore</em>sight that the ignorant and superficial -might mistake for supernatural powers of second sight -and prophecy. I saw how they worked. For instance, -they know as a general fact that the wishes of the young -run upon love; those of the middle-aged upon money and -worldly success; those of the old upon long life. Therefore, -to the young they always promise success in love; -to the mature, success in money matters; to the aged, -length of days. If they see a look of sorrow upon a young -face, and no apparent cause, like a suit of deep mourning, -for it, they will tell the dupe that he or she has been -crossed in love, but that all will end well. If a look of -care upon a middle-aged face, they will speak of monetary -anxieties; but they will also promise a fortunate issue -to the difficulty. If of weariness upon an old face, -they will still talk of long and happy years to come. -Moreover, they think since opposites usually attract each -other, that it is safe to tell a blonde young lady that a -dark young gentleman is thinking of her, and a brunette -that her thoughts favor the attachment of a certain fair -‘complected’ gentleman; and generally they hit the -truth.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, the rule most generally holds good. Witness -Alick, Dick, you and me. Alick, a blonde, jilted me, another -blonde, for you, a brunette. And I was very willing -to be left free to marry my dark-haired Dick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While Anna spoke the door opened and little Lenny -entered, dragging in his nurse, and full of excitement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Man! man! div Lenny dit!” he exclaimed, holding -out a silver whistle to view, and then putting it to his lips -and blowing a shrill blast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! oh! oh! goodness sake what lunatic gave the -boy that? We shall be deafened!” exclaimed Anna, -clapping her hands to her ears.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>Drusilla trembled with pleasure, for she instinctively -knew the donor of the whistle; but she smiled and lifted -the boy in her arms, called Pina to follow, and went to -her own room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who gave it to him, Pina?” she asked, as soon as -she had shut the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“His father, ma’am.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tell me all about it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We were walking around the square, when all of a -sudden who should come up but Mr. Alick—I mean Lord -Killpeople, as they call him here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Killcrichtoun, Pina.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Killchristians, ma’am; it’s all the same, only -worse, because of course it is much more devilisher, begging -your pardon, ma’am, to kill Christians than it is to -do to common people. Any ways, up he comes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And——What then? Go on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I didn’t go in, ma’am, though I was minded to. I did -as you directed me to do on such occasions. I stopped -and made a curtsy, and handed little Lenny forward so as -to place him in front of me facing of his father. And -says he:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘How do you do, Pina? When did you arrive? Whom -did you come with?’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And then, without waiting for me to answer them -questions, he lifted up little Lenny in his arms, and says -he:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Whose child is this?’ And says I, ‘He is General -Lyon’s grandnephew, sir, if you please;’ for I was sure -all the time he knowed well enough it was his own.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘I didn’t ask you whose nephew he is; I asked you -whose child he is.’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘The same child whose hair you cut, sir, please,’ I answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Bosh, girl, you trifle with me! Whose son is he?’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Please, sir, I thought you knew. He is Mrs. Alexander -Lyon’s <em>own</em> son, and Mr. and Mrs. Hammond’s and -General Lyon’s godson.’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Humph! what’s his name?’ says he.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Master Leonard Lyon, sir,’ says I.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Then as I am Lord Killcrichtoun, he is the Master of -Killcrichtoun!’”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>“‘<span class='sc'>Lords and Masters</span>, sir! you don’t say so?’ says I.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And he frowned at me, black as thunder; but little -Lenny began to prattle to him, and he smiled and told me -to follow him. And he took us to a fine silversmith’s -shop in the Strand, and bought him this whistle. And -then he told me to take the boy home to his mother, as -it was growing too warm to keep him out in the sun.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While Pina spoke, Drusilla’s tears fell fast; but she -wiped them away and inquired:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know, Pina, when we first came here, he was -lodging in this house. But I have not seen him lately. -Do you know whether he is still here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, ma’am, he isn’t. I asked that very question of -the waiter; and he told me ‘my lord’ had gone and taken -apartments at ‘Mivart’s.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We drove him away, I suppose,” muttered Drusilla -to herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ma’am, I don’t think Mrs. Hammond or Mr. Dick, or -the General knows of Mr. Alick being about. If they ask -me who gave Master Lenny the whistle, am I to tell?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly, Pina.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla was interrupted by a rap at the door. The -voice of Anna without called:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Grandpa and Dick have returned, and the carriage is -waiting, Drusa. Are you ready?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite ready, dear,” answered Drusilla, hastily tying -on her bonnet, and then going out and joining Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They went to the drawing-room, Drusilla leading Lenny -who was shrilly blowing upon his whistle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i><span lang="it">Miserabile!</span></i> Young gentleman, that will not do. The -other guests will lay complaints and the proprietor will -give us warning,” exclaimed General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who gave Lenny that?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Man, man in tware give Lenny dat,” said the imp, -taking the instrument of torture from his lips to reply, -and then putting back and puffing out his cheeks to -blow an ear-piercing blast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Christopher Columbus! that will never do. ‘Man in -the square.’ What man gave the child such a nuisance -as that? Was it Spencer, or any of our people?” demanded -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was his father,” calmly replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>A sort of panic fell upon the party. The short spell of -silence was broken by General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph! humph! humph! humph! so <em>he’s</em> turned up -again, has he? Where did he see the boy, my dear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle,” said Drusilla, “he was lodging at this house, -when we first came. He left, I think, the same evening. -But he knew that we also were lodging here; for while -we were driving out to leave our cards he came in and -cut off a lock of little Lenny’s hair, and took it away with -him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When was this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The first day we went driving, uncle; the day before -the Derby.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph! humph! humph! And he left the same -evening? and he has not been here since?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I believe so, uncle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph, humph; it is clear that the sight of us sent -him away. I don’t wonder at that. I only wonder it did -not blast him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle, uncle!” pleaded Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, your love may in time—or in eternity—redeem -the fellow, for ought I know. But it has not yet -changed him into an angel of light or even into a decently -behaved devil, for a very devil with any decency left in -him would have come round long before this. Well, well, -there, I see how much I distress you. I will say no -more, my dear; I will say no more.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla bowed in silence and turned away. Her heart -was too full for utterance. Her voice was choked with -emotion. She felt all the more deeply hurt by her uncle’s -severe strictures upon her Alick, because she knew them -to be the expression of his real and but too well-founded -opinion. And neither could she resent them, coming -from him. She owed him too vast a debt of gratitude. -He had saved her life and her child’s life in their utmost -extremity. And besides, he was Alick’s uncle, and the head -of his family; he had himself, in the person of his beloved -granddaughter, been deeply wronged by his nephew and -so had the right to sit in judgment on him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus because she heard this blame cast upon her still -beloved Alick without the moral power of resenting it, -she suffered in silence.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>Not long, however. The cloud soon lifted itself and -rolled away. Little Lenny came to her with his whistle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put dit ’way. Lenny tired. Lenny daw ate,” he said, -pushing the toy up into her lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put it away, mamma. Lenny is tired, and Lenny’s -jaws ache and no wonder,” said Anna, smiling. “We -are all glad that Master Lenny’s jaws can ache with all -his tooting, as well as our ears.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Top naddin’,” answered Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Stop nagging’? Where did he pick up that phrase, -eh, Master Lenny? You don’t hear it from any of us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, my dears, if we are to see the Tower before dinner, -we had better start at once. Is Lenny to go with us, -Drusa?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir, if you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know that I always like to have the little fellow.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I shall stipulate that the whistle be left behind. -We shall find instruments of torture enough in the Tower; -though I don’t believe the utmost ingenuity of cruelty -ever thought of a child’s whistle wherewith to torment a -victim. That was left for Mr. Alick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, come, Anna, I will not have another word said -against Alick, since it grieves our darling here. But I -would like to know what keeps him hanging about here -so long. He has been here now nearly two years.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle,” said Drusilla, who now thought that she might -as well tell all her news at once—news which indeed she -had intended to tell, when the subject of Alick’s presence -was first introduced, but which was then arrested on her -lips by the indignant animadversions of General Lyon—“Uncle -do you remember reading last winter in the London -Times of a young American gentleman who claimed, -through his mother, the Barony of Killcrichtoun?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I—think I do remember some such asinine proceeding -on the part of a young countryman of ours.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He was your nephew, uncle, and he has made good the -claim. He is now Lord Killcrichtoun. That is the reason -why he stays in England, I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Whe—ew!” whistled the old gentleman, slowly, adding -<i><span lang="it">sotto voce</span></i>, so as not to be heard by Drusilla:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I knew he was a scamp; but never suspected him of -being an ass.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>But Dick had handed Drusilla, Lenny and Anna into the -carriage, and was waiting to perform the same service for -his uncle, who now entered and took his seat. The drive -from Charing Cross to the Tower was comparatively short, -but very interesting, taking our travelers through the -most ancient and historical portions of Old London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drawing near the grim, old fortress of the kings of England, -they saw rising above the thickly-crowded buildings -of the city and the turbid waters of the Thames, the central -keep, or citadel, known as the White Tower, and surrounded -by its double line of fortified walls and by its dry -moat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our party alighted from their carriage at the great gate, -flanked by embattled turrets at the south-western angle of -the walls.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having paid their sixpence each as entrance fee, they -passed over the stone bridge across the moat and found -themselves within the outer ward, between the two lines of -wall.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here, overpowered by the spirit of the past, they looked -around them, feeling something of the awe that children -feel in a churchyard in the dusk of evening. The spirit of -the past was indeed before them—and not only in the -hoary walls of the middle ages, but in the living creatures -of the day; for the warders of the Tower, the Extraordinary -Yeomen of the Royal Guard, commonly called the -“Beef Eaters,” were dressed in the costume of the time of -Henry the Eighth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of these stepped up to General Lyon, and saluting -respectfully, tendered his service as guide.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And there are the buildings and there the costumes, -this the ground and that the sky that met the eyes of beautiful -Anne Boleyn as she first came to this place a bride -and a queen, and last as a victim and a convict,” murmured -Drusilla, dreamily and half unconsciously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Queen Anne entered by that postern at the water side, -when she came here in state before her coronation; but -the last time she was here she was brought in by the -Traitors’ Gate, a few days before her execution,” said the -literal warder, speaking just as if he had been an eyewitness -to both proceedings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla stared at him, and thought he really might -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>have been an actor in those long past tragedies; in his -costume of that day he looked like a ghost of the past.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where was Lady Jane Grey brought in when she was -brought here a prisoner!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Through the Traitors’ Gate.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, it seems that all who offended majesty in those -palmy days, however innocent they might have been, were -traitors. Where is that Traitors’ Gate?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Some distance down the southern side, my lady. We -will come around to it presently, when I will show it to -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were now making the circuit of the Outer Ward, -passing up the west side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There, sir, are the old buildings once appropriated to -the Mint, which is now removed to a handsome edifice on -Tower Hill, which I will show you,” said the guide, turning -to General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the General and Dick gave him their attention.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Anna and Drusilla were not interested in the mint, -and remembered Tower Hill only as the scene of the execution -of Lord Guilford Dudley.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Passing on, the guide pointed out many objects of interest; -the two strong bastions—the Legge Mount and the -Brass Mount—defending the north-western and north-eastern -angles of the outer wall; the Iron Gate and Tower -at the south-eastern angle; the site of the ancient Well -Tower, and the remains of the Cradle Tower. Thus they -came at last to St. Thomas’s Tower, which guards the -Traitors’ Gate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There it is, ladies and gentlemen,” said the guide.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, how many fair and stately heads have passed under -that awful arch!” murmured Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As for Drusilla, the time for talking of these things -was passed with her. She was too deeply impressed for -speech.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and Mr Hammond instinctively uncovered -their heads in the presence of this dread monument of -human suffering.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here passed to their deaths -the beautiful Queen Anne Boleyn, the fair Queen Katharine -Howard, the lovely Lady Jane Gray, the courtly Norfolk, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>the accomplished Burleigh, the venerable Thomas -More——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And hundreds and hundreds more—the victims of -tyranny and bigotry,” said General Lyon cutting short -the list.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s so, sir,” admitted the guide. “Ah, if you had -lived in those days!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Did <em>you</em>?” inquired Anna, turning upon him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The guide smiled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I almost think I did, ma’am, sometimes—what with -living here, and what with going over the history so many -times a day. This way, ladies and gentlemen.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he led the way from the Traitors’ Gate straight -across the ward to an imposing gateway defended by the -Bloody Tower, leading through the embattled wall that -encloses the inner ward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This tower,” said the guide, “is the scene of the murder -of the two young princes, sons of Edward the Fourth, -assassinated by order of their uncle, Richard the Third.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can we enter and examine it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The interior is not shown. It is occupied by some of -the officers of the guard as private lodgings.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, think of such an ancient and tragical place being -occupied as a dwelling, where people eat, drink, sleep and -live! I wonder what my spiritual condition would be if I -lived in such a place?” said Anna, gazing on the gray -walls as she passed them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This inner wall is fortified by twelve strong minor -towers, all of them formerly used as prison-lodgings. I -will show the most interesting of them as we go on,” said -the guide. “But first I will take you to the White Tower,” -he added, pointing to the imposing citadel that occupied -the center.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should take that to be <em>the</em> Tower—the Tower <em>par-excellence</em>. -Pray, is that the place where the old monarchs -of England used to hold their court before Elizabeth’s -time?” inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, ma’am. The old Palace of the Tower was pulled -down in the reign of James II. It occupied the south-east -angle of the inner ward—there, you see, on the site -of the present Ordnance office.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>“What a pity a building so replete with interesting -associations should have been destroyed,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There, ladies and gentlemen, that modern building -which you see against the south wall of the White Tower, -is the Horse Armory, where the equestrian statues of our -kings, in their ancient armors, are arranged in state!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, we have tickets for the Horse Armory—we -will see that at once, if you please!” said General -Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They crossed towards the White Tower and the Horse -Armory.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You now see before you, sir, the oldest and the newest -of these structures joined together. The White -Tower is the most ancient as well as the most imposing -of the buildings,” said the guide.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So I should judge from its great size and central position,” -remarked the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was erected, sir, in 1080 by William the Conqueror -as a stronghold against enemies, the rebellious Saxons, -who opposed his reign. It is a magnificent specimen of -Norman architecture. The walls are of immense thickness -and strength. I will take you through it presently; -but here we are at the Horse Armory, which is the most -modern of all the tower buildings, quite modern indeed, -a work of to-day, comparatively speaking, having been -built in 1826. Your tickets, sir, if you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick, who held the tickets, passed them over to the -warder, who at once led his party to an ante-room of the -Armory, where they were to wait for a new guide to take -them through.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When you return here, sir,” said the guide, “I shall -be happy to show you through the White Tower, and all -the other towers of the inner ward.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the man touched his hat and fell back.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were several other groups of sight-seers waiting -in the ante-room for guides to conduct them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And presently these guides appeared, bringing out parties -they had been attending.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of them beckoning our friends to follow him, led -them straightways into a vast hall, some hundred feet in -length by thirty in breadth, dimly lighted on each side -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>by stained glass windows and decorated on the walls and -ceiling with the most curious and valuable military -trophies and emblems.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In glass cases under these windows were exhibited such -wonders of warlike workmanship as are nowhere else -gathered together—helmets, gauntlets, shields, swords, -spears, lances and other specimens of armor, won from -many a battle-field, stormed fortress, or sacked city, of -all ages of history and all countries of the world. And -each curious specimen had its equally curious history or -legend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet our party scarcely glanced at any of these or heard -a word of the explanation uttered by their guide.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For down the centre of the vast hall, drawn up as in -line of battle, was a grim array of equestrian figures, -clothed in complete steel, being a line of the old kings of -England from the time of Edward the First to the time -of James the Second, each man and horse in the armor -of his day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This,” said the guide, pausing before the first figure, -that stood upon an elevated platform at the head of the -line, “is Edward the First, in the same armor he is said -to have worn on his invasion of Scotland. You perceive -he is represented as in the act of drawing his sword. -Observe, if you please, sir, this beautiful specimen of chain -armor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus the guide went on with his explanation of these -equestrian effigies of the old kings, calling the attention -of his hearers to the most remarkable features of the exhibition -and gaining their interest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Each member of this party was deeply absorbed in the -subject, but none so deeply as was Drusilla. Her susceptible -nature received all the influence, imbibed all the -inspiration of the scene. Her vivid imagination carried -her centuries back to the storied age in which all these -dead and gone heroes lived and acted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Henry the Sixth,” said the guide, pausing before the -effigy of that unhappy king. “Notice, if you please, sir, -this splendid specimen of scale-armor, sometimes called -flexible armor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla gazed on, drinking in every word that fell -from this oracle’s lips and deep in the romance of mediæval -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>history when, suddenly looking up, she uttered a -half-suppressed cry.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Gone were the middle ages with their tales of chivalry -and minstrelsy! Vanished king and page, and knight -and squire! With her was only the present—the intensely -real present! For there, not ten feet from her, -stood her husband, Alexander Lyon, Lord Killcrichtoun! -His back was turned towards her. He stood over one of -the glass cases before the stained-glass window, examining -a curious Etruscan helmet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At her half-uttered cry he turned around—and their -eyes met—met for the first time since that cruel parting -on the wedding-night!</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he recognized her with a cold, uncompromising -stare. And then, seeing that the regards of her whole -party were drawn upon him, he seemed resolved to face -the situation. Walking deliberately towards them, he -raised his hat slowly, bowed deeply, passed them, and -went down to the opposite end of the armory.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph, humph, humph, humph!” muttered the General -to himself, “that is what I call cool impudence!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla could not speak or move. She stood transfixed -and motionless as any one of those grim effigies before -them. She stood thus until General Lyon kindly -broke the spell that bound her, by lightly laying his hand -upon her shoulder and whispering:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, recollect yourself!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She started, and recovered her self-possession at once, -and in time to see little Lenny, whom Dick led by the -hand, pulling at his protector, and pointing down the -hall, and shouting:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Man, man! div Lenny that <em>hoo</em>!” putting up his lips -and describing in pantomime the whistle whose name he -had forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Little Lenny knew him again!” murmured Drusilla -to herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All this did not quite escape the notice of the guide. -He saw what passed, but apparently without understanding -it; for, turning to General Lyon, he said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killcrichtoun, sir! His face is as well known -here as any of these images. He is in almost every -day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>Then, reverting to his own especial business, and pointing -out another effigy, he said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Henry the Eighth, ladies and gentlemen. Pray -observe this magnificent suit of armor, damaskeened or -inlaid with pure gold. It is said to be the same he wore -on that famous occasion of his meeting with Francis I. on -the field of the Cloth of Gold.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, the horrid monster! I would rather look upon -Lucifer’s self than Henry the Eighth’s effigy! Let us -pass on,” said Anna impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they passed on, pausing now and then to gaze upon -the armed and mounted effigy of some knight or king, -famous or, perhaps, infamous in history or tradition, until -they reached the last one in the line—James II.—after -whose day fire-arms came in and armor went out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so they passed from the Horse Armory to Queen -Elizabeth’s Armory, occupying an apartment in the lower -floor of the White Tower.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the upper end was an equestrian effigy of the Royal -Fury of Tudor, who cut off her lovers’ heads as her -father before her had cut off his wives’. She was dressed -in the preposterous costume of her court, mounted on a -carved charger, and attended by her page. She was most -appropriately surrounded by curious chains and manacles, -ingenious instruments of torture, and judicial implements -of death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Conspicuous among these was the thumb-screw, the -rack, the headsman’s axe, and the heading block upon -which the old Lord Lovat and his companions had been -decapitated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here, on the north side, was also a small, heavy door -leading into a deep and narrow dungeon cut in the thickness -of the wall, and having neither air nor light except -that which entered by the doorway.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In this dismal hole the accomplished Sir Walter -Raleigh passed the long years of his imprisonment, and -here he wrote his History of the World.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He had leisure enough for such a stupendous work; -but I don’t see where he got space or light from, or how -he could possibly have lived in such a dark, damp den,” -said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you see, sir, it is to be supposed that he was only -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>locked in there at night, and had the freedom of the hall -during the day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They next ascended the stairs to the second floor, and -visited the ancient Council Chamber, where the old -Kings held their Court at the Tower. This was the place -of Anne Boleyn’s trial. Then on the same floor was St. -John’s Chapel, the most perfect specimen of Norman -architecture in the country.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All these things Drusilla saw as in a dream. She was -thinking only of her husband and the cold stare with -which he had met her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The guide led them from the White Tower to the green -before the prison chapel—St. Peter’s.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop here a moment, if you please, ladies and gentlemen,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They all paused, thinking from that point he was going -to indicate some view or effect. But it was not so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know where you stand, ladies? No? Well, -you stand upon the exact spot where the head of Anne -Boleyn fell under the executioner’s stroke.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna impulsively sprang away. Dick and the General -looked interested. But Drusilla heard him with something -like indifference. Queen Anne’s sufferings were so -long past and now so vague; Drusilla’s own were so present -and so real. She was scarcely conscious of the remainder -of her tour through the Tower buildings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The guide led the party into St. Peter’s chapel; told -them it had been built in the reign of Edward I., 1282, -and showed them the flag stones in front of the altar -beneath which repose the remains of the sainted Lady -Jane Grey, the venerable Thomas Cromwell, the good -and great Somerset, the accomplished Surrey, the brilliant -Essex, and many other less exalted but no less honorable -martyrs to truth and patriotism, victims to bigotry -and tyranny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leaving St. Peter’s Chapel, our friends made the circuit -of the twelve minor towers of the inner ward. These -in the “good old times” were all used as prisons, lodgings -for those who had had the misfortune to become -obnoxious to despotism or fanaticism.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Among these the richest in historic associations is the -Beauchamp Tower, popularly called the Beechum Tower, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>whose walls are cut all over with the autographs or other -inscriptions of the illustrious dead, who in its gloomy -dungeons pined away the last days of their violently -ended lives.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Brick Tower was pointed out as having been the -prison of Lady Jane Gray; the Devereux Tower as that -of the Earl of Essex; the Bell Tower as once the prison -of the Princess Elizabeth when she was confined by the -jealousy of her sister, Queen Mary; the Bowyer Tower -as the place in which the Duke of Clarence was drowned -in the butt of malmsey wine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But that which filled the beholders with a deeper gloom -than all the others was the Flint Tower, called for the -superlative horror of its dungeons the Little Hell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That was the last abyss of the inferno that our sight-seers -looked into. The women, at least, could bear no -more.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come,” said Anna, shuddering. “It is not evening, -so we have not ‘supped,’ but we have dined ‘full of horrors.’ -Let us leave the Tower with its gloomy dungeons -and ghastly memories, and the Yeomen of the Guard in -their devil’s mourning of black and red, for Bloody Henry -Tudor, I suppose; let us get out into the pure open air, -and back to the wholesome nineteenth century.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and Dick liberally remunerated the civil -and attentive warders, and the whole party passed out of -the Tower walls, entered their carriage, and returned to -their hotel, where awaited them—a very great surprise.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XVIII.<br> <span class='large'>WAITING AND HOPING.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Silence, silence, still, unstirred—</div> - <div class='line in2'>Long, unbroken, unexplained;</div> - <div class='line'>Not one word, one little word</div> - <div class='line in2'>Even to show him touched or pained.</div> - <div class='line'>Silence, silence, all unbroken—</div> - <div class='line'>Not a sound, a word, or token—<span class='sc'>Owen Meredith.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Still overshadowed with the gloom of their visit to -the Tower, our party entered their private parlor at their -hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>They found their favorite sofa occupied by a group of -visitors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But before General Lyon had time to recognize or welcome -them, a hearty hand was clapped upon his shoulder, -and a cheery voice shouted in his ear:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So here you are at last! We have been waiting for -you these two hours.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Colonel Seymour!” exclaimed General Lyon, in unfeigned -surprise and delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, and Mrs. Seymour and Miss Seymour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Old friends, I am glad to see you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So am I to see you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there was a general and hearty shaking of hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now be seated again all of you. When did you -arrive?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless you! Just now, I may say. Landed at Liverpool -last night, slept at the Adelphi, took the train this -morning and reached London this noon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And where are you stopping?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At Mivart’s for the present. And before we got settled -there, I took a Hansom cab and drove off to the -American Embassy to inquire where you hung out. I -saw a young fellow of the name of Troubador——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tredegar,” amended Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah yes, thank you—so it was Tredegar. Well, I saw -a young fellow of the name of Tredegar, who told me -where to find you; and so I drove back to Mivart’s as -fast as ever I could—and how those Hansom cabs can fly -over the ground!—and I changed my Hansom for a four -wheeler, and just giving Nan time to put on her finery, I -took her and her mother in and drove here!” exclaimed -the visitor, eagerly talking himself out of breath, and -briskly wiping his face with his pocket-handkerchief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And we are all so charmed to see you. We never had -a more complete surprise, or a more delightful one,” said -Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And all her party cordially assented to her words.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope you did not have to wait for us long,” said -Dick, anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Two mortal hours, I tell you, at the risk of being -turned out every minute, too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How was that?” quickly inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>“Why, you see, first of all, that fellow in the white -neckcloth and napkin told me somewhat shortly that neither -General Lyon nor any of his party were at home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘I know that, because they are here,’ I answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘But they are not in, sir,’ he replied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Then we will wait till they are,’ I rejoined.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘They’ll not be here, till five o’clock,’ he added.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘All right. We will sit down and make ourselves -comfortable until that hour,’ I remarked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘That’s the General’s dinner hour,’ growled the fellow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Which is extremely lucky, as we can dine with him,’ -concluded I.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The fellow looked as if he suspected me of being the -confidence man, and meditated calling in the police. However -he contented himself with beckoning to an under -waiter, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in my direction, -and muttering something very like an order to the -other one not to lose sight of me. And so he or the -other fellow kept an eye on me all the while.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The insolent scoundrel!” exclaimed General Lyon, -indignantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not at all. He was an honest fellow—had your interest -at heart and looked after it. How did he know but I -might have walked off with the piano?” answered the -visitor, patting his host on the shoulder to soothe down -his anger, and adding, “I know I, for one, looked like a -suspicious party, in my weather-beaten sea-suit. And -just see what an old-fashioned bonnet my wife wears; and -as for Nanny, I have a painful impression that she is overdressed,” -he sighed, glancing from the rich, light-blue -taffeta gown, and white silk mantle and bonnet of Miss -Seymour’s costume to the plain grays that formed the -street dress of the other ladies.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Miss Nanny is charming in any style,” said the General, -gallantly, bowing to the mortified girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“However,” continued Colonel Seymour, “I was anxious -to see you all, so I waited. I suppose if we had been -fashionable folks we should have left our cards and gone -away; but being plain people, we preferred to wait for your -return. So here we are, and here you are! We expected -to see you, but you didn’t expect to see us, did you -now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>“No; but we are not the less overjoyed on that account. -And of course you must stay and dine with us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course. I told the waiter so,” laughed the colonel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, dear Mrs. Seymour and darling Nanny, you -must both come up with Drusilla and myself to our rooms -to take off your bonnets,” said Anna, rising and conducting -her visitors from the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At a sign from the General, Dick went down-stairs to -order some necessary additions to their dinner, in honor -of their guests.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, old friend, tell me what put it into your head to -cross the ocean and give me this great pleasure?” inquired -General Lyon, when he found himself alone with -his neighbor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Example,” answered Colonel Seymour;—“nothing -but example. You and your family left the neighborhood -to go to Europe. And I and mine were very lonesome, I -can tell you, after you were all gone. So one day I up -and said to my wife:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Polly, if we are ever to see the Old World, we had -as well see it now as at another time. We are not growing -younger, Polly. Indeed I sometimes fancy we are growing -older.’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Why, la, Benny,’ she said, ‘can’t you live and die -like your fathers without leaving your own country?’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So I answered right up and down:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘No, Polly, I cannot. And as we <em>must</em> go to Europe -some time, to show it to our girl, if for no other reason, -we can’t choose a better time than this when our old -neighbors are over there. We’ll go and join them and -have a good time.’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, upon the whole, Polly didn’t dislike the idea of -the trip; and as for Nancy, she was all for it. So we up -and came.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must have decided and acted with great promptitude -to be over here so soon after us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Didn’t we, though! We set the house in order the -next day, which was Tuesday; packed up Wednesday, -went to New York Thursday, and sailed for Liverpool -on Saturday.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What! and had not previously engaged berths in your -steamer?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>“No; didn’t know that was necessary until I went into -the agent’s office. And then it was by a stroke of luck we -got the rooms. A family who were going out by that -steamer that day were unavoidably delayed, and had to -give up their berths. And I engaged them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, certainly, you were more lucky than you knew.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ‘a fool for luck,’ it is said.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, now, neighbor, shall we follow the example of -the ladies and go to my dressing-room to refresh our -toilets? As for myself, I have been poking into the vaults -and dungeons of the Tower, and I feel as if I were covered -with the dust of ages!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, and I am just as unbearable with railway smoke -and cinders.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, then,” said the General, rising and conducting -his visitor to his own apartment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Half an hour afterwards, all the friends assembled in -the parlor, where the table was laid for dinner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At half-past five it was served. It consisted of a boiled -turbot with shrimp sauce; green-turtle soup; roasted -young ducks and green peas; pigeon-pasty; cauliflowers, -asparagus, sea-kail and, in short, the choice vegetables of -the month; and, for dessert, delicate whipped creams, -jellies, and ices, and candied fruits, and nuts; and port, -and sherry, and champagne, and moselle wines.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The “fellow in the neckcloth and napkin,” as the colonel -described the waiter, seeing how well these visitors -were received by General Lyon and family, tried to make -up for his mistakes of the morning by the most obsequious -attentions, all of which the good-natured Seymour received -in excellent part.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Old Seymour was blessed with a keen appetite and -a strong digestion. He had always enjoyed his homely -farm dinners of boiled beef, or bacon and greens, washed -down with native whiskey-toddy, and now he much more -keenly enjoyed the rare delicacies set before him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After coffee was served they arose from the table, and -the service was removed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose, my dear, there is no such thing as a treat in -the form of your sweet music to be hoped for this evening?” -sighed the colonel, as he took his seat in a resting -chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>“Why not, Colonel Seymour?” smiled Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, to be sure, I see a piano in the room; but of course -it is a hotel piano, which you would no more care to touch -than I would to hear!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Suppose you let me try this ‘hotel piano.’ Let us not -yield to a prejudice, but give the abused thing a fair trial,” -said Drusilla, smiling as she sat down to one of the finest -instruments of the most celebrated manufacturer in London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She executed in her best style some of Colonel Seymour’s -favorite pieces. And the old colonel, as usual, listened, -entranced,</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, that is one of the best toned pianos I ever heard -in my life—quite as good as your own fine instrument at -home!” exclaimed the old man in surprise. “But what -amazes me is that it should be in such good tone. I never -could abide either school pianos or hotel pianos in my life -before.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is neither,” answered Drusilla, laughing. “We -hired this from a celebrated music-bazar.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, that accounts for it!” said the colonel. “Now, -my dear, begin again! Consider, I haven’t heard the -sound of your sweet voice in song for a month before to-night!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that is just the reason why he crossed the ocean, -Drusilla, my dear, and nothing else in life!” said Mrs. -Seymour. “He may talk about showing Nanny the old -world and improving her mind and all that, but it’s no -such thing! It was the love of your music that lured -him all the way from America, like the lute of What’s-his-name -did the spirits out of What-do-you-call it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla smiled on the old lady and recommenced her -pleasant task, and played and sang for the old gentleman -during the remainder of the evening.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At eleven o’clock the visitors arose to take their leave, -but of course did not do it immediately,—they stood and -talked for half an hour longer. And, in that standing -conference, it was arranged that General Lyon should see -about getting suitable apartments at the Morley House -for the Seymours; and, if none should now be vacant, -that he should bespeak in advance the first that should -be disengaged.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>It was farther agreed that the two parties of friends -should join company in all sight-seeing excursions, and -that they should always lunch together.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And here a friendly quarrel, each old gentleman insisting -upon being the permanent host of the lunch table. -Finally the dispute ended in an amicable arrangement -that General Lyon and Colonel Seymour should each be -the host on alternate days.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then indeed the Seymours took leave and departed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the Lyons went to rest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla entered her own bed-chamber. Little Lenny -was asleep in his crib. Pina was nodding in her seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla had neither the will nor the power to sleep. -She threw herself in her resting-chair and gave her mind -up to thought. She was glad to be alone. The day had -been a very harassing one—at once exciting and depressing -in its events and experiences. Yet all that had occurred -to her sank into utter insignificance compared with -the single incident of one instant—the cold stare with -which her husband had met her eyes. More than all his -double dealing with her; more than his long neglect of -her at Cedarwood; more than his cruel repudiation of -her on her wedding night; more than his two years of -scornful abandonment—did this cold, hard, strange stare -chill her love and darken her faith and depress her hopes. -Drusilla’s sad reverie was interrupted by a gentle rap at -her door. It had been probably repeated more than once -before it broke into her abstraction. Now thinking it -was the chambermaid coming on some errand connected -with fresh water or clean towels, she was about to bid the -rapper come in; but quickly reflecting that the hour was -too late to expect a visit from the damsel in question, and -feeling startled at the thought of an unknown visitor at -midnight, she cautiously inquired:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is I, Drusa, dear. I know you are still up, for I see -the light shining through your key-hole, and you never -sleep with a light burning,” said the voice of Mrs. Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come in, dear Anna,” said Drusilla, rising and opening -the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, if you really prefer to be alone, tell me so, my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>dear, and I will not take it amiss, but leave you at once,” -said Anna, hesitating, before she took the easy-chair offered -her by Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; how could you think so? How could you think -I could prefer my own company to yours? I know you -came to cheer me up, and I feel how kind you are. Sit -down, dear Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Drusa, you have seen we have not had one moment -to ourselves to-day; and we may not have to-morrow. -I knew—I felt instinctively that you would be -too much excited to sleep to-night, so I came to you, my -dear—partly, as you say, to cheer you up, but partly, also, -to talk of something that happened to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes—thank you, dear Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have confidence enough in me, I hope, Drusilla, -to feel that you and I can talk upon some ticklish subjects -without offence, since I speak only in your interest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, we met Alick in the Tower. That seems -certain. But <em>did</em> I hear and see right, and <em>did</em> the guide -point out our Alick and called him Lord Kilcrackam?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killcrichtoun. Yes, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And furthermore, <em>did</em> I dream it, or did I hear something -said between you and grandpa—something that did -not reach my ears quite distinctly, because I was not very -near you at the time, and you spoke quite low, as you -always do—something in short, to the effect that our -Alick is the same young American gentleman who claimed -a certain Scotch barony in right of his mother?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, it was Alick who claimed, and made good his -claim to the barony of Killcrichtoun. I should have -thought Dick, as much as he is about town, would have -found it out before this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh dear, no, he has not. It would have been the -merest chance if he had, in a town where there is so -much more—so very much more—to be talked about -than a young man’s succession to a petty lordship. By -the way, how did <em>you</em> know it, Drusilla?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The first day of our being here I was standing at the -front window and saw him leave the house and walk -across the square. I was very much startled, and called -the waiter, and, pointing to Alick, inquired if that gentleman -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>were stopping here. The man told me that he was -here for the present, but would leave in the evening, and -that he was Lord Killcrichtoun. And then there flashed -upon me all at once the idea that he was the very same -young American gentleman who had claimed the title.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you never told us about it,” said Anna, in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I—shrank from the subject; and, besides, I did not -think you would care to hear. You remember little -Lenny’s losing a lock of hair?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly; and it was cut off by his father, I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, in the absence of Pina, and while Lenny was in -the temporary charge of the chambermaid.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you never mentioned it to us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Anna, you know I never bring up Alick’s name -unnecessarily.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, but I must tell Dick all about it if you have no -objection.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“None in the world. I wish him to know it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I am astonished at Alexander, merging the -honest manliness of an American citizen in the empty -title of a Scotch barony! However, it is all of a piece -with his late mad proceedings. Now, there, I see from -your reproving countenance that I must utter no more -blasphemies against your idol; but now if the divine -Alexander is Lord Killcrichtoun, what are <em>you</em>, my -dear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked up with a startled expression, then reflected -a few moments, and finally answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am his wife: beyond that I have never thought.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are Lady Killcrichtoun; and now here is the -difficulty: Your cards bear the name Mrs. Alexander -Lyon. Everywhere my grandfather has introduced you -as such; all the invitations sent you are addressed to you -by that name: and more, our lady ambassadress expects -to present you at her Majesty’s next drawing-room as -Mrs. Alexander Lyon. Now what’s to be done about -that?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla did not answer, but she reflected—so long that -Anna broke in upon her meditation with the question: -“You have a right to share your husband’s title—a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>right of which he cannot deprive you, for it is legally -your own. Shall we not then introduce you as Lady -Killcrichtoun?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” answered Drusilla, gravely. “The name I now -bear is also legally my own, having been given me by my -husband in our marriage. I will retain it. I will never -attempt to share his new rank until he himself shall give -me leave to do so. If, without his sanction, I were to take -my part in his title, I should seem to be pursuing him, -which I will never consent to do, dear Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But then, my dear, do you consider that if you refuse -to do this, you will enter society in some degree under -false colors.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Anna, there is no necessity for my entering society -<em>at all</em>. I would rather live in seclusion as Drusilla -Lyon than go into the world as Lady Killcrichtoun, and -of course I <em>can</em> live so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And if you <em>do</em> live so, you will never see Alick; but if -you go out, you will meet him every day; for of course -he is the gayest man about town here, as he used to be at -home. And you may depend he will be received everywhere; -for in this country a title is a title, and though -the barony of Killcrichtoun may not be worth five hundred -a year, Alick has an enormous outside fortune, which -fact cannot be hid under a bushel. And going about as -he does, <em>alone</em>, he will be thought a single man, and, under -all the supposed circumstances, a very eligible match. -Now, Drusa, if I were you, I would put a stop to all that -by going constantly into society, and going too as Lady -Killcrichtoun.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” repeated Drusilla, “I will never share his title -until he authorizes me to do so. And as to going out -under my present name, I will be guided by General -Lyon. As he is responsible for me, he must be the final -judge in this matter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So this is your decision?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, dear Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They might have talked longer, but Pina, who had been -fast asleep in her chair all this time, now tumbled off it -and fell upon the floor with a noise that terrified both -the friends and started them upon their feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is only that girl—how she frightened me! I thought -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>it was some one breaking into the room!” exclaimed -Anna, trembling as Pina picked herself up and stood -staring in dismay.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor girl! how thoughtless of me to have forgotten -her! Go to bed, Pina, it is half-past twelve,” said Drusilla, -kindly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the maid, still more than half asleep, tumbled off -to her cot in a closet adjoining her mistress’s chamber.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna also arose, and, bidding Drusilla good-night, -passed to her own room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla went to bed, but not to sleep. She lay revolving -the problem that Anna had left her to solve. Should -she enter London society <em>at all</em> under her present circumstances?</p> - -<p class='c012'>As yet, neither her party nor herself had gone to any -sort of private entertainment. They had left cards on -the people to whom the General had letters of introduction. -And they had received calls from many of -them. Also they had many notes of invitation to dinners, -balls, concerts, and fêtes of every description; but, as yet, -none of these notes had fallen due. So Drusilla stood -uncommitted to the world by either name or title.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now the question with her was this,—Should she go to -parties at all?</p> - -<p class='c012'>If she should, she was resolved it should be only under -her simple name. But then, if being the wife of Lord -Killcrichtoun, she should go only as Mrs. Lyon, would -she not be, as Anna said, appearing under false colors?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Would it not be better, all things considered, that she -should live secluded?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah, but then Alexander was in the world, and the -temptation to go where she might enjoy the happiness -of seeing him daily, even though he should never speak to -her, was irresistible! She could not deny herself that -delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then, finally, she determined to speak to her old friend, -General Lyon, on the subject; and with her mind more at -ease, she fell asleep.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XIX.<br> <span class='large'>MEETING EVERY DAY.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>We that were friends, yet are not now,</div> - <div class='line in2'>We that must daily meet,</div> - <div class='line'>With ready words and courteous bow,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Acquaintance of the street,</div> - <div class='line'>We must not scorn the holy past,</div> - <div class='line in2'>We must remember still</div> - <div class='line'>To honor feelings that outlast</div> - <div class='line in2'>The reason and the will.—<span class='sc'>Milnes.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Next morning, over an early breakfast, our party discussed, -with their tea, toast, muffins, and fried soles, the -programme of the week.</p> - -<p class='c012'>How crowded their life in London was getting to be. -Every day, every hour, nay, every moment, we might -say, pre-engaged!</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We go to Westminster Abbey first. The Seymours are -to go with us, and are to join us here at ten o’clock. It is -After nine now,” said the General, as he chipped his egg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They will not be behind time, you may depend on it,” -laughed Dick. “We shall be able to get off by ten -o’clock, and get into the Abbey by a quarter past. It -will take us at least three hours to do Westminster, which -will bring one o’clock or a little later, when we can get -lunch at Simmon’s, in Threadneedle Street,—an old-established -house, celebrated for its green turtle and its -punch this century past. After which we will still have -time to see St. Paul’s, and to get home in season for our -five o’clock dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And remember, Dick, that we must not be later, for -we have a box this evening at Drury Lane, to see the -Keans.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, Anna! we are not likely to forget that.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And let us see! what is the programme for to-morrow?” -inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do not think that has been arranged yet,” said -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>“Then let it be the British Museum and the Royal -Academy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, grandpa! We must go to Windsor to-morrow; -and I’ll tell you why. It will take a whole day and night -to go to Windsor, see it all, and return. And to-morrow -is the only whole day we have at our disposal. For on -Thursday we are engaged to dinner at Lord Esteppe’s, -and to a concert at Mrs. Marcourt’s. On Friday we are -to breakfast with the Warrens and to go to a ball at our -Minister’s; and on Saturday we are promised to the -Whartons for their fête at Richmond. Now out of either -of these days we might take a few hours to see any -London sights; but for Windsor we must have an unbroken -day, and to-morrow is the only one of this week, -or of next week either for that matter, left at our disposal.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is very true, my dear. Bless my soul, how we -are crowded with engagements! It is very flattering, of -course, and very pleasant, I suppose; but—it is just a little -harassing also. Dick, have you ordered a barouche?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir; but I have finished breakfast, and if you will -excuse me I will go and do so now; or, rather, I mean I -will walk around to the livery stable and choose a good -one myself,” answered Mr. Hammond, rising from the -table and leaving the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With an excuse for her absence, Anna followed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the General was still toying with his breakfast, -Drusilla lingered to keep him company.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter had retired and the two were alone, a circumstance -so unusual, and so unlikely to happen again, -that Drusilla thought this to be her best opportunity for -consulting him upon the difficulty that now perplexed -her mind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So while the old gentleman sat trifling with a delicate -section of his fried sole, Drusilla abruptly entered upon -the subject:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle, we are all invited to a great many places; and -we have accepted all the invitations. But before I go to -any party I would like to have a talk with you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dear, talk away! what is it about?” inquired -the old man, somewhat surprised by the gravity -of her manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>“Uncle, is it quite right that I, a forsaken wife, should -go so much into the world?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child, I thought that question had been asked and -answered two years ago at Old Lyon Hall.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So it was, you dear uncle, answered in a way to give -me pleasure as well as peace. But the circumstances are -different now from what they were then. Then we were -in your own familiar neighborhood, among your own old -country friends and neighbors, who loved and honored -you so much that they would have received with gladness -and courtesy any one whom you might choose to present -as a member of your family. But here, dear uncle, it -is different; we are in a foreign city and among strangers.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my child, but among strangers who are hospitable -and courteous; and to whom I have brought such -letters of introduction as must secure a hearty welcome -both to myself and every member of my family. Have -no fears or doubts, little Drusa. You who are blameless -must not be ‘sent to Coventry’ as if you were faulty.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla sighed and continued:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Uncle, there is another circumstance that complicates -the case very much.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my dear, and what is it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At home I was known as Mrs. Lyon, which was my -true name; but here, since Alick has made good his claim -to the Scotch barony, I have another name and title,” -said Drusilla, so solemnly that the General laid down his -fork and laughed heartily as he answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so, my dear, you want us to introduce you as -Lady Killcrichtoun!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, <em>no</em>, <span class='fss'>NO</span>!” exclaimed Drusilla, earnestly, “not -so! I do not want that! I would not consent to it! -Indeed I would not! Anna can tell you that I said so -last night!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you are right, my child, entirely right; and I -commend your good sense in making such a resolution. -But where then is your difficulty, my dear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, just in this—my husband being now Lord Killcrichtoun, -would I not, by entering society as Mrs. Lyon, -be appearing under false colors; and rather than do that -had I not better eschew society altogether?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>“No, my dear; a thousand noes to both your questions! -You are known to yourself and to your nearest relations -and best friends, and to myself who introduce and endorse -you, as Mrs. Lyon. And by that name I shall -continue to call you and to present you. Who knows -you to be Lady Killcrichtoun? or even Alick to be Lord -Killcrichtoun? Do you know it? Do I? <em>Does he himself?</em> -He calls himself so; but that don’t prove it <em>is</em> so. -The newspapers affirm it; but that don’t prove it. The -world accepts him as such; but that don’t prove either—at -least to us who have always known him only as Mr. -Lyon, and haven’t examined the evidences that he is anybody -else. Similarly we have known you only as Mrs. -Lyon, and shall take you with us everywhere and introduce -you as such; at least until Alick himself assures -to you your other title.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, dear uncle. Again your decision has -given me pleasure as well as peace. I <em>did</em> wish to go -everywhere with you and Anna; but I was resolved to -go only as Mrs. Lyon, though I was afraid that by doing -so I should appear under false colors. But your clear -and wise exposition has set all my anxieties at rest. I am -glad you still wish me to go into company,” said Drusilla, -earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, I have a motive for wishing you to go. -Drusilla, my child, you and I may surely confide in each -other?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As the dearest father and child, dear uncle, yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, Drusa, my darling, in these two years that you -have been with us, I have studied you to some purpose. -I see you very cheerful, my child, but I know that you -are not quite happy. Something is wanting, and of course -I see what it is;—it is Alexander, since you still love him -with unchanging constancy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, yes, yes,” breathed Drusilla, in a very low -tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know you do. Well, as you love Alick, so he needs -you, whether he knows it or not. You are the angel of -his life, and the only power under Heaven that can save -him. I know Alexander well. I have known him from -his infancy, and of course I know all the strong and all -the weak points in his character.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>Drusilla raised her eyes to the old man’s face with a -deprecating and pleading expression.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fear nothing, my child; I am not going to abuse him, -at least not to you; in saying that he has his weak points, -I say no more of him than I might say of myself or any -other man. But it is through their weakness men are -often saved as well as through their strength. Listen to -me, my dear Drusilla.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am listening, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, Alick’s chief weakness is that he can only -admire through the eyes of the world, for which he has -always had the greatest veneration.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you think so, sir? Ah, surely he was not considering -the world’s opinion when he married me, his housekeeper’s -daughter,” pleaded Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; passion, if he is capable of feeling at all, makes -even a worldly man forget the world sometimes. And, -pardon me, my dear Drusilla, if I say that he married you -for your personal attractions, for your perfect beauty and -brilliant genius—of that in your nature which is fairer -than beauty and brighter than genius, and better and -lovelier than both, he knew nothing at all; he has yet to -learn of them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, blushing deeply under this praise, which was -but just tribute, kept her eyes fixed upon the floor. General -Lyon continued:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my dear, he is worldly—he worships the world -and sees through the eyes of the world. What was it -that blinded him to your sweet domestic virtues and -tempted him from your side? It was the brilliant social -success of Anna—of Anna, for whom he cared not a cent, -and whom he had really jilted for your sake; but with -whom he actually fancied himself in love as soon as he -found her out to be belle of the season, the queen of -fashion, and all that ephemeral rubbish.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla sighed, but made no answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He has got over all that nonsense, believe me. He -regards Anna now, probably, very much as he did when he -jilted her for you and before her splendid season in -Washington had so dazzled and maddened him. He has -gotten over <em>that</em> nonsense; but not over the worldliness -that led him into it; for that is a part of his nature. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>And now, Drusa, I will tell you why I wish to introduce -you into the most fashionable society here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked up with eager attention.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Because</em> in society here you are sure to eclipse Anna -and every other beauty of her type.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, uncle!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, I am speaking fact, not flattery. Anna is -beautiful; we will grant that; but she is of that large, -fair style, so rare in our country that it made her a belle -there, but which is too common here to make her more -than one of the pretty women of the season. On the contrary, -<em>your</em> style, Drusilla, more common in America, is -extremely rare here. You will be new. You will make -what women call a ‘sensation.’ Alick will see it, and he -will discover his folly, if he never finds out his sin in -having left you. There, Drusilla! there is the old man’s -policy, worthy of a manœuvering chaperon, is it not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla knew not what to reply. For her own part -she didn’t like anything that savored of “policy.” She -longed—oh, how intensely!—for a reconciliation with her -husband; it was her one thought by day, her one dream -by night, her one aspiration in life! but she did not want -it brought about by any sort of manœuvering. Perhaps -the General read her thoughts, for he said earnestly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see you do not quite approve my plan, dear child. -You would rather Alick’s own better nature should bring -him back to his wife and babe; but ah, my dear, who can -appeal to that better nature so successfully as yourself? -and how can you ever appeal to it unless you have him -to yourself? And how can you have him, unless you -attract him in the way I suggest. Let him see you appreciated -by others, that he may learn to appreciate you -himself. Let him seek you because others admire you; -and then when you have him again, you may trust your -own love to win his heart forever!—But here is Dick, -and, bless me, yes; here are all the Seymours, at his -heels!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Colonel Seymour and his family entered, marshalled -in by Dick. And there were cordial morning salutations -and hand-shakings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The carriages were waiting. Drusilla ran off to call -Anna and to put on her own bonnet.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>And in a few minutes the whole party started on their -sight-seeing excursion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The programme of the day was carried out. They -went just to Westminster Abbey and saw there the -wonders and beauties of several successive orders of -architecture. They saw the most ancient chapel of -Edward the Confessor, containing the tomb of that Royal -Saint, and the old coronation chair and other memorials -of the Saxon kings, and the remains of many of their -Norman successors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They saw the splendid chapel of Henry the Seventh, -with the beautiful tomb of that fierce paladin, conqueror -of Richard Third, and founder of the sanguinary Tudor -dynasty; and of his meek consort, Elizabeth of York, surnamed -the Good. And there also they saw, oh strange -juxtaposition! the tombs of that beautiful Mary Stuart, -and of her rival and destroyer, the ruthless Elizabeth -Tudor; and the tombs of many other royal and noble -celebrities besides.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they examined many other chapels, filled with -the monuments and memorials of kings and queens, -knights and ladies, heroes and martyrs, poets and philosophers, -who had adorned the history of the country and -of the world, from the foundation of the Abbey to the -present time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At one o’clock, before they had inspected one-tenth -part of the interesting features of this venerable edifice, -they took leave of Westminster Abbey, promising themselves -another and a longer visit, and they went to “Simmons’” -to lunch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At two o’clock they visited St. Paul’s Cathedral.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Time and space would fail us here to give the slightest -outline of the wonders of that most wonderful cathedral. -The mere ascent of St. Paul’s from the crypt to the cupola -might be, in some degree, compared to the ascent of Mont -Blanc—at least in toil and fatigue, if not in danger and -distance. To give the most cursory description of its marvels -of architecture, sculpture, paintings and decorations, -would fill volumes and be out of place here. After three -or four hours spent there, our party returned to their -hotel, utterly wearied, dazzled and distracted; and with -only two images standing out distinctly from the magnificent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>chaos in their minds—the mausoleums of Lord Nelson -and the Duke of Wellington, the great sailor -and the great soldier of England standing side by side in -the crypt of the Cathedral.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear,” said the General, that evening over his cup -of tea, “when we laid out our plans for this week we had -no idea what was before us! No wise man crowds so much -sight-seeing into so little time. It is as wrong to surfeit -the brain as it is to overload the stomach. As for me I -am suffering from a mental indigestion, and I would rather -not attempt Windsor Castle, or any other stupendous -place or thing, until I have got over Westminster Abbey -and St. Paul’s Cathedral. So what do you say to postponing -all sight-seeing for the remainder of this week?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla and Anna eagerly assented; for, in truth, they -wanted some leisure for shopping and for arranging toilets -in which to appear at the minister’s ball. And Dick was -too polite to offer any opposition.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So the next day, while the General and Dick stayed at -home to lounge, read, or smoke, Anna and Drusilla drove -to the West End, and ransacked all the most fashionable -stores in Oxford, Regent, and Bond streets in search of -new styles of flowers, laces, gloves, and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And never did the vainest young girl, in her first season, -evince more anxiety about her appearance than did poor -Drusilla, who was not vain at all. But then the young -wife knew that she would be sure to meet her husband at -the minister’s ball, and that her future happiness might -depend upon so small a circumstance as the impression -she might make there. For once in her innocent life, but -for his sake only, she longed for a social triumph.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XX.<br> <span class='large'>THE AMBASSADRESS’ BALL.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I do not question what thou art,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Nor what thy life in great or small;</div> - <div class='line'>Thou art, I know, what all my heart,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Must beat or break for. That is all.</div> - <div class='line in6'>—<span class='sc'>Owen Meredith.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The front of that handsome house in Cavendish Square, -known then as the American Embassy, blazed with light. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>Not only the street before it, but the cross-streets around -the corners were thronged with carriages.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our Ambassadress was giving her first ball of the season -and the élite of London were to honor it with their presence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Many another house would have been crowded to suffocation -with the company that assembled in this; but here, -so spacious were the corridors and staircases, so <em>very</em> spacious -the halls and saloons, that the seven hundred fair and -noble guests wandered through the decorated and illumined -rooms, refreshed by pleasant breezes and inspired by delightful -music, and all without the usual accidents of -crushed toilets and crossed tempers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the first reception room, near the entrance door, -stood the distinguished ambassador and his accomplished -wife receiving their friends with their usual cordiality. -The ambassador wore the dress of a plain American citizen; -the ambassadress was resplendent in mazarine blue -velvet and diamonds.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At about half-past ten o’clock General Lyon and his -party were announced and entered the first reception -room. The General and his nephew wore the stereotyped -evening costume of gentlemen—the black dress-coat and -black pantaloons and the white vest and white kid gloves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna wore a mauve <i><span lang="fr">crêpe</span></i>, looped up with white roses; -and white roses in her hair and in her bosom, and pearls -and amethysts on her neck and arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla’s toilette was perfect. It was a full dress -of priceless point lace over a pale maize colored silk. -In her hair, on her bosom, and looping up her dress, -were clusters of snowdrops and crocuses, sprinkled with -the dewdrops of fine diamonds. The effect of this simple -and elegant toilette was rich, delicate and beautiful beyond -comparison.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and his young friends had to stand a few -moments, while a group who had passed in before them -paused to pay their respects to the host and hostess.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length, when their own turn came, the General took -precedence of his nephew and led Drusilla up to the -ambassadress. First he shook hands heartily with his -old friend the ambassador and bowed to the ambassadress, -and then presented Drusilla as:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“My niece, Mrs. Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla curtsied deeply, and the minister and his wife -received her kindly. And after a few commonplace courtesies -the General passed on to make room for Dick and -Anna, and also to look out for some of his own friends in -the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But ah! what a suppressed buzz went through the -room as the veteran passed, with the newest beauty of the -season hanging on his arm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What an exquisite young creature!” lisped young -Leslie of the Guards.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is she then?” inquired Beresford of the Hussars.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t know, I am sure. Does anybody here? Do -<em>you</em>, Kill.? You look as if you did,” said Leslie, turning -to Lord Killcrichtoun, who was standing like a statue -staring after the retreating form of General Lyon and -Drusilla, who were speedily lost in the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The question recalled him to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do I—what?” he inquired, with assumed carelessness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know that lovely girl who passed just now, -hanging on the arm of that tall, gray-haired old gentleman?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What girl? I noticed no <em>girl</em> particularly.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Chut! are you subject to catalepsy, Kill.?” laughed -Leslie.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But who <em>can</em> she be? Some girl that is just out, I -suppose. Somebody must know. Let’s go and ask Harry. -He knows everything,” said Beresford, moving off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop—find out who the old gentleman is first. He -looks like a foreigner, and she must be his daughter,” suggested -the Guardsman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! by the way! that is it!” suddenly exclaimed -the Hussar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is it? Have you made a discovery?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes! you said he looked like a foreigner; and so the -whole thing flashed upon me at once. He is the Prince -Waldemar Pullmynoseoff. Her Majesty received him -yesterday. He has a daughter. The Princess Shirra.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, certainly! of course! undoubtedly! how could -we have missed seeing it at once.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so these young men, upon their own sole responsibility, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>settled the rank of the simple republican gentleman -and lady.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alexander Lyon, or Lord Killcrichtoun, smiled -as he heard this.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While they spoke several of their acquaintances came -lounging up. One of them, a fair young man with straw-colored -hair and mustache, spoke:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have just seen the loveliest little creature. Can -any of you tell who she is?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, in the first place,” said Leslie, maliciously, -“where there are so many lovely creatures present, how -are we to know which you mean?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you cannot mistake if you have seen her! the most -perfect beauty of the season. She wore—there now I -cannot tell you what she wore: but her dress was the -most elegant as she was the most beautiful in the room,” -persisted the young man, pulling at his fair mustache.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now look here, Duke—taste in beauty and taste in -dress differ so much, you know. How can I tell what individual -girl you mean when you talk of the most beautiful -creature in the most elegant toilet in the room? -Why, there are hundreds of beautiful women in elegant -toilets present, and each one of them may be the <em>most</em> -beautiful and the <em>most</em> elegant to some one else’s particular -fancy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! bah, Leslie, that may be all very true of commonplace -beauties; but I tell you, and you know it is true, that -there are <em>some</em> beauties whom <em>every</em> body acknowledges to -be pre-eminent; and of such is the sweet creature who -passed here like a beam of sunshine—an exquisite creature! -Stop chaffing now and tell me, if you know, who -she is.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Was she leaning on the arm of a tall, gray-haired -gentleman?” asked Leslie, laughing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes! yes!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, then, yes, I know her. She is the Princess Shirra, -daughter of Prince Waldemar Pullmynoseoff. He is -here on a visit; some say on a private mission. Her -Majesty received him yesterday.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Daughter of old Pullmynoseoff. I’ll go and get introduced,” -said the young duke, hurrying away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again Alexander laughed within himself. He was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>somewhat amused by the mistake those discerning gentlemen -had made in supposing Drusilla to be the little -Russian princess; but he was also bitterly jealous of the -admiration so generally expressed for his beautiful, young, -forsaken wife; and he was deeply indignant that men -should take her for a girl to be wooed and won.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He followed the duke. He could not help it. He -wanted to see the end of this adventure, in which the -young duke went in search of Drusilla and the Princess -Shirra, both in one. He followed him through the mazes -of the whole suite of rooms; and everywhere he heard the -same suppressed murmur of admiration, curiosity and conjecture -of which the new beauty was the subject. Others -beside the group of officers took her for the newly-arrived -Russian Princess.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look at her diamonds—a shower of dewdrops over -her flowers,” murmured one lady.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They cannot <em>all</em> be real. Some must be paste among -so many,” objected another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Paste! Look at her point-lace dress, then, more costly -still than her diamonds. <em>None</em> but a princess of the -highest rank could wear such a priceless robe.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander passed on, leaving these people to their -dispute, and followed the young duke until he stopped -before a group of ladies and gentlemen. The ladies were -seated on the sofa, and the gentlemen were standing -before them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The duke bowed and exchanged the courtesies of the -evening, and then, turning to one of the gentlemen, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord John, you presented the Prince Waldemar Pullmynoseoff -to Her Majesty yesterday. Will you be good -enough to present me to the prince this evening?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“With pleasure, Lillespont. Come!” said the Lord -John, at once turning to lead the way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think his daughter decidedly the most beautiful woman -in the house,” said the Duke of Lillespont as they -threaded their way through the crowd, closely followed by -Alexander. “Unquestionably the most beautiful woman -here,” repeated His Grace, as if challenging contradiction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you? I am rather surprised to hear you say so,” -observed Lord John.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The most beautiful woman I have ever seen—that is, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>if one may call so young a creature a woman at all,” he -added.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Young?” repeated Lord John, raising his eyebrows. -“Ah, but then you are at a time of life when all women’s -ages are alike, I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, saying this in rather a low tone, Lord John paused -before a gentleman and lady seated on a sofa, around which -quite a court of worshippers were gathered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Waiting for a few minutes for a fair opportunity, and -then gently making his way through the circle, Lord John -took his protégé, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Prince, permit me to present to your Highness the -Duke of Lillespont; Duke,—Prince Waldemar Pullmynoseoff!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, before the young duke could recover from his -surprise and disappointment, he found himself bowing -deeply before a little dry, rusty, scrubby, hairy old gentleman, -who looked more like a very aged and very cunning -monkey than a man, not to say a prince. However, he -was certainly a European celebrity, filled full of diplomacy, -covered over with orders, and possessed a string of -titles—all told—a yard and a quarter long. So the duke -bolted his disappointment and bowed his body low before -the royal and venerable mummy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then he was presented to a little, withered woman, -very like the prince, and looking very little younger, but -so covered with jewels of all sizes and colors that she -presented the idea of an elderly fire-fly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again the duke bowed low, and exerted himself to be -agreeable, but he was very glad when the coming up of -another party gave him an excuse to make his final bow -and withdraw.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander, grinning like Mephistophiles, still followed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was quite mistaken in the princess. It was another -whom I took to be Prince Waldemar’s daughter,” said -Lillespont, deeply annoyed that he should have led any -one to believe so ill of his tastes as that he should have -fallen in love with the elderly fire-fly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hem! I thought you had made some mistake of the -sort,” said Lord John kindly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, quite another sort of person! a lovely young -creature, just out of the schoolroom, I should say. Ah, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>there—there she is now, sitting within that window!” -suddenly exclaimed the young man as an opening in the -crowd, like a rift in the clouds, showed a vista at the farther -end of which a bay window lined with lilies and -roses and occupied by General Lyon and his party, and -by a select circle of their particular friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There! that lovely, dark-eyed houri, looking the very -spirit of spring and youth, clothed with sunshine, adorned -with flowers, and spangled with diamond-dew! Do you -know her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Know her? Stop,—let me see. I know that party -she is with. I met them here at this house a few mornings -ago. Let me see,—there is General Lyon, and Mr. -and Mrs. Hammond, and—yes, the young creature you -admire so justly is Mrs. Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘<em>Mrs.</em>’—did you mean to say ‘Mrs.?’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ‘Mrs.’ I remember perfectly well being as much -surprised as you are at seeing so childlike a creature introduced -by a matronly title.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But she is never the wife of that old man? It would -not—that sort of union—be May and December, it would -be April and January!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, she is not his wife—she is his niece, I think. -Yes, I am sure he introduced her as his niece, Mrs. Lyon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Mrs.</em> Lyon? that child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, I tell you, I was as much surprised as you are -to hear her called so; but then I reflected that in America, -as in all young nations, people marry at a very early age.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! but where is <em>Mr.</em> Lyon?” very pertinently -inquired Lillespont.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Mr. Lyon? I don’t know that there is any Mr. -Lyon. I have somehow or other received the impression -that this childish beauty is a young widow, and a very -wealthy one also.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A youthful, beautiful, and wealthy widow,” said -Lillespont, musingly. “Lord John, you say you know -her,—will you introduce me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“With pleasure,—come,” said the elder man, leading -the way to the bay-window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander followed them no further, but muttering to -himself:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ass, puppy, coxcomb!” and other injurious epithets—probably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>applied to Lillespont—withdrew to a convenient -spot from which, unseen, he could see all that might -be going on in the bay-window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He saw the old gentleman called Lord John take Lillespont -up and present him to General Lyon, who forthwith -presented him to the ladies of his party. And next -he saw the young duke bow deeply to Drusilla, and make -some request, to which she graciously responded. And -then he saw her rise and give her hand to Lillespont, -who, with the air of a conqueror, led her off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander ground his teeth together with rage and -jealousy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They passed down the room and onward towards the -dancing saloon, where new quadrilles were being formed. -And the duke led his beautiful partner to the head of one -set. And there as everywhere else a low, half-suppressed -but sincere murmur of admiration followed her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander foamed with fury, and hurried away from -the scene because he could not trust himself to remain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course he had not the least right to be jealous or -indignant, but just <em>because</em> he had no such right—and he -knew it—he was all the more furious. It enraged him -to see her looking so beautiful, blooming, happy, and independent -of him, enjoying herself and exciting universal -admiration in society, when he thought, by rights, -she ought to be pale, and sad, and moping in some obscure -place. It infuriated him to see her the object of -another man’s homage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that puppy, perdition seize him! takes her to be -a young widow; is thinking now perhaps of asking her -to be his wife! His wife!” And here Alexander -ground down unuttered curses between his set teeth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah, could he have looked into his young wife’s heart, -his anger must have been appeased. Could he have seen -how little she cared for all the homage she received, except -in so much as it might make her more worthy in his -eyes. Truly she smiled on the young duke at her side—not -because he was young and handsome and a duke, but -because it was her sunny, genial, grateful nature to smile -on all who tried to please her. Yes! to smile on all who -tried to please <em>her</em>, while from the depth of her heart she -sighed to please but one on earth.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>Alexander found food enough for his insane jealousy. -Drusilla was the acknowledged beauty of the season. -Everywhere he heard her murmured praises. Every one -supposed her to be a young widow. Some genius, indebted -to his imagination for his facts, had fancied that because -Mrs. Lyon the supposed young widow, was niece-in-law to -old General Lyon, therefore the husband of Mrs. Lyon had -been a military officer who had been killed in the war -between the United States and Mexico; and had so effectually -started the report that before the evening was over -every one had heard that Captain Lyon had been shot -while gallantly leading his company at the storming of -Chepultepec. Of course this report never once reached -the ears of the General or Mrs. Lyon, or of Mr. or Mrs. -Hammond. Reports seldom do reach the ears of those -most concerned in them; and false reports never.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Alexander was doomed to hear it all.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Kill have you seen the newest beauty out?” inquired -young Hepsworth of the Dragoons. “There she is dancing -with Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden. She is engaged -ten sets deep; but I come in for the eleventh for the Lancers. -That is after supper. Look at her now, as she turns. -Isn’t she perfect? Just perfect?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is she?” growled Alexander, feeling himself -called upon to say something.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is she? Not Satan in the form of an angel of -light, as one might judge from the tone of your question. -She is Mrs. Lyon, a young widow, though you would hardly -suppose her ever to have been a wife. But you know how -early girls marry in America, stepping from the cradle to -the altar, one might say. However, that young creature -has been married and widowed. Husband, gallant fellow, -lost his life in leading a forlorn hope in the storming of -Chehuaple—Chehuapaw—Chehua-peltemback, or some -such barbarously named place.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! he did, did he?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, bless you! And I am very much obliged -to him for doing so; but she was perfectly inconsolable -for three years. But she has at last left off her -weeds, as you see. And we may suppose she is in the -market.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! she is, is she?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>“Oh, yes! Lovely creature? And <em>stu</em>-<span class='fss'>PEN</span>-<em>dously</em> rich -too,” exclaimed the dragoon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, she is rich?” sneered Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Rich? She’s a California Crœsus. A great catch for -some fortunate fellow!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>It would not do to take a gentleman by the throat and -shake him there in the ambassadress’ drawing-room; yet -Alexander could scarcely refrain from laying hands on the -dragoon who continued very innocently piling up wrath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know, I think Lillespont is taken? Lillespont -who has escaped all the man-traps set for him for the -last four years, since he first appeared in the world? But -then this young creature is such a perfect novelty! It -would be of no use for a captain of dragoons to enter the -lists against a duke, else hang me if I did not go in for the -little beauty myself,” said the young officer, complacently -drawing himself up, sticking out a neat leg, and caressing -his moustache.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are an ass!” exclaimed Alexander, turning on -his heel and walking away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The astonished dragoon gazed after him in a sort of -stupor, and then, still pawing at his moustache, muttered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Per Bacco! what a rude savage! Very great bore, -but I shall have to challenge him. And hang me if I -have the least idea what the row is about. However, I -must stay here until I keep my engagement with the little -beauty for the Lancers, and then—to teach that uncivilized -brute that he is not to indulge his savage propensities -in ladies’ drawing-rooms.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so saying, the young fellow, who with all his effeminacy, -was brave enough, sauntered away to look up -a brother officer to act as his second, and afterwards to -wait for his partner in the Lancers, his mind being equally -occupied by the thoughts of dancing and dueling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile, Alexander had moved to another standpoint, -from which, unseen by her, he could follow every -movement of his beautiful and admired young wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose,” he muttered to himself, “I shall have to -meet that young coxcomb. For after what I said to him -unless he is a poltroon as well as a puppy, he will challenge -me. Well! I don’t care a rush for my own life, and -it is not likely that I should care for his——Yes! and by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>all that is maddening, there is another fellow I shall have -to fight!” he exclaimed, as he watched Prince Ernest of -Hohenlinden, who was bestowing on the beauty of the -evening much more devotion than it was at all necessary -to show to a mere partner in the dance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Just then the dance came to an end, and his Highness -led Drusilla back to her seat beside Mrs. Hammond in the -bay window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander followed, keeping out of her sight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fear you are very much fatigued,” said Prince Ernest, -still retaining her hand, and gazing with respectful tenderness -upon her flushed cheeks and brilliant eyes. “Let -me bring you an ice,” he continued, with affectionate solicitude.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, thanks,” said Drusilla, courteously, but withdrawing -her hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A glass of water then?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing, thanks.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The rooms are very warm. Will you permit me to -take you into the conservatory. It is open and airy there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Much obliged; but I am very well here,” said Drusilla, -sweetly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Permit me this privilege at least,” pleaded the prince, -gently possessing himself of her fan and beginning to fan -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander set his teeth and ground his heel into the -floor, growling within himself:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Confound him, what does he mean? I know I shall -have to fight him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But if Alexander meant to call out all Drusilla’s admirers, -who, believing her to be a widow, were ready to -become her lovers, he would have his hands as full of -fights as the most furious fire-eater might desire.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While Prince Ernest was still standing before Drusilla -fanning her, and in every admissible manner exhibiting -his devotion to her, a very handsome, martial looking -man, of about thirty years of age, wearing the uniform of -an Austrian field-marshal, and having his breast covered -with orders, came up and, bowing low before the beauty, -claimed her hand for the quadrille then forming.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander knew him for General Count Molaski, an -officer high in the Austrian service, and one of the most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>distinguished foreigners then in London. He led his -lovely partner to the floor, where she was soon moving -gracefully through the mazes of the dance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Her head will be turned!—her head will be completely -turned! Who would ever have dreamed of her coming -<em>here</em> to play the <i><span lang="fr">rôle</span></i> of a beauty—of a queen of beauties—in -society! Aye, and with a fortune of her own, and the -countenance of General Lyon’s family to sustain her in it. -Perdition! I wish to Heaven she had never left Cedarwood—never -inherited that fortune—never been taken up -by that old Don Quixote, my uncle! <em>Then</em> I might have -had some chance of a reconciliation with her; but now—I -have no hope at all. If she has not already forgotten -me, these flatterers will soon make her do so. Ah! great -Heaven, I was certainly blind and mad ever to have left -her! I always loved her—when did I love her not? And -to have left her whom I did love for Anna whom I only -admired! Why, look at Anna now. Only what is commonly -called a fine woman here. There are a hundred -in this room as pretty as Anna, but look at Drusilla, my -wife—she <em>is</em> my wife, after all! She is the most beautiful -woman present, and the best dressed. <em>My</em> choice has -been endorsed by the verdict of the best judges of beauty -the world possesses. She <em>was</em> my choice. <em>I</em> thought her -all that these judges have decided her to be. Yes, yes, I -thought her so when she was without the adventitious -aids of wealth, rank, dress, and general admiration to enhance -her charms! How could I have left her? I was -mad—just mad! No lunatic in Bedlam ever madder!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>By this it will be seen that Alexander Lyon, Lord Killcrichtoun, -had in his heart—for no one knows how long—returned -to his first love—perhaps his only love—and -was now consuming with a hopeless passion for his own -discarded wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When I first saw our boy, what a shock of mingled -joy and pain the sight gave me! I scarcely needed the -chambermaid’s information that he was Mrs. Lyon’s little -son. I knew him at once from his likeness to his mother. -True, he has the hair and eyes of our family, but he has -his mother’s beautiful brows and sweet lips. Ah! what -a dolt! what an ass! what a pig I have been!” inwardly -groaned Alexander, still grinding his teeth together.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>But soon his rage was diverted from himself to Drusilla’s -partner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There she goes,” he muttered—“swimming through -the dance as happily as if I were not in existence, and -were not so wretched. And, set fire to that fellow! how -his eyes follow her and seem to feast—— Ugh! yes, I -will be shot if I don’t call him out!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hallo, Kill.! how do you do? Good evening. Fine -company assembled here this evening. Good many distinguished -foreigners present—nearly the whole diplomatic -corps also. But all that is nothing to the debut of -the celebrated beauty. You know her, of course,” said -young Frederic Dorimas, coming up to Alexander’s side. -“You know her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Know whom?” said Drusilla’s husband, evasively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, the beautiful young widow who is turning all -heads this evening.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I know no young widow here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then you are a very lucky fellow in having such a -pleasure still to come; and I shall be happy to present -you. Now, no thanks, my dear fellow, because I don’t -deserve them. My own heart and hand being already -engaged to another young lady, I am not free to become -a candidate for the beautiful widow’s favor, and so I will -not play the part of the dog in the manger. Come as -soon as this dance is over, and I will take you up and introduce -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Much obliged; but I prefer to decline the honor,” -said Alexander, coldly bowing and turning away from his -new tormentor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh, Kill., not dancing this evening? and looking as -glum as if you had lost a sweetheart or a fortune. -What’s the matter? Did you bet on a losing horse, or -fail to get an introduction to the lovely Mrs. Lyon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go to the demon with your lovely Mrs. Lyon!” burst -out the sorely tried Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“With great pleasure, or anywhere else in the universe -with <em>her</em>. But, hark you, my lord! I am not accustomed -to receive such answers from gentlemen; and by my -life, sir——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Alexander had turned on his heel and walked off -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>again, leaving the last speaker in the middle of his -speech.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick, in his utter wretchedness, was behaving very -much like a brute. He had already insulted one gentleman -and affronted another. He was sure of being called -out by young Hepsworth of the dragoons, and he was -strongly inclined to call out some half dozen other gentlemen -who had been guilty of dancing with Drusilla and -delighting in the honor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He passed on, growling inward curses, and so for some -moments lost sight of his young wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When he saw her next, she was seated in the bay window, -with her court of worshipers around her. She -alone occupied the sofa.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon was standing at some distance with a -group of old friends that he had been so fortunate as to -collect together.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was waltzing with Henry Spencer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick was waltzing with Nanny Seymour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla never waltzed, and therefore for the time she -was sitting alone on the sofa with her court standing -around her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden, General -Count Molaski, the Duke of Lillespont, and one or two -others of the same class.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla exhibited none of the awkwardness of a novice -under such trying circumstances. The only lady in the -circle, she was nevertheless not only self-possessed and -graceful, but she was animated and witty. She kept the -ball of conversation quickly flying back and forth, so that -those about her forgot the passage of time until the -cessation of the waltz music and the commencement of a -march, followed by a general movement of the company -in one direction proclaimed the opening of the supper -rooms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a bow, Prince Ernest asked the honor of taking -Mrs Lyon into supper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a smile of thanks, she accepted the courtesy, and -arose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he drew her arm within his own, and proudly led -her off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They passed so near Alexander that he might have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>stepped upon her dress. But she never turned her eyes -in his direction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She has forgotten me—clearly and finally forgotten -me! But I will be hanged if I don’t make somebody -sensible of my existence before the night is over!” said -Alexander to himself as he followed them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At supper the prince waited on the beauty with as -much devotion as ever courtier offered to his queen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Near them stood Anna, served by Henry Spencer and -Nanny Seymour waited on by Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was really nothing at which Alexander had the -least right to take exception. Yet his blood was boiling -with jealousy so that he was actually almost frenzied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After supper Prince Ernest led Drusilla back to her -seat, and stood devoting himself to her service until the -next dance was called and Captain Hepsworth came up -to claim her as his partner in the Lancers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Very sweetly Drusilla smiled on the young dragoon, as -she gave him her hand and let him lead her forth to the -dance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But not Drusilla’s smile of courtesy nor the young -officer’s simper of gratified vanity enraged Alick half so -much as the air and manner assumed by Prince Ernest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He, the prince, gazed after the retreating form of the -beauty until she was lost in the crowd, and then with a -profound sigh he took possession of her vacated seat, -picked up a flower that might or might not have fallen -from her bouquet, pressed it to his lips and put it in his -bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll kill him for that, or he shall kill me! I hardly -care which!” growled the maniac in the depth of his -heart. He would have liked to throttle his Highness on -the spot; and in refraining from doing so he only postponed -his vengeance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the Lancers came to an end Drusilla returned, -obsequiously attended by the young dragoon, and -followed by General Lyon and all the members of her -party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Prince Ernest started up from the sofa and with respectful -tenderness took Drusilla’s hand and placed her in her -seat, and remained standing beside her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, it is four o’clock, and you look very tired-had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>we not better go?” inquired General Lyon, speaking -in a low tone to Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Just as you and Anna please, dear uncle. As for myself, -I am quite ready,” she replied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So am I,” said Mrs Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come then,” said the General, offering his arm to Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pardon me, sir, if you please. I will have the honor -to attend Madam!” exclaimed Prince Ernest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a bow and a queer smile the General gave way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the prince bending before the beauty, took her -hand and drew her arm within his own and led her on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alexander from his covert saw all this; and breathing -maledictions, followed them, first to the presence of -the ambassador and ambassadress, before whom they -paused to make their adieux, then to the cloak room, -where he saw Prince Ernest take Drusilla’s bouquet and -hold it with one hand, while with the other hand he carefully -wrapped her in her mantle; then he followed them -down-stairs to the hall, where they all had to stop and -wait some time before their carriage could come up—and -finally to the sidewalk, where he saw Prince Ernest carefully -place Drusilla in her carriage, and tenderly lift her -hand to his lips as he bade her good-night. Saw him -then gaze upon the faded bouquet that he had taken from -the beauty, who had probably forgotten to reclaim it—gaze -upon it, press it to his lips, and place it, as some -priceless treasure, in the breast of his coat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That last act of folly filled up the measure of the prince’s -offences. It maddened Alexander. Henceforth he was -no more responsible for his actions than a lunatic.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Going up to Prince Ernest, he clapped him smartly -upon the shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The prince whirled around with an involuntary expression -of surprise and anger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You, sir, I want a word with you!” exclaimed Alexander, -breathing hard between his set teeth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At your pleasure, sare, perhaps! But, first, who may -you be?” replied his highness, with cool hauteur.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is my card, sir! I would be glad to have -yours?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>“‘Baron Killcrichtoun?’ I do not know the name or -title. Well, Baron, what is your will with me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“First, sir, that bouquet, which you have had the insolence -to keep! Secondly, sir, satisfaction for the insults -you have offered to a lady who is near and dear to me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>Insults!</span>” exclaimed the excitable Austrian, jumping -off his feet. “Insults! sare, I never offer insults to a -lady in my life! Sare, you speak von untruth! Sare, -you speak von large lie! Sare, it is I, myself, I, who will -have von grand satisfaction!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So you shall! but first give me that bouquet!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sare, I will give you no bouquet! Sare, I defend my -bouquet with the best blood of my heart! Sare, by what -right you demand my bouquet?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By a right too sacred to be talked of here! Give me -the bouquet that you have stolen!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Stolen!’” cried his highness, vaulting into the air, -“Sare, I will put back that word down your t’roat with -the point of my rapier, sare! I will have von grand, von -very grand satisfaction, sare!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right! I will send a friend to you this morning, -to arrange the terms of a meeting,” said Alexander, turning -away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Make your testament, sare! I advise you, set your -house in order, sare!” exclaimed the Austrian, shaking -his hand aloft. “Make your testament, sare! for, for me, -myself, I will have von grand satisfaction! von very -grand satisfaction!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXI.<br> <span class='large'>ALEXANDER’S EXPERIENCE.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Words of fire and words of scorn</div> - <div class='line in4'>I have written—let them go!</div> - <div class='line'>Words of hate—heart-broken, torn</div> - <div class='line in4'>With this strong and sudden woe.</div> - <div class='line'>All my scorn, she could not doubt,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Was but love, turned inside out—<span class='sc'>Owen Meredith.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“Alick, are you mad? Think what you do!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick turned quickly and faced Dick Hammond, whose -hand had touched his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>“Mr. Hammond, you here? By what right, sir, do you -dare——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By the right of kinship. Come, come, Alick, your -father and my mother were brother and sister. We are -first-cousins and old playmates, Alick. We have been -rivals, but are so no longer. We need not be enemies. -Let us be friends, Alick,” said Dick, frankly holding -out his hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And do you begin your overtures of friendship by -dogging my footsteps and spying my actions?” demanded -Alexander, putting his hands behind him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense—no!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why are you here then, sir? your party have gone -home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our carriage was full. I lingered behind to call a -hansom for myself, and so became an accidental witness -to your challenge of Prince Ernest,” said Dick, good-humoredly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The name of his imaginary rival sent Alexander off -into another fit of frenzy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I have challenged the diabolical villain, and, by -my life, I will meet him!” he exclaimed, grinding out -the words between his set teeth and livid lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Hammond knew that to argue with him then and -there upon the subject of the intended duel would be as -useless as to reason with a lunatic. Yet, in a few hours, -he hoped he might be able to bring him to his senses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So, laying his hand kindly upon the demoniac’s arm, -he said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick, go home with me, or permit me to go home -with you, while we talk this matter over.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No!” exclaimed the madman violently, throwing off -the friendly grasp. “Leave me to myself—I advise you -to do so!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick, I dare not leave you, in your present state of -mind. Even if we were not cousins, we are still countrymen! -Consider me your sincere friend, and take me with -you in this crisis of your affairs,” pleaded Dick again, -gently essaying to restrain the infuriated man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No! leave me alone, I say, Hammond! for your own -good, take care of yourself and don’t interfere with a desperate -man!” cried Alexander, breaking loose.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>A hansom-cab was passing at the moment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cab!” cried Alexander, seeing that it was empty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The hansom pulled up, and Alexander threw himself -into it, and was gone before Dick could prevent him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I must get another, and follow him if possible,” said -Mr. Hammond, making the best of his way to the nearest -cab-stand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile, General Lyon, Anna, and Drusilla returned -to their lodgings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon, after a few moments of gay bantering of -Drusilla upon her social triumphs of the evening, went to -rest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla, as soon as she was free, hurried to her own -room, to look after her little son.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny was sleeping very quietly in his crib, beside his -mother’s bed; although, indeed, as the first beams of the -morning sun were now glinting through the crevices of the -window-blinds, it was almost time for Master Lenny to -wake up for his morning bath and airing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now what did the queen of the ball do?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Tearing off her jeweled wreath of spring flowers, and -throwing aside her gems, she cast herself down upon her -child’s bed and burst into a passion of tears, and wept -and sobbed as if her heart would break.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was not her sobs or tears that awakened little Lenny. -They were too silent even in their vehemence to disturb -the child’s serene rest. It was probably his hour to wake. -He opened his eyes, and, seeing his mother in so much -grief and believing from his brief experience that nothing -but his own naughtiness ever grieved “Doosa,” he put his -arms around her neck, and said;</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t ky, Doosa—don’t ky! ’deed Lenny be dood -boy!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Lenny, Lenny! love me, or my heart will break!” -she cried, gathering the child to her bosom and pressing -him there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny do love—don’t ky! ’deed Lenny be dood boy—’deed -Lenny will!” said the child, kissing and hugging -her fondly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling child, you are the only comfort I have in -this world,” she sobbed, as she squeezed him to her -bosom and covered him with kisses.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>“Hey-day! There, I knew it! and that is the reason -I came in,” said a voice in the open doorway.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla looked up and saw Anna standing there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was on my way to my own room, but found your -door ajar, so I took the liberty to look in,” said Mrs. -Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come in, dear Anna. But I should think you would -be tired enough to hurry off to bed.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not yet; I haven’t get over the excitement of witnessing -your success, Drusa. And I have so much to -say about it before I can sleep. And besides Dick hasn’t -got in yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you uneasy about him, Anna?” sympathetically -inquired Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not at all. I suppose he hasn’t been able to pick up -a cab and has perhaps started to walk home. Uneasy? -No indeed! what is to hurt him in broad daylight? But, -Drusilla, you have been crying! You have been crying -hard! Now was it ever heard that the belle of the evening -came home from her triumphs and cried?” said Mrs. -Hammond, sitting down beside her friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna! Anna! Oh, Anna! Anna! if you knew -how little my heart was in it all! What <em>could</em> I care for -all those strange people—I who only longed to be reconciled -with my Alick!” she answered, bursting into a torrent -of tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He was there,” said Anna, quietly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do I not know it? He was there all the evening. -He was near me many times. I felt that he was, though -I did not see him; for oh, Anna, I was afraid to look towards -him and meet again that cold and cutting gaze -that almost slew me in the Tower!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t ky, Doosa! Please don’t ky. ’Deed Lenny be -dood boy. Let Lenny wipe eye,” said the child, taking -up the edge of his night-gown and trying to dry his -mother’s tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling, you <em>are</em> good, and I won’t cry to distress -you, poor little soul. I should have died long ago if it -hadn’t been for you, my little angel. There, Doosa has -done crying now,” she said, wiping her eyes and smiling -on the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusa, my dear, you were very brilliant last evening, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>not only beautiful, but brilliant. I really thought you enjoyed -queening it in society. You laughed and talked -and danced the whole evening. I should never have suspected -you of playing a part.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh Anna! I was not exactly playing a part either. -Oh, Anna, you have heard how the timid Chinese -sound a gong and make a terrible noise to drown their -own fears and to dismay their foes when they go into -battle? Anna, it was much the same with me. I had -to laugh and talk and dance and jest to deafen me to the -cry in my heart, which was almost breaking all the while. -Oh, Anna, he has ceased to love me now! I know it, he -has entirely ceased to love me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t feel so sure of that myself, Drusilla. If you, -were afraid to look at him, I was not. I saw him several -times in the course of the evening; and whenever I saw -him he was standing near you and following you with his -eyes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He was? He was, Anna?” eagerly, breathlessly inquired -the young wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed he was.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are sure?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite sure. I watched him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, but—perhaps he did so in hate or in anger,” said -Drusilla, with a sigh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was silent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Say! was it not in anger or in hate, Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought it was in jealousy, and that you know is a -sign of love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, if I thought so! if I thought so! how quickly I -would set all that jealousy at rest. How soon I would -convince my Alick that I care for but him in this whole -world!” she exclaimed, fervently clasping her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, Drusilla, I hope you would do nothing of the -sort. He richly deserves to suffer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna! you don’t like Alick,” said Drusilla, reproachfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Like him? No, <em>that</em> I don’t! That’s the gospel truth. -But there is Dick, so good-night, or rather good-morning, -my dear,” said Mrs. Hammond, kissing her cousin on the -brow and then leaving the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, if I could believe as Anna suggests, how quickly, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>how gladly I would set all my Alick’s doubts at rest. -But ah! it is not so. He has ceased to love me. I am -sure of it now—sure of it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She struggled to keep back her tears, so as not to distress -her child, who was still sitting on her lap and -watching her countenance with eyes full of anxious -sympathy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as Anna had left her, Drusilla rang for Pina, -and with her maid’s assistance changed her splendid -evening dress for a cool white wrapper. Then, before -lying down, she superintended little Lenny’s morning -bath and toilet, and saw him eat his simple breakfast and -sent him out with his nurse for a walk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then at last she lay down to take an hour’s rest, if not -sleep, before joining the family at the late breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile Anna hurried off to her own room. Anna -was weary and drowsy, and with no heavy cares on her -mind, was only anxious to find her pillow and go to sleep. -But to rest was not to be Anna’s good fortune that morning. -She found Dick just come home, looking so haggard -and harassed that his aspect terrified her into the -suspicion that her “unlucky dog” had been so unfortunate -as to meet with some of his friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick! in the name of Heaven, what is the matter?” -she exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Matter? Nothing,” answered Mr. Hammond, telling -unscrupulously, and almost unconsciously, the regulation -lie in such cases made and provided.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick! when a man says there is nothing the matter, -with such a look as that on his face, it is a sign there is -so much the matter that he dares not confess it. Now, -Dick, I will know,” she said, going to him, laying her -hands upon his shoulders and gazing steadfastly into his -face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Anna, what do you see?” he inquired, a little -sadly, as he met her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see that you are quite sober, at least, poor soul; -but oh, Dick! you unfortunate fellow, where have you -been since we left you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“About town, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“About town! Oh, yes, exactly! About town! I -know too well what that means. Oh, Dick! Dick! we -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>ought never to bring you within sight of a town! We -ought to keep you in the woods all the time. Now make -a clean breast of it, Dick. Whom have you been with?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I happened to meet with an old friend down town,” -answered Dick, solemnly and a little maliciously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“An old friend down town! Oh, precisely! I know -what <em>that</em> means also! Dick! Dick! that proverb, ‘Save -me from my friends,’ must have been written for you. -Now out with it at once! How much has your friend, -or set of friends, robbed you of this time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Robbed me of, Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes! robbed you of! You know what I mean. How -much have you lost? A thousand pounds—ten thousand?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, you think I have been gambling?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What else can I think, Dick? It breaks my heart to -think it, though.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, dearest,” said Dick, taking her hands from his -shoulder and holding them in his own, while he sought -her eyes, “Anna, did I not promise you before we were -married, that after I should become your husband I -would never touch cards or dice again? Answer me, -Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Dick, you did, dear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And—bad as I was, at my very worst, did you ever -know me to break my pledged word?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No indeed, I never did, dear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And do you think I would begin by breaking it to -my wife?” he asked, gazing sadly into her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, Dick, my darling, I beg your pardon! I do -indeed!” she said, throwing her arms around him and -kissing him with such an effusion of affection that it must -have consoled him for her momentary injustice. “Oh, -Dick, forgive me, love!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, Anna,” he said, smiling and returning her -caresses with interest. “I cannot blame you for doubting -and fearing for me, until time shall prove how steadfastly -I shall keep my pledge to you. I only wish it -could be otherwise with you, and that for your own peace -you could have full faith in me; but I know that this -cannot be so, for it must be a part of my punishment for -past follies still to inspire doubt of my future conduct.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>He spoke gravely and sadly, and the tears rushed to -Anna’s eyes as she answered him:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, darling, not so! I never doubted you before, -and, after this, I <em>cannot</em> do so again. It was I who -was a sinner, Dick, to doubt you at all, you dear, good, -honest——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>—“Dog,” added Dick, laughing; “for even an unlucky -dog may still be an honest one. Yes, Anna,” he added, -after a pause, “I do think you may begin to trust me. -We have been married about two years, and in all that -time not only have I never touched cards or dice, but I -have not even wished to do so. For your own peace of -mind, try to trust me, my wife.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I <em>do</em>, Dick! I do! It was only your look that alarmed -me; and, as we were all safe at home here, I could not -think of anything but your ‘friends’ that could happen -to you. And, more than all, when I asked you what was -the matter, you answered, ‘nothing,’ which, as I hinted -before always means, ‘Nothing could be worse.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Anna, it really was ‘nothing,’ in one sense of -the word, ‘nothing,’ or not much to us that is.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What was it, then?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, I suppose I may tell you without the risk of -giving you any great pain. Alexander Lyon has gone -mad with jealousy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna at first looked startled, and then she burst into a -hearty peal of laughter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I never saw a man out of Bedlam so frantic,” continued -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I said so!” laughed Anna. “Who is he jealous of? -You?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of the whole world, I think!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very glad to hear it. I hope it will do him -good.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, but he has challenged Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden,” -said Dick, solemnly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna became very grave.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And if he should not be prevented he will fight him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fight a duel! Dick, do you know what you are saying? -Are you in your senses?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am. It is Alick who is mad.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>“Fight a duel! What! in this age and in this country?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, in this age and in this country, my dear! And -I do not see, for my part, how it can be helped—I mean -prevented—except by the police. I saw the whole thing, -Anna. Just as your carriage drove off, Alick claps his -hand upon the prince and charges him then and there with -insulting a lady and stealing a bouquet. You should -have seen Prince Ernest then. Talk about the Germans -being phlegmatic! Though Prince Ernest is an Austrian, -by the way. Why, Anna, he jumped two feet from the -ground at the first charge, and vaulted four feet into the -air at the second. If they are permitted to meet, he will -eat Alick’s head.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A duel in England! and at this time of the world!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you must remember that it is not to be between -Englishmen, but between an Austrian and an American -and not, probably, in England; but upon some of the little -islands of the channel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought duels had gone out about the time that railroads -came in,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So did I.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Didn’t you speak to Alick? Didn’t you try to prevent -the challenge?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course I did, but with what hope of success? I -might as well have preached to the winds as to Alexander; -and as to Prince Ernest, after the first words had passed, -it would have been quite hopeless as well as very presumptuous -to have tried to expostulate with him. I did -not even attempt it. He had been outraged, grossly outraged, -and was in a towering passion that even overtopped -Alexander’s fury. And if Alick had not challenged the -prince, the prince would have challenged him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But the duel must be stopped!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course, if possible.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What can be done?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our only hope is in the police. It was in this view of -the case, and not in any prospect of a successful interview -with Alick, that I jumped into a cab and tried to follow -him and find out his address; but he had a minute’s start -of me, and so of course I lost him. I drove to Mivart’s; -but he does not stop there, I was told. I went on speculation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>to several places where I hoped to hear of him; but -without success. Lastly, I did what I should have done -at first—went to Scotland Yard and lodged information -of the projected breach of the peace with the police. Then -I came home. So you see, my dear, it was my anxious -night race through the London streets that gave me the -haggard look of a ruined gamester.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was nice of you, Dick, to take so much trouble to -save that good for nothing fellow. Shall you tell Drusa?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course not. You would not advise me to do so?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; for it would be useless as well as painful for her -to know anything about it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will tell grandpa?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; as soon as he is up and has had his breakfast, I -must consult with him as to what further can be done. -Now, Anna, dear, you had better try to get a little sleep -before breakfast; as for me, I shall go and take a bath and -get a cup of coffee, and be off to Scotland Yard again, and -be back time enough to meet my uncle when he appears.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So saying, Dick rang for his valet and disappeared.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But sleep was driven far from Anna for that day. She, -too, found her best restorative in a bath, a change of dress, -and a cup of strong coffee. Having drank this last, she -went down into the drawing-room to wait for the other -members of the family.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But even there she could not be at rest, the news of this -intended duel had excited her so much; and not that she -cared for her cousin Alexander, either, but that she cared -for Drusilla: and she was anxious for the return of Dick, -to know whether the detective policemen had succeeded in -tracing Alexander in time to stop his murderous and suicidal -purpose. She walked from window to door, and -from door to window, unable to sit still; she took up a -book, and laid it down; tried her embroidery frame, and -cast it aside, unable to read or work; she opened her piano, -but could not play. So she maundered about until the -family circle began to gather.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The first that appeared was little Lenny, in the arms of -his nurse. He looked fresh, bright and gay from his morning -walk, and was full of chatter about a monkey and an -organ grinder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Next came Drusilla, looking rather pale, but very pretty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>in her plainly banded dark hair and her cool white morning -dress. She greeted Anna, and then sat down and -called her child to her knee, and began to ask him about -his morning walks. And Lenny, having found his most -interested hearer, chattered away faster than ever.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The third comer was General Lyon, looking quite refreshed -after several hours of undisturbed repose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-morning, my dears. I hope I have not kept you -waiting,” he said, as he saluted the two ladies.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no, sir; we are almost just assembled,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, my dear Anna, ring and order breakfast at once. -But where is Dick? At the nearest mews, giving his -opinion of the proprietor’s latest purchase, I dare say.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, sir. He is not there; but he did not feel like -sleeping, so he took a bath and dressed and went out to -take a walk. He told me he would be back in time for -breakfast,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you would have thought Anna was some young -girl waiting a visit from her betrothed, to have seen her -go from one window to another, and gaze out up and down -the street,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, you do look a little nervous and excited; what -is the matter?” anxiously inquired the General, for he, too, -feared that the ‘unlucky dog’ might again have broken -bounds and given her trouble. “What is it, Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is loss of rest, grandpa. I could not sleep, so I did -not even lie down. These late hours are a terrible tax on a -country-bred woman like myself,” replied Anna, evasively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To everybody, Anna. I must really put my veto upon -parties for <em>every night</em>. For once a week now I would -consent to them——But here is Dick at last!—Why the -deuce don’t that fellow serve breakfast! Did you ring, -Anna?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; and I hear the jingling of cups on a tray and -so I suppose he is coming,” said Anna, answering her -grandpa, but looking anxiously at her husband as he entered -the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick saw that troubled gaze, and smiled to reassure her. -Then, after greeting the General and Drusilla, he turned -to Anna and said, metaphorically, but in a way that she -understood:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>“I think I can get that horse I went after, Anna.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There! I knew he had been to a stable, and Anna -said he hadn’t,” laughed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did not know that he had gone to one, grandpa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course you did not, my child, or you wouldn’t have -spoken so. But you see, I knew him better even than -you did. And now let us have breakfast.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as the morning meal was over, Drusilla took -little Lenny and retired to her own room. This was not -her custom in the forenoon; but on this occasion she acted -with a purpose. She had not failed to see that both Anna -and Dick were seriously disturbed, and that they wished -to be alone with the head of the family; but she had not -in her thoughts connected their disturbance in any manner -with her own husband. On the contrary, she, too, -unjustly suspected poor Dick of having in some manner -fallen from grace—of having, perhaps, been tempted to a -gambling table and lost more money than he could just -then conveniently pay, and of being forced to apply to -the General. So hard, you see, it is for a young man who -has once lost the confidence of his friends, to recover it, -even from those who love him best. So never suspecting -that Alexander was on the verge of crime and death, but -sighing over the supposed danger of poor Dick, Drusilla -sat down with little Lenny in her own chamber.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as the party in the breakfast parlor was left -alone, General Lyon rang for the waiter to take away the -breakfast service, and when that was done, he turned to -his young people and said, somewhat sternly, for he still -suspected Dick:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, then, what is it? Speak out. Let us hear the -worst, and hear it at once, for Heaven’s sake.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You should have heard it at once, but we could not -say anything about it before Drusilla,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose not. But she is gone now, so why do you -hesitate? What is the matter?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sir, it is this: Alexander Lyon has challenged Prince -Ernest of Hohenlinden.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Lord! is the man mad?” exclaimed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course he is. Every man is mad who challenges -another to mortal combat.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Great Heaven! what is to be done? How did you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>know this, Dick?” demanded the General, starting up -and beginning to walk the floor with rapid strides, as was -his custom when greatly excited. “How do you know -this, Dick, I ask?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Hammond related the discovery he had made on -the morning after the ball.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, good Heaven! this purpose cannot be carried out -in a Christian and civilized country. I do not think that -at this day of the world any two Englishmen would ever -think of such a barbarism as fighting a duel, and you may -depend that no two foreigners are going to be allowed to -do it. Duel indeed! Chivalry is dead, and law reigns in -its stead. Dick, you and I must go before some magistrate -and give the information. We must go at once. -I’ll put on my boots; you call a cab,” said the General, -excitedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sir, I went immediately and laid the information before -the Chief of Police at Scotland Yard. He promised -to take prompt steps to arrest the challenger and prevent -the hostile meeting. An hour ago I went again to the -office, and learned that two detectives had been sent in -pursuit of the parties. They had not yet returned to report -at the office.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that is all you know?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we must go all the same. I cannot rest quietly -here while my dead brother’s son is in peril, even if he is -a fool and a madman!—Jake!” he called to his passing -servant, “bring my boots to my room, and then run and -call a cab. And, my dear Anna,” he said, turning to his -granddaughter, “put a guard upon your face as well as -upon your lips, in Drusilla’s presence. She must not -know what has occurred.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fear she already suspects something wrong,” answered -Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, she probably thinks as you did, Anna—that I have -got into a scrape. I saw how pitifully she regarded me -as she left the room. She thinks I have fallen among -thieves again. Well, let her continue to think so; better -that than she should suspect the truth,” suggested Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed she shall not harbor a doubt of you, Dick, darling, -even to save her from the pain of knowing the truth. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>But never fear; trust to me to spare her feelings without -compromising your character.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In a very few minutes the General came in booted and -gloved for his drive. Dick was quite ready and the cab -was announced to be waiting. And so with a few last -words of warning and encouragement to Anna, they left -her to go upon their anxious errand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they arrived at the office of the chief they received -information that the two detectives who had been -sent in pursuit of the would-be duellists had returned -and reported.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this was the substance of their report:</p> - -<p class='c012'>That Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden, with two gentlemen -of his <em>suite</em>—being his physician in ordinary and his -second; and that Lord Killcrichtoun, with two attendants, -his second, and his servant, had left London by the -eight o’clock train for Southampton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And what the mischief have they done that for?” -inquired General Lyon, in perplexity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Their intention seems clear enough, I think. They -mean to cross over to some one of the Channel Islands, -where they think they may blow each other’s brains out -comfortably without interruption,” answered the chief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now what the deuce is to be done? They left at -eight, you say? It is twelve now, and there is a train -just starting, if I remember rightly; and it is too late to -pursue them by this train; and there will not be another -start until three o’clock, I think? At least such is my -impression of the hours of the trains to Southampton, -from looking over the time-table with young Spencer -yesterday, before he went down to meet a friend who had -come by the American steamer,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, you are quite right about the trains; and right -also about the uselessness of attempting to pursue these -madmen by rail. But I have telegraphed the police there -to be on the lookout for them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And we can do nothing in the meantime?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing but wait patiently.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can we wait here?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly, if you can make yourselves comfortable, -though it is not a pleasant place to ask you to sit down -in.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>“Thank you. We shall gladly avail ourselves of your -kind permission. You see we are so very anxious on this -subject, that we should like to be at hand when you receive -an answer to your telegram. How long do you -think it will be before you get it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can’t say. If they received mine before the eight -o’clock train from London reaches Southampton, they -might have met the parties at the station and could have -answered me immediately. If, however, the train reached -there first, of course the parties might have got out and -got off, and the officers would in that case have some -trouble to look them up.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So then you may get a telegram any moment now, or -you may have to wait several hours,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Exactly,” replied the chief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, uncle,” said Dick, perceiving that their presence -in the office really annoyed or, at least, incommoded the -civil officer, “I think we will adjourn to the White Swan, -which is only a few steps from this, and wait there until -Mr. Harding receives his telegram, when perhaps he will -be kind enough to send us word of the news.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, certainly, if you prefer that arrangement, though -you are quite welcome to remain here, if you can make -yourselves comfortable where there are so many coming -and going.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thank you, but we will go to the White Swan,” said -the General, rising.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But just then the clicking of the telegraph-wire in the -adjoining office was heard, and the chief raised his hands, -saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Be kind enough to stop. That may be the answer we -expect now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General and Dick sat down and waited. A few -minutes passed, and then a man entered from the telegraph -office, and handed the chief a folded paper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; here it is!” said Mr. Harding, opening and reading:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>The parties reached here at ten o’clock and took the -steamer for Guernsey at a quarter after. We wait orders.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There you see, sir, it is as I feared! They got off -before my telegram could have reached Southampton—before, -in point of fact, it had been dispatched from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>London. And it is as I suspected—they are going to one -of the Channel Islands to kill each other at their leisure,” -said the chief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now what the deuce is to be done? Can’t they -still be followed and stopped?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fear not until they have accomplished their purpose. -There is no other boat leaves for Guernsey until -to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No other packet? But, good Heavens, can we not -hire a yacht and go in pursuit of them? We can run -down to Southampton by the next train, and, in so large -a port as that, we could be sure of being able to charter a -vessel for the trip.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fear, sir, I should not be justified in taking the -responsibility of incurring so great an expense,” said the -chief, slowly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, never mind the expense, man—I will take that -upon myself! I would not grudge a thousand pounds to -save my mad nephew from this meditated crime and folly. -I will make you quite safe in regard to the expense, only -I should wish you to send a sufficient police-force with me -to stop the duel by force if it cannot be done by persuasion. -Come! it is only half-past twelve o’clock now, -and the train for Southampton don’t start until three. You -have two hours and a half to make up your mind and -make all the necessary arrangements. Come, what do you -say?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, of course the thing can be done, sir, if you choose -to incur the heavy expense of hiring the vessel. You can -take two of our men with you, and procure two more at -Southampton.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right! Now we must go back to our hotel to prepare -for our journey. There is the address. Now how -soon will you send the men up to us?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In an hour, sir, or at least in good time for you to reach -the train; or they can join you at the station.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I would rather they would come up within an hour at -furthest to our hotel, for then I should feel surer of them, -and if they do not report at the time specified, of course I -should wait for them until we get to the station, and -then miss them there, we should have to go down to -Southampton without them. Send them to our hotel, if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>possible, and as soon as may be, if you please, Mr. Harding.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do so, General,” answered the chief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the General and Mr. Hammond left the police -office and returned to the Morley House.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here a difficulty met them—how to account to Drusilla -for their sudden journey without alarming her. Neither -the General nor Dick had ingenuity enough to invent a -means of satisfying her mind without telling her an untruth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We must leave it to Anna’s wit,” said Dick, as they -entered the house. And the General assented.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On entering the drawing-room, they found no one there, -except Master Lenny, attended by his nurse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are the ladies?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They are both in their rooms fast asleep, sir,” answered -Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then go and wake up Mrs. Hammond, and ask her to -come to us quickly here. And don’t, upon any account, -disturb Mrs. Lyon,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina left the room, with little Lenny lagging after -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is very fortunate the two ladies are asleep, for now -we can get Anna here, and talk to her alone; tell her all -that we have learned, and warn her how to deal with -Drusilla,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina soon returned, with Mrs. Hammond, who in her -great anxiety to hear the news came into the drawing-room -just as she had risen from her bed, with her white -dressing-gown wrapped around her, and her fair hair -flowing over her shoulders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now?—And now?—What?” she eagerly, breathlessly -demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina, my good girl, take little Lenny down to the -walk,” said the General. And when the nurse had taken -the child from the room, he turned to Anna, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We know all that can be known now, my love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heavens! they have not met with any fatal result?” -she gasped.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, don’t be alarmed! They have not met! but -they have gone off to one of the Channel islands, to carry -out their intentions. And Dick and myself are going to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>follow them with police sufficient to stop the duel by -force, if we cannot do it by persuasion.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When do you leave?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By the three o’clock train. It is one now, and we -should leave the house a little after two; we have not -much more than an hour to prepare; so, my dear, I wish -you would just order us up a lunch, and then go and see -to having a change of underclothing and a few pocket-handkerchiefs -put up for Dick and myself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes;—but now—Drusilla? She is asleep. Of course, -you would not wish her disturbed?” said Anna, pausing -at the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By no means! For every reason, let her sleep until -we are off. We must go without bidding her good-by. -And we must trust to you, Anna, to make our apologies -to her, and also to explain our absence, without telling -the cause of our journey.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A most difficult task, my dear grandpa; but I will -undertake it,” said Anna, as she left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General and his nephew also went to their chambers -to put themselves in what Dick called traveling rig. -When they returned to the drawing-room they found -their lunch on the table, and their two portmanteaus on -the floor, and Anna presiding over these preparations.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Half past one o’clock! We have scarcely an hour now -to get our lunch and reach the train in time. Sit down -at once, Dick,” said the General, placing himself at the -table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick and Anna followed his example.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is little Lenny? I would like him to take lunch -with us this last time before we go. Where is he, Anna, -my dear?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear grandpa, don’t you know you sent him out to -walk with Pina?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! yes! so I did! That was to get rid of the girl -while I talked with you,” said the General, in a low tone, -then raising his voice, he called to Jacob, who stood waiting -at some little distance, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here, you, Jake! Go out upon the sidewalk, or around -the square, and see if you can find Master Lenny and his -nurse; and if you can, then tell Pina to bring him home -immediately, I wish to see him before I leave.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>“Yes, sir, I’ll find them. I saw them on the corner -watching of a Punch and Judy, not half an hour ago,” said -the boy, bowing and leaving the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I <em>do</em> want to see the little fellow, and kiss him good-by -before we go,” said the General, apologetically, as he -poured for himself a glass of sherry.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“La, grandpa, you talk as if you were going to the antipodes,” -laughed Mrs. Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I dare say I talk like an old fool, Anna, but I am very -foolishly fond of that little fellow.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, grandpa, I did not mean to say anything of the -kind, and I beg your pardon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tut, tut, I knew you didn’t. Come, Dick, have you -got through?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very nearly. There is time enough, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wouldn’t miss the train for a thousand pounds. -And bless my soul, those men from Scotland Yard have -not reported yet. I do hope they will be punctual,” said -the General, impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At that moment the waiter appeared, and announced -two persons below inquiring for General Lyon or Mr. -Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Our men at last,” said Dick, “tell them to wait for us -in the hall.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter went out to take the message.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the General and Dick completed their last preparations.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And that child hasn’t come yet!” exclaimed the General, -very impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Time enough, uncle—the cab hasn’t come yet,” said -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But at that instant the waiter once more appeared and -announced the cab.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let us go,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not yet; we can wait five minutes for little Lenny. -Waiter, will you oblige me by going out upon the sidewalk -and looking for my servants, and if you find them -tell them to come in immediately with Master Leonard. I -want to see him before I leave town.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly, sir,” said the man, hurrying from the -room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And General Lyon sat down to wait impatiently, while -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>Dick and Anna stood withdrawn into the bay window, -making their adieux.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, dear Anna,” said Dick, “I would rather you -should let Drusilla think it is some scrape of mine that -has carried us off from London than that you should permit -her to suspect the truth. It will not matter to let -her deceive herself for a few hours or days, until the suspense -and danger shall be over.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do the best I can; but, oh, Dick! do you think -that you can possibly be in time? in time to prevent a -fatal meeting?” she anxiously inquired.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We must try to do so; we must do our utmost and -trust the event to Providence.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick,” said the General, impatiently interrupting them, -“our five minutes are up, and neither little Lenny, our -servants, or the waiter has returned. Pray, Dick, oblige -me by going out for a few minutes to see if they are coming. -I hate to trouble you, my boy, but I must kiss little -Lenny before we go.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I will look for him with pleasure, sir. I dare say -he and his whole suite of attendants are gathered around -some organ grinder, monkey, or dancing dog, and can’t -tear themselves away from the attraction,” laughed Dick, -as he hurriedly left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again the General sat down to wait, but being very -restless and impatient, again started up and walked the -floor with rapid strides for three or four minutes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Another five minutes gone!” he presently exclaimed—“another -five minutes gone, and none of them returned -yet; and now I have not a second more of time left. I -will go down and look after them myself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so saying, he picked up his hat and rushed down-stairs -and out of the street door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He met Dick, the waiter and Jacob, hurrying towards -the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well! well! Where is little Lenny?” he quickly -demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We cannot find him or his nurse anywhere,” said the -waiter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I saw them with the Punch and Judy half an hour -ago. I reckon as they followed of ’em to some distant -street,” said Jacob.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>“I do not think there is the slightest reason to be -alarmed. Pina is quite capable of taking care of the -child,” remarked Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I am not in the least alarmed about little Lenny; -I was only anxious to bid the little fellow good-by before -leaving town; but, if I cannot do so, I must be content. -Well, Dick, my boy, we must really now be off. We will -run up and bid Anna good-by and go,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Anna saved them the trouble. She came down-stairs, -followed by a porter bringing the travelers’ portmanteaus, -which were placed in the cab. The policemen -were in waiting.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon and Dick kissed and blessed Anna, and -commended Drusilla and little Lenny to her care; and -then entered their cab, followed by their attendants, and -their whole party set out for the railroad station.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXII.<br> <span class='large'>THE MISSING BOY.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Go, when the hunter’s hand hath wrung</div> - <div class='line'>From forest caves her shrieking young,</div> - <div class='line'>And calm the lonely lioness;</div> - <div class='line'>But soothe not, mock not, my distress.—<span class='sc'>Byron.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Anna returned to the drawing-room to face the difficulty -of her duty to keep Drusilla ignorant of the real -cause of General Lyon’s and Richard Hammond’s journey -to Southampton, and to do this without either telling or -acting a falsehood. She wished to put off the evil hour as -long as possible, so as to have time to perfect her plan of -action, and therefore she kept away from Drusilla’s chamber -and remained in the drawing-room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla’s sleep was long and unbroken. It was four -o’clock in the afternoon before she joined Anna. She—Drusilla—looked -refreshed and blooming.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have had a good nap,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Drusilla, smiling, as she sat down, but -looking all round as if in search of some one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are looking for grandpa and Dick?” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>“Yes, and for little Lenny and Pina,” answered Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, little Lenny is out with his nurse,” said Anna, -willingly answering the easiest part of the observation -first.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And uncle and Dick are sleeping off their last night’s -fatigue, I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, poor souls! they are incurring more fatigue,” said -Anna, smiling, and trying to give a light and playful turn -to the conversation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, where are they gone?” exclaimed Drusilla, raising -her brows in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“On a nice little jaunt to Southampton.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Southampton? What is the occasion?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, you see, one of Dick’s good-for-nothing ‘friends,’ -or rather, to speak the exact truth, one of his former good-for-nothing -‘friends’ has been getting himself into trouble. -Of course poor Dick must needs take pity on him, and so -my poor fellow and my grandfather have both gone down -to Southampton to get <em>him</em>—Dick’s old friend—out of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! and that was the matter with Dick and uncle -this morning at breakfast?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes. Dick had the subject on his mind, and wished -to break it to grandpa, and grandpa saw that he had something -to say to him, and was both longing and dreading -to hear it; for, to tell the truth, I suppose he was fearing -that Dick himself had got into a mess of some sort, and I -dare say you were thinking the same thing, Drusilla.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, perhaps I was; for our affections make us fearful -for those we love, Anna; and you and Dick are just as -dear to me as the dearest brother and sister could possibly -be.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, darling, I know that, and your love is not lost -on us, you may be sure. Be at ease on our behalf, as it -was not Dick but one of his old friends that got into a -scrape.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am both glad and sorry. I am glad it was not Dick, -and sorry that I did him the wrong to think it could have -been. But—who was it, then, Anna, if I may ask?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! now, my dear, that would be telling. I assure -you Dick would not have told grandpa if he could have got -along without his assistance; and he would not even have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>told me, his wife, if he could have helped it. I am sure -he would not like to tell any one else. Now you are not -offended?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Offended? Oh dear, no—certainly not, Anna. Of -course I see such delicate difficulties as I suppose this of -Dick’s friend to be, should be kept secret from all except -those immediately concerned in settling them——I wonder -why that girl doesn’t bring little Lenny in?” said -Drusilla, suddenly changing the subject, and going to the -window to look out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, it is time she did, indeed. I dare say she will be -here with him in a few minutes,” answered Anna, very -glad to have weathered the storm she had so much dreaded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, dear, what time did Pina take little Lenny out?” -inquired Drusilla, rather uneasily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Immediately before luncheon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What time was that to-day?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“About two o’clock.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now it is after four; and she has had him out -more than two hours, in the hottest part of the day, too. -What <em>could</em> have tempted her to take the child out at this -time of the day?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusa, dear, this was the way of it: Grandpa and -Dick wished to explain to me the necessity of their immediate -departure for Southampton. Little Lenny and his -nurse were in the room. Grandpa and Dick did not want -any other listener than myself, so they told Pina to take -the child down to the sidewalk, thinking, of course, that -so careful a nurse would keep him in the shade. So you -see the girl was not to blame for taking the child out; -though certainly I think she <em>is</em> for keeping him out so -long. But still I don’t think you need be uneasy, Drusa. -Pina is no strange nurse. You have known her well for -three years, and she has had the care of your child for -two, and has always proved herself worthy of the trust. -I hope you are not uneasy about him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no! That is, I know I have no reason to be so, -for Pina takes as great care of him as I could myself, only -I think mothers are always uneasy when their infants are -out of sight. I <em>wish</em> she would return.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, she will be back in a few minutes,” said Anna, -cheerfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>“Listen! there is some one coming up,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Steps and voices were indeed heard near the room, and -almost immediately there was a knock at the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come in,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The door was opened by a waiter, who put in his head -and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please, my ladies, here is a policeman brought -home your nursemaid almost in fits.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny! where is Lenny? Has anything happened to -him? Have you brought home my child?” cried Drusilla, -starting up and rushing to the door before Anna -could even answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child! my child! where is my child?” she cried, -clasping her hands in an agony of terror.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My lady, from the girl’s ravings I’m afeard she has—well, -not to make it any worse than what it is—mislaid -the child some’rs or other,” said the policeman, coming -forward half helping and half dragging Pina, who, as soon -as she saw her mistress, sank with a gasp of mute anguish -at her feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny! Lenny lost! Oh, Father! Oh, Heavenly -Father, have mercy!” cried Drusilla, reeling back into -the arms of Anna, who sprang forward to support her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The child missing! What do you mean? It cannot -be! Pina, where is little Lenny?” demanded Anna, -scarcely able to control her own terror and distress, even -while she sustained the agonized mother. “Answer me, -Pina, I say! Where is little Lenny?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Pina was past answering, past everything but -grovelling at their feet and howling and tearing her -hair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has the girl gone suddenly mad and so lost the child? -Policeman, where and under what circumstances did you -find her? Waiter, bring forward that easy-chair.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The chair was rolled forward and Drusilla was eased -into it, where she sat pale, and mute, every sense on the -<i><span lang="la">qui vive</span></i> to hear the policeman’s story. Terrified, agonized, -yet with a mighty effort holding herself still and -calm, the bereaved young mother sat and listened to the -policeman’s account of his meeting with the nurse, after -the loss of the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please, my ladies, I first saw her in the Strand, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>tearing up and down the street, running after babies and -nurses and bursting into shops and houses, and going on -generally like one raving, distracted, with a rabble of boys -at her heels hooting and jeering. So she being complained -of by certain parties as she annoyed and I, suspecting of -her to be a mad woman broke loose from Bedlam, or -leastways making a great disturbance in the streets, I -takes her into custody, and should have took her off to -the station-house and locked her up, only she began to -howl about the child she had lost, and I began to see -what had happened to her and how it was; and I asked -her where she lived, and she told me and I brought her -here; and that is all about it, my ladies; but if you can -get more out of her nor I could, I think it would be well -you should, and then maybe we could help you to get -the child, my lady,” said officer E, 48.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, missus! missus! kill me! kill me! it would be a -mercy!” cried Pina, wringing her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think it would be justice, at least,” answered Anna, -sternly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where did you lose sight of him, Pina?” inquired -the young mother, in a strangely quiet manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, missus! oh, missus! knock me in the head and -put me out of my misery! do! do! do!” cried Pina, -gnashing her teeth and tearing her hair, rolling on the -floor and giving way to all her excess of grief and despair, -with all the utter abandonment of her race.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina!” sternly exclaimed Anna Hammond, “unless -you are coherent and tell us where you lost Lenny, we -shall not know where to look for him. Speak at once! -where was it that you first missed him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am! Oh, Miss Anna! Strike me dead for -pity! Oh, do! oh, do!” cried the girl, growing wilder -every moment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am, that was about all I could get out of her -either. Begging and a praying of me to take her up and -hang her because she had lost the boy. To hang her, to -hang her, to hang her up by the neck until she was dead, -dead, dead, was all her prayer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Waiter,” said Drusilla, who, though agonized with -grief and fear for her lost child, was now the most self-controlled -and thoughtful of the party—“waiter, go -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>quickly and fetch a glass of wine to this girl. It may -restore her faculties.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man sprang to do the lady’s bidding, and soon returned -with a bottle of sherry and a glass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla herself filled the glass, and kneeling down -beside her, put it to the lips of the prostrate girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no!” cried Pina, pushing away the glass, and -spilling its contents—“no, no, no, I won’t take it, I won’t -get better, I won’t live! Somebody ought to smash me -for losing little Lenny, and if they don’t I’ll die myself! I -will! I will!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina! nobody blames you, at least I do not. Nobody -wants you to die, or to be punished. Drink this, Pina, so -you may be better able to tell me about my child,” said -Drusilla, gently, as she again offered wine to the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, missus! Oh, missus! if it was poison I would -take it cheerful, I would! for it do break my heart to -look in your face and to think what I done!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You did nothing wicked, I’m sure. If you feel so -much for me, drink this, for my sake, so that you may be -better able to tell me about my child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll do anything for your sake, missus! goodness -knows I will!” said Pina, as she swallowed the -wine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Give her another glass, mum. She’ll hardly feel that -in her condition,” advised the experienced policeman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla hesitated. But Anna, less scrupulous, took the -bottle and glass from her hand, filled the glass again and -put it to Pina’s lips with a peremptory:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drink this at once.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Must I, missus?” asked Pina, turning to her mistress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” answered Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Pina swallowed the second portion of wine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now,” said the policeman, after a few moments, extending -his hand to Pina, lifting her up and placing her -upon a chair—“now, my good girl, open your mouth and -tell us all, how and about the loss of the child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh,” cried Pina, bursting into tears afresh, “it was -<em>him</em> at the bottom of it all, I know it was!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who?” inquired E. 48.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Him, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Lyon, Lord Killchristians, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>as they call him over here. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, -me! Oh, little Lenny!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“His father!” exclaimed Drusilla, in a half suppressed -tone. And she breathed somewhat more freely; for she -felt that if Lenny were with his father, the child was in -no immediate personal danger—nay more, that his detention -was but temporary; that he would soon be restored -to her again. She thought that her husband might have -ceased to love her, but she knew that he never would -deliberately do the deadly wrong of tearing her child -from her. Still she was intensely anxious to hear the -details of the abduction; but she was also extremely unwilling -to admit strangers to a participation of the intelligence -that involved so much of her private history and -domestic sorrows.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All these thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through -her mind, while Pina was giving her answer, so when the -policeman would have continued the examination by asking:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Who</em> was at the bottom of it, did you say, young -woman? did you say a gentleman and—a lord? How -was that? And what lord was it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killchristians! Mr. Alexander Lyon as used -to was, and a notorious willyun too! and the child’s -own——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here Drusilla broke into the conversation:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Officer, these are private matters. I thank you very -much for having brought this poor girl safely home, and -I hope you will accept this trifle in payment,” she added, -placing a sovereign in his hand. “You may leave us now. -We will examine this girl, and if we find that your services -should be required in the search, we will send for you; or -you can call here in the course of an hour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, my lady. I will call and see if I am -wanted at the time you say,” answered the policeman, -lifting his hand to his head by way of salute, and then -leaving the room, followed by the waiter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now then, Pina, you say that little Lenny’s father -has got him?” said Drusilla, trembling with excess of -emotion, yet still striving to keep calm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am, I suppose he has by this time,” sobbed -the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>“You suppose he has by this time? Pina, Pina! that -is not what you said before. Pina, what do you mean? -You surely said his father had him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I said Mr. Lyon was at the bottom of it, ma’am—at -the bottom of little Lenny’s being carried off, I mean—and -I stand to it, as he was!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Heaven! did not his father carry him off, then?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, ma’am; not with his own hands, but he was at -the bottom of it—I say it, and I stand to it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Merciful Heaven! if his father did not carry him off -who then did? Girl, girl! do you know how you torture -me? I thought at first my Lenny had been lost by straying -away from you; then you said his father was concerned -in his disappearance: now you say his father did -not take him? In the name of Mercy, who did? Speak—for -the Lord’s sake, speak quickly?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am, I will—I will tell you all I know, but -don’t, don’t look so—don’t, ma’am, or you’ll kill me!” -sobbed Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>Tell who took the child then!</span>” said Anna, speaking -sternly and stamping her foot.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>I don’t know who did!</span>” burst, amid sobs, from -Pina’s lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla stifled the shrieks that were ready to burst -from her lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You don’t know who did! Why, then, did you -accuse Lord Killcrichtoun?” demanded Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I didn’t accuse him, ma’am—I said as he was at the -bottom of it,” said Pina, who seemed to be unable to -change her phraseology. “I said he was at the bottom of -it, and I stand to it as he was!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, Anna, time flies! If Lenny is not with -Alick, where is he? Oh, where is he? He must be -found at once—at once! I cannot live or breathe till he -is found! She must be made to tell how she lost him!” -cried Drusilla, losing all her self-command and starting -up in great excitement,—“He must be sought for, Anna! -he must be sought for at once!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course he must; but the search must be commenced -with this girl who was the last person with him. -Pina, you say you don’t know who took the child from -you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>“No, ma’am, I don’t—but know his father was at the -bottom of it—I know it, and I’ll stand to it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why do you think so?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, Anna, you lose time with all this talk!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I don’t; we must find out from her where and -how we are to begin to search. Now, Pina, why do you -think Lord Killcrichtoun was concerned in this matter?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lor’, ma’am, because it stands to reason as he was. -Lenny is his own son, which also they are very fond of -each other—Lenny of he, and him of Lenny! And so it -was nateral he should want to have him. I’m not saying -as it was right or anything like right, but it was so!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, Anna, time flying, and no facts learned yet—only -conjectures! Let me talk to her myself. Pina, -where were you when you missed little Lenny?” inquired -Drusilla, distractedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, ma’am! oh, missus, don’t take on so—don’t, and -I will tell you! He was down on the Strand, a-looking -in at a toy-shop—oh, dear! oh, me! oh, poor little -Lenny!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, for the Lord’s sake, stop crying and tell me more! -You were before a toy-shop you say?” said Drusilla, in -extreme anxiety.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am, a-looking in at the windows, at the wooden -soldiers, and horses, and ships; and there comes along a -man with an organ and a dancing-monkey. And little -Lenny turned away from the window to look at the monkey. -And a crowd collected. They were mostly children. -And little Lenny is fond of children—and so—oh! -oh, dear! oh, my heart will break!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Compose yourself, and go on, Pina!” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, ma’am. Oh! oh, dear! Yes—well, little Lenny -wanted to mix up with them; but they were mostly -ragged and dirty street children, and I was afeard of -fevers, and fleas, and sich, and so I kept him to myself, so -I did. Oh, oh, me! I wish I had always kept him to -myself, so I do,” sobbed Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go on,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I saw two ill-looking men in the crowd. And -indeed I didn’t think nothing of it at the time, because -ill-looking men ain’t no rarity in no city, and that I knew -of my own self. And these men, most of their ill-looks -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>was in their dirty and ragged clothes, and bruised and -firey faces. And while I was a-takin’ notice of them on -the sly, one of ’em says to the other;</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘There—that’s the young ’un.’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the other says:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Which?’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the first one stoops and whispers to the other, so -I couldn’t hear. And then they fell back out of the -crowd a little ways, and began to look into the shop windows -unconcerned-like. And indeed, indeed, I had no -notion then as they had been talking about little Lenny, -such wilyuns as they were, though I have thought so -since! Oh, Lenny! oh, dear little Lenny! I wish somebody -would knock my brains out, so I do! Oh, dear! -oh, dear! oh——!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina, stop howling and go on with this statement!” -said Anna, authoritatively, while Drusilla clasped her -hands, and listened in an agony of anxiety.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, ma’am, after the men turned away, little Lenny -began to tease me for pennies to give to the dancing-monkey—and -I gave him all I had, and he ran into the -crowd to put them into the hat the monkey was holding -out.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You should not have let him do that,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ma’am, you know how sudden and self-willed he is! -he sprang away from me before I could stop him. And I -ran after him to bring him out. But, just at that very -moment, there came rushing down the sidewalk, and right -through the crowd, a man with his head bare and bloody, -followed by a running crowd, all yelling at the top of -their voices:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Stop thief! stop thief!’</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And they overturned the organ man and his dancing-monkey, -and carried off his crowd with them. I ran -after them calling for little Lenny, who was swept out of -my sight by the rushing stream of people. I ran with all -my speed and I called with all my voice, but I got knocked -from one side of the walk to the other, and thrown -down and run over, and trampled on, and swore at, and—and -that was the way I lost little Lenny. I was hunting -up and down for him when the policeman found me -and fetched me home. Oh, dear! oh, me, that ever I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>should live to see the day! Oh, missus! oh, Miss Anna! -oh——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now stop. Let us talk calmly for a moment,” said -Anna, reflectively. “Let me see. Lenny could not have -been hurried off by those thief-hunters; because, if he had -been, a tender little creature like himself would have been -thrown down, run over, and left behind, and you would -have found him on the ground more or less injured.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That was what I was a dreading of every minute, Miss -Anna. Oh, little Lenny! dear little Lenny!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Therefore,” continued Anna, “as he was not so run -over and left, he must have been snatched up by some -one and carried off under cover of the confusion. The -kidnapper probably darted up one of the side streets or -alleys, and disappeared with his prey in that way.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That was what I thought, too, Miss Anna, when I remembered -seeing them bad-looking men and hearing what -they said. They was a watching of their opportunity to -seize little Lenny and run away with him; and in course -they must have been set on by his father, who wanted -him; else what call would they have to take the child?—they -who don’t look as if they had overmuch love for -children, or for any other creatures, to tell the holy truth; -no, nor likewise did they look as if they was able to keep -themselves from starving, much less a child; so it stands -to reason as they was hired to seize little Lenny by some -un who <em>did</em> love him, and <em>was</em> able to keep him; and who -could that have been but his own father?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina, I think you are probably right in your conjecture, -for I cannot even imagine what motive two such -men as you describe could possibly have for stealing a -child like Lenny. They must have been employed by his -father, and if so, they must have been engaged some days -ago, and have been on the lookout for the boy ever -since.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, Anna, do you really think he is with his -father? If I thought so, one-half this terrible anxiety -would be quieted. Oh, Anna, do you truly think Lenny -is with Alick?” cried Drusilla, clasping her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have little doubt that Alexander employed these -men to get little Lenny. I have little doubt but that, for -the sake of gain, they will faithfully perform their part -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>of the compact. My only wonder is that Alick should -have employed such very disreputable instruments.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pina, is that all? Do you know no more?” anxiously -inquired Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is all, missus—every bit. I have told you not only -all that happened, but all I seed and heard and even -thought.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now then for action,” said the young mother, rising -with a new-born resolution and ringing the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter answered it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Order a cab for me immediately, and come and let me -know when it is at the door,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And when the man went away to do her bidding she -turned to Pina and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop crying and do as I direct you. Go to my room -and bring me here my bonnet, gloves and mantle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina, still sobbing, went to obey.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, Anna, if you wish to accompany me, go and -get ready quickly. I have something to do in the meanwhile.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are you going, Drusilla?” inquired Mrs. Hammond, -wondering to see the agonized young mother take -the direction of affairs with so much firmness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am going to institute a search for little Lenny. I -must find him before I sleep. Use your pleasure, Anna -dear, in going with me, or staying at home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall go with you most certainly,” said Mrs. Hammond, -leaving the room to prepare for her ride.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile Drusilla sat down to her writing desk, and -wrote off rapidly disjointed paragraphs on several sheets -of paper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna returned ready for her drive, and found Drusilla -thus occupied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What in the world are you doing, my dear?” inquired -Mrs. Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Preparing slips of paper that may, or may not, be -wanted; for no time must be lost. See, here is a telegram -to be sent to uncle at Southampton, if necessary. Here -are a dozen copies of an advertisement, descriptive of little -Lenny’s person and dress, and of the circumstances of his -disappearance, and the reward offered for his restoration, -to be put, if required, into to-morrow’s papers. Still I hope -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>that none of these things need be done. We must drive -first to Mivart’s where Alexander stops, or did stop, and -see if he is still there, and if he has the child in his possession. -If we find that Lenny is safe with his father, then -it will be all right, for I feel sure that my boy will be -amused and happy for a little while, and then he will want -to come home to me, and Alick will never be so cruel as -to keep him from his mother. But if we do not find him -with Alick, then we must send this telegram immediately -to Southampton to summon uncle back to town; and we -must have this advertisement inserted in all the papers, and -posted all over London; and we must employ the whole -detective police force, or as many of it as we can procure, -to prosecute the search——It is time the cab were here. -I wish it would come,” said Drusilla, touching the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heaven, Drusilla! how you do astonish me! -Who would have believed that you—a young and delicate -woman, a doting and anxious mother—could have displayed -so much coolness and resolution in such an hour of -trial and suffering,” exclaimed Anna, in genuine admiration.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, Anna! if experience has disciplined me in anything, -it has disciplined me in self-control.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At this moment the door opened, and the waiter appeared -and announced:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your cab waits, madam.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come then,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And followed by Anna and attended by Pina, she hurried -down-stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They entered the cab, gave the order, and were driven -rapidly towards Mivart’s hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The drive was accomplished in almost perfect silence. -Drusilla sat pale and still, suffering inexpressible anguish, -yet controlling herself by a mighty effort.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna was occupied by her own anxious thoughts. Of -course <em>she</em> knew the mission to Mivart’s in search of Alick -to be quite vain, and worse than vain since it involved loss -of time where time was of vital importance; yet she dared -not enlighten Drusilla by explaining the absence of Alexander, -for she feared by doing so to add to the terrible -anxiety that was already oppressing the young wife and -mother. And, also, Anna suspected that Alexander really -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>was concerned in the abduction of little Lenny; that he -had hired these men to carry him off; and had most probably -instructed them to bring him to Mivart’s. Therefore, -although she knew there was no chance of finding Alexander, -she cherished some hope of hearing of little Lenny. -The men who abducted him might have carried him there, -not knowing of their employer’s absence. If so, little -Lenny might be recovered before the day was over.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Amid all her grave anxieties, Anna felt some little curiosity -upon one point: Drusilla had grown so sensitive -and timid in regard to her beloved but truant husband -that she had shrunk even from the casual glance of his -eye in public; and now she was going to Mivart’s in -quest of him; after all that had passed, she was voluntarily -seeking him; true, it was to find the child; true, -also, she could not see her husband; but—would she ask -to see Alexander? Could she endure to see him? What -were her thoughts and feelings on that subject? Anna -would ask.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla,” she said, “when we reach Mivart’s shall -you send in your card to Alexander?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young mother started. She had been in a deep -reverie about the present condition of her child, and had -not heard her distinctly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna repeated her question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; I shall send in my card,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And shall you see him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That shall be as he pleases. Here is the card that I -have prepared to send in to him,” she continued, taking -from her gold case a small envelope directed to Lord Killcrichtoun, -and drawing from it her card, bearing the -name, “<span class='sc'>Mrs. Alexander Lyon</span>,” and the pencilled -lines, “<em>Only tell me little Lenny is with you and is safe -and I will thank and bless you</em>.” “I shall send that up. -He can reply to it by a pencilled line, or a verbal message, -or he can come down and see me, as he wills,” said -Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusa, you have thought of everything; you have -prepared for every emergency. But maternal love is a -great sharpener of the wits, I suppose,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It confers a sixth sense I sometimes think, Anna,” -she replied.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>When they reached the splendid palace in the West -End known as Mivart’s Hotel, the ladies alighted, and -were shown into an elegant reception room, where they -sat down.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla then called a hall waiter, gave him her enveloped -card, and directed him to take it at once to Lord -Killcrichtoun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord Killcrichtoun is not in town, madam,” replied -the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not in town!” exclaimed Drusilla, disappointment -and terror seizing her heart and blanching her face. “I -thought he was in town! I saw him last night at the -American Embassy. Does he not stop here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, madam; my lord has apartments here, but he -left suddenly this morning by the early train for Southampton.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For Southampton!” echoed Drusilla, in surprise and -dismay, and with the vague fear that his journey thither -was in some fatal way the occasion of General Lyon’s and -Dick’s sudden departure for that port.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, madam,” answered the imperturbable waiter, -“my lord left by the eight o’clock train, taking his servants -with him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When will he return?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can’t possibly say, madam. My lord set no day for -his return. But if you will excuse me, I will make so bold -as to say I do not think he will be gone long. He took -nothing but a small portmanteau with him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla reflected a moment and then sealing her envelope, -and handing it to the waiter with a crown piece -she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you be so kind as to send this to his address at -Southampton?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, madam, if you would not mind risking the note, -I might send it at a venture to the Dolphin Tavern at -Southampton, where it might chance to meet my lord, as -that is the house he usually has his letters and papers -sent to when down there. But I am not quite certain -now about his address, seeing that he never left any -orders this time where to send his letters. But if this is -not very valuable you might run the risk of sending it to -the Dolphin.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>“I thank you, send it immediately to the Dolphin. It -is not of itself of any worth, except as a message to Lord -Killcrichtoun. If it does not find him it might as well be -lost,” said Drusilla, rising to go.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Anna had also something to say to the waiter. -Laying her hand upon Drusilla’s arm, she pressed her -back into her seat, and then turning to the man, she -inquired:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has any one beside ourselves been here to inquire for -Lord Killcrichtoun?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, madam, many persons.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gentlemen or ladies?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No ladies, madam. Three gentlemen were in to see -him very early this morning, before he went away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, but I mean since he went away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, madam, quite a number.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Again, gentlemen or ladies?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Neither one nor the other, madam; <em>men</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Men! Ah! what sort of men?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Common roughs, madam.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes! yes! did any of these men have a child with -them?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Beg pardon, madam?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I ask you if either of these rough-looking men had a -child with him, a fair-haired, blue-eyed little boy, of -about two years old.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, madam, certainly not.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are sure?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Perfectly sure, madam.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, waiter, attend to me. We have lost a child—and -have some reason to suppose that the child was -brought to this house this afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has not, madam, I can assure you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have cause to believe, then, that he will be -brought here—Drusilla, dear, give me one of your cards -and one of these advertisements—Now here, waiter, is a -description of the child; and here is our address. If -such a child should be brought here, I desire that you -will detain him, and those who bring him, and send for -us. Do this and you shall be richly rewarded.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do it, ma’am, if the little boy should be brought -here,” said the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>And then, as time was precious, Drusilla and Anna -arose and re-entered their cab.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where now, Drusilla?” inquired Anna, as they -seated themselves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Instead of answering her cousin immediately, Drusilla -beckoned the cabman to approach, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drive to the nearest Telegraph Office, and drive fast.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man touched his hat, shut the door, mounted his -box and started his horses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Drusilla turned to her cousin and explained:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear Alick may, or may not have employed those -men to carry off little Lenny. If he has done so, he could -not have expected them to do his errand to-day, else certainly -he would not have left town with the chance of -leaving the child in such hands. In that view of the case -I left my card with the penciled lines for the waiter to -send to him, to let him know that Lenny is in the hands -of his agents, supposing that they <em>are</em> his, and in any case -to let him know the child is missing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Drusilla! how clearly you speak, and yet how -wretchedly you look! Heaven help you, poor, young -mother!” said Mrs. Hammond, as the tears rushed to her -eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna! don’t, don’t, dear! don’t pity me! don’t -say anything to weaken me! I have need of all my -strength!” cried Drusilla, through her white and quivering -lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, with heaving bosom and overflowing eyes, turned -her head away from her and looked out of the window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You asked me just now where we were going next. -You heard me tell the cabman to drive to the Telegraph -Office. I must send off two telegrams to Southampton. -I cannot wait the slow motions of the mails. One I shall -send to Alick, directed at a venture to the ‘Dolphin.’ The -other I must send to uncle; but you must tell me where -to direct that, as I do not know his address,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick told me, in any sudden emergency that might -require his or grandpa’s presence, to direct to them at the -‘International,’” replied Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well; we will telegraph there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At this moment the cab stopped before the Telegraph -Office.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>The office of course was full of people, and Anna and -Drusilla had to wait their turn.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While standing at the counter, Drusilla borrowed pen, -ink and paper from one of the clerks, and wrote her two -messages. The first, addressed to her husband, ran thus:</p> - -<p class='c014'>“<em>Little Lenny was stolen from his nurse, by two men, -this afternoon, in the Strand, and has not yet been recovered.</em></p> - -<div class='c016'><span class='sc'>Drusilla.</span>”</div> - -<p class='c012'>She submitted this to the examination of Anna, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is quite enough and not too much to send. If he -is concerned in the abduction, he will hasten at once to -London to take the child from the dangerous hands he is -in. If he is not so, still I think he will hurry hither to -help in the search.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You reason rightly, dear,” said Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla then wrote a second message, to be sent to -General Lyon. It was couched in these terms:</p> - -<p class='c014'>“<em>Little Lenny is missing since this afternoon. Come -to London by the first train. If in the interim you have -time to do so, seek Alexander at the Dolphin and tell him.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>This also she showed to Anna, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You see I had to modify my message since learning -that Alexander was also in Southampton; and so also I -had to destroy the slip I wrote at the Morley House and -prepare this. Now I see it is my turn to be served,” she -said, taking her two messages and carrying them to the -operator. She paid for them and then inquired:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How soon will these go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This instant, mum,” answered the bothered operator, -so brusquely that Drusilla did not venture to ask another -question, but merely left her address and a request that -if an answer came to either of her telegrams it might be -forwarded immediately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, my dear, what next?” inquired Anna, as they -re-entered their carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To the ‘Times’ office, and from there to all the newspaper -offices in turn. It may not be really necessary to -advertise; and I hope that it is not; but still I must lose -no time and miss no chance,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>And having given her order to the cabman, she was -driven rapidly to the head-quarters of the great thunderer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She got out and left her advertisement. And then returning -to her carriage, ordered it to the office of the -“Post.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so in succession she visited the offices of the -“Chronicle,” “Express,” “Dispatch,” “Leader,” “News,” -“Bulletin,” and, in short, of every daily paper in London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In each of the offices she also, in addition to giving in -her advertisement for the paper, ordered posters of the -lost child to be printed, and engaged bill-stickers to paste -them up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Next she drove to the lodgings of the Seymour family, -to tell the colonel of the loss of little Lenny, and to ask -him to assist her in the search for the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But here she was informed that Colonel Seymour and -the ladies were gone to the theater; but that the servants -did not know what particular theater.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Drusilla wrote a note and left it for the colonel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was now nine o’clock, and quite dark; and having -done all she could possibly do towards the recovery of -her child, she ordered the cabman to drive back to the -hotel, to meet the horrors of her lonely night and forced -inaction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, oh! the awful sense of bereavement, of loneliness, -of vacancy, in entering again her apartments, in which -little Lenny was no longer to be found! The heart-rending -pang of terror in conjecturing where he might be!</p> - -<p class='c012'>While she had been busily, actively engaged in taking -measures for his recovery, her thoughts had been somewhat -distracted from concentrating themselves upon his -present condition.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But now, when she had done all that she could possibly -do towards finding him, now that she had come home to -the old familiar rooms, made desolate by his loss, and -was obliged to abide in inactivity within them,—now that -she missed him everywhere and every moment,—the reaction -from courage to despair was so sudden and overwhelming -that her very brain reeled, her reason for the -moment seemed imperiled. With a half-stifled cry, she -sank upon her chair, muttering with gasping breath:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not possible! it cannot be! Lenny gone, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>not know where he is! <span class='sc'>Wake me!</span> <span class='sc'>Wake me!</span> I have -the nightmare!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna sprang to her side, and put her arms around her -saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla, Drusilla! my darling, courageous girl! collect -your powers—control yourself!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it <span class='fss'>TRUE</span>, Anna? Oh, say it is not—not true! -Lenny is <span class='fss'>NOT LOST</span>!” she exclaimed, wildly gazing into -Anna’s eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We hope that he is safe wherever he is,” said Anna -wishingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wherever he is! Oh, my Heaven, yes, it is so! He -is lost, and we do not know where to find him!” she exclaimed, -distractedly starting up and walking the floor, -and wringing and twisting her hands. “Where is he? -where is he to-night? Oh, in all this great crowded city, -where is my little child—my poor, little two-year old -child, who cannot help himself? He is frightened to -death wherever he is—I know it! He is calling for me, -he is crying for me, at this very moment! Oh, my Lenny, -my Lenny! I would go to you through fire if I knew where -to find you in this great Babylon! I would, my little one, -I would! But I do not know where in this wilderness to -look for you to-night, and you must cry for me in vain, -my little child, you must! Oh, what a horrible night! I -cannot, I cannot live through it! I cannot breathe in this -house! I must go out and look for him again! I must! -I must!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her head was thrown back, her arms raised, and her -hands clasped upon her throbbing temples, and she reeled -as she walked to and fro in the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna, who bad kept near her, seeing her about to fall, -caught her and made her sit down, while she said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusa, dearest, be reasonable! be yourself!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I must go out and look for my little child! I must, -Anna! I must! I cannot live through this horrible night -if I stay in this house!” she cried.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusa, consider! you can do no good by going out to-night, -but much harm. You could not find little Lenny, -but you would lose yourself. You have already done all -that you possibly could do for his recovery. Having done -so, leave the result to Heaven.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>“Oh, if we could only know where he is!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shall find out to-morrow, no doubt. The advertisements -will be read; the posters will be seen; the -large reward offered will stimulate inquiry; the detective -police will be on the alert; and, in, all human probability, -before this time to-morrow little Lenny will be in your -arms! and grandpa, and Dick, and who knows but Alick, -too, will all be here rejoicing with you in your child’s -restoration! Drusilla, this cloud may have a silver lining; -this transient trial may bring about a great happiness,” -said Anna, speaking with perhaps more cheerful confidence -than she really felt.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heaven grant it! Oh, Heaven in its mercy grant it! -But till then! But to-night! Oh, how shall I live -through this horrible night! How will my little child -endure it? my tender little child, who was never away -from me before! And, oh, in what wretchedness he may -be! in what terror! in what danger! crying for his -mother to come and take him, and she knows not where -to find him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla! Drusilla! use your own excellent judgment. -Is it likely at all that the child should be in danger to-night, -or even in terror? Children live and thrive in the -lowest haunts of London. The men who stole him for -his father will of course take the best possible care of him -in order to deliver him in the best condition and to get -their money; so he will be in no danger; and as for his -being in terror, little Lenny is a ‘game boy,’ afraid of -nothing on earth, neither of ‘thunder nor horses,’ as he -once told me, much less of men; and as to crying for you, -he is probably by this time fast asleep, and well watched, -for his abductors know that he is a treasure that will -bring money to their ragged pockets.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, if I could think so!—oh, if I could think so. Oh, -if I could only know where he is—know where I might -lay my hand on him to-night, or to-morrow, I might be -at something like peace; but oh, Anna, it is distracting, -it is maddening to feel that in all this huge, crowded city -I do not know where he is!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drusilla,” said Anna, laying her hand upon the young -mother’s shoulder, looking in her eyes, speaking sweetly -and solemnly, and appealing to the deepest feelings of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>young Christian’s soul. “Drusilla, if <em>we</em> do not know -where little Lenny is to-night, <em>his Heavenly Father does</em>. -He sees him, watches over him, protects him. What -would <em>your</em> knowledge of his whereabouts, or <em>your</em> power -to protect him, be to that of his Heavenly Father, whose -eyes are over all his works, who is as all-merciful as he is -all-mighty. Take this faith home to your heart and let -it comfort you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Anna, that does comfort me. To think that the -Lord knows where he is, though I do not; the <em>Lord</em> can -take care of him, though I cannot. Oh, I thought no one -but the thieves could know where little Lenny is to-night; -but behold the Lord knows! And I feared that -I could do nothing more for him to-night; but behold I -can pray to the Lord for him. I will spend the night in -praying for him!” said the bereaved mother, growing -somewhat more composed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But there was no going to bed in the ladies’ apartments -that night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they had not broken their fast since morning, Anna -ordered tea to be served in the drawing-room. Consumed -by the feverish thirst brought on by mental distress, they -drank some tea, but would eat nothing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the service was removed, both went to Anna’s -room, for Drusilla did not dare to trust herself within -her own desolated chamber, and they changed their carriage -dresses for loose wrappers, and they spent the night -in vigil and in prayer.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXIII.<br> <span class='large'>ALEXANDER’S JEALOUSY.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in12'>Ten thousand fears</div> - <div class='line'>Invented wild, ten thousand frantic views</div> - <div class='line'>Of horrid rivals, hanging on the charms,</div> - <div class='line'>For which he melts in fondness, eat him up</div> - <div class='line'>With fervent anguish and consuming rage.—<span class='sc'>Thompson.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>We must return to the hour when Alexander threw -himself into his cab and dashed back to his hotel. He -did not go to bed, you may be sure. He had a countryman -and an acquaintance in the same house, who was no -other than our young friend, Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>Francis occupied the singular position of being on -friendly terms with both Alick and Drusilla, without -knowing or even suspecting the relation that these two -bore to each other; and, moreover, as he never happened -to mention the name of Lord Killcrichtoun to Mrs. Lyon, -or that of Mrs. Lyon to Lord Killcrichtoun, neither one -of these was aware of his acquaintance with the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Tredegar had been at the Ambassadress’ ball, and -had returned to his hotel about the same hour that Alexander -got back there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Alexander, instead of going directly to his own -apartments, went first to Mr. Tredegar’s room and rapped</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who’s there?” cried a voice from within.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is I. Have you retired yet?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No. Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick entered and found his friend, divested of his coat -and vest and preparing for bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put on your clothes again, Francis, you must do -something for me before you sleep,” said Alexander, walking -towards the dressing-table at which Mr. Tredegar -stood, with his back to his visitor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good gracious, Alick, my dear fellow, what on earth -can you want me to do for you at four o’clock in the -morning, after having made a night of it at the ball?” -laughed Francis Tredegar, turning around in much surprise; -but his surprise became consternation as he gazed -on the haggard features and ghastly complexion of his -visitor. “Merciful Heaven, Alick!” he exclaimed, “what -is the matter? What on earth has happened to you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have been insulted, outraged, beyond all endurance. -And I want you to be the bearer of a challenge from -me!” grimly replied Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A challenge, Alick! In the name of reason, are you -mad?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wish I were! Perhaps I am! But in a few words, -Tredegar, if I convince you that I have been wronged to -a degree unendurable by an honorable man, will you then -become the bearer of my challenge to the base caitiff who -has so foully abused me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why certainly I will, Alick. In any just cause I will -stand by you to the very death! But is it really as bad -as you think?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>“‘As bad as I think?’ Listen.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sit down, Alick, and tell me all about it,” said Tredegar, -rolling towards his visitor a comfortable arm-chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick dropped into the offered seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Tredegar perched himself on the corner of the dressing-table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will put a case and let you judge for yourself. -Suppose that you were devoted to a beautiful, amiable and -accomplished woman, who was at least equally devoted to -yourself——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heavens! If I could suppose that I should be in paradise!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No levity, if you please, Francis.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Beg pardon. I will be as grave as a rejected lover, or—as -an <em>accepted</em> one!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Suppose this mutual devotion had grown up with you -from infancy to maturity; and that it was consecrated by -the most sacred bonds and pledges.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Meaning, poetically speaking, ‘bonds of matrimony’ -and ‘pledges of affection’—otherwise, practically prosing, -wife and children.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not exactly; but, to continue: Suppose this mutual -devotion to have lived on in love, and trust, and joy, -and peace until certain untoward circumstances—your -own madness, to wit:—disturbed the harmony of your relations; -yet still in all the discord this mutual love lived -on; lived on, only deepened and strengthened by separation -and suffering,—lived on until just at the time you were -beginning to dream of reconciliation and reunion with your -first love—your only love, your life’s love—a base villain -steps in between you, and, favored by fortune and by -position, dazzles the mind and steals the heart of your beloved!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And is that suppository case your own, Alick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, it is. What would you do if it were yours?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’d let him have her! I’d give ’em my blessing, and -let ’em go! But then I’m not you, Alick; if you feel inclined -to call the fellow out and giving him a chance to -settle your prior claims by blowing out your heated -brains, why that’s <em>your</em> affair!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And <em>you</em> will have nothing to do with it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did not say that, Alick; quite the contrary! You -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>have been wronged, and I will see you righted if I can—and -righted in your own way too!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then you will take my challenge?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“With all my heart. To whom am I to take it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden. May the demon -fly away with him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden, <em>Whew!</em>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He’s a dead shot—the deadliest shot on this side the -ocean!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is not saying much for him! I’m a second or -third rate marksman on the other side of the ocean. So -that makes us about equal. Will you come to my room -now, Tredegar? I wish to write my despatch and send -it off at once. No time should be lost in these affairs.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What! are you in such hot haste to meet your foe? -Are your feet so ‘swift to shed blood?’ Will you then -rush, as our grand Halleck has it—</p> - -<p class='c014'>‘To death as to a festival?’</p> - -<p class='c015'>Alick, Alick! I am sorry for you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Spare your compassion and come to my room,” said -Alexander, rising and leading the way through the halls -and corridors that led to his own sumptuous suite of -apartments.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Arrived there, Alexander made Francis Tredegar sit -down, while he placed himself at his writing-desk and -penned his challenge to the prince.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall not have far to seek, at any rate,” said Mr. -Tredegar, as he received the note, “for Prince Ernest -has apartments on this very floor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I knew of course that he was stopping here,” said -Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now then, if it is a discreet question, who is the -fair lady for whose sake two such gallant knights are to -do battle?” inquired Tredegar, poising the paper on his -finger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it is <em>not</em> a fair question, Tredegar. The name of -the lady should never be mentioned in such matters. I -cannot utter it even to you, dear Francis,” said Alick -gravely.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>“All right. But see here! It is never that beautiful -young widow, Mrs. Lyon, who made such a sensation as -the belle of the ball last night?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bosh!” exclaimed Alexander, growing deadly white, -and jerking himself around in apparent impatience, but -with a real desire to conceal his emotion—“Bosh, I say! -It is no widow for whose sake I wish to meet him. There -is not a widow alive in whom I feel the slightest interest!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, I think you are all at sea about the prince. -He thinks of no other woman in the world but the beautiful -widow. His devotion to her was the general topic of -conversation last night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I tell you that you are all ‘at sea,’ as you call it, -my dear Francis. Come! you have taken my word for the -justice of my cause, now take my challenge to my foe.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, that is soon done, unless he has gone to bed.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That he has not I will venture to predict. He is -waiting my challenge.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As eager for the fray as yourself, eh?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But see here, Alick! I promised to stand by you in -this cause, and I will do it; but though I bear your -challenge, I shall try to settle this affair amicably.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Amicably?’ It can never——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I know it would be quite useless to argue with you, -but Prince Ernest may be more amenable to reason, more -open to conviction.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, yes, I am going,” said Tredegar, leaving the -room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as he was alone Alexander looked at the clock. -It wanted a quarter to five.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In passing before his dressing-table, his eye caught the -reflection of his ghastly face in the glass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good heavens!” he said, “I look like a ghost already. -I shall not look more pallid after that fellow has killed me—if -he does kill me—than I do now; and that chance of -death reminds me that I must settle up my worldly affairs -as quickly as I can.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So saying, he sat down to his writing table, took a sheet -of foolscap and a coarse pen, and began to write. He -wrote a few lines in an “engrossing” hand, and then -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>stopped, with a troubled brow, to reflect. Thus writing -and reflecting, he completed the work he was on in about -half an hour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he took note paper and another pen and wrote a -letter, which he placed in an envelope, sealed and directed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Finally he sat back in his chair, and fell into deep -thought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Mr. Tredegar had been gone an hour, he returned -and re-entered the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well?” exclaimed Alick, looking up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, it is settled,” said Tredegar, dropping into a -chair near his friend. “I found Prince Ernest even more -resolutely bent upon the meeting than you are. He considers -himself the insulted party. When I requested to -see him, I was admitted at once to his chamber, where I -found him tearing up and down the floor in his sacred shirt. -If my errand had not been so grave, I could have laughed. -He made no sort of apology for his extreme déshabille, but -seemed to know my errand. I handed him your challenge. -He then began to rave about the insult that had been -offered him, and the ‘grawnd satees-fac-shee-on,’ as he -called it, that he would take. He introduced me to his -friend, Major Ernest Zollenhoffar, or some such barbaric -name, and he told me to settle the preliminaries of the -meeting with him. Then he dismissed us to an adjoining -room.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you settled them?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; subject, of course, to the approval of the principals. -Prince Ernest approves. It is now for you to pass -judgment.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not likely that I shall object. Let me hear -them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar took from his breast pocket a folded -paper, opened it, and partly read from it and partly said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As it is not possible that this meeting should take -place on English soil, it is arranged that the parties go by -the next train to Southampton, take the steamer to Jersey -and proceed to the open country between St. Aubins and -St. Héléir. The exact spot of the duel to be settled afterward. -The weapons are to be pistols. The distance ten -paces. The signals—One—Two—Three. At the last -word—<span class='sc'>Fire</span>!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>“That will do. We must go by the eight o’clock train, -which is the next. Let me see;—it is now a quarter past -five. We must leave this house by seven, in order to -make sure of our train. Thus we have but an hour and -three-quarters for preparation,” said Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I have not read you all the articles yet. There -is something about surgeons and attendants——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let all that go. It is of minor importance,” said -Alexander, laying his hand upon the cord of the bell that -communicated with his valet’s room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He rang loudly and repeatedly. And presently the man -made his appearance, half asleep and half dressed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Simms,” said his master, “pack my portmanteau with -a change of clothes and small dressing-case. We go to -Southampton by the eight o’clock train.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man stared a little at this unexpected order, but, -being a well trained servant, suppressed his surprise and -hastened to obey his orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander examined his pistol-case, and, seeing that all -was right, proceeded to prepare himself for his sudden -journey.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar repaired to his own chamber for the -same purpose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Half an hour passed in this manner, and then Mr. Tredegar -returned, traveling-bag in hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He found Alexander again at his writing desk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come here, Francis, my dear boy; I want you to witness -the signing of my will,” said Alexander, looking -around.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will require two witnesses,” observed Francis -Tredegar, gravely, as he approached the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I know! Here, Simms.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet came up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the presence of his friend and his servant, Alexander -signed his will. And then Francis Tredegar and John -Simms signed as witnesses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, Tredegar, I have named you and another one, -executors of this will. But I wish you to take charge of -it in case anything should happen to me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, bosh!” said Tredegar, gaily, yet with a tremulous -tone,—“these affairs seldom end fatally.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>But he took the will and put it carefully in his breast -pocket.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is nearly seven o’clock now. I wonder if we could -get some coffee. Go down, Simms, and see, and have it -brought to this room,” said Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The servant went on this errand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The master turned again to his friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here, Francis,” he said, gravely, as he handed the -letter he had written; “I wish you, in case of my death, -to deliver this letter to its address.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, nonsense. There is going to be nothing so solemn. -You may be wounded slightly, and as you are a -good marksman you may wound Prince Ernest seriously. -That will be all,” said Mr. Tredegar. But his voice -trembled as he spoke, and his hand shook as he took -charge of the letter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, good Heaven, Alick! this is directed to Mrs. -Alexander Lyon, Morley House, Trafalgar Square,” said -Tredegar, in unbounded astonishment, as he read the -address.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, that is what she <em>calls</em> herself,” said Alexander, -grimly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so it is the lovely widow, after all, who is the -cause of this hostile meeting?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I told you that no widow had anything to do with -it. She is not a widow, Tredegar.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not a widow! and just now you hinted that she was -not Mrs. Lyon. Who is she, then, Alick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She is Lady Killcrichtoun—she is my wife, Tredegar.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heavens, Alick!—Here!—Here is my hand! I -go with you now heart and soul! I am not bloodthirsty, -and I want no man’s life; but I do hope you will cripple -that fellow for the rest of his days!” fervently exclaimed -Francis Tredegar, clasping his hand into Alexander’s -palm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did not wish—I did not mean to mention her dear -name in this connection; circumstances and necessity -have forced it from me. Treat it as a sacred confidence, -Tredegar.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By my soul I will!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And listen to this: the fault, the folly, the madness -belong to <em>me</em> and to that man. <em>She</em> is blameless!—yes, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>blameless as any holy angel. I swear it by all my hopes -of Heaven!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The entrance of the waiter with a tray put an end to -the conversation for the time being.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The friends took each a cup of coffee, a muffin, and a -chop, and then went down-stairs and entered the cab that -was already packed for their journey.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXIV.<br> <span class='large'>THE DUEL.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Blood! he will have blood!—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>As Alexander and his party entered the fly that was -to take them to the station, they observed the crested -coach and liveried servants of Prince Ernest coming -around the next corner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah!” said Alexander. “We shall be at the station -before them. I am glad of it. Our advance will enable -us to take a whole carriage and avoid the possibility of -going down in their company.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it is not to be presumed but that Prince Ernest -will do the same thing—will engage a whole carriage for -himself and <em>suite</em>,” answered Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>If he can.</em> But whole carriages are not always to be -had, at the last moment before starting. There may -chance to be one, and that I will secure.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were bowling rapidly along the streets as Alexander -spoke.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In due time they reached the crowded station.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is a notable blessing that we are not encumbered -with baggage,” said Mr. Tredegar, as they pressed their -way to the first-class ticket window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; what little we have can be taken in the carriage -with us,” replied Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>High over the heads of the crowd that was before them, -Francis Tredegar held his ten-pound note, and high also -over their voices he spoke:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We want a whole first-class carriage, if you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The note was taken.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>“How far?” inquired the agent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Through,” answered Francis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The tickets were handed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis clutched them and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come! we must hurry all the same in order to secure -ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they pressed outward through the crowd, they saw a -servant in the livery of Prince Ernest pressing inward -towards the ticket office. And before they had quite -worked their way through they heard the man call for a -whole first-class carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You see he is after the same thing. Let us hurry to -the train. First come first served, you know. And there -may be but one,” remarked Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They pressed forward to the railway platform; found a -guard and showed him their tickets and—a crown piece to -hurry his movements.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Guard touched his hat, opened a door and popped our -party into a roomy carriage with eight comfortable seats.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The only wholly vacant one on the train, sir, I can -assure you,” said the guard, pocketing his crown piece, -touching his hat and closing the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah!” whispered Alexander, rubbing his hands, “I -told you so.” It was such a satisfaction for him to think -he had been beforehand with the unlucky Austrian, who -would therefore be compelled to distribute himself and his -suite promiscuously through the carriages.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had no idea that another carriage would be attached -to the train especially to accommodate Prince Ernest and -his suite. Yet such was the case.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The train started. It was the express, and it went on -at a tremendous rate. Houses, streets, suburbs, fields, -woods, towns flew behind it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>How did our travelers pass the two or three hours of -their journey? They were going down by the express, for -the avowed purpose of engaging in a mortal combat. It -might be supposed that their time would be spent in sorely -troubled thought. Will it be believed that it was passed -in—sleep?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet so it was. Human nature must sleep. The condemned -criminal sleeps the night before his execution; the -victim on the rack has been known to sleep in the intervals -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>between each turn of the screw; the agonized mother drops -asleep in the interims of her travail.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander was going to kill or to be killed; Francis -Tredegar was going down to help him meet either -fate. Yet these by no means hardened sinners, really -slept.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Worn out by want of rest, and affected by the swift -motion of the train, they slept soundly—waking up only -once in a while, when the train would stop at some unusually -noisy way station.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Doubtless on these wakings both would realize with a -pang of recollection the horror of the business upon which -they were traveling. But if so neither gave a sign. If -either spoke it would be to make some commonplace -remark, as:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Ah-yah!</em> I do believe I have been asleep! This -dancing until four o’clock in the morning does use a fellow -up confoundedly,” from Francis Tredegar; or:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite a pretty little village this where we are stopping -now,” from Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But not one word of the grave matter that occupied both -minds.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And as soon as the train started they would cease talking, -and soon after, fall asleep again, and sleep until the -next stoppage at the next noisy station.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus the hours passed swiftly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length they were waked up by a very unusual -bustle, and found themselves at a very unusually large -station.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is a considerable town. I wonder what it is,” -said Francis Tredegar, yawning and looking out of the -window.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is Southampton and we are at our journey’s end,” -answered Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed! We have run down very soon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not so very soon either. We slept all the way and -know little of the flight of time. It wants but twenty -minutes to eleven o’clock, and we have but just time to -catch the boat. Where is the guard? I wish he would -come and open the door and let us out. It is a confounded -nuisance, this locking the carriage-doors on the outside, -keeping one in a sort of flying prison,” grumbled Alexander, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>looking from the window up and down the platform -for the guard.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is for one’s safety,” said Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, bosh! as if I hadn’t any right to risk my own -life! It is not so precious to any one, I take it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, but granting that, <em>other</em> lives may be precious -to <em>other</em> people, and this rule is made for the safety of -all.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Francis Tredegar spoke the guard came up and -unlocked the door, and released the prisoners.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A quarter to eleven! Come, Francis, hurry—we have -not a moment to lose if we would catch the boat,” exclaimed -Alexander, flying down the platform and beckoning -a cab from the stand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar and Alick’s valet hurried after him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To the St. Aubins steamboat, as fast as you can go,” -was the order Alexander gave to the cabman, who stood -hat in hand holding the door open.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man closed the door upon the impatient party, -mounted his seat, and started his horses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were driven rapidly down to the wharf, where -the St. Aubins steamer lay getting up her steam. They -got out, paid the cab, and passed on into the boat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Five minutes to eleven—we have just saved ourselves. -But that dastard has not made his appearance yet! Is it -possible that he will back out at the last moment? If he -does, I will post him for a coward all over Europe!” -muttered Alexander, frowning.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There he comes now!” exclaimed Francis, as a carriage -rattled rapidly down towards the boat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there he was, sure enough. It was not likely that -the excitable Austrian was going to lag behind on such -an adventure as this.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Prince Ernest and his suite stepped upon deck just one -minute and a half before the gang-plank was withdrawn, -the signal-gun fired, and the steamer started.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In passing on the deck, the adversaries met face to face. -Each raised his hat with a stiff bow and passed on—Prince -Ernest and his suite to the forward end of the boat, Alexander -and his party to the aft. And they took good care -not to meet again during the voyage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They had a fair day for their foul deed. The sky was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>unusually clear, the air calm, and the sea smooth. The -steamer ran at the rate of ten knots an hour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander and his party sat at the stern looking out at -sea, and reading or pretending to read the morning papers -served around by a newsboy who had the run of the -boat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The boat was certainly not crowded. In fact there were<a id='t260'></a> -very few passengers on board. And among them Alexander -and his party saw not a face they knew except those -of Prince Ernest and his second.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At two o’clock lunch was served in the saloon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you come down? we have had but a slight -breakfast,” pleaded Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I cannot sit at the same table with a man I am about -to fight and perhaps to kill,” muttered Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nor would he sit at the same table with you, it is to -be presumed. But there are probably several tables in -the saloon. There goes Prince Ernest! his fire-eating -propensities do not take away his appetite for milder food -it seems. Let him select his table and then let us go -down and take some other,” suggested Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander assented. And in a few minutes they -descended to the saloon and took seats at a table as far -as possible from that occupied by Prince Ernest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The luncheon was a liberal one, as good as a dinner—with -soup, fish, fowl, roast and boiled joints, pastry, -cheese, and fruits. The wines were good and cheap, -various and abundant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Again, will it be credited, Alexander, firmly believing -that within a few hours he must kill or be killed, still ate -and drank freely at this lunch. And Tredegar followed -his example. Perhaps they did it that the sated stomach -might soothe the brain. At any rate when they rose -from the table, they went down to the lower deck to a -spot set apart and sacred to smoking, and there they -smoked out several cigars. After that they went to the -cabin, turned into their respective berths, and went to -sleep and slept until the ringing of the dinner-bell -aroused them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They arranged their toilettes and went into the saloon. -And again, they sought seats as far as possible from the -table occupied by Prince Ernest.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>It might have been the invigorating effects of the sea-air -upon our party; but they certainly sat down and -made as good a dinner at seven o’clock as if they had -had no luncheon at two. After sitting an hour over -their wine, they finished with each a cup of coffee, and -then went up on deck.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The sun had set, but the western horizon and the sea -were still suffused with his lingering crimson lights. A -few stars were coming out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander and Francis Tredegar sat down in the after -part of the boat, and entered into conversation, talking of -anything rather than of the approaching duel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What time shall we reach St. Aubins do you -think?” inquired Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have never been on this route before, so I cannot -tell you of my own knowledge. From what I have been -able to pick up from observations dropped by those that -are more familiar with the voyage, I judge we shall be in -port somewhere about midnight.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So late in the night? that will be very inconvenient.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; but unless we could have arrived before sunset, -which was clearly impossible, we could have done nothing -more to-day. We must stay at the best hotel to-night, -and get our little affair quietly over in the morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The sooner the better,” muttered Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The night was beautiful. The waters of the Channel, -often so troubled, were calm as those of a placid lake. -The heavens were of that deep transparent purple-black -that only summer skies over summer seas ever show. -Brighter than diamonds the stars shone down, creating -the darkly-brilliant light so much more beautiful than -moonbeams. The night was holy. How could thoughts -of sin, feelings of revenge, purposes of destruction live in -the soul of any man gazing out upon the divine beauty of -the sky and sea?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah, but Alexander was morally and spiritually ill and -insane. He could scarcely be said to belong to the natural -world. His spirit seemed already steeped to the lips in -that sea of blood seen by the poet-prophet of Italy in his -vision of Hell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>How shall he be cured and saved?</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>And yet he was not unconscious, although he was unimpressed -by the beauty of the night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The deck was almost solitary; the passengers had gone -below and turned in, many of them suffering more or less -from the effects of sea-sickness; for the boat rolled a -little, as small steamboats will roll even on the smoothest -seas. No one was left on deck except the man at the -wheel, the officers of the watch, and Alexander Lyon and -Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis sauntered up and down the starboard gangway, -smoking his cigar, which, at this hour and under these -circumstances, was admissible, and meditating most probably -on the “coming events” that now “cast their -shadows before.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis had no such deep stake in the event as had -Alexander, for his life was not to be risked, yet not the -less was his spirit darkened within him. He, too, saw -the star-spangled firmament above and the smooth sea -below, reflecting it as a mirror; but he could not enjoy -the vision as once he might have. The crime, the folly -of which he had been tempted to become a participant -was not yet consummated, but yet he felt that some -portion of his own soul was already dead, or paralyzed -so that he could not feel the heavenly influence of the -scene around him. How should he?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander stood leaning over the bulwarks of the boat, -gazing moodily out to sea. I said he was not unconscious -of the divine beauty of the night, although he was untouched -by it. He saw the glory of the firmament, but -as something afar off, which could not reach him, and -which he could not reach; but he remembered also that -in happier times his spirit was touched, drawn out, -elevated, by this heavenly influence. Why could it not -affect him now? Why was the divine loveliness beaming -down upon this natural world, so silent, cold and still, -for him? Why was the living spirit of the night but a -dead body for him?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alas! he knew and felt why. He was a man who had -ruined his natural life, and all but ruined his immortal -spirit. He had sped too fast and too far on the downward -road to perdition to stop himself now. He was -like one who, running rapidly down hill, has gained such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>an impetus that he cannot stop, though he knows that -he rushes to death and hell. Alexander knew and felt -that dueling was unjustifiable under any circumstances—that -it was a tremendous crime—a doubly damnable -crime, since it involved at once murder and suicide of -body and of soul—perhaps the very worst of crimes; and -yet he was bent upon committing it, even though, in doing -so, he should lose both body and soul.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The night seemed endless, and the sea boundless, to -this sick spirit; yet, just as the watch sounded eight -bells and midnight, the boat entered the picturesque -harbor of St. Aubins, and soon after landed at the wharf.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was something more than picturesque, there was -something mysterious and even spiritual in the aspect of -this singular little maritime town, as seen for the first -time in the starlight midnight, overshadowed by its background -of Noirmont Heights, and reflected with its few -gleaming lights in the still waters of its quiet little harbor—St. -Aubins! it is a place for a tired spirit to stop -and rest in.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The hour was not yet so late but that some of the -hotels were open, especially as they were expecting the -arrival of the boat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Our passengers landed. Some few carriages were -waiting, probably by appointment. Prince Ernest and -his suite entered one of these and drove off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander, accompanied by Francis Tredegar, and -followed by his servant bearing the carpet bags, walked -dreamily up into the town, and took the direction pointed -out to him towards the St. Aubins’ hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In fact, all his life now seemed something unreal, -visionary, delirious as a fevered dream.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Arrived at the hotel, they first saw the empty carriage -of Prince Ernest turning away from the door, and they -knew as a certainty what they had before taken for -granted—that their adversaries were stopping at the -same house, which was far the best in the place.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They took a suite of rooms, including a private parlor -and two bed-chambers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We will have a bit of supper up here and then to work,” -said Francis Tredegar, touching the bell. Francis was now -the only active agent in the enterprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>The waiter answered his summons.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Supper immediately. Anything in the world that you -have handiest, with a bottle of good sherry,” was Mr. -Tredegar’s orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter disappeared and reappeared several times -with great rapidity, in course of which evolution he -spread the table with a white cloth, and with crockery -ware, cutlery and glass, and loaded it with cold ham, roast -fowl, and a salad, together with the bottle of wine that -had been bespoken.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander and Francis sat down and ate and drank as -other travelers might who had no murder on their mind. -They spoke no word of the impending duel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When supper was over and the cloth removed, Francis -Tredegar turned to his principal and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now you will wish to feel well and strong to-morrow -morning. You have lost a great deal of rest lately, and -will require all the sleep that you can get to restore you. -So you had better go to bed at once, and lie there till I -call you. I will be sure to call you two hours before the -time that shall be fixed for the meeting.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you, Francis? Will you not take some rest?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, it is not so necessary for me. I must meet Zollenhoffar -by appointment to settle the last—the final arrangements—such -as could not possibly be settled before our -arrival here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, you will call me in time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander retired to his chamber, and Francis Tredegar -went out to keep his appointment on what might be -called neutral ground—in a room, namely, far removed -from the quarters of the principal belligerents, and which -the seconds had engaged for the purpose of settling the -final preliminaries to the hostile meeting.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The night watch of the hotel could have told, and afterwards -did tell, how these two men had shut themselves -up together in a private room, where they remained from -one o’clock, till half past two, when they came out together, -locked the door, took the key with them, left the house, -and bent their steps towards the gloomy heights of Noirmont -that lay behind the town; and how about four -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>o’clock they returned, and separated, each going to his own -apartment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Certainly at about a quarter past four Mr. Tredegar entered -Alexander’s chamber, where he found his principal -tossing about on the bed in a feverish and impatient -manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Have you slept?” inquired Francis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Slept? How could I? Is it time to rise?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very glad of it,” exclaimed Alexander, jumping -out of bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have rather more than two hours before you, if you -have any last preparations to make,” said Francis, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have nothing to do but shave, wash and dress.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But—” said Francis, sadly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I tell you I have no other preparations to make. Having -settled my worldly affairs, I have no other preparations -to make. What should I have?” emphatically exclaimed -Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What, indeed? How could the duelist prepare for probable -death? The Christian soldier going into battle, or -upon a forlorn hope, in a righteous cause can invoke the -blessing of God on his arms, and can commit his soul, for -life or death, into His holy keeping. Yes, even the condemned -criminal, however deeply steeped in guilt, can -kneel and pray for mercy and forgiveness, for acceptance -and admission into Heaven. These can prepare to meet -their God.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But how can the determined duelist prepare for death? -Can he pray for pardon for past sins when he is about to -commit the last, the greatest, the deadliest sin of his life? -No, he goes to his fatal work grimly defying man and -God, death and hell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have fixed upon the ground?” inquired Alexander, -as he brushed his hair, calmly and carefully, as for -an evening party, for he had suddenly recovered all his -self-possession.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; it is a small secluded spot at the foot of Noirmont -Heights, to which I shall conduct you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Six. The carriage is ordered at half-past five.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well. There are but a few moments left; so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>much the better,” said Alexander, as he finished his toilet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they went into their private parlor, they found -hot coffee waiting them, thanks to the careful forethought -of Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they had finished their coffee the carriage was -announced, and they arose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have laid the train so that the coachman, and even -the servants, think we are a party of geologists going to -the mountain to search for geological specimens. They -will take our pistol-case for a box of tools and think all -right,” explained Francis Tredegar, as they descended the -stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, to complete the ruse, we must leave the cab at -some short distance from the dueling ground.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course. And still more to guard against suspicion -and interruption, Prince Ernest and his attendants start -as if for a journey, make a slight detour, and approach the -place of meeting from another direction,” answered -Francis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The morning was fresh and bright. The sun was, perhaps, -an hour high when Alexander Lyon and Francis -Tredegar entered their carriage. Simms, the valet, -mounted the box and seated himself beside the coachman. -And in this manner they were driven out towards Noirmont -Heights.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, Francis -Tredegar ordered the carriage to draw up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Give me that box of tools, Simms. We shall find -some valuable specimens of sienites on the other side of -the mountain,” said Francis Tredegar, in a rather loud -voice intended to be heard by the coachman, as the party -alighted from the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wait for us here. We may be gone some hours, but -don’t leave the spot,” he added, as he led the way, followed -by Alexander and his servant, around a projecting rock, -to a retired spot, shut off from observation by surrounding -precipices.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they entered the place at one end, Prince Ernest -and his party were seen to come in at the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Each adversary, with his attendants, paused.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The prince was attended by his second, his surgeon -and his servant.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>Alexander had only his friend and his valet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Major Zollenhoffar and Mr. Tredegar drew out from -their respective groups, and met in the center of the -ground. There, for the last time, they conferred upon -the possibility of an amicable settlement of the difficulty. -But the impracticability of reconciling the adversaries -consisted in this—that each of the adversaries deemed -<em>himself</em> the injured, insulted, outraged party, who was -entitled to an humble apology from the other, or in want -of that the “satisfaction of a gentleman”—which usually -means an ounce of lead in his body or fellow-creature’s -blood upon his soul. Each was willing to receive an -apology, instead of a bullet; but neither would hear of -making the slightest concession.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the proposition was made to Alexander, he simply -turned away his pallid face in cold and silent scorn.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When it was made to Prince Ernest, the excitable Austrian -jumped three feet from the ground and swore that -he would have “one grawnd sat-ees-fac-shee-on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The quarrel having proved irreconcilable, the last preparations -were made for the duel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The ground was stepped off, and the foes were placed -by their respective seconds at ten paces from each other—standing -due north and south, with the advantage of the -light equally divided between them; the insulted sun -being just above the mountains due east, and shining -down full upon the dueling ground. Major Zollenhoffar -had the choice of the four pair of pistols provided. Francis -Tredegar was to give the signals.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having placed and armed their principals, and taken -position on opposite sides of the line of fire, and about -midway between them, and all being ready, Francis Tredegar -looked from one to the other. He saw that Alexander -Lyon was pale as death, but still as marble, steady -as a statue; and that Prince Ernest was fiery red, but in -other respects appeared as calm as his adversary.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Francis Tredegar himself grew very pale as the -fatal moment approached. His voice sounded hollow and -unnatural, as he began:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gentlemen, are you ready!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>A dread pause and a silent assent, or an assent taken -for granted.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>“<span class='sc'>One!</span>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And at the signal the foes raised their pistols.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>Two!</span>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They took deliberate aim.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>Three.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They kept them so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“FIRE!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They discharged their pistols and Alexander Lyon fell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The impulsive Austrian threw down his weapon and, -regardless of etiquette, ran over to raise his fallen foe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander was still alive when they raised him. There -was a convulsive shuddering of the form—a nervous quivering -of the face—a gasp—“Drusilla!” and all was still -as death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Prince Ernest had his grand satisfaction.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXV.<br> <span class='large'>THE GRAND SATISFACTION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in18'>Naught’s had, all’s spent</div> - <div class='line'>When our desires are gained without content—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The grand satisfaction was received; but it did not -prove so highly satisfactory after all. Grand satisfactions -seldom do.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Prince Ernest raised his fallen foe in his arms, supported -him upon his bosom and gazed on his upturned, -pallid face in pity and distress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quick! you come hither, monsieur! Quick! you -come hither, Doctor Dietz!” he called hastily to his own -surgeon, who with the two seconds and the valet were -hurrying to the spot.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heaven! he is killed!” cried Francis Tredegar, -throwing himself down in a kneeling posture beside his -friend and relieving Prince Ernest of the weight of the -body.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Doctor Dietz dropped on his knee on the other side and -began hastily to unloosen the clothes and examine the -condition of the wounded man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Major Zollenhoffar bent sadly over the group.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>Simms, the valet, stood gaping and staring in speechless -consternation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The impulsive Austrian skipped around the circle, acting -in his distress more like an excitable dancing master -than an accomplished Prince.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Each face was as pale as the bloodless face below them; -for these were not the times of war, and the men were not -inured to sudden and violent death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length the surgeon looked up from his examination.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is he quite dead? Is there not the slightest hope?” -anxiously inquired Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is not dead,” said Doctor Dietz. Then turning to -Major Zollenhoffar, he requested—“Monsieur, oblige me; -send someone to the carriage for my case of instruments.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will go myself,” answered the major, hurrying off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Monsieur, you do the favor; send your servant for -the water,” said Doctor Dietz, turning again to Francis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hasten, Simms. There is a hut around the projection -of that rock. Go there and procure some vessel and fill -it at the nearest spring and hurry back with it as fast as -possible,” ordered Francis, speaking eagerly while he -still supported the almost lifeless form of his friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Simms ran off at the height of his speed to get the -water. And all this while Prince Ernest skipped about -giving vent to his lamentations and declaiming in his excitement, -without his usually careful regard to the construction -of the English language.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My Heaven! I shall wish to kill him not! I know -not what he quarrel with me because! what he insult -me! what he defy me! what he shoot me because—I -know not—I—! A fair woman shall give me her bouquet -to hold, to keep, to cherish! Why not? I am the slave -of the fair woman! I take her bouquet! It is sweet, it -is fresh, it is precious like herself! I press it to my lips! -I put it to my heart! Why not? What wrong I do that -he shall charge me? shall accuse me? shall shoot me!” -he exclaimed, jumping about, gesticulating, and making -such havoc of English auxiliary verbs as even the best-read -foreigners may sometimes do when speaking rapidly -and excitedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lay your friend down flat upon his back—I wish to -probe his wound,” said Doctor Dietz to Francis Tredegar, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>as he saw Major Zollenhoffar running towards them, with -his case of instruments.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar slowly eased the body down upon the -level ground, and then gently drew his hand from under -the head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As he did so, he uttered a cry of horror.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is it?” demanded the doctor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis held up the palm of his hand, which was crimson -with clotted blood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where did that come from?” asked the doctor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“From the back of his head. Oh, he is quite dead, or -must be soon! He is shot through the brain!” exclaimed -Francis in great distress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Impossible!” cried the doctor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no!” exclaimed Prince Ernest, vehemently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall not shoot him through the brain! I shall not -aim at his head at all! I shall aim at his right arm. -I shall not wish to kill him, only to punish him! I shall -aim at his right arm, but I shall shoot him through the -right side! It shall be a chance, an accident, a misfortune. -I meant it not—not I!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While the Austrian was skipping and exclaiming, the -surgeon was examining the back of Alexander’s head. -The hair was matted with blood from a deep wound there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You see it is as I say—the ball has passed quite -through his head, and come out here,” said Francis -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Impossible! The ball entered the right side of the -chest, passed through the right lobe of the lungs, and is -lodged here below the right shoulder-blade. See for -yourself!” said the surgeon, laying back Alexander’s -shirt-bosom, so as to show the small, dark, inverted hole -at which the bullet had entered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But this wound in the back of his head—?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Was made by his falling and striking some hard, -sharp substance—a fragment of rock, probably.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While the surgeon spoke he was not idle. He took -his case of instruments from one assistant and the water -from the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He carefully cut away the blood-clotted hair, and -washed and plastered the wound in the head; and then -he cut out the bullet, which lay little more than skindeep -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>under the shoulder blade. He dressed the wounds -as well as circumstances would permit, and then he said;</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We had better take your friend back to his apartments -at the hotel. I will continue to give him my best -care there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar assented.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Simms was once more despatched to the hut to borrow -its only door and when he returned he not only brought -the door, but was followed by the kind-hearted master -of the hut, bringing a load of blankets. With these -materials a rude litter was constructed, and upon it -Alexander’s form was laid. And thus he was borne upon -the shoulders of Simms the valet, Knox the hutter, and -two laboring men who came and offered their services.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Prince Ernest returned to the hotel in his carriage. -Major Zollenhoffar and Francis Tredegar walked behind -the bearers of the wounded man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander’s cab went back empty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say,” said the hotel servants to the cabman as soon -as they saw him, “you took a party of gents out to the -mountains to look for minerals, didn’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” growled the Jehu.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, and they found ’em—at least one of ’em did,—a -beautiful round specimen of lead mineral; and he liked -it so well he put it into his bosom. But I’m told it didn’t -agree with him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander was carefully carried to his chamber and -laid upon his bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Around him stood Doctor Dietz, Mr. Tredegar, John -Simms, and one or two of the servants of the hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In this more favorable position, his wounds were more -carefully examined and skilfully dressed. Both wounds -were found to be very serious.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was relieved of his blood-stained garments and put -into a clean suit of under clothes, and again laid back -upon his pillow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>During this process he had given but few signs of consciousness—only -groaning slightly when being moved, -as if motion distressed his lacerated chest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then the room was darkened.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now let him rest quietly,” said Doctor Dietz.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>“But will you not give him something?” inquired -Francis Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No opiate?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly not.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No anodyne?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nothing. Let him rest for the present, only renew -as they become heated, the cold water compresses on his -wounds.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar constituted himself head nurse, and -seated himself beside his patient.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Major Zollenhoffar entered the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Prince Ernest leaves by the ten o’clock boat for Southampton; -but wishes to know the state of the gentleman -before he goes,” whispered the Major to Mr. Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was about to go and report to the Prince,” said -Doctor Dietz.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“His Highness requests that you will not leave your -charge so long, as he may require your assistance. His -Highness will dispense with your services about his own -person for the present. But he requests that you will -keep him informed of the progress of your patient,” said -Major Zollenhoffar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The surgeon bowed low in acquiescence with the -prince’s behests.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope this arrangement may meet your approbation, -sir,” said the Major, courteously turning towards Mr. -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It excites my gratitude, sir,” replied Francis Tredegar. -“It excites my warmest gratitude. We could not probably -find such surgical skill for ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With another bow and an earnestly expressed hope -that the wounded man might yet do well, the Major took -leave, and returned to his master, leaving the patient in -charge of Doctor Dietz, Francis Tredegar and Simms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Within an hour Prince Ernest and all his suite, except -his surgeon, embarked for England.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And <em>we</em> must return to General Lyon and Dick Hammond.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXVI.<br> <span class='large'>THE PURSUIT.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The distant danger greater still appears;</div> - <div class='line'>Less fears he, who is near the thing he fears.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>With many imprecations on the rashness and folly of -young men in general and of his own nephew in particular, -the veteran accompanied by Dick, took his seat in -the three o’clock train for Southampton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He did not consider it necessary to take a whole first-class -carriage for himself and his companion, so the presence -of several other travelers in the same compartment -with him, restrained his growling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And soon after the train started, the motion of the carriages -rocked him to sleep, and he slept soundly until -they reached their journey’s end.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick, who had alternately read the morning’s papers, -and dozed through the journey, woke his uncle up as the -train entered the Southampton station, where the duelists -had passed about ten hours before.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was nearly seven o’clock.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here we are,” said Dick, gathering up his light luggage, -while his uncle slowly rubbed his eyes and looked -about him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh? well! yes! I suppose we had better call a cab -and drive to a hotel and engage rooms first of all,” said -the General, still rubbing his eyes, and being only half -awake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose we had better call a cab and drive immediately -down to the docks and see if we can hire a yacht -or steamboat to take us to Guernsey,” suggested Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! aye! yes! certainly! to be sure! I had forgotten,” -exclaimed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The guard unlocked the door to let them out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they appeared upon the platform, the two detectives -who had come down with them joined company.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Call a cab, Willet, if you please. We will go at once -to the docks and try to engage a vessel of some kind to -take us to Guernsey.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>“Yes, sir; but if you please, I think we had better call -first at police head-quarters to make inquiries. They may -have some later and better intelligence,” suggested the -detective.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Exactly! yes! to be sure! You are quite right. We -will go there first,” agreed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The detective beckoned the cab and gave the order, and -they all got into it and drove to police head-quarters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Willet, who had ridden beside the cabman, got down -and went in to seek farther information.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was gone but a few moments, and then he returned -and opened the door of the cab and spoke to the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is very lucky we called here first, sir; else we -might have been fatally misled.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why? what’s the matter?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There was a mistake in the telegram, sir. It was not -to Guernsey they went, but to Jersey.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tut, tut, that was a very unlucky mistake, and might -have proved to be a fatal one, as you said. Are you certain -<em>now</em> of your information?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite certain, sir. The duelists took the St. Aubins -steamer and sailed for that port at eleven this morning. -As soon as the office here discovered their mistake, they -telegraphed the correction to London. But of course we -had left before that second telegram arrived.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Have you any farther information?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“None whatever.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we must drive to the docks immediately,” -ordered the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The detective mounted the box beside the cabman and -transmitted the order.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they were driven rapidly down to the docks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They alighted and went about making diligent inquiries -for a vessel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Fortune favored them, or rather Money did. Money is -a great magician. No wonder it is sometimes fatally mistaken -for a god, and more fatally worshiped as one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In answer to their inquiries, they were told of a swift-sailing, -schooner-rigged yacht, owned by a company that -were in the habit of letting it out to parties of pleasure for -excursions to the Channel Isles or along the coast. And -they were directed to the spot where the “Flying Foam” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>lay idly at anchor, and were told that the master of the -crew was also the agent of the company.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Encouraged by this information, our party engaged a -row-boat, and went out into the harbor, and boarded the -“Flying Foam.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The master happened to be on deck. He came forward -to meet the boarding-party.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is this yacht disengaged?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can we engage it for immediate service?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For immediate service—that is very sudden, sir?” -remarked the master, looking suspiciously at the speaker.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know it is, but so is our business sudden, being a -matter of life and death. We cannot wait for the sailing -of the steamer. But we are willing to pay extra price -for extra haste,” replied the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there was that about his stately form and fine -face, and martial manner which rebuked the suspicion, -while the words, and particularly the promise of extra pay -appealed to the interest of the agent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You want the yacht immediately, you say, sir?” he -inquired.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Immediately, or as soon as the tide will serve.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The tide will serve in half an hour, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can she be got ready?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For what port, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“St. Aubins.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The master rubbed his forehead and looked down at his -shoes, as if in deep cogitation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My friend, while you are deliberating, time is flying,” -said the General impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She can be got ready fast enough, sir. It isn’t that. -Why, sir, you are strangers to us, and we don’t know anything -of what you are in such a hurry for.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We go to arrest a party, and prevent a duel, if you -must know!” exclaimed the General, impatiently disregarding -the signals of the detective, who would have cautioned -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! beg pardon, sir; but this is—is going to cost a -pretty penny—and——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you don’t feel safe as to the payment, eh? If -that is all, you may weigh anchor and hoist sail at once, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>for I have not come unprovided,” said General Lyon, taking -out his pocket-book and displaying a large roll of hundred -pound Bank of England notes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You do not suspect them to be counterfeits, I hope?” -laughed the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no! beg pardon, sir. It is all right now, I am -only an agent, sir, and held responsible by my employers.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To be sure. And now I hope you can set your crew -to work.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you going just as you are, sir? Would you like -to go on shore first?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have no time to lose in going on shore. We shall -go to St. Aubins just as we are. I suppose there are -shops in that town where one may procure the necessaries -of life?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, certainly, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the captain of the yacht went aft and called all -hands on deck, and gave his orders, and, by dint of loud -hallooing and hard swearing, got them so promptly executed -that when the tide turned the yacht sailed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They had a very fine run under the starlit sky over the -calm sea; but for the painful errand they would have been a -party of pleasure. Even as it was, they enjoyed the trip. -There was nothing on General Lyon’s conscience, or on -Dick’s mind, to deaden either of them to the heavenly -beauty of the night. They had slept on the train, and so -now they were wide awake on the yacht.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They walked up and down the deck talking sociably -with each other, admiring the elegant form and the swift-sailing of the yacht, delighting in the fresh breezes of the -ocean, and almost worshiping the glory of the star-spangled -heavens.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They walked up and down fore and aft, while the yacht -sped over the waters, until they became hungry, and then -they remembered for the first time that they had had -neither dinner nor tea, nor had brought any provisions -for a meal on board.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is usual for parties who hire a yacht to find their -own grub, I believe, and we never thought of doing it,” -said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We had no time for doing it,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, I fancy the master does not keep a black fast -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>He must have a secret store somewhere, so I will just -step and see.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Dick went in search of the master, who undertook -to be their host for the voyage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In twenty minutes after the voyagers were called to -supper in the captain’s cabin—and to such a supper for -hungry men! There were pickled salmon, cold ham, cold -chicken, an excellent salad, light bread Stilton cheese, -pastry, fruits native and tropical, and such fine wines as -can only be procured—or could <em>then</em> only be procured, -duty free, at the Channel Isles.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They made an excellent meal and then returned to -the deck and sat down to enjoy the lovely night and -the pure sea-breezes, until twelve midnight, when feeling -a little tired, they went down into the cabin and -turned in.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Rocked by the motion of the vessel they fell asleep, -and slept soundly until the “Flying Foam” entered the -harbor of St. Aubins.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they were awakened by the captain’s steward, -who came down to tell them the yacht was in port. The -sun was just rising.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The pretty little maritime town lay gleaming in the -earliest beams of the morning. Behind it arose the dark -background of Noirmont Heights. On the right and left, -rolled a richly-wooded landscape of hill and dell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Even the gravity of the errand upon which they had -come could not quite make our friends insensible to the -novelty and beauty of the scene.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you choose to have breakfast before you go on -shore?” inquired the master, coming to the side of the -two gentlemen, as they stood on deck looking out upon -the harbor, with its little shipping, and the town, with its -quaint Anglo-French streets and houses, while they waited -for the boat to be got ready.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Breakfast? No, thank you, not even if it was on the -table; for there, I think our boat is ready now,” answered -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he went to the side of the yacht, and followed by -Dick and the two detectives, descended into the boat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were rapidly rowed to the shore.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were no cabs in sight.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>“What is to be done now?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is nothing for it, but to walk up into the town, -and over it, if necessary,” answered Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Luckily for us all, that may be done without much -bodily fatigue. It is not a very large place,” remarked -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please, gentlemen, I think we had better look -for our men at the hotels. It is still so early that they -can scarcely have started on their dueling adventure,” -suggested one of the detectives.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lead the way, then. You know the town, I think -you told me,” said the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, sir,” answered the detective, bending his -steps towards the principal hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While they were yet at some distance from the house, -they saw a carriage drive off from before it. Slight as -the circumstance was in itself, when considered in relation -to the hour and other circumstances, it seemed very -significant. So they hurried on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before they reached the house however, they saw another -carriage draw up before the entrance, and a party come -out and enter it; and then they saw the carriage drive off, -but not in the same direction taken by the first.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There are our duelists!” exclaimed the detective in -triumph, “one party is in the first carriage, and the other -in the second.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But they took opposite directions,” gasped the General, -out of breath with his rapid walk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That was to mislead people. They have taken opposite, -but each will make a half circle and meet on the -appointed ground unless we stop them,” said Willet, -striding onwards at a rate that made it difficult for his -companions to keep up with him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do not see how we are to stop it now,” groaned the -General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We must take a cab from the hotel, and make what -inquiries as to the route taken by the others that we -have time for.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>While talking they had hurried on with all their might, -and now they were at the hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is Prince Ernest of Hohenlinden stopping here?” -inquired the General, stepping at once up to the office.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>“There is a foreigner of rank who arrived here late -last night by the Southampton steamer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is he now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gone out for a morning ride by the sea, I think.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! you have other travelers here who arrived by -the Southampton boat?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; an American gentleman, I think, a scientific -man, who has gone out with his servant to hunt for minerals -in the Noirmont Heights.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! a scientific man in search of minerals!” grunted -the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By the way, there were two of them, they——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, two of them, were they! Master and pupil, very -likely; or principal and second.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They took with them a servant carrying a box of -tools.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! hum! yes! a box of tools! Bless my life, I wonder -when that cab will be ready! Ah, here he comes,” -impatiently exclaimed General Lyon, as Willet, who had -gone after the cab, entered and reported it was ready.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The whole party entered the cab except one of the detectives, -who, as usual, rode on the box beside the driver. -This officer gave, as a general direction, the nearest route -to Noirmont Heights. And the cabman took it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they left town the detective farther ordered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When we reach the foot of the heights, inquire for a -cab that passed some twenty minutes before us; and -then follow the road taken by that cab until you come up -with it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cabman touched his hat in acquiescence as they -went on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Just at that instant the report of fire-arms startled -their ears, reverberating through the heights and echoed -and re-echoed back from rock to rock.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My——! we are too late!” exclaimed the General, in -despair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed I fear we are too late to prevent the duel, but -we may be in time to succor the wounded,” added Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can you see the smoke from that discharge of pistols?” -inquired the detective on the box of the cabman beside -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir, and if I could it would be hard to tell it now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>from the smoke of the hutters’ chimneys, or even from -the mist of the morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drive then in the direction from which the report -came.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, sir, it echoes so through the crags, it’s a’most impossible -to tell which way it did come from. All we can -know now is, as how it came from among the rocks.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Willet knew that the cabman was right, since he was -sure that he himself could get no correct clue to the -route from either the sound or the smoke of the firing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look out for the cab then and do the best you can. -We wish to come up with that firing party.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, sir,” said the cabman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But in fact it seemed all wrong. They kept a bright -lookout for the cab, hoping, though it was now probably -empty, to be directed by its driver to the dueling ground. -But many roads traversed these mountain solitudes, and -their number and intricacies were confusing. Our party -drove on to some distance farther, but saw no cab and -heard no more firing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they turned back and struck into a cross-road -and pursued it for some distance with no better success. -Again they turned from their course, came back upon the -main road and took the opposite branch of the cross-road -and followed it some distance, but in vain. Finally in -despair they turned their horses’ heads towards the town, -the General saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is all over by this time; and dead or alive, they -have left the ground, and we shall have a better chance of -hearing of them at the hotel than elsewhere.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they drove rapidly towards the town they came upon -a group of laborers eagerly talking together by the roadside.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is the matter? What has happened? Where -was that firing?” inquired General Lyon, putting his -head out of the window, as the cab drew up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, your honor, there have been a row on the heights -back there, among some gents, and one of um have been -shot and carried to the hotel down yonder in the town; -and t’other one is took and locked up,” answered one of -the laborers, with the usual mixture of truth and falsehood.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>“Which was shot?” inquired the detective.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, that I can’t say; but any ways it was <em>one</em> of um -as was shot and brought home on a door, and t’other one -was took and locked up.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Was the man who was shot killed?” anxiously inquired -General Lyon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, your honor, ‘when the brains is out the man is -dead,’” replied the peasant, unconsciously quoting Shakespeare.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon sank back in his chair with a deep groan. -One of the duelists was killed. Whether it was Prince -Ernest or Alexander Lyon, whether his nephew was the -murderer or the murdered man, the event was fatal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drive as rapidly as possible back to the hotel,” said the -detective on the box to the driver by his side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they were whirled swiftly as horses could go, to the -St. Aubins hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There all was bustle. A duel was not such a common -event as to be passed over lightly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon sprang out of his cab with almost the -agility of youth, and hurried into the office to make inquiries -of the clerk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What man was that who was shot?” he shortly asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The American, sir; but it is hoped he will do well -yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is not dead?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir, surely not.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Heaven for that! And the other one?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The prince? He was not hurt, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Heaven for that also!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They were the parties you were looking for this morning, -were they not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly. I had ascertained their object in coming -here, and hoped to be in time to stop them. Where have -they put my nephew?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Beg pardon, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The wounded man; where have they put him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In his own room, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Send a waiter to show me to his bedside. I am his -uncle.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, sir? Certainly, sir. Come here, John. Show -this gentleman to Number 10.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>A waiter stepped forward at the order, bowed and led -the way followed by the General, up one flight of stairs, -along a corridor, and to a chamber door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is Number 10, sir,” John said, opening the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The veteran entered the room, and found himself face to -face with Francis Tredegar, who had risen to see who the -intruder might be.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“General Lyon!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Tredegar!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Such were the simultaneous exclamations of the friends -on so unexpectedly meeting.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I came with Lord Killcrichtoun.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How is he?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The surgeon reports favorably of his wounds, but he -must be kept very quiet. Will you pass with me into the -sitting-room?—Simms, do not leave your master’s side until -I return.—This way, General,” said Francis Tredegar, -rising and opening a door leading into their private parlor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There the friends sat down together,—the General -heated and anxious, Francis Tredegar surprised and -curious.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I followed as quickly as I could after hearing of my -nephew’s mad purpose. I hired a yacht and pursued -him, hoping to be in time to save him. I wish now that -I had hired a special train from London. It would have -given me three hours in advance, and I should then have -been in time,” groaned the General, wiping his face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take comfort, sir. It might have had a fatal termination. -As it is, we have reason to thank Heaven for an unmerited -mercy. Prince Ernest has escaped unhurt, and -has returned to England. Lord Killcrichtoun is wounded, -but not fatally. ‘All’s well that ends well.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘That ends well!’ Yes, but who can say that this -will end well? Oh, Heaven, how much trouble that -young man has caused me and all who are dear to me! -But he is my only brother’s only son! my dead brother’s -only child! and in spite of all I have said and sworn -I must try to save him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is he so near of kin to you, sir? I had not suspected -it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; his new ridiculous title, together with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>estrangement that has been between us, would naturally -mislead any one who had not known us previously as -to the facts of our kinship. You came with him on this -Quixotic adventure?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir,” replied Francis Tredegar, blushing and -beginning to defend himself before the Christian soldier, -“Yes, sir; after having tried in vain to dissuade my -friend from the duel, I resolved to see him through it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am not intending to blame you, my young friend. -To me, certainly, you meant no wrong; and to my unhappy -nephew only kindness. For the rest, it is a matter between -yourself and your own conscience. As for me, in -the way of a soldier’s duty, I have been in some battles; -but I would not, nor do I remember any period of my -youth in which I would have engaged, either as principal -or second, in any duel for any cause whatever,” said the -brave old veteran.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, sir—but that is a rebuke; and coming from you, -a very severe one,” said the young culprit, sorrowfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not intended as such, Francis. Men, I know, -have different ideas upon these subjects. For instance, I -do not believe it lawful in a man, for the gratification of -his selfish passions or the ‘satisfaction’ of his imaginary -‘honor,’ to risk his life or seek the life of another. I believe -it to be a high offence against the Author of all life. -Nor could I engage in any adventure upon which I could -not invoke the blessing of Heaven.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Which we could not do on our adventure, certainly. -But I do most humbly and thankfully acknowledge -Heaven’s undeserved great mercy on its issue.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad to hear you say so, Francis. And now will -you kindly touch the bell—it is at your elbow, I see—and -tell the waiter when he comes to show Mr. Hammond up -into this room.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick is with you?” inquired Francis, as he complied -with the General’s request.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly. Did I not tell you so? But I left him to -settle with the cabman while I ran in to make inquiries -of the clerk.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the General spoke the waiter entered the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go down and find out Mr. Hammond and show him -up into this room,” said Mr. Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>The waiter bowed and disappeared; but soon came -back and ushered in Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a start of surprise from Dick at seeing Mr. -Tredegar, and then a grave hand-shaking between them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my boy, I suppose you have heard matters are -not so bad as we feared?” said the General, turning to -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; thank Heaven. Can I see Alexander?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, I have not seen him myself yet, except at a distance -and covered up in swaddling bands. Tredegar here -turned me out of the room before I could get near the -bedside.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Invited you out; brought you here, General,” said -Francis, deprecatingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It amounts to the same thing, my dear fellow,” said -the General, good-humoredly. “Tredegar was Alexander’s -second in this mad affair,” he added, turning to -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So I supposed on seeing him here,” answered Mr. -Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gentlemen,” said Francis Tredegar, “if you will -excuse me for a moment, I will go in and see my patient, -and then come back and let you know whether you also -can see him with safety.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go, Francis,” said the General, waving his hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Tredegar went out, and after a few moments returned -and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He seems to be sleeping soundly, or else to be sunk -into a deep stupor; indeed I am not physician enough to -say which. But in either case, I think, if you come in -quietly, you can do him no harm.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they all went into the wounded man’s chamber -and stood at his bedside, and looked at him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There he lay, less like a sick or wounded patient than -the laid-out corpse of a dead man. His hair was cut short -and his head bandaged with wet linen cloths. His face -was deadly pallid, with a greenish white hue; his eyes -were closed and sunken; his lips compressed; and his -features still and stiff. His chest was also bandaged -with wet linen cloths, and his shoulders and chest wrapped -in a sheet instead of a shirt, for the convenience of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>frequently changing the dressings of his wound. His -form was still and stiff as his features.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On seeing this ghastly sight, Dick uttered an irrepressible -exclamation of horror. Even the veteran-soldier -groaned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is not half as bad as it looks,” said Francis encouragingly. -“There is nothing in the world makes a man -look so death-like as these white swaddling-clothes, that -put us in mind of winding-sheets. The surgeon says he -will do well.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah? who is attending him?” inquired the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Prince Ernest left his own physician here to look after -him. He is Doctor Dietz, a graduate of one of the medical -colleges of Vienna—which, I am told, are now really -the best, and are destined soon to be acknowledged as the -best medical schools in the world.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And this eminent surgeon says that the wounded -man will do well?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“These were his very words.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is satisfactory.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, General, that you have seen your nephew, I -think we had better all adjourn to the parlor. Our patient -wants all the air in this room for himself,” advised Mr. -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they went back to the parlor, Dick turned to -Francis Tredegar, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will let us have the use of this room for an hour -or two, until we settle what we are to do next.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, certainly. The room is your own. At least it -is Alick’s, which is <em>now</em> exactly the same thing, since he -is lying helpless and you are his next of kin. Shall I retire? -Do you wish to be alone?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By no means. I only want to order breakfast up -here. We have been up, walking or driving over the -country in pursuit of the duelists, since six o’clock this -morning, and it is now eleven, and we have had nothing -to eat and are famished.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, by the way, I ought to have thought of that! -allow me!” exclaimed Francis Tredegar, starting up and -ringing the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Breakfast for three, immediately. Serve it in this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>room, and bring the best you have that is ready,” he -ordered, as soon as the waiter showed himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cloth was soon laid and the table spread. And our -friends sat down to an excellent meal of rich coffee and -fragrant tea; milk, cream and butter of such excellence -as can be found nowhere else in the world; fish just out -of the sea, beefsteak, chickens, French rolls and English -muffins.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick, my dear fellow,” said the General, as they lingered -over the delicious repast, “one of us must remain -here to look after Alick, and the other must go back to -London to take care of little Lenny and the young -women.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; and I will be the one to go or to stay, whichever -you shall decide. And pray think of your own ease -and health, my dear sir, before you do decide,” answered -Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are a very good fellow, Dick, a very good fellow. -But I believe reason and judgment must settle the matter. -I will remain here to look after my nephew. He will not -be likely to quarrel with me when he sees me, as he might -with you if he should find you by his side when he comes -to himself. And, besides, I think this quiet, pretty seaside -town will agree with me after the hurly-burly of -London. And lastly and mostly—it is <em>you</em> who ought to -go back to town for your wife’s sake.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, my dear sir; it shall be as you please. I -confess I like this arrangement best; but if you had said, -‘Dick, go and I will stay,’ or ‘Dick, stay and I will go,’ I -should have obeyed you without a moment’s hesitation, -as a soldier obeys his commanding officer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know you would, my boy, therefore it behooves me -to consider your interests before I make a decision.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now let us see about the time of starting, I -must return in the yacht, of course.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then it will depend upon the tide. I had better go -down, and see the master.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I think you had.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick Hammond took his hat and went down to the -yacht.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Captain Wallace was not on board when Mr. Hammond -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>reached the deck. The captain was taking a holiday by -walking through the town, and probably solacing himself -with a pipe and a bottle of brandy at some favorite resort -where the old mariner was well known.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Dick had to wait an hour or two for his return.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Wallace came back Dick soon discovered that he -was well posted up in regard to the event, which was -then the one topic of conversation at every coffee room in -the town.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so you were too late to stop the duel, sir?” were -almost the first words the master of the yacht spoke to -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; but the affair did not terminate so fatally as -might have been apprehended.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, so I hear—so I hear! And the wounded gentleman -was your kinsman, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Shall you take him over to England?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no. He cannot be moved at present. My uncle -will remain here to look after him; but I return at once, -or as soon as the tide will serve.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That will be about nine o’clock.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can you be ready to make sail by that time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; the yacht is yours for the time it is hired.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we will sail at nine. I will be here punctually -at that hour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick Hammond returned to the hotel, where he arrived -about one o’clock. He spent the day and dined with his -uncle and his friend.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At half-past eight o’clock he paid his last visit to the -bedside of his cousin, in whom, as yet, there appeared but -little change.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then he took leave of all and went down to the -yacht; and at a few minutes after nine the “Flying -Foam” made sail for England.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXVII.<br> <span class='large'>A SHOCK.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What is life? ’Tis like the ocean,</div> - <div class='line in2'>In its placid hours of rest,—</div> - <div class='line'>Sleeping calmly, no emotion</div> - <div class='line in2'>Rising on its tranquil breast.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>But, too soon, the heavenly sky</div> - <div class='line in2'>Is obscured by Nature’s hand;</div> - <div class='line'>And the whirlwind, passing by,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Leaves a wreck upon the strand.—<span class='sc'>Anonymous.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“A black cloud, that! rising over yonder—we shall -have dirty weather to-night,” said the master of the “Flying -Foam,” coming to the side of Dick Hammond, as the -latter stood leaning over the bulwarks of the yacht and -looking out upon the receding town and shores of St. -Aubins.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick raised his eyes to a long black line just visible -above the heights of Noirmont, and then said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; I think it looks threatening; but the ‘Flying -Foam’ is a sea-worthy little craft, I suppose?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless you, yes, sir! I’ve seen her ride safely over -seas that would have swamped a ship of the line,” answered -the master, as he went forward to make ready for -the expected “dirty weather.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And dirty weather it was, though not so “dirty” as to -endanger the safety of the yacht.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cloud arose, and spread, and covered the whole face -of the heavens as with a black pall, in strange and terrible -contrast to the surface of the sea, now lashed into a white -foam. A driving storm of wind and rain came on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick, who much preferred the comfortable to the sublime, -left the deck and went below to smoke and read by -the light of the cabin lamp. But, after one or two attempts, -he found the reading process quite impracticable -by the motion of the vessel, and so he gave it up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After a while, he was joined by the master, who had -left the deck in charge of his mate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has turned into a settled rain that will last all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>night,” said Captain Wallace, as he took the chair Dick -pushed towards him; for Dick, as one of the parties hiring -the yacht, was king of the cabin.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Disagreeable, but not dangerous,” was Dick’s cool -comment as he pushed his case of cigars toward his guest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, sir; but, if you don’t mind, I’ll take my -pipe,” said Captain Wallace, who soon comprehended that -he might take liberties with this good-humored young -man who was but too ready to fraternize with the first -companion fortune favored him with.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there the two men sat and smoked through the -first hours of the dismal night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At midnight, they turned in.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick slept long and well. It was late in the morning -when he awoke. Judging from his previous day’s experience, -he thought the yacht must be in port or near it. -He dressed himself quickly, and went on deck. He -found himself still at sea. A slow, steady rain was falling, -and dark clouds closed in the horizon. The dismal -night had been followed by a dismal day; and the worst -of it was, that he could not sleep through the day as he -had slept through the night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good morning to you, sir! a dark sky!” said the master, -coming up to his side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes. Are we near port?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Within twenty miles.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How fast are we going?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How slow, you mean? The wind is against us—we -are not making more than four knots an hour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At that rate, we shall not make Southampton in less -than five hours. Let me see,” said Dick, consulting his -watch,—“it is now ten o’clock. We shall not, at this rate, -get in before three.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir; but you’ll have some breakfast now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks, yes! it will help to pass the time, at least.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The master beckoned a boy, and sent a message to the -steward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, in half an hour afterwards the appetizing breakfast -of the yacht was served; and Dick did his usual -justice to the meal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Afterwards he killed the time as well as he could by -reading a little, talking a little, and smoking a little.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>Affairs also turned out rather better than he had expected. -At noon the wind changed, the sky cleared, the -sun shone out, and the “Flying Foam,” with all her sails -set, skimmed over the seas towards England at the rate -of eleven knots an hour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At one o’clock she dropped anchor at Southampton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick settled his last scores with the master,—who was -master afloat, and agent ashore,—and then he inquired:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know anything about the up train, captain?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is an express train starts at a quarter before -two, and there is not another train until five,” answered -the master.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll take that train,” exclaimed Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he made all his own little preparations, and he -hurried the men that were getting out the boat to take -him ashore.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as he stepped on shore, he ran and called a cab, -jumped into it, and, having given his hasty order, was -driven rapidly to the station. He was just in time to -secure his ticket, spring into a half-empty carriage—and -not a moment to spare before the express started.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was not until the train was in motion and his own -hurry was over, that he recollected one or two things -that might have been attended to had he chosen to wait -a few minutes. First and nearest, he might have taken -his change from the cabman, whose fare was half a crown, -and to whom he had thrown half a sovereign.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Dick did not the least regret that neglect.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then he might have called at the International to -see if any letters had been left for him. But neither, -upon reflection, did Dick regret this neglect. He considered -it was not probable any letters were awaiting -there; or, if there were, that they should be of much importance; -or, even if so, whether he were not doing the -very thing that should be done under such supposatory -circumstances, namely, hurrying back to London by the -express train. So, upon the whole, Dick was glad he -forgot to lose time and miss the express by calling at the -International to inquire for letters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The train flew on with its usual lightning rate of speed -and at five o’clock reached its station in London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He got out upon the platform, carpet-bag in hand, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>began to look for a cab, when he heard a little voice calling:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dit! Dit! oh, Dit! tome here, Dit!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In great surprise he looked about him, confidently expecting -to see little Lenny and Pina, and perhaps Anna -and Drusilla, come to the station on the chance of meeting -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he saw no one that he knew. And though he -plunged into the crowd seeking the owner of the little -voice in the direction from which he had heard it, he saw -nothing of either little Lenny or his nurse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length, thinking that he had been mistaken, he gave -up the quest, and took a cab for Trafalgar Square.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Afterwards he recollected, as a dream or a vision, the -momentary flitting through the crowd of a ragged woman -with a child in her arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But at the instant of seeing these, he had not dreamed -of connecting them in any way with the voice he had -heard. With something of that vague anxiety we all feel -in returning home, even after a short absence, Richard -Hammond hurried to Trafalgar Square.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as he reached the Morley House, he sprang from -the cab, tossed a crown piece to the cabman, and without -waiting for the change, ran into the house and up to his -apartments.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He went straight to the drawing-room, where he found -Anna sitting in the window seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She turned, and with an exclamation of pleasure started -up to meet him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick I am so glad you have come back! What -news? How did it all end?” she breathlessly inquired -as she threw herself into his arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In two words—not fatally,” he answered as he embraced -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank Heaven for that! You were in time, then?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not in time to prevent the meeting. It had taken -place a few minutes before our arrival at St. Aubins. By -the way, it was not to Guernsey, but to Jersey, that the -duelists went. We found out the mistake in the telegram -as soon as we reached Southampton. We were fortunate -in being able to hire a yacht and pursue them to St. Aubins.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>“But you did not reach there in time to prevent the -duel?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, it had already taken place, as I told you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But with what result—with what result? Oh, Dick, -why can’t you speak and tell me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear, I did tell you,—with no fatal result.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But with a serious one. Oh, Dick, what was it? -Has poor Alick got himself into trouble by——shooting -that Austrian acrobat?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, nonsense! Have more respect for a prince than -to call him an acrobat, if he does jump about when he is -angered. He was not hurt—he was not touched. Alick -was too much excited to aim steadily, I suppose, so his -ball went—Heaven knows where. But——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Alick himself,—was he wounded?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick was wounded in the chest by a ball and in the -back of the head by a sharp stone upon which his head -struck in falling. Neither of the wounds is considered -dangerous. I left him in good hands in the St. Aubins -hotel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But my grandfather—where is he? Why doesn’t he -come up? Of course he returned with you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, he remained in St. Aubins to look after Alick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick he remained there! Then he never received -our telegram!” said Anna, turning pale.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your telegram! No! What telegram? We received -none. What has happened, Anna?” demanded Richard -Hammond, becoming alarmed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, I thought you knew,” cried Anna dropping -into a chair and bursting into tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In the name of Heaven what has happened? You -are well. But where is Drusilla? Where is little Lenny? -I don’t see either of them!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh Dick! Dick! little Lenny is—<span class='fss'>LOST</span>,” replied Anna, -uttering the last word with a gasp, and sobbing hysterically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lost! Good Heaven, Anna, little Lenny lost?” repeated -Dick, changing color.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, yes, yes! lost since day before yesterday afternoon—lost -since the very day you left. We telegraphed -to you the same day. We hoped you would receive the -telegram immediately on your arrival at Southampton; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>and I who knew that you were going further, hoped that -at least you would get it on your return. Oh, Dick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lost since the day before yesterday, and not found -yet,” repeated Richard Hammond, in amazement and sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, oh, Dick. We have not seen him since—since -<em>you</em> yourself saw him last. Oh, Dick, he never returned -from that walk you and grandpa sent him to -take, to get him and Pina out of the way, you know,” -sobbed Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It would kill my uncle!” exclaimed Richard. “It -would kill him! But, good Heaven! how did it all happen? -I don’t understand it at all. I can hardly believe -it yet. Compose yourself, Anna, if you can, and tell me -all about it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With many sobs Anna told the story of little Lenny’s -abduction, as far as it was known to herself, and also described -the measures that had been taken for his recovery, -but taken, so far, without effect.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But his poor young mother,—how does she bear it? -and where is she now?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, poor Drusilla! I do fear for her life, or -her reason, in this horrible suspense, worse than death! -Nothing but her unwavering faith in Providence has -saved her from insanity or death,” wept Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But where is she now?” repeated Dick. “Can I see -her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You cannot see her until her return. She is out -looking for her child. She is always out looking for him. -She takes a cab at daylight in the morning, and drives -out through the narrow streets and lanes of the city, -keeping watch all the time from the cab windows, entering -into all the houses she is permitted to visit, inquiring -of the people about her lost child, offering them heavy -rewards for his recovery, pointing them to the posters in -which his person is described and the great reward offered -and setting as many people as she can at work to search -for him. Twenty hours out of the twenty-four she -spends in this way.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But this will kill her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think it will. She scarcely eats, drinks or sleeps. -She does nothing but look for her child and weep and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>pray. When she has worn out a cab-horse, she comes -back here to get a fresh one; and then I make her drink -a little tea or coffee. At twelve or one o’clock in the -night, when the houses are all shut up, she comes back -here and throws herself down upon the bed to watch -and pray, and perhaps to swoon into a sleep of prostration -that lasts till morning. Then at four or five -o’clock she is up and away upon the search.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor child! poor child! such a life will certainly soon -kill her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I sometimes think the sooner it does so the better -for her. Her misery makes my heart bleed. I wonder -how any woman can suffer the intense anguish of suspense -she endures and live and keep her senses.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anna, why do you not accompany her when she goes -out?” inquired Dick, with some surprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, don’t you suppose that I do? What do you -take me for, Dick? I have always gone with her until -this last trip. When we returned home at four o’clock, -to get a fresh horse, she took it into her poor head that -you and uncle would certainly arrive by the five o’clock -train from Southampton, and so she made me stay to -receive you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And, you say, Anna, that Alick is suspected of being -concerned in this abduction?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, but I do not know that Drusilla suspects him -very strongly now. Pina first suggested it, and we seized -on the idea with eagerness. It was so much more comforting -to think that he was safe with his father than in -danger anywhere else.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, you see, that is impossible. His father is lying -seriously wounded, several hundred miles away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, that is the worst of it; for, if Alick should have -employed these men to steal little Lenny from his -mother, it is almost fatal to the child’s safety that the -father should not have been here to have received him -from his abductors.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And yet that may be the very case! Alick, in his -madness, since he was mad enough for anything, may -have engaged these men to abduct the boy for him. If -so, he must have forgotten the danger to which the child -would be exposed in the event of this abduction being -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>completed during his own absence or after his death. -And so he must have gone down to Jersey to fight his -duel, leaving little Lenny exposed to all the dangers he -had invoked around him. It is dreadful to think of! If -Alexander Lyon were not morally insane, he would be a -demon!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To do such a thing as this? But we are not by any -means sure he <em>did</em> do it, Dick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, there is a ‘reasonable doubt,’ as the lawyers have -it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And Alick should be communicated with immediately, -so as to be posted in regard to his son’s danger, whether -he has had any hand in it or not. If he <em>has</em> had anything -to do with it, he will certainly, under the circumstances, -give us the clue to recover him, for he cannot wish the -boy to remain in the hands of such people. If he knows -nothing about the abduction, and learns it first from us, -still he will render what aid he can in recovering the -boy. We <em>did</em> telegraph him to this effect at Southampton, -but of course he missed <em>his</em> telegram as you did yours. -But now he must be consulted by letter immediately—write -at once, Dick, so as to save this mail,” said Anna, -breathlessly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling, you talk so fast I can’t keep pace with -you or even get in a word edgeways,—Alick is not in a -condition to receive or understand any sort of communication, -and will not probably be so for some days to come. -I left him in a state of complete insensibility, resulting -from the wound in the back of his head.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good gracious, Dick! and you said he was not fatally, -or even dangerously wounded!” cried Anna, aghast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And I gave the opinion of the eminent surgeon who -is in attendance upon him. A man may be so ill as to be -incapable of attending to anything, and yet may not be in -any danger at all. But tell me, Anna, have you taken -the detectives into your confidence entirely upon this -subject, and put them into possession of all the facts of -the case and all your suspicions as well? You know you -ought to have done it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And we <em>have</em> done it! For a short time, Drusilla -shrank terribly from breathing a suspicion that her husband -was probably concerned in the taking off of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>child; but, when it became evident that little Lenny’s -recovery depended upon the detectives having the full -knowledge of all the circumstances attending it, she commissioned -me to tell them as much as was really necessary, -but entreated me to spare Alick even if I did it at -her expense. So I told the detectives everything—everything! -They know as much about it as you do; for, in -Drusilla’s and little Lenny’s cause, I would not have spared -Alick, to have saved his soul, much less his character.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And did these skilful and experienced officers share -in your suspicions of the father’s complicity in the abduction?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, strangely enough, they did not. These people -have a noble respect for a lord—Heaven save the mark! -They think Lord Killcrichtoun would never have stooped -to such an under-handed act, when he might have taken -the boy with the high hand of the law.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Humph! Did they suggest anything themselves? -Having told you what <em>didn’t</em> become of the boy, did they -suggest what <em>did</em>?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, they really did! they suspected—just imagine -it,—that the child had been stolen for the sake of his -clothes, just as a dog is sometimes stolen for the sake of -his collar!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, Anna, I pin my faith on the experienced officers. -I am inclined now fully to exonerate Alick and be guided -by the detectives. Now I begin to see light—now I understand -what occurred to me at the railway station!” -said Dick, significantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘What occurred to you at the railroad station,’ Dick? -Oh, Dick! what was that? Anything that concerned -little Lenny?” eagerly inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should think it did concern little Lenny. As truly -as I live, Anna, when I reached town this afternoon and -stepped out upon the platform, and while I was looking -around for a cab, I heard little Lenny’s voice calling me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick! You didn’t!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As I live I did! He called me as he was accustomed -to call me—‘Dit! Dit! Oh, Dit, tome here!’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! why <em>didn’t</em> you answer him? Why <em>didn’t</em> you -go after him and rescue him and bring him home?—Perhaps -you did! Perhaps you have only been playing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>ignorance to tease me! Oh, Dick, don’t do it! If you -have got little Lenny, tell me so!” said Anna, earnestly, -clasping her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My poor wife, I wish for your sake and his unhappy -mother’s, that I had the boy here; but I have not. Listen -to me——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But <em>why</em> haven’t you got him here! If you heard his -dear little tongue calling you, Dick, why in the world -didn’t you fly to him and seize him and bring him home -to his almost distracted mother! <em>Why didn’t</em> you, -Dick?” demanded Anna, ready to cry with an accession -of vexation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My darling Anna, listen to me, will you? In the first -place not having received your telegram, I had no suspicion -whatever that Lenny was lost, else of course I -should have been on the <i><span lang="la">qui vive</span></i> to find him, and should -have followed the voice until I should have got possession -of him. But when I first heard him calling me in his -strong, cheerful, peremptory little tones, I looked around, -fully expecting to see you, Drusilla, the boy and his nurse -all come out in force to meet me at the station. But -when I failed to see little Lenny or any of you, I considered -myself the victim of an auricular illusion.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you do not now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, indeed. I feel sure it was Lenny whom I heard -calling me. And since you have told me of the abduction -and of the detective policeman’s theory of it, I recall to -mind the figure of a disreputable looking woman with a -child in her arms hurrying out of sight in among the -crowd. I remember that the woman’s back was towards -me and that a shawl was thrown over the child’s head. -I had but a glimpse of them as they slipped into the -crowd.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick! Dick! if you had but known! What a -fatality!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was indeed. But now I must go and give this -information into Scotland Yard, that the detectives may -institute a thorough search in the neighborhood of the -railway station where I saw him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Shall I tell Drusilla?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, let me see:—No, not just yet. I must think -about it first. It might increase her anxiety.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>“But it would assure her that her child is alive and -well and in the city.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; that is true. Yet you better not tell her until -my return. She would be consumed with anxiety to see -the one who had really seen and heard little Lenny, and to -hear from him all about it. Don’t you understand?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course; but don’t be gone long, Dick. Hurry back -as fast as you can, and perhaps you may get here as soon -as she does.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will lose no time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you are just off a journey. Won’t you take something -before you go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, Anna; I will wait until I get back,” answered -Richard Hammond, as he arose and left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leaving Anna pacing the floor in great excitement and -impatience, he went down to the street, threw himself -into a hansom and drove immediately to Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There he made his report, and offered from his own -means an additional reward to accelerate the motions of -the officers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He hurried back to the Morley House and up to the -drawing-room, where he found Anna still pacing the floor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She turned suddenly around to meet him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have started them on the new scent, dear,” he said, -throwing himself wearily into a chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you are here, as I hoped, before Drusilla has -returned; so she will not have to wait for her news.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Anna spoke there was the sound of a cab drawing -up before the house. A few minutes after Drusilla entered -the room. Her face was deadly white and her eyes had -that wild, wide open, sleepless look seldom seen except in -the insane. And yet Drusilla, in all her agony of mind -was far as possible from insanity. All her anxieties were -marked by forecast, reason, judgment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick arose, and his countenance and gestures were full -of sympathy as he held out his hands and went to meet -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick! Dick! you have heard of my great loss,” -she said, putting her hands in his.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my dear Drusilla,” he answered, in a voice shaking -with the pity that nearly broke his heart, as he looked -upon her great misery.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>“Oh, my Lenny! my Lenny! Oh, my poor little two-year -old baby!” she cried, breaking into sobs and tottering -on her feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick caught her and tenderly placed her in a chair and -stooped before and took her hands again, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Drusa, your little Lenny will be found, he will -indeed, my dear.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I hope so! I believe so!—but this suspense is -the most awful anguish in life! Oh, where is he <em>now</em>? -<em>Now</em> at this moment, where is my poor little helpless -babe? In whose hands? Suffering what?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her look as she said this was so full of unutterable sorrow -that Dick could restrain himself no longer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Drusa, dear Drusa,” he said holding her hands, -“your child, wherever he is, is not suffering; he is well -and cheerful. I know it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She looked up suddenly as a wild joy flashed over her -face, for she had sprung to a too natural conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, you have found him! You have found my -boy! Oh, tell me so at once! Oh, don’t try to <em>break</em> such -news to me as that is! Joyful news may be told at once! -it never kills! And now you see I know you have found -my baby! Oh, bring him to me at once! Where is he? -In my room?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She had spoken rapidly and breathlessly, and now she -started up to hurry to her chamber, expecting to find her -child there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick gently stopped her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Drusilla, I have not got your child. I wish I -had,” he began, with his hand on her arm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The look of joy vanished from her face. It had been -but a lightning flash across the night of her sorrow, and -now it had passed and left the darkness still there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Oh, Dick!</em>” she groaned, covering her face with her -hands and sinking again into her seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, Drusilla, dear, I have a <em>clue</em> to him! I have indeed! -And I know that he is alive and well and cheerful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, is this so? Oh, Dick, I know you wouldn’t -deceive me, even for my own comfort, would you now, -Dick?” she pleaded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heaven knows I would not, Drusilla. Your child was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>alive and well at five o’clock this afternoon—only two -hours ago, for it is now only seven. And though you cannot -now find him in your chamber, you need not be surprised -at any future hour to find him there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alive and well two hours ago! You are sure, Dick?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sure as I am of my own life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Where</em> was he, then? <em>Who</em> saw him? Who told -you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He was at the railway station in the arms of a poor -woman. <em>I</em> saw him, and <em>I</em> heard him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, why did you not bring him to me at once?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear Drusilla, I did not then know that he was lost. -I had just stepped from the carriage to the platform, when -I heard little Lenny’s voice calling me in a strong, chirping, -authoritative little tone, ‘Dit! Dit! tome here!’ And I -looked around, expecting to see him and all of you come -to meet me. But I saw nothing of any of you. I only saw -a poor woman with a child about Lenny’s age and size -covered with a shawl and in her arms. Her back was -towards me, and she was hurrying away through the -crowd. That child was little Lenny, though I did not -know it or even suspect it at the time; for I only glanced -at him and turned to look for little Lenny elsewhere, expecting -to find him with his nurse. When I failed to do -so, I thought I had been the subject of an ocular illusion. -But when I came home here, and learned that little Lenny -was lost, I understood the whole thing. And I went -immediately to Scotland Yard and gave the information -and set the detectives on the fresh scent. They are as -keen as bloodhounds, you know, and they will be sure to -find your child. So you need not be surprised to see him -brought in and laid upon your lap at any moment.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Another lightning flash of joy passed over her face at -this announcement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick! Dick! you give me new life! You saw my -child two hours ago! Did you see his face?” she eagerly -inquired.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course not, else I should have claimed him and -brought him home. He was covered with a shawl, I tell -you, and hurried through the crowd. I did not know he -was Lenny till afterwards.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you heard his voice, and you knew that?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>“Oh, yes, I knew his voice; but I did not at the moment -know where the voice came from.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick, what was it he said? dear little Lenny! tell -me again.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick repeated the words.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And oh, Dick, did he speak sadly, piteously, imploringly -as if he was suffering, and wanted you to relieve him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, indeed! quite the contrary! he hailed me in -his usual hearty manner; and commanded me to come to -him, just as he is accustomed to speak to all of us, his -slaves, when he is lording it over us and ordering -us around,” said Dick, so cheerfully that he called up a -wan smile upon the poor young mother’s face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, I’ll tell you all about it, Drusilla,” pursued -Dick confidently. “The fact is, the child must have -been stolen first, for the sake of the fine lace and gold -and coral on his dress; and now he is kept for his beauty -to beg with. No doubt, now that the clue is found, he -will be recovered in a few hours. And I want you to -bear this fact in mind—that you need not be surprised at -any moment to see your child brought in and laid upon -your lap. Keep that hope before you, and let it support -your soul through this suspense, and let it prepare you -for the event, so that you may not die of joy when it -comes,” said Richard Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And certainly he believed himself justified in giving -this advice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick! dear Dick, you have brought the first crumb of -earthly comfort that has come to me since I lost my little -Lenny,” said Drusilla, gratefully. “But where is uncle?” -she asked, suddenly recollecting the General.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is detained by some business.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is quite well?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well,” answered Dick, cheerfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now I hope you will be willing to stay at home -and rest just one evening, dear Drusilla,” added Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, don’t ask me to do that, dear Anna! How could I -stay home in inactivity, especially now that I know where -to look for him? No, I will drive down to that neighborhood -in which he was seen, and I will search for him -there,” answered Drusilla, firmly and very cheerfully, for -hope had come into her heart again.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>“And Anna and myself will go with you, my dear -Drusa, for we have nothing to do but to devote ourselves -to your service until your child shall be found,” said Dick, -affectionately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I shall order tea at once, and something substantial -along with it,” said Anna, rising.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Inspired by the new hope brought to her by Dick, Drusilla’s -spirits rose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When tea was placed upon the table, with the “something -substantial” promised by Anna, Drusilla was able to -join the party and even to partake of the refreshment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Afterwards, accompanied by her two friends, she got -into a cab and drove to the railway station where Dick -had seen little Lenny in the arms of the strange woman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There they drove up and down the streets and roads -and in and out among the lanes, and alleys and inquired at -many shops and houses for such a woman and child, but -they neither found nor heard of one or the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>To be sure, there were many poor beggar women, and -many little two-year-old children; but they did not -answer to the description of little Lenny and his strange -bearer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They also found their coadjutors, the detective policemen, -in the same neighborhood, upon the same search. -The detectives had had as yet no better success than -their employers; but their hopes were high and their -words encouraging.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They had great sympathy for the bereaved and anxious -young mother, and they came to her carriage door with -expressions full of confidence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shall be sure to find the little gentleman now, my -lady. Now when we know where to look for him. It is -a downright certainty, you know. Why, Lord love you, -sir, there ain’t a woman is this neighborhood as has heard -about the child that ain’t as interested in the search as we -are, and out of downright human motherly feeling too, to -say nothing of the hope of getting the reward. Bless -you, my lady, take heart, and don’t you be taken by -surprise any time to see me walk in and put your little -boy in your arms. And if I might be so bold, ma’am, I -would recommend you to persuade her to go home and -go to her rest and leave us to follow up the clue, and just -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>have faith till I bring the young gentleman home,” said -the detective, with his head in the door, and addressing -in turn the three occupants of the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is what I am telling her,” said Dick, “to wait -patiently; or, if she can’t do that, to wait hopefully until -her child is brought home and laid on her lap.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, it is so late, and you have lost so much rest, -Drusilla, dear, that I do think you had better go back, and -lie down even if you cannot sleep,” said Anna, earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Friends, you are so kind to me and so interested in -my child’s recovery, that I owe it to you to follow your -advice. So I will put myself in your hands at least for -this evening,” answered Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is right, that is right, my dear,” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And, my lady, take this truth with you to comfort you—that -we will never give up the search until we find the -child. We will never give it up by night or by day till -we find him. While some of us gets our needful bit of -food or nap of sleep, the others will be pursuing of the -search till we find him. And when we do find him, my -lady, be it midnight, or noonday, or any other hour of the -twenty-four I will bring him to you,” said the officer, -earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, do, do, do! and you shall have half my fortune for -your pains—the whole of it, if you will, and my eternal -gratitude besides!” exclaimed Drusilla fervently clasping -her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My lady, the reward offered in the hand-bills would -set me up for life; and, though that is a great object, and -was my only object at first, it is not now—it is not indeed! -I am most anxious to find the young gentleman, to give -you peace—I am indeed.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I believe you, and I thank and bless you,” said Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then the policeman touched his hat, and closed the -door, and transmitted Mr. Hammond’s order to the cabman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They drove back to the Morley House.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there Dick and Anna made Drusilla take a glass -of port wine and a biscuit, and go to bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All arose very early the next morning. Anna ordered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>the breakfast, that it might be ready when Drusilla -should come down.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick soon joined her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will write to grandpa, to-day?” inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not unless little Lenny is found. I dread the effect -the news of the child’s loss would have upon him at -his age, and I wish to spare him if possible,” answered -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if Lenny is not found to-day, and grandpa gets -no letter to-morrow, he will feel very anxious at not hearing -from us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know it. I must think of some plan by which I can -write to him without alarming him, and bring him home -here, before telling him of our loss. Here we might break -the news to him gently; and, if it should overcome him, -here, we can look after him. I will think of some such -plan and act upon it, to-day,” said Dick, anxiously and -reflectively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>While the husband and wife took counsel together, -the door opened, and Drusilla, dressed as for a drive, -came in.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good morning, my dear! Did you sleep last night?” -anxiously inquired Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A little.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you are not going out until you have breakfasted, -my dear Drusilla?” said Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have been out for the last three hours, and have -just returned,” she answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heaven, Drusilla, you will destroy your life, and -all to no purpose! The detectives are all sufficient for -this business. You cannot help them,” urged Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know it; but I cannot rest,” replied Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have been to the same neighborhood? You have -seen the officers this morning?” inquired Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Any news?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“None; but the men give me great hopes, and I must -trust in God.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, Drusilla, don’t go up-stairs,” said Anna. “Take -off your bonnet and shawl here, for here is the waiter, -with our breakfast.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla complied with this advice. And they were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>about to sit down to the table, when there was heard a -hurried step upon the stairs, and the door was thrown -open, and old General Lyon, dusty, travel-stained, pale -and excited, burst into the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<span class='sc'>Is the child found?</span>” he cried to the astonished -circle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; but we have a clue to him,” answered Dick, as -soon as he could recover his self-possession and his -breath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The old man sank into a chair, covered his face with -his hands, and shook as with an ague fit.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Anna hastily poured out a cup of coffee and brought it -to him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drink this, dear grandpa, and you will feel better,” -she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The old man raised his head and looked at her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you do, my dear? I really forgot to speak to -you,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never mind that, dear sir. I am very well. Drink -this. It will do you good,” she urged.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You say you have a clue to him?” he inquired, as he -mechanically took the cup from her hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, grandpa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why is not the clue followed up? Why has it not -led you to him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, it is being very diligently followed up. We -are in hourly expectation of recovering our little Lenny. -But, dear sir, please to drink your coffee. You are very -faint, and need it very much.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is the poor young mother? Where is Drusa?” -he continued.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla came and knelt down by his side, and took his -disengaged hand, and looked up in his troubled face and -said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She is here, dear uncle; and she trusts in the Lord to -restore her child. But you are sinking with fatigue, and -with fasting too, I fear. Drink your coffee, and we will -tell you all we know about our missing boy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Drusilla put a great constraint upon herself that -she might comfort him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At her request he took the refreshment offered to him, -and was certainly benefited by it.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>And they told him all the particulars of little Lenny’s -abduction, and of the measures that had been taken for -his recovery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But when he heard of Dick’s adventure at the railroad -station, he came down most unmercifully on that “unlucky -dog.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You heard his voice calling you and didn’t go after -him!” he indignantly exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was in vain that poor Dick explained and expounded; -the old man would hear of no excuses.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sir! do you think if <em>I</em> had heard that helpless infant’s -voice calling <em>me</em>, I would not have obeyed it with more -promptitude than I ever obeyed the commands of my -superior officer when I was in the army? What <em>can</em> you -say for yourself?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick had no word to say why sentence of death should -not be immediately pronounced on him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Drusilla came to his relief by turning the conversation -and inquiring:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dear uncle, how was it that you heard of little -Lenny’s being lost?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By the newspapers, of course. I was sitting by the -bedside of——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here Dick trod slyly upon his uncle’s toe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The General stopped short.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Drusilla perceived that there was a secret between -them that must be kept; so, without suspecting that it -concerned herself or her Alick, she respected it, and -turned away her head until the General recovered himself -sufficiently to pursue the subject in another manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You asked me how I learned little Lenny’s loss, my -dear. Well, yesterday morning I was sitting by the bedside -of a friend whom I had undertaken to look after, -when the morning papers were brought to me, and I saw -the advertisement. That was at nine o’clock. There -was a boat left at ten for Southampton, and I took it and -reached port at midnight, I took the first train for London -and got here this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Such was the General’s explanation, given in the presence -of Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was not until after they had all breakfasted, and he -found himself in his own bedroom alone with Dick, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>he was able to make a report upon Alick’s condition—a -report that Dick subsequently transmitted to Anna.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, his condition is even more precarious than when -you left him; irritative fever has set in, and he is delirious—or -was so when I left him. He had not once recognized -me. I know the surgeon thinks him in a very dangerous -condition; although, of course, he will not admit so -much to me. But oh, Dick! the child! the child!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Be comforted, sir. The child was safe and well in -this city yesterday. We have the most skilful and experienced -detectives in the world searching for him, and -they will be sure to succeed.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br> <span class='large'>ALEXANDER STRIKES A LIGHT.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“A death-bed’s a detector of the heart.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>So is a sick bed. A man may have passed through the -greatest college in the world and carried off its highest -honors; may have traveled over every foot of land -and sea; may have learned all else that this earth has to -teach him—<em>yet</em> if he has never had a good, dangerous, -rallying spell of illness, his education has been neglected.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander Lyon had been a strong, arrogant, despotic -man, and not from any <em>in</em>ternal force of the spirit, but -by the <em>ex</em>ternal support of great physical strength, sound -health and large wealth. Of the reverses of these he had -no experience in his own person, and not enough of sympathy -with others to realize them to his own imagination. -Poverty, sickness, death, were to him abstract ideas. He -had no personal knowledge of them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>True, he had lost both his parents by death; but they -were very aged; and his father had died in an instant, -like a man called away on a hasty journey; and his mother -had followed, after a short illness; and their decease -had left upon his mind the impression of absence rather -than of death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Certainly, within a few hours before his duel he had -been forced to think of his own possible death, but it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>as of a sudden and violent catastrophe, which in his -great excitement he was desperate enough to brave and -meet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he never imagined being wounded and mutilated, -and laid helpless and languishing on a bed of weakness -and pain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet here he was.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the third day after that upon which he had been -wounded, an irritative fever set in, and from having been -stupid and quiet he became delirious and violent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>General Lyon had left him, as we have seen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Francis Tredegar had also, soon after, gone to London -on imperative business.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alexander was now in the hands of the skilful surgeon -whom the magnanimity of Prince Ernest had placed -in attendance upon him. And the surgeon was assisted -by the valet Simms and by the servants of the hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For eight terrible days the wounded man burned with -fever and raved with frenzy. For eight days, within his -broken and agonized frame, an almost equal struggle between -the forces of life and death went on. But, by the -aid of his strong constitution and of his skilful surgeon, -life at length prevailed over death.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was about the dawn of the critical ninth day, that -the fever finally left him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The surgeon, who, on that particular night, had watched -by his bed, was the first to perceive the signs of reviving -life, in the moisture of the sleeper’s hands and the moderated -pulsations at his wrists.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The imminent danger is over now. He will live and -recover,—unless he should have a relapse, which we must -try to prevent,” said Doctor Dietz to Simms, the valet, -who had shared his watch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Simms, who, for the last nine days, had never once been -in bed, but had snatched his sleep when, where, and how -he could,—sitting, standing, and even walking—yawned -frightfully, and said he was glad to hear it, and asked if -he might now lie down.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The surgeon told him that he might not; that yet, for -a few hours, he must watch beside his master; afterwards, -when his master should awake, he (the man) should be -relieved.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>And, so saying, the surgeon went away, to get some -sleep for himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Simms lay back in the best easy-chair, just vacated -by Doctor Dietz, and stretched his feet out on the best -footstool, and closed his eyes in slumber.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the only watcher beside the wounded man was -the All-seeing Eye.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But all the danger was over,—the fever was cooled, the -frenzy calmed, and the patient slept on,—all the more -quietly, perhaps, because his attendant slept also and the -room was so still.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was, I said, just at the dawn of day and about four -o’clock, when Doctor Dietz pronounced the crisis favorably -passed, and then left him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At eight o’clock the surgeon returned to the sick-room, -where he found both master and man still asleep.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Without waking Simms, he went around to the other -side of the bed, and examined the state of Alexander. -His former opinion was now confirmed. The patient was -sleeping calmly and breathing softly. His pulse was regular -and quiet, and his skin cool and moist.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is a decided convalescence,” said the surgeon to -himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, fearing to wake up the attendant lest he -should disturb the patient, the doctor himself went about -on tiptoes, putting out the night taper, opening the windows, -and setting the room somewhat in order.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he went down-stairs to get his own breakfast -and to order some proper nourishment to be prepared for -the wounded man to take as soon as he should awake.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When he again returned to the room he found Simme -awake and sitting upright in the chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The doctor raised his finger to warn the valet not to speak -or make a noise, lest he should disturb the sleeper and -then signed him to leave the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the valet gladly took himself away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Doctor Dietz seated himself beside his patient to watch -for his awakening. As it is neither useful nor entertaining -to sit and stare a sleeper in the face, the surgeon took -out a newspaper from his pocket and began to read, lifting -his eyes occasionally to look at his charge. But at -length he got upon several columns of highly interesting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>editorial treating upon the politics of Prussia, and he became -so absorbed in the subject that he read on, forgetting -to glance at his patient for fifteen or twenty minutes. -He might have gone on for thirty or forty minutes more -without lifting his eyes from the paper had he not heard -his name whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a slight start he turned and looked at his charge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander Lyon was lying awake and calmly contemplating -his physician.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Doctor Dietz dropped his paper and bent over his -charge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are better?” he said, quietly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander nodded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you feel?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Weak.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How long have you been awake?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Two—or three—hours—I think. I don’t know,” -whispered Alick, feebly and with pain and difficulty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no!” said the surgeon, taking out his watch and -consulting it—“not near so long as that, though it may -seem so to you; not more than fifteen or twenty minutes -at the most.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Doctor Dietz put up his watch and took hold of -the wrist of his charge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ve—been ill—long—long,” whispered Alick, looking -up from his dark, hollow, cavernous eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; there again you are mistaken. You have been -down little more than a week. But it is always so when -there has been a period of semi-consciousness. The patient -loses all calculation of time, and on recovery either fancies -that no time at all, or else a very long period, has elapsed -during his illness. But now listen to me. You are very -much better, and you are on the high road to a speedy recovery. -But you must not, as yet, exert yourself at all. -You must not even speak, except when to do so is absolutely -necessary, and then you must only whisper. -Whenever you can answer by a nod, or a shake of the -head, or whenever you can make your wishes known by -signs, do so, instead of speaking. You must spare your -lungs as much as possible. If you follow my direction in -this it will be the best for you. Will you do it? Mind, -<em>nod</em>, if you mean yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>Alexander nodded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s right. And now—do you feel hungry or -thirsty?—Stop! don’t answer that question, because I -didn’t ask it right, and you can’t answer it without speaking. -I will put it in another form. Do you feel hungry?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander nodded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And thirsty?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick hesitated a moment and then nodded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah! I understand. You are quite sure you are -hungry; but you are not so very sure that you are thirsty. -And upon the whole you feel as if you would like something -to eat and to drink as well. Just as we all feel -about breakfast time, eh?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander nodded and smiled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite right,” said the surgeon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then he rang the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Would you like black tea, cream toast, and poached -eggs?” inquired the surgeon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was answered by the regulation nod.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter came, and received the surgeon’s orders to -prepare the required refreshments and to send the valet -to the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And when Simms entered, and while waiting for the -breakfast to be prepared, the surgeon, assisted by the -valet, changed the dressings of the patient’s wounds, and -made him clean and fresh and comfortable, so that he -might be able to enjoy the delicate repast that had been -ordered for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After his change of clothes, and his nourishing breakfast, -he was laid down again upon fresh pillows, and his -bed was tidied and his room darkened, and he himself -was enjoined to rest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And rest was of vital importance to him; for though -his wounds were now doing well, yet the effort to speak, -or to move, was still not only difficult and painful, but -very injurious and even dangerous to his lacerated chest. -So he was enjoined to rest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Rest?</p> - -<p class='c012'>His bed was fresh and fragrant, and on it there might -be rest for the pain-racked, wearied body. But what rest -could there be for the newly awakened mind and startled -conscience?</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>Lying there in forced inactivity, in his half-darkened -chamber, unable to read, forbidden to talk, with nothing -to engage his attention without, his thoughts were driven -inward to self-examination. He struck a light and explored -the gloomy caverns of his own soul. What he -found there, appalled him. There were devilish furies, -ferocious beasts, poisonous reptiles, gibbering maniacs—these -were the forms of the passions that had possessed -him, that still possessed him; but they were lethargic or -sleeping now. Should he—could he cast them entirely -out while they were so quiescent?</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there were their victims and his own—the bleeding -forms of wounded love; the fallen image of dethroned -honor; the ghastly skeletons of murdered happiness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What a city of desolation, what a valley of Gehenna, -was this sin-darkened soul!</p> - -<p class='c012'>He groaned so deeply that the surgeon came to his side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where is your pain?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander shook his head; he could not tell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The surgeon examined the wounds, but found them -doing very well; and he changed their dressings, but this -did not seem to do much good.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The doctor wondered that his patient still suffered so -much. He could not understand any better than Macbeth’s -physician, how to minister to “a mind diseased.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The convalescence of the wounded man was not nearly -so rapid or assured as his surgeon had hoped and expected. -How could it be, when he was so haunted by -memory and tortured conscience? In these long still days -and nights on the sick-bed in the dark chambers, he was -forced to look back upon his own life, to judge his own -deeds. What had they been? What were they now? -False and cruel he pronounced the one and the others—false -and cruel his deeds, darkened and ruined his life.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But out of all the gloom and horror shone brightly -one form—holy as a saint, lovely as an angel—the form -of his injured wife. Oh, with what an intense and vehement -longing he longed for her presence!—longed for -it, yet feared it—feared it, though in the image that he -saw in “his mind’s eye” the whole face and form glowed -and vibrated with compassion and benediction. Blessing -brightened the clear brow; pity softened the dark -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>eyes; love, love unutterable curved the lines of the crimson -lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Was it strange that he should have seen her only in this -light?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Remember, he who had loved her and made her happy, -and had wronged her and made her wretched—he had seen -her beautiful face beaming with heavenly happiness, or -quivering with anxiety, or darkened by despair; but he -had never—never once seen it distorted by passion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Oh, how he longed for the beautiful vision to be realized -to him—longed and feared!</p> - -<p class='c012'>What would he not have given to have had her then by -his bedside? He felt how soft and cool her fingers would -fall upon his fevered forehead; he saw how lovingly her -eyes would look on him; he heard how sweetly her tones -would soothe him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet it was not for all this he wanted her at his side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was that he might make what atonement was yet in -his power for the wrongs he had done her; that he might -lay his proud manhood low at the feet of this meek girl, -and ask her pardon; that he might take her to his heart -again, and devote his life to make hers happy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Oh, that he might do her some great service, and so win -her back!</p> - -<p class='c012'>He wished now that she had been poor, so that he might -have enriched her; or sick, so that he might have taken -her all over the world for her health; or that she had had -an enemy, so that he might have killed or crippled that -enemy and dragged him to her feet. And here one of -those crouching furies stirred again in his heart, and a -feverish excitement made him irrational.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Oh, that she were poor, or ill, or abused, that he might -enrich her, or serve her, or defend her, and so win the -right to ask her forgiveness!</p> - -<p class='c012'>But she was none of these. She was as independent of -him as any queen could be. She was immensely wealthy, -perfectly healthy, and highly esteemed; and, finally, no -one had ever abused her but himself; and on himself only -could he take vengeance. He was an utter bankrupt, -without the power of bringing any offering to her feet in -exchange for her mercy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When tortured by these thoughts, he would so toss and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>groan as to raise his fever and inflame his wounds. And -all this very much protracted his recovery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And through all this gloom and horror still he saw the -heavenly vision, like Dante’s angel at the gates of Hell, -and still he longed to have it realized; longed, yet feared; -and ever he prayed:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! that I could do her some great service! Oh, that -the Lord would take pity on me and give me the power!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander, among his other thoughts, of course thought -of the duel that had laid him upon this bed of penance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the natural reaction—the calmness that succeeded to -the excitement of his passions, when reason had opportunity -to act—he saw that he had no just cause for the jealousy -that had driven him to one of the maddest acts of his -life.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That Prince Ernest should have admired Drusilla was -not only natural but inevitable, since every one who was -brought into her company did the same; that he should -have testified this admiration with continental enthusiasm -seemed almost excusable; but that his sentiments went -further, or that Drusilla would have tolerated any attentions -unworthy to be received by her, Alexander in his -sober senses could not believe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now that like the prodigal of Holy Writ he had come to -himself, he perceived that his jealousy, like every other -passion of his soul, had been insane in its excess and frantic -in its exhibition.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now how fervently he thanked Heaven that the duel -into which his temporary madness had driven him had not -resulted in death to his adversary and blood-guiltiness to -himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But—and this was a very serious question—how had -the mad duel affected Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was always, he knew, most injurious, even to the -most innocent women, to have her name mixed up in any -such matter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He himself had been very cautious in this respect; but -had others concerned been equally so? And, above all, -had the duel got into the newspapers, and, if so, with how -much exposure of the circumstances?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course he could not tell. He longed to know; yet -he shrank from asking questions. He would have examined -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>the papers, but they were kept out of his way, and -he was forbidden to read.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Thus in bitter self-communings, in remorse, in suspense -and anxiety, the first days of his convalescence slowly -wore away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Francis Tredegar had not returned and he had remained -in the hands of the surgeon and the valet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And although he was debarred from reading the newspapers, -and forbidden to converse, and so was left in -ignorance of the most important matters that concerned -him, yet he had learned something of what had transpired -near him since the mad duel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had partly surmised and partly overheard enough -to inform him that Prince Ernest, a frequent invalid himself, -had at some self-sacrifice dispensed with the invaluable -services of his own medical attendant, that he, -Alexander, might have the advantage of that surgeon’s -constant presence at his bedside. And this circumstance -led Alexander to a true appreciation and respect for the -Austrian, who was as noble by nature as he was by -descent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And there was something else he had to learn.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXIX.<br> <span class='large'>ALEXANDER’S DISCOVERIES.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thou turnest mine eyes into my very soul,</div> - <div class='line'>And there I see such black and grained spots,</div> - <div class='line'>As will not leave their tinct.—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>One morning when he, Alick, seemed better and -stronger that usual, the surgeon seated himself by his -bedside and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should tell you that you were not forgotten or abandoned -by your family while you were in danger, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By my family——! I have——” Alexander was -about to say, “no family,” but he caught himself in time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Come what might, he would not deny Drusilla and her -child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>—“You have an uncle and a cousin, sir,” said the surgeon, -finishing Alexander’s sentence, but not in the manner -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>Alexander had first intended—“an uncle and a cousin, -sir, who were warmly interested in your welfare. General -Lyon and Mr. Hammond, sir! They in some manner -received information of the intended duel; they hired a -yacht and followed you here; but they arrived too late, -they found you badly wounded and lying insensible on -this bed. The cousin returned the same day to London; -but the uncle remained here until you showed signs of -consciousness and gave us hopes of recovery, when—being -suddenly called away by important business, of I -know not what nature, he too left the island. But before -going he made an arrangement with Mr. Tredegar, by -which the last-named gentleman was to write every day -and keep the General advised of the state of his nephew. -Mr. Tredegar kept his part of the compact, I know, until -he also had to leave.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander did not reply for some moments; and when -he did it was merely to say:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thank you for telling me this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander fell into deep thought. Here was another -enlightenment. Here was another subject for self-reproach -if not for deep remorse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The high-toned, tender-hearted old gentleman! The -frank and kindly young man! How noble, pure and loving -all their course had been during these family troubles, -in comparison with his own! How they had always -stepped in and saved himself and his victims from the -worst consequences of his violent passions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But for General Lyon and Richard Hammond where -would Drusilla now have been? Would she, could she -have had the strength, when discarded by him to have -struggled on, through her desolation, unsupported by -their strong and tender manhood?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick groaned and tossed, as he thought of these things.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In fact he was beginning to see himself and others in -a new light. It seemed to him now that he had wronged -everybody who had been brought into close companionship -and intimate relations with himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>First, he had wronged his cousin, Anna, his earliest -betrothed, in leaving her for Drusilla; but that was the -least of his offenses, since the betrothal had been neither -his work nor Anna’s, nor yet agreeable to the one or the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>other. Next, he had wronged—most bitterly wronged—his -young, fond, true wife, whose love and faith had never -known the shadow of turning; and this he now felt to be -his greatest sin. And he had wronged his uncle, the gallant -old veteran, who had always cherished him with a -father’s affection. He had wronged his other cousin, -that frank, affectionate, “unlucky dog,” who was always -ready to forgive and forget, and to be as fast friends as -ever. He had wronged the noble Prince Ernest, by assaulting -him like a bully, upon no provocation, and driving -him into an unseemly duel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Good Heavens! when he came to reckon with himself, -whom had he not wronged whenever he had had the -power?</p> - -<p class='c012'>No wonder he tossed and tumbled on his bed, and -raised his fever, and inflamed his wounds, and protracted -his recovery, and in other ways gave his surgeon a world -of trouble.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But with all, as he had a magnificent constitution,—if -that is not too big a word to apply to a little human -organism,—he continued to convalesce.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One day he was permitted to sit up in bed for a few -moments, and he felt himself much refreshed by the -change of posture. The next day he sat up a little longer, -with increased advantage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length there came a day when the patient was so -much better that the surgeon ventured to leave him in -the care of the valet and of the people of the hotel, and to -go for a holiday to the neighboring town of St. Helier’s.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That day Alexander sat up in bed, well propped up -with pillows, and waited on by Simms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet had trimmed him up nicely, and, at his request, -had placed a small glass in his hands that he might -look at his face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And a very pale, thin, haggard, cadaverous countenance -it was to contemplate. And the clean-shaved chin and -the short-cropped hair added nothing to its attractions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By my life! I look more like a newly-discharged -convict than a decent citizen or anything else,” muttered -Alexander to himself as he handed back the glass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Any more orders, sir?” inquired the valet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No—yes; now that Dietz is off for a holiday, I will -<span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>take some recreation too, in my own way—Simms!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know whether they keep the files of the London -papers here in the house?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can inquire, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet left the room, and, after an absence of a few -minutes, returned with a pile of newspapers in his hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here is a file of the Times for the last month, sir,” he -said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lay them on the foot of the bed where I can reach -them, and slip off the first one and give it to me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here it is, sir. It is the twenty-seventh.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is day before yesterday’s. Is there not a later -one?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir; perhaps——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Perhaps it is in the reading-room, sir. It must have -come by the last boat—yesterday’s Times must, I mean, -sir. They tell me they always get it the day after publication. -Shall I go and see if I can find it, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes—no,” said Alexander, quickly changing his mind -from one purpose to another, as is often the case with convalescents, -and less from caprice or irresolution than from a -momentary forgetfulness of what they really do want. -“No,” he repeated, suddenly remembering that he wished -to ascertain whether any unpleasant notice had been taken -of his foolish duel by the press. “No—I—you needn’t go -after the late paper just yet. I have been laid down here -nearly a month, and have fallen so far behind the world’s -news that I must go back and post myself up. I will -begin with the paper following the one I left off with; and -I will glance over them all in turns to see what the world -has been doing while I have been lying here. Give me -the paper of the date of the second of June.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet looked through the file, and handed the -required copy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now leave the others there where I can reach them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir. Any more orders?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; you may leave the room. I will ring if I should -want you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Left to himself, Alexander opened the paper and glanced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>over its contents. Column after column, page after page, -of that voluminous journal passed in rapid review before -him. But no notice of the duel was to be found in that -number. He threw it aside and took up and as carefully -examined another; but with no better success. Then he -took a third, of the date June fourth, and in it almost the -first thing that met his eye was the paragraph of which he -was in search.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was under the head “<span class='sc'>Jersey</span>,” and it read as follows:</p> - -<p class='c014'>“An ‘affair of honor’ so called came off yesterday morning, -in the neighborhood of St. Aubins, between His Highness Prince -E——t of H——n and his Lordship Baron K——n of K——n, -in which the noble lord was the challenger. The occasion of -the hostile meeting is said to have been a beautiful young widow, -whose debut at the American Ambassadress’ ball a few days -since created such a sensation. Fortunately for the madmen -concerned, the duel did not end fatally for either party. The -princely H——n escaped scatheless and has returned to his own -country. The noble K——n is lying somewhat seriously -wounded at St. Aubins, where it is hoped he will have leisure to -repent his folly. Such ‘affairs’ are relics of barbarism, unworthy -of an enlightened community and of the nineteenth -century. Where were the police?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>You may imagine with what feelings our chivalric Alexander -read these comments. So this was the light in which -sensible and law-abiding people viewed his heroism.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As for me,” said he, as he laid the paper down, “it -serve me right; but I am truly sorry that <em>she</em> has been -even alluded to in the affair. She has not been mentioned -by name or even by initial, however, and I am consoled by -that circumstance.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he turned to other parts of the paper, where he -found something to absorb his attention and to drive the -memory of the affair from his mind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Eh! what is this?”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘<span class='sc'>One Thousand Pounds Reward?</span>’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“What state-prisoner has run away now, of such importance -that a thousand pounds is offered for his recovery?” -said Alexander, as he looked more closely at -the advertisement.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>“Ah! what’s this? ‘A child lost!’—a—Heaven have -mercy on my soul, it is Drusilla’s child!” he exclaimed, -turning even paler that he had been before, as he read the -description of the missing boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lost? Lost on the afternoon of the second of June? -Let me look at the date of this paper. It is the fourth. -Has he been found yet, I wonder? He must have been -found before this. Let me see—to-day, is the twenty-ninth. -He was lost twenty-six or seven days ago. How -long was he lost? When was he found? I must look -over the next papers and judge by them. Of course the -advertisement was discontinued when the child was -found.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And saying this to himself, Alexander took up the -next paper in succession, and the next after that, and -another and another still, until he had examined some -twenty-three or four more papers. But ah! in every one -of them appeared the advertisement for the lost child. -And the amount of the reward offered was constantly increased.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the first half-dozen papers it was one thousand -pounds; in the next it was increased to fifteen hundred; -after that it was raised to three thousand pounds. The -last paper he examined was one of the date of June -twenty-seventh, in which the advertisement was still -standing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heavens! not found up to the day before yesterday! -Missing for twenty-five days!” exclaimed Alexander, -as he turned over and grasped the bell pull and -rang a peal that speedily brought Simms in alarm to his -bedside.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is your wound broke out again, sir?” exclaimed -the valet, seeing his master’s disturbed and excited look.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, it is nothing of the sort. Simms, go down-stairs -and see if you can get me the last number of the Times -that has arrived on the island. If it is not in the reading-room, -or in the coffee room, or if anybody else has it, -or in short, if you can’t procure it for me in the house, -go out into the town and try to find it at some bookseller’s -or news agent’s. Be quick, Simms.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir, I will,” answered the man, hurrying from the -room.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>Alexander sank back upon his pillow to wait for his -servant’s return. He had not to wait very long.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In less than ten minutes Simms re-entered the chamber, -bringing two papers in his hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here is the Times of yesterday morning and the Express -of yesterday evening, sir. I got them both of the -news agent close by.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Give them to me!” exclaimed Alexander, eagerly -grasping the papers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He hastily examined the Times. Yes, there was the -advertisement still standing. He turned to the Evening -Express, and there also it stared him in the face, with a -new date, the date of the day of publication, and with a -still higher raised reward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Five thousand pounds were now offered to any person -or persons who should restore the child, or give such information -as should lead to restoring him to his distracted -mother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not found up to yesterday evening! Poor Drusilla! -poor, poor Drusilla! and poor little Lenny!” groaned -Alick, as his eyes were rivetted upon the advertisement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then a bright thought struck him; a Heavenly inspiration -filled him. His countenance became eager and irradiated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will go in search of her child! I will devote all my -days and nights, all my mind and all my means to the -search; and I will find him, if he is not dead. If he is -above ground I will find him! And when I find him I -will go and lay him in his mother’s lap and ask her forgiveness, -and she will grant it me for the child’s sake! Oh! -I prayed Providence to give me the power of doing her a -service, and now I have got it. It cannot be but I shall -find her child, and so regain her love!” he murmured.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then looking up from his paper he called out:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Simms!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet, who was at the other end of the room engaged -in closing the window blinds to exclude the hot -rays of the mid-day sun, turned and hurried toward the -bedside.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What o’clock is it, Simms?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A quarter-past twelve, sir,” answered the man, after -consulting his silver timepiece.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>“At what hour did Dr. Dietz say that he would return -here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At ten to-night, sir, unless something unexpected -should turn up to cause you to require his services before -that time. In which case, sir, I was to sent a mounted -messenger after him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not return until ten o’clock; that is well; for I must -get away from this place to-day; and if he were here he -would be sure to oppose my doing so, and I want no controversy -with my kind physician,—Simms!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go fetch me a time-table of the boats that leave the -Island to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Simms vanished, and after an absence of a few minutes -returned and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please sir, there are no time-tables. But the -head waiter says as how the only boat that leaves St. -Aubins for England is the steamer that sails for Southampton -at ten o’clock every morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is that the only boat?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The only one that leaves St. Aubins, sir; but there is -another steamer leaves St. Helier’s every afternoon at -three o’clock for Portsmouth, sir!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let me see! How far do they call St. Helier’s from -here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“About three miles, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That will do. Go down-stairs and tell them to send -me my bill, including Dr. Dietz’s. And then order a fly to -be at the door by two o’clock. And then pack up my -traps and yours as quickly as possible. We start for -England in an hour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The valet stared at his master in speechless astonishment -for a moment, and then gasped:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For England, sir!—In an hour, sir!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes! Don’t I speak plainly enough? Be quick and -do as I tell you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, sir, what would the doctor say? You have never -left your room yet since you have been wounded!—scarcely -left your bed, sir! Consider your health, sir? Consider -your life!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Consider a fig’s end! There are matters of more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>moment than my poor life that demand my presence in -England,” said Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, sir, the doctor said—”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Simms! are you my servant, or the doctor’s?” demanded -Alexander, sternly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yours, sir, of course.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then obey me at once, or I shall send you about your -business.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Simms knew that he had a profitable place, and a good -master, though a self-willed one. He had really no desire -to oppose him in this or any other measure. He was -heartily tired of this “beastly hole,” as he chose to call -one of the prettiest little maritime towns in the world. -So, after having done his duty and relieved his conscience, -by offering a respectful remonstrance to the -proposed exertions on the part of the invalid, he yielded to -circumstances and set himself promptly to work to obey -his master’s orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander wrote a note of thanks and of partial explanation -to Doctor Dietz, enclosed within it a munificent -fee, and sent it down to the office to be handed to the -surgeon on his return.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander was a free man and a sane one. And though -the people of the hotel were greatly astonished at his -sudden resolution to travel in his present invalid condition, -and strongly suspected him of running away from -his physician; and though they had every will to stop -him, they had not the power to do so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And at two o’clock, all his arrangements having been -completed, Alick, attended by his servant, entered the -cab that was to take him to St. Helier’s.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He reached there in time to catch the steamer; and at -three o’clock he sailed for Portsmouth.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXX.<br> <span class='large'>LITTLE LENNY’S ENEMY.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in22'>Where the haters meet</div> - <div class='line'>In the crowded city’s horrible street.—<span class='sc'>Browning.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Pina was right in her surmises as to the manner of -little Lenny’s abduction. And he really had been carried -off by one of the two men whom she had detected in -watching him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this necessitates the explanation of some circumstances, -which, however, did not become known until -some time afterward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It not unfrequently happens that the heirs of an estate, -or a title long held in abeyance and supposed to be -extinct, are poor and obscure people, quite ignorant of -their connection with, or right in such an inheritance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The claim recently confirmed by the House of Lords is -a case in point. The claim to the barony of Killcrichtoun -is another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander Lyon was totally uninformed as to his right -to the title and estate of Killcrichtoun until his visit to -England and Scotland, when, in searching the records of -his mother’s family, he discovered the facts that led to -his subsequent action in claiming the barony.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the investigations that ensued developed other -facts, and brought forward other heirs, or rather one -other, who would surely have been the heir had Alexander -been out of existence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>This was a descendant of a younger sister of that ancestress -through whom Alexander Lyon claimed the -title.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The name of this man was Clarence Everage. He was -that most to be pitied of all human creatures—a poor -gentleman, with more children than means to support -them; more mouths to feed than money to find food; -more intellect than integrity; more refinement than firmness. -A man now about thirty-five years of age, with -a long, hopeless life before him; a man with some beauty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>of person, dignity of presence, and graciousness of manner; -with sensitive feelings, and delicate tastes, and soft -white hands; a man who loved fragrant baths and fresh -linen every day; and cool, clean, quiet rooms to live in; -and well-dressed, soft-speaking light-stepping people -about him; and respect and attention and observance -from all who came in contact with him; one who loving -to be happy and comfortable himself, loved still more to -make others happy and comfortable; one naturally more -prone to confer favors than to ask them; more willing to -give than to take; naturally rather vain than proud, -sensitive than irritable, and weak than wicked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And yet a man who had to live in mean lodgings in a -small, dark house, in a narrow dirty street in the Strand, -where in two musty stuffy rooms he crowded his wife, -who was as refined and delicate as himself, and six little -girls, who would have been beautiful had they not -suffered so much from confined air, bad food and scant -clothing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His position really was not at fault. England, and especially -London, is so fearfully overcrowded; the competition -in all trades, professions and occupations is so -hopelessly great.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was an usher in a third-rate London school, and he -had an income barely sufficient to support himself in comfort; -and of course it will be said that he ought not to -have married.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Ah! but Nature had fooled him in his youth as she -fools so many. And yet I take that back. I will utter -no such blasphemy against Holy Nature. No doubt -Nature is always right, and it is always well that children -should be born, even though they should suffer -cruelly and die early, since they are born for the eternal -life, through to which this earthly life is but a short, -rough gateway, soon passed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But without excusing themselves with any such hypothesis -as this, the young man and young girl had -followed Nature, taken the leap in the dark, and plunged -head—no, <em>heart</em> foremost, into their imprudent marriage. -And the natural consequences ensued. The beautiful -children came as unhesitatingly as if they were entering -upon a heritage of wealth, health and happiness, instead -<span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>of want, illness, and misery; and every year added to -their number.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The wretched father groaned for himself and his wife.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the gentle mother reminded him that Heaven, in -afflicting them with lighter trials, had always spared -them the one great trial that they never could be able to -bear—namely, the loss of their children. Not one of the -little ones had been taken from them. Each and all had -fought valiantly and successfully through measles, whooping-cough, -scarlet fever, and the rest; but whether <em>because</em> -of, or in <em>spite</em> of the cheap quack medicines the impoverished -parents poured down their throats, I cannot say.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was when they were expecting their seventh child -that Clarence Everage, who had been hunted out by -Alexander Lyon and the lawyers, was suddenly called -from his obscurity to bear witness in the investigation of -Mr. Lyon’s claim to the Barony of Killcrichtoun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was but a link in the chain of evidence that he was -to furnish. But any information he was expected to be -able to give was as nothing compared to the tremendous -revelation that was about to be made to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He, the poor usher, starving in a miserable third-floor -back in Wellington street, Strand—heir presumptive to -a barony!—the ancient Barony of Killcrichtoun! And -but for this intrusive foreigner actually Baron of Killcrichtoun -himself. For be it remembered that Clarence -Everage knew nothing whatever of Alexander Lyon’s -wife and child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The investigation, as you know, terminated in Alexander’s -favor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this witness and self-styled heir presumptive was -liberally remunerated and sent home to his poor lodgings, -pale wife and pining children, to brood over the vicissitudes -of this life—to brood until he, whose temper had -through all his trials been sweet, kind and cheerful, became -soured and embittered and sorely tempted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What right, he asked himself, had this man—whose -branch of the Killcrichtoun family had been self-expatriated -for generations—to come over here and claim the -ancient barony?</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was not a Scotchman, nor even an Englishman, that -should he hold it.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>And what good did it do him, after all?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Beyond the mere title, the new baron cared little for the -inheritance. He had not even visited Killcrichtoun. -While to him the poor usher, what a god-send, what a -treasure, what a paradise it might have been. This estate -which was nothing to the wealthy Virginian, would -have been everything to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'><em>He</em>, had he possessed it, would have sold one-half the -land to get funds to cultivate the other half. He would -have pulled down the most ruinous parts of the castle to -get materials to build up the better part of it. And he -would have employed the starving tenants of the little -hamlet in repairing his dwelling and tilling his ground, -and a part of the wages he paid them would have come -back to himself in the form of rents.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He, the despised usher, oppressed by master and chafed -by pupils, would then be lord of the manor, with servants, -and tenantry dependent upon him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His poor wife, who was looked down upon by small -shopkeepers and snubbed by her laundress, would be a -baroness and “my lady.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>His pale little girls, bleached by the fogs of London, -would grow strong and rosy on the bracing air of the -Highlands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All this would happen, if only he, and not this interloping -American, were Baron of Killcrichtoun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He brooded too constantly and profoundly over the advantages -that must have accrued to him had he been the -fortunate inheritor of Killcrichtoun, as might have happened -had it not been for this interloping stranger who -had no business in the country.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He felt a morbid interest in the foreigner who was so -fortunate as to succeed to the title, and be able to disregard -the small estate that came with it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He took pains to learn as much as possible of Lord Killcrichtoun’s -history. He was often in his lordship’s company, -in streets and shops and other common ground -where they could meet on equal terms. He talked much -<em>to</em> him and of him, and so learned more of his antecedents -than was known to any one else out of the family in London.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He often met Alexander in his well-known haunts, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>walked with him, sat with him, and smoked with him. -Occasionally, at Alick’s invitation, he ate and drank with -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Why not? If Lord Killcrichtoun was unmarried, as he -was generally supposed to be, then Clarence Everage -was heir presumptive to the title and estate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>True, he knew that the present baron was some five or -six years younger than himself, and in that view of the -case there was little hope of the inheritance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But, on the other hand, Alexander, like the generality -of American men, was tall and lank, thin and sallow, with -that appearance of ill-health which was not real, but -which was greatly enhanced by the careworn and haggard -expression of countenance which had characterized his -face ever since his abandonment of Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So, upon the whole, Clarence Everage, gazing gloomily -upon Lord Killcrichtoun, thought the chances of his lordship’s -death by consumption, and of his own accession to -the title and estate, within a year or two, were very good.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If only,” he said to himself, “the fool should not in -the meantime marry and have an heir. That would make -the case hopeless indeed.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>This anxiety lest Lord Killcrichtoun should marry and -have an heir before death should claim him, so preyed upon -the poor gentleman’s spirits that he watched over his -lordship more carefully, and inquired about him more anxiously -than ever.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the places where they chanced to meet, he could -neither see nor hear any sign of the misfortunes he -dreaded. No one knew whether his lordship was meditating -matrimony or not; no rumor of his contemplating -conjugal life was afloat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course the impoverished gentleman in his threadbare -coat, limp linen and broken gloves, could not go into -those circles from which Lord Killcrichtoun would be -likely to select a bride; and so, though Everage in their -mutual resorts learned nothing to alarm him, he was tormented -with uneasiness as to what might be going on out -of his sight in places from which his poverty excluded -him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He went into coffee-rooms, not to partake of the refreshments -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>for which he could not pay, but to look at the -fashionable news, longing to see at what dinners, dances, -or conversaziones, he, who was keeping him out of his -estate, had been seen, and fearing to find, under the head -of “<span class='sc'>Approaching Marriages in High Life</span>,” some announcement -of the calamity he so much dreaded—the impending -marriage of the baron. But of course he never -found anything of the sort.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hope the fellow has too much sense—yes, and too -much conscience, to think of taking a wife. Men in his -wretched state of health should never marry; for when -they do, they always entail their infirmities upon any -children they may happen to have,” said Everage, with -virtuous emphasis; for his wish being father to his -thought, he had fully persuaded himself that Alexander -was in a very bad way—a doomed man, rushing with -railroad rapidity to the grave.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If he will only refrain from marriage for a year or -two all will be well,” said Everage to himself, as visions, -not of wealth, rank and grandeur, but simply of independence, -respectability and comfort floated before his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Sitting in his small, stifling room, surrounded by his -little pale girls and his invalid wife, breathing the heavy -city air, he thought of Killcrichtoun that might yet soon -be his own. He saw the forests of fragrant pine and -feathery firs; the fields of oats and barley; the streams -full of trout and salmon; the mountains with their game; -the old tower with its cool rooms. He saw his wife and -daughters blooming with health and smiling with happiness; -he felt the bracing breezes of the Highlands fan his -brow. Sitting in his stuffy little room, he saw and felt -all this in a vision, and he longed and prayed, oh how -earnestly, that this vision might yet be realized.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But a very great shock was at hand for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One day, while Lord Killcrichtoun and himself were -walking on Trafalgar square, they met a nurse and child, -with whom his lordship immediately stopped to speak.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the very first sight of the child, Everage was struck -with its unmistakable likeness to Lord Killcrichtoun. -And when the baron took the boy in his arms, and hugged -and kissed him with effusion, Everage looked on in surprise -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>and disapprobation, for he thought that he knew his -lordship was unmarried, even while he detected the relationship -between the two.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Alexander took his son, and, desiring his friend -and the child’s nurse to wait for him there, he crossed -over to the Strand, and went into a toy shop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Left alone with the girl, Everage was sorely tempted -to question her, but a sense of honor and delicacy prevented -his doing so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After a few minutes, Alexander returned to the spot, -leading the little boy, who had his hands full of toys.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take him home to his mother now, nurse. The air -is too sultry to keep him out longer,” he said, kissing his -child and delivering him over to Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the girl had carried off her charge, the two gentlemen -walked on a little while in silence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage, in his anxiety, was the first to speak.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is a very handsome little boy,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, he is a fine little fellow,” answered Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is very like you,” continued Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose he must be since even I can see the likeness.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And he is very fond of you,” persevered Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” answered Alick in a very low tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your nephew, of course?” inquired Everage, after a -little hesitation, hoping that, after all, such might be the -relationship of the baby to the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, he is not my nephew. I have not, nor ever had, -sister or brother to give me niece or nephew. I am a lonely -man, Everage.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah!” sighed the other, with a look of sympathy—but -he thought in his heart, “So much the better!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But—he is my son, Everage!” said Alick, with emotion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your son?” exclaimed the would-be heir of the -barony.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was what he had at first suspected, even when he -thought Lord Killcrichtoun was unmarried; but yet he -was ill-at-ease, and, out of his anxiety, burst this exclamation:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did not know that you had a wife.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nor <em>have</em> I! nor can I <em>ever</em> have—that is the curse of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>my life! But I had one once. The subject is a painful -one, Everage!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I <em>beg</em> your pardon,” said the poor gentleman, with real -regret that he had torn open an unsuspected wound, and -real sympathy for the evident sufferings of the victim, felt -amid all the disappointment and dismay with which he -heard of the existence of Lord Killcrichtoun’s son and -heir, and the consequent blasting of all his own hopes of -the inheritance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The tone and look of sympathy touched Alexander’s -lonely heart. He longed to speak to some one of his sorrows; -to some one with whom it might be discreet and -safe to deposit the secret troubles of his life. To whom -could he so well confide them as to this poor gentleman, -who seemed to possess some fine feelings of delicacy and -honor, and who was certainly by circumstances far removed -from those circles in which Alexander would abhor -to have his domestic miseries made known.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is no offense,” said Alexander, answering the -last words of Everage, “you could not have known the -tenderness of the chord you touched. And I thank you -now for the kindness your tones and looks expressed. -Come! shall we hail a hansom, and go to Véry’s to lunch?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thanks,—with pleasure!” said Everage, who always -keenly appreciated and enjoyed the game, the salads, and -the wines at Véry’s; but—then he glanced at his rusty, -threadbare coat, his dusty old boots, and his day-before-yesterday’s -clean shirt-bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, never mind your dress, man! Who the mischief -ever dresses to go to lunch in the morning?—Cab!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The empty hansom that was passing drew up. The -two gentlemen got in to it, and Alexander gave the order:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Véry’s, corner of Regent and Oxford streets.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Arrived at the famous restaurant, Alexander told the -cabman to wait, and led his friend into the saloon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There curtained off in a snug recess, and seated at a -neat table, upon which was arranged a relishing repast, -Alexander, while making a slight pretense of eating and -drinking, told his story, or part of it to Clarence Everage, -who listened attentively, even while doing full justice to -the good things set before him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will understand now,” said Lord Killcrichtoun, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>in conclusion, “how it is, that though I am a husband -and a father, I have neither wife nor child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is very deplorable, if it is really so,” said the -poor man, with a real compassion for sorrows that he was -inclined to consider much heavier than he had been called -upon to endure. For what, he asked himself, were the -worst pangs of toil, care and want compared to the grief -that would be his portion should he, in any way, lose his -own fond wife and dear children?—“Very, very lamentable, -if it is indeed true! but let us hope it is not so; that -your imagination exaggerates the circumstance. Let us -trust that the quarrel is not irreconcilable; that the husband -has still a wife, the father still a child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I have no wife nor ever shall have one; for though -Drusilla is neither dead nor divorced, she is hopelessly -estranged from me. I have no wife, nor ever shall have -one.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you have a child. He at least is not estranged -from you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, but he belongs to his mother who bore him in -peril of her own life, and has nurtured him tenderly and -loves him fondly, I know. He belongs to her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But the <em>law</em> gives him to you. You can claim him -when you will.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I would cut off my right hand, I would lay down -my life, before I would take him from his mother, or do -anything else to give her pain.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, man, he is your heir!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, he is my heir, and only child. If he should -live, of course he will inherit Killcrichtoun. If he should -not, why the barony will go to some distant branch of -the family, unearthed in the investigation set on foot -by my lawyers, when I laid claim to the title and estates. -And—why, bless my soul, old fellow, it may go to you! -May it not?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Failing yourself and heirs of your body, it may,” replied -the poor gentleman, gravely. And then he pushed -back his chair and showed signs of impatience to be -off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The usher was allowed but half an hour to take his -lunch, and even now he was due at his schoolroom and in -danger of a reprimand from his principal.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>Alexander perceived his uneasiness and rang the hand -bell that stood upon the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage took out his purse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put that up, if you please, Everage. I invited you -here; and you are my guest,” said Alexander, taking -out <em>his</em> purse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See here, Killcrichtoun! upon one pretense or another -<em>you always</em> contrive to do this thing. Now I am not going -to stand it any longer. Unless you let me foot the -bill sometimes, and unless you let me foot it now, I can -never lunch with you again,” said the poor gentleman, -with much dignity; then turning to the waiter who at -that instant made his appearance, he added—“Let me -have our bill immediately.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The mercury vanished to execute the order.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, really, Everage——” began Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, really, Killcrichtoun,” interrupted the poor gentleman, -“though this is too small a matter to dispute -about, you must let me have my will.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander gave way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The waiter came and put the bill in Everage’s hands -and the usher, who had that day received his second -quarter’s salary, amounting to barely fifteen pounds, paid -thirty shillings for their lunch, and bestowed half a crown -on the waiter who served them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander sighed and groaned in the spirit as he saw -this; but he could do nothing on earth to prevent it, or -to remedy it. What in the world is one to do in such a -case with a sensitive, poor gentleman? He would be -alive to all your ruses, and feel hurt by them and defeat -them. Alexander would rather have paid ten times the -amount from his own ample means than seen the usher -discharge the bill from his slender stock.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then they arose from the table and went back to their -cab.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alick ordered the cabman to drive to the -street where the school-house in which Everage served -was situated, and he dropped the usher.</p> - -<p class='c012'>I declare that up to this day Clarence Everage had entertained -no idea of gaining his ends by evil means.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the story that he had heard from Alexander was a -startling and curious and interesting one; and he could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>not help brooding over it and speculating upon it. Lord -Killcrichtoun had a wife and child! The fact at first -view seemed very fatal to Everage’s hopes of ever succeeding -to the title; but upon closer consideration it was -not so. Lord Killcrichtoun was hopelessly estranged -from his wife; but he was not divorced from her, nor -free to marry again. He had but one child, his son and -heir; and if anything should happen to this child, Lord -Killcrichtoun, in his peculiar circumstances, could not -hope for other legal offspring, and Everage would be -quite secure in his position as heir presumptive of the -barony.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alexander really looked paler, thinner, and more -cadaverous than ever! Truly in much worse health than -before! Clearly not long for this world! And if anything -should happen to the child before his father’s death, -Everage would not long be kept out of his inheritance!</p> - -<p class='c012'><em>If anything should happen to the child!</em> Dangerous, -speculation! In monarchies it is treason even to <em>imagine</em> -the death of the sovereign. And it is so with much -good reason, since such imaginings often realize themselves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It could not be treason; but it was treachery in Clarence -Everage even to imagine the removal of the little child -that stood between him and the inheritance of Killcrichtoun. -It was not only wrong but perilous for him to do so. -But it seemed as if he could not help it. Day and night -he brooded over the idea, with a morbid intensity akin to -monomania. And there was his poverty, and the pale faces -of his poor wife and little girls, to goad him on. And -there was that painful computation of pounds, shillings -and pence, that agonized straining of his soul to make his -meagre wages meet their merest wants. And now the -cruel extravagance into which his pride and sensitiveness -had betrayed him in paying for that lunch at -Véry’s had almost ruined him for this quarter. There was -now no possible way in which he could make the two ends -meet for the time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he knew, as only the experienced in such matters -can know, and he dreaded as only the proud and sensitive -can dread, the troubles that must follow—the degrading -squabbles with his landlady, the humiliating apologies to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>the butcher and the baker—nay, the sight of his wife’s -shabby dress and his little daughters’ all but bare feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he thought how different all this would be were he -the heir of Killcrichtoun, as he should be but for Alexander -Lyon’s son.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He thus “imagined” the death of the child and the -advantages that must accrue to himself in that event. -But would he have “compassed” the death of the child for -any such advantage?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Oh, no! not for Killcrichtoun, or a hundred Killcrichtouns, -would he have committed such a crime. But—he -was too prone to consider certain facts in the statistics of -population, life and death; how it was set down that more -than one half the children born, died before they had attained -the age of three years. He supposed little Lenny -to be about two years and a half old. He wondered -whether the child had passed safely through measles, -whooping-cough, scarlet fever, and all the other perilous -“ills” to which children’s “flesh is heir,” or whether he -had yet to encounter all or any of them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had gathered from Lord Killcrichtoun’s narrative -that the child lived with his mother and her friends at -the Morley House, and that he was often taken by his -nurse to walk in Trafalgar square and its vicinity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so, morning, noon, and evening, when not engaged -in his school duties or with his family, he prowled about -the neighborhood, to waylay little Lenny and his nurse, -and watch over his health.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One day, when no one else was very near, he saw Pina -and her charge together, and accosted them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you do, my little man?” he inquired, patting -Lenny on the head or rather, the hat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me not man—me itty boy,” answered Lenny, staring.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, little boy, are you? Well, how do you do, little -boy?” smiled Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me very well,—how you?” politely responded Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m very well too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me dad you very well too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You dot itty boy home?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I’ve got no little boy at home; but I have got six -little girls.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>“Sit itty dirl? Me habben dot itty dirl home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Haven’t you? what a pity!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You bin you itty dirl hee me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I’ll bring my little girls to see you,” said the -poor gentleman, turning away from the child with some -emotion, and beginning to talk with Pina,—who was looking -on and smiling with proud delight at the bright intelligence -and gracious manners of her little charge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is a very fine little fellow, nurse,” said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir, lots of ladies and gentlemen, who stop to -speak to him, say the same,” answered Pina, gazing with -satisfaction upon her little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And he is very like his father,” pursued Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, sir, I never could see the likeness myself, I’m -sure,” answered the girl resentfully, and wondering how -this stranger came to know who was little Lenny’s father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He seems to be perfectly healthy?” went on the -would-be heir presumptive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, he never had any real illness for an hour, sir. -Even when he was teething, he only ailed a little—nothing -to speak of at all, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, well, he’s like a young bear—all his troubles are -before him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, sir; then I think you are more of a bear, -yourself to be a-saying of such things! Come, master -Leonard, let us go home—mamma will be wanting us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dood-by! come hee me soon,” said Lenny, holding -out his hand to the stranger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-by, my little lad!” said Everage, pressing the -child’s offered hand as he turned away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny and his nurse went back to the Morley -House, and Everage bent his steps to the Newton Institute -for Young Gentlemen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More than one-half the children that are born alive die -before they reach the age of three years, do they? Well—clearly -this youngster belongs to the half that live! -Never has had any of those infantile disorders that slay -Infants of ‘two years old and under,’ with a massacre more -terrible than that of Herod of Galilee. Ah! but the little -fellow has them all to meet, for they are sure to come, -sooner or later; yes, but he has a fine constitution with -which to fight disease; well, but still this is certain, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>children of robust frames, full-fleshed and full-blooded, -never get over these inflammatory fevers as easily as do -those of thinner and feebler organization. These very -healthy children are exceedingly apt to go off in these -acute attacks of disease. Master Lyon, Master of Killcrichtoun, -you will have to take the risk with the rest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Such were the reflections of Everage as he bent his steps -that afternoon to the Newton Institute, and while he sat -at his desk examining boys in their Latin and Greek exercises -and algebraic and geometrical problems; and while -he sauntered sorrowfully and wearily home to his gloomy -lodgings.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he hated himself with a righteous hatred for these -evil haunting thoughts, that he had no moral power to -exorcise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From what he had heard from Lord Killcrichtoun, and -from what he had observed with his own eyes, some -things seemed very certain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As that Lord Killcrichtoun would never be legally -divorced from his first wife, and therefore would never -be free to take a second; that he would never be reconciled -to her, and therefore never have another child; -that his lordship was in a very bad way and could not -long hold the barony of Killcrichtoun; and, finally, that -little Lenny would be the future Baron of Killcrichtoun, -unless he should very soon die, or—<em>disappear</em>; and, -finally, that little Lenny was not inclined to die to please -anybody!</p> - -<p class='c012'>But there was that other alternative:—he might <em>disappear</em>—he -might disappear as children had often done before -now, he might disappear forever.</p> - -<p class='c012'>I know not at what precise time this last alternative -presented itself to the poor gentleman’s mind. But it -would not be banished, it clung to him, it tempted him, -it nearly crazed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He prowled about Trafalgar square, and waylaid little -Lenny and his nurse, and informed himself as to the -child’s haunts and habits.</p> - -<p class='c012'>If Pina never spoke of this “poor white herring,” as -she disrespectfully called him, it was because he was only -one of several persons who, passing daily at the hours -the nurse would be out with the child, would stop to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>notice him, to smile on him, or—when time permitted—to -talk to him, being charmed by his infantile beauty, -intelligence, and graciousness. And, even if the nurse -had told the mother of this stranger’s seeming partiality -for the child, the information would not have surprised -her, for to Drusilla it seemed inevitable that every one -who saw her peerless boy must be charmed and delighted -with his beauty and brightness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So unsuspected and unrestricted, Everage contrived to -see a great deal of little Lenny—a great deal more than -even his father saw of him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Alexander was entirely ignorant of these interviews, -for Pina did not love little Lenny’s father well -enough to gossip with him on that or any other subject, -or indeed to open her mouth to him with one unnecessary -word.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the poor gentleman, for his part, took good care -never to approach the child while his father happened to -be near him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In fact, of late days, Clarence Everage had seen but -little of Lord Killcrichtoun. From some latent sense of -honor or sting of conscience, the poor gentleman had -kept out of the way of the wealthy baron. Since Everage -had been speculating on the chances of the child’s death -or the practicability of his “disappearance,” he could not -bring himself to look that child’s father in the face, much -less to eat or drink with him, as had for a time been his -frequent custom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Everage brooded over the possibility of little Lenny’s -“disappearance,” as he called it, until, as I said, it -tempted, blinded, crazed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The vague dream “<em>disappearance</em>” began to shape itself -into the very distinct idea, “<span class='fss'>ABDUCTION</span>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Children had been abducted before now, for less reason -and with more difficulty than could be the case with this -child; for how great a reason, almost how just a cause, -he said to himself, had he for abducting Leonard Lyon; -and how easily, in the child’s unguarded walks, might he -be snatched up and carried off; and how completely in -crowded London might he be concealed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The idea grew and formed itself into a purpose.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXX.<br> <span class='large'>THE ABDUCTION.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In a jumbled heap of murky building.—<span class='sc'>Keats.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>There was at this time a wretched old hag who, summer -and winter, rain and shine, sat under the shadow of -St. Mary’s le Strand begging—but not audibly, for to -have done so would have broken the municipal laws, and -to have drawn the police upon her and consigned her to -the work-house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the contrary, she was ostensively peddling in a -small way. In her talon-like hands she held a bundle of -matches, which she silently tendered to every passer-by. -The matches were worthless and were not really intended -for sale, but only for a blind to the police and a cloak for -her begging; and everybody understood this as well as -she did; for though she never opened her lips to ask for -alms, every fluttering rag about her was a tongue, and -every look a voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So occasionally a passer-by would drop a half-penny in -the hand that offered the matches and then go on his -way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the great stream of people pouring through that -crowded thoroughfare usually passed without noticing -her, for the frequency of such sights, and of much worse -sights of misery, in the London streets, and the utter impossibility -of relieving them all, hardens the hearts of the -people.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the poor pity the poor. And our poor gentleman, -passing the poor beggar twice every day, pitied her—pitied -her, even though she had once picked his pocket of -his coarse white linen handkerchief, and he knew the fact -beyond a doubt. And almost every day, in passing, he -gave her a half-penny; and once a quarter, when he got -paid off, he gave her a sixpence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But in all the years in which she had sat there, and in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>which he had passed twice a day in going and returning -to and from his employment, he had never happened to -see any one else give her anything.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course he knew that she must make something by -sitting there or she would not stay; but it was so very -little and so very seldom, that he never knew it from -personal observation. And from all this he concluded -that she was deadly poor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He often wondered where she lived, how she slept, -what she ate, with whom she kept company, and who -were her kinsfolks, if she had any.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That she consorted with the lowest thieves and vagrants, -with the most desperate men and women ready -for any crime, he felt morally certain. Had she not -picked the pocket of her benefactor?</p> - -<p class='c012'>But, still he pitied her and almost justified her; for he -knew what poverty and its bitter temptations were, and -besides, while his charity was large his moral sense was -not very clear; and, poor as he was, he would have lost -every pocket-handkerchief he possessed before he would -have prosecuted this miserable old woman, or even withheld -from her the tri-weekly half-penny or the quarterly -sixpence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now, when the vague idea of “<em>disappearance</em>” shaped -itself into the distinct thought of <span class='fss'>ABDUCTION</span>, and the -thought grew into a purpose, and the purpose strengthened -into resolution, he remembered the old woman -under St. Mary’s le Strand, and believed that he could -make her subservient to his use.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One rainy day he went out at noon for the usual recess. -It was a day and an hour when there were comparatively -few passengers in the street. He went in search of the -old woman whom he found in her accustomed place, but -backed up close against the wall to secure some partial -shelter from the pelting rain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Have you no umbrella—not even an old wreck of -one?” were the first words addressed to her by Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Umberrelly? Bless the dear gentleman, I never had -a umberrelly in my life! How should the likes of me -have a umberrelly? They bees for the rich people, honey.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But your knees are getting quite wet,” said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so they is, dear gentleman, and I shall get the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>rheumatiz as sure as sure!” said the woman, taking the -cue and beginning to whine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shouldn’t be surprised if you did. Why do you sit -out here in this weather?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good gentleman, hadn’t I better sit here and sell my -matches than stay at home and starve?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sell your matches? Why, that’s the identical box of -matches you have had to sell for Heaven knows how -long, and you haven’t sold it yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is true; but, dear gentleman, I might sell them -to-day—I might sell them any time! There is no telling -when a stroke of luck might fall.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage knew she was speaking deceitfully; but he not -only found excuses for her, but he found in her words an -opening for his proposition.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said he, “you are quite right. There is no telling -when a streak of luck may fall—even this very day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has come this very day, good gentleman. Sure the -sight of your handsome face is always lucky; and it is -worth while to come out and sit in the rain for the chance -of seeing it, if one should get no other good.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The sight of my face may be lucky to others; but the -luck is only skin deep; it never strikes in to do the owner -any good,” laughed Everage, as he dropped a sixpence in -the hag’s hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! thanky, sir! Sure you’re the great binifactor of -the poor! May the Lord——” and here she began a -great string of blessings to which a bishop’s benediction -would seem a trifle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That will do. Now tell me your name. You see as -long as I have known you I have never heard it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Rooter, sir; Margaret Rooter, at your honor’s service; -born in lawful wedlock of honest parients, your worship, -and christened in this very same church as you see before -you, Sim-Merrily-Strand,<a id='r1'></a><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a> sir, as ever was.”</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c012'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. St. Mary’s le Strand.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Mother Rooter,” said the poor gentleman, dropping -his voice to a low tone, “would you do a service for -me, if it should be to your own advantage?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it would I do a service for your honor’s worship?” -said the woman, gazing on the coin in her hand and -chuckling, for she readily divined that the required service -<span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>was an unlawful one, which must be paid for handsomely -“on the nail,” and ever afterwards in the shape of -of blackmail. “And is it Margaret Rooter as you ask -will she do that service for her binnyfactor, as he has -kept her from starving this many a day? Aye, will I, -even if it is to the setting on fire of Northumberland -House, or Sim-Merrily-Strand itself. Marry come up indeed! -What has Northumberland House, or Sim-Merrily-Strand -either, ever done for the likes of me, that I should -prefer them before your honor’s worship, whose bounty -have given me many a half ounce of tea and handful of -coal? Sim-Merrily-Strand indeed!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I have no grudge against the church, or the -palace either, and wish them no harm, but all good. The -service I require of you is of another sort, but almost -equally dangerous and needing——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t care a pen’orth of gin what it needs, nor what -it don’t, no, nor yet for the danger, so as it ain’t killing -and hanging matter. I never could pluck up courage to -take a life or to risk the gallows. But as for the rest—look -here, your honor! what has the likes of a poor creature -like me to be afraid of in this world? Is it the -police? Is it the judge? Is it the jail? Lord love -your honor, the police treat me better nor my own -brothers, for they never punch my head, nor give me -black eyes! and the judge is a gentleman compared to -my landlord, for he never turned me out into the street, -as every one of them is sure to do sooner or later. And -as for the prison, it is a perfect queen’s palace, compared -to the leaky, crowded, filthy garret where I stop. Your -honor must know I have been in both and know the -differ! So as I was taking the liberty to tell your honor, -if the service is anything less than a hanging matter, I’m -your woman.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Speak lower when you do speak; but do not speak at -all when people are passing by,” said Everage, in a very -low tone, as some street passengers hurried along.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There, your honor, they have gone now. Now about -this service, your honor?” said the old woman, impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, it is no hanging matter, nor anything of the sort -But it is a secret service for all that,” replied Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>“A secret service, your honor’s worship! Ah, that is -what my heart delights in! Ah, then, I have done more -than one secret service for gentlemen of the highest rank! -aye, and for ladies too, bless them! and got well paid for -them besides! enough money to have kept me in clover -all my life, only it always got stole from me by the -wretches in the house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, you must take better care of the money which -I shall pay you. But what was the nature of these secret -services of which you speak.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, your honor’s worship, if I were to tell you that -they wouldn’t be a secret any longer, and neither would -you trust such an old blabber as me with <em>your</em> secrets,” -said the old woman, leering wickedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is so,” said Everage; “and, besides, this is no -place for carrying on a private conversation. Here comes -another group of people quite close.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The group came and passed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, then, Mother Rooter, tell me where you live, if -you have no objection, and whether I can find you at home -if I come to you this evening, so that we may arrange -this affair,” said Everage, as soon as the coast was again -clear.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it where I live your honor asks me? That’s a -good ’un! Do you call it living? this life I lead. No, -your honor, it is not living, it is lingering.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where, then, do you linger?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, sir, I draws my breath and stretches my -bones in the back attic of No. 9 Blood Alley, Burke -Lane, Black Street, Blackfriars Road. All B’s, your -honor. You can remember it by that. The house is -Number Nine. They keep a bone and grease shop in the -cellar, and rags and bottles on the first floor, and all the -rest of the house is let to lodgers, all poor, but I -the poorest, your worship.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And shall I come to you there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If your worship will do me the honor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But the house, which seems from your description to -be a tenement house of the worst order——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Aye, you may say that, your worship,” interrupted -the old woman; “but what is a poor body to do?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was about to observe that the house would be full, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>crowded, so much so that perhaps even your own back -attic has other tenants.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so it has, your honor’s worship.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In which case I do not see how I am to have an opportunity -of speaking to you in private there more than -here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, dear gentleman, if you come at nine o’clock, you’ll -catch me alone. Sure they’ll all be out then on their -tramps, and they won’t be in much before morning. And -sure your honor’s worship might even trust them, seeing -as they’re all my own family, and would be fast as -fast and safe as safe in any secret service as I might undertake. -And your honor knows best whether you -mightn’t want their aid too, in sommut where they might -be of use. I don’t know yet what your service is, your -honor. You haven’t told me yet. But I know I am an ole -’oman, your honor’s worship, and might want help, in -case the service might require strength, like the breaking -into a house and the bringing off of a dockerment or a -young lady.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is none of these things, as you might have judged, -else I should not have come. Yet it is akin to one supposition -that you have advanced; and you really may -want help. Who are the people that share your attic -room and your confidence? But, hush! here come some -of the other passengers; wait till they have gone.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The two conspirators were silent for a moment, and then, -when they had their corner to themselves again, Everage -repeated his question, and the old woman answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who are they? you ask me, sir. Well, there is, first -of all, my two brothers, as honest, trusty lads——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘As ever scuttled ship, or cut a throat,’” suggested -Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, that they are, sir; and so you’ll find them,” said -the old woman, who did not understand, or, perhaps, did -not distinctly hear the quotation,—“honest and trusty, -and true and good.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Although they knock your head about?” observed -Everage, who had not forgotten that piece of news.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, your worship, that was drink; it wasn’t to say -<em>them</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ay! ‘when the wine’s in the wit’s out,’ I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span>“Just so, your honor; though it’s precious little wine -they gets, poor souls. It’s most in general beer, or, if -they’re in luck, gin.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Aye, to be sure! Well, if they serve me faithfully, -they and you shall be kept in gin the rest of your lives.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, your honor’s worship’s reverence, that would be -heavenly,” exclaimed Mrs. Rooter, with enthusiasm. -“They’ll be true to you, sir—they’ll be true to you till -death do you part, and arterwards, sir! <em>and arterwards</em>; -for I never could see the good of being true till death and -then turning false to you arter you’re dead, or arter they -are.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, to be sure. But about these brothers of yours,—are -they the only persons, or are there any others who -share your attic?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, yes, sir; there’s my grand-darter Meg, as honest -and truthful a gal as ever——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Picked a pocket, or told a falsehood.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir, she don’t, nor she wouldn’t do nyther the one -nor yet the other—not even in the way of business, as -many an honest tradesman do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But that’s rather hard on the honest tradesman, is it -not?” smiled Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Gurr-r-r!” exclaimed the old woman, grinning and -showing her snags of teeth. “Gurr-r-r! They hunt us -poor creatures away from their shops and stalls, accusing -of us of prowling about to see what we can pick up, when -all they theirselves is a doing of the gentlefolks to no -end! Don’t tell me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But about this girl? Is she—your granddaughter—and -her uncles, the only inmates of your attic chamber?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, your honor, the onliest ones, and quite to be -depended on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well, then, I will look in at your place at nine -o’clock this evening.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And much good may it do your honor and us, too. -The Lord bless you, sir. But mind and don’t forget, your -honor’s reverence, the four B’s and Number Nine.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will not forget. I have it down in my note-book.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, as another bevy of foot-passengers came hurrying -along the sidewalk, Everage left the crone and -went on his way.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>At a few minutes past eight, Clarence Everage found -himself prowling down Blackfriars’ Road in search of a -street that I have called Black street; but which, in fact, -is very unfavorably known to the police under another -name.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He found it at length; and looking down its cavernous -mouth, he thought of Doré’s picture of the entrance to the -infernal regions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He shuddered as he turned into Black street, and followed -its windings down into a labyrinth of dark and -lurid lanes and alleys, from which sunlight and fresh air -must have been almost totally excluded, even at noonday.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here every sense and sentiment was shocked and revolted. -The streets were narrow and murky, muddy and -filthy. The houses were old and shattered, and bent forward -towards each other till the eaves of the roofs almost -met overhead, shutting out much of the light and the air -that might have visited the accursed place. The sides of -the houses were disfigured by broken and stained window -sashes filled up with old rags and hats, and by foul and -dilapidated doorways, occupied, for the most part, by rum-stupefied -men and women, and by neglected and drowsy -children. Those groups were generally in semi-obscurity -but here and there a street lamp from without, or a dim -candle from within, lighted up their misery.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heavens and earth!” thought Everage, holding his -handkerchief to his mouth and nose as he threaded his way -through the mazes of this Gehenna in search of Blood -Alley and Burke Lane, “these must be the waste pipes of -all London’s crime, disease and miseries; and yes, by my -life, this is the sink!” he added, stopping in the very -center of the labyrinth before Number Nine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The house was taller, older, dirtier, and more dilapidated -than any he had yet seen. It leaned forward as if ambitious -of meeting and saluting its leaning opposite neighbor, -and it looked as if it were in danger of toppling down in -the attempt.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Here also the doorway was foul and broken, and crowded -with drunken and dirty men and women.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage inquired of this group if this was Number -Nine, and if Mother Rooter lived here.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They stared at him for a minute without replying, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>then all burst out laughing, while one woman called to -some one within the passage:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hallo, Meg, come here! Here’s a gentleman a-wanting -of Mistress Rooter. He have come with the queen’s -compliments to her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>A brown-skinned, black-haired, bare-legged gipsy of -about fourteen years old came out of the obscurity, and -accosted Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Be thou the gentleman as grannam was a-looking -for?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If your grandam is Mrs. Rooter,—yes,” answered -Everage scrutinizing the girl, and recognizing her from -the description given by the crone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come along then,” said Meg, leading the way through -passages and up staircases more foul and nauseating to -sight and smell than even the middle of the streets had -been—for the streets do sometimes get washed off by -rain, whereas these tenement-house passages seem never -to have that advantage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage followed his guide up four flights of stairs, noticing, -as he passed along the halls of each floor, through -the open or half-open doors, heart-sickening and revolting -sights of vice and misery within the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the top of the last flight of stairs himself and his -young guide reached the attic landing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She beckoned and led him to a door, which she opened.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He followed her into a back room, with a low, sloping -ceiling. It was wretchedly furnished, or rather bare of -furniture,—a bed which was a mere heap of foul rags, a -shaky little wooden table, a rickety chair, a rusty iron -kettle, and a cracked tea-cup and saucer were the only -means and appliances of comfort or necessity there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The only person in the room was old Mother Rooter, -who was squatted on the only chair, with her elbows on -her knees and her head in her hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She got up to meet her visitor, and gave him her chair, -saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are very welcome to my poor place, kind gentleman. -Sit down, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she seated herself on the side of the bed, that he -might not hesitate to take the chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He looked at the proffered seat, and took from his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>pocket a newspaper, and spread over the bottom of the -chair before sitting down on it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, sir, I see—you gentlefolks blame us a deal for being -dirty, but how can we help it? We can’t get bread -enough to eat; and where are we to get the extra penny -to buy a bit of soap to wash ourselves and our houses, or -the horn-comb to red up our hair, not to say the sixpence -to buy a broom. Ah, sir, you gentlefolks should know -what you are a-talking on before you blame us, poor -creatures, for dirt.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am not blaming you,” said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, to change the subject, he remarked:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are very high up here; you are high up in the -world in one sense, if you are not in another.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, yes, sir! but what am I to do? The garret or -the cellar is the choice us poor creatures has to make. -All the house between them is too dear for the likes of -us. And be the same token, there’s little to choose atween -them. It’s hard on an ole ’oman like me to live -up here; and when, of an evening, I’m a-panting up all -these stairs,—sir, there’s ninety on ’em,—steps, I mean—I -know it to my sorrow, for I have counted on ’em often, -as I panted up ’em, and stopped on every landing to catch -my breath,—well, sir, I often think it would be better to -live in a cellar. But then, I thinks, as once I <em>did</em> live in -a cellar and catch the rheumatism by it. So on the -whole, I says to myself, it is better to climb and to pant -nor to lie flat on my back and groan.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And your choice was a very wise one. But listen: -if you are faithful to me in the service you have undertaken -to perform, you shall live in a first-floor front of -any such a house as this, until I shall be better able to -provide for you—which I certainly shall be, if you should -be successful and faithful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless your honor! I will be faithful as faithful. But -you haven’t told me yet what the service is agoing to be.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I came here to-night to tell you, and I will tell you -now—but, is the coast clear?” anxiously inquired Everage, -looking around and seeing that the girl, Meg, at least -had disappeared, and that himself and the crone were -alone or seemed to be so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” answered Mrs. Rooter, “the coast is clear. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>My brothers have not left the house though, because I -hinted to ’em as they might light upon a job.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are they, then?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Up on the leads. I sent them there to wait your -honor’s pleasure. And there they shall stay till your -honor bids me call them down. If so be you would -rather trust the business to me alone, I will, if I can, do -it alone and they shall never know anything of it; but -if your honor chooses to trust ’em, which I make bold -to say—they are just trusty as trusty—why I’ll go call -them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go and call them—I will take a look at them, at all -events,” said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The beldam went out into the passage, and climbed a -ladder leading to the open trap-door of the roof, and summoned -her brothers; and presently their heavy steps -came lumbering down the ladder; and she brought them -into the presence of Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were two ill-looking fellows enough, somewhere -between forty and fifty years of age.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The elder was tall, sallow, black-haired and black-eyed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The younger was short and thick-set, with broad -shoulders, bull neck and bullet head covered with a thick -shock of red hair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Both men were in rags.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They came and stood before Everage and pulled their -forelocks by way of salutation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my men, are you to be trusted in a service the -faithful performance of which will accrue to your own -profit?” inquired Everage, as he scanned his “tools.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now the only ideas the ruffians gained from this speech -was that there were secret services required, for which -money was to be paid. So one of them, the dark one, replied:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What we undertakes to do, your honor, that we does -faithful. But it depends on what the service is, and how -it pays, whether we undertakes it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if we undertakes it, we performs it faithful,” -added the other, the red one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then, Mother Rooter, secure the door; and now all -gather around me. You two men, and you, mother, sit -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>upon the bedside, and bend close to me as I sit upon the -chair before you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The three arranged themselves as their employer -directed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he, stooping towards them, and they towards him, -so that all their mischief-brewing heads were together, -began in a low whisper to unfold his plans. He came immediately -to the point.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is a child to be carried off,” he said, and then -waited for the effect of his words. He saw that they were -rather stunning even to these reckless villains.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A child to be carried off, your honor! that’s not over -easy nor yet over safe,” said the dark ruffian.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nor are you ever paid handsomely for jobs that are -over easy and over safe! But I can tell you one thing—it -is not over difficult nor over dangerous.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is it from a house, your honor?” inquired the dark -ruffian.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, from the streets.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Carry off a child from the crowded streets of London, -your honor? That seems to be impossible,” put in the -red ruffian.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hold your tongue, Roger,” said his black brother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, don’t go quarrel before the gentleman! Manners -is manners. If so be, you’re decent men, behave as -sich!” put in the crone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I only said it was impossible to carry off a child from -the streets of London; and I’ll not deceive the gentleman. -I’ll stick to it, as it is,” persisted Red Roger, who was -called thus by his “pals.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will find that it is very easy. I have studied it -out and matured a plan that must be perfectly successful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let us hear it, your honor,” said the black one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, listen,” whispered Everage, in a very low voice. -“This child is about two years and a half old. He is the -child of foreign parents who know not much of English -life. He is sent out with his nurse, a black girl who -wears a plaid turban instead of a bonnet; you may know -her by that. He is sent out with this girl morning and -evening of every fair day. She is a fool, and she takes him -about Trafalgar square and up and down the street, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>to St. Mary le Strand and along Fleet Street. And they -stop and gaze in the shop windows, and stand with the -crowd around every organ-grinder and monkey, and especially -around every Punch and Judy. This is my plan. -I will take an opportunity to point out the nurse and -child to Mother Rooter. She can afterwards point them -out to you. Once having seen them, you cannot possibly -mistake them. Are you attending to me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“With all our ears, sir,” answered the black villain, -while the red one nodded emphatically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then listen! when you have once seen this nurse and -child, you must watch for them, and arrange something -like this manœuvre between you: One must be the abductor, -the other must be the assistant. The one who is -to carry off the child must have in his pocket a bottle of -chloroform. Do you know what that is?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t we, sir? It has saved the slitting of many a -windpipe!” chuckled the red wretch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well. Let the one who is to carry off the child -take a bottle of chloroform, which I will provide; also a -dark shawl. Then watch until you see the child and nurse -standing in some crowd around a street show. Then, the -abductor must keep very near the child, having the shawl -and the chloroform at hand. The assistant may then go -farther up or down the street and at the right moment -raise the hue and cry of ‘Stop thief!’ and lead the chase -up or down the street towards the crowd in which the -child stands. Then let him who is to carry off the child -uncork his chloroform and have it ready, snatch up the -child, throw the shawl quickly over his head, and run -with the rest, shouting ‘Stop thief!’ at the top of his -voice; but all the time letting the fumes of the chloroform -escape within the folds of the shawl, so as to overpower -the child and render him incapable of struggling or calling -out.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it might kill the baby, and that would be murder -and we don’t want nothink to do with sich at no price,” -objected the black scamp.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you think, Bill, as the gentleman would ax us to -do murder? I don’t. True, there might be a accident -from chloroform, as there often bees to the ’ospitals, but -that wouldn’t be murder,” said Red Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span>“You’d find as the jury would bring it in murder,” -answered Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is no sort of danger. I will only put enough of -the stuff in the bottle to quiet the child, and not enough -even to make him insensible. Besides am I not as responsible -for the thing as you are?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, your honor knows best!” said the black scamp.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now let me go on. As soon as the child is quiet, -leave the rushing crowd that your brother is still leading -with his cry of ‘stop thief;’ leave it leisurely, and take -the nearest cut for Blackfriars’ Road and your mother’s, -no, sister’s room, here. Here you may conceal him until -I can take him off your hands. Do you understand this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, your honor. But now, how about the pay?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You shall have five pounds each down, as soon as I see -the child in your hands. You shall have all the jewelry -that you find on his person, which, as I have seen pearls -and turquoise among them, may amount to as much more, -or twice as much more. And finally, when I shall reap -the advantage that I expect from this child’s disappearance, -you shall have a comfortable income from me for -the rest of your lives.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The men wrangled and haggled with their employer -for a higher price for their crime, and after much dispute -obtained their own terms—ten pounds each down and a -crown a week for keeping the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After this, Everage left the house, promising to see -Mother Rooter at her stall the next day and every day, -until he should have a chance of pointing out the boy and -nurse to her, that she might afterwards show them to her -brothers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage kept his word, and the next morning stopped -on his way to his school, to leave a bottle of chloroform -on Mother Rooter’s stand, and to watch for the possible -appearance of little Lenny and his nurse, on their morning -walk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The demon helped Everage to wonderful luck, for presently -came Pina leading little Lenny, by the hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They passed quite close to where the crone squatted -and Everage stood. They seemed to be going up Fleet -street, upon some little shopping errand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage turned his back upon them until they had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>passed and had their backs to him. Then he touched the -beldam and pointed them out to her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There they are. Shall you know them again?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, I’d know ’em among a hundred! That black -gal, with the plaid turban on her head, isn’t easy forgot, -nor yet the beautiful boy, with all that finery about him! -which it’s a world’s wonder I never noticed of ’em before!” -said the beldam.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You would not have noticed them now, perhaps, if I -hadn’t pointed them out.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, maybe not, to be sure. I don’t commonly look -after children and nursemaids.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you will remember them now, and take the first -opportunity of pointing them out to your brothers.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll bet you! Beg your honor’s pardon. One or -t’other on ’em will be here morning and evening until I -gets a chance to show ’em. And be the same token, here -comes Bill now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So he does; well, keep him here till the nurse and -child return; they will have to come back this way; and -then you can point them out to him. And now my time -is up,” said the poor gentleman, looking at his gold repeater, -a family heirloom, the sole relic of better days that -had not yet been dedicated to the necessities of his wife -and children; but was destined soon to be sacrificed to -raise money to pay the instruments of his meditated crime.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage then hurried away to his school duties, leaving -the beldam and her accomplice to carry out his instructions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As you, of course, already know, the plot was accomplished.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny was carried off in the manner planned by -Everage; and afterwards described by Pina.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was a brave little fellow, and when he saw a great -crowd of people rushing on and crying, “Stop thief;” -and when he felt himself caught up in the arms of a -strange man, and hurried along with the rest, he only -supposed some frolic was afoot, and he laughed and -shouted, “Top Teef!” with all the strength of his baby -lungs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But soon the fumes of the chloroform overpowered him, -and his head dropped on the shoulder of his captor.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>Black Bill, keeping the old shawl over the child, taking -his way through the darkened streets and lanes, at length -bore his prize safely to Number Nine, Blood Alley.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He hurried up-stairs to the attic room and placed the -still unconscious child in the arms of the beldam, who -was there seated in her only chair.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There, Peg! uncover him quick and do some’at to -bring the life back to him,” said Black Bill, a little nervously, -as he himself with eager hands helped to relieve -the boy of the shawl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Meg!” called the crone to her granddaughter, “fetch -a cup of water here. Bill, run and fetch a little rum.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg, who was idling about the place, ran and fetched -a cup of water from the nearest room-neighbor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mother Rooter dipped her fingers in the cup and sprinkled -it in the boy’s face. The air had already half revived -him, and the water completed the work. With a gasp -and a sneeze the little fellow awoke.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They gathered around him, those wretches, like a pack -of wolves around a lamb.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One tore off his pearl and turquoise necklace; another -seized his hat and feather; another his sash; another his -jeweled armlets. What a prize!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXXII.<br> <span class='large'>LITTLE LENNY’S ADVENTURES.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in20'>Oh! ’tis a peerless boy,</div> - <div class='line'>Fearless, ingenuous, courteous, capable:</div> - <div class='line'>He’s all the mother’s, from the top to toe.—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Was little Lenny frightened when he woke up and -found himself in that strange and wretched garret, closely -surrounded by new and terrible faces?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not at all. Neither by nature nor by training was the -baby-boy a coward. The child of many generations of -heroes had inherited no craven fears; the cherished darling -of the household had been taught none.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In a word, he was a plucky little fellow, afraid of neither -man, beast or devil.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>And there was still another reason why on this occasion -he was not afraid. For if, as it has been written by -the prince of poets, “<em>music</em> hath charms to soothe the -savage breast,” how much more hath beautiful and gracious -childhood?</p> - -<p class='c012'>The wretched men and women, gathered around this -pretty boy, looked on him, not with ferocious faces, but -with smiles; and not with the deceitful smiles whose insincerity -a child will detect more quickly than an adult -can, but real, heartfelt smiles, called up by seeing among -them “something better than they had known.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yes, even while they were wresting from him his little -treasures of finery and jewelry, they did it with an expression -of eagerness rather than of ferocity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And little Lenny gazed on them, turning his blue eyes -from one to another, not in fear, but in wonder and curiosity. -Sometimes he was so much amused by their excitement -that he laughed aloud.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he was as a little prince, king, or god among these -poor creatures, and he knew it. For when Red Roger -unclasped and snatched his elegant pearl and turquoise -necklace from his neck, he suddenly put out his chubby -hand and snatched it back—so suddenly and unexpectedly -that he actually gained possession of it again before the -slow and lumbering brute could prevent him. And after -he did so he fixed his eyes indignantly upon the thief, -and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Man! how dare you tate ’hings ’out leave?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And it was delicious to see the air of authority and -confidence with which the baby-boy put this question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And why not? Had he not been permitted to rule -over his mother and cousins, and even over his godfather, -the veteran General, who was the greatest man <em>he</em> knew -in the world? and should he not rule over these poor -creatures? And besides, I think that Master Leonard -Lyon, while inheriting all the graces and virtues of his -ancient house, inherited some of its faults as well, and -among the latter that inordinate pride of caste which is -so very objectionable in this republican age, and that he -looked upon this order of human creatures as rather lower -in the scale of being than well-bred cattle. So, captive -and helpless as he was, he looked around upon them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>with queerly mixed feelings of wonder, mirth, pity and -disapprobation, but without a particle of fear.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As for the red-haired ruffian, he was so astonished by -the words and actions of the baby-boy, that he could but -open his mouth and eyes and stare. He did not attempt -to recover the necklace; but of course he knew that the -child and his jewels were both in his power all the same.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny, after staring at him for a moment and receiving -no answer to his unanswerable question, turned to the -gipsy-looking girl and asked:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What you name, dirl?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Meg,” answered the girl, smiling kindly on the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met, you tate dis and teep it for Lenny. Me name -Lenny,” he said, handing her the necklace.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg looked up in doubt and fear to the face of her red-haired -relative, and meeting his eye, and seeing him nod -and wink at her, she slipped the necklace into her bosom, -and answered the child, calling herself by the name he -had given her:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, pretty! Met will keep it for Lenny. (Yes, and I -will, too, if I can,”) she added, in a lower tone. But she -probably knew also that the jewels must pass back into -the custody of the red-haired ruffian before the night -should be over.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Lenny’s attention was instantly called away to -another quarter. In fact, he needed to be constantly on -the alert to prevent himself from being stripped and -skinned by the thieves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You ’top, <em>man</em>!” he indignantly exclaimed to Black -Bill, who was stealing the pearl and turquoise armlets -from his sleeve. “Div Lenny back, minute!” he cried, -making a snatch at the jewels.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Black Bill probably felt safe in relinquishing his prizes, -for the time being; for as soon as he restored them to -Lenny, the child passed them over to the appointed keeper -of the jewels, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met, teep dem too for Lenny.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the girl, with a smile, put them also in her bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But presently this chosen servant seemed turning traitor -to her little lord, for while his attention was for a moment -called off elsewhere, he felt hands at work upon his -pretty little blue kid gaiters, with their gold buttons.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>“’Top dat, <em>Met</em>! ’Top it! <em>Met</em>! What you pull off my -hoos for? Me not do bed. ’Top it, <em>Met</em>!” he cried, this -time less in anger than in anguish to see such treachery -in a trusted servant.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh! I want ’em so bad! so bad! Won’t you give -’em to me? Won’t Lenny give ’em to Met?” pleaded -the girl, in a wheedling tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You want my hoos?” inquired Lenny, pitifully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, so bad! I have got no shoes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You dot no hoos?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, den, me div you mine. Tate off! tate off! Me -dot more hoos home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl took them off. And this must be said in excuse -for her, that she was acting under the orders and -under the eyes of her tyrannical and unscrupulous -uncles.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now put on <em>you</em> feet! Put on! put on!” insisted -Lenny, stooping over and looking at Meg’s sturdy naked -limbs. “But my hoos too ittle for you feet. You feet -so bid,” he added, in astonishment, at the size of Meg’s -“understanding.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never mind, I can change ’em for a bigger pair,” answered -the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before Lenny could reply again, he was accosted by the -beldam, who held him on her lap and who had got possession -of his elegant little white satin hat, with its plume -of white marabout feathers fastened with a cluster of diamonds.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And may I have this, my pretty, pretty bird?” she -asked, holding it up to view.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You dot no bonnet?” he inquired compassionately.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, my pretty little angel, I’ve got no bonnet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Den you have Lenny hat—Doosa div Lenny more hat. -Put on, put on!” he exclaimed, impatiently seizing his -beautiful and costly cap, and trying to decorate with it -the horrible head of the old hag.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was permitted to complete his purpose, to the -unbounded mirth of the group who all burst into loud -laughter at the ludicrous effect produced.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When this ebullition had somewhat subsided, Lenny -bestowed his sash upon Meg, his tiny pocket-handkerchief -<span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>on one man, and his little gloves on another; and -then he said, with an air of relief:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, dat all—Lenny dot no more div! Now Lenny -want do home see Doosa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He said this with so much confidence, yet with so -much uneasiness and longing that they all pitied him. -The old woman asked:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who is Doosa, my little angel?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa id Doosa—Lenny Doosa—Lenny pretty Mamma -Doosa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“His mother,” said one of the men, in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, for a few moments, nobody knew what to -say.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny was the first to speak:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tate me home now see Doosa. Met, I do ’id you—you -tate me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg was confounded for a few moments, and then her -mother-wit came to her aid, and she answered:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Doosa is coming here herself to take Lenny -home.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa tome here, tate Lenny home?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, and Lenny must be a good boy till Doosa comes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa say so?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Doosa say so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Den Lenny will—” he said, gaping, and adding:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny so sleepy! me so sleepy!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, lay on its old grannam breast, and go to -sleep, my little angel,” said the old woman, gathering him -up to her bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no, no! lay on Met lap. Met dit Lenny seep,” -he said, wriggling himself away from the crone, and going -up to Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What girl does not doat on little children? What -girl, under these circumstances, would not have met the -baby’s advances with delight?</p> - -<p class='c012'>The poor young daughter of thieves and beggars took -the child up in her arms and looked around for a seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, if you have got to nurse him, I will give -you my chair,” said the old woman, rising and throwing -herself down upon the bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg took the seat and arranged the drowsy child comfortably -on her lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>“Wock me! wock me, Met,” said little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were no rockers on the rickety chair, but Meg -moved her body backwards and forwards, and so gave -the baby the best rocking she could.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now sin’ to me, Met.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg looked perplexed at this request, for a moment, -but soon recovered herself. Fortunately, Mother Goose’s -melodies are the common property of infant humanity, -from the royal palace to the rag-picker’s hut, and Meg -struck up the nursery-classic—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“By, Baby-Bunting!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>She had a very sweet voice, which certainly soothed -the child, for he listened in drowsy delight. He well -understood that he himself was the Baby-Bunting in -question. But when she sang the next line:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Popper’s gone a-hunting.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>He opened his sleepy eyes and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no; me dot no popper!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never mind; some Baby-Buntings have—”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Mommer’s gone a-milking.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no; Lenny mammer don’t go miltin’! <em>Dane</em> do -miltin’, and <em>Mawy</em>, and <em>Suzy</em>—down home in tountry. -And Lenny do wid ’em too—see milt tow,” he exclaimed, -quite waking up, as the memory of the rural pleasures of -Old Lyon Hall flashed over his mind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, never mind; some mommers do, you know—”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sister’s gone a silking.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny ain’t dot no sister—not one,” he said.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Brother’s gone to get a skin</div> - <div class='line'>To wrap my Baby-Bunting in—</div> - <div class='line'>A pretty little rabbit skin,</div> - <div class='line'>To wrap my Baby-Bunting in.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no; Lenny ain’t dot no brudder. <em>Dit</em> do after -yabbits,” said Lenny, very drowsily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was almost asleep, and the girl continued her chanting: -<span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>but presently as his eyes were about closing, he suddenly -started up:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What does my pretty want?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When Doosa tomes, wate me up.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, that I will.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dood night, Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good night, little angel!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tiss me first, Met; tiss Lenny dood-night, Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl stooped and kissed the child almost passionately, -and murmured:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who could hurt him, the darling?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Lenny’s eyelids were weighed down with sleep, -and he was almost gone again, when, once more he called:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met, I fordot to say my p’ayers. Hear me say my -p’ayers, Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And heavy with sleep as he was, he slipped off her lap, -knelt down at her knee, and folded his little hands, and -bowed his little head, and opened his baby-mouth, in “the -simplest form of words that infant-lips can try:”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c004'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Now I ’ay me down to s’eep,</div> - <div class='line'>P’ay de Lord my soul to teep;</div> - <div class='line'>If I die before I wate,</div> - <div class='line'>P’ay de Lord my soul to tate.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>This was the little evening prayer that had been taught -him, with much trouble, by his mother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was uttered now in a place and among people who -had probably never heard a prayer before.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yet, perhaps, no purer orisons from priest or prelate -arose to the throne of the Most High that night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now me done. Now me do s’eep,” said Lenny, drowsily, -climbing up to Meg’s lap and putting his arms around -her neck and nestling his head upon her bosom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless the darling!” said the girl, as she gathered him -closer and supported him comfortably.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And again he was almost asleep, when again he started -up and called out again:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is it now, my pretty?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t you fordet to wate me up when mamma Doosa -tomes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>“No, I won’t, my pretty.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now I do s’e p, sure ’nough. Dood night, Met.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good night, little angel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“More tiss.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She stooped and pressed her lips to his baby lips again.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He opened his drowsy eyes to look at her and say:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny love Met.” And with the words in his mouth -he fell fast asleep.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Meg continued to rock him with a gentle motion -and sing to him in a soothing tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Meanwhile the old woman lay resting on her bed, and -the two men sat drinking at the rickety table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’d better take them things to Old Israel and get -’em out’n the way in case of accident; and mind what he -gives you for ’em. Them’s rale jewels, if <em>I</em> know anythink -about rale jewels,” said the old woman from her -bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Which you don’t. Not the least. But them’s rale, -sure enough; because it ain’t possible as a rich lady, rolling -in gold, would go for to put her onliest child into imitation -trash,” said Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well then you had better go and make sure on ’em. -There’ll be a hue and cry next.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is a hue and a cry now, I shouldn’t wonder; -only it won’t come down our way.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, anyhow, why don’t you go and take the things -to the Jew?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because we must wait here for the gentleman. I -saw him on the Strand arter Bill carried off the child. -He said he was coming to settle to-night,” said Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“One of you can stay here to see him and the other -can go and sell the jewels.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not if we know it,” laughed both the brothers, speaking -at once.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We want to stay here together to see the gentleman -and get the money,” said Red Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So we can have fair play and diwide it, equal, share -and share alike,” added Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And then we wants to go together to Israel’s to sell -the jewels and get the price,” pursued Red Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So we can diwide the same fair and equal,” added -Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>By this it will seem that there was no “honor among -thieves” in this case. Neither would trust the other.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here he is now,” said Roger as a step was heard upon -the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A few moments after, there was a rap at the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Black Bill opened it and admitted Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have got the child?” he eagerly demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But before any one could reply, his eyes fell upon little -Lenny sleeping on the girl Meg’s lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, as your honor sees, we’ve got him fast enough,” -answered Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage approached the sleeping child and gazed in -his tranquil face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Did he cry much?” he inquired, in a subdued tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cry?” laughed Black Bill. “‘Cry?’—Lord love -you, sir, no! He thought it was a frolic, and he whooped -‘stop thief’ with the lustiest on ’em till the clooryfum -quieted of him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But when he was brought here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, he was asleep then.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heaven!” exclaimed Everage, fairly jumping -off his feet with fright, “has he been in that state ever -since?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord bless your honor, no, sir! He woke up bright -as a skylark the minute we flung water in his face.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And <em>then</em> was he frightened? Did he cry for his -mother?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord love you, no, sir! Never see such a plucky little -cove. He scolded us men, and he petted Meg, and he -put his precious little cap on the old woman’s head. -Such a figure it made of her—ha! ha! ha!—ho! ho! ho!” -laughed both brothers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then he was not terrified or distressed?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>He</em> terrified or distressed! You ought to have heard -how he ordered us all around until he got sleepy, and -then he insisted on Meg’s rocking him to sleep. And -she did it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has he had his supper?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, your honor. He didn’t ask for no supper. Why, -sir, his hands were full of buns when I snatched him up -and run off with him,” said Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>“But if he wakes up hungry, what have you got to -give him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, unless the poor woman has a bit of bread and -a lump of cheese, I don’t know as there’s anything else.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought so. I must go out and buy him some milk. -Where can I find any hereabouts?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, sir, there’s a shop at the corner of the next -street where they sells it. But, master, how about the -pay?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you shall have it,” said Everage, taking out his -old portmonnaie and drawing from its interior three ten -pound notes, the price of his valuable jeweled gold watch -and chain, his own seal ring, a costly microscope that had -once been his delight, and other sacred treasures spared -from sacrifice till now.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I promised you ten pounds each, I think. Here they -are.” And he handed a note to each of his confederates.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now,” he said, “I must go and get some milk -for the child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will go, your worship,” said Roger.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well. I shall thank you. Here is a sixpence,” -said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If your honor pleases, I must buy a mug or summit -to fetch it in.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here is another sixpence. And now make haste. I -want to see the child comfortable before I leave him to-night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, your honor; I’ll be back in no time,” said -Roger, starting out of the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But—where are you going to lay him?” inquired Everage, -glancing at the old woman’s foul bed with a visible -shudder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, your honor, it’s all right. He shall sleep with -me,” said the crone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I would rather he should not. Can’t he sleep -with the girl?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But she shares my bed, your honor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Have you no other bedding?” he inquired, glancing -around the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lord love you, sir, where would the likes of us get it? -No, your honor, you see all we have.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where do the men sleep?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>“La, sir, anywheres or nowheres! most in general nowheres! -If so be they happen to be at home a night -they just fling themselves down onto the floor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” sighed the poor gentleman, “I suppose there -in no help for it to-night, and he must sleep as he can, -but to-morrow I must get some clean bedding for his -use. I wish you to take good care of the little fellow -for the few hours or days he will be with you; but I -must get him out of the country as soon as possible.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With Everage “as soon as possible” meant as soon as -by any means he could raise the money to do so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please, sir——” began Meg, in a timid voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, my girl, what is it?” inquired Everage, turning -and looking at her, and thinking what a fine frank face -was hers, notwithstanding that she was the child and companion -of thieves and outcasts.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you please, sir, I would not lay him on that bed. -He ain’t hardened to it, and he could not sleep, sir. It is -full of bugs,” said Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But what’s to be done? You can’t hold him in your -arms all night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Deed I’d sooner do it, sir, than see him eat up alive. -But please, sir, if so be I might make so bold——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, yes, to be sure. Go on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>—“The shops is all open yet, sir, and if so be as you -could send out and buy him a little clean blanket—a -coarse one would do—I could make him a pallet in the -corner of the room and cover him over with his own little -mantle,” said Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well thought of, my girl. How much will it take to -buy?” required Everage, for his funds were very, -very low.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A crown would do it—maybe less.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can you do this errand for me, my man?” inquired -Everage, turning to Black Bill.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If your honor wills; but it will take seven shillings at -the least,” said the ruffian.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage produced the required amount and handed it -ever to the man, who arose and lounged out of the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now I must not forget this,” said Everage, picking -up a bundle he had brought in with him, unrolling it, and -displaying a full suit of baby’s clothing, including the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>night gown, all of the cheapest and plainest material, faded -and patched, but perfectly clean: for it belonged to his own -little two-year-old Clara, and had been privately taken -from his wife’s bureau drawer. “He must not remain in -his fine clothes lest he should be accidentally seen. Put -this night-gown on him to-night, and to-morrow dress him -in this suit; and be sure to hide away or destroy the others. -Do you understand?” he inquired, as he passed the bundle -over to Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, please, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The door opened and the two brothers came in together—Black -Bill, with a small, coarse, cradle-blanket on his -arm; and Red Roger, with a mug in his hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage himself took the purchases from them, and gave -them into the keeping of the girl, whom he trusted more -than all the rest of the gang.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he waited until he saw Meg undress the child and -put it in his clean, patched night-gown, while little Lenny -slept heavily the sleep of fatigue through the whole process.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, if you will hold him on your knees half a minute, -I’ll spread his pallet,” said the girl, laying the child on the -lap of Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as his pallet was prepared, she took him, still -sleeping, and laid him on it, covering him over with his -own little mantle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you’d better keep the milk handy so as to give it -to him to drink if he should wake hungry or thirsty,” -said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir, I will. I will just fling myself down on the -floor by his pallet, and take care of him, sir,” replied Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you shall not go unrewarded for your care of him,” -said the poor gentleman loftily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, having given his confederates an extra caution -in regard to the child, and promised, or rather threatened, -to look in the next night, Everage left the house and -bent his steps homeward.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Surely little Lenny’s guardian angel inspired poor Meg -that night. She laid herself down on the bare boards -beside his pallet, and resting her head upon her bent arm, -with her face towards the child, watched him until she -became too drowsy to keep her eyes open; and even then -<span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span>she slept like a watch dog, on the alert, and at the slightest -motion of her charge she would wake up to see if he -wanted water, or milk, or to spread the mantle over him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Lenny slept soundly until morning.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At his usual time of waking, a little after sunrise, he -opened his eyes. At first he stared around himself in -utter bewilderment. Then he saw Meg bending over him, -and he recognized her face, and he remembered the incidents -of the preceding night.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why didn’t you, Met?” he inquired, looking reproachfully -in her face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why didn’t I do what, my pretty?” smiled the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wate me up when Doosa tomed.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Doosa didn’t come, my pretty bird.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa didn’t tome?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, pretty.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Doosa say she tome.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So she did; but then she said she couldn’t, and now -she says she will come to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tome to-day?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tome soon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny smiled, and then all out of season, he remembered -a certain matutinal formula that he had forgotten under -his unusual circumstances, and he suddenly said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dood mornin’, Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg, taken all aback by this unexpected salutation, -did not respond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dood mornin’, Met. Why don’t you say dood mornin’ -to me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good morning, pretty bird.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me not pretty bird—me ’ittle boy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good morning, little boy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tiss dood mornin’, Met.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl caught him up in her arms and kissed him -enthusiastically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>To her dark and gloomy life he had come like some -beautiful, brilliant bird of Heaven, and she prized him -and delighted in him. It was something of the same sort -of natural passion that a child feels for its first wonderful -wax doll, or its first beautiful live pet, only it was much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>more intense, inasmuch as this was a living, loving talking -doll—a beautiful, intelligent human pet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so she kissed him, and hugged him, and shook -him, and danced him, and prattled to him, and called him -all the sweet names that, on such cases, spring spontaneously -to the lips of girls and women.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Lenny, in his gracious, genial nature, gave kiss for -kiss, and caress for caress.</p> - -<p class='c012'>I think if poor Drusilla, waking in her agony of -bereavement, that same morning, could have seen, as in a -magic glass, these two friends—the girl and the baby,—she -would have been contented,—no, not that, but she -would have felt comforted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny love Met,” said the child, patting her cheeks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And ‘Met’ loves Lenny dearly, dearly, dearly! and -nobody shall hurt him—they shall kill ‘Met’ first!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now, as “hurt” and “kill” were words that had never -been introduced into this cherished baby’s vocabulary, he -did not understand and did not know how to reply; but -he felt that <em>love</em> was meant throughout, and he knew -how to answer <em>that</em>. So he patted Meg’s cheeks and -kissed her lips.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And now as the long-lingering light of day stole into -that wretched attic-chamber, it brought out strange -pictures. The yellow rays of the sun, striking obliquely -through the window in the roof, fell upon the corner -occupied by Meg and Lenny, and lighted up a picturesque -group,—the beautiful, golden-haired, blue-eyed baby-boy, -fair as one of Rafael’s pictured angels, with his rosy -arms clasped around the neck of the wild, dark, gipsyish -girl, who held him on her lap; and their surroundings,—the -poor pallet, the little stone-jug of milk, the bare -boards, and the broken walls. This was the only sunny -scene in the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the shadows were other scenes, best left in darkness,—the -beldam in her foul bed, and the two men sprawling -on the naked floor. All these were dead to all surrounding -life, for they were heavily sleeping off the effects of -the last night’s gin-drinking.</p> - -<p class='c012'>To return to the “sunny” spot occupied by the girl and -the baby. She was still caressing him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Would Lenny like his breakfast now?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span>“Yes, Lenny like breakfas’. But go in baf-tub first.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Go—where?” inquired the girl, quite bewildered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In baf-tub! baf-tub! baf-tub! wash!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, bath-tub! My bonny bird, we have got no bath-tub -here, but ‘Met’ will wash you clean—will she?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Met wash.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will Lenny be afraid to stay here while ‘Met’ goes to -fetch water?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Faid? what ’faid?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You don’t know? Well, I hope you never will.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What ’faid? what ’faid? what ’faid?” peremptorily -demanded this despotic little inquisitor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Faid is—bad, naughty,” said Meg, after some little -perplexity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, Lenny not ’faid.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And will Lenny let ‘Met’ go get some water?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And sit here and don’t move until I come?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Away ran the girl, and as quickly as she could borrow -a bucket and fetch the water she returned to the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She washed the child very thoroughly and then dressed -him in the clean suit that had been provided by Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But dese ain’t Lenny tose,” observed the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, Lenny has got no clean clothes here, so Lenny -must wear these,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the child trusted her and was content with the -answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now Lenny will have his breakfast?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes; and Met have <em>hers</em> too,” answered the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl then went to the sleeping men and felt in their -pockets. She knew very well that both had cheated their -employer in the matter of the price of the milk and the -blanket that they had been sent to buy on the previous -night, and so she judged they must have the odd change -they had swindled Everage out of still in their possession.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was right. She found a sixpence in Roger’s pocket -and two shillings in Bill’s. She replaced all the money -except one of the shillings, which she confiscated to the -use of the right owner, as she called little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Having possessed herself of this fund, she turned to -the child and took him by the hand, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>“Will Lenny take a walk with ‘Met’?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny want bekfas first.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, we are going out to buy milk for breakfast—nice -new milk. Will Lenny go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pose Doosa tome?” objected the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But Doosa won’t come before we get back.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, den Lenny go wid Met.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And they walked out together down to the corner of -the alley to the cellar where the milk was sold.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Meg bought new milk and fresh rolls, and a little -cheap white mug and plate, all for nine pence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she took Lenny back to the attic and gave -him his breakfast clean.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And through all this the beasts in the attic slept on.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXXIII.<br> <span class='large'>LENNY’S EXPERIENCES.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in14'>Oh! strange new world</div> - <div class='line'>That has such people in it!—<span class='sc'>Shakespeare.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>The beldam was the first to awake. She looked at the -child and asked if he had slept well, and if he had had -anything to eat, and having received satisfactory answers, -she set about preparing her own breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was her daily custom, in returning home at evening -to pick up and put into her wallet almost any sort of trash -she might find about the streets; not only rags, but -paper, straw, dry leaves, chips, sticks, and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of these she now made just fire enough in the rusty -grate to boil her kettle and make her tea.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she took from a small bundle a store of crusts -and bones and broken victuals, all of which she arranged -on the end of the rickety table; and so she made her -morning meal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You may have what’s left. And mind you take care -of that child while I’m gone.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And with these orders, given of course to Meg, she put -on her smashed bonnet and took her bundle of matches -and went off to her usual haunts. And she did this, notwithstanding -that she had received ten pounds the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>night before. Such with her was the force of habit, or of -rapacity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After she had gone Meg made a meal of the fragments -she had left, and washed it down with milk, now turned -sour, that had been provided for Lenny on the preceding -evening.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then she cleared the table, and straightened the bed, -and tidied the miserable room as well as she could.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All this time little Lenny was watching her gravely, -and occasionally turning his eyes with solemn curiosity -upon the sleeping men on the floor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Meg had got through her housework, even to -the rolling up of little Lenny’s pallet, she came back to -the child and sought to amuse him with the ancient histories -entitled “Red Riding Hood,” “Goody Two Shoes,” -“Cinderella,” “Jack the Giant Killer,” and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And although of course Lenny had heard these venerable -chronicles a hundred times before—as what child -has not?—he was ready to listen to them a hundred times -more—as what child is not?</p> - -<p class='c012'>But at the end of every story he would ask:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met, why not Doosa tome?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa will be sure to come, my pretty. Now let me -tell you another story.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>—“Tome soon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, she will come soon. Now let me tell you about -Hop-O’-My-Thumb.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny sighed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Did you ever hear a baby sigh? It is the most pathetic -sound in nature. Fortunately they don’t often sigh; -they generally prefer to scream.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Another story was told; and then a song was sung; -and so with telling stories and singing songs, Meg tried -to comfort and amuse the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But at last he said again:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>Oh</em>, Met! <em>why</em> not Doosa tome? I want see Doosa, -so bad.” And his little lips began to tremble and his -bosom to heave. But he had been taught that it was -naughty to cry so he struggled valiantly to keep from -doing so. But how could he bear hope deferred any better -than his biggers?</p> - -<p class='c012'>His courage at last gave way and he burst out sobbing:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span>“I want to see Doosa! I want to see Doosa! I want -to see Doosa so bad!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg took him up in her arms and began to walk him -up and down the room and sing to him; but his heart-breaking -sobs arose above her song; and at last in despair -she herself burst into tears and dropped down into -her chair and hugged him to her heart, sobbing:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, my pretty, pretty boy, what can Meg do to comfort -you? It was such a sin to take you from your -mother!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>What a germ of a perfect gentleman little Lenny was!</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as he saw that his crying grieved his friend, -he stopped short with a gasp or two, and put his arms -around her neck, and laid his face to hers, and began to -kiss and coax her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t ky, Met; Lenny so sorry mate Met ky! Don’t -ky, Met! Lenny be dood boy—’deed Lenny will. Let -Lenny wipe eye.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he took up the hem of his little frock, and tried to -stretch it up to her eyes to dry her tears.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And she clasped him to her heart in almost hysterical -passion, and kissed him, and shook him, and danced him -until he laughed. And then a sort of tacit, but well understood, -compromise took place between them—that one -would not cry if the other did not, that is if either could -help it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was long past noon when the men woke from their -drunken sleep.</p> - -<p class='c012'>First Red Roger tumbled up from the floor, rubbed his -eyes, stared about him, yawned, and sat down on the side -of the bed to steady himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he got up, and walked across the room to where -Meg sat with the child. He stared at him for a few moments, -while little Lenny met the stare with unquailing -eyes, and Meg trembled lest the ruffian should miss the -shilling from his pocket; and then, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Keep that little fellow close, mind you!” he took -himself off, greatly to Meg’s relief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Black Bill reared his lofty height from the boards, -tottered on his feet, reeled towards the table, sat down -upon it, for a few moments, to yawn and stretch his limbs, -and then he went away.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>These worthy gentlemen seldom breakfasted at home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>All that day, Meg had a hard time with little Lenny. -The poor girl told all the stories and sung all the songs -she knew, and did her best to comfort and amuse him. -And the baby-boy tried his best to be a little gentleman, -and to keep his promise not to cry; yet every little while, -he would burst into heart-breaking sobs and tears, and -cries, the burden of which was:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I want to see Doosa! I want to see Doosa so much!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length, late in the afternoon, he succumbed to the -influence of excitement, and fell asleep. And then Meg -made his pallet with one hand, while she held him with -the other, and laid him down.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Leaving him asleep, she went out and spent her last -three-pence left of the shilling, and bought him a mug of -milk and a penny-roll for his supper. These she brought -home, and put away. And then she sat down to watch -by the sleeping boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That evening Everage came in before the return of the -others.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad I have found you alone, my girl,” he said. -“I have brought a little money to buy some clean bedding -for the boy, and I think I would rather trust you to -spend it than another. Can you do it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It doesn’t take much to buy cheap bedding for a baby -and the cheaper you can get this the better, so it is clean. -Here are ten shillings; will that do?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; and if there’s any over I will keep it to buy -milk for him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Quite right. And now let me look at him,” said Everage, -going up and gazing on the sleeping child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a tear resting on little Lenny’s rosy cheeks, -which Everage in his awakening remorse could not endure -to see; so he quickly turned away his head, and he asked -Meg:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has the child cried much to-day?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, sir; he has cried a great deal indeed for his -mother.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor child! But he will soon forget her, and—he -shall be taken care of. We will get him to the Highlands -<span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>after a while, and then he will grow into a sturdy mountaineer,” -said Everage to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And soon after this he got up and went away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Later, the two men and the woman came in and drank -themselves drunk, and then flung themselves down to sleep -themselves sober. Little Lenny slept on in his pallet -watched by Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So passed the first day of the child’s captivity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the second and third days the old crone abandoned -her post at St. Mary’s le Strand, and, hoping to make -more by the beautiful boy, dressed him in rags, and telling -him it was all for fun, and promising to take him to -Drusilla, went out to beg with him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But she carefully avoided the haunts where he or she -had been seen, and took to other quarters of the city. On -one of these begging excursions at the Railway Station, -Lenny had recognized Dick and called to him, as has been -related. But the beldam hastily covered the boy’s head -with a ragged shawl, plunged into the crowd and disappeared, -leaving Dick bewildered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On that night, when she took the child home to the -miserable garret, she found Everage waiting there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage was in a great panic. He told her that posters -were out all over London advertising the loss of the child, -describing his person and dress, and offering a large reward -for his recovery. He assured her that, if the child -were found in their possession, the whole lot of them -would be sent to prison and to penal servitude, and enjoined -them to keep him very closely in the attic until a -favorable opportunity should occur of taking him out of -the country.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He promised them further and greater rewards if they -would faithfully follow his instructions; and having received -their pledge to obey him, he left the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From this day Lenny was confined to the miserable -attic and taken care of by Meg. She watched him by -night, and tended him by day; she washed, dressed and -fed him; she tried to amuse and console him; she sung -all the songs she knew and told all the tales; and she -wept when he cried, and she smiled when he laughed; -and, though her nature was truthful, she told lots of lies -to little Lenny to account for the non-appearance of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span>Doosa, promising every morning that Doosa would certainly -come that day.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny at first believed this; but daily disappointment -at length disturbed his faith. And day by day he -pined and pined, wailing in a tone of despair that nearly -broke Meg’s heart:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no, Doosa not tome. <em>Doosa done away! -Doosa done away!</em>”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br> <span class='large'>THE PEACE-OFFERING.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c006'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I give thee all</div> - <div class='line'>I can, no more.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Alexander Lyon arrived in London on the morning -train, and in a pouring rain. He was pale and faint from -his long illness and his fatiguing journey, but he was -sustained by intense mental excitement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His first thought, on leaving the train, was this:</p> - -<p class='c012'>How should he find his lost child in this boundless -Babylon?</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the advertisement in the Times, of that morning, -had already informed him that the baby-boy was still -missing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Sending on his valet with his luggage to Mivart’s, he -himself got into a cab and drove to the Morley House. -Arrived there, he went into the reading-room to make -inquiries, for the child might have been found, even after -that last advertisement had been sent to the paper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has the lost boy been found up to this morning?” he -inquired of the bookkeeper or clerk of the house.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir,—nor ever will be, I fear; but here is Mr. -Hammond—perhaps he can tell you more,” answered that -official.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander turned, and found himself face to face with -Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They had parted in anger the last time they had spoken -together; but now, for different reasons, both forgot that -anger,—Alexander, in his recovered sanity and in his -gratitude for Dick’s services; and Dick himself in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>frankness of his heart and the compassion he felt for the -sick and suffering man. Their hands met, and——</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Were the first words they spoke.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has the child been heard of?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” sighed Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come out, and walk with me; I wish to ask you -about it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it is pouring rain, and you have been ill. You -are so still. Let us go into some unoccupied private -parlor and have coffee ordered there. You will need it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Just as you please, Dick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Hammond beckoned a waiter to show them to a private -room: and, when they had reached it, he ordered breakfast -for two to be brought there.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now tell me of <em>her</em>. How is she? How does she bear -this heavy sorrow?” inquired Alexander, as soon as the -waiter had left the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Badly enough. She scarcely ever eats or sleeps. She -is wasted to a shadow. She is dying—she will die, unless -the child is restored,” answered Dick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The child shall be restored, if he is above ground!” -said Alick, bringing his fist down heavily upon the table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick shook his head, and sighed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I tell you he shall. I arose from my death-bed to -seek for him, and find him, and bring him to his mother—and -I will do it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you go to her and tell her that?” said Dick, -solemnly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I will not. There is too much—too much to be -forgiven me. I will not go near until I can place her -child in her arms. And, Hammond, mind, this is a confidential -interview—do not speak to her of it, or of me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly not, if such is your wish.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does she pray now as she used to pray in all her -troubles?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She does little else than pray; she does nothing else -but pray and search for her child.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<em>She</em> search?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, she lives in a cab; has lived so ever since the -child was lost.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span>“And does she believe that she will find him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes. She believes that he is alive, and therefore to be -found. It is her belief in that theory which keeps her -alive through all the agony of suspense. If she thought -he was dead she would die. I am sure of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Keep up that faith in her heart, Dick. Lead her to -believe also in the restitution of her child as an event that -may occur any day, any hour, as you know it may.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick sighed heavily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But it may! And it shall! I, too, sinner that I am, -have learned to pray. I pray daily, hourly, that I may -be permitted to find the child and bring it as a peace -offering to my dear, injured wife. And I shall do it. I -feel sure that I shall.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heaven grant that you may,” sighed Dick; “but -recollect that already everything has been done that experience, -interest, energy, money, skill, can do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But not all that <em>despair</em> can do! Oh, Dick! I have so -set my heart on finding this child and bringing him to -his mother that I shall surely do it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The Lord send it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And therefore, Dick, I want you to prepare her to -expect the child; or, rather, to believe it probable that he -will soon be found; so that when I do bring him to her -she may not die from a shock of joy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will do as you request, Alick; but I shall have to -act with great discretion in the matter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly you will, and you can. Does she know -anything about——” Alick hesitated to name the <em>affair of -honor</em> of which he was now so heartily ashamed. “Does -she know anything about——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your illness in Jersey, or its cause?” said Dick, delicately -coming to his help. “Of course not. We were -not going to tell her anything to add to her troubles.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You were right!—But what a heartless wretch she -must think me, to be in town and to show no interest in -the loss of my child!” exclaimed Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick could not help remembering that Drusilla had had -quite cause enough to believe him a “heartless wretch” -without this. But Dick was very good-natured, so he -said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She knows that you were not in town. She went to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>your hotel at once to apprize you of the loss of your -child——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She did! Drusilla did that!” exclaimed Alexander, -interrupting him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, she did—within an hour after the discovery was -made, and——-”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bless her! bless her!” fervently ejaculated Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>—“She was told that you had left town for Southampton. -I think she received the impression that you had -sailed for America.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am very glad of that. But is it not strange that she -did not see that ill-natured paragraph in the papers referring -to the——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not at all. The paragraph in question was in but one -day’s issue, and that was the day she was in her greatest -agony about her child; and besides, she never has looked -at paper or book since her heavy loss. She has done -nothing but pray and search, as I said before.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor child! poor child! Dick, tell her nothing of me. -I do not wish that she shall see me, or hear from me, -until I bring her the child. But give my love and thanks -to my uncle, and tell him what I am about. But here -comes the waiter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Breakfast was brought in and arranged upon the table, -and the friends drew up to it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander ate nothing, but he drank down in quick -succession about six cups of coffee; for “sorrow is dry,” -just as surely as if the drunkards had never said it was, -and made it an excuse for more drinking.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Alexander got up from the table and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I would like to meet you here every morning about -this hour for a few minutes to compare notes. Would it -be convenient or agreeable?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly—both, Alick. I am entirely at your service. -And God grant you success!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Alexander took up his hat and gloves, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am going to Police Head-Quarters first.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick laughed lugubriously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Alick,” he said, “the detective police have been using -their utmost skill to find the lost child. They have been -hard at work for a month.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>“I know it, but they work in a routine; they also have -come to move in a groove. The thieves know the detectives’ -ways by this time and elude them. I shall go about -the business in an original manner. Good-by, Dick. I -thank you earnestly for all your patient forbearance and -goodness to me. Help them to take care of my poor -girl.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly I will. But, Alick! do you take care of -<em>yourself</em>. It is very damp.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never fear. No one takes cold who has so much else -to think about and do. Well, once more—good-by till -to-morrow, Dick.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And the friends shook hands and parted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander threw himself into his cab, and drove off to -Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There he saw the chief of police, and had a long talk -with him. Under the seal of confidence, he explained -something of the circumstances of his marriage, his temporary -estrangement from his wife, who bore his family -name; and of his subsequent accession to the title and -estate of Killcrichtoun—a title which, it appeared, his -wife shrank from sharing until they should be reconciled. -This, he said, he divulged that the chief might understand -why it was that he took so deep an interest, and was willing -to pay so high a reward, and give besides all his own -time and attention for the recovery of the lost child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>These circumstances and all others he deemed necessary -he explained to the chief, who, by the way, had heard it all -before from Dick, although he did not deem it discreet to -interrupt Lord Killcrichtoun’s narrative by telling him -so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander also made some suggestions as to the best -manner of conducting the further search, that the chief -declared to have been inspired.</p> - -<p class='c012'>After leaving Scotland Yard, Alexander went to his -apartments at Mivart’s, where he found that his valet had -unpacked and arranged his clothes and toilet apparatus, -and had brought up the letters and papers that had accumulated -for him during him absence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He looked over his letters, but found nothing of great -importance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he sent for the clerk of the house and made inquiries -<span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span>as to who had called on him, or what had happened -concerning him during the last month.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He heard in reply several things in which we are not -interested, and one thing in which we are, rather—namely, -the visit of two ladies, who inquired for him in -connection with the missing child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of course he knew at once that the ladies referred to -must have been Anna and Drusilla, and the child little -Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He made very particular inquiries concerning these -visitors merely because he liked to hear of Drusilla; and -having learned all that the clerk had to tell, he thanked -and dismissed him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the next eight days Alexander occupied himself by -carrying into execution all the ingenious plans he had -originated for finding the child; but as none of these -plans succeeded, it is not necessary to detail them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was fated that the father should find the child when -he was not looking for him, but when he was in the act -of performing a piece of disinterested benevolence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And this is how it came about:</p> - -<p class='c012'>Among other better thoughts that had visited Alexander -on his bed of illness were certain reflections in connection -with his distant relative—our poor gentleman. -His mind dwelt much upon the poor usher and his half-famished -family, and he reproved himself for his late -strange, incomprehensible blindness, thoughtlessness and -selfishness in regard to them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A wife and six children to be fed and clothed on sixty -pounds a year! Good Heaven! how could I have been -so preoccupied as not to think of this when I had the -power to help them—I who fling away every day of my -idle and worthless life as much as he gets for his hard -work and usefulness a whole year. I ought to do something -for him. I ought to have done it long ago. But -the question is—what to do? He is as proud as Satan, -and he would not take money.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>After much reflection, Alexander hit upon a plan of -helping the poor gentleman without hurting his pride. -It was a plan that required some considerable sacrifice on -Alexander’s part; and when you hear of it I think you -will say that it was generous, if not magnanimous.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span>On Alexander’s arrival in London, and for the first -eight days after that, he had been so occupied with the -search for his child that he had almost forgotten his plans -for the relief of poor Everage; but on this ninth day he -opened his eyes in the morning with these thoughts:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have been here more than a week, and spent all my -time, energy and ingenuity in the search, and I have not -found my child yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then he fell into profound reverie, in the midst of -which some good angel whispered to his spirit:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have been here eight days, intent only upon finding -your child and taking him to his mother as a peace offering, -and all for your own happiness; and you have not once -thought of the poor gentleman and his famishing family.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, I have not,” said Alexander to himself, “when it -would have required no more than fifteen minutes to have -done it either. I will find time to see poor Everage to-day, -and put him out of his misery.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he kept his word.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He knew exactly where the Newton Institute was situated, -and he knew the hour of the afternoon at which the -boys were dismissed, and at that hour he walked towards -the Institute to meet Everage as the latter should come out -after his pupils. He met first a troop of boys, and afterwards -saw <em>him</em> come creeping along. But oh! how -changed since Alexander had last seen him! He was now -pale, thin, haggard, and somewhat gray. His eyes were -cast down, and his shoulders were bowed, and he crept -along like an old man of eighty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The truth is that the poor gentleman had mistaken his -vocation—it was not that of a deep-dyed villain; he had no -genius for crime, and moreover, he had no stomach for it; -it did not agree with him; he could not digest it; it made -him ill, and was like to kill him unless he could get it off -his stomach, or—his conscience.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His passions, his poverty, and his temptations had drawn -him on to a deed which, just as soon as it was done, filled -his soul with a corroding remorse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Of all who suffered from the abduction of little Lenny, -Clarence Everage, the abductor, suffered the most. Every -night he was drawn by some irresistible influence to look -upon his little victim.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>He was himself a very loving father, and he had a little -girl of Lenny’s age, who was his favorite child, named -Clara, after himself; and when he saw poor Lenny fading -in the close confinement of that dark, damp attic, and for -the want of sunshine, and weeping and wailing for his -mother, the sinner’s remorse was intensified to agony. He -let his own family suffer that he might bring a few dainties -to little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The other lodgers in the house, who had never had a -glimpse of the baby-boy, but who knew that a child had -been put to “mind” with Mother Rooter, and who saw -this poor, shabby gentleman come every night to bring it -“goodies,” jumped to the natural conclusion that he was -the father of the boy, whom for some reason or other he -was keeping in concealment; and this supposition shut -out the suspicion that little Lenny was the missing child -whose loss was posted all over London. We who know the -facts easily see the connection between the two sets of -circumstances; but they who did not even suspect them, -could see no such relations.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So deep was the remorse of poor Everage, that it not -only dried up his blood, and wasted his flesh, and bowed -his frame, and blanched his hair, but it drove him to the -desperate determination to take the child and go to police -head-quarters and give himself up as its abductor. And -so fixed was his resolution that he was only waiting for -his wife to get safely over her confinement, which was -daily expected, before he should do this.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In this very frame of mind, and thinking of this very -purpose, he came down the street to where Alexander -was waiting for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Poor soul!” thought Alick, as he gazed upon him, -“he is ageing very fast. His cares are too much for him. -Or, perhaps, he has been ill, or in some distress even -greater than usual. I ought to have looked after him -long ago. I will do it at once.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And Alick quickened his steps to overtake the poor -gentleman, who, in his deep preoccupation of mind, had -passed without even lifting his eyes from the ground.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander quickly overtook him, and, lightly touching -his arm, said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span>The poor gentleman started, turned around, and, seeing -Alexander, looked aghast, as a criminal might at a constable.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How do you do, Everage? I fear you have been ill,” -said Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage shook in every limb, and said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You <em>have</em> been ill, that is plain enough! Come—shall -we hail a cab, and go to Véry’s? It is <em>my</em> turn now, you -remember,” said Alick cheerfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Everage continued to gaze at him aghast, until at -length he got breath enough to gasp:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good Heaven, my lord, is it you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come, Everage; your nerves are all unstrung, and -you’re shocked to see me looking so like a ghost. Indeed, I -had liked to have been one. But here I am, alive at -least, and likely to get well. Come—shall it be Véry’s?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no—not that!” groaned the poor gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The green-turtle soup is prime; now shall we go to -that place in the Exchange?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no, Lord Killcrichtoun! I can go nowhere to -eat or to drink with you! I cannot! I cannot! Heaven -have mercy on me! I am a lost soul.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, what is the matter with you, Everage?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am ill, ill, ill!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your nervous system is broken down; life has been -too hard with you, my friend! But come—I have news for -you that will cheer you up! Let us drop into the nearest -tavern, and get a private room, where we may converse -confidentially,—here is the ‘King’s Head’ near, shall we -go there and have something comfortable?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no, no; I told you I would go nowhere to eat or -drink with you, my lord!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is your digestive apparatus so much out of order as -all that? Well, then, if you don’t go to eat and drink, we -will go to talk. I tell you I have news for you—‘you -will hear of something to your advantage,’ as the mysterious -newspaper paragraphs say.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, well, I will go with you, my lord; and perhaps -I will tell you ‘something to <em>your</em> advantage,’” he muttered, -in a low tone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So they went to the King’s Head, and Alick called -for a private parlor, where they sat down to talk.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>“Everage,” said Alick, gravely, “I have had a long and -dangerous fit of illness, from which I have scarcely yet -recovered.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed, my lord! I had not heard of it: but, really -now I observe that you do not look well. I am sorry, my -lord.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, you heard of the affair in which I was engaged? -the——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The word stuck in his throat; he would not utter it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage looked puzzled for a moment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know—the affair in which I was engaged in -Jersey! the——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, certainly, my lord; I heard of the——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, in courtesy, the poor gentleman paused exactly -where his friend had done.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Everage, I was severely wounded, and, in the illness -that followed, I came nearer facing my Judge than I -ever expected to do, without hearing my sentence. In the -convalescence that followed, you may believe that I was -brought to very serious reflection. Among other subjects, -I thought of you, Everage, and took myself to task -for not having done so before—nay, now, do not shrink -and turn from me; I mean no such an impertinence as -patronage to you, Everage. I would just as soon venture -to patronize one of the royal princes. But I thought of -a plan for improving the circumstances of your family, -which even you might meet without detriment to your -honest pride.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Heaven! oh, Heaven, have mercy on me!” groaned -the poor gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, you are exhausted; you really <em>must</em> have -something,” said Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he rang for a waiter, and ordered brandy; which -was quickly brought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage gulped a small glassful and then said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You thought of me—you thought of me on your sick-bed! -You think of me still in your days of deep affliction! -for you <em>cannot</em> have come to London without learning the -loss of——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage’s voice broke down in sobs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My child? yes; I learned the loss from the newspapers—from -the very first newspapers that fell into my hands -<span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>after I was convalescent. I have thought of little else -since my arrival. For the last eight days, I have done -nothing but devise and carry out plans for his recovery. -But, this morning, I remembered you and your affairs, and -reproached myself for forgetting them. So, now——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, about your child,—how <em>can</em> you think of any one -or of anything while he is missing?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because I cherish a great faith that I shall soon find -him. But about your affairs. I wish to speak of <em>them</em>,” -said Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The poor gentleman waved his hand with a gesture of -resignation and became silent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, on that bed of illness and self-examination, -I made many a retrospection of my past life, and many -a resolution for my future one. Among my retrospections -was a review of my motives in going to so much trouble -and expense in establishing my claim to the Barony of -Killcrichtoun, which I really did not want. I believe now -that my only incentives to that action were idleness and -<i><span lang="fr">ennui</span></i>. I had nothing to do; and I was weary of my life. -But having made the discovery of my descent from the -old baron, I took some little interest in tracing back the -lineage; and found some little excitement in following up -the investigation and proving my claim. But as soon as -all that was over and I found myself addressed on all -sides as ‘Lord Killcrichtoun,’ ‘your lordship,’ and ‘my -lord,’—on my soul, Everage, I felt heartily ashamed of -myself and title——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yet it is an ancient and an honorable title,” sighed -the poor gentleman, and he thought—“He values it so -lightly, this proud Virginian, while I—I have staked my -soul upon the bare chance of some day gaining it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, it is an ancient and honorable title; and it would -well become an English heir—it would well become yourself, -Everage! And but for me you would have been the -bearer of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But for you, my lord, I should never have heard of -my remote connection with it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, my friend, will you do me the favor to leave -out all reference to that title in speaking to me? To -hear it so applied makes me feel like a fool and that is -a fact. I am a plain Republican gentleman, a little proud -<span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>or perhaps I should say, conceited, on account of my old -State, and still more so in respect of my native country; -but I am not such an ass as to want to be a ‘Lord.’ -Enough of that. What I have said, what I may yet say -of myself will only be to explain my plan for you. Listen. -Everage; I shall not claim your attention very long.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am listening, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am going to try to be reconciled to my poor wife. -(My illness brought me to my senses on that subject also.) -I am going to try to be reconciled to my wife; and then -we are going to return to our native land. But before I -do either—before I do anything—I shall make over the -Killcrichtoun estate to <em>you</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At this announcement the poor gentleman sprang to -his feet, as if he had been shot from his chair; then, -sinking back again, he covered his face with his hands -and uttered such deep, heart-rending groans as could only -be wrenched from a bosom wrung by remorse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage! Everage! my friend, what is the matter? -Good Heavens! how nervous you are! How shattered -your health must be! But you will recover your strength -again when you leave this stifling atmosphere composed -of smoke and fog, and get away to the bracing breezes of -the Highlands!” said Alick, kindly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Too late! too late! too late!” moaned Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Too late? No, it isn’t. You have no fatal malady. -You are only broken down by hard work! You will recover -in the Highlands. Think how your children will -enjoy the freedom and fine air of the mountains. And -you can take them to Killcrichtoun and enter on possession -as soon as you like. The necessary deeds of conveyance -of the land shall be made out as soon as I can get -the slow lawyers to do it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is too much! it is too much! Great Heaven! this -is too much to bear! You overwhelm me, my lord!” -groaned Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But why do you say so? Everage! look here! I -really do think that you have more right—a great deal -more right to the estate than I have. You and all your -ancestors were British born. I and my immediate progenitors -were American born. What right had I to come -over here and claim this title and estate? None whatever -<span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>in <em>right</em>, whatever I might have had in law. And I -cannot continue to hold it and to transmit it to my son, -unless I expatriate myself and become a British subject. -And I will not do that. Therefore I do not <em>want</em> Killcrichtoun. -A man is not even to be thanked for giving away -what he don’t want. As I said before, I shall make over -the whole of the landed estate to <em>you</em>. I wish to Heaven -I could also give you the title; but that cannot be so -transferred, I believe; so the title must be dropped; for, -of course, I cannot continue to bear it in my own country—it -would make me simply ridiculous. When, however, -you become the owner of Killcrichtoun, although you cannot -be the baron, yet you will have the territorial title, -according to the custom of Scotland. You will be called -‘Killcrichtoun’ or ‘Everage of Killcrichtoun.’ Come, -come! cheer up, man!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Too much! it is too much! too much and too late!” -groaned the poor gentleman, as he sat with his hands -clasped tightly around his head, his bosom heaving and -his eyes streaming with tears.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c007'>CHAPTER XXXV.<br> <span class='large'><span class='fss'>THE PEACE-OFFERING.</span>—<em>Continued.</em></span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>To Alick there seemed something awful in Everage’s -tremendous emotion. He had been a very handsome, fine-looking -man, with that natural air of majesty and grace -which not even the bitterness of poverty and servitude -could take from him; but now he was all broken down.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Deep compassion moved the heart of Alick as he gazed -on him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What is the matter, Everage?” he softly inquired.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Coals of fire! Coals of fire!” answered the conscience-stricken -man. And covering his bowed face with his -hands, ‘he wept bitterly,’ as repentant Peter wept.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander looked on with awe for an instant, and then -turned away his head; he could not bear to see such -abject grief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length, with an effort, Everage gained a mastery -over his passion and raised his head, and with a look of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span>anguish still upon his face, and in a voice still vibrating -with intense emotion, he said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You ask me what is the matter? Remorse is killing -me! Remorse! and now your kindness!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Remorse,’ Everage?” exclaimed Alexander, in consternation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, remorse! I am a criminal of the darkest dye! I -am not worthy to live!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A criminal!—You!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I!—a God forsaken criminal.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“God never forsakes the greatest criminal, being penitent. -But you, Everage! I cannot understand! I cannot -believe you to be a criminal,” answered Alexander, unable -to recover from his consternation, and mentally running -over the sins most likely to be committed by a poor -gentleman under the influence of overpowering temptation. -Was it embezzlement? swindling? No, he could -have had no opportunity of dabbling in either of these. -Was it forgery? Yes, it was most likely forgery. The -poor usher had probably, under the pressure of terrible -want, forged his employer’s name to a check, or a note, -or something of the sort, and was now dying of remorse -and shame, and perhaps also of terror. And Alick resolved -to help him, if help were possible.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage,” he asked kindly, “do you wish to confide -in me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wish to <span class='fss'>CONFESS</span> to you, since the offense was committed -against you,” groaned the heart-broken man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Against <em>me</em>?” exclaimed Alexander, in a tone of surprise -that was not without pleasure; for he instantly -thought—“Oh, if he has only forged <em>my</em> name to a cheque -or a note, or anything of the sort, it will be perfectly -easy to save him. It will only be for me to take up the -paper without saying anything about it; or, at worst, to -acknowledge the signature.” Then, speaking softly, he -said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tell me everything, Everage, freely as one sinner -speaking to another; for I, too, have sinned too deeply -to have any sort of right to judge harshly. Speak freely, -Everage.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Still for a moment the poor gentleman remained silent, -he knew that, after having told all, his bosom would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_388'>388</span>feel somewhat relieved, yet he could scarcely bring himself -to utter his own shame.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will tell you everything. And the more willingly -because reparation is still in my power.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, Everage, if such reparation should in any way -distress you, it need not be made. Nay, if the confession -itself will distress you, withhold it, my friend. If, as you -say, the offense is against me, you need not tell it; and -believe me, neither you nor any one else shall ever hear -of it,” said Alick, kindly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Every gentle, generous word you speak stabs my -heart like a reproach. I must tell you all. It will shame -me, but it will relieve me to do so. Reparation must -be made; and it will not distress but comfort me to make -it; nay, it will almost do away my guilt. It is a measure -that I had already resolved upon. I was only waiting -for my poor wife to get over her impending <i><span lang="fr">accouchement</span></i> -before carrying it into effect; for in my poor Belle’s -present critical condition, the excitement of a criminal -trial would surely kill her. And thus my little girls -would be bereft of both parents.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, you talk wildly! If the offense is against -me, it is already condoned. You may reveal it or not as -you please. For myself, I do not see the need of your -doing so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is because you do not know the nature of my -crime! Lord Killcrichtoun, it was I who caused your child -to be abducted!—There! kill me where I stand if you -like! No one will think of blaming you,” said Everage, -in a broken voice, as he tottered to his feet and stood before -little Lenny’s father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Alexander gazed at him in amazement and incredulity -for a full minute before he found ideas or words to -reply. Then he exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Everage, you are mad to think so! What motive -could you possibly have had for getting possession of my -child? You who have so many of your own? I say you -are mad to think it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said Everage, dropping back in his chair and -covering his face. “No, not mad <em>now</em>: but I was mad -then, when I caused the child to be carried off! I was -mad blind, and Heaven-forsaken!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_389'>389</span>“Not Heaven-forsaken, Everage, or you would not -have been brought to this confession. But is this really -true? You caused the child to be carried off? You said -the reparation was still in your power!—<em>that</em> means the -child still lives! Where is he? Is he in London? Is -he in our reach? Is he well?” inquired Alexander -scarcely able to control the violence of his emotions—his -strangely mingled and warring emotions—of astonishment, -indignation, ecstasy and impatience.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, to all your questions,” answered Everage, dropping -his face into his hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, good Heaven, what <em>possible</em> motive <em>could</em> you -have had for carrying off my child? You <em>must</em> have -been mad!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was! I was, my lord! mad and blind and God-forsaken! -I was tempted beyond——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop, Everage! don’t tell me just now. I must see -my boy immediately. Can you take me to him now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” answered the poor gentleman, in an almost inaudible -voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How far is it?” asked Alexander, with his hand upon -the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“About two miles from here,” breathed Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then we must have a carriage,” observed Alexander, -ringing the bell.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A cab, immediately!” he said, as the waiter appeared.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now, Everage,” he continued, when they were -left alone together again, “now tell me what could possibly -have caused you to have my child carried off. Do -you know his loss has nearly broken his mother’s heart?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do I <em>not</em> know it? Have I not felt it? felt it day -and night since the devil deluded me into doing this -deed? Lord Killcrichtoun, look at me! See the wreck -remorse has made of me! No sooner had I done this deed -than remorse, like a consuming fire, than which the fires -of Hell cannot be fiercer, entered my heart and burned -my life away to this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Burned your guilt away, Everage, but not your life.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This agony of remorse I would not have borne for a -week, but for my wife’s critical condition.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But she must have been very much distressed by the -change in you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_390'>390</span>“She was; but she ascribed it all to overwork in the -school. And I soothed her by saying that after her confinement -I should leave the school. I did not tell her, -<em>for the Old Bailey</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hush, Everage, there will be nothing of that sort. -But you have not yet told me what it was that tempted -you to load thus your conscience.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will tell you all—I will keep nothing back, and then -you can do as you please.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But, before he could say another word, the waiter -opened the door, and announced the cab that had been -ordered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander and Everage left the house, Everage tottering -with weakness and scarcely able to walk without the support -of Alexander’s arm, which was readily given him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage gave the order.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Black street, Blackfriars’ Road.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then, with the help of Alexander, entered the cab.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they were both seated and the vehicle was in -motion, Everage commenced the story of little Lenny’s -abduction, and the causes that led to the act.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a shame-bowed head, in a broken and almost inaudible -voice, he spoke of the bitterness of his poverty and -his servitude; of the love, which was agony, for his beautiful, -pale-faced wife, and lovely, fading little girls; of the -jealousy with which he saw the Killcrichtoun estate, that -might have been his own, and the salvation of his famishing -family, pass away to a foreigner, so wealthy that he -cared nothing for the half-sterile Highland acres; of his -belief that the present baron’s life was so precarious that -in a very short time no one but little Lenny would stand -between himself and the inheritance of Killcrichtoun; and -of the intensity of the temptation that finally maddened -and conquered him, and drew him on to crime; and finally, -again he spoke of the fierce remorse that like the fires of -Tophet devoured his life.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And now,” he concluded, “do with me what you will! -I have nothing to say in my defense, nothing whatever! -You can prosecute me for the abduction. You can send -me to penal servitude for Heaven knows how many -years! It will be just! I only entreat you, in any case, -not to let my innocent family starve!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_391'>391</span>“My poor Everage! I could not look in your face and -see the wreck remorse has made of you, and raise my hand -or voice against you! ‘Penal servitude!’ Your whole -life has been penal servitude! Besides, besides, in my -more favored position, without any of the temptations that -beset you, I myself have been too great a sinner to dare to -be a harsh judge! In your position, Everage, heaven -knows, I might have been tempted to do the same -things!” said Alexander, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I never meant to harm the child. I would have -taken the best care of him I could.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I believe you, Everage. And let me find the child -alive and well, and let me have the happiness of laying -him upon his mother’s lap; and then let the whole matter -pass into forgetfulness. It shall not in any way interfere -with my plans for your welfare.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“God bless you, sir!” wept the poor gentleman; “God, -in his great mercy, bless you!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Black street, sir,” said the cabman, pulling up his -horses and waiting further orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Turn into it and drive on until you reach Bushe -Lane. It is on the left hand,” answered Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cabman turned his horses’ heads and drove down -the street for some distance and then pulled up again.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bushe’s Lane, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Turn into it and go on until you reach Blood Alley. -It is also on the left side,” said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cabman turned into the dark, unwholesome lane -and drove on for a short distance and then reined up his -horses again.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Blood Alley, sir,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We must get out here, the alley is too narrow to admit -the passage of the carriage,” said Everage opening the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And both men stepped down at the entrance of the -foul alley, dark, loathsome and offensive to every material -sense and moral sentiment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wait here until we return,” said Everage to the -cabman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man touched his hat in assent as he thought to himself:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Them two coves be two detectives on the scent of -thieves.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_392'>392</span>Everage led the way and Alexander followed him, picking -his steps as well as he could through the fermenting -filth of the alley, and shuddering to think his child was exposed -to such deadly air.</p> - -<p class='c012'>About midway down the alley Everage paused before a -tall, tottering tenement house, occupied by the lowest -caste of thieves and beggars.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Here is the place,” he said, opening the door and entering -the passage-way without either obstruction or even -observation; for at this hour the tenants were out upon -their tramps.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage led the way up several flights of quaking stairs -to the attic floor, which certainly, from its height, had -the advantage of a purer air.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage opened a door immediately in front of the -landing and signed Alexander to enter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick passed the threshold and found himself in a room -with a sloping roof and a skylight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The room was clearer than when he saw it last, for -Meg had been supplied with soap, and had kept it so for -little Lenny’s sake; but it was almost as bare of furniture -as before.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There were but two persons present—a wild-looking, -dark-haired, bare-footed girl walking the floor: and a -child in her arms—a pale, wan baby-boy, with his fair-haired -head dropped heavily upon her shoulder, his violet -eyes closed, and his long fringed eyelids lying down upon -his dead white cheeks. His little clothes were old and -faded and patched, but as clean as hands could make them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the two men entered the room the girl looked up, -pointed to the sleeping child and signed them to be quiet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was too late. Poor little Lenny had become a -nervous and irritable sleeper. The slightest noise would -awaken him. And now the sound of approaching footsteps -startled him from his sleep, and he awoke with a -shiver. His first words were:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa tome, Met?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then looking up and seeing only two men, he dropped -his head upon Meg’s shoulder and wailed forth his disappointment:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa not tome! Doosa not tome! Lenny want see -Doosa! Lenny want to see Doosa so bad!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_393'>393</span>“And you shall see Doosa, my darling boy! You shall -see Doosa before the sun goes down. You shall sleep on -your mother’s bosom to-night, little Lenny!” exclaimed -Alexander, in great agitation, as he went to the child and -held out his arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Lenny turned away and clasped his own arms -around Meg’s neck and renewed his plaintive cry:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I want to see Doosa! I want to see Doosa so bad! I -don’t want anybody esse!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And so you shall see Doosa, my beloved boy. Look -at me, little Lenny! don’t you know me?” coaxed -Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ess, I do! But I want see Doosa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look at me, my darling! Come to me! I will take -you to Doosa directly!” pleaded Alexander, holding out -his arms and gazing earnestly in the face of his son.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Now little Lenny had been deceived by fair but false -promises, and his faith was failing. But there was an -earnest truthfulness in the looks and words of the man -that now carried conviction to the heart of the child. His -face lightened, beamed, became transfigured with ecstasy:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You tate me see Doosa? You tate me now?” he joyously -exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling, now this moment! Come to me,” -said Alexander, still holding out his arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny bounded into them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, sir! you will not take him from me! It would -break my heart! he is all I have to love in the world, all -that loves me! I would work my fingers to the bones, I -would for him! Please, sir, don’t take him away!” cried -Meg, lifting the corner of her apron to her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I must take him to his mother, my girl. She too is -pining for him,” said Alexander, kindly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Lenny, you won’t leave me! You won’t leave -poor Met?” she wept, appealing to the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No! no! no!” said Master Leonard, peremptorily. -“<em>Not</em> leave Met! Met go too! Met go too! Met go too!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, my darling, Met can’t go!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will, I will, I will! Lenny love Met! Lenny not -leave Met. Met go too!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, Met cannot go,” remonstrated the father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, sir, I can,” sobbed Meg. “If you will take -<span class='pageno' id='Page_394'>394</span>him, I can go, if you will let me; and I will be a faithful -servant to him all my life, and never want any wages.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met go too! Met go too!” sang out little Lenny. It -was the chorus of the song.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But, my girl, how can you go? I would willingly reward -you for the care you must have bestowed upon my -child, who, but for you, might have perished in this horrible -place, but how can I take you away? you have parents -or guardians who must be consulted.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg left off crying, and laughed aloud;</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir; little ladies and gentlemen have them things, -not the likes of us! The people I live with ain’t no kin -to me, though I do call the men uncle, and the woman -grannam; I am only their drudge, sir; I am free to go -with the child; if you will let me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met go too! Met go too!” cried the little despot, beginning -now to scream and kick with impatience.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had not been used to have his will crossed. He had -been accustomed to prompt obedience from his white -slaves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see that you are ‘a chip of the old block,’” smiled -Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met go too! Met go too!” screamed the young tyrant, -making his feet fly with such velocity that they looked -like a drove of feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meanwhile, Meg, with her apron to her eyes, was sobbing -violently. A scene was certainly impending.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think, sir, if I were you I would take the girl along. -I think well of her. I believe her account of herself to be -true. And I believe it would be a good work to take her -from this haunt of sin and misery—alas! I beg your pardon, -I had forgotten myself, I have no right to preach,” -said the poor penitent, bowing his head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will take her at your word, Everage; but, good -Heaven, look down at her feet!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, they are not cloven!” said the poor gentleman, -with a sad attempt at a pleasantry. “Give her a sovereign -sir, and let her run out and fit herself with a bonnet, and -shawl, and a pair of shoes and stockings. I’ll warrant -she’ll do it all in twenty minutes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll do it in less time, sir; indeed I will, if you’ll only -let me go with little Lenny!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_395'>395</span>“Very well; be quick,” said Alexander, handing over -a sovereign.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, please, sir, give it to me in smaller change. If -the shopkeeper was to see the likes of me with a whole -suvring at a time, they would stop it, and send for the -police,” said Meg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is quite likely,” thought Alick, as he replaced the -offered coin in his purse, and then gave her a half sovereign -in gold, and a half in silver change.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg was as quick as her word. She hurried out, and, -in fifteen minutes hurried in, equipped for her ride. It -was in less time than they supposed she could have effected -her purchases.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then she took Lenny in her arms, and prepared to follow -the two gentlemen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The whole party went down Blood Alley towards its outlet -upon Bushe Lane.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Little Lenny laughed and patted Meg’s cheeks, and prattled -all the way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Going to see Doosa, Met! Met going to see Doosa -too! Lenny love Met! Lenny not leave Met! Met going -to see Doosa!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they reached Bushe Lane, where the cab was -waiting, the astute cabman, looking around upon the party, -said to himself:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There—I knew it! They’ve caught one on ’em; and -what a young sinner to be the mother of a child that big!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage put Meg and Lenny into the cab, and then followed -with Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny was still full of joyous babble.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wide in cawidge, Met! Met wide in cawidge too!” he -kept saying, as he patted her cheeks and kissed her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They should never be separated,” murmured the poor -gentleman, timidly, as if speaking to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They shall not be, if I can help it,” replied Alexander -who had read with approval the letter of recommendation -contained in Meg’s face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They drove rapidly up Bushe Lane, through Black -street, and up Blackfriars’ road. But little conversation -was carried on until they reached the Strand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When drawing near to Wellington street, where Everage -lived, he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_396'>396</span>“But you will not take the child to his mother this -afternoon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly,” replied Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What—now, immediately?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will not the shock be too great?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; I have heard that she is almost morbid on the -subject, and is constantly looking for the child, and expecting -to find him, or to have him brought home to her. I -also had a sort of conviction that I should have the happiness -of finding him and carrying him as a peace-offering to -his mother. It was a very remarkable presentiment, I -think.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Presentiments when believed in, often fulfil themselves,” -said Everage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“However that may be, I so firmly believed that I -should find the child, that I instructed his mother’s friends -to encourage her hopes and keep up her expectations of -seeing him, so that when I should bring him to her, she -should not sustain a fatal shock of joy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>By this time they had reached Wellington street, and -at the request of Everage the cab was drawn up.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The poor gentleman got out.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Give me your hand, Everage,” said Alexander; and -holding it, he added, “I shall see you very soon, and -remember, you are to have that Highland property.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Everage pressed the hand of his magnanimous friend -with a look more eloquent than words, and then turned -and walked rapidly up Wellington street.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drive on,” said Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where now, sir?” inquired the cabman, touching his -hat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Morley House, Trafalgar square.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In a very few minutes the cab drove up to the hotel -and stopped.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of the servants of the house, seeing Lord Killcrichtoun’s -face at the window, came out to him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know if Mr. Hammond is in the house just -now?” inquired Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir; he is in the reading-room.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take in my card and ask him if he will do me the -favor to come out.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_397'>397</span>The waiter vanished, and Dick soon made his appearance -at the cab door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dick! I have found him!” exclaimed Alick, -pointing to the child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Little Lenny! Thank God!” cried Dick, jerking open -the door, jumping into the cab, and seizing little Lenny -and seating himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Dit! Dit! Lenny tome home see Doosa! Met -tome too! Lenny wide in tab! Met wide too! Lenny -not leave Met! Lenny love Met!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And so the child prattled on, patting Dick’s cheeks, -and pulling his whiskers, and kissing him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I am so glad! Where did you find him, Alick? -How was it? Tell me all about it!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Too long a story, Dick. I must take him to his -mother. Can I do so with safety?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think so. I have constantly encouraged her hopes -of finding the child; and yet perhaps it would be well to -be cautious. I will just step up and prepare her a little. -I will tell her that we have better hopes than ever of -finding her child; and that we have heard from him, and -know where he is; and that he is now on his way to her, -and so forth. But I will not tell her that <em>you</em> are bringing -him. I will leave that delight to yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, Dick. Make haste, and don’t be gone a -moment longer than necessary.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will come back as soon as possible,” said Dick as he -disappeared.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See Doosa! see Doosa!” exclaimed little Lenny impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my boy, you shall see Doosa, Dick has gone to -look for Doosa and tell her,” said Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dit done look for Doosa?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, my darling.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So Lenny prattled on.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Dick was gone rather longer than was expected, but at -length he returned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You can go to her now. I have led her to expect -that a gentleman from Jersey has found the child, and -is on his way home with him, and that he may arrive by -any train now. The news has made her very happy, as -you may judge. And now you may go up to her. She -is alone in her chamber.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_398'>398</span>“Thanks, Dick! many thanks for your kindness. -Come, Meg,” said Alick, stepping out upon the sidewalk.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Meg followed with little Lenny in her arms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must come and show me her room, Dick,” said -Alick.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly,” replied Hammond.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The whole party entered the house and passed up-stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they arrived at the door of Drusilla’s chamber, -Alick took little Lenny in his arms and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I must enter alone. Dick, be so good as to take this -girl to your wife and tell her that she is to be an under -nursemaid or something of the sort. After I have seen -Drusilla we will attend to the girl’s case.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well, Alick. Heaven speed you,” said Dick, -beckoning to Meg, who followed him meekly, and moving -towards Anna’s room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where Met gone? where Met gone?” impatiently -demanded Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met has gone to see Anna,” answered Alexander.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met tome back soon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, she will come back soon.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Met go see Doosa too?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, Met go see Doosa too. Now, Lenny, be a good, -<em>quiet</em> boy. We are going to see Doosa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny be good boy den.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And mind, you must be very, very still. You must -not jump and kick and scream; if you do you will hurt -Doosa,” said Alexander, looking very gravely into the -child’s face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny be good boy! Lenny not hurt Doosa,” answered -the child with owlet-like solemnity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Still Alick paused at the door. How many minutes he -paused before he could sufficiently compose himself for -the joyous trial before him. But then he had not yet recovered -from the effects of his wound.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At length, with a prayer in his heart, he opened the -door so softly as not to disturb the inmate of the room.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She was sitting at the window, with her elbow resting -on its sill, and her head bowed upon her hand. How -worn and wan she looked! Her face was scarcely less -white than the snowy robe she wore. Her face was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_399'>399</span>turned partly towards the window, and had an anxious, -listening look, as if constantly watching for the coming -of some beloved and long-expected one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As soon as little Lenny saw his mother, he forgot all -his promises, and sang out with all the strength of his -baby lungs:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Doosa! Doosa! See Lenny tome home!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She turned her head quickly, screamed, and started up -to meet him; but overwhelmed with emotion, sank back -again into her chair and gasped for breath.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hush, hush, my boy; see you have hurt Doosa; be -very good now!” whispered Alexander in a tone that -awed the child into silence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then he crossed the room, knelt at her feet, and said:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My wife, I have no word to say for myself. Let our -child plead for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And he laid little Lenny on her lap.</p> - -<p class='c012'>No, there was no scene that could he fully reported -here.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Husband and child, both restored to her in an instant! -It is a wonder she had not died then and there! But she -did not even faint. Heaven, that had sustained her -through such long-drawn-out, unutterable sorrows, gave -her strength now to meet the sudden shock of joy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She gently put little Lenny aside for a moment, where -the child, still awed into silence, stood quietly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She stooped and fell upon her Alick’s neck and clasped -him to her; she wept over him in ecstasy; she kissed -him again and again, sobbing words of the fondest endearment—sacred -words not to be written here.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lenny looked on in wonder and awe for some time; but -at last his impatience overcame every other emotion, and -he sang out:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me, too! Me, too! Me, too! ’Top it, Doosa! Tate -Lenny up!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alick, with a face radiant with joy, once more snatched -up the child, and kissed him rapturously, and put him in -his mother’s arms, saying:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tell him who I am, darling wife! Tell him who I -am!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Does he not know?” inquired Drusilla, who was -covering her child with caresses.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_400'>400</span>“No. I never felt that I had any right to tell him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny, love, do you know who that gentleman is?” -she asked, looking fondly at the child and then at the -father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ess I do! he bring Lenny home to Doosa,” answered -the boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look at him, Lenny. He is your papa.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny’s popper?” inquired the baby looking with -great eyes at the stranger, who had now taken on a new -interest for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” softly answered his mother.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Lenny dot popper <em>too</em>?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At this innocent question, in which so much was expressed, -Alexander, again conscience-stricken, turned -away his head to hide the tears that rushed to his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But for all reply, Drusilla stooped and kissed her child -and handed him back to his father.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The reconciliation was perfect.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Later, they went into the drawing-room, to which Dick -brought Anna and General Lyon all of whom, amid tears -and caresses, offered their earnest congratulations to the -reunited pair; and rejoiced with an exceeding great joy -over the restoration of little Lenny.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But all this was nothing to the frantic delight of -Pina when she heard little Lenny had been found. She -ran to him, she snatched him up, kissed him and hugged -him, and laughed and cried over him to such a degree -that even Master Leonard, who could bear a great deal of -that sort of thing, was obliged to order her to—</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Top it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then she ceased, and bore him off to dress him in -all his finery for dinner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Yes, the reconciliation was perfect. And as it very -seldom happens that any human being suffers as Drusilla -had suffered, so, also, it falls to the lot of very few to be -so happy as she was that evening and ever thereafter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She never learned the true history of little Lenny’s abduction. -She was left to believe in the policeman’s -theory that the child had been stolen by thieves for the -sake of the jewelry on his person. She was told, however, -of Meg’s cherishing care of her baby, and she saw -for herself the strong attachment existing between them; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_401'>401</span>and so she appointed Meg under nursemaid, and fitted -her out with a decent wardrobe. As to Meg’s “parents -and guardians,” the thieves of Blood Alley, they were left -to their own conjectures on the subject of her absence, -and they probably came to just conclusions, and being in -possession of their ill-got money, were also probably satisfied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>What else?</p> - -<p class='c012'>Clarence Everage, the sincerely repentant sinner whom -misery had tempted to crime for which nature had never -intended him, and whom conscience had afterwards constrained -to confession and restitution—Clarence Everage, -the poor, proud gentleman, the oppressed public school -drudge—was put in possession of the Highland estate, -and he became Everage of Killcrichtoun.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Alexander advanced the funds to make the house habitable -and the land arable.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the bracing air of the mountains his fading wife, and -pale little daughters grew rosy and happy, well and -strong. Everage also recovered his health and good -looks, but never regained the raven hues of his hair. -And when his wife or any friend would suggest that it -was perfectly proper so young a man—so prematurely -gray—should dye his hair, he would shake his head with -a melancholy smile and say:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, no! I wear my gray locks in memory of a great -temptation and a great fault, that might have been a fatal -one but for the Lord’s goodness.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>No one, not even his wife, knew what he meant. And -no one ventured to ask him. They saw that the matter -was a sacred confidence between himself and his Creator, -with which none might intermeddle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In truth, nobody ever knew all the circumstances of -little Lenny’s abduction except those immediately concerned -in it. Alexander had been generous in his recovered -happiness, and had spared the name and fame of -the poor gentleman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Lyon family, of which little Lenny was the greatest -lion of all, did not immediately return to their own -country. They made the tour of Europe, and worked -hard at it, and so they saw about one trillionth part of -what was worth seeing.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_402'>402</span>They were accompanied by the Seymours and by Francis -Tredegar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the end of a year they went back to America, and -down into Virginia.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Soon after their arrival several important family events -occurred.</p> - -<p class='c012'>First, Drusilla presented little Lenny with a little sister, -who was named Annette, and who became his especial -delight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Next, Anna became the mother of a fine boy, to the -direct controverting of the gipsy fortune-teller’s prediction, -which had promised her only girls.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And finally, Nanny Seymour and Francis Tredegar were -married; and the young couple, after a prolonged bridal -tour, took up their abode with Colonel and Mrs. Seymour.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Pina made Jacob inexpressibly happy by accepting the -dusky hand and honest heart of that “gorilla.” Her -place being made vacant by her marriage was well filled -by Meg, now grown to be a pretty civilized-looking young -woman, and promoted to be head of the nursery at Crew -Wood.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When I last heard of these friends of ours, General -Lyon was still living, in the enjoyment of a hale and -happy age, at Old Lyon Hall, surrounded by Anna and -Dick and their children, who made their home with him. -And Hammond Hall was kept in good order by a steward -and a housekeeper. And in the fishing season, the family, -with a party of friends, usually occupy it for a few weeks. -And there, as well as at Old Lyon Hall, they are often -joined by Alexander and Drusilla.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Lyon live chiefly at Crew -Wood, where they spend their days in doing good, and -in rearing their beautiful young family.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Their other country seat, Cedarwood Cottage, is still -in the care of “Mammy” and her “old man.” And every -winter Alick and Drusilla, with their children, go there -to be near Washington in the season. And Mr. and Mrs. -Hammond and General Lyon come to them. The old -General never loses his interest in what is going on at -the capital.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>THE END.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003'> -</div> -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>Good Fiction Worth Reading.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c011'>A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field -of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy -that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE. A story of American Colonial Times. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary -scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the true -American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after chapter, until -the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a -singularly charming idyl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>THE TOWER OF LONDON. A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady -Jane Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with -four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as palace, -prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is the -middle of the sixteenth century.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, -and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable characters -of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of the reader -in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending considerably over a -half a century.</p> - -<p class='c012'>IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. A Romance of the American Revolution. -By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, -and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit of the -Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a -part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so absorbing -that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a love romance -it is charming.</p> - -<p class='c012'>GARTHOWEN. A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>“This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare before -us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some strong points of -Welsh character—the pride, the hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story, interesting alike through its -romance and its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and -clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent.”—Detroit Free -Press.</p> - -<p class='c012'>MIFANWY. The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>“This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to -read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, it is apparent -at once, are as true to life as though the author had known them -all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story is worked up in that -touching and quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how -often the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and -does not tax the imagination.”—Boston Herald.</p> - -<p class='c012'>DARNLEY. A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. -By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>In point of publication, “Darnley” is that work by Mr. James which -follows “Richelieu,” and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing to the advice -and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we are indebted -primarily for the story, the young author questioning whether he could -properly paint the difference in the characters of the two great cardinals. -And it is not surprising that James should have hesitated; he had been -eminently successful in giving to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a -man, and by attempting a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was -much like tempting fortune. Irving insisted that “Darnley” came naturally -in sequence, and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, -the author set about the work.</p> - -<p class='c014'>As a historical romance “Darnley” is a book that can he taken up -pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm which -those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James have claimed was -only to be imparted by Dumas.</p> - -<p class='c014'>If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial attention, -the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic “field of the cloth of -gold” would entitle the story to the most favorable consideration of every -reader.</p> - -<p class='c014'>There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the author has -taken care to imagine love passages only between those whom history has -credited with having entertained the tender passion one for another, and -he succeeds in making such lovers as all the world must love.</p> - -<p class='c012'>CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE. By Lieut. -Henry A. Wise, U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations -by J. Watson Davis, Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea yarns -who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can come through -the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of the sea and those -“who go down in ships” been written by one more familiar with the scenes -depicted.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and which -will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is “Captain Brand,” -who, as the author states on his title page, was a “pirate of eminence in -the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and simple, “Captain Brand” has -never been excelled, and as a story of piratical life, told without the usual -embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal.</p> - -<p class='c012'>NICK OF THE WOODS. A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By -Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis, Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in -Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long out of -print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic presentation of -Indian and frontier life in the early days of settlement in the South, narrated -in the tale with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming -love romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of -“Nick of the Woods” will be certain to make many new admirers for -this enchanting story from Dr. Bird’s clever and versatile pen.</p> - -<p class='c012'>GUY FAWKES. A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. -Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, -the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, -was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of -extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. In -their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded -to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested, -and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with -royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the entire romance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER. A Romance of the Early Settlers in the -Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo, with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” The -main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian missionaries -in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given details of the -frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the wilderness for the planting -of this great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is -Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time the most -admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives battling with the -savage foe, that others might dwell in comparative security.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian “Village -of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute description. The -efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never have been -before, and the author has depicted the characters of the leaders of the -several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to -the student.</p> - -<p class='c014'>By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid word-pictures -of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings of the beauties -of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests.</p> - -<p class='c014'>It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by it -perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly braved -every privation and danger that the westward progress of the star of empire -might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, -guns through the book.</p> - -<p class='c012'>RICHELIEU. A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G. P. -R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>In 1830 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu.” and was -recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.</p> - -<p class='c014'>In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great cardinal’s -life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it was -yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic outbursts which -overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. -One of the most striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; -the method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery -resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into the statecraft -of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. -It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling -and absorbing interest has never been excelled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII., -Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>“Windsor Castle” is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne -Boleyn. “Bluff King Hal,” although a well-loved monarch, was none too -good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable acts, -none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, and his marriage -to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King’s love was as brief as it -was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, -and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor. -This romance is one of extreme interest to all readers.</p> - -<p class='c012'>HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina -in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis, Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical fiction, -there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans than -Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only story which depicts -with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina -to defend their homes against the brutal oppression of the British -under such leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread -of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail concerning those -times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, is never overdrawn, -but painted faithfully and honestly by one who spared neither -time nor labor in his efforts to present in this charming love story all that -price in blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the -winning of the republic.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should be -found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining -story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning the -colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once more, well -illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to thousands who have -long desired an opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who -have tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might -read it for the first time.</p> - -<p class='c012'>THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By -Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Written prior to 1862, the “Pearl of Orr’s Island” is ever new; a book -filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves anew each -time one reads them. One sees the “sea like an unbroken mirror all -around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr’s Island,” and straightway -comes “the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, like the wild -angry howl of some savage animal.”</p> - -<p class='c014'>Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which -came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel’s wings, -without having an intense desire to know how the premature bud blossomed? -Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of the character -of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, amid the -angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother’s breast.</p> - -<p class='c014'>There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that -which Mrs. Stowe gives in “The Pearl of Orr’s Island.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 53–58 Duane St., New York.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003'> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>P. <a href='#t260'>260</a>, changed “In fact there very few passengers on board” to “In fact there - were very few passengers on board”. - - </li> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRIDE'S FATE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - </body> - <!-- created with ppgen.py 3.57c_GHS_H5 on 2022-12-27 02:24:30 GMT --> -</html> |