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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8443-0.txt b/8443-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc27e2b --- /dev/null +++ b/8443-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6206 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mysteries of Montreal + Being Recollections of a Female Physician + +Author: Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8443] +This file was first posted on July 11, 2003 +Last Updated: November 6, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + + +THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL + +BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PHYSICIAN. + +By Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Truth is Stranger than Fiction + + +MONTREAL + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things +enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of +a Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate +residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting +for the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours +with a narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the +expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, +and not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. Enquiry +having frequently been made as to whether my recollections were +published, I have been induced to print this volume, changing only names +of persons and localities, so as to avoid identification. Many persons +will find it hard to believe some of the occurrences which are herein +mentioned, but those who have been concerned (directly or indirectly) +with any of the parties to my narratives, will recognize, under the +disguise of a false name, some person with whose history they are +familiar. Should any discover his own actions here narrated, let him not +think that I have wantonly endeavored to open old sores, but rather to +warn others from taking that first false step which so often leads to +future misery and bitter remorse. + +MONTREAL, May, 1881 + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Early Life and Professional Struggles. + +My father, an officer in the Hanoverian Army, having died while I was +almost a child, I found myself, at the age of 17, governess in the +family of the Baron Grovestein in Hamburg, Germany, where I met +my present husband, Gustav Schroeder, at that time one of the most +“eligible” young gentlemen in that city. + +Though not particularly handsome, Gustav was all that could be desired +in other respects. He was young, well educated, and the son of wealthy +parents, and of an amiable disposition. Soon after my engagement at the +Baron’s, young Schroeder’s visits (ostensibly to the family) became +so frequent, that his friends, who had divined the cause, forbade his +having anything to say to me, more than cold civility demanded; +and insisted that his visits to the Grovestein mansion should be +discontinued. This, it may well be supposed, had quite the opposite +effect, and in a short time we were engaged to be married, with the +formal, if not the hearty approval of Gustav’s relations, and in course +of time the marriage ceremony took place, with all the paraphernalia of +an _Alt-Deutsch Hochzeitsfest_. + +Now, however, came the question: How are we to live! for my husband +had no settled profession, and his parents, though wealthy, could not +deprive their more obedient children of their rights to benefit the +perverse Gustav. They gave him sufficient to start him in business, with +the understanding that he would emigrate to America, their idea being +that a German gentleman with a little capital could not fail to make +a fortune among the comparatively illiterate Columbians. To New York +accordingly we came, and Gustav labored assiduously to establish a +business as importer of German manufactures; he soon found, however, +that men who did not know Horace from Euripides could drive closer +bargains, and make quicker sales than he could, and, as he was too proud +to compound with his correspondents in the old country, and insisted on +conscientiously paying a hundred cents for a dollar, we found ourselves +in less than three years, with diminished capital in specie, and an +increased one as regards future candidates for the Presidency, on our +way back to our common Fatherland. Through the influence of his friends, +Gustav procured a good situation in a merchant’s office, but he was +altogether unsuited both by temperament and education for such a +position, and I soon made up my mind that I must either prepare to enter +the world’s great battlefield in person, or live in helpless dependence +on my husband’s relations. + +I had often while in America wondered why the ladies of that Republic +(so advanced and enlightened in everything else) should submit to +a practice so revolting, so contrary to all ideas of morality and +refinement as is the system of man-midwifery so widely practiced in the +United States. No German lady would think of permitting the attendance +of a man at her bedside on such an occasion, and though custom in +England seems generally to sanction the absurd practice, yet Her Majesty +Queen Victoria never allows her medical advisers to be in attendance in +any other capacity than that of _consulting_ physicians. I had discussed +the matter frequently with married ladies in New York, and they were +generally agreed, that, could only competent ladies be found in the +United States, man-midwifery would soon cease to be practiced in that +Republic. I accordingly resolved to devote all my energies to the study +of that particular branch of the medical profession, and my efforts were +crowned with success. In two years I obtained a diploma from the Hamburg +University, and soon after prepared to return to America. + +[Footnote: Dr. Playfair, President of the Obstetrical Society of London, +in his address delivered in February, 1879, said:--“I confess that it is +with a feeling of regret, something akin to shame, when I reflect that +I am supposed to teach a class of young men the entire subject of +midwifery, and the diseases of women and children, in a short summer +course of something under forty lectures. The thing is a manifest and +ridiculous absurdity, hence we have, of necessity, to omit, year by +year, _at least half of midwifery proper_.” + +The Principal of Calcutta Medical College writes Dr. Playfair thus:--“To +what a hideous extent is the practice of midwifery carried on in +England, by utterly unqualified men, whom the unhappy women and their +friends believe to be qualified, and the system in your hospitals sadly +favors this.” + +“Yet there are some women who will smother every feeling of modesty and +morality, and trust their lives to one of these licentiates rather than +commit themselves to the care of a thoroughly trained midwife of their +own sex. Surely nothing can be more absurd and irrational.”] + +About this time a friend of my husbands’ informed us that the climate +of Canada was very much superior to that of the Eastern States, and much +more like that of Germany, and that in Montreal I would be likely to +find, not only a pleasant city, but a people more European in style +and custom, also a capital field for the exercise of my profession. For +Montreal then we sailed with hearts full of hope, and, being fifty-four +days at sea, I was summoned by the Captain to attend a lady on board +(which I did with the success which has since invariably attended my +efforts), and this was my debut as a professional accoucheur. + +On our arrival at Montreal we presented letters of introduction to the +German Consul, and the leading members of the German Society, and I soon +became fully occupied in the exercise of my profession. Dr. X---- +(now one of our most distinguished physicians) not only tolerated my +vocation, but, with a magnanimity worthy of his genius and ability, gave +me counsel and advice, and recommended me as highly as possible to his +confrères and the public. Some few resident doctors threw cold water +on my enterprise, but, to their credit be it spoken, the profession at +large treated me invariably with the greatest kindness and courtesy, +shewing thereby a liberality and largeness of heart which is ever the +outcome of real ability. + +I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily +round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down +to receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a +newborn baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he +was its father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any +provision could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take +it, as he would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river. +I thought my heart would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly +treated, so I took it from him, promising to see it safely to some +charitable institution. He told me his name was Ferguson, that he was +in business in Montreal, and that if I would deposit the child in some +charitable institution and call and see its mother during her recovery, +he would pay all necessary expenses. It was too late that night to go +out with the child, so I prepared some food for its nourishment and +kept it till the next day, resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady +Superior at one of the nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that +the nunnery was closed, and I was obliged to return home with the +babe, which, by-the-by, continued to roar lustily all the way, and so +attracted public attention to me (its presumptive mother) that I wept +as bitterly as the child itself, and was heartily sorry that I had +undertaken any such mission. + +Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited +me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who +were baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for +admission. On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that +the child was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to +deliver it to her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me +that she very considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary +fee, she undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted. + +In the evening I called to see the mother; she was lying on a miserable +couch in a low lodging-house in the Quebec suburbs, yet she had about +her the air of a lady, and on her finger glittered a ring set with +brilliants. She wept when I told her how her child was disposed of, +but said that she had no other alternative, as if her father, who was a +lawyer of eminence, had any idea of her predicament, he would cast her +off in shame; that when she first discovered her condition she persuaded +her paramour to make a formal proposal for her hand, but her father was +enraged beyond measure, and threatened her so terribly that she, for a +time at least, put away all thoughts of Ferguson from her mind, and had +not quite decided how to act, when the occurrence took place which led +to the visit aforementioned, and caused the necessity for my attendance. +Miss L---- had barely time to call in a carriage at Ferguson’s office, +and apprise him of her condition, when she was taken ill, and obliged to +procure a lodging with all speed. Ferguson selected the wretched hovel +alluded to, as being away from all chance of discovery by his or her +friends, and after my visit, empowered me to engage a nurse, and make +what other arrangements I could for Miss L----‘s comfort. She managed to +get a confidential friend to telegraph her father from Quebec that she +had arrived in that city, and then sent on a letter and had it mailed +there, stating that she had gone on the steamboat the previous evening +to see some friends off, and, remaining too long on board, was taken +away eastward, but would return on receiving the passage money from +Montreal. + +With this story she managed to deceive her otherwise astute father, and +in four days she actually got up and went to her own home in a carriage; +insisting on retiring immediately to her room in consequence of the +nervous excitement and fatigue she had undergone. The nurse I had +engaged to attend her, she on some pretence or another smuggled into +the house as a domestic servant, and so not only managed to have an +attendant, but to keep up a clandestine communication with Ferguson and +the outer world. + +In the frantic hope of acquiring a rapid fortune, Ferguson migrated +to New Orleans, but just then the American war broke out, and he was +pressed into the service. Whether he was killed or not Miss L----never +found out; his letters became gradually less frequent, till finally she +lost all trace of him whatever, and she eventually married a wholesale +merchant of this city, who is to this day probably unaware of this +little episode in his wife’s former career. Sometimes I see her in her +carriage driving with liveried servants along St. James street, and +I cannot refrain from thinking of the innocent babe as it lay in poor +Ferguson’s coat-tail. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +A Just Retribution. + +One evening, about the middle of June, 18--, a gentleman called to +see me, accompanied by a lady closely veiled. He said he wished me to +procure suitable lodging for her, and to attend her on her accouchement, +which was now close at hand, stating that no money would be spared to +furnish everything necessary either to her comfort or convenience. As I +did not know of any lodging suitable to a person of her station, I was +puzzled how to act; I did not want to lose a patient, and yet could not, +even if so disposed, make room for her in my own house. I knew that my +next door neighbor (an elderly French-Canadian lady) was accustomed to +take in lodgers; so, leaving the lady and gentleman for a while in my +parlor, I went to see if I could make arrangements for the reception of +the former. Madame Charbonneau, my neighbor, had all her rooms +occupied, but said she was willing for a consideration to give up +her drawing-rooms for a time to the fair patient. This was eminently +satisfactory to me, as, in the event of an emergency, I would be close +at hand; I accordingly arranged for Mrs. Trotter’s accommodation, and on +reporting to Mr. Dombey, the gentleman aforementioned, he seemed to +be perfectly satisfied. From, what I afterwards learned, I am able to +inform the reader that Mr. Dombey was junior partner in the house of +Dombey & Son, dry goods merchants, in this city, his father, Jacob +Dombey, sen., being considered one of the wealthiest importers in +Canada. In his youth Jacob Dombey, jun., had been pampered and petted +beyond measure, his every whim being carried out even at great expense; +arrived at the age of twenty-one he became enamored of a young lady +whose father kept a small toy-shop on Notre Dame street, and nothing +would content him but a marriage with the “Goddess,” as his innamorata +was called. At first he was quite proud of his pretty wife, and was to +be seen daily in Sherbrooke street, driving her behind a splendid span +of spirited bay horses, but after a few months he grew tired of this +routine, and with his bosom friend, Richard Fairfax, might be seen, +nightly at the theatres and other places of amusement, while his poor +wife sat in patient loneliness awaiting his return. + +Mrs. Trotter was the daughter of a Civic Official of high standing, and +had married at a very early age a retired English Officer, who, being +well advanced in years, left her at the age of twenty-four a widow with +four children. Trotter was possessed of little besides his pension, +which died with him; so Mrs. T. was obliged to eke out a miserable +subsistence on the receipts from a little city property left her by her +father. Soon after her husband’s demise Mrs. Trotter removed to Lachine +(a small village on the river side about nine miles above Montreal), in +order to live more economically, and soon became acquainted with Mr. and +Mrs. Dombey, who had taken up their abode there for the summer season. +Mrs. Dombey took quite a fancy to the fascinating widow, and they soon +became inseparable. + +Every evening on the promenade might be seen Mrs. Trotter leaning on the +arm of Mr. Dombey, his wife following accompanied by his friend Fairfax; +or they were together on the river boating, or enjoying a picnic on +“Dixie” Island. Occasionally, when the weather was unfavorable to +out-door amusements, they would engage in a rubber of whist, generally +ending the evening with a little music. Dombey did not know one tune +from another, but his wife praised Mrs. Trotter’s singing so highly that +he soon imagined that in that art, as in others, she was nearly, if not +altogether, perfect. When it became time for Mrs. Trotter to go home, +Jacob used to escort her to her cottage on the river bank, about a mile +distant from his own residence, and after a few weeks there sprang up an +intimacy between them which culminated in the incidents which gave rise +to my narrative. + +On the day following that on which I had engaged her apartments Mrs. +Trotter took up her abode at Madame Charbonneau’s, and about six weeks +afterwards her baby, a beautiful girl, was born; she sent a message to +Mr. Dombey’s office, and in the afternoon he called to see her. He was +greatly pleased with the baby, and took it up fondly in his arms, and +on leaving placed a roll of bank bills in my hand, telling me to get +everything necessary for either the mother or her child, also to get the +latter whatever clothing it might require. After that he called almost +daily, and when Mrs. Trotter was sufficiently recovered to return to her +home, he pressed me so strongly to keep the baby till it was a little +older, and not to leave it to the tender mercies of an ignorant nurse, +that I consented to keep it till it was two years old, and then to +obtain for it, if possible, adoption by some respectable married +persons. + +Margery, the baby aforementioned, turned out one of the most beautiful +children I had ever seen. Her father and mother visited her frequently +during the time she was at my house, and on my giving her for adoption +to Mr. Walker (a respectable Vermont farmer without any children of +his own) they were both deeply affected. Dombey was anxious that Mrs. +Trotter should take it to her own home, but, as “Mrs. Grundy” had +already been discussing her movements, she dare not, without fear of +ruining her children, take the baby under the roof. As there was no help +for it the baby was allowed to go to Vermont, and grew up a beautiful +girl, passionately devoted to the only parents she had ever known; Mrs. +Walker dying during the child’s infancy, Mr. Walker had her educated as +well as his means would permit, and they passed their time in the most +perfect harmony and sweet content. After the war, however, Walker found +himself almost without a penny in the world, and, thinking to better his +fortunes removed to New York, where he managed to make a poor living +as a subordinate in the Custom House. Margery regretted this change of +circumstances very much, but, being thoroughly devoted to her father, +she did not repine, but did all in her power to make his home as happy +as could be under such conditions. She missed her accustomed amusements +very much, and although in New York she saw many things and found many +opportunities which would have been altogether unknown to her in the +country, yet she was a long time in becoming reconciled to the close and +stifling atmosphere of a great metropolitan city. + +One night her father promised her a great treat, they were to go to +X----‘s theatre to see Mademoiselle B---- in Romeo and Juliet. Margery +sat with strained eyes gazing wistfully at the play, laughing and +weeping by turns as the great master’s power was exerted on the audience +by the artists engaged, and at the close she heaved a deep sigh, +consequent upon having held her breath so long, and without thought +exclaimed aloud:--“Oh, what would I not give to be able to act like +that.” The manager who was close by, and who had been watching the +attentive beauty for some time, overheard the remark, and intercepting +the pair on their way out of the theatre said:--“I noticed that you were +favorably impressed with the piece; would you like an introduction to +Miss B----, the principal actress?” Margery was overcome with delight, +and besought her father so earnestly to allow her to go into the green +room that he accompanied her thither, and they obtained an introduction +to the famous artiste. Miss B---- was quite taken with the innocent +enthusiasm of the girl, and invited her to come to her benefit on the +following evening, when she was to appear as Parthenia in “Ingomar;” + Margery, having obtained her father’s permission, readily consented, and +all the way home was full of praises for Juliet, Romeo, the manager, +and all concerned. On the following evening the manager drew her father +aside and whispered in his ear:--“You have a fortune in that girl +of yours.” Walker, misunderstanding the purport of his words, +replied:--“Yes, she is a good and affectionate child, as much so as if I +were her natural parent.” “You do not understand me,” said the other; “I +mean she has immense emotional power, which, if artistically cultivated, +would, coupled with her personal appearance, make both her fortune and +yours.” + +“Do you think so?” replied Walker; “well, if we had only the means I +would certainly have her trained, for, since she has seen Mademoiselle +B---- act, her great ambition seems to be to occupy a similar position.” + After further conversation it was agreed to place Margery under the +care of Mrs. L----, with a view of becoming a professional actress; for, +although Walker did not at all care for the stage or its concomitants, +still he did not wish to throw any obstacles in the way of his adopted +child’s prosperity. Margery, therefore, was allowed to pursue the bent +of her inclinations, and such an apt pupil was she that in a little over +eighteen months her debut was announced in the papers, and a crowded +house showered floral and other trophies on the beautiful debutante. +Offers of engagements from different cities came flowing in, and before +long Miss Margery Montague was announced to appear in Montreal. Her fame +had preceded her thither, and Fairfax was instructed to secure a box for +the Dombey family. Dombey himself (who had followed the career of his +child) tried hard to excuse himself from going, but his wife was not +satisfied to leave him at home; he sat in the back of the box, and as +the applause grew louder and louder, he showered costly bouquets, +and other offerings on the stage, his breast meanwhile being torn by +conflicting passions. How proud he would have been to clasp her to his +heart and call her his own; but he had willfully put her away from him, +and now, even could he receive her into his family, would her adopted +father be willing to give her up again. With flushed face and beating +heart he sought the manager, and begged to be allowed to see the fair +artiste, a favor which was granted; and, as he stood before his child, +and poured forth the usual stereotyped compliments and congratulations, +he bit his lips as he thought that he dared not press her to his heart, +but was forced to speak to her in terms of cold politeness. + +On their return from the Theatre Mrs. Dombey announced her intention +of calling on the talented actress, and the following day she went, +accompanied by her daughters, to the St. Lawrence Hall, at that time the +most fashionable hotel in the city, where she was cordially received; +and the young actress made such a favorable impression on the ladies +that they invited her to dine at their house on the following day, an +invitation which was readily accepted. + +Dombey was greatly moved when he heard that Miss Montague had accepted +an invitation to dinner, but there was no help for it, and, as though +to make matters worse invitations were sent to a few intimate friends, +including Mrs. Trotter. Here, then, was a painful position for the two +guilty ones: they were forced to sit and see the child whom they had +cast off fêted and honored by the woman both of them had injured. It +seemed as if a wet blanket were placed over the whole assembly: Dombey +sat moodily biting his finger-nails, and as Mrs. Trotter would not sing +and Mrs. Dombey _could_ not, matters went very slowly indeed. + +When the time came for separating, Mrs. Dombey motioned to Jacob to see +Miss Montague to her hotel, but he being deep in a fit of abstraction, +his eldest son Charles stepped forward, and before his father could +prevent him, was equipped in greatcoat and overshoes, ready for a +moonlight stroll. During the evening he had noticed that Charles was +rather attentive to the fair actress, and the thought that an intimacy +between them was possible drove him to the verge of distraction, Mrs. +Dombey noticed his strange behavior, and asked him the cause, on which +he muttered something about “Auction lunch--infernal champagne,” and +some other incoherent exclamations, altogether unintelligible to his +unsuspicious wife. When he and his paramour got outside they walked +along in gloomy silence for several minutes--at last he addressed her: +“Is it not strange that this child, whom I had thought far removed from +me and mine, should be brought even into my own house, and eat at my +table?” + +“Oh, it is fearful; only think what would be the consequence if an +intimacy should spring up between her and Charles!” + +“Yes, I must send him away at once.” + +Mrs. Trotter reminded him that this step was unnecessary, as Miss +Montague left the next day for Chicago to fulfil a professional +engagement. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then, with a passionate tug +at Mrs. Trotter’s door bell, turned to go away. + +“Will you not come in a while, Jack?” she said. + +“No, he replied, Clara (Mrs. Dombey) would suspect something. She looked +at me very strangely this evening.” + +“But you will come to-morrow,” rejoined the temptress. + +“Yes, I will look in on my way up from the office,” he said. “Good +night.” + +“Good night, Jack,” said she. + +As he got to his own door he found Charles leaning pensively against the +balustrade, gazing wistfully at the heavens. + +“Well, Charlie, have you forgotten your latch-key?” + +“N--no Sir,” stammered Charles, “but it is so confoundedly hot inside +that I did not care to go in.” + +Dombey reflected that as the thermometer registered only about ten +degrees Fahrenheit he had but to open his window to attain as low a +temperature as was consistent with comfort; however, he said nothing, +and they both walked upstairs. + +“Good night, Charlie.” + +“Good night, Father.” + +And they entered their respective chambers. + +I have heard it said that if two men are placed in one bed, one in love +and the other with a toothache, that the man with the toothache will +fall asleep first. Here, however, were two men; one, past the prime +of life, afflicted with the most bitter remorse; the other, young and +susceptible, with all the fever of a youthful passion springing up +within his breast. Dombey could not sleep, the thought that what at +first was barely possible was now become highly probable goaded him +almost to madness. He rose and dressed himself, going quietly out of the +front door into Sherbrooke street. Along the street he went at a fearful +pace, till, almost faint from want of breath, he turned down the hill +towards the city, habit bringing him along the route he was accustomed +to take to his office. As he turned the corner of St. James street, he +saw (for there were few persons abroad) a young man walking moodily up +and down on the side opposite the St. Lawrence Hall; he turned as if he +had seen an apparition, and ran rather than walked in the direction of +his own home. + +Next day Miss Montague departed for the West, Mrs. and Miss Dombey +accompanied by Charles went to see her off at the Depot, and with many +assurances of a future meeting, should she ever return to Montreal, +they separated as the train moved slowly past the platform. As the +drawing-room car was just clearing the station, Miss Montague held +a piece of paper out of the window, which Charles caught eagerly +and placed in his pocket-book. His mother and sister chaffing him on +receiving tender messages from the fair artiste, he laughingly produced +it. + +It was nothing more nor less than a page of an old timetable, and both +Mrs. and Miss Dombey laughed at the strange souvenir Miss Montague had +left behind her. When they got home, however, Charles carefully opened +the paper and observed that opposite each of the cities on her route +Miss Montague had placed a figure in pencil thus:--Chicago, 4; +Detroit, 2; Toledo, 2; Toronto, 3; New York; 6, Boston, 6. This, though +unintelligible to his mother and sister, informed Charles that Miss +Montague would go first to Chicago and remain four days, and afterwards +to the other cities mentioned, and that he might write or meet her there +as opportunity afforded. + +That day matters resumed their normal condition in the Dombey family; +Jacob breathed freely now that his child had returned to the country of +her adoption, and his wife and family were happy because of his improved +spirits and appearance. Charles had apparently settled down to business +as usual, and Mesdames Trotter and Dombey drove out together as of old. +In a few weeks, however, Charles asked his father permission to go for +his holidays; a friend having invited him to spend a few weeks at Nahant +an island near Boston. There being nothing to keep him in Montreal he +had no difficulty in procuring consent, and he departed, taking fishing +tackle enough to have supplied the whole Atlantic coast for a season. +When his father learned the real object of his visit to Boston, he raved +like a madman; he came to see me, and told me the whole story, most of +which I had learnt before from other sources and he persuaded me to +go to Boston and to take on my self the painful duty of informing Miss +Montague who and what she really was, and why it was impossible that she +could ever marry Charles Dombey. The poor girl was almost heart-broken, +for she had learnt to love her stepbrother dearly, and now she would +have to be separated from him entirely. It was not for herself, however, +that she mourned the most, it was for him, when he should learn of the +wide gulf which separated them from each other. He never did learn it, +however; Miss Montague consented (for his sake) to accept an engagement +in England, and to trust in years to soften the blow which had smitten +her so severely. She wrote to Charles, telling him that, for reasons +unexplained, she never could be his wife, although she loved him dearly, +and that as there was no use striving against fate, she had bowed to +the inevitable, and taken a foreign engagement. At first Charles was +desperately cut up, but time, that physician _par excellence_, healed +his wounds, and he is now married to a respectable lady of this city; +deservedly successful in his business, and with a stainless reputation. +Jacob Dombey staggered along under his load for years, but, unable +to contain himself, he one day confessed the affair to his wife, who, +instead of denouncing him as the wretch he was, pitied and sympathized +with; aye, and not only that, she received his mistress into her house +as before, rather than make public his heartless conduct. Truly such +an angel never received such heartless treatment, or was so little +appreciated. It broke her heart however, and over her grave Dombey +resolved to cast Mrs. Trotter off forever, and send her away from the +city. He accordingly arranged with her to take an annual allowance and +go to New York with her family, vowing that he could no longer endure +her presence, which was grown distasteful to him. + +This did not at all suit Mrs. Trotter, who had now hoped to become +the legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no +avail, the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey’s bosom, and +he would hear of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United +States. He determined that however he might have blighted the life of +the wife whose excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, +nothing should stand in the way of her children’s advancement; and the +voice of a scandal having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, +he felt that her immediate departure was a necessity. She argued and +entreated, but it was of no avail, and she accordingly made the best of +her case and got from him a liberal allowance. Hers was not of a nature +to reform, however; she went from bad to worse, and finally took to +smoking opium as a means to relieve her gnawing conscience, ending her +days prematurely. + +Dombey survived her but a short time. He tried hard to make amends for +the past by increased attention to the children of his late wife, but he +never fully recovered himself, and finally succumbed to a wasting fever, +superinduced by late hours and immoderate drinking. To his last hour +his conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had inflicted on his +children, his natural daughter, and his confiding wife. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The Bag Baby. + +Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as _Maîtresse +d’Hôpital_ that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, +and employed her permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we +established quite a reputation, and applications for accommodation +poured in from all quarters. + +One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman +arrived by the morning train from the United States. The lady was +apparently about thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might +have been from five to ten years her senior, and, although plainly +attired, they had the appearance of belonging to the better class of +society. The gentleman informed me that they had just arrived from New +York, and had put up at the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife had +taken ill unexpectedly, and, hearing that she would be better cared for +in my house than at the Hall, he wished, if possible, to secure rooms +and professional attendance. The house being rather full at the time, +Madame Charbonneau was obliged to give her the nurse’s room (which +contained two beds) till some of the other rooms should become vacant; +this her husband readily assented to, and arranged to call in the +afternoon and bring the necessary funds, which I always made it a +point to collect in advance. The lady seeming tired and exhausted, I +recommended her to divest herself of her clothing and retire to bed, +which she accordingly did, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the +afternoon the gentleman returned, and, having settled the bills, went +upstairs to see his wife who was just then partaking of some light +refreshment. He expressed himself well pleased with our arrangements, +and said he would call regularly to see how his wife progressed. + +That night as the nurse was about to retire, she was surprised to find, +under the coverlet of her bed, an enormous rag baby, as large as a child +of two years old, dressed completely, with shoes, bonnet and veil. Her +astonishment can easily be imagined as she held it up to the light +and carefully examined it; then, laughing heartily, she turned to Mrs. +Roberts (my patient) and said: + +“My! who could have put this baby in my bed?” On which that lady replied +with evident embarrassment that the baby was a doll belonging to +her niece, and that, imagining the bed to be unoccupied, she had, in +unpacking her trunk, placed it there for the sake of convenience, and +apologized for being so careless. The nurse made no reply, but, being of +a jovial disposition, danced with it into the other rooms, exclaiming, +much to the chagrin of the lady, that she had found a beautiful baby in +her bed. The other patients wondered what it was, and whence it came, +and appealed to me for information, but, as I knew nothing about +it myself, their curiosity was not gratified in the least. On my +questioning the lady she told me a story similar to that which she told +the nurse, but her countenance contradicted her assertions, and the idea +of any child carrying a doll of the dimensions of the rag baby was too +absurd for credence. No more was said about it, however, and the matter +passed almost completely from our memory. + +For three or four days things went on as usual, Mrs. Roberts getting to +all appearances better every day, and her husband’s visits being paid +with due regularity; one day, however, he failed to appear, and Mrs. +Roberts seemed very uneasy. After tea she asked for the evening paper, +and hastily scanned its columns, when her eye fell on some item of +interest, and she became deadly pale. The American war being then in +progress I thought she might have learned of the death of a friend or +relation, so I inquired if anything were amiss, and was astonished +when she pointed out a paragraph containing an account of her husband’s +arrest for enlisting British subjects for the American army, and +smuggling them across the line, She now took me into her confidence, and +explained that she was an accomplice of her husband, and that they +had made a practice of enlisting men in Montreal. Her husband usually +remained here, as it was dangerous for him to travel to and fro, but she +was sent as an escort for each recruit, and the baby was used to avert +suspicion, as no sentinel would think of scrutinizing a man closely who +went across accompanied with his wife and child. The excess of travel +had weakened her frame, and now this shock came to still further shake +her system; the result was a premature confinement, and a long and weary +illness. + +Ere she recovered she got a letter from her husband, bearing the +New York postmark. It seems he had been liberated on bail, (having +influential friends) and had at once made the best of his way to the +United States. His wife soon joined him, taking with her the redoubtable +rag-baby, which had afforded us so much food for gossip and conjecture. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. + +Alfred Grandison was born in the ancient city of Bristol in the year +1831. His father had been bandmaster in a British Cavalry regiment, +but had retired some years previous to the birth of little Alfred, and +made a comfortable livelihood by teaching the children of the wealthy +residents of Clifton, the fashionable suburb of Bristol. Young Alfred +soon gave evidence of great musical talent, and used to amuse himself +blowing trumpet calls on his father’s French horn, although the +instrument was almost as big as himself; he also achieved considerable +mastery over the piano, the flute and the violin, but, though bright +and intelligent enough, and always maintaining a creditable position at +school, it was evident that nature had intended him for a musician, +and that he could never succeed in anything prosaic or mechanical. +Accordingly his father taught him not only to play, but also instructed +him in the theory and literature of music, and, when he was old enough, +had him entered as a chorister in Bristol Cathedral, where, in addition +to vocal music, he was carefully taught the art of organ-playing by the +Cathedral organist. + +The boy soon became able to play quite skilfully, and when his voice +began to give way he obtained a position as organist in the church at +Shirehampton, performing on a small instrument with one row of keys. +From Shirehampton he shortly removed to a more remunerative position +in Bristol, and he was not long there before he fell in love with the +daughter of a hotel-keeper in one of the suburbs, whom, in spite of +the remonstrance of both relatives and friends, he eventually married, +although she was both poor and plain-looking, and at least ten years his +senior. “A young man married is a man that’s marred” says Shakespeare, +and, without venturing an opinion as to the correctness of this theory, +we may say that young Grandison had made a great mistake. In a short +time his affection, or fancied affection, for his wife became less +ardent, and he found himself at the age of twenty-four, married to a +woman who had neither taste nor sympathy in common with him, the +father of three helpless children, and the recipient of the stupendous +emolument of sixty pounds a year. Added to all this his friends, being +unwilling to associate with his wife and relations, had, one by one, +deserted him, and left him almost alone to brood over his ill-advised +alliance. + +Whilst moodily glancing at an evening paper he saw an advertisement for +an organist who would be willing to go to Canada, and at once seizing at +the idea he applied for the post, which he eventually obtained without +great difficulty, sailing for Montreal in the spring of 1855, to play +the organ and direct the music of one of the leading Episcopal churches +in this city. At that time there were, very few musicians of ability +in Montreal, and Mr. Grandison soon became quite popular, both +professionally and socially. His wife was at first invited out, but, +finding that she seldom accompanied her husband on these occasions, her +name was, in time, dropped from the invitations, and Mr. Grandison was +treated as if he were a bachelor, many indeed being altogether unaware +of the fact that he had a wife and family. + +Among those who took Grandison by the hand was a certain Mr. Sedley, +a professional man of high standing. Mary Sedley, the daughter of the +latter was possessed of a remarkably fine voice, and was one of the +ornaments of the church choir, so that the family were naturally +interested in the advent of a new organist from England, under whose +careful training the music of the church was to be developed and +improved. It was decided to place Mary Sedley under the special charge +of Mr. Grandison, and he accordingly went twice a week to the house to +give her lessons in singing, and when there was a special Anthem to be +sung his visits were much more frequent. Then the Sedleys gave grand +musical parties to which Mr. Grandison was of course, invited, playing +Miss Sedley’s accompaniment on the pianoforte, while she entranced the +assembled company with her singing; in fact, no gathering of the +Sedley family was complete without the presence of the handsome and +accomplished Mr. Grandison. + +All this, in its way, was harmless enough, but Mary Sedley was a +blooming girl of seventeen, and Grandison, as I have said was quite +a young man, and from the frequent walking home with her alone from +services and rehearsals, and other meetings in society, there arose an +intimacy which, though unnoticed by Mary’s parents, and possibly not by +the young people themselves, could not be productive of anything in the +long run but sorrow and remorse. + +One Saturday night when Mary came home rather later than usual, her +father (who, though fond of her, was an austere man) questioned her +gruffly as to the cause of her delay, when she replied:--“Oh! papa, I am +to sing ‘As Pants the Hart’ to-morrow, and Mr. Grandison insisted on my +trying it with the organ after practice. It is exceedingly difficult, +you know.” + +Her father _did not know_, and was inclined to be very angry. The next +day, however, he forgot it all in the delight of hearing his daughter’s +voice resounding through the sacred edifice; Grandison was invited to +dinner, and everything was once more _couleur de rose_. + +The first winter after Grandison’s arrival in Canada he gave a grand +concert in Nordheimer’s Hall, then the principal concert hall in the +city. Mary Sedley was the Prima Donna, and bouquet after bouquet was +thrown at her feet, as she retired amid the plaudits of the multitude. +After the concert Grandison accompanied them home to supper, and about +twelve o’clock took his leave of the family. + +About an hour afterwards Mr. Sedley, thinking he heard a noise, got +up and searched the house, when, to his surprise, he found the door +unfastened. He thought he remembered having secured it as he retired to +rest, but was not certain; however, he proceeded, in his search, and +on coming to Mary’s room, found the door locked, and heard his daughter +breathing heavily, as if asleep. Being unwilling to disturb her, he +returned to his bed, and, ere morning, the affair had passed from his +memory. Had he remained awake, however, he might have seen a man emerge +from his daughter’s room, and, creeping stealthily along the passage, go +out at the hall-door, his daughter, the pure, spotless Mary, _leader of +Psalmody and sacred lays_, following close at his heels, to fasten the +door and make good his retreat. + +This sort of thing went on for a long time, unsuspected by either Miss +Sedley’s parents or friends, when Mary became suddenly placed in a very +awkward position. A certain Mr. Hazelton, junior partner in a large +hardware firm, had long been a suitor of hers, and had asked repeatedly +for her hand; her father had hitherto refused to give his consent, owing +to her tender age, but he had now withdrawn every obstacle, and left her +free to get married if she chose; more than that, he urged Hazelton’s +suit, and, though unwilling to coerce his daughter in any way, gave her +to understand that he was particularly desirous that she should give +Hazelton a favorable reply. + +Under ordinary circumstances Mary would have had no hesitation in +refusing to have anything to say to Hazelton, but for some time rumor +had been busy circulating scandal concerning herself and Grandison, and, +as she was at that moment not in a condition to bear scrutiny, she was +afraid to awaken suspicion by refusing Hazelton’s offer, and so he was +made the “happiest of men” (?) + +A short time after Miss Sedley had become engaged to Mr. Hazelton she +went with her father and mother to Cacouna, where they had a summer +residence. By a strange coincidence, Grandison also chose Cacouna at +which to spend his holidays, and combined business with pleasure by +giving occasional concerts at the St. Lawrence Hall, which hotel had +just been erected, and was the fashionable resort of those people from +Montreal and Quebec who could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere +of these cities for the more bracing air of Canada’s popular watering +place. Mr. Hazelton was unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was +not disposed to accompany her husband, even if he could have afforded +to take her, in fact, the poor woman, feeling that she was a burden and +drag on her husband, had taken to drinking, and had gradually removed +herself still further from the pale of fashionable society. Her house +(which was situated in a back street in Montreal) was not only untidy, +but positively dirty, and her children ran about the streets unclad +uneducated, and uncared for. + +The Sedleys had not been long at Cacouna when one morning the old +gentleman walking out, as was his wont, before breakfast, saw through +the fog (which in this district usually hangs about for some time after +sunrise) a man descend from his daughter’s bedroom window and walk +hastily in the direction of the hotel. Both the distance and the fog +prevented him from positively recognizing the man’s features, but the +form and carriage were unmistakably those of Alfred Grandison. Mr. +Sedley was, so to speak, “struck all of a heap,” he could not believe +the evidence of his own senses, and for a few moments he stood rooted to +the spot as if thunderstruck; then he rushed into the house, and going +straight to his daughter’s room upbraided her with her shameful conduct, +but was met by a bold and unqualified denial, the young lady stating +that she had been till that moment asleep, and that possibly some +burglar had been in the premises, whom her father had mistaken for a gay +Lothario. She burst into tears and wondered that her father could have +such an opinion of her, and suggested that immediate search should be +made, to see if any articles of value were missing. Her father was by no +means convinced of his mistake, however; he thought it possible that his +daughter might not have been aware of Grandison’s presence, or that he +might only have been _about to enter_ the house when he was frightened +away; but that Grandison was there he felt certain, so, going +immediately over to the hotel, he charged him directly with his +crime, at the same time, presenting a loaded revolver at his head, he +threatened to blow his brains out. This, as may be supposed, did +not prove a ready means of eliciting a confession from the cowardly +Grandison. The poor wretch cowered before the righteous indignation of +the broken-hearted father, and swore by every saint in the Calendar that +the latter must have been mistaken, and that nothing criminal had ever +taken place between the young lady and himself. + +Mr. Sedley only half believed these asseverations, but, as may be seen, +he was a poor diplomatist, and took the very worst way to arrive +at anything like the truth. So saying “Not guilty, but _don’t do it +again_,” or words to that effect, he left the hotel and returned to his +own house. Here he disclosed his fears to his wife, but she scouted +the idea as preposterous, and urged him to have Mary’s marriage with +Hazelton celebrated as soon as convenient, and so put an end to all +possible contingencies. + +Shortly after the return of the family to Montreal Mr. Hazelton led to +the altar with pride the “blushing” Mary Sedley. Good cause, indeed, had +she to blush, for never was man more egregiously “sold” than was “Mr. +Samuel Hazelton, of the city of Montreal, merchant.” The _happy couple_ +left by the evening train for Boston, the “Wedding March,” which was +admirably performed by Mr. Grandison, still ringing in their ears. + +About five months after this unholy marriage Mrs. Hazelton called on me, +and disclosed to me the whole state of the case, informing me (of which +there was little necessity) that her confinement was close at hand, and +soliciting my aid to get her out of the difficulty. My first impulse was +to call on her husband and acquaint him with the facts: but, remembering +that he occupied a prominent position, not only in the mercantile, but +also in the religious community; moreover, that a disclosure would in +no way mend the matter, and would be a lasting disgrace not only, to the +two culprits, but also to Messrs. Sedley and Hazelton I listened calmly +to her plans for getting out of the difficulty. She suggested pretending +a miscarriage, wished me to invite her to my house, where she would +become ill, and unable to leave till after her child was born. The child +was then to be conveyed to the nunnery, her husband being deluded into +the belief that she had miscarried. + +Now, in the ordinary course of business, I would have been perfectly +justified in attending her without troubling my head about her +antecedents; indeed, had she been unmarried I would possibly have +given my services, but in this case the lady was married, and the child +lawfully belonged to her husband, _whose heir it was_, although actually +belonging to another man. + +I accordingly declined having anything to do with her case, although I +promised that, as her confession was made to me in confidence and as a +professional secret, I would not disclose it to anyone. Having friends +in Boston, she made some excuse to visit them, and she was not long +there when her husband received a telegram, stating that his wife had +had a premature confinement and lay in a precarious state in Boston, +whither her loving husband instantly repaired. The child (a beautiful +girl) was sent to Mrs. Sedley in Montreal, and given out to nurse. She +was eventually adopted by a childless dry goods merchant in this city +who had her educated as his daughter, employing, by-the-by, _her own +father_ to give her lessons in music. + +One would think that now Mrs. Hazelton had got over this great +difficulty, and started in life as a respectable married lady, she +would have eschewed her former errors and turned over a new leaf. +Unfortunately for all parties, her husband was proud of her musical +ability, and insisted that she should continue to take lessons from +Grandison, for whom strange to say, he had conceived a great regard. The +frequent meetings consequent upon this proved too much for both of the +culprits, and in a short time they became as intimate as ever. Since +Mary’s marriage, Mr. Sedley had quite forgotten his former suspicions +of Grandison, and he was cordially received into both houses, being, in +fact, almost a member of the family. + +Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a capital +speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of that +edifice addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other ladies +were to enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the piano by +Mr. Grandison. The lecture animadverted at some length concerning the +temptations which beset young men, and warned them to avoid vice of all +kinds, drinking, gambling, and the rest. Among other things he mentioned +the social evil, and contrasted the happy home of the chaste man and his +virtuous wife with that of the drunken, vicious libertine. The seducer +was anathematized, and a graphic description given of the poor degraded +women who had lost the one jewel in their crown. It is needless to say +that both Mrs. Hazelton and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable +during this discourse; the former who was to have sung a brilliant aria +at its close, grew deadly pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer +requested Mr. Grandison to substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, +he was unable to perform anything without notes, so the announcement was +made to the audience that, owing to the excessive heat (the temperature +was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), Mrs. Hazelton, was unable to perform +that evening, and begged to be excused. Grandison was to have gone home +with the lecturer to supper, but he said he considered Mrs. Hazelton +would be the better of a little quiet, and, stammering out some excuse, +slunk away in the direction of his own home. + +Mr. Hazelton found his wife reclining on a sofa in the drawing-room, and +he at once exerted himself to alleviate her suffering, and gratify her +every whim. He propped her up with pillows, and ordered the maid to +prepare whatever delicacies the larder afforded, blaming himself as +being the cause of all her sufferings. His solicitude in her behalf made +her only the more miserable; she had never loved, and never could love, +him, but his uniform kindness and attention had excited within her a +feeling of gratitude which made her remorse all the more bitter as she +thought how he had been duped by the woman who had sworn to love and +honor him. The next day was one of those appointed for receiving her +singing lessons, but she sent a messenger to Mr. Grandison, telling +him not to call for a few days, as she was unequal to even that slight +exertion. Mr. Hazelton called to see me in great alarm, informing me +that his wife’s first child was prematurely born, and that he dreaded +a recurrence of that terrible calamity. I, of course, had my own ideas +concerning what was the matter, but I promised to call and see her, and +do what I could to alleviate her sufferings. I found her well enough +physically, but in very low spirits and in tears. She told me what I +have informed the reader, adding that she was at the moment _enceinte_, +the father of this child being also Alfred Grandison. I was very much +shocked at this disclosure, but contented myself with remonstrating with +Mrs. Hazelton concerning the course she was pursuing, urging her to +drop all connection with Grandison. This she promised to do, but I +subsequently discovered that, far from keeping her promise, she had even +gone so far as to plan an elopement with him to the United States. + +About two years after Mrs. Hazleton’s marriage, Grandison received the +appointment of organist to ---- Church, Chicago, and, together with +his wife and family, left Montreal for the Western city, leaving Mr. +Hazelton in undisturbed possession of his wife; the latter, instead of +rejoicing at this providential release from temptation, fretted at the +loss of her paramour, attributing, however, her fitful humor to her +delicate condition. + +Shortly after Grandison’s departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend +Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy +at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on +the occasion of the child’s christening, and when the guests all agreed +that the child had “its father’s nose” (which was doubtless the truth) +the poor man’s delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began +to be more cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her +husband for the wrong which could never be repaired. When, however, he +carried her baby up and down, or fondled it upon his knee, the bitter +pangs of remorse gnawed at her heart, and made her captious and bad +tempered. With all this there was no deep repentance, and when Grandison +came to Montreal for his holidays, her husband was completely forgotten +once more. Grandison was invited to stay at the Hazeltons’ residence, +an invitation which to do him justice he endeavored to decline, but Mr. +Hazelton pressed him so strongly that he was afraid to awaken suspicion +by refusing, and so the wolf became ensconced snugly in the sheepfold, +not only without difficulty, but on the pressing invitation of its +occupants. Mrs. Hazelton during this visit urged Grandison so strongly +that he promised to elope with her so soon as he could conveniently +leave Chicago. + +He had not been long back at his new residence when his wife died, and +letters of condolence were sent to him from all quarters. His wife, who +had never been received into society, was suddenly discovered to have +been one of its brightest ornaments, and her loss was deeply felt and +proportionately deplored. Mrs. Hazelton now thought her opportunity had +come, and accordingly wrote to Grandison that she was ready to go to the +end of the world with him. He, however, was not particularly anxious to +go to such a remote locality; in fact he had made up his mind to remain +in Chicago, and (now that his wife was no longer a burden upon him) +to turn over a new leaf and become a respectable member of society. +Whatever charms Mary Sedley may have had had long since disappeared, and +Mr. Grandison’s affection was not so deep-seated that he was prepared +to tie himself to a comparatively plain old woman for whom he had long +since lost every particle of respect. He accordingly took no notice of +her letter, and received a second and a third couched in the strongest +language of affection. But the more importunate she became, the more did +Grandison lose his respect for her; he therefore took no notice of her +letters, and determined to keep aloof from her in the future. + +When Mrs. Hazelton began to realize that he had deserted her, she grew +frantic indeed. She would not believe it; the letters had miscarried, or +something else had interfered to prevent his writing. She resolved that, +come what would, she would go to him, and, throwing herself at his feet, +demand his protection. In the dead of the night she collected her most +valuable clothing and jewellery, and, with a little money in her purse, +stealthily left her husband’s house, carrying her bundle in her hand. +She wandered about the streets till daylight, and in the morning entered +the Grand Trunk Depot in St. Bonaventure street, and procured a ticket +for Chicago. Her husband at first thought she had merely gone to +Bonsecours market to purchase provisions for the ensuing week, and that +she would shortly return. Breakfast time came, however, and she did not +return, and he began to get uneasy; enquiries were made of neighbors and +friends at whose houses she might possibly have stayed, but no one had +seen her, or knew anything of her whereabouts. The police were next +communicated with, and a regular hue and cry was raised in the city +concerning her mysterious disappearance. In the meantime the object +of their search arrived in Chicago, and at once proceeded towards +Grandison’s residence. She had not gone far when he approached her with +a fashionably dressed young lady on his arm. Mrs. Hazelton ran towards +him with a cry of recognition, but, whatever he may have felt towards +her before, the sight of her as she now appeared drove every trace +of affection from his heart, he looked at her coldly, and without the +faintest sign of recognition The effect of this treatment under the +circumstances can well be imagined; the wretched woman fell fainting +at his feet, raving wildly and uttering the most awful imprecations. By +this time a crowd had collected, and the police, thinking she was some +madwoman who had escaped, had her removed to an asylum, and placed under +medical treatment. + +During all this period Hazelton was like a man demented; he caused +advertisements to be inserted in the principal papers, describing his +wife, and offering a reward for her recovery. The canal locks were +dragged from end to end, and every place likely to have been visited by +her was thoroughly searched and examined. At the end of about a week Mr. +Hazelton received the following telegram:-- + + Chicago, Oct. 14, 18--. + To S. Hazelton, Esq., + + Montreal + + Person answering description in advertisement in _Tribune_ + found here to-day, and placed under medical treatment. + What shall we do? + + J----P----, + + --for Chief of Police. + +Mr. Hazelton immediately telegraphed a reply, and, taking the next +train, was soon able to identify his lost wife. The sight of him made +the poor creature worse, and he was forbidden to call till she was in a +less excitable condition. In about a week, though still suffering, she +was removed to Montreal, and placed under the care of Dr. X----, to +whom I communicated what I knew concerning her antecedents. In a +comparatively short time she grew much better, and was able to converse +intelligently, the subject of her departure and her illness being +carefully avoided. Her husband attributed her mental aberration to the +old cause, although why she should have gone to Chicago, he never could +exactly understand. + +Many years have now passed since these occurrences, and all the parties +to this narrative are still alive. Mrs. Hazelton has never recovered +from the effects of the shock received in Chicago, and sits brooding +mournfully and in secret over her past transgressions, while her husband +with unceasing devotion heaps coals of fire on her head. Grandison has +since moved to New York, where he married again, and became an altered +man. I met him in Montreal a short time since, but he carefully avoided +all mention of either Mr. or Mrs. Hazelton, and did not dare to call +either on them or the Sedleys. Once or twice his name was mentioned at +the house of the latter, but it seemed to awaken sad recollections in +the breast of Mrs. Hazelton, and was consequently avoided by the family. +The latter have lived so far in ignorance of these occurrences, and it +is to be hoped they will never be undeceived. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Among the Fenians. + +While still young, and unused to the many strange phases of life I had +an adventure which, at that period of my career, made a deep impression +on my mind. A rough-looking man called on me, and requested my immediate +attendance on a sick woman at Point St. Charles, at that time a remote +suburb of Montreal. As I hesitated to go with him, having a strange +dread of accompanying him to such a lonely place, he seemed to think I +was afraid of not receiving my fee, and, pulling a long purse out of his +pocket he took out a handful of gold pieces, one of which he tendered me +an advance. This made me all the more reluctant to accompany him, as +I feared he might be a robber or freebooter of some kind, but, quickly +controlling my emotions, I set my reason to work, and argued that, +whatever he might be, he could have no motive other than that assigned +for taking me with him, that he could gain nothing by way-laying or +even murdering me, and so I put on my outer garments and got into the +carriage beside him. The night was wet and stormy, and, just as we +started, forked lightning flashed across the heavens in all directions, +causing the horse to dash madly along as if to overturn the vehicle. +This of course was a mere coincidence, but, with all my firmness of will +and sound logical reasons for not being afraid, I could not altogether +control my emotions as we drove through the lowest and dirtiest parts +of Griffintown, which had at that time the reputation of harboring all +sorts of Fenians, thieves and marauders. We crossed the canal and got +out into the country, the rain descending in torrents, while the thunder +crashed louder than ever. I believe that, had I been able to get out, I +would have even then retreated, but I had no alternative but to remain +and make the most of my position. Beyond a few words at starting, my +companion said little; indeed conversation was impossible, as were +jolted from side to side of the street, and the crashing of the thunder +overhead would have drowned our most powerful efforts. + +After about half an hour’s ride, the carriage stopped at a lonely house +some distance on the Lower Lachine road, and, alighting, we entered, +when I was piloted into an upper chamber, where a woman lay on a couch +in need of my attendance. I felt altogether re-assured now, and at once +opened my satchel to make the necessary preparations for my stay; still +the room had not the air of an ordinary bedroom, and the presence of +three men, all as rough-looking as my guide, made me suspicious as to +their calling, more particularly as there was not a woman to be seen +save my patient. + +As soon as I had divested myself of my wet garments and hung them at the +fire to dry, the men left the room, and I ordered the woman to undress +and go to bed, which she did. I then tried to get some information from +her as to who her husband was, and what was the occupation of the men I +had seen, but she either was or pretended to be too sick to enter into +conversation, and I was obliged to restrain my curiosity for the time at +least. In about two hours the woman gave birth to a boy, and as soon as +I could leave with safety, I donned my clothes and left for home, the +man who had engaged me putting me into a cab with great politeness, +and paying the driver, he ordered him to deposit me in safety at my +residence. + +The next morning I was surprised to read in the paper that a quantity of +arms and ammunition had been sent here from the Fenian headquarters +in New York, and that although it was known that they were secreted +somewhere about Griffintown, the police had been altogether baffled in +their search for them. A new light now dawned upon me, particularly as I +recollected that the room in which my patient lay was filled with long, +coffin-shaped boxes, the uses of which I had been unable to guess. I +accordingly consulted with my husband as to what course I should pursue. +Was I, having come by this information in my professional capacity, to +shut my eyes to these doings, or, taking advantage of my position, to +inform the police? My husband argued in this way:--If these people had +been guilty of a crime, which could not now be ameliorated or averted, +it would be a straining point for me to take advantage of what I had +learnt by accident and to bring them to justice; but that as in this +case a great national trouble _might be averted_, and many lives saved, +by timely information, it was my duty to exert myself in the interests +of the community by putting a check on their movements. With this end +in view I communicated with Mr. P----, then Chief of Police, and from my +description he said he had no doubt but these were the very persons of +whom they were in search, and that if I could only manage to frame an +excuse for the introduction of a detective, he would make sure of their +identity before making any arrests. + +My second visit to the house was made in the morning. I found my patient +very weak and feverish, and, although it was only what I had expected, +took advantage of the fact to express my fears that the case was one +requiring the most skillful treatment, and that unless I were permitted +to call in a medical man of eminence, I would not be responsible for the +consequence. The woman’s husband was very much averse to this; but, as +I urged it strongly, and his wife (of whom he was apparently fond) +seconded my request, he finally consented, and the same afternoon +called, accompanied by Detective F----, whom I introduced as my +consulting physician. Whilst I mixed some simple remedies for my +patient, the detective carefully examined the boxes, which he was unable +to move, and which we were both convinced contained arms and ammunition +for the destruction of the peaceful inhabitants of Montreal. Mr. F---- +carefully noted the position of everything in and about the house, he +also took a good look at the surroundings, and then we departed for +the police station. The Chief was for making an immediate arrest of +the whole party, but I dissuaded him, urging him, in the interests of +humanity, to wait till the woman was out of danger; he then agreed to +wait for a few days, keeping the house and its inmates under constant +surveillance. + +The woman got better day by day, and at the end of a week, the Chief, +fearful lest something might occur to mar his plans, sent a detachment +of armed policemen to arrest the Fenian emissaries and capture the +stores. In some way or another the men got wind of the affair, and made +their escape across the lines, leaving the poor woman and her helpless +babe alone and unprotected. The police entered the house unopposed; +they found there several dozen, muskets and rifles, also about a hundred +bayonets and five thousand rounds of ball cartridge. The woman refused +to give the slightest information as to the names or identity of her +companions; she said she knew nothing about the arms contained in the +boxes, that the latter had been brought there by a strange man, and left +in charge of her husband, and that she had never seen them opened. As +the men were evidently by this time safe in Uncle Sam’s dominions, the +police contented themselves with securing the ammunition, leaving the +woman to shift for herself. As I did not like the idea of leaving her in +the room alone and uncared for, I explained the matter to the neighbors, +who good-naturedly undertook to look after her till she received money +from her husband to pay her passage to New York. As, although I had no +compunction in assisting to break up this den of ruffians, I pitied the +poor woman, who was probably innocent of any crime, I handed her the +gold piece which her husband had given me, and did not leave her till +assured that the neighbors would look after her till her departure. In +later years I have often passed the scene of these transactions, and a +shudder passed through my frame as I remembered my experiences among the +Fenians. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +A Disciple of Satan. + +About the year 1866 I was summoned to attend a lady in Berri street, the +wife of an officer in the ----th Rifles. Her husband, Captain O’Grady, +had taken a furnished house for the winter, the quarters in the Quebec +Barracks being unsuited for the accommodation of a lady of her station, +and round the house on every hand evidences might be seen of both +wealth, taste and refinement. Mrs. O’Grady was a beautiful woman of +about twenty-two, and had only been married about a year; her husband, +who was an Irishman, loved her passionately, and gave me particular +charges concerning her, bidding me spare neither trouble nor expense to +render her illness as little irksome as possible. After her baby (a +fine boy) was born I attended her regularly every day, and, as she had +travelled in her youth and lived for some time in Germany, she invited +me to come and see her in the evenings whenever I was at leisure, so +that we might converse in the beautiful language of Schiller and Goethe, +and chat about that beautiful far-off land. Captain O’Grady +quite approved of this arrangement, and often used to join in the +conversation; it was in Germany he had met his wife, and he had a great +fancy for the soft German language, although speaking it but imperfectly +himself. + +Shortly after the birth of his child, Captain O’Grady’s regiment was +ordered to Chambly, and he was obliged to separate from his wife for a +time. He used to drive in occasionally to Montreal to visit her, but at +this season of the year the roads were very bad, and, as the thermometer +sometimes fell 20 or even 30 degrees below zero, the journey was usually +attended with much discomfort and even some danger. On Christmas Day, +Mrs. O’Grady wished her husband to remain at Chambly and dine at the +mess, but he insisted on coming into Montreal and dining with his +family. He accordingly set out about eleven o’clock in the morning, +accompanied by a brother officer named Churchill, a lieutenant in the +same regiment. + +It was a bitterly cold day, and the snow, which had been falling heavily +for some days, was blown in immense drifts across the roads, rendering +them almost impassable. The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the +horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head +ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O’Grady, and jumped into the +dickey. + +Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going +at a tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every +instant. The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and +harness, rendering it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged +to pull their fur caps over their ears to avoid their being frozen. They +had not proceeded far on their journey when the road, which in summer +was clearly defined by fences on either side, diverged somewhat from +the ordinary course, and was made, for convenience, through an adjoining +farm, being marked with pine branches, stuck at intervals in the snow. +As our party proceeded, even these slight indications were invisible, +the drifts rising in some places to a height of twelve or fourteen +feet. In one of the latter the sleigh stuck fast, and the occupants were +obliged to get out, and wading up to their knees in snow to assist the +horses to regain _terra firma_, or at least a more compact body of snow. +Whilst engaged in this operation, Mr. Churchill noticed that the groom’s +nose was perfectly white, and on examination it was found to be frozen; +they accordingly set to work to rub it with snow, and at Captain +O’Grady’s suggestion he held a large body of snow to it for the +remainder of the journey, which had the effect of thawing it out. + +In a short time they regained the high road, and went along at a +tremendous pace for three or four miles, when they entered the village +of Longueuil, which is situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, a +little below Montreal. They found the river completely frozen over, the +cold being intense, but the ice-bridge had only just been formed, +and the surface was rough and uneven, causing the sleigh to oscillate +fearfully, threatening every moment to overturn. The storm had by this +time increased to a perfect hurricane, and the drifting snow was driven +with intense force into the faces of both men and horses, causing the +latter to bound and gallop fearfully, to the extreme peril of those +behind them. O’Grady, however, was a skillful driver, and kept the +horses well in hand, calling to them from time to time in a reassuring +manner; as for Churchill, he rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, +and, as conversation was out of the question, he lit a cigar, and, +drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round him, made himself as comfortable +as possible. In a short time they arrived at their destination, and +throwing the reins to the groom, O’Grady dashed up stairs and in an +instant had his wife in his arms. She remonstrated with him about coming +in on such a terrible day, but descended to the drawing-room, and, +having welcome Mr. Churchill to her house, ordered the servant to set +the table for dinner. Just then the groom entered the house to enquire +when the carriage would be required in the evening, and the appearance +of his nose set the whole party laughing heartily; his proboscis had +assumed a deep red hue, and was swollen to an enormous size, giving him +a most comical appearance. O’Grady ordered him to bring the carriage +round at ten o’clock, and, dinner just then being announced, they +prepared, in true English fashion, to celebrate the Nativity. + +After dinner, Mrs. O’Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, +having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to +the fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the +clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the +neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate +leave of his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the +following Sunday, O’Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted +Churchill, and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into +the howling storm. Churchill lit another cigar, and shut his eyes to +avoid the blinding snowdrifts, while the driver was with difficulty +enabled to see his way. Arrived at the suburb known as Hochelaga, +O’Grady turned his horses’ heads towards the river, and they dashed +across the ice-bridge at the rate of about twelve miles an hour. On they +went at a terrible pace, the sleigh bumping and jolting over the rough +road, till bang they came upon a piece of ice, on to which the snow had +drifted, and over went the sleigh, turning its occupants head first on +the hard, icy road. Churchill was first on his feet, and, though bruised +and bleeding, succeeded in arresting the horses, who, now thoroughly +frightened, were about to run away; the groom also soon recovered +himself and ran to the assistance of his master, but the latter was +past all human aid, having fallen from the upper side of the sleigh bead +foremost on a piece of ice, and broken his neck. His companions were +struck dumb with grief and astonishment; however, they could not stand +freezing in the middle of the river, so, righting the sleigh, they +placed the dead man gently inside it, and drove slowly to Longueuil, +where a friendly _habitant_ placed the best room in his house at their +disposal. + +Mrs. O’Grady, as may well be supposed, was very much shocked at the news +of her husband’s death. The body was brought to her house in Montreal, +and from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery, where it was interred, a +company of rifles firing a volley over the grave. For a time the young +widow was undecided whether to go back to her friends in England or +to remain in Canada, but, being unwilling to become dependent on her +relations, she accepted a situation as governess in a wealthy family +residing in the west end of Montreal, placing her infant son under the +charge of a nurse. + +Mrs. Thomson, in whose service Mrs. O’Grady was employed, was the wife +of a wealthy English gentleman who had invested largely in Canadian real +estate and national enterprises. She had two daughters, aged 18 and 16, +respectively (whom Mrs. O’Grady was expected to train and prepare for +entrance into society), also a son about 22, who, although educated as +a lawyer, pursued no avocation other than the collection of rents on his +father’s estate, and minor offices in connection with the investment of +his money. Randolph Thomson, the young gentleman in question, suddenly +became very attentive to his sisters. There was not a single concert +or ball of importance to which he did not take them, whereas before +he could rarely be induced to accompany them anywhere. The girls never +tried to account for this sudden change in their brother’s behavior, +being too much engrossed in the enjoyment of the entertainments +aforesaid to trouble their heads about the matter; Mrs. Grundy, however, +had an idea that the handsome widow who officiated as governess had +something to do with the affair, and, a rumor of the kind reaching the +ears of Mrs. Thomson, the unfortunate widow was eventually obliged to +leave the house, much to the regret of the whole family, but especially +that of Randolph, whose brotherly attentions suddenly became less +marked, and in time ceased altogether. + +Mrs. O’Grady, being once more thrown on her own resources, departed for +Sherbrooke, one of the most thriving towns in the Eastern Townships, +where she endeavored to make a respectable livelihood by teaching music. +She chose Sherbrooke rather than Montreal, because in the latter place +every lady who wished to earn her own living started out as a music +teacher, and the teachers were rapidly threatening to outnumber the +pupils, and to equal many of them as regards want of knowledge. + +Close to Mrs. O’Grady’s new residence, and removed a short distance from +the town, there dwelt a wealthy old farmer named Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson +was a bachelor about 65 years old, who, by steady attention to his +farm and shrewd speculations, had amassed a considerable fortune, being +considered one of the “solid men” of Sherbrooke. Clarkson happening to +meet Mrs. O’Grady at the house of one of the principal clergymen, became +enamored of her at first sight, and at the first opportunity proposed +for her hand. This she was at first loth to give, her heart at the time +being elsewhere; but, as Clarkson offered to settle all his property on +her and her children, and he himself, though neither young nor handsome, +was very agreeable, and held a high position in the community, she +finally consented, and was led a second time to the hymeneal altar. + +Mr. Clarkson was very proud of his handsome wife, he ordered a handsome +phaeton and pair of bay ponies from Montreal for her private use, and +gave her an unlimited allowance of pin money, and she might be seen +any afternoon, fashionably attired, driving from one shop to another, +followed by the admiring eyes of the bank clerks and beaux, and the +envious glances of the single young ladies of Sherbrooke. + +After three or four months Mrs. Clarkson told her husband that she had +been invited to go on a visit to Montreal, and urged him to allow her to +accept it, particularly as her little boy was afflicted with sore eyes, +and there was no oculist of ability in the town. Her husband readily +consented, and, with the promise that she would return in a few weeks, +Mrs. Clarkson came to Montreal, and calling at my house informed Madame +Charbonneau (in my absence) that she wished to remain there if possible, +as she was about to be confined. When I got home she confessed to me +that she had been on terms of intimacy with Randolph Thomson, and begged +me not to inform her husband, as he was exceedingly jealous, and would +kill her if he suspected the true state of affairs. + +Promising to do the best I could under the circumstances I had rooms +prepared for both her and her boy, and secured the best medical +attendance for the latter, whose eyes were in a very bad state from long +neglect. It was two weeks before Mrs. Clarkson’s baby (a boy) was born, +and very unpleasant rumors were circulated round the town, which, +coming to the ears of the old gentleman caused him to write a very stiff +letter, ordering his wife to return immediately. This, of course, she +could not do, and as she was unable to frame an excuse for refusing to +I do so, she determined to take no notice of his letter, and, if brought +to task concerning it, _to deny having received it_, the letter being +unregistered. Fortunately for her, if not for himself, her boy’s eyes +continued to defy the skill of Dr. Fulford, the oculist to whose care +she had committed him, and it was imperative that they should remain +in Montreal a week or two longer. This fact was communicated to Mr. +Clarkson, but his sister (who had continued to reside with him after his +marriage) persuaded him to have nothing more to do with his wife, and +related to him the rumors she had heard, allowing them (as may well be +supposed) to lose nothing in the narration. + +Mrs. Clarkson was naturally very much put out when she learnt how her +sister-in-law had acted; but, being both a strong-minded and crafty +woman, she determined to put a bold face on the matter, and if possible +to pay off old scores with her sister-in-law. She accordingly placed her +baby out to nurse, and, as soon as she felt strong enough, set out +for Sherbrooke. She found her husband’s house locked against her, +but, nothing daunted, she went straight to the mayor’s residence, and +explained that, having gone to Montreal with her husband’s permission, +she had (as soon as _her boy_ was sufficiently recovered) returned to +her home, and found the door locked against her. The mayor (a particular +friend of Clarkson’s) told her to come with him and he would see her +righted, but she refused, saying that she had already gone to her +husband’s house and been refused admission, and that she would not go +again until he came to fetch her; she then departed and engaged rooms at +the hotel. + +The mayor, wishing to save his friend any public scandal, went to him, +and remonstrated with him on his conduct, explaining that, as his wife +had gone to Montreal with his permission, he was legally responsible for +all her expenses, and that in refusing to admit her into his house +he had rendered himself liable for an expensive lawsuit. On this poor +Clarkson got so frightened that he ordered his team to be brought round, +and, driving to the hotel, implored his wife to accompany him to his +house, begging her forgiveness for his conduct, and promising that he +would do anything to make amends. + +Mrs. Clarkson now felt that she had obtained a grand advantage, and, +assuming an air of injured innocence, enquired who had set him against +her. Poor Clarkson was reluctantly compelled to admit that his sister +had had something to do with it, on which his wife refused to live under +the same roof with such a vile slanderer (’), and insisted that, before +she returned, the lady _who had taken away her character_ should leave +the house. In fact, she managed the affair so well, and exhibited such +an amount of “cheek,” that the poor man actually sent his sister away, +and drove with a magnificent team of horses to bring home the woman whom +he had refused to admit into his house. + +For several months they lived happily together, Mrs. Clarkson _going on +a visit to Montreal_ whenever it stated her. In process of time she gave +evidence of being _enceinte_, and old Clarkson’s joy knew no bounds, as +he evidently rejoiced at the prospect of having an heir. Had he known, +however, that his wife, in visiting Montreal, was invariably met by +Randolph Thomson, it is questionable whether his joy would not have +been considerably moderated. Before the child was born the old man died, +leaving all his property to his wife and his expected heir. His sister, +who really was devoted to him, was left without a penny, and entirely +dependent on the charity of Mrs. Clarkson. The widow, however, had +not forgotten the part played by Mrs. Clarkson during her brother’s +lifetime, and being now steeped in wickedness, her better nature was +almost entirely lost. She turned the faithful sister from her door, +and she, the false wife, was with her illegitimate child (born almost +immediately after the old man’s death) snugly installed in the home that +in all equity and justice should have belonged to the woman she ejected. + +“_Facilis descensus Averni_.”--It is wonderful how easy the descent +really is, when once the first false step is taken. As the avalanche, +which at first becomes slowly loosened from its lofty position, +gradually descends with greater and greater rapidity till it is dashed +into the abyss, so does the frail mortal, who at first shudders at +the bare thought of an immoral act, rush headlong into sin till her +desperate career is suddenly checked, often in a manner fearful to +contemplate. Mrs. Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably +be expected to desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and +those of her husband’s relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental +to her character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, +without the incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; +Randolph Thomson, turning his back on her and his boy, had married a +young lady of fortune; so vowing vengeance against men in general for +their _falseness and inconstancy_. Mrs. Clarkson laid herself out to +entrap and ensnare every man who came in her way, and in this manner to +revenge herself (as she by some strange mental process led herself to +imagine) on her false lover. + +The deceased Mr. Clarkson had a brother named William, a bachelor, whose +farm was adjacent to that now possessed by the widow. William was nearly +twenty years younger than his brother, and was considered rather a +good-looking man by his acquaintances. It is possible that, but for +her _liaison_ with Thomson, Mrs. Clarkson would, long ere this, have +fascinated him with her beauty and blandishments; but, he had hitherto +escaped unscathed, though openly admiring his brother’s wife, and taking +her part against the scandal-mongers when speculation was rife as to the +cause which detained her in Montreal. In looking round for some one to +entrap and ensnare, Mrs. Clarkson’s eye naturally fell upon William, as +the most eligible party in her immediate vicinity; and she was the +more anxious to secure him, because, with a woman’s far-seeing eye and +long-reaching vengeance, she wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, +who, being unmarried (and likely to remain so), had undertaken to keep +house for her younger brother, and would, as matters at that moment +stood, have likely outlived him and inherited his property. Opportunity +was not long wanting for her to effect her object; William was the sole +executor to his brother’s estate, and, as business often brought them +together at the late Mr. Clarkson’s lawyer’s office in Montreal, it was +not strange that the widow should almost immediately have opened the +campaign, which she did on the first occasion of their meeting in the +city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a little skirmishing, +in order to draw out her opponent. It was a beautiful spring morning, +and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven o’clock, Mr. +Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to meet the +train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, reminding +him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her +husband’s life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her +reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural +protector was no more. William, being little of a gossip himself, urged +her to be above such petty pandering to public opinion, and to follow +her inclinations, but she replied naively.--“A woman has nothing to +depend on but her reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know.” + “Perhaps you are right,” William replied, laughing, and so he permitted +the widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes +later to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily +Mrs. Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the +trains both going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch, and +gossiping tongues would relate all that passed during the journey, +so she induced Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her, +promising her a pleasant day in Montreal. + +The train had not arrived when the ladies alighted at the depot, but the +ever-acute widow instructed her servant man not to drive away, but to +wait and see if any parcels had been sent from Portland. She did not +expect any parcels from Portland, but she wished all the neighbors who +might be going on the train to see her man with the buggy, in case they +might imagine she had come in the carriage with William. When they got +on board the train, of course, her brother-in-law took a seat with her +and Miss Cuthbert, but the widow pretended to be engrossed in a novel, +leaving the younger lady to carry on the conversation. A boy approached +with “prize packages” of candies, and William, buying two, handed them +to the ladies, requesting them to see what fortune had in store for +them. Miss Cuthbert opened hers eagerly, and, amidst the almonds and +lozenges, discovered a gilt brooch, which she laughingly fastened on her +breast. William offered to open the widow’s for her, but she interrupted +him, saying: + +“My fortune has been told already, give it to Miss Cuthbert.” + +“Oh, yes! give it to me,” said the sprightly girl, and hastily opening +it, she poked amongst the candies and pulled out a small article rolled +in tissue paper; unrolling the paper eagerly she disclosed _a plain gilt +ring_. + +“Put that on, also,” said Mrs. Clarkson. + +“Oh, no!” answered Miss Cuthbert, “I will try to get some one to put it +on for me.” + +With this careless banter the time passed away till they reached +Montreal, Mrs. Clarkson playing the shy widow to perfection, and, as may +naturally be supposed, not only raising herself in the estimation of her +brother-in-law, but drawing him in a strange manner within the radius of +her fascinating influences. + +On arriving in the city they entered a carriage, and were driven to St. +James street, where Mr. St. Jerome, the lawyer, had his office. In about +an hour their business was transacted, and William invited the ladies +to Alexander’s to partake of luncheon, but this the widow discreetly +declined, being aware that the pastry-cook’s in question was a +celebrated rendezvous for all country-folk. Pleading as an excuse that +she wanted, to do some shopping, she advised William not to trouble +about them, as they would prefer shopping alone, and that, if fatigued, +they could easily drop in for an ice at some respectable confectioner’s. +“Besides,” added Mrs. Clarkson, “I have promised to take Miss Cuthbert +up the mountain this afternoon, as she has never been to the summit of +Mount Royal, though living so near the city bearing its name.” + +“If you are going up the mountain, I pray you will allow me to accompany +you. I never visit Montreal without ascending it at least once,” said +Mr. Clarkson. “If you do not wish me to go shopping, I will not intrude, +but I will feel myself slighted if you compel me to ascend the mountain +alone.” + +The widow feigned to give a reluctant consent, and accordingly they +arranged to meet on Place d’Armes at two o’clock, and to drive to the +base of the mountain together. At that time the beautiful mountain from +which Montreal derives its name, and most of its beauty, had not been +acquired by the city. It was private property, and there were no elegant +roads by which to drive to its summit; indeed, it was only by the +courtesy of the proprietors that persons were allowed to ascend the +famous hill, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and bracing air: even then +the task of ascending was no easy one, and ladies were generally glad of +the company of one or more of the hardier sex, if only to assist them in +clambering up the steep ascent. + +Mr. Clarkson went to lunch, and then to the Corn Exchange to transact +some business, arriving in Place d’Armes precisely at two o’clock. +Shortly afterward she saw the ladies emerge from the French Church +of Notre Dame, and cross the square to meet him. Miss Cuthbert was +delighted with the church. Although a Protestant, she admired it as an +architectural art-work, the elaborate adornment, too, of the interior +pleased her, and accorded with her womanly tastes. Mrs. Clarkson had +seen both inside and outside so often that neither had now any more +effect on her; indeed, not only was her heart steeled to the refining +influences of the building, but also to the doctrines inculcated within +it; she had started on the downward path, and never once dared to look +up again, even for a moment. + +“Well, you are sharp on time,” said Miss Cuthbert, addressing Mr. +Clarkson. + +“Yes, indeed, I have been walking the streets for nearly an hour, +wondering if the hands on the Seminary clock would ever indicate the +hour of two. I had almost persuaded myself that the public clocks had +all stopped, but my watch, which was ticking, told me that they were +going on with methodical regularity.” He addressed himself to Miss +Cuthbert, but his eyes were turned slightly towards Mrs. Clarkson, who, +blushing slightly (she could blush at pleasure), turned away her head, +and appeared to be quite confused. + +William hailed a cab, and they drove up University street, as far as the +carriage road permitted them. Dismissing the “carter,” they entered the +adjacent field, and ascended by a winding path which at that time +ran through the property of Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Allan. Miss Cuthbert, +although she lived faraway from all mountains or hills of any kind, was +remarkably active, and bounded up the steep ascent like a deer. Mrs. +Clarkson was a _dear_ of another kind, and she was obliged to cling to +her brother-in-law for support, which latter he was by no means adverse +to giving, after about twenty minutes climbing they arrived at the “view +point” immediately over Sir Hugh Allan’s residence, when everything +was immediately forgotten in the inspeakable emotion excited by the +magnificent panorama before them. At their feet lay the beautiful +city, the rows of shade trees, clothed with verdure, lending a gorgeous +setting to the elegant limestone buildings. In front rolled the mighty +St. Lawrence, nearly two miles wide, the vast expanse being relieved +by St. Helen’s Island, with its luxuriant foliage. On the right the +Victoria Bridge, that monument of engineering skill, stretched across +the mighty river towards the picturesque village of St. Lambert; while +further to the westward might be seen Nun’s Island with its shady +groves, at the head of which rushed the boiling waters of the famous +rapids of Lachine. I have in my youth travelled through both Germany and +Switzerland and, later, through the beautiful scenery of New Hampshire +and Vermont, but nowhere do I remember having seen a view so grand, or +a panorama so picturesque, as that to be seen from the brow of Mount +Royal. + +For a while the entire party gazed in speechless admiration at the scene +before them, when Miss Cuthbert exclaimed: + +“I can say, with the apostle of old, ‘It is good for us to be here.’” + +“And build _three tabernacles_? queried Mrs. Clarkson. + +“Oh, no, two would do. One for me, and another for you and Mr. +Clarkson.” + +At this rejoinder Mrs. Clarkson bit her lips, and changed the +conversation immediately. + +When they had surveyed the city, the river, and the country on the +opposite shore, they prepared to ascend to the highest part of the +mountain, where the observatory stands, imbedded in trees. Here they +sat down for a time to rest, and partake of some light refreshment which +they had brought with them; they then proceeded to descend on the other +side, passing through the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries, both +elaborately laid out, and looking like beautiful flower gardens, rather +than burial grounds. As they neared Côte des Neiges Miss Cuthbert +commenced to scamper along like a child, and at one short declivity, she +started off at a run, calling on the others to follow. Clarkson took his +companion’s hand and invited her to descend in like manner, but, almost +at the first step, his sister-in-law uttered a sharp scream and fell +forward on the grass, informing them that her foot had turned under her, +and that she had sprained her ankle. + +William was almost beside himself. He felt that he had foolishly induced +her to forget herself so far as to indulge in a wild romp and thus +injure her ankle. He wished Miss Cuthbert at the bottom of the sea, and +wondered how they were to get the beautiful cripple home, as they were +removed from residences or conveyances of any kind, and Mrs. Clarkson +was no small weight. There being nothing else for it, however, the +sturdy farmer lifted her in his arms and carried her to the house of +the caretaker of the cemetery; then, leaving her gently on a sofa, he +started for the inn at Côte des Neiges, thinking he might obtain the +means of conveyance to Montreal. + +On his arrival at the inn he was informed that there was no livery +stable of any kind for miles around, and that the private buggy of +the proprietor was at the moment in Montreal, whither the landlady had +driven for provisions. Just then a team was driven at a rapid speed +from the direction of St. Laurent; it contained two young gentlemen +from Montreal, who had driven round the mountain attended by a groom. +On hearing the particulars of the accident they at once, with great +gallantry, gave up their vehicle, a mail phaeton, for the use of the +disabled lady, cheerfully undertaking to walk the remainder of the way +(about four miles), and enjoining Mr. Clarkson to bring the carriage to +their stable so soon as he had deposited his fair companions in a place +of safety. + +On reaching the cemetery, William found the widow looking wretched, +indeed, and apparently suffering great pain. Her face brightened, +however, as she saw the carriage and was convinced that they would be +able to get to Montreal in time for the night train for Sherbrooke. +William assisted Miss Cuthbert into the trap, and placed Mrs. Clarkson +carefully beside her; then, mounting the box, he thanked the caretaker +for his kind offices and drove, via Côte des Neiges hill, to Montreal. +He suggested to Mrs. Clarkson that it would be better for her to take +a room at the St. Lawrence Hall for a few days, and enjoy perfect rest +till her ankle got better, but she, remembering her past experiences, +preferred to travel at once to her home, and so avoid all scandal. + +William drove straight to the Grand Trunk terminus in St. Bonaventure +street; and, placing the ladies in a Pullman car, drove up to Sherbrooke +street with the team, which he left, as directed, at the young +gentleman’s residence. He proceeded along to St. Lawrence Main street, +where he hailed a cab, and drove back to the terminus. Shortly after his +return to the depot the train started, and in a few hours they reached +Sherbrooke. + +It was considerably past midnight when they got to Mrs. Clarkson’s +residence, so Miss Cuthbert remained with her till morning, doing all +she could to alleviate her pain. Shortly after breakfast William called; +and as his sister-in-law was confined to her room, he considerately kept +her company till Miss Cuthbert had gone home and obtained permission +to remain a while longer with the disabled lady. There is nothing that +tries a man’s heart so much as to see a woman (particularly a beautiful +woman) in pain. The widow was aware of this, and so, although the sprain +was purely accidental, and was not included in her programme, turned it +to such good account that the poor bachelor was fairly hooked, and began +to think seriously that he had got into an awkward fix. + +Marriage with a deceased brother’s wife was illegal, and no clergyman +could perform the marriage ceremony without violating the laws of +both Church and State; even if one could be prevailed on to follow the +dictates of his conscience, and to stretch a point in their favor (as +was sometimes done) society would not recognize their union, and would +shun them as open adulterers. In vain did his sister-in-law urge on him +that the law was absurd, and that, as there was no blood-relationship +between them, there could be nothing criminal in their living +together; he had not the moral courage to face the cold criticism of +a narrow-minded and bigoted community, and, though mad with passionate +love, he hesitated to take the fatal plunge. + +Mrs. Clarkson, however, having carried the outposts and principal +barriers successfully, was not to be thwarted by a mere matter of +sentiment. She expressed her intention of departing forthwith for +Detroit, assuring him that she would no longer remain in a country where +such intolerant bigotry existed, and instructed him, if he loved her as +he pretended, to sell his property in Canada and follow her thither. + +Clarkson was loth to leave his relations and the home of his childhood, +but the temptress lured him gradually on, refusing at times even to +see a man who valued his narrow-minded friends’ opinion rather than her +love, and at length he consented to sell his farm for whatever it +would bring, and to rejoin her in Detroit. This was another piece of +generalship on the part of the widow, as, did they remain in Canada, she +could not, in the event of her husband’s death hold the property which +would revert to her hated sister-in-law; but that being now converted +into cash she was at liberty to squander it during her husband’s +life-time, retaining the fortune left by her first husband for the +future use of herself and children. + +For a time Mr. Clarkson lived with his sister-in-law in a princely style +in Detroit. They entertained largely and handsomely, and most of their +guests neither cared nor enquired who they were, or whence they came. +They had not been there more than six weeks when Mrs. Clarkson made the +acquaintance of Count Von Alba, who for some time had been the lion +of fashionable circles in Detroit. Von Alba was a Russian, who (for +political reasons said his friends, for criminal reasons said his +enemies) had emigrated to America and lived on his fortune (his friends +insisted)--his wits, said his enemies again. + +Whichever surmise was correct, Von Alba was undoubtedly good-looking. +He stood five feet eleven inches in his stockings, and was powerfully +built; his complexion, like most Russians was dark, and his lofty +forehead was surmounted with curls of the darkest brown. At the time of +the Clarksons residence, the Count was about five-and-thirty years +old; he had naturally a genial manner and a good-humored expression of +countenance, and a scar on his forehead (obtained, he said, when a lad, +at Inkerman) made him an object of feminine admiration, while he was at +the same time greatly envied by the opposite sex. + +Von Alba was a sort of Admirable Crichton. He rode like Nimrod, danced +like Terpsichore, drove like Jehu, shot like William Tell, and sang like +Sims Reeves. It was in the _latter_ accomplishment, however, that +he chiefly excelled; he would stand up at the end of a crowded +drawing-room, and, playing a delicate accompaniment on his guitar, would +vocalize one of the passionate love-songs of his native land. Sometimes +he sang in English, then his defective pronunciation lent a strange +charm to his singing, which, although it could scarcely be accounted +for, made itself felt even in the bosoms of the dilettanti. + +Strange to say, although courted and run after by nearly all the +eligible young ladies, the Count became so fond of Mrs. Clarkson’s +society that scarcely a day passed but he was found at her house. At the +fair lady’s “Thursday Evenings,” of course, he was one of the principal +attractions, added to which he dined and lunched frequently at her +house, and escorted her to balls and parties: her husband not caring for +the everlasting round of excitement, and, far from feeling jealous of +the Count, he was proud to think that his choice of a companion should +be endorsed by one who presumably was a competent judge. + +It was not long till the lady was at her old tricks again, and what +Randolph Thompson had been to her before, Von Alba soon became, the +simple husband encouraging these visits, and allowing his wife to +squander his money lavishly on her paramour. Mrs. Grundy in the +meanwhile began to be suspicious, and rumors, at first vague and +indefinite, became almost pointed accusations against Mrs. Clarkson. The +poor husband, although not altogether crediting the fact that there +was a foundation for these reports, saw the necessity, in the equivocal +position in which both he and his wife stood, of putting a stop to all +suspicious intercourse with the Count; and, being resolute enough when +so disposed, he forbade his wife to meet Von Alba any more in private, +or to invite him to her house. + +This, as may be supposed, brought matters to a crisis and brought on a +terrible quarrel between the abandoned woman and her husband. She saw +that the game was up as far as Detroit was concerned, and so, managing +to forge her husband’s name to a cheque for several thousand dollars, +she went the next day with great boldness to the bank where he kept his +money and presented it; it was cashed by the clerk without hesitation, +and that evening, abandoning both Clarkson and her children, she +went, accompanied by her paramour, to the depot and took the train for +Montreal, where they went to an hotel, registering their names as Mr. +and Mrs. Mortimer, of New York. Notwithstanding their false names and +altered attire they were traced to the St. Lawrence Hall, Mrs. Clarkson +being surprised, on coming from breakfast one morning, to observe her +husband busily scanning the register at the office counter. The Count +had not seen him, but Mrs. Clarkson hurried him upstairs and told him +that their whereabouts was discovered, and that they must take refuge in +flight before Clarkson had time to take steps for their apprehension. + +Ringing the bell, Von Alba bade the boy to have their bill made out and +receipted, and to have their luggage sent to the station in time for the +next train for New York. + +“There is no New York train till 3.15,” said the boy. + +“When is there one for Toronto?” asked the Count. + +“Not till eight this evening, but the Lachine train, which meets the +mail boat, leaves at 11.30.” + +“That is what I mean,” said Von Alba; “we will go by that;” then, +packing hastily, the two culprits descended by the ladies staircase, +and, entering a carriage, drove off to procure tickets for Toronto. + +All this time Mr. Clarkson was quietly seated in the breakfast-room, +taking light repast after his long journey. That the persons he sought +were in the hotel he felt confident; but there were so many gentlemen +with their wives real or pretended, from all parts, that he was puzzled +to conjecture which of the names in the register was that assumed by the +Count. At length he resolved to take the boy into his confidence; and, +handing him a gold piece, he began to question him concerning the guests +now quartered in the hotel. When he had described the pair he wanted, +the boy said: “W’y these ere must be the pair wat’s just gone to the +Toronto boat!” Clarkson said not a word; but, handing a card to the +cashier, rushed out of the hotel, and, jumping into a cab, bade the +driver to go with all speed to the Upper Canada boat. Had he thought for +a moment he would have recollected that the boat leaves the wharf early +in the morning, and proceeding slowly through the canal, stops to take +on passengers at the head of the Lachine Rapids. In his blind haste, +however, he had forgotten this; and lost so much time in going to the +wharf that, when he eventually learnt the truth and got to the depot, +the train was just leaving the platform. + +There was nothing for it now but to wait for the train for the west, +and to get on board the steamer at Kingston. He had at least the +satisfaction of knowing that they were on the boat like rats in a trap, +and that, except the delay in confronting the villain Von Alba and his +wretched companion, he was as successful as possible in his pursuit of +the fugitives. Returning to the city, he procured the assistance of a +detective, who undertook to accompany him to Kingston, and assist him in +apprehending and arresting the fugitives. + +By this time the steamship “Hungarian,” on which the wretched pair had +embarked, was ploughing the waters of Lake St. Louis. After a time they +passed through the Beauharnois and Cornwall canals, and entered the +labyrinth of beautiful patches known as the “Thousands Islands.” As they +emerged from this lovely spot the saloon became suddenly filled with +smoke, and in a few minutes cries of “Fire! Fire!” were heard on every +hand. A rush was made for life preservers, while the crew of five or +six men vainly endeavored to extinguish the flames. The captain ordered +boats to be lowered, but, the men being excited, and badly drilled at +best, the boats were successively swamped, leaving the poor terrified +creatures only a choice of two fearful deaths. + +One of the sailors handed Mrs. Clarkson a life preserver, which she +requested Von Alba to fasten round her waist, but the cowardly fellow +_snatched it from her_, and, hastily securing it round his own waist, +swung himself overboard, leaving her to perish in the flames! He was +not to escape so easily, however; with a bitter yell of mingled rage and +despair the wretched woman mounted the taffrail, and plunging straight +for the spot where he rose to the surface dragged him under again and +again with fearful maledictions. The passengers who still remained on +deck could do nothing to separate them, and although the life preserver +would have sustained both of them easily in the water, so great was the +woman’s bate on the discovery of Von Alba’s cowardly treachery, that +she did not even give a thought to her own escape, so intent was she on +dragging him to the bottom. The expression of her face, lit up as it was +by the blaze of the burning; steamer, was terrible to behold: the veins +in her head and neck were swollen almost to bursting, and she died +cursing with bitter malediction the man for whom she had sacrificed not +only herself, but her husband and her children. + +The steamer burned to the water’s edge, only a few of those who had +jumped overboard escaping. The bodies of the guilty pair were discovered +at some distance from the wreck, Mrs. Clarkson’s hand being tightly +clutched round her companion’s throat, while his tongue and eyes +protruded fearfully. + +With sad and heavy heart Clarkson returned to Detroit, and, having +gathered together what remained of his former property, prepared to +return to Canada. He took with him the children of his late wife, +placing them both as boarders at the College at Lennoiville till they +were old enough to be apprenticed to some trade or profession. He never +quite recovered from the shock received on hearing of the manner of Mrs. +Clarkson’s death and that of her paramour, but became prematurely aged +when he realized that, instead of the sweet angelic creature whom he +thought he had married, he found that he had wedded a regular disciple +of Satan. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The Frail Shop Girl. + +The many fine ladies who patronize the fashionable emporiums of +Montreal little think (as they sit comfortably at the counter, leisurely +examining dozens of articles they never intend to purchase) of the +sufferings undergone by those who minister to their wants, and, it may +be, their caprices. Dozens of these poor creatures stand day after day, +from morn till night, without a moment’s rest except at meal-times; even +then the short period allowed them barely suffices to permit of a hasty +meal, when they have to hurry back again to undergo another term of +misery. + +It is strange that we should be so careful of brute beasts that we form +ourselves into societies for their protection, prosecuting rigorously +any one who shall have the temerity to ill-treat or abuse them, and yet +allow our fellow-creatures (and those, too, of the weaker sex) to be +treated with the most barbarous cruelty. A bruise or a blow may be +brutal and severe, yet neither is so hurtful, so systematically cruel, +as the forcing young girls to stand erect for lengthened periods, +without change of posture. I am sure if the members of the House of +Commons were deprived of their seats even for one session, we would, +without further ado have a Bill enacted making it criminal for +shopkeepers to make slaves of their employees, or individuals to +patronize such establishments. + +Were shop-girls provided with even the commonest of seats, untold +numbers of crimes and diseases would be heard of no more. I am confident +that but for this most refined cruelty the circumstances which gave +rise to this story would never have occurred, and that I would have been +spared the narration of a history which, though painfully true, is none +the less shocking. + +M----‘s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a +well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked +the thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its +door; and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither +and thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still +bright and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be +seen grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from +the shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the +counter. + +One of these girls, by name Esther Ryland, was noticed by many who +frequented M----‘s store on account of her unusually attractive person +and elegance of manners; she was a little above the average height, yet +graceful and well-formed, with remarkably handsome features, and eyes +that sparkled like a pair of diamonds. Esther had not been long in +Messrs. M----‘s service, yet she had become so popular as a saleswoman +that crowds frequented the particular counter at which she assisted, and +she was known to many who were unacquainted with her name as the Pretty +Shop-girl at M----‘s. + +Esther was very proud of her attractions, both professionally and +otherwise; she did not calculate, however, that the more popular she +became the more work she would have to do, and that she would, in time, +pay for her popularity with her health, if not her life. She had, in and +out of the store, a great many admirers amongst those of the opposite +sex, but there was one she prized above all others, a certain Mr. +Quintin, a merchant tailor, who had just started business for himself, +and had persuaded Esther to promise that, after another year’s service, +she would give up business and become his wife. + +It had been their custom to go for a stroll together on the long summer +evenings, and together they might have been seen, fondly looking into +each other’s faces, as, arm-in-arm, they perambulated the more remote +portions of Sherbrooke and St. Denis streets, which at that time were +scarcely built upon. + +One evening when Quintin called, as usual, to take his enamorata for +a walk, she said she would prefer to stay at home, as she was quite +fatigued with the day’s work. Nothing disconcerted, her lover remained +with her in the house, and they amused themselves with a pack of cards +and a chessboard. The following evening, however, Miss Ryland was again +indisposed, and, on questioning her closely, Quintin drew forth the +avowal that she _had not sat down for a quarter of an hour_ during the +whole day! It seems it was the busy season at M----‘s, and, besides +being engaged incessantly in serving customers, Miss Ryland was obliged +to shorten her dinner hour, and to hurry back to meet the increased +demand. + +Quintin was quite shocked at this discovery. Although well aware of +the brutal treatment of shopkeepers’ assistants, he had never been an +interested party, and so had the matter placed before him _in all its +horrors_ for the first time. He resolved that, come what might, he would +emancipate his intended wife from a life of such slavery, and so, having +carefully arranged his business and purchased a neat little cottage in +Cadieux street, he urged Miss Ryland to consent to marry him without +delay, and so avoid her life of thraldom. She agreed to marry him during +the ensuing month, pleading with feminine weakness that it would take +at least that time to get her trousseau ready, and the day was finally +arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + +The excitement of preparation before marriage, and the change of scene +during her wedding-tour, wrought such an effect on the woman that Mr. +Quintin became convinced that his wife’s health was thoroughly restored, +and he labored assiduously at his business, looking forward cheerfully +to the time when she should become a mother, and the merry laughter of +his children should, in his hours of rest from worldly cares, gladden +and enliven their home. + +A year rolled by, and both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin looked hopefully towards +the future; two years passed and still they were childless. Mrs. Quintin +would have given all the world, had she possessed it, for one of God’s +blessings; she loved children, even those of other children, and _one of +her own_ would have been a priceless treasure. But she lamented more on +her husband’s account. She knew that he doted on children; and when she +saw him take the neighbours’ children on his knee, and, after looking +wistfully in their faces, rise and dash his hand across his eyes, +she knew what it meant. “Oh,” she would cry, “if only these abandoned +wretches who desert their offspring could realize what it is to desire +them and yet live unblest! If they but knew the priceless treasures +they were casting from them, they would turn and repent in sackcloth and +ashes.” + +Mr. and Mrs. Quintin had been married about three years when one day the +former called on me, his face beaming with joy, and informed me that his +fondest hopes were about to be realized, and that he would like me +to call and consult with his wife. I was a little surprised at this +intimation, as, from what I knew of Mrs. Quintin, I had fully made up my +mind that she would never become a patient of mine; however, I was glad +to hear that I had been mistaken, and so, when next in the neighborhood +I waited on that lady and congratulated her on her improved prospects. +To my great surprise she burst into tears, and confessed that she was +not _enceinte_, or likely ever to become so; that her career in M----‘s +store, and continued standing for hours together, had rendered her +physically unable ever to become a mother. She added that her husband +had so set his heart upon the one object (viz., the desire to have +children), and had spent so much money for medicine and medical advice +with a view to that end, that she could not bear him to think that all +his efforts were unavailing, and her complaint having assumed a form to +all outward appearances similar to pregnancy, she had permitted him +to delude himself with the belief that the latter was the cause of +her altered appearance, and that scientific skill had counteracted the +effects of years of abuse. + +I was greatly taken aback at this disclosure, but my surprise was as +nothing compared to that in hearing the plot which the woman’s now +diseased mind had concocted. She said she was going to bear reproach no +longer (for, though her husband never murmured, at least in words, +his friends and her neighbors were ever ready to deepen her sorrow and +humiliation by taunting her with her impotency), and her eyes rolled in +frenzy as she almost shouted: I MUST AND SHALL HAVE A CHILD’! Why am I +prohibited from having what many do not know how to value? Many of them +cast their treasures from them; shall I, frantic with despair, _refuse +to pick one up_! + +As she walked up and down the room in her fury, she looked like one +demented. Her hands were clenched till the nails entered her flesh, her +eyes rolled wildly, and, were I more easily frightened, I would have +felt impelled to call for help. Gradually becoming cooler, Mrs. Quintin +unfolded to me her plan for deceiving her husband, and, with a coolness +that I would not have pardoned but for her evidently unhinged condition, +actually _requested me to assist her?_ She said she had been offered +a child for adoption by a lady who was more guilty and unfeeling than +herself, and that the person in question had promised to send her word +when she was taken ill, so that she might send for me, and make her +arrangements for the reception of the child, which was to be transported +secretly into her bedroom. + +I was so astonished that I was for a time unable to a speak. The deep +plot itself, the proposition made to me to assist her, and the cool +manner of the lady herself, fairly staggered me. At length, speaking as +calmly as I could, I tried to convince Mrs. Quintin of the enormity of +the crime she intended to commit, telling her that, if she wished to +adopt a child, she would find it quite an easy matter to do so without +taking any such course as she evidently intended; and, after arguing for +some time, she seemed to yield a little to reason, and promised to do +nothing rashly. She had already, however, committed herself to the first +part of her programme, and told her husband a falsehood; how was she to +undeceive him? I suggested that she should tell him on his return that +she had been mistaken, and that on examination I had found nothing +unusual the matter with her. This she positively refused to do, saying +that her husband had so set his heart on this one object that, were his +hopes suddenly dashed to the ground, he might do something desperate. +She said she would break it to him gently, and, imploring me to say +nothing to him of what had passed, she escorted me to the door, and, +with tearful eyes, bade me farewell. + +Several months elapsed, and I had, for the time, thought little of +either Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, when one evening in glancing over the +papers, my eye fell on the following announcement: “On the ----th inst., +at ---- Cadieux street the wife of R. Quintin of a daughter.” I let the +paper drop as I gazed vacantly at the ceiling and tried to realize the +whole affair. Undecided how to act, I mechanically put on my bonnet and +cloak, and walked up Cadieux street, when, coming out of the house, I +spied my friend, Dr. P----. + +“Good evening, Doctor,” said I. + +“Oh, good evening, Mrs. Schroeder. I have just been attending a patient +of yours; it seems they were not at all prepared, and had not time to +notify you. Indeed, I was late myself, as I did not arrive till some +minutes after the child was born.” + +Without saying a word I beckoned the Doctor aside, and made a sign that +I wished to speak with him privately. He invited me to step into his +carriage, and we drove in perfect silence to his residence in Beaver +Hall Terrace. Alighting, he preceded me to his surgery, and closed the +door; then, with a look full of meaning, he said: + +“Well, what is there wrong here?” + +“I said, Before I reply, will you permit me to ask you one or two +questions.” + +“Who called you to attend Mrs. Quintin?” + +“A carter came and requested me to come with all speed to attend a lady +in Cadieux street. I went as quickly as possible, but the child was born +before my arrival.” + +“Who, then, attended the lady?” + +“The nurse did, and apparently very satisfactorily indeed. I found +the bandages so well arranged, and the patient’s pulse so strong and +regular, that I left, perfectly satisfied that all was properly attended +to till your arrival. They explained to me that the lady was your +patient, but that being unexpectedly taken ill, she had ordered the +carter to bring the first doctor he found at home.” + +“Was Mr. Quintin at home?” + +“No; he is gone to England to purchase some goods.” + +“Ah! That accounts for it then.” + +“Accounts for what? Really you must not catechize me any further. What +is there underneath all these questions?” + +I drew my chair closer to him, as I said tragically: + +“Mrs. Quintin _never had a child_.” + +“This rather staggered the good old doctor, who had just come from the +house, where he had examined and weighed the infant. He started up from +his chair, and, drawing back, exclaimed: + +“What do you mean? Explain yourself.” + +I then at length narrated all I knew concerning the Quintin family, and, +as I proceeded with my story, the old man’s eyes opened wider and wider +as he exclaimed: + +“My God what a diabolical plot”! + +“Yes, indeed, and I was invited to join in it.” + +“Well, well. _I_ certainly would never have suspected anything of the +kind.” + +“Nor would anyone. The thing was well arranged, and artfully carried +out.” + +“I suppose they will send for _you_ now.” + +“Not at all. That is only a sham to get rid of your attendance. The +husband will be given to understand that you were hurriedly called +in, and that, my assistance being unneeded, they did not think it +worth-while troubling me.” + +After consulting with Dr. P. for a considerable time and putting the +case in different lights, we came to the conclusion that it would be as +well now to let matters take their course. Any interference on our part +would only have raised a great public scandal, and rendered both Mr. +and Mrs. Quintin miserable, without benefiting anyone, so we allowed +the poor man to believe that his prayers were answered, and that the +beautiful girl he fondled was really his own. + +Time rolled on, the baby being baptized in due course and known by the +name of Edith Quintin. As she grew older, both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin +became passionately fond of her, the latter being as much attached to +the little girl as if she were her own daughter. When the child was +about twelve years old, Mrs. Quintin, who had gradually grown more and +more delicate, began to feel that she must, ere many months had passed, +finally succumb to the disease which was gradually gnawing at her +vitals, and the deception she had practised on her husband was a source +of great discomfort and annoyance to her. She called on me in great +grief, and, having informed me concerning that of which (as the reader +knows) I was well aware, implored me to give her counsel and advice. She +was surprised to hear that I had already learnt all from Dr. P----; +for, although she, of course, knew that _I_ was not blinded by her +subterfuge, she was not aware that I knew all concerning the method +adopted by her, and when she learned that both the doctor and myself had +forborne to inform on her, she was visibly affected, and thanked me on +her knees. + +I advised her to break the matter to her husband, and not to die with +such a load on her conscience, but she avowed that she had neither the +strength nor the courage to do so, and importunately besought me to +undertake the painful task. When Mr. Quintin learnt the truth he was of +course greatly shocked, and at first was bitter in his denunciations at +his deceitful wife. His better judgment, however, was soon brought to +bear in the matter, and he was moved rather to pity her misfortune than +to punish her for her fault. He knew that her judgment erred solely in +order to retain his affection, and when he looked at her pale face and +emaciated form, and thought of the agony and suffering, both mental and +bodily, which the poor creature had endured, he willingly forgave her, +and, though sadly disappointed and sorely smitten, did what he could to +reassure her. + +Edith meanwhile had developed into a beautiful girl, and had she really +been, as she believed herself, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, she +could not have been more beloved by them. The former enjoined me never +to reveal the secret of her birth to his daughter as he called her, and +so her life, at least, was not darkened in the least by the knowledge of +the truth. + +When Edith was about seventeen years old Mrs. Quintin finally yielded +to the ravages of that dread destroyer, consumption. The poor girl wept +sadly and bitterly at the loss of her mother, the only one indeed the +poor child had ever known, and poor Quintin wept sadly as he thought of +his wife’s brief and unhappy career. He removed with his daughter into +furnished lodgings, not wishing the child to be burdened too soon with +the cares of house-keeping. What he would not allow her to do for him, +however, she soon became very anxious to do for another, and the days +of her mourning were not long passed when she became the happy wife of +a young man named Wentworth, bookkeeper in one of the leading hardware +firms in Montreal. She has now children of her own, and the youngsters’ +greatest delight is to gather round their grandfather’s knee while he +astonishes them with stories. To them nor to no one else, however, has +he told, even as I have done, the story of the frail shop-girl, who from +being young and handsome, and the belle of her circle of acquaintances, +became a wretched and deceitful woman, diseased both in body and mind, +and finally sank into a premature grave. + +Out on this heartless, brutal system, and the thoughtlessness and +ignorance which permit it! I hope the narrative given above may cause +some of those at least who engage in this barbarous system to pause and +give the great problem of life, capital and labor, a few moments thought +that they may see the error of their way, and that poor Esther Quintin +may not have died in vain. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The Two Orphans + +One evening, about a dozen years before the introduction of the present +system of fire alarms into Montreal, crowds might be seen hurrying along +that part of the city known as Little St. James street, towards the +scene of an immense conflagration. Several fire engines were throwing +strong streams of water on the burning mass, but, the evening being +windy, the fire swept all before it, and soon reduced several buildings +to ashes. + +In one of these resided Mr. Wilson, Notary Public, and his two +daughters, the eldest a beautiful girl about 9 years old, the other +aged nearly 8. When the fire commenced they were seated calmly at the +tea-table, partaking of their evening meal, but, so sudden was the +holocaust which burst with tremendous fury around them that they had not +the slightest warning till they were surrounded with dense volumes +of smoke The two girls rushed forward to the window, and screamed for +assistance, while the old man endeavored to gather some of his most +valuable papers together and throw them into the street. + +Amongst the crowd who assembled were two young men, clerks, named +Wilgress and D’Alton respectively. Taking in the situation at a glance, +they sought hastily for ladders, and placing them against the burning +windows, mounted bravely through the flames, each seizing a girl round +the waist, and carrying her in safety to the ground. Their clothes were +almost completely destroyed, while their faces were grimed and scorched, +still, nothing daunted, they looked up to see if anything more could be +done; they espied the old man at one of the windows with a parcel in +his arms. Quick as thought Dalton mounted the ladder once more, going +through the flames like a salamander, and, taking the parcel from the +old gentleman, tried to induce him to descend the ladder. Poor old +Wilson, however, could not bear to leave so much that was valuable while +a chance of saving it remained, and so, rushing wildly back into the +burning building, he was soon lost to sight. A cry arose from the crowd +as they saw him disappear once more, and several hardy youths sprang up +the ladders, determined to bring him out by force, but, ere they could +enter the flaming pile, a loud shriek met their ears as the floor gave +way, hurling the poor old notary into the dreadful pit of fire. All +efforts to do anything further were now unavailing, and the firemen +directed their energies to protecting the neighboring buildings, and +preventing the fire from spreading. + +The young men were at first puzzled what to do with the two girls whom +they had rescued, and who were now orphans, without parents, money, or +even clothes, but some Sisters of Charity, who had witnessed the heroic +action, came forward and offered to take them in charge. The good +sisters took the children to the convent, and provided them with both +food and clothes, intending to educate them and bring them up in the +Catholic faith, but some Protestant ladies, members of the congregation +to which Mr. Wilson had belonged, having heard of the affair, induced +the clergyman to call and obtain possession of the orphans, they +undertaking to provide the cost of their maintenance, or to find them +homes in Protestant families. + +By the time the Rev. Mr. Flood called at the nunnery the children had +dried their tears, and were beginning to feel quite at home. The Sister +in charge, however, saw at once the correctness of the Clergyman’s +action, and agreed to give the girls up as soon as he had made +arrangements for their reception elsewhere. In a few days they were sent +for, and each was adopted by a different family; Cissie, the elder, was +taken in charge by a childless minister, residing in St. Albans, in +the State of Vermont, while Lillie, the younger sister was adopted by a +farmer from the neighborhood of Varennes. + +Many years passed away and the two girls were grown up, and were both +uncommonly good looking, Lillie being then just seventeen, and as +handsome a girl as one could wish to see. Then circumstances, however, +were not the same, for while Cissie had received a good education, and +had in every way the manners of a lady, Lillie could not even read with +facility, and writing was with her and utter impossibility. The people +who had adopted her were Irish settlers, who, though comfortably off, +knew little beyond the cultivation of potatoes and the care of pigs. + +About this tame Cissie Wilson, tired of the monotony of life at St. +Albans, determined to make an effort to “see the world,” as she called +it, and earn her own living; and, as her adopted father remonstrated +with her in rather a hasty manner, she collected her effects together, +and, one day while the old man was out, started for Montreal. She left +a note for him, informing him of her destination, and warning him not to +attempt to stop her, as she had determined, at all hazards, to carry out +her intention. Miss Wilson had been several times in Montreal, and had +several acquaintances there, among them a Miss Wood, whose father had +a position in the Telegraph Office. To Miss Wood’s, therefore, she +repaired, and, being welcomed with the usual number of kisses, she +requested the young lady to persuade her father to procure a situation +as telegraph operator or something of the kind, as she was determined to +earn her own living. This the young lady promised to do and succeeded so +well that Miss Wilson was soon installed in a tolerably good position, +earning enough money to maintain and clothe herself respectably. + +Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of +her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home +arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to +indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, +and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her +beauty and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means +of dressing herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she +could make, were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. + +This passion for dress and jewellery soon became deep-seated; were she +only well dressed, what could she not achieve. She had, in her anxious +endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even +of necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, +and these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over +this circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced +to meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine +dress and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and +modest beauty of the poor telegraph girl. Miss Smith inquired casually +if Cissie were going to the Oddfellows’ ball, an affair which was then +on the _tapis_, and when the latter answered in the negative, explaining +that her small salary would not allow her to purchase the necessary +finery, Miss Smith laughed and called her a silly little goose. Taking +her by the arm, Anna then let her into a secret, and explained how she +obtained all she required, and indeed could, out of the abundance of her +stores, fit out Miss Cissie, whom she chose to consider her protégée. +She urged Cissie not to miss the ball on any account, and reminded her +that she had already obtained a decided advantage over Miss Williams, +Miss Hunt and Miss Jones, and that with such an outfit as she would lend +her the victory would be complete. + +Cissie was for a moment shocked. She had been several times offered +presents by gentlemen of her acquaintance, but had always resolutely +declined to take them, having an instinctive feeling which warned her +against their acceptance. She could not bear now to wear the dresses +proffered by Miss Smith, and momentarily made up her mind not to go to +the ball at all. Then again her heart failed her as her companion glibly +ran over the names of those who were to attend, and Cissie thought how +she would like to enter the room on Horace Gibson’s arm in the presence +of Miss Williams and the rest. Horace Gibson was a clerk in the Bank of +Montreal who had invited Miss Wilson to the ball, and was to receive +her answer that evening. As luck would have it, that young gentleman +approached just as the girls were rounding the corner of the street, +and, raising his hat in salute, inquired if he was to have the pleasure +of taking Miss Wilson to the ball. Cissie hung her head, and was just +about to offer some excuse, when Miss Smith answered for her: + +“Oh, yes, _of course_ she’ll go, and be the best dressed and best +looking lady in the room too.” + +“If you have taken her up, I am sure she will be at least the _second_ +best as regards get up,” responded Mr. Gibson, conveying an indirect +compliment to Miss Smith herself, who was celebrated for the elegance of +her attire. Cissie could not utter a word. After all, she thought, there +can be no harm in borrowing a dress from a young lady! It was not for +her to inquire how that lady was able to purchase so many dresses; and +then, as she looked at the handsome young man before her, and thought +how her rivals would bite their lips with envy to see her in her elegant +out-fit, the blood rushed into her temples, and with an impetuous bound +she burst away from both her companions and entered the house, saying to +Mr. Gibson: “Yes, I’ll go; call for me at nine to-morrow.” + +Till late night Cissie sat in her rocking-chair, her hands pressed over +her throbbing temples; at length wearied nature came to her relief, +and compelled her to retire to bed. Being fatigued, she soon fell +fast asleep, and on the morrow when she awoke, although she remembered +clearly all that had passed on the previous evening, she had not the +same sensitive feelings, or the same sharp prickings of conscience, and, +as she walked towards the office, she began to anticipate the ball with +the greatest pleasure. + +As Miss Smith had said, Cissie, beautiful before, was ten times as +beautiful now that she was adorned with all that art could do in the +matters of dress and jewellery. Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth +with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o’clock, disgusted with +_that thing_ from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly +sought for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. +Miss Smith was as proud of Cissie’s success as if it had been her own. +With all her faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as +she did fancied she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in +opening to her the highway to fame and fortune, even though it were +reached by the gate of dishonor. + +It is needless to give in detail the particulars of Cissie Wilson’s +career; suffice it to say, that the brilliant triumph at the Oddfellows’ +ball was too much for her weak nature. She plunged headlong into the +vortex of worldly pleasure and excitement, and, having little time or +inclination for reflection, became in time quite habituated to this +peculiar mode of life, always maintaining outwardly, however, a moral +and respected appearance. + +All this time, the reader may well ask, what had become of Lillie, the +younger sister? She had been remarkably successful in her country home, +having at her feet the hands and hearts of all the most eligible young +men for miles round. This at one time would have gratified her utmost +ambition; but her sister’s letters from Montreal made her dreadfully +anxious to join her in her whirl of exciting pleasures, and, with the +understanding that her sister would obtain her employment in Montreal, +Lillie, at the age of eighteen, came to the city. + +She was not long in her new home till her sister unbosomed to her many +things of which she had previously been in ignorance, and promised to +introduce her to the _créme de la créme_ of her worldly companions, +urging her to endeavor to acquire these graces and accomplishments which +she had failed to learn in her country home. Lillie soon became +more popular even than her sister; for, although she was not so well +educated, she was naturally clever and witty, and there was a vivacity +and freshness about her conversation, which, added to her beautiful face +and perfect figure, made her a charming and desirable companion. + +One day Mr. D’Alton, one of the gentlemen who had rescued the two girls +from the fire, was walking along Notre Dame street, when he observed +a beautiful girl, rather showily dressed, promenading just in front of +him. Something in the girl’s manner attracted his attention, and, as he +passed her, he turned round, and carefully scanned her face. As he did +so the girl looked up and their eyes met; he, raising his hat, blurted +out an apology, saying he had mistaken her for another lady of his +acquaintance named Brown. “Oh,” said she, laughing, “my name is Lillie +Wilson.” + +On hearing this name D’Alton started, and, having questioned her closely +concerning her antecedents, asked her if she remembered the fire, and +the two gentlemen who rescued herself and her sister; and, although she +had altogether forgotten his appearance, she remembered the circumstance +perfectly. They walked together for a little while, and then he asked +her permission to visit her at her address, and was astonished to +find that she objected, for some strange reason, to do so. At length, +bursting into tears, she confided to him her whole history, informing +him that she had been seduced and betrayed, and was at that moment +_enceinte_. This disclosure, as may well be supposed, staggered D’Alton +not a little, but at the same time he became more and more interested in +the girl, and offered, if she would promise to give up her corrupt +mode of life that he would do his best to see her through her present +difficulty. Calling on me, he consulted with me as to what was best +to be done under the circumstances, explaining that, although he +was willing to do all in his power for the girl for the sake of old +associations, yet that he did not wish to peril his own reputation. +I promised to do what I could for the girl, and calling on her was +informed that her paramour was an officer in the Rifle Brigade, who +had returned to England, leaving her to bear the burden of their crime. +Having procured suitable lodgings, I saw the girl comfortably housed, +and in due time she gave birth to a fine little boy, which, as usual +in these cases, was sent to the nunnery to be taken care of by the good +Sisters of Charity. + +Mr. D’Alton did not come to visit Miss Wilson during her convalescence +but, after she was completely recovered he called frequently, taking her +to theatres and concerts, and sometimes in the winter to sleigh-rides. +What his intentions at first may have been I do not know; I certainly +think that but for his friends he would openly have married her; be +that as it may, in a short time it became apparent that they had both +overstepped the bounds of ordinary friendly intercourse, and that Mrs. +Rushton (as she now called herself) would soon require my services a +second time. This time she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and, before +many years were past, there followed another girl and boy. These +children were not, as in the former case, sent to the nunnery, but +were retained and brought up by their mother, she being smart enough to +perceive that by doing so she would maintain a hold on their father, +and secure for herself, if not a respectable, at least a comfortable +position, Mr. D’Alton having been successful in business, and being at +that time one of the leading brokers in Montreal. + +For a time things went on this way, D’Alton visiting his mistress +frequently, and becoming passionately fond of the children, whom Mrs. +Rushton artfully used to influence him on all occasions. To do her +justice, it must be said that she never, either in thought or action, +was untrue to D’Alton, and that, whatever her past career might have +been, she lived at this time a quiet life, indeed, caring only for her +husband (as she called him) and her children. By the time the little +boy was two years old, both mother and children had so ingratiated +themselves in Mr. D’Alton’s affections, that he determined, come what +might, to marry his mistress, and so make their future offspring at +least legitimate. + +He was weary of his irregular mode of life, and, being comparatively +wealthy, longed for some place which he could call his home. His wife +could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an _entrée_ to that +realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better than +that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom +he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, +exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his +cellar maintained its reputation. Accordingly, he one day astonished and +delighted Mrs. Rushton with the proposal that he should marry her; and +that they should live together openly. As may be supposed, the lady +unhesitatingly accepted the proposal, and accordingly they were married, +formally and legally in St. George’s Church, which, at that time was +situated in St. Joseph street, on the site now occupied by Messrs. +Ligget & Hamilton’s large dry goods store. Mr. D’Alton took a house in +a new portion of the city, and as they lived very quietly, receiving no +calls, except from business friends of Mr. D’Alton, the neighbors did +not trouble themselves much about them, or inquire concerning their +antecedents. + +Although her husband did not trouble himself whether his wife was or +was not received into society, Mrs. D’Alton felt it very keenly. She had +not, like him, drank the cup of life’s pleasures till it tasted insipid +or even nauseous; on the contrary, she looked on the pomps and vanities +of society as only a woman can look on them, and now that she was +legally respectable, and rich enough to keep pace with even the most +fashionable of her neighbors, it made her very heart ache to think +that these scenes of brightness were closed to her as much as ever. She +thought of what she might have been had she not in her ambitious haste +gone off the right track; and, pained with bitter reflections, and with +no one to speak to or converse with (for her husband spent most of his +time at the club) she solaced herself, as others in her predicament have +done, with the cup of forgetfulness, sinking deeper and deeper at every +step, till the habit became confirmed. + +Although Mrs. D’Alton had taken her husband into her confidence, and +told him truthfully her history, she had not sufficient strength of mind +to tell him how ignorant she really was, and that she could not even +read and write with accuracy. Her letters to her husband had been +written by her nursery-governess, engaged ostensibly to instruct the +children; but in reality to act as amanuensis for the lady of the house. +The young lady thus engaged was at first rather averse to signing her +mistress’ name to her letters without adding her own initials, but the +present of a handsome broach and earrings soon quieted her sensitive +conscience and she soon fell into the plan, not being unwilling to make +use of such a powerful lever for obtaining largesses from Mrs. D’Alton. +In time this young lady became so overbearing that her mistress fully +made up her mind to discharge her, but a summer trip to Portland being +then on the tapis, she allowed her to have her own way, as Mr. D’Alton +remained in Montreal, and would naturally expect letters from his wife +during her absence. She would have dismissed the governess and engaged +another, trusting to her own pleadings and the powerful appeals of her +purse to win her over, but the handwriting would not be the same, and +she would not for worlds have allowed her husband to think she had +deceived him. + +The day came for their departure for Orchard Beach, where Mr. D’Alton +had taken a cottage for their use. The children were in great glee as +they anticipated surf bathing and digging in the sand, but Mrs. D’Alton +was moody and down-hearted, the exhilarating effects of a large potion +of brandy having worn off and a reaction set in; her husband, however, +attributed it to sorrow at her separation from him, and was rather +gratified to think she was so deeply affected. + +They arrived at her destination in due course, and were comfortably +ensconced in the cosy little cottage. Miss Watson, the governess, +dressed herself up, and with the children departed for the promenade, +and Mrs. D’Alton was left to her own reflections. The thought of her +past career, of the opportunities gone for ever, and lastly of the +predicament she was now in, shunned by all respectable people, and +despised by her own paid servant, who felt her power, and was disposed +to wield it unmercifully. The brandy-bottle, her never-failing +companion, was by her side, and as she mused mopingly over her sins, +she took from time to time copious draughts of the potent spirits, +regardless of its power to do otherwise than to rob her of these racking +memories of the past. In about two hours the promenaders returned and +found her lying back speechless in her chair, the bottle and glass by +her side; her eyes rolled wildly as she gazed vacantly on her children, +but she was unable to utter a word. + +Miss Watson became alarmed and summoned a doctor immediately, who, on +entering the room, perceived at once the cause of Mrs. D’Alton’s malady, +and ordered her to be conveyed to bed. In the morning she was a little +better, being able to speak; but she was still very much shaken, +and raved incoherently. Mr. D’Alton was telegraphed for, and came +immediately; but, being merely informed that his wife had had a fit, he +imagined her to be afflicted with hysteria; indeed, although he knew she +was fond of a glass of wine, and often joined him in partaking of brandy +and water, he had no idea that she imbibed to such an extent. + +In a few days Mrs. D’Alton was able to go out again, and, as during her +husband’s stay at Orchard Beach she was particularly abstemious, she +was able to associate with the ladies in the hotel, and made several +acquaintances, who, seeing that she had the dress and manners of a lady, +interchanged calls with her and invited her to visit them in Montreal. +On her return to her home, however, these ladies received her but +coldly, and when she gave a large party, inviting all those whom she had +met at the seaside, “they all, with one accord, began to make excuse,” + and at entertainment there was present, besides herself and the family, +only a sister of the governess, and one or two bachelor friends of Mr. +D’Alton. Dancing was of course out of the question, so they organized +two whist parties, and, with a little music, managed to drag along till +supper, which was served in Joyce’s best style, and looked unnecessarily +elaborate for the small number who were to partake of it. + +Mrs. D’Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she +met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not +have taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did +not calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not +be tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander +had been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really +was, so that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with +her, _dared_ not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold +on the ladder of social position. In moody silence she presided +throughout the entire evening; she was enraged at herself and at the +poor enslaved creatures who, though anxious to go and enjoy themselves +yet dared not infringe the rules laid down by society; and, as she drank +glass after glass of her husband’s famous Moselle, she became more and +more despondent. + +About midnight Amy Watson, the sister of the nursery-governess, took +her departure, and Mr. D’Alton with his friends, went up to the billiard +room to enjoy themselves at their favorite game. It was near daylight +ere they grew tired of pocketing the ivory spheres, and left their host +to close the doors, and retire to his room. When he did so what a sight +met his gaze! There lay his wife in all the finery she had arrayed +herself to dazzle her fashionable acquaintances, _a speechless corpse_! +a brandy-bottle, nearly emptied, lay at her side, telling too plainly +what had been the cause of her untimely death. Her husband’s first +impulse was to ring the bell and send for a doctor, but, knowing the +scandal that would surely ensue, he quietly let himself out, and went +for Dr. Hickson, being determined not to give up hope till he had done +all that could possibly be done. The doctor on examining the body shook +his head ominously, confirming Mr. D’Alton in the belief that his wife +was no more; he considerately agreed to remain in the house, and not +to inform the servants for some time of the occurrence. The doctor’s +presence, of course, excited some alarm, and in a short time it was +known that Mrs. D’Alton was dangerously ill, the announcement of her +death being reserved for a time till all the traces of the recent +festivities were removed, and the house had resumed its normal +condition. + +When the children heard of their mother’s death they rent the air +with their cries of anguish; even Miss Watson shed real tears, her +occupation, like that of Othello, being gone. Poor Mr. D’Alton was +almost beside himself. He had never loved another woman; and, though he +was not blind to his wife’s failings and shortcomings, he nevertheless +lamented the loss of one, who, whatever her faults, was true to him and +a good mother to his children. + +In the meantime what had become of Cissie Wilson, Mrs. D’Alton’s elder +sister? She had endeavored to persuade Mrs. D’Alton to engage her as +governess to her children, but the latter, once married, refused to +hold any communication with her whatever. Miss Wilson then despairing +of finding a road to reform in Montreal, took her departure for Toronto, +taking a position as governess in one of the leading families there. On +hearing of her sister’s death she wrote to Mr. D’Alton, offering to take +charge of the children till he had time to make permanent arrangements +for their education. To this letter she received no reply, which nettled +her so much that she determined on a plot for wounding the pride of her +haughty brother-in-law. “Who is he,” she would exclaim, “that he should +dare to snub me?” “If I _have_ sinned, was _she_ not equally bad, and +is he not guilty _himself_?” “Never mind, Mr. D’Alton, I will have +my revenge some day.” She racked her brain to think of some means of +repaying him for his severity to her, but could think of nothing at the +time, and so resolved to wait and watch her opportunity. + +It was some years before Miss Wilson had that opportunity for which her +heart so yearned, but come it did, surely enough, and she dealt to Mr. +D’Alton a blow so bitter that he never got over its effects. + +Lillian, Mr. D’Alton’s eldest daughter had, after her mother’s death, +been sent to a fashionable school in Mansfield street, presided over by +the wife of one of our leading brokers. Here she made many friends, and +being known only as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a rich +widower doing business in Montreal, and well known on the Exchange, she +was in time introduced into society, and became at one bound the belle +of the season. + +At that time several British regiments occupied the Quebec Gate +barracks, and the officers were eagerly sought after by the party-giving +community, no ball being complete without at least two or three officers +in _full uniform_. Among the latter was a certain Captain Trevelyan, the +heir-apparent of an English nobleman, who was, of course _the_ eligible +young gentleman of the season. Most of the ladies openly courted Captain +Trevelyan and, figuratively speaking, laid themselves at his feet; +but Lillian D’Alton was too little versed in such matters to know the +triumph she had achieved in being sought after as a partner by the +much-admired Captain, and, when he asked her to dance although she +complied readily with his request, yet she carried herself with an air +so natural, and altogether so different from the time-worn belles he was +so accustomed to meet, that he engaged her for dance after dance, then +for supper, and, before the ball was concluded, he was deeply in love +with her, none the less because she was the only young lady in the room +who did not covet that distinction. + +Although Lillian was but eighteen years of age, she could not but +perceive the marked attention paid to her by Captain Trevelyan, nor +was she blind to the glances of envious hatred darted at her from all +quarters. Her heart responded to the unspoken avowal of her partner, and +ere they parted that night they were one in heart and in thought, each +living only for and in the presence of the other. + +Youthful love makes rapid progress. Ere many months had passed Lillian +D’Alton was the affianced bride of Captain Trevelyan, and their +approaching wedding was the one theme of conversation at balls, routes +or parties. + +Here then was the opportunity longed for by Miss Wilson. She would +inform Captain Trevelyan and his friends concerning the D’Alton family, +and warn him to break off his engagement. With a refinement of cruelty +peculiar to women blinded with rage, she allowed the wedding day to be +fixed before she communicated with the bridegroom, and then sent him a +complete history of the family he was about to enter, informing him +that the lady he was about to marry was the illegitimate child of Mr. +D’Alton, and that in marrying her he would not only injure his own +prospects, but alienate himself completely from his family, bringing on +them both shame and discredit. + +Captain Trevelyan read the letter with astonishment, but did not +believe one word it contained. His Lillian a bastard! why the thing was +preposterous. Her father was as well known on ‘Change as Rothschild +was in London. Her mother’s funeral had been attended by the wealth +and fashion of Montreal, and since that time Lillian had been the +acknowledged belle of the set commonly known as “the upper ten.” The +letter being written in rather extravagant terms, he imagined it to +contain the incoherent ravings of a maniac, and his first impulse was to +toss it aside. On the arrival of the English mail, however, he received +letters from his friends, couched in terms of the deepest anxiety, +urging him to sever all connection with the D’Alton family if he did +not wish to alienate himself completely from all his family and +friends. These letters led him to think more seriously concerning the +communication from Toronto, and being determined, come what might, +to know the worst at once, he started immediately for Mr. D’Alton’s +residence, only to find that the gentleman in question had just that +moment departed for his office. + +Lillian was at home, however, and she rushed downstairs impetuously to +meet her affianced husband. He received her as usual, but there was +a cloud on his brow as he followed her into her boudoir, where they +frequently spent hours together. He questioned her concerning her aunt +and her relations generally, but Lillian knew little more than that +her aunt resided in Toronto, and was generally considered to be what is +called “flighty.” + +This somewhat reassured Trevelyan, and he dismissed the subject for a +time from his mind. He determined, however, to clear the matter up, and +so in the evening he called to see Mr. D’Alton, requesting a few words +with him in private. The two men entered the study, and Trevelyan led +off by saying:--“I have received a strange communication from your +sister-in-law, Miss Wilson; from what Lillian has told me, I am aware +that she is a person of weak intellect, and her stories are not worthy +of credence, but I thought it due to you, nevertheless, to bring the +matter to your notice.” + +At the mention of Miss Wilson’s name D’Alton turned deadly pale. He was +a bold man, and capable of carrying out a deep scheme, had he felt +so disposed; but this intimacy of Trevelyan with his daughter was the +result of no scheme, and he had for some years lived, with the rest of +his family, a blameless life, rejoicing in the fact that his neighbors +either did not know, or had forgotten, or overlooked his past career, +and were prepared to receive his children with open arms into society. +With bated breath he ran his eyes hastily over the letter held out to +him by Trevelyan, and in an instant he saw the whole situation. If he +could only have had time to consider the matter, he would probably have +taken the right course, come what might; but he had little time for +decision, as Trevelyan stood before him, eagerly expecting a reply. Mr. +D’Alton pictured to himself the state of affairs did he acknowledge the +truth of the accusation, and though loath to deceive the young man (whom +he already loved almost as dearly as his own son), he dared not ruin his +daughter’s prospects by an avowal. Pretending to read the letter once +more he gained a little time, and then, with consummate diplomacy, +endeavored to find out what Trevelyan thought. Looking up coolly, he +said-- + +“And do you believe all this, Trevelyan?” + +Of course, Trevelyan _did not_ believe it, and was profuse in his +apologies, for having permitted himself to doubt for a moment that the +writer was bereft of reason. This confirmed Mr. D’Alton in his course +and he at once denounced his sister-in-law in no measured terms, vowing +to punish her for her irresponsible utterances. The news that Miss +Wilson had written to Captain Trevelyan’s friends in England made +D’Alton furious, and he swore a fearful oath that he would place her +where her ravings would harm no one but herself. All night long he +thought over schemes for getting rid of her, and at length he concocted +a plan which he speedily put into execution. + +As was said before, Mrs. D’Alton and her sister were orphans and they +both left their adopted parents early in life, having lived under +assumed names for years, and severed all connection with their former +associates. During Mrs. D’Alton’s lifetime her sister was forbidden to +approach the house, and on the death of the former Miss Wilson was not +recognized by her brother-in-law. The children had never seen or known +their aunt, and the people with whom she had last resided in Montreal +(in the capacity of nursery-governess) had known her as Miss Rogers, and +had lately lost all trace of her whereabouts. + +Taking the early train for Toronto, Mr. D’Alton took counsel of an +astute lawyer, and learned that, as events had been shapen, Miss Wilson +would have now great difficulty in proving her connection with the +D’Alton family, did he choose to deny it, and that the fact of her +having written such letters as those received by Trevelyan and his +family would be fair presumptive evidence that the woman was insane. + +Carefully considering his position, D’Alton determined on his course of +proceeding. He was averse to a public prosecution, as many things, now +unknown or forgotten, might be brought to light, and yet he felt that +the woman must be effectually silenced by some means or other. Going to +her residence he boldly demanded an interview with her, and, producing +the letter to Trevelyan, asked if she had written it. Miss +Wilson laughed as she saw the effect of her shot, and exultantly +exclaimed:--“Of course I wrote it; who else _could_ have done it?” + +“And are you aware that you are liable to be prosecuted for libel?” + pursued D’Alton. + +“It is no libel,” retorted she, fiercely; “you know it is true, or you +would not be here now.” + +“Indeed! _can you prove it, then_?” + +“I have no need to prove it to you. Your very facial expression +acknowledges it to be true.” + +“Will that satisfy the jury?” + +“What jury?” + +“The jury who are to try you for a malicious libel!” + +At this Cissie started, but recovering herself exclaimed: “_You_ dare +not sue me for libel. Your history would not stand repetition in court.” + +“Who knows my history?” + +“I do!” + +“Indeed! WHO ARE YOU?” + +The fierceness with which he said this made his sister-in-law quail. She +perceived that he was terribly in earnest as he repeated his question in +a tone very unusual with him, and she meekly replied: + +“You know well enough who I am, your late wife’s sister.” + +“My wife _had no sister_!” + +The look he gave as he said this fairly frightened her. She had seen +a good deal of life, and had in her time met with all kinds of men and +women, but never till now did she fear either. She began to see that she +had roused a desperate man, and that, legally, she had no hold on him, +neither status in society; moreover that she had got entangled in the +meshes of her own net, and that only the dread of exposure would prevent +D’Alton from prosecuting her for libel. Not knowing what to do, she +remained mute, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. At length Mr. +D’Alton broke the silence: “You have evidently had an object,” he said, +“in circulating these reports. If your object be to extort money out of +me, you will find it more to your interest to remain silent.” With these +words he drew from his pocket a roll of bank bills, and laid them on the +table near his companion; but she, growing livid with rage, refused to +touch them, promising to expose him and his family before all the world. + +D’Alton had not calculated on this, and was for a time taken a little +aback. His last card, however, was not yet played; and, summoning all +his energies together, he braced himself for the enactment of that, +which under other circumstances, he would have suffered much rather than +become in any sense a party thereto. Addressing the lady once more he +said:--“What, then, was your object in writing these letters?” + +“My object was _to disclose the truth_,” she cried, vehemently, “to +denounce you as a blackhearted villain, and to save an unsuspecting +youth from becoming the victim of your deep-laid schemes.” + +D’Alton bit his lip with passion, but restrained himself. “And you do +all this solely from conscientious motives,” he said with a sneer. + +“My conscience, like your own, Mr. D’Alton, is pretty well hardened. No; +I have no conscientious motives to impel me to show your true character +to the world; but revenge is sweet, and I have not forgotten the scorn +and contempt with which both you and your fashionable wife treated me +while I was in Montreal. _I_ was not good enough to touch the hem of +your garments, but _she_ was dressed up and paraded in the drawing-rooms +of those who did not know better than to admit her, and now her b---- +daughter is to wed a scion of a noble house, while _I_ am not even +recognized. No, Robert D’Alton, you will not become respectable and +leave _me_ out in the cold, insulting and spurning me at every turn with +your petty offers of money. I have sworn to have my revenge, and by ---- +now that the opportunity offers, I _will have it_, too!” + +She had worked herself up to state of uncontrollable fury. Her eyes +rolled wildly, and she looked like one demented. This gave the devil +his opportunity, for D’Alton, who had been halting between two opinions, +came to a hasty conclusion, and bringing the interview to a close, +hurriedly left the house, his teeth firmly set, and a horrid glare in +his eyes. He walked rapidly down Yonge street and along the east end +of King street, then, hailing a cab, he directed the driver to travel +towards the west end, coming to a halt opposite the Lunatic Asylum. +Entering he enquired for Dr. Tuffnell, and was informed that he would +likely find that gentleman at his residence on Jarvis street. On +repairing thither he found the doctor at home, and, requesting a few +minutes’ private conversation, was soon closeted in the consultation +room. “I have long intended to see you,” Mr. D’Alton began, “about a +young lady who lived in our family some years ago in the capacity of +nursery-governess. She was always of a somewhat flighty disposition, +which we used to humour as best we could, and when she left us (at my +wife’s death) for Toronto, we fancied she had quite recovered, but it +seems she has been gradually growing worse, and she now continually +torments our friends and us with letters full of ridiculous flights of +fancy, which, though meaningless to those who understand how she has +been afflicted, might possibly cause serious trouble.” + +“Has the young lady, then, no friends or relatives?” + +“None, whatever. She was taken out of an orphan asylum by an aged +clergyman, now deceased, who adopted her, and since his death she has +supported herself by teaching. We consulted our physician about her +some time ago, when she imagined herself to be my wife, and ordered her +mistress down to the kitchen. He thought it would be advisable for her +to take another situation away from us till her health improved, as she +was continually fancying herself trampled upon by some member of the +family; we accordingly procured for her a situation in a friend’s house +in Montreal, but they in turn became frightened of her, and dismissed +her, which dismissal, strange to say, she attributed _to me_. She now +imagines herself to be my wife’s sister, and demands an entrance into my +house, denouncing me in the vilest terms, and writing scandalous letters +to all my acquaintances.” + +“Are you sure she is insane?” + +“Well, I have long tried to persuade myself that she is not, but +latterly she has grown so violent that I am afraid that what I said +years ago to my late wife in fun about her being demented was only +painfully true. If you would kindly visit her and give me your opinion +concerning her case, you would oblige me very much.” + +“What does her present mistress say about her?” + +“Oh she has only been there a short time and has not yet given an +exhibition of her oratorical powers. Still the lady who is a clergyman’s +widow, told me that she walks about her room in the middle of the night, +talking wildly to herself.” + +Dr. Tuffnell had not time to visit Miss Wilson that morning, but he made +an appointment with Mr. D’Alton for the following day, and together they +went to the unfortunate girl’s residence. Arrived at the house they rang +the bell, and inquired for Mrs. Brookes, the mistress. + +Mrs. Brookes was a middle-aged lady of a retiring disposition. Her +husband had died at an early age, leaving her to take care of three +young children. Her temporal wants however, were provided for, her +husband having been possessed of a handsome income independently of +his small salary. Dr. Tuffnell made inquiries concerning Miss Wilson’s +habits, and was informed that her actions were at times very peculiar, +that she had not gone to bed all the past night, but had stamped up and +down her room, talking as if to a second party. Mrs. Brookes was shocked +to hear that she had unwittingly engaged a mad woman to take charge of +her children, and suddenly recollected several extraordinary episodes +which, until that time, had never struck her forcibly. + +It was arranged that the Doctor should see Miss Wilson and satisfy +himself concerning her affliction before any further steps were taken. +Accordingly Mrs. Brookes rang the bell and told the servant to summon +the governess. + +Miss Wilson had not slept all night, and her eyes had a wild expression, +which heightened when she beheld Mr. D’Alton. The doctor, having +previously taken all that was told him for granted, made up his mind +at once that she was insane, and never reflected for a moment on the +possibility of some scheme being on foot to injure her. On entering the +room she laughed wildly and said--“So you have come back with your bag +of gold. I tell you it’s _trash_, sordid trash, not half so sweet as +REVENGE!” + +Now as the doctor had heard nothing from either D’Alton or Mrs. Brookes +which he could in any way connect with this wild utterance; moreover, +as the young lady looked like a tigress, and walked fiercely up and down +the room, he became more than ever convinced that he had got a bad case +in hand and acted accordingly. Looking at D’Alton he shook his head, +which Mrs. Brookes perceiving, she shook her head in turn, and, taking +out her handkerchief, wept copiously. Dr. Tuffnell tried to soothe the +patient with gentle words, but she (mistaking him for a pettifogging +lawyer, whom D’Alton had engaged to bind her over to keep the peace) +cried out: + +“Ah, yes! you want to quiet me, but _you can’t_ quiet me. I am like the +surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with +more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft +and gilded promises. No, Robert D’Alton, you have started the mighty +avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress.” + +The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to +quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all +persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies +altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and +oaths and furious gesticulations. At length the doctor suggested, in a +whisper, the propriety of their departure, when they might consider what +was best to be done, but, on Mrs. Brookes protesting that she was afraid +to stay alone in the house with the maniac, Dr. Tuffnell dispatched +a note to the asylum, and in a short time two keepers arrived, and +proceeded to take Miss Wilson into their care till she should become +possessed of a sound mind. + +There is no time at which a sane person looks so much like a maniac +as when trying to convince people of his sanity. The real lunatic will +cunningly hide his affliction from the most watchful, and is frequently +able to deceive those unaccustomed to deal with persons of unsound mind, +but the victim of persecution becomes wild with honest indignation, +and generally manages to convince even those who might be inclined to +believe him to be sane. + +When the truth of her position began to dawn on Miss Wilson, she became +more frantic than ever. She raved at D’Alton and the doctor, tore with +her hands at the keepers, and abused Mrs. Brookes for standing tamely by +to see one of her own sex so ill-used. She roared so that two policemen +came rushing up to the steps to inquire what was the matter, but, seeing +Dr. Tuffnell, with whom they were well acquainted, they saluted him +respectfully and withdrew. + +Miss Wilson was accordingly driven to the asylum and incarcerated till +she should come to her senses, and Mr. D’Alton, having made arrangements +for her safe-keeping returned to Montreal. + +Shortly after her father’s return Lillian D’Alton was married to Captain +Trevelyan in Christ Church Cathedral. The wealth, beauty and fashion of +Montreal attended the wedding, and the costliest presents were displayed +on her father’s sideboard. The young couple departed for England +immediately, Trevelyan’s regiment having been ordered home, and the +bride was received into the first London circles. + +Mr. D’Alton remained in Montreal where he still lives and moves in the +best society. What his private feelings are I cannot tell, but outwardly +all is serene, the only one besides myself who knows his family history +having long since passed away in solitary confinement. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +A Tale of Two Cities + +Among the many friends we made during our stay in Montreal, none were so +thoroughly beloved by myself and family as the Sinclairs. Mr. Sinclair +was an English artist who had settled in Canada some time previous to +our arrival, and, being generally well informed, as well as a shining +light in his own profession, he was made much of by the English +residents here, and had as pupils many of the wives and daughters of the +officers of the garrison, besides some of the more cultivated Canadians. +Mrs. Sinclair was a refined English lady of good family, and had several +children, mostly girls, who were greatly admired not only for their +beauty, but also for their many and various accomplishments. The +Sinclair girls were frequently at our house, being, in fact, looked upon +as members of our family, and no social gathering of ours was considered +complete without them. + +In time Mr. Sinclair became tired of Montreal. Many of his patrons +left with their regiments for England, and he became weary of the +dull routine and scanty income which he saw was all he could ever look +forward to in Canada, so, breaking up his household, he departed for the +United States, and, having lived for a time in various cities, finally +settled in Boston, where he became quite successful, and soon obtained +an enviable reputation as a portrait painter. + +Lulu Sinclair, the eldest of the girls, was a sprightly blonde of about +sixteen when her father left Montreal, and the family had not been +long in Boston before she became engaged as a teacher at one of the +conservatories, and a mutual attachment sprang up between the pair. +Miss Sinclair had already made her _début_ in Boston Music Hall as a +vocalist, and the pair were frequently engaged at the same concerts +and entertainments, so that the natural sequence was that they in time +became engaged, and afterwards--_married_! + +“Nothing very mysterious in that,” I think I hear my fair reader say, a +little disappointed that I have not prepared a spicy bit of scandal for +her delectation; but as Balaam the Prophet could only speak as he +was impelled by the spirit, so likewise must I confine myself to +_the realities_ of the case, and I therefore make no apology for this +commonplace bit of history, but proceed with my story. + +One evening Lulu made her appearance at our house, in Montreal, +accompanied by Mr. Hill, her husband. It seems that they were on a +concert tour, and were to give two concerts in Saint Patrick’s Hall, +which at that time stood on the corner of Craig street and Victoria +square, and, as we had often invited them to do so, they promised +to avail themselves of our hospitality during their stay, as their +engagement terminated with these concerts and they were anxious to take +a little rest before returning to Boston. + +The children were delighted to have Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the house +with them; they had never met a _real live prima donna_ in private +life before, and they flaunted “Professor Hill” and “Mademoiselle Lulu +Sinclair” in the faces of their juvenile acquaintances, as if they +had been entertaining the Emperor of all the Russias and Her Imperial +Majesty the Empress. + +Since the Sinclairs had left Montreal, the principal playmates of our +children had been the Bennetts, who lived in the adjoining street. Mr. +Bennett was a French-Canadian, with (as usual) a large family, and was +in comfortable circumstances, having a large retail grocery on Notre +Dame street. One evening, shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hill and +his wife, the former drew me aside and asked me if I knew a family in +Montreal named Bennett. I told him that I knew them intimately, that +they lived close at hand, and taking him to the window (it was late in +the spring) I showed him the children walking opposite hand in hand with +our own. He then intimated that he had something to tell me, and, taking +me aside into the adjoining room, he told me something which astonished +me as much as it will doubtless astonish the reader of these pages. + +It seems that Mr. Bennett’s father was an American, who, in early life, +being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named +Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first +two of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third +did not in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a +liberal-minded man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could +not be forced, like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that +every one should be free to hold what convictions his reason dictated, +untrammelled by conventionality or creed of any kind. Miss Beauchamp +professed to be of a like mind, and agreed to allow him to educate the +boys (if any), while she would look after the female issue of their +marriage. With this ridiculous understanding they got married, and for +a time things went pleasantly along, Mrs. Bennett attending L’Eglise +St. Jacques regularly, not only without opposition from her husband but +sometimes even accompanied by him. He did not believe in the efficacy of +the service to save his soul, but he had sufficient common sense to know +that it could not harm him, or turn him one whit aside from what his +reason dictated; and neither did it, for at the end of two years he was +as greatly opposed to what he considered the errors of the Church of +Rome as ever he was, and though he attended L’Eglise St. Jacques almost +as regularly as St. George’s Church, of which he was a member, he went +there simply because he liked the society of his wife, and she believed +it to be necessary for her salvation. + +In the course of time Mrs. Bennett gave birth to a boy, then two +girls, and afterwards another boy, all of whom, as children will, made +enquiries concerning whence they were and whither they were going, etc. +Mr. Bennett now began to see the folly he had been guilty of in making +the agreement mentioned above. If the Catholic religion were the true +and only faith, all his sons were on the high road to perdition; if, as +he was inclined to think, the Protestant religion were nearer the mark, +then what was to become of the girls? What a pleasant prospect was +there before him! His family torn and divided by the most bitter of all +dissentions, religious disputes (or rather _irreligious_ disputes about +matters of doctrine), and his life and those of all his family rendered +miserable. This was certainly bad enough in its way, but something more +annoying was in store for him. He one day discovered that not only were +the girls baptized in the Romish faith, but that the _boys also_ were +surreptitiously baptized by the parish priest, so that he alone of all +the family remained a Protestant, and a poor one at that. Every day +things got more and more complicated, and his wife at last openly avowed +that _all_ the children were to be Roman Catholics, and advised him also +to flee from the wrath to come and take refuge in the arms of the true +church. + +Bennett was not exactly a bigot, but, if not a Protestant, he was +certainly not going to become a Roman Catholic. Cursing himself bitterly +for his folly, he sought to make matters better; but that, so far as +changing the religion or creed of his family went, was altogether beyond +his power. He had his choice between living an alien and a heretic, +despised by his own family; and joining a church whose teachings he +considered puerile and inefficacious, and the atmosphere of which was +now exceedingly disagreeable to him. His wife showed herself so much +more devoted to the church than to her husband, that his love for her +soon faded away, and he made a fearful resolve to leave Montreal, and +never see his wife or children more. Accordingly one evening, instead +of returning as usual from his store, he left for parts unknown, leaving +his wife and children almost penniless behind. + +Mrs. Bennett, though acting as she did, loved her husband dearly. It was +this very love for him which made her so anxious for him to leave what +she considered the false religion of the Church of England for the pure +and unadulterated system of the Church of Rome. She cried after him as +if her heart would break, and sent after him in all directions. All her +efforts, however, were in vain, no trace of her husband being found. +The children were left at school till they were in time old enough to be +apprenticed to a trade or business, Mrs. Bennett struggling bravely, as +only a woman can do, to keep their heads above water. When William, the +eldest boy, was about fourteen, he was placed in the well-known house +of Messrs. Mockridge & Co., dry goods merchants, and in course of time +became thoroughly conversant with the business. He had not only +been able to help his mother to maintain the family, but had put by +sufficient to start a small business for himself. Before deciding on +the latter, however, he determined to visit Boston, to get a few ideas +connected with the business, and, while there, came across his father, +who had married again under the name of Hill, his wife being a young +American of good family, and the mother of the gentleman from whom I +learnt this story. + +William Bennett reproached his father with his misconduct, and insisted +on his leaving his American wife. Bennett the elder was very much averse +to doing so, but his son would leave him no alternative, threatening him +with exposure and criminal action should he decline. The old man tried +to temporize, and persuaded William to visit and dine with his family, +introducing him as a business friend from Montreal. + +Whatever Anti-Spiritualists may say to the contrary, there are +undoubtedly influences other than material which affect us at times, and +give us mysterious intimations of events happening or about to happen. +Both Mrs. Hill and her children had a presentiment of some impending +calamity, and, although they had not the faintest suspicion of the real +state of affairs, they did not look on William Bennett as they would +have done on any other person casually introduced into their household. +A damper seemed to have been placed on all their spirits, and the flow +of conversation was sluggish and dull. + +After dinner they endeavored to organize an impromptu card-party, but +that, also, was a failure; and, although, as a rule, they had a +little music after dinner, on this particular evening each one seemed +indisposed to break the monotony. + +About ten o’clock William left for his hotel, having first made an +appointment with his father for the following morning. When they +met William returned to the subject of their previous discourse, and +insisted on his father returning with him to Montreal. The old man vowed +that, come what might, he would never go back to his “priest-ridden +family” as he chose to designate his wife and children. The battle waxed +fast and furious, till at last William exclaimed with an oath: “By ---- +you shall leave your Yankee mistress, then; _she_ shall suffer what _my +mother_ suffered;” and with oaths and threatenings he hounded his father +out of Boston, determined that Mrs. Hill should not (innocent though she +was) enjoy the happy home which was denied to his mother. + +When Mrs. Hill learned the truth (which she did from a letter sent her +from Montreal) she nearly lost her reason. Her case was even worse than +that of Bennett’s first wife; because, whereas the latter could at least +seek her husband, and live in the hope of one day finding him again, the +former could not, even did she discover him, claim him as her own. + +Mr. Hill’s visit to Montreal, then, though ostensibly made for +professional pursuits was, in reality to find out something concerning +his father’s whereabouts, and other matters connected with his +quasi-relations. It was strange that he should have come to me for +information without being at all aware of our intimacy with the Bennett +family, indeed, while he was relating his story Amelia Bennett, his +brother’s eldest child, came running in for something or another, and +I at once saw a resemblance between the two, not only in personal +appearance, but also in manners and actions. + +The next day Mr. Hill, leaving his wife to the care of our family (who +had undertaken to show her “the lions”) went forth on his expedition +in search of his father. He had obtained from me his brother’s business +address, and going to the office unannounced was immediately recognized +by him, although they had only met once before, and that a considerable +time previously. On explaining the object of his visit, Hall was very +coldly received and informed that Bennett the elder had left Montreal +for New York some years previously and had not since been heard of. Mr. +Hill pretended to believe the story, but secretly determined to keep a +watch on his half-brother as he felt certain that the latter was still +in communication with his father. He accordingly made arrangements to +stay at my house, and as the Bennetts were constantly coming and going +he was sure that in a short time he would learn more concerning him of +whom he was in search. + +One afternoon we were seated round the parlor fire, discussing the usual +after-dinner topics, when Mrs. William Bennett dropped in to have a +friendly chat. She disclosed the fact that her husband was going to +visit a superannuated employee in the nunnery, which he usually did +on the first of each month, and that she did not see what reason her +husband had to support forever all his broken-down employees. At the +first word, Hill listened breathlessly, and when Mrs. Bennett said that +she had just left her husband dressing, he quickly, but quietly, left +the room. In an instant he was opposite Bennett’s house, and as soon as +he noticed the bedroom light extinguished (for it was already dark), +he drew back into a shadowed corner till he saw Bennett emerge from +the doorway and walk rapidly down the street. Hill followed at a safe +distance, but soon he saw his brother hail a passing sleigh, and, +entering it, order the driver to take him somewhere; the name of the +street, however, he failed to hear, and he felt chagrined to see the +neighboring cab-stand completely deserted. “Now or never,” he thought, +“am I to attain the object of my visit,” and he dashed madly along the +street after the vehicle which was travelling at the rate of ten miles +an hour; several times he passed a cab-stand and would fain have taken +a fresh horse in pursuit, but he was afraid that while doing so he might +lose sight of the sleigh he had followed so far; or confound it with +another vehicle, for they were now passing through the centre of the +city towards the west end of St. Antoine street. + +Past terrace after terrace they flew, till Mr. Hill was nearly faint and +breathless, when a sudden turn to the right brought them to the foot of +a hill, now Guy street, up which the carter walked his horse, and gave +the half dead pedestrian time to recover his breath. When they had +proceeded about a quarter of a mile up the hill, the carter drew up at +the Nunnery on the left side of the road, and Mr. Bennett, alighting, +rang the bell. A sliding panel was immediately pushed aside, and a +hooded sister held a few moments conversation with the visitor, on which +the door was opened, and he was admitted. Hill, who had been standing in +the shadow of the porch, entered unnoticed at his brother’s heels, the +janitor being under the impression that they had come in the sleigh +together. Walking along a dark corridor they came to a stairway, down +which their guide preceded them into the basement; here Hill took a +favorable opportunity to turn aside, still keeping his eye on the others +till they arrived at the end of the passage and entered a large room +where several old men were congregated, some chatting in groups, others +smoking or reading lazily. In one of these, with emotions which cannot +be described, Hill recognized his father from whom he had so long been +separated. His first impulse was to rush boldly in and make himself +known, but, the first transport over, his American caution prevailed, +and he slipped down another passage which commanded a view of the +staircase, and watched from his point of vantage the many persons +returning from visiting their friends. He felt relieved when he saw +Bennett take his departure, and with one bound he rushed into the middle +of the room where the old man was, and, throwing himself round his +father’s neck, wept like a child. The old man did not recognize him at +first, but when he did he went into hysterics, so great was the shock +to his nervous system. Never was there such a commotion in the quiet +Nunnery, and the inmates gathered round in excited groups to listen to +Hill’s story. He told them that his father had left Boston some years +before, and, becoming unable to support himself, had been placed by a +heartless elder brother in the cold confines of the Nunnery, although +the younger members of the family were both willing and anxious to +support their aged parent. There being no reason why the old man should +not leave the institution if so inclined, the Superior allowed him, +after some hesitation, to take his departure, first receiving the +grateful thanks both of himself and of his son for her kind and +fostering care. Hill left a letter for his brother, informing him that, +his father being willing, he had taken him away from the Nunnery, and +that as they evidently did not want to keep him with their families, he +was about to take him to live with _his_. + +Bennett was furious when he received the letter, but, as Mrs. Hill was +now no more, and no threats or exposures of any kind could induce young +Hill and his father to separate, he allowed them to go their way in +peace. + +A few years after these occurrences Mr. Hill received an appointment in +Montreal. + +Bennett and he sometimes meet in the street, but give no signs of +recognition. The old man is still living, seldom going beyond the +portals of his son’s house and passing most of his time in moody +meditation on the past. Let us hope that a heartfelt repentance may in +some measure atone for his past weaknesses. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A Blighted Life. + +Amongst the many orthodox business men of Montreal, none were more +highly esteemed than Mr. Rogers, Manager of the ---- Bank. He was what +is generally considered a shrewd business man, methodical and precise in +all his relations, whether commercial, domestic or ecclesiastical. I say +ecclesiastical, because the worthy gentleman was one of the pillars +of the church, having held the office of Elder for several years. Mr. +Rogers had several children, most of whom he trained in the way in which +they should go, but Jack, his eldest son, was incorrigible, and resisted +all attempts to keep him under control. On Sunday mornings the family +were usually marshalled in the dining-room, and marched off to church, +but Master Jack frequently put in an excuse,--he had a bad cold, or a +sprained ankle, or some other ailment which precluded the possibility +of his attending. No sooner were the family outside the garden gate, +however, than the poor boy with the sprained ankle would perform a _pas +seul_ on the hearthrug, or, in spite of a cold which prevented his going +out of doors, would shout “The old log cabin” with an excellent tone and +remarkable vigor of lung; then, returning to his room, he would take +a French novel from its hiding place under his pillow, and, lighting +a fragrant Havana, would devote the morning to “the improvement of his +mind,” as he called it. + +Mrs. Rogers employed three servants besides a coachman: a cook, +a housemaid, and a tablemaid. The latter was a young and +attractive-looking girl from Glengarry, Ontario, named Ellen MacNee, who +was about seventeen years old, and had never before been in service. For +this damsel Jack Rogers conceived an attachment, and although at +first the girl withstood his attentions, ere long she gave way to +his importunities, and for months they lived on terms of the closest +intimacy. Jack of course promised (as all men do) to marry her, and +to do him justice I must say that he fully intended to do so, but his +income as a bank clerk was only twenty dollars a month, and he knew he +had no hope of receiving any assistance from his father. So things went +on till Ellen felt she could keep her secret no longer from those around +her, and she told her mistress she was going home to visit a sick aunt, +and did not know whether she would return or not. Mrs. Rogers was very +sorry indeed to part with her (for she had ingratiated herself with all +the family, although not to the same extent), and told her if she would +undertake to return she would only fill her place temporarily with +another girl. With this understanding Ellen left her place and entered +the Female Home, where shortly afterwards her baby (a girl) was born; +she had the child baptized almost immediately, calling it Beatrice, +after her young mistress, to whom she had been much attached, although +it is doubtful if the young lady in question would, had she known it +have appreciated the honor conferred upon her. + +Ellen was scarcely recovered from her illness when her brother, a +country farmer, who had by some means got wind of the state of affairs, +came to Montreal, and had his misgivings confirmed. When he learnt +the truth he was furious, and would, he vowed, shoot both her and her +betrayer; but fraternal affection was so strong within him that he +gradually became more calm, and exerted himself to make the best he +could of a bad business. He requested me to take the child and place it +in a nunnery in spite of the earnest protestations of its mother, and +persuaded the latter to return to her home in Glengarry, promising to +hide her shame from her mother and friends if she would bid farewell +forever to the child and her betrayer. He persistently refused even to +look at the baby, but, rough and uncultivated as he was, I could see a +tear glisten in his eye as his manly heart quivered with emotion. + +Home the poor broken-hearted girl went, and the baby was left in my +keeping till the morrow, when, according to agreement, I was to hand it +over to the good sisters. It was destined to be otherwise, however. That +evening a gentleman called at my house; he was a bachelor, well to do in +the world, and hearing the story, which it was necessary to tell him, +in order to explain the child’s presence, he asked me with pardonable +curiosity to let him see the baby. When he took her in his arms she +smiled so sweetly upon him, and crowed so joyously, that his heart was +touched, and he could not bear to think that the poor helpless babe +should be made to suffer for the sins of its parents; he asked me to let +_him_ have the child, promising that he would adopt her, and do for her +as if she were his own. + +I suggested to him the scandal such a measure would give rise to, and +urged him not to place himself in such an unenviable position, but he +insisted that he was willing to let society have its fling, and that +if I would consent to the child’s adoption, he would take the +responsibility attached to it. + +What was I to do? The man was well off, and had conceived a fancy for +the child. As for the world’s sneers, if he could afford to laugh at +them why should I refuse him the gratification of performing a noble +action? I handed the child over to his care, having first procured from +him written papers of adoption, and little Beatrice was installed in her +new home. A nurse was procured for her, and everything that money could +procure was provided for her comfort. The gossips sneered and wagged +their heads as they spoke of the “adopted” child, insinuating that there +were stronger ties than those of mere philanthropy to bind Mr. Richards +and the child together, but he, quite unconcerned, paid no attention to +their hints and innuendoes, and tried so far as lay in his power to make +the child comfortable and happy. When she attained the age of five years +he procured a governess for her, and had her instructed thoroughly in +all that go to make up a modern education as she grew older. + +But a cloud soon appeared on the horizon of the child’s career. Mr. +Richards became ill, and was ordered by his medical adviser to a +Southerly climate. He was obliged to sell his estate and place little +Beatrice in Mrs. Thompson’s boarding school, where she continued for a +few years till the return of her adopted father. He came, it is true, +but the seeds of a fatal disease had been implanted in his system, and +had taken a deadly hold; in a few months he was no more, and as nearly +all his money had been eaten up in paying travelling and medical +expenses, poor Beatrice was left once more not only without a friend +but without a penny in the world. Mr. Richards had paid her school fees +annually in advance, and as at the time of his demise several months +of the term paid for were unexpired, Beatrice had a comfortable home +secured for her at least during that period; for the future she would +either have to perform menial services at the school, or go out in the +cold world without a friend or protector. The former was considered +by the poor girl preferable to going she knew not where, and so she +accepted the offer of a situation as housemaid, kindly proffered to her +by Mrs. Thompson _out of pure charity_ at two dollars per month less +than the previous occupant of the situation. + +Poor Beatrice had a hard time of it as housemaid. Her former companions +took a fiendish delight in ordering her about till her life became +perfectly unbearable. She had but one friend to whom she could +unreservedly pour forth her troubles, her Sunday-School teacher, Miss +Flint. To this lady she gave an account of her history, so far as she +was able, and asked her for advice and assistance. Miss Flint, being +both sensible and charitably disposed, advised her to leave her present +position, having first procured a suitable one elsewhere, and she +promised to exert herself to this end. + +Among the numerous acquaintances of Miss Flint was Mrs. De Beaumont, a +Southern lady of means, whose husband held a high official position in +New Orleans. Mrs. De Beaumont had, in order to avoid the yellow fever +epidemic, taken up her residence temporarily in Montreal, and was +now with her two daughters about to return to her Southern home. The +education of the latter young ladies had been somewhat neglected, and +Mrs. De Beaumont was anxious to procure as governess and travelling +companion a young lady of moderate means and unlimited ability. + +Here, then, was an opening for Beatrice. On the recommendation of Miss +Flint, coupled with certificates from the various professors at Mrs. +Thompson’s school, the poor girl was duly installed in an easy and, to +her, lucrative position. She was not long settled in her new home when +Mr. Hartley, brother of Mrs. De Beaumont, fell violently in love with +her, and, contrary to the wishes of his relations, insisted on paying +her open attention. The poor girl had been so long accustomed to being +buffeted and slighted in every way that her heart fairly gave way before +his passionate wooing, and, although Mrs. De Beaumont frowned on her +angrily, and the rest of the family snubbed her grievously, yet Beatrice +felt so happy in having some one in whom she could confide that she +bore all their petty annoyances with the utmost forbearance, and refused +steadily to take the slightest notice of them. + +Mr. Hartley was a planter of considerable wealth. He had long lived +a bachelor’s life; so long, indeed, that his friends never thought he +would marry, and each one often unconsciously counted how much of the +property would eventually become his. Mrs. De Beaumont was particularly +displeased when she heard his open avowal of his attachment for her +governess, for, though Hartley was not an old man, he being at that +time only about forty-six years old, yet she had hoped that her daughter +would have inherited a portion of his vast wealth, which was now about +to be transferred to a stranger, without friends, fortune or name. In +spite of this secret antipathy to the match, Mrs. De Beaumont openly +pretended the greatest friendship for Beatrice, for, being a woman of +the world, she saw clearly how matters would stand in a few years, and +she could not afford to break either with her brother or his intended +wife. + +The wedding came off with all the aristocratic splendor of an F. F. +V. ceremonial. The dusky coachmen and footmen were resplendent with +gorgeous liveries and wedding favors, their white teeth glistening in +the sun as they grinned from ear to ear, perfectly happy and contented. +After the ceremony the newly-married pair went for a brief tour through +the Eastern States and Canada, returning to Mr. Hartley’s plantation, +where Mrs. Hartley was called upon by all the leading families in the +vicinity, and took her place with as much grace as though she had +been “to the manner born.” Mrs. De Beaumont greeted her sister-in-law +affectionately (at least to all outward appearances), and invited her to +visit her old home frequently; in fact all those who were aware (and who +was not) that Mr. Hartley had settled every penny of his fortune on his +wife and her prospective offspring were lavish of their attentions to +their beautiful, and now immensely wealthy, neighbor. + +When her first baby, a little girl, was born, Mrs. Hartley wept bitterly +and refused (like Rachel) to be comforted. Her husband could not +understand it at all, and was greatly grieved that she should be so +down-hearted when they had both every reason, to be happy. Beatrice +besought him to forgive her weakness, and explained that it was only now +that she was a mother that she fully realized the anguish her own mother +must have suffered at parting with her, and she implored him as he loved +her to exert himself to find her mother and make her happy. Had his wife +told him to lie down whilst she drove a carriage-wheel across his neck, +Mr. Hartley would have unhesitatingly obeyed her; how readily, then, +he set about finding what most men are so glad to be without, viz., a +mother-in-law, can easily be imagined. He promised his wife that so soon +as business permitted him he would take steps to discover her mother’s +whereabouts, but that night he was awakened out of a deep sleep by cries +of terror from his wife; she had had a dream, she said, that her mother +hung over a precipice, looking up to her for help, which, while she +hastened to give, she saw her mother sink into the yawning abyss, +uttering shrieks of agony. Hartley was beside himself with fright; +he thought his wife would lose her reason, and so he quieted her by +assuring her that he would write the next day to get information, acting +on which he would set out immediately on his search. In the morning he +despatched a letter to Mr. F---- in Montreal, instructing him to obtain +what information he could respecting a girl called Ellen MacNee who had +lived in former years with Mrs. Rogers; in reply he was informed that +the girl left the city, no trace being procurable. He then inserted +advertisements in several Canadian newspapers, informing the public +that if Ellen MacNee would correspond with X. Y. Z. she would hear of +something to her advantage. But in vain did the fond husband seek the +mother of his blue-eyed darling, now grown pale with deferred hope and +anxious care, and when the latter proposed that they should personally +go to Montreal in search of their missing relative he readily +acquiesced, feeling assured that, even if they were unsuccessful, the +excitement of travel and occupation would restore the bloom to his +wife’s cheeks and preserve that health which, was now apparently on the +wane. + +In a few days they had made preparations for an extended tour, and ere +a week had passed they were snugly quartered in the St. Lawrence Hall, +Montreal. The day after their arrival they called on me to know if I +could assist them in their search, bidding me spare no expense in order +to effect the desired object. I promised them every assistance in my +power, and at once placed myself in communication with all those whom +I had known to have any dealings with Beatrice’s unfortunate mother. It +was truly painful to see the anxious face of the young woman as she came +daily to me to enquire if I had heard any news, and when I showed her +a letter from Mr. MacNee, her mother’s eldest brother, stating that +his sister had gone to New York as nurse, she immediately persuaded her +husband to give chase. Their efforts were in vain, however. The girl, it +was true, had taken service in New York, but had subsequently left there +for her home in Glengarry, and had never been seen since either there or +in New York. Detectives having again been employed to assist in tracing +her movements, it was discovered that she had returned by rail to +Montreal _en route_ to Glengarry, but here all traces vanished, and the +supposition was either that she had committed suicide, or met with some +accidental death. Beatrice would have it, however, that she was still +alive, and would leave no stone unturned to find her. It was suggested +that New York should again be visited, as the probability was that she +returned there after her trip to Montreal; various other plans were +thought of, and some of them, doubtless, would have been acted upon, had +not a new light shone in upon the scene. + +At the outset of the proceedings I had communicated with the principals +of the various Houses of Refuge in this city, and, although the +authorities had done their utmost to facilitate our search, so far we +had failed to advance in any way. At this time, however, I received a +communication from the Bishop, informing me that he thought he could +help us, and when I called on him, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, +he told us that he had been visited by a hardened creature, whose name +did not concern us, and who, in anticipation of a reward which she had +heard was offered for the recovery of the recluse, disclosed the fact +that she had, under an assumed name, become a sister of charity, and +was at present an inmate in a convent in ---- street, where we would, +doubtless, be able to recognize her. + +Beatrice became quite excited at the news, and insisted on rushing off +at once, but her strength failed her, and she fell fainting on a sofa. +By great persuasion she allowed us to drive her home on the promise +that she would be allowed to accompany us on the morrow. The next day +we entered a carriage and drove to the Convent; we agreed that Beatrice +should go alone to meet her mother while we remained downstairs. Running +into the room where her mother was, the poor girl fell on her neck and +covered her with kisses. But no responsive greeting met the impetuous +child, the woman stared at her with a wild hazy stare as if to inquire, +Who are you? What do you mean by these extravagant caresses? + +But if she failed to recognize her child she did not fail to recognize +me, and by some strange association of ideas she seemed to wander in +thought back to her past life, and the hot blood mounted to her temples. +When she became calmer I explained to her how we had come there, and +the object of our visit. She was touched at the proofs of her daughter’s +affection, and the hot tears rolled rapidly down her furrowed cheek, +but she steadily refused to leave the institution. In vain the poor girl +pleaded, and Mr. Hartley and myself joined in our entreaties that she +would accompany her daughter and her husband. Finding all our arguments +of no avail I advised Mr. Hartley to let the poor creature have her way +till the reality of the situation had come home to her, recommending him +to allow his wife to call frequently at the Convent to see her mother. +This advice the indulgent husband acted upon, and day after day Beatrice +would go and sit for hours conversing with her parent, sometimes +obtaining permission to take her for a walk or a drive, and secretly +longing, though never expressing it in words, that her mother would +accompany her back to her home in the South. + +So far the excitement had kept Mrs. Hartley up, but after a time a +reaction set in which culminated in a wasting fever, and prostrated the +poor creature on a bed of sickness. This, though apparently disastrous, +ended happily for all. Beatrice’s mother, so long as _she_ was the +object of pity, shrank from all communication with her rich relatives, +but now that her child was in need of assistance, she flew to her with a +mother’s impetuosity, and anxiously watched by her couch day and night, +while the poor thing tossed and raved in delirious paroxysms. Mr. +Hartley summoned Dr. Hickson to his wife’s bedside, but that astute +practitioner wisely foretold that the magnetic influence of her mother’s +presence would do more for his patient than any drugs or medicines, and, +accordingly, he contented himself by prescribing a sleeping-draught, +leaving other agencies to do their work. + +In a couple of weeks Mrs. Hartley rallied, and ere long she became +convalescent, and even cheerful. She used to chat with her mother for +hours together, and the fourth week after the latter’s arrival she was +able to go out for a drive accompanied by her and the baby, who had +accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in all their travels. The little girl +and her grandmother soon became great friends, and when, Beatrice being +strong enough, her mother would have returned to her convent life, +the baby’s smiling face did what all persuasion had failed to do, and +bursting into tears, the aged penitent folded the darling to her breast +and declared that she would never part from it again. Beatrice’s joy +knew no bounds; and as for Mr. Hartley, he was perfectly satisfied to +know that his wife was happy. In a few days they made preparations for a +journey to the South, and ere long Mrs. Hartley had the satisfaction +of seeing her mother snugly ensconced at her own fireside, living as it +were over again, and enjoying in the care of her daughter’s child, +the maternal pleasure which had hitherto been denied her. Ere leaving +Montreal Mr. Hartley, at his wife’s request, erected a handsome monument +in Mount Royal Cemetery to the memory of the humane man, who, regardless +of the jeers and scoffing of gossiping scandal mongers, had braved +public opinion, and saved to the world a good wife, an affectionate +daughter and a loving and tenderhearted mother. + +During all this time, it may be asked, what had become of Jack Rogers, +one of the principals in my narrative? + +Jack was fairly wild at the thought of his sweetheart going into an +institution. He would have married her on the spot and braved all his +father’s anger. But the girl showed equal self-denial, and was much more +sensible; she saw that, by consenting to marry a penniless gentleman, +she would certainly injure him, without in any way benefiting herself. +She knew his father sufficiently well to feel sure that, were he aware +of his son’s relations with her, not one but _both of them_, would be +ignominiously turned out of doors. So, consoling her paramour with this +questionable bit of comfort, she tore herself away, saying coolly that +he would soon forget and marry some one in his own station in life. But, +though she nerved herself to speak in this strain before him, when alone +she broke down entirely, and sobbed till her heart nearly broke, for the +poor girl loved him dearly, and, poor though he was, would have married +him and worked for him, if necessary. She saw, however, that his +prospects would be utterly blasted were he to disclose his position +to his father; and she unselfishly took on herself _the whole_ of the +punishment for a sin of which she was scarcely guilty, or, at any rate, +less highly culpable than he. + +Jack would fain have put a pistol ball through his head, and doubtless +would have done so had the pistol been handy; but his pistols, like +everything else he possessed, were out of order, and were at the moment +in Mr. Costen’s hands, where they lay in a disintegrated condition till +the young gentleman’s blood had got some degrees cooler. Still, he could +not help thinking how his folly and thoughtlessness had ruined the hopes +of a poor innocent girl, and he longed for some opportunity for going +abroad, or participating in some excitement to enable him to muse less +moodily on the past. + +The American civil war was at this time in full blast, and large +bounties were offered for volunteers. An American agent, meeting Jack +Rogers in a saloon, which the latter frequented, offered him two +hundred dollars and an outfit if he would go as a substitute for a young +gentleman in New York. This offer Jack readily accepted, and within +a short time found himself _en route_ to Richmond to join the Federal +Army. He was not long in the service when his superior intelligence +and daring exploits made him conspicuous among his fellows, and he was +promoted from one grade to another till he was placed in command of +his company. This was a position Jack was eminently fitted for, and his +reckless bravery was talked of far and wide throughout the army. + +For a long time, in spite of his foolhardiness, Jack remained without a +scratch, save a slight wound from a rifle ball at Gettysburg, where +he made himself particularly conspicuous. Just before the close of the +great struggle, however, he was sent in command of a foraging party +consisting of about forty-five rank and file and the usual complement +of officers. Their path lay through a deed ravine in which high wooded +cliffs looked down on each side. These cliffs were in possession of a +Louisiana regiment, who were stationed there in the hope of cutting +off supplies from the Northerners, and, just as Captain Rogers with his +handful of men, entered the ravine a murderous fire was opened on them +from both sides. Rogers ordered his men to reply, but, as the ravine +afforded little or no cover, they were finally obliged to make their +way as quickly as possible to the end of the pass and fight their way +through. They found their way completely blocked by a force of two +or three hundred rebels, but, as to return would have proved equally +disastrous, there was nothing for it but to surrender, or cut a path +for themselves through, the enemy. Bracing themselves for a terrible +struggle, Rogers and his little band advanced to within a few yards of +the open, where their foes, with rifles loaded and bayonets fixed, stood +demanding their surrender. Captain Jack ordered his men to fire at a +given signal, and then to advance; and, firing his own pistols by way +of signal, he dashed through the smoke, followed by his daring band, +cutting and slashing right and left. + +But courage will not enable men to do impossibilities. Out of the +handful who entered the ravine but three managed to cut their way +through the opposing forces, and these were all more or less injured by +rifle balls or sabre cuts. Poor Rogers fought like a lion; but, being +the centre of attraction on account of his uniform, he had his hands +more than full, and though he pistoled two men and knocked an officer +who would have seized him senseless with the butt-end of his empty +revolver, he was finally brought off his horse with a pistol shot, and +captured, more dead than alive, by the enemy. + +The officer in charge was so struck with the bravery of the poor fellow +that he had endeavored to take him prisoner, and had stayed some of +his men who had essayed to run the fiery captain through with their +bayonets; his impetuous charge, however, led them in self defence to +disable him, and the young lieutenant who shot him had no alternative +except to be brained by a blow from Jack’s pistol. The excitement over, +however, the colonel of the victorious corps sent a detachment in search +of the wounded of both sides, and ordered a litter to be prepared for +Captain Rogers’ removal to his own quarters. Poor Jack was severely +injured. The ball had entered his left arm close to the shoulder, and +was not necessarily fatal; but his horse had fallen on him and bruised +him so that he could scarcely breathe. The march to the camp was about +two miles, and, although the men moved as gently as possible, yet +Captain Rogers suffered agony as he felt every motion. Arrived at +Colonel De Beaumont’s quarters (for the brave commander was the husband +of Mrs. De Beaumont) a surgeon was sent for and the invalid’s wounds +were attended to. Although a prisoner of war Captain Rogers’ received +every attention from Colonel De Beaumont and the officers under his +command, and when, the regiment being ordered to head-quarters, the +Colonel was obliged to send Rogers to prison with the rest of his +captured force, the parting was more like that of two brothers than that +of a victor and his fallen foe. + +After the close of the war, which, event took place shortly after these +occurrences, Colonel De Beaumont, disgusted and sick at heart, +returned to New Orleans. He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear +allegiance once more to what he considered the oppressor. Almost his +first thought after his return was to enquire concerning the Federal +troops who had been captured by his men, especially the gallant Rogers, +for whom he had formed a more than passing attachment. He learned that +of those who had been placed in confinement, some had died of their +wounds, others, as soon as the proclamation of Northern supremacy gave +them their liberty, had returned to their homes, but that the Captain, +having contracted a dangerous fever, had been unable to accompany them. +De Beaumont lost no time in seeking out the poor soldier’s quarters, and +was grieved to find him barely alive, he having scarcely recovered from +the fever, besides suffering from partially healed and badly-dressed +wounds. The Colonel persuaded him, so soon as he could move, to +accompany him to his own house, where he would receive proper attention, +and, in a short time, the sufferer was installed in De Beaumont’s +comfortable house, the kind hostess doing all in her power to alleviate +his sufferings. + +It was about this time that Mrs. Hartley, accompanied by her mother, +had returned to her husband’s residence, and one day as she was visiting +Mrs. De Beaumont she learnt the story concerning the wounded officer, +who, though in the service of the North, was compassionately treated +by the whole household, having made friends of them all by his cheerful +uncomplaining disposition, and his grateful acknowledgment of even the +slightest service. While recounting the story to her husband and mother +at dinner, the latter grasped the table convulsively with both her +hands, and breathlessly demanded of her daughter all the particulars; +with a wild exclamation of terror, she rushed up to her room, hastily +followed by her bewildered daughter. The latter found her mother in the +act of dressing hurriedly, and on enquiring for an explanation the poor +woman fell on her child’s neck, and with bitter tears explained that +it was _her own father_ who lay so near them at death’s door, and that, +whatever it might cost, she would rush to his side. + +Poor Mrs. Hartley was sadly shaken at these tidings. She explained all +the circumstances to her devoted husband, and took his advice. Hartley +recommended his wife to let her mother have her own way, and promised +that presently he would accompany his wife to De Beaumont’s house to +visit the invalid. + +The rest of the story is soon told. The sad meeting of poor Rogers +with the mother of his child, who stayed by his side night and day, the +bitter tears of Mrs. Hartley as she beheld her father for the first and +last time; the mutual expression of love and forgiveness ere the poor +invalid breathed his last, beloved and forgiven by those on whom he had +thoughtlessly entailed much sorrow and suffering. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +The Mother-in-Law. + +John Wilkie was the son of Scotch parents residing in Toronto, Ontario. +He was possessed of considerable literary ability, and when a lad had +entered Toronto University with the intention of pursuing a professional +career; but his father shrewdly reasoned that, although fame might be +acquired more readily by clergymen and lawyers, money was an important +consideration, and might be acquired with, comparative ease in a well +managed business. He accordingly placed his son in the wholesale house +of Messrs. Campbell & Castle, and in due course of time the lad secured +an interest in the business. + +The young man was not long a member of the firm when he became enamoured +of a young lady named Collins, whom he had met at the house of a mutual +friend. For a longtime he paid attention to this young lady, taking her +to balls, concerts and operas, and finally he proposed for her hand and +was accepted. + +Miss Collins was scarcely what one would call a beautiful girl, yet +there was an attractiveness of manner peculiar to her which caused her +to be much, sought after and admired in social circles, and many were +the sad and heavy when it became known that she was about to marry John +Wilkie. + +At this juncture Wilkie the elder was carried off with an attack of +pneumonia, leaving John, his only son, heir to his house and property. +This occurrence of course caused the wedding to be deferred for a time, +and the bridegroom elect went into deep mourning; in a few months, +however, he doffed his sable garments, and, having caused the family +mansion to be refurnished and renovated, began to make preparations for +his wedding. + +The affair came off with great _éclat_, the bride being driven home from +church behind four dapple-grey horses, several carriages following with +bridesmaids, groomsmen, and invited guests, among the latter being many +rejected suitors, who took a kind of melancholy pleasure in seeing the +matter through. Mrs. Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the +dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the _déjeuner_ they wept together +and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. Mrs. +Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the rich +prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out of +the question. + +What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial +and domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable +pursuit of entertaining each other. Shutting their eyes and ears to +the outer world they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, +alone; that nature’s smiles are specially prepared for them; that the +birds carol bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the +whole world is contained in the small area which immediately surrounds +them. + +Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple +of weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, +they spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six +weeks from their wedding-day. Everything had been prepared for their +reception, and Mrs. Wilkie, senior, sat in state to welcome them to +a cosy meal which had been prepared in the dining-room. Having eaten +sparingly, Mrs. Wilkie retired to her room, for she was fatigued by +travel, and John with his mother went on a tour of inspection over the +house. + +It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a +stranger; to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose +every want was so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the +care of another must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. +Wilkie sighed deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which +had been made in the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end +and that a new Caesar had taken the reins of government. The Lord of the +Manor failed to observe the trepidation with which his mother handed +him the keys, and showed him the various details connected with the +management of the house, and with a cool “good night, mother,” he +retired to rest, at peace with his mother, himself, and the world. + +For several months things went smoothly enough with the parties to +my narrative. The dowager accepted her position, though, it must be +confessed, with a bad grace, and the new mistress gave a life to the +place to which it was unaccustomed. At length Mrs. Wilkie gave birth +to a son, and great were the rejoicing and festivities. The dowager was +promoted to the title of grandmamma, John boasted the proud title of +father, and the mother’s joy knew no bounds. The child was in due time +christened with appropriate solemnity, and in a few months after his +birth he became a very important member of the Wilkie family. + +Mr. Wilkie wanted the boy called William after his late father, but +Mrs. Wilkie would not have what she was pleased to term a plebeian +designation, and insisted on calling him Alexander. The dowager opposed +this with all her might, but “her usefulness was gone,” and her feeble +remonstrances were of little or no avail. This slight sank deep into +her heart, and she waited, calmly and patiently, for an opportunity of +retaliating on her daughter-in-law. + +In due time the opportunity presented itself. Mrs. Wilkie was in +the habit of going to the skating-rink accompanied by some of her +fashionable acquaintances; her husband did not care for skating, but was +proud to hear his wife’s graceful performances eulogized. The dowager, +however, had no heart for “the grape-vine” and other foolish devices; +she thought it high time for her daughter-in-law to take on herself the +serious duties of matrimonial life, and deprecated the fondness of the +lady in question for rinks, balls, and festivities. + +One night Mrs. Wilkie was invited to a skating-party. Her husband, +having some letters to write, declined to go, and she went in company +with a Mr. Smithers, an old acquaintance of hers, and one of the finest +fancy skaters in Toronto. During her daughter-in-law’s absence at the +rink, Mrs. Wilkie the elder took upon herself to lecture her son on +his wife’s giddy behaviour, and so worked upon his feelings that he +regularly gave way, and allowed his mother to remain mistress of the +position. + +When the fashionable Mrs. Wilkie returned to her abode late in the +evening she found the door closed on her, repeated pulls at the +door-bell eliciting no response. With her skates the lady then hammered +violently on the door, waking the echoes of the quiet street, and +finally, in her frenzy, she smashed every window within reach, and +departed to her mother’s residence. + +Mrs. Collins was very much surprised to receive a visit from her +daughter at such an unseasonable hour, and when she was made aware +of the cause she became proportionately indignant. She suggested +the propriety of taking legal proceedings for the restitution of +her daughter’s rights, but the latter would not listen to any such +suggestion, and vowed she would never live with Wilkie or his wretch of +a mother again. + +Mrs. Collins expected daily to receive a message from Mr. Wilkie, +requesting his wife to return to him, but he, being completely under the +influence of his mother, failed to do anything of the kind, imagining +that his wife would come as a suppliant to him. In this he reckoned +without his host, for Mrs. Wilkie was as proud as Lucifer, and would not +bend her haughty head to be made Empress of Canada. One thing, however, +caused her great uneasiness: her child, Alexander, was all the world to +her, and she set her wits to work to devise some means of obtaining him. + +Without recourse to unpleasant legal proceedings or equally unpleasant +negotiations with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wilkie could not hit on any +plan by which she could obtain the control of her child’s nurture and +education. At length she resolved on the simple and practical plan of +taking forcible possession of the boy. Once resolved, she speedily put +her plans in execution. + +The child’s nurse was in the habit of driving him in a baby carriage to +the Queen’s Park for an airing, and one afternoon the mother lay in wait +for the appearance of the infantile equipage. She was afraid to approach +the servant with a bribe, as, in the event of her refusal, the Wilkies +would be placed on their guard, and would set a strict watch over all +the child’s movements. She accordingly sat down at a distance, closely +veiled, and waited till an opportunity presented itself. + +She did not have long to wait. The nurse on entering the park fell +in with a tribe of professional acquaintances, one of whom, drawing a +love-letter which she had received from her pocket, commenced to read it +for the edification of her companions. Not content with listening to the +gushing effusion, the auditors crowded around the proud recipient of the +epistle, reading with eager eyes such portions as they could see over +the shoulder of their friend. While the representative of the dowager +was busily engaged in scanning the amorous lines penned by the lovesick +swain (the child left to her care being at some distance in his +carriage, sleeping under the shade of some trees), Mrs. Wilkie +cautiously approached, and, lifting the unconscious child with the +tenderness peculiar to mothers, walked quietly and swiftly away towards +the gate, when, coolly hailing a passing cab, she drove to her mother’s +house, proudly depositing her baby in a richly adorned cradle which had +been purposely prepared for his reception. + +It was a long time before the nurse missed the boy; in fact, not till +she prepared to start for home did she give him a thought, except +to congratulate herself that he slept so long and gave her so little +trouble. When she at length turned towards the place where she had +left the carriage and learned the true state of affairs her face grew +deadly-pale, and, beckoning her companions towards her, she pointed +to the carriage and uttered several piercing shrieks. Many were the +suggestions as to what had become of the boy. Some thought he might have +got out of the carriage alone and fallen into the pond, but, as he could +not yet walk, this was highly improbable, another suggested that he had +been stolen by gypsies, but could not say that she had ever heard of +gypsies in connection with the Queen’s Park. Many other theories, +some wild, a few reasonable, were advanced, but yet no clue to the +whereabouts of the child could be discovered, nor could any light be +thrown upon the mystery. + +The poor nurse was in a terrible state of mind. She had in her fancy +a picture of the baby’s grandmother threatening to tear her limb from +limb, while the frantic father went for the police; but return she must, +and so, with a different step from that with which she entered the park, +she set out for home, arriving there just as the bell rang for dinner. + +The old lady was just commencing to lecture her for keeping the child +out in the evening air, when she saw, from the expression of the girl’s +face, that something unusual had occurred, and rushing out, she threw up +her hands in astonishment at the empty perambulator, giving a mute +look of inquiry which spoke volumes. In a moment Mr. Wilkie joined +the throng, just as the frightened domestic sobbed out, as well as she +could, an account of the child’s disappearance. He was about to rush at +once to the police office, but the old lady, shoving him aside, hastily +put on her bonnet and shawl, and, ordering the girl to summon a cab, +peremptorily forbade Mr. Wilkie to leave the house till she had made a +reconnaissance of the quarters of her daughter-in-law. + +Mrs. Collins lived at the extreme west end of King street, and, as Mr. +Wilkie’s residence was in the North-East, in the neighborhood of the +Horticultural Garden, it was some time before the wily mother-in-law +approached her base of operations; she accordingly leaned back in +the carriage, and, closing her eyes, meditated on her plan of action. +Bidding the coachman pull up at the corner of Brock street, +she alighted, and proceeded on foot towards the house: it was a +semi-detached cottage, with a small garden in front, the dwelling being +only a few feet from the street. Inside all was, apparently, quiet as +usual, but Mrs. Wilkie thought she heard a soft, measured song, as +if some one were singing a child to sleep. Approaching the window she +caught a glimpse of her daughter-in-law pacing the room to and fro with +the child pillowed in her arms; so, quickly receding into the darkness, +she made her way back to the carriage, satisfied that her calculations, +in one particular at least, had been correct. + +Entering the cab, she bade the driver return with all speed to Mr. +Wilkie’s house, setting her mind, during her transit on the frustration +of the hopes of her daughter-in-law, against whom she in her heart +registered a vow of vengeance. She found her son pacing the dining-room +like a madman, and she at once gave him all the particulars concerning +her reconnaissance, adding, at the same time, that he must take legal +measures to obtain possession of his child, no matter what the cost. In +spite, however, of his mother’s importunity, Wilkie steadily refused to +give the matter publicity by taking legal proceedings, so the old lady +was obliged to content herself with concocting plans for retaking the +child from the hands of the enemy. + +Mrs. Wilkie watched long for an opportunity, and at last she was +successful. She found out where her daughter-in-law went to church, and +one Sunday having learnt from one of her emissaries that both of the +ladies had gone to church together, leaving the child in charge of +the maid-of-all-work, she hurriedly set out for the house, and boldly +ringing the door-bell inquired for Mrs. Wilkie. On being told that the +lady was at church and would not return for some time she requested +permission to sit down and wait, as she was fatigued with her long +journey. Entering the drawing-room, she sank on one of the lounges and +appeared to faint. The poor domestic did not know what to do, but ran +wildly to and fro exclaiming, “Och, wirrasthru, what’ll I do at all at +all’” The invalid gradually came round, and gasped out, “Dr. Metcalfe, +go for Dr. Metcalfe!” This gentleman lived a few blocks distant, and the +girl at once rushed off, without waiting even to put her bonnet on. + +Quick as thought Mrs. Wilkie ascended the staircase to where her infant +grand-child lay wrapped in slumber: hastily wrapping him in a shawl she +descended to the door, and coolly hailing a passing cab was soon far +from the scene which had so wrought upon the feelings of poor Bridget +Moriarty. + +When Bridget arrived with the doctor she found that the old lady had +disappeared leaving, however, a card for Mrs. Wilkie. On the latter’s +return Bridget told her the whole story, adding that she supposed the +old lady had come to herself and got tired waiting; in time, however, +the baby was missed, and that threw a new light on affairs. Mrs. Wilkie +was frantic; she denounced Bridget as a good-for-nothing, refused to +sit down to dinner, and set off with her mother in the direction of Mrs. +Wilkie’s house. + +This time, however, the dowager was on her guard. The child was +carefully looked after, being under the care of a faithful ally of the +old lady, whose instructions were never to leave him for a moment out of +her sight. Mrs. Wilkie and her mother might walk up and down and look +at the lighted windows; they might also watch at a distance the youthful +hope of the house of Wilkie as he took his daily airing in the park, +but the trick once tried could not be repeated, and the fond mother (for +whatever her faults were she loved her child) was obliged to pine in +weary loneliness. + +During all these sieges and reprisals the little fellow waxed strong and +healthy, in sublime unconsciousness of the importance attached to the +possession of his person: he was by no means neglected, the only risk he +ran was that of being hugged to death, as each party, more through joy +at the success of its schemes than from love of the youth in question, +caressed him lavishly if not fondly. + +Some months after these occurrences Mr. Wilkie removed to Montreal, +where he soon became permanently established, and, as he was always fond +of politics, he was in a short time recognised as one of the leaders of +the liberal party. When the reaction consequent on the famous “Pacific +Scandal” set in, Mr. Wilkie, M. P., took his seat for K----, a small +town below Montreal, rising in Parliament, as he did everywhere else +by his ability, far above the common level. His son was placed at the +Montreal High school, and gave promise of becoming in time even more +distinguished than his father. + +They had not been long resident in Montreal before the poor old dowager +was seized with acute rheumatism, to which she finally succumbed, +and Mr. Wilkie was obliged to engage a housekeeper to look after his +household affairs and his son’s education. It was a sad time for poor +little Aleck; his grandmother fairly doted on him, and indulged his +every whim, but Mrs. Riddell, the new housekeeper, cared not whether he +was happy or miserable so long as she drew her monthly pay. + +All this time Mrs. Wilkie had been living with her mother in Toronto, +and, as soon as she heard of her mother-in-law’s death, she persuaded +her mother to remove to Montreal, so that she might secretly keep watch +over her boy, whom she now loved, if possible, more than ever. Assuming +the name of Mrs. Johnson, she took lodgings in a house nearly opposite +the residence of Mr. Wilkie, and thus was enabled to observe closely +all the proceedings of his household; she longed to throw herself at +her husband’s feet and implore his forgiveness, but her proud spirit +rebelled against such an act, and she sat at her window day after day in +moody silence watching her darling boy going and returning from school. + +Shortly after his wife’s arrival in Montreal, Mr. Wilkie was summoned to +England on business of importance, a fact with which Mrs. Wilkie +became easily acquainted through the _Gazette_, which heralded all his +movements, the fond mother now became more anxious than ever about +her boy, and indeed not without reason, for, being monarch of all she +surveyed, the easy-going housekeeper laid herself out for “a good time,” + and, although in her way she was kind enough to the child, she left +him to take care of himself as well as he could, being content if she +prepared a bed for him to sleep in, and ordered his three meals a day +with unfailing regularity. The house Mr. Wilkie lived in was situated +in one of the newest and most fashionable localities, having what are +generally designated “modern improvements,” and one of these latter so +improved the internal arrangements of Master Aleck, that he was soon +confined to bed with enteric fever. Mrs. Johnson, missing the boy from +the street, called to enquire after him, and had her fears confirmed by +the housekeeper, who said she did not know what to do for his father was +away, and she had never in her life nursed a fevered patient. The +wily mother seized the opportunity with avidity, and with unblushing +effrontery perpetrated the atrocious falsehood that she was a +professional nurse of large experience, and that such an interest did +she feel in the little fellow that she would if permitted undertake +to nurse him free of charge. Mrs. Riddell was delighted, and at her +neighbor’s suggestion sent for Dr. Brownie, who had, she said great +experience in such cases. A cablegram was despatched to Mr. Wilkie, +and everything that science could devise was done for the poor little +sufferer. For many days he seemed to get worse and worse and his devoted +mother was nearly worn out as she sat up night after night wiping his +fevered brow, or moistening his parched lips, at length the crisis came, +and the doctor pronounced him on the way to recovery, adding that the +slightest neglect on the part of those who tended him would permit +a relapse, which would in all probability prove fatal. In this case, +however, the latter caution was altogether unnecessary, what Mrs. +Johnson lacked in experience she more than made up for in care and +solicitude, and, as every direction of the physician was carried out +to the letter, the little fellow began perceptibly to mend before the +telegram came announcing Mr. Wilkie’s arrival in Quebec. On the receipt +of the missive Mrs. Johnson made preparations for her departure, saying +that her services were now scarcely needed, and that she needed rest; +Mrs. Riddell at first tried hard to induce her to remain, but when she +looked at the pale thin face, and thought how many weary nights the lady +had voluntarily sat up with the raving child, she ceased to urge the +request, and at once set out for a mercenary to replace her. + +What a difference there is between him who enters on a labor of love +and the hireling who works for pay! In this case, then, it may easily be +supposed with a mother’s ardent affection on the one hand, how different +was the cold professional service rendered by the nurse who replaced +Mrs. Johnson: although kind and attentive, she had not the same soothing +power, nor could she sing the sweet lullaby which so often in his +fevered moments had calmed poor little Aleck’s soul, and the little +fellow became at once very low indeed. At this juncture his father +arrived, and when he saw his boy he was completely overcome; he +learned from the housekeeper all the particulars of the kind neighbor’s +attention, and resolved to go personally to her residence and implore +her not to desert his boy till he was out of all danger. Waiting only to +partake of a morsel of food, he set out for the house indicated by his +housekeeper, and inquired for Mrs. Johnson. The girl who opened the door +told him that Mrs. Johnson had been out nursing a sick child for several +nights, and had just fallen into a deep sleep, the first she had had +for days, and urged him to call round again in the afternoon, when her +mistress would probably be able to see him. In the afternoon he returned +in great haste, saying that he must see Mrs. Johnson at all hazards, +that his boy was worse, and raved incessantly for her. While he was +speaking the lady he inquired for suddenly came down stairs, and as +their eyes met both uttered an exclamation of surprise. Forgetting +everything in her anxiety for her boy’s safety the poor mother’s face +became suffused with tears as she anxiously cried with bated breath, “Is +he dead?” “No; thanks be to God and his mother’s care he still lives, +but you must not let him die now.” + +The rest of the story is soon told; the pride of both husband and wife +was humbled by adversity, and in their heavy affliction each was made +to feel what a strength and comfort it was to have a companion who could +sympathize not only with the joys but with the sorrows of the other. The +boy was several weeks before he was able to leave his room, during which +time his mother told him the history of her troubles, and recounted +how miserable she felt without him and his father, all of which was +of course retailed to the latter gentleman, and effectually healed the +breach between the man and his wife. The dowager’s name was for obvious +reasons never mentioned by either Mr. or Mrs. Wilkie, and as for the +youthful hope of the house, his memory was so elastic that he never even +thought about the old lady. + +Mrs. Riddell was astonished when she became acquainted with the true +relations of the nurse and her patient, but, having become quite +enamoured of the former (who by-the-by was now become both a discreet +and amiable matron), she readily fell into a subordinate position in the +household, taking her orders quite gladly, and having a special care for +little Aleck. Mrs. Wilkie has now an assortment of boys and girls, Aleck +being entered as a law student at McGill University and the others +being still at school; she seldom thinks of the past, preferring to +look forward to a bright and happy future. Still at times her mind will +revert to scenes of yore, and she shudders as she thinks of the bitter +experiences she has had, attributing most if not all of them, rightly or +wrongly, to her mother-in-law. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +A Deserted Wife, or Model Woman + +One hot summer’s day I received a visit from a young and beautiful +woman attired in fashionable costume. She told me she was desirous of +obtaining accommodation for a couple of months as her husband was in +England and the time of her accouchement was at hand. She was the bearer +of a letter which ran as follows-- + + LONDON, England, August 6 18-- + + _To whoever is with my + precious wife in her hour of trial_: + + MY DEAR MADAM--I cannot refrain, as the husband of + the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent + wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will + remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking + of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the + issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. + + I will part with all I have rather than that she or her + infant shall want anything. Oh how I wish I were near + to love and comfort her. If her dear infant is spared all + well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol + be well. _Let all give way_ if need be for my precious + wife’s sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, + even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, + which Heaven forbid. + + I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand + and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I + shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well; will you + kindly have a postal card ready just to say “all is well” if + so it be; never mind more till my poor wife can put her + own name to a letter. + + God reward you for an act that I know the angels envy + you, for your charge is a “friend of Jesus,” and my only + friend on earth. + + Yours in intensity of anxious interest, + P. MERRICK. + + + My address is + Sunny Hill Avenue, + London, E. + +Mrs. Merrick explained to me that her husband was a member of a wealthy +English firm doing business in Montreal, and that he was at that time +obliged to be in London on business, but would soon return, when she +purposed setting up an establishment of her own. Her father and mother +(both Scottish Canadians) had been dead many years, and she had been +educated in a boarding school in Ottawa where she had first met Mr. +Merrick. + +Within a few days the lady became an inmate of my house, and in course +of time became the mother of a beautiful little boy, news of which +was at once despatched to London. For three weeks Mrs. Merrick waited +patiently for a reply, and after that time, receiving none, she became +uneasy, and wrote a long letter to her husband, beseeching him to send +her an answer immediately, but neither to this letter did she obtain any +response and days became weeks and the weeks began to spread themselves +into months and yet not a line or even a word could be obtained to +indicate the whereabouts of Mr. Merrick or whether he was alive or dead. +At last the terrible truth began to dawn on the poor creature that +she had been basely deserted by him who was sworn to be her friend and +protector and she became almost demented, she tried to account for his +silence in many ways but her intellectual acumen as too great and her +reasoning always brought her to the one sad conclusion. However, as +nothing better could be done the spirited creature made up her mind to +earn her own living and that of her child, and setting her wits to work +she soon obtained a situation as governess at the house of Mr. Mullaly, +a retired merchant of considerable means whose wife and daughters were +desirous of obtaining an entree into polite society. Placing her boy +out to nurse, she set out for her new home, and soon began to feel the +blessedness of working for her own living. + +But her happiness was not unmixed with pain. The Mullaly girls somehow +or another heard that Miss Caldwell (she had given her maiden name) was +the mother of a little child, and, although she admitted the fact +and recounted to them her whole history, they gave no credence to her +assertions, but began to treat her with the greatest contempt making her +life miserable. The poor woman would fain have left her situation, but +she recollected that it would be difficult to obtain another without +referring to Mrs. Mullaly who would be sure to tell the whole story with +several embellishments. On the whole she thought she had better remain +where she was for a time, hoping that, as years went by, and the girls +acquired more judgment and common sense, they would treat her with +greater fairness. Accordingly she bore all the taunts of the young +ladies with great meekness and patience, and made herself so agreeable +and useful that, although they never could make up their minds to +believe her story or to treat her as one of the family--the Mullalys +came to regard Miss Caldwell as indispensable to their existence, and +when Miss Mullaly the elder got married she took Miss Caldwell with her +in the capacity of housekeeper the young sisters no longer requiring her +in her capacity as governess, which situation she, however, did not long +keep as the remuneration would not enable her to educate her boy as she +desired. He was a fair-haired, bright little fellow, and the most loving +little creature on earth. She consulted with me what best could be done +to earn a larger salary. I advised her to become a professional nurse +though hard she would think it at first, when once accustomed to its +little drudgeries she would find it a noble calling, with God’s blessing +attached to it. She consented, and I trained her in my hospital, she +became in a very short time one of my most proficient nurses. From that +time she had gained the battle, for, as soon as some of our medical men +got acquainted with her, they gave her employment at the most serious of +their cases, till at last it became very hard for me to procure her +for some of my own patients, and through her abilities, patience, and +refined feelings she gained a great many sincere friends. One of her +patients, an old lady, left at her death $200 to her kind nurse, and +this enabled poor Mrs. Merrick to give her boy that education which she +had so long craved for him. + +In the meanwhile Willie Merrick was placed at school at Lennoxville, +where he evinced great talent. At twelve years of age he was noted as +the finest classical scholar in the school, and his mother was induced +to place him in training, with a view to his matriculating at the +University of Bishop’s College. The fond mother lived only for her son, +so she placed him under the care of a private tutor, at whose hands +he made such progress that at the early age of fifteen he entered the +University. Here he showed himself at once to be made of no ordinary +metal, and he became quite a favorite with the Principal and professors, +all of whom were ever ready to lend him a helping hand. His mother had +intended him for the church but Willie did not (so he said) feel “good +enough” for that high and holy calling, so he entered the Faculty of +Law, determined, if possible, to distinguish himself in that profession +so soon as he obtained the necessary qualifications for commencing +practice. In process of time he obtained his degree, graduating with +high honors, and he was not long in establishing a practice equal to +that of many older advocates. + +Although without any hope of ever taking her place again as Merrick’s +wife, the poor woman whom he had so basely deserted instituted a +thorough search for him in England, and was enabled to discover all his +history, and also so gain an insight into his proceedings whilst away +from her. It seems that he had married her under an assumed name, his +real patronymic being Stephens, and that his people were purse-proud and +overbearing. On his arrival in England his father, who had heard of the +young man’s escapades in Canada peremptorily ordered him to have no more +correspondence with his Canadian wife, but to marry a noble lady whom he +had purchased (through money lent; to her father) for the ennobling of +the Stephens family. + +When the deserted woman became assured of the truth of these disclosures +she made up her mind to give no more thought to the wretch who had left +her in such a predicament, and determined to centre her hopes and her +affections in her son, who had by this time become a distinguished +lawyer, and was quite as proud of his mother as his mother was of him. +He took a house for himself and only parent in the Western suburbs, and +they lived in quiet comfort together, the young man going little into +society, except on public occasions, on all of which he was invariably +asked to take a prominent part in the proceedings. + +When William Merrick had been in practice about two or three years he +was entrusted with an important case connected with the endowment +of some church in Lower Canada, which was appealed from one court to +another, until, finally, it was decided to carry it to the House of +Lords. Accordingly the young advocate made preparations for a trip +to England, and, being unwilling to leave his mother alone for such a +lengthened period, he decided to take her along with him. They sailed +from Quebec one fine Saturday in June, arriving at Liverpool late on the +following Saturday night, a strong westerly wind blowing them rapidly +across the Atlantic! They stayed but a few days in Liverpool, and then +went on to London, putting up temporarily at the Langham, at that time +the most fashionable hotel in London. The morning after their arrival +the young lawyer, having occasion to go to the Courts on business, Mrs. +Merrick was left for a time to her own devices, she occupied a half-hour +or so in reading the newspapers, and then made up her mind to go for +a stroll before luncheon. Attiring herself rather gaily (she was still +remarkably good-looking, only a little over 40 years then) she set out +with a sprightly step down the main staircase, humming to herself a +lively air which she used to sing in happier days. Just as she +was descending the last flight of stairs, a gentleman having a +delicate-looking lady on his arm began to ascend, and on hearing +the melody, faint though it was, which the approaching lady, was +unconsciously humming, glanced suddenly and swiftly upwards; then, as if +a thunderbolt had struck him, he came to a sudden halt, having a dazed +expression on his features and littering a half suppressed oath or +imprecation. Mrs. Merrick had not noticed the approaching couple, her +thoughts being far away, but the suddenness of the gentleman’s movement +arrested her attention, and she looked him fully in the face for a +moment; then, uttering a wild shriek, she fell backward and would have +been probably severely injured, had not a gentleman, who happened to +be close behind her, caught her as she fell, and carried her to the +landing-place, where restoratives were applied, and the unfortunate +woman speedily came to her senses. + +It is scarcely necessary to say that the lady and gentleman whose advent +so upset Mrs. Merrick were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Stephens who +had come up to London for the operatic season and were staying at the +Langham Hotel. Taking advantage of the confusion, Stephens hurried +his wife along to her room, giving no further answer to her many and +wondering enquiries than: “Oh, it’s only the heat; don’t mix yourself up +with all these people,” and, without allowing time for remonstrance +or further enquiry, he put a stop to all questioning by hurrying the +delicate creature along till he deposited her, breath less, in an easy +chair. Going out into the corridor he tried to discover how matters +stood, but the woman he dreaded to meet had been borne to her room and +medical attendance had been summoned. This Mr. Stephens learned from a +waiter; so, determined to deport himself as if he knew nothing of the +cause of the lady’s illness, and was as much puzzled at the occurrence +as the rest of those who had either witnessed it or come on the scene +soon afterwards, he returned to his wife, and, throwing himself into a +chair, pretended to read. But his wife, obtuse though she possibly was +with regard to the fainting lady, something had struck her about the +manner her husband assumed. She could not get over it, and when at the +table d’hote with her husband listened attentively to the conservation +of two gentlemen who were sitting vis-à-vis. One enquired after the +health of the lady who had taken so suddenly ill on the landing in the +morning. The younger of the two gentlemen expressed his gratitude to the +other for assisting his mother so kindly, who would have, but for his +assistance, fallen down stairs, but was somewhat better now. He said the +Doctor had not been able to ascertain the cause of her sudden illness, +and, as his mother had always been blessed with such good health, he +himself could not account for it. In the meantime Mr. and Mrs. Stephens +had been listeners to the conversation when all of a sudden a curious, +gurgling noise was heard, a chair was overturned, and Mr. Stephens was +stretched on the floor in a dying condition, blood streaming from +his mouth. There was a great commotion in the dining-room, and it +was thought at first he had swallowed a bone and was choking; but the +physicians who arrived, three in number, pronounced it a rupture of a +blood-vessel and applied at once the necessary remedies, but gave little +hope of his recovery. As soon as his condition permitted a removal, he +was carried, by the advice of the doctor, to a private hospital near by, +where his delicate wife also preferred to go, and nothing more was heard +of the dying stranger, for a while anyhow. + +Our young lawyer, Willie Merrick, had been successful in his law +affairs, and had arranged a trip to the continent with his mother, when +a cablegram was sent to them from Canada, saying: “Don’t leave England; +wait for letters; good news.” This was rather annoying to Mr. Merrick, +as he had only a few weeks more at his disposal; and he anticipated this +trip as so necessary to restore his mother’s cheerfulness. Mrs. Merrick +was also puzzled as to what could possibly detain them any longer in +London. At last the Canadian post arrived, and with it large documents +and letters which had been sent from England to Canada and were now +returned, informing Mrs. Merrick that a certain W. Merrick Stephens +had died, leaving a large fortune, and that half of this estate was +bequeathed to Mrs. Merrick in Canada, whose maiden name had been Emma +Caldwell, or, in case of her death, to her heirs. Young Mr. Merrick +being at this time a well-known young lawyer in Montreal it was not hard +to find him. Both he and his mother could not imagine who had left them +such a fortune. Well did Mrs. Merrick think of the man whom she had +loved so dearly and truly and who had pretended to be so fond of her. +But, she knew too well that she had been deceived, that he had married +her under a false name, and had she not recognised him at the hotel with +a lady who was his wife!--She had never told her son the cause of her +sudden illness when first at the hotel; and her son had never mentioned +the affair of the dying stranger at the dinner-table, thinking his +mother still too weak to be disturbed by such shocking calamities. His +partner from Montreal wrote; “You had better stay and see about this +large fortune at once. Every one is not such a lucky fellow as you.” A +Mr. Tidal was mentioned as executor of the estate of W. M. Stephens, and +our hero prepared at once to call on that gentleman, who received him +very friendly, but requested him to call the next day with his mother at +the family residence of the deceased, which visit had been particularly +desired by the deceased gentleman’s widow. Our young gentleman of coarse +promised to comply with the wish, and was very much surprised when, +on returning to his mother, he found her hesitating,--but for a moment +only, a second thought, as she promised to accompany him, feeling in her +heart that, whatever Mrs. Stephens might wish to see her for, she would +certainly not blame her for anything, as all the wrong that had been +committed had been committed towards her, but still her heart was heavy +when at two o’clock they started in one of those stage coaches of which +London has so many. After about two hours’ drive they alighted in +front of an old-fashioned family mansion, surrounded by well cultivated +grounds. The gentleman, Mr. Vidal, on whom young Mr. Merrick had called +the day previous, came to the portal to greet them, and begged Mrs. +Merrick to have the kindness to see Mrs. Stephens in her own apartments, +as she was in delicate health and very much crushed down through the +sudden loss of her husband. A maid who had appeared at the time was +ordered to direct Mrs. Merrick to the boudoir of her mistress and, +announcing the visitor, withdrew. Mrs. Stephens, attired in deep +mourning, looked very pale. On seeing Mrs. Merrick enter, she rose from +her chair and holding both hands out to greet the astonished lady, said: +“Oh, you wronged, wronged woman,” but then tears smothered her words, +and it was quite a while before she could speak again. “How can I atone +for the wrongs committed on you, but I promised him. His last request +was that I would see you and beg your forgiveness for him. He had +recognised you at once at the hotel, and he felt his Conscience +troubling him very much. But the sight of your son--his son--was too +much for him. He felt he could not live to meet the son he had so +wronged and the woman he had so loved and so betrayed. He told me all +when the blood was streaming and smothered his words. He had married me +by the command of his father for my money, but had afterwards learned to +love me when he saw I was so devoted to him, but he had not the courage +to tell me of you and his child. I often noticed him looking sad, and +when I asked him to tell me what was troubling him he would say: ‘Don’t +be so kind to me, I don’t deserve it, I am very, very wicked.’” + +“We have no children, our first-born, a boy, only lived one hour; the +second, a girl, only three days. Since then my health has never been +good, but he was so kind, so indulgent with all my weaknesses, that I +can hardly realize he was ever unkind to any one. But his father was a +stern old man of iron will who made him leave you and marry me for my +father’s money. All this I could not tell to your son nor to anybody +else than to you. Will you tell me you forgive him? I know your heart is +pure and good or you would have troubled him while alive. Don’t sit so +mute, you frighten me; shall I call your son--the servants?” + +“No, no, don’t call anybody,” was her response, “but speak of him, of +him you loved, the only one I have ever loved save my child.” At the +thought of her son she broke out into sobs, and the blessed tears +brought balm to her heart. Silence prevailed for a long time, save the +sobs of both. At length a knock was heard, and a servant inquired if the +ladies wished to take refreshments with the gentlemen. Both would +have declined but for appearance sake, and, after bathing their faces, +descended to the room where the gentlemen had transacted their business. + +On entering Mrs. Stephens approached Willie saying: “I hope you have +consented to take, in addition to the name which you bear already, the +name of Stephens, which was the last desire of my dear husband and also +my sincere wish.” + +“If my mother consents to assume that name also I shall, but otherwise I +must decline, as I shall never bear any other name than my mother whom I +love and honor, and who can, if she prefer, refuse this bequest and need +never tell me why. I know she will do all for the best if it combine +with honor.” + +“She will not refuse,” was Mr. Vidal’s reply; “and now, ladies, I have +to beg you to sign those deeds that we are able to congratulate the new +lord of the estate.”--(All signed). + +The end of this story is very short now. Mr. W. Merrick Stephens and +mother never returned to Montreal, but are living with Mrs. Stephens +(the widow) on the same estate and never has there existed a more +perfect harmony and friendship--both trying to make each other happy and +those around them. The last I heard from them was the following letter: + + LONDON, December 18. + + MY DEAR OLD FRIEND, + + Don’t be angry that I call you old. I know you are not + much older than myself, but it seems you are nearer to me + when I address you so. How my life has changed! You + used to tell me the evening will be better than the morning + How true! She is so good (his wife), both Willie + and I cannot help loving and admiring her. She thinks + Willie looks like him and has many of his ways. If her + health is good next spring we shall all three visit Canada, + I think the sea-voyage will do her good. I shall be so + proud to introduce her to you, and so glad to see you + again who helped and advised me always for the best. + You can write the history of my life it you like. Why + did you ask my permission? You well knew I would + do more for you if you let me I know you will not say + anything to harm us, and I shall forever consider myself + in your debt, but you must send us one of your books + when out. Willie joins with me in sending his best regards + to your husband and children and believe me for ever + your grateful friend. + + EMMA MERRICK STEPHENS + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +A Tale of Bigamy. + +Lillie Malcolm was the daughter of Scotch parents who had emigrated to +Montreal about the year 1835. Her father was a schoolmaster, having a +private school in the neighborhood of St. Antoine street, and at the +time of their arrival in this city Lillie was about the age of ten. The +little girl was precocious and talented, and very pretty, and was also, +as regards both these characteristics, admired and made much of. As the +girl grew older she became a little vain and conceited, her principal +aim being to gain the plaudits of the visitors at her father’s house +for her singing or other performances, which were many and various, the +versatility of the girl being remarkable. By the time she was seventeen, +Lillie Malcolm became known as the prettiest and most accomplished young +lady in the neighborhood, and no church or Sunday-school gathering was +complete without a song or recitation by her. + +But Lillie aspired somewhat higher than Sunday-school concerts and such +circumspect circles. She longed for an entree into the inner and higher +circles of Montreal society where she felt that she could rise above +the common level, and take a position in keeping with her education and +accomplishments. Unfortunately for the ambitious girl her father, though +highly respectable, was very poor, and so altogether debarred from +participating with his family in the round of social pleasures in +which the _bon ton_ of Montreal indulge; added to this, he was a strict +Presbyterian, and was averse to consenting even when his daughter _did_ +receive an invitation to some of the houses of her limited number of +acquaintances. + +The poor girl fretted and repined at her lot. She could manage the +household affairs if required, but her mother or sister invariably +attended to that, and so her talents were not brought into requisition; +she could speak fluently and, as a clergyman or lawyer, would certainly +have distinguished herself, but women were not required or even +tolerated as clergymen or lawyers; she would (so she imagined) have made +an excellent wife for a fairly rich young man, but the young men did +not seem to want wives without money or social rank, and so poor Lillie +fretted and fumed, occasionally attending the many brilliant weddings +which were celebrated in the fashionable churches, and wondering how it +was that so many plain and unattractive girls got husbands, while she +was without even a proposal. It is true she had no lack of admirers; +these flocked round her like bees in a flower-garden, but few of them +were eligible as suitors; and the few who were, although they admired +her openly, and paid her great attention, never approached the subject +of marriage. + +Things went on in this way till Miss Malcolm was twenty-three, when +she made the acquaintance of Captain FitzMarshall, an officer of Her +Majesty’s army, who was stationed in Montreal. FitzMarshall was very +highly connected, being the grandson of an English Duke, and was greatly +sought after by the belles of Montreal; but he, having met Lillie +Malcolm by chance at the house of a mutual acquaintance, vowed that she +was the only beauty in Montreal, and was even, marked in his addresses +to her. Lillie’s heart fluttered with delight at the thought of actually +out-doing the acknowledged society belles, and she would have been in +ecstasy if she could only have appeared on the arm of her admirer at one +of the public assemblies to which he had offered to bring her, but her +father would not permit her to enter a circle unfitted for his means and +her station, particularly as neither he nor her mother would be present +to look after her. + +Before the close of FitzMarshall’s second year in Canada he had made +Lillie Malcolm’s heart glad by offering his heart and hand; he also +communicated the matter to Mr. Malcolm, but the latter gentleman shook +his head dubiously, and asked him if he had consulted his friends in +England. When he replied that he had not, the old gentleman gently but +firmly informed him that, although he esteemed him highly, yet he would +not have his friends say that he had been entrapped into a marriage with +one who was socially his inferior, and that, till he had written to his +relatives and obtained their consent to his marriage, it would be better +for him to discontinue his visits to the house. FitzMarshall pleaded +strongly, but the old man was firm, and so the poor love-sick Captain +had to content himself with the assurance that, if his friends consented +to his marriage (for although a Captain he was only twenty-four), +he would be only too happy to confide his daughter to his keeping. +Accordingly the young officer took his departure from the house, with +the understanding that when the return mail arrived from England he was +to call at once, and, if agreeable to his family at home, to be formally +betrothed to the fair Elizabeth. + +The weeks rolled by as if they were years, and at the expiration of that +time FitzMarshall received letters from home, ordering him to obtain +leave of absence and to take the next steamer for England. With a heavy +heart he disclosed the contents to Mr. Malcolm, who of course expected +something of the kind, and told him that he must now discontinue all +communication with his daughter. The order came, unfortunately, too +late, as the young couple had already met frequently clandestinely and +forestalled their expected honey-moon. + +However, to England FitzMarshall must go or be disinherited, so, bidding +his inamorata to cheer up, that he would soon be back to claim her as +his lawful wife, he set sail, and left the poor girl, soon to become +a mother alone with her austere father and unsympathetic mother. Weeks +went by without a word from him for whom the girl would have laid down +her life, and her letters, written we may say with her tears, were +returned to her unopened. The truth flashed quickly on the young +girl--she was deserted! The aristocratic friends of the young man would +never allow him to see her more, and he was weak enough to be put +in pupilage. Quickly making up her mind how to act, with indomitable +courage she gathered up what little trinkets and jewellery she +possessed, she converted them into money which yielded her nearly two +hundred dollars (for she had received valuable presents from her lover +and some money), and, one evening slipping out quietly, she took +the train for Toronto, proceeding from thence to Detroit, where she +established herself as the widow of an English officer, prepared to +receive pupils in languages and music. + +But she was prepared for more than this. Her heart had become thoroughly +steeled by the harsh treatment which she considered she had received +from her father and others, so she laid herself out to make what capital +she could, not only out of her accomplishments but also of her beauty, +and with such success that she obtained an elegant establishment at the +hands of a wealthy Michigan shipping merchant, the public being led +to believe that she had become possessed of an estate in trust for her +child (a boy) who was just then born. For several years she lived in +this way, always moving along quietly and respectably, when the old +gentleman died, leaving her but a few hundred dollars capital, for +he had neglected to provide for this contingency, and she, with +less forethought than one would imagine, had never considered such a +possibility. Mrs. McClintock, as she now called herself, began to think +of returning to her old business as a teacher, but there was little +necessity, for an old gentleman who had made a fortune as a distiller, +an acquaintance of the deceased merchant, soon made excuse for calling +upon her, and made undoubted advances to her. It may be that he knew +something of his friend’s arrangements, or that he only suspected them; +however, the widow managed matters so adroitly that he imagined he must +have been mistaken, and that the reports he had heard were not true. The +house was elegantly and tastefully furnished, the lady was modestly, +yet richly attired, the little boy and his nurse lending an air of +respectability to the whole establishment only to be out-done by the +conversation and demeanor of the lady herself, who was not only the +peer, but the superior of any lady among the large circle of the old +gentleman’s acquaintances. He called about some lessons for his eldest +daughter, but was informed that Mrs. McClintock no longer gave lessons; +he then suggested that she might recommend a teacher of French, and +endeavored to prolong the interview, but the lady sedately answered all +his queries with a sad and pensive expression far removed from what he +had expected, and rising politely, rang the bell for her servant to show +him out. + +After a little time, however, the old man returned to the charge. He had +bought the terrace in which Mrs. McClintock lived, and called to know +what he could do, in the way of repairs, etc. He pressed his suit in +various ways, but the widow pretended not to see it at all till she had +the old man down on his knees; then she played with him most adroitly, +explaining that her lonely position left her open to the tongue of +rumor, and that she could not allow him to call so frequently. She +played her cards so well that the old man firmly believed she was a +modest and retiring widow, and did not the law forbid him, he would have +married her. As it was, she led him to hand her the deed of the house +she lived in, and to settle a large amount on both herself and his child +(a beautiful girl), who was born about a year after his first visit to +her house in his capacity of landlord. + +Notwithstanding all her precautions Mrs. McClintock was the subject of +much gossip in the neighborhood in which she resided, and many were the +guesses (many of them wide of the mark) which were made about her past +history. But they could only talk vaguely and shrug their shoulders at +the mention of the lady’s name; for she lived very circumspectly, had a +pew in St. Paul’s Church, and stood well with the minister and leading +church people; her children too were models of neatness and propriety, +and though as unlike as children having _one_ common parent could well +be (Jessie being dark and petite with piercing brown eyes, while +Charlie was tall and exceedingly fair), yet they had both the enviable +reputation of being the best bred and best behaved children on Jefferson +Avenue. + +As the children grew up they were sent to school, and both, though of +different temperament, were distinguished for their superior ability. +Jessie was quick at anything requiring an amount of ready talent and +acute comprehension, such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Modern Languages, +but Charlie excelled in Classics and what are generally considered the +heavier sciences, and was particularly talented as regards music. +He would sit for hours playing the exquisite _Lieder Ohne worte_ of +Mendelssohn, while Jessie would shrug her shoulders if asked to +play, and call on her brother, saying she could not bear “that nasty +practising.” In spite, however, of her neglect of this accomplishment +(for which she had great natural talent), Jessie McClintock was in great +demand in society, and notwithstanding the equivocal position held +by her mother (for although not openly expressed there was a general +feeling that all was not right with that lady), the young people were +asked everywhere, and their mother kept them carefully in the _very +best_ circles, for which their natural talents and excellent education +eminently fitted them. + +The children, who had seen a gentleman supposed to be their father come +at intervals and then disappear, naturally were inquisitive, and from +an early age were taught that their father was a captain on an Atlantic +Steamer, and of course was frequently away from home. As the children +grew up the story told by them concerning that gentleman did not +coincide with that of the mother, who had always pretended that her +husband was dead, so it was thought advisable for her to remove to +Montreal (her parents having long since died), and assume the rôle of +a grass widow whose husband seldom got off his ship, and then but for a +short time, coming generally at night and remaining indoors during his +brief stay. Mrs. McClintock bought a house in University street, and +rarely went out; her children, however, went to the best schools, and, +having made acquaintances, soon began to go out in the best society as +they had done in Detroit. Charlie soon became entered as a Law Student +in the McGill University, and Jessie had a visiting governess engaged to +finish her, a resident young lady, for obvious reasons, being considered +out of place. Jessie grew up a beautiful young lady, and was the +acknowledged belle in many a drawing room; Charlie went little into +society, being engaged in prosecuting his studies in the University, +applying himself so assiduously that in a few years he graduated with +honors, carrying off a gold medal. + +The people who lived opposite Mrs. McClintock on University street were +curious to know all about that lady’s proceedings, and set a watch on +all her movements. They discovered that at times a carriage was driven +hastily up to the door, generally late at night, from which an elderly +gentleman alighted and entered the house; but, although on the alert, +they were never able to make out his features or even his general +appearance, so quickly was the door of the house opened and closed +behind him. Yet even this discovery was hailed with delight by the +gossips; and as after each visit Jessie appeared with a new watch, +locket, brooch, or other trinket (sent, she said, from England by her +father), the tongue of evil report wagged freely, and was not at all +times strictly confined to the truth. + +Mrs. McClintock was much annoyed when she learnt (from a sympathizing +friend) of the reports which her neighbors were circulating concerning +her; and, as she knew their eyes were constantly upon her house, she +managed to invite the clergyman and his wife, with a few others whom she +had met in church circles, to dinner, and manifested such an interest in +the sewing society that the principal ladies of the congregation called +on her in succession; and although they never got beyond an interchange +of formal visits, yet it served to puzzle the gossips in the streets, +and one or two who had “forgotten” to call on Mrs. McClintock when she +first came to the locality paid her a formal visit; their shaky position +in society being secured by the fact that all the best people called +there, including the Bishop and clergy, and so _of course_ there +could be nothing wrong. For all this plausible reasoning they inwardly +believed that there was “something wrong,” and many of those who called +did so mainly under the apprehension that they would discover something, +or read in the countenance of their notorious neighbor something that +would give a clue to her past or present career. + +But those who called from curiosity were sadly disappointed. The house +was neat and well-ordered, yet not extravagantly furnished; those who +met the children were astonished at their appearance and apparent good +breeding, while the hostess received them with the cool courtesy of an +English gentlewoman. The callers went away puzzled more completely than +ever, and to add to their mortification the lady _did not return one +of their calls_, shewing thereby that she did not care for their +acquaintance. Thus their imaginary condescension was the means of their +being snubbed by one whom they considered scarcely fit to be allowed to +inhabit the same street. + +When Jessie was nineteen her Mother gave a large party, inviting most +of the young lady’s school friends, also a number of Charlie’s +fellow-students, besides the Rector of the church and his wife and a +few of the neighbors who had always been friendly to Mrs. McClintock, +although having their own ideas regarding her pretensions. All went +merry as a marriage bell, and they beguiled the time with music, +whist, bezique, and like recreative amusements, after which supper was +announced, and the party sat down to a spread such as few of them had +ever been partakers before, and all served in the most elegant style. + +The viands having been thoroughly discussed, the Rector rose and +proposed the health of the young lady in whose honor they were then +assembled, and in a highly moral speech wished her many happy returns, +and all the joys this world (and also the next) can afford. The toast +was honored with acclamation, and then one of the guests stood up and +proposed “the health of Captain and Mrs. McClintock.” + +A damper was thrown suddenly on the whole company. Every one seemed to +feel embarrassed, and though no one dared to look at his neighbor, +and the toast was immediately drank by all, yet there came a peculiar +feeling over each person present, as if some spiritualistic influence +were at work restraining their speech and laughter, aye and even +forbidding them to breathe freely. + +For a time the silence remained unbroken. At length Mrs. McClintock +motioned to Jessie to rise, thus giving the signal for a general +departure to the drawing-room. Here the music was again brought into +requisition, and a few of the young people enjoyed themselves with a +game of casino, but the hilarity of the early part of the evening +was conspicuously absent, those assembled taking an early leave and +departing homeward. The gentleman who had unwittingly worked on the +feelings of the remainder of the guests felt that there was something +oppressive in the atmosphere, and tried to elicit an explanation from a +neighbor; but he could get no reply excepting a tongue thrust into that +gentleman’s cheek as much as to say--“You’ve put your foot in it, old +fellow,” and a significant squeeze of the left arm near the elbow. He +had essayed a solo of the harp, and, unfortunately had struck the one +cord [not chord] which was out of tune. + +Mrs. McClintock preserved an even demeanor throughout the entire +evening; indeed, it is questionable if one of the whole party (the young +people excepted) there, was one so fully self-possessed; and she had +such command over her facial muscles that she bid her guests adieu with +a smile as gracious as that with which she had received them. She gave +no more parties, however, but, confined herself to inviting a few of her +most intimate acquaintances to tea or an informal dinner, to which +they were ever ready to accept an invitation; as, whatever might be the +antecedents of the McClintocks, they were certainly refined and elegant +people, and _kept the best table in the city_. In time the old gentleman +went the way of all flesh, leaving Mrs. M. independent in every respect. +She continued to pass for some time as a grass widow, but after a +few months she coolly inserted in the Montreal fit papers the +following:--“At Calcutta, on the 18th ult., Captain Charles McClintock, +in the 56th year of his age.” Then she went into deep mourning, the +children also dressing in mourning and refusing to go into society for a +time. In about eighteen months after they donned their ordinary attire, +and, as many of those now forming the circle known as the “upper ten” + did not know, and others did not care to remember, anything concerning +their past history, they were received with open arms, being young, +accomplished, and, best of all, tolerably wealthy. + +Jessie is now married to a wealthy dry goods merchant, and one of the +leaders of fashionable society. Charlie is making headway as a lawyer, +but, having an independent allowance, does not exert himself very +much. The old lady lives pretty much to herself, and, it is said, not +unfrequently takes a glass of Curacoa or Moraschino to drown unpleasant +reflections. Let us, however, before sitting in judgment upon her, put +ourselves in her place, and consider if we would have done half as well +(morally) under the circumstances. Although a disobedient daughter, +she has proved herself a true wife till shamefully deserted, and a +self-denying and tender-hearted mother, who, though giving herself up +to shame for their sake, kept her children from every breath of even +scandalous report, and placed them as well-educated and respectable +members of society. At such a one let only he who is without guilt among +us cast a stone. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +The Unfortunate Sailor. + +Among the many thousand pretty girls that might be seen any fine +afternoon walking down the shady side of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, +few would be found possessing more attractive features and pleasing +expression than Agnes Malcolm. Not that she was the most beautiful girl +in Glasgow, for Agnes was hardly what one would call a beauty; but there +was a something in her face that made it particularly attractive, +and caused every passer-by involuntarily to turn and look after her, +although, were the pedestrian cross-questioned as to what he found to +admire in the young lady, he would have been puzzled what to reply. +Agnes had regular features, good hazel eyes, but not unusually bright +ones, a high intellectual forehead, and tresses of a light auburn hue; +her cheeks were soft as peaches and as delicately tinted, and when she +smiled, which was often, she displayed a complete set of teeth for +which no dentist had ever received a fee. Her sister Alice was the +acknowledged belle of the circle in which the Malcolm family revolved, +and was already of a much more decided type, but Agnes had a frank, +lovable expression of countenance that brightened everywhere she went +like a sunbeam, and although she was not particularly witty (being +indeed rather reserved and shy in her manner), yet she had such a sweet +voice, and talked so naturally and with such a lack of affectation, that +it was a pleasure to hold converse with her. + +Mr. Malcolm, the girl’s father, had been Captain of an ocean steamer +running between Glasgow and Baltimore and adjacent ports, he had gone +down in the good ship Cyclops, or rather the _bad ship_ Cyclops, for +she proved herself to be utterly unseaworthy, and foundered on her first +trip out, Mrs. Malcolm, being near her confinement at the time, was +taken prematurely ill, and, although she rallied for a time, she never +got fairly well again, and finally followed her husband to the grave, +leaving the two girls to the care of a married sister of their late +father, who, having educated them as became their station, was at the +time of which my narrative treats debating whether she would send them +out to earn their living, or, keeping them a little longer, bring them +out in the hope of getting them married. + +Alice saved her all further deliberation by announcing in her careless, +happy style that she had engaged to marry a young ship chandler who had +frequently came to the house, but had paid so much attention to _both_ +the young ladies that it was difficult to tell which, if any, of them he +was going to marry. Having made up his mind, however, he did not wish to +delay matters, so, as Alice was only too happy to start an establishment +of her own immediately, he gave notice at the kirk for the following +week, and the wedding was celebrated amidst much rejoicing. Alice was +glad to get a husband, and to be independent of her aunt. Mr. Taylor, +her husband, was delighted to get such a beautiful and accomplished +bride, and the old lady, Alice’s aunt, was heartily glad to get rid of +them both, so that never was rejoicing more universal. + +But poor Agnes was not so elated. She did not mind her sister being +preferred by Mr. Taylor, for she did not want Mr. Taylor, and besides +Alice was two years her senior, and it was to be expected that she +would be married first. It was her position at home that made her feel +miserable. Whereas the work had been divided between the two girls, it +now was supposed to be done by one; moreover, Mrs. Whitcher, Agnes’s +aunt, began to bully her more than ever, wondering _aloud_ why she could +not get a husband as her sister had done, after so much money had been +spent on her education, and so forth. + +Agnes could have had her choice not of one, but of _ten husbands_, had +she wished to do as her sister had done and taken the first eligible man +who offered. But the idea of marrying for an establishment never entered +her unsophisticated brain, and, as she had not yet met her _beau ideal_ +of a husband, she waited patiently, bearing the scoffs and jeers of her +unsympathetic aunt without a murmur, and giving in return for her daily +bread labor that in any other establishment would have yielded her no +small remuneration, had any time in the past two years paid attention +to Agnes Malcolm, was a young man named George Fairfield, second mate +of the ship “Glenalpine,” a good looking young fellow about twenty-three +years old, who was the son of respectable English parents residing at +Liverpool. Agnes, though rather partial to the young man, had paid a +deaf ear to his addresses, not caring to marry a man unless she could +give him her whole heart, but after her sister had gone, and she was +left in utter loneliness, the rude but honest sympathy and love of the +handsome sailor went to her heart, and she consented to marry him on his +return from his next trip. + +George Fairfield went off as happy as if he had been suddenly appointed +Port Admiral. He felt not the ground he walked on, so light was his +heart and also his tread as he stepped home with his eyes fixed on the +stars, but his mind picturing that happy scene which had been all too +short. He whistled a bar or two of “Love’s Young Dream” as he stepped +gaily along, hoping to receive orders to sail on the morrow; not, as he +tried to explain to his lady-love, that he was anxious to get away from +her, but because he wished to be soon back again, when, receiving a +berth as first mate, he would be in a position to claim her as his +bride. The ship did not sail for a week, and when it did George would +have pleaded for one day more in spite of his previous hurry to be off, +however, there was no help for it, “For men must work and women must +weep, though storms be sudden and waters deep,” and so Mr. George took +his position at the taffrail, and contented himself with flying a blue +handkerchief over the stern of the vessel till the forms on shore +were no longer visible. Agnes returned to her every day occupation as +household drudge, sad at losing her lover, yet not so sad as she would +have been had she really given, him her whole heart unconstrainedly; she +shed a few tears as the vessel left the quay, then turning homewards she +mentally counted the weeks which were to elapse ere she should again see +the tapering masts of the “Glenalpine.” She made her preparations for +her wedding methodically and without excitement, and, following her +suitor’s instructions, bought furniture according to her taste for the +little cottage he had rented in anticipation of his exalted rank as +first officer of a clipper. + +At length the _Shipping Gazette_ announced the Glenalpine as “homeward +bound,” and in due time she was entered at the Custom House. George +rushed with all speed to Mrs. Whitcher’s, and was met with open arms by +his intended bride. She was not very demonstrative, it is true, but she +was glad to see him, and as her face lit up at his approach, the poor +weather-beaten tar forgot all about a fearful gale he had just came +through and its attendant perils, and wondered whether Heaven could +possibly be an improvement on Mrs. Whitcher’s front garden. + +The wedding took place (as previously arranged) the next day, and the +young couple took up their quarters at their new abode, George voting +the cottage a decided improvement on the ship and Agnes smiling with +delight at the thought of leaving Mrs. Whitcher’s for ever. The ship +remained in port about three weeks, and during that time the young +couple lived not only figuratively but literally “in clover,” as the +cottage they had taken was on the margin of a clover meadow, the sweet +perfume of which pervaded the atmosphere with its health-giving gases, +gladdening the hearts and adding to the vitality of all who came under +its influence. + +But no earthly joys can last forever. George received a telegram +ordering him to be in readiness to sail at any moment and finally an +order for embarkation. + +With a heavy heart he parted from his young and beautiful wife, the +hope, however, of returning a richer man, better able to make her +comfortable, cheered his manly spirit, and, clasping her once more in +his fond embrace, he jumped into the boat and gave the men the order to +pull to his vessel. His wife stood on the shore wistfully gazing at the +ship till she was no longer visible, then, with a heavy step, she turned +slowly homewards. She thought of the long weary hours she would have to +count ere she would see him again, and, although she had never loved him +passionately, she felt his departure so keenly that she wept long +and bitterly. For days she sat moodily looking out at the sea in the +direction his vessel had taken, and a sad foreboding filled her heart +that she would never see him more. Her comforter in her fitful hours was +her maid, a French-Canadian girl, who had some years previously come to +England in the capacity of stewardess on an ocean steamer, but, having +taken fever during the vessel’s stay in port, and been conveyed to the +hospital, she was obliged to take service till she could again procure a +situation on board ship. This girl--she was named Arline Bertrand--was a +native of Montreal, and at this time about twenty-four years of age +and rather good-looking. Bending over her mistress she would say: “Ah, +Madame, Monsieur Fairfield he come back _riche, riche_, with plentee +nice thing for you!” + +A few weeks after the vessel’s departure Mrs. Fairfield received news +from the agents of the safe arrival of the vessel at Montreal, and +shortly afterwards she received a letter from her husband, full of joy +at the prospect of seeing her again, and of clasping her in his arms. +But, though “man proposes, God disposes,” and the programme which +poor George Fairfield had so fondly laid out and hoped to execute was +destined to be sadly altered. Weighing anchor late on Saturday night +they proceeded slowly down the river, and on the following Tuesday were +out at sea. The wind was blowing a little fresh, but that suited Captain +Fairfield admirably, for as it was a strong westerly wind, and blowing +right astern it only sent his ship on all the faster, so, crowding on +nearly all the canvas his experience had taught him was safe, he bent +over the taffrail and whistled for more wind to bear him joyously along. + +All day long they scudded gaily onward, and although towards evening the +wind moderated a little still they went along at a pretty fair pace, +and Captain Fairfield and his ship’s company drank their grog heartily, +anticipating a pleasant and speedy voyage. At bedtime the Captain went +on deck, and, ordering the mate to keep a good lookout, went below and +“turned in.” He was not long in his berth when he heard a great running +and shouting over his head, and then the cry of “Ice ahead!” from the +look-out met his ears. With one bound he rushed on deck, and gave the +order, to “‘Bout ship,” which the mate had already given; but there was +no time to do more than port helm, and so avoid the direct shock from +the massive iceberg, into which at that moment they rushed with terrible +force, the water pouring in torrents, and many of the men being killed +by falling pieces of ice which towered several feet above the mast-head. +The boats were lowered with all speed, and were hardly clear of the +“Glenalpine” when she went down with a plunge head first, and not a +vestige of hull, spars or masts was to be seen. A few of the men had +jumped or fallen into the water; these were all picked up, and on +counting heads it was found that none were missing except the mate and +two sailors, who had been killed by the falling ice. + +So great had been the hurry of shoving off that they found themselves +without chart, compass, or provisions, save a little keg of water and +a small flask of brandy. However, judging by the direction of the wind, +which the Captain had noted carefully before retiring, the boats’ heads +were put in the direction of the island of Anticosti, and, keeping as +nearly as possible together (there were three boats’ crews), they pulled +hard all night for shore. When the morning broke they fancied they +observed the loom of the land in the distance, and a shout of joy +involuntarily burst from the whole company; they were doomed, however, +to disappointment, for, on the mist clearing away, they could observe +nothing but sky and sea for miles on every hand. The Captain was +completely puzzled how to act, so, summoning a council of war in the +gig, they came to the conclusion that, as they might, instead of pulling +toward the land, pull farther away from it, there was no use wasting +their strength pulling at all, and that they had better keep a careful +look out for vessels either going to or coming from America, and trust +in Providence. The water was served carefully out, and the Captain took +the brandy into his own charge, the men encouraging each other with +tales of their past experience in situations equally trying and still +more dangerous. + +All day they bobbed about on the dancing waves, the oarsmen pulling just +sufficiently to keep headway on their respective boats, but not a sign +of either land or passing vessel was visible. The last round of water +was served out, and the men tried hard to induce the Captain to +hand them over the brandy, some of them sullenly, and intimating an +inclination to take the bottle by force; but the Captain cocking his +revolver, which he had fortunately retained, they subsided into silence, +and lay moodily at the bottom of the boat. They passed the night with +heavy hearts, and when morning dawned despair seized every man of them, +for not a vestige of land was to be seen, neither was there a boat +of any kind in sight. Fortunately the weather was remarkably calm and +clear, so they had no difficulty in keeping together, and in sharing +equally their little supply of water, but now that that was gone what +were they to do? + +Just as they were about to give up all hope a cry of joy from the boat +further to windward caused the occupants of the other two boats to rest +on their oars, and turn in that direction; they strained their eyes in +the endeavor to descry something beyond, but could see nothing. However, +those nearest the point in question evidently could, and so they turned +back and pulled against the wind with all their might, and in a few +minutes the boatswain sung out, “A sail ahead”! causing their hearts to +jump for joy. It was indeed a vessel which was rapidly coming towards +them. It proved to be an American brig called “Frances Smith,” which +was bound for the Mediterranean, and the Captain no sooner sighted the +signals of distress which were waved from the boats than he immediately +hove to and picked the exhausted party up. The brig was rather crowded, +as she was of small tonnage; however, the crew never murmured at the +new-comers, but consented to accept a reduction in their rations, so +that the half-famished men might receive a daily allowance. + +The brig proceeded on her way, the rescued men insisting on doing their +share of the work, and greatly lightened the labors of the crew. Within +a few days, however, their powers were tried to the uttermost; the wind +freshened to a gale, and threatened to annihilate the poor old brig, +which was not in extra seaworthy condition. They were by this time more +than half-way across the Atlantic, where the seas run sometimes as high +as the yard-arm, and take several days to calm down when they have once +been lashed into fury. The ship’s timbers creaked and groaned, and the +carpenter and his men had much ado to stop the numerous leaks which +sprung in her sides. The next day it blew a hurricane, taking the fore +mast and mainmast away, together with most of the rigging, and leaving +the vessel almost a total wreck. As they were not far from the southern +coast of Ireland, the Captain ordered the boats to be got ready with +sails, arms and provisions; he also took with him a chart and compass, +by which he was enabled to steer for the Fastnat Rock. There was +scarcely room for the large party in the boats, but they all got safely +in, a few minutes before the waterlogged brig went down like a lump of +lead. They had not much to eat, but they had a good supply of water, +and, as all the boats were well fitted with sails, the Captain hoped +to make the Irish coast within a few days, the wind being much more +moderate and in their favor. + +Poor George Fairfield was sick at heart. He was so anxious to get home +to his darling wife, and there he was for the second time at sea in an +open boat, without the means of communicating with his loved Agnes, or +of telling her why he was not at her side. Nevertheless he accepted the +state of affairs with calm resignation, and he and the American Captain +laid their heads together to find out exactly where they were and what +course they had best pursue. + +As they had had time to take with them a sextant chromometer and +Palinurus, they had no difficulty next day in taking observations, and +found themselves about five hundred miles W.N.W. of Mizen Head. As +it was no use depending on being picked up they made all sail in that +direction, and so rapidly did the strong west wind propel them that +on taking observations the next day they found themselves nearly one +hundred and fifty miles nearer land. It was fortunate that they made +such headway, for they had only one day’s provisions left, and the water +was getting pretty scarce; however, the wind continued favorable, and +in less than three days more, half famished and thoroughly chilled +from exposure, they found themselves at midnight a few miles from the +entrance of Queenstown Harbor. + +Furling their sales, they took to the oars with a will and pulled wildly +towards the landing-place, where they were pleased to hear voices in +conversation. Just then a long whistle was heard from shore, and a husky +voice half whispered, “Boat ahoy!” “Aye, aye,” was the glad response +as the shipwrecked men threw the painter to the owner of the voice, +and taking their arms and instruments, bounded on shore. Imagine their +surprise to find themselves surrounded, their muskets knocked from their +hands, and the latter speedily encircled with a pair of manacles. The +Captain of the Brig tried to remonstrate with the commander of the +party, but a navy revolver was pointed at his head, and he was forbidden +to utter a word. Finding resistance and remonstrance altogether out +of the question, the unfortunate men marched on silently as directed, +mentally endeavoring to explain this sample of Irish hospitality, and +confident that there must be a mistake somewhere, but of the precise +nature of that error they had not the faintest idea. + +Arrived at the gaol, they were severally incarcerated and their +handcuffs taken off. Then, as they signified that they were hungry, they +were liberally supplied with buttermilk and oatmeal porridge, which many +of them thought the best and most sensible part of the whole proceeding. +As it was past midnight, and they were all nearly exhausted they allowed +their curiosity to wait till the morrow, and, without any questioning +or speculation, fell fast asleep, most of them remaining quiescent unfed +late the following afternoon. When they awoke they found a warm meal +awaiting them, but no reply as to the reason for their detention could +be got out of the turnkey, who seemed to think their question one of the +greatest jokes ever perpetrated within the precincts of that edifice. At +last Fairfield summoned the turnkey. There was something commanding +in his tone which bade the gaoler treat him with respect, and to his +enquiry as to whether he could see a lawyer the man replied that he +could send for one immediately, but would vouchsafe no information. + +In a short time Councillor Quinn called in answer to Captain Fairfield’s +summons, when the latter asked him to explain what reason the +authorities had for treating him in this fashion. The eminent legal +practitioner evidently thought this as great a joke as did Mr. +Fitzgerald, the turnkey, for he thrust his tongue in his cheek, and +remained silent. On Fairfield reiterating the question in a stern tone +he became more serious and said affably “My dear sir, do you not know +what you are arrested for?” + +Fairfield then became angry and said “If I did, why would I send for you +to tell me? Is this your boasted Irish hospitality, in the exercise of +which you lock up every man who happens to be cast away on your shores, +and then laugh at him when he asks you a civil question?” + +On seeing that Fairfield had really lost his temper, the astonished +barrister said “Did you not command the party of armed men who were +captured last night in the harbor?” + +“I commanded a crew of shipwrecked sailors, as also did my companion in +ill-treatment, Captain Westover.” + +“Ah! Well of course you can put in that plea if you wish at your trial, +but I am afraid it will avail you little. Your arms, too, are of an +American pattern, similar to that known to be used by the Fenians.” + +“Good Heavens! do they take me for a Fenian?” said Fairfield,--“why, +I am an English officer, captain of a merchant vessel of the port of +Glasgow.” + +“Have you any papers to prove this?” said the lawyer. + +“No, they all went down with the vessel, but they can easily find out +whether my statements be correct by communicating with the agents.” + +“That will be for you to do, when you are brought to trial, which +may not be for some time, as there is a surplus of work on hand this +session.” + +“But can I not demand a trial?” + +“No, the _Habeas Corpus_ Act is suspended, and you must just make +yourself as comfortable as you can under the circumstances.” + +Poor Fairfield wrung his hands and stamped the floor with rage. He +cursed Ireland and her people and laws, or rather the want of them; +then, as reason took the place of passion, he sat down and wrote a +letter to his wife, informing her of his deplorable condition, and +urging her to communicate with the agents of his vessel immediately. +This letter never reached her, for, having heard of the wreck of the +Glenalpine (some portions of the bows being found by a homeward-bound +steamer imbedded in a large block of ice), she never doubted for an +instant but that her husband had gone down with the vessel. The poor +girl now felt almost broken down. But for the sake of the child which +she expected she would have likely died with grief. The Canadian girl, +Arline Bertrand, had told her so much of Canada, especially of Montreal, +that she decided to follow the girl to her native land, and try to earn +a living for herself and child, should God spare it, there, particularly +as her aunt, Mrs. Whitcher, seemed to be afraid poor Agnes should return +to her. Mrs. Fairfield accordingly sold her little household goods, +and soon after bid her aunt and sister farewell, and took passage on +a Montreal steamer, Bertrand having secured for herself a place as +stewardess. Arrived in Montreal, she visited the girl’s parents, hoping +to find reasonable lodgings during her approaching sickness, but the +girl’s mother did not believe her daughter’s story about her young +mistress, but thought her a young unfortunate girl who had come to +Canada to hide her shame. She offered kindly to bring and introduce +her to the nuns of St. Pélagie as the most proper place for her in her +condition. Mrs. Fairfield, thanking her, was glad to find so suitable +a shelter. Paying her board a week in advance, she retired to her room, +but found to her surprise that room had several more occupants all +in the same condition. The manner and language of those unfortunate +creatures did not suit Mrs. Fairfield at all, and as she mentioned her +disappointment at not having a room to herself to one of the nuns, she +was informed that a private room was three times the amount. The sister +also told her that the babe when born could not be cared for there, but +would have to be sent to the Grey Nunnery, and that she had better part +with it as soon as born. This frightened poor Agnes so much that she +resolved not to stay there, come what might. Asking the next morning +permission to take a walk, she had great trouble to get it granted, the +nun informing her that the people in Montreal were so very bad, and that +she would run great danger to go out alone. But Agnes thought she would +risk this danger. She accordingly went up Campeau street, at which +corner St. Pélagie is situated. She walked and walked till she came to +St. Mary street. There inquiring for the residence of a physician, some +kind person directed her to Dr. P----‘s drug store on Notre Dame street. +To him she told her story and her desire to find a more suitable place. +He gave her the address of my house, and advised her to come under +my care. On hearing her story I could not for a moment doubt her +truthfulness, and received her gladly at, my place, sending the servant +with a note for Mrs. F----‘s things to St. Pélagie in the afternoon, +which were, after some little delay and trouble, handed out to her, no +doubt the sisters feeling sorry that the fair young English lady did +not return. Her former servant, Arline Bertrand, having returned as +stewardess to England again, Mrs. Fairfield did not care to let the +girl’s mother know that she had left the convent, hoping to find means +to let Arline know her whereabouts later, as the old lady had certainly +meant well enough when bringing her to St. Pélagie. Mrs. Fairfield was +only three weeks at my house when a baby boy was born to her. Then her +sorrows seemed to be greater than ever. She thought of having lost her +husband, the father of the innocent baby, so early seemed almost to kill +her, and I frequently heard her implore God to take them both. But +it was not in his wise ordination to grant her wish. She regained her +strength gradually, and with it grew the love for her child which in all +unconsciousness grew quite a stout little fellow who wanted to be fed, +clothed and cared for, which obligations fell alone on its mother, and +as her means became always smaller, she decided to take a situation +with a wealthy family from Savannah who were staying at this time at +my house, the Southern lady having taken a great interest from the +beginning of their meeting in Mrs. Fairfield, offered her a comfortable +home and fair compensation if she would accompany them, attend to +the wants of the lady and her baby during their travels, and act as +companion and housekeeper when at their Southern home. Mrs. Fairfield +took it very hard to part from her little boy, but leaving it with a +reliable nurse, and under my special observation, she was reconciled at +last. Hoping to return in one year, she left. Every thing went on well. +Her letters were full of gratitude. Her Southern friends never allowed +her to feel her subordinate position for a moment. She also remitted +regularly the wages for the nurse, and little George was, when fifteen +months old, a lovely fair boy, and as large as a child two years old. + +Some months passed during which I did not hear from Mrs. Fairfield, nor +did the nurse receive her payment. I wrote to Savannah, but received +no answer. The nurse, poor woman, naturally could not keep the child +without payment, and brought him one fine afternoon to my house to leave +him, and also demanding the back pay. My own children, being delighted +with the dear little fellow, we decided to keep and bring him up as our +own child should his mother never return. And many of my fair patients +will remember the lovely, little curly-headed fellow who would run into +the parlor uninvited, but whose large blue eyes would appeal so sweetly +to be allowed to stay. Indeed we all became so attached to him that we +hoped nobody would ever claim him. And, as twelve months had passed, I +gave up all hope of ever hearing from Mrs. Fairfield again. + +Fairfield had been confined in Pentenville, having been convicted on a +charge of felony-treason, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. His +wife and, friends not having heard of his trial, no one was present +to bear testimony in his favor, and both he and his men (many of whom +happened to be Irishmen) were imprisoned. The Americans claimed +the protection of their flag, a covering which proved sufficiently +substantial to protect them, but the only flag which could have been +claimed by poor unfortunate George was the very one he was accused of +attacking. + +As the British Government did not wish to deal harshly with Fenian +prisoners, or, as its enemies said, was afraid to trample any longer on +the Irish people, George Fairfield and his companions, in common with +many real Fenians, were liberated some years before the expiration of +their term of servitude. Fairfield at once sought his late home, hoping +to find his wife and child still alive, and cursing his fate, which had +cast him twice on the pitiless ocean, only to be arrested and imprisoned +as soon as he got to land. But the worst had yet to come. When he +arrived at his old home and found it occupied by strangers his heart +sank within him; on enquiring for Mrs. Fairfield he was informed that +she had gone to America with her servant Bertrand. Grasping the railings +to keep himself from falling, the poor stricken man gazed wildly at +his informant, as though stunned by a severe blow; then gasping out an +apology of some kind he rushed along the street like a madman, stopping +not till he had got far out into the open country. There, throwing +himself headlong on the grass, he shed tears of anguish, moaning as +if in bodily pain. “Why did I not go down with the ship?” he cried +bitterly; “Was it for this I toiled twice over on the open sea? Ah, why +was I ever born to be tossed about, imprisoned, and deserted?” + +For hours he lay insensible on the grass, till the cool evening air, +bringing his mind once more into activity, he arose with a groan, and +slowly retraced his steps, not caring whither he went. Passing along the +quay he looked at the dark, sullen water, and for a moment was impelled +to cast himself in and so put an end to his misery, but something in his +better nature restrained him, and he walked moodily along to where an +ocean steamer lay preparing for sea. Anything was better than inaction, +so, as his money was all gone and he would have some difficulty in +obtaining a position as Captain or even as mate, he shipped as a +foremast hand, and took his place with the crew. Right glad would he +have been to have changed places with any one of the jolly tars around +him; their songs and jests, however, diverted the current of his +thoughts and kept him from his bitter reflections for a time at least. + +In a short time they were out at sea and, having plenty of work to do +handing sails, reefing and steering, he almost forgot his great and deep +heart-wound, and, although he could not be prevailed upon to sing a song +or even to join in a chorus, yet he listened attentively to the yarns of +the sailors, and always applauded their songs. + +The vessel was trading between Glasgow and Montreal, and within a short +time they were anchored at the latter port; the sailors all went ashore +as soon as the vessel was safely moored, and Fairfield having nothing +else to occupy his mind, went up the wharf in search of Bertrand’s +parents house. He was directed to a house on St. Bonaventure street, +where he found the mother of Arline Bertrand all right, but her daughter +was not at home. She had gone as stewardess abroad again and married +there. She had promised to visit her parents at some future time. When +Captain Fairfield enquired about the lady she had come out with three +years previous, the old lady broke out into sobs, and told him that the +lady had died during her confinement in St. Pélagie, but that the nuns +would give him more information about it if he would go there. If the +babe had lived she did not know, but the sisters had offered to give to +her daughter the lady’s clothes and trunk if she came herself to demand +it. This last blow seemed to be the hardest in all his sorrow. Thinking +himself so near to find his beloved wife, and now all gone and forever, +it seemed to hard. But he would go and see the nuns and hear how she had +died, and if his child had lived or was alive now. This thought gave +him new hopes, and, Madame Bertrand offering to accompany him, +they proceeded to St. Pélagie to obtain an interview with the Lady +Superioress. He had never thought of the child before, but now it was +his whole thought and hope to find it alive. + +Arriving at the convent he had not to wait very long to see the desired +lady, and on informing her of his wishes she most kindly consented to +search all records, but, as the number of patients received every year +is very large he had to content himself till the following day when she +would give him all the information he desired. The next day seemed +never coming. But at last poor George felt as if his worst doom would be +sealed now. The lady in waiting informed him that she felt happy to be +able to tell him that his child (a little girl) was alive and at that +present moment at a convent in Cemetery street, where he could see it +and take it out on payment of its maintenance. The lady’s clothes had +been disposed of. As already stated, a long time had elapsed since +her death. Capt. Fairfield, with a few lines from the sisters of St. +Pélagie, proceeded to the St. Joseph’s Home, on Cemetery street, and, on +handing the note, a little girl about three years old was shown to him +to be his child. The poor little girl seemed afraid to look at him, and +as the child could only speak French he felt as if a board was between +him and the child; but her looks, he thought, were somewhat like his +beloved Agnes. The child’s little curls had been cut a few days before, +so a nun told him. What was he to do with the child? He was not a +Captain now, and would have to make first a position for himself again, +and then he could claim his child. The child seemed happy, and the nuns +offering to keep it for a moderate price he decided to give what money +he had earned during his passage and come again and again till the +little girl could speak English to him, which the nuns promised to teach +her, and then, to take her home to his native land. He had no parents +alive, but he thought when going back to England he would call and see +Mrs. Taylor, Agnes’ sister Alice. He had never visited her, and he felt +so bad to think that she had not helped her sister in distress. He well +remembered his wife’s spirit and independence, and that made him think +that his wife had never made her wants known to them. However, the ship +sailed again. He brought toys and sweetmeats to his darling little girl, +to whom he felt with every visit more and more attached, and the parting +was harder than he could have imagined. + +Returned to Glasgow. On a later voyage, he proceeded at once to +Mrs. Taylor’s house, and was struck at the happy appearance of his +sister-in-law, who, when she recognized him, became quite alarmed and +was near fainting. When Mr. Taylor, who was struck for a moment also, +regained his self-possession, he allowed poor George to tell his sad +story, both listening with interest. But when he related how his wife +had died and he had at last found his child--Alice broke out, “She is +not dead! She is not dead, George! We had a letter only a week ago. She +is in Paris.” George Fairfield was thunderstruck at this revelation. +Alice brought the letter, which he saw was from his Agnes. But how +could be this mistake with the deceased lady in the convent and the +child,--whose child was it! + +Agnes wrote to her sister that she had intended travelling with the +Southern family to the Continent. When on the oceans the Franco-Prussian +war was declared. They had to stop at Southampton and, instead of going +to Germany, they went to the South of France, and, as she had no letters +from me for some time, she was almost beside herself. The Southern lady +being in such delicate state of health she could not think of leaving +her, but had to accompany her. All letters sent from or sent to France +were carefully inspected by the Government, and thus it happened that +I had not received any communication for a long time. She had at last +expected that her letters had gone astray, then she had written to her +sister, Mrs. Taylor, asking her to write to me and try to obtain in this +way information about her boy. + +Captain Fairfield would have liked to start at once in search of his +darling wife, but Mr. Taylor, who saw the danger for him in going to +France at this time, prevented him from acting rashly, also fearing that +the sudden shock to Agnes in seeing her husband whom she had bemoaned +so long would be of great injury to her health, so it was decided that +Alice should write first, saying in her letter that there were some +hopes of Captain Fairfield being alive. The next mail should bring a +letter from the Captain himself to his wife. Both letters were duly +posted, but when the steamer on which George Fairfield was mate was +ready to sail again no answer had been received from, France, and George +had to cross the ocean again. + +Having received my address from Mrs. Taylor he intended to come and see +me on his arrival in this port, and this time he was more fortunate: +the ship made a quick voyage, and as Mrs. Taylor had written to me by a +previous steamer, informing me of all these strange incidents, I looked +out for him. + +One afternoon in the month of August, 1871, when I was driving along +the wharf, I saw a steamer coming in, and on enquiring the name of it I +found it was the one with which I expected Mr. Fairfield. I drove home +with all speed, and as it was late in the afternoon Master George had +his little white frock pretty well soiled; but, on telling him his papa +would soon, be here to see him, he consented readily to leave his play +and undergo an extra bathing--his little skin being so fair the least +speck would show--and scarcely had we finished the operation when the +door-bell rang and a weather-beaten gentlemen inquired for me. His +surprise was great when he found I had expected him, and on seeing his +beautiful child his happiness knew no bounds. + +As soon as he had a little rested he related to us all his trials and +miseries, which seemed like a fairy tale. But when would Mrs. Fairfield +return and meet her husband, was the next question, and where? He came +every day and spent many an hour at our house playing with his child +and wishing for his wife to return. He often said it would be almost +too much happiness for him; that he was afraid something might cross his +plans again. I had written to Savannah again to hear if the family would +return from Europe soon. At last a letter came informing me that the +family, as also Mrs. Fairfield, had embarked on a New York steamer, and +would be expected home within a short time. When Captain Fairfield heard +the good news he made arrangements not to return with his vessel to +Glasgow but await the arrival of his long lost wife. He telegraphed to +the agents in New York, desiring them to deliver a telegram at once +to Mrs. Fairfield on her arrival. The message read thus: “Mrs. Capt. +Fairfield is wanted in Montreal immediately. Important business. +Answer.” In two days we had an answer which read: “Will start at once, +hope all well, Agnes Fairfield.” Late in the evening the same day the +New York train arrived rather late, but with it Captain Fairfield’s +wife. When the Captain saw his wife approaching he dropped the boy and +ran towards her, calling her by her name, but she no sooner saw him than +she fell senseless just inside the hall door. I would have raised her; +but shoving me aside he took her tenderly in his arms and carried her +upstairs. Then calling her by all sorts of endearing terms he conjured +here to open her eyes and speak to him. After a time she revived. +When she came to herself, she gazed wildly around the room, enquiring +eagerly, Where is he? I had persuaded Captain Fairfield to retire to +an adjoining room for a while, and then brought little George to her +pretending her enquiries were meant for him; but her mind was perfectly +clear, and she demanded an explanation. I then told her in short what +had occurred, when she broke out in an hysterical cry. I called Captain +Fairfield to her, imploring him to try and dry her tears. But he let his +head sink into his hands and wept like a child himself. Little George +did not care for this proceeding at all, so he said he rather would keep +me for his mamma because I did not cry. I hope he never will have the +tenth part of the trial both his parents had. + +For some time the now happy family stayed at Montreal, but at last +Captain Fairfield had to resume his duties, but as he would never part +from his wife and child again, he took both on the steamship with him. +The parting from the dear little child George nearly broke my children’s +hearts, who had looked upon him as their baby brother, and I promised to +myself then never to take a strange child into my house if I could not +keep it for ever, for even my old heart fretted after him. + +The little girl in the asylum whom Captain Fairfield thought his child +he did not forget, but took with him to England on a later trip, where +Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, who had no family, adopted her. The nuns at St. +Pélagie were surprised when they heard of the mistake which was made, +but could never find out who was the young English girl who died alone +there. God has certainly taken care of her child, for it is in a good +home, well provided for, and much beloved. Captain, Mrs., and little +George Fairfield visited, before their final departure, the parents +of Arline Bertrand, on Bonaventure street, and informed them of their +existence. The old lady was so surprised that it took a long time to +explain, but she promised to let her daughter know all about it. + +Captain Fairfield is not crossing the ocean any more, having received +the appointment as harbor-master in an English port. He does not want +his son George, who is in College yet, to show any liking for the sea. +But I hope to see once more before I die the young man whom we all loved +so dearly when a baby-boy. + + * * * * * + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +The Night Bell. + + +My night-bell was pulled very hastily, it was about two o’clock, the +night was bright, it was autumn, and, as I hastened to see who wanted me +in such a hurry, I saw two young girls sitting on my house-door steps: +both had been running very fast, the case was urgent, and the little +rest they took before the door was opened would enable them to return +all the faster. I had hardly opened the door when both commenced to beg +me in the most imploring manner to go at once with them to see a young +woman who, as they thought, must be in great distress. + +I put on my outer garments, took the street and number of the house, as +the party was entirely unknown to me, and then accompanied them on their +way, which led us through Craig street East, past a beautiful field--the +same where Viger Garden is now. A few more crossings were passed, and we +arrived at the scene where my help was wanted. In front of the house +was a policeman walking to and fro. The house was medium size, built of +wood, was gray, freshly painted, and so were the green blinds. On the +road going the two girls had told me that the house where I was wanted +was not a very good one, but, if I had a heart and was a mother, for +Gael’s sake not to refuse but to go with them. The presence of the +guardian of the peace encouraged me; and if I felt a little chilly at +entering a den of vice as this was it must be excusable as, till then, I +only knew of them by name and what little I had heard of them. + +I was at once ushered into a little bed-room, from where the shrieks of +a female voice had come as if in great agony and in great pain. I found +a young girl not past her seventeenth year, yet in the last state of +labor,--it was a sight I shall never forget as long as I live: years +have past since then but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were +yesterday, and in my ears are the sound of her voice to help and protect +her from the inhuman abuse which another inmate of the house showered +down upon the poor victim. + +I discovered that the poor young creature--we will call her Martha--had +only come to Montreal, the day previous, and, on, inquiring for a +boarding house, was driven by a carter to this den. The house being full +of occupants the landlady had made her occupy the same room with another +bad character, a great bony female about forty years of age, with +painted face, and attired in disgusting finery. This great, big, +hardened creature then gave the greatest trouble, would have me remove +my patient out of her room, even at the risk of her life, and I was +obliged to call the assistance of the policeman to have her quieted. + +After a while all was quiet except the feeble cry of a little girl who +had been born. Born in a house of vice, what will became of it and its +child-mother? I such were my thoughts then, and now, after many years, +I can tell the reader what has become of them, of some of the inmates +anyhow. + +The woman who kept this house I must, in truth, confess was a +good-hearted person herself, being led astray when quite young, had +never thought of the wrong she was committing by keeping a place of +this sort. She had a widowed mother living in the States and a family of +smaller brothers and sisters who depended mostly on the ill-gotten money +this unfortunate eldest sister would send them for their support. This +_Madam Flora_, then, was very kind in her way to Martha, and offered to +take the baby and bring it up if I was willing to place it out to nurse +with a respectable woman until such a time that she could take the child +herself, as she intended to give up this life of shame. + +Martha was a girl well brought up, had been in school till shortly +before this episode of her life, but it was not her mother who had been +her companion during the last two years. + +Her mother who was too much occupied with her smaller children and +other household affairs had thought it better to send her daughter to a +boarding-school to finish her education, and this was the end of it. If +all mothers would only take the care of their girls when fourteen years +old into their own hands a great deal of trouble might be spared to +them. The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time +for most girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and +under her care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best +friend of her daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she +herself was young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to +her daughter’s little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her +child, and save her in many instances from eternal destruction. Thus +poor Martha had no mother who would listen to her girlish stories. She +found plenty companions in school and very bad advisers. When the truth +of her misfortune dawned upon her, she thought of nothing but to fly +from the place to where she did not know, till the destroyer of her +virtue advised her to go to Montreal, where he would in short join and +marry her. To confess to her mother she could never, and her father she +knew would never look at her again, so she followed his advice, left her +home under some pretence, and came to the place where I found her. She +was very glad to get somebody to take the child from her, for she was +fully resolved to lead a better life, and how could she ever do it with +a baby; she was hardly fit to earn her own living. She told me that an +aunt of hers was living in Halifax, the wife of a sea captain who had +no children, and who had often written to her mother to send one of her +children to her. So she resolved to visit this aunt if some kind person +would help her to get there. I consulted with some of my wealthy and at +the same time charitable Christian friends, who have been, always ready +to help me when I had some needy patients, and with their assistance she +was sent for some weeks after her recovery, to a nice widow lady in the +country, and after receiving satisfactory information about her aunt +in Halifax she was sent there, and has, so far as we have ascertained, +never overstepped the bounds of morality again but was married four +years later to a friend of her uncle, also a sea captain. She has a +large family now, and whenever she writes to me she always prays that +God may forgive her and guide the little girl she parted so easy from +some years before. + +The wife of a private soldier in the Canadian rifles, named Rice had at +the same time lost her own baby only six weeks old, and as her quarters +at the barracks were good and healthy I proposed to send the child +there, Madame Flora offering to pay all necessary expenses. I made +arrangements accordingly, and little Emma (the baby) was soon an inmate +of the barracks. But now a new trouble arose. Mrs. Rice was a sobre, +clean, industrious woman, who with the pay she received for nursing the +baby could make herself and place very comfortable. This made the less +fortunate soldiers’ wives jealous, and their thoughts were bent on +nothing else for awhile but how to get the poor little waif out of +barracks. The baby thrived well under Mrs. Rice’s care, but cried +at times, as all healthy babies will; but as the babies of the other +soldiers’ wives never cried--so their mothers said--they would not +suffer a crybaby in the room, and such a mysterious child where nobody +knew where it came from, and could not find it out either. The larger +rooms in the barracks were in general occupied by different families, +and the one where Mrs. Rice had her quarters was a very large one. It +was called the ship, and was occupied at this time by forty different +families. Each had a certain space, say about 12 by 14 feet, allotted to +them, and it was indeed a surprise to me how neat it was kept, and how +one woman would try to have her place in better order than the other. +Their packing boxes were converted into dressing tables, a little muslin +curtain pinned around it, a looking glass in the centre, and a few +ornaments, sea-shells or East Indian curiosities gave the whole a nice +appearance. The washing or cooking had to be done in out-houses, and +at night each family had a large curtain drawn around their respective +place, and it was really astonishing how little sickness existed +among so many men, women and children. Every morning at 10 o’clock the +officers on guard accompanied by a sergeant on duty had to visit each +respective home, and report any irregularities; and so it happened that +my baby was reported as being a great disturber of the peace. Poor Mrs. +Rice was in great trouble. She had learned to love the child, and was +afraid she would have to part with it. What was to be done? She was +ordered to appear the next morning at 12 o’clock before the commanding +officer to receive sentence for her offence. I had attended a great many +officers’ ladies in this regiment, also the Colonel’s lady, and was well +acquainted with that gentleman and his kind heart, so I bid Mrs. Rice +to keep quiet but dress the baby (it was then three months old) in +its little white fur jacket and cap, and bring it with her before the +officers, and promising that I would meet her there also. + +On my way I met the Doctor of the Regiment, a very kind-hearted +gentleman who, on seeing me, enquired what mischief I had done. I told +him of our trouble, and begged of him to intercede for the poor baby, if +possible, and, as he was well aware that the health of Mrs. Rice was so +much improved by nursing the infant, he thought he would be able to help +us. + +Mrs. Rice entered the room, the infant in her arms, the Doctor and +myself following. The colonel, on seeing such a procession enter, could +not help smiling, and as the Doctor with all his eloquence stated our +case and of the necessity for Mrs. Rice’s health to nurse the baby, and +the danger to the little baby’s life in changing its nurse, the Colonel, +as a father, and a true-hearted gentleman, gave not only consent for the +baby to stay in barracks, but ordered other quarters to be given to +Rice and his wife,--a whole room to themselves, where the baby could not +annoy anybody. + +But my story is growing too long, I will hasten to end it. The new +quarters into which Mrs. Rice moved were near the rooms occupied by the +armor sergeant and his wife who had been long in service, and had saved +quite a little fortune, but children they had none. Both became soon so +attached to their little neighbor that they offered quite a sum of money +to Madame Flora if she would give the child over to them for adoption. +I used all influence in my power to persuade Madame Flora to give the +child up, to which she at last consented. I felt a heavy burden lifted +off my heart and conscience when the papers were lawfully made out which +gave the dear little baby into the hands of good Christian people. Now +the child had full rights to live in barracks, but its adopted father’s +time was in, and he retired with a good pension which, along with his +savings, enabled him to buy a house and garden in New London, where the +baby has grown up into a fine young woman, not knowing to this day that +her dear father and mother are not her natural parents. + +Madame Flora has retired from her life of shame, trying to bring up her +younger sisters in the path of virtue. One of the young girls who had +summoned me on that eventful night in such haste has also reformed, and +is living with a family as helpful servant a good many years, and she +has often told me that the events of that night were the first cause to +her for reflection. The other inmate of the house whom I mentioned, who +was so cruel and disgusting, fell lower and lower,--nothing could we do +for her--she would listen to nothing, and a sudden death ended her life +of shame. + +May the Lord have mercy on her and guide me, the narrator of these +incidents, in His ways, so that when the last bell will be rung to +summon me before Him I need not hesitate but answer joyfully: I am +ready, I am ready to go. + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + +***** This file should be named 8443-0.txt or 8443-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/4/4/8443/ + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mysteries of Montreal + Being Recollections of a Female Physician + +Author: Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8443] +This file was first posted on July 11, 2003 +Last Updated: May 29, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + + +THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL + +BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PHYSICIAN. + +By Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Truth is Stranger than Fiction + + +MONTREAL + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things +enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of +a Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate +residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting +for the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours +with a narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the +expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, +and not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. Enquiry +having frequently been made as to whether my recollections were +published, I have been induced to print this volume, changing only names +of persons and localities, so as to avoid identification. Many persons +will find it hard to believe some of the occurrences which are herein +mentioned, but those who have been concerned (directly or indirectly) +with any of the parties to my narratives, will recognize, under the +disguise of a false name, some person with whose history they are +familiar. Should any discover his own actions here narrated, let him not +think that I have wantonly endeavored to open old sores, but rather to +warn others from taking that first false step which so often leads to +future misery and bitter remorse. + +MONTREAL, May, 1881 + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Early Life and Professional Struggles. + +My father, an officer in the Hanoverian Army, having died while I was +almost a child, I found myself, at the age of 17, governess in the +family of the Baron Grovestein in Hamburg, Germany, where I met +my present husband, Gustav Schroeder, at that time one of the most +"eligible" young gentlemen in that city. + +Though not particularly handsome, Gustav was all that could be desired +in other respects. He was young, well educated, and the son of wealthy +parents, and of an amiable disposition. Soon after my engagement at the +Baron's, young Schroeder's visits (ostensibly to the family) became +so frequent, that his friends, who had divined the cause, forbade his +having anything to say to me, more than cold civility demanded; +and insisted that his visits to the Grovestein mansion should be +discontinued. This, it may well be supposed, had quite the opposite +effect, and in a short time we were engaged to be married, with the +formal, if not the hearty approval of Gustav's relations, and in course +of time the marriage ceremony took place, with all the paraphernalia of +an _Alt-Deutsch Hochzeitsfest_. + +Now, however, came the question: How are we to live! for my husband +had no settled profession, and his parents, though wealthy, could not +deprive their more obedient children of their rights to benefit the +perverse Gustav. They gave him sufficient to start him in business, with +the understanding that he would emigrate to America, their idea being +that a German gentleman with a little capital could not fail to make +a fortune among the comparatively illiterate Columbians. To New York +accordingly we came, and Gustav labored assiduously to establish a +business as importer of German manufactures; he soon found, however, +that men who did not know Horace from Euripides could drive closer +bargains, and make quicker sales than he could, and, as he was too proud +to compound with his correspondents in the old country, and insisted on +conscientiously paying a hundred cents for a dollar, we found ourselves +in less than three years, with diminished capital in specie, and an +increased one as regards future candidates for the Presidency, on our +way back to our common Fatherland. Through the influence of his friends, +Gustav procured a good situation in a merchant's office, but he was +altogether unsuited both by temperament and education for such a +position, and I soon made up my mind that I must either prepare to enter +the world's great battlefield in person, or live in helpless dependence +on my husband's relations. + +I had often while in America wondered why the ladies of that Republic +(so advanced and enlightened in everything else) should submit to +a practice so revolting, so contrary to all ideas of morality and +refinement as is the system of man-midwifery so widely practiced in the +United States. No German lady would think of permitting the attendance +of a man at her bedside on such an occasion, and though custom in +England seems generally to sanction the absurd practice, yet Her Majesty +Queen Victoria never allows her medical advisers to be in attendance in +any other capacity than that of _consulting_ physicians. I had discussed +the matter frequently with married ladies in New York, and they were +generally agreed, that, could only competent ladies be found in the +United States, man-midwifery would soon cease to be practiced in that +Republic. I accordingly resolved to devote all my energies to the study +of that particular branch of the medical profession, and my efforts were +crowned with success. In two years I obtained a diploma from the Hamburg +University, and soon after prepared to return to America. + +[Footnote: Dr. Playfair, President of the Obstetrical Society of London, +in his address delivered in February, 1879, said:--"I confess that it is +with a feeling of regret, something akin to shame, when I reflect that +I am supposed to teach a class of young men the entire subject of +midwifery, and the diseases of women and children, in a short summer +course of something under forty lectures. The thing is a manifest and +ridiculous absurdity, hence we have, of necessity, to omit, year by +year, _at least half of midwifery proper_." + +The Principal of Calcutta Medical College writes Dr. Playfair thus:--"To +what a hideous extent is the practice of midwifery carried on in +England, by utterly unqualified men, whom the unhappy women and their +friends believe to be qualified, and the system in your hospitals sadly +favors this." + +"Yet there are some women who will smother every feeling of modesty and +morality, and trust their lives to one of these licentiates rather than +commit themselves to the care of a thoroughly trained midwife of their +own sex. Surely nothing can be more absurd and irrational."] + +About this time a friend of my husbands' informed us that the climate +of Canada was very much superior to that of the Eastern States, and much +more like that of Germany, and that in Montreal I would be likely to +find, not only a pleasant city, but a people more European in style +and custom, also a capital field for the exercise of my profession. For +Montreal then we sailed with hearts full of hope, and, being fifty-four +days at sea, I was summoned by the Captain to attend a lady on board +(which I did with the success which has since invariably attended my +efforts), and this was my debut as a professional accoucheur. + +On our arrival at Montreal we presented letters of introduction to the +German Consul, and the leading members of the German Society, and I soon +became fully occupied in the exercise of my profession. Dr. X---- +(now one of our most distinguished physicians) not only tolerated my +vocation, but, with a magnanimity worthy of his genius and ability, gave +me counsel and advice, and recommended me as highly as possible to his +confrres and the public. Some few resident doctors threw cold water +on my enterprise, but, to their credit be it spoken, the profession at +large treated me invariably with the greatest kindness and courtesy, +shewing thereby a liberality and largeness of heart which is ever the +outcome of real ability. + +I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily +round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down +to receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a +newborn baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he +was its father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any +provision could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take +it, as he would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river. +I thought my heart would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly +treated, so I took it from him, promising to see it safely to some +charitable institution. He told me his name was Ferguson, that he was +in business in Montreal, and that if I would deposit the child in some +charitable institution and call and see its mother during her recovery, +he would pay all necessary expenses. It was too late that night to go +out with the child, so I prepared some food for its nourishment and +kept it till the next day, resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady +Superior at one of the nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that +the nunnery was closed, and I was obliged to return home with the +babe, which, by-the-by, continued to roar lustily all the way, and so +attracted public attention to me (its presumptive mother) that I wept +as bitterly as the child itself, and was heartily sorry that I had +undertaken any such mission. + +Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited +me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who +were baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for +admission. On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that +the child was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to +deliver it to her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me +that she very considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary +fee, she undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted. + +In the evening I called to see the mother; she was lying on a miserable +couch in a low lodging-house in the Quebec suburbs, yet she had about +her the air of a lady, and on her finger glittered a ring set with +brilliants. She wept when I told her how her child was disposed of, +but said that she had no other alternative, as if her father, who was a +lawyer of eminence, had any idea of her predicament, he would cast her +off in shame; that when she first discovered her condition she persuaded +her paramour to make a formal proposal for her hand, but her father was +enraged beyond measure, and threatened her so terribly that she, for a +time at least, put away all thoughts of Ferguson from her mind, and had +not quite decided how to act, when the occurrence took place which led +to the visit aforementioned, and caused the necessity for my attendance. +Miss L---- had barely time to call in a carriage at Ferguson's office, +and apprise him of her condition, when she was taken ill, and obliged to +procure a lodging with all speed. Ferguson selected the wretched hovel +alluded to, as being away from all chance of discovery by his or her +friends, and after my visit, empowered me to engage a nurse, and make +what other arrangements I could for Miss L----'s comfort. She managed to +get a confidential friend to telegraph her father from Quebec that she +had arrived in that city, and then sent on a letter and had it mailed +there, stating that she had gone on the steamboat the previous evening +to see some friends off, and, remaining too long on board, was taken +away eastward, but would return on receiving the passage money from +Montreal. + +With this story she managed to deceive her otherwise astute father, and +in four days she actually got up and went to her own home in a carriage; +insisting on retiring immediately to her room in consequence of the +nervous excitement and fatigue she had undergone. The nurse I had +engaged to attend her, she on some pretence or another smuggled into +the house as a domestic servant, and so not only managed to have an +attendant, but to keep up a clandestine communication with Ferguson and +the outer world. + +In the frantic hope of acquiring a rapid fortune, Ferguson migrated +to New Orleans, but just then the American war broke out, and he was +pressed into the service. Whether he was killed or not Miss L----never +found out; his letters became gradually less frequent, till finally she +lost all trace of him whatever, and she eventually married a wholesale +merchant of this city, who is to this day probably unaware of this +little episode in his wife's former career. Sometimes I see her in her +carriage driving with liveried servants along St. James street, and +I cannot refrain from thinking of the innocent babe as it lay in poor +Ferguson's coat-tail. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +A Just Retribution. + +One evening, about the middle of June, 18--, a gentleman called to +see me, accompanied by a lady closely veiled. He said he wished me to +procure suitable lodging for her, and to attend her on her accouchement, +which was now close at hand, stating that no money would be spared to +furnish everything necessary either to her comfort or convenience. As I +did not know of any lodging suitable to a person of her station, I was +puzzled how to act; I did not want to lose a patient, and yet could not, +even if so disposed, make room for her in my own house. I knew that my +next door neighbor (an elderly French-Canadian lady) was accustomed to +take in lodgers; so, leaving the lady and gentleman for a while in my +parlor, I went to see if I could make arrangements for the reception of +the former. Madame Charbonneau, my neighbor, had all her rooms +occupied, but said she was willing for a consideration to give up +her drawing-rooms for a time to the fair patient. This was eminently +satisfactory to me, as, in the event of an emergency, I would be close +at hand; I accordingly arranged for Mrs. Trotter's accommodation, and on +reporting to Mr. Dombey, the gentleman aforementioned, he seemed to +be perfectly satisfied. From, what I afterwards learned, I am able to +inform the reader that Mr. Dombey was junior partner in the house of +Dombey & Son, dry goods merchants, in this city, his father, Jacob +Dombey, sen., being considered one of the wealthiest importers in +Canada. In his youth Jacob Dombey, jun., had been pampered and petted +beyond measure, his every whim being carried out even at great expense; +arrived at the age of twenty-one he became enamored of a young lady +whose father kept a small toy-shop on Notre Dame street, and nothing +would content him but a marriage with the "Goddess," as his innamorata +was called. At first he was quite proud of his pretty wife, and was to +be seen daily in Sherbrooke street, driving her behind a splendid span +of spirited bay horses, but after a few months he grew tired of this +routine, and with his bosom friend, Richard Fairfax, might be seen, +nightly at the theatres and other places of amusement, while his poor +wife sat in patient loneliness awaiting his return. + +Mrs. Trotter was the daughter of a Civic Official of high standing, and +had married at a very early age a retired English Officer, who, being +well advanced in years, left her at the age of twenty-four a widow with +four children. Trotter was possessed of little besides his pension, +which died with him; so Mrs. T. was obliged to eke out a miserable +subsistence on the receipts from a little city property left her by her +father. Soon after her husband's demise Mrs. Trotter removed to Lachine +(a small village on the river side about nine miles above Montreal), in +order to live more economically, and soon became acquainted with Mr. and +Mrs. Dombey, who had taken up their abode there for the summer season. +Mrs. Dombey took quite a fancy to the fascinating widow, and they soon +became inseparable. + +Every evening on the promenade might be seen Mrs. Trotter leaning on the +arm of Mr. Dombey, his wife following accompanied by his friend Fairfax; +or they were together on the river boating, or enjoying a picnic on +"Dixie" Island. Occasionally, when the weather was unfavorable to +out-door amusements, they would engage in a rubber of whist, generally +ending the evening with a little music. Dombey did not know one tune +from another, but his wife praised Mrs. Trotter's singing so highly that +he soon imagined that in that art, as in others, she was nearly, if not +altogether, perfect. When it became time for Mrs. Trotter to go home, +Jacob used to escort her to her cottage on the river bank, about a mile +distant from his own residence, and after a few weeks there sprang up an +intimacy between them which culminated in the incidents which gave rise +to my narrative. + +On the day following that on which I had engaged her apartments Mrs. +Trotter took up her abode at Madame Charbonneau's, and about six weeks +afterwards her baby, a beautiful girl, was born; she sent a message to +Mr. Dombey's office, and in the afternoon he called to see her. He was +greatly pleased with the baby, and took it up fondly in his arms, and +on leaving placed a roll of bank bills in my hand, telling me to get +everything necessary for either the mother or her child, also to get the +latter whatever clothing it might require. After that he called almost +daily, and when Mrs. Trotter was sufficiently recovered to return to her +home, he pressed me so strongly to keep the baby till it was a little +older, and not to leave it to the tender mercies of an ignorant nurse, +that I consented to keep it till it was two years old, and then to +obtain for it, if possible, adoption by some respectable married +persons. + +Margery, the baby aforementioned, turned out one of the most beautiful +children I had ever seen. Her father and mother visited her frequently +during the time she was at my house, and on my giving her for adoption +to Mr. Walker (a respectable Vermont farmer without any children of +his own) they were both deeply affected. Dombey was anxious that Mrs. +Trotter should take it to her own home, but, as "Mrs. Grundy" had +already been discussing her movements, she dare not, without fear of +ruining her children, take the baby under the roof. As there was no help +for it the baby was allowed to go to Vermont, and grew up a beautiful +girl, passionately devoted to the only parents she had ever known; Mrs. +Walker dying during the child's infancy, Mr. Walker had her educated as +well as his means would permit, and they passed their time in the most +perfect harmony and sweet content. After the war, however, Walker found +himself almost without a penny in the world, and, thinking to better his +fortunes removed to New York, where he managed to make a poor living +as a subordinate in the Custom House. Margery regretted this change of +circumstances very much, but, being thoroughly devoted to her father, +she did not repine, but did all in her power to make his home as happy +as could be under such conditions. She missed her accustomed amusements +very much, and although in New York she saw many things and found many +opportunities which would have been altogether unknown to her in the +country, yet she was a long time in becoming reconciled to the close and +stifling atmosphere of a great metropolitan city. + +One night her father promised her a great treat, they were to go to +X----'s theatre to see Mademoiselle B---- in Romeo and Juliet. Margery +sat with strained eyes gazing wistfully at the play, laughing and +weeping by turns as the great master's power was exerted on the audience +by the artists engaged, and at the close she heaved a deep sigh, +consequent upon having held her breath so long, and without thought +exclaimed aloud:--"Oh, what would I not give to be able to act like +that." The manager who was close by, and who had been watching the +attentive beauty for some time, overheard the remark, and intercepting +the pair on their way out of the theatre said:--"I noticed that you were +favorably impressed with the piece; would you like an introduction to +Miss B----, the principal actress?" Margery was overcome with delight, +and besought her father so earnestly to allow her to go into the green +room that he accompanied her thither, and they obtained an introduction +to the famous artiste. Miss B---- was quite taken with the innocent +enthusiasm of the girl, and invited her to come to her benefit on the +following evening, when she was to appear as Parthenia in "Ingomar;" +Margery, having obtained her father's permission, readily consented, and +all the way home was full of praises for Juliet, Romeo, the manager, +and all concerned. On the following evening the manager drew her father +aside and whispered in his ear:--"You have a fortune in that girl +of yours." Walker, misunderstanding the purport of his words, +replied:--"Yes, she is a good and affectionate child, as much so as if I +were her natural parent." "You do not understand me," said the other; "I +mean she has immense emotional power, which, if artistically cultivated, +would, coupled with her personal appearance, make both her fortune and +yours." + +"Do you think so?" replied Walker; "well, if we had only the means I +would certainly have her trained, for, since she has seen Mademoiselle +B---- act, her great ambition seems to be to occupy a similar position." +After further conversation it was agreed to place Margery under the +care of Mrs. L----, with a view of becoming a professional actress; for, +although Walker did not at all care for the stage or its concomitants, +still he did not wish to throw any obstacles in the way of his adopted +child's prosperity. Margery, therefore, was allowed to pursue the bent +of her inclinations, and such an apt pupil was she that in a little over +eighteen months her debut was announced in the papers, and a crowded +house showered floral and other trophies on the beautiful debutante. +Offers of engagements from different cities came flowing in, and before +long Miss Margery Montague was announced to appear in Montreal. Her fame +had preceded her thither, and Fairfax was instructed to secure a box for +the Dombey family. Dombey himself (who had followed the career of his +child) tried hard to excuse himself from going, but his wife was not +satisfied to leave him at home; he sat in the back of the box, and as +the applause grew louder and louder, he showered costly bouquets, +and other offerings on the stage, his breast meanwhile being torn by +conflicting passions. How proud he would have been to clasp her to his +heart and call her his own; but he had willfully put her away from him, +and now, even could he receive her into his family, would her adopted +father be willing to give her up again. With flushed face and beating +heart he sought the manager, and begged to be allowed to see the fair +artiste, a favor which was granted; and, as he stood before his child, +and poured forth the usual stereotyped compliments and congratulations, +he bit his lips as he thought that he dared not press her to his heart, +but was forced to speak to her in terms of cold politeness. + +On their return from the Theatre Mrs. Dombey announced her intention +of calling on the talented actress, and the following day she went, +accompanied by her daughters, to the St. Lawrence Hall, at that time the +most fashionable hotel in the city, where she was cordially received; +and the young actress made such a favorable impression on the ladies +that they invited her to dine at their house on the following day, an +invitation which was readily accepted. + +Dombey was greatly moved when he heard that Miss Montague had accepted +an invitation to dinner, but there was no help for it, and, as though +to make matters worse invitations were sent to a few intimate friends, +including Mrs. Trotter. Here, then, was a painful position for the two +guilty ones: they were forced to sit and see the child whom they had +cast off fted and honored by the woman both of them had injured. It +seemed as if a wet blanket were placed over the whole assembly: Dombey +sat moodily biting his finger-nails, and as Mrs. Trotter would not sing +and Mrs. Dombey _could_ not, matters went very slowly indeed. + +When the time came for separating, Mrs. Dombey motioned to Jacob to see +Miss Montague to her hotel, but he being deep in a fit of abstraction, +his eldest son Charles stepped forward, and before his father could +prevent him, was equipped in greatcoat and overshoes, ready for a +moonlight stroll. During the evening he had noticed that Charles was +rather attentive to the fair actress, and the thought that an intimacy +between them was possible drove him to the verge of distraction, Mrs. +Dombey noticed his strange behavior, and asked him the cause, on which +he muttered something about "Auction lunch--infernal champagne," and +some other incoherent exclamations, altogether unintelligible to his +unsuspicious wife. When he and his paramour got outside they walked +along in gloomy silence for several minutes--at last he addressed her: +"Is it not strange that this child, whom I had thought far removed from +me and mine, should be brought even into my own house, and eat at my +table?" + +"Oh, it is fearful; only think what would be the consequence if an +intimacy should spring up between her and Charles!" + +"Yes, I must send him away at once." + +Mrs. Trotter reminded him that this step was unnecessary, as Miss +Montague left the next day for Chicago to fulfil a professional +engagement. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then, with a passionate tug +at Mrs. Trotter's door bell, turned to go away. + +"Will you not come in a while, Jack?" she said. + +"No, he replied, Clara (Mrs. Dombey) would suspect something. She looked +at me very strangely this evening." + +"But you will come to-morrow," rejoined the temptress. + +"Yes, I will look in on my way up from the office," he said. "Good +night." + +"Good night, Jack," said she. + +As he got to his own door he found Charles leaning pensively against the +balustrade, gazing wistfully at the heavens. + +"Well, Charlie, have you forgotten your latch-key?" + +"N--no Sir," stammered Charles, "but it is so confoundedly hot inside +that I did not care to go in." + +Dombey reflected that as the thermometer registered only about ten +degrees Fahrenheit he had but to open his window to attain as low a +temperature as was consistent with comfort; however, he said nothing, +and they both walked upstairs. + +"Good night, Charlie." + +"Good night, Father." + +And they entered their respective chambers. + +I have heard it said that if two men are placed in one bed, one in love +and the other with a toothache, that the man with the toothache will +fall asleep first. Here, however, were two men; one, past the prime +of life, afflicted with the most bitter remorse; the other, young and +susceptible, with all the fever of a youthful passion springing up +within his breast. Dombey could not sleep, the thought that what at +first was barely possible was now become highly probable goaded him +almost to madness. He rose and dressed himself, going quietly out of the +front door into Sherbrooke street. Along the street he went at a fearful +pace, till, almost faint from want of breath, he turned down the hill +towards the city, habit bringing him along the route he was accustomed +to take to his office. As he turned the corner of St. James street, he +saw (for there were few persons abroad) a young man walking moodily up +and down on the side opposite the St. Lawrence Hall; he turned as if he +had seen an apparition, and ran rather than walked in the direction of +his own home. + +Next day Miss Montague departed for the West, Mrs. and Miss Dombey +accompanied by Charles went to see her off at the Depot, and with many +assurances of a future meeting, should she ever return to Montreal, +they separated as the train moved slowly past the platform. As the +drawing-room car was just clearing the station, Miss Montague held +a piece of paper out of the window, which Charles caught eagerly +and placed in his pocket-book. His mother and sister chaffing him on +receiving tender messages from the fair artiste, he laughingly produced +it. + +It was nothing more nor less than a page of an old timetable, and both +Mrs. and Miss Dombey laughed at the strange souvenir Miss Montague had +left behind her. When they got home, however, Charles carefully opened +the paper and observed that opposite each of the cities on her route +Miss Montague had placed a figure in pencil thus:--Chicago, 4; +Detroit, 2; Toledo, 2; Toronto, 3; New York; 6, Boston, 6. This, though +unintelligible to his mother and sister, informed Charles that Miss +Montague would go first to Chicago and remain four days, and afterwards +to the other cities mentioned, and that he might write or meet her there +as opportunity afforded. + +That day matters resumed their normal condition in the Dombey family; +Jacob breathed freely now that his child had returned to the country of +her adoption, and his wife and family were happy because of his improved +spirits and appearance. Charles had apparently settled down to business +as usual, and Mesdames Trotter and Dombey drove out together as of old. +In a few weeks, however, Charles asked his father permission to go for +his holidays; a friend having invited him to spend a few weeks at Nahant +an island near Boston. There being nothing to keep him in Montreal he +had no difficulty in procuring consent, and he departed, taking fishing +tackle enough to have supplied the whole Atlantic coast for a season. +When his father learned the real object of his visit to Boston, he raved +like a madman; he came to see me, and told me the whole story, most of +which I had learnt before from other sources and he persuaded me to +go to Boston and to take on my self the painful duty of informing Miss +Montague who and what she really was, and why it was impossible that she +could ever marry Charles Dombey. The poor girl was almost heart-broken, +for she had learnt to love her stepbrother dearly, and now she would +have to be separated from him entirely. It was not for herself, however, +that she mourned the most, it was for him, when he should learn of the +wide gulf which separated them from each other. He never did learn it, +however; Miss Montague consented (for his sake) to accept an engagement +in England, and to trust in years to soften the blow which had smitten +her so severely. She wrote to Charles, telling him that, for reasons +unexplained, she never could be his wife, although she loved him dearly, +and that as there was no use striving against fate, she had bowed to +the inevitable, and taken a foreign engagement. At first Charles was +desperately cut up, but time, that physician _par excellence_, healed +his wounds, and he is now married to a respectable lady of this city; +deservedly successful in his business, and with a stainless reputation. +Jacob Dombey staggered along under his load for years, but, unable +to contain himself, he one day confessed the affair to his wife, who, +instead of denouncing him as the wretch he was, pitied and sympathized +with; aye, and not only that, she received his mistress into her house +as before, rather than make public his heartless conduct. Truly such +an angel never received such heartless treatment, or was so little +appreciated. It broke her heart however, and over her grave Dombey +resolved to cast Mrs. Trotter off forever, and send her away from the +city. He accordingly arranged with her to take an annual allowance and +go to New York with her family, vowing that he could no longer endure +her presence, which was grown distasteful to him. + +This did not at all suit Mrs. Trotter, who had now hoped to become +the legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no +avail, the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey's bosom, and +he would hear of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United +States. He determined that however he might have blighted the life of +the wife whose excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, +nothing should stand in the way of her children's advancement; and the +voice of a scandal having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, +he felt that her immediate departure was a necessity. She argued and +entreated, but it was of no avail, and she accordingly made the best of +her case and got from him a liberal allowance. Hers was not of a nature +to reform, however; she went from bad to worse, and finally took to +smoking opium as a means to relieve her gnawing conscience, ending her +days prematurely. + +Dombey survived her but a short time. He tried hard to make amends for +the past by increased attention to the children of his late wife, but he +never fully recovered himself, and finally succumbed to a wasting fever, +superinduced by late hours and immoderate drinking. To his last hour +his conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had inflicted on his +children, his natural daughter, and his confiding wife. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The Bag Baby. + +Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as _Matresse +d'Hpital_ that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, +and employed her permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we +established quite a reputation, and applications for accommodation +poured in from all quarters. + +One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman +arrived by the morning train from the United States. The lady was +apparently about thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might +have been from five to ten years her senior, and, although plainly +attired, they had the appearance of belonging to the better class of +society. The gentleman informed me that they had just arrived from New +York, and had put up at the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife had +taken ill unexpectedly, and, hearing that she would be better cared for +in my house than at the Hall, he wished, if possible, to secure rooms +and professional attendance. The house being rather full at the time, +Madame Charbonneau was obliged to give her the nurse's room (which +contained two beds) till some of the other rooms should become vacant; +this her husband readily assented to, and arranged to call in the +afternoon and bring the necessary funds, which I always made it a +point to collect in advance. The lady seeming tired and exhausted, I +recommended her to divest herself of her clothing and retire to bed, +which she accordingly did, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the +afternoon the gentleman returned, and, having settled the bills, went +upstairs to see his wife who was just then partaking of some light +refreshment. He expressed himself well pleased with our arrangements, +and said he would call regularly to see how his wife progressed. + +That night as the nurse was about to retire, she was surprised to find, +under the coverlet of her bed, an enormous rag baby, as large as a child +of two years old, dressed completely, with shoes, bonnet and veil. Her +astonishment can easily be imagined as she held it up to the light +and carefully examined it; then, laughing heartily, she turned to Mrs. +Roberts (my patient) and said: + +"My! who could have put this baby in my bed?" On which that lady replied +with evident embarrassment that the baby was a doll belonging to +her niece, and that, imagining the bed to be unoccupied, she had, in +unpacking her trunk, placed it there for the sake of convenience, and +apologized for being so careless. The nurse made no reply, but, being of +a jovial disposition, danced with it into the other rooms, exclaiming, +much to the chagrin of the lady, that she had found a beautiful baby in +her bed. The other patients wondered what it was, and whence it came, +and appealed to me for information, but, as I knew nothing about +it myself, their curiosity was not gratified in the least. On my +questioning the lady she told me a story similar to that which she told +the nurse, but her countenance contradicted her assertions, and the idea +of any child carrying a doll of the dimensions of the rag baby was too +absurd for credence. No more was said about it, however, and the matter +passed almost completely from our memory. + +For three or four days things went on as usual, Mrs. Roberts getting to +all appearances better every day, and her husband's visits being paid +with due regularity; one day, however, he failed to appear, and Mrs. +Roberts seemed very uneasy. After tea she asked for the evening paper, +and hastily scanned its columns, when her eye fell on some item of +interest, and she became deadly pale. The American war being then in +progress I thought she might have learned of the death of a friend or +relation, so I inquired if anything were amiss, and was astonished +when she pointed out a paragraph containing an account of her husband's +arrest for enlisting British subjects for the American army, and +smuggling them across the line, She now took me into her confidence, and +explained that she was an accomplice of her husband, and that they +had made a practice of enlisting men in Montreal. Her husband usually +remained here, as it was dangerous for him to travel to and fro, but she +was sent as an escort for each recruit, and the baby was used to avert +suspicion, as no sentinel would think of scrutinizing a man closely who +went across accompanied with his wife and child. The excess of travel +had weakened her frame, and now this shock came to still further shake +her system; the result was a premature confinement, and a long and weary +illness. + +Ere she recovered she got a letter from her husband, bearing the +New York postmark. It seems he had been liberated on bail, (having +influential friends) and had at once made the best of his way to the +United States. His wife soon joined him, taking with her the redoubtable +rag-baby, which had afforded us so much food for gossip and conjecture. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. + +Alfred Grandison was born in the ancient city of Bristol in the year +1831. His father had been bandmaster in a British Cavalry regiment, +but had retired some years previous to the birth of little Alfred, and +made a comfortable livelihood by teaching the children of the wealthy +residents of Clifton, the fashionable suburb of Bristol. Young Alfred +soon gave evidence of great musical talent, and used to amuse himself +blowing trumpet calls on his father's French horn, although the +instrument was almost as big as himself; he also achieved considerable +mastery over the piano, the flute and the violin, but, though bright +and intelligent enough, and always maintaining a creditable position at +school, it was evident that nature had intended him for a musician, +and that he could never succeed in anything prosaic or mechanical. +Accordingly his father taught him not only to play, but also instructed +him in the theory and literature of music, and, when he was old enough, +had him entered as a chorister in Bristol Cathedral, where, in addition +to vocal music, he was carefully taught the art of organ-playing by the +Cathedral organist. + +The boy soon became able to play quite skilfully, and when his voice +began to give way he obtained a position as organist in the church at +Shirehampton, performing on a small instrument with one row of keys. +From Shirehampton he shortly removed to a more remunerative position +in Bristol, and he was not long there before he fell in love with the +daughter of a hotel-keeper in one of the suburbs, whom, in spite of +the remonstrance of both relatives and friends, he eventually married, +although she was both poor and plain-looking, and at least ten years his +senior. "A young man married is a man that's marred" says Shakespeare, +and, without venturing an opinion as to the correctness of this theory, +we may say that young Grandison had made a great mistake. In a short +time his affection, or fancied affection, for his wife became less +ardent, and he found himself at the age of twenty-four, married to a +woman who had neither taste nor sympathy in common with him, the +father of three helpless children, and the recipient of the stupendous +emolument of sixty pounds a year. Added to all this his friends, being +unwilling to associate with his wife and relations, had, one by one, +deserted him, and left him almost alone to brood over his ill-advised +alliance. + +Whilst moodily glancing at an evening paper he saw an advertisement for +an organist who would be willing to go to Canada, and at once seizing at +the idea he applied for the post, which he eventually obtained without +great difficulty, sailing for Montreal in the spring of 1855, to play +the organ and direct the music of one of the leading Episcopal churches +in this city. At that time there were, very few musicians of ability +in Montreal, and Mr. Grandison soon became quite popular, both +professionally and socially. His wife was at first invited out, but, +finding that she seldom accompanied her husband on these occasions, her +name was, in time, dropped from the invitations, and Mr. Grandison was +treated as if he were a bachelor, many indeed being altogether unaware +of the fact that he had a wife and family. + +Among those who took Grandison by the hand was a certain Mr. Sedley, +a professional man of high standing. Mary Sedley, the daughter of the +latter was possessed of a remarkably fine voice, and was one of the +ornaments of the church choir, so that the family were naturally +interested in the advent of a new organist from England, under whose +careful training the music of the church was to be developed and +improved. It was decided to place Mary Sedley under the special charge +of Mr. Grandison, and he accordingly went twice a week to the house to +give her lessons in singing, and when there was a special Anthem to be +sung his visits were much more frequent. Then the Sedleys gave grand +musical parties to which Mr. Grandison was of course, invited, playing +Miss Sedley's accompaniment on the pianoforte, while she entranced the +assembled company with her singing; in fact, no gathering of the +Sedley family was complete without the presence of the handsome and +accomplished Mr. Grandison. + +All this, in its way, was harmless enough, but Mary Sedley was a +blooming girl of seventeen, and Grandison, as I have said was quite +a young man, and from the frequent walking home with her alone from +services and rehearsals, and other meetings in society, there arose an +intimacy which, though unnoticed by Mary's parents, and possibly not by +the young people themselves, could not be productive of anything in the +long run but sorrow and remorse. + +One Saturday night when Mary came home rather later than usual, her +father (who, though fond of her, was an austere man) questioned her +gruffly as to the cause of her delay, when she replied:--"Oh! papa, I am +to sing 'As Pants the Hart' to-morrow, and Mr. Grandison insisted on my +trying it with the organ after practice. It is exceedingly difficult, +you know." + +Her father _did not know_, and was inclined to be very angry. The next +day, however, he forgot it all in the delight of hearing his daughter's +voice resounding through the sacred edifice; Grandison was invited to +dinner, and everything was once more _couleur de rose_. + +The first winter after Grandison's arrival in Canada he gave a grand +concert in Nordheimer's Hall, then the principal concert hall in the +city. Mary Sedley was the Prima Donna, and bouquet after bouquet was +thrown at her feet, as she retired amid the plaudits of the multitude. +After the concert Grandison accompanied them home to supper, and about +twelve o'clock took his leave of the family. + +About an hour afterwards Mr. Sedley, thinking he heard a noise, got +up and searched the house, when, to his surprise, he found the door +unfastened. He thought he remembered having secured it as he retired to +rest, but was not certain; however, he proceeded, in his search, and +on coming to Mary's room, found the door locked, and heard his daughter +breathing heavily, as if asleep. Being unwilling to disturb her, he +returned to his bed, and, ere morning, the affair had passed from his +memory. Had he remained awake, however, he might have seen a man emerge +from his daughter's room, and, creeping stealthily along the passage, go +out at the hall-door, his daughter, the pure, spotless Mary, _leader of +Psalmody and sacred lays_, following close at his heels, to fasten the +door and make good his retreat. + +This sort of thing went on for a long time, unsuspected by either Miss +Sedley's parents or friends, when Mary became suddenly placed in a very +awkward position. A certain Mr. Hazelton, junior partner in a large +hardware firm, had long been a suitor of hers, and had asked repeatedly +for her hand; her father had hitherto refused to give his consent, owing +to her tender age, but he had now withdrawn every obstacle, and left her +free to get married if she chose; more than that, he urged Hazelton's +suit, and, though unwilling to coerce his daughter in any way, gave her +to understand that he was particularly desirous that she should give +Hazelton a favorable reply. + +Under ordinary circumstances Mary would have had no hesitation in +refusing to have anything to say to Hazelton, but for some time rumor +had been busy circulating scandal concerning herself and Grandison, and, +as she was at that moment not in a condition to bear scrutiny, she was +afraid to awaken suspicion by refusing Hazelton's offer, and so he was +made the "happiest of men" (?) + +A short time after Miss Sedley had become engaged to Mr. Hazelton she +went with her father and mother to Cacouna, where they had a summer +residence. By a strange coincidence, Grandison also chose Cacouna at +which to spend his holidays, and combined business with pleasure by +giving occasional concerts at the St. Lawrence Hall, which hotel had +just been erected, and was the fashionable resort of those people from +Montreal and Quebec who could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere +of these cities for the more bracing air of Canada's popular watering +place. Mr. Hazelton was unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was +not disposed to accompany her husband, even if he could have afforded +to take her, in fact, the poor woman, feeling that she was a burden and +drag on her husband, had taken to drinking, and had gradually removed +herself still further from the pale of fashionable society. Her house +(which was situated in a back street in Montreal) was not only untidy, +but positively dirty, and her children ran about the streets unclad +uneducated, and uncared for. + +The Sedleys had not been long at Cacouna when one morning the old +gentleman walking out, as was his wont, before breakfast, saw through +the fog (which in this district usually hangs about for some time after +sunrise) a man descend from his daughter's bedroom window and walk +hastily in the direction of the hotel. Both the distance and the fog +prevented him from positively recognizing the man's features, but the +form and carriage were unmistakably those of Alfred Grandison. Mr. +Sedley was, so to speak, "struck all of a heap," he could not believe +the evidence of his own senses, and for a few moments he stood rooted to +the spot as if thunderstruck; then he rushed into the house, and going +straight to his daughter's room upbraided her with her shameful conduct, +but was met by a bold and unqualified denial, the young lady stating +that she had been till that moment asleep, and that possibly some +burglar had been in the premises, whom her father had mistaken for a gay +Lothario. She burst into tears and wondered that her father could have +such an opinion of her, and suggested that immediate search should be +made, to see if any articles of value were missing. Her father was by no +means convinced of his mistake, however; he thought it possible that his +daughter might not have been aware of Grandison's presence, or that he +might only have been _about to enter_ the house when he was frightened +away; but that Grandison was there he felt certain, so, going +immediately over to the hotel, he charged him directly with his +crime, at the same time, presenting a loaded revolver at his head, he +threatened to blow his brains out. This, as may be supposed, did +not prove a ready means of eliciting a confession from the cowardly +Grandison. The poor wretch cowered before the righteous indignation of +the broken-hearted father, and swore by every saint in the Calendar that +the latter must have been mistaken, and that nothing criminal had ever +taken place between the young lady and himself. + +Mr. Sedley only half believed these asseverations, but, as may be seen, +he was a poor diplomatist, and took the very worst way to arrive +at anything like the truth. So saying "Not guilty, but _don't do it +again_," or words to that effect, he left the hotel and returned to his +own house. Here he disclosed his fears to his wife, but she scouted +the idea as preposterous, and urged him to have Mary's marriage with +Hazelton celebrated as soon as convenient, and so put an end to all +possible contingencies. + +Shortly after the return of the family to Montreal Mr. Hazelton led to +the altar with pride the "blushing" Mary Sedley. Good cause, indeed, had +she to blush, for never was man more egregiously "sold" than was "Mr. +Samuel Hazelton, of the city of Montreal, merchant." The _happy couple_ +left by the evening train for Boston, the "Wedding March," which was +admirably performed by Mr. Grandison, still ringing in their ears. + +About five months after this unholy marriage Mrs. Hazelton called on me, +and disclosed to me the whole state of the case, informing me (of which +there was little necessity) that her confinement was close at hand, and +soliciting my aid to get her out of the difficulty. My first impulse was +to call on her husband and acquaint him with the facts: but, remembering +that he occupied a prominent position, not only in the mercantile, but +also in the religious community; moreover, that a disclosure would in +no way mend the matter, and would be a lasting disgrace not only, to the +two culprits, but also to Messrs. Sedley and Hazelton I listened calmly +to her plans for getting out of the difficulty. She suggested pretending +a miscarriage, wished me to invite her to my house, where she would +become ill, and unable to leave till after her child was born. The child +was then to be conveyed to the nunnery, her husband being deluded into +the belief that she had miscarried. + +Now, in the ordinary course of business, I would have been perfectly +justified in attending her without troubling my head about her +antecedents; indeed, had she been unmarried I would possibly have +given my services, but in this case the lady was married, and the child +lawfully belonged to her husband, _whose heir it was_, although actually +belonging to another man. + +I accordingly declined having anything to do with her case, although I +promised that, as her confession was made to me in confidence and as a +professional secret, I would not disclose it to anyone. Having friends +in Boston, she made some excuse to visit them, and she was not long +there when her husband received a telegram, stating that his wife had +had a premature confinement and lay in a precarious state in Boston, +whither her loving husband instantly repaired. The child (a beautiful +girl) was sent to Mrs. Sedley in Montreal, and given out to nurse. She +was eventually adopted by a childless dry goods merchant in this city +who had her educated as his daughter, employing, by-the-by, _her own +father_ to give her lessons in music. + +One would think that now Mrs. Hazelton had got over this great +difficulty, and started in life as a respectable married lady, she +would have eschewed her former errors and turned over a new leaf. +Unfortunately for all parties, her husband was proud of her musical +ability, and insisted that she should continue to take lessons from +Grandison, for whom strange to say, he had conceived a great regard. The +frequent meetings consequent upon this proved too much for both of the +culprits, and in a short time they became as intimate as ever. Since +Mary's marriage, Mr. Sedley had quite forgotten his former suspicions +of Grandison, and he was cordially received into both houses, being, in +fact, almost a member of the family. + +Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a capital +speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of that +edifice addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other ladies +were to enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the piano by +Mr. Grandison. The lecture animadverted at some length concerning the +temptations which beset young men, and warned them to avoid vice of all +kinds, drinking, gambling, and the rest. Among other things he mentioned +the social evil, and contrasted the happy home of the chaste man and his +virtuous wife with that of the drunken, vicious libertine. The seducer +was anathematized, and a graphic description given of the poor degraded +women who had lost the one jewel in their crown. It is needless to say +that both Mrs. Hazelton and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable +during this discourse; the former who was to have sung a brilliant aria +at its close, grew deadly pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer +requested Mr. Grandison to substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, +he was unable to perform anything without notes, so the announcement was +made to the audience that, owing to the excessive heat (the temperature +was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), Mrs. Hazelton, was unable to perform +that evening, and begged to be excused. Grandison was to have gone home +with the lecturer to supper, but he said he considered Mrs. Hazelton +would be the better of a little quiet, and, stammering out some excuse, +slunk away in the direction of his own home. + +Mr. Hazelton found his wife reclining on a sofa in the drawing-room, and +he at once exerted himself to alleviate her suffering, and gratify her +every whim. He propped her up with pillows, and ordered the maid to +prepare whatever delicacies the larder afforded, blaming himself as +being the cause of all her sufferings. His solicitude in her behalf made +her only the more miserable; she had never loved, and never could love, +him, but his uniform kindness and attention had excited within her a +feeling of gratitude which made her remorse all the more bitter as she +thought how he had been duped by the woman who had sworn to love and +honor him. The next day was one of those appointed for receiving her +singing lessons, but she sent a messenger to Mr. Grandison, telling +him not to call for a few days, as she was unequal to even that slight +exertion. Mr. Hazelton called to see me in great alarm, informing me +that his wife's first child was prematurely born, and that he dreaded +a recurrence of that terrible calamity. I, of course, had my own ideas +concerning what was the matter, but I promised to call and see her, and +do what I could to alleviate her sufferings. I found her well enough +physically, but in very low spirits and in tears. She told me what I +have informed the reader, adding that she was at the moment _enceinte_, +the father of this child being also Alfred Grandison. I was very much +shocked at this disclosure, but contented myself with remonstrating with +Mrs. Hazelton concerning the course she was pursuing, urging her to +drop all connection with Grandison. This she promised to do, but I +subsequently discovered that, far from keeping her promise, she had even +gone so far as to plan an elopement with him to the United States. + +About two years after Mrs. Hazleton's marriage, Grandison received the +appointment of organist to ---- Church, Chicago, and, together with +his wife and family, left Montreal for the Western city, leaving Mr. +Hazelton in undisturbed possession of his wife; the latter, instead of +rejoicing at this providential release from temptation, fretted at the +loss of her paramour, attributing, however, her fitful humor to her +delicate condition. + +Shortly after Grandison's departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend +Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy +at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on +the occasion of the child's christening, and when the guests all agreed +that the child had "its father's nose" (which was doubtless the truth) +the poor man's delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began +to be more cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her +husband for the wrong which could never be repaired. When, however, he +carried her baby up and down, or fondled it upon his knee, the bitter +pangs of remorse gnawed at her heart, and made her captious and bad +tempered. With all this there was no deep repentance, and when Grandison +came to Montreal for his holidays, her husband was completely forgotten +once more. Grandison was invited to stay at the Hazeltons' residence, +an invitation which to do him justice he endeavored to decline, but Mr. +Hazelton pressed him so strongly that he was afraid to awaken suspicion +by refusing, and so the wolf became ensconced snugly in the sheepfold, +not only without difficulty, but on the pressing invitation of its +occupants. Mrs. Hazelton during this visit urged Grandison so strongly +that he promised to elope with her so soon as he could conveniently +leave Chicago. + +He had not been long back at his new residence when his wife died, and +letters of condolence were sent to him from all quarters. His wife, who +had never been received into society, was suddenly discovered to have +been one of its brightest ornaments, and her loss was deeply felt and +proportionately deplored. Mrs. Hazelton now thought her opportunity had +come, and accordingly wrote to Grandison that she was ready to go to the +end of the world with him. He, however, was not particularly anxious to +go to such a remote locality; in fact he had made up his mind to remain +in Chicago, and (now that his wife was no longer a burden upon him) +to turn over a new leaf and become a respectable member of society. +Whatever charms Mary Sedley may have had had long since disappeared, and +Mr. Grandison's affection was not so deep-seated that he was prepared +to tie himself to a comparatively plain old woman for whom he had long +since lost every particle of respect. He accordingly took no notice of +her letter, and received a second and a third couched in the strongest +language of affection. But the more importunate she became, the more did +Grandison lose his respect for her; he therefore took no notice of her +letters, and determined to keep aloof from her in the future. + +When Mrs. Hazelton began to realize that he had deserted her, she grew +frantic indeed. She would not believe it; the letters had miscarried, or +something else had interfered to prevent his writing. She resolved that, +come what would, she would go to him, and, throwing herself at his feet, +demand his protection. In the dead of the night she collected her most +valuable clothing and jewellery, and, with a little money in her purse, +stealthily left her husband's house, carrying her bundle in her hand. +She wandered about the streets till daylight, and in the morning entered +the Grand Trunk Depot in St. Bonaventure street, and procured a ticket +for Chicago. Her husband at first thought she had merely gone to +Bonsecours market to purchase provisions for the ensuing week, and that +she would shortly return. Breakfast time came, however, and she did not +return, and he began to get uneasy; enquiries were made of neighbors and +friends at whose houses she might possibly have stayed, but no one had +seen her, or knew anything of her whereabouts. The police were next +communicated with, and a regular hue and cry was raised in the city +concerning her mysterious disappearance. In the meantime the object +of their search arrived in Chicago, and at once proceeded towards +Grandison's residence. She had not gone far when he approached her with +a fashionably dressed young lady on his arm. Mrs. Hazelton ran towards +him with a cry of recognition, but, whatever he may have felt towards +her before, the sight of her as she now appeared drove every trace +of affection from his heart, he looked at her coldly, and without the +faintest sign of recognition The effect of this treatment under the +circumstances can well be imagined; the wretched woman fell fainting +at his feet, raving wildly and uttering the most awful imprecations. By +this time a crowd had collected, and the police, thinking she was some +madwoman who had escaped, had her removed to an asylum, and placed under +medical treatment. + +During all this period Hazelton was like a man demented; he caused +advertisements to be inserted in the principal papers, describing his +wife, and offering a reward for her recovery. The canal locks were +dragged from end to end, and every place likely to have been visited by +her was thoroughly searched and examined. At the end of about a week Mr. +Hazelton received the following telegram:-- + + Chicago, Oct. 14, 18--. + To S. Hazelton, Esq., + + Montreal + + Person answering description in advertisement in _Tribune_ + found here to-day, and placed under medical treatment. + What shall we do? + + J----P----, + + --for Chief of Police. + +Mr. Hazelton immediately telegraphed a reply, and, taking the next +train, was soon able to identify his lost wife. The sight of him made +the poor creature worse, and he was forbidden to call till she was in a +less excitable condition. In about a week, though still suffering, she +was removed to Montreal, and placed under the care of Dr. X----, to +whom I communicated what I knew concerning her antecedents. In a +comparatively short time she grew much better, and was able to converse +intelligently, the subject of her departure and her illness being +carefully avoided. Her husband attributed her mental aberration to the +old cause, although why she should have gone to Chicago, he never could +exactly understand. + +Many years have now passed since these occurrences, and all the parties +to this narrative are still alive. Mrs. Hazelton has never recovered +from the effects of the shock received in Chicago, and sits brooding +mournfully and in secret over her past transgressions, while her husband +with unceasing devotion heaps coals of fire on her head. Grandison has +since moved to New York, where he married again, and became an altered +man. I met him in Montreal a short time since, but he carefully avoided +all mention of either Mr. or Mrs. Hazelton, and did not dare to call +either on them or the Sedleys. Once or twice his name was mentioned at +the house of the latter, but it seemed to awaken sad recollections in +the breast of Mrs. Hazelton, and was consequently avoided by the family. +The latter have lived so far in ignorance of these occurrences, and it +is to be hoped they will never be undeceived. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Among the Fenians. + +While still young, and unused to the many strange phases of life I had +an adventure which, at that period of my career, made a deep impression +on my mind. A rough-looking man called on me, and requested my immediate +attendance on a sick woman at Point St. Charles, at that time a remote +suburb of Montreal. As I hesitated to go with him, having a strange +dread of accompanying him to such a lonely place, he seemed to think I +was afraid of not receiving my fee, and, pulling a long purse out of his +pocket he took out a handful of gold pieces, one of which he tendered me +an advance. This made me all the more reluctant to accompany him, as +I feared he might be a robber or freebooter of some kind, but, quickly +controlling my emotions, I set my reason to work, and argued that, +whatever he might be, he could have no motive other than that assigned +for taking me with him, that he could gain nothing by way-laying or +even murdering me, and so I put on my outer garments and got into the +carriage beside him. The night was wet and stormy, and, just as we +started, forked lightning flashed across the heavens in all directions, +causing the horse to dash madly along as if to overturn the vehicle. +This of course was a mere coincidence, but, with all my firmness of will +and sound logical reasons for not being afraid, I could not altogether +control my emotions as we drove through the lowest and dirtiest parts +of Griffintown, which had at that time the reputation of harboring all +sorts of Fenians, thieves and marauders. We crossed the canal and got +out into the country, the rain descending in torrents, while the thunder +crashed louder than ever. I believe that, had I been able to get out, I +would have even then retreated, but I had no alternative but to remain +and make the most of my position. Beyond a few words at starting, my +companion said little; indeed conversation was impossible, as were +jolted from side to side of the street, and the crashing of the thunder +overhead would have drowned our most powerful efforts. + +After about half an hour's ride, the carriage stopped at a lonely house +some distance on the Lower Lachine road, and, alighting, we entered, +when I was piloted into an upper chamber, where a woman lay on a couch +in need of my attendance. I felt altogether re-assured now, and at once +opened my satchel to make the necessary preparations for my stay; still +the room had not the air of an ordinary bedroom, and the presence of +three men, all as rough-looking as my guide, made me suspicious as to +their calling, more particularly as there was not a woman to be seen +save my patient. + +As soon as I had divested myself of my wet garments and hung them at the +fire to dry, the men left the room, and I ordered the woman to undress +and go to bed, which she did. I then tried to get some information from +her as to who her husband was, and what was the occupation of the men I +had seen, but she either was or pretended to be too sick to enter into +conversation, and I was obliged to restrain my curiosity for the time at +least. In about two hours the woman gave birth to a boy, and as soon as +I could leave with safety, I donned my clothes and left for home, the +man who had engaged me putting me into a cab with great politeness, +and paying the driver, he ordered him to deposit me in safety at my +residence. + +The next morning I was surprised to read in the paper that a quantity of +arms and ammunition had been sent here from the Fenian headquarters +in New York, and that although it was known that they were secreted +somewhere about Griffintown, the police had been altogether baffled in +their search for them. A new light now dawned upon me, particularly as I +recollected that the room in which my patient lay was filled with long, +coffin-shaped boxes, the uses of which I had been unable to guess. I +accordingly consulted with my husband as to what course I should pursue. +Was I, having come by this information in my professional capacity, to +shut my eyes to these doings, or, taking advantage of my position, to +inform the police? My husband argued in this way:--If these people had +been guilty of a crime, which could not now be ameliorated or averted, +it would be a straining point for me to take advantage of what I had +learnt by accident and to bring them to justice; but that as in this +case a great national trouble _might be averted_, and many lives saved, +by timely information, it was my duty to exert myself in the interests +of the community by putting a check on their movements. With this end +in view I communicated with Mr. P----, then Chief of Police, and from my +description he said he had no doubt but these were the very persons of +whom they were in search, and that if I could only manage to frame an +excuse for the introduction of a detective, he would make sure of their +identity before making any arrests. + +My second visit to the house was made in the morning. I found my patient +very weak and feverish, and, although it was only what I had expected, +took advantage of the fact to express my fears that the case was one +requiring the most skillful treatment, and that unless I were permitted +to call in a medical man of eminence, I would not be responsible for the +consequence. The woman's husband was very much averse to this; but, as +I urged it strongly, and his wife (of whom he was apparently fond) +seconded my request, he finally consented, and the same afternoon +called, accompanied by Detective F----, whom I introduced as my +consulting physician. Whilst I mixed some simple remedies for my +patient, the detective carefully examined the boxes, which he was unable +to move, and which we were both convinced contained arms and ammunition +for the destruction of the peaceful inhabitants of Montreal. Mr. F---- +carefully noted the position of everything in and about the house, he +also took a good look at the surroundings, and then we departed for +the police station. The Chief was for making an immediate arrest of +the whole party, but I dissuaded him, urging him, in the interests of +humanity, to wait till the woman was out of danger; he then agreed to +wait for a few days, keeping the house and its inmates under constant +surveillance. + +The woman got better day by day, and at the end of a week, the Chief, +fearful lest something might occur to mar his plans, sent a detachment +of armed policemen to arrest the Fenian emissaries and capture the +stores. In some way or another the men got wind of the affair, and made +their escape across the lines, leaving the poor woman and her helpless +babe alone and unprotected. The police entered the house unopposed; +they found there several dozen, muskets and rifles, also about a hundred +bayonets and five thousand rounds of ball cartridge. The woman refused +to give the slightest information as to the names or identity of her +companions; she said she knew nothing about the arms contained in the +boxes, that the latter had been brought there by a strange man, and left +in charge of her husband, and that she had never seen them opened. As +the men were evidently by this time safe in Uncle Sam's dominions, the +police contented themselves with securing the ammunition, leaving the +woman to shift for herself. As I did not like the idea of leaving her in +the room alone and uncared for, I explained the matter to the neighbors, +who good-naturedly undertook to look after her till she received money +from her husband to pay her passage to New York. As, although I had no +compunction in assisting to break up this den of ruffians, I pitied the +poor woman, who was probably innocent of any crime, I handed her the +gold piece which her husband had given me, and did not leave her till +assured that the neighbors would look after her till her departure. In +later years I have often passed the scene of these transactions, and a +shudder passed through my frame as I remembered my experiences among the +Fenians. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +A Disciple of Satan. + +About the year 1866 I was summoned to attend a lady in Berri street, the +wife of an officer in the ----th Rifles. Her husband, Captain O'Grady, +had taken a furnished house for the winter, the quarters in the Quebec +Barracks being unsuited for the accommodation of a lady of her station, +and round the house on every hand evidences might be seen of both +wealth, taste and refinement. Mrs. O'Grady was a beautiful woman of +about twenty-two, and had only been married about a year; her husband, +who was an Irishman, loved her passionately, and gave me particular +charges concerning her, bidding me spare neither trouble nor expense to +render her illness as little irksome as possible. After her baby (a +fine boy) was born I attended her regularly every day, and, as she had +travelled in her youth and lived for some time in Germany, she invited +me to come and see her in the evenings whenever I was at leisure, so +that we might converse in the beautiful language of Schiller and Goethe, +and chat about that beautiful far-off land. Captain O'Grady +quite approved of this arrangement, and often used to join in the +conversation; it was in Germany he had met his wife, and he had a great +fancy for the soft German language, although speaking it but imperfectly +himself. + +Shortly after the birth of his child, Captain O'Grady's regiment was +ordered to Chambly, and he was obliged to separate from his wife for a +time. He used to drive in occasionally to Montreal to visit her, but at +this season of the year the roads were very bad, and, as the thermometer +sometimes fell 20 or even 30 degrees below zero, the journey was usually +attended with much discomfort and even some danger. On Christmas Day, +Mrs. O'Grady wished her husband to remain at Chambly and dine at the +mess, but he insisted on coming into Montreal and dining with his +family. He accordingly set out about eleven o'clock in the morning, +accompanied by a brother officer named Churchill, a lieutenant in the +same regiment. + +It was a bitterly cold day, and the snow, which had been falling heavily +for some days, was blown in immense drifts across the roads, rendering +them almost impassable. The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the +horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head +ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O'Grady, and jumped into the +dickey. + +Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going +at a tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every +instant. The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and +harness, rendering it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged +to pull their fur caps over their ears to avoid their being frozen. They +had not proceeded far on their journey when the road, which in summer +was clearly defined by fences on either side, diverged somewhat from +the ordinary course, and was made, for convenience, through an adjoining +farm, being marked with pine branches, stuck at intervals in the snow. +As our party proceeded, even these slight indications were invisible, +the drifts rising in some places to a height of twelve or fourteen +feet. In one of the latter the sleigh stuck fast, and the occupants were +obliged to get out, and wading up to their knees in snow to assist the +horses to regain _terra firma_, or at least a more compact body of snow. +Whilst engaged in this operation, Mr. Churchill noticed that the groom's +nose was perfectly white, and on examination it was found to be frozen; +they accordingly set to work to rub it with snow, and at Captain +O'Grady's suggestion he held a large body of snow to it for the +remainder of the journey, which had the effect of thawing it out. + +In a short time they regained the high road, and went along at a +tremendous pace for three or four miles, when they entered the village +of Longueuil, which is situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, a +little below Montreal. They found the river completely frozen over, the +cold being intense, but the ice-bridge had only just been formed, +and the surface was rough and uneven, causing the sleigh to oscillate +fearfully, threatening every moment to overturn. The storm had by this +time increased to a perfect hurricane, and the drifting snow was driven +with intense force into the faces of both men and horses, causing the +latter to bound and gallop fearfully, to the extreme peril of those +behind them. O'Grady, however, was a skillful driver, and kept the +horses well in hand, calling to them from time to time in a reassuring +manner; as for Churchill, he rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, +and, as conversation was out of the question, he lit a cigar, and, +drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round him, made himself as comfortable +as possible. In a short time they arrived at their destination, and +throwing the reins to the groom, O'Grady dashed up stairs and in an +instant had his wife in his arms. She remonstrated with him about coming +in on such a terrible day, but descended to the drawing-room, and, +having welcome Mr. Churchill to her house, ordered the servant to set +the table for dinner. Just then the groom entered the house to enquire +when the carriage would be required in the evening, and the appearance +of his nose set the whole party laughing heartily; his proboscis had +assumed a deep red hue, and was swollen to an enormous size, giving him +a most comical appearance. O'Grady ordered him to bring the carriage +round at ten o'clock, and, dinner just then being announced, they +prepared, in true English fashion, to celebrate the Nativity. + +After dinner, Mrs. O'Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, +having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to +the fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the +clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the +neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate +leave of his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the +following Sunday, O'Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted +Churchill, and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into +the howling storm. Churchill lit another cigar, and shut his eyes to +avoid the blinding snowdrifts, while the driver was with difficulty +enabled to see his way. Arrived at the suburb known as Hochelaga, +O'Grady turned his horses' heads towards the river, and they dashed +across the ice-bridge at the rate of about twelve miles an hour. On they +went at a terrible pace, the sleigh bumping and jolting over the rough +road, till bang they came upon a piece of ice, on to which the snow had +drifted, and over went the sleigh, turning its occupants head first on +the hard, icy road. Churchill was first on his feet, and, though bruised +and bleeding, succeeded in arresting the horses, who, now thoroughly +frightened, were about to run away; the groom also soon recovered +himself and ran to the assistance of his master, but the latter was +past all human aid, having fallen from the upper side of the sleigh bead +foremost on a piece of ice, and broken his neck. His companions were +struck dumb with grief and astonishment; however, they could not stand +freezing in the middle of the river, so, righting the sleigh, they +placed the dead man gently inside it, and drove slowly to Longueuil, +where a friendly _habitant_ placed the best room in his house at their +disposal. + +Mrs. O'Grady, as may well be supposed, was very much shocked at the news +of her husband's death. The body was brought to her house in Montreal, +and from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery, where it was interred, a +company of rifles firing a volley over the grave. For a time the young +widow was undecided whether to go back to her friends in England or +to remain in Canada, but, being unwilling to become dependent on her +relations, she accepted a situation as governess in a wealthy family +residing in the west end of Montreal, placing her infant son under the +charge of a nurse. + +Mrs. Thomson, in whose service Mrs. O'Grady was employed, was the wife +of a wealthy English gentleman who had invested largely in Canadian real +estate and national enterprises. She had two daughters, aged 18 and 16, +respectively (whom Mrs. O'Grady was expected to train and prepare for +entrance into society), also a son about 22, who, although educated as +a lawyer, pursued no avocation other than the collection of rents on his +father's estate, and minor offices in connection with the investment of +his money. Randolph Thomson, the young gentleman in question, suddenly +became very attentive to his sisters. There was not a single concert +or ball of importance to which he did not take them, whereas before +he could rarely be induced to accompany them anywhere. The girls never +tried to account for this sudden change in their brother's behavior, +being too much engrossed in the enjoyment of the entertainments +aforesaid to trouble their heads about the matter; Mrs. Grundy, however, +had an idea that the handsome widow who officiated as governess had +something to do with the affair, and, a rumor of the kind reaching the +ears of Mrs. Thomson, the unfortunate widow was eventually obliged to +leave the house, much to the regret of the whole family, but especially +that of Randolph, whose brotherly attentions suddenly became less +marked, and in time ceased altogether. + +Mrs. O'Grady, being once more thrown on her own resources, departed for +Sherbrooke, one of the most thriving towns in the Eastern Townships, +where she endeavored to make a respectable livelihood by teaching music. +She chose Sherbrooke rather than Montreal, because in the latter place +every lady who wished to earn her own living started out as a music +teacher, and the teachers were rapidly threatening to outnumber the +pupils, and to equal many of them as regards want of knowledge. + +Close to Mrs. O'Grady's new residence, and removed a short distance from +the town, there dwelt a wealthy old farmer named Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson +was a bachelor about 65 years old, who, by steady attention to his +farm and shrewd speculations, had amassed a considerable fortune, being +considered one of the "solid men" of Sherbrooke. Clarkson happening to +meet Mrs. O'Grady at the house of one of the principal clergymen, became +enamored of her at first sight, and at the first opportunity proposed +for her hand. This she was at first loth to give, her heart at the time +being elsewhere; but, as Clarkson offered to settle all his property on +her and her children, and he himself, though neither young nor handsome, +was very agreeable, and held a high position in the community, she +finally consented, and was led a second time to the hymeneal altar. + +Mr. Clarkson was very proud of his handsome wife, he ordered a handsome +phaeton and pair of bay ponies from Montreal for her private use, and +gave her an unlimited allowance of pin money, and she might be seen +any afternoon, fashionably attired, driving from one shop to another, +followed by the admiring eyes of the bank clerks and beaux, and the +envious glances of the single young ladies of Sherbrooke. + +After three or four months Mrs. Clarkson told her husband that she had +been invited to go on a visit to Montreal, and urged him to allow her to +accept it, particularly as her little boy was afflicted with sore eyes, +and there was no oculist of ability in the town. Her husband readily +consented, and, with the promise that she would return in a few weeks, +Mrs. Clarkson came to Montreal, and calling at my house informed Madame +Charbonneau (in my absence) that she wished to remain there if possible, +as she was about to be confined. When I got home she confessed to me +that she had been on terms of intimacy with Randolph Thomson, and begged +me not to inform her husband, as he was exceedingly jealous, and would +kill her if he suspected the true state of affairs. + +Promising to do the best I could under the circumstances I had rooms +prepared for both her and her boy, and secured the best medical +attendance for the latter, whose eyes were in a very bad state from long +neglect. It was two weeks before Mrs. Clarkson's baby (a boy) was born, +and very unpleasant rumors were circulated round the town, which, +coming to the ears of the old gentleman caused him to write a very stiff +letter, ordering his wife to return immediately. This, of course, she +could not do, and as she was unable to frame an excuse for refusing to +I do so, she determined to take no notice of his letter, and, if brought +to task concerning it, _to deny having received it_, the letter being +unregistered. Fortunately for her, if not for himself, her boy's eyes +continued to defy the skill of Dr. Fulford, the oculist to whose care +she had committed him, and it was imperative that they should remain +in Montreal a week or two longer. This fact was communicated to Mr. +Clarkson, but his sister (who had continued to reside with him after his +marriage) persuaded him to have nothing more to do with his wife, and +related to him the rumors she had heard, allowing them (as may well be +supposed) to lose nothing in the narration. + +Mrs. Clarkson was naturally very much put out when she learnt how her +sister-in-law had acted; but, being both a strong-minded and crafty +woman, she determined to put a bold face on the matter, and if possible +to pay off old scores with her sister-in-law. She accordingly placed her +baby out to nurse, and, as soon as she felt strong enough, set out +for Sherbrooke. She found her husband's house locked against her, +but, nothing daunted, she went straight to the mayor's residence, and +explained that, having gone to Montreal with her husband's permission, +she had (as soon as _her boy_ was sufficiently recovered) returned to +her home, and found the door locked against her. The mayor (a particular +friend of Clarkson's) told her to come with him and he would see her +righted, but she refused, saying that she had already gone to her +husband's house and been refused admission, and that she would not go +again until he came to fetch her; she then departed and engaged rooms at +the hotel. + +The mayor, wishing to save his friend any public scandal, went to him, +and remonstrated with him on his conduct, explaining that, as his wife +had gone to Montreal with his permission, he was legally responsible for +all her expenses, and that in refusing to admit her into his house +he had rendered himself liable for an expensive lawsuit. On this poor +Clarkson got so frightened that he ordered his team to be brought round, +and, driving to the hotel, implored his wife to accompany him to his +house, begging her forgiveness for his conduct, and promising that he +would do anything to make amends. + +Mrs. Clarkson now felt that she had obtained a grand advantage, and, +assuming an air of injured innocence, enquired who had set him against +her. Poor Clarkson was reluctantly compelled to admit that his sister +had had something to do with it, on which his wife refused to live under +the same roof with such a vile slanderer ('), and insisted that, before +she returned, the lady _who had taken away her character_ should leave +the house. In fact, she managed the affair so well, and exhibited such +an amount of "cheek," that the poor man actually sent his sister away, +and drove with a magnificent team of horses to bring home the woman whom +he had refused to admit into his house. + +For several months they lived happily together, Mrs. Clarkson _going on +a visit to Montreal_ whenever it stated her. In process of time she gave +evidence of being _enceinte_, and old Clarkson's joy knew no bounds, as +he evidently rejoiced at the prospect of having an heir. Had he known, +however, that his wife, in visiting Montreal, was invariably met by +Randolph Thomson, it is questionable whether his joy would not have +been considerably moderated. Before the child was born the old man died, +leaving all his property to his wife and his expected heir. His sister, +who really was devoted to him, was left without a penny, and entirely +dependent on the charity of Mrs. Clarkson. The widow, however, had +not forgotten the part played by Mrs. Clarkson during her brother's +lifetime, and being now steeped in wickedness, her better nature was +almost entirely lost. She turned the faithful sister from her door, +and she, the false wife, was with her illegitimate child (born almost +immediately after the old man's death) snugly installed in the home that +in all equity and justice should have belonged to the woman she ejected. + +"_Facilis descensus Averni_."--It is wonderful how easy the descent +really is, when once the first false step is taken. As the avalanche, +which at first becomes slowly loosened from its lofty position, +gradually descends with greater and greater rapidity till it is dashed +into the abyss, so does the frail mortal, who at first shudders at +the bare thought of an immoral act, rush headlong into sin till her +desperate career is suddenly checked, often in a manner fearful to +contemplate. Mrs. Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably +be expected to desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and +those of her husband's relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental +to her character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, +without the incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; +Randolph Thomson, turning his back on her and his boy, had married a +young lady of fortune; so vowing vengeance against men in general for +their _falseness and inconstancy_. Mrs. Clarkson laid herself out to +entrap and ensnare every man who came in her way, and in this manner to +revenge herself (as she by some strange mental process led herself to +imagine) on her false lover. + +The deceased Mr. Clarkson had a brother named William, a bachelor, whose +farm was adjacent to that now possessed by the widow. William was nearly +twenty years younger than his brother, and was considered rather a +good-looking man by his acquaintances. It is possible that, but for +her _liaison_ with Thomson, Mrs. Clarkson would, long ere this, have +fascinated him with her beauty and blandishments; but, he had hitherto +escaped unscathed, though openly admiring his brother's wife, and taking +her part against the scandal-mongers when speculation was rife as to the +cause which detained her in Montreal. In looking round for some one to +entrap and ensnare, Mrs. Clarkson's eye naturally fell upon William, as +the most eligible party in her immediate vicinity; and she was the +more anxious to secure him, because, with a woman's far-seeing eye and +long-reaching vengeance, she wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, +who, being unmarried (and likely to remain so), had undertaken to keep +house for her younger brother, and would, as matters at that moment +stood, have likely outlived him and inherited his property. Opportunity +was not long wanting for her to effect her object; William was the sole +executor to his brother's estate, and, as business often brought them +together at the late Mr. Clarkson's lawyer's office in Montreal, it was +not strange that the widow should almost immediately have opened the +campaign, which she did on the first occasion of their meeting in the +city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a little skirmishing, +in order to draw out her opponent. It was a beautiful spring morning, +and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven o'clock, Mr. +Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to meet the +train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, reminding +him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her +husband's life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her +reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural +protector was no more. William, being little of a gossip himself, urged +her to be above such petty pandering to public opinion, and to follow +her inclinations, but she replied naively.--"A woman has nothing to +depend on but her reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know." +"Perhaps you are right," William replied, laughing, and so he permitted +the widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes +later to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily +Mrs. Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the +trains both going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch, and +gossiping tongues would relate all that passed during the journey, +so she induced Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her, +promising her a pleasant day in Montreal. + +The train had not arrived when the ladies alighted at the depot, but the +ever-acute widow instructed her servant man not to drive away, but to +wait and see if any parcels had been sent from Portland. She did not +expect any parcels from Portland, but she wished all the neighbors who +might be going on the train to see her man with the buggy, in case they +might imagine she had come in the carriage with William. When they got +on board the train, of course, her brother-in-law took a seat with her +and Miss Cuthbert, but the widow pretended to be engrossed in a novel, +leaving the younger lady to carry on the conversation. A boy approached +with "prize packages" of candies, and William, buying two, handed them +to the ladies, requesting them to see what fortune had in store for +them. Miss Cuthbert opened hers eagerly, and, amidst the almonds and +lozenges, discovered a gilt brooch, which she laughingly fastened on her +breast. William offered to open the widow's for her, but she interrupted +him, saying: + +"My fortune has been told already, give it to Miss Cuthbert." + +"Oh, yes! give it to me," said the sprightly girl, and hastily opening +it, she poked amongst the candies and pulled out a small article rolled +in tissue paper; unrolling the paper eagerly she disclosed _a plain gilt +ring_. + +"Put that on, also," said Mrs. Clarkson. + +"Oh, no!" answered Miss Cuthbert, "I will try to get some one to put it +on for me." + +With this careless banter the time passed away till they reached +Montreal, Mrs. Clarkson playing the shy widow to perfection, and, as may +naturally be supposed, not only raising herself in the estimation of her +brother-in-law, but drawing him in a strange manner within the radius of +her fascinating influences. + +On arriving in the city they entered a carriage, and were driven to St. +James street, where Mr. St. Jerome, the lawyer, had his office. In about +an hour their business was transacted, and William invited the ladies +to Alexander's to partake of luncheon, but this the widow discreetly +declined, being aware that the pastry-cook's in question was a +celebrated rendezvous for all country-folk. Pleading as an excuse that +she wanted, to do some shopping, she advised William not to trouble +about them, as they would prefer shopping alone, and that, if fatigued, +they could easily drop in for an ice at some respectable confectioner's. +"Besides," added Mrs. Clarkson, "I have promised to take Miss Cuthbert +up the mountain this afternoon, as she has never been to the summit of +Mount Royal, though living so near the city bearing its name." + +"If you are going up the mountain, I pray you will allow me to accompany +you. I never visit Montreal without ascending it at least once," said +Mr. Clarkson. "If you do not wish me to go shopping, I will not intrude, +but I will feel myself slighted if you compel me to ascend the mountain +alone." + +The widow feigned to give a reluctant consent, and accordingly they +arranged to meet on Place d'Armes at two o'clock, and to drive to the +base of the mountain together. At that time the beautiful mountain from +which Montreal derives its name, and most of its beauty, had not been +acquired by the city. It was private property, and there were no elegant +roads by which to drive to its summit; indeed, it was only by the +courtesy of the proprietors that persons were allowed to ascend the +famous hill, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and bracing air: even then +the task of ascending was no easy one, and ladies were generally glad of +the company of one or more of the hardier sex, if only to assist them in +clambering up the steep ascent. + +Mr. Clarkson went to lunch, and then to the Corn Exchange to transact +some business, arriving in Place d'Armes precisely at two o'clock. +Shortly afterward she saw the ladies emerge from the French Church +of Notre Dame, and cross the square to meet him. Miss Cuthbert was +delighted with the church. Although a Protestant, she admired it as an +architectural art-work, the elaborate adornment, too, of the interior +pleased her, and accorded with her womanly tastes. Mrs. Clarkson had +seen both inside and outside so often that neither had now any more +effect on her; indeed, not only was her heart steeled to the refining +influences of the building, but also to the doctrines inculcated within +it; she had started on the downward path, and never once dared to look +up again, even for a moment. + +"Well, you are sharp on time," said Miss Cuthbert, addressing Mr. +Clarkson. + +"Yes, indeed, I have been walking the streets for nearly an hour, +wondering if the hands on the Seminary clock would ever indicate the +hour of two. I had almost persuaded myself that the public clocks had +all stopped, but my watch, which was ticking, told me that they were +going on with methodical regularity." He addressed himself to Miss +Cuthbert, but his eyes were turned slightly towards Mrs. Clarkson, who, +blushing slightly (she could blush at pleasure), turned away her head, +and appeared to be quite confused. + +William hailed a cab, and they drove up University street, as far as the +carriage road permitted them. Dismissing the "carter," they entered the +adjacent field, and ascended by a winding path which at that time +ran through the property of Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Allan. Miss Cuthbert, +although she lived faraway from all mountains or hills of any kind, was +remarkably active, and bounded up the steep ascent like a deer. Mrs. +Clarkson was a _dear_ of another kind, and she was obliged to cling to +her brother-in-law for support, which latter he was by no means adverse +to giving, after about twenty minutes climbing they arrived at the "view +point" immediately over Sir Hugh Allan's residence, when everything +was immediately forgotten in the inspeakable emotion excited by the +magnificent panorama before them. At their feet lay the beautiful +city, the rows of shade trees, clothed with verdure, lending a gorgeous +setting to the elegant limestone buildings. In front rolled the mighty +St. Lawrence, nearly two miles wide, the vast expanse being relieved +by St. Helen's Island, with its luxuriant foliage. On the right the +Victoria Bridge, that monument of engineering skill, stretched across +the mighty river towards the picturesque village of St. Lambert; while +further to the westward might be seen Nun's Island with its shady +groves, at the head of which rushed the boiling waters of the famous +rapids of Lachine. I have in my youth travelled through both Germany and +Switzerland and, later, through the beautiful scenery of New Hampshire +and Vermont, but nowhere do I remember having seen a view so grand, or +a panorama so picturesque, as that to be seen from the brow of Mount +Royal. + +For a while the entire party gazed in speechless admiration at the scene +before them, when Miss Cuthbert exclaimed: + +"I can say, with the apostle of old, 'It is good for us to be here.'" + +"And build _three tabernacles_? queried Mrs. Clarkson. + +"Oh, no, two would do. One for me, and another for you and Mr. +Clarkson." + +At this rejoinder Mrs. Clarkson bit her lips, and changed the +conversation immediately. + +When they had surveyed the city, the river, and the country on the +opposite shore, they prepared to ascend to the highest part of the +mountain, where the observatory stands, imbedded in trees. Here they +sat down for a time to rest, and partake of some light refreshment which +they had brought with them; they then proceeded to descend on the other +side, passing through the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries, both +elaborately laid out, and looking like beautiful flower gardens, rather +than burial grounds. As they neared Cte des Neiges Miss Cuthbert +commenced to scamper along like a child, and at one short declivity, she +started off at a run, calling on the others to follow. Clarkson took his +companion's hand and invited her to descend in like manner, but, almost +at the first step, his sister-in-law uttered a sharp scream and fell +forward on the grass, informing them that her foot had turned under her, +and that she had sprained her ankle. + +William was almost beside himself. He felt that he had foolishly induced +her to forget herself so far as to indulge in a wild romp and thus +injure her ankle. He wished Miss Cuthbert at the bottom of the sea, and +wondered how they were to get the beautiful cripple home, as they were +removed from residences or conveyances of any kind, and Mrs. Clarkson +was no small weight. There being nothing else for it, however, the +sturdy farmer lifted her in his arms and carried her to the house of +the caretaker of the cemetery; then, leaving her gently on a sofa, he +started for the inn at Cte des Neiges, thinking he might obtain the +means of conveyance to Montreal. + +On his arrival at the inn he was informed that there was no livery +stable of any kind for miles around, and that the private buggy of +the proprietor was at the moment in Montreal, whither the landlady had +driven for provisions. Just then a team was driven at a rapid speed +from the direction of St. Laurent; it contained two young gentlemen +from Montreal, who had driven round the mountain attended by a groom. +On hearing the particulars of the accident they at once, with great +gallantry, gave up their vehicle, a mail phaeton, for the use of the +disabled lady, cheerfully undertaking to walk the remainder of the way +(about four miles), and enjoining Mr. Clarkson to bring the carriage to +their stable so soon as he had deposited his fair companions in a place +of safety. + +On reaching the cemetery, William found the widow looking wretched, +indeed, and apparently suffering great pain. Her face brightened, +however, as she saw the carriage and was convinced that they would be +able to get to Montreal in time for the night train for Sherbrooke. +William assisted Miss Cuthbert into the trap, and placed Mrs. Clarkson +carefully beside her; then, mounting the box, he thanked the caretaker +for his kind offices and drove, via Cte des Neiges hill, to Montreal. +He suggested to Mrs. Clarkson that it would be better for her to take +a room at the St. Lawrence Hall for a few days, and enjoy perfect rest +till her ankle got better, but she, remembering her past experiences, +preferred to travel at once to her home, and so avoid all scandal. + +William drove straight to the Grand Trunk terminus in St. Bonaventure +street; and, placing the ladies in a Pullman car, drove up to Sherbrooke +street with the team, which he left, as directed, at the young +gentleman's residence. He proceeded along to St. Lawrence Main street, +where he hailed a cab, and drove back to the terminus. Shortly after his +return to the depot the train started, and in a few hours they reached +Sherbrooke. + +It was considerably past midnight when they got to Mrs. Clarkson's +residence, so Miss Cuthbert remained with her till morning, doing all +she could to alleviate her pain. Shortly after breakfast William called; +and as his sister-in-law was confined to her room, he considerately kept +her company till Miss Cuthbert had gone home and obtained permission +to remain a while longer with the disabled lady. There is nothing that +tries a man's heart so much as to see a woman (particularly a beautiful +woman) in pain. The widow was aware of this, and so, although the sprain +was purely accidental, and was not included in her programme, turned it +to such good account that the poor bachelor was fairly hooked, and began +to think seriously that he had got into an awkward fix. + +Marriage with a deceased brother's wife was illegal, and no clergyman +could perform the marriage ceremony without violating the laws of +both Church and State; even if one could be prevailed on to follow the +dictates of his conscience, and to stretch a point in their favor (as +was sometimes done) society would not recognize their union, and would +shun them as open adulterers. In vain did his sister-in-law urge on him +that the law was absurd, and that, as there was no blood-relationship +between them, there could be nothing criminal in their living +together; he had not the moral courage to face the cold criticism of +a narrow-minded and bigoted community, and, though mad with passionate +love, he hesitated to take the fatal plunge. + +Mrs. Clarkson, however, having carried the outposts and principal +barriers successfully, was not to be thwarted by a mere matter of +sentiment. She expressed her intention of departing forthwith for +Detroit, assuring him that she would no longer remain in a country where +such intolerant bigotry existed, and instructed him, if he loved her as +he pretended, to sell his property in Canada and follow her thither. + +Clarkson was loth to leave his relations and the home of his childhood, +but the temptress lured him gradually on, refusing at times even to +see a man who valued his narrow-minded friends' opinion rather than her +love, and at length he consented to sell his farm for whatever it +would bring, and to rejoin her in Detroit. This was another piece of +generalship on the part of the widow, as, did they remain in Canada, she +could not, in the event of her husband's death hold the property which +would revert to her hated sister-in-law; but that being now converted +into cash she was at liberty to squander it during her husband's +life-time, retaining the fortune left by her first husband for the +future use of herself and children. + +For a time Mr. Clarkson lived with his sister-in-law in a princely style +in Detroit. They entertained largely and handsomely, and most of their +guests neither cared nor enquired who they were, or whence they came. +They had not been there more than six weeks when Mrs. Clarkson made the +acquaintance of Count Von Alba, who for some time had been the lion +of fashionable circles in Detroit. Von Alba was a Russian, who (for +political reasons said his friends, for criminal reasons said his +enemies) had emigrated to America and lived on his fortune (his friends +insisted)--his wits, said his enemies again. + +Whichever surmise was correct, Von Alba was undoubtedly good-looking. +He stood five feet eleven inches in his stockings, and was powerfully +built; his complexion, like most Russians was dark, and his lofty +forehead was surmounted with curls of the darkest brown. At the time of +the Clarksons residence, the Count was about five-and-thirty years +old; he had naturally a genial manner and a good-humored expression of +countenance, and a scar on his forehead (obtained, he said, when a lad, +at Inkerman) made him an object of feminine admiration, while he was at +the same time greatly envied by the opposite sex. + +Von Alba was a sort of Admirable Crichton. He rode like Nimrod, danced +like Terpsichore, drove like Jehu, shot like William Tell, and sang like +Sims Reeves. It was in the _latter_ accomplishment, however, that +he chiefly excelled; he would stand up at the end of a crowded +drawing-room, and, playing a delicate accompaniment on his guitar, would +vocalize one of the passionate love-songs of his native land. Sometimes +he sang in English, then his defective pronunciation lent a strange +charm to his singing, which, although it could scarcely be accounted +for, made itself felt even in the bosoms of the dilettanti. + +Strange to say, although courted and run after by nearly all the +eligible young ladies, the Count became so fond of Mrs. Clarkson's +society that scarcely a day passed but he was found at her house. At the +fair lady's "Thursday Evenings," of course, he was one of the principal +attractions, added to which he dined and lunched frequently at her +house, and escorted her to balls and parties: her husband not caring for +the everlasting round of excitement, and, far from feeling jealous of +the Count, he was proud to think that his choice of a companion should +be endorsed by one who presumably was a competent judge. + +It was not long till the lady was at her old tricks again, and what +Randolph Thompson had been to her before, Von Alba soon became, the +simple husband encouraging these visits, and allowing his wife to +squander his money lavishly on her paramour. Mrs. Grundy in the +meanwhile began to be suspicious, and rumors, at first vague and +indefinite, became almost pointed accusations against Mrs. Clarkson. The +poor husband, although not altogether crediting the fact that there +was a foundation for these reports, saw the necessity, in the equivocal +position in which both he and his wife stood, of putting a stop to all +suspicious intercourse with the Count; and, being resolute enough when +so disposed, he forbade his wife to meet Von Alba any more in private, +or to invite him to her house. + +This, as may be supposed, brought matters to a crisis and brought on a +terrible quarrel between the abandoned woman and her husband. She saw +that the game was up as far as Detroit was concerned, and so, managing +to forge her husband's name to a cheque for several thousand dollars, +she went the next day with great boldness to the bank where he kept his +money and presented it; it was cashed by the clerk without hesitation, +and that evening, abandoning both Clarkson and her children, she +went, accompanied by her paramour, to the depot and took the train for +Montreal, where they went to an hotel, registering their names as Mr. +and Mrs. Mortimer, of New York. Notwithstanding their false names and +altered attire they were traced to the St. Lawrence Hall, Mrs. Clarkson +being surprised, on coming from breakfast one morning, to observe her +husband busily scanning the register at the office counter. The Count +had not seen him, but Mrs. Clarkson hurried him upstairs and told him +that their whereabouts was discovered, and that they must take refuge in +flight before Clarkson had time to take steps for their apprehension. + +Ringing the bell, Von Alba bade the boy to have their bill made out and +receipted, and to have their luggage sent to the station in time for the +next train for New York. + +"There is no New York train till 3.15," said the boy. + +"When is there one for Toronto?" asked the Count. + +"Not till eight this evening, but the Lachine train, which meets the +mail boat, leaves at 11.30." + +"That is what I mean," said Von Alba; "we will go by that;" then, +packing hastily, the two culprits descended by the ladies staircase, +and, entering a carriage, drove off to procure tickets for Toronto. + +All this time Mr. Clarkson was quietly seated in the breakfast-room, +taking light repast after his long journey. That the persons he sought +were in the hotel he felt confident; but there were so many gentlemen +with their wives real or pretended, from all parts, that he was puzzled +to conjecture which of the names in the register was that assumed by the +Count. At length he resolved to take the boy into his confidence; and, +handing him a gold piece, he began to question him concerning the guests +now quartered in the hotel. When he had described the pair he wanted, +the boy said: "W'y these ere must be the pair wat's just gone to the +Toronto boat!" Clarkson said not a word; but, handing a card to the +cashier, rushed out of the hotel, and, jumping into a cab, bade the +driver to go with all speed to the Upper Canada boat. Had he thought for +a moment he would have recollected that the boat leaves the wharf early +in the morning, and proceeding slowly through the canal, stops to take +on passengers at the head of the Lachine Rapids. In his blind haste, +however, he had forgotten this; and lost so much time in going to the +wharf that, when he eventually learnt the truth and got to the depot, +the train was just leaving the platform. + +There was nothing for it now but to wait for the train for the west, +and to get on board the steamer at Kingston. He had at least the +satisfaction of knowing that they were on the boat like rats in a trap, +and that, except the delay in confronting the villain Von Alba and his +wretched companion, he was as successful as possible in his pursuit of +the fugitives. Returning to the city, he procured the assistance of a +detective, who undertook to accompany him to Kingston, and assist him in +apprehending and arresting the fugitives. + +By this time the steamship "Hungarian," on which the wretched pair had +embarked, was ploughing the waters of Lake St. Louis. After a time they +passed through the Beauharnois and Cornwall canals, and entered the +labyrinth of beautiful patches known as the "Thousands Islands." As they +emerged from this lovely spot the saloon became suddenly filled with +smoke, and in a few minutes cries of "Fire! Fire!" were heard on every +hand. A rush was made for life preservers, while the crew of five or +six men vainly endeavored to extinguish the flames. The captain ordered +boats to be lowered, but, the men being excited, and badly drilled at +best, the boats were successively swamped, leaving the poor terrified +creatures only a choice of two fearful deaths. + +One of the sailors handed Mrs. Clarkson a life preserver, which she +requested Von Alba to fasten round her waist, but the cowardly fellow +_snatched it from her_, and, hastily securing it round his own waist, +swung himself overboard, leaving her to perish in the flames! He was +not to escape so easily, however; with a bitter yell of mingled rage and +despair the wretched woman mounted the taffrail, and plunging straight +for the spot where he rose to the surface dragged him under again and +again with fearful maledictions. The passengers who still remained on +deck could do nothing to separate them, and although the life preserver +would have sustained both of them easily in the water, so great was the +woman's bate on the discovery of Von Alba's cowardly treachery, that +she did not even give a thought to her own escape, so intent was she on +dragging him to the bottom. The expression of her face, lit up as it was +by the blaze of the burning; steamer, was terrible to behold: the veins +in her head and neck were swollen almost to bursting, and she died +cursing with bitter malediction the man for whom she had sacrificed not +only herself, but her husband and her children. + +The steamer burned to the water's edge, only a few of those who had +jumped overboard escaping. The bodies of the guilty pair were discovered +at some distance from the wreck, Mrs. Clarkson's hand being tightly +clutched round her companion's throat, while his tongue and eyes +protruded fearfully. + +With sad and heavy heart Clarkson returned to Detroit, and, having +gathered together what remained of his former property, prepared to +return to Canada. He took with him the children of his late wife, +placing them both as boarders at the College at Lennoiville till they +were old enough to be apprenticed to some trade or profession. He never +quite recovered from the shock received on hearing of the manner of Mrs. +Clarkson's death and that of her paramour, but became prematurely aged +when he realized that, instead of the sweet angelic creature whom he +thought he had married, he found that he had wedded a regular disciple +of Satan. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The Frail Shop Girl. + +The many fine ladies who patronize the fashionable emporiums of +Montreal little think (as they sit comfortably at the counter, leisurely +examining dozens of articles they never intend to purchase) of the +sufferings undergone by those who minister to their wants, and, it may +be, their caprices. Dozens of these poor creatures stand day after day, +from morn till night, without a moment's rest except at meal-times; even +then the short period allowed them barely suffices to permit of a hasty +meal, when they have to hurry back again to undergo another term of +misery. + +It is strange that we should be so careful of brute beasts that we form +ourselves into societies for their protection, prosecuting rigorously +any one who shall have the temerity to ill-treat or abuse them, and yet +allow our fellow-creatures (and those, too, of the weaker sex) to be +treated with the most barbarous cruelty. A bruise or a blow may be +brutal and severe, yet neither is so hurtful, so systematically cruel, +as the forcing young girls to stand erect for lengthened periods, +without change of posture. I am sure if the members of the House of +Commons were deprived of their seats even for one session, we would, +without further ado have a Bill enacted making it criminal for +shopkeepers to make slaves of their employees, or individuals to +patronize such establishments. + +Were shop-girls provided with even the commonest of seats, untold +numbers of crimes and diseases would be heard of no more. I am confident +that but for this most refined cruelty the circumstances which gave +rise to this story would never have occurred, and that I would have been +spared the narration of a history which, though painfully true, is none +the less shocking. + +M----'s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a +well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked +the thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its +door; and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither +and thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still +bright and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be +seen grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from +the shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the +counter. + +One of these girls, by name Esther Ryland, was noticed by many who +frequented M----'s store on account of her unusually attractive person +and elegance of manners; she was a little above the average height, yet +graceful and well-formed, with remarkably handsome features, and eyes +that sparkled like a pair of diamonds. Esther had not been long in +Messrs. M----'s service, yet she had become so popular as a saleswoman +that crowds frequented the particular counter at which she assisted, and +she was known to many who were unacquainted with her name as the Pretty +Shop-girl at M----'s. + +Esther was very proud of her attractions, both professionally and +otherwise; she did not calculate, however, that the more popular she +became the more work she would have to do, and that she would, in time, +pay for her popularity with her health, if not her life. She had, in and +out of the store, a great many admirers amongst those of the opposite +sex, but there was one she prized above all others, a certain Mr. +Quintin, a merchant tailor, who had just started business for himself, +and had persuaded Esther to promise that, after another year's service, +she would give up business and become his wife. + +It had been their custom to go for a stroll together on the long summer +evenings, and together they might have been seen, fondly looking into +each other's faces, as, arm-in-arm, they perambulated the more remote +portions of Sherbrooke and St. Denis streets, which at that time were +scarcely built upon. + +One evening when Quintin called, as usual, to take his enamorata for +a walk, she said she would prefer to stay at home, as she was quite +fatigued with the day's work. Nothing disconcerted, her lover remained +with her in the house, and they amused themselves with a pack of cards +and a chessboard. The following evening, however, Miss Ryland was again +indisposed, and, on questioning her closely, Quintin drew forth the +avowal that she _had not sat down for a quarter of an hour_ during the +whole day! It seems it was the busy season at M----'s, and, besides +being engaged incessantly in serving customers, Miss Ryland was obliged +to shorten her dinner hour, and to hurry back to meet the increased +demand. + +Quintin was quite shocked at this discovery. Although well aware of +the brutal treatment of shopkeepers' assistants, he had never been an +interested party, and so had the matter placed before him _in all its +horrors_ for the first time. He resolved that, come what might, he would +emancipate his intended wife from a life of such slavery, and so, having +carefully arranged his business and purchased a neat little cottage in +Cadieux street, he urged Miss Ryland to consent to marry him without +delay, and so avoid her life of thraldom. She agreed to marry him during +the ensuing month, pleading with feminine weakness that it would take +at least that time to get her trousseau ready, and the day was finally +arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + +The excitement of preparation before marriage, and the change of scene +during her wedding-tour, wrought such an effect on the woman that Mr. +Quintin became convinced that his wife's health was thoroughly restored, +and he labored assiduously at his business, looking forward cheerfully +to the time when she should become a mother, and the merry laughter of +his children should, in his hours of rest from worldly cares, gladden +and enliven their home. + +A year rolled by, and both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin looked hopefully towards +the future; two years passed and still they were childless. Mrs. Quintin +would have given all the world, had she possessed it, for one of God's +blessings; she loved children, even those of other children, and _one of +her own_ would have been a priceless treasure. But she lamented more on +her husband's account. She knew that he doted on children; and when she +saw him take the neighbours' children on his knee, and, after looking +wistfully in their faces, rise and dash his hand across his eyes, +she knew what it meant. "Oh," she would cry, "if only these abandoned +wretches who desert their offspring could realize what it is to desire +them and yet live unblest! If they but knew the priceless treasures +they were casting from them, they would turn and repent in sackcloth and +ashes." + +Mr. and Mrs. Quintin had been married about three years when one day the +former called on me, his face beaming with joy, and informed me that his +fondest hopes were about to be realized, and that he would like me +to call and consult with his wife. I was a little surprised at this +intimation, as, from what I knew of Mrs. Quintin, I had fully made up my +mind that she would never become a patient of mine; however, I was glad +to hear that I had been mistaken, and so, when next in the neighborhood +I waited on that lady and congratulated her on her improved prospects. +To my great surprise she burst into tears, and confessed that she was +not _enceinte_, or likely ever to become so; that her career in M----'s +store, and continued standing for hours together, had rendered her +physically unable ever to become a mother. She added that her husband +had so set his heart upon the one object (viz., the desire to have +children), and had spent so much money for medicine and medical advice +with a view to that end, that she could not bear him to think that all +his efforts were unavailing, and her complaint having assumed a form to +all outward appearances similar to pregnancy, she had permitted him +to delude himself with the belief that the latter was the cause of +her altered appearance, and that scientific skill had counteracted the +effects of years of abuse. + +I was greatly taken aback at this disclosure, but my surprise was as +nothing compared to that in hearing the plot which the woman's now +diseased mind had concocted. She said she was going to bear reproach no +longer (for, though her husband never murmured, at least in words, +his friends and her neighbors were ever ready to deepen her sorrow and +humiliation by taunting her with her impotency), and her eyes rolled in +frenzy as she almost shouted: I MUST AND SHALL HAVE A CHILD'! Why am I +prohibited from having what many do not know how to value? Many of them +cast their treasures from them; shall I, frantic with despair, _refuse +to pick one up_! + +As she walked up and down the room in her fury, she looked like one +demented. Her hands were clenched till the nails entered her flesh, her +eyes rolled wildly, and, were I more easily frightened, I would have +felt impelled to call for help. Gradually becoming cooler, Mrs. Quintin +unfolded to me her plan for deceiving her husband, and, with a coolness +that I would not have pardoned but for her evidently unhinged condition, +actually _requested me to assist her?_ She said she had been offered +a child for adoption by a lady who was more guilty and unfeeling than +herself, and that the person in question had promised to send her word +when she was taken ill, so that she might send for me, and make her +arrangements for the reception of the child, which was to be transported +secretly into her bedroom. + +I was so astonished that I was for a time unable to a speak. The deep +plot itself, the proposition made to me to assist her, and the cool +manner of the lady herself, fairly staggered me. At length, speaking as +calmly as I could, I tried to convince Mrs. Quintin of the enormity of +the crime she intended to commit, telling her that, if she wished to +adopt a child, she would find it quite an easy matter to do so without +taking any such course as she evidently intended; and, after arguing for +some time, she seemed to yield a little to reason, and promised to do +nothing rashly. She had already, however, committed herself to the first +part of her programme, and told her husband a falsehood; how was she to +undeceive him? I suggested that she should tell him on his return that +she had been mistaken, and that on examination I had found nothing +unusual the matter with her. This she positively refused to do, saying +that her husband had so set his heart on this one object that, were his +hopes suddenly dashed to the ground, he might do something desperate. +She said she would break it to him gently, and, imploring me to say +nothing to him of what had passed, she escorted me to the door, and, +with tearful eyes, bade me farewell. + +Several months elapsed, and I had, for the time, thought little of +either Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, when one evening in glancing over the +papers, my eye fell on the following announcement: "On the ----th inst., +at ---- Cadieux street the wife of R. Quintin of a daughter." I let the +paper drop as I gazed vacantly at the ceiling and tried to realize the +whole affair. Undecided how to act, I mechanically put on my bonnet and +cloak, and walked up Cadieux street, when, coming out of the house, I +spied my friend, Dr. P----. + +"Good evening, Doctor," said I. + +"Oh, good evening, Mrs. Schroeder. I have just been attending a patient +of yours; it seems they were not at all prepared, and had not time to +notify you. Indeed, I was late myself, as I did not arrive till some +minutes after the child was born." + +Without saying a word I beckoned the Doctor aside, and made a sign that +I wished to speak with him privately. He invited me to step into his +carriage, and we drove in perfect silence to his residence in Beaver +Hall Terrace. Alighting, he preceded me to his surgery, and closed the +door; then, with a look full of meaning, he said: + +"Well, what is there wrong here?" + +"I said, Before I reply, will you permit me to ask you one or two +questions." + +"Who called you to attend Mrs. Quintin?" + +"A carter came and requested me to come with all speed to attend a lady +in Cadieux street. I went as quickly as possible, but the child was born +before my arrival." + +"Who, then, attended the lady?" + +"The nurse did, and apparently very satisfactorily indeed. I found +the bandages so well arranged, and the patient's pulse so strong and +regular, that I left, perfectly satisfied that all was properly attended +to till your arrival. They explained to me that the lady was your +patient, but that being unexpectedly taken ill, she had ordered the +carter to bring the first doctor he found at home." + +"Was Mr. Quintin at home?" + +"No; he is gone to England to purchase some goods." + +"Ah! That accounts for it then." + +"Accounts for what? Really you must not catechize me any further. What +is there underneath all these questions?" + +I drew my chair closer to him, as I said tragically: + +"Mrs. Quintin _never had a child_." + +"This rather staggered the good old doctor, who had just come from the +house, where he had examined and weighed the infant. He started up from +his chair, and, drawing back, exclaimed: + +"What do you mean? Explain yourself." + +I then at length narrated all I knew concerning the Quintin family, and, +as I proceeded with my story, the old man's eyes opened wider and wider +as he exclaimed: + +"My God what a diabolical plot"! + +"Yes, indeed, and I was invited to join in it." + +"Well, well. _I_ certainly would never have suspected anything of the +kind." + +"Nor would anyone. The thing was well arranged, and artfully carried +out." + +"I suppose they will send for _you_ now." + +"Not at all. That is only a sham to get rid of your attendance. The +husband will be given to understand that you were hurriedly called +in, and that, my assistance being unneeded, they did not think it +worth-while troubling me." + +After consulting with Dr. P. for a considerable time and putting the +case in different lights, we came to the conclusion that it would be as +well now to let matters take their course. Any interference on our part +would only have raised a great public scandal, and rendered both Mr. +and Mrs. Quintin miserable, without benefiting anyone, so we allowed +the poor man to believe that his prayers were answered, and that the +beautiful girl he fondled was really his own. + +Time rolled on, the baby being baptized in due course and known by the +name of Edith Quintin. As she grew older, both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin +became passionately fond of her, the latter being as much attached to +the little girl as if she were her own daughter. When the child was +about twelve years old, Mrs. Quintin, who had gradually grown more and +more delicate, began to feel that she must, ere many months had passed, +finally succumb to the disease which was gradually gnawing at her +vitals, and the deception she had practised on her husband was a source +of great discomfort and annoyance to her. She called on me in great +grief, and, having informed me concerning that of which (as the reader +knows) I was well aware, implored me to give her counsel and advice. She +was surprised to hear that I had already learnt all from Dr. P----; +for, although she, of course, knew that _I_ was not blinded by her +subterfuge, she was not aware that I knew all concerning the method +adopted by her, and when she learned that both the doctor and myself had +forborne to inform on her, she was visibly affected, and thanked me on +her knees. + +I advised her to break the matter to her husband, and not to die with +such a load on her conscience, but she avowed that she had neither the +strength nor the courage to do so, and importunately besought me to +undertake the painful task. When Mr. Quintin learnt the truth he was of +course greatly shocked, and at first was bitter in his denunciations at +his deceitful wife. His better judgment, however, was soon brought to +bear in the matter, and he was moved rather to pity her misfortune than +to punish her for her fault. He knew that her judgment erred solely in +order to retain his affection, and when he looked at her pale face and +emaciated form, and thought of the agony and suffering, both mental and +bodily, which the poor creature had endured, he willingly forgave her, +and, though sadly disappointed and sorely smitten, did what he could to +reassure her. + +Edith meanwhile had developed into a beautiful girl, and had she really +been, as she believed herself, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, she +could not have been more beloved by them. The former enjoined me never +to reveal the secret of her birth to his daughter as he called her, and +so her life, at least, was not darkened in the least by the knowledge of +the truth. + +When Edith was about seventeen years old Mrs. Quintin finally yielded +to the ravages of that dread destroyer, consumption. The poor girl wept +sadly and bitterly at the loss of her mother, the only one indeed the +poor child had ever known, and poor Quintin wept sadly as he thought of +his wife's brief and unhappy career. He removed with his daughter into +furnished lodgings, not wishing the child to be burdened too soon with +the cares of house-keeping. What he would not allow her to do for him, +however, she soon became very anxious to do for another, and the days +of her mourning were not long passed when she became the happy wife of +a young man named Wentworth, bookkeeper in one of the leading hardware +firms in Montreal. She has now children of her own, and the youngsters' +greatest delight is to gather round their grandfather's knee while he +astonishes them with stories. To them nor to no one else, however, has +he told, even as I have done, the story of the frail shop-girl, who from +being young and handsome, and the belle of her circle of acquaintances, +became a wretched and deceitful woman, diseased both in body and mind, +and finally sank into a premature grave. + +Out on this heartless, brutal system, and the thoughtlessness and +ignorance which permit it! I hope the narrative given above may cause +some of those at least who engage in this barbarous system to pause and +give the great problem of life, capital and labor, a few moments thought +that they may see the error of their way, and that poor Esther Quintin +may not have died in vain. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The Two Orphans + +One evening, about a dozen years before the introduction of the present +system of fire alarms into Montreal, crowds might be seen hurrying along +that part of the city known as Little St. James street, towards the +scene of an immense conflagration. Several fire engines were throwing +strong streams of water on the burning mass, but, the evening being +windy, the fire swept all before it, and soon reduced several buildings +to ashes. + +In one of these resided Mr. Wilson, Notary Public, and his two +daughters, the eldest a beautiful girl about 9 years old, the other +aged nearly 8. When the fire commenced they were seated calmly at the +tea-table, partaking of their evening meal, but, so sudden was the +holocaust which burst with tremendous fury around them that they had not +the slightest warning till they were surrounded with dense volumes +of smoke The two girls rushed forward to the window, and screamed for +assistance, while the old man endeavored to gather some of his most +valuable papers together and throw them into the street. + +Amongst the crowd who assembled were two young men, clerks, named +Wilgress and D'Alton respectively. Taking in the situation at a glance, +they sought hastily for ladders, and placing them against the burning +windows, mounted bravely through the flames, each seizing a girl round +the waist, and carrying her in safety to the ground. Their clothes were +almost completely destroyed, while their faces were grimed and scorched, +still, nothing daunted, they looked up to see if anything more could be +done; they espied the old man at one of the windows with a parcel in +his arms. Quick as thought Dalton mounted the ladder once more, going +through the flames like a salamander, and, taking the parcel from the +old gentleman, tried to induce him to descend the ladder. Poor old +Wilson, however, could not bear to leave so much that was valuable while +a chance of saving it remained, and so, rushing wildly back into the +burning building, he was soon lost to sight. A cry arose from the crowd +as they saw him disappear once more, and several hardy youths sprang up +the ladders, determined to bring him out by force, but, ere they could +enter the flaming pile, a loud shriek met their ears as the floor gave +way, hurling the poor old notary into the dreadful pit of fire. All +efforts to do anything further were now unavailing, and the firemen +directed their energies to protecting the neighboring buildings, and +preventing the fire from spreading. + +The young men were at first puzzled what to do with the two girls whom +they had rescued, and who were now orphans, without parents, money, or +even clothes, but some Sisters of Charity, who had witnessed the heroic +action, came forward and offered to take them in charge. The good +sisters took the children to the convent, and provided them with both +food and clothes, intending to educate them and bring them up in the +Catholic faith, but some Protestant ladies, members of the congregation +to which Mr. Wilson had belonged, having heard of the affair, induced +the clergyman to call and obtain possession of the orphans, they +undertaking to provide the cost of their maintenance, or to find them +homes in Protestant families. + +By the time the Rev. Mr. Flood called at the nunnery the children had +dried their tears, and were beginning to feel quite at home. The Sister +in charge, however, saw at once the correctness of the Clergyman's +action, and agreed to give the girls up as soon as he had made +arrangements for their reception elsewhere. In a few days they were sent +for, and each was adopted by a different family; Cissie, the elder, was +taken in charge by a childless minister, residing in St. Albans, in +the State of Vermont, while Lillie, the younger sister was adopted by a +farmer from the neighborhood of Varennes. + +Many years passed away and the two girls were grown up, and were both +uncommonly good looking, Lillie being then just seventeen, and as +handsome a girl as one could wish to see. Then circumstances, however, +were not the same, for while Cissie had received a good education, and +had in every way the manners of a lady, Lillie could not even read with +facility, and writing was with her and utter impossibility. The people +who had adopted her were Irish settlers, who, though comfortably off, +knew little beyond the cultivation of potatoes and the care of pigs. + +About this tame Cissie Wilson, tired of the monotony of life at St. +Albans, determined to make an effort to "see the world," as she called +it, and earn her own living; and, as her adopted father remonstrated +with her in rather a hasty manner, she collected her effects together, +and, one day while the old man was out, started for Montreal. She left +a note for him, informing him of her destination, and warning him not to +attempt to stop her, as she had determined, at all hazards, to carry out +her intention. Miss Wilson had been several times in Montreal, and had +several acquaintances there, among them a Miss Wood, whose father had +a position in the Telegraph Office. To Miss Wood's, therefore, she +repaired, and, being welcomed with the usual number of kisses, she +requested the young lady to persuade her father to procure a situation +as telegraph operator or something of the kind, as she was determined to +earn her own living. This the young lady promised to do and succeeded so +well that Miss Wilson was soon installed in a tolerably good position, +earning enough money to maintain and clothe herself respectably. + +Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of +her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home +arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to +indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, +and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her +beauty and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means +of dressing herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she +could make, were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. + +This passion for dress and jewellery soon became deep-seated; were she +only well dressed, what could she not achieve. She had, in her anxious +endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even +of necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, +and these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over +this circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced +to meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine +dress and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and +modest beauty of the poor telegraph girl. Miss Smith inquired casually +if Cissie were going to the Oddfellows' ball, an affair which was then +on the _tapis_, and when the latter answered in the negative, explaining +that her small salary would not allow her to purchase the necessary +finery, Miss Smith laughed and called her a silly little goose. Taking +her by the arm, Anna then let her into a secret, and explained how she +obtained all she required, and indeed could, out of the abundance of her +stores, fit out Miss Cissie, whom she chose to consider her protge. +She urged Cissie not to miss the ball on any account, and reminded her +that she had already obtained a decided advantage over Miss Williams, +Miss Hunt and Miss Jones, and that with such an outfit as she would lend +her the victory would be complete. + +Cissie was for a moment shocked. She had been several times offered +presents by gentlemen of her acquaintance, but had always resolutely +declined to take them, having an instinctive feeling which warned her +against their acceptance. She could not bear now to wear the dresses +proffered by Miss Smith, and momentarily made up her mind not to go to +the ball at all. Then again her heart failed her as her companion glibly +ran over the names of those who were to attend, and Cissie thought how +she would like to enter the room on Horace Gibson's arm in the presence +of Miss Williams and the rest. Horace Gibson was a clerk in the Bank of +Montreal who had invited Miss Wilson to the ball, and was to receive +her answer that evening. As luck would have it, that young gentleman +approached just as the girls were rounding the corner of the street, +and, raising his hat in salute, inquired if he was to have the pleasure +of taking Miss Wilson to the ball. Cissie hung her head, and was just +about to offer some excuse, when Miss Smith answered for her: + +"Oh, yes, _of course_ she'll go, and be the best dressed and best +looking lady in the room too." + +"If you have taken her up, I am sure she will be at least the _second_ +best as regards get up," responded Mr. Gibson, conveying an indirect +compliment to Miss Smith herself, who was celebrated for the elegance of +her attire. Cissie could not utter a word. After all, she thought, there +can be no harm in borrowing a dress from a young lady! It was not for +her to inquire how that lady was able to purchase so many dresses; and +then, as she looked at the handsome young man before her, and thought +how her rivals would bite their lips with envy to see her in her elegant +out-fit, the blood rushed into her temples, and with an impetuous bound +she burst away from both her companions and entered the house, saying to +Mr. Gibson: "Yes, I'll go; call for me at nine to-morrow." + +Till late night Cissie sat in her rocking-chair, her hands pressed over +her throbbing temples; at length wearied nature came to her relief, +and compelled her to retire to bed. Being fatigued, she soon fell +fast asleep, and on the morrow when she awoke, although she remembered +clearly all that had passed on the previous evening, she had not the +same sensitive feelings, or the same sharp prickings of conscience, and, +as she walked towards the office, she began to anticipate the ball with +the greatest pleasure. + +As Miss Smith had said, Cissie, beautiful before, was ten times as +beautiful now that she was adorned with all that art could do in the +matters of dress and jewellery. Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth +with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o'clock, disgusted with +_that thing_ from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly +sought for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. +Miss Smith was as proud of Cissie's success as if it had been her own. +With all her faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as +she did fancied she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in +opening to her the highway to fame and fortune, even though it were +reached by the gate of dishonor. + +It is needless to give in detail the particulars of Cissie Wilson's +career; suffice it to say, that the brilliant triumph at the Oddfellows' +ball was too much for her weak nature. She plunged headlong into the +vortex of worldly pleasure and excitement, and, having little time or +inclination for reflection, became in time quite habituated to this +peculiar mode of life, always maintaining outwardly, however, a moral +and respected appearance. + +All this time, the reader may well ask, what had become of Lillie, the +younger sister? She had been remarkably successful in her country home, +having at her feet the hands and hearts of all the most eligible young +men for miles round. This at one time would have gratified her utmost +ambition; but her sister's letters from Montreal made her dreadfully +anxious to join her in her whirl of exciting pleasures, and, with the +understanding that her sister would obtain her employment in Montreal, +Lillie, at the age of eighteen, came to the city. + +She was not long in her new home till her sister unbosomed to her many +things of which she had previously been in ignorance, and promised to +introduce her to the _crme de la crme_ of her worldly companions, +urging her to endeavor to acquire these graces and accomplishments which +she had failed to learn in her country home. Lillie soon became +more popular even than her sister; for, although she was not so well +educated, she was naturally clever and witty, and there was a vivacity +and freshness about her conversation, which, added to her beautiful face +and perfect figure, made her a charming and desirable companion. + +One day Mr. D'Alton, one of the gentlemen who had rescued the two girls +from the fire, was walking along Notre Dame street, when he observed +a beautiful girl, rather showily dressed, promenading just in front of +him. Something in the girl's manner attracted his attention, and, as he +passed her, he turned round, and carefully scanned her face. As he did +so the girl looked up and their eyes met; he, raising his hat, blurted +out an apology, saying he had mistaken her for another lady of his +acquaintance named Brown. "Oh," said she, laughing, "my name is Lillie +Wilson." + +On hearing this name D'Alton started, and, having questioned her closely +concerning her antecedents, asked her if she remembered the fire, and +the two gentlemen who rescued herself and her sister; and, although she +had altogether forgotten his appearance, she remembered the circumstance +perfectly. They walked together for a little while, and then he asked +her permission to visit her at her address, and was astonished to +find that she objected, for some strange reason, to do so. At length, +bursting into tears, she confided to him her whole history, informing +him that she had been seduced and betrayed, and was at that moment +_enceinte_. This disclosure, as may well be supposed, staggered D'Alton +not a little, but at the same time he became more and more interested in +the girl, and offered, if she would promise to give up her corrupt +mode of life that he would do his best to see her through her present +difficulty. Calling on me, he consulted with me as to what was best +to be done under the circumstances, explaining that, although he +was willing to do all in his power for the girl for the sake of old +associations, yet that he did not wish to peril his own reputation. +I promised to do what I could for the girl, and calling on her was +informed that her paramour was an officer in the Rifle Brigade, who +had returned to England, leaving her to bear the burden of their crime. +Having procured suitable lodgings, I saw the girl comfortably housed, +and in due time she gave birth to a fine little boy, which, as usual +in these cases, was sent to the nunnery to be taken care of by the good +Sisters of Charity. + +Mr. D'Alton did not come to visit Miss Wilson during her convalescence +but, after she was completely recovered he called frequently, taking her +to theatres and concerts, and sometimes in the winter to sleigh-rides. +What his intentions at first may have been I do not know; I certainly +think that but for his friends he would openly have married her; be +that as it may, in a short time it became apparent that they had both +overstepped the bounds of ordinary friendly intercourse, and that Mrs. +Rushton (as she now called herself) would soon require my services a +second time. This time she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and, before +many years were past, there followed another girl and boy. These +children were not, as in the former case, sent to the nunnery, but +were retained and brought up by their mother, she being smart enough to +perceive that by doing so she would maintain a hold on their father, +and secure for herself, if not a respectable, at least a comfortable +position, Mr. D'Alton having been successful in business, and being at +that time one of the leading brokers in Montreal. + +For a time things went on this way, D'Alton visiting his mistress +frequently, and becoming passionately fond of the children, whom Mrs. +Rushton artfully used to influence him on all occasions. To do her +justice, it must be said that she never, either in thought or action, +was untrue to D'Alton, and that, whatever her past career might have +been, she lived at this time a quiet life, indeed, caring only for her +husband (as she called him) and her children. By the time the little +boy was two years old, both mother and children had so ingratiated +themselves in Mr. D'Alton's affections, that he determined, come what +might, to marry his mistress, and so make their future offspring at +least legitimate. + +He was weary of his irregular mode of life, and, being comparatively +wealthy, longed for some place which he could call his home. His wife +could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an _entre_ to that +realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better than +that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom +he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, +exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his +cellar maintained its reputation. Accordingly, he one day astonished and +delighted Mrs. Rushton with the proposal that he should marry her; and +that they should live together openly. As may be supposed, the lady +unhesitatingly accepted the proposal, and accordingly they were married, +formally and legally in St. George's Church, which, at that time was +situated in St. Joseph street, on the site now occupied by Messrs. +Ligget & Hamilton's large dry goods store. Mr. D'Alton took a house in +a new portion of the city, and as they lived very quietly, receiving no +calls, except from business friends of Mr. D'Alton, the neighbors did +not trouble themselves much about them, or inquire concerning their +antecedents. + +Although her husband did not trouble himself whether his wife was or +was not received into society, Mrs. D'Alton felt it very keenly. She had +not, like him, drank the cup of life's pleasures till it tasted insipid +or even nauseous; on the contrary, she looked on the pomps and vanities +of society as only a woman can look on them, and now that she was +legally respectable, and rich enough to keep pace with even the most +fashionable of her neighbors, it made her very heart ache to think +that these scenes of brightness were closed to her as much as ever. She +thought of what she might have been had she not in her ambitious haste +gone off the right track; and, pained with bitter reflections, and with +no one to speak to or converse with (for her husband spent most of his +time at the club) she solaced herself, as others in her predicament have +done, with the cup of forgetfulness, sinking deeper and deeper at every +step, till the habit became confirmed. + +Although Mrs. D'Alton had taken her husband into her confidence, and +told him truthfully her history, she had not sufficient strength of mind +to tell him how ignorant she really was, and that she could not even +read and write with accuracy. Her letters to her husband had been +written by her nursery-governess, engaged ostensibly to instruct the +children; but in reality to act as amanuensis for the lady of the house. +The young lady thus engaged was at first rather averse to signing her +mistress' name to her letters without adding her own initials, but the +present of a handsome broach and earrings soon quieted her sensitive +conscience and she soon fell into the plan, not being unwilling to make +use of such a powerful lever for obtaining largesses from Mrs. D'Alton. +In time this young lady became so overbearing that her mistress fully +made up her mind to discharge her, but a summer trip to Portland being +then on the tapis, she allowed her to have her own way, as Mr. D'Alton +remained in Montreal, and would naturally expect letters from his wife +during her absence. She would have dismissed the governess and engaged +another, trusting to her own pleadings and the powerful appeals of her +purse to win her over, but the handwriting would not be the same, and +she would not for worlds have allowed her husband to think she had +deceived him. + +The day came for their departure for Orchard Beach, where Mr. D'Alton +had taken a cottage for their use. The children were in great glee as +they anticipated surf bathing and digging in the sand, but Mrs. D'Alton +was moody and down-hearted, the exhilarating effects of a large potion +of brandy having worn off and a reaction set in; her husband, however, +attributed it to sorrow at her separation from him, and was rather +gratified to think she was so deeply affected. + +They arrived at her destination in due course, and were comfortably +ensconced in the cosy little cottage. Miss Watson, the governess, +dressed herself up, and with the children departed for the promenade, +and Mrs. D'Alton was left to her own reflections. The thought of her +past career, of the opportunities gone for ever, and lastly of the +predicament she was now in, shunned by all respectable people, and +despised by her own paid servant, who felt her power, and was disposed +to wield it unmercifully. The brandy-bottle, her never-failing +companion, was by her side, and as she mused mopingly over her sins, +she took from time to time copious draughts of the potent spirits, +regardless of its power to do otherwise than to rob her of these racking +memories of the past. In about two hours the promenaders returned and +found her lying back speechless in her chair, the bottle and glass by +her side; her eyes rolled wildly as she gazed vacantly on her children, +but she was unable to utter a word. + +Miss Watson became alarmed and summoned a doctor immediately, who, on +entering the room, perceived at once the cause of Mrs. D'Alton's malady, +and ordered her to be conveyed to bed. In the morning she was a little +better, being able to speak; but she was still very much shaken, +and raved incoherently. Mr. D'Alton was telegraphed for, and came +immediately; but, being merely informed that his wife had had a fit, he +imagined her to be afflicted with hysteria; indeed, although he knew she +was fond of a glass of wine, and often joined him in partaking of brandy +and water, he had no idea that she imbibed to such an extent. + +In a few days Mrs. D'Alton was able to go out again, and, as during her +husband's stay at Orchard Beach she was particularly abstemious, she +was able to associate with the ladies in the hotel, and made several +acquaintances, who, seeing that she had the dress and manners of a lady, +interchanged calls with her and invited her to visit them in Montreal. +On her return to her home, however, these ladies received her but +coldly, and when she gave a large party, inviting all those whom she had +met at the seaside, "they all, with one accord, began to make excuse," +and at entertainment there was present, besides herself and the family, +only a sister of the governess, and one or two bachelor friends of Mr. +D'Alton. Dancing was of course out of the question, so they organized +two whist parties, and, with a little music, managed to drag along till +supper, which was served in Joyce's best style, and looked unnecessarily +elaborate for the small number who were to partake of it. + +Mrs. D'Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she +met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not +have taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did +not calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not +be tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander +had been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really +was, so that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with +her, _dared_ not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold +on the ladder of social position. In moody silence she presided +throughout the entire evening; she was enraged at herself and at the +poor enslaved creatures who, though anxious to go and enjoy themselves +yet dared not infringe the rules laid down by society; and, as she drank +glass after glass of her husband's famous Moselle, she became more and +more despondent. + +About midnight Amy Watson, the sister of the nursery-governess, took +her departure, and Mr. D'Alton with his friends, went up to the billiard +room to enjoy themselves at their favorite game. It was near daylight +ere they grew tired of pocketing the ivory spheres, and left their host +to close the doors, and retire to his room. When he did so what a sight +met his gaze! There lay his wife in all the finery she had arrayed +herself to dazzle her fashionable acquaintances, _a speechless corpse_! +a brandy-bottle, nearly emptied, lay at her side, telling too plainly +what had been the cause of her untimely death. Her husband's first +impulse was to ring the bell and send for a doctor, but, knowing the +scandal that would surely ensue, he quietly let himself out, and went +for Dr. Hickson, being determined not to give up hope till he had done +all that could possibly be done. The doctor on examining the body shook +his head ominously, confirming Mr. D'Alton in the belief that his wife +was no more; he considerately agreed to remain in the house, and not +to inform the servants for some time of the occurrence. The doctor's +presence, of course, excited some alarm, and in a short time it was +known that Mrs. D'Alton was dangerously ill, the announcement of her +death being reserved for a time till all the traces of the recent +festivities were removed, and the house had resumed its normal +condition. + +When the children heard of their mother's death they rent the air +with their cries of anguish; even Miss Watson shed real tears, her +occupation, like that of Othello, being gone. Poor Mr. D'Alton was +almost beside himself. He had never loved another woman; and, though he +was not blind to his wife's failings and shortcomings, he nevertheless +lamented the loss of one, who, whatever her faults, was true to him and +a good mother to his children. + +In the meantime what had become of Cissie Wilson, Mrs. D'Alton's elder +sister? She had endeavored to persuade Mrs. D'Alton to engage her as +governess to her children, but the latter, once married, refused to +hold any communication with her whatever. Miss Wilson then despairing +of finding a road to reform in Montreal, took her departure for Toronto, +taking a position as governess in one of the leading families there. On +hearing of her sister's death she wrote to Mr. D'Alton, offering to take +charge of the children till he had time to make permanent arrangements +for their education. To this letter she received no reply, which nettled +her so much that she determined on a plot for wounding the pride of her +haughty brother-in-law. "Who is he," she would exclaim, "that he should +dare to snub me?" "If I _have_ sinned, was _she_ not equally bad, and +is he not guilty _himself_?" "Never mind, Mr. D'Alton, I will have +my revenge some day." She racked her brain to think of some means of +repaying him for his severity to her, but could think of nothing at the +time, and so resolved to wait and watch her opportunity. + +It was some years before Miss Wilson had that opportunity for which her +heart so yearned, but come it did, surely enough, and she dealt to Mr. +D'Alton a blow so bitter that he never got over its effects. + +Lillian, Mr. D'Alton's eldest daughter had, after her mother's death, +been sent to a fashionable school in Mansfield street, presided over by +the wife of one of our leading brokers. Here she made many friends, and +being known only as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a rich +widower doing business in Montreal, and well known on the Exchange, she +was in time introduced into society, and became at one bound the belle +of the season. + +At that time several British regiments occupied the Quebec Gate +barracks, and the officers were eagerly sought after by the party-giving +community, no ball being complete without at least two or three officers +in _full uniform_. Among the latter was a certain Captain Trevelyan, the +heir-apparent of an English nobleman, who was, of course _the_ eligible +young gentleman of the season. Most of the ladies openly courted Captain +Trevelyan and, figuratively speaking, laid themselves at his feet; +but Lillian D'Alton was too little versed in such matters to know the +triumph she had achieved in being sought after as a partner by the +much-admired Captain, and, when he asked her to dance although she +complied readily with his request, yet she carried herself with an air +so natural, and altogether so different from the time-worn belles he was +so accustomed to meet, that he engaged her for dance after dance, then +for supper, and, before the ball was concluded, he was deeply in love +with her, none the less because she was the only young lady in the room +who did not covet that distinction. + +Although Lillian was but eighteen years of age, she could not but +perceive the marked attention paid to her by Captain Trevelyan, nor +was she blind to the glances of envious hatred darted at her from all +quarters. Her heart responded to the unspoken avowal of her partner, and +ere they parted that night they were one in heart and in thought, each +living only for and in the presence of the other. + +Youthful love makes rapid progress. Ere many months had passed Lillian +D'Alton was the affianced bride of Captain Trevelyan, and their +approaching wedding was the one theme of conversation at balls, routes +or parties. + +Here then was the opportunity longed for by Miss Wilson. She would +inform Captain Trevelyan and his friends concerning the D'Alton family, +and warn him to break off his engagement. With a refinement of cruelty +peculiar to women blinded with rage, she allowed the wedding day to be +fixed before she communicated with the bridegroom, and then sent him a +complete history of the family he was about to enter, informing him +that the lady he was about to marry was the illegitimate child of Mr. +D'Alton, and that in marrying her he would not only injure his own +prospects, but alienate himself completely from his family, bringing on +them both shame and discredit. + +Captain Trevelyan read the letter with astonishment, but did not +believe one word it contained. His Lillian a bastard! why the thing was +preposterous. Her father was as well known on 'Change as Rothschild +was in London. Her mother's funeral had been attended by the wealth +and fashion of Montreal, and since that time Lillian had been the +acknowledged belle of the set commonly known as "the upper ten." The +letter being written in rather extravagant terms, he imagined it to +contain the incoherent ravings of a maniac, and his first impulse was to +toss it aside. On the arrival of the English mail, however, he received +letters from his friends, couched in terms of the deepest anxiety, +urging him to sever all connection with the D'Alton family if he did +not wish to alienate himself completely from all his family and +friends. These letters led him to think more seriously concerning the +communication from Toronto, and being determined, come what might, +to know the worst at once, he started immediately for Mr. D'Alton's +residence, only to find that the gentleman in question had just that +moment departed for his office. + +Lillian was at home, however, and she rushed downstairs impetuously to +meet her affianced husband. He received her as usual, but there was +a cloud on his brow as he followed her into her boudoir, where they +frequently spent hours together. He questioned her concerning her aunt +and her relations generally, but Lillian knew little more than that +her aunt resided in Toronto, and was generally considered to be what is +called "flighty." + +This somewhat reassured Trevelyan, and he dismissed the subject for a +time from his mind. He determined, however, to clear the matter up, and +so in the evening he called to see Mr. D'Alton, requesting a few words +with him in private. The two men entered the study, and Trevelyan led +off by saying:--"I have received a strange communication from your +sister-in-law, Miss Wilson; from what Lillian has told me, I am aware +that she is a person of weak intellect, and her stories are not worthy +of credence, but I thought it due to you, nevertheless, to bring the +matter to your notice." + +At the mention of Miss Wilson's name D'Alton turned deadly pale. He was +a bold man, and capable of carrying out a deep scheme, had he felt +so disposed; but this intimacy of Trevelyan with his daughter was the +result of no scheme, and he had for some years lived, with the rest of +his family, a blameless life, rejoicing in the fact that his neighbors +either did not know, or had forgotten, or overlooked his past career, +and were prepared to receive his children with open arms into society. +With bated breath he ran his eyes hastily over the letter held out to +him by Trevelyan, and in an instant he saw the whole situation. If he +could only have had time to consider the matter, he would probably have +taken the right course, come what might; but he had little time for +decision, as Trevelyan stood before him, eagerly expecting a reply. Mr. +D'Alton pictured to himself the state of affairs did he acknowledge the +truth of the accusation, and though loath to deceive the young man (whom +he already loved almost as dearly as his own son), he dared not ruin his +daughter's prospects by an avowal. Pretending to read the letter once +more he gained a little time, and then, with consummate diplomacy, +endeavored to find out what Trevelyan thought. Looking up coolly, he +said-- + +"And do you believe all this, Trevelyan?" + +Of course, Trevelyan _did not_ believe it, and was profuse in his +apologies, for having permitted himself to doubt for a moment that the +writer was bereft of reason. This confirmed Mr. D'Alton in his course +and he at once denounced his sister-in-law in no measured terms, vowing +to punish her for her irresponsible utterances. The news that Miss +Wilson had written to Captain Trevelyan's friends in England made +D'Alton furious, and he swore a fearful oath that he would place her +where her ravings would harm no one but herself. All night long he +thought over schemes for getting rid of her, and at length he concocted +a plan which he speedily put into execution. + +As was said before, Mrs. D'Alton and her sister were orphans and they +both left their adopted parents early in life, having lived under +assumed names for years, and severed all connection with their former +associates. During Mrs. D'Alton's lifetime her sister was forbidden to +approach the house, and on the death of the former Miss Wilson was not +recognized by her brother-in-law. The children had never seen or known +their aunt, and the people with whom she had last resided in Montreal +(in the capacity of nursery-governess) had known her as Miss Rogers, and +had lately lost all trace of her whereabouts. + +Taking the early train for Toronto, Mr. D'Alton took counsel of an +astute lawyer, and learned that, as events had been shapen, Miss Wilson +would have now great difficulty in proving her connection with the +D'Alton family, did he choose to deny it, and that the fact of her +having written such letters as those received by Trevelyan and his +family would be fair presumptive evidence that the woman was insane. + +Carefully considering his position, D'Alton determined on his course of +proceeding. He was averse to a public prosecution, as many things, now +unknown or forgotten, might be brought to light, and yet he felt that +the woman must be effectually silenced by some means or other. Going to +her residence he boldly demanded an interview with her, and, producing +the letter to Trevelyan, asked if she had written it. Miss +Wilson laughed as she saw the effect of her shot, and exultantly +exclaimed:--"Of course I wrote it; who else _could_ have done it?" + +"And are you aware that you are liable to be prosecuted for libel?" +pursued D'Alton. + +"It is no libel," retorted she, fiercely; "you know it is true, or you +would not be here now." + +"Indeed! _can you prove it, then_?" + +"I have no need to prove it to you. Your very facial expression +acknowledges it to be true." + +"Will that satisfy the jury?" + +"What jury?" + +"The jury who are to try you for a malicious libel!" + +At this Cissie started, but recovering herself exclaimed: "_You_ dare +not sue me for libel. Your history would not stand repetition in court." + +"Who knows my history?" + +"I do!" + +"Indeed! WHO ARE YOU?" + +The fierceness with which he said this made his sister-in-law quail. She +perceived that he was terribly in earnest as he repeated his question in +a tone very unusual with him, and she meekly replied: + +"You know well enough who I am, your late wife's sister." + +"My wife _had no sister_!" + +The look he gave as he said this fairly frightened her. She had seen +a good deal of life, and had in her time met with all kinds of men and +women, but never till now did she fear either. She began to see that she +had roused a desperate man, and that, legally, she had no hold on him, +neither status in society; moreover that she had got entangled in the +meshes of her own net, and that only the dread of exposure would prevent +D'Alton from prosecuting her for libel. Not knowing what to do, she +remained mute, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. At length Mr. +D'Alton broke the silence: "You have evidently had an object," he said, +"in circulating these reports. If your object be to extort money out of +me, you will find it more to your interest to remain silent." With these +words he drew from his pocket a roll of bank bills, and laid them on the +table near his companion; but she, growing livid with rage, refused to +touch them, promising to expose him and his family before all the world. + +D'Alton had not calculated on this, and was for a time taken a little +aback. His last card, however, was not yet played; and, summoning all +his energies together, he braced himself for the enactment of that, +which under other circumstances, he would have suffered much rather than +become in any sense a party thereto. Addressing the lady once more he +said:--"What, then, was your object in writing these letters?" + +"My object was _to disclose the truth_," she cried, vehemently, "to +denounce you as a blackhearted villain, and to save an unsuspecting +youth from becoming the victim of your deep-laid schemes." + +D'Alton bit his lip with passion, but restrained himself. "And you do +all this solely from conscientious motives," he said with a sneer. + +"My conscience, like your own, Mr. D'Alton, is pretty well hardened. No; +I have no conscientious motives to impel me to show your true character +to the world; but revenge is sweet, and I have not forgotten the scorn +and contempt with which both you and your fashionable wife treated me +while I was in Montreal. _I_ was not good enough to touch the hem of +your garments, but _she_ was dressed up and paraded in the drawing-rooms +of those who did not know better than to admit her, and now her b---- +daughter is to wed a scion of a noble house, while _I_ am not even +recognized. No, Robert D'Alton, you will not become respectable and +leave _me_ out in the cold, insulting and spurning me at every turn with +your petty offers of money. I have sworn to have my revenge, and by ---- +now that the opportunity offers, I _will have it_, too!" + +She had worked herself up to state of uncontrollable fury. Her eyes +rolled wildly, and she looked like one demented. This gave the devil +his opportunity, for D'Alton, who had been halting between two opinions, +came to a hasty conclusion, and bringing the interview to a close, +hurriedly left the house, his teeth firmly set, and a horrid glare in +his eyes. He walked rapidly down Yonge street and along the east end +of King street, then, hailing a cab, he directed the driver to travel +towards the west end, coming to a halt opposite the Lunatic Asylum. +Entering he enquired for Dr. Tuffnell, and was informed that he would +likely find that gentleman at his residence on Jarvis street. On +repairing thither he found the doctor at home, and, requesting a few +minutes' private conversation, was soon closeted in the consultation +room. "I have long intended to see you," Mr. D'Alton began, "about a +young lady who lived in our family some years ago in the capacity of +nursery-governess. She was always of a somewhat flighty disposition, +which we used to humour as best we could, and when she left us (at my +wife's death) for Toronto, we fancied she had quite recovered, but it +seems she has been gradually growing worse, and she now continually +torments our friends and us with letters full of ridiculous flights of +fancy, which, though meaningless to those who understand how she has +been afflicted, might possibly cause serious trouble." + +"Has the young lady, then, no friends or relatives?" + +"None, whatever. She was taken out of an orphan asylum by an aged +clergyman, now deceased, who adopted her, and since his death she has +supported herself by teaching. We consulted our physician about her +some time ago, when she imagined herself to be my wife, and ordered her +mistress down to the kitchen. He thought it would be advisable for her +to take another situation away from us till her health improved, as she +was continually fancying herself trampled upon by some member of the +family; we accordingly procured for her a situation in a friend's house +in Montreal, but they in turn became frightened of her, and dismissed +her, which dismissal, strange to say, she attributed _to me_. She now +imagines herself to be my wife's sister, and demands an entrance into my +house, denouncing me in the vilest terms, and writing scandalous letters +to all my acquaintances." + +"Are you sure she is insane?" + +"Well, I have long tried to persuade myself that she is not, but +latterly she has grown so violent that I am afraid that what I said +years ago to my late wife in fun about her being demented was only +painfully true. If you would kindly visit her and give me your opinion +concerning her case, you would oblige me very much." + +"What does her present mistress say about her?" + +"Oh she has only been there a short time and has not yet given an +exhibition of her oratorical powers. Still the lady who is a clergyman's +widow, told me that she walks about her room in the middle of the night, +talking wildly to herself." + +Dr. Tuffnell had not time to visit Miss Wilson that morning, but he made +an appointment with Mr. D'Alton for the following day, and together they +went to the unfortunate girl's residence. Arrived at the house they rang +the bell, and inquired for Mrs. Brookes, the mistress. + +Mrs. Brookes was a middle-aged lady of a retiring disposition. Her +husband had died at an early age, leaving her to take care of three +young children. Her temporal wants however, were provided for, her +husband having been possessed of a handsome income independently of +his small salary. Dr. Tuffnell made inquiries concerning Miss Wilson's +habits, and was informed that her actions were at times very peculiar, +that she had not gone to bed all the past night, but had stamped up and +down her room, talking as if to a second party. Mrs. Brookes was shocked +to hear that she had unwittingly engaged a mad woman to take charge of +her children, and suddenly recollected several extraordinary episodes +which, until that time, had never struck her forcibly. + +It was arranged that the Doctor should see Miss Wilson and satisfy +himself concerning her affliction before any further steps were taken. +Accordingly Mrs. Brookes rang the bell and told the servant to summon +the governess. + +Miss Wilson had not slept all night, and her eyes had a wild expression, +which heightened when she beheld Mr. D'Alton. The doctor, having +previously taken all that was told him for granted, made up his mind +at once that she was insane, and never reflected for a moment on the +possibility of some scheme being on foot to injure her. On entering the +room she laughed wildly and said--"So you have come back with your bag +of gold. I tell you it's _trash_, sordid trash, not half so sweet as +REVENGE!" + +Now as the doctor had heard nothing from either D'Alton or Mrs. Brookes +which he could in any way connect with this wild utterance; moreover, +as the young lady looked like a tigress, and walked fiercely up and down +the room, he became more than ever convinced that he had got a bad case +in hand and acted accordingly. Looking at D'Alton he shook his head, +which Mrs. Brookes perceiving, she shook her head in turn, and, taking +out her handkerchief, wept copiously. Dr. Tuffnell tried to soothe the +patient with gentle words, but she (mistaking him for a pettifogging +lawyer, whom D'Alton had engaged to bind her over to keep the peace) +cried out: + +"Ah, yes! you want to quiet me, but _you can't_ quiet me. I am like the +surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with +more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft +and gilded promises. No, Robert D'Alton, you have started the mighty +avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress." + +The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to +quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all +persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies +altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and +oaths and furious gesticulations. At length the doctor suggested, in a +whisper, the propriety of their departure, when they might consider what +was best to be done, but, on Mrs. Brookes protesting that she was afraid +to stay alone in the house with the maniac, Dr. Tuffnell dispatched +a note to the asylum, and in a short time two keepers arrived, and +proceeded to take Miss Wilson into their care till she should become +possessed of a sound mind. + +There is no time at which a sane person looks so much like a maniac +as when trying to convince people of his sanity. The real lunatic will +cunningly hide his affliction from the most watchful, and is frequently +able to deceive those unaccustomed to deal with persons of unsound mind, +but the victim of persecution becomes wild with honest indignation, +and generally manages to convince even those who might be inclined to +believe him to be sane. + +When the truth of her position began to dawn on Miss Wilson, she became +more frantic than ever. She raved at D'Alton and the doctor, tore with +her hands at the keepers, and abused Mrs. Brookes for standing tamely by +to see one of her own sex so ill-used. She roared so that two policemen +came rushing up to the steps to inquire what was the matter, but, seeing +Dr. Tuffnell, with whom they were well acquainted, they saluted him +respectfully and withdrew. + +Miss Wilson was accordingly driven to the asylum and incarcerated till +she should come to her senses, and Mr. D'Alton, having made arrangements +for her safe-keeping returned to Montreal. + +Shortly after her father's return Lillian D'Alton was married to Captain +Trevelyan in Christ Church Cathedral. The wealth, beauty and fashion of +Montreal attended the wedding, and the costliest presents were displayed +on her father's sideboard. The young couple departed for England +immediately, Trevelyan's regiment having been ordered home, and the +bride was received into the first London circles. + +Mr. D'Alton remained in Montreal where he still lives and moves in the +best society. What his private feelings are I cannot tell, but outwardly +all is serene, the only one besides myself who knows his family history +having long since passed away in solitary confinement. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +A Tale of Two Cities + +Among the many friends we made during our stay in Montreal, none were so +thoroughly beloved by myself and family as the Sinclairs. Mr. Sinclair +was an English artist who had settled in Canada some time previous to +our arrival, and, being generally well informed, as well as a shining +light in his own profession, he was made much of by the English +residents here, and had as pupils many of the wives and daughters of the +officers of the garrison, besides some of the more cultivated Canadians. +Mrs. Sinclair was a refined English lady of good family, and had several +children, mostly girls, who were greatly admired not only for their +beauty, but also for their many and various accomplishments. The +Sinclair girls were frequently at our house, being, in fact, looked upon +as members of our family, and no social gathering of ours was considered +complete without them. + +In time Mr. Sinclair became tired of Montreal. Many of his patrons +left with their regiments for England, and he became weary of the +dull routine and scanty income which he saw was all he could ever look +forward to in Canada, so, breaking up his household, he departed for the +United States, and, having lived for a time in various cities, finally +settled in Boston, where he became quite successful, and soon obtained +an enviable reputation as a portrait painter. + +Lulu Sinclair, the eldest of the girls, was a sprightly blonde of about +sixteen when her father left Montreal, and the family had not been +long in Boston before she became engaged as a teacher at one of the +conservatories, and a mutual attachment sprang up between the pair. +Miss Sinclair had already made her _dbut_ in Boston Music Hall as a +vocalist, and the pair were frequently engaged at the same concerts +and entertainments, so that the natural sequence was that they in time +became engaged, and afterwards--_married_! + +"Nothing very mysterious in that," I think I hear my fair reader say, a +little disappointed that I have not prepared a spicy bit of scandal for +her delectation; but as Balaam the Prophet could only speak as he +was impelled by the spirit, so likewise must I confine myself to +_the realities_ of the case, and I therefore make no apology for this +commonplace bit of history, but proceed with my story. + +One evening Lulu made her appearance at our house, in Montreal, +accompanied by Mr. Hill, her husband. It seems that they were on a +concert tour, and were to give two concerts in Saint Patrick's Hall, +which at that time stood on the corner of Craig street and Victoria +square, and, as we had often invited them to do so, they promised +to avail themselves of our hospitality during their stay, as their +engagement terminated with these concerts and they were anxious to take +a little rest before returning to Boston. + +The children were delighted to have Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the house +with them; they had never met a _real live prima donna_ in private +life before, and they flaunted "Professor Hill" and "Mademoiselle Lulu +Sinclair" in the faces of their juvenile acquaintances, as if they +had been entertaining the Emperor of all the Russias and Her Imperial +Majesty the Empress. + +Since the Sinclairs had left Montreal, the principal playmates of our +children had been the Bennetts, who lived in the adjoining street. Mr. +Bennett was a French-Canadian, with (as usual) a large family, and was +in comfortable circumstances, having a large retail grocery on Notre +Dame street. One evening, shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hill and +his wife, the former drew me aside and asked me if I knew a family in +Montreal named Bennett. I told him that I knew them intimately, that +they lived close at hand, and taking him to the window (it was late in +the spring) I showed him the children walking opposite hand in hand with +our own. He then intimated that he had something to tell me, and, taking +me aside into the adjoining room, he told me something which astonished +me as much as it will doubtless astonish the reader of these pages. + +It seems that Mr. Bennett's father was an American, who, in early life, +being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named +Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first +two of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third +did not in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a +liberal-minded man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could +not be forced, like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that +every one should be free to hold what convictions his reason dictated, +untrammelled by conventionality or creed of any kind. Miss Beauchamp +professed to be of a like mind, and agreed to allow him to educate the +boys (if any), while she would look after the female issue of their +marriage. With this ridiculous understanding they got married, and for +a time things went pleasantly along, Mrs. Bennett attending L'Eglise +St. Jacques regularly, not only without opposition from her husband but +sometimes even accompanied by him. He did not believe in the efficacy of +the service to save his soul, but he had sufficient common sense to know +that it could not harm him, or turn him one whit aside from what his +reason dictated; and neither did it, for at the end of two years he was +as greatly opposed to what he considered the errors of the Church of +Rome as ever he was, and though he attended L'Eglise St. Jacques almost +as regularly as St. George's Church, of which he was a member, he went +there simply because he liked the society of his wife, and she believed +it to be necessary for her salvation. + +In the course of time Mrs. Bennett gave birth to a boy, then two +girls, and afterwards another boy, all of whom, as children will, made +enquiries concerning whence they were and whither they were going, etc. +Mr. Bennett now began to see the folly he had been guilty of in making +the agreement mentioned above. If the Catholic religion were the true +and only faith, all his sons were on the high road to perdition; if, as +he was inclined to think, the Protestant religion were nearer the mark, +then what was to become of the girls? What a pleasant prospect was +there before him! His family torn and divided by the most bitter of all +dissentions, religious disputes (or rather _irreligious_ disputes about +matters of doctrine), and his life and those of all his family rendered +miserable. This was certainly bad enough in its way, but something more +annoying was in store for him. He one day discovered that not only were +the girls baptized in the Romish faith, but that the _boys also_ were +surreptitiously baptized by the parish priest, so that he alone of all +the family remained a Protestant, and a poor one at that. Every day +things got more and more complicated, and his wife at last openly avowed +that _all_ the children were to be Roman Catholics, and advised him also +to flee from the wrath to come and take refuge in the arms of the true +church. + +Bennett was not exactly a bigot, but, if not a Protestant, he was +certainly not going to become a Roman Catholic. Cursing himself bitterly +for his folly, he sought to make matters better; but that, so far as +changing the religion or creed of his family went, was altogether beyond +his power. He had his choice between living an alien and a heretic, +despised by his own family; and joining a church whose teachings he +considered puerile and inefficacious, and the atmosphere of which was +now exceedingly disagreeable to him. His wife showed herself so much +more devoted to the church than to her husband, that his love for her +soon faded away, and he made a fearful resolve to leave Montreal, and +never see his wife or children more. Accordingly one evening, instead +of returning as usual from his store, he left for parts unknown, leaving +his wife and children almost penniless behind. + +Mrs. Bennett, though acting as she did, loved her husband dearly. It was +this very love for him which made her so anxious for him to leave what +she considered the false religion of the Church of England for the pure +and unadulterated system of the Church of Rome. She cried after him as +if her heart would break, and sent after him in all directions. All her +efforts, however, were in vain, no trace of her husband being found. +The children were left at school till they were in time old enough to be +apprenticed to a trade or business, Mrs. Bennett struggling bravely, as +only a woman can do, to keep their heads above water. When William, the +eldest boy, was about fourteen, he was placed in the well-known house +of Messrs. Mockridge & Co., dry goods merchants, and in course of time +became thoroughly conversant with the business. He had not only +been able to help his mother to maintain the family, but had put by +sufficient to start a small business for himself. Before deciding on +the latter, however, he determined to visit Boston, to get a few ideas +connected with the business, and, while there, came across his father, +who had married again under the name of Hill, his wife being a young +American of good family, and the mother of the gentleman from whom I +learnt this story. + +William Bennett reproached his father with his misconduct, and insisted +on his leaving his American wife. Bennett the elder was very much averse +to doing so, but his son would leave him no alternative, threatening him +with exposure and criminal action should he decline. The old man tried +to temporize, and persuaded William to visit and dine with his family, +introducing him as a business friend from Montreal. + +Whatever Anti-Spiritualists may say to the contrary, there are +undoubtedly influences other than material which affect us at times, and +give us mysterious intimations of events happening or about to happen. +Both Mrs. Hill and her children had a presentiment of some impending +calamity, and, although they had not the faintest suspicion of the real +state of affairs, they did not look on William Bennett as they would +have done on any other person casually introduced into their household. +A damper seemed to have been placed on all their spirits, and the flow +of conversation was sluggish and dull. + +After dinner they endeavored to organize an impromptu card-party, but +that, also, was a failure; and, although, as a rule, they had a +little music after dinner, on this particular evening each one seemed +indisposed to break the monotony. + +About ten o'clock William left for his hotel, having first made an +appointment with his father for the following morning. When they +met William returned to the subject of their previous discourse, and +insisted on his father returning with him to Montreal. The old man vowed +that, come what might, he would never go back to his "priest-ridden +family" as he chose to designate his wife and children. The battle waxed +fast and furious, till at last William exclaimed with an oath: "By ---- +you shall leave your Yankee mistress, then; _she_ shall suffer what _my +mother_ suffered;" and with oaths and threatenings he hounded his father +out of Boston, determined that Mrs. Hill should not (innocent though she +was) enjoy the happy home which was denied to his mother. + +When Mrs. Hill learned the truth (which she did from a letter sent her +from Montreal) she nearly lost her reason. Her case was even worse than +that of Bennett's first wife; because, whereas the latter could at least +seek her husband, and live in the hope of one day finding him again, the +former could not, even did she discover him, claim him as her own. + +Mr. Hill's visit to Montreal, then, though ostensibly made for +professional pursuits was, in reality to find out something concerning +his father's whereabouts, and other matters connected with his +quasi-relations. It was strange that he should have come to me for +information without being at all aware of our intimacy with the Bennett +family, indeed, while he was relating his story Amelia Bennett, his +brother's eldest child, came running in for something or another, and +I at once saw a resemblance between the two, not only in personal +appearance, but also in manners and actions. + +The next day Mr. Hill, leaving his wife to the care of our family (who +had undertaken to show her "the lions") went forth on his expedition +in search of his father. He had obtained from me his brother's business +address, and going to the office unannounced was immediately recognized +by him, although they had only met once before, and that a considerable +time previously. On explaining the object of his visit, Hall was very +coldly received and informed that Bennett the elder had left Montreal +for New York some years previously and had not since been heard of. Mr. +Hill pretended to believe the story, but secretly determined to keep a +watch on his half-brother as he felt certain that the latter was still +in communication with his father. He accordingly made arrangements to +stay at my house, and as the Bennetts were constantly coming and going +he was sure that in a short time he would learn more concerning him of +whom he was in search. + +One afternoon we were seated round the parlor fire, discussing the usual +after-dinner topics, when Mrs. William Bennett dropped in to have a +friendly chat. She disclosed the fact that her husband was going to +visit a superannuated employee in the nunnery, which he usually did +on the first of each month, and that she did not see what reason her +husband had to support forever all his broken-down employees. At the +first word, Hill listened breathlessly, and when Mrs. Bennett said that +she had just left her husband dressing, he quickly, but quietly, left +the room. In an instant he was opposite Bennett's house, and as soon as +he noticed the bedroom light extinguished (for it was already dark), +he drew back into a shadowed corner till he saw Bennett emerge from +the doorway and walk rapidly down the street. Hill followed at a safe +distance, but soon he saw his brother hail a passing sleigh, and, +entering it, order the driver to take him somewhere; the name of the +street, however, he failed to hear, and he felt chagrined to see the +neighboring cab-stand completely deserted. "Now or never," he thought, +"am I to attain the object of my visit," and he dashed madly along the +street after the vehicle which was travelling at the rate of ten miles +an hour; several times he passed a cab-stand and would fain have taken +a fresh horse in pursuit, but he was afraid that while doing so he might +lose sight of the sleigh he had followed so far; or confound it with +another vehicle, for they were now passing through the centre of the +city towards the west end of St. Antoine street. + +Past terrace after terrace they flew, till Mr. Hill was nearly faint and +breathless, when a sudden turn to the right brought them to the foot of +a hill, now Guy street, up which the carter walked his horse, and gave +the half dead pedestrian time to recover his breath. When they had +proceeded about a quarter of a mile up the hill, the carter drew up at +the Nunnery on the left side of the road, and Mr. Bennett, alighting, +rang the bell. A sliding panel was immediately pushed aside, and a +hooded sister held a few moments conversation with the visitor, on which +the door was opened, and he was admitted. Hill, who had been standing in +the shadow of the porch, entered unnoticed at his brother's heels, the +janitor being under the impression that they had come in the sleigh +together. Walking along a dark corridor they came to a stairway, down +which their guide preceded them into the basement; here Hill took a +favorable opportunity to turn aside, still keeping his eye on the others +till they arrived at the end of the passage and entered a large room +where several old men were congregated, some chatting in groups, others +smoking or reading lazily. In one of these, with emotions which cannot +be described, Hill recognized his father from whom he had so long been +separated. His first impulse was to rush boldly in and make himself +known, but, the first transport over, his American caution prevailed, +and he slipped down another passage which commanded a view of the +staircase, and watched from his point of vantage the many persons +returning from visiting their friends. He felt relieved when he saw +Bennett take his departure, and with one bound he rushed into the middle +of the room where the old man was, and, throwing himself round his +father's neck, wept like a child. The old man did not recognize him at +first, but when he did he went into hysterics, so great was the shock +to his nervous system. Never was there such a commotion in the quiet +Nunnery, and the inmates gathered round in excited groups to listen to +Hill's story. He told them that his father had left Boston some years +before, and, becoming unable to support himself, had been placed by a +heartless elder brother in the cold confines of the Nunnery, although +the younger members of the family were both willing and anxious to +support their aged parent. There being no reason why the old man should +not leave the institution if so inclined, the Superior allowed him, +after some hesitation, to take his departure, first receiving the +grateful thanks both of himself and of his son for her kind and +fostering care. Hill left a letter for his brother, informing him that, +his father being willing, he had taken him away from the Nunnery, and +that as they evidently did not want to keep him with their families, he +was about to take him to live with _his_. + +Bennett was furious when he received the letter, but, as Mrs. Hill was +now no more, and no threats or exposures of any kind could induce young +Hill and his father to separate, he allowed them to go their way in +peace. + +A few years after these occurrences Mr. Hill received an appointment in +Montreal. + +Bennett and he sometimes meet in the street, but give no signs of +recognition. The old man is still living, seldom going beyond the +portals of his son's house and passing most of his time in moody +meditation on the past. Let us hope that a heartfelt repentance may in +some measure atone for his past weaknesses. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A Blighted Life. + +Amongst the many orthodox business men of Montreal, none were more +highly esteemed than Mr. Rogers, Manager of the ---- Bank. He was what +is generally considered a shrewd business man, methodical and precise in +all his relations, whether commercial, domestic or ecclesiastical. I say +ecclesiastical, because the worthy gentleman was one of the pillars +of the church, having held the office of Elder for several years. Mr. +Rogers had several children, most of whom he trained in the way in which +they should go, but Jack, his eldest son, was incorrigible, and resisted +all attempts to keep him under control. On Sunday mornings the family +were usually marshalled in the dining-room, and marched off to church, +but Master Jack frequently put in an excuse,--he had a bad cold, or a +sprained ankle, or some other ailment which precluded the possibility +of his attending. No sooner were the family outside the garden gate, +however, than the poor boy with the sprained ankle would perform a _pas +seul_ on the hearthrug, or, in spite of a cold which prevented his going +out of doors, would shout "The old log cabin" with an excellent tone and +remarkable vigor of lung; then, returning to his room, he would take +a French novel from its hiding place under his pillow, and, lighting +a fragrant Havana, would devote the morning to "the improvement of his +mind," as he called it. + +Mrs. Rogers employed three servants besides a coachman: a cook, +a housemaid, and a tablemaid. The latter was a young and +attractive-looking girl from Glengarry, Ontario, named Ellen MacNee, who +was about seventeen years old, and had never before been in service. For +this damsel Jack Rogers conceived an attachment, and although at +first the girl withstood his attentions, ere long she gave way to +his importunities, and for months they lived on terms of the closest +intimacy. Jack of course promised (as all men do) to marry her, and +to do him justice I must say that he fully intended to do so, but his +income as a bank clerk was only twenty dollars a month, and he knew he +had no hope of receiving any assistance from his father. So things went +on till Ellen felt she could keep her secret no longer from those around +her, and she told her mistress she was going home to visit a sick aunt, +and did not know whether she would return or not. Mrs. Rogers was very +sorry indeed to part with her (for she had ingratiated herself with all +the family, although not to the same extent), and told her if she would +undertake to return she would only fill her place temporarily with +another girl. With this understanding Ellen left her place and entered +the Female Home, where shortly afterwards her baby (a girl) was born; +she had the child baptized almost immediately, calling it Beatrice, +after her young mistress, to whom she had been much attached, although +it is doubtful if the young lady in question would, had she known it +have appreciated the honor conferred upon her. + +Ellen was scarcely recovered from her illness when her brother, a +country farmer, who had by some means got wind of the state of affairs, +came to Montreal, and had his misgivings confirmed. When he learnt +the truth he was furious, and would, he vowed, shoot both her and her +betrayer; but fraternal affection was so strong within him that he +gradually became more calm, and exerted himself to make the best he +could of a bad business. He requested me to take the child and place it +in a nunnery in spite of the earnest protestations of its mother, and +persuaded the latter to return to her home in Glengarry, promising to +hide her shame from her mother and friends if she would bid farewell +forever to the child and her betrayer. He persistently refused even to +look at the baby, but, rough and uncultivated as he was, I could see a +tear glisten in his eye as his manly heart quivered with emotion. + +Home the poor broken-hearted girl went, and the baby was left in my +keeping till the morrow, when, according to agreement, I was to hand it +over to the good sisters. It was destined to be otherwise, however. That +evening a gentleman called at my house; he was a bachelor, well to do in +the world, and hearing the story, which it was necessary to tell him, +in order to explain the child's presence, he asked me with pardonable +curiosity to let him see the baby. When he took her in his arms she +smiled so sweetly upon him, and crowed so joyously, that his heart was +touched, and he could not bear to think that the poor helpless babe +should be made to suffer for the sins of its parents; he asked me to let +_him_ have the child, promising that he would adopt her, and do for her +as if she were his own. + +I suggested to him the scandal such a measure would give rise to, and +urged him not to place himself in such an unenviable position, but he +insisted that he was willing to let society have its fling, and that +if I would consent to the child's adoption, he would take the +responsibility attached to it. + +What was I to do? The man was well off, and had conceived a fancy for +the child. As for the world's sneers, if he could afford to laugh at +them why should I refuse him the gratification of performing a noble +action? I handed the child over to his care, having first procured from +him written papers of adoption, and little Beatrice was installed in her +new home. A nurse was procured for her, and everything that money could +procure was provided for her comfort. The gossips sneered and wagged +their heads as they spoke of the "adopted" child, insinuating that there +were stronger ties than those of mere philanthropy to bind Mr. Richards +and the child together, but he, quite unconcerned, paid no attention to +their hints and innuendoes, and tried so far as lay in his power to make +the child comfortable and happy. When she attained the age of five years +he procured a governess for her, and had her instructed thoroughly in +all that go to make up a modern education as she grew older. + +But a cloud soon appeared on the horizon of the child's career. Mr. +Richards became ill, and was ordered by his medical adviser to a +Southerly climate. He was obliged to sell his estate and place little +Beatrice in Mrs. Thompson's boarding school, where she continued for a +few years till the return of her adopted father. He came, it is true, +but the seeds of a fatal disease had been implanted in his system, and +had taken a deadly hold; in a few months he was no more, and as nearly +all his money had been eaten up in paying travelling and medical +expenses, poor Beatrice was left once more not only without a friend +but without a penny in the world. Mr. Richards had paid her school fees +annually in advance, and as at the time of his demise several months +of the term paid for were unexpired, Beatrice had a comfortable home +secured for her at least during that period; for the future she would +either have to perform menial services at the school, or go out in the +cold world without a friend or protector. The former was considered +by the poor girl preferable to going she knew not where, and so she +accepted the offer of a situation as housemaid, kindly proffered to her +by Mrs. Thompson _out of pure charity_ at two dollars per month less +than the previous occupant of the situation. + +Poor Beatrice had a hard time of it as housemaid. Her former companions +took a fiendish delight in ordering her about till her life became +perfectly unbearable. She had but one friend to whom she could +unreservedly pour forth her troubles, her Sunday-School teacher, Miss +Flint. To this lady she gave an account of her history, so far as she +was able, and asked her for advice and assistance. Miss Flint, being +both sensible and charitably disposed, advised her to leave her present +position, having first procured a suitable one elsewhere, and she +promised to exert herself to this end. + +Among the numerous acquaintances of Miss Flint was Mrs. De Beaumont, a +Southern lady of means, whose husband held a high official position in +New Orleans. Mrs. De Beaumont had, in order to avoid the yellow fever +epidemic, taken up her residence temporarily in Montreal, and was +now with her two daughters about to return to her Southern home. The +education of the latter young ladies had been somewhat neglected, and +Mrs. De Beaumont was anxious to procure as governess and travelling +companion a young lady of moderate means and unlimited ability. + +Here, then, was an opening for Beatrice. On the recommendation of Miss +Flint, coupled with certificates from the various professors at Mrs. +Thompson's school, the poor girl was duly installed in an easy and, to +her, lucrative position. She was not long settled in her new home when +Mr. Hartley, brother of Mrs. De Beaumont, fell violently in love with +her, and, contrary to the wishes of his relations, insisted on paying +her open attention. The poor girl had been so long accustomed to being +buffeted and slighted in every way that her heart fairly gave way before +his passionate wooing, and, although Mrs. De Beaumont frowned on her +angrily, and the rest of the family snubbed her grievously, yet Beatrice +felt so happy in having some one in whom she could confide that she +bore all their petty annoyances with the utmost forbearance, and refused +steadily to take the slightest notice of them. + +Mr. Hartley was a planter of considerable wealth. He had long lived +a bachelor's life; so long, indeed, that his friends never thought he +would marry, and each one often unconsciously counted how much of the +property would eventually become his. Mrs. De Beaumont was particularly +displeased when she heard his open avowal of his attachment for her +governess, for, though Hartley was not an old man, he being at that +time only about forty-six years old, yet she had hoped that her daughter +would have inherited a portion of his vast wealth, which was now about +to be transferred to a stranger, without friends, fortune or name. In +spite of this secret antipathy to the match, Mrs. De Beaumont openly +pretended the greatest friendship for Beatrice, for, being a woman of +the world, she saw clearly how matters would stand in a few years, and +she could not afford to break either with her brother or his intended +wife. + +The wedding came off with all the aristocratic splendor of an F. F. +V. ceremonial. The dusky coachmen and footmen were resplendent with +gorgeous liveries and wedding favors, their white teeth glistening in +the sun as they grinned from ear to ear, perfectly happy and contented. +After the ceremony the newly-married pair went for a brief tour through +the Eastern States and Canada, returning to Mr. Hartley's plantation, +where Mrs. Hartley was called upon by all the leading families in the +vicinity, and took her place with as much grace as though she had +been "to the manner born." Mrs. De Beaumont greeted her sister-in-law +affectionately (at least to all outward appearances), and invited her to +visit her old home frequently; in fact all those who were aware (and who +was not) that Mr. Hartley had settled every penny of his fortune on his +wife and her prospective offspring were lavish of their attentions to +their beautiful, and now immensely wealthy, neighbor. + +When her first baby, a little girl, was born, Mrs. Hartley wept bitterly +and refused (like Rachel) to be comforted. Her husband could not +understand it at all, and was greatly grieved that she should be so +down-hearted when they had both every reason, to be happy. Beatrice +besought him to forgive her weakness, and explained that it was only now +that she was a mother that she fully realized the anguish her own mother +must have suffered at parting with her, and she implored him as he loved +her to exert himself to find her mother and make her happy. Had his wife +told him to lie down whilst she drove a carriage-wheel across his neck, +Mr. Hartley would have unhesitatingly obeyed her; how readily, then, +he set about finding what most men are so glad to be without, viz., a +mother-in-law, can easily be imagined. He promised his wife that so soon +as business permitted him he would take steps to discover her mother's +whereabouts, but that night he was awakened out of a deep sleep by cries +of terror from his wife; she had had a dream, she said, that her mother +hung over a precipice, looking up to her for help, which, while she +hastened to give, she saw her mother sink into the yawning abyss, +uttering shrieks of agony. Hartley was beside himself with fright; +he thought his wife would lose her reason, and so he quieted her by +assuring her that he would write the next day to get information, acting +on which he would set out immediately on his search. In the morning he +despatched a letter to Mr. F---- in Montreal, instructing him to obtain +what information he could respecting a girl called Ellen MacNee who had +lived in former years with Mrs. Rogers; in reply he was informed that +the girl left the city, no trace being procurable. He then inserted +advertisements in several Canadian newspapers, informing the public +that if Ellen MacNee would correspond with X. Y. Z. she would hear of +something to her advantage. But in vain did the fond husband seek the +mother of his blue-eyed darling, now grown pale with deferred hope and +anxious care, and when the latter proposed that they should personally +go to Montreal in search of their missing relative he readily +acquiesced, feeling assured that, even if they were unsuccessful, the +excitement of travel and occupation would restore the bloom to his +wife's cheeks and preserve that health which, was now apparently on the +wane. + +In a few days they had made preparations for an extended tour, and ere +a week had passed they were snugly quartered in the St. Lawrence Hall, +Montreal. The day after their arrival they called on me to know if I +could assist them in their search, bidding me spare no expense in order +to effect the desired object. I promised them every assistance in my +power, and at once placed myself in communication with all those whom +I had known to have any dealings with Beatrice's unfortunate mother. It +was truly painful to see the anxious face of the young woman as she came +daily to me to enquire if I had heard any news, and when I showed her +a letter from Mr. MacNee, her mother's eldest brother, stating that +his sister had gone to New York as nurse, she immediately persuaded her +husband to give chase. Their efforts were in vain, however. The girl, it +was true, had taken service in New York, but had subsequently left there +for her home in Glengarry, and had never been seen since either there or +in New York. Detectives having again been employed to assist in tracing +her movements, it was discovered that she had returned by rail to +Montreal _en route_ to Glengarry, but here all traces vanished, and the +supposition was either that she had committed suicide, or met with some +accidental death. Beatrice would have it, however, that she was still +alive, and would leave no stone unturned to find her. It was suggested +that New York should again be visited, as the probability was that she +returned there after her trip to Montreal; various other plans were +thought of, and some of them, doubtless, would have been acted upon, had +not a new light shone in upon the scene. + +At the outset of the proceedings I had communicated with the principals +of the various Houses of Refuge in this city, and, although the +authorities had done their utmost to facilitate our search, so far we +had failed to advance in any way. At this time, however, I received a +communication from the Bishop, informing me that he thought he could +help us, and when I called on him, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, +he told us that he had been visited by a hardened creature, whose name +did not concern us, and who, in anticipation of a reward which she had +heard was offered for the recovery of the recluse, disclosed the fact +that she had, under an assumed name, become a sister of charity, and +was at present an inmate in a convent in ---- street, where we would, +doubtless, be able to recognize her. + +Beatrice became quite excited at the news, and insisted on rushing off +at once, but her strength failed her, and she fell fainting on a sofa. +By great persuasion she allowed us to drive her home on the promise +that she would be allowed to accompany us on the morrow. The next day +we entered a carriage and drove to the Convent; we agreed that Beatrice +should go alone to meet her mother while we remained downstairs. Running +into the room where her mother was, the poor girl fell on her neck and +covered her with kisses. But no responsive greeting met the impetuous +child, the woman stared at her with a wild hazy stare as if to inquire, +Who are you? What do you mean by these extravagant caresses? + +But if she failed to recognize her child she did not fail to recognize +me, and by some strange association of ideas she seemed to wander in +thought back to her past life, and the hot blood mounted to her temples. +When she became calmer I explained to her how we had come there, and +the object of our visit. She was touched at the proofs of her daughter's +affection, and the hot tears rolled rapidly down her furrowed cheek, +but she steadily refused to leave the institution. In vain the poor girl +pleaded, and Mr. Hartley and myself joined in our entreaties that she +would accompany her daughter and her husband. Finding all our arguments +of no avail I advised Mr. Hartley to let the poor creature have her way +till the reality of the situation had come home to her, recommending him +to allow his wife to call frequently at the Convent to see her mother. +This advice the indulgent husband acted upon, and day after day Beatrice +would go and sit for hours conversing with her parent, sometimes +obtaining permission to take her for a walk or a drive, and secretly +longing, though never expressing it in words, that her mother would +accompany her back to her home in the South. + +So far the excitement had kept Mrs. Hartley up, but after a time a +reaction set in which culminated in a wasting fever, and prostrated the +poor creature on a bed of sickness. This, though apparently disastrous, +ended happily for all. Beatrice's mother, so long as _she_ was the +object of pity, shrank from all communication with her rich relatives, +but now that her child was in need of assistance, she flew to her with a +mother's impetuosity, and anxiously watched by her couch day and night, +while the poor thing tossed and raved in delirious paroxysms. Mr. +Hartley summoned Dr. Hickson to his wife's bedside, but that astute +practitioner wisely foretold that the magnetic influence of her mother's +presence would do more for his patient than any drugs or medicines, and, +accordingly, he contented himself by prescribing a sleeping-draught, +leaving other agencies to do their work. + +In a couple of weeks Mrs. Hartley rallied, and ere long she became +convalescent, and even cheerful. She used to chat with her mother for +hours together, and the fourth week after the latter's arrival she was +able to go out for a drive accompanied by her and the baby, who had +accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in all their travels. The little girl +and her grandmother soon became great friends, and when, Beatrice being +strong enough, her mother would have returned to her convent life, +the baby's smiling face did what all persuasion had failed to do, and +bursting into tears, the aged penitent folded the darling to her breast +and declared that she would never part from it again. Beatrice's joy +knew no bounds; and as for Mr. Hartley, he was perfectly satisfied to +know that his wife was happy. In a few days they made preparations for a +journey to the South, and ere long Mrs. Hartley had the satisfaction +of seeing her mother snugly ensconced at her own fireside, living as it +were over again, and enjoying in the care of her daughter's child, +the maternal pleasure which had hitherto been denied her. Ere leaving +Montreal Mr. Hartley, at his wife's request, erected a handsome monument +in Mount Royal Cemetery to the memory of the humane man, who, regardless +of the jeers and scoffing of gossiping scandal mongers, had braved +public opinion, and saved to the world a good wife, an affectionate +daughter and a loving and tenderhearted mother. + +During all this time, it may be asked, what had become of Jack Rogers, +one of the principals in my narrative? + +Jack was fairly wild at the thought of his sweetheart going into an +institution. He would have married her on the spot and braved all his +father's anger. But the girl showed equal self-denial, and was much more +sensible; she saw that, by consenting to marry a penniless gentleman, +she would certainly injure him, without in any way benefiting herself. +She knew his father sufficiently well to feel sure that, were he aware +of his son's relations with her, not one but _both of them_, would be +ignominiously turned out of doors. So, consoling her paramour with this +questionable bit of comfort, she tore herself away, saying coolly that +he would soon forget and marry some one in his own station in life. But, +though she nerved herself to speak in this strain before him, when alone +she broke down entirely, and sobbed till her heart nearly broke, for the +poor girl loved him dearly, and, poor though he was, would have married +him and worked for him, if necessary. She saw, however, that his +prospects would be utterly blasted were he to disclose his position +to his father; and she unselfishly took on herself _the whole_ of the +punishment for a sin of which she was scarcely guilty, or, at any rate, +less highly culpable than he. + +Jack would fain have put a pistol ball through his head, and doubtless +would have done so had the pistol been handy; but his pistols, like +everything else he possessed, were out of order, and were at the moment +in Mr. Costen's hands, where they lay in a disintegrated condition till +the young gentleman's blood had got some degrees cooler. Still, he could +not help thinking how his folly and thoughtlessness had ruined the hopes +of a poor innocent girl, and he longed for some opportunity for going +abroad, or participating in some excitement to enable him to muse less +moodily on the past. + +The American civil war was at this time in full blast, and large +bounties were offered for volunteers. An American agent, meeting Jack +Rogers in a saloon, which the latter frequented, offered him two +hundred dollars and an outfit if he would go as a substitute for a young +gentleman in New York. This offer Jack readily accepted, and within +a short time found himself _en route_ to Richmond to join the Federal +Army. He was not long in the service when his superior intelligence +and daring exploits made him conspicuous among his fellows, and he was +promoted from one grade to another till he was placed in command of +his company. This was a position Jack was eminently fitted for, and his +reckless bravery was talked of far and wide throughout the army. + +For a long time, in spite of his foolhardiness, Jack remained without a +scratch, save a slight wound from a rifle ball at Gettysburg, where +he made himself particularly conspicuous. Just before the close of the +great struggle, however, he was sent in command of a foraging party +consisting of about forty-five rank and file and the usual complement +of officers. Their path lay through a deed ravine in which high wooded +cliffs looked down on each side. These cliffs were in possession of a +Louisiana regiment, who were stationed there in the hope of cutting +off supplies from the Northerners, and, just as Captain Rogers with his +handful of men, entered the ravine a murderous fire was opened on them +from both sides. Rogers ordered his men to reply, but, as the ravine +afforded little or no cover, they were finally obliged to make their +way as quickly as possible to the end of the pass and fight their way +through. They found their way completely blocked by a force of two +or three hundred rebels, but, as to return would have proved equally +disastrous, there was nothing for it but to surrender, or cut a path +for themselves through, the enemy. Bracing themselves for a terrible +struggle, Rogers and his little band advanced to within a few yards of +the open, where their foes, with rifles loaded and bayonets fixed, stood +demanding their surrender. Captain Jack ordered his men to fire at a +given signal, and then to advance; and, firing his own pistols by way +of signal, he dashed through the smoke, followed by his daring band, +cutting and slashing right and left. + +But courage will not enable men to do impossibilities. Out of the +handful who entered the ravine but three managed to cut their way +through the opposing forces, and these were all more or less injured by +rifle balls or sabre cuts. Poor Rogers fought like a lion; but, being +the centre of attraction on account of his uniform, he had his hands +more than full, and though he pistoled two men and knocked an officer +who would have seized him senseless with the butt-end of his empty +revolver, he was finally brought off his horse with a pistol shot, and +captured, more dead than alive, by the enemy. + +The officer in charge was so struck with the bravery of the poor fellow +that he had endeavored to take him prisoner, and had stayed some of +his men who had essayed to run the fiery captain through with their +bayonets; his impetuous charge, however, led them in self defence to +disable him, and the young lieutenant who shot him had no alternative +except to be brained by a blow from Jack's pistol. The excitement over, +however, the colonel of the victorious corps sent a detachment in search +of the wounded of both sides, and ordered a litter to be prepared for +Captain Rogers' removal to his own quarters. Poor Jack was severely +injured. The ball had entered his left arm close to the shoulder, and +was not necessarily fatal; but his horse had fallen on him and bruised +him so that he could scarcely breathe. The march to the camp was about +two miles, and, although the men moved as gently as possible, yet +Captain Rogers suffered agony as he felt every motion. Arrived at +Colonel De Beaumont's quarters (for the brave commander was the husband +of Mrs. De Beaumont) a surgeon was sent for and the invalid's wounds +were attended to. Although a prisoner of war Captain Rogers' received +every attention from Colonel De Beaumont and the officers under his +command, and when, the regiment being ordered to head-quarters, the +Colonel was obliged to send Rogers to prison with the rest of his +captured force, the parting was more like that of two brothers than that +of a victor and his fallen foe. + +After the close of the war, which, event took place shortly after these +occurrences, Colonel De Beaumont, disgusted and sick at heart, +returned to New Orleans. He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear +allegiance once more to what he considered the oppressor. Almost his +first thought after his return was to enquire concerning the Federal +troops who had been captured by his men, especially the gallant Rogers, +for whom he had formed a more than passing attachment. He learned that +of those who had been placed in confinement, some had died of their +wounds, others, as soon as the proclamation of Northern supremacy gave +them their liberty, had returned to their homes, but that the Captain, +having contracted a dangerous fever, had been unable to accompany them. +De Beaumont lost no time in seeking out the poor soldier's quarters, and +was grieved to find him barely alive, he having scarcely recovered from +the fever, besides suffering from partially healed and badly-dressed +wounds. The Colonel persuaded him, so soon as he could move, to +accompany him to his own house, where he would receive proper attention, +and, in a short time, the sufferer was installed in De Beaumont's +comfortable house, the kind hostess doing all in her power to alleviate +his sufferings. + +It was about this time that Mrs. Hartley, accompanied by her mother, +had returned to her husband's residence, and one day as she was visiting +Mrs. De Beaumont she learnt the story concerning the wounded officer, +who, though in the service of the North, was compassionately treated +by the whole household, having made friends of them all by his cheerful +uncomplaining disposition, and his grateful acknowledgment of even the +slightest service. While recounting the story to her husband and mother +at dinner, the latter grasped the table convulsively with both her +hands, and breathlessly demanded of her daughter all the particulars; +with a wild exclamation of terror, she rushed up to her room, hastily +followed by her bewildered daughter. The latter found her mother in the +act of dressing hurriedly, and on enquiring for an explanation the poor +woman fell on her child's neck, and with bitter tears explained that +it was _her own father_ who lay so near them at death's door, and that, +whatever it might cost, she would rush to his side. + +Poor Mrs. Hartley was sadly shaken at these tidings. She explained all +the circumstances to her devoted husband, and took his advice. Hartley +recommended his wife to let her mother have her own way, and promised +that presently he would accompany his wife to De Beaumont's house to +visit the invalid. + +The rest of the story is soon told. The sad meeting of poor Rogers +with the mother of his child, who stayed by his side night and day, the +bitter tears of Mrs. Hartley as she beheld her father for the first and +last time; the mutual expression of love and forgiveness ere the poor +invalid breathed his last, beloved and forgiven by those on whom he had +thoughtlessly entailed much sorrow and suffering. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +The Mother-in-Law. + +John Wilkie was the son of Scotch parents residing in Toronto, Ontario. +He was possessed of considerable literary ability, and when a lad had +entered Toronto University with the intention of pursuing a professional +career; but his father shrewdly reasoned that, although fame might be +acquired more readily by clergymen and lawyers, money was an important +consideration, and might be acquired with, comparative ease in a well +managed business. He accordingly placed his son in the wholesale house +of Messrs. Campbell & Castle, and in due course of time the lad secured +an interest in the business. + +The young man was not long a member of the firm when he became enamoured +of a young lady named Collins, whom he had met at the house of a mutual +friend. For a longtime he paid attention to this young lady, taking her +to balls, concerts and operas, and finally he proposed for her hand and +was accepted. + +Miss Collins was scarcely what one would call a beautiful girl, yet +there was an attractiveness of manner peculiar to her which caused her +to be much, sought after and admired in social circles, and many were +the sad and heavy when it became known that she was about to marry John +Wilkie. + +At this juncture Wilkie the elder was carried off with an attack of +pneumonia, leaving John, his only son, heir to his house and property. +This occurrence of course caused the wedding to be deferred for a time, +and the bridegroom elect went into deep mourning; in a few months, +however, he doffed his sable garments, and, having caused the family +mansion to be refurnished and renovated, began to make preparations for +his wedding. + +The affair came off with great _clat_, the bride being driven home from +church behind four dapple-grey horses, several carriages following with +bridesmaids, groomsmen, and invited guests, among the latter being many +rejected suitors, who took a kind of melancholy pleasure in seeing the +matter through. Mrs. Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the +dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the _djeuner_ they wept together +and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. Mrs. +Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the rich +prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out of +the question. + +What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial +and domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable +pursuit of entertaining each other. Shutting their eyes and ears to +the outer world they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, +alone; that nature's smiles are specially prepared for them; that the +birds carol bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the +whole world is contained in the small area which immediately surrounds +them. + +Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple +of weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, +they spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six +weeks from their wedding-day. Everything had been prepared for their +reception, and Mrs. Wilkie, senior, sat in state to welcome them to +a cosy meal which had been prepared in the dining-room. Having eaten +sparingly, Mrs. Wilkie retired to her room, for she was fatigued by +travel, and John with his mother went on a tour of inspection over the +house. + +It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a +stranger; to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose +every want was so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the +care of another must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. +Wilkie sighed deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which +had been made in the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end +and that a new Caesar had taken the reins of government. The Lord of the +Manor failed to observe the trepidation with which his mother handed +him the keys, and showed him the various details connected with the +management of the house, and with a cool "good night, mother," he +retired to rest, at peace with his mother, himself, and the world. + +For several months things went smoothly enough with the parties to +my narrative. The dowager accepted her position, though, it must be +confessed, with a bad grace, and the new mistress gave a life to the +place to which it was unaccustomed. At length Mrs. Wilkie gave birth +to a son, and great were the rejoicing and festivities. The dowager was +promoted to the title of grandmamma, John boasted the proud title of +father, and the mother's joy knew no bounds. The child was in due time +christened with appropriate solemnity, and in a few months after his +birth he became a very important member of the Wilkie family. + +Mr. Wilkie wanted the boy called William after his late father, but +Mrs. Wilkie would not have what she was pleased to term a plebeian +designation, and insisted on calling him Alexander. The dowager opposed +this with all her might, but "her usefulness was gone," and her feeble +remonstrances were of little or no avail. This slight sank deep into +her heart, and she waited, calmly and patiently, for an opportunity of +retaliating on her daughter-in-law. + +In due time the opportunity presented itself. Mrs. Wilkie was in +the habit of going to the skating-rink accompanied by some of her +fashionable acquaintances; her husband did not care for skating, but was +proud to hear his wife's graceful performances eulogized. The dowager, +however, had no heart for "the grape-vine" and other foolish devices; +she thought it high time for her daughter-in-law to take on herself the +serious duties of matrimonial life, and deprecated the fondness of the +lady in question for rinks, balls, and festivities. + +One night Mrs. Wilkie was invited to a skating-party. Her husband, +having some letters to write, declined to go, and she went in company +with a Mr. Smithers, an old acquaintance of hers, and one of the finest +fancy skaters in Toronto. During her daughter-in-law's absence at the +rink, Mrs. Wilkie the elder took upon herself to lecture her son on +his wife's giddy behaviour, and so worked upon his feelings that he +regularly gave way, and allowed his mother to remain mistress of the +position. + +When the fashionable Mrs. Wilkie returned to her abode late in the +evening she found the door closed on her, repeated pulls at the +door-bell eliciting no response. With her skates the lady then hammered +violently on the door, waking the echoes of the quiet street, and +finally, in her frenzy, she smashed every window within reach, and +departed to her mother's residence. + +Mrs. Collins was very much surprised to receive a visit from her +daughter at such an unseasonable hour, and when she was made aware +of the cause she became proportionately indignant. She suggested +the propriety of taking legal proceedings for the restitution of +her daughter's rights, but the latter would not listen to any such +suggestion, and vowed she would never live with Wilkie or his wretch of +a mother again. + +Mrs. Collins expected daily to receive a message from Mr. Wilkie, +requesting his wife to return to him, but he, being completely under the +influence of his mother, failed to do anything of the kind, imagining +that his wife would come as a suppliant to him. In this he reckoned +without his host, for Mrs. Wilkie was as proud as Lucifer, and would not +bend her haughty head to be made Empress of Canada. One thing, however, +caused her great uneasiness: her child, Alexander, was all the world to +her, and she set her wits to work to devise some means of obtaining him. + +Without recourse to unpleasant legal proceedings or equally unpleasant +negotiations with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wilkie could not hit on any +plan by which she could obtain the control of her child's nurture and +education. At length she resolved on the simple and practical plan of +taking forcible possession of the boy. Once resolved, she speedily put +her plans in execution. + +The child's nurse was in the habit of driving him in a baby carriage to +the Queen's Park for an airing, and one afternoon the mother lay in wait +for the appearance of the infantile equipage. She was afraid to approach +the servant with a bribe, as, in the event of her refusal, the Wilkies +would be placed on their guard, and would set a strict watch over all +the child's movements. She accordingly sat down at a distance, closely +veiled, and waited till an opportunity presented itself. + +She did not have long to wait. The nurse on entering the park fell +in with a tribe of professional acquaintances, one of whom, drawing a +love-letter which she had received from her pocket, commenced to read it +for the edification of her companions. Not content with listening to the +gushing effusion, the auditors crowded around the proud recipient of the +epistle, reading with eager eyes such portions as they could see over +the shoulder of their friend. While the representative of the dowager +was busily engaged in scanning the amorous lines penned by the lovesick +swain (the child left to her care being at some distance in his +carriage, sleeping under the shade of some trees), Mrs. Wilkie +cautiously approached, and, lifting the unconscious child with the +tenderness peculiar to mothers, walked quietly and swiftly away towards +the gate, when, coolly hailing a passing cab, she drove to her mother's +house, proudly depositing her baby in a richly adorned cradle which had +been purposely prepared for his reception. + +It was a long time before the nurse missed the boy; in fact, not till +she prepared to start for home did she give him a thought, except +to congratulate herself that he slept so long and gave her so little +trouble. When she at length turned towards the place where she had +left the carriage and learned the true state of affairs her face grew +deadly-pale, and, beckoning her companions towards her, she pointed +to the carriage and uttered several piercing shrieks. Many were the +suggestions as to what had become of the boy. Some thought he might have +got out of the carriage alone and fallen into the pond, but, as he could +not yet walk, this was highly improbable, another suggested that he had +been stolen by gypsies, but could not say that she had ever heard of +gypsies in connection with the Queen's Park. Many other theories, +some wild, a few reasonable, were advanced, but yet no clue to the +whereabouts of the child could be discovered, nor could any light be +thrown upon the mystery. + +The poor nurse was in a terrible state of mind. She had in her fancy +a picture of the baby's grandmother threatening to tear her limb from +limb, while the frantic father went for the police; but return she must, +and so, with a different step from that with which she entered the park, +she set out for home, arriving there just as the bell rang for dinner. + +The old lady was just commencing to lecture her for keeping the child +out in the evening air, when she saw, from the expression of the girl's +face, that something unusual had occurred, and rushing out, she threw up +her hands in astonishment at the empty perambulator, giving a mute +look of inquiry which spoke volumes. In a moment Mr. Wilkie joined +the throng, just as the frightened domestic sobbed out, as well as she +could, an account of the child's disappearance. He was about to rush at +once to the police office, but the old lady, shoving him aside, hastily +put on her bonnet and shawl, and, ordering the girl to summon a cab, +peremptorily forbade Mr. Wilkie to leave the house till she had made a +reconnaissance of the quarters of her daughter-in-law. + +Mrs. Collins lived at the extreme west end of King street, and, as Mr. +Wilkie's residence was in the North-East, in the neighborhood of the +Horticultural Garden, it was some time before the wily mother-in-law +approached her base of operations; she accordingly leaned back in +the carriage, and, closing her eyes, meditated on her plan of action. +Bidding the coachman pull up at the corner of Brock street, +she alighted, and proceeded on foot towards the house: it was a +semi-detached cottage, with a small garden in front, the dwelling being +only a few feet from the street. Inside all was, apparently, quiet as +usual, but Mrs. Wilkie thought she heard a soft, measured song, as +if some one were singing a child to sleep. Approaching the window she +caught a glimpse of her daughter-in-law pacing the room to and fro with +the child pillowed in her arms; so, quickly receding into the darkness, +she made her way back to the carriage, satisfied that her calculations, +in one particular at least, had been correct. + +Entering the cab, she bade the driver return with all speed to Mr. +Wilkie's house, setting her mind, during her transit on the frustration +of the hopes of her daughter-in-law, against whom she in her heart +registered a vow of vengeance. She found her son pacing the dining-room +like a madman, and she at once gave him all the particulars concerning +her reconnaissance, adding, at the same time, that he must take legal +measures to obtain possession of his child, no matter what the cost. In +spite, however, of his mother's importunity, Wilkie steadily refused to +give the matter publicity by taking legal proceedings, so the old lady +was obliged to content herself with concocting plans for retaking the +child from the hands of the enemy. + +Mrs. Wilkie watched long for an opportunity, and at last she was +successful. She found out where her daughter-in-law went to church, and +one Sunday having learnt from one of her emissaries that both of the +ladies had gone to church together, leaving the child in charge of +the maid-of-all-work, she hurriedly set out for the house, and boldly +ringing the door-bell inquired for Mrs. Wilkie. On being told that the +lady was at church and would not return for some time she requested +permission to sit down and wait, as she was fatigued with her long +journey. Entering the drawing-room, she sank on one of the lounges and +appeared to faint. The poor domestic did not know what to do, but ran +wildly to and fro exclaiming, "Och, wirrasthru, what'll I do at all at +all'" The invalid gradually came round, and gasped out, "Dr. Metcalfe, +go for Dr. Metcalfe!" This gentleman lived a few blocks distant, and the +girl at once rushed off, without waiting even to put her bonnet on. + +Quick as thought Mrs. Wilkie ascended the staircase to where her infant +grand-child lay wrapped in slumber: hastily wrapping him in a shawl she +descended to the door, and coolly hailing a passing cab was soon far +from the scene which had so wrought upon the feelings of poor Bridget +Moriarty. + +When Bridget arrived with the doctor she found that the old lady had +disappeared leaving, however, a card for Mrs. Wilkie. On the latter's +return Bridget told her the whole story, adding that she supposed the +old lady had come to herself and got tired waiting; in time, however, +the baby was missed, and that threw a new light on affairs. Mrs. Wilkie +was frantic; she denounced Bridget as a good-for-nothing, refused to +sit down to dinner, and set off with her mother in the direction of Mrs. +Wilkie's house. + +This time, however, the dowager was on her guard. The child was +carefully looked after, being under the care of a faithful ally of the +old lady, whose instructions were never to leave him for a moment out of +her sight. Mrs. Wilkie and her mother might walk up and down and look +at the lighted windows; they might also watch at a distance the youthful +hope of the house of Wilkie as he took his daily airing in the park, +but the trick once tried could not be repeated, and the fond mother (for +whatever her faults were she loved her child) was obliged to pine in +weary loneliness. + +During all these sieges and reprisals the little fellow waxed strong and +healthy, in sublime unconsciousness of the importance attached to the +possession of his person: he was by no means neglected, the only risk he +ran was that of being hugged to death, as each party, more through joy +at the success of its schemes than from love of the youth in question, +caressed him lavishly if not fondly. + +Some months after these occurrences Mr. Wilkie removed to Montreal, +where he soon became permanently established, and, as he was always fond +of politics, he was in a short time recognised as one of the leaders of +the liberal party. When the reaction consequent on the famous "Pacific +Scandal" set in, Mr. Wilkie, M. P., took his seat for K----, a small +town below Montreal, rising in Parliament, as he did everywhere else +by his ability, far above the common level. His son was placed at the +Montreal High school, and gave promise of becoming in time even more +distinguished than his father. + +They had not been long resident in Montreal before the poor old dowager +was seized with acute rheumatism, to which she finally succumbed, +and Mr. Wilkie was obliged to engage a housekeeper to look after his +household affairs and his son's education. It was a sad time for poor +little Aleck; his grandmother fairly doted on him, and indulged his +every whim, but Mrs. Riddell, the new housekeeper, cared not whether he +was happy or miserable so long as she drew her monthly pay. + +All this time Mrs. Wilkie had been living with her mother in Toronto, +and, as soon as she heard of her mother-in-law's death, she persuaded +her mother to remove to Montreal, so that she might secretly keep watch +over her boy, whom she now loved, if possible, more than ever. Assuming +the name of Mrs. Johnson, she took lodgings in a house nearly opposite +the residence of Mr. Wilkie, and thus was enabled to observe closely +all the proceedings of his household; she longed to throw herself at +her husband's feet and implore his forgiveness, but her proud spirit +rebelled against such an act, and she sat at her window day after day in +moody silence watching her darling boy going and returning from school. + +Shortly after his wife's arrival in Montreal, Mr. Wilkie was summoned to +England on business of importance, a fact with which Mrs. Wilkie +became easily acquainted through the _Gazette_, which heralded all his +movements, the fond mother now became more anxious than ever about +her boy, and indeed not without reason, for, being monarch of all she +surveyed, the easy-going housekeeper laid herself out for "a good time," +and, although in her way she was kind enough to the child, she left +him to take care of himself as well as he could, being content if she +prepared a bed for him to sleep in, and ordered his three meals a day +with unfailing regularity. The house Mr. Wilkie lived in was situated +in one of the newest and most fashionable localities, having what are +generally designated "modern improvements," and one of these latter so +improved the internal arrangements of Master Aleck, that he was soon +confined to bed with enteric fever. Mrs. Johnson, missing the boy from +the street, called to enquire after him, and had her fears confirmed by +the housekeeper, who said she did not know what to do for his father was +away, and she had never in her life nursed a fevered patient. The +wily mother seized the opportunity with avidity, and with unblushing +effrontery perpetrated the atrocious falsehood that she was a +professional nurse of large experience, and that such an interest did +she feel in the little fellow that she would if permitted undertake +to nurse him free of charge. Mrs. Riddell was delighted, and at her +neighbor's suggestion sent for Dr. Brownie, who had, she said great +experience in such cases. A cablegram was despatched to Mr. Wilkie, +and everything that science could devise was done for the poor little +sufferer. For many days he seemed to get worse and worse and his devoted +mother was nearly worn out as she sat up night after night wiping his +fevered brow, or moistening his parched lips, at length the crisis came, +and the doctor pronounced him on the way to recovery, adding that the +slightest neglect on the part of those who tended him would permit +a relapse, which would in all probability prove fatal. In this case, +however, the latter caution was altogether unnecessary, what Mrs. +Johnson lacked in experience she more than made up for in care and +solicitude, and, as every direction of the physician was carried out +to the letter, the little fellow began perceptibly to mend before the +telegram came announcing Mr. Wilkie's arrival in Quebec. On the receipt +of the missive Mrs. Johnson made preparations for her departure, saying +that her services were now scarcely needed, and that she needed rest; +Mrs. Riddell at first tried hard to induce her to remain, but when she +looked at the pale thin face, and thought how many weary nights the lady +had voluntarily sat up with the raving child, she ceased to urge the +request, and at once set out for a mercenary to replace her. + +What a difference there is between him who enters on a labor of love +and the hireling who works for pay! In this case, then, it may easily be +supposed with a mother's ardent affection on the one hand, how different +was the cold professional service rendered by the nurse who replaced +Mrs. Johnson: although kind and attentive, she had not the same soothing +power, nor could she sing the sweet lullaby which so often in his +fevered moments had calmed poor little Aleck's soul, and the little +fellow became at once very low indeed. At this juncture his father +arrived, and when he saw his boy he was completely overcome; he +learned from the housekeeper all the particulars of the kind neighbor's +attention, and resolved to go personally to her residence and implore +her not to desert his boy till he was out of all danger. Waiting only to +partake of a morsel of food, he set out for the house indicated by his +housekeeper, and inquired for Mrs. Johnson. The girl who opened the door +told him that Mrs. Johnson had been out nursing a sick child for several +nights, and had just fallen into a deep sleep, the first she had had +for days, and urged him to call round again in the afternoon, when her +mistress would probably be able to see him. In the afternoon he returned +in great haste, saying that he must see Mrs. Johnson at all hazards, +that his boy was worse, and raved incessantly for her. While he was +speaking the lady he inquired for suddenly came down stairs, and as +their eyes met both uttered an exclamation of surprise. Forgetting +everything in her anxiety for her boy's safety the poor mother's face +became suffused with tears as she anxiously cried with bated breath, "Is +he dead?" "No; thanks be to God and his mother's care he still lives, +but you must not let him die now." + +The rest of the story is soon told; the pride of both husband and wife +was humbled by adversity, and in their heavy affliction each was made +to feel what a strength and comfort it was to have a companion who could +sympathize not only with the joys but with the sorrows of the other. The +boy was several weeks before he was able to leave his room, during which +time his mother told him the history of her troubles, and recounted +how miserable she felt without him and his father, all of which was +of course retailed to the latter gentleman, and effectually healed the +breach between the man and his wife. The dowager's name was for obvious +reasons never mentioned by either Mr. or Mrs. Wilkie, and as for the +youthful hope of the house, his memory was so elastic that he never even +thought about the old lady. + +Mrs. Riddell was astonished when she became acquainted with the true +relations of the nurse and her patient, but, having become quite +enamoured of the former (who by-the-by was now become both a discreet +and amiable matron), she readily fell into a subordinate position in the +household, taking her orders quite gladly, and having a special care for +little Aleck. Mrs. Wilkie has now an assortment of boys and girls, Aleck +being entered as a law student at McGill University and the others +being still at school; she seldom thinks of the past, preferring to +look forward to a bright and happy future. Still at times her mind will +revert to scenes of yore, and she shudders as she thinks of the bitter +experiences she has had, attributing most if not all of them, rightly or +wrongly, to her mother-in-law. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +A Deserted Wife, or Model Woman + +One hot summer's day I received a visit from a young and beautiful +woman attired in fashionable costume. She told me she was desirous of +obtaining accommodation for a couple of months as her husband was in +England and the time of her accouchement was at hand. She was the bearer +of a letter which ran as follows-- + + LONDON, England, August 6 18-- + + _To whoever is with my + precious wife in her hour of trial_: + + MY DEAR MADAM--I cannot refrain, as the husband of + the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent + wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will + remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking + of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the + issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. + + I will part with all I have rather than that she or her + infant shall want anything. Oh how I wish I were near + to love and comfort her. If her dear infant is spared all + well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol + be well. _Let all give way_ if need be for my precious + wife's sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, + even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, + which Heaven forbid. + + I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand + and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I + shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well; will you + kindly have a postal card ready just to say "all is well" if + so it be; never mind more till my poor wife can put her + own name to a letter. + + God reward you for an act that I know the angels envy + you, for your charge is a "friend of Jesus," and my only + friend on earth. + + Yours in intensity of anxious interest, + P. MERRICK. + + + My address is + Sunny Hill Avenue, + London, E. + +Mrs. Merrick explained to me that her husband was a member of a wealthy +English firm doing business in Montreal, and that he was at that time +obliged to be in London on business, but would soon return, when she +purposed setting up an establishment of her own. Her father and mother +(both Scottish Canadians) had been dead many years, and she had been +educated in a boarding school in Ottawa where she had first met Mr. +Merrick. + +Within a few days the lady became an inmate of my house, and in course +of time became the mother of a beautiful little boy, news of which +was at once despatched to London. For three weeks Mrs. Merrick waited +patiently for a reply, and after that time, receiving none, she became +uneasy, and wrote a long letter to her husband, beseeching him to send +her an answer immediately, but neither to this letter did she obtain any +response and days became weeks and the weeks began to spread themselves +into months and yet not a line or even a word could be obtained to +indicate the whereabouts of Mr. Merrick or whether he was alive or dead. +At last the terrible truth began to dawn on the poor creature that +she had been basely deserted by him who was sworn to be her friend and +protector and she became almost demented, she tried to account for his +silence in many ways but her intellectual acumen as too great and her +reasoning always brought her to the one sad conclusion. However, as +nothing better could be done the spirited creature made up her mind to +earn her own living and that of her child, and setting her wits to work +she soon obtained a situation as governess at the house of Mr. Mullaly, +a retired merchant of considerable means whose wife and daughters were +desirous of obtaining an entree into polite society. Placing her boy +out to nurse, she set out for her new home, and soon began to feel the +blessedness of working for her own living. + +But her happiness was not unmixed with pain. The Mullaly girls somehow +or another heard that Miss Caldwell (she had given her maiden name) was +the mother of a little child, and, although she admitted the fact +and recounted to them her whole history, they gave no credence to her +assertions, but began to treat her with the greatest contempt making her +life miserable. The poor woman would fain have left her situation, but +she recollected that it would be difficult to obtain another without +referring to Mrs. Mullaly who would be sure to tell the whole story with +several embellishments. On the whole she thought she had better remain +where she was for a time, hoping that, as years went by, and the girls +acquired more judgment and common sense, they would treat her with +greater fairness. Accordingly she bore all the taunts of the young +ladies with great meekness and patience, and made herself so agreeable +and useful that, although they never could make up their minds to +believe her story or to treat her as one of the family--the Mullalys +came to regard Miss Caldwell as indispensable to their existence, and +when Miss Mullaly the elder got married she took Miss Caldwell with her +in the capacity of housekeeper the young sisters no longer requiring her +in her capacity as governess, which situation she, however, did not long +keep as the remuneration would not enable her to educate her boy as she +desired. He was a fair-haired, bright little fellow, and the most loving +little creature on earth. She consulted with me what best could be done +to earn a larger salary. I advised her to become a professional nurse +though hard she would think it at first, when once accustomed to its +little drudgeries she would find it a noble calling, with God's blessing +attached to it. She consented, and I trained her in my hospital, she +became in a very short time one of my most proficient nurses. From that +time she had gained the battle, for, as soon as some of our medical men +got acquainted with her, they gave her employment at the most serious of +their cases, till at last it became very hard for me to procure her +for some of my own patients, and through her abilities, patience, and +refined feelings she gained a great many sincere friends. One of her +patients, an old lady, left at her death $200 to her kind nurse, and +this enabled poor Mrs. Merrick to give her boy that education which she +had so long craved for him. + +In the meanwhile Willie Merrick was placed at school at Lennoxville, +where he evinced great talent. At twelve years of age he was noted as +the finest classical scholar in the school, and his mother was induced +to place him in training, with a view to his matriculating at the +University of Bishop's College. The fond mother lived only for her son, +so she placed him under the care of a private tutor, at whose hands +he made such progress that at the early age of fifteen he entered the +University. Here he showed himself at once to be made of no ordinary +metal, and he became quite a favorite with the Principal and professors, +all of whom were ever ready to lend him a helping hand. His mother had +intended him for the church but Willie did not (so he said) feel "good +enough" for that high and holy calling, so he entered the Faculty of +Law, determined, if possible, to distinguish himself in that profession +so soon as he obtained the necessary qualifications for commencing +practice. In process of time he obtained his degree, graduating with +high honors, and he was not long in establishing a practice equal to +that of many older advocates. + +Although without any hope of ever taking her place again as Merrick's +wife, the poor woman whom he had so basely deserted instituted a +thorough search for him in England, and was enabled to discover all his +history, and also so gain an insight into his proceedings whilst away +from her. It seems that he had married her under an assumed name, his +real patronymic being Stephens, and that his people were purse-proud and +overbearing. On his arrival in England his father, who had heard of the +young man's escapades in Canada peremptorily ordered him to have no more +correspondence with his Canadian wife, but to marry a noble lady whom he +had purchased (through money lent; to her father) for the ennobling of +the Stephens family. + +When the deserted woman became assured of the truth of these disclosures +she made up her mind to give no more thought to the wretch who had left +her in such a predicament, and determined to centre her hopes and her +affections in her son, who had by this time become a distinguished +lawyer, and was quite as proud of his mother as his mother was of him. +He took a house for himself and only parent in the Western suburbs, and +they lived in quiet comfort together, the young man going little into +society, except on public occasions, on all of which he was invariably +asked to take a prominent part in the proceedings. + +When William Merrick had been in practice about two or three years he +was entrusted with an important case connected with the endowment +of some church in Lower Canada, which was appealed from one court to +another, until, finally, it was decided to carry it to the House of +Lords. Accordingly the young advocate made preparations for a trip +to England, and, being unwilling to leave his mother alone for such a +lengthened period, he decided to take her along with him. They sailed +from Quebec one fine Saturday in June, arriving at Liverpool late on the +following Saturday night, a strong westerly wind blowing them rapidly +across the Atlantic! They stayed but a few days in Liverpool, and then +went on to London, putting up temporarily at the Langham, at that time +the most fashionable hotel in London. The morning after their arrival +the young lawyer, having occasion to go to the Courts on business, Mrs. +Merrick was left for a time to her own devices, she occupied a half-hour +or so in reading the newspapers, and then made up her mind to go for +a stroll before luncheon. Attiring herself rather gaily (she was still +remarkably good-looking, only a little over 40 years then) she set out +with a sprightly step down the main staircase, humming to herself a +lively air which she used to sing in happier days. Just as she +was descending the last flight of stairs, a gentleman having a +delicate-looking lady on his arm began to ascend, and on hearing +the melody, faint though it was, which the approaching lady, was +unconsciously humming, glanced suddenly and swiftly upwards; then, as if +a thunderbolt had struck him, he came to a sudden halt, having a dazed +expression on his features and littering a half suppressed oath or +imprecation. Mrs. Merrick had not noticed the approaching couple, her +thoughts being far away, but the suddenness of the gentleman's movement +arrested her attention, and she looked him fully in the face for a +moment; then, uttering a wild shriek, she fell backward and would have +been probably severely injured, had not a gentleman, who happened to +be close behind her, caught her as she fell, and carried her to the +landing-place, where restoratives were applied, and the unfortunate +woman speedily came to her senses. + +It is scarcely necessary to say that the lady and gentleman whose advent +so upset Mrs. Merrick were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Stephens who +had come up to London for the operatic season and were staying at the +Langham Hotel. Taking advantage of the confusion, Stephens hurried +his wife along to her room, giving no further answer to her many and +wondering enquiries than: "Oh, it's only the heat; don't mix yourself up +with all these people," and, without allowing time for remonstrance +or further enquiry, he put a stop to all questioning by hurrying the +delicate creature along till he deposited her, breath less, in an easy +chair. Going out into the corridor he tried to discover how matters +stood, but the woman he dreaded to meet had been borne to her room and +medical attendance had been summoned. This Mr. Stephens learned from a +waiter; so, determined to deport himself as if he knew nothing of the +cause of the lady's illness, and was as much puzzled at the occurrence +as the rest of those who had either witnessed it or come on the scene +soon afterwards, he returned to his wife, and, throwing himself into a +chair, pretended to read. But his wife, obtuse though she possibly was +with regard to the fainting lady, something had struck her about the +manner her husband assumed. She could not get over it, and when at the +table d'hote with her husband listened attentively to the conservation +of two gentlemen who were sitting vis--vis. One enquired after the +health of the lady who had taken so suddenly ill on the landing in the +morning. The younger of the two gentlemen expressed his gratitude to the +other for assisting his mother so kindly, who would have, but for his +assistance, fallen down stairs, but was somewhat better now. He said the +Doctor had not been able to ascertain the cause of her sudden illness, +and, as his mother had always been blessed with such good health, he +himself could not account for it. In the meantime Mr. and Mrs. Stephens +had been listeners to the conversation when all of a sudden a curious, +gurgling noise was heard, a chair was overturned, and Mr. Stephens was +stretched on the floor in a dying condition, blood streaming from +his mouth. There was a great commotion in the dining-room, and it +was thought at first he had swallowed a bone and was choking; but the +physicians who arrived, three in number, pronounced it a rupture of a +blood-vessel and applied at once the necessary remedies, but gave little +hope of his recovery. As soon as his condition permitted a removal, he +was carried, by the advice of the doctor, to a private hospital near by, +where his delicate wife also preferred to go, and nothing more was heard +of the dying stranger, for a while anyhow. + +Our young lawyer, Willie Merrick, had been successful in his law +affairs, and had arranged a trip to the continent with his mother, when +a cablegram was sent to them from Canada, saying: "Don't leave England; +wait for letters; good news." This was rather annoying to Mr. Merrick, +as he had only a few weeks more at his disposal; and he anticipated this +trip as so necessary to restore his mother's cheerfulness. Mrs. Merrick +was also puzzled as to what could possibly detain them any longer in +London. At last the Canadian post arrived, and with it large documents +and letters which had been sent from England to Canada and were now +returned, informing Mrs. Merrick that a certain W. Merrick Stephens +had died, leaving a large fortune, and that half of this estate was +bequeathed to Mrs. Merrick in Canada, whose maiden name had been Emma +Caldwell, or, in case of her death, to her heirs. Young Mr. Merrick +being at this time a well-known young lawyer in Montreal it was not hard +to find him. Both he and his mother could not imagine who had left them +such a fortune. Well did Mrs. Merrick think of the man whom she had +loved so dearly and truly and who had pretended to be so fond of her. +But, she knew too well that she had been deceived, that he had married +her under a false name, and had she not recognised him at the hotel with +a lady who was his wife!--She had never told her son the cause of her +sudden illness when first at the hotel; and her son had never mentioned +the affair of the dying stranger at the dinner-table, thinking his +mother still too weak to be disturbed by such shocking calamities. His +partner from Montreal wrote; "You had better stay and see about this +large fortune at once. Every one is not such a lucky fellow as you." A +Mr. Tidal was mentioned as executor of the estate of W. M. Stephens, and +our hero prepared at once to call on that gentleman, who received him +very friendly, but requested him to call the next day with his mother at +the family residence of the deceased, which visit had been particularly +desired by the deceased gentleman's widow. Our young gentleman of coarse +promised to comply with the wish, and was very much surprised when, +on returning to his mother, he found her hesitating,--but for a moment +only, a second thought, as she promised to accompany him, feeling in her +heart that, whatever Mrs. Stephens might wish to see her for, she would +certainly not blame her for anything, as all the wrong that had been +committed had been committed towards her, but still her heart was heavy +when at two o'clock they started in one of those stage coaches of which +London has so many. After about two hours' drive they alighted in +front of an old-fashioned family mansion, surrounded by well cultivated +grounds. The gentleman, Mr. Vidal, on whom young Mr. Merrick had called +the day previous, came to the portal to greet them, and begged Mrs. +Merrick to have the kindness to see Mrs. Stephens in her own apartments, +as she was in delicate health and very much crushed down through the +sudden loss of her husband. A maid who had appeared at the time was +ordered to direct Mrs. Merrick to the boudoir of her mistress and, +announcing the visitor, withdrew. Mrs. Stephens, attired in deep +mourning, looked very pale. On seeing Mrs. Merrick enter, she rose from +her chair and holding both hands out to greet the astonished lady, said: +"Oh, you wronged, wronged woman," but then tears smothered her words, +and it was quite a while before she could speak again. "How can I atone +for the wrongs committed on you, but I promised him. His last request +was that I would see you and beg your forgiveness for him. He had +recognised you at once at the hotel, and he felt his Conscience +troubling him very much. But the sight of your son--his son--was too +much for him. He felt he could not live to meet the son he had so +wronged and the woman he had so loved and so betrayed. He told me all +when the blood was streaming and smothered his words. He had married me +by the command of his father for my money, but had afterwards learned to +love me when he saw I was so devoted to him, but he had not the courage +to tell me of you and his child. I often noticed him looking sad, and +when I asked him to tell me what was troubling him he would say: 'Don't +be so kind to me, I don't deserve it, I am very, very wicked.'" + +"We have no children, our first-born, a boy, only lived one hour; the +second, a girl, only three days. Since then my health has never been +good, but he was so kind, so indulgent with all my weaknesses, that I +can hardly realize he was ever unkind to any one. But his father was a +stern old man of iron will who made him leave you and marry me for my +father's money. All this I could not tell to your son nor to anybody +else than to you. Will you tell me you forgive him? I know your heart is +pure and good or you would have troubled him while alive. Don't sit so +mute, you frighten me; shall I call your son--the servants?" + +"No, no, don't call anybody," was her response, "but speak of him, of +him you loved, the only one I have ever loved save my child." At the +thought of her son she broke out into sobs, and the blessed tears +brought balm to her heart. Silence prevailed for a long time, save the +sobs of both. At length a knock was heard, and a servant inquired if the +ladies wished to take refreshments with the gentlemen. Both would +have declined but for appearance sake, and, after bathing their faces, +descended to the room where the gentlemen had transacted their business. + +On entering Mrs. Stephens approached Willie saying: "I hope you have +consented to take, in addition to the name which you bear already, the +name of Stephens, which was the last desire of my dear husband and also +my sincere wish." + +"If my mother consents to assume that name also I shall, but otherwise I +must decline, as I shall never bear any other name than my mother whom I +love and honor, and who can, if she prefer, refuse this bequest and need +never tell me why. I know she will do all for the best if it combine +with honor." + +"She will not refuse," was Mr. Vidal's reply; "and now, ladies, I have +to beg you to sign those deeds that we are able to congratulate the new +lord of the estate."--(All signed). + +The end of this story is very short now. Mr. W. Merrick Stephens and +mother never returned to Montreal, but are living with Mrs. Stephens +(the widow) on the same estate and never has there existed a more +perfect harmony and friendship--both trying to make each other happy and +those around them. The last I heard from them was the following letter: + + LONDON, December 18. + + MY DEAR OLD FRIEND, + + Don't be angry that I call you old. I know you are not + much older than myself, but it seems you are nearer to me + when I address you so. How my life has changed! You + used to tell me the evening will be better than the morning + How true! She is so good (his wife), both Willie + and I cannot help loving and admiring her. She thinks + Willie looks like him and has many of his ways. If her + health is good next spring we shall all three visit Canada, + I think the sea-voyage will do her good. I shall be so + proud to introduce her to you, and so glad to see you + again who helped and advised me always for the best. + You can write the history of my life it you like. Why + did you ask my permission? You well knew I would + do more for you if you let me I know you will not say + anything to harm us, and I shall forever consider myself + in your debt, but you must send us one of your books + when out. Willie joins with me in sending his best regards + to your husband and children and believe me for ever + your grateful friend. + + EMMA MERRICK STEPHENS + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +A Tale of Bigamy. + +Lillie Malcolm was the daughter of Scotch parents who had emigrated to +Montreal about the year 1835. Her father was a schoolmaster, having a +private school in the neighborhood of St. Antoine street, and at the +time of their arrival in this city Lillie was about the age of ten. The +little girl was precocious and talented, and very pretty, and was also, +as regards both these characteristics, admired and made much of. As the +girl grew older she became a little vain and conceited, her principal +aim being to gain the plaudits of the visitors at her father's house +for her singing or other performances, which were many and various, the +versatility of the girl being remarkable. By the time she was seventeen, +Lillie Malcolm became known as the prettiest and most accomplished young +lady in the neighborhood, and no church or Sunday-school gathering was +complete without a song or recitation by her. + +But Lillie aspired somewhat higher than Sunday-school concerts and such +circumspect circles. She longed for an entree into the inner and higher +circles of Montreal society where she felt that she could rise above +the common level, and take a position in keeping with her education and +accomplishments. Unfortunately for the ambitious girl her father, though +highly respectable, was very poor, and so altogether debarred from +participating with his family in the round of social pleasures in +which the _bon ton_ of Montreal indulge; added to this, he was a strict +Presbyterian, and was averse to consenting even when his daughter _did_ +receive an invitation to some of the houses of her limited number of +acquaintances. + +The poor girl fretted and repined at her lot. She could manage the +household affairs if required, but her mother or sister invariably +attended to that, and so her talents were not brought into requisition; +she could speak fluently and, as a clergyman or lawyer, would certainly +have distinguished herself, but women were not required or even +tolerated as clergymen or lawyers; she would (so she imagined) have made +an excellent wife for a fairly rich young man, but the young men did +not seem to want wives without money or social rank, and so poor Lillie +fretted and fumed, occasionally attending the many brilliant weddings +which were celebrated in the fashionable churches, and wondering how it +was that so many plain and unattractive girls got husbands, while she +was without even a proposal. It is true she had no lack of admirers; +these flocked round her like bees in a flower-garden, but few of them +were eligible as suitors; and the few who were, although they admired +her openly, and paid her great attention, never approached the subject +of marriage. + +Things went on in this way till Miss Malcolm was twenty-three, when +she made the acquaintance of Captain FitzMarshall, an officer of Her +Majesty's army, who was stationed in Montreal. FitzMarshall was very +highly connected, being the grandson of an English Duke, and was greatly +sought after by the belles of Montreal; but he, having met Lillie +Malcolm by chance at the house of a mutual acquaintance, vowed that she +was the only beauty in Montreal, and was even, marked in his addresses +to her. Lillie's heart fluttered with delight at the thought of actually +out-doing the acknowledged society belles, and she would have been in +ecstasy if she could only have appeared on the arm of her admirer at one +of the public assemblies to which he had offered to bring her, but her +father would not permit her to enter a circle unfitted for his means and +her station, particularly as neither he nor her mother would be present +to look after her. + +Before the close of FitzMarshall's second year in Canada he had made +Lillie Malcolm's heart glad by offering his heart and hand; he also +communicated the matter to Mr. Malcolm, but the latter gentleman shook +his head dubiously, and asked him if he had consulted his friends in +England. When he replied that he had not, the old gentleman gently but +firmly informed him that, although he esteemed him highly, yet he would +not have his friends say that he had been entrapped into a marriage with +one who was socially his inferior, and that, till he had written to his +relatives and obtained their consent to his marriage, it would be better +for him to discontinue his visits to the house. FitzMarshall pleaded +strongly, but the old man was firm, and so the poor love-sick Captain +had to content himself with the assurance that, if his friends consented +to his marriage (for although a Captain he was only twenty-four), +he would be only too happy to confide his daughter to his keeping. +Accordingly the young officer took his departure from the house, with +the understanding that when the return mail arrived from England he was +to call at once, and, if agreeable to his family at home, to be formally +betrothed to the fair Elizabeth. + +The weeks rolled by as if they were years, and at the expiration of that +time FitzMarshall received letters from home, ordering him to obtain +leave of absence and to take the next steamer for England. With a heavy +heart he disclosed the contents to Mr. Malcolm, who of course expected +something of the kind, and told him that he must now discontinue all +communication with his daughter. The order came, unfortunately, too +late, as the young couple had already met frequently clandestinely and +forestalled their expected honey-moon. + +However, to England FitzMarshall must go or be disinherited, so, bidding +his inamorata to cheer up, that he would soon be back to claim her as +his lawful wife, he set sail, and left the poor girl, soon to become +a mother alone with her austere father and unsympathetic mother. Weeks +went by without a word from him for whom the girl would have laid down +her life, and her letters, written we may say with her tears, were +returned to her unopened. The truth flashed quickly on the young +girl--she was deserted! The aristocratic friends of the young man would +never allow him to see her more, and he was weak enough to be put +in pupilage. Quickly making up her mind how to act, with indomitable +courage she gathered up what little trinkets and jewellery she +possessed, she converted them into money which yielded her nearly two +hundred dollars (for she had received valuable presents from her lover +and some money), and, one evening slipping out quietly, she took +the train for Toronto, proceeding from thence to Detroit, where she +established herself as the widow of an English officer, prepared to +receive pupils in languages and music. + +But she was prepared for more than this. Her heart had become thoroughly +steeled by the harsh treatment which she considered she had received +from her father and others, so she laid herself out to make what capital +she could, not only out of her accomplishments but also of her beauty, +and with such success that she obtained an elegant establishment at the +hands of a wealthy Michigan shipping merchant, the public being led +to believe that she had become possessed of an estate in trust for her +child (a boy) who was just then born. For several years she lived in +this way, always moving along quietly and respectably, when the old +gentleman died, leaving her but a few hundred dollars capital, for +he had neglected to provide for this contingency, and she, with +less forethought than one would imagine, had never considered such a +possibility. Mrs. McClintock, as she now called herself, began to think +of returning to her old business as a teacher, but there was little +necessity, for an old gentleman who had made a fortune as a distiller, +an acquaintance of the deceased merchant, soon made excuse for calling +upon her, and made undoubted advances to her. It may be that he knew +something of his friend's arrangements, or that he only suspected them; +however, the widow managed matters so adroitly that he imagined he must +have been mistaken, and that the reports he had heard were not true. The +house was elegantly and tastefully furnished, the lady was modestly, +yet richly attired, the little boy and his nurse lending an air of +respectability to the whole establishment only to be out-done by the +conversation and demeanor of the lady herself, who was not only the +peer, but the superior of any lady among the large circle of the old +gentleman's acquaintances. He called about some lessons for his eldest +daughter, but was informed that Mrs. McClintock no longer gave lessons; +he then suggested that she might recommend a teacher of French, and +endeavored to prolong the interview, but the lady sedately answered all +his queries with a sad and pensive expression far removed from what he +had expected, and rising politely, rang the bell for her servant to show +him out. + +After a little time, however, the old man returned to the charge. He had +bought the terrace in which Mrs. McClintock lived, and called to know +what he could do, in the way of repairs, etc. He pressed his suit in +various ways, but the widow pretended not to see it at all till she had +the old man down on his knees; then she played with him most adroitly, +explaining that her lonely position left her open to the tongue of +rumor, and that she could not allow him to call so frequently. She +played her cards so well that the old man firmly believed she was a +modest and retiring widow, and did not the law forbid him, he would have +married her. As it was, she led him to hand her the deed of the house +she lived in, and to settle a large amount on both herself and his child +(a beautiful girl), who was born about a year after his first visit to +her house in his capacity of landlord. + +Notwithstanding all her precautions Mrs. McClintock was the subject of +much gossip in the neighborhood in which she resided, and many were the +guesses (many of them wide of the mark) which were made about her past +history. But they could only talk vaguely and shrug their shoulders at +the mention of the lady's name; for she lived very circumspectly, had a +pew in St. Paul's Church, and stood well with the minister and leading +church people; her children too were models of neatness and propriety, +and though as unlike as children having _one_ common parent could well +be (Jessie being dark and petite with piercing brown eyes, while +Charlie was tall and exceedingly fair), yet they had both the enviable +reputation of being the best bred and best behaved children on Jefferson +Avenue. + +As the children grew up they were sent to school, and both, though of +different temperament, were distinguished for their superior ability. +Jessie was quick at anything requiring an amount of ready talent and +acute comprehension, such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Modern Languages, +but Charlie excelled in Classics and what are generally considered the +heavier sciences, and was particularly talented as regards music. +He would sit for hours playing the exquisite _Lieder Ohne worte_ of +Mendelssohn, while Jessie would shrug her shoulders if asked to +play, and call on her brother, saying she could not bear "that nasty +practising." In spite, however, of her neglect of this accomplishment +(for which she had great natural talent), Jessie McClintock was in great +demand in society, and notwithstanding the equivocal position held +by her mother (for although not openly expressed there was a general +feeling that all was not right with that lady), the young people were +asked everywhere, and their mother kept them carefully in the _very +best_ circles, for which their natural talents and excellent education +eminently fitted them. + +The children, who had seen a gentleman supposed to be their father come +at intervals and then disappear, naturally were inquisitive, and from +an early age were taught that their father was a captain on an Atlantic +Steamer, and of course was frequently away from home. As the children +grew up the story told by them concerning that gentleman did not +coincide with that of the mother, who had always pretended that her +husband was dead, so it was thought advisable for her to remove to +Montreal (her parents having long since died), and assume the rle of +a grass widow whose husband seldom got off his ship, and then but for a +short time, coming generally at night and remaining indoors during his +brief stay. Mrs. McClintock bought a house in University street, and +rarely went out; her children, however, went to the best schools, and, +having made acquaintances, soon began to go out in the best society as +they had done in Detroit. Charlie soon became entered as a Law Student +in the McGill University, and Jessie had a visiting governess engaged to +finish her, a resident young lady, for obvious reasons, being considered +out of place. Jessie grew up a beautiful young lady, and was the +acknowledged belle in many a drawing room; Charlie went little into +society, being engaged in prosecuting his studies in the University, +applying himself so assiduously that in a few years he graduated with +honors, carrying off a gold medal. + +The people who lived opposite Mrs. McClintock on University street were +curious to know all about that lady's proceedings, and set a watch on +all her movements. They discovered that at times a carriage was driven +hastily up to the door, generally late at night, from which an elderly +gentleman alighted and entered the house; but, although on the alert, +they were never able to make out his features or even his general +appearance, so quickly was the door of the house opened and closed +behind him. Yet even this discovery was hailed with delight by the +gossips; and as after each visit Jessie appeared with a new watch, +locket, brooch, or other trinket (sent, she said, from England by her +father), the tongue of evil report wagged freely, and was not at all +times strictly confined to the truth. + +Mrs. McClintock was much annoyed when she learnt (from a sympathizing +friend) of the reports which her neighbors were circulating concerning +her; and, as she knew their eyes were constantly upon her house, she +managed to invite the clergyman and his wife, with a few others whom she +had met in church circles, to dinner, and manifested such an interest in +the sewing society that the principal ladies of the congregation called +on her in succession; and although they never got beyond an interchange +of formal visits, yet it served to puzzle the gossips in the streets, +and one or two who had "forgotten" to call on Mrs. McClintock when she +first came to the locality paid her a formal visit; their shaky position +in society being secured by the fact that all the best people called +there, including the Bishop and clergy, and so _of course_ there +could be nothing wrong. For all this plausible reasoning they inwardly +believed that there was "something wrong," and many of those who called +did so mainly under the apprehension that they would discover something, +or read in the countenance of their notorious neighbor something that +would give a clue to her past or present career. + +But those who called from curiosity were sadly disappointed. The house +was neat and well-ordered, yet not extravagantly furnished; those who +met the children were astonished at their appearance and apparent good +breeding, while the hostess received them with the cool courtesy of an +English gentlewoman. The callers went away puzzled more completely than +ever, and to add to their mortification the lady _did not return one +of their calls_, shewing thereby that she did not care for their +acquaintance. Thus their imaginary condescension was the means of their +being snubbed by one whom they considered scarcely fit to be allowed to +inhabit the same street. + +When Jessie was nineteen her Mother gave a large party, inviting most +of the young lady's school friends, also a number of Charlie's +fellow-students, besides the Rector of the church and his wife and a +few of the neighbors who had always been friendly to Mrs. McClintock, +although having their own ideas regarding her pretensions. All went +merry as a marriage bell, and they beguiled the time with music, +whist, bezique, and like recreative amusements, after which supper was +announced, and the party sat down to a spread such as few of them had +ever been partakers before, and all served in the most elegant style. + +The viands having been thoroughly discussed, the Rector rose and +proposed the health of the young lady in whose honor they were then +assembled, and in a highly moral speech wished her many happy returns, +and all the joys this world (and also the next) can afford. The toast +was honored with acclamation, and then one of the guests stood up and +proposed "the health of Captain and Mrs. McClintock." + +A damper was thrown suddenly on the whole company. Every one seemed to +feel embarrassed, and though no one dared to look at his neighbor, +and the toast was immediately drank by all, yet there came a peculiar +feeling over each person present, as if some spiritualistic influence +were at work restraining their speech and laughter, aye and even +forbidding them to breathe freely. + +For a time the silence remained unbroken. At length Mrs. McClintock +motioned to Jessie to rise, thus giving the signal for a general +departure to the drawing-room. Here the music was again brought into +requisition, and a few of the young people enjoyed themselves with a +game of casino, but the hilarity of the early part of the evening +was conspicuously absent, those assembled taking an early leave and +departing homeward. The gentleman who had unwittingly worked on the +feelings of the remainder of the guests felt that there was something +oppressive in the atmosphere, and tried to elicit an explanation from a +neighbor; but he could get no reply excepting a tongue thrust into that +gentleman's cheek as much as to say--"You've put your foot in it, old +fellow," and a significant squeeze of the left arm near the elbow. He +had essayed a solo of the harp, and, unfortunately had struck the one +cord [not chord] which was out of tune. + +Mrs. McClintock preserved an even demeanor throughout the entire +evening; indeed, it is questionable if one of the whole party (the young +people excepted) there, was one so fully self-possessed; and she had +such command over her facial muscles that she bid her guests adieu with +a smile as gracious as that with which she had received them. She gave +no more parties, however, but, confined herself to inviting a few of her +most intimate acquaintances to tea or an informal dinner, to which +they were ever ready to accept an invitation; as, whatever might be the +antecedents of the McClintocks, they were certainly refined and elegant +people, and _kept the best table in the city_. In time the old gentleman +went the way of all flesh, leaving Mrs. M. independent in every respect. +She continued to pass for some time as a grass widow, but after a +few months she coolly inserted in the Montreal fit papers the +following:--"At Calcutta, on the 18th ult., Captain Charles McClintock, +in the 56th year of his age." Then she went into deep mourning, the +children also dressing in mourning and refusing to go into society for a +time. In about eighteen months after they donned their ordinary attire, +and, as many of those now forming the circle known as the "upper ten" +did not know, and others did not care to remember, anything concerning +their past history, they were received with open arms, being young, +accomplished, and, best of all, tolerably wealthy. + +Jessie is now married to a wealthy dry goods merchant, and one of the +leaders of fashionable society. Charlie is making headway as a lawyer, +but, having an independent allowance, does not exert himself very +much. The old lady lives pretty much to herself, and, it is said, not +unfrequently takes a glass of Curacoa or Moraschino to drown unpleasant +reflections. Let us, however, before sitting in judgment upon her, put +ourselves in her place, and consider if we would have done half as well +(morally) under the circumstances. Although a disobedient daughter, +she has proved herself a true wife till shamefully deserted, and a +self-denying and tender-hearted mother, who, though giving herself up +to shame for their sake, kept her children from every breath of even +scandalous report, and placed them as well-educated and respectable +members of society. At such a one let only he who is without guilt among +us cast a stone. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +The Unfortunate Sailor. + +Among the many thousand pretty girls that might be seen any fine +afternoon walking down the shady side of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, +few would be found possessing more attractive features and pleasing +expression than Agnes Malcolm. Not that she was the most beautiful girl +in Glasgow, for Agnes was hardly what one would call a beauty; but there +was a something in her face that made it particularly attractive, +and caused every passer-by involuntarily to turn and look after her, +although, were the pedestrian cross-questioned as to what he found to +admire in the young lady, he would have been puzzled what to reply. +Agnes had regular features, good hazel eyes, but not unusually bright +ones, a high intellectual forehead, and tresses of a light auburn hue; +her cheeks were soft as peaches and as delicately tinted, and when she +smiled, which was often, she displayed a complete set of teeth for +which no dentist had ever received a fee. Her sister Alice was the +acknowledged belle of the circle in which the Malcolm family revolved, +and was already of a much more decided type, but Agnes had a frank, +lovable expression of countenance that brightened everywhere she went +like a sunbeam, and although she was not particularly witty (being +indeed rather reserved and shy in her manner), yet she had such a sweet +voice, and talked so naturally and with such a lack of affectation, that +it was a pleasure to hold converse with her. + +Mr. Malcolm, the girl's father, had been Captain of an ocean steamer +running between Glasgow and Baltimore and adjacent ports, he had gone +down in the good ship Cyclops, or rather the _bad ship_ Cyclops, for +she proved herself to be utterly unseaworthy, and foundered on her first +trip out, Mrs. Malcolm, being near her confinement at the time, was +taken prematurely ill, and, although she rallied for a time, she never +got fairly well again, and finally followed her husband to the grave, +leaving the two girls to the care of a married sister of their late +father, who, having educated them as became their station, was at the +time of which my narrative treats debating whether she would send them +out to earn their living, or, keeping them a little longer, bring them +out in the hope of getting them married. + +Alice saved her all further deliberation by announcing in her careless, +happy style that she had engaged to marry a young ship chandler who had +frequently came to the house, but had paid so much attention to _both_ +the young ladies that it was difficult to tell which, if any, of them he +was going to marry. Having made up his mind, however, he did not wish to +delay matters, so, as Alice was only too happy to start an establishment +of her own immediately, he gave notice at the kirk for the following +week, and the wedding was celebrated amidst much rejoicing. Alice was +glad to get a husband, and to be independent of her aunt. Mr. Taylor, +her husband, was delighted to get such a beautiful and accomplished +bride, and the old lady, Alice's aunt, was heartily glad to get rid of +them both, so that never was rejoicing more universal. + +But poor Agnes was not so elated. She did not mind her sister being +preferred by Mr. Taylor, for she did not want Mr. Taylor, and besides +Alice was two years her senior, and it was to be expected that she +would be married first. It was her position at home that made her feel +miserable. Whereas the work had been divided between the two girls, it +now was supposed to be done by one; moreover, Mrs. Whitcher, Agnes's +aunt, began to bully her more than ever, wondering _aloud_ why she could +not get a husband as her sister had done, after so much money had been +spent on her education, and so forth. + +Agnes could have had her choice not of one, but of _ten husbands_, had +she wished to do as her sister had done and taken the first eligible man +who offered. But the idea of marrying for an establishment never entered +her unsophisticated brain, and, as she had not yet met her _beau ideal_ +of a husband, she waited patiently, bearing the scoffs and jeers of her +unsympathetic aunt without a murmur, and giving in return for her daily +bread labor that in any other establishment would have yielded her no +small remuneration, had any time in the past two years paid attention +to Agnes Malcolm, was a young man named George Fairfield, second mate +of the ship "Glenalpine," a good looking young fellow about twenty-three +years old, who was the son of respectable English parents residing at +Liverpool. Agnes, though rather partial to the young man, had paid a +deaf ear to his addresses, not caring to marry a man unless she could +give him her whole heart, but after her sister had gone, and she was +left in utter loneliness, the rude but honest sympathy and love of the +handsome sailor went to her heart, and she consented to marry him on his +return from his next trip. + +George Fairfield went off as happy as if he had been suddenly appointed +Port Admiral. He felt not the ground he walked on, so light was his +heart and also his tread as he stepped home with his eyes fixed on the +stars, but his mind picturing that happy scene which had been all too +short. He whistled a bar or two of "Love's Young Dream" as he stepped +gaily along, hoping to receive orders to sail on the morrow; not, as he +tried to explain to his lady-love, that he was anxious to get away from +her, but because he wished to be soon back again, when, receiving a +berth as first mate, he would be in a position to claim her as his +bride. The ship did not sail for a week, and when it did George would +have pleaded for one day more in spite of his previous hurry to be off, +however, there was no help for it, "For men must work and women must +weep, though storms be sudden and waters deep," and so Mr. George took +his position at the taffrail, and contented himself with flying a blue +handkerchief over the stern of the vessel till the forms on shore +were no longer visible. Agnes returned to her every day occupation as +household drudge, sad at losing her lover, yet not so sad as she would +have been had she really given, him her whole heart unconstrainedly; she +shed a few tears as the vessel left the quay, then turning homewards she +mentally counted the weeks which were to elapse ere she should again see +the tapering masts of the "Glenalpine." She made her preparations for +her wedding methodically and without excitement, and, following her +suitor's instructions, bought furniture according to her taste for the +little cottage he had rented in anticipation of his exalted rank as +first officer of a clipper. + +At length the _Shipping Gazette_ announced the Glenalpine as "homeward +bound," and in due time she was entered at the Custom House. George +rushed with all speed to Mrs. Whitcher's, and was met with open arms by +his intended bride. She was not very demonstrative, it is true, but she +was glad to see him, and as her face lit up at his approach, the poor +weather-beaten tar forgot all about a fearful gale he had just came +through and its attendant perils, and wondered whether Heaven could +possibly be an improvement on Mrs. Whitcher's front garden. + +The wedding took place (as previously arranged) the next day, and the +young couple took up their quarters at their new abode, George voting +the cottage a decided improvement on the ship and Agnes smiling with +delight at the thought of leaving Mrs. Whitcher's for ever. The ship +remained in port about three weeks, and during that time the young +couple lived not only figuratively but literally "in clover," as the +cottage they had taken was on the margin of a clover meadow, the sweet +perfume of which pervaded the atmosphere with its health-giving gases, +gladdening the hearts and adding to the vitality of all who came under +its influence. + +But no earthly joys can last forever. George received a telegram +ordering him to be in readiness to sail at any moment and finally an +order for embarkation. + +With a heavy heart he parted from his young and beautiful wife, the +hope, however, of returning a richer man, better able to make her +comfortable, cheered his manly spirit, and, clasping her once more in +his fond embrace, he jumped into the boat and gave the men the order to +pull to his vessel. His wife stood on the shore wistfully gazing at the +ship till she was no longer visible, then, with a heavy step, she turned +slowly homewards. She thought of the long weary hours she would have to +count ere she would see him again, and, although she had never loved him +passionately, she felt his departure so keenly that she wept long +and bitterly. For days she sat moodily looking out at the sea in the +direction his vessel had taken, and a sad foreboding filled her heart +that she would never see him more. Her comforter in her fitful hours was +her maid, a French-Canadian girl, who had some years previously come to +England in the capacity of stewardess on an ocean steamer, but, having +taken fever during the vessel's stay in port, and been conveyed to the +hospital, she was obliged to take service till she could again procure a +situation on board ship. This girl--she was named Arline Bertrand--was a +native of Montreal, and at this time about twenty-four years of age +and rather good-looking. Bending over her mistress she would say: "Ah, +Madame, Monsieur Fairfield he come back _riche, riche_, with plentee +nice thing for you!" + +A few weeks after the vessel's departure Mrs. Fairfield received news +from the agents of the safe arrival of the vessel at Montreal, and +shortly afterwards she received a letter from her husband, full of joy +at the prospect of seeing her again, and of clasping her in his arms. +But, though "man proposes, God disposes," and the programme which +poor George Fairfield had so fondly laid out and hoped to execute was +destined to be sadly altered. Weighing anchor late on Saturday night +they proceeded slowly down the river, and on the following Tuesday were +out at sea. The wind was blowing a little fresh, but that suited Captain +Fairfield admirably, for as it was a strong westerly wind, and blowing +right astern it only sent his ship on all the faster, so, crowding on +nearly all the canvas his experience had taught him was safe, he bent +over the taffrail and whistled for more wind to bear him joyously along. + +All day long they scudded gaily onward, and although towards evening the +wind moderated a little still they went along at a pretty fair pace, +and Captain Fairfield and his ship's company drank their grog heartily, +anticipating a pleasant and speedy voyage. At bedtime the Captain went +on deck, and, ordering the mate to keep a good lookout, went below and +"turned in." He was not long in his berth when he heard a great running +and shouting over his head, and then the cry of "Ice ahead!" from the +look-out met his ears. With one bound he rushed on deck, and gave the +order, to "'Bout ship," which the mate had already given; but there was +no time to do more than port helm, and so avoid the direct shock from +the massive iceberg, into which at that moment they rushed with terrible +force, the water pouring in torrents, and many of the men being killed +by falling pieces of ice which towered several feet above the mast-head. +The boats were lowered with all speed, and were hardly clear of the +"Glenalpine" when she went down with a plunge head first, and not a +vestige of hull, spars or masts was to be seen. A few of the men had +jumped or fallen into the water; these were all picked up, and on +counting heads it was found that none were missing except the mate and +two sailors, who had been killed by the falling ice. + +So great had been the hurry of shoving off that they found themselves +without chart, compass, or provisions, save a little keg of water and +a small flask of brandy. However, judging by the direction of the wind, +which the Captain had noted carefully before retiring, the boats' heads +were put in the direction of the island of Anticosti, and, keeping as +nearly as possible together (there were three boats' crews), they pulled +hard all night for shore. When the morning broke they fancied they +observed the loom of the land in the distance, and a shout of joy +involuntarily burst from the whole company; they were doomed, however, +to disappointment, for, on the mist clearing away, they could observe +nothing but sky and sea for miles on every hand. The Captain was +completely puzzled how to act, so, summoning a council of war in the +gig, they came to the conclusion that, as they might, instead of pulling +toward the land, pull farther away from it, there was no use wasting +their strength pulling at all, and that they had better keep a careful +look out for vessels either going to or coming from America, and trust +in Providence. The water was served carefully out, and the Captain took +the brandy into his own charge, the men encouraging each other with +tales of their past experience in situations equally trying and still +more dangerous. + +All day they bobbed about on the dancing waves, the oarsmen pulling just +sufficiently to keep headway on their respective boats, but not a sign +of either land or passing vessel was visible. The last round of water +was served out, and the men tried hard to induce the Captain to +hand them over the brandy, some of them sullenly, and intimating an +inclination to take the bottle by force; but the Captain cocking his +revolver, which he had fortunately retained, they subsided into silence, +and lay moodily at the bottom of the boat. They passed the night with +heavy hearts, and when morning dawned despair seized every man of them, +for not a vestige of land was to be seen, neither was there a boat +of any kind in sight. Fortunately the weather was remarkably calm and +clear, so they had no difficulty in keeping together, and in sharing +equally their little supply of water, but now that that was gone what +were they to do? + +Just as they were about to give up all hope a cry of joy from the boat +further to windward caused the occupants of the other two boats to rest +on their oars, and turn in that direction; they strained their eyes in +the endeavor to descry something beyond, but could see nothing. However, +those nearest the point in question evidently could, and so they turned +back and pulled against the wind with all their might, and in a few +minutes the boatswain sung out, "A sail ahead"! causing their hearts to +jump for joy. It was indeed a vessel which was rapidly coming towards +them. It proved to be an American brig called "Frances Smith," which +was bound for the Mediterranean, and the Captain no sooner sighted the +signals of distress which were waved from the boats than he immediately +hove to and picked the exhausted party up. The brig was rather crowded, +as she was of small tonnage; however, the crew never murmured at the +new-comers, but consented to accept a reduction in their rations, so +that the half-famished men might receive a daily allowance. + +The brig proceeded on her way, the rescued men insisting on doing their +share of the work, and greatly lightened the labors of the crew. Within +a few days, however, their powers were tried to the uttermost; the wind +freshened to a gale, and threatened to annihilate the poor old brig, +which was not in extra seaworthy condition. They were by this time more +than half-way across the Atlantic, where the seas run sometimes as high +as the yard-arm, and take several days to calm down when they have once +been lashed into fury. The ship's timbers creaked and groaned, and the +carpenter and his men had much ado to stop the numerous leaks which +sprung in her sides. The next day it blew a hurricane, taking the fore +mast and mainmast away, together with most of the rigging, and leaving +the vessel almost a total wreck. As they were not far from the southern +coast of Ireland, the Captain ordered the boats to be got ready with +sails, arms and provisions; he also took with him a chart and compass, +by which he was enabled to steer for the Fastnat Rock. There was +scarcely room for the large party in the boats, but they all got safely +in, a few minutes before the waterlogged brig went down like a lump of +lead. They had not much to eat, but they had a good supply of water, +and, as all the boats were well fitted with sails, the Captain hoped +to make the Irish coast within a few days, the wind being much more +moderate and in their favor. + +Poor George Fairfield was sick at heart. He was so anxious to get home +to his darling wife, and there he was for the second time at sea in an +open boat, without the means of communicating with his loved Agnes, or +of telling her why he was not at her side. Nevertheless he accepted the +state of affairs with calm resignation, and he and the American Captain +laid their heads together to find out exactly where they were and what +course they had best pursue. + +As they had had time to take with them a sextant chromometer and +Palinurus, they had no difficulty next day in taking observations, and +found themselves about five hundred miles W.N.W. of Mizen Head. As +it was no use depending on being picked up they made all sail in that +direction, and so rapidly did the strong west wind propel them that +on taking observations the next day they found themselves nearly one +hundred and fifty miles nearer land. It was fortunate that they made +such headway, for they had only one day's provisions left, and the water +was getting pretty scarce; however, the wind continued favorable, and +in less than three days more, half famished and thoroughly chilled +from exposure, they found themselves at midnight a few miles from the +entrance of Queenstown Harbor. + +Furling their sales, they took to the oars with a will and pulled wildly +towards the landing-place, where they were pleased to hear voices in +conversation. Just then a long whistle was heard from shore, and a husky +voice half whispered, "Boat ahoy!" "Aye, aye," was the glad response +as the shipwrecked men threw the painter to the owner of the voice, +and taking their arms and instruments, bounded on shore. Imagine their +surprise to find themselves surrounded, their muskets knocked from their +hands, and the latter speedily encircled with a pair of manacles. The +Captain of the Brig tried to remonstrate with the commander of the +party, but a navy revolver was pointed at his head, and he was forbidden +to utter a word. Finding resistance and remonstrance altogether out +of the question, the unfortunate men marched on silently as directed, +mentally endeavoring to explain this sample of Irish hospitality, and +confident that there must be a mistake somewhere, but of the precise +nature of that error they had not the faintest idea. + +Arrived at the gaol, they were severally incarcerated and their +handcuffs taken off. Then, as they signified that they were hungry, they +were liberally supplied with buttermilk and oatmeal porridge, which many +of them thought the best and most sensible part of the whole proceeding. +As it was past midnight, and they were all nearly exhausted they allowed +their curiosity to wait till the morrow, and, without any questioning +or speculation, fell fast asleep, most of them remaining quiescent unfed +late the following afternoon. When they awoke they found a warm meal +awaiting them, but no reply as to the reason for their detention could +be got out of the turnkey, who seemed to think their question one of the +greatest jokes ever perpetrated within the precincts of that edifice. At +last Fairfield summoned the turnkey. There was something commanding +in his tone which bade the gaoler treat him with respect, and to his +enquiry as to whether he could see a lawyer the man replied that he +could send for one immediately, but would vouchsafe no information. + +In a short time Councillor Quinn called in answer to Captain Fairfield's +summons, when the latter asked him to explain what reason the +authorities had for treating him in this fashion. The eminent legal +practitioner evidently thought this as great a joke as did Mr. +Fitzgerald, the turnkey, for he thrust his tongue in his cheek, and +remained silent. On Fairfield reiterating the question in a stern tone +he became more serious and said affably "My dear sir, do you not know +what you are arrested for?" + +Fairfield then became angry and said "If I did, why would I send for you +to tell me? Is this your boasted Irish hospitality, in the exercise of +which you lock up every man who happens to be cast away on your shores, +and then laugh at him when he asks you a civil question?" + +On seeing that Fairfield had really lost his temper, the astonished +barrister said "Did you not command the party of armed men who were +captured last night in the harbor?" + +"I commanded a crew of shipwrecked sailors, as also did my companion in +ill-treatment, Captain Westover." + +"Ah! Well of course you can put in that plea if you wish at your trial, +but I am afraid it will avail you little. Your arms, too, are of an +American pattern, similar to that known to be used by the Fenians." + +"Good Heavens! do they take me for a Fenian?" said Fairfield,--"why, +I am an English officer, captain of a merchant vessel of the port of +Glasgow." + +"Have you any papers to prove this?" said the lawyer. + +"No, they all went down with the vessel, but they can easily find out +whether my statements be correct by communicating with the agents." + +"That will be for you to do, when you are brought to trial, which +may not be for some time, as there is a surplus of work on hand this +session." + +"But can I not demand a trial?" + +"No, the _Habeas Corpus_ Act is suspended, and you must just make +yourself as comfortable as you can under the circumstances." + +Poor Fairfield wrung his hands and stamped the floor with rage. He +cursed Ireland and her people and laws, or rather the want of them; +then, as reason took the place of passion, he sat down and wrote a +letter to his wife, informing her of his deplorable condition, and +urging her to communicate with the agents of his vessel immediately. +This letter never reached her, for, having heard of the wreck of the +Glenalpine (some portions of the bows being found by a homeward-bound +steamer imbedded in a large block of ice), she never doubted for an +instant but that her husband had gone down with the vessel. The poor +girl now felt almost broken down. But for the sake of the child which +she expected she would have likely died with grief. The Canadian girl, +Arline Bertrand, had told her so much of Canada, especially of Montreal, +that she decided to follow the girl to her native land, and try to earn +a living for herself and child, should God spare it, there, particularly +as her aunt, Mrs. Whitcher, seemed to be afraid poor Agnes should return +to her. Mrs. Fairfield accordingly sold her little household goods, +and soon after bid her aunt and sister farewell, and took passage on +a Montreal steamer, Bertrand having secured for herself a place as +stewardess. Arrived in Montreal, she visited the girl's parents, hoping +to find reasonable lodgings during her approaching sickness, but the +girl's mother did not believe her daughter's story about her young +mistress, but thought her a young unfortunate girl who had come to +Canada to hide her shame. She offered kindly to bring and introduce +her to the nuns of St. Plagie as the most proper place for her in her +condition. Mrs. Fairfield, thanking her, was glad to find so suitable +a shelter. Paying her board a week in advance, she retired to her room, +but found to her surprise that room had several more occupants all +in the same condition. The manner and language of those unfortunate +creatures did not suit Mrs. Fairfield at all, and as she mentioned her +disappointment at not having a room to herself to one of the nuns, she +was informed that a private room was three times the amount. The sister +also told her that the babe when born could not be cared for there, but +would have to be sent to the Grey Nunnery, and that she had better part +with it as soon as born. This frightened poor Agnes so much that she +resolved not to stay there, come what might. Asking the next morning +permission to take a walk, she had great trouble to get it granted, the +nun informing her that the people in Montreal were so very bad, and that +she would run great danger to go out alone. But Agnes thought she would +risk this danger. She accordingly went up Campeau street, at which +corner St. Plagie is situated. She walked and walked till she came to +St. Mary street. There inquiring for the residence of a physician, some +kind person directed her to Dr. P----'s drug store on Notre Dame street. +To him she told her story and her desire to find a more suitable place. +He gave her the address of my house, and advised her to come under +my care. On hearing her story I could not for a moment doubt her +truthfulness, and received her gladly at, my place, sending the servant +with a note for Mrs. F----'s things to St. Plagie in the afternoon, +which were, after some little delay and trouble, handed out to her, no +doubt the sisters feeling sorry that the fair young English lady did +not return. Her former servant, Arline Bertrand, having returned as +stewardess to England again, Mrs. Fairfield did not care to let the +girl's mother know that she had left the convent, hoping to find means +to let Arline know her whereabouts later, as the old lady had certainly +meant well enough when bringing her to St. Plagie. Mrs. Fairfield was +only three weeks at my house when a baby boy was born to her. Then her +sorrows seemed to be greater than ever. She thought of having lost her +husband, the father of the innocent baby, so early seemed almost to kill +her, and I frequently heard her implore God to take them both. But +it was not in his wise ordination to grant her wish. She regained her +strength gradually, and with it grew the love for her child which in all +unconsciousness grew quite a stout little fellow who wanted to be fed, +clothed and cared for, which obligations fell alone on its mother, and +as her means became always smaller, she decided to take a situation +with a wealthy family from Savannah who were staying at this time at +my house, the Southern lady having taken a great interest from the +beginning of their meeting in Mrs. Fairfield, offered her a comfortable +home and fair compensation if she would accompany them, attend to +the wants of the lady and her baby during their travels, and act as +companion and housekeeper when at their Southern home. Mrs. Fairfield +took it very hard to part from her little boy, but leaving it with a +reliable nurse, and under my special observation, she was reconciled at +last. Hoping to return in one year, she left. Every thing went on well. +Her letters were full of gratitude. Her Southern friends never allowed +her to feel her subordinate position for a moment. She also remitted +regularly the wages for the nurse, and little George was, when fifteen +months old, a lovely fair boy, and as large as a child two years old. + +Some months passed during which I did not hear from Mrs. Fairfield, nor +did the nurse receive her payment. I wrote to Savannah, but received +no answer. The nurse, poor woman, naturally could not keep the child +without payment, and brought him one fine afternoon to my house to leave +him, and also demanding the back pay. My own children, being delighted +with the dear little fellow, we decided to keep and bring him up as our +own child should his mother never return. And many of my fair patients +will remember the lovely, little curly-headed fellow who would run into +the parlor uninvited, but whose large blue eyes would appeal so sweetly +to be allowed to stay. Indeed we all became so attached to him that we +hoped nobody would ever claim him. And, as twelve months had passed, I +gave up all hope of ever hearing from Mrs. Fairfield again. + +Fairfield had been confined in Pentenville, having been convicted on a +charge of felony-treason, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. His +wife and, friends not having heard of his trial, no one was present +to bear testimony in his favor, and both he and his men (many of whom +happened to be Irishmen) were imprisoned. The Americans claimed +the protection of their flag, a covering which proved sufficiently +substantial to protect them, but the only flag which could have been +claimed by poor unfortunate George was the very one he was accused of +attacking. + +As the British Government did not wish to deal harshly with Fenian +prisoners, or, as its enemies said, was afraid to trample any longer on +the Irish people, George Fairfield and his companions, in common with +many real Fenians, were liberated some years before the expiration of +their term of servitude. Fairfield at once sought his late home, hoping +to find his wife and child still alive, and cursing his fate, which had +cast him twice on the pitiless ocean, only to be arrested and imprisoned +as soon as he got to land. But the worst had yet to come. When he +arrived at his old home and found it occupied by strangers his heart +sank within him; on enquiring for Mrs. Fairfield he was informed that +she had gone to America with her servant Bertrand. Grasping the railings +to keep himself from falling, the poor stricken man gazed wildly at +his informant, as though stunned by a severe blow; then gasping out an +apology of some kind he rushed along the street like a madman, stopping +not till he had got far out into the open country. There, throwing +himself headlong on the grass, he shed tears of anguish, moaning as +if in bodily pain. "Why did I not go down with the ship?" he cried +bitterly; "Was it for this I toiled twice over on the open sea? Ah, why +was I ever born to be tossed about, imprisoned, and deserted?" + +For hours he lay insensible on the grass, till the cool evening air, +bringing his mind once more into activity, he arose with a groan, and +slowly retraced his steps, not caring whither he went. Passing along the +quay he looked at the dark, sullen water, and for a moment was impelled +to cast himself in and so put an end to his misery, but something in his +better nature restrained him, and he walked moodily along to where an +ocean steamer lay preparing for sea. Anything was better than inaction, +so, as his money was all gone and he would have some difficulty in +obtaining a position as Captain or even as mate, he shipped as a +foremast hand, and took his place with the crew. Right glad would he +have been to have changed places with any one of the jolly tars around +him; their songs and jests, however, diverted the current of his +thoughts and kept him from his bitter reflections for a time at least. + +In a short time they were out at sea and, having plenty of work to do +handing sails, reefing and steering, he almost forgot his great and deep +heart-wound, and, although he could not be prevailed upon to sing a song +or even to join in a chorus, yet he listened attentively to the yarns of +the sailors, and always applauded their songs. + +The vessel was trading between Glasgow and Montreal, and within a short +time they were anchored at the latter port; the sailors all went ashore +as soon as the vessel was safely moored, and Fairfield having nothing +else to occupy his mind, went up the wharf in search of Bertrand's +parents house. He was directed to a house on St. Bonaventure street, +where he found the mother of Arline Bertrand all right, but her daughter +was not at home. She had gone as stewardess abroad again and married +there. She had promised to visit her parents at some future time. When +Captain Fairfield enquired about the lady she had come out with three +years previous, the old lady broke out into sobs, and told him that the +lady had died during her confinement in St. Plagie, but that the nuns +would give him more information about it if he would go there. If the +babe had lived she did not know, but the sisters had offered to give to +her daughter the lady's clothes and trunk if she came herself to demand +it. This last blow seemed to be the hardest in all his sorrow. Thinking +himself so near to find his beloved wife, and now all gone and forever, +it seemed to hard. But he would go and see the nuns and hear how she had +died, and if his child had lived or was alive now. This thought gave +him new hopes, and, Madame Bertrand offering to accompany him, +they proceeded to St. Plagie to obtain an interview with the Lady +Superioress. He had never thought of the child before, but now it was +his whole thought and hope to find it alive. + +Arriving at the convent he had not to wait very long to see the desired +lady, and on informing her of his wishes she most kindly consented to +search all records, but, as the number of patients received every year +is very large he had to content himself till the following day when she +would give him all the information he desired. The next day seemed +never coming. But at last poor George felt as if his worst doom would be +sealed now. The lady in waiting informed him that she felt happy to be +able to tell him that his child (a little girl) was alive and at that +present moment at a convent in Cemetery street, where he could see it +and take it out on payment of its maintenance. The lady's clothes had +been disposed of. As already stated, a long time had elapsed since +her death. Capt. Fairfield, with a few lines from the sisters of St. +Plagie, proceeded to the St. Joseph's Home, on Cemetery street, and, on +handing the note, a little girl about three years old was shown to him +to be his child. The poor little girl seemed afraid to look at him, and +as the child could only speak French he felt as if a board was between +him and the child; but her looks, he thought, were somewhat like his +beloved Agnes. The child's little curls had been cut a few days before, +so a nun told him. What was he to do with the child? He was not a +Captain now, and would have to make first a position for himself again, +and then he could claim his child. The child seemed happy, and the nuns +offering to keep it for a moderate price he decided to give what money +he had earned during his passage and come again and again till the +little girl could speak English to him, which the nuns promised to teach +her, and then, to take her home to his native land. He had no parents +alive, but he thought when going back to England he would call and see +Mrs. Taylor, Agnes' sister Alice. He had never visited her, and he felt +so bad to think that she had not helped her sister in distress. He well +remembered his wife's spirit and independence, and that made him think +that his wife had never made her wants known to them. However, the ship +sailed again. He brought toys and sweetmeats to his darling little girl, +to whom he felt with every visit more and more attached, and the parting +was harder than he could have imagined. + +Returned to Glasgow. On a later voyage, he proceeded at once to +Mrs. Taylor's house, and was struck at the happy appearance of his +sister-in-law, who, when she recognized him, became quite alarmed and +was near fainting. When Mr. Taylor, who was struck for a moment also, +regained his self-possession, he allowed poor George to tell his sad +story, both listening with interest. But when he related how his wife +had died and he had at last found his child--Alice broke out, "She is +not dead! She is not dead, George! We had a letter only a week ago. She +is in Paris." George Fairfield was thunderstruck at this revelation. +Alice brought the letter, which he saw was from his Agnes. But how +could be this mistake with the deceased lady in the convent and the +child,--whose child was it! + +Agnes wrote to her sister that she had intended travelling with the +Southern family to the Continent. When on the oceans the Franco-Prussian +war was declared. They had to stop at Southampton and, instead of going +to Germany, they went to the South of France, and, as she had no letters +from me for some time, she was almost beside herself. The Southern lady +being in such delicate state of health she could not think of leaving +her, but had to accompany her. All letters sent from or sent to France +were carefully inspected by the Government, and thus it happened that +I had not received any communication for a long time. She had at last +expected that her letters had gone astray, then she had written to her +sister, Mrs. Taylor, asking her to write to me and try to obtain in this +way information about her boy. + +Captain Fairfield would have liked to start at once in search of his +darling wife, but Mr. Taylor, who saw the danger for him in going to +France at this time, prevented him from acting rashly, also fearing that +the sudden shock to Agnes in seeing her husband whom she had bemoaned +so long would be of great injury to her health, so it was decided that +Alice should write first, saying in her letter that there were some +hopes of Captain Fairfield being alive. The next mail should bring a +letter from the Captain himself to his wife. Both letters were duly +posted, but when the steamer on which George Fairfield was mate was +ready to sail again no answer had been received from, France, and George +had to cross the ocean again. + +Having received my address from Mrs. Taylor he intended to come and see +me on his arrival in this port, and this time he was more fortunate: +the ship made a quick voyage, and as Mrs. Taylor had written to me by a +previous steamer, informing me of all these strange incidents, I looked +out for him. + +One afternoon in the month of August, 1871, when I was driving along +the wharf, I saw a steamer coming in, and on enquiring the name of it I +found it was the one with which I expected Mr. Fairfield. I drove home +with all speed, and as it was late in the afternoon Master George had +his little white frock pretty well soiled; but, on telling him his papa +would soon, be here to see him, he consented readily to leave his play +and undergo an extra bathing--his little skin being so fair the least +speck would show--and scarcely had we finished the operation when the +door-bell rang and a weather-beaten gentlemen inquired for me. His +surprise was great when he found I had expected him, and on seeing his +beautiful child his happiness knew no bounds. + +As soon as he had a little rested he related to us all his trials and +miseries, which seemed like a fairy tale. But when would Mrs. Fairfield +return and meet her husband, was the next question, and where? He came +every day and spent many an hour at our house playing with his child +and wishing for his wife to return. He often said it would be almost +too much happiness for him; that he was afraid something might cross his +plans again. I had written to Savannah again to hear if the family would +return from Europe soon. At last a letter came informing me that the +family, as also Mrs. Fairfield, had embarked on a New York steamer, and +would be expected home within a short time. When Captain Fairfield heard +the good news he made arrangements not to return with his vessel to +Glasgow but await the arrival of his long lost wife. He telegraphed to +the agents in New York, desiring them to deliver a telegram at once +to Mrs. Fairfield on her arrival. The message read thus: "Mrs. Capt. +Fairfield is wanted in Montreal immediately. Important business. +Answer." In two days we had an answer which read: "Will start at once, +hope all well, Agnes Fairfield." Late in the evening the same day the +New York train arrived rather late, but with it Captain Fairfield's +wife. When the Captain saw his wife approaching he dropped the boy and +ran towards her, calling her by her name, but she no sooner saw him than +she fell senseless just inside the hall door. I would have raised her; +but shoving me aside he took her tenderly in his arms and carried her +upstairs. Then calling her by all sorts of endearing terms he conjured +here to open her eyes and speak to him. After a time she revived. +When she came to herself, she gazed wildly around the room, enquiring +eagerly, Where is he? I had persuaded Captain Fairfield to retire to +an adjoining room for a while, and then brought little George to her +pretending her enquiries were meant for him; but her mind was perfectly +clear, and she demanded an explanation. I then told her in short what +had occurred, when she broke out in an hysterical cry. I called Captain +Fairfield to her, imploring him to try and dry her tears. But he let his +head sink into his hands and wept like a child himself. Little George +did not care for this proceeding at all, so he said he rather would keep +me for his mamma because I did not cry. I hope he never will have the +tenth part of the trial both his parents had. + +For some time the now happy family stayed at Montreal, but at last +Captain Fairfield had to resume his duties, but as he would never part +from his wife and child again, he took both on the steamship with him. +The parting from the dear little child George nearly broke my children's +hearts, who had looked upon him as their baby brother, and I promised to +myself then never to take a strange child into my house if I could not +keep it for ever, for even my old heart fretted after him. + +The little girl in the asylum whom Captain Fairfield thought his child +he did not forget, but took with him to England on a later trip, where +Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, who had no family, adopted her. The nuns at St. +Plagie were surprised when they heard of the mistake which was made, +but could never find out who was the young English girl who died alone +there. God has certainly taken care of her child, for it is in a good +home, well provided for, and much beloved. Captain, Mrs., and little +George Fairfield visited, before their final departure, the parents +of Arline Bertrand, on Bonaventure street, and informed them of their +existence. The old lady was so surprised that it took a long time to +explain, but she promised to let her daughter know all about it. + +Captain Fairfield is not crossing the ocean any more, having received +the appointment as harbor-master in an English port. He does not want +his son George, who is in College yet, to show any liking for the sea. +But I hope to see once more before I die the young man whom we all loved +so dearly when a baby-boy. + + * * * * * + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +The Night Bell. + + +My night-bell was pulled very hastily, it was about two o'clock, the +night was bright, it was autumn, and, as I hastened to see who wanted me +in such a hurry, I saw two young girls sitting on my house-door steps: +both had been running very fast, the case was urgent, and the little +rest they took before the door was opened would enable them to return +all the faster. I had hardly opened the door when both commenced to beg +me in the most imploring manner to go at once with them to see a young +woman who, as they thought, must be in great distress. + +I put on my outer garments, took the street and number of the house, as +the party was entirely unknown to me, and then accompanied them on their +way, which led us through Craig street East, past a beautiful field--the +same where Viger Garden is now. A few more crossings were passed, and we +arrived at the scene where my help was wanted. In front of the house +was a policeman walking to and fro. The house was medium size, built of +wood, was gray, freshly painted, and so were the green blinds. On the +road going the two girls had told me that the house where I was wanted +was not a very good one, but, if I had a heart and was a mother, for +Gael's sake not to refuse but to go with them. The presence of the +guardian of the peace encouraged me; and if I felt a little chilly at +entering a den of vice as this was it must be excusable as, till then, I +only knew of them by name and what little I had heard of them. + +I was at once ushered into a little bed-room, from where the shrieks of +a female voice had come as if in great agony and in great pain. I found +a young girl not past her seventeenth year, yet in the last state of +labor,--it was a sight I shall never forget as long as I live: years +have past since then but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were +yesterday, and in my ears are the sound of her voice to help and protect +her from the inhuman abuse which another inmate of the house showered +down upon the poor victim. + +I discovered that the poor young creature--we will call her Martha--had +only come to Montreal, the day previous, and, on, inquiring for a +boarding house, was driven by a carter to this den. The house being full +of occupants the landlady had made her occupy the same room with another +bad character, a great bony female about forty years of age, with +painted face, and attired in disgusting finery. This great, big, +hardened creature then gave the greatest trouble, would have me remove +my patient out of her room, even at the risk of her life, and I was +obliged to call the assistance of the policeman to have her quieted. + +After a while all was quiet except the feeble cry of a little girl who +had been born. Born in a house of vice, what will became of it and its +child-mother? I such were my thoughts then, and now, after many years, +I can tell the reader what has become of them, of some of the inmates +anyhow. + +The woman who kept this house I must, in truth, confess was a +good-hearted person herself, being led astray when quite young, had +never thought of the wrong she was committing by keeping a place of +this sort. She had a widowed mother living in the States and a family of +smaller brothers and sisters who depended mostly on the ill-gotten money +this unfortunate eldest sister would send them for their support. This +_Madam Flora_, then, was very kind in her way to Martha, and offered to +take the baby and bring it up if I was willing to place it out to nurse +with a respectable woman until such a time that she could take the child +herself, as she intended to give up this life of shame. + +Martha was a girl well brought up, had been in school till shortly +before this episode of her life, but it was not her mother who had been +her companion during the last two years. + +Her mother who was too much occupied with her smaller children and +other household affairs had thought it better to send her daughter to a +boarding-school to finish her education, and this was the end of it. If +all mothers would only take the care of their girls when fourteen years +old into their own hands a great deal of trouble might be spared to +them. The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time +for most girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and +under her care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best +friend of her daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she +herself was young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to +her daughter's little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her +child, and save her in many instances from eternal destruction. Thus +poor Martha had no mother who would listen to her girlish stories. She +found plenty companions in school and very bad advisers. When the truth +of her misfortune dawned upon her, she thought of nothing but to fly +from the place to where she did not know, till the destroyer of her +virtue advised her to go to Montreal, where he would in short join and +marry her. To confess to her mother she could never, and her father she +knew would never look at her again, so she followed his advice, left her +home under some pretence, and came to the place where I found her. She +was very glad to get somebody to take the child from her, for she was +fully resolved to lead a better life, and how could she ever do it with +a baby; she was hardly fit to earn her own living. She told me that an +aunt of hers was living in Halifax, the wife of a sea captain who had +no children, and who had often written to her mother to send one of her +children to her. So she resolved to visit this aunt if some kind person +would help her to get there. I consulted with some of my wealthy and at +the same time charitable Christian friends, who have been, always ready +to help me when I had some needy patients, and with their assistance she +was sent for some weeks after her recovery, to a nice widow lady in the +country, and after receiving satisfactory information about her aunt +in Halifax she was sent there, and has, so far as we have ascertained, +never overstepped the bounds of morality again but was married four +years later to a friend of her uncle, also a sea captain. She has a +large family now, and whenever she writes to me she always prays that +God may forgive her and guide the little girl she parted so easy from +some years before. + +The wife of a private soldier in the Canadian rifles, named Rice had at +the same time lost her own baby only six weeks old, and as her quarters +at the barracks were good and healthy I proposed to send the child +there, Madame Flora offering to pay all necessary expenses. I made +arrangements accordingly, and little Emma (the baby) was soon an inmate +of the barracks. But now a new trouble arose. Mrs. Rice was a sobre, +clean, industrious woman, who with the pay she received for nursing the +baby could make herself and place very comfortable. This made the less +fortunate soldiers' wives jealous, and their thoughts were bent on +nothing else for awhile but how to get the poor little waif out of +barracks. The baby thrived well under Mrs. Rice's care, but cried +at times, as all healthy babies will; but as the babies of the other +soldiers' wives never cried--so their mothers said--they would not +suffer a crybaby in the room, and such a mysterious child where nobody +knew where it came from, and could not find it out either. The larger +rooms in the barracks were in general occupied by different families, +and the one where Mrs. Rice had her quarters was a very large one. It +was called the ship, and was occupied at this time by forty different +families. Each had a certain space, say about 12 by 14 feet, allotted to +them, and it was indeed a surprise to me how neat it was kept, and how +one woman would try to have her place in better order than the other. +Their packing boxes were converted into dressing tables, a little muslin +curtain pinned around it, a looking glass in the centre, and a few +ornaments, sea-shells or East Indian curiosities gave the whole a nice +appearance. The washing or cooking had to be done in out-houses, and +at night each family had a large curtain drawn around their respective +place, and it was really astonishing how little sickness existed +among so many men, women and children. Every morning at 10 o'clock the +officers on guard accompanied by a sergeant on duty had to visit each +respective home, and report any irregularities; and so it happened that +my baby was reported as being a great disturber of the peace. Poor Mrs. +Rice was in great trouble. She had learned to love the child, and was +afraid she would have to part with it. What was to be done? She was +ordered to appear the next morning at 12 o'clock before the commanding +officer to receive sentence for her offence. I had attended a great many +officers' ladies in this regiment, also the Colonel's lady, and was well +acquainted with that gentleman and his kind heart, so I bid Mrs. Rice +to keep quiet but dress the baby (it was then three months old) in +its little white fur jacket and cap, and bring it with her before the +officers, and promising that I would meet her there also. + +On my way I met the Doctor of the Regiment, a very kind-hearted +gentleman who, on seeing me, enquired what mischief I had done. I told +him of our trouble, and begged of him to intercede for the poor baby, if +possible, and, as he was well aware that the health of Mrs. Rice was so +much improved by nursing the infant, he thought he would be able to help +us. + +Mrs. Rice entered the room, the infant in her arms, the Doctor and +myself following. The colonel, on seeing such a procession enter, could +not help smiling, and as the Doctor with all his eloquence stated our +case and of the necessity for Mrs. Rice's health to nurse the baby, and +the danger to the little baby's life in changing its nurse, the Colonel, +as a father, and a true-hearted gentleman, gave not only consent for the +baby to stay in barracks, but ordered other quarters to be given to +Rice and his wife,--a whole room to themselves, where the baby could not +annoy anybody. + +But my story is growing too long, I will hasten to end it. The new +quarters into which Mrs. Rice moved were near the rooms occupied by the +armor sergeant and his wife who had been long in service, and had saved +quite a little fortune, but children they had none. Both became soon so +attached to their little neighbor that they offered quite a sum of money +to Madame Flora if she would give the child over to them for adoption. +I used all influence in my power to persuade Madame Flora to give the +child up, to which she at last consented. I felt a heavy burden lifted +off my heart and conscience when the papers were lawfully made out which +gave the dear little baby into the hands of good Christian people. Now +the child had full rights to live in barracks, but its adopted father's +time was in, and he retired with a good pension which, along with his +savings, enabled him to buy a house and garden in New London, where the +baby has grown up into a fine young woman, not knowing to this day that +her dear father and mother are not her natural parents. + +Madame Flora has retired from her life of shame, trying to bring up her +younger sisters in the path of virtue. One of the young girls who had +summoned me on that eventful night in such haste has also reformed, and +is living with a family as helpful servant a good many years, and she +has often told me that the events of that night were the first cause to +her for reflection. The other inmate of the house whom I mentioned, who +was so cruel and disgusting, fell lower and lower,--nothing could we do +for her--she would listen to nothing, and a sudden death ended her life +of shame. + +May the Lord have mercy on her and guide me, the narrator of these +incidents, in His ways, so that when the last bell will be rung to +summon me before Him I need not hesitate but answer joyfully: I am +ready, I am ready to go. + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + +***** This file should be named 8443-8.txt or 8443-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/4/4/8443/ + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mysteries of Montreal + Being Recollections of a Female Physician + +Author: Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8443] +This file was first posted on July 11, 2003 +Last Updated: November 6, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + + + + +Text file produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL + </h1> + <h3> + BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PHYSICIAN + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Charlotte Fuhrer + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Truth is Stranger than Fiction + </h4> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h5> + MONTREAL + </h5> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. — Early Life and Professional + Struggles. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. — A Just Retribution. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. — The Bag Baby. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. — A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. — Among the Fenians. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. — A Disciple of Satan. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. — The Frail Shop Girl. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. — The two Orphans </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. — A Tale of Two Cities </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. — A Blighted Life. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. — The Mother-in-Law. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. — A Deserted Wife, or Model + Woman </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. — A Tale of Bigamy. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. — The Unfortunate Sailor. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. — The Night Bell. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things + enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of a + Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate + residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting for + the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours with a + narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the + expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, and + not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. Enquiry having + frequently been made as to whether my recollections were published, I have + been induced to print this volume, changing only names of persons and + localities, so as to avoid identification. Many persons will find it hard + to believe some of the occurrences which are herein mentioned, but those + who have been concerned (directly or indirectly) with any of the parties + to my narratives, will recognize, under the disguise of a false name, some + person with whose history they are familiar. Should any discover his own + actions here narrated, let him not think that I have wantonly endeavored + to open old sores, but rather to warn others from taking that first false + step which so often leads to future misery and bitter remorse. + </p> + <p> + MONTREAL, May, 1881 + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. — Early Life and Professional Struggles. + </h2> + <p> + My father, an officer in the Hanoverian Army, having died while I was + almost a child, I found myself, at the age of 17, governess in the family + of the Baron Grovestein in Hamburg, Germany, where I met my present + husband, Gustav Schroeder, at that time one of the most “eligible” young + gentlemen in that city. + </p> + <p> + Though not particularly handsome, Gustav was all that could be desired in + other respects. He was young, well educated, and the son of wealthy + parents, and of an amiable disposition. Soon after my engagement at the + Baron’s, young Schroeder’s visits (ostensibly to the family) became so + frequent, that his friends, who had divined the cause, forbade his having + anything to say to me, more than cold civility demanded; and insisted that + his visits to the Grovestein mansion should be discontinued. This, it may + well be supposed, had quite the opposite effect, and in a short time we + were engaged to be married, with the formal, if not the hearty approval of + Gustav’s relations, and in course of time the marriage ceremony took + place, with all the paraphernalia of an <i>Alt-Deutsch Hochzeitsfest</i>. + </p> + <p> + Now, however, came the question: How are we to live! for my husband had no + settled profession, and his parents, though wealthy, could not deprive + their more obedient children of their rights to benefit the perverse + Gustav. They gave him sufficient to start him in business, with the + understanding that he would emigrate to America, their idea being that a + German gentleman with a little capital could not fail to make a fortune + among the comparatively illiterate Columbians. To New York accordingly we + came, and Gustav labored assiduously to establish a business as importer + of German manufactures; he soon found, however, that men who did not know + Horace from Euripides could drive closer bargains, and make quicker sales + than he could, and, as he was too proud to compound with his + correspondents in the old country, and insisted on conscientiously paying + a hundred cents for a dollar, we found ourselves in less than three years, + with diminished capital in specie, and an increased one as regards future + candidates for the Presidency, on our way back to our common Fatherland. + Through the influence of his friends, Gustav procured a good situation in + a merchant’s office, but he was altogether unsuited both by temperament + and education for such a position, and I soon made up my mind that I must + either prepare to enter the world’s great battlefield in person, or live + in helpless dependence on my husband’s relations. + </p> + <p> + I had often while in America wondered why the ladies of that Republic (so + advanced and enlightened in everything else) should submit to a practice + so revolting, so contrary to all ideas of morality and refinement as is + the system of man-midwifery so widely practiced in the United States. No + German lady would think of permitting the attendance of a man at her + bedside on such an occasion, and though custom in England seems generally + to sanction the absurd practice, yet Her Majesty Queen Victoria never + allows her medical advisers to be in attendance in any other capacity than + that of <i>consulting</i> physicians. I had discussed the matter + frequently with married ladies in New York, and they were generally + agreed, that, could only competent ladies be found in the United States, + man-midwifery would soon cease to be practiced in that Republic. I + accordingly resolved to devote all my energies to the study of that + particular branch of the medical profession, and my efforts were crowned + with success. In two years I obtained a diploma from the Hamburg + University, and soon after prepared to return to America. + </p> + <p> + [Footnote: Dr. Playfair, President of the Obstetrical Society of London, + in his address delivered in February, 1879, said:—“I confess that it + is with a feeling of regret, something akin to shame, when I reflect that + I am supposed to teach a class of young men the entire subject of + midwifery, and the diseases of women and children, in a short summer + course of something under forty lectures. The thing is a manifest and + ridiculous absurdity, hence we have, of necessity, to omit, year by year, + <i>at least half of midwifery proper</i>.” + </p> + <p> + The Principal of Calcutta Medical College writes Dr. Playfair thus:—“To + what a hideous extent is the practice of midwifery carried on in England, + by utterly unqualified men, whom the unhappy women and their friends + believe to be qualified, and the system in your hospitals sadly favors + this.” + </p> + <p> + “Yet there are some women who will smother every feeling of modesty and + morality, and trust their lives to one of these licentiates rather than + commit themselves to the care of a thoroughly trained midwife of their own + sex. Surely nothing can be more absurd and irrational.”] + </p> + <p> + About this time a friend of my husbands’ informed us that the climate of + Canada was very much superior to that of the Eastern States, and much more + like that of Germany, and that in Montreal I would be likely to find, not + only a pleasant city, but a people more European in style and custom, also + a capital field for the exercise of my profession. For Montreal then we + sailed with hearts full of hope, and, being fifty-four days at sea, I was + summoned by the Captain to attend a lady on board (which I did with the + success which has since invariably attended my efforts), and this was my + debut as a professional accoucheur. + </p> + <p> + On our arrival at Montreal we presented letters of introduction to the + German Consul, and the leading members of the German Society, and I soon + became fully occupied in the exercise of my profession. Dr. X—— + (now one of our most distinguished physicians) not only tolerated my + vocation, but, with a magnanimity worthy of his genius and ability, gave + me counsel and advice, and recommended me as highly as possible to his + confrères and the public. Some few resident doctors threw cold water on my + enterprise, but, to their credit be it spoken, the profession at large + treated me invariably with the greatest kindness and courtesy, shewing + thereby a liberality and largeness of heart which is ever the outcome of + real ability. + </p> + <p> + I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily + round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down to + receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a newborn + baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he was its + father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any provision + could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take it, as he + would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river. I thought my heart + would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly treated, so I took it + from him, promising to see it safely to some charitable institution. He + told me his name was Ferguson, that he was in business in Montreal, and + that if I would deposit the child in some charitable institution and call + and see its mother during her recovery, he would pay all necessary + expenses. It was too late that night to go out with the child, so I + prepared some food for its nourishment and kept it till the next day, + resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady Superior at one of the + nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that the nunnery was closed, and + I was obliged to return home with the babe, which, by-the-by, continued to + roar lustily all the way, and so attracted public attention to me (its + presumptive mother) that I wept as bitterly as the child itself, and was + heartily sorry that I had undertaken any such mission. + </p> + <p> + Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited + me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who were + baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for admission. + On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that the child + was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to deliver it to + her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me that she very + considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary fee, she + undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted. + </p> + <p> + In the evening I called to see the mother; she was lying on a miserable + couch in a low lodging-house in the Quebec suburbs, yet she had about her + the air of a lady, and on her finger glittered a ring set with brilliants. + She wept when I told her how her child was disposed of, but said that she + had no other alternative, as if her father, who was a lawyer of eminence, + had any idea of her predicament, he would cast her off in shame; that when + she first discovered her condition she persuaded her paramour to make a + formal proposal for her hand, but her father was enraged beyond measure, + and threatened her so terribly that she, for a time at least, put away all + thoughts of Ferguson from her mind, and had not quite decided how to act, + when the occurrence took place which led to the visit aforementioned, and + caused the necessity for my attendance. Miss L—— had barely + time to call in a carriage at Ferguson’s office, and apprise him of her + condition, when she was taken ill, and obliged to procure a lodging with + all speed. Ferguson selected the wretched hovel alluded to, as being away + from all chance of discovery by his or her friends, and after my visit, + empowered me to engage a nurse, and make what other arrangements I could + for Miss L——‘s comfort. She managed to get a confidential + friend to telegraph her father from Quebec that she had arrived in that + city, and then sent on a letter and had it mailed there, stating that she + had gone on the steamboat the previous evening to see some friends off, + and, remaining too long on board, was taken away eastward, but would + return on receiving the passage money from Montreal. + </p> + <p> + With this story she managed to deceive her otherwise astute father, and in + four days she actually got up and went to her own home in a carriage; + insisting on retiring immediately to her room in consequence of the + nervous excitement and fatigue she had undergone. The nurse I had engaged + to attend her, she on some pretence or another smuggled into the house as + a domestic servant, and so not only managed to have an attendant, but to + keep up a clandestine communication with Ferguson and the outer world. + </p> + <p> + In the frantic hope of acquiring a rapid fortune, Ferguson migrated to New + Orleans, but just then the American war broke out, and he was pressed into + the service. Whether he was killed or not Miss L——never found + out; his letters became gradually less frequent, till finally she lost all + trace of him whatever, and she eventually married a wholesale merchant of + this city, who is to this day probably unaware of this little episode in + his wife’s former career. Sometimes I see her in her carriage driving with + liveried servants along St. James street, and I cannot refrain from + thinking of the innocent babe as it lay in poor Ferguson’s coat-tail. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. — A Just Retribution. + </h2> + <p> + One evening, about the middle of June, 18—, a gentleman called to + see me, accompanied by a lady closely veiled. He said he wished me to + procure suitable lodging for her, and to attend her on her accouchement, + which was now close at hand, stating that no money would be spared to + furnish everything necessary either to her comfort or convenience. As I + did not know of any lodging suitable to a person of her station, I was + puzzled how to act; I did not want to lose a patient, and yet could not, + even if so disposed, make room for her in my own house. I knew that my + next door neighbor (an elderly French-Canadian lady) was accustomed to + take in lodgers; so, leaving the lady and gentleman for a while in my + parlor, I went to see if I could make arrangements for the reception of + the former. Madame Charbonneau, my neighbor, had all her rooms occupied, + but said she was willing for a consideration to give up her drawing-rooms + for a time to the fair patient. This was eminently satisfactory to me, as, + in the event of an emergency, I would be close at hand; I accordingly + arranged for Mrs. Trotter’s accommodation, and on reporting to Mr. Dombey, + the gentleman aforementioned, he seemed to be perfectly satisfied. From, + what I afterwards learned, I am able to inform the reader that Mr. Dombey + was junior partner in the house of Dombey & Son, dry goods merchants, + in this city, his father, Jacob Dombey, sen., being considered one of the + wealthiest importers in Canada. In his youth Jacob Dombey, jun., had been + pampered and petted beyond measure, his every whim being carried out even + at great expense; arrived at the age of twenty-one he became enamored of a + young lady whose father kept a small toy-shop on Notre Dame street, and + nothing would content him but a marriage with the “Goddess,” as his + innamorata was called. At first he was quite proud of his pretty wife, and + was to be seen daily in Sherbrooke street, driving her behind a splendid + span of spirited bay horses, but after a few months he grew tired of this + routine, and with his bosom friend, Richard Fairfax, might be seen, + nightly at the theatres and other places of amusement, while his poor wife + sat in patient loneliness awaiting his return. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Trotter was the daughter of a Civic Official of high standing, and + had married at a very early age a retired English Officer, who, being well + advanced in years, left her at the age of twenty-four a widow with four + children. Trotter was possessed of little besides his pension, which died + with him; so Mrs. T. was obliged to eke out a miserable subsistence on the + receipts from a little city property left her by her father. Soon after + her husband’s demise Mrs. Trotter removed to Lachine (a small village on + the river side about nine miles above Montreal), in order to live more + economically, and soon became acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Dombey, who had + taken up their abode there for the summer season. Mrs. Dombey took quite a + fancy to the fascinating widow, and they soon became inseparable. + </p> + <p> + Every evening on the promenade might be seen Mrs. Trotter leaning on the + arm of Mr. Dombey, his wife following accompanied by his friend Fairfax; + or they were together on the river boating, or enjoying a picnic on + “Dixie” Island. Occasionally, when the weather was unfavorable to out-door + amusements, they would engage in a rubber of whist, generally ending the + evening with a little music. Dombey did not know one tune from another, + but his wife praised Mrs. Trotter’s singing so highly that he soon + imagined that in that art, as in others, she was nearly, if not + altogether, perfect. When it became time for Mrs. Trotter to go home, + Jacob used to escort her to her cottage on the river bank, about a mile + distant from his own residence, and after a few weeks there sprang up an + intimacy between them which culminated in the incidents which gave rise to + my narrative. + </p> + <p> + On the day following that on which I had engaged her apartments Mrs. + Trotter took up her abode at Madame Charbonneau’s, and about six weeks + afterwards her baby, a beautiful girl, was born; she sent a message to Mr. + Dombey’s office, and in the afternoon he called to see her. He was greatly + pleased with the baby, and took it up fondly in his arms, and on leaving + placed a roll of bank bills in my hand, telling me to get everything + necessary for either the mother or her child, also to get the latter + whatever clothing it might require. After that he called almost daily, and + when Mrs. Trotter was sufficiently recovered to return to her home, he + pressed me so strongly to keep the baby till it was a little older, and + not to leave it to the tender mercies of an ignorant nurse, that I + consented to keep it till it was two years old, and then to obtain for it, + if possible, adoption by some respectable married persons. + </p> + <p> + Margery, the baby aforementioned, turned out one of the most beautiful + children I had ever seen. Her father and mother visited her frequently + during the time she was at my house, and on my giving her for adoption to + Mr. Walker (a respectable Vermont farmer without any children of his own) + they were both deeply affected. Dombey was anxious that Mrs. Trotter + should take it to her own home, but, as “Mrs. Grundy” had already been + discussing her movements, she dare not, without fear of ruining her + children, take the baby under the roof. As there was no help for it the + baby was allowed to go to Vermont, and grew up a beautiful girl, + passionately devoted to the only parents she had ever known; Mrs. Walker + dying during the child’s infancy, Mr. Walker had her educated as well as + his means would permit, and they passed their time in the most perfect + harmony and sweet content. After the war, however, Walker found himself + almost without a penny in the world, and, thinking to better his fortunes + removed to New York, where he managed to make a poor living as a + subordinate in the Custom House. Margery regretted this change of + circumstances very much, but, being thoroughly devoted to her father, she + did not repine, but did all in her power to make his home as happy as + could be under such conditions. She missed her accustomed amusements very + much, and although in New York she saw many things and found many + opportunities which would have been altogether unknown to her in the + country, yet she was a long time in becoming reconciled to the close and + stifling atmosphere of a great metropolitan city. + </p> + <p> + One night her father promised her a great treat, they were to go to X——‘s + theatre to see Mademoiselle B—— in Romeo and Juliet. Margery + sat with strained eyes gazing wistfully at the play, laughing and weeping + by turns as the great master’s power was exerted on the audience by the + artists engaged, and at the close she heaved a deep sigh, consequent upon + having held her breath so long, and without thought exclaimed aloud:—“Oh, + what would I not give to be able to act like that.” The manager who was + close by, and who had been watching the attentive beauty for some time, + overheard the remark, and intercepting the pair on their way out of the + theatre said:—“I noticed that you were favorably impressed with the + piece; would you like an introduction to Miss B——, the + principal actress?” Margery was overcome with delight, and besought her + father so earnestly to allow her to go into the green room that he + accompanied her thither, and they obtained an introduction to the famous + artiste. Miss B—— was quite taken with the innocent enthusiasm + of the girl, and invited her to come to her benefit on the following + evening, when she was to appear as Parthenia in “Ingomar;” Margery, having + obtained her father’s permission, readily consented, and all the way home + was full of praises for Juliet, Romeo, the manager, and all concerned. On + the following evening the manager drew her father aside and whispered in + his ear:—“You have a fortune in that girl of yours.” Walker, + misunderstanding the purport of his words, replied:—“Yes, she is a + good and affectionate child, as much so as if I were her natural parent.” + “You do not understand me,” said the other; “I mean she has immense + emotional power, which, if artistically cultivated, would, coupled with + her personal appearance, make both her fortune and yours.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think so?” replied Walker; “well, if we had only the means I would + certainly have her trained, for, since she has seen Mademoiselle B—— + act, her great ambition seems to be to occupy a similar position.” After + further conversation it was agreed to place Margery under the care of Mrs. + L——, with a view of becoming a professional actress; for, + although Walker did not at all care for the stage or its concomitants, + still he did not wish to throw any obstacles in the way of his adopted + child’s prosperity. Margery, therefore, was allowed to pursue the bent of + her inclinations, and such an apt pupil was she that in a little over + eighteen months her debut was announced in the papers, and a crowded house + showered floral and other trophies on the beautiful debutante. Offers of + engagements from different cities came flowing in, and before long Miss + Margery Montague was announced to appear in Montreal. Her fame had + preceded her thither, and Fairfax was instructed to secure a box for the + Dombey family. Dombey himself (who had followed the career of his child) + tried hard to excuse himself from going, but his wife was not satisfied to + leave him at home; he sat in the back of the box, and as the applause grew + louder and louder, he showered costly bouquets, and other offerings on the + stage, his breast meanwhile being torn by conflicting passions. How proud + he would have been to clasp her to his heart and call her his own; but he + had willfully put her away from him, and now, even could he receive her + into his family, would her adopted father be willing to give her up again. + With flushed face and beating heart he sought the manager, and begged to + be allowed to see the fair artiste, a favor which was granted; and, as he + stood before his child, and poured forth the usual stereotyped compliments + and congratulations, he bit his lips as he thought that he dared not press + her to his heart, but was forced to speak to her in terms of cold + politeness. + </p> + <p> + On their return from the Theatre Mrs. Dombey announced her intention of + calling on the talented actress, and the following day she went, + accompanied by her daughters, to the St. Lawrence Hall, at that time the + most fashionable hotel in the city, where she was cordially received; and + the young actress made such a favorable impression on the ladies that they + invited her to dine at their house on the following day, an invitation + which was readily accepted. + </p> + <p> + Dombey was greatly moved when he heard that Miss Montague had accepted an + invitation to dinner, but there was no help for it, and, as though to make + matters worse invitations were sent to a few intimate friends, including + Mrs. Trotter. Here, then, was a painful position for the two guilty ones: + they were forced to sit and see the child whom they had cast off fêted and + honored by the woman both of them had injured. It seemed as if a wet + blanket were placed over the whole assembly: Dombey sat moodily biting his + finger-nails, and as Mrs. Trotter would not sing and Mrs. Dombey <i>could</i> + not, matters went very slowly indeed. + </p> + <p> + When the time came for separating, Mrs. Dombey motioned to Jacob to see + Miss Montague to her hotel, but he being deep in a fit of abstraction, his + eldest son Charles stepped forward, and before his father could prevent + him, was equipped in greatcoat and overshoes, ready for a moonlight + stroll. During the evening he had noticed that Charles was rather + attentive to the fair actress, and the thought that an intimacy between + them was possible drove him to the verge of distraction, Mrs. Dombey + noticed his strange behavior, and asked him the cause, on which he + muttered something about “Auction lunch—infernal champagne,” and + some other incoherent exclamations, altogether unintelligible to his + unsuspicious wife. When he and his paramour got outside they walked along + in gloomy silence for several minutes—at last he addressed her: “Is + it not strange that this child, whom I had thought far removed from me and + mine, should be brought even into my own house, and eat at my table?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it is fearful; only think what would be the consequence if an + intimacy should spring up between her and Charles!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I must send him away at once.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Trotter reminded him that this step was unnecessary, as Miss Montague + left the next day for Chicago to fulfil a professional engagement. He + heaved a sigh of relief, and then, with a passionate tug at Mrs. Trotter’s + door bell, turned to go away. + </p> + <p> + “Will you not come in a while, Jack?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “No, he replied, Clara (Mrs. Dombey) would suspect something. She looked + at me very strangely this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “But you will come to-morrow,” rejoined the temptress. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I will look in on my way up from the office,” he said. “Good night.” + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Jack,” said she. + </p> + <p> + As he got to his own door he found Charles leaning pensively against the + balustrade, gazing wistfully at the heavens. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Charlie, have you forgotten your latch-key?” + </p> + <p> + “N—no Sir,” stammered Charles, “but it is so confoundedly hot inside + that I did not care to go in.” + </p> + <p> + Dombey reflected that as the thermometer registered only about ten degrees + Fahrenheit he had but to open his window to attain as low a temperature as + was consistent with comfort; however, he said nothing, and they both + walked upstairs. + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Charlie.” + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Father.” + </p> + <p> + And they entered their respective chambers. + </p> + <p> + I have heard it said that if two men are placed in one bed, one in love + and the other with a toothache, that the man with the toothache will fall + asleep first. Here, however, were two men; one, past the prime of life, + afflicted with the most bitter remorse; the other, young and susceptible, + with all the fever of a youthful passion springing up within his breast. + Dombey could not sleep, the thought that what at first was barely possible + was now become highly probable goaded him almost to madness. He rose and + dressed himself, going quietly out of the front door into Sherbrooke + street. Along the street he went at a fearful pace, till, almost faint + from want of breath, he turned down the hill towards the city, habit + bringing him along the route he was accustomed to take to his office. As + he turned the corner of St. James street, he saw (for there were few + persons abroad) a young man walking moodily up and down on the side + opposite the St. Lawrence Hall; he turned as if he had seen an apparition, + and ran rather than walked in the direction of his own home. + </p> + <p> + Next day Miss Montague departed for the West, Mrs. and Miss Dombey + accompanied by Charles went to see her off at the Depot, and with many + assurances of a future meeting, should she ever return to Montreal, they + separated as the train moved slowly past the platform. As the drawing-room + car was just clearing the station, Miss Montague held a piece of paper out + of the window, which Charles caught eagerly and placed in his pocket-book. + His mother and sister chaffing him on receiving tender messages from the + fair artiste, he laughingly produced it. + </p> + <p> + It was nothing more nor less than a page of an old timetable, and both + Mrs. and Miss Dombey laughed at the strange souvenir Miss Montague had + left behind her. When they got home, however, Charles carefully opened the + paper and observed that opposite each of the cities on her route Miss + Montague had placed a figure in pencil thus:—Chicago, 4; Detroit, 2; + Toledo, 2; Toronto, 3; New York; 6, Boston, 6. This, though unintelligible + to his mother and sister, informed Charles that Miss Montague would go + first to Chicago and remain four days, and afterwards to the other cities + mentioned, and that he might write or meet her there as opportunity + afforded. + </p> + <p> + That day matters resumed their normal condition in the Dombey family; + Jacob breathed freely now that his child had returned to the country of + her adoption, and his wife and family were happy because of his improved + spirits and appearance. Charles had apparently settled down to business as + usual, and Mesdames Trotter and Dombey drove out together as of old. In a + few weeks, however, Charles asked his father permission to go for his + holidays; a friend having invited him to spend a few weeks at Nahant an + island near Boston. There being nothing to keep him in Montreal he had no + difficulty in procuring consent, and he departed, taking fishing tackle + enough to have supplied the whole Atlantic coast for a season. When his + father learned the real object of his visit to Boston, he raved like a + madman; he came to see me, and told me the whole story, most of which I + had learnt before from other sources and he persuaded me to go to Boston + and to take on my self the painful duty of informing Miss Montague who and + what she really was, and why it was impossible that she could ever marry + Charles Dombey. The poor girl was almost heart-broken, for she had learnt + to love her stepbrother dearly, and now she would have to be separated + from him entirely. It was not for herself, however, that she mourned the + most, it was for him, when he should learn of the wide gulf which + separated them from each other. He never did learn it, however; Miss + Montague consented (for his sake) to accept an engagement in England, and + to trust in years to soften the blow which had smitten her so severely. + She wrote to Charles, telling him that, for reasons unexplained, she never + could be his wife, although she loved him dearly, and that as there was no + use striving against fate, she had bowed to the inevitable, and taken a + foreign engagement. At first Charles was desperately cut up, but time, + that physician <i>par excellence</i>, healed his wounds, and he is now + married to a respectable lady of this city; deservedly successful in his + business, and with a stainless reputation. Jacob Dombey staggered along + under his load for years, but, unable to contain himself, he one day + confessed the affair to his wife, who, instead of denouncing him as the + wretch he was, pitied and sympathized with; aye, and not only that, she + received his mistress into her house as before, rather than make public + his heartless conduct. Truly such an angel never received such heartless + treatment, or was so little appreciated. It broke her heart however, and + over her grave Dombey resolved to cast Mrs. Trotter off forever, and send + her away from the city. He accordingly arranged with her to take an annual + allowance and go to New York with her family, vowing that he could no + longer endure her presence, which was grown distasteful to him. + </p> + <p> + This did not at all suit Mrs. Trotter, who had now hoped to become the + legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no avail, + the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey’s bosom, and he would hear + of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United States. He + determined that however he might have blighted the life of the wife whose + excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, nothing should + stand in the way of her children’s advancement; and the voice of a scandal + having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, he felt that her + immediate departure was a necessity. She argued and entreated, but it was + of no avail, and she accordingly made the best of her case and got from + him a liberal allowance. Hers was not of a nature to reform, however; she + went from bad to worse, and finally took to smoking opium as a means to + relieve her gnawing conscience, ending her days prematurely. + </p> + <p> + Dombey survived her but a short time. He tried hard to make amends for the + past by increased attention to the children of his late wife, but he never + fully recovered himself, and finally succumbed to a wasting fever, + superinduced by late hours and immoderate drinking. To his last hour his + conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had inflicted on his children, + his natural daughter, and his confiding wife. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. — The Bag Baby. + </h2> + <p> + Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as <i>Maîtresse d’Hôpital</i> + that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, and employed her + permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we established quite a + reputation, and applications for accommodation poured in from all + quarters. + </p> + <p> + One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman arrived + by the morning train from the United States. The lady was apparently about + thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might have been from five to + ten years her senior, and, although plainly attired, they had the + appearance of belonging to the better class of society. The gentleman + informed me that they had just arrived from New York, and had put up at + the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife had taken ill unexpectedly, and, + hearing that she would be better cared for in my house than at the Hall, + he wished, if possible, to secure rooms and professional attendance. The + house being rather full at the time, Madame Charbonneau was obliged to + give her the nurse’s room (which contained two beds) till some of the + other rooms should become vacant; this her husband readily assented to, + and arranged to call in the afternoon and bring the necessary funds, which + I always made it a point to collect in advance. The lady seeming tired and + exhausted, I recommended her to divest herself of her clothing and retire + to bed, which she accordingly did, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the + afternoon the gentleman returned, and, having settled the bills, went + upstairs to see his wife who was just then partaking of some light + refreshment. He expressed himself well pleased with our arrangements, and + said he would call regularly to see how his wife progressed. + </p> + <p> + That night as the nurse was about to retire, she was surprised to find, + under the coverlet of her bed, an enormous rag baby, as large as a child + of two years old, dressed completely, with shoes, bonnet and veil. Her + astonishment can easily be imagined as she held it up to the light and + carefully examined it; then, laughing heartily, she turned to Mrs. Roberts + (my patient) and said: + </p> + <p> + “My! who could have put this baby in my bed?” On which that lady replied + with evident embarrassment that the baby was a doll belonging to her + niece, and that, imagining the bed to be unoccupied, she had, in unpacking + her trunk, placed it there for the sake of convenience, and apologized for + being so careless. The nurse made no reply, but, being of a jovial + disposition, danced with it into the other rooms, exclaiming, much to the + chagrin of the lady, that she had found a beautiful baby in her bed. The + other patients wondered what it was, and whence it came, and appealed to + me for information, but, as I knew nothing about it myself, their + curiosity was not gratified in the least. On my questioning the lady she + told me a story similar to that which she told the nurse, but her + countenance contradicted her assertions, and the idea of any child + carrying a doll of the dimensions of the rag baby was too absurd for + credence. No more was said about it, however, and the matter passed almost + completely from our memory. + </p> + <p> + For three or four days things went on as usual, Mrs. Roberts getting to + all appearances better every day, and her husband’s visits being paid with + due regularity; one day, however, he failed to appear, and Mrs. Roberts + seemed very uneasy. After tea she asked for the evening paper, and hastily + scanned its columns, when her eye fell on some item of interest, and she + became deadly pale. The American war being then in progress I thought she + might have learned of the death of a friend or relation, so I inquired if + anything were amiss, and was astonished when she pointed out a paragraph + containing an account of her husband’s arrest for enlisting British + subjects for the American army, and smuggling them across the line, She + now took me into her confidence, and explained that she was an accomplice + of her husband, and that they had made a practice of enlisting men in + Montreal. Her husband usually remained here, as it was dangerous for him + to travel to and fro, but she was sent as an escort for each recruit, and + the baby was used to avert suspicion, as no sentinel would think of + scrutinizing a man closely who went across accompanied with his wife and + child. The excess of travel had weakened her frame, and now this shock + came to still further shake her system; the result was a premature + confinement, and a long and weary illness. + </p> + <p> + Ere she recovered she got a letter from her husband, bearing the New York + postmark. It seems he had been liberated on bail, (having influential + friends) and had at once made the best of his way to the United States. + His wife soon joined him, taking with her the redoubtable rag-baby, which + had afforded us so much food for gossip and conjecture. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. — A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. + </h2> + <p> + Alfred Grandison was born in the ancient city of Bristol in the year 1831. + His father had been bandmaster in a British Cavalry regiment, but had + retired some years previous to the birth of little Alfred, and made a + comfortable livelihood by teaching the children of the wealthy residents + of Clifton, the fashionable suburb of Bristol. Young Alfred soon gave + evidence of great musical talent, and used to amuse himself blowing + trumpet calls on his father’s French horn, although the instrument was + almost as big as himself; he also achieved considerable mastery over the + piano, the flute and the violin, but, though bright and intelligent + enough, and always maintaining a creditable position at school, it was + evident that nature had intended him for a musician, and that he could + never succeed in anything prosaic or mechanical. Accordingly his father + taught him not only to play, but also instructed him in the theory and + literature of music, and, when he was old enough, had him entered as a + chorister in Bristol Cathedral, where, in addition to vocal music, he was + carefully taught the art of organ-playing by the Cathedral organist. + </p> + <p> + The boy soon became able to play quite skilfully, and when his voice began + to give way he obtained a position as organist in the church at + Shirehampton, performing on a small instrument with one row of keys. From + Shirehampton he shortly removed to a more remunerative position in + Bristol, and he was not long there before he fell in love with the + daughter of a hotel-keeper in one of the suburbs, whom, in spite of the + remonstrance of both relatives and friends, he eventually married, + although she was both poor and plain-looking, and at least ten years his + senior. “A young man married is a man that’s marred” says Shakespeare, + and, without venturing an opinion as to the correctness of this theory, we + may say that young Grandison had made a great mistake. In a short time his + affection, or fancied affection, for his wife became less ardent, and he + found himself at the age of twenty-four, married to a woman who had + neither taste nor sympathy in common with him, the father of three + helpless children, and the recipient of the stupendous emolument of sixty + pounds a year. Added to all this his friends, being unwilling to associate + with his wife and relations, had, one by one, deserted him, and left him + almost alone to brood over his ill-advised alliance. + </p> + <p> + Whilst moodily glancing at an evening paper he saw an advertisement for an + organist who would be willing to go to Canada, and at once seizing at the + idea he applied for the post, which he eventually obtained without great + difficulty, sailing for Montreal in the spring of 1855, to play the organ + and direct the music of one of the leading Episcopal churches in this + city. At that time there were, very few musicians of ability in Montreal, + and Mr. Grandison soon became quite popular, both professionally and + socially. His wife was at first invited out, but, finding that she seldom + accompanied her husband on these occasions, her name was, in time, dropped + from the invitations, and Mr. Grandison was treated as if he were a + bachelor, many indeed being altogether unaware of the fact that he had a + wife and family. + </p> + <p> + Among those who took Grandison by the hand was a certain Mr. Sedley, a + professional man of high standing. Mary Sedley, the daughter of the latter + was possessed of a remarkably fine voice, and was one of the ornaments of + the church choir, so that the family were naturally interested in the + advent of a new organist from England, under whose careful training the + music of the church was to be developed and improved. It was decided to + place Mary Sedley under the special charge of Mr. Grandison, and he + accordingly went twice a week to the house to give her lessons in singing, + and when there was a special Anthem to be sung his visits were much more + frequent. Then the Sedleys gave grand musical parties to which Mr. + Grandison was of course, invited, playing Miss Sedley’s accompaniment on + the pianoforte, while she entranced the assembled company with her + singing; in fact, no gathering of the Sedley family was complete without + the presence of the handsome and accomplished Mr. Grandison. + </p> + <p> + All this, in its way, was harmless enough, but Mary Sedley was a blooming + girl of seventeen, and Grandison, as I have said was quite a young man, + and from the frequent walking home with her alone from services and + rehearsals, and other meetings in society, there arose an intimacy which, + though unnoticed by Mary’s parents, and possibly not by the young people + themselves, could not be productive of anything in the long run but sorrow + and remorse. + </p> + <p> + One Saturday night when Mary came home rather later than usual, her father + (who, though fond of her, was an austere man) questioned her gruffly as to + the cause of her delay, when she replied:—“Oh! papa, I am to sing + ‘As Pants the Hart’ to-morrow, and Mr. Grandison insisted on my trying it + with the organ after practice. It is exceedingly difficult, you know.” + </p> + <p> + Her father <i>did not know</i>, and was inclined to be very angry. The + next day, however, he forgot it all in the delight of hearing his + daughter’s voice resounding through the sacred edifice; Grandison was + invited to dinner, and everything was once more <i>couleur de rose</i>. + </p> + <p> + The first winter after Grandison’s arrival in Canada he gave a grand + concert in Nordheimer’s Hall, then the principal concert hall in the city. + Mary Sedley was the Prima Donna, and bouquet after bouquet was thrown at + her feet, as she retired amid the plaudits of the multitude. After the + concert Grandison accompanied them home to supper, and about twelve + o’clock took his leave of the family. + </p> + <p> + About an hour afterwards Mr. Sedley, thinking he heard a noise, got up and + searched the house, when, to his surprise, he found the door unfastened. + He thought he remembered having secured it as he retired to rest, but was + not certain; however, he proceeded, in his search, and on coming to Mary’s + room, found the door locked, and heard his daughter breathing heavily, as + if asleep. Being unwilling to disturb her, he returned to his bed, and, + ere morning, the affair had passed from his memory. Had he remained awake, + however, he might have seen a man emerge from his daughter’s room, and, + creeping stealthily along the passage, go out at the hall-door, his + daughter, the pure, spotless Mary, <i>leader of Psalmody and sacred lays</i>, + following close at his heels, to fasten the door and make good his + retreat. + </p> + <p> + This sort of thing went on for a long time, unsuspected by either Miss + Sedley’s parents or friends, when Mary became suddenly placed in a very + awkward position. A certain Mr. Hazelton, junior partner in a large + hardware firm, had long been a suitor of hers, and had asked repeatedly + for her hand; her father had hitherto refused to give his consent, owing + to her tender age, but he had now withdrawn every obstacle, and left her + free to get married if she chose; more than that, he urged Hazelton’s + suit, and, though unwilling to coerce his daughter in any way, gave her to + understand that he was particularly desirous that she should give Hazelton + a favorable reply. + </p> + <p> + Under ordinary circumstances Mary would have had no hesitation in refusing + to have anything to say to Hazelton, but for some time rumor had been busy + circulating scandal concerning herself and Grandison, and, as she was at + that moment not in a condition to bear scrutiny, she was afraid to awaken + suspicion by refusing Hazelton’s offer, and so he was made the “happiest + of men” (?) + </p> + <p> + A short time after Miss Sedley had become engaged to Mr. Hazelton she went + with her father and mother to Cacouna, where they had a summer residence. + By a strange coincidence, Grandison also chose Cacouna at which to spend + his holidays, and combined business with pleasure by giving occasional + concerts at the St. Lawrence Hall, which hotel had just been erected, and + was the fashionable resort of those people from Montreal and Quebec who + could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere of these cities for the + more bracing air of Canada’s popular watering place. Mr. Hazelton was + unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was not disposed to accompany + her husband, even if he could have afforded to take her, in fact, the poor + woman, feeling that she was a burden and drag on her husband, had taken to + drinking, and had gradually removed herself still further from the pale of + fashionable society. Her house (which was situated in a back street in + Montreal) was not only untidy, but positively dirty, and her children ran + about the streets unclad uneducated, and uncared for. + </p> + <p> + The Sedleys had not been long at Cacouna when one morning the old + gentleman walking out, as was his wont, before breakfast, saw through the + fog (which in this district usually hangs about for some time after + sunrise) a man descend from his daughter’s bedroom window and walk hastily + in the direction of the hotel. Both the distance and the fog prevented him + from positively recognizing the man’s features, but the form and carriage + were unmistakably those of Alfred Grandison. Mr. Sedley was, so to speak, + “struck all of a heap,” he could not believe the evidence of his own + senses, and for a few moments he stood rooted to the spot as if + thunderstruck; then he rushed into the house, and going straight to his + daughter’s room upbraided her with her shameful conduct, but was met by a + bold and unqualified denial, the young lady stating that she had been till + that moment asleep, and that possibly some burglar had been in the + premises, whom her father had mistaken for a gay Lothario. She burst into + tears and wondered that her father could have such an opinion of her, and + suggested that immediate search should be made, to see if any articles of + value were missing. Her father was by no means convinced of his mistake, + however; he thought it possible that his daughter might not have been + aware of Grandison’s presence, or that he might only have been <i>about to + enter</i> the house when he was frightened away; but that Grandison was + there he felt certain, so, going immediately over to the hotel, he charged + him directly with his crime, at the same time, presenting a loaded + revolver at his head, he threatened to blow his brains out. This, as may + be supposed, did not prove a ready means of eliciting a confession from + the cowardly Grandison. The poor wretch cowered before the righteous + indignation of the broken-hearted father, and swore by every saint in the + Calendar that the latter must have been mistaken, and that nothing + criminal had ever taken place between the young lady and himself. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Sedley only half believed these asseverations, but, as may be seen, he + was a poor diplomatist, and took the very worst way to arrive at anything + like the truth. So saying “Not guilty, but <i>don’t do it again</i>,” or + words to that effect, he left the hotel and returned to his own house. + Here he disclosed his fears to his wife, but she scouted the idea as + preposterous, and urged him to have Mary’s marriage with Hazelton + celebrated as soon as convenient, and so put an end to all possible + contingencies. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the return of the family to Montreal Mr. Hazelton led to the + altar with pride the “blushing” Mary Sedley. Good cause, indeed, had she + to blush, for never was man more egregiously “sold” than was “Mr. Samuel + Hazelton, of the city of Montreal, merchant.” The <i>happy couple</i> left + by the evening train for Boston, the “Wedding March,” which was admirably + performed by Mr. Grandison, still ringing in their ears. + </p> + <p> + About five months after this unholy marriage Mrs. Hazelton called on me, + and disclosed to me the whole state of the case, informing me (of which + there was little necessity) that her confinement was close at hand, and + soliciting my aid to get her out of the difficulty. My first impulse was + to call on her husband and acquaint him with the facts: but, remembering + that he occupied a prominent position, not only in the mercantile, but + also in the religious community; moreover, that a disclosure would in no + way mend the matter, and would be a lasting disgrace not only, to the two + culprits, but also to Messrs. Sedley and Hazelton I listened calmly to her + plans for getting out of the difficulty. She suggested pretending a + miscarriage, wished me to invite her to my house, where she would become + ill, and unable to leave till after her child was born. The child was then + to be conveyed to the nunnery, her husband being deluded into the belief + that she had miscarried. + </p> + <p> + Now, in the ordinary course of business, I would have been perfectly + justified in attending her without troubling my head about her + antecedents; indeed, had she been unmarried I would possibly have given my + services, but in this case the lady was married, and the child lawfully + belonged to her husband, <i>whose heir it was</i>, although actually + belonging to another man. + </p> + <p> + I accordingly declined having anything to do with her case, although I + promised that, as her confession was made to me in confidence and as a + professional secret, I would not disclose it to anyone. Having friends in + Boston, she made some excuse to visit them, and she was not long there + when her husband received a telegram, stating that his wife had had a + premature confinement and lay in a precarious state in Boston, whither her + loving husband instantly repaired. The child (a beautiful girl) was sent + to Mrs. Sedley in Montreal, and given out to nurse. She was eventually + adopted by a childless dry goods merchant in this city who had her + educated as his daughter, employing, by-the-by, <i>her own father</i> to + give her lessons in music. + </p> + <p> + One would think that now Mrs. Hazelton had got over this great difficulty, + and started in life as a respectable married lady, she would have eschewed + her former errors and turned over a new leaf. Unfortunately for all + parties, her husband was proud of her musical ability, and insisted that + she should continue to take lessons from Grandison, for whom strange to + say, he had conceived a great regard. The frequent meetings consequent + upon this proved too much for both of the culprits, and in a short time + they became as intimate as ever. Since Mary’s marriage, Mr. Sedley had + quite forgotten his former suspicions of Grandison, and he was cordially + received into both houses, being, in fact, almost a member of the family. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a capital + speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of that edifice + addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other ladies were to + enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the piano by Mr. Grandison. + The lecture animadverted at some length concerning the temptations which + beset young men, and warned them to avoid vice of all kinds, drinking, + gambling, and the rest. Among other things he mentioned the social evil, + and contrasted the happy home of the chaste man and his virtuous wife with + that of the drunken, vicious libertine. The seducer was anathematized, and + a graphic description given of the poor degraded women who had lost the + one jewel in their crown. It is needless to say that both Mrs. Hazelton + and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable during this discourse; the + former who was to have sung a brilliant aria at its close, grew deadly + pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer requested Mr. Grandison to + substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, he was unable to perform + anything without notes, so the announcement was made to the audience that, + owing to the excessive heat (the temperature was about 70 degrees + Fahrenheit), Mrs. Hazelton, was unable to perform that evening, and begged + to be excused. Grandison was to have gone home with the lecturer to + supper, but he said he considered Mrs. Hazelton would be the better of a + little quiet, and, stammering out some excuse, slunk away in the direction + of his own home. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton found his wife reclining on a sofa in the drawing-room, and + he at once exerted himself to alleviate her suffering, and gratify her + every whim. He propped her up with pillows, and ordered the maid to + prepare whatever delicacies the larder afforded, blaming himself as being + the cause of all her sufferings. His solicitude in her behalf made her + only the more miserable; she had never loved, and never could love, him, + but his uniform kindness and attention had excited within her a feeling of + gratitude which made her remorse all the more bitter as she thought how he + had been duped by the woman who had sworn to love and honor him. The next + day was one of those appointed for receiving her singing lessons, but she + sent a messenger to Mr. Grandison, telling him not to call for a few days, + as she was unequal to even that slight exertion. Mr. Hazelton called to + see me in great alarm, informing me that his wife’s first child was + prematurely born, and that he dreaded a recurrence of that terrible + calamity. I, of course, had my own ideas concerning what was the matter, + but I promised to call and see her, and do what I could to alleviate her + sufferings. I found her well enough physically, but in very low spirits + and in tears. She told me what I have informed the reader, adding that she + was at the moment <i>enceinte</i>, the father of this child being also + Alfred Grandison. I was very much shocked at this disclosure, but + contented myself with remonstrating with Mrs. Hazelton concerning the + course she was pursuing, urging her to drop all connection with Grandison. + This she promised to do, but I subsequently discovered that, far from + keeping her promise, she had even gone so far as to plan an elopement with + him to the United States. + </p> + <p> + About two years after Mrs. Hazleton’s marriage, Grandison received the + appointment of organist to —— Church, Chicago, and, together + with his wife and family, left Montreal for the Western city, leaving Mr. + Hazelton in undisturbed possession of his wife; the latter, instead of + rejoicing at this providential release from temptation, fretted at the + loss of her paramour, attributing, however, her fitful humor to her + delicate condition. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after Grandison’s departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend + Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy + at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on the + occasion of the child’s christening, and when the guests all agreed that + the child had “its father’s nose” (which was doubtless the truth) the poor + man’s delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began to be more + cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her husband for the + wrong which could never be repaired. When, however, he carried her baby up + and down, or fondled it upon his knee, the bitter pangs of remorse gnawed + at her heart, and made her captious and bad tempered. With all this there + was no deep repentance, and when Grandison came to Montreal for his + holidays, her husband was completely forgotten once more. Grandison was + invited to stay at the Hazeltons’ residence, an invitation which to do him + justice he endeavored to decline, but Mr. Hazelton pressed him so strongly + that he was afraid to awaken suspicion by refusing, and so the wolf became + ensconced snugly in the sheepfold, not only without difficulty, but on the + pressing invitation of its occupants. Mrs. Hazelton during this visit + urged Grandison so strongly that he promised to elope with her so soon as + he could conveniently leave Chicago. + </p> + <p> + He had not been long back at his new residence when his wife died, and + letters of condolence were sent to him from all quarters. His wife, who + had never been received into society, was suddenly discovered to have been + one of its brightest ornaments, and her loss was deeply felt and + proportionately deplored. Mrs. Hazelton now thought her opportunity had + come, and accordingly wrote to Grandison that she was ready to go to the + end of the world with him. He, however, was not particularly anxious to go + to such a remote locality; in fact he had made up his mind to remain in + Chicago, and (now that his wife was no longer a burden upon him) to turn + over a new leaf and become a respectable member of society. Whatever + charms Mary Sedley may have had had long since disappeared, and Mr. + Grandison’s affection was not so deep-seated that he was prepared to tie + himself to a comparatively plain old woman for whom he had long since lost + every particle of respect. He accordingly took no notice of her letter, + and received a second and a third couched in the strongest language of + affection. But the more importunate she became, the more did Grandison + lose his respect for her; he therefore took no notice of her letters, and + determined to keep aloof from her in the future. + </p> + <p> + When Mrs. Hazelton began to realize that he had deserted her, she grew + frantic indeed. She would not believe it; the letters had miscarried, or + something else had interfered to prevent his writing. She resolved that, + come what would, she would go to him, and, throwing herself at his feet, + demand his protection. In the dead of the night she collected her most + valuable clothing and jewellery, and, with a little money in her purse, + stealthily left her husband’s house, carrying her bundle in her hand. She + wandered about the streets till daylight, and in the morning entered the + Grand Trunk Depot in St. Bonaventure street, and procured a ticket for + Chicago. Her husband at first thought she had merely gone to Bonsecours + market to purchase provisions for the ensuing week, and that she would + shortly return. Breakfast time came, however, and she did not return, and + he began to get uneasy; enquiries were made of neighbors and friends at + whose houses she might possibly have stayed, but no one had seen her, or + knew anything of her whereabouts. The police were next communicated with, + and a regular hue and cry was raised in the city concerning her mysterious + disappearance. In the meantime the object of their search arrived in + Chicago, and at once proceeded towards Grandison’s residence. She had not + gone far when he approached her with a fashionably dressed young lady on + his arm. Mrs. Hazelton ran towards him with a cry of recognition, but, + whatever he may have felt towards her before, the sight of her as she now + appeared drove every trace of affection from his heart, he looked at her + coldly, and without the faintest sign of recognition The effect of this + treatment under the circumstances can well be imagined; the wretched woman + fell fainting at his feet, raving wildly and uttering the most awful + imprecations. By this time a crowd had collected, and the police, thinking + she was some madwoman who had escaped, had her removed to an asylum, and + placed under medical treatment. + </p> + <p> + During all this period Hazelton was like a man demented; he caused + advertisements to be inserted in the principal papers, describing his + wife, and offering a reward for her recovery. The canal locks were dragged + from end to end, and every place likely to have been visited by her was + thoroughly searched and examined. At the end of about a week Mr. Hazelton + received the following telegram:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Chicago, Oct. 14, 18—. + To S. Hazelton, Esq., + + Montreal + + Person answering description in advertisement in <i>Tribune</i> + found here to-day, and placed under medical treatment. + What shall we do? + + J——P——, + + —for Chief of Police. +</pre> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton immediately telegraphed a reply, and, taking the next train, + was soon able to identify his lost wife. The sight of him made the poor + creature worse, and he was forbidden to call till she was in a less + excitable condition. In about a week, though still suffering, she was + removed to Montreal, and placed under the care of Dr. X——, to + whom I communicated what I knew concerning her antecedents. In a + comparatively short time she grew much better, and was able to converse + intelligently, the subject of her departure and her illness being + carefully avoided. Her husband attributed her mental aberration to the old + cause, although why she should have gone to Chicago, he never could + exactly understand. + </p> + <p> + Many years have now passed since these occurrences, and all the parties to + this narrative are still alive. Mrs. Hazelton has never recovered from the + effects of the shock received in Chicago, and sits brooding mournfully and + in secret over her past transgressions, while her husband with unceasing + devotion heaps coals of fire on her head. Grandison has since moved to New + York, where he married again, and became an altered man. I met him in + Montreal a short time since, but he carefully avoided all mention of + either Mr. or Mrs. Hazelton, and did not dare to call either on them or + the Sedleys. Once or twice his name was mentioned at the house of the + latter, but it seemed to awaken sad recollections in the breast of Mrs. + Hazelton, and was consequently avoided by the family. The latter have + lived so far in ignorance of these occurrences, and it is to be hoped they + will never be undeceived. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. — Among the Fenians. + </h2> + <p> + While still young, and unused to the many strange phases of life I had an + adventure which, at that period of my career, made a deep impression on my + mind. A rough-looking man called on me, and requested my immediate + attendance on a sick woman at Point St. Charles, at that time a remote + suburb of Montreal. As I hesitated to go with him, having a strange dread + of accompanying him to such a lonely place, he seemed to think I was + afraid of not receiving my fee, and, pulling a long purse out of his + pocket he took out a handful of gold pieces, one of which he tendered me + an advance. This made me all the more reluctant to accompany him, as I + feared he might be a robber or freebooter of some kind, but, quickly + controlling my emotions, I set my reason to work, and argued that, + whatever he might be, he could have no motive other than that assigned for + taking me with him, that he could gain nothing by way-laying or even + murdering me, and so I put on my outer garments and got into the carriage + beside him. The night was wet and stormy, and, just as we started, forked + lightning flashed across the heavens in all directions, causing the horse + to dash madly along as if to overturn the vehicle. This of course was a + mere coincidence, but, with all my firmness of will and sound logical + reasons for not being afraid, I could not altogether control my emotions + as we drove through the lowest and dirtiest parts of Griffintown, which + had at that time the reputation of harboring all sorts of Fenians, thieves + and marauders. We crossed the canal and got out into the country, the rain + descending in torrents, while the thunder crashed louder than ever. I + believe that, had I been able to get out, I would have even then + retreated, but I had no alternative but to remain and make the most of my + position. Beyond a few words at starting, my companion said little; indeed + conversation was impossible, as were jolted from side to side of the + street, and the crashing of the thunder overhead would have drowned our + most powerful efforts. + </p> + <p> + After about half an hour’s ride, the carriage stopped at a lonely house + some distance on the Lower Lachine road, and, alighting, we entered, when + I was piloted into an upper chamber, where a woman lay on a couch in need + of my attendance. I felt altogether re-assured now, and at once opened my + satchel to make the necessary preparations for my stay; still the room had + not the air of an ordinary bedroom, and the presence of three men, all as + rough-looking as my guide, made me suspicious as to their calling, more + particularly as there was not a woman to be seen save my patient. + </p> + <p> + As soon as I had divested myself of my wet garments and hung them at the + fire to dry, the men left the room, and I ordered the woman to undress and + go to bed, which she did. I then tried to get some information from her as + to who her husband was, and what was the occupation of the men I had seen, + but she either was or pretended to be too sick to enter into conversation, + and I was obliged to restrain my curiosity for the time at least. In about + two hours the woman gave birth to a boy, and as soon as I could leave with + safety, I donned my clothes and left for home, the man who had engaged me + putting me into a cab with great politeness, and paying the driver, he + ordered him to deposit me in safety at my residence. + </p> + <p> + The next morning I was surprised to read in the paper that a quantity of + arms and ammunition had been sent here from the Fenian headquarters in New + York, and that although it was known that they were secreted somewhere + about Griffintown, the police had been altogether baffled in their search + for them. A new light now dawned upon me, particularly as I recollected + that the room in which my patient lay was filled with long, coffin-shaped + boxes, the uses of which I had been unable to guess. I accordingly + consulted with my husband as to what course I should pursue. Was I, having + come by this information in my professional capacity, to shut my eyes to + these doings, or, taking advantage of my position, to inform the police? + My husband argued in this way:—If these people had been guilty of a + crime, which could not now be ameliorated or averted, it would be a + straining point for me to take advantage of what I had learnt by accident + and to bring them to justice; but that as in this case a great national + trouble <i>might be averted</i>, and many lives saved, by timely + information, it was my duty to exert myself in the interests of the + community by putting a check on their movements. With this end in view I + communicated with Mr. P——, then Chief of Police, and from my + description he said he had no doubt but these were the very persons of + whom they were in search, and that if I could only manage to frame an + excuse for the introduction of a detective, he would make sure of their + identity before making any arrests. + </p> + <p> + My second visit to the house was made in the morning. I found my patient + very weak and feverish, and, although it was only what I had expected, + took advantage of the fact to express my fears that the case was one + requiring the most skillful treatment, and that unless I were permitted to + call in a medical man of eminence, I would not be responsible for the + consequence. The woman’s husband was very much averse to this; but, as I + urged it strongly, and his wife (of whom he was apparently fond) seconded + my request, he finally consented, and the same afternoon called, + accompanied by Detective F——, whom I introduced as my + consulting physician. Whilst I mixed some simple remedies for my patient, + the detective carefully examined the boxes, which he was unable to move, + and which we were both convinced contained arms and ammunition for the + destruction of the peaceful inhabitants of Montreal. Mr. F—— + carefully noted the position of everything in and about the house, he also + took a good look at the surroundings, and then we departed for the police + station. The Chief was for making an immediate arrest of the whole party, + but I dissuaded him, urging him, in the interests of humanity, to wait + till the woman was out of danger; he then agreed to wait for a few days, + keeping the house and its inmates under constant surveillance. + </p> + <p> + The woman got better day by day, and at the end of a week, the Chief, + fearful lest something might occur to mar his plans, sent a detachment of + armed policemen to arrest the Fenian emissaries and capture the stores. In + some way or another the men got wind of the affair, and made their escape + across the lines, leaving the poor woman and her helpless babe alone and + unprotected. The police entered the house unopposed; they found there + several dozen, muskets and rifles, also about a hundred bayonets and five + thousand rounds of ball cartridge. The woman refused to give the slightest + information as to the names or identity of her companions; she said she + knew nothing about the arms contained in the boxes, that the latter had + been brought there by a strange man, and left in charge of her husband, + and that she had never seen them opened. As the men were evidently by this + time safe in Uncle Sam’s dominions, the police contented themselves with + securing the ammunition, leaving the woman to shift for herself. As I did + not like the idea of leaving her in the room alone and uncared for, I + explained the matter to the neighbors, who good-naturedly undertook to + look after her till she received money from her husband to pay her passage + to New York. As, although I had no compunction in assisting to break up + this den of ruffians, I pitied the poor woman, who was probably innocent + of any crime, I handed her the gold piece which her husband had given me, + and did not leave her till assured that the neighbors would look after her + till her departure. In later years I have often passed the scene of these + transactions, and a shudder passed through my frame as I remembered my + experiences among the Fenians. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. — A Disciple of Satan. + </h2> + <p> + About the year 1866 I was summoned to attend a lady in Berri street, the + wife of an officer in the ——th Rifles. Her husband, Captain + O’Grady, had taken a furnished house for the winter, the quarters in the + Quebec Barracks being unsuited for the accommodation of a lady of her + station, and round the house on every hand evidences might be seen of both + wealth, taste and refinement. Mrs. O’Grady was a beautiful woman of about + twenty-two, and had only been married about a year; her husband, who was + an Irishman, loved her passionately, and gave me particular charges + concerning her, bidding me spare neither trouble nor expense to render her + illness as little irksome as possible. After her baby (a fine boy) was + born I attended her regularly every day, and, as she had travelled in her + youth and lived for some time in Germany, she invited me to come and see + her in the evenings whenever I was at leisure, so that we might converse + in the beautiful language of Schiller and Goethe, and chat about that + beautiful far-off land. Captain O’Grady quite approved of this + arrangement, and often used to join in the conversation; it was in Germany + he had met his wife, and he had a great fancy for the soft German + language, although speaking it but imperfectly himself. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the birth of his child, Captain O’Grady’s regiment was + ordered to Chambly, and he was obliged to separate from his wife for a + time. He used to drive in occasionally to Montreal to visit her, but at + this season of the year the roads were very bad, and, as the thermometer + sometimes fell 20 or even 30 degrees below zero, the journey was usually + attended with much discomfort and even some danger. On Christmas Day, Mrs. + O’Grady wished her husband to remain at Chambly and dine at the mess, but + he insisted on coming into Montreal and dining with his family. He + accordingly set out about eleven o’clock in the morning, accompanied by a + brother officer named Churchill, a lieutenant in the same regiment. + </p> + <p> + It was a bitterly cold day, and the snow, which had been falling heavily + for some days, was blown in immense drifts across the roads, rendering + them almost impassable. The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the + horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head + ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O’Grady, and jumped into the + dickey. + </p> + <p> + Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going at a + tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every instant. + The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and harness, rendering + it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged to pull their fur caps + over their ears to avoid their being frozen. They had not proceeded far on + their journey when the road, which in summer was clearly defined by fences + on either side, diverged somewhat from the ordinary course, and was made, + for convenience, through an adjoining farm, being marked with pine + branches, stuck at intervals in the snow. As our party proceeded, even + these slight indications were invisible, the drifts rising in some places + to a height of twelve or fourteen feet. In one of the latter the sleigh + stuck fast, and the occupants were obliged to get out, and wading up to + their knees in snow to assist the horses to regain <i>terra firma</i>, or + at least a more compact body of snow. Whilst engaged in this operation, + Mr. Churchill noticed that the groom’s nose was perfectly white, and on + examination it was found to be frozen; they accordingly set to work to rub + it with snow, and at Captain O’Grady’s suggestion he held a large body of + snow to it for the remainder of the journey, which had the effect of + thawing it out. + </p> + <p> + In a short time they regained the high road, and went along at a + tremendous pace for three or four miles, when they entered the village of + Longueuil, which is situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, a + little below Montreal. They found the river completely frozen over, the + cold being intense, but the ice-bridge had only just been formed, and the + surface was rough and uneven, causing the sleigh to oscillate fearfully, + threatening every moment to overturn. The storm had by this time increased + to a perfect hurricane, and the drifting snow was driven with intense + force into the faces of both men and horses, causing the latter to bound + and gallop fearfully, to the extreme peril of those behind them. O’Grady, + however, was a skillful driver, and kept the horses well in hand, calling + to them from time to time in a reassuring manner; as for Churchill, he + rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, and, as conversation was out of + the question, he lit a cigar, and, drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round + him, made himself as comfortable as possible. In a short time they arrived + at their destination, and throwing the reins to the groom, O’Grady dashed + up stairs and in an instant had his wife in his arms. She remonstrated + with him about coming in on such a terrible day, but descended to the + drawing-room, and, having welcome Mr. Churchill to her house, ordered the + servant to set the table for dinner. Just then the groom entered the house + to enquire when the carriage would be required in the evening, and the + appearance of his nose set the whole party laughing heartily; his + proboscis had assumed a deep red hue, and was swollen to an enormous size, + giving him a most comical appearance. O’Grady ordered him to bring the + carriage round at ten o’clock, and, dinner just then being announced, they + prepared, in true English fashion, to celebrate the Nativity. + </p> + <p> + After dinner, Mrs. O’Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, + having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to the + fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the + clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the + neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate leave of + his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the following + Sunday, O’Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted Churchill, + and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into the howling + storm. Churchill lit another cigar, and shut his eyes to avoid the + blinding snowdrifts, while the driver was with difficulty enabled to see + his way. Arrived at the suburb known as Hochelaga, O’Grady turned his + horses’ heads towards the river, and they dashed across the ice-bridge at + the rate of about twelve miles an hour. On they went at a terrible pace, + the sleigh bumping and jolting over the rough road, till bang they came + upon a piece of ice, on to which the snow had drifted, and over went the + sleigh, turning its occupants head first on the hard, icy road. Churchill + was first on his feet, and, though bruised and bleeding, succeeded in + arresting the horses, who, now thoroughly frightened, were about to run + away; the groom also soon recovered himself and ran to the assistance of + his master, but the latter was past all human aid, having fallen from the + upper side of the sleigh bead foremost on a piece of ice, and broken his + neck. His companions were struck dumb with grief and astonishment; + however, they could not stand freezing in the middle of the river, so, + righting the sleigh, they placed the dead man gently inside it, and drove + slowly to Longueuil, where a friendly <i>habitant</i> placed the best room + in his house at their disposal. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. O’Grady, as may well be supposed, was very much shocked at the news + of her husband’s death. The body was brought to her house in Montreal, and + from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery, where it was interred, a company of + rifles firing a volley over the grave. For a time the young widow was + undecided whether to go back to her friends in England or to remain in + Canada, but, being unwilling to become dependent on her relations, she + accepted a situation as governess in a wealthy family residing in the west + end of Montreal, placing her infant son under the charge of a nurse. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Thomson, in whose service Mrs. O’Grady was employed, was the wife of + a wealthy English gentleman who had invested largely in Canadian real + estate and national enterprises. She had two daughters, aged 18 and 16, + respectively (whom Mrs. O’Grady was expected to train and prepare for + entrance into society), also a son about 22, who, although educated as a + lawyer, pursued no avocation other than the collection of rents on his + father’s estate, and minor offices in connection with the investment of + his money. Randolph Thomson, the young gentleman in question, suddenly + became very attentive to his sisters. There was not a single concert or + ball of importance to which he did not take them, whereas before he could + rarely be induced to accompany them anywhere. The girls never tried to + account for this sudden change in their brother’s behavior, being too much + engrossed in the enjoyment of the entertainments aforesaid to trouble + their heads about the matter; Mrs. Grundy, however, had an idea that the + handsome widow who officiated as governess had something to do with the + affair, and, a rumor of the kind reaching the ears of Mrs. Thomson, the + unfortunate widow was eventually obliged to leave the house, much to the + regret of the whole family, but especially that of Randolph, whose + brotherly attentions suddenly became less marked, and in time ceased + altogether. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. O’Grady, being once more thrown on her own resources, departed for + Sherbrooke, one of the most thriving towns in the Eastern Townships, where + she endeavored to make a respectable livelihood by teaching music. She + chose Sherbrooke rather than Montreal, because in the latter place every + lady who wished to earn her own living started out as a music teacher, and + the teachers were rapidly threatening to outnumber the pupils, and to + equal many of them as regards want of knowledge. + </p> + <p> + Close to Mrs. O’Grady’s new residence, and removed a short distance from + the town, there dwelt a wealthy old farmer named Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson + was a bachelor about 65 years old, who, by steady attention to his farm + and shrewd speculations, had amassed a considerable fortune, being + considered one of the “solid men” of Sherbrooke. Clarkson happening to + meet Mrs. O’Grady at the house of one of the principal clergymen, became + enamored of her at first sight, and at the first opportunity proposed for + her hand. This she was at first loth to give, her heart at the time being + elsewhere; but, as Clarkson offered to settle all his property on her and + her children, and he himself, though neither young nor handsome, was very + agreeable, and held a high position in the community, she finally + consented, and was led a second time to the hymeneal altar. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Clarkson was very proud of his handsome wife, he ordered a handsome + phaeton and pair of bay ponies from Montreal for her private use, and gave + her an unlimited allowance of pin money, and she might be seen any + afternoon, fashionably attired, driving from one shop to another, followed + by the admiring eyes of the bank clerks and beaux, and the envious glances + of the single young ladies of Sherbrooke. + </p> + <p> + After three or four months Mrs. Clarkson told her husband that she had + been invited to go on a visit to Montreal, and urged him to allow her to + accept it, particularly as her little boy was afflicted with sore eyes, + and there was no oculist of ability in the town. Her husband readily + consented, and, with the promise that she would return in a few weeks, + Mrs. Clarkson came to Montreal, and calling at my house informed Madame + Charbonneau (in my absence) that she wished to remain there if possible, + as she was about to be confined. When I got home she confessed to me that + she had been on terms of intimacy with Randolph Thomson, and begged me not + to inform her husband, as he was exceedingly jealous, and would kill her + if he suspected the true state of affairs. + </p> + <p> + Promising to do the best I could under the circumstances I had rooms + prepared for both her and her boy, and secured the best medical attendance + for the latter, whose eyes were in a very bad state from long neglect. It + was two weeks before Mrs. Clarkson’s baby (a boy) was born, and very + unpleasant rumors were circulated round the town, which, coming to the + ears of the old gentleman caused him to write a very stiff letter, + ordering his wife to return immediately. This, of course, she could not + do, and as she was unable to frame an excuse for refusing to I do so, she + determined to take no notice of his letter, and, if brought to task + concerning it, <i>to deny having received it</i>, the letter being + unregistered. Fortunately for her, if not for himself, her boy’s eyes + continued to defy the skill of Dr. Fulford, the oculist to whose care she + had committed him, and it was imperative that they should remain in + Montreal a week or two longer. This fact was communicated to Mr. Clarkson, + but his sister (who had continued to reside with him after his marriage) + persuaded him to have nothing more to do with his wife, and related to him + the rumors she had heard, allowing them (as may well be supposed) to lose + nothing in the narration. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson was naturally very much put out when she learnt how her + sister-in-law had acted; but, being both a strong-minded and crafty woman, + she determined to put a bold face on the matter, and if possible to pay + off old scores with her sister-in-law. She accordingly placed her baby out + to nurse, and, as soon as she felt strong enough, set out for Sherbrooke. + She found her husband’s house locked against her, but, nothing daunted, + she went straight to the mayor’s residence, and explained that, having + gone to Montreal with her husband’s permission, she had (as soon as <i>her + boy</i> was sufficiently recovered) returned to her home, and found the + door locked against her. The mayor (a particular friend of Clarkson’s) + told her to come with him and he would see her righted, but she refused, + saying that she had already gone to her husband’s house and been refused + admission, and that she would not go again until he came to fetch her; she + then departed and engaged rooms at the hotel. + </p> + <p> + The mayor, wishing to save his friend any public scandal, went to him, and + remonstrated with him on his conduct, explaining that, as his wife had + gone to Montreal with his permission, he was legally responsible for all + her expenses, and that in refusing to admit her into his house he had + rendered himself liable for an expensive lawsuit. On this poor Clarkson + got so frightened that he ordered his team to be brought round, and, + driving to the hotel, implored his wife to accompany him to his house, + begging her forgiveness for his conduct, and promising that he would do + anything to make amends. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson now felt that she had obtained a grand advantage, and, + assuming an air of injured innocence, enquired who had set him against + her. Poor Clarkson was reluctantly compelled to admit that his sister had + had something to do with it, on which his wife refused to live under the + same roof with such a vile slanderer (’), and insisted that, before she + returned, the lady <i>who had taken away her character</i> should leave + the house. In fact, she managed the affair so well, and exhibited such an + amount of “cheek,” that the poor man actually sent his sister away, and + drove with a magnificent team of horses to bring home the woman whom he + had refused to admit into his house. + </p> + <p> + For several months they lived happily together, Mrs. Clarkson <i>going on + a visit to Montreal</i> whenever it stated her. In process of time she + gave evidence of being <i>enceinte</i>, and old Clarkson’s joy knew no + bounds, as he evidently rejoiced at the prospect of having an heir. Had he + known, however, that his wife, in visiting Montreal, was invariably met by + Randolph Thomson, it is questionable whether his joy would not have been + considerably moderated. Before the child was born the old man died, + leaving all his property to his wife and his expected heir. His sister, + who really was devoted to him, was left without a penny, and entirely + dependent on the charity of Mrs. Clarkson. The widow, however, had not + forgotten the part played by Mrs. Clarkson during her brother’s lifetime, + and being now steeped in wickedness, her better nature was almost entirely + lost. She turned the faithful sister from her door, and she, the false + wife, was with her illegitimate child (born almost immediately after the + old man’s death) snugly installed in the home that in all equity and + justice should have belonged to the woman she ejected. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Facilis descensus Averni</i>.”—It is wonderful how easy the + descent really is, when once the first false step is taken. As the + avalanche, which at first becomes slowly loosened from its lofty position, + gradually descends with greater and greater rapidity till it is dashed + into the abyss, so does the frail mortal, who at first shudders at the + bare thought of an immoral act, rush headlong into sin till her desperate + career is suddenly checked, often in a manner fearful to contemplate. Mrs. + Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably be expected to + desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and those of her + husband’s relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental to her + character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, without the + incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; Randolph Thomson, + turning his back on her and his boy, had married a young lady of fortune; + so vowing vengeance against men in general for their <i>falseness and + inconstancy</i>. Mrs. Clarkson laid herself out to entrap and ensnare + every man who came in her way, and in this manner to revenge herself (as + she by some strange mental process led herself to imagine) on her false + lover. + </p> + <p> + The deceased Mr. Clarkson had a brother named William, a bachelor, whose + farm was adjacent to that now possessed by the widow. William was nearly + twenty years younger than his brother, and was considered rather a + good-looking man by his acquaintances. It is possible that, but for her <i>liaison</i> + with Thomson, Mrs. Clarkson would, long ere this, have fascinated him with + her beauty and blandishments; but, he had hitherto escaped unscathed, + though openly admiring his brother’s wife, and taking her part against the + scandal-mongers when speculation was rife as to the cause which detained + her in Montreal. In looking round for some one to entrap and ensnare, Mrs. + Clarkson’s eye naturally fell upon William, as the most eligible party in + her immediate vicinity; and she was the more anxious to secure him, + because, with a woman’s far-seeing eye and long-reaching vengeance, she + wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, who, being unmarried (and likely + to remain so), had undertaken to keep house for her younger brother, and + would, as matters at that moment stood, have likely outlived him and + inherited his property. Opportunity was not long wanting for her to effect + her object; William was the sole executor to his brother’s estate, and, as + business often brought them together at the late Mr. Clarkson’s lawyer’s + office in Montreal, it was not strange that the widow should almost + immediately have opened the campaign, which she did on the first occasion + of their meeting in the city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a + little skirmishing, in order to draw out her opponent. It was a beautiful + spring morning, and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven + o’clock, Mr. Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to + meet the train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, + reminding him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her + husband’s life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her + reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural + protector was no more. William, being little of a gossip himself, urged + her to be above such petty pandering to public opinion, and to follow her + inclinations, but she replied naively.—“A woman has nothing to + depend on but her reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know.” + “Perhaps you are right,” William replied, laughing, and so he permitted + the widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes later + to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily Mrs. + Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the trains both + going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch, and gossiping + tongues would relate all that passed during the journey, so she induced + Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her, promising her a + pleasant day in Montreal. + </p> + <p> + The train had not arrived when the ladies alighted at the depot, but the + ever-acute widow instructed her servant man not to drive away, but to wait + and see if any parcels had been sent from Portland. She did not expect any + parcels from Portland, but she wished all the neighbors who might be going + on the train to see her man with the buggy, in case they might imagine she + had come in the carriage with William. When they got on board the train, + of course, her brother-in-law took a seat with her and Miss Cuthbert, but + the widow pretended to be engrossed in a novel, leaving the younger lady + to carry on the conversation. A boy approached with “prize packages” of + candies, and William, buying two, handed them to the ladies, requesting + them to see what fortune had in store for them. Miss Cuthbert opened hers + eagerly, and, amidst the almonds and lozenges, discovered a gilt brooch, + which she laughingly fastened on her breast. William offered to open the + widow’s for her, but she interrupted him, saying: + </p> + <p> + “My fortune has been told already, give it to Miss Cuthbert.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes! give it to me,” said the sprightly girl, and hastily opening it, + she poked amongst the candies and pulled out a small article rolled in + tissue paper; unrolling the paper eagerly she disclosed <i>a plain gilt + ring</i>. + </p> + <p> + “Put that on, also,” said Mrs. Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no!” answered Miss Cuthbert, “I will try to get some one to put it on + for me.” + </p> + <p> + With this careless banter the time passed away till they reached Montreal, + Mrs. Clarkson playing the shy widow to perfection, and, as may naturally + be supposed, not only raising herself in the estimation of her + brother-in-law, but drawing him in a strange manner within the radius of + her fascinating influences. + </p> + <p> + On arriving in the city they entered a carriage, and were driven to St. + James street, where Mr. St. Jerome, the lawyer, had his office. In about + an hour their business was transacted, and William invited the ladies to + Alexander’s to partake of luncheon, but this the widow discreetly + declined, being aware that the pastry-cook’s in question was a celebrated + rendezvous for all country-folk. Pleading as an excuse that she wanted, to + do some shopping, she advised William not to trouble about them, as they + would prefer shopping alone, and that, if fatigued, they could easily drop + in for an ice at some respectable confectioner’s. “Besides,” added Mrs. + Clarkson, “I have promised to take Miss Cuthbert up the mountain this + afternoon, as she has never been to the summit of Mount Royal, though + living so near the city bearing its name.” + </p> + <p> + “If you are going up the mountain, I pray you will allow me to accompany + you. I never visit Montreal without ascending it at least once,” said Mr. + Clarkson. “If you do not wish me to go shopping, I will not intrude, but I + will feel myself slighted if you compel me to ascend the mountain alone.” + </p> + <p> + The widow feigned to give a reluctant consent, and accordingly they + arranged to meet on Place d’Armes at two o’clock, and to drive to the base + of the mountain together. At that time the beautiful mountain from which + Montreal derives its name, and most of its beauty, had not been acquired + by the city. It was private property, and there were no elegant roads by + which to drive to its summit; indeed, it was only by the courtesy of the + proprietors that persons were allowed to ascend the famous hill, and enjoy + the beautiful scenery and bracing air: even then the task of ascending was + no easy one, and ladies were generally glad of the company of one or more + of the hardier sex, if only to assist them in clambering up the steep + ascent. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Clarkson went to lunch, and then to the Corn Exchange to transact some + business, arriving in Place d’Armes precisely at two o’clock. Shortly + afterward she saw the ladies emerge from the French Church of Notre Dame, + and cross the square to meet him. Miss Cuthbert was delighted with the + church. Although a Protestant, she admired it as an architectural + art-work, the elaborate adornment, too, of the interior pleased her, and + accorded with her womanly tastes. Mrs. Clarkson had seen both inside and + outside so often that neither had now any more effect on her; indeed, not + only was her heart steeled to the refining influences of the building, but + also to the doctrines inculcated within it; she had started on the + downward path, and never once dared to look up again, even for a moment. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you are sharp on time,” said Miss Cuthbert, addressing Mr. + Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, I have been walking the streets for nearly an hour, + wondering if the hands on the Seminary clock would ever indicate the hour + of two. I had almost persuaded myself that the public clocks had all + stopped, but my watch, which was ticking, told me that they were going on + with methodical regularity.” He addressed himself to Miss Cuthbert, but + his eyes were turned slightly towards Mrs. Clarkson, who, blushing + slightly (she could blush at pleasure), turned away her head, and appeared + to be quite confused. + </p> + <p> + William hailed a cab, and they drove up University street, as far as the + carriage road permitted them. Dismissing the “carter,” they entered the + adjacent field, and ascended by a winding path which at that time ran + through the property of Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Allan. Miss Cuthbert, although + she lived faraway from all mountains or hills of any kind, was remarkably + active, and bounded up the steep ascent like a deer. Mrs. Clarkson was a + <i>dear</i> of another kind, and she was obliged to cling to her + brother-in-law for support, which latter he was by no means adverse to + giving, after about twenty minutes climbing they arrived at the “view + point” immediately over Sir Hugh Allan’s residence, when everything was + immediately forgotten in the inspeakable emotion excited by the + magnificent panorama before them. At their feet lay the beautiful city, + the rows of shade trees, clothed with verdure, lending a gorgeous setting + to the elegant limestone buildings. In front rolled the mighty St. + Lawrence, nearly two miles wide, the vast expanse being relieved by St. + Helen’s Island, with its luxuriant foliage. On the right the Victoria + Bridge, that monument of engineering skill, stretched across the mighty + river towards the picturesque village of St. Lambert; while further to the + westward might be seen Nun’s Island with its shady groves, at the head of + which rushed the boiling waters of the famous rapids of Lachine. I have in + my youth travelled through both Germany and Switzerland and, later, + through the beautiful scenery of New Hampshire and Vermont, but nowhere do + I remember having seen a view so grand, or a panorama so picturesque, as + that to be seen from the brow of Mount Royal. + </p> + <p> + For a while the entire party gazed in speechless admiration at the scene + before them, when Miss Cuthbert exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “I can say, with the apostle of old, ‘It is good for us to be here.’” + </p> + <p> + “And build <i>three tabernacles</i>? queried Mrs. Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, two would do. One for me, and another for you and Mr. Clarkson.” + </p> + <p> + At this rejoinder Mrs. Clarkson bit her lips, and changed the conversation + immediately. + </p> + <p> + When they had surveyed the city, the river, and the country on the + opposite shore, they prepared to ascend to the highest part of the + mountain, where the observatory stands, imbedded in trees. Here they sat + down for a time to rest, and partake of some light refreshment which they + had brought with them; they then proceeded to descend on the other side, + passing through the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries, both elaborately + laid out, and looking like beautiful flower gardens, rather than burial + grounds. As they neared Côte des Neiges Miss Cuthbert commenced to scamper + along like a child, and at one short declivity, she started off at a run, + calling on the others to follow. Clarkson took his companion’s hand and + invited her to descend in like manner, but, almost at the first step, his + sister-in-law uttered a sharp scream and fell forward on the grass, + informing them that her foot had turned under her, and that she had + sprained her ankle. + </p> + <p> + William was almost beside himself. He felt that he had foolishly induced + her to forget herself so far as to indulge in a wild romp and thus injure + her ankle. He wished Miss Cuthbert at the bottom of the sea, and wondered + how they were to get the beautiful cripple home, as they were removed from + residences or conveyances of any kind, and Mrs. Clarkson was no small + weight. There being nothing else for it, however, the sturdy farmer lifted + her in his arms and carried her to the house of the caretaker of the + cemetery; then, leaving her gently on a sofa, he started for the inn at + Côte des Neiges, thinking he might obtain the means of conveyance to + Montreal. + </p> + <p> + On his arrival at the inn he was informed that there was no livery stable + of any kind for miles around, and that the private buggy of the proprietor + was at the moment in Montreal, whither the landlady had driven for + provisions. Just then a team was driven at a rapid speed from the + direction of St. Laurent; it contained two young gentlemen from Montreal, + who had driven round the mountain attended by a groom. On hearing the + particulars of the accident they at once, with great gallantry, gave up + their vehicle, a mail phaeton, for the use of the disabled lady, + cheerfully undertaking to walk the remainder of the way (about four + miles), and enjoining Mr. Clarkson to bring the carriage to their stable + so soon as he had deposited his fair companions in a place of safety. + </p> + <p> + On reaching the cemetery, William found the widow looking wretched, + indeed, and apparently suffering great pain. Her face brightened, however, + as she saw the carriage and was convinced that they would be able to get + to Montreal in time for the night train for Sherbrooke. William assisted + Miss Cuthbert into the trap, and placed Mrs. Clarkson carefully beside + her; then, mounting the box, he thanked the caretaker for his kind offices + and drove, via Côte des Neiges hill, to Montreal. He suggested to Mrs. + Clarkson that it would be better for her to take a room at the St. + Lawrence Hall for a few days, and enjoy perfect rest till her ankle got + better, but she, remembering her past experiences, preferred to travel at + once to her home, and so avoid all scandal. + </p> + <p> + William drove straight to the Grand Trunk terminus in St. Bonaventure + street; and, placing the ladies in a Pullman car, drove up to Sherbrooke + street with the team, which he left, as directed, at the young gentleman’s + residence. He proceeded along to St. Lawrence Main street, where he hailed + a cab, and drove back to the terminus. Shortly after his return to the + depot the train started, and in a few hours they reached Sherbrooke. + </p> + <p> + It was considerably past midnight when they got to Mrs. Clarkson’s + residence, so Miss Cuthbert remained with her till morning, doing all she + could to alleviate her pain. Shortly after breakfast William called; and + as his sister-in-law was confined to her room, he considerately kept her + company till Miss Cuthbert had gone home and obtained permission to remain + a while longer with the disabled lady. There is nothing that tries a man’s + heart so much as to see a woman (particularly a beautiful woman) in pain. + The widow was aware of this, and so, although the sprain was purely + accidental, and was not included in her programme, turned it to such good + account that the poor bachelor was fairly hooked, and began to think + seriously that he had got into an awkward fix. + </p> + <p> + Marriage with a deceased brother’s wife was illegal, and no clergyman + could perform the marriage ceremony without violating the laws of both + Church and State; even if one could be prevailed on to follow the dictates + of his conscience, and to stretch a point in their favor (as was sometimes + done) society would not recognize their union, and would shun them as open + adulterers. In vain did his sister-in-law urge on him that the law was + absurd, and that, as there was no blood-relationship between them, there + could be nothing criminal in their living together; he had not the moral + courage to face the cold criticism of a narrow-minded and bigoted + community, and, though mad with passionate love, he hesitated to take the + fatal plunge. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson, however, having carried the outposts and principal barriers + successfully, was not to be thwarted by a mere matter of sentiment. She + expressed her intention of departing forthwith for Detroit, assuring him + that she would no longer remain in a country where such intolerant bigotry + existed, and instructed him, if he loved her as he pretended, to sell his + property in Canada and follow her thither. + </p> + <p> + Clarkson was loth to leave his relations and the home of his childhood, + but the temptress lured him gradually on, refusing at times even to see a + man who valued his narrow-minded friends’ opinion rather than her love, + and at length he consented to sell his farm for whatever it would bring, + and to rejoin her in Detroit. This was another piece of generalship on the + part of the widow, as, did they remain in Canada, she could not, in the + event of her husband’s death hold the property which would revert to her + hated sister-in-law; but that being now converted into cash she was at + liberty to squander it during her husband’s life-time, retaining the + fortune left by her first husband for the future use of herself and + children. + </p> + <p> + For a time Mr. Clarkson lived with his sister-in-law in a princely style + in Detroit. They entertained largely and handsomely, and most of their + guests neither cared nor enquired who they were, or whence they came. They + had not been there more than six weeks when Mrs. Clarkson made the + acquaintance of Count Von Alba, who for some time had been the lion of + fashionable circles in Detroit. Von Alba was a Russian, who (for political + reasons said his friends, for criminal reasons said his enemies) had + emigrated to America and lived on his fortune (his friends insisted)—his + wits, said his enemies again. + </p> + <p> + Whichever surmise was correct, Von Alba was undoubtedly good-looking. He + stood five feet eleven inches in his stockings, and was powerfully built; + his complexion, like most Russians was dark, and his lofty forehead was + surmounted with curls of the darkest brown. At the time of the Clarksons + residence, the Count was about five-and-thirty years old; he had naturally + a genial manner and a good-humored expression of countenance, and a scar + on his forehead (obtained, he said, when a lad, at Inkerman) made him an + object of feminine admiration, while he was at the same time greatly + envied by the opposite sex. + </p> + <p> + Von Alba was a sort of Admirable Crichton. He rode like Nimrod, danced + like Terpsichore, drove like Jehu, shot like William Tell, and sang like + Sims Reeves. It was in the <i>latter</i> accomplishment, however, that he + chiefly excelled; he would stand up at the end of a crowded drawing-room, + and, playing a delicate accompaniment on his guitar, would vocalize one of + the passionate love-songs of his native land. Sometimes he sang in + English, then his defective pronunciation lent a strange charm to his + singing, which, although it could scarcely be accounted for, made itself + felt even in the bosoms of the dilettanti. + </p> + <p> + Strange to say, although courted and run after by nearly all the eligible + young ladies, the Count became so fond of Mrs. Clarkson’s society that + scarcely a day passed but he was found at her house. At the fair lady’s + “Thursday Evenings,” of course, he was one of the principal attractions, + added to which he dined and lunched frequently at her house, and escorted + her to balls and parties: her husband not caring for the everlasting round + of excitement, and, far from feeling jealous of the Count, he was proud to + think that his choice of a companion should be endorsed by one who + presumably was a competent judge. + </p> + <p> + It was not long till the lady was at her old tricks again, and what + Randolph Thompson had been to her before, Von Alba soon became, the simple + husband encouraging these visits, and allowing his wife to squander his + money lavishly on her paramour. Mrs. Grundy in the meanwhile began to be + suspicious, and rumors, at first vague and indefinite, became almost + pointed accusations against Mrs. Clarkson. The poor husband, although not + altogether crediting the fact that there was a foundation for these + reports, saw the necessity, in the equivocal position in which both he and + his wife stood, of putting a stop to all suspicious intercourse with the + Count; and, being resolute enough when so disposed, he forbade his wife to + meet Von Alba any more in private, or to invite him to her house. + </p> + <p> + This, as may be supposed, brought matters to a crisis and brought on a + terrible quarrel between the abandoned woman and her husband. She saw that + the game was up as far as Detroit was concerned, and so, managing to forge + her husband’s name to a cheque for several thousand dollars, she went the + next day with great boldness to the bank where he kept his money and + presented it; it was cashed by the clerk without hesitation, and that + evening, abandoning both Clarkson and her children, she went, accompanied + by her paramour, to the depot and took the train for Montreal, where they + went to an hotel, registering their names as Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer, of New + York. Notwithstanding their false names and altered attire they were + traced to the St. Lawrence Hall, Mrs. Clarkson being surprised, on coming + from breakfast one morning, to observe her husband busily scanning the + register at the office counter. The Count had not seen him, but Mrs. + Clarkson hurried him upstairs and told him that their whereabouts was + discovered, and that they must take refuge in flight before Clarkson had + time to take steps for their apprehension. + </p> + <p> + Ringing the bell, Von Alba bade the boy to have their bill made out and + receipted, and to have their luggage sent to the station in time for the + next train for New York. + </p> + <p> + “There is no New York train till 3.15,” said the boy. + </p> + <p> + “When is there one for Toronto?” asked the Count. + </p> + <p> + “Not till eight this evening, but the Lachine train, which meets the mail + boat, leaves at 11.30.” + </p> + <p> + “That is what I mean,” said Von Alba; “we will go by that;” then, packing + hastily, the two culprits descended by the ladies staircase, and, entering + a carriage, drove off to procure tickets for Toronto. + </p> + <p> + All this time Mr. Clarkson was quietly seated in the breakfast-room, + taking light repast after his long journey. That the persons he sought + were in the hotel he felt confident; but there were so many gentlemen with + their wives real or pretended, from all parts, that he was puzzled to + conjecture which of the names in the register was that assumed by the + Count. At length he resolved to take the boy into his confidence; and, + handing him a gold piece, he began to question him concerning the guests + now quartered in the hotel. When he had described the pair he wanted, the + boy said: “W’y these ere must be the pair wat’s just gone to the Toronto + boat!” Clarkson said not a word; but, handing a card to the cashier, + rushed out of the hotel, and, jumping into a cab, bade the driver to go + with all speed to the Upper Canada boat. Had he thought for a moment he + would have recollected that the boat leaves the wharf early in the + morning, and proceeding slowly through the canal, stops to take on + passengers at the head of the Lachine Rapids. In his blind haste, however, + he had forgotten this; and lost so much time in going to the wharf that, + when he eventually learnt the truth and got to the depot, the train was + just leaving the platform. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing for it now but to wait for the train for the west, and + to get on board the steamer at Kingston. He had at least the satisfaction + of knowing that they were on the boat like rats in a trap, and that, + except the delay in confronting the villain Von Alba and his wretched + companion, he was as successful as possible in his pursuit of the + fugitives. Returning to the city, he procured the assistance of a + detective, who undertook to accompany him to Kingston, and assist him in + apprehending and arresting the fugitives. + </p> + <p> + By this time the steamship “Hungarian,” on which the wretched pair had + embarked, was ploughing the waters of Lake St. Louis. After a time they + passed through the Beauharnois and Cornwall canals, and entered the + labyrinth of beautiful patches known as the “Thousands Islands.” As they + emerged from this lovely spot the saloon became suddenly filled with + smoke, and in a few minutes cries of “Fire! Fire!” were heard on every + hand. A rush was made for life preservers, while the crew of five or six + men vainly endeavored to extinguish the flames. The captain ordered boats + to be lowered, but, the men being excited, and badly drilled at best, the + boats were successively swamped, leaving the poor terrified creatures only + a choice of two fearful deaths. + </p> + <p> + One of the sailors handed Mrs. Clarkson a life preserver, which she + requested Von Alba to fasten round her waist, but the cowardly fellow <i>snatched + it from her</i>, and, hastily securing it round his own waist, swung + himself overboard, leaving her to perish in the flames! He was not to + escape so easily, however; with a bitter yell of mingled rage and despair + the wretched woman mounted the taffrail, and plunging straight for the + spot where he rose to the surface dragged him under again and again with + fearful maledictions. The passengers who still remained on deck could do + nothing to separate them, and although the life preserver would have + sustained both of them easily in the water, so great was the woman’s bate + on the discovery of Von Alba’s cowardly treachery, that she did not even + give a thought to her own escape, so intent was she on dragging him to the + bottom. The expression of her face, lit up as it was by the blaze of the + burning; steamer, was terrible to behold: the veins in her head and neck + were swollen almost to bursting, and she died cursing with bitter + malediction the man for whom she had sacrificed not only herself, but her + husband and her children. + </p> + <p> + The steamer burned to the water’s edge, only a few of those who had jumped + overboard escaping. The bodies of the guilty pair were discovered at some + distance from the wreck, Mrs. Clarkson’s hand being tightly clutched round + her companion’s throat, while his tongue and eyes protruded fearfully. + </p> + <p> + With sad and heavy heart Clarkson returned to Detroit, and, having + gathered together what remained of his former property, prepared to return + to Canada. He took with him the children of his late wife, placing them + both as boarders at the College at Lennoiville till they were old enough + to be apprenticed to some trade or profession. He never quite recovered + from the shock received on hearing of the manner of Mrs. Clarkson’s death + and that of her paramour, but became prematurely aged when he realized + that, instead of the sweet angelic creature whom he thought he had + married, he found that he had wedded a regular disciple of Satan. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. — The Frail Shop Girl. + </h2> + <p> + The many fine ladies who patronize the fashionable emporiums of Montreal + little think (as they sit comfortably at the counter, leisurely examining + dozens of articles they never intend to purchase) of the sufferings + undergone by those who minister to their wants, and, it may be, their + caprices. Dozens of these poor creatures stand day after day, from morn + till night, without a moment’s rest except at meal-times; even then the + short period allowed them barely suffices to permit of a hasty meal, when + they have to hurry back again to undergo another term of misery. + </p> + <p> + It is strange that we should be so careful of brute beasts that we form + ourselves into societies for their protection, prosecuting rigorously any + one who shall have the temerity to ill-treat or abuse them, and yet allow + our fellow-creatures (and those, too, of the weaker sex) to be treated + with the most barbarous cruelty. A bruise or a blow may be brutal and + severe, yet neither is so hurtful, so systematically cruel, as the forcing + young girls to stand erect for lengthened periods, without change of + posture. I am sure if the members of the House of Commons were deprived of + their seats even for one session, we would, without further ado have a + Bill enacted making it criminal for shopkeepers to make slaves of their + employees, or individuals to patronize such establishments. + </p> + <p> + Were shop-girls provided with even the commonest of seats, untold numbers + of crimes and diseases would be heard of no more. I am confident that but + for this most refined cruelty the circumstances which gave rise to this + story would never have occurred, and that I would have been spared the + narration of a history which, though painfully true, is none the less + shocking. + </p> + <p> + M——‘s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a + well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked the + thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its door; + and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither and + thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still bright + and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be seen + grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from the + shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the + counter. + </p> + <p> + One of these girls, by name Esther Ryland, was noticed by many who + frequented M——‘s store on account of her unusually attractive + person and elegance of manners; she was a little above the average height, + yet graceful and well-formed, with remarkably handsome features, and eyes + that sparkled like a pair of diamonds. Esther had not been long in Messrs. + M——‘s service, yet she had become so popular as a saleswoman + that crowds frequented the particular counter at which she assisted, and + she was known to many who were unacquainted with her name as the Pretty + Shop-girl at M——‘s. + </p> + <p> + Esther was very proud of her attractions, both professionally and + otherwise; she did not calculate, however, that the more popular she + became the more work she would have to do, and that she would, in time, + pay for her popularity with her health, if not her life. She had, in and + out of the store, a great many admirers amongst those of the opposite sex, + but there was one she prized above all others, a certain Mr. Quintin, a + merchant tailor, who had just started business for himself, and had + persuaded Esther to promise that, after another year’s service, she would + give up business and become his wife. + </p> + <p> + It had been their custom to go for a stroll together on the long summer + evenings, and together they might have been seen, fondly looking into each + other’s faces, as, arm-in-arm, they perambulated the more remote portions + of Sherbrooke and St. Denis streets, which at that time were scarcely + built upon. + </p> + <p> + One evening when Quintin called, as usual, to take his enamorata for a + walk, she said she would prefer to stay at home, as she was quite fatigued + with the day’s work. Nothing disconcerted, her lover remained with her in + the house, and they amused themselves with a pack of cards and a + chessboard. The following evening, however, Miss Ryland was again + indisposed, and, on questioning her closely, Quintin drew forth the avowal + that she <i>had not sat down for a quarter of an hour</i> during the whole + day! It seems it was the busy season at M——‘s, and, besides + being engaged incessantly in serving customers, Miss Ryland was obliged to + shorten her dinner hour, and to hurry back to meet the increased demand. + </p> + <p> + Quintin was quite shocked at this discovery. Although well aware of the + brutal treatment of shopkeepers’ assistants, he had never been an + interested party, and so had the matter placed before him <i>in all its + horrors</i> for the first time. He resolved that, come what might, he + would emancipate his intended wife from a life of such slavery, and so, + having carefully arranged his business and purchased a neat little cottage + in Cadieux street, he urged Miss Ryland to consent to marry him without + delay, and so avoid her life of thraldom. She agreed to marry him during + the ensuing month, pleading with feminine weakness that it would take at + least that time to get her trousseau ready, and the day was finally + arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + The excitement of preparation before marriage, and the change of scene + during her wedding-tour, wrought such an effect on the woman that Mr. + Quintin became convinced that his wife’s health was thoroughly restored, + and he labored assiduously at his business, looking forward cheerfully to + the time when she should become a mother, and the merry laughter of his + children should, in his hours of rest from worldly cares, gladden and + enliven their home. + </p> + <p> + A year rolled by, and both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin looked hopefully towards + the future; two years passed and still they were childless. Mrs. Quintin + would have given all the world, had she possessed it, for one of God’s + blessings; she loved children, even those of other children, and <i>one of + her own</i> would have been a priceless treasure. But she lamented more on + her husband’s account. She knew that he doted on children; and when she + saw him take the neighbours’ children on his knee, and, after looking + wistfully in their faces, rise and dash his hand across his eyes, she knew + what it meant. “Oh,” she would cry, “if only these abandoned wretches who + desert their offspring could realize what it is to desire them and yet + live unblest! If they but knew the priceless treasures they were casting + from them, they would turn and repent in sackcloth and ashes.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. and Mrs. Quintin had been married about three years when one day the + former called on me, his face beaming with joy, and informed me that his + fondest hopes were about to be realized, and that he would like me to call + and consult with his wife. I was a little surprised at this intimation, + as, from what I knew of Mrs. Quintin, I had fully made up my mind that she + would never become a patient of mine; however, I was glad to hear that I + had been mistaken, and so, when next in the neighborhood I waited on that + lady and congratulated her on her improved prospects. To my great surprise + she burst into tears, and confessed that she was not <i>enceinte</i>, or + likely ever to become so; that her career in M——‘s store, and + continued standing for hours together, had rendered her physically unable + ever to become a mother. She added that her husband had so set his heart + upon the one object (viz., the desire to have children), and had spent so + much money for medicine and medical advice with a view to that end, that + she could not bear him to think that all his efforts were unavailing, and + her complaint having assumed a form to all outward appearances similar to + pregnancy, she had permitted him to delude himself with the belief that + the latter was the cause of her altered appearance, and that scientific + skill had counteracted the effects of years of abuse. + </p> + <p> + I was greatly taken aback at this disclosure, but my surprise was as + nothing compared to that in hearing the plot which the woman’s now + diseased mind had concocted. She said she was going to bear reproach no + longer (for, though her husband never murmured, at least in words, his + friends and her neighbors were ever ready to deepen her sorrow and + humiliation by taunting her with her impotency), and her eyes rolled in + frenzy as she almost shouted: I MUST AND SHALL HAVE A CHILD’! Why am I + prohibited from having what many do not know how to value? Many of them + cast their treasures from them; shall I, frantic with despair, <i>refuse + to pick one up</i>! + </p> + <p> + As she walked up and down the room in her fury, she looked like one + demented. Her hands were clenched till the nails entered her flesh, her + eyes rolled wildly, and, were I more easily frightened, I would have felt + impelled to call for help. Gradually becoming cooler, Mrs. Quintin + unfolded to me her plan for deceiving her husband, and, with a coolness + that I would not have pardoned but for her evidently unhinged condition, + actually <i>requested me to assist her?</i> She said she had been offered + a child for adoption by a lady who was more guilty and unfeeling than + herself, and that the person in question had promised to send her word + when she was taken ill, so that she might send for me, and make her + arrangements for the reception of the child, which was to be transported + secretly into her bedroom. + </p> + <p> + I was so astonished that I was for a time unable to a speak. The deep plot + itself, the proposition made to me to assist her, and the cool manner of + the lady herself, fairly staggered me. At length, speaking as calmly as I + could, I tried to convince Mrs. Quintin of the enormity of the crime she + intended to commit, telling her that, if she wished to adopt a child, she + would find it quite an easy matter to do so without taking any such course + as she evidently intended; and, after arguing for some time, she seemed to + yield a little to reason, and promised to do nothing rashly. She had + already, however, committed herself to the first part of her programme, + and told her husband a falsehood; how was she to undeceive him? I + suggested that she should tell him on his return that she had been + mistaken, and that on examination I had found nothing unusual the matter + with her. This she positively refused to do, saying that her husband had + so set his heart on this one object that, were his hopes suddenly dashed + to the ground, he might do something desperate. She said she would break + it to him gently, and, imploring me to say nothing to him of what had + passed, she escorted me to the door, and, with tearful eyes, bade me + farewell. + </p> + <p> + Several months elapsed, and I had, for the time, thought little of either + Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, when one evening in glancing over the papers, my eye + fell on the following announcement: “On the ——th inst., at + —— Cadieux street the wife of R. Quintin of a daughter.” I let + the paper drop as I gazed vacantly at the ceiling and tried to realize the + whole affair. Undecided how to act, I mechanically put on my bonnet and + cloak, and walked up Cadieux street, when, coming out of the house, I + spied my friend, Dr. P——. + </p> + <p> + “Good evening, Doctor,” said I. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, good evening, Mrs. Schroeder. I have just been attending a patient of + yours; it seems they were not at all prepared, and had not time to notify + you. Indeed, I was late myself, as I did not arrive till some minutes + after the child was born.” + </p> + <p> + Without saying a word I beckoned the Doctor aside, and made a sign that I + wished to speak with him privately. He invited me to step into his + carriage, and we drove in perfect silence to his residence in Beaver Hall + Terrace. Alighting, he preceded me to his surgery, and closed the door; + then, with a look full of meaning, he said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is there wrong here?” + </p> + <p> + “I said, Before I reply, will you permit me to ask you one or two + questions.” + </p> + <p> + “Who called you to attend Mrs. Quintin?” + </p> + <p> + “A carter came and requested me to come with all speed to attend a lady in + Cadieux street. I went as quickly as possible, but the child was born + before my arrival.” + </p> + <p> + “Who, then, attended the lady?” + </p> + <p> + “The nurse did, and apparently very satisfactorily indeed. I found the + bandages so well arranged, and the patient’s pulse so strong and regular, + that I left, perfectly satisfied that all was properly attended to till + your arrival. They explained to me that the lady was your patient, but + that being unexpectedly taken ill, she had ordered the carter to bring the + first doctor he found at home.” + </p> + <p> + “Was Mr. Quintin at home?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he is gone to England to purchase some goods.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! That accounts for it then.” + </p> + <p> + “Accounts for what? Really you must not catechize me any further. What is + there underneath all these questions?” + </p> + <p> + I drew my chair closer to him, as I said tragically: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Quintin <i>never had a child</i>.” + </p> + <p> + “This rather staggered the good old doctor, who had just come from the + house, where he had examined and weighed the infant. He started up from + his chair, and, drawing back, exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean? Explain yourself.” + </p> + <p> + I then at length narrated all I knew concerning the Quintin family, and, + as I proceeded with my story, the old man’s eyes opened wider and wider as + he exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “My God what a diabolical plot”! + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, and I was invited to join in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, well. <i>I</i> certainly would never have suspected anything of the + kind.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor would anyone. The thing was well arranged, and artfully carried out.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose they will send for <i>you</i> now.” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all. That is only a sham to get rid of your attendance. The + husband will be given to understand that you were hurriedly called in, and + that, my assistance being unneeded, they did not think it worth-while + troubling me.” + </p> + <p> + After consulting with Dr. P. for a considerable time and putting the case + in different lights, we came to the conclusion that it would be as well + now to let matters take their course. Any interference on our part would + only have raised a great public scandal, and rendered both Mr. and Mrs. + Quintin miserable, without benefiting anyone, so we allowed the poor man + to believe that his prayers were answered, and that the beautiful girl he + fondled was really his own. + </p> + <p> + Time rolled on, the baby being baptized in due course and known by the + name of Edith Quintin. As she grew older, both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin became + passionately fond of her, the latter being as much attached to the little + girl as if she were her own daughter. When the child was about twelve + years old, Mrs. Quintin, who had gradually grown more and more delicate, + began to feel that she must, ere many months had passed, finally succumb + to the disease which was gradually gnawing at her vitals, and the + deception she had practised on her husband was a source of great + discomfort and annoyance to her. She called on me in great grief, and, + having informed me concerning that of which (as the reader knows) I was + well aware, implored me to give her counsel and advice. She was surprised + to hear that I had already learnt all from Dr. P——; for, + although she, of course, knew that <i>I</i> was not blinded by her + subterfuge, she was not aware that I knew all concerning the method + adopted by her, and when she learned that both the doctor and myself had + forborne to inform on her, she was visibly affected, and thanked me on her + knees. + </p> + <p> + I advised her to break the matter to her husband, and not to die with such + a load on her conscience, but she avowed that she had neither the strength + nor the courage to do so, and importunately besought me to undertake the + painful task. When Mr. Quintin learnt the truth he was of course greatly + shocked, and at first was bitter in his denunciations at his deceitful + wife. His better judgment, however, was soon brought to bear in the + matter, and he was moved rather to pity her misfortune than to punish her + for her fault. He knew that her judgment erred solely in order to retain + his affection, and when he looked at her pale face and emaciated form, and + thought of the agony and suffering, both mental and bodily, which the poor + creature had endured, he willingly forgave her, and, though sadly + disappointed and sorely smitten, did what he could to reassure her. + </p> + <p> + Edith meanwhile had developed into a beautiful girl, and had she really + been, as she believed herself, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, she + could not have been more beloved by them. The former enjoined me never to + reveal the secret of her birth to his daughter as he called her, and so + her life, at least, was not darkened in the least by the knowledge of the + truth. + </p> + <p> + When Edith was about seventeen years old Mrs. Quintin finally yielded to + the ravages of that dread destroyer, consumption. The poor girl wept sadly + and bitterly at the loss of her mother, the only one indeed the poor child + had ever known, and poor Quintin wept sadly as he thought of his wife’s + brief and unhappy career. He removed with his daughter into furnished + lodgings, not wishing the child to be burdened too soon with the cares of + house-keeping. What he would not allow her to do for him, however, she + soon became very anxious to do for another, and the days of her mourning + were not long passed when she became the happy wife of a young man named + Wentworth, bookkeeper in one of the leading hardware firms in Montreal. + She has now children of her own, and the youngsters’ greatest delight is + to gather round their grandfather’s knee while he astonishes them with + stories. To them nor to no one else, however, has he told, even as I have + done, the story of the frail shop-girl, who from being young and handsome, + and the belle of her circle of acquaintances, became a wretched and + deceitful woman, diseased both in body and mind, and finally sank into a + premature grave. + </p> + <p> + Out on this heartless, brutal system, and the thoughtlessness and + ignorance which permit it! I hope the narrative given above may cause some + of those at least who engage in this barbarous system to pause and give + the great problem of life, capital and labor, a few moments thought that + they may see the error of their way, and that poor Esther Quintin may not + have died in vain. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. — The Two Orphans + </h2> + <p> + One evening, about a dozen years before the introduction of the present + system of fire alarms into Montreal, crowds might be seen hurrying along + that part of the city known as Little St. James street, towards the scene + of an immense conflagration. Several fire engines were throwing strong + streams of water on the burning mass, but, the evening being windy, the + fire swept all before it, and soon reduced several buildings to ashes. + </p> + <p> + In one of these resided Mr. Wilson, Notary Public, and his two daughters, + the eldest a beautiful girl about 9 years old, the other aged nearly 8. + When the fire commenced they were seated calmly at the tea-table, + partaking of their evening meal, but, so sudden was the holocaust which + burst with tremendous fury around them that they had not the slightest + warning till they were surrounded with dense volumes of smoke The two + girls rushed forward to the window, and screamed for assistance, while the + old man endeavored to gather some of his most valuable papers together and + throw them into the street. + </p> + <p> + Amongst the crowd who assembled were two young men, clerks, named Wilgress + and D’Alton respectively. Taking in the situation at a glance, they sought + hastily for ladders, and placing them against the burning windows, mounted + bravely through the flames, each seizing a girl round the waist, and + carrying her in safety to the ground. Their clothes were almost completely + destroyed, while their faces were grimed and scorched, still, nothing + daunted, they looked up to see if anything more could be done; they espied + the old man at one of the windows with a parcel in his arms. Quick as + thought Dalton mounted the ladder once more, going through the flames like + a salamander, and, taking the parcel from the old gentleman, tried to + induce him to descend the ladder. Poor old Wilson, however, could not bear + to leave so much that was valuable while a chance of saving it remained, + and so, rushing wildly back into the burning building, he was soon lost to + sight. A cry arose from the crowd as they saw him disappear once more, and + several hardy youths sprang up the ladders, determined to bring him out by + force, but, ere they could enter the flaming pile, a loud shriek met their + ears as the floor gave way, hurling the poor old notary into the dreadful + pit of fire. All efforts to do anything further were now unavailing, and + the firemen directed their energies to protecting the neighboring + buildings, and preventing the fire from spreading. + </p> + <p> + The young men were at first puzzled what to do with the two girls whom + they had rescued, and who were now orphans, without parents, money, or + even clothes, but some Sisters of Charity, who had witnessed the heroic + action, came forward and offered to take them in charge. The good sisters + took the children to the convent, and provided them with both food and + clothes, intending to educate them and bring them up in the Catholic + faith, but some Protestant ladies, members of the congregation to which + Mr. Wilson had belonged, having heard of the affair, induced the clergyman + to call and obtain possession of the orphans, they undertaking to provide + the cost of their maintenance, or to find them homes in Protestant + families. + </p> + <p> + By the time the Rev. Mr. Flood called at the nunnery the children had + dried their tears, and were beginning to feel quite at home. The Sister in + charge, however, saw at once the correctness of the Clergyman’s action, + and agreed to give the girls up as soon as he had made arrangements for + their reception elsewhere. In a few days they were sent for, and each was + adopted by a different family; Cissie, the elder, was taken in charge by a + childless minister, residing in St. Albans, in the State of Vermont, while + Lillie, the younger sister was adopted by a farmer from the neighborhood + of Varennes. + </p> + <p> + Many years passed away and the two girls were grown up, and were both + uncommonly good looking, Lillie being then just seventeen, and as handsome + a girl as one could wish to see. Then circumstances, however, were not the + same, for while Cissie had received a good education, and had in every way + the manners of a lady, Lillie could not even read with facility, and + writing was with her and utter impossibility. The people who had adopted + her were Irish settlers, who, though comfortably off, knew little beyond + the cultivation of potatoes and the care of pigs. + </p> + <p> + About this tame Cissie Wilson, tired of the monotony of life at St. + Albans, determined to make an effort to “see the world,” as she called it, + and earn her own living; and, as her adopted father remonstrated with her + in rather a hasty manner, she collected her effects together, and, one day + while the old man was out, started for Montreal. She left a note for him, + informing him of her destination, and warning him not to attempt to stop + her, as she had determined, at all hazards, to carry out her intention. + Miss Wilson had been several times in Montreal, and had several + acquaintances there, among them a Miss Wood, whose father had a position + in the Telegraph Office. To Miss Wood’s, therefore, she repaired, and, + being welcomed with the usual number of kisses, she requested the young + lady to persuade her father to procure a situation as telegraph operator + or something of the kind, as she was determined to earn her own living. + This the young lady promised to do and succeeded so well that Miss Wilson + was soon installed in a tolerably good position, earning enough money to + maintain and clothe herself respectably. + </p> + <p> + Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of + her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home + arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to + indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, + and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her beauty + and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means of dressing + herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she could make, + were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. + </p> + <p> + This passion for dress and jewellery soon became deep-seated; were she + only well dressed, what could she not achieve. She had, in her anxious + endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even of + necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, and + these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over this + circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced to + meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine dress + and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and modest + beauty of the poor telegraph girl. Miss Smith inquired casually if Cissie + were going to the Oddfellows’ ball, an affair which was then on the <i>tapis</i>, + and when the latter answered in the negative, explaining that her small + salary would not allow her to purchase the necessary finery, Miss Smith + laughed and called her a silly little goose. Taking her by the arm, Anna + then let her into a secret, and explained how she obtained all she + required, and indeed could, out of the abundance of her stores, fit out + Miss Cissie, whom she chose to consider her protégée. She urged Cissie not + to miss the ball on any account, and reminded her that she had already + obtained a decided advantage over Miss Williams, Miss Hunt and Miss Jones, + and that with such an outfit as she would lend her the victory would be + complete. + </p> + <p> + Cissie was for a moment shocked. She had been several times offered + presents by gentlemen of her acquaintance, but had always resolutely + declined to take them, having an instinctive feeling which warned her + against their acceptance. She could not bear now to wear the dresses + proffered by Miss Smith, and momentarily made up her mind not to go to the + ball at all. Then again her heart failed her as her companion glibly ran + over the names of those who were to attend, and Cissie thought how she + would like to enter the room on Horace Gibson’s arm in the presence of + Miss Williams and the rest. Horace Gibson was a clerk in the Bank of + Montreal who had invited Miss Wilson to the ball, and was to receive her + answer that evening. As luck would have it, that young gentleman + approached just as the girls were rounding the corner of the street, and, + raising his hat in salute, inquired if he was to have the pleasure of + taking Miss Wilson to the ball. Cissie hung her head, and was just about + to offer some excuse, when Miss Smith answered for her: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, <i>of course</i> she’ll go, and be the best dressed and best + looking lady in the room too.” + </p> + <p> + “If you have taken her up, I am sure she will be at least the <i>second</i> + best as regards get up,” responded Mr. Gibson, conveying an indirect + compliment to Miss Smith herself, who was celebrated for the elegance of + her attire. Cissie could not utter a word. After all, she thought, there + can be no harm in borrowing a dress from a young lady! It was not for her + to inquire how that lady was able to purchase so many dresses; and then, + as she looked at the handsome young man before her, and thought how her + rivals would bite their lips with envy to see her in her elegant out-fit, + the blood rushed into her temples, and with an impetuous bound she burst + away from both her companions and entered the house, saying to Mr. Gibson: + “Yes, I’ll go; call for me at nine to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + Till late night Cissie sat in her rocking-chair, her hands pressed over + her throbbing temples; at length wearied nature came to her relief, and + compelled her to retire to bed. Being fatigued, she soon fell fast asleep, + and on the morrow when she awoke, although she remembered clearly all that + had passed on the previous evening, she had not the same sensitive + feelings, or the same sharp prickings of conscience, and, as she walked + towards the office, she began to anticipate the ball with the greatest + pleasure. + </p> + <p> + As Miss Smith had said, Cissie, beautiful before, was ten times as + beautiful now that she was adorned with all that art could do in the + matters of dress and jewellery. Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth + with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o’clock, disgusted with <i>that + thing</i> from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly sought + for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. Miss Smith + was as proud of Cissie’s success as if it had been her own. With all her + faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as she did fancied + she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in opening to her the + highway to fame and fortune, even though it were reached by the gate of + dishonor. + </p> + <p> + It is needless to give in detail the particulars of Cissie Wilson’s + career; suffice it to say, that the brilliant triumph at the Oddfellows’ + ball was too much for her weak nature. She plunged headlong into the + vortex of worldly pleasure and excitement, and, having little time or + inclination for reflection, became in time quite habituated to this + peculiar mode of life, always maintaining outwardly, however, a moral and + respected appearance. + </p> + <p> + All this time, the reader may well ask, what had become of Lillie, the + younger sister? She had been remarkably successful in her country home, + having at her feet the hands and hearts of all the most eligible young men + for miles round. This at one time would have gratified her utmost + ambition; but her sister’s letters from Montreal made her dreadfully + anxious to join her in her whirl of exciting pleasures, and, with the + understanding that her sister would obtain her employment in Montreal, + Lillie, at the age of eighteen, came to the city. + </p> + <p> + She was not long in her new home till her sister unbosomed to her many + things of which she had previously been in ignorance, and promised to + introduce her to the <i>créme de la créme</i> of her worldly companions, + urging her to endeavor to acquire these graces and accomplishments which + she had failed to learn in her country home. Lillie soon became more + popular even than her sister; for, although she was not so well educated, + she was naturally clever and witty, and there was a vivacity and freshness + about her conversation, which, added to her beautiful face and perfect + figure, made her a charming and desirable companion. + </p> + <p> + One day Mr. D’Alton, one of the gentlemen who had rescued the two girls + from the fire, was walking along Notre Dame street, when he observed a + beautiful girl, rather showily dressed, promenading just in front of him. + Something in the girl’s manner attracted his attention, and, as he passed + her, he turned round, and carefully scanned her face. As he did so the + girl looked up and their eyes met; he, raising his hat, blurted out an + apology, saying he had mistaken her for another lady of his acquaintance + named Brown. “Oh,” said she, laughing, “my name is Lillie Wilson.” + </p> + <p> + On hearing this name D’Alton started, and, having questioned her closely + concerning her antecedents, asked her if she remembered the fire, and the + two gentlemen who rescued herself and her sister; and, although she had + altogether forgotten his appearance, she remembered the circumstance + perfectly. They walked together for a little while, and then he asked her + permission to visit her at her address, and was astonished to find that + she objected, for some strange reason, to do so. At length, bursting into + tears, she confided to him her whole history, informing him that she had + been seduced and betrayed, and was at that moment <i>enceinte</i>. This + disclosure, as may well be supposed, staggered D’Alton not a little, but + at the same time he became more and more interested in the girl, and + offered, if she would promise to give up her corrupt mode of life that he + would do his best to see her through her present difficulty. Calling on + me, he consulted with me as to what was best to be done under the + circumstances, explaining that, although he was willing to do all in his + power for the girl for the sake of old associations, yet that he did not + wish to peril his own reputation. I promised to do what I could for the + girl, and calling on her was informed that her paramour was an officer in + the Rifle Brigade, who had returned to England, leaving her to bear the + burden of their crime. Having procured suitable lodgings, I saw the girl + comfortably housed, and in due time she gave birth to a fine little boy, + which, as usual in these cases, was sent to the nunnery to be taken care + of by the good Sisters of Charity. + </p> + <p> + Mr. D’Alton did not come to visit Miss Wilson during her convalescence + but, after she was completely recovered he called frequently, taking her + to theatres and concerts, and sometimes in the winter to sleigh-rides. + What his intentions at first may have been I do not know; I certainly + think that but for his friends he would openly have married her; be that + as it may, in a short time it became apparent that they had both + overstepped the bounds of ordinary friendly intercourse, and that Mrs. + Rushton (as she now called herself) would soon require my services a + second time. This time she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and, before + many years were past, there followed another girl and boy. These children + were not, as in the former case, sent to the nunnery, but were retained + and brought up by their mother, she being smart enough to perceive that by + doing so she would maintain a hold on their father, and secure for + herself, if not a respectable, at least a comfortable position, Mr. + D’Alton having been successful in business, and being at that time one of + the leading brokers in Montreal. + </p> + <p> + For a time things went on this way, D’Alton visiting his mistress + frequently, and becoming passionately fond of the children, whom Mrs. + Rushton artfully used to influence him on all occasions. To do her + justice, it must be said that she never, either in thought or action, was + untrue to D’Alton, and that, whatever her past career might have been, she + lived at this time a quiet life, indeed, caring only for her husband (as + she called him) and her children. By the time the little boy was two years + old, both mother and children had so ingratiated themselves in Mr. + D’Alton’s affections, that he determined, come what might, to marry his + mistress, and so make their future offspring at least legitimate. + </p> + <p> + He was weary of his irregular mode of life, and, being comparatively + wealthy, longed for some place which he could call his home. His wife + could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an <i>entrée</i> to + that realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better + than that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom + he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, + exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his cellar + maintained its reputation. Accordingly, he one day astonished and + delighted Mrs. Rushton with the proposal that he should marry her; and + that they should live together openly. As may be supposed, the lady + unhesitatingly accepted the proposal, and accordingly they were married, + formally and legally in St. George’s Church, which, at that time was + situated in St. Joseph street, on the site now occupied by Messrs. Ligget + & Hamilton’s large dry goods store. Mr. D’Alton took a house in a new + portion of the city, and as they lived very quietly, receiving no calls, + except from business friends of Mr. D’Alton, the neighbors did not trouble + themselves much about them, or inquire concerning their antecedents. + </p> + <p> + Although her husband did not trouble himself whether his wife was or was + not received into society, Mrs. D’Alton felt it very keenly. She had not, + like him, drank the cup of life’s pleasures till it tasted insipid or even + nauseous; on the contrary, she looked on the pomps and vanities of society + as only a woman can look on them, and now that she was legally + respectable, and rich enough to keep pace with even the most fashionable + of her neighbors, it made her very heart ache to think that these scenes + of brightness were closed to her as much as ever. She thought of what she + might have been had she not in her ambitious haste gone off the right + track; and, pained with bitter reflections, and with no one to speak to or + converse with (for her husband spent most of his time at the club) she + solaced herself, as others in her predicament have done, with the cup of + forgetfulness, sinking deeper and deeper at every step, till the habit + became confirmed. + </p> + <p> + Although Mrs. D’Alton had taken her husband into her confidence, and told + him truthfully her history, she had not sufficient strength of mind to + tell him how ignorant she really was, and that she could not even read and + write with accuracy. Her letters to her husband had been written by her + nursery-governess, engaged ostensibly to instruct the children; but in + reality to act as amanuensis for the lady of the house. The young lady + thus engaged was at first rather averse to signing her mistress’ name to + her letters without adding her own initials, but the present of a handsome + broach and earrings soon quieted her sensitive conscience and she soon + fell into the plan, not being unwilling to make use of such a powerful + lever for obtaining largesses from Mrs. D’Alton. In time this young lady + became so overbearing that her mistress fully made up her mind to + discharge her, but a summer trip to Portland being then on the tapis, she + allowed her to have her own way, as Mr. D’Alton remained in Montreal, and + would naturally expect letters from his wife during her absence. She would + have dismissed the governess and engaged another, trusting to her own + pleadings and the powerful appeals of her purse to win her over, but the + handwriting would not be the same, and she would not for worlds have + allowed her husband to think she had deceived him. + </p> + <p> + The day came for their departure for Orchard Beach, where Mr. D’Alton had + taken a cottage for their use. The children were in great glee as they + anticipated surf bathing and digging in the sand, but Mrs. D’Alton was + moody and down-hearted, the exhilarating effects of a large potion of + brandy having worn off and a reaction set in; her husband, however, + attributed it to sorrow at her separation from him, and was rather + gratified to think she was so deeply affected. + </p> + <p> + They arrived at her destination in due course, and were comfortably + ensconced in the cosy little cottage. Miss Watson, the governess, dressed + herself up, and with the children departed for the promenade, and Mrs. + D’Alton was left to her own reflections. The thought of her past career, + of the opportunities gone for ever, and lastly of the predicament she was + now in, shunned by all respectable people, and despised by her own paid + servant, who felt her power, and was disposed to wield it unmercifully. + The brandy-bottle, her never-failing companion, was by her side, and as + she mused mopingly over her sins, she took from time to time copious + draughts of the potent spirits, regardless of its power to do otherwise + than to rob her of these racking memories of the past. In about two hours + the promenaders returned and found her lying back speechless in her chair, + the bottle and glass by her side; her eyes rolled wildly as she gazed + vacantly on her children, but she was unable to utter a word. + </p> + <p> + Miss Watson became alarmed and summoned a doctor immediately, who, on + entering the room, perceived at once the cause of Mrs. D’Alton’s malady, + and ordered her to be conveyed to bed. In the morning she was a little + better, being able to speak; but she was still very much shaken, and raved + incoherently. Mr. D’Alton was telegraphed for, and came immediately; but, + being merely informed that his wife had had a fit, he imagined her to be + afflicted with hysteria; indeed, although he knew she was fond of a glass + of wine, and often joined him in partaking of brandy and water, he had no + idea that she imbibed to such an extent. + </p> + <p> + In a few days Mrs. D’Alton was able to go out again, and, as during her + husband’s stay at Orchard Beach she was particularly abstemious, she was + able to associate with the ladies in the hotel, and made several + acquaintances, who, seeing that she had the dress and manners of a lady, + interchanged calls with her and invited her to visit them in Montreal. On + her return to her home, however, these ladies received her but coldly, and + when she gave a large party, inviting all those whom she had met at the + seaside, “they all, with one accord, began to make excuse,” and at + entertainment there was present, besides herself and the family, only a + sister of the governess, and one or two bachelor friends of Mr. D’Alton. + Dancing was of course out of the question, so they organized two whist + parties, and, with a little music, managed to drag along till supper, + which was served in Joyce’s best style, and looked unnecessarily elaborate + for the small number who were to partake of it. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. D’Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she + met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not have + taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did not + calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not be + tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander had + been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really was, so + that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with her, <i>dared</i> + not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold on the ladder + of social position. In moody silence she presided throughout the entire + evening; she was enraged at herself and at the poor enslaved creatures + who, though anxious to go and enjoy themselves yet dared not infringe the + rules laid down by society; and, as she drank glass after glass of her + husband’s famous Moselle, she became more and more despondent. + </p> + <p> + About midnight Amy Watson, the sister of the nursery-governess, took her + departure, and Mr. D’Alton with his friends, went up to the billiard room + to enjoy themselves at their favorite game. It was near daylight ere they + grew tired of pocketing the ivory spheres, and left their host to close + the doors, and retire to his room. When he did so what a sight met his + gaze! There lay his wife in all the finery she had arrayed herself to + dazzle her fashionable acquaintances, <i>a speechless corpse</i>! a + brandy-bottle, nearly emptied, lay at her side, telling too plainly what + had been the cause of her untimely death. Her husband’s first impulse was + to ring the bell and send for a doctor, but, knowing the scandal that + would surely ensue, he quietly let himself out, and went for Dr. Hickson, + being determined not to give up hope till he had done all that could + possibly be done. The doctor on examining the body shook his head + ominously, confirming Mr. D’Alton in the belief that his wife was no more; + he considerately agreed to remain in the house, and not to inform the + servants for some time of the occurrence. The doctor’s presence, of + course, excited some alarm, and in a short time it was known that Mrs. + D’Alton was dangerously ill, the announcement of her death being reserved + for a time till all the traces of the recent festivities were removed, and + the house had resumed its normal condition. + </p> + <p> + When the children heard of their mother’s death they rent the air with + their cries of anguish; even Miss Watson shed real tears, her occupation, + like that of Othello, being gone. Poor Mr. D’Alton was almost beside + himself. He had never loved another woman; and, though he was not blind to + his wife’s failings and shortcomings, he nevertheless lamented the loss of + one, who, whatever her faults, was true to him and a good mother to his + children. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime what had become of Cissie Wilson, Mrs. D’Alton’s elder + sister? She had endeavored to persuade Mrs. D’Alton to engage her as + governess to her children, but the latter, once married, refused to hold + any communication with her whatever. Miss Wilson then despairing of + finding a road to reform in Montreal, took her departure for Toronto, + taking a position as governess in one of the leading families there. On + hearing of her sister’s death she wrote to Mr. D’Alton, offering to take + charge of the children till he had time to make permanent arrangements for + their education. To this letter she received no reply, which nettled her + so much that she determined on a plot for wounding the pride of her + haughty brother-in-law. “Who is he,” she would exclaim, “that he should + dare to snub me?” “If I <i>have</i> sinned, was <i>she</i> not equally + bad, and is he not guilty <i>himself</i>?” “Never mind, Mr. D’Alton, I + will have my revenge some day.” She racked her brain to think of some + means of repaying him for his severity to her, but could think of nothing + at the time, and so resolved to wait and watch her opportunity. + </p> + <p> + It was some years before Miss Wilson had that opportunity for which her + heart so yearned, but come it did, surely enough, and she dealt to Mr. + D’Alton a blow so bitter that he never got over its effects. + </p> + <p> + Lillian, Mr. D’Alton’s eldest daughter had, after her mother’s death, been + sent to a fashionable school in Mansfield street, presided over by the + wife of one of our leading brokers. Here she made many friends, and being + known only as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a rich widower + doing business in Montreal, and well known on the Exchange, she was in + time introduced into society, and became at one bound the belle of the + season. + </p> + <p> + At that time several British regiments occupied the Quebec Gate barracks, + and the officers were eagerly sought after by the party-giving community, + no ball being complete without at least two or three officers in <i>full + uniform</i>. Among the latter was a certain Captain Trevelyan, the + heir-apparent of an English nobleman, who was, of course <i>the</i> + eligible young gentleman of the season. Most of the ladies openly courted + Captain Trevelyan and, figuratively speaking, laid themselves at his feet; + but Lillian D’Alton was too little versed in such matters to know the + triumph she had achieved in being sought after as a partner by the + much-admired Captain, and, when he asked her to dance although she + complied readily with his request, yet she carried herself with an air so + natural, and altogether so different from the time-worn belles he was so + accustomed to meet, that he engaged her for dance after dance, then for + supper, and, before the ball was concluded, he was deeply in love with + her, none the less because she was the only young lady in the room who did + not covet that distinction. + </p> + <p> + Although Lillian was but eighteen years of age, she could not but perceive + the marked attention paid to her by Captain Trevelyan, nor was she blind + to the glances of envious hatred darted at her from all quarters. Her + heart responded to the unspoken avowal of her partner, and ere they parted + that night they were one in heart and in thought, each living only for and + in the presence of the other. + </p> + <p> + Youthful love makes rapid progress. Ere many months had passed Lillian + D’Alton was the affianced bride of Captain Trevelyan, and their + approaching wedding was the one theme of conversation at balls, routes or + parties. + </p> + <p> + Here then was the opportunity longed for by Miss Wilson. She would inform + Captain Trevelyan and his friends concerning the D’Alton family, and warn + him to break off his engagement. With a refinement of cruelty peculiar to + women blinded with rage, she allowed the wedding day to be fixed before + she communicated with the bridegroom, and then sent him a complete history + of the family he was about to enter, informing him that the lady he was + about to marry was the illegitimate child of Mr. D’Alton, and that in + marrying her he would not only injure his own prospects, but alienate + himself completely from his family, bringing on them both shame and + discredit. + </p> + <p> + Captain Trevelyan read the letter with astonishment, but did not believe + one word it contained. His Lillian a bastard! why the thing was + preposterous. Her father was as well known on ‘Change as Rothschild was in + London. Her mother’s funeral had been attended by the wealth and fashion + of Montreal, and since that time Lillian had been the acknowledged belle + of the set commonly known as “the upper ten.” The letter being written in + rather extravagant terms, he imagined it to contain the incoherent ravings + of a maniac, and his first impulse was to toss it aside. On the arrival of + the English mail, however, he received letters from his friends, couched + in terms of the deepest anxiety, urging him to sever all connection with + the D’Alton family if he did not wish to alienate himself completely from + all his family and friends. These letters led him to think more seriously + concerning the communication from Toronto, and being determined, come what + might, to know the worst at once, he started immediately for Mr. D’Alton’s + residence, only to find that the gentleman in question had just that + moment departed for his office. + </p> + <p> + Lillian was at home, however, and she rushed downstairs impetuously to + meet her affianced husband. He received her as usual, but there was a + cloud on his brow as he followed her into her boudoir, where they + frequently spent hours together. He questioned her concerning her aunt and + her relations generally, but Lillian knew little more than that her aunt + resided in Toronto, and was generally considered to be what is called + “flighty.” + </p> + <p> + This somewhat reassured Trevelyan, and he dismissed the subject for a time + from his mind. He determined, however, to clear the matter up, and so in + the evening he called to see Mr. D’Alton, requesting a few words with him + in private. The two men entered the study, and Trevelyan led off by + saying:—“I have received a strange communication from your + sister-in-law, Miss Wilson; from what Lillian has told me, I am aware that + she is a person of weak intellect, and her stories are not worthy of + credence, but I thought it due to you, nevertheless, to bring the matter + to your notice.” + </p> + <p> + At the mention of Miss Wilson’s name D’Alton turned deadly pale. He was a + bold man, and capable of carrying out a deep scheme, had he felt so + disposed; but this intimacy of Trevelyan with his daughter was the result + of no scheme, and he had for some years lived, with the rest of his + family, a blameless life, rejoicing in the fact that his neighbors either + did not know, or had forgotten, or overlooked his past career, and were + prepared to receive his children with open arms into society. With bated + breath he ran his eyes hastily over the letter held out to him by + Trevelyan, and in an instant he saw the whole situation. If he could only + have had time to consider the matter, he would probably have taken the + right course, come what might; but he had little time for decision, as + Trevelyan stood before him, eagerly expecting a reply. Mr. D’Alton + pictured to himself the state of affairs did he acknowledge the truth of + the accusation, and though loath to deceive the young man (whom he already + loved almost as dearly as his own son), he dared not ruin his daughter’s + prospects by an avowal. Pretending to read the letter once more he gained + a little time, and then, with consummate diplomacy, endeavored to find out + what Trevelyan thought. Looking up coolly, he said— + </p> + <p> + “And do you believe all this, Trevelyan?” + </p> + <p> + Of course, Trevelyan <i>did not</i> believe it, and was profuse in his + apologies, for having permitted himself to doubt for a moment that the + writer was bereft of reason. This confirmed Mr. D’Alton in his course and + he at once denounced his sister-in-law in no measured terms, vowing to + punish her for her irresponsible utterances. The news that Miss Wilson had + written to Captain Trevelyan’s friends in England made D’Alton furious, + and he swore a fearful oath that he would place her where her ravings + would harm no one but herself. All night long he thought over schemes for + getting rid of her, and at length he concocted a plan which he speedily + put into execution. + </p> + <p> + As was said before, Mrs. D’Alton and her sister were orphans and they both + left their adopted parents early in life, having lived under assumed names + for years, and severed all connection with their former associates. During + Mrs. D’Alton’s lifetime her sister was forbidden to approach the house, + and on the death of the former Miss Wilson was not recognized by her + brother-in-law. The children had never seen or known their aunt, and the + people with whom she had last resided in Montreal (in the capacity of + nursery-governess) had known her as Miss Rogers, and had lately lost all + trace of her whereabouts. + </p> + <p> + Taking the early train for Toronto, Mr. D’Alton took counsel of an astute + lawyer, and learned that, as events had been shapen, Miss Wilson would + have now great difficulty in proving her connection with the D’Alton + family, did he choose to deny it, and that the fact of her having written + such letters as those received by Trevelyan and his family would be fair + presumptive evidence that the woman was insane. + </p> + <p> + Carefully considering his position, D’Alton determined on his course of + proceeding. He was averse to a public prosecution, as many things, now + unknown or forgotten, might be brought to light, and yet he felt that the + woman must be effectually silenced by some means or other. Going to her + residence he boldly demanded an interview with her, and, producing the + letter to Trevelyan, asked if she had written it. Miss Wilson laughed as + she saw the effect of her shot, and exultantly exclaimed:—“Of course + I wrote it; who else <i>could</i> have done it?” + </p> + <p> + “And are you aware that you are liable to be prosecuted for libel?” + pursued D’Alton. + </p> + <p> + “It is no libel,” retorted she, fiercely; “you know it is true, or you + would not be here now.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! <i>can you prove it, then</i>?” + </p> + <p> + “I have no need to prove it to you. Your very facial expression + acknowledges it to be true.” + </p> + <p> + “Will that satisfy the jury?” + </p> + <p> + “What jury?” + </p> + <p> + “The jury who are to try you for a malicious libel!” + </p> + <p> + At this Cissie started, but recovering herself exclaimed: “<i>You</i> dare + not sue me for libel. Your history would not stand repetition in court.” + </p> + <p> + “Who knows my history?” + </p> + <p> + “I do!” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! WHO ARE YOU?” + </p> + <p> + The fierceness with which he said this made his sister-in-law quail. She + perceived that he was terribly in earnest as he repeated his question in a + tone very unusual with him, and she meekly replied: + </p> + <p> + “You know well enough who I am, your late wife’s sister.” + </p> + <p> + “My wife <i>had no sister</i>!” + </p> + <p> + The look he gave as he said this fairly frightened her. She had seen a + good deal of life, and had in her time met with all kinds of men and + women, but never till now did she fear either. She began to see that she + had roused a desperate man, and that, legally, she had no hold on him, + neither status in society; moreover that she had got entangled in the + meshes of her own net, and that only the dread of exposure would prevent + D’Alton from prosecuting her for libel. Not knowing what to do, she + remained mute, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. At length Mr. D’Alton + broke the silence: “You have evidently had an object,” he said, “in + circulating these reports. If your object be to extort money out of me, + you will find it more to your interest to remain silent.” With these words + he drew from his pocket a roll of bank bills, and laid them on the table + near his companion; but she, growing livid with rage, refused to touch + them, promising to expose him and his family before all the world. + </p> + <p> + D’Alton had not calculated on this, and was for a time taken a little + aback. His last card, however, was not yet played; and, summoning all his + energies together, he braced himself for the enactment of that, which + under other circumstances, he would have suffered much rather than become + in any sense a party thereto. Addressing the lady once more he said:—“What, + then, was your object in writing these letters?” + </p> + <p> + “My object was <i>to disclose the truth</i>,” she cried, vehemently, “to + denounce you as a blackhearted villain, and to save an unsuspecting youth + from becoming the victim of your deep-laid schemes.” + </p> + <p> + D’Alton bit his lip with passion, but restrained himself. “And you do all + this solely from conscientious motives,” he said with a sneer. + </p> + <p> + “My conscience, like your own, Mr. D’Alton, is pretty well hardened. No; I + have no conscientious motives to impel me to show your true character to + the world; but revenge is sweet, and I have not forgotten the scorn and + contempt with which both you and your fashionable wife treated me while I + was in Montreal. <i>I</i> was not good enough to touch the hem of your + garments, but <i>she</i> was dressed up and paraded in the drawing-rooms + of those who did not know better than to admit her, and now her b—— + daughter is to wed a scion of a noble house, while <i>I</i> am not even + recognized. No, Robert D’Alton, you will not become respectable and leave + <i>me</i> out in the cold, insulting and spurning me at every turn with + your petty offers of money. I have sworn to have my revenge, and by + —— now that the opportunity offers, I <i>will have it</i>, + too!” + </p> + <p> + She had worked herself up to state of uncontrollable fury. Her eyes rolled + wildly, and she looked like one demented. This gave the devil his + opportunity, for D’Alton, who had been halting between two opinions, came + to a hasty conclusion, and bringing the interview to a close, hurriedly + left the house, his teeth firmly set, and a horrid glare in his eyes. He + walked rapidly down Yonge street and along the east end of King street, + then, hailing a cab, he directed the driver to travel towards the west + end, coming to a halt opposite the Lunatic Asylum. Entering he enquired + for Dr. Tuffnell, and was informed that he would likely find that + gentleman at his residence on Jarvis street. On repairing thither he found + the doctor at home, and, requesting a few minutes’ private conversation, + was soon closeted in the consultation room. “I have long intended to see + you,” Mr. D’Alton began, “about a young lady who lived in our family some + years ago in the capacity of nursery-governess. She was always of a + somewhat flighty disposition, which we used to humour as best we could, + and when she left us (at my wife’s death) for Toronto, we fancied she had + quite recovered, but it seems she has been gradually growing worse, and + she now continually torments our friends and us with letters full of + ridiculous flights of fancy, which, though meaningless to those who + understand how she has been afflicted, might possibly cause serious + trouble.” + </p> + <p> + “Has the young lady, then, no friends or relatives?” + </p> + <p> + “None, whatever. She was taken out of an orphan asylum by an aged + clergyman, now deceased, who adopted her, and since his death she has + supported herself by teaching. We consulted our physician about her some + time ago, when she imagined herself to be my wife, and ordered her + mistress down to the kitchen. He thought it would be advisable for her to + take another situation away from us till her health improved, as she was + continually fancying herself trampled upon by some member of the family; + we accordingly procured for her a situation in a friend’s house in + Montreal, but they in turn became frightened of her, and dismissed her, + which dismissal, strange to say, she attributed <i>to me</i>. She now + imagines herself to be my wife’s sister, and demands an entrance into my + house, denouncing me in the vilest terms, and writing scandalous letters + to all my acquaintances.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure she is insane?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I have long tried to persuade myself that she is not, but latterly + she has grown so violent that I am afraid that what I said years ago to my + late wife in fun about her being demented was only painfully true. If you + would kindly visit her and give me your opinion concerning her case, you + would oblige me very much.” + </p> + <p> + “What does her present mistress say about her?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh she has only been there a short time and has not yet given an + exhibition of her oratorical powers. Still the lady who is a clergyman’s + widow, told me that she walks about her room in the middle of the night, + talking wildly to herself.” + </p> + <p> + Dr. Tuffnell had not time to visit Miss Wilson that morning, but he made + an appointment with Mr. D’Alton for the following day, and together they + went to the unfortunate girl’s residence. Arrived at the house they rang + the bell, and inquired for Mrs. Brookes, the mistress. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Brookes was a middle-aged lady of a retiring disposition. Her husband + had died at an early age, leaving her to take care of three young + children. Her temporal wants however, were provided for, her husband + having been possessed of a handsome income independently of his small + salary. Dr. Tuffnell made inquiries concerning Miss Wilson’s habits, and + was informed that her actions were at times very peculiar, that she had + not gone to bed all the past night, but had stamped up and down her room, + talking as if to a second party. Mrs. Brookes was shocked to hear that she + had unwittingly engaged a mad woman to take charge of her children, and + suddenly recollected several extraordinary episodes which, until that + time, had never struck her forcibly. + </p> + <p> + It was arranged that the Doctor should see Miss Wilson and satisfy himself + concerning her affliction before any further steps were taken. Accordingly + Mrs. Brookes rang the bell and told the servant to summon the governess. + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilson had not slept all night, and her eyes had a wild expression, + which heightened when she beheld Mr. D’Alton. The doctor, having + previously taken all that was told him for granted, made up his mind at + once that she was insane, and never reflected for a moment on the + possibility of some scheme being on foot to injure her. On entering the + room she laughed wildly and said—“So you have come back with your + bag of gold. I tell you it’s <i>trash</i>, sordid trash, not half so sweet + as REVENGE!” + </p> + <p> + Now as the doctor had heard nothing from either D’Alton or Mrs. Brookes + which he could in any way connect with this wild utterance; moreover, as + the young lady looked like a tigress, and walked fiercely up and down the + room, he became more than ever convinced that he had got a bad case in + hand and acted accordingly. Looking at D’Alton he shook his head, which + Mrs. Brookes perceiving, she shook her head in turn, and, taking out her + handkerchief, wept copiously. Dr. Tuffnell tried to soothe the patient + with gentle words, but she (mistaking him for a pettifogging lawyer, whom + D’Alton had engaged to bind her over to keep the peace) cried out: + </p> + <p> + “Ah, yes! you want to quiet me, but <i>you can’t</i> quiet me. I am like + the surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with + more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft + and gilded promises. No, Robert D’Alton, you have started the mighty + avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress.” + </p> + <p> + The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to + quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all + persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies + altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and oaths + and furious gesticulations. At length the doctor suggested, in a whisper, + the propriety of their departure, when they might consider what was best + to be done, but, on Mrs. Brookes protesting that she was afraid to stay + alone in the house with the maniac, Dr. Tuffnell dispatched a note to the + asylum, and in a short time two keepers arrived, and proceeded to take + Miss Wilson into their care till she should become possessed of a sound + mind. + </p> + <p> + There is no time at which a sane person looks so much like a maniac as + when trying to convince people of his sanity. The real lunatic will + cunningly hide his affliction from the most watchful, and is frequently + able to deceive those unaccustomed to deal with persons of unsound mind, + but the victim of persecution becomes wild with honest indignation, and + generally manages to convince even those who might be inclined to believe + him to be sane. + </p> + <p> + When the truth of her position began to dawn on Miss Wilson, she became + more frantic than ever. She raved at D’Alton and the doctor, tore with her + hands at the keepers, and abused Mrs. Brookes for standing tamely by to + see one of her own sex so ill-used. She roared so that two policemen came + rushing up to the steps to inquire what was the matter, but, seeing Dr. + Tuffnell, with whom they were well acquainted, they saluted him + respectfully and withdrew. + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilson was accordingly driven to the asylum and incarcerated till she + should come to her senses, and Mr. D’Alton, having made arrangements for + her safe-keeping returned to Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after her father’s return Lillian D’Alton was married to Captain + Trevelyan in Christ Church Cathedral. The wealth, beauty and fashion of + Montreal attended the wedding, and the costliest presents were displayed + on her father’s sideboard. The young couple departed for England + immediately, Trevelyan’s regiment having been ordered home, and the bride + was received into the first London circles. + </p> + <p> + Mr. D’Alton remained in Montreal where he still lives and moves in the + best society. What his private feelings are I cannot tell, but outwardly + all is serene, the only one besides myself who knows his family history + having long since passed away in solitary confinement. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. — A Tale of Two Cities + </h2> + <p> + Among the many friends we made during our stay in Montreal, none were so + thoroughly beloved by myself and family as the Sinclairs. Mr. Sinclair was + an English artist who had settled in Canada some time previous to our + arrival, and, being generally well informed, as well as a shining light in + his own profession, he was made much of by the English residents here, and + had as pupils many of the wives and daughters of the officers of the + garrison, besides some of the more cultivated Canadians. Mrs. Sinclair was + a refined English lady of good family, and had several children, mostly + girls, who were greatly admired not only for their beauty, but also for + their many and various accomplishments. The Sinclair girls were frequently + at our house, being, in fact, looked upon as members of our family, and no + social gathering of ours was considered complete without them. + </p> + <p> + In time Mr. Sinclair became tired of Montreal. Many of his patrons left + with their regiments for England, and he became weary of the dull routine + and scanty income which he saw was all he could ever look forward to in + Canada, so, breaking up his household, he departed for the United States, + and, having lived for a time in various cities, finally settled in Boston, + where he became quite successful, and soon obtained an enviable reputation + as a portrait painter. + </p> + <p> + Lulu Sinclair, the eldest of the girls, was a sprightly blonde of about + sixteen when her father left Montreal, and the family had not been long in + Boston before she became engaged as a teacher at one of the + conservatories, and a mutual attachment sprang up between the pair. Miss + Sinclair had already made her <i>début</i> in Boston Music Hall as a + vocalist, and the pair were frequently engaged at the same concerts and + entertainments, so that the natural sequence was that they in time became + engaged, and afterwards—<i>married</i>! + </p> + <p> + “Nothing very mysterious in that,” I think I hear my fair reader say, a + little disappointed that I have not prepared a spicy bit of scandal for + her delectation; but as Balaam the Prophet could only speak as he was + impelled by the spirit, so likewise must I confine myself to <i>the + realities</i> of the case, and I therefore make no apology for this + commonplace bit of history, but proceed with my story. + </p> + <p> + One evening Lulu made her appearance at our house, in Montreal, + accompanied by Mr. Hill, her husband. It seems that they were on a concert + tour, and were to give two concerts in Saint Patrick’s Hall, which at that + time stood on the corner of Craig street and Victoria square, and, as we + had often invited them to do so, they promised to avail themselves of our + hospitality during their stay, as their engagement terminated with these + concerts and they were anxious to take a little rest before returning to + Boston. + </p> + <p> + The children were delighted to have Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the house with + them; they had never met a <i>real live prima donna</i> in private life + before, and they flaunted “Professor Hill” and “Mademoiselle Lulu + Sinclair” in the faces of their juvenile acquaintances, as if they had + been entertaining the Emperor of all the Russias and Her Imperial Majesty + the Empress. + </p> + <p> + Since the Sinclairs had left Montreal, the principal playmates of our + children had been the Bennetts, who lived in the adjoining street. Mr. + Bennett was a French-Canadian, with (as usual) a large family, and was in + comfortable circumstances, having a large retail grocery on Notre Dame + street. One evening, shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hill and his wife, + the former drew me aside and asked me if I knew a family in Montreal named + Bennett. I told him that I knew them intimately, that they lived close at + hand, and taking him to the window (it was late in the spring) I showed + him the children walking opposite hand in hand with our own. He then + intimated that he had something to tell me, and, taking me aside into the + adjoining room, he told me something which astonished me as much as it + will doubtless astonish the reader of these pages. + </p> + <p> + It seems that Mr. Bennett’s father was an American, who, in early life, + being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named + Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first two + of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third did not + in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a liberal-minded + man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could not be forced, + like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that every one should be free + to hold what convictions his reason dictated, untrammelled by + conventionality or creed of any kind. Miss Beauchamp professed to be of a + like mind, and agreed to allow him to educate the boys (if any), while she + would look after the female issue of their marriage. With this ridiculous + understanding they got married, and for a time things went pleasantly + along, Mrs. Bennett attending L’Eglise St. Jacques regularly, not only + without opposition from her husband but sometimes even accompanied by him. + He did not believe in the efficacy of the service to save his soul, but he + had sufficient common sense to know that it could not harm him, or turn + him one whit aside from what his reason dictated; and neither did it, for + at the end of two years he was as greatly opposed to what he considered + the errors of the Church of Rome as ever he was, and though he attended + L’Eglise St. Jacques almost as regularly as St. George’s Church, of which + he was a member, he went there simply because he liked the society of his + wife, and she believed it to be necessary for her salvation. + </p> + <p> + In the course of time Mrs. Bennett gave birth to a boy, then two girls, + and afterwards another boy, all of whom, as children will, made enquiries + concerning whence they were and whither they were going, etc. Mr. Bennett + now began to see the folly he had been guilty of in making the agreement + mentioned above. If the Catholic religion were the true and only faith, + all his sons were on the high road to perdition; if, as he was inclined to + think, the Protestant religion were nearer the mark, then what was to + become of the girls? What a pleasant prospect was there before him! His + family torn and divided by the most bitter of all dissentions, religious + disputes (or rather <i>irreligious</i> disputes about matters of + doctrine), and his life and those of all his family rendered miserable. + This was certainly bad enough in its way, but something more annoying was + in store for him. He one day discovered that not only were the girls + baptized in the Romish faith, but that the <i>boys also</i> were + surreptitiously baptized by the parish priest, so that he alone of all the + family remained a Protestant, and a poor one at that. Every day things got + more and more complicated, and his wife at last openly avowed that <i>all</i> + the children were to be Roman Catholics, and advised him also to flee from + the wrath to come and take refuge in the arms of the true church. + </p> + <p> + Bennett was not exactly a bigot, but, if not a Protestant, he was + certainly not going to become a Roman Catholic. Cursing himself bitterly + for his folly, he sought to make matters better; but that, so far as + changing the religion or creed of his family went, was altogether beyond + his power. He had his choice between living an alien and a heretic, + despised by his own family; and joining a church whose teachings he + considered puerile and inefficacious, and the atmosphere of which was now + exceedingly disagreeable to him. His wife showed herself so much more + devoted to the church than to her husband, that his love for her soon + faded away, and he made a fearful resolve to leave Montreal, and never see + his wife or children more. Accordingly one evening, instead of returning + as usual from his store, he left for parts unknown, leaving his wife and + children almost penniless behind. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bennett, though acting as she did, loved her husband dearly. It was + this very love for him which made her so anxious for him to leave what she + considered the false religion of the Church of England for the pure and + unadulterated system of the Church of Rome. She cried after him as if her + heart would break, and sent after him in all directions. All her efforts, + however, were in vain, no trace of her husband being found. The children + were left at school till they were in time old enough to be apprenticed to + a trade or business, Mrs. Bennett struggling bravely, as only a woman can + do, to keep their heads above water. When William, the eldest boy, was + about fourteen, he was placed in the well-known house of Messrs. Mockridge + & Co., dry goods merchants, and in course of time became thoroughly + conversant with the business. He had not only been able to help his mother + to maintain the family, but had put by sufficient to start a small + business for himself. Before deciding on the latter, however, he + determined to visit Boston, to get a few ideas connected with the + business, and, while there, came across his father, who had married again + under the name of Hill, his wife being a young American of good family, + and the mother of the gentleman from whom I learnt this story. + </p> + <p> + William Bennett reproached his father with his misconduct, and insisted on + his leaving his American wife. Bennett the elder was very much averse to + doing so, but his son would leave him no alternative, threatening him with + exposure and criminal action should he decline. The old man tried to + temporize, and persuaded William to visit and dine with his family, + introducing him as a business friend from Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Whatever Anti-Spiritualists may say to the contrary, there are undoubtedly + influences other than material which affect us at times, and give us + mysterious intimations of events happening or about to happen. Both Mrs. + Hill and her children had a presentiment of some impending calamity, and, + although they had not the faintest suspicion of the real state of affairs, + they did not look on William Bennett as they would have done on any other + person casually introduced into their household. A damper seemed to have + been placed on all their spirits, and the flow of conversation was + sluggish and dull. + </p> + <p> + After dinner they endeavored to organize an impromptu card-party, but + that, also, was a failure; and, although, as a rule, they had a little + music after dinner, on this particular evening each one seemed indisposed + to break the monotony. + </p> + <p> + About ten o’clock William left for his hotel, having first made an + appointment with his father for the following morning. When they met + William returned to the subject of their previous discourse, and insisted + on his father returning with him to Montreal. The old man vowed that, come + what might, he would never go back to his “priest-ridden family” as he + chose to designate his wife and children. The battle waxed fast and + furious, till at last William exclaimed with an oath: “By —— + you shall leave your Yankee mistress, then; <i>she</i> shall suffer what + <i>my mother</i> suffered;” and with oaths and threatenings he hounded his + father out of Boston, determined that Mrs. Hill should not (innocent + though she was) enjoy the happy home which was denied to his mother. + </p> + <p> + When Mrs. Hill learned the truth (which she did from a letter sent her + from Montreal) she nearly lost her reason. Her case was even worse than + that of Bennett’s first wife; because, whereas the latter could at least + seek her husband, and live in the hope of one day finding him again, the + former could not, even did she discover him, claim him as her own. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hill’s visit to Montreal, then, though ostensibly made for + professional pursuits was, in reality to find out something concerning his + father’s whereabouts, and other matters connected with his + quasi-relations. It was strange that he should have come to me for + information without being at all aware of our intimacy with the Bennett + family, indeed, while he was relating his story Amelia Bennett, his + brother’s eldest child, came running in for something or another, and I at + once saw a resemblance between the two, not only in personal appearance, + but also in manners and actions. + </p> + <p> + The next day Mr. Hill, leaving his wife to the care of our family (who had + undertaken to show her “the lions”) went forth on his expedition in search + of his father. He had obtained from me his brother’s business address, and + going to the office unannounced was immediately recognized by him, + although they had only met once before, and that a considerable time + previously. On explaining the object of his visit, Hall was very coldly + received and informed that Bennett the elder had left Montreal for New + York some years previously and had not since been heard of. Mr. Hill + pretended to believe the story, but secretly determined to keep a watch on + his half-brother as he felt certain that the latter was still in + communication with his father. He accordingly made arrangements to stay at + my house, and as the Bennetts were constantly coming and going he was sure + that in a short time he would learn more concerning him of whom he was in + search. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon we were seated round the parlor fire, discussing the usual + after-dinner topics, when Mrs. William Bennett dropped in to have a + friendly chat. She disclosed the fact that her husband was going to visit + a superannuated employee in the nunnery, which he usually did on the first + of each month, and that she did not see what reason her husband had to + support forever all his broken-down employees. At the first word, Hill + listened breathlessly, and when Mrs. Bennett said that she had just left + her husband dressing, he quickly, but quietly, left the room. In an + instant he was opposite Bennett’s house, and as soon as he noticed the + bedroom light extinguished (for it was already dark), he drew back into a + shadowed corner till he saw Bennett emerge from the doorway and walk + rapidly down the street. Hill followed at a safe distance, but soon he saw + his brother hail a passing sleigh, and, entering it, order the driver to + take him somewhere; the name of the street, however, he failed to hear, + and he felt chagrined to see the neighboring cab-stand completely + deserted. “Now or never,” he thought, “am I to attain the object of my + visit,” and he dashed madly along the street after the vehicle which was + travelling at the rate of ten miles an hour; several times he passed a + cab-stand and would fain have taken a fresh horse in pursuit, but he was + afraid that while doing so he might lose sight of the sleigh he had + followed so far; or confound it with another vehicle, for they were now + passing through the centre of the city towards the west end of St. Antoine + street. + </p> + <p> + Past terrace after terrace they flew, till Mr. Hill was nearly faint and + breathless, when a sudden turn to the right brought them to the foot of a + hill, now Guy street, up which the carter walked his horse, and gave the + half dead pedestrian time to recover his breath. When they had proceeded + about a quarter of a mile up the hill, the carter drew up at the Nunnery + on the left side of the road, and Mr. Bennett, alighting, rang the bell. A + sliding panel was immediately pushed aside, and a hooded sister held a few + moments conversation with the visitor, on which the door was opened, and + he was admitted. Hill, who had been standing in the shadow of the porch, + entered unnoticed at his brother’s heels, the janitor being under the + impression that they had come in the sleigh together. Walking along a dark + corridor they came to a stairway, down which their guide preceded them + into the basement; here Hill took a favorable opportunity to turn aside, + still keeping his eye on the others till they arrived at the end of the + passage and entered a large room where several old men were congregated, + some chatting in groups, others smoking or reading lazily. In one of + these, with emotions which cannot be described, Hill recognized his father + from whom he had so long been separated. His first impulse was to rush + boldly in and make himself known, but, the first transport over, his + American caution prevailed, and he slipped down another passage which + commanded a view of the staircase, and watched from his point of vantage + the many persons returning from visiting their friends. He felt relieved + when he saw Bennett take his departure, and with one bound he rushed into + the middle of the room where the old man was, and, throwing himself round + his father’s neck, wept like a child. The old man did not recognize him at + first, but when he did he went into hysterics, so great was the shock to + his nervous system. Never was there such a commotion in the quiet Nunnery, + and the inmates gathered round in excited groups to listen to Hill’s + story. He told them that his father had left Boston some years before, + and, becoming unable to support himself, had been placed by a heartless + elder brother in the cold confines of the Nunnery, although the younger + members of the family were both willing and anxious to support their aged + parent. There being no reason why the old man should not leave the + institution if so inclined, the Superior allowed him, after some + hesitation, to take his departure, first receiving the grateful thanks + both of himself and of his son for her kind and fostering care. Hill left + a letter for his brother, informing him that, his father being willing, he + had taken him away from the Nunnery, and that as they evidently did not + want to keep him with their families, he was about to take him to live + with <i>his</i>. + </p> + <p> + Bennett was furious when he received the letter, but, as Mrs. Hill was now + no more, and no threats or exposures of any kind could induce young Hill + and his father to separate, he allowed them to go their way in peace. + </p> + <p> + A few years after these occurrences Mr. Hill received an appointment in + Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Bennett and he sometimes meet in the street, but give no signs of + recognition. The old man is still living, seldom going beyond the portals + of his son’s house and passing most of his time in moody meditation on the + past. Let us hope that a heartfelt repentance may in some measure atone + for his past weaknesses. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. — A Blighted Life. + </h2> + <p> + Amongst the many orthodox business men of Montreal, none were more highly + esteemed than Mr. Rogers, Manager of the —— Bank. He was what + is generally considered a shrewd business man, methodical and precise in + all his relations, whether commercial, domestic or ecclesiastical. I say + ecclesiastical, because the worthy gentleman was one of the pillars of the + church, having held the office of Elder for several years. Mr. Rogers had + several children, most of whom he trained in the way in which they should + go, but Jack, his eldest son, was incorrigible, and resisted all attempts + to keep him under control. On Sunday mornings the family were usually + marshalled in the dining-room, and marched off to church, but Master Jack + frequently put in an excuse,—he had a bad cold, or a sprained ankle, + or some other ailment which precluded the possibility of his attending. No + sooner were the family outside the garden gate, however, than the poor boy + with the sprained ankle would perform a <i>pas seul</i> on the hearthrug, + or, in spite of a cold which prevented his going out of doors, would shout + “The old log cabin” with an excellent tone and remarkable vigor of lung; + then, returning to his room, he would take a French novel from its hiding + place under his pillow, and, lighting a fragrant Havana, would devote the + morning to “the improvement of his mind,” as he called it. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Rogers employed three servants besides a coachman: a cook, a + housemaid, and a tablemaid. The latter was a young and attractive-looking + girl from Glengarry, Ontario, named Ellen MacNee, who was about seventeen + years old, and had never before been in service. For this damsel Jack + Rogers conceived an attachment, and although at first the girl withstood + his attentions, ere long she gave way to his importunities, and for months + they lived on terms of the closest intimacy. Jack of course promised (as + all men do) to marry her, and to do him justice I must say that he fully + intended to do so, but his income as a bank clerk was only twenty dollars + a month, and he knew he had no hope of receiving any assistance from his + father. So things went on till Ellen felt she could keep her secret no + longer from those around her, and she told her mistress she was going home + to visit a sick aunt, and did not know whether she would return or not. + Mrs. Rogers was very sorry indeed to part with her (for she had + ingratiated herself with all the family, although not to the same extent), + and told her if she would undertake to return she would only fill her + place temporarily with another girl. With this understanding Ellen left + her place and entered the Female Home, where shortly afterwards her baby + (a girl) was born; she had the child baptized almost immediately, calling + it Beatrice, after her young mistress, to whom she had been much attached, + although it is doubtful if the young lady in question would, had she known + it have appreciated the honor conferred upon her. + </p> + <p> + Ellen was scarcely recovered from her illness when her brother, a country + farmer, who had by some means got wind of the state of affairs, came to + Montreal, and had his misgivings confirmed. When he learnt the truth he + was furious, and would, he vowed, shoot both her and her betrayer; but + fraternal affection was so strong within him that he gradually became more + calm, and exerted himself to make the best he could of a bad business. He + requested me to take the child and place it in a nunnery in spite of the + earnest protestations of its mother, and persuaded the latter to return to + her home in Glengarry, promising to hide her shame from her mother and + friends if she would bid farewell forever to the child and her betrayer. + He persistently refused even to look at the baby, but, rough and + uncultivated as he was, I could see a tear glisten in his eye as his manly + heart quivered with emotion. + </p> + <p> + Home the poor broken-hearted girl went, and the baby was left in my + keeping till the morrow, when, according to agreement, I was to hand it + over to the good sisters. It was destined to be otherwise, however. That + evening a gentleman called at my house; he was a bachelor, well to do in + the world, and hearing the story, which it was necessary to tell him, in + order to explain the child’s presence, he asked me with pardonable + curiosity to let him see the baby. When he took her in his arms she smiled + so sweetly upon him, and crowed so joyously, that his heart was touched, + and he could not bear to think that the poor helpless babe should be made + to suffer for the sins of its parents; he asked me to let <i>him</i> have + the child, promising that he would adopt her, and do for her as if she + were his own. + </p> + <p> + I suggested to him the scandal such a measure would give rise to, and + urged him not to place himself in such an unenviable position, but he + insisted that he was willing to let society have its fling, and that if I + would consent to the child’s adoption, he would take the responsibility + attached to it. + </p> + <p> + What was I to do? The man was well off, and had conceived a fancy for the + child. As for the world’s sneers, if he could afford to laugh at them why + should I refuse him the gratification of performing a noble action? I + handed the child over to his care, having first procured from him written + papers of adoption, and little Beatrice was installed in her new home. A + nurse was procured for her, and everything that money could procure was + provided for her comfort. The gossips sneered and wagged their heads as + they spoke of the “adopted” child, insinuating that there were stronger + ties than those of mere philanthropy to bind Mr. Richards and the child + together, but he, quite unconcerned, paid no attention to their hints and + innuendoes, and tried so far as lay in his power to make the child + comfortable and happy. When she attained the age of five years he procured + a governess for her, and had her instructed thoroughly in all that go to + make up a modern education as she grew older. + </p> + <p> + But a cloud soon appeared on the horizon of the child’s career. Mr. + Richards became ill, and was ordered by his medical adviser to a Southerly + climate. He was obliged to sell his estate and place little Beatrice in + Mrs. Thompson’s boarding school, where she continued for a few years till + the return of her adopted father. He came, it is true, but the seeds of a + fatal disease had been implanted in his system, and had taken a deadly + hold; in a few months he was no more, and as nearly all his money had been + eaten up in paying travelling and medical expenses, poor Beatrice was left + once more not only without a friend but without a penny in the world. Mr. + Richards had paid her school fees annually in advance, and as at the time + of his demise several months of the term paid for were unexpired, Beatrice + had a comfortable home secured for her at least during that period; for + the future she would either have to perform menial services at the school, + or go out in the cold world without a friend or protector. The former was + considered by the poor girl preferable to going she knew not where, and so + she accepted the offer of a situation as housemaid, kindly proffered to + her by Mrs. Thompson <i>out of pure charity</i> at two dollars per month + less than the previous occupant of the situation. + </p> + <p> + Poor Beatrice had a hard time of it as housemaid. Her former companions + took a fiendish delight in ordering her about till her life became + perfectly unbearable. She had but one friend to whom she could + unreservedly pour forth her troubles, her Sunday-School teacher, Miss + Flint. To this lady she gave an account of her history, so far as she was + able, and asked her for advice and assistance. Miss Flint, being both + sensible and charitably disposed, advised her to leave her present + position, having first procured a suitable one elsewhere, and she promised + to exert herself to this end. + </p> + <p> + Among the numerous acquaintances of Miss Flint was Mrs. De Beaumont, a + Southern lady of means, whose husband held a high official position in New + Orleans. Mrs. De Beaumont had, in order to avoid the yellow fever + epidemic, taken up her residence temporarily in Montreal, and was now with + her two daughters about to return to her Southern home. The education of + the latter young ladies had been somewhat neglected, and Mrs. De Beaumont + was anxious to procure as governess and travelling companion a young lady + of moderate means and unlimited ability. + </p> + <p> + Here, then, was an opening for Beatrice. On the recommendation of Miss + Flint, coupled with certificates from the various professors at Mrs. + Thompson’s school, the poor girl was duly installed in an easy and, to + her, lucrative position. She was not long settled in her new home when Mr. + Hartley, brother of Mrs. De Beaumont, fell violently in love with her, + and, contrary to the wishes of his relations, insisted on paying her open + attention. The poor girl had been so long accustomed to being buffeted and + slighted in every way that her heart fairly gave way before his passionate + wooing, and, although Mrs. De Beaumont frowned on her angrily, and the + rest of the family snubbed her grievously, yet Beatrice felt so happy in + having some one in whom she could confide that she bore all their petty + annoyances with the utmost forbearance, and refused steadily to take the + slightest notice of them. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hartley was a planter of considerable wealth. He had long lived a + bachelor’s life; so long, indeed, that his friends never thought he would + marry, and each one often unconsciously counted how much of the property + would eventually become his. Mrs. De Beaumont was particularly displeased + when she heard his open avowal of his attachment for her governess, for, + though Hartley was not an old man, he being at that time only about + forty-six years old, yet she had hoped that her daughter would have + inherited a portion of his vast wealth, which was now about to be + transferred to a stranger, without friends, fortune or name. In spite of + this secret antipathy to the match, Mrs. De Beaumont openly pretended the + greatest friendship for Beatrice, for, being a woman of the world, she saw + clearly how matters would stand in a few years, and she could not afford + to break either with her brother or his intended wife. + </p> + <p> + The wedding came off with all the aristocratic splendor of an F. F. V. + ceremonial. The dusky coachmen and footmen were resplendent with gorgeous + liveries and wedding favors, their white teeth glistening in the sun as + they grinned from ear to ear, perfectly happy and contented. After the + ceremony the newly-married pair went for a brief tour through the Eastern + States and Canada, returning to Mr. Hartley’s plantation, where Mrs. + Hartley was called upon by all the leading families in the vicinity, and + took her place with as much grace as though she had been “to the manner + born.” Mrs. De Beaumont greeted her sister-in-law affectionately (at least + to all outward appearances), and invited her to visit her old home + frequently; in fact all those who were aware (and who was not) that Mr. + Hartley had settled every penny of his fortune on his wife and her + prospective offspring were lavish of their attentions to their beautiful, + and now immensely wealthy, neighbor. + </p> + <p> + When her first baby, a little girl, was born, Mrs. Hartley wept bitterly + and refused (like Rachel) to be comforted. Her husband could not + understand it at all, and was greatly grieved that she should be so + down-hearted when they had both every reason, to be happy. Beatrice + besought him to forgive her weakness, and explained that it was only now + that she was a mother that she fully realized the anguish her own mother + must have suffered at parting with her, and she implored him as he loved + her to exert himself to find her mother and make her happy. Had his wife + told him to lie down whilst she drove a carriage-wheel across his neck, + Mr. Hartley would have unhesitatingly obeyed her; how readily, then, he + set about finding what most men are so glad to be without, viz., a + mother-in-law, can easily be imagined. He promised his wife that so soon + as business permitted him he would take steps to discover her mother’s + whereabouts, but that night he was awakened out of a deep sleep by cries + of terror from his wife; she had had a dream, she said, that her mother + hung over a precipice, looking up to her for help, which, while she + hastened to give, she saw her mother sink into the yawning abyss, uttering + shrieks of agony. Hartley was beside himself with fright; he thought his + wife would lose her reason, and so he quieted her by assuring her that he + would write the next day to get information, acting on which he would set + out immediately on his search. In the morning he despatched a letter to + Mr. F—— in Montreal, instructing him to obtain what + information he could respecting a girl called Ellen MacNee who had lived + in former years with Mrs. Rogers; in reply he was informed that the girl + left the city, no trace being procurable. He then inserted advertisements + in several Canadian newspapers, informing the public that if Ellen MacNee + would correspond with X. Y. Z. she would hear of something to her + advantage. But in vain did the fond husband seek the mother of his + blue-eyed darling, now grown pale with deferred hope and anxious care, and + when the latter proposed that they should personally go to Montreal in + search of their missing relative he readily acquiesced, feeling assured + that, even if they were unsuccessful, the excitement of travel and + occupation would restore the bloom to his wife’s cheeks and preserve that + health which, was now apparently on the wane. + </p> + <p> + In a few days they had made preparations for an extended tour, and ere a + week had passed they were snugly quartered in the St. Lawrence Hall, + Montreal. The day after their arrival they called on me to know if I could + assist them in their search, bidding me spare no expense in order to + effect the desired object. I promised them every assistance in my power, + and at once placed myself in communication with all those whom I had known + to have any dealings with Beatrice’s unfortunate mother. It was truly + painful to see the anxious face of the young woman as she came daily to me + to enquire if I had heard any news, and when I showed her a letter from + Mr. MacNee, her mother’s eldest brother, stating that his sister had gone + to New York as nurse, she immediately persuaded her husband to give chase. + Their efforts were in vain, however. The girl, it was true, had taken + service in New York, but had subsequently left there for her home in + Glengarry, and had never been seen since either there or in New York. + Detectives having again been employed to assist in tracing her movements, + it was discovered that she had returned by rail to Montreal <i>en route</i> + to Glengarry, but here all traces vanished, and the supposition was either + that she had committed suicide, or met with some accidental death. + Beatrice would have it, however, that she was still alive, and would leave + no stone unturned to find her. It was suggested that New York should again + be visited, as the probability was that she returned there after her trip + to Montreal; various other plans were thought of, and some of them, + doubtless, would have been acted upon, had not a new light shone in upon + the scene. + </p> + <p> + At the outset of the proceedings I had communicated with the principals of + the various Houses of Refuge in this city, and, although the authorities + had done their utmost to facilitate our search, so far we had failed to + advance in any way. At this time, however, I received a communication from + the Bishop, informing me that he thought he could help us, and when I + called on him, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, he told us that he had + been visited by a hardened creature, whose name did not concern us, and + who, in anticipation of a reward which she had heard was offered for the + recovery of the recluse, disclosed the fact that she had, under an assumed + name, become a sister of charity, and was at present an inmate in a + convent in —— street, where we would, doubtless, be able to + recognize her. + </p> + <p> + Beatrice became quite excited at the news, and insisted on rushing off at + once, but her strength failed her, and she fell fainting on a sofa. By + great persuasion she allowed us to drive her home on the promise that she + would be allowed to accompany us on the morrow. The next day we entered a + carriage and drove to the Convent; we agreed that Beatrice should go alone + to meet her mother while we remained downstairs. Running into the room + where her mother was, the poor girl fell on her neck and covered her with + kisses. But no responsive greeting met the impetuous child, the woman + stared at her with a wild hazy stare as if to inquire, Who are you? What + do you mean by these extravagant caresses? + </p> + <p> + But if she failed to recognize her child she did not fail to recognize me, + and by some strange association of ideas she seemed to wander in thought + back to her past life, and the hot blood mounted to her temples. When she + became calmer I explained to her how we had come there, and the object of + our visit. She was touched at the proofs of her daughter’s affection, and + the hot tears rolled rapidly down her furrowed cheek, but she steadily + refused to leave the institution. In vain the poor girl pleaded, and Mr. + Hartley and myself joined in our entreaties that she would accompany her + daughter and her husband. Finding all our arguments of no avail I advised + Mr. Hartley to let the poor creature have her way till the reality of the + situation had come home to her, recommending him to allow his wife to call + frequently at the Convent to see her mother. This advice the indulgent + husband acted upon, and day after day Beatrice would go and sit for hours + conversing with her parent, sometimes obtaining permission to take her for + a walk or a drive, and secretly longing, though never expressing it in + words, that her mother would accompany her back to her home in the South. + </p> + <p> + So far the excitement had kept Mrs. Hartley up, but after a time a + reaction set in which culminated in a wasting fever, and prostrated the + poor creature on a bed of sickness. This, though apparently disastrous, + ended happily for all. Beatrice’s mother, so long as <i>she</i> was the + object of pity, shrank from all communication with her rich relatives, but + now that her child was in need of assistance, she flew to her with a + mother’s impetuosity, and anxiously watched by her couch day and night, + while the poor thing tossed and raved in delirious paroxysms. Mr. Hartley + summoned Dr. Hickson to his wife’s bedside, but that astute practitioner + wisely foretold that the magnetic influence of her mother’s presence would + do more for his patient than any drugs or medicines, and, accordingly, he + contented himself by prescribing a sleeping-draught, leaving other + agencies to do their work. + </p> + <p> + In a couple of weeks Mrs. Hartley rallied, and ere long she became + convalescent, and even cheerful. She used to chat with her mother for + hours together, and the fourth week after the latter’s arrival she was + able to go out for a drive accompanied by her and the baby, who had + accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in all their travels. The little girl and + her grandmother soon became great friends, and when, Beatrice being strong + enough, her mother would have returned to her convent life, the baby’s + smiling face did what all persuasion had failed to do, and bursting into + tears, the aged penitent folded the darling to her breast and declared + that she would never part from it again. Beatrice’s joy knew no bounds; + and as for Mr. Hartley, he was perfectly satisfied to know that his wife + was happy. In a few days they made preparations for a journey to the + South, and ere long Mrs. Hartley had the satisfaction of seeing her mother + snugly ensconced at her own fireside, living as it were over again, and + enjoying in the care of her daughter’s child, the maternal pleasure which + had hitherto been denied her. Ere leaving Montreal Mr. Hartley, at his + wife’s request, erected a handsome monument in Mount Royal Cemetery to the + memory of the humane man, who, regardless of the jeers and scoffing of + gossiping scandal mongers, had braved public opinion, and saved to the + world a good wife, an affectionate daughter and a loving and tenderhearted + mother. + </p> + <p> + During all this time, it may be asked, what had become of Jack Rogers, one + of the principals in my narrative? + </p> + <p> + Jack was fairly wild at the thought of his sweetheart going into an + institution. He would have married her on the spot and braved all his + father’s anger. But the girl showed equal self-denial, and was much more + sensible; she saw that, by consenting to marry a penniless gentleman, she + would certainly injure him, without in any way benefiting herself. She + knew his father sufficiently well to feel sure that, were he aware of his + son’s relations with her, not one but <i>both of them</i>, would be + ignominiously turned out of doors. So, consoling her paramour with this + questionable bit of comfort, she tore herself away, saying coolly that he + would soon forget and marry some one in his own station in life. But, + though she nerved herself to speak in this strain before him, when alone + she broke down entirely, and sobbed till her heart nearly broke, for the + poor girl loved him dearly, and, poor though he was, would have married + him and worked for him, if necessary. She saw, however, that his prospects + would be utterly blasted were he to disclose his position to his father; + and she unselfishly took on herself <i>the whole</i> of the punishment for + a sin of which she was scarcely guilty, or, at any rate, less highly + culpable than he. + </p> + <p> + Jack would fain have put a pistol ball through his head, and doubtless + would have done so had the pistol been handy; but his pistols, like + everything else he possessed, were out of order, and were at the moment in + Mr. Costen’s hands, where they lay in a disintegrated condition till the + young gentleman’s blood had got some degrees cooler. Still, he could not + help thinking how his folly and thoughtlessness had ruined the hopes of a + poor innocent girl, and he longed for some opportunity for going abroad, + or participating in some excitement to enable him to muse less moodily on + the past. + </p> + <p> + The American civil war was at this time in full blast, and large bounties + were offered for volunteers. An American agent, meeting Jack Rogers in a + saloon, which the latter frequented, offered him two hundred dollars and + an outfit if he would go as a substitute for a young gentleman in New + York. This offer Jack readily accepted, and within a short time found + himself <i>en route</i> to Richmond to join the Federal Army. He was not + long in the service when his superior intelligence and daring exploits + made him conspicuous among his fellows, and he was promoted from one grade + to another till he was placed in command of his company. This was a + position Jack was eminently fitted for, and his reckless bravery was + talked of far and wide throughout the army. + </p> + <p> + For a long time, in spite of his foolhardiness, Jack remained without a + scratch, save a slight wound from a rifle ball at Gettysburg, where he + made himself particularly conspicuous. Just before the close of the great + struggle, however, he was sent in command of a foraging party consisting + of about forty-five rank and file and the usual complement of officers. + Their path lay through a deed ravine in which high wooded cliffs looked + down on each side. These cliffs were in possession of a Louisiana + regiment, who were stationed there in the hope of cutting off supplies + from the Northerners, and, just as Captain Rogers with his handful of men, + entered the ravine a murderous fire was opened on them from both sides. + Rogers ordered his men to reply, but, as the ravine afforded little or no + cover, they were finally obliged to make their way as quickly as possible + to the end of the pass and fight their way through. They found their way + completely blocked by a force of two or three hundred rebels, but, as to + return would have proved equally disastrous, there was nothing for it but + to surrender, or cut a path for themselves through, the enemy. Bracing + themselves for a terrible struggle, Rogers and his little band advanced to + within a few yards of the open, where their foes, with rifles loaded and + bayonets fixed, stood demanding their surrender. Captain Jack ordered his + men to fire at a given signal, and then to advance; and, firing his own + pistols by way of signal, he dashed through the smoke, followed by his + daring band, cutting and slashing right and left. + </p> + <p> + But courage will not enable men to do impossibilities. Out of the handful + who entered the ravine but three managed to cut their way through the + opposing forces, and these were all more or less injured by rifle balls or + sabre cuts. Poor Rogers fought like a lion; but, being the centre of + attraction on account of his uniform, he had his hands more than full, and + though he pistoled two men and knocked an officer who would have seized + him senseless with the butt-end of his empty revolver, he was finally + brought off his horse with a pistol shot, and captured, more dead than + alive, by the enemy. + </p> + <p> + The officer in charge was so struck with the bravery of the poor fellow + that he had endeavored to take him prisoner, and had stayed some of his + men who had essayed to run the fiery captain through with their bayonets; + his impetuous charge, however, led them in self defence to disable him, + and the young lieutenant who shot him had no alternative except to be + brained by a blow from Jack’s pistol. The excitement over, however, the + colonel of the victorious corps sent a detachment in search of the wounded + of both sides, and ordered a litter to be prepared for Captain Rogers’ + removal to his own quarters. Poor Jack was severely injured. The ball had + entered his left arm close to the shoulder, and was not necessarily fatal; + but his horse had fallen on him and bruised him so that he could scarcely + breathe. The march to the camp was about two miles, and, although the men + moved as gently as possible, yet Captain Rogers suffered agony as he felt + every motion. Arrived at Colonel De Beaumont’s quarters (for the brave + commander was the husband of Mrs. De Beaumont) a surgeon was sent for and + the invalid’s wounds were attended to. Although a prisoner of war Captain + Rogers’ received every attention from Colonel De Beaumont and the officers + under his command, and when, the regiment being ordered to head-quarters, + the Colonel was obliged to send Rogers to prison with the rest of his + captured force, the parting was more like that of two brothers than that + of a victor and his fallen foe. + </p> + <p> + After the close of the war, which, event took place shortly after these + occurrences, Colonel De Beaumont, disgusted and sick at heart, returned to + New Orleans. He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear allegiance + once more to what he considered the oppressor. Almost his first thought + after his return was to enquire concerning the Federal troops who had been + captured by his men, especially the gallant Rogers, for whom he had formed + a more than passing attachment. He learned that of those who had been + placed in confinement, some had died of their wounds, others, as soon as + the proclamation of Northern supremacy gave them their liberty, had + returned to their homes, but that the Captain, having contracted a + dangerous fever, had been unable to accompany them. De Beaumont lost no + time in seeking out the poor soldier’s quarters, and was grieved to find + him barely alive, he having scarcely recovered from the fever, besides + suffering from partially healed and badly-dressed wounds. The Colonel + persuaded him, so soon as he could move, to accompany him to his own + house, where he would receive proper attention, and, in a short time, the + sufferer was installed in De Beaumont’s comfortable house, the kind + hostess doing all in her power to alleviate his sufferings. + </p> + <p> + It was about this time that Mrs. Hartley, accompanied by her mother, had + returned to her husband’s residence, and one day as she was visiting Mrs. + De Beaumont she learnt the story concerning the wounded officer, who, + though in the service of the North, was compassionately treated by the + whole household, having made friends of them all by his cheerful + uncomplaining disposition, and his grateful acknowledgment of even the + slightest service. While recounting the story to her husband and mother at + dinner, the latter grasped the table convulsively with both her hands, and + breathlessly demanded of her daughter all the particulars; with a wild + exclamation of terror, she rushed up to her room, hastily followed by her + bewildered daughter. The latter found her mother in the act of dressing + hurriedly, and on enquiring for an explanation the poor woman fell on her + child’s neck, and with bitter tears explained that it was <i>her own + father</i> who lay so near them at death’s door, and that, whatever it + might cost, she would rush to his side. + </p> + <p> + Poor Mrs. Hartley was sadly shaken at these tidings. She explained all the + circumstances to her devoted husband, and took his advice. Hartley + recommended his wife to let her mother have her own way, and promised that + presently he would accompany his wife to De Beaumont’s house to visit the + invalid. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the story is soon told. The sad meeting of poor Rogers with + the mother of his child, who stayed by his side night and day, the bitter + tears of Mrs. Hartley as she beheld her father for the first and last + time; the mutual expression of love and forgiveness ere the poor invalid + breathed his last, beloved and forgiven by those on whom he had + thoughtlessly entailed much sorrow and suffering. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. — The Mother-in-Law. + </h2> + <p> + John Wilkie was the son of Scotch parents residing in Toronto, Ontario. He + was possessed of considerable literary ability, and when a lad had entered + Toronto University with the intention of pursuing a professional career; + but his father shrewdly reasoned that, although fame might be acquired + more readily by clergymen and lawyers, money was an important + consideration, and might be acquired with, comparative ease in a well + managed business. He accordingly placed his son in the wholesale house of + Messrs. Campbell & Castle, and in due course of time the lad secured + an interest in the business. + </p> + <p> + The young man was not long a member of the firm when he became enamoured + of a young lady named Collins, whom he had met at the house of a mutual + friend. For a longtime he paid attention to this young lady, taking her to + balls, concerts and operas, and finally he proposed for her hand and was + accepted. + </p> + <p> + Miss Collins was scarcely what one would call a beautiful girl, yet there + was an attractiveness of manner peculiar to her which caused her to be + much, sought after and admired in social circles, and many were the sad + and heavy when it became known that she was about to marry John Wilkie. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture Wilkie the elder was carried off with an attack of + pneumonia, leaving John, his only son, heir to his house and property. + This occurrence of course caused the wedding to be deferred for a time, + and the bridegroom elect went into deep mourning; in a few months, + however, he doffed his sable garments, and, having caused the family + mansion to be refurnished and renovated, began to make preparations for + his wedding. + </p> + <p> + The affair came off with great <i>éclat</i>, the bride being driven home + from church behind four dapple-grey horses, several carriages following + with bridesmaids, groomsmen, and invited guests, among the latter being + many rejected suitors, who took a kind of melancholy pleasure in seeing + the matter through. Mrs. Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the + dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the <i>déjeuner</i> they wept + together and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. + Mrs. Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the + rich prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out + of the question. + </p> + <p> + What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial and + domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable pursuit of + entertaining each other. Shutting their eyes and ears to the outer world + they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, alone; that + nature’s smiles are specially prepared for them; that the birds carol + bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the whole world is + contained in the small area which immediately surrounds them. + </p> + <p> + Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple of + weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, they + spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six weeks from + their wedding-day. Everything had been prepared for their reception, and + Mrs. Wilkie, senior, sat in state to welcome them to a cosy meal which had + been prepared in the dining-room. Having eaten sparingly, Mrs. Wilkie + retired to her room, for she was fatigued by travel, and John with his + mother went on a tour of inspection over the house. + </p> + <p> + It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a stranger; + to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose every want was + so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the care of another + must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. Wilkie sighed + deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which had been made in + the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end and that a new + Caesar had taken the reins of government. The Lord of the Manor failed to + observe the trepidation with which his mother handed him the keys, and + showed him the various details connected with the management of the house, + and with a cool “good night, mother,” he retired to rest, at peace with + his mother, himself, and the world. + </p> + <p> + For several months things went smoothly enough with the parties to my + narrative. The dowager accepted her position, though, it must be + confessed, with a bad grace, and the new mistress gave a life to the place + to which it was unaccustomed. At length Mrs. Wilkie gave birth to a son, + and great were the rejoicing and festivities. The dowager was promoted to + the title of grandmamma, John boasted the proud title of father, and the + mother’s joy knew no bounds. The child was in due time christened with + appropriate solemnity, and in a few months after his birth he became a + very important member of the Wilkie family. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Wilkie wanted the boy called William after his late father, but Mrs. + Wilkie would not have what she was pleased to term a plebeian designation, + and insisted on calling him Alexander. The dowager opposed this with all + her might, but “her usefulness was gone,” and her feeble remonstrances + were of little or no avail. This slight sank deep into her heart, and she + waited, calmly and patiently, for an opportunity of retaliating on her + daughter-in-law. + </p> + <p> + In due time the opportunity presented itself. Mrs. Wilkie was in the habit + of going to the skating-rink accompanied by some of her fashionable + acquaintances; her husband did not care for skating, but was proud to hear + his wife’s graceful performances eulogized. The dowager, however, had no + heart for “the grape-vine” and other foolish devices; she thought it high + time for her daughter-in-law to take on herself the serious duties of + matrimonial life, and deprecated the fondness of the lady in question for + rinks, balls, and festivities. + </p> + <p> + One night Mrs. Wilkie was invited to a skating-party. Her husband, having + some letters to write, declined to go, and she went in company with a Mr. + Smithers, an old acquaintance of hers, and one of the finest fancy skaters + in Toronto. During her daughter-in-law’s absence at the rink, Mrs. Wilkie + the elder took upon herself to lecture her son on his wife’s giddy + behaviour, and so worked upon his feelings that he regularly gave way, and + allowed his mother to remain mistress of the position. + </p> + <p> + When the fashionable Mrs. Wilkie returned to her abode late in the evening + she found the door closed on her, repeated pulls at the door-bell + eliciting no response. With her skates the lady then hammered violently on + the door, waking the echoes of the quiet street, and finally, in her + frenzy, she smashed every window within reach, and departed to her + mother’s residence. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins was very much surprised to receive a visit from her daughter + at such an unseasonable hour, and when she was made aware of the cause she + became proportionately indignant. She suggested the propriety of taking + legal proceedings for the restitution of her daughter’s rights, but the + latter would not listen to any such suggestion, and vowed she would never + live with Wilkie or his wretch of a mother again. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins expected daily to receive a message from Mr. Wilkie, + requesting his wife to return to him, but he, being completely under the + influence of his mother, failed to do anything of the kind, imagining that + his wife would come as a suppliant to him. In this he reckoned without his + host, for Mrs. Wilkie was as proud as Lucifer, and would not bend her + haughty head to be made Empress of Canada. One thing, however, caused her + great uneasiness: her child, Alexander, was all the world to her, and she + set her wits to work to devise some means of obtaining him. + </p> + <p> + Without recourse to unpleasant legal proceedings or equally unpleasant + negotiations with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wilkie could not hit on any plan + by which she could obtain the control of her child’s nurture and + education. At length she resolved on the simple and practical plan of + taking forcible possession of the boy. Once resolved, she speedily put her + plans in execution. + </p> + <p> + The child’s nurse was in the habit of driving him in a baby carriage to + the Queen’s Park for an airing, and one afternoon the mother lay in wait + for the appearance of the infantile equipage. She was afraid to approach + the servant with a bribe, as, in the event of her refusal, the Wilkies + would be placed on their guard, and would set a strict watch over all the + child’s movements. She accordingly sat down at a distance, closely veiled, + and waited till an opportunity presented itself. + </p> + <p> + She did not have long to wait. The nurse on entering the park fell in with + a tribe of professional acquaintances, one of whom, drawing a love-letter + which she had received from her pocket, commenced to read it for the + edification of her companions. Not content with listening to the gushing + effusion, the auditors crowded around the proud recipient of the epistle, + reading with eager eyes such portions as they could see over the shoulder + of their friend. While the representative of the dowager was busily + engaged in scanning the amorous lines penned by the lovesick swain (the + child left to her care being at some distance in his carriage, sleeping + under the shade of some trees), Mrs. Wilkie cautiously approached, and, + lifting the unconscious child with the tenderness peculiar to mothers, + walked quietly and swiftly away towards the gate, when, coolly hailing a + passing cab, she drove to her mother’s house, proudly depositing her baby + in a richly adorned cradle which had been purposely prepared for his + reception. + </p> + <p> + It was a long time before the nurse missed the boy; in fact, not till she + prepared to start for home did she give him a thought, except to + congratulate herself that he slept so long and gave her so little trouble. + When she at length turned towards the place where she had left the + carriage and learned the true state of affairs her face grew deadly-pale, + and, beckoning her companions towards her, she pointed to the carriage and + uttered several piercing shrieks. Many were the suggestions as to what had + become of the boy. Some thought he might have got out of the carriage + alone and fallen into the pond, but, as he could not yet walk, this was + highly improbable, another suggested that he had been stolen by gypsies, + but could not say that she had ever heard of gypsies in connection with + the Queen’s Park. Many other theories, some wild, a few reasonable, were + advanced, but yet no clue to the whereabouts of the child could be + discovered, nor could any light be thrown upon the mystery. + </p> + <p> + The poor nurse was in a terrible state of mind. She had in her fancy a + picture of the baby’s grandmother threatening to tear her limb from limb, + while the frantic father went for the police; but return she must, and so, + with a different step from that with which she entered the park, she set + out for home, arriving there just as the bell rang for dinner. + </p> + <p> + The old lady was just commencing to lecture her for keeping the child out + in the evening air, when she saw, from the expression of the girl’s face, + that something unusual had occurred, and rushing out, she threw up her + hands in astonishment at the empty perambulator, giving a mute look of + inquiry which spoke volumes. In a moment Mr. Wilkie joined the throng, + just as the frightened domestic sobbed out, as well as she could, an + account of the child’s disappearance. He was about to rush at once to the + police office, but the old lady, shoving him aside, hastily put on her + bonnet and shawl, and, ordering the girl to summon a cab, peremptorily + forbade Mr. Wilkie to leave the house till she had made a reconnaissance + of the quarters of her daughter-in-law. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins lived at the extreme west end of King street, and, as Mr. + Wilkie’s residence was in the North-East, in the neighborhood of the + Horticultural Garden, it was some time before the wily mother-in-law + approached her base of operations; she accordingly leaned back in the + carriage, and, closing her eyes, meditated on her plan of action. Bidding + the coachman pull up at the corner of Brock street, she alighted, and + proceeded on foot towards the house: it was a semi-detached cottage, with + a small garden in front, the dwelling being only a few feet from the + street. Inside all was, apparently, quiet as usual, but Mrs. Wilkie + thought she heard a soft, measured song, as if some one were singing a + child to sleep. Approaching the window she caught a glimpse of her + daughter-in-law pacing the room to and fro with the child pillowed in her + arms; so, quickly receding into the darkness, she made her way back to the + carriage, satisfied that her calculations, in one particular at least, had + been correct. + </p> + <p> + Entering the cab, she bade the driver return with all speed to Mr. + Wilkie’s house, setting her mind, during her transit on the frustration of + the hopes of her daughter-in-law, against whom she in her heart registered + a vow of vengeance. She found her son pacing the dining-room like a + madman, and she at once gave him all the particulars concerning her + reconnaissance, adding, at the same time, that he must take legal measures + to obtain possession of his child, no matter what the cost. In spite, + however, of his mother’s importunity, Wilkie steadily refused to give the + matter publicity by taking legal proceedings, so the old lady was obliged + to content herself with concocting plans for retaking the child from the + hands of the enemy. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Wilkie watched long for an opportunity, and at last she was + successful. She found out where her daughter-in-law went to church, and + one Sunday having learnt from one of her emissaries that both of the + ladies had gone to church together, leaving the child in charge of the + maid-of-all-work, she hurriedly set out for the house, and boldly ringing + the door-bell inquired for Mrs. Wilkie. On being told that the lady was at + church and would not return for some time she requested permission to sit + down and wait, as she was fatigued with her long journey. Entering the + drawing-room, she sank on one of the lounges and appeared to faint. The + poor domestic did not know what to do, but ran wildly to and fro + exclaiming, “Och, wirrasthru, what’ll I do at all at all’” The invalid + gradually came round, and gasped out, “Dr. Metcalfe, go for Dr. Metcalfe!” + This gentleman lived a few blocks distant, and the girl at once rushed + off, without waiting even to put her bonnet on. + </p> + <p> + Quick as thought Mrs. Wilkie ascended the staircase to where her infant + grand-child lay wrapped in slumber: hastily wrapping him in a shawl she + descended to the door, and coolly hailing a passing cab was soon far from + the scene which had so wrought upon the feelings of poor Bridget Moriarty. + </p> + <p> + When Bridget arrived with the doctor she found that the old lady had + disappeared leaving, however, a card for Mrs. Wilkie. On the latter’s + return Bridget told her the whole story, adding that she supposed the old + lady had come to herself and got tired waiting; in time, however, the baby + was missed, and that threw a new light on affairs. Mrs. Wilkie was + frantic; she denounced Bridget as a good-for-nothing, refused to sit down + to dinner, and set off with her mother in the direction of Mrs. Wilkie’s + house. + </p> + <p> + This time, however, the dowager was on her guard. The child was carefully + looked after, being under the care of a faithful ally of the old lady, + whose instructions were never to leave him for a moment out of her sight. + Mrs. Wilkie and her mother might walk up and down and look at the lighted + windows; they might also watch at a distance the youthful hope of the + house of Wilkie as he took his daily airing in the park, but the trick + once tried could not be repeated, and the fond mother (for whatever her + faults were she loved her child) was obliged to pine in weary loneliness. + </p> + <p> + During all these sieges and reprisals the little fellow waxed strong and + healthy, in sublime unconsciousness of the importance attached to the + possession of his person: he was by no means neglected, the only risk he + ran was that of being hugged to death, as each party, more through joy at + the success of its schemes than from love of the youth in question, + caressed him lavishly if not fondly. + </p> + <p> + Some months after these occurrences Mr. Wilkie removed to Montreal, where + he soon became permanently established, and, as he was always fond of + politics, he was in a short time recognised as one of the leaders of the + liberal party. When the reaction consequent on the famous “Pacific + Scandal” set in, Mr. Wilkie, M. P., took his seat for K——, a + small town below Montreal, rising in Parliament, as he did everywhere else + by his ability, far above the common level. His son was placed at the + Montreal High school, and gave promise of becoming in time even more + distinguished than his father. + </p> + <p> + They had not been long resident in Montreal before the poor old dowager + was seized with acute rheumatism, to which she finally succumbed, and Mr. + Wilkie was obliged to engage a housekeeper to look after his household + affairs and his son’s education. It was a sad time for poor little Aleck; + his grandmother fairly doted on him, and indulged his every whim, but Mrs. + Riddell, the new housekeeper, cared not whether he was happy or miserable + so long as she drew her monthly pay. + </p> + <p> + All this time Mrs. Wilkie had been living with her mother in Toronto, and, + as soon as she heard of her mother-in-law’s death, she persuaded her + mother to remove to Montreal, so that she might secretly keep watch over + her boy, whom she now loved, if possible, more than ever. Assuming the + name of Mrs. Johnson, she took lodgings in a house nearly opposite the + residence of Mr. Wilkie, and thus was enabled to observe closely all the + proceedings of his household; she longed to throw herself at her husband’s + feet and implore his forgiveness, but her proud spirit rebelled against + such an act, and she sat at her window day after day in moody silence + watching her darling boy going and returning from school. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after his wife’s arrival in Montreal, Mr. Wilkie was summoned to + England on business of importance, a fact with which Mrs. Wilkie became + easily acquainted through the <i>Gazette</i>, which heralded all his + movements, the fond mother now became more anxious than ever about her + boy, and indeed not without reason, for, being monarch of all she + surveyed, the easy-going housekeeper laid herself out for “a good time,” + and, although in her way she was kind enough to the child, she left him to + take care of himself as well as he could, being content if she prepared a + bed for him to sleep in, and ordered his three meals a day with unfailing + regularity. The house Mr. Wilkie lived in was situated in one of the + newest and most fashionable localities, having what are generally + designated “modern improvements,” and one of these latter so improved the + internal arrangements of Master Aleck, that he was soon confined to bed + with enteric fever. Mrs. Johnson, missing the boy from the street, called + to enquire after him, and had her fears confirmed by the housekeeper, who + said she did not know what to do for his father was away, and she had + never in her life nursed a fevered patient. The wily mother seized the + opportunity with avidity, and with unblushing effrontery perpetrated the + atrocious falsehood that she was a professional nurse of large experience, + and that such an interest did she feel in the little fellow that she would + if permitted undertake to nurse him free of charge. Mrs. Riddell was + delighted, and at her neighbor’s suggestion sent for Dr. Brownie, who had, + she said great experience in such cases. A cablegram was despatched to Mr. + Wilkie, and everything that science could devise was done for the poor + little sufferer. For many days he seemed to get worse and worse and his + devoted mother was nearly worn out as she sat up night after night wiping + his fevered brow, or moistening his parched lips, at length the crisis + came, and the doctor pronounced him on the way to recovery, adding that + the slightest neglect on the part of those who tended him would permit a + relapse, which would in all probability prove fatal. In this case, + however, the latter caution was altogether unnecessary, what Mrs. Johnson + lacked in experience she more than made up for in care and solicitude, + and, as every direction of the physician was carried out to the letter, + the little fellow began perceptibly to mend before the telegram came + announcing Mr. Wilkie’s arrival in Quebec. On the receipt of the missive + Mrs. Johnson made preparations for her departure, saying that her services + were now scarcely needed, and that she needed rest; Mrs. Riddell at first + tried hard to induce her to remain, but when she looked at the pale thin + face, and thought how many weary nights the lady had voluntarily sat up + with the raving child, she ceased to urge the request, and at once set out + for a mercenary to replace her. + </p> + <p> + What a difference there is between him who enters on a labor of love and + the hireling who works for pay! In this case, then, it may easily be + supposed with a mother’s ardent affection on the one hand, how different + was the cold professional service rendered by the nurse who replaced Mrs. + Johnson: although kind and attentive, she had not the same soothing power, + nor could she sing the sweet lullaby which so often in his fevered moments + had calmed poor little Aleck’s soul, and the little fellow became at once + very low indeed. At this juncture his father arrived, and when he saw his + boy he was completely overcome; he learned from the housekeeper all the + particulars of the kind neighbor’s attention, and resolved to go + personally to her residence and implore her not to desert his boy till he + was out of all danger. Waiting only to partake of a morsel of food, he set + out for the house indicated by his housekeeper, and inquired for Mrs. + Johnson. The girl who opened the door told him that Mrs. Johnson had been + out nursing a sick child for several nights, and had just fallen into a + deep sleep, the first she had had for days, and urged him to call round + again in the afternoon, when her mistress would probably be able to see + him. In the afternoon he returned in great haste, saying that he must see + Mrs. Johnson at all hazards, that his boy was worse, and raved incessantly + for her. While he was speaking the lady he inquired for suddenly came down + stairs, and as their eyes met both uttered an exclamation of surprise. + Forgetting everything in her anxiety for her boy’s safety the poor + mother’s face became suffused with tears as she anxiously cried with bated + breath, “Is he dead?” “No; thanks be to God and his mother’s care he still + lives, but you must not let him die now.” + </p> + <p> + The rest of the story is soon told; the pride of both husband and wife was + humbled by adversity, and in their heavy affliction each was made to feel + what a strength and comfort it was to have a companion who could + sympathize not only with the joys but with the sorrows of the other. The + boy was several weeks before he was able to leave his room, during which + time his mother told him the history of her troubles, and recounted how + miserable she felt without him and his father, all of which was of course + retailed to the latter gentleman, and effectually healed the breach + between the man and his wife. The dowager’s name was for obvious reasons + never mentioned by either Mr. or Mrs. Wilkie, and as for the youthful hope + of the house, his memory was so elastic that he never even thought about + the old lady. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Riddell was astonished when she became acquainted with the true + relations of the nurse and her patient, but, having become quite enamoured + of the former (who by-the-by was now become both a discreet and amiable + matron), she readily fell into a subordinate position in the household, + taking her orders quite gladly, and having a special care for little + Aleck. Mrs. Wilkie has now an assortment of boys and girls, Aleck being + entered as a law student at McGill University and the others being still + at school; she seldom thinks of the past, preferring to look forward to a + bright and happy future. Still at times her mind will revert to scenes of + yore, and she shudders as she thinks of the bitter experiences she has + had, attributing most if not all of them, rightly or wrongly, to her + mother-in-law. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. — A Deserted Wife, or Model Woman + </h2> + <p> + One hot summer’s day I received a visit from a young and beautiful woman + attired in fashionable costume. She told me she was desirous of obtaining + accommodation for a couple of months as her husband was in England and the + time of her accouchement was at hand. She was the bearer of a letter which + ran as follows— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON, England, August 6 18— + + <i>To whoever is with my + precious wife in her hour of trial</i>: + + MY DEAR MADAM—I cannot refrain, as the husband of + the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent + wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will + remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking + of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the + issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. + + I will part with all I have rather than that she or her + infant shall want anything. Oh how I wish I were near + to love and comfort her. If her dear infant is spared all + well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol + be well. <i>Let all give way</i> if need be for my precious + wife’s sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, + even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, + which Heaven forbid. + + I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand + and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I + shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well; will you + kindly have a postal card ready just to say “all is well” if + so it be; never mind more till my poor wife can put her + own name to a letter. + + God reward you for an act that I know the angels envy + you, for your charge is a “friend of Jesus,” and my only + friend on earth. + + Yours in intensity of anxious interest, + P. MERRICK. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + My address is + Sunny Hill Avenue, + London, E. +</pre> + <p> + Mrs. Merrick explained to me that her husband was a member of a wealthy + English firm doing business in Montreal, and that he was at that time + obliged to be in London on business, but would soon return, when she + purposed setting up an establishment of her own. Her father and mother + (both Scottish Canadians) had been dead many years, and she had been + educated in a boarding school in Ottawa where she had first met Mr. + Merrick. + </p> + <p> + Within a few days the lady became an inmate of my house, and in course of + time became the mother of a beautiful little boy, news of which was at + once despatched to London. For three weeks Mrs. Merrick waited patiently + for a reply, and after that time, receiving none, she became uneasy, and + wrote a long letter to her husband, beseeching him to send her an answer + immediately, but neither to this letter did she obtain any response and + days became weeks and the weeks began to spread themselves into months and + yet not a line or even a word could be obtained to indicate the + whereabouts of Mr. Merrick or whether he was alive or dead. At last the + terrible truth began to dawn on the poor creature that she had been basely + deserted by him who was sworn to be her friend and protector and she + became almost demented, she tried to account for his silence in many ways + but her intellectual acumen as too great and her reasoning always brought + her to the one sad conclusion. However, as nothing better could be done + the spirited creature made up her mind to earn her own living and that of + her child, and setting her wits to work she soon obtained a situation as + governess at the house of Mr. Mullaly, a retired merchant of considerable + means whose wife and daughters were desirous of obtaining an entree into + polite society. Placing her boy out to nurse, she set out for her new + home, and soon began to feel the blessedness of working for her own + living. + </p> + <p> + But her happiness was not unmixed with pain. The Mullaly girls somehow or + another heard that Miss Caldwell (she had given her maiden name) was the + mother of a little child, and, although she admitted the fact and + recounted to them her whole history, they gave no credence to her + assertions, but began to treat her with the greatest contempt making her + life miserable. The poor woman would fain have left her situation, but she + recollected that it would be difficult to obtain another without referring + to Mrs. Mullaly who would be sure to tell the whole story with several + embellishments. On the whole she thought she had better remain where she + was for a time, hoping that, as years went by, and the girls acquired more + judgment and common sense, they would treat her with greater fairness. + Accordingly she bore all the taunts of the young ladies with great + meekness and patience, and made herself so agreeable and useful that, + although they never could make up their minds to believe her story or to + treat her as one of the family—the Mullalys came to regard Miss + Caldwell as indispensable to their existence, and when Miss Mullaly the + elder got married she took Miss Caldwell with her in the capacity of + housekeeper the young sisters no longer requiring her in her capacity as + governess, which situation she, however, did not long keep as the + remuneration would not enable her to educate her boy as she desired. He + was a fair-haired, bright little fellow, and the most loving little + creature on earth. She consulted with me what best could be done to earn a + larger salary. I advised her to become a professional nurse though hard + she would think it at first, when once accustomed to its little drudgeries + she would find it a noble calling, with God’s blessing attached to it. She + consented, and I trained her in my hospital, she became in a very short + time one of my most proficient nurses. From that time she had gained the + battle, for, as soon as some of our medical men got acquainted with her, + they gave her employment at the most serious of their cases, till at last + it became very hard for me to procure her for some of my own patients, and + through her abilities, patience, and refined feelings she gained a great + many sincere friends. One of her patients, an old lady, left at her death + $200 to her kind nurse, and this enabled poor Mrs. Merrick to give her boy + that education which she had so long craved for him. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile Willie Merrick was placed at school at Lennoxville, where + he evinced great talent. At twelve years of age he was noted as the finest + classical scholar in the school, and his mother was induced to place him + in training, with a view to his matriculating at the University of + Bishop’s College. The fond mother lived only for her son, so she placed + him under the care of a private tutor, at whose hands he made such + progress that at the early age of fifteen he entered the University. Here + he showed himself at once to be made of no ordinary metal, and he became + quite a favorite with the Principal and professors, all of whom were ever + ready to lend him a helping hand. His mother had intended him for the + church but Willie did not (so he said) feel “good enough” for that high + and holy calling, so he entered the Faculty of Law, determined, if + possible, to distinguish himself in that profession so soon as he obtained + the necessary qualifications for commencing practice. In process of time + he obtained his degree, graduating with high honors, and he was not long + in establishing a practice equal to that of many older advocates. + </p> + <p> + Although without any hope of ever taking her place again as Merrick’s + wife, the poor woman whom he had so basely deserted instituted a thorough + search for him in England, and was enabled to discover all his history, + and also so gain an insight into his proceedings whilst away from her. It + seems that he had married her under an assumed name, his real patronymic + being Stephens, and that his people were purse-proud and overbearing. On + his arrival in England his father, who had heard of the young man’s + escapades in Canada peremptorily ordered him to have no more + correspondence with his Canadian wife, but to marry a noble lady whom he + had purchased (through money lent; to her father) for the ennobling of the + Stephens family. + </p> + <p> + When the deserted woman became assured of the truth of these disclosures + she made up her mind to give no more thought to the wretch who had left + her in such a predicament, and determined to centre her hopes and her + affections in her son, who had by this time become a distinguished lawyer, + and was quite as proud of his mother as his mother was of him. He took a + house for himself and only parent in the Western suburbs, and they lived + in quiet comfort together, the young man going little into society, except + on public occasions, on all of which he was invariably asked to take a + prominent part in the proceedings. + </p> + <p> + When William Merrick had been in practice about two or three years he was + entrusted with an important case connected with the endowment of some + church in Lower Canada, which was appealed from one court to another, + until, finally, it was decided to carry it to the House of Lords. + Accordingly the young advocate made preparations for a trip to England, + and, being unwilling to leave his mother alone for such a lengthened + period, he decided to take her along with him. They sailed from Quebec one + fine Saturday in June, arriving at Liverpool late on the following + Saturday night, a strong westerly wind blowing them rapidly across the + Atlantic! They stayed but a few days in Liverpool, and then went on to + London, putting up temporarily at the Langham, at that time the most + fashionable hotel in London. The morning after their arrival the young + lawyer, having occasion to go to the Courts on business, Mrs. Merrick was + left for a time to her own devices, she occupied a half-hour or so in + reading the newspapers, and then made up her mind to go for a stroll + before luncheon. Attiring herself rather gaily (she was still remarkably + good-looking, only a little over 40 years then) she set out with a + sprightly step down the main staircase, humming to herself a lively air + which she used to sing in happier days. Just as she was descending the + last flight of stairs, a gentleman having a delicate-looking lady on his + arm began to ascend, and on hearing the melody, faint though it was, which + the approaching lady, was unconsciously humming, glanced suddenly and + swiftly upwards; then, as if a thunderbolt had struck him, he came to a + sudden halt, having a dazed expression on his features and littering a + half suppressed oath or imprecation. Mrs. Merrick had not noticed the + approaching couple, her thoughts being far away, but the suddenness of the + gentleman’s movement arrested her attention, and she looked him fully in + the face for a moment; then, uttering a wild shriek, she fell backward and + would have been probably severely injured, had not a gentleman, who + happened to be close behind her, caught her as she fell, and carried her + to the landing-place, where restoratives were applied, and the unfortunate + woman speedily came to her senses. + </p> + <p> + It is scarcely necessary to say that the lady and gentleman whose advent + so upset Mrs. Merrick were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Stephens who had + come up to London for the operatic season and were staying at the Langham + Hotel. Taking advantage of the confusion, Stephens hurried his wife along + to her room, giving no further answer to her many and wondering enquiries + than: “Oh, it’s only the heat; don’t mix yourself up with all these + people,” and, without allowing time for remonstrance or further enquiry, + he put a stop to all questioning by hurrying the delicate creature along + till he deposited her, breath less, in an easy chair. Going out into the + corridor he tried to discover how matters stood, but the woman he dreaded + to meet had been borne to her room and medical attendance had been + summoned. This Mr. Stephens learned from a waiter; so, determined to + deport himself as if he knew nothing of the cause of the lady’s illness, + and was as much puzzled at the occurrence as the rest of those who had + either witnessed it or come on the scene soon afterwards, he returned to + his wife, and, throwing himself into a chair, pretended to read. But his + wife, obtuse though she possibly was with regard to the fainting lady, + something had struck her about the manner her husband assumed. She could + not get over it, and when at the table d’hote with her husband listened + attentively to the conservation of two gentlemen who were sitting + vis-à-vis. One enquired after the health of the lady who had taken so + suddenly ill on the landing in the morning. The younger of the two + gentlemen expressed his gratitude to the other for assisting his mother so + kindly, who would have, but for his assistance, fallen down stairs, but + was somewhat better now. He said the Doctor had not been able to ascertain + the cause of her sudden illness, and, as his mother had always been + blessed with such good health, he himself could not account for it. In the + meantime Mr. and Mrs. Stephens had been listeners to the conversation when + all of a sudden a curious, gurgling noise was heard, a chair was + overturned, and Mr. Stephens was stretched on the floor in a dying + condition, blood streaming from his mouth. There was a great commotion in + the dining-room, and it was thought at first he had swallowed a bone and + was choking; but the physicians who arrived, three in number, pronounced + it a rupture of a blood-vessel and applied at once the necessary remedies, + but gave little hope of his recovery. As soon as his condition permitted a + removal, he was carried, by the advice of the doctor, to a private + hospital near by, where his delicate wife also preferred to go, and + nothing more was heard of the dying stranger, for a while anyhow. + </p> + <p> + Our young lawyer, Willie Merrick, had been successful in his law affairs, + and had arranged a trip to the continent with his mother, when a cablegram + was sent to them from Canada, saying: “Don’t leave England; wait for + letters; good news.” This was rather annoying to Mr. Merrick, as he had + only a few weeks more at his disposal; and he anticipated this trip as so + necessary to restore his mother’s cheerfulness. Mrs. Merrick was also + puzzled as to what could possibly detain them any longer in London. At + last the Canadian post arrived, and with it large documents and letters + which had been sent from England to Canada and were now returned, + informing Mrs. Merrick that a certain W. Merrick Stephens had died, + leaving a large fortune, and that half of this estate was bequeathed to + Mrs. Merrick in Canada, whose maiden name had been Emma Caldwell, or, in + case of her death, to her heirs. Young Mr. Merrick being at this time a + well-known young lawyer in Montreal it was not hard to find him. Both he + and his mother could not imagine who had left them such a fortune. Well + did Mrs. Merrick think of the man whom she had loved so dearly and truly + and who had pretended to be so fond of her. But, she knew too well that + she had been deceived, that he had married her under a false name, and had + she not recognised him at the hotel with a lady who was his wife!—She + had never told her son the cause of her sudden illness when first at the + hotel; and her son had never mentioned the affair of the dying stranger at + the dinner-table, thinking his mother still too weak to be disturbed by + such shocking calamities. His partner from Montreal wrote; “You had better + stay and see about this large fortune at once. Every one is not such a + lucky fellow as you.” A Mr. Tidal was mentioned as executor of the estate + of W. M. Stephens, and our hero prepared at once to call on that + gentleman, who received him very friendly, but requested him to call the + next day with his mother at the family residence of the deceased, which + visit had been particularly desired by the deceased gentleman’s widow. Our + young gentleman of coarse promised to comply with the wish, and was very + much surprised when, on returning to his mother, he found her hesitating,—but + for a moment only, a second thought, as she promised to accompany him, + feeling in her heart that, whatever Mrs. Stephens might wish to see her + for, she would certainly not blame her for anything, as all the wrong that + had been committed had been committed towards her, but still her heart was + heavy when at two o’clock they started in one of those stage coaches of + which London has so many. After about two hours’ drive they alighted in + front of an old-fashioned family mansion, surrounded by well cultivated + grounds. The gentleman, Mr. Vidal, on whom young Mr. Merrick had called + the day previous, came to the portal to greet them, and begged Mrs. + Merrick to have the kindness to see Mrs. Stephens in her own apartments, + as she was in delicate health and very much crushed down through the + sudden loss of her husband. A maid who had appeared at the time was + ordered to direct Mrs. Merrick to the boudoir of her mistress and, + announcing the visitor, withdrew. Mrs. Stephens, attired in deep mourning, + looked very pale. On seeing Mrs. Merrick enter, she rose from her chair + and holding both hands out to greet the astonished lady, said: “Oh, you + wronged, wronged woman,” but then tears smothered her words, and it was + quite a while before she could speak again. “How can I atone for the + wrongs committed on you, but I promised him. His last request was that I + would see you and beg your forgiveness for him. He had recognised you at + once at the hotel, and he felt his Conscience troubling him very much. But + the sight of your son—his son—was too much for him. He felt he + could not live to meet the son he had so wronged and the woman he had so + loved and so betrayed. He told me all when the blood was streaming and + smothered his words. He had married me by the command of his father for my + money, but had afterwards learned to love me when he saw I was so devoted + to him, but he had not the courage to tell me of you and his child. I + often noticed him looking sad, and when I asked him to tell me what was + troubling him he would say: ‘Don’t be so kind to me, I don’t deserve it, I + am very, very wicked.’” + </p> + <p> + “We have no children, our first-born, a boy, only lived one hour; the + second, a girl, only three days. Since then my health has never been good, + but he was so kind, so indulgent with all my weaknesses, that I can hardly + realize he was ever unkind to any one. But his father was a stern old man + of iron will who made him leave you and marry me for my father’s money. + All this I could not tell to your son nor to anybody else than to you. + Will you tell me you forgive him? I know your heart is pure and good or + you would have troubled him while alive. Don’t sit so mute, you frighten + me; shall I call your son—the servants?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, don’t call anybody,” was her response, “but speak of him, of him + you loved, the only one I have ever loved save my child.” At the thought + of her son she broke out into sobs, and the blessed tears brought balm to + her heart. Silence prevailed for a long time, save the sobs of both. At + length a knock was heard, and a servant inquired if the ladies wished to + take refreshments with the gentlemen. Both would have declined but for + appearance sake, and, after bathing their faces, descended to the room + where the gentlemen had transacted their business. + </p> + <p> + On entering Mrs. Stephens approached Willie saying: “I hope you have + consented to take, in addition to the name which you bear already, the + name of Stephens, which was the last desire of my dear husband and also my + sincere wish.” + </p> + <p> + “If my mother consents to assume that name also I shall, but otherwise I + must decline, as I shall never bear any other name than my mother whom I + love and honor, and who can, if she prefer, refuse this bequest and need + never tell me why. I know she will do all for the best if it combine with + honor.” + </p> + <p> + “She will not refuse,” was Mr. Vidal’s reply; “and now, ladies, I have to + beg you to sign those deeds that we are able to congratulate the new lord + of the estate.”—(All signed). + </p> + <p> + The end of this story is very short now. Mr. W. Merrick Stephens and + mother never returned to Montreal, but are living with Mrs. Stephens (the + widow) on the same estate and never has there existed a more perfect + harmony and friendship—both trying to make each other happy and + those around them. The last I heard from them was the following letter: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON, December 18. + + MY DEAR OLD FRIEND, + + Don’t be angry that I call you old. I know you are not + much older than myself, but it seems you are nearer to me + when I address you so. How my life has changed! You + used to tell me the evening will be better than the morning + How true! She is so good (his wife), both Willie + and I cannot help loving and admiring her. She thinks + Willie looks like him and has many of his ways. If her + health is good next spring we shall all three visit Canada, + I think the sea-voyage will do her good. I shall be so + proud to introduce her to you, and so glad to see you + again who helped and advised me always for the best. + You can write the history of my life it you like. Why + did you ask my permission? You well knew I would + do more for you if you let me I know you will not say + anything to harm us, and I shall forever consider myself + in your debt, but you must send us one of your books + when out. Willie joins with me in sending his best regards + to your husband and children and believe me for ever + your grateful friend. + + EMMA MERRICK STEPHENS +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. — A Tale of Bigamy. + </h2> + <p> + Lillie Malcolm was the daughter of Scotch parents who had emigrated to + Montreal about the year 1835. Her father was a schoolmaster, having a + private school in the neighborhood of St. Antoine street, and at the time + of their arrival in this city Lillie was about the age of ten. The little + girl was precocious and talented, and very pretty, and was also, as + regards both these characteristics, admired and made much of. As the girl + grew older she became a little vain and conceited, her principal aim being + to gain the plaudits of the visitors at her father’s house for her singing + or other performances, which were many and various, the versatility of the + girl being remarkable. By the time she was seventeen, Lillie Malcolm + became known as the prettiest and most accomplished young lady in the + neighborhood, and no church or Sunday-school gathering was complete + without a song or recitation by her. + </p> + <p> + But Lillie aspired somewhat higher than Sunday-school concerts and such + circumspect circles. She longed for an entree into the inner and higher + circles of Montreal society where she felt that she could rise above the + common level, and take a position in keeping with her education and + accomplishments. Unfortunately for the ambitious girl her father, though + highly respectable, was very poor, and so altogether debarred from + participating with his family in the round of social pleasures in which + the <i>bon ton</i> of Montreal indulge; added to this, he was a strict + Presbyterian, and was averse to consenting even when his daughter <i>did</i> + receive an invitation to some of the houses of her limited number of + acquaintances. + </p> + <p> + The poor girl fretted and repined at her lot. She could manage the + household affairs if required, but her mother or sister invariably + attended to that, and so her talents were not brought into requisition; + she could speak fluently and, as a clergyman or lawyer, would certainly + have distinguished herself, but women were not required or even tolerated + as clergymen or lawyers; she would (so she imagined) have made an + excellent wife for a fairly rich young man, but the young men did not seem + to want wives without money or social rank, and so poor Lillie fretted and + fumed, occasionally attending the many brilliant weddings which were + celebrated in the fashionable churches, and wondering how it was that so + many plain and unattractive girls got husbands, while she was without even + a proposal. It is true she had no lack of admirers; these flocked round + her like bees in a flower-garden, but few of them were eligible as + suitors; and the few who were, although they admired her openly, and paid + her great attention, never approached the subject of marriage. + </p> + <p> + Things went on in this way till Miss Malcolm was twenty-three, when she + made the acquaintance of Captain FitzMarshall, an officer of Her Majesty’s + army, who was stationed in Montreal. FitzMarshall was very highly + connected, being the grandson of an English Duke, and was greatly sought + after by the belles of Montreal; but he, having met Lillie Malcolm by + chance at the house of a mutual acquaintance, vowed that she was the only + beauty in Montreal, and was even, marked in his addresses to her. Lillie’s + heart fluttered with delight at the thought of actually out-doing the + acknowledged society belles, and she would have been in ecstasy if she + could only have appeared on the arm of her admirer at one of the public + assemblies to which he had offered to bring her, but her father would not + permit her to enter a circle unfitted for his means and her station, + particularly as neither he nor her mother would be present to look after + her. + </p> + <p> + Before the close of FitzMarshall’s second year in Canada he had made + Lillie Malcolm’s heart glad by offering his heart and hand; he also + communicated the matter to Mr. Malcolm, but the latter gentleman shook his + head dubiously, and asked him if he had consulted his friends in England. + When he replied that he had not, the old gentleman gently but firmly + informed him that, although he esteemed him highly, yet he would not have + his friends say that he had been entrapped into a marriage with one who + was socially his inferior, and that, till he had written to his relatives + and obtained their consent to his marriage, it would be better for him to + discontinue his visits to the house. FitzMarshall pleaded strongly, but + the old man was firm, and so the poor love-sick Captain had to content + himself with the assurance that, if his friends consented to his marriage + (for although a Captain he was only twenty-four), he would be only too + happy to confide his daughter to his keeping. Accordingly the young + officer took his departure from the house, with the understanding that + when the return mail arrived from England he was to call at once, and, if + agreeable to his family at home, to be formally betrothed to the fair + Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + The weeks rolled by as if they were years, and at the expiration of that + time FitzMarshall received letters from home, ordering him to obtain leave + of absence and to take the next steamer for England. With a heavy heart he + disclosed the contents to Mr. Malcolm, who of course expected something of + the kind, and told him that he must now discontinue all communication with + his daughter. The order came, unfortunately, too late, as the young couple + had already met frequently clandestinely and forestalled their expected + honey-moon. + </p> + <p> + However, to England FitzMarshall must go or be disinherited, so, bidding + his inamorata to cheer up, that he would soon be back to claim her as his + lawful wife, he set sail, and left the poor girl, soon to become a mother + alone with her austere father and unsympathetic mother. Weeks went by + without a word from him for whom the girl would have laid down her life, + and her letters, written we may say with her tears, were returned to her + unopened. The truth flashed quickly on the young girl—she was + deserted! The aristocratic friends of the young man would never allow him + to see her more, and he was weak enough to be put in pupilage. Quickly + making up her mind how to act, with indomitable courage she gathered up + what little trinkets and jewellery she possessed, she converted them into + money which yielded her nearly two hundred dollars (for she had received + valuable presents from her lover and some money), and, one evening + slipping out quietly, she took the train for Toronto, proceeding from + thence to Detroit, where she established herself as the widow of an + English officer, prepared to receive pupils in languages and music. + </p> + <p> + But she was prepared for more than this. Her heart had become thoroughly + steeled by the harsh treatment which she considered she had received from + her father and others, so she laid herself out to make what capital she + could, not only out of her accomplishments but also of her beauty, and + with such success that she obtained an elegant establishment at the hands + of a wealthy Michigan shipping merchant, the public being led to believe + that she had become possessed of an estate in trust for her child (a boy) + who was just then born. For several years she lived in this way, always + moving along quietly and respectably, when the old gentleman died, leaving + her but a few hundred dollars capital, for he had neglected to provide for + this contingency, and she, with less forethought than one would imagine, + had never considered such a possibility. Mrs. McClintock, as she now + called herself, began to think of returning to her old business as a + teacher, but there was little necessity, for an old gentleman who had made + a fortune as a distiller, an acquaintance of the deceased merchant, soon + made excuse for calling upon her, and made undoubted advances to her. It + may be that he knew something of his friend’s arrangements, or that he + only suspected them; however, the widow managed matters so adroitly that + he imagined he must have been mistaken, and that the reports he had heard + were not true. The house was elegantly and tastefully furnished, the lady + was modestly, yet richly attired, the little boy and his nurse lending an + air of respectability to the whole establishment only to be out-done by + the conversation and demeanor of the lady herself, who was not only the + peer, but the superior of any lady among the large circle of the old + gentleman’s acquaintances. He called about some lessons for his eldest + daughter, but was informed that Mrs. McClintock no longer gave lessons; he + then suggested that she might recommend a teacher of French, and + endeavored to prolong the interview, but the lady sedately answered all + his queries with a sad and pensive expression far removed from what he had + expected, and rising politely, rang the bell for her servant to show him + out. + </p> + <p> + After a little time, however, the old man returned to the charge. He had + bought the terrace in which Mrs. McClintock lived, and called to know what + he could do, in the way of repairs, etc. He pressed his suit in various + ways, but the widow pretended not to see it at all till she had the old + man down on his knees; then she played with him most adroitly, explaining + that her lonely position left her open to the tongue of rumor, and that + she could not allow him to call so frequently. She played her cards so + well that the old man firmly believed she was a modest and retiring widow, + and did not the law forbid him, he would have married her. As it was, she + led him to hand her the deed of the house she lived in, and to settle a + large amount on both herself and his child (a beautiful girl), who was + born about a year after his first visit to her house in his capacity of + landlord. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding all her precautions Mrs. McClintock was the subject of + much gossip in the neighborhood in which she resided, and many were the + guesses (many of them wide of the mark) which were made about her past + history. But they could only talk vaguely and shrug their shoulders at the + mention of the lady’s name; for she lived very circumspectly, had a pew in + St. Paul’s Church, and stood well with the minister and leading church + people; her children too were models of neatness and propriety, and though + as unlike as children having <i>one</i> common parent could well be + (Jessie being dark and petite with piercing brown eyes, while Charlie was + tall and exceedingly fair), yet they had both the enviable reputation of + being the best bred and best behaved children on Jefferson Avenue. + </p> + <p> + As the children grew up they were sent to school, and both, though of + different temperament, were distinguished for their superior ability. + Jessie was quick at anything requiring an amount of ready talent and acute + comprehension, such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Modern Languages, but + Charlie excelled in Classics and what are generally considered the heavier + sciences, and was particularly talented as regards music. He would sit for + hours playing the exquisite <i>Lieder Ohne worte</i> of Mendelssohn, while + Jessie would shrug her shoulders if asked to play, and call on her + brother, saying she could not bear “that nasty practising.” In spite, + however, of her neglect of this accomplishment (for which she had great + natural talent), Jessie McClintock was in great demand in society, and + notwithstanding the equivocal position held by her mother (for although + not openly expressed there was a general feeling that all was not right + with that lady), the young people were asked everywhere, and their mother + kept them carefully in the <i>very best</i> circles, for which their + natural talents and excellent education eminently fitted them. + </p> + <p> + The children, who had seen a gentleman supposed to be their father come at + intervals and then disappear, naturally were inquisitive, and from an + early age were taught that their father was a captain on an Atlantic + Steamer, and of course was frequently away from home. As the children grew + up the story told by them concerning that gentleman did not coincide with + that of the mother, who had always pretended that her husband was dead, so + it was thought advisable for her to remove to Montreal (her parents having + long since died), and assume the rôle of a grass widow whose husband + seldom got off his ship, and then but for a short time, coming generally + at night and remaining indoors during his brief stay. Mrs. McClintock + bought a house in University street, and rarely went out; her children, + however, went to the best schools, and, having made acquaintances, soon + began to go out in the best society as they had done in Detroit. Charlie + soon became entered as a Law Student in the McGill University, and Jessie + had a visiting governess engaged to finish her, a resident young lady, for + obvious reasons, being considered out of place. Jessie grew up a beautiful + young lady, and was the acknowledged belle in many a drawing room; Charlie + went little into society, being engaged in prosecuting his studies in the + University, applying himself so assiduously that in a few years he + graduated with honors, carrying off a gold medal. + </p> + <p> + The people who lived opposite Mrs. McClintock on University street were + curious to know all about that lady’s proceedings, and set a watch on all + her movements. They discovered that at times a carriage was driven hastily + up to the door, generally late at night, from which an elderly gentleman + alighted and entered the house; but, although on the alert, they were + never able to make out his features or even his general appearance, so + quickly was the door of the house opened and closed behind him. Yet even + this discovery was hailed with delight by the gossips; and as after each + visit Jessie appeared with a new watch, locket, brooch, or other trinket + (sent, she said, from England by her father), the tongue of evil report + wagged freely, and was not at all times strictly confined to the truth. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. McClintock was much annoyed when she learnt (from a sympathizing + friend) of the reports which her neighbors were circulating concerning + her; and, as she knew their eyes were constantly upon her house, she + managed to invite the clergyman and his wife, with a few others whom she + had met in church circles, to dinner, and manifested such an interest in + the sewing society that the principal ladies of the congregation called on + her in succession; and although they never got beyond an interchange of + formal visits, yet it served to puzzle the gossips in the streets, and one + or two who had “forgotten” to call on Mrs. McClintock when she first came + to the locality paid her a formal visit; their shaky position in society + being secured by the fact that all the best people called there, including + the Bishop and clergy, and so <i>of course</i> there could be nothing + wrong. For all this plausible reasoning they inwardly believed that there + was “something wrong,” and many of those who called did so mainly under + the apprehension that they would discover something, or read in the + countenance of their notorious neighbor something that would give a clue + to her past or present career. + </p> + <p> + But those who called from curiosity were sadly disappointed. The house was + neat and well-ordered, yet not extravagantly furnished; those who met the + children were astonished at their appearance and apparent good breeding, + while the hostess received them with the cool courtesy of an English + gentlewoman. The callers went away puzzled more completely than ever, and + to add to their mortification the lady <i>did not return one of their + calls</i>, shewing thereby that she did not care for their acquaintance. + Thus their imaginary condescension was the means of their being snubbed by + one whom they considered scarcely fit to be allowed to inhabit the same + street. + </p> + <p> + When Jessie was nineteen her Mother gave a large party, inviting most of + the young lady’s school friends, also a number of Charlie’s + fellow-students, besides the Rector of the church and his wife and a few + of the neighbors who had always been friendly to Mrs. McClintock, although + having their own ideas regarding her pretensions. All went merry as a + marriage bell, and they beguiled the time with music, whist, bezique, and + like recreative amusements, after which supper was announced, and the + party sat down to a spread such as few of them had ever been partakers + before, and all served in the most elegant style. + </p> + <p> + The viands having been thoroughly discussed, the Rector rose and proposed + the health of the young lady in whose honor they were then assembled, and + in a highly moral speech wished her many happy returns, and all the joys + this world (and also the next) can afford. The toast was honored with + acclamation, and then one of the guests stood up and proposed “the health + of Captain and Mrs. McClintock.” + </p> + <p> + A damper was thrown suddenly on the whole company. Every one seemed to + feel embarrassed, and though no one dared to look at his neighbor, and the + toast was immediately drank by all, yet there came a peculiar feeling over + each person present, as if some spiritualistic influence were at work + restraining their speech and laughter, aye and even forbidding them to + breathe freely. + </p> + <p> + For a time the silence remained unbroken. At length Mrs. McClintock + motioned to Jessie to rise, thus giving the signal for a general departure + to the drawing-room. Here the music was again brought into requisition, + and a few of the young people enjoyed themselves with a game of casino, + but the hilarity of the early part of the evening was conspicuously + absent, those assembled taking an early leave and departing homeward. The + gentleman who had unwittingly worked on the feelings of the remainder of + the guests felt that there was something oppressive in the atmosphere, and + tried to elicit an explanation from a neighbor; but he could get no reply + excepting a tongue thrust into that gentleman’s cheek as much as to say—“You’ve + put your foot in it, old fellow,” and a significant squeeze of the left + arm near the elbow. He had essayed a solo of the harp, and, unfortunately + had struck the one cord [not chord] which was out of tune. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. McClintock preserved an even demeanor throughout the entire evening; + indeed, it is questionable if one of the whole party (the young people + excepted) there, was one so fully self-possessed; and she had such command + over her facial muscles that she bid her guests adieu with a smile as + gracious as that with which she had received them. She gave no more + parties, however, but, confined herself to inviting a few of her most + intimate acquaintances to tea or an informal dinner, to which they were + ever ready to accept an invitation; as, whatever might be the antecedents + of the McClintocks, they were certainly refined and elegant people, and <i>kept + the best table in the city</i>. In time the old gentleman went the way of + all flesh, leaving Mrs. M. independent in every respect. She continued to + pass for some time as a grass widow, but after a few months she coolly + inserted in the Montreal fit papers the following:—“At Calcutta, on + the 18th ult., Captain Charles McClintock, in the 56th year of his age.” + Then she went into deep mourning, the children also dressing in mourning + and refusing to go into society for a time. In about eighteen months after + they donned their ordinary attire, and, as many of those now forming the + circle known as the “upper ten” did not know, and others did not care to + remember, anything concerning their past history, they were received with + open arms, being young, accomplished, and, best of all, tolerably wealthy. + </p> + <p> + Jessie is now married to a wealthy dry goods merchant, and one of the + leaders of fashionable society. Charlie is making headway as a lawyer, + but, having an independent allowance, does not exert himself very much. + The old lady lives pretty much to herself, and, it is said, not + unfrequently takes a glass of Curacoa or Moraschino to drown unpleasant + reflections. Let us, however, before sitting in judgment upon her, put + ourselves in her place, and consider if we would have done half as well + (morally) under the circumstances. Although a disobedient daughter, she + has proved herself a true wife till shamefully deserted, and a + self-denying and tender-hearted mother, who, though giving herself up to + shame for their sake, kept her children from every breath of even + scandalous report, and placed them as well-educated and respectable + members of society. At such a one let only he who is without guilt among + us cast a stone. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. — The Unfortunate Sailor. + </h2> + <p> + Among the many thousand pretty girls that might be seen any fine afternoon + walking down the shady side of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, few would be + found possessing more attractive features and pleasing expression than + Agnes Malcolm. Not that she was the most beautiful girl in Glasgow, for + Agnes was hardly what one would call a beauty; but there was a something + in her face that made it particularly attractive, and caused every + passer-by involuntarily to turn and look after her, although, were the + pedestrian cross-questioned as to what he found to admire in the young + lady, he would have been puzzled what to reply. Agnes had regular + features, good hazel eyes, but not unusually bright ones, a high + intellectual forehead, and tresses of a light auburn hue; her cheeks were + soft as peaches and as delicately tinted, and when she smiled, which was + often, she displayed a complete set of teeth for which no dentist had ever + received a fee. Her sister Alice was the acknowledged belle of the circle + in which the Malcolm family revolved, and was already of a much more + decided type, but Agnes had a frank, lovable expression of countenance + that brightened everywhere she went like a sunbeam, and although she was + not particularly witty (being indeed rather reserved and shy in her + manner), yet she had such a sweet voice, and talked so naturally and with + such a lack of affectation, that it was a pleasure to hold converse with + her. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Malcolm, the girl’s father, had been Captain of an ocean steamer + running between Glasgow and Baltimore and adjacent ports, he had gone down + in the good ship Cyclops, or rather the <i>bad ship</i> Cyclops, for she + proved herself to be utterly unseaworthy, and foundered on her first trip + out, Mrs. Malcolm, being near her confinement at the time, was taken + prematurely ill, and, although she rallied for a time, she never got + fairly well again, and finally followed her husband to the grave, leaving + the two girls to the care of a married sister of their late father, who, + having educated them as became their station, was at the time of which my + narrative treats debating whether she would send them out to earn their + living, or, keeping them a little longer, bring them out in the hope of + getting them married. + </p> + <p> + Alice saved her all further deliberation by announcing in her careless, + happy style that she had engaged to marry a young ship chandler who had + frequently came to the house, but had paid so much attention to <i>both</i> + the young ladies that it was difficult to tell which, if any, of them he + was going to marry. Having made up his mind, however, he did not wish to + delay matters, so, as Alice was only too happy to start an establishment + of her own immediately, he gave notice at the kirk for the following week, + and the wedding was celebrated amidst much rejoicing. Alice was glad to + get a husband, and to be independent of her aunt. Mr. Taylor, her husband, + was delighted to get such a beautiful and accomplished bride, and the old + lady, Alice’s aunt, was heartily glad to get rid of them both, so that + never was rejoicing more universal. + </p> + <p> + But poor Agnes was not so elated. She did not mind her sister being + preferred by Mr. Taylor, for she did not want Mr. Taylor, and besides + Alice was two years her senior, and it was to be expected that she would + be married first. It was her position at home that made her feel + miserable. Whereas the work had been divided between the two girls, it now + was supposed to be done by one; moreover, Mrs. Whitcher, Agnes’s aunt, + began to bully her more than ever, wondering <i>aloud</i> why she could + not get a husband as her sister had done, after so much money had been + spent on her education, and so forth. + </p> + <p> + Agnes could have had her choice not of one, but of <i>ten husbands</i>, + had she wished to do as her sister had done and taken the first eligible + man who offered. But the idea of marrying for an establishment never + entered her unsophisticated brain, and, as she had not yet met her <i>beau + ideal</i> of a husband, she waited patiently, bearing the scoffs and jeers + of her unsympathetic aunt without a murmur, and giving in return for her + daily bread labor that in any other establishment would have yielded her + no small remuneration, had any time in the past two years paid attention + to Agnes Malcolm, was a young man named George Fairfield, second mate of + the ship “Glenalpine,” a good looking young fellow about twenty-three + years old, who was the son of respectable English parents residing at + Liverpool. Agnes, though rather partial to the young man, had paid a deaf + ear to his addresses, not caring to marry a man unless she could give him + her whole heart, but after her sister had gone, and she was left in utter + loneliness, the rude but honest sympathy and love of the handsome sailor + went to her heart, and she consented to marry him on his return from his + next trip. + </p> + <p> + George Fairfield went off as happy as if he had been suddenly appointed + Port Admiral. He felt not the ground he walked on, so light was his heart + and also his tread as he stepped home with his eyes fixed on the stars, + but his mind picturing that happy scene which had been all too short. He + whistled a bar or two of “Love’s Young Dream” as he stepped gaily along, + hoping to receive orders to sail on the morrow; not, as he tried to + explain to his lady-love, that he was anxious to get away from her, but + because he wished to be soon back again, when, receiving a berth as first + mate, he would be in a position to claim her as his bride. The ship did + not sail for a week, and when it did George would have pleaded for one day + more in spite of his previous hurry to be off, however, there was no help + for it, “For men must work and women must weep, though storms be sudden + and waters deep,” and so Mr. George took his position at the taffrail, and + contented himself with flying a blue handkerchief over the stern of the + vessel till the forms on shore were no longer visible. Agnes returned to + her every day occupation as household drudge, sad at losing her lover, yet + not so sad as she would have been had she really given, him her whole + heart unconstrainedly; she shed a few tears as the vessel left the quay, + then turning homewards she mentally counted the weeks which were to elapse + ere she should again see the tapering masts of the “Glenalpine.” She made + her preparations for her wedding methodically and without excitement, and, + following her suitor’s instructions, bought furniture according to her + taste for the little cottage he had rented in anticipation of his exalted + rank as first officer of a clipper. + </p> + <p> + At length the <i>Shipping Gazette</i> announced the Glenalpine as + “homeward bound,” and in due time she was entered at the Custom House. + George rushed with all speed to Mrs. Whitcher’s, and was met with open + arms by his intended bride. She was not very demonstrative, it is true, + but she was glad to see him, and as her face lit up at his approach, the + poor weather-beaten tar forgot all about a fearful gale he had just came + through and its attendant perils, and wondered whether Heaven could + possibly be an improvement on Mrs. Whitcher’s front garden. + </p> + <p> + The wedding took place (as previously arranged) the next day, and the + young couple took up their quarters at their new abode, George voting the + cottage a decided improvement on the ship and Agnes smiling with delight + at the thought of leaving Mrs. Whitcher’s for ever. The ship remained in + port about three weeks, and during that time the young couple lived not + only figuratively but literally “in clover,” as the cottage they had taken + was on the margin of a clover meadow, the sweet perfume of which pervaded + the atmosphere with its health-giving gases, gladdening the hearts and + adding to the vitality of all who came under its influence. + </p> + <p> + But no earthly joys can last forever. George received a telegram ordering + him to be in readiness to sail at any moment and finally an order for + embarkation. + </p> + <p> + With a heavy heart he parted from his young and beautiful wife, the hope, + however, of returning a richer man, better able to make her comfortable, + cheered his manly spirit, and, clasping her once more in his fond embrace, + he jumped into the boat and gave the men the order to pull to his vessel. + His wife stood on the shore wistfully gazing at the ship till she was no + longer visible, then, with a heavy step, she turned slowly homewards. She + thought of the long weary hours she would have to count ere she would see + him again, and, although she had never loved him passionately, she felt + his departure so keenly that she wept long and bitterly. For days she sat + moodily looking out at the sea in the direction his vessel had taken, and + a sad foreboding filled her heart that she would never see him more. Her + comforter in her fitful hours was her maid, a French-Canadian girl, who + had some years previously come to England in the capacity of stewardess on + an ocean steamer, but, having taken fever during the vessel’s stay in + port, and been conveyed to the hospital, she was obliged to take service + till she could again procure a situation on board ship. This girl—she + was named Arline Bertrand—was a native of Montreal, and at this time + about twenty-four years of age and rather good-looking. Bending over her + mistress she would say: “Ah, Madame, Monsieur Fairfield he come back <i>riche, + riche</i>, with plentee nice thing for you!” + </p> + <p> + A few weeks after the vessel’s departure Mrs. Fairfield received news from + the agents of the safe arrival of the vessel at Montreal, and shortly + afterwards she received a letter from her husband, full of joy at the + prospect of seeing her again, and of clasping her in his arms. But, though + “man proposes, God disposes,” and the programme which poor George + Fairfield had so fondly laid out and hoped to execute was destined to be + sadly altered. Weighing anchor late on Saturday night they proceeded + slowly down the river, and on the following Tuesday were out at sea. The + wind was blowing a little fresh, but that suited Captain Fairfield + admirably, for as it was a strong westerly wind, and blowing right astern + it only sent his ship on all the faster, so, crowding on nearly all the + canvas his experience had taught him was safe, he bent over the taffrail + and whistled for more wind to bear him joyously along. + </p> + <p> + All day long they scudded gaily onward, and although towards evening the + wind moderated a little still they went along at a pretty fair pace, and + Captain Fairfield and his ship’s company drank their grog heartily, + anticipating a pleasant and speedy voyage. At bedtime the Captain went on + deck, and, ordering the mate to keep a good lookout, went below and + “turned in.” He was not long in his berth when he heard a great running + and shouting over his head, and then the cry of “Ice ahead!” from the + look-out met his ears. With one bound he rushed on deck, and gave the + order, to “‘Bout ship,” which the mate had already given; but there was no + time to do more than port helm, and so avoid the direct shock from the + massive iceberg, into which at that moment they rushed with terrible + force, the water pouring in torrents, and many of the men being killed by + falling pieces of ice which towered several feet above the mast-head. The + boats were lowered with all speed, and were hardly clear of the + “Glenalpine” when she went down with a plunge head first, and not a + vestige of hull, spars or masts was to be seen. A few of the men had + jumped or fallen into the water; these were all picked up, and on counting + heads it was found that none were missing except the mate and two sailors, + who had been killed by the falling ice. + </p> + <p> + So great had been the hurry of shoving off that they found themselves + without chart, compass, or provisions, save a little keg of water and a + small flask of brandy. However, judging by the direction of the wind, + which the Captain had noted carefully before retiring, the boats’ heads + were put in the direction of the island of Anticosti, and, keeping as + nearly as possible together (there were three boats’ crews), they pulled + hard all night for shore. When the morning broke they fancied they + observed the loom of the land in the distance, and a shout of joy + involuntarily burst from the whole company; they were doomed, however, to + disappointment, for, on the mist clearing away, they could observe nothing + but sky and sea for miles on every hand. The Captain was completely + puzzled how to act, so, summoning a council of war in the gig, they came + to the conclusion that, as they might, instead of pulling toward the land, + pull farther away from it, there was no use wasting their strength pulling + at all, and that they had better keep a careful look out for vessels + either going to or coming from America, and trust in Providence. The water + was served carefully out, and the Captain took the brandy into his own + charge, the men encouraging each other with tales of their past experience + in situations equally trying and still more dangerous. + </p> + <p> + All day they bobbed about on the dancing waves, the oarsmen pulling just + sufficiently to keep headway on their respective boats, but not a sign of + either land or passing vessel was visible. The last round of water was + served out, and the men tried hard to induce the Captain to hand them over + the brandy, some of them sullenly, and intimating an inclination to take + the bottle by force; but the Captain cocking his revolver, which he had + fortunately retained, they subsided into silence, and lay moodily at the + bottom of the boat. They passed the night with heavy hearts, and when + morning dawned despair seized every man of them, for not a vestige of land + was to be seen, neither was there a boat of any kind in sight. Fortunately + the weather was remarkably calm and clear, so they had no difficulty in + keeping together, and in sharing equally their little supply of water, but + now that that was gone what were they to do? + </p> + <p> + Just as they were about to give up all hope a cry of joy from the boat + further to windward caused the occupants of the other two boats to rest on + their oars, and turn in that direction; they strained their eyes in the + endeavor to descry something beyond, but could see nothing. However, those + nearest the point in question evidently could, and so they turned back and + pulled against the wind with all their might, and in a few minutes the + boatswain sung out, “A sail ahead”! causing their hearts to jump for joy. + It was indeed a vessel which was rapidly coming towards them. It proved to + be an American brig called “Frances Smith,” which was bound for the + Mediterranean, and the Captain no sooner sighted the signals of distress + which were waved from the boats than he immediately hove to and picked the + exhausted party up. The brig was rather crowded, as she was of small + tonnage; however, the crew never murmured at the new-comers, but consented + to accept a reduction in their rations, so that the half-famished men + might receive a daily allowance. + </p> + <p> + The brig proceeded on her way, the rescued men insisting on doing their + share of the work, and greatly lightened the labors of the crew. Within a + few days, however, their powers were tried to the uttermost; the wind + freshened to a gale, and threatened to annihilate the poor old brig, which + was not in extra seaworthy condition. They were by this time more than + half-way across the Atlantic, where the seas run sometimes as high as the + yard-arm, and take several days to calm down when they have once been + lashed into fury. The ship’s timbers creaked and groaned, and the + carpenter and his men had much ado to stop the numerous leaks which sprung + in her sides. The next day it blew a hurricane, taking the fore mast and + mainmast away, together with most of the rigging, and leaving the vessel + almost a total wreck. As they were not far from the southern coast of + Ireland, the Captain ordered the boats to be got ready with sails, arms + and provisions; he also took with him a chart and compass, by which he was + enabled to steer for the Fastnat Rock. There was scarcely room for the + large party in the boats, but they all got safely in, a few minutes before + the waterlogged brig went down like a lump of lead. They had not much to + eat, but they had a good supply of water, and, as all the boats were well + fitted with sails, the Captain hoped to make the Irish coast within a few + days, the wind being much more moderate and in their favor. + </p> + <p> + Poor George Fairfield was sick at heart. He was so anxious to get home to + his darling wife, and there he was for the second time at sea in an open + boat, without the means of communicating with his loved Agnes, or of + telling her why he was not at her side. Nevertheless he accepted the state + of affairs with calm resignation, and he and the American Captain laid + their heads together to find out exactly where they were and what course + they had best pursue. + </p> + <p> + As they had had time to take with them a sextant chromometer and + Palinurus, they had no difficulty next day in taking observations, and + found themselves about five hundred miles W.N.W. of Mizen Head. As it was + no use depending on being picked up they made all sail in that direction, + and so rapidly did the strong west wind propel them that on taking + observations the next day they found themselves nearly one hundred and + fifty miles nearer land. It was fortunate that they made such headway, for + they had only one day’s provisions left, and the water was getting pretty + scarce; however, the wind continued favorable, and in less than three days + more, half famished and thoroughly chilled from exposure, they found + themselves at midnight a few miles from the entrance of Queenstown Harbor. + </p> + <p> + Furling their sales, they took to the oars with a will and pulled wildly + towards the landing-place, where they were pleased to hear voices in + conversation. Just then a long whistle was heard from shore, and a husky + voice half whispered, “Boat ahoy!” “Aye, aye,” was the glad response as + the shipwrecked men threw the painter to the owner of the voice, and + taking their arms and instruments, bounded on shore. Imagine their + surprise to find themselves surrounded, their muskets knocked from their + hands, and the latter speedily encircled with a pair of manacles. The + Captain of the Brig tried to remonstrate with the commander of the party, + but a navy revolver was pointed at his head, and he was forbidden to utter + a word. Finding resistance and remonstrance altogether out of the + question, the unfortunate men marched on silently as directed, mentally + endeavoring to explain this sample of Irish hospitality, and confident + that there must be a mistake somewhere, but of the precise nature of that + error they had not the faintest idea. + </p> + <p> + Arrived at the gaol, they were severally incarcerated and their handcuffs + taken off. Then, as they signified that they were hungry, they were + liberally supplied with buttermilk and oatmeal porridge, which many of + them thought the best and most sensible part of the whole proceeding. As + it was past midnight, and they were all nearly exhausted they allowed + their curiosity to wait till the morrow, and, without any questioning or + speculation, fell fast asleep, most of them remaining quiescent unfed late + the following afternoon. When they awoke they found a warm meal awaiting + them, but no reply as to the reason for their detention could be got out + of the turnkey, who seemed to think their question one of the greatest + jokes ever perpetrated within the precincts of that edifice. At last + Fairfield summoned the turnkey. There was something commanding in his tone + which bade the gaoler treat him with respect, and to his enquiry as to + whether he could see a lawyer the man replied that he could send for one + immediately, but would vouchsafe no information. + </p> + <p> + In a short time Councillor Quinn called in answer to Captain Fairfield’s + summons, when the latter asked him to explain what reason the authorities + had for treating him in this fashion. The eminent legal practitioner + evidently thought this as great a joke as did Mr. Fitzgerald, the turnkey, + for he thrust his tongue in his cheek, and remained silent. On Fairfield + reiterating the question in a stern tone he became more serious and said + affably “My dear sir, do you not know what you are arrested for?” + </p> + <p> + Fairfield then became angry and said “If I did, why would I send for you + to tell me? Is this your boasted Irish hospitality, in the exercise of + which you lock up every man who happens to be cast away on your shores, + and then laugh at him when he asks you a civil question?” + </p> + <p> + On seeing that Fairfield had really lost his temper, the astonished + barrister said “Did you not command the party of armed men who were + captured last night in the harbor?” + </p> + <p> + “I commanded a crew of shipwrecked sailors, as also did my companion in + ill-treatment, Captain Westover.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Well of course you can put in that plea if you wish at your trial, + but I am afraid it will avail you little. Your arms, too, are of an + American pattern, similar to that known to be used by the Fenians.” + </p> + <p> + “Good Heavens! do they take me for a Fenian?” said Fairfield,—“why, + I am an English officer, captain of a merchant vessel of the port of + Glasgow.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you any papers to prove this?” said the lawyer. + </p> + <p> + “No, they all went down with the vessel, but they can easily find out + whether my statements be correct by communicating with the agents.” + </p> + <p> + “That will be for you to do, when you are brought to trial, which may not + be for some time, as there is a surplus of work on hand this session.” + </p> + <p> + “But can I not demand a trial?” + </p> + <p> + “No, the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> Act is suspended, and you must just make + yourself as comfortable as you can under the circumstances.” + </p> + <p> + Poor Fairfield wrung his hands and stamped the floor with rage. He cursed + Ireland and her people and laws, or rather the want of them; then, as + reason took the place of passion, he sat down and wrote a letter to his + wife, informing her of his deplorable condition, and urging her to + communicate with the agents of his vessel immediately. This letter never + reached her, for, having heard of the wreck of the Glenalpine (some + portions of the bows being found by a homeward-bound steamer imbedded in a + large block of ice), she never doubted for an instant but that her husband + had gone down with the vessel. The poor girl now felt almost broken down. + But for the sake of the child which she expected she would have likely + died with grief. The Canadian girl, Arline Bertrand, had told her so much + of Canada, especially of Montreal, that she decided to follow the girl to + her native land, and try to earn a living for herself and child, should + God spare it, there, particularly as her aunt, Mrs. Whitcher, seemed to be + afraid poor Agnes should return to her. Mrs. Fairfield accordingly sold + her little household goods, and soon after bid her aunt and sister + farewell, and took passage on a Montreal steamer, Bertrand having secured + for herself a place as stewardess. Arrived in Montreal, she visited the + girl’s parents, hoping to find reasonable lodgings during her approaching + sickness, but the girl’s mother did not believe her daughter’s story about + her young mistress, but thought her a young unfortunate girl who had come + to Canada to hide her shame. She offered kindly to bring and introduce her + to the nuns of St. Pélagie as the most proper place for her in her + condition. Mrs. Fairfield, thanking her, was glad to find so suitable a + shelter. Paying her board a week in advance, she retired to her room, but + found to her surprise that room had several more occupants all in the same + condition. The manner and language of those unfortunate creatures did not + suit Mrs. Fairfield at all, and as she mentioned her disappointment at not + having a room to herself to one of the nuns, she was informed that a + private room was three times the amount. The sister also told her that the + babe when born could not be cared for there, but would have to be sent to + the Grey Nunnery, and that she had better part with it as soon as born. + This frightened poor Agnes so much that she resolved not to stay there, + come what might. Asking the next morning permission to take a walk, she + had great trouble to get it granted, the nun informing her that the people + in Montreal were so very bad, and that she would run great danger to go + out alone. But Agnes thought she would risk this danger. She accordingly + went up Campeau street, at which corner St. Pélagie is situated. She + walked and walked till she came to St. Mary street. There inquiring for + the residence of a physician, some kind person directed her to Dr. P——‘s + drug store on Notre Dame street. To him she told her story and her desire + to find a more suitable place. He gave her the address of my house, and + advised her to come under my care. On hearing her story I could not for a + moment doubt her truthfulness, and received her gladly at, my place, + sending the servant with a note for Mrs. F——‘s things to St. + Pélagie in the afternoon, which were, after some little delay and trouble, + handed out to her, no doubt the sisters feeling sorry that the fair young + English lady did not return. Her former servant, Arline Bertrand, having + returned as stewardess to England again, Mrs. Fairfield did not care to + let the girl’s mother know that she had left the convent, hoping to find + means to let Arline know her whereabouts later, as the old lady had + certainly meant well enough when bringing her to St. Pélagie. Mrs. + Fairfield was only three weeks at my house when a baby boy was born to + her. Then her sorrows seemed to be greater than ever. She thought of + having lost her husband, the father of the innocent baby, so early seemed + almost to kill her, and I frequently heard her implore God to take them + both. But it was not in his wise ordination to grant her wish. She + regained her strength gradually, and with it grew the love for her child + which in all unconsciousness grew quite a stout little fellow who wanted + to be fed, clothed and cared for, which obligations fell alone on its + mother, and as her means became always smaller, she decided to take a + situation with a wealthy family from Savannah who were staying at this + time at my house, the Southern lady having taken a great interest from the + beginning of their meeting in Mrs. Fairfield, offered her a comfortable + home and fair compensation if she would accompany them, attend to the + wants of the lady and her baby during their travels, and act as companion + and housekeeper when at their Southern home. Mrs. Fairfield took it very + hard to part from her little boy, but leaving it with a reliable nurse, + and under my special observation, she was reconciled at last. Hoping to + return in one year, she left. Every thing went on well. Her letters were + full of gratitude. Her Southern friends never allowed her to feel her + subordinate position for a moment. She also remitted regularly the wages + for the nurse, and little George was, when fifteen months old, a lovely + fair boy, and as large as a child two years old. + </p> + <p> + Some months passed during which I did not hear from Mrs. Fairfield, nor + did the nurse receive her payment. I wrote to Savannah, but received no + answer. The nurse, poor woman, naturally could not keep the child without + payment, and brought him one fine afternoon to my house to leave him, and + also demanding the back pay. My own children, being delighted with the + dear little fellow, we decided to keep and bring him up as our own child + should his mother never return. And many of my fair patients will remember + the lovely, little curly-headed fellow who would run into the parlor + uninvited, but whose large blue eyes would appeal so sweetly to be allowed + to stay. Indeed we all became so attached to him that we hoped nobody + would ever claim him. And, as twelve months had passed, I gave up all hope + of ever hearing from Mrs. Fairfield again. + </p> + <p> + Fairfield had been confined in Pentenville, having been convicted on a + charge of felony-treason, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. His + wife and, friends not having heard of his trial, no one was present to + bear testimony in his favor, and both he and his men (many of whom + happened to be Irishmen) were imprisoned. The Americans claimed the + protection of their flag, a covering which proved sufficiently substantial + to protect them, but the only flag which could have been claimed by poor + unfortunate George was the very one he was accused of attacking. + </p> + <p> + As the British Government did not wish to deal harshly with Fenian + prisoners, or, as its enemies said, was afraid to trample any longer on + the Irish people, George Fairfield and his companions, in common with many + real Fenians, were liberated some years before the expiration of their + term of servitude. Fairfield at once sought his late home, hoping to find + his wife and child still alive, and cursing his fate, which had cast him + twice on the pitiless ocean, only to be arrested and imprisoned as soon as + he got to land. But the worst had yet to come. When he arrived at his old + home and found it occupied by strangers his heart sank within him; on + enquiring for Mrs. Fairfield he was informed that she had gone to America + with her servant Bertrand. Grasping the railings to keep himself from + falling, the poor stricken man gazed wildly at his informant, as though + stunned by a severe blow; then gasping out an apology of some kind he + rushed along the street like a madman, stopping not till he had got far + out into the open country. There, throwing himself headlong on the grass, + he shed tears of anguish, moaning as if in bodily pain. “Why did I not go + down with the ship?” he cried bitterly; “Was it for this I toiled twice + over on the open sea? Ah, why was I ever born to be tossed about, + imprisoned, and deserted?” + </p> + <p> + For hours he lay insensible on the grass, till the cool evening air, + bringing his mind once more into activity, he arose with a groan, and + slowly retraced his steps, not caring whither he went. Passing along the + quay he looked at the dark, sullen water, and for a moment was impelled to + cast himself in and so put an end to his misery, but something in his + better nature restrained him, and he walked moodily along to where an + ocean steamer lay preparing for sea. Anything was better than inaction, + so, as his money was all gone and he would have some difficulty in + obtaining a position as Captain or even as mate, he shipped as a foremast + hand, and took his place with the crew. Right glad would he have been to + have changed places with any one of the jolly tars around him; their songs + and jests, however, diverted the current of his thoughts and kept him from + his bitter reflections for a time at least. + </p> + <p> + In a short time they were out at sea and, having plenty of work to do + handing sails, reefing and steering, he almost forgot his great and deep + heart-wound, and, although he could not be prevailed upon to sing a song + or even to join in a chorus, yet he listened attentively to the yarns of + the sailors, and always applauded their songs. + </p> + <p> + The vessel was trading between Glasgow and Montreal, and within a short + time they were anchored at the latter port; the sailors all went ashore as + soon as the vessel was safely moored, and Fairfield having nothing else to + occupy his mind, went up the wharf in search of Bertrand’s parents house. + He was directed to a house on St. Bonaventure street, where he found the + mother of Arline Bertrand all right, but her daughter was not at home. She + had gone as stewardess abroad again and married there. She had promised to + visit her parents at some future time. When Captain Fairfield enquired + about the lady she had come out with three years previous, the old lady + broke out into sobs, and told him that the lady had died during her + confinement in St. Pélagie, but that the nuns would give him more + information about it if he would go there. If the babe had lived she did + not know, but the sisters had offered to give to her daughter the lady’s + clothes and trunk if she came herself to demand it. This last blow seemed + to be the hardest in all his sorrow. Thinking himself so near to find his + beloved wife, and now all gone and forever, it seemed to hard. But he + would go and see the nuns and hear how she had died, and if his child had + lived or was alive now. This thought gave him new hopes, and, Madame + Bertrand offering to accompany him, they proceeded to St. Pélagie to + obtain an interview with the Lady Superioress. He had never thought of the + child before, but now it was his whole thought and hope to find it alive. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at the convent he had not to wait very long to see the desired + lady, and on informing her of his wishes she most kindly consented to + search all records, but, as the number of patients received every year is + very large he had to content himself till the following day when she would + give him all the information he desired. The next day seemed never coming. + But at last poor George felt as if his worst doom would be sealed now. The + lady in waiting informed him that she felt happy to be able to tell him + that his child (a little girl) was alive and at that present moment at a + convent in Cemetery street, where he could see it and take it out on + payment of its maintenance. The lady’s clothes had been disposed of. As + already stated, a long time had elapsed since her death. Capt. Fairfield, + with a few lines from the sisters of St. Pélagie, proceeded to the St. + Joseph’s Home, on Cemetery street, and, on handing the note, a little girl + about three years old was shown to him to be his child. The poor little + girl seemed afraid to look at him, and as the child could only speak + French he felt as if a board was between him and the child; but her looks, + he thought, were somewhat like his beloved Agnes. The child’s little curls + had been cut a few days before, so a nun told him. What was he to do with + the child? He was not a Captain now, and would have to make first a + position for himself again, and then he could claim his child. The child + seemed happy, and the nuns offering to keep it for a moderate price he + decided to give what money he had earned during his passage and come again + and again till the little girl could speak English to him, which the nuns + promised to teach her, and then, to take her home to his native land. He + had no parents alive, but he thought when going back to England he would + call and see Mrs. Taylor, Agnes’ sister Alice. He had never visited her, + and he felt so bad to think that she had not helped her sister in + distress. He well remembered his wife’s spirit and independence, and that + made him think that his wife had never made her wants known to them. + However, the ship sailed again. He brought toys and sweetmeats to his + darling little girl, to whom he felt with every visit more and more + attached, and the parting was harder than he could have imagined. + </p> + <p> + Returned to Glasgow. On a later voyage, he proceeded at once to Mrs. + Taylor’s house, and was struck at the happy appearance of his + sister-in-law, who, when she recognized him, became quite alarmed and was + near fainting. When Mr. Taylor, who was struck for a moment also, regained + his self-possession, he allowed poor George to tell his sad story, both + listening with interest. But when he related how his wife had died and he + had at last found his child—Alice broke out, “She is not dead! She + is not dead, George! We had a letter only a week ago. She is in Paris.” + George Fairfield was thunderstruck at this revelation. Alice brought the + letter, which he saw was from his Agnes. But how could be this mistake + with the deceased lady in the convent and the child,—whose child was + it! + </p> + <p> + Agnes wrote to her sister that she had intended travelling with the + Southern family to the Continent. When on the oceans the Franco-Prussian + war was declared. They had to stop at Southampton and, instead of going to + Germany, they went to the South of France, and, as she had no letters from + me for some time, she was almost beside herself. The Southern lady being + in such delicate state of health she could not think of leaving her, but + had to accompany her. All letters sent from or sent to France were + carefully inspected by the Government, and thus it happened that I had not + received any communication for a long time. She had at last expected that + her letters had gone astray, then she had written to her sister, Mrs. + Taylor, asking her to write to me and try to obtain in this way + information about her boy. + </p> + <p> + Captain Fairfield would have liked to start at once in search of his + darling wife, but Mr. Taylor, who saw the danger for him in going to + France at this time, prevented him from acting rashly, also fearing that + the sudden shock to Agnes in seeing her husband whom she had bemoaned so + long would be of great injury to her health, so it was decided that Alice + should write first, saying in her letter that there were some hopes of + Captain Fairfield being alive. The next mail should bring a letter from + the Captain himself to his wife. Both letters were duly posted, but when + the steamer on which George Fairfield was mate was ready to sail again no + answer had been received from, France, and George had to cross the ocean + again. + </p> + <p> + Having received my address from Mrs. Taylor he intended to come and see me + on his arrival in this port, and this time he was more fortunate: the ship + made a quick voyage, and as Mrs. Taylor had written to me by a previous + steamer, informing me of all these strange incidents, I looked out for + him. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon in the month of August, 1871, when I was driving along the + wharf, I saw a steamer coming in, and on enquiring the name of it I found + it was the one with which I expected Mr. Fairfield. I drove home with all + speed, and as it was late in the afternoon Master George had his little + white frock pretty well soiled; but, on telling him his papa would soon, + be here to see him, he consented readily to leave his play and undergo an + extra bathing—his little skin being so fair the least speck would + show—and scarcely had we finished the operation when the door-bell + rang and a weather-beaten gentlemen inquired for me. His surprise was + great when he found I had expected him, and on seeing his beautiful child + his happiness knew no bounds. + </p> + <p> + As soon as he had a little rested he related to us all his trials and + miseries, which seemed like a fairy tale. But when would Mrs. Fairfield + return and meet her husband, was the next question, and where? He came + every day and spent many an hour at our house playing with his child and + wishing for his wife to return. He often said it would be almost too much + happiness for him; that he was afraid something might cross his plans + again. I had written to Savannah again to hear if the family would return + from Europe soon. At last a letter came informing me that the family, as + also Mrs. Fairfield, had embarked on a New York steamer, and would be + expected home within a short time. When Captain Fairfield heard the good + news he made arrangements not to return with his vessel to Glasgow but + await the arrival of his long lost wife. He telegraphed to the agents in + New York, desiring them to deliver a telegram at once to Mrs. Fairfield on + her arrival. The message read thus: “Mrs. Capt. Fairfield is wanted in + Montreal immediately. Important business. Answer.” In two days we had an + answer which read: “Will start at once, hope all well, Agnes Fairfield.” + Late in the evening the same day the New York train arrived rather late, + but with it Captain Fairfield’s wife. When the Captain saw his wife + approaching he dropped the boy and ran towards her, calling her by her + name, but she no sooner saw him than she fell senseless just inside the + hall door. I would have raised her; but shoving me aside he took her + tenderly in his arms and carried her upstairs. Then calling her by all + sorts of endearing terms he conjured here to open her eyes and speak to + him. After a time she revived. When she came to herself, she gazed wildly + around the room, enquiring eagerly, Where is he? I had persuaded Captain + Fairfield to retire to an adjoining room for a while, and then brought + little George to her pretending her enquiries were meant for him; but her + mind was perfectly clear, and she demanded an explanation. I then told her + in short what had occurred, when she broke out in an hysterical cry. I + called Captain Fairfield to her, imploring him to try and dry her tears. + But he let his head sink into his hands and wept like a child himself. + Little George did not care for this proceeding at all, so he said he + rather would keep me for his mamma because I did not cry. I hope he never + will have the tenth part of the trial both his parents had. + </p> + <p> + For some time the now happy family stayed at Montreal, but at last Captain + Fairfield had to resume his duties, but as he would never part from his + wife and child again, he took both on the steamship with him. The parting + from the dear little child George nearly broke my children’s hearts, who + had looked upon him as their baby brother, and I promised to myself then + never to take a strange child into my house if I could not keep it for + ever, for even my old heart fretted after him. + </p> + <p> + The little girl in the asylum whom Captain Fairfield thought his child he + did not forget, but took with him to England on a later trip, where Mr. + and Mrs. Taylor, who had no family, adopted her. The nuns at St. Pélagie + were surprised when they heard of the mistake which was made, but could + never find out who was the young English girl who died alone there. God + has certainly taken care of her child, for it is in a good home, well + provided for, and much beloved. Captain, Mrs., and little George Fairfield + visited, before their final departure, the parents of Arline Bertrand, on + Bonaventure street, and informed them of their existence. The old lady was + so surprised that it took a long time to explain, but she promised to let + her daughter know all about it. + </p> + <p> + Captain Fairfield is not crossing the ocean any more, having received the + appointment as harbor-master in an English port. He does not want his son + George, who is in College yet, to show any liking for the sea. But I hope + to see once more before I die the young man whom we all loved so dearly + when a baby-boy. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + +<p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> + </p> + + + <h2> + THE NIGHT BELL. + </h2> + <p> + My night-bell was pulled very hastily, it was about two o’clock, the night + was bright, it was autumn, and, as I hastened to see who wanted me in such + a hurry, I saw two young girls sitting on my house-door steps: both had + been running very fast, the case was urgent, and the little rest they took + before the door was opened would enable them to return all the faster. I + had hardly opened the door when both commenced to beg me in the most + imploring manner to go at once with them to see a young woman who, as they + thought, must be in great distress. + </p> + <p> + I put on my outer garments, took the street and number of the house, as + the party was entirely unknown to me, and then accompanied them on their + way, which led us through Craig street East, past a beautiful field—the + same where Viger Garden is now. A few more crossings were passed, and we + arrived at the scene where my help was wanted. In front of the house was a + policeman walking to and fro. The house was medium size, built of wood, + was gray, freshly painted, and so were the green blinds. On the road going + the two girls had told me that the house where I was wanted was not a very + good one, but, if I had a heart and was a mother, for Gael’s sake not to + refuse but to go with them. The presence of the guardian of the peace + encouraged me; and if I felt a little chilly at entering a den of vice as + this was it must be excusable as, till then, I only knew of them by name + and what little I had heard of them. + </p> + <p> + I was at once ushered into a little bed-room, from where the shrieks of a + female voice had come as if in great agony and in great pain. I found a + young girl not past her seventeenth year, yet in the last state of labor,—it + was a sight I shall never forget as long as I live: years have past since + then but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were yesterday, and in my + ears are the sound of her voice to help and protect her from the inhuman + abuse which another inmate of the house showered down upon the poor + victim. + </p> + <p> + I discovered that the poor young creature—we will call her Martha—had + only come to Montreal, the day previous, and, on, inquiring for a boarding + house, was driven by a carter to this den. The house being full of + occupants the landlady had made her occupy the same room with another bad + character, a great bony female about forty years of age, with painted + face, and attired in disgusting finery. This great, big, hardened creature + then gave the greatest trouble, would have me remove my patient out of her + room, even at the risk of her life, and I was obliged to call the + assistance of the policeman to have her quieted. + </p> + <p> + After a while all was quiet except the feeble cry of a little girl who had + been born. Born in a house of vice, what will became of it and its + child-mother? I such were my thoughts then, and now, after many years, I + can tell the reader what has become of them, of some of the inmates + anyhow. + </p> + <p> + The woman who kept this house I must, in truth, confess was a good-hearted + person herself, being led astray when quite young, had never thought of + the wrong she was committing by keeping a place of this sort. She had a + widowed mother living in the States and a family of smaller brothers and + sisters who depended mostly on the ill-gotten money this unfortunate + eldest sister would send them for their support. This <i>Madam Flora</i>, + then, was very kind in her way to Martha, and offered to take the baby and + bring it up if I was willing to place it out to nurse with a respectable + woman until such a time that she could take the child herself, as she + intended to give up this life of shame. + </p> + <p> + Martha was a girl well brought up, had been in school till shortly before + this episode of her life, but it was not her mother who had been her + companion during the last two years. + </p> + <p> + Her mother who was too much occupied with her smaller children and other + household affairs had thought it better to send her daughter to a + boarding-school to finish her education, and this was the end of it. If + all mothers would only take the care of their girls when fourteen years + old into their own hands a great deal of trouble might be spared to them. + The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time for most + girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and under her + care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best friend of her + daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she herself was + young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to her daughter’s + little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her child, and save her + in many instances from eternal destruction. Thus poor Martha had no mother + who would listen to her girlish stories. She found plenty companions in + school and very bad advisers. When the truth of her misfortune dawned upon + her, she thought of nothing but to fly from the place to where she did not + know, till the destroyer of her virtue advised her to go to Montreal, + where he would in short join and marry her. To confess to her mother she + could never, and her father she knew would never look at her again, so she + followed his advice, left her home under some pretence, and came to the + place where I found her. She was very glad to get somebody to take the + child from her, for she was fully resolved to lead a better life, and how + could she ever do it with a baby; she was hardly fit to earn her own + living. She told me that an aunt of hers was living in Halifax, the wife + of a sea captain who had no children, and who had often written to her + mother to send one of her children to her. So she resolved to visit this + aunt if some kind person would help her to get there. I consulted with + some of my wealthy and at the same time charitable Christian friends, who + have been, always ready to help me when I had some needy patients, and + with their assistance she was sent for some weeks after her recovery, to a + nice widow lady in the country, and after receiving satisfactory + information about her aunt in Halifax she was sent there, and has, so far + as we have ascertained, never overstepped the bounds of morality again but + was married four years later to a friend of her uncle, also a sea captain. + She has a large family now, and whenever she writes to me she always prays + that God may forgive her and guide the little girl she parted so easy from + some years before. + </p> + <p> + The wife of a private soldier in the Canadian rifles, named Rice had at + the same time lost her own baby only six weeks old, and as her quarters at + the barracks were good and healthy I proposed to send the child there, + Madame Flora offering to pay all necessary expenses. I made arrangements + accordingly, and little Emma (the baby) was soon an inmate of the + barracks. But now a new trouble arose. Mrs. Rice was a sobre, clean, + industrious woman, who with the pay she received for nursing the baby + could make herself and place very comfortable. This made the less + fortunate soldiers’ wives jealous, and their thoughts were bent on nothing + else for awhile but how to get the poor little waif out of barracks. The + baby thrived well under Mrs. Rice’s care, but cried at times, as all + healthy babies will; but as the babies of the other soldiers’ wives never + cried—so their mothers said—they would not suffer a crybaby in + the room, and such a mysterious child where nobody knew where it came + from, and could not find it out either. The larger rooms in the barracks + were in general occupied by different families, and the one where Mrs. + Rice had her quarters was a very large one. It was called the ship, and + was occupied at this time by forty different families. Each had a certain + space, say about 12 by 14 feet, allotted to them, and it was indeed a + surprise to me how neat it was kept, and how one woman would try to have + her place in better order than the other. Their packing boxes were + converted into dressing tables, a little muslin curtain pinned around it, + a looking glass in the centre, and a few ornaments, sea-shells or East + Indian curiosities gave the whole a nice appearance. The washing or + cooking had to be done in out-houses, and at night each family had a large + curtain drawn around their respective place, and it was really astonishing + how little sickness existed among so many men, women and children. Every + morning at 10 o’clock the officers on guard accompanied by a sergeant on + duty had to visit each respective home, and report any irregularities; and + so it happened that my baby was reported as being a great disturber of the + peace. Poor Mrs. Rice was in great trouble. She had learned to love the + child, and was afraid she would have to part with it. What was to be done? + She was ordered to appear the next morning at 12 o’clock before the + commanding officer to receive sentence for her offence. I had attended a + great many officers’ ladies in this regiment, also the Colonel’s lady, and + was well acquainted with that gentleman and his kind heart, so I bid Mrs. + Rice to keep quiet but dress the baby (it was then three months old) in + its little white fur jacket and cap, and bring it with her before the + officers, and promising that I would meet her there also. + </p> + <p> + On my way I met the Doctor of the Regiment, a very kind-hearted gentleman + who, on seeing me, enquired what mischief I had done. I told him of our + trouble, and begged of him to intercede for the poor baby, if possible, + and, as he was well aware that the health of Mrs. Rice was so much + improved by nursing the infant, he thought he would be able to help us. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Rice entered the room, the infant in her arms, the Doctor and myself + following. The colonel, on seeing such a procession enter, could not help + smiling, and as the Doctor with all his eloquence stated our case and of + the necessity for Mrs. Rice’s health to nurse the baby, and the danger to + the little baby’s life in changing its nurse, the Colonel, as a father, + and a true-hearted gentleman, gave not only consent for the baby to stay + in barracks, but ordered other quarters to be given to Rice and his wife,—a + whole room to themselves, where the baby could not annoy anybody. + </p> + <p> + But my story is growing too long, I will hasten to end it. The new + quarters into which Mrs. Rice moved were near the rooms occupied by the + armor sergeant and his wife who had been long in service, and had saved + quite a little fortune, but children they had none. Both became soon so + attached to their little neighbor that they offered quite a sum of money + to Madame Flora if she would give the child over to them for adoption. I + used all influence in my power to persuade Madame Flora to give the child + up, to which she at last consented. I felt a heavy burden lifted off my + heart and conscience when the papers were lawfully made out which gave the + dear little baby into the hands of good Christian people. Now the child + had full rights to live in barracks, but its adopted father’s time was in, + and he retired with a good pension which, along with his savings, enabled + him to buy a house and garden in New London, where the baby has grown up + into a fine young woman, not knowing to this day that her dear father and + mother are not her natural parents. + </p> + <p> + Madame Flora has retired from her life of shame, trying to bring up her + younger sisters in the path of virtue. One of the young girls who had + summoned me on that eventful night in such haste has also reformed, and is + living with a family as helpful servant a good many years, and she has + often told me that the events of that night were the first cause to her + for reflection. The other inmate of the house whom I mentioned, who was so + cruel and disgusting, fell lower and lower,—nothing could we do for + her—she would listen to nothing, and a sudden death ended her life + of shame. + </p> + <p> + May the Lord have mercy on her and guide me, the narrator of these + incidents, in His ways, so that when the last bell will be rung to summon + me before Him I need not hesitate but answer joyfully: I am ready, I am + ready to go. + </p> + <h3> + THE END. + </h3> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + +***** This file should be named 8443-h.htm or 8443-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/4/4/8443/ + + +Text file produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mysteries of Montreal + Being Recollections of a Female Physician + +Author: Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8443] +This file was first posted on July 11, 2003 +Last Updated: May 29, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + + +THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL + +BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PHYSICIAN. + +By Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Truth is Stranger than Fiction + + +MONTREAL + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things +enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of +a Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate +residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting +for the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours +with a narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the +expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, +and not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. Enquiry +having frequently been made as to whether my recollections were +published, I have been induced to print this volume, changing only names +of persons and localities, so as to avoid identification. Many persons +will find it hard to believe some of the occurrences which are herein +mentioned, but those who have been concerned (directly or indirectly) +with any of the parties to my narratives, will recognize, under the +disguise of a false name, some person with whose history they are +familiar. Should any discover his own actions here narrated, let him not +think that I have wantonly endeavored to open old sores, but rather to +warn others from taking that first false step which so often leads to +future misery and bitter remorse. + +MONTREAL, May, 1881 + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Early Life and Professional Struggles. + +My father, an officer in the Hanoverian Army, having died while I was +almost a child, I found myself, at the age of 17, governess in the +family of the Baron Grovestein in Hamburg, Germany, where I met +my present husband, Gustav Schroeder, at that time one of the most +"eligible" young gentlemen in that city. + +Though not particularly handsome, Gustav was all that could be desired +in other respects. He was young, well educated, and the son of wealthy +parents, and of an amiable disposition. Soon after my engagement at the +Baron's, young Schroeder's visits (ostensibly to the family) became +so frequent, that his friends, who had divined the cause, forbade his +having anything to say to me, more than cold civility demanded; +and insisted that his visits to the Grovestein mansion should be +discontinued. This, it may well be supposed, had quite the opposite +effect, and in a short time we were engaged to be married, with the +formal, if not the hearty approval of Gustav's relations, and in course +of time the marriage ceremony took place, with all the paraphernalia of +an _Alt-Deutsch Hochzeitsfest_. + +Now, however, came the question: How are we to live! for my husband +had no settled profession, and his parents, though wealthy, could not +deprive their more obedient children of their rights to benefit the +perverse Gustav. They gave him sufficient to start him in business, with +the understanding that he would emigrate to America, their idea being +that a German gentleman with a little capital could not fail to make +a fortune among the comparatively illiterate Columbians. To New York +accordingly we came, and Gustav labored assiduously to establish a +business as importer of German manufactures; he soon found, however, +that men who did not know Horace from Euripides could drive closer +bargains, and make quicker sales than he could, and, as he was too proud +to compound with his correspondents in the old country, and insisted on +conscientiously paying a hundred cents for a dollar, we found ourselves +in less than three years, with diminished capital in specie, and an +increased one as regards future candidates for the Presidency, on our +way back to our common Fatherland. Through the influence of his friends, +Gustav procured a good situation in a merchant's office, but he was +altogether unsuited both by temperament and education for such a +position, and I soon made up my mind that I must either prepare to enter +the world's great battlefield in person, or live in helpless dependence +on my husband's relations. + +I had often while in America wondered why the ladies of that Republic +(so advanced and enlightened in everything else) should submit to +a practice so revolting, so contrary to all ideas of morality and +refinement as is the system of man-midwifery so widely practiced in the +United States. No German lady would think of permitting the attendance +of a man at her bedside on such an occasion, and though custom in +England seems generally to sanction the absurd practice, yet Her Majesty +Queen Victoria never allows her medical advisers to be in attendance in +any other capacity than that of _consulting_ physicians. I had discussed +the matter frequently with married ladies in New York, and they were +generally agreed, that, could only competent ladies be found in the +United States, man-midwifery would soon cease to be practiced in that +Republic. I accordingly resolved to devote all my energies to the study +of that particular branch of the medical profession, and my efforts were +crowned with success. In two years I obtained a diploma from the Hamburg +University, and soon after prepared to return to America. + +[Footnote: Dr. Playfair, President of the Obstetrical Society of London, +in his address delivered in February, 1879, said:--"I confess that it is +with a feeling of regret, something akin to shame, when I reflect that +I am supposed to teach a class of young men the entire subject of +midwifery, and the diseases of women and children, in a short summer +course of something under forty lectures. The thing is a manifest and +ridiculous absurdity, hence we have, of necessity, to omit, year by +year, _at least half of midwifery proper_." + +The Principal of Calcutta Medical College writes Dr. Playfair thus:--"To +what a hideous extent is the practice of midwifery carried on in +England, by utterly unqualified men, whom the unhappy women and their +friends believe to be qualified, and the system in your hospitals sadly +favors this." + +"Yet there are some women who will smother every feeling of modesty and +morality, and trust their lives to one of these licentiates rather than +commit themselves to the care of a thoroughly trained midwife of their +own sex. Surely nothing can be more absurd and irrational."] + +About this time a friend of my husbands' informed us that the climate +of Canada was very much superior to that of the Eastern States, and much +more like that of Germany, and that in Montreal I would be likely to +find, not only a pleasant city, but a people more European in style +and custom, also a capital field for the exercise of my profession. For +Montreal then we sailed with hearts full of hope, and, being fifty-four +days at sea, I was summoned by the Captain to attend a lady on board +(which I did with the success which has since invariably attended my +efforts), and this was my debut as a professional accoucheur. + +On our arrival at Montreal we presented letters of introduction to the +German Consul, and the leading members of the German Society, and I soon +became fully occupied in the exercise of my profession. Dr. X---- +(now one of our most distinguished physicians) not only tolerated my +vocation, but, with a magnanimity worthy of his genius and ability, gave +me counsel and advice, and recommended me as highly as possible to his +confreres and the public. Some few resident doctors threw cold water +on my enterprise, but, to their credit be it spoken, the profession at +large treated me invariably with the greatest kindness and courtesy, +shewing thereby a liberality and largeness of heart which is ever the +outcome of real ability. + +I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily +round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down +to receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a +newborn baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he +was its father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any +provision could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take +it, as he would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river. +I thought my heart would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly +treated, so I took it from him, promising to see it safely to some +charitable institution. He told me his name was Ferguson, that he was +in business in Montreal, and that if I would deposit the child in some +charitable institution and call and see its mother during her recovery, +he would pay all necessary expenses. It was too late that night to go +out with the child, so I prepared some food for its nourishment and +kept it till the next day, resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady +Superior at one of the nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that +the nunnery was closed, and I was obliged to return home with the +babe, which, by-the-by, continued to roar lustily all the way, and so +attracted public attention to me (its presumptive mother) that I wept +as bitterly as the child itself, and was heartily sorry that I had +undertaken any such mission. + +Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited +me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who +were baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for +admission. On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that +the child was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to +deliver it to her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me +that she very considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary +fee, she undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted. + +In the evening I called to see the mother; she was lying on a miserable +couch in a low lodging-house in the Quebec suburbs, yet she had about +her the air of a lady, and on her finger glittered a ring set with +brilliants. She wept when I told her how her child was disposed of, +but said that she had no other alternative, as if her father, who was a +lawyer of eminence, had any idea of her predicament, he would cast her +off in shame; that when she first discovered her condition she persuaded +her paramour to make a formal proposal for her hand, but her father was +enraged beyond measure, and threatened her so terribly that she, for a +time at least, put away all thoughts of Ferguson from her mind, and had +not quite decided how to act, when the occurrence took place which led +to the visit aforementioned, and caused the necessity for my attendance. +Miss L---- had barely time to call in a carriage at Ferguson's office, +and apprise him of her condition, when she was taken ill, and obliged to +procure a lodging with all speed. Ferguson selected the wretched hovel +alluded to, as being away from all chance of discovery by his or her +friends, and after my visit, empowered me to engage a nurse, and make +what other arrangements I could for Miss L----'s comfort. She managed to +get a confidential friend to telegraph her father from Quebec that she +had arrived in that city, and then sent on a letter and had it mailed +there, stating that she had gone on the steamboat the previous evening +to see some friends off, and, remaining too long on board, was taken +away eastward, but would return on receiving the passage money from +Montreal. + +With this story she managed to deceive her otherwise astute father, and +in four days she actually got up and went to her own home in a carriage; +insisting on retiring immediately to her room in consequence of the +nervous excitement and fatigue she had undergone. The nurse I had +engaged to attend her, she on some pretence or another smuggled into +the house as a domestic servant, and so not only managed to have an +attendant, but to keep up a clandestine communication with Ferguson and +the outer world. + +In the frantic hope of acquiring a rapid fortune, Ferguson migrated +to New Orleans, but just then the American war broke out, and he was +pressed into the service. Whether he was killed or not Miss L----never +found out; his letters became gradually less frequent, till finally she +lost all trace of him whatever, and she eventually married a wholesale +merchant of this city, who is to this day probably unaware of this +little episode in his wife's former career. Sometimes I see her in her +carriage driving with liveried servants along St. James street, and +I cannot refrain from thinking of the innocent babe as it lay in poor +Ferguson's coat-tail. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +A Just Retribution. + +One evening, about the middle of June, 18--, a gentleman called to +see me, accompanied by a lady closely veiled. He said he wished me to +procure suitable lodging for her, and to attend her on her accouchement, +which was now close at hand, stating that no money would be spared to +furnish everything necessary either to her comfort or convenience. As I +did not know of any lodging suitable to a person of her station, I was +puzzled how to act; I did not want to lose a patient, and yet could not, +even if so disposed, make room for her in my own house. I knew that my +next door neighbor (an elderly French-Canadian lady) was accustomed to +take in lodgers; so, leaving the lady and gentleman for a while in my +parlor, I went to see if I could make arrangements for the reception of +the former. Madame Charbonneau, my neighbor, had all her rooms +occupied, but said she was willing for a consideration to give up +her drawing-rooms for a time to the fair patient. This was eminently +satisfactory to me, as, in the event of an emergency, I would be close +at hand; I accordingly arranged for Mrs. Trotter's accommodation, and on +reporting to Mr. Dombey, the gentleman aforementioned, he seemed to +be perfectly satisfied. From, what I afterwards learned, I am able to +inform the reader that Mr. Dombey was junior partner in the house of +Dombey & Son, dry goods merchants, in this city, his father, Jacob +Dombey, sen., being considered one of the wealthiest importers in +Canada. In his youth Jacob Dombey, jun., had been pampered and petted +beyond measure, his every whim being carried out even at great expense; +arrived at the age of twenty-one he became enamored of a young lady +whose father kept a small toy-shop on Notre Dame street, and nothing +would content him but a marriage with the "Goddess," as his innamorata +was called. At first he was quite proud of his pretty wife, and was to +be seen daily in Sherbrooke street, driving her behind a splendid span +of spirited bay horses, but after a few months he grew tired of this +routine, and with his bosom friend, Richard Fairfax, might be seen, +nightly at the theatres and other places of amusement, while his poor +wife sat in patient loneliness awaiting his return. + +Mrs. Trotter was the daughter of a Civic Official of high standing, and +had married at a very early age a retired English Officer, who, being +well advanced in years, left her at the age of twenty-four a widow with +four children. Trotter was possessed of little besides his pension, +which died with him; so Mrs. T. was obliged to eke out a miserable +subsistence on the receipts from a little city property left her by her +father. Soon after her husband's demise Mrs. Trotter removed to Lachine +(a small village on the river side about nine miles above Montreal), in +order to live more economically, and soon became acquainted with Mr. and +Mrs. Dombey, who had taken up their abode there for the summer season. +Mrs. Dombey took quite a fancy to the fascinating widow, and they soon +became inseparable. + +Every evening on the promenade might be seen Mrs. Trotter leaning on the +arm of Mr. Dombey, his wife following accompanied by his friend Fairfax; +or they were together on the river boating, or enjoying a picnic on +"Dixie" Island. Occasionally, when the weather was unfavorable to +out-door amusements, they would engage in a rubber of whist, generally +ending the evening with a little music. Dombey did not know one tune +from another, but his wife praised Mrs. Trotter's singing so highly that +he soon imagined that in that art, as in others, she was nearly, if not +altogether, perfect. When it became time for Mrs. Trotter to go home, +Jacob used to escort her to her cottage on the river bank, about a mile +distant from his own residence, and after a few weeks there sprang up an +intimacy between them which culminated in the incidents which gave rise +to my narrative. + +On the day following that on which I had engaged her apartments Mrs. +Trotter took up her abode at Madame Charbonneau's, and about six weeks +afterwards her baby, a beautiful girl, was born; she sent a message to +Mr. Dombey's office, and in the afternoon he called to see her. He was +greatly pleased with the baby, and took it up fondly in his arms, and +on leaving placed a roll of bank bills in my hand, telling me to get +everything necessary for either the mother or her child, also to get the +latter whatever clothing it might require. After that he called almost +daily, and when Mrs. Trotter was sufficiently recovered to return to her +home, he pressed me so strongly to keep the baby till it was a little +older, and not to leave it to the tender mercies of an ignorant nurse, +that I consented to keep it till it was two years old, and then to +obtain for it, if possible, adoption by some respectable married +persons. + +Margery, the baby aforementioned, turned out one of the most beautiful +children I had ever seen. Her father and mother visited her frequently +during the time she was at my house, and on my giving her for adoption +to Mr. Walker (a respectable Vermont farmer without any children of +his own) they were both deeply affected. Dombey was anxious that Mrs. +Trotter should take it to her own home, but, as "Mrs. Grundy" had +already been discussing her movements, she dare not, without fear of +ruining her children, take the baby under the roof. As there was no help +for it the baby was allowed to go to Vermont, and grew up a beautiful +girl, passionately devoted to the only parents she had ever known; Mrs. +Walker dying during the child's infancy, Mr. Walker had her educated as +well as his means would permit, and they passed their time in the most +perfect harmony and sweet content. After the war, however, Walker found +himself almost without a penny in the world, and, thinking to better his +fortunes removed to New York, where he managed to make a poor living +as a subordinate in the Custom House. Margery regretted this change of +circumstances very much, but, being thoroughly devoted to her father, +she did not repine, but did all in her power to make his home as happy +as could be under such conditions. She missed her accustomed amusements +very much, and although in New York she saw many things and found many +opportunities which would have been altogether unknown to her in the +country, yet she was a long time in becoming reconciled to the close and +stifling atmosphere of a great metropolitan city. + +One night her father promised her a great treat, they were to go to +X----'s theatre to see Mademoiselle B---- in Romeo and Juliet. Margery +sat with strained eyes gazing wistfully at the play, laughing and +weeping by turns as the great master's power was exerted on the audience +by the artists engaged, and at the close she heaved a deep sigh, +consequent upon having held her breath so long, and without thought +exclaimed aloud:--"Oh, what would I not give to be able to act like +that." The manager who was close by, and who had been watching the +attentive beauty for some time, overheard the remark, and intercepting +the pair on their way out of the theatre said:--"I noticed that you were +favorably impressed with the piece; would you like an introduction to +Miss B----, the principal actress?" Margery was overcome with delight, +and besought her father so earnestly to allow her to go into the green +room that he accompanied her thither, and they obtained an introduction +to the famous artiste. Miss B---- was quite taken with the innocent +enthusiasm of the girl, and invited her to come to her benefit on the +following evening, when she was to appear as Parthenia in "Ingomar;" +Margery, having obtained her father's permission, readily consented, and +all the way home was full of praises for Juliet, Romeo, the manager, +and all concerned. On the following evening the manager drew her father +aside and whispered in his ear:--"You have a fortune in that girl +of yours." Walker, misunderstanding the purport of his words, +replied:--"Yes, she is a good and affectionate child, as much so as if I +were her natural parent." "You do not understand me," said the other; "I +mean she has immense emotional power, which, if artistically cultivated, +would, coupled with her personal appearance, make both her fortune and +yours." + +"Do you think so?" replied Walker; "well, if we had only the means I +would certainly have her trained, for, since she has seen Mademoiselle +B---- act, her great ambition seems to be to occupy a similar position." +After further conversation it was agreed to place Margery under the +care of Mrs. L----, with a view of becoming a professional actress; for, +although Walker did not at all care for the stage or its concomitants, +still he did not wish to throw any obstacles in the way of his adopted +child's prosperity. Margery, therefore, was allowed to pursue the bent +of her inclinations, and such an apt pupil was she that in a little over +eighteen months her debut was announced in the papers, and a crowded +house showered floral and other trophies on the beautiful debutante. +Offers of engagements from different cities came flowing in, and before +long Miss Margery Montague was announced to appear in Montreal. Her fame +had preceded her thither, and Fairfax was instructed to secure a box for +the Dombey family. Dombey himself (who had followed the career of his +child) tried hard to excuse himself from going, but his wife was not +satisfied to leave him at home; he sat in the back of the box, and as +the applause grew louder and louder, he showered costly bouquets, +and other offerings on the stage, his breast meanwhile being torn by +conflicting passions. How proud he would have been to clasp her to his +heart and call her his own; but he had willfully put her away from him, +and now, even could he receive her into his family, would her adopted +father be willing to give her up again. With flushed face and beating +heart he sought the manager, and begged to be allowed to see the fair +artiste, a favor which was granted; and, as he stood before his child, +and poured forth the usual stereotyped compliments and congratulations, +he bit his lips as he thought that he dared not press her to his heart, +but was forced to speak to her in terms of cold politeness. + +On their return from the Theatre Mrs. Dombey announced her intention +of calling on the talented actress, and the following day she went, +accompanied by her daughters, to the St. Lawrence Hall, at that time the +most fashionable hotel in the city, where she was cordially received; +and the young actress made such a favorable impression on the ladies +that they invited her to dine at their house on the following day, an +invitation which was readily accepted. + +Dombey was greatly moved when he heard that Miss Montague had accepted +an invitation to dinner, but there was no help for it, and, as though +to make matters worse invitations were sent to a few intimate friends, +including Mrs. Trotter. Here, then, was a painful position for the two +guilty ones: they were forced to sit and see the child whom they had +cast off feted and honored by the woman both of them had injured. It +seemed as if a wet blanket were placed over the whole assembly: Dombey +sat moodily biting his finger-nails, and as Mrs. Trotter would not sing +and Mrs. Dombey _could_ not, matters went very slowly indeed. + +When the time came for separating, Mrs. Dombey motioned to Jacob to see +Miss Montague to her hotel, but he being deep in a fit of abstraction, +his eldest son Charles stepped forward, and before his father could +prevent him, was equipped in greatcoat and overshoes, ready for a +moonlight stroll. During the evening he had noticed that Charles was +rather attentive to the fair actress, and the thought that an intimacy +between them was possible drove him to the verge of distraction, Mrs. +Dombey noticed his strange behavior, and asked him the cause, on which +he muttered something about "Auction lunch--infernal champagne," and +some other incoherent exclamations, altogether unintelligible to his +unsuspicious wife. When he and his paramour got outside they walked +along in gloomy silence for several minutes--at last he addressed her: +"Is it not strange that this child, whom I had thought far removed from +me and mine, should be brought even into my own house, and eat at my +table?" + +"Oh, it is fearful; only think what would be the consequence if an +intimacy should spring up between her and Charles!" + +"Yes, I must send him away at once." + +Mrs. Trotter reminded him that this step was unnecessary, as Miss +Montague left the next day for Chicago to fulfil a professional +engagement. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then, with a passionate tug +at Mrs. Trotter's door bell, turned to go away. + +"Will you not come in a while, Jack?" she said. + +"No, he replied, Clara (Mrs. Dombey) would suspect something. She looked +at me very strangely this evening." + +"But you will come to-morrow," rejoined the temptress. + +"Yes, I will look in on my way up from the office," he said. "Good +night." + +"Good night, Jack," said she. + +As he got to his own door he found Charles leaning pensively against the +balustrade, gazing wistfully at the heavens. + +"Well, Charlie, have you forgotten your latch-key?" + +"N--no Sir," stammered Charles, "but it is so confoundedly hot inside +that I did not care to go in." + +Dombey reflected that as the thermometer registered only about ten +degrees Fahrenheit he had but to open his window to attain as low a +temperature as was consistent with comfort; however, he said nothing, +and they both walked upstairs. + +"Good night, Charlie." + +"Good night, Father." + +And they entered their respective chambers. + +I have heard it said that if two men are placed in one bed, one in love +and the other with a toothache, that the man with the toothache will +fall asleep first. Here, however, were two men; one, past the prime +of life, afflicted with the most bitter remorse; the other, young and +susceptible, with all the fever of a youthful passion springing up +within his breast. Dombey could not sleep, the thought that what at +first was barely possible was now become highly probable goaded him +almost to madness. He rose and dressed himself, going quietly out of the +front door into Sherbrooke street. Along the street he went at a fearful +pace, till, almost faint from want of breath, he turned down the hill +towards the city, habit bringing him along the route he was accustomed +to take to his office. As he turned the corner of St. James street, he +saw (for there were few persons abroad) a young man walking moodily up +and down on the side opposite the St. Lawrence Hall; he turned as if he +had seen an apparition, and ran rather than walked in the direction of +his own home. + +Next day Miss Montague departed for the West, Mrs. and Miss Dombey +accompanied by Charles went to see her off at the Depot, and with many +assurances of a future meeting, should she ever return to Montreal, +they separated as the train moved slowly past the platform. As the +drawing-room car was just clearing the station, Miss Montague held +a piece of paper out of the window, which Charles caught eagerly +and placed in his pocket-book. His mother and sister chaffing him on +receiving tender messages from the fair artiste, he laughingly produced +it. + +It was nothing more nor less than a page of an old timetable, and both +Mrs. and Miss Dombey laughed at the strange souvenir Miss Montague had +left behind her. When they got home, however, Charles carefully opened +the paper and observed that opposite each of the cities on her route +Miss Montague had placed a figure in pencil thus:--Chicago, 4; +Detroit, 2; Toledo, 2; Toronto, 3; New York; 6, Boston, 6. This, though +unintelligible to his mother and sister, informed Charles that Miss +Montague would go first to Chicago and remain four days, and afterwards +to the other cities mentioned, and that he might write or meet her there +as opportunity afforded. + +That day matters resumed their normal condition in the Dombey family; +Jacob breathed freely now that his child had returned to the country of +her adoption, and his wife and family were happy because of his improved +spirits and appearance. Charles had apparently settled down to business +as usual, and Mesdames Trotter and Dombey drove out together as of old. +In a few weeks, however, Charles asked his father permission to go for +his holidays; a friend having invited him to spend a few weeks at Nahant +an island near Boston. There being nothing to keep him in Montreal he +had no difficulty in procuring consent, and he departed, taking fishing +tackle enough to have supplied the whole Atlantic coast for a season. +When his father learned the real object of his visit to Boston, he raved +like a madman; he came to see me, and told me the whole story, most of +which I had learnt before from other sources and he persuaded me to +go to Boston and to take on my self the painful duty of informing Miss +Montague who and what she really was, and why it was impossible that she +could ever marry Charles Dombey. The poor girl was almost heart-broken, +for she had learnt to love her stepbrother dearly, and now she would +have to be separated from him entirely. It was not for herself, however, +that she mourned the most, it was for him, when he should learn of the +wide gulf which separated them from each other. He never did learn it, +however; Miss Montague consented (for his sake) to accept an engagement +in England, and to trust in years to soften the blow which had smitten +her so severely. She wrote to Charles, telling him that, for reasons +unexplained, she never could be his wife, although she loved him dearly, +and that as there was no use striving against fate, she had bowed to +the inevitable, and taken a foreign engagement. At first Charles was +desperately cut up, but time, that physician _par excellence_, healed +his wounds, and he is now married to a respectable lady of this city; +deservedly successful in his business, and with a stainless reputation. +Jacob Dombey staggered along under his load for years, but, unable +to contain himself, he one day confessed the affair to his wife, who, +instead of denouncing him as the wretch he was, pitied and sympathized +with; aye, and not only that, she received his mistress into her house +as before, rather than make public his heartless conduct. Truly such +an angel never received such heartless treatment, or was so little +appreciated. It broke her heart however, and over her grave Dombey +resolved to cast Mrs. Trotter off forever, and send her away from the +city. He accordingly arranged with her to take an annual allowance and +go to New York with her family, vowing that he could no longer endure +her presence, which was grown distasteful to him. + +This did not at all suit Mrs. Trotter, who had now hoped to become +the legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no +avail, the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey's bosom, and +he would hear of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United +States. He determined that however he might have blighted the life of +the wife whose excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, +nothing should stand in the way of her children's advancement; and the +voice of a scandal having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, +he felt that her immediate departure was a necessity. She argued and +entreated, but it was of no avail, and she accordingly made the best of +her case and got from him a liberal allowance. Hers was not of a nature +to reform, however; she went from bad to worse, and finally took to +smoking opium as a means to relieve her gnawing conscience, ending her +days prematurely. + +Dombey survived her but a short time. He tried hard to make amends for +the past by increased attention to the children of his late wife, but he +never fully recovered himself, and finally succumbed to a wasting fever, +superinduced by late hours and immoderate drinking. To his last hour +his conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had inflicted on his +children, his natural daughter, and his confiding wife. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The Bag Baby. + +Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as _Maitresse +d'Hopital_ that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, +and employed her permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we +established quite a reputation, and applications for accommodation +poured in from all quarters. + +One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman +arrived by the morning train from the United States. The lady was +apparently about thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might +have been from five to ten years her senior, and, although plainly +attired, they had the appearance of belonging to the better class of +society. The gentleman informed me that they had just arrived from New +York, and had put up at the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife had +taken ill unexpectedly, and, hearing that she would be better cared for +in my house than at the Hall, he wished, if possible, to secure rooms +and professional attendance. The house being rather full at the time, +Madame Charbonneau was obliged to give her the nurse's room (which +contained two beds) till some of the other rooms should become vacant; +this her husband readily assented to, and arranged to call in the +afternoon and bring the necessary funds, which I always made it a +point to collect in advance. The lady seeming tired and exhausted, I +recommended her to divest herself of her clothing and retire to bed, +which she accordingly did, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the +afternoon the gentleman returned, and, having settled the bills, went +upstairs to see his wife who was just then partaking of some light +refreshment. He expressed himself well pleased with our arrangements, +and said he would call regularly to see how his wife progressed. + +That night as the nurse was about to retire, she was surprised to find, +under the coverlet of her bed, an enormous rag baby, as large as a child +of two years old, dressed completely, with shoes, bonnet and veil. Her +astonishment can easily be imagined as she held it up to the light +and carefully examined it; then, laughing heartily, she turned to Mrs. +Roberts (my patient) and said: + +"My! who could have put this baby in my bed?" On which that lady replied +with evident embarrassment that the baby was a doll belonging to +her niece, and that, imagining the bed to be unoccupied, she had, in +unpacking her trunk, placed it there for the sake of convenience, and +apologized for being so careless. The nurse made no reply, but, being of +a jovial disposition, danced with it into the other rooms, exclaiming, +much to the chagrin of the lady, that she had found a beautiful baby in +her bed. The other patients wondered what it was, and whence it came, +and appealed to me for information, but, as I knew nothing about +it myself, their curiosity was not gratified in the least. On my +questioning the lady she told me a story similar to that which she told +the nurse, but her countenance contradicted her assertions, and the idea +of any child carrying a doll of the dimensions of the rag baby was too +absurd for credence. No more was said about it, however, and the matter +passed almost completely from our memory. + +For three or four days things went on as usual, Mrs. Roberts getting to +all appearances better every day, and her husband's visits being paid +with due regularity; one day, however, he failed to appear, and Mrs. +Roberts seemed very uneasy. After tea she asked for the evening paper, +and hastily scanned its columns, when her eye fell on some item of +interest, and she became deadly pale. The American war being then in +progress I thought she might have learned of the death of a friend or +relation, so I inquired if anything were amiss, and was astonished +when she pointed out a paragraph containing an account of her husband's +arrest for enlisting British subjects for the American army, and +smuggling them across the line, She now took me into her confidence, and +explained that she was an accomplice of her husband, and that they +had made a practice of enlisting men in Montreal. Her husband usually +remained here, as it was dangerous for him to travel to and fro, but she +was sent as an escort for each recruit, and the baby was used to avert +suspicion, as no sentinel would think of scrutinizing a man closely who +went across accompanied with his wife and child. The excess of travel +had weakened her frame, and now this shock came to still further shake +her system; the result was a premature confinement, and a long and weary +illness. + +Ere she recovered she got a letter from her husband, bearing the +New York postmark. It seems he had been liberated on bail, (having +influential friends) and had at once made the best of his way to the +United States. His wife soon joined him, taking with her the redoubtable +rag-baby, which had afforded us so much food for gossip and conjecture. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. + +Alfred Grandison was born in the ancient city of Bristol in the year +1831. His father had been bandmaster in a British Cavalry regiment, +but had retired some years previous to the birth of little Alfred, and +made a comfortable livelihood by teaching the children of the wealthy +residents of Clifton, the fashionable suburb of Bristol. Young Alfred +soon gave evidence of great musical talent, and used to amuse himself +blowing trumpet calls on his father's French horn, although the +instrument was almost as big as himself; he also achieved considerable +mastery over the piano, the flute and the violin, but, though bright +and intelligent enough, and always maintaining a creditable position at +school, it was evident that nature had intended him for a musician, +and that he could never succeed in anything prosaic or mechanical. +Accordingly his father taught him not only to play, but also instructed +him in the theory and literature of music, and, when he was old enough, +had him entered as a chorister in Bristol Cathedral, where, in addition +to vocal music, he was carefully taught the art of organ-playing by the +Cathedral organist. + +The boy soon became able to play quite skilfully, and when his voice +began to give way he obtained a position as organist in the church at +Shirehampton, performing on a small instrument with one row of keys. +From Shirehampton he shortly removed to a more remunerative position +in Bristol, and he was not long there before he fell in love with the +daughter of a hotel-keeper in one of the suburbs, whom, in spite of +the remonstrance of both relatives and friends, he eventually married, +although she was both poor and plain-looking, and at least ten years his +senior. "A young man married is a man that's marred" says Shakespeare, +and, without venturing an opinion as to the correctness of this theory, +we may say that young Grandison had made a great mistake. In a short +time his affection, or fancied affection, for his wife became less +ardent, and he found himself at the age of twenty-four, married to a +woman who had neither taste nor sympathy in common with him, the +father of three helpless children, and the recipient of the stupendous +emolument of sixty pounds a year. Added to all this his friends, being +unwilling to associate with his wife and relations, had, one by one, +deserted him, and left him almost alone to brood over his ill-advised +alliance. + +Whilst moodily glancing at an evening paper he saw an advertisement for +an organist who would be willing to go to Canada, and at once seizing at +the idea he applied for the post, which he eventually obtained without +great difficulty, sailing for Montreal in the spring of 1855, to play +the organ and direct the music of one of the leading Episcopal churches +in this city. At that time there were, very few musicians of ability +in Montreal, and Mr. Grandison soon became quite popular, both +professionally and socially. His wife was at first invited out, but, +finding that she seldom accompanied her husband on these occasions, her +name was, in time, dropped from the invitations, and Mr. Grandison was +treated as if he were a bachelor, many indeed being altogether unaware +of the fact that he had a wife and family. + +Among those who took Grandison by the hand was a certain Mr. Sedley, +a professional man of high standing. Mary Sedley, the daughter of the +latter was possessed of a remarkably fine voice, and was one of the +ornaments of the church choir, so that the family were naturally +interested in the advent of a new organist from England, under whose +careful training the music of the church was to be developed and +improved. It was decided to place Mary Sedley under the special charge +of Mr. Grandison, and he accordingly went twice a week to the house to +give her lessons in singing, and when there was a special Anthem to be +sung his visits were much more frequent. Then the Sedleys gave grand +musical parties to which Mr. Grandison was of course, invited, playing +Miss Sedley's accompaniment on the pianoforte, while she entranced the +assembled company with her singing; in fact, no gathering of the +Sedley family was complete without the presence of the handsome and +accomplished Mr. Grandison. + +All this, in its way, was harmless enough, but Mary Sedley was a +blooming girl of seventeen, and Grandison, as I have said was quite +a young man, and from the frequent walking home with her alone from +services and rehearsals, and other meetings in society, there arose an +intimacy which, though unnoticed by Mary's parents, and possibly not by +the young people themselves, could not be productive of anything in the +long run but sorrow and remorse. + +One Saturday night when Mary came home rather later than usual, her +father (who, though fond of her, was an austere man) questioned her +gruffly as to the cause of her delay, when she replied:--"Oh! papa, I am +to sing 'As Pants the Hart' to-morrow, and Mr. Grandison insisted on my +trying it with the organ after practice. It is exceedingly difficult, +you know." + +Her father _did not know_, and was inclined to be very angry. The next +day, however, he forgot it all in the delight of hearing his daughter's +voice resounding through the sacred edifice; Grandison was invited to +dinner, and everything was once more _couleur de rose_. + +The first winter after Grandison's arrival in Canada he gave a grand +concert in Nordheimer's Hall, then the principal concert hall in the +city. Mary Sedley was the Prima Donna, and bouquet after bouquet was +thrown at her feet, as she retired amid the plaudits of the multitude. +After the concert Grandison accompanied them home to supper, and about +twelve o'clock took his leave of the family. + +About an hour afterwards Mr. Sedley, thinking he heard a noise, got +up and searched the house, when, to his surprise, he found the door +unfastened. He thought he remembered having secured it as he retired to +rest, but was not certain; however, he proceeded, in his search, and +on coming to Mary's room, found the door locked, and heard his daughter +breathing heavily, as if asleep. Being unwilling to disturb her, he +returned to his bed, and, ere morning, the affair had passed from his +memory. Had he remained awake, however, he might have seen a man emerge +from his daughter's room, and, creeping stealthily along the passage, go +out at the hall-door, his daughter, the pure, spotless Mary, _leader of +Psalmody and sacred lays_, following close at his heels, to fasten the +door and make good his retreat. + +This sort of thing went on for a long time, unsuspected by either Miss +Sedley's parents or friends, when Mary became suddenly placed in a very +awkward position. A certain Mr. Hazelton, junior partner in a large +hardware firm, had long been a suitor of hers, and had asked repeatedly +for her hand; her father had hitherto refused to give his consent, owing +to her tender age, but he had now withdrawn every obstacle, and left her +free to get married if she chose; more than that, he urged Hazelton's +suit, and, though unwilling to coerce his daughter in any way, gave her +to understand that he was particularly desirous that she should give +Hazelton a favorable reply. + +Under ordinary circumstances Mary would have had no hesitation in +refusing to have anything to say to Hazelton, but for some time rumor +had been busy circulating scandal concerning herself and Grandison, and, +as she was at that moment not in a condition to bear scrutiny, she was +afraid to awaken suspicion by refusing Hazelton's offer, and so he was +made the "happiest of men" (?) + +A short time after Miss Sedley had become engaged to Mr. Hazelton she +went with her father and mother to Cacouna, where they had a summer +residence. By a strange coincidence, Grandison also chose Cacouna at +which to spend his holidays, and combined business with pleasure by +giving occasional concerts at the St. Lawrence Hall, which hotel had +just been erected, and was the fashionable resort of those people from +Montreal and Quebec who could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere +of these cities for the more bracing air of Canada's popular watering +place. Mr. Hazelton was unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was +not disposed to accompany her husband, even if he could have afforded +to take her, in fact, the poor woman, feeling that she was a burden and +drag on her husband, had taken to drinking, and had gradually removed +herself still further from the pale of fashionable society. Her house +(which was situated in a back street in Montreal) was not only untidy, +but positively dirty, and her children ran about the streets unclad +uneducated, and uncared for. + +The Sedleys had not been long at Cacouna when one morning the old +gentleman walking out, as was his wont, before breakfast, saw through +the fog (which in this district usually hangs about for some time after +sunrise) a man descend from his daughter's bedroom window and walk +hastily in the direction of the hotel. Both the distance and the fog +prevented him from positively recognizing the man's features, but the +form and carriage were unmistakably those of Alfred Grandison. Mr. +Sedley was, so to speak, "struck all of a heap," he could not believe +the evidence of his own senses, and for a few moments he stood rooted to +the spot as if thunderstruck; then he rushed into the house, and going +straight to his daughter's room upbraided her with her shameful conduct, +but was met by a bold and unqualified denial, the young lady stating +that she had been till that moment asleep, and that possibly some +burglar had been in the premises, whom her father had mistaken for a gay +Lothario. She burst into tears and wondered that her father could have +such an opinion of her, and suggested that immediate search should be +made, to see if any articles of value were missing. Her father was by no +means convinced of his mistake, however; he thought it possible that his +daughter might not have been aware of Grandison's presence, or that he +might only have been _about to enter_ the house when he was frightened +away; but that Grandison was there he felt certain, so, going +immediately over to the hotel, he charged him directly with his +crime, at the same time, presenting a loaded revolver at his head, he +threatened to blow his brains out. This, as may be supposed, did +not prove a ready means of eliciting a confession from the cowardly +Grandison. The poor wretch cowered before the righteous indignation of +the broken-hearted father, and swore by every saint in the Calendar that +the latter must have been mistaken, and that nothing criminal had ever +taken place between the young lady and himself. + +Mr. Sedley only half believed these asseverations, but, as may be seen, +he was a poor diplomatist, and took the very worst way to arrive +at anything like the truth. So saying "Not guilty, but _don't do it +again_," or words to that effect, he left the hotel and returned to his +own house. Here he disclosed his fears to his wife, but she scouted +the idea as preposterous, and urged him to have Mary's marriage with +Hazelton celebrated as soon as convenient, and so put an end to all +possible contingencies. + +Shortly after the return of the family to Montreal Mr. Hazelton led to +the altar with pride the "blushing" Mary Sedley. Good cause, indeed, had +she to blush, for never was man more egregiously "sold" than was "Mr. +Samuel Hazelton, of the city of Montreal, merchant." The _happy couple_ +left by the evening train for Boston, the "Wedding March," which was +admirably performed by Mr. Grandison, still ringing in their ears. + +About five months after this unholy marriage Mrs. Hazelton called on me, +and disclosed to me the whole state of the case, informing me (of which +there was little necessity) that her confinement was close at hand, and +soliciting my aid to get her out of the difficulty. My first impulse was +to call on her husband and acquaint him with the facts: but, remembering +that he occupied a prominent position, not only in the mercantile, but +also in the religious community; moreover, that a disclosure would in +no way mend the matter, and would be a lasting disgrace not only, to the +two culprits, but also to Messrs. Sedley and Hazelton I listened calmly +to her plans for getting out of the difficulty. She suggested pretending +a miscarriage, wished me to invite her to my house, where she would +become ill, and unable to leave till after her child was born. The child +was then to be conveyed to the nunnery, her husband being deluded into +the belief that she had miscarried. + +Now, in the ordinary course of business, I would have been perfectly +justified in attending her without troubling my head about her +antecedents; indeed, had she been unmarried I would possibly have +given my services, but in this case the lady was married, and the child +lawfully belonged to her husband, _whose heir it was_, although actually +belonging to another man. + +I accordingly declined having anything to do with her case, although I +promised that, as her confession was made to me in confidence and as a +professional secret, I would not disclose it to anyone. Having friends +in Boston, she made some excuse to visit them, and she was not long +there when her husband received a telegram, stating that his wife had +had a premature confinement and lay in a precarious state in Boston, +whither her loving husband instantly repaired. The child (a beautiful +girl) was sent to Mrs. Sedley in Montreal, and given out to nurse. She +was eventually adopted by a childless dry goods merchant in this city +who had her educated as his daughter, employing, by-the-by, _her own +father_ to give her lessons in music. + +One would think that now Mrs. Hazelton had got over this great +difficulty, and started in life as a respectable married lady, she +would have eschewed her former errors and turned over a new leaf. +Unfortunately for all parties, her husband was proud of her musical +ability, and insisted that she should continue to take lessons from +Grandison, for whom strange to say, he had conceived a great regard. The +frequent meetings consequent upon this proved too much for both of the +culprits, and in a short time they became as intimate as ever. Since +Mary's marriage, Mr. Sedley had quite forgotten his former suspicions +of Grandison, and he was cordially received into both houses, being, in +fact, almost a member of the family. + +Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a capital +speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of that +edifice addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other ladies +were to enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the piano by +Mr. Grandison. The lecture animadverted at some length concerning the +temptations which beset young men, and warned them to avoid vice of all +kinds, drinking, gambling, and the rest. Among other things he mentioned +the social evil, and contrasted the happy home of the chaste man and his +virtuous wife with that of the drunken, vicious libertine. The seducer +was anathematized, and a graphic description given of the poor degraded +women who had lost the one jewel in their crown. It is needless to say +that both Mrs. Hazelton and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable +during this discourse; the former who was to have sung a brilliant aria +at its close, grew deadly pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer +requested Mr. Grandison to substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, +he was unable to perform anything without notes, so the announcement was +made to the audience that, owing to the excessive heat (the temperature +was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), Mrs. Hazelton, was unable to perform +that evening, and begged to be excused. Grandison was to have gone home +with the lecturer to supper, but he said he considered Mrs. Hazelton +would be the better of a little quiet, and, stammering out some excuse, +slunk away in the direction of his own home. + +Mr. Hazelton found his wife reclining on a sofa in the drawing-room, and +he at once exerted himself to alleviate her suffering, and gratify her +every whim. He propped her up with pillows, and ordered the maid to +prepare whatever delicacies the larder afforded, blaming himself as +being the cause of all her sufferings. His solicitude in her behalf made +her only the more miserable; she had never loved, and never could love, +him, but his uniform kindness and attention had excited within her a +feeling of gratitude which made her remorse all the more bitter as she +thought how he had been duped by the woman who had sworn to love and +honor him. The next day was one of those appointed for receiving her +singing lessons, but she sent a messenger to Mr. Grandison, telling +him not to call for a few days, as she was unequal to even that slight +exertion. Mr. Hazelton called to see me in great alarm, informing me +that his wife's first child was prematurely born, and that he dreaded +a recurrence of that terrible calamity. I, of course, had my own ideas +concerning what was the matter, but I promised to call and see her, and +do what I could to alleviate her sufferings. I found her well enough +physically, but in very low spirits and in tears. She told me what I +have informed the reader, adding that she was at the moment _enceinte_, +the father of this child being also Alfred Grandison. I was very much +shocked at this disclosure, but contented myself with remonstrating with +Mrs. Hazelton concerning the course she was pursuing, urging her to +drop all connection with Grandison. This she promised to do, but I +subsequently discovered that, far from keeping her promise, she had even +gone so far as to plan an elopement with him to the United States. + +About two years after Mrs. Hazleton's marriage, Grandison received the +appointment of organist to ---- Church, Chicago, and, together with +his wife and family, left Montreal for the Western city, leaving Mr. +Hazelton in undisturbed possession of his wife; the latter, instead of +rejoicing at this providential release from temptation, fretted at the +loss of her paramour, attributing, however, her fitful humor to her +delicate condition. + +Shortly after Grandison's departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend +Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy +at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on +the occasion of the child's christening, and when the guests all agreed +that the child had "its father's nose" (which was doubtless the truth) +the poor man's delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began +to be more cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her +husband for the wrong which could never be repaired. When, however, he +carried her baby up and down, or fondled it upon his knee, the bitter +pangs of remorse gnawed at her heart, and made her captious and bad +tempered. With all this there was no deep repentance, and when Grandison +came to Montreal for his holidays, her husband was completely forgotten +once more. Grandison was invited to stay at the Hazeltons' residence, +an invitation which to do him justice he endeavored to decline, but Mr. +Hazelton pressed him so strongly that he was afraid to awaken suspicion +by refusing, and so the wolf became ensconced snugly in the sheepfold, +not only without difficulty, but on the pressing invitation of its +occupants. Mrs. Hazelton during this visit urged Grandison so strongly +that he promised to elope with her so soon as he could conveniently +leave Chicago. + +He had not been long back at his new residence when his wife died, and +letters of condolence were sent to him from all quarters. His wife, who +had never been received into society, was suddenly discovered to have +been one of its brightest ornaments, and her loss was deeply felt and +proportionately deplored. Mrs. Hazelton now thought her opportunity had +come, and accordingly wrote to Grandison that she was ready to go to the +end of the world with him. He, however, was not particularly anxious to +go to such a remote locality; in fact he had made up his mind to remain +in Chicago, and (now that his wife was no longer a burden upon him) +to turn over a new leaf and become a respectable member of society. +Whatever charms Mary Sedley may have had had long since disappeared, and +Mr. Grandison's affection was not so deep-seated that he was prepared +to tie himself to a comparatively plain old woman for whom he had long +since lost every particle of respect. He accordingly took no notice of +her letter, and received a second and a third couched in the strongest +language of affection. But the more importunate she became, the more did +Grandison lose his respect for her; he therefore took no notice of her +letters, and determined to keep aloof from her in the future. + +When Mrs. Hazelton began to realize that he had deserted her, she grew +frantic indeed. She would not believe it; the letters had miscarried, or +something else had interfered to prevent his writing. She resolved that, +come what would, she would go to him, and, throwing herself at his feet, +demand his protection. In the dead of the night she collected her most +valuable clothing and jewellery, and, with a little money in her purse, +stealthily left her husband's house, carrying her bundle in her hand. +She wandered about the streets till daylight, and in the morning entered +the Grand Trunk Depot in St. Bonaventure street, and procured a ticket +for Chicago. Her husband at first thought she had merely gone to +Bonsecours market to purchase provisions for the ensuing week, and that +she would shortly return. Breakfast time came, however, and she did not +return, and he began to get uneasy; enquiries were made of neighbors and +friends at whose houses she might possibly have stayed, but no one had +seen her, or knew anything of her whereabouts. The police were next +communicated with, and a regular hue and cry was raised in the city +concerning her mysterious disappearance. In the meantime the object +of their search arrived in Chicago, and at once proceeded towards +Grandison's residence. She had not gone far when he approached her with +a fashionably dressed young lady on his arm. Mrs. Hazelton ran towards +him with a cry of recognition, but, whatever he may have felt towards +her before, the sight of her as she now appeared drove every trace +of affection from his heart, he looked at her coldly, and without the +faintest sign of recognition The effect of this treatment under the +circumstances can well be imagined; the wretched woman fell fainting +at his feet, raving wildly and uttering the most awful imprecations. By +this time a crowd had collected, and the police, thinking she was some +madwoman who had escaped, had her removed to an asylum, and placed under +medical treatment. + +During all this period Hazelton was like a man demented; he caused +advertisements to be inserted in the principal papers, describing his +wife, and offering a reward for her recovery. The canal locks were +dragged from end to end, and every place likely to have been visited by +her was thoroughly searched and examined. At the end of about a week Mr. +Hazelton received the following telegram:-- + + Chicago, Oct. 14, 18--. + To S. Hazelton, Esq., + + Montreal + + Person answering description in advertisement in _Tribune_ + found here to-day, and placed under medical treatment. + What shall we do? + + J----P----, + + --for Chief of Police. + +Mr. Hazelton immediately telegraphed a reply, and, taking the next +train, was soon able to identify his lost wife. The sight of him made +the poor creature worse, and he was forbidden to call till she was in a +less excitable condition. In about a week, though still suffering, she +was removed to Montreal, and placed under the care of Dr. X----, to +whom I communicated what I knew concerning her antecedents. In a +comparatively short time she grew much better, and was able to converse +intelligently, the subject of her departure and her illness being +carefully avoided. Her husband attributed her mental aberration to the +old cause, although why she should have gone to Chicago, he never could +exactly understand. + +Many years have now passed since these occurrences, and all the parties +to this narrative are still alive. Mrs. Hazelton has never recovered +from the effects of the shock received in Chicago, and sits brooding +mournfully and in secret over her past transgressions, while her husband +with unceasing devotion heaps coals of fire on her head. Grandison has +since moved to New York, where he married again, and became an altered +man. I met him in Montreal a short time since, but he carefully avoided +all mention of either Mr. or Mrs. Hazelton, and did not dare to call +either on them or the Sedleys. Once or twice his name was mentioned at +the house of the latter, but it seemed to awaken sad recollections in +the breast of Mrs. Hazelton, and was consequently avoided by the family. +The latter have lived so far in ignorance of these occurrences, and it +is to be hoped they will never be undeceived. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Among the Fenians. + +While still young, and unused to the many strange phases of life I had +an adventure which, at that period of my career, made a deep impression +on my mind. A rough-looking man called on me, and requested my immediate +attendance on a sick woman at Point St. Charles, at that time a remote +suburb of Montreal. As I hesitated to go with him, having a strange +dread of accompanying him to such a lonely place, he seemed to think I +was afraid of not receiving my fee, and, pulling a long purse out of his +pocket he took out a handful of gold pieces, one of which he tendered me +an advance. This made me all the more reluctant to accompany him, as +I feared he might be a robber or freebooter of some kind, but, quickly +controlling my emotions, I set my reason to work, and argued that, +whatever he might be, he could have no motive other than that assigned +for taking me with him, that he could gain nothing by way-laying or +even murdering me, and so I put on my outer garments and got into the +carriage beside him. The night was wet and stormy, and, just as we +started, forked lightning flashed across the heavens in all directions, +causing the horse to dash madly along as if to overturn the vehicle. +This of course was a mere coincidence, but, with all my firmness of will +and sound logical reasons for not being afraid, I could not altogether +control my emotions as we drove through the lowest and dirtiest parts +of Griffintown, which had at that time the reputation of harboring all +sorts of Fenians, thieves and marauders. We crossed the canal and got +out into the country, the rain descending in torrents, while the thunder +crashed louder than ever. I believe that, had I been able to get out, I +would have even then retreated, but I had no alternative but to remain +and make the most of my position. Beyond a few words at starting, my +companion said little; indeed conversation was impossible, as were +jolted from side to side of the street, and the crashing of the thunder +overhead would have drowned our most powerful efforts. + +After about half an hour's ride, the carriage stopped at a lonely house +some distance on the Lower Lachine road, and, alighting, we entered, +when I was piloted into an upper chamber, where a woman lay on a couch +in need of my attendance. I felt altogether re-assured now, and at once +opened my satchel to make the necessary preparations for my stay; still +the room had not the air of an ordinary bedroom, and the presence of +three men, all as rough-looking as my guide, made me suspicious as to +their calling, more particularly as there was not a woman to be seen +save my patient. + +As soon as I had divested myself of my wet garments and hung them at the +fire to dry, the men left the room, and I ordered the woman to undress +and go to bed, which she did. I then tried to get some information from +her as to who her husband was, and what was the occupation of the men I +had seen, but she either was or pretended to be too sick to enter into +conversation, and I was obliged to restrain my curiosity for the time at +least. In about two hours the woman gave birth to a boy, and as soon as +I could leave with safety, I donned my clothes and left for home, the +man who had engaged me putting me into a cab with great politeness, +and paying the driver, he ordered him to deposit me in safety at my +residence. + +The next morning I was surprised to read in the paper that a quantity of +arms and ammunition had been sent here from the Fenian headquarters +in New York, and that although it was known that they were secreted +somewhere about Griffintown, the police had been altogether baffled in +their search for them. A new light now dawned upon me, particularly as I +recollected that the room in which my patient lay was filled with long, +coffin-shaped boxes, the uses of which I had been unable to guess. I +accordingly consulted with my husband as to what course I should pursue. +Was I, having come by this information in my professional capacity, to +shut my eyes to these doings, or, taking advantage of my position, to +inform the police? My husband argued in this way:--If these people had +been guilty of a crime, which could not now be ameliorated or averted, +it would be a straining point for me to take advantage of what I had +learnt by accident and to bring them to justice; but that as in this +case a great national trouble _might be averted_, and many lives saved, +by timely information, it was my duty to exert myself in the interests +of the community by putting a check on their movements. With this end +in view I communicated with Mr. P----, then Chief of Police, and from my +description he said he had no doubt but these were the very persons of +whom they were in search, and that if I could only manage to frame an +excuse for the introduction of a detective, he would make sure of their +identity before making any arrests. + +My second visit to the house was made in the morning. I found my patient +very weak and feverish, and, although it was only what I had expected, +took advantage of the fact to express my fears that the case was one +requiring the most skillful treatment, and that unless I were permitted +to call in a medical man of eminence, I would not be responsible for the +consequence. The woman's husband was very much averse to this; but, as +I urged it strongly, and his wife (of whom he was apparently fond) +seconded my request, he finally consented, and the same afternoon +called, accompanied by Detective F----, whom I introduced as my +consulting physician. Whilst I mixed some simple remedies for my +patient, the detective carefully examined the boxes, which he was unable +to move, and which we were both convinced contained arms and ammunition +for the destruction of the peaceful inhabitants of Montreal. Mr. F---- +carefully noted the position of everything in and about the house, he +also took a good look at the surroundings, and then we departed for +the police station. The Chief was for making an immediate arrest of +the whole party, but I dissuaded him, urging him, in the interests of +humanity, to wait till the woman was out of danger; he then agreed to +wait for a few days, keeping the house and its inmates under constant +surveillance. + +The woman got better day by day, and at the end of a week, the Chief, +fearful lest something might occur to mar his plans, sent a detachment +of armed policemen to arrest the Fenian emissaries and capture the +stores. In some way or another the men got wind of the affair, and made +their escape across the lines, leaving the poor woman and her helpless +babe alone and unprotected. The police entered the house unopposed; +they found there several dozen, muskets and rifles, also about a hundred +bayonets and five thousand rounds of ball cartridge. The woman refused +to give the slightest information as to the names or identity of her +companions; she said she knew nothing about the arms contained in the +boxes, that the latter had been brought there by a strange man, and left +in charge of her husband, and that she had never seen them opened. As +the men were evidently by this time safe in Uncle Sam's dominions, the +police contented themselves with securing the ammunition, leaving the +woman to shift for herself. As I did not like the idea of leaving her in +the room alone and uncared for, I explained the matter to the neighbors, +who good-naturedly undertook to look after her till she received money +from her husband to pay her passage to New York. As, although I had no +compunction in assisting to break up this den of ruffians, I pitied the +poor woman, who was probably innocent of any crime, I handed her the +gold piece which her husband had given me, and did not leave her till +assured that the neighbors would look after her till her departure. In +later years I have often passed the scene of these transactions, and a +shudder passed through my frame as I remembered my experiences among the +Fenians. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +A Disciple of Satan. + +About the year 1866 I was summoned to attend a lady in Berri street, the +wife of an officer in the ----th Rifles. Her husband, Captain O'Grady, +had taken a furnished house for the winter, the quarters in the Quebec +Barracks being unsuited for the accommodation of a lady of her station, +and round the house on every hand evidences might be seen of both +wealth, taste and refinement. Mrs. O'Grady was a beautiful woman of +about twenty-two, and had only been married about a year; her husband, +who was an Irishman, loved her passionately, and gave me particular +charges concerning her, bidding me spare neither trouble nor expense to +render her illness as little irksome as possible. After her baby (a +fine boy) was born I attended her regularly every day, and, as she had +travelled in her youth and lived for some time in Germany, she invited +me to come and see her in the evenings whenever I was at leisure, so +that we might converse in the beautiful language of Schiller and Goethe, +and chat about that beautiful far-off land. Captain O'Grady +quite approved of this arrangement, and often used to join in the +conversation; it was in Germany he had met his wife, and he had a great +fancy for the soft German language, although speaking it but imperfectly +himself. + +Shortly after the birth of his child, Captain O'Grady's regiment was +ordered to Chambly, and he was obliged to separate from his wife for a +time. He used to drive in occasionally to Montreal to visit her, but at +this season of the year the roads were very bad, and, as the thermometer +sometimes fell 20 or even 30 degrees below zero, the journey was usually +attended with much discomfort and even some danger. On Christmas Day, +Mrs. O'Grady wished her husband to remain at Chambly and dine at the +mess, but he insisted on coming into Montreal and dining with his +family. He accordingly set out about eleven o'clock in the morning, +accompanied by a brother officer named Churchill, a lieutenant in the +same regiment. + +It was a bitterly cold day, and the snow, which had been falling heavily +for some days, was blown in immense drifts across the roads, rendering +them almost impassable. The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the +horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head +ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O'Grady, and jumped into the +dickey. + +Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going +at a tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every +instant. The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and +harness, rendering it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged +to pull their fur caps over their ears to avoid their being frozen. They +had not proceeded far on their journey when the road, which in summer +was clearly defined by fences on either side, diverged somewhat from +the ordinary course, and was made, for convenience, through an adjoining +farm, being marked with pine branches, stuck at intervals in the snow. +As our party proceeded, even these slight indications were invisible, +the drifts rising in some places to a height of twelve or fourteen +feet. In one of the latter the sleigh stuck fast, and the occupants were +obliged to get out, and wading up to their knees in snow to assist the +horses to regain _terra firma_, or at least a more compact body of snow. +Whilst engaged in this operation, Mr. Churchill noticed that the groom's +nose was perfectly white, and on examination it was found to be frozen; +they accordingly set to work to rub it with snow, and at Captain +O'Grady's suggestion he held a large body of snow to it for the +remainder of the journey, which had the effect of thawing it out. + +In a short time they regained the high road, and went along at a +tremendous pace for three or four miles, when they entered the village +of Longueuil, which is situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, a +little below Montreal. They found the river completely frozen over, the +cold being intense, but the ice-bridge had only just been formed, +and the surface was rough and uneven, causing the sleigh to oscillate +fearfully, threatening every moment to overturn. The storm had by this +time increased to a perfect hurricane, and the drifting snow was driven +with intense force into the faces of both men and horses, causing the +latter to bound and gallop fearfully, to the extreme peril of those +behind them. O'Grady, however, was a skillful driver, and kept the +horses well in hand, calling to them from time to time in a reassuring +manner; as for Churchill, he rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, +and, as conversation was out of the question, he lit a cigar, and, +drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round him, made himself as comfortable +as possible. In a short time they arrived at their destination, and +throwing the reins to the groom, O'Grady dashed up stairs and in an +instant had his wife in his arms. She remonstrated with him about coming +in on such a terrible day, but descended to the drawing-room, and, +having welcome Mr. Churchill to her house, ordered the servant to set +the table for dinner. Just then the groom entered the house to enquire +when the carriage would be required in the evening, and the appearance +of his nose set the whole party laughing heartily; his proboscis had +assumed a deep red hue, and was swollen to an enormous size, giving him +a most comical appearance. O'Grady ordered him to bring the carriage +round at ten o'clock, and, dinner just then being announced, they +prepared, in true English fashion, to celebrate the Nativity. + +After dinner, Mrs. O'Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, +having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to +the fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the +clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the +neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate +leave of his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the +following Sunday, O'Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted +Churchill, and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into +the howling storm. Churchill lit another cigar, and shut his eyes to +avoid the blinding snowdrifts, while the driver was with difficulty +enabled to see his way. Arrived at the suburb known as Hochelaga, +O'Grady turned his horses' heads towards the river, and they dashed +across the ice-bridge at the rate of about twelve miles an hour. On they +went at a terrible pace, the sleigh bumping and jolting over the rough +road, till bang they came upon a piece of ice, on to which the snow had +drifted, and over went the sleigh, turning its occupants head first on +the hard, icy road. Churchill was first on his feet, and, though bruised +and bleeding, succeeded in arresting the horses, who, now thoroughly +frightened, were about to run away; the groom also soon recovered +himself and ran to the assistance of his master, but the latter was +past all human aid, having fallen from the upper side of the sleigh bead +foremost on a piece of ice, and broken his neck. His companions were +struck dumb with grief and astonishment; however, they could not stand +freezing in the middle of the river, so, righting the sleigh, they +placed the dead man gently inside it, and drove slowly to Longueuil, +where a friendly _habitant_ placed the best room in his house at their +disposal. + +Mrs. O'Grady, as may well be supposed, was very much shocked at the news +of her husband's death. The body was brought to her house in Montreal, +and from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery, where it was interred, a +company of rifles firing a volley over the grave. For a time the young +widow was undecided whether to go back to her friends in England or +to remain in Canada, but, being unwilling to become dependent on her +relations, she accepted a situation as governess in a wealthy family +residing in the west end of Montreal, placing her infant son under the +charge of a nurse. + +Mrs. Thomson, in whose service Mrs. O'Grady was employed, was the wife +of a wealthy English gentleman who had invested largely in Canadian real +estate and national enterprises. She had two daughters, aged 18 and 16, +respectively (whom Mrs. O'Grady was expected to train and prepare for +entrance into society), also a son about 22, who, although educated as +a lawyer, pursued no avocation other than the collection of rents on his +father's estate, and minor offices in connection with the investment of +his money. Randolph Thomson, the young gentleman in question, suddenly +became very attentive to his sisters. There was not a single concert +or ball of importance to which he did not take them, whereas before +he could rarely be induced to accompany them anywhere. The girls never +tried to account for this sudden change in their brother's behavior, +being too much engrossed in the enjoyment of the entertainments +aforesaid to trouble their heads about the matter; Mrs. Grundy, however, +had an idea that the handsome widow who officiated as governess had +something to do with the affair, and, a rumor of the kind reaching the +ears of Mrs. Thomson, the unfortunate widow was eventually obliged to +leave the house, much to the regret of the whole family, but especially +that of Randolph, whose brotherly attentions suddenly became less +marked, and in time ceased altogether. + +Mrs. O'Grady, being once more thrown on her own resources, departed for +Sherbrooke, one of the most thriving towns in the Eastern Townships, +where she endeavored to make a respectable livelihood by teaching music. +She chose Sherbrooke rather than Montreal, because in the latter place +every lady who wished to earn her own living started out as a music +teacher, and the teachers were rapidly threatening to outnumber the +pupils, and to equal many of them as regards want of knowledge. + +Close to Mrs. O'Grady's new residence, and removed a short distance from +the town, there dwelt a wealthy old farmer named Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson +was a bachelor about 65 years old, who, by steady attention to his +farm and shrewd speculations, had amassed a considerable fortune, being +considered one of the "solid men" of Sherbrooke. Clarkson happening to +meet Mrs. O'Grady at the house of one of the principal clergymen, became +enamored of her at first sight, and at the first opportunity proposed +for her hand. This she was at first loth to give, her heart at the time +being elsewhere; but, as Clarkson offered to settle all his property on +her and her children, and he himself, though neither young nor handsome, +was very agreeable, and held a high position in the community, she +finally consented, and was led a second time to the hymeneal altar. + +Mr. Clarkson was very proud of his handsome wife, he ordered a handsome +phaeton and pair of bay ponies from Montreal for her private use, and +gave her an unlimited allowance of pin money, and she might be seen +any afternoon, fashionably attired, driving from one shop to another, +followed by the admiring eyes of the bank clerks and beaux, and the +envious glances of the single young ladies of Sherbrooke. + +After three or four months Mrs. Clarkson told her husband that she had +been invited to go on a visit to Montreal, and urged him to allow her to +accept it, particularly as her little boy was afflicted with sore eyes, +and there was no oculist of ability in the town. Her husband readily +consented, and, with the promise that she would return in a few weeks, +Mrs. Clarkson came to Montreal, and calling at my house informed Madame +Charbonneau (in my absence) that she wished to remain there if possible, +as she was about to be confined. When I got home she confessed to me +that she had been on terms of intimacy with Randolph Thomson, and begged +me not to inform her husband, as he was exceedingly jealous, and would +kill her if he suspected the true state of affairs. + +Promising to do the best I could under the circumstances I had rooms +prepared for both her and her boy, and secured the best medical +attendance for the latter, whose eyes were in a very bad state from long +neglect. It was two weeks before Mrs. Clarkson's baby (a boy) was born, +and very unpleasant rumors were circulated round the town, which, +coming to the ears of the old gentleman caused him to write a very stiff +letter, ordering his wife to return immediately. This, of course, she +could not do, and as she was unable to frame an excuse for refusing to +I do so, she determined to take no notice of his letter, and, if brought +to task concerning it, _to deny having received it_, the letter being +unregistered. Fortunately for her, if not for himself, her boy's eyes +continued to defy the skill of Dr. Fulford, the oculist to whose care +she had committed him, and it was imperative that they should remain +in Montreal a week or two longer. This fact was communicated to Mr. +Clarkson, but his sister (who had continued to reside with him after his +marriage) persuaded him to have nothing more to do with his wife, and +related to him the rumors she had heard, allowing them (as may well be +supposed) to lose nothing in the narration. + +Mrs. Clarkson was naturally very much put out when she learnt how her +sister-in-law had acted; but, being both a strong-minded and crafty +woman, she determined to put a bold face on the matter, and if possible +to pay off old scores with her sister-in-law. She accordingly placed her +baby out to nurse, and, as soon as she felt strong enough, set out +for Sherbrooke. She found her husband's house locked against her, +but, nothing daunted, she went straight to the mayor's residence, and +explained that, having gone to Montreal with her husband's permission, +she had (as soon as _her boy_ was sufficiently recovered) returned to +her home, and found the door locked against her. The mayor (a particular +friend of Clarkson's) told her to come with him and he would see her +righted, but she refused, saying that she had already gone to her +husband's house and been refused admission, and that she would not go +again until he came to fetch her; she then departed and engaged rooms at +the hotel. + +The mayor, wishing to save his friend any public scandal, went to him, +and remonstrated with him on his conduct, explaining that, as his wife +had gone to Montreal with his permission, he was legally responsible for +all her expenses, and that in refusing to admit her into his house +he had rendered himself liable for an expensive lawsuit. On this poor +Clarkson got so frightened that he ordered his team to be brought round, +and, driving to the hotel, implored his wife to accompany him to his +house, begging her forgiveness for his conduct, and promising that he +would do anything to make amends. + +Mrs. Clarkson now felt that she had obtained a grand advantage, and, +assuming an air of injured innocence, enquired who had set him against +her. Poor Clarkson was reluctantly compelled to admit that his sister +had had something to do with it, on which his wife refused to live under +the same roof with such a vile slanderer ('), and insisted that, before +she returned, the lady _who had taken away her character_ should leave +the house. In fact, she managed the affair so well, and exhibited such +an amount of "cheek," that the poor man actually sent his sister away, +and drove with a magnificent team of horses to bring home the woman whom +he had refused to admit into his house. + +For several months they lived happily together, Mrs. Clarkson _going on +a visit to Montreal_ whenever it stated her. In process of time she gave +evidence of being _enceinte_, and old Clarkson's joy knew no bounds, as +he evidently rejoiced at the prospect of having an heir. Had he known, +however, that his wife, in visiting Montreal, was invariably met by +Randolph Thomson, it is questionable whether his joy would not have +been considerably moderated. Before the child was born the old man died, +leaving all his property to his wife and his expected heir. His sister, +who really was devoted to him, was left without a penny, and entirely +dependent on the charity of Mrs. Clarkson. The widow, however, had +not forgotten the part played by Mrs. Clarkson during her brother's +lifetime, and being now steeped in wickedness, her better nature was +almost entirely lost. She turned the faithful sister from her door, +and she, the false wife, was with her illegitimate child (born almost +immediately after the old man's death) snugly installed in the home that +in all equity and justice should have belonged to the woman she ejected. + +"_Facilis descensus Averni_."--It is wonderful how easy the descent +really is, when once the first false step is taken. As the avalanche, +which at first becomes slowly loosened from its lofty position, +gradually descends with greater and greater rapidity till it is dashed +into the abyss, so does the frail mortal, who at first shudders at +the bare thought of an immoral act, rush headlong into sin till her +desperate career is suddenly checked, often in a manner fearful to +contemplate. Mrs. Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably +be expected to desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and +those of her husband's relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental +to her character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, +without the incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; +Randolph Thomson, turning his back on her and his boy, had married a +young lady of fortune; so vowing vengeance against men in general for +their _falseness and inconstancy_. Mrs. Clarkson laid herself out to +entrap and ensnare every man who came in her way, and in this manner to +revenge herself (as she by some strange mental process led herself to +imagine) on her false lover. + +The deceased Mr. Clarkson had a brother named William, a bachelor, whose +farm was adjacent to that now possessed by the widow. William was nearly +twenty years younger than his brother, and was considered rather a +good-looking man by his acquaintances. It is possible that, but for +her _liaison_ with Thomson, Mrs. Clarkson would, long ere this, have +fascinated him with her beauty and blandishments; but, he had hitherto +escaped unscathed, though openly admiring his brother's wife, and taking +her part against the scandal-mongers when speculation was rife as to the +cause which detained her in Montreal. In looking round for some one to +entrap and ensnare, Mrs. Clarkson's eye naturally fell upon William, as +the most eligible party in her immediate vicinity; and she was the +more anxious to secure him, because, with a woman's far-seeing eye and +long-reaching vengeance, she wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, +who, being unmarried (and likely to remain so), had undertaken to keep +house for her younger brother, and would, as matters at that moment +stood, have likely outlived him and inherited his property. Opportunity +was not long wanting for her to effect her object; William was the sole +executor to his brother's estate, and, as business often brought them +together at the late Mr. Clarkson's lawyer's office in Montreal, it was +not strange that the widow should almost immediately have opened the +campaign, which she did on the first occasion of their meeting in the +city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a little skirmishing, +in order to draw out her opponent. It was a beautiful spring morning, +and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven o'clock, Mr. +Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to meet the +train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, reminding +him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her +husband's life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her +reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural +protector was no more. William, being little of a gossip himself, urged +her to be above such petty pandering to public opinion, and to follow +her inclinations, but she replied naively.--"A woman has nothing to +depend on but her reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know." +"Perhaps you are right," William replied, laughing, and so he permitted +the widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes +later to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily +Mrs. Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the +trains both going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch, and +gossiping tongues would relate all that passed during the journey, +so she induced Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her, +promising her a pleasant day in Montreal. + +The train had not arrived when the ladies alighted at the depot, but the +ever-acute widow instructed her servant man not to drive away, but to +wait and see if any parcels had been sent from Portland. She did not +expect any parcels from Portland, but she wished all the neighbors who +might be going on the train to see her man with the buggy, in case they +might imagine she had come in the carriage with William. When they got +on board the train, of course, her brother-in-law took a seat with her +and Miss Cuthbert, but the widow pretended to be engrossed in a novel, +leaving the younger lady to carry on the conversation. A boy approached +with "prize packages" of candies, and William, buying two, handed them +to the ladies, requesting them to see what fortune had in store for +them. Miss Cuthbert opened hers eagerly, and, amidst the almonds and +lozenges, discovered a gilt brooch, which she laughingly fastened on her +breast. William offered to open the widow's for her, but she interrupted +him, saying: + +"My fortune has been told already, give it to Miss Cuthbert." + +"Oh, yes! give it to me," said the sprightly girl, and hastily opening +it, she poked amongst the candies and pulled out a small article rolled +in tissue paper; unrolling the paper eagerly she disclosed _a plain gilt +ring_. + +"Put that on, also," said Mrs. Clarkson. + +"Oh, no!" answered Miss Cuthbert, "I will try to get some one to put it +on for me." + +With this careless banter the time passed away till they reached +Montreal, Mrs. Clarkson playing the shy widow to perfection, and, as may +naturally be supposed, not only raising herself in the estimation of her +brother-in-law, but drawing him in a strange manner within the radius of +her fascinating influences. + +On arriving in the city they entered a carriage, and were driven to St. +James street, where Mr. St. Jerome, the lawyer, had his office. In about +an hour their business was transacted, and William invited the ladies +to Alexander's to partake of luncheon, but this the widow discreetly +declined, being aware that the pastry-cook's in question was a +celebrated rendezvous for all country-folk. Pleading as an excuse that +she wanted, to do some shopping, she advised William not to trouble +about them, as they would prefer shopping alone, and that, if fatigued, +they could easily drop in for an ice at some respectable confectioner's. +"Besides," added Mrs. Clarkson, "I have promised to take Miss Cuthbert +up the mountain this afternoon, as she has never been to the summit of +Mount Royal, though living so near the city bearing its name." + +"If you are going up the mountain, I pray you will allow me to accompany +you. I never visit Montreal without ascending it at least once," said +Mr. Clarkson. "If you do not wish me to go shopping, I will not intrude, +but I will feel myself slighted if you compel me to ascend the mountain +alone." + +The widow feigned to give a reluctant consent, and accordingly they +arranged to meet on Place d'Armes at two o'clock, and to drive to the +base of the mountain together. At that time the beautiful mountain from +which Montreal derives its name, and most of its beauty, had not been +acquired by the city. It was private property, and there were no elegant +roads by which to drive to its summit; indeed, it was only by the +courtesy of the proprietors that persons were allowed to ascend the +famous hill, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and bracing air: even then +the task of ascending was no easy one, and ladies were generally glad of +the company of one or more of the hardier sex, if only to assist them in +clambering up the steep ascent. + +Mr. Clarkson went to lunch, and then to the Corn Exchange to transact +some business, arriving in Place d'Armes precisely at two o'clock. +Shortly afterward she saw the ladies emerge from the French Church +of Notre Dame, and cross the square to meet him. Miss Cuthbert was +delighted with the church. Although a Protestant, she admired it as an +architectural art-work, the elaborate adornment, too, of the interior +pleased her, and accorded with her womanly tastes. Mrs. Clarkson had +seen both inside and outside so often that neither had now any more +effect on her; indeed, not only was her heart steeled to the refining +influences of the building, but also to the doctrines inculcated within +it; she had started on the downward path, and never once dared to look +up again, even for a moment. + +"Well, you are sharp on time," said Miss Cuthbert, addressing Mr. +Clarkson. + +"Yes, indeed, I have been walking the streets for nearly an hour, +wondering if the hands on the Seminary clock would ever indicate the +hour of two. I had almost persuaded myself that the public clocks had +all stopped, but my watch, which was ticking, told me that they were +going on with methodical regularity." He addressed himself to Miss +Cuthbert, but his eyes were turned slightly towards Mrs. Clarkson, who, +blushing slightly (she could blush at pleasure), turned away her head, +and appeared to be quite confused. + +William hailed a cab, and they drove up University street, as far as the +carriage road permitted them. Dismissing the "carter," they entered the +adjacent field, and ascended by a winding path which at that time +ran through the property of Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Allan. Miss Cuthbert, +although she lived faraway from all mountains or hills of any kind, was +remarkably active, and bounded up the steep ascent like a deer. Mrs. +Clarkson was a _dear_ of another kind, and she was obliged to cling to +her brother-in-law for support, which latter he was by no means adverse +to giving, after about twenty minutes climbing they arrived at the "view +point" immediately over Sir Hugh Allan's residence, when everything +was immediately forgotten in the inspeakable emotion excited by the +magnificent panorama before them. At their feet lay the beautiful +city, the rows of shade trees, clothed with verdure, lending a gorgeous +setting to the elegant limestone buildings. In front rolled the mighty +St. Lawrence, nearly two miles wide, the vast expanse being relieved +by St. Helen's Island, with its luxuriant foliage. On the right the +Victoria Bridge, that monument of engineering skill, stretched across +the mighty river towards the picturesque village of St. Lambert; while +further to the westward might be seen Nun's Island with its shady +groves, at the head of which rushed the boiling waters of the famous +rapids of Lachine. I have in my youth travelled through both Germany and +Switzerland and, later, through the beautiful scenery of New Hampshire +and Vermont, but nowhere do I remember having seen a view so grand, or +a panorama so picturesque, as that to be seen from the brow of Mount +Royal. + +For a while the entire party gazed in speechless admiration at the scene +before them, when Miss Cuthbert exclaimed: + +"I can say, with the apostle of old, 'It is good for us to be here.'" + +"And build _three tabernacles_? queried Mrs. Clarkson. + +"Oh, no, two would do. One for me, and another for you and Mr. +Clarkson." + +At this rejoinder Mrs. Clarkson bit her lips, and changed the +conversation immediately. + +When they had surveyed the city, the river, and the country on the +opposite shore, they prepared to ascend to the highest part of the +mountain, where the observatory stands, imbedded in trees. Here they +sat down for a time to rest, and partake of some light refreshment which +they had brought with them; they then proceeded to descend on the other +side, passing through the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries, both +elaborately laid out, and looking like beautiful flower gardens, rather +than burial grounds. As they neared Cote des Neiges Miss Cuthbert +commenced to scamper along like a child, and at one short declivity, she +started off at a run, calling on the others to follow. Clarkson took his +companion's hand and invited her to descend in like manner, but, almost +at the first step, his sister-in-law uttered a sharp scream and fell +forward on the grass, informing them that her foot had turned under her, +and that she had sprained her ankle. + +William was almost beside himself. He felt that he had foolishly induced +her to forget herself so far as to indulge in a wild romp and thus +injure her ankle. He wished Miss Cuthbert at the bottom of the sea, and +wondered how they were to get the beautiful cripple home, as they were +removed from residences or conveyances of any kind, and Mrs. Clarkson +was no small weight. There being nothing else for it, however, the +sturdy farmer lifted her in his arms and carried her to the house of +the caretaker of the cemetery; then, leaving her gently on a sofa, he +started for the inn at Cote des Neiges, thinking he might obtain the +means of conveyance to Montreal. + +On his arrival at the inn he was informed that there was no livery +stable of any kind for miles around, and that the private buggy of +the proprietor was at the moment in Montreal, whither the landlady had +driven for provisions. Just then a team was driven at a rapid speed +from the direction of St. Laurent; it contained two young gentlemen +from Montreal, who had driven round the mountain attended by a groom. +On hearing the particulars of the accident they at once, with great +gallantry, gave up their vehicle, a mail phaeton, for the use of the +disabled lady, cheerfully undertaking to walk the remainder of the way +(about four miles), and enjoining Mr. Clarkson to bring the carriage to +their stable so soon as he had deposited his fair companions in a place +of safety. + +On reaching the cemetery, William found the widow looking wretched, +indeed, and apparently suffering great pain. Her face brightened, +however, as she saw the carriage and was convinced that they would be +able to get to Montreal in time for the night train for Sherbrooke. +William assisted Miss Cuthbert into the trap, and placed Mrs. Clarkson +carefully beside her; then, mounting the box, he thanked the caretaker +for his kind offices and drove, via Cote des Neiges hill, to Montreal. +He suggested to Mrs. Clarkson that it would be better for her to take +a room at the St. Lawrence Hall for a few days, and enjoy perfect rest +till her ankle got better, but she, remembering her past experiences, +preferred to travel at once to her home, and so avoid all scandal. + +William drove straight to the Grand Trunk terminus in St. Bonaventure +street; and, placing the ladies in a Pullman car, drove up to Sherbrooke +street with the team, which he left, as directed, at the young +gentleman's residence. He proceeded along to St. Lawrence Main street, +where he hailed a cab, and drove back to the terminus. Shortly after his +return to the depot the train started, and in a few hours they reached +Sherbrooke. + +It was considerably past midnight when they got to Mrs. Clarkson's +residence, so Miss Cuthbert remained with her till morning, doing all +she could to alleviate her pain. Shortly after breakfast William called; +and as his sister-in-law was confined to her room, he considerately kept +her company till Miss Cuthbert had gone home and obtained permission +to remain a while longer with the disabled lady. There is nothing that +tries a man's heart so much as to see a woman (particularly a beautiful +woman) in pain. The widow was aware of this, and so, although the sprain +was purely accidental, and was not included in her programme, turned it +to such good account that the poor bachelor was fairly hooked, and began +to think seriously that he had got into an awkward fix. + +Marriage with a deceased brother's wife was illegal, and no clergyman +could perform the marriage ceremony without violating the laws of +both Church and State; even if one could be prevailed on to follow the +dictates of his conscience, and to stretch a point in their favor (as +was sometimes done) society would not recognize their union, and would +shun them as open adulterers. In vain did his sister-in-law urge on him +that the law was absurd, and that, as there was no blood-relationship +between them, there could be nothing criminal in their living +together; he had not the moral courage to face the cold criticism of +a narrow-minded and bigoted community, and, though mad with passionate +love, he hesitated to take the fatal plunge. + +Mrs. Clarkson, however, having carried the outposts and principal +barriers successfully, was not to be thwarted by a mere matter of +sentiment. She expressed her intention of departing forthwith for +Detroit, assuring him that she would no longer remain in a country where +such intolerant bigotry existed, and instructed him, if he loved her as +he pretended, to sell his property in Canada and follow her thither. + +Clarkson was loth to leave his relations and the home of his childhood, +but the temptress lured him gradually on, refusing at times even to +see a man who valued his narrow-minded friends' opinion rather than her +love, and at length he consented to sell his farm for whatever it +would bring, and to rejoin her in Detroit. This was another piece of +generalship on the part of the widow, as, did they remain in Canada, she +could not, in the event of her husband's death hold the property which +would revert to her hated sister-in-law; but that being now converted +into cash she was at liberty to squander it during her husband's +life-time, retaining the fortune left by her first husband for the +future use of herself and children. + +For a time Mr. Clarkson lived with his sister-in-law in a princely style +in Detroit. They entertained largely and handsomely, and most of their +guests neither cared nor enquired who they were, or whence they came. +They had not been there more than six weeks when Mrs. Clarkson made the +acquaintance of Count Von Alba, who for some time had been the lion +of fashionable circles in Detroit. Von Alba was a Russian, who (for +political reasons said his friends, for criminal reasons said his +enemies) had emigrated to America and lived on his fortune (his friends +insisted)--his wits, said his enemies again. + +Whichever surmise was correct, Von Alba was undoubtedly good-looking. +He stood five feet eleven inches in his stockings, and was powerfully +built; his complexion, like most Russians was dark, and his lofty +forehead was surmounted with curls of the darkest brown. At the time of +the Clarksons residence, the Count was about five-and-thirty years +old; he had naturally a genial manner and a good-humored expression of +countenance, and a scar on his forehead (obtained, he said, when a lad, +at Inkerman) made him an object of feminine admiration, while he was at +the same time greatly envied by the opposite sex. + +Von Alba was a sort of Admirable Crichton. He rode like Nimrod, danced +like Terpsichore, drove like Jehu, shot like William Tell, and sang like +Sims Reeves. It was in the _latter_ accomplishment, however, that +he chiefly excelled; he would stand up at the end of a crowded +drawing-room, and, playing a delicate accompaniment on his guitar, would +vocalize one of the passionate love-songs of his native land. Sometimes +he sang in English, then his defective pronunciation lent a strange +charm to his singing, which, although it could scarcely be accounted +for, made itself felt even in the bosoms of the dilettanti. + +Strange to say, although courted and run after by nearly all the +eligible young ladies, the Count became so fond of Mrs. Clarkson's +society that scarcely a day passed but he was found at her house. At the +fair lady's "Thursday Evenings," of course, he was one of the principal +attractions, added to which he dined and lunched frequently at her +house, and escorted her to balls and parties: her husband not caring for +the everlasting round of excitement, and, far from feeling jealous of +the Count, he was proud to think that his choice of a companion should +be endorsed by one who presumably was a competent judge. + +It was not long till the lady was at her old tricks again, and what +Randolph Thompson had been to her before, Von Alba soon became, the +simple husband encouraging these visits, and allowing his wife to +squander his money lavishly on her paramour. Mrs. Grundy in the +meanwhile began to be suspicious, and rumors, at first vague and +indefinite, became almost pointed accusations against Mrs. Clarkson. The +poor husband, although not altogether crediting the fact that there +was a foundation for these reports, saw the necessity, in the equivocal +position in which both he and his wife stood, of putting a stop to all +suspicious intercourse with the Count; and, being resolute enough when +so disposed, he forbade his wife to meet Von Alba any more in private, +or to invite him to her house. + +This, as may be supposed, brought matters to a crisis and brought on a +terrible quarrel between the abandoned woman and her husband. She saw +that the game was up as far as Detroit was concerned, and so, managing +to forge her husband's name to a cheque for several thousand dollars, +she went the next day with great boldness to the bank where he kept his +money and presented it; it was cashed by the clerk without hesitation, +and that evening, abandoning both Clarkson and her children, she +went, accompanied by her paramour, to the depot and took the train for +Montreal, where they went to an hotel, registering their names as Mr. +and Mrs. Mortimer, of New York. Notwithstanding their false names and +altered attire they were traced to the St. Lawrence Hall, Mrs. Clarkson +being surprised, on coming from breakfast one morning, to observe her +husband busily scanning the register at the office counter. The Count +had not seen him, but Mrs. Clarkson hurried him upstairs and told him +that their whereabouts was discovered, and that they must take refuge in +flight before Clarkson had time to take steps for their apprehension. + +Ringing the bell, Von Alba bade the boy to have their bill made out and +receipted, and to have their luggage sent to the station in time for the +next train for New York. + +"There is no New York train till 3.15," said the boy. + +"When is there one for Toronto?" asked the Count. + +"Not till eight this evening, but the Lachine train, which meets the +mail boat, leaves at 11.30." + +"That is what I mean," said Von Alba; "we will go by that;" then, +packing hastily, the two culprits descended by the ladies staircase, +and, entering a carriage, drove off to procure tickets for Toronto. + +All this time Mr. Clarkson was quietly seated in the breakfast-room, +taking light repast after his long journey. That the persons he sought +were in the hotel he felt confident; but there were so many gentlemen +with their wives real or pretended, from all parts, that he was puzzled +to conjecture which of the names in the register was that assumed by the +Count. At length he resolved to take the boy into his confidence; and, +handing him a gold piece, he began to question him concerning the guests +now quartered in the hotel. When he had described the pair he wanted, +the boy said: "W'y these ere must be the pair wat's just gone to the +Toronto boat!" Clarkson said not a word; but, handing a card to the +cashier, rushed out of the hotel, and, jumping into a cab, bade the +driver to go with all speed to the Upper Canada boat. Had he thought for +a moment he would have recollected that the boat leaves the wharf early +in the morning, and proceeding slowly through the canal, stops to take +on passengers at the head of the Lachine Rapids. In his blind haste, +however, he had forgotten this; and lost so much time in going to the +wharf that, when he eventually learnt the truth and got to the depot, +the train was just leaving the platform. + +There was nothing for it now but to wait for the train for the west, +and to get on board the steamer at Kingston. He had at least the +satisfaction of knowing that they were on the boat like rats in a trap, +and that, except the delay in confronting the villain Von Alba and his +wretched companion, he was as successful as possible in his pursuit of +the fugitives. Returning to the city, he procured the assistance of a +detective, who undertook to accompany him to Kingston, and assist him in +apprehending and arresting the fugitives. + +By this time the steamship "Hungarian," on which the wretched pair had +embarked, was ploughing the waters of Lake St. Louis. After a time they +passed through the Beauharnois and Cornwall canals, and entered the +labyrinth of beautiful patches known as the "Thousands Islands." As they +emerged from this lovely spot the saloon became suddenly filled with +smoke, and in a few minutes cries of "Fire! Fire!" were heard on every +hand. A rush was made for life preservers, while the crew of five or +six men vainly endeavored to extinguish the flames. The captain ordered +boats to be lowered, but, the men being excited, and badly drilled at +best, the boats were successively swamped, leaving the poor terrified +creatures only a choice of two fearful deaths. + +One of the sailors handed Mrs. Clarkson a life preserver, which she +requested Von Alba to fasten round her waist, but the cowardly fellow +_snatched it from her_, and, hastily securing it round his own waist, +swung himself overboard, leaving her to perish in the flames! He was +not to escape so easily, however; with a bitter yell of mingled rage and +despair the wretched woman mounted the taffrail, and plunging straight +for the spot where he rose to the surface dragged him under again and +again with fearful maledictions. The passengers who still remained on +deck could do nothing to separate them, and although the life preserver +would have sustained both of them easily in the water, so great was the +woman's bate on the discovery of Von Alba's cowardly treachery, that +she did not even give a thought to her own escape, so intent was she on +dragging him to the bottom. The expression of her face, lit up as it was +by the blaze of the burning; steamer, was terrible to behold: the veins +in her head and neck were swollen almost to bursting, and she died +cursing with bitter malediction the man for whom she had sacrificed not +only herself, but her husband and her children. + +The steamer burned to the water's edge, only a few of those who had +jumped overboard escaping. The bodies of the guilty pair were discovered +at some distance from the wreck, Mrs. Clarkson's hand being tightly +clutched round her companion's throat, while his tongue and eyes +protruded fearfully. + +With sad and heavy heart Clarkson returned to Detroit, and, having +gathered together what remained of his former property, prepared to +return to Canada. He took with him the children of his late wife, +placing them both as boarders at the College at Lennoiville till they +were old enough to be apprenticed to some trade or profession. He never +quite recovered from the shock received on hearing of the manner of Mrs. +Clarkson's death and that of her paramour, but became prematurely aged +when he realized that, instead of the sweet angelic creature whom he +thought he had married, he found that he had wedded a regular disciple +of Satan. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The Frail Shop Girl. + +The many fine ladies who patronize the fashionable emporiums of +Montreal little think (as they sit comfortably at the counter, leisurely +examining dozens of articles they never intend to purchase) of the +sufferings undergone by those who minister to their wants, and, it may +be, their caprices. Dozens of these poor creatures stand day after day, +from morn till night, without a moment's rest except at meal-times; even +then the short period allowed them barely suffices to permit of a hasty +meal, when they have to hurry back again to undergo another term of +misery. + +It is strange that we should be so careful of brute beasts that we form +ourselves into societies for their protection, prosecuting rigorously +any one who shall have the temerity to ill-treat or abuse them, and yet +allow our fellow-creatures (and those, too, of the weaker sex) to be +treated with the most barbarous cruelty. A bruise or a blow may be +brutal and severe, yet neither is so hurtful, so systematically cruel, +as the forcing young girls to stand erect for lengthened periods, +without change of posture. I am sure if the members of the House of +Commons were deprived of their seats even for one session, we would, +without further ado have a Bill enacted making it criminal for +shopkeepers to make slaves of their employees, or individuals to +patronize such establishments. + +Were shop-girls provided with even the commonest of seats, untold +numbers of crimes and diseases would be heard of no more. I am confident +that but for this most refined cruelty the circumstances which gave +rise to this story would never have occurred, and that I would have been +spared the narration of a history which, though painfully true, is none +the less shocking. + +M----'s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a +well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked +the thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its +door; and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither +and thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still +bright and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be +seen grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from +the shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the +counter. + +One of these girls, by name Esther Ryland, was noticed by many who +frequented M----'s store on account of her unusually attractive person +and elegance of manners; she was a little above the average height, yet +graceful and well-formed, with remarkably handsome features, and eyes +that sparkled like a pair of diamonds. Esther had not been long in +Messrs. M----'s service, yet she had become so popular as a saleswoman +that crowds frequented the particular counter at which she assisted, and +she was known to many who were unacquainted with her name as the Pretty +Shop-girl at M----'s. + +Esther was very proud of her attractions, both professionally and +otherwise; she did not calculate, however, that the more popular she +became the more work she would have to do, and that she would, in time, +pay for her popularity with her health, if not her life. She had, in and +out of the store, a great many admirers amongst those of the opposite +sex, but there was one she prized above all others, a certain Mr. +Quintin, a merchant tailor, who had just started business for himself, +and had persuaded Esther to promise that, after another year's service, +she would give up business and become his wife. + +It had been their custom to go for a stroll together on the long summer +evenings, and together they might have been seen, fondly looking into +each other's faces, as, arm-in-arm, they perambulated the more remote +portions of Sherbrooke and St. Denis streets, which at that time were +scarcely built upon. + +One evening when Quintin called, as usual, to take his enamorata for +a walk, she said she would prefer to stay at home, as she was quite +fatigued with the day's work. Nothing disconcerted, her lover remained +with her in the house, and they amused themselves with a pack of cards +and a chessboard. The following evening, however, Miss Ryland was again +indisposed, and, on questioning her closely, Quintin drew forth the +avowal that she _had not sat down for a quarter of an hour_ during the +whole day! It seems it was the busy season at M----'s, and, besides +being engaged incessantly in serving customers, Miss Ryland was obliged +to shorten her dinner hour, and to hurry back to meet the increased +demand. + +Quintin was quite shocked at this discovery. Although well aware of +the brutal treatment of shopkeepers' assistants, he had never been an +interested party, and so had the matter placed before him _in all its +horrors_ for the first time. He resolved that, come what might, he would +emancipate his intended wife from a life of such slavery, and so, having +carefully arranged his business and purchased a neat little cottage in +Cadieux street, he urged Miss Ryland to consent to marry him without +delay, and so avoid her life of thraldom. She agreed to marry him during +the ensuing month, pleading with feminine weakness that it would take +at least that time to get her trousseau ready, and the day was finally +arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + +The excitement of preparation before marriage, and the change of scene +during her wedding-tour, wrought such an effect on the woman that Mr. +Quintin became convinced that his wife's health was thoroughly restored, +and he labored assiduously at his business, looking forward cheerfully +to the time when she should become a mother, and the merry laughter of +his children should, in his hours of rest from worldly cares, gladden +and enliven their home. + +A year rolled by, and both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin looked hopefully towards +the future; two years passed and still they were childless. Mrs. Quintin +would have given all the world, had she possessed it, for one of God's +blessings; she loved children, even those of other children, and _one of +her own_ would have been a priceless treasure. But she lamented more on +her husband's account. She knew that he doted on children; and when she +saw him take the neighbours' children on his knee, and, after looking +wistfully in their faces, rise and dash his hand across his eyes, +she knew what it meant. "Oh," she would cry, "if only these abandoned +wretches who desert their offspring could realize what it is to desire +them and yet live unblest! If they but knew the priceless treasures +they were casting from them, they would turn and repent in sackcloth and +ashes." + +Mr. and Mrs. Quintin had been married about three years when one day the +former called on me, his face beaming with joy, and informed me that his +fondest hopes were about to be realized, and that he would like me +to call and consult with his wife. I was a little surprised at this +intimation, as, from what I knew of Mrs. Quintin, I had fully made up my +mind that she would never become a patient of mine; however, I was glad +to hear that I had been mistaken, and so, when next in the neighborhood +I waited on that lady and congratulated her on her improved prospects. +To my great surprise she burst into tears, and confessed that she was +not _enceinte_, or likely ever to become so; that her career in M----'s +store, and continued standing for hours together, had rendered her +physically unable ever to become a mother. She added that her husband +had so set his heart upon the one object (viz., the desire to have +children), and had spent so much money for medicine and medical advice +with a view to that end, that she could not bear him to think that all +his efforts were unavailing, and her complaint having assumed a form to +all outward appearances similar to pregnancy, she had permitted him +to delude himself with the belief that the latter was the cause of +her altered appearance, and that scientific skill had counteracted the +effects of years of abuse. + +I was greatly taken aback at this disclosure, but my surprise was as +nothing compared to that in hearing the plot which the woman's now +diseased mind had concocted. She said she was going to bear reproach no +longer (for, though her husband never murmured, at least in words, +his friends and her neighbors were ever ready to deepen her sorrow and +humiliation by taunting her with her impotency), and her eyes rolled in +frenzy as she almost shouted: I MUST AND SHALL HAVE A CHILD'! Why am I +prohibited from having what many do not know how to value? Many of them +cast their treasures from them; shall I, frantic with despair, _refuse +to pick one up_! + +As she walked up and down the room in her fury, she looked like one +demented. Her hands were clenched till the nails entered her flesh, her +eyes rolled wildly, and, were I more easily frightened, I would have +felt impelled to call for help. Gradually becoming cooler, Mrs. Quintin +unfolded to me her plan for deceiving her husband, and, with a coolness +that I would not have pardoned but for her evidently unhinged condition, +actually _requested me to assist her?_ She said she had been offered +a child for adoption by a lady who was more guilty and unfeeling than +herself, and that the person in question had promised to send her word +when she was taken ill, so that she might send for me, and make her +arrangements for the reception of the child, which was to be transported +secretly into her bedroom. + +I was so astonished that I was for a time unable to a speak. The deep +plot itself, the proposition made to me to assist her, and the cool +manner of the lady herself, fairly staggered me. At length, speaking as +calmly as I could, I tried to convince Mrs. Quintin of the enormity of +the crime she intended to commit, telling her that, if she wished to +adopt a child, she would find it quite an easy matter to do so without +taking any such course as she evidently intended; and, after arguing for +some time, she seemed to yield a little to reason, and promised to do +nothing rashly. She had already, however, committed herself to the first +part of her programme, and told her husband a falsehood; how was she to +undeceive him? I suggested that she should tell him on his return that +she had been mistaken, and that on examination I had found nothing +unusual the matter with her. This she positively refused to do, saying +that her husband had so set his heart on this one object that, were his +hopes suddenly dashed to the ground, he might do something desperate. +She said she would break it to him gently, and, imploring me to say +nothing to him of what had passed, she escorted me to the door, and, +with tearful eyes, bade me farewell. + +Several months elapsed, and I had, for the time, thought little of +either Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, when one evening in glancing over the +papers, my eye fell on the following announcement: "On the ----th inst., +at ---- Cadieux street the wife of R. Quintin of a daughter." I let the +paper drop as I gazed vacantly at the ceiling and tried to realize the +whole affair. Undecided how to act, I mechanically put on my bonnet and +cloak, and walked up Cadieux street, when, coming out of the house, I +spied my friend, Dr. P----. + +"Good evening, Doctor," said I. + +"Oh, good evening, Mrs. Schroeder. I have just been attending a patient +of yours; it seems they were not at all prepared, and had not time to +notify you. Indeed, I was late myself, as I did not arrive till some +minutes after the child was born." + +Without saying a word I beckoned the Doctor aside, and made a sign that +I wished to speak with him privately. He invited me to step into his +carriage, and we drove in perfect silence to his residence in Beaver +Hall Terrace. Alighting, he preceded me to his surgery, and closed the +door; then, with a look full of meaning, he said: + +"Well, what is there wrong here?" + +"I said, Before I reply, will you permit me to ask you one or two +questions." + +"Who called you to attend Mrs. Quintin?" + +"A carter came and requested me to come with all speed to attend a lady +in Cadieux street. I went as quickly as possible, but the child was born +before my arrival." + +"Who, then, attended the lady?" + +"The nurse did, and apparently very satisfactorily indeed. I found +the bandages so well arranged, and the patient's pulse so strong and +regular, that I left, perfectly satisfied that all was properly attended +to till your arrival. They explained to me that the lady was your +patient, but that being unexpectedly taken ill, she had ordered the +carter to bring the first doctor he found at home." + +"Was Mr. Quintin at home?" + +"No; he is gone to England to purchase some goods." + +"Ah! That accounts for it then." + +"Accounts for what? Really you must not catechize me any further. What +is there underneath all these questions?" + +I drew my chair closer to him, as I said tragically: + +"Mrs. Quintin _never had a child_." + +"This rather staggered the good old doctor, who had just come from the +house, where he had examined and weighed the infant. He started up from +his chair, and, drawing back, exclaimed: + +"What do you mean? Explain yourself." + +I then at length narrated all I knew concerning the Quintin family, and, +as I proceeded with my story, the old man's eyes opened wider and wider +as he exclaimed: + +"My God what a diabolical plot"! + +"Yes, indeed, and I was invited to join in it." + +"Well, well. _I_ certainly would never have suspected anything of the +kind." + +"Nor would anyone. The thing was well arranged, and artfully carried +out." + +"I suppose they will send for _you_ now." + +"Not at all. That is only a sham to get rid of your attendance. The +husband will be given to understand that you were hurriedly called +in, and that, my assistance being unneeded, they did not think it +worth-while troubling me." + +After consulting with Dr. P. for a considerable time and putting the +case in different lights, we came to the conclusion that it would be as +well now to let matters take their course. Any interference on our part +would only have raised a great public scandal, and rendered both Mr. +and Mrs. Quintin miserable, without benefiting anyone, so we allowed +the poor man to believe that his prayers were answered, and that the +beautiful girl he fondled was really his own. + +Time rolled on, the baby being baptized in due course and known by the +name of Edith Quintin. As she grew older, both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin +became passionately fond of her, the latter being as much attached to +the little girl as if she were her own daughter. When the child was +about twelve years old, Mrs. Quintin, who had gradually grown more and +more delicate, began to feel that she must, ere many months had passed, +finally succumb to the disease which was gradually gnawing at her +vitals, and the deception she had practised on her husband was a source +of great discomfort and annoyance to her. She called on me in great +grief, and, having informed me concerning that of which (as the reader +knows) I was well aware, implored me to give her counsel and advice. She +was surprised to hear that I had already learnt all from Dr. P----; +for, although she, of course, knew that _I_ was not blinded by her +subterfuge, she was not aware that I knew all concerning the method +adopted by her, and when she learned that both the doctor and myself had +forborne to inform on her, she was visibly affected, and thanked me on +her knees. + +I advised her to break the matter to her husband, and not to die with +such a load on her conscience, but she avowed that she had neither the +strength nor the courage to do so, and importunately besought me to +undertake the painful task. When Mr. Quintin learnt the truth he was of +course greatly shocked, and at first was bitter in his denunciations at +his deceitful wife. His better judgment, however, was soon brought to +bear in the matter, and he was moved rather to pity her misfortune than +to punish her for her fault. He knew that her judgment erred solely in +order to retain his affection, and when he looked at her pale face and +emaciated form, and thought of the agony and suffering, both mental and +bodily, which the poor creature had endured, he willingly forgave her, +and, though sadly disappointed and sorely smitten, did what he could to +reassure her. + +Edith meanwhile had developed into a beautiful girl, and had she really +been, as she believed herself, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, she +could not have been more beloved by them. The former enjoined me never +to reveal the secret of her birth to his daughter as he called her, and +so her life, at least, was not darkened in the least by the knowledge of +the truth. + +When Edith was about seventeen years old Mrs. Quintin finally yielded +to the ravages of that dread destroyer, consumption. The poor girl wept +sadly and bitterly at the loss of her mother, the only one indeed the +poor child had ever known, and poor Quintin wept sadly as he thought of +his wife's brief and unhappy career. He removed with his daughter into +furnished lodgings, not wishing the child to be burdened too soon with +the cares of house-keeping. What he would not allow her to do for him, +however, she soon became very anxious to do for another, and the days +of her mourning were not long passed when she became the happy wife of +a young man named Wentworth, bookkeeper in one of the leading hardware +firms in Montreal. She has now children of her own, and the youngsters' +greatest delight is to gather round their grandfather's knee while he +astonishes them with stories. To them nor to no one else, however, has +he told, even as I have done, the story of the frail shop-girl, who from +being young and handsome, and the belle of her circle of acquaintances, +became a wretched and deceitful woman, diseased both in body and mind, +and finally sank into a premature grave. + +Out on this heartless, brutal system, and the thoughtlessness and +ignorance which permit it! I hope the narrative given above may cause +some of those at least who engage in this barbarous system to pause and +give the great problem of life, capital and labor, a few moments thought +that they may see the error of their way, and that poor Esther Quintin +may not have died in vain. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The Two Orphans + +One evening, about a dozen years before the introduction of the present +system of fire alarms into Montreal, crowds might be seen hurrying along +that part of the city known as Little St. James street, towards the +scene of an immense conflagration. Several fire engines were throwing +strong streams of water on the burning mass, but, the evening being +windy, the fire swept all before it, and soon reduced several buildings +to ashes. + +In one of these resided Mr. Wilson, Notary Public, and his two +daughters, the eldest a beautiful girl about 9 years old, the other +aged nearly 8. When the fire commenced they were seated calmly at the +tea-table, partaking of their evening meal, but, so sudden was the +holocaust which burst with tremendous fury around them that they had not +the slightest warning till they were surrounded with dense volumes +of smoke The two girls rushed forward to the window, and screamed for +assistance, while the old man endeavored to gather some of his most +valuable papers together and throw them into the street. + +Amongst the crowd who assembled were two young men, clerks, named +Wilgress and D'Alton respectively. Taking in the situation at a glance, +they sought hastily for ladders, and placing them against the burning +windows, mounted bravely through the flames, each seizing a girl round +the waist, and carrying her in safety to the ground. Their clothes were +almost completely destroyed, while their faces were grimed and scorched, +still, nothing daunted, they looked up to see if anything more could be +done; they espied the old man at one of the windows with a parcel in +his arms. Quick as thought Dalton mounted the ladder once more, going +through the flames like a salamander, and, taking the parcel from the +old gentleman, tried to induce him to descend the ladder. Poor old +Wilson, however, could not bear to leave so much that was valuable while +a chance of saving it remained, and so, rushing wildly back into the +burning building, he was soon lost to sight. A cry arose from the crowd +as they saw him disappear once more, and several hardy youths sprang up +the ladders, determined to bring him out by force, but, ere they could +enter the flaming pile, a loud shriek met their ears as the floor gave +way, hurling the poor old notary into the dreadful pit of fire. All +efforts to do anything further were now unavailing, and the firemen +directed their energies to protecting the neighboring buildings, and +preventing the fire from spreading. + +The young men were at first puzzled what to do with the two girls whom +they had rescued, and who were now orphans, without parents, money, or +even clothes, but some Sisters of Charity, who had witnessed the heroic +action, came forward and offered to take them in charge. The good +sisters took the children to the convent, and provided them with both +food and clothes, intending to educate them and bring them up in the +Catholic faith, but some Protestant ladies, members of the congregation +to which Mr. Wilson had belonged, having heard of the affair, induced +the clergyman to call and obtain possession of the orphans, they +undertaking to provide the cost of their maintenance, or to find them +homes in Protestant families. + +By the time the Rev. Mr. Flood called at the nunnery the children had +dried their tears, and were beginning to feel quite at home. The Sister +in charge, however, saw at once the correctness of the Clergyman's +action, and agreed to give the girls up as soon as he had made +arrangements for their reception elsewhere. In a few days they were sent +for, and each was adopted by a different family; Cissie, the elder, was +taken in charge by a childless minister, residing in St. Albans, in +the State of Vermont, while Lillie, the younger sister was adopted by a +farmer from the neighborhood of Varennes. + +Many years passed away and the two girls were grown up, and were both +uncommonly good looking, Lillie being then just seventeen, and as +handsome a girl as one could wish to see. Then circumstances, however, +were not the same, for while Cissie had received a good education, and +had in every way the manners of a lady, Lillie could not even read with +facility, and writing was with her and utter impossibility. The people +who had adopted her were Irish settlers, who, though comfortably off, +knew little beyond the cultivation of potatoes and the care of pigs. + +About this tame Cissie Wilson, tired of the monotony of life at St. +Albans, determined to make an effort to "see the world," as she called +it, and earn her own living; and, as her adopted father remonstrated +with her in rather a hasty manner, she collected her effects together, +and, one day while the old man was out, started for Montreal. She left +a note for him, informing him of her destination, and warning him not to +attempt to stop her, as she had determined, at all hazards, to carry out +her intention. Miss Wilson had been several times in Montreal, and had +several acquaintances there, among them a Miss Wood, whose father had +a position in the Telegraph Office. To Miss Wood's, therefore, she +repaired, and, being welcomed with the usual number of kisses, she +requested the young lady to persuade her father to procure a situation +as telegraph operator or something of the kind, as she was determined to +earn her own living. This the young lady promised to do and succeeded so +well that Miss Wilson was soon installed in a tolerably good position, +earning enough money to maintain and clothe herself respectably. + +Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of +her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home +arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to +indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, +and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her +beauty and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means +of dressing herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she +could make, were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. + +This passion for dress and jewellery soon became deep-seated; were she +only well dressed, what could she not achieve. She had, in her anxious +endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even +of necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, +and these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over +this circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced +to meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine +dress and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and +modest beauty of the poor telegraph girl. Miss Smith inquired casually +if Cissie were going to the Oddfellows' ball, an affair which was then +on the _tapis_, and when the latter answered in the negative, explaining +that her small salary would not allow her to purchase the necessary +finery, Miss Smith laughed and called her a silly little goose. Taking +her by the arm, Anna then let her into a secret, and explained how she +obtained all she required, and indeed could, out of the abundance of her +stores, fit out Miss Cissie, whom she chose to consider her protegee. +She urged Cissie not to miss the ball on any account, and reminded her +that she had already obtained a decided advantage over Miss Williams, +Miss Hunt and Miss Jones, and that with such an outfit as she would lend +her the victory would be complete. + +Cissie was for a moment shocked. She had been several times offered +presents by gentlemen of her acquaintance, but had always resolutely +declined to take them, having an instinctive feeling which warned her +against their acceptance. She could not bear now to wear the dresses +proffered by Miss Smith, and momentarily made up her mind not to go to +the ball at all. Then again her heart failed her as her companion glibly +ran over the names of those who were to attend, and Cissie thought how +she would like to enter the room on Horace Gibson's arm in the presence +of Miss Williams and the rest. Horace Gibson was a clerk in the Bank of +Montreal who had invited Miss Wilson to the ball, and was to receive +her answer that evening. As luck would have it, that young gentleman +approached just as the girls were rounding the corner of the street, +and, raising his hat in salute, inquired if he was to have the pleasure +of taking Miss Wilson to the ball. Cissie hung her head, and was just +about to offer some excuse, when Miss Smith answered for her: + +"Oh, yes, _of course_ she'll go, and be the best dressed and best +looking lady in the room too." + +"If you have taken her up, I am sure she will be at least the _second_ +best as regards get up," responded Mr. Gibson, conveying an indirect +compliment to Miss Smith herself, who was celebrated for the elegance of +her attire. Cissie could not utter a word. After all, she thought, there +can be no harm in borrowing a dress from a young lady! It was not for +her to inquire how that lady was able to purchase so many dresses; and +then, as she looked at the handsome young man before her, and thought +how her rivals would bite their lips with envy to see her in her elegant +out-fit, the blood rushed into her temples, and with an impetuous bound +she burst away from both her companions and entered the house, saying to +Mr. Gibson: "Yes, I'll go; call for me at nine to-morrow." + +Till late night Cissie sat in her rocking-chair, her hands pressed over +her throbbing temples; at length wearied nature came to her relief, +and compelled her to retire to bed. Being fatigued, she soon fell +fast asleep, and on the morrow when she awoke, although she remembered +clearly all that had passed on the previous evening, she had not the +same sensitive feelings, or the same sharp prickings of conscience, and, +as she walked towards the office, she began to anticipate the ball with +the greatest pleasure. + +As Miss Smith had said, Cissie, beautiful before, was ten times as +beautiful now that she was adorned with all that art could do in the +matters of dress and jewellery. Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth +with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o'clock, disgusted with +_that thing_ from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly +sought for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. +Miss Smith was as proud of Cissie's success as if it had been her own. +With all her faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as +she did fancied she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in +opening to her the highway to fame and fortune, even though it were +reached by the gate of dishonor. + +It is needless to give in detail the particulars of Cissie Wilson's +career; suffice it to say, that the brilliant triumph at the Oddfellows' +ball was too much for her weak nature. She plunged headlong into the +vortex of worldly pleasure and excitement, and, having little time or +inclination for reflection, became in time quite habituated to this +peculiar mode of life, always maintaining outwardly, however, a moral +and respected appearance. + +All this time, the reader may well ask, what had become of Lillie, the +younger sister? She had been remarkably successful in her country home, +having at her feet the hands and hearts of all the most eligible young +men for miles round. This at one time would have gratified her utmost +ambition; but her sister's letters from Montreal made her dreadfully +anxious to join her in her whirl of exciting pleasures, and, with the +understanding that her sister would obtain her employment in Montreal, +Lillie, at the age of eighteen, came to the city. + +She was not long in her new home till her sister unbosomed to her many +things of which she had previously been in ignorance, and promised to +introduce her to the _creme de la creme_ of her worldly companions, +urging her to endeavor to acquire these graces and accomplishments which +she had failed to learn in her country home. Lillie soon became +more popular even than her sister; for, although she was not so well +educated, she was naturally clever and witty, and there was a vivacity +and freshness about her conversation, which, added to her beautiful face +and perfect figure, made her a charming and desirable companion. + +One day Mr. D'Alton, one of the gentlemen who had rescued the two girls +from the fire, was walking along Notre Dame street, when he observed +a beautiful girl, rather showily dressed, promenading just in front of +him. Something in the girl's manner attracted his attention, and, as he +passed her, he turned round, and carefully scanned her face. As he did +so the girl looked up and their eyes met; he, raising his hat, blurted +out an apology, saying he had mistaken her for another lady of his +acquaintance named Brown. "Oh," said she, laughing, "my name is Lillie +Wilson." + +On hearing this name D'Alton started, and, having questioned her closely +concerning her antecedents, asked her if she remembered the fire, and +the two gentlemen who rescued herself and her sister; and, although she +had altogether forgotten his appearance, she remembered the circumstance +perfectly. They walked together for a little while, and then he asked +her permission to visit her at her address, and was astonished to +find that she objected, for some strange reason, to do so. At length, +bursting into tears, she confided to him her whole history, informing +him that she had been seduced and betrayed, and was at that moment +_enceinte_. This disclosure, as may well be supposed, staggered D'Alton +not a little, but at the same time he became more and more interested in +the girl, and offered, if she would promise to give up her corrupt +mode of life that he would do his best to see her through her present +difficulty. Calling on me, he consulted with me as to what was best +to be done under the circumstances, explaining that, although he +was willing to do all in his power for the girl for the sake of old +associations, yet that he did not wish to peril his own reputation. +I promised to do what I could for the girl, and calling on her was +informed that her paramour was an officer in the Rifle Brigade, who +had returned to England, leaving her to bear the burden of their crime. +Having procured suitable lodgings, I saw the girl comfortably housed, +and in due time she gave birth to a fine little boy, which, as usual +in these cases, was sent to the nunnery to be taken care of by the good +Sisters of Charity. + +Mr. D'Alton did not come to visit Miss Wilson during her convalescence +but, after she was completely recovered he called frequently, taking her +to theatres and concerts, and sometimes in the winter to sleigh-rides. +What his intentions at first may have been I do not know; I certainly +think that but for his friends he would openly have married her; be +that as it may, in a short time it became apparent that they had both +overstepped the bounds of ordinary friendly intercourse, and that Mrs. +Rushton (as she now called herself) would soon require my services a +second time. This time she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and, before +many years were past, there followed another girl and boy. These +children were not, as in the former case, sent to the nunnery, but +were retained and brought up by their mother, she being smart enough to +perceive that by doing so she would maintain a hold on their father, +and secure for herself, if not a respectable, at least a comfortable +position, Mr. D'Alton having been successful in business, and being at +that time one of the leading brokers in Montreal. + +For a time things went on this way, D'Alton visiting his mistress +frequently, and becoming passionately fond of the children, whom Mrs. +Rushton artfully used to influence him on all occasions. To do her +justice, it must be said that she never, either in thought or action, +was untrue to D'Alton, and that, whatever her past career might have +been, she lived at this time a quiet life, indeed, caring only for her +husband (as she called him) and her children. By the time the little +boy was two years old, both mother and children had so ingratiated +themselves in Mr. D'Alton's affections, that he determined, come what +might, to marry his mistress, and so make their future offspring at +least legitimate. + +He was weary of his irregular mode of life, and, being comparatively +wealthy, longed for some place which he could call his home. His wife +could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an _entree_ to that +realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better than +that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom +he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, +exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his +cellar maintained its reputation. Accordingly, he one day astonished and +delighted Mrs. Rushton with the proposal that he should marry her; and +that they should live together openly. As may be supposed, the lady +unhesitatingly accepted the proposal, and accordingly they were married, +formally and legally in St. George's Church, which, at that time was +situated in St. Joseph street, on the site now occupied by Messrs. +Ligget & Hamilton's large dry goods store. Mr. D'Alton took a house in +a new portion of the city, and as they lived very quietly, receiving no +calls, except from business friends of Mr. D'Alton, the neighbors did +not trouble themselves much about them, or inquire concerning their +antecedents. + +Although her husband did not trouble himself whether his wife was or +was not received into society, Mrs. D'Alton felt it very keenly. She had +not, like him, drank the cup of life's pleasures till it tasted insipid +or even nauseous; on the contrary, she looked on the pomps and vanities +of society as only a woman can look on them, and now that she was +legally respectable, and rich enough to keep pace with even the most +fashionable of her neighbors, it made her very heart ache to think +that these scenes of brightness were closed to her as much as ever. She +thought of what she might have been had she not in her ambitious haste +gone off the right track; and, pained with bitter reflections, and with +no one to speak to or converse with (for her husband spent most of his +time at the club) she solaced herself, as others in her predicament have +done, with the cup of forgetfulness, sinking deeper and deeper at every +step, till the habit became confirmed. + +Although Mrs. D'Alton had taken her husband into her confidence, and +told him truthfully her history, she had not sufficient strength of mind +to tell him how ignorant she really was, and that she could not even +read and write with accuracy. Her letters to her husband had been +written by her nursery-governess, engaged ostensibly to instruct the +children; but in reality to act as amanuensis for the lady of the house. +The young lady thus engaged was at first rather averse to signing her +mistress' name to her letters without adding her own initials, but the +present of a handsome broach and earrings soon quieted her sensitive +conscience and she soon fell into the plan, not being unwilling to make +use of such a powerful lever for obtaining largesses from Mrs. D'Alton. +In time this young lady became so overbearing that her mistress fully +made up her mind to discharge her, but a summer trip to Portland being +then on the tapis, she allowed her to have her own way, as Mr. D'Alton +remained in Montreal, and would naturally expect letters from his wife +during her absence. She would have dismissed the governess and engaged +another, trusting to her own pleadings and the powerful appeals of her +purse to win her over, but the handwriting would not be the same, and +she would not for worlds have allowed her husband to think she had +deceived him. + +The day came for their departure for Orchard Beach, where Mr. D'Alton +had taken a cottage for their use. The children were in great glee as +they anticipated surf bathing and digging in the sand, but Mrs. D'Alton +was moody and down-hearted, the exhilarating effects of a large potion +of brandy having worn off and a reaction set in; her husband, however, +attributed it to sorrow at her separation from him, and was rather +gratified to think she was so deeply affected. + +They arrived at her destination in due course, and were comfortably +ensconced in the cosy little cottage. Miss Watson, the governess, +dressed herself up, and with the children departed for the promenade, +and Mrs. D'Alton was left to her own reflections. The thought of her +past career, of the opportunities gone for ever, and lastly of the +predicament she was now in, shunned by all respectable people, and +despised by her own paid servant, who felt her power, and was disposed +to wield it unmercifully. The brandy-bottle, her never-failing +companion, was by her side, and as she mused mopingly over her sins, +she took from time to time copious draughts of the potent spirits, +regardless of its power to do otherwise than to rob her of these racking +memories of the past. In about two hours the promenaders returned and +found her lying back speechless in her chair, the bottle and glass by +her side; her eyes rolled wildly as she gazed vacantly on her children, +but she was unable to utter a word. + +Miss Watson became alarmed and summoned a doctor immediately, who, on +entering the room, perceived at once the cause of Mrs. D'Alton's malady, +and ordered her to be conveyed to bed. In the morning she was a little +better, being able to speak; but she was still very much shaken, +and raved incoherently. Mr. D'Alton was telegraphed for, and came +immediately; but, being merely informed that his wife had had a fit, he +imagined her to be afflicted with hysteria; indeed, although he knew she +was fond of a glass of wine, and often joined him in partaking of brandy +and water, he had no idea that she imbibed to such an extent. + +In a few days Mrs. D'Alton was able to go out again, and, as during her +husband's stay at Orchard Beach she was particularly abstemious, she +was able to associate with the ladies in the hotel, and made several +acquaintances, who, seeing that she had the dress and manners of a lady, +interchanged calls with her and invited her to visit them in Montreal. +On her return to her home, however, these ladies received her but +coldly, and when she gave a large party, inviting all those whom she had +met at the seaside, "they all, with one accord, began to make excuse," +and at entertainment there was present, besides herself and the family, +only a sister of the governess, and one or two bachelor friends of Mr. +D'Alton. Dancing was of course out of the question, so they organized +two whist parties, and, with a little music, managed to drag along till +supper, which was served in Joyce's best style, and looked unnecessarily +elaborate for the small number who were to partake of it. + +Mrs. D'Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she +met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not +have taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did +not calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not +be tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander +had been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really +was, so that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with +her, _dared_ not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold +on the ladder of social position. In moody silence she presided +throughout the entire evening; she was enraged at herself and at the +poor enslaved creatures who, though anxious to go and enjoy themselves +yet dared not infringe the rules laid down by society; and, as she drank +glass after glass of her husband's famous Moselle, she became more and +more despondent. + +About midnight Amy Watson, the sister of the nursery-governess, took +her departure, and Mr. D'Alton with his friends, went up to the billiard +room to enjoy themselves at their favorite game. It was near daylight +ere they grew tired of pocketing the ivory spheres, and left their host +to close the doors, and retire to his room. When he did so what a sight +met his gaze! There lay his wife in all the finery she had arrayed +herself to dazzle her fashionable acquaintances, _a speechless corpse_! +a brandy-bottle, nearly emptied, lay at her side, telling too plainly +what had been the cause of her untimely death. Her husband's first +impulse was to ring the bell and send for a doctor, but, knowing the +scandal that would surely ensue, he quietly let himself out, and went +for Dr. Hickson, being determined not to give up hope till he had done +all that could possibly be done. The doctor on examining the body shook +his head ominously, confirming Mr. D'Alton in the belief that his wife +was no more; he considerately agreed to remain in the house, and not +to inform the servants for some time of the occurrence. The doctor's +presence, of course, excited some alarm, and in a short time it was +known that Mrs. D'Alton was dangerously ill, the announcement of her +death being reserved for a time till all the traces of the recent +festivities were removed, and the house had resumed its normal +condition. + +When the children heard of their mother's death they rent the air +with their cries of anguish; even Miss Watson shed real tears, her +occupation, like that of Othello, being gone. Poor Mr. D'Alton was +almost beside himself. He had never loved another woman; and, though he +was not blind to his wife's failings and shortcomings, he nevertheless +lamented the loss of one, who, whatever her faults, was true to him and +a good mother to his children. + +In the meantime what had become of Cissie Wilson, Mrs. D'Alton's elder +sister? She had endeavored to persuade Mrs. D'Alton to engage her as +governess to her children, but the latter, once married, refused to +hold any communication with her whatever. Miss Wilson then despairing +of finding a road to reform in Montreal, took her departure for Toronto, +taking a position as governess in one of the leading families there. On +hearing of her sister's death she wrote to Mr. D'Alton, offering to take +charge of the children till he had time to make permanent arrangements +for their education. To this letter she received no reply, which nettled +her so much that she determined on a plot for wounding the pride of her +haughty brother-in-law. "Who is he," she would exclaim, "that he should +dare to snub me?" "If I _have_ sinned, was _she_ not equally bad, and +is he not guilty _himself_?" "Never mind, Mr. D'Alton, I will have +my revenge some day." She racked her brain to think of some means of +repaying him for his severity to her, but could think of nothing at the +time, and so resolved to wait and watch her opportunity. + +It was some years before Miss Wilson had that opportunity for which her +heart so yearned, but come it did, surely enough, and she dealt to Mr. +D'Alton a blow so bitter that he never got over its effects. + +Lillian, Mr. D'Alton's eldest daughter had, after her mother's death, +been sent to a fashionable school in Mansfield street, presided over by +the wife of one of our leading brokers. Here she made many friends, and +being known only as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a rich +widower doing business in Montreal, and well known on the Exchange, she +was in time introduced into society, and became at one bound the belle +of the season. + +At that time several British regiments occupied the Quebec Gate +barracks, and the officers were eagerly sought after by the party-giving +community, no ball being complete without at least two or three officers +in _full uniform_. Among the latter was a certain Captain Trevelyan, the +heir-apparent of an English nobleman, who was, of course _the_ eligible +young gentleman of the season. Most of the ladies openly courted Captain +Trevelyan and, figuratively speaking, laid themselves at his feet; +but Lillian D'Alton was too little versed in such matters to know the +triumph she had achieved in being sought after as a partner by the +much-admired Captain, and, when he asked her to dance although she +complied readily with his request, yet she carried herself with an air +so natural, and altogether so different from the time-worn belles he was +so accustomed to meet, that he engaged her for dance after dance, then +for supper, and, before the ball was concluded, he was deeply in love +with her, none the less because she was the only young lady in the room +who did not covet that distinction. + +Although Lillian was but eighteen years of age, she could not but +perceive the marked attention paid to her by Captain Trevelyan, nor +was she blind to the glances of envious hatred darted at her from all +quarters. Her heart responded to the unspoken avowal of her partner, and +ere they parted that night they were one in heart and in thought, each +living only for and in the presence of the other. + +Youthful love makes rapid progress. Ere many months had passed Lillian +D'Alton was the affianced bride of Captain Trevelyan, and their +approaching wedding was the one theme of conversation at balls, routes +or parties. + +Here then was the opportunity longed for by Miss Wilson. She would +inform Captain Trevelyan and his friends concerning the D'Alton family, +and warn him to break off his engagement. With a refinement of cruelty +peculiar to women blinded with rage, she allowed the wedding day to be +fixed before she communicated with the bridegroom, and then sent him a +complete history of the family he was about to enter, informing him +that the lady he was about to marry was the illegitimate child of Mr. +D'Alton, and that in marrying her he would not only injure his own +prospects, but alienate himself completely from his family, bringing on +them both shame and discredit. + +Captain Trevelyan read the letter with astonishment, but did not +believe one word it contained. His Lillian a bastard! why the thing was +preposterous. Her father was as well known on 'Change as Rothschild +was in London. Her mother's funeral had been attended by the wealth +and fashion of Montreal, and since that time Lillian had been the +acknowledged belle of the set commonly known as "the upper ten." The +letter being written in rather extravagant terms, he imagined it to +contain the incoherent ravings of a maniac, and his first impulse was to +toss it aside. On the arrival of the English mail, however, he received +letters from his friends, couched in terms of the deepest anxiety, +urging him to sever all connection with the D'Alton family if he did +not wish to alienate himself completely from all his family and +friends. These letters led him to think more seriously concerning the +communication from Toronto, and being determined, come what might, +to know the worst at once, he started immediately for Mr. D'Alton's +residence, only to find that the gentleman in question had just that +moment departed for his office. + +Lillian was at home, however, and she rushed downstairs impetuously to +meet her affianced husband. He received her as usual, but there was +a cloud on his brow as he followed her into her boudoir, where they +frequently spent hours together. He questioned her concerning her aunt +and her relations generally, but Lillian knew little more than that +her aunt resided in Toronto, and was generally considered to be what is +called "flighty." + +This somewhat reassured Trevelyan, and he dismissed the subject for a +time from his mind. He determined, however, to clear the matter up, and +so in the evening he called to see Mr. D'Alton, requesting a few words +with him in private. The two men entered the study, and Trevelyan led +off by saying:--"I have received a strange communication from your +sister-in-law, Miss Wilson; from what Lillian has told me, I am aware +that she is a person of weak intellect, and her stories are not worthy +of credence, but I thought it due to you, nevertheless, to bring the +matter to your notice." + +At the mention of Miss Wilson's name D'Alton turned deadly pale. He was +a bold man, and capable of carrying out a deep scheme, had he felt +so disposed; but this intimacy of Trevelyan with his daughter was the +result of no scheme, and he had for some years lived, with the rest of +his family, a blameless life, rejoicing in the fact that his neighbors +either did not know, or had forgotten, or overlooked his past career, +and were prepared to receive his children with open arms into society. +With bated breath he ran his eyes hastily over the letter held out to +him by Trevelyan, and in an instant he saw the whole situation. If he +could only have had time to consider the matter, he would probably have +taken the right course, come what might; but he had little time for +decision, as Trevelyan stood before him, eagerly expecting a reply. Mr. +D'Alton pictured to himself the state of affairs did he acknowledge the +truth of the accusation, and though loath to deceive the young man (whom +he already loved almost as dearly as his own son), he dared not ruin his +daughter's prospects by an avowal. Pretending to read the letter once +more he gained a little time, and then, with consummate diplomacy, +endeavored to find out what Trevelyan thought. Looking up coolly, he +said-- + +"And do you believe all this, Trevelyan?" + +Of course, Trevelyan _did not_ believe it, and was profuse in his +apologies, for having permitted himself to doubt for a moment that the +writer was bereft of reason. This confirmed Mr. D'Alton in his course +and he at once denounced his sister-in-law in no measured terms, vowing +to punish her for her irresponsible utterances. The news that Miss +Wilson had written to Captain Trevelyan's friends in England made +D'Alton furious, and he swore a fearful oath that he would place her +where her ravings would harm no one but herself. All night long he +thought over schemes for getting rid of her, and at length he concocted +a plan which he speedily put into execution. + +As was said before, Mrs. D'Alton and her sister were orphans and they +both left their adopted parents early in life, having lived under +assumed names for years, and severed all connection with their former +associates. During Mrs. D'Alton's lifetime her sister was forbidden to +approach the house, and on the death of the former Miss Wilson was not +recognized by her brother-in-law. The children had never seen or known +their aunt, and the people with whom she had last resided in Montreal +(in the capacity of nursery-governess) had known her as Miss Rogers, and +had lately lost all trace of her whereabouts. + +Taking the early train for Toronto, Mr. D'Alton took counsel of an +astute lawyer, and learned that, as events had been shapen, Miss Wilson +would have now great difficulty in proving her connection with the +D'Alton family, did he choose to deny it, and that the fact of her +having written such letters as those received by Trevelyan and his +family would be fair presumptive evidence that the woman was insane. + +Carefully considering his position, D'Alton determined on his course of +proceeding. He was averse to a public prosecution, as many things, now +unknown or forgotten, might be brought to light, and yet he felt that +the woman must be effectually silenced by some means or other. Going to +her residence he boldly demanded an interview with her, and, producing +the letter to Trevelyan, asked if she had written it. Miss +Wilson laughed as she saw the effect of her shot, and exultantly +exclaimed:--"Of course I wrote it; who else _could_ have done it?" + +"And are you aware that you are liable to be prosecuted for libel?" +pursued D'Alton. + +"It is no libel," retorted she, fiercely; "you know it is true, or you +would not be here now." + +"Indeed! _can you prove it, then_?" + +"I have no need to prove it to you. Your very facial expression +acknowledges it to be true." + +"Will that satisfy the jury?" + +"What jury?" + +"The jury who are to try you for a malicious libel!" + +At this Cissie started, but recovering herself exclaimed: "_You_ dare +not sue me for libel. Your history would not stand repetition in court." + +"Who knows my history?" + +"I do!" + +"Indeed! WHO ARE YOU?" + +The fierceness with which he said this made his sister-in-law quail. She +perceived that he was terribly in earnest as he repeated his question in +a tone very unusual with him, and she meekly replied: + +"You know well enough who I am, your late wife's sister." + +"My wife _had no sister_!" + +The look he gave as he said this fairly frightened her. She had seen +a good deal of life, and had in her time met with all kinds of men and +women, but never till now did she fear either. She began to see that she +had roused a desperate man, and that, legally, she had no hold on him, +neither status in society; moreover that she had got entangled in the +meshes of her own net, and that only the dread of exposure would prevent +D'Alton from prosecuting her for libel. Not knowing what to do, she +remained mute, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. At length Mr. +D'Alton broke the silence: "You have evidently had an object," he said, +"in circulating these reports. If your object be to extort money out of +me, you will find it more to your interest to remain silent." With these +words he drew from his pocket a roll of bank bills, and laid them on the +table near his companion; but she, growing livid with rage, refused to +touch them, promising to expose him and his family before all the world. + +D'Alton had not calculated on this, and was for a time taken a little +aback. His last card, however, was not yet played; and, summoning all +his energies together, he braced himself for the enactment of that, +which under other circumstances, he would have suffered much rather than +become in any sense a party thereto. Addressing the lady once more he +said:--"What, then, was your object in writing these letters?" + +"My object was _to disclose the truth_," she cried, vehemently, "to +denounce you as a blackhearted villain, and to save an unsuspecting +youth from becoming the victim of your deep-laid schemes." + +D'Alton bit his lip with passion, but restrained himself. "And you do +all this solely from conscientious motives," he said with a sneer. + +"My conscience, like your own, Mr. D'Alton, is pretty well hardened. No; +I have no conscientious motives to impel me to show your true character +to the world; but revenge is sweet, and I have not forgotten the scorn +and contempt with which both you and your fashionable wife treated me +while I was in Montreal. _I_ was not good enough to touch the hem of +your garments, but _she_ was dressed up and paraded in the drawing-rooms +of those who did not know better than to admit her, and now her b---- +daughter is to wed a scion of a noble house, while _I_ am not even +recognized. No, Robert D'Alton, you will not become respectable and +leave _me_ out in the cold, insulting and spurning me at every turn with +your petty offers of money. I have sworn to have my revenge, and by ---- +now that the opportunity offers, I _will have it_, too!" + +She had worked herself up to state of uncontrollable fury. Her eyes +rolled wildly, and she looked like one demented. This gave the devil +his opportunity, for D'Alton, who had been halting between two opinions, +came to a hasty conclusion, and bringing the interview to a close, +hurriedly left the house, his teeth firmly set, and a horrid glare in +his eyes. He walked rapidly down Yonge street and along the east end +of King street, then, hailing a cab, he directed the driver to travel +towards the west end, coming to a halt opposite the Lunatic Asylum. +Entering he enquired for Dr. Tuffnell, and was informed that he would +likely find that gentleman at his residence on Jarvis street. On +repairing thither he found the doctor at home, and, requesting a few +minutes' private conversation, was soon closeted in the consultation +room. "I have long intended to see you," Mr. D'Alton began, "about a +young lady who lived in our family some years ago in the capacity of +nursery-governess. She was always of a somewhat flighty disposition, +which we used to humour as best we could, and when she left us (at my +wife's death) for Toronto, we fancied she had quite recovered, but it +seems she has been gradually growing worse, and she now continually +torments our friends and us with letters full of ridiculous flights of +fancy, which, though meaningless to those who understand how she has +been afflicted, might possibly cause serious trouble." + +"Has the young lady, then, no friends or relatives?" + +"None, whatever. She was taken out of an orphan asylum by an aged +clergyman, now deceased, who adopted her, and since his death she has +supported herself by teaching. We consulted our physician about her +some time ago, when she imagined herself to be my wife, and ordered her +mistress down to the kitchen. He thought it would be advisable for her +to take another situation away from us till her health improved, as she +was continually fancying herself trampled upon by some member of the +family; we accordingly procured for her a situation in a friend's house +in Montreal, but they in turn became frightened of her, and dismissed +her, which dismissal, strange to say, she attributed _to me_. She now +imagines herself to be my wife's sister, and demands an entrance into my +house, denouncing me in the vilest terms, and writing scandalous letters +to all my acquaintances." + +"Are you sure she is insane?" + +"Well, I have long tried to persuade myself that she is not, but +latterly she has grown so violent that I am afraid that what I said +years ago to my late wife in fun about her being demented was only +painfully true. If you would kindly visit her and give me your opinion +concerning her case, you would oblige me very much." + +"What does her present mistress say about her?" + +"Oh she has only been there a short time and has not yet given an +exhibition of her oratorical powers. Still the lady who is a clergyman's +widow, told me that she walks about her room in the middle of the night, +talking wildly to herself." + +Dr. Tuffnell had not time to visit Miss Wilson that morning, but he made +an appointment with Mr. D'Alton for the following day, and together they +went to the unfortunate girl's residence. Arrived at the house they rang +the bell, and inquired for Mrs. Brookes, the mistress. + +Mrs. Brookes was a middle-aged lady of a retiring disposition. Her +husband had died at an early age, leaving her to take care of three +young children. Her temporal wants however, were provided for, her +husband having been possessed of a handsome income independently of +his small salary. Dr. Tuffnell made inquiries concerning Miss Wilson's +habits, and was informed that her actions were at times very peculiar, +that she had not gone to bed all the past night, but had stamped up and +down her room, talking as if to a second party. Mrs. Brookes was shocked +to hear that she had unwittingly engaged a mad woman to take charge of +her children, and suddenly recollected several extraordinary episodes +which, until that time, had never struck her forcibly. + +It was arranged that the Doctor should see Miss Wilson and satisfy +himself concerning her affliction before any further steps were taken. +Accordingly Mrs. Brookes rang the bell and told the servant to summon +the governess. + +Miss Wilson had not slept all night, and her eyes had a wild expression, +which heightened when she beheld Mr. D'Alton. The doctor, having +previously taken all that was told him for granted, made up his mind +at once that she was insane, and never reflected for a moment on the +possibility of some scheme being on foot to injure her. On entering the +room she laughed wildly and said--"So you have come back with your bag +of gold. I tell you it's _trash_, sordid trash, not half so sweet as +REVENGE!" + +Now as the doctor had heard nothing from either D'Alton or Mrs. Brookes +which he could in any way connect with this wild utterance; moreover, +as the young lady looked like a tigress, and walked fiercely up and down +the room, he became more than ever convinced that he had got a bad case +in hand and acted accordingly. Looking at D'Alton he shook his head, +which Mrs. Brookes perceiving, she shook her head in turn, and, taking +out her handkerchief, wept copiously. Dr. Tuffnell tried to soothe the +patient with gentle words, but she (mistaking him for a pettifogging +lawyer, whom D'Alton had engaged to bind her over to keep the peace) +cried out: + +"Ah, yes! you want to quiet me, but _you can't_ quiet me. I am like the +surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with +more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft +and gilded promises. No, Robert D'Alton, you have started the mighty +avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress." + +The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to +quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all +persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies +altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and +oaths and furious gesticulations. At length the doctor suggested, in a +whisper, the propriety of their departure, when they might consider what +was best to be done, but, on Mrs. Brookes protesting that she was afraid +to stay alone in the house with the maniac, Dr. Tuffnell dispatched +a note to the asylum, and in a short time two keepers arrived, and +proceeded to take Miss Wilson into their care till she should become +possessed of a sound mind. + +There is no time at which a sane person looks so much like a maniac +as when trying to convince people of his sanity. The real lunatic will +cunningly hide his affliction from the most watchful, and is frequently +able to deceive those unaccustomed to deal with persons of unsound mind, +but the victim of persecution becomes wild with honest indignation, +and generally manages to convince even those who might be inclined to +believe him to be sane. + +When the truth of her position began to dawn on Miss Wilson, she became +more frantic than ever. She raved at D'Alton and the doctor, tore with +her hands at the keepers, and abused Mrs. Brookes for standing tamely by +to see one of her own sex so ill-used. She roared so that two policemen +came rushing up to the steps to inquire what was the matter, but, seeing +Dr. Tuffnell, with whom they were well acquainted, they saluted him +respectfully and withdrew. + +Miss Wilson was accordingly driven to the asylum and incarcerated till +she should come to her senses, and Mr. D'Alton, having made arrangements +for her safe-keeping returned to Montreal. + +Shortly after her father's return Lillian D'Alton was married to Captain +Trevelyan in Christ Church Cathedral. The wealth, beauty and fashion of +Montreal attended the wedding, and the costliest presents were displayed +on her father's sideboard. The young couple departed for England +immediately, Trevelyan's regiment having been ordered home, and the +bride was received into the first London circles. + +Mr. D'Alton remained in Montreal where he still lives and moves in the +best society. What his private feelings are I cannot tell, but outwardly +all is serene, the only one besides myself who knows his family history +having long since passed away in solitary confinement. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +A Tale of Two Cities + +Among the many friends we made during our stay in Montreal, none were so +thoroughly beloved by myself and family as the Sinclairs. Mr. Sinclair +was an English artist who had settled in Canada some time previous to +our arrival, and, being generally well informed, as well as a shining +light in his own profession, he was made much of by the English +residents here, and had as pupils many of the wives and daughters of the +officers of the garrison, besides some of the more cultivated Canadians. +Mrs. Sinclair was a refined English lady of good family, and had several +children, mostly girls, who were greatly admired not only for their +beauty, but also for their many and various accomplishments. The +Sinclair girls were frequently at our house, being, in fact, looked upon +as members of our family, and no social gathering of ours was considered +complete without them. + +In time Mr. Sinclair became tired of Montreal. Many of his patrons +left with their regiments for England, and he became weary of the +dull routine and scanty income which he saw was all he could ever look +forward to in Canada, so, breaking up his household, he departed for the +United States, and, having lived for a time in various cities, finally +settled in Boston, where he became quite successful, and soon obtained +an enviable reputation as a portrait painter. + +Lulu Sinclair, the eldest of the girls, was a sprightly blonde of about +sixteen when her father left Montreal, and the family had not been +long in Boston before she became engaged as a teacher at one of the +conservatories, and a mutual attachment sprang up between the pair. +Miss Sinclair had already made her _debut_ in Boston Music Hall as a +vocalist, and the pair were frequently engaged at the same concerts +and entertainments, so that the natural sequence was that they in time +became engaged, and afterwards--_married_! + +"Nothing very mysterious in that," I think I hear my fair reader say, a +little disappointed that I have not prepared a spicy bit of scandal for +her delectation; but as Balaam the Prophet could only speak as he +was impelled by the spirit, so likewise must I confine myself to +_the realities_ of the case, and I therefore make no apology for this +commonplace bit of history, but proceed with my story. + +One evening Lulu made her appearance at our house, in Montreal, +accompanied by Mr. Hill, her husband. It seems that they were on a +concert tour, and were to give two concerts in Saint Patrick's Hall, +which at that time stood on the corner of Craig street and Victoria +square, and, as we had often invited them to do so, they promised +to avail themselves of our hospitality during their stay, as their +engagement terminated with these concerts and they were anxious to take +a little rest before returning to Boston. + +The children were delighted to have Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the house +with them; they had never met a _real live prima donna_ in private +life before, and they flaunted "Professor Hill" and "Mademoiselle Lulu +Sinclair" in the faces of their juvenile acquaintances, as if they +had been entertaining the Emperor of all the Russias and Her Imperial +Majesty the Empress. + +Since the Sinclairs had left Montreal, the principal playmates of our +children had been the Bennetts, who lived in the adjoining street. Mr. +Bennett was a French-Canadian, with (as usual) a large family, and was +in comfortable circumstances, having a large retail grocery on Notre +Dame street. One evening, shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hill and +his wife, the former drew me aside and asked me if I knew a family in +Montreal named Bennett. I told him that I knew them intimately, that +they lived close at hand, and taking him to the window (it was late in +the spring) I showed him the children walking opposite hand in hand with +our own. He then intimated that he had something to tell me, and, taking +me aside into the adjoining room, he told me something which astonished +me as much as it will doubtless astonish the reader of these pages. + +It seems that Mr. Bennett's father was an American, who, in early life, +being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named +Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first +two of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third +did not in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a +liberal-minded man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could +not be forced, like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that +every one should be free to hold what convictions his reason dictated, +untrammelled by conventionality or creed of any kind. Miss Beauchamp +professed to be of a like mind, and agreed to allow him to educate the +boys (if any), while she would look after the female issue of their +marriage. With this ridiculous understanding they got married, and for +a time things went pleasantly along, Mrs. Bennett attending L'Eglise +St. Jacques regularly, not only without opposition from her husband but +sometimes even accompanied by him. He did not believe in the efficacy of +the service to save his soul, but he had sufficient common sense to know +that it could not harm him, or turn him one whit aside from what his +reason dictated; and neither did it, for at the end of two years he was +as greatly opposed to what he considered the errors of the Church of +Rome as ever he was, and though he attended L'Eglise St. Jacques almost +as regularly as St. George's Church, of which he was a member, he went +there simply because he liked the society of his wife, and she believed +it to be necessary for her salvation. + +In the course of time Mrs. Bennett gave birth to a boy, then two +girls, and afterwards another boy, all of whom, as children will, made +enquiries concerning whence they were and whither they were going, etc. +Mr. Bennett now began to see the folly he had been guilty of in making +the agreement mentioned above. If the Catholic religion were the true +and only faith, all his sons were on the high road to perdition; if, as +he was inclined to think, the Protestant religion were nearer the mark, +then what was to become of the girls? What a pleasant prospect was +there before him! His family torn and divided by the most bitter of all +dissentions, religious disputes (or rather _irreligious_ disputes about +matters of doctrine), and his life and those of all his family rendered +miserable. This was certainly bad enough in its way, but something more +annoying was in store for him. He one day discovered that not only were +the girls baptized in the Romish faith, but that the _boys also_ were +surreptitiously baptized by the parish priest, so that he alone of all +the family remained a Protestant, and a poor one at that. Every day +things got more and more complicated, and his wife at last openly avowed +that _all_ the children were to be Roman Catholics, and advised him also +to flee from the wrath to come and take refuge in the arms of the true +church. + +Bennett was not exactly a bigot, but, if not a Protestant, he was +certainly not going to become a Roman Catholic. Cursing himself bitterly +for his folly, he sought to make matters better; but that, so far as +changing the religion or creed of his family went, was altogether beyond +his power. He had his choice between living an alien and a heretic, +despised by his own family; and joining a church whose teachings he +considered puerile and inefficacious, and the atmosphere of which was +now exceedingly disagreeable to him. His wife showed herself so much +more devoted to the church than to her husband, that his love for her +soon faded away, and he made a fearful resolve to leave Montreal, and +never see his wife or children more. Accordingly one evening, instead +of returning as usual from his store, he left for parts unknown, leaving +his wife and children almost penniless behind. + +Mrs. Bennett, though acting as she did, loved her husband dearly. It was +this very love for him which made her so anxious for him to leave what +she considered the false religion of the Church of England for the pure +and unadulterated system of the Church of Rome. She cried after him as +if her heart would break, and sent after him in all directions. All her +efforts, however, were in vain, no trace of her husband being found. +The children were left at school till they were in time old enough to be +apprenticed to a trade or business, Mrs. Bennett struggling bravely, as +only a woman can do, to keep their heads above water. When William, the +eldest boy, was about fourteen, he was placed in the well-known house +of Messrs. Mockridge & Co., dry goods merchants, and in course of time +became thoroughly conversant with the business. He had not only +been able to help his mother to maintain the family, but had put by +sufficient to start a small business for himself. Before deciding on +the latter, however, he determined to visit Boston, to get a few ideas +connected with the business, and, while there, came across his father, +who had married again under the name of Hill, his wife being a young +American of good family, and the mother of the gentleman from whom I +learnt this story. + +William Bennett reproached his father with his misconduct, and insisted +on his leaving his American wife. Bennett the elder was very much averse +to doing so, but his son would leave him no alternative, threatening him +with exposure and criminal action should he decline. The old man tried +to temporize, and persuaded William to visit and dine with his family, +introducing him as a business friend from Montreal. + +Whatever Anti-Spiritualists may say to the contrary, there are +undoubtedly influences other than material which affect us at times, and +give us mysterious intimations of events happening or about to happen. +Both Mrs. Hill and her children had a presentiment of some impending +calamity, and, although they had not the faintest suspicion of the real +state of affairs, they did not look on William Bennett as they would +have done on any other person casually introduced into their household. +A damper seemed to have been placed on all their spirits, and the flow +of conversation was sluggish and dull. + +After dinner they endeavored to organize an impromptu card-party, but +that, also, was a failure; and, although, as a rule, they had a +little music after dinner, on this particular evening each one seemed +indisposed to break the monotony. + +About ten o'clock William left for his hotel, having first made an +appointment with his father for the following morning. When they +met William returned to the subject of their previous discourse, and +insisted on his father returning with him to Montreal. The old man vowed +that, come what might, he would never go back to his "priest-ridden +family" as he chose to designate his wife and children. The battle waxed +fast and furious, till at last William exclaimed with an oath: "By ---- +you shall leave your Yankee mistress, then; _she_ shall suffer what _my +mother_ suffered;" and with oaths and threatenings he hounded his father +out of Boston, determined that Mrs. Hill should not (innocent though she +was) enjoy the happy home which was denied to his mother. + +When Mrs. Hill learned the truth (which she did from a letter sent her +from Montreal) she nearly lost her reason. Her case was even worse than +that of Bennett's first wife; because, whereas the latter could at least +seek her husband, and live in the hope of one day finding him again, the +former could not, even did she discover him, claim him as her own. + +Mr. Hill's visit to Montreal, then, though ostensibly made for +professional pursuits was, in reality to find out something concerning +his father's whereabouts, and other matters connected with his +quasi-relations. It was strange that he should have come to me for +information without being at all aware of our intimacy with the Bennett +family, indeed, while he was relating his story Amelia Bennett, his +brother's eldest child, came running in for something or another, and +I at once saw a resemblance between the two, not only in personal +appearance, but also in manners and actions. + +The next day Mr. Hill, leaving his wife to the care of our family (who +had undertaken to show her "the lions") went forth on his expedition +in search of his father. He had obtained from me his brother's business +address, and going to the office unannounced was immediately recognized +by him, although they had only met once before, and that a considerable +time previously. On explaining the object of his visit, Hall was very +coldly received and informed that Bennett the elder had left Montreal +for New York some years previously and had not since been heard of. Mr. +Hill pretended to believe the story, but secretly determined to keep a +watch on his half-brother as he felt certain that the latter was still +in communication with his father. He accordingly made arrangements to +stay at my house, and as the Bennetts were constantly coming and going +he was sure that in a short time he would learn more concerning him of +whom he was in search. + +One afternoon we were seated round the parlor fire, discussing the usual +after-dinner topics, when Mrs. William Bennett dropped in to have a +friendly chat. She disclosed the fact that her husband was going to +visit a superannuated employee in the nunnery, which he usually did +on the first of each month, and that she did not see what reason her +husband had to support forever all his broken-down employees. At the +first word, Hill listened breathlessly, and when Mrs. Bennett said that +she had just left her husband dressing, he quickly, but quietly, left +the room. In an instant he was opposite Bennett's house, and as soon as +he noticed the bedroom light extinguished (for it was already dark), +he drew back into a shadowed corner till he saw Bennett emerge from +the doorway and walk rapidly down the street. Hill followed at a safe +distance, but soon he saw his brother hail a passing sleigh, and, +entering it, order the driver to take him somewhere; the name of the +street, however, he failed to hear, and he felt chagrined to see the +neighboring cab-stand completely deserted. "Now or never," he thought, +"am I to attain the object of my visit," and he dashed madly along the +street after the vehicle which was travelling at the rate of ten miles +an hour; several times he passed a cab-stand and would fain have taken +a fresh horse in pursuit, but he was afraid that while doing so he might +lose sight of the sleigh he had followed so far; or confound it with +another vehicle, for they were now passing through the centre of the +city towards the west end of St. Antoine street. + +Past terrace after terrace they flew, till Mr. Hill was nearly faint and +breathless, when a sudden turn to the right brought them to the foot of +a hill, now Guy street, up which the carter walked his horse, and gave +the half dead pedestrian time to recover his breath. When they had +proceeded about a quarter of a mile up the hill, the carter drew up at +the Nunnery on the left side of the road, and Mr. Bennett, alighting, +rang the bell. A sliding panel was immediately pushed aside, and a +hooded sister held a few moments conversation with the visitor, on which +the door was opened, and he was admitted. Hill, who had been standing in +the shadow of the porch, entered unnoticed at his brother's heels, the +janitor being under the impression that they had come in the sleigh +together. Walking along a dark corridor they came to a stairway, down +which their guide preceded them into the basement; here Hill took a +favorable opportunity to turn aside, still keeping his eye on the others +till they arrived at the end of the passage and entered a large room +where several old men were congregated, some chatting in groups, others +smoking or reading lazily. In one of these, with emotions which cannot +be described, Hill recognized his father from whom he had so long been +separated. His first impulse was to rush boldly in and make himself +known, but, the first transport over, his American caution prevailed, +and he slipped down another passage which commanded a view of the +staircase, and watched from his point of vantage the many persons +returning from visiting their friends. He felt relieved when he saw +Bennett take his departure, and with one bound he rushed into the middle +of the room where the old man was, and, throwing himself round his +father's neck, wept like a child. The old man did not recognize him at +first, but when he did he went into hysterics, so great was the shock +to his nervous system. Never was there such a commotion in the quiet +Nunnery, and the inmates gathered round in excited groups to listen to +Hill's story. He told them that his father had left Boston some years +before, and, becoming unable to support himself, had been placed by a +heartless elder brother in the cold confines of the Nunnery, although +the younger members of the family were both willing and anxious to +support their aged parent. There being no reason why the old man should +not leave the institution if so inclined, the Superior allowed him, +after some hesitation, to take his departure, first receiving the +grateful thanks both of himself and of his son for her kind and +fostering care. Hill left a letter for his brother, informing him that, +his father being willing, he had taken him away from the Nunnery, and +that as they evidently did not want to keep him with their families, he +was about to take him to live with _his_. + +Bennett was furious when he received the letter, but, as Mrs. Hill was +now no more, and no threats or exposures of any kind could induce young +Hill and his father to separate, he allowed them to go their way in +peace. + +A few years after these occurrences Mr. Hill received an appointment in +Montreal. + +Bennett and he sometimes meet in the street, but give no signs of +recognition. The old man is still living, seldom going beyond the +portals of his son's house and passing most of his time in moody +meditation on the past. Let us hope that a heartfelt repentance may in +some measure atone for his past weaknesses. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A Blighted Life. + +Amongst the many orthodox business men of Montreal, none were more +highly esteemed than Mr. Rogers, Manager of the ---- Bank. He was what +is generally considered a shrewd business man, methodical and precise in +all his relations, whether commercial, domestic or ecclesiastical. I say +ecclesiastical, because the worthy gentleman was one of the pillars +of the church, having held the office of Elder for several years. Mr. +Rogers had several children, most of whom he trained in the way in which +they should go, but Jack, his eldest son, was incorrigible, and resisted +all attempts to keep him under control. On Sunday mornings the family +were usually marshalled in the dining-room, and marched off to church, +but Master Jack frequently put in an excuse,--he had a bad cold, or a +sprained ankle, or some other ailment which precluded the possibility +of his attending. No sooner were the family outside the garden gate, +however, than the poor boy with the sprained ankle would perform a _pas +seul_ on the hearthrug, or, in spite of a cold which prevented his going +out of doors, would shout "The old log cabin" with an excellent tone and +remarkable vigor of lung; then, returning to his room, he would take +a French novel from its hiding place under his pillow, and, lighting +a fragrant Havana, would devote the morning to "the improvement of his +mind," as he called it. + +Mrs. Rogers employed three servants besides a coachman: a cook, +a housemaid, and a tablemaid. The latter was a young and +attractive-looking girl from Glengarry, Ontario, named Ellen MacNee, who +was about seventeen years old, and had never before been in service. For +this damsel Jack Rogers conceived an attachment, and although at +first the girl withstood his attentions, ere long she gave way to +his importunities, and for months they lived on terms of the closest +intimacy. Jack of course promised (as all men do) to marry her, and +to do him justice I must say that he fully intended to do so, but his +income as a bank clerk was only twenty dollars a month, and he knew he +had no hope of receiving any assistance from his father. So things went +on till Ellen felt she could keep her secret no longer from those around +her, and she told her mistress she was going home to visit a sick aunt, +and did not know whether she would return or not. Mrs. Rogers was very +sorry indeed to part with her (for she had ingratiated herself with all +the family, although not to the same extent), and told her if she would +undertake to return she would only fill her place temporarily with +another girl. With this understanding Ellen left her place and entered +the Female Home, where shortly afterwards her baby (a girl) was born; +she had the child baptized almost immediately, calling it Beatrice, +after her young mistress, to whom she had been much attached, although +it is doubtful if the young lady in question would, had she known it +have appreciated the honor conferred upon her. + +Ellen was scarcely recovered from her illness when her brother, a +country farmer, who had by some means got wind of the state of affairs, +came to Montreal, and had his misgivings confirmed. When he learnt +the truth he was furious, and would, he vowed, shoot both her and her +betrayer; but fraternal affection was so strong within him that he +gradually became more calm, and exerted himself to make the best he +could of a bad business. He requested me to take the child and place it +in a nunnery in spite of the earnest protestations of its mother, and +persuaded the latter to return to her home in Glengarry, promising to +hide her shame from her mother and friends if she would bid farewell +forever to the child and her betrayer. He persistently refused even to +look at the baby, but, rough and uncultivated as he was, I could see a +tear glisten in his eye as his manly heart quivered with emotion. + +Home the poor broken-hearted girl went, and the baby was left in my +keeping till the morrow, when, according to agreement, I was to hand it +over to the good sisters. It was destined to be otherwise, however. That +evening a gentleman called at my house; he was a bachelor, well to do in +the world, and hearing the story, which it was necessary to tell him, +in order to explain the child's presence, he asked me with pardonable +curiosity to let him see the baby. When he took her in his arms she +smiled so sweetly upon him, and crowed so joyously, that his heart was +touched, and he could not bear to think that the poor helpless babe +should be made to suffer for the sins of its parents; he asked me to let +_him_ have the child, promising that he would adopt her, and do for her +as if she were his own. + +I suggested to him the scandal such a measure would give rise to, and +urged him not to place himself in such an unenviable position, but he +insisted that he was willing to let society have its fling, and that +if I would consent to the child's adoption, he would take the +responsibility attached to it. + +What was I to do? The man was well off, and had conceived a fancy for +the child. As for the world's sneers, if he could afford to laugh at +them why should I refuse him the gratification of performing a noble +action? I handed the child over to his care, having first procured from +him written papers of adoption, and little Beatrice was installed in her +new home. A nurse was procured for her, and everything that money could +procure was provided for her comfort. The gossips sneered and wagged +their heads as they spoke of the "adopted" child, insinuating that there +were stronger ties than those of mere philanthropy to bind Mr. Richards +and the child together, but he, quite unconcerned, paid no attention to +their hints and innuendoes, and tried so far as lay in his power to make +the child comfortable and happy. When she attained the age of five years +he procured a governess for her, and had her instructed thoroughly in +all that go to make up a modern education as she grew older. + +But a cloud soon appeared on the horizon of the child's career. Mr. +Richards became ill, and was ordered by his medical adviser to a +Southerly climate. He was obliged to sell his estate and place little +Beatrice in Mrs. Thompson's boarding school, where she continued for a +few years till the return of her adopted father. He came, it is true, +but the seeds of a fatal disease had been implanted in his system, and +had taken a deadly hold; in a few months he was no more, and as nearly +all his money had been eaten up in paying travelling and medical +expenses, poor Beatrice was left once more not only without a friend +but without a penny in the world. Mr. Richards had paid her school fees +annually in advance, and as at the time of his demise several months +of the term paid for were unexpired, Beatrice had a comfortable home +secured for her at least during that period; for the future she would +either have to perform menial services at the school, or go out in the +cold world without a friend or protector. The former was considered +by the poor girl preferable to going she knew not where, and so she +accepted the offer of a situation as housemaid, kindly proffered to her +by Mrs. Thompson _out of pure charity_ at two dollars per month less +than the previous occupant of the situation. + +Poor Beatrice had a hard time of it as housemaid. Her former companions +took a fiendish delight in ordering her about till her life became +perfectly unbearable. She had but one friend to whom she could +unreservedly pour forth her troubles, her Sunday-School teacher, Miss +Flint. To this lady she gave an account of her history, so far as she +was able, and asked her for advice and assistance. Miss Flint, being +both sensible and charitably disposed, advised her to leave her present +position, having first procured a suitable one elsewhere, and she +promised to exert herself to this end. + +Among the numerous acquaintances of Miss Flint was Mrs. De Beaumont, a +Southern lady of means, whose husband held a high official position in +New Orleans. Mrs. De Beaumont had, in order to avoid the yellow fever +epidemic, taken up her residence temporarily in Montreal, and was +now with her two daughters about to return to her Southern home. The +education of the latter young ladies had been somewhat neglected, and +Mrs. De Beaumont was anxious to procure as governess and travelling +companion a young lady of moderate means and unlimited ability. + +Here, then, was an opening for Beatrice. On the recommendation of Miss +Flint, coupled with certificates from the various professors at Mrs. +Thompson's school, the poor girl was duly installed in an easy and, to +her, lucrative position. She was not long settled in her new home when +Mr. Hartley, brother of Mrs. De Beaumont, fell violently in love with +her, and, contrary to the wishes of his relations, insisted on paying +her open attention. The poor girl had been so long accustomed to being +buffeted and slighted in every way that her heart fairly gave way before +his passionate wooing, and, although Mrs. De Beaumont frowned on her +angrily, and the rest of the family snubbed her grievously, yet Beatrice +felt so happy in having some one in whom she could confide that she +bore all their petty annoyances with the utmost forbearance, and refused +steadily to take the slightest notice of them. + +Mr. Hartley was a planter of considerable wealth. He had long lived +a bachelor's life; so long, indeed, that his friends never thought he +would marry, and each one often unconsciously counted how much of the +property would eventually become his. Mrs. De Beaumont was particularly +displeased when she heard his open avowal of his attachment for her +governess, for, though Hartley was not an old man, he being at that +time only about forty-six years old, yet she had hoped that her daughter +would have inherited a portion of his vast wealth, which was now about +to be transferred to a stranger, without friends, fortune or name. In +spite of this secret antipathy to the match, Mrs. De Beaumont openly +pretended the greatest friendship for Beatrice, for, being a woman of +the world, she saw clearly how matters would stand in a few years, and +she could not afford to break either with her brother or his intended +wife. + +The wedding came off with all the aristocratic splendor of an F. F. +V. ceremonial. The dusky coachmen and footmen were resplendent with +gorgeous liveries and wedding favors, their white teeth glistening in +the sun as they grinned from ear to ear, perfectly happy and contented. +After the ceremony the newly-married pair went for a brief tour through +the Eastern States and Canada, returning to Mr. Hartley's plantation, +where Mrs. Hartley was called upon by all the leading families in the +vicinity, and took her place with as much grace as though she had +been "to the manner born." Mrs. De Beaumont greeted her sister-in-law +affectionately (at least to all outward appearances), and invited her to +visit her old home frequently; in fact all those who were aware (and who +was not) that Mr. Hartley had settled every penny of his fortune on his +wife and her prospective offspring were lavish of their attentions to +their beautiful, and now immensely wealthy, neighbor. + +When her first baby, a little girl, was born, Mrs. Hartley wept bitterly +and refused (like Rachel) to be comforted. Her husband could not +understand it at all, and was greatly grieved that she should be so +down-hearted when they had both every reason, to be happy. Beatrice +besought him to forgive her weakness, and explained that it was only now +that she was a mother that she fully realized the anguish her own mother +must have suffered at parting with her, and she implored him as he loved +her to exert himself to find her mother and make her happy. Had his wife +told him to lie down whilst she drove a carriage-wheel across his neck, +Mr. Hartley would have unhesitatingly obeyed her; how readily, then, +he set about finding what most men are so glad to be without, viz., a +mother-in-law, can easily be imagined. He promised his wife that so soon +as business permitted him he would take steps to discover her mother's +whereabouts, but that night he was awakened out of a deep sleep by cries +of terror from his wife; she had had a dream, she said, that her mother +hung over a precipice, looking up to her for help, which, while she +hastened to give, she saw her mother sink into the yawning abyss, +uttering shrieks of agony. Hartley was beside himself with fright; +he thought his wife would lose her reason, and so he quieted her by +assuring her that he would write the next day to get information, acting +on which he would set out immediately on his search. In the morning he +despatched a letter to Mr. F---- in Montreal, instructing him to obtain +what information he could respecting a girl called Ellen MacNee who had +lived in former years with Mrs. Rogers; in reply he was informed that +the girl left the city, no trace being procurable. He then inserted +advertisements in several Canadian newspapers, informing the public +that if Ellen MacNee would correspond with X. Y. Z. she would hear of +something to her advantage. But in vain did the fond husband seek the +mother of his blue-eyed darling, now grown pale with deferred hope and +anxious care, and when the latter proposed that they should personally +go to Montreal in search of their missing relative he readily +acquiesced, feeling assured that, even if they were unsuccessful, the +excitement of travel and occupation would restore the bloom to his +wife's cheeks and preserve that health which, was now apparently on the +wane. + +In a few days they had made preparations for an extended tour, and ere +a week had passed they were snugly quartered in the St. Lawrence Hall, +Montreal. The day after their arrival they called on me to know if I +could assist them in their search, bidding me spare no expense in order +to effect the desired object. I promised them every assistance in my +power, and at once placed myself in communication with all those whom +I had known to have any dealings with Beatrice's unfortunate mother. It +was truly painful to see the anxious face of the young woman as she came +daily to me to enquire if I had heard any news, and when I showed her +a letter from Mr. MacNee, her mother's eldest brother, stating that +his sister had gone to New York as nurse, she immediately persuaded her +husband to give chase. Their efforts were in vain, however. The girl, it +was true, had taken service in New York, but had subsequently left there +for her home in Glengarry, and had never been seen since either there or +in New York. Detectives having again been employed to assist in tracing +her movements, it was discovered that she had returned by rail to +Montreal _en route_ to Glengarry, but here all traces vanished, and the +supposition was either that she had committed suicide, or met with some +accidental death. Beatrice would have it, however, that she was still +alive, and would leave no stone unturned to find her. It was suggested +that New York should again be visited, as the probability was that she +returned there after her trip to Montreal; various other plans were +thought of, and some of them, doubtless, would have been acted upon, had +not a new light shone in upon the scene. + +At the outset of the proceedings I had communicated with the principals +of the various Houses of Refuge in this city, and, although the +authorities had done their utmost to facilitate our search, so far we +had failed to advance in any way. At this time, however, I received a +communication from the Bishop, informing me that he thought he could +help us, and when I called on him, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, +he told us that he had been visited by a hardened creature, whose name +did not concern us, and who, in anticipation of a reward which she had +heard was offered for the recovery of the recluse, disclosed the fact +that she had, under an assumed name, become a sister of charity, and +was at present an inmate in a convent in ---- street, where we would, +doubtless, be able to recognize her. + +Beatrice became quite excited at the news, and insisted on rushing off +at once, but her strength failed her, and she fell fainting on a sofa. +By great persuasion she allowed us to drive her home on the promise +that she would be allowed to accompany us on the morrow. The next day +we entered a carriage and drove to the Convent; we agreed that Beatrice +should go alone to meet her mother while we remained downstairs. Running +into the room where her mother was, the poor girl fell on her neck and +covered her with kisses. But no responsive greeting met the impetuous +child, the woman stared at her with a wild hazy stare as if to inquire, +Who are you? What do you mean by these extravagant caresses? + +But if she failed to recognize her child she did not fail to recognize +me, and by some strange association of ideas she seemed to wander in +thought back to her past life, and the hot blood mounted to her temples. +When she became calmer I explained to her how we had come there, and +the object of our visit. She was touched at the proofs of her daughter's +affection, and the hot tears rolled rapidly down her furrowed cheek, +but she steadily refused to leave the institution. In vain the poor girl +pleaded, and Mr. Hartley and myself joined in our entreaties that she +would accompany her daughter and her husband. Finding all our arguments +of no avail I advised Mr. Hartley to let the poor creature have her way +till the reality of the situation had come home to her, recommending him +to allow his wife to call frequently at the Convent to see her mother. +This advice the indulgent husband acted upon, and day after day Beatrice +would go and sit for hours conversing with her parent, sometimes +obtaining permission to take her for a walk or a drive, and secretly +longing, though never expressing it in words, that her mother would +accompany her back to her home in the South. + +So far the excitement had kept Mrs. Hartley up, but after a time a +reaction set in which culminated in a wasting fever, and prostrated the +poor creature on a bed of sickness. This, though apparently disastrous, +ended happily for all. Beatrice's mother, so long as _she_ was the +object of pity, shrank from all communication with her rich relatives, +but now that her child was in need of assistance, she flew to her with a +mother's impetuosity, and anxiously watched by her couch day and night, +while the poor thing tossed and raved in delirious paroxysms. Mr. +Hartley summoned Dr. Hickson to his wife's bedside, but that astute +practitioner wisely foretold that the magnetic influence of her mother's +presence would do more for his patient than any drugs or medicines, and, +accordingly, he contented himself by prescribing a sleeping-draught, +leaving other agencies to do their work. + +In a couple of weeks Mrs. Hartley rallied, and ere long she became +convalescent, and even cheerful. She used to chat with her mother for +hours together, and the fourth week after the latter's arrival she was +able to go out for a drive accompanied by her and the baby, who had +accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in all their travels. The little girl +and her grandmother soon became great friends, and when, Beatrice being +strong enough, her mother would have returned to her convent life, +the baby's smiling face did what all persuasion had failed to do, and +bursting into tears, the aged penitent folded the darling to her breast +and declared that she would never part from it again. Beatrice's joy +knew no bounds; and as for Mr. Hartley, he was perfectly satisfied to +know that his wife was happy. In a few days they made preparations for a +journey to the South, and ere long Mrs. Hartley had the satisfaction +of seeing her mother snugly ensconced at her own fireside, living as it +were over again, and enjoying in the care of her daughter's child, +the maternal pleasure which had hitherto been denied her. Ere leaving +Montreal Mr. Hartley, at his wife's request, erected a handsome monument +in Mount Royal Cemetery to the memory of the humane man, who, regardless +of the jeers and scoffing of gossiping scandal mongers, had braved +public opinion, and saved to the world a good wife, an affectionate +daughter and a loving and tenderhearted mother. + +During all this time, it may be asked, what had become of Jack Rogers, +one of the principals in my narrative? + +Jack was fairly wild at the thought of his sweetheart going into an +institution. He would have married her on the spot and braved all his +father's anger. But the girl showed equal self-denial, and was much more +sensible; she saw that, by consenting to marry a penniless gentleman, +she would certainly injure him, without in any way benefiting herself. +She knew his father sufficiently well to feel sure that, were he aware +of his son's relations with her, not one but _both of them_, would be +ignominiously turned out of doors. So, consoling her paramour with this +questionable bit of comfort, she tore herself away, saying coolly that +he would soon forget and marry some one in his own station in life. But, +though she nerved herself to speak in this strain before him, when alone +she broke down entirely, and sobbed till her heart nearly broke, for the +poor girl loved him dearly, and, poor though he was, would have married +him and worked for him, if necessary. She saw, however, that his +prospects would be utterly blasted were he to disclose his position +to his father; and she unselfishly took on herself _the whole_ of the +punishment for a sin of which she was scarcely guilty, or, at any rate, +less highly culpable than he. + +Jack would fain have put a pistol ball through his head, and doubtless +would have done so had the pistol been handy; but his pistols, like +everything else he possessed, were out of order, and were at the moment +in Mr. Costen's hands, where they lay in a disintegrated condition till +the young gentleman's blood had got some degrees cooler. Still, he could +not help thinking how his folly and thoughtlessness had ruined the hopes +of a poor innocent girl, and he longed for some opportunity for going +abroad, or participating in some excitement to enable him to muse less +moodily on the past. + +The American civil war was at this time in full blast, and large +bounties were offered for volunteers. An American agent, meeting Jack +Rogers in a saloon, which the latter frequented, offered him two +hundred dollars and an outfit if he would go as a substitute for a young +gentleman in New York. This offer Jack readily accepted, and within +a short time found himself _en route_ to Richmond to join the Federal +Army. He was not long in the service when his superior intelligence +and daring exploits made him conspicuous among his fellows, and he was +promoted from one grade to another till he was placed in command of +his company. This was a position Jack was eminently fitted for, and his +reckless bravery was talked of far and wide throughout the army. + +For a long time, in spite of his foolhardiness, Jack remained without a +scratch, save a slight wound from a rifle ball at Gettysburg, where +he made himself particularly conspicuous. Just before the close of the +great struggle, however, he was sent in command of a foraging party +consisting of about forty-five rank and file and the usual complement +of officers. Their path lay through a deed ravine in which high wooded +cliffs looked down on each side. These cliffs were in possession of a +Louisiana regiment, who were stationed there in the hope of cutting +off supplies from the Northerners, and, just as Captain Rogers with his +handful of men, entered the ravine a murderous fire was opened on them +from both sides. Rogers ordered his men to reply, but, as the ravine +afforded little or no cover, they were finally obliged to make their +way as quickly as possible to the end of the pass and fight their way +through. They found their way completely blocked by a force of two +or three hundred rebels, but, as to return would have proved equally +disastrous, there was nothing for it but to surrender, or cut a path +for themselves through, the enemy. Bracing themselves for a terrible +struggle, Rogers and his little band advanced to within a few yards of +the open, where their foes, with rifles loaded and bayonets fixed, stood +demanding their surrender. Captain Jack ordered his men to fire at a +given signal, and then to advance; and, firing his own pistols by way +of signal, he dashed through the smoke, followed by his daring band, +cutting and slashing right and left. + +But courage will not enable men to do impossibilities. Out of the +handful who entered the ravine but three managed to cut their way +through the opposing forces, and these were all more or less injured by +rifle balls or sabre cuts. Poor Rogers fought like a lion; but, being +the centre of attraction on account of his uniform, he had his hands +more than full, and though he pistoled two men and knocked an officer +who would have seized him senseless with the butt-end of his empty +revolver, he was finally brought off his horse with a pistol shot, and +captured, more dead than alive, by the enemy. + +The officer in charge was so struck with the bravery of the poor fellow +that he had endeavored to take him prisoner, and had stayed some of +his men who had essayed to run the fiery captain through with their +bayonets; his impetuous charge, however, led them in self defence to +disable him, and the young lieutenant who shot him had no alternative +except to be brained by a blow from Jack's pistol. The excitement over, +however, the colonel of the victorious corps sent a detachment in search +of the wounded of both sides, and ordered a litter to be prepared for +Captain Rogers' removal to his own quarters. Poor Jack was severely +injured. The ball had entered his left arm close to the shoulder, and +was not necessarily fatal; but his horse had fallen on him and bruised +him so that he could scarcely breathe. The march to the camp was about +two miles, and, although the men moved as gently as possible, yet +Captain Rogers suffered agony as he felt every motion. Arrived at +Colonel De Beaumont's quarters (for the brave commander was the husband +of Mrs. De Beaumont) a surgeon was sent for and the invalid's wounds +were attended to. Although a prisoner of war Captain Rogers' received +every attention from Colonel De Beaumont and the officers under his +command, and when, the regiment being ordered to head-quarters, the +Colonel was obliged to send Rogers to prison with the rest of his +captured force, the parting was more like that of two brothers than that +of a victor and his fallen foe. + +After the close of the war, which, event took place shortly after these +occurrences, Colonel De Beaumont, disgusted and sick at heart, +returned to New Orleans. He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear +allegiance once more to what he considered the oppressor. Almost his +first thought after his return was to enquire concerning the Federal +troops who had been captured by his men, especially the gallant Rogers, +for whom he had formed a more than passing attachment. He learned that +of those who had been placed in confinement, some had died of their +wounds, others, as soon as the proclamation of Northern supremacy gave +them their liberty, had returned to their homes, but that the Captain, +having contracted a dangerous fever, had been unable to accompany them. +De Beaumont lost no time in seeking out the poor soldier's quarters, and +was grieved to find him barely alive, he having scarcely recovered from +the fever, besides suffering from partially healed and badly-dressed +wounds. The Colonel persuaded him, so soon as he could move, to +accompany him to his own house, where he would receive proper attention, +and, in a short time, the sufferer was installed in De Beaumont's +comfortable house, the kind hostess doing all in her power to alleviate +his sufferings. + +It was about this time that Mrs. Hartley, accompanied by her mother, +had returned to her husband's residence, and one day as she was visiting +Mrs. De Beaumont she learnt the story concerning the wounded officer, +who, though in the service of the North, was compassionately treated +by the whole household, having made friends of them all by his cheerful +uncomplaining disposition, and his grateful acknowledgment of even the +slightest service. While recounting the story to her husband and mother +at dinner, the latter grasped the table convulsively with both her +hands, and breathlessly demanded of her daughter all the particulars; +with a wild exclamation of terror, she rushed up to her room, hastily +followed by her bewildered daughter. The latter found her mother in the +act of dressing hurriedly, and on enquiring for an explanation the poor +woman fell on her child's neck, and with bitter tears explained that +it was _her own father_ who lay so near them at death's door, and that, +whatever it might cost, she would rush to his side. + +Poor Mrs. Hartley was sadly shaken at these tidings. She explained all +the circumstances to her devoted husband, and took his advice. Hartley +recommended his wife to let her mother have her own way, and promised +that presently he would accompany his wife to De Beaumont's house to +visit the invalid. + +The rest of the story is soon told. The sad meeting of poor Rogers +with the mother of his child, who stayed by his side night and day, the +bitter tears of Mrs. Hartley as she beheld her father for the first and +last time; the mutual expression of love and forgiveness ere the poor +invalid breathed his last, beloved and forgiven by those on whom he had +thoughtlessly entailed much sorrow and suffering. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +The Mother-in-Law. + +John Wilkie was the son of Scotch parents residing in Toronto, Ontario. +He was possessed of considerable literary ability, and when a lad had +entered Toronto University with the intention of pursuing a professional +career; but his father shrewdly reasoned that, although fame might be +acquired more readily by clergymen and lawyers, money was an important +consideration, and might be acquired with, comparative ease in a well +managed business. He accordingly placed his son in the wholesale house +of Messrs. Campbell & Castle, and in due course of time the lad secured +an interest in the business. + +The young man was not long a member of the firm when he became enamoured +of a young lady named Collins, whom he had met at the house of a mutual +friend. For a longtime he paid attention to this young lady, taking her +to balls, concerts and operas, and finally he proposed for her hand and +was accepted. + +Miss Collins was scarcely what one would call a beautiful girl, yet +there was an attractiveness of manner peculiar to her which caused her +to be much, sought after and admired in social circles, and many were +the sad and heavy when it became known that she was about to marry John +Wilkie. + +At this juncture Wilkie the elder was carried off with an attack of +pneumonia, leaving John, his only son, heir to his house and property. +This occurrence of course caused the wedding to be deferred for a time, +and the bridegroom elect went into deep mourning; in a few months, +however, he doffed his sable garments, and, having caused the family +mansion to be refurnished and renovated, began to make preparations for +his wedding. + +The affair came off with great _eclat_, the bride being driven home from +church behind four dapple-grey horses, several carriages following with +bridesmaids, groomsmen, and invited guests, among the latter being many +rejected suitors, who took a kind of melancholy pleasure in seeing the +matter through. Mrs. Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the +dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the _dejeuner_ they wept together +and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. Mrs. +Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the rich +prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out of +the question. + +What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial +and domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable +pursuit of entertaining each other. Shutting their eyes and ears to +the outer world they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, +alone; that nature's smiles are specially prepared for them; that the +birds carol bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the +whole world is contained in the small area which immediately surrounds +them. + +Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple +of weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, +they spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six +weeks from their wedding-day. Everything had been prepared for their +reception, and Mrs. Wilkie, senior, sat in state to welcome them to +a cosy meal which had been prepared in the dining-room. Having eaten +sparingly, Mrs. Wilkie retired to her room, for she was fatigued by +travel, and John with his mother went on a tour of inspection over the +house. + +It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a +stranger; to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose +every want was so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the +care of another must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. +Wilkie sighed deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which +had been made in the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end +and that a new Caesar had taken the reins of government. The Lord of the +Manor failed to observe the trepidation with which his mother handed +him the keys, and showed him the various details connected with the +management of the house, and with a cool "good night, mother," he +retired to rest, at peace with his mother, himself, and the world. + +For several months things went smoothly enough with the parties to +my narrative. The dowager accepted her position, though, it must be +confessed, with a bad grace, and the new mistress gave a life to the +place to which it was unaccustomed. At length Mrs. Wilkie gave birth +to a son, and great were the rejoicing and festivities. The dowager was +promoted to the title of grandmamma, John boasted the proud title of +father, and the mother's joy knew no bounds. The child was in due time +christened with appropriate solemnity, and in a few months after his +birth he became a very important member of the Wilkie family. + +Mr. Wilkie wanted the boy called William after his late father, but +Mrs. Wilkie would not have what she was pleased to term a plebeian +designation, and insisted on calling him Alexander. The dowager opposed +this with all her might, but "her usefulness was gone," and her feeble +remonstrances were of little or no avail. This slight sank deep into +her heart, and she waited, calmly and patiently, for an opportunity of +retaliating on her daughter-in-law. + +In due time the opportunity presented itself. Mrs. Wilkie was in +the habit of going to the skating-rink accompanied by some of her +fashionable acquaintances; her husband did not care for skating, but was +proud to hear his wife's graceful performances eulogized. The dowager, +however, had no heart for "the grape-vine" and other foolish devices; +she thought it high time for her daughter-in-law to take on herself the +serious duties of matrimonial life, and deprecated the fondness of the +lady in question for rinks, balls, and festivities. + +One night Mrs. Wilkie was invited to a skating-party. Her husband, +having some letters to write, declined to go, and she went in company +with a Mr. Smithers, an old acquaintance of hers, and one of the finest +fancy skaters in Toronto. During her daughter-in-law's absence at the +rink, Mrs. Wilkie the elder took upon herself to lecture her son on +his wife's giddy behaviour, and so worked upon his feelings that he +regularly gave way, and allowed his mother to remain mistress of the +position. + +When the fashionable Mrs. Wilkie returned to her abode late in the +evening she found the door closed on her, repeated pulls at the +door-bell eliciting no response. With her skates the lady then hammered +violently on the door, waking the echoes of the quiet street, and +finally, in her frenzy, she smashed every window within reach, and +departed to her mother's residence. + +Mrs. Collins was very much surprised to receive a visit from her +daughter at such an unseasonable hour, and when she was made aware +of the cause she became proportionately indignant. She suggested +the propriety of taking legal proceedings for the restitution of +her daughter's rights, but the latter would not listen to any such +suggestion, and vowed she would never live with Wilkie or his wretch of +a mother again. + +Mrs. Collins expected daily to receive a message from Mr. Wilkie, +requesting his wife to return to him, but he, being completely under the +influence of his mother, failed to do anything of the kind, imagining +that his wife would come as a suppliant to him. In this he reckoned +without his host, for Mrs. Wilkie was as proud as Lucifer, and would not +bend her haughty head to be made Empress of Canada. One thing, however, +caused her great uneasiness: her child, Alexander, was all the world to +her, and she set her wits to work to devise some means of obtaining him. + +Without recourse to unpleasant legal proceedings or equally unpleasant +negotiations with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wilkie could not hit on any +plan by which she could obtain the control of her child's nurture and +education. At length she resolved on the simple and practical plan of +taking forcible possession of the boy. Once resolved, she speedily put +her plans in execution. + +The child's nurse was in the habit of driving him in a baby carriage to +the Queen's Park for an airing, and one afternoon the mother lay in wait +for the appearance of the infantile equipage. She was afraid to approach +the servant with a bribe, as, in the event of her refusal, the Wilkies +would be placed on their guard, and would set a strict watch over all +the child's movements. She accordingly sat down at a distance, closely +veiled, and waited till an opportunity presented itself. + +She did not have long to wait. The nurse on entering the park fell +in with a tribe of professional acquaintances, one of whom, drawing a +love-letter which she had received from her pocket, commenced to read it +for the edification of her companions. Not content with listening to the +gushing effusion, the auditors crowded around the proud recipient of the +epistle, reading with eager eyes such portions as they could see over +the shoulder of their friend. While the representative of the dowager +was busily engaged in scanning the amorous lines penned by the lovesick +swain (the child left to her care being at some distance in his +carriage, sleeping under the shade of some trees), Mrs. Wilkie +cautiously approached, and, lifting the unconscious child with the +tenderness peculiar to mothers, walked quietly and swiftly away towards +the gate, when, coolly hailing a passing cab, she drove to her mother's +house, proudly depositing her baby in a richly adorned cradle which had +been purposely prepared for his reception. + +It was a long time before the nurse missed the boy; in fact, not till +she prepared to start for home did she give him a thought, except +to congratulate herself that he slept so long and gave her so little +trouble. When she at length turned towards the place where she had +left the carriage and learned the true state of affairs her face grew +deadly-pale, and, beckoning her companions towards her, she pointed +to the carriage and uttered several piercing shrieks. Many were the +suggestions as to what had become of the boy. Some thought he might have +got out of the carriage alone and fallen into the pond, but, as he could +not yet walk, this was highly improbable, another suggested that he had +been stolen by gypsies, but could not say that she had ever heard of +gypsies in connection with the Queen's Park. Many other theories, +some wild, a few reasonable, were advanced, but yet no clue to the +whereabouts of the child could be discovered, nor could any light be +thrown upon the mystery. + +The poor nurse was in a terrible state of mind. She had in her fancy +a picture of the baby's grandmother threatening to tear her limb from +limb, while the frantic father went for the police; but return she must, +and so, with a different step from that with which she entered the park, +she set out for home, arriving there just as the bell rang for dinner. + +The old lady was just commencing to lecture her for keeping the child +out in the evening air, when she saw, from the expression of the girl's +face, that something unusual had occurred, and rushing out, she threw up +her hands in astonishment at the empty perambulator, giving a mute +look of inquiry which spoke volumes. In a moment Mr. Wilkie joined +the throng, just as the frightened domestic sobbed out, as well as she +could, an account of the child's disappearance. He was about to rush at +once to the police office, but the old lady, shoving him aside, hastily +put on her bonnet and shawl, and, ordering the girl to summon a cab, +peremptorily forbade Mr. Wilkie to leave the house till she had made a +reconnaissance of the quarters of her daughter-in-law. + +Mrs. Collins lived at the extreme west end of King street, and, as Mr. +Wilkie's residence was in the North-East, in the neighborhood of the +Horticultural Garden, it was some time before the wily mother-in-law +approached her base of operations; she accordingly leaned back in +the carriage, and, closing her eyes, meditated on her plan of action. +Bidding the coachman pull up at the corner of Brock street, +she alighted, and proceeded on foot towards the house: it was a +semi-detached cottage, with a small garden in front, the dwelling being +only a few feet from the street. Inside all was, apparently, quiet as +usual, but Mrs. Wilkie thought she heard a soft, measured song, as +if some one were singing a child to sleep. Approaching the window she +caught a glimpse of her daughter-in-law pacing the room to and fro with +the child pillowed in her arms; so, quickly receding into the darkness, +she made her way back to the carriage, satisfied that her calculations, +in one particular at least, had been correct. + +Entering the cab, she bade the driver return with all speed to Mr. +Wilkie's house, setting her mind, during her transit on the frustration +of the hopes of her daughter-in-law, against whom she in her heart +registered a vow of vengeance. She found her son pacing the dining-room +like a madman, and she at once gave him all the particulars concerning +her reconnaissance, adding, at the same time, that he must take legal +measures to obtain possession of his child, no matter what the cost. In +spite, however, of his mother's importunity, Wilkie steadily refused to +give the matter publicity by taking legal proceedings, so the old lady +was obliged to content herself with concocting plans for retaking the +child from the hands of the enemy. + +Mrs. Wilkie watched long for an opportunity, and at last she was +successful. She found out where her daughter-in-law went to church, and +one Sunday having learnt from one of her emissaries that both of the +ladies had gone to church together, leaving the child in charge of +the maid-of-all-work, she hurriedly set out for the house, and boldly +ringing the door-bell inquired for Mrs. Wilkie. On being told that the +lady was at church and would not return for some time she requested +permission to sit down and wait, as she was fatigued with her long +journey. Entering the drawing-room, she sank on one of the lounges and +appeared to faint. The poor domestic did not know what to do, but ran +wildly to and fro exclaiming, "Och, wirrasthru, what'll I do at all at +all'" The invalid gradually came round, and gasped out, "Dr. Metcalfe, +go for Dr. Metcalfe!" This gentleman lived a few blocks distant, and the +girl at once rushed off, without waiting even to put her bonnet on. + +Quick as thought Mrs. Wilkie ascended the staircase to where her infant +grand-child lay wrapped in slumber: hastily wrapping him in a shawl she +descended to the door, and coolly hailing a passing cab was soon far +from the scene which had so wrought upon the feelings of poor Bridget +Moriarty. + +When Bridget arrived with the doctor she found that the old lady had +disappeared leaving, however, a card for Mrs. Wilkie. On the latter's +return Bridget told her the whole story, adding that she supposed the +old lady had come to herself and got tired waiting; in time, however, +the baby was missed, and that threw a new light on affairs. Mrs. Wilkie +was frantic; she denounced Bridget as a good-for-nothing, refused to +sit down to dinner, and set off with her mother in the direction of Mrs. +Wilkie's house. + +This time, however, the dowager was on her guard. The child was +carefully looked after, being under the care of a faithful ally of the +old lady, whose instructions were never to leave him for a moment out of +her sight. Mrs. Wilkie and her mother might walk up and down and look +at the lighted windows; they might also watch at a distance the youthful +hope of the house of Wilkie as he took his daily airing in the park, +but the trick once tried could not be repeated, and the fond mother (for +whatever her faults were she loved her child) was obliged to pine in +weary loneliness. + +During all these sieges and reprisals the little fellow waxed strong and +healthy, in sublime unconsciousness of the importance attached to the +possession of his person: he was by no means neglected, the only risk he +ran was that of being hugged to death, as each party, more through joy +at the success of its schemes than from love of the youth in question, +caressed him lavishly if not fondly. + +Some months after these occurrences Mr. Wilkie removed to Montreal, +where he soon became permanently established, and, as he was always fond +of politics, he was in a short time recognised as one of the leaders of +the liberal party. When the reaction consequent on the famous "Pacific +Scandal" set in, Mr. Wilkie, M. P., took his seat for K----, a small +town below Montreal, rising in Parliament, as he did everywhere else +by his ability, far above the common level. His son was placed at the +Montreal High school, and gave promise of becoming in time even more +distinguished than his father. + +They had not been long resident in Montreal before the poor old dowager +was seized with acute rheumatism, to which she finally succumbed, +and Mr. Wilkie was obliged to engage a housekeeper to look after his +household affairs and his son's education. It was a sad time for poor +little Aleck; his grandmother fairly doted on him, and indulged his +every whim, but Mrs. Riddell, the new housekeeper, cared not whether he +was happy or miserable so long as she drew her monthly pay. + +All this time Mrs. Wilkie had been living with her mother in Toronto, +and, as soon as she heard of her mother-in-law's death, she persuaded +her mother to remove to Montreal, so that she might secretly keep watch +over her boy, whom she now loved, if possible, more than ever. Assuming +the name of Mrs. Johnson, she took lodgings in a house nearly opposite +the residence of Mr. Wilkie, and thus was enabled to observe closely +all the proceedings of his household; she longed to throw herself at +her husband's feet and implore his forgiveness, but her proud spirit +rebelled against such an act, and she sat at her window day after day in +moody silence watching her darling boy going and returning from school. + +Shortly after his wife's arrival in Montreal, Mr. Wilkie was summoned to +England on business of importance, a fact with which Mrs. Wilkie +became easily acquainted through the _Gazette_, which heralded all his +movements, the fond mother now became more anxious than ever about +her boy, and indeed not without reason, for, being monarch of all she +surveyed, the easy-going housekeeper laid herself out for "a good time," +and, although in her way she was kind enough to the child, she left +him to take care of himself as well as he could, being content if she +prepared a bed for him to sleep in, and ordered his three meals a day +with unfailing regularity. The house Mr. Wilkie lived in was situated +in one of the newest and most fashionable localities, having what are +generally designated "modern improvements," and one of these latter so +improved the internal arrangements of Master Aleck, that he was soon +confined to bed with enteric fever. Mrs. Johnson, missing the boy from +the street, called to enquire after him, and had her fears confirmed by +the housekeeper, who said she did not know what to do for his father was +away, and she had never in her life nursed a fevered patient. The +wily mother seized the opportunity with avidity, and with unblushing +effrontery perpetrated the atrocious falsehood that she was a +professional nurse of large experience, and that such an interest did +she feel in the little fellow that she would if permitted undertake +to nurse him free of charge. Mrs. Riddell was delighted, and at her +neighbor's suggestion sent for Dr. Brownie, who had, she said great +experience in such cases. A cablegram was despatched to Mr. Wilkie, +and everything that science could devise was done for the poor little +sufferer. For many days he seemed to get worse and worse and his devoted +mother was nearly worn out as she sat up night after night wiping his +fevered brow, or moistening his parched lips, at length the crisis came, +and the doctor pronounced him on the way to recovery, adding that the +slightest neglect on the part of those who tended him would permit +a relapse, which would in all probability prove fatal. In this case, +however, the latter caution was altogether unnecessary, what Mrs. +Johnson lacked in experience she more than made up for in care and +solicitude, and, as every direction of the physician was carried out +to the letter, the little fellow began perceptibly to mend before the +telegram came announcing Mr. Wilkie's arrival in Quebec. On the receipt +of the missive Mrs. Johnson made preparations for her departure, saying +that her services were now scarcely needed, and that she needed rest; +Mrs. Riddell at first tried hard to induce her to remain, but when she +looked at the pale thin face, and thought how many weary nights the lady +had voluntarily sat up with the raving child, she ceased to urge the +request, and at once set out for a mercenary to replace her. + +What a difference there is between him who enters on a labor of love +and the hireling who works for pay! In this case, then, it may easily be +supposed with a mother's ardent affection on the one hand, how different +was the cold professional service rendered by the nurse who replaced +Mrs. Johnson: although kind and attentive, she had not the same soothing +power, nor could she sing the sweet lullaby which so often in his +fevered moments had calmed poor little Aleck's soul, and the little +fellow became at once very low indeed. At this juncture his father +arrived, and when he saw his boy he was completely overcome; he +learned from the housekeeper all the particulars of the kind neighbor's +attention, and resolved to go personally to her residence and implore +her not to desert his boy till he was out of all danger. Waiting only to +partake of a morsel of food, he set out for the house indicated by his +housekeeper, and inquired for Mrs. Johnson. The girl who opened the door +told him that Mrs. Johnson had been out nursing a sick child for several +nights, and had just fallen into a deep sleep, the first she had had +for days, and urged him to call round again in the afternoon, when her +mistress would probably be able to see him. In the afternoon he returned +in great haste, saying that he must see Mrs. Johnson at all hazards, +that his boy was worse, and raved incessantly for her. While he was +speaking the lady he inquired for suddenly came down stairs, and as +their eyes met both uttered an exclamation of surprise. Forgetting +everything in her anxiety for her boy's safety the poor mother's face +became suffused with tears as she anxiously cried with bated breath, "Is +he dead?" "No; thanks be to God and his mother's care he still lives, +but you must not let him die now." + +The rest of the story is soon told; the pride of both husband and wife +was humbled by adversity, and in their heavy affliction each was made +to feel what a strength and comfort it was to have a companion who could +sympathize not only with the joys but with the sorrows of the other. The +boy was several weeks before he was able to leave his room, during which +time his mother told him the history of her troubles, and recounted +how miserable she felt without him and his father, all of which was +of course retailed to the latter gentleman, and effectually healed the +breach between the man and his wife. The dowager's name was for obvious +reasons never mentioned by either Mr. or Mrs. Wilkie, and as for the +youthful hope of the house, his memory was so elastic that he never even +thought about the old lady. + +Mrs. Riddell was astonished when she became acquainted with the true +relations of the nurse and her patient, but, having become quite +enamoured of the former (who by-the-by was now become both a discreet +and amiable matron), she readily fell into a subordinate position in the +household, taking her orders quite gladly, and having a special care for +little Aleck. Mrs. Wilkie has now an assortment of boys and girls, Aleck +being entered as a law student at McGill University and the others +being still at school; she seldom thinks of the past, preferring to +look forward to a bright and happy future. Still at times her mind will +revert to scenes of yore, and she shudders as she thinks of the bitter +experiences she has had, attributing most if not all of them, rightly or +wrongly, to her mother-in-law. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +A Deserted Wife, or Model Woman + +One hot summer's day I received a visit from a young and beautiful +woman attired in fashionable costume. She told me she was desirous of +obtaining accommodation for a couple of months as her husband was in +England and the time of her accouchement was at hand. She was the bearer +of a letter which ran as follows-- + + LONDON, England, August 6 18-- + + _To whoever is with my + precious wife in her hour of trial_: + + MY DEAR MADAM--I cannot refrain, as the husband of + the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent + wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will + remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking + of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the + issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. + + I will part with all I have rather than that she or her + infant shall want anything. Oh how I wish I were near + to love and comfort her. If her dear infant is spared all + well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol + be well. _Let all give way_ if need be for my precious + wife's sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, + even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, + which Heaven forbid. + + I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand + and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I + shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well; will you + kindly have a postal card ready just to say "all is well" if + so it be; never mind more till my poor wife can put her + own name to a letter. + + God reward you for an act that I know the angels envy + you, for your charge is a "friend of Jesus," and my only + friend on earth. + + Yours in intensity of anxious interest, + P. MERRICK. + + + My address is + Sunny Hill Avenue, + London, E. + +Mrs. Merrick explained to me that her husband was a member of a wealthy +English firm doing business in Montreal, and that he was at that time +obliged to be in London on business, but would soon return, when she +purposed setting up an establishment of her own. Her father and mother +(both Scottish Canadians) had been dead many years, and she had been +educated in a boarding school in Ottawa where she had first met Mr. +Merrick. + +Within a few days the lady became an inmate of my house, and in course +of time became the mother of a beautiful little boy, news of which +was at once despatched to London. For three weeks Mrs. Merrick waited +patiently for a reply, and after that time, receiving none, she became +uneasy, and wrote a long letter to her husband, beseeching him to send +her an answer immediately, but neither to this letter did she obtain any +response and days became weeks and the weeks began to spread themselves +into months and yet not a line or even a word could be obtained to +indicate the whereabouts of Mr. Merrick or whether he was alive or dead. +At last the terrible truth began to dawn on the poor creature that +she had been basely deserted by him who was sworn to be her friend and +protector and she became almost demented, she tried to account for his +silence in many ways but her intellectual acumen as too great and her +reasoning always brought her to the one sad conclusion. However, as +nothing better could be done the spirited creature made up her mind to +earn her own living and that of her child, and setting her wits to work +she soon obtained a situation as governess at the house of Mr. Mullaly, +a retired merchant of considerable means whose wife and daughters were +desirous of obtaining an entree into polite society. Placing her boy +out to nurse, she set out for her new home, and soon began to feel the +blessedness of working for her own living. + +But her happiness was not unmixed with pain. The Mullaly girls somehow +or another heard that Miss Caldwell (she had given her maiden name) was +the mother of a little child, and, although she admitted the fact +and recounted to them her whole history, they gave no credence to her +assertions, but began to treat her with the greatest contempt making her +life miserable. The poor woman would fain have left her situation, but +she recollected that it would be difficult to obtain another without +referring to Mrs. Mullaly who would be sure to tell the whole story with +several embellishments. On the whole she thought she had better remain +where she was for a time, hoping that, as years went by, and the girls +acquired more judgment and common sense, they would treat her with +greater fairness. Accordingly she bore all the taunts of the young +ladies with great meekness and patience, and made herself so agreeable +and useful that, although they never could make up their minds to +believe her story or to treat her as one of the family--the Mullalys +came to regard Miss Caldwell as indispensable to their existence, and +when Miss Mullaly the elder got married she took Miss Caldwell with her +in the capacity of housekeeper the young sisters no longer requiring her +in her capacity as governess, which situation she, however, did not long +keep as the remuneration would not enable her to educate her boy as she +desired. He was a fair-haired, bright little fellow, and the most loving +little creature on earth. She consulted with me what best could be done +to earn a larger salary. I advised her to become a professional nurse +though hard she would think it at first, when once accustomed to its +little drudgeries she would find it a noble calling, with God's blessing +attached to it. She consented, and I trained her in my hospital, she +became in a very short time one of my most proficient nurses. From that +time she had gained the battle, for, as soon as some of our medical men +got acquainted with her, they gave her employment at the most serious of +their cases, till at last it became very hard for me to procure her +for some of my own patients, and through her abilities, patience, and +refined feelings she gained a great many sincere friends. One of her +patients, an old lady, left at her death $200 to her kind nurse, and +this enabled poor Mrs. Merrick to give her boy that education which she +had so long craved for him. + +In the meanwhile Willie Merrick was placed at school at Lennoxville, +where he evinced great talent. At twelve years of age he was noted as +the finest classical scholar in the school, and his mother was induced +to place him in training, with a view to his matriculating at the +University of Bishop's College. The fond mother lived only for her son, +so she placed him under the care of a private tutor, at whose hands +he made such progress that at the early age of fifteen he entered the +University. Here he showed himself at once to be made of no ordinary +metal, and he became quite a favorite with the Principal and professors, +all of whom were ever ready to lend him a helping hand. His mother had +intended him for the church but Willie did not (so he said) feel "good +enough" for that high and holy calling, so he entered the Faculty of +Law, determined, if possible, to distinguish himself in that profession +so soon as he obtained the necessary qualifications for commencing +practice. In process of time he obtained his degree, graduating with +high honors, and he was not long in establishing a practice equal to +that of many older advocates. + +Although without any hope of ever taking her place again as Merrick's +wife, the poor woman whom he had so basely deserted instituted a +thorough search for him in England, and was enabled to discover all his +history, and also so gain an insight into his proceedings whilst away +from her. It seems that he had married her under an assumed name, his +real patronymic being Stephens, and that his people were purse-proud and +overbearing. On his arrival in England his father, who had heard of the +young man's escapades in Canada peremptorily ordered him to have no more +correspondence with his Canadian wife, but to marry a noble lady whom he +had purchased (through money lent; to her father) for the ennobling of +the Stephens family. + +When the deserted woman became assured of the truth of these disclosures +she made up her mind to give no more thought to the wretch who had left +her in such a predicament, and determined to centre her hopes and her +affections in her son, who had by this time become a distinguished +lawyer, and was quite as proud of his mother as his mother was of him. +He took a house for himself and only parent in the Western suburbs, and +they lived in quiet comfort together, the young man going little into +society, except on public occasions, on all of which he was invariably +asked to take a prominent part in the proceedings. + +When William Merrick had been in practice about two or three years he +was entrusted with an important case connected with the endowment +of some church in Lower Canada, which was appealed from one court to +another, until, finally, it was decided to carry it to the House of +Lords. Accordingly the young advocate made preparations for a trip +to England, and, being unwilling to leave his mother alone for such a +lengthened period, he decided to take her along with him. They sailed +from Quebec one fine Saturday in June, arriving at Liverpool late on the +following Saturday night, a strong westerly wind blowing them rapidly +across the Atlantic! They stayed but a few days in Liverpool, and then +went on to London, putting up temporarily at the Langham, at that time +the most fashionable hotel in London. The morning after their arrival +the young lawyer, having occasion to go to the Courts on business, Mrs. +Merrick was left for a time to her own devices, she occupied a half-hour +or so in reading the newspapers, and then made up her mind to go for +a stroll before luncheon. Attiring herself rather gaily (she was still +remarkably good-looking, only a little over 40 years then) she set out +with a sprightly step down the main staircase, humming to herself a +lively air which she used to sing in happier days. Just as she +was descending the last flight of stairs, a gentleman having a +delicate-looking lady on his arm began to ascend, and on hearing +the melody, faint though it was, which the approaching lady, was +unconsciously humming, glanced suddenly and swiftly upwards; then, as if +a thunderbolt had struck him, he came to a sudden halt, having a dazed +expression on his features and littering a half suppressed oath or +imprecation. Mrs. Merrick had not noticed the approaching couple, her +thoughts being far away, but the suddenness of the gentleman's movement +arrested her attention, and she looked him fully in the face for a +moment; then, uttering a wild shriek, she fell backward and would have +been probably severely injured, had not a gentleman, who happened to +be close behind her, caught her as she fell, and carried her to the +landing-place, where restoratives were applied, and the unfortunate +woman speedily came to her senses. + +It is scarcely necessary to say that the lady and gentleman whose advent +so upset Mrs. Merrick were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Stephens who +had come up to London for the operatic season and were staying at the +Langham Hotel. Taking advantage of the confusion, Stephens hurried +his wife along to her room, giving no further answer to her many and +wondering enquiries than: "Oh, it's only the heat; don't mix yourself up +with all these people," and, without allowing time for remonstrance +or further enquiry, he put a stop to all questioning by hurrying the +delicate creature along till he deposited her, breath less, in an easy +chair. Going out into the corridor he tried to discover how matters +stood, but the woman he dreaded to meet had been borne to her room and +medical attendance had been summoned. This Mr. Stephens learned from a +waiter; so, determined to deport himself as if he knew nothing of the +cause of the lady's illness, and was as much puzzled at the occurrence +as the rest of those who had either witnessed it or come on the scene +soon afterwards, he returned to his wife, and, throwing himself into a +chair, pretended to read. But his wife, obtuse though she possibly was +with regard to the fainting lady, something had struck her about the +manner her husband assumed. She could not get over it, and when at the +table d'hote with her husband listened attentively to the conservation +of two gentlemen who were sitting vis-a-vis. One enquired after the +health of the lady who had taken so suddenly ill on the landing in the +morning. The younger of the two gentlemen expressed his gratitude to the +other for assisting his mother so kindly, who would have, but for his +assistance, fallen down stairs, but was somewhat better now. He said the +Doctor had not been able to ascertain the cause of her sudden illness, +and, as his mother had always been blessed with such good health, he +himself could not account for it. In the meantime Mr. and Mrs. Stephens +had been listeners to the conversation when all of a sudden a curious, +gurgling noise was heard, a chair was overturned, and Mr. Stephens was +stretched on the floor in a dying condition, blood streaming from +his mouth. There was a great commotion in the dining-room, and it +was thought at first he had swallowed a bone and was choking; but the +physicians who arrived, three in number, pronounced it a rupture of a +blood-vessel and applied at once the necessary remedies, but gave little +hope of his recovery. As soon as his condition permitted a removal, he +was carried, by the advice of the doctor, to a private hospital near by, +where his delicate wife also preferred to go, and nothing more was heard +of the dying stranger, for a while anyhow. + +Our young lawyer, Willie Merrick, had been successful in his law +affairs, and had arranged a trip to the continent with his mother, when +a cablegram was sent to them from Canada, saying: "Don't leave England; +wait for letters; good news." This was rather annoying to Mr. Merrick, +as he had only a few weeks more at his disposal; and he anticipated this +trip as so necessary to restore his mother's cheerfulness. Mrs. Merrick +was also puzzled as to what could possibly detain them any longer in +London. At last the Canadian post arrived, and with it large documents +and letters which had been sent from England to Canada and were now +returned, informing Mrs. Merrick that a certain W. Merrick Stephens +had died, leaving a large fortune, and that half of this estate was +bequeathed to Mrs. Merrick in Canada, whose maiden name had been Emma +Caldwell, or, in case of her death, to her heirs. Young Mr. Merrick +being at this time a well-known young lawyer in Montreal it was not hard +to find him. Both he and his mother could not imagine who had left them +such a fortune. Well did Mrs. Merrick think of the man whom she had +loved so dearly and truly and who had pretended to be so fond of her. +But, she knew too well that she had been deceived, that he had married +her under a false name, and had she not recognised him at the hotel with +a lady who was his wife!--She had never told her son the cause of her +sudden illness when first at the hotel; and her son had never mentioned +the affair of the dying stranger at the dinner-table, thinking his +mother still too weak to be disturbed by such shocking calamities. His +partner from Montreal wrote; "You had better stay and see about this +large fortune at once. Every one is not such a lucky fellow as you." A +Mr. Tidal was mentioned as executor of the estate of W. M. Stephens, and +our hero prepared at once to call on that gentleman, who received him +very friendly, but requested him to call the next day with his mother at +the family residence of the deceased, which visit had been particularly +desired by the deceased gentleman's widow. Our young gentleman of coarse +promised to comply with the wish, and was very much surprised when, +on returning to his mother, he found her hesitating,--but for a moment +only, a second thought, as she promised to accompany him, feeling in her +heart that, whatever Mrs. Stephens might wish to see her for, she would +certainly not blame her for anything, as all the wrong that had been +committed had been committed towards her, but still her heart was heavy +when at two o'clock they started in one of those stage coaches of which +London has so many. After about two hours' drive they alighted in +front of an old-fashioned family mansion, surrounded by well cultivated +grounds. The gentleman, Mr. Vidal, on whom young Mr. Merrick had called +the day previous, came to the portal to greet them, and begged Mrs. +Merrick to have the kindness to see Mrs. Stephens in her own apartments, +as she was in delicate health and very much crushed down through the +sudden loss of her husband. A maid who had appeared at the time was +ordered to direct Mrs. Merrick to the boudoir of her mistress and, +announcing the visitor, withdrew. Mrs. Stephens, attired in deep +mourning, looked very pale. On seeing Mrs. Merrick enter, she rose from +her chair and holding both hands out to greet the astonished lady, said: +"Oh, you wronged, wronged woman," but then tears smothered her words, +and it was quite a while before she could speak again. "How can I atone +for the wrongs committed on you, but I promised him. His last request +was that I would see you and beg your forgiveness for him. He had +recognised you at once at the hotel, and he felt his Conscience +troubling him very much. But the sight of your son--his son--was too +much for him. He felt he could not live to meet the son he had so +wronged and the woman he had so loved and so betrayed. He told me all +when the blood was streaming and smothered his words. He had married me +by the command of his father for my money, but had afterwards learned to +love me when he saw I was so devoted to him, but he had not the courage +to tell me of you and his child. I often noticed him looking sad, and +when I asked him to tell me what was troubling him he would say: 'Don't +be so kind to me, I don't deserve it, I am very, very wicked.'" + +"We have no children, our first-born, a boy, only lived one hour; the +second, a girl, only three days. Since then my health has never been +good, but he was so kind, so indulgent with all my weaknesses, that I +can hardly realize he was ever unkind to any one. But his father was a +stern old man of iron will who made him leave you and marry me for my +father's money. All this I could not tell to your son nor to anybody +else than to you. Will you tell me you forgive him? I know your heart is +pure and good or you would have troubled him while alive. Don't sit so +mute, you frighten me; shall I call your son--the servants?" + +"No, no, don't call anybody," was her response, "but speak of him, of +him you loved, the only one I have ever loved save my child." At the +thought of her son she broke out into sobs, and the blessed tears +brought balm to her heart. Silence prevailed for a long time, save the +sobs of both. At length a knock was heard, and a servant inquired if the +ladies wished to take refreshments with the gentlemen. Both would +have declined but for appearance sake, and, after bathing their faces, +descended to the room where the gentlemen had transacted their business. + +On entering Mrs. Stephens approached Willie saying: "I hope you have +consented to take, in addition to the name which you bear already, the +name of Stephens, which was the last desire of my dear husband and also +my sincere wish." + +"If my mother consents to assume that name also I shall, but otherwise I +must decline, as I shall never bear any other name than my mother whom I +love and honor, and who can, if she prefer, refuse this bequest and need +never tell me why. I know she will do all for the best if it combine +with honor." + +"She will not refuse," was Mr. Vidal's reply; "and now, ladies, I have +to beg you to sign those deeds that we are able to congratulate the new +lord of the estate."--(All signed). + +The end of this story is very short now. Mr. W. Merrick Stephens and +mother never returned to Montreal, but are living with Mrs. Stephens +(the widow) on the same estate and never has there existed a more +perfect harmony and friendship--both trying to make each other happy and +those around them. The last I heard from them was the following letter: + + LONDON, December 18. + + MY DEAR OLD FRIEND, + + Don't be angry that I call you old. I know you are not + much older than myself, but it seems you are nearer to me + when I address you so. How my life has changed! You + used to tell me the evening will be better than the morning + How true! She is so good (his wife), both Willie + and I cannot help loving and admiring her. She thinks + Willie looks like him and has many of his ways. If her + health is good next spring we shall all three visit Canada, + I think the sea-voyage will do her good. I shall be so + proud to introduce her to you, and so glad to see you + again who helped and advised me always for the best. + You can write the history of my life it you like. Why + did you ask my permission? You well knew I would + do more for you if you let me I know you will not say + anything to harm us, and I shall forever consider myself + in your debt, but you must send us one of your books + when out. Willie joins with me in sending his best regards + to your husband and children and believe me for ever + your grateful friend. + + EMMA MERRICK STEPHENS + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +A Tale of Bigamy. + +Lillie Malcolm was the daughter of Scotch parents who had emigrated to +Montreal about the year 1835. Her father was a schoolmaster, having a +private school in the neighborhood of St. Antoine street, and at the +time of their arrival in this city Lillie was about the age of ten. The +little girl was precocious and talented, and very pretty, and was also, +as regards both these characteristics, admired and made much of. As the +girl grew older she became a little vain and conceited, her principal +aim being to gain the plaudits of the visitors at her father's house +for her singing or other performances, which were many and various, the +versatility of the girl being remarkable. By the time she was seventeen, +Lillie Malcolm became known as the prettiest and most accomplished young +lady in the neighborhood, and no church or Sunday-school gathering was +complete without a song or recitation by her. + +But Lillie aspired somewhat higher than Sunday-school concerts and such +circumspect circles. She longed for an entree into the inner and higher +circles of Montreal society where she felt that she could rise above +the common level, and take a position in keeping with her education and +accomplishments. Unfortunately for the ambitious girl her father, though +highly respectable, was very poor, and so altogether debarred from +participating with his family in the round of social pleasures in +which the _bon ton_ of Montreal indulge; added to this, he was a strict +Presbyterian, and was averse to consenting even when his daughter _did_ +receive an invitation to some of the houses of her limited number of +acquaintances. + +The poor girl fretted and repined at her lot. She could manage the +household affairs if required, but her mother or sister invariably +attended to that, and so her talents were not brought into requisition; +she could speak fluently and, as a clergyman or lawyer, would certainly +have distinguished herself, but women were not required or even +tolerated as clergymen or lawyers; she would (so she imagined) have made +an excellent wife for a fairly rich young man, but the young men did +not seem to want wives without money or social rank, and so poor Lillie +fretted and fumed, occasionally attending the many brilliant weddings +which were celebrated in the fashionable churches, and wondering how it +was that so many plain and unattractive girls got husbands, while she +was without even a proposal. It is true she had no lack of admirers; +these flocked round her like bees in a flower-garden, but few of them +were eligible as suitors; and the few who were, although they admired +her openly, and paid her great attention, never approached the subject +of marriage. + +Things went on in this way till Miss Malcolm was twenty-three, when +she made the acquaintance of Captain FitzMarshall, an officer of Her +Majesty's army, who was stationed in Montreal. FitzMarshall was very +highly connected, being the grandson of an English Duke, and was greatly +sought after by the belles of Montreal; but he, having met Lillie +Malcolm by chance at the house of a mutual acquaintance, vowed that she +was the only beauty in Montreal, and was even, marked in his addresses +to her. Lillie's heart fluttered with delight at the thought of actually +out-doing the acknowledged society belles, and she would have been in +ecstasy if she could only have appeared on the arm of her admirer at one +of the public assemblies to which he had offered to bring her, but her +father would not permit her to enter a circle unfitted for his means and +her station, particularly as neither he nor her mother would be present +to look after her. + +Before the close of FitzMarshall's second year in Canada he had made +Lillie Malcolm's heart glad by offering his heart and hand; he also +communicated the matter to Mr. Malcolm, but the latter gentleman shook +his head dubiously, and asked him if he had consulted his friends in +England. When he replied that he had not, the old gentleman gently but +firmly informed him that, although he esteemed him highly, yet he would +not have his friends say that he had been entrapped into a marriage with +one who was socially his inferior, and that, till he had written to his +relatives and obtained their consent to his marriage, it would be better +for him to discontinue his visits to the house. FitzMarshall pleaded +strongly, but the old man was firm, and so the poor love-sick Captain +had to content himself with the assurance that, if his friends consented +to his marriage (for although a Captain he was only twenty-four), +he would be only too happy to confide his daughter to his keeping. +Accordingly the young officer took his departure from the house, with +the understanding that when the return mail arrived from England he was +to call at once, and, if agreeable to his family at home, to be formally +betrothed to the fair Elizabeth. + +The weeks rolled by as if they were years, and at the expiration of that +time FitzMarshall received letters from home, ordering him to obtain +leave of absence and to take the next steamer for England. With a heavy +heart he disclosed the contents to Mr. Malcolm, who of course expected +something of the kind, and told him that he must now discontinue all +communication with his daughter. The order came, unfortunately, too +late, as the young couple had already met frequently clandestinely and +forestalled their expected honey-moon. + +However, to England FitzMarshall must go or be disinherited, so, bidding +his inamorata to cheer up, that he would soon be back to claim her as +his lawful wife, he set sail, and left the poor girl, soon to become +a mother alone with her austere father and unsympathetic mother. Weeks +went by without a word from him for whom the girl would have laid down +her life, and her letters, written we may say with her tears, were +returned to her unopened. The truth flashed quickly on the young +girl--she was deserted! The aristocratic friends of the young man would +never allow him to see her more, and he was weak enough to be put +in pupilage. Quickly making up her mind how to act, with indomitable +courage she gathered up what little trinkets and jewellery she +possessed, she converted them into money which yielded her nearly two +hundred dollars (for she had received valuable presents from her lover +and some money), and, one evening slipping out quietly, she took +the train for Toronto, proceeding from thence to Detroit, where she +established herself as the widow of an English officer, prepared to +receive pupils in languages and music. + +But she was prepared for more than this. Her heart had become thoroughly +steeled by the harsh treatment which she considered she had received +from her father and others, so she laid herself out to make what capital +she could, not only out of her accomplishments but also of her beauty, +and with such success that she obtained an elegant establishment at the +hands of a wealthy Michigan shipping merchant, the public being led +to believe that she had become possessed of an estate in trust for her +child (a boy) who was just then born. For several years she lived in +this way, always moving along quietly and respectably, when the old +gentleman died, leaving her but a few hundred dollars capital, for +he had neglected to provide for this contingency, and she, with +less forethought than one would imagine, had never considered such a +possibility. Mrs. McClintock, as she now called herself, began to think +of returning to her old business as a teacher, but there was little +necessity, for an old gentleman who had made a fortune as a distiller, +an acquaintance of the deceased merchant, soon made excuse for calling +upon her, and made undoubted advances to her. It may be that he knew +something of his friend's arrangements, or that he only suspected them; +however, the widow managed matters so adroitly that he imagined he must +have been mistaken, and that the reports he had heard were not true. The +house was elegantly and tastefully furnished, the lady was modestly, +yet richly attired, the little boy and his nurse lending an air of +respectability to the whole establishment only to be out-done by the +conversation and demeanor of the lady herself, who was not only the +peer, but the superior of any lady among the large circle of the old +gentleman's acquaintances. He called about some lessons for his eldest +daughter, but was informed that Mrs. McClintock no longer gave lessons; +he then suggested that she might recommend a teacher of French, and +endeavored to prolong the interview, but the lady sedately answered all +his queries with a sad and pensive expression far removed from what he +had expected, and rising politely, rang the bell for her servant to show +him out. + +After a little time, however, the old man returned to the charge. He had +bought the terrace in which Mrs. McClintock lived, and called to know +what he could do, in the way of repairs, etc. He pressed his suit in +various ways, but the widow pretended not to see it at all till she had +the old man down on his knees; then she played with him most adroitly, +explaining that her lonely position left her open to the tongue of +rumor, and that she could not allow him to call so frequently. She +played her cards so well that the old man firmly believed she was a +modest and retiring widow, and did not the law forbid him, he would have +married her. As it was, she led him to hand her the deed of the house +she lived in, and to settle a large amount on both herself and his child +(a beautiful girl), who was born about a year after his first visit to +her house in his capacity of landlord. + +Notwithstanding all her precautions Mrs. McClintock was the subject of +much gossip in the neighborhood in which she resided, and many were the +guesses (many of them wide of the mark) which were made about her past +history. But they could only talk vaguely and shrug their shoulders at +the mention of the lady's name; for she lived very circumspectly, had a +pew in St. Paul's Church, and stood well with the minister and leading +church people; her children too were models of neatness and propriety, +and though as unlike as children having _one_ common parent could well +be (Jessie being dark and petite with piercing brown eyes, while +Charlie was tall and exceedingly fair), yet they had both the enviable +reputation of being the best bred and best behaved children on Jefferson +Avenue. + +As the children grew up they were sent to school, and both, though of +different temperament, were distinguished for their superior ability. +Jessie was quick at anything requiring an amount of ready talent and +acute comprehension, such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Modern Languages, +but Charlie excelled in Classics and what are generally considered the +heavier sciences, and was particularly talented as regards music. +He would sit for hours playing the exquisite _Lieder Ohne worte_ of +Mendelssohn, while Jessie would shrug her shoulders if asked to +play, and call on her brother, saying she could not bear "that nasty +practising." In spite, however, of her neglect of this accomplishment +(for which she had great natural talent), Jessie McClintock was in great +demand in society, and notwithstanding the equivocal position held +by her mother (for although not openly expressed there was a general +feeling that all was not right with that lady), the young people were +asked everywhere, and their mother kept them carefully in the _very +best_ circles, for which their natural talents and excellent education +eminently fitted them. + +The children, who had seen a gentleman supposed to be their father come +at intervals and then disappear, naturally were inquisitive, and from +an early age were taught that their father was a captain on an Atlantic +Steamer, and of course was frequently away from home. As the children +grew up the story told by them concerning that gentleman did not +coincide with that of the mother, who had always pretended that her +husband was dead, so it was thought advisable for her to remove to +Montreal (her parents having long since died), and assume the role of +a grass widow whose husband seldom got off his ship, and then but for a +short time, coming generally at night and remaining indoors during his +brief stay. Mrs. McClintock bought a house in University street, and +rarely went out; her children, however, went to the best schools, and, +having made acquaintances, soon began to go out in the best society as +they had done in Detroit. Charlie soon became entered as a Law Student +in the McGill University, and Jessie had a visiting governess engaged to +finish her, a resident young lady, for obvious reasons, being considered +out of place. Jessie grew up a beautiful young lady, and was the +acknowledged belle in many a drawing room; Charlie went little into +society, being engaged in prosecuting his studies in the University, +applying himself so assiduously that in a few years he graduated with +honors, carrying off a gold medal. + +The people who lived opposite Mrs. McClintock on University street were +curious to know all about that lady's proceedings, and set a watch on +all her movements. They discovered that at times a carriage was driven +hastily up to the door, generally late at night, from which an elderly +gentleman alighted and entered the house; but, although on the alert, +they were never able to make out his features or even his general +appearance, so quickly was the door of the house opened and closed +behind him. Yet even this discovery was hailed with delight by the +gossips; and as after each visit Jessie appeared with a new watch, +locket, brooch, or other trinket (sent, she said, from England by her +father), the tongue of evil report wagged freely, and was not at all +times strictly confined to the truth. + +Mrs. McClintock was much annoyed when she learnt (from a sympathizing +friend) of the reports which her neighbors were circulating concerning +her; and, as she knew their eyes were constantly upon her house, she +managed to invite the clergyman and his wife, with a few others whom she +had met in church circles, to dinner, and manifested such an interest in +the sewing society that the principal ladies of the congregation called +on her in succession; and although they never got beyond an interchange +of formal visits, yet it served to puzzle the gossips in the streets, +and one or two who had "forgotten" to call on Mrs. McClintock when she +first came to the locality paid her a formal visit; their shaky position +in society being secured by the fact that all the best people called +there, including the Bishop and clergy, and so _of course_ there +could be nothing wrong. For all this plausible reasoning they inwardly +believed that there was "something wrong," and many of those who called +did so mainly under the apprehension that they would discover something, +or read in the countenance of their notorious neighbor something that +would give a clue to her past or present career. + +But those who called from curiosity were sadly disappointed. The house +was neat and well-ordered, yet not extravagantly furnished; those who +met the children were astonished at their appearance and apparent good +breeding, while the hostess received them with the cool courtesy of an +English gentlewoman. The callers went away puzzled more completely than +ever, and to add to their mortification the lady _did not return one +of their calls_, shewing thereby that she did not care for their +acquaintance. Thus their imaginary condescension was the means of their +being snubbed by one whom they considered scarcely fit to be allowed to +inhabit the same street. + +When Jessie was nineteen her Mother gave a large party, inviting most +of the young lady's school friends, also a number of Charlie's +fellow-students, besides the Rector of the church and his wife and a +few of the neighbors who had always been friendly to Mrs. McClintock, +although having their own ideas regarding her pretensions. All went +merry as a marriage bell, and they beguiled the time with music, +whist, bezique, and like recreative amusements, after which supper was +announced, and the party sat down to a spread such as few of them had +ever been partakers before, and all served in the most elegant style. + +The viands having been thoroughly discussed, the Rector rose and +proposed the health of the young lady in whose honor they were then +assembled, and in a highly moral speech wished her many happy returns, +and all the joys this world (and also the next) can afford. The toast +was honored with acclamation, and then one of the guests stood up and +proposed "the health of Captain and Mrs. McClintock." + +A damper was thrown suddenly on the whole company. Every one seemed to +feel embarrassed, and though no one dared to look at his neighbor, +and the toast was immediately drank by all, yet there came a peculiar +feeling over each person present, as if some spiritualistic influence +were at work restraining their speech and laughter, aye and even +forbidding them to breathe freely. + +For a time the silence remained unbroken. At length Mrs. McClintock +motioned to Jessie to rise, thus giving the signal for a general +departure to the drawing-room. Here the music was again brought into +requisition, and a few of the young people enjoyed themselves with a +game of casino, but the hilarity of the early part of the evening +was conspicuously absent, those assembled taking an early leave and +departing homeward. The gentleman who had unwittingly worked on the +feelings of the remainder of the guests felt that there was something +oppressive in the atmosphere, and tried to elicit an explanation from a +neighbor; but he could get no reply excepting a tongue thrust into that +gentleman's cheek as much as to say--"You've put your foot in it, old +fellow," and a significant squeeze of the left arm near the elbow. He +had essayed a solo of the harp, and, unfortunately had struck the one +cord [not chord] which was out of tune. + +Mrs. McClintock preserved an even demeanor throughout the entire +evening; indeed, it is questionable if one of the whole party (the young +people excepted) there, was one so fully self-possessed; and she had +such command over her facial muscles that she bid her guests adieu with +a smile as gracious as that with which she had received them. She gave +no more parties, however, but, confined herself to inviting a few of her +most intimate acquaintances to tea or an informal dinner, to which +they were ever ready to accept an invitation; as, whatever might be the +antecedents of the McClintocks, they were certainly refined and elegant +people, and _kept the best table in the city_. In time the old gentleman +went the way of all flesh, leaving Mrs. M. independent in every respect. +She continued to pass for some time as a grass widow, but after a +few months she coolly inserted in the Montreal fit papers the +following:--"At Calcutta, on the 18th ult., Captain Charles McClintock, +in the 56th year of his age." Then she went into deep mourning, the +children also dressing in mourning and refusing to go into society for a +time. In about eighteen months after they donned their ordinary attire, +and, as many of those now forming the circle known as the "upper ten" +did not know, and others did not care to remember, anything concerning +their past history, they were received with open arms, being young, +accomplished, and, best of all, tolerably wealthy. + +Jessie is now married to a wealthy dry goods merchant, and one of the +leaders of fashionable society. Charlie is making headway as a lawyer, +but, having an independent allowance, does not exert himself very +much. The old lady lives pretty much to herself, and, it is said, not +unfrequently takes a glass of Curacoa or Moraschino to drown unpleasant +reflections. Let us, however, before sitting in judgment upon her, put +ourselves in her place, and consider if we would have done half as well +(morally) under the circumstances. Although a disobedient daughter, +she has proved herself a true wife till shamefully deserted, and a +self-denying and tender-hearted mother, who, though giving herself up +to shame for their sake, kept her children from every breath of even +scandalous report, and placed them as well-educated and respectable +members of society. At such a one let only he who is without guilt among +us cast a stone. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +The Unfortunate Sailor. + +Among the many thousand pretty girls that might be seen any fine +afternoon walking down the shady side of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, +few would be found possessing more attractive features and pleasing +expression than Agnes Malcolm. Not that she was the most beautiful girl +in Glasgow, for Agnes was hardly what one would call a beauty; but there +was a something in her face that made it particularly attractive, +and caused every passer-by involuntarily to turn and look after her, +although, were the pedestrian cross-questioned as to what he found to +admire in the young lady, he would have been puzzled what to reply. +Agnes had regular features, good hazel eyes, but not unusually bright +ones, a high intellectual forehead, and tresses of a light auburn hue; +her cheeks were soft as peaches and as delicately tinted, and when she +smiled, which was often, she displayed a complete set of teeth for +which no dentist had ever received a fee. Her sister Alice was the +acknowledged belle of the circle in which the Malcolm family revolved, +and was already of a much more decided type, but Agnes had a frank, +lovable expression of countenance that brightened everywhere she went +like a sunbeam, and although she was not particularly witty (being +indeed rather reserved and shy in her manner), yet she had such a sweet +voice, and talked so naturally and with such a lack of affectation, that +it was a pleasure to hold converse with her. + +Mr. Malcolm, the girl's father, had been Captain of an ocean steamer +running between Glasgow and Baltimore and adjacent ports, he had gone +down in the good ship Cyclops, or rather the _bad ship_ Cyclops, for +she proved herself to be utterly unseaworthy, and foundered on her first +trip out, Mrs. Malcolm, being near her confinement at the time, was +taken prematurely ill, and, although she rallied for a time, she never +got fairly well again, and finally followed her husband to the grave, +leaving the two girls to the care of a married sister of their late +father, who, having educated them as became their station, was at the +time of which my narrative treats debating whether she would send them +out to earn their living, or, keeping them a little longer, bring them +out in the hope of getting them married. + +Alice saved her all further deliberation by announcing in her careless, +happy style that she had engaged to marry a young ship chandler who had +frequently came to the house, but had paid so much attention to _both_ +the young ladies that it was difficult to tell which, if any, of them he +was going to marry. Having made up his mind, however, he did not wish to +delay matters, so, as Alice was only too happy to start an establishment +of her own immediately, he gave notice at the kirk for the following +week, and the wedding was celebrated amidst much rejoicing. Alice was +glad to get a husband, and to be independent of her aunt. Mr. Taylor, +her husband, was delighted to get such a beautiful and accomplished +bride, and the old lady, Alice's aunt, was heartily glad to get rid of +them both, so that never was rejoicing more universal. + +But poor Agnes was not so elated. She did not mind her sister being +preferred by Mr. Taylor, for she did not want Mr. Taylor, and besides +Alice was two years her senior, and it was to be expected that she +would be married first. It was her position at home that made her feel +miserable. Whereas the work had been divided between the two girls, it +now was supposed to be done by one; moreover, Mrs. Whitcher, Agnes's +aunt, began to bully her more than ever, wondering _aloud_ why she could +not get a husband as her sister had done, after so much money had been +spent on her education, and so forth. + +Agnes could have had her choice not of one, but of _ten husbands_, had +she wished to do as her sister had done and taken the first eligible man +who offered. But the idea of marrying for an establishment never entered +her unsophisticated brain, and, as she had not yet met her _beau ideal_ +of a husband, she waited patiently, bearing the scoffs and jeers of her +unsympathetic aunt without a murmur, and giving in return for her daily +bread labor that in any other establishment would have yielded her no +small remuneration, had any time in the past two years paid attention +to Agnes Malcolm, was a young man named George Fairfield, second mate +of the ship "Glenalpine," a good looking young fellow about twenty-three +years old, who was the son of respectable English parents residing at +Liverpool. Agnes, though rather partial to the young man, had paid a +deaf ear to his addresses, not caring to marry a man unless she could +give him her whole heart, but after her sister had gone, and she was +left in utter loneliness, the rude but honest sympathy and love of the +handsome sailor went to her heart, and she consented to marry him on his +return from his next trip. + +George Fairfield went off as happy as if he had been suddenly appointed +Port Admiral. He felt not the ground he walked on, so light was his +heart and also his tread as he stepped home with his eyes fixed on the +stars, but his mind picturing that happy scene which had been all too +short. He whistled a bar or two of "Love's Young Dream" as he stepped +gaily along, hoping to receive orders to sail on the morrow; not, as he +tried to explain to his lady-love, that he was anxious to get away from +her, but because he wished to be soon back again, when, receiving a +berth as first mate, he would be in a position to claim her as his +bride. The ship did not sail for a week, and when it did George would +have pleaded for one day more in spite of his previous hurry to be off, +however, there was no help for it, "For men must work and women must +weep, though storms be sudden and waters deep," and so Mr. George took +his position at the taffrail, and contented himself with flying a blue +handkerchief over the stern of the vessel till the forms on shore +were no longer visible. Agnes returned to her every day occupation as +household drudge, sad at losing her lover, yet not so sad as she would +have been had she really given, him her whole heart unconstrainedly; she +shed a few tears as the vessel left the quay, then turning homewards she +mentally counted the weeks which were to elapse ere she should again see +the tapering masts of the "Glenalpine." She made her preparations for +her wedding methodically and without excitement, and, following her +suitor's instructions, bought furniture according to her taste for the +little cottage he had rented in anticipation of his exalted rank as +first officer of a clipper. + +At length the _Shipping Gazette_ announced the Glenalpine as "homeward +bound," and in due time she was entered at the Custom House. George +rushed with all speed to Mrs. Whitcher's, and was met with open arms by +his intended bride. She was not very demonstrative, it is true, but she +was glad to see him, and as her face lit up at his approach, the poor +weather-beaten tar forgot all about a fearful gale he had just came +through and its attendant perils, and wondered whether Heaven could +possibly be an improvement on Mrs. Whitcher's front garden. + +The wedding took place (as previously arranged) the next day, and the +young couple took up their quarters at their new abode, George voting +the cottage a decided improvement on the ship and Agnes smiling with +delight at the thought of leaving Mrs. Whitcher's for ever. The ship +remained in port about three weeks, and during that time the young +couple lived not only figuratively but literally "in clover," as the +cottage they had taken was on the margin of a clover meadow, the sweet +perfume of which pervaded the atmosphere with its health-giving gases, +gladdening the hearts and adding to the vitality of all who came under +its influence. + +But no earthly joys can last forever. George received a telegram +ordering him to be in readiness to sail at any moment and finally an +order for embarkation. + +With a heavy heart he parted from his young and beautiful wife, the +hope, however, of returning a richer man, better able to make her +comfortable, cheered his manly spirit, and, clasping her once more in +his fond embrace, he jumped into the boat and gave the men the order to +pull to his vessel. His wife stood on the shore wistfully gazing at the +ship till she was no longer visible, then, with a heavy step, she turned +slowly homewards. She thought of the long weary hours she would have to +count ere she would see him again, and, although she had never loved him +passionately, she felt his departure so keenly that she wept long +and bitterly. For days she sat moodily looking out at the sea in the +direction his vessel had taken, and a sad foreboding filled her heart +that she would never see him more. Her comforter in her fitful hours was +her maid, a French-Canadian girl, who had some years previously come to +England in the capacity of stewardess on an ocean steamer, but, having +taken fever during the vessel's stay in port, and been conveyed to the +hospital, she was obliged to take service till she could again procure a +situation on board ship. This girl--she was named Arline Bertrand--was a +native of Montreal, and at this time about twenty-four years of age +and rather good-looking. Bending over her mistress she would say: "Ah, +Madame, Monsieur Fairfield he come back _riche, riche_, with plentee +nice thing for you!" + +A few weeks after the vessel's departure Mrs. Fairfield received news +from the agents of the safe arrival of the vessel at Montreal, and +shortly afterwards she received a letter from her husband, full of joy +at the prospect of seeing her again, and of clasping her in his arms. +But, though "man proposes, God disposes," and the programme which +poor George Fairfield had so fondly laid out and hoped to execute was +destined to be sadly altered. Weighing anchor late on Saturday night +they proceeded slowly down the river, and on the following Tuesday were +out at sea. The wind was blowing a little fresh, but that suited Captain +Fairfield admirably, for as it was a strong westerly wind, and blowing +right astern it only sent his ship on all the faster, so, crowding on +nearly all the canvas his experience had taught him was safe, he bent +over the taffrail and whistled for more wind to bear him joyously along. + +All day long they scudded gaily onward, and although towards evening the +wind moderated a little still they went along at a pretty fair pace, +and Captain Fairfield and his ship's company drank their grog heartily, +anticipating a pleasant and speedy voyage. At bedtime the Captain went +on deck, and, ordering the mate to keep a good lookout, went below and +"turned in." He was not long in his berth when he heard a great running +and shouting over his head, and then the cry of "Ice ahead!" from the +look-out met his ears. With one bound he rushed on deck, and gave the +order, to "'Bout ship," which the mate had already given; but there was +no time to do more than port helm, and so avoid the direct shock from +the massive iceberg, into which at that moment they rushed with terrible +force, the water pouring in torrents, and many of the men being killed +by falling pieces of ice which towered several feet above the mast-head. +The boats were lowered with all speed, and were hardly clear of the +"Glenalpine" when she went down with a plunge head first, and not a +vestige of hull, spars or masts was to be seen. A few of the men had +jumped or fallen into the water; these were all picked up, and on +counting heads it was found that none were missing except the mate and +two sailors, who had been killed by the falling ice. + +So great had been the hurry of shoving off that they found themselves +without chart, compass, or provisions, save a little keg of water and +a small flask of brandy. However, judging by the direction of the wind, +which the Captain had noted carefully before retiring, the boats' heads +were put in the direction of the island of Anticosti, and, keeping as +nearly as possible together (there were three boats' crews), they pulled +hard all night for shore. When the morning broke they fancied they +observed the loom of the land in the distance, and a shout of joy +involuntarily burst from the whole company; they were doomed, however, +to disappointment, for, on the mist clearing away, they could observe +nothing but sky and sea for miles on every hand. The Captain was +completely puzzled how to act, so, summoning a council of war in the +gig, they came to the conclusion that, as they might, instead of pulling +toward the land, pull farther away from it, there was no use wasting +their strength pulling at all, and that they had better keep a careful +look out for vessels either going to or coming from America, and trust +in Providence. The water was served carefully out, and the Captain took +the brandy into his own charge, the men encouraging each other with +tales of their past experience in situations equally trying and still +more dangerous. + +All day they bobbed about on the dancing waves, the oarsmen pulling just +sufficiently to keep headway on their respective boats, but not a sign +of either land or passing vessel was visible. The last round of water +was served out, and the men tried hard to induce the Captain to +hand them over the brandy, some of them sullenly, and intimating an +inclination to take the bottle by force; but the Captain cocking his +revolver, which he had fortunately retained, they subsided into silence, +and lay moodily at the bottom of the boat. They passed the night with +heavy hearts, and when morning dawned despair seized every man of them, +for not a vestige of land was to be seen, neither was there a boat +of any kind in sight. Fortunately the weather was remarkably calm and +clear, so they had no difficulty in keeping together, and in sharing +equally their little supply of water, but now that that was gone what +were they to do? + +Just as they were about to give up all hope a cry of joy from the boat +further to windward caused the occupants of the other two boats to rest +on their oars, and turn in that direction; they strained their eyes in +the endeavor to descry something beyond, but could see nothing. However, +those nearest the point in question evidently could, and so they turned +back and pulled against the wind with all their might, and in a few +minutes the boatswain sung out, "A sail ahead"! causing their hearts to +jump for joy. It was indeed a vessel which was rapidly coming towards +them. It proved to be an American brig called "Frances Smith," which +was bound for the Mediterranean, and the Captain no sooner sighted the +signals of distress which were waved from the boats than he immediately +hove to and picked the exhausted party up. The brig was rather crowded, +as she was of small tonnage; however, the crew never murmured at the +new-comers, but consented to accept a reduction in their rations, so +that the half-famished men might receive a daily allowance. + +The brig proceeded on her way, the rescued men insisting on doing their +share of the work, and greatly lightened the labors of the crew. Within +a few days, however, their powers were tried to the uttermost; the wind +freshened to a gale, and threatened to annihilate the poor old brig, +which was not in extra seaworthy condition. They were by this time more +than half-way across the Atlantic, where the seas run sometimes as high +as the yard-arm, and take several days to calm down when they have once +been lashed into fury. The ship's timbers creaked and groaned, and the +carpenter and his men had much ado to stop the numerous leaks which +sprung in her sides. The next day it blew a hurricane, taking the fore +mast and mainmast away, together with most of the rigging, and leaving +the vessel almost a total wreck. As they were not far from the southern +coast of Ireland, the Captain ordered the boats to be got ready with +sails, arms and provisions; he also took with him a chart and compass, +by which he was enabled to steer for the Fastnat Rock. There was +scarcely room for the large party in the boats, but they all got safely +in, a few minutes before the waterlogged brig went down like a lump of +lead. They had not much to eat, but they had a good supply of water, +and, as all the boats were well fitted with sails, the Captain hoped +to make the Irish coast within a few days, the wind being much more +moderate and in their favor. + +Poor George Fairfield was sick at heart. He was so anxious to get home +to his darling wife, and there he was for the second time at sea in an +open boat, without the means of communicating with his loved Agnes, or +of telling her why he was not at her side. Nevertheless he accepted the +state of affairs with calm resignation, and he and the American Captain +laid their heads together to find out exactly where they were and what +course they had best pursue. + +As they had had time to take with them a sextant chromometer and +Palinurus, they had no difficulty next day in taking observations, and +found themselves about five hundred miles W.N.W. of Mizen Head. As +it was no use depending on being picked up they made all sail in that +direction, and so rapidly did the strong west wind propel them that +on taking observations the next day they found themselves nearly one +hundred and fifty miles nearer land. It was fortunate that they made +such headway, for they had only one day's provisions left, and the water +was getting pretty scarce; however, the wind continued favorable, and +in less than three days more, half famished and thoroughly chilled +from exposure, they found themselves at midnight a few miles from the +entrance of Queenstown Harbor. + +Furling their sales, they took to the oars with a will and pulled wildly +towards the landing-place, where they were pleased to hear voices in +conversation. Just then a long whistle was heard from shore, and a husky +voice half whispered, "Boat ahoy!" "Aye, aye," was the glad response +as the shipwrecked men threw the painter to the owner of the voice, +and taking their arms and instruments, bounded on shore. Imagine their +surprise to find themselves surrounded, their muskets knocked from their +hands, and the latter speedily encircled with a pair of manacles. The +Captain of the Brig tried to remonstrate with the commander of the +party, but a navy revolver was pointed at his head, and he was forbidden +to utter a word. Finding resistance and remonstrance altogether out +of the question, the unfortunate men marched on silently as directed, +mentally endeavoring to explain this sample of Irish hospitality, and +confident that there must be a mistake somewhere, but of the precise +nature of that error they had not the faintest idea. + +Arrived at the gaol, they were severally incarcerated and their +handcuffs taken off. Then, as they signified that they were hungry, they +were liberally supplied with buttermilk and oatmeal porridge, which many +of them thought the best and most sensible part of the whole proceeding. +As it was past midnight, and they were all nearly exhausted they allowed +their curiosity to wait till the morrow, and, without any questioning +or speculation, fell fast asleep, most of them remaining quiescent unfed +late the following afternoon. When they awoke they found a warm meal +awaiting them, but no reply as to the reason for their detention could +be got out of the turnkey, who seemed to think their question one of the +greatest jokes ever perpetrated within the precincts of that edifice. At +last Fairfield summoned the turnkey. There was something commanding +in his tone which bade the gaoler treat him with respect, and to his +enquiry as to whether he could see a lawyer the man replied that he +could send for one immediately, but would vouchsafe no information. + +In a short time Councillor Quinn called in answer to Captain Fairfield's +summons, when the latter asked him to explain what reason the +authorities had for treating him in this fashion. The eminent legal +practitioner evidently thought this as great a joke as did Mr. +Fitzgerald, the turnkey, for he thrust his tongue in his cheek, and +remained silent. On Fairfield reiterating the question in a stern tone +he became more serious and said affably "My dear sir, do you not know +what you are arrested for?" + +Fairfield then became angry and said "If I did, why would I send for you +to tell me? Is this your boasted Irish hospitality, in the exercise of +which you lock up every man who happens to be cast away on your shores, +and then laugh at him when he asks you a civil question?" + +On seeing that Fairfield had really lost his temper, the astonished +barrister said "Did you not command the party of armed men who were +captured last night in the harbor?" + +"I commanded a crew of shipwrecked sailors, as also did my companion in +ill-treatment, Captain Westover." + +"Ah! Well of course you can put in that plea if you wish at your trial, +but I am afraid it will avail you little. Your arms, too, are of an +American pattern, similar to that known to be used by the Fenians." + +"Good Heavens! do they take me for a Fenian?" said Fairfield,--"why, +I am an English officer, captain of a merchant vessel of the port of +Glasgow." + +"Have you any papers to prove this?" said the lawyer. + +"No, they all went down with the vessel, but they can easily find out +whether my statements be correct by communicating with the agents." + +"That will be for you to do, when you are brought to trial, which +may not be for some time, as there is a surplus of work on hand this +session." + +"But can I not demand a trial?" + +"No, the _Habeas Corpus_ Act is suspended, and you must just make +yourself as comfortable as you can under the circumstances." + +Poor Fairfield wrung his hands and stamped the floor with rage. He +cursed Ireland and her people and laws, or rather the want of them; +then, as reason took the place of passion, he sat down and wrote a +letter to his wife, informing her of his deplorable condition, and +urging her to communicate with the agents of his vessel immediately. +This letter never reached her, for, having heard of the wreck of the +Glenalpine (some portions of the bows being found by a homeward-bound +steamer imbedded in a large block of ice), she never doubted for an +instant but that her husband had gone down with the vessel. The poor +girl now felt almost broken down. But for the sake of the child which +she expected she would have likely died with grief. The Canadian girl, +Arline Bertrand, had told her so much of Canada, especially of Montreal, +that she decided to follow the girl to her native land, and try to earn +a living for herself and child, should God spare it, there, particularly +as her aunt, Mrs. Whitcher, seemed to be afraid poor Agnes should return +to her. Mrs. Fairfield accordingly sold her little household goods, +and soon after bid her aunt and sister farewell, and took passage on +a Montreal steamer, Bertrand having secured for herself a place as +stewardess. Arrived in Montreal, she visited the girl's parents, hoping +to find reasonable lodgings during her approaching sickness, but the +girl's mother did not believe her daughter's story about her young +mistress, but thought her a young unfortunate girl who had come to +Canada to hide her shame. She offered kindly to bring and introduce +her to the nuns of St. Pelagie as the most proper place for her in her +condition. Mrs. Fairfield, thanking her, was glad to find so suitable +a shelter. Paying her board a week in advance, she retired to her room, +but found to her surprise that room had several more occupants all +in the same condition. The manner and language of those unfortunate +creatures did not suit Mrs. Fairfield at all, and as she mentioned her +disappointment at not having a room to herself to one of the nuns, she +was informed that a private room was three times the amount. The sister +also told her that the babe when born could not be cared for there, but +would have to be sent to the Grey Nunnery, and that she had better part +with it as soon as born. This frightened poor Agnes so much that she +resolved not to stay there, come what might. Asking the next morning +permission to take a walk, she had great trouble to get it granted, the +nun informing her that the people in Montreal were so very bad, and that +she would run great danger to go out alone. But Agnes thought she would +risk this danger. She accordingly went up Campeau street, at which +corner St. Pelagie is situated. She walked and walked till she came to +St. Mary street. There inquiring for the residence of a physician, some +kind person directed her to Dr. P----'s drug store on Notre Dame street. +To him she told her story and her desire to find a more suitable place. +He gave her the address of my house, and advised her to come under +my care. On hearing her story I could not for a moment doubt her +truthfulness, and received her gladly at, my place, sending the servant +with a note for Mrs. F----'s things to St. Pelagie in the afternoon, +which were, after some little delay and trouble, handed out to her, no +doubt the sisters feeling sorry that the fair young English lady did +not return. Her former servant, Arline Bertrand, having returned as +stewardess to England again, Mrs. Fairfield did not care to let the +girl's mother know that she had left the convent, hoping to find means +to let Arline know her whereabouts later, as the old lady had certainly +meant well enough when bringing her to St. Pelagie. Mrs. Fairfield was +only three weeks at my house when a baby boy was born to her. Then her +sorrows seemed to be greater than ever. She thought of having lost her +husband, the father of the innocent baby, so early seemed almost to kill +her, and I frequently heard her implore God to take them both. But +it was not in his wise ordination to grant her wish. She regained her +strength gradually, and with it grew the love for her child which in all +unconsciousness grew quite a stout little fellow who wanted to be fed, +clothed and cared for, which obligations fell alone on its mother, and +as her means became always smaller, she decided to take a situation +with a wealthy family from Savannah who were staying at this time at +my house, the Southern lady having taken a great interest from the +beginning of their meeting in Mrs. Fairfield, offered her a comfortable +home and fair compensation if she would accompany them, attend to +the wants of the lady and her baby during their travels, and act as +companion and housekeeper when at their Southern home. Mrs. Fairfield +took it very hard to part from her little boy, but leaving it with a +reliable nurse, and under my special observation, she was reconciled at +last. Hoping to return in one year, she left. Every thing went on well. +Her letters were full of gratitude. Her Southern friends never allowed +her to feel her subordinate position for a moment. She also remitted +regularly the wages for the nurse, and little George was, when fifteen +months old, a lovely fair boy, and as large as a child two years old. + +Some months passed during which I did not hear from Mrs. Fairfield, nor +did the nurse receive her payment. I wrote to Savannah, but received +no answer. The nurse, poor woman, naturally could not keep the child +without payment, and brought him one fine afternoon to my house to leave +him, and also demanding the back pay. My own children, being delighted +with the dear little fellow, we decided to keep and bring him up as our +own child should his mother never return. And many of my fair patients +will remember the lovely, little curly-headed fellow who would run into +the parlor uninvited, but whose large blue eyes would appeal so sweetly +to be allowed to stay. Indeed we all became so attached to him that we +hoped nobody would ever claim him. And, as twelve months had passed, I +gave up all hope of ever hearing from Mrs. Fairfield again. + +Fairfield had been confined in Pentenville, having been convicted on a +charge of felony-treason, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. His +wife and, friends not having heard of his trial, no one was present +to bear testimony in his favor, and both he and his men (many of whom +happened to be Irishmen) were imprisoned. The Americans claimed +the protection of their flag, a covering which proved sufficiently +substantial to protect them, but the only flag which could have been +claimed by poor unfortunate George was the very one he was accused of +attacking. + +As the British Government did not wish to deal harshly with Fenian +prisoners, or, as its enemies said, was afraid to trample any longer on +the Irish people, George Fairfield and his companions, in common with +many real Fenians, were liberated some years before the expiration of +their term of servitude. Fairfield at once sought his late home, hoping +to find his wife and child still alive, and cursing his fate, which had +cast him twice on the pitiless ocean, only to be arrested and imprisoned +as soon as he got to land. But the worst had yet to come. When he +arrived at his old home and found it occupied by strangers his heart +sank within him; on enquiring for Mrs. Fairfield he was informed that +she had gone to America with her servant Bertrand. Grasping the railings +to keep himself from falling, the poor stricken man gazed wildly at +his informant, as though stunned by a severe blow; then gasping out an +apology of some kind he rushed along the street like a madman, stopping +not till he had got far out into the open country. There, throwing +himself headlong on the grass, he shed tears of anguish, moaning as +if in bodily pain. "Why did I not go down with the ship?" he cried +bitterly; "Was it for this I toiled twice over on the open sea? Ah, why +was I ever born to be tossed about, imprisoned, and deserted?" + +For hours he lay insensible on the grass, till the cool evening air, +bringing his mind once more into activity, he arose with a groan, and +slowly retraced his steps, not caring whither he went. Passing along the +quay he looked at the dark, sullen water, and for a moment was impelled +to cast himself in and so put an end to his misery, but something in his +better nature restrained him, and he walked moodily along to where an +ocean steamer lay preparing for sea. Anything was better than inaction, +so, as his money was all gone and he would have some difficulty in +obtaining a position as Captain or even as mate, he shipped as a +foremast hand, and took his place with the crew. Right glad would he +have been to have changed places with any one of the jolly tars around +him; their songs and jests, however, diverted the current of his +thoughts and kept him from his bitter reflections for a time at least. + +In a short time they were out at sea and, having plenty of work to do +handing sails, reefing and steering, he almost forgot his great and deep +heart-wound, and, although he could not be prevailed upon to sing a song +or even to join in a chorus, yet he listened attentively to the yarns of +the sailors, and always applauded their songs. + +The vessel was trading between Glasgow and Montreal, and within a short +time they were anchored at the latter port; the sailors all went ashore +as soon as the vessel was safely moored, and Fairfield having nothing +else to occupy his mind, went up the wharf in search of Bertrand's +parents house. He was directed to a house on St. Bonaventure street, +where he found the mother of Arline Bertrand all right, but her daughter +was not at home. She had gone as stewardess abroad again and married +there. She had promised to visit her parents at some future time. When +Captain Fairfield enquired about the lady she had come out with three +years previous, the old lady broke out into sobs, and told him that the +lady had died during her confinement in St. Pelagie, but that the nuns +would give him more information about it if he would go there. If the +babe had lived she did not know, but the sisters had offered to give to +her daughter the lady's clothes and trunk if she came herself to demand +it. This last blow seemed to be the hardest in all his sorrow. Thinking +himself so near to find his beloved wife, and now all gone and forever, +it seemed to hard. But he would go and see the nuns and hear how she had +died, and if his child had lived or was alive now. This thought gave +him new hopes, and, Madame Bertrand offering to accompany him, +they proceeded to St. Pelagie to obtain an interview with the Lady +Superioress. He had never thought of the child before, but now it was +his whole thought and hope to find it alive. + +Arriving at the convent he had not to wait very long to see the desired +lady, and on informing her of his wishes she most kindly consented to +search all records, but, as the number of patients received every year +is very large he had to content himself till the following day when she +would give him all the information he desired. The next day seemed +never coming. But at last poor George felt as if his worst doom would be +sealed now. The lady in waiting informed him that she felt happy to be +able to tell him that his child (a little girl) was alive and at that +present moment at a convent in Cemetery street, where he could see it +and take it out on payment of its maintenance. The lady's clothes had +been disposed of. As already stated, a long time had elapsed since +her death. Capt. Fairfield, with a few lines from the sisters of St. +Pelagie, proceeded to the St. Joseph's Home, on Cemetery street, and, on +handing the note, a little girl about three years old was shown to him +to be his child. The poor little girl seemed afraid to look at him, and +as the child could only speak French he felt as if a board was between +him and the child; but her looks, he thought, were somewhat like his +beloved Agnes. The child's little curls had been cut a few days before, +so a nun told him. What was he to do with the child? He was not a +Captain now, and would have to make first a position for himself again, +and then he could claim his child. The child seemed happy, and the nuns +offering to keep it for a moderate price he decided to give what money +he had earned during his passage and come again and again till the +little girl could speak English to him, which the nuns promised to teach +her, and then, to take her home to his native land. He had no parents +alive, but he thought when going back to England he would call and see +Mrs. Taylor, Agnes' sister Alice. He had never visited her, and he felt +so bad to think that she had not helped her sister in distress. He well +remembered his wife's spirit and independence, and that made him think +that his wife had never made her wants known to them. However, the ship +sailed again. He brought toys and sweetmeats to his darling little girl, +to whom he felt with every visit more and more attached, and the parting +was harder than he could have imagined. + +Returned to Glasgow. On a later voyage, he proceeded at once to +Mrs. Taylor's house, and was struck at the happy appearance of his +sister-in-law, who, when she recognized him, became quite alarmed and +was near fainting. When Mr. Taylor, who was struck for a moment also, +regained his self-possession, he allowed poor George to tell his sad +story, both listening with interest. But when he related how his wife +had died and he had at last found his child--Alice broke out, "She is +not dead! She is not dead, George! We had a letter only a week ago. She +is in Paris." George Fairfield was thunderstruck at this revelation. +Alice brought the letter, which he saw was from his Agnes. But how +could be this mistake with the deceased lady in the convent and the +child,--whose child was it! + +Agnes wrote to her sister that she had intended travelling with the +Southern family to the Continent. When on the oceans the Franco-Prussian +war was declared. They had to stop at Southampton and, instead of going +to Germany, they went to the South of France, and, as she had no letters +from me for some time, she was almost beside herself. The Southern lady +being in such delicate state of health she could not think of leaving +her, but had to accompany her. All letters sent from or sent to France +were carefully inspected by the Government, and thus it happened that +I had not received any communication for a long time. She had at last +expected that her letters had gone astray, then she had written to her +sister, Mrs. Taylor, asking her to write to me and try to obtain in this +way information about her boy. + +Captain Fairfield would have liked to start at once in search of his +darling wife, but Mr. Taylor, who saw the danger for him in going to +France at this time, prevented him from acting rashly, also fearing that +the sudden shock to Agnes in seeing her husband whom she had bemoaned +so long would be of great injury to her health, so it was decided that +Alice should write first, saying in her letter that there were some +hopes of Captain Fairfield being alive. The next mail should bring a +letter from the Captain himself to his wife. Both letters were duly +posted, but when the steamer on which George Fairfield was mate was +ready to sail again no answer had been received from, France, and George +had to cross the ocean again. + +Having received my address from Mrs. Taylor he intended to come and see +me on his arrival in this port, and this time he was more fortunate: +the ship made a quick voyage, and as Mrs. Taylor had written to me by a +previous steamer, informing me of all these strange incidents, I looked +out for him. + +One afternoon in the month of August, 1871, when I was driving along +the wharf, I saw a steamer coming in, and on enquiring the name of it I +found it was the one with which I expected Mr. Fairfield. I drove home +with all speed, and as it was late in the afternoon Master George had +his little white frock pretty well soiled; but, on telling him his papa +would soon, be here to see him, he consented readily to leave his play +and undergo an extra bathing--his little skin being so fair the least +speck would show--and scarcely had we finished the operation when the +door-bell rang and a weather-beaten gentlemen inquired for me. His +surprise was great when he found I had expected him, and on seeing his +beautiful child his happiness knew no bounds. + +As soon as he had a little rested he related to us all his trials and +miseries, which seemed like a fairy tale. But when would Mrs. Fairfield +return and meet her husband, was the next question, and where? He came +every day and spent many an hour at our house playing with his child +and wishing for his wife to return. He often said it would be almost +too much happiness for him; that he was afraid something might cross his +plans again. I had written to Savannah again to hear if the family would +return from Europe soon. At last a letter came informing me that the +family, as also Mrs. Fairfield, had embarked on a New York steamer, and +would be expected home within a short time. When Captain Fairfield heard +the good news he made arrangements not to return with his vessel to +Glasgow but await the arrival of his long lost wife. He telegraphed to +the agents in New York, desiring them to deliver a telegram at once +to Mrs. Fairfield on her arrival. The message read thus: "Mrs. Capt. +Fairfield is wanted in Montreal immediately. Important business. +Answer." In two days we had an answer which read: "Will start at once, +hope all well, Agnes Fairfield." Late in the evening the same day the +New York train arrived rather late, but with it Captain Fairfield's +wife. When the Captain saw his wife approaching he dropped the boy and +ran towards her, calling her by her name, but she no sooner saw him than +she fell senseless just inside the hall door. I would have raised her; +but shoving me aside he took her tenderly in his arms and carried her +upstairs. Then calling her by all sorts of endearing terms he conjured +here to open her eyes and speak to him. After a time she revived. +When she came to herself, she gazed wildly around the room, enquiring +eagerly, Where is he? I had persuaded Captain Fairfield to retire to +an adjoining room for a while, and then brought little George to her +pretending her enquiries were meant for him; but her mind was perfectly +clear, and she demanded an explanation. I then told her in short what +had occurred, when she broke out in an hysterical cry. I called Captain +Fairfield to her, imploring him to try and dry her tears. But he let his +head sink into his hands and wept like a child himself. Little George +did not care for this proceeding at all, so he said he rather would keep +me for his mamma because I did not cry. I hope he never will have the +tenth part of the trial both his parents had. + +For some time the now happy family stayed at Montreal, but at last +Captain Fairfield had to resume his duties, but as he would never part +from his wife and child again, he took both on the steamship with him. +The parting from the dear little child George nearly broke my children's +hearts, who had looked upon him as their baby brother, and I promised to +myself then never to take a strange child into my house if I could not +keep it for ever, for even my old heart fretted after him. + +The little girl in the asylum whom Captain Fairfield thought his child +he did not forget, but took with him to England on a later trip, where +Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, who had no family, adopted her. The nuns at St. +Pelagie were surprised when they heard of the mistake which was made, +but could never find out who was the young English girl who died alone +there. God has certainly taken care of her child, for it is in a good +home, well provided for, and much beloved. Captain, Mrs., and little +George Fairfield visited, before their final departure, the parents +of Arline Bertrand, on Bonaventure street, and informed them of their +existence. The old lady was so surprised that it took a long time to +explain, but she promised to let her daughter know all about it. + +Captain Fairfield is not crossing the ocean any more, having received +the appointment as harbor-master in an English port. He does not want +his son George, who is in College yet, to show any liking for the sea. +But I hope to see once more before I die the young man whom we all loved +so dearly when a baby-boy. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XV. + + +The Night Bell. + +My night-bell was pulled very hastily, it was about two o'clock, the +night was bright, it was autumn, and, as I hastened to see who wanted me +in such a hurry, I saw two young girls sitting on my house-door steps: +both had been running very fast, the case was urgent, and the little +rest they took before the door was opened would enable them to return +all the faster. I had hardly opened the door when both commenced to beg +me in the most imploring manner to go at once with them to see a young +woman who, as they thought, must be in great distress. + +I put on my outer garments, took the street and number of the house, as +the party was entirely unknown to me, and then accompanied them on their +way, which led us through Craig street East, past a beautiful field--the +same where Viger Garden is now. A few more crossings were passed, and we +arrived at the scene where my help was wanted. In front of the house +was a policeman walking to and fro. The house was medium size, built of +wood, was gray, freshly painted, and so were the green blinds. On the +road going the two girls had told me that the house where I was wanted +was not a very good one, but, if I had a heart and was a mother, for +Gael's sake not to refuse but to go with them. The presence of the +guardian of the peace encouraged me; and if I felt a little chilly at +entering a den of vice as this was it must be excusable as, till then, I +only knew of them by name and what little I had heard of them. + +I was at once ushered into a little bed-room, from where the shrieks of +a female voice had come as if in great agony and in great pain. I found +a young girl not past her seventeenth year, yet in the last state of +labor,--it was a sight I shall never forget as long as I live: years +have past since then but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were +yesterday, and in my ears are the sound of her voice to help and protect +her from the inhuman abuse which another inmate of the house showered +down upon the poor victim. + +I discovered that the poor young creature--we will call her Martha--had +only come to Montreal, the day previous, and, on, inquiring for a +boarding house, was driven by a carter to this den. The house being full +of occupants the landlady had made her occupy the same room with another +bad character, a great bony female about forty years of age, with +painted face, and attired in disgusting finery. This great, big, +hardened creature then gave the greatest trouble, would have me remove +my patient out of her room, even at the risk of her life, and I was +obliged to call the assistance of the policeman to have her quieted. + +After a while all was quiet except the feeble cry of a little girl who +had been born. Born in a house of vice, what will became of it and its +child-mother? I such were my thoughts then, and now, after many years, +I can tell the reader what has become of them, of some of the inmates +anyhow. + +The woman who kept this house I must, in truth, confess was a +good-hearted person herself, being led astray when quite young, had +never thought of the wrong she was committing by keeping a place of +this sort. She had a widowed mother living in the States and a family of +smaller brothers and sisters who depended mostly on the ill-gotten money +this unfortunate eldest sister would send them for their support. This +_Madam Flora_, then, was very kind in her way to Martha, and offered to +take the baby and bring it up if I was willing to place it out to nurse +with a respectable woman until such a time that she could take the child +herself, as she intended to give up this life of shame. + +Martha was a girl well brought up, had been in school till shortly +before this episode of her life, but it was not her mother who had been +her companion during the last two years. + +Her mother who was too much occupied with her smaller children and +other household affairs had thought it better to send her daughter to a +boarding-school to finish her education, and this was the end of it. If +all mothers would only take the care of their girls when fourteen years +old into their own hands a great deal of trouble might be spared to +them. The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time +for most girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and +under her care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best +friend of her daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she +herself was young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to +her daughter's little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her +child, and save her in many instances from eternal destruction. Thus +poor Martha had no mother who would listen to her girlish stories. She +found plenty companions in school and very bad advisers. When the truth +of her misfortune dawned upon her, she thought of nothing but to fly +from the place to where she did not know, till the destroyer of her +virtue advised her to go to Montreal, where he would in short join and +marry her. To confess to her mother she could never, and her father she +knew would never look at her again, so she followed his advice, left her +home under some pretence, and came to the place where I found her. She +was very glad to get somebody to take the child from her, for she was +fully resolved to lead a better life, and how could she ever do it with +a baby; she was hardly fit to earn her own living. She told me that an +aunt of hers was living in Halifax, the wife of a sea captain who had +no children, and who had often written to her mother to send one of her +children to her. So she resolved to visit this aunt if some kind person +would help her to get there. I consulted with some of my wealthy and at +the same time charitable Christian friends, who have been, always ready +to help me when I had some needy patients, and with their assistance she +was sent for some weeks after her recovery, to a nice widow lady in the +country, and after receiving satisfactory information about her aunt +in Halifax she was sent there, and has, so far as we have ascertained, +never overstepped the bounds of morality again but was married four +years later to a friend of her uncle, also a sea captain. She has a +large family now, and whenever she writes to me she always prays that +God may forgive her and guide the little girl she parted so easy from +some years before. + +The wife of a private soldier in the Canadian rifles, named Rice had at +the same time lost her own baby only six weeks old, and as her quarters +at the barracks were good and healthy I proposed to send the child +there, Madame Flora offering to pay all necessary expenses. I made +arrangements accordingly, and little Emma (the baby) was soon an inmate +of the barracks. But now a new trouble arose. Mrs. Rice was a sobre, +clean, industrious woman, who with the pay she received for nursing the +baby could make herself and place very comfortable. This made the less +fortunate soldiers' wives jealous, and their thoughts were bent on +nothing else for awhile but how to get the poor little waif out of +barracks. The baby thrived well under Mrs. Rice's care, but cried +at times, as all healthy babies will; but as the babies of the other +soldiers' wives never cried--so their mothers said--they would not +suffer a crybaby in the room, and such a mysterious child where nobody +knew where it came from, and could not find it out either. The larger +rooms in the barracks were in general occupied by different families, +and the one where Mrs. Rice had her quarters was a very large one. It +was called the ship, and was occupied at this time by forty different +families. Each had a certain space, say about 12 by 14 feet, allotted to +them, and it was indeed a surprise to me how neat it was kept, and how +one woman would try to have her place in better order than the other. +Their packing boxes were converted into dressing tables, a little muslin +curtain pinned around it, a looking glass in the centre, and a few +ornaments, sea-shells or East Indian curiosities gave the whole a nice +appearance. The washing or cooking had to be done in out-houses, and +at night each family had a large curtain drawn around their respective +place, and it was really astonishing how little sickness existed +among so many men, women and children. Every morning at 10 o'clock the +officers on guard accompanied by a sergeant on duty had to visit each +respective home, and report any irregularities; and so it happened that +my baby was reported as being a great disturber of the peace. Poor Mrs. +Rice was in great trouble. She had learned to love the child, and was +afraid she would have to part with it. What was to be done? She was +ordered to appear the next morning at 12 o'clock before the commanding +officer to receive sentence for her offence. I had attended a great many +officers' ladies in this regiment, also the Colonel's lady, and was well +acquainted with that gentleman and his kind heart, so I bid Mrs. Rice +to keep quiet but dress the baby (it was then three months old) in +its little white fur jacket and cap, and bring it with her before the +officers, and promising that I would meet her there also. + +On my way I met the Doctor of the Regiment, a very kind-hearted +gentleman who, on seeing me, enquired what mischief I had done. I told +him of our trouble, and begged of him to intercede for the poor baby, if +possible, and, as he was well aware that the health of Mrs. Rice was so +much improved by nursing the infant, he thought he would be able to help +us. + +Mrs. Rice entered the room, the infant in her arms, the Doctor and +myself following. The colonel, on seeing such a procession enter, could +not help smiling, and as the Doctor with all his eloquence stated our +case and of the necessity for Mrs. Rice's health to nurse the baby, and +the danger to the little baby's life in changing its nurse, the Colonel, +as a father, and a true-hearted gentleman, gave not only consent for the +baby to stay in barracks, but ordered other quarters to be given to +Rice and his wife,--a whole room to themselves, where the baby could not +annoy anybody. + +But my story is growing too long, I will hasten to end it. The new +quarters into which Mrs. Rice moved were near the rooms occupied by the +armor sergeant and his wife who had been long in service, and had saved +quite a little fortune, but children they had none. Both became soon so +attached to their little neighbor that they offered quite a sum of money +to Madame Flora if she would give the child over to them for adoption. +I used all influence in my power to persuade Madame Flora to give the +child up, to which she at last consented. I felt a heavy burden lifted +off my heart and conscience when the papers were lawfully made out which +gave the dear little baby into the hands of good Christian people. Now +the child had full rights to live in barracks, but its adopted father's +time was in, and he retired with a good pension which, along with his +savings, enabled him to buy a house and garden in New London, where the +baby has grown up into a fine young woman, not knowing to this day that +her dear father and mother are not her natural parents. + +Madame Flora has retired from her life of shame, trying to bring up her +younger sisters in the path of virtue. One of the young girls who had +summoned me on that eventful night in such haste has also reformed, and +is living with a family as helpful servant a good many years, and she +has often told me that the events of that night were the first cause to +her for reflection. The other inmate of the house whom I mentioned, who +was so cruel and disgusting, fell lower and lower,--nothing could we do +for her--she would listen to nothing, and a sudden death ended her life +of shame. + +May the Lord have mercy on her and guide me, the narrator of these +incidents, in His ways, so that when the last bell will be rung to +summon me before Him I need not hesitate but answer joyfully: I am +ready, I am ready to go. + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + +***** This file should be named 8443.txt or 8443.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/4/4/8443/ + +Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mysteries of Montreal + Being Recollections of a Female Physician + +Author: Charlotte Fuhrer + + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8443] +This file was first posted on July 11, 2003 +Last Updated: November 6, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + + + + +Text file produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL + </h1> + <h3> + BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PHYSICIAN + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Charlotte Fuhrer + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Truth is Stranger than Fiction + </h4> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h5> + MONTREAL + </h5> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. — Early Life and Professional + Struggles. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. — A Just Retribution. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. — The Bag Baby. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. — A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. — Among the Fenians. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. — A Disciple of Satan. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. — The Frail Shop Girl. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. — The two Orphans </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. — A Tale of Two Cities </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. — A Blighted Life. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. — The Mother-in-Law. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. — A Deserted Wife, or Model + Woman </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. — A Tale of Bigamy. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. — The Unfortunate Sailor. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. — The Night Bell. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things + enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of a + Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate + residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting for + the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours with a + narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the + expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, and + not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. Enquiry having + frequently been made as to whether my recollections were published, I have + been induced to print this volume, changing only names of persons and + localities, so as to avoid identification. Many persons will find it hard + to believe some of the occurrences which are herein mentioned, but those + who have been concerned (directly or indirectly) with any of the parties + to my narratives, will recognize, under the disguise of a false name, some + person with whose history they are familiar. Should any discover his own + actions here narrated, let him not think that I have wantonly endeavored + to open old sores, but rather to warn others from taking that first false + step which so often leads to future misery and bitter remorse. + </p> + <p> + MONTREAL, May, 1881 + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. — Early Life and Professional Struggles. + </h2> + <p> + My father, an officer in the Hanoverian Army, having died while I was + almost a child, I found myself, at the age of 17, governess in the family + of the Baron Grovestein in Hamburg, Germany, where I met my present + husband, Gustav Schroeder, at that time one of the most “eligible” young + gentlemen in that city. + </p> + <p> + Though not particularly handsome, Gustav was all that could be desired in + other respects. He was young, well educated, and the son of wealthy + parents, and of an amiable disposition. Soon after my engagement at the + Baron’s, young Schroeder’s visits (ostensibly to the family) became so + frequent, that his friends, who had divined the cause, forbade his having + anything to say to me, more than cold civility demanded; and insisted that + his visits to the Grovestein mansion should be discontinued. This, it may + well be supposed, had quite the opposite effect, and in a short time we + were engaged to be married, with the formal, if not the hearty approval of + Gustav’s relations, and in course of time the marriage ceremony took + place, with all the paraphernalia of an <i>Alt-Deutsch Hochzeitsfest</i>. + </p> + <p> + Now, however, came the question: How are we to live! for my husband had no + settled profession, and his parents, though wealthy, could not deprive + their more obedient children of their rights to benefit the perverse + Gustav. They gave him sufficient to start him in business, with the + understanding that he would emigrate to America, their idea being that a + German gentleman with a little capital could not fail to make a fortune + among the comparatively illiterate Columbians. To New York accordingly we + came, and Gustav labored assiduously to establish a business as importer + of German manufactures; he soon found, however, that men who did not know + Horace from Euripides could drive closer bargains, and make quicker sales + than he could, and, as he was too proud to compound with his + correspondents in the old country, and insisted on conscientiously paying + a hundred cents for a dollar, we found ourselves in less than three years, + with diminished capital in specie, and an increased one as regards future + candidates for the Presidency, on our way back to our common Fatherland. + Through the influence of his friends, Gustav procured a good situation in + a merchant’s office, but he was altogether unsuited both by temperament + and education for such a position, and I soon made up my mind that I must + either prepare to enter the world’s great battlefield in person, or live + in helpless dependence on my husband’s relations. + </p> + <p> + I had often while in America wondered why the ladies of that Republic (so + advanced and enlightened in everything else) should submit to a practice + so revolting, so contrary to all ideas of morality and refinement as is + the system of man-midwifery so widely practiced in the United States. No + German lady would think of permitting the attendance of a man at her + bedside on such an occasion, and though custom in England seems generally + to sanction the absurd practice, yet Her Majesty Queen Victoria never + allows her medical advisers to be in attendance in any other capacity than + that of <i>consulting</i> physicians. I had discussed the matter + frequently with married ladies in New York, and they were generally + agreed, that, could only competent ladies be found in the United States, + man-midwifery would soon cease to be practiced in that Republic. I + accordingly resolved to devote all my energies to the study of that + particular branch of the medical profession, and my efforts were crowned + with success. In two years I obtained a diploma from the Hamburg + University, and soon after prepared to return to America. + </p> + <p> + [Footnote: Dr. Playfair, President of the Obstetrical Society of London, + in his address delivered in February, 1879, said:—“I confess that it + is with a feeling of regret, something akin to shame, when I reflect that + I am supposed to teach a class of young men the entire subject of + midwifery, and the diseases of women and children, in a short summer + course of something under forty lectures. The thing is a manifest and + ridiculous absurdity, hence we have, of necessity, to omit, year by year, + <i>at least half of midwifery proper</i>.” + </p> + <p> + The Principal of Calcutta Medical College writes Dr. Playfair thus:—“To + what a hideous extent is the practice of midwifery carried on in England, + by utterly unqualified men, whom the unhappy women and their friends + believe to be qualified, and the system in your hospitals sadly favors + this.” + </p> + <p> + “Yet there are some women who will smother every feeling of modesty and + morality, and trust their lives to one of these licentiates rather than + commit themselves to the care of a thoroughly trained midwife of their own + sex. Surely nothing can be more absurd and irrational.”] + </p> + <p> + About this time a friend of my husbands’ informed us that the climate of + Canada was very much superior to that of the Eastern States, and much more + like that of Germany, and that in Montreal I would be likely to find, not + only a pleasant city, but a people more European in style and custom, also + a capital field for the exercise of my profession. For Montreal then we + sailed with hearts full of hope, and, being fifty-four days at sea, I was + summoned by the Captain to attend a lady on board (which I did with the + success which has since invariably attended my efforts), and this was my + debut as a professional accoucheur. + </p> + <p> + On our arrival at Montreal we presented letters of introduction to the + German Consul, and the leading members of the German Society, and I soon + became fully occupied in the exercise of my profession. Dr. X—— + (now one of our most distinguished physicians) not only tolerated my + vocation, but, with a magnanimity worthy of his genius and ability, gave + me counsel and advice, and recommended me as highly as possible to his + confrères and the public. Some few resident doctors threw cold water on my + enterprise, but, to their credit be it spoken, the profession at large + treated me invariably with the greatest kindness and courtesy, shewing + thereby a liberality and largeness of heart which is ever the outcome of + real ability. + </p> + <p> + I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily + round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down to + receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a newborn + baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he was its + father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any provision + could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take it, as he + would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river. I thought my heart + would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly treated, so I took it + from him, promising to see it safely to some charitable institution. He + told me his name was Ferguson, that he was in business in Montreal, and + that if I would deposit the child in some charitable institution and call + and see its mother during her recovery, he would pay all necessary + expenses. It was too late that night to go out with the child, so I + prepared some food for its nourishment and kept it till the next day, + resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady Superior at one of the + nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that the nunnery was closed, and + I was obliged to return home with the babe, which, by-the-by, continued to + roar lustily all the way, and so attracted public attention to me (its + presumptive mother) that I wept as bitterly as the child itself, and was + heartily sorry that I had undertaken any such mission. + </p> + <p> + Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited + me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who were + baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for admission. + On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that the child + was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to deliver it to + her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me that she very + considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary fee, she + undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted. + </p> + <p> + In the evening I called to see the mother; she was lying on a miserable + couch in a low lodging-house in the Quebec suburbs, yet she had about her + the air of a lady, and on her finger glittered a ring set with brilliants. + She wept when I told her how her child was disposed of, but said that she + had no other alternative, as if her father, who was a lawyer of eminence, + had any idea of her predicament, he would cast her off in shame; that when + she first discovered her condition she persuaded her paramour to make a + formal proposal for her hand, but her father was enraged beyond measure, + and threatened her so terribly that she, for a time at least, put away all + thoughts of Ferguson from her mind, and had not quite decided how to act, + when the occurrence took place which led to the visit aforementioned, and + caused the necessity for my attendance. Miss L—— had barely + time to call in a carriage at Ferguson’s office, and apprise him of her + condition, when she was taken ill, and obliged to procure a lodging with + all speed. Ferguson selected the wretched hovel alluded to, as being away + from all chance of discovery by his or her friends, and after my visit, + empowered me to engage a nurse, and make what other arrangements I could + for Miss L——‘s comfort. She managed to get a confidential + friend to telegraph her father from Quebec that she had arrived in that + city, and then sent on a letter and had it mailed there, stating that she + had gone on the steamboat the previous evening to see some friends off, + and, remaining too long on board, was taken away eastward, but would + return on receiving the passage money from Montreal. + </p> + <p> + With this story she managed to deceive her otherwise astute father, and in + four days she actually got up and went to her own home in a carriage; + insisting on retiring immediately to her room in consequence of the + nervous excitement and fatigue she had undergone. The nurse I had engaged + to attend her, she on some pretence or another smuggled into the house as + a domestic servant, and so not only managed to have an attendant, but to + keep up a clandestine communication with Ferguson and the outer world. + </p> + <p> + In the frantic hope of acquiring a rapid fortune, Ferguson migrated to New + Orleans, but just then the American war broke out, and he was pressed into + the service. Whether he was killed or not Miss L——never found + out; his letters became gradually less frequent, till finally she lost all + trace of him whatever, and she eventually married a wholesale merchant of + this city, who is to this day probably unaware of this little episode in + his wife’s former career. Sometimes I see her in her carriage driving with + liveried servants along St. James street, and I cannot refrain from + thinking of the innocent babe as it lay in poor Ferguson’s coat-tail. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. — A Just Retribution. + </h2> + <p> + One evening, about the middle of June, 18—, a gentleman called to + see me, accompanied by a lady closely veiled. He said he wished me to + procure suitable lodging for her, and to attend her on her accouchement, + which was now close at hand, stating that no money would be spared to + furnish everything necessary either to her comfort or convenience. As I + did not know of any lodging suitable to a person of her station, I was + puzzled how to act; I did not want to lose a patient, and yet could not, + even if so disposed, make room for her in my own house. I knew that my + next door neighbor (an elderly French-Canadian lady) was accustomed to + take in lodgers; so, leaving the lady and gentleman for a while in my + parlor, I went to see if I could make arrangements for the reception of + the former. Madame Charbonneau, my neighbor, had all her rooms occupied, + but said she was willing for a consideration to give up her drawing-rooms + for a time to the fair patient. This was eminently satisfactory to me, as, + in the event of an emergency, I would be close at hand; I accordingly + arranged for Mrs. Trotter’s accommodation, and on reporting to Mr. Dombey, + the gentleman aforementioned, he seemed to be perfectly satisfied. From, + what I afterwards learned, I am able to inform the reader that Mr. Dombey + was junior partner in the house of Dombey & Son, dry goods merchants, + in this city, his father, Jacob Dombey, sen., being considered one of the + wealthiest importers in Canada. In his youth Jacob Dombey, jun., had been + pampered and petted beyond measure, his every whim being carried out even + at great expense; arrived at the age of twenty-one he became enamored of a + young lady whose father kept a small toy-shop on Notre Dame street, and + nothing would content him but a marriage with the “Goddess,” as his + innamorata was called. At first he was quite proud of his pretty wife, and + was to be seen daily in Sherbrooke street, driving her behind a splendid + span of spirited bay horses, but after a few months he grew tired of this + routine, and with his bosom friend, Richard Fairfax, might be seen, + nightly at the theatres and other places of amusement, while his poor wife + sat in patient loneliness awaiting his return. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Trotter was the daughter of a Civic Official of high standing, and + had married at a very early age a retired English Officer, who, being well + advanced in years, left her at the age of twenty-four a widow with four + children. Trotter was possessed of little besides his pension, which died + with him; so Mrs. T. was obliged to eke out a miserable subsistence on the + receipts from a little city property left her by her father. Soon after + her husband’s demise Mrs. Trotter removed to Lachine (a small village on + the river side about nine miles above Montreal), in order to live more + economically, and soon became acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Dombey, who had + taken up their abode there for the summer season. Mrs. Dombey took quite a + fancy to the fascinating widow, and they soon became inseparable. + </p> + <p> + Every evening on the promenade might be seen Mrs. Trotter leaning on the + arm of Mr. Dombey, his wife following accompanied by his friend Fairfax; + or they were together on the river boating, or enjoying a picnic on + “Dixie” Island. Occasionally, when the weather was unfavorable to out-door + amusements, they would engage in a rubber of whist, generally ending the + evening with a little music. Dombey did not know one tune from another, + but his wife praised Mrs. Trotter’s singing so highly that he soon + imagined that in that art, as in others, she was nearly, if not + altogether, perfect. When it became time for Mrs. Trotter to go home, + Jacob used to escort her to her cottage on the river bank, about a mile + distant from his own residence, and after a few weeks there sprang up an + intimacy between them which culminated in the incidents which gave rise to + my narrative. + </p> + <p> + On the day following that on which I had engaged her apartments Mrs. + Trotter took up her abode at Madame Charbonneau’s, and about six weeks + afterwards her baby, a beautiful girl, was born; she sent a message to Mr. + Dombey’s office, and in the afternoon he called to see her. He was greatly + pleased with the baby, and took it up fondly in his arms, and on leaving + placed a roll of bank bills in my hand, telling me to get everything + necessary for either the mother or her child, also to get the latter + whatever clothing it might require. After that he called almost daily, and + when Mrs. Trotter was sufficiently recovered to return to her home, he + pressed me so strongly to keep the baby till it was a little older, and + not to leave it to the tender mercies of an ignorant nurse, that I + consented to keep it till it was two years old, and then to obtain for it, + if possible, adoption by some respectable married persons. + </p> + <p> + Margery, the baby aforementioned, turned out one of the most beautiful + children I had ever seen. Her father and mother visited her frequently + during the time she was at my house, and on my giving her for adoption to + Mr. Walker (a respectable Vermont farmer without any children of his own) + they were both deeply affected. Dombey was anxious that Mrs. Trotter + should take it to her own home, but, as “Mrs. Grundy” had already been + discussing her movements, she dare not, without fear of ruining her + children, take the baby under the roof. As there was no help for it the + baby was allowed to go to Vermont, and grew up a beautiful girl, + passionately devoted to the only parents she had ever known; Mrs. Walker + dying during the child’s infancy, Mr. Walker had her educated as well as + his means would permit, and they passed their time in the most perfect + harmony and sweet content. After the war, however, Walker found himself + almost without a penny in the world, and, thinking to better his fortunes + removed to New York, where he managed to make a poor living as a + subordinate in the Custom House. Margery regretted this change of + circumstances very much, but, being thoroughly devoted to her father, she + did not repine, but did all in her power to make his home as happy as + could be under such conditions. She missed her accustomed amusements very + much, and although in New York she saw many things and found many + opportunities which would have been altogether unknown to her in the + country, yet she was a long time in becoming reconciled to the close and + stifling atmosphere of a great metropolitan city. + </p> + <p> + One night her father promised her a great treat, they were to go to X——‘s + theatre to see Mademoiselle B—— in Romeo and Juliet. Margery + sat with strained eyes gazing wistfully at the play, laughing and weeping + by turns as the great master’s power was exerted on the audience by the + artists engaged, and at the close she heaved a deep sigh, consequent upon + having held her breath so long, and without thought exclaimed aloud:—“Oh, + what would I not give to be able to act like that.” The manager who was + close by, and who had been watching the attentive beauty for some time, + overheard the remark, and intercepting the pair on their way out of the + theatre said:—“I noticed that you were favorably impressed with the + piece; would you like an introduction to Miss B——, the + principal actress?” Margery was overcome with delight, and besought her + father so earnestly to allow her to go into the green room that he + accompanied her thither, and they obtained an introduction to the famous + artiste. Miss B—— was quite taken with the innocent enthusiasm + of the girl, and invited her to come to her benefit on the following + evening, when she was to appear as Parthenia in “Ingomar;” Margery, having + obtained her father’s permission, readily consented, and all the way home + was full of praises for Juliet, Romeo, the manager, and all concerned. On + the following evening the manager drew her father aside and whispered in + his ear:—“You have a fortune in that girl of yours.” Walker, + misunderstanding the purport of his words, replied:—“Yes, she is a + good and affectionate child, as much so as if I were her natural parent.” + “You do not understand me,” said the other; “I mean she has immense + emotional power, which, if artistically cultivated, would, coupled with + her personal appearance, make both her fortune and yours.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think so?” replied Walker; “well, if we had only the means I would + certainly have her trained, for, since she has seen Mademoiselle B—— + act, her great ambition seems to be to occupy a similar position.” After + further conversation it was agreed to place Margery under the care of Mrs. + L——, with a view of becoming a professional actress; for, + although Walker did not at all care for the stage or its concomitants, + still he did not wish to throw any obstacles in the way of his adopted + child’s prosperity. Margery, therefore, was allowed to pursue the bent of + her inclinations, and such an apt pupil was she that in a little over + eighteen months her debut was announced in the papers, and a crowded house + showered floral and other trophies on the beautiful debutante. Offers of + engagements from different cities came flowing in, and before long Miss + Margery Montague was announced to appear in Montreal. Her fame had + preceded her thither, and Fairfax was instructed to secure a box for the + Dombey family. Dombey himself (who had followed the career of his child) + tried hard to excuse himself from going, but his wife was not satisfied to + leave him at home; he sat in the back of the box, and as the applause grew + louder and louder, he showered costly bouquets, and other offerings on the + stage, his breast meanwhile being torn by conflicting passions. How proud + he would have been to clasp her to his heart and call her his own; but he + had willfully put her away from him, and now, even could he receive her + into his family, would her adopted father be willing to give her up again. + With flushed face and beating heart he sought the manager, and begged to + be allowed to see the fair artiste, a favor which was granted; and, as he + stood before his child, and poured forth the usual stereotyped compliments + and congratulations, he bit his lips as he thought that he dared not press + her to his heart, but was forced to speak to her in terms of cold + politeness. + </p> + <p> + On their return from the Theatre Mrs. Dombey announced her intention of + calling on the talented actress, and the following day she went, + accompanied by her daughters, to the St. Lawrence Hall, at that time the + most fashionable hotel in the city, where she was cordially received; and + the young actress made such a favorable impression on the ladies that they + invited her to dine at their house on the following day, an invitation + which was readily accepted. + </p> + <p> + Dombey was greatly moved when he heard that Miss Montague had accepted an + invitation to dinner, but there was no help for it, and, as though to make + matters worse invitations were sent to a few intimate friends, including + Mrs. Trotter. Here, then, was a painful position for the two guilty ones: + they were forced to sit and see the child whom they had cast off fêted and + honored by the woman both of them had injured. It seemed as if a wet + blanket were placed over the whole assembly: Dombey sat moodily biting his + finger-nails, and as Mrs. Trotter would not sing and Mrs. Dombey <i>could</i> + not, matters went very slowly indeed. + </p> + <p> + When the time came for separating, Mrs. Dombey motioned to Jacob to see + Miss Montague to her hotel, but he being deep in a fit of abstraction, his + eldest son Charles stepped forward, and before his father could prevent + him, was equipped in greatcoat and overshoes, ready for a moonlight + stroll. During the evening he had noticed that Charles was rather + attentive to the fair actress, and the thought that an intimacy between + them was possible drove him to the verge of distraction, Mrs. Dombey + noticed his strange behavior, and asked him the cause, on which he + muttered something about “Auction lunch—infernal champagne,” and + some other incoherent exclamations, altogether unintelligible to his + unsuspicious wife. When he and his paramour got outside they walked along + in gloomy silence for several minutes—at last he addressed her: “Is + it not strange that this child, whom I had thought far removed from me and + mine, should be brought even into my own house, and eat at my table?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it is fearful; only think what would be the consequence if an + intimacy should spring up between her and Charles!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I must send him away at once.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Trotter reminded him that this step was unnecessary, as Miss Montague + left the next day for Chicago to fulfil a professional engagement. He + heaved a sigh of relief, and then, with a passionate tug at Mrs. Trotter’s + door bell, turned to go away. + </p> + <p> + “Will you not come in a while, Jack?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “No, he replied, Clara (Mrs. Dombey) would suspect something. She looked + at me very strangely this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “But you will come to-morrow,” rejoined the temptress. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I will look in on my way up from the office,” he said. “Good night.” + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Jack,” said she. + </p> + <p> + As he got to his own door he found Charles leaning pensively against the + balustrade, gazing wistfully at the heavens. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Charlie, have you forgotten your latch-key?” + </p> + <p> + “N—no Sir,” stammered Charles, “but it is so confoundedly hot inside + that I did not care to go in.” + </p> + <p> + Dombey reflected that as the thermometer registered only about ten degrees + Fahrenheit he had but to open his window to attain as low a temperature as + was consistent with comfort; however, he said nothing, and they both + walked upstairs. + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Charlie.” + </p> + <p> + “Good night, Father.” + </p> + <p> + And they entered their respective chambers. + </p> + <p> + I have heard it said that if two men are placed in one bed, one in love + and the other with a toothache, that the man with the toothache will fall + asleep first. Here, however, were two men; one, past the prime of life, + afflicted with the most bitter remorse; the other, young and susceptible, + with all the fever of a youthful passion springing up within his breast. + Dombey could not sleep, the thought that what at first was barely possible + was now become highly probable goaded him almost to madness. He rose and + dressed himself, going quietly out of the front door into Sherbrooke + street. Along the street he went at a fearful pace, till, almost faint + from want of breath, he turned down the hill towards the city, habit + bringing him along the route he was accustomed to take to his office. As + he turned the corner of St. James street, he saw (for there were few + persons abroad) a young man walking moodily up and down on the side + opposite the St. Lawrence Hall; he turned as if he had seen an apparition, + and ran rather than walked in the direction of his own home. + </p> + <p> + Next day Miss Montague departed for the West, Mrs. and Miss Dombey + accompanied by Charles went to see her off at the Depot, and with many + assurances of a future meeting, should she ever return to Montreal, they + separated as the train moved slowly past the platform. As the drawing-room + car was just clearing the station, Miss Montague held a piece of paper out + of the window, which Charles caught eagerly and placed in his pocket-book. + His mother and sister chaffing him on receiving tender messages from the + fair artiste, he laughingly produced it. + </p> + <p> + It was nothing more nor less than a page of an old timetable, and both + Mrs. and Miss Dombey laughed at the strange souvenir Miss Montague had + left behind her. When they got home, however, Charles carefully opened the + paper and observed that opposite each of the cities on her route Miss + Montague had placed a figure in pencil thus:—Chicago, 4; Detroit, 2; + Toledo, 2; Toronto, 3; New York; 6, Boston, 6. This, though unintelligible + to his mother and sister, informed Charles that Miss Montague would go + first to Chicago and remain four days, and afterwards to the other cities + mentioned, and that he might write or meet her there as opportunity + afforded. + </p> + <p> + That day matters resumed their normal condition in the Dombey family; + Jacob breathed freely now that his child had returned to the country of + her adoption, and his wife and family were happy because of his improved + spirits and appearance. Charles had apparently settled down to business as + usual, and Mesdames Trotter and Dombey drove out together as of old. In a + few weeks, however, Charles asked his father permission to go for his + holidays; a friend having invited him to spend a few weeks at Nahant an + island near Boston. There being nothing to keep him in Montreal he had no + difficulty in procuring consent, and he departed, taking fishing tackle + enough to have supplied the whole Atlantic coast for a season. When his + father learned the real object of his visit to Boston, he raved like a + madman; he came to see me, and told me the whole story, most of which I + had learnt before from other sources and he persuaded me to go to Boston + and to take on my self the painful duty of informing Miss Montague who and + what she really was, and why it was impossible that she could ever marry + Charles Dombey. The poor girl was almost heart-broken, for she had learnt + to love her stepbrother dearly, and now she would have to be separated + from him entirely. It was not for herself, however, that she mourned the + most, it was for him, when he should learn of the wide gulf which + separated them from each other. He never did learn it, however; Miss + Montague consented (for his sake) to accept an engagement in England, and + to trust in years to soften the blow which had smitten her so severely. + She wrote to Charles, telling him that, for reasons unexplained, she never + could be his wife, although she loved him dearly, and that as there was no + use striving against fate, she had bowed to the inevitable, and taken a + foreign engagement. At first Charles was desperately cut up, but time, + that physician <i>par excellence</i>, healed his wounds, and he is now + married to a respectable lady of this city; deservedly successful in his + business, and with a stainless reputation. Jacob Dombey staggered along + under his load for years, but, unable to contain himself, he one day + confessed the affair to his wife, who, instead of denouncing him as the + wretch he was, pitied and sympathized with; aye, and not only that, she + received his mistress into her house as before, rather than make public + his heartless conduct. Truly such an angel never received such heartless + treatment, or was so little appreciated. It broke her heart however, and + over her grave Dombey resolved to cast Mrs. Trotter off forever, and send + her away from the city. He accordingly arranged with her to take an annual + allowance and go to New York with her family, vowing that he could no + longer endure her presence, which was grown distasteful to him. + </p> + <p> + This did not at all suit Mrs. Trotter, who had now hoped to become the + legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no avail, + the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey’s bosom, and he would hear + of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United States. He + determined that however he might have blighted the life of the wife whose + excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, nothing should + stand in the way of her children’s advancement; and the voice of a scandal + having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, he felt that her + immediate departure was a necessity. She argued and entreated, but it was + of no avail, and she accordingly made the best of her case and got from + him a liberal allowance. Hers was not of a nature to reform, however; she + went from bad to worse, and finally took to smoking opium as a means to + relieve her gnawing conscience, ending her days prematurely. + </p> + <p> + Dombey survived her but a short time. He tried hard to make amends for the + past by increased attention to the children of his late wife, but he never + fully recovered himself, and finally succumbed to a wasting fever, + superinduced by late hours and immoderate drinking. To his last hour his + conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had inflicted on his children, + his natural daughter, and his confiding wife. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. — The Bag Baby. + </h2> + <p> + Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as <i>Maîtresse d’Hôpital</i> + that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, and employed her + permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we established quite a + reputation, and applications for accommodation poured in from all + quarters. + </p> + <p> + One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman arrived + by the morning train from the United States. The lady was apparently about + thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might have been from five to + ten years her senior, and, although plainly attired, they had the + appearance of belonging to the better class of society. The gentleman + informed me that they had just arrived from New York, and had put up at + the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife had taken ill unexpectedly, and, + hearing that she would be better cared for in my house than at the Hall, + he wished, if possible, to secure rooms and professional attendance. The + house being rather full at the time, Madame Charbonneau was obliged to + give her the nurse’s room (which contained two beds) till some of the + other rooms should become vacant; this her husband readily assented to, + and arranged to call in the afternoon and bring the necessary funds, which + I always made it a point to collect in advance. The lady seeming tired and + exhausted, I recommended her to divest herself of her clothing and retire + to bed, which she accordingly did, and soon fell into a deep sleep. In the + afternoon the gentleman returned, and, having settled the bills, went + upstairs to see his wife who was just then partaking of some light + refreshment. He expressed himself well pleased with our arrangements, and + said he would call regularly to see how his wife progressed. + </p> + <p> + That night as the nurse was about to retire, she was surprised to find, + under the coverlet of her bed, an enormous rag baby, as large as a child + of two years old, dressed completely, with shoes, bonnet and veil. Her + astonishment can easily be imagined as she held it up to the light and + carefully examined it; then, laughing heartily, she turned to Mrs. Roberts + (my patient) and said: + </p> + <p> + “My! who could have put this baby in my bed?” On which that lady replied + with evident embarrassment that the baby was a doll belonging to her + niece, and that, imagining the bed to be unoccupied, she had, in unpacking + her trunk, placed it there for the sake of convenience, and apologized for + being so careless. The nurse made no reply, but, being of a jovial + disposition, danced with it into the other rooms, exclaiming, much to the + chagrin of the lady, that she had found a beautiful baby in her bed. The + other patients wondered what it was, and whence it came, and appealed to + me for information, but, as I knew nothing about it myself, their + curiosity was not gratified in the least. On my questioning the lady she + told me a story similar to that which she told the nurse, but her + countenance contradicted her assertions, and the idea of any child + carrying a doll of the dimensions of the rag baby was too absurd for + credence. No more was said about it, however, and the matter passed almost + completely from our memory. + </p> + <p> + For three or four days things went on as usual, Mrs. Roberts getting to + all appearances better every day, and her husband’s visits being paid with + due regularity; one day, however, he failed to appear, and Mrs. Roberts + seemed very uneasy. After tea she asked for the evening paper, and hastily + scanned its columns, when her eye fell on some item of interest, and she + became deadly pale. The American war being then in progress I thought she + might have learned of the death of a friend or relation, so I inquired if + anything were amiss, and was astonished when she pointed out a paragraph + containing an account of her husband’s arrest for enlisting British + subjects for the American army, and smuggling them across the line, She + now took me into her confidence, and explained that she was an accomplice + of her husband, and that they had made a practice of enlisting men in + Montreal. Her husband usually remained here, as it was dangerous for him + to travel to and fro, but she was sent as an escort for each recruit, and + the baby was used to avert suspicion, as no sentinel would think of + scrutinizing a man closely who went across accompanied with his wife and + child. The excess of travel had weakened her frame, and now this shock + came to still further shake her system; the result was a premature + confinement, and a long and weary illness. + </p> + <p> + Ere she recovered she got a letter from her husband, bearing the New York + postmark. It seems he had been liberated on bail, (having influential + friends) and had at once made the best of his way to the United States. + His wife soon joined him, taking with her the redoubtable rag-baby, which + had afforded us so much food for gossip and conjecture. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. — A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. + </h2> + <p> + Alfred Grandison was born in the ancient city of Bristol in the year 1831. + His father had been bandmaster in a British Cavalry regiment, but had + retired some years previous to the birth of little Alfred, and made a + comfortable livelihood by teaching the children of the wealthy residents + of Clifton, the fashionable suburb of Bristol. Young Alfred soon gave + evidence of great musical talent, and used to amuse himself blowing + trumpet calls on his father’s French horn, although the instrument was + almost as big as himself; he also achieved considerable mastery over the + piano, the flute and the violin, but, though bright and intelligent + enough, and always maintaining a creditable position at school, it was + evident that nature had intended him for a musician, and that he could + never succeed in anything prosaic or mechanical. Accordingly his father + taught him not only to play, but also instructed him in the theory and + literature of music, and, when he was old enough, had him entered as a + chorister in Bristol Cathedral, where, in addition to vocal music, he was + carefully taught the art of organ-playing by the Cathedral organist. + </p> + <p> + The boy soon became able to play quite skilfully, and when his voice began + to give way he obtained a position as organist in the church at + Shirehampton, performing on a small instrument with one row of keys. From + Shirehampton he shortly removed to a more remunerative position in + Bristol, and he was not long there before he fell in love with the + daughter of a hotel-keeper in one of the suburbs, whom, in spite of the + remonstrance of both relatives and friends, he eventually married, + although she was both poor and plain-looking, and at least ten years his + senior. “A young man married is a man that’s marred” says Shakespeare, + and, without venturing an opinion as to the correctness of this theory, we + may say that young Grandison had made a great mistake. In a short time his + affection, or fancied affection, for his wife became less ardent, and he + found himself at the age of twenty-four, married to a woman who had + neither taste nor sympathy in common with him, the father of three + helpless children, and the recipient of the stupendous emolument of sixty + pounds a year. Added to all this his friends, being unwilling to associate + with his wife and relations, had, one by one, deserted him, and left him + almost alone to brood over his ill-advised alliance. + </p> + <p> + Whilst moodily glancing at an evening paper he saw an advertisement for an + organist who would be willing to go to Canada, and at once seizing at the + idea he applied for the post, which he eventually obtained without great + difficulty, sailing for Montreal in the spring of 1855, to play the organ + and direct the music of one of the leading Episcopal churches in this + city. At that time there were, very few musicians of ability in Montreal, + and Mr. Grandison soon became quite popular, both professionally and + socially. His wife was at first invited out, but, finding that she seldom + accompanied her husband on these occasions, her name was, in time, dropped + from the invitations, and Mr. Grandison was treated as if he were a + bachelor, many indeed being altogether unaware of the fact that he had a + wife and family. + </p> + <p> + Among those who took Grandison by the hand was a certain Mr. Sedley, a + professional man of high standing. Mary Sedley, the daughter of the latter + was possessed of a remarkably fine voice, and was one of the ornaments of + the church choir, so that the family were naturally interested in the + advent of a new organist from England, under whose careful training the + music of the church was to be developed and improved. It was decided to + place Mary Sedley under the special charge of Mr. Grandison, and he + accordingly went twice a week to the house to give her lessons in singing, + and when there was a special Anthem to be sung his visits were much more + frequent. Then the Sedleys gave grand musical parties to which Mr. + Grandison was of course, invited, playing Miss Sedley’s accompaniment on + the pianoforte, while she entranced the assembled company with her + singing; in fact, no gathering of the Sedley family was complete without + the presence of the handsome and accomplished Mr. Grandison. + </p> + <p> + All this, in its way, was harmless enough, but Mary Sedley was a blooming + girl of seventeen, and Grandison, as I have said was quite a young man, + and from the frequent walking home with her alone from services and + rehearsals, and other meetings in society, there arose an intimacy which, + though unnoticed by Mary’s parents, and possibly not by the young people + themselves, could not be productive of anything in the long run but sorrow + and remorse. + </p> + <p> + One Saturday night when Mary came home rather later than usual, her father + (who, though fond of her, was an austere man) questioned her gruffly as to + the cause of her delay, when she replied:—“Oh! papa, I am to sing + ‘As Pants the Hart’ to-morrow, and Mr. Grandison insisted on my trying it + with the organ after practice. It is exceedingly difficult, you know.” + </p> + <p> + Her father <i>did not know</i>, and was inclined to be very angry. The + next day, however, he forgot it all in the delight of hearing his + daughter’s voice resounding through the sacred edifice; Grandison was + invited to dinner, and everything was once more <i>couleur de rose</i>. + </p> + <p> + The first winter after Grandison’s arrival in Canada he gave a grand + concert in Nordheimer’s Hall, then the principal concert hall in the city. + Mary Sedley was the Prima Donna, and bouquet after bouquet was thrown at + her feet, as she retired amid the plaudits of the multitude. After the + concert Grandison accompanied them home to supper, and about twelve + o’clock took his leave of the family. + </p> + <p> + About an hour afterwards Mr. Sedley, thinking he heard a noise, got up and + searched the house, when, to his surprise, he found the door unfastened. + He thought he remembered having secured it as he retired to rest, but was + not certain; however, he proceeded, in his search, and on coming to Mary’s + room, found the door locked, and heard his daughter breathing heavily, as + if asleep. Being unwilling to disturb her, he returned to his bed, and, + ere morning, the affair had passed from his memory. Had he remained awake, + however, he might have seen a man emerge from his daughter’s room, and, + creeping stealthily along the passage, go out at the hall-door, his + daughter, the pure, spotless Mary, <i>leader of Psalmody and sacred lays</i>, + following close at his heels, to fasten the door and make good his + retreat. + </p> + <p> + This sort of thing went on for a long time, unsuspected by either Miss + Sedley’s parents or friends, when Mary became suddenly placed in a very + awkward position. A certain Mr. Hazelton, junior partner in a large + hardware firm, had long been a suitor of hers, and had asked repeatedly + for her hand; her father had hitherto refused to give his consent, owing + to her tender age, but he had now withdrawn every obstacle, and left her + free to get married if she chose; more than that, he urged Hazelton’s + suit, and, though unwilling to coerce his daughter in any way, gave her to + understand that he was particularly desirous that she should give Hazelton + a favorable reply. + </p> + <p> + Under ordinary circumstances Mary would have had no hesitation in refusing + to have anything to say to Hazelton, but for some time rumor had been busy + circulating scandal concerning herself and Grandison, and, as she was at + that moment not in a condition to bear scrutiny, she was afraid to awaken + suspicion by refusing Hazelton’s offer, and so he was made the “happiest + of men” (?) + </p> + <p> + A short time after Miss Sedley had become engaged to Mr. Hazelton she went + with her father and mother to Cacouna, where they had a summer residence. + By a strange coincidence, Grandison also chose Cacouna at which to spend + his holidays, and combined business with pleasure by giving occasional + concerts at the St. Lawrence Hall, which hotel had just been erected, and + was the fashionable resort of those people from Montreal and Quebec who + could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere of these cities for the + more bracing air of Canada’s popular watering place. Mr. Hazelton was + unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was not disposed to accompany + her husband, even if he could have afforded to take her, in fact, the poor + woman, feeling that she was a burden and drag on her husband, had taken to + drinking, and had gradually removed herself still further from the pale of + fashionable society. Her house (which was situated in a back street in + Montreal) was not only untidy, but positively dirty, and her children ran + about the streets unclad uneducated, and uncared for. + </p> + <p> + The Sedleys had not been long at Cacouna when one morning the old + gentleman walking out, as was his wont, before breakfast, saw through the + fog (which in this district usually hangs about for some time after + sunrise) a man descend from his daughter’s bedroom window and walk hastily + in the direction of the hotel. Both the distance and the fog prevented him + from positively recognizing the man’s features, but the form and carriage + were unmistakably those of Alfred Grandison. Mr. Sedley was, so to speak, + “struck all of a heap,” he could not believe the evidence of his own + senses, and for a few moments he stood rooted to the spot as if + thunderstruck; then he rushed into the house, and going straight to his + daughter’s room upbraided her with her shameful conduct, but was met by a + bold and unqualified denial, the young lady stating that she had been till + that moment asleep, and that possibly some burglar had been in the + premises, whom her father had mistaken for a gay Lothario. She burst into + tears and wondered that her father could have such an opinion of her, and + suggested that immediate search should be made, to see if any articles of + value were missing. Her father was by no means convinced of his mistake, + however; he thought it possible that his daughter might not have been + aware of Grandison’s presence, or that he might only have been <i>about to + enter</i> the house when he was frightened away; but that Grandison was + there he felt certain, so, going immediately over to the hotel, he charged + him directly with his crime, at the same time, presenting a loaded + revolver at his head, he threatened to blow his brains out. This, as may + be supposed, did not prove a ready means of eliciting a confession from + the cowardly Grandison. The poor wretch cowered before the righteous + indignation of the broken-hearted father, and swore by every saint in the + Calendar that the latter must have been mistaken, and that nothing + criminal had ever taken place between the young lady and himself. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Sedley only half believed these asseverations, but, as may be seen, he + was a poor diplomatist, and took the very worst way to arrive at anything + like the truth. So saying “Not guilty, but <i>don’t do it again</i>,” or + words to that effect, he left the hotel and returned to his own house. + Here he disclosed his fears to his wife, but she scouted the idea as + preposterous, and urged him to have Mary’s marriage with Hazelton + celebrated as soon as convenient, and so put an end to all possible + contingencies. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the return of the family to Montreal Mr. Hazelton led to the + altar with pride the “blushing” Mary Sedley. Good cause, indeed, had she + to blush, for never was man more egregiously “sold” than was “Mr. Samuel + Hazelton, of the city of Montreal, merchant.” The <i>happy couple</i> left + by the evening train for Boston, the “Wedding March,” which was admirably + performed by Mr. Grandison, still ringing in their ears. + </p> + <p> + About five months after this unholy marriage Mrs. Hazelton called on me, + and disclosed to me the whole state of the case, informing me (of which + there was little necessity) that her confinement was close at hand, and + soliciting my aid to get her out of the difficulty. My first impulse was + to call on her husband and acquaint him with the facts: but, remembering + that he occupied a prominent position, not only in the mercantile, but + also in the religious community; moreover, that a disclosure would in no + way mend the matter, and would be a lasting disgrace not only, to the two + culprits, but also to Messrs. Sedley and Hazelton I listened calmly to her + plans for getting out of the difficulty. She suggested pretending a + miscarriage, wished me to invite her to my house, where she would become + ill, and unable to leave till after her child was born. The child was then + to be conveyed to the nunnery, her husband being deluded into the belief + that she had miscarried. + </p> + <p> + Now, in the ordinary course of business, I would have been perfectly + justified in attending her without troubling my head about her + antecedents; indeed, had she been unmarried I would possibly have given my + services, but in this case the lady was married, and the child lawfully + belonged to her husband, <i>whose heir it was</i>, although actually + belonging to another man. + </p> + <p> + I accordingly declined having anything to do with her case, although I + promised that, as her confession was made to me in confidence and as a + professional secret, I would not disclose it to anyone. Having friends in + Boston, she made some excuse to visit them, and she was not long there + when her husband received a telegram, stating that his wife had had a + premature confinement and lay in a precarious state in Boston, whither her + loving husband instantly repaired. The child (a beautiful girl) was sent + to Mrs. Sedley in Montreal, and given out to nurse. She was eventually + adopted by a childless dry goods merchant in this city who had her + educated as his daughter, employing, by-the-by, <i>her own father</i> to + give her lessons in music. + </p> + <p> + One would think that now Mrs. Hazelton had got over this great difficulty, + and started in life as a respectable married lady, she would have eschewed + her former errors and turned over a new leaf. Unfortunately for all + parties, her husband was proud of her musical ability, and insisted that + she should continue to take lessons from Grandison, for whom strange to + say, he had conceived a great regard. The frequent meetings consequent + upon this proved too much for both of the culprits, and in a short time + they became as intimate as ever. Since Mary’s marriage, Mr. Sedley had + quite forgotten his former suspicions of Grandison, and he was cordially + received into both houses, being, in fact, almost a member of the family. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton was a prominent member of the church and, being a capital + speaker, had undertaken to give a lecture in the basement of that edifice + addressed to young men; Mrs. Hazelton and some other ladies were to + enliven the evening with music, accompanied on the piano by Mr. Grandison. + The lecture animadverted at some length concerning the temptations which + beset young men, and warned them to avoid vice of all kinds, drinking, + gambling, and the rest. Among other things he mentioned the social evil, + and contrasted the happy home of the chaste man and his virtuous wife with + that of the drunken, vicious libertine. The seducer was anathematized, and + a graphic description given of the poor degraded women who had lost the + one jewel in their crown. It is needless to say that both Mrs. Hazelton + and her paramour felt exceedingly uncomfortable during this discourse; the + former who was to have sung a brilliant aria at its close, grew deadly + pale, and had to leave the room. The lecturer requested Mr. Grandison to + substitute a piano solo, but strange to say, he was unable to perform + anything without notes, so the announcement was made to the audience that, + owing to the excessive heat (the temperature was about 70 degrees + Fahrenheit), Mrs. Hazelton, was unable to perform that evening, and begged + to be excused. Grandison was to have gone home with the lecturer to + supper, but he said he considered Mrs. Hazelton would be the better of a + little quiet, and, stammering out some excuse, slunk away in the direction + of his own home. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton found his wife reclining on a sofa in the drawing-room, and + he at once exerted himself to alleviate her suffering, and gratify her + every whim. He propped her up with pillows, and ordered the maid to + prepare whatever delicacies the larder afforded, blaming himself as being + the cause of all her sufferings. His solicitude in her behalf made her + only the more miserable; she had never loved, and never could love, him, + but his uniform kindness and attention had excited within her a feeling of + gratitude which made her remorse all the more bitter as she thought how he + had been duped by the woman who had sworn to love and honor him. The next + day was one of those appointed for receiving her singing lessons, but she + sent a messenger to Mr. Grandison, telling him not to call for a few days, + as she was unequal to even that slight exertion. Mr. Hazelton called to + see me in great alarm, informing me that his wife’s first child was + prematurely born, and that he dreaded a recurrence of that terrible + calamity. I, of course, had my own ideas concerning what was the matter, + but I promised to call and see her, and do what I could to alleviate her + sufferings. I found her well enough physically, but in very low spirits + and in tears. She told me what I have informed the reader, adding that she + was at the moment <i>enceinte</i>, the father of this child being also + Alfred Grandison. I was very much shocked at this disclosure, but + contented myself with remonstrating with Mrs. Hazelton concerning the + course she was pursuing, urging her to drop all connection with Grandison. + This she promised to do, but I subsequently discovered that, far from + keeping her promise, she had even gone so far as to plan an elopement with + him to the United States. + </p> + <p> + About two years after Mrs. Hazleton’s marriage, Grandison received the + appointment of organist to —— Church, Chicago, and, together + with his wife and family, left Montreal for the Western city, leaving Mr. + Hazelton in undisturbed possession of his wife; the latter, instead of + rejoicing at this providential release from temptation, fretted at the + loss of her paramour, attributing, however, her fitful humor to her + delicate condition. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after Grandison’s departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend + Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy + at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on the + occasion of the child’s christening, and when the guests all agreed that + the child had “its father’s nose” (which was doubtless the truth) the poor + man’s delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began to be more + cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her husband for the + wrong which could never be repaired. When, however, he carried her baby up + and down, or fondled it upon his knee, the bitter pangs of remorse gnawed + at her heart, and made her captious and bad tempered. With all this there + was no deep repentance, and when Grandison came to Montreal for his + holidays, her husband was completely forgotten once more. Grandison was + invited to stay at the Hazeltons’ residence, an invitation which to do him + justice he endeavored to decline, but Mr. Hazelton pressed him so strongly + that he was afraid to awaken suspicion by refusing, and so the wolf became + ensconced snugly in the sheepfold, not only without difficulty, but on the + pressing invitation of its occupants. Mrs. Hazelton during this visit + urged Grandison so strongly that he promised to elope with her so soon as + he could conveniently leave Chicago. + </p> + <p> + He had not been long back at his new residence when his wife died, and + letters of condolence were sent to him from all quarters. His wife, who + had never been received into society, was suddenly discovered to have been + one of its brightest ornaments, and her loss was deeply felt and + proportionately deplored. Mrs. Hazelton now thought her opportunity had + come, and accordingly wrote to Grandison that she was ready to go to the + end of the world with him. He, however, was not particularly anxious to go + to such a remote locality; in fact he had made up his mind to remain in + Chicago, and (now that his wife was no longer a burden upon him) to turn + over a new leaf and become a respectable member of society. Whatever + charms Mary Sedley may have had had long since disappeared, and Mr. + Grandison’s affection was not so deep-seated that he was prepared to tie + himself to a comparatively plain old woman for whom he had long since lost + every particle of respect. He accordingly took no notice of her letter, + and received a second and a third couched in the strongest language of + affection. But the more importunate she became, the more did Grandison + lose his respect for her; he therefore took no notice of her letters, and + determined to keep aloof from her in the future. + </p> + <p> + When Mrs. Hazelton began to realize that he had deserted her, she grew + frantic indeed. She would not believe it; the letters had miscarried, or + something else had interfered to prevent his writing. She resolved that, + come what would, she would go to him, and, throwing herself at his feet, + demand his protection. In the dead of the night she collected her most + valuable clothing and jewellery, and, with a little money in her purse, + stealthily left her husband’s house, carrying her bundle in her hand. She + wandered about the streets till daylight, and in the morning entered the + Grand Trunk Depot in St. Bonaventure street, and procured a ticket for + Chicago. Her husband at first thought she had merely gone to Bonsecours + market to purchase provisions for the ensuing week, and that she would + shortly return. Breakfast time came, however, and she did not return, and + he began to get uneasy; enquiries were made of neighbors and friends at + whose houses she might possibly have stayed, but no one had seen her, or + knew anything of her whereabouts. The police were next communicated with, + and a regular hue and cry was raised in the city concerning her mysterious + disappearance. In the meantime the object of their search arrived in + Chicago, and at once proceeded towards Grandison’s residence. She had not + gone far when he approached her with a fashionably dressed young lady on + his arm. Mrs. Hazelton ran towards him with a cry of recognition, but, + whatever he may have felt towards her before, the sight of her as she now + appeared drove every trace of affection from his heart, he looked at her + coldly, and without the faintest sign of recognition The effect of this + treatment under the circumstances can well be imagined; the wretched woman + fell fainting at his feet, raving wildly and uttering the most awful + imprecations. By this time a crowd had collected, and the police, thinking + she was some madwoman who had escaped, had her removed to an asylum, and + placed under medical treatment. + </p> + <p> + During all this period Hazelton was like a man demented; he caused + advertisements to be inserted in the principal papers, describing his + wife, and offering a reward for her recovery. The canal locks were dragged + from end to end, and every place likely to have been visited by her was + thoroughly searched and examined. At the end of about a week Mr. Hazelton + received the following telegram:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Chicago, Oct. 14, 18—. + To S. Hazelton, Esq., + + Montreal + + Person answering description in advertisement in <i>Tribune</i> + found here to-day, and placed under medical treatment. + What shall we do? + + J——P——, + + —for Chief of Police. +</pre> + <p> + Mr. Hazelton immediately telegraphed a reply, and, taking the next train, + was soon able to identify his lost wife. The sight of him made the poor + creature worse, and he was forbidden to call till she was in a less + excitable condition. In about a week, though still suffering, she was + removed to Montreal, and placed under the care of Dr. X——, to + whom I communicated what I knew concerning her antecedents. In a + comparatively short time she grew much better, and was able to converse + intelligently, the subject of her departure and her illness being + carefully avoided. Her husband attributed her mental aberration to the old + cause, although why she should have gone to Chicago, he never could + exactly understand. + </p> + <p> + Many years have now passed since these occurrences, and all the parties to + this narrative are still alive. Mrs. Hazelton has never recovered from the + effects of the shock received in Chicago, and sits brooding mournfully and + in secret over her past transgressions, while her husband with unceasing + devotion heaps coals of fire on her head. Grandison has since moved to New + York, where he married again, and became an altered man. I met him in + Montreal a short time since, but he carefully avoided all mention of + either Mr. or Mrs. Hazelton, and did not dare to call either on them or + the Sedleys. Once or twice his name was mentioned at the house of the + latter, but it seemed to awaken sad recollections in the breast of Mrs. + Hazelton, and was consequently avoided by the family. The latter have + lived so far in ignorance of these occurrences, and it is to be hoped they + will never be undeceived. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. — Among the Fenians. + </h2> + <p> + While still young, and unused to the many strange phases of life I had an + adventure which, at that period of my career, made a deep impression on my + mind. A rough-looking man called on me, and requested my immediate + attendance on a sick woman at Point St. Charles, at that time a remote + suburb of Montreal. As I hesitated to go with him, having a strange dread + of accompanying him to such a lonely place, he seemed to think I was + afraid of not receiving my fee, and, pulling a long purse out of his + pocket he took out a handful of gold pieces, one of which he tendered me + an advance. This made me all the more reluctant to accompany him, as I + feared he might be a robber or freebooter of some kind, but, quickly + controlling my emotions, I set my reason to work, and argued that, + whatever he might be, he could have no motive other than that assigned for + taking me with him, that he could gain nothing by way-laying or even + murdering me, and so I put on my outer garments and got into the carriage + beside him. The night was wet and stormy, and, just as we started, forked + lightning flashed across the heavens in all directions, causing the horse + to dash madly along as if to overturn the vehicle. This of course was a + mere coincidence, but, with all my firmness of will and sound logical + reasons for not being afraid, I could not altogether control my emotions + as we drove through the lowest and dirtiest parts of Griffintown, which + had at that time the reputation of harboring all sorts of Fenians, thieves + and marauders. We crossed the canal and got out into the country, the rain + descending in torrents, while the thunder crashed louder than ever. I + believe that, had I been able to get out, I would have even then + retreated, but I had no alternative but to remain and make the most of my + position. Beyond a few words at starting, my companion said little; indeed + conversation was impossible, as were jolted from side to side of the + street, and the crashing of the thunder overhead would have drowned our + most powerful efforts. + </p> + <p> + After about half an hour’s ride, the carriage stopped at a lonely house + some distance on the Lower Lachine road, and, alighting, we entered, when + I was piloted into an upper chamber, where a woman lay on a couch in need + of my attendance. I felt altogether re-assured now, and at once opened my + satchel to make the necessary preparations for my stay; still the room had + not the air of an ordinary bedroom, and the presence of three men, all as + rough-looking as my guide, made me suspicious as to their calling, more + particularly as there was not a woman to be seen save my patient. + </p> + <p> + As soon as I had divested myself of my wet garments and hung them at the + fire to dry, the men left the room, and I ordered the woman to undress and + go to bed, which she did. I then tried to get some information from her as + to who her husband was, and what was the occupation of the men I had seen, + but she either was or pretended to be too sick to enter into conversation, + and I was obliged to restrain my curiosity for the time at least. In about + two hours the woman gave birth to a boy, and as soon as I could leave with + safety, I donned my clothes and left for home, the man who had engaged me + putting me into a cab with great politeness, and paying the driver, he + ordered him to deposit me in safety at my residence. + </p> + <p> + The next morning I was surprised to read in the paper that a quantity of + arms and ammunition had been sent here from the Fenian headquarters in New + York, and that although it was known that they were secreted somewhere + about Griffintown, the police had been altogether baffled in their search + for them. A new light now dawned upon me, particularly as I recollected + that the room in which my patient lay was filled with long, coffin-shaped + boxes, the uses of which I had been unable to guess. I accordingly + consulted with my husband as to what course I should pursue. Was I, having + come by this information in my professional capacity, to shut my eyes to + these doings, or, taking advantage of my position, to inform the police? + My husband argued in this way:—If these people had been guilty of a + crime, which could not now be ameliorated or averted, it would be a + straining point for me to take advantage of what I had learnt by accident + and to bring them to justice; but that as in this case a great national + trouble <i>might be averted</i>, and many lives saved, by timely + information, it was my duty to exert myself in the interests of the + community by putting a check on their movements. With this end in view I + communicated with Mr. P——, then Chief of Police, and from my + description he said he had no doubt but these were the very persons of + whom they were in search, and that if I could only manage to frame an + excuse for the introduction of a detective, he would make sure of their + identity before making any arrests. + </p> + <p> + My second visit to the house was made in the morning. I found my patient + very weak and feverish, and, although it was only what I had expected, + took advantage of the fact to express my fears that the case was one + requiring the most skillful treatment, and that unless I were permitted to + call in a medical man of eminence, I would not be responsible for the + consequence. The woman’s husband was very much averse to this; but, as I + urged it strongly, and his wife (of whom he was apparently fond) seconded + my request, he finally consented, and the same afternoon called, + accompanied by Detective F——, whom I introduced as my + consulting physician. Whilst I mixed some simple remedies for my patient, + the detective carefully examined the boxes, which he was unable to move, + and which we were both convinced contained arms and ammunition for the + destruction of the peaceful inhabitants of Montreal. Mr. F—— + carefully noted the position of everything in and about the house, he also + took a good look at the surroundings, and then we departed for the police + station. The Chief was for making an immediate arrest of the whole party, + but I dissuaded him, urging him, in the interests of humanity, to wait + till the woman was out of danger; he then agreed to wait for a few days, + keeping the house and its inmates under constant surveillance. + </p> + <p> + The woman got better day by day, and at the end of a week, the Chief, + fearful lest something might occur to mar his plans, sent a detachment of + armed policemen to arrest the Fenian emissaries and capture the stores. In + some way or another the men got wind of the affair, and made their escape + across the lines, leaving the poor woman and her helpless babe alone and + unprotected. The police entered the house unopposed; they found there + several dozen, muskets and rifles, also about a hundred bayonets and five + thousand rounds of ball cartridge. The woman refused to give the slightest + information as to the names or identity of her companions; she said she + knew nothing about the arms contained in the boxes, that the latter had + been brought there by a strange man, and left in charge of her husband, + and that she had never seen them opened. As the men were evidently by this + time safe in Uncle Sam’s dominions, the police contented themselves with + securing the ammunition, leaving the woman to shift for herself. As I did + not like the idea of leaving her in the room alone and uncared for, I + explained the matter to the neighbors, who good-naturedly undertook to + look after her till she received money from her husband to pay her passage + to New York. As, although I had no compunction in assisting to break up + this den of ruffians, I pitied the poor woman, who was probably innocent + of any crime, I handed her the gold piece which her husband had given me, + and did not leave her till assured that the neighbors would look after her + till her departure. In later years I have often passed the scene of these + transactions, and a shudder passed through my frame as I remembered my + experiences among the Fenians. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. — A Disciple of Satan. + </h2> + <p> + About the year 1866 I was summoned to attend a lady in Berri street, the + wife of an officer in the ——th Rifles. Her husband, Captain + O’Grady, had taken a furnished house for the winter, the quarters in the + Quebec Barracks being unsuited for the accommodation of a lady of her + station, and round the house on every hand evidences might be seen of both + wealth, taste and refinement. Mrs. O’Grady was a beautiful woman of about + twenty-two, and had only been married about a year; her husband, who was + an Irishman, loved her passionately, and gave me particular charges + concerning her, bidding me spare neither trouble nor expense to render her + illness as little irksome as possible. After her baby (a fine boy) was + born I attended her regularly every day, and, as she had travelled in her + youth and lived for some time in Germany, she invited me to come and see + her in the evenings whenever I was at leisure, so that we might converse + in the beautiful language of Schiller and Goethe, and chat about that + beautiful far-off land. Captain O’Grady quite approved of this + arrangement, and often used to join in the conversation; it was in Germany + he had met his wife, and he had a great fancy for the soft German + language, although speaking it but imperfectly himself. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the birth of his child, Captain O’Grady’s regiment was + ordered to Chambly, and he was obliged to separate from his wife for a + time. He used to drive in occasionally to Montreal to visit her, but at + this season of the year the roads were very bad, and, as the thermometer + sometimes fell 20 or even 30 degrees below zero, the journey was usually + attended with much discomfort and even some danger. On Christmas Day, Mrs. + O’Grady wished her husband to remain at Chambly and dine at the mess, but + he insisted on coming into Montreal and dining with his family. He + accordingly set out about eleven o’clock in the morning, accompanied by a + brother officer named Churchill, a lieutenant in the same regiment. + </p> + <p> + It was a bitterly cold day, and the snow, which had been falling heavily + for some days, was blown in immense drifts across the roads, rendering + them almost impassable. The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the + horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head + ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O’Grady, and jumped into the + dickey. + </p> + <p> + Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going at a + tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every instant. + The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and harness, rendering + it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged to pull their fur caps + over their ears to avoid their being frozen. They had not proceeded far on + their journey when the road, which in summer was clearly defined by fences + on either side, diverged somewhat from the ordinary course, and was made, + for convenience, through an adjoining farm, being marked with pine + branches, stuck at intervals in the snow. As our party proceeded, even + these slight indications were invisible, the drifts rising in some places + to a height of twelve or fourteen feet. In one of the latter the sleigh + stuck fast, and the occupants were obliged to get out, and wading up to + their knees in snow to assist the horses to regain <i>terra firma</i>, or + at least a more compact body of snow. Whilst engaged in this operation, + Mr. Churchill noticed that the groom’s nose was perfectly white, and on + examination it was found to be frozen; they accordingly set to work to rub + it with snow, and at Captain O’Grady’s suggestion he held a large body of + snow to it for the remainder of the journey, which had the effect of + thawing it out. + </p> + <p> + In a short time they regained the high road, and went along at a + tremendous pace for three or four miles, when they entered the village of + Longueuil, which is situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, a + little below Montreal. They found the river completely frozen over, the + cold being intense, but the ice-bridge had only just been formed, and the + surface was rough and uneven, causing the sleigh to oscillate fearfully, + threatening every moment to overturn. The storm had by this time increased + to a perfect hurricane, and the drifting snow was driven with intense + force into the faces of both men and horses, causing the latter to bound + and gallop fearfully, to the extreme peril of those behind them. O’Grady, + however, was a skillful driver, and kept the horses well in hand, calling + to them from time to time in a reassuring manner; as for Churchill, he + rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, and, as conversation was out of + the question, he lit a cigar, and, drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round + him, made himself as comfortable as possible. In a short time they arrived + at their destination, and throwing the reins to the groom, O’Grady dashed + up stairs and in an instant had his wife in his arms. She remonstrated + with him about coming in on such a terrible day, but descended to the + drawing-room, and, having welcome Mr. Churchill to her house, ordered the + servant to set the table for dinner. Just then the groom entered the house + to enquire when the carriage would be required in the evening, and the + appearance of his nose set the whole party laughing heartily; his + proboscis had assumed a deep red hue, and was swollen to an enormous size, + giving him a most comical appearance. O’Grady ordered him to bring the + carriage round at ten o’clock, and, dinner just then being announced, they + prepared, in true English fashion, to celebrate the Nativity. + </p> + <p> + After dinner, Mrs. O’Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, + having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to the + fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the + clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the + neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate leave of + his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the following + Sunday, O’Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted Churchill, + and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into the howling + storm. Churchill lit another cigar, and shut his eyes to avoid the + blinding snowdrifts, while the driver was with difficulty enabled to see + his way. Arrived at the suburb known as Hochelaga, O’Grady turned his + horses’ heads towards the river, and they dashed across the ice-bridge at + the rate of about twelve miles an hour. On they went at a terrible pace, + the sleigh bumping and jolting over the rough road, till bang they came + upon a piece of ice, on to which the snow had drifted, and over went the + sleigh, turning its occupants head first on the hard, icy road. Churchill + was first on his feet, and, though bruised and bleeding, succeeded in + arresting the horses, who, now thoroughly frightened, were about to run + away; the groom also soon recovered himself and ran to the assistance of + his master, but the latter was past all human aid, having fallen from the + upper side of the sleigh bead foremost on a piece of ice, and broken his + neck. His companions were struck dumb with grief and astonishment; + however, they could not stand freezing in the middle of the river, so, + righting the sleigh, they placed the dead man gently inside it, and drove + slowly to Longueuil, where a friendly <i>habitant</i> placed the best room + in his house at their disposal. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. O’Grady, as may well be supposed, was very much shocked at the news + of her husband’s death. The body was brought to her house in Montreal, and + from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery, where it was interred, a company of + rifles firing a volley over the grave. For a time the young widow was + undecided whether to go back to her friends in England or to remain in + Canada, but, being unwilling to become dependent on her relations, she + accepted a situation as governess in a wealthy family residing in the west + end of Montreal, placing her infant son under the charge of a nurse. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Thomson, in whose service Mrs. O’Grady was employed, was the wife of + a wealthy English gentleman who had invested largely in Canadian real + estate and national enterprises. She had two daughters, aged 18 and 16, + respectively (whom Mrs. O’Grady was expected to train and prepare for + entrance into society), also a son about 22, who, although educated as a + lawyer, pursued no avocation other than the collection of rents on his + father’s estate, and minor offices in connection with the investment of + his money. Randolph Thomson, the young gentleman in question, suddenly + became very attentive to his sisters. There was not a single concert or + ball of importance to which he did not take them, whereas before he could + rarely be induced to accompany them anywhere. The girls never tried to + account for this sudden change in their brother’s behavior, being too much + engrossed in the enjoyment of the entertainments aforesaid to trouble + their heads about the matter; Mrs. Grundy, however, had an idea that the + handsome widow who officiated as governess had something to do with the + affair, and, a rumor of the kind reaching the ears of Mrs. Thomson, the + unfortunate widow was eventually obliged to leave the house, much to the + regret of the whole family, but especially that of Randolph, whose + brotherly attentions suddenly became less marked, and in time ceased + altogether. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. O’Grady, being once more thrown on her own resources, departed for + Sherbrooke, one of the most thriving towns in the Eastern Townships, where + she endeavored to make a respectable livelihood by teaching music. She + chose Sherbrooke rather than Montreal, because in the latter place every + lady who wished to earn her own living started out as a music teacher, and + the teachers were rapidly threatening to outnumber the pupils, and to + equal many of them as regards want of knowledge. + </p> + <p> + Close to Mrs. O’Grady’s new residence, and removed a short distance from + the town, there dwelt a wealthy old farmer named Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson + was a bachelor about 65 years old, who, by steady attention to his farm + and shrewd speculations, had amassed a considerable fortune, being + considered one of the “solid men” of Sherbrooke. Clarkson happening to + meet Mrs. O’Grady at the house of one of the principal clergymen, became + enamored of her at first sight, and at the first opportunity proposed for + her hand. This she was at first loth to give, her heart at the time being + elsewhere; but, as Clarkson offered to settle all his property on her and + her children, and he himself, though neither young nor handsome, was very + agreeable, and held a high position in the community, she finally + consented, and was led a second time to the hymeneal altar. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Clarkson was very proud of his handsome wife, he ordered a handsome + phaeton and pair of bay ponies from Montreal for her private use, and gave + her an unlimited allowance of pin money, and she might be seen any + afternoon, fashionably attired, driving from one shop to another, followed + by the admiring eyes of the bank clerks and beaux, and the envious glances + of the single young ladies of Sherbrooke. + </p> + <p> + After three or four months Mrs. Clarkson told her husband that she had + been invited to go on a visit to Montreal, and urged him to allow her to + accept it, particularly as her little boy was afflicted with sore eyes, + and there was no oculist of ability in the town. Her husband readily + consented, and, with the promise that she would return in a few weeks, + Mrs. Clarkson came to Montreal, and calling at my house informed Madame + Charbonneau (in my absence) that she wished to remain there if possible, + as she was about to be confined. When I got home she confessed to me that + she had been on terms of intimacy with Randolph Thomson, and begged me not + to inform her husband, as he was exceedingly jealous, and would kill her + if he suspected the true state of affairs. + </p> + <p> + Promising to do the best I could under the circumstances I had rooms + prepared for both her and her boy, and secured the best medical attendance + for the latter, whose eyes were in a very bad state from long neglect. It + was two weeks before Mrs. Clarkson’s baby (a boy) was born, and very + unpleasant rumors were circulated round the town, which, coming to the + ears of the old gentleman caused him to write a very stiff letter, + ordering his wife to return immediately. This, of course, she could not + do, and as she was unable to frame an excuse for refusing to I do so, she + determined to take no notice of his letter, and, if brought to task + concerning it, <i>to deny having received it</i>, the letter being + unregistered. Fortunately for her, if not for himself, her boy’s eyes + continued to defy the skill of Dr. Fulford, the oculist to whose care she + had committed him, and it was imperative that they should remain in + Montreal a week or two longer. This fact was communicated to Mr. Clarkson, + but his sister (who had continued to reside with him after his marriage) + persuaded him to have nothing more to do with his wife, and related to him + the rumors she had heard, allowing them (as may well be supposed) to lose + nothing in the narration. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson was naturally very much put out when she learnt how her + sister-in-law had acted; but, being both a strong-minded and crafty woman, + she determined to put a bold face on the matter, and if possible to pay + off old scores with her sister-in-law. She accordingly placed her baby out + to nurse, and, as soon as she felt strong enough, set out for Sherbrooke. + She found her husband’s house locked against her, but, nothing daunted, + she went straight to the mayor’s residence, and explained that, having + gone to Montreal with her husband’s permission, she had (as soon as <i>her + boy</i> was sufficiently recovered) returned to her home, and found the + door locked against her. The mayor (a particular friend of Clarkson’s) + told her to come with him and he would see her righted, but she refused, + saying that she had already gone to her husband’s house and been refused + admission, and that she would not go again until he came to fetch her; she + then departed and engaged rooms at the hotel. + </p> + <p> + The mayor, wishing to save his friend any public scandal, went to him, and + remonstrated with him on his conduct, explaining that, as his wife had + gone to Montreal with his permission, he was legally responsible for all + her expenses, and that in refusing to admit her into his house he had + rendered himself liable for an expensive lawsuit. On this poor Clarkson + got so frightened that he ordered his team to be brought round, and, + driving to the hotel, implored his wife to accompany him to his house, + begging her forgiveness for his conduct, and promising that he would do + anything to make amends. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson now felt that she had obtained a grand advantage, and, + assuming an air of injured innocence, enquired who had set him against + her. Poor Clarkson was reluctantly compelled to admit that his sister had + had something to do with it, on which his wife refused to live under the + same roof with such a vile slanderer (’), and insisted that, before she + returned, the lady <i>who had taken away her character</i> should leave + the house. In fact, she managed the affair so well, and exhibited such an + amount of “cheek,” that the poor man actually sent his sister away, and + drove with a magnificent team of horses to bring home the woman whom he + had refused to admit into his house. + </p> + <p> + For several months they lived happily together, Mrs. Clarkson <i>going on + a visit to Montreal</i> whenever it stated her. In process of time she + gave evidence of being <i>enceinte</i>, and old Clarkson’s joy knew no + bounds, as he evidently rejoiced at the prospect of having an heir. Had he + known, however, that his wife, in visiting Montreal, was invariably met by + Randolph Thomson, it is questionable whether his joy would not have been + considerably moderated. Before the child was born the old man died, + leaving all his property to his wife and his expected heir. His sister, + who really was devoted to him, was left without a penny, and entirely + dependent on the charity of Mrs. Clarkson. The widow, however, had not + forgotten the part played by Mrs. Clarkson during her brother’s lifetime, + and being now steeped in wickedness, her better nature was almost entirely + lost. She turned the faithful sister from her door, and she, the false + wife, was with her illegitimate child (born almost immediately after the + old man’s death) snugly installed in the home that in all equity and + justice should have belonged to the woman she ejected. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Facilis descensus Averni</i>.”—It is wonderful how easy the + descent really is, when once the first false step is taken. As the + avalanche, which at first becomes slowly loosened from its lofty position, + gradually descends with greater and greater rapidity till it is dashed + into the abyss, so does the frail mortal, who at first shudders at the + bare thought of an immoral act, rush headlong into sin till her desperate + career is suddenly checked, often in a manner fearful to contemplate. Mrs. + Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably be expected to + desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and those of her + husband’s relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental to her + character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, without the + incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; Randolph Thomson, + turning his back on her and his boy, had married a young lady of fortune; + so vowing vengeance against men in general for their <i>falseness and + inconstancy</i>. Mrs. Clarkson laid herself out to entrap and ensnare + every man who came in her way, and in this manner to revenge herself (as + she by some strange mental process led herself to imagine) on her false + lover. + </p> + <p> + The deceased Mr. Clarkson had a brother named William, a bachelor, whose + farm was adjacent to that now possessed by the widow. William was nearly + twenty years younger than his brother, and was considered rather a + good-looking man by his acquaintances. It is possible that, but for her <i>liaison</i> + with Thomson, Mrs. Clarkson would, long ere this, have fascinated him with + her beauty and blandishments; but, he had hitherto escaped unscathed, + though openly admiring his brother’s wife, and taking her part against the + scandal-mongers when speculation was rife as to the cause which detained + her in Montreal. In looking round for some one to entrap and ensnare, Mrs. + Clarkson’s eye naturally fell upon William, as the most eligible party in + her immediate vicinity; and she was the more anxious to secure him, + because, with a woman’s far-seeing eye and long-reaching vengeance, she + wished to circumvent her sister-in-law, who, being unmarried (and likely + to remain so), had undertaken to keep house for her younger brother, and + would, as matters at that moment stood, have likely outlived him and + inherited his property. Opportunity was not long wanting for her to effect + her object; William was the sole executor to his brother’s estate, and, as + business often brought them together at the late Mr. Clarkson’s lawyer’s + office in Montreal, it was not strange that the widow should almost + immediately have opened the campaign, which she did on the first occasion + of their meeting in the city, beginning, as most great generals do, with a + little skirmishing, in order to draw out her opponent. It was a beautiful + spring morning, and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven + o’clock, Mr. Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to + meet the train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, + reminding him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her + husband’s life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her + reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural + protector was no more. William, being little of a gossip himself, urged + her to be above such petty pandering to public opinion, and to follow her + inclinations, but she replied naively.—“A woman has nothing to + depend on but her reputation, and she cannot be too careful, you know.” + “Perhaps you are right,” William replied, laughing, and so he permitted + the widow to order her own buggy round, and follow him a few minutes later + to the depot. But even this precaution did not satisfy the wily Mrs. + Clarkson. She knew that many Sherbrooke people would be on the trains both + going and coming, and that inquisitive eyes would watch, and gossiping + tongues would relate all that passed during the journey, so she induced + Miss Cuthbert, a neighbor of hers, to accompany her, promising her a + pleasant day in Montreal. + </p> + <p> + The train had not arrived when the ladies alighted at the depot, but the + ever-acute widow instructed her servant man not to drive away, but to wait + and see if any parcels had been sent from Portland. She did not expect any + parcels from Portland, but she wished all the neighbors who might be going + on the train to see her man with the buggy, in case they might imagine she + had come in the carriage with William. When they got on board the train, + of course, her brother-in-law took a seat with her and Miss Cuthbert, but + the widow pretended to be engrossed in a novel, leaving the younger lady + to carry on the conversation. A boy approached with “prize packages” of + candies, and William, buying two, handed them to the ladies, requesting + them to see what fortune had in store for them. Miss Cuthbert opened hers + eagerly, and, amidst the almonds and lozenges, discovered a gilt brooch, + which she laughingly fastened on her breast. William offered to open the + widow’s for her, but she interrupted him, saying: + </p> + <p> + “My fortune has been told already, give it to Miss Cuthbert.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes! give it to me,” said the sprightly girl, and hastily opening it, + she poked amongst the candies and pulled out a small article rolled in + tissue paper; unrolling the paper eagerly she disclosed <i>a plain gilt + ring</i>. + </p> + <p> + “Put that on, also,” said Mrs. Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no!” answered Miss Cuthbert, “I will try to get some one to put it on + for me.” + </p> + <p> + With this careless banter the time passed away till they reached Montreal, + Mrs. Clarkson playing the shy widow to perfection, and, as may naturally + be supposed, not only raising herself in the estimation of her + brother-in-law, but drawing him in a strange manner within the radius of + her fascinating influences. + </p> + <p> + On arriving in the city they entered a carriage, and were driven to St. + James street, where Mr. St. Jerome, the lawyer, had his office. In about + an hour their business was transacted, and William invited the ladies to + Alexander’s to partake of luncheon, but this the widow discreetly + declined, being aware that the pastry-cook’s in question was a celebrated + rendezvous for all country-folk. Pleading as an excuse that she wanted, to + do some shopping, she advised William not to trouble about them, as they + would prefer shopping alone, and that, if fatigued, they could easily drop + in for an ice at some respectable confectioner’s. “Besides,” added Mrs. + Clarkson, “I have promised to take Miss Cuthbert up the mountain this + afternoon, as she has never been to the summit of Mount Royal, though + living so near the city bearing its name.” + </p> + <p> + “If you are going up the mountain, I pray you will allow me to accompany + you. I never visit Montreal without ascending it at least once,” said Mr. + Clarkson. “If you do not wish me to go shopping, I will not intrude, but I + will feel myself slighted if you compel me to ascend the mountain alone.” + </p> + <p> + The widow feigned to give a reluctant consent, and accordingly they + arranged to meet on Place d’Armes at two o’clock, and to drive to the base + of the mountain together. At that time the beautiful mountain from which + Montreal derives its name, and most of its beauty, had not been acquired + by the city. It was private property, and there were no elegant roads by + which to drive to its summit; indeed, it was only by the courtesy of the + proprietors that persons were allowed to ascend the famous hill, and enjoy + the beautiful scenery and bracing air: even then the task of ascending was + no easy one, and ladies were generally glad of the company of one or more + of the hardier sex, if only to assist them in clambering up the steep + ascent. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Clarkson went to lunch, and then to the Corn Exchange to transact some + business, arriving in Place d’Armes precisely at two o’clock. Shortly + afterward she saw the ladies emerge from the French Church of Notre Dame, + and cross the square to meet him. Miss Cuthbert was delighted with the + church. Although a Protestant, she admired it as an architectural + art-work, the elaborate adornment, too, of the interior pleased her, and + accorded with her womanly tastes. Mrs. Clarkson had seen both inside and + outside so often that neither had now any more effect on her; indeed, not + only was her heart steeled to the refining influences of the building, but + also to the doctrines inculcated within it; she had started on the + downward path, and never once dared to look up again, even for a moment. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you are sharp on time,” said Miss Cuthbert, addressing Mr. + Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, I have been walking the streets for nearly an hour, + wondering if the hands on the Seminary clock would ever indicate the hour + of two. I had almost persuaded myself that the public clocks had all + stopped, but my watch, which was ticking, told me that they were going on + with methodical regularity.” He addressed himself to Miss Cuthbert, but + his eyes were turned slightly towards Mrs. Clarkson, who, blushing + slightly (she could blush at pleasure), turned away her head, and appeared + to be quite confused. + </p> + <p> + William hailed a cab, and they drove up University street, as far as the + carriage road permitted them. Dismissing the “carter,” they entered the + adjacent field, and ascended by a winding path which at that time ran + through the property of Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Allan. Miss Cuthbert, although + she lived faraway from all mountains or hills of any kind, was remarkably + active, and bounded up the steep ascent like a deer. Mrs. Clarkson was a + <i>dear</i> of another kind, and she was obliged to cling to her + brother-in-law for support, which latter he was by no means adverse to + giving, after about twenty minutes climbing they arrived at the “view + point” immediately over Sir Hugh Allan’s residence, when everything was + immediately forgotten in the inspeakable emotion excited by the + magnificent panorama before them. At their feet lay the beautiful city, + the rows of shade trees, clothed with verdure, lending a gorgeous setting + to the elegant limestone buildings. In front rolled the mighty St. + Lawrence, nearly two miles wide, the vast expanse being relieved by St. + Helen’s Island, with its luxuriant foliage. On the right the Victoria + Bridge, that monument of engineering skill, stretched across the mighty + river towards the picturesque village of St. Lambert; while further to the + westward might be seen Nun’s Island with its shady groves, at the head of + which rushed the boiling waters of the famous rapids of Lachine. I have in + my youth travelled through both Germany and Switzerland and, later, + through the beautiful scenery of New Hampshire and Vermont, but nowhere do + I remember having seen a view so grand, or a panorama so picturesque, as + that to be seen from the brow of Mount Royal. + </p> + <p> + For a while the entire party gazed in speechless admiration at the scene + before them, when Miss Cuthbert exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “I can say, with the apostle of old, ‘It is good for us to be here.’” + </p> + <p> + “And build <i>three tabernacles</i>? queried Mrs. Clarkson. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, two would do. One for me, and another for you and Mr. Clarkson.” + </p> + <p> + At this rejoinder Mrs. Clarkson bit her lips, and changed the conversation + immediately. + </p> + <p> + When they had surveyed the city, the river, and the country on the + opposite shore, they prepared to ascend to the highest part of the + mountain, where the observatory stands, imbedded in trees. Here they sat + down for a time to rest, and partake of some light refreshment which they + had brought with them; they then proceeded to descend on the other side, + passing through the Protestant and Catholic cemeteries, both elaborately + laid out, and looking like beautiful flower gardens, rather than burial + grounds. As they neared Côte des Neiges Miss Cuthbert commenced to scamper + along like a child, and at one short declivity, she started off at a run, + calling on the others to follow. Clarkson took his companion’s hand and + invited her to descend in like manner, but, almost at the first step, his + sister-in-law uttered a sharp scream and fell forward on the grass, + informing them that her foot had turned under her, and that she had + sprained her ankle. + </p> + <p> + William was almost beside himself. He felt that he had foolishly induced + her to forget herself so far as to indulge in a wild romp and thus injure + her ankle. He wished Miss Cuthbert at the bottom of the sea, and wondered + how they were to get the beautiful cripple home, as they were removed from + residences or conveyances of any kind, and Mrs. Clarkson was no small + weight. There being nothing else for it, however, the sturdy farmer lifted + her in his arms and carried her to the house of the caretaker of the + cemetery; then, leaving her gently on a sofa, he started for the inn at + Côte des Neiges, thinking he might obtain the means of conveyance to + Montreal. + </p> + <p> + On his arrival at the inn he was informed that there was no livery stable + of any kind for miles around, and that the private buggy of the proprietor + was at the moment in Montreal, whither the landlady had driven for + provisions. Just then a team was driven at a rapid speed from the + direction of St. Laurent; it contained two young gentlemen from Montreal, + who had driven round the mountain attended by a groom. On hearing the + particulars of the accident they at once, with great gallantry, gave up + their vehicle, a mail phaeton, for the use of the disabled lady, + cheerfully undertaking to walk the remainder of the way (about four + miles), and enjoining Mr. Clarkson to bring the carriage to their stable + so soon as he had deposited his fair companions in a place of safety. + </p> + <p> + On reaching the cemetery, William found the widow looking wretched, + indeed, and apparently suffering great pain. Her face brightened, however, + as she saw the carriage and was convinced that they would be able to get + to Montreal in time for the night train for Sherbrooke. William assisted + Miss Cuthbert into the trap, and placed Mrs. Clarkson carefully beside + her; then, mounting the box, he thanked the caretaker for his kind offices + and drove, via Côte des Neiges hill, to Montreal. He suggested to Mrs. + Clarkson that it would be better for her to take a room at the St. + Lawrence Hall for a few days, and enjoy perfect rest till her ankle got + better, but she, remembering her past experiences, preferred to travel at + once to her home, and so avoid all scandal. + </p> + <p> + William drove straight to the Grand Trunk terminus in St. Bonaventure + street; and, placing the ladies in a Pullman car, drove up to Sherbrooke + street with the team, which he left, as directed, at the young gentleman’s + residence. He proceeded along to St. Lawrence Main street, where he hailed + a cab, and drove back to the terminus. Shortly after his return to the + depot the train started, and in a few hours they reached Sherbrooke. + </p> + <p> + It was considerably past midnight when they got to Mrs. Clarkson’s + residence, so Miss Cuthbert remained with her till morning, doing all she + could to alleviate her pain. Shortly after breakfast William called; and + as his sister-in-law was confined to her room, he considerately kept her + company till Miss Cuthbert had gone home and obtained permission to remain + a while longer with the disabled lady. There is nothing that tries a man’s + heart so much as to see a woman (particularly a beautiful woman) in pain. + The widow was aware of this, and so, although the sprain was purely + accidental, and was not included in her programme, turned it to such good + account that the poor bachelor was fairly hooked, and began to think + seriously that he had got into an awkward fix. + </p> + <p> + Marriage with a deceased brother’s wife was illegal, and no clergyman + could perform the marriage ceremony without violating the laws of both + Church and State; even if one could be prevailed on to follow the dictates + of his conscience, and to stretch a point in their favor (as was sometimes + done) society would not recognize their union, and would shun them as open + adulterers. In vain did his sister-in-law urge on him that the law was + absurd, and that, as there was no blood-relationship between them, there + could be nothing criminal in their living together; he had not the moral + courage to face the cold criticism of a narrow-minded and bigoted + community, and, though mad with passionate love, he hesitated to take the + fatal plunge. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Clarkson, however, having carried the outposts and principal barriers + successfully, was not to be thwarted by a mere matter of sentiment. She + expressed her intention of departing forthwith for Detroit, assuring him + that she would no longer remain in a country where such intolerant bigotry + existed, and instructed him, if he loved her as he pretended, to sell his + property in Canada and follow her thither. + </p> + <p> + Clarkson was loth to leave his relations and the home of his childhood, + but the temptress lured him gradually on, refusing at times even to see a + man who valued his narrow-minded friends’ opinion rather than her love, + and at length he consented to sell his farm for whatever it would bring, + and to rejoin her in Detroit. This was another piece of generalship on the + part of the widow, as, did they remain in Canada, she could not, in the + event of her husband’s death hold the property which would revert to her + hated sister-in-law; but that being now converted into cash she was at + liberty to squander it during her husband’s life-time, retaining the + fortune left by her first husband for the future use of herself and + children. + </p> + <p> + For a time Mr. Clarkson lived with his sister-in-law in a princely style + in Detroit. They entertained largely and handsomely, and most of their + guests neither cared nor enquired who they were, or whence they came. They + had not been there more than six weeks when Mrs. Clarkson made the + acquaintance of Count Von Alba, who for some time had been the lion of + fashionable circles in Detroit. Von Alba was a Russian, who (for political + reasons said his friends, for criminal reasons said his enemies) had + emigrated to America and lived on his fortune (his friends insisted)—his + wits, said his enemies again. + </p> + <p> + Whichever surmise was correct, Von Alba was undoubtedly good-looking. He + stood five feet eleven inches in his stockings, and was powerfully built; + his complexion, like most Russians was dark, and his lofty forehead was + surmounted with curls of the darkest brown. At the time of the Clarksons + residence, the Count was about five-and-thirty years old; he had naturally + a genial manner and a good-humored expression of countenance, and a scar + on his forehead (obtained, he said, when a lad, at Inkerman) made him an + object of feminine admiration, while he was at the same time greatly + envied by the opposite sex. + </p> + <p> + Von Alba was a sort of Admirable Crichton. He rode like Nimrod, danced + like Terpsichore, drove like Jehu, shot like William Tell, and sang like + Sims Reeves. It was in the <i>latter</i> accomplishment, however, that he + chiefly excelled; he would stand up at the end of a crowded drawing-room, + and, playing a delicate accompaniment on his guitar, would vocalize one of + the passionate love-songs of his native land. Sometimes he sang in + English, then his defective pronunciation lent a strange charm to his + singing, which, although it could scarcely be accounted for, made itself + felt even in the bosoms of the dilettanti. + </p> + <p> + Strange to say, although courted and run after by nearly all the eligible + young ladies, the Count became so fond of Mrs. Clarkson’s society that + scarcely a day passed but he was found at her house. At the fair lady’s + “Thursday Evenings,” of course, he was one of the principal attractions, + added to which he dined and lunched frequently at her house, and escorted + her to balls and parties: her husband not caring for the everlasting round + of excitement, and, far from feeling jealous of the Count, he was proud to + think that his choice of a companion should be endorsed by one who + presumably was a competent judge. + </p> + <p> + It was not long till the lady was at her old tricks again, and what + Randolph Thompson had been to her before, Von Alba soon became, the simple + husband encouraging these visits, and allowing his wife to squander his + money lavishly on her paramour. Mrs. Grundy in the meanwhile began to be + suspicious, and rumors, at first vague and indefinite, became almost + pointed accusations against Mrs. Clarkson. The poor husband, although not + altogether crediting the fact that there was a foundation for these + reports, saw the necessity, in the equivocal position in which both he and + his wife stood, of putting a stop to all suspicious intercourse with the + Count; and, being resolute enough when so disposed, he forbade his wife to + meet Von Alba any more in private, or to invite him to her house. + </p> + <p> + This, as may be supposed, brought matters to a crisis and brought on a + terrible quarrel between the abandoned woman and her husband. She saw that + the game was up as far as Detroit was concerned, and so, managing to forge + her husband’s name to a cheque for several thousand dollars, she went the + next day with great boldness to the bank where he kept his money and + presented it; it was cashed by the clerk without hesitation, and that + evening, abandoning both Clarkson and her children, she went, accompanied + by her paramour, to the depot and took the train for Montreal, where they + went to an hotel, registering their names as Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer, of New + York. Notwithstanding their false names and altered attire they were + traced to the St. Lawrence Hall, Mrs. Clarkson being surprised, on coming + from breakfast one morning, to observe her husband busily scanning the + register at the office counter. The Count had not seen him, but Mrs. + Clarkson hurried him upstairs and told him that their whereabouts was + discovered, and that they must take refuge in flight before Clarkson had + time to take steps for their apprehension. + </p> + <p> + Ringing the bell, Von Alba bade the boy to have their bill made out and + receipted, and to have their luggage sent to the station in time for the + next train for New York. + </p> + <p> + “There is no New York train till 3.15,” said the boy. + </p> + <p> + “When is there one for Toronto?” asked the Count. + </p> + <p> + “Not till eight this evening, but the Lachine train, which meets the mail + boat, leaves at 11.30.” + </p> + <p> + “That is what I mean,” said Von Alba; “we will go by that;” then, packing + hastily, the two culprits descended by the ladies staircase, and, entering + a carriage, drove off to procure tickets for Toronto. + </p> + <p> + All this time Mr. Clarkson was quietly seated in the breakfast-room, + taking light repast after his long journey. That the persons he sought + were in the hotel he felt confident; but there were so many gentlemen with + their wives real or pretended, from all parts, that he was puzzled to + conjecture which of the names in the register was that assumed by the + Count. At length he resolved to take the boy into his confidence; and, + handing him a gold piece, he began to question him concerning the guests + now quartered in the hotel. When he had described the pair he wanted, the + boy said: “W’y these ere must be the pair wat’s just gone to the Toronto + boat!” Clarkson said not a word; but, handing a card to the cashier, + rushed out of the hotel, and, jumping into a cab, bade the driver to go + with all speed to the Upper Canada boat. Had he thought for a moment he + would have recollected that the boat leaves the wharf early in the + morning, and proceeding slowly through the canal, stops to take on + passengers at the head of the Lachine Rapids. In his blind haste, however, + he had forgotten this; and lost so much time in going to the wharf that, + when he eventually learnt the truth and got to the depot, the train was + just leaving the platform. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing for it now but to wait for the train for the west, and + to get on board the steamer at Kingston. He had at least the satisfaction + of knowing that they were on the boat like rats in a trap, and that, + except the delay in confronting the villain Von Alba and his wretched + companion, he was as successful as possible in his pursuit of the + fugitives. Returning to the city, he procured the assistance of a + detective, who undertook to accompany him to Kingston, and assist him in + apprehending and arresting the fugitives. + </p> + <p> + By this time the steamship “Hungarian,” on which the wretched pair had + embarked, was ploughing the waters of Lake St. Louis. After a time they + passed through the Beauharnois and Cornwall canals, and entered the + labyrinth of beautiful patches known as the “Thousands Islands.” As they + emerged from this lovely spot the saloon became suddenly filled with + smoke, and in a few minutes cries of “Fire! Fire!” were heard on every + hand. A rush was made for life preservers, while the crew of five or six + men vainly endeavored to extinguish the flames. The captain ordered boats + to be lowered, but, the men being excited, and badly drilled at best, the + boats were successively swamped, leaving the poor terrified creatures only + a choice of two fearful deaths. + </p> + <p> + One of the sailors handed Mrs. Clarkson a life preserver, which she + requested Von Alba to fasten round her waist, but the cowardly fellow <i>snatched + it from her</i>, and, hastily securing it round his own waist, swung + himself overboard, leaving her to perish in the flames! He was not to + escape so easily, however; with a bitter yell of mingled rage and despair + the wretched woman mounted the taffrail, and plunging straight for the + spot where he rose to the surface dragged him under again and again with + fearful maledictions. The passengers who still remained on deck could do + nothing to separate them, and although the life preserver would have + sustained both of them easily in the water, so great was the woman’s bate + on the discovery of Von Alba’s cowardly treachery, that she did not even + give a thought to her own escape, so intent was she on dragging him to the + bottom. The expression of her face, lit up as it was by the blaze of the + burning; steamer, was terrible to behold: the veins in her head and neck + were swollen almost to bursting, and she died cursing with bitter + malediction the man for whom she had sacrificed not only herself, but her + husband and her children. + </p> + <p> + The steamer burned to the water’s edge, only a few of those who had jumped + overboard escaping. The bodies of the guilty pair were discovered at some + distance from the wreck, Mrs. Clarkson’s hand being tightly clutched round + her companion’s throat, while his tongue and eyes protruded fearfully. + </p> + <p> + With sad and heavy heart Clarkson returned to Detroit, and, having + gathered together what remained of his former property, prepared to return + to Canada. He took with him the children of his late wife, placing them + both as boarders at the College at Lennoiville till they were old enough + to be apprenticed to some trade or profession. He never quite recovered + from the shock received on hearing of the manner of Mrs. Clarkson’s death + and that of her paramour, but became prematurely aged when he realized + that, instead of the sweet angelic creature whom he thought he had + married, he found that he had wedded a regular disciple of Satan. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. — The Frail Shop Girl. + </h2> + <p> + The many fine ladies who patronize the fashionable emporiums of Montreal + little think (as they sit comfortably at the counter, leisurely examining + dozens of articles they never intend to purchase) of the sufferings + undergone by those who minister to their wants, and, it may be, their + caprices. Dozens of these poor creatures stand day after day, from morn + till night, without a moment’s rest except at meal-times; even then the + short period allowed them barely suffices to permit of a hasty meal, when + they have to hurry back again to undergo another term of misery. + </p> + <p> + It is strange that we should be so careful of brute beasts that we form + ourselves into societies for their protection, prosecuting rigorously any + one who shall have the temerity to ill-treat or abuse them, and yet allow + our fellow-creatures (and those, too, of the weaker sex) to be treated + with the most barbarous cruelty. A bruise or a blow may be brutal and + severe, yet neither is so hurtful, so systematically cruel, as the forcing + young girls to stand erect for lengthened periods, without change of + posture. I am sure if the members of the House of Commons were deprived of + their seats even for one session, we would, without further ado have a + Bill enacted making it criminal for shopkeepers to make slaves of their + employees, or individuals to patronize such establishments. + </p> + <p> + Were shop-girls provided with even the commonest of seats, untold numbers + of crimes and diseases would be heard of no more. I am confident that but + for this most refined cruelty the circumstances which gave rise to this + story would never have occurred, and that I would have been spared the + narration of a history which, though painfully true, is none the less + shocking. + </p> + <p> + M——‘s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a + well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked the + thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its door; + and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither and + thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still bright + and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be seen + grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from the + shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the + counter. + </p> + <p> + One of these girls, by name Esther Ryland, was noticed by many who + frequented M——‘s store on account of her unusually attractive + person and elegance of manners; she was a little above the average height, + yet graceful and well-formed, with remarkably handsome features, and eyes + that sparkled like a pair of diamonds. Esther had not been long in Messrs. + M——‘s service, yet she had become so popular as a saleswoman + that crowds frequented the particular counter at which she assisted, and + she was known to many who were unacquainted with her name as the Pretty + Shop-girl at M——‘s. + </p> + <p> + Esther was very proud of her attractions, both professionally and + otherwise; she did not calculate, however, that the more popular she + became the more work she would have to do, and that she would, in time, + pay for her popularity with her health, if not her life. She had, in and + out of the store, a great many admirers amongst those of the opposite sex, + but there was one she prized above all others, a certain Mr. Quintin, a + merchant tailor, who had just started business for himself, and had + persuaded Esther to promise that, after another year’s service, she would + give up business and become his wife. + </p> + <p> + It had been their custom to go for a stroll together on the long summer + evenings, and together they might have been seen, fondly looking into each + other’s faces, as, arm-in-arm, they perambulated the more remote portions + of Sherbrooke and St. Denis streets, which at that time were scarcely + built upon. + </p> + <p> + One evening when Quintin called, as usual, to take his enamorata for a + walk, she said she would prefer to stay at home, as she was quite fatigued + with the day’s work. Nothing disconcerted, her lover remained with her in + the house, and they amused themselves with a pack of cards and a + chessboard. The following evening, however, Miss Ryland was again + indisposed, and, on questioning her closely, Quintin drew forth the avowal + that she <i>had not sat down for a quarter of an hour</i> during the whole + day! It seems it was the busy season at M——‘s, and, besides + being engaged incessantly in serving customers, Miss Ryland was obliged to + shorten her dinner hour, and to hurry back to meet the increased demand. + </p> + <p> + Quintin was quite shocked at this discovery. Although well aware of the + brutal treatment of shopkeepers’ assistants, he had never been an + interested party, and so had the matter placed before him <i>in all its + horrors</i> for the first time. He resolved that, come what might, he + would emancipate his intended wife from a life of such slavery, and so, + having carefully arranged his business and purchased a neat little cottage + in Cadieux street, he urged Miss Ryland to consent to marry him without + delay, and so avoid her life of thraldom. She agreed to marry him during + the ensuing month, pleading with feminine weakness that it would take at + least that time to get her trousseau ready, and the day was finally + arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + The excitement of preparation before marriage, and the change of scene + during her wedding-tour, wrought such an effect on the woman that Mr. + Quintin became convinced that his wife’s health was thoroughly restored, + and he labored assiduously at his business, looking forward cheerfully to + the time when she should become a mother, and the merry laughter of his + children should, in his hours of rest from worldly cares, gladden and + enliven their home. + </p> + <p> + A year rolled by, and both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin looked hopefully towards + the future; two years passed and still they were childless. Mrs. Quintin + would have given all the world, had she possessed it, for one of God’s + blessings; she loved children, even those of other children, and <i>one of + her own</i> would have been a priceless treasure. But she lamented more on + her husband’s account. She knew that he doted on children; and when she + saw him take the neighbours’ children on his knee, and, after looking + wistfully in their faces, rise and dash his hand across his eyes, she knew + what it meant. “Oh,” she would cry, “if only these abandoned wretches who + desert their offspring could realize what it is to desire them and yet + live unblest! If they but knew the priceless treasures they were casting + from them, they would turn and repent in sackcloth and ashes.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. and Mrs. Quintin had been married about three years when one day the + former called on me, his face beaming with joy, and informed me that his + fondest hopes were about to be realized, and that he would like me to call + and consult with his wife. I was a little surprised at this intimation, + as, from what I knew of Mrs. Quintin, I had fully made up my mind that she + would never become a patient of mine; however, I was glad to hear that I + had been mistaken, and so, when next in the neighborhood I waited on that + lady and congratulated her on her improved prospects. To my great surprise + she burst into tears, and confessed that she was not <i>enceinte</i>, or + likely ever to become so; that her career in M——‘s store, and + continued standing for hours together, had rendered her physically unable + ever to become a mother. She added that her husband had so set his heart + upon the one object (viz., the desire to have children), and had spent so + much money for medicine and medical advice with a view to that end, that + she could not bear him to think that all his efforts were unavailing, and + her complaint having assumed a form to all outward appearances similar to + pregnancy, she had permitted him to delude himself with the belief that + the latter was the cause of her altered appearance, and that scientific + skill had counteracted the effects of years of abuse. + </p> + <p> + I was greatly taken aback at this disclosure, but my surprise was as + nothing compared to that in hearing the plot which the woman’s now + diseased mind had concocted. She said she was going to bear reproach no + longer (for, though her husband never murmured, at least in words, his + friends and her neighbors were ever ready to deepen her sorrow and + humiliation by taunting her with her impotency), and her eyes rolled in + frenzy as she almost shouted: I MUST AND SHALL HAVE A CHILD’! Why am I + prohibited from having what many do not know how to value? Many of them + cast their treasures from them; shall I, frantic with despair, <i>refuse + to pick one up</i>! + </p> + <p> + As she walked up and down the room in her fury, she looked like one + demented. Her hands were clenched till the nails entered her flesh, her + eyes rolled wildly, and, were I more easily frightened, I would have felt + impelled to call for help. Gradually becoming cooler, Mrs. Quintin + unfolded to me her plan for deceiving her husband, and, with a coolness + that I would not have pardoned but for her evidently unhinged condition, + actually <i>requested me to assist her?</i> She said she had been offered + a child for adoption by a lady who was more guilty and unfeeling than + herself, and that the person in question had promised to send her word + when she was taken ill, so that she might send for me, and make her + arrangements for the reception of the child, which was to be transported + secretly into her bedroom. + </p> + <p> + I was so astonished that I was for a time unable to a speak. The deep plot + itself, the proposition made to me to assist her, and the cool manner of + the lady herself, fairly staggered me. At length, speaking as calmly as I + could, I tried to convince Mrs. Quintin of the enormity of the crime she + intended to commit, telling her that, if she wished to adopt a child, she + would find it quite an easy matter to do so without taking any such course + as she evidently intended; and, after arguing for some time, she seemed to + yield a little to reason, and promised to do nothing rashly. She had + already, however, committed herself to the first part of her programme, + and told her husband a falsehood; how was she to undeceive him? I + suggested that she should tell him on his return that she had been + mistaken, and that on examination I had found nothing unusual the matter + with her. This she positively refused to do, saying that her husband had + so set his heart on this one object that, were his hopes suddenly dashed + to the ground, he might do something desperate. She said she would break + it to him gently, and, imploring me to say nothing to him of what had + passed, she escorted me to the door, and, with tearful eyes, bade me + farewell. + </p> + <p> + Several months elapsed, and I had, for the time, thought little of either + Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, when one evening in glancing over the papers, my eye + fell on the following announcement: “On the ——th inst., at + —— Cadieux street the wife of R. Quintin of a daughter.” I let + the paper drop as I gazed vacantly at the ceiling and tried to realize the + whole affair. Undecided how to act, I mechanically put on my bonnet and + cloak, and walked up Cadieux street, when, coming out of the house, I + spied my friend, Dr. P——. + </p> + <p> + “Good evening, Doctor,” said I. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, good evening, Mrs. Schroeder. I have just been attending a patient of + yours; it seems they were not at all prepared, and had not time to notify + you. Indeed, I was late myself, as I did not arrive till some minutes + after the child was born.” + </p> + <p> + Without saying a word I beckoned the Doctor aside, and made a sign that I + wished to speak with him privately. He invited me to step into his + carriage, and we drove in perfect silence to his residence in Beaver Hall + Terrace. Alighting, he preceded me to his surgery, and closed the door; + then, with a look full of meaning, he said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is there wrong here?” + </p> + <p> + “I said, Before I reply, will you permit me to ask you one or two + questions.” + </p> + <p> + “Who called you to attend Mrs. Quintin?” + </p> + <p> + “A carter came and requested me to come with all speed to attend a lady in + Cadieux street. I went as quickly as possible, but the child was born + before my arrival.” + </p> + <p> + “Who, then, attended the lady?” + </p> + <p> + “The nurse did, and apparently very satisfactorily indeed. I found the + bandages so well arranged, and the patient’s pulse so strong and regular, + that I left, perfectly satisfied that all was properly attended to till + your arrival. They explained to me that the lady was your patient, but + that being unexpectedly taken ill, she had ordered the carter to bring the + first doctor he found at home.” + </p> + <p> + “Was Mr. Quintin at home?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he is gone to England to purchase some goods.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! That accounts for it then.” + </p> + <p> + “Accounts for what? Really you must not catechize me any further. What is + there underneath all these questions?” + </p> + <p> + I drew my chair closer to him, as I said tragically: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Quintin <i>never had a child</i>.” + </p> + <p> + “This rather staggered the good old doctor, who had just come from the + house, where he had examined and weighed the infant. He started up from + his chair, and, drawing back, exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean? Explain yourself.” + </p> + <p> + I then at length narrated all I knew concerning the Quintin family, and, + as I proceeded with my story, the old man’s eyes opened wider and wider as + he exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “My God what a diabolical plot”! + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, and I was invited to join in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, well. <i>I</i> certainly would never have suspected anything of the + kind.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor would anyone. The thing was well arranged, and artfully carried out.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose they will send for <i>you</i> now.” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all. That is only a sham to get rid of your attendance. The + husband will be given to understand that you were hurriedly called in, and + that, my assistance being unneeded, they did not think it worth-while + troubling me.” + </p> + <p> + After consulting with Dr. P. for a considerable time and putting the case + in different lights, we came to the conclusion that it would be as well + now to let matters take their course. Any interference on our part would + only have raised a great public scandal, and rendered both Mr. and Mrs. + Quintin miserable, without benefiting anyone, so we allowed the poor man + to believe that his prayers were answered, and that the beautiful girl he + fondled was really his own. + </p> + <p> + Time rolled on, the baby being baptized in due course and known by the + name of Edith Quintin. As she grew older, both Mr. and Mrs. Quintin became + passionately fond of her, the latter being as much attached to the little + girl as if she were her own daughter. When the child was about twelve + years old, Mrs. Quintin, who had gradually grown more and more delicate, + began to feel that she must, ere many months had passed, finally succumb + to the disease which was gradually gnawing at her vitals, and the + deception she had practised on her husband was a source of great + discomfort and annoyance to her. She called on me in great grief, and, + having informed me concerning that of which (as the reader knows) I was + well aware, implored me to give her counsel and advice. She was surprised + to hear that I had already learnt all from Dr. P——; for, + although she, of course, knew that <i>I</i> was not blinded by her + subterfuge, she was not aware that I knew all concerning the method + adopted by her, and when she learned that both the doctor and myself had + forborne to inform on her, she was visibly affected, and thanked me on her + knees. + </p> + <p> + I advised her to break the matter to her husband, and not to die with such + a load on her conscience, but she avowed that she had neither the strength + nor the courage to do so, and importunately besought me to undertake the + painful task. When Mr. Quintin learnt the truth he was of course greatly + shocked, and at first was bitter in his denunciations at his deceitful + wife. His better judgment, however, was soon brought to bear in the + matter, and he was moved rather to pity her misfortune than to punish her + for her fault. He knew that her judgment erred solely in order to retain + his affection, and when he looked at her pale face and emaciated form, and + thought of the agony and suffering, both mental and bodily, which the poor + creature had endured, he willingly forgave her, and, though sadly + disappointed and sorely smitten, did what he could to reassure her. + </p> + <p> + Edith meanwhile had developed into a beautiful girl, and had she really + been, as she believed herself, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quintin, she + could not have been more beloved by them. The former enjoined me never to + reveal the secret of her birth to his daughter as he called her, and so + her life, at least, was not darkened in the least by the knowledge of the + truth. + </p> + <p> + When Edith was about seventeen years old Mrs. Quintin finally yielded to + the ravages of that dread destroyer, consumption. The poor girl wept sadly + and bitterly at the loss of her mother, the only one indeed the poor child + had ever known, and poor Quintin wept sadly as he thought of his wife’s + brief and unhappy career. He removed with his daughter into furnished + lodgings, not wishing the child to be burdened too soon with the cares of + house-keeping. What he would not allow her to do for him, however, she + soon became very anxious to do for another, and the days of her mourning + were not long passed when she became the happy wife of a young man named + Wentworth, bookkeeper in one of the leading hardware firms in Montreal. + She has now children of her own, and the youngsters’ greatest delight is + to gather round their grandfather’s knee while he astonishes them with + stories. To them nor to no one else, however, has he told, even as I have + done, the story of the frail shop-girl, who from being young and handsome, + and the belle of her circle of acquaintances, became a wretched and + deceitful woman, diseased both in body and mind, and finally sank into a + premature grave. + </p> + <p> + Out on this heartless, brutal system, and the thoughtlessness and + ignorance which permit it! I hope the narrative given above may cause some + of those at least who engage in this barbarous system to pause and give + the great problem of life, capital and labor, a few moments thought that + they may see the error of their way, and that poor Esther Quintin may not + have died in vain. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. — The Two Orphans + </h2> + <p> + One evening, about a dozen years before the introduction of the present + system of fire alarms into Montreal, crowds might be seen hurrying along + that part of the city known as Little St. James street, towards the scene + of an immense conflagration. Several fire engines were throwing strong + streams of water on the burning mass, but, the evening being windy, the + fire swept all before it, and soon reduced several buildings to ashes. + </p> + <p> + In one of these resided Mr. Wilson, Notary Public, and his two daughters, + the eldest a beautiful girl about 9 years old, the other aged nearly 8. + When the fire commenced they were seated calmly at the tea-table, + partaking of their evening meal, but, so sudden was the holocaust which + burst with tremendous fury around them that they had not the slightest + warning till they were surrounded with dense volumes of smoke The two + girls rushed forward to the window, and screamed for assistance, while the + old man endeavored to gather some of his most valuable papers together and + throw them into the street. + </p> + <p> + Amongst the crowd who assembled were two young men, clerks, named Wilgress + and D’Alton respectively. Taking in the situation at a glance, they sought + hastily for ladders, and placing them against the burning windows, mounted + bravely through the flames, each seizing a girl round the waist, and + carrying her in safety to the ground. Their clothes were almost completely + destroyed, while their faces were grimed and scorched, still, nothing + daunted, they looked up to see if anything more could be done; they espied + the old man at one of the windows with a parcel in his arms. Quick as + thought Dalton mounted the ladder once more, going through the flames like + a salamander, and, taking the parcel from the old gentleman, tried to + induce him to descend the ladder. Poor old Wilson, however, could not bear + to leave so much that was valuable while a chance of saving it remained, + and so, rushing wildly back into the burning building, he was soon lost to + sight. A cry arose from the crowd as they saw him disappear once more, and + several hardy youths sprang up the ladders, determined to bring him out by + force, but, ere they could enter the flaming pile, a loud shriek met their + ears as the floor gave way, hurling the poor old notary into the dreadful + pit of fire. All efforts to do anything further were now unavailing, and + the firemen directed their energies to protecting the neighboring + buildings, and preventing the fire from spreading. + </p> + <p> + The young men were at first puzzled what to do with the two girls whom + they had rescued, and who were now orphans, without parents, money, or + even clothes, but some Sisters of Charity, who had witnessed the heroic + action, came forward and offered to take them in charge. The good sisters + took the children to the convent, and provided them with both food and + clothes, intending to educate them and bring them up in the Catholic + faith, but some Protestant ladies, members of the congregation to which + Mr. Wilson had belonged, having heard of the affair, induced the clergyman + to call and obtain possession of the orphans, they undertaking to provide + the cost of their maintenance, or to find them homes in Protestant + families. + </p> + <p> + By the time the Rev. Mr. Flood called at the nunnery the children had + dried their tears, and were beginning to feel quite at home. The Sister in + charge, however, saw at once the correctness of the Clergyman’s action, + and agreed to give the girls up as soon as he had made arrangements for + their reception elsewhere. In a few days they were sent for, and each was + adopted by a different family; Cissie, the elder, was taken in charge by a + childless minister, residing in St. Albans, in the State of Vermont, while + Lillie, the younger sister was adopted by a farmer from the neighborhood + of Varennes. + </p> + <p> + Many years passed away and the two girls were grown up, and were both + uncommonly good looking, Lillie being then just seventeen, and as handsome + a girl as one could wish to see. Then circumstances, however, were not the + same, for while Cissie had received a good education, and had in every way + the manners of a lady, Lillie could not even read with facility, and + writing was with her and utter impossibility. The people who had adopted + her were Irish settlers, who, though comfortably off, knew little beyond + the cultivation of potatoes and the care of pigs. + </p> + <p> + About this tame Cissie Wilson, tired of the monotony of life at St. + Albans, determined to make an effort to “see the world,” as she called it, + and earn her own living; and, as her adopted father remonstrated with her + in rather a hasty manner, she collected her effects together, and, one day + while the old man was out, started for Montreal. She left a note for him, + informing him of her destination, and warning him not to attempt to stop + her, as she had determined, at all hazards, to carry out her intention. + Miss Wilson had been several times in Montreal, and had several + acquaintances there, among them a Miss Wood, whose father had a position + in the Telegraph Office. To Miss Wood’s, therefore, she repaired, and, + being welcomed with the usual number of kisses, she requested the young + lady to persuade her father to procure a situation as telegraph operator + or something of the kind, as she was determined to earn her own living. + This the young lady promised to do and succeeded so well that Miss Wilson + was soon installed in a tolerably good position, earning enough money to + maintain and clothe herself respectably. + </p> + <p> + Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of + her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home + arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to + indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, + and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her beauty + and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means of dressing + herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she could make, + were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. + </p> + <p> + This passion for dress and jewellery soon became deep-seated; were she + only well dressed, what could she not achieve. She had, in her anxious + endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even of + necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, and + these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over this + circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced to + meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine dress + and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and modest + beauty of the poor telegraph girl. Miss Smith inquired casually if Cissie + were going to the Oddfellows’ ball, an affair which was then on the <i>tapis</i>, + and when the latter answered in the negative, explaining that her small + salary would not allow her to purchase the necessary finery, Miss Smith + laughed and called her a silly little goose. Taking her by the arm, Anna + then let her into a secret, and explained how she obtained all she + required, and indeed could, out of the abundance of her stores, fit out + Miss Cissie, whom she chose to consider her protégée. She urged Cissie not + to miss the ball on any account, and reminded her that she had already + obtained a decided advantage over Miss Williams, Miss Hunt and Miss Jones, + and that with such an outfit as she would lend her the victory would be + complete. + </p> + <p> + Cissie was for a moment shocked. She had been several times offered + presents by gentlemen of her acquaintance, but had always resolutely + declined to take them, having an instinctive feeling which warned her + against their acceptance. She could not bear now to wear the dresses + proffered by Miss Smith, and momentarily made up her mind not to go to the + ball at all. Then again her heart failed her as her companion glibly ran + over the names of those who were to attend, and Cissie thought how she + would like to enter the room on Horace Gibson’s arm in the presence of + Miss Williams and the rest. Horace Gibson was a clerk in the Bank of + Montreal who had invited Miss Wilson to the ball, and was to receive her + answer that evening. As luck would have it, that young gentleman + approached just as the girls were rounding the corner of the street, and, + raising his hat in salute, inquired if he was to have the pleasure of + taking Miss Wilson to the ball. Cissie hung her head, and was just about + to offer some excuse, when Miss Smith answered for her: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, <i>of course</i> she’ll go, and be the best dressed and best + looking lady in the room too.” + </p> + <p> + “If you have taken her up, I am sure she will be at least the <i>second</i> + best as regards get up,” responded Mr. Gibson, conveying an indirect + compliment to Miss Smith herself, who was celebrated for the elegance of + her attire. Cissie could not utter a word. After all, she thought, there + can be no harm in borrowing a dress from a young lady! It was not for her + to inquire how that lady was able to purchase so many dresses; and then, + as she looked at the handsome young man before her, and thought how her + rivals would bite their lips with envy to see her in her elegant out-fit, + the blood rushed into her temples, and with an impetuous bound she burst + away from both her companions and entered the house, saying to Mr. Gibson: + “Yes, I’ll go; call for me at nine to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + Till late night Cissie sat in her rocking-chair, her hands pressed over + her throbbing temples; at length wearied nature came to her relief, and + compelled her to retire to bed. Being fatigued, she soon fell fast asleep, + and on the morrow when she awoke, although she remembered clearly all that + had passed on the previous evening, she had not the same sensitive + feelings, or the same sharp prickings of conscience, and, as she walked + towards the office, she began to anticipate the ball with the greatest + pleasure. + </p> + <p> + As Miss Smith had said, Cissie, beautiful before, was ten times as + beautiful now that she was adorned with all that art could do in the + matters of dress and jewellery. Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth + with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o’clock, disgusted with <i>that + thing</i> from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly sought + for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. Miss Smith + was as proud of Cissie’s success as if it had been her own. With all her + faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as she did fancied + she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in opening to her the + highway to fame and fortune, even though it were reached by the gate of + dishonor. + </p> + <p> + It is needless to give in detail the particulars of Cissie Wilson’s + career; suffice it to say, that the brilliant triumph at the Oddfellows’ + ball was too much for her weak nature. She plunged headlong into the + vortex of worldly pleasure and excitement, and, having little time or + inclination for reflection, became in time quite habituated to this + peculiar mode of life, always maintaining outwardly, however, a moral and + respected appearance. + </p> + <p> + All this time, the reader may well ask, what had become of Lillie, the + younger sister? She had been remarkably successful in her country home, + having at her feet the hands and hearts of all the most eligible young men + for miles round. This at one time would have gratified her utmost + ambition; but her sister’s letters from Montreal made her dreadfully + anxious to join her in her whirl of exciting pleasures, and, with the + understanding that her sister would obtain her employment in Montreal, + Lillie, at the age of eighteen, came to the city. + </p> + <p> + She was not long in her new home till her sister unbosomed to her many + things of which she had previously been in ignorance, and promised to + introduce her to the <i>créme de la créme</i> of her worldly companions, + urging her to endeavor to acquire these graces and accomplishments which + she had failed to learn in her country home. Lillie soon became more + popular even than her sister; for, although she was not so well educated, + she was naturally clever and witty, and there was a vivacity and freshness + about her conversation, which, added to her beautiful face and perfect + figure, made her a charming and desirable companion. + </p> + <p> + One day Mr. D’Alton, one of the gentlemen who had rescued the two girls + from the fire, was walking along Notre Dame street, when he observed a + beautiful girl, rather showily dressed, promenading just in front of him. + Something in the girl’s manner attracted his attention, and, as he passed + her, he turned round, and carefully scanned her face. As he did so the + girl looked up and their eyes met; he, raising his hat, blurted out an + apology, saying he had mistaken her for another lady of his acquaintance + named Brown. “Oh,” said she, laughing, “my name is Lillie Wilson.” + </p> + <p> + On hearing this name D’Alton started, and, having questioned her closely + concerning her antecedents, asked her if she remembered the fire, and the + two gentlemen who rescued herself and her sister; and, although she had + altogether forgotten his appearance, she remembered the circumstance + perfectly. They walked together for a little while, and then he asked her + permission to visit her at her address, and was astonished to find that + she objected, for some strange reason, to do so. At length, bursting into + tears, she confided to him her whole history, informing him that she had + been seduced and betrayed, and was at that moment <i>enceinte</i>. This + disclosure, as may well be supposed, staggered D’Alton not a little, but + at the same time he became more and more interested in the girl, and + offered, if she would promise to give up her corrupt mode of life that he + would do his best to see her through her present difficulty. Calling on + me, he consulted with me as to what was best to be done under the + circumstances, explaining that, although he was willing to do all in his + power for the girl for the sake of old associations, yet that he did not + wish to peril his own reputation. I promised to do what I could for the + girl, and calling on her was informed that her paramour was an officer in + the Rifle Brigade, who had returned to England, leaving her to bear the + burden of their crime. Having procured suitable lodgings, I saw the girl + comfortably housed, and in due time she gave birth to a fine little boy, + which, as usual in these cases, was sent to the nunnery to be taken care + of by the good Sisters of Charity. + </p> + <p> + Mr. D’Alton did not come to visit Miss Wilson during her convalescence + but, after she was completely recovered he called frequently, taking her + to theatres and concerts, and sometimes in the winter to sleigh-rides. + What his intentions at first may have been I do not know; I certainly + think that but for his friends he would openly have married her; be that + as it may, in a short time it became apparent that they had both + overstepped the bounds of ordinary friendly intercourse, and that Mrs. + Rushton (as she now called herself) would soon require my services a + second time. This time she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and, before + many years were past, there followed another girl and boy. These children + were not, as in the former case, sent to the nunnery, but were retained + and brought up by their mother, she being smart enough to perceive that by + doing so she would maintain a hold on their father, and secure for + herself, if not a respectable, at least a comfortable position, Mr. + D’Alton having been successful in business, and being at that time one of + the leading brokers in Montreal. + </p> + <p> + For a time things went on this way, D’Alton visiting his mistress + frequently, and becoming passionately fond of the children, whom Mrs. + Rushton artfully used to influence him on all occasions. To do her + justice, it must be said that she never, either in thought or action, was + untrue to D’Alton, and that, whatever her past career might have been, she + lived at this time a quiet life, indeed, caring only for her husband (as + she called him) and her children. By the time the little boy was two years + old, both mother and children had so ingratiated themselves in Mr. + D’Alton’s affections, that he determined, come what might, to marry his + mistress, and so make their future offspring at least legitimate. + </p> + <p> + He was weary of his irregular mode of life, and, being comparatively + wealthy, longed for some place which he could call his home. His wife + could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an <i>entrée</i> to + that realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better + than that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom + he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, + exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his cellar + maintained its reputation. Accordingly, he one day astonished and + delighted Mrs. Rushton with the proposal that he should marry her; and + that they should live together openly. As may be supposed, the lady + unhesitatingly accepted the proposal, and accordingly they were married, + formally and legally in St. George’s Church, which, at that time was + situated in St. Joseph street, on the site now occupied by Messrs. Ligget + & Hamilton’s large dry goods store. Mr. D’Alton took a house in a new + portion of the city, and as they lived very quietly, receiving no calls, + except from business friends of Mr. D’Alton, the neighbors did not trouble + themselves much about them, or inquire concerning their antecedents. + </p> + <p> + Although her husband did not trouble himself whether his wife was or was + not received into society, Mrs. D’Alton felt it very keenly. She had not, + like him, drank the cup of life’s pleasures till it tasted insipid or even + nauseous; on the contrary, she looked on the pomps and vanities of society + as only a woman can look on them, and now that she was legally + respectable, and rich enough to keep pace with even the most fashionable + of her neighbors, it made her very heart ache to think that these scenes + of brightness were closed to her as much as ever. She thought of what she + might have been had she not in her ambitious haste gone off the right + track; and, pained with bitter reflections, and with no one to speak to or + converse with (for her husband spent most of his time at the club) she + solaced herself, as others in her predicament have done, with the cup of + forgetfulness, sinking deeper and deeper at every step, till the habit + became confirmed. + </p> + <p> + Although Mrs. D’Alton had taken her husband into her confidence, and told + him truthfully her history, she had not sufficient strength of mind to + tell him how ignorant she really was, and that she could not even read and + write with accuracy. Her letters to her husband had been written by her + nursery-governess, engaged ostensibly to instruct the children; but in + reality to act as amanuensis for the lady of the house. The young lady + thus engaged was at first rather averse to signing her mistress’ name to + her letters without adding her own initials, but the present of a handsome + broach and earrings soon quieted her sensitive conscience and she soon + fell into the plan, not being unwilling to make use of such a powerful + lever for obtaining largesses from Mrs. D’Alton. In time this young lady + became so overbearing that her mistress fully made up her mind to + discharge her, but a summer trip to Portland being then on the tapis, she + allowed her to have her own way, as Mr. D’Alton remained in Montreal, and + would naturally expect letters from his wife during her absence. She would + have dismissed the governess and engaged another, trusting to her own + pleadings and the powerful appeals of her purse to win her over, but the + handwriting would not be the same, and she would not for worlds have + allowed her husband to think she had deceived him. + </p> + <p> + The day came for their departure for Orchard Beach, where Mr. D’Alton had + taken a cottage for their use. The children were in great glee as they + anticipated surf bathing and digging in the sand, but Mrs. D’Alton was + moody and down-hearted, the exhilarating effects of a large potion of + brandy having worn off and a reaction set in; her husband, however, + attributed it to sorrow at her separation from him, and was rather + gratified to think she was so deeply affected. + </p> + <p> + They arrived at her destination in due course, and were comfortably + ensconced in the cosy little cottage. Miss Watson, the governess, dressed + herself up, and with the children departed for the promenade, and Mrs. + D’Alton was left to her own reflections. The thought of her past career, + of the opportunities gone for ever, and lastly of the predicament she was + now in, shunned by all respectable people, and despised by her own paid + servant, who felt her power, and was disposed to wield it unmercifully. + The brandy-bottle, her never-failing companion, was by her side, and as + she mused mopingly over her sins, she took from time to time copious + draughts of the potent spirits, regardless of its power to do otherwise + than to rob her of these racking memories of the past. In about two hours + the promenaders returned and found her lying back speechless in her chair, + the bottle and glass by her side; her eyes rolled wildly as she gazed + vacantly on her children, but she was unable to utter a word. + </p> + <p> + Miss Watson became alarmed and summoned a doctor immediately, who, on + entering the room, perceived at once the cause of Mrs. D’Alton’s malady, + and ordered her to be conveyed to bed. In the morning she was a little + better, being able to speak; but she was still very much shaken, and raved + incoherently. Mr. D’Alton was telegraphed for, and came immediately; but, + being merely informed that his wife had had a fit, he imagined her to be + afflicted with hysteria; indeed, although he knew she was fond of a glass + of wine, and often joined him in partaking of brandy and water, he had no + idea that she imbibed to such an extent. + </p> + <p> + In a few days Mrs. D’Alton was able to go out again, and, as during her + husband’s stay at Orchard Beach she was particularly abstemious, she was + able to associate with the ladies in the hotel, and made several + acquaintances, who, seeing that she had the dress and manners of a lady, + interchanged calls with her and invited her to visit them in Montreal. On + her return to her home, however, these ladies received her but coldly, and + when she gave a large party, inviting all those whom she had met at the + seaside, “they all, with one accord, began to make excuse,” and at + entertainment there was present, besides herself and the family, only a + sister of the governess, and one or two bachelor friends of Mr. D’Alton. + Dancing was of course out of the question, so they organized two whist + parties, and, with a little music, managed to drag along till supper, + which was served in Joyce’s best style, and looked unnecessarily elaborate + for the small number who were to partake of it. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. D’Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she + met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not have + taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did not + calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not be + tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander had + been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really was, so + that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with her, <i>dared</i> + not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold on the ladder + of social position. In moody silence she presided throughout the entire + evening; she was enraged at herself and at the poor enslaved creatures + who, though anxious to go and enjoy themselves yet dared not infringe the + rules laid down by society; and, as she drank glass after glass of her + husband’s famous Moselle, she became more and more despondent. + </p> + <p> + About midnight Amy Watson, the sister of the nursery-governess, took her + departure, and Mr. D’Alton with his friends, went up to the billiard room + to enjoy themselves at their favorite game. It was near daylight ere they + grew tired of pocketing the ivory spheres, and left their host to close + the doors, and retire to his room. When he did so what a sight met his + gaze! There lay his wife in all the finery she had arrayed herself to + dazzle her fashionable acquaintances, <i>a speechless corpse</i>! a + brandy-bottle, nearly emptied, lay at her side, telling too plainly what + had been the cause of her untimely death. Her husband’s first impulse was + to ring the bell and send for a doctor, but, knowing the scandal that + would surely ensue, he quietly let himself out, and went for Dr. Hickson, + being determined not to give up hope till he had done all that could + possibly be done. The doctor on examining the body shook his head + ominously, confirming Mr. D’Alton in the belief that his wife was no more; + he considerately agreed to remain in the house, and not to inform the + servants for some time of the occurrence. The doctor’s presence, of + course, excited some alarm, and in a short time it was known that Mrs. + D’Alton was dangerously ill, the announcement of her death being reserved + for a time till all the traces of the recent festivities were removed, and + the house had resumed its normal condition. + </p> + <p> + When the children heard of their mother’s death they rent the air with + their cries of anguish; even Miss Watson shed real tears, her occupation, + like that of Othello, being gone. Poor Mr. D’Alton was almost beside + himself. He had never loved another woman; and, though he was not blind to + his wife’s failings and shortcomings, he nevertheless lamented the loss of + one, who, whatever her faults, was true to him and a good mother to his + children. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime what had become of Cissie Wilson, Mrs. D’Alton’s elder + sister? She had endeavored to persuade Mrs. D’Alton to engage her as + governess to her children, but the latter, once married, refused to hold + any communication with her whatever. Miss Wilson then despairing of + finding a road to reform in Montreal, took her departure for Toronto, + taking a position as governess in one of the leading families there. On + hearing of her sister’s death she wrote to Mr. D’Alton, offering to take + charge of the children till he had time to make permanent arrangements for + their education. To this letter she received no reply, which nettled her + so much that she determined on a plot for wounding the pride of her + haughty brother-in-law. “Who is he,” she would exclaim, “that he should + dare to snub me?” “If I <i>have</i> sinned, was <i>she</i> not equally + bad, and is he not guilty <i>himself</i>?” “Never mind, Mr. D’Alton, I + will have my revenge some day.” She racked her brain to think of some + means of repaying him for his severity to her, but could think of nothing + at the time, and so resolved to wait and watch her opportunity. + </p> + <p> + It was some years before Miss Wilson had that opportunity for which her + heart so yearned, but come it did, surely enough, and she dealt to Mr. + D’Alton a blow so bitter that he never got over its effects. + </p> + <p> + Lillian, Mr. D’Alton’s eldest daughter had, after her mother’s death, been + sent to a fashionable school in Mansfield street, presided over by the + wife of one of our leading brokers. Here she made many friends, and being + known only as the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a rich widower + doing business in Montreal, and well known on the Exchange, she was in + time introduced into society, and became at one bound the belle of the + season. + </p> + <p> + At that time several British regiments occupied the Quebec Gate barracks, + and the officers were eagerly sought after by the party-giving community, + no ball being complete without at least two or three officers in <i>full + uniform</i>. Among the latter was a certain Captain Trevelyan, the + heir-apparent of an English nobleman, who was, of course <i>the</i> + eligible young gentleman of the season. Most of the ladies openly courted + Captain Trevelyan and, figuratively speaking, laid themselves at his feet; + but Lillian D’Alton was too little versed in such matters to know the + triumph she had achieved in being sought after as a partner by the + much-admired Captain, and, when he asked her to dance although she + complied readily with his request, yet she carried herself with an air so + natural, and altogether so different from the time-worn belles he was so + accustomed to meet, that he engaged her for dance after dance, then for + supper, and, before the ball was concluded, he was deeply in love with + her, none the less because she was the only young lady in the room who did + not covet that distinction. + </p> + <p> + Although Lillian was but eighteen years of age, she could not but perceive + the marked attention paid to her by Captain Trevelyan, nor was she blind + to the glances of envious hatred darted at her from all quarters. Her + heart responded to the unspoken avowal of her partner, and ere they parted + that night they were one in heart and in thought, each living only for and + in the presence of the other. + </p> + <p> + Youthful love makes rapid progress. Ere many months had passed Lillian + D’Alton was the affianced bride of Captain Trevelyan, and their + approaching wedding was the one theme of conversation at balls, routes or + parties. + </p> + <p> + Here then was the opportunity longed for by Miss Wilson. She would inform + Captain Trevelyan and his friends concerning the D’Alton family, and warn + him to break off his engagement. With a refinement of cruelty peculiar to + women blinded with rage, she allowed the wedding day to be fixed before + she communicated with the bridegroom, and then sent him a complete history + of the family he was about to enter, informing him that the lady he was + about to marry was the illegitimate child of Mr. D’Alton, and that in + marrying her he would not only injure his own prospects, but alienate + himself completely from his family, bringing on them both shame and + discredit. + </p> + <p> + Captain Trevelyan read the letter with astonishment, but did not believe + one word it contained. His Lillian a bastard! why the thing was + preposterous. Her father was as well known on ‘Change as Rothschild was in + London. Her mother’s funeral had been attended by the wealth and fashion + of Montreal, and since that time Lillian had been the acknowledged belle + of the set commonly known as “the upper ten.” The letter being written in + rather extravagant terms, he imagined it to contain the incoherent ravings + of a maniac, and his first impulse was to toss it aside. On the arrival of + the English mail, however, he received letters from his friends, couched + in terms of the deepest anxiety, urging him to sever all connection with + the D’Alton family if he did not wish to alienate himself completely from + all his family and friends. These letters led him to think more seriously + concerning the communication from Toronto, and being determined, come what + might, to know the worst at once, he started immediately for Mr. D’Alton’s + residence, only to find that the gentleman in question had just that + moment departed for his office. + </p> + <p> + Lillian was at home, however, and she rushed downstairs impetuously to + meet her affianced husband. He received her as usual, but there was a + cloud on his brow as he followed her into her boudoir, where they + frequently spent hours together. He questioned her concerning her aunt and + her relations generally, but Lillian knew little more than that her aunt + resided in Toronto, and was generally considered to be what is called + “flighty.” + </p> + <p> + This somewhat reassured Trevelyan, and he dismissed the subject for a time + from his mind. He determined, however, to clear the matter up, and so in + the evening he called to see Mr. D’Alton, requesting a few words with him + in private. The two men entered the study, and Trevelyan led off by + saying:—“I have received a strange communication from your + sister-in-law, Miss Wilson; from what Lillian has told me, I am aware that + she is a person of weak intellect, and her stories are not worthy of + credence, but I thought it due to you, nevertheless, to bring the matter + to your notice.” + </p> + <p> + At the mention of Miss Wilson’s name D’Alton turned deadly pale. He was a + bold man, and capable of carrying out a deep scheme, had he felt so + disposed; but this intimacy of Trevelyan with his daughter was the result + of no scheme, and he had for some years lived, with the rest of his + family, a blameless life, rejoicing in the fact that his neighbors either + did not know, or had forgotten, or overlooked his past career, and were + prepared to receive his children with open arms into society. With bated + breath he ran his eyes hastily over the letter held out to him by + Trevelyan, and in an instant he saw the whole situation. If he could only + have had time to consider the matter, he would probably have taken the + right course, come what might; but he had little time for decision, as + Trevelyan stood before him, eagerly expecting a reply. Mr. D’Alton + pictured to himself the state of affairs did he acknowledge the truth of + the accusation, and though loath to deceive the young man (whom he already + loved almost as dearly as his own son), he dared not ruin his daughter’s + prospects by an avowal. Pretending to read the letter once more he gained + a little time, and then, with consummate diplomacy, endeavored to find out + what Trevelyan thought. Looking up coolly, he said— + </p> + <p> + “And do you believe all this, Trevelyan?” + </p> + <p> + Of course, Trevelyan <i>did not</i> believe it, and was profuse in his + apologies, for having permitted himself to doubt for a moment that the + writer was bereft of reason. This confirmed Mr. D’Alton in his course and + he at once denounced his sister-in-law in no measured terms, vowing to + punish her for her irresponsible utterances. The news that Miss Wilson had + written to Captain Trevelyan’s friends in England made D’Alton furious, + and he swore a fearful oath that he would place her where her ravings + would harm no one but herself. All night long he thought over schemes for + getting rid of her, and at length he concocted a plan which he speedily + put into execution. + </p> + <p> + As was said before, Mrs. D’Alton and her sister were orphans and they both + left their adopted parents early in life, having lived under assumed names + for years, and severed all connection with their former associates. During + Mrs. D’Alton’s lifetime her sister was forbidden to approach the house, + and on the death of the former Miss Wilson was not recognized by her + brother-in-law. The children had never seen or known their aunt, and the + people with whom she had last resided in Montreal (in the capacity of + nursery-governess) had known her as Miss Rogers, and had lately lost all + trace of her whereabouts. + </p> + <p> + Taking the early train for Toronto, Mr. D’Alton took counsel of an astute + lawyer, and learned that, as events had been shapen, Miss Wilson would + have now great difficulty in proving her connection with the D’Alton + family, did he choose to deny it, and that the fact of her having written + such letters as those received by Trevelyan and his family would be fair + presumptive evidence that the woman was insane. + </p> + <p> + Carefully considering his position, D’Alton determined on his course of + proceeding. He was averse to a public prosecution, as many things, now + unknown or forgotten, might be brought to light, and yet he felt that the + woman must be effectually silenced by some means or other. Going to her + residence he boldly demanded an interview with her, and, producing the + letter to Trevelyan, asked if she had written it. Miss Wilson laughed as + she saw the effect of her shot, and exultantly exclaimed:—“Of course + I wrote it; who else <i>could</i> have done it?” + </p> + <p> + “And are you aware that you are liable to be prosecuted for libel?” + pursued D’Alton. + </p> + <p> + “It is no libel,” retorted she, fiercely; “you know it is true, or you + would not be here now.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! <i>can you prove it, then</i>?” + </p> + <p> + “I have no need to prove it to you. Your very facial expression + acknowledges it to be true.” + </p> + <p> + “Will that satisfy the jury?” + </p> + <p> + “What jury?” + </p> + <p> + “The jury who are to try you for a malicious libel!” + </p> + <p> + At this Cissie started, but recovering herself exclaimed: “<i>You</i> dare + not sue me for libel. Your history would not stand repetition in court.” + </p> + <p> + “Who knows my history?” + </p> + <p> + “I do!” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! WHO ARE YOU?” + </p> + <p> + The fierceness with which he said this made his sister-in-law quail. She + perceived that he was terribly in earnest as he repeated his question in a + tone very unusual with him, and she meekly replied: + </p> + <p> + “You know well enough who I am, your late wife’s sister.” + </p> + <p> + “My wife <i>had no sister</i>!” + </p> + <p> + The look he gave as he said this fairly frightened her. She had seen a + good deal of life, and had in her time met with all kinds of men and + women, but never till now did she fear either. She began to see that she + had roused a desperate man, and that, legally, she had no hold on him, + neither status in society; moreover that she had got entangled in the + meshes of her own net, and that only the dread of exposure would prevent + D’Alton from prosecuting her for libel. Not knowing what to do, she + remained mute, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. At length Mr. D’Alton + broke the silence: “You have evidently had an object,” he said, “in + circulating these reports. If your object be to extort money out of me, + you will find it more to your interest to remain silent.” With these words + he drew from his pocket a roll of bank bills, and laid them on the table + near his companion; but she, growing livid with rage, refused to touch + them, promising to expose him and his family before all the world. + </p> + <p> + D’Alton had not calculated on this, and was for a time taken a little + aback. His last card, however, was not yet played; and, summoning all his + energies together, he braced himself for the enactment of that, which + under other circumstances, he would have suffered much rather than become + in any sense a party thereto. Addressing the lady once more he said:—“What, + then, was your object in writing these letters?” + </p> + <p> + “My object was <i>to disclose the truth</i>,” she cried, vehemently, “to + denounce you as a blackhearted villain, and to save an unsuspecting youth + from becoming the victim of your deep-laid schemes.” + </p> + <p> + D’Alton bit his lip with passion, but restrained himself. “And you do all + this solely from conscientious motives,” he said with a sneer. + </p> + <p> + “My conscience, like your own, Mr. D’Alton, is pretty well hardened. No; I + have no conscientious motives to impel me to show your true character to + the world; but revenge is sweet, and I have not forgotten the scorn and + contempt with which both you and your fashionable wife treated me while I + was in Montreal. <i>I</i> was not good enough to touch the hem of your + garments, but <i>she</i> was dressed up and paraded in the drawing-rooms + of those who did not know better than to admit her, and now her b—— + daughter is to wed a scion of a noble house, while <i>I</i> am not even + recognized. No, Robert D’Alton, you will not become respectable and leave + <i>me</i> out in the cold, insulting and spurning me at every turn with + your petty offers of money. I have sworn to have my revenge, and by + —— now that the opportunity offers, I <i>will have it</i>, + too!” + </p> + <p> + She had worked herself up to state of uncontrollable fury. Her eyes rolled + wildly, and she looked like one demented. This gave the devil his + opportunity, for D’Alton, who had been halting between two opinions, came + to a hasty conclusion, and bringing the interview to a close, hurriedly + left the house, his teeth firmly set, and a horrid glare in his eyes. He + walked rapidly down Yonge street and along the east end of King street, + then, hailing a cab, he directed the driver to travel towards the west + end, coming to a halt opposite the Lunatic Asylum. Entering he enquired + for Dr. Tuffnell, and was informed that he would likely find that + gentleman at his residence on Jarvis street. On repairing thither he found + the doctor at home, and, requesting a few minutes’ private conversation, + was soon closeted in the consultation room. “I have long intended to see + you,” Mr. D’Alton began, “about a young lady who lived in our family some + years ago in the capacity of nursery-governess. She was always of a + somewhat flighty disposition, which we used to humour as best we could, + and when she left us (at my wife’s death) for Toronto, we fancied she had + quite recovered, but it seems she has been gradually growing worse, and + she now continually torments our friends and us with letters full of + ridiculous flights of fancy, which, though meaningless to those who + understand how she has been afflicted, might possibly cause serious + trouble.” + </p> + <p> + “Has the young lady, then, no friends or relatives?” + </p> + <p> + “None, whatever. She was taken out of an orphan asylum by an aged + clergyman, now deceased, who adopted her, and since his death she has + supported herself by teaching. We consulted our physician about her some + time ago, when she imagined herself to be my wife, and ordered her + mistress down to the kitchen. He thought it would be advisable for her to + take another situation away from us till her health improved, as she was + continually fancying herself trampled upon by some member of the family; + we accordingly procured for her a situation in a friend’s house in + Montreal, but they in turn became frightened of her, and dismissed her, + which dismissal, strange to say, she attributed <i>to me</i>. She now + imagines herself to be my wife’s sister, and demands an entrance into my + house, denouncing me in the vilest terms, and writing scandalous letters + to all my acquaintances.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure she is insane?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I have long tried to persuade myself that she is not, but latterly + she has grown so violent that I am afraid that what I said years ago to my + late wife in fun about her being demented was only painfully true. If you + would kindly visit her and give me your opinion concerning her case, you + would oblige me very much.” + </p> + <p> + “What does her present mistress say about her?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh she has only been there a short time and has not yet given an + exhibition of her oratorical powers. Still the lady who is a clergyman’s + widow, told me that she walks about her room in the middle of the night, + talking wildly to herself.” + </p> + <p> + Dr. Tuffnell had not time to visit Miss Wilson that morning, but he made + an appointment with Mr. D’Alton for the following day, and together they + went to the unfortunate girl’s residence. Arrived at the house they rang + the bell, and inquired for Mrs. Brookes, the mistress. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Brookes was a middle-aged lady of a retiring disposition. Her husband + had died at an early age, leaving her to take care of three young + children. Her temporal wants however, were provided for, her husband + having been possessed of a handsome income independently of his small + salary. Dr. Tuffnell made inquiries concerning Miss Wilson’s habits, and + was informed that her actions were at times very peculiar, that she had + not gone to bed all the past night, but had stamped up and down her room, + talking as if to a second party. Mrs. Brookes was shocked to hear that she + had unwittingly engaged a mad woman to take charge of her children, and + suddenly recollected several extraordinary episodes which, until that + time, had never struck her forcibly. + </p> + <p> + It was arranged that the Doctor should see Miss Wilson and satisfy himself + concerning her affliction before any further steps were taken. Accordingly + Mrs. Brookes rang the bell and told the servant to summon the governess. + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilson had not slept all night, and her eyes had a wild expression, + which heightened when she beheld Mr. D’Alton. The doctor, having + previously taken all that was told him for granted, made up his mind at + once that she was insane, and never reflected for a moment on the + possibility of some scheme being on foot to injure her. On entering the + room she laughed wildly and said—“So you have come back with your + bag of gold. I tell you it’s <i>trash</i>, sordid trash, not half so sweet + as REVENGE!” + </p> + <p> + Now as the doctor had heard nothing from either D’Alton or Mrs. Brookes + which he could in any way connect with this wild utterance; moreover, as + the young lady looked like a tigress, and walked fiercely up and down the + room, he became more than ever convinced that he had got a bad case in + hand and acted accordingly. Looking at D’Alton he shook his head, which + Mrs. Brookes perceiving, she shook her head in turn, and, taking out her + handkerchief, wept copiously. Dr. Tuffnell tried to soothe the patient + with gentle words, but she (mistaking him for a pettifogging lawyer, whom + D’Alton had engaged to bind her over to keep the peace) cried out: + </p> + <p> + “Ah, yes! you want to quiet me, but <i>you can’t</i> quiet me. I am like + the surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with + more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft + and gilded promises. No, Robert D’Alton, you have started the mighty + avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress.” + </p> + <p> + The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to + quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all + persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies + altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and oaths + and furious gesticulations. At length the doctor suggested, in a whisper, + the propriety of their departure, when they might consider what was best + to be done, but, on Mrs. Brookes protesting that she was afraid to stay + alone in the house with the maniac, Dr. Tuffnell dispatched a note to the + asylum, and in a short time two keepers arrived, and proceeded to take + Miss Wilson into their care till she should become possessed of a sound + mind. + </p> + <p> + There is no time at which a sane person looks so much like a maniac as + when trying to convince people of his sanity. The real lunatic will + cunningly hide his affliction from the most watchful, and is frequently + able to deceive those unaccustomed to deal with persons of unsound mind, + but the victim of persecution becomes wild with honest indignation, and + generally manages to convince even those who might be inclined to believe + him to be sane. + </p> + <p> + When the truth of her position began to dawn on Miss Wilson, she became + more frantic than ever. She raved at D’Alton and the doctor, tore with her + hands at the keepers, and abused Mrs. Brookes for standing tamely by to + see one of her own sex so ill-used. She roared so that two policemen came + rushing up to the steps to inquire what was the matter, but, seeing Dr. + Tuffnell, with whom they were well acquainted, they saluted him + respectfully and withdrew. + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilson was accordingly driven to the asylum and incarcerated till she + should come to her senses, and Mr. D’Alton, having made arrangements for + her safe-keeping returned to Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after her father’s return Lillian D’Alton was married to Captain + Trevelyan in Christ Church Cathedral. The wealth, beauty and fashion of + Montreal attended the wedding, and the costliest presents were displayed + on her father’s sideboard. The young couple departed for England + immediately, Trevelyan’s regiment having been ordered home, and the bride + was received into the first London circles. + </p> + <p> + Mr. D’Alton remained in Montreal where he still lives and moves in the + best society. What his private feelings are I cannot tell, but outwardly + all is serene, the only one besides myself who knows his family history + having long since passed away in solitary confinement. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. — A Tale of Two Cities + </h2> + <p> + Among the many friends we made during our stay in Montreal, none were so + thoroughly beloved by myself and family as the Sinclairs. Mr. Sinclair was + an English artist who had settled in Canada some time previous to our + arrival, and, being generally well informed, as well as a shining light in + his own profession, he was made much of by the English residents here, and + had as pupils many of the wives and daughters of the officers of the + garrison, besides some of the more cultivated Canadians. Mrs. Sinclair was + a refined English lady of good family, and had several children, mostly + girls, who were greatly admired not only for their beauty, but also for + their many and various accomplishments. The Sinclair girls were frequently + at our house, being, in fact, looked upon as members of our family, and no + social gathering of ours was considered complete without them. + </p> + <p> + In time Mr. Sinclair became tired of Montreal. Many of his patrons left + with their regiments for England, and he became weary of the dull routine + and scanty income which he saw was all he could ever look forward to in + Canada, so, breaking up his household, he departed for the United States, + and, having lived for a time in various cities, finally settled in Boston, + where he became quite successful, and soon obtained an enviable reputation + as a portrait painter. + </p> + <p> + Lulu Sinclair, the eldest of the girls, was a sprightly blonde of about + sixteen when her father left Montreal, and the family had not been long in + Boston before she became engaged as a teacher at one of the + conservatories, and a mutual attachment sprang up between the pair. Miss + Sinclair had already made her <i>début</i> in Boston Music Hall as a + vocalist, and the pair were frequently engaged at the same concerts and + entertainments, so that the natural sequence was that they in time became + engaged, and afterwards—<i>married</i>! + </p> + <p> + “Nothing very mysterious in that,” I think I hear my fair reader say, a + little disappointed that I have not prepared a spicy bit of scandal for + her delectation; but as Balaam the Prophet could only speak as he was + impelled by the spirit, so likewise must I confine myself to <i>the + realities</i> of the case, and I therefore make no apology for this + commonplace bit of history, but proceed with my story. + </p> + <p> + One evening Lulu made her appearance at our house, in Montreal, + accompanied by Mr. Hill, her husband. It seems that they were on a concert + tour, and were to give two concerts in Saint Patrick’s Hall, which at that + time stood on the corner of Craig street and Victoria square, and, as we + had often invited them to do so, they promised to avail themselves of our + hospitality during their stay, as their engagement terminated with these + concerts and they were anxious to take a little rest before returning to + Boston. + </p> + <p> + The children were delighted to have Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the house with + them; they had never met a <i>real live prima donna</i> in private life + before, and they flaunted “Professor Hill” and “Mademoiselle Lulu + Sinclair” in the faces of their juvenile acquaintances, as if they had + been entertaining the Emperor of all the Russias and Her Imperial Majesty + the Empress. + </p> + <p> + Since the Sinclairs had left Montreal, the principal playmates of our + children had been the Bennetts, who lived in the adjoining street. Mr. + Bennett was a French-Canadian, with (as usual) a large family, and was in + comfortable circumstances, having a large retail grocery on Notre Dame + street. One evening, shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hill and his wife, + the former drew me aside and asked me if I knew a family in Montreal named + Bennett. I told him that I knew them intimately, that they lived close at + hand, and taking him to the window (it was late in the spring) I showed + him the children walking opposite hand in hand with our own. He then + intimated that he had something to tell me, and, taking me aside into the + adjoining room, he told me something which astonished me as much as it + will doubtless astonish the reader of these pages. + </p> + <p> + It seems that Mr. Bennett’s father was an American, who, in early life, + being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named + Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first two + of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third did not + in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a liberal-minded + man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could not be forced, + like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that every one should be free + to hold what convictions his reason dictated, untrammelled by + conventionality or creed of any kind. Miss Beauchamp professed to be of a + like mind, and agreed to allow him to educate the boys (if any), while she + would look after the female issue of their marriage. With this ridiculous + understanding they got married, and for a time things went pleasantly + along, Mrs. Bennett attending L’Eglise St. Jacques regularly, not only + without opposition from her husband but sometimes even accompanied by him. + He did not believe in the efficacy of the service to save his soul, but he + had sufficient common sense to know that it could not harm him, or turn + him one whit aside from what his reason dictated; and neither did it, for + at the end of two years he was as greatly opposed to what he considered + the errors of the Church of Rome as ever he was, and though he attended + L’Eglise St. Jacques almost as regularly as St. George’s Church, of which + he was a member, he went there simply because he liked the society of his + wife, and she believed it to be necessary for her salvation. + </p> + <p> + In the course of time Mrs. Bennett gave birth to a boy, then two girls, + and afterwards another boy, all of whom, as children will, made enquiries + concerning whence they were and whither they were going, etc. Mr. Bennett + now began to see the folly he had been guilty of in making the agreement + mentioned above. If the Catholic religion were the true and only faith, + all his sons were on the high road to perdition; if, as he was inclined to + think, the Protestant religion were nearer the mark, then what was to + become of the girls? What a pleasant prospect was there before him! His + family torn and divided by the most bitter of all dissentions, religious + disputes (or rather <i>irreligious</i> disputes about matters of + doctrine), and his life and those of all his family rendered miserable. + This was certainly bad enough in its way, but something more annoying was + in store for him. He one day discovered that not only were the girls + baptized in the Romish faith, but that the <i>boys also</i> were + surreptitiously baptized by the parish priest, so that he alone of all the + family remained a Protestant, and a poor one at that. Every day things got + more and more complicated, and his wife at last openly avowed that <i>all</i> + the children were to be Roman Catholics, and advised him also to flee from + the wrath to come and take refuge in the arms of the true church. + </p> + <p> + Bennett was not exactly a bigot, but, if not a Protestant, he was + certainly not going to become a Roman Catholic. Cursing himself bitterly + for his folly, he sought to make matters better; but that, so far as + changing the religion or creed of his family went, was altogether beyond + his power. He had his choice between living an alien and a heretic, + despised by his own family; and joining a church whose teachings he + considered puerile and inefficacious, and the atmosphere of which was now + exceedingly disagreeable to him. His wife showed herself so much more + devoted to the church than to her husband, that his love for her soon + faded away, and he made a fearful resolve to leave Montreal, and never see + his wife or children more. Accordingly one evening, instead of returning + as usual from his store, he left for parts unknown, leaving his wife and + children almost penniless behind. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bennett, though acting as she did, loved her husband dearly. It was + this very love for him which made her so anxious for him to leave what she + considered the false religion of the Church of England for the pure and + unadulterated system of the Church of Rome. She cried after him as if her + heart would break, and sent after him in all directions. All her efforts, + however, were in vain, no trace of her husband being found. The children + were left at school till they were in time old enough to be apprenticed to + a trade or business, Mrs. Bennett struggling bravely, as only a woman can + do, to keep their heads above water. When William, the eldest boy, was + about fourteen, he was placed in the well-known house of Messrs. Mockridge + & Co., dry goods merchants, and in course of time became thoroughly + conversant with the business. He had not only been able to help his mother + to maintain the family, but had put by sufficient to start a small + business for himself. Before deciding on the latter, however, he + determined to visit Boston, to get a few ideas connected with the + business, and, while there, came across his father, who had married again + under the name of Hill, his wife being a young American of good family, + and the mother of the gentleman from whom I learnt this story. + </p> + <p> + William Bennett reproached his father with his misconduct, and insisted on + his leaving his American wife. Bennett the elder was very much averse to + doing so, but his son would leave him no alternative, threatening him with + exposure and criminal action should he decline. The old man tried to + temporize, and persuaded William to visit and dine with his family, + introducing him as a business friend from Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Whatever Anti-Spiritualists may say to the contrary, there are undoubtedly + influences other than material which affect us at times, and give us + mysterious intimations of events happening or about to happen. Both Mrs. + Hill and her children had a presentiment of some impending calamity, and, + although they had not the faintest suspicion of the real state of affairs, + they did not look on William Bennett as they would have done on any other + person casually introduced into their household. A damper seemed to have + been placed on all their spirits, and the flow of conversation was + sluggish and dull. + </p> + <p> + After dinner they endeavored to organize an impromptu card-party, but + that, also, was a failure; and, although, as a rule, they had a little + music after dinner, on this particular evening each one seemed indisposed + to break the monotony. + </p> + <p> + About ten o’clock William left for his hotel, having first made an + appointment with his father for the following morning. When they met + William returned to the subject of their previous discourse, and insisted + on his father returning with him to Montreal. The old man vowed that, come + what might, he would never go back to his “priest-ridden family” as he + chose to designate his wife and children. The battle waxed fast and + furious, till at last William exclaimed with an oath: “By —— + you shall leave your Yankee mistress, then; <i>she</i> shall suffer what + <i>my mother</i> suffered;” and with oaths and threatenings he hounded his + father out of Boston, determined that Mrs. Hill should not (innocent + though she was) enjoy the happy home which was denied to his mother. + </p> + <p> + When Mrs. Hill learned the truth (which she did from a letter sent her + from Montreal) she nearly lost her reason. Her case was even worse than + that of Bennett’s first wife; because, whereas the latter could at least + seek her husband, and live in the hope of one day finding him again, the + former could not, even did she discover him, claim him as her own. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hill’s visit to Montreal, then, though ostensibly made for + professional pursuits was, in reality to find out something concerning his + father’s whereabouts, and other matters connected with his + quasi-relations. It was strange that he should have come to me for + information without being at all aware of our intimacy with the Bennett + family, indeed, while he was relating his story Amelia Bennett, his + brother’s eldest child, came running in for something or another, and I at + once saw a resemblance between the two, not only in personal appearance, + but also in manners and actions. + </p> + <p> + The next day Mr. Hill, leaving his wife to the care of our family (who had + undertaken to show her “the lions”) went forth on his expedition in search + of his father. He had obtained from me his brother’s business address, and + going to the office unannounced was immediately recognized by him, + although they had only met once before, and that a considerable time + previously. On explaining the object of his visit, Hall was very coldly + received and informed that Bennett the elder had left Montreal for New + York some years previously and had not since been heard of. Mr. Hill + pretended to believe the story, but secretly determined to keep a watch on + his half-brother as he felt certain that the latter was still in + communication with his father. He accordingly made arrangements to stay at + my house, and as the Bennetts were constantly coming and going he was sure + that in a short time he would learn more concerning him of whom he was in + search. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon we were seated round the parlor fire, discussing the usual + after-dinner topics, when Mrs. William Bennett dropped in to have a + friendly chat. She disclosed the fact that her husband was going to visit + a superannuated employee in the nunnery, which he usually did on the first + of each month, and that she did not see what reason her husband had to + support forever all his broken-down employees. At the first word, Hill + listened breathlessly, and when Mrs. Bennett said that she had just left + her husband dressing, he quickly, but quietly, left the room. In an + instant he was opposite Bennett’s house, and as soon as he noticed the + bedroom light extinguished (for it was already dark), he drew back into a + shadowed corner till he saw Bennett emerge from the doorway and walk + rapidly down the street. Hill followed at a safe distance, but soon he saw + his brother hail a passing sleigh, and, entering it, order the driver to + take him somewhere; the name of the street, however, he failed to hear, + and he felt chagrined to see the neighboring cab-stand completely + deserted. “Now or never,” he thought, “am I to attain the object of my + visit,” and he dashed madly along the street after the vehicle which was + travelling at the rate of ten miles an hour; several times he passed a + cab-stand and would fain have taken a fresh horse in pursuit, but he was + afraid that while doing so he might lose sight of the sleigh he had + followed so far; or confound it with another vehicle, for they were now + passing through the centre of the city towards the west end of St. Antoine + street. + </p> + <p> + Past terrace after terrace they flew, till Mr. Hill was nearly faint and + breathless, when a sudden turn to the right brought them to the foot of a + hill, now Guy street, up which the carter walked his horse, and gave the + half dead pedestrian time to recover his breath. When they had proceeded + about a quarter of a mile up the hill, the carter drew up at the Nunnery + on the left side of the road, and Mr. Bennett, alighting, rang the bell. A + sliding panel was immediately pushed aside, and a hooded sister held a few + moments conversation with the visitor, on which the door was opened, and + he was admitted. Hill, who had been standing in the shadow of the porch, + entered unnoticed at his brother’s heels, the janitor being under the + impression that they had come in the sleigh together. Walking along a dark + corridor they came to a stairway, down which their guide preceded them + into the basement; here Hill took a favorable opportunity to turn aside, + still keeping his eye on the others till they arrived at the end of the + passage and entered a large room where several old men were congregated, + some chatting in groups, others smoking or reading lazily. In one of + these, with emotions which cannot be described, Hill recognized his father + from whom he had so long been separated. His first impulse was to rush + boldly in and make himself known, but, the first transport over, his + American caution prevailed, and he slipped down another passage which + commanded a view of the staircase, and watched from his point of vantage + the many persons returning from visiting their friends. He felt relieved + when he saw Bennett take his departure, and with one bound he rushed into + the middle of the room where the old man was, and, throwing himself round + his father’s neck, wept like a child. The old man did not recognize him at + first, but when he did he went into hysterics, so great was the shock to + his nervous system. Never was there such a commotion in the quiet Nunnery, + and the inmates gathered round in excited groups to listen to Hill’s + story. He told them that his father had left Boston some years before, + and, becoming unable to support himself, had been placed by a heartless + elder brother in the cold confines of the Nunnery, although the younger + members of the family were both willing and anxious to support their aged + parent. There being no reason why the old man should not leave the + institution if so inclined, the Superior allowed him, after some + hesitation, to take his departure, first receiving the grateful thanks + both of himself and of his son for her kind and fostering care. Hill left + a letter for his brother, informing him that, his father being willing, he + had taken him away from the Nunnery, and that as they evidently did not + want to keep him with their families, he was about to take him to live + with <i>his</i>. + </p> + <p> + Bennett was furious when he received the letter, but, as Mrs. Hill was now + no more, and no threats or exposures of any kind could induce young Hill + and his father to separate, he allowed them to go their way in peace. + </p> + <p> + A few years after these occurrences Mr. Hill received an appointment in + Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Bennett and he sometimes meet in the street, but give no signs of + recognition. The old man is still living, seldom going beyond the portals + of his son’s house and passing most of his time in moody meditation on the + past. Let us hope that a heartfelt repentance may in some measure atone + for his past weaknesses. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. — A Blighted Life. + </h2> + <p> + Amongst the many orthodox business men of Montreal, none were more highly + esteemed than Mr. Rogers, Manager of the —— Bank. He was what + is generally considered a shrewd business man, methodical and precise in + all his relations, whether commercial, domestic or ecclesiastical. I say + ecclesiastical, because the worthy gentleman was one of the pillars of the + church, having held the office of Elder for several years. Mr. Rogers had + several children, most of whom he trained in the way in which they should + go, but Jack, his eldest son, was incorrigible, and resisted all attempts + to keep him under control. On Sunday mornings the family were usually + marshalled in the dining-room, and marched off to church, but Master Jack + frequently put in an excuse,—he had a bad cold, or a sprained ankle, + or some other ailment which precluded the possibility of his attending. No + sooner were the family outside the garden gate, however, than the poor boy + with the sprained ankle would perform a <i>pas seul</i> on the hearthrug, + or, in spite of a cold which prevented his going out of doors, would shout + “The old log cabin” with an excellent tone and remarkable vigor of lung; + then, returning to his room, he would take a French novel from its hiding + place under his pillow, and, lighting a fragrant Havana, would devote the + morning to “the improvement of his mind,” as he called it. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Rogers employed three servants besides a coachman: a cook, a + housemaid, and a tablemaid. The latter was a young and attractive-looking + girl from Glengarry, Ontario, named Ellen MacNee, who was about seventeen + years old, and had never before been in service. For this damsel Jack + Rogers conceived an attachment, and although at first the girl withstood + his attentions, ere long she gave way to his importunities, and for months + they lived on terms of the closest intimacy. Jack of course promised (as + all men do) to marry her, and to do him justice I must say that he fully + intended to do so, but his income as a bank clerk was only twenty dollars + a month, and he knew he had no hope of receiving any assistance from his + father. So things went on till Ellen felt she could keep her secret no + longer from those around her, and she told her mistress she was going home + to visit a sick aunt, and did not know whether she would return or not. + Mrs. Rogers was very sorry indeed to part with her (for she had + ingratiated herself with all the family, although not to the same extent), + and told her if she would undertake to return she would only fill her + place temporarily with another girl. With this understanding Ellen left + her place and entered the Female Home, where shortly afterwards her baby + (a girl) was born; she had the child baptized almost immediately, calling + it Beatrice, after her young mistress, to whom she had been much attached, + although it is doubtful if the young lady in question would, had she known + it have appreciated the honor conferred upon her. + </p> + <p> + Ellen was scarcely recovered from her illness when her brother, a country + farmer, who had by some means got wind of the state of affairs, came to + Montreal, and had his misgivings confirmed. When he learnt the truth he + was furious, and would, he vowed, shoot both her and her betrayer; but + fraternal affection was so strong within him that he gradually became more + calm, and exerted himself to make the best he could of a bad business. He + requested me to take the child and place it in a nunnery in spite of the + earnest protestations of its mother, and persuaded the latter to return to + her home in Glengarry, promising to hide her shame from her mother and + friends if she would bid farewell forever to the child and her betrayer. + He persistently refused even to look at the baby, but, rough and + uncultivated as he was, I could see a tear glisten in his eye as his manly + heart quivered with emotion. + </p> + <p> + Home the poor broken-hearted girl went, and the baby was left in my + keeping till the morrow, when, according to agreement, I was to hand it + over to the good sisters. It was destined to be otherwise, however. That + evening a gentleman called at my house; he was a bachelor, well to do in + the world, and hearing the story, which it was necessary to tell him, in + order to explain the child’s presence, he asked me with pardonable + curiosity to let him see the baby. When he took her in his arms she smiled + so sweetly upon him, and crowed so joyously, that his heart was touched, + and he could not bear to think that the poor helpless babe should be made + to suffer for the sins of its parents; he asked me to let <i>him</i> have + the child, promising that he would adopt her, and do for her as if she + were his own. + </p> + <p> + I suggested to him the scandal such a measure would give rise to, and + urged him not to place himself in such an unenviable position, but he + insisted that he was willing to let society have its fling, and that if I + would consent to the child’s adoption, he would take the responsibility + attached to it. + </p> + <p> + What was I to do? The man was well off, and had conceived a fancy for the + child. As for the world’s sneers, if he could afford to laugh at them why + should I refuse him the gratification of performing a noble action? I + handed the child over to his care, having first procured from him written + papers of adoption, and little Beatrice was installed in her new home. A + nurse was procured for her, and everything that money could procure was + provided for her comfort. The gossips sneered and wagged their heads as + they spoke of the “adopted” child, insinuating that there were stronger + ties than those of mere philanthropy to bind Mr. Richards and the child + together, but he, quite unconcerned, paid no attention to their hints and + innuendoes, and tried so far as lay in his power to make the child + comfortable and happy. When she attained the age of five years he procured + a governess for her, and had her instructed thoroughly in all that go to + make up a modern education as she grew older. + </p> + <p> + But a cloud soon appeared on the horizon of the child’s career. Mr. + Richards became ill, and was ordered by his medical adviser to a Southerly + climate. He was obliged to sell his estate and place little Beatrice in + Mrs. Thompson’s boarding school, where she continued for a few years till + the return of her adopted father. He came, it is true, but the seeds of a + fatal disease had been implanted in his system, and had taken a deadly + hold; in a few months he was no more, and as nearly all his money had been + eaten up in paying travelling and medical expenses, poor Beatrice was left + once more not only without a friend but without a penny in the world. Mr. + Richards had paid her school fees annually in advance, and as at the time + of his demise several months of the term paid for were unexpired, Beatrice + had a comfortable home secured for her at least during that period; for + the future she would either have to perform menial services at the school, + or go out in the cold world without a friend or protector. The former was + considered by the poor girl preferable to going she knew not where, and so + she accepted the offer of a situation as housemaid, kindly proffered to + her by Mrs. Thompson <i>out of pure charity</i> at two dollars per month + less than the previous occupant of the situation. + </p> + <p> + Poor Beatrice had a hard time of it as housemaid. Her former companions + took a fiendish delight in ordering her about till her life became + perfectly unbearable. She had but one friend to whom she could + unreservedly pour forth her troubles, her Sunday-School teacher, Miss + Flint. To this lady she gave an account of her history, so far as she was + able, and asked her for advice and assistance. Miss Flint, being both + sensible and charitably disposed, advised her to leave her present + position, having first procured a suitable one elsewhere, and she promised + to exert herself to this end. + </p> + <p> + Among the numerous acquaintances of Miss Flint was Mrs. De Beaumont, a + Southern lady of means, whose husband held a high official position in New + Orleans. Mrs. De Beaumont had, in order to avoid the yellow fever + epidemic, taken up her residence temporarily in Montreal, and was now with + her two daughters about to return to her Southern home. The education of + the latter young ladies had been somewhat neglected, and Mrs. De Beaumont + was anxious to procure as governess and travelling companion a young lady + of moderate means and unlimited ability. + </p> + <p> + Here, then, was an opening for Beatrice. On the recommendation of Miss + Flint, coupled with certificates from the various professors at Mrs. + Thompson’s school, the poor girl was duly installed in an easy and, to + her, lucrative position. She was not long settled in her new home when Mr. + Hartley, brother of Mrs. De Beaumont, fell violently in love with her, + and, contrary to the wishes of his relations, insisted on paying her open + attention. The poor girl had been so long accustomed to being buffeted and + slighted in every way that her heart fairly gave way before his passionate + wooing, and, although Mrs. De Beaumont frowned on her angrily, and the + rest of the family snubbed her grievously, yet Beatrice felt so happy in + having some one in whom she could confide that she bore all their petty + annoyances with the utmost forbearance, and refused steadily to take the + slightest notice of them. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hartley was a planter of considerable wealth. He had long lived a + bachelor’s life; so long, indeed, that his friends never thought he would + marry, and each one often unconsciously counted how much of the property + would eventually become his. Mrs. De Beaumont was particularly displeased + when she heard his open avowal of his attachment for her governess, for, + though Hartley was not an old man, he being at that time only about + forty-six years old, yet she had hoped that her daughter would have + inherited a portion of his vast wealth, which was now about to be + transferred to a stranger, without friends, fortune or name. In spite of + this secret antipathy to the match, Mrs. De Beaumont openly pretended the + greatest friendship for Beatrice, for, being a woman of the world, she saw + clearly how matters would stand in a few years, and she could not afford + to break either with her brother or his intended wife. + </p> + <p> + The wedding came off with all the aristocratic splendor of an F. F. V. + ceremonial. The dusky coachmen and footmen were resplendent with gorgeous + liveries and wedding favors, their white teeth glistening in the sun as + they grinned from ear to ear, perfectly happy and contented. After the + ceremony the newly-married pair went for a brief tour through the Eastern + States and Canada, returning to Mr. Hartley’s plantation, where Mrs. + Hartley was called upon by all the leading families in the vicinity, and + took her place with as much grace as though she had been “to the manner + born.” Mrs. De Beaumont greeted her sister-in-law affectionately (at least + to all outward appearances), and invited her to visit her old home + frequently; in fact all those who were aware (and who was not) that Mr. + Hartley had settled every penny of his fortune on his wife and her + prospective offspring were lavish of their attentions to their beautiful, + and now immensely wealthy, neighbor. + </p> + <p> + When her first baby, a little girl, was born, Mrs. Hartley wept bitterly + and refused (like Rachel) to be comforted. Her husband could not + understand it at all, and was greatly grieved that she should be so + down-hearted when they had both every reason, to be happy. Beatrice + besought him to forgive her weakness, and explained that it was only now + that she was a mother that she fully realized the anguish her own mother + must have suffered at parting with her, and she implored him as he loved + her to exert himself to find her mother and make her happy. Had his wife + told him to lie down whilst she drove a carriage-wheel across his neck, + Mr. Hartley would have unhesitatingly obeyed her; how readily, then, he + set about finding what most men are so glad to be without, viz., a + mother-in-law, can easily be imagined. He promised his wife that so soon + as business permitted him he would take steps to discover her mother’s + whereabouts, but that night he was awakened out of a deep sleep by cries + of terror from his wife; she had had a dream, she said, that her mother + hung over a precipice, looking up to her for help, which, while she + hastened to give, she saw her mother sink into the yawning abyss, uttering + shrieks of agony. Hartley was beside himself with fright; he thought his + wife would lose her reason, and so he quieted her by assuring her that he + would write the next day to get information, acting on which he would set + out immediately on his search. In the morning he despatched a letter to + Mr. F—— in Montreal, instructing him to obtain what + information he could respecting a girl called Ellen MacNee who had lived + in former years with Mrs. Rogers; in reply he was informed that the girl + left the city, no trace being procurable. He then inserted advertisements + in several Canadian newspapers, informing the public that if Ellen MacNee + would correspond with X. Y. Z. she would hear of something to her + advantage. But in vain did the fond husband seek the mother of his + blue-eyed darling, now grown pale with deferred hope and anxious care, and + when the latter proposed that they should personally go to Montreal in + search of their missing relative he readily acquiesced, feeling assured + that, even if they were unsuccessful, the excitement of travel and + occupation would restore the bloom to his wife’s cheeks and preserve that + health which, was now apparently on the wane. + </p> + <p> + In a few days they had made preparations for an extended tour, and ere a + week had passed they were snugly quartered in the St. Lawrence Hall, + Montreal. The day after their arrival they called on me to know if I could + assist them in their search, bidding me spare no expense in order to + effect the desired object. I promised them every assistance in my power, + and at once placed myself in communication with all those whom I had known + to have any dealings with Beatrice’s unfortunate mother. It was truly + painful to see the anxious face of the young woman as she came daily to me + to enquire if I had heard any news, and when I showed her a letter from + Mr. MacNee, her mother’s eldest brother, stating that his sister had gone + to New York as nurse, she immediately persuaded her husband to give chase. + Their efforts were in vain, however. The girl, it was true, had taken + service in New York, but had subsequently left there for her home in + Glengarry, and had never been seen since either there or in New York. + Detectives having again been employed to assist in tracing her movements, + it was discovered that she had returned by rail to Montreal <i>en route</i> + to Glengarry, but here all traces vanished, and the supposition was either + that she had committed suicide, or met with some accidental death. + Beatrice would have it, however, that she was still alive, and would leave + no stone unturned to find her. It was suggested that New York should again + be visited, as the probability was that she returned there after her trip + to Montreal; various other plans were thought of, and some of them, + doubtless, would have been acted upon, had not a new light shone in upon + the scene. + </p> + <p> + At the outset of the proceedings I had communicated with the principals of + the various Houses of Refuge in this city, and, although the authorities + had done their utmost to facilitate our search, so far we had failed to + advance in any way. At this time, however, I received a communication from + the Bishop, informing me that he thought he could help us, and when I + called on him, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, he told us that he had + been visited by a hardened creature, whose name did not concern us, and + who, in anticipation of a reward which she had heard was offered for the + recovery of the recluse, disclosed the fact that she had, under an assumed + name, become a sister of charity, and was at present an inmate in a + convent in —— street, where we would, doubtless, be able to + recognize her. + </p> + <p> + Beatrice became quite excited at the news, and insisted on rushing off at + once, but her strength failed her, and she fell fainting on a sofa. By + great persuasion she allowed us to drive her home on the promise that she + would be allowed to accompany us on the morrow. The next day we entered a + carriage and drove to the Convent; we agreed that Beatrice should go alone + to meet her mother while we remained downstairs. Running into the room + where her mother was, the poor girl fell on her neck and covered her with + kisses. But no responsive greeting met the impetuous child, the woman + stared at her with a wild hazy stare as if to inquire, Who are you? What + do you mean by these extravagant caresses? + </p> + <p> + But if she failed to recognize her child she did not fail to recognize me, + and by some strange association of ideas she seemed to wander in thought + back to her past life, and the hot blood mounted to her temples. When she + became calmer I explained to her how we had come there, and the object of + our visit. She was touched at the proofs of her daughter’s affection, and + the hot tears rolled rapidly down her furrowed cheek, but she steadily + refused to leave the institution. In vain the poor girl pleaded, and Mr. + Hartley and myself joined in our entreaties that she would accompany her + daughter and her husband. Finding all our arguments of no avail I advised + Mr. Hartley to let the poor creature have her way till the reality of the + situation had come home to her, recommending him to allow his wife to call + frequently at the Convent to see her mother. This advice the indulgent + husband acted upon, and day after day Beatrice would go and sit for hours + conversing with her parent, sometimes obtaining permission to take her for + a walk or a drive, and secretly longing, though never expressing it in + words, that her mother would accompany her back to her home in the South. + </p> + <p> + So far the excitement had kept Mrs. Hartley up, but after a time a + reaction set in which culminated in a wasting fever, and prostrated the + poor creature on a bed of sickness. This, though apparently disastrous, + ended happily for all. Beatrice’s mother, so long as <i>she</i> was the + object of pity, shrank from all communication with her rich relatives, but + now that her child was in need of assistance, she flew to her with a + mother’s impetuosity, and anxiously watched by her couch day and night, + while the poor thing tossed and raved in delirious paroxysms. Mr. Hartley + summoned Dr. Hickson to his wife’s bedside, but that astute practitioner + wisely foretold that the magnetic influence of her mother’s presence would + do more for his patient than any drugs or medicines, and, accordingly, he + contented himself by prescribing a sleeping-draught, leaving other + agencies to do their work. + </p> + <p> + In a couple of weeks Mrs. Hartley rallied, and ere long she became + convalescent, and even cheerful. She used to chat with her mother for + hours together, and the fourth week after the latter’s arrival she was + able to go out for a drive accompanied by her and the baby, who had + accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in all their travels. The little girl and + her grandmother soon became great friends, and when, Beatrice being strong + enough, her mother would have returned to her convent life, the baby’s + smiling face did what all persuasion had failed to do, and bursting into + tears, the aged penitent folded the darling to her breast and declared + that she would never part from it again. Beatrice’s joy knew no bounds; + and as for Mr. Hartley, he was perfectly satisfied to know that his wife + was happy. In a few days they made preparations for a journey to the + South, and ere long Mrs. Hartley had the satisfaction of seeing her mother + snugly ensconced at her own fireside, living as it were over again, and + enjoying in the care of her daughter’s child, the maternal pleasure which + had hitherto been denied her. Ere leaving Montreal Mr. Hartley, at his + wife’s request, erected a handsome monument in Mount Royal Cemetery to the + memory of the humane man, who, regardless of the jeers and scoffing of + gossiping scandal mongers, had braved public opinion, and saved to the + world a good wife, an affectionate daughter and a loving and tenderhearted + mother. + </p> + <p> + During all this time, it may be asked, what had become of Jack Rogers, one + of the principals in my narrative? + </p> + <p> + Jack was fairly wild at the thought of his sweetheart going into an + institution. He would have married her on the spot and braved all his + father’s anger. But the girl showed equal self-denial, and was much more + sensible; she saw that, by consenting to marry a penniless gentleman, she + would certainly injure him, without in any way benefiting herself. She + knew his father sufficiently well to feel sure that, were he aware of his + son’s relations with her, not one but <i>both of them</i>, would be + ignominiously turned out of doors. So, consoling her paramour with this + questionable bit of comfort, she tore herself away, saying coolly that he + would soon forget and marry some one in his own station in life. But, + though she nerved herself to speak in this strain before him, when alone + she broke down entirely, and sobbed till her heart nearly broke, for the + poor girl loved him dearly, and, poor though he was, would have married + him and worked for him, if necessary. She saw, however, that his prospects + would be utterly blasted were he to disclose his position to his father; + and she unselfishly took on herself <i>the whole</i> of the punishment for + a sin of which she was scarcely guilty, or, at any rate, less highly + culpable than he. + </p> + <p> + Jack would fain have put a pistol ball through his head, and doubtless + would have done so had the pistol been handy; but his pistols, like + everything else he possessed, were out of order, and were at the moment in + Mr. Costen’s hands, where they lay in a disintegrated condition till the + young gentleman’s blood had got some degrees cooler. Still, he could not + help thinking how his folly and thoughtlessness had ruined the hopes of a + poor innocent girl, and he longed for some opportunity for going abroad, + or participating in some excitement to enable him to muse less moodily on + the past. + </p> + <p> + The American civil war was at this time in full blast, and large bounties + were offered for volunteers. An American agent, meeting Jack Rogers in a + saloon, which the latter frequented, offered him two hundred dollars and + an outfit if he would go as a substitute for a young gentleman in New + York. This offer Jack readily accepted, and within a short time found + himself <i>en route</i> to Richmond to join the Federal Army. He was not + long in the service when his superior intelligence and daring exploits + made him conspicuous among his fellows, and he was promoted from one grade + to another till he was placed in command of his company. This was a + position Jack was eminently fitted for, and his reckless bravery was + talked of far and wide throughout the army. + </p> + <p> + For a long time, in spite of his foolhardiness, Jack remained without a + scratch, save a slight wound from a rifle ball at Gettysburg, where he + made himself particularly conspicuous. Just before the close of the great + struggle, however, he was sent in command of a foraging party consisting + of about forty-five rank and file and the usual complement of officers. + Their path lay through a deed ravine in which high wooded cliffs looked + down on each side. These cliffs were in possession of a Louisiana + regiment, who were stationed there in the hope of cutting off supplies + from the Northerners, and, just as Captain Rogers with his handful of men, + entered the ravine a murderous fire was opened on them from both sides. + Rogers ordered his men to reply, but, as the ravine afforded little or no + cover, they were finally obliged to make their way as quickly as possible + to the end of the pass and fight their way through. They found their way + completely blocked by a force of two or three hundred rebels, but, as to + return would have proved equally disastrous, there was nothing for it but + to surrender, or cut a path for themselves through, the enemy. Bracing + themselves for a terrible struggle, Rogers and his little band advanced to + within a few yards of the open, where their foes, with rifles loaded and + bayonets fixed, stood demanding their surrender. Captain Jack ordered his + men to fire at a given signal, and then to advance; and, firing his own + pistols by way of signal, he dashed through the smoke, followed by his + daring band, cutting and slashing right and left. + </p> + <p> + But courage will not enable men to do impossibilities. Out of the handful + who entered the ravine but three managed to cut their way through the + opposing forces, and these were all more or less injured by rifle balls or + sabre cuts. Poor Rogers fought like a lion; but, being the centre of + attraction on account of his uniform, he had his hands more than full, and + though he pistoled two men and knocked an officer who would have seized + him senseless with the butt-end of his empty revolver, he was finally + brought off his horse with a pistol shot, and captured, more dead than + alive, by the enemy. + </p> + <p> + The officer in charge was so struck with the bravery of the poor fellow + that he had endeavored to take him prisoner, and had stayed some of his + men who had essayed to run the fiery captain through with their bayonets; + his impetuous charge, however, led them in self defence to disable him, + and the young lieutenant who shot him had no alternative except to be + brained by a blow from Jack’s pistol. The excitement over, however, the + colonel of the victorious corps sent a detachment in search of the wounded + of both sides, and ordered a litter to be prepared for Captain Rogers’ + removal to his own quarters. Poor Jack was severely injured. The ball had + entered his left arm close to the shoulder, and was not necessarily fatal; + but his horse had fallen on him and bruised him so that he could scarcely + breathe. The march to the camp was about two miles, and, although the men + moved as gently as possible, yet Captain Rogers suffered agony as he felt + every motion. Arrived at Colonel De Beaumont’s quarters (for the brave + commander was the husband of Mrs. De Beaumont) a surgeon was sent for and + the invalid’s wounds were attended to. Although a prisoner of war Captain + Rogers’ received every attention from Colonel De Beaumont and the officers + under his command, and when, the regiment being ordered to head-quarters, + the Colonel was obliged to send Rogers to prison with the rest of his + captured force, the parting was more like that of two brothers than that + of a victor and his fallen foe. + </p> + <p> + After the close of the war, which, event took place shortly after these + occurrences, Colonel De Beaumont, disgusted and sick at heart, returned to + New Orleans. He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear allegiance + once more to what he considered the oppressor. Almost his first thought + after his return was to enquire concerning the Federal troops who had been + captured by his men, especially the gallant Rogers, for whom he had formed + a more than passing attachment. He learned that of those who had been + placed in confinement, some had died of their wounds, others, as soon as + the proclamation of Northern supremacy gave them their liberty, had + returned to their homes, but that the Captain, having contracted a + dangerous fever, had been unable to accompany them. De Beaumont lost no + time in seeking out the poor soldier’s quarters, and was grieved to find + him barely alive, he having scarcely recovered from the fever, besides + suffering from partially healed and badly-dressed wounds. The Colonel + persuaded him, so soon as he could move, to accompany him to his own + house, where he would receive proper attention, and, in a short time, the + sufferer was installed in De Beaumont’s comfortable house, the kind + hostess doing all in her power to alleviate his sufferings. + </p> + <p> + It was about this time that Mrs. Hartley, accompanied by her mother, had + returned to her husband’s residence, and one day as she was visiting Mrs. + De Beaumont she learnt the story concerning the wounded officer, who, + though in the service of the North, was compassionately treated by the + whole household, having made friends of them all by his cheerful + uncomplaining disposition, and his grateful acknowledgment of even the + slightest service. While recounting the story to her husband and mother at + dinner, the latter grasped the table convulsively with both her hands, and + breathlessly demanded of her daughter all the particulars; with a wild + exclamation of terror, she rushed up to her room, hastily followed by her + bewildered daughter. The latter found her mother in the act of dressing + hurriedly, and on enquiring for an explanation the poor woman fell on her + child’s neck, and with bitter tears explained that it was <i>her own + father</i> who lay so near them at death’s door, and that, whatever it + might cost, she would rush to his side. + </p> + <p> + Poor Mrs. Hartley was sadly shaken at these tidings. She explained all the + circumstances to her devoted husband, and took his advice. Hartley + recommended his wife to let her mother have her own way, and promised that + presently he would accompany his wife to De Beaumont’s house to visit the + invalid. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the story is soon told. The sad meeting of poor Rogers with + the mother of his child, who stayed by his side night and day, the bitter + tears of Mrs. Hartley as she beheld her father for the first and last + time; the mutual expression of love and forgiveness ere the poor invalid + breathed his last, beloved and forgiven by those on whom he had + thoughtlessly entailed much sorrow and suffering. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. — The Mother-in-Law. + </h2> + <p> + John Wilkie was the son of Scotch parents residing in Toronto, Ontario. He + was possessed of considerable literary ability, and when a lad had entered + Toronto University with the intention of pursuing a professional career; + but his father shrewdly reasoned that, although fame might be acquired + more readily by clergymen and lawyers, money was an important + consideration, and might be acquired with, comparative ease in a well + managed business. He accordingly placed his son in the wholesale house of + Messrs. Campbell & Castle, and in due course of time the lad secured + an interest in the business. + </p> + <p> + The young man was not long a member of the firm when he became enamoured + of a young lady named Collins, whom he had met at the house of a mutual + friend. For a longtime he paid attention to this young lady, taking her to + balls, concerts and operas, and finally he proposed for her hand and was + accepted. + </p> + <p> + Miss Collins was scarcely what one would call a beautiful girl, yet there + was an attractiveness of manner peculiar to her which caused her to be + much, sought after and admired in social circles, and many were the sad + and heavy when it became known that she was about to marry John Wilkie. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture Wilkie the elder was carried off with an attack of + pneumonia, leaving John, his only son, heir to his house and property. + This occurrence of course caused the wedding to be deferred for a time, + and the bridegroom elect went into deep mourning; in a few months, + however, he doffed his sable garments, and, having caused the family + mansion to be refurnished and renovated, began to make preparations for + his wedding. + </p> + <p> + The affair came off with great <i>éclat</i>, the bride being driven home + from church behind four dapple-grey horses, several carriages following + with bridesmaids, groomsmen, and invited guests, among the latter being + many rejected suitors, who took a kind of melancholy pleasure in seeing + the matter through. Mrs. Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the + dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the <i>déjeuner</i> they wept + together and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. + Mrs. Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the + rich prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out + of the question. + </p> + <p> + What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial and + domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable pursuit of + entertaining each other. Shutting their eyes and ears to the outer world + they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, alone; that + nature’s smiles are specially prepared for them; that the birds carol + bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the whole world is + contained in the small area which immediately surrounds them. + </p> + <p> + Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple of + weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, they + spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six weeks from + their wedding-day. Everything had been prepared for their reception, and + Mrs. Wilkie, senior, sat in state to welcome them to a cosy meal which had + been prepared in the dining-room. Having eaten sparingly, Mrs. Wilkie + retired to her room, for she was fatigued by travel, and John with his + mother went on a tour of inspection over the house. + </p> + <p> + It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a stranger; + to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose every want was + so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the care of another + must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. Wilkie sighed + deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which had been made in + the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end and that a new + Caesar had taken the reins of government. The Lord of the Manor failed to + observe the trepidation with which his mother handed him the keys, and + showed him the various details connected with the management of the house, + and with a cool “good night, mother,” he retired to rest, at peace with + his mother, himself, and the world. + </p> + <p> + For several months things went smoothly enough with the parties to my + narrative. The dowager accepted her position, though, it must be + confessed, with a bad grace, and the new mistress gave a life to the place + to which it was unaccustomed. At length Mrs. Wilkie gave birth to a son, + and great were the rejoicing and festivities. The dowager was promoted to + the title of grandmamma, John boasted the proud title of father, and the + mother’s joy knew no bounds. The child was in due time christened with + appropriate solemnity, and in a few months after his birth he became a + very important member of the Wilkie family. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Wilkie wanted the boy called William after his late father, but Mrs. + Wilkie would not have what she was pleased to term a plebeian designation, + and insisted on calling him Alexander. The dowager opposed this with all + her might, but “her usefulness was gone,” and her feeble remonstrances + were of little or no avail. This slight sank deep into her heart, and she + waited, calmly and patiently, for an opportunity of retaliating on her + daughter-in-law. + </p> + <p> + In due time the opportunity presented itself. Mrs. Wilkie was in the habit + of going to the skating-rink accompanied by some of her fashionable + acquaintances; her husband did not care for skating, but was proud to hear + his wife’s graceful performances eulogized. The dowager, however, had no + heart for “the grape-vine” and other foolish devices; she thought it high + time for her daughter-in-law to take on herself the serious duties of + matrimonial life, and deprecated the fondness of the lady in question for + rinks, balls, and festivities. + </p> + <p> + One night Mrs. Wilkie was invited to a skating-party. Her husband, having + some letters to write, declined to go, and she went in company with a Mr. + Smithers, an old acquaintance of hers, and one of the finest fancy skaters + in Toronto. During her daughter-in-law’s absence at the rink, Mrs. Wilkie + the elder took upon herself to lecture her son on his wife’s giddy + behaviour, and so worked upon his feelings that he regularly gave way, and + allowed his mother to remain mistress of the position. + </p> + <p> + When the fashionable Mrs. Wilkie returned to her abode late in the evening + she found the door closed on her, repeated pulls at the door-bell + eliciting no response. With her skates the lady then hammered violently on + the door, waking the echoes of the quiet street, and finally, in her + frenzy, she smashed every window within reach, and departed to her + mother’s residence. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins was very much surprised to receive a visit from her daughter + at such an unseasonable hour, and when she was made aware of the cause she + became proportionately indignant. She suggested the propriety of taking + legal proceedings for the restitution of her daughter’s rights, but the + latter would not listen to any such suggestion, and vowed she would never + live with Wilkie or his wretch of a mother again. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins expected daily to receive a message from Mr. Wilkie, + requesting his wife to return to him, but he, being completely under the + influence of his mother, failed to do anything of the kind, imagining that + his wife would come as a suppliant to him. In this he reckoned without his + host, for Mrs. Wilkie was as proud as Lucifer, and would not bend her + haughty head to be made Empress of Canada. One thing, however, caused her + great uneasiness: her child, Alexander, was all the world to her, and she + set her wits to work to devise some means of obtaining him. + </p> + <p> + Without recourse to unpleasant legal proceedings or equally unpleasant + negotiations with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wilkie could not hit on any plan + by which she could obtain the control of her child’s nurture and + education. At length she resolved on the simple and practical plan of + taking forcible possession of the boy. Once resolved, she speedily put her + plans in execution. + </p> + <p> + The child’s nurse was in the habit of driving him in a baby carriage to + the Queen’s Park for an airing, and one afternoon the mother lay in wait + for the appearance of the infantile equipage. She was afraid to approach + the servant with a bribe, as, in the event of her refusal, the Wilkies + would be placed on their guard, and would set a strict watch over all the + child’s movements. She accordingly sat down at a distance, closely veiled, + and waited till an opportunity presented itself. + </p> + <p> + She did not have long to wait. The nurse on entering the park fell in with + a tribe of professional acquaintances, one of whom, drawing a love-letter + which she had received from her pocket, commenced to read it for the + edification of her companions. Not content with listening to the gushing + effusion, the auditors crowded around the proud recipient of the epistle, + reading with eager eyes such portions as they could see over the shoulder + of their friend. While the representative of the dowager was busily + engaged in scanning the amorous lines penned by the lovesick swain (the + child left to her care being at some distance in his carriage, sleeping + under the shade of some trees), Mrs. Wilkie cautiously approached, and, + lifting the unconscious child with the tenderness peculiar to mothers, + walked quietly and swiftly away towards the gate, when, coolly hailing a + passing cab, she drove to her mother’s house, proudly depositing her baby + in a richly adorned cradle which had been purposely prepared for his + reception. + </p> + <p> + It was a long time before the nurse missed the boy; in fact, not till she + prepared to start for home did she give him a thought, except to + congratulate herself that he slept so long and gave her so little trouble. + When she at length turned towards the place where she had left the + carriage and learned the true state of affairs her face grew deadly-pale, + and, beckoning her companions towards her, she pointed to the carriage and + uttered several piercing shrieks. Many were the suggestions as to what had + become of the boy. Some thought he might have got out of the carriage + alone and fallen into the pond, but, as he could not yet walk, this was + highly improbable, another suggested that he had been stolen by gypsies, + but could not say that she had ever heard of gypsies in connection with + the Queen’s Park. Many other theories, some wild, a few reasonable, were + advanced, but yet no clue to the whereabouts of the child could be + discovered, nor could any light be thrown upon the mystery. + </p> + <p> + The poor nurse was in a terrible state of mind. She had in her fancy a + picture of the baby’s grandmother threatening to tear her limb from limb, + while the frantic father went for the police; but return she must, and so, + with a different step from that with which she entered the park, she set + out for home, arriving there just as the bell rang for dinner. + </p> + <p> + The old lady was just commencing to lecture her for keeping the child out + in the evening air, when she saw, from the expression of the girl’s face, + that something unusual had occurred, and rushing out, she threw up her + hands in astonishment at the empty perambulator, giving a mute look of + inquiry which spoke volumes. In a moment Mr. Wilkie joined the throng, + just as the frightened domestic sobbed out, as well as she could, an + account of the child’s disappearance. He was about to rush at once to the + police office, but the old lady, shoving him aside, hastily put on her + bonnet and shawl, and, ordering the girl to summon a cab, peremptorily + forbade Mr. Wilkie to leave the house till she had made a reconnaissance + of the quarters of her daughter-in-law. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Collins lived at the extreme west end of King street, and, as Mr. + Wilkie’s residence was in the North-East, in the neighborhood of the + Horticultural Garden, it was some time before the wily mother-in-law + approached her base of operations; she accordingly leaned back in the + carriage, and, closing her eyes, meditated on her plan of action. Bidding + the coachman pull up at the corner of Brock street, she alighted, and + proceeded on foot towards the house: it was a semi-detached cottage, with + a small garden in front, the dwelling being only a few feet from the + street. Inside all was, apparently, quiet as usual, but Mrs. Wilkie + thought she heard a soft, measured song, as if some one were singing a + child to sleep. Approaching the window she caught a glimpse of her + daughter-in-law pacing the room to and fro with the child pillowed in her + arms; so, quickly receding into the darkness, she made her way back to the + carriage, satisfied that her calculations, in one particular at least, had + been correct. + </p> + <p> + Entering the cab, she bade the driver return with all speed to Mr. + Wilkie’s house, setting her mind, during her transit on the frustration of + the hopes of her daughter-in-law, against whom she in her heart registered + a vow of vengeance. She found her son pacing the dining-room like a + madman, and she at once gave him all the particulars concerning her + reconnaissance, adding, at the same time, that he must take legal measures + to obtain possession of his child, no matter what the cost. In spite, + however, of his mother’s importunity, Wilkie steadily refused to give the + matter publicity by taking legal proceedings, so the old lady was obliged + to content herself with concocting plans for retaking the child from the + hands of the enemy. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Wilkie watched long for an opportunity, and at last she was + successful. She found out where her daughter-in-law went to church, and + one Sunday having learnt from one of her emissaries that both of the + ladies had gone to church together, leaving the child in charge of the + maid-of-all-work, she hurriedly set out for the house, and boldly ringing + the door-bell inquired for Mrs. Wilkie. On being told that the lady was at + church and would not return for some time she requested permission to sit + down and wait, as she was fatigued with her long journey. Entering the + drawing-room, she sank on one of the lounges and appeared to faint. The + poor domestic did not know what to do, but ran wildly to and fro + exclaiming, “Och, wirrasthru, what’ll I do at all at all’” The invalid + gradually came round, and gasped out, “Dr. Metcalfe, go for Dr. Metcalfe!” + This gentleman lived a few blocks distant, and the girl at once rushed + off, without waiting even to put her bonnet on. + </p> + <p> + Quick as thought Mrs. Wilkie ascended the staircase to where her infant + grand-child lay wrapped in slumber: hastily wrapping him in a shawl she + descended to the door, and coolly hailing a passing cab was soon far from + the scene which had so wrought upon the feelings of poor Bridget Moriarty. + </p> + <p> + When Bridget arrived with the doctor she found that the old lady had + disappeared leaving, however, a card for Mrs. Wilkie. On the latter’s + return Bridget told her the whole story, adding that she supposed the old + lady had come to herself and got tired waiting; in time, however, the baby + was missed, and that threw a new light on affairs. Mrs. Wilkie was + frantic; she denounced Bridget as a good-for-nothing, refused to sit down + to dinner, and set off with her mother in the direction of Mrs. Wilkie’s + house. + </p> + <p> + This time, however, the dowager was on her guard. The child was carefully + looked after, being under the care of a faithful ally of the old lady, + whose instructions were never to leave him for a moment out of her sight. + Mrs. Wilkie and her mother might walk up and down and look at the lighted + windows; they might also watch at a distance the youthful hope of the + house of Wilkie as he took his daily airing in the park, but the trick + once tried could not be repeated, and the fond mother (for whatever her + faults were she loved her child) was obliged to pine in weary loneliness. + </p> + <p> + During all these sieges and reprisals the little fellow waxed strong and + healthy, in sublime unconsciousness of the importance attached to the + possession of his person: he was by no means neglected, the only risk he + ran was that of being hugged to death, as each party, more through joy at + the success of its schemes than from love of the youth in question, + caressed him lavishly if not fondly. + </p> + <p> + Some months after these occurrences Mr. Wilkie removed to Montreal, where + he soon became permanently established, and, as he was always fond of + politics, he was in a short time recognised as one of the leaders of the + liberal party. When the reaction consequent on the famous “Pacific + Scandal” set in, Mr. Wilkie, M. P., took his seat for K——, a + small town below Montreal, rising in Parliament, as he did everywhere else + by his ability, far above the common level. His son was placed at the + Montreal High school, and gave promise of becoming in time even more + distinguished than his father. + </p> + <p> + They had not been long resident in Montreal before the poor old dowager + was seized with acute rheumatism, to which she finally succumbed, and Mr. + Wilkie was obliged to engage a housekeeper to look after his household + affairs and his son’s education. It was a sad time for poor little Aleck; + his grandmother fairly doted on him, and indulged his every whim, but Mrs. + Riddell, the new housekeeper, cared not whether he was happy or miserable + so long as she drew her monthly pay. + </p> + <p> + All this time Mrs. Wilkie had been living with her mother in Toronto, and, + as soon as she heard of her mother-in-law’s death, she persuaded her + mother to remove to Montreal, so that she might secretly keep watch over + her boy, whom she now loved, if possible, more than ever. Assuming the + name of Mrs. Johnson, she took lodgings in a house nearly opposite the + residence of Mr. Wilkie, and thus was enabled to observe closely all the + proceedings of his household; she longed to throw herself at her husband’s + feet and implore his forgiveness, but her proud spirit rebelled against + such an act, and she sat at her window day after day in moody silence + watching her darling boy going and returning from school. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after his wife’s arrival in Montreal, Mr. Wilkie was summoned to + England on business of importance, a fact with which Mrs. Wilkie became + easily acquainted through the <i>Gazette</i>, which heralded all his + movements, the fond mother now became more anxious than ever about her + boy, and indeed not without reason, for, being monarch of all she + surveyed, the easy-going housekeeper laid herself out for “a good time,” + and, although in her way she was kind enough to the child, she left him to + take care of himself as well as he could, being content if she prepared a + bed for him to sleep in, and ordered his three meals a day with unfailing + regularity. The house Mr. Wilkie lived in was situated in one of the + newest and most fashionable localities, having what are generally + designated “modern improvements,” and one of these latter so improved the + internal arrangements of Master Aleck, that he was soon confined to bed + with enteric fever. Mrs. Johnson, missing the boy from the street, called + to enquire after him, and had her fears confirmed by the housekeeper, who + said she did not know what to do for his father was away, and she had + never in her life nursed a fevered patient. The wily mother seized the + opportunity with avidity, and with unblushing effrontery perpetrated the + atrocious falsehood that she was a professional nurse of large experience, + and that such an interest did she feel in the little fellow that she would + if permitted undertake to nurse him free of charge. Mrs. Riddell was + delighted, and at her neighbor’s suggestion sent for Dr. Brownie, who had, + she said great experience in such cases. A cablegram was despatched to Mr. + Wilkie, and everything that science could devise was done for the poor + little sufferer. For many days he seemed to get worse and worse and his + devoted mother was nearly worn out as she sat up night after night wiping + his fevered brow, or moistening his parched lips, at length the crisis + came, and the doctor pronounced him on the way to recovery, adding that + the slightest neglect on the part of those who tended him would permit a + relapse, which would in all probability prove fatal. In this case, + however, the latter caution was altogether unnecessary, what Mrs. Johnson + lacked in experience she more than made up for in care and solicitude, + and, as every direction of the physician was carried out to the letter, + the little fellow began perceptibly to mend before the telegram came + announcing Mr. Wilkie’s arrival in Quebec. On the receipt of the missive + Mrs. Johnson made preparations for her departure, saying that her services + were now scarcely needed, and that she needed rest; Mrs. Riddell at first + tried hard to induce her to remain, but when she looked at the pale thin + face, and thought how many weary nights the lady had voluntarily sat up + with the raving child, she ceased to urge the request, and at once set out + for a mercenary to replace her. + </p> + <p> + What a difference there is between him who enters on a labor of love and + the hireling who works for pay! In this case, then, it may easily be + supposed with a mother’s ardent affection on the one hand, how different + was the cold professional service rendered by the nurse who replaced Mrs. + Johnson: although kind and attentive, she had not the same soothing power, + nor could she sing the sweet lullaby which so often in his fevered moments + had calmed poor little Aleck’s soul, and the little fellow became at once + very low indeed. At this juncture his father arrived, and when he saw his + boy he was completely overcome; he learned from the housekeeper all the + particulars of the kind neighbor’s attention, and resolved to go + personally to her residence and implore her not to desert his boy till he + was out of all danger. Waiting only to partake of a morsel of food, he set + out for the house indicated by his housekeeper, and inquired for Mrs. + Johnson. The girl who opened the door told him that Mrs. Johnson had been + out nursing a sick child for several nights, and had just fallen into a + deep sleep, the first she had had for days, and urged him to call round + again in the afternoon, when her mistress would probably be able to see + him. In the afternoon he returned in great haste, saying that he must see + Mrs. Johnson at all hazards, that his boy was worse, and raved incessantly + for her. While he was speaking the lady he inquired for suddenly came down + stairs, and as their eyes met both uttered an exclamation of surprise. + Forgetting everything in her anxiety for her boy’s safety the poor + mother’s face became suffused with tears as she anxiously cried with bated + breath, “Is he dead?” “No; thanks be to God and his mother’s care he still + lives, but you must not let him die now.” + </p> + <p> + The rest of the story is soon told; the pride of both husband and wife was + humbled by adversity, and in their heavy affliction each was made to feel + what a strength and comfort it was to have a companion who could + sympathize not only with the joys but with the sorrows of the other. The + boy was several weeks before he was able to leave his room, during which + time his mother told him the history of her troubles, and recounted how + miserable she felt without him and his father, all of which was of course + retailed to the latter gentleman, and effectually healed the breach + between the man and his wife. The dowager’s name was for obvious reasons + never mentioned by either Mr. or Mrs. Wilkie, and as for the youthful hope + of the house, his memory was so elastic that he never even thought about + the old lady. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Riddell was astonished when she became acquainted with the true + relations of the nurse and her patient, but, having become quite enamoured + of the former (who by-the-by was now become both a discreet and amiable + matron), she readily fell into a subordinate position in the household, + taking her orders quite gladly, and having a special care for little + Aleck. Mrs. Wilkie has now an assortment of boys and girls, Aleck being + entered as a law student at McGill University and the others being still + at school; she seldom thinks of the past, preferring to look forward to a + bright and happy future. Still at times her mind will revert to scenes of + yore, and she shudders as she thinks of the bitter experiences she has + had, attributing most if not all of them, rightly or wrongly, to her + mother-in-law. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. — A Deserted Wife, or Model Woman + </h2> + <p> + One hot summer’s day I received a visit from a young and beautiful woman + attired in fashionable costume. She told me she was desirous of obtaining + accommodation for a couple of months as her husband was in England and the + time of her accouchement was at hand. She was the bearer of a letter which + ran as follows— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON, England, August 6 18— + + <i>To whoever is with my + precious wife in her hour of trial</i>: + + MY DEAR MADAM—I cannot refrain, as the husband of + the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent + wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will + remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking + of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the + issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. + + I will part with all I have rather than that she or her + infant shall want anything. Oh how I wish I were near + to love and comfort her. If her dear infant is spared all + well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol + be well. <i>Let all give way</i> if need be for my precious + wife’s sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, + even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, + which Heaven forbid. + + I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand + and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I + shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well; will you + kindly have a postal card ready just to say “all is well” if + so it be; never mind more till my poor wife can put her + own name to a letter. + + God reward you for an act that I know the angels envy + you, for your charge is a “friend of Jesus,” and my only + friend on earth. + + Yours in intensity of anxious interest, + P. MERRICK. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + My address is + Sunny Hill Avenue, + London, E. +</pre> + <p> + Mrs. Merrick explained to me that her husband was a member of a wealthy + English firm doing business in Montreal, and that he was at that time + obliged to be in London on business, but would soon return, when she + purposed setting up an establishment of her own. Her father and mother + (both Scottish Canadians) had been dead many years, and she had been + educated in a boarding school in Ottawa where she had first met Mr. + Merrick. + </p> + <p> + Within a few days the lady became an inmate of my house, and in course of + time became the mother of a beautiful little boy, news of which was at + once despatched to London. For three weeks Mrs. Merrick waited patiently + for a reply, and after that time, receiving none, she became uneasy, and + wrote a long letter to her husband, beseeching him to send her an answer + immediately, but neither to this letter did she obtain any response and + days became weeks and the weeks began to spread themselves into months and + yet not a line or even a word could be obtained to indicate the + whereabouts of Mr. Merrick or whether he was alive or dead. At last the + terrible truth began to dawn on the poor creature that she had been basely + deserted by him who was sworn to be her friend and protector and she + became almost demented, she tried to account for his silence in many ways + but her intellectual acumen as too great and her reasoning always brought + her to the one sad conclusion. However, as nothing better could be done + the spirited creature made up her mind to earn her own living and that of + her child, and setting her wits to work she soon obtained a situation as + governess at the house of Mr. Mullaly, a retired merchant of considerable + means whose wife and daughters were desirous of obtaining an entree into + polite society. Placing her boy out to nurse, she set out for her new + home, and soon began to feel the blessedness of working for her own + living. + </p> + <p> + But her happiness was not unmixed with pain. The Mullaly girls somehow or + another heard that Miss Caldwell (she had given her maiden name) was the + mother of a little child, and, although she admitted the fact and + recounted to them her whole history, they gave no credence to her + assertions, but began to treat her with the greatest contempt making her + life miserable. The poor woman would fain have left her situation, but she + recollected that it would be difficult to obtain another without referring + to Mrs. Mullaly who would be sure to tell the whole story with several + embellishments. On the whole she thought she had better remain where she + was for a time, hoping that, as years went by, and the girls acquired more + judgment and common sense, they would treat her with greater fairness. + Accordingly she bore all the taunts of the young ladies with great + meekness and patience, and made herself so agreeable and useful that, + although they never could make up their minds to believe her story or to + treat her as one of the family—the Mullalys came to regard Miss + Caldwell as indispensable to their existence, and when Miss Mullaly the + elder got married she took Miss Caldwell with her in the capacity of + housekeeper the young sisters no longer requiring her in her capacity as + governess, which situation she, however, did not long keep as the + remuneration would not enable her to educate her boy as she desired. He + was a fair-haired, bright little fellow, and the most loving little + creature on earth. She consulted with me what best could be done to earn a + larger salary. I advised her to become a professional nurse though hard + she would think it at first, when once accustomed to its little drudgeries + she would find it a noble calling, with God’s blessing attached to it. She + consented, and I trained her in my hospital, she became in a very short + time one of my most proficient nurses. From that time she had gained the + battle, for, as soon as some of our medical men got acquainted with her, + they gave her employment at the most serious of their cases, till at last + it became very hard for me to procure her for some of my own patients, and + through her abilities, patience, and refined feelings she gained a great + many sincere friends. One of her patients, an old lady, left at her death + $200 to her kind nurse, and this enabled poor Mrs. Merrick to give her boy + that education which she had so long craved for him. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile Willie Merrick was placed at school at Lennoxville, where + he evinced great talent. At twelve years of age he was noted as the finest + classical scholar in the school, and his mother was induced to place him + in training, with a view to his matriculating at the University of + Bishop’s College. The fond mother lived only for her son, so she placed + him under the care of a private tutor, at whose hands he made such + progress that at the early age of fifteen he entered the University. Here + he showed himself at once to be made of no ordinary metal, and he became + quite a favorite with the Principal and professors, all of whom were ever + ready to lend him a helping hand. His mother had intended him for the + church but Willie did not (so he said) feel “good enough” for that high + and holy calling, so he entered the Faculty of Law, determined, if + possible, to distinguish himself in that profession so soon as he obtained + the necessary qualifications for commencing practice. In process of time + he obtained his degree, graduating with high honors, and he was not long + in establishing a practice equal to that of many older advocates. + </p> + <p> + Although without any hope of ever taking her place again as Merrick’s + wife, the poor woman whom he had so basely deserted instituted a thorough + search for him in England, and was enabled to discover all his history, + and also so gain an insight into his proceedings whilst away from her. It + seems that he had married her under an assumed name, his real patronymic + being Stephens, and that his people were purse-proud and overbearing. On + his arrival in England his father, who had heard of the young man’s + escapades in Canada peremptorily ordered him to have no more + correspondence with his Canadian wife, but to marry a noble lady whom he + had purchased (through money lent; to her father) for the ennobling of the + Stephens family. + </p> + <p> + When the deserted woman became assured of the truth of these disclosures + she made up her mind to give no more thought to the wretch who had left + her in such a predicament, and determined to centre her hopes and her + affections in her son, who had by this time become a distinguished lawyer, + and was quite as proud of his mother as his mother was of him. He took a + house for himself and only parent in the Western suburbs, and they lived + in quiet comfort together, the young man going little into society, except + on public occasions, on all of which he was invariably asked to take a + prominent part in the proceedings. + </p> + <p> + When William Merrick had been in practice about two or three years he was + entrusted with an important case connected with the endowment of some + church in Lower Canada, which was appealed from one court to another, + until, finally, it was decided to carry it to the House of Lords. + Accordingly the young advocate made preparations for a trip to England, + and, being unwilling to leave his mother alone for such a lengthened + period, he decided to take her along with him. They sailed from Quebec one + fine Saturday in June, arriving at Liverpool late on the following + Saturday night, a strong westerly wind blowing them rapidly across the + Atlantic! They stayed but a few days in Liverpool, and then went on to + London, putting up temporarily at the Langham, at that time the most + fashionable hotel in London. The morning after their arrival the young + lawyer, having occasion to go to the Courts on business, Mrs. Merrick was + left for a time to her own devices, she occupied a half-hour or so in + reading the newspapers, and then made up her mind to go for a stroll + before luncheon. Attiring herself rather gaily (she was still remarkably + good-looking, only a little over 40 years then) she set out with a + sprightly step down the main staircase, humming to herself a lively air + which she used to sing in happier days. Just as she was descending the + last flight of stairs, a gentleman having a delicate-looking lady on his + arm began to ascend, and on hearing the melody, faint though it was, which + the approaching lady, was unconsciously humming, glanced suddenly and + swiftly upwards; then, as if a thunderbolt had struck him, he came to a + sudden halt, having a dazed expression on his features and littering a + half suppressed oath or imprecation. Mrs. Merrick had not noticed the + approaching couple, her thoughts being far away, but the suddenness of the + gentleman’s movement arrested her attention, and she looked him fully in + the face for a moment; then, uttering a wild shriek, she fell backward and + would have been probably severely injured, had not a gentleman, who + happened to be close behind her, caught her as she fell, and carried her + to the landing-place, where restoratives were applied, and the unfortunate + woman speedily came to her senses. + </p> + <p> + It is scarcely necessary to say that the lady and gentleman whose advent + so upset Mrs. Merrick were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Stephens who had + come up to London for the operatic season and were staying at the Langham + Hotel. Taking advantage of the confusion, Stephens hurried his wife along + to her room, giving no further answer to her many and wondering enquiries + than: “Oh, it’s only the heat; don’t mix yourself up with all these + people,” and, without allowing time for remonstrance or further enquiry, + he put a stop to all questioning by hurrying the delicate creature along + till he deposited her, breath less, in an easy chair. Going out into the + corridor he tried to discover how matters stood, but the woman he dreaded + to meet had been borne to her room and medical attendance had been + summoned. This Mr. Stephens learned from a waiter; so, determined to + deport himself as if he knew nothing of the cause of the lady’s illness, + and was as much puzzled at the occurrence as the rest of those who had + either witnessed it or come on the scene soon afterwards, he returned to + his wife, and, throwing himself into a chair, pretended to read. But his + wife, obtuse though she possibly was with regard to the fainting lady, + something had struck her about the manner her husband assumed. She could + not get over it, and when at the table d’hote with her husband listened + attentively to the conservation of two gentlemen who were sitting + vis-à-vis. One enquired after the health of the lady who had taken so + suddenly ill on the landing in the morning. The younger of the two + gentlemen expressed his gratitude to the other for assisting his mother so + kindly, who would have, but for his assistance, fallen down stairs, but + was somewhat better now. He said the Doctor had not been able to ascertain + the cause of her sudden illness, and, as his mother had always been + blessed with such good health, he himself could not account for it. In the + meantime Mr. and Mrs. Stephens had been listeners to the conversation when + all of a sudden a curious, gurgling noise was heard, a chair was + overturned, and Mr. Stephens was stretched on the floor in a dying + condition, blood streaming from his mouth. There was a great commotion in + the dining-room, and it was thought at first he had swallowed a bone and + was choking; but the physicians who arrived, three in number, pronounced + it a rupture of a blood-vessel and applied at once the necessary remedies, + but gave little hope of his recovery. As soon as his condition permitted a + removal, he was carried, by the advice of the doctor, to a private + hospital near by, where his delicate wife also preferred to go, and + nothing more was heard of the dying stranger, for a while anyhow. + </p> + <p> + Our young lawyer, Willie Merrick, had been successful in his law affairs, + and had arranged a trip to the continent with his mother, when a cablegram + was sent to them from Canada, saying: “Don’t leave England; wait for + letters; good news.” This was rather annoying to Mr. Merrick, as he had + only a few weeks more at his disposal; and he anticipated this trip as so + necessary to restore his mother’s cheerfulness. Mrs. Merrick was also + puzzled as to what could possibly detain them any longer in London. At + last the Canadian post arrived, and with it large documents and letters + which had been sent from England to Canada and were now returned, + informing Mrs. Merrick that a certain W. Merrick Stephens had died, + leaving a large fortune, and that half of this estate was bequeathed to + Mrs. Merrick in Canada, whose maiden name had been Emma Caldwell, or, in + case of her death, to her heirs. Young Mr. Merrick being at this time a + well-known young lawyer in Montreal it was not hard to find him. Both he + and his mother could not imagine who had left them such a fortune. Well + did Mrs. Merrick think of the man whom she had loved so dearly and truly + and who had pretended to be so fond of her. But, she knew too well that + she had been deceived, that he had married her under a false name, and had + she not recognised him at the hotel with a lady who was his wife!—She + had never told her son the cause of her sudden illness when first at the + hotel; and her son had never mentioned the affair of the dying stranger at + the dinner-table, thinking his mother still too weak to be disturbed by + such shocking calamities. His partner from Montreal wrote; “You had better + stay and see about this large fortune at once. Every one is not such a + lucky fellow as you.” A Mr. Tidal was mentioned as executor of the estate + of W. M. Stephens, and our hero prepared at once to call on that + gentleman, who received him very friendly, but requested him to call the + next day with his mother at the family residence of the deceased, which + visit had been particularly desired by the deceased gentleman’s widow. Our + young gentleman of coarse promised to comply with the wish, and was very + much surprised when, on returning to his mother, he found her hesitating,—but + for a moment only, a second thought, as she promised to accompany him, + feeling in her heart that, whatever Mrs. Stephens might wish to see her + for, she would certainly not blame her for anything, as all the wrong that + had been committed had been committed towards her, but still her heart was + heavy when at two o’clock they started in one of those stage coaches of + which London has so many. After about two hours’ drive they alighted in + front of an old-fashioned family mansion, surrounded by well cultivated + grounds. The gentleman, Mr. Vidal, on whom young Mr. Merrick had called + the day previous, came to the portal to greet them, and begged Mrs. + Merrick to have the kindness to see Mrs. Stephens in her own apartments, + as she was in delicate health and very much crushed down through the + sudden loss of her husband. A maid who had appeared at the time was + ordered to direct Mrs. Merrick to the boudoir of her mistress and, + announcing the visitor, withdrew. Mrs. Stephens, attired in deep mourning, + looked very pale. On seeing Mrs. Merrick enter, she rose from her chair + and holding both hands out to greet the astonished lady, said: “Oh, you + wronged, wronged woman,” but then tears smothered her words, and it was + quite a while before she could speak again. “How can I atone for the + wrongs committed on you, but I promised him. His last request was that I + would see you and beg your forgiveness for him. He had recognised you at + once at the hotel, and he felt his Conscience troubling him very much. But + the sight of your son—his son—was too much for him. He felt he + could not live to meet the son he had so wronged and the woman he had so + loved and so betrayed. He told me all when the blood was streaming and + smothered his words. He had married me by the command of his father for my + money, but had afterwards learned to love me when he saw I was so devoted + to him, but he had not the courage to tell me of you and his child. I + often noticed him looking sad, and when I asked him to tell me what was + troubling him he would say: ‘Don’t be so kind to me, I don’t deserve it, I + am very, very wicked.’” + </p> + <p> + “We have no children, our first-born, a boy, only lived one hour; the + second, a girl, only three days. Since then my health has never been good, + but he was so kind, so indulgent with all my weaknesses, that I can hardly + realize he was ever unkind to any one. But his father was a stern old man + of iron will who made him leave you and marry me for my father’s money. + All this I could not tell to your son nor to anybody else than to you. + Will you tell me you forgive him? I know your heart is pure and good or + you would have troubled him while alive. Don’t sit so mute, you frighten + me; shall I call your son—the servants?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, don’t call anybody,” was her response, “but speak of him, of him + you loved, the only one I have ever loved save my child.” At the thought + of her son she broke out into sobs, and the blessed tears brought balm to + her heart. Silence prevailed for a long time, save the sobs of both. At + length a knock was heard, and a servant inquired if the ladies wished to + take refreshments with the gentlemen. Both would have declined but for + appearance sake, and, after bathing their faces, descended to the room + where the gentlemen had transacted their business. + </p> + <p> + On entering Mrs. Stephens approached Willie saying: “I hope you have + consented to take, in addition to the name which you bear already, the + name of Stephens, which was the last desire of my dear husband and also my + sincere wish.” + </p> + <p> + “If my mother consents to assume that name also I shall, but otherwise I + must decline, as I shall never bear any other name than my mother whom I + love and honor, and who can, if she prefer, refuse this bequest and need + never tell me why. I know she will do all for the best if it combine with + honor.” + </p> + <p> + “She will not refuse,” was Mr. Vidal’s reply; “and now, ladies, I have to + beg you to sign those deeds that we are able to congratulate the new lord + of the estate.”—(All signed). + </p> + <p> + The end of this story is very short now. Mr. W. Merrick Stephens and + mother never returned to Montreal, but are living with Mrs. Stephens (the + widow) on the same estate and never has there existed a more perfect + harmony and friendship—both trying to make each other happy and + those around them. The last I heard from them was the following letter: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON, December 18. + + MY DEAR OLD FRIEND, + + Don’t be angry that I call you old. I know you are not + much older than myself, but it seems you are nearer to me + when I address you so. How my life has changed! You + used to tell me the evening will be better than the morning + How true! She is so good (his wife), both Willie + and I cannot help loving and admiring her. She thinks + Willie looks like him and has many of his ways. If her + health is good next spring we shall all three visit Canada, + I think the sea-voyage will do her good. I shall be so + proud to introduce her to you, and so glad to see you + again who helped and advised me always for the best. + You can write the history of my life it you like. Why + did you ask my permission? You well knew I would + do more for you if you let me I know you will not say + anything to harm us, and I shall forever consider myself + in your debt, but you must send us one of your books + when out. Willie joins with me in sending his best regards + to your husband and children and believe me for ever + your grateful friend. + + EMMA MERRICK STEPHENS +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. — A Tale of Bigamy. + </h2> + <p> + Lillie Malcolm was the daughter of Scotch parents who had emigrated to + Montreal about the year 1835. Her father was a schoolmaster, having a + private school in the neighborhood of St. Antoine street, and at the time + of their arrival in this city Lillie was about the age of ten. The little + girl was precocious and talented, and very pretty, and was also, as + regards both these characteristics, admired and made much of. As the girl + grew older she became a little vain and conceited, her principal aim being + to gain the plaudits of the visitors at her father’s house for her singing + or other performances, which were many and various, the versatility of the + girl being remarkable. By the time she was seventeen, Lillie Malcolm + became known as the prettiest and most accomplished young lady in the + neighborhood, and no church or Sunday-school gathering was complete + without a song or recitation by her. + </p> + <p> + But Lillie aspired somewhat higher than Sunday-school concerts and such + circumspect circles. She longed for an entree into the inner and higher + circles of Montreal society where she felt that she could rise above the + common level, and take a position in keeping with her education and + accomplishments. Unfortunately for the ambitious girl her father, though + highly respectable, was very poor, and so altogether debarred from + participating with his family in the round of social pleasures in which + the <i>bon ton</i> of Montreal indulge; added to this, he was a strict + Presbyterian, and was averse to consenting even when his daughter <i>did</i> + receive an invitation to some of the houses of her limited number of + acquaintances. + </p> + <p> + The poor girl fretted and repined at her lot. She could manage the + household affairs if required, but her mother or sister invariably + attended to that, and so her talents were not brought into requisition; + she could speak fluently and, as a clergyman or lawyer, would certainly + have distinguished herself, but women were not required or even tolerated + as clergymen or lawyers; she would (so she imagined) have made an + excellent wife for a fairly rich young man, but the young men did not seem + to want wives without money or social rank, and so poor Lillie fretted and + fumed, occasionally attending the many brilliant weddings which were + celebrated in the fashionable churches, and wondering how it was that so + many plain and unattractive girls got husbands, while she was without even + a proposal. It is true she had no lack of admirers; these flocked round + her like bees in a flower-garden, but few of them were eligible as + suitors; and the few who were, although they admired her openly, and paid + her great attention, never approached the subject of marriage. + </p> + <p> + Things went on in this way till Miss Malcolm was twenty-three, when she + made the acquaintance of Captain FitzMarshall, an officer of Her Majesty’s + army, who was stationed in Montreal. FitzMarshall was very highly + connected, being the grandson of an English Duke, and was greatly sought + after by the belles of Montreal; but he, having met Lillie Malcolm by + chance at the house of a mutual acquaintance, vowed that she was the only + beauty in Montreal, and was even, marked in his addresses to her. Lillie’s + heart fluttered with delight at the thought of actually out-doing the + acknowledged society belles, and she would have been in ecstasy if she + could only have appeared on the arm of her admirer at one of the public + assemblies to which he had offered to bring her, but her father would not + permit her to enter a circle unfitted for his means and her station, + particularly as neither he nor her mother would be present to look after + her. + </p> + <p> + Before the close of FitzMarshall’s second year in Canada he had made + Lillie Malcolm’s heart glad by offering his heart and hand; he also + communicated the matter to Mr. Malcolm, but the latter gentleman shook his + head dubiously, and asked him if he had consulted his friends in England. + When he replied that he had not, the old gentleman gently but firmly + informed him that, although he esteemed him highly, yet he would not have + his friends say that he had been entrapped into a marriage with one who + was socially his inferior, and that, till he had written to his relatives + and obtained their consent to his marriage, it would be better for him to + discontinue his visits to the house. FitzMarshall pleaded strongly, but + the old man was firm, and so the poor love-sick Captain had to content + himself with the assurance that, if his friends consented to his marriage + (for although a Captain he was only twenty-four), he would be only too + happy to confide his daughter to his keeping. Accordingly the young + officer took his departure from the house, with the understanding that + when the return mail arrived from England he was to call at once, and, if + agreeable to his family at home, to be formally betrothed to the fair + Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + The weeks rolled by as if they were years, and at the expiration of that + time FitzMarshall received letters from home, ordering him to obtain leave + of absence and to take the next steamer for England. With a heavy heart he + disclosed the contents to Mr. Malcolm, who of course expected something of + the kind, and told him that he must now discontinue all communication with + his daughter. The order came, unfortunately, too late, as the young couple + had already met frequently clandestinely and forestalled their expected + honey-moon. + </p> + <p> + However, to England FitzMarshall must go or be disinherited, so, bidding + his inamorata to cheer up, that he would soon be back to claim her as his + lawful wife, he set sail, and left the poor girl, soon to become a mother + alone with her austere father and unsympathetic mother. Weeks went by + without a word from him for whom the girl would have laid down her life, + and her letters, written we may say with her tears, were returned to her + unopened. The truth flashed quickly on the young girl—she was + deserted! The aristocratic friends of the young man would never allow him + to see her more, and he was weak enough to be put in pupilage. Quickly + making up her mind how to act, with indomitable courage she gathered up + what little trinkets and jewellery she possessed, she converted them into + money which yielded her nearly two hundred dollars (for she had received + valuable presents from her lover and some money), and, one evening + slipping out quietly, she took the train for Toronto, proceeding from + thence to Detroit, where she established herself as the widow of an + English officer, prepared to receive pupils in languages and music. + </p> + <p> + But she was prepared for more than this. Her heart had become thoroughly + steeled by the harsh treatment which she considered she had received from + her father and others, so she laid herself out to make what capital she + could, not only out of her accomplishments but also of her beauty, and + with such success that she obtained an elegant establishment at the hands + of a wealthy Michigan shipping merchant, the public being led to believe + that she had become possessed of an estate in trust for her child (a boy) + who was just then born. For several years she lived in this way, always + moving along quietly and respectably, when the old gentleman died, leaving + her but a few hundred dollars capital, for he had neglected to provide for + this contingency, and she, with less forethought than one would imagine, + had never considered such a possibility. Mrs. McClintock, as she now + called herself, began to think of returning to her old business as a + teacher, but there was little necessity, for an old gentleman who had made + a fortune as a distiller, an acquaintance of the deceased merchant, soon + made excuse for calling upon her, and made undoubted advances to her. It + may be that he knew something of his friend’s arrangements, or that he + only suspected them; however, the widow managed matters so adroitly that + he imagined he must have been mistaken, and that the reports he had heard + were not true. The house was elegantly and tastefully furnished, the lady + was modestly, yet richly attired, the little boy and his nurse lending an + air of respectability to the whole establishment only to be out-done by + the conversation and demeanor of the lady herself, who was not only the + peer, but the superior of any lady among the large circle of the old + gentleman’s acquaintances. He called about some lessons for his eldest + daughter, but was informed that Mrs. McClintock no longer gave lessons; he + then suggested that she might recommend a teacher of French, and + endeavored to prolong the interview, but the lady sedately answered all + his queries with a sad and pensive expression far removed from what he had + expected, and rising politely, rang the bell for her servant to show him + out. + </p> + <p> + After a little time, however, the old man returned to the charge. He had + bought the terrace in which Mrs. McClintock lived, and called to know what + he could do, in the way of repairs, etc. He pressed his suit in various + ways, but the widow pretended not to see it at all till she had the old + man down on his knees; then she played with him most adroitly, explaining + that her lonely position left her open to the tongue of rumor, and that + she could not allow him to call so frequently. She played her cards so + well that the old man firmly believed she was a modest and retiring widow, + and did not the law forbid him, he would have married her. As it was, she + led him to hand her the deed of the house she lived in, and to settle a + large amount on both herself and his child (a beautiful girl), who was + born about a year after his first visit to her house in his capacity of + landlord. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding all her precautions Mrs. McClintock was the subject of + much gossip in the neighborhood in which she resided, and many were the + guesses (many of them wide of the mark) which were made about her past + history. But they could only talk vaguely and shrug their shoulders at the + mention of the lady’s name; for she lived very circumspectly, had a pew in + St. Paul’s Church, and stood well with the minister and leading church + people; her children too were models of neatness and propriety, and though + as unlike as children having <i>one</i> common parent could well be + (Jessie being dark and petite with piercing brown eyes, while Charlie was + tall and exceedingly fair), yet they had both the enviable reputation of + being the best bred and best behaved children on Jefferson Avenue. + </p> + <p> + As the children grew up they were sent to school, and both, though of + different temperament, were distinguished for their superior ability. + Jessie was quick at anything requiring an amount of ready talent and acute + comprehension, such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Modern Languages, but + Charlie excelled in Classics and what are generally considered the heavier + sciences, and was particularly talented as regards music. He would sit for + hours playing the exquisite <i>Lieder Ohne worte</i> of Mendelssohn, while + Jessie would shrug her shoulders if asked to play, and call on her + brother, saying she could not bear “that nasty practising.” In spite, + however, of her neglect of this accomplishment (for which she had great + natural talent), Jessie McClintock was in great demand in society, and + notwithstanding the equivocal position held by her mother (for although + not openly expressed there was a general feeling that all was not right + with that lady), the young people were asked everywhere, and their mother + kept them carefully in the <i>very best</i> circles, for which their + natural talents and excellent education eminently fitted them. + </p> + <p> + The children, who had seen a gentleman supposed to be their father come at + intervals and then disappear, naturally were inquisitive, and from an + early age were taught that their father was a captain on an Atlantic + Steamer, and of course was frequently away from home. As the children grew + up the story told by them concerning that gentleman did not coincide with + that of the mother, who had always pretended that her husband was dead, so + it was thought advisable for her to remove to Montreal (her parents having + long since died), and assume the rôle of a grass widow whose husband + seldom got off his ship, and then but for a short time, coming generally + at night and remaining indoors during his brief stay. Mrs. McClintock + bought a house in University street, and rarely went out; her children, + however, went to the best schools, and, having made acquaintances, soon + began to go out in the best society as they had done in Detroit. Charlie + soon became entered as a Law Student in the McGill University, and Jessie + had a visiting governess engaged to finish her, a resident young lady, for + obvious reasons, being considered out of place. Jessie grew up a beautiful + young lady, and was the acknowledged belle in many a drawing room; Charlie + went little into society, being engaged in prosecuting his studies in the + University, applying himself so assiduously that in a few years he + graduated with honors, carrying off a gold medal. + </p> + <p> + The people who lived opposite Mrs. McClintock on University street were + curious to know all about that lady’s proceedings, and set a watch on all + her movements. They discovered that at times a carriage was driven hastily + up to the door, generally late at night, from which an elderly gentleman + alighted and entered the house; but, although on the alert, they were + never able to make out his features or even his general appearance, so + quickly was the door of the house opened and closed behind him. Yet even + this discovery was hailed with delight by the gossips; and as after each + visit Jessie appeared with a new watch, locket, brooch, or other trinket + (sent, she said, from England by her father), the tongue of evil report + wagged freely, and was not at all times strictly confined to the truth. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. McClintock was much annoyed when she learnt (from a sympathizing + friend) of the reports which her neighbors were circulating concerning + her; and, as she knew their eyes were constantly upon her house, she + managed to invite the clergyman and his wife, with a few others whom she + had met in church circles, to dinner, and manifested such an interest in + the sewing society that the principal ladies of the congregation called on + her in succession; and although they never got beyond an interchange of + formal visits, yet it served to puzzle the gossips in the streets, and one + or two who had “forgotten” to call on Mrs. McClintock when she first came + to the locality paid her a formal visit; their shaky position in society + being secured by the fact that all the best people called there, including + the Bishop and clergy, and so <i>of course</i> there could be nothing + wrong. For all this plausible reasoning they inwardly believed that there + was “something wrong,” and many of those who called did so mainly under + the apprehension that they would discover something, or read in the + countenance of their notorious neighbor something that would give a clue + to her past or present career. + </p> + <p> + But those who called from curiosity were sadly disappointed. The house was + neat and well-ordered, yet not extravagantly furnished; those who met the + children were astonished at their appearance and apparent good breeding, + while the hostess received them with the cool courtesy of an English + gentlewoman. The callers went away puzzled more completely than ever, and + to add to their mortification the lady <i>did not return one of their + calls</i>, shewing thereby that she did not care for their acquaintance. + Thus their imaginary condescension was the means of their being snubbed by + one whom they considered scarcely fit to be allowed to inhabit the same + street. + </p> + <p> + When Jessie was nineteen her Mother gave a large party, inviting most of + the young lady’s school friends, also a number of Charlie’s + fellow-students, besides the Rector of the church and his wife and a few + of the neighbors who had always been friendly to Mrs. McClintock, although + having their own ideas regarding her pretensions. All went merry as a + marriage bell, and they beguiled the time with music, whist, bezique, and + like recreative amusements, after which supper was announced, and the + party sat down to a spread such as few of them had ever been partakers + before, and all served in the most elegant style. + </p> + <p> + The viands having been thoroughly discussed, the Rector rose and proposed + the health of the young lady in whose honor they were then assembled, and + in a highly moral speech wished her many happy returns, and all the joys + this world (and also the next) can afford. The toast was honored with + acclamation, and then one of the guests stood up and proposed “the health + of Captain and Mrs. McClintock.” + </p> + <p> + A damper was thrown suddenly on the whole company. Every one seemed to + feel embarrassed, and though no one dared to look at his neighbor, and the + toast was immediately drank by all, yet there came a peculiar feeling over + each person present, as if some spiritualistic influence were at work + restraining their speech and laughter, aye and even forbidding them to + breathe freely. + </p> + <p> + For a time the silence remained unbroken. At length Mrs. McClintock + motioned to Jessie to rise, thus giving the signal for a general departure + to the drawing-room. Here the music was again brought into requisition, + and a few of the young people enjoyed themselves with a game of casino, + but the hilarity of the early part of the evening was conspicuously + absent, those assembled taking an early leave and departing homeward. The + gentleman who had unwittingly worked on the feelings of the remainder of + the guests felt that there was something oppressive in the atmosphere, and + tried to elicit an explanation from a neighbor; but he could get no reply + excepting a tongue thrust into that gentleman’s cheek as much as to say—“You’ve + put your foot in it, old fellow,” and a significant squeeze of the left + arm near the elbow. He had essayed a solo of the harp, and, unfortunately + had struck the one cord [not chord] which was out of tune. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. McClintock preserved an even demeanor throughout the entire evening; + indeed, it is questionable if one of the whole party (the young people + excepted) there, was one so fully self-possessed; and she had such command + over her facial muscles that she bid her guests adieu with a smile as + gracious as that with which she had received them. She gave no more + parties, however, but, confined herself to inviting a few of her most + intimate acquaintances to tea or an informal dinner, to which they were + ever ready to accept an invitation; as, whatever might be the antecedents + of the McClintocks, they were certainly refined and elegant people, and <i>kept + the best table in the city</i>. In time the old gentleman went the way of + all flesh, leaving Mrs. M. independent in every respect. She continued to + pass for some time as a grass widow, but after a few months she coolly + inserted in the Montreal fit papers the following:—“At Calcutta, on + the 18th ult., Captain Charles McClintock, in the 56th year of his age.” + Then she went into deep mourning, the children also dressing in mourning + and refusing to go into society for a time. In about eighteen months after + they donned their ordinary attire, and, as many of those now forming the + circle known as the “upper ten” did not know, and others did not care to + remember, anything concerning their past history, they were received with + open arms, being young, accomplished, and, best of all, tolerably wealthy. + </p> + <p> + Jessie is now married to a wealthy dry goods merchant, and one of the + leaders of fashionable society. Charlie is making headway as a lawyer, + but, having an independent allowance, does not exert himself very much. + The old lady lives pretty much to herself, and, it is said, not + unfrequently takes a glass of Curacoa or Moraschino to drown unpleasant + reflections. Let us, however, before sitting in judgment upon her, put + ourselves in her place, and consider if we would have done half as well + (morally) under the circumstances. Although a disobedient daughter, she + has proved herself a true wife till shamefully deserted, and a + self-denying and tender-hearted mother, who, though giving herself up to + shame for their sake, kept her children from every breath of even + scandalous report, and placed them as well-educated and respectable + members of society. At such a one let only he who is without guilt among + us cast a stone. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. — The Unfortunate Sailor. + </h2> + <p> + Among the many thousand pretty girls that might be seen any fine afternoon + walking down the shady side of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, few would be + found possessing more attractive features and pleasing expression than + Agnes Malcolm. Not that she was the most beautiful girl in Glasgow, for + Agnes was hardly what one would call a beauty; but there was a something + in her face that made it particularly attractive, and caused every + passer-by involuntarily to turn and look after her, although, were the + pedestrian cross-questioned as to what he found to admire in the young + lady, he would have been puzzled what to reply. Agnes had regular + features, good hazel eyes, but not unusually bright ones, a high + intellectual forehead, and tresses of a light auburn hue; her cheeks were + soft as peaches and as delicately tinted, and when she smiled, which was + often, she displayed a complete set of teeth for which no dentist had ever + received a fee. Her sister Alice was the acknowledged belle of the circle + in which the Malcolm family revolved, and was already of a much more + decided type, but Agnes had a frank, lovable expression of countenance + that brightened everywhere she went like a sunbeam, and although she was + not particularly witty (being indeed rather reserved and shy in her + manner), yet she had such a sweet voice, and talked so naturally and with + such a lack of affectation, that it was a pleasure to hold converse with + her. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Malcolm, the girl’s father, had been Captain of an ocean steamer + running between Glasgow and Baltimore and adjacent ports, he had gone down + in the good ship Cyclops, or rather the <i>bad ship</i> Cyclops, for she + proved herself to be utterly unseaworthy, and foundered on her first trip + out, Mrs. Malcolm, being near her confinement at the time, was taken + prematurely ill, and, although she rallied for a time, she never got + fairly well again, and finally followed her husband to the grave, leaving + the two girls to the care of a married sister of their late father, who, + having educated them as became their station, was at the time of which my + narrative treats debating whether she would send them out to earn their + living, or, keeping them a little longer, bring them out in the hope of + getting them married. + </p> + <p> + Alice saved her all further deliberation by announcing in her careless, + happy style that she had engaged to marry a young ship chandler who had + frequently came to the house, but had paid so much attention to <i>both</i> + the young ladies that it was difficult to tell which, if any, of them he + was going to marry. Having made up his mind, however, he did not wish to + delay matters, so, as Alice was only too happy to start an establishment + of her own immediately, he gave notice at the kirk for the following week, + and the wedding was celebrated amidst much rejoicing. Alice was glad to + get a husband, and to be independent of her aunt. Mr. Taylor, her husband, + was delighted to get such a beautiful and accomplished bride, and the old + lady, Alice’s aunt, was heartily glad to get rid of them both, so that + never was rejoicing more universal. + </p> + <p> + But poor Agnes was not so elated. She did not mind her sister being + preferred by Mr. Taylor, for she did not want Mr. Taylor, and besides + Alice was two years her senior, and it was to be expected that she would + be married first. It was her position at home that made her feel + miserable. Whereas the work had been divided between the two girls, it now + was supposed to be done by one; moreover, Mrs. Whitcher, Agnes’s aunt, + began to bully her more than ever, wondering <i>aloud</i> why she could + not get a husband as her sister had done, after so much money had been + spent on her education, and so forth. + </p> + <p> + Agnes could have had her choice not of one, but of <i>ten husbands</i>, + had she wished to do as her sister had done and taken the first eligible + man who offered. But the idea of marrying for an establishment never + entered her unsophisticated brain, and, as she had not yet met her <i>beau + ideal</i> of a husband, she waited patiently, bearing the scoffs and jeers + of her unsympathetic aunt without a murmur, and giving in return for her + daily bread labor that in any other establishment would have yielded her + no small remuneration, had any time in the past two years paid attention + to Agnes Malcolm, was a young man named George Fairfield, second mate of + the ship “Glenalpine,” a good looking young fellow about twenty-three + years old, who was the son of respectable English parents residing at + Liverpool. Agnes, though rather partial to the young man, had paid a deaf + ear to his addresses, not caring to marry a man unless she could give him + her whole heart, but after her sister had gone, and she was left in utter + loneliness, the rude but honest sympathy and love of the handsome sailor + went to her heart, and she consented to marry him on his return from his + next trip. + </p> + <p> + George Fairfield went off as happy as if he had been suddenly appointed + Port Admiral. He felt not the ground he walked on, so light was his heart + and also his tread as he stepped home with his eyes fixed on the stars, + but his mind picturing that happy scene which had been all too short. He + whistled a bar or two of “Love’s Young Dream” as he stepped gaily along, + hoping to receive orders to sail on the morrow; not, as he tried to + explain to his lady-love, that he was anxious to get away from her, but + because he wished to be soon back again, when, receiving a berth as first + mate, he would be in a position to claim her as his bride. The ship did + not sail for a week, and when it did George would have pleaded for one day + more in spite of his previous hurry to be off, however, there was no help + for it, “For men must work and women must weep, though storms be sudden + and waters deep,” and so Mr. George took his position at the taffrail, and + contented himself with flying a blue handkerchief over the stern of the + vessel till the forms on shore were no longer visible. Agnes returned to + her every day occupation as household drudge, sad at losing her lover, yet + not so sad as she would have been had she really given, him her whole + heart unconstrainedly; she shed a few tears as the vessel left the quay, + then turning homewards she mentally counted the weeks which were to elapse + ere she should again see the tapering masts of the “Glenalpine.” She made + her preparations for her wedding methodically and without excitement, and, + following her suitor’s instructions, bought furniture according to her + taste for the little cottage he had rented in anticipation of his exalted + rank as first officer of a clipper. + </p> + <p> + At length the <i>Shipping Gazette</i> announced the Glenalpine as + “homeward bound,” and in due time she was entered at the Custom House. + George rushed with all speed to Mrs. Whitcher’s, and was met with open + arms by his intended bride. She was not very demonstrative, it is true, + but she was glad to see him, and as her face lit up at his approach, the + poor weather-beaten tar forgot all about a fearful gale he had just came + through and its attendant perils, and wondered whether Heaven could + possibly be an improvement on Mrs. Whitcher’s front garden. + </p> + <p> + The wedding took place (as previously arranged) the next day, and the + young couple took up their quarters at their new abode, George voting the + cottage a decided improvement on the ship and Agnes smiling with delight + at the thought of leaving Mrs. Whitcher’s for ever. The ship remained in + port about three weeks, and during that time the young couple lived not + only figuratively but literally “in clover,” as the cottage they had taken + was on the margin of a clover meadow, the sweet perfume of which pervaded + the atmosphere with its health-giving gases, gladdening the hearts and + adding to the vitality of all who came under its influence. + </p> + <p> + But no earthly joys can last forever. George received a telegram ordering + him to be in readiness to sail at any moment and finally an order for + embarkation. + </p> + <p> + With a heavy heart he parted from his young and beautiful wife, the hope, + however, of returning a richer man, better able to make her comfortable, + cheered his manly spirit, and, clasping her once more in his fond embrace, + he jumped into the boat and gave the men the order to pull to his vessel. + His wife stood on the shore wistfully gazing at the ship till she was no + longer visible, then, with a heavy step, she turned slowly homewards. She + thought of the long weary hours she would have to count ere she would see + him again, and, although she had never loved him passionately, she felt + his departure so keenly that she wept long and bitterly. For days she sat + moodily looking out at the sea in the direction his vessel had taken, and + a sad foreboding filled her heart that she would never see him more. Her + comforter in her fitful hours was her maid, a French-Canadian girl, who + had some years previously come to England in the capacity of stewardess on + an ocean steamer, but, having taken fever during the vessel’s stay in + port, and been conveyed to the hospital, she was obliged to take service + till she could again procure a situation on board ship. This girl—she + was named Arline Bertrand—was a native of Montreal, and at this time + about twenty-four years of age and rather good-looking. Bending over her + mistress she would say: “Ah, Madame, Monsieur Fairfield he come back <i>riche, + riche</i>, with plentee nice thing for you!” + </p> + <p> + A few weeks after the vessel’s departure Mrs. Fairfield received news from + the agents of the safe arrival of the vessel at Montreal, and shortly + afterwards she received a letter from her husband, full of joy at the + prospect of seeing her again, and of clasping her in his arms. But, though + “man proposes, God disposes,” and the programme which poor George + Fairfield had so fondly laid out and hoped to execute was destined to be + sadly altered. Weighing anchor late on Saturday night they proceeded + slowly down the river, and on the following Tuesday were out at sea. The + wind was blowing a little fresh, but that suited Captain Fairfield + admirably, for as it was a strong westerly wind, and blowing right astern + it only sent his ship on all the faster, so, crowding on nearly all the + canvas his experience had taught him was safe, he bent over the taffrail + and whistled for more wind to bear him joyously along. + </p> + <p> + All day long they scudded gaily onward, and although towards evening the + wind moderated a little still they went along at a pretty fair pace, and + Captain Fairfield and his ship’s company drank their grog heartily, + anticipating a pleasant and speedy voyage. At bedtime the Captain went on + deck, and, ordering the mate to keep a good lookout, went below and + “turned in.” He was not long in his berth when he heard a great running + and shouting over his head, and then the cry of “Ice ahead!” from the + look-out met his ears. With one bound he rushed on deck, and gave the + order, to “‘Bout ship,” which the mate had already given; but there was no + time to do more than port helm, and so avoid the direct shock from the + massive iceberg, into which at that moment they rushed with terrible + force, the water pouring in torrents, and many of the men being killed by + falling pieces of ice which towered several feet above the mast-head. The + boats were lowered with all speed, and were hardly clear of the + “Glenalpine” when she went down with a plunge head first, and not a + vestige of hull, spars or masts was to be seen. A few of the men had + jumped or fallen into the water; these were all picked up, and on counting + heads it was found that none were missing except the mate and two sailors, + who had been killed by the falling ice. + </p> + <p> + So great had been the hurry of shoving off that they found themselves + without chart, compass, or provisions, save a little keg of water and a + small flask of brandy. However, judging by the direction of the wind, + which the Captain had noted carefully before retiring, the boats’ heads + were put in the direction of the island of Anticosti, and, keeping as + nearly as possible together (there were three boats’ crews), they pulled + hard all night for shore. When the morning broke they fancied they + observed the loom of the land in the distance, and a shout of joy + involuntarily burst from the whole company; they were doomed, however, to + disappointment, for, on the mist clearing away, they could observe nothing + but sky and sea for miles on every hand. The Captain was completely + puzzled how to act, so, summoning a council of war in the gig, they came + to the conclusion that, as they might, instead of pulling toward the land, + pull farther away from it, there was no use wasting their strength pulling + at all, and that they had better keep a careful look out for vessels + either going to or coming from America, and trust in Providence. The water + was served carefully out, and the Captain took the brandy into his own + charge, the men encouraging each other with tales of their past experience + in situations equally trying and still more dangerous. + </p> + <p> + All day they bobbed about on the dancing waves, the oarsmen pulling just + sufficiently to keep headway on their respective boats, but not a sign of + either land or passing vessel was visible. The last round of water was + served out, and the men tried hard to induce the Captain to hand them over + the brandy, some of them sullenly, and intimating an inclination to take + the bottle by force; but the Captain cocking his revolver, which he had + fortunately retained, they subsided into silence, and lay moodily at the + bottom of the boat. They passed the night with heavy hearts, and when + morning dawned despair seized every man of them, for not a vestige of land + was to be seen, neither was there a boat of any kind in sight. Fortunately + the weather was remarkably calm and clear, so they had no difficulty in + keeping together, and in sharing equally their little supply of water, but + now that that was gone what were they to do? + </p> + <p> + Just as they were about to give up all hope a cry of joy from the boat + further to windward caused the occupants of the other two boats to rest on + their oars, and turn in that direction; they strained their eyes in the + endeavor to descry something beyond, but could see nothing. However, those + nearest the point in question evidently could, and so they turned back and + pulled against the wind with all their might, and in a few minutes the + boatswain sung out, “A sail ahead”! causing their hearts to jump for joy. + It was indeed a vessel which was rapidly coming towards them. It proved to + be an American brig called “Frances Smith,” which was bound for the + Mediterranean, and the Captain no sooner sighted the signals of distress + which were waved from the boats than he immediately hove to and picked the + exhausted party up. The brig was rather crowded, as she was of small + tonnage; however, the crew never murmured at the new-comers, but consented + to accept a reduction in their rations, so that the half-famished men + might receive a daily allowance. + </p> + <p> + The brig proceeded on her way, the rescued men insisting on doing their + share of the work, and greatly lightened the labors of the crew. Within a + few days, however, their powers were tried to the uttermost; the wind + freshened to a gale, and threatened to annihilate the poor old brig, which + was not in extra seaworthy condition. They were by this time more than + half-way across the Atlantic, where the seas run sometimes as high as the + yard-arm, and take several days to calm down when they have once been + lashed into fury. The ship’s timbers creaked and groaned, and the + carpenter and his men had much ado to stop the numerous leaks which sprung + in her sides. The next day it blew a hurricane, taking the fore mast and + mainmast away, together with most of the rigging, and leaving the vessel + almost a total wreck. As they were not far from the southern coast of + Ireland, the Captain ordered the boats to be got ready with sails, arms + and provisions; he also took with him a chart and compass, by which he was + enabled to steer for the Fastnat Rock. There was scarcely room for the + large party in the boats, but they all got safely in, a few minutes before + the waterlogged brig went down like a lump of lead. They had not much to + eat, but they had a good supply of water, and, as all the boats were well + fitted with sails, the Captain hoped to make the Irish coast within a few + days, the wind being much more moderate and in their favor. + </p> + <p> + Poor George Fairfield was sick at heart. He was so anxious to get home to + his darling wife, and there he was for the second time at sea in an open + boat, without the means of communicating with his loved Agnes, or of + telling her why he was not at her side. Nevertheless he accepted the state + of affairs with calm resignation, and he and the American Captain laid + their heads together to find out exactly where they were and what course + they had best pursue. + </p> + <p> + As they had had time to take with them a sextant chromometer and + Palinurus, they had no difficulty next day in taking observations, and + found themselves about five hundred miles W.N.W. of Mizen Head. As it was + no use depending on being picked up they made all sail in that direction, + and so rapidly did the strong west wind propel them that on taking + observations the next day they found themselves nearly one hundred and + fifty miles nearer land. It was fortunate that they made such headway, for + they had only one day’s provisions left, and the water was getting pretty + scarce; however, the wind continued favorable, and in less than three days + more, half famished and thoroughly chilled from exposure, they found + themselves at midnight a few miles from the entrance of Queenstown Harbor. + </p> + <p> + Furling their sales, they took to the oars with a will and pulled wildly + towards the landing-place, where they were pleased to hear voices in + conversation. Just then a long whistle was heard from shore, and a husky + voice half whispered, “Boat ahoy!” “Aye, aye,” was the glad response as + the shipwrecked men threw the painter to the owner of the voice, and + taking their arms and instruments, bounded on shore. Imagine their + surprise to find themselves surrounded, their muskets knocked from their + hands, and the latter speedily encircled with a pair of manacles. The + Captain of the Brig tried to remonstrate with the commander of the party, + but a navy revolver was pointed at his head, and he was forbidden to utter + a word. Finding resistance and remonstrance altogether out of the + question, the unfortunate men marched on silently as directed, mentally + endeavoring to explain this sample of Irish hospitality, and confident + that there must be a mistake somewhere, but of the precise nature of that + error they had not the faintest idea. + </p> + <p> + Arrived at the gaol, they were severally incarcerated and their handcuffs + taken off. Then, as they signified that they were hungry, they were + liberally supplied with buttermilk and oatmeal porridge, which many of + them thought the best and most sensible part of the whole proceeding. As + it was past midnight, and they were all nearly exhausted they allowed + their curiosity to wait till the morrow, and, without any questioning or + speculation, fell fast asleep, most of them remaining quiescent unfed late + the following afternoon. When they awoke they found a warm meal awaiting + them, but no reply as to the reason for their detention could be got out + of the turnkey, who seemed to think their question one of the greatest + jokes ever perpetrated within the precincts of that edifice. At last + Fairfield summoned the turnkey. There was something commanding in his tone + which bade the gaoler treat him with respect, and to his enquiry as to + whether he could see a lawyer the man replied that he could send for one + immediately, but would vouchsafe no information. + </p> + <p> + In a short time Councillor Quinn called in answer to Captain Fairfield’s + summons, when the latter asked him to explain what reason the authorities + had for treating him in this fashion. The eminent legal practitioner + evidently thought this as great a joke as did Mr. Fitzgerald, the turnkey, + for he thrust his tongue in his cheek, and remained silent. On Fairfield + reiterating the question in a stern tone he became more serious and said + affably “My dear sir, do you not know what you are arrested for?” + </p> + <p> + Fairfield then became angry and said “If I did, why would I send for you + to tell me? Is this your boasted Irish hospitality, in the exercise of + which you lock up every man who happens to be cast away on your shores, + and then laugh at him when he asks you a civil question?” + </p> + <p> + On seeing that Fairfield had really lost his temper, the astonished + barrister said “Did you not command the party of armed men who were + captured last night in the harbor?” + </p> + <p> + “I commanded a crew of shipwrecked sailors, as also did my companion in + ill-treatment, Captain Westover.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Well of course you can put in that plea if you wish at your trial, + but I am afraid it will avail you little. Your arms, too, are of an + American pattern, similar to that known to be used by the Fenians.” + </p> + <p> + “Good Heavens! do they take me for a Fenian?” said Fairfield,—“why, + I am an English officer, captain of a merchant vessel of the port of + Glasgow.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you any papers to prove this?” said the lawyer. + </p> + <p> + “No, they all went down with the vessel, but they can easily find out + whether my statements be correct by communicating with the agents.” + </p> + <p> + “That will be for you to do, when you are brought to trial, which may not + be for some time, as there is a surplus of work on hand this session.” + </p> + <p> + “But can I not demand a trial?” + </p> + <p> + “No, the <i>Habeas Corpus</i> Act is suspended, and you must just make + yourself as comfortable as you can under the circumstances.” + </p> + <p> + Poor Fairfield wrung his hands and stamped the floor with rage. He cursed + Ireland and her people and laws, or rather the want of them; then, as + reason took the place of passion, he sat down and wrote a letter to his + wife, informing her of his deplorable condition, and urging her to + communicate with the agents of his vessel immediately. This letter never + reached her, for, having heard of the wreck of the Glenalpine (some + portions of the bows being found by a homeward-bound steamer imbedded in a + large block of ice), she never doubted for an instant but that her husband + had gone down with the vessel. The poor girl now felt almost broken down. + But for the sake of the child which she expected she would have likely + died with grief. The Canadian girl, Arline Bertrand, had told her so much + of Canada, especially of Montreal, that she decided to follow the girl to + her native land, and try to earn a living for herself and child, should + God spare it, there, particularly as her aunt, Mrs. Whitcher, seemed to be + afraid poor Agnes should return to her. Mrs. Fairfield accordingly sold + her little household goods, and soon after bid her aunt and sister + farewell, and took passage on a Montreal steamer, Bertrand having secured + for herself a place as stewardess. Arrived in Montreal, she visited the + girl’s parents, hoping to find reasonable lodgings during her approaching + sickness, but the girl’s mother did not believe her daughter’s story about + her young mistress, but thought her a young unfortunate girl who had come + to Canada to hide her shame. She offered kindly to bring and introduce her + to the nuns of St. Pélagie as the most proper place for her in her + condition. Mrs. Fairfield, thanking her, was glad to find so suitable a + shelter. Paying her board a week in advance, she retired to her room, but + found to her surprise that room had several more occupants all in the same + condition. The manner and language of those unfortunate creatures did not + suit Mrs. Fairfield at all, and as she mentioned her disappointment at not + having a room to herself to one of the nuns, she was informed that a + private room was three times the amount. The sister also told her that the + babe when born could not be cared for there, but would have to be sent to + the Grey Nunnery, and that she had better part with it as soon as born. + This frightened poor Agnes so much that she resolved not to stay there, + come what might. Asking the next morning permission to take a walk, she + had great trouble to get it granted, the nun informing her that the people + in Montreal were so very bad, and that she would run great danger to go + out alone. But Agnes thought she would risk this danger. She accordingly + went up Campeau street, at which corner St. Pélagie is situated. She + walked and walked till she came to St. Mary street. There inquiring for + the residence of a physician, some kind person directed her to Dr. P——‘s + drug store on Notre Dame street. To him she told her story and her desire + to find a more suitable place. He gave her the address of my house, and + advised her to come under my care. On hearing her story I could not for a + moment doubt her truthfulness, and received her gladly at, my place, + sending the servant with a note for Mrs. F——‘s things to St. + Pélagie in the afternoon, which were, after some little delay and trouble, + handed out to her, no doubt the sisters feeling sorry that the fair young + English lady did not return. Her former servant, Arline Bertrand, having + returned as stewardess to England again, Mrs. Fairfield did not care to + let the girl’s mother know that she had left the convent, hoping to find + means to let Arline know her whereabouts later, as the old lady had + certainly meant well enough when bringing her to St. Pélagie. Mrs. + Fairfield was only three weeks at my house when a baby boy was born to + her. Then her sorrows seemed to be greater than ever. She thought of + having lost her husband, the father of the innocent baby, so early seemed + almost to kill her, and I frequently heard her implore God to take them + both. But it was not in his wise ordination to grant her wish. She + regained her strength gradually, and with it grew the love for her child + which in all unconsciousness grew quite a stout little fellow who wanted + to be fed, clothed and cared for, which obligations fell alone on its + mother, and as her means became always smaller, she decided to take a + situation with a wealthy family from Savannah who were staying at this + time at my house, the Southern lady having taken a great interest from the + beginning of their meeting in Mrs. Fairfield, offered her a comfortable + home and fair compensation if she would accompany them, attend to the + wants of the lady and her baby during their travels, and act as companion + and housekeeper when at their Southern home. Mrs. Fairfield took it very + hard to part from her little boy, but leaving it with a reliable nurse, + and under my special observation, she was reconciled at last. Hoping to + return in one year, she left. Every thing went on well. Her letters were + full of gratitude. Her Southern friends never allowed her to feel her + subordinate position for a moment. She also remitted regularly the wages + for the nurse, and little George was, when fifteen months old, a lovely + fair boy, and as large as a child two years old. + </p> + <p> + Some months passed during which I did not hear from Mrs. Fairfield, nor + did the nurse receive her payment. I wrote to Savannah, but received no + answer. The nurse, poor woman, naturally could not keep the child without + payment, and brought him one fine afternoon to my house to leave him, and + also demanding the back pay. My own children, being delighted with the + dear little fellow, we decided to keep and bring him up as our own child + should his mother never return. And many of my fair patients will remember + the lovely, little curly-headed fellow who would run into the parlor + uninvited, but whose large blue eyes would appeal so sweetly to be allowed + to stay. Indeed we all became so attached to him that we hoped nobody + would ever claim him. And, as twelve months had passed, I gave up all hope + of ever hearing from Mrs. Fairfield again. + </p> + <p> + Fairfield had been confined in Pentenville, having been convicted on a + charge of felony-treason, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. His + wife and, friends not having heard of his trial, no one was present to + bear testimony in his favor, and both he and his men (many of whom + happened to be Irishmen) were imprisoned. The Americans claimed the + protection of their flag, a covering which proved sufficiently substantial + to protect them, but the only flag which could have been claimed by poor + unfortunate George was the very one he was accused of attacking. + </p> + <p> + As the British Government did not wish to deal harshly with Fenian + prisoners, or, as its enemies said, was afraid to trample any longer on + the Irish people, George Fairfield and his companions, in common with many + real Fenians, were liberated some years before the expiration of their + term of servitude. Fairfield at once sought his late home, hoping to find + his wife and child still alive, and cursing his fate, which had cast him + twice on the pitiless ocean, only to be arrested and imprisoned as soon as + he got to land. But the worst had yet to come. When he arrived at his old + home and found it occupied by strangers his heart sank within him; on + enquiring for Mrs. Fairfield he was informed that she had gone to America + with her servant Bertrand. Grasping the railings to keep himself from + falling, the poor stricken man gazed wildly at his informant, as though + stunned by a severe blow; then gasping out an apology of some kind he + rushed along the street like a madman, stopping not till he had got far + out into the open country. There, throwing himself headlong on the grass, + he shed tears of anguish, moaning as if in bodily pain. “Why did I not go + down with the ship?” he cried bitterly; “Was it for this I toiled twice + over on the open sea? Ah, why was I ever born to be tossed about, + imprisoned, and deserted?” + </p> + <p> + For hours he lay insensible on the grass, till the cool evening air, + bringing his mind once more into activity, he arose with a groan, and + slowly retraced his steps, not caring whither he went. Passing along the + quay he looked at the dark, sullen water, and for a moment was impelled to + cast himself in and so put an end to his misery, but something in his + better nature restrained him, and he walked moodily along to where an + ocean steamer lay preparing for sea. Anything was better than inaction, + so, as his money was all gone and he would have some difficulty in + obtaining a position as Captain or even as mate, he shipped as a foremast + hand, and took his place with the crew. Right glad would he have been to + have changed places with any one of the jolly tars around him; their songs + and jests, however, diverted the current of his thoughts and kept him from + his bitter reflections for a time at least. + </p> + <p> + In a short time they were out at sea and, having plenty of work to do + handing sails, reefing and steering, he almost forgot his great and deep + heart-wound, and, although he could not be prevailed upon to sing a song + or even to join in a chorus, yet he listened attentively to the yarns of + the sailors, and always applauded their songs. + </p> + <p> + The vessel was trading between Glasgow and Montreal, and within a short + time they were anchored at the latter port; the sailors all went ashore as + soon as the vessel was safely moored, and Fairfield having nothing else to + occupy his mind, went up the wharf in search of Bertrand’s parents house. + He was directed to a house on St. Bonaventure street, where he found the + mother of Arline Bertrand all right, but her daughter was not at home. She + had gone as stewardess abroad again and married there. She had promised to + visit her parents at some future time. When Captain Fairfield enquired + about the lady she had come out with three years previous, the old lady + broke out into sobs, and told him that the lady had died during her + confinement in St. Pélagie, but that the nuns would give him more + information about it if he would go there. If the babe had lived she did + not know, but the sisters had offered to give to her daughter the lady’s + clothes and trunk if she came herself to demand it. This last blow seemed + to be the hardest in all his sorrow. Thinking himself so near to find his + beloved wife, and now all gone and forever, it seemed to hard. But he + would go and see the nuns and hear how she had died, and if his child had + lived or was alive now. This thought gave him new hopes, and, Madame + Bertrand offering to accompany him, they proceeded to St. Pélagie to + obtain an interview with the Lady Superioress. He had never thought of the + child before, but now it was his whole thought and hope to find it alive. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at the convent he had not to wait very long to see the desired + lady, and on informing her of his wishes she most kindly consented to + search all records, but, as the number of patients received every year is + very large he had to content himself till the following day when she would + give him all the information he desired. The next day seemed never coming. + But at last poor George felt as if his worst doom would be sealed now. The + lady in waiting informed him that she felt happy to be able to tell him + that his child (a little girl) was alive and at that present moment at a + convent in Cemetery street, where he could see it and take it out on + payment of its maintenance. The lady’s clothes had been disposed of. As + already stated, a long time had elapsed since her death. Capt. Fairfield, + with a few lines from the sisters of St. Pélagie, proceeded to the St. + Joseph’s Home, on Cemetery street, and, on handing the note, a little girl + about three years old was shown to him to be his child. The poor little + girl seemed afraid to look at him, and as the child could only speak + French he felt as if a board was between him and the child; but her looks, + he thought, were somewhat like his beloved Agnes. The child’s little curls + had been cut a few days before, so a nun told him. What was he to do with + the child? He was not a Captain now, and would have to make first a + position for himself again, and then he could claim his child. The child + seemed happy, and the nuns offering to keep it for a moderate price he + decided to give what money he had earned during his passage and come again + and again till the little girl could speak English to him, which the nuns + promised to teach her, and then, to take her home to his native land. He + had no parents alive, but he thought when going back to England he would + call and see Mrs. Taylor, Agnes’ sister Alice. He had never visited her, + and he felt so bad to think that she had not helped her sister in + distress. He well remembered his wife’s spirit and independence, and that + made him think that his wife had never made her wants known to them. + However, the ship sailed again. He brought toys and sweetmeats to his + darling little girl, to whom he felt with every visit more and more + attached, and the parting was harder than he could have imagined. + </p> + <p> + Returned to Glasgow. On a later voyage, he proceeded at once to Mrs. + Taylor’s house, and was struck at the happy appearance of his + sister-in-law, who, when she recognized him, became quite alarmed and was + near fainting. When Mr. Taylor, who was struck for a moment also, regained + his self-possession, he allowed poor George to tell his sad story, both + listening with interest. But when he related how his wife had died and he + had at last found his child—Alice broke out, “She is not dead! She + is not dead, George! We had a letter only a week ago. She is in Paris.” + George Fairfield was thunderstruck at this revelation. Alice brought the + letter, which he saw was from his Agnes. But how could be this mistake + with the deceased lady in the convent and the child,—whose child was + it! + </p> + <p> + Agnes wrote to her sister that she had intended travelling with the + Southern family to the Continent. When on the oceans the Franco-Prussian + war was declared. They had to stop at Southampton and, instead of going to + Germany, they went to the South of France, and, as she had no letters from + me for some time, she was almost beside herself. The Southern lady being + in such delicate state of health she could not think of leaving her, but + had to accompany her. All letters sent from or sent to France were + carefully inspected by the Government, and thus it happened that I had not + received any communication for a long time. She had at last expected that + her letters had gone astray, then she had written to her sister, Mrs. + Taylor, asking her to write to me and try to obtain in this way + information about her boy. + </p> + <p> + Captain Fairfield would have liked to start at once in search of his + darling wife, but Mr. Taylor, who saw the danger for him in going to + France at this time, prevented him from acting rashly, also fearing that + the sudden shock to Agnes in seeing her husband whom she had bemoaned so + long would be of great injury to her health, so it was decided that Alice + should write first, saying in her letter that there were some hopes of + Captain Fairfield being alive. The next mail should bring a letter from + the Captain himself to his wife. Both letters were duly posted, but when + the steamer on which George Fairfield was mate was ready to sail again no + answer had been received from, France, and George had to cross the ocean + again. + </p> + <p> + Having received my address from Mrs. Taylor he intended to come and see me + on his arrival in this port, and this time he was more fortunate: the ship + made a quick voyage, and as Mrs. Taylor had written to me by a previous + steamer, informing me of all these strange incidents, I looked out for + him. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon in the month of August, 1871, when I was driving along the + wharf, I saw a steamer coming in, and on enquiring the name of it I found + it was the one with which I expected Mr. Fairfield. I drove home with all + speed, and as it was late in the afternoon Master George had his little + white frock pretty well soiled; but, on telling him his papa would soon, + be here to see him, he consented readily to leave his play and undergo an + extra bathing—his little skin being so fair the least speck would + show—and scarcely had we finished the operation when the door-bell + rang and a weather-beaten gentlemen inquired for me. His surprise was + great when he found I had expected him, and on seeing his beautiful child + his happiness knew no bounds. + </p> + <p> + As soon as he had a little rested he related to us all his trials and + miseries, which seemed like a fairy tale. But when would Mrs. Fairfield + return and meet her husband, was the next question, and where? He came + every day and spent many an hour at our house playing with his child and + wishing for his wife to return. He often said it would be almost too much + happiness for him; that he was afraid something might cross his plans + again. I had written to Savannah again to hear if the family would return + from Europe soon. At last a letter came informing me that the family, as + also Mrs. Fairfield, had embarked on a New York steamer, and would be + expected home within a short time. When Captain Fairfield heard the good + news he made arrangements not to return with his vessel to Glasgow but + await the arrival of his long lost wife. He telegraphed to the agents in + New York, desiring them to deliver a telegram at once to Mrs. Fairfield on + her arrival. The message read thus: “Mrs. Capt. Fairfield is wanted in + Montreal immediately. Important business. Answer.” In two days we had an + answer which read: “Will start at once, hope all well, Agnes Fairfield.” + Late in the evening the same day the New York train arrived rather late, + but with it Captain Fairfield’s wife. When the Captain saw his wife + approaching he dropped the boy and ran towards her, calling her by her + name, but she no sooner saw him than she fell senseless just inside the + hall door. I would have raised her; but shoving me aside he took her + tenderly in his arms and carried her upstairs. Then calling her by all + sorts of endearing terms he conjured here to open her eyes and speak to + him. After a time she revived. When she came to herself, she gazed wildly + around the room, enquiring eagerly, Where is he? I had persuaded Captain + Fairfield to retire to an adjoining room for a while, and then brought + little George to her pretending her enquiries were meant for him; but her + mind was perfectly clear, and she demanded an explanation. I then told her + in short what had occurred, when she broke out in an hysterical cry. I + called Captain Fairfield to her, imploring him to try and dry her tears. + But he let his head sink into his hands and wept like a child himself. + Little George did not care for this proceeding at all, so he said he + rather would keep me for his mamma because I did not cry. I hope he never + will have the tenth part of the trial both his parents had. + </p> + <p> + For some time the now happy family stayed at Montreal, but at last Captain + Fairfield had to resume his duties, but as he would never part from his + wife and child again, he took both on the steamship with him. The parting + from the dear little child George nearly broke my children’s hearts, who + had looked upon him as their baby brother, and I promised to myself then + never to take a strange child into my house if I could not keep it for + ever, for even my old heart fretted after him. + </p> + <p> + The little girl in the asylum whom Captain Fairfield thought his child he + did not forget, but took with him to England on a later trip, where Mr. + and Mrs. Taylor, who had no family, adopted her. The nuns at St. Pélagie + were surprised when they heard of the mistake which was made, but could + never find out who was the young English girl who died alone there. God + has certainly taken care of her child, for it is in a good home, well + provided for, and much beloved. Captain, Mrs., and little George Fairfield + visited, before their final departure, the parents of Arline Bertrand, on + Bonaventure street, and informed them of their existence. The old lady was + so surprised that it took a long time to explain, but she promised to let + her daughter know all about it. + </p> + <p> + Captain Fairfield is not crossing the ocean any more, having received the + appointment as harbor-master in an English port. He does not want his son + George, who is in College yet, to show any liking for the sea. But I hope + to see once more before I die the young man whom we all loved so dearly + when a baby-boy. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + +<p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> + </p> + + + <h2> + THE NIGHT BELL. + </h2> + <p> + My night-bell was pulled very hastily, it was about two o’clock, the night + was bright, it was autumn, and, as I hastened to see who wanted me in such + a hurry, I saw two young girls sitting on my house-door steps: both had + been running very fast, the case was urgent, and the little rest they took + before the door was opened would enable them to return all the faster. I + had hardly opened the door when both commenced to beg me in the most + imploring manner to go at once with them to see a young woman who, as they + thought, must be in great distress. + </p> + <p> + I put on my outer garments, took the street and number of the house, as + the party was entirely unknown to me, and then accompanied them on their + way, which led us through Craig street East, past a beautiful field—the + same where Viger Garden is now. A few more crossings were passed, and we + arrived at the scene where my help was wanted. In front of the house was a + policeman walking to and fro. The house was medium size, built of wood, + was gray, freshly painted, and so were the green blinds. On the road going + the two girls had told me that the house where I was wanted was not a very + good one, but, if I had a heart and was a mother, for Gael’s sake not to + refuse but to go with them. The presence of the guardian of the peace + encouraged me; and if I felt a little chilly at entering a den of vice as + this was it must be excusable as, till then, I only knew of them by name + and what little I had heard of them. + </p> + <p> + I was at once ushered into a little bed-room, from where the shrieks of a + female voice had come as if in great agony and in great pain. I found a + young girl not past her seventeenth year, yet in the last state of labor,—it + was a sight I shall never forget as long as I live: years have past since + then but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were yesterday, and in my + ears are the sound of her voice to help and protect her from the inhuman + abuse which another inmate of the house showered down upon the poor + victim. + </p> + <p> + I discovered that the poor young creature—we will call her Martha—had + only come to Montreal, the day previous, and, on, inquiring for a boarding + house, was driven by a carter to this den. The house being full of + occupants the landlady had made her occupy the same room with another bad + character, a great bony female about forty years of age, with painted + face, and attired in disgusting finery. This great, big, hardened creature + then gave the greatest trouble, would have me remove my patient out of her + room, even at the risk of her life, and I was obliged to call the + assistance of the policeman to have her quieted. + </p> + <p> + After a while all was quiet except the feeble cry of a little girl who had + been born. Born in a house of vice, what will became of it and its + child-mother? I such were my thoughts then, and now, after many years, I + can tell the reader what has become of them, of some of the inmates + anyhow. + </p> + <p> + The woman who kept this house I must, in truth, confess was a good-hearted + person herself, being led astray when quite young, had never thought of + the wrong she was committing by keeping a place of this sort. She had a + widowed mother living in the States and a family of smaller brothers and + sisters who depended mostly on the ill-gotten money this unfortunate + eldest sister would send them for their support. This <i>Madam Flora</i>, + then, was very kind in her way to Martha, and offered to take the baby and + bring it up if I was willing to place it out to nurse with a respectable + woman until such a time that she could take the child herself, as she + intended to give up this life of shame. + </p> + <p> + Martha was a girl well brought up, had been in school till shortly before + this episode of her life, but it was not her mother who had been her + companion during the last two years. + </p> + <p> + Her mother who was too much occupied with her smaller children and other + household affairs had thought it better to send her daughter to a + boarding-school to finish her education, and this was the end of it. If + all mothers would only take the care of their girls when fourteen years + old into their own hands a great deal of trouble might be spared to them. + The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time for most + girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and under her + care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best friend of her + daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she herself was + young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to her daughter’s + little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her child, and save her + in many instances from eternal destruction. Thus poor Martha had no mother + who would listen to her girlish stories. She found plenty companions in + school and very bad advisers. When the truth of her misfortune dawned upon + her, she thought of nothing but to fly from the place to where she did not + know, till the destroyer of her virtue advised her to go to Montreal, + where he would in short join and marry her. To confess to her mother she + could never, and her father she knew would never look at her again, so she + followed his advice, left her home under some pretence, and came to the + place where I found her. She was very glad to get somebody to take the + child from her, for she was fully resolved to lead a better life, and how + could she ever do it with a baby; she was hardly fit to earn her own + living. She told me that an aunt of hers was living in Halifax, the wife + of a sea captain who had no children, and who had often written to her + mother to send one of her children to her. So she resolved to visit this + aunt if some kind person would help her to get there. I consulted with + some of my wealthy and at the same time charitable Christian friends, who + have been, always ready to help me when I had some needy patients, and + with their assistance she was sent for some weeks after her recovery, to a + nice widow lady in the country, and after receiving satisfactory + information about her aunt in Halifax she was sent there, and has, so far + as we have ascertained, never overstepped the bounds of morality again but + was married four years later to a friend of her uncle, also a sea captain. + She has a large family now, and whenever she writes to me she always prays + that God may forgive her and guide the little girl she parted so easy from + some years before. + </p> + <p> + The wife of a private soldier in the Canadian rifles, named Rice had at + the same time lost her own baby only six weeks old, and as her quarters at + the barracks were good and healthy I proposed to send the child there, + Madame Flora offering to pay all necessary expenses. I made arrangements + accordingly, and little Emma (the baby) was soon an inmate of the + barracks. But now a new trouble arose. Mrs. Rice was a sobre, clean, + industrious woman, who with the pay she received for nursing the baby + could make herself and place very comfortable. This made the less + fortunate soldiers’ wives jealous, and their thoughts were bent on nothing + else for awhile but how to get the poor little waif out of barracks. The + baby thrived well under Mrs. Rice’s care, but cried at times, as all + healthy babies will; but as the babies of the other soldiers’ wives never + cried—so their mothers said—they would not suffer a crybaby in + the room, and such a mysterious child where nobody knew where it came + from, and could not find it out either. The larger rooms in the barracks + were in general occupied by different families, and the one where Mrs. + Rice had her quarters was a very large one. It was called the ship, and + was occupied at this time by forty different families. Each had a certain + space, say about 12 by 14 feet, allotted to them, and it was indeed a + surprise to me how neat it was kept, and how one woman would try to have + her place in better order than the other. Their packing boxes were + converted into dressing tables, a little muslin curtain pinned around it, + a looking glass in the centre, and a few ornaments, sea-shells or East + Indian curiosities gave the whole a nice appearance. The washing or + cooking had to be done in out-houses, and at night each family had a large + curtain drawn around their respective place, and it was really astonishing + how little sickness existed among so many men, women and children. Every + morning at 10 o’clock the officers on guard accompanied by a sergeant on + duty had to visit each respective home, and report any irregularities; and + so it happened that my baby was reported as being a great disturber of the + peace. Poor Mrs. Rice was in great trouble. She had learned to love the + child, and was afraid she would have to part with it. What was to be done? + She was ordered to appear the next morning at 12 o’clock before the + commanding officer to receive sentence for her offence. I had attended a + great many officers’ ladies in this regiment, also the Colonel’s lady, and + was well acquainted with that gentleman and his kind heart, so I bid Mrs. + Rice to keep quiet but dress the baby (it was then three months old) in + its little white fur jacket and cap, and bring it with her before the + officers, and promising that I would meet her there also. + </p> + <p> + On my way I met the Doctor of the Regiment, a very kind-hearted gentleman + who, on seeing me, enquired what mischief I had done. I told him of our + trouble, and begged of him to intercede for the poor baby, if possible, + and, as he was well aware that the health of Mrs. Rice was so much + improved by nursing the infant, he thought he would be able to help us. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Rice entered the room, the infant in her arms, the Doctor and myself + following. The colonel, on seeing such a procession enter, could not help + smiling, and as the Doctor with all his eloquence stated our case and of + the necessity for Mrs. Rice’s health to nurse the baby, and the danger to + the little baby’s life in changing its nurse, the Colonel, as a father, + and a true-hearted gentleman, gave not only consent for the baby to stay + in barracks, but ordered other quarters to be given to Rice and his wife,—a + whole room to themselves, where the baby could not annoy anybody. + </p> + <p> + But my story is growing too long, I will hasten to end it. The new + quarters into which Mrs. Rice moved were near the rooms occupied by the + armor sergeant and his wife who had been long in service, and had saved + quite a little fortune, but children they had none. Both became soon so + attached to their little neighbor that they offered quite a sum of money + to Madame Flora if she would give the child over to them for adoption. I + used all influence in my power to persuade Madame Flora to give the child + up, to which she at last consented. I felt a heavy burden lifted off my + heart and conscience when the papers were lawfully made out which gave the + dear little baby into the hands of good Christian people. Now the child + had full rights to live in barracks, but its adopted father’s time was in, + and he retired with a good pension which, along with his savings, enabled + him to buy a house and garden in New London, where the baby has grown up + into a fine young woman, not knowing to this day that her dear father and + mother are not her natural parents. + </p> + <p> + Madame Flora has retired from her life of shame, trying to bring up her + younger sisters in the path of virtue. One of the young girls who had + summoned me on that eventful night in such haste has also reformed, and is + living with a family as helpful servant a good many years, and she has + often told me that the events of that night were the first cause to her + for reflection. The other inmate of the house whom I mentioned, who was so + cruel and disgusting, fell lower and lower,—nothing could we do for + her—she would listen to nothing, and a sudden death ended her life + of shame. + </p> + <p> + May the Lord have mercy on her and guide me, the narrator of these + incidents, in His ways, so that when the last bell will be rung to summon + me before Him I need not hesitate but answer joyfully: I am ready, I am + ready to go. + </p> + <h3> + THE END. + </h3> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Mysteries of Montreal, by Charlotte Fuhrer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIES OF MONTREAL *** + +***** This file should be named 8443-h.htm or 8443-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/4/4/8443/ + + +Text file produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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