Wilkie Collins' The Law and the Lady

W I LK I E CO LL I NS S
N O V E LS .
C r ow n 8 vo . c l ot h ex t r a , ea c h p ost 8 vo b o a r ds, . 2s
. eac h:
c l ot h l l mp, 2 3. 6d . eac h .
AN T O N I NA . T HE F R OZ E N D EE P .
B AS I L
. T H E LAW N T H E LADY A D
H I D E AND S EE K T H E T W O D E ST I N I E S
.
A F TE R DA R K
.
. T H E H AU N T E D H OTE L
T H E F A LL E N L E AV E S
.
T H E D E AD S E C R E T . .
TH E U EE N O F H E A R TS JE Z E B E L S DA U G H T E R

. .
T H E O MAN I N W H I T E . T H E B LA CK R O B E .
N O NAM E . H E ART AN D S C I E N C E .
M Y M I S C E LL AN I E S
I S AY N O
. .
A R MAD A L E . A R OG U E S L I F E
.
T H E M OO N ST O N E . TH E EV I L G EN I U S
MAN AN D W I F E
.
. L I TT L E N O V E L S
P O O R M I SS F I N C H
.
. T H E L E G ACY O F C A I N .
M I SS O R M R S ? . BLI ND L O V E .
T H E N EW MAC DA L E N .
E D IT IO NS M di m 8 o 647 ea c h
P OPU LA R . e u v . . .
T HE W O MAN I N W H I T E T H E M O O N ST O N E . .
A N TO N I NA . T H E D EAD S E C R E T .
T H E N E W MAG DA L E N MAN AND WI F E . .
A R MADA L E .
C H ATTO WI ND U S S t M arti n Lan e, W C

Lo ndon : , I n . s . .
W ILK IE CO LLI NS
TH E
L A W A N D T H E LA D Y
LI B RARY E D I TI O N
L O ND O N
CHATTO W I ND U S
I 9 O3
PRHQ Q%
\ 03
4
MA I N ,
I ng m ar t a
R E G NI ER
THE TH EAT E F RANQA IS, PA IS

R R ),
IN OF AD M I RATI ON F OR THE G REAT AC TOR
AN D OF
A FFE CTI ON F OR TH E TRU E F RI END .

N 0 TE:
A DD RE SS E D TO THE REA D E R .
IN o ff eri n g this book to you I have no Pre face t o wri t e

,
.
I have only to request that you will bear in mind certain

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establi shed truths w hich oc c asmn al l y escape your memory

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when you are reading a work of ction Be pleased then to

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r emember (First ) : that the actions of human beings are not
invariably governed by the laws of pure reaso n (S econdly) :

.
that we are by no means alway s in the habit (especially when

w e happen t o be women ) of bestowi n g ou r love on the objects
which are the mo s t deserving of it in the O pinions of ou r
,
fr i en ds (Thi rdly and Lastly) : that Cha racters whi ch may

.
not have appeared and E vents w hich may n ot have taken

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place Withi n th e limits of ou r ow n individual experience

, ,
may nevertheless b e perfectly natural Characters and perfectly

prob able E vents for all that H aving said thes e few words
, .
,
I have sai di all that seems to be n ece ssary at the present time ;
and I b i d y ou c ordially far e w el l .
W
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LONDON, Februa r y 1 , 1 8 7 5 .
CONTENTS .
A
CH R PAG E
THE B RI D E S M ISTA K E
'
I .
THE B R I D E S TH OU G H TS

II . o
III . RAMS G ATE S AND S 0 16

IV . ON THE WA Y H OME o 25
"
THE L A ND L ADY S D I sc ov ERY

V . 32
VI . M Y OWN D IS C OV E RY
VII . ON THE WAY To THE M A J OR 45
VI I I . THE FR I E N D OR THE W OME N 54
IX . THE D E F E A T or THE M A J OR 61
X . THE S EA R C H
XI . THE R E TU R N To L I F E 92
XI I . THE S C OTC H VE RD I C T 1 01
X I II THE M A N S D E C ISI ON

.
1 07
XIV THE W OM A N S A N SWE R
'

. 112
XV . THE STORY OF THE TR I A L . THE P R E L IM I NA R I E S 1 23
XV I . F I R ST QU E STI OND I D THE W OM A N D I E P OI S ONED I 1 26
X V II . S E C ON D Q U E STI ONW H O P OIS ONE D HE R 1 42
XV III . TH I R D Q U E S TI ONW H AT WA S H IS M OTIV E I I 54
X IX . THE EVI D E NC E F OR THE D EFE NC E 1 69
XX . THE END OF THE TR I A L 174
XX I . I S EE M Y WAY 1 85
XX II . THE M AJ OR M A K E DI FF I CU L TI E S 1 92
XXI II . M Y M OTHE R I N L AW S U RPR IS E S ME
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1 98
XXI V M I SERRI MUS D E XTE RF I R ST V I E W 205
M I SEB B I MU S DE XTE R
.
XX V . SE C OND V I EW 21 2
X XV I . M OR E or II Y OB STI NAOY 225
Vi i CON TE N TS .
C HA R PAG E
XX V I I . M R DE XTE R
. AT H OME 231
X X V II I. IN THE D A RK 242
XX IX . IN THE LI G HT 249
XXX . THE I NDI C TME NT OF M RS B E A U L Y
. 25 7
XXX I . THE D E F E NC E 0F M RS B E A U L Y
. 268
XXX II . A S PE C I MEN OEM Y W IS D OM 27 6
XXX III . A S P E CI ME N OF M Y F OLL Y 27 9
XXX I V . G LENI NCH 29 3
XXX V . M R P LAYMORE S P R OP HE C Y
.

300
XXX V I . A RI E L 309
XXX V II . A T wa s B E D S I D E 31 5
XXX V III . ON THE J OU RNE Y B A C K 327
XX X I X . ON WAY To D E XTE R
TH E 330
XL NEME SIS AT LA ST !
. 336
XLI M R P LAYMORE I N A NEW C H A R A CTE R
. . 361
X LI I M ORE S U RPRIS E S
. 37 1
X LIII AT LA ST !
. 37 7
X LI V OUR NEW H ONE Y M OON
. 381
XLV THE D U ST R E AP D ISTU R B ED
.
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388
X LV I THE C R ISIS D E FE RR E D
. 39 7
X LV II THE WIP E S C ONF E SSI ON
.

401
X LV II I WH AT E L S E C OU L D I DO I
. 41 0
X LI X P A ST A ND F U TU R E
. 41 5
L THE L A ST or THE STORY
.
THE LAW AND THE LADY .
C H A P TE R I .
THE B R I D E

S M I STAK E .
FOR a fter this manner in the ol d time the holy w omen also ,
who trusted in G od adorned themselves being in subj ectio n

, ,
unto their ow n husbands ; even as S arah obeyed Abraham ,
c alling h i m lord
; Whose daughters y e are as lo n g as ye do ,
well a n d are not a fraid with any am az ement

, .

Concluding the Marriage S ervice of the Church o f E ngland

In those well known words my U ncl e S tarkweather shut u p
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hi s book and looked at me across the altar rails with a hearty

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expression of interest on his broad red face A t the same .
time my aunt Mrs S tarkweather standing by my side tapped

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, ,
me smartly on the shoulder and sai d , ,
Valeria you are married

,
Where were my thoughts ? What had become of my at ten

tion ? I was t oo bewildered to kno w I started and looked .
at my new husband H e seemed to be almost as much b e

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wildered as I was The same thought had as I believe

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, ,
occurred t o us both at the same moment Was it real l y .
possible i n spite of hi s mother s O pposition to ou r mar

r i ag e that we were Man and Wi fe ? My A unt S tarkwe ather

settled the question by a second tap on my shoulder .
T ak e his arm sh e Whispered in t h e ton e of a w oman who

had l ost all patienc e w ith me .
I took his arm ,

TH E LA IV AND TH E LAD Y .

Fo l low
your un cle .
Holding fast by my husband s arm I followed my uncle

,
an d the curate who had assisted hi m at the marriage .
The two clergymen led us into the vestry The church was .
in on e of the drear y quarters o f London situated between the ,
City and the West E nd ; the day was dull ; the atmosphere
w as heavy and damp We were a melancholy little weddin g
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'
party worthy of the dreary neighbourhood and the dull day

, .
No relatives or friends of my husband s were present ; h i s

family as I have already hinted disapproved of his marriage

, , .
E xcept my uncle and my aunt no other relations appeared on ,
my side I had lost both my parents and I had but f ew

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friends My dear f ather s faithful ol d cl er k Benjamin at

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tended the wedding to give me away as the phrase is He

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h a d k nown me fro m a child and in my forlorn position h e , , ,
was as good as a father to me .
The last ceremony le ft to be per formed was as usual t h e

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signing o f the marriage register In the con fusion of the

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moment (and in the absence of any in formation to guide me )

I committed a mistakeominous in my A unt S tarkweather s ,

opinion of evil to com e I signed my married instead of my

, .
maiden name .
What cried my uncle in his loudest and cheeriest tones , ,
you have forgotten your ow n name already ? \ Vell ! well !

l et us hope you will never repent parting with it so readil y .
Try again V aleri a t ry again

, .

With trembling n gers I struck the pen throu gh my rst e ff ort

and wrote my maiden nam e, v e ry badly indeed as follows ,
When it came to my husband s turn

I notic ed, w t ih an:
TH E B R I D E 5 III I S TAXE.
'
rise that h i s h and trembled too and t h at e produced a very

p , ,
poor speci me n of his customary signature
My aunt, on being requested to sign , complied under pro ~
test
A bad beginni ng ! she said, pointing to my rst

un fortunate signature wi t h the feather end of her pen I say -

.

with my husbandI hope you may n ot l i ve to regret it

.
E ven then in the days of my ignorance an d m y innocence

, ,
that curious outbreak of my aunt s superstition produced a
certain une asy sensation in my mind It was a consolation .
to me to feel the reassuring pre ssure of my husb and s han d

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It w as an indescribabl e reli e f to hear my uncle s hearty voice
wishi ng me a happy li fe at parting The good man had le ft .
his north country Vicarage (my home since the death of m y

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parents ) e xpressly to read the service at my marriage and he

a n d my aunt had arranged to return by the mid day tr ain -
H e folded me in his great strong arms and he g ave m e a k i ss ,
which must certainly have been heard by t h e idlers waiting for

the bride and b ridegroom outside the church door .

I wish you heal th and happin ess my love with all my , ,
hear t Y ou are Ol d enou gh t o choose for yo u rsel f and n o

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o ffence Mr Woodville you and I ar e n ew friends and I

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pray G od V aleria it may turn out that you have chosen w ell
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O ur h ouse will be dreary enoug h without you 5 but I don t
c ompla in my dear O n the contrary if this change in your

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li fe make s you happier I rej oice Come ! come ! don t cry

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or you will set your aunt off and it s no j oke at her time of

li f e. Besid es, cry ing wil l spoil y our beauty D ry your eyes .
TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
and look in the glass there an d you wil l see that 1 am right
,
.
G ood bye ch i ld and G od bless you

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H e tucked my aunt under his arm and hurried out My ,

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heart s ank a little dearly as I loved my husband when I had

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seen the last of the true friend and protector of my maiden

days.
Th e parting with ol d Benjamin came next I w ish y ou .

Well my dear ; don t forget me was al l he said

,

But the ol d ,

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days at home came b ack on me at those few words Benjamin .
al w ays dined with us on S undays in my father s time and

,
always brought some littl epresent with him for his master s
child I was very near to spoili n g my beauty (as my uncle

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h ad put it) when I Off ered the Ol d man my cheek to kiss and ,
heard him sigh to himself as i f he too w a s not quite hopeful

,
about my f uture life .
My husb and s voice roused me and turned my mind to

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Happi er thoughts .
Shall we go Val er i a l he asked

,

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I stopped him on ou r way out to take advantage of my ,
uncle s advice In other words t o see how I looked in t he

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,
glass over the vestry repl ace .
What does the glass show me ?

The glass shows a tall and slender young woman of three
and twenty years of age S he is not at all the sort o f person
.
who attracts attention in t h e street seeing that she fails to ,
exhibit the popul ar yellow hair and the popular painted

ch eeks He r hair is black 3 dressed in these later days (as it
.
,
w as dressed years since to please her father ) in broad ripples ,
drawn back from the forehead an d gathered into a simple ,
knot behind (like the hair o f the Venus de M edici ) so as to

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show the ne ck beneath H er complexion is pale : exce p t in

.
moments o f violent agitation there is no colour to be seen in

her face H er eyes are of so dark a blue that they are
.
generally mistaken for black Her eyebrows are well enough .

TH E B R I D E S M I S TAK E

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s
in fo rm but they are t oo dark and t oo strongly marked

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H er nose j ust inclines towards the aquiline bend and is con ,

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si der ed a little too large by persons d i fcult to please i n the

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matter of noses The mouth her best feature is ve ry deli

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c at el y shaped and is capable of presenting great varietie s of

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expression A s to the face in general i t is too narro w and

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too long at the lo w er part 3 too broad and too l ow in the

hi gher regions of the eyes and the he ad The whole picture .
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as reected in the glass represents a woman of some eleganc e

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rather too pale and rather too sedate and serious in her mo
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ments of sil ence and repose i n short a person who fails t o ,
strike the ordinary Observer at rst sight 3 but Wh o gains in

general estimation on a second and sometimes even on a
, ,
third view A s for her dress it studiously conceals instead

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, ,
of proclaiming th at she has been married tha t morning

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She .
wears a grey Cashmere tun i c trimmed with grey silk and ,
having a skirt of the sa m e material and colour beneath it .
O n her head is a bonnet to match relieved by a quilling o f ,
Whi te muslin wi t h on e deep red rose as a morsel o f posi t ive

, ,
colour to complete the eff ect o f the Whole dress

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H ave I succeeded or failed in describing the picture of mysel f

whi c h I see in the glass ? It is not for me to say I have .
done my best to keep clear o f the two vanities the van it y o f

depreciati n g and the vanity of prai sing my ow n person al
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appearance For the rest well written or badly written ,

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,
t h ank H eaven it is done

An d w h o m do I see in the glass standing by my S ide ? ,
I see a man who is n ot quite so tall as I am and who has ,
t h e mis fortune of looking older than his years H is forehead .
is prematurel y bald H is big chestnut coloure d beard and

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h i s lon g overhanging moustache are already streaked with

grey H e has t h e colour in his face which my face wa nts
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and the rmness in his g ure which m y gure wan t s H e .
looks at me wi t h the tenderest an d gentlest eyes (o f a light

bro wn) that I e ver saw in th e c ountenance o f a ma n H i s .
6 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y;
s m il e i s rare and sweet ; his manner perfectl y quiet an d

retiring has yet a latent persuasiven e ss in it which i s (to
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women ) irresistibly w inni n g H e j ust halts a little in h i s .
walk from the effect of a n i njury received in p ast y ears when

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he was a soldier serving in India and he c arries a thi ck ,
bamboo cane w ith a curious crutch handle (an old favourite)

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to help himself along whenever he g ets on his feet indoors or ,
ou t. With this on e little drawback (i f it i s a drawback) ,
there is nothi n g inrm or Ol d or awkwar d about h i m ; his

slight limp when he walks h as (perhaps to my partial eyes) a
certain quaint grace of i t s ow n which is pleasanter t o see ,
than the unrestrained activity of other men A nd last and .

,
best Of all I love h i m ! I love him ! I love him ! And

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there is an end of my portrait of my husband on ou r wed

din g day
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T he glass has told me all I want to kno w We leave the .
V estry at last .
T he sky cloudy since the morni n g has darkened whil e we

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have been in the church and the rain is beginni n g to fall ,
heavily T he idlers outside stare a t us grimly under their

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umbrellas as we pass through their ranks and hasten into

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ou r carriage No cheering ; no sunshine 3 n o owers st r ewn

.
in ou r path 3 no grand breakf ast 3 no genial speeche s 3 no

bridesmaids 3 no father s or mother s blessing A dreary wed
.
ding there is no denyi n g i t and A unt S tark w eather is

right) a bad beginning as w ell !
A c oup h as been reserved for us at the railway station .
T he attentive porter on t h e look out for his fee pulls down

,
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the blinds over the s ide windows of t he carriage and shuts ,
ou t al l prying eyes in tha t way A ft er v h at seems to be an .

r
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interminable delay the train st arts My husband win ds h i s .
arm round me A t last 1 he whispers with love in his eyes

.

,
that no words can utter and pres ses m e to him gentl y My , .
arm steal s round his neck 3 my eyes answer his eyes Om .
l i ps m ee t in the rst long lingeri n g kiss of our married li fe .

TH E B R I D E s TH O U GH TS
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7
Oh wh at recollections of that j ourney rise in me as I

,
write ! Let me dry my eyes and s hut up my paper for the ,
day .
CH A P TE R I I ;
TH E RRI DE S

T H OU G HTS .
WE had bee n travelling for a little more than an hour ,

w h en
a change passed insensibly over us both .
S till sitting close together wi t h my hand in his with m y

, ,
head on his shoulder li ttle by little we fell insensibly into

,
silence H ad we already exhausted the narrow yet eloquent

.
vocabulary of love ? O r had we determined by unexpressed

consent a fter enjoying the luxury of pa ssion that speaks to
, ,
try the deeper and ner rapt ure of passion that thinks ? I
can hardl y determine 3 I only know that a time came when
under som e stran ge inuence ou r lips were closed towards each
other We travelled alo n g each o f us absorbed in ou r o w n
.
,
reverie Was he thinki n g exclusively of me as I was

.
thinking ex clusively of him ? B ef w e the j ourney s end I had r

my doubts A t a little later time I knew for certain that his

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thou ghts wande r ing far away from his young Wife were all
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turned inward on hi s ow n unhappy sel f .
For me the secret pleasur e of lli ng my mind with him

,
w hil I felt him by my side was a luxury in itsel f

e
, .
I pictured in my thou ghts our rst meeting in th e neigh

b ou r h ood of my uncle s house

.
O ur famous north country trout stream wound its ashing

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and foaming way thro u gh a ravine i n the rocky moorland .
It was a windy shadowy evenin g A heavily clouded sunset

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l ay l ow and r e d in t h e west A solitary angler stood casti n g

.
his y at a turn in the stream, whe re th e ba ckwat e r lay sti l

,
'
8 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
an d d e ep und er an overhanging bank A gi rl (mys el f) stand .
ing on the bank invisible to the sh erman beneath, w aited

,
e agerly to see the trout ris e .
Th e moment came 3 the sh took th e y .
S ometimes on the little level strip of sand at the foot OI

the bank 3 sometimes (when the stream turned again ) i n the
shall ower water rushing over its rocky bed the angler followed ,
the captured trout now letting th e line ru n out and n o w

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'
w inding it in again in the di fcult and delicate process o f

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playing the sh A lo n g the bank I followed to watch the

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contest of ski ll and cunning between the m an and the trout .
I h ad lived long enough with my uncle S tarkweather to catch

some of his enthusiasm for eld sports and to learn some ,
thing especially of the a n gler s art

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S till following the
.
stranger with my eyes intently xed on every movement of

,
his rod an d line and with not so much as a chance fragment

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o f my attention to S pare for the rough path along which I

was walking I stepped by chance on the loos e overhangi ng
,
earth at the e dge of the bank and fell into the stream in an ,
instant .
T he distance w as triing ; the w ater was shallow 3 th e bed

of the r iver w as
(fortunately for me ) o f sand Beyond the .
fright and the wetting I had noth ing to complain o f In a .
few moments I w as out of the water and up agai n very much ,
ashame d of mysel f on th e rm ground Short as the interval

, .
w as it proved lo n g enough to favour th e escape of the sh

,
The .
angler had heard my rst instinctive cry of alarm had turned .

,
and had thrown asi de h i s rod to help me We con fronted .
e ach other for the rst time I on the bank and he in the ,
sh allow water below O ur eyes encountered and I verily

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,
believ e ou r hearts encountered at the same moment This I .
know for certain we forgot ou r breeding as lady and gentle

,
man 3 we looked at each other in barbarous silence .
I was the rst to recover mys el f Wh at did I say to him I .
I said so mething about my not b e ing hu rt and th en som e ,

TH E B R I D E S TH OU GH TS

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9
thing m ore urging hi m t o ru n back and try i f h e might not

, ,
yet recover the sh .
H e went back unwill in gly H e retu r ned to m eLof course .

,
without the sh K nowi n g how bitterly disappointed my

.
uncle wo u ld have been in his place I apologiz ed very ear ,
n est l.
y In my eagerness to make atonement I even o ff ered
to show him a spot where he might try again lower down ,
the stream .
H e would not hear of it 3 he entreate d me to go home

and change my wet dress I cared nothing for the wettin g .
,
but I obeyed h i m without knowing Wh y .
H e walked with me My way back t o the Vicarage was.
hi s way back to the inn H e had come to our parts he told

.
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me f or the quiet and retirement as much as for the shin g

, .
H e had noticed me once or t w ice from the window of

hi s room at the inn H e asked i f I was n ot the Vicar s
.

daughter .
I set hi m right I told him that the Vicar had married

.
my mother s sister and that the two h ad been father and

,
moth er to me since the death of my parents H e asked i f .
he might venture to call on D octor S tarkweather the next

day : mentioning the name of a friend of his w ith whom ,
he bel ieved the Vicar to b e acquainted I I nvited him t o .
visit us as if it had been my house ; I was spell bound

,
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under his eyes and under his voice I had f ancie d honestly .
,
fancied myself to have been in love oft en and Often be fore

, ,
this time Never in any other man s co m pany had I felt a s

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,

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I now felt in the presence of th i s man Night seemed to .
fall suddenly over the evening landscape when he le ft me .
I leaned against the V icarage gate I could not breathe 3 I .
could not thi nk 3 my hear t uttered as if it would y out of

my bosom and al l this f or a stranger ! I burned with
shame 3 but c h in spite o f it al l I was so happy
, ,
And now when little more than a few week s had passed
,
si n ce that r st m e eting I ha d him by my side he was min e

,
to TH E LA W AN D TH E LA D Y!
for li fe ! I lifted m y head from his bosom to look at h i m .
I was like a child with a n ew toy I wanted to make sure

th at he was really m y own .
H e n e v e r moved in h i s corner o f the carriage Was h e .
d eep in h i s ow n tho ughts ? and were they thoughts or

Me ?
I laid down my h ead ag ain so ftly, so as not to disturb
him My mind wander ed backward once more , and showed
.
me another picture in the golden gallery of the past .
The g arden of the Vicarage formed the new scene The .
time was night We had met together in secret We were

. .
wal k ing slowly to and fro ou t of sight of the house ; n ow

,
in the shadowy paths of the shrubbery now in the lovely ,
moonlight on the open lawn .
We had lo n g since owned our love and devoted ou r lives ,
to each other Already ou r i n terests were on e ; already we

.
shar ed the pleasures and the pains o f li f e I h ad gone ou t .
to meet him that night with a heavy heart to seek com fort ,
in h i s presence and to nd enco u ragement in his voice H e

, .
noticed that I sighed when he r st too k me in his arms and ,
he gentl y turned my head towar ds the moonlight to read ,
m y trouble in my face H ow o ft en he had read my happiness

.
there in the earlier days of our l ove

You bring bad news my a ng el he said li fti n g my hair
, ,

,
tenderly from m y forehead as he spo k e I see the lines .

here w hich tell me o f anxiety an d distress I almost wish I .
lo ved y ou less dearly Val eria ,

.

Why 2
I might give you back y our freedom

I have only t o .
leave t his place and your uncl e would be sati sed and you
, ,
would be relieved from all the c ares that are pressin g on y ou

no w .

D on t speak of it Eusta c e ! I f you wan t me to forget

,
my c ares say you love me m ore dearl y t h an ever

, .

TH E BRID E S THO UGHTS

. II
H e said i t in a kiss We had a moment of exquisite .
f orgetfulness of the hard ways of li fe a moment of delicious

absorption in each other I came back to realities forti fi ed .
,
and composed re w arded for al l that I h ad gone throug h

, ,
read y to go th r o u gh it all over agam for another kis s O nl y .
give a woman love an d there is nothing she will n ot venture

, ,
suff er and do
, .

H ave they been raising fresh objections to our marriage ?
he ask ed as we slowly walked on again
, .
N0 ; they have done with objectin g They have t e .
membered at last that I am of age and that I can choose ,
f or mysel f T he y have been pleading with me Eustace t c

.
, ,
give you up My aunt whom I tho u ght rather a hard

.
,
woman has been cry ing for the rst time in my experience
,
of her My uncle always kind and good to me has been

.
, ,
k inder and better th an ever H e has told me that i f I .
persist in becomin g y our wi f e I shall n ot be deserted on my

wedding day Wherever we m ay marry he will be there t o
-
.
read the service and my aunt will go to the c h urch with me

, .
But he entreats me to consider seriously what I am doi n g

to consent to a separation from you f or a time to consult
other people on my position towards you i f I am not satised ,
with his Opinion O h my darling they are as anxious to

.
, ,
part u s, as i f you were the worst instead of the best of , ,

men !
H as an ythi ng happened since yesterday t o increase thei r
distrust of me ? he asked .

Yes .
What is it 2

You remember re ferring my uncle to a friend of y ours
an d o f
Y es T o Maj or Fit z D avid

.
-
.

My uncle has written to Major Fit z David -

Wh y ?
H e pronounced that on e word in a tone so utterly unl i ke

I: TH E LA LV AN D TH E LAD Y .
his natur al tone that his voice sounded quite stra nge to
me .

Y ou won t be angry Eustace i f I tell you ? I said

, ,

.
My uncle as I understood him had several motives f or

, ,
w riting to the Major

'
O ne of them was to inquire if he

.

knew your mother s ad dress
.
Eustace suddenly stood still .
I paused at the same moment feel ing that I could venture ,
no further without the risk of o ff ending him .
T o speak the truth his conduct when he rst mentioned

, ,
our engagement to my uncle had been (so far as appear ,
a n c es went ) a little i g h t y and strange The Vicar had .
naturally questioned hi m about his fam ily H e had an .
sw er ed that his father was dead ; and he had consented ,
though not very readily to announce his contemplated m ar ,
r i ag e to hi s mother In forming us that she too l ived in t h e

.
country he had gone to see her without more particularly

,
mentioning her address In two days he had returned t o .
the Vicarage w i th a very startling mess ag e H is mother .
intended no disrespect to me or my relatives ; but she dis
approved so absolutely of her son s marriage that she (and
the members of her family who all agreed w ith her) would ,
re fuse to be present at the ceremon y i f M r Woodville per , .

sisted in keeping his eng agement with Doctor S tarkweather s
niece Being asked to explain this extraordinary c om mu

.
n i c at i on Eustace had told us that his mother and his sisters

,
were bent on his marrying another lady and that they were ,
bitterly morti ed and disappointed b y his choosing a stra n ger

to the family This explana t ion was enough for me it
.
i mplied so f ar as I w as concerne d a com pliment to my

, ,
.
superior in uence over Eustace w hich a woman al w ays r e ,

v
c ei ve s w ith pleasur e But it failed to s atis fy my uncle and

.
my aunt The Vicar expr essed to Mr Woodville a wish to

. .
write to his moth er or to see her on the subj ect of her

, ,
stran ge messa e E ustace obsti ately declined to mention hi s

g . n
TH E BRID E S THO UGHTS
'
. l 3
mo ther s ddress on the ground that the Vicar s interf erence

'
a ,
would be utterly useless My uncle at once drew the con

.
c l usi on that the m ystery about the address indicated some
t h i ng wron g H e re fused to favour Mr Woodvil le s renewed

. .

propo sal for my hand ; and he wrote the same day to make
inquiries of Mr Woodville s re ference and of his ow n friend
.

Maj or Fit z D avid -

.
U nder such circumstances as these to speak of my u ncle s ,

motives was to venture on very delicate ground Eustace .
relieved me from further embarrassment by asking a question

to which I could easily reply .

H as your uncle received any answer from Maj or Fitz
D avid 1 he inquired

.
Y es .

Were you allo w ed to read it 3 H is voice sank as he said
those words ; his fac e betrayed a sudden anxiety which i t
p ained me to see .
I have got the answer wi th me to show you I said ,

.
H e almost snatched the letter out of my hand ; he turned

hi s back on me to read it by the light of the moon T he .
letter w as short enough to be soon read I could have r e .
p e a t ed it at the time I can repeat it n ow

. .
D EAR VI CAR Mr Eustace Woodville is quite correct i n

, .
stati n g to you that he is a gentl eman by birth and position ,
an d that he inherits (under his deceased father s will ) an i n

dependent fortune of two thousand a year .
Al w ays yours ,
LAW RENCE FI TZ D AV I D -
.

Can any on e wish for a plainer ans w er than that l Eustac e '
as k ed handing the letter back to me

,
.

I f I had written for i n formation about you I answ ere d, ,

it would have been plain enough for me .
Is it not plain enough for your uncle

:4 TH E L A W AN D TH E LAD Y .
No .

What does he say i
Why need you care to know my darling I ,

I want to know Valeria There must be no secret be
,
.
tween us in this matter D id your uncle say anything when .
he showed you the Maj or s letter ?

Yes .

What was it 2

My uncle told me that his letter of inquiry lled three
pages and he bade me observe that the Maj or s answer con
,
.

~

t a i n ed on e sentence onl y H e said I volunteered to go t o .
,
Major Fit z D avid and talk the matter over

-
Y ou see he .
,
takes no notice of m y proposal I asked him for the address .
o f Mr Woodville s mother H e passes over my request as

. .
,
he h as passed over my pro posal h e studiously connes him s
sel f to the shortest possible statement of bare facts U se .
you r ow n common sense Valeria Isn t this rudeness rath er , .

remarkable on the part of a man who is a gentleman by bir t h

and breeding and who is also a friend of mine 2
,

Eustace stopped me there .
D id you answer your uncle s question ? he asked

.

No I replied
,

I only said that I did not under stan d

.

th e Maj or s conduct

.

An d what did your uncle say n ext ? I f you love me,
Valeria tell me the truth
, .

H e used very stro n g langu age Eustace H e is an ol d ,

.

man you must not be o ffended with hi m .
I am not o ffended What did he say 1 .

'

H e said Mark my words ! Th ere is something under
,
the sur face in connexion with Mr Woodville or with h i s .

,
f ami l y to which M ajor Fit z D avid is not at liberty to allu de

,
-
.
Properly interprete d V aleria that letter is a warning S h o w

, ,
.
it to Mr Woodville and tell him (if you like) what I h av e

.
,
j ust told you

Eustace stopped m e again .
TH E B R 1 0 3 5 TH O U GH TS . .5
Youare sure your uncle said those words 2 he aske d ,
scanni n g my face atte n tively i n t h e moonligh t .
Quite sure But I don t say what my uncle says Pray

. .
don t think that

H e suddenly pressed m e to his bosom a n d xed his eyes ,
on mine H is look frightened me

. .

G ood bye Valeria ! he said
-
,
Try and thin k kindl y of

.
m e my darlin g when vo u a r e married to some happier man

. , .
H e attemp t ed to lea ve me I c lun g to him in an agony of .
t er r o r that sho ok me from head to f oot .
What do you m ean i I ask ed as soon as I could speak

,
.
I am yours and yours only What have I said what have I .

,
done to deserve those dread f ul words i

We must part m y angel he ans w ered sadly,

The fault ,

, .
is none o f yours 3 the misf or tune is all mine My Valeria ! h o w .
can you marr y a m a n who is an obj ect of suspicion to your

nearest and dearest friends ? I have led a dreary l i fe I .
h a ve never found in any other woman the s y mpathy with

me the s w eet comf ort and companionshi p that I nd in
, ,
you O h it is hard to lose you it is hard to go back

.
,
again to my un friended li fe I must make the sacrice love , ,
f or y our sake I k now no more why that letter is what it is

.
than y ou do Will your uncl e believe me ? Will your friends

.
believe me 1 O ne last kiss Valeria ! Forgive m e for havi n g

,
loved you passionately devotedly loved you Forg ive me , .
and let me go
I held hi m desperately recklessly H is ey es put me beside , .
myself ; his words ll ed me with a fren z y of despair .
G o where y ou may I said I go with you ! Frien ds

, ,
reputation I care nothing w h o I lose or what I lose O h , .

,
Eustace I am only a woman don t madden me I can t

,
l ive without you I must and will be your wi f e ! Those

.

wild words were all I could say be fore the misery and mad
ness i n me forced their way outward in a burst o f sobs and
te ars .
59 TH E LA W AN D TH E LA D Y .
H e yielded H e soothed me with his charming voice ; h e

.
brought me back to mysel f with h i s tender caresses H e .
called the bright heaven above us to witness that he devoted

hi s whole life t o me H e vowed oh in such solemn
.
, ,
s u ch eloquent words that his one thought night and ,
day sh ould be to prove himself worthy of such love as

,
mine A nd had he not nobly redeemed the pledge ? H ad

.
not the betrothal o f that memorable night been foll owed by

t h e betroth al at the altar by the vows be fore G od ? A h
, ,
what a li fe was be fore me What more than mortal happi

ness was mine !
A gain I l i fted my head fro m hi s bosom to taste the dear

,
delight of seei ng him by my sidemy lif e my love my hus , ,
band, my own
H ardly awakened yet from the absorbing memor i es of the
p ast t o the sweet realities o f the present I let my cheek touch ,
his cheek I whispered to h i m so ftly O h how I love you

, , ,
how I love you

The next instant I started back from hi m My heart stood .
still I put my hand up to my face What did I feel on my

. .
cheek ! (I had not been weeping I was too happy ) Wh at

.
did I feel on my cheek ? A tear

H is face was still averted from me I turned it towards .
me with my ow n hands by main force

, . .
I looked at him and saw my hus band on our wed di ng ,
da v, w i th his e yes full of tea m .
0HA P T ER I I I .
RAM S G ATE S ANDS .
EUS IACE
succeeded in q uieting my alarm But I can hardly .
say that h e succeeded in satisfying my min d as w elL

RAM S GA TE SAND S . 17
He h ad been thinking, he told me, of the contrast bet w een

hi s past and his present li fe Bitter remembrances of the
.
years that had gone had risen in his memory and had l led ,
hi m with melancholy misgivings of his capacity to make my

li fe with h i m a happy on e H e had asked himsel f i f he had
.
not met me too late ? i f he was n ot already a man soured

and broken by the disappointments and disenchantments of
the past ? D oubts such as these weighing more an d ,
more heavily on his mind had lled his eyes with the ,
tears which I had discoveredtears whi ch he now entreated

me, by my love for him t o dismiss from my memory f or
,
ever .
I forgave h i m com forted him revived himbut there were

, ,
moments when the remembrance o f what I had seen troubled

me in secret and when I ask ed mysel f i f I really possessed
,

my husband s ful l condence as he possessed mine .
We left the train at Ramsgate .
T he favourite watering place w as empt y ; the season was

-
just over Our arrangements for the wedding tour included a

.
-
cruise to the M editerranean in a yacht lent to Eustace by a

friend We were both fond of the sea and we were equall y
.
,
desirous considering the circumstances under which we had

,
m arried of escaping the notice of friends and acquain tances

,
.
With th is obj ect in view having celebrated our marriage

,
privately in London we had decided on instructing the sail

,
ing master of the yacht to join us at Ramsgate At thi s

-
.
port (w hen the season for visitors was at an end) we could

embark far more privately than at the popular yachting
stati ons situated in the Isle of Wight .
Three days passed days of delicious sol itu de of exquisite ,
happiness never to be forgotten never t o b e lived over again,

, ,
to the end of our lives .
Early on the morning o f the fourth day just be fore sun ,

.
r ise a tri ing incident happened which was noticeable n ev eb

, , ,
t h el ess, as bein g stran g e t o me in my experience of myself .
0
r8
'
7l LA FV AN D

TH E L AD Y .
I awoke suddenly and unaccountably from a deep and

, ,
dreamless sleep w ith an all pervading sensation o f nervous

,
-
u neasiness which I had never felt be fore

,
In the ol d days .
at the Vicarage my capacity as a sound sleeper had been the

,
subj ect of many a little harmless j ok e From the moment .
when my head w as on the pillo w I had never know n what it

w as to wake until the maid knocked at my door At all .
seasons and times the long and uni n t errupted repose of a child
was the repose that I e njoyed .
An d n ow I had awakened without any assignable cause , ,
hours be fore my usual time I tried to compose mysel f to .
sleep again The eff ort was useless S uch a restlessness

. .
possessed me that I was not even able to lie still in the

bed M y husband was sleeping soundly by my side I n t h e
. .
fear of dist urbing him I rose and put on my dressing gown ,

-
and slippers .
I went to the windo w The sun w as j ust risin g over the

.
cal m grey sea For a while the maj estic spectacle be f ore me
.
,
exercised a tranquillising in uence on the irritable condition

of my nerves B ut ere lo n g the ol d restlessne ss returned
.
, ,
upon me I w alked slowly to and fro in the room until I

.
,
was weary of the monotony of the exercise I took up a .
book and laid it aside again My attention wandered ; the .
author was powerless to recall it I got on my feet once .
more and looked at Eustace and admired him and loved

, ,
h i m in his tranquil sleep I went bac k to the window and

.
,
wearied of t h e beautiful morning I sat down be fore the .
glass and look ed at my sel f H ow haggard and worn I was

, .
already, through waking before my usual time ! I ro se

again not knowi n g what to do next
,
The connement to .
the four walls of t he room began to be intolerable to me I .
Opened the door that led into my husband s dressin g room,

-
and entered i t to try i f the change would relieve me

,
.
The rst obj ect that I noticed was his dressing case open -
o n t h e toilette tal e .
RAM S GA TE SA NDS . : 9
I took out the bottles and pots and brush es and combs t h e ,
knives and scissors in one compartmen t the writing materials ,
in another I smelt the perf umes and pomatums ; I bu sily

.
cleaned and dusted the bottles with my handkerchie f as I

took them ou t Little b y little I completely emptied the
.
dressing case It w as lined with blue velvet In on e corner

-
. .
I noticed a tiny strip o f loose blue silk T aking it between .
my nger and my thumb and drawing it upward I dis , , ,
covered that there was a f alse bottom to the case forming a , .
secret compartment for letters and papers In my strange .
conditioncapricious idle in quisitivei t was an amusem ent , ,
to me to t ake ou t the papers j ust as I had tak en out every ,
thing else .
I found some receipted bills which failed to interest me 3 ,
some letters which it is needless to say I laid aside af ter only

, ,
look ing at the addresses 3 and under all a photogra ph face , , ,
downwards with writing on the back o f i t I look ed at the

,
.
writing and saw these words

,
To my dear son Eustace

.
,
H is mother ! the woman w h o had so obstinately and so

mercilessly opposed her self to ou r marriage !
I eagerly turned the photograph expecting to see a woman ,
with a stern ill tempered f orbid di ng countenance T o my

,
-
, . .
surpri se the face showed the remains of great beauty 3 t h e

,
expression though remarkably rm was yet wi nning tender,

, , ,
a n d kind The grey hair was arranged in rows of little qu ain t

.
old fashi oned curls on either side of the head under a plai n
-
lace cap At on e corner of the m on t h there was a mark,

.
apparentl y a mole whi ch added to the characteristic pe ou,
l i a r i t y of the f ace I looked and looked xing the portrait

.
,
thoroughly in my mind This woman who had almos t .

,
insulted me and my relatives was beyond all doubt or dis , ,
pute so far as appearances went a person possessing u nusual

, ,
a ttractions person whom it would b e a pleasur e and a

privilege t o know .
I fell into deep thought discovery of the phot ograph

. Th e
quieted me as nothi ng had quieted me yet .
The striking of a clock downstairs in the hall warned me of

the ight of time I care fully put back all the obj ects in the
.
dressing ease (beginning with the photograph) exactly as I had

-
found them and returned to the bedroo m As I looked at

, .
my husband still sleeping peacefully the question forced itsel f

,
into my mind What had made that genial gentle mother of

, ,
his so sternly bent on parting us ? so harsh ly and pitilessly

resolute in asserting her disapproval of ou r marriage 1 '
Could I put my question openly to Eustace when he woke ?

No 3 I was afraid to venture that length It had been tacitly
.
understood between us that we were not t o speak of h i s

mother and besides he might be angry i f he kne w that I
, ,
h a d opened the private compartment in hi s dressi ng case -

.
After breakfast that morning we had news at l ast of the

yacht The vessel was safely moored i n the inner harbour
.
,
and the sailing master was waiting to receive my husband s

-

orders on board .
Eustace hesitated at asking me to acco m pany him to t h e

yacht I t would be necessary for h i m to examine the i nv en
.
tory of the vessel and to deci de questions not very interesting

, ,
t o a woman relati n g to charts and barometers provisions and

, ,
water H e as k ed me i f I would wait for his return The

. .
day was enticingl y beautiful and the tide was on the ebb
, .
I pleaded for a walk on the sands 3 and the landlady at our

lodgings who happened to be in the room at the time v ol un
, ,
teered to accompan y me and tak e care of m e It was agreed .
that we should walk as far as we felt inclined in the direction ,
of Broadstairs and that Eustace should follow and meet us on

,
t h e sands a fter having completed his arrangements on board

,
t he yacht .
I n h al f an hour more, the landlady and I were out on th e

be ach .
RAMS GA TE SANDS . 2K
Th e scen e on that ne autumn morning was othing less n
than enchanting The brisk bree z e the brilliant sky the

.
, ,
ashing blue sea the sun bright cli ff s and the tawny sands at
,
-
their feet the gliding procession o f ships on the great marine

,
hi ghway o f the English Channel i t was all so exhilarating ,
it was all so delightful that I really believe i f I had been by

,
mysel f I coul d have danced for j oy like a child The on e .
drawback to my happiness was the lan dlady s untiring tongue

.
S he was a forward good natured empty headed woman who

,
-
,
-
persisted in talking whether I listened or not 3 and who had

,
M rs Woodville

a habit of perpetually addressing me as

.
,
which I thought a l ittle over familiar as an assertion o f -
e quality from a person in her position to a person in mine .
We had been out I sh oul d t hink more than hal f an hour

,

,
- -
when we overtook a lady walking be fore us on the beach .
Just as we were about to pass the stran ger she took her
handkerchie f from her pocket and accidentally drew ou t ,
with it a letter which fell unnoticed by her on the sand I , ,

.
was nearest to the letter and I pick ed it up and off ered it to

,
the lady .
The instant she turned to thank me I stood rooted to the ,
spot T here was the original of the photographic portrait in

.
the dressing case ! there was my husban d s mother standing

-

face to face with me ! I recognised the quaint little grey

curls the gentle genial expression the mole a t the corner
, ,
of the mouth N o mistake was po ssible

. H is mother .
hersel f !
The old lady naturally enough mistook my con fusion f or
, ,
shyne ss With perfect tact and kindness she entered int o

.
conversation with me In another minute I was walking.
side by side with the woman w h o had sternly repudiated
me as a member of her family 3 feeling I own terribly di s , ,
c omposed and not knowing in the l east whether I ought

,
or ,
o ught not to assume the responsibility, i n my husb an ds

,

ab sen z e of tellin g her who I w as

, .
23 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y
In another minute my familiar landlady walking on the ,
other side of m y mother i n law decided the question for me

- -
,
.
I happened to say that I supposed we must by t hat time be

near the end of our walk the little watering place called -
Broadstairs . O h no M rs Woodville I cried the i r r epr es

, , .

sible woman calling me by my name as usual 3 nothing lik e

,

,
so near as you think !

I looked with a beating heart at the old lady .
T o my unutterable ama z ement not the faintest gleam of ,
recognition app eared in her face O ld Mr s Woodvill e . .
went on tal k ing to young Mr s Wood ville just as com .
posedl y as i f she had never heard her ow n name bef ore in

her life
My face an d m anner must have betrayed something of the
agitation that l was su ffering H appening to look at me at .
t he end of her next sentence the ol d lady started an d said in

, ,
h er kindly way ,
I am a fraid y ou have over exerted yourself You are very -

.
pale you are looking quite exhausted Come and sit down .
here ; let me lend you m y smelling bottle -

.

I f ollowed her quite helplessly to the base of the cliff

, ,
.
S ome fallen fragm ents of chalk o ff ered us a seat I vaguely .
heard the voluble landlady s expressions of sympathy and r e

gret 3 I mechanically took the smelling bottle which my hus -

band s mother o ff ered to me af ter hea r i ng my n a me as an act
, ,
of kindness to a stranger .
I f I had only had myself to think o f I believe I should ,
h ave provoked an explanation on the spot But I had Eustace .
t o think of . I was entirely i gnorant of the relations hostile ,
or friendly which existed between hi s mother an d himsel f

,
What could I do ?
In the mean time the ol d lady was still speaking to m
,
w ith the most c onsiderate sympathy S he too was fatigued . ,
sh e said. S he had passed a weary night at th e bedside of a

near r elative, staying at Ramsgate O nly the day be fore sh e .
,
R A/l I S GA TE SA NDS . 2;
had received a telegram announci n g that on e of her sisters

was seriously ill S he was hersel f thank G od still active and
.
, ,
strong ; and she had tho ugh t it her duty to start at once for
Ramsgate . T o w ards the morning the state of the patient

had i m proved . T he doctor assures me ma am that there

,

,
is n o immediate danger ; and I tho ught it mi ght revive me ,
a fter my long night at the bedside i f I took a little wal k on ,
the beach .

I heard the words I understood what they meant but I

was stil l too bewildered an d too intimidated by my extra
ordinary position to be able to continue the conversation .
The landlady had a sensible suggestion to mak e 3the landlady

w as the next person who spoke .
H ere is a gentleman coming sh e said to me pointing in ,

,
the direction o f Ramsgate Y ou can never walk back S hall

. .
we ask him to send a chaise fro m Broadstairs t o the gap in

the cliff 2
The gentleman advanced a little nearer .
The landlady and I recognised him at the same moment .
It was Eustace coming to meet us as we had arranged The , .
irrepressible landlady gave the f reest expression to her feelings .
O h Mrs Woodville ain t it lucky ? here is Mr Woodville

,
.
,

.
himself !
O nce more I looked at my mother i n l aw O nce more the - -
.
name failed to produce the slightes t e ff ect on her H er sight .
was not so keen as ours ; she had not recognised her son y et .
H e had young eyes like us and he recognised his mother , .
For a moment he stopped like a man thunderstruck Then .
he came on his face white with suppressed emotion his eyes ,
xed on his mother .
You here 1 he said to her

.

H ow do you do Eu st a ce l she qui etly rejoined
,

H ave

.
you h ea rd of your aunt s illness t oo ? Did you know sh e w as

stayi n g at Ramsgate 3

H e m ade no an sw er The landl ady drawing the inevitabl e

.
,
24 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
in ference from the words she had j ust heard look ed from me ,
t o my mother i n law in a state of ama z ement

- -
which ,
paralysed even h er tongue I waited with my eyes on my .

,
husband to see what he would do

, I f he had delayed .
a cknowledging me another moment the whole future ,
c ourse of my li fe might have been altered I should have
despi sed hi m .
He did n ot delay H e came t o my side and t ook my

.
hand .
D o you know w h o this is 1 he said to hi s moth er

.
S he answered looking at me with a courteous bend of h er

,
head ,
A lady I met on the beach Eustace w h o kin dl y restored , ,
to me a letter that I dropped I think I heard the .
name (she turned to the landlady) : Mr s Woodvill e, was .
it not 2
M y husband s ngers unconsciously closed on my han d

with a grasp that hurt me H e set his mother right, .
it is only just t o say without one cowardly moment of ,
hesitation .
M other, he s aid t o her very quietly,

this lady i s ,

my w i fe.
S he had hitherto kept her seat S he n ow rose slowly an d .
faced her son in silence T he rst expression of surprise

.
passed from her face It was succeeded by the most terrible

.
look o f mingled indignation an d contempt that I ever saw in

a woman s eyes

.
I pity your wi fe sh e said

, .
With those words and n o m ore l ifting her hand she waved
, ,
h i m back from her and went o n h er way ag ain, as w e had

,
rst f oun d her, al on e .

ON TH E WA r H OM E . 35
CH APT ER I V .
ON THE WAY H OME .
LEFT by urselves there was a moment of silence amongst us

o ,
.
Eustace spoke rst .

Are you able t o walk back ? he said t o me O r shall .

we go on to Broadstairs and return to Ramsgate by the ,

railway ?
H e put those questions as composedly so far as his manner ,
w as concerned as i f nothing remarkable had happened

,
But .
his eyes and his lips betrayed him They told me that he was .
su ff ering k eenly in secret The extraordinary scene that had

.
just passed far from depriving me of the last remains of my

,
c ou rage had strung up my nerves and restored m y sel f

,
possession I must have been more or less than woman i f

.
my self respect had not been wounded, i f my curiosity had

-
n ot been wrought to the highest pitch by the extraordi nary ,
conduct of my husb and s mother when Eustace presented me

to her What w as the secret of her despising him and pityi ng

. .
me ? Where was the explanation of her incomprehensibl e

apathy when my name was twice pronounced in her hearing ?
Why had she le ft us as i f the bare idea of remaining in our
,
c ompany was abhorrent to her l T he foremost interest of my
lif e was n ow the interest of penetrati n g these mysteries .
Walk ? I was in such a fever of expectation that I felt

as if I could have walked to the world s en d i f I could

,
onl y keep my husband by my side and question hi m on ,
the way !

I am quit e recovered I said
Let us go back as w e
,

.
,
c ame on foot

.
,
Eustac e glanced at the landlady Th e landlady un dersto od .
hi m .
26 TH E L A IV AN D 7 7 1 E LAD Y .
I won t intrude my company on you si r she said sharply

, ,

, .
I have some business to do at Broad stairs and now I am ,
so near I may as well go on G ood morni n g Mrs Woo d

, .
, .
ville .

S he l aid a m ark ed emphasis on my name and sh e added

on e signicant look at parting which (in the preoccupied ,
state o f my mind at that moment ) I entirely failed to c om
prehend There was n either time nor opportunity to ask her

.
w h at she meant With a sti ff little bow addressed to Eustace

.
, ,
sh e le ft us as hi s mother had le ft us ; taki n g the way to
Broadstairs and w al k in g rapidly

, .
At last we were alone ,

.
I lost no time in beginni n g my inquiries ; I wasted n o

words in prefatory phrases In the plainest terms I put t h e .
q uestion to him ,
What does your mother s cond u ct
Instead o f answeri n g he burst into a fi t of laughterlo u d

, ,
coarse hard laughter so utterly unli k e any sound I had ever

, ,
yet heard issue from his li ps so strangely and shockin g ly ,
foreign to his character as I understood it that I stood still ,
on the sands and openly remonstrated with him

, .
Eustace you are not like yoursel f I said You almost

.
,

fr ighten me .
H e took no notice H e seemed to be pursuing s om e

.
pleasant train of thought j ust started in his mind .
S o like my mother he exclaimed with the air o f a man ,
who felt irresistibly diverted by some humorous idea of hi s

own T ell me all about it Valeria !
.
,
T ell y ou I repeated A fter w hat h as happened surely

.
,
i t is y our duty to enl i ghten me

.
Y ou don t see the j o k e 1 h e said

.

I not only fail to see the j o k e I r ej oined I see som e ,

,

t hi n g in your mother s la n guage and your mother s beh aviour

w h ich justi fi es me in ask i n g you f or a serious explanati on .

My de ar V aleria ! i f yo u u n derstood m y mother as well

ON TH E WA Y'
H OZII E . 27
as I do a serious explanation of her conduct w ould be t h e

,
last thing in the world that you would expect from me The .
idea of tak ing my mother seriousl y H e burst out laugh i ng

again . My darling you don t kno w how you amuse me
.

It was all forced ; it was all unnatural H e the most .

,
delicate the most rened of men a gentleman in the highest

,
sense of the word was coarse and loud and vulgar ! My

heart sank under a sudden sense of misgiving which with ,
all my love for him it was impossible to resist In unutter

,
.

abl e distress and alarm I as k ed mysel f : 1 8 my husban d

,
beginning t o deceive m e ? is he acting a part and acting it ,
badly be fore we h ave been married a week ?

,

I set mysel f to win his con dence in a n ew way He was .
evidently determined to force his ow n point of view on me .
I determined on my side to accept his point of vie w

, ,
.
Y ou tel l me I don t u n derstand your mother I said

,

,
gently Will you help me t o understand her 2

.

It is not easy to help you to understand a woman w h o
doesn t understand hersel f he answered

But I will t ry
,

.

.
The key to my poor dear mother s character is , in on e word
Eccentricity

.
If he had picked ou t the most i n appr Opr i at e word in the -
whole Dictionary to describe the lady whom I had met on

the beach Eccentricity wo uld have been that word A
,
.
child w ho had seen what I sa w who had heard what I heard , ,
would have discovered that he was t r i i ng grossly reck ,
lessly t r i i n g with the truth .

Bear in mind what I h av e said he proceeded ; and i f ,

,
you want to understand my m other do what I asked you t o ,
do a minute since tell me all about it Ho w came you t o .
speak to her to begin with 2

'
,

Y our mother told you Eustace I was wal king jus t .
behind her when she dropp e d a letter by accident

,
No a ccident he interp osed The letter was dropped on

,

u rpose

p .
28 TH E LA W A ND THE LAD Y .
Impossible ! I exclaimed

Why should y our mother

.
drop the letter on purpose 1 '
Use the key to her character my dear Eccentricity ! , .
My mother s odd way of making acquaintance with you

.

Making acquaintance with me ? I have j ust told you that

I was wal ki ng behind her S he could not have known of .
the existence of such a person as myself until I spoke to her

r st .

So
you suppose Valeria , .

I am certain of it

Pardon me you don t k n ow my mother as I do

.
I began to lose all patience with him .
Do you mean to tell m e I said that your mother was ,

,

out on the sands t o day for the express purpose of making
a cquaintance w ith
I have n ot the slightest doubt of it he answered coolly ,

, .
Why sh e didn t even recognise my name ! I burst o ut

.
T w ice over the landlady called me Mr s Woodville in your

, .
mother s hearing and twice over I declare to you on my

, ,
word of honour it failed to produce the slightest impression

,
on her S he looked and acted as if sh e had never heard her

.
, ,
ow n name bef ore in her li f e

.

A cted is the right word he said just as composedly

,

,
as be fore The women on the stage are not the only women
.
who c an act My mother s obj ect was to m ake hersel f

.
thoroughly acqu ainted with you and to thro w you off y our ,
guard by speakin g in the character of a stranger It i s .
so like her to take that roundabout way of satis fying her
curiosity about a daughter i n law whom she disapproves of ! - -
I f I had not j oined you when I di d you would have been ,
examined and cross examined about yoursel f and about me 3

-
and you would innocently have answered under the impres

sion that you were speaking to a chance acquaintance .
T here is my mother all over ! S he is your enemy remember

not your friend sh e is not in search of your merits but of
,
ON TH E WA Y H OM E . 29
your faults And you wonder why no impression w as pr o

.
duc ed on her w hen she heard you addressed by your name !

Poor i nnocent ! I can tell you thisy ou only discovere d
my mother in her ow n character when I put an end to the ,
myst i c ati on by presenting you to each other You saw h o w .

a n gry she was 3 and n ow you know why .
I let him go on without sayi n g a word I listened oh .

,
with such a heavy heart ! with such a crushing sense of dis

e nchantment and despair ! The idol o f my worship 3 the
companion guide protector of my li fe had he fallen so low ?
, ,
could he stoop to such shameless prevarication as this 9

Was there one word of truth in all that he had said to me !
Yes ! I f I had not discovered his mother s portrait it was
certainly tru e that I should not have known not even vaguely ,
suspected who she really was A part from this the rest was
, .
,
ly ing 3 clumsy l ying which said one thing at least for hi m ,
that he was not accustomed to falsehood and deceit G ood .
H eavensi f my husband was to be believe d his mother ,
must have track ed us to London 3 tracked us to the church 3

tracked us to the rai l w ay station ; tracked us to Ramsgate !
T o assert that she kne w me by sight as the wif e of Eustace ,
and that she had waited on the sands and dropped her letter ,
for the express purpose of making acquaintance with me was ,
also to assert every on e of these monstrous improbabilities t o

b e facts that had actually happened !
I could say no more I walked b y his side in silenc e
.
feeling the miserable conviction that there was an abyss i n

the shape of a family secret between my husband and me .
In the spirit i f not in the body we were separated a fter a

, ,
married li fe of barely four days

Valeria he asked have you nothing to say to me 3
,

,

Nothing .

A re you not satis ed with my explanation l
I detected a slight tremor in his voice as he put that
q uestion
. T he tone was ,
for the rst time since we had
30 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
spoken together a tone that my experience associated with

,
hi m in certain moods of his w hi ch I had already learnt t o -
kn o w well Among the hundred thousand mysterious i n

.
uen c es which a man exercises over the woman who loves

him I doubt i f there is any more irresistible to her than the
,
i n uence of hi s voice I am n ot on e of those women who

.
shed tears on the smallest provocation : it i s not i n m y

temperament I suppose But when I heard that little natural
, .
change in his tone m y mind went back (I can t say why) to

,

the happy day when I rst owned that I loved h i m I burst .
o u t crying .
H e suddenly stood still , an d took me by the hand He .
tried to look at me .
I k ept my head down and my eyes on t h e ground I w as .
ashamed of my weakness and my want of spirit I w as .
determined n ot to look at him .
In the silence that fol lowe d he suddenly dropped on hi s ,
knees at my feet with a cry of despair that cut through m e

,
like a knife
I am vileI am f alseI am unworthy o f you
.
V aleria .
Don t beli eve a word of what I have been saying lies lies

, ,
cowardly contemptible lies ! You don t kno w what I hav e
gone through ; you don t know how I have been tortured

.
O h my darling try not to despise me ! I m u st have bee n

, ,
beside mysel f when I spoke to you as I did Y ou looked .
hurt 3 you looked o ff ended 3 I didn t know wha t to do I

.
wanted to spare you even a moment s pain I wanted to hush
it up and have done with it For G od s sake don t ask m e

, .

to tell you an y more ! M y love ! my angel ! it s something
b etween m y mother and me ; it s nothing that need disturb

you i t s nothing to anybody now I love you I adore you 3

.
, ,
my whole h eart and soul are yours Be satised with that . .
Forget what has happened Y ou shall never see my mothe r .
again We will leave thi s place to m orro w We w i ll g o

. .
away in the yacht Does it matter where we li ve so lon g as

.
,
ON TH E WA Y
H OM E .
3!
we live for each other ? Forgive and f orget ! O h Valer i a .

,
Valeria forgive and f orget

,
U nutterable misery w a s in his f ace ; unutterable misery

was in his voice R emember this And remember that ]
. .
loved him .

It is e asy to f orgive I said sadl y ,
For your sake

.

,

Eu stace I will t r y to f orget
,
.
I raised him gently as I spo k e He kissed my hands with .

,
the air of a man who was t oo humble to venture on any more

f amiliar expression of his gra t itude than that Th e sense of .
embarrassment between us as we slowly walked on again , ,
was so unendurable th a t I actually cast about in my min d f or

a subj ect of convers ation a s i f I had been in the company of
a strang er ! In mercy to h i m I asked him to tell me about ,
the yacht .
He sei z ed on the subject as a drown i ng man sei z es on .
the hand that rescues him .
O n that one poor little topi c of the yacht he talked talked , , ,
talked as i f hi s li f e depended upon his not being silent for

,
an instant on the rest of his way back To me it was dread .

,
f ul to hear hi m I could es t im ate wh at he was su ff ering by

.
,
the violence w hich h e ordin a rily a silent a n d thought ful

manwas now doing to his true nature an d to the prej udices
and h abit s of hi s life With the greatest di fc ulty I pre
.
served my self control until we reached the door of our

-
lo dgings There I was obliged to ple ad f atigue an d ask

.
, ,
hi m to let me rest for a little while in t h e solitude o f m y

o w n room .
S hall we sail to m orrow 2 he called af ter me suddenly as

I a s cended the stairs .
S ail wi t h h i m to the Mediterranean the next day ? Pa ss

wee k s and weeks absolutely alone with him i n the narro w ,
limi t s of a vessel with his horrible secret parting us i n

,
sympathy further and f urther from each Ot ll f da by day ? I

y u
sh uddered at the thoug ht of it .


To m o rrow i s rather a short n otice I s aid Will you , .

'
g ive me a little longer time to prepare f or the voyage 1
O h yestake any time you li k e he answer ed n ot (as I
, ,

,
thought) very wil lingly While you are resting there ar e

.

still on e or two little things to be settled I think I will go
back to the yacht I s there anyt hing I can do for you,

.
Valeria bef ore I g o f

,
Not hi ng t h an k you Eustace

- w
, .

He hastened away to the harbour Was he afraid of his .
o w n thoughts i f he were le f t by himsel f in the house ?

, Was
the compa ny of the sai l i ng ma ster and the s te w ard b et ter than
-
n o company at all ?
I t was useless to a sk What did I kn ow about him or hi s
.
t houghts ? I locked myself into my r oom .
C HAP TER V .
THE LA ND LAD Y S DI S C O V ER Y.

I SAT D O WN, and tried to compo s e my spirits Now or n ever .

, ,
w as the time to decide what wa s my duty to my husba n d and
my duty to mysel f to do next .
Th e e ff ort was beyond me Worn out in mind and body .
a like , I was perf ectly incapable of pursuing any regular

t rain of thought I vaguely felt i f I left things a s they
.
w erethat I could never h ope to remove the shadow which

n ow rested on the m arr i el li fe that had begun so brightly .
We might live together so as to save appearances But to

, .
forget what had happened or to f eel satised w ith my position

, ,
was beyond the power of my will My tranquillity as a .
woman perhaps my dearest interest s as a wif edepended

absolutely on penetrating the mystery o f my mother i n la w a - -

co nduct and on discovering the true meaning of the w ild

,
w ords of penitence and self reproach which my husban d h ad

-
addressed to me on our way h ome .

TH E LAND LAD Y S

DI S C O VER Y .
33
So far as I could advance towards reali sing my pos itio n

an d no farther When I asked myself what was to be done
.
next hopeless conf usion maddening doubt lled my mind

, , , ,
and trans formed me into the most li stles s and helple ss of

l ivi ng women .
I gave up the struggle I n d ull stupid ob sti n ate despair

.
, , ,
I threw myself on my bed and fell, from sheer fatigue, into

,
a broken uneasy sleep

,
.
I was awakened by a knock at the door of my r oom .
Was it my husband ? I started to my feet a s the idea

occurred to me Was some new trial o f my patience and my
.
fortitude at hand ? Hal f nervou sly, h al f irri tably, I as ked

w h o w as there .

Th e landlady s voice an swered me .
Can I speak to you for a moment i f y ou please ?

,
I opened the door There is no disguising i t though I

.
l oved him s o dearly though I had left home and friends f or

his sakei t was a relief to me at that miserable time t o , ,
know that Eustace had not returned t o the house .
Th e landlady came in and took a seat without waiting to

, ,
be invited close by my side S h e was no longer s atised

, .
with merely asser ting hersel f as m y equal Ascending .
another step on the social ladder she took her stand on the ,
platf orm of patron age, and charitably looked dow n on me as

an obj ect of pity .

I have j ust returned from Broad s tairs she began
I ,

.
hope you will do me the j ustice to believe that I s incerely

regret what has happened ?
I bowed and said nothing

, .
As a gentlewoman myself proceede d the landlady ,

v
reduced by f amily misf ortunes to let lodgings but still a ,
gentlewoman I f eel sincere sympathy with y ou I will .
even go f urther than that I will take it on mysel f to say

.
tha t I don t blame you No no I noticed that you were

.
,
.
as much shocked and su r ri sed at you r mother i a l aw s con

p
- -s
9
.
34 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y.
duc t as I was an d that is s aying a great de al a great de al ,
in dee d However I have a duty to perf orm I t is disagre e

.
,
.
a ble but i t is not t h e less a duty on that account

,
I am a .
si n gle wom an ; not f rom wan t of opport unities o f changing

my condition I beg you will underst an d that but f rom
choice Si t u ated as I am I receive only the most respectable
.
,
persons into my house There must be no mystery about the.
posi t ions of my lodgers Mystery in the position o f a l edg er

.
c arries w ith i t what shall I say ? I don t wish to o ff end
ou I will say a cert ain Taint V ery well N ow I put it

y , . .
to your own common Sense Can a person in my posi tion be .
expecte d to expose hersel f to Taint ? I make these remarks

in a sisterly and Christian spirit As a lady yoursel f (I will .
even go the length of sayi n g a cruelly used lady) you will I -
a m sure understand ,
I could endure it no longer I st epped h er there . .

I understand I s aid th at you wish to give u s notice to
, ,
quit your lo dgings When do you want us to go 1

.
'
Th e landlady held u p a long lean red hand in sorrow ful , , ,
and sisterly protest .
No she said ,

Not that tone ! not those looks ! It s
.

natural you sh ould be annoy ed 3 it s n atural you should be
angry But donow do please try and control y ourself I

. .
put it to your own common sense (we will say a week f or the
notice to qui t ) why not tre at me like a friend ? You don t
k now what a sacrice w h at a cruel sacrice I have made

,
entirely f or your sake .

You I exclaimed What sacri fi ce .

Wh at sa cri ce repeated the landl ady I have degraded .
mysel f as a gentlewoman I have f orf eite d my ow n sel f.
respect S h e pause d f or a moment a n d sudden l y sei z ed me

.
,
b y t h e h and in a per f ect f re n z y of f riendship

,
Oh my poor .
,
de ar crie d this in t ol erable person

,

I have discovered every ,

th i ng ! A vill ain has dec eived you You are no mo r e .
m a rrie d than I am
TH E LAN D LAD Y S D I S CO VE ICY

.
35
I snatched my h and out o f hers and rose an grily from my ,
c h air .
Are you mad l I a sked '

.
The landl ady ra ised her eyes to the ceiling with the a i r ,
o f a person who had deserved m ar ty rdom and who submitted ,
to it cheerf ully .

Yes she said ,

I begin to think I a m ma d mad to
.

have devoted mysel f to an u n g r ate f ul woman to a person ,
w h o doesn t appreci ate a sisterly and Christi an s a crice of

self Well ! I won t do i t again Heaven f orgive me

.

I .
won t do it again

Do what again ? I a sked .

Follow y our mot her i n l aw crie d the landlady suddenly - -
, ,
dropping the ch a r a c t er of a martyr a n d a ssuming the ch aracter ,
of a vixen in its pl a ce I blush when I think o f it I .

.
f ollowed that m ost respectable person every step of the way

to her own door .
Thu s f ar my pride h a d h eld me u p

,
It sustained me no .
longer I droppe d back ag ain into my ch air in undisguised

.
,
dre ad o f w h a t w a s coming next .
I g ave you a look when I lef t you on the beach pursued ,

the l andl ady 3 growi n g lou der an d louder and re dder and ,
redder a s she went on A grate f ul wom a n would h ave .

u n derstood t h a t look Never mind ! I won t do it again.

.
I ov ertook your mother i n l aw at the gap i n the cli ff I - -

.
f o l l owe d her oh how I f eel the disg ra ce of it n ow l I

,
f o l lowed her to the st at ion a t Broadst airs Sh e went back .
b y trai n to Ra m sg ate I went b a ck by train to Ra msga te

. .
S h e wal ke d to her l o dg i n gs I w alked to her lo dgings Behind . .
her Li k e a dog
. Oh t h e disgr a ce of it ! Provi dentiall y
.
, ,
as I then thou g ht I don t know w h at to think of it now
the l a n dlor d of t h e h ous e happened to be a f riend of mine ,
a n d h app ened to be at home We have no secrets from each .
ot her w here lo dg ers are concerned I am in a position to

, .
t ell you m ad am wha t your mother i nlaw s name really is

, ,
-

.
.
Sh e knows nothin g about any such person a s Mrs Woodvill e .

,
f or an excellent reason Her name i s n ot Woodville H er . .
name (and consequently her son s name) is Mac all an M rs

. .
Ma c al l an widow of the late General Mac all an Yes ! your

,
.
husband is n ot your husb and You are neither maid wi f e .

, ,
n or w ido w You are worse than nothing madam and you

.
,

leave my house .
I st epped her as she opened the door to go ou t Sh e h ad .
roused my temper by this time Th e doubt th at she had cast on .
my marriage was mo r e than mortal resignation could endure .
Give me Mrs Macall an s a ddress I said.

,

.
Th e landlady s anger receded into the background and t h e

,
landlady s astonishment appeared in its place

.
You don t mean to tell me you are going to the ol d lady

y oursel f ? she s aid

.
'
Nobody but the old la dy can tell me wh at I want to
know I answered Your discovery (as you c all it) may be

.
,
enou gh f or you it is not enou gh f or m e How do we know .
that Mrs Mac all an may not have been twice married 3 and
.
th a t her rst husband s name m ay n ot have been Woo dville 2

'

Th e landlady s astonishment subsided i n its tur n and ,
the landlady s curiosity succeeded as the ruli ng inuence of

the moment Substantially as I have already sai d of her

.
, ,
she was a good natured wom an Her ts of t emper (as is

-
.
usual with good natured people) were of th e hot and the

-
short lived sort 3 easily roused and easily appea se d

-
.
Stop a bit ! she stipula ted I f I give you the address .

,
will you promise to tell me everything your mother i h law - -

says to you when you come back ?
I gave the required promise and received t h e addres s i n ,
r eturn .
No malice, said the landlady suddenly resuming all h er

,
ol d familiarity with me .
No malice, I an sw ered, w ith all pos si bl e cordiality on my

M Y O WN D I S CO VE R Y .
37
In ten mi nute s more my mother i a la w s

I w as at - -
lodgings .
C HAP TER VI .
M Y OW N DI S C O V ERY .
FO R TUNATELY f or me the landlo rd did n ot open the door ,
when I rang A stupid maid of all work, who never thought

.
- - -
of asking me for m y name let me in Mrs Mac all an was , . .
at home and had no visitors with her Giving me this

,
.
in formation the maid led the w ay upstairs and showed me

, ,
int o the drawing roo m w ithout a word of announcement

-
.
My mother i n l aw w as sitting alone near a work table,

- -
,
-
knitti n g Th e moment I appeared in the door way she laid

.
-
aside her work 3 and rising signed to me with a commanding , ,
gesture o f her hand to let her speak rst .
I kno w what you have c om e f or she s aid You have

.
,
come here to ask questions Spare yourself and spare me .

,
.
I warn you bef orehand that I will not answer any questions
relating to my son .

I t was rmly but not harsh l y said ,

I s poke rmly in , .
my turn .

I have not come here madam to ask questions about your , ,
son ,

I answered I have come i f you will excuse me to
.
ask you a question about yoursel f .

Sh e started and looked at me keenly over her spectacles I

, .
had evidently taken her by surprise .
What is the question ? she inquired

.

I now kno w f or the fi rst time madam t hat your n ame i s , ,

Macallan I said , Your son has married me under the
.
n a me of Woodville Th e only honourable explan ation of this

.
circumstance so f ar a s I know is that my husband is y our

, ,
s on by a rst marriage Th e h appines s of my lif e is at stak e . .
Will you k i n dly consider my position ? Wi ll you let me ask

38 7 11 E LA IV AND T11 5 LAD Y;
if you h ave been twice married, and i f the nam e of your rs t

husband was Woodville
Sh e considered a little be f ore she replied .
Th e question is a perf ectly n a tur a l on e in your po s ition , ,

she said But I think I had better not ans w er it

. .

May I a sk why ?
Certai nly I f I answered you I should only lead to other

.
,
questions 3 and I should be obli ged to decline repl ying t o

them I am sorry to disappoint you I repeat what I said
. .
on th e beach I have no other f eel ing than a f eeling of
sympa thy toward s you I f you had consulted me bef ore your .
marri age I should willingly have a dmitted you to my f ullest

,
condence It is now t oo late You are m a rried I r ec om

. . .
mend you to make the best of your posi t ion, and to re s t

satised with things as they are .

Pa rdon me madam I remonst rated , As things are I ,

.

,
don t know that I a m m arried AJ I kno w unless you

.
,
enlighten me is that your son has m arried me under a name

,
that is not his ow n How can I be sure whether I am or am .

,
not h i s lawf ul wi f e ?
,

I believe there c an be no doubt that y ou are lawf ully m y

son s wif e Mrs Mac al l an a nswered

,

At any rate it is e a sy
. .

to take a leg al opinion on the subj ect I f the opinion is that .
you are n ot law f ull y m a rried my son (whatever his fa ul t s a n d ,
f ailin g s m a y be) is a gentleman He is inc apable of wilf ully .
deceiving a woman who loves and trusts h i m 3 he wi l l do you

justic e O n m y side I will do you j ustice too I f the leg al
.
, .
opinion is adverse to your righ t f ul claims I will p romise t o ,
answer any questions which you m ay choose to put to me .
As it is I believe you to b e la w f ul l y my son s wi f e 3

,
and I s ay again make the best of your position ,

Be .
satised with your husband s aff ectiona t e devotion to you

.
I f you value your peace of mind and the h appines s o f your ,
lif e to come ab s tain from attempti n g to know more than you

,
kn o w no w .

M Y O WN D I S CO VE R Y .
39
S he sat do w n again w ith the air of a woma n who had sai d

her last word .
Further remonstrance would be useless I could see it in -
her f ace ; I could hear it in her voice I turned roun d to .
O pen the dra w ing room door -

.

You are hard on me mad am I said at parting
,

I am ,

,
.

at your mercy an d I must submit
,
.
S h e sud denly looked up and answered me with a ush on

,
her kind an d handsome Old f a ce .
As God is my witness child I pity you from the bottom

, ,
of my heart "
Af t er that ext raordi nary outburst Of feeling she t ook up ,
her work with on e hand and signed to me wi t h the other to

,
leave her .
I bowed to her in silence and went out , .
I had entered the house f ar f rom f eeling sure of the course

,
I ought to take in the f uture I lef t the house positively .

,
resolved come what might of it to discover the secr et which

, ,
the mother and son were hiding fro m me As to the .
question of the n ame I saw it n ew in the light i n which

,
I ought to have seen it fro m the rst I f Mrs Macall an . .
h a d been twice married (as I h ad rashly chosen to suppose )

sh e would certainly h a ve shown m e signs Of recognition s o
,
when she heard me addressed by her rst husband s n ame

.
Where all else was mystery there was n o mystery here , .
Whatever hi s reasons might be Eustace had a s suredly married

. ,
m e under an assumed name .
Approaching the door o f our lodgings I saw my husband ,
walking b a ckwards an d f orwards bef ore it evidently waiting ,
f or my return I f he asked me the question I decided to tell

.
,
him f rankly where I h ad been and what had passed bet w een ,
h i s mother and mysel f .
He hurried to meet me with s ign s of di sturbance in hi s

f ace and manner .

I h ave a favour to ask of you, Valeria, he sai d
.
40 TH E LA IV AND TH E L AD Y
Do you min d returning w ith me t o L ondon b y the

nex t train ?
I looked at him I n the popular phrase, I c ould hardly

.
believe my ow n ears .

It s a matter of business he went on of no interest to

,

,
any on e but mysel f ; and it requires my presence in L ondon .
Y ou don t wish to sail j ust yet as I understand ? I can t

leave you here by yoursel f Have you any obj ection to goi ng
.
to Lon dOn for a day or two ?

I made no obj ection I t oo was eager to go back
. .
I n L ondon I could obtain the legal O pinion which would

,
tell me whether I was law fully married to Eustace or not .
In L ondon I should be within reach of the help and

,
advice of my father s faithful ol d clerk I c ould con de in

.
Benjamin as I coul d conde in no one else D early as I .
loved my uncle S tarkweather I shrank from communicating ,
with h i m in my present need Hi s wi fe had told me that I .

'
had made a bad beginning when I signed the wrong nam e ,
in the marriage register S hall I ow n it ? My pride shrank

.
from acknowledging before the honeymoon was over that hi s

, ,
wi fe was right .
In two hours more we were on the railway again Ah, .
what a contrast that second j ourney presented to the rst !

O n ou r way to R amsgate everybody could see that we were
,
a newly wedded couple

-
O n our way t o L ondon nobody
.
,
noticed us ; nobody would have doubted that we had been

married for years .
We w en t to a private hotel in the neighbourhood of P ortland

Place .
After break fast the next morning Eustace announced that

, ,
he must leave me to attend to his business I had pre .
vi ou sl y m entioned to him that I had some purchases to
make in L ondon He was quite willing to let me go ou t

.
alone on the condition that I s ho uld take a carriag e pr o

vi ded by the hotel .
M Y O WN D I S C O VER Y .
4:
My heart w as heavy that morni n g : I felt t h e u nackn c w ~
l odg ed estra n gement that had grown u p between us very

keenly My husband opened t h e door to go out and cam e
.
back to kiss me be fore he left me by mysel f That little .
aft erthought of tenderness touched me Acting on the i m .
pulse of the moment I put my arm round his neck a nd held

, ,
hi m to me gently .

My darling I said
give me all your c ondence

, ,
.
I kno w that you love me S how that you c an trust .

me too .
He i s ghed bitterl y and drew back from me ,

i n sorrow not ,
i n anger .

I tho ught we had agreed V aleria not t o return t o that , ,
subject again he said Y ou only distress yoursel f and di s

,

.

tress me .
He left the room ab ruptly as i f he dare not trust h imsel f ,
t o say more It is b et t er not to dwell on what I felt after

.
this last repulse I ordered the carriage at once I was eager

. .
to n d a re fuge from my ow n thou ghts in movement and

chan ge .
I drove to the shops rst and made the purchases which I ,
had mentioned to Eustace by way of givin g a reas on for goi n g

ou t
. Then I devoted my sel f to the obj ect which I really had

at heart I went to old Benjamin s little villa in the by
.
,
ways of S t J ohn s Wood .

.
As soon as he had got over the rst surprise of seein g me ,
he noticed that I looked pale and careworn I con fessed at .
once that I was in trouble We sat down together by t h e .
bright reside in his littl e library (Benjamin as far as h i s.
means would allow was a great collector of books) and ther e

, ,
I told my ol d friend frankly and truly all that I have told

, ,
here .
H e was too distressed to say much He fervently pressed .
my hand he ferventl y thanked God that my father had not

lived to hear what he had heard Then a fter a pau se h e .
, ,
repeated my mother i n law s na me to hi msel f in a doubting - -

, ,
qu estioning tone .
Mac all an ? he said Mac all an ? Wher e have I heard

.

that name ? Why does i t sound as i f it wasn t strange
to me 1 '
He gave up pursuing the lost reco l lection and asked very , ,
earnestly what he could do for me I answered that he

, .
could help me in the rst place to put an end to the doubt

eu unendurable doubt to m e whether I was law fully married
or not Hi s energy of the ol d days when he had conducte d

.
,
my father s business showed itself again the moment I said

, ,
those words .

Y our carriage is at the door my dear he answered , , .
Come with me to my ow n lawyer, without wasting another

moment .
We drove to L incoln s Inn Fields

.
At my request Benjamin put my case t o the lawy er as the

, ,
case of a friend in who m I was interested The answer was .
given without hesitation I had married honestly believing .

,

my husband s name to be the name under which I had known
hi m . The witnesses to my marriage my uncle my aunt , ,

and Be njamin had acted as I had acted in perfect good , ,
faith Under those circumstances th ere was no doubt about

.
,
the l a w I was legally married Mac all an or Woodville, I

. .
was his wi fe .
This decisive answer relieved me o f a heavy anxiety I . .
accepted my ol d friend s invitation to return with hi m to S t

.
J ohn s Wood and to make my luncheon at his early dinner

,
.
O n our way back I reverted to the one oth er subj ect which
was n ow uppermost in my mind I reiterated my resolution .
to discover why Eustace had not married me under the name

th at w as really his ow n .
My companion shook his head and entreated me to con ,
sider wel l be forehand what I proposed doing Hi s advice to .
r u e so strangely do e x tremes meet was m y mother i n law a

- -
MY O WN D I S C O VE R Y .
43
a dvice repeated almo st word for word

, L eave things as .

they are my dear In the interest of your ow n peace o f

,
. .
mind be satised with your husband s a ff ection You kno w

,

.
that you are his wi fe and you kno w that he loves you , .
S urely that is enou gh 2

I had but on e an s w er to this L ife on such conditions as .
,
my good friend had just stated would be simply unendurable ,
to me N othing could alter my resolution for this plain

.
reason that nothing could reconcile me to living with my

,
husband on the terms on whi ch we were living n ow I t only .
rested with Be njamin to say whether he would give a helping

hand to his master s daughter or not
.
The old man s answer was thoroughly characteristic of him

.
Mention w ha t you want o f me my dear was all he , ,

said .
We were then passing a street in the neighbourhood of

Portman S quare I was on the point of speaking again
.
,
when the words were suspended on my lips I saw my .
husband .
He was j ust descending the steps o f a house as i f leaving

It a fter a visit Hi s eyes were on the ground : he did not
.
look up when the carri age passed As the servant closed the .
door behind him I noticed that the number of the house was
,
sixte en At t h e next corner I saw the name of the stree t

. .
It was V ivian Place .

D o you happen t o kno w who li ves at number sixteen ,
V ivian Place 3 I inquired of my companion
'
.
Benj amin started My question was certainly a strange .
on e a fter what he had j u st said to me

, .
N o he replied .

Why do you ask 2 .

I have just se en Eustace leaving that house .

Well my dear and what of that ?

, ,

My mi n d is in a bad way Benjam i n Everyt hing my , .
husband does that I do n t understand rouses my suspicion

,

now .
44 TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y .
B enjami n li fted hi s withered old hands and let them drop ,
on his knees again in mute lamentation over me .

I tell y ou again I went on my li fe is unendurable t o
,

,

me I won t answer for what I may do i f I am left much

.

,
longer to l ive in doubt o f the on e man on earth whom I love .
You have had expe r ience of the world S uppose you were .
shut ou t from Eustace s condence as I am ? S uppose you
were as fond of him as I am and felt your position as bitterly ,
as I feel i t what would you do 2

-

The question was plain Be njami n met it w ith a pl ain .
answer .
I think I should nd my way my dear to some intimate , ,
fr iend of your husband s he said and make a few discreet

,

,

inquiries in that quarter rst .
S ome intimate friend of my husband s ? I c onsidered with
mysel f T here was but one friend of hi s whom I knew of

.
my uncle s correspondent Major Fit z David

My heart ,
-
.
beat fast as the name recurred t o my memory S uppose I .
followed Benjamin s advice ? S uppose I applied to M aj or

F it z David ? Even i f he t oo re fused t o answer my questions

-
,
my position would not be more helpless than it was n ow I .
determined to make the attempt The only difculty in the .
way so far was to discover the Maj or s address I had given

, ,

.

back his letter to D octor S tarkweather at my u ncle s ow n ,
request 3 I reme mbered that the address from which the

Maj or wrote was somewhere in L ondon ; and I remembered
n o mor e .
Thank you ol d friend 3 you have given me an idea

,
already I said to Benj amin

,

Have you got a Dire ctory in .

y our house .

N o my de ar he rej oined looking very mu ch pu zzled
, ,

,
.

But I can easily send ou t and borrow one .
We returned to the V illa T he servant was sent at on c e t o .
t h e nearest stationer s to borrow a Directory S he returned

.
w ith the book j ust as we sat down to dinner

,
S earchi ng f or .
TH E WA y 7 0 TH E M Aj OR .
45

the Maj or s name, u nder the letter F, I was startled b y a n ew
dis covery .

Be njamin ! I said Thi s i s a strange c oincidence LOo k . . .
here
He looked where I pointed Major Fitz David s address .
-

w as Number S ixteen V ivian Place the very house which I ,
had seen my h usband leavi ng as w e pass ed i n the c ar riage 1
C HAPT ER VI I .
ON THE WAY TO THE MAJOR .
YEs,

said B enj amin .

It a c oinciden c e c ertainly .
S till
He stopped and looked at me seemed a little doubt ful . He
h ow I might re c eive what he had it in his min d to s ay to m e
n e xt .

Go on I said , .
S till my dear I see nothing suspicious in what h as

, ,
happened he resumed ,

T o my mind it is quite natural .

,
that your husband being in L ondon should pay a visit t o , ,
o n e of his friends An d it s equall y natural that we should

.

pass through Vivian Place on ou r way back here T his seems ,

.
to be the reasonable vie w What do you say ? .

I have told you already that my mind is in a b ad wa y
about Eustace I answered I say there is some motive at
,

.
the botto m of his visit to Maj or Fit z David It is not an -

.
ordinary call I a m rmly convinced it is not an ordinary

.
c all !

S uppose we g et on with ou r di nn er l said Be nj amin
,
resignedly H ere is a lom of mutton m y dear an ordi

.

,
nary loin o f mutton I s there anythi ng suspicious in t h at 2

.
Very well, then S ho w m e you have c on den ce in t he

.
46 TH E LA W A ND TH E LA D Y .
mutton 3 please eat There s the wine again N0 mystery .

, .
,
Valeria in that claret I ll take my oath it s nothing but

,

innocent juice o f the grape I f we can t believe in anything .

else let s believe in j uice o f the g r ape Y our good health

,

.
,
my dear

.
I adapted myself to the old man s genial humour as readily
as I could We ate and we dra n k a n d we t alked of bygone

.
,
days For a little wh ile I was almost happy in the company

.
of my fatherly old friend Why was I not ol d too ? Why .
had I not done with love with its certain miseries 3 its
tran sient delights 3 its cruel losses 3 its bitterly doubt ful
gains ? The last autumn owers in the windo w basked
brightl y in the last o f the autumn sunlight Benj amin s little .

dog digested his dinner in per fect com f ort on the hearth Th e .
parrot in the next house screeched his vocal accomplishments

cheerfully I don t doubt that it is a great privilege to be a
.

human being But m ay it not be the happier destiny t o be

.
an animal or a pl ant ?
The brie f respite was soon over 3 all my anxieties came
back I was once more a doub t ing discontente d depressed
.
, ,
creature when I rose to say good bye

,
-
.
Promise my dear you will do nothing rash said Benj a

, , ,

min as he opened the door for me

,
.
I s it rash to go to M aj or Fit z I a sked .
Yes

if you go by yo u rsel f Y ou don t kno w w h at sort
.

o f man he is 3 you don t know how he m ay receive you Let .
me try rst and pave the way as the s ay i ng is T ru st m y

, , .
experience my dear In m atters o f this sort th ere is nothi n g

,
.
like pavi ng the way .

I considered a moment It was due to my go od fr i en d to .
consider before I said N0 .
R eection decid ed me on taki n g the re spons ib i lity w ha t ,
ever i t might be u pon m y o w n shoulders

, G o d or b a d . o
,
co m passionate or cruel t h e M aj or was a m a n A w o m a n s , .

in u ence was the s a fest inuence to trust with h l l n

ON TH E WA Y TO TH E I A j OR . 47
the end to be gained was su ch an end as I h ad i i view I t . .
was not easy to say th is to Be nj amin without the da nger o f ,
morti fyi n g him I made an appointment with t h e old m an

.
to call on me the n ext morning at the hotel and tal k the ,
m atter over again I s it very disgraceful to me to add that

.
,
I privately determined (i f the thi n g could be acco m plished) to

see Maj or Fit z David in the interval ?
-

D o nothing rash my dear I n y our ow n interests do
, .
,
nothing rash

T hose were Be nj amin s last words when we parted for the ,
I found Eustace waiting for me in ou r sitting room at the -
hotel Hi s spirits seemed to have revived since I had seen

.
hi m last He advanced to meet me cheerfully with an O pen

.
,
sheet of paper in his hand .
My business is settled Valeria sooner than I had ex , ,
pected he beg an gaily

,

Ar e your purchases all completed
, .
,
fair lady A r e y ou free too I

'
I had learnt already (G od h elp me I) to distrust his t s of

gaiety I asked cautiously
.
,

Do you mean free for to day l -

Free for t o day and t o mo r ro w and n ext week an d next
, ,
monthand next year too for all I know to the contrary

, , ,
h e answered putting his arm boisterously round my waist

, .
L ook here !
H e lifted the open sheet of p aper w hich I had noticed in
hi s hand an d held it for me to read
, It was a telegram to .
t h e sailing master of the yacht in formi n g him that w e h ad ,
arranged to return to R amsgate that e ening and that we v

,
should b e r ea dy to sail for t h e Me diterran ean with the n ext tide .
I only waited for your return said Eustace to send the ,

,
telegram to the o th ee .

He crossed the room as he spoke to ring the h ell , I , .
( topped h i m .
48 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD r:
I am af raid I can t go t o R amsgate to day I sai d

-
,

.
Why not 1 he asked suddenly changing hi s ton e and

speaking sharply .
I dare say it will seem ridiculous t o some people but it i s ,
really true th at he shook my resolution to go to Maj or Fit z

David when he put his arm round me Even a mere passing
,
.
caress from hi m stole away my heart and softly tempted me

, , ,
to yield But the ominous alteration i n his tone made another

.
woman of me I felt once more and felt more strongly than

.
,
ever that in my critical position it was useless to stand still ,

, , ,
an d worse th a n useless to dra w back .

I am sorry to disappoint you I ans w ered
It is i m ,

.
p ossible f ( )
or me as I told y ou at R a msgate to b e ready t o
sail at a moment s notice I want time

. .
What for ?
N ot only his tone but hi s look when he put that se cond
, ,
question, j arred on every nerve i n me He roused in my mind .
I can t tell how or whyan angry sense of the indignity

that he had put upon his wife in marryi ng her under a false
name Fearing that I should answer rashl y that I should say
.
,
something which my better sense might regret i f I spoke at ,
that moment I said nothing Women alone can estimate

,
.
wha t it cost me to be silent An d men alone can understand .
how irritating my silence must have been to my husband .
You want time 2 he repeated I ask you againwhat

.
for 2
My sel f control pushed to its extrem est li m its failed me

-
, ,
.
The rash reply ew ou t of m y lips like a bird set free from ,
a c age .

I want time, I said to ac custom mysel f t o my right

,

n ame .
He suddenly stepped up to me with a dark look .

What do you mean by your right nam e 1
Su rely you kno w I answered I once thought I was M i s

.
,
Woodvill e I have n ow dis c o vered that I am Mrs Mac all an

.
. .
ON TH E WA v To TH E M A y er .
as
;
He started back at the sound o f his own name as i f I had ,
struck him h e started back and turned so deadly pal e that

I feared he was goin g to drop at my feet in a swoon Oh .
,
my tongu e ! m y to ngue ! Why had I not controlled my

miserable mischievous woman s tongue ?
,

I didn t mean t o alar m you Eustace I said I spoke at

.
, ,

ra ndom Pray forgive me
. .
He waved his hand i mpatiently as if my p enitent word s ,
were tangible things ru f i n g worrying things like i es i n ,
summer which he was putting away from him .

t at else have you discovered ? he asked, in low stern ,
t ones .
N othing Eusta c e , .

Nothin g ? He paused as he repeated the word and

,
passed his hand over his forehead in a weary way N othing .

,
of c ourse he resumed speaking t o himsel f or sh e would

, , ,
n ot be here

.
He paused once more and looked at me searchi ngly , .

Don t say again what you said just now he went on For ,

.
your ow n sake Valeria as well as for mine

, He dropped
, .

into the nearest chair and said no more ,

.
I certainly heard the warning ; but the only words which

really produ c ed an impression on my mind were the words
preceding it which he h ad spoken to himself He had said :

, .
N othing of c ourse or she w ou l d n ot be h er e I f I h ad

, , .

found ou t some other truth besi des the truth about the name ,
would it have prevented me from ever returning to my

h usband ! Was th a t what he meant ! Did the sort of dis
covery that he contemplated mean something so dread ful ,
t hat it would have parted us at once and for ever ! I stood

by his chair in s i lence 3 and tried to nd the answer to those
t errible questions in his face It used to speak to me so .
eloquently when it spoke of hi s love It told m e nothi ng .
now .
He sat for some time without lookin g at me lost in h i s , t
B
SO TH E LA W AN D TIYE L AD Y .
own thoughts . T hen he rose on a sudden and took his ,
ha t .

The friend who lent me the yacht is in town he sai d ,

.
I suppose I had better see him and say ou r plans are ,
cha n ged H e tore up the tel egra m with an air of sull e n

.

resignation as he spoke Y ou a r e evidently determined not

.

to go to sea with me he resumed We had better give it
, .

up I don t see what else is to be done D o you ?

.

.

Hi s tone was al most a tone of contempt I was too. .
depressed about mysel f too alarmed about hi m to resent it

, , .
D ecide as you thi nk best Eustace I said sadly Every , ,

, .

way the prospect seems a hopeless on e As long as I am

,
.
shut out from your con dence i t matters l ittle whether we ,
live on land or at sea w e cannot live happily .

I f you could control your curiosity he answered sternly ,

, ,
we might live happily enough I thought I had m arried a .
woman who was su perior to the vulgar failings of her sex .

.
A good wife should know better than to pry into a ffairs of her
husband s with which she has no concern

.

S urely it was hard to bear this ? H owever I bore it , .

Is it n o concern o f mine I asked gently when I nd ,

, ,

that my husband has not married me under his family name !

Is it no concern of mine when I hear your mother say in so ,
many words that she pities your wi fe ? It is hard Eustace

, , ,
to accuse me of curiosity because I cannot accept the unen ,
durable position in which you have placed me Your cruel .
silence is a blight on my happiness and a threat to my ,
future Y our cruel silence is estranging us from each other

.
,
at the beginning of our married life A n d you blame me .
for feeling this ? Y ou tell me I am prying into a ff airs whi ch

a r e yours only ? They are n ot yours on l y I have my interest
in th em too O h my darling why do you trie with our
.
, ,
l ove and ou r condence in each oth er ? Wh y do you keep

me in the dark ?
He answ ered with a stern and pitiless brevity ,

ON TH E WA Y T O TH E M A 7 0A
.
5!

your own good
For .
I turned away from him in silence He was treati n g me .
like a chi ld .
He followed me Putting one hand heavily on my shoulder

.
,
he forced me to face him once more .

L isten to this h e said What I am now going to say
,

.

t o you I say for the rst and last time

,
Valeria ! i f you , , .
ever discover w hat I am now keeping fro m your knowledge

- from that moment you live a li fe o f torture ; your tran
quillity is gone Y our days will be days of terror ; your
.
nights will be full of horrid dreamsthrough no fault of

mine mind ! t hrough no faul t o f mine ! Every day o f your
,
life you will feel some new distrust some growing fear of
, ,
me and you w ill be doing me the vilest inj ustice all the
time O n my faith as a Christian on my honour as a man
.
, ,
i f you stir a step further in this m atter there is an end of

your happiness for the rest of your life ! Think seriously of
what I have said to you ; you w il have time to reect I
.
am going to tell my friend that our plans for the Medi t er

r an ean are given up I shall not be b ac k before the evening
. .
He sighed and looked at me with unutterable sadness

,
I .
love y ou Valeria he s a id
,
In spite of all that has passed
,

.
,
a s G od is my witness I love you more dearly than ever

, .
S o he spoke S o he left me . .
I must write the tr u th about mysel f ho w ever stran ge it ,
may appear I don t pretend to be able to analyse my ow n

.

mo tives ; I don t pretend even to guess how other wome r

might have acted in my place It is true of m e that my .

,
hu sband s terri ble warning all the more terrible in i t s

m y stery and its vagueness produced no det errent eff ect on

my mind it only stimulated my resolution to discover what
he was hiding from me He had not been gone two mi nutes .
before I rang the bell and ordered the carri age to take me to ,
Maj or Fitz David s house in Vivian Place

-

.
Walking to and fro while I was waitin g I was i n s u ch a

52 TH E LA W AND M E LAD Y .
fe ver o f excitement that it w as impossible for me to sit still

I accidentally caught sight of mysel f in the glass .
My ow n face startled me : it was so haggard and so wild .
Cou ld I present mysel f to a stran ger could I hope to produce ,
the necessary impression in my favour looking as I looked at ,
that moment ? For all I kne w to the contrary my whole ,
future m ight depend upon the e ffect which I produced on

Maj or Fit z David at rst s i ght I rang the bell again and
-
.
,
sent a message to on e of the chambermaids to follow me to

my room .
I had no maid of my ow n with me the stewardess of the

yacht would have acted as my attendant if we had held to ,
o u r rst arran gement It mattered little so long as I h ad.

,
a woman to help me The chambermaid appeared I can . .
give no better idea of the disordered and desperate condition

o f my mind at that time than by owning that I actually ,
consulted this perfect stranger on the question of my person al

appearance Sh e was a mi d dl e aged woman with a large
.
-
experience of the world and its wickedness written legibly on

her manner and on her face I put money into the woman s .

hand enough of it to surprise her S he thanked me with a

,
.
cynical smil e evidently placi n g her ow n evil interpretation on

,
my motive for bribing her .

What can I do for you ma am ? she asked in a con ,

,
fi den t i al whisper Don t speak loud ! T here is somebody

.

in the next room .

I want to look my best I said 3 and I have sent for you

,

to help me .

I understand ma am ,

.

What do you understand

S he nodd ed her head signicantly and whispered to me

,
,
agai n .
L ord bless you I m used to this sh e s ai d ,

There is a
.

g entleman i n t h e case Don t mind me ma am It s a way .

,

.

I h a ve I mean no harm
. S he stopped and look ed at m e .

OH Tf l E IVA Y TO TH E M A30R
/
'
.
53
.
c ritically I wouldn t cha nge my dress if I w er e you she

.

, ,

went on Th e c ol ou r becomes you

. .
It was too late to resent the woman s impertinence There

.
was no help for it but to make use of her Besides she was .
,
r ight about the dress It was of a delicate mai z e colour

.
,
prettily trimmed with lace I could wear nothin g which .
suited me better My hair however stood in need of some

.
, ,
ski lled attention The chambermaid rearran ged it with a

.
,
ready hand w hich showed that she was no begin n er in the

art of dressi n g hair S he laid down the combs and brushes
.
,
an d looked at me then looked at the toilette table searching ,
for something which she apparently failed to nd .
Where do you keep it ? she a sked

.
What do you mean ?

L ook at your co m plexion ma am You will fri ghten h i m ,

.
i f he sees you like that A touch of colour you mu st have .

.
Where do you keep it ? What ! you haven t got it ? you
never u se it ? Dear dear dear me ! , ,

For a moment surprise f airly deprived her of her sel f

,
possession ! R ecovering herself, she begged permission to

leave me for a minute I let her go knowing what her .
,
errand was S he came back with a box of paints and

powders ; and I said nothing to check her I saw in the .

,
gl ass my skin take a false fairness my cheeks a false colour

, , ,
my eyes a false brightnessand I never shrank from it N I .
let the odious deceit go on 3 I even admired the extraordinary

delicacy and dexterity with w hich it was all done Any .

t hing (I thou ght to mysel f in the madness o f that miserable

,
t ime) , so long as it helps me to Wi n the Major s condence !
Anything so long as I discover what those last words of my

hu sband s really mean
The trans formation of my face was accomplished Th e .
ch ambermaid p ainted with her wicked forenger in t h e

direction of the glass .
B ear in mind, ma am, what you looked li ke whe n you

54 TH E LA U/ AN D TH E LA D Y:
An d j ust see for yourself h ow you

sent for me she said
, .
look now You r e the prettiest woman (of your style ) in

.

London . Ah what a th ing pear l po w der is when one knows

, ,
h ow to u s e it
CHAPTER VIII .
TH E F R I END OF THE W O M EN .
I h ND it impos s ible to describe m y sensations while the car

r i ag e was taking me t o M ajor Fi t z David s house I doubt
-
.
,
in deed i f I really f elt or thought at all in the true sense of

, ,
tho se words .
From the moment when I h ad resigned mysel f into the

hands of the chamberm a i d I seemed in some strange w ay t o
,
have lost m y ordinary i dentity to have stepped ou t of my

own character At other ti mes my temperament was of t he
.
,
n er vous and a nxious sor t and my tendency w a s to ex aggerate

,
any di fculties that might place themselves i n my w ay At .
other times having bef ore me the prospect of a critical in t er

,
view with a stranger I shoul d have considered wi t h m y sel f

.
,
what it might be wise to pass over and what it m i ght be ,
wise to say Now I n ever gave my coming interview wi t h

.
,
the Major a thought I f elt an unreasoning condence in

mysel f and a blind f aith in h i m N ow neither the past nor
, .
,
the f uture troubled me I lived u nr eec t i ng l y i n the present .
I look ed at the shops as we drove by them a n d at the other ,
carri ages as th ey passed mine I noticed yes and enj oy ed

the gl ances of admiration which chance f oot passengers on
.
the pavement cast at me I said to my sel f This looks w ell

.
,
f or my prospect of maki n g a f riend of the Major ! When
we drew u p at the door in Vivian Place it is no exaggeratio n ,
t o say that I had but one anxiety anxiety to nd the M aj or

a t home .
Th e door was opened by a s ervant out of livery, an old m an

T E

FRIEND OF TH E W OM E N
'
.
55
wh o looked as i f he m i ght hav e b ee a soldier i n his earlier n
d ays He eyed me wi t h a grave attention whic h relaxe d

.
,
l i t t le by little i nto s ly approval I asked f or M ajor Fi t z .

~
D a vi d Th e answer was not altogether encouraging ; the

.
m a n was not sure whether his master was at home or not .
I gave h i m m y c ard My c ards being part of my wed ding .

,
ou t t necessaril y had the f a lse name printed on them

,
I r s E usta ce Woodvi l l e
. Th e servant showed m e into a .
f ront room on the ground oor and disappeared wit h m y ,
c a rd in his h an d .
Loo k ing about me I noticed a door in the wall Opposi t e ,
t h e win dow communicating w i th some inner room

, Th e .
door was not of the or dinary k in d It tte d into the thickness .
o f the partition wall an d w orked in grooves Look ing a, .
li t t le ne a rer I saw th at it h a d not been pulled out so as com

,
pl et ely to close the door w ay O nly the merest chink w as .
lef t but it was enou gh t o convey to my e ars all that passe d

in the next room .
What di d you say O liver when she aske d f or me 2

'
, ,
inquired a man s voice pitched cautiousl y in a l ow key

,
.
I said I was not sure you were a t home sir answered the .
, ,

voice of the servant who had let me in .
There was a pause Th e rst speak er w a s evi dently Maj or

.
Fit z David himsel f I waited to hear more

-
. .

I think I h ad better not see her O liver the M aj or s , ,

voice resumed .
Very good sir ,

.

S ay I have gone out and you don t know when I sh a l l b e

back again Beg the lady to write i f she has a ny busines s

.
,

w ith me .
Yes sir
.
,
S top O liver ,
O liver st epped There was another and longer paus e .
Then the master resume d the examination of the man .
Is she young Ol i ver 2

' '
,
56 TH E L AW AND TH E LAD Y.

Yes,s ir .
And pretty l '

Better than pretty sir to my thinking , ,
.

Aye ? aye ? What you call a ne woma n eh, Oliver ?
Certainly s ir , .

Ta ll ?

Nearly a s tall as I am Maj or

, .

Aye ? aye ? aye ? A good gure ?

As slim a s a sapli n g si r and as upright a s a dart , , .
O n second thoughts I am at home O liver S how h er , , .

in ! show her in !
S o f ar on e thing at least s eemed to be clear
,
I had done .
well in sen di n g for the chambermaid What would Oliver s .

report of me have been i f I had presented myself to him ,
with my colourless cheeks and my ill dressed hair ? -
Th e servant reappeared and conducted me (by way of the ,
hall) to the inn er room M aj or Fit z David advanced to .

-
welcome me Wh at was the Major li ke ?

.
Well he w as like a n el y preserved gentleman of (say) -
si xty years ol d l ittle and le an and chiey remarkab le by ,
t h e extraordinary le n gth of his nose Af ter this f eature I .

,
n oticed next his beauti f ul brown W i g ; his sparkling little

, ,
g rey ey e s; h i s rosy complexion 3 h i s short military whiskers ,
dyed to match his w i g ; his white teeth and his winning

sm ile 3his sm art b lu ef rock coat with a c amellia in the button -
,
hole ; and his splendid ring a ruby ashing on hi s littl e ,
n ger as h e courteously signed to me to take a ch air .

Dear Mrs Woodvill e how very kind of you this is ! 1
'
.
,
have been l ong i ng to have th e happiness of knowing you

' '
Eustace i s an ol d friend o f mine I congratulated him when .
I h eard of his marriage May I make a con f ession I envy .
him now I have seen his wi f e .

Th e f uture of my li f e w as perh aps i n this man s hands

.
, ,
I studied him attentively ; I tried to read hi s character i t

'

his f ace .
TH E FRIEND OF TH E WOM EN .
57
Th e Major s sparkling little grey eyes s oftened as they

l ooked at me 3 the M aj or s stro ng and sturdy voice dropped

to it s lowest and te nderest tones when he spoke to me 3 the

Major s manner expressed f rom the moment when I entered ,
the room a happy mixture of admiration and respect He

, .
drew his chair close to mine as i f it was a privilege t o be ,
near me He took my hand and lif t e d my glove t o his

.
,
lips as i f that glove w as the most delicious luxury the world

,
coul d produce Dear Mrs Woodville he s ai d as he sof tly

.

.
,

,
laid my hand back on my l ap bear wi t h an ol d f ell ow who ,
worships your enchanti n g sex You re ally brighten this dull .

house It is su ch a pleasure to see you 1
.
There was no nee d for the ol d gentleman to make hi s little

con fession Women children and dogs proverbially know
.
, ,
by instinct who the people are who really like t hem Th e .
women had a warm friendperhaps at on e time a d an ger , ,
ou sl y warm f rien d i n Maj or Fi t s a vi d I knew as much .
of him as that be f ore I had settled m y sel f in my chair a n d
opened my l i ps to answer him .

Thank you M aj or f or your kind reception an d your
, ,
pretty complim ent I said 3 matchi n g my hos t s e asy tone a s

,

z l osel y as the necessary restrain t s on m y side would per
mit You have made your con f ession M ay I make mine l

.

.
'
M ajor Fi t c avi d lif ted my h and again f ro m my lap and ,
dre w his ch air as close as possible to mine I look e d at .
him gravely and tried to release my hand

,
Major Fit z .
D avi d decl ined to let go of i t an d proceeded to t ell ,
me why .

I have j ust heard you speak f or the rst time he said ,

.
I am under the char m of your voice Dear M r s Wood . .
ville bear with an ol d f ello w who is under the cha rm !

,
Don t gru dge me my innocent little ple a sures Lend me

.
I wish I could say g i ve me this pretty h a nd I am such .
an admi r er of pretty hands ; I can listen so much bett er
w i th a pretty hand i n mi n e Th e ladies indul ge my weak .

ne ss Please indulge me t oo Yes ? And what were you

. .
going to say ?
I was going to say Maj or that I felt particularly sensible

, ,
of your kin d welcome because as it happens I h ave a f a vour

, , ,
a sk of

to y ou .
I w a s conscious while I spoke that I was approaching

, ,
the object of my vi sit a little too abruptly But Maj or Fita .

David s admiration rose f ro m on e cli max to another w ith
such alarming rapi dity that I f elt the importa nce of admi n i s
,
teri n g a practic a l check t o it I trusted to those ominous .
words a f avour to ask of you to administer the check

,

,

and I did not trust in vain My age d admirer gently .
dropped my han d and (with all possible politeness) changed

,
the subj ect .
Th e f a vour is granted of course 1 he said And now

.
,
tell me h ow is our de a r Eustace ?

Anxious and ou t of spirits I a nswered ,

.

Anxious and ou t of Spirits repeate d the Major Th e .

e nvi able m an who is married to You anxious and ou t of ,
spirits ? Monstro us ! Eustace f airly disgusts me I shall .
tak e h i m off the lis t of my f riends .

I n t hat case t a ke me o ff the list with him Maj or

,
I am ,
.
in w ret ched spiri t s too You are m y husband s old friend.

.
I m ay a cknowle dge to you that our m a rr ied lif e isjust

now not quite a happy one .

Maj or Fitz David li f ted his eyebrows (dyed t o match his

-
whisk ers) in polite surprise .
A l ready he excl aime d Wh at c an Eustace be made of 9 .
Has he no appreciation of beauty and grace ? Is he the most

in s ensible o f livi n g beings

He is the best an d dearest of men I an s wered But ,

.

there is some drea df ul myst ery in his past li f e

I could get no f urther Maj or Fit z David del iberately -
st eppe d me He did i t with the smoothest politeness on the

.
,
surface But I saw a look in his bright l ittle eyes, w hich said
.
TH E FR I END OF TH E WOM E N .
50
plainly , I f you w i ll venture on delicate ground madam don t , ,

ask me to accompany you .

My charming f riend 1 he exclaimed May I c all you
.
my ch arming frien d ? You have amo n g a thousand other

delight f ul qualities whi ch I can see alre a dy a vivi d i m ag i n a v
tion Don t let it get the upper h an d 1 Take an ol d fellow s

.

advice 3 don t let it get the upper hand ! What can I o ff er

you dear Mrs Woodville ? A cup of tea ?
, .

Cal l me by my right name sir I answered boldly I , ,

.
have m ade a discovery . I kno w as well as you do that my .

, ,
name is Mac all an .

Th e Major st arted and looke d at me very attentively ,

His .
manner became grave his tone changed completely when he , ,
Spoke next .

May I ask he said
i f you have communicated t o
,

,
y our h usband the di scovery which you have just mentioned

t o me ?

Certainly ! I answered
I consider that my husband .
o wes me an expl a n ation I have a sked him to tell me what .
his extraordin ary conduct means and he has ref used in

langu age th at f ri ghtens me I have a ppe aled to his mother .
and siz e h as re f used to expl ain in lan gu age that humili ates ,
me De a r M ajor Fit z D avi d I have no f riends to take my

.
-
part ; I have nobo dy to come t o but you D o me the gr ea t est

of all f avours tell me why your f riend Eust ace has m arri ed
me under a f a lse name 1

Do m e the greatest of all favours an s w ered t h e Maj o r ,

.

Don t ask me to say a word about it .

He look ed in spite of hi s unsa tis f acto ry reply a s i f he

, ,
really f elt f or me I determine d to try my utmost powers of

.
persua sion 3 I resolved not to be beaten at the rst repu l se .
I must ask you I s aid Thin k of m y positio n How

. .
,
c an I live knowing what I knowand knowi n g no more ?

,
I
would rather hear the most horrible thing you c an t ell m e
th an be condemned (as I am now) t o perpetual mi sg i vi n g an d
'
perpetual s uspense I l ov e my husband with all my hear t 3

.
but I cannot li ve with him on these ter ms : the mi sery of it

would drive me mad I am only a woman Maj or I c an
.
, .
only throw myself on your kindne ss Don t pray pray .

,
don t keep me in the dark

I could say no more In the reckles s impulse of t h e

.
momen t I s natched up his hand and raised it to my lips

, .
Th e g allant old gentleman started as i f I had given him an

electric shock .

My dear dear l a dy he exclaimed I can t tell you h ow
, ,
I feel f or you ! You charm me you overwhelm me you , ,
touch me to the h eart What can I say ? What can I do ?

.
I can only imitate your admirable frankness your fearless ,
candour You have told m e what your position is Let me

. .
tell you in my turn :how I am placed Compose yoursel f

, , .
pray c ompos e yoursel f ! I have a smelling bottle here at the -
s ervice of the ladies Permit me to o ff er it

. .

He brought me the smelling bottle 3 he put a little stool -
u nder my f eet 3 he entreated me to take time enough to com
pose myself In fernal f ool ! I heard h i m say to himself as

.

,
he consideratel y turned away f rom me for a f ew moments .
I f I had been her husbandcome what might of it I would ,
have told her the truth

Was he ref erring to Eustace ? And was he going to do
what he would have done in my husband s place was h e
-
really going to tell me the truth ?

Th e idea had barely crossed my mind when I was s tartle d ,
by a loud and peremptory knocking at the street door Th e -

.
Major stopped and listened attentively In a few moment s

,
.

the door was opened and the rustli n g of a woman s dress w as
,
plainly audible in the hall Th e M aj or hurried to the door .
of the room with the activity of a young man

,
He was t oo .
late Th e door w as violently opened f rom the outer side

. ,
ust a s he got to i Th e lady of the ru s tling dre ss burst int o

j t .
t h e r oom .
TH E DE FEA T OF THE OI
C HAP TER I X .
TH E DEFEAT OF THE M AJ OR .
M AJO R Fi r z DAV ID S visito r prove d to be a plump round

.
-

,
eyed ove r dressed girl wi t h a orid complexion an d straw

, ,
coloured h air . Af t er rst xing on me a broad stare of

astonishment she pointedly a ddressed her apologi es f or i n
,
.
t r u di n g on us to the Major alone Th e creature evidently.
believed me to be the last new obj ect of the ol d gentleman s
i dolatry 3 an d she took no pains to disguise her j ealous resent

ment on discovering us together M aj or Fi t z David set
.
ma t t ers right i n his ow n irresistible way He kissed the .
h a n d of the over dressed girl as devotedly as he h a d k issed

-
mine 3 he t old her she was looking charmingly Then he l e d .
her with his happy mixture of ad miration and r espect back

, ,
to the door by which sh e had entereda second door com

mu n i c at i ng directly with the hall .
No apology is n ecessary my dear he said

, This lady is ,

.
with me on a matter of busines s You w ill nd your singing

.
m a ster waiting f or you upstairs Begin your lesson 3 and I

.
w ill join you in a few minute s Au r evoi r my charmi ng

.
,
pupil a2 r evoi r
. .

Th e young lady answered thi s polite little speech in a

whisper wit h her roun d eyes xed distrustf ully on me while
sh e spoke . Th e door closed on her Major Fitz David was .
-
at li berty to set matters right with me in my turn , .

I call that young person on e of my happy discoverie s ,

s aid the old gentleman complacently , Sh e posses s es I .

,
don t hesitate to say the nest soprano voice in Europe

, .
Would you believe it I met with her at a railway station ?

,
Sh e w as behind the c ounter in a r ef r esh ment r oom, po or

62 7 71 E LA W AN D TH E
innocent rinsing wine glasses and singing over her work

,
-
, .
Good heavens such singing ! Her upper notes ele ct rie d

,
me . I said to mys el f
Here is a born prima donna I
,

will bring her ou t ! S h e is the third I have brought ou t in
m y ti m e
. I shall tak e her to I t aly when her e ducation i s
su fcien t ly a dvanced and per f ect her at Mil an I n th at u n
, .
<
sophisticated girl my dear l ady you see on e of the future

, ,
Q u eens o f S ong Listen ! she is beginning her sc ale s What

. .
a voice ! Bra va ! Brava ! Bravissima !
Th e high sopr a no notes o f the f uture Q u een of S ong rang

through the house as he spoke Of the loudness of the .

young lady s voice there coul d be no sort of doubt Th e .
sweetness and t h e purity o f it admi t ted in my opinion of , ,
considerable dispute .
Having said the pol ite words which the occasion rendered
necessary I ventured to recall Maj or Fit z David to the sub
,
-
j cet in discussion between us when his visitor had entered

the room Th e M aj or w as very unwilling to return to the
.
perilous topic on which he had j ust touched when the inter

ruption occurred He beat time with his f orenger to the
.
singing upstairs ; he a ske d m e about my voice and whether ,
I sang ; he rem arked that li f e w ould be intolerable to him

without Love and Art A m an in my place would h ave lost
.
al l p atience and woul d have given up the struggl e in di sgust

, .
B eing a woman an d h avi n g my end in vie w m y resolu t ion

, ,
w as invincible I fairly wore ou t the M aj or s resistance and

.

,
c ompelled him t o surrender a t discretion It is only justice .
t o a dd tha t when he did make up his mind to speak t o me

,
a gain of Eus t a ce he spoke f rank l y and spoke to the point

, ,
.
I have k nown your husban d he beg a n since t h e tim e

,

,
when he w as a boy At a certain perio d of his p ast li fe a

.
,
t errible mis fortune f ell u pon hi m Th e secret of tha t mis .
f ortune is kno w n to his f riends and is reli g iously kep t by ,
his f riends It is the secret that he is keeping f ro m You

. .
He will never tell it to you as long as he lives And he h as .

TH E D E FEA T OF TH E MA 7 0R . e3
bound me not to tell it under a promise given on my word o f

,
honour You wished de a r M r s Woodville to be made

.
,
.
,
acquainted wi t h my position t owa rds Eustace There it is ! .

You persist in calli n g me M r s Woodvil l e I sai d

. .
,
Your husband wishes me to persist the M aj or answered

.
,
He a ssumed the n ame of Woodvi lle f earing to give hi s ow n ,
name when he rst c alled at your uncle s house He will now

,

.
acknowle dge no other R emons t rance is useless You must

. .
do w h at we do you must give w ay to an unreason able man

,
.
Th e best f ello w in t h e world in other respects : in this one

m atter as obsti n a t e and self wil l ed as he can be I f you ask
,
-
.
me my opinion I tell you honestly t h a t I think he was wrong

,
in courting and marryi n g you un der his f alse n ame He .
trusted his hon our and his happiness to your k eeping in ,
m aki n g you his wif e Wh y should he not tru st the s t o ry of

.
his troubles to you a s well ? His mother qui t e shares my

opinion in this matter You must not bla me her f or ref using
.
t o a dmit you into her condence a f ter your m arri age

.
it was ,
then t oo late Bef ore your m a rriage she di d all she could
.
,
do without betray i n g secrets which as a good mother she , ,
was bound to respec t to in duce her son to act j ustly to w ards

you I commit no indiscretion when I tell you that she
.
r e f use d to sanction your marriage m ainly f or the reason th a t ,
Eustace declined to f ollow her a dvice an d to tell you what hi s ,
position really was O n my p a rt I did all I coul d to support

.
,
Mrs M ac al l an in the course t hat she took Whe n Eustace

. .
wrote to tell me that he h a d eng aged himself to marry a

niece o f my goo d f riend Dr S t ark we ather and that he h ad.
,
mentioned me as his ref erence I wrote b a ck to warn him th at ,
I would have nothing to do with the affair unless he reve al ed ,
the whole truth a bout himself to his f uture wi f e He re f use d .
t o listen to me as he had re f use d to listen to his mother 3 and

,
he hel d me at the same time t o m y promise t o keep hi s secre t

, , .
When Stark weather wrote to me I h a d no choice b u t to i n ,
volve mysel f in a deception of whi ch I thoroughl y disa pproved

or to answer in a tone s o guarded and so brie f as to s top

the correspondence at the out set I chose the last alternative 3 .
and I f e ar I have off en ded my goo d ol d f riend You n ow see .
the pain f ul position in which I am placed To add to the .
di i c ul t i es of t hat situation Eustace came here this v ery day

, , ,
to warn me to be on m y guard in case of your a ddressing to ,
me the very request which you have just made He told me

that you had met with his mother by an unlucky accident , ,
and that you had discovered the f amily name He declared .
that he had travel l e d to London for the express purpose o f

spe ak i n g to me personally on this serious subj ect I know .

your weakness he said ,
where women are concerne d
, .
Valeri a is aware that you are my ol d f riend Sh e w i ll cer .
t ai n l y write to you ; she may even be bold eno u gh to make

her way into your house R ene w your promise to keep the
.
gre at calamity of my li f e a secret on your honour and on , ,

y our oa t h T
. hose were his words as nearly as I c a n remem ,
ber them I tried to treat the thing lightly 3 I ridicule d the

.

absurdly the atrical notion of renewing my promise and all ,

the rest of it Quite useless ! H e ref used to leave m e h e

.
r eminded me of his unmerited suff erings poor f ellow in the , ,
pa st time It ended in his bursting into tears You love

. .
hi m and so do I
,
Can you wonder that I let h i m have his
.
way ? Th e result is that I am doubly boun d to tell you

nothing by the most sacred promise that a man can give
,
.
My dear la dy I cordially side with you in this matter 3 I

,

l ong to relieve your anxieties But what c an I do 1 .
He stopped and waited gravely waited to hear my

,
reply .
I had listened f rom beginning to end without interrupting ,
him Th e ex t raor dinary change in his manner and in h i s

.
,
way of expressing himsel f while he was speaking of Eustace

, ,
alarmed me as nothing had alarmed me y et How terrible (I .
thought to mysel f ) mu st thi s untold story be i f the mere act ,
of re f erring t o it m akes light heart ed Maj or Fit z David s peak

-
TII E D E FEA T OF TH E M 1 1 7 01? 65
seriously and sadly never smili ng 3 never paying me a com

-
pli m en t 3 n ever even noticing the singing upstairs My heart

sank i n me as I drew that startling conclusion For the rst .
time since I h ad entered the house I was at the end of my ,
resources 3 I kn ew neither what to say nor what to do next .
An d yet I kept my se at Never h ad the resolution to di s

,
.
cover what my husb and was hiding f ro m me been m ore rm l y

rooted in my mind than it was at th at moment ! I canno t
account for the extra ordinary inconsistency in m y c ha racter
which this con fession implies I can only describe the fac t s
.
as they really were .
Th e singing w ent on upstairs Maj or Fi t s avi d stil l .
waited impenetrably to hear what I had to say to know

what I resolved on doing next .
Bef ore I had decided what to say or what to d o another ,
domestic incident happened In pl ain words another k nock.

,
ing announced a n ew visitor at the house door O n this .
occasi on there was n o rustling of a woman s dress in the

,

hall O n this occasion only the old serva nt entered the

.
,
room carrying a m agnicent noseg ay in his hand With .

Lady Clarind a s kind reg ards To remind Major Fit z David

-
.

of his appointment Another lady
. Thi s time a lady with ,
a title A great lady who sent her owers and her mess age s
.
without condescending to concealment Th e M aj or r st .
a pologisi n g to me wrote a f e w lines of acknowle dgment,
and sent them ou t to the m essenger When the door w as .
closed again he care fully selecte d on e o f the choicest owers

,

in the nosegay May I ask he said presenting the ower
.
, ,
to me with his best gr a ce whether you n o w underst and the

,
delicate position in which I am placed bet w een your husband

and yourself ?
Th e little interruption caused by the appearance of the
nosegay had given a n ew impulse to my thoughts and had ,
thus helped in some degree to restore me to mys elf I w as

, , .
abl e at la s t to s ati sf y Maj o r Fitz David that hi s c o n siderat e

and cour teou s explan ation ha d not been thro w n away upo n
me .

I thank you most sincerely M ajor I said
,
You have , , .

convinced me that I must not ask you to forget on my ,
a ccount the promise which you h a ve given to my h u band

,
s
.
It is a sacred promise whi ch I too am bound to respect I , ,

quite un dersta nd that .
Th e Maj or drew a long breath o f relie f and patted me on ,
the shoulder in high approval of what I had said to hi m .

Ad mirably expressed ! he rejoined r ec ove r ing his lig ht

,
hearted looks and his lover like ways all i n a moment -

My .
dear lady you have the gi ft of sympathy ; you see exactl y

,
how I am situated Do you know you remind me of my

.
,
c harming Lady Clarinda ? S he has the gif t of sympathy a nd ,
see s exactly how I am situated I should so enjoy intro .

duc i n g you to each other s a id the M aj or plu n ging his long
, ,
n ose ecstatically in t o Lady Clarinda s owers

.
I had my end still to gain 3 and bei n g (as you w ill have
discovered by this time ) the most obstinate o f living women ,
I still kept that end in view .

I shall be delighted to meet Lady Clarinda I replied ,

.
In the mean time

I will get up a little dinner proceeded the Major w ith a , ,
burst of enthusias m You and I and Lady Clarinda

.

O ur .
youn g prima donna shall come i n the evening and sing to us

-
, .
S u ppose we dra w ou t the menu 3 My sweet friend what is

,

y our f avourite autumn soup ?

In the mea time I persisted to r eturn to what we
n

, ,
w ere speaking of just n ow

Th e Maj or s smile vanished the Major s hand dropped the

,
pen destined to immort alise the name of my favourite

,
autumn soup .

M u st we return to that ? he asked piteous ly
, .

O nly f or a moment I said , .

You r emind me p ur s ued Majo r Fit z David s h aking h is
.

-
,
TH E D EFEA T OF TH E M A 7 0R . 67
head sadly of another charming friend of minea French

~
friendMadame Mi rli or e You are a person of prod i gious

,
tenacity of purpose M adame Mi r li or e is a person of pro

.
di g i ou s tenacity of purpose Sh e h a ppens to be in L n don

.
i .
S hall w e have her at our little dinner ? Th e Major brigh tened

at the ide a and took u p the pen ag ain

,
Do tell me he said .
,

,
what i s your f avourite autumn soup

Pardon me I began 3 we were speakin g j ust n ow
,

O h dear me
, cried Major Fit z David Is this the -
.
other subj ect ?
Yes

this is the other subj ect .
Th e Major put down his pen f or the second time and ,
r egretf ully dismissed from his mind Madame Mi r li or e and
the autumn soup .
Yes 2 he said with a patient b ow and a submissive smile

, .
You were goin g to say

I was going to say I rej oined that your promise on l y
,

,
pledges you not to tell the secret which m y husband is keep

i ng f rom me You have given n o prom ise not to answer me
.
,
i f I venture to a sk you on e or two questions

.
M aj or Fit z David held u p his hand warningly and cast a

-
sl y l ook a t me ou t of his bright little grey eyes

'
S top he said My s w eet frien d st ep there

. I know ,
w here your question s will lead me an d what the result will ,
be if I once begin to answer them When your husband w a s .
h ere t o day he took occasion to remin d me that I was as

,
weak as w ater in the hands of a pretty wom an He i s quite .
r i ght. I a m as weak as water ; I can ref use nothing to a

pretty wom a n Dear and a dmirable la dy don t abuse your i n
.
,

u en c e don t make an old soldier f alse to his word of honour

I tried to say somethi n g here in de f ence of my motives .
Th e Major clasped his hands entreatingly and looked at m e ,
w ith a pleadi ng simplicity wonderful to see .

Why p r e ss it ? he asked I o ff er no r esi sta nce I am
a l ambwh
. .
sac r i c e me ? I ackn o wle dg e yo ur o w r I

y p e ;
TI I E LA W AND TH E LA D Y
'
68 .
throw myself on your mercy All the mis fortun es of my .
youth and my m anhood have come to me through w omen I .
am not a bit better in my a g eI am j ust as fond of the

women an d j ust as ready to be misled by them as ever with
, ,
on e f oot in the grave Shocking isn t it ? B ut h o w tr ue !

.
,
Look at this m ark He lif ted a curl of his beauti f ul brown

.

wig and showed me a terrible sc a r at the side of his head

,
.
Th at woun d (suppose d to be mortal at the time) was made

by a pistol bullet he proceeded Not received in the ser vice
,

.
o f my country oh dear n o ! R eceived in the ser vice of a

,
much inj ured la dy at the hands of her scoundrel of a h u sban d

-
, ,
in a duel abroad Well she was worth it 1 He kissed hi s

.
,

h a nd a ec t i onat el y to the memo r y of the dead or absent ,

la dy an d pointe d to a water colour drawing of a pretty

,
.
-
country house h angi n g on the opposite wall

,
That ne .

estate he procee de d once belo n ged to me It was sol d

,

,

.
years and ye ars since And w h o had the money ? Th e .
w om en God bless them all the women I don t regret

r
.

it I I h ad another est ate I have no doubt it would go the
. .
,
same way Your adorable sex has m ade its pretty playthings
.
o f my li f e my time and my money and welcome

, Th e one
,
thing I have kept to mysel f is my honour And now tha t , .

,
is in d anger ! Yes ; i f you put your clever little questions,

w ith those lovely eyes and w ith th at gentle voice I know ,
w hat will happen You will deprive me of the last and best
of all my possessions H ave I deserved to be treated in that .
way and by you my ch arming friend ? by you of all people ,
in the world ? O h e e ! ,

He paused and looked at me as before the picture of

,
artless entreaty with his head a lit t le on on e side I m ade

, .
another attempt to speak of the matter in dispute between u s ,
from my own point of view M aj or Fit z David instantly thre w .

-
himsel f pro s trate on my mercy more innocently than ever .

Ask of me an ything else in the wide world he said but ,

don t ask me t o be fal s e t o my friend Spare me tha t and

-
.
TH E DEFEA T OF TH E M A yOR
'
. 69
there i s nothing I will not do to satis fy you I mea n what .

I say mind ! he went on bending closer to m e and speak
, , ,
ing more seriously than he had spoken yet

I think y ou .
are very hardly used It is monstrous to xpect that a

.
e .
woman placed in your situat ion will consent to be lef t f or

the rest o f her li f e in the dark No ! no ! i f I saw you at .
,
this moment on the point of nding ou t for yourself what

,
Eustace persists in hiding from you I should remember that ,
my promise like all other promises has its limits and reserves
, , .
I s hould consider myself bound in honour not to help you

but I would not l i f t a nger to prevent you from discovering

the truth f or yourself .
At last he was s peaking in good earnest he laid a s trong

emphas i s on his closing words I laid a stro n ger emphasi s .
o n the m still by s uddenly le a ving my ch a ir

, Th e impulse to .
spring t o my f eet w as irresistible Major Fit z David had .

-
started a new idea in my head .
Now w e understand each other ! I s ai d

I will accept
.
your ow n terms Major I wil l ask nothing of you but what

, .
you have j ust o ff ered to m e of your ow n accord .

What have I o ff ered ? he inquired looking a little
,
alarmed .
"

Nothing that yo u need r epent of I answered ; nothing ,

which it is not easy for you to grant May I ask a bold .
''
question ? S uppose this house were mine instead o f yours l
Consider it yours cried the gallant ol d gentleman Fro m
,

.
the garrets to the kitchen consider it yours ,

A thousand thanks Maj or ; I will consider it mine f or
, ,
the moment You know everybody knows that on e of a

. .
woman s many weaknes s es is curiosity S uppose my curiosity

.

led me to examine everythi ng in my new house 1
Yes 2

S uppose
I went from room to room and searched every ,
t hing and peeped in every w here ? D o you th i nk there w oul d

b e any chance4
,

70 TH E L A W AND TH E LAD Y .
Th e quick witted Maj or anticipated the nature of my qr es

- ~
tion He foll owed my example he too, s tarted to hi s f eet

.
, ,
w i t h a new ide a in hi s mind .

Would there be any chance I went on, of my nding my ,
o w n way to m y husban d s secret in this house ? O ne wo r d

of reply Maj or Fit z David !

, O nly on e word Yes or N o ,
Don t excite yoursel f cried the Maj or

.

Yes or No ,
I repeated more vehemently than ever ,
.
Yes said the M aj or a fter a moment s consideration

, .
It was the reply I h ad asked for ; but it was not explicit

enou gh now I h a d g o t i t to satisf y me I felt the necessity .
of leading him (if possible) into details .

Does Yes mean that there i s some sort o f clue to the

my stery ? I asked
S omething f or instance which my
.
, ,
eyes might see and my hands might touch i f I could onl y

, ,
nd it ?
He considered ag ain I saw that I had succeeded in .
interesting him in some way unknown to mysel f ; and I

,
waited p atiently until he was prep ared to a n swer me .
Th e thing you m ention he said ; the clue (as you call

,
it) might be s een and might be touchedsupposing you could

nd it .
In this h ouse ? I asked

.
Th e M aj or advanc ed a step n eare r t o me, and answered,

In this room .
My head beg an to swim my heart throbbed violently I .
tried to speak ; it was in vain ; the e ff ort almost choked me .
In the silence I coul d he a r the music lesson still going on in

,
the room above The f uture prim a donna had done practising
.
-
her scales and was trying her voice n ow in selections f rom

,
Itali a n opera s At the moment when I rst heard her she

.
,
was sing ing the lovely air f rom the S on n a m bu l a Come per ,
me sereno I never hear that delicious melody to this day

.
, ,
without being inst antly transported in imagination to the f at al

back room in Vivian Place
TH E DEFEA T OF TH E M A ? OR .
71
Th e M aj orstro n gly aff ected himself by this t i me w as ,
the rst to br eak the silence .
S i t down ag ai n he s ai d ; and pray take the easy chair

,

.
You are very much agitated you want rest

.
He was right I coul d stan d no lo n ger ; I dropped into

.
the chair M ajor Fitz David ra n g the bell and spoke a f ew

.
-
words to the servant at the door .
I ha ve been here a long time I said faintly Tell me ,

, .
if I am in the w ay .

In the w ay ? he repeated with hi s irresistible s mil e

,
.
You forget that you are in your ow n house !
Th e servant returned to us bringing with hi m a tiny bottl e ,
of champagne and a plate full of delicate little sugar ed

,
-
biscuits .
I have had this wine bottled expressly f or the ladie s

s aid the Maj or Th e biscuits come to me direct f rom P ar i s
.
.
As a f avour to m e you must take some re f reshment An d .
t hen he stopped a nd looked at me very attentively

,
.
And then he resumed shall I go to my young prima

, ,
donn a
upstairs and leave you here alon e ?
,

It was impossible to hint more delicately at the one requ est

which I now had it in my mind to m ake to him I took his .
hand and pressed it grate f ully .
Th e tranquilli ty of my whole lif e to come is at stake I

,
said . When I am lef t here by myself does your generous ,

sympathy permit me to ex amine everythi ng in the room ?
He signed to me to drink the champagne and to eat a ,
biscuit bef ore he gave hi s answer

, .
Thi s is serious he said

I wish you to be in per fect
, .

possession of your s el f R estore your strength and then I

.
w ill speak to you

.
I di d as he bade me In a minute f rom the time when I .
drank it, the deli cious sparkling wine had begun to revive me .
Is it your express w ish, he resumed that I should leave

,

you here by y ours elf, to s ear ch the r oom ?

~
u
72 TH E LA IV AND TH E LAD Y .
v
l
It is my express wish I an swered ,

.

I take a heavy responsibility on mysel f In g ranting your
r equest But I grant it f or all that beca use I sincerely
.
,
believe as you believe that the tranquill ity of your li f e to

come depends on your discoveri n g the truth Saying those .
w ords he took two keys f rom his pocket

,
You will n aturally ,
f eel a suspicion he went on of any locked doors that you

, ,
may nd here Th e o nly locked places in the room are the

.
doors of the c u pboards un der the l ong bookcase and the door ,
of the Itali an cabinet in th a t corner Th e small key opens .
the bookcase cupboards the lon g key open s the cabinet

door .
With that explanation he laid the key s before me on the ,
table .
Thus far he s ai d I have rigidly respected the promise

, ,
which I made to your husband I shall continue to b e .

f ai t h f ul to my promise whatever may be the result of your ,
examination of the room I am bound in honour not to .
assist you by w ord or deed I am not even at liberty to

,
.
o ff er you the slightest hint Is that understood ? .

Certainly !

V ery good I have now a l a st word of w arni n g to give
.
you and then I h ave done I f you do by an y ch ance su c .
c eed in laying yo u r han d on the clue remember this t he ,
di sc over y w hi ch f ol l ow s w i l l be a ter r i bl e on e I f you have .
any doubt about your capacity to sustain a shock w hich will

strike you to the soul f or God s sake give u p the idea of n d
,

ing ou t your husband s secret at once an d f or ever ,

I thank you for your war n ing M ajor I must f ac e , .
the consequence s of making the discovery wh atever they ,
may be .

You are po s itively re s olved !

Positively .

V ery well Take any time you plea se
. Th e house and .
,
every pe rs on i n it, is at your disposal Ring the bell once, .

TH E SEA R CH .
73
if you want the man servant R i n g t wice if you wish the .

,
housemai d to wait on you From time to time I shal l jus t .

,
look in myself to see how you are goi n g on I a m responsible .
for your com f ort an d securi t y you know whi le you honour , ,

me by rem aini n g un der my roof .
He l i f ted my hand t o his lips and xed a l a st attentive ,
l ook on me . .
i
I hope I am not run ni ng too great a risk he said more ,

to himself than to me Th e women have led me into m an y

.

a rash action in my time Have you led me I wonder in t o

.
, ,

the rashest action of all ?
With those ominous last word s he bo w ed gravely an d ,
me alone in the room .
CHAP TER X .
THE SEAR C H.
TH E re burning in the grate was not a very l a rge on e an d

,
the outer air (as I had noticed on my w ay to the house ) had

somethi n g o f a wintry sharpness in it that day .
S till my rst f eeling when M aj or Fitz D a vid lef t me was

,
-
a f eeli ng of he at and oppression with its n atural result a ,
di fculty of bre athi ng f reely Th e n er vous agitation of the

.
time was I suppose answerable f or these sens a t ions I took

, , .
off my bonnet and m a ntle and gloves and opened the win do w ,
f or a little while Nothi n g was to be seen outside but a

.
paved courtyard (with a skylight in the middle ) closed at ,
the farther end by the wall of the Maj or s stables A f e w

.
minutes at the window cooled an d ref reshed me I shut it .
down again and took my rst step on the w ay to discovery

, .
In other words I began my rst examination of the four wall s

,
r oun d me and of all that they enclose d

,
.
TH E LA W Az VD TH E L AD Y
'
74 .
I was am az ed at my own calmness My i nterview w ith .
M ajor Fit z D avi d h ad perh aps exhausted my capacity for

-
, ,
feeling any strong emotionf or the time at le a st It was .
a relief to me to be alone it was a relief to me to begin t h e

search Those were my only sensations so f ar
.
, .
Th e sh ape of the room was oblong Of the two sh orter .
walls on e contained the door in grooves which I have alre ady

,
mentioned as communicating wi t h the front room the other

was al most entirely occupied by the broad window w hi ch
looked ou t on the courtyard .
Tak i n g the door w ay wall rst what was there in the , ,
shape of furniture on either side of it ? There was a

,
c ard t able on either side

-
Above each c ard table stood .
-
a m agnicent china bowl placed on a gilt and ca rved bracke t

,
xed to the wall .
I O pene d the c ar d t abl es Th e drawers beneath contained

~
.
n othing but cards an d the usu al counters an d m a rkers

, With .
the exception o f on e p a ck the c a rds in bo t h tables were still

,
wrapped in their paper covers ex actly as they h ad come f ro m

the shop I examined the loose pack c ard by c ard No
.
, .
writing no m ark of any kin d was visible on any on e of

th em Assisted by a library l a d der which stoo d ag ainst the
.
bookc ase I looked next into the two china bowls Both
,
.
were per fectly empty Was there an ythin g more to examine

.
o n th a t si de of t h e room ? I n the two corners there were

t w o little chairs of inlaid wood with red silk cushi ons I ,
.
turne d them up and looked under the cushions ; and still I

,
m ade n o discoveries When I h ad put the ch a irs back in

.
their places my search on on e si de o f the room was complete

,
.
S o f a r I h a d f oun d nothing
,
.
I crossed to the opposite wall the wall which contained

the windo w .
Th e window (occupying as I have said almost the entire , ,
length an d height of the wall) was divided into three com

par t ment s and was adorned at eithe r ext remity by hand s om e
,
TH E SEA R CH .
75
curt ain s of dark red velvet Th e ample heavy f olds of t h e

.
,
velvet le f t just room at the two corners of the wall f or two

, ,
antique upright cabinets in buh l containing rows of drawers,

and su pporti n g two ne bron z e reproduction s (reduced in
si z e) of the Venus Milo and the Venus Callipyge I h ad .
Major Fitz David s permission to do just w hat I pleased I

-

.
opened the six drawers in each cabinet and examined their ,
conten t s w ithout hesitation .
Beginning with the cabinet i n the right h and corn er my ,
investi g ations were soon completed All the six dra w ers were .
alike occupied by a col lection of fossil s whi ch (j udging by ,
the curious paper inscriptions xed on some of them ) were

associated wi t h a past period of the Major s li fe when h e
had speculated not very success f ull y in mines Af ter satis fy

, , .
ing mysel f that the drawers contained nothing but the fossils
an d their inscriptions I turned to the cabinet i n the le f t hand
,
c orner next .
Here a variety of obj ects was revealed to view ; and the

,
examination a ccor dingly occupied a much longer time .
Th e top drawer contained a complete collection of car

p e n t er s tools in miniature
; relics probably of the far distant
, ,
time when the M aj or was a boy and when parents or friend s ,
had made him a present of a set of toy to ols Th e second -

.
drawer was lled w ith toys of another sor t presents ma de

to M aj or Fi t z David by his f air f riends Embroidered braces
-
.
,
smart smoking caps quaint pincushions gorgeous slippers

-
, , ,
gli t teri n g purses all bore wi t ness to the popularity o f the

,
f riend of the women Th e contents of the third dra wer were

.
of a less interesting so rt the entire sp a ce w as lled with old

account book s ran gi n g over a period of many y ears A f t er
,
.
looking into e a ch boo k and opening and sh aki ng it usel essly

, ,
in search of any loose papers which might be hi dden between

the lea ves, I came to the f ourth drawer an d f ound more relics ,
of past pecuniary transactions in the sh ape of receipted bill s ,
n eatly tied together, and each in s cribed at the back Among .

76 TH E LA IV AND TH E L AD Y .
the bills I fou n d nearly a do z en loose papers all equally

, ,
unimportant Th e f th drawer was in sad con fusion I took

. .
out rst a loose bundle of orn amental cards each containin g ,
the list of dishes a t past b anquets given or attended by the , ,
Maj or in London and Paris n ext a box f ull of delicately

, ,
tinted quill pens (eviden t ly a lady s gi f t) next a qu antity

,
of ol d invitation cards n ext some dog s eared French plays

-
and books of the O pera ne x t a pocket corkscrew, a bundle ,

-
of c i garettes and a bunch of rusty keys lastly a passport

, , ,
a set of l u gg age labels a broken si lver s nuff box two cigar ,

-
cases and a torn map of R ome

, Nothing anywhere to .

interest m e I thought as I closed the fth, and opened the
, ,
sixth and last drawer

, , .
Th e sixth drawer was at once a surprise and a d i s appoin t

ment It literally contained nothi ng but the fragments of a
.
broken vase .
I was sitting at the time opposite to the cabinet in a low

, , ,
chair In the momentary irr itation caused by my discove ry

.
o f the e m p t iness of the last drawer I had just li f ted my ,
f oot to push it back into its place when the door com
mu n i ca t i ng with the hall opened ; and Maj or Fit z David -
stood be f ore me .
His eyes after rst meeti n g mine travelled downwards t o

, ,
m y foot Th e instant he noticed the open drawer I sa w a

.
,
change in his face It was only for a moment ; but in that.

,
moment he look ed at m e with a sudden suspicion and sur

,
prise looked as i f he h ad caught me with my han d on the clue .

Pray don t let me disturb you he sai d

I have only ,

.

looked in f or a moment to ask you a question .
What is it Maj or ? ,

Have you met with any letters of mine in the course of ,
your investigations ?

1 have f ound none yet I answered I f I do discover

.
,
an y lette rs, I shall o f cours e not take the liberty of examining
t hem

.
TH }; SEA R Cl }! 77

I want ed t o s peak to you about that he rejoined It only ,
.
s tr uck me a moment since upstairs that my letters might

, ,
e mbarrass you In your pl ace I should f eel some distrust of

.
,
anything whi ch I was not a t l iberty t o examine I think .
I can set this matter right however wi th very little trouble

, ,
to either of us It is no violation of any promises or

.
pledges on my part i f I simply tell you that my letters will

,
not assist the discovery which you are trying to make You .
can saf ely pass them over as objects that are not worth
.
examining from your point of vie w You under s tand me I .

,

am sure ?
I am much ob liged to you Major I quite unders tand
, .

Are you f eeli ng any f at igue ?

None w hatever th ank you
.

And you still hope to succeed ? You are n ot beginning to

be discouraged already ?

I am not in the least discourag ed With your kind leave,
I mean to persevere for s ome time yet

.
I had not close d the drawer o f the cabin et w hile we were ,
talking ; and I glanced carelessly as I answered him at t h e , ,
fragments of the broken vase By this time he h ad got h i s

.
f eelings under perf ect command He t oo glanced at t h e .

, ,
fragments of the vase with an ap pearance of perf ect i a

,
di ff erence I remembered the look of suspicion and surprise

.
that had escaped hi m on entering the room ; and I tho ught

his in diff erence a l ittle over acted -
.
Tha t doesn t look very encouraging, he said w ith a

smile ,pointing to the shattered pieces of china in t h e

drawer .

Appearance s are not alway s t o be trusted I replied ,

.

Th e wisest thing I can do in my present s ituation i s t o
, ,
su spect everythingeven do w n to a broken vase

.
I l ooked hard at him as I s poke He changed the s ubj ect . .
D oes the music upstair s annoy you he asked .

N01; i n t h e leas t, Maj or .

It will s oon be over now The sin gi n g maste r is g oing ; .
and the Italian master has just arrived I am sparing no .
pains to make my young prima donna a most accompli shed -
person I n learni n g to si n g she must also learn the lan guage

.
,
w hich is especially the language of music I sh all perfect .
her in t h e accent when I tak e her to Italy It is the height .
of my ambition t o have her mistaken f or an It alian when she
sings in public Is there anythi ng I can do be f ore I leav e

'
y ou again ? May I send you some more champagne ? Please

s ay yes 1
A thousand thanks Maj or No more champ agne for the

, .
present .

He turned at the door to kis s his hand to me at parting .
At the same moment I sa w his eyes wan der slily towards the
bookcase It was only f or an instant I had barely detected
. .
hi m be f ore he was ou t of t h e room .
Le f t by m ysel f again I looked at the bookcas e ,

looked at
5t atten t ively for the rst time .
It was a handsome piece of f urniture in ancient carved

oak and it stood ag ainst the wall which ran p a rallel with the
hall of the house Excepting the space occupie d in the
.
,
upper corner of the room by the second door which O pene d ,
into the hall the bookcase ll ed the w hole length of the wall
,
down to the window Th e top was ornamented by vases

.
,
candelabra and s tatuettes in pairs placed in a row Look

, , ,
.
ing along the row I noticed a va cant space on the top of the
,
bookcase at the extremity of it which was nearest to the

,
w indow Th e oppo s ite extremity nearest to the door w a s

.
, ,
occupied by a handsome painted vase of a very pecul iar

pattern Where was the corresponding vase w h ich ought t o
.
,
have been placed at the corre sponding extremity of the book s
case ? I returned to the open sixth drawer of the cabine t,

an d looked in again There was n o mistaking the patter n
.
on the fragments when I examined them n ow Th e vas e

,
.
w h ich h ad been b rok en w a s t h e vas e w hi ch had s tood i n t h e

TH E SEA R CHI 79
p lace now vacant on the top of the bookcase at the end n earest ,
to the window .
M aking this discovery I took out the fragments down to

, ,
the sm allest morsel of the s h attered china and examined them ,
c aref ully on e af t er another .
I was too ignorant of the subject to be able to esti m ate the

val ue of the va se or the antiqui t y of the va se or even to
,
know whether it w as of British or of f oreign manuf a cture .
Th e ground was of a delicate cre a m colour Th e ornaments

-
.
traced on this were wre aths of owers and cupids surround ,
ing a me dall ion on either side of the vase U pon the space .
wi t hin on e of the m edallions was p ainted with exquisite

delicacy a woman s head representing a nymph or a goddess

.
,
or perh a ps a portrait of some celebr a ted perso n I w a s not
learned enough to say which Th e o t h er med al lion enclosed

.
the head of a man also treated in the cla ssical s tyle Re

, .
c l i n i ng shepherds and shepherdesses in Watt eau costume , ,
w ith their dogs an d their sheep f o r med t h e a dornments of

,
the pedestal S uch h ad the vase been in the days of its

.
prosperi t y when it stood on the t op of the bookcase By

, .
what accident h a d it become broken ? An d why h ad Major

Fit z David s f ace ch anged when he f oun d that I h ad di s
-

covered the remain s of hi s shattered work of Art in the

cabinet drawer ?
Th e rem ai ns le ft those serious questions unan s wered the
remains told m e absolutely nothing And yet i f my ow n .
,
observation of the M ajor was t o be trusted the way to the ,
clue of whi ch I was in search lay direc t l y or indirectly

,
through the broken vase

It was useless to pursue the question knowing n o more ,
than I kne w now I returned to t h c bookcase

. .
Thus far I had assumed (without any sufcient reason ) that

,
t h e cl ue of which I was in search must necess a rily reveal itself

t h r ough a w r itte n paper of some sort It now occurred to
rue
.
aft er the movement w hich I had detected on the part of

80 TII E LA l V AND TH E L AD Y .
the Majorthat the clue might q uite a s probably pr e s en t

itsel f in the form of a book .
I looked along the lower rows of shelve s ; stan di ng just

near enough t o them to read the titles on the backs of the
volumes I saw Voltaire in red morocco ; Sh akespeare in
.
blue ; Walter S cott in green the History of England in

brown the Annual R egister in yell ow c al f There I pause d .
,
w earied and di scou raged already by the long rows of volu m es .
How (I thou ght to myself) am I to examine all these

books ? And what am I to look for even if I do examine ,
them all ?
Maj or Fit z David had spoken of a terrible mis fortun e which
-
had darkened my husband s past l i fe In w hat possible way

.
could any trace of that misf ortun e or any suggestive h int of

,
something rese m bling it exist in the archives of the Annual

,
R egister or in the page s of Voltaire ? Th e b a re idea of such

,
a thing seemed absurd Th e mere attempt to m ake a serious

.
examination in this direction was surely a wanton waste of

time ?
And yet the Maj or had certainly s tolen a look at the book
,
case And again the broken vase had once stood on the
.
,
bookcase Did these circumstances j usti fy me in connecting

.
the vase and the bookcase as twin landmark s on the way that
led to discovery ? The question w as not an easy on e to
decide on the spur of the moment .
I looked u p at the higher shelve s .
Here the collection of books exhibited a gr eater variety .
Th e volumes were smaller and were n ot so care f ully arranged

'
a s on the lower s helves S ome were bound in cloth ; some

.
were only protected by paper covers O ne or two had fallen .

,
and lay at on the shelves Here and there I saw empty.
s paces f ro m which books had been removed and n ot replaced .
In short there was no discouraging uni formi ty in these higher

,
r egions of the bookcase Th e untidy top s helves looke d

.
sugge s tive of so me lu c k y accident w hich mi ht u n ex ecte dl

g p y

7 7 1E SEAR CH . 8!
lead the way t o su cc ess I decided if I di d ex amine the

.
,
bookcase at all to begin at the t op

,
.
Where was the librar y ladder ?

I had le ft it against the partition wall which divided the
back room from the room in front L ooking that way I .
,
necessarily looked also towards the door that ran in grooves

the imperfectly closed door through w hi ch I had heard Major
-
Fitz David question his servant on the subj ect of my personal

-
a ppearance when I rst entered the house N0 one had

, .
moved this door during the time of my visit Everybody

, .
enterin g or leaving the room had used the other door whi ch
l ed into the hall .
At the moment when I looked round somethi ng stirred in ,
the front room The movement let the light in suddenl y

.
through the small O pen space left by the partiall y closed door -
.
H a d somebody been watchi ng me through the chink ? I

stepped softly to the door and pushed it back until it was
,
wide open T here was the Major discovered in the front

.
,
room ! I saw it in his face h e had been watching me at the

bookcase
Hi s hat was in hi s hand He was evidently going out 3 and
.
h e de xterously took advantage o f that circumstance to give a
plausible re ason for being so near the door .
I hope I di dn t frighten you he said

, .
You startled me a l ittle Major , .

1 am so sorry and so ashamed ! I was just going t o open
,
the door and tell you that I am obliged to go ou t I have

, .
r eceived a pressing message from a lady A charming per .
son I sho ul d so l ike you to kno w her S he is in sad

trouble poor thing L ittle b i l ls you kno w and nasty trades
, .
, ,
people who want their money and a husband oh dear me , , ,
a husband w h o is quite un w orthy of her A most interesting

c reatu re . Y ou remind me of her a little you both have the
same c arriage of the head I shall not b e more than hal f an
.
-
h o ur g o ne Can I do any thing for you ? You ar e l ooki ng

.
G
82 TJYE LA W AND TH E L AD Y .
fatig ued .P ray let me s end f or some more champagne

N o ? Promise to ring when you want it T hat 3 right Au .
r evoz r my charming friend a w r evoz r

' '
I pul led the door to again the moment h i s b ack was

,
t urned 3 and sat down for awhile to compose mysel f .
He had been watching me at the bookcase The man who

was in my husband s condence the man who kne w where

,
t h e clue was to be found had been watchi ng me at the

,
bookcase ! T here w as n o doubt of it now Major Fit z .
David had shown me the hi ding place of the secret, in spite

-
of himsel f !
I looked with indiff eren c e at the other pieces of furniture ,
ranged against the fourth wall whi c h I had not examined y et

, .
I surveyed w ithout the sli ghtest feeli ng of curiosity all the

, ,
little eleg ant t ri es scattered on the tables and on t h e

chimney piece 3 each on e of which might have been an obj ec t
-
of suspicion to me under other circumstances Even t h e .
water colour drawings failed to interest me in my present

-
frame o f mind I observed la n guidly that they were most of

.
them portraits of ladies fair idols no doubt, o f the Maj or s ,

facile adoration and I cared to notice no more M y busi .
n ess in that room (I was certain of it now !) began and

ended with the bookcase I left my seat to fetch the library
.
ladder 3 determining t o begin the work of investigation on the

top shelves .
O n my way t o the ladder I passed one of the tables and ,
saw the keys lying on it which Maj or Fit z David had le ft at -
my disposal .
T he smaller of the two keys instantly reminded me of the

c upboards u nder the bookcase I had strangely overlooked
.
these A vague distrust of the locked doors a v ague doub t

.
,
of what they might be hidi n g from me stole into my mind , .
I le ft the ladder in its place against the wa l l and set mysel f ,
t o examine the contents o f the cupboards rst .
The cupboards were three in number As I opened t h e .

TH E S EA ) ? CH . 8;
rst of them, the singing u pstairs ceased For a mom ent .
there was something almost oppressive in the sudden change

from noise to silence I suppose my nerves must have been
.
over w rought T he n ext sound in the house nothing more

-
.

remarkable than the creaking o f a man s boots descendin g ,
the stair s made me shudder all over The man was no .
doubt the si n ging master going away after giving his lesson
, .
I heard the house door c lose on him and started at the

f amiliar sound as i f it was something terrible which I had
never heard before ! T hen there was silence again I roused .
mysel f as well as I could and began my examination of the

,
rst cupboard .
I t was divided into t w o compartments .
The top c ompartment contained nothing but boxes of

cigars ran ged in rows on e on another T he under compart
, .
ment was devoted to a collection of shells T hey were all .
hu ddled together anyho w the Maj or evidently setti n g a far

higher value on his cigars than on his shells I s earched this .
l o w er compart m ent care fully for any object interesting to me

which might be hi dden in it N othing was to be found in
"
any part of it besides the shells

,
.
As I opened the second c u pboard it struck me that the ,
l ight was beginni ng to fail .
I looked at the windo w It was hardly evenin g yet The

. .
darkening of the light was produced by gatherin g clouds .
R ain drops pattered against the glass 3 the autumn wind

-
whistled mourn ful ly in the corners of the courtyard I .
mended the re be fore I rene w ed my search My ner ves .
were in fault again I suppose I shivered when I went back

,
.
to the bookcase My hands trembled I wondered what w as

.
the matter with me .
The second cupboard revealed (in the upper division of it)

som e really beauti ful cameos 3 not mounted but laid on cotton ,
wool in neat cardboard trays In on e corner hal f hidd en

, .
,
u nder one o f the trays there peep ed ou t the white leaves o f a

,
l ittle manuscri pt The manuscript proved to be a des c riptive

.
catalogue o f the cameos nothing more ~
T urning to the lo w er di vision of the cupboard I found ,
more costly curiosities in the shape of i t ory carvings from

,
J apan and specimens of rare silk from Chi na I bega n to

,
.
'
feel weary of disinterring the Major s treasures The lo nger .
I searched the farther I seemed to remove mysel f from the

,
on e object that I had it at heart to attain After closing the .
door of the second cupboard I al most doubted whether it ,
would be worth my while t o proceed farther, and open the

third and last door .
A little reection convinced me that it would be as well ,
n o w that I had begun my examination of the lower regions
of the bookcase to go on with it t o the end I opened the

, .
last cupboard .
O n the upper shel f there appeared , in s olitary grandeu r,

on e obj ect only a gorgeously bound book -
.
I t was of a larger si z e than usual j udging of it b y c om ,
parison with the dimensions of modern volumes The .
bindi ng was of blue velvet with clasps of silver worked in ,
beautiful arabesque pa tterns and with a lock of the same ,
p r ecious metal to protect the book from pry ing e y es W he n .
I took it up I found that the l ook was not closed

,
.
Had I any right to take advantage of this a cc ident an d ,
open the book ? I have put the question since to some of , ,
my friends of both se x es The women all agree that I w as

, .
per fectly j u st i ed considering the serious interests that I

had at stake i n taki n g any advantage of any book in t h e
Major s house The m en differ from this view and declare

.
,
that I ought to have put back the volume in blue velvet u n ,

opened 3 care fully guarding mysel f from any aft er temptation -
to look at it again by locking the c upboard door I dare say

, .
the men are right .
Being a woman how ever, I opened the book, without a

,
mome n t s hesitation

.
TH E SEAR CH . 85
Th e leaves were of the nest vell um wi tn taste fully ,
designed ill uminations all round them An d what di d these .
highly orn amented pages contain ? T o my u nutterable

ama z ement an d disgust they contained lock s of hair let
,
neatl y into the centre o f each page with inscriptions

,
beneath which prov ed t h em to be love tokens from various

,
'
la dies who had touched the Major s susceptible heart at

,

di fferent periods of his li fe The ins criptions were writte n

.
in other languages besides English 3 but they appeared t o be

equally devoted t o the same curious purpose namely t o ,
r emindi n g the Major of the dates at which his various attach
ments had come to an untimely end Thus the rst page .

,
exhibited a lock of the lightest ax en hair with these line s ,
beneath : My adored Madeline Eternal constancy Alas

. .
J uly 22nd 1 8 39 l
,
The next page was adorned by a darker
shade of hair with a French inscription under it : Cl mence
, .
m
Idole de m on am e T ouj ours del e Hlas : 2
. Avril .
o
,
1 8 40 A l ook o f red hair followed with a lamentation in

L atin under it 3 a note bei n g attached to the date of dissol u
tion of partnership in this case stating that the lady w as
, ,
descended fro m the ancient R omans and was there fore ,
m ourned appropriately in L atin by her devoted Fi ta Davi d .
More shades of hair and more inscri ptions followed until I

, ,
was weary of looking at them I put down the book dis

.
gusted with the creatures who had assisted in lling i t and

then took it up again by an after thou ght Thus far I had
,
-
.
,
thoroughly searched everything that had presented itsel f to

my notice .Agreeable or not agreeable , it was plainly of
serious importance to my o w n interests to go on as I had
begun and thoroughly to search the book

,
.
I turned over the pages until I came t o the rst blank leaf .
S eein g that they were all blank leaves from this place to t he
en d I li fted the volume by the back and as a last measure of
, , ,
precaution shook it so as to dislodge any loose papers or ca rds

,
whi ch mi ght have es c aped my noti ce b etween the leaves .

86 TH E LA IV AN D TH E LA D V .
Th is time my patience was rewarded b y a di s c overy whi ch

,
indescribably irritated and distressed me .
A small photograph mounted on a card fell ou t of the

, ,
book A rst glance showed me t hat it represented the per

.
traits of two persons .
O ne of the persons I recognised as my husband .
The other person was a woman .
Her face was enti rely u nknown to me S he was not .
y ou n g T he picture represented her seated on a chai r with

.
,
my husband standin g behind and bending over her holding , ,
on e of her hands in his Th e woman s face was hard featured

-
.
and u gly with the marking lines of strong passions an d

,
resolute self wi l l plainly wri tten on it S till ugly as she was

-
.
, ,
I felt a pang of j ealousy as I noticed the familiarly a ff ectionat e -
a ction by w hi ch the artist

(with the permission o f his sitters ,
)
o f course had connected the two gures in a group Eustace .
had briey told me in the days o f our courtship that he had

, ,
more than once fancied himsel f to be in love before he met ,
with me Could this very unattra ctive woman have been on e

.
of the objects of hi s admi ration ? Had she been near enough

an d dear eno u gh t o him t o be photographed with her hand
,
i n his ! I looked and looked at the portraits unti l I co uld ,
endure them no longer Women are strange creatures 3 mys

.
t er i es even to themselves I threw the photograph fro m me

.
into a corner of the cupboard I was savagely a n g ry with .
my husband 3 I hated yes hated with all my heart and ,
soul -
the woman who had got h i s hand in hers 3 the un
known woman with the sel f will ed hard featured face - -
.
All thi s time the lower shel f of the c upboard was still wai t
i ng t o be looked over .
I knelt down to examine i t eager to clear my mind if ,
I could, of the degrading j ealousy that had got possession

of me .
Un fortunately the lower shelf contai ned nothing but reli cs

of the Maj or s military l i fe 3 c omprisi n g h i s sword and pistols,

THE SEAR CH . 87
hi s epaul ettes hi s sash and other minor accou trements

, , .
N one of t h ese obj ec t s excited the slightest interest in m e

~
.
My eyes wandered ba ck to the upper shel f 3 and l ike t h e ,
fool I was (there is no milder word that can t l y des c rib e me

at that moment) I took the photograph ou t again an d en
, ,
raged myself uselessly by another look at it T his time I .
observed what I had n ot noticed be fore that th ere were some

, ,
lines of writing (in a woman s hand) at the ba ck of the per
traits The lines ran thus

.
T o Major Fit z David, with t w o vases F rom h i s f ri end s

-
.

S and E M
. . .
Was on e of those t w o vases the vase that had been broken ?

An d w as the c hange that I had noticed in Maj or Fit z David s -
face produced by some past association in connexion with it ,
which in some way aff ected me It might or might not be

so I was little disposed to indulge in speculatio n on thi s
.
topic while the far more serious question of the initials c on

,
~
fronted me on the back of the photograph .
S and E. T hose last two letters might stand f ol

.
the initials of my husband s name his true name Eustac e
Ma c al l an In this case the rst letter

. in all prob a
,

bili t y indicated h er name

,
What right had sh e to associate .
herself with hi m in that man n er ? I considered a l ittle m y

memory exerted itself I suddenly called to mind that
Eustace had sisters He had spoken of them more than
.
once in the time be fore our marriage Had I been mad

, .
enough to to rture mysel f with j ealousy of my husband s

sister ? It might well be so 3 S might stand for his sister s .

Christian name I felt heartily ashamed of myself as thi s

.
,
new vie w of the matter dawned on me What a wron g I .
had done to them both in my thoughts I turned the pho

,
t og raph sadly and penitently t o examine the portraits agai n

, ,
with a kinder an d truer appreciation of them .
I naturally looked now for a family likeness bet w een th e

t w o face s There w as n o family likeness : on the c ontrary,
.
88 THE LA IV AND TH E L AD Y .
they were a s unlike each other in for m and expre ssion as

faces could be Was sh e hi s sister after all ? I looked at
.
her hands as represented in the portrait Her right hand

,
.
was clasped by Eustace : her le ft hand lay on her lap On .
the third ng er distin c tly visiblethere was a wedding

ring Were any of my husband s sisters married ? I had
.

mysel f asked him the question when he mentioned them

to me ; and I perfe c tly remembered that he had repli ed in
the negative .
Was it possible that my rst j ealous instin ct had l ed me

to t h e right conclusi on a fter all ? If it had what did t h e ,
association of the three initial letters mean ? What di d t h e

weddi n g ring mean ? Good Heavens ! was I looking at the
-
portrait of a rival in m y hu sband s aff ectionsand was that

r ival hi s Wi fe ?
I threw the photograph from me with a c ry of horror .
For on e terrible moment I felt as i f my reason was g iving

,
.
way I don t know what would have happenedor what I

.

sho uld have done next i f my love for Eustace had not
taken the uppermost place among the contending emotion s
that tortur ed me That faithful love steadied my brain
. .
That faithful love roused the reviving inuences of my

better and nobler sense Was the man whom I had en
.
shrined in my heart of hearts capable of such base wicked

ness as the bare idea of his marri age to another woman i m
plied ? N o mine was the baseness mine the wickedness,

,
i n having even for a moment thought it of him

I picked up the detestable photograph fro m the oor and ,
put it back i n the book I hast i ly closed the cupboard door

.
,
fetched the l ibrary ladder and set it against the bookcase

,
.
My on e idea now was the idea o f taki ng re fuge in employ

, ,
m ent of any sort from my ow n thoughts I felt the hateful .
suspicion that had degraded me coming back again in Spite
o f my e fforts to repel it The books ! the books ! my onl y

.
hope w as to ab sorb mysel f, body and and s o ul, in t h e booka

TH E S EA]? CH .
89
I h ad the ladder w hen I he ard the door

on e f oo t on ,
of t he r oom opent h e door whi c h c ommu nicated with the
hall .
I looked round expe c ting t o s ee the Major I saw i nstead ,

.
the Maj or s future prima donna standing j ust inside the door,
-
with her round ey es steadily xed on me .
I can stand a good deal the girl began coolly 3 but I

,

,

c an t stand th i s any longer

.
Wh at is it that you can t stand any longer ? I asked

.

If you have been here a minute you have been here ,
t w o good hours she went on Al l by yoursel f in the

,

.

,
Major s study I am of a j e al o us disposition I am An d I

. .
want t o kno w what it means S he advanced a few step s .

nearer to me with a heightening c olour and a threatenin g

,
look I s he going to bring you ou t on the stage ? sh e asked,

.

sharpl y .

Certainly not .
He ain t in love with you i s he ?

Under other c ircumstances I might have t old her to leave ,
the room In my position at that critical moment the mere

.
, ,
presence of a hum an creature was a positive reli e f to me .
Eve n this girl with her coarse questions an d her u ncultivated

,
manners was a welcome int r uder on my solitu d e she o ff ered

,
me a refuge from mysel f .
Y our question is not very civilly put I said Ho w ever ,

.
,
I excuse you You are probably not aware tha t I am a

.
married woman .

What has that got t o do with it ? sh e retorted Married

.
,
or si n gle it s all on e to the Maj or The bra z ed faced hussey

-
.
,
w h o call s hersel f Lady Clarinda is married and sh e send s

him nosegays three ti mes a week ! N ot that I care mi nd ,
y ou about the ol d fool But I ve lost my situation at the

, .

r ailway and I ve got m y o w n interests to lo ok after and I

, ,

don t know what may happen i f I let other women come
b etween him and me That s where the sho e pin ches don t

.
you see I m not easy in my mind wh en I see hi m lea ving

?

,
y ou mi stress here to do j ust wh at you l ike No o ff ence ! I .
speak ou t I do I want to know w hat you are about, all

.
by yoursel f in thi s room ? How did you pick up with the

,
Maj or ? I never heard h i m speak of y ou before t o day -

.

Under all the surface selshness and coarseness of thi s

stra nge girl there w as a certain frankness and freedom w hich
,
pleaded in her favour to my mind at any rate I answered .
frankly and freely on my side ,

.

Maj or Fi t a Davi d is an ol d friend of my husband s I
said 3 and he is kind t o me for my husband s sake He has

g iven me permission to look about in this room

I stopped at a loss how to describe my employment in
,
terms which shoul d tell her nothing and which should at the ,
same time success full y set her distrust of me at rest .
T o look about in thi s room f or what ? she asked Her

.
ey e fell on the library ladder beside w hi ch I was still stand ,
i ng . For a book ? she resumed

.
Yes I said taking the hint

,

, For a book . .

Haven t you found it yet ?

No .
'
i h e looked hard at me ; undisguisedly c onsiderin g with

hersel f whether I was or was not speaking the t ruth , ,
.
Y ou see m to be a good sort she said making up her m ind ,

,
at last .

There 8 nothing stuck u p about you I ll help you

-
.

i f I can I have rummaged among the books here over and

.
over again , and I know more about them than you do What .
book do you want ?

As sh e put that awkward question she noticed for the rs t ,
time L ady Clarinda s nosegay lying on t h e side tabl e where

the Maj or had le ft it Instant ly forgetting me and my book

.
,
this curious girl pounced like a fury on the owers and ,
actually trampled them under her feet

There she cried I f I had L ady Clarinda here, I d
.
serve her in the same way

.
TH E SEA R CH
'
.
91

What will the Major say ? I asked
.

What do I care ? D o you suppose I m a frai d of hi m ?
O nly last week I broke on e of his ne gimcracks u p there ,
and al l through L ady Clarinda and her owers

S he pointed to the top of the bookcase to the empty space
on it c lose by the windo w
, My heart gave a sudden bound
.
,
as my eyes took the direction indicated by her nger S h e .
had broken the vase ! Was the w ay to discovery about t o

reveal itself to me through this girl ? N ot a word would pass
my lips 3 I could only look at her .

Y es she said The thing stood there He knows how
. .
I hate her owers and he put her nosegay in the vase out of
,
my way There was a woman s face painted on the china ;

.
and he told me it was the l iving image o f h er face It was .
no more like her than I am I was in such a rage th at I up.
with the book I was reading at the time and shied it at the ,
painted face O ver the vase went bless your heartcrash to

.
,
the oor S top a bit ! I wonder whether tha t s t he book you

.

have been looking a fter ? Ar e y ou l ike me ? Do you l i ke

r eading T rials ?

Trial s ? Had I heard her aright ? Y es she had said Trials , .
I answered by an ai r m at i ve motion of my head I was .
still speechless The girl sauntered in her cool way to the

.
replace and taking up the tongs returned with them to the

, ,
bookcase .
Here s where the book fell sh e said i n the space

,
between the bookcase and the wall I ll have it out in no .

t i me .
I waited without moving a muscle without uttering a ,
word .
S he approached me with the ton gs in one han d and with

, ,
a plainly bound volume in the other

-
.

Is that the book ? sh e said O pen it and sec

.
, .
I took the book from her .

It s tremendously interestin g she w ent on
I ve r ead ,

.
it twi c e over I have . Mind you, I believ e he di d it a fter

,

\ ll .
Did it ? Did what ? What w as sh e t alking about ? I

tried to pu t the question to her I struggled quite vainly
.
to say only those words What are you talking about ?
S he seemed to lose all patience with me S he snatched .
the book ou t of my hand and ope n ed it before me on the

,
table by which we vver e standing side by side .
I declare you re as helpless as a baby

she said c on ,
t em pt u ousl y There ! I s that the book ?

.

I read the rst lines on the titl e page
A C OM P LETE R EP O RT O F
TH E T RI AL or
EU S T A C E M A CAL L A N
I stopped and looked up at her She started b ack from
, .
me w ith a scream of terror I looked down again at the

.
title page, and read the nex t lines

-
FOR THE A LL EG ED P O I S ON I N G
or
HI S WIFE .
T here G od s mercy remembered me

,

. There the bl ack
,
blank of a swoon swallowed me up .
C HAPTER XI .
THE R ETU R N TO L I FE .
MY F IR ST remembran c e , when I began to recover my senses,

was the remembrance of Pain agonising pain as if every ,
nerve in m y body was bei ng twiste d and torn ou t of me .

TII E RE TURN TO L I FE .
93
M y whole bei ng writhed and quivered under the dumb and

dreadful protest o f N ature against the e ff ort to recall me to
li fe I would have g iven worlds to be able to c ry ou t to
.
entreat t h e unseen c reatures about me to give me b ack to death .
How long that speechless agony held me I never knew In , .
a long er or a shorter ti m e there stole over me slowly a sleepy ,
sense of rel ie f I heard my o w n laboured breathing I felt

. .
my hands moving feebly and mechanically like the hands of

a baby I faintly opened my eyes aud looked round me as
.
,
i f I had passed through the ordeal of death, and had awakened

t o new senses in a n ew w orld
,
.
The rst person I sa w was a man a stranger He moved .
qu ietly ou t of my sight 3 beckoning as he di sappeared, to ,
some other person in the room .
S lowly and unwilli ngly the other person advanced t o the

,
so fa on which I lay A faint c ry o f j oy escaped me ; I tried

.
t o hold ou t m y feeble hands The other person w h o was

.
approachi ng me was my h u sband

I looked at him eagerly He never looked at me in r e
.
turn With his eyes on the ground with a strange appear

.
,
ance of con fusion and distress in his face he too moved , , ,
away out of my sight T he unknown man whom I had rst

.
noticed followed h i m ou t of the room

,
I called after hi m .
faintly Eustace ! He never answered 3 he never returned

,

.
With an e ff ort I moved my head on the p i ll ow so as to look ,
r ound on the other side of the sof a Another familiar fa c e .
appeared be fore me as if in a dream My good ol d Benjamin .
was sitti ng watching me with the tears in his eyes

, .
He r ose and took my hand silently i n his simple kindly , ,
way .

Where i s Eustac e ? I asked
Why h as he gon e away .
a n d le ft me ?

I was sti l l miserably weak My eyes wandered mechani c

.

all y round the room a s I put the question I saw Majo r .
F it z David
-
I saw the table on which the si nging girl h ad
.
-
opened the book to sho w it to me I sa w the girl hersel f . .
sitting alone in a corner with her han dkerchie f t o her eyes

,
as i f she was crying In one mysteri ous moment my memo ry

.
recovered its powers The recoll e ction of that fatal title

.
page came back to me in all its horror T he on e feeling that .
it roused in me now was a longing to see my husband t o

,
thro w myself into his arms and tell him how rmly I believed,
in h i s innocence h owtruly and de arly I loved hi m I sei z ed

, .
on Benjamin with feebl e trembling hands Bring h i m

, .

back to me ! I cried wildl y Where is he ? Help me t o
, .
get up
A stran ge voi c e answered rmly and kindly , ,
Compose y oursel f madam Mr Woodville is waiting

, . .

until you have recovere d in a room close by ,
.
I looked at him and recogni z ed the stran ger w h o had

,
followed my husband out of the room Why h ad he returned .
alone ? Why was Eustace not with me like the rest o f them ,
I tried to raise mysel f and get on my feet T he stranger

,
.
gently pressed me back again on the pil low I attempted to .
resist him 3 quite uselessly of course Hi s rm hand held .
me as gently as ever in my pl ace

, , .
You must rest a little he said

You must take some , .

wine I f you exert yourself now you will faint again

.
, .

O ld Be njamin stooped over me and whispered a word of ,
e xplanation .
It s the doctor my dear Y ou must do as he tells you

, . .

T he doctor ? T hey had called the doctor i n to help them

I began dimly to understand that my f ai n t i n g t m ust have
presented symptoms far more serious than the fainting t s o f -
women in general I appealed to the doctor in a helpless

.
, ,
querulous way t e account to me for my husband s ex t r aor

,

di n ary absence .

Why did you let him leave the room ? I asked If I .

can t go to him wh y don t you bring h i m here to me ?

T he doctor appeared to be at a loss how to reply to me .

TIIE R E TURN T0 L IFE .
95
He looked at Benj amin and said , ,

Wi ll you speak tc Mrs .
Woodville
Be njamin in his turn looked at Maj or Fitz David and
, ,
-
said Will y ou
,
The M ajor signed to the m both to leave
us. T hey rose together and went into the front room 3 pull
,
ing the door to after them in i t s grooves As they le ft us .

,
the girl who had so strangely revealed my husb and s secret to
me rose in her corner and approached the sofa .

I suppose I had better go t oo ? she said addressing Maj or ,
F it z Davi d
-
.

If you please the Maj or answered
, .
He spoke (as I thought) rather coldly She tossed her hea d .

,
and turned her back on h i m in high indignation I must .

say a word for mysel f ! cried this strange creature with an ,
hysterical ou tbreak o f energy I must say a word or I shall

.
,
burst
With that extraord i nary pre face she sudden ly turned my ,
way a n d poured out a per fect torrent of words on me

, .
Y ou hear how the Major speaks to me ? she began He
blames mepoor Mefor everything that has happened

.
I .
am as innocent as the new born babe I acted for the best -

. .
I thought you wanted the book I don t know now what .

made you faint dead away when I opened it An d the M aj or .
blames Me ! As i f it was my fault ! I am not on e of the

fainting sort mysel f 3 but I feel it I can tel l you Yes I ,
.
feel it though I don t faint about it I come of respectable

,

.
parents I do My name is Hoi g h t y Miss Hoi g h t y I

. .
have my ow n sel f respect 3 and it s wounded I say my sel f

-

.
respect i s wounded when I nd myself blamed without de

,
serving it Y ou deserve it i f anybody does Didn t you

.
, .

tell me you were looking for a book ? An d didn t I present
it to you promiscuously with the best intentions ? I thin k

,
you might say so yoursel f now the doctor has brought you t o
,
again .I think you m i ght speak up f or a poor girl who

i s worked to d e ath with singing and lan guages and what
not a poor girl w h o has nobody else to speak for her I .
am as respectable as you are if you come to that Mv ,

.
name is Hoi g h ty My parents are in business and my

.
,
mam ma has seen bet ter days, and mixed in the best of

company .
T here Miss Hoi g h ty l ifted her handker chie f again t o h er

,
face an d burst modestly into tears behi nd it

, .
It was certainly hard to hold her responsible for what h ad

happened I ans w ered as kindly as I could ; and I attempted
.
to speak to Major Fit z David in her defence He knew what

-
terrible anxieties were O ppressin g me at that moment ; and

considerately re fusing t o hear a word he took the task of ,
consoling his y oung primadonn a entirely on himself What .
he s ai d to her I neither heard nor cared to hear ; he spoke

in a whisper It ended in his pacifying Miss H oi g ht y by
.
,
kissin g her hand and leading her (as he might have led a
,
duchess) out of the room .

I h epe that foolish girl has not annoyed you at such a

ti me as this ? he said very earnestly when he returned to, ,

the so fa
I can t tell you h ow grieved I am at what has
.
ha ppened I was care ful to warn you, as you may remember

. .
S till, i f I could only have foreseen

I let him pro c eed n o farther No human forethought .
could have provided against wh at had happened Besides .

,
drea dful as the dis c overy had been I would rather have made ,
it and suffer under it as I was suff ering n ow than have bee n

, , ,
kept in the dark I told him this An d then I turned to

. .
the on e subj ect that was now of an y interest to me the sub

j ect of my unhappy husband .
How did he come to this house ? I asked

.
H e came here with Mr Benjamin shortly af t er I r et ur n ed,

.
,

t h e Maj or replied .

L ong after I was taken i ll ?
N o I had j ust s ent for t h e d oct or feeling serio usly

.

alarm ed about you .
TH E R E TU RN To L IFE .
9?
What br o ught hi m h ere ? Did he ret urn t o the hotel and ,
miss me ?

Yes He r et urned earlier than he had anticipated 3 and he

.
f el t un easy at not nding you at the hotel

.
o
Did he suspect me o f being with you ? Did he c ome here

from the hotel ?

N 0 He appears to have gone rst to Mr Benjamin t o
. .
,
inquire about you What he heard from your old friend I

.
,
c annot say I o nl y kno w that Mr Benj amin ac c omp ani ed

. .
hi m when he came here

.
T his brie f explanation was quite enough for me I under ~
stood what had happened Eustace wo uld easily frighten .
simple ol d B enjamin about m y absence fro m the hotel ; and ,
once alarmed Benjamin wo uld be persuaded without dif culty

,
to repeat the few words which had passed between us on the ,
subject of Major Fi t z Davi d My husband s presence in the .

Major s house was perfectly e xplained But his extraordinary

.
c onduct in leaving the room at the very time when I w as ,
j ust recovering my senses still remained to be accounted for ,

.
Major Fit z David looked seriou sly embarrassed when I put

-
the question to hi m .

I hardl y know how t o explain it t o you he said Eus , .

ta c e has surprised and disappointed me .
He spoke very gravely Hi s looks told me more than hi s

.
words : hi s looks al ar med me .

Eustace has not quarrelled with you ? I said .

O h no !
,
He u nderstands that you have not broken y our promise t o
Certainly My young vo c ali st (Miss Hoi g h ty) told t h e

.
doctor exactly what had happened ; and the doctor in her

presence repeated the statement to your husband .

Did the doctor see the Trial

Neither the doctor nor Mr Benjamin has seen the Tr ial
. .
I have lo cked it up 3 and I hav e carefully kept the terri bl e

H
s tory of yo ur conne x ion with the prisoner a se cret from all 0 .
them Mr Benjamin evidently has hi s suspicions But the

. . .
doctor has no idea and Miss Hoi gh t y has no idea of the true
, ,
cause o f y our fainting t They both believe that you are

.
subject to serious nervo us attacks 3 and that your husband s
name i s real ly Woodvill e Al l that the truest friend coul d do

.
t o spare Eustace I have done

, He persists nevertheless in
.
, ,
blami n g me for letting y ou enter m y house An d worse far .

,
worse than this he persists in declaring that the event of

,

t o day has fatally estran ged you from him There is an end .
of our married l i fe

he said to me now she knows that I
, ,
a m the man who w as tried at Edinburgh for poisoning my

wi fe
I rose from the so f a in horro r .
Good God ! I cried ; does Eustace suppose that I doubt

hi s innocence ?
He denies that it is possible for you or for an ybody t o , ,
believe in hi s innocence the Maj or replie d ,

.
Help me to the door, I said Where is he

I must and .
will see h i m
I dropped back exhausted on the so fa as I said the word s .
M ajor Fit z David poured ou t a glass of wine from the bottle

-
o n the table and insisted on my drinking it

,
.
Y ou sh al l see him said the M aj or

,

I promise you that . .
T he doctor has forbidden hi m to leave the house until you ,
have seen him O nly wait a little

. My poor dear lady ,
wait i f it is only for a few minutes until you are stro n ger
, ,
I had no choice but to obey him O h tho se mi serable .

,
helpless minutes on the so fa ! I cannot write o f them without

shudderi n g at the recollection even at this distance o f time .
Bring him here I said Pray pray bring hi m here !

.
, ,
Who is to persuade him to come back ? asked the Maj or

,
sa dly . How can I how can anybody prevail with a man

, ,
a madman I had al most said who could leave you at t h e
moment when you rst opened your eyes on hi m ? I saw

TH E R E TU RN To L I FE .
99
Eusta ce alone in the next room while t he doctor was in

, ,
a ttendance on y ou I tried to shake his obstinate distrust of

.
your belie f in his innocence and of my belie f in his inno ,
cence by every a rgument and every appeal that an ol d friend

,
could address to him He had but one answer to give me

. .
Reason as I might and plead as I might he still persisted i n

, ,

re ferri n g me t o the S cotch Verdi ct .
The S cotch V erdict ? I repeated What is that ?

.

T he M ajor looked surprised at the question .
Have you really never heard of the T rial ? he said

.

N ever .

I thought i t strange he w en t on when you told me you
,
'
had found out your husband s true na m e that the discovery
a ppeared to have suggested no pain ful as sociation to your
mind It is not more than three years since all England

.
was talking o f your husband O ne can hardly wonder at his .
takin g refuge poor fello w in an assumed name ! Where

, ,

could you have been at the time ?

Did you say it was three y ears ago I asked .

Y es.
I understood my strange ignorance of w hat appeared t o be

so well known to other people Three years since my father .
,
was alive I was l ving with him in a country house in

i
.
,
Italy up in the mountains n ear S iena We never saw an ,

.
English newspaper or met with an English traveller for

, ,
weeks and weeks together There m i g ht certainl y have been

.
some re ference made to the fa mous S cotch T rial in m y father s

letters from Englan d I f the r e was he never told me of it

.
, .
O r i f he did mention t h e case I must have forgotten it in

, ,
course of time T ell me I said to the Major what h as

.

,

,

the V erdict to do with my husband s horri ble doubt of u s
Eustace is a free man The verdict was N ot Guil ty, of

.
course
Maj or Fit z David shook his head sadl y .

Eustace was tried i n S c otland, he said
There i s a .
: 00 7 1 1 E LA W A ND TH E LA D Y .
verdict allo w ed by the S cotch l aw which (so far as I know ) ,
i s not permitted by the laws of any other civiliz ed country o n

th e face of the earth When the j ury are in doubt whether
.
to condemn or acquit the prisoner bro ught be fore them th ey ,
are permitted in S cotland to express that doubt by a form

, ,
o f compromise I f there is not evidence enough on the on e

.
,
h and t o justi fy them in ndi n g a prisoner guil ty and not

, ,
evidence enou gh on the other hand to thoroughly convince

, ,
them that a prisoner is innocent they extricate themselve s ,
from the difculty by nding a verdict of Not Proven .

Was that the verdict when Eusta c e w as tried ? I ask ed

.
Y es .

The jury were not quite satised that my husband w as
guilty and n ot quite satised that my husband was inno c ent
Is that what the S cotch V erdict means
That is what the S cotch V erdict means For three years .
that doubt about him in the minds of the j ury w h o t r i ed him

has stood on publi c record .
O h my poor darli n g ! my innocent martyr ! I understood

,
it at l ast The false n ame in which he had married me 3 the

.
terrible words he had spoken when he had warned me t o

respect his secret 3 the still more terrible doubt that he felt
of me at that mo m ent i t was all intelli gible to m y sympa
thies 3 it was all clear to my understanding now I got up , .
again from the so fa stro n g in a dari n g resolution which t h e

,
S cotch V erdict had suddenly ki ndled in me a resol ution at ,
once too sacred and too desperate to be conded in the r st ,
instance to any o ther than my husband s ear

,

.

Take me t o Eustac e I said I am stro ng enough to bear
, .

anythi ng n ow .
After on e searching look at me the Maj or s ilently o ff er ed ,
me his arm We lef t t h e room togeth er

. .
TH E SCO TCH VERD I C T 1oz
C HAPTER XII .
THE S C O TC H RD IC T
VE .
WE walked the f ar end of the hal l M aj or F itz David

to .
-
opened the door o f a long narrow room built ou t at the back ,
of the house as a smoking room and extending along on e side -
o f the co u rtyard as far as the stable wall .
My husband was alone in the roo m 3 seated at the farther

end of it near the replace He started to his feet and faced
, .
,
me in silence as I entered The Maj or softly closed the door .
on us and retired
, Eustace never stirred a step to meet me
. .
I ran to him and thre w my arms round his neck and kissed
, ,
hi m .The embrace was not ret urned 3 the kiss was not
returned He passively submitted nothing more
. .

Eustace I said I n ever loved you more dearly than I
, ,

love you at this moment I never fel t for you as I feel for
y ou now
He released hi mself deliberately from my arms He signed .
to me with the me chanical courtesy of a stranger t o take a

, ,
chair .

Thank y ou Valeria, he ans w ered in c old meas ured tones
,

,
.
Y ou could say no less t o me a fter what h as happened 3 and

y ou could say no more T hank you . .

We were standing be fore the replace He le ft m e and .

,
walked away slowly with his head down 3 apparently intend

ing t o leave the room I follo w ed h i m I got be fore h i m
.
I placed mysel f between hi m and the door .
Why do you leave me I said Why do you speak t o .
me in this cruel way ? A re you angry Eustace ? My darling, ,
you a r e angry I ask you to forgive me

, .

It is I who ought to ask your pardon he replied I b eg ,

.

you to forgive me, Valeria, for having made you m y wi fe .
r0 2 TH E LA W AN D TH E LA D Y .
He pronounced those words with a hopeless heart broken ,

-
humility dread ful to see I laid my hand on hi s bosom

, . .
I s aid, Eustace look at me , .

He slowly li fted hi s eyes to my fac e eyes cold and clear

and tearless looking at me in st eady resign ation in immovable
, ,
despair In the utter wretchedness of that moment I w a s

.
,
like him ; I was as quiet and as cold as my husband He .
chilled he fro z e me
,
.

Is it possible I said, that you doubt my belie f in your
,
innocence
H e le ft the question unanswered He si ghed bitterly to .
h imsel f Poor woman ! he sai d as a stranger might have

.
,
said pityi n g me
,
Poor woman .
My heart swell ed in me as if it would burst I l if ted my .
hand from his bosom and laid it on his shoulder to support ,
myself .

I don t ask you to pity me Eustace ; I ask you to do me

,
justice You are n ot doing me j ustice I f you had t r usted

. .
me with the truth in the days w hen we rst knew that we

loved each other i i you had told me al l and more than all , ,
that I know now as G od is my witness I would still have ,
m arried you N ow do you doubt that I believe y ou are an

innocent man l
I don t doubt it he said Al l your impulses are generous

,

. .
You are speaking generously and feeling generously Don t ,

.

blame me my poor child i f I look on farther than you do ;

, ,
i f I see w hat is to comet oo surely t o come i n the cruel

future .
The cruel future ! I repeated What do you mean ?

.

You believe in my innocence V aleria The J ury who ,

.
t ried me doubted i t and have left that doubt on record .
What reason have you for believing in the face of the Verdict , ,

that I am an innocent man ?

I want no reason I believe, in spite of t h e Verdict .
TH E SC O TCH VERD I C T: r0 3
Wi ll your friends agree with you ? When y our uncle and

-
aunt know what has happened and sooner or later they

must know i t what will they say ? T hey wil l say
He ,
began badly ; b e concealed from ou r n ie c e that he had been

a prisoner on his trial 3 he married ou r niece under a false
name H e may say he is innocent 3 but we have only his

.
word for it When he was put on his trial the verdict was
.
,
N ot Proven N ot Proven won t do for us If the J ury have

.

.
done him an injustice i f he i s innocen t let hi m prove it .

T hat is what the world thinks and says of me That is what .
your friends wil l think and say o f me T he time is coming .

,
Valeria when youe ven Y ou will feel that your friends

,
have reason to appeal to on their side and that you have no ,
reason on yours .

That time will never come ! I answered warmly
Y ou
, .
wrong me you insult me in thinking it possible

, ,
He put do wn my hand from hi m and drew back a step , ,
with a bitter smile .

We have only been married a few days Valeria Y our ,
.
love for me i s new and young Time which w ea rs away all .

,
things w ill wear away the rst fervour of that love

, .

Never ! never !
He drew back from me a little farther still .

L ook at the world round you h e said The happiest ,

. .

husbands and wives have their occasional misunderstandings

and disagreements 3 the brightest marr ied li fe has its passing
clouds When those days come for u s the doubts and fears
.
,
that you don t feel now wil l nd their way to you then When

,
.
t h e clou ds rise on ou r married li fewhen I say my rst harsh

word w hen you make your rst hasty reply then in the
, ,
soli tude of your ow n room in the stilln ess of the wake ful ,
n ight you will think of my rst wi fe s miserable death

,
You
.
will remember that I was held responsible for it and that my ,
i nnocence was never proved Y ou will say to yoursel f Did .

,
i t begin, in her time with a harsh word from him, and with
,
[ 04 THE LA W A N D TI IE L A D Y;
a hasty reply from her ? Will it on e day end with me as t he ,
J ury hal f feared that it ended with her Hideous questions

for a wi fe to ask hersel f ! You will sti e them 3 you wi ll
r ecoil from them like a good woman with horror But ,
, ,
.
when we meet the next morning you will be on your gu ard , ,
and I shall see it and know in my heart of hearts w hat it

,
means Embittered by that knowledge m y next harsh word

.
,
may be harsher still Y our next thoughts of me may remind

.
'
you more vividly and more boldly that your husband was
, ,
once tried as a poisoner and that the question of his rst

,

wi fe s death w as never properly cleared up Do you see .
w hat materials for a domestic hell are mingling for us here
Was it for nothing that I warned you solemnly warned you , ,
to draw back when I found you bent on discoveri n g the

,
truth ? Can I ever be at your bedside n ow when you are ill , ,
and not remind you in the most innocent thi n gs I do of

, ,
w hat h appened at that other bed side in the time of that other
,
woman w hom I married rst ? I f I pour ou t your medicine ,
I commit a suspicious action they said I poisoned her in her

medicine I f I bring you a cup o f tea I revive the remem
.
,
brance of a horrid doubt they said I put the arsenic in h er

cup of tea I f I kiss you when I leave the room I remind
.
you that the prosecution accused me of kissi ng h er to save ,
a ppearances and produ c e an e ff ect on the nurse Can we .
live together on such terms as these ? N o mortal creatures

coul d support the misery of it This very day I said to you,
.
I f you stir a step farther in this matter there is an end o f ,

your happiness for the rest of your li fe Y ou have taken
that stepand the end has come to your happiness and to
.
mine T he doubt that kills love has cast its blight on you
.
an d on me for the rest of our lives
S o far I had forced myself to listen to him At those last .
words the picture of the future that he was placi n g b efore

,
me be c ame t oo hideous t o b e endured I re fused t ( h ea r .
more .
TH E 3c oTCI I
. VER D IC T: r0 5

You are talki n g horribly, I said your ag e and at
.

At
mine have we done with love and done w ith h 0pe ? It is
, ,
blasphemy to love and h epe to say it !

Wait till you have read the Trial he answered You ,

.
mean to read it I suppose ? ,

Every word of it ! With a motive Eust ace, which you ,
h ave yet to know

.

N o motive of yours Valeria no love and hope of yours
, ,
can alter the inexorable facts My rst wi fe died poisoned 3 .
and the verdict of the J ury has n ot absolutely acquitted me

o f the guilt of causing her death As long as you were .
ignorant of that the possibilities of happi n ess were

,
within ou r reach N ow you kno w it I say againo ur

.
,
married life is at an end .

N o, I said N ow I kno w it our married li fe has begun
.
beg un wi th a n ew obj ect for your wi fe s devotion with a new
r eason for your wi fe s love

What do you mean ?
I went near to hi m again and took hi s hand , .

What did you tell me the world h as said of you ? I asked
.

What did you tell me my frien ds would say of you ? N ot
Proven won t do f or us

I f the J ury have done him an i n
.
justic e if he i s innocen t let him prove it Those were t h e .

words y ou put into the mouths of my friends I adopt them .
for mine I say N ot Proven won t do for m e

,
Prove your
.
right Eustace to a verdict of N ot Guilty Why have you

, ,
.
let three years pass without doing it ? S hall I guess why ?

You have waited f or your wi fe to help you H ere she is my .
,
darling ready to help you wi th all her heart and soul

,
.
Here sh e is with on e object in lifeto show the world

, ,
and to show the S cotch J ury, that her husband is an innocent

man
I had roused myself 3 my p ul ses were throbbing my voice ,
r ang through the room Had I rou s ed hi m

. What w as hi s
an s w er
[ 06 TI I E LA IV A N D TH E L AD Y .

R ead the T rial That was his answer . .
I sei z ed his arm In my indignation and my despair I shook

.
,
h i m with all my strength God forgive me I coul d almost .

,
have struck him for the tone in which he had spoken and
, ,
the look that he had cast on me

I have told you that I mean to read the Trial I s aid ,

.
I mean to read it line by li ne with you S ome inexcusable , , .
mistake has been made Evidence in your favour that might .

,
have been found has not been found S uspicious circum , .
stances have not been investigated Crafty people have not .
been watched Eustace ! the conviction of some dreadful

.
over sight committed by you or by the perso n s who helped

,
you is rmly settled in my mind The resolution to set that

, .

v ile V erdict right was the rst resolution that came to me ,
when I rst heard of it in the next room We w i ll set it .
right We m u st set it right for your sake for my sake for , ,
the sake of our children if we are blest w ith children Oh .

,

my ow n love don t look at m e with those cold eyes
,
Don t

answer me in those hard tones ! D on t treat me as if
I was talking ignorantly and madly of something that c an

never be
S ti ll I failed to r eu se him Hi s next words were spoken
, .
c ompassionately rather than coldly that w as all .
My de fence was undertaken by the greatest lawyers in the

land he said ,

After such men have done their ut most and
.
,
have failed my poor Valeria what can y ou what c an I do ? , , ,
We c an only submit .

N ever ! I cried The gr ea test lawyers are m ortal men 3

.
t h e greatest lawyers have made mistakes be fore n ow Y ou .
c an t deny that

.
R ead the Trial

For the t hird ti me , he said those cruel.

words an d said no more

, .
I n utter despair of moving h i m feeling keenly bitterly (i f ,
I must ow n it ) his merciless superiorit y to all that I had sa i d

to him in the honest fe r vour ( f my devotion and my love I
,
TH E MA N S D E CISI ON

. my
thought of M aj or F it z David as a last resort I n the dis -

.

ordered state of my mind at that moment it made n o , ,
diff erence to me that the Maj or had already tried to reason

with him and had failed ,
In the face of the facts 1 .
,
had a blind belief in the {inuence o f hi s ol d friend ,
if his ol d friend could only b e prevailed u pon t o support

my view .

Is there no persuading you ? I said He looked away
.
without answerin g At least you can wait for me a mo

.

ment I went on
,

I want you to hear another Opinion ,
.
besides mine .

I left him and returned to the study Major Fit z David

, .
-
was not there I knocked at the door of communication with

.
the front room It was O pened instantly by the M aj or him

.
sel f . The doctor had gone away Be nj amin still rem ained .
A the room .
Will you come and speak t o Eustace ? I began I f you

.
will only say what I want you to say

Before I coul d add a word more I heard the house door ,
opened and closed Maj or Fit z David and Benjamin heard i t

.
-
too They looked at each other in silence

. .
I ran back be fore the Maj or could stop me to the room in

, ,
which I had seen Eustac e It was empty My husband h ad . .
left the h ouse .
C HAP TER X III .
TH E M AN

S O
D E I sI ON.
Mr rst impul se the r eckless impulse t o follow Eusta ce

w as
openly through the streets

, .
The Major and Be njamin both opposed this hasty resol u

t ion on m y part T hey appealed to my ow n sense of sel f
.
[08 TH E LA W AND THE LA D Y .
respe c t without (so far as I remember it) producing the

,
slightest e ff ect on my mind They were more success ful .
when they entreated me n ext to be patient for my husband s ,
sake In mercy to Eustace they begged me to wait hal f ah

.
,
-
3hour . If he failed to return in that time they pledged them ,
selves to accompany me in search of him to the hotel .
In mercy to Eusta c e I consented to wait What I suff ered

, .
under the forced necessity for remaining passive at that crisis

in my li fe no words of mine c an tell It will be better if I
, .
go on with my narrative .
Benjamin was the rst t o ask me what had passed between

my husband and mysel f .

Y ou may speak freely my dear, he said
I know what ,

.
has happened since you have been i n Major F it z David s -

house N o on e h as told me abo ut it ; I found it ou t for

.
mysel f I f y ou remember I was struck by the name Mac

.
,
~
'

allan when you rst mentioned it to me at my c ot t ag e I
,
.

could n t guess w hy at the time I kno w why now
, .
, .
Hearing this I told them both u nreservedly what I had

,
said to Eustace and how he had received it T o my u m

,
.
speakable disappointment they both sided wi th my hus ,
band treating my v iew of his position as a mere dream .
They said it as he had said i t, You have not read

,

the T rial .

I was really enraged wi th them T he fa cts are enough for .
me I said

,
We know he is innocent Why is his innocence
. .
not proved ? It ought to be it must be i t shal l be ! I f the , ,
T rial tells me it can t be done I re fuse to believe the T rial

, .
Where is the book Major ? L et me see for myself if his

, ,
lawyers h ave left nothing for his wi fe to do Did they love .
h i m as I love him Give me the book

Major F itz David looked at Be njamin
-
.
It will onl y additionally shock and distress her i f I giv e ,
her the book he said

Don t you agree wi th me ?
, .

I interposed be for e Benj amin c o uld an s wer .

TH E M AN S DE CI S I ON

. [ 09

If you refuse my request I said you will oblige me ,

,

,
Major to go t o the nearest bookseller and tell hi m t o buy t h e

, ,
Trial for me I am deter mined to read it

. .

T his time Be njamin sided w ith me

,
.

N othing can make matters worse than they are si r he , ,

said . I f I may be permi tted to advise let her have her

,

o w n way .
T he Major rose and took the book out of the I talian

,
c abinet t o which he had consigned it for safe keeping .

My young friend tell s me that sh e in form ed you of her ,

regrettable outbreak of temper a few days since he said as , ,
he handed me the volume I was not aware at the time.

,
what book she had in her hand when she so far forgot her
self as t o destroy the vase When I left you i n the study I .
,
supposed the R eport of the Trial to be in its customary place ,
on the top shel f of the bookcase ; and I ow n I felt some
c uriosity t o kno w whether you would think of examini n g
that shelf T he broken vase i t is needl ess to conceal it

.
fro m you now was on e of a pair presented t o me by your

husband and hi s rst wi fe only a week before the poor ,
woman s terrible death

I felt my rst presentiment that
.
ou wer e on the b r ink of discovery when I found y ou look

y ,
ing at the fragments and I fancy I betray ed t o you that

something of the kind was disturbing me You looked as .
i f you noticed it .

I did notice it Maj or An d I too had a vagu e idea that

, .
, ,
I was on the way to discovery Will y ou look at your wat ch ? .
Have we waited half an hour yet ? - -
M y impatien c e had misled m e The ordeal of the half .
h our was not yet at an end .
S lowly and more slowly the heavy minutes foll owed ea ch ,
othe r an d still there were no signs of my husband s return

.
We tried to continue ou r conversation and failed N othing , .
was audi ble no sounds but the ordinary sounds of the street
disturbed t h e dread ful s ilen c e Try as I might t o repel it, .
[ 10 TH E LA W AN D Tf l E LA D Y .
there was one f oreboding thought th at pressed closer a nd

closer on m y mind as the interval of waiting wore its weary
way on I shuddered as I asked myself if our married li fe
.
,
had come to an end i f Eustace had really left me ?

T he M aj or saw what Be njamin s slower perception had not
yet discovered that my fortitude was beginning t o sink

under the unrelieved oppression of suspense .

Come ! he s aid
L et us go to the hotel
. .
It then wanted nearly ve minutes to the hal f hour I -

.
l ooked m y gratitude t o M aj or Fit z David for sparing me -
those last ve m inutes : I could n ot speak to him or to ,
B enjamin I n silen c e we thr ee got into a cab and drove

.
to the hotel .
The landlady met us in the hall N othin g had been seen .
or heard of Eustace T here was a letter waiting for me

.
upstairs on the table in our sitting room It had been left

,
-
.
at the hotel by a messenger only a few minutes s i nce , .
Trembling and breathless I ran up the stairs ; the two ,
gentlemen following me The writing on the address of the .

letter was in my husband s hand My hear t sank in me as I .
looked at the lines ; there coul d be but on e reason for his

writin g to m e That closed envelope held his farewell words
. .
I sat with the letter on my l ap st upeed in c apable of ope n ,
i ng it
.
K ind hearted Be njamin attempted to com fort and en c o u rage

-
me The Maj or w ith hi s larger experience of women war ned

.
, ,
the ol d man to be silent .
Wait I I heard hi m whisper S peaking t o her will do .
no good now G ive her time . .

A cting on a sudden impulse I held out the letter to him ,
as he spoke Even moments might be of importance if

.
,
Eustace had indeed le ft me T o give me time might be t o .

,
l ose the opportunity of recalling him .
You are his ol d friend I sai d O pen his letter Maj or,
,

.
,
an d read it f or me

.
TH E M AN S D E CI S I OzV
'
. In
Maj or F it z David Opened the letter and read it throu gh t o

-
himself Whe n he had done he thre w it on the table with a

.
,
gesture which was almost a gesture of contempt .

There is but on e e x c us e for him he said Th e man is , .

mad .
Those words told me all I knew the worst 3 and, knowin g

.
i t I c ould read the letter

, It ran thus .
MY O D VA LERIAB EL V E ,

When you read these lines you read my farewell ,
words I return t o m y solitary un friended li fe my li fe

.

be fore I knew you .
My darli ng y ou have been cruel ly treated You have

, .
been entrapped into marrying a man who has been publicly

accused of poisoning his rst wi fe and who has not been
honourably and completely acquitted of the charge An d .
you know it
Can you l ive on terms o f mutual c ondence and mutual
esteemwith me when I have committed this fraud and when
, ,
I stand towards you in this position ? It was possible f or

you to live with me happily while you were in ignoran c e of
'
,
the truth It is n ot possi bl e now you know all

.
,
.
N o ! the on e atonement I can make is t o leave you

-
.
Y our one chance of future happiness is to be disassociated at ,
once and for ever from my dishonoured life I love you

, .
,
Valeriatruly devotedly passionately But the spectre of

, , .
the poisoned woman rises between us It makes no difference .
that I am innocent even of the thought of harming my rst

wi fe My innocence has not been proved In this world my
. .
innocence can never be proved Y ou are young and lovin g .

,
and generous and hope ful Bless others Valeria w ith your .
, ,
rare attractions and y our delight ful gifts They are of no .
avail with m e T he poisoned woman stands between u s

. .
If you live with me now you will see her as I see her That
, .
t orture shall never be y ours I love y ou I leave you . . .

1 12 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
Do you think me hard and c ru el ? Wait a lit tl e, and ti me

will change that way of thinki ng As the years g o on, you .
will say to yourself Basely as he de c eived me there was som e

, ,
generosity in hi m He was man enough to release me of hi s

.

ow n free will .

Y es Valeria I full y freely release y ou If it be possibl e
, , , .
to annul our marriage let it be done R ecover your li berty

, .
by any means that you may be advised to employ 3 and b e

a ssured be forehand o f my entire and implicit submission My .
lawyers have the necessa ry instructions on this subject Y our .
uncle has only to communicate with them and I think he will ,
be satised of my resolution to do you j ustice T he on e .
in terest that I have now le ft in life i s my interest in your ,
welfare an d your happiness in the time to come Your wel .
fare and your happiness are no longer to be found in y ou r

union with Me .
I can write no more T his letter will wait for you at the
.
hotel It will be useless to attempt t o tra c e me I know m y

. .
ow n weakness My heart is al l yo u rs 3 I might yield t o you

.
i f I let y ou see me again .
S how these lines to your uncle and to any friends whose ,
opinions y ou may value I have only to sign my dishonoured

.
name 3 and every on e will understand and applaud my motive

for writing as I do The name j ust i esamply j ust i es t h e
.
letter F org ive me, and forget me Farewel l

. .
EU S TA C E MA CALLAN .

In those words he took hi s leav e of me We had then

been married
.
,
s i x day s .
C HAP TER XI V .
W OMAN S WER

TH E S AN .
Trm s far I have written of myself with perfe c t frankne ss

,
and, I think I may fairly add, with some c ourage as w ell

THE WOIII AN
S A

S WE R . "3
My frankness fails me and my c ourage fails me when I look

, ,
back to my husband s farewell letter and try to recall the

storm of contending passions that it roused in my mind .
N o l I cannot tell the truth about mysel f I dare not tell the
truth about myself at that terrible time Men ! consult .
your observation of women and imagine what I felt ,

.
Women ! look into y our o wn hearts and see what I fel t , ,
for yourselves .
What I di d when my mind was quiet again is an easier

, ,
matter to deal with I answered my husband s letter M y

.

.
reply to him shall appear in these pages It will show .

,
in some degr ee what effect (o f the lasting sort) hi s deser

,
tion of me produced on my mind It will also reveal the .
motives that sustained me the hopes that animated me , ,
in the new and strange li fe whi ch my next chapters must

des c ribe
.
I was rem oved from the hotel in the care of my f atherly ,
ol d friend , Benjami n A bedroom was prepared for me in his

.
lit tle vi l la T here I passed the rst nig ht of my separatio n

.
,
fro m my husband T owards the morning my weary brain

.
,
got some rest I slept .
At breakfast time Maj or F it z David call ed to inquire about

-
,
-
me He had kin dly volunteered to go and speak for me to

.
my husband s lawyers on the preceding day They had

, .
admitted that they knew w here Eustace had gone 3 but they
declared at the same time that they were positively forbidden
to communicate hi s address to any on e In other respects .
,

their Instructions in relation to the w i fe o f their client were
(as they were pleased t express it) generous to a fault I
o .
had only to write to them and they would furnish me with a

,
c opy by ret urn o f post .
Thi s was the Major s news He re frained with the ta ct

.
,
th at distin guished hi m , from puttin g any questions to me

bey on d question s relating t o th e state of my health The se .
3
TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y;
answered he took his leave of me for that day He and

, .
Benj amin had a long talk together afterwards i n the garden ,
of the vill a .
I retired to my room and wrote to my uncle S t arkweather ;

,
telli n g him exactly what had happe n ed and enclosing hi m a ,
copy of my husband s letter Thi s done I went ou t for a

.
,
little while to breathe the fresh air and to thi nk I was soon ,
.
weary and went back again t o m y room to rest My kind

,
.
ol d Be njamin le ft me at perfect liberty to be alo n e as long as
I pleased T owards the aftern oon I began to feel a little

.
,
more li ke my ol d self again I mean by this that I could .

,
think of Eu stace without bursting ou t crying and could ,
speak to Benjamin without di stressin g and frightening the

dear ol d man .
That night I had a little more sleep The next mornin g

,
.
I was stron g enou gh to con front the rst and foremost duty
that I now owed to mysel f the duty of answering my
husband s letter

.
I wrote to him in these words
I am still too weak and weary Eustace t o write t o you at , ,
any length B ut my mind is cl ear I have formed my ow n

. .
O pinion of you and your letter ; and I know what I mean t o

do n ow you have left me S ome women in my situation .
, ,
might think that you had forfeited all right to their condence .
I don t think that S o I write and tell you what is in m y

.
mind in the plainest and fewest words that I can use

, .
Y ou say you love me and you leave me I don t und er .

stand loving a woman and leaving her For my part i n

, .
,
spite of the hard things you have said and written to me and ,
in spite of the cruel manner in which you have left me I love ,
y ouand I won t give you up N o ! As lo n g as I live I

~

.
,
mean t o li ve your wi fe .
Does this surprise you I It surpris es me I f anothe r

'
.
woman wr ote i n thi s manner to a man w h o had behaved t o

TH E WOIII AN
S ANS WER . "5
h er as have behaved I shoul d be quite at a l oss to account

you ,
for her conduct I am quite at a loss to account for my own

.
conduct I ought to hate you and yet I can t help loving

.

you I am ashamed Of mysel f 3 but so it is

. .
You need feel no fear of my attempting t o nd ou t

where you are and of my trying to persuade you t o return t o
,
me. I am n ot quite foolish eno ugh to do that You are not .
i n a t state of mind to return to me Y ou are all wrong .

,
all over from head to foot When you get right again I am
, .
,
v ain enough to think that you will return to me of your o w n

a ccord A n d shall I be weak enough to forgive you ? Y es
.
,
I sh all certainly be weak enough to forgive you .
But how are you to get right again ?

I have pu zzled my brains over this question by night and
by day and my opinion is that you will never get right again,
unless I help you .
HOW am I to help you ?

The question is easily answere d What the Law has .
failed to do for you , your Wi fe must do for you D o you .
remember what I said when we were together in the back

,
room at M ajor Fi t z Davi d s house ? I told you that the rst

r

thought that came t o me when I heard what the S cotch J ury

,
h ad done was the thought Of setting their vile V erdict right

, .
Well ! Your letter has xed thi s idea more rmly i n my

mind than ever The only chance that I can see Of winning
.
you back to me in the character of a penitent and lovi n g

,
husban d is to change that underhand S cotch V erdict of N ot

,
Proven into an honest English verdict of Not G ui lty

, .
Ar e you surpr ised at the knowle dge of the l a w which thi s

way of writi n g betrays in an ignorant woman ? I have been
learning m y dear : the La w and the L ady have begun by
,
u nderstanding on e another In plain English I have looked

.
,

into O gilvie s Imperia l Dictionary 3 and O gilvie tells me : A

verdict of N ot Proven o nl y indicates that in the O pinion Of ,
t he J ury, there is a de c ien cy in the eviden ce to c o nvi c t t h e

6 TH E LA W AND THE LAD Y .
prison er A verdi c t of Not Guilty imports the Jury s opinio n

.

that the prisoner is i n n oc en Eustace ! that shall b e th e

O pin ion of the world in general and of the S cotch J ury in ,
particular in your case TO that on e Obj ect I dedicate m y

,
.
life to come i f God spares me !

,
Who will help me when I need help is more than I yet

, ,
know There was a time when I had hoped that we should

.
go hand in b an d together in doi n g this good work That .
hope is at an end I no lon ger expect you or ask you t o

.
, ,
help me A man who thi nks as you think can give n o hel p
.
,
to an ybody i t is his miserable condition to have no hope .
S O be it I will hope for two and will work for two 3 and I ,
shall nd some one to help menever fear i f I deserve it .

I will say nothing about my plans I have not read the
T rial yet It is quite enough for me that I know you are
.
innocent When a man is innocent there m u st be a way of

.
,
proving it the on e thing needful is to nd the way S ooner .
or later with or without assistance

, I shall nd it Y es ! , .
be fore I know any single particular of the Case I tell you ,
positively I shal l nd it !

You may la u gh over this l li nd condence on my part or ,
you may cry over it I don t pretend to know whether I am

.

an O bject f or ridicule or an O bj ect for pity O f one thing only .
I am cert ain I mean to win you back a man vindicated

.
,
be fore the world without a stain on his character or hi s

,
n ame thanks to his Wife .
Write to me sometimes Eustace 3 and believe me through , ,
al l the bitterness Of this bitter b u siness y our faith ful and

,
toving

VALERIA
.
There was my reply ! P oor enou gh as a composition (I

c ould write a much better letter n ow
) it had if I may pre , ,
sume t o say so on e merit It was the honest e xpression at

, .
what I really meant and felt .

TH E WOAI AN
5 ANS WEE . 117
I read it t o Benj amin He held up his han ds with hi s

.
c ustoma ry gesture w hen he was thoroughl y bewildered and
dismayed It seems the rashest letter that ever w as written

.
,
said the dear O ld man I never heard V aleria of a w oman

.
, ,
doi n g what you propose to do L ord help us ! the new gene .
ration is beyond my fathoming I wish your uncle S tark .
weather was here : I wonder what he would say ? Oh, dea r

me what a letter from a wife to a husband ! Do you really
,
mean to send it to him ?
I added immeasurably to my ol d friend s surprise by not

,
even employing the post oth ee I wished to see the i nst ruc
-
.
tions whi ch my husband had le ft behind hi m S o I took the .
letter to his lawyers myself .
The rm consisted of two partners They both received m e .
together O ne was a so ft lean man with a sour smile The

.
, .
other was a hard fat m an with ill tempered eyebrows ,

I took -
.
a great dislike to both Of them O n their side they appeared .

,
to feel a strong distrust of me We began by disagreeing . .
Th ey showed me my husba n d s instructions 3 providing amon g

,
other things for the pay m ent o f on e clear half Of his income
, ,
as lon g as he lived to his wi fe I positively refused t o touch

, .
a farthi ng of his money .
The lawyers were unaffectedly shocked and astonished at

this decision N othing Of the sort had ever happened before
.
,
i n the whole course of their experience They argu ed and .
r emonstrated with me The partner with the ill tempered

.
-
eyebrows wanted to know what my reasons were The .
partner with the sour smile reminded his coll eague satirically
that I was a lady and had therefore no reasons to give I
,
.
o nly answered Be so good as to forward my letter gentle

~
, ,
men and left them .
I have no wish t o claim any credit to mysel f in these pages

w h ich I do not honestly deserve The truth is that my pride .
forbade me t o accept help fro m Eustace now that he had le ft ,
me My ow n little fortune (eig ht h u ndre d a y ear) h ad bee n

.
: 13 TH E LA W A ND TH E LAD Y .
settled on mysel f when I married It had been more than I .
wanted as a single woman and I was resolved that it sh ould ,
be enough for me n ow B enjamin had insisted on m y c on

.
si der i ng his cottage as m y home Under these circumstan c es .

,
the expenses in which my determination to clear my husband s
c haracter might involve me were the only expenses for whi ch ,
I had to provide I coul d a fford to be i ndependent and i n

.
dependent I resolved that I would be .
While I em occupied in con fessing my weakness and my

errors it is only right t oadd that dearly as I still loved my
, ,
u n h appy misguided husband there was on e little fault of hi s

,
which I found it n ot easy t o forgive .
Pardoning other things I could not pardon his conceal i ng

,
from me that he had been married to a rst w if e Why I .
should have felt this so bitterly as I did at certain times and ,
seasons I am not able to explain

,
J ealousy was at the .
bottom of it I suppose An d yet I was not conscious of

,
.
,
being j ealous especially w hen I thou ght Of the poor

creature s miserable death

S till at O dd times when I.
,
was discouraged and out of temper I used to say to mysel f , ,
Eustace ought not to have kept th a t secret from me Wha t .

would he have said, if I had been a widow, and had never told
him Of it ?
It was getting on towards evening when I r eturned t o the
c ottage Benj ami n appeared t o have been on the look ou t
.
-
f or me B efore I c ould ring at the bell he Opened the g arden

.
gate .

Prepare y ourself for a surprise my dear he said Y our , , .
uncle the R everend Doctor S tarkweather has arrived from th e

, ,
N orth and is waiting to see you H e received your letter

, .
thi s morning and he took the rst tr ain to L ondon as soon as

,
he had read it .

In another minute m y un cle s strong arms were round me

.
I n my forlorn position I felt the good V icar s k ind n ess i n

,

,
travelling all t h e way to L ondon to see me very g rate fully , .

TH E WOM AN
S ANS WER . 1 1 9
It brought the tears into my eyestears withou t bitterness, ,
that di d me good .
I have come my dear child, t o take you back t o your Ol d

,
home he said
,

N0 words can tell h o w fervently I wish you
.

h a d never le ft your aunt and me Well well we won t talk .
about it The mischi ef is done and the next thing is to

.
mend it as well as we can I f I could only get within arm s .

length o f that husband Of yours Valeria there there G od ,
forgive me I am forgetting that I am a clergyman What

,
.
shall I forget next I wonder ? By the bye your aunt sends

,
-
you her dearest love S he is more superstitious than ever. .
This miserable business doesn t surprise her a bit S he says

.
it all began with your making that mistake about your name
in signing the church register Y ou remember ? Was there .
ever such stu ff ? Ah she s a foolish woman that wi f e Of ,

,
mine ! But she means wella good soul at bottom S he .
would have travell ed all the way here along with me i f I ,
would have let her I said N o 3 you stop at home and look
.
,
a fter the house and the parish 3and I ll brin g the chil d back
.

Y ou shall have your O ld bedroom Valeria with the white , ,
curtains you know looped up with blu e We will return to

, ,
the Vicarage (i f you c an get up in time) by the nine forty -
train to morrow morning

-
.

R eturn to the V icarage How could I do that ? H ow

c ould I hope to gain w hat was n ow the one Obj ect of my
existence if I buried myself in a remote north country village
,
-
.
It was simply impossible for me to accompany Doctor S tark

weather on his return to his ow n house .
I thank you uncle with all my heart I said

, B ut I am
, ,

.
a fraid I can t leave L ondon for the present

.
You can t leave L ondon for the present

he repeate d .

What does the girl mean Mr Be njamin ? ,
.

Benjamin evaded a direct reply .
S he is kindly welcome here Doctor S tarkweather, h e s aid , ,

as lo ng as she c hoo se s to stay with me

.
1 20 TH E LA IV AND TH E L AD Y .

That s n o answer retorted my uncle in his rough an d

,

,
-
ready way H e turned to me

. What is there to keep y ou .
in L ondon he asked You used to hate L ondon I sup

. .
pose there is some reason ?
I t was only due to my good guardian and friend that

I should take hi m into my condence sooner or later There .
was no help for it but to rouse my courage and tell

hi m frankly w hat I had it in my mind to do The Vicar .
listened in breathless dismay He turned to Benjamin .

,
with distress a s well as surprise in hi s face, when I

had done .

G od help her ! cried the worthy man
The poor thing s .
troubles have turned her brain !

I tho u ght you would disapprove of it si r said Benjamin , , ,

in his mild and moderate way I con fess I disapprove Of it .

myself .

Disapprove O f it isn t the w ord retorted the Vicar ,

,

.
Don t put i t in that feeble way i f you please An act of

,
.
madness that s w hat it is i f she really means what she says

,
.

He turned my way and looked as he used to l o ok at the

, ,
afternoon service when he was catechising an obstinate chi ld

, .
You don t mean it he said do you ?

, ,
I am very sorry to forfeit your good opinion uncle I r e , ,

plied . B ut I must ow n that I do certainly mea n it .

In plain English retorted the Vicar you are conceited

,

,
enough to think that you can succeed where the greatest
l awyers in S cotland have failed Th ey coul dn t prove this

.
man s innocence all working together An d you are going

, .
t o prove it si n gle handed ? Upon my word y ou are a ,
wonder ful woman cried my uncle suddenly descending from

,

,

i ndignation to irony May a plain country parson who isn t
.
,
u sed to lawy ers in petticoats, be per mitted t o ask h ow you
mean to do it ?

I mean to begin b y readin g the Trial uncle , .

Nic e r eadi ng for a y oung woman You will be wanti n g
TH E WOIlL/AN
S ANS WER . 1 21
a batch O f nasty F rench novels n ext Well and when you .

,

have read the Trial what then ? Have you thought of that ?
Yes uncle I have thought Of that I shall rst t ry t o

, . .
f orm some conclusion (a fter rea di ng the Trial) as to the g uilty

person who really c ommitted the crime T hen I shall make .
,
out a li st Of the witnesses w h o spoke in m

y husband s

de fence I shall go to those witnesses and tell them who I

.
,
am and what I want I shall ask all sorts Of questions

, .
which grave lawy ers might think it beneath their dignity t o

put I shall be gui ded in what I do next by the ans w ers I
.
, ,
receive An d I shall not be discouraged no matter what

.
,
di fculties are thrown in my way T hose are my pl ans, .
uncle so far as I know them now

, .

The Vicar and Benjamin looked at each other as if they ,
doubted the evidence of their ow n senses The V icar spoke . .
DO you mean to tell me he said that you are going

, ,
roaming about the country to throw yoursel f on the mercy ,
of strangers and to risk whatever rough reception you may

,
get in the course of your travels ? Y ou ! A you n g woman

Deserted by your husband ! With nobody t o protect you !
Mr Benjamin do you hear her ? An d can you believe you r
.
,
ea rs ? I declare to Heaven I don t kno w whether I am
a wake or dreaming L ook at her just look at her

. There
sh e sits as cool and easy as i f sh e had said nothing at all
extraordinary and was going to do nothing out of the common

,
way What am I to do wit h her that s the serious question

what on earth am I to do with her ?
-
L et me try my experiment uncle rash as it may look t o

, ,
you I said ,

N othing else will com fort and support me 3
.
an d God knows I want com fort and support Don t think

.
me obstinate I am ready t o admit that there are seriou s

.

difculties in my way .
T he Vicar resumed hi s ironi c al tone .
O h ! he said You admit that, do you ? Well, there i s

.
som ethin g gained, at an y rat e I

1 22 TH E LA W A ND TH E L AD Y .

Many another woman be fore me I went has fac e d ,

on,

serious difculties and has c onquered them for the sake of

,
the man she loved .

Doctor Starkweather rose slowly t o his feet w ith the air of a ,
person whose capacity of toleration had reached its last l i mits .

Am I t o understand that y ou are still in love w ith
Mr Eustace Mac all an ? he asked
.

.
Y es I answered,

.

The hero Of the great Poison Trial ? pursued my uncle .
The man who has deceived and deserted you ? Y ou lov e

hi m ?

I love h i m more dearly than ever .
Mr Benjami n said the V icar

. I f she recovers her
,

.
senses between this and nine O clock to morro w morning

,
send her with her luggage to L oxley s Hotel where I am n ow

,
staying G ood night V aleria I shall consult with your

.
, .

aunt as to what is to be done next I have no more to say . .
G ive me a kiss uncle at parting , , .

O h yes I 11 give you a kiss Anything you l ike Valeri a

,
.

.
,
.
I shall be sixty v e next birthday ; and I thought I knew

-
somethi n g of women at my time of l i fe It see ms I know .
nothing L oxley s Hotel is the address Mr B enja min Good

.

,
. .

n ight .
Benj amin looked ve ry g rave when he ret urned to me after ,
a ccompan yi n g Doctor S ta rkweather to t he garden gate .
Pray be advised my dear he said I don t ask you t o

, ,

.

consider my v iew Of this matter as good for much But y our .
u n cle s O pinion is surely worth considering ?

I did not reply It was useless to say any more I made

. .
u p my mind to be misunderstood and discouraged and to bear ,
it . G ood n i ght my dear O ld friend w as al l I said to Ben

, ,

jamin T hen I turned away I con fess with the tears in my

.
eyes and took re fuge in my bedroom .
The win do w blind was u p 3 and the aut umn moonligh t

-
sh one brilliantl y into the littl e room .

S TOR Y OF TH E TRIA L . PR EL I AI I NAR I E S . [ 23
As I stood by the windo w looki ng out the memory c ame , ,
to me of another moonlight ni ght when Eustace and I wer e

wal king together in the Vicarage garden be fore our marriage
It w as the night of which I have written many pages back , ,
w hen there were O bstacles to our union and when Eusta c e ,
had O ff ered to release me from my en gagement to him 1 .
sa w the dear face again looki n g at me in the moonlight ; I

,
heard once more his words and mine Forgive me (he ha d,

.

said ) for having loved youpassionately, devotedl y loved

'

you . Forgive me and let me go , .
An d I had answered O h Eustace I am onl y a wom an

, , , ,

don t madden me ! I can t live without you I must an d
.
,
will be your wi fe ! An d n ow a fter marriage had united

,

,
us we were parted !
,
Parte d still loving each other as pas ,
si on at el y as ever An d why ? Because he had been accused

.
Of a crime that he had never committed and because a S c otch ,
j ury had failed t o see that he was an innocent man .
I looked at the lovely moonlight pursuing these remem ,
b r anc es and these thoughts A new ardour burnt in m e . .
N o I said to myself Neither relations nor friends shall

.
prevail on me to falter and fa il in my husband s cause The

.
assertion of his i nnocence is th e work of my li fe I w ill begin

i t to night
-
I dr e w down the blind an d li t the candles In the quiet

.
,
n igh t alone and unaided I took my rst step on the toil

some and terrible j ourney that lay be fore me From t h e .
title page to the end without stopping to rest and without

-
, ,
missing a word I read the T rial Of my husband for t h e murd er

,
of hi s wi fe .
C HAPTER XV .
TH E S TO R Y OF TH E TR IA L. TH E P R EL I M I N ARIES .
LET me con fess another weakness, my part, be fore I begin

on
the s tory Of t h e Tr ial . I c ann ot prevail upon my self to c opy

: 24 THE LA W AND THE LAD Y .
f or the second time the horrible title page which holds up t o

,
-
publ i c ignominy my husband s name I have c opied it once

.
in my tenth chapter L et once be enough . .
Turn ing to t h e second page of the T rial I found a N ote, ,
assuring the reader of the absolute c orrectness O f the R eport

of the proceedi n gs The compiler described himsel f as having
.
enjoyed certain privileges Thus the presiding J udge had hi m .

,

self revised his charge to the J ur y An d again the c hi ef .

, ,
la wyers for the prosecution and the de fence following ,

the J u dge s example h ad revised their speeches for and
, , ,
against the prisoner

,
L astly particular care had been taken
.
,
to secure a literally c orrect report of the evidence given

by the various w itnesses It w as some relief to me to .
discover this N ote an d to be satised at the outset that the

,
S tory Of the Trial was in every particular, full y and truly

,
told .
The ne x t page interested me more nearly still It enu m e .
rated the actors i n the J udi c ial Drama the men who held in

t heir hands my husband s honour, an d my husband s life
Here i s the L ist
TH E LO R D J U S TI CE CLER K ,
LO R D DRU M FENNI CK J udges on the B ench , .
LO R D NOB LEK I RK ,
TH E LO R D AD V O C ATE (Mintlaw)
Counsel for ,
DO N A L D D REW Esquire (Advocate

Depute )
,
the Crown .
Mr JAM ES AR LI SS W S Agent for the Crown

.
, . .
, .
THE D EA N 0 F FA C U L TY (Far m i c h a el ), Counsel for t h e

AL EXAN D ER C R O C K ET Esquire (Ad Pan el (other w ise
,
vocate) ,
the Prisoner) .
Mr TH ORNI EB ANK W S ,
Agen t s for the Pa n l
.
, . .
Mr PLAYMORE, W S ,
e .
. . .
T he Indictment against the Prisoner then foll owe d 1 sh all .
not m y the u n c outh language full Of ne edless repetition : ,
(an d if I know any thin

, g of t h e s u bj ec t,
not g uiltle s s of b ad
S TO R Y OF TH E TR I AL . P RE L I EI I ZVAR I ES . 1 25
g rammar as well ) in which my innocent husband

,
w as solemnly
and falsely accused Of poisonin g hi s rst wi fe The less there .
is of that false and hate ful Indictment on this page the better ,
and t h e truer the page will look to my eyes ,

.
T o be brie f then Eustace M ac all an w as indicted an d

,

,
a ccused at the instance of David Mintlaw Esq Her M ajesty s

.
, ,
Advocate for Her M aj esty s interest of the Murder Of hi

.
, ,
Wi fe by poison at his residence called Gl eni n c h in the county

, ,
of Mid L othian
-
The poison was alleged to have been
.
wickedly and feloniously given by the prisoner to his wi fe

S ara on two occasions in the form of arsenic administered
, , ,
i n tea medicine or other article or articles of food or drink

, , ,
to the prosecutor unknown or in some other manner to the ,
prosecutor unknown It was further declared that the

.

prisoner s wi fe h ad died of the poison thus administered by

h er husband on one or other or both of the stated O ccasions 3

, , ,
a n d that she was thus murdered by her husband T he next .
paragraph asserted that the said Eustace Mac al l an taken

, ,
before J ohn Daviot Esquire advocate Sheriff substitute Of

, , ,
-
Mid L othian did in his presence at Edinburgh (on a given

-
date vi z f the 29th Of O ctober) subscribe a Declaration

.
,
stating his innocence Of the alleged crime : thi s D eclaration

being reserved in the Indictment together w ith certai n
Docu ments papers and articles enumerated in an Inventory
, , ,
to be used in evidence against the prisoner The Indic t .
ment concluded by declaring that in the event Of the o ff ence ,
c harged against the prisoner being found proven by the
Verdict he the said Eustace Mac all an ought to be punished

, , ,
with the pains of the law to deter others from c ommittin g ,
the like cri mes in all time coming .

SO much for the Indictment I have done with i t and I

a m rejoi c ed to have done with it .
An Inventory Of papers documents and articles foll owed , ,
at great le n gth on the three next pages

, This in its turn , .
,
was su cc eeded b y the lis t of the wit nes ses, and by the n am e s
1 26 THE LA W AND TI I E L AD Y .
Of t h e jurors (fteen in number) balloted for to try the case , .
An d then at last t h e R eport Of the Trial began

, , I t resolved .
itsel f t o my mi nd into thr ee great Question s As it appeared

, , .
to me at the time so let me present it here

, .
CHAP TER XVI .
r I Rsr Q U ES TI O N DID TH E WOMA N

'
DI E P O I S ON ED ?
THE

proceedings began at ten o clock The prisoner w as .
placed at the Bar before the High Court of J usticiary at

, ,
Edinburgh He bowed respect full y to the Bench and pleaded

.
,
N ot G uilty in a low voice

, .
It was Observed by every on e present that the prisoner s ,

face betrayed the traces o f acute mental su ff eri n g He w as .
deadly pale Hi s eyes never once wandered to th e crowd in

'
the Court When certain witnesses appeared agains t hi m he

.
,
looked at them with a momentary attention At other times .

,
he kept h i s eyes on the ground When the evidence touched .
on his wi fe s ill ness and death he was deeply a ffected

and ,
c overed hi s face with his hands It was a subj ect of general

.
r emark and general surprise that the prisoner in this case

, ,
(although a man ) showed far less sel f possession than the last
,
-
prisoner tried in that Court for murdera woman who had ,
b ee n convicted on overwhelming evidence There were persons .
present (a small minority only) who considered this want of

co mposure on the part Of the prisoner to be a Si gn in his
favour S el f possession in his dread ful position signied t o

.
-
, ,
their minds the stark insensibility Of a heartless and shama

,
les s criminal and a fforded in itself a presumptionnot of

,
innocence but Of gu ilt .
The rst witness called w as J ohn Daviot Esquire S heriff , ,

s
S ubstitute of Mid L othian He wa s e xamin ed by t h e L o r d

-
.
Advo cate (as c ouns el for the prose cution ) 3 and said :
FI RS TD I D TH E WOM AN DI E P OI S OA ED 7
.
m
The prisoner was brou ght before me on the present charge .
He made and subscribed a Declaration on the 29 t h of

"
, , ,
O ctober It was freely and voluntarily made ; the prisoner

.
havin g been first duly warned and admonished

.
Ha ving identied the Declaration , the S heri ff S ubstitut - e
being cross exa mined by the Dean of Facul ty (as counsel for
-
the defence) continued his evidence in these words

The charge against the prisoner was Murder This was ,
.
communicated to him before he made the Declaration T he .
questions addressed to the prisoner were put partly by me , ,
part ly by another Ofcer the ProcuratorFiscal The answers , .
were given distinctly and so far as I could ju dge without , , ,
reserve The statements put forward i n the Declaration

.
were all made in answer to questions asked oy the Procurator

Fiscal or by mysel f .

A clerk in the S heri ff Clerk s o fce then O c i ally produced

-
the Declaration and corroborated the evidence of the witness

,
who ha d preceded hi m .
T he appearance Of the nex t w itness c reated a marked

sensation in the Court This was n o less a person than the . .
nurse who had attended Mrs Mac all an in her last il lness by .
name Christina Or msay

,
.
After the rst formal answers the nurse (examined by t h e ,
L ord Advocate) proceeded to say

1 w as rst sent for to attend the deceased lady on t h e , ,
seventh Of O ctober S he was then suffering from a severe

.
cold accompanied by a rheumatic aff ection Of the le ft knee

,
j oint Previous to this I understood that h er health had

.
,
been fairly good S he was not a very difc ult person t o

.
n urse when you got used to her

, and understood h ow t o ,
man ag e her The main di fculty was caused by her temper

. .
S he was not a sullen person ; Sh e was headstrong and

viole nt easily excited to y into a passion an d qui te reck ,
l ess i n 1 er ts Of anger as to what she said or did

,

At such ,
.
t i m es, I really hardl y think Sh e knew what Sh e was abo ut .

1 28 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y .
M y ow n idea i s that her temper was made still mor e irritable

,
by unhappiness in her married l i fe S he was far from bein g .
a reserved person Indeed sh e was disposed (as I thought )

.
,
to be a little t oo c ommunicative about hersel f and her

troubles with persons like me w h o were beneath her i n
, , ,
station S he did not scruple for instance to tell me (when

.
, ,
we had been long enou gh together to get used to ea ch other)

that she was very unhappy and fretted a good deal about her
,
husband O ne n i ght when Sh e was wake ful and restless sh e

.
, ,
said t o me
T he D ean of Faculty here interposed ; speaking on the
prisoner s behal f He appealed to the J u dges to say whether

.
such loose and unreliable evidence as th is was evidence which ,
could be received by the Court ?

The L ord Advocate (speakin g on b eh al f of the Crown)
claimed it as h i s right to produc e t h e evidence It w as .
Of the utmost importance in this case to Sho w (on the , ,
testimony Of an unprej udiced witness) on what terms t h e

husband and wife w er e li vi ng The witness was a most
. .
respectable woman S he had won and deserved the

.
, ,
condence Of the unhappy la dy whom she attended on her

deathbed .
After briey c onsulting together the J udges unanimously ,
decided that the evidence could not be admitted What the .
witness had hersel f seen and Observed Of the relations between

the husband and wi fe, was the only evidence that they could
receive .
The L ord Ad vocate thereupon c ontinued his examination

of the witness C hristina Or msay resumed her evidence as
.
foll ows :
My position as nurse led necessarily to my seeing more o f
Mrs Ma c al l an than any other person in the house I am
. .
a bl e to speak fro m experience, Of many things n ot known to

,
others who were only in her room at intervals .
For instance , I had more than one O pportunity of pers o nal ly

ElRS T D I D TH E WOM AN DI E P O I S ONE D ' 1 29
O bs erving that Mr and Mrs Mac al l an did not live together

,
. .
ve ry happily I can give you an example of this not drawn

.
,
from what others told me but fro m what I noticed for myself
, .

Towards the latter part of my attendance on Mrs .
Mac all an a young widow lady named Mrs Beauly a

, , .
cousin of Mr M ac all an s came t o stay at G l eni nc h Mrs

.

. .
Mac all an was j ealous of this lady 3 and she showed it in my ,
presence only the day before her death when Mr M ac al l an

, , .
c ame into her room to inquire how sh e had passed the night .

O h sh e said
,

never mind how I have slept ! What do
,
you care whether I sleep well or ill ? H ow has Mrs .
Beauly passed the night ? Is Sh e more beauti ful than ever

thi s morning ? G O back to her pray go back to her !

Don t waste your time with me

Beginning in that manner .
,
she worked hersel f into on e of her furious rages I was .
brushing her hair at the time 3 an d feeling that my presence ,
was an impropriety u nder the circumstances I attempted to ,
leave the room S he forbade me to go M r Mac all an felt

. . .
,
as I did that m y duty was to withdraw 3 and he said so in

,
p l ain words Mrs M ac all an i nsisted on my staying in

. .
,

language so insolent to her husband that he said If y ou ,
cannot control yourself either the nurse leaves the room or I

,
do.

S he refused to yield even then A good excuse Sh e .
,

s aid for getting back to Mrs Beauly G O

,
He took her . .
at her word and walked out of the room He had barely

,
.
c losed the door before sh e began revili ng hi m to me in the

,
most shocki ng manner S he declared among other things

.
,
sh e said Of him that t h e news of all others which he would

,
be glad to hear would be the news Of her death I ventured .

,
qui te respe c tfully on remonstrati n g with her S he took up

,
.
the hairb r ush and threw it at me and then and there di s

, , ,
mi ssed me from my attendance on her I left her ; and .
waited below until her t Of passion had worn itself out .
Then I returned t o my place at the bedside and for a whi l e, , ,
things w ent on again as usual .

1 30 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD r .
It may not be amiss to add a w ord whi ch may help to ex
plain Mrs Mac al l an s j ealousy of her husband s cousin Mrs

.

. .
M ac all an was a very plain woman S he had a cast in on e of .
her eyes and (if I may use the expression ) one of the most
,
muddy blot chy complexions it was ever my mis fortune

,
-
to see in a person s face Mr s Beaul y on the other hand

. .
, ,
was a most attractive lady Her eyes were universally .
admired ; and Sh e had a most beautif t clear and delicate

colour Poor Mr s Macal l an said of her most untruly that
. .
, ,
sh e painted .
N 0 3 the de fects in the complexion of the deceased lady

were not in any way attributable to her illness I should call .
them born and bred defects in hersel f .
Her illness i f I am asked to describe it I Should say w as

, ,
troublesome nothi ng more Until the last day there were

, .
,
no sym ptoms i n the least degree serious about the mal ady
that had taken her Her rheumatic knee was pain ful of .
,
course acutely pain ful i f you like w hen Sh e moved it 3 and

, ,
the connement to bed was irksome enough no doubt But , .
oth erwise there was nothi ng in t h e lady s condition be fore
the fatal attack came to alarm her or anybody about her , .
S he h ad her books and h er w riting m aterials on an inval id

,
-
table w hi ch worked on a pivot an d could be arranged in a n y ,
position most agreeable to her At times sh e read and wrote .

,
a great deal At other times she lay quiet thinking her

.
, ,
ow n thou ghts or talking with m e and with on e or

,
two lady friends in the nei ghbourhood w h o came r egularly

to see her .
Her wri ting so far as I kne w was almost entirely Of the

, ,
poetical sort S he was a great b and at composi ng poetry

. .
O n on e occasion on l y she showed me some of her poems I , .
a m no judge Of such thi ngs Her poetry was Of the dismal .
kind ; despairin g about hersel f and wonderi n g why Sh e had ,
ever been born and nonsense like that Her husband came
,
.
in m or e than once for some hard hits at his cruel heart and
FIRS TD ID TH E IVOZII AN D I E
'
P O I S ONE D f 1 3!
his ignorance o f his wife s merits In short she vented

.
,
h er d i scontent with her pen as well as with her ton g ue .
There were times and pretty Often too when an angel

from heaven would have failed to have satised Mrs .
Mac all an .
T hroughout the period of her ill ness the deceased la dy

occupied the same room a large bedroo m situated (like all

the best b c dm on S) on the rst oor Of the house .
Y es : t h e plan Of the room n ow shown to me i s quite

accurately taken according to my remembrance of it O ne

, .
door led into the great passage or corridor on w hich all the , ,
doors O pened A second door at on e side (marked B on the

.
,
plan ) led into Mr Ma c al l an s sleeping room A t hi rd door

,
.

.
,
on the Opposite side (marked C on the plan ) communicated ,
with a li ttle study or book room used as I was told by Mr -
, , , .
Mac all an s mother when Sh e was staying at G l en i nc h but

,
seldom or never entered by any one else M r Macallan a

. .
mother was not at G l en i nc h while I was there The door .
between the bed r oom and this study was locked and the key ,
was taken out I don t know who had the key or whether
.

there were more keys than one in existence The door was .
never Opened to my knowledge I only got into the stu dy

,
.
,
t o look at it along with the housekeeper by entering thro u gh ,
a second door that opened on to the corridor

. .
I beg to say that I can speak fro m my ow n knowledge

, ,
positively about Mrs Mac all an s ill ness and about the sudden
.

change which ended in her death By the doctor s advice I .

,
made notes at the ti me Of dates and hours and such like I

, , , .
looked at my notes be fore coming here .
Fro m the seventh of O ctober when I was rst called in t o ,
nurse her to the twentieth Of the same month she slowly

, , ,
but steadily improved in health Her knee was still pai nf l

, .
,
no doubt 3 but the i nammatory look Of it was disappearing .
As to the other symptoms except weakness from lying in b ed , ,
and irritability of temper there w as really nothing the matter

,
1 32 TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y .
with her S he slept badly I ou ght perhaps to add B ut Wt

.
, .
remedied this by means Of composing draughts pres cribe d

,
-
for that purpose by the doctor .
O n the morning Of the twenty r st at a few min utes past -
six I got my rst alarm that something was going wrong

,
with Mrs Mac all an

. .
I was woke at the time I have mentioned by the ringi ng

, ,
Of the hand bell whi ch sh e kept on her bed t able L et me

- -
.
say for mysel f that I had only fallen a sleep on the sofa in the
bedroom at past two in the morn ing from Sheer fatigue

, , .
Mrs Mac al l an was then awake S he was in one of her bad

. .
humours with me I had tried to prevail on her t o let me

.
remove her dressing case from her bed table after sh e had - -
used it in m ak ing h er toilet for the night It took up a great .
deal of room 3 an d she could not possibly want it again before

the morni n g But no she insisted on my lettin g it be
. .
There was a glass inside t h e case 3 and plain a s sh e was sh e , ,
n ever wearied Of looki n g at hersel f in that glass I saw that

sh e was in a bad state of t emper so I gave her her way and , ,
let the dressi n g case be Findi n g that she was t oo sullen to

-
.
speak to m e after t hat an d too obstinate to take her composi ng

,
dra u ght from me when I o ff ered it I laid me down on the ,
so fa at her bed foot and fell asl eep as I have said

~
, , .
T he moment her bell ra n g I was u p and at the bedside , ,
r ea dy to make m ysel f use f ul .
I asked w hat was the m atter with her S he complained .
Of faintness an d depressio n an d said She felt sick I i n , .
quired i f sh e h ad taken anythi ng in the way Of physi o or food

while I h ad been asleep She answered that her husband had .
come in about an hour since an d n ding her still sleepl ess , , ,
had himsel f administered t h e composi n g draught Mr Mac -

. .
all an (sleepi n g in t h e n ext room) j oi n ed u s while sh e was

Speaking H e t oo had been arouse d by the bell He heard
.
, , .
w hat Mrs Ma c al l an said t o me about the composing dra ught

.
-
a n d made n o re ma rk upon it It seemed to me that he w as .

FI RS TD I D TI I E WOIII AN DIE P O I S ONE D ? I 33
alarmed at his wi fe s f aintness I sugg ested that Sh e should

'
take a lit tle wi ne or brandy an d w at er S he ans w ered that

,
-
.
sh e c ould S w allo w nothing so strong as wine or brandy .
having a burni ng pain in her stomach already I put my .
hand o n her sto m ach quite lightly S he screamed w h en I .
touched her ,
This symptom alarmed us We sent to the village for t h e .
medical man who had attended Mrs Macall an during her .
i llness on e Mr Gale . .
The doctor seemed no better able t o account for the ch ange

for the worse in his patient than we were Hearing her com .
plaint Of thirst he gave her some milk N ot long a fter taking

, .
it she was sick The sickness appeared to relieve her S he

, . .
soon gre w dro w sy and slumbered Mr G ale le ft us with

, . .
,
strict injunctions to send for h i m instantly if she was taken ill

again .
N othi ng Of the sort happened 3 no chan ge took place f or

the next three hours or more She roused u p towar ds hal f .
past nine and inquired about her husband I in formed her

,
.
that he had returned to his own room and asked i f I should ,
send for him S he said NO I asked next i f she would

.
, .
,

like anythi n g to eat or drink S he said N o again in .
, , ,
rather a vacant st u peed w ay and then told me t o go do w n

,
stairs and get my break fast O n my way down I met the .
housekeeper S he invited me to break fast with her in her

.
room instead of i n the servants b all as usual I remained

,

.
with the housekeeper but a short ti me : certainly not more

than half an hour .
G oin g upstairs again I met the under housemaid sweeping, ,

-
on on e Of the landings .
The girl in formed me that Mrs Mac all an had taken a

.
c u p Of tea during my absence in the housekeepe r s room

.
,
M r Mac all an s valet had ordered the tea for his mi stress by

.
,
his master s directions T he under housemaid made it and

.
-
t ook it u pstairs herself to Mrs Mac all an s roo m Her mas t e r

. .
1 34 TH E L A IV A N D TH E LAD Y .
(she s ai d) O pened the door when she knock ed and took the , ,
teacup from her with his ow n hand He O pened the door .
widely enough for her to see into the bedroom and to notic e ,
that nobody was with Mrs Mac al l an but himsel f . .
After a little talk with the under housemaid I returned to -
the bedroom NO one was there Mrs Ma c al l an was lyi n g

. . .
perfectly quiet with her face turned away from me on the

,
pillow . Approaching the bedside I kicked against some ,
thing ou the oor It was a broken teacup I said to Mrs

. . .
Mac a an
How comes the teacup to be broken ma am ?

l l , ,
She answered without turning towards m e i n an O dd

, ,

muffled kind of voice I dropped it Before you drank .

your tea ma am ? I asked
,

N o she said 3 in handing

.
,

the cup back to Mr Mac al l an after I had done . I had pu t .

my question wishing to kno w i n case she had Spilt the t e

,
s
when she dropped the cup whether it would be necessa ry

to get her any more I am quite sure I remembe r correctl y .
my question and her answer I i n quired next i f she h ad

, .

been long alone S he said shortly . Yes ; I have been , ,
tryi n g to sleep I said Do you feel pret t y comfortable

.

,
S he answered Yes again A ll this time Sh e still kept

, ,

.
her face sul kily turned from me towards the wall S tooping .
over her to arrange the bed clothes I looked towards her -
table The writin g materials whi ch were always kept on it

.
,
were disturbed ; and there was wet ink on on e Of the pens .

I said S urely you haven t been writing ma am ?
, ,
Why
,

Another poem ? I

not ? sh e said ;

I coul dn t Sleep
.

asked S he laughed to hersel f a bitter short lau gh

. Y es , .
,

she said ; another poem T hat s goo d I said 3 it

.
,
looks as i f you were getting quite like yourself again We .

Shan t want the doctor any more t o day

S he made no .
a nswer to thi s except an impatient Sign with her hand

,
I .
didn t understand the Sign Upon that she spoke ag ain an d

.
,
c rossly enough too ! I want to be al one 3 leave me

,
.

I had no choi c e but to do as I was told T o t h e best o f .

FI R S T D I D TH E WOM AN DI E P O I S ONED : 35
my observation there was nothing the matter with her and ,
nothing for the nurse to do I put the bel l rope within r each
.
-
of her hand and I went downstairs again

, .
Hal f an hour more as well as I can g uess it passed

,
I ,
.
kept within hearing Of the h el l 3 but it ne ver rang I was .
not quite at my ease without exactly kno w ing why T hat O dd .
mu fed voice in whi ch she had spoken to me hung on my

mind as it were I was not quite satised about leavi n g her
, .
alone for too long a time together and then again I was , ,
unwilling to risk throwing her into on e Of her ts o f pa ssion

by goi n g back before sh e rang for me It ended in my .
venturing into the room on the ground floor cal led the Morn ,
ing R oom to consult Mr Mac all an He w as u sually t o b e

, . .
.
found there in the forenoon of the day .
O n this occasion ho w ever when I looked into the Morning

, ,
R oom it was empty .
At the same moment I heard the master s voice on the ,

terrace outside I went ou t and found h i m speaking to on e

.
,
Mr Dexter an Old friend Of his and (li ke Mrs Beauly ) a

.
, ,
.
guest stayi n g in the h ouse Mr Dexter w as Sitting at the . .
window Of his room upstairs (he was a cripple and could ,
only move himself about in a chair on w heels) 3 and Mr .
Mac al lan was speaking to him from the terrace below .

Dexter

I heard Mr Mac all an say 3 Where i s Mrs

. .
Beauly ? Have you seen an ything Of her ?

Mr Dexter answered in his quick Off hand way of sp eakin g,
.
, ,
-
N ot I I know nothi ng about her .

T hen I advanced and begging pardon for intrudin g I

, , ,
m entioned to Mr Mac all an the difculty I was in about goin g

.
back or not to his wi fe s room without waiting until Sh e ran g

f or me Be fore he co ul d advise me in the matter the footman

.
,

made his appearance and in formed me that Mrs Macallan a
,
.
b ell was then ringing and ringing violently .
It was close on eleven O clock As fast as I could mount

.
the stairs , I hastened ba ck to the bedroo m .

x36 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y .
B e fore I opened the door I heard Mrs Macal l an groaning, . .
S he was in dread ful pain ; feeling a burning heat in t h e

stomach and in the th roat ; together with the same sickness
,
whi ch had troubled her in the early morning T hough no .
doctor I could see in her face that this second attack was of
,
a far more serious nature than the rst After ringing the .
bell for a mess enger to send to Mr Mac all an I ran to the .

,
door to see if any of the servants happened to be within call .

The only person I saw in the corridor was Mrs Beauly . .
S he was on her way from her ow n room sh e said to inquire , ,
after Mrs M ac all an s h ealth Mrs Mac all an

.

I said to her .
,
.
is seriously ill again ma am Would you please tell Mr

,

. .
Macall an and send for the do ctor ?

,
S he ran downstairs at
once to do as I told her .

I had not been long back at the bedside when Mr .
Mac al l an and Mrs Beauly both came in together Mrs

. . .
Mac all an c ast a strange look on them (a look I cannot at all

describe) and made them leave her Mrs Beaul y looking
, . .
,
ver y much frightened withdrew immediatel y Mr Mac all an

,
. .
advanced a step or t w o nearer to the bed Hi s wife looked .
at hi m again in the same strange way and cried out hal f as

, ,
if she w as threatening him hal f as if she was entreating hi m

,
Leave m e with the nurse G o He only waited t o .
say to me in a whisper

The do ctor is sent for and th en
,
he left the room .
Be fore Mr G al e arrived Mrs Mac all an w as violentl y sick

.
, . .
What came from her was muddy and frothy and faintly ,
stre aked with blood When Mr Gale saw it he looked very

. .
,

serious I heard him say to hi msel f What does this m ean ? ,
He di d his best to relieve Mrs Mac al l an but with no good .

,
result that I could see After a t i me she seemed to su ff er

.
,
less Then more sickness came on T hen there was another

. .
intermission Whether sh e w as su ff eri ng or n ot I observed

.
,
that her hands and i eet (whenever I touched them) rem ained
equally cold Also, the do c tor s report of her pulse was al ways

.
FI RS TD I D TH E WOf AN D I E P OI S Or VFD
'
1 37
th e same very small and feeble

I said t o Mr Gale .

.
,
What is to be done si r ? An d Mr Gale said t o me ,

I
.
,
w on t take the responsibility on mysel f an y longer ; I m us t

have a physician from Edin burgh .
Th e fastest horse in the stables at G l eni n ch was put into

a dog cart 3 and the coachman drove away full speed t o Edin
-
burgh to fetch the famous Doctor J erome

, .
While we were waiting for the physician Mr Mac all an , .
c ame into his wi fe s room with Mr Gale Exhausted as she

. .
,
was she instantly li fted her hand and signed to him to leave
, ,
her He tried b y soothing words to pers uade her to let h i m

.
stay N o ! S he still insisted on sending him ou t of her

.
r oom He seemed t o feel i t at such a time and in the

. .
presence of the do ctor B e fore she was aware of him he .

,
suddenly stepped u p to the bedside and kissed her on the ,
forehead S he shrank from him with a screa m Mr Gale

. . .
interfere d and led hi m ou t of the room

,
.
In the afternoon Dr J erome arrived , . .

The great physician came just i n time to see her sei z ed
with another attack o f sickness He watched her attentively .
,
w ithout speaking a word In the interval when the sickness .
stopped he still studied her as it were in per fect silence

,
I , , .
thought he would never have done exam i ning her When he .
was at last satised he told me t o leave hi m alone with ,

Mr Gale
. We wil l ring he said
. when we want you ,

,

here again .
It was a long time before they ran g for me The coach .
man was sent for before I w as su mmoned back to the bed

,
r oom He was despatched to Edinburgh for the second

.
,
time with a written message from D octor J erome to his head

,
servant saying that there w as no chance of his returning to

,
the city and t o hi s patients f or some hou rs t o c ome S ome

, ,
.
of us thought this looked badly for Mr s Mac all an O thers . .
said i t m i ght mean that the doctor had hopes of savi ng h er,
but e x pe cte d t o be a long time in doing it .

: 33 TH E LA W A N D TH E LAD ?
At
last I was sent for O n my presenting mysel f in t h e
.
bedroom Doctor J erome went ou t to speak to Mr Mac al l an

, .
,
leaving Mr G ale along with me Fro m that time as long as

. .
,
the poor lady lived I was never left alone with her O ne of
, .
the two doctors was always in her room R efreshments wer e .
prepared for them but stil l they took it in turns to eat their
meal one relieving the other at the bedside I f they had .
a dministered remedies to their patient I should not have been
surprised by this proceeding But they were at the end of .
their remedies their only business in the room seemed to be

-
to keep watch I was pu zzled to account for this K eepi n g

. .
watch was the nurse s business I thought the c onduct o f the

.
doctors very strange .
By the time that the lamp was li t in the sick room I ,
could see that the end was near Excepting an occasional .
feelin g of cramp in her legs she seemed to suffer less But ,

.
her eyes look ed sunk in her head ; her skin was cold and
cl ammy ; her lips h a d turned to a bluish paleness N othing .
roused her nowexcepti n g the last attempt made by her

husband to see her H e came in with Dr J erome looki n g
. .
,
like a man terror struck S he was past speaki n g ; but the

-
.
moment sh e saw him she feebly made signs and sound s ,
which showed that she was just as resolved as ever not to let
him come near her He was so overwhelmed that Mr G al e
. .
Wa s obliged to help him ou t of the room N o other person .
was allowed to see t h e patient Mr Dexter and Mrs Beauly . . .
made their inquiries outside the door and were not invited ,
in As the evening drew on the doctors sat on either side

.
,
o f the bed silently watchi ng her silentl y waiti ng for her

, ,
death .
T owards eight o clock she seemed to have lost the use or

her hands and arms 3 the y lay helpless outside the bed clothes -
.
A little la ter she sank into a sort of dull sleep

,
L ittle by .
little the sound o f her heavy breathing grew fainter At

,
.
t wenty minut es p ast nine Doctor J erome told me to bring ,

FI RS TD I D THE WOl AN D I E P OI S O VE D
A l 39
the lam p t o t h e b edsi de He looked at her and put his hand

.
,

on her heart . T hen he said to me You can go do w nstairs , ,

nurse it is all over He turned to Mr G al e
.

Will you . .
inquire i f Mr Ma c al l an can see us 2 he said I O pened the

. .
door for Mr G ale and followed him ou t

.
,
Doctor J erom e .
c alled me back for a moment and told me to give hi m t h e ,
key of the door I did so of coursebut I thought this also

.
,
very stra n ge Wh en I got down to the servants hall I found

.

,
there was a general feeling that somethi n g was wrong We .
were all uneasy without knowing w hy .
A little later the two doctors le ft the house Mr Mac all an . .
h ad been quite incapable of receiving them and heari n g what ,
they had to say In this difculty they had spoken privatel y

.
,
w ith Mr Dexter as Mr M a c all an s ol d friend and the only

'
.
.
, ,
gentleman then staying at G l en i n c h .
Be fore bedtime I went upstairs t o prepare the remai ns of ,
the deceased lady for the co fn The roo m in w hich she lay .
was locked 3 the door leading into Mr Mac al l an s room bei n g .

secured as well as the door leading into the cor ridor T he

keys had been taken away by Mr Gale Tw o of the men . .

servants were posted outside the bedroom t o keep watch .
They were t o be relieved at four in the morni ng that was all

they could tel l me .

In the absence of any explanations or directions I took ,
the liberty of knocking at the door of Mr D exter s room .

.
F ro m his lips I rst heard the startlin g news Both the .
doctors ha d refused to give the usual certicate of death !

T here was to be a medical examination of the body the next
morning .

There the e x amination of the nurse Christina Orm say came , ,
t o an end .
Ignorant as I was of the l aw I could see what impression ,
the eviden ce (so far) was intended to produ ce on the mind s

of the J ury After rst showing that my husband h a d h a d
.
1 40 TH E LA W AN D TH E LA D Y .
t wo Opportunities of administering the poison once in t h e

medicine and once in the tea the counsel for the Cro w n
led the J ury to in fer that the prisoner had taken those oppor
t u n i t i es to rid himsel f of an ugly and j ealous wi fe whose
detestable temper he could no longer endure .
Having direc ted his examination to the attainment o f this

object the L ord Advocate had done w ith the witness The
, .
Dean o f Faculty acting in the prisoner s interests then rose
to bring ou t the favo urable side of the wi fe s character by cross
examinin g the nurse; If he succeeded in this attempt the ,
J ury m i ght reconsider their conclusion that the wife was a per
son who had exasperated her husband beyond endurance I n .
that case where (so far) was the husband s motive for poison
,

ing her and where was the presumption o f the prisoner s guilt ?
Pressed by this skil ful lawyer the nurse was obliged to e x

,
h i b i t my husband s rst wi fe under an entirely n ew aspect

.
,
H ere is the substance o f what the Dean of Faculty extracted

from Christina Or msay
I persist in declaring that Mrs Mac all an had a most viole n t
.
temper But she was certainly in the habit o f making amen ds

.
for the o ffence that she gave by her violence When she was .
quiet again sh e always made her excuses to me 3 and she

,
made them with a good grace Her manners were engaging .
at such times as these S he spoke and acted like a wel l bred

.
-
lady Then again as to her personal appearance Plain as

.
, .
sh e was in face she had a good gure 3 her hands and feet I
, ,
was tol d h ad been modelled by a sculptor S h e h ad a very

, .
pleasant voice 3 and she was reported when in health to si ng

beautifully S he was also (i f her maid s account was to be
.

truste d) a pattern in the matter of dressing for the other

, ,
ladies in the neighbourhood T hen as to Mrs Beauly though

.
,
.
,
sh e w as certainly j ealous o f the beautiful young wido w she ,
nad sho w n at the same time that she was capable of control
ling tha t feeling I t was through Mrs Macal l an that Mrs
. . .
Beaul y was in the h ou se Mrs Beaul y had wish ed to post

. .
.
FI RS T D I D TH E WOM AN D I E P 01 5 ON E D r 4!
one her visit n a c count of the state of Mrs Macal la n a

p o .
health It was Mrs Mac al l an hersel f not her husban d

. .
wh o decided that Mrs Beauly should not be disappointed and

.
,
should pay her v isit to G l eni nc h then and there Further , .

,
Mrs Mac all an (in spite of her temper) was popular with her
.
friends and popul ar with her servants There w as hardly a

,
.
dry eye in the house w h en it was known she was dying A n d .

,
further still in those little domestic di sagreements at which

,
the nurse h ad been present Mr Mac all an had never lost hi s

,
.
temper an d had never used harsh lan g uage 3 he s eemed to

,
be more sorry than angry when the quarrels took place .

Moral f or t h e J ury : Was this the sort of woman who would

exasperate a man into poisoni n g her ? An d was this the sor t
of man who would be capable of poisoning his wi fe ?
Havin g produced that sal utary c ou n t er i m pr essi on the ~
Dean of Faculty sat down 3 and the medical witnesses were

c alled next .
H ere the evidence was simply irresistible

, .
Doctor J erome and Mr Gale positively swore that t h e

.
symptoms of the ill ness were the symptoms of poisoning b y

arsenic The surgeon w h o had performed the post mortem
.
-
examination followed He positively swore that the appear

.
.
a nce of the internal organs proved Dr J erome and Mr Gale . .
to be ri ght in declaring that their patient had died poison ed .
L astly to complete this overwhelming testimony two an al y

, ,
tical chemists actuall y produced in Court the arsenic which

they h ad found in the bo dy in a quantity admittedly suf
,
cient to have ki lled two persons instead of one I n the fac e .
of such evidence as this cross examination was a mere form

,
-
.
The rst Question raised by the Trial Did the Woman Die
Poisoned lwas answ ered in the afrmative and answered ,
beyond t h e possibility of doubt .
The next witnesses called were witnesses concerned with t h e

question that now followed the obscure and terrible qu ee n
tion Wh o Pois oned Her I "

1 12 THE LA W AN D TH E LAD Y:
C HAP T ER XVI I .
S ECO N D S I ON WHO
QU E T PO I S ON ED HER ?
TH E evidence of t h e doctors and the chemists closed the pro

c eedi n g s on the rst day of the T rial
, .
O n the second day the evidence to be pr oduced by the

,
prosecution w as anticipated with a general feeling o f curiosity

and interest The Court was now to hear what had been
.
seen and done by the persons ofcially appointed to v erify

such cases of suspected cri m e as the case which had occurred
at G l en i n ch The Procurator Fiscal being the person oi
.
-
c i all y appoi n ted to direct t h e preli m inary i nvestigation s o f
the L aw was the rs t witness c alled on the second day of ,
the Trial .
Examined by the L ord Advocate the Fiscal gave his evi ,
dence as follows
,
O n the t w enty sixth o f O ctober I received a c ommu n i c a

-
, .
tion from Doctor J erome of Edinburgh and from Mr , .
Alexander G ale medical practitioner residing in the vill age

, ,
or hamlet of Di n g dovi e near Edinburgh The c ommu ni c a

,
.
tion related to the de ath under circumstances of suspicion of

, ,
Mrs Eustace Mac all an at her husband s house hard by Ding

.
,

dovie called G l en i n c h
,
T here was also for warded to me
.
enclosed in the doc u ment j ust mentioned two rep orts On e , .
described the results of a post mortem examination of the -
deceased lady 3 and the other stated the discov eries made ,
a fte r a che mical analysis of certain of the interior orga n s of

her body T he result in both instances proved to demon
.
, ,
st r at i on that Mrs Eustace Macall an had died o f poisonin

.
g
by arseni c .

Under these circumstances I set in motion a search and
.
: E COND WH O P O I S ONE D H E ? r : 43
Inqui r y in the house at G l en i n c h and elsewhere simply for , ,
th e purpose of th owing light on the circumstances which had

r
attended the lady s death

.
N o criminal charge in connexion w ith the death was

, ,
made at my o fce against any person either in the communi ,
cation which I received from the medi cal m en or in any ,
other form The investigations at G l en i nc h and else w h ere

.
, ,
beginn i ng on the twenty sixth of O ctober were not completed

-
,
until the twenty eighth Upon this latter date actin g on

-
.
certain discoveries which were reported to me and on my own ,
examination of letters and other documents brought to my

o ffice I made a criminal charg e against the prisoner 3 and
obtained a warrant for his apprehension He was examined .
before the S heriff on the t w enty ninth of O ctober and was

,
-
,

committed for Trial be fore this Court .
The Fiscal havin g made hi s statement and having been ,
cross examined (on technical matters only ) the persons em

-
ployed in his ofce were called next These men had a story .
o f startli ng interest to tell Theirs were the fatal discoveries

.
which had justied the Fiscal in charging my husband with

the mur der of his w i fe The rst of the witnesses was a .
sh er i s o fcer

He gave his name as Isaiah S choolcra ft
.
.
Examined by Mr Drew Advocate Depute and counsel

.
-
for the Crown with the L ord Ad vocate Isaiah S choolcraft

said :
I got a warrant on the t w enty sixth of O ctober to go t o -
the country house near Edi nburgh called Gl eni n c h I took , .
with me R obert L orrie A ssistan t to the Fiscal We rs t

, .
examined the room in which Mrs Eustace Mac al l an had died .

.
O n the bed and on a movable table which was attach ed to

,
it we found books and writing materials and a paper contai n

, ,
.
ing some unnished verses in manuscript 3 afterwards i den t i

ed as being in the handwriti n g o f the deceased We enclosed .
these articles in paper and sealed them u p , .
We next open ed an In dian c ab i net in t he be droom [I er s .

: 44 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y:
we found many more verses on many more sheets of paper

, ,
in the same hand writi n g We al so dis c overed rst some .

, ,
letters an d ne xt a c rumpled pie c e of paper thrown aside i n

a corner of on e of the shelves O n closer examination a .
, .
chemist s printed label was discovered on this morsel of paper

.
We also f ound i n the folds of it a f ew s c attered grains of

some white powder T he paper and the letters were c are fully
.
enclosed and sealed up as be fore

,
.
Further investigation in the room revealed nothi ng whic h

cou ld thro w any light on the purpose o f our inquiry We .
examined the clothes j ewellery and books of the deceased , , .
These we left under lock and key We also found her dress .
ing case which we protected by seal s and took away with u

-
, ,
s
to the Fiscal s o fce along with all the other articles that we

had discovered in the room .
T he next day we continued our examination in the house ,
h aving received i n the interval fresh instructions from the

, ,
Fiscal We began our work in the bedroom communicating

.
with the room in whi c h Mrs Mac all an had di ed It had been . .
kept locked since the death Finding nothi n g of an y i m .
portance here we went next to another room on the same

,
oor in which w e were in formed the prisoner w as then lying

, ,
i l l in bed .
Hi s illness was described t o us as a nervous compl aint

,
caused by the death of hi s wi fe and by the pro c eedings whi c h ,
had foll owed it He was reported to be quite incapable of

.
e x erting hi m sel f and quite unt to see stran gers We insist ed

,
.
nevertheless (in deference to ou r instru c tions ) on obtaining

admission to his room He made no reply when we inquired .
,
whether he had or had not removed anything from the , ,
sleeping room next to his late wi fe s which he usually occupied

-

to the sleeping room i n which he now lay Al l he did was to

-
.
c lose his ey es as i f he was too feeble to speak to us or t o

,
n oti c e us Without further disturbing him we bega n to

.
,
examine t h e room and the di ff erent obj ects in it .

sE C OND WHO P O I S ONE D H ER 1 45
Whil e we were so employed we were interru pted by a ,
strange soun d We likened it to the ru mbli ng of wh eels i n

.
the c orridor outside .
T he door opened and there c ame swi ftly in a gentlem an

a c rippl e
,
wheeling himself along in a chair H e w heeled .
his chair strai ght up t o a littl e table which stood by the

prisoner s bedside and said something to hi m in a whisper

,
t oo l ow to be o verheard The prisoner O pened his eyes and

.
,
qui ckly answered by a sign We in formed the crippled .
g entleman qui te respect fully that we could not allow h i m

, ,
t o be in the room at this time He appeared to think nothing .
of what w e said He only answered . My name is De xter , .
I am on e Of Mr Mac all an s O ld friends

. It is you w h o are

.

intruding here 3 not I We again notied to him that he
.
must leave the room ; and we pointed ou t particularly that

he had got his chair in such a position against the bedside
table as to prevent us from examining i t He only laughed .

Can t you see for yourselves he said 3 that it is a table

,

,
an d noth ing more In reply to this we warned him that ,
we were acting under a legal warrant and that he might get ,
into trouble i f he obstru cted us in the execution of ou r duty .
Finding there was no moving him by f air means I took ,
his chair and pulled it away whi le R obert L orrie laid hold ,
Of the table and carried it to the other end of the room The .
crippled gentleman ew into a furious rage with me for pre

su mi n g to touch his c hair My chair is Me he said : .
,
'
how dare you lay hands on Me ? I rst opened the

door 3 and then by way Of accommodating him gave the
, ,
chair a good push behind with my stick instead of my ,
hand and so sent It and hi m safely and swiftly out of , ,
t h e roo m .

Having locked the door so as t o prevent an y further ,
intru sion I j oined R obert L orrie in examining the bedside

,
tabl e. It had on e drawer in it and that drawer we fou n d ,
re cure d .
: 46 TH E LA W AND Tf l E L AD Y .
We asked the prisoner for the key .
He atly refused to g ive it to us and said we had no

,
r ight to unlock his drawers He was so angry that he even .
declared it was lucky for u s he was too weak to rise from his
bed I answered civilly that ou r duty obliged us to examine
.
the drawer and that i f he still declined to produce the key

, , ,
he w ou ld only oblige us to take the table away and have the

lock opened by a smith .
While we were stil l disputing there was a knock at t h e

, .
door o f the room .
I opened the door c autiously Instead o f the crippled .
gentleman whom I had expected to see again there w as

, ,
another stranger standing outside The prisoner h ai led him .
as a friend and neighbour and eagerly called upon him for ,
protection from us We found thi s second gentleman pleasant

.
enough to deal with He in formed us readily that he had

.
been sent for by Mr D exter and that he was himsel f a lawyer

.
,
and he as ked to see ou r warrant Havi n g looked at it he

-
.
,
at once in formed the prisoner (evidently very much to the

prisoner s surprise) that he must submit to have the drawer

examined under protest An d then without more ado h e .

, ,
got the key and opened the table drawer for us himsel f
, .
We found insid e several letters and a large book with a , ,

lock to it 3 having the words My Diary inscribed on it in
gilt letters As a matter of course we took possession of the
.
,
letters and the Diary and sealed them up to be given to the

,
F iscal At the same time the gentleman wrote ou t a protest

.
, ,

on the prisoner s behal f and handed us hi s card The card , .
in formed us that he was Mr Pl aymor e now on e of the agents .
for the prisoner T he card and the protest were deposited,

.
with the other documents in the care of the Fiscal NO ,

.
other discoveries of any importan c e were made at Glen

inch
O ur next inquiries took us to Edinburghto the d r uggist
.
w hose label we had found on the crum pled morsel of paper

S E C OND WH O P O I S ON E D H E R 1 4)
and to other druggists likewise whom we were instructed to

question O n the t w en t ye i g h t h of O ctober the Fiscal w as
.
,
in possession of all the in formation that we coul d coll ect and ,
o ur duties for the time being came to an end

.
T his concluded the evidence of S choolcraft and L orrie It .
was not shaken on cros s examination 3 and it was plainly u n-
favourable to t h e prisoner .
Matters grew worse still when the next witnesses w en

called The druggist wh ose label had been found on t h(
.
crumpled bit of paper now appeared on the stand to make ,
the position of my unhappy husband more criti cal than ever .
Andrew K inl ey druggist of Edinburgh deposed as

, , ,
follows
I keep a special registrybook o f the poisons sold by me .
I produce the book On the date therein mentioned the

.
,
prisoner at the bar Mr Eustace Mac al l an came into my shop

, .
, ,
and said that he wished to purchase some arsenic I asked .
him what it was wanted for ? He told me it was wanted by

his gardener to be used in solution for the killing o f insects
, , ,
i n the greenhouse At the same time he mentione d h i s name

.
Mr Ma c all an of Gl en i n ch I at once directed my a ssistant

.
,
.
to put up the arsenic (two ounces o f it) ; and I made the

necessary entry in my book Mr Mac al l an signed the entry 3 . .
and I signed it after w ards as witness H e paid for the .
arsenic and took it away with him wrapped up in two papers

,
-
the outer wrapper bei n g labelled with my name and

address and w ith the word Poison in large letters 3 exactly
,
l ike the label now produced on the piece of paper found at

l l en i n c h .
T he next witness Peter S tockdal e (also a druggist of Edin

,
burgh) followed and said :

, ,
The prisoner at the bar called at my shop on the date

,
indica ted on my register some days later than the dat e

indicated in the register of Mr K i nl ay He wished to . .
pur chase six penny worth of ars eni c My assis t ant, to whom
-
.
TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y:
'
1 48
he had addressed himself called me It is a rule I n my shop , .
that no one sells poisons but mysel f I asked the prisoner .
what he wanted the arsenic for He answered that he wanted .
it for killing rats at his house call ed G l en i n ch I said .

,
Have I the honour of speaking to Mr Ma c all an, of G len .
inch 1 He said that was his name I sold hi m the arseni c

.
about an ounce and a hal f and labelled the bottle in w hi ch

I put it with the word Poison in my own hand w ritin g , .
He signed the R egister and took the arsenic away with him , ,
after paying for it

.
The cross examination of these t w o men succeeded in

-
asserting certain technical Obj ections to their evidence .
B ut the terrible fact that my husband himsel f had

a ctually purchased the arsenic in both cases remained , ,
u nshaken .
The ne xt witnesses the gardener and the cook at G len , ,
inch wound the chain of hostile evidence round t h e prisoner

more mercilessly still .
O n examination the gardener s aid on his oath : , ,

I never received any ar sen i c f r om the prisoner or from '
any one else at the date t o which you re fer or at any other
, ,
date I never used any such thing as a solution Of arsenic

.
,
or ever allowed the men working under me to u se it i n the ,
con servatorie s or in the garden at Gl eni nc h I di sapp r ove

, , .
o f ar enic as a means o f destroying noxious insect s i n festing

s
owers and plants

.
The cook being c alled n ext spoke as positively as the

, ,
gardener .

N either my master nor any other person gave me , ,
an y arsenic to destroy rats at any time No such thing , .
was wanted I declare on my oath that I never saw any

.
, ,
rats in or about the house or ever heard of any rats

, , ,
i n festing it

.
O ther household servants at Gl en i nch gave similar evidence .
Not hi ng could be e xtracted from them on c ross examination -

SE C0ND WH O P 01 5 ONE D H E R ( 49
e xcept that there might have been rats in the hous e though ,
they were n ot aware of it T he possession of the poison was .
traced directly to my husband and to no one else T hat h e , .
had bo ught it was actually proved 3 and that he had kept it,
was the on e conclusion that the evidence justied .
The witnesses who came nex t did their best t o press the
charge against the prisoner home to hi m Havi n g the arsenic .
in his possession what had he done with i t ? The evidence

,
led the J ury to infer what he had done with it .
T he prisoner s valet deposed that his master had r ung for

h i m at twenty minutes to ten on the morning of t h e day on ,
which his mistress di ed and had ordered a cup of tea for her, .
T he man had received the order at the O pen doo r of Mrs Mac .
s
allan s room and could positively swear that no other person

,
but his master was there at the time .
The under housemaid appearing next said that she had

-
, ,
made the tea and had herself taken it upstairs be fore ten
, ,
O clock to Mrs Macal l an s room Her master had received it

, .

.
from her at the O pen door S he could look in and see that .
,

he was alone in her mistress s room .
The nurse Christina Or msay being re c alled repeated what

, , ,
Mrs Mac all an had said to her on the day when that lady
.
,
was rst taken ill S he had said (speaking to the nurse at

.
six o clock in the morning) Mr Mac all an came in about an

,
.
hour since 3 he foun d me still sleepless and gave me m y ,
composing drau ght

-
T his was at ve o clock i nthe morning
.

,
wh i le Christina Or m say was asleep on the so fa The nurse .
further swore that sh e had looked at the bottle containin g

the composing mixture and had seen by the measuring marks
-
, ,
on the bottle that a dose had been poured ou t since the dose
,
previously given administered by herself

, .
O n this oc c asion speci al interest was excited by the cross

,
examination The closing questions put to the u nder house

.
,
-
maid and the nurse revealed for the rst time what the nature
,
of the de fen c e wa s t o be .
[ 50 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
Cross exami ning the under hou semaid the Dean of F a c ulty
- -
said
'
Did you ever notice when you were setting Mrs Eustace
, .
Ma call a n s room to rights whether the water le ft in tfne basin

w as of a blackish or bluish colour ? T he witness ans w ered,

I never noticed anything of the sort .

The D ean o f Faculty went on

Did you ever nd under the pillow of the bed or in an y
, ,
other hiding place in Mrs Macallan a room any books or

-
.

p amphlets telli ng of remedies used for improving a bad com

,
plexion ? The witness answered NO

,

.

The Dean of Faculty persisted

Did you ever hear M rs Mac al l an speak of arsenic taken.
,
as a wash or taken as a medicine as a good thing to improve

, ,
the complexion 2 T he witness answered N ever

, .

S imilar questions were next put to the nurse and were all ,
a n swered by this witness also in the negative

, , .
H ere then i a spite o f the negative answers was the

,
-
pl an of the de fence made dimly visible for the rst time

to the J ury and to the audience By way of preventing .
th e possib i lity of a mistake in so serious a matter the ,
Chie f J u dge (the L ord J ustice Clerk) put this pla in

question when the witnesses had retired to the Counsel for
, ,
the defence :

The Court and the J ury said his lordshi p wish dis , ,

t i n c t l y to understand the obj ect of your cross examination Of -
the housem aid and the nurse Is it the theory of the .
de fence that Mrs Eustace M ac al l an used the arsenic which

, .
her husband purchased for the purpose of improving t h e,
defects o f her complexion 7
T he Dean o f Faculty answered

T hat is what we say my lord and what we propose t o , ,
prove as the foundation of the de fence

,
We cannot dispute .
the medi c al evidence whi ch dec lares that Mrs Mac al l an died .
oisoned B ut we assert that sh e died of an overdose o f

p .
S ECOND IVH 0 P 01 5 ON E D H E R l 5!
a rsenic ignorantly taken in the privacy of her ow n room as

, , ,
a remedy for the de fe c ts the proved and admitted de fects
o f her complexion T he Prisoner s declaration before the

.
S heri ff expressly sets forth that he pu r chased the arsenic at

,
the request o f his wi fe .

The L ord J ustice Clerk inquired u pon this i f there w a s , ,
any O bj ection o n the part of either of the learned counsel t o

, ,
have the Declaration read in Court before the Trial proceeded ,
further .
T o this the Dean of Faculty replied that he would be glad

,
to have the Declaration read I f he might use the expression

.
,
i t would use fully pave the way in the minds o f the J ury for
, ,
the defence which he had to submit to them .
The L ord Advocate (speaki n g on the other side) w as happy

to be able to accommodate his learned brother in this matter .
S o long as the mere assertions wh ich the D eclaration con

t ai n ed were not supported by proo f he looked upon that ,
document as evidence for the prosecution, and he too was , ,
quite wi l ling to have it read .
Thereupon the prisoner s D eclaration of hi s innocence on

,

being charged before the S heri ff with the murder of his wi fe

w as read in the follo w ing terms
,

I bought the t w o packets of arsenic on each occasion , ,
at my wi fe s ow n request

O n th e rst occasion she
.
,
told me the poison was wanted by the gardener for use ,
in the conser vatories O n the sec ond occasion she said

.
,
it was r eq uired by the c ook for ridding the lower part of the
ho use of rats .
I han ded both packets o f arsenic to my wi fe immediatel y

on my return home I had nothing to do with the poiso n
. ,
after buying it My wife was the person who gave orders to

.
t h e gardener and the cook not I I never held any com .

a
m u ni c at i on wi th either of them .
I as ked my wi fe no questions about t h e use o f the arsenic 3

f eelin g n o interest in the subje c t I n ever ent er ed t h e c on
.
.
[ 52 TH E LA W A ND THE LAD Y .
ser vat ori es f or

months together ; I care little about o w er s .
A s f or the r at s, I left the kill ing of them to the cook and the
other ser vants i nst as I shoul d have lef t any other part of
th e domestic business to the cook and the other servant s .
My w i fe never told me she wanted the arsenic to improve

her complexion S urely I should b e the last person ad
.
,
m i tt ed to the knowledge of such a secret of her toilet as that ?

I impl icitly believed what she told mevi z that the poison .
,
was wanted for the purposes specied by the gardener and

, ,
the cook .
I assert positively that I lived on friendly terms with m y

,
wi fe ; allowing of course f or the little occasional disagree

, ,
ments and misunderstandings o f married li f e Any sense of .
disappointment in connexion with my marriage w hich 1

, ,
might have f elt privately I conceived it to be my duty a s a

, ,
husband and a gentleman to conceal from my wi fe I wa s ,

.
not only shocked and grieved by her untimely death I was
lled with f ear that I had not with all my care behaved , ,
aff ectionately enough to her in her lif etime .

Furthermore I solemnly declare th at I know no more of
,
how she took the arsen i c found in her body than the babe
unborn I am innocent even of the thought of harming that
.
unhappy woman I administered the composing draught

.
-
exactly as I found it in the bottle I af terwards gave her the .

cup of tea, exactly as I received it from the under housemaid s -
hand I never had acce s s to the arsenic af ter I placed the

.
,
two packages in my w i f e s possession I am enti rely ignorant

.
of w hat she did with them or of where s he kept them I ,

.
declare be fore God I am in n ocent of the horrible crime with

, ,
w hi ch I am charged

.
With the reading of those true and touching wor ds the

proceeding s on the s econd day of the Trial came to an end .
So far I must ow n , the eff ect on me of readi ng the R eport

,
was to depre ss my spirits, and to lo w er my hopes Th e .

SE COND WH O P O IS ONED HE R r53
whole weight of the evi den c e at the close of the second day

was aga in s t my husband Woman a s I w as and partisan , as

.
, ,
I was I could plainly see that

, .
6
Th e merciless Lord Advocate (I con fe ss I hated him 1) h ad
proved (1 ) that Eustace had bought the poison ; (2) that the
reason w hich he had given to the druggists f or buying the
poison w as n ot the true reason ; (3) that he had had two
o pportunities of secre tly administering the poison t o his wi fe .
O n the other side wha t had the Dean of Faculty proved ? As

,
yet nothing Th e assertion s in the prisoner s Declaration

.

of hi s innocence were s till as the Lord Advocate had r e

,
marked assertions n ot supported by proo f Not one atom

, .
of evidence had been produced to show that it w as the
wi f e who had secretly u s ed the ars enic and used it for her ,
complexion .
My on e consolation was that the reading of the Trial had

,
already revealed t o me the helpf ul gures of two friends on ,
who s e sympathy I might surely rely Th e crippled Mr Dexter . .
had especiall y shown himsel f to be a thorough good ally of

my husband s My heart warmed to the man who had moved

.
h i s chair against the bedside table the man who had struggled
- -

to the last to def end Eustace s paper s from the wretches who
had s ei z ed them ! I decided then an d there that the rst , ,
person to whom I would conde my aspirations and my hopes

should be Mr Dexter I f he f elt any di fculty about a d
. .
vising me I would then apply next to the agent Mr Play

, , .
more the second good f riend who had formally protested ,

against the sei z ure of my husband s papers .
Fortied by this resolution I turned the page, and r ea d th e

,
history of the third day of the Trial .

[ 54 TH E I A PV AND TH E LAD Y .
CHAP TER XVIII .
THI R D Q U ES TI O N W H AT W A S H I S M O TI V E ?
TH E rst question (Did the Woman die Poisoned ?) had been

answered positively Th e second question (Wh o Poisoned
, .
Her 1) had been answered apparently There now remained

,
.
the third and n al question Wh at Was His M otive ? Th e

rst evidence call ed in answer to that inquiry was the
, ,
evidence o f rel atives and f riends of the dead wif e .
Lady Bry deh aven widow of R ear Admiral Si r George

,
B r ydeh aven examined by M r Dre w (counsel f or the Crown

, .
wi t h the Lord Advocate) gave evidence as foll ows

,

Th e deceased l a dy (Mrs Eustace M ac all an ) w as my niece
. .
Sh e was the only ch i ld of my sister and she lived u nder my

roo f a f t er the time of her mother s death I obj ecte d to her

.
m a rriageou groun ds whi ch were considered p u rely fa nci f ul

an d sentimental by her o t her f riends It is extre mely pain f ul.
to me to state the circumstances in publi c ; but I am ready

to m ake the s acrice i f the ends of j ustice require it
,
.

Th e prisoner at the Bar at the time of whi ch I am n ow
,
speaki n g w as staying as a guest in my house He met with

,
.
an acci dent while he w as out ri ding which c aused a severe

, ,
injury to on e of hi s legs Th e leg had been previ ously hurt

.
,
while he was serving with the army in India Th is circum .
stance ten de d greatly to aggravate t h e i nj ury received in the

acci dent He w a s conne d to a recumbent position on a so f a
.
f o r m any weeks together and the l a die s in the house took it

in turn s to sit with him and while away the weary time by
,
r e a ding to him and tal k ing to him My niece was f oremos t

.
among these volunteer nurses S h e played a dmirab l y on the

.
piano ; and the sick man h appenedmost un fortu n at l y as e
the event provedto be fond of music .

THI RD WH AT WAS HI S M O7 1 VE r
. 1 55

Th e consequences of the perfectly i nnocent intercours e
thus begun were deplorable consequences f or my niece Sh e

,
.
became p a ssionately attached to Mr Eustace Mac all an without .
a wakening any corresponding aff ection on his side .
I di d my best to interf ere delicately and use f ully while , ,
i t w as still possible to interf ere with advantage U nhappily .

,
my niece ref used to place any con dence in me Sh e per .
si st en t l
y denied that she was actu a ted by any w armer feeling
towards Mr Mac al l an than a f eeling of f riendly interest This
. .
made it impossible f or me to separate them without openly ,
ack nowledging my reason f or doing so and thus produci n g ,

a scandal which might have a ff ec t ed my niece s reput ati on .
My husband was alive at that time ; and the on e thing I

could do under the circumsta nces was the thing I did I
, , .
requested him to speak privatel y to M r Mac al l an and to .

,
a ppe al to his honour to help us out of the di fculty witho ut ,
prejudice to my niece .
Mr Macal l an behaved ad mirably He was still helpless

. . .
But he made an excuse f or leaving us which it was impossible

t o dispute In t w o d ays af t er my husband had s poken to
.
him he was removed f rom the house

, .

Th e remedy was well intended but it came too l a te and ,
it utterly f ailed Th e mischie f was done My niece pined

. .
a way visibly
; neither me dical help n or change of air an d
scene di d anything f or her In course of time af t er Mr
. .
Mac all an had recovered from the e ff ects o f hi s accident I

found out that she was carrying on a clan destine corre
spon den c e wi t h him by means of her maid ,
His letters I .
,
am bound to say were most considerately and care f ully

,
written Nevertheless I felt it my duty to st0p the corre

.
,
spon den c e .

My interferencewh at else could I do but interfere ?
brought matters to a crisi s O ne day my niece was missing .
,
a t break f ast time Th e next day we discovered that the poor

-
.
,
in fatuated creature had gone to Mr Mac all an s cha mb er s i n .

1 56 TH E L A W AND THE LAD Y .
London , a nd had b een found hidden i n hi s bedroom by So me ,
bachelor frien ds who came to vi s it him .
For thi s disa ster Mr Mac all an wa s in no respect to blame

. .
Hearing foot s tep s outs ide he had onl y time to t ake measures
,
for saving her character by conceal ing her i n the nearest room
and the ne arest room happened to be his bedchamber Th e .
matter was talked about of course and motives were misin ,
t er pr et ed in the vilest manner My husband had another

.
private conversation with Mr Mac all an He aga i n behaved

. .
admirably He publicly declared that my niece had visite d h i m

.
as his betrothed wi fe In a f ortnight from th at time he s ilenced

.
,
scandal in the on e way that was possible h e married her .
I was alone in opposing the marriage I thought it at the .
time what it has proved to be since a fatal mistake .
I t would have been sad eno u gh i f Mr Mac all an had only

,
.
married her without a particle of love on his side But to mak e .

,
the prospect more hopeless still he was himsel f at that very

, ,
time the victim of a misplaced attachment to a l ady who w as

,
engaged to another man I am well aware that he com

.
passionately denied this ju s t as he compassionately aff ected

to be in love with my niece w hen he married her But his .
hopele ss admiration of the lady whom I have mentioned was ,
a matter of f act notorious among his friends It may not be .
amis s to add that her marriage preceded hi s marriage He

,
.
had irretrievably lost the woman he re ally loved h e was

without a hope or an aspiration in li f e when he took pity
on my niece .
In conclusion I can only repeat that no evil whi ch coul d

,
have happened (i f she h ad remained a single woman ) would

have been comparable in my O pi n ion to the e vil of such a
, ,
marriage as this .Never I sincerely believe were two m or e

, ,
i l l a s sorted person s united in the bonds of matrimony tha n

-
,

th e pris oner at the bar and his deceased wi fe .
Th e evidence of this witne s s produced a s trong s ensation

among the audie n ce, a n d had a marked e ff ect on the mind s of
7 11 m 0 WHA 7 WAS H I S M OTI VE r

1 57
th e Jury Cro s s examination forced Lady B rydeh aven to

.
-
modi fy some of her opinions and to acknowle dge that the

,
hopeles s attachment of the prisoner to another woman was a

matter of rumour only But the f acts in her narrative remained
.
unshaken an d for that on e reason they invested the crime

, ,
charged against the prisoner with an appearance of possibility ,
which it had entirely failed to assume d u ring the earlier part

of the Trial .
Tw o other l a dies (intimate f riend s of Mrs Eustace Mac all an) .
were called next They di ff ered from Ladv Br ydeh av en in thei r

.
opinions on the propriety of the marri age ; but on all the

m aterial points they supported her testimony and c onrmed
, ,
the serious impression which the rst witness had produced on

every person in Court .
Th e next evidence which the prosecution proposed to pu t

in was the si lent evidence of the letter s and the Diary found
,
at Gl eni nch .
In answer to a question from the Bench the Lord Advocate ,
stated that the letters were written by friends of the prisoner

a n d of his deceased wi f e and that passages in them bore
,
directly on the terms on which the t w o associated in their

m arried li fe Th e Diary was still m ore valuable as evidence
. .
It contained the prisoner s daily record of domestic events

a n d of the thoughts and f eelings which they aroused in him
a t the time .
A m ost pain f ul scene followed this explanation .
Writing as I do l ong af ter the events took place I still

, , ,
cannot prevail upon mysel f to describe in detail what my

unh a ppy husband said an d did at this distressing period of
,
t h e Tri al Deeply aff ected while Lady B ry deh av en was giving

.
her evidence he had wi t h di fculty restrained himsel f f rom

,
i nterrupting her He now lost all control over hi s feelings

.
.
In piercing tones whi ch ran g throu gh the Court he proteste d ,
a gainst the contemplated violation of his own most sacre d
s ecrets and hi s wi fe s m o s t sacred secrets Hang me innocent

.
,
1 58 TH E LA W A ND TH E L AD Y .
as I am he cried but sp are me tha t ! ,

Th e e ff ect of thi s

terrible outbreak on the audience is reported to have been

in describable S ome of the women present were in hysterics
. .
Th e J u dges interf ered from the Bench but with no good

result Quiet was at len gth restored by t h e Dean of Fa culty
.
,
who succeeded i n s oothing the prisoner an d who then

a ddressed the J udges pleadi n g f or indulgence to his unhappy
,
client in most touchi ng and eloquent lan gu age Th e speech .

,
a masterpiece of impromptu oratory concluded with a t em , .
perate yet stro n gly urged protest against the reading of the
-
papers discovere d at G l en i n c h .
Th e three J u dges retired to consider the legal questio n

submitted to them Th e sittin g was suspended f or more than
.
h al f an hour .
As usu al in such cases the excitement in the Court c om ,

~
m u n i c at ed i t sel f to the crowd outside in the street Th e .
general opinion here led as it was supposed by one of the , ,
clerks or o t her in f erior persons connec t ed with the legal pro

c eedi n g s w a s decidedly adverse to the prisoner s chance of

esca ping a sente nce of death I f the letters a n d the Diary .

are read s aid the brutal spokesmen of the m ob the letters

,

,

a n d the Di a ry will hang him .
On the return of the J udges into Court it wa s announced ,
that t hey had deci ded by a m ajority of two to on e on per

, ,
m itting t h e documents in dispute to be produced in evidence .
Each of t h e J u dges in turn g a ve his reasons f or the decision

, ,
a t which he h a d arrive d This done the Trial procee ded .

, .
Th e reading of the extracts from the letters and the extract s

from t h e Diary began .
Th e rst letters produced were the letter s f ound in t h e

In di a n c a binet in Mrs Eustace Macallan a room They w er e

.
, .
addressed to the deceased lady by intimate (f emale) friends of

h ers with who m she was a ccustomed to correspond
, Three .
separate Extr a cts from letters written by three di ff erent c on

,
r espon dents were selected to be read in Court

, .
THIRD WII A T PVA S H I S [ITO I T VE ? I <
9
FI R ST C O RRESP O NDENT :
I despair, my dearest Sara, of
being able to tel l you how your last letter has distresse d me .
Pray f orgive me i f I ow n to thinking that y our very sensitive

,
n ature exaggerates or misinterprets quite unconsciously of ,
c ourse the neglect that you experience at the hands of your

,
husband I cannot say anything a bout hi s peculiarities of

.
chara cter because I am not well enough acquainted with him

,
to know what they are But my de ar I am much older t h an

.
, ,
you and I have h ad a much longer experience than yours of

, ,

what somebody calls the lights an d shadows of married
,
lif e S peaking f rom that experience I must tell you what I

.
,
have observed Young m a rried women like you who are

.
, ,
devotedly atta ched to their husbands a r e a pt to m ake on e ,
very serious mistake As a rule they al l expect too much

.
,
from their husba nds Men my poor S ara are not like us
.
, , .
Their love even when it is quite sincere is not like ou r love

, , .
It does not last as it does with us ,

It is not the one hope .
a n d on e thought of t heir lives as it i s with us We have no , .
altern ative even when we most truly respect and love t hem
but t o make allowance f or this di ff erence bet w een the
man s nature and the woman s I do not f or on e moment

.
excuse your husband s coldness He is wrong f or ex ample

.
, ,
in never looking at you when he speaks to you and in never ,
noticing the eff orts that you m ake to please him He is .
worse tha n wrong h e is re al ly cruel i f you like i n never

returning your kiss when you kiss him But my dear are .
, ,
you quite sure that he is alway s desi g n edly cold a n d cruel ?

May not his conduct be sometimes the result of troubles and
an x ieties which weigh on his mind and which are troubles ,
a n d anxieties that you c a nnot share ? I f you t ry to look at

his behaviour in this light you will un derstand many things,
which pu zzle and pain you n ow Be pat ient with him my .

,
child Make no complaints ; and never a pproach him with

.
your caresses at times when his mind is pr eoc c u pi ed or h i s

temper r u i ed This may be h ard advi ce to f ollow loving him
.
,
1 60 TH E LA W AN D THE LAD Y .
as a r de n tly a s you do But rely on it the secr et of happi ness

.
,
f or us women i s to be found (alas only too of ten i n s uch ,
exercise of restraint and r esignati on as your ol d friend n ow

recommends Think, my dear over what I have written
.
,
a n d let me hear from you again .

S E C O ND
C O RRES P ONDENT : How can you be so foolish
,
Sara as to waste your love on such a cold blooded brute as

,
-
y our husband seems to be ? To be s ure I a m n ot married ,
yet or perhaps I s houl d not be so surprised at you But I .
s hall be married one of these day s ; and if my husband ever

treats me as Mr M ac all an treats you I shall insist on a
.
,
separation I declare I think I woul d rather be actually

.
beaten like the women among the lower orders than be

, ,
treated with the polite neglect and contempt which you

describe I burn with indignation when I think of it I t
. .

must be quite insuff erable D on t bear it any longer my .
,
poor dear Leave hi m and come and stay with me

. My
, .
brother is a law student as you know I read to him

-
, .
portions of your letter ; and he is of O pinion that you

might get what he calls a judicial s eparation Come and
, , .

consult him .
THI RD C O RRESP O NDENT You kno w my dear Mrs

, .
Mac all an what my experience of men has been Your letter

, .
doe s not surprise me in t h e least Your husband s conduct .

to you poi nts to on e conclusion He is in love with some .
other woman There is S omebody in the dark who gets

.
,
from h i m everything that he denies to you I have been .
through it all and I know ! Don t give way Make it the

.
bus ine s s of your li fe to nd ou t who the creature i s Perhaps .
there may be more than on e of them It doesn t matter .

.
O ne or many, i f you can only discover them, you may make

,
his existence a s miserable to him as he makes your exi stence

to you I f you want my experience to help you s ay t h e
.
,
w ord and it i s freely at your s ervice

,
I can com e .
THI RD WHA T WAS I I I S A1 6 TI VE 1 61
an d s tay w ith you, at Gl eni nc h, any time after the fourth

of next month .
With thos e abominable lines the readings f rom the let t ers
of the women came to an end Th e rst and longest of the .
Extracts produced the most vivid impression in Court .
Evidently the writer was in this case a worthy a n d s ensibl e

, ,
person It was generally f elt however that all three of the

.
, ,
letters no matter how widely they might di ff er in tone

justied the s ame conclusion Th e wif e s position at Gl en i n c h .

the wi fe s account it was to be trusted ) was the po s itio n

( if of
of a neglected an d a n unhappy woman .
Th e correspondence of the prisoner which had be en f ound , ,
with his Diary in the locke d bed table drawer was produced
,
-
next Th e letters in this case were with on e exception all

.
, ,
written by men Though the tone O f them w as moderation

.
itsel f as compared with the second and third of the women s

,

letters the conclusion still pointed the same way Th e lif e

, .
of the husband at G l en i n c h a ppeared to be just as intolerable

, ,
as the l i f e of the wif e .
For example on e of the prisoner s male f riend s wrote

,

,
i nviting him to make a yacht voyage round the world .
Another su ggested an abse ce of six months on the Continentn .
A third recommended eld sports in India Th e on e object .
aimed at by all t h e writers was plainly to counsel a separa

t ion more or le s s plaus ible and more or less complete, bet w een
,
t h e married pair .
Th e l ast letter read was addressed to the prisoner in a

woman s handwr iting and wa s signed by a woman s Christi an
,

name only .

Ah my poor Eustace what a cruel destiny i s ours
, , (the
l etter began) When I thin k of your lif e sacriced t o that
.
,
wretched woman my heart bleeds f or you ! I f we had been

,
m an and wi fe i f it had been my unutterable happine s s to

l o ve and cherish the be s t, the dearest o f menwhat a p ar a
M
1 62 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
di sc of our ow nwe might have lived in what delicious hour s ,
w e might have known But regret is vain we are separate d ,
in this li f e sep a rated by ties which we both mourn and yet ,
which we must both respect My Eustace there is a world .

,
beyond this There our souls wil l y to mee t each other and
, ,
mingle in on e long heavenly embrace i n a raptur e f orbidden

t o us on earth Th e misery described in your letteroh !
.
why why did you marry her 2 has wrung this con f ession
,
of f eeling f rom me Let it com f ort you ; but let no other

.
eyes see it Burn my rashly wr itten lines an d look (as I

.
-
,
look) to the better life which you m ay yet shar e with your

ow n H ELENA .
Th e readi ng of thi s outrageous letter provoked a question

f rom the Bench O ne of the J udges asked i f the writer h ad
.
a ttached any date or address to her letter .
In ans w er to this the Lord Advocate stated that neither

,
the on e nor the other appeared Th e envelope showe d that .
the letter had been posted in London We propose the .

,

learned counsel continued to read certain passages f rom the ,

prisoner s Diary in which the name signed at the end of the

,
let t ers occurs more than once and we may possibly nd other
means of identi fying the writer to the s atisf action of your ,

lordships bef ore the Trial is over
,
.
Th e promised pass ages f rom my husband s private Diary

were now read Th e rst extract related to a period of n early

.
a year bef ore the date of Mrs Eustace Mac all an s death It .

.
w as expressed in these terms :

News by thi s morning s post which has quite over

, ,
w helmed me Helena s husband died sud denly two days

.

,
si nce ,
o f heart disease Sh e i s free m y beloved Helena i s
.
free ! And I ?
I am fettered to a woman with whom I have n ot a single
f eeling in common Helena i s lost to me by my ow n s et
.
, .
Ah ! I can understand now a s I never understood be f ore, ,
h ow i r resi stible t empt at i en can be and h ow easily s ometim es , , ,

[ H I RD U YI A T IVA S H I S III O TI VE 63
'
1

.
crime may f ollow i t I had better shut up these le a ves f or

-
.
the night It m addens me to n o purpose to think of my

.

posi t ion or to write of it .
Th e next p assage dated a f ew days later dwelt on t h e

, ,
s ame subj ect :

Of all the f ollies th at a man c a n co m mit t h e grea test is ,
acti n g on impul se I acted on impulse when I married the

.
unf ortun at e cre at ure who is now my wi f e .
Helena was t hen lost to me as I too h a stily supposed ,

.
S h e h a d m a rried t h e m an t o w h o m she rashly e n g age d her

sel f be f ore she met wi t h me
,
He was younger than I an d.
, ,
t o all appear ances heartier an d stronger t h a n I

,
S o f ar as I .
coul d see m y f ate w as se al ed f or li f e Helen a h ad writt en

,
.
her f a re w ell let t er t ak ing le a ve of me in this worl d f or goo d

, ,
.
My prospec t s were close d m y hopes had ended I h ad not .
an aspirat ion le f t ; I h ad no necessi t y to s t imul ate me t o t ak e

re f u ge in work A chivalrous action an exer t ion of noble
.
,
sel f denial seemed to be al l that was lef t to m e all that I was

-
, ,
t f or .

Th e circumstances of the moment a dapted themselves ,
wit h a f atal f acil i t y to thi s idea Th e ill f at e d woman who

, .
-
h a d become at t ache d t o me (Heaven knows wi t hout so much

as t h e sh a do w of encour agement on m y p art l) h a d just a t , ,
th at time rashly pl ace d her reput ation at the m ercy Of the

,
world It rested w i t h me to silence t h e sc andalous to n gues

.
t ha t revil ed her Wi t h Helena los t to me happiness w a s not

.
,
to be expecte d All women were equally in diff erent to me

. .
A generous a ct ion woul d be the s alva t ion of th i s wom an .
Why not perf orm it ? I marrie d her on th at impulse

m arrie d her jus t as I m ight h ave j umpe d into t h e w at er a n d
,
sa ved her i f she had b e en drowning ; j ust as I might have

,
kn o c ked a man down i f I had seen him ill treating her in th e

,
-
st reet !
And now the woman f or whom I have made this sacrice

,
stands between me and m y Helen a m y Helena free t o pou r ,

1 64 TH E LA IV AN D
'
TH E L AD Y .
out all the treas ures of her love on the man wh o adores t h e
earth that she touches with her f oot !

Fool ! Ma dman ! Why don t I da s h ou t my brain s
against the wall that I s ee opposite to me while I write
th e s e lines !
My gun is there in the corner I have only to tie a s trin g .
to the trigger an d to put the mu zzle to my mouth

,
N0 !
My mother i s alive ; my mother s love is s acred I have no
.
right to take the li f e which she gave me I must s uffer and .

submit O h Helena ! Helena !
.
,
Th e third Extract on e among many s imil ar passage s !
had been written about t w o months be fore th e death of t h e

prisoner s w ife .
More reproaches addressed to me There never wa s such

a woman for complaining ; she lives in a perf ect atmo s phere
of ill temper and discontent
-
.
My n ew off ences are two in number I never ask her t o .
play to me now ; and when she put s on a new dre s s ex

, ,
~
pressly to please me I never n otice it Notice it ! Good

, .
Heavens ! Th e eff ort of my li f e is n ot to notice her in any ,
thi n
g she does or says How could I keep my temper unle ss
.
,
I kept as much as possible out of the way of private inter .
views with her ? An d I do keep my temper I am never .
hard on her I never use harsh language to her She has a .
double clai m on my f orbearance she is a woman and the

l a w has made her my wi f e I remember thi s ; but I
.
am human Th e less I see o f her except whe n visitors

.
are present the more cer t ain I ca n f eel of preserving my

self control
-
.
I wonder what it is that makes her s o utterly distaste f ul

t o me .Sh e is a plain woman but I have seen uglier women
than s he, whose care s ses I could have endured wi t hout the ,
s en s e of s hrinking that comes over me when I am obliged to

submit to h er caresses I keep the feeling hidden from her
. .
Sh e loves me, poor thi ng and I pity her I wi sh I coul d . .

THIRD WHA T WAS HIS
'
MO TI VE I" : 65
do more ; I wish I coul d return in the smallest degree t h e , ,
feeling wi th which she regards me But no I can only pity .

,
her If she would be content to live on friendly terms with

.
me and never to exact demonstrations of tenderness we

, ,
might get on pretty well But s he wants love U n fortuna t e

. .
c reature she wants love

,

O h my Helena ! I have no love to give her My heart
,
.
i s your s .

I dreamt last night that this unhappy wi f e of mine was
,
dead Th e dream was so vivid th a t I ac t u ally got out of my

.
bed and Opened the door of her room and listened

, , .

Her cal m regular breathing was distinctly audible in the
stillness of the night S he w a s in a deep sleep I closed
. .
the door again and lit my candle and read

,
Helena was .
in all my thought s ; it was hard work to x my attention

on the book But anything was bet t er tha n going to bed
.
again and dreaming perhaps f or the second time that I,too

, , , , ,
was f ree .

What a li f e mine is ! what a li f e my wi f e s is ! If the
house was to take re I wonder whether I should make an

,
effort to save mysel f or to save her 3 ,
Th e la st two passage s read referred t o later dates ,
s till .

A gleam of brightnes s ha s shone over this dismal existence
of mine at last .
Helena is no longer condemned to the seclusion o f Wi dow

hood Time enough has passed to permit of her mixing again
.
in society Sh e i s paying visits to friends in ou r part of

.
S cotland ; and as she and I are cousins it is universally

, ,
u nderstood that she cannot leave the North without also
Spending a f e w days at my house Sh e writes me word that .
the visit however embarrassing it may be to u s privately is

, ,
n everthele s s a visit that must be made for the sake of appear ,
anc es Bles sing s on appearances ! I shall see this an gel i n

.
my purg atory a n d all becaus e S ociety in Mid Lothian woul d

1 65 TH E LA IV AN D TH E L AD Y .
think it str ange th a t my cousin s hould be visiting in my part

O f S cotland and not visit Me
,
But we are to be very care ful Helena says in so many .

,

words , I co m e to see you Eusta ce as a sister Yo u mus t
, , .
receive me a s a brother or not recei ve me at all [ sh all

, .
write to your wi f e to propose the day for my visit I shall .
n ot f orget do y ou n ot f org et that i t is by your wif e s per

.
mission th at I en t er your house .

Onl y let me see h er I will submit to anythi ng to O btai n

t h e un u tterable h appiness of seeing her !

Th e last Extrac t f ollowe d a n d consiste d of thes e line s

,
only :
A new mis fortune ! My wi f e h as f allen ill Sh e ha s

.
tak en to her bed with a bad rh eum at ic cold just at t h e

, ,
time a ppoin t e d f or Helen a s visit to G l en i n c h But on t hi s

.
,
occ asion (I gl adly o w n it I) sh e h as beha ved ch armingl y

, .
Sh e has written t o Helen a to say th at her illness is n ot

ser ious eno u gh to ren der a change necessary in the ar
ra ngements a nd to m ak e it her p art icul ar request that
,
my cousin s visit shall t ake place upon the day origin a l l y

deci de d on .

This is a great sacri ce made to me on my wi f e s part , .
J e al ous of every wom an un der f or t y w h o comes ne ar me

, , ,
she is of course j e alous of Helena an d she controls hersel f,
and trusts me !

I am bound to show my gra titude f or thi s and I will ,
sho w it . From this day f or t h I vow to live more a ff ection

,
ately with my wi f e I ten derly embraced her this very

.
morning an d I hope poor soul she di d not di scover t h e

, , ,
eff ort that it cost m e

.
There ,
the reading s f rom the Diary c ame to an end .
Th e most unpleasant p ages in the whole R epor t of the

Trial were to methe p ages which contained the ext ra c t s
from my husband s Diary There w er e expressions here and

.
,
THI R D WI I A T IVAS H I S M 0 T1 VB [ 67
there which not only pained me but which almost shook

, ,
Eust a ce s positio n in my estimation I think I would h av e

.
given everything I possessed to have had the power of

annihil ating certain lines in that Di a ry As for hi s p assion at e .
expressions of love f or Mrs Beauly every on e of them went .

,
through me like a sting ! He had whispere d words quite as

warm into my e ars in the days of his courtship I h a d n o
, .
re ason to doubt that he truly and dearly loved me But the .
question was Had he just as trul y and dearly loved Mrs

, , .
Beauly bef ore me

, Had she or I won the rst of his heart ?
He h ad declared to me over and over again that he h ad
, ,
only f ancie d himsel f to be in love bef ore the day when ,
we met I h ad believed h i m then

. I determined to .
believe hi m stil l I di d believe hi m But I hated Mrs

. . .
Beauly !
As for the pain ful impression produced in Court by the
readings f rom the letters and the Diary it seeme d to be ,
impossible to increase it Nevertheless it w as perceptibly .

,
increased In o t her words it w as rendered more n u

.
,
f a vour able still tow ards the prisoner by the evi denc e ,
of the next and last w itness called on the part of t h e

, ,
prosecution .
William Enz i e un der gardener at Gl en i nch was swor n,

,
-
an d deposed as f ollows

On the twentieth of O ctober at eleven o clock in the ,

f orenoon I was at work in the shr ubbery on the side next

, ,
to t h e garden called t h e Dutch Garden There was a . .
summer ho use in the Dutch Garden having its b a ck set ,
towards the shrubbery Th e day was wonderf ully ne and

.
warm for the time of year .

Passing to m y work I pa ssed the back of the summer

s
,
hou se I heard voices insidea man s voice and a l a dy s

.

voice Th e lady s voice was st range to me Th e man s voic e

.

.

I r ecogni z ed as the voice of my master Th e ground in the .
sh r ubb ery wa s s of t and my curiosity wa s excited I steppe d .

1 63 TH E LA W AND TH E
up to the back of the s u mmer house w ithout being heard ; -
and I li s tened to what was going on inside .

Th e rst word s I could distinguish were s poken in my
master s voice He s aid I f I could only have f oreseen that

.
,
you might on e day be f ree what a happy man I might have ,

been ! Th e lady s voice answered Hush ! you must n ot ,
talk so
M y master said upon that
. I must talk of w hat, ,
is in my mind ; it i s always in my mind that I have lost

you . He stopped a bit there and then he said on a sudden , ,
D o me on e favour my angel ! Promise me not to marry

,
"

again Th e lady s voice spoke ou t thereupon sharply

.
, ,

enough What do you mean ?
,

My master said I wish ,
n o harm to the unhappy creature who is a burden on my life ;
but s uppos e S uppose nothing the lady s ai d ,

come back to the hou s e

.
Sh e led the way into the garden and turned round beckon , ,
ing my m aster to j oin her I n that posi tion I saw her fac e .
,
plainly and I knew it f or the f ace of the you ng widow lady

who was visiting at the house Sh e wa s pointed ou t to m e .
by the h ead gardener when she rst arrived for the purpose
-
, ,
of warning me that I was not to inter f ere i f I f ound her
picking the owers Th e gardens at Gl en i n ch were shown to

.
tourists on certain days and we made a di fference of course , ,
i n the matter of the owers between stra n gers and gu ests ,
staying in the house I am quite certai n Of the identity of

.
the lady who wa s talki n g with my master Mrs Beauly wa s . .
a comely person and there was no mi staki n g her for any

other than hersel f Sh e and my master withdrew together on
.
the way to the hou s e I heard nothing m ore of what pas se d

.
between them .

This witness w as severely cro s s examined a s to the correct -
ness of his recollection of the tal k in the summer house and -
as to his capacity f or identifyi n g both the speakers O n cer .
tain minor points he was shaken But he rmly asserted hi s .
accur at e r emembran ce o f the la s t w ords ex cha nged between

TH E E VID EN CE FOR TH E D EFEN CE . : 69
hi s master an d Mrs B eauly 3 and h e person all y des cribed th e

.
lad y i n terms whi ch proved that h e h ad c orrectly identied

,
her .
With this, the an swer t o the thi rd Question raised by the

Trial the question of the p r isoner s Motive f or poisoning hi s

wi fecame to an end .
The story for the prosecution was n ow a story told Th e .
staunchest friends of the prison er in Court were compelled t o

acknowledge that the evidence thus far pointed clearly and , ,
conclusively against hi m He seemed to feel this hi msel f

. .
When he w ithdre w at the close of the th ird day of t h e T rial ,
h e was so depressed and e xhausted that he w as obliged t o lean

on the arm of the g overnor of the jail .
C HAP TER XI X .
THE EV I D EN CE FOR TH E D EF EN CE .
TH E feeli ng o f interest ex c ited by the Trial was pro digiously

i ncreased on the four th day The witnesses for the defenc e
.
were now to be heard ; and rst and foremost among the m

was the prisoner s mother S he looked at her son as sh e

.
li fted her veil to take the oath H e burst into tears At that
. .
moment the sympathy felt f or the mother was generall y e x

,
t ended to the u nhappy son .
Examined by the Dean of Fa c ulty Mrs Mac all an t h e , .
elder gave her answer s with remarkable dignity and sel f ~
c ontrol .
i
Questioned as to c ertain private conversations which had

passed bet w een her late daughter i n law and herself sh e - -
declared that Mrs Eustace Mac all an was morbidly sensitive

.
on the subj ect of her personal appearance S he was devotedly .
attached to her husband the great anxiety of her li fe was t o

mak e h ersel f as attractive t o h i m as possib l e Th e i mper f ec .
( 70 TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y .
tions in her personal appearance and especiall y i n her com

:l ex i on were subjects to her of the bitterest regret T he .
Witness had heard her say over and over again (re ferring to
,
Der complexi on ) that there was no risk she wou ld not run
, ,
and no pain she would not suffer to improve it Men (she , .
had said) are all caught by out w ard appearances my husband

might love me better i f I had a better colour ,
.

Bein g asked next i f the passages from her son s Diary were
t o be depended on as evidence that is to say i f they fairly ,
represented the peculiarities in his character and his true ,
sentiments towards hi s wi fe Mrs M acall an denied it in the .
plainest and the strongest terms .
The ex tracts from my son s Diary are a li bel on his cha

r acter ,
she said

An d not the less a libel because they
.

,
happen to be written by himsel f S peaking from a mother s .

experience of him I kno w that he must h ave written the

,
passages produced in mome n ts of uncontrollable depression

,
and despair N o just person judges hastily of a man by the

.
rash words which may escape him in his moody and miser o
able moments Is my son to be so j udged becaus e he

.
happens to have written hi s rash words instead of speaking ,
the m ? Hi s pen has been his most deadly enemy in this ,
case 4t has presented him at his very worst He was not .
happy in his marriage I ad mit that B ut I say at the same .

,
time that he was invariably considerate to w ards his wife I

, .
was implicitly trusted by both o f the m I sa w them in their

most private moments I declare i n the face of what sh e
.
appears to have written to her friends and correspondents

that my son never gave his wife any j ust cause to assert that
he treated her with cruelty and neglect .

T hese words rmly an d clearly spoken produced a strong

, ,
impression T he L ord Advocate evidently perceiving that

.
any attempt to weaken that i mpression would not be likely t o

succeed c on n ed himsel f, in c ross examination , to two sigui - ~
ca n t questions .
TH E E VI DEN CE FO R TH E D EFENCE . 1 7!

to you of the defects in her c om pl ex i <n he
I n speakin g ,

said ,
did your daughter i n law refer in any way to the use of
-
a rsenic as a remedy
The answer to this w as N ,
The L ord Advocate proceeded :

Did you yourself ever recommend arsenic or mention it ,
casually in the course of the private conversations whi ch y ou

,
have described

The answer to this was N ever ,
.
T he L ord Advocate resumed his seat Mrs Mac al l an the . .
el der withdrew .
An interest of a new kind was excited by the appearance of

the n ext witness T his was no le ss a person than Mrs Beauly
. .
hersel f The R eport describes her as a remarkably attractive

.
person ; modest and ladylike in her manner and to all , ,
appearanc e feeling sensitively the public positio n in which

,
she was placed .
The rst portion of her evidence was almost a r ec api t u l at i on

of the evidence given by the prisoner s mother with this di f

ference that Mrs Beauly had been actually questioned by the

, .
deceased lady on the subj ect of cosmetic applications to the

com plexi on Mrs Eustace M ac al l an had compl imented her
. .
on the beau t y of her complexion and h ad asked what ,
articial means she used to keep it in such good order .
Usi n g no articial means (and knowi n g nothing w hatever of

cosmetics ) M r s Beauly had resented the question ; and a
,
.
temporary c oolness bet w een the two ladies had been the
result .
Interrogated as to h er relations with the prisoner Mrs , .
Beauly indignantly denied that she or Mr M ac al l an had ever .
given the deceased lady the slightest ca use for j ealou sy I t .
was impossible for Mrs Beauly to leave S cotland after vi sit

.
,
ing a t the houses of her cousin s neighbours without also
visiting at her cousin s house T o take any other course

.
would have been an act of downright rudeness and wou l d ,

: 72 TH E L A 4 A N D TH E LA D Y:
have e x cited remark S he did not deny that Mr Mac al l an

. .
had ad mired her in the days when they were both si ngle
people But there w as no fur ther expression of that feel
.
ing when sh e had married another man and when he had

, ,
m arried another woman From that time their intercours e

.
,
was the innocent intercourse of a brother and sister M r . .
M acallan was a gen tleman : he knew what was due to hi s

wi fe and to Mrs Be auly .s h e would n ot have entered the
house i f experience had not satised her of that As for .
the evidence of the under gardener it was little better th an -
pure invention The greater part of the conversation which

.
he had described himsel f as over b ear i n g had never taken

place The little that w as real ly said (as the man reported
.
it) w as said j estingly and sh e had checked it immediately

as the witness had hi msel f con fessed For the rest Mr .
,
Mac all an s behaviour towards hi s wif e was invariably kind

and considerate He was constantly devising mea ns to alle

'
vi at e her su ff erings from the rheumatic a ff ection whi ch co r p
ned her to her bed ; he had spoken of her not once but ,
many times in terms of the sincerest sympathy When sh e

, .
ordered her husband and witness to leave the room on the ,
day of h er death Mr Mac all an said t o witness a fterwards

,
.
,
We must bear with her j ealousy poor soul : we know that ,

we don t deserve it In that patient manner he submi tted
.
to her i n r mi t i es of temper from rst to last , .
The main interest in the cross examination of Mrs B eauly -

.
c entred in a question whi ch was put at the end Af ter .
r eminding her that she had given her name on being sworn ,
,
a s H elena Beaul y the L ord Advocate said :

,

A letter addressed to the prisoner and signed Helena , ,

has been read in Court L ook at it i f y ou please Ar e you

.
,
.
the writer of that letter 1 '
Before the witness could reply the D ean of Faculty pro ,
t ested again s t the question T he J udges allowed the pr o .
test and re fused to permit the qu estion t o be put Mr s

, . .
TH E E VI D EN CE F ore TH E DEFENCE . r73
B eauly thereupon withdre w S he had betrayed a very per .
c ept i bl e agitation on hearing the letter re ferred to and on ,
having it placed in her hands This exhi bition of feel ing was .
variously interpreted among the audience Upon the whole .

,
however Mrs B eau l y s evi den c e w as considered to have aided

'
, .
the impression which the mother s evidence had produced in
the prisoner s favour '

.
The next witnesses both ladies, and both school friends o f -
Mrs Eustace Mac al lan created a new feeling of interest in

.
Court They supplied the missing link in the evidenc e for

.
the de fence .
The rst of the ladies declared that sh e had mentioned

ar seni c as a means of improving the complexion i n c on
, ,
versation with Mrs Eusta c e Mac al l an S he had never used

. .
it herself but sh e had read of the practice of eating arsenic

, ,
a mong the S tyrian peasantry for the purpose o f clearing the ,
c olour and of producing a general appearance of plumpness

,
an d good health She positively s w ore that she had related

.
this result of her reading t o the deceased l ady, exactly as sh e

now related it in Court .
The second witness present at the c onversation already ,
mentioned c orroborated the rst witness in every parti c ular

,
an d added that sh e had procu red the book relating t o the
arsenic eating practices of the S ty rian peasantry,and to their

-
results at Mrs Eusta c e Macal l an s ow n request This book

, .

.
sh e had hersel f despatched by post to Mrs Eustace Ma call an .
at Gl eni n ch .
There w as but on e ass ailable point i n this otherwis e c on

elusive evidence The cross examination discovered it
.

Both the ladies were asked in tur n i f Mrs Eustace Macal l an ,

.
h ad e xpressed to them directly or i ndirectly any intention of

, ,
obtainin g arsenic with a view t o the i mprovement of h er

,
c omplexi on In each c ase the answer to that all importan t

.
-
question w as No Mrs Eustace Mac all an had heard of th e

, .

.
r eme dy, and had re c eived the book B ut of her ow n i nt en .

: 74 TH E . t A W A N D TH E L AD Y .
tions in the future she had not said on e word She ha d

,
.
begged both the ladies to consider the conversation as strictly

private and there it had ended .
It required no la w yer s eye to discern t h e fat al de fect

which was now revealed in the evidence for the de fence .
Every i n telligent person present c ould see that the prisoner s

chance of an honourable acquittal depended on tracing t h e

poison to the possessi on o f his wi fe or at least on proving
her expressed intention to obtain it In either of these .
cases the prisoner s Declaration of his innocence would claim

,

t h e support o f testimony which ho w ever indirect it might

,
b e no hon est and intelligent men would be likely to resist .
Was that testimony forthcoming ? Was the counsel for t h e

de fence not at the end o f his resources yet ?
T he crowded audience waited in breathless expectation for
, ,
the appearance of the next witness A whisper went round .

,
among certain well instructed persons that the Court was

-
now to see and hear the prisoner s ol d friend already o ften

referred to in the course o f the Trial as Mr Dexter , . .

A fter a brie f interval o f delay there was a sudden com

,
motion among the audience accompanied by s u ppressed ex

,
c l a m at i on s of curiosity and surprise At the sa m e moment .
the crier summoned the n ew witness by the extraordinary

n ame of w
Mrss a nm u s s

r sn .
C HAP TER XX .
TH E END OF TH E T RI AL .
THE c alling o f the witness produced a burst of laughter fro m

the publi c seats du e partly no doubt to the strange name
, ,
by which he had been summoned partly also to the instin o , ,
tive desir e o f all crowded assemb l ies when their interest is ,

TH E E N D OF TH E TE I A L . 7 ;
pain full y excited to sei z e on any relie f in the shape of t h e

,
rst excuse for merriment which may present itself A severe .
rebuke from the Bench restored order among the au dience .
The L ord J ustice Clerk declared that he would clear the

Court i f the interruption to the proceeding s was renewed .
D uring the silence whi ch follo w ed this announ c ement t h e ,
n e w witness appeared .
Gliding sel f propelled in his chair on wheels through t h e

,
-
o pening made for him among the crowd a strange and ,
startli n g creature l iterally the hal f of a man revealed him
self to the general vie w A coverlid which had been thrown

.
,
o ver his chair had fall en off during his progress throug h the
,
t hrong .The loss of it exposed to the public curiosity the

head the arms and the trunk of a livi n g huma n being :
, ,
absolutely deprived o f the lower limbs T o make th is .
deformity all t h e more striki n g and al l the more terrible the ,
v ictim o f it was as to his face and his body an unusually
handsome and an unusuall y well made man Hi s long silky

,
-
.
hair of a bright and beautiful chestnut colour fell over

, ,
shoulders that were the perfection of strength and grace .
Hi s face was brigh t with vivacity and intel ligence Hi s .
large clear blue eyes and his long delicate white hands
, , ,
.
,
were like the eyes and hands o f a beautiful woman He

would have looked e emi nat e but for the manly proportions

o f h i s throat and chest aided in their effect by his owing

beard and long moustache of a lighter chestnut shade than ,
the c olou r of hi s hair N ever had a magnicent head and

.
body been more hopelessly ill bestowed than in this instance ! -
N ever had N ature committed a more careless or a m or e c r u e

m istake than in the m aking o f thi s man !

H e was sworn seate d of course in his chair
, ,
Havin g ,
.
g i ven his name he bowed to the J udges and requested their

, ,
permission to pre face hi s evidence with a word of expl anation .
People generally laugh when they rst hear my strang e

Ch ristian name he said in a low clear resonant voice w h i ch

, , , , ,
1 76 TH E L A W AND TH E L AD Y .
p en et r ated t o t h e remotest corners of the Co u rt I ma y .
i n form the good people here that many names, still common
amon g us have their si g ni c at i ons, and that mine i s one of
,
them Al exander for instance, means in the Greek a

.
,

, ,

helper of men David means in Hebre w , well beloved
.

,
-
.
Francis means in German , free

My name
,

Mi ser r i .
,

mu s means in L atin
,

most u nhappy
,
It was given to , .
me by my father in allusion t o the de formity whi ch you all

,
s eethe de formity with whi c h it was my mis fortune t o be

You won t laugh at Mi serr i mus again will you ?

born .

,
He turned t o the Dean of Faculty waiting to examine hi m ,
f or the de fence Mr Dean I am at your ser vice I apolo

. .
, .
gi z e for delaying even f or a moment, the pro c eedings of the

,

Court .
H e delivered his little address with perfe ct grace and good

humour Examined by the D ean he gave hi s evidence
.
,
c learly without the slightest appearance of hesitation or

,
reserve .
I was staying at Gl en i n c h as a guest in the house at the , ,
time of Mrs Eustace Macall an s death he began

. Doctor
,

.
J erome and Mr Gale desired to see me at a private intervie w

.
,
the prisoner being then in a state of prostration which

made it impossible for h i m t o attend to hi s duties as master
of the house At this intervie w , the t w o doctors astonished
.
and horried me b y declaring that Mrs Eustace Ma call an , .
h a d died poisoned They le ft it to me to c ommunicate t he

.
dread ful news to her husband ; and they warned me that a

post mortem examination must be held on the body .
I f the Fiscal had seen my ol d friend when I c ommu ,
n i c at ed the doctors message I doubt i f he would have

,
ventured to charge the prisoner with the murder of hi s wife .
T o my m ind the charge was nothi ng less than an outrage I .
resisted the sei z ure of the prisoner s Diary and letters,
animated by that feeling Now that the Diary has been .
produced I agree with the prisoner s mother in deny ing tha t

,
TH E E ND OF TH E TRI A L . n
it is fair eviden c e to bring against him A Diary (when it .
extends beyond a bare record o f facts and dates) is in general , ,
n othing but an expression of t h e weakest side in the character
of the person who keeps it It is in nine cases out of ten

.
, ,
the more or less contemptible outpouring of vanity and conceit

whi ch the wr iter dare not exhibit to any mort al but hi m self .
I am the prisoner s oldest friend I solemnl y declare that I

.
never knew he could write downri ght nonsense until I hear d

his Diary read in this Court

H e ki ll hi s wife ! H e treat his wi fe with neglect and
cruelty ! I venture to say from twenty years experience of
,

hi m that there is n o man in this assembly who is con

, ,
stitution ally more incapable of crime and more incapable of

, ,
cruelty than the man who stands at t hat Bar While I am

, .
about it I go further still I even doubt whether a man

, .
c apable of crime and capable of cruelty could h ave found it

, ,
in hi s heart to do evi l to the woman whose untimely death is

the subj ect o f this inquiry .

I have heard what the ignorant and prejudiced nurse ,
Christina Or m say has said o f the deceased lady From my

, .
o w n personal observation I contradict every word o f it Mrs . .
Eustace Mac al l an granting her personal de fects was never

t h el ess on e o f the most charming women I ever met with .
S he was highl y bred in the best sense of the word I never

, .
saw in any other person so sweet a smile as hers, or such

, ,
grace and beauty of movement as hers I f you liked music .

,
she sang beautifully ; and f ew pro fessed musicians had such

a touch on the piano as hers If you pre ferred talking I
.
,
neve r yet met with the man (or even the woman whi ch is ,
saying a great deal more) whom her conversation could n ot
charm T o say that such a wife as this could be rst cruelly

.
neglected and then barbarously murdered by the man mot

, ,
-
by the ma rtyrwho stan ds there is to tell me that the sun ,
never shi nes at noonday or that the heaven is not above t h e

,
N
: 73 TH E LA W A ND TH E LA D Y .
O h yes ! I know that the letters of her friends sho w that

,

she wrote to them in bitter complaint of her husband s con
duct to her But remember what on e of those friends (t h e
.
wisest and the best of them) says in reply I ow n to think .
i ng ,

she writes that your sensitive nature exaggerates or
,
misinterprets the neglect that you experience at the hands of

your husband There in that on e sentence is the whole
.

, ,
truth ! Mrs Eustace Mac all an s nature was the i maginative

.

,
sel f tormenting nature of a poet N o mortal love could ever

-
have been rened enough for h er Tries which women o f a .

,
coarser moral bre would have passed over without notice ,
w ere causes o f downright agony to that exquisitely sen sitive
temperament There are persons born to be unhappy Tha t

. .
poor lady was one of them When I have said this I have .
,
said all .
N o There i s on e word more still to be added .

It may be as well to remind the prosecution that Mrs .
Eustace M ac all an s death was in the pecuniary sense a serious

, ,
l oss to her husband He had insisted on having the whole of

.
her fortune settled on herself and on her relatives after her , ,
w hen he married Her income from that fortune helped to

.
keep in splendour the house and grounds at Gl en i n c h The .

prisoner s ow n resources (aided even by his mother s j ointure )

were quite inadequate t l y to de fray the expenses of living at

his splendid country seat K nowing al l the c i rcumstances I
.
,

can positively assert that the wi fe s death has deprived the
husband o f two thirds of his income An d the prosecution
-
.
,
viewing him as the basest and cruellest of men declares th at ,
h e deli berately killed her with all his pe c uniary interests

poin t i ng to the preservation of her li fe !
It is useless to ask me whether I noticed anything in the
c onduct of the prisoner and Mrs Beaul y which might justi fy .
,
a wi fe s j ealousy I never observed Mrs Beauly w ith any

. .
a ttention and I never encouraged the prisoner in talk in g t o

me about her He was a g eneral admirer o f pretty women
.
TH E E ND OF TH E TR I AL . : 79
so far as I kno w in a p er fectly innocent way That he could

,
.
prefer Mrs Beauly to his wi fe is inconceivable to me unless

.
,
he was ou t of his senses I never had any reason to believe

.
that he was ou t of his senses .
As to the question of the arsenic I mean the question of

t racing the poison to the possession o f Mrs Eustace Mac al l an
I am able to gi ve evidence which may perhaps be worthy
.
of the attention of the Court .

I was present in the Fiscal s o fce durin g the examina
,

,
tion of the papers and of the other obj ects discovered at

,
G l en i nc h The dressing case belon gin g to the deceased lady

.
-
was shown to me after its contents had been o fcially i n

,

v est i at ed by the Fiscal himsel f I happen to have a very

g .
sensitive sense of touch In handling the lid o f the dressing

.
case on the inner side I felt something at a certain place

, , ,
w h ich induced me to examine the whole structure of the lid
v e r y carefully The result was the discovery of a private

.
repository concealed in the space between the outer wood and

,
the lining In that repository I found the bottle which I now

.
produce .

T he further examination of the witness was suspended ,
w hile the hidden bottle was compared with the bottle s

properly belonging to the dressing ca se -
.
These last were of the nest cut glass and of a very elegant ,
formentirely unlike the bottle found in the private r eposi

to ry whi ch was of the commonest m anu facture and of the
, ,
shape ordin arily in use among chemists N ot a drop of liquid .

,
not the smallest ato m of any solid substance remained i n it ,

.
N o smell exhaled from i t and more un fortunately still for ,
the interests o f the defence no label was found attached to the ,
bot tle when it had been discovered .
T he chemist who had sold the second supply of arsenic t o

the prisoner was recalled and examined He declared that , .
the bottle was exactly like the bottle in which he placed the
a rsenic . It was, however equ ally like hundreds of othe r ,
bottle s in his shop In the absence of the label (on whi ch

.
he had himself written the word Poison ) it was impossible
for him t o identi fy the bottle The dressing case and t h e .

-
deceased lady s bed room had been vainly searched for t h e

-
chemist s missing label ou the chance that it might have

become accidentally detached fro m the mysterious empty

b ottle . In both instances the search had been without result .
lI or al l y it was a fair conclusion that this might be really the

,
bottle which had contained the poison L egall y there w as .

,
not the slightest proo f of it .
T hus ended the last effort o f the defence to trace the arsenic
purchased by the prisoner to the possession of his wi fe The .
book relating the practice s of the S tyrian peasantry (found

in the de c eased lady s room) had been produced But could

.
I h e book prove that sh e had asked her husband to buy arsenic
f or her ? T he c rumpled paper with the grains of powder le ft ,
in it had been identied by the chemist and h ad been de

, ,
c l ar ed to contain grains of arsenic But where was the proof .
that Mrs Eustace Mac all an s hand had placed the packet in
.

the cabinet and had emptied it of its contents ? N o dire ct

,
evidence anywhere N othing but conj ecture !

The renewed examination of Mi serr i m us Dexter touched on
matters of no general interest T he cross examination resolved .
-
itsel f in substance into a mental trial of strength between t h e

, ,
witness and the L ord Advocate the struggle terminating

(according to the general opinion ) in favour of the witness .
O ne question and on e answer only I will repeat here They

, , .
appeared to me of serious importance to the object that I had
in v iew in reading the Trial .
I believe Mr Dexter the L ord Advocate remarked in hi s

, .
,

most ironical manner that you have a theory of your ow n,

,

w hich make s the death of Mrs Eusta c e Mac al l an n o mystery .
to y ou
I may have my own idea s on that subje c t, as on other

subj ects , the witness repli ed

But let m e ask their lo r d .

THE END OF TH E TRIA L . 18 !
s hips the J udg esAm I here t o de clare theories, or t o state

,
f acts 2
I made a note of that answer Mr Dexter s ideas were . .

th e ideas of a tr u e friend to my husband and of a man of far ,
more than average abili ty They might be of inestimable

.
value t o me in the c oming time if I could prevail on him

,
t o communicate them .
I may mention whi le I am writing on the subje c t that I

, ,
added to this rst note a second containing an observation of,
my ow n In alluding to Mrs Beauly whi le he w as giving

. .
,
his evidence Mr Dexter had spoken of her so slightingly

, .
so rudely I might al most say as to suggest that he had

,
some private reasons for disli king (perhaps for distr usting)
this lady Here again i t might be of vital importance to me
.
, ,
t o see Mr Dexter and to clear up i f I co ul d what the dignity

.
, , ,
of the Co u rt had passed over without notice .
The last witness had been now e xa mined Th e chair on .
wheels glided a w ay with the half man in it and was lost i n

,
-
a di stant corner of the Court T he L ord Advocate r os e t o

.
address the J ury for the prosecution .
I do n ot s cruple t o say that I never read anything so i n

f amous as t h is great lawyer s speech He was not ashamed

.
to de c lare at starting that he rmly believed the prisoner to

, ,
be guilty What right had he to say anythi ng of the sort ?

.
Was it for hi m t o decide ? Was he the J udge and J ury both ,
I sho uld li ke t o know ? Having begun by c ondemning the

prisoner on hi s ow n authority the L ord A dvocate pro c eeded
, ,
to pervert the most innocent actions of that u nhappy man so ,
as to give the m as vile an aspe c t as possible Thus : When .
Eustace kissed his poor wife s forehead on

her death bed he

, ,
di d it to c reate a favourable impression in t h e minds of the

doctor and the nur se ! Again when his grie f under his ,
bereavement c ompletely overwhelmed him he was triumph ,
i ng in secret, and acting a part ! I f you looke d into hi s

( 82 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
heart you would see there a diabolical hatred for his wife
, ,
and an in fatuated p assion for Mr s Beauly ! In everything .
he had said he had lied ; in everything he had done he had

, ,
acted like a crafty and h eartless wretch S o the chief couns el

for the prosecution spoke o f the prisoner standi ng helpless ,
be fore h i m at the Bar I n my husband s place i f I could .

have done nothi n g more I w ould have thrown someth i ng at ,
his head As it was I tore the pages wh ich contained the

.
,
speech for the prosecution ou t of the R eport and trampled ,
them under my feet and felt all the better too for having , ,
done it At the same time I am a little ashamed of havin g

.
,
revenged myself o n the harmless printed leaves now , .
The fth day of the Trial opened with the speech for the
de fence Ah what a contrast to the infamies uttered by the
.
,
L ord Advocate was the gr and burst of eloquence by the Dean

of Faculty speaki n g on my husband s side

This illustrious lawyer struck the right note at starti n g .

I yield to no on e he began in the pity I feel for t h e,

,

wi fe But I say the m artyr in this case from rst to last

.
, , ,
is the husband Whatever the poor woman may have endured

.
,
that unhappy man at the Bar has suff ered an d is now s uff er ,
i ng more
,
I f he had n ot been the ki n d est o f m en the most
.
,
docile and most devoted of husban ds he would n ever h ave ,
occupied his present dread ful situation A man of a mean er .

and harder nature would have felt suspicion of his wi fe s
moti ves when she asked him to buy poison would have
,
seen throu gh the wretchedly common place excuses she made

for wanting i t and would have wisely and cruelly said N o ,
.

T he prisoner is not that sort o f man He is too good to his .
w ife too innocent of any evil thought towards her or tow a r ds

, ,
any on e to foresee the inconve n iences and the dangers to which

,
h i s fatal compliance may expose him An d w hat is the result ? .
He stands there branded as a murderer because he was too

, ,

hi gh minded and too honourable to suspect his wi fe
-
.
Speaki n g thus o f the husban d the Dean was j ust as el oqu ent ,
TH E E ND OF TH E TR I A L . : 33
and just as u nanswerable when he came t o speak o f the

wife .
The L ord Advocate he sai d has asked with the b i tter

,

,

,
irony for which he is celebrated at the S cottish Bar why we ,
have failed entirely to prove that the prisoner place d the two
packets of poison in the possession of his wi fe ? I say in ,
answer we have proved rst that the wi fe was passionately

, , ,
attached to the husband ; secondly that she felt bitterly the ,
de fects in her personal appearance and especially the defects ,
in her complexion ; and thirdly that sh e was in formed of , ,

-
arsenic as a supposed remedy for these de fects taken inter ,
nal ly To men who kno w anything o f human nature there is

.
,
proo f enou gh ! D oes my learned friend actually suppose ,
that women are in the habit of mentioning the secret art i c es

and applications by which they improve their p ersonal appear
ance ? I s it in his experience of the sex that a woman who ,
is eagerly bent on maki n g hersel f attractive to a man would ,
tell that man or tell anybody else who might communicate

,
with him that the charm by whi ch she hoped to win hi s heart
,
- say the charm o f a pretty complexion had been articially

ac quired by the perilous use o f a deadly poison ? T he bare
idea of such a thing is absurd O f course nobody ever heard .
,
Mrs Eustace Mac al l an speak of arseni c O f course nobody

. .
,
ever surprised her in the act o f taking arsenic It is in the .
evidence that she would not even conde her inten tion to try
,
the poison to the friends who had told her of it as a remedy ,
and who had got her the book She actually begged them .
to consider their brie f conversation on the subject as strictly

private From rst to last poor creature she kept he:
.
, ,
secret ; j ust as she woul d have kept her secret if she h ad ,
worn false hair or i f she had been indebted to the dentist for
,
her teeth An d there you see her husband in peril of hi s

.
,
life because a woman acted l i ke a woman as your wives

, ,
Gentlemen of the J ury would in a similar position ac t , , ,
towards You .

: 84 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
After s uch glorious oratory as this (I wish I had room t o

quote more of it !) the next and last speech deliver ed at t h e , ,
T rial that is to say the Charge of the J udge t o the J ury is -
dreary reading indeed .
Hi s lordship rst told the J ury that they could not expect
to have direct evidence of the poisoning S uch eviden c e hardly .
ever occurred in cases of poisoni n g T hey must be satised .
with th e best circumstantial evidence All quite tru e I dare .

,
say . But having told the J ury they might a c cept circumsta ntial
evidence he turned back again on his ow n words and warned
, .
,
them against being t oo ready to trust it ! You must have
evidence satisfactory and convincing to your ow n mi n ds he ,

said ; in which y ou nd no conj ectures but only irresistible

and j ust inferences Who is to decide what is a just i n

.

ference ? An d what does circumstantial evidence rest on ,
bu t co nj ecture ?
Af ter this specimen I need give no further extracts from
,
the summing u p The J ury thoroughly bewildered no doubt

-
.
, ,
took re fuge in a compromise They o ccupied an hour in .
considering and debating among themselves in their ow n ,
room (A jury of w omen wo ul d not have taken a minute !)

.
T hen they returned into Court and gave their timid and ,
trimming S cotch V erdict in these words

N ot Proven

.
S ome sli ght applause followed, among the audien c e which ,
was instantly checked T he prisoner was dismissed from the

.
B ar with the formalities observed on such occasions He .
slowly retired like a man in deep grief ; his head sunk on his
,
breast not looking at any on e and not replying when h is ,
friends spoke to him He knew poor fello w the slur that

.
, ,
the V erdi ct left on him We don t say you are innocent of

.

the c rime charged against you ; we only say there is not ,
evidence enou gh to c onvict you In that lame and impotent .

c onclusion the proceedings ended at the time And there ,

.
they wo uld have remained for all time but for Me ,

.
I S EE M Y WA Y . : 85
C HAPTER XXI .
I S EE M Y WAY .
IN the grey light of the new morning I closed t h e R eport of ,

my husband s Trial f or the murder of hi s rst Wi fe .
N 0 sense of fatigue overpowered me I had no wish a ft er .

,
my l ong hours of reading and thinking to lie down and sleep ,

.
It was strange but it w as so I felt as if I ha d slept and

, .
,
had now j ust awakened a new woman with a n ew mind ,

.
I could almost understand Eustace s desertion of me To

.
a man of his renement it would have been a martyrdom to

,
meet his wi fe after she had read the things publi shed of him
,
to all the world in the R eport I felt this as he would have

, .
,
felt it At the same time I thought he might have trusted

.
,
Me to make amends to hi m for the martyrdom and might "
have come back Perhaps it might yet end in hi s c oming

.
,
back In the mean whi le and in that expectation , I pitied

.
,
and forgave him with my whole heart .
O ne little matter only dwelt on my mind disagreeably in ,
spite of my philosophy Did Eustace still secretly love Mrs

. .
Beaul y ? or had I exting uished that passion in h i m ? To

what order o f beauty did this lady belon g ? Were we by ,
any chance the least in the world like on e another ?

,
The window of my room looked to the east I dre w up .
the bli nd and saw the sun r ising grandly in a clear sky
,
.
The temptation t o g o out and breathe the fresh morning ai r

was irr esistible I put on my hat and shawl and took the
.
,
Report of the Trial under my arm T he bolts of the back .
i oor were easily drawn In another min ut e, I wa s out i n

.
Benjamin s pretty li ttle garden

.
C omposed and stren g thened b y t he invitin g s olitude and

the delicious air I found courage enough to fa c e the seriou s

,
question that now con fronted methe question of t h e

future .
I had read the Trial I had vowe d to devote my li fe to

.
the sacred obj ect of vindicatin g my husband s innocence A

.
solitary de fenceless woman I stood pledged to mysel f to carry

, ,
that desperate resolution thro ugh to an end How was I to .
begin ?
T he bold way of beginning was surely the wise way in ,
such a position as mine I had good r easen s (founded as I

.
,
have already mentione d on the important part played by this

,
witness at the Trial ) for believing that the ttest person t o

advise and assist me was Mi serr i m u s Dexter He might
, .
disappoint the expectations that I had xed on him or he ,
might refuse to help me or (like my uncle S tarkweather) he

,
might think I had taken leave of my senses Al l these events .
were possible N evertheless I held to my resolution to try

.
,
the experiment If he was in the land of the living I decided

.
,
that my rst step at startin g should take me to the de formed

m an with the strange name
,
.
S upposin g he received me sympathi z ed with me under , ,
stood me ? What would he say ? The nurse in her evidence , ,
had reported hi m as speaki n g in an off hand manner He -

.
woul d say in all probability Wha t do you mean to do !

, ,

An d how can I help you to do it ?

Had I answers ready i f those two plain questions were

,
put to me ? Y es ! i f I dared own to any human creatur e

what was at that very moment secretly fermentin g in my
, ,
mind Y es ! if I could conde to a stranger a suspicion

.
roused in me by the T rial which I have been thus far afraid ,
t o mention even in these pages

It must nevertheless be mentioned now My suspicion
, ,
.
led to results, which are part of my story and part of my ,
L et me own then , to begin with, that I closed the re c ord of

I S E E [ MY WA Y . I S)
the Trial actually agreei n g in on e important parti c ul ar with , ,
the opinion of my enemy and my husband s enemy the
L ord Advocate ! He had characteri z ed the explanation of

Mrs Eustace M ac all an s death o ffered by the defence as a
.

, ,

clumsy subterfuge in which no reasonable being could discern

,
the smallest fragment of probability Wi t /rou t goi n g quite .

so far as thi s I too c ould see no reason whatever in the

, , ,
evidence for assuming that the poor woman had taken an

over dose o f the poison by mistake I believed that she had
-
,
. .
the arsenic secretly in her possession and that she had trie d , ,
o r intended to try the use o f it internally for the purpose of

, ,
improvi n g h er complexion But further than this I could .
not advance The more I thought of it the more plainly

.
,
j ustied the lawyers for the prosecution seemed to me to be ,
in declaring that Mrs Eustace Mac all an had died by the hand
.
of a poisoner although they were entirely and certainly mis
taken i n charging my husband with the crime .
My husband being innocent somebody else on my ow n , ,
s howi n g must be gu i lty Who amon g the persons inhabiti n g

.
, ,
the house a the time had poisoned Mrs Eustace Mac all an ?
'
.
,
My suspicion in answeri n g that question pointed straight to

, ,
a woman .An d the name of that woman was Mrs Beauly ! .
Y es T o that startling conclusion I had arrived It w as .

,
to my m ind the inevitable result o f reading the evidence

, .
L ook back for a moment to the letter produced in Court ,
si gned H elena an d addressed t o Mr Ma c al l an

,

N0 . .
reasonable person can doubt (though t h e J udges excused her

from answeri ng the question ) that Mrs Beauly was the .
writer . V ery well The letter o ff ers as I think trus t

.
, ,
worthy evidence to show the state of the woman s mind when
sh e paid her visit to G l en i nc h .
Vl r i t i n g to Mr Ma c all an at a time w h em she was married

'
.
,
to another man a man to whom she had e n gaged hersel f

be fore she met with Mr Mac all an what does she say . Sh e
says,

When I t hi nk of y our li fe sacric ed to that wretche d
woman my heart bleeds for you

,
An d again she says If .

, , ,
it had been my unutterable happiness to love and cherish the

best the dearest of men what a paradise of ou r ow n we
, ,
might have lived in what delicious hours we might have

,
known !
I f this is not the language of a woman shamelessly and
furiously in love with a man not her husbandwhat is ?
S he is so full o f him that even her idea of another world (see
,
the letter) i s the idea of embracing Mr Mac all an s soul

.

.

In this condition of mind and morals the lady on e day nds ,
hersel f and her embraces free through the death of her ,
husband As soon as she can decently visit she goes vi siting ;

.
,
and in due course of time she becomes the guest of the man
, ,
whom sh e adores Hi s wi fe is i ll in her bed The on e other

. .
visitor at G l en i n ch is a cripple who can only move in hi s: ,

l
chair on wheels The lady h as the house and the on e beloved

.
object i n it all to herself N o obstacle stands between her

,
.
and the u nutterable happiness of loving and cherishing the

best the dearest of men but a poor sick u gly wife f or who m
, ,
Mr Mac all an n ever has felt and never can feel the smallest
.
, ,
par t icle of love .
Is it perfe ctly absurd t o beli eve that su ch a woman as this,

impelled by t hese motives an d surrounded by these cir c u m ,
stances wo ul d be capable of committing a c rime

,
if the sa fe
O pportunity off ered itsel f ?
What does her ow n evidence say ?
S he a dmits that she had a conversation with Mrs Eustac e .

Macal l an in which that lady questioned her on the subject
,
of c osmetic appli c ation s t o the c omplexi on

Did nothing .
else take pla c e at that intervie w ? Did Mrs B eauly make no .
dis c overies (a fterwards turned to fatal account ) of the dangerous

experiment which her hostess was then trying to i mpr O ve her ,
ugly complexion ? All we know is that Mr s B ea ul y s ai d ,

.
n othing about it .
What do es t he under g ardener say ? -

l 5 133 MY WA Y . : 39
He h eard a conversation between Mr Mac al l an and Mrs . .
Beauly which shows that the possibility of Mr s Beauly

,
.
becoming Mrs Eustace Mac all an had certainly pre s ented itsel f
.
to that la dy s min d, and was certainly considered by her to be

too dangerous 3 topic of discourse to be pursued Innocent .
Mr Mac al l an woul d have gone on talk ing Mrs Beauly is

. . .
discreet an d stops him

, .
And w hat does the nurse (Christin a Or msay) tell us ?

O n the day of Mrs Eustace Mac all an s death the nurse .

,
is dismissed f rom attendance and is sent downstairs Sh e , .
leaves the sick woman recovered from her rst attack of ,
illn ess and able to amuse herself w ith writing Th e nurse

,
.
remains away f or hal f an hour and then gets uneasy at not ,
hearing the invalid s bell Sh e goes to the Morning R oom

to consult Mr Mac al l an ; an d there she hears that Mrs

. .
Beauly is missin g Mr Macal l an doesn t know where she

. .

i s and as ks Mr Dexter i f he has seen her

,
. Mr Dexte r . .
has not set eyes on her At what time does the disappear .
ance of Mrs Beauly take place ? At the very time when

.
Christina Or msay had lef t Mrs Eustace Mac all an alone i n .
her room
Meanwhile the bell rings at last rings violently Th e
, , .
nurse goes back to the sick room at ve minutes to eleven or ,
t hereabouts and nds that the b a d symptoms of the mornin g

,
have returned in a gravely aggravated f orm A second dose .
of poison larger than the dose administered in the early

morning has been given during the absence of the nu rse , ,
and (observe) during the disappearance also of Mrs Beauly . .
Th e nurse look ing out into the corridor f or help encounters

, ,
Mrs Beauly hersel f innocently on her way f rom her o w n

.
,
roomjust u p we are to suppose at eleven in the morn

, ,
i ng to inquire af ter the sick woman .
A little later Mrs Beauly accompanies Mr Mac all an t o

, . .
visit the invalid Th e dying woman casts a s trange look at

. . .
both of them, an d tell s them to leave her Mr Mac all an . .

understands this as the f retful outbreak of a person in pain ,
and wa its in the roo m to tell the nurse that the doctor i s sen t
f or. What does Mrs Be a uly do ? Sh e runs out panic .
stricken the inst ant Mrs Eustace Mac al l an looks at h er

,
. .
Even Mrs Beaul y it seems h as a conscience

.
, ,
Is there nothing to justi fy suspicion in s uch circum

stances as thesecircumstances s w or n to on the oaths o! ,
the witnesses ?
To me the con clusio n is plai n
,
Mrs B eau l y s hand gave . .

that second dose of poison A dmit this ; and the in f erence .
f ollows that she a lso gave the rst dose in the early morning .
How could she do it ? Look again at the evidence Th e .
nurse admits that she was asleep f ro m p ast two in the morn ,
ing to six Sh e also speaks of a locked door of c om mu n i c a

.
tion with the sick room the key of whi ch h ad been removed , .
nobody knew b y whom S ome person m us t have stolen that .
key Why not Mrs Beauly ?

. .
O ne word more and all that I had in my mind at that

,
time w i ll be honestly revealed .
Mi ser r i mu s Dexter under cross exami nat ion , h a d in directly

,
-
a d mitted that he h a d i deas of his ow n on the subj ect of Mrs .
Eustace Ma c al l an s de at h At the s a me time he h a d sp oken

.
,
of Mrs Beauly in a tone which plainly be t rayed that he was

.
n o f riend to that la dy Di d lee suspect her too 3 My chie f

.
,
motive in deci ding to ask h i s advice be f ore I app l i e d t o ,
any one else was to nd an oppor t unity of p ut ting t hat

,
question to him I f he really t hought of her a s I di d

.
,
my course was clear be f ore me Th e next s t ep to t ak e would .
be caref ully to conce al m y identi t y an d then to present

mys elf, in the character of a harmless strang er to Mrs , .
Beauly .
There were di fculties of course i n my way Th e rs t, , .
an d greatest di fcul ty was to obtain an introduction to Mise n
r imu s D exter .
I S E E I VY WA Y . 1 9!
Th e compo s ing in uence of the fresh air in the g arden

had by this time made me rea dier to lie down and rest
, ,
than to occupy my mind in reecting on my di fculties .
Little by little I grew too drowsy to think then too la zy

,
to go on walking My bed look ed wonderf ully inviti n g as I

.
,
passed by the O pen window of my room .
In ve minutes more I had accepted the invitation of t h e

bed and had sai d f arewell to my anxieties and my troubles
, .
In ve minutes more I wa s f ast asleep .
A di screetly gentle knock at my door was the rst sound

that roused me I heard the voice of my good ol d Benj amin
.
speaking out side .

My dear ! I am a fra id you will be starved i f I let you
sleep any longer It is half past one o clock 3 and a f riend of
.
-

yours has come to lunch with us .

A f riend of mine ? What f riends had I ? My husban d

was f ar away 3 and my uncle Starkweather had given me up
in despair .

Who i s it ? I cried ou t f rom my bed through the door , .
Maj or Fit z Davi d Benjamin ans w ered by the same

-
medium .
I sprang out of bed Th e very man I wanted was waitin g

.
t o see me 1 Major Fit z David as the phrase is k ne w every

-
, ,
b o dy . Intimate with my husb a n d he would certainly k n o w ,
my husband s ol

d friend Mi ser r i m us D exter .
Shall I con f ess th a t I took particular pains with m y toilet ,
an d th a t I k ept the luncheon waiting ? Th e woman doesn t

live who would have done othe rw ise when she had a pan
t i c ul ar favour t o ask of Majo r Fi t z Da vi d ~
1 92 THE LA W AND THE LAD 7 .
CHAP TER XXII .
THE M AJO R M AK ES D I FFI C U LTI ES .
As I pened the dini n g room door the Major has tene d to

o -
meet me He looked the brightest and the youngest of

.
li ving elderly gentlemen with his smart blue frock coat -

,
hi s winning smile his ruby ring and hi s ready compli , ,
ment It w as quite cheering to meet the modern D on J uan

.
once more .

I don t ask af ter your health said the old gentleman 3

,
your eyes answer me my dear lady before I can put the , ,
question At your age a long sleep is the true beauty

.
drau ght Plenty of bed there is the simple secret of

.
keeping your good looks and li vi ng a long li f e plenty of

bed !

I have not been so long in my bed Major a s you s up , ,
pose To tell the truth I have been u p all nig ht re a ding

.
, ,
.

Major Fit z David li fted his well painted eyebrows, in polite

- -
s urprise .

What is the happy book which has interested you so

deepl y l he asked

.
Th e book I an s wered i s the Tri al of my hu sband f or

, ,
the murder of his rst wi f e .

Th e Major s smile vanished He drew back a s tep with a .
,
look of dismay .
D on t mention that horrid book ! he exclaimed

Don t
.

s peak of that dread ful subject What have beau t y and grace
to do w ith Trials Poi s onings Horrors Why, my charmi ng
, ,
f riend pro fane your lips by tal k ing of s uch thing s ? Why
,
f r ig hten away the Loves and the Graces that lie hid in your
TH E 7 11 1 47 01? M AK E S D I FFI CU] TI E R . 1 93
smil e ? Humour an old f ell o w w h o adore s the Love s and t he

G race s and who asks nothi ng better than to sun himself in
your s mile Luncheon i s ready Let u s be cheerful Let
. . .

us laugh and lunch ,
.
He led me to the table and lled my plate and my gl ass ,
w ith the air of a man who considered himself to be engaged
i n on e of the most important occupations of his lif e Benja .
mi n kept the conversation going on in the interval .
Maj or Fi t z Davi d brings you some news my dear he s aid

.
, ,

.
Your mother i n law Mrs Ma c all an is coming here to see

- -
,
.
,
you to day

-
.
My mother i n law coming t o s ee me -

I tur ned eagerly to
-
the Maj or f or further in f ormation .
Has Mrs Mac al l an heard anything of my husband ? I

.

asked Is she coming here to tell me about him 1

.

She has heard from him I believe sai d the Major 3 an d

, ,
she has also heard f rom your uncle the Vicar O ur excell ent , .
S tarkweather ha s written to her to what purpose I have not

been in f ormed I only know that on receipt of hi s letter
.
,
she has decided on paying you a vi sit I met the ol d lady .
last night at a party 3 an d I tri ed h ard to discover whether

she was coming to you as your f riend or your enemy My .
po w ers of persuasion were completely thrown away on her .
Th e fa ct is said the Major speaking in the character of a

, ,
youth of v e and t w enty mak ing a modest con f ession I

- -
, ,
don t get on well with ol d women Take the wi l l f or the

.
deed my sweet f riend

,
I have tried to be of some use to y ou .
- and I have f aile d .

9
Those words o ff ered me the opportunity for which I w as v
Waiting I determined not to lose it

. a .

You can be of the greatest use to me I said i f you
,

,
will allow me to presume M ajor on your p a st kin dness I , , .
w ant to ask you a question 3 and I may have a f avour to beg

w hen you have answered me .
M aj or Fit z David set dow n

hi s w ine gl ass on its way to
- -
0
: 94 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
his lip s an d looked at me with a n appearance of breath

,
l e ss int ere s t
Command me my dear ladyI am yours and yours only
.

, ,
said the gallant ol d gentleman What do you w i s h to ask.
me
I wish to ask you i f you know Mi ser r i mus Dexter ?
Good Heavens cried the Maj or 3 that i s an unexpec ted
q ue stion ! K now Mi ser ri mus D exter ? I have known hi m

for more years than I l ike to reckon up What c an be .
your obj ect

I can tell you w hat my obj ect is in two w ord s I i n ter ,
posed I want you to give me an introduction t o Mi ser r i mus

.
D exter .

My impression i s that the Maj or turned pale under hi s

paint This at any rate i s certain 3 his sparkling little grey
.
, ,
eyes looked at me in undisgui sed bew ilderment and alarm .
You w a nt to know Mi ser r i mu s D exter ? he repeated with

,
the air o f a man w h o doubted the evidence of his o w n sen s es .
Mr Benjamin ! have I tak en too much of your excell ent

.
w ine ? Am I the victim of a delusion or did our fa ir f rien d

real ly ask me to give her an introductio n t o Mi serr i mus
D exter
Be njamin looked at me in some bewilderment on hi s side ,
an d answered qui te seriously

I think you said so my dear , .

I certainly said s o I rejoined What i s there so ve ry
, .

surprising i n my request

Th e man is mad cried the Maj or In all England you .
could not have picked ou t a person more essentially unt to be

introduced t o a ladyto a you n g lady especi ally t h an -
Dexter Have you heard of his horrible de formity ?

.

I have heard of i t and it doesn t daunt me

.

Doesn t daunt you ! My dear lady the man s mind is as ,

de f ormed a s hi s body Wh at Volt aire said satirically of the

.
character of hi s c o n n t r vm en i n general, i s literally true of

TH E M AYOR f AK ES D I FFI CUL TI ES . 1 95
Mi ser ri mus D exter He i s a mixture of the tiger an d the

.
monkey At on e moment, he would frighten you ; and at

.
the next he woul d s et you screami n g with laughter

,
I .
don t deny that he i s clever in some respect s brilliantly

c lever I admit
,
And I don t say that he has ever committed
.

an y acts of violence, o r ever willingly injured anybody But .

,
for all that he is mad i f ever a man was mad yet For
, ,
.
g ive me i f the inquiry is impertinent What c an your .
motive possibly be for wan ting an int rod uctio n t o Mi serr i

mus D exter ?

I want to con s ult h i m .

May I ask on what subj ect ?

O n the subj ect of my husband s Trial
.
M ajor Fit z David groaned , and sought a mo mentary con so

-

la tion in hi s friend Benjamin s claret .
That dread f ul subject again he exclaimed Mr . .
Benjamin why doe s she persist in dwelli ng on that dread f ul

,
subj ect
I must dwell on what i s n ow the on e employment and t h e

one hope of my li fe I said I have reason to think th at
,

.
Mi ser r i mu s Dexter can help me to clear my husband s chara o
ter of the stain which the S cotch Verdict has le f t on it Tiger .
and monkey as he m ay be , I am ready to run the risk of

bei ng introduced to him And I ask you again rashly and .
obstinately as I f ear you will think to give me the intro

duction It will put you to no inconvenience I won t troubl e
. .

you to escort me 3 a letter to Mr Dexter would do

. .
Th e Major looked piteousl y at Benjamin and shook his ,
head Benjami n looked piteously a t the Maj or, and s hook

.
hi s head .

S h e appears to insis t on i t said the Major , .

Yes said Benjamin
,
Sh e appe ars to insi st on it
. .

I won t take the responsibility Mr Benjamin , of s ending

, .
h er alon e to M i ser r i mus Dexter

.
S hall I go w i th her, si r ?

1 96 TH E LA IV AND TH E L AD Y .
Th e Maj or re ected Benjamin in t h e capacity of pro .

,
tector did not appear to i nspire our m i litary friend with

,
con dence Af ter a moment s consideration a n ew idea

.

,
seemed to strike him He turned to me . .

My ch arming friend he said be more charming tha n
everconsent to a compromise Let us treat this di fcul ty

, ,
~
.
a bout Dexter from a social point of vie w What do you say .

to a little dinner ?

A little dinner ? I repeated not in the least under s tand ,
ing him .

A little dinner the M ajor reiterated At my hou s e
,
.
.
You insist on my introducing you to D exter 3 and I re f us e to

t rus t you alone with th a t crack brained personage Th e only -
.
'
a lternative under the circumstances 8 to invite him to meet
you and to let you form your ow n opinion of hi mu nder

,
the protection of my roof Who shall we have to meet you .

,
besides ? pursued the Maj or brightening with hospitable

,
intentions We want a perf ect galaxy of be auty round the

.

table a s a specie s of compens ation when we have got

, ,
Mi serr i m u s Dexter f or on e of the guests Mad ame Mi r li or c .
i s s till i n Londo n You would be sure to like h en she i s

.
charmi ng 3 she possesses your rmness your extra ordinary ,
tenacity of purpose Yes we will have M adame M i r l i or e .

, .
Who else ? Shall we say Lady Cl arin da ? Another ch a rmi n g

person Mr Benjamin ! You would be sure to admire her
,
.
she is so sy mp athetic she resembles in so m any respec t s our ,
fa ir f riend here Yes Lady Clarin da shall be on e of us 3 a n d

.
,
you shall sit next to her Mr Be nj a min as a proo f of my ,

.
,
sincere regard for you Shall we have my young prim a .
donna to sin g to us in the evening ? I thi nk s o Sh e is .
pretty 3 she w ill assist in obscuring the def ormity of Dexter .
Very well there is ou r p ar ty comp lete 3 I will shu t mysel f

,
u p this evening an d a pproach the question of dinner wi t h m y

,

c oc k Sh all we sa y this day week asked the Major, ta king
.
,
a u t his poc k e t book J at eight o clock ?

TH E MA M AK ES DI FFI CUL TI ES . : 97
I con s ented to the proposed compromise but n ot very

willingly With a letter of introduction I might have s e n
.
,
e
Mi ser r i m u s Dexter that af t ernoon A s it w as the li t t l e .

,
dinner compelled me to wait in absol ute in action t hro u gh a ,
w hole week Ho w ever there was no help t it but to

.
,
s ub mit .M aj or Fi t z David in his polite way could be a s

-
, ,
obstinate as I was He h ad eviden tly ma de u p his

.
min d 3 and further opposition on my part would be of no

service to me .
Punctually at eight M r Benjamin reiterated the Major , .

,

.
P ut it down i n your book .

Benjamin obeyed with a side look at me which I was at ,
no loss t o interpret My goo d ol d friend did not relish

.
meet ing a man at dinner who was described as half tiger ,

,

half monkey ; and the privilege of sitting next to Lady
Clarinda rather daunted than delighted hi m It was all my .
doing and he too h ad n o choice but to submit P unctu al l y

, , ,
.
at eight sir said poor ol d Benj amin obediently recording

, ,

,
his formal engagement Please to take another gl a ss of

.

wine .

Th e Major looked at hi s watch and rosewith uent ,
apologies f or abruptly leaving the table .

It is later than I thought he said I have an appoint ,

.
ment w ith a friend a f emale friend ; a most attrae

tive person You a little remind me o f her m y de ar
.
,
l a dy you re s emble her in complexion ; the same cre amy

paleness I adore creamy paleness
. As I was s ayi n g .
,
I have an appoint ment with my f riend ; she does me

the honour to ask my O pinion on some very remarkable
specimens of ol d lace I have studied ol d lace .I .
study everything that can make me usef ul or agreeable

You won t f orget our little

t o your ench anting sex .
dinner ? I wi ll send Dexter his invitation the moment I

get home He took my hand and looked at it c ri t i
.

,
sally, w ith his head a l ittle on on e s ide

A delicious .
: 98 THE LA W AND TH E LAD Y .

hand he s aid 3 you don t mind my looking at it you don t
, ,
mind my kis s ing i t do you ? A delicious hand is one of my

weaknesses Forgive my weaknesse s I promis e to repent
. .
an d amend one of these days

.
,
At your age M ajor do you think you have much time t o

, ,
lo s e ask ed a strange voice speaking behind us , .
We all three looked round towards the door There stood .
my husban d s mother smiling satirically with Benj ami n s

shy little maid servant waiting to announce her -

.
M ajor Fitz David wa s ready with his an swer Th e ol d

-
.
soldier was not easily taken by surpri s e .

Ag e my dear Mrs Ma c al l an i s a purely relative expres
, .
,
sion he said There are some people who are never youn g ;

, .
and there are other people who are n ever ol d I am one of .
Au r evoz r I

t h e other people .
W ith that answer t h e incorrigible M aj or kissed the tips of

,
h i s ngers to u s and walked ou t Benj amin bowing with

, .
,
h i s ol d f ashioned courtesy threw open the doOr of his little ,
library and inviting Mrs Mac al l an and my s elf to pa s s in, l e ft

, , .
us together in the room .
C HAP TER XXI II .
MY M O TH ER I N - -
L AW S U R P R I S ES ME
I a chair at a respect ful distance from the s o fa on w hi ch

TOO K
Mrs Mac all an seate d hersel f

. Th e old l ady smil ed and .
,
beckoned to me to take my place by her side J udging by .
appearances she h ad certainly not come to see me in the

,
character of an enemy It remained to be di scovered whethe r .
s he was really disposed to be my f riend .

I have received a letter f rom your uncle the Vicar sh e

, ,
began H e asks me to vi s it you 3 and I am happy f or

.
M Y M O TH ER I N LA W S UR P RISE S M E- -
. : 99
r eas on s w hich you shall pre s ently hearto comply with hi s

r e q uest
. U nde r other circumstances I doubt very much my , ,
dear child strange as the con fession may appe ar whether

I should have ventured into your presence My son ha s .
behaved to you s o weakly and (in my opinion ) s o n ex c usab l y

,

,
that I am r eally, speaking as his mother, almost ashamed to

face you .

Wa s she i n earne st ? I listened to her, an d looked at her,

i n amaz ement .
Your U ncle s letter pursued Mrs Ma c all an tell s me

, .
,
how you have behaved under your hard trial and what you ,
propose to do now Eustace has lef t you

,
Dr Starkweather . .
,
poor man s eems inexpressibly shocked by what you said to

,
him when he was in London He begs me to u se my .
in uence to induce you to ab andon y our present ideas and to ,

make you return to your ol d home at the Vic ar age I don t .
in the least agree with your m ole my dear ! Wild as I ,
believe your plans to b eyou have not the slightest chance

of succeeding in carrying them ou t I admire your coura ge 3
your delity ; your unshaken f aith in my unhappy son af te r ,
his unpardonable behaviour to you You are a ne creature, .
Valeria ! And I have come here to tell you so in plain words .
Give me a kiss chi ld You deserve to be the wi f e of a hero

and you have married on e of the weakest of living mortals
.
, .

God forgive me for speaking so of my o w n s on ! But it s in
my mind and it must come ou t
,
Thi s way of speaking of Eustace was more than I coul d

s uff ereven from hi s mother I recovered the u s e of my .
t ongue, i n my husband s de f ence

.

I am sincerely proud of your good opinion dear Mr s .
But you distress meforgive me i f I

,
Mac all an I said

, .
o w n it plainly w hen I hear

you speak so disparagingly of
Eustace . I cannot agree with you that my husband i s h e

w eakest of li ving mortals .
Of course n ot ! r etorted th e old lady You are lik e a

.
soc THE LA W AND THE LAD Y .
good w omanyou make a hero of the man you love wheth er ,
he deserves it or not Your husband has host s of good

.
qualities child and perhaps I know them better than you

,
do. But his whole conduct f rom the moment when he rst ,
(

e ntered your uncle s house to the present time has been I
,
s ay again) the conduct of an essen tially weak man What do .
you think he has done now by way of climax ? He h as

j oined a charitable brotherhood 3 and he is off to the war in
S pain with a red cros s on his arm when he ought to be here ,
o n his knees asking his wi fe to f orgive him I say that is .
t h e cond u ct of a w eak man S ome people might call it by a

.
harder name .

This news startled and distressed me I might be resigned .
t o his leaving me (f or a time ) ; but all my instincts as

a woman revolte d at his placing himself in a position of
danger during his separati o n from his wif e

, He had n ow .
deliberately added to my anxieties I thought it cruel of .
him but I would not con f ess what I thought to his mother .
I a ff ecte d to be as cool as she was 3 and I disputed her con

elusions with all the rmness that I could summon to help
me Th e terrible old woman only went on abus ing h i m more

.
vehemently than ever .

What I complain of in my son proceeded Mrs Ma c al l an ,

.
,
i s that he has entirely f ai led to understand you I f he had .
mar ried a fool his conduct would be intelligible enough

,
.
He w ould have done wisely to conceal f rom a f ool that he had

been marr ied already and that he had su er ed the horrid
,
p u bli c exposure of a Trial f or the murder of hi s wi fe Then, .
again he would have been quite right when this same fool
, ,
had discovered the truth to take himsel f off out o f her way
, ,
be f ore she could suspect him of poisoning herf or the s ake

o f the peace and quiet of both parties But you are not a .
fool . I can see that af t er only a short experience of you

,
.
Why can t he see it too ? Why didn t he trust you with hi s

,

s ecret f rom the rs t, i nstead of s tealing his way into your

I VY M OTI I E Ii I N LA W S UR PRISES M E
o - . . 20 1
a ff ections under an assumed name ? Why did he plan (as he

c o nf essed to me
) to take you a way to the Mediterran ean and ,
t o keep you abroad f or f ear of some ofc i ou s f rien ds at hom e

,
betraying h i m to you as the prisoner of t h e f amous Trial ?

What is the plain answer to all these questions ? Wh at is
the one possible explanation of this other w ise un accountable
conduct ? There is only on e ans w er and one explanation ,
.
My poor wretched son h e t akes af t er his f ather 3 he isn t the
least like me is weak in his w ay of j udging 3 weak in his

w ay of acting ; and like all we ak people headstro n g and
, ,

unre a sonable to the last degree There is the truth ! D on t .
get red and angry I am a s f ond of him as you are I

. .
can see hi s merit s too And one of them is that he

, .
,
has married a woman of s pirit and resolution so f aithful ,
a n d so f ond of him that she won t even let his ow n

,
mother tell her of his faul ts Good child ! I like you for .
h at ing me !
Dear madam don t say that I hate you ! I exclai med

,

( f eeli ng very much as i f I did hate her though for all that l)
"
, , .
I o nl y pres ume to thi nk that you are con fusing a delicate

minded man with a weak minded man O ur dear unhappy -
.
Eu stace

Is a delicate minded man s aid the impenetrable Mrs

. -
, .
Mac all an nishing my sentence f or me

, We will leave it .
there my dear and get on to another subj ect I wonder

, , .

whether w e shall disagree about that t oo ? ,
Wh at is the subj ect madam ? ,

I won t tell you if you call me madam Call me, mother
, . .
Say What is the subj ect mother

, ,

What is the subj ect mother ? ,
Your notion of turning yoursel f into a C ourt of Appeal

f or a new Trial of Eu stace and f orcing the world t o ,
pronounce a j us t ver dict on hi m D o you really mean t o .

I do !
Mrs Macall an considered f or a mome n t gr imly w ith

.
h ers elf
.

You know h ow heartily I admire your courage, and your
devotion to my un f ortunate son she s aid You know by

.
, ,
this time that I don t cant But I cannot see you attempt
,

.
to perf orm impossibilities 3 I cannot let you uselessly ri s k

your reputation and your happiness w ithout warn i ng you ,
be f ore it is too late My child the thing you have g ot it in

.
your he a d to do, is n ot to be done by you or by anybo dy .

Give it up .
I am deeply obliged to you, Mrs Mac all an .

Mother !
I am deeply obliged to you mother for the interest that , ,
you take i n mebut I cannot give it up Right or w rong .

,
risk or no risk I must and I will try it 1 , , ,

Mrs Mac all an looked at me very attentively, and sighed a s

.
sh e looked .

O h youth youth ! she said to hersel f s adly
, ,

What ,
.
a grand thing it is to be young ! Sh e controlled

the rising r gret and t urned on me suddenly almost

e , ,
ercely with these w ords : What i n God s name, do you

,

,

mean to do ?
At the i n sr xn t when she put the que s tion the idea crossed ,
my mind th a t Mrs Ma c all an could introduce me i f she .

,
pleased to Mi ser ri mus Dexter Sh e must know him, and

, .
know hi m werl as a gue s t at Gl eni n ch and an ol d f riend of

,
her son .
I mean t o cons ult Mi ser ri mus Dexter I answered, ,

boldly .
Mr s Mac al l an s tarted back from me, w ith a loud ex cl amap

.
t ion of surpri s e .

Are you o ut of yo ur s enses ? s he asked .
I told h er as I had told Maj or Fitz D avid, that I had

,
-

r easo n to th i n k Mr D exter s ad vice might be of r eal ass is tanc e
.
to me at s tar ring .
M Y M 0 TH ER I rV LA IV S URE/U S ES IVE
.
- -
. 20 3
And I rejoined Mrs Mac all an h ave r eas on to thi nk

,

.
,

that your w hole proj ect i s a mad on e and that i n asking ,

Dexter s advice on it you appropriately consul t a madman .
You needn t start chil d ! There i s no har m in the creature

, .
I don t mean that he w ill attack you, or be rude to you

I .
only say that the last person who m a young woman placed in ,
our pain f ul and delicate position , ought t o ass ociate herself

y
w ith is Mi ser ri mu s D exter

.
,
S tr an ge ! Here w as the Major s warning repeated by Mrs

.
Mac all an almost in the Maj or s ow n words Well ! It shared

,

.
t h e fate of most warnings It only made me more and more .
eager to have my ow n way .
You s urprise me very much I s ai d Mr Dexter s ,

. .

evidence given at the Trial

, seems as clear and reasonable a s ,

evidence c an be .

Of co urse it is ! answ ered Mr s Mac al l an

Th e short . .
hand writers and reporters put hi s evidence into presentabl e

language bef ore they printed it
, I f you had heard what h e .
r eally said as I did you w ould have been either ve r y much

, ,
disgusted w ith him or very much amused by him according

, ,
to your way of looking at things He began f airly enough .

, ,
w ith a mode s t explanation of his absurd Christian name ,
which at once checked the merriment of the audience But .
as he went on the mad side of him sho w ed itself He mixed

, .
up sense and n on s en s e in the strangest con f usion : he w as

call ed to order over and over agai n he was even threatened
w ith ne and imprisonment f or contempt of Court In short .
,
he was jus t like himselfa mixture of the strangest and t h e

m ost opposite qualities 3 at on e time per fectly clear an d ,
r eas o n able as you s ai d j ust now ; at another breaking out int o

, ,
r hapsodie s o f the most outrageous k ind like a man i n a stat e ,
of deli rium A more entirely unt person to ad vise anybody

.
,
You don t expect Me to intro

I tell you again never l ived , .

duce you to hi m, I hope ?
I did think of s uch a thing I an s w er ed
But, after ,

.
what you hav e said dear Mrs Mac all an, I give u p the idea
It is not a great sac ri c ei t only obliges me to
, .
,
of course .
w ait a w eek for M aj or Fit z David s dinner party He has

-
.
promised to ask Mi ser r i mu s D exter to meet me .

There is the Maj or all over ! cried the ol d lady
If
.
you pin you faith on that man I pity you He is as slippery ,

.
as an eel I s uppo s e you asked hi m to introduce you to

.
D exter
Yes

.

Exactly ! Dexter despises him, my dear He knows as .
w ell as I do that Dexter won t go to his dinner

And he .
takes that roundabout way of keeping you ap art instead of

saying No to you plainly like an honest man ,
.

This was bad news But I was as usual too obstinate to .

, ,
own mysel f de f eated .

I f the worst comes to the w orst I said I can ,

,
but write to Mr D exter and beg hi m to grant me an

.
,

interview .
And go to him by yours elf i f he doe s grant it i nqui r ed

Mrs Mac al l an
. .
Certainly By myself . .

You really mean it ?
I do indeed
, .

I won t allow you to go by yours elf

.
May I venture to ask ma am h ow you propo s e to prevent ,

,
me
By going with you to be sure you obstinate hussy ! Yes , , ,
ye s I can be as headstrong as you are when I l ike Mind ! , .
I don t want to kno w what your plans are I don t want to

.

be mixed up w i th your plans My son is resigned to t h e .
S cotch Verdi ct And I am resigned to the S cot ch Verdic t

. .
It is you who won t let matters rest as they are You are a

.
vain and foolhardy young person But s omehow I have .

, ,
taken a liki ng to you 3 and I won t let you go to Mi ser ri mus

Dexte r by your self Put on your bonnet ! .
M I S ERRI M US DEXTEE FI RS T VI E IV . : 05
Now ? I asked

.
Certainly ! My carri age i s at the door And the s ooner

Get readyand be
.
i t s over the better I shall be pleased

.
,
quick about it
I required n o second bidding In ten minute s mor e, w e .
w ere on ou r w ay to Mi serri mu s D exter .
S uch w as the re sul t of my mother i n law s visit

- -
.
C HAP TER XXIV .
M I S ERRI M U S D EXTER F I R ST V I EW .
WE had dawdled over luncheon bef ore Mr s Mac al l an

ou r , .
arrived at Benjamin s cottage Th e ensuing convers ation

.
bet w een the ol d lady and myself (of which I have only pre
sented a brief abstract) lasted until quite late in the af ter
noon Th e sun was setting in heavy clouds when we got into
.
the carriage and the dreary twil ight began to f all round us
,
while we were still on the road .
Th e di rection in whi ch we drove took u s (a s well a s I coul d

judge) towards the great northern suburb of London .
For more than an hour the c a rriage threaded it s way

through a dingy brick l abyrinth of streets growing smaller ,
an d sm aller and dirtier a u d dirtier the f urther we went

, , .
Emerging f rom the labyrinth I n ot i c ed in the g athering dark

,
nes s dismal patches of waste ground which seemed to be neither

town nor country Crossing these we pa ssed some f orlorn
.
,
outlying groups of houses with dim little scattered shop s

amon g them looking like lost count ry vill ages w andering on
,
the w ay to London ; disgured and smoke dried al ready by -
their j ourney Darker and darker and drearier and drearier ,
the prospect grew until the carriage stopped at last and ,
Mrs Mac all an announced in her sharply satirical way

.
,
-
that we had r eached the end o f our j ourney Princ

e .

Dexter s Pal ace, my dear, s he s aid you t h i nk

. What do

of it ?
I looked round m enot kno w ing what to thi nk of it, i f th e
t ruth must be told .
We had got ou t of the carriage and we w re standing on a ,

o .
r ough half made gravel path

-
R ight and lef t of me in the .
,
dim light I saw the h al f completed foundations of new house s

,
-
i n their rst stage of existence Board s and bricks were .
scattered about us At places gaunt scaff olding poles ro s e

.
,
-
like t h e branchl e s s trees of the brick desert Behi n d us on -

.
,
th e other side of the high r oad stretched another plot of waste ,
round a s yet n ot built on O ver the sur face of thi s second

g ,
.
desert the gha stly white gures of vagrant d uck s gleamed at

,
i nterval s in the my sti c light In front of us at a distance of .

,
t w o hu ndred yar th or so a s well as I could calculate rose a

, ,
black mass which graduall y resolved itsel f as my eyes became ,
a ccu s tomed to the twilight into a long low and ancient , , ,
hou s e with a hedge of evergreens and a pitch black paling i n

,
-
front of it Th e footman led the way towards the paling

.
,
through the boards and the bricks the oyster shells and t he ,
-
broke n crockery that stre w ed the ground And thi s was

, .

Prince Dexter s Palace !
There was a gate in the pitch black paling and a bell handle - -
discovered with great di i c ul ty Pulling at the handle th e

,
.
,
footman set in motion to j udge by the sound produced a bell

, ,
of prodigious siz e tter for a church than a hou s e

,
.
While we were waiting for admission Mr s Mac al l an pointed , .
to the low dark line of the ol d building .
There is on e o f hi s madnesses she said The speculators .

in this n ew neighbourhood have o ffered him I don t kno w ,
h ow many thousand pounds for the ground th at house st an ds

on . It was originally the manor h ouse of the district Dexter .
purchas ed it many years since in one of hi s f reaks of

, ,
fa ncy . He h as no old family a s sociations with the place 3 t h e

wa ll s are all but tumbli n g about hi s ears ; and the money
M I S ERR I M US D E XTE EFIRS T V IE W

. 20 7
o ff ered w ould really be of use to him But n o ! He re fus e d .

,
th e proposal of the enterprising speculators by letter in these , ,
w ord s : My house is a standing monument of the picturesqu e

an d beautif ul amid the mean dishonest ,
and grovelling con , ,
st r uc t i on s of a mean dishonest a n d grovelling age I keep

, , .
my house gentlemen as a usef ul lesson to you Look at it

, ,
.
,
whi le you are buildi ng round me and blush i f you can f or , ,

your ow n work Wa s there ever such an absurd letter
.
written yet ? Hush ! I hear footsteps in the garden He r e .
c omes his cousin Hi s c ou si n is a woman I may as wel l

. .
tell you that or you might mistake her f or a man i n t h e

, ,

dark .
A rough deep voice which I should certainly never have

, ,
supposed to be the voice of a w o man hailed us f rom the i nn er ,
side of the p aling .

Who 8 there ?
Mrs Macal l an answered my mother i n l aw

.
,
- -
.

What do you want ?

We want to see Dexter .
You can t s ee hi m

.

Why not ?

What did you s ay your name w as 1
Mac all an Mrs Mac all an Eus tace Mac all an s m other
. . .

.
Now do you unders tand ?
Th e voice muttered and grunted behind the paling , and a

key tur ned in the lock of the g ate .
Admitted to the garden in t h e deep shadow of the shrub s , ,
I could see nothing distinctly of the woman with the rough

voice except that she wore a m an s hat Closing the gate
,

.
behind us without a word of welcome or explanation she led

, ,
the way to the house Mrs Ma c all an f ollowed her easily, . .
knowing the place 3 and I walked in Mrs Mac all an s f oo t .

steps as closely a s I could This is a nice fa mily m y .

,

mother i n law whispered to me

- -
Dexter s cousi n i s t he only .

weman in the house and Dexter s cousin is an idi o t

, .
We enter ed a Spacious ha ll w ith a l ow ceili n gdiml y li t

,
at i ts further end by on e small oil lamp I could see that .
there were pictures on the g rim brown walls but the subj ects
\ epr esen t ed were invisible in the obscure and shadowy light .
Mrs Mac all an addressed hersel f to the speechless cousi n

.

w ith the m a n s hat .
Now tell me she said Wh y can t we see D exter ?

,

.

Th e cousin took a sheet of paper off the hall table and ,
handed it to M r s Mac all an . .
Th e Master s writing ! sai d thi s strange creature in a

h oar s e whisper as i f the bare idea of the Master terried

,

her . R ead it And stay or go whi ch you please

.

, , .
Sh e O pened an invisible side door in the wall masked by -
on e of the pictures dis a ppeared thr ough it li ke a ghost an d
le ft us together alone in the hall .
Mrs Mac all an approached the oil lamp and l oc k ed by its

.
,
light at the sheet of paper whi ch the woman had given to her .
I fo l lowed and peeped over her shoulder without ceremony

, , .
Th e paper exhibited written characters trace d in a wonder ,
f ull y large and rm han dwriting Had I caught the i n f ec .
tion of madness in the air of the house ? O r did I really see

before me these words ?

NO TI CE My immense imagination is at work
. Vision s .
of heroes unroll themselves be f ore me I r e animate in mys elf .

-
the spirits of the departed great My brains are boil i n g in .
my hea d Any person s who disturb me under existing cir

.
,
c um st an c es wil l do it at the peril of their lives D EXTER

, . .
Mr s Macal l an looked round at me quietly w i th her sardo ni c

.
smile .
D o you still persist in w anting to be introduced to him ?
sh e asked .
Th e mockery in the tone of the question rou s ed my pride .
I determine d that I woul d not be the rst to give way .
Not if I am putting you in peril of your lif e ma am I

, ,
answered, pertly enou gh, pointing to the paper in her ha n d

ALI S E RR I AI US D E XTE R u -
FI RS T VI E W
. 20 9
My mother i n law ret u rned to the hall table and put the
- - -
paper back on it without condescending to reply

, Sh e then .
l ed the way to an arched recess on ou r r ight hand, beyond

which I dimly discerned a broad i ght of oaken stairs .
Follow me said Mrs Mac all an mounting the stair s i n the

,

.
,
dark;
I know where to nd him .

We groped ou r way up t h e stairs to the rst landi n g Th e .
next ight of steps turning in the reverse direction was

, ,
faintly ill uminated like the h all below, by on e oi l lamp, placed

,
in s ome invisible position above us Ascending the second .
ight o f s tairs and crossing a short corridor we discovered

, ,
the lamp thr ough the open door of a quaintly shaped circular
,
-
room, burning on the mantelpiece Its light illuminated a .
strip of thick tapestry hanging loose f rom the ceiling to the

,
oor on the wall O pposite to the door by whi ch we had

,
entered .
Mrs Mac all an drew aside the strip of tape s try, and, s igning
.
to me to f ol low her passed behind it , .
Listen she whispered .
Standing on the inner side Of the tapestry I found mysel f in ,
a dark reces s or pass age at the end of which a r ay of li g ht from

,
the lamp showed me a closed door I listened and hear d, on t h e .

,
other side of the door a shouting voice accompanie d by an

,
.
,
extraordinary rumbling and whistl ing sound travelling back

wards and forwards, as well as I coul d j udge over a gre a t ,
space . Now the rumbling and the whistling woul d r each

their climax of loudness and would overcome the resonan t ,
notes of the shouting voice Then again , tho s e louder sounds .

,
gradually retreated into distance, and the shouti n g voice

made itself heard as the more audible sound of the two Th e .
door must have b ee n of prodigiou s s olidity Listen as in .

t en t l y as I might, I fa iled to catch the articulate words (i f

any) which the voice was pronouncing and I was equ all y at ,
a loss to penetrate the c aus e w hich produced the rumbling

and w hi s tlin g s o und s
P

What possibly be going on I whi spered t o Mrs
c an ,

.
Mac all an , on the other side o f that door ?

S tep so ftly my mother i n law answered an d come an d

-
-
, ,

s ee
.
Sh e arran ged the tapestry behind u s s o as completely to ,
shut ou t the light in the circular room Then noisele s sly .
\ urning the handle she opened the heavy door ,

.
We kept ourselve s concealed in the shadow of the rece s s,

and looked through the open doorway .
I saw (or f ancied I saw in the O bscurity ) a long room , , ,
w ith a low ceili ng Th e dying gleam Of an ill kept re f ormed

.
-
the only light b y whi ch I could j udge of obj ects and dis
tances R edly illumin ating the centr al portion of the room
.
,
O pposite to which we were standing the r eli g h t left the ,
extremities shadowed in almost total darkness I had barely .
time to notice this bef ore I he ar d the rumbling an d whistling

,
sounds a pproaching me A high chair on wheels moved by .

,
throu gh the eld of red light c arryi n g a sh adowy fi gure with ,
o ating hair an d a rms f uriously r a ised and lowered working

, ,
t he m a chinery that propelled the ch air at its ut m ost rate o f

spee d I am Na poleon at the sunrise of Austerlit z l
.

,

shouted the man in the ch air as b e s w ept past me on his ,
rumbli n g and whistli n g wheels in the red glow of the r e ,
light . I give the word 3 and thrones rock a n d kings f all

, ,
a n d nations tremble and men by tens of thous a n ds ght and

,
bleed and die Th e chair rushed out of sight and the ,
s h outing man in it became another hero I am Nelson the .
ringing voice cried now I am leading the eet at Trafalgar . .
I issue my commands prophetically conscious o f victory and ,
death I see my ow n apotheosis my public funeral my

.
,
nation s te ars my burial in the gloriou s church Th e ages

, .
remember me and the poets sing my praise in immortal

,
verse ! Th e strident w heels turned at the far end of t h e

r oom , and came back Th e f a ntastic and f rightf ul apparition

.
,
m an an d m a chi n ery blended in onethe n ew Centaur half ,

M I S E RR I M US D E XTE RFIRS T VI E M 21 1

man, h alf chair ew by me again in the dying light
I .
am Shakspere cried the frantic creature, now I am

w r itin g Lear, the tragedy of tragedies Ancients an d .
modem s, I am the poet who towers over the m all Light ! .
light ! t h e li nes ow ou t li k e l ava f rom the eruption of my

volcanic mind Light ! light ! f or the poet of all time to
.
write the words that live f or ever ! He ground and tore his
way back towards the middle of t h e room As he a pproached .
the replace a last morsel of unburnt co al (or woo d) burst

,
i nto momentary a me, a n d showed the open doorwa y In .
that moment he saw us ! Th e wheel chair stopped with a -
shock that shook the cra zy Ol d oor of the room altered its ,
c ourse, and ew at us with the rush of a wild a nimal We .
drew b ack just in time to escape it ag ainst the wall of the

, ,
recess Th e cha ir passed on and burst aside the hanging

.
,
tapestry Th e light of the lamp in the circul ar room poured

.
in through the gap Th e creature in the ch air checked his

.
furious wheels and looked back over his shoulder with an

,
i mpish curiosity horrible to see .
Have I run over them ? Have I ground them t o powder

for presumi ng to intrude on me ? he said to hi mself As the
.
expression of this amiable doubt passed his lips his eyes ,
lighted on us His mind instantly vei sd back again to

. d
Shakspere and K ing Le ar Goneri l an d R egan ! he cried

.
My two unnatural daughters, my she devil chil dren , come to -
m ock at me

Nothi n g of the sort said my m ot h er i n ,
l a w as quietly as
e
i f she w as addr essing a perf ectly reasonable being I am .
your old f riend Mrs Mac al l an ; and I have brought Eustace

,
.
Mac al l an s second wi f e to see you

.

Th e instant she pronounced those l ast word s,

Eustace
Mac all an s second wif e the man in the ch air spran g out of i t

,
with a shri ll cry of horror, as if she had shot him For on e .
moment we saw a head and body in the air absolutely ,
deprived of the lo w er li mb s Th e moment af ter, the terrible

.
212 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y!
creature touched the oor as lightly a s a monkey on hi s hand s , .
Th e grotesque horro r of t h e scene culminated in hi s hopping

away on his hands at a prodi gious speed until he reached
, , ,
the repl a ce in the long room There he crouched over the .
d ying embers shuddering and shivering and mutteri ng

, , ,
O h pity me, pity me do z ens and do z en s of ti me s ov er t o

,
himself .
This was the man whose advice I had come t o askw hose
assistance I had con dently counted on in my hour of need ,
CHAP TER XXV .
M I S ERRI M U S D EXTER S EC O ND VI EW .
TH O R O U G HLY di she ar tened and disg usted and (if I must ,
honestly con fess it) thoroughl y frightened too I whispered ,
to Mrs Mac all an I was wro n g and you w ere right Let
.
, , .

u s go .
Th e c ar s of Mi serr i m us Dexter must have been as sensitive

as the ears of a dog He heard me say Let us go .
, .

No ! he answered
Bring Eustace Mac al l an s secon d
.

w i f e in here I am a gentleman I must apologi z e to her

. .
I am a student of human character I wish to see her .

Th e whole man appeared to have undergone a complete

transf ormation He spoke i n the gentlest of voices and he
.
s ighed hysterically when he had done like a woman recovering ,
fro m a burst of tears Was it reviving courage or revi ving

.
curiosity ? When Mrs Mac al l an said to me Th e t is over .

,
now ; do you s till w ish to go away ? I an s wered, No 3 I am

ready to go in .

Have you recovered your beli e f in him already ? asked ,
my mother i n law in her merci l essly s atirical way

- -
, .
I have recovered f rom my terror of hi m I replied ,

.
I am sorr y I terr ied you, said the s o ft voice at the r e

M I S E RR I M US D E XTE R S E CON D VI E W 213
place S ome people think I am a li ttle mad at times You

. .
ca me, I suppose; at on e of the ti mes i f some people ar e

right I admit that I am a visionary My imagi nation runs
. .
a way with me and I say and do strange things

,
On those .
o cc asion s anybody who reminds me of that horrible Trial

, ,
throws me back into the past and causes me unutterable ,
nervous suff ering I am a very tender hearted man As the

.
-
.
necessary consequence (in su ch a world as this ) I am a ,
miserable wretch Accept my excuses Come i n, both of. .

you . Come in and pity me , .
A child would not have been frightened of hi m now A .
c hild would have gone in and pitied him , .
Th e room was getting darker and d arker We could j ust .
see the crouching gure Of Mi serr i m us Dexter at the expiring

r e and that was all .

Are we to have n o light ? asked Mrs Mac al l an And
. .

i s this lady to see you when the light comes o ut of your , ,
c hair
He li f ted something bright and metallic hanging round h i s ,
n ec k and blew on it a series of shrill trilling birdlik e notes

, , , .
A f ter an interval he was answered by a simil ar series of notes,

,
s ounding f aintly in some distant region of the house .
Ariel is coming he said Compose yourself Mam a

,

.
,
Mac all an , Ariel will make me presentable to a lady s eyes

.
He hopped away on his hand s into t h e dark ness at the en d

of the room Wait a little said Mrs Mac all an 3 and y ou
.

,

.

w i l l have another surprise you will see the delicate Arie l

.
We heard heavy f ootsteps in the circular room .

Ariel ! sighed Mi ser r i m us Dexter out of the darkn ess i n

,
his so f test notes .
To my astonishment the coarse masculin e voice of the ,
c ousin in the man s h at the Cal i b an s, rather than the Ariel s

voice answered Here ,
My chair Ariel ,
Th e p ers o n thu s Str ang ely mi sn amed d re w a side the tape s t ry,
214 TI I E LA PV AND TH E LAD Y .
so a s to let in more light then entered the room, p ushing

the wheeled chair be f ore her Sh e stooped and li f ted .
,
Mi serr i m us Dexter f ro m the oor like a child Before she ,

.
could put hi m into the chair he sprang out of her arms with ,
a little glee ful c ry and ali ghted on hi s s eat like a bird alight
, ,
ing on its perch l

Th e lamp said Mi ser r i mu s Dexter

, And the looking .

gl a ss Pa rdon me he added addres s ing u s f or turnin g my
.
, , ,

back on you You mus u t s ee me until my hair is set to

.

rights Ariel l the brush the comb and the perf umes
.
, , .
Carry ing the lamp in on e hand the l ooki ng gl ass in the ,

e
other and the brush (with the comb stuck in it) betwee n her
,
teeth Ariel the S econd otherwise D exter s cousin presented

, ,

herself plainly be fore me f or the rst time I could now see .

the girl s round eshy inexpressive f ace her rayles s and
, , ,
colourless ey es her coa rse nose and heavy chin A creature

, .
h al f ali ve 3 an imperf ectly developed animal in shapeless form, -
c lad in a man s pilot jacket and treading in a man s heav

y ,
laced boots : with nothing but an ol d red annel petticoat ,
and a broken comb in her f rowsy ax en hair to tell u s that ,
sh e was a woman such wa s the inhospitable person who had
received us in the darkne s s when we rst entered the house ,

.
This wonderf ul valet coll ecting her materials for dressing

,
her still more wonderful master s hair gave him the looki ng
,
g lass (a hand mirror) and addressed hersel f to her work

-
.
,
Sh e combed she brushed she oiled she per f umed the

, , ,
owing locks and the long silky beard of Mi ser r i mus Dexter ,
w ith the s tran gest mixture of dulness a n d dexterity that I

ever s aw Done in brute silence with a lumpish loo k and a
.
,
clumsy gait the work was perfectly well done nevertheless

, , .
Th e imp i n the chair superintended the whole proceeding

critically by means of hi s hand mirror He was too deeply -
.
interested in thi s occupation to S peak until some of the con ,

o
el udi ng touches to his beard brought the misnamed Ariel i n
fr o n t of him, and so turned h er full face to wards the p ar t of

M I S E RR I ZII US D E X TE R SE C OND VI E W
. 21 5
the room in which Mrs Mac all an and I were s tanding Then . .
he addre ssed u s taking specia l care however n ot to turn , ,
hi s head our way while his toilet w as still incomplete .
Mama Mac al l an he said what is the Christian name of

,

,
your son s second wi fe ?

Why do you want to know 2 asked my mother i n law

- -
.

I w ant to kno w because I can t address her as ,
Mrs
Eustace Mac all an

.
Why not I
It recal ls th e oth er Mr s Eustace Mac al l an If I am . .
reminded of those horrible days at G l en i n c h my fortitude will ,
g ive way I shall burst o u t screaming again .

Hearin g this I hastened to interpose

, .
My name is Valeria I said ,

.

A R oman name remar ed Mi ser r i mu s D exter I like i t
k ,

.
My ow n name has a R oman ring in it My bodily build .
would have been R oman if I had been born with legs I , .
s hall call you Mrs Valeri a U nless y ou dis approve of it ?

. .

I hastened to say th at I was f ar f rom disapproving of it .

Very good said Mi ser r i mu s Dexter Mrs Valeria dc

, . .
,
you see the f ace o f this creature in f ront of me 1

He pointed with the hand mirror to his cousin as u nc on -
cer n edl y as he might have pointed to a dog His cousin on .

,
h er side took no more notice than a dog would have t ak en of

,
the contemptuous phrase by which he had designated her .
S h e went on combing and oili ng his bear d as comp ose dl y as ever .

It i s the face of an idio t is n t it ? pursued Mi ser ri mu s ,

Dexter Look at her S h e is a mere vegetable

. A c abbage .
in a garden has a s much li f e a n d expression in it as that girl

exhibits at the present moment Wo ul d you believe there .
was latent intelligence a ff ection pride delity in such a

, , , ,
half developed being as this 2

-

I was really ashamed to answer him Quite needlessly ! .
Th e impenetrable young woman went on with her master s

bear d A m achine could n ot have take n less notic e of th e

.
li f e and the tal k around it than this incomprehen s ibl e

c reature .
I have got at that latent aec t i on pride delity and the

'

, , ,
rest of it resume d Mi ser r i m us Dexter

,

I hold the key to .
t h a t dormant Intelligence Grand thou ght ! Now look at .
her when I speak (I named her poor w retch in on e of my

, .
, ,
ironical moments Sh e has got to like her name just as a .

,
dog gets to li ke hi s collar ) Now , Mr s Valeria look a nd . .

,
listen Ariel
.
Th e girl s dull face began t o brighten Th e girl s mechanic

.

ally moving han d stopped and held the comb in suspense

-
,
.

Ariel ! you have learnt to dres s my hair and anoint my ,
beard haven t you 1
Yes 1 ye s ! yes ! she an s w ere d

Her f ace still brightened ,
And you say I have learnt to do it well do n t

.

eagerly .

"
you ?
I s ay that Would you li ke to let anybody else do it for
.
you 2
Her eyes m elted s oftly into light and li f e Her strange .
unw omanly voice s ank to the gentlest tone s that I had heard
from her yet .

Nobody els e shall do it f or me s he s aid at once proudly ,

,
and tenderly Nobody, as long as I live shall touch you

.
,

but me .

Not even the lady there 2 asked Mi ser ri mus Dexter

,
pointi n g backward with his hand mirr or to the place at w hich -
I wa s standing .
Her eyes suddenly ashed her hand suddenly s hook the ,
comb at me in a burst of j ealous r age, 5 .

Let her try ! cried t h e poor creatur e, raising her voice

again to it hoarsest notes Let her touch you i f she dares .
D exter laughed at the c h ildish outbreak That wil l do . ,
my delicate Ariel he said

I di s mis s your Intelli gence f ol

, .
t h e pre s ent R elap s e int o 5 your forme r s el f Fi n i s h my

. .
b eard
.
MI S ERR I M US D E XTERS E COND VI E W . 21 7
Sh e pas sively re s umed her work new light in h er . Th e

eyes the new e x pre s sion in her f ace faded li ttle by li ttle and
, , ,
died ou t In another minute the f ace was as vacant and as

.
,
lumpish as bef ore : the hands did their work again w ith the
li f eless dexterity w hi ch had so pain f ul ly impressed me when
she rst took u p the brush Mi serr i mu s Dexter appeared to
.
be perf ectly satis ed with these results .

I thought my little experiment might intere s t you he ,
said . You see how it is ? Th e dormant intelli gence of

my curious cousin is like the dormant sound in a musical
instrument I pl ay u pon i t and it answers to my touch
. .
Sh e li kes being play ed upon But her g reat delight is to hear

.
me tell a story I pu zz le her to the verge of distraction 3 an d

.
the more I con fu s e her the better she likes the story I t i s
, .

the greatest f un 3 you re ally must see it some day He .
indulged himself in a last look at th e mirror Ah he said, .

complacently now I shall do Vanish Ariel

, .
,
Sh e tramped out of the room in her heavy boots with the ,
mute obedience of a trained animal I said Good night as .

-
she passed me Sh e neither returned the salutation nor

.
looked at me : the words simply produced no e ffect on her

dull senses Th e on e voice that could reach her wa s silent
. .
Sh e had relap s ed once more into the vacant inanimate creature

wh o had opened t h e gate to u suntil it plea s ed Mi serr i mu s
Dexter to speak to her again .

Valeria ! said my mother i n law O ur modest host i s
- -
.

w aiting to see what you thi n k of him .
While my attention w as xed on his cousin , he had wh eeled

his chair round s o as to f ace mewith the l ight of t h e lam p
,
f all ing full on him In mentioning hi s appearance as a

.
witness at the Trial I nd I have borrowed (without meaning

, ,
to do so) f rom my experience of h i m at this later time I sa w .
plainly n ow the bright intelligent face and the large clear blu e ,
eyes 3 the lustrous waving hair o f a light chestnut colour 3 t h e
l ong delicate w hite hand s, and the mag nicen t thr o at an d

21 3 7l LA W AND LAD Y

7l .
chest whi ch I have elsewhere described Th e deformity

, .
w hich degraded and de stroyed the manly beauty of his head

and bre as t was hidden from view by an O riental r c b e of many
,
c olours thrown over the ch a ir like a coverlid

,
He was clothed .
i n a jack et of black velvet fastened loosely across hi s chest ,
w ith large m alachite buttons 3 and he wore lace ru f es a t the

ends of hi s sleeves in the f ashion of the last century
, It may
w ell have been due to want of perception on my partbut I
.
could s ee nothi ng mad in hi m nothing in any way repelli ng , ,
as he n ow looked at me Th e one def ect that I could di scover .
i n his face was at the outer corners of his eyes j ust under t h e ,
temple Here when he laughed and in a lesser degree,

.
, , ,
w hen he smiled the skin contracted into quaint little W

, rinkle s
and f olds which looked strangely ou t of harmony with the
,
almost youthful appearance of the rest of hi s f ace As to his .
other features the mouth , so f ar as his beard and moustache

,
permitted me to see it was small and delicately formed Th e, .
no s eper fectly shaped on the str aight Grecian model was

perhaps a little too thin j udged by comparison with the full ,
cheeks an d the high massive f orehead Looking at him as a .
whole (and speaking of him of course from a woman s not a , ,

physiognomist s point of view) I c an only describe him a s

, ,
being a n unusually handsome man A painter would have .
r evel led in him a s a model f or S t J ohn And a young girl . .

,
i gnorant of what the O riental robe hid f rom view wo ul d have ,
s aid to hersel f the in stant she looked at him Here i s the ,

h ero of my dreams !

Well Mr s Valeria he s aid , quietly, do I frighten you
, .

,

'
n ow i

Certainly not Mr Dexter , . .
His blue eyes l arge as the eye s of a w oman clear as t h e ,
eyes of a child rested on my face with a s trangely vary ing
play of expression which at once interested an d perplexed me

,
.
Now t here w as doubt uneasy pain ful doubt in the look

, , ,
and n ow agai n it chan ge d b rightly to app r oval , s o open and

M I S E R R I M US D E XTE RS E CON D VIE W '
. 219
unre strained that a vai n woman might have fancied sh e

had made a conquest of him at rst sight S uddenly a .
,
n ew emotion seeme d to take possession of him Hi s ey e s .
Sank his head drooped 3 he li f ted his h ands with a gesture

,
of regret . He mut t ere d and murmured to himself 3 pursuing

s ome secret an d mel ancholy tra in of thought which seemed ,
to lead hi m f urther a n d f urther away f rom present obj ects

of interest and to plu n ge him deeper and deeper i n troubled
,
recollections of the past Here and there I caught some of

.
,
the words Little by little I fou nd mysel f trying to fathom

.
,
what was d arkly passing in this strange man s mind

.

A f ar more charming f a ce I he ard him say ,
But no

.
not a more be auti f ul gure What gure w as ever more

.
beauti ful than hers ? S omething but not allof her eu

chanting grace Where is the resemblance which has brought
.
h er b ack to me ? In the pose of the gure perhaps ? In ,
the movement of the gure perhaps ? Poor martyred angel I

,
What a li f e And what a death ! wh at a death

Was he comparing me with the victim of the poison
w ith my hu s band s rst wi f e ?

His words seemed to justi fy
th e conclusion I f I was right the dead w oman had been
.
,
evidently a f avourite with him There wa s no misinterpret .
i ng the broken tones of his voice when he spoke of her 3 h e

had admired her living 3 he mourned her dead
,
S upposing , .
that I could prevail u pon mysel f to admit this extraordinary

person into my condence what would be the result ? Shoul d
,
I be the gainer or the loser by the resembl ance which h e

fancied he had discovered ? Woul d the sight of me console
hi m ? or pain hi m ? I waited eagerly to hear more on the
s ubj ect o f the rst wi f e Not a word more es c a ped his lip s
. .
A new change came over him He li f t ed h i s he a d with a .
s tart and looked about him as a weary man might look i f

, ,
he was suddenly disturbed in a deep sleep .

What have I done ? he said
Have I b een letting my .

mind dri ft ag ai n ?
He s hudder ed, an d si ghe d
O h, that .
house of Gl eni n ch he murmured sadly to hi msel f Shal l .
I never get away from it in my thought s ? O h that hou se of ,
G l eni n c h
To my innite disappointment Mrs Macall an checked t he , .
f urther revelation o f what w as passing in his mind .
S omethi ng in the tone and m a nner of his allu s ion to her

'
son s country hou s e seemed to have oen ded her Sh e inter

.
posed sharply and decisively .

Gently my f riend gently ! she s ai d
, I don t thi nk you, .

quite know w hat you are talking about .
His great blue eyes ashed at her ercely With on e turn .
of his h a nd he brought hi s chair close at her side

,
Th e next .
inst ant he caught her by the arm a n d f orced her to bend to ,
him until he could whisper in her ear He was violently

, .
agitated His whi sper was loud enough to make itself heard
.
w here I w as sitting at the time .

I don t know what I am talking about ? he repeated

w ith his eye s xed attentively not on my mother i n law but ,

- -
on me You short sighted ol d woman ! where are yo u r

.
-
spectacles ? Look at her D o you see n o resemblance the

gure not the f a ce do you s ee no resemblance there t o
,
Eus tace s rst wi f e

Pure fancy ! r ej oined Mrs Mac all an I see nothing of

. .

th e s ort .
He s hook h er impatiently .
Not so loud he whi spered

She w ill hear you
,

. .
You need have no fear,

I have heard you both I said , .
Mr Dexter of speaking before me I know that my husband

.
, .
had a rst wi fe 3 and I know how miserably s he died I have .

r ead the Tr ial .
You have read the li fe and death of a mar tyr cried

Mi serri mus Dexter He suddenly wheeled his chair my .
way 3 he bent over me almo s t tenderly 3 his eye s l led with ,
Nobody appreciated her at her true value he s aid,

t ear s .

,

but me Nobody but me nobo dy but me I
.
'
JI I S ERR I M US D E XTE R SE C0ND VI E IV . 32 1
Mrs Mac all an

. w alked away impatiently to the end of the
room .
When you are ready Valeria I am she said

We can , , ,

.
n ot keep the servants and the horses waitin g much l o ng er i n

this bleak place .
I was too deeply interested in leadi n g Mi serr i mus D exter

to pursue the subj ect on which he had touched to be willing ,
to leave him at that moment I pretended not to have heard .
Mrs Mac all an I laid my hand as i f by accident on t i ll

. .
, ,
wheel chair to keep him near me .
You showed how highly you esteemed that poor lady i n

your evidence at the Trial I said I believe Mr Dexter , .
, .
,
you have ideas of your ow n about the mystery of her death

He had been looking at my hand re s ting on the arm of h i s ,
chair until I ventured on my question At that he suddenly

,
.
,
r aised hi s eyes and xed them with a fro w ning and furtive
,
suspicion on my f ace .

How do you know I have idea s of my ow n ? he a sked,
s ternly .

I kno w it from reading the Trial I an s wered Th e , .
lawyer w h o cro s s examined you spoke almost in the very

-
words which I have ju s t used I had no intention of o en d

'

.

ing you Mr D exter ,
. .
His face cleared as rapidly as it had clouded He smiled .

,
and laid his hand on mine His touch struck me cold I . .
felt every nerve in me shivering under i t I dre w my hand

away quickly .

I beg your pardon he said i f I have mi s under stood you

, , .
I have ideas of my ow n about that unhappy lady He

, .
pau s ed an d looked at me in silence very earnestly

,

Have , .

you any ideas ? he asked Idea s about her life ? or about .

h er death ?
I wa s deeply intere s ted 3 I wa s burning to hear more It .
might en c ourage him to s peak i f I w as candid w ith hi m I .
ans wered

Yes ,
.

22 2 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
Idea s which you have mentioned to any on e ? he w en t on

.

To no living creature I repli ed

as yet ,

.
Thi s is very strange he said still earne stly reading my ,
f ace . What interest can you have in a dead woman whom

you never knew ? Wh y did you ask me that question j ust ,
n ow ? Have you any motive in coming here to see me

I boldl y acknowle dged the truth I s aid, I have a .

motive .

Is it connected with Eustace Mac all an s rst wi f e 1
It is .

With anythin g that happened in her l i feti me ?
No .

With h er death ?
Yes .

He s uddenly clasped hi s hands with a wild ges ture of ,
despair and then pressed them both on hi s head as i f he ,
w a s struck by some sudden pain .

I can t hear it t o night he said 3 I would give worlds to
hear i t but I daren t 3 I should lo s e all hold over mysel f in

the state I am in now I am not equal t o raking up the .
horror and the mystery of the past 3 I have not cour age
enough to open the grave of the martyred dead Did you .
hear me when you came here ? I h ave an immense imagin e

,
.
tion It ru ns riot at time s I t makes an actor of me I

. . .
play the parts of all the heroe s th at ever l ived I feel their .
characters I merge myself in their individualities For the

. .
time I a m the man I f a ncy m ysel f to be I can t help it I

,
.

.
a m obli ged to do it I f I restrained my imagination when

.
,
the t is on me I s hould go mad I let myself loose I t

, . .
l as ts f or hours I t leaves me with m y energies worn o ut ,

.
,
with my s ensibil ities f rightf ully acute R ouse any melanch oly .
or terrible associations in me at s uch times 3 and I am ,
capable of hysteric s I am capable of screami ng You heard

, .
m e scream You shall n ot see me i n hysteric s

. No Mrs .
, .
Valeriano you innocent reection of the dead and gone I

,
M I SE RRI M US D EXTE RSE C0ND VI E W

. : 23
'
would not frighten you for the w orld Will you come here .
to morrow in the day time ? I have got a chaise and a pony

- -
.
Ariel my delicate Ariel can drive Sh e shall call at Mama

, ,
.
Mac all an s and f etch you We w i ll talk to morro w when I

-
.
,
am t f or it I am dyi ng to hear you I will be t f or you

. .
in the morning I will be civil intell igent communicative i n

.
, ,
the morni n g No more of it now . Away with the subj ect !

Th e too exciting the too interesting subj ect
-
,
I must com -
pose myself or my brains will explode in my head M u sic

,
.
i s the true narcotic f or excitable brains My harp I my .
harp !
He rushed away in hi s chair to the f ar end of the room
passing Mr s Mac all an as she returned to me bent on hast e n
.
,
ing our depar ture .
Come 1 said the ol d lady irritably

You have seen hi m ,
.
,
and he has m ade a good show of hi mself More of hi m might .

be tiresome Com e away . .
Th e ch air returned to us more slowly Mi ser ri mu s Dexter .
was working it with on e hand only I n the other he held a .

,
h arp of a pattern which I h ad hitherto only seen in pictures

,
.
Th e strin gs were few in number ; and the instrument was so

small that I could have held it easily on my lap It was the .
ancient harp of the pictured Muses and the legendary Wel sh

Bards .
Good night D exter said Mrs Macall an, ,

. .
He held up on e hand imperatively .

Wait ! he said
Let her hear me s ing He turned t o
.

.
I decline to b e i n deb t ed to other people for my poetry

'
me .
and my music he went on ,

I compose my ow n poetry and

.
,
my ow n music I improvise Give me a moment t o thi nk

. .
I w i ll improvise for You .

He closed h i s eyes and rested hi s head on the frame of t h e

,
c arp Hi s ngers gently touched the strings while he w as

.
thi nking I n a few minutes he li f ted his head looke d at me,

.
,
a n d s truck the rst note s the prelude to the song .

THE LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
Wa s it good mu s ic ? or bad ? I cannot decide w hether i t

was music at al l It was a wil d barbaric succession of sounds 3
.
utterly unl ike any moder n composition Sometimes it sug .

,
gested a slow and und ul ating O riental dance S ometimes it .
modulated into tones which reminded me of the s everer har

monies of the ol d Gregorian chants Th e words when they .
,
followed the prelude were as wild as recklessly f ree from all

, ,
r estraint of critical rules as the music They were assuredly

,
.
inspired by the occasion ; I was the theme of the strange

s ong And thus i n on e of the finest tenor voices I eve r
heard my poet sang of me
.
Wh y does sh e c o me 3
She i m e of t h e l ost 3
r em n ds
S h e r em in ds m e of t h e de a d
I n h er f or m l ik e t h e ot h er ,
I n h er w a lk li k e t h e ot her ?
Why does sh e c ome ?
Does D est in y b ri ng h er !
Sh a ll w e r an g e t og et h er
Th e m az es of t h e pa st
Sh a ll w e sear c h t og e t h er
Th e sec r e t s of t h e pa st !
Sh all we i h an g e t h o g h t s
n t er c u , su r m i ses, susp c i ons i 3
D oes D est i n y b in g r h er ?
Th e F ut ur e w i l l h s ow .
Let t h e ni g h t
pass 3
Let t h e day c om e .
I sh i
all see n t o H er m n d i
Sh e wi ll l ook i n t o M in e .
Th e F ut ure will sh ow .
Hi s voice s ank his ngers touched the s tring s more and

,
more f eebly as he approached the last lines Th e over .
w rought brain needed and took it s r e animating repose

, ,
-
.
At the nal words his eyes slowly clo s ed His head lay
, .
back on the chair He slept with his arm s round hi s harp,

.
as a child sleeps, h u ggi n g it s last n ew toy .

M ORE OF M Y 03 5 7 m m }: 2 25
We stol e out of the r oom on tiptoe and left Mi serr i mu s ,
Dexterpoet c ompo s er an d madma n

,
i n hi s peace ful
,
s leep .
C HAP TER XXVI .
M O R E OF M Y O B S TI NA CY .
A RI EL w as down s tai rs in the s hadowy hall hal f asl eep half , ,
awake w aiting to see the visitors clear of the house With

, .
ou t speaking to us w ithout looking at us she led the way

, ,
down the dark garden walk and locked the gate behind us , .

Good night Ariel I call ed out to her over the p alin g
, ,
.
Nothing answered me but the tramp of her heavy f ootsteps

returning t o the house and the dull thump a moment af ter
, ,
wards of the closi n g door

, .
Th e footman had thought full y li t the carriage lamp s .
Carryi n g one of them to serve as a l antern he lighted us ove r ,
t h e wilds of the brick desert and landed us sa fely on the path

-
by the high road .

Well ! said my mother i n l aw when we were comf ortably

- -
s eat ed in the carriage again You have seen M i serr i mu s .

Dexter 3 and I hope you are satised I will do him t h e .
j ustice to declare that I n ever in all my experience , ,
saw him more completely cra z y than he w as t o night What -

.
do you say

I don t pre s ume t o dispute your opinion I answered ,

.
But speaking for my s elf I am not quite sur e that he i s

, ,
mad
'

Not mad cried Mrs Mac al l an , a f ter those franti c
.
perf ormance s i n his chair ? Not mad af ter the exh ibition h e ,
m ade of hi s un fortunate cou s i n ? Not mad a f ter the song that ,
he s ang in your hono ur an d the fal ling asleep by way of c on

,
el usion i O h, Val eri a ! Valeri a ! W ell s ai d t h e w i s dom

Q
of ance s tor s there are none s o blind as tho s e wh o

ou r -

w on t s ee !

Pardon me dear Mrs Mac all an I saw everything that
, .
y ou mention ; and I never f elt more surprised or more ,
con founded in my li f e But n ow I have recovered f rom my

,
.
amaz ement and can thi nk over it quietl y I must st ill venture
, ,
to doubt whether this strange man is really mad in the true ,
meaning of the word It seems to me that he O penly ex

.
presses I admit in a very reckl ess and boisterous way

thought s and f eelings whi ch mo s t of us are ashamed of a s
weaknesses and which we keep to ourselves accordi ngly I
, .
con f ess I have o ften fancied myself transf ormed into s ome
other person and have f elt a certain pleasure in seeing mysel f
,
i n my new character O ne of ou r rst amusements a s children

.
(i f we have any imagination at all) i s to get out of our ow n

c haracters and to try the characters of other personages as a
,
change to be fairies to be queens to be anything in short

, , , ,
but what we really are Mr D exter lets out the secret, just
. .
as the children do and i f that is madness he is certainly

, ,
mad But I noticed that when his imagination cooled down

.
,
he became Mi ser r i mu s Dexter again h e no more believed

hi msel f than w e believed him to be Napoleon or Shakspere
, , .
B e s ides s ome allowance is surely to be made for the solitary

, ,
sedentary life that he leads I am not learned enough to .
trace the inuence of that li fe in maki ng him what he is .
But I think I can s ee the result in an over excited imagina -
tion 3 and I f ancy I can trace hi s exhibiting his power over

th e poor cou s in and his singing of that wonder ful song to n o
, ,
more f ormidable cause than inordinate self conceit I h epe .
the con fes s ion will not lower me s eriously in your good
opinionbut I must say I have enj oyed my visit ; and w ors e ,
still , Mi ser ri mus D exter r eally interests me
Doe s thi s learned di s cours e on Dexter mean that you ar e

g oing to s ee him again ? a sked Mrs Mac allan

. .

I don t k n ow h ow I m a v f ee l about i t to m orr ow mor ni n g

,
M OR E OF M Y OB S TI NA CY . 22 7
I said But my impul se at thi s moment i s decidedl y to see

.
him again I h ad a little talk with hi m whi le you wer e away

.
,
at the other end of the room 3 and I believe he real ly can be

of use to me

Of use to you, in wha t ? interposed my mother
i n law
-
.

In the one obj ect w hich I have in view t h e obj ect ,
dear Mrs Mac al l an w hich I r egret to say you do n ot

.
, , ,

approve .
An d you are goi n g to take hi m into your conde n ce ? t o

open your whole mind to such a man as the man we have j ust
l e ft

Yesi f I thi nk of i t t o morrow as I think of i t to night - -
.
I dare s ay it is a risk 3 but I must run risk s I kno w I am .
not prudent ; but prudence won t help a woman i n my posi

tion w ith my end to gain
,
.
Mrs Mac al l an made n o further remon strance in words

.
, .
Sh e opened a capacious pocket i n front of the carriage ,
and took fro m it a box of matches and a railway rea ding

lamp .

You provoke me s aid the ol d lady

into sho w ing you
, ,
what your husband thinks of this n ew w hi m of yours I .
have got h i s letter w ith me his last letter f rom S p ain You .
shall j udge for yoursel f you poor deluded young creature , ,
w hether my son is worthy of the s acrice the useless and ,
h opeless s acrice whi ch you are bent on making of yourself

, ,

f or hi s sake Strike a light ! .
I wil lingly obeyed her Ever since s he had informed m e .
of Eustace s departure to Spain I had been eager for more

n w s of hi m for s omethi ng to sustain my spirits a ft er so

e
,
much that had disappointed and depresse d me Thus far I .

,
did not even know whether my husband thought of me some

time s i n hi s self imposed exile As to hi s regretting already
-
.
the rash act w hich had s epar ated u s i t w as s til l too s oo n t o ,
begi n hopi ng f or that .

22 8 THE LA W AND THE LAD Y .
Th e lam p having been lit an d xed i n i t s place bet ween

,
the t w o fro n t windows of the carriage Mrs Mac all an , .
produced her son s letter There is n o folly li ke the

.
f olly of love It cost me a hard struggle to r estrain

.
myself from kissing the paper on which the dear hand

had rested .
There ! s aid my mother i n law

Begin on the s econd - -
.
page ; the page devoted to you R ead s traight do w n to the .
last line at the bottom and in God s name, come back to ,

y our senses child ,

be fore it i
,
s t oo late
I f ollowed my in structions and read these word s ,
Can I trust myself to write of Valeria ? I must write of

her ! Tell me how she is how she looks what she is doing
, , .
I am always thinking of her Not a day passes but I mourn .
the loss of her O h i f she had only been contented to let

.
,
matters rest as they were O h i f she had never discovered ,
t h e miserable truth !
Sh e spoke of reading the Trial when I saw her last Has , .
she persisted in doi n g so ? I believe I say th i s seriously ,
motherI believe the shame and the horror of it wo ul d have

been the death of m e i f I had met her f ace to f a ce when she
, ,
rst knew of the ignominy that I have su ff ered of the ,
i nf amous s u spicion of which I have been publicly made the

s ubject Think of tho s e pure eyes looking at a man who has
.
been accused (and never wholly absolved ) of the f oulest and

the vilest of all mur ders and then think of what that man
must feel i f he has any heart and any sen s e of shame le ft i n
,
him I sicken as I write of it

. .
Does she still meditate that hopel ess project the o ff spring ,
po or angel of her artless unthin k ing generosity ? Does she

, ,
still f ancy that it is in her power to assert my innocence

be f ore the world ? O h mother (i f she does) u s e your utmost
, ,
i nuence to make her give up the idea ! Spare her t h e

h umiliati on the di s appointment the insult perhaps to which
, , ,
s he m ay i nn oce n tly expo s e hers elf For h er s ake, for my .

M ORE OF M Y OB S TI NACY .
my
sa ke l eave no mean s untried to attain thi s r ighteous, thi s

,
merci ful end

I send h er no me ss age
.

I dare n ot do it Say nothing .
when you see her which can recal l me to her memory O n

,
.
the contrary help her to forget me as soon as possible Th e

,
.
kindest thing I can dothe on e atonement I can make to her

is to drop ou t of her life .

With those wretched words it ended I handed his letter .
b ack to his mother in silence Sh e s a id but little on her side .

,
.
If t hi s doesn t discourage you she remark ed slowly fol d

,

,
ing up the letter nothing w i ll Let us leave it there and

,
. ,
s ay no more .

I made no answer I wa s crying behind my veil My .
domestic prospect looked s o dreary 3 my unf ortunate husband

was s o hopelessly misguided so pitiably wron g ! Th e on e ,
chance for both of us (and the one c onsolation f or poor Me)

was to hold by my desperate resolution more rmly than
ever I f I had wa nted anything to conrm me in this view
. ,
and to arm me against the remonstrances of every on e of my

friends Eustace s letter would have proved more than suhi
,

cient to answer the purpose At least he had not f orgotten .

,
m e 3 he thought of me and he mourned the loss of me every

, ,
day of hi s li fe That was encouragement enough f or the

.
present
If Ariel call s for me in the pony chaise to morrow -

.
,
I thought to myself with Ariel I go , .

Mrs Mac all an set me down at Benj amin s door

.

.
I mentioned t o her at partin g I stood su fciently i n aw e

,
of her to put it off ti l l the la s t moment that Mi ser ri m u s
D exter had arranged to send his cousin and his pony chaise -
to her residence on the next day 3 and I i nquired thereupon

,
w hether my mother i n law would permit me to call at her

- -
house to wait for the appearance of the cou s in or w hether s he ,
w ould pre f er s ending the chaise on to Benja min s cottage I

.
full y expected an explosion of anger to follo w thi s bold avowal

of my pl ans f or t he n ex t day The ol d lady agr eemb l y sur .
prised me Sh e proved that she had r eal ly take n a likin g t o

.
me she kept her temper .
If you persist in going back to D exter you cert ainly shall ,
not go to him from my door she said But I h Ope you will ,

.
n ot persi s t I hope you will wake a wiser woman t o morr ow

.
-

morning .
The morning came A little be fore noon the arrival of the

.
pony chaise was announced at the door, and a letter was

-
brought in to me from Mrs Mac all an . .

I have no right to control your movements my mother ,
i n law wrote I send the chaise to Mr Benjami n s house 3

.

.

a n d I sincerely trust that you will not take your place in it .
I wish I could persuade you Valeria how truly I am your , ,
f riend I have been thinking about you anxiously i n the

.
wake ful hours of the n i ght H ow anxiously you will u nder .

,
stand when I tell you that I now reproach myself for n ot

,
having don e more th a n I di d to prevent your unh appy

marriage And yet w hat I could have don e I don t really
.
, .
kno w My son admitted to me that he was c ourting you

.
under an a s sumed name but he never told me what the

name was or who you were or where your f riend s lived
, , .
Perhaps I ought to have taken measures to nd this ou t

,
.
Perhaps i f I had succeeded I o u ght to have interfered and

, ,
enlightened you even at the sad sacri ce of making an enemy

,
of my ow n son I honestly thought I did my duty in ex

.
pr essing my disapproval and in refusi n g to be present at t h e

,
marriage Was I too easily satis ed ? It is too late to ask

. .
Why do I trouble you with an ol d woman s vai n m isgivin gs
and regrets ? My child i f you come to any harm I s hall feel

, ,
of mind
(indirectly ) responsible for it I t is this uneasy state .
which set s me writing with nothing to say that can interest

.
you . Don t go to Dexter ! The fear has been purs uing me

all night that your going to Dexter will end badly Write .
him an excuse Valeri a ! I rmly believe you wi ll r epent i t

.

if you r etur n to that hous e .
MR . DEX TER AT HOME . 231
Wa s ever a woman more plainly warned, mere care fully

advised than I ? And yet warning and advice were both
, ,
thr own away on me !

Let me say f or myself that I was really touched by the
ki n dness of my mother i n law s letter though I was not - -

shaken by it in the smallest degree As long a s I lived .

,
moved, and tho ught my on e purpose now was to make ,
Mi serr i m us Dexter conde to me his ideas on the subj ec t of

M r s Eustace Ma c al l an s death
. To those ide a s I looked

.
as my guiding stars along the dark way on which I

was going I wrote back to Mrs Macall an as I really
. .
,
f elt grate fully and penitently

, An d then I w en t out to .
t h e chai se .
CHAP TER XXVII .
M R D EXTER A T HOM E
. .
I F O U ND all the idle boys in the neighbourhood collected

round the pony chaise expressing in the occult language of
-
, ,
s lang their high enjoyment and appreci ation o f the appe a r

,
a nce of Ariel in her man s jacket and hat Th e pony was

.
dg et y Iw felt the inuence of the popular u proar His .
driver sat whip in hand magnicently impenetrable to the

, ,
j ibes and j ests that were ying roun d her I s aid Good

.
,
morning on getting into the chaise Ariel only said G ee

,

.
,

up and started the pon y .
I made up my min d to perf orm the j ourney to the distant

n orthern suburb in silence It w as eviden t ly useless f or me .
to attempt to speak 3 and experience inf ormed me that I

n eed not expect to he a r a wor d f all f ro m t h e lips of my com
panion Experience ho w ever is not always in f al lible Aft er

.
, , .
driving f or half an hour in stoli d si le n c e Ariel a s t ound ed m e ,
by s uddenly bursting into speech .

2 32 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y.
Do you know w hat we are comin g to ? she asked keepin g

,
her eyes strai ght between the pony s ear s

.
No, I an s wered

I don t kno w the r oad Wh at are w e
.

.

coming to ?

We are coming to a canal .
Well ?
Well ! I have hal f a mind to upset you i n the canal

.
This formidable announcement appeared to me to r eq ui re

s ome explanation I took the liberty of aski ng f or i t
. .
Wh y should you upset me ? I inquired

.
Becau s e I hate you was the cool and candi d reply ,

.
What have I done to o ff end you ? I asked next

.
What do you wan t w ith Th e Ma s ter ? Ariel aske d, i n h er
turn .

Do you mean Mr Dexter ? .
Yes .

I want to have some talk w ith Mr Dexter

. .

You don t ! You want to take my place You want

.
to br ush hi s hair and oil his bear d instead of me You , .
wretch
I n ow began to unders tand Th e idea which Mi serr i mus .
Dexter had j estingly put into her he ad in exhibiting her to ,
us on the previous night had been ripeni n g slowly in th at ,
dull brain and had found its way outwards into words about
, ,
fteen hour s after w ard s, under the irritating in uence o f my

presence

I don t want to touch hi s hai r or hi s beard, I s id

a

I .

leave that entirely to you .
S h e looked round at me ; her fat face ushing her dul l ,
eyes dil ating w ith the unaccustomed eff ort to express herself
,
in speech and to understand what wa s said to her in return

,
.
Say that again , she burs t out

And say it s low er th is .

t i me

.
1 said it again an d I said it slower

,
.
Swear it 1 s he cried, gettin g mor e and more excit ed

.
MR . D EX TER AT HOME . 235
I preserved my gravity (the canal w as j u s t visible in t h e

distance) and swore it
, .

Are you s atised now ? I a sked .
There was n o answer Her last resour ces of spee c h were

.
exhausted Th e s trange creature looked back again straight

.
between the pony s ears emitted hoarsely a gru nt of relie f ;

,
and never more looked at me never more spoke to me for the , ,
r est of the journey We drove past the banks of the canal 3

.
and I escaped immersion We rattle d in our jingli ng little .

,
vehicle through the s treets and across the waste patches of

,
ground w hich I dimly remembered in t h e darkness an d

, ,
whi ch looked more squalid and more hideou s than ever in t h e

broad dayli ght Th e chaise turned down a l an e too narrow
.
,
for the passage of any larger vehicle and stopped at a wall ,
and a gate that wer e new obj ects to me O pening the gate .
with her key and leading the pony Ariel introduced me to

, ,
t h e back garden and yard of Mi ser ri m u s Dexter s rotten and

rambli ng old house Th e pony walked off independentl y to

.
hi s st able with the chaise behind him

, My silent companion .
led me through a bleak and barren kitchen and along a stone ,
passage . O pening a door at the end s he admitted me to the ,
back of the hall into which Mrs Maca ll an and I h a d pene

, .
t r a t ed by the front entrance to the house Here Ar iel li f ted .

,
a whistle which hung round her neck and blew the shri l l ,
tri l ling notes with the sound of which I was already f amiliar
,
as the means of communication between Mi ser r i m u s D exter
an d hi s slave Th e whistl i n g over the slave s unwill ing lips

.
,
struggled into speech for the last time , .
Wait ti ll you he ar Th e Master s whi s tle she said Then

.
,

g o upstairs .
S o I was t o be whi stled f or like a dog And worse still .

,
t h ere was no help for it but to submit l ike a dog Had Ariel .
any excu s e s to make ? Nothing of the sort Sh e turn ed h er

shapele ss back on me, a n d van i sh ed i n to the kitch e n r egio n
of th e house .
9
T1 1 12 LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
A ft er
waiting for a minute or two and hearing no signal ,
from the oor above I advanced into the broader and brighter
,
p a rt of the hall to loo k by daylight at the pictures which 1

,
h a d only imperf ectly discovered in the darkness of the night .
A painted inscription in many colours j ust under the cornice ,
of the ceiling in f ormed me that the works on the w alls were

,
the production of the all accomplished D exter himsel f Not

-
.
satised with being poet and composer he was painter as ,
w ell O n on e wall the subjects were described as I l lustra tions

.

of the Passion s ; on the other as Episodes in the Li fe of ,

the Wandering Jew Chance spectators l i ke myself were

.

gravely warne d by means of the inscription to view the

, ,
pictures as eff orts of pure imagination Persons who look .

for mere Natu re in work s of Art (the inscription announced )
are persons to whom Mr D exter does not address himself .
with the bru sh He relies entirely on h is im agination

. .
Nature puts h i m out

.
Taki n g due care to dismiss all ideas of Nature from my

mind to begin wi th, I looked at the pictures which repro
,
sented the Passions rst , .
Little as I knew cri t ically of Art I could see that M i ser ri mu s ,
Dexter knew still less of the rul es of drawi n g colour and , ,
composition His pictures were in the strictest meaning of

.
,
that expressive w ord Daubs Th e diseased and riotous.
delight of t h e painter in representing Horrors was (wi t h ,
certain exceptions to be here af ter mentioned) the on e rem ark

able qu ality th at I co ul d discover in the series of his works .
Th e rst of the Passion pictures i llustra ted R evenge -

A .
corpse in f ancy costume lay on the bank of a foaming river

, , ,
under the shade of a giant tree An in f uriated m an also i n . ,
f ancy costume stood astride over the dead bo dy with h i s

, ,
sword li f ted to the lowering sky and w atche d wi t h a horrid , ,
expression of delight the blood of the m an whom he h ad j ust

,
kill ed dripping slowly in a procession of big r ed dr 0ps down

,
the broad blade of his weapon Th e next pic t ure i ll ustrated .

MR D EX TE R A 2 H OM E
'
. . 235
C ruelty, i n many ompartment s In one I saw a di sem

c .
,
bowelled horse savagely spurred on by his rider at a b u l l gh t .
In another an aged phi losoph er was dissecting a live cat and

, ,
gloating over his work In a third t w o P agan s politely con

.
,
gratulated each other on t h e torture of two saints : on e sai nt

was r oastin g on a gridiron 3 the other hung up to a tree by ,
his heels h ad just been sk inne d an d was not quite dead yet
, , .
Feeling no great desire a fter these spec im ens to look at any

, ,
more of the ill ustrated Passions I turned to t h e opposit e wal l

,
t o be instructed in the career of the Wa ndering J ew Here .

,
a second inscription in f ormed me that the painter considered
the Flying Dutchman to be no other than the Wandering

Jew pursuing his interminable j ourney by sea
,
Th e marine .
adventures of this mysterious personag e were the a dventures

c hosen f or representation by Dexter s brush Th e rst picture

.
'
sh ow ed m e a harbour on a r oc ky coast
. A Vessel was at .
anchor with the helmsman singing on the deck Th e sea in

, .
the o fng wa s black and roll ing thunder clouds lay low on -
the hori z on split by broad ashes of lightning In the glare

, .
of the lightning heaving and pitching appeared the misty f o r m

, ,
of the Phantom S hip approaching the shore In this work .

,
badly as it was p ainte d there were really signs of a powerf ul

,
i magination and even of a poetical f eeling f or the supernatural

, .
Th e next picture showed the Phantom S hip moored (to the ,
horror and astonishment of the helmsman ) behind the earthly

vessel in the harbour Th e J ew had stepped on shore Hi s
. .
boat was on the beach His crewl ittle men with s tony
.
white faces dressed in f unereal blacksat in silent rows on

,
th e seats of the boat with their ear s in their lean long hands
, .
Th e J ew also in black stood with his eyes and han ds ra ised

, ,
i mpl oringly to the thunderous heaven Th e wil d creatures of .
land and sea the tiger the rhinoceros the crocodile ; the
, ,
sea serpent
-
the shark and the devil shsurrounded the
, ,
-
accur s ed Wanderer in a mystic circle daunted and f ascinated ,
at the s ig ht of hi m Th e li ghtni ng w as gone

. Th e sky an d .
236 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y;
s ea had darkened to a grea t black blank A faint and lurid .
light lit t h e scene f alling downward from a torch brandi shed

, ,
by an avengi ng Spirit that hovered over the Jew on outspread

vulture wings Wild as the picture might be in its conception
-
.
,
there w as a suggestive power in it which I confe s s strongly

impressed me Th e mysteriou s silence in the house and my
.
,
strange position at the moment no doubt had their eff ect on ,
my mi nd While I wa s still looking at the ghas tly composition

.
bef ore me the shri ll trilling sound of the whistle upstairs

,
burst on the stillne ss For the moment my nerves were so .

,
completely upset that I started w ith a cry of alarm I f elt a

, .
momentary impulse to open the door and r un ou t Th e idea ,

.
of trusting myself alone with the man who had painted those .
fright ful pictures actually terried me ; I was obliged to si t

,
down on one of the hall chairs S ome minutes passed bef ore .
my mind recovered its balance and I began t o f eel like my ,
ordinary self again Th e whistle sounded impatiently f or the

.
second time I rose and a s cended the broad ight of s tairs

.
,
which led to the ante room To draw back at the point -

.
whi ch I had now reached would have utterly degraded me in

my ow n estimation S till my heart did certainly beat f aster
.
,
t han usual when I f ound mysel f on the top of the stairs and
I honestly acknowle dge that I sa w my ow n imprudence jus t ,
then in a singularly vivi d light

,
.
There was a gl ass over the mantelpiece in the ante room -

.
I li n gered f or a moment (nervous as I wa s) to s ee h ow I

looked in the glass .
Th e hanging tapestry over the inner door had been le f t

partially dra w n aside Softly a s I moved the dog s ear s of .
,

M i ser ri mu s D exter caught t h e sound of my dress on the oor .
Th e ne tenor voice which I had la s t heard singi ng cal led to

, ,
me gently .

Is that Mrs Valeria ? Plea s e do n t w ait ther e C ome in l
. .
I entered the inner room .
Th e w heeled chair advan ced t o meet me, s o slo wly an d so

MR DEXTER
. AT HOME . 237
s oftly th at I har dly knew it again Mi serri mus Dexte r lang uidly .
held ou t his hand Hi s head incl ined pensively to on e side

.
hi s large blue eyes looked at me piteously Not a vestige .
seemed to be le f t of the raging shouting creature of my rst ,
vis it who wa s Napoleon at on e moment and Shakspere at

,
another Mr Dexter of the morning was a mild, thou gh tf ul

. .
,
melancholy man who only recalled Mr Dexter of the night

, .
by the inveterate oddity of his dress Hi s jacket on thi s .

,
occasion wa s of pink quilted silk Th e coverlid which hid

, .
hi s de f orm ity matched the jacket in pale sea green satin ; -
and to complete these strange vagaries of costume his

, ,
wrists were actually a dorned with massive bracelets o f gold ,
formed on the severely simple models which have descended -
to us f rom ancient times

How good of you to cheer and ch arm me by coming here 1
he said in his most mourn f ul and most music al tones

,
I .

have dressed expressly to receive you in the prettiest clothes

, ,

I have Don t be surprised Except in this ignoble a n d
. .
material nineteenth century men have always worn preciou s ,
stu ff s and beautiful colours as well as women A hundred .
years ago a gentleman in pink silk was a gentleman properly

,
dressed Fi fteen hun dred years ago the p atrici a ns of t h e

.
,
classic times w er e bracelet s exactly like mine I despise the .
brutish contempt for be auty and the mean dread of expens e

which degrade a gentleman s costume to black cloth and
,
limit a gentleman s ornaments to a nger ring in the age I

,
live i n I like to be bright and beautiful especial ly whe n

.
,
brightnes s and beauty come to see me You don t know h ow .

precious your society is to me This is on e of m y melancholy .
d ay s Tears rise unbidden to my eyes I sigh and sorrow

. .
o ver mysel f 5 I la n guish for pity J ust think of what I am I .
A poor solitary creature cursed with a fright ful de f ormity , .
How pitiable how dr eadful ! My aff ectionate heart wasted .

.
My extraordinary talent s u s ele ss or mis applie d Sad ! sad . .
sad 3 Plea s e pity me

.
2 38 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y ,
His eye s w ere positively ll ed with tears tear s of c om

passion f or himself He looked at me and spoke to me with .
the waili ng querulous entre aty of a sick child wanti ng to be

n ursed I was quite at a l ess what to do It was per fectly
. .
r idiculous but I was never more embarrassed in my li f e .

Please pity me ! he repeated Don t be cruel I only .

.
ask a little thing Pretty Mrs V aleria say you pity me !

. .
,

I said I pitied him and I f elt that I blushed as I did it .
Thank you said Mi ser r i m u s Dext er humbly

,

It does , .
me good

Go a l i tt l e further Pat my hand
. . .
I tried to restrain myse lf 3 but my sense of the absurdity

of this las t petition (quite gravely addressed to me remem ,
ber 1) was t oo stro n g to be controlled I burst out laughi ng . .
M i serr i m us D exter looked at me with a blank a stonishment

w hich only increased my merriment Had I o ff ended him ? .
Apparently not R ecovering f rom his astonishment he lai d

.
,
his head luxuriously on the back of his ch air with the expres ,
sion of a man who w a s li stening critically to a per formance of
some sort When I had quite exhausted myself he raised h i s

.
,
head and clapped his shapely white hands, and honoured me

,

w ith an encore .

D o it ag ain he s aid s till i n the same chil dish way
,

, .
Merry Mrs Valeria you have a musical laughI have a

.
,

musical ear D o it again . .
I was s erious enough by this time I am a s hamed of my .

.
s el f Mr Dext er I s aid
, . Pray forgive me
,

. .

He made n o answer to this 3 I doubt i f he hear d me Hi s .
variable temper appeared to be in course of undergoi n g some
n ew chan ge He sat looking at my dres s (as I supposed )

.
w ith a steady and anxious attention gravely forming hi s ow n ,
c onclusions stead fastly pursuing his ow n train of thought

, .
Mrs Valeria he burst ou t s uddenly, you are n ot co mfort

.
,

.
able in that chair

.

Pardo n me, I repli ed 3 I am qui te com fortable

.

Par don me, he r ej oi n ed
The r e i s a chair of I n di an . .
MR . DE XTER A T H OM E . 239
basket work at the end of the room which i s much bet ter
-
suited to you Wi ll you accept my apologies i f I am rude

.
enough to allo w you to fetch it f or yourself ? I have a

r e ason

.
He had a reason ! What new piece of eccentricity w as he

about to exh ibit ? I rose an d f etched the chair : it was light
eno u gh to be quite easily carried As I returned to him I .
,
notice d th at his eyes were still strangely employed in what

seemed to me to be the closest scrutiny of my dress And .
stranger still the result of thi s appeared to be, partly to i n

,
t er est and p a rtly to distress hi m .
I pl aced the chair near him and was about to take my s eat ,
in it when he s ent me back again on another errand, to the

, ,
end of the room .

O blige me indescribably he s aid
There i s a hand,
.
screen hanging on the w all w hich matches the chair We ,

.
are rather ne ar the re here You m ay nd the screen use .
f ul
. Once more f orgive me f or letting you f etch it f or
yourself O nce more let me assure you that I h ave a
.
r eason

.

Here was hi s reason reiterated emphatically reiterated

, , ,
for the secon d time ! Curiosity made me as completely the

obedient servant of hi s caprices as Ariel herself I f etched .
the hand screen R eturning with it I met his eyes still xed
-
.
,
with the same incomprehensible attentio n on my perfectly

plain and unpretending dress and still expressing the same ,
curious mixture of interest a n d regret .
Thank you a thousand times he s aid You have (quite ,

.
i nnocently) wrung my heart But you have not the less done
.
me an inestimable kin dne ss Wil l you promise not to b e .
off ended with me i f I con f ess the truth 3

,
He was approaching his explanati on ! I never gave a pr o

mise more readily in my life .

I have r udely allowed you to f etch your chair and you r
sc r ee n f or y ours el f , h e w ent on

My motive w ill seem a .

very s trange one I am af raid Did you ob s er ve that I

,
.
noticed you very attentively too attentively perhaps I ,

'
Yes I said I thought you were n oticing my dre s s

.
, .
He shook his head and sighed bitterly , .

Not your dress he said And not your f ace Your
,

.

.
dress is not pretty Your face is still strange to me Dear

. .

Mrs Valeria I wanted to see you walk
.
, .
To s ee me walk ! What did he mean ? Where was that

erratic mind of his wandering to now ?

You have a rare accomplishment f or an Engl ishwoman ,

he resumed ; you walk w ell

S he walked well I couldn t
. .
r esist the temptation of seeing her again in seeing you It , .
was h er movement her sweet simple unsought grace (not

,
yours) when you walked to the end of the room and returned
to me You raised h er from the dead w hen you f etched the
.
,
c hair and the s creen Pa rdon me for making use of you 3

.
the i dea wa s innocent the motive was sacred You have , .
distressed and delighted me My heart bleeds and thanks

, .
you .

He paused f or a moment : h e let his head droop o n his

breast then s uddenly raised it ag ain .

S urely we were talking about her last night he s ai d ,

.
What did I say ? What did you say ? My memory i s c on

f used 3 I hal f remember hal f forget Please remind me , . .
You re not o ff ended with me are you l

I might have been off ended with another man Not with .
him I was f ar too anxiou s t o nd my way into his c on

.
den c enow that he had touched of his ow n accord on t h e

s ubj ect of Eustace s rs t wif eto b e off ended with Mi serri

mus Dexter .

We were speaking I an s w ered of Mrs Eu stace Mae

,

, .
~

allan s death 3 and we were s aying to on e another
He interrupted me leaning f orward eagerly in hi s chai r

, .

Yes ! ye s 1 he exclaimed
And I w as wonderi ng .

what i n tere s t you could h av e i n pe n et r ating t h e mys te ry

ME . D EX TER A2 HOME . 24:
of her death Tell me Con de in me ! I am dying to

.
kno w
N0t even you have a stronger interest in that s ubj ect than
the interest that I f eel I said Th e happiness of my whole

.
,
li f e t o come depends on my clearing up the mystery of h er

death .
Good God why ? he cried Stop I am exciting

-
.
myself I mustn t do that I must have all my wits about

.

.
me ; I m ustn t wander Th e thing i s too serious Wait a

. .
minute
An elegant little basket was hooked on to on e of the arms
of his chair He opened it and dre w out a strip of em b r oi
.
,
dery partially nished with the necessary m a terials f or work

,
ing all complete We looked at e ach other across the em

, .
broidery He noticed my surprise

. .

Women he s aid wisely compose their minds and help
,

,

,
themselves to think quietly by doing needlework Why are ,

.
men such f eel s as to deny themselves the same admirable

resource the simple and soothing occupation which keeps
the nerves steady and le a ves the mind cal m an d f ree ? As a

man I f ollow the women s wise example Mr s Valeria per
, . .
,

mit me to compose myself .
Gravely arranging his embroidery this extraordinary being ,
b egan to work with the patient and nimble dexterity of a n

accomplished needlewoman .

Now s aid Mi serr i mu s Dexter
,

if yen are r eady, I am , .

You talk I work Please begi n
. .
I obeyed him, and bega n .

2 42 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD ) :
C H A P TE R X X VI I I .
I N TH E D AR K ;
WITH s uch a man as Mi serr i mu s Dexter su ch a an d w ith

purpose I had in v iew n o half c onden c es were possible I

,
-
.
must either risk the most unreserved acknowledgment of the

interests that I really had at stake or I must m ake the best ,
excuse that occurred to me f or ab a ndoning my contemplated

experiment at the last moment In m y present critical .
situation no such ref uge as a middl e course lay be f ore me

,
even i f I had been inclined to take it As thing s were .

,
I r an all risks and plu n ged headlong into my ow n aff airs at

,
s tarting .
Thus f ar you kno w little or nothing about me Mr Dexte r

, , .
,
I said You are as I believe quite unaware that my husband

.
, ,
and I are not living together at the present time 1
Is it necessary to mention your husband ? he as ked

,
coldly without looking up from his embroidery and withou t

, ,
pausing in his work .

It i s absolutely neces s ary I an swered
,

I c an ex pl ai n .
~
mys elf to you in no other way .

He bent his head and sighed resignedly

, .

You an d your husband are not living together at t h e ,

pr esent time ? he re s umed Doe s that mea n that Ens tat e

.
has le ft you 2
He has le ft me and ha s gone abroad

, .

Without any necessity f or it I '
Without the lea s t necessity .

Has he appointed no time f or hi s return to you 2

I f he perseveres in his present resolution Mr Dexter , . .
Eustac e w il l n eve r return to me .

I N TH E D ARK . 243
For the rst time he raised hi s h ead fro m hi s embr oidery

,
with a sudden appearance of interest .

Is the quarrel so seri ous as that ? he asked
Are you .
free of each other pretty Mrs Valeria by common c onsent of

,
.
,
both parties ?
Th e tone in which he put the question wa s not at all to my

liking Th e look he xed on me was a look which unpleasantly
.
suggested that I had trusted myself alone with him and that ,
he might end in taking advantage of it I reminded him .
q uietly by my manner more than by my words of the respect

, ,
w hi ch he owed to me .
You are entirely mistaken I said There is no anger

.
,
there is not even a misunderstan di ng between us Our .
parting ha s caused bitter sorrow Mr Dexter to h m and i

, .
,

to me .
He s ubmitted to be s et right with ironical resignation I .
am all attention he said threading hi s needle

,

Pray go ,
.

on 3 I won t interrupt you a gain Acting on this invitation

,
.
I told hi m the truth about my husband and myself quite

unreservedly taking care however at the sa m e time, to put
, , ,
Eustace s motives in the best light that they would be a r

.
Mi serr i mus Dexter laid aside his embroidery on the chair and ,
laughed so ftly to himself with an i mpish enj oyment of my ,
poor l ittle narrative, w hi ch s et every ner ve in me on edge a s

I looked at him .

I s ee nothing to laugh at, I s ai d sharply , .
Hi s beautif ul blue eye s rested on me w ith a look of innocen t

s urprise .
Nothing to laugh at he repeated in suc h an exhibitio n

,

,

of human fol ly as you have described ! His expressio n
suddenly changed 3 his face darkened and hardened very
stra ngely Stop
. he cried be fore I could answer him , .
There can be only on e reason f or your taking i t as

seriously a s you do Mr s Valeri a, you ar e fond of your
. .
h us band .

4
24 TII E LA W A ND TH E L AD Y .

Fond of him isn t strong enough to expre ss it I retorted

, .

I love him w ith my whole heart .
Mi serr i m u s D exter stroked his magnicent beard an l con ,
t em pl at i v el y repeated my words You love him with yew .

w hole he art ? D o you know why 2

Because I can t help it I answered doggedly ,

, .
He smiled satiricall y and went on w ith his embroidery

, .

Curiou s ! he said to hi mself 3 Eustace s rst wi f e loved
him too There are some men whom the women all like 3
,
.
and there are ot h er m en who m the women never care f or

Without the least reason f or it in either case Th e on e man .
is just a s good as the other 3 j ust as handsome as agreeable , ,
as honoura ble and as high i n rank as the other And yet

, .
,
f or Number O ne they will go through re and water ; and

,
for Number Tw o they won t so much as turn their heads to

,

look at him Why ? They don t know themselves as Mr s

.

.
Valeria has j ust said Is there a physical reason for it ? I s

there some potent magnetic emanation from Number O ne ,
w hich Number Tw o doesn t possess ? I must investigate this

when I have the time and when I nd mysel f in the humour

, .

Having so f ar settled the question to his o w n entire satis

f action he looked u p at me again
,
I am still in the dark .

a bout
you and your motives he said I am still as f ar as

.
,
ever fro m understanding what your interest i s in investigating

that hideous tragedy at G l en i n c h Clever Mrs Valeria please . .
,
t ake me by the hand and lead me into the light You r e

.
,
not o ff ended with m e ar e you ? Make it up 3 and I w ill

g ive you this pretty piece of embroidery when I have done i t .
I am only a poor solitary def ormed wretch w ith a quaint

, , ,
t urn of mind ; I mean no harm Forgive me ! indulg e me ! .
e nli ghten me
He resumed hi s chi ldish ways ; he recovered his innocent

smile with the odd little puckers and w rinkles acco m panying
,
i t at the c orners of hi s e y es I began t o doubt whether I .
mig ht not have been unreasonably hard on hi m I penitently .

I N TH E DA RK : 24 5
re solved to be m ore con siderate toward s hi s i nr mi t i es of

mind and body during the remainder of my visit
, .
Let me go back f or a mome n t Mr D exter to pa st time s , .

,
at Gl en i nc h I said ,

You agree with me in believing
.
Eustace to be absolutely innocen t of the crime for w hich he

was tried Your evidence at t h e Trial tells me that
. .

He paused over h i s work an d looked at me with a grave ,

.
and stem attention w hich presented hi s f ace i n quite a n ew

li ght .

That is ou r opinion I resumed But it wa s not t he
,

.

opinion of the J ury Their verdict you remember was Not

.
, ,
Proven In plain English the J ury who tried my husb and

.
,
declined to express their O pinion positively and publicly, that ,
he was innocent Am I right I .

Instead of ans w ering he suddenly put his embroidery bac k

,
in the basket and moved the machinery of hi s ch air, so as to

,
bring it close by mine .
Who told you this 2 he a sked

.

I found it for mysel f in a book , .
Thus f ar hi s f ace had expres s ed steady attentio na n d no

,
m ore . Now f or the rst time I thought I saw s omethi n g

, ,
darkly passing over him whi ch betrayed itsel f to my mind as

r i s ing distrust .

Ladies are not generally in the h abit of troubling their
head s about dry questions of law he said Mrs Eustace ,

. .
M ac all an the Second you must have some very powerful ,
motive f or turning your studies that way .

I have a very powerful motive Mr D exter My husband , . .
is resigned to the S cotch Verdict His mother is re s igned t o .
it. His f riends (so far as I kno w) are resigned to i t

Well 2

Well ! I don t agree with my husband or his mother or , ,
h i s f riend s I refuse to submit to the S cotch Verdi ct

. .
Th e instant I said those words the madne ss in him which , ,
I had hi therto deni e d s eemed to br eak out He s uddenly , .

246 TH E LA W AND TI I E LAD Y .
s tretched hi m s el f over h i s chair : he pounced on me, with a

hand on each of my s houlder s ; his w ild eye s que stion ed me
ercely frantically withi n a f ew inche s of my f ace
, , .

Wh at do you mean t he s houted, at the utmo s t pitch of

his ringing and resonant voice .
A deadly fear of hi m Shook me I di d my best to hide .
the outward b etrayal of it By look and word I s howed him .

, ,
as rmly as I could that I re s ented the liberty he had taken

,
wi t h me .

R emove your han ds sir I s aid An d retire to your
,

, .

proper place .
He obeyed me mechanically He apolog ised to me me .
c h an i c ally His whole mind was evidently s til l lled with

.
the word s that I had s poken t o him and s till bent on ,
discovering what those word s meant .

I beg your pardon he said 3 I humbly beg your pardon
, .
Th e subj ect excites me frightens me maddens me You do n t

, ,
.
know what a difculty I have in controlling mys el f Neve r .
mind Don t take me seriously Don t be frightened at me

.

.

.
I am so ashamed of mysel f I feel so small and s o m iserable

at having off ended you Make me su ff er for it Take a . .
stick and beat me Ti e me down i n my chair

. C al l up .
Ariel w h o is as strong as a horse and tell her to hold me

, ,
.
D ear Mrs Valeria ! Inj ured Mrs Valeria ! I ll endur e

. .

anything in the way of punishment i f you will only tell ,

me what you mean by not s ubmitting to the S cotch Verdict ?
He backed his chair penitently as he made that entreaty ,
.
Am I f ar enough away yet ? he asked with a rue ful look

.
,
D o I s till frighten you ? I ll drop out o f sight if you prefer '
,

it in the botto m of the chair
,
.
He li f ted the se a green coverlid In another moment he .
w oul d have di s appeared, l ike a puppet i n a s ho w, i f I had n ot

stopped hi m .
Say n othi ng more and do n othi ng more ; I a ccept your

,
apologie s, I s aid

When I tell you that I r e fu s e to s ubmit
.
IN TH E D ARK . : 47
t o t h e O pinio n the Scotch J ury I mean exactly what my

i f ,
words expre ss . That Verdict has le ft a stain on my

h usband s character

He f eels t he stain bitterly
. How .
bitterly n o one knows s o wel l as I do His sense of his .
degradation is the sense that h as par t ed him f rom me It is .
not enough f or hi m that I am persuaded of hi s innocence .
Nothing w ill bring him back to me nothing will pers uade

Eus tace that I think hi m worthy to be t h e guide a n d
c ompani on of my li fe but the proo f o f his innocence set ,
be fore the J ury whi ch doubts it and the pub l i c which doubt s ,
it to thi s day
,
.He and his f riends and his lawyer s al l
, ,
de s pair of ever nding that proo f now But I am his wif e 3 ,

.
and none of you love hi m as I love him I alone ref use .
to despair 3 I alone refuse to listen to reason I f God s pares .
me Mr D exter I dedicate my li f e to the vindication of my

, .
,
hu sband s innocence You are his ol d f riend I am here t o

.

ask you to help me .
It appeared to be now my t um to f righten h i m The .
colour lef t his f ace He passed hi s hand restle s sly over his
.
f orehead as i f he wa s trying to b r us h s ome delusion o ut of

,
his brain .

Is thi s one of my dr eams 2 he asked f aintly
Are you
, .
a vision of the night 2

I am only a frien dl e ss woman I s ai d who has lost all ,

,

that she loved and priz ed and who i s trying to win it back again
, .

He began to move in hi s chair nearer to me once more I .
l ifted my hand . He stopped the chair directly There w as .
a moment of silence We s at watching on e another I saw

. .
hi s hands tremble as he laid them on the coverlid 3 I saw his

face grow paler and paler and his under lip drop What ,
.
dead an d buried remembrances had I b r ought to life in him,

i n all their olden horror ?
He was the rst to speak again .

S o this is your inte r e st he s aid

i a clearing up t he

, ,
mystery of Mrs Eus tace Macal l an s deat h l

'
.
248 TH E LA IV AND T[I E L AD Y .

Yes .

And you beli eve that I can help you 3

I do .
He slowly lifted one of hi s han d s and pointed at me w ith ,
his long forenger .
You suspect somebody he s aid

.
,
Th e tone in which he spoke was low and threatening : it

warned me to be caref ul At the same time if I now shut
.
,
him ou t of my condence I should lose the reward that might

,
yet be to come for al l that I had s u ff ered and ri sked at that

,
peril ous intervie w .

You s u s pect somebody he repeated , .
Perhaps wa s all I said in return .

Is the pers on withi n your reach 2
Not yet

.

D o you know where the per s on is 1 '
No
.

He laid his head languidly on the back of hi s c hair ,
with a trembling l ong draw n sigh Was he disappointed ? .
O r was he relieved 7 or was he simply exha usted in

mind and body alike ? Who could fathom hi m ? Wh o
could say ?

Wi ll you give me ve minute s ! he asked f eebly and
,
wearily w ithout r aising hi s head

,

You know already how .
any ref erence to events at Gl en i n ch excites and shakes m e .
I shall be t for it again i f you will kindly give me a ,
f ew minutes to my self. There are books i n the next ro om .
Plea se excuse me .

I at once re t ired to the circular a nte ch amber H e followe d -

.
me in his chair, and closed the door bet w een us

IN [ HE LI GHT . 249
C HAP TER XX IX .
I N TH E LI G H T.
A LI TTLE interval of s olitude was a relie f to m e, a s w ell as to

Mi ser r i m us Dexter .
Startli n g doubts be s et me as I wal k ed res tless ly backward s

and f orwards now in the ante room and n ew in the corridor
,
-
side It was plain that I had (quite innocently) disturbed

.
the repose of some formidable secret s in Mi ser r i m us D exter s
mind I con fused and wearied my poor bra ins in tryi n g t o

.
guess what the secrets might be All my ingenuity as af ter

.
events s howed me was wasted on speculations not on e of

which even approached the truth I was on surer groun d .
,
when I arrived at the conclusion that D exter had re ally kept

every mortal creature ou t of his condence He could never .
have betrayed such serious s i gns of disturbance as I had

noticed in him i f he had publicly acknowle dged at the Trial
, ,
or i f he had privately communicated to an y chosen f riend all ,
that he knew of the tragic an d terrible dra ma acted in the

bed chamber a t Gl en i n c h What powerf ul inuence had i n
-
.
du c ed him to close his lips ? Had he been silent in mercy to

o thers ? or in dread of consequences to himself ? Impossible
t o te l l ! Could I hope that he would conde to M e what h e
had kept secret from J ustice and Friendship alike ? When he
knew what I really wanted of him would he arm me out of , ,
his own stores of knowledge with the weapon that woul d win
,
me victory in the struggle to come ? Th e chances were all

against i t there was no denying that S till the en d w a s.
,
worth trying for Th e caprice of the moment might yet stan d

.
my friend with such a wayward being as Mi serr i m u s Dexter

, .
My plans and projects were s ufciently strange, suf ciently

: 50 7 19 E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
of

w ide
. the ordinary li mit s of a w oman s thought s and
action s to attract his sympathies
,

Who know s (I thought .

to myself i f I may not take hi s conden ce by s ur pri s e by

.

s imply t elling h i m the truth !
Th e interval expired ; the door w as thro w n open ; t h e
Voic e of my host summoned me again to the inner r oo m .

Welcome back s aid ! M i s

e r i mus D exter
r

Dear Mr s .
Valeria I am quite mysel f a g ain

, How are you ?
.
He looked and spoke Wi th the easy c or dlal i ty of an ol d

f rien d D uring the period of my absence short a s it w as
.
, ,
a nother chan ge had passed over thi s most multif o r m of living
beings Hi s eyes sparkled with good humour ; hi s cheek s

.
were ushi ng under a new excitement o f some sort Even hi s .
dre ss ha d undergone alteratio n since I had seen it las t He .
n ow w er e an extemporised cap of white paper 3 his r ui es
were tucked u p 3 a clean apron was thro w n over the sea

green coverlid He backed his chair be f ore me bowing
.
,
an d s mi li n g ; and waved me to a seat with the grace of a
dancing master chastened by the di g nity of a lord in

-
w aiting .

I am going to cook he announced with the mo s t eng ag
,

,
i ng s i mplicity
We both s tand in need of re freshment b e
.
,
for e w e return to the serious busine ss of our interview You .
see me in my cook s dressforgive it There i s a form in

.
t he s e thi n g s ; I am a great stickler f or fo r ms I have been .
taking s ome w ine Pleas e sanctio n that proceeding by taking

.
s o me wine t oo
.
He l led a goblet of ancient Venetian glass with a purpl e

r ed liquor beauti ful to s ee
,
.
Burgundy he said
Th e K ing of Wines. And this i s .
the K ing of B urgun die sClo s Vougeot I drink to your .
health and happines s

He lled a second goblet for himsel f and honoured t ne ,
toast by draining it to the bottom I now u nderstood the .
sparkle in hi s eye s a n d the us h i n his cheek s It wa s my

I N THE n or m : 5:
i n ter e st to o ffen d hi m I dr an k a little of hi s win e

not . an d
I quite agreed with him ; I thought it delicious .

Wh at s hall we eat ? he asked
It must be s omethin
.
g
w orthy of our 0103 Vougeot Ariel i s good at roas ti n g and

.
boi l ing joints, poor wretch ! But I don t in s ult your taste by

off ering you Ar iel s cooker y

Plain j oints ! he excl aimed
.
,
w ith an expre s sion of rened disgu s t Bah ! A man w h o

eats a plain j oint i s only on e remove from a cannibalor a
.
butch er Will you leave it to me to discover s omethi ng mor e

.
w orthy of u s ? Let u s g o to the kitchen

.
He wheeled hi s chair round 3 and invited me to accompany

hi m with a c ourt eous wave of his hand

I followed the chair t o some closed c urtain s at one end of

t h e room which I had not hitherto noticed
, Drawin g aside .
the curtain s he revealed to view an alcove i n which s tood a

, ,
n eat little ga s s tove f or cooking Drawer s and cupboards

.
,
plates di s hes and s aucepans were ranged round the alcove

, ,
al l on a miniature scale all s crupulously bright and clean

, .
Welcome t o the kitchen said Mi serri mu s Dexter He .
drew out of a r ecess in the wall a marble slab whi ch served a s

a table and reected prof oundly with his hand to hi s head
, .
I have it he cried and opening on e of the cupboard s

-
n ext, took from it a black bottle of a form that was new to
me S ounding thi s bottle with a spike he pierced and pro

.
,
du c ed to vie w s ome li ttle irregularly formed black objects ,
w hich might have been familiar enough to a woman accu s

t emed to the luxuriou s tables of the rich 3 but which were
n ew revelation to a person like mysel f who had led a simpl e ,
c ountry li fe in the house of a clerg yman with smal l means .
When I s aw my host caref ully l ay ou t these occult substances ,
of u n i n vi t i n g appearance on a clean napkin and then plunge

, ,
once more into pro f ound reection at the s ight of them , my
c uriosity could b e no longer restrained I ventured to say, .
What are thos e th i ngs Mr D exter ? and are we r eally goin g

, .

t o eat them ?
He s tar ted at the r ash question , an d looked at me w ith ,
hands outspread in irrepressible astonishment .

Where is our boasted progress ? he cried
What is
.
education but a name ? Here i s a c ul tivated per s on who

doesn t know Trufes when she see s them

I have heard of t r ui es I answered humbly
But I ,

.
never saw them bef ore We had no such foreign luxu ies as .
r
those Mr D exter at home in the North

, .
, .

Mi ser r i mu s D exter lift ed one of the truf e s tenderly on hi s

spike and held it up to me in a f avourable light
, .

M ake the most of on e of the f e w rst sensation s in this
li fe wh ich has n o ingre dient of disappointment lurking un der
,
f
the sur ace he said Look at it 3 meditate over it Yo u

. .
,
shall eat it Mrs Valeria stewed in Burgundy

,
.
,
He lit the g as for cooking with the air of a man who w as ,
about to o ff er me an inestimable proof of his good will .

Forgive me i f I observe the most absolute si lence he s ai d ,

,

da ting f rom the moment when I take this in my hand He .
produced a bright little stew pan from his collection of culinary -
u tensil s as he spoke Properly pursued the Art of Cookery

.
,
a llows of n o divided attention he continued gravely In ,

.

that observation you will nd the reason why n o woman ever

has reached or ever wil l reach the highest distinction as a
, ,
cook As a rule women are incapable of absolutely c on c en

.
,
t r at i ng their attention on any on e occupation f or an y given ,
time Their minds will run on something else say t ypical ly

.
,
f or the sake of illustration their sweetheart or their n e w , ,
bonnet Th e on e obstacle Mrs Valeria to your rising equ a l

.
, .
,
to the men in the various industrial processes of li f e i s not

r a ised as the women v ainly s u ppose by the defective i n st i t u
, ,
tions of the ag e they live in N o ! the obstacle is in them .
selves No institutions that can be devised to encourage them

will ever be strong enough to contend successf ully with the

s weetheart and the n ew bonnet A little while ago f or .
,
i nstance, I w as inst rumental in getti n g w omen empl oyed i n

'
I N THE L I GHT . 2 53
our local post oth ee here Th e other day I to ok the trouble

-
.
a seriou s business t o me of getting downstairs and wheeling ,
myself away to the o fce to see how they were gett ing on I .
took a letter with me to register It had a n unusually lon g

.
address Th e registering women began copying the addres s

.
-
on the receipt f orm in a business lik e manner cheering a n d

,
-
deli ghtf ul to see Half way through a little child sister of

.
-
, ,
on e of the other women employed trotted into the o fce and , ,
popped under the counter to go and speak to her relative .
Th e registeri n g woma n s mind instantly gave way Her pencil

-
.
stopped 3 her ey es wandered off to t h e chil d wi t h a charmi n g ,

expression of interest Well Lucy ! she s aid
. how d y e
, ,
-

do ? Then she remembere d business again and returne d to ,
her receipt When I took it across the counter an important

.
,
li ne in the ad dress of my letter was le f t ou t in the copy .
Thanks to Lucy Now a m an in the same position woul d n o t

.
have seen Lucy h e w oul d have been too closely occupie d

wi th what he was about at the moment There is the whole .
di ff erence between the mental constitution of the sexes which ,
no leg i slation will ever alter as long as the world lasts ! Wh a t

does it matter ? Women are innitely superior to men in the
moral qualities which are th e true a dornments of humanity .
Be content oh my mistaken sisters be content with that

, ,
He twisted hi s chair round towards the stove It was .
useless to di spute the question with him even i f I h ad fel t ,
inclined to do so He absorbed hi mself in his stew pan

.
-
.
I looked about me in the room .
Th e s ame ins atiable relish f or horrors exhibited downstai rs

by the pictures in the hall was displayed again here Th e
, .
photographs hanging on the wal l represented the various ,
f orms of madness taken f rom the l if e Th e plaster casts .
r anged on the shel f opposite were cast s

(a f ter death
, ) of the
head s of f amous murderers A fright ful little skeleton of a

.
woman hung in a cupboard behind a glaz ed door w i t h thi s

, ,
c ynical in s cription placed above the skull Behold the

254 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD Y.
scaff olding on whi ch beauty is built ! In a c orr esponding
cupboard with the door w ide open there hung in loose f old s
, ,
a shirt (as I took it to be ) of chamoi s leather Touch ing it .
(and nding it to be far so fter than any chamois leather that

my ngers had ever f elt bef ore) I disarranged the f olds and , ,
disclosed a ticket pinned among them describing the thi ng i n ,
thes e horrid lines S kin of a French Marqui s tanned i n ,
the R evolution of Ninety Three Who says the nobili ty are

.
n ot good f or something ? They make good leather .

A fter this las t sp ecimen of my host s taste in curiosities I
pursued my investigation no farther I returned to my chair .

,
and waited f or the Tru f es .
After a brief interval the voice of the poet pai n t er com poser
,
-
and cook summoned me b ac k to the alcove

-
.
Th e gas wa s ou t Th e ste w pan and its accompaniment s

.
-
had vanishe d O n the marble slab were two plates t w o

.
,
napkins t w o rolls of bread and a dish with another napkin

, ,
in it on which reposed t w o quaint little black bal ls Mi ser r i

,
.
mus Dexter regarding me with a smile of benevolent i nterest

, ,
put on e of the balls on my plate and took the other himsel f , .
Compose yourself Mrs Valeria he s aid

,
. This is an epoch
,

.
Your rst Tru fe

in your lif e . Don t touch it with the
knife U se the fork alone And pardon me ; th is i s most
. .
i mportan t eat slowly

.
I followed my instructions and as su med a n enthusias m

,
w hich I honestly con fe s s I did not feel I privately thought .
the new vegetable a great deal too rich and in other respect s, , ,
quite unworthy of the f uss that had been made about it .
Mi ser ri mu s D exter lingered and languished over his truf es ,
and sipped his wonder ful Burgundy and sang his ow n praise s
a s a cook until I was really almost mad with imp atience to
,
r etur n to the real object of my visit In t h e reckless state of .
mind w hich this feeling produced I abruptly reminded my ,
host that he was wasting our time by the mo s t fl ang er ous ,
qu estion that I could possibly put to him .

IN TH E LI GH T: 2 55

Mr D exter, I s aid,
.

have you heard anythi n g l atel y of
Mrs Beauly ?
.

Th e easy sense of e nj oyment expre ss ed in hi s f ace left it at

those rash words and went ou t like a suddenly ext inguishe d
,
-
li ght That f urtive distrust of me w hich I had already

.
noticed instantly made itself f elt again in hi s manner and i n

,
hi s voice .
D o you know Mrs Beauly he asked . .
I only k now her I an s wered by what I have read of h er

,

,
in the Trial .

He was not satised with that reply .

You must have an interest of some sort i n Mr s Beaul y
.
,
he said or you would not have ask ed me about her I s

,

.
i t the interest o f a friend ? or the interest of an enemy ?
R ash as I might be I was not quite reckless enough yet to , ,
meet that plain question by an equally plain reply I saw .
enou g h in his face to warn me to be careful with hi m be fore it

was t oo late .

I can only answer you in on e way I rejoined I must ,
.
return to a s ubject whi ch i s very pain ful to youthe s ubj e ct

of the Trial .
Go on ! he said wi th on e of his grim outburst s of humour

.
Here I am at your mercy a martyr at the stake Poke the .
re ! poke the re !
I am only an ignorant woman I resumed ; and I

,
daresay I am quite wrong But there is on e part of my .
hu sband s trial which doesn t at all s atis fy me Th e

.
de f ence set up for h i m s eems to me to have been a c om

pl et e mi stake .

A complete mistake ? he repeated
Strange languag e, .
Mrs Valeri a to say the least of it

.
, He tried to speak
lightly 3 he took up his goblet of wine But I coul d see that .
I had produced an e ff ect on him Hi s hand trembled as .
It carri ed the wine to his lips .
I don t doubt that Eu stace s rst wi fe real ly asked hi m to


any the ar s enic I continued , I don t doubt that s he used
.
i t secretly to improve her complexi on But what I do n ot .
believe is that she died of an overdo s e of the poison taken ,

by mistake .
He put back the goblet of wine on the table near hi m ,
so unsteadily that he spilt the greater part of it For a .
moment his eyes met mi ne 3 then looked down again .

H ow do you believe she died ? he inquired, in tones
s o low that I could hardly hear the m .

By the hand of a poisoner I answered ,

.
He made a mo vement as i f he was about to start up in the

c n ai r and sank back again sei z ed apparently w ith a sudden
, ,
f a intness .
Not my husband I hastened to add You know that .
I am satised of h i s innocence .

I s aw him shudder I sa w his hands f asten their hold con

.
vul si vely on the arms of his chair .
Wh o poisoned her ? he asked still lying helplessly back

i n t he chair .
At the critical moment my courage f ailed me I wa s a fraid

,
.
t o tell him i n what direction my suspicions pointed .

Can t you guess I said .
There was a pause I supposed him to be secretly follow

.
i ng his o w n train o f thought It w as not for long O n a . .
sudden he started up in his chair Th e prostration w hich

, .
had possessed h i m appeared t o vanish in an instant Hi s .
eyes recovered their wil d light 3 his hands were steady again 3
his colour was brighter than ever Had he been ponderin g .
over the secret of my interest in Mrs Beauly, and had he .
gues sed ? He had

Answer me on your word of honour he cried D on t .

attempt to deceive me I s it a woman ? .

It is .
What i s the rst letter of her n ame ? Is it one of th e r s t

three letter s o f t h e alpha bet ?
TH E I ND I CTM EN T 01M RS . DEA UL Y. 2 57
Yes .

B?

Yes .
Beauly

Beauly .
He threw hi s hands up above hi s head and burst i nt o ,
a frantic t of laughter .
I have li ved long enough ! he broke out wildly

At l ad
. .
I have discovered one other person in the world who sees i t

as plainly as I do Cruel Mrs Valeria ! w hy did you torture
. .

me ? Why didn t you ow n it be fore ?
What ! I exclaimed catching the inf ection of his excite

,
ment Are your ideas my ideas ? Is it possible that you

.
,

suspect Mrs Beauly too ? .
,
He made this remarkable reply

S uspect ? he repeated contemptuousl y There isn t t h e

, .
shado w of a doubt about i t Mrs B eauly pois one d her

. . .
C HAPTER XXX .
THE I NDI C TM ENT 0F M RS . B EAU LY.
I S TAR TEDto my feet and looked at Mi serr i mus Dexte r I

, .
was t oo much agitated to be able to speak to him .
My utmost expectation s had not prepared me f or the ton e

of absolute conviction in which he had spoke n At the best .
,
I had anti cipated that he might by the barest chance agre e , ,
w ith me in suspecting Mrs Beauly And now his own lip s . .

,
n ad said it without hesitation or reserve ! There isn t t h e

,

shado w of a doubt 3 Mrs Beauly poisoned her

. .

Si t down, he s ai d quietly There s nothing to be afrai d

, .
of . Nobody c an hear us in thi s room .

I down again, and recovered mys elf a littl e .


Have you n ever told any on e el se what you have t o .
me 2 w as the rst que s tion I put to hi m

'
.
Never

N0 on e else suspected her
. .
Not even the lawyers ?
Not even the lawyers There is no legal evidence ag ai n st

.
Mrs Beauly There is nothin g but moral certainty

. . .

Surely you might have found the evidence, i f you had

tri ed ?
He lau ghed at the idea .

L ook at me ! he s aid
How i s a man to hunt u p .

evidence who i s tied to this ch ai r 2 Besides there were other ,
di fcu lties in my way I am not generally in the habit of

.
nee dlessl y betrayi n g mysel f I am a cautious man though ,
o u may not have noticed it But m imme a surable hatre d

y y .
o f Mrs Beauly w as not to be concealed I f eyes can tel l

. .
secrets she must have discovered in my eyes that I hungered

, , ,
a n d thirsted to see her in the hangman s hand s From rs t to

.
last I tell you Mrs Borgia Beauly was on her guard against
, , .
-
me Can I describe her cunning ? All my resources of

.
language are not equal to the task Take the degrees of .
comparison to give you a faint idea of it I am positively .
cunning ; the devi l is comparatively cunning ; Mrs Bea uly is .
superl a tively cunning No ! no ! I f she is ever disco vered

.
,
at this distance of time it will not be done by a man i t w ill

,
be done by a woman a woman w hom she doe sn t suspect a

,

woman who can watch her with the patience o f a tigress in a

state of starvation

S ay a woman like Me 1 I broke out I am ready to .
try.

Hi s eyes glittered ; hi s teeth showed themselves viciously

under hi s moustache he drummed ercely with both h a nds
on the arms of his chair .

D o you re ally mean it I he asked .
Enl ighten m e

Put me in your position I a nswered , .
with your moral c er t ai n t v (a s y ou call i t ) and you sh al l see .

TH E I N D I CTM E N T 01 M RS . B E A UL y . 2 59

I 11 do it ! he said

me one thi ng rst How di d
. Tell .
an outside stranger l ike you co me to suspect her ?

, ,
I set bef ore him to the best of my a bili t y the various

, ,
elements of s uspicion w hich I had collecte d f ro m the e vidence

at the Tri al 3 and I laid especial stress on the f act (sworn to
by the nurse ) that Mrs Beauly was missing exactly a t the .
,
time w hen Christina Orm say had le f t Mrs Eus tace Mac allan .
alone i n her room .
You have hit it cried Mi ser ri mus Dext er You are a .
wonder f ul woman ! What was she doi n g on the morn ing of

t h e day when Mrs Eustace Mac al l an died poiso n ed ? And
.
wh ere wa s she during the dark hours of the n i ght ? I c an

,
tell you where she was not she was not in h er ow n room .

Not i n her ow n room 2 I repeated Are you really sure

.
of that 2

I am sure of everythi n g that I s ay when I am speaking ,
o f Mrs Beauly Mind that ; and n ow listen

. . This is a
drama ; and I excel in dramatic narrative You s hall judge .
for yourself Date t h e twentieth of O ctober S cene Th e

.
, .
,

Corridor called Th e Guests Corridor at Gl en i nc h O n one
, , .
s ide a r ow of windows looking ou t into the garden O n t h e

, .
oth er a row of f our bedrooms with dressing rooms attached

, ,
-
.
First bedroom (beginning f ro m the s taircase) occupied by ,
Mrs Beauly
. S econd bedroom empty
. Third bedroom , .
,
o ccupied by Mi ser ri mu s Dexter Fourth bedroom empty .

, .
S o much for the S cene Th e time comes nextthe time i s

eleven at night Dexter discovered in hi s bedroom reading
.
, .
Enter to h i m Eustac e Ma c all an Eustace speaks My .
dear fel low be particularly c are ful not to m ake any noise ;
,
don t bowl y our chair up d down the corrido r to n i g ht

an -

Dexter inquir es Why ? Eustace answers
, Mrs Beaul y , .
h as been dining w ith s o m e f riends in Edinburgh and h as ,
come back terribly fatigued she has gone up to her room t o

r est . D exter m ake s another inquiry (satirical inquiry thi s

,
ti me) How does she look w hen sh e i s terribly fatigue d!


I don t know I hav e

As beauti ful as ever ? Answer .
not seen her 3 she slipped upstairs without speakin g to any ,
body Thir d inquiry by D exter (logical inquiry on this

.
,
occasion) I f she spoke to nobody how do you know she ,
is fa tigued ? Eu st a ce hands me a morsel of p aper and

,

answers Don t be a f ool ! I f ou n d this on the hall t a bl e
,

.
Re m ember what I have told you about keepi n g quiet good

night ! Eust a ce retires

D exter looks at the p ap er and
.
,
reads these li n es in pencil J ust ret urned Ple ase f orgive .
me for going to b ed without sayin g good night I have over

-
exerted myself ; I am dreadf ull y fatigued (Signed) H ELENA . .

D exter is by natu re suspicious 3 Dexter suspe c ts Mrs Beauly . .
Never mind hi s reasons 3 there is n o time to enter into hi s

reasons n ow He puts the case to hi msel f thu s
. A weary
woman would never have given herself the trouble to writ e
thi s Sh e would have f ound it much less fatiguin g to knock
.
a t the drawing room door as she passed and to make her

'
apologies b y word of mouth I see something h ere ou t of .
the ordinary w ay : I shall m ake a night of it in m y chair .

Very good D exter proceeds to make a night o f it He

.
.
o pens his door 3 wheels himsel f so ftly into the corridor 3 locks
the doors of the two empty bedrooms and returns (wi t h the ,
keys in hi s pocket) to his ow n room

No w
s ay s D to .
, .

himself i f I hear a door sof tly opened in thi s part of the
,
house I sh all kno w f or cert ain it is Mrs B eaul y s door '

,
.

U pon that he closes his ow n door le a vi n g the tin iest lit tle
, ,
chink to look thro ugh 3 puts ou t his light 3 and waits and
watches a t his ti n y li ttle chink like a cat at a mousehole , .
Th e corridor is the only place he wants to see 3 and a lamp

burn s there all night Twelve o clock stri kes ; he hears the
.
doors below bolte d and locked and nothing h appens H al f , .
p ast twelve and nothing still Th e house is as silent as the

.
grave O ne o clock 3 two o clocks ame silence Half p ast

.

.
-
t w o and something happens a t last Dexter hears a sound .
clos e b y in t h e c orrid or I t i s the s ound o f a han dle turn i ng

,
.
THE I N D ] CT/ll E IV7 OF M IPS B E A UL Y
'
. . 26 x
v re y so ft ly in a door i n the only door that can be opened ,
the door of Mr s B eau ly s room Dexter drops noiselessly

.

.
f rom his chair on to his hands ; lies at on the oor at h i s

,
chink 3 an d listens He hears the h an dle closed agai n 3 he

.
sees a dark obj ect it by him ; he pops his head ou t of h i s

door down on the oor where nobody would think of looking
,
f or him An d wh a t does he see ? Mrs Beauly

.
,
There she .
goes with the lo n g brown clo ak over her shoulders which sh e

,
wears when she is driving o ating behind her In a moment , .
more sh e disappears past the f ourth bedroom and turns at a

, , ,
right angle into a second corridor called the S outh Cor

, ,
r i dor . What rooms are in the S outh Corridor ? There are

three rooms First room the little study mentioned in the
.
, ,
S econd room Mrs Eustace Macal l an s

nurse s evidence .
,
.
bedchamber Third room her husb a n d s be dchamber What

.
,

.
does Mrs Be auly (supposed to be worn out by f a tigue) want

.
in th at par t of the house at hal f past two in t h e morning ? ,

-
D exter decides on running his risk of being seen and sets

forth on a voyage of discovery Do you know how he gets .
f rom place to place without his chair ? Have you seen the
,
poor de formed creature hop on his hands ? Shall he sho w

you how he does it bef ore he goes on with his story ?,
I h ast en c d to stop the proposed exhibition .
I saw you hop last night I said Go on ! pray go on ,

.
w ith your story !

D o you like my dramatic style of narrative ? he asked .
Am I interesting ?
Indescribably interesting Mr Dexter I am eager t o , . .

hear more .
He smiled in hi gh approval of his own abilities .

I am equally good at the autobiographical style he s aid , .

Shall we t ry that next by way of variety ? ,
Anything you like I cried losi n g all patience w ith him

,

, ,

i f you will only go on !

Part Two Autobiographical Style he announced with a , ,
262 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y:
wave of his hand I h epped along the Guests Corridor

.

,
and turned into the South Corridor I stopped at the little .
stu dy Door O pen 3 nobody there I crossed the study to

. .
the second door communicating with Mrs M ac al l an s bed

, .

ch a mber Locked ! I looke d t hrough the k e yhole

. Wa s .
there something hanging over it on the other side ? I ,
can t say I only kno w there w a s nothi n g to be seen but

blank d ark ness I liste n ed No t hing to be he a rd S ame

. . .
blank darkness same absolute silence inside the locked

, ,
second door of Mrs Eust a ce s room opening on the c or ri dor

. .
,
I went on to her husband s bedchamber I h ad the worst

.
possible opinion of Mrs Beauly I should not h ave been i n

.
the lea st surprised i f I h ad caught her in Eus t ace s room I

.
looked through the keyhole In this case the k ey was ou t of .

,
i t or was turned the right way f or me I don t kno w which

.
Eustace s bed was opposite the door

No discovery I coul d . .
see him by his n ightlight innocently asleep I reected a

, ,
.
little Th e back staircase was at the end of the corrid or

.
,
beyond me I slid down the stairs and looked a bout me on

.
,
the lower oor by the light of the night l a mp Doors all

,
-
.
fast lock ed an d keys outside so that I could t ry the m m y

, ,
sel f House door barre d and bolted Door leading into t h e

. .
servants ofces b arred and bolted I got back to m y own

.
r oom and thought it out quietly Where could she be ?

,
.
Cert a inly i n the house some w here Where ? I had m ade

,
.
sure of the other rooms ; the eld of se a rch was exhaus t e d .
Sh e could onl be in Mr s M a c al l an s room the on e roo m

y .
w hich h a d b ai ed my investigations ; the on ly room which

had not len t i t self to examination Add to this that the key .
,

of the door in the stu dy communicating with Mrs Maca llan a
,
.
room w a s stated in the nurse s evidence to be missing 3 and

,

don t forget that the dearest object of Mrs B eaul y s l if e (ou

'
.

the showing of her ow n lett er read at the Trial ) was to b e ,
Eustace M acal l an s happy w i f e Put these thi ngs together i n

.
our w n mind and you w ill know what my thought s were

y o , ,
TH E I ND I CTM E N T 01 M RS . B EA UL Y . 2 63
as I waitin g f or events in my chair without my telling

sat ,
Towards four o clock strong a s I am f ati g ue g ot the

you .
, ,
better of me I fell asl eep Not for long I woke wi th a

. . .
start and looked at my watch Twenty ve minutes past .

-
four . Had she got back to her room while I was aslee p ? I
hopped to her door and listene d Not a s ound
,
I so ftly . .
opened the door Th e room was empty I went back again

. .
t o my o w n room to wait and watch It was hard work to .
keep my eyes open I drew up the w indow to let the cool

.
ai r re f resh me ; I fought hard with exh austed n atur e 3 and
exhausted nat ure won I f ell asleep again This time it w as

. .
eight in the morning when I woke I have goodish ears a s .

,
y ou may have noticed I he ard w omen s voices ta lking under

.

my open window I peeped ou t Mrs Beauly an d her maid

. . .
,
in close conf abula tion ! Mr s Beauly and her m aid lookin g .

,
guiltily about them to mak e sure that they were neither s een
n or heard ! Take care ma am I heard the m ai d say ;
,

,

that horrid def ormed monster is as sly as a f ox Mind he .
doesn t discover you

Mrs Beauly answered You go rst
.

.
, ,
and look ou t i n front ; I will f ollow you and make sure

there i s nobody behi nd us With th at they disappeared .

,
round the corner of the house In ve minutes more I heard .

the door of Mrs B eaul y s ro om sof tly opened and closed again
. .
Three hours later the nurse met her in the corridor innocently
, ,
on her way to make inquiries at Mrs Eustace Mac al l an s door

. .
What do you think of these circumstances ? What do you

think of Mrs Beauly and her maid having something to say
.
to each other which they didn t dare say in the housef or

,

fear of my being behind some door listening to them ? What

do you thi nk of these discoveries of mine being made on the ,
very morni ng when Mrs Eustace was taken i ll on the very .
day when she died by a poisoner s hand ? Do you see your
w ay to the g uil ty person ? And has mad Mi serr i mu s Dexter

b een of some a ssistance to you so f ar ? ,

I w as t oo violently excited to answer him Th e w ay to t he .

264 TI I E LA 14 A ND L AD Y

TI I E .
vindication of my hu sba n d s innocence was opened to me at

last !

Where is she ? I cried And w here is that servan t w h o
.
is in her condence ?

I can t tell you he s aid,

I don t know .

.

Where can I inquire ? Can you tell me that ?
He considered a little .
There is on e man who must kno w where she is or w h e

could nd it ou t for you he said ,

.
Who i s he ? What i s hi s name ?

He is a f riend of Eustace s M aj or Fitz David
.
-
.
I know him ! I am going to dine w ith him next w eek .
He has asked you to dine too .

Mi ser r i m u s Dexter laughed contemptuously .
Major Fitz David m ay do very wel l f or the ladie s he said

-
,

.
Th e ladies can treat him as a species of elderly human lap

dog I don t dine with lap dogs 3 I have said N0 You go
.

-
,
. .
He or some of hi s ladies m ay be o f use to you Who ar e

, , .
the guests ? Did he tell you ?

There was a French lady w hose name I forget I s aid , ,

and Lady Clarinda
That will do Sh e is a friend of Mrs B eaul y s Sh e is

. .
sure to kno w where Mrs Beaul y is Come to me the moment

. .
,
you have got your in f ormation Find ou t i f the maid i s with .
her she is the easiest to deal with of the two O nly make .
the maid O pen her lips 3 and we have got Mrs Beauly We . .
crush her he cried bringi n g his hand down like li ghtning on

,

,
the last languid y of the season crawling over the arm of ,
his chair we crush her as I crush this y Stop ! A que s

,

.
tion 3 a most important ques tion in deali ng with the mai d

Have you got any money ?

Plenty of money .
He s napped his ngers j oyously .
Th e maid is ours he cried I t s a matter of pounds, .

shillin g s, and pence, w ith the maid Wait ! Another ques .

TH E I ND I CTZIIE N T 0F AI R S . B EA UL E 2 65
ti on About your name ? I f you approach Mrs Beauly in

. .
your ow n charact er as Eustace s wi f e you a pproach her as the

,
w oman who has taken her place you make a mortal enemy
o f her at starting Beware of that ! .

My j ealousy of Mrs Beauly smouldering in me al l th rough

.
,
the intervie w burst into ame at those words I could resist

, .
it no longerI was obli ged t o ask him i f my hus band had

ever loved her .
Tell me t h e truth I s aid Did Eustace really

.
,
He burst out l aughing maliciously ; he penetrated my

j eal ousy and guessed my question almost before it had
,
passed my lip s .
Yes he said Eu stace did really love her and no mi s

, ,
tak e about i t Sh e had every reason to believe (before the

.
Trial ) that the wi f e s death wou ld put her in the w i f e s place

.
But the Trial made another man of Eustace Mrs : Beauly .
had been a w itness of the public degradation o f him That .
was enough to prevent his marrying Mrs Beauly He broke . .
off with her at once and f or ever f or the same reason pre
c i sel y which has led him to s eparate himsel f from you .
Existence with a woman who kne w that he had been trie d

f or his li fe as a murderer was an existence that he was not
,
hero enough to face You wanted the truth There it is !

. .
You have need to be cautious of Mrs Beaul yyou have no .
n eed to be j ealous of her Take the s af e course Arr an ge . .
with the Major when you meet Lady Clarinda at his di nner,
,

that you meet her under an assumed name .
I can go to the dinner I said under the name i n which ,

,

Eustace married me

I c an go as Mrs Woodvill e
. . .
Th e ve ry thing ! he exclaimed What would I n ot give .
to be present when Lady Clarinda intro duce s you to Mrs .
Beauly Think of the situation A woman with a hideout .
s ecret, hi dden i n her inmost s oul : an d another wom an who

kn ow s of i t another w oman who is bent by fair means or ,
f oul, on drag gi n g that s ecret into the light of day Wha t a .

struggle What a plot for a novel I am in a fever when I

think of it I am beside myself when I look into the future
.
,
an d see Mrs Borgi a Bea uly brought to her knees at last

.
-
.
Don t be alarmed ! he cried with the wild light ashi ng once

,
more in hi s eyes My brains are beginning to boil ag ain in

.
my head I must take ref uge in physical exerc ise I must

. .
blow off the steam, or I shall explode in my pink jacket on

the spot
Th e ol d madness seiz e d on him again I made f or the door .
,
to secure my retr eat in case of necessityand then ventur ed

to look roun d at him
He w as off on his f urious wheelsh alf man hal f chair
.
ying li ke a whirlwind to the other end of the room Even .
this exercise was not violent enough for him in his present ,
mood In an instant he was down on the oor 3 poised on

.
his hands and looking in the distance like a monstrous f rog

,
.
Hopping dow n the room he overthre w on e af ter another al l , , ,
the smal ler and lighter chairs as he passed them Arrived at .
the end he turned surveyed the prostrate chairs encouraged

, , ,
hi mself with a s cream o f triumph and leapt rapidly over chair ,
after chair on his han ds hi s limbless body n ow thrown

, ,
back f rom the shoulders an d now thro w n forward to kee p ,
the balance in a manner at once wonder ful and horrible to

,
behol d Dexter s Leapfrog ! he cried cheerfull y perchi ng

.

, ,
h imsel f with his bird lik e lightness on the last of the pros
,
-
trate chairs when he had reached the f urther end o f the room
,
.

I m pretty active Mrs Valeria considering I m a cripple

, .
,
.
Let us drink to the hanging of Mrs Beauly in an other bottle .

,
of B u rgundy !
I s eiz ed desperately on the rs t excu s e that occurre d to me

for getting away f rom him .
You forget I said I mu st go at once t o the Maj or I f

,
.
I don t warn hi m in time he may speak of me to Lady

,

Cl arinda by the w rong name .
I deas of hurry and movement w ere j u s t the ideas t o take

TH E I N D I CTJII E N T 0F M RS . B E A UL Y . 2 67
hi s fancy in his present state He blew f urio u sly on t h e

, .
whistle that summoned Ariel from the kitchen r egions and ,
danced up and down on hi s hands in the full fren zy of h i s

deli ght .

Ariel shall get you a cab he cried Drive at a gallop .
to the Maj or s S et the trap for her without losing a moment

. .
Oh what a day of days this has been

,
O h wh at a relief t o ,
get rid of my dreadf ul secret and share: it with You I am ,
su ff oc ating with happiness I am like th e Spirit of the Earth

i n Shelley s poem He broke out with the magnicent line s

.
in Prometheus U nbound in which the Earth f eels the Spiri t ,

o f Lov e and bursts into speech
,
Th e j oy the triumph .
, ,
the delight t h e madness Th e boundless over owing b urst

, , ,

ing gladness Th e vaporous exultation not to be conned !

,
Ha ! ha ! the animat i on of deli ght Which wraps me like an ,
atmosphere of light And bears me as a clou d is borne by ,

That 8 how I f eel Valeria ! that s how I

its ow n wind .
,
f eel
I crossed the threshold while he wa s stil l speaking Th e last .
I sa w of him he was pouring ou t that glorious ood of words

,
-
his def ormed body poised on the overt hrown chair his f ace , ,
li ft ed in ra pture to some f antastic Heaven of his ow n making .
I sl ipped ou t so ft ly into the antechamber Even as I crossed .
the room he changed once more I heard hi s ringi n g cry 3 I

,
.
heard the sof t thump thump of his hands on the oor He -

.
w a s going down the room again i n Dexter s Leap frog yin g

, ,
o ver the prostrate chairs
In the h all Ariel was on the watch for me

, .
As I approached her I happened t o be putting on my ,
glove s Sh e st epped me ; and takin g my right arm l i f t ed

.
,
my hand towards her f ace Was she going to kiss it ? or t o .
bite it ? Neither Sh e smelt it like a dog and dropped it

.
again with a hoarse chuckling laugh .
You don t smell of his perfumes she said You haven t

.
,
t ouched his beard Now I believe you Wa n t a c ab ?

. .

Thank .

you I ll walk till I meet a cab .

Sh e wa s bent on being polite to men ow I had n ot touched

hi s beard .

I say ! she burs t ou t, in her deepe s t note s .
Yes ?
m

I
I glad I di dn t upset you i n the canal There now !

.
Sh e gave me a f rien dly smack on the shoulder which n early

knocked me down relapsed the instant af t er into her leaden
, ,
s tolidity of look and manner and led the way ou t by the

f ront door I heard her hoarse chuckling laugh as she lo oke d
.
the gate behind me My star was at last in the ascendant

.
.
I n o ne and the same day I had found my way into the con
,
den c e of Ariel and Ariel s Master !

,

CHAP TER XXXI .
'
r nE D EFENCE or M RS . B EA U LY .
TE E
days that elapsed be fore Maj or Fitz David s dinner party -

-
were precious days to me .
My lon g interview w ith Mi ser r i mu s Dexter had disturbed

me f ar more s eriously than I suspected at the time It was .
not until some hours a f ter I had le f t him th a t I really began ,
to f eel how my nerve s had been tried by all that I had see n
a n d heard during my visit at hi s house
,
I started at the .
slightest noises 3 I dre amed of dread f ul things 3 I was ready

t o cry without reason at on e moment and to y into a
, ,
passion without reason at another Absolute re s t w as what

, .
I wanted and (thanks to my good Benjamin ) was what I got

,
.
Th e dear ol d man controlled his anxieties on my accou nt ,
and spared me the question s which his fatherly interest in my

wel f are made hi m eager to ask It w as tacitly understood.
b et ween us that all co n vers ati on o n the s ubj ect of my vis it t o

TH E D E FE N CE 01" M RS . B E A UL Y . 2 69
Mi serri mus Dext er (o f which , it i s needle ss to say, he stro n gly

disapproved) should be de ferred until repose had restored my
,
energie s of body and mind I saw no vi sitors Mrs Mac al l an . . .
came t o the cott age and Major Fit z D avid c ame to the cottage
,
-
one of them to hear what had passed betwee n Mi serr i mus

Dexter and myself : the other to amuse me with the latest
gossip about the guests at the forthcoming dinner Benj ami n .
took it on himsel f to m ake my apologies and to spare me the ,
exertion of receiving my visitors We hi red a little open .
c arriage and took long drives i n the pretty country lanes

, ,
still lef t ourishing within a f ew miles of the northern suburb

o f London At home we sat and talked qui etly of ol d times
.
, ,
or played at backgammon and dominoes and so f or a few ,
happy days led the peace ful u nadventurous life which w as

, ,
good for me When the day of the dinner arrive d I felt

. .
restored to my customary he l t h I was re ady again and a .

,
eager again f or the introduction to Lady Clarinda and the

, ,
discovery o f Mrs Bea uly . .
Benj a min looked a little sadly at my ushed f ace as we ,
drove to M aj or Fitz David s house -

.

Ah my dear he said in his simple way I s ee you
, ,

, ,
are wel l again ! You have had enough of ou r quiet li f e

already .
My recollection of events and person s i n general at t h e , ,
dinner party is singularly indistinct I remember that w e

-
, .
were very merry and as easy and f amili ar wi t h on e anothe r

,
as we had been ol d friends I remember that Mad ame .
Mirli or e was unapproachably superior to the other women

present in the perf ect beauty of her dress and in the ample
, ,
j ustice which s he di d to the luxu rious dinner set be fore us I .
r emember the Maj or s young prima

donna more round eyed -
, ,
more over dressed more shrill and strident as the comi n g

-
,
Queen of Song than ever ,

I remember the Major himself, .
alway s kissing ou r hands always luring us to indulge i n ,
dainty dishe s and drinks al w ays making love always detect , ,

~
i ng re s emblances between us always under the charm and

, ,
never once ou t o f his char a cter as elderly Don J uan from the ,
beginning of the evening to the end I remember dea r old .
Benjamin completel y bewil dered shrinki n g into corn ers , ,
blushi n g when he was personally dra w n into the conversation ,
f rightened a t Madame Mi r li or e bashful with Lady Clarin da , ,
submissive to the Maj or su ff ering under the music and f rom

, , ,
the bottom of his honest ol d heart wishing himself home ,
again And there as to the member s of that cheerf ul little

.
,
gathering m y memory nds its limitswith one exception

, .
Th e appeara nce of Lady Cl arinda is as present to me as i f

I had met h er yesterd ay 3 and o f the memorable conversation
which we t w o held together privately towards the close of the ,
evening it is no exaggeration t o say that I can still call t o

,
mind al mo s t every word .
I see her dress I hear her voice again while I w rite

, , .
S h e was attired I remember with that extreme assumption

, ,
of simplicity which always de f eats its ow n end by irresistibly ,
suggesting art S h e wore plain white muslin over white sil k

.
, ,
without trimmi n g or orn ament of an y kind Her rich brown .
hair dressed in dean ce of the prev ailing f a shion was thrown

, ,
b a ck from her f orehead and gathered in t o a simple knot

,
behind without adornment of any sort A little white ri bbon

,
.
encircled her neck fastened by the only article of j ewellery

,
that she wore a tiny di a mond brooch Sh e was unquestion .
a bly handsome ; but her beauty was of the somewhat hard
and angular type whi ch is so of t en seen in English women of

h er race : the n ose and c hi n too promin ent and too rmly
shaped 3 the well opened grey eyes full of spirit and dign ity
-
but wanting in tenderness and mobili ty of expression Her .
manner had all the charm which ne breeding can con fer
exquisitely polite easily cordial ; showi ng that pe rf ect yet un
,
obtru sive condence i n hersel f which (in England ) seems to

,
be t h e natural outgrow t h of pre emi nent social rank I f you

-
.
h a d accepte d her f or what sh i w as on the s ur face you w oul d

, ,
TH E D E FE N CE 0F M R S . B E A UL Y .
h ave said Here is the model of a noble woman who is per

,
fec t l y f ree from pr ide And i f you had taken a liberty with
.
her on the s trength of that conviction she woul d have made

, .
you remember it to the end of your l if e .
We got on together admirably I was introduced as Mrs .

.
Woodvill e by previo us arrangement with the Maj or e ff ected

,

,
thr ough Benjamin Before the dinner was over we h ad

.
,
promised to exchan ge visits Nothing but the opport uni t y

was wanting to lead Lady Clarinda i nto talking as I wanted ,
her to t alk of Mrs Beauly

,
. .
Late in the evening t h e opportunity came , .
I had taken re fuge f rom the terrible bravura singing of the

Maj or s strident pri ma don n a in the back drawing room As

-
,
-
.
I had hoped a n d anticipated af ter a while La dy Clarinda , ,
(missing me from the group rou )

n d the piano came in search
of me . She s eated herself by my side ou t of sight and ou t of ,
hearing of our friends in the f ront room 3 and to my innite ,
reli ef and delight touched on the subject of Mi ser ri mus

,
Dext er of her ow n accord S omething I had said o f h i m

,
.
,
w hen his name had been accidentally mentioned at dinner ,
remained in her memory and led u s by perf ec tly n atural , ,

gradations, into speaking of Mrs Beauly At last I . .

,
thought t o myself the M ajor s little dinner wi ll bring me

,

my reward !
And what a reward it was when it came ! My heart sink s ,
i n me again as it san k on that never to b e f orgotten evening - - -
whi le I sit at my desk thi nki ng o f it , .

So D exter really spoke to you of Mrs Beaul y ex .
.
c laimed Lady Cla rinda You have no idea how you

.

surprise me .

May I ask why ?

He hates her ! Th e last time I saw him he wouldn t ,

a l l ow me to mention her name It i s on e of his innumera b l e .
oddities I f any such f eeli n g as symp at hy is a possibl e

.
TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
.
e li n g i n s uch a nature a s hi s, he o ught t o like Helen a
e
Beaul y Sh e is the most completely unconvention al perso n

.
I know When s he does break ou t poor dear she say s

. , ,
things and does things whi ch are al m ost reckless enough to,
be worthy of Dexter hi mself I wonder whether you wou l d .
like her
You have kindly asked me to visit you Lady Clarinda

, .
Perhaps I may meet her a t your house ?
Lady Clarinda l a ughed as i f the idea amused her .

I h Ope you w i ll n ot wait until th a t i s l i kely to happen ,

she said Helena s last whim is t o f ancy that she has got
'
the gout, of all the m aladies in the world ! Sh e i s awa y

at some wonder ful baths in Hung ary or Bohemia (I don t ,

remember which) and where she will go or what she will do , ,
next it is perf ectly impossible to say D ear Mrs Woodvill e !

,
. .
is the heat of the re t oo much f or you ? You are looking

quite pale .
I f el t that I was looking pale Th e discovery of Mrs . .
B eaul y s absence from England was a shock for which

I was quite unprepared For the moment it nu .

,
n er v ed me .

Shall w e g o into the other r oom ? asked Lady
Cl arinda .
To go into the other ro o m would be to drop the conversa
tion I was determined n ot to let that catastrophe happen

. .
It w a s jus t possible that Mrs B eaul y s maid might have .

qui tted her service or might have been le f t behind in,
Engl and My in f ormation would not be complete until

.
,
I knew what h a d become of the m a id I pushe d m y .
chair back a little fro m the r e place and took a h an d -
screen from a table near me It might be made usef ul in .
hi ding my f a ce if any more di sappointments were in store

,

Thank you Lady Clarinda : I was only a little too ne a r
,
th e re . I shall do ad mir ably here You s urpri s e me ,

TH E D E FE N CE 0F M RS . B E A U1 . 9 73
a bout Mrs Beauly From what Mr D exter s aid t o me I

. . .
,
had imagined
O h you must n ot believe anything D exter tel l s you "
,
i nt erposed Lady Cl a rinda

He delights in mysti fying
.
people 3 and he purposely misled you I have no doubt , .
If all that I hear is true he ought to kno w more of ,
Helena Beaul y s strange freaks and fancies than most

people . He all but discovered her in on e of her a dven ,
t ures (down i n Scotlan d) which r eminds me of the story

,
i n Auber s charming opera what i s it called ? I shal l f orget

my ow n name next ! I mean the opera in w hich the two

n un s slip ou t of the convent and go to the ball Listen !
, .
how very odd That vulgar girl is singing the castanet song
i n the second act at thi s moment ,
Major ! what opera is the.
y oung lady singing from ?

Th e Maj or was scandalised at the interruption He .
h ustled into the b a ck room whispered Hush ! hush !

my dear lady Th e D omi n o N oi r and h ust l ed back again

.
t o the piano .
Of course s aid Lady Clarinda How stupid of me ! Th e

.
D omi n o Nai r And how strange that you should forget it too
.
I had remembered it perf ectly 3 but I could not trust

mysel f to speak If a s I bel ieved the adventure men
.
, ,

t i on ed by Lady Clarind a was connected in some way, w ith ,
Mrs B eaul y s mysterious proceedings on th e morning of

.

the twenty r st of O ctober I was on the brink of t h e

-
v ery discovery which it was the on e interest of my

l i fe to make ! I held the screen so as to hide my face ;
a n d I said in the s tea d
, i est voice that I could command at
t h e moment
,
,

Pray go on Pray tell me what the adventure was !
Lady Clarinda was quite attered by my eager desire t o
h ear the comin g narrative .
I hope my story will be worthy of the i nterest which y ou

are so g ood as to feel in i t, she s aid If you on l y kne w

.
T
Helen a i t i s so l i ke her ! I have it you mu s t kn ow

- w
, ,
f ro m her maid Sh e has t aken a wom a n who speaks f oreign

.
l anguages with her to Hungary and she has left the mai d ,
with me A perf ect treasure l I shoul d only be too gl ad i f I

.
could keep her in m y serv ice she has but one de f ect a nam e ,
I hate Phoebe Well Ph oebe and her mistress were st aying

.
at a place ne ar Edinburgh called (I think) Gl en i nc h Th e , .
house bel onged to that Mr Mac all a n who was a fter w ards .
,
tried you remember it of course f or poisoning hi s ,
wif e . A drea d ful case 3 but don t be alarmed m y
story has n othing to do with it ; my story has to do

w ith Helena Be a uly O ne evening (while s he was stayi ng
.
at Gl en i n c h ) she was e n gaged to dine with some En glish

f riends vi s iting Edinburgh Th e same nightalso in Edin
.
b urgh there w a s a masked ball given by somebody whos e ,
name I forget Th e ball (almost an unparalleled event in

.
S cotland !) was reported to be not a t a l l a reputable a ff a ir .
All sorts o f amusing people were to be there Ladies of .
doubtf ul v irtue you know 3 and gentlemen on the outlying

,

limits of society and so on Helen a s f r iends had contrived
,
.
t o get cards and were going in spite of the objections

, ,
i n the strictest incognito of course 3 trusti n g to their mask s

, .
And Helen a hersel f w as bent on going with them i f she coul d ,
o nly man age it without being discovered at G l en i n c h Mr . .
Mac all an was on e of the strai t l a ced people who disapproved

o f the ball No lady he said could show hersel f at such an
.
, ,
e ntertainment without compromising her reputation What .
Well Helena in on e of her wildest moments hi t on a

st u , , ,
w ay of going to the ball without discovery which was really ,
as ingenious as a plot in a French pl a y Sh e went to the .
'
dinner in the carriage f rom G l eni n c h havin g sent P h oebe ,
to Edinburgh bef ore her I t was not a grand dinner a lit t le

.
friendly gat hering ; no eveni n g dress When the time cam e .
f or going back to G l eni n ch w hat do you think Helen a did ?,
Sh e sent h er maid back in the c arri age in stead of h ersel f ! ,

TH E D E FE N CE 0 F M RS . B E A UL Y . 27 5

Phoebe wa s dressed in her mistress s clo ak and bonnet and
veil Sh e was i nstructed to run upstairs the moment she got
.
t o the house ; leaving on the hall t a ble a little note of apology -
( writte n by Helena o f course ple a ding f a t ig u e as an excuse
f or not saying goo d night to her host Th e mistress an d the .
m aid were abou t the sa m e height 3 a n d the s ervants naturally

n ever discovered the trick Ph oebe got up to her mistress s
.
r oom s afely eno u gh There her ins t ruct ions we r e to wai t

,
.
,
until the house was quiet f or the nigh t and then to s t ea l ,
u p to her o w n room While she w a s w a i t ing the girl f el l

.
,
asleep S h e only woke at t w o i n the morning or l a t er

. It , .
did n t much m atter as she thought S he stole ou t on tip t o e

,
.
-
and closed the door behind her Bef ore she was at the end .
of the corridor she f a ncied she heard something

, S h e wai t ed .
till she was s af e on the upper storey and then she looked over ,
the banisters There was D exter so like him l h Oppi ng

.
(
a bout on his h ands did you ever see it ? the most grotesquely
horrible exhi bition you c an imagine there was Dexter, -
hopping about and looking throu gh keyholes evidently in

,
search of the person who had le f t her room at t w o i n the
morning 3 and no doubt takin g Phoebe f or her mistress seeing ,
that sh e had forgotten to take h er mistress s cloa k off her
shoulders Th e next morning early Helena c ame b ac k in a

.
,
h ired c arriage fro m Edinburgh wi t h a hat and mantle bor ,

e
r owed f rom her English friends Sh e le f t the carri a ge in the

.
r oad 3 and got into the house by way of t h e garden w ithou t
being discovered this time by D exter or by anybo dy

, , , .
Clever and daring w asn t it ? And as I sai d just n ow

,

, ,
q uite a new version of the D omi n o N ai r You w i ll wonder .

,
as I did how it was that Dexter didn t m ake mischief i n the

,

morning ? He would have done it no doubt But even he .
w as silenced (as Ph oebe tol d me ) by t h e dread f ul event that
happened in the house on the same day My dear Mrs . .
Woodville ! the heat of thi s room is certainly t oo much f or

you Take mv smell in g bottle Let me open the windo w
.
-
.

.
2 76 THE LA W A ND TH E LA D Y .
I able to answer, Pray s ay nothi ng ! Let me s lip

w as ju s t

out into the air !
I made my w ay unob s erved to the lan di n g and sat do w n ,
on the stairs to compose mysel f where nobody could see me

,
.
In a moment more I f elt a hand laid gently on my shoulder,

,
and discovered good Be nj amin looking at me in dismay .
Lady Clarinda had considerately S poken to hi m and had ,
assisted him in quietly making his r etreat from the

room whi le hi s host s attention wa s still absorbed by the
,

music .

My dear child he whispered what is the matter ? ,
Tak e me home, and I will tell you, w as all that I

coul d say .
CHAPTER XXXII .
A S P E C I M EN or M Y WI SD O M .
THE s cene must foll ow my erratic movements the s cene mu s t

close on London f or a while and O pen in Edinburgh
, .
Tw o days had passed since M aj or Fi t z David s dinner party

- -
.
I w as able to breathe again freely a fter the utter destr u ct ion

,
of all my plans f or the f uture and of all the hope s that I had
,
f ounded On them I could now see that I had been trebly in

.
the wrong wrong in hastily and cru elly suspecting an inno

cent woman 3 wrong in communicating my suspicions (with
)
ou t an attempt to veri fy them previously to another person 3
wrong in acceptin g the i g h t y in ference s and conclusion s

of Mi serr i mu s D exter as i f they had been solid truths I .
w as so ashamed of my folly when I thought of the past ; so

,
completely discouraged so rudely shaken in my condence in

,
mysel f, when I thought of the f uture that f or once in a w ay, , ,
I accepted s en sible advice w hen it was o ff ered to me My .

de ar s aid g ood O ld Be njamin, af te r w e had thorough l y talked
,
A S PE CI M E N OF M Y WI S D OM . 277
o ver my di sc om t ur e on our return from the dinner p arty, -
j udging by what you tell me of him I don t fancy Mr Dexter ,

. .
Promise me that you will not go back to him until you have ,
rst consulted some person who is tter to guide you through

this dan gerous business than I am .
I gave hi m my promise on on e condition

If I fai l t o
,
.

nd the person I said will you undertake to help me ?
,

,

Be njamin pledged himself to help me cheerfull y ,

.
Th e next morning when I was brushing my hair and

, ,
thinking over my affai rs I c alled to mind a f orgotten resolu

,
t ion of mine at the time when I rst read the R eport O f my

,
husban d s Tr ial

I mean the resolution i f Mi serr i mu s
.
D exter fail ed m eto apply to on e of the two agents (or

s olicitors as we should ter m them) who had prepared Eustace s
,

de fence namely Mr Pl aymor e Thi s gentleman it may be

, , . .
,
remembere d had espe cially reco mmende d himself to my con

,
den c e by his f riendly interf erence when the sheri ff s O fcers ,

were in search Of my husband s papers R ef erring back to

.
the evidence of Isaiah S choolcraft I found that Mr Play ,

.
m ore had been called in to as sist and advise Eustace by ,
Mi ser r i mus Dexter He was theref ore not only a friend on

.
whom I might rely but a friend who was pers onall y acquainted
,
w ith Dexter as well Could there be a tter man to apply t o

.
for enlightenment in the darkness that had now gathered

round m e ? Benjamin when I put the question to h m ,
i
,
acknowledged that I had made a sensible choice on this

occasion and at once exerted himsel f to help me He di s
, .
covered (through his ow n lawyer) the address Of Mr Pl ay .

more s London agents 3 and from these gentlemen he obtained
for me a letter of introduction to Mr Pl aymor e himsel f 1 . .
h a d nothing to conceal f ro m my new adviser ; and I was pro

perly described in the letter as Eustace Macallan a second
wife.
Th e same evening we two s et f orth (Benjamin re fus ed t o

,
let me travel alone) by the night mail f or Edinburg h .

2 78 TH E LA W AND THE LAD Y .
I had previously w ritten t o Mi serr i mus D exter (by my ol d

friend s advice) merely saying that I had been unexpectedl y
,
called away from London for a few days and that I would ,
r eport to him the result of my intervie w wi t h Lady Clarin da
o n my return A characteristic answer was brought back to

.
the cottage by Ariel Mrs Valeria I happen to be a man

. .
,
Of quick perceptions ; and I can read the u n w r i t t en part O f
your let ter Lady Clarinda has shaken your condence in

.
me Very good I pledge mysel f to shake your condence

. .
in Lady Clarinda I n the mean time I am not Oended In

.
, .
serene composure I wait the honour and the happiness of

your visit S en d me word by telegraph whether yo u would
.
,
lik e Truf e s again or whether you would pre f er something

,
si m pler and l ighter say that incompara ble French dish ,
P i g s Eyelids and Tamarinds Believe me always your all y

.
an d admirer your poet and cook D EXTER

, .
Arrived in Edinburgh Benjamin and I had a little dis ,
c ussi on Th e question in dispute between us was whether I

.
,
should go with him, or go alone to Mr Pl aym or e I was all , . .
f or going alone .
My experience O f the w orld is not a very large one I said ,

.
But I have observed that in nine c ases ou t of ten a m an , ,

.
w ill make concessions to a woman i f she approaches hi m by ,
h ersel f which he would hesitate even to consider i f another

, ,
m an was within hearing I don t know h ow it i sI onl y

.

kno w that it is s o I f I nd that I get on badly with Mr

. .
Pl aym or e I will ask hi m f or a second appointment and in th at

, , ,
c ase you sh al l accompany me

,
Don t think me sel f wi l led .

-
.
Let me try my luck alone an d let us see wh a t comes of i t

.
,
Benjamin yielde d w i t h his customary consideration f or me

,
.
I sent my letter of introd uction to M r Pl aymor e s Ofc e his .

private house being in the neighbourhood of G l en i n ch My .
m essenger brought back a poli t e answer invi t ing me to vi s it ,
h i m at an early hour in the a f ternoon At t h e appointe d .
ti me to the moment, I r ang the bell at the ofce door .

A S P E CI M EN OF M V F ULL Y
. . 3 79
C HAP TE R XXXIII .
A SP EC I MEN or M Y F O L L Y. -
THE incomprehensible sub mission of Scotchmen to th e eccl e

si a st i cal tyranny o f their E stablished Church has prod u c ed ,
n ot unnatur all y as I think a very mistaken impression of the
national chara cter in the popular mind .

Publi c opinion looks at the institution of Th e Sabbath
in S co t land 3 nds it unparalleled i n Christendom for its

senseless and savage austerity ; sees a nation content to be
deprived by its priesthood of every social privilege on on e day
i n every week forbidden to travel forbidden to telegraph ;
forbidden to eat a hot dinner forbidden to read a newspaper
in short allowed the use of two liberties only the liberty of
, ,
exhibitin g onesel f at the Church and the liberty o f sec l u di n g

,
oneself over the bottle public opinion sees t his and arrives ,
at the n ot unreasonable conclusion that the people who submit

to su ch social laws as these are the m ost stolid stern and , ,
joyless people on the face of the earth S uch are S cotchmen

.
supposed to be ,
when viewed at a di stance But how do .
S cotchme n appear when they are seen under a closer light and ,
j u d ged by the test of personal experience ? T here are no
people more cheerf ul more companionable m ore hospitable

, , ,
m ore liberal in their ideas to be found on the face of the

,
c ivili z ed globe than the very people who submit to the S cotc h
S und a y O n the si x days o f the week there is an atmosphere

,
o f quiet humour a radiation of genial common sense about

, ,
S cotchmen in general whic h i s simply delight ful to feel But

,
.
o n the seventh day these same men will hear on e of their

,
m inisters seriously tell them that he views takin g a wal k on

th e S abbath in th e li ght of an a ct of p r ofanity, and w ill be
the only people in exi stenc e w h o can l e t a man t al k do wn right

nonsense without laughi ng at him .
I am not clever enough to b e able to a cc ount for thi s anomaly

in the nation al character ; I can only notic e it by way of
necessary preparation for th e appearance in my l ittle narrative
of a personage not frequently s ee n i n w r itinga che er ful ,
S cotchman .
In all other respects I found Mr Pl aym or e only negative l y .
remarkable H e was neither ol d nor young neither handsome

.
,
n or ugly ; he was personally n ot in t h e l e ast li k e the popul ar
idea of a lawyer and he S poke per fe ctly good E nglish,

touched w ith o nl y the sli ghtest possibl e avour of a Sc otc h
accent .
I have the h onour t o be an old friend of Mr Mac al l an he .

,

said cordially shaking hands with m e 3 and I am honestly

,

happy to become acquainted with Mr Mac al l an s wi fe Where .

.
w ill you sit ? Near the light ? Y ou are you n g enough not
to be afraid of the dayli ght j ust yet Is this your rst visit
, .
to Edinburgh ? Pray let me make it as pleasant to you as I

can I shall be del ighted to present Mrs Pl aym or e to you
. . .
We ar e staying in E di nburgh for a littl e w h ile T he Italian .
o pera is here ; and w e have a box for to night Will you -

.
kindl y waive all ce remon y and dine with us an d go t o th e

,
music afterwards 2
You ar e ve ry ki nd I answered ,

But I have som e anxieti e s
.
just now w hich wi ll make me a very poo r companion for Mrs

P l aym or e at the op e ra My letter to you m e ntions I thi nk,
.
,
that I hav e to ask your advice on matters which ar e of very

se r ious importan c e to me .

Does it ? h e r ej oined

To t e ll you t h e truth, I have not
.
r ead the letter through I observed y o ur nam e in it and I

.
,
gathered from your mess age that you w ish e d to see me h e r e .
I sent my n ote to you r hotel an d then went on with som e

thing els e Pray pardon me Is this a pro fessional co n sulta
. .

ti on I For y ou r ow n sak e, I sin c e rely hop e n ot . .
A S P E CI M E N OF M Y FO L E Y . 28 1
It is hardly a pro fessional c onsultation Mr Pl aymor e I , . .
nd myself in a v e ry painful position ; and I c ome to you t o

advise me, under very unusual cir c umstan c es I shall greatly .
surprise you when you hear what I have to sa

,
y ; and I a m
afraid I shall occupy more than my fair share of your time .

I, and my time are entirely at your disposal he said
, ,

.
Tell me w hat I can do f or you and tell it in your ow n

way .
The kindness of his language was more than matched by

the kindness of hi s manner I spoke to him freely an d full y
.
I told hi m my strange story exagge rating nothing and , ,
suppressing nothing .
H e showed the varying impressions that I produced on his

mind w ithout the slightest concealment My separation from
, .
E usta c e distressed hi m My resolution to di spute the Scotch

.
Verdict and my unjust suspicions of Mrs Beauly r st amused

, .
, ,
th en surprised him It was not however until I had described

.
, ,
my extraordinary interview with Mi ser r i mu s D exter and my ,
h ardly less remarkable conversation w ith Lady Clarinda that ,
I produced the greatest e ff ect on the lawye r s min d I saw

.
h i m change colour for the rst time H e start e d and mut .

,
t er ed to himsel f as i f he had complet ely forgotten me

,
Good .
God ! I he ard him say

Can it be possi b l e ? D o e s the trut h
li e tha t way afte r all ?,
I took the liberty of interrupting h i m I h ad n o ide a of .
allowing hi m to keep his thoughts to hims elf .
I se em to have surprised you ? I said

.
H e start e d at the sound o f my voice .
I beg ten thousand pardons he exclaim e d You have .
n ot only surprised me you have opened an entirel y n ew vie w
to my mind I see a possibility a really startling possibility,

.
,
i n c onnexi on w ith the poisoning at Gl en i n c h whi ch neve r ,
o ccurred to me until the present moment This is a nice .

sta t e of things he added, falli n g back again into his ordinary
,
h umour Her e is the client l e a ding th e l awy er My dear

. .
28 2 TH E LA W AND TH E Z AD Y .
Mrs Eustace w h ich i s i t do you want my ad vice ? or do I

.
,
w ant yours I
'

May I h ear the new idea I asked .
Not just yet i f you will excus e me he answere d;

,

Make
,
allowances for my pro fessional c aution I don t w ant t o be .

pro fessional with You my great anxiety is to avoi d it B ut

-
.
the lawyer gets the better of the man and refuses t o be ,
suppressed I reall y hesitate to reali z e what is passing in my

.
o w n mind without some further inquiry

,
D o m e a great .
favour Let us g o over a part o f the ground again and let

.
,
me ask you som e questions as we proceed Do you feel an y .
obj ection to obliging me i n this matter ?

Certainl y not Mr Pl aymor e ,
H ow far shall w e go
. .
back 2
T o your visit to D exter with your m ot h er i n l a w When ,
-
.
you rst a sked h i m i f he had any ideas of his ow n on the ,
subj e ct of Mrs Mac al l an s death did I understand you to say

.
,
t hat he looked at you suspiciously ?

Very suspiciously .

A nd his face cleared up again when you told him that ,
your question was only suggested by what y ou had read in

the Report of the Trial ?
Y es .

He drew a sli p of paper ou t o f th e drawer in h is desk ,
dipped hi s pen in the ink considered a l ittle and placed a , ,
c hair for me close at his side .
The lawyer disappears he said and the man resumes hi s ,

,
proper place There shall be no pro fessional mysteries between

.
you and m e A s your husband s old friend Mrs E ustace I

.

,
.
,
feel no common interest in you I see a serious necessity f or .
w arning you be fore it is too late and I can only do so to any

good purpose by running a risk on which few men in my
,
place would venture Personally and professionally I am

.
,
going to trust you though I a m a S cotchman and a lawyer !

S i t h e re and l ook ov e r my sh oul d e r w hile I make my note s .
A S P E CI M E N DE I VY F OL L Y
You w i ll s e e what i s passing in my mind i f you s e e w hat ,

I write .
I sat down by him and looked ov e r hi s should er w ithout ,
the smallest pretence of hesitation .
H e began to write as follows

The poisoning at G l eni n c h Queries : In what positio n
.
does Mi ser ri m u s D exter stand towards the poisoning ? A nd

w hat does he (presumab l y ) know about that matter ?
H e has ideas which are secrets H e suspects that he h as .
betrayed them or that they have been discovered i n some

,
way inconceivable to himself H e is palpably relieved whe n

, .
he nds that th is is not the case

.
T he pen stopped ; and the questions went on .

Let us advance to your second visit said Mr Pl aymore ,

.
,
when you saw Dexter alone T ell me again what he did .

,
an d how he looked when you in formed hi m that you were

,
not satised with the S cotch V erdict .

I repeated what I hav e already written Th e pen went back .
t o the paper again and added these lines

,
H e hears nothing more remarkable than that a person visit

i n g him who is interested in the case r efuses to ac c ept t h e
, ,
verdict at the M acallan Trial as a nal verdict and proposes

, ,
to r e open the inqui r y What does he do upon that ?

.
He e x hibits all the symptoms of a panic of terror ; he sees

h i ms elf in some incomprehensible danger he is frantic at on e
moment and ser vile at the next ; he must and will know what
,
t h i s disturbing person really means A nd when he is inf ormed .
on that po int he rst turns p ale and doubts the evidence o f

,
h i s ow n senses and next with nothi n g said to justi fy

,
i t gratuitously accuse s his visitor of suspecting somebody

,
.
Query here : When a small sum of money is missing in a

household and the servants in general are called together to
,
be in formed of the circumstance w hat do we think of t h e ,
on e servant in par ticular w h o speaks rst an d w h o says,

, , ,
Do y ou susp ect me 7
2 84 TH E LA W AND THE LAD Y.
H e l aid dow n th e pen again .

Is that right ? he asked .
I began t o se e the end to w hich the notes were dr ifting .
Instead of answering hi s question I entreated him to enter ,
i nto th e explanations that were still wanti ng to c onvinc e

my ow n mind H e held u p a warning forenger and
.
stopped m e .
Not yet he said On ce again am I r ight so far ?

.
, ,

Q uite right .

Very well Now tell me w hat Dexter did nex t
. D on t .

m ind repeating yoursel f Give me all the details on e after .

,
another t o th e e nd .

I gave h im all th e det ails e xactly as I remembered them ,

.
Mr Pl aym or e returne d to his w riting for the third and las t

.
time Thus the notes ended

.
He is indirectly assured that he at least is not the person

suspected . He sinks back in his chair ; he draws a long
breath ; he asks to be left awhile by himself under the pre ,
tence that the subj ect excites him When the visitor r eturns, .
D exter has been drinking in the interval The visitor resumes .
the subj ect not Dexter Th e visitor is convinced that Mrs . .
E ustace Macall an died by the hand of a poisoner and openl y ,
says so D e xter sinks back in his c hair l ike a m an fainting

. .
What is th e horror that h as got possession of him ? It is easy

to un derstand i f we call it guilty horror I t is beyond a ll
,
.
understanding i f we call it anythi ng else A nd how does it

,
.
leave him ? He ies from on e extreme to another he is

indescribabl y del ighted when he discovers that th e visitor s
suspicions are all xed on an absent person A nd then and .

,
the n only he takes re fuge in the declaration that he has been

,
of on e mind with his guest in the matter of suspicion fro m , ,
the r st ! The se ar e facts To what plain conclusion do they .
point t
H e shut up his notes an d, s te a dil y w atchi ng my fa ce ,
wait e d f or me to spe ak rst .

A SPE CIM EN OF M Y F ULL Y
. . 2 85

I un der stan d you, Mr Pl aymor e I b e gan, impet uou sly .
,

.
Y ou believ e that Mr D exter .
Hi s warni n g forenger stopped me th e re .
Tell me he interposed what Dexter said to you when

,

,
h e was so good a s t o c onrm your opinion of poor Mrs .

Beauly ?

'

He said There isn t a doubt about it Mrs Beauly
,
. .
poisoned her .

I can t do better than follow so good an example with

o n e triing difference I say too The r e isn t a doubt about

.
,

it ! Dexter poisoned h e r .
A re you j oking Mr Pl aym or e , .
I never was more i n earnest in my li fe Your rash visit .
t o Dexter and your extraordinary imprudence in taking him

,
i nto your condence hav e led to astonishing results

,
Th e .
light which the whole ma chinery of the Law was unable t o

t hrow on the poisoning case at Gl eni n c h has been accidentally ,
let in on it by a Lady who refuses to listen to reason and w h o

,
insists on having her ow n way Quite incre dible and n e v er .

,
t h el ess quite true

Impossible I exclaimed .

What is impossible ! he asked coolly
, .

That Dexter poisoned my husband s rst w i fe

.

A nd why is that impossible i f you please ? ,

I began to be almost enraged with Mr Pl aymor e . .

Can you ask the question ? I replied indignantly I
, ,

have told you that I heard him speak of her in terms of ,
r espect and aff ection of which any woman might be proud .
H e lives in the memory of her I ow e his friendly r e ceptio n .
of me to some resemblance which he fancies he sees between
my gure and hers I have seen tears in his eyes I have

.
,
h e ard his voice falter and fail him when he spoke of her , .
H e may be the falsest of men in all besides ; but he is tru e

t o her h e has not misled me in that on e thi ng Ther e a r e .
si gns that n eve r deceive a woman , when a man is t alk ing t o

TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
her of wh at is really near his heart I saw thos e signs I t . .
is as true that I poisoned her as that he did I am ashamed , .
t o set my opinion against yours Mr Pl aym or e ; but I really , .
c annot help it I declare I am al most angry with you 1

.

H e seemed to be pleased instead of o ff ended by the bol d , ,
m anner in which I expressed myself .

My dear Mrs E ustace you hav e no reason t o be
.
,
angry with m e ! In on e respect I entirely share your ,
viewwith thi s diff erence tha t I go a li t tle further than ,

you do .

I don t understand you .

You will understand me directly Y ou describe Dexter s

.
feeling for the l a te Mrs Eustace as a happy m ixture of .

,
respect and a ff ection I c an tell you it was a much warme r

.
,
feeling towards her than that I have my in formation f ro m .
the poor lady herself who honoured me w ith he r condence

and friendship for the best part of her li fe Be fore sh e .
'
marri ed Mr Ma c al l an she kept it a secret fro m hi m,

.
and you h ad better keep it a secret tooMi ser r i mu s

D e xter was in love with her Mi ser ri mu s Dex te r asked .
her de formed as he was s e riously asked her t o be ,

his W ife .

And in th e face of that, I cried y ou say that h e ,

poisoned her

I do I see no other concl usion possibl e after wha
.
,
h appened during your visit to him Y ou all but fri ghtened .
'
hi m into a fainti ng t What was he a fraid of 1
-
.
I tried hard to nd an answer to that I ev e n embarked .
on an answer without quite knowing where my ow n words

,
might lead me .
Mr Dexter is an ol d and true friend of my husband s I

.
,
began . When he heard me say I was n o t satised with t h e

Verdic t, h e might h av e felt alarmed

He might have felt al a rmed at the possible con sequences

t o y our h usband of r e openixw t h e inquiry said Mr Plas -
, .
A SP E CIMEN OF III Y F OLL Y . 28 7
more i ronically nishing the sent e nce for me

,
Rather far .

f etched Mrs E ustace ! and not very c onsistent with your

, .
faith in your husban d s innocence ! Clear your mind of on e

mistake he continued seriously which m ay fatally mislead

,

, ,

you i f you persis t in pursuing your present course Mi ser r i m u s

,
.
Dexter you may take m y word for it ceased to b e your

, ,
husband s friend on the day when your husband married

his rst wi fe Dexter has kept up appearances I grant

.
,
youboth in public and in private His evidence in his .
friend s favour at the Trial was given with the deep feel

,
ing whi ch everybody expected from him Nevertheless I .
rmly believe looking under the sur face that Mr Macall an

, , .
h as no bitterer enemy living than Mi serr i mu s D exter

.
H e turned me cold I fel t that her e at least he was

.
, ,
right . My husband had wooed and won the woman w h o

had re fused Dexter s o ff er of m arriage
Was Dext er the .
man to forgive that ? My ow n experience a n swered me

a n d said No , .

Bear in mind w hat I have told you Mr Pl aymore ,

.
proceeded
A nd n ow let u s get on to your ow n position
.
i n this matter, and to the interests that you have at stake .
Try to adopt my point of vie w for the moment ; and let

u s i n q u i r e what chance w e have of making any further
advanc e towards a discovery of the truth It is on e thi ng to .
be morally convinced (as I am ) that M i ser r i m u s Dexter is the

m an w h o ought to have be en tried for the murder at
G l eni n c h and it is another thin g at this distance of time , ,
t o lay ou r hands on the plain evidence which can alone
j usti fy a nything like a public assertion of his guilt There, .
as I see it is the insuper able difculty in the case

, U nless I .
am completely m istaken the question is now narrowed t o

,
th i s plai n issue : The public assertion of your h u sband s
i nnocence depen ds entirely on the publi c assertion of Dexte r s

g uilt . H ow are you to arrive at that result ? There i s

n ot a particle of evidence again st h i m Y ou can only con .
288 THE LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
v i ct D exter on D e xt er s ow n c on fession Ar e you l is teni n g

.
t o me ?

I was listening most unwillingly , If he was right things .

,
h ad indee d come to that t e rribl e pass But I coul d not .
with all my respect f or his superior knowledge and ex per i
e nce I c ould not persuade mysel f that he w a s right An d I .
owned it with th e humility which I r e ally felt

, .
H e smiled good h u m ou r edly -

.

A t any rate he said y ou will admit that Dex t e r has
,

,

n ot fre ely opened hi s m i nd to you thus far ? H e is still ,
keeping somethi n g fro m your kn owledge w hi ch you are ,

interested in discov e ring ?

Yes I admit that
. .

V ery good What appli es to your view of t h e case,
.
appli es to mine I say he is keeping from you the con fes

.
,
s
sion of his g uilt You say he i s keeping from you in forma

.
,

tion which may fasten the g uilt on some othe r person Let .
us start from that point Con fession or in formation how ar e

.
, ,
y o u to get at what he is n ow withholding from y ou ? What

inuence can you bri n g to bear on him when you see hi m ,
again ?
S urely I m ight persuade him

,
Certainly And i f persuasion fail s what then ? D o you

.
think you can entrap him into speaking out ? or terr ify him

i nto speaking ou t ?

I f you will look at y our notes Mr Pl aymor e you , .
,
will s e e that I have already succeeded in terri fying him

though I am only a woman an d th ough I di dn t mean t o ,

do it .

Ve ry well answered ! Y ou mark the trick What y ou .
h ave done once y ou thi nk you can do again

,
Well ! as you .
are determined to try the e xp e riment it can do you no harm ,
t o know a little more of D exter than you know now Be fore .
you g o back to London suppose we apply for in formation to,
so me bo dy w h o c an help us ?

A SPE CI M EN OF M Y . FO LL Y . 89
I s tarted , and looked roun d the room H e made me do it .
he spok e as if th e p e rson w h o was to help us was cl ose at our

e lbows .
Don t be alarmed he said

The oracle is sil ent ; and th e
,

.
oracle is here .

He unlocked one of the drawers of his desk ; pro duced a

bundle of letters ; and picked ou t on e .
When w e were arranging your husband s defence he said
,

,
we f elt som e di i c ul ty about including Mi ser r i m u s Dexter

among ou r witn esses We had not the slightest suspicion of
.
him I need hardly t ell you But we w e r e all afraid of hi s .
eccentricity ; and some among us even feared th a t the excite
ment of appearing at the Trial might drive him completely

ou t of his mind In this emergency we applied to a doctor to
.
help us . U nder some pretext which I forget now we intro , ,
du c ed him to Dext er A nd in due course o f time we received

.

his report He r e it i s. .
H e opened the letter ; and marking a certain passage in it ,
w ith a pencil handed i t to me , .

Read the lines which I have marked he said they will ,

b e quite sui c i ent for our purpose .

I read these words

S umming up the results of my observation I may gi ve it ,
a s my O pinion that the r e is undoubtedly latent i nsanity i n
thi s case but that no active symptoms of madness have pr e

sented themselves as yet You may I think produce him at .
, ,
the Trial without fear of consequences

, He may say and do .
al l sorts of odd things but he has his mind under the

c ontrol of his wil l and you may tru st his sel festeem
,
t o exhibit him in the character of a substantially i ntelli gent

w itness .

As to th e future I am of c ourse not able to speak posi
, , ,
t i v el y
. I can only state my views .
That he w ill end in madne s s (i f he lives) I ent e rtain littl e ,
or no doubt Th e question of when t he madn e ss w ill sho w

.
U
TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y
'
2 00 .
itsel f, depends entirel y on the state of hi s health Hi s .
n ervous syste m i s highly sensitive ; and there are signs that
hi s way of li fe has already damaged i t I f he conquers .
the bad habits to which I have alluded in an earlier part

of my report and if he passes many hours of every day
,
quietly in the open air he may last as a sane man for years to
,
come I f he persists in his present way of li fe or in other

.
,
Words i f further mischie f occurs t o that sensitive nervous

,
system his lapse into insanity must in fallibly take place
when the mischi e f has reached its culminating point With .
ou t warning to himsel f or to others the whole mental strue ,
ture will give way ; and at a moment s notice whi le he is ,

,
acting as quietly or speaking as intelligently as at hi s best

time the man will drop (i f I may use the expression ) into
,
madness or idiocy In either case when the catastrophe has

.
,
happened it is only due to his friends to add that they

, ,
can (as I believe) entertain no hope o f hi s cure T he balance .
once lost will be lost for li fe

, .

There it ended Mr Pl aym ore put the letter back i n his

. .
drawer .

Y ou have just read the opinion of on e of ou r highest
living authorities he said Does D exter strik e you as a
,

.
likely man t o give hi s nervous system a chance of r e

c ov ery ? Do you see no obstacles and n o perils i n your
way ?
My silence answered him .

S uppose you go back to Dexter he proceeded
An d
, .
suppose that the doctor s O pinion exaggerates the peril in hi s

,
c ase . What are you to do ? The last time you saw him you ,
h ad the immense advant age of taking h i m by surprise T hose .
sensitive nerves of his gave way ; and he betrayed the fear

that you roused i n him Can you t ake h i m by s u rprise
.
again ? N ot you He is prepared for you n ow 3and he will

b e on hi s guard I f you encoun ter nothing worse you will
.
,
h ave his c u n n i rm to deal with, next Ar e y ou his match at .

A SP E CIMEN OF M Y F O LL Y . . 29 x
that ! B ut f or L ady Clarinda he would have hopelessl y mi s

led you ou the subje ct of Mrs Beauly . .
There was no answering thi s either I was foolish enough , .
t o try t o answer it for all that , .
He told me the truth so far as he knew it 1 r e

'

, ,
j oined .

H e really saw what he said he saw in the c orridor , ,

at G l eni n c h .

He told you the tr uth returned Mr Pl aymor e because
,

.
,
he w as cunning enough to see that the t r uth would help hi m

in i rritating y our suspicions You don t really believe that .

h e shared your suspicions Z

Why n ot l I said '
He was as ign orant of what Mrs .

.
B eauly was reall y doing on that night as I was until I met ,
L ady Clarinda It remai ns to be seen whether he will not

.
b e as much astonished as I was when I tell him what L a dy ,
Clarinda told me .

T his smart reply prod uced an e ff ect whi ch I had not

anticipated .
To my surp r ise Mr Pl aym or e abruptly dropped all f urther

,
.
di scussion on his side He appeared t o despair of convincin g

.
me and he owned it indirectly i n his ne xt words

, .

Will nothing that I can say to you , he asked, induce you
t o think as I think in this matter 1

I have not yo u r abili ty or your experien c e I an swer ed , ,
.

I am sorry to say I can t think as you think ,

.

An d are you re ally determined t o see Mi serr i mu s De xte r

'
again I
I have engaged mysel f to see him again
.
He waited a li ttle and thought over it ,

.
You have honoured me by asking for my advice h e said ,

.

I earnestly advise you Mrs Eu stace to break your engage ,
.
,
ment I go even fur ther than that I en tr ea t you not t o see

. .

Dexter again .
J ust what my mother i n l aw had said ! just what Benjamin - -
an d Major Fit z David had said ! -

They were all against me .
292 TH E LA W AND TH E LAL r .
And still I held I wonder when I look ba c k at it at my

ou t. , ,
o wn obstina cy I am al most ashamed t o relate that I made

.
Mr Pl aymor e no reply
. He waited sti ll l ooking at me
. I , .
felt irritated by that xed look I rose an d stood before him .

,
w ith my eyes on the oor .
He rose in hi s t urn He u nderstoo d that t h e c onferen ce

.
w as over .
Well ! wel l he s ai d with a kind of sa d good humour T

,
-
suppose it is u nreasonable of me to expect th at a young

woman l ike you should share an y opinion with an ol d lawyer
like me L et me only remind you that our conversation must
remai n strictl y condential, for the present and then let us
.
change the subj ect Is there anything that I can do for y ou !

.
Ar e you alone in Edinburgh ?

N o I am travelli ng with an old friend of mine who h as
. ,

known me from childhood .
An d do you st ay here to morro w i

I think so .

Wil l you do me on e favour ? Will you thi nk over what
has passed bet ween us and will you come back to me i n
,

the mornin g I

Willingly Mr Pl aymor e if it is only t o thank you agai n
, .
,

for your kindness .
O n that understanding we parted He sighedthe cheer .
f ul man sighedas he opened the door f or m e Wome n .
ar e c ontradictory creatures That sigh aff ected me more .
than all his arguments I felt mysel f blush for my ow n head

.
stron g resistance t o him, as I t ook m

y leav e and t ur ned away
Into t he stre et .
GLENI N CH . 2) 3
C HAP TER XXXIV .
G LEN I N CH .
I FO U N DB e nj ami n at the hotel poring over a ch eap peri odi cal ;

,
absorbed in guessing on e of the weekl y Enigmas whi c h the

Edito r presented to his readers My ol d friend was a great .
admirer of these verbal pu zzles and had w on all sorts of

. ,

cheap pri z es by his ingenuity in arriving at the right solution

of the problems submitted to him O n ordinary occasions i t . ,
was useless to attempt t o attract his attention while he was ,
oc cupied wi th his favourite amusement But his interest in .
hearin g the resu lt of my interview with t he lawyer proved to

be even keener than his interest in solvin g the problem before
him He shut up his j ournal the moment I entered the
.
room and asked eagerly

, What news Valeria ? What
, , ,

n ews 2
In telling hi m w hat had happened I of c ourse respected ,
Mr Pl aym or e s conden c e i n me N ot a word relating to

.

.
the lawyer s horr ible suspicion of Mi serr i mu s Dexter passed

my lip s .
Ah a ! said B enjamin c omplacently

S o the lawye r
, .
thinks as I do You w ill listen to Mr Pl aymor e (w on t

. .

'
tho ugh you wouldn t listen to me 1

o u
y
You m ust forgive me my old friend I replied ,

I am ,

.
a fraid it has come t o this try as I may I can listen to ,
n obody who advises me O n our way here I honestly meant

.
,
t o be gui ded by Mr Pl aym ore w e should never have taken

.
this long j ourn ey i f I had n ot honestly meant it I have

, .
tried t r ied hard t o be a tea chable reasonable woman B ut

, , ,
.
there is something in me that won t be t aught I am afraid

.
I sh all g c b ac k t o Dex ter

.
Even B enj amin lost all patien c e with me this ti me . .

What is bred in the bone he said quoting the ol d pr o ,

,
verb will never come ou t of the esh In years gone by

, .
,
you were the most obstinate child that ever made a mes s in a
n u rsery O h, dear me we might as wel l have stayed in
.
,
L ondon
N o I replied n ow we have travelled t o Edinburg h we
,

, ,
w ill see somethi ng (interesting to m e at any rate

) which we ,
should never have seen if we had not le ft L ondon My .

husband s country house is within a f ew m il es of us here , .
T o morrow we will go t o Gl en i n ch
-

.
Where the poor lady was as ked Be nj amin,

with a look o f dismay You mean that place i .
Y es I want to see the roo m in which she di ed ; I want

.
t o g o all over the house

.
B enjamin crossed his ha n ds resignedly on his lap I .

try to understand the new generation said t h e ol d m a n ,

,

sa dly
But I can t manage it The new generation beats
. .

me .
I sat down to write to Mr Pl aym or e about the visit t o .
Gl eni n c h The house in which the tragedy had occurred that

.
had blighted my husband s life w as to my mind the most

, , ,
interesting house on the habitable globe The prospect of .
v isiting G l en i n c h had indeed (to tell the truth ) strongly , ,
in uenced my resolution to consult the Edinburgh lawyer I .
sent my note t o Mr Pl aymor e by a messe n ger and received.

,
the ki ndest reply in return I f I would wait unti l the after .

n oon he wo uld get the day s business done and would take
, ,
us to G l en i nc h in hi s ow n carriage .
B enjamin s obstinacy i n its ow n quiet way and on c erta in

,
occasions only was quite a match for mine He had privately .
determined as on e of the ol d generation to have nothing t o

, ,
do with Gl eni n ch N ot a word on the subject escaped him

.
,
u ntil Mr Pl aymor e s c arriage was at the hotel door

.

At that .
appropriate moment, B e nj ami n rem emb ered an ol d f riend of

GLE N I N CH . 29 5
his i n Edinburgh Will you please to ex c use me Val eri a i

.

,
My friend s name is S aunders and he will take it unkindly

i ne with h i m t o day

of me i f I don t d

.
Apart from the associations that I connected with it, there

was nothing to interest a traveller at Gl en i n c h .
T he country round was pretty and well cultivated and ,
n othi ng more The park was to an English eye wild and

.
, ,
badl y kept T he house had been built within t h e last seventy

.
or eighty years O utside it was as bare of all o r nament as a

. ,
factory and as gloomily heavy in e ff ect as a prison Inside

,
.
,
the deadly dreariness the close oppressive solitude of a

, ,
deserted dwelli ng wearied the eye an d weighed on the mind ,
from the roof to the basement The house had been shut u p .
sinc e the time of the Trial A lonely ol d couple man and .

,
wi fe had the keys and the charge of it The man shook his
, ,
.
head in silent and sorrowful disapproval of ou r intrusion ,
when Mr Pl aym or e ordered h i m to open the doors and

.
shutters and let the light in on the dark deserted place

, ,
.
Fires were bu r n i ng i n the library and the picture gallery to

'
preserve the treasures which they contained fro m the damp .
It was not easy at rst to look at the cheerful bla z e without

, , ,
fancying that the inhabitants of the house must surely come

i n and warm themselves Ascending to the upper oor I saw ,
the rooms made fami liar to me by the R eport of the Tr i al I .
entered the little study with the ol d books on the shelves , ,
a n d the key still mi ssing from the locked door of c omm u n i c a
tion with the bedchamber I looked into the room in which .
the unhappy mistress of Gl en i n ch had suff ered an d died The .
b ed w as left in its place 3 the so fa on which the nurse had

snatched her intervals of repose was at its foot 3 the In dia n
c abinet,
in whi ch the crumpled paper with the grai ns of
arsenic had been found sti ll held its little collection of ,
c uriosities I moved on its pivot the invalid table on whi ch

.
sh e had taken her meals and written her poems poor soul , , .
Th e place w as dreary and dread ful ; the heavy air fel t as if i t

296 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y .
was still b urdened with its horrid load of misery and distr ust .
I was glad to get ou t (after a passing glan c e at the room

whi ch Eustace had occupied in those days ) into the Guests ,

Corridor There w as the bedro om at the door of which

.
,
Mi serr i mu s Dexter had waited and watched T here was the

oaken oor along which he had hopped in his horrible way , ,
followi n g the footsteps o f the servant disg uised in her mistress s
clothes G o where I might the ghosts of the dead and the ,
absent went w ith me step by step G o where I might t h e

, .
,
lonely horror of the house had i t s still and awful voice for Me :
I keep the secret of the Poison ! I hide the mystery of the

death !
T he O ppression of the place became unendurable I longed .
for the pure sky and the free air ,

My companion noticed .
and understood me .

Come ! he said
We have had enou gh of the hou se
. .

L et u s look at the grounds .
In the grey quiet of the evening we roamed about the ,
lonely garden s and threaded our way through the rank

, ,
neglect e d shrubberies Wandering here and wandering there

.
,
we drifted into the kitchen garden with on e little patch still

sparely cultivated by the ol d man and his wi fe an d all the ,
rest a wilderness of weeds Beyond the far end of the garden

.
,
divided from it by a low pali n g of wood there stretched a ,
piece of waste ground sheltered on three sides by trees I n

, .
on e lost corner o f the ground an obj ect common enough , ,
elsewhere attracted my attention here The obj ect was a

, .
dust heap The great si z e of it and the c urious situation i n

.
,
w hich it was placed roused a moment s i an g ui d curiosity in

,
me I stopped and looked at the dust and ashes at t h e

.
, ,
broken crockery and the old iron Here there was a torn .
,
hat ; and there some fragments of rotten old boots ; and

, ,
scattered round , a small attendant litter of waste paper an d
frowsy rags .
What are you looki ng at i asked Mr Pl aymore . .

oz E NLVCI I . 29 7
At

nothi ng mor e remarkable than the dust heap I -
answered .
In tidy England I suppose you would have all that carted

,
away ou t of sight said the lawy er

, ,

We don t mind in .

S cotland as lo n g as the dust heap is far enough away not t o

,
be smelt at the house Besides some of it sifted comes in

.
, , ,
useful ly as manure for the garden Here the place is deserte d .

, ,
and the rubbish in consequen c e has not been disturbed .
Everything at Gl en i n c h Mrs Eustace (the big dust hea p,

.
-
i ncluded) i s waiting for the new mistress to set it to right s

,
.
O ne of these days you m ay be queen herew h o knows

,

I have done with Gl en i nch Mr Pl aym or e when I leave ,
.
,
it to day
-

Don t be t oo sure of that returned m y c ompanion

, .

Time has its s urprises in store f or all of us .
We turned away and walked back in silence t o the p ar k

,
gate at which the carriage was waiting

,
.
O n the return to Edinburgh Mr Pl aymor e directed the , .
c onversation t o topics entirely u nconnected with my visit to
G l en i nc h He saw that my mind stood in n eed of relie f 3

.
and he most goodnaturedly and success fully exerted hi msel f , ,
t o amuse me It was not unt i l w e were close to the city

.
t h at he touched on the subj ect Of my retu r n to L ondon .

H ave you decided yet on the day when you leave Edi n

bur g h l he asked .
We leave Edinburgh I replied, by the train of tom orrow

,

morning .

DO you still see no reason t o alter the O pinions whi ch
you e xpressed y esterday ? Does your spee dy departure mean
that
I am a fraid it does Mr Pl aym or e Wh en I am an Older
, . .
woman I may be a wiser woman In the mean time I can

, .
,
only tru st to you r indulgen c e if I still blindly blunder on , i n

my ow n way

.
He smiled pl easantl y and patted m y hand then changed

,
on a sudden and looked at me gravel y and attentively before

, ,
he opened hi s lips again .
This i s my last O pportunity of speaking t o you be fore you

go he said
,
May I speak freely 2
.

As freely as you please Mr Pl aymor e ! Whatever you , .
may say t o me will onl y add t o my grate ful sens e of your

,

kindness .

I have very li ttle to say Mrs Eustace and t h at littl e , .
begins with a word of caution Y ou told me ye sterday that .

,
when you paid your last visit to Mi ser r i mu s D exter you ,
went to hi m alone D on t do that ag ain T ake somebody .

.
with you .

Do you think I am in any danger then l ,

'
No t in the ordi nary sense of the word I only think that .
a friend may be use ful in keeping D exter s audacity he is on e

(

)
of the most impudent men living w ithin proper limi t s Then .
again in case anythi ng worth remembering a nd acting on

,
shou ld fall from him in his talk a friend may be v aluable as ,
witness I n your place I should have a witness with me w h o

.
,
coul d take notes but then I am a lawyer and my business i s ,
to make a fuss about t r i es Let me only sayg o with a .
companion when you next visit Dexter ; and be on your

,
guard against yourself when the talk turns on M r s Beauly ,

. .

O n my guard against mysel f I What do you mean 2 '

Practice my dear Mrs Eustace has given me an eye for
,
.
,
the little weaknesses Of human nature Y ou ar e (quite .
n aturall y) disposed to be j e alous o f Mrs Beauly 3 and you .
are in c onsequence not in full possession Of your excellent

, ,
c ommon sense when D exter uses that lady as a means Of

,
blind folding you Am I speaking too freely ? .

Certainly not ! It i s very degrading to me to be j ealou s
O f Mrs Beauly . My vanity suff ers dreadfully when I t h ink
.
of it But my c ommon se nse yields t o c onviction I dare

. .
say you are right

.

I am delighted to nd that we agree on on e point, h e
GLE N I N CH 299
j oined drily I don t despai r y et of convincing you i n

re , .
,
that f ar more serious matter w hich is still in dispute between

us . And what is more i f you will thro w no Obstacles in t h e
, ,
way I look to Dexter hi mself to help me

,
.

This roused my curiosity HOW Mi serr i mus Dexter c ould .
h elp hi m in that or in an y other wa y, was a riddle beyond

,
my readi ng .

You propos e to repeat t o Dexter all that L ady Clarinda
An d you think it

told you about Mrs Beauly he went on .
, .
is likely that Dexter wil l be over whel med as yo u were over ,
whelmed when he hears the story I am goin g to vent ure on

,
.
a prophe cy I say that De xter wil l disappoint you Far

. .
f rom showing any astonishment he w ill boldly tell you that ,
you have been duped by a deliberately false statement of facts ,
invented and set aoat in her ow n guilty interests by Mrs , , .
Beauly Now tell me i f he really tries in that way to

.
, ,
r enew your un founded suspicion Of an innocent woman will ,
tha t shake your condence in your own O pinion 1

It w ill entirely destroy my con den c e in my ow n O pinion,

Mr Pl aymor e
. .

V ery good I shall e xpec t you t o write t o me in any
.
,
ca se 3 and I believe we shall be of on e mind before the week ,
i s out K eep strictly secret al l that I said t o yo u yesterday

.
about Dexter Don t even mention my name when you see

.

,
him T hinking of h i m as I think n ow I woul d as soon touch

.
,
the ha nd of the hangman as the hand of that monster 1 G od

bless you ! Good bye .
S o h e said hi s farewell words at the door of the hotel

.
K ind genial cleve r but oh how easily prejudi c ed h o w

, , , ,
shoc kingly obstinate in holding to his ow n opinio n ! And

wha t an O pinio n ! I shuddered as I thoug ht of i t .
300 THE LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
C HAP TER XXXV .
MR . P LAYM OR E S

P R O P HE C Y .
WE reached L ondon bet w een eight and nine in the evening .
S trictly methodical in all his habits Benj amin had telegraphed ,
to his housekeeper fro m Edinburgh to have supper ready f or

, ,

us by ten O clock and t o send the c abman whom he always
,
employed to meet us at the station .
Arr i yi ng at the villa we were obliged t o wait for a m oment , .
to let a pony chaise get by us be fore we c ould draw up at

-

B enjamin s door The chaise passed very slowly driven by a
.
,
rough lookin g man with a pipe in h i s mouth

-
But for
, .
the man I might have doubted whether the pony w as

,
quite a stranger to me As things were I thou ght no more .

,
of the matter .
B enj amin s respectable ol d housekeeper Opened the garden

gate and startled me by bursting into a devout eja culatio n

,
of gratitude at the s i ght of h er master The L ord b e .

praised S ir ! she cried
,
I thou ght you would never c om e .

back !

Any thing w r ong l asked B enj amin in his ow n impen e
,
t r abl y quiet way .
Th e housekeeper trembled at the question, and ans w ered

i n these enigmatical words

My mind 3 upset S ir 3 and whether thing s are w rong or

,
w hether things are right is more than I c an say H ours ago ,

.
,
a strange man came in and asked she stopped as i f she w as

c ompletely bewildered looked for a moment vacantl y at h er
m ast ei and suddenly addressed hersel f to me An d asked

.
,
sh e proceeded when you was expected back ma am I told

.
, ,
him what m y master had telegraphed , and the man says upon
M R PLA YM CAE 5 PR OPH E C Y
.

.
30 :
He
th at, Wait a bit (he says) ; I m coming back
.
came back in a minute or less ; and he carried a Thing in his

'
arms which c urdled my blood i t did and set me shaking
from the crown of my head to the sole Of my foot I know .

I ought to have stopped it ; but I couldn t stand u pon my
legs much less put the man ou t of the house In he went .
,
w ithout w i th your leave or 63 / your leave Mr Benj amin Si r , , .

,
-
i n he went with the Thing in hi s arms straight throu gh t o ,
y our library A n d there It

. has been all these hours And .
t here It is n ow I ve spoken to the Police 3 but they wouldn t

.

i nterfere and what t o do next is more than my poor head ,

can tel l Don t you go in by yoursel f ma am ! Y ou ll be
.

fri ghtened out Of your wits you will

I persisted in entering the house for all that Aided by , .
t h e pony I easily solved the mystery of the ho u sekeeper s

o therwise unintelligible narrative Passing through the

"
dining roo m (where the supper table was already laid for
-
us) I looked through the hal f O pened library door

,
-
.
Yes ; there was Mi ser ri m u s Dexter arrayed in hi s pink ,
j acket fast
,
a sleep in Benjamin s favourite arm chair !
.
N O

-
c overlid hid his horrible de formity N othing was sacriced .
to conventional ideas Of propriety in hi s extraordinary dress , .
I coul d hardl y wonder that the poor O ld housekeeper trembled

f rom head to foot when she spoke o f him !

Valeria ! said B enjamin pointing to the Portent i n t h e

,
c hair . Which is i t a n Indi an idol ? or a man

I have already described Mi ser r i mu s D exter as possessing
the sensitive ear Of a dog He now showed that he also .
slept the light sleep of a dog Quietly as Benjamin had .
spoken the stran ge voice roused h i m on the instant

,
He .
r ubbed his ey es and smiled as innocently as a wakin g

,
child .
How do you do Mrs Val er i a i he said I have had a

, .

.
You don t know h ow happy I am to see you

n i c e little sleep .
ag ain Wh o is this i
.

302 TH E LA W A ND TH E L AD Y .
Il e rubbed his eye s once more and looked at B enjami n , .
Not knowing what el se to do in thi s extraordinary emergen cy,

I presented my visitor to the master o f the house .
Excuse my getting up S ir said Mi ser ri mu s Dexter

,
I , .
can t get u p I have got n o legs Y ou look as i f you thought

.
I w as occup ying your chair ? I f I am committing an i n t r u

sion be so good as to put your umbrell a under me an d
'
, ,
give m e a j erk I shall fall on my hands and I shan t

.
,

be o ffended with you I will submit to a tumble and a .
sc oldingbut please don t break my heart by sending m e

away That beauti ful woman there can be very cruel some
.
, ,
times S ir when the t takes her S he went away when I

, ,
.
stood in the sorest need of a l ittle talk with her sh e went

a way and left me to my loneliness and my suspense
,
I .
am a poor de formed wretch with a war m heart and , ,
(perhaps ) an insatiable curiosity as we l l Insatiable curiosity .
(have you ever felt it 2) is a curse I bore it till m y brain s .
began t o boil in my head 3 and then I sent for m y gardener ,
and made hi m drive me here I l ike being here The air Of '
. .
your library soothes me the sight of Mrs Valeria is balm to .
my wounded heart S he has something to tell mes ome

.
thing that I am dying to hear I f she is not too tired a fter .
her j ourney and i f you will let her tell it I promise

, ,
to have mysel f taken a w ay when she has done D ear .
Mr B enjamin you l ook like the re fuge of the a f icted I

.
, .
am af i c ted S hake hands like a good Christian, and tak e

.

me in .
He held ou t his hand Hi s soft blue eyes melted i n t o

.
an expression o f piteous entreaty Completely st u peed .
by the ama z ing h ara n gue of which he had been made t h e

obj ect Benjamin took the O ff ered hand with the air of a
, ,
man in a dream I hope I see you well S ir he said

.

, ,

,
mechanically and then l ooked round at me t o know what he

was to do next .
I understand Mr Dex t er I w hi sper ed L eave him t o me

.
, . .
MR . P LA YZII ORE S

P]? OP JYE CY .
303
Benjamin stole a last bew i ldered look at the O bj ect in the

chair ; bowed to it with the instinct of politeness which never
,
fai led him 3 and (still with the air of a man in a dream ) with
drew into the next room .
L e ft together we looked at each other for the rst mome n t ,

, ,
in silence .
Whether I unconsciously drew on that inexhaustible store

of indulgence which a woman always keeps in r eserve for
a man who o w ns that he has need of her or whether resenting ,
as I did Mr Pl aym or e s horrible suspicion of him m y heart

.

was especially accessible to feelings of compassi on in h i s ,
unhappy case I cannot tell I only know that I pitied .
Mi ser r i m u s Dexter at that moment as I had never pitied

, ,
him yet 3 and that I spared h i m the reproo f which I should

certainly have administered to any other man who had ,
taken the liberty Of establishing himself, uninvited in Ben ,

jamin s house .
He was the rst t o speak .

L ady Clarinda has destroyed your c ondence in me ! h e
b eg an wildly, .

L ady Clarinda has done nothing of the sort I replied ,

.
S he h as not attempted to inuence m y opinion I was really .
obliged to leave L ondon as I told you

, .
He sighed and closed his eyes contentedly as i f I had

, ,
reli eved him Of a heavy weight of anxiety .

Be merci ful to me he said ; and tell me somethin g
,

more . I have been so miserable in your absence H e sud .

denl y opened his eyes again and looked at me with an ,
a ppearance of the greatest interest Ar e you very much .

fati gu ed with travellin g ? he proceeded I a m hungry for

.

n ews of what happened at the Maj or s dinner party Is it

-
.
cruel Of me to tell you so when you have not rested after ,
y our j ourney ? O nly on e question ton ight ! and I will leave

t h e rest til l to morrow What did L ady Clarinda say abou t
-
.
Mrs Beauly ? All that you wanted to hear 2

.


Al l , an d
more I ans w ered ,

.

What ? what ? what ? h e c ried, wi ld with impatienc e i n
a moment .

Mr Pl aym ore s last propheti c words were vividly present
.
to my mind H e had declared in the most po sitive manner

.
, ,
t hat Dexter would persist in misleading me and wo ul d ,
show no signs of astonishment when I repeated what

Lady Clarind a had told me of Mrs Beauly I resol ved to . .

put the la wyer s prophecy ao far as the question of -
astonishment was c oncernedto the sharpest attainable test .
I said not a word to Mi ser ri mu s Dexter in the way of preface ,
c r preparation 3 I burst on him with my news as abruptly as
possible .
The person y ou saw in the corridor was n ot Mrs B eaul y .

,

said . It was the maid, dressed in her mi stress s clo ak an d
hat Mrs Beauly hersel f was n ot in the house at all Mrs

. . . .
Beauly hersel f was dancing at a masked ball in Edinburgh .
[ here is what the maid told L ady Clarinda 3 and there is what
L ady Clarinda told me .

In the absorbing interest of the mome nt I poured out ,
those words one a fter another as fas t as they c ould pass

my lips Mi ser r i mu s Dexter completely falsied the la w yer s
.

p rediction H e shuddered under the shock

. H i s eyes opened .
wide with amaz ement S ay it again ! he cried

.

I can t

.

take it all in at once Y ou stun me . .

I was more than contented with thi s result I triumphed

in my v ictory For once I had really some reason to feel
.
,
satised with myself I had taken the Christian an d

.
merci ful side in my discussion with Mr Pl aymore ; and .
I had w on my reward I c ould sit in the same room

.
with Mi ser ri mu s D exter and feel the blessed c onviction,
that I was not breathi ng the same air w ith a poi soner .
Was it not worth the visit to Edinburgh t o have made

sure of that ?
In repeatin g at his ow n desire what I had already s ai d to

, ,
M R PLA YM ORE 5 PR OPH E C Y
.

.
30 5
hi m, I t ook care t o add the details whi c h made L ady Clarinda s
narrative coherent and credible He listened throughout with .
breathless attention here and there repeating the words after

me t o impress the m the more s urely and the more deeply on
his mind .

What i s t o be said ? what is t o be done 2 h e asked with a
,
look of blank despair I can t disbelieve it From rst to

.

last strange as it is it sounds true

, ,
.

(How would Mr Pl aym or e have felt if he had heard t h e se

.
,
words 2 I did hi m the j ustice to believe that he would have

felt heartil y ashamed Of himsel f !)
There is nothing t o be said I rej oined 3 except that Mrs ,

.
B eauly is innocent and that y ou and I have done her a g r i ev

,

ous wrong Don t you agree with me 2
.

I ent i rely agree with you he answered without an in stant s , ,

hesitation Mrs B eauly is an innocent woman T he de

.

. .
f ence at the T rial was the right de fen c e a fter all

.
He folded h i s arms complacently ; he looked p er fe ctly satis

ed to leave the matter there .
I w as not of hi s mind To my ow n ama z ement, .
I now found mysel f the least reasonable person of t h e

two !
Mi serr i mus D e xter (t o use the popul ar phrase) had given
me more than I had bargained for He had not only done all .
that I had anticipated in the way of falsifying Mr Play , .
more s predictionh e had actually advanced beyond m y

limits I coul d g o the length of recognising Mrs B eaul y s

. .

innocence 3 but at that point I stoppe d I f the D efence at .
the Tr ial w as the right defence farewell to all h Ope Of assert

i ng my husband s inno c ence ! I held to that hope as I held

,
to my love and my li fe .

S peak for yoursel f I said My opinion of the De fence
, .

remains u n cha n ged .
He started and knit his brows, as i f I had disappointed and

displeased h i m .
8
Do es that mean that you are determin ed t o g o on 2

It does.
He w as downright angry with me He c ast his custom ary .
politeness t o the winds .
Absurd ! Impossible ! he cried, c ontempt uo u sl y You

.
have yoursel f declared that we wronged an innocent woman ,
when we suspe c ted Mrs Beauly I s there any on e els e whom

. .
we can s uspe c t ? It i s ridi culous t o ask the question !

There i s n o alternative le ft but t o accept the facts as they
are and t o stir n o further i n the matter of the poisoning
,
a t Gl eni n c h
. I t i s childish to dispute plain conclusions Y ou .
must give up .

You may b e angry with m e i f you will Mr D exter , , . .
N either your a nger nor your arguments will make me give u p .
He controlled himself by an e ff ort h e w as quiet and polite

again when he next spoke to m e
, .
I

V ery well Pardon m e for a moment i f I absorb mysel f
.
,
in my o wn thoughts I want to do something which I hav e

.
n ot done yet

.

What may that be Mr D exter ? , .

I am going t o put mysel f into Mrs B eauly s skin and .
,
t o think with Mrs B eaul y s mind G ive me a minu te

. . .
Thank y ou .

What did he mean ? What new trans formation of him was

passin g be fore my eyes ? Was there ever such a pu zzle o f
a man as t hi s ? Who that saw h i m n ow intently pursuing ,
his new train of thought would have recognised him as the

,
childish creature w h o had woke up so inno c entl y and w h o ,
had amaz ed Benjamin by the in fantine nonsense which he

talked ? It is said and said trul y that there are many sides
, ,
t o e very human character Dexter s man y sides were da

.

v eIO i n
p g themselves at such a rapid rate of progress that the y ,
were already beyond my counting

He lifte d his h ead and xed a look of keen inquiry
,
on me .
12
1R . PLA Y lI OR E S i

PR O PH E C Y .
30 7
I

have c ome out of Mrs B eau l y s skin he announced .
,

.

An d I have arrived at this result We are two impetu
ous people 3 and w e hav e been a little hasty i n ru shi n at
g
a c on clusion .

He stopped I said nothing

. Was the shadow of a .
doubt of hi m beginni ng t o rise in my mind ? I waited and ,
listened .
I am as fully satised as ever of the truth of what Lad y

Clarinda told you he pro c eeded ,

But I see on c onsidera .
,
tion, what I fai led to see at the time T he stor y a dmits .
of t w o interpretations O ne on the surface and anothe r

.
,
under the surfa c e I look unde r the surface in y our

.
,
i nterests 3 and I say it is j ust po s sible that Mrs B eauly

, .
may have been cunning enough t o forestal l suspicion , and to

set u p an Alibi

.
I am ashamed to ow n that I did n ot understand w nat

he meant by the last word Alibi He sa w that I was not .
following hi m and he spoke out more plainly

, .

Was the maid somethi ng more than her mistress s passive

a ccompl i c e ? he said Was she the Hand that her mistress
.

used ? Was sh e on her way to give the rst dose of poison ,
when she passed me in the c orridor ? Did Mrs Beauly spend .
the night in Edi nb urgh so as t o have her defen c e ready i f ,
suspi c ion fell upon her ?
M y shadowy doubt o f h i m became substantial doubt when ,
I heard that Had I absolved him a little too readily ? Was

.
he really t rying to rene w my suspicions Of Mrs Beauly as .

,
Mr Pl aymor e had foretold ? This time I was obliged to

.
answer him In doing so I unconsciously employed on e of

.
,
the phrases which the la wy e r had used t o me during my ,
rst intervie w with him .

Th at sounds rather far fetched Mr Dexter I said -
, .
,

.
To m y relie f he made n o attempt t o de fend the new view

,
th at he had advanced .

It i s f ar fet ched he admitted
-
,

Wh e n I sai d it w as j ust I .
303 TH E LA W AND TH E L AD Y:
possibl e tho ugh I didn t claim much for my idea

I said
more f or it perhaps than it deserved Dismiss my view as .
ridi c ulous 3 what are you t o do next ? I f Mrs Beauly i s not .
the poisoner (either by hersel f or by her maid) who is ? She ,
is innocent, and Eustac e is innocent Wh ere i s the other person.
w hom you can suspect ? Have I poisoned her ? he c ried,
with eyes ashing and his voice rising to its highest notes
, .
D o you does anybody, suspe c t Me ? I loved her 3 I adored

,
her ; I have never been the sa m e man sin c e her death Hush .
'
I wil l trust you w ith a secret (Don t tell yo u r husband 3 it

.

might b e the destruction of our friendship ) I would have .
married her, be fore she met with Eustace i f she would have ,
taken me When the doctors told me sh e had died poisoned

.
ask Doctor J erome what I su er ed ! h e can tell you ! Al i

'
through that horrible night, I was awake 3 watching my

O pportunity until I found my way t o her ! I g ot into the
room and took m y last leave of the cold remains of the angel
,
whom I loved I cried over her I kissed her, f or the rst

. .
and last time I stole on e little lock of her hair I have

. .
worn it ever since 3 I have kissed it night and day Oh .

,
G od the roo m c omes back t o me the dead face comes back

to me L ook ! look
He tore from its place of c oncealment in hi s bosom a little
locket fastened by a ribbon round his ne ck He threw it to
,
.
me where I sat 3 and b urst into a passion of tears .
A man in m y place might have known w hat t o do B eing .
onl y a woman , I yielded to the compassionate impulse of the
moment .
I got up and c ross ed the room t o h i m I gave hi m b ack hi s .
locket, and put my hand , without knowing what I was about ,
o n the poor wret ch s sho ulder

I am in c apable of suspecting
.
you, Mr D exter, I said, gently N 0 such idea ever entered

. .
my head

I pity you from the bottom of m y heart
. .
He cau ght my hand in his and devoured it wit h ki sses

, .
Hi s lips burnt me like re He twist ed hi m sel f s udd enly i n

.
AR I E L . 30 9
the chair and woun d his ar m round my waist In t h e terror

,
-
an d indignatio nof the moment, vainly struggling with him , I
cried out for help .
The door op ened and B enj amin appeared on t h e threshol d

,
.
D exter let go h i s hold of me .
I ran t o Benjamin and prevented him from advan c ing into

the room In all my long experience of m y fatherly ol d friend
.
,
I had n ever seen h i m really angry yet I saw him more .
than angry now He was pale the patient gentl e Old m an

.
,
was pale with rage ! I held hi m at the door with all my

strength .

You can t lay your hand on a c ripple I said S end f or

.
,
his servant outside to take hi m away .

I drew Benjamin out of the room and closed and locked ,
the library door T he housekeeper was in the dining room

.
-
.
I sent her out t o call t h e driver of the pony chaise into the -
house .
T he man came i n the rough man whom I had noti c ed

when we were approachi ng the garden gate Benj amin opened .
the library door in stern silence It was perhaps unworthy .
O f me but I c ould not resist the temptation to look in .
Mi serr i m u s Dexter had sunk down in the chair T he rough .
man li fted his master with a gentleness that surprise d me .
H ide my face I heard Dexter say to him in broken tones

,

, .
He Opened hi s coarse pilot jacket and hid hi s master s head ,

u nder it and so went silently ou t with the de formed creatur e

,
h eld t o hi s bo som, like a woman sh eltering her child .
C HAP TER XXXVL

ARIEL .
I PASS ED a sleepless night .
The o utrage that had b een o ff er ed to me w as b ad e noug h i n

itself But c on s equen c es w ere as sociated with it whi ch might

.
aff e ct me more seriously s till In so far as the attainment of .
the one obj ect of my li fe might y et depend on my personal

association with Mi ser ri mus Dexter an insurmountable obstacle ,
appeared to be now placed in m y way Eve n in any husband s .

interests ought I t o permit a man who had grossly insulted

,
me, t o approach m e again ? Al tho ugh I w as no prude I ,
re c oil ed from the thought of it .
I rose late and sat down at my desk trying t o summon

, ,
energ y enough t o write t o Mr Pl aymor e and trying in .
vain .
Towards noon (whil e Benjamin happened t o be ou t for

a little whil e) the housekeeper announced the arrival of
,
another stran ge visitor at the gate of the villa .

It s a woman this time ma am or somethi ng like one

,

,

s ai d this worthy person condentially A great stou t , .

, ,
a w kward stupid creature with a man s hat on and a m an s

, ,

,

stick in her hand S he say s sh e h as got a note for you and

.
,

she won t giv e it t o anybody bu t you I d better not let her

.
i n had I 2

R ecogn ising t h e original O f the picture I astonished the ,
housekeeper by consenting t o re c eive the messenger imme

di at el y .
Ariel entered the room i n stolid silen c e as usual B ut I ,

.
n oticed a change in her which pu zzled me Her dull eyes .
were red and bloodshot T races Of tears (as I fan c ied) were
.
v isible on her fat shapeless cheeks S he crossed the room

, .
,
on her way t o my chair with a less deter mined tread than ,
was customary with her Could Ariel (I asked mysel f) be .
woman enough to cry ? Was it within the limits of possibili ty

that Ariel should approach m e in sorrow and in fear ?

I hear you have brought something for me ? I said
.

Won t you si t down ?
S he handed me a letterwithout answering an d withou t ,
t aking a chair I O pened the envelope The letter insi de

. .
AR I E L .
3r r
wa s written b y Mi serri mus D e xt er It c ontained t hese .
li nes
T ry t o pity me i f you have an y pity le ft for a miserable
,
man 3 I have bitterly expiated the madness of a moment If .
you c ould see me even you would ow n that my punishment

has been heavy enough F or God s sake don t abandon me ! .

I was beside mysel f when I let the feeli ng that y ou have

awakened in me get the better of my control It shall n eve r .
show itsel f again 3 it shall be a secret that dies with me Can .
I expect you to beli eve this ? N0 I won t ask you t o believe .

me 3 I won t ask you to tru st me in the future If you ever

.
c onsent to see me again let it be in the presence of any thi rd

,
person whom you may appoint to protect you I deserve .
that I will submi t to it 3 I will wait till time has composed

your angry feeli ng against me All I ask now is leave to .
,
hope S ay to Ariel
. I forgive him 3 and one da y I will let
,
hi m see me again S he will remember it for love of me

.
, .
I f you send her back without a message you send me to t h e ,
madhouse Ask her i f you don t believe me Mrsnnnm us

.
,

.
D EXTER .

I nished the stran ge letter and looked at Ariel ,

.
S he stood with her eyes on the oor and held ou t t o me ,
the thi ck walki ng stick which she carried in her hand

-
.
Take the stick were the rst words sh e said to me .

Why am I t o take it ? I asked .
S he struggled a littl e wi th her sluggishly workin g mind , -
and slowly put her though t s into words .
You r e angr y with the Master sh e said

T ake i t out on ,

.
Me Here s the stick B eat me

. . .
B eat you I e x claimed .
My ba k 3 broad said the poor creature

c

I won t mak e
,

.

a r ow I ll bear it Drat y ou take the stic k ! Don t v ex
.

.
,

hi m . Whack it ou t on my back Beat m e . .
S he roughly forced the stick into my hand 3 sh e t ur ned h er

p oor shapeless sho ulders to me waiting f or the blow It w as ,
.
31 : THE LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
at once d r eadful and touching t o see h er Th e t ear s ro s e i n .
my eyes I tried gently and patiently t o reason with her

.
, , .
Quite useless ! The idea of taking the Master s punishm en t
on herself was the on e idea in her mind Don t vex hi m,

.
she repeated B eat me

. .

What do you mean b y ve x ing hi m 2 I asked
.
S he tried t o explain and failed to nd the words S he , .
showed me by imitation as a savage might have shown me , ,
what sh e meant S triding to the replace sh e crouched on

.
,
the rug and looked into the re with a horrible vacant stare
, .
Then sh e clasped her hands over her forehead and rocked ,
slowly to and fro still staring into the re

,
There s how h e .

sits sh e said with a sudden burst of speech

,

Hours on .
hours there s how he sits ! N otices nobod y C ries abou t

,

.

you .
T he picture she presented re c alled t o my memory the

R eport of D exter s health and the doctor s plai n warn ing of

,

peril waiting for him in the future Even if I could have .
resisted Ariel I must have y ield ed to the vague dread Of con

,
sequences which now sh oc k me in secret .
Don t do that ! I cried S he was still rocking hersel f i n

.
imitation of the Master and still staring into the re with ,

her hands to her head Get up pray ! I am not angry .

,

with h i m now I forgive him . .
S he rose on her hands and knees and waite d looking up ,
intently into my face In that attitudemore like a dog

,
than a hu man being sh e repeated her c ustomary petition ,
when sh e wanted to x words that interested her in her mind .

S ay it again !
I did as she bade me S he was not satis ed . .

S ay it as it is in the letter, she went on S ay it as t h e .

Master said it to Me .
I looked back at the letter and repeated the form of ,
message contained in the latter part Of it word for word

I ,
f orgi v e him 3 and one day I will let him see me agai n .

ARI EL .
31 3
Sh e sprang t o h er fe et at a bou nd the rst time sinc e . For

sh e had entered the room , her d ull fa c e began to break slowl y
into light and li fe .

That s it she cried

Hear if I c an say it t oo
. Hear ,
if I ve got it by heart

.
T eaching her exactly as I should hav e taught a child I

, ,
slow l y fastened the message word by word on her mind, , .

N ow rest yoursel f I said 3 and let m e give you som e
,

t hing to eat and drink a fter your long walk
,
.
I might as well have spoken t o on e of the chairs ! S he

snatched up her stick from the oor and burst out with a ,
h oarse shout of j oy I ve got it by heart she cried This

. .
will cool the Master s head ! H ooray ! S he dashed ou t into

the passage like a wild animal escaping from its cage I w as

,
.
just in time to see her tear open the garden gate and set forth ,
on her walk back at a pace which made it hopeless to attempt

,
t o fo l low and stop her .
I returned to the sitting room pondering on a questi on

-
which has perplexed wiser heads than mine Could a man .
w h o was hopelessly and entirely w icked have 1 nsp1r ed such ,
devoted attachment to hi m as Dexter had inspired in the

faithful woman who had j ust left mei n the rough gardener ,
w h o had carried him ou t so gently on the previous night ?
Who can decide ? The greatest s c oundrel living al w ays has a

friend i n a woman , or a dog .
I sat down again at the desk and made another attempt t o ,
write to Mr Pl aym or e
. .
R ecall ing for the purpose O f my letter all that Mi serr i mu s

, ,
Dexter had said to me my memory dwelt with special interest

, , ,
on the strange outbreak of feel ing w hich had led h i m to betray
the secret of h i s infatuation for Eustace s rst wi fe I saw

.
a gain the ghastly scene in the death c h amb er t h e deformed -
c reature crying over the corpse in the stillness of the rst ,
dark hours Of the new day The horrible picture took a

.
stra n ge hold on m y mind I rose, and w alked up an d do w n,

.
31 4 TH E L A W AN D TH E L AD Y .
an d tried t o turn my thoughts some other way It w as not .
to be done the scene was t oo familiar to be easil y d i smissed .
I had myself walked in the corridor w hi ch D exter had crossed,

on hi s way to take his last leave o f her .
T he c orridor ? I st epped My thoughts suddenly took a

.
n ew direction u n i n u en c ed by any e ffor t of my will

, .
Wh at other association besides the associations with

,
D exter did I connect with the corridor ? Was it something

,
I had seen during my visit to G l en i n c h ? No Was it

, .
something I had read ? I snatched up the R eport of the

Trial to see It opened at a page which contained the
.
nurse s evidence I read the evidence through again without

.
,
recovering the lost remembrance until I c ame to these line s ,
close at the end

Be fore bedtime I went upstairs t o prepare the remains Of
t he deceased lady for the c ofn The room in which sh e lay.
w as locked 3 the door leading into Mr Mac all an s room .

being secured as well as the door leadi ng into the corridor

, .
The keys had been taken a w ay by Mr Gale Tw o of the . .
men servants were posted O utside the bedroom to keep

-
watch They were to be relieved at four i n the morning

.
that was all they could tell me .

T here was my lost association with the corridor ! There

was what I ought to have remem b ered when M i ser ri mus
D exter was tel ling me o f his visit to the dead !
How had he got into the bedroom the doors being locked ,
and the keys being taken away by Mr Gale ? There was but .
on e of the locked doors of which Mr G ale had not got the

, .
key : the door of communication between the study and the

bedroom T he key was missing from t h is
. Ha d it bee n .
stolen ? An d was Dexter the thief ? He might have passed

by the men on the watch while they were asleep 3 or he might
,
have c rossed the corridor in an u n guarded interval while the

,
men were bei ng relieved B ut how could he have got into

.
the bedchambe r except by way o f the locked study door ?

,
A T TH E B E DS I DE .
31 5
He must h av e had the key ! An d he must have se c reted it,

w eeks be fore Mrs Eustace Mac all an s death

. When the nurse
rst arrived at Gl eni nch on the seventh of t h e m onth h er
, ,
eviden c e declared the key Of the door of communi c ation t o be
th en missing .
To what con clusion di d these c onsiderations and disc overie s

point ? Had Mi ser r i mu s D exter i n a moment of ungovern ,
a bl e a gitatio n unconsciously placed the clue in m y hands ?

,
Wa s the pivot on which turned the whole mystery of th e

poi soning at Gl en i n ch the missing key ? ,
I went back for the third time to my desk The on e per .
son who might b e trusted to nd the answer to those question s
w as Mr Pl aymore
. I w rote hi m a f ul l and care ful account of
.
all that had happened 3 I begged him to forgive and forget

my ungracious reception of the advice which he h ad so kindly
o er ed to me ; and I promised be forehand to do nothing
'
without rst consulting his Opinion i n the new emergency ,
which now confronted me .
The day w as ne f or the time of year ; and by way of

,
g etting a little wholesome exercise a fter the surprises an d ,
O c cupations of the morning I took my letter to Mr Pl aymor e

, .
t o the post.
R eturning to the villa I was in formed that another v isitor

,
was waiting to see me 3 a civili z ed v isitor this time w h o had ,
ive n h er name My mother i n lawMrs Mac al l an

g
- -
. . .
C HAPT ER XXXVII .
AT THE B ED S ID E .
B EF O RE sh e had uttered a wor d, I saw m ot h er i n l a w s

in my o ~
f a ce that sh e brought bad news .
Eusta c e ? I said

.
Sh e answered me by a look .
31 6 TH E LA IV AND THE L AD Y .

Let me h ear it at on c e ! I c ried I c an h ear any thing .

but suspen s e
.
Mrs Mac all an lifted h er h and and showed me a telegraphi c

.
,
d espatch which sh e had hitherto kept c on c ealed i n the fold s

of her dres s .

I can tr st y ou r c ourage she s aid
u

There is no need, ,

.
my chi ld t o prevari c ate with you R ead that

, . .

I read the telegram It was sent by the chief surgeon of a .
el dh ospi t al ; and it was dated from a vill age in the north of

S pain .
Mr Eusta c e severely wounded in a skirmish by a stray

.
,
shot Not in da n ger so far Every c are taken O f him Wait

.
, . .
for another telegram .
I turn ed away my fa c e and bore as best I might the ,
pang that wru n g me when I read those words I thought .
I knew how dearly I loved h i m I had never known i t .
till that moment .
M y mother i n law put her arm round me and held me to

- -
her tenderly S he knew me well enough n ot t o speak t o me

.
at that moment .
I ralli ed m y courage and point ed t o t he la st s ent enc e i n

,
t h e telegr am .
D o you mean t o wait 2 I asked

.

Not a day ! sh e answered I am going t o the F oreign

O fce abou t my passport

.
I have some interest there : they

can give me letters 3 they can advise and assist me I leave .
to night by the mail train to Calais

-
You leave ? I said

Do you suppose I will l et you go
.
w ithout me ? Get my passport when you get yours At seve n .
this evening I will be at your house

, .

She attempted to remonstrate 3 she spoke of the perils of

the j ourney At the rst words I stopped her
. Don t you , .

kno w yet mother h ow obstinate I am ? They may keep you

, ,
waiti ng at the Foreign O fce Why do you waste the pre .

c i ou s ho u rs here ?
A T TH E B E DS I DE .
3r 7
with a gentleness that w as n ot i n h er everyday

She y iel ded
c haracter Will my poor Eusta c e ever kn ow what a wife he
.
has got ! That was all sh e said Sh e kissed me , an d went

.
away in her carriage .
My reme mbrances of our j o u rney ar e stran g ely vag ue an d

imper fect .
As I try t o re call them the memory of those more recen t

,
an d more interesting events which occurred a fter my r etur n
to England , gets bet w een me and my adventures in S pain ,
and seem s t o force these last into a shadowy background ,
until they look like adventures that happened many years

since . I c on fusedly recolle c t delays and alarms that tried
our patience and ou r courage I remember our nding
.
friends (thanks to our letters of recommendation ) in a

S ecretary to t h e Embassy and in a Queen s Messenger
,

,
w h o assisted and protected us at a critical point in the

i o u r ney I recall t o mind a long suc c ession of m en in our
.
,
employment as travellers al l equally remarkable for their

,
dirty cloaks and their clean linen for their highly civili sed ,
-
courtesy to women and their utterly barbarous c ruelty t o

,
-
horses L ast and most important of al l I see again more

.
, , ,
clearly than I can see anything else the on e wretched bed ,
roo m o f a squalid vill age inn in w h i ch w e found our poor

,
darling prostrate bet w een li fe and death insensible to every

, ,
thing that passed in the narrow little world that lay round hi s
beds ide .
There was nothing romantic or interesting in the ac c ident

which had put my hu sband s li fe in peril

.
He had ventured t oo near the scene o f the conict (a miser

able a ff air) to rescue a poor lad who lay wounded on the el d
mortally wounded as the event proved A r i e bullet had .

-
struck him in the body Hi s brethren of the el d hospital

.
-
h ad carri ed h i m back t o their quarters, at the risk O f thei r

l ives
. He w as a g reat favourite with all of them ; pati ent,
an d gent l e, and brave 3 only wanting a little mor e j udgment

t o be t h e mo s t valuabl e recrui t w h o had j oin ed t h e brother
hood .
In telling me thi s the surg eon kindly and deli catel y added
,
a word of warning as well .
T he fever cau sed b y t h e wound had brou ght with it

del i rium as usual My poor husband s mind i n so far as his
.
,
wandering words might interpret it was lled by the on e ,
i mage of h i s wif e T he m edical attendant had heard enough

.
,
in the course Of h i s ministrations at the bedside t o satis fy ,
hi m that any sudden recognition of me by Eusta c e (i f he

recovered) might be attended by the most lamentable results .
As things were at that sad time I might take my turn at ,
nursing him without the slightest chance O f his disco vering

,
me per h aps for w eeks and weeks to come But on the day
, .
w hen he w as declared ou t of danger i f that happy day
e ver arrived I must resign my place at h i s bedside ,
an d must wait to show m y sel f until the surgeon gave me
leave .
My mother i n law and I relieved each other regu l arl y day

- -
an d night in the sick room
In the hours of his delirium hours that recurred w ith a

.
,
p itiless regularity my name was al w ays on my poor darling s

f evered lips The ruling idea in hi m was the on e dread ful

.
idea which I had vainly combated at our last interview In .
the fa c e O f the verdict pronounced at the Trial it was i m ,
possible even for his wi fe to be really and truly persuaded

t hat he was an innocent man All the wild pictures which
.
his di stempered imagination dre w were equally inspired by ,
that on e obstinate c on r i c t i on He f ancied himself to be stil l

.
living with me under those dreaded conditions Do what

,
.
he m ight I was alway s recalling to him the te rrible ordeal

,
t hrough whi ch he had passed He acted hi s part a n d he

.
,
ac ted mine . He gave me a c up of tea 3 and I said t o him,

We quarrelled y esterday Eustace Is it poisoned ? He

, .

A T TH E BEDSID E .
kis s ed me in token of our reconcili ation ; and I laughed and

,
said It s morning now my dear Shall I di e by nin e

.
, ,
o clock to

I was ill in bed a n d he gave m e m y ,
medicine I looked at hi m with a do ubting eye

. I said .
to him You are in love with another woman I s there any

,
.
thing i n the medicine th at the doctor doesn t kno w of 2 '
S uch was the horrible drama which now perpetuall y acted

itself in his mind Hundre ds and hundreds of times I heard
.
him repeat it almost al w ays in the same words O n other

,
.
occasions his thought s wandered away to my desperat e

,
proj ect of proving him to be an innocent man S ometimes, .
he laughed at it S ometimes he mourned over it S ome

.
, .
times he devised cunning sche m es f or placing unsuspected

,
obst a cles in my way He was especially hard on me when h e

.
was inventing his preventive stratagems h e cheerf ull y in

structed the visionary people who a ssiste d hi m not to hesitat e ,
at o ff endi ng or distressing me N ever mind i f you m ak e her

.
angry ; never mind i f you make her cry I t s all f or her

.
goo d it s all to save the poor f ool f ro m dangers she doesn t

dream of You mustn t pit y her when she says she does it f or
.

my sake S ee ! she is going to be insulted 3 she is going to

.
be deceived she is going to disgrace herself without knowing

it Stop her ! stop her ! It was we ak of me I know ; I

.
ought to have kept t h e plain f a ct th at he was out of hi s
Sense s al ways present to my mind S till it is true that m y .

,
hours passed at my husband s pillo w were man y of them

, ,
hours of m ort i c at i on and misery o f which he poor dear was , ,
the innocent an d only cause .
Th e week s passed and he sti l l hovered bet w een lif e and

death .
I kept no record of the time and I cannot n ow recall t h e ,
exact date on which the rst f avourable chan ge took pl a ce I .
only remember that it was toward s s unrise on a ne winter
morning when we were relieved at last of our heavy burde n

,
of suspen s e Th e s urgeon happened to be by the bedside,

.
when h i s patie n t woke Th e rs t thing he did afte r l ooki ng

.
,
at Eu s t ace, w as to ca ution me by a s ign to be s i lent and ,
to keep out of sight My mother i n law and I both knew

.
- -
what thi s mean t With full heart s we thanked God together

.
for giving u s back the husband and the son .
Th e same evening being alone we ventur ed t o s peak of

, ,
the futurefor the rst time s ince we had left home .
Th e surgeon t ells me said Mrs Mac al l an that Eus tace

.
, ,
i s too weak to be capable of bearing anything in the nature

of a surprise for s ome day s to come We have time to
,
.
.
c onsider whether he is or is n ot, to be told that he owes his

,
li f e as much to your care as to mine Can you nd it i n .
your heart to leave him Valeria n ow that God s mercy ha s

, ,

restored him to you and to me 1
I f I only con su lted m y ow n heart I an s wered , I s hould

,

n ever leave him agai n .
Mrs Mac al l an looked at me in grave s ur pris e

. .

What else have you to con s ult ? she asked .

I f we both live I replied
, I have to think of the ,

h appiness of his li fe and the happiness of mine in the

, ,
years that are to come I can bear a great deal mother

.
,
but I cannot endure the misery of hi s leaving me f or the

second time .

You wrong him ValeriaI rmly believe you w ron g
,
hi m i n thinking it pos sible that he can leave you

again !

D ear Mrs Macal l an have you forgotten what we have
.
,
both heard him s ay of me, w hile we have been sitting by hi s

b edside ?

W e have heard the raving s of a man i n delirium I t is .
surely hard to hold Eustace responsible f or what he said when

h e wa s ou t of his sen s es ?
I t is harder s till I s aid to resi s t hi s mother when she i s

,

,

pleading for him Deare s t and best of friends ! I don t hold
.
E u s tace r e s po ns ible for w hat he said in the feve r but I do

A T TH E 3 5 0 5 1 0 5 .
32 :
t ake w arnin g wildest w ord s that fell from h i m

by it . Th e
w ere, on e and all the f a ithf ul echo of what he said to me
,
in the best days of his health and his s trength What hope .
have I that he will recover with an altered mind to w ards me !

Abse n ce has not changed it ; suff ering has not changed it .
In the delirium of f ever and in the full possession of hi s ,
reason he has the same dread f ul doubt of me

,
I see but one .
way of winning h i m back I must destroy at it s root h i s .
motive for leaving me It is hopeless to persuade hi m that I

.
believe in hi s innocence : I must show him that belie f is

no longer necessary 3 I must prove to hi m that hi s posi
tion to w ards me has become the position of a n innocent

man .
Valeria ! Valeria ! you are wasting time and words You .
have tried the experiment ; and you know as well a s I do, t h e

thing i s n ot to be done .
I had no an s wer to that I could s ay no more than I had .
sa id already .

Suppose you go back to Dexter ou t o f sheer compa s sio n ,
for a mad and miserable wretch who has already insul ted
you proceeded my mother i n l aw
,

You can only go back - -
.

,
accompanied by me or by some other trustworthy person

, .
You can only stay long enough to humour the creature s way

ward fancy and to keep hi s cra z y brain qu iet f or a time

, Tha t .
done all is done you leave him Eve n supposi ng D exter

, .
to be still capable of helping you how can you make use ,
o f him but by admitting h i m to terms of condence and

f amilia rity by treating him in short on the f ooting of , ,
an intimate friend ? Answer me honestly : c an you bring

I
.
yoursel f to do that a fter what h appened at Mr Benjamin s

, .
'

hou se ?
I had told her of my la s t intervie w with Mi serri mu s
Dexter i n the natural condence that she inspired in me as
,
r elative and fellow travell er 3 and this was the use to w hich
-
sh e tur n ed h er i n fo r matio n ! I s uppo s e I had no ri ght to
r
blame h er ; I s uppose the motive sanctioned ev eryt hi n g .
At any rate I had no choice but to give o ff ence or to give an

, ,
answer I gave it I acknowledged that I coul d never ag ai n

. .
permit Mi ser r i mu s Dexter to treat me on terms of f amiliarity ,
as a trusted and intimate friend .
Mrs Mac al l an pitile s sly pressed the advantage that she

.
had w on .
V ery well she said that res o urce being n o longer

, ,
o pen to you what hope i s lef t ? Which way are you to

,

turn next ?
There was no m eeting thos e que sti o n s in my present situ a ,
tion by any ade quate reply I f elt strangely unlike mysel f

, .
I submitted in sil ence Mrs Mac all an s truck the last blo w
. .
that completed her victory .
My poor Eust ace is weak and way ward she said ; but he is ,

n ot an ungr ate f ul man My child ! you have returned him goo d

.
f or evil y ou h ave proved h ow f aith f ully and how devot e dly

you love him by suff ering hardshi ps an d by risking dang ers
,
f or his s ake Tru st me an d trust him ! He cannot resist

.
,
you . Let him see the dear face tha t he h as been dre a ming
of looki ng at him a g ain with all the old love in it 3 an d he is
,
yours once more m y dau ght er y ours f or li f e Sh e rose an d

, .

touched my f o r ehe a d with her li ps 3her voice s ank to tones of

tenderness whi ch I had never heard from her yet Say y es .
,
V aleria she whispered 3 and be dearer to me an d dearer t o

,
hi m than ever
My heart sided with her My energies were w orn ou t No . .
letter had arrived f rom Mr Pl aym or e to guide an d to .

,
encourage me I had resisted so lo n g an d so vainly 3 I h ad

.
t ried and su ff ered so much ; I had met with such cruel
disasters and such reiterated dis appointments and h e w a s in

the room beneath me feebly n di ng hi s way back to con
,
sc i ousn ess and to li f e how could I resist ? It w as all over !

I n sayi ng Yes Eustace conrmed hi s mother s condenc e

i n him) , I wa s s ayi n g adieu to the on e cherished a mbition,

"
A2 TH E B E D SI D E .
323
t he on e dear and n oble hope of my l i f e . I kne w it and

I said Yes .
And so good bye to th e grand s truggle ! And s o wel

-
come t o the n ew resignation which owned that I had f ailed
My mother i n law and I slept together under the o n ly shelter

- -
that the inn could o ff er to u sa sort of lof t at the t op of the

house Th e night that f ollowed our conversation w as bitterly
.
cold We felt the chilly temperature i n spite of the protection

.
,
of our dr essi n go w ns and our trave l ling wrappers My mother

g
o
.
i nl aw slept but no rest came to me I was t oo an xious and t oo .
wretched thinking over my changed position and doubting

, ,
how my hu sband would receive me to be able to sleep , .
S om e hours as I suppose must have passed and I w as

, , ,
still absorbed in my ow n melancholy thoughts when I sud

den l y became consciou s o f a new and stran ge s ensation which
a stonished and alarmed me I started u p in the bed bre a th .
,
l ess and bewildered Th e movement awakened Mrs Mac all a n

. . .
Are you ill ? s he asked What is the matter with you

.
I trie d to tell her as well as I could Sh e seemed t o under

, .
stand me bef ore I had done 3 she took me tenderly in her

a rms a n d pressed me to her bosom My poor innocen t
, .

chi ld she s aid is it possible you don t know ? Must I
,

,

r eally tell you ? Sh e whispered her next words S h a ll I .
ever forget the tumult of f eelings which the whi sper aroused
in methe strange medley of j oy and f ear and wonder and ,
relief and pride and humility which lled my whole bei n g

, , ,
and made a new woman of me f rom that m oment ? Now ,
for the r s t time I k new it ! If G od spared me f or a f ew

,
m onths m ore the most enduring and the most sacred of all
,
human j oys might be mine the j oy of bei ng a mother .

I don t kn ow how the rest of the night p assed I only .
f ound my memory again when the morning came and when , ,
I went out by myself t o breathe the crisp w intry ai r on t h e

Open moor behind the i n n .
324 TH E LA W AND THE LAD Y .
I have said that I felt like a n ew w oman Th e mor n i ng .
f ound me with a new resolution and a new courage When I .
thought of the future I had not only my husband t o consider

Hi s good name was no lon ger hi s ow n an d minei t
,
n ow .
.
might soon become the most precious inheritance that he

could leave to his child What had I done w hi le I was in
.
,
i gnorance of thi s I had resigned the hope of cleansing his

n ame from the sta i n that had rested on i t a stain still no ,
matter how li ttle it might look i n the eye of the Law Our .
child might live to hear malicious ton gues say Your father ,
was tried f or the vilest of all murders and was never ,
a bsolutely acquitted of the charge Could I face the glorious

.

perils of chi ldbirth with that possibility present to my mind ?

,
-
No ! n ot until I had made on e more e ff ort to lay the c on ~
science of Mi ser ri mus D exter bare to my vie w ! n ot unti l I
had once again renewed the stru ggle and brought the truth ,
that vindicated the husband and the father to the light of day !
I went back to the house w ith my n ew courage to sustain
,
me . I opened my he art to my friend and mother and told ,
her frankly of the ch ange that had come over me s ince we ,

'
h a d last spoke n of Eustace .
Sh e was more than disappointed she wa s al most o ff ended ,
with me Th e on e thi n g need ful h ad happened she s aid

.
, .
Th e h a ppiness that was com ing to us would form a new tie

between my husband and me Every other consideration but
.
this she treated as purely fanci fu l I f I left Eustace now I

, .
,
di d a heartles s thing and a foolish thing I s houl d regret to .

,
the end of my days h aving thrown away the on e golden

,
opportunity of my married li fe .
I t cost m e a hard struggle it oppressed me with many a

,
pain ful doubt but I held rm thi s t ime Th e honour of t h e

, .
f ather the inheritance of the child I kept those thoughts a s

,
constantly as possible be f ore my mind S ometimes they .
f a iled me , an d le f t me nothing better than a poor fool who

had s ome t ful burst s of crying a n d was ashamed of herself,
A T THE BEDSI D E .
325
a fterwards But my n ative obstinacy (a s Mrs Mac al l an said)

. .
carried me thro ugh Now and then I had a peep at Eustace

.
, ,
while he was asleep and that helped me t oo Though they

, .
made my heart ache and shook m e sadl y at the time those ,
furtive visits to my husband forti ed me a f ter w ards I c an .
not explain how this happened (it seems so contradictory) 3 I

can only repeat it a s one o f my experiences at that tro ubled
time .
I made on e concession to Mrs Mac all anI con s ented t o

.
wait for two days bef oreI took any steps for returning to
,
England on the chance that m y mind might c h an ge i n t h e

,
interva l .
It was well for me that I yielded so far O n the second .
day the director of the el d hospital se n t to the post ofc e

,
- -
at ou r nearest town for letter s addressed to him or to his care

, .
Th e messenger brou ght back a letter for me I thought I .
recogni z ed the hand w ri ting and I was right Mr Pl aymor e s

, . .

answer had reached me at last

I f I had been in any danger of changing my mind the ,
g ood lawyer wo ul d have saved me in the nick of ti m e Th e .
extract that follows contains the pith of his le tter 3 and shows
how he encouraged me when I s tood in sore need of a few
,
chee ing and f rien dl y word s

r
.
Let me now tell you (he wrote) what I have done towards

veri fy in g the conclusion to which your letter points .
I have traced on e of the s ervants who was appointed t o

keep watch in the corridor on the night whe n the rst Mrs
, .
Eustace died at G l eni nc h Th e man perf ectly remembers

.
th at Mi serr im us Dexter appe ared bef ore hi m and hi s fello w

s ervant (in hi s chair) af ter the house was qui et f or the night
,
.

Dexter said to them I suppose there is no harm in my going
,
i nto the study to read ? I can t sleep after what has happened

I must relieve my mind someho w

Th e men had no orders
.
to keep any one out of the study They knew that the door .
of c ommunication w ith the bedchamber w as locked an d that ,

326 TH E L AW AND TH E LAD Y.
the key s of the t w o other doors of communication were in

the possession of Mr Gale They accordin gly permitted
. .
D exter to go into the s tudy He closed the door (th e door .
t hat opened on the corridor ) an d remained absent f or som e ,
t ime i n the study as the men s upposed 3 in the bedchamber

as w e know from what he let out at hi s intervie w with you
, .
Now he could enter that room as you rightly imagine in but

, , ,
one wayby being in possession of the missing key How .
long he remained there I cannot dis cover Th e point i s of

, .
little consequence Th e servant remembers that he came ou t

.
of the study agai n as pale as death and that he pas sed on ,

w ithout a wor d on his way back t o his ow n room

, .

These are fa cts Th e conclu s ion to w hich they lead i
.
seriou s in the last deg ree It justies everything th at I con

.
ded to you in my o ffi ce at Edinburgh You remember what .
passed between us I say no more. .

As to yoursel f next You have i nnocently aroused in
.
Mi ser r i m u s Dexter a f eeling towards you which I need not ,
at tempt to char acteri z e There is a certain something I sa w

.
i t mysel f i n your gure an d in some of your movements , ,
w hi ch does recall the late Mrs Eus t a ce to those who knew .
her well and w hich has evidently h ad i t s eff ect on Dexter s

,

m orbid mind Without dwelli n g furt her on this subj ect let
.
,
me only remind you t hat he has shown himsel f (as a c om e

q u en c e of your inuence over him) to b e inc a pable in his ,
moments of agitation of thinking be fore he speak s w hi le he

, ,
is in your presence It is not merely possible it is highly

.
,
probable that he may betray himsel f f ar more s eriously t han

,
h e has betrayed himself yet i f you give hi m the O pportunity,

.
I ow e i t t o you (knowing what your interests are) to expres s

mysel f plainly on this point I have n o sort of doubt that .
you h a ve advanced on e s t ep nearer to the end which you have

i n v iew in the brie f i nterval s ince you le f t Edinburgh
,
I see .
i n your lette r (and in my di scoverie s) ir resistible evidenc e

t hat Dexter mu s t have been in s ecret c ommu n ication wi th
ON TH E yo URNE Y B A CK .
327
the decea s ed lady (innocent communication I am cert ain so , ,
far as size was concerned) not o n ly at the time of her death

, ,
but probably f or w eeks bef ore it I cannot di sguise from .
my s elf or f rom you my ow n strong persuasion that i f you

, , ,
s ucceed in discoveri ng the nature of this communication in ,
all human lik elihood you prove your husband s innocence by
the di scovery o f the truth As an honest man I am bound .

,
not to conceal this And as an honest man also I am equally

.
,
,
bound to add that not even with your reward in view can I
, ,
nd it in my conscience to advise you to risk what you must

risk if you see Mi ser r i mu s Dexter ag ain In this difcult
, .
and delicate m atter I cannot and will not tak e the responsi
, , ,
bi li ty Th e nal decision must rest with yoursel f

. O ne .
f avour only I entreat you to grant let me hear what you
r es olve to do as soon as you kno w it yoursel f

.
Th e di fculties which my wo r thy correspondent f elt were

n o difcul t ies to me I did not possess Mr Pl aym or e s
. .
judicial mind My resolution (come wh at might of it) to see

.

Mi serr i mu s D exter again was settled be fore I had read his

,
l etter to the end .
Th e mail to France crossed the f rontier the next day .
There was a place for me under the protection of the con

ductor i f I chose to take it Without consulting a livi n g
c reatur e
, .
ra s h as usual headlong as usual I took it

, .
CHAP TER XXX VIII .
ON T HE J O U R NEY BA CK .
IF I had been travelling homeward in my ow n carriage t h e ,
remainin g chapters of thi s n a rrative woul d never have been

w ritten Bef ore we had been an hour on the road I should
.
,
have called t o the driver, and s hould have told hi m t o t ur n

b ack .
Wh o c an b e al ways resolute ?
328 THE LA W AND THE LAD r .
I n aski ng that question , I s peak of the wome n, not of the

men I had been resolute in turning a deaf ear to Mr Play
. .

more s doubts and cautions ; resolute in holding ou t ag ai n st
my mother i n law r esolute in taking my place by the French
- -
mail U ntil ten minutes a fter we had driven away fr om the

.
inn my courage held ou t and then it failed me ; then I said

to mysel f You wretch you have de s erted your husband !
,

,

For hours afterwards i f I could have stopped the mail I , ,
would have done it I hated the conductor the kindest of .

,
men I hated the Spanish ponies that drew us the cheeriest

.
,
animals that ever jingled a string of bells I hated the bright .
day that w ou ld make things pleasant and the bracing air th at ,
f orced me to f eel the luxury of breathing whether I liked it ,
or not Never was a j ourney more mi s erable than my saf e

.
and easy j ourney to the frontier ! But on e li ttle com f ort

hel ped me to bear my heart a che resignedly a stolen morsel -
o f Eustace s hair We had started at an hour of t h e morning

.
w hen he was still sound asleep I could creep into his room .
,
and kiss him and cry over him sof tly and cut off a stray lock
, ,
o f his hair without danger of discove r y

,
How I summoned .
resolution enough to leave him is to thi s hour not clear to , ,
m y mind I think my mother i n l a w must h ave helped me

.
- -
without meaning to do it Sh e came into the room with an .
erect head and a cold eye she s aid with an unmerciful

, ,
emphasis on the word I f you m ea n to go Valeria the

,

, ,
carriage is here Any woman with a spark of spirit in h er

.

woul d have meant it under those circumstances I meant

.
i t and did it .
And then I was s or ry for it Poor humanity ! .
Time ha s got all the credit of being the great consoler of

aficted mortals In m y O pinion Time has been over rated
.
,
-
i n thi s matter Dist a nce does the same b en ec en t work f ar more

.
,
s peedily and (when assisted by Change) f ar more eff ectually

,
as well O n the railroad to Paris I became capable of takin g

.
,
asen si bl e vie w o f my po s ition I could n ow remind mysel f .

ON TH E :7 0 URNE y E .
32 9
th at my husband s r eception of me after the rst surpri se

and the rst happiness had passed away might not h ave
justied his mother s condence in him Admitti n g th at I

.
ran a risk in goi n g back to Mi ser r i mu s Dexter should I not ,
have been equally rash in another w ay i f I had returned

, , ,
uninvited to a husband w h o h ad decla re d t hat our conjuga l

,
happiness was impossible and th at ou r married li f e w as at an

,
end ? Besi des who could say th at the events of the f uture
,
might not yet justify me not only to mysel f but to him ? I ,
might yet hear h im say Sh e w as inquisitive when she had n o

,
business to inquire ; she w a s obstinate when she ought to

have listened to reason 3 she lef t my bedside when other women
w ould have remained but in the end she atoned for it all
s h e turned ou t to be right
I rested a day at Paris and wrote three letters

, .
O ne to Benj amin telling hi m to expect me the next eve n

,
i ng
. O ne t o Mr Pl aym or e warning him in good time that
.
, ,
I meant to make a last e ff or t to penetrate the mystery at

G l en i n c h
. One to Eust a ce (o f a f ew lines only ) own i n g that ,
I h ad helped to nurse him through the dan gerous part of hi s

i l lness 3 conf essing the on e reason which h a d prev ailed with
me to leave him 3 and entreating him to s uspend his opinio n
of me until time had proved that I loved him more dearly
,
than ever Thi s last letter I enclosed to m y m oth er i n law 3

.
-
leaving it to her discretion to choose the right time for giving

it to her son I positively f orb ade Mrs Macall an however t o
. .
, ,
tell Eustace of the new tie between us Al though he h ad .
separated him self from me I was determined that he should

,
not hear of it f rom other li ps than mine N ever mind why .
There are certain little matters which I must keep to mysel f 3

and thi s is one of them .
My letters bein g written m y duty was done I w as free

,
.
t o play my last card in the game the darkl y doubtful game -
which was neither quite for me, n or quite again s t me, as t h e

c h ance s now s tood .
330 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD V.
C HAP TER XXXI X .
ON TH E WA Y TO D EXTER.
I DECLAR E to Heaven Valeria I believe that m t nst er s mad

, ,

n ess is in f ectious and you have caught it !
This was Be nj amin s opinion of me (on my arrival at the

villa) 3 af ter I had announced my intention of returning

Mi ser ri mu s Dexter s visit in his company

, .
Being determined to carry my point I could a ff ord to try ,
the in uence of mild persuasion I begged my good f riend .
to have a little patience with me An d do remember wh at .
I have already told you I added It is of serious importanc e

,

.
t o me to see D exter again

.
I o nl y heaped f uel on the re S ee him again ? Benjamin .

repeat ed indign a ntly

, See him a fter he grossly insul t ed
.
,
you under my roo f in this very room ? I can t be awake 3 I

, ,

must be asleep and dreaming .

It was wrong of me I kno w But Benjamin s virtuous

, .

indign a tion was so very virtuous that it let the spir it of mis
chief loose in me I really could n ot resist the temptation t o
.
outrage hi s sense of propriety by taking an audacious]y l iberal ,
view of the whole matter .
Gently my good f riend gently I said We m ust make

, , .
allowances for a man who su ff er s under Dexter s i n r mi t i es

,
a n d lives Dexter s li fe

And really we must not let ou r
.
modesty lead us beyond reasonable limits I begin to think .
that I took rather a prudish view of the thing m ysel f at t h e ,
time A woman who respects hersel f and whose whole heart

.
,
i s with her husband is not so very seriously injured when a

,
wretched crippled creature is rude enough to put his arm

r ound her waist Virtuous indi gnation
. I may venture to
say so is sometimes very cheap indignation Besides I have
) .
,
ON TH E WA Y To DE X TE R .
33:
for given hi m an d you mu st forgive him too There is n o , .
f ear of his forgett i ng himself again whi le you are with me , .
Hi s house is quite a curiosity ; it is sure to int erest you 3 the

pi ct ures alone are worth the j ourney I wi ll write to hi m .
t o d ay and we wi ll go and s ee hi m together t o morrow

,
We .
owe it to ourselve s (if we don t ow e it to Mr Dexter ) t o pay

.
this visit I f you will look about you Benj amin you w ill
.
, ,
see that benevolence towards everybody is the great virtue of

the time we live in Poor Mr D exter must have the bene fi t
. .
of the prevailing f as hion Come come march with the ag e

.
, ,
O pen your mind to the n ew ideas

Instead of accepting t his polite invitation wor thy ol d ,
Benjamin ew at the age we lived in like a b ul l at a red cloth ,

.
O h the new ideas ! the n ew ideas ! By all manner o f

,
me ans Valeria let us have the new ideas Th e ol d morality s

, ,

all wrong the ol d ways are all worn out Let s m arch w ith
, .

the age we live in Nothing comes amiss to the ag e we live

.
in Th e wif e i n England and the husband i n Spain m arried

.
,
or not married living together or not living together it s

,

all one to the new ideas I ll go with you Valeria ; I ll be

.

,

worthy of the generation I live in When we have done with .

Dexter don t let s do things by halve s Let s go and get
, .

cram m ed with ready made science at a lecture let s hear the

-

l ast n ew pro f essor the man who has been behin d the s cenes
,
at Crea tion an d knows to a T h ow the world w as made and

, ,
how long it took to make it There s the other fello w t oo : .

,
mind we don t f orget the modern S olomon who has lef t hi s

proverbs behind him the bran n ew phil osopher w h o con -
s iders the consolations of religion in the light of harm

less playthi ngs and who is kind enough to say that he
,
might have been all the happier i f he could only have

been childish enough to play with them himself O h the .
,
n ew ideas the n ew ideas what consol ing elevating beauti f ul

, , , ,
discoveries have been made by the n ew ide a s ! We were al l

monkeys be fore we w ere men and molecules bef ore we w ere ,
monkey s ! A n d what doe s it matter ? And what doe s a ny

thing matter to anybody I m with you , Valeria I m
re a dy ! Th e s ooner the bett er Come to Dexter ! Come to .

Dexter l
l I am so glad you agree with me I said But let us dc
.
,
n o t hing in a hurry Three o clock to morrow will be time

-
.
eno u gh f or Mr Dexter I will write at once and tell hi m to

. .
expect us Where are you going ?

.

I am going to clear my mind of cant, s aid Benjamin,

sternly . I am going into the library .
What are you going to read ?

I am going to read Puss in Boots and J ack and ,

t h e Bean Stal k and an ythin g else I can n d that doesn t
-
,

march with the ag e we live in .
With that parti ng shot at the new ideas my ol d friend left ,
m e for a time .
Having despatched my n ote I found myself beginning to ,
r evert w ith a certain f eel ing of anxiety to the subj ect of

, ,
Mi ser r i m u s Dexter s health Ho w had he passed through

.
the interval of my absence from England ? Could anybody ,
w ithin my r each tell me news of him ? ,

To inquire of Ben
j a mi n would only be to provoke a n ew outbreak While I .
was still consideri n g the housekeeper entered the room on

,
some domestic errand I aske d at a venture if she had .

, ,
he ard anything more w hile I had been away of the extra

, ,
or dinary person who had so seriously alarmed her ou a former

occasion .
Th e housekeeper s hook her head and looked a s if s he ,
thought it in bad taste to mention the subj ect at all .
About a w eek af ter you had gone away ma am she sai d ,

with extreme severity of manner and with excessive c aref ul ,

~
ness in h er choice of words the Person you mention h ad the

,
impudence t o send a letter to you Th e messen ger was i n .
f o rmed by my master s orders th at you had gone abroad and

, , ,
he and hi s letter were both s ent about their busines s together .

ON TH E WA Y TO D EX TE R .
333
Not l on g fterwards ma am I happened while drin king tea

a , , ,
with Mrs Macall an s housekeeper to hear of the Person again

.
, .
He hi msel f called in hi s chaise at Mrs Mac all an s t o inquire ,

.

about you there How he c an contrive to sit without legs

.
,
to balance him is beyond my understanding but that i s

,
neither here nor there Legs or no legs the housekeeper .

,
saw him and she says as I say she will never forget him to
, , ,
her dying day Sh e told him (as soon as she recovered her
.
self ) of Mr Eustace s illness and of you and Mrs Mac al l an

.

,
.
being in f oreign parts nursing him He went away so the .

,
housekeeper told me with tears in his eyes and o aths and

, ,
curses on his lip s a sight shocking to see That s all I know .

about the Person ma am and I hepe to be excused i f I ven

,

,
ture to s ay that the subject is (f or good reasons) extremely

disagreeable to me .
Sh e made a formal curt s ey and quitted the room , .
Left by mysel f I f elt more anxious and more uncertain than

,
ever when I thought of the experiment that was to be tried

,
on the next day Making due allowance for exaggeration

.
,
the description of Mi ser r i mu s D exter on hi s departure f ro m ,
Mrs Macall an s house suggested that he had not endured

.

,
my long absence very patiently and that he was still as f a r ,
as ever from giving his shattered nervou s system its fair

chance of repose .
Th e next morning brought me Mr Pl aymor e s reply to the

.
letter which I had addressed to him from Paris .
He wrote very briey neither approving nor bla ming m y ,
decision but strongly reiterating his opinion that I should do

,
w ell to choose a competent witnes s a s my companion at my

coming intervie w with D exter Th e most interesti ng p ar t .
of the letter was at the end You must be prepared Mr

.
, .
Pl aym or e wrote to see a cha nge f or the worse in D exter

, .
A f riend of mine wa s w ith hi m on a matter of bu siness a

f ew day s since and was st ruck by the alteration in hi m
, .
Your pr es ence i s s u r e t o have it s effect one way or anoth er .

I can give y ou for managing hi m you must

no i n s truction s ~
be guided by t h e ci rcumstance s Your ow n tact wi ll tel l you .
whether it is w ise or n ot to encourage him to speak of t h e , ,
late Mrs Eustace Th e chances of hi s betraying himsel f all

. .
revolve (as I think) round that on e topic : keep hi m to it

i f you can To thi s was added in a postscript : Ask Mr

.
, .
Be nj amin i f he was near enough to the l ibrary door to hear

D exter tell you of his entering the bedchamber on the night ,
of Mrs Eustace Mac all an s de a th

. .
I put the question to Benjamin when we met at the

luncheon table be fore se t ting f orth f or the distant suburb in
-
w hich Mi ser r i m u s Dexter lived My old f riend disapproved .
o f t h e contemplated expedition as strongly as ever He was .
un usually grave and unusual ly s paring of words when he ,
answered me .
I am no li s tener he said But some peo ple have

, .
voices which insist on being heard Mr D exter is on e of . .

them .
D oes that mean that you heard him ? I asked

.
Th e door couldn t mu fe him and the wall couldn t mu f e

,
h i m Be nj amin rej oined

,
I heard him and I thought it .

i n famous There ! .
I may want you to do more than hear him this time I , ,

ventured to say I may want you to make notes of our con

.
versation while Mr Dexter is speaking to me You used

,
. .
to write down what my f ather s aid when he was dictating hi s ,
letters to you Have you got one of your little not e books to
.
p are ?
Benj amin looked up from his plate with an aspect o f s t ern

s urprise .
It is on e thing he said to write under the dictation of a

,

,
great m erchant conducting a vast correspondence by which ,
t housands of pounds change hands in due cour s e of post .
An d it s another thing to take down th e gibberish of a

me a n deri ng maxJ monster who ought to be kept in a cag e .

ON TH E WA T To DE XTER .
335
Yo ur g ood father, Valeria , w ould never have a s ked me to

do that .

Forgive me Benjamin : I must really ask you to do it
,
I t is Mr Pl aymor e s idea m ind not m ine

.
. Come ! g ive

, .

way this once dear for my s ake , ,
.
Benjami n looked down again a t h is plate with a rue f ul ,
resignation whi ch told me that I had c arried my point .
I h ave been tied to her apron string all my li fe I he a rd -
him grumble to himself And i t s too late in the day to get

.

l oose f rom her now He looked up again at me I thought

. .
I h ad retired from b usiness he said

But it seems I must , .
turn cler k again Well ? What is the n ew stroke of work

.
that 8 expected from me this time

,
Th e cab was announced to be waiting f or us at the gate as ,
he asked the question I rose and took hi s arm an d gave .

,
mm a gratef ul kiss on his rosy old cheek .
O nly two thi ngs I said Si t down behind Mr Dexter s

,

. .

c hair so that he can t s ee you But tak e care to pl a ce you r

.
.
,
sel f at the same time so that you c an see me

, ,
.

Th e les s I see of Mr Dexter the better I shall be pleased

.
, ,
growled Benjamin What am I to do after I have taken

.

,

my place behind him ?
You are to wait until I m ake you a sign 3 and when you
see it you are to begin writing down in your note boo k what -
Mr D exter is saying and you are to go on until I m ake

.
,
another sign which me ans Leave off ,
Well ? sai d Benjamin What 8 the sign for Begin ? a nd

,

,
what s the sig n for Leave off ?

I w as not quite prepared with an answer to this I asked .
hi m to help me with a hint No Be nj a min would take n o .
active part in the matter He was resigned to be employed .
in the capacity of passive i nstrument and there all conces

s ion ended so f ar as he was concerned
, .
Le ft to my ow n resources I found it n o easy m atter to i n ,

o
l ma teleg raphic syste m w hich should su fciently in f orm

TH E LA W AND
1
0w TH E L AD Y .
Benj ami n without awakening D exter s quick s us pi ci on 1

'

, .
looked into the glass to see i f I could nd the n eces s ary

suggestion i n anythi ng that I wore My earrings s upplied me .
w ith the idea of which I was i n search .
I shall take care to sit in an ar m chair I s aid

Whe n -
,

.
you see me re s t my elbow on the chair and lift my hand to ,
my earring as i f I w a s playing with i t write down what he

,
says ; and go on until well s uppose we s ay until you hear , ,
me move my chair At that s ound, s top You under

. .

stand me 2
I unders tand you .

We s tarted for Dexter s hou s e

.
CH APTER XL .
N EM ES I S A T LA S T !
THE gardener opened the gate to u s on thi s occasion He .
had evidently r eceived his orders, in anticipatio n of my

arrival .
Mrs Valeria 2 he asked

. .
Yes .

And friend 1 '

And f riend .
Please to step upstairs You know the house . .

Cro ssing t h e hall I stopped for a moment and looked at a

, ,
favourite walkingcane which Benj amin stil l kept i n his

hand .
Your cane will only be in your way I s aid

Had you , .
not better leave it here 2

My cane may be useful upstairs r etorted Benjami n ,

g r u ffly I haven
. t forgotten what happened in the library .

It was no t ime to cont end w ith him I led the way up t h e .
s t a irs .
N EMESIS A 7 LAS T !
'
33,
Ar rivi ng at the upper ight of

s tep s I w as star tled by ,
h ear ing a sudden cry from the room above I t w as lik e the .
cry of a person in pain 3 and it was twice repeated bef ore we ,
entered the circular ante chamber I was the rst to approach

-
.
the inner room and to see the many sided Mi serr i mus Dexter
,
-
in another n ew aspect of his character .
Th e unf ortunate Ariel was stan ding be for e a table with ,
a dish of little cakes placed in f ront of her R ound each .
of her wrists was tied a strin g the free end of w hi ch at a , (

distance of a few yards) w as held in Mi ser r i mu s Dexter s
Tr y ag a in , my be auty ! I heard him say, as I

hands .

stopped on the threshold of the door

Take a cake At . .

the word of command Ariel submissively stretched ou t on e

,
arm towards the dish J ust as she touched a c ake with t h e

.
tips of her ngers her hand was j erked away by a pull at

,
the string so savagely cruel in the nimble and devili sh

,
v iolence of i t that I f elt inclined to snatch Be njamin s can e

,
ou t of hi s hand and break it over Mi serr i m us Dexter s back

, .
Ariel su ff ered the pai n thi s time in Spartan silence Th e .
po sition in which she stood enabled her to be the rst

to see me at the door Sh e had discovered me . Her
.
.
teeth were set ; her face was ushed under the struggl e
t o restrain her s elf Not even a sigh escaped her in my
.
presence .

Drop the strings ! I calle d ou indignant y
t l
R eleas e ,
.

her Mr Dexter or I shall leave the house
,
.
,
.
At the sound of my voice he burst ou t with a s hrill c ry .
of welcome Hi s eye s fasten ed on me with a erce devouring

.
,
delight .
S ee what I am reduce d

Come in ! come in l h e cried
.
t o in the maddening s u s pen s e o f waiting f or you

,
S ee h ow I .
kill the time when the time parts us Come in ! come i n ! I .
am in on e of my maliciou s humours thi s mornin g cause d ,
e ntirely Mrs Valeria by my anxi ety to see you

, .
,
Whe n .
I am i n my malicious humour s I mu st te as e s omethin g I .

am tea sing A riel Look at her ! Sh e ha s had n othin g to

.
eat all day and she hasn t been quick enough to s natch a
,

mors el of cake yet You needn t pity her Ariel h as no .

.
n erve s I don t hurt her

.

Ariel ha s no nerves echoed the poor creature fro wn ing , ,
at me f or inter fering bet w een her ma s ter and her s elf He .

doesn t hur t me .
I heard Be njamin beginning t o s wing hi s ca ne behind

me .

Drop the string s ! I reiterated more vehemently than

,
ever .Drop themor I shall instantly leave you .

Mi ser ri mus Dexter s deli cate nerves shuddered at my

v iolence What a gloriou s voice 1 he exclaimed and

.

dropped the strings Take the cakes he added addressin g .

,

,
Ariel in hi s most imperial m anner .
Sh e passed me with the stri ngs hanging from her swolle n

,
wris ts, and the dish of c ake s i n her hand Sh e nodded her .
head at me deantly .

Ariel ha s got no nerve s she repeated proudl y

He , , .

does n t hurt me

.
You see said Mi ser r i mu s D ext er there i s no harm done

, ,
- and I dropped the s tring swhen you told me Don t beg i n .

by being hard on me Mr s Valeria after your long long ,

.
, ,
absence He paused
.

Benj amin standi ng s ilent in the .
,
doorway attracted his attention f or the rst time

,
Who .

is thi s ? he asked 3 and wheeled his chair suspiciously nearer
to the door I know he cried be f ore I could answer
. Thi s , .
is the benevolent gentleman who looked like the re fuge of the

a ficted when I s aw him last
,
You have altered f or the .
worse since then Si r You have stepped into quite a new , .
character you personi fy R etributive J ustice n ow Your , .
n ew protector, Mr s Valeria I understand He bowed low.
to Benjamin w ith ferocious irony , Your humble servant .

,
Mr R etributive J ustice ! I have deserved you and I sub m it

.
to you Walk i n Si r ! I will take care that your n ew o fce

. .
I VEM E S I S A T LAS T ! 339
s hall be a s inecur e Thi s lady i s the Lig ht of my Li f e

. .
Catch me faili ng in respect towards her i f you can ! He ,

backed hi s chair bef ore Benjamin (who listened to him in

)
c ontemptuous s il ence until he re a ched the part o f the room
in which I was standing You r han d Light of my Li f e 1 he

'
.
,
mur mured in his gentlest tones

,
Your h an d only to sho w .
ou have f orgiven me ! I a ve hi m my h a nd On e l he

y g .
whi spered entreatingly ,

O nly one ? He kissed my h and
.

once r espectfully and droppe d i t with a h ea vy sigh

,
Ah .
,
poor Dex t er l he said pitying himsel f with the whole si n

,
c er i t y of his egotism A w arm heart wa s t ed in solitu de

.
, ,
mocked by def ormity S ad ! sad ! Ah poor Dexter 1 He .

,

looked round again at Benj amin with another ash of his ,
ferocious irony A beauti f ul day S i r he s a id with mock

.

, ,

,
conventional courtesy S easonable weather in deed a f t er the

.
l ate long continued rains Can I o ff er you any re f reshment ? .
Won t you sit down ? R etributive J ustice when it is no taller

,

than you are looks best in a chair
, .

And a monkey looks best in a cage r ej oined Benj a ,

min enraged at the s a tirical re f erence to his shortness of

,
stature
I was waiting Si r to s ee you g et into your
.
, ,

swing .
The retort produced no e ff ect on Mi serr i mu s Dexter : it

appe ared to have passed by him unhear d He had chan g ed
again ; he was thoughtf ul he was subdued 3 his eyes were ,
xed on me with a s ad and rapt attention I took the neares t .
ar m chair ; rst casting a gla nce a t Be njamin whic h he im m e ,
di at ely un derstood He pl a ced himsel f behind Dexter a t a n

.
,
angle which comm anded a v ie w o f my chair Arie l si len t l y .

,

devouring her cakes crouched on a stool at the Master s
,
.

feet and looked up at hi m like a faithful dog There w a s a n

,
.
i nterval of quiet and repose I w as able to observe Mi ser ri .
mu s Dexter u ninterruptedly for t h e rs t time since I had ,
entered t h e r oom .
I w as n ot surpri s edI w as n othi ng l ess than alarmed by

the change for the worse i n hi m s ince w e had las t met Mr , . .
Pl aymor e s letter had not prepared me for the seriou s dete r iora

tion i n hi m wh ich I could n ow discern .
His f eatures w ere pinched and worn 3the w hole face seeme d
to have wasted strangely in substance and si z e since I had ,
last seen it Th e softness in his eyes was gone Blo od r ed

. .
-
vein s were intertwined all over them now 3 they w ere set i n a
piteous and vacant stare His once rm ha nd s looked withere d ;
.
they trembled as they lay on the coverlid Th e paleness of .
his face (exaggerated perhaps by the black velvet jacket that

, ,
he wore) had a sodden and sickly look the ne outline was

gone Th e multitudinou s little wrinkles at the corners of hi s
.
eyes had deepened His head sank into hi s shoulder s when

.
he leaned forward in hi s chair Years appear ed to have passed.
over him instead o f months while I had been absent f rom

, ,
Engl a nd R emembering the medical report whi ch Mr Play

. .
more had given me to read recalling the doctor s positively
declar ed O pinion that the preservation of D exter s sanity
depended on the healthy condition of his n erves I coul d not

but f eel that I had done wisely (i f I mi ght still hope f or suc
cess) i n hastening my return from Spain K nowi ng what I .
knew fearing what I f eared, I believed that hi s time was near

,
.
I felt w hen our eye s met by accident that I w as looking at a

, ,
doomed ma n .
I pitied him .
Yes ! yes ! I kno w that compass ion for him w as utterly i n

con sistent with the motive which had taken me to his house
utterly inconsistent with the doubt still present to my mind ,
whether Mr Pl aym or e had really wronged him in believing

.
that his was the guilt which had compassed the rst Mrs .
Eustace s death I felt this : I knew him t o be cruel 3 I b e

.
l i eved h i m to be fal se And yet I pitied him ! I s there a

.
,
commo n fun d of w ickednes s i n us al l ? I s the s uppression or

the development of that wickedness a mere question of train
i ng and temptat io n ? And i s the r e s omething i n our deep er
N EMESIS A T LAS T ! 34:
s ympathie s w hich mutely ack n owledges thi s w he n w e f eel f or ,
the w icked 3 when we crowd to a criminal trial 3 when we

(
shake hands at partin g i f we happen to be present o fcially
)
with the vilest monster that ever swun g on a gallows ? It is
not for me to decide I can only say that I pitied Mi ser ri mus
.
Dexter and that he f ound it ou t .

Thank you he said suddenly
,

You see I am i ll and
, .

,
you feel f or me Dear and good Valeria

.
Thi s lady s name Si r is Mrs Eustace Mac al l an inter

, ,
.
,
posed Benj amin speaking sternly behind him

,
Th e next .

time you address her remember if you please that you have
, , ,
n o busines s with her Christian name .

Benj amin s rebuke passed like Benj amin s retort un ,

,
heeded and unheard To all appearance Mi ser r i m u s D exter

.
,
h a d completely f orgotten that there was such a person in the

room .
You have delighted me with the sight of you he went on

.
,
Add to the pleasure by letting me hear your voice Talk to .
me of yourself Tell me what you have been doing since you

.
l ef t England .

It was necessary to my obj ect to s et the conversation

aoat 3 and thi s was a s good a way of doi n g it as any
other I told him plainly how I had been employed d uring

.
my absence .
S o you are s till fond of Eustace l he said, bitterl y

'
.
I love him more dearly than ever .

He li f ted his hands and hi d hi s f ace Af ter waiting awhil e

,
.
,
he went on ; speaking in an odd muf ed manner, still under ,
cover of hi s hand s .

And you leave Eus tace in Spain ? he said 3 and you

r eturn to England by yourself ! What made you do that 2

What made me rst come here, and ask you to help me,
Mr .
He dropped hi s h and s, and looked at me I saw i n his .
eyes, n ot ama z ement only, but al ar m .


Is i t possible he exclaimed that you w on t l et that
,

,

mi s erable matter rest even yet ? Are you s till determined to

meddle with the mystery at Gl en i n ch

I am s til l determined Mr Dexter 3 and I still hope th at
,
.
you may be able to help me .

Th e ol d distrust that I reme mbered so wel l darkened ag ai n ,
over his face the m oment I said those words .

How can I help he asked Can I alter facts .

He st epped His f ace brightened ag ain as if some sudden

.
,
sense of relie f had come to him I did try to help you h e .

,

went on
I told you that M r s B eaul y s absence w a s a
. .

device to screen hersel f f rom suspicion 3 I told you th a t

the poison mi ght have been given by Mr s B eaul y s maid .

.
Ha s re ection convinced you ! Do you s ee someth ing i n

the idea ?
This r eturn to Mrs Beauly gave m e my rst chance of
.
leadin g the talk to the right topic .

I s ee nothi ng in the idea I answered
I see no motive
,

. .
Had the maid any reason to be an enemy t o the late Mrs .
Eustace ?

Nobody had any reason to be an enemy to the late Mrs .
Eustace ! he broke ou t loudly and vehemently Sh e w a s

.
,
all goodness all kin dne s s ; she never injured any human
,
creature i n thought or deed Sh e was a saint upon ear t h . .

R espect her memory ! Let the martyr rest in her grave !
He covered his f ace again w ith his hands and sh oc k and ,
shuddered under the paroxy s m of emotion that I had roused
in him .
Ariel s uddenly and s o ftly le f t her stool and approached

me .
Do you see my t en claws 1 s he whispered holding ou t her

'
,
ha nds .

Vex the Master againand you w il l feel my t en
I l a w s on you r throat I
Benj amin rose from his seat : he had seen the action,
w i t hout hear in g the w o r d s I si g ned to him to keep his
.
N E MES I S A T L AS T ! 343
plac e Ar iel r etur ned to h er s tool, an d looked u p again at

.
the Master .

Don t ry she said
c

,
Come on Here are the s trin g s
. . .
Tease me again M ake me screech with the smar t o f it

.

.
He never answered and never moved .
Ariel bent her slo w mind to meet the di fculty o f attra cting
his attention I sa w it in her fro w ning brows in her colour
.
,
less eyes looking at me vacantly O n a sudden she j oyf ully .

,
struck the open pal m of one o f her hands with the st of the
other Sh e had triumphed Sh e had got an idea
. . .

Master ! s he cried Mas ter ! You haven t told m e a
.

story for ever s o long P uz z l e my t hi c k head Make m y

. .
esh creep Come on A good long s tory All blood and

. . .
crimes .

Had s he accidentally hit on the right s uggestion to s trike

hi s wayward f ancy ? I knew his high opinion of his ow n
skill in dramatic narrative I knew tha t on e of his f avourite
.

amus ements was to pu z zle Ariel by telling her stories that

she could not understand Would he wander away into t h e
.
r egio n of wild romance ? O r would he remember that my

o nst i nac y s till threatened h i m wit h t e openin g the inquiry -
i nto the tragedy at G l eni n c h ? and would he set his cunni n g

at work to mislead me by some new stratagem ! This l at t er
course was the course which m y past experience of h i m
suggested that he would take But to my surprise and .
,
alarm I found my past experience at fault

,
Ariel s uc .
c eeded in diverting hi s mind fro m the subj ect which had
been in ful l possession of it the moment bef ore she spo k e !

He showed his f a ce again I t was overspread by a broa d .
smile of grati ed sel f esteem He was weak enough now to

-
.
let even Ariel nd her way to his vanity I saw it with a ,
s ense of misgiving with a doubt whether I had not delayed

,
my visit u n til too late w hich turned me cold, from head t o

,
f oot
.
Mi serri mus D exter s poke t o Ar iel , not t o me .

Poor devil he s aid patti n g her head complac entl y ,

.
You don t understand a w ord of my stories do you ? An d

yet I can make the esh creep on your great clumsy b ody
a n d yet I can stir your stagnant mind and make you lik e it ! ,
Poor devil He leaned b a ck serenely in his chair and ,
looked m y way ag ai n Would the sight of me remind hi m .
of the words that had passed between us not a mi nute s i nce ? ,
No There was t h e pleas a ntly tickled sel f conceit s m i ling at - -
me exactly a s it had s miled at Ariel I excel in dramatic .
n arrative Mrs Valer a he said And this cre ature here on

i

. .
, ,
the stool i s a remarkable proo f of i t Sh e is quite a psycho

, .
logical study, w hen I tel l her on e of my s tories It is really .
a musing to see the half witted wretch s desperate e ff orts t o

-
understand me You shall have a Specimen I have bee n

. .
w hile you were awayI haven t t old her a

ou t of spirits ,
'
story for week s past ; I will tell her on e now D on t suppose .
it s any e ff ort to me ! My invention i s inexhau stible You

are sure to be amused you are natur ally seriousbut you

are sure to be amused I am naturally s erious t oo : and I .
,
al ways laugh at her .

Ariel clapped her great shapeless h and s He always laughs .
at me she said, with a proud look of s uperiority, directed

s traight at Me .
I was at a loss s eri ously at a lo s s wh at to do Th e ou t

, , .
break which I had provoked i n leading him to speak of the

late Mrs Eustace warned me to be care f ul and to w ait f or
.
,
m y opportunity be fore I reverted to tha t s ubj ect

, How els e .
could I turn the conversation s o as to lead him little by little , , ,
towards the betrayal of the secrets which he was keeping f rom

m e ? I n thi s uncertainty, on e thi ng only seemed to be plain .
To let him tell hi s story, would be simply to let hi m waste

With a vivid remembrance of Ar iel s
'
t h e precious minute s .
ten claws I decided n evertheless on dis couraging D exter s

,

n ew whim at every opportunity and by every mea n s i n my

,
po w er .
NE AI E S I S AT LAS T ! 345
Now , Mrs Valeria . he began loudly and lo ft ily Lis ten ,

. .
Now Ariel
,
Bring your brains to a f ocus I i mpr a vi ss .
poetry 3 I improvise ction We will begin with the g ood .
ol d f orm u la of the fai r y storie s O nce upon a time .
I was waiting f or my opportunity to interrupt him whe n ,
he interrupted him s elf He stopped with a bewildered look

.
, .
He put his hand to his head and passed it back w ards and ,
forward s over his forehead He laughed feebly . .

I seem to want rousing he said ,
.
Was his mind gone ? There had been no s ign s of it until ,
I had unhappily s tirred hi s memory o f the dead mistress of

G l en i n c h Was the weakness which I had already noticed
.
,
w as the bewilderment which I now sa w attributable to the ,
inuence of a pa s sing disturbance only ? In other words had ,
I w itnes s ed nothing more seriou s than a rs t warning to him ,
and to u s ? Would he soon recover himsel f i f we were ,
patient and gave him time ? Even Benj amin was interested
,
at last 3 I saw him trying to look at Dexter round the corner

o f the chair Even Ariel was surprised and uneasy
. Sh e .
had n o dark glances to east at me n ow .
We all waited to see w hat he would do to hear wha t he ,
would s ay next ,
.
My harp he cried Music will rouse me . .

Ariel brought him his harp .
M aster ! she said wonderingly

,What 8 come t o you ? .

He waved hi s han d commanding her t o be silent

,
.
O de to Invention he announced lo f tily addressin g

,

,
himself to me Poetry and mu s ic improvised by Dexter

. .
S ilence ! Attention
His ngers wandered feebly over the harp strings 3 awaken -
i ng no melody suggesting no words

,
In a little whi le hi s .
,
h and dropped 3 his head sank f orward gently and rested on ,
t h e frame of the harp I started to my feet and approached

.
hi m Was it a s leep ? or was it a swoon ?

.
I touched hi s arm , and called to him by his n ame .

A riel in s tantly stepped bet ween us with a thr eatening l ook ,
at me At the s ame moment Mi serr i mu s Dext er rais ed hi s

.
,
head My voice had reached hi m He looked at me with a

. .
curio us contemplative quietnes s in his eyes whi ch I had ,
never seen in the m bef ore .
Take aw ay the harp he said to Ariel speaking i n languid ,

,
tones l ike a man who was very weary

, .
Th e mischievous hal f witted creaturei n sheer s tu pidity or

-
in do w nright malice towards me I am not s ure whichirri ,
t at ed him once more .

Why Master ? she asked staring at h i m w ith the harp
,

,
hu gged in her ar ms What has come to you ? Where is

.

the story ?
I hav e many

We don t w ant the story, I interposed
.
things to say to Mr Dexter which I have not s aid .

yet .
Ariel li fted her heavy hand You w i l l have it she s aid .

,

and adva nced towards me At the same moment the Mas ter s .
voice st epped her .
Put away the harp you fool ! he repeated sternl y ,

And
.

wait f or t h e s tor y until I choose to tell it .
Sh e took the harp submissively back to it s place at the end

o f the room Mi ser r i mu s Dexter moved his chair a little closer
.
to mine I know what will rouse me he said condentially

.
,

,
.
Exercise will do it I have had no exercise lately Wai t a

. .

litt le and you will see
,
.
He put his hands on the machinery of the ch air and started ,
on his customary course do w n the room Here ag ain the .

,
ominous chan ge in h i m showed itsel f under a new form Th e .
p ace at which he travelled was not the furious pace that I

remembered 3 the chair no longer rushed under h i m on rum
bling and whistling wheels It went but it went slowly U p .
,
.
the room and down the room he pain fully urged i t and the n
, ,
he stopped for want of breath,

.
We followed hi m Ariel was rst and Benj amin w as by

'
.
,
NEM ES I S A T L AS T ! 347
my s i de He motioned impatie n tly to both of them to stand

.
back and to let me approach him alone

,
.
I m out of practice he said faintly

I hadn t the heart ,

, .

to m ake the wheels r ear and the oor tremble, while you ,
were away .

Wh o would not have pitied him ? Who would have r e
membered his misdeeds at that mo m ent Even Ariel f elt it .
I heard her beginning to whine and w himper behind me .
Th e m agician who alone could rouse the dormant sensi

bil i t i es in her nature had awakened the m now by hi s
neglect Her f atal cry wa s heard again, i n mournf ul, moan
.
i ng tone s .
What s come to you Master ? Hav e you forgot me ?

,
Where s the story ?
Never mind her I w hispered to him You want the ,

.

fresh air S end for the gardener Let u s take a drive i n

. .

your pony chaise -
.
It wa s useles s A riel would be noticed Th e mourn ful

. .
c r y came once more .

W here s the story ? W here 3 th e story ?

Th e sinking spirit leapt up in Dexter again .
*
You wretch ! you end ! he cried whirling hi s chair
,
ro und and facing her

, Th e story is coming I c a n tell it ! . .
I w i l l tell it ! Wine ! You whimpering idiot get me the ,
w ine . W hy didn t I think of it before ? Th e ki ngly Bur

gundy ! that s what I want Valeria to set my invention

, ,
alight and aming in my head Glas ses for everybody ! .
Honour to the K ing of the Vintages the R oy al Clo s

Vougeot !
Ariel opened the cupboard in the alcove and pro duced the ,
wine and the hi gh Venetian glasses D exter drained hi s .
goblet full of Burgundy at a draught 3 he forced u s to

drink (or at least pretend to drink) wit h him Even Ariel .
had her share thi s time and emptied her gla s s in rivalry
, ,
wi t h h er ma s ter Th e pow er ful w i n e mounted al mo s t i a

.
348 THE LA W AND TH E LA D Y .
st an t l y h er w eak
head Sh e began to s ing hoars ely a s ong
to .
of her own devi s ing in imitation o f D exter It was nothi ng

, .
but the repetition the endless mechanical repetition of her , ,
demand for the story Tell us the story Master master ! . .
tell us the story ! Absorbed over his wine the Master s i lently ,
l led his goblet f or the second time Benjamin whispered t o .
me whi le hi s eye w as off us Take my advice Valeria f or

, , , ,
once 3 let us go .

O ne last e ffort I whispered back O nly on e !,

.
Ariel went drowsily on w ith her song .

Tell us the story Master ! master ! tell us the story . .
Mi serr i mus Dexter looked up f rom his gl ass Th e generou s .
stimulant was beginning to do its work I saw the colour .
rising in his fa ce I saw the bright intelligence ashing again

.
in his eyes Th e Burg undy ha d roused him Th e good win e

.
o ff ered me a last chance
No w for the story ! he cried

.
No story ! I said I w ant to talk to you Mr Dexter

.
, . .
I a m n ot in the humour f or a story .

Not in the humour ! he repeated with a gleam of the old
,

i mpish irony showing itsel f again in his f ace That s an .

excuse I see what it is ! You think my invention i s gone

.
and you are not frank enough to con fess it I 11 show you .

you re wrong I ll sho w you that Dexter is himself again

.

.
S ilence you Ariel or you shall leave the room ! I have got
, ,
i t Mrs Valeria all laid out here w ith scenes a n d character s

,
.
, ,
eom pl et e He t ouched his forehead and looked at me with

,
.
a furtive and smiling cunning be fore he added his n ext ,
word s .It s the very thing to interest you my fa ir friend

,
.
It s the Story of a Mistre s s and a Maid Come back to the

.
r e and hear it

.
Th e S tory of a Mi s tress and a Maid ? I f that meant any

t hi n g i t mean t t h e s to r y of Mrs Beauly an d her maid told
, .
,
i n disgui s e !
The title, and the look w hi ch had e s caped him w hen he
NEM E S IS A T LAS T ! 349
a nnounced it revived the hop e that was wellnigh de ad i n

,
me He had rallied at last He was agai n in possession of

. .
his natural foresight and hi s natural cunni n g U nder pretence .
of tel l ing Ariel her story he was evidently about to m ak e t h e ,
attempt to mislead me for the second time Th e c on c l usi m

,
.
was irresistible To use hi s ow n words D exter was hi mself

.
a gain .
I took Benjamin s arm as we followed him back to the r e

place i n the middle of the room There is a chance f or me .
yet I whispered
,

Don t f orget the sig n als
.

.

We returned to the places which we h ad a lrea dy occupied .
Ariel cast another thre atening look a t me Sh e h a d just .
s ense enough lef t af ter emptying her goblet of wine to be on

, ,
the watch f or a new inte ruption on m y part I took care of r .

,
course that nothing of the sort should happen I was now as

,
.
eager as Ariel to hear the story Th e subj ect was full of .
s nares f or the narrator At any moment in the excitement .

,
of speaking Dexter s memory of the true events might sho w

,
itself reected in the circumstances of the ction At any .
moment he might betray himself

,
.
He looked round him and began , .
My public are you seated ? My public are you ready ?

, ,

he asked gaily Your face a little more this way he adde d

, .

, ,
i n his sof test and tenderest tones motioning to me to turn my ,
full f ace towards him S urely I am not aski n g too much ?

.
You look at the meanest creature that crawls look at Me .
Let me nd m y inspiration in your eyes Let me f eed my .
hungry admiration on your f orm Come ! have on e littl e .
pitying smil e lef t f or the man whose happiness you have

wrecked Thank you Light of my Li fe thank you ! He
. .
,

kissed hi s hand to me and threw hi mself back luxuriously i n ,
his chair Th e story he resumed

. Th e story at last ! I n
,

.
w hat f orm shall I cast it ? I n the dramatic form the oldest

w ay the tr ue s t w ay the shortest way of tellin g a story !
, ,

Ti t l e, rs t A short title, a taking titl e :
. Mi s tress an d
350 TH E LA W AND TH E LA D Y ,
Maid .

Scene the land of romanceItal y
, Time t h e eg o .
of romanceth e f teen t h century

,
Ha ! look at Ar i eL .
Sh e knows no more about the fteenth century than t he

cat in the kitchen and yet she i s interested already Happy
, .
Ariel !
Ariel looked at me again in the double intoxicati on of the ,
w in e and the triumph .
I know no more than the cat in the kitchen she repeated ,

,

w ith a bro a d grin of gra tied vanity I am happy Ariel !
.
What are You ?

Mi ser ri mu s Dext e
r laughed uproariously .
Didn t I tell you ? he sai d

Isn t she fun ? Persons of

.

the Drama he resumed ,
Three in number Women only . .
A ngelic a a noble la dy 3 n oble alike i n spirit and in birth

, .
Cunegond a a be a uti f ul devil in woman s f orm Dam or i de

, ,

.
,
her un f ortunate maid First scene A dark vaulted chamber

. .
in a castle Time even ing Th e owls are b ooti ng in the

.
, .
wood 3 the frogs are c r e aki ng in the marsh Look at .
Ariel ! Her esh creeps 3 she shudder s audibly Admirabl e .
Ariel

My rival in the Ma ster s favour eyed me deantly Ad .
mir able Ar iel she repeated in drowsy accents Mi serri mu s , .
Dexter paused to take up his goblet of Burgundy placed

c lose at h a nd on a little sli di ng t able attached to his chair I .
watched hi m n arrowly as he sipped the wine Th e ush w as, .
still mounting in hi s face ; the light was still brighteni ng in
hi s ey es He set down his glas s ag ain w ith a j ovial smack

.
,
of his li ps and went on .
Persons present in the va ulted chamber zCunegonda a n d

Da m or i de Cunegonda spe aks
. Dam or i de Madam ? .

Who l ies ill in the chamber above us ? M adam the ,
(

n oble lady Angelica ,
A pause Cunegond
. a s peaks again ) . .
Da m or i de Madam ? How does Angelica li ke you 2
M ad am the noble lady s weet and good to all who approach

, ,

her is s weet and good t o me
,
Have you attended on h e! .

N EM ESIS A T LA S T ! 35 :

Damor i de ?
Sometime s, madam, nurs e w as w hen t he

weary
Has she taken her healing m edicine fro m your
.

hand ?
O nce or twice madam when I happened to be , ,
by .

Damor i de take thi s key and open the casket on the
, ,
( D )

table there . a m or i de obeys Do you see a gree n vial .

in the casket ? I see it mad a m

Take it ou t ,
. .

(Damor i de obeys ) Do you see a liquid in the green vial ?
.

Shall I tell

can you guess what it is ? N o mad am ,
.

(Dam or i de bow s respect fully )

you ? Poison is in the .

vial .
(D a m or i de starts 3 she shrinks fro m the poison 3 she
would fain put it aside Her mi stress signs to her to keep it

.

i n her han d 3 her mistress speaks ) D am or i de I have told .
,
you one o f my secrets 3 s hall I tell you another ? (Damori de

w ait s f earing what is to come Her mistress speaks )
, I . .
h ate the Lady Angelica Her li f e sta nd s between me and .
the j oy o f my heart You hold her lif e in your hand

. .
( D am or i de drops on her knees 3 she is a devout person 3 she
crosses hersel f and then she speaks )

,
Mistress you terri f y .
,
me Mistress what do I hear ?

.
, (Cunegonda advances
,
stands over her looks down on her w ith terrible eyes

, ,

whispers the next words ) Dam ori de the Lady Angeli ca
.
,
must di e and I must n ot be suspected Th e Lady Angelica .
must die and by you r hand .

He paused again To sip the wine once more ? N0 3 to

.
drink a deep draught of it this time , .
Was the stimulant beginning to f ail him already ?

I looked at him attentively as he laid himsel f b a ck again ,
in his chair to consi der f or a moment before he went on

, .
Th e ush on hi s face was as deep as ever 3 but the bright

n es s in hi s eye s w as beginning to f ade alre a dy I had noticed .
that he spoke more and more slowly as he advanced to

the later dialogue of the scene Was b e feeling the e ffort of .
i nvention already ? Had the time come when the wine had
done a ll that the wine coul d do for him ?
We w aited Ariel sat w atchi ng him, w ith vacantly s tari n g
.
-
eyes and vacantly open mouth Benjamin impenetrably ex

-
.
,
:
p ec t i ng the sign al kept his O pen note book on his knee, covere d
,
-
by his hand .
Mi serr i m u s D exter went on .
Dam or i de hears those terrible Words 3 Damori de Cl asps

her hands in entreaty Oh m adam ! madam ! how can I
.
,
kill the dear and noble lady ? What motive have I f or harm

You have the motive of

ing her ? Cunegonda an swers ,
obeyi n g Me . Dam or i de falls with her f ace on the oor

,
at her mistress s feet

Madam I cannot do it ! Madam I
.
, ,

dare not do it ! Cunegonda ans w ers You run no risk : I

,
have my plan f or diverting discovery f ro m myself and my ,
pl an for diverting discovery f rom you D am or i de repeats .

,
I cannot do it ! I dare not do it Cun eg on da s eyes ash

lightnings of rage Sh e takes f rom its place of conceal m ent

.
in her bosom
He stopped in the middle of the sentence and put hi s hand ,
to his head Not like a man in pain but like a man Wh o had
.
,
lost his idea .
Would it be well i f I tried to help him to recover hi s

idea ? or would it be wiser (i f I could only do it) t o keep
s ilence ?
I could see the dri ft of hi s story plainly enough Hi s .
obj ect under the thin disguise of the Italian romance was to
, ,
meet my un ans w erable obj ection to suspecting Mrs B eaul y s .

maid the obj ection that the woman had no motive for com
mi t ting hersel f to an act of murder I f he could practically .
contradict this by discovering a perf ectly rea s onable and per

,
f ec t ly probable motive his end would be gained ,

Those .
hi qu i ri es which I had pledged myself to pursuethose in .
i r i es which might at any moment take a turn that d i rectly

q u , ,
concerned him would in that case be s uccessful ly di ve rted

, ,
from the right to t h e wrong person Th e innocent maid .
w ould set my strictest scrutiny at dea n ce 3an d Dexte r w oul d
b e saf ely s hielded behi nd her .

N E M ES I S AT LAS T ! 353
I determined t o g ive h i m time .
. Not a word pa s sed

my lips .
Th e minutes followed each o ther I waited in the deepest .
anxiety It was a trying and a critical moment I f he suc

. .
c eeded in inventing a probable motive and in shapin g it ,
neatly to suit the purpose of his s tory he would prove by , ,
that act alone that there were reserves of mental power

,
still lef t in him which the practised eye of the S cotch

,
doctor had f ailed to see But the question was would .
he do it ?
He did it ! Not in a new way 3 n ot in a convincing way 3
not without a pain fully evident e or t S till well done or ill

-
.
, ,
done he found a motive for the maid

, .
Cunegonda he resumed takes from its place of conceal

,

,

ment in her bosom a written p aper and un f ol ds it Look , .
at this she says Dam ori de looks at the p aper and sin k s
,

.
,
a gain at her mistress s f eet in a paroxysm of horror an d

'
despair Cunegonda i s in possession of a shamef ul secret

.
f
in the maid s past li e Cunegon a can say to her Choose

d .
,
yo ur alternative Either submit to an exposure which dis

.
graces you and disgraces your parents f or ever or make up

,
-
,
your mind to obey Me D a m or i de might submit to the dis

.

r ac e i f it only a ff ected hersel f But her parents are honest

g .
people 3 she cannot disgrace her parents Sh e is driven to h er .
last re fugethere is no hope of melting the hard heart of

Cunegonda Her only resource is to r aise di fculties ; she
.
t ries t o show that there are obstacles between her an d t h e

crime . Madam ! m adam ! she cries how can I do i t , ,
when the nurse is there to see me ? Cunegonda answers

,
S ometimes the nurse sleeps 3 sometimes the nurse is away

.
Dam ori de still persists M ad am m adam ! the door is kept

.
l ocked and the nurse has got the key

, .
Th e key I instantly thought of the missi n g key at Glen

i nc h
. Had he thought of it too ? He certainly checked him
sel f as t h e w or d e s caped hi m I res olved to make the signal ! .
AA
I rested my elbow on the arm of my ch air an d played w ith ,
my ear ring Benj amin took ou t hi s pencil and arranged his

.
,
i oteb ook so that Ariel could not s ee what he was about i f

,
.
,
sh e happene d to look his way .
We waited until it pleased Mi ser r i mu s D exter to pro

,
seed . Th e interval w as a long on e His hand went u p .
again t o his f orehead A duller and dull er look was p alpable

.
ste aling over his eyes When he did speak it was not to g o.
,
on with t h e narrative but to put a question , .
Where did I leave o he asked

.
My hopes sank again as rapidly as they had risen I .
m anaged to answer him, however w i thout showing a ny ,
ch ange in my manner .
You le f t off I sai d where Dam or i de was speaking to

, ,
Cunegonda
Yes yes he interposed And what did she say .

Sh e said Th e door i s kept locked and the nurs e h as got
, ,
the
He instantly leaned f or ward in his chair .

No he answere d vehemently You t e w r ong K ey ? ,

.

.
Nonsense I never said K ey .

I thought you did Mr Dexter , . .

I never did ! I said s omething els e ; and you h ave for
gotten it .

I re frained from disputing with him in fear of what might ,
follow We waited again Benjamin sullenly s ubmitting t o

. .
,
my caprices had taken down the questions and answers that

,
had passed between Dexter and myself He still mech anically .
kept his page open and still held his pencil in r eadiness to g o
,
on . Ariel quietly s ubmitting to the drowsy inuence of t h e

,
w ine w hile Dexter s voice was in her ea rs f elt uneasil y t h e

change to silence Sh e glanced round her r estle s sly 3 sh e

.
lifted her eyes to the Master .

Thre he s at sile nt with hi s hand to hi s head stil l

, , ,
st r uggli ng t o m ar sha l hi s wandering thou ght s ; s till t ryin g

N E M ES I S A T LAS T ! 35 ?
to s ee l ight through the darkn es s that w as clos ing r oun d

hi m .

Ma s ter ! cried Ariel piteou s ly, what s become of the ,

story
He started as if she had awakened him out of a sleep he

shook hi s head i mpatiently as though he wanted to throw off ,
some oppression that weighed upon it .
Patience ! patience ! he said Th e s to ry is going on

.
again .

He dashed at it desperately : he picked up the rst lost

thread that fel l in his way reckles s w hether it wa s the ri ght ,
thread or the wrong one .
Damori de fell on her knee s Sh e burst into tears Sh e . .
said
He stopped and looked about hi m with vacant eyes

,
.

What name did I give the other w oman ? he ask ed 3 not
putting the question to me or to either o f my companions ,
aski ng it of himself or ask i n g it of the empty a i r

, .
You called the other woman Cunegonda I said

.
, ,
At the sound of my voice hi s eyes turned slowly tu rned ,
on me and yet failed to look at me

,
Dull and absent still .
,
a n d changeless they were ey es that seemed to be xed on

,
something far away Even his voice was altered when he .
spoke next It had dropped to a quiet vacant monotonou s

.
, ,
tone I had heard something like it while I was watchi ng by my

.
husband s bedside at the time of his delir iu m when Eustace s

,
mind appeared to be too weary to follo w his speech Was .
t h e end so near as this ?

I cal led her C unegonda he repeated
An d I called the , .
other
He stopped once more .
And you call ed the other Damori de I sai d

,

.
Ar iel looked up at hi m with a broad stare of be w ilderment .
Sh e pul led impatien tly at t h e s leev e of his jacket, to attrac t

hi s n ot i ce .
Is thi s t h e story Mas ter ? s he as ked ,

.
He answered without looking at her ; his ch an gele ss eye s

st i ll xed as it seemed on somethin g f ar away
, ,
.
This is the story he said absently But why Cun e

.
, ,

gonda ? why Dam ori de Why not Mistress and Maid ? I t s
easier to remember Mi s tress and Maid
He hesitated he shi vered as he tried to rais e him s elf in

hi s chair Then he seemed to rally
. What did the Maid .

say to the Mistress ? he muttered
What ? what ? what ?

.
He hesitated again Then somethin g seemed to dawn upon .

,
him unexpectedly Wa s it some new thou ght that had struck

, .
him ? O r some lost thought that he had recovered ? I mpos

sible to say ! He went on suddenly an d rapidly went on, in ,
these strange words .

Th e letter Th e Maid said .

Th e letter O h my ,
.

,
heart ! Every word a d agger A dagger in my heart O h . .

,

you letter Horrible horri ble horrible letter
.
, ,
.
What in God s name was he talking about ? What di d

,

,
those words mean ?

Was he unconsciously pursuing his f aint and frag mentary
r ecollections of a past time at G l en i n c h under the delusion
.
,
that he was going on with the story ? In the wreck of the

other f aculties was memory t h e last to sink ? Wa s the truth
, ,
the dreadful truth glimmering on me di mly through the , ,
aw f ul shadow cast bef ore it by the advanci n g eclipse of the

brai n ? My breath fai led me 3 a nameles s horror crept thr o ugh
my w hole being .
Benjamin with hi s penci l in hi s hand cast one warnin g

, ,
l ook at me Ariel was quiet and satised

. Go on Mas t er .
, ,

w as all she said I like it ! I like it ! Go on with the

.
sto ry

He w ent oulike a man sleepi ng with hi s eye s open and

.
talking in hi s s leep .
The Maid s aid t o the Mistre ss N o the Mistre s s said to .
th e M aid The Mi s tre ss s aid, Sho w hi m the l ette r

. M ust, .
NEMESIS A T LAS T ! 35 7
must, mu st
No

do it Th e Maid s aid
. Mu s t n t do it ,
.
,
Nonsense

Sh an t s how it Stuff Let him su er We can
'
. . . .
get h i m off Show it ? N0 Let the worst come to the

. .
w or s t
. Show it then Th e Mistress said . He pause d

,
and waved his hand rapidly to and f r o be f ore hi s eyes as i f ,
he was brushing away some visionary con f usion or entangle

ment . Which w a s it last ? he said

Mistress or Maid ?
,
Mistres s ? No Maid speaks of cours e Loud Positive

.
, . . .
You scoundrels K eep away from that table Th e Diary 8

. .

there Number Nine Cal dersh aw s Ask f or Dandie You

.
, . .

shan t have the Diary A secret in your ear Th e Diary
. .
will hang him I won t have him hanged How dare y ou

.

.
touch my chair ? My chair is Me ? How d a re you touch

Me
Th e last words burst on me like a gleam of light ! I had
read them in the R eport of the Trial i n the evidence of
the sheri ff s oi c er Mi ser r i m u s Dexter had spoke n in those

.
very terms when he had tried vainly to prevent the men from
,
sei z in g my husband s p a pers and when the men had pushed

his chair out of the room There was no doubt now of what .
his memory w as busy with Th e mystery at G l eni n c h ! His .
last backward ight of thought circled f eebly and more feebly , ,
n earer and nearer to the mystery at Gl en i n c h '
Ar iel roused him ag ain Sh e had no mercy on him ; she .
insisted on hearing the whole story .
Why do you stop Master ? Get along with it get alon g

,
with it ! Tel l us quick what did the Missus say to the

Maid
He laughed feebly and tried to imitate her , .
What did the Missus say to the Maid ? he repeated Hi s

.
laugh died away He went on speaking more and more vacantly

.
, ,
m ore and more r a pi dly Th e Mistress said to the Maid .

,

We ve got hi m off What about the letter ? Burn it n ow

. .
N0 r e in the grate No matches in the box

. House topsy .
t ur vy . Servan t s al l g o n e Tear it up Shake it u p in t he . .

basket Al ong with the rest S h ake it up Wa s te paper,

. . .
Throw it away Gone for ever O h Sara, S ara, S ar a Gon e

. .
, .
f or
Ariel clapped her hands and mimicked him in her turn , ,
.
"
O h S ara Sa ra Sara she repeated
, , , Gone for ever ,

. .
That s prime M aster Tell us who wa s S ara ?

,
His l ips moved But hi s voice sank s o low that I coul d

.
b arely hear him He began again with the old mela ncholy
.
,
ref rain .
v
Th e Maid said to the Mistress No the Mistres s said t o .
the M aid He st epped abruptly and rai sed hi mself

erect in the chair ; he threw up both his hand s above hi s

head ; and bur s t into a fright ful screaming laugh Aha h a .
-
ha ha

How funny ! Why don t you laugh ? Funny

,
funny funny f unny Ah a h a ha h ah a

, , .
-
He fell back in the chair Th e shril l and dread ful laugh .
died a w ay into a low s ob Then there wa s on e lo n g deep .

, ,
wearil y draw n breath Then nothing but a mute vacant fa ce

-
.
,
turned up to the ceiling with eyes that looked bli ndl y with
, ,
lips parted in a senseless changeless grin Nemesis at last ' ,

.
Th e f oretold doom had f a llen on him Th e night had come . .
But one feeling animated me w hen the rst s hock was ,
over Even the horror o f that fearf ul sight seemed onl y to

.
increase the pity th at I felt for the stricken wretch I s tarted .
impulsively to my feet S eeing nothing thinking o f nothing

.
, ,
but the helpless gure in the chair I s pran g for w ard to raise ,
him to revive him to recall him (i f such a thi n g might be

possible ) to himsel f At the rst s tep that I took I felt
.
,
hand s on me I was violently drawn back Are you blind ?

c ried Benjamin dragging me nearer and n earer to the door

,
.
Look there
He pointed and I looked .
A riel had been be forehand w ith me Sh e had raised her .
ma ster in the chair ; she had got on e arm r ou n d hi m In h er .

NE M ES IS A T LAS T ! 359
free hand s he bran di shed an Indian club torn f rom a troph y ,

of O riental weap ons that ornamented the w all over the r e

place Th e creature was t r ansg ur ed Her dull eyes glared
.
li ke the eyes of a wild animal Sh e gnashed her teeth in the .
f ren z y tha t possessed her You have done this ! she shouted
.
to me w aving the club furiously round and round over her

,
head . Come near him 3 and I ll dash your brains ou t ! I 11

mash you t ill there s not a whole bon e le f t in your skin !
Benjamin still holding me with on e han d opened the door

, ,
with the other I let him do with me a s he would 3 Ariel

.
f ascinated me 3 I could look at nothing but Ariel Her f ren z y .
va nished as she sa w us retreating Sh e dropped the club : .
she threw both arms round him and nestled her head on h i s ,
bosom and sobbed and wept over him

,
Master ! Master ! .

They shan t vex you any more Look u p ag ain Laugh at

. .

Ariel 3 you re a fool

me as you used to do S ay . Be ,

.
like yoursel f ag ain I was f orced into the next room I h ear d .
a long low wailing cry of misery f rom a poor creature who

, ,
loved hi m with a dog s delity and a woman s devotion Th e

.
heavy door was closed between us I was in the quiet ante .
chamber 3 crying over that piteou s sight 3 clinging to my

kind ol d f riend as helpless and as useless as a child
, .
Benj amin turned the key in the lock .

There s no u se in crying about it he said quietly It

, .
would be more to the purpose Valeria i f you tha nked God , ,
that you have got ou t of that room safe and sound Come , .

w ith me .
He took the key out of the lock an d led me downstairs ,
into the hall A f ter a little consideration he O pened the

.
,
f ront door of the hous e Th e garde n er wa s s til l qui etly at

.
work in the groun ds .

Your master is take n ill Benjamin said 3 and the woma n ,

who attends upon him has lost her head i f she ever had a
head t o lose Where does th e nearest doctor live ?
.

Th e man s devotio n t o Dexte r s ho w ed itself as the w om an s

360 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y
'
.
devotion had shown itselfi n the man s r ough

w ay . He
threw down the spade with an oath , .
Th e Master taken bad ? he said I ll fetch the doctor

.

.
I shall nd him sooner than you will .

Tell the doctor to bring a man with hi m Benjami n ,

a dded He may want help

. .
Th e gardener turned round sternly .
I m the man he said N obody shall help but me

.
, .
He le f t us I sat down on one of the chairs in the ha ll

.
,
an d did my best to compose mysel f Benjamin walked to a n d .
f r o deep in thought
, Both of them f ond of him I heard
.
,

my ol d friend say to himself Hal f monkey half manand .

,
both of them f ond of hi m Th a t beats me . .

Th e ga rdener returned with the doctor a q uiet dark r e , ,

~
solute man Benjamin advanced to meet them

. I have got .
the key he said S hall I go upstairs with you ?

,

.

Without answeri n g the doctor drew Benjami n as ide into a

,
corner of the hall Th e t w o talked together i n l ow voices

. .
At the end of it the doctor said Give me the key You c an

, , .
be of no use 3 you will only irritate her .

With those words he beckoned to the gardener He wa s , .
about to lead the w ay up the st airs when I ventured to s top him , .
May I stay in the hall Si r I said I am very anxiou s , .

to hear how it ends .
He loo k ed at me for a moment before he replied .
You had better go home Madam he said Is t h e , ,

.

gardener acquainted with your addre s s ?
Yes, Si r

.

well I will let you know how it ends by mean s
V ery .
,

of the gardener Take my advice Go home
. . .
Benjamin placed my arm in his I looked back and saw .

,
the doctor and the gardener ascending the s tair s together on ,
their way to the locked up room -

.
Never mind the doctor I I whispered Let s w ait i n t h e

.
g arde n .
M R P LA YM ORE
. IN A NE W CH ARA CTE R .
36 !
Benjami n would not hear o f deceiving the doctor I me a n .
to take you home he said I looked at him in amaz ement

,

. .
My ol d friend who w as all meekness and submission so long

, ,
as there was no emergency to try him now showed the ,
dormant reserve of manly spirit and decision in his nature as ,
he had never (in m y experience ) shown it yet He led me .
into the garden We had kept ou r cab : it wa s waiting for

.
us at the g ate .
O n our way home Benjamin produced his note book

,
-
.

What s to be done my dear with the gibberish t h at l

, ,
have written here ? he said .
Have you written it all down ? I a sked in surprise

, .
When I undertake a duty I do it he answered You

.
,
never gave me the signal to leave off you never moved your
chair I have written every word of it What shall I do ?
. .
Throw it ou t o f the cab window -

Give it to me !

What are you goi n g to do with it ?

I don t kno w yet

I will ask Mr Pl aymore . . .

CHAPTER XLI .
MR . P LAY M OR E I N A N EW C HAR AC TER .
BY that night s pos t although I was far from being t t o

make the exertion I w rote to Mr Pl aym or e to tell hi m .

,
what had taken place and to beg f or his earliest assistanc e

,
an d advice .
Th e notes i n Benjami n s book were partly written in short

h and and were on that account of no use to me in thei r

, , ,
exi sting condi tion At my request he made t w o fair copies

.
, .
O ne of the copie s I enclosed in my letter to Mr Pl aymor e . .
Th e other I laid by me, on my bed side table wh en I went to

r es t.
35 2 TH E LA W AN D TH E LAD r .
O ver and over again thro u gh the long hours o f the wake
,
.
ful night I read and r e read the last words which had
,
-
dropped from Mi ser r i m us D exter s l ips Was it possibl e to .
interpret them to any usef ul purpose ? At the very outset ,
they seemed to set interpretation at dean e Af ter tryin g c .
vainly to solve the hopeless problem I did at last what I ,
might as well have done at r st I threw down the paper in

despair Where were my brig ht visions of discovery and
.
success n ow ? S cattere d to the winds ! Wa s there the

faintest chance of the stricken m an s return to reason ? I
remembered too well what I had seen to hope f or it Th e .
c l osing lines of the medical report which I had read in Mr .

Pl aym or e s o fce recurred to my memory in the still n es s of ,
the night When the catastrophe has happened his f rien ds

.
,
c an entertain no hope of hi s cure the balance once lost will ,
be lost f or li fe .

Th e con firmation of that terrible sentence was not long in

re achi n g me Th e next morning the gardener brought a
.
note containing the in f ormation which the doctor had pro

,
mi sed to give me on the previous day .
Mi ser r i m u s Dexter an d Ariel were still where Benj amin

and I had lef t them together i n the long room They were .
watched by skilled attendants 3 wai t ing t h e decision of

Dexter s nearest rel a tive (a younger brother) w h o lived in the ,
country and who h ad been communic ated with by teleg ra ph

, .
It h a d been f o und impossible to part the f aithf ul Ariel f rom

her Master without using t h e bodi l y restraints adopted i n
,
cases of raging insanity Th e doctor an d the gardener (both

.
unusual l y stro n g men ) h ad f ailed to hold the poor creature ,
when they rst a ttempted to remove her on entering the

room Directl y they permitted her to return to her Master
.
,
the fren z y va nished she was perf ectly quiet and contented ,
so long as they let her sit a t h i s feet and look at hi m .
S ad as this was the report of Mi ser r i mus Dexter s condi

tion was more mel ancholy still .

M R P LA YM ORE I N A NE W CH AAACTER
. .
363
'

My p atient is in a state of absolute im b ecility those
-
w ere the word s i n the doctor s letter 3 and the gardener s

simple narrative conrme d the m as the truest words th at

could have been used Dexter was unconscious of poor Ar iel s
.

devotion to himh e did not even appe ar to know that she

was present in t h e room For hours together he remained .
,
in a state of utter lethargy in his ch air He showed a n .
anim al interest in his meals and a gree dy anima l enjoyment ,
of e ating and drinking a s much as he co uld g et and th at

was all This morni n g the hon est gardener s aid to me at
.
, ,
parting we thought he seemed to wake up a bit Looked

,

.
about him you know a n d made queer signs with his hands
, ,
.
I couldn t mak e out what he meant 3 n o more could the

doctor S h e k ne w poor thing she did

. Went and got h i m
, .
his h arp and put his h a nd up to it Lord bless you no use !

, .
,
He couldn t play no more than I can Twan ged at it any

, .
h ow and grinned and gabbled to hi msel f

, No he 11 never .

come right again An y person c a n see that wi t hout the

.
,
doctor to help em Enj oy s his meals as I told you 3 and

.
,
that s all It would be the best thing that could happen i f

.
,
it would please God to take hi m There s no more to be .

sai d I wish you good morni n g Ma am
. .
,
He went away with the tears in hi s eyes ; and lef t me I ,
ow n it w ith the tears in mine

, .
A n hour later there came some news which revived me I

, .
r eceived a telegram f rom Mr Pl aym or e expressed in these .

,
welcome words O bli ged to go to London by to night s mail -

train Expect me to breakf ast to morro w morning

.
-
.

Th e appearance o f the lawyer at ou r break f ast table duly -
followed the appearance of his telegram H i s r s t words .
cheered me To my innite surprise a n d relief he was f ar

.
,
f rom sha rin g the despondent view which I took of my posi

t ion .

I don t deny, he said, that there are s ome s eri ous obsta
r
cles in your way But I should never have called her e be fo re

.
I attend to my prof essional business in London i f Mr Be n , .

jamin s n otes had not produced a very strong impression on
my min d For the r st time as I thinkyou really ha ve a
.
,
prospect of success For the rst time I fe l j ustied in

.
,
e
o ffering (under certain restrictions) to help you That miser .
able wretch i n the collapse of hi s intelligence, has done what

,
he would n ever have done in the possession of his sen s e and

cunning h e has let u s see the rst preciou s glimmeri n gs of

the light of truth .

Are you sure it i s the truth ? I asked
.

In t w o important particulars he answered I kno w it to ,

,
be the truth Your idea about him is the right on e His

. .
memory (as you suppose) was the least inj ured of his f acul
ties and was the last to give way under the strain of trying
, ,
to tell that story I believe hi s memory to have been speak

.
ing to you (unconsciously to hi mself ) in all that he said

from the moment when the rs t ref erence to the letter

escaped him to the end , .
But what does the re ference to the letter mean ? I asked

.
For my part I am entirely in the dark about it

,
.

So am I he answered frankly
, Th e chie f on e among , .

the obstacles which I mentioned j ust now is the obstacle pre ,

sented by that same letter Th e late Mrs Eustace must

. .
have been connected w ith it in some way or Dexter would

never have spoken of i t a s a d agger in his heart ; Dexter
would never have coupled her name with the words which
describe the tearing up of the letter and the throwing of it ,
away I c an arrive with some certainty at this result and I

.
,
c a n get n o further I have no more idea than you have of

.
w h o wrote the letter or of what was written in it , If w e .
are ever to m ake that discovery probably the most i mmr t an t

discove r y of all w e must despatch ou r rst inquirie s a dis
tance of three thous an d mil e s I n plai n Eng li sh, my dear .

lady, w e must s end to Americ a .
MR . P LA YA! ORE I N A N E W CHARA CTER .
365
Thi s ,
took me completely by surpri s e I
n at ur all y enoug h , .
w aited eagerly to hear why we were to send to America .

It rest s with you he proceeded when you hear what I
,

,

have to tell you to say whether you will go to the expense of

,
sendi ng a man to New York or not I can nd the ri g ht , .
man for the purpose 3 and I estimate the expen s e (including

a telegram
)

Never mind the expense I interposed losing all ,
patience with the eminently S cotch view of the case

which put my purse in the rst place of importance I .
don t c are f or the expense 3 I want to kno w what you have

discovered .

He smiled Sh e doe s n t care for the expense he said to

.
,
himself pleasantly
,
How li ke a woman .
I might have retorted He thinks o f the expense be f ore ,

,
'
he thinks of anything else How like a S cotchman As it.
was I was too anxious to be witty I only drummed impa

,
.
t i en t l y with my n gers on the table 3 and said Tel l me ! ,

tell me

He took ou t the fair copy f rom Benj amin s n ote book -
,
w hich I had sent to hi m and showed me these among D exter s

closing words What about the letter ? Burn it now No .
r e in the grate N0 matches in the b ox

. House topsy .
turvy S erva nts all gone

. .

Do you re al ly understand what those word s mean ? I
aske d .

I look back into my ow n experience he ans w ered 3 and ,

I understand per f ectly what the words mean .

And can you m ake me underst and them too ?
Ea sily In those incomprehensible sentences D exter 3
.
,
memory has correctly recalled certain f acts I have only t o .
tell you the f a cts ; and you wil l be as wise as I am At t h e .
time of the Tr ial your husband surprised and di stre s sed m e

,
by i nsisti n g on the instant dismissal of all the household ser

vent s at Gl eni n ch I w as i ns tructed to pay them a q uarter s
.
366 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y:
w age s in advance ; to give them the excell ent wr itte n charac

ters which their good conduct thoroughl y deser ved and t o ,

s ee the house clear of them at an hour s n otice Eustace s .

motive for t hi s summa ry proceedi n g was much the same

motive which animated his conduct towards you I f I am .

ever to return to G l eni n c h he said I cannot face my
, ,
honest servants after the in f amy of having stood my tri al f or

,
murder
There was his reason
. Nothing that I could say
to him poor fellow shook hi s resolution I dismissed the
, , .
s ervants accordingly At an hour s notice they quitted the

.

house leavi n g their work f or the day all undone Th e only

, .
persons placed in charge of Gl en i n ch were person s who lived

on the outskirts of the park that is to say the lodge keepe r ,
-
and hi s wi fe and dau ghter O n the last day o f the Trial 1

.
,
instructed the daughter to do her best to m ake the rooms

tidy Sh e wa s a good girl enough ; but she had no ex peri
.
ence as a housemaid : it woul d never enter her he ad to l ay

the bedroom res ready f or lighting or to replenish the empty ,
match boxes Those chance words that dropped f rom Dexter

-
.
woul d no doubt exactly describe the state of his room when

, , ,
he returned to G l en i n ch with the prisoner and his mother

, ,
f rom Edinburg h That he tore up the mysterious let ter i n

.
his bedroom and (ndi n g no means immediately at hand for

,
burning it ) that he threw t h e f ragments into the emp ty grate ,
or into the w a ste paper basket seems to be the most reason

-
able conclusion that we c an draw f rom what we know I n .
any case he would not have much time to think about

,
it Everything was done in a hurry on that day Eusta ce

. .
and his mother accompanied by D exter left for England t h e

, ,
same evening by the night train I myself locked u p the -

.
house and gave the keys to the lodge keeper It was under
,
-
.
stood that he was to lo ok after the preservation of the recep

tion rooms on the ground oor 3 and that hi s w ife and
-
daughter were to perf o rm the s a me ser vice between them in , ,
th e r oom s u ps tair s O n r ec eivi n g you r letter, I drove at one.

.
M R P L A YZl/ ORE I N A N E W CHARACTER
.
'
.
35 7
to Gl eni nch to question the ol d w oman on the subject of t h e

,

bedrooms and of Dexter s room especially Sh e r emembered
, .
the time when the house was shut up by a s sociating it with ,
the time when she was conne d to her bed by an attack of

sciatica Sh e had not crossed the lodge door she was sure,
.
-
f or at least a week (i f not longer) a f ter G l eni n c h had bee n

lef t in charge of her husband and hers elf Whatever was .
done in the way of keeping the bedrooms aired and t idy ,
during her illness was done by her daughter Sh e and sh e

, .
,
only must have disposed of any litter which might have been
,
lying about in D exter s room Not a vestige of torn p aper

.
,
as I can mysel f certi fy is to be discovered in any part of the,
r oom n o w
, Where did the girl nd the fragments of the
.
tter ? and what did she do with them ? Those are t h e

questions (i f you approve of it) which we must s end thr e e
thousand miles a w ay to ask f or this su fcient reason t hat ,
the lodge keeper s daughter was m a rried more th an a year

-

since and that she is settled with her husband in business at

,
New York It rests with you to decide what is to be done

. .
Don t let me mislead y ou with false hopes ! Don t let me

tempt you t o throw away your money Even i f this woman

does remember what she di d with the torn paper the chances , ,
at this distance of time are enormously against ou r ever ,
recovering a single morsel of it Be in no haste to decide . .
I have my work to do in the CityI can give you the whole

day to think it over .

S end the man to New York by the next steamer I s aid

.
,
There is my de zision Mr Pl aym or e without keepin g you , .

,
waiti n g f or it
He s hook his head in grave disapproval of my impe ,
t u osi t y I n my f ormer i nterview with him we had never once

.
,
touched on the question of money I was now for the rst .

,
tim e to make ac quaintance w ith Mr Pl aym or e on the purely

, .
S cotch side of his character !

Why y ou don t eve n know w hat i t w ill cos t you he ex
.

cl aimed, tak ing ou t hi s pocket book with the ai r of a man -
wh o was equall y startled and scandali s ed

Wait till I tot i t .

up ,
he said in English and American money
,

.

I can t wait ! I want to make more discoveries !

He took no n otice of my interruption : he went on i m

penetrably with his calculations .
Th e m an will go second clas s and will take a return -
ticket Very well ! His ticket includes his f ood 3 and (being
.
,
thank God a teetotaller) he won t waste you? m oney in buying

,

liquor on board Arrived at New York he will go to a cheap

.
,
German house where he will a s I am credibly in f orme d be

, , ,
boarded and lodged at the rate

By this time (my patience bei n g completely worn ou t )
I had taken my cheque book from the ta ble drawer ; had - -
signed my name 3 and had handed the blank cheque across

the table to my legal adviser .
"

Fill it in with whatever the man w an t s I said
And ,
.
f or Heaven s s ake let us get b a ck to Dexter !

Mr Pl aym or e f ell back in his chair and lifted his hands

.
,
and eyes to the ceiling I was not in the least impressed by .
that solemn appeal to the unseen powers of arithmetic an d

money I insisted positively on being fed with more i nf or
.
mation .
Listen to this I went on 3 r eading f rom Benjamin s notes

.
,
What did Dexter mean when he said Number Nine, , ,
Cal der sh aw s Ask for Dandie You shan t have the Diary
. .

.
A secret in your ear Th e Diary will han g him ? . How
c ame Dexter to know wh at was in my husb a nd s Diary ?
And what doe s he mean by Number Nine Cal der shaw s

, ,
a n d the rest of it ? Facts again

Fa cts again ! Mr Pl aym or e answered muddled up t o

.
,

gether as you may saybut positive f acts for all that

, .
Cal der sh aw s you must know is on e of the most disreputable

, ,
dist ricts in Edinburgh O n e o f my clerks (whom I am in t h e

.
hab i t of employing co n fi den tial l y) vol unteered to i n quire f or

MR . PLA YM ORE I N A N E W CH ARA CTE R .
369
.
Dandie at Number nine

It wa s a ticklish busine s s i n
.
, ,
eve r y way 3 and my man wisely took a person with him who
was known in the neighbourhood Number nine turned

.
ou t to be (ostensibly a s h 0p f or the sale o f rags and old iron 3

)
and Dandie was suspected of trading now and then addi

,
t i on all y as a receiver of stolen goods

,
Thanks to the .
i nuence of hi s companion backed by a bank note (whi ch can

,
-
be repaid by the way ou t of the fund f or the American ex

, ,
penses) my clerk succeeded in making the fellow speak Not

,
.
to trouble you with needless detai ls the result in substance ,
was this A fortnight or more bef ore the date of Mrs

. .
Eustace s death Dandie made two keys f rom w ax mo dels

,
suppli ed to him by a n ew customer Th e m ystery observed .

in the matter by the agent who managed it excited Dandie s ,
distrust He had the man privately watched bef ore he deli

.
vered the keys 3 and he ended in disc overing that his customer
wasMi serr i mu s Dexter Wait a little ! I have not done
.
yet Add to this in formation D exter s incomprehensible

.

knowledge of the contents of your husband s Di a ry 3 and the
product isthat the wax models sent to the old iron shop in
Cal der sh aw s were models taken by the thef t f rom the key of
,
the Diary and the key of the table drawer in wh ich it wa s -
kept I have my ow n idea of the revelations th at are still to

.
come i f thi s matter i s properly f ollowed up Never mind

, .
going into that at present Dexter (I tell you again ) is

,
.
answerable f or the late Mrs Eust a ce s de ath H ow he is .

.
answerable I believe y ou are in a f a ir way of nding ou t

,
.
And more than that I say now what I could not venture t o
,
say bef or e
, ,
i t is a duty towards J ustice as well as a duty to ,
wards your husband to bring the truth to li ght As f or the

, .
di fculties to be enco untered I don t think they need daunt ,

you . Th e greatest di fculties give way in the end when they ,
ar e attacked by the u n ited alliance of patience resolution , ,
a nd economy

.
With a stron g emph asis on the last w o r ds, my wo r thy

adviser mindful of the i ght of time and the claims of bu si

,
n ess ro s e to take hi s leave

, .
O ne word more I s aid as he held out h i s hand

,

Ca n
,
.
you manage to see Mi ser ri m u s D exter bef ore you go back to

Edinburgh ? From what the gardener told me his brother ,
must be with him by this time It would be a relief to me .
t o hear the latest news of h im and to hear it f rom you

.
,
It is part of my business in London to s ee him said Mr ,

.
Pl aym or e But mi nd ! I have no hope of his recovery

.
,
I only wish to s atisfy myself that hi s brother is able and will

ing to tak e care of him So f ar as w e ar e concerned Mrs . . .
Eustace that unhappy man has said his l a st words

,
.
He opened the door s topped COn si der ed and came

back to me .
With regard to that matter of s ending the a gent t o

America he resumed ,

I propose to have the honour of
.
submitting to you a brief abstrac t
O h Mr Pl aym or e !
, .
A brie f abstract in writing Mrs Eustace of the estimated , .

,
expenses of the whole proceeding You will be good enough .
maturely to consider the same ; making any remarks on i t ,
tending to economy which m ay suggest themselves to your

,
mind at the time And you wil l f ur th er oblige me i f you

.
,
approve of the abstract by yourself lling in the bl a nk spa ce

,
on your cheque with the nee df ul amount in words a nd gures .
No Madam
,
I r ea lly c annot ju s ti fy it to my conscience to
carry about my person any such loose an d reck less document
as a blank cheque There s a total disregard of the rst
.

claims of pr udence and economy implied in this small slip of

paper which is nothing less than a at contradiction of the
,
principle s that have governed my whole life I can t .
s ubmit to at contradiction Good morning Mrs Eustace .

,
.
g ood morning .

He laid my cheque on the table w ith a low bow and lef t ,
me . Among the curiou s developments of human stupidity

M ORE S URPR I SES .
37 :
whi choccas ionally pre s e n t themselves to view s urely the least ,
excusable i s the st upidity which to this day per s ist s in w on

, ,
dering w hy the Scotch s ucceed so w ell i n li fe
C HAP TER XLII .
M O RE S U R P RI S ES.
THE same evening I received my bstract by the hand s

a of a
clerk .
It was an intensely characteristic document My expense s .
were remorseless l y calculated down to shi llings and even to

pence 3 and our un f ortunate messenger s inst ructions in r e

spect of his expen diture were reduced to a nicety which must

,
have made hi s li f e in America nothing less tha n a burden to

him In mercy to the man I took the liberty when I wrote
.
, ,
b a ck to Mr Pl aymor e o f sli ghtly increa sing the in dicated

.
,
amount of the gures which were to appear on the cheque I .
ought to have better known the correspon de n t who m I had to

deal w ith Mr Pl aymor e s reply (in f orming me that ou r
. .

emissary had started on his voyage) returned a receipt in du e

form and the whole of the surplus money to the last f arthing ! ,
A few hurried lines accomp anied the abstract and state d ,

the result of the la wyer s visit to Mi ser r i mu s D exter

There was no change f or the better there was n o change

at all Mr Dexter (the brother) had arrived at the house
. .
,
a ccompanied by a me d i cal man accustomed to the charge o f

the insane Th e new doctor declined to give any deni t e
.
o pinion on the case until he had studie d it caref ully wi t h
plenty of time at his disposal It had been accordi n gly

.
arranged th at he should re m ove Mi ser r i mu s Dex t er t o the

a sylum of whi ch he w as the proprie t or as soon a s the prepa
,
r ations for receivi n g the patient could be completed Th e .
on e di fculty that s till remaine d to be met, related to t he di s

37 8 I H E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
posal of the faith f ul creature who had never left h er m aster,

n ight or day s ince the catastrophe had happened A riel had
, .
n o f riends and no money Th e propri etor of the asylum

,
.
c ould not be expected to receive her without the customary

payment 3 and Mr D exter s brother regretted to say that he
.
w as not rich enough to n d the money A forcible s epara

.
tion from the on e human being whom s he loved and a ,
removal in the character of a pauper to a public asylum

such was the prospect which awaited the unfortunate creature ,
u nless some on e inter fered in her f avour be f ore the end of
the week .
U nder these sad circumstances good Mr Pl aym or e pas s , .
i n g over the claims of economy in f avour of the clai m s of

humanity suggested that we shoul d privately star t a Sub
scription and o ff ered to he a d the list liberal ly himsel f
,
.
I must have written all these pages to very little purpos e,

i f it is necessary f or me to add that I instan t ly sent a letter t o
'
Mr D exter (the brother) u ndertaking to be answerable f or

.
whatever money was required while the s ubscriptions were ,
being collected and only stipul ating that when Mi ser r i m u s

,
D exter was removed to the asylum Ariel should accompany ,
hi m This was readily conceded

. But serious objections .
were raised when I further requested that she might be per

,
m i t t ed to attend on her master in the asylum a s she had ,
at t ended on him in the house Th e rules of the establishment.
f orbade it and the universal practice in such cases forbade it,

,
a n d so on and so on
,
However by dint of perseverance and
.
,
persuasion I so far carried my point as to gain a reasonable

,
concession During certain hour s in the day and under

.
,
c ert ain wise restrictions A riel was to b e allowed the privi lege
,
o f waiti n g on the Master in his room as well as of accompany ,

.
ing him when he was brought ou t in hi s chair to tak e the ai l

in the garden For the honour of humanity let me add that
.
, ,
the liabil ity which I had undertaken made no very seriou s

demands on my resource s

Placed i n Benjamin s c harge our
.
,
1V ORE S URP R I S ES .
37 3
s ubscriptio n li st p rospered Friends and eve n stranger s .

,
sometimes opened their hearts and their purse s when the

,
y
heard Ariel s melancholy story

Th e day which foll owed the day of Mr Pl aym or e s vi s it .

brought me news from Spain in a letter f rom my mother i n ,

-
l aw . To describe wha t I felt when I broke the seal an d , ,
read the rst lines is simply impossible Let Mrs Mac all an
, . .
be heard on thi s occasion in my place .
Thus she wrote

Prepare yoursel f my dearest Valeria for a delightful sur
, ,
e
prise Eustace has justied my condence i n hi m When

. .
he returns t o Engl and he returns if you will let hi mt o,
his wi f e .
This resolution let me haste n to assure you has n ot bee n

, ,
brought about by any persuasions of mine I t is the natural .

outgrowth of your husband s gratitude an d your husb a nd s
love Th e rst words he said to me when he was able t o

.
,

spe ak were these : If I live to return to England and i f I
, ,

go to Valeria do you think she will f orgive me ?
, We c an
only leave it to you my dear to give the answer I f you , ,
.
love us answer us by return of post

, .
Having now told you what he s ai d when I rst in f ormed ,
hi m that you had been his nurse and remember i f it seems ,
very little that he is still too we ak to speak except with

, ,
d i fc ul t
y I shall purposely k eep my letter b ac k f or a f e w
days My obj ect is to give hi m time to think and to fra n kl y
.
,
tell you of it i f the interval produces any change in hi s reso

,
l u t i on .

days have passed 3and there is n o change He h as
Three .
but one f eeling now h e longs f or the day which i s to unite

hi m aga in to his wif e .
But there is something else connected with Eu stace that ,
ou ought to know and that I ought to tell you

y , .
Greatly as time and suff ering have altered him in m any ,
r espects there i s no change

, Valeria in the aversion t h e , ,
h orror I may eve n saywith whi ch he vi ew s you r desi gn of

inquiring anew into the circu mst a nces which att ended t h e
lamentable death of hi s rst w i f e I dare not give hi m your
.
letter i f I touch on the subj ect I irritate and distress him

, .
Has she given up that idea ? Can you positively say sh e

has given up that idea ? O ver and over again he has put ,
those questions to m e I h ave answeredwhat else could I

.
do in the miserably feeble state in whi ch he s till li es

, I
have answered in such a manner as to soothe and satis fy him .
I have said R elieve your mind of all anxiety on tha t sub

,
j ec t Valeria has n o choice but to give up the idea 3 the

o bstacles in her way have proved to be insurmounta blethe
obst a cles have conquered her This if you remember w a s

.

, ,
wh a t I really believed would happen when you and I spok e

o f that pain f u l topic 3 and I have heard nothi n g f rom you
since which h as t en ded to s h ake my opinion in the smallest

degree I f I a m ri ght (as I pray God I may be) in the view
.
that I take you have only to conrm me in your reply and

, ,
all will be wel l In the other event that is t o say i f you

.
,
are still determin ed to persevere in your hopeless proj ect

then make u p your mind t o f ace the resul t S et Eust a ce s .

prej udices at deance in this p a rticul ar ; and you lose your

hold on hi s gratit u de his penitence a n d his love you will
, ,
~
in my beli ef n ever see him agai n

, .
I express myself strongly in your ow n interests my dear,

, ,
a n d for your ow n sake When you reply write a few lines to

.
,
Eustace enclosed in your letter to me

, .
As f or the d a te of ou r departure it is still impossib l e f or

,
m e t o g ive you any denite in f ormation Eu stace reco ver s .
very slowly : the doctor has not yet allowed him to leave hi s
b ed And when we do travel we must journey by easy
.
,
st ag es It will be at least s ix weeks at the earliest, be f or e

.
,
we ca n hope to be back again in dear O ld England .
Aec t i on at el y your s ,
CATHERI NE MA CALLAN

.
M ORE S URPR I S ES .
37 5
I laid do w n the letter, and did my best (vainly nough f or e
some time
) to compose my spirits To understand the posi .
tion in which I now f ound mysel f i t is only necessary to ,
r emember one circum s t ance Th e messenger to whom we .
had committed our in quiri es was at that moment crossing , ,
the Atlantic on his way to New York .
What was to be don e ?

I hesitated S hocking as it may s eem to some people I
.
,
hesitated There was really no need to hurry my decision I

. .
had the whole day bef ore me .
I went ou t and took a wretched lonely walk and turned

, ,
the matter over in my mind I came home again and turned .

,
the matter over once more by the reside To o en d a n d

'
.
,
repel my darling when he was returning to me p eniten t l y ,
returning of hi s ow n f ree will was what no woma n in my ,
position and f eeling as I did could under any earthly circum

, ,
stances have brought herself to do And yet on the other .

,
hand h ow in Heaven s nam e could I give u p my grand enter

, ,

,
prise at the very time when even wise and prudent M r Play
,
.
more saw su c h a prospect of s ucceeding in it that he had

actually volunteered to help me Placed between those two
cr uel alternatives whi ch coul d I choose ? Think of your own
,
f railties 3 and have some mercy on mine I turned my back .
on both the alternatives Those two agree a ble ends Pre

.
,
~
varication and Deceit took me a s it were softly by the hand :

,

Don t commit yourself either way my dear they said in

, , ,
their most persuasive m a nner Write just enough to com .
pose your mother i n law and to satisf y your husband You

- -
,
.

ha ve got time bef ore you Wait and see i f Time doesn t stand
.

you r f ri end and get you ou t of the di fc u l t y
,
.
Inf a mous advice ! And yet I took i t I who had been , ,
well brought up and who ought to have known better You

,
.
w h o read this shamef ul con f ession would have kno w n better ,

.
I am sure You are not included i n the Prayer Book ost o

.
,
v

go ry, amon g the miserable sinners .
l
Wel ! w ell ! let me have virtue enough to tell the truth .
I n writing t o my mother i n law I i nf ormed her that it had

- -
bee n found n ecessary to remove Mi serr i mus Dexter t o an

a s ylum and I le ft her to draw her ow n con clusion s from
that fact unenlightened by so much as on e word of additional
,
in f ormation I n the same way I told my husband a part of

.
,
the truth and no more I s aid I forgave him with all my

, .
heart and I did ! I said he had only to come to me and I ,
would receive hi m with open armsand so I would As for

the rest let me say wi th Hamlet : Th e rest is sil ence
, \
.
Having despatched my unworthy letters I f ound mysel f ,
growing restless and feeli n g the want of a chan ge I t would

, .
be necessary to wait at le a st eight or nine days bef ore we

could hope to hear by telegraph f rom N ew York I bade .
f a rewell f or a time to my dear and admirable Benjamin a n d ,
betook myself to my ol d home in the North at the V icarage ,
of my U ncle S tarkweather My j ourney to S pain to nurse

.
Eu st a ce had made my peace w ith m y worthy relatives ; we

had exchanged f riendly letters 3 and I had promised to be
their guest as soon as it was possible f or me to leave London .
.
I passed a quiet and (all things considered ) a happy time

, ,
amo n g the old scenes I visited once more the bank by the
.
river side where Eust ace and I had rst met I walked
, .
again on the la w n and loitered through the sh r ubbery those

,
f avourite haunts in which we had so o ften tal ked over ou r

troubles and so o ften forgotten them in a kiss How sadly
, .
a n d strangely had ou r l ives been parted sin ce that time !
How uncertain still wa s the fortune which the f uture had in

store f or us !
Th e associ a tions amid which I was now living had their ,
so f tening eff ect on m y heart their elevating inuence ove r ,
my mind I repro a ched mysel f bitterly reproached myself

.
, ,
f or not having written more f ul l y and f rankl y to Eustace .
Why had I hesit ated to sacrice to him my h Opes an d my

i nterest s in the coming investigation ? H e h ad not hesi
LAS T :
'
AT 37 7
t at ed, poor fellow h '
es rst thought w as th e thought of hi s

w if e !
I had pa ss ed a fortnight with my uncle and aunt before I ,
heard again from Mr Pl aymor e When a letter f rom him

. .
arrived at last it disappointed me indescribably A telegram

,
.
f ro m our messe n ger in formed us that the lodge k eeper s

-
dau ghter and her husband had lef t New York, and that he
was still in search of a trace of them .
There was nothing t o be done but to wait a s patiently as

we coul d on the chance of hearing better new s I remained
, .
in the North by Mr Pl aym or e s advice so as to be within

, .

a n easy j ourney to Ed i nburgh i n case it might be necess ary

f or me to c onsul t hi m person ally Three more weeks of .
weary expectation passed bef ore a second letter reached me, .
This time it was impossible to say whether the news was

good or bad It might have been either i t was simply
.
bewildering Even Mr Pl aym or e himself was taken by sur

. .
prise These were the last wonderf ul words limited of

.
course by considerations of economy which reached u s (by

telegram ) from ou r agent in America
Op en the dust /reap at G l en i nck .

CHAP TER XLI I L

AT LAS T
MY letter from Mr Pl aym or e, enclosi n g t h e agent s extra

.
ordinary telegram was n ot inspired by the san guin e view of

,
ou r prospects which he had expressed to me when we met at

Benjamin s house .
If the telegram mea ns anything, he wrote it means tha t

,
th e f ragments o f the torn letter have been cast into the house
maid s bucket (along w ith the dust, the ashes and the rest of

t h e l itte r in the r oom) , and have been emptied on the dust

378 TH E LA W AND TH E LAD x .
heap at Gl eni n ch Since thi s was done the accum ul at e d

.
,
ref use collected from the periodical cleansings of t h e house,

during a term of nearly three years including of course, ,
the ashes f rom the res kept bu rning for the grea ter pa rt of ,
the year i n the library and picture gallery have been poured
,
upon the heap and have buried the precious morsels of paper
,
deeper and deeper day by day Even i f we h ave a f a i r

, .
chance of nding these f ragments what h epe can we feel at , ,
this distance of time of recovering the m with the wr iting i n

,
a state of pres ervation ? I shall be glad to hear by return of ,
post i f possible how the mat ter strikes you I f you coul d
, ,
.
make it convenient to consult with me personall y in Edin

burgh we should save time when time m ay be of seriou s
, ,
importance to us While you are at Doctor S tarkweat her s

.

,

you are withi n easy reach of this place Please think of it . .
I thought of it seriously enough Th e foremost question .
which I had to consi der was the question of my husband .
Th e dep arture of the mother an d son f rom Spa in had been so

long delay ed by the surgeon s orders that the travellers h ad
,

only advanced on their homeward j ourney as f ar as Bordea ux ,
when I h ad last he ard f rom Mrs Ma c all an three or f our days .
since Allowing f or an interva l of repose at B orde aux a n d

.
,
for the slow rate at which they would be compel led t o move
a f terw a r ds I m i ght still expect t he m to a rrive in Engl a nd
,
some time bef ore a le t t er f rom t h e age n t in America could
r ea ch Mr Pl aym or e. How in this posi t ion of a ff air s I could

.
, ,
contrive to j oin the lawy er in Edinburgh af ter meeting my ,
husband in London it was not e a sy to see Th e wise w ay , .
and the right w ay as I thought w as to tell Mr Pl aym or e

, ,
.
frankly th at I was not mistress o f my o w n movements and ,
t h at he had better address his next letter to me at Benj a min s

house .
Writing t o my legal adviser in this sense I had a word of ,
my ow n to add about the dust heap and the torn letter

,
-
.
In the last y ear s of my father s l i fe I h a d travelled with

A T LAS T ! 37 g
hi m i n Italy 3 and I had seen in the Museu m at Napl es t h e

w onderful r elics of a bygone time discovered among the r uin s
of Pompeii By way of encouraging Mr Playm or e I now
. .
,
r emi nded h i m that the eruption whi ch ha d ov e rwhelmed t h e
to w n h ad prese r ved f or more than sixteen hundred y ears

, ,
suc h pe ri sh able th ings as the straw in which pottery had been
packed ; the paintings on house walls 3 the dresses worn by

the inhabitants ; and (most noticeable of all in our ca se) a ,
piece of ancient p aper still attached t o the volcanic ashe s

,
w hich had fall en over it If these di scoveries had been m ade

.
a f ter a lapse of sixteen centuries under a layer of dust and

,
ashes on a large sc al e surely we might hepe to meet wi th

,
si mil ar cases of preservation a f ter a lapse of three or f our

,
y ears only under

,
a l ayer of dust and ashes on a small sc al e ?
Takin g f or granted (what w as perhaps doubtf ul enough) that

t h e f ragments of the letter could be recovered my o w n con ,
vi c t i on was that the writing on them though it might b e

,
faded wo ul d certainly sti l l be legible Th e very a ccumulations

, .
which Mr Pl aymor e deplore d would be the means of pre

.
serving them from the rain and the damp With these modest .
hints I closed my letter 3 and thus f or once than k s to my ,
Continental experience I w as a ble to instruct m y lawyer

,
Another day p assed 3 an d I he ard not hin g of the t ravellers .
I began to f eel anxious I m a de my preparations f or the

.
journey s outhward over night ; and I resolved to sta rt f or

,
London the next day unless I heard of some change in

Mrs Mac al l an s travell i n g arran gements in the interval
.

.
Th e post of the next morni ng decided my course of action .
It brought me a letter f rom my m ot h er i n l a w which adde d -
o ne more to the memorable d a tes in my domestic c a lend ar .
Eusta ce and his mother had advanced a s far a s Pa ris on

t heir homewar d j ourney when a cruel disaster h a d be fallen
,
t hem Th e f atig ues of travel l ing and the excitement of h is

.
,
a nticipated meeting w ith me had proved together to be t oo

,
mu h f or my hu sba n d He had held out a s far as Pari s w ith

c
.
t he greatest di fculty 3 and he wa s now con ned to hi s b ed

again s t ruck down by a relapse Th e doctors thi s time
,
.
, ,
had no fear for his li f e ; provided that hi s patience would

support hi m through a lengthened period of the most absolute
repose .
It now rests with you Valeria Mrs Mac al l an wrote to

, ,

.
,

forti fy and com f ort Eustace under thi s new calamity D o .
not suppose that he has ever bla m ed or thought of bl a ming , ,
ou f or leaving h i m in Spain when the surgeon had pro

y , ,
n ou n c ed hi m to be out of danger It was I who lef t her

.
,
.

he said to me when we rst t alked about it; and it is m y
,
wi f e s right to expec t that I should go back to her

Those .

w ere his words my dear 3 and he ha s done all he can t o a bide

,
by them Helpless in his bed he n ow asks you to take the

.
,
will f or the deed and to j oin him in Paris I thi nk I know

, .
you well enough m y c hi ld to be sure that you will do this

, ,
and I need only add on e word of caution be fore I close my ,
letter Avoid all ref erence not only to the Trial (you will do
.
,
that of your ow n accord) but eve n to ou r house at G l eni nc h

,
.
You will understand how he feels in his present state of ,
nervous depression when I tell you that I should never have

,
ventured on asking you to j oin him here if your letter had ,
not in formed me that your visits to D exter were at an end .
Would you believe it his horror of anything which recalls

our past troubles is still so vivid that he has actually asked ,
me to give my consent to s elling G l en i n c h

So Eustace s mother wrote of him But she had not trusted

.
entirely to her own powers o f persuasion A slip of paper .
w a s enclosed in her letter containing these two lines traced

, ,
in pencil oh, s o feebly and so wearily b y my poor darling

himsel f I am too weak to travel any f arther Valeri a ,
.
Will you come to me and f orgive me ? A f ew pencil mark s -
followed 3 but they were ill egible Th e writing of those t w o.
short sen tences ha d exhausted him
It is not s aying muc h for myself I kno wbut having com

.
,
O UR N E W HONE YM OON .
33
fessed it w hen I was wrong let me at least record it when 1

,
did what wa s right I decided instantly on giving up all

f urt her connexion with the recovery of the torn letter If .
Eus t ace asked me the question I was resolved to be able to,
ans w er truly I have made the sacrice that assures your

tranquillity When resignation w as hardest, I have given
.

way f or my husb and s sake
.
Th e motive which had determined me on returning to

l
England when I rst knew that I was mother as wel as
,
wi f e, was still present to my mind when I arrived at this

r esolut ion . Th e on e change in me was that I now treated ,
m y husband s tranqui ll ity as the rst and f oremost considera

t ion
. In making this concession I was n ot without hope to ,
sustain me Eustace might yet see the duty of assert ing his
.
innocence i n a n ew light h e might see it a s a duty which

,
the father owed to the chi ld .
That morning I wrote again to Mr Pl aym or e 3 telling hi m

, .
what my position was and wi t hdrawing denitely f rom all

, , ,
share in investigating the mystery which lay hi dden unde r
t h e dust heap at Gl en i nc h
-
.
C HAP TER XLIV .
OU R N EW H O N EYM O O N .
IT i s n ot be disguised or denied that my spirit s w ere

to
depressed on my j ourney to London
, .
To resign the on e cherished purpose of my li f e when I h a d ,
suff ered s o much in pursuing it and w hen I had (to all,
a ppearance
) s o nearly reached the realisation of my hopes ,
w as puttin g to a hard t r ial a woman s f ortitude and a woman s

,
sens e of dut S till even if t h oppo r tu n ity had bee n o ff ered

y , . e
to me I would n ot have recalled my letter t o Mr Pl aym ore

, .
It is done an d well done I said to mysel f ; an d I hav e

, ,

only to wait a day to be reconciled to i t w h en I give my

husband my rst kiss .

I h ad planned and hoped to reach London in time to start ,
f or P a ris by the night m ail But the train was twice delayed
-
.
on the lon g j ourney f rom the North 3 and there w as no help

f or it but to sleep at Be njami n s vil la and to de f er my

,
dep arture until the morning .
It was of c our se i mpossi bl e f or me to warn m y ol d f riend

, , .
of the change in my plans My arrival took him by surprise . .
I found h i m alone in his library with a wonderful ill uminatio n ,
of lamps and candles 3 absorbed over s ome morsels of torn
p aper sc attered on the table be f ore him .
What in the world are you a bout ? I asked

.
Benj amin blushed I was going to say like a young girl , .
But young girls have given u p blushing in these l atter days

of the age we live in .
Oh nothing nothing ! he said con fusedly

, ,
Don t
, .

notice it .

He stretched out his hand to brush the morsel s of paper off

the table Those morsel s raised a sudden suspicion in my
.
min d I stopped him

. .

You have heard from Mr Pl aym or e I s ai d Tell me . .

the trut h Benj amin Yes or No

,
.
,
Benjamin blushed a shade deeper and answered Yes ,

.

Where is the letter ?

I musu t sh ow it to you Valeria

,
.
Thi s (need I say it ? ) made me determined to see the

letter My best w ay of persuading Benjamin to show it t o
.
me was to tell him of the sacrice that I had made to my

husband s wishes
I have no f urther voice i n the mat ter I
.
,

a dde d w h en I had done It now r ests entirely with Mr

. .
,
Pl aym or e by go on or to give up 3 and thi s i s my last O pp e r

'
t u n i ty of di scovering what he really thi nk s about it Don t .
OUR NE W HON E YN OON .
38 3
I deser ve some little indulgence ? Have I no clai m to look at

the letter ?
Benj amin was too much s urprised and t oo m uch pleased ,
w ith me when he heard what had happened to be abl e to

, ,
resist my entreaties He gave me the letter. .
Mr Pl aym or e wrote to appeal condentially to Benj amin

.
,
as a commercial man In the long course of hi s occupation

.
in business it was j ust possible that he might have heard of

,
cases in which documents had b een put together again af t er ,
having been torn up by design or by a cci dent Even i f his

,
.
experience f ailed in this p a rticular he might be able t o re f er ,
to some authority in Lon don who would be cap able of giving

an opinion on the subject By w ay of explaini ng his strange .
request Mr Pl aym or e reverte d to the notes which Benjamin

, .
h ad t aken at Mi ser r i mu s Dexter s house and in f ormed hi m of
the s erious importance of the gibberish which he h ad r e
porte d under protest Th e letter closed by recommending

.
that any correspon dence which ensued should be kept a secre t

f rom me ou the ground that it might excite f alse hopes in
my mind i f I w as in f ormed of it .
I now understood the tone which my worthy adviser h ad

adopted in writing to me His interest i n the recovery of.
the letter was evidently so overpowering that commo n

pr udence compelled h i m to conce al it f rom me i n case of ,
ultimate f ailure This did not look as if Mr Pl aym or e

. .
was likely to give up the investigation on my with draw al , .
from it .I glanced ag ai n at the fragment s of paper on

Benjamin s table with an interest in them which I had n ot
,
felt yet .
Has anything been found in G l en i n c h I asked .

No said Benjamin
,

1 have only been tryi n g ex peri
.

m ents with a l ittle n ote of my ow n, be fore I wrote to Mr .
Pl aym or e .

Oh , you have torn up your little note yourself the n ? ,
Yes . And to make it all t h e more difcul t to put the m

,
334 TH E LA W AND THE LA D Y .
toget h er again I shook up the pieces i n a basket It s a

, .
childi sh thing to do my dear at my age , ,
He stopped looki ng very much ashamed of himsel f

, .
Well I went on ; and have you succeeded in putting t he

,

pieces together again ?
I t s not very easy Va leria B ut I h ave made a b e

, .

g inning . It s the same principle as the principle in the

Puzzl es which w e used to put together when I was a boy .
O nly get on e central bit of it right and the rest of the ,
Pu zzle f al l s into its place in a longer or a shorter time .

Please don t tell anybody my dear People might say I w as , .

in my dotage .
People might have said that who did not know Benjamin ,
a s I knew hi m I remembered my ol d f riend s delight in

.

guessing riddles in the columns of the cheap periodicals and

I perf ectly understood the strong hold th at the new Puzzle
had taken on hi s f ancy I t s a lmost as interesting as s olvin g
.

Enigmas isn t it ? I said sl yly

.

Enigmas ! Benj amin repeated contemptuously
It 3 , .
better than any Enigma I ever guessed yet To thi nk of that .
gibberish in my note book having a m eaning in it, af ter all !

-
I only got Mr Pl aym or e s letter this morning ; and I am
r eally al m ost ash a med to mention i t

.
I have been trying

experiments off and on ever since You won t tell upon me,

, , .

w ill you ?
I answered the dear ol d man by a hearty embrace .
Now that he had lost his steady moral bal ance and had ,
caught the in fection of my enthusiasm I loved him better ,
tha n ever
But I was not quite happy though I tried to appear so , .
S truggle against it as I might I f el t a little mortied when I , ,
remembered that I had resigne d all f urther connexion with

the search for the letter at such a time a s thi s My one com .
f ort was t o think of Eustace My on e encouragement was to .
keep my mind xed as con stantly a s poss ible on the b right

OUR N E W H ON E YM OON .
385
chan ge f or the better that now appear ed in the domestic

pro spect Here at least there was no disaster to f ear 3 here
.
, ,
I coul d honestly feel that I had triumphed My husband had .
come back to me of his ow n free will ; he had not given w ay ,
under the hard weight of evidenc eh e had yielded to the

nobler inuence s of his gratitude and hi s love And I h ad .
taken hi m to my heart again not because I had made dis

cover ies which lef t hi m no other alternative than t o l ive with
me but because I believed in the better mind that had come
,
t o him and loved and trusted hi m with out re s erve

,
Was it .
n ot w orth s ome sacrice to have arrived at thi s result ! True

most true ! And yet I was a little ou t of spirits Ah .
,
well ! well ! the remedy was within a day s j ourney Th e

.
s ooner I was w ith Eu stace the better .
Early the next morning I left London f or Pari s by the , ,
tidal train Benjamin accompanied me to the Terminu s

-
. .

I shall write to Edi nburgh by to day s post he s aid -
,

,
in the interval bef ore the train moved out of the station .
I thi nk I can nd the man M r Pl aym or e want s to help him .

,
i f he decide s to go on Have you any me ss age t o s end

.
,
Valeria ?

No I have done with it Benjamin 3 I have nothing

.
,
more t o say .

Shall I wr ite and tell you how it ends if Mr Pl aymor e , .
does real ly try the experiment at Gl eni n c h

I answered as I felt a little bitterly
, , .
Yes I said
, Write and tell me, i f t h e experim e n t
.

f ail s.

My old f riend s mile d He knew me better than I knew .
myself .

All right he said re signedly
I have got the addre ss
, .

o f your banker s correspondent in Pari s You will have t o .
g there f or money my cl ear 3 and you m ay nd a lette r

o
,
w aitin g for you i n t he ofce, w hen you least expect it Let .
0'
386 THE l A W AND TH E LAD Y .
me he ar how y our h usband goe s on. Goo d b ye -

an d G oal
bles s you !
T hat eveni ng I was r estored t o Eusta c e

,
.
He was too weak poor fellow even t o rai s e h i s head from

, ,
the pillow I knelt down at the bedside an d kissed hi m

. .
Hi s langu id weary ey es kindled with a n ew li fe as my li ps ,

touched his
I must try t o l ive n ow he whispered
.

for , ,

you r sake .
My mother i n law h ad delicately left u s together When

- -
.
he said those words the temptation t o tell h i m of the new ,
hope that had c ome to brighten our lives was more than I
c ould resist .
You m u st try t o live n ow Eustace I said

for som e on e , , ,
else besides me

.
,
Hi s eyes looked wonderingly into mine .
Do you mean my mother ? he aske d

.
I laid m y head on his bosom and whispered back, ,

I mean y ou r c hild .
I had all m y reward f or all that I had given up ! I f orgot

Mr Pl aymor e ; I forgot Gl eni n ch Our new honey moon dates
. .
,
i n my remembran c e from that da y , .
T he quiet time passed in the bye street in which we live d ,
T he ou ter stir and tumult of Parisian li fe ran its d ai ly course

around us unnoti c ed and unheard S teadily though slowl y
,
.
, ,
Eustace gain ed strength T he doctors with a wor d or two .

,
of caution le ft him almost entirely t o me

,
You are his .
physician they said ; the happier you make him the sooner
,

,
he will re c ov er The quiet monotonous round of my new li fe

.

was far from wearying me I too wanted repose I had no .

,

interests n o pleasures out of my husband s room
, , .
O n c e and only on c e the placid surfa c e of our lives w as

, ,
j ust gently ru l ed b y an allusion to the past S omething that .

.
I accidentall y said re minded Eustace of ou r last interview at

,
Major Fit z David s house -

He re f erre d very delicately to

.
, ,
what I had then said of the V erdict pronou n c ed on hi m at

O UR N E W H ONE YM O01v .
38 7
the Trial ; and he le ft me t o infer that a word from my lips ,
co nrming what his mother had already told him , would quiet
hi s mind at once and for ever .
My answer involved n o embarrassments or d if cul ties : I

could and did honestly tel l h i m that I had made hi s wishes
, ,
my law But it was hardly in womanhood I am afraid to be

.
, ,
satised with merely replying and to leave it there I thought ,

.
it due t o me that Eustace too should concede something in ,
the way of an assurance whi c h might quiet my mi nd As .
usual with me the words followed the impulse to speak them

,
.
Eustace I asked are you quite cured of those cru el doubts

, ,

which on c e made you leave me ?
Hi s answer (as he a fter w ards said) made me blush with
pleasure Ah Valeria I should never have gone away i f I
.

, , ,
had known you then as wel l as I know you now !
S o the last shadows of distru st melted away out of our

lives.
T he very remembran c e of the turmoil and t h e trouble of

my past days in L ondon seemed now t o fade from my
memory We were lovers again we were absorbed again in
.
each other ; we c ould almost fancy that our marriage dated
back o n ce more to only a day or two since But on e last .
victory over myself was wanting to make my happ i ness com

pl et e I sti ll felt secret longings in those dangerous moments
.
,
when I was left to myself to know whether the search for the ,
'
torn letter had or had not taken place What wayward

, , .
c reatures we are ! With everything that a woman could

want to make her happy I was rea dy to put that happiness,
i n peril rather than rem ain ignorant of what was going on at

,
G l eni n ch ! I actually hailed the day when my empty purse

'
gave me an excuse for going t o my banker s corr espondent on
business and so receiving any letters waiting for me which

,
might be placed in m y hands .
I appl ied for m y money without knowing What I w as

about ; wonderin g all t h e tim e whether B enjami n l a d wri tte n
t o me or not My ey es wandered over the desk s and tabl es

.
i n the o fce looking for letters furtively

,
N othi ng of t h e .
s ort was vis ible But a man appeared from an inner o fce :
.
an ugly man , w h o was yet beau ti ful t o my eyes f or thi s suf ,
cient reason h e had a letter in h i s hand and he said I s , ,

'
this for you ma am 1 ,
A glance at the address showed me B enjami n s hand

Writing .
Had they tried the experiment of recove ring the letter ? and
had they failed ?
S omebody put my money in my bag and politely led me ,
o u t to the little hired carriage w hi ch was waiting for me
a t the door I remember nothing distinctly until I looked

.
,
at my news fro m Be nj amin on m y way home Hi s rst word s .
told me that the dust heap had been examined and that t h e
-
f ragment s of the torn letter had be en foun d !
C HAP TER XLV .
THE D U S T HEAP D I S TU R B ED
-
.
MY head turned giddy I was obliged t o wait and l et my

.
overpowering agitation subside be fore I c ould re ad any more , .
L ooking at the letter again after an interval my eyes fell, ,
accidental ly on a sentence near the end whi ch sur p r ised and .
startled me .
I stopped the driver of the carriage at the entrance t o t h e ,
street in w hich our lodgings were situated and told him to

,
take me to the beautif ul Park of P aris the famo us B ois de

Boulogne My obj ect was to gain time enough in thi s way
.
, ,
t o read the letter care fully through by myself, and to asc er v
tai n whether I ought or ought not t o keep the receipt of it a

, ,
secret be for e I c on fro nt ed m

, y h usband and his mother at
home .
THE D US T-HE AP D I S TUR B E D .
38 9
T hi s pre c aution taken I read the narrative whi ch my good

,
B enjamin had so wisely and so thought fully written f or me .
Treating the various in c idents methodically he began with ,
the R eport which had arrived in due course of mail fro m ou r

, ,
agent in America .
Our man had suc c essfull y traced t h e lodge keeper s

-
daughter and her husband to a small town i n one of t h e

Western S tates Mr Pl ay m or e s letter of introduction at
. .

on c e se c ured him a c ordial re c eption from the married pair ,
an d a patient hearing when he stated the obj ect o f his voyag e

across the Atlantic .
Hi s rst questions led t o n o very encouraging results The .
woman was con fused and surprised and was apparently quite ,
unable to exert her memory t o an y use ful purpose For t u .
n at el y her husband proved to be a very intelligent man

,
He . .
took the agent privately aside and said t o him I understand

, ,
my wi fe and you don t T ell me exactly what it i s y ou want

,

.
to kno w and leave it t o me to dis c over h ow mu c h she remem

,
bers and how much she forgets

, .

This sensible suggestion w as readily a cc epted The agent .
waited for events a day and a night

,
.
Early the next mo r ning the husband said t o hi m,

Tal k ,
to my wife now, and you will nd sh e has something to tell

you . O nly mind this Don t laugh at her when she speaks

of t r i es S he is half ashamed to speak of t r i es even to me

.
, .
Thinks men are above s uc h matters you know Listen , .
quietly an d let her talk and you will get at it all in that
,

way .
The agent followed hi s instru c tions, and got at it a s

follo w s
The woman remembered perfectly well being sent t o clean
, ,
the bedr ooms and put them tidy after the gentle folks had al l ,
left Gl eni nc h Her mother h ad a bad hip at the time and

.
,
c ould not go with her an d help her S he di d not much fancy .
being alon e i n t h e g reat hou s e, after what had happened in i t .

390 TH E LA W AN D TH E L AD Y
.
O n her way t o her work sh e passed t wo of the cottagers

,

c hildren i n the neighbourhood at play in the park Mr

, . .
Mac all an was al w ays kind to hi s poor tenants and never oh ,
j ec t ed to the young ones round about having a run on the

grass The t w o chi ldren idly followed her to the house Sh e
. .
took them inside al ong with her 3 not liking the place a s
, ,
a lready mentioned , and feeli n g that they wo ul d be c ompany
i n the solitary rooms .
S he began her work i n th e Guests Corridorleaving the
r oom in the other C orridor in which the death had happened,

,
to the last .
There w as very little to do i n the t w o rst rooms There .
w as not litter eno ugh , when she h ad swept the oors an d
cleaned the grates to even hal f ll the housemaid s bucket

,

which she carried with her The ch il dr en followed h er

.
about ; and all thing s c onsidered, were ve ry good c ompany

, ,
in the lonely place .
The thi rd room (that i s t o say the bedchamber which had,
been occupied by Mi serr i m us Dexter) was in a much worse

state than the other t w o and wanted a great deal of tidyin g
,
.
S h e di d not much notice the chi ldren here being occupied ,
with her work The litter was swept up from the carpet and
.
,
the Cinders and ashes were taken out of the grate and the ,
whole of it was in the bucket whe n her attention was ,
recalled to the children by hearing on e of the m cry .
S he looked about the roo m without at rst discovering

th em .
A fresh outburst of crying led her in the right direction,

an d showed her the children under a table in a corner of the
room The youngest of the two had got into a waste paper
.
-
basket The eldest had found an old bottle of gum w ith a

. ,
br ush x ed in the cork and was gravely painting the face of

,
the smaller child with what little remained o f the conten t s of

t h e bottle S ome nat ural struggles, on the part of the little
.
c reature h ad end ed in the

,
overthrow of t h e basket an d
TH E D US T HE AP D IS TURBE D
-
.
39 :
the usual outburst of c ry ing had followed as a matter of

c ourse .
I n this state of things the remedy w as soon applied Th e .
woman took the bottle away from the eldest chil d and g ave ,
it a box on the ear

The younger one she set on i t s legs
.

again and she put the two in the c orner to keep the m quiet

, .
T his done she s w ept up such fragments of the torn paper i n

,
the basket as had fallen on the oor 3 threw them back again
i nto the basket along with the g um bottle 3 fetched th e
,
-
bucket an d emptied the basket into it 3 and then proceeded

,
to the fourth and last room in the cor ridor where sh e nished ,
her work for that day .
L eaving the house with the chil dren a fter her she took
, ,
the ll ed bucket to the d ust heap and emptied it in a hollow -

,
place among the r ubbish about half w ay up the mound ,

-
.
Then she took the children home 3 and there was an end o f
it for the day
,
.

S uch was the result of the appeal made t o the woman s
memory of domestic events at G l eni nc h .
The c on clusion at whi c h Mr Pl aymor e ar r ived from t h e .

,
.
facts submitted t o him was that we might now h Ope t o , ,
recover the letter T hrown on the refuse ashes in the house

.
maid s bucket and afterward s covered by litter from t h e

,
four th room the torn morsels would be protected above as well

,
as below when they were emptied on the dust heap

,
-
.
S ucceeding weeks and months would add t o that prote o

tion by adding t o the accumulated refuse I n the neglected
,
.
condi tion of the grounds the dust heap had not been di s ,
-
t ur b ed in search of manure T here it stood untou ched fro m .

, ,
the time when the family left Gl en i nc h t o the present day .
An d there hidden deep so mewhere in the mound the frag

, ,
ments of the letter must be

S uch were the lawyer s concl usions He had written i m
.
c
m ediatel y to communi cate them t o Be nj ami n An d, there .
u pon , what had B enjam i n done ?

39 2 THE LA W AN D TH E LAD Y .
After having tried his powers of reconstruction on h i s ow n

correspondence the prospect of experimenting on the myste
,
r i ous letter itsel f had proved to b e a temptation too powerful
for the ol d man to resist I al most fancy my dear this

.

, ,
business of y ours has b ewitched me he wrote

Y ou see I
, .
have the misfortune to be an idle man I have time to spare .
and money to spare An d the end o f it is that I am here at

.
,
G l en i n c h e n gaged on my ow n responsibility (with good Mr

, .
Pl aym or e s permi ssion) i n searching the dust heap

-
,
Benjamin s description of hi s rst view of the eld of action

at Gl en i n c h foll owed these characteristic li nes of apology .
I passed over the description without ceremony My t e , .
m embr an c e of the s c ene was t oo vivid to require any prompting

of that sort I saw again in the di m evening li ght the u n
.
, ,
sightly mound which had so strangely attracted my attention

at Gleni n ch I heard again the words in whi ch Mr Playm or e
.
_
.
had explained to me the custom of the dust heap in S c otch -
country houses What had B enj amin an d Mr Pl aym or e

-
. .
done ? What had Benjamin and Mr Pl aym or e found ? For .
me the tru e interest in the narrative was there and to that

,
portion of it I eagerly turned next .
They had proceeded methodically of course with one eye , ,
on the pounds shill ings an d pence and the other on the

, , ,
obj ect in view I n Benjamin the lawyer had foun d what he

.
,
had not met with in me a sympathetic mind alive to the ,
value of an abstract of the expenses and c onscious of that ,

most remunerative of human virtues the virtue o f economy ,

.
At so much a week they had e n gaged men to dig into the

,
m ound and to sift the ashes At so much a week they had

.
,
hi red a tent to shelter the open dust heap from wind and -
w eather . A t so much a week they had engaged the services

,
o f a young man (personal ly known to Benjamin ) who was ,

'
employed in a laboratory under a pro fessor of chemistry and ,
who had distinguished himsel f by his skil ful manip ul ation of

a er i r c ent cas e of forgery on a well
known L on do n
p p n a e .
THE D US T HEA P D IS TURB ED
-
.
393
r m . Armed w i th these prepar ations, they had begun t h e

work 3 Benjamin and the youn g chemist living at Gl eni n c h .
and taking it in turns to superintend the proceeding s .
Three days of labour with the spade and the sieve produced
no results of the slightest importance However the matter .
,
w as in the hands of two quietly determi ned men They -

.
declined to be di scouraged They went on . .
O n the fourth day the rst morsels of paper wer e found

, .
Upon e xamination they proved to b e the fragments of a

,
tradesman s prospe ctus N othing dismayed Benjami n an d

.
,
the youn g chemist sti ll persevered At the end of the day s .

work more pieces of paper were turned up These proved t o

,
.
be covered with written characters Mr Pl aym or e (arriving . .
at Gl eni nch as usual every evening on the conclusion of h i s

, ,
labours in the law ) was consulted as to the handwriting .
After care ful examination he declared that the mutilated por ,
tions o f sentences submitted to him had been written beyond ,
all doubt by Eustace Mac al l an s rst wi fe !

,
This discovery roused the enthusiasm of t h e searchers t o

f ever height .
S pades and sieves were from that moment forbidden u ten

si ls However unpleasant the task might be hands alone
.
,
were used in the farther examination of the mound The .
rst and foremost necessity was t o place the morsels of paper

(in at cardboard boxes prepared for the purpose) in their ,
order as they were found N ight came 3 the labourers wer e .
dismissed 3 Benjamin and his t w o colleague s worked on by

lamplight The morsels of paper were turned up b y do z ens
.
,
instead of by ones and twos For awhile the sear c h pros .
pered in this way 3 and then the morsels appeared n o more .
Had they all been re c overed ? or would renewed hand dig ~
ging yield more yet ? The next light layers of rubbish wer e
careful ly removed and the grand dis c overy of the day fol
l owed T here (upside down) was the gum bottle which t h e
.
-
lo dge ke eper s daughter had spoken of ! An d, mo r e pr ec iou s

-

still under it were more frag ments of written paper all stuck
, , ,
together in a little lump by the last drippings from the gum ,
bottle dropping upon them as they lay in the dust heap l -
The s c ene now shifted to the interior of the house Wh e n .
th e searchers next assembled, they met at the gr eat table in

th e library at G l eni n c h .

Benjamin s experience with the P uzzles w hi ch he had
put together in the days of his boyhood proved to be of some
u se t o his companions The frag m ents ac cidentall y stu ck
.
together wo ul d i n all probabil ity be found to t each other

, , , ,
.
and would certainly (in any case ) be the easiest fragments to

reconstruct as a centre to star t from
, .
T he delicate business of separating these pie c es of paper ,
an d of preserving the m in the order in which they had

a dhered to ea c h other was assigned to the pra c tised ngers of
,
the chemist But the difculties of hi s task did not end

.
here The writing was (as usual in letters) traced on both

.
sides of the paper and it co ul d only be preserved for the pur

,
pose of reconstruction by splitting each morsel into two so

as arti cially to make a blank side on which cou ld be spread ,
the ne c ement used for reuniting the fragments in their

original form .
I
T o Mr Pl aymor e and Benjamin the prospect of succes s

.
,
fu lly putting the letter together under these disadvanta g es , ,
seemed to be al most hopeless Their skill ed col league soo n .
satised them that they were wrong .
H e drew their attention to the thickness of the paper

note paper of the strongest and best quality ou w hich t h e
-
writing was tra c ed I t w as of more than t w ice the substance

.
of the last paper on which he had operated when he was ,
engaged in the forgery case 3 and it was on that account, ,
c omparatively easy for him (aided by the mechanical appl i

a n c es which he had brought from L ondon ) to split the morsels
of the torn paper withi n a given space of tim e w hich migh t

,
permit the m to begin the re c onstruction of the let te r that nig ht .

TH E D US T H E AP D IS TURB E D
-
.
395
With these expla nations he quietly dev oted hi mself to h i s

,
w ork . Whi le Benjamin and the lawyer were still poring

over the s c attered morsels of the letter whi ch had been rst
discovered and t rying t o piece them together again the

, ,
c hemist had divided the greater part of the fragments spe c i
ally conded to hi m into two halves each 3 and had c orrectly

put together some ve or six sentences of the letter on the ,
smooth sheet of cardboard prepared for that purpose .
They looked eagerly at the reconstructed writing so far , .
I t w as correctly done : the sense w as perfect T he rst .
r es ul t gained by examin ation w as remarkable enough to
reward them for all their exertions The language u sed .

,
plainl y identied the person to whom t he late Mrs Eustace .
had addressed her letter .
T hat person w as my husband .
An d the letter thus addressed i f the plainest c i rc u mst an

tial eviden c e could be trusted was identical with the letter
whi ch Mi ser ri mu s Dexter had suppressed until the Trial w as
over and had then destroyed by tearing it up
,
.
These were the discoveries that had been made at the time ,
when Benjami n wrote to me He had been on the point of

.
posting his letter when Mr Pl aymor e had suggested that he

, .
should keep it by him for a few days longer on the chance o f ,
having more still to tell me .
We are indebted to her for these res ul ts the lawy er h ad ,

said . But for her resolution and her inuence over Mi ser
,
rimus Dexter we should never have di scovered what t h e

,
d ust heap
-
was h i ding fro m u s w e sho ul d never have seen
so much as a glimmering of the truth S he ha s the rst.
c l ai m t o the fullest information L et her have it . .

The letter had been a c cor di ngly kept back f or three days .
That interval being at an end it w as hurriedly resumed and

, ,
c oncluded in terms which indescribably alarmed me .

T he chemist is advancing rapidly with his part of t h e
w ork (Benjamin wrote) 3 an d I have s u cc eeded in putting

t ogether separate portion of the torn writing whi ch m akes

a .
sense . Comparison of what he h as accomplished with what

I have a c complished h as led to startl in g conclusions Un less .
Mr Pl aymor e and I are entirely wrong (and God g rant we

.
may be so i) there is a serious necessity for your keeping the

reconstruc t ion of the letter str ictly secret from everybody
about you The disclosures suggested by what has come to
.
light are so heart rending and so dread ful that I cannot bring
-
myself to write about them u ntil I am absolutel y obliged to

,
do so Please forgi ve me for disturbing you with this news

. .
We are bound sooner or later t o c onsult with y ou in the

, ,
matter ; and we think it ri ght to prepare y our mind for what

may be to come .

T o this there was added a posts cript in Mr Pl aymore s .

hand w riting .
Pray observe strictly the c aution which Mr Benj amin .
impresses on you An d bear this in mind as a warning

'
.
,
from me I f we suc c eed in re c onstructing the entire letter

.
,
the last person living who ought (in my opinion) t o be allowed

t o see it , is y our husband

.
I read those startling words ; and I asked my self what I

was t o do ne xt .
As matters n ow stood m y husband s tranquillity was so t o

, ,
speak committed t o my charge

,
I t was surely due to hi m.

self , that I should not receive Benjamin s letter and Mr Play .
more s posts cript in silence At the same time it was due to

.
,
myself that I should honestly tell Eustace I was in corre

spon den c e with G l eni nc h only waiti n g to speak until I knew
m ore than I knew n ow .
Thus I reasoned with mysel f And to this day I am n ot .

, ,
q uite sur e whether I was right or wrong .

THE CRISIS DE FE RR E D .
39 7
CHAP TER XLVI .
THE CRI S I S D EFERR ED .
TAK E care Valeria ! said Mrs Macal l an

,

1 ask you n o . .

question s 3 I only caution you f or your ow n sake Eustace , .
has noticed what I have noticed Eustace has seen a change

,
in you T ake care

.
S o my mother i n l aw spoke to me later i n the day, when

- -
,
we happen ed to be alone I had done my best to conceal all

.
traces of the e ffect produ c ed on m e by the strange and ter
rible news from Gl eni n c h But who could read what I had
.
r ead who co ul d feel what I now fel t and still maintain an
undisturbed serenity of look and manner ? I f I had been

the vilest hypocrite living I doubt even then if my face , , ,
could have kept my se c ret, whil e my mind was ful l of Benj a
min s letter

.
Having spoken her word of caution Mrs Macall an mad e ,

.
n o further advance t o me I dare say sh e was right S t ill

. .
,
it seemed hard to be left without a word of advice or of

,
sympathy, t o decide f or mysel f what it was my duty to my

husband t o do next .
To show hi m B enjamin s narrative in his state of health,

,
an d in the face of t he war ning addressed to me was simply ,
ou t of the question At t he same time, it was equall y i mpos

.
sible after I had already betrayed mysel f to keep h i m

, ,
entirely i n the dark I thought over it anx iously in the

.
n ight When the morning came, I decided t o appeal t o my

.

husband s c onden c e in me .
I went straight t o the point i n these term s : ,

Eusta c e, y our mother said yesterday that you noti c ed a
change in me when I came back from m y dri ve

, . Is sh e

ri g h t i
Quite right V aleria he answered speaking in lower
, ,

t ones than u sual and not looking at me , .

We have n o con cealments from ea ch other n ow I

, ,
answered I o ught to tell you and I do tell you that I

.

, ,
found a letter from England waiting at t h e banker s whi ch

,
has caused me som e agitation and alarm Will y ou leave it .
to me to choose m y ow n time f or speaking more plai nly ?

An d will you believ e love that I am reall y doin g my duty , ,
towards you as a good wi fe in making thi s request ?

, ,

I paused He made no answer : I could see that he was

.
secretly struggling w ith himself Had I ventured too far ? .
H ad I over estimated the strengt h of m y inuence ? My

-
heart beat fast my voice faltered but I summoned courage

,
.
eno ugh t o take his han d and to make a l ast appe al to him , .
'
Eusta c e ! I s aid Don t you know me, yet well eno ugh

.
,
to trust me ?
He turned towards me f or the rst time I saw a last .
vanishing trace of doubt in his ey es as they looked into

mine .
You promise, sooner or later t o tell me the whole t rut h i

,
he said .

I promise with al l my heart l
I t r ust you Valeria ,
Hi s brightening eyes told me that he really meant what he

said We sealed ou r compact with a kiss P ardon me f or
. .
mentioni n g these t ri esI am still wr iting y ou wi l l ki ndly

)
r emember it of our new honeymoon .

B y that day s po st I answered B enj ami n s letter telling
,
him what I had done and entreati n g him if he an d Mr , , .
Pl aym or e approved of m y condu ct t o keep me inf orme d ,
o f any future dis coveries whi ch th ey might mak e at

G l eni n c h .
TH E CRISIS DEFERR E D .
399
After an interval e u
endless i nterval as it seeme d ,
to m e of ten days more I re c eived a second letter from

-
,
my old friend ; with another postscri pt added b y Mr .
Pl aymor e .

We are advan c ing steadily and suc c essfu lly w i t n the
putting together of the letter Benjamin wrote T he on e

.
,
new discovery which we have made is of serious importance
to your husband We have reconstructed certain s entences

.
,
declaring in the plainest words that the arsenic which

,

Eustac e procured was purchased at the request of h i s wi fe ,
and was in her possession at Gl en i nch This remember i s .

, ,
in the handwriting o f the w i f e and is signed by the wife as ,
we have also found ou t Un fortunately I am obliged t o add

.
, ,
that the objection to t aking your husband into our condence ,
mentioned when I last wrote still remains in force i n ,
greater force I may say than ever The more we make o ut

, , .
(
of the letter the more inclined we are i f we only studied ou r
,
)
o w n feelings to throw it back into the dust heap in mercy to -
the memory of the unhappy writer I shall keep this op en .
f or a day or two I f there is more news to tell y ou by that

.
,
time you will hear of it from Mr Pl aym or e

, . .

Mr Playm or e s postscript followe d dated three days

.

later .

T he concluding part of the late Mrs Mac all an s letter to .

her husband the lawyer wrote has proved accidentally to

,

,

be the rst part which we have succeeded in piecing together .
With the exception of a f ew gaps stil l le ft here and there the , ,
writing of the closing paragraphs has been perfectly recon

stru cted I have neither the time nor the inclination to write
.
to you on this sad subject in any detail I n a fortnight

, .
more at the longest we shall I hope s end you a copy o f t h e

, , , ,
letter complete fro m the rst line to t h e last Meanwhil e it

, .
,
i s my duty to tell you that there is on e bri ght side to this

otherwise deplorable and shocki ng document L egally speak .
i ng as well a s morall y spe aking, i t absol u tely vindicates y o ur

,
t oo TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
husban d s inno c en c e An d it may be lawfully used f or thi s

.
p urpose if he can reconcile it t o hi s c onscien c e and t o the ,
mercy due t o the memory of the dead to permit the public ,
exposure of the letter in Court Understand me he can not .

,
b e tried again on what we call the criminal cha rge for -
c ertain technical reasons with w hi ch I need n ot trouble you .
But i f the facts which were involved at the criminal trial

,
c an also be shown to be involved in a c ivil case (and in this ,
case they can ) t h eentire matter may be made the subject of

, ,
a new legal inquiry ; and the verdict of a second jur y com ,
l et el y vindicating your husband may be thus obtained

p .
,
.
K eep this in formation to yourself for the present Preserve .
t h e po sition wh ich you have so sensibly adopted towards

Eustace u ntil you have read t h e restored letter
, Wh en you .
have done this my ow n idea is that y ou will shrink in pity

, ,
to hi m from letting him see it How he is to be kept in

, .
i gnorance of what we have di scovered is another ques

tion the discussion of whi ch must be deferred until we
,
c an consult together Until that time comes I c an on ly

.
,
r epeat my advi c e Wait till the next news reaches y ou from

,

G l eni n c h .
I waited What I suff ere d what Eustace thought

.
,
of me does not matter

,
N othing matters now but the
.
f acts .
I n less than a fortnight m ore the task of restoring t h e ,
letter was completed Ex c epting certain instances in which

.
,
the morsels of the torn paper had been irretrievably lost and
i n whi ch it had been necessary to complete the sense i n ,
harmony with the writer s intention the whole letter had
been put together ; and the promised copy of it was forwarded

to me in P aris .
B e fore you t oo, read that dread ful l etter do me on e favour

, ,
.
L et me briey remind you of the cir cumstances under whi ch

Eus tace Mac all an married his rst wife .
R emember that t h e poor creat ure fell i n love with him,

THE WIFE S CON FE SSI ON

.
40 1
wit h out awakening any c orresponding a ff ection on hi s side .
R emember that he separated hi msel f from her and did all he ,
could t o avoid her when he found this out R emember that

,
.
she presented herself at hi s residence i n London with ou t ,
a word of warnin g 3 that he did hi s best t o save her reputa
tion ; that he f ailed through n o fault of hi s ow n 3 and that he

,
ended rashly ended in a moment of despair by marrying heir

, , , ,
t o silence the scandal that must other w ise have blighted her
life as a woman for the rest of her days Bear all this in .
mind (it is the sworn testimony of respectable witnesses ) 3

an d pray do n ot forge t however fooli shl y and blameably he
may have wr itten about her in the se cret pages of hi s Diary
that he w as proved t o have done his best to c onceal from
his wi fe the aversion which the poor soul inspired in him ;
and that he was (in the O pinion of those w h o could best judg e
him) at least a c ourteous and a c onsiderate husband, i f he
c oul d be no more .
An d n ow take the letter I t asks but one favou r of you ; it

.

asks t o be read b y the light of Christ s tea chi ng z J udge

n ot that ye b e n ot j udg ed
, .
C HAP TER X LVI I .
THE w rr s s CON F ESS I ON.

G l en i nc h, Oc t ober 1 9, 1 8
MY HUSBAN D
I HAV E something v ery pain ful t o t ell you, about one of y our
o ldest frien ds
.

Y ou hav e never en c ouraged me t o c ome t o you with any
con den c es of mi n e If you had allowed me to be as familiar
.
with you as some wives are with their husbands, I should

h av e spoke n t o you perso nally, instead of wr iting As it is , I .
DD
don t know h ow you might receive what I have t o s ay t o you,

i f I said it by word of mouth S o I write . .
The man against whom I warn you is still a g u est in thi s

h ouseMi serr i m u s D exter N o falser or wickeder c r ea t ure
.
w alks the earth D on t throw my letter aside I hav e waited

.
to say this until I could nd proo f that might satis fy you I .
have g ot the proo f .

You may remember that I ventured t o express some di s
a pproval, when
you rst told me you had asked thi s man
to visit u s If you . allowed me time to explain myself I ,
might have been bold enough to give you a good reason

f or the aversion I felt towards y o u r friend But you would .
n ot wait You h astily (and most u njustly ) a ccused me of

.
feel ing prejudiced against the miserable creature on account of

h i s de formity N0 other feelin g than compassion f or de formed
.
p ersons has ever entered my mind I have indeed almost a .

, ,
fellow feeling f or them 3 being that next worst thi ng mysel f to

-
a de formity a plai n woman I objected to Mr Dext er as . .
y our g u est be c ause he had asked me to be hi s wife in past

,
days and because I had reason to fear that he st i ll regarded

,
m e (a fter my marriage) with a g uilty and a horrible love .
Was it not my duty as a good wi fe to obj ect to hi s being

, ,
your guest at Gl eni n c h ? An d was it not your duty as a good ,
husband t o encourage me to say more ?

,

Well ! Mr D exter has been your g uest f or man y weeks ;
.
an d Mr Dexter h as dared t o speak to me again of his love

. .
He has insulted me and insulted you b y declaring that h e

, ,
a dores m o and that you hate me

, He has promised me a li fe .
o f unalloyed happiness in a foreign country with m y lover

, .
An d h e has prophesied f or me a li fe of unend urabl e m isery at ,
h ome with my husband .
Why did I n ot make m y complaint t o you and have thi s ,
monster dis missed from the house at on c e and for ever ?

Ar e y ou su re you would have believed me i f I h ad c om ,
pl ain ed, and i f y o ur bo som friend h ad denied all intention of

TH E WIFE S CONFE S SI OM

40 3
i nsul ti ng me ? I heard you once s ay w hen you w er e not

-
aware that I wa s w it hin hearing) that the vaine s t w omen were

always the ugly women You might have accused me of
.
vanity Who kn ows ?

.

But I have no desire to shelter mys elf under this excuse .
I am a j ealou s unhappy creature ; al w ays doubt f ul of your

a ff ection for me always f earing that another woman has got
my place in your heart Mi ser r i m us D exter has practis ed on
.
thi s weakne ss of mine He has declared he can prove to me

.
(if I will permit him) that I am in your s ecret hear t, an ,
object of loathing to you ; that you shrink from touchin g me

t ha t you curse the hour when you were f oolish enough to
mak e me your wi f e For two nights and days I struggled
.
ag ainst the temptation to let hi m produce hi s proof s It was .
a t errible temptation to a woman who was f ar fro m f eeling

,
sure of the si ncerity of your aff ection f or her ; and it ended i n

get ting the better of my resistance I wickedly conce a led .
the di sgus t whi ch the wretch inspired in me ; I wickedly

gave hi m leave to explai n himself ; I w i ckedly permitted
thi s e n emy of yours and of mine to take me i nto hi s c on
den c e . And why ? Becau s e I loved you and you only ;
and because Mi serr i mu s Dexter s proposal di d a fter all

, ,
echo a doubt of you that had long been gnawing secretly at

my heart .

Forg ive me Eu stace ! This i s my rst s in again st you
, .
I t shal l be my last .

I w ill not spare m yself ; I will write a full con fe ssi on of
w hat I said to hi m and o f what he said to me You may mak e .
me suff er f or it , when you know what I have dene but you

will at least be warn ed in time ; you wi ll s ee your f al s e fri end
i n hi s true li ght .
I s aid to hi m How can you prove to me that my hu sban d

,
ha tes m e i n secr et 2
He ans w ered, I c an prove i t , un der hi s own han dwriti ng

"
you shal s ee it i n hi s Di ary
l .

I id, Hi s Diary ha s a lock ; a n d the draw er in whi ch
sa
he keep s it ha s a lock How can you get at the Diary and

.

the dr aw er ?

He answered I have my ow n w ay of getting at both of
,
them without the slightest ris k of being di s covered by your

,
h usban d All you have to do is to give me the opportunity

.
of s eeing you privately I will engage i n return, to bring t h e

.
,

open Diary with me to your room .
I said How can I give you the opportun ity ? Wh at do

,
you mean

He pointed to the key in the door of communication ,
between my room and the little s tudy .

He said With my inrmity I may not be able to prot
, ,
by the rst opportunity of visiting you here unobserved : I ,
must be able to choose my ow n time and my ow n w ay of

g etting to you secretly Let me take the key ; leaving the
.

door locked When the key is mis s ed i f you say it does n t
.
,
matteri f you point out that the door is locked and tell the ,
servants not to trouble themselves about nding the key

there will be no disturbance in the house ; and I s hall be
in secure possession of a means of communica tion with you

which no on e w il l suspect Will you do thi s ? .
I have done it

.
Yes ! I have become the accompli ce of this double faced

-
villai n I have degraded myself and outraged you by

.
, ,
m aking an appointment to pry into your Diary I kno w h ow .
base my conduct i s I can make n o excuse . I can only .

r epeat that I love you and that I am s orely a f raid you don t
,
love me And Mi serri m us Dexter o ff ers t o end my doubts by

.
showing me the most s ecret tho u ghts of your heart, i n you r
o w n w riting .
He is to be w ith me f or thi s purpo s e (while you ar e ou t) ,

,
some time in the course of the next t w o hours I shall decline .
t o be s atised w ith only o n ce looking at your Di ary an d I
sh all make a n appointme n t w ith h i m t o b rin

g it to m e agai n ,
THE WI FE S CONFESS I ON
'
40 5
at the s ame time t o morrow Before then you will r eceiv e .

,
these lines by the hand of my nurs e Go ou t as usual a fter

, .
,
r eading them But return privately and unlock the table

.
,
drawer in which you keep your book You will nd it gone . .
Post yoursel f quietly in the little study ; and you w ill dis
cover the Diary (when Mi serri mus Dexter leaves me) , in the
*
hand s of your friend .

Oc t ober 20 .
I have r ead your Diary .

At la s t I kno w what you r eally think o f me I have read .
w hat Mi ser ri mus Dexter promi s ed I s hould read the c onf es

s io n of your loathing for me in your ow n handwr iting , .
You w ill n ot receive what I w r ot e to you ye s terday at the ,
time or i n the manner which I had proposed Long as my

, , .
letter is I have still (after reading your Diary) s ome more

,
words to add A f ter I have closed and s ealed the envelope

.
,
an d addres sed it to you I shall put it under my pillow It , .
will be found there when I am laid ou t for the grave and

then Eustace (when it is too late for hope or help) my letter
, ,
w il l be given t o you .

Yes : I have had enough of my li fe Yes : I mean to .
di e

I h ave already s acriced everythi ng but my li fe to my
l ove for you Now I know that my love is n ot r eturn ed, the
.
last sacri ce left i s ea sy My death will set you free to marry

.
Mrs Beauly
. .
You don t know what it cost me to c ontrol my hatred of

Not e by M r Playm or e .

Th e g re at est di fc ul t i es of r ec on st r u c t on i
oc c urr ed in his r st port ion of t h e t or n l et t er I n t h e f our t h par ag r aph
t .
f rom t h e b eg i nn i n g w e h ave b een ob li g ed t o su pply l ost w or ds in n o

,
l ess t han t hr ee pl ac es I n t h e n i n t h t ent h an d seve nt eent h par ag r aphs

.
, ,
t h e sam e pr oc eedin g w as i n a g r eat er or l ess deg ree f oun d t o b e n ec es

, ,
sar y . I n al l t hese c ases t h e u t most pai n s h ave b een t ak en t o su pply t he

,
dec i en c y i n ex ac t ac c or dan c e w i t h w h a t appea r ed t o be t h e m ean i ng 0!

t he wr iter a s i ndi cat ed i n t he ex i st i ng pi ec es of t h e man usc r ipt
,
.
her and to beg her to pay her vis it h ere w ithout mi n ding my
, ,
il lness I co uld never have done it if I had not been so fond

.
of you and so fearful of irritating y ou against me by showing

,
my j ealousy And h ow did you reward me ? Let your

.

Diary an swer ! I tenderly embraced her thi s very morning ,
an d I hope poor soul, sh e did n ot discover the e ffor t that i t

,

cost me .
Well I have discovered it now I know that you privately

, .
"
think your life with me a purgatory I kn ow that you .
have compassionately hi dden from me the sense of shrinking

that comes over you when you are obliged to submit to my
caresses

I am nothing but an obstacl e an utterly dis
.
t ast ef obstacle between you and the woman whom you

love so dearly that you adore the earth which she touches

with her foot Be it so ! I w ill sta nd in your way no
.
longer I t is no sacrice and no merit on my part Life is

. .
unendur abl e to me n ow I know that the man whom I love

,
with all my heart and soul s ecretly s hr inks from me whenever

,
I touch hi m .
I have got the means of death close at hand .
Th e arsenic that I twice asked you to buy for me is in my

dressing case -
I deceived you when I mentioned some com
.
mon pla ce reasons f or wanting it My true reason was to try

-
.
if I could n ot improve my u gly complexion not from any

vain feeling of mine : only to make mysel f look better and
more lovable in your eye s I have taken some of it for that
.
purpose ; but I have got plenty lef t to kill myself wi th Th e .
poison will have its use at last It might have failed t o .
improve my complexion I t w i ll not fail t o reli eve you of

.
your ugly wi fe .
Don t let me be examined after death Show this lette r

.
t r the doctor who attends me I t will tell hi m t hat I have

.
c ommi tted suicide it will prevent any innocent pers on fro m

being s u spected of pois oning me I want n obody t o be .
bla med or punished I shall r emove the chemist s label an d

.
,
TH E WI FE '
S CONFESSI ON .
40 7
carefull y empty the bottle containing the poison so that he ,
may n ot suff er on my account .
I must wait here and res t a little Whilethen take u p

,
my letter again I t is f ar too long alr eady But these ar e

. .
my farewell words I may surely d w ell a li ttle on my last

.
talk w ith you !
l i n th e m or n i n g

Oc t ob er Tw o o c oc k .

I sent you the room yesterday when you came i n
ou t of ,
to ask h ow I had passed the night And I spoke of you .
shamef ul ly Eustace aft er you had gone to the hired nurse

, , ,
who attends on me Forgive me I am almo s t beside mys el f

. .
now You know why

. .
H al f pa st t hr ee
-
.
Oh my husband I have done the deed which will rel iev e

, ,
you of the wi fe whom you hate I have taken the poison

all of it that was lef t in the paper packet which was the rst ,
that I found I f thi s i s not enough to kil l me I have more

.
,
left in the bottle .

Ten m i nu t es past v e .
have ju s t gone a fter giving me my composi n g draught

You ,
.
My cour age fai led me at the sight of you I thought t o .
myself I f he looks at me kindly I will con fess what I have

, ,
done and let hi m save my lif e You never looked at me at

.
,
all . You only looked at the me di cine I let you go w ithout .

,
s ayi ng a word .

H a lf pa st ve-
.
I beg i n to feel the rst e ff ects of the poison Th e nurse .
is asleep at the f oot of my bed I wo n t call f or assista nce ; .

I w on t wake her I w i l l di e . .
i
H a lf past -
n n e.
agony wa s bey on d my enduranc eI

Th e w oke the n ur s e .
I have s ee n t h e doctor .
p 8 Z H E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .

Nobody suspect s a nything . Strange t o say, the pain ha s
l e ft me ; I have evidently taken too little of the pois on I .
m u st open the bottle which contains the larger quantity .
Fortunately you are n ot near memy resolution t o di e or

, ,
r ather my loathing of li fe
,
rem ains as bitterly unaltered as ,
ever To m ake s ure of my courage I have forbidden t h e

.
,
nurs e to s end f or you Sh e ha s j ust gone downstairs by my

.
orders I am fr ee t o get the poi s o n out of my dressin g

.
ca s e .
Ten m inu t es to t en .

had ju s t time to hide the bottle (after t he n urse had le ft
1
me) w hen you came into my room
,
.
I had another moment of weakness when I saw you

I .
determined to give mysel f a la st chance of life That i s to .
say I determined to o ff er you a la s t oppor tunity of treatin g

,
me kindly I asked you to get me a cup of tea If i n

. . .
,
paying me this little attention you only encouraged me by ,
on e f ond word or on e fond look, I resolved not to take the
second dose of poison .
You obeyed my wishe s but you were n ot kind

You , .
g ave me my tea E ustace as i f you were

,
giving a drink to
,
you r dog And then you wondered in a la nguid way (thin k

.
,
ing I suppo s e of Mrs Beauly all the time) at my dropping

, , .
,
the cup in handing it back to you I really could not help .
i t my b an d w ou l d tremble I n my place your hand might .

,
have trembled t oo with the arsenic under the bedclothe s

, .
You politely hoped be fore you went away that the tea would
, ,
do me good and oh God you could not even look at me

, ,
when you said that ! You looked at the broken bit s o f the
tea cup
-
.
Th e instant you were ou t of the r oom I took the poi s on

double dose thi s time .
I have a li ttl e r eque st t o make h er e, w hi le I think

of it .
TH E WI FE '
5 CONFE S S I 01V .
409

Afte r r emoving the label from the bottle and putting it ,
back clean in my dres s ing cas e it struck me that I had f ailed

, ,
-
to t ake the same precaution (in the early morning) with the
empty paper packet bearing on it the name of the other ,
chemist I threw it aside on the counterpane of the b ed

.
,
among s ome other loo s e papers My il l tempered nurse com .

-
plained of the litter and crumpled them al l up and put them

, ,
away s omewhere I hope the chemist will not suff er through

.
m y carelessnes s Pray bear it mind to say that he is not to

.
blame .
Dexter s omething remind s me of Mi serri mu s Dexter .
He h as put your Diary back again in the drawer an d he ,
pre ss es me for an answer to his proposals Has this f alse .
wretch any conscience ? I f he ha s, even he w ill suff er w hen

my death an s wer s hi m .

Th e nurse h as been in my r oom agai n I have s ent h er .
away I have t old her I want to be alone

. .

How i s the time going ? I cannot nd my watch I s .
the pain coming back again, and paraly s ing me ? I don t f eel
it keenly yet .
It may come back though at any mome n t I have still

, , .
to close my letter and to address it to you And be sides I

, .
, ,
must save u p my strength to hide it under the pi l low, s o that

n obody m ay nd it until after my death .
Farewell my dear I wish I had been a prettier w oman

, . .
A more loving woman (towards you) I coul d not be Even .
now I dread the sight of your dear face Even now i f I

, .
,
allowe d my s elf the luxury of looki ng at you I don t know that ,

you mi ght not charm me into con fessing what I have done
bef ore it is too late to save me .
B ut you are n ot here Better as it i s ! better as .
i t is !
O n c m ore farewell
e
B e happier than you have been
l ove you Eustace
,
w i t h me . i I f org ive you When you . .

have nothing else to think about think someti mes , ,

as kin dly
as you ca n , of your poor u gly
SAR A MACALU N .
CHAPTER XLVIII .
WH A T ELS E C O U LD I Do !
As soon a s I could dry my eyes and compose my spirit s ,
a f ter rea di n g the wi f e s pitiable and dread f ul f a rewell my

rst thought was of Eustace my rst anxiety was to prevent

h i m f rom ever reading what I had read .
Yes ! to this end it h a d come I had devoted my life to .
the attainment of on e obj ect ; and that obj ect I had gained .
There on the table be fore me lay the triumphant vindication

, ,

of my husb a nd s innocence ; an d, in mercy to him in mercy ,
to the memory of his de ar wi fe my on e hope was th at he ,
might never see it ! My on e desire was to hide it f rom the

p ublic vie w !
I looked back at the strange circumstances under whi ch the
letter had been discovered .
It was all m y doing as the lawy er had said And yet .

,
wh a t I had done I h ad so to speak done blind fold Th e

, , , .
N ot e b y M r P l ay m or e Th e
. l ost w or ds a n d ph r ases su ppl i e d i n
t his l i
c on c u d n g por t i on o f the l et t er are so f ew i n n u m b er t h a t i t i s
l
n e ed ess t o m en t io n t h em . Th e f r a g m en t s w hi c h w er e f ou n d ac c i den t a ll y
st u c k t og et h er by t h e g u m , hi c h r epr es n t t h e p
an d w . e ar t o f th e l et t e r
r st c o mp et e l ly r ec o n s t r u t ed beg i n a t t h e ph
c , e I ras , spoke of you
sh a m e f ul ly , Eust ac e a n d en d w i t h t h e b ok en sen t en c e r , I f, i n payi n g
m e t his l i t t le at t en t ion you on ly en c ou r a g ed m e by on e
, f on d w ord o r on e
fon d l ook I r e sol ved n ot t o t ake W it h t h e a ssista n c e th u s aor ded
t u s t h e l ab our of pu t t i ng t og e t h er t h e c onc l u di n g h a lf of t h e l et t er
a ,
(da t ed Oc t ob er 20t h w a s t r i i n g c om par ed w i t h t h e a l most i nsu r

~
,
mo u n t ab l e di fc u l t ies w hi c h w e e n c ou n t ered i n deal i ng w i t h t h e sc a t t er ed

w r ec k o f t h e pr ec ed n g pa g es i .
WHA T EL SE C O UL D I DO? 41 1
m erest accident might have altered the w hole course of later

events I had over and over agai n interfered to check Ariel
.
,
w hen she entreated the Master to tell her a story I f she

.
had n ot succeeded in s pite of my opposition Mi serri mu s

, ,
D exter s last eff or t of memory might never have been dire c ted

to the tragedy at G l en i nc h And again i f I had only remem

.
,
bered to move my cha ir and so to give Benj amin the sig nal
,
to leave off he would never have written dow n the appa

,
r en t l y senseless words which have l ed us to the di scovery

of the tr uth .
Looking back at events in this frame of mind the ve ry ,
sight of the letter sickened and horried me I cursed the .
day which h ad disinterred the fragments of it from their foul

tomb J ust at the time when Eustace had f ound his we ary
.
w ay back to he alth and strength ; just at the time when we
were un ited aga in an d happy again when a month or two

more might m ake us f ather and mother as well as husband ,
and wif e that frightf ul record of su ff ering an d sin had risen

against us like an avenging spirit There it f aced me on the
.

table threatening my h usband s tranquill ity ; n ay f or all I
, ,
knew he rea d it at the present critical stage of his r e

cov ery) even threateni n g his li f e !
,
Th e h our stru ck f rom the clock on the mantel piece It -

.
was Eustace s time f or payin g me his morning visit in my

,
ow n little room He might come in at any moment ; he

.
might see the letter ; he might snatch the letter ou t of my

hand In a fren zy of terror and loathing I caught up the
.
,
vile sheets of paper and threw them into the re

, .
It w as a fortunate thing that a copy only h ad been sent t o

me c e original letter had been in its place I believe I
. ,
s hould have burnt the original at that moment .
Th e l ast morsel of paper had been barely consumed by t h e

ame s when the door opened and Eustace came in
, .
He glanced at the re Th e black cinders of the burnt

.
ap er w ere s til l oating at the back of the grate He h ad

p ,
.
TH E LA W AND TH E LAD Y .
s ee n th e letter brought to me at the break fast table Did n o -

.
suspect what I had done ? He said nothi ngh e s tood

gravely looki ng into the re Then he advanced and xed hi s
.
eyes on me I suppose I was very pale Th e r s t word s h e

. .
s poke were words which asked me i f I f elt ill .
I wa s determined n ot to deceive him, eve n i n the mer e s t

trifle .
I am feeling a little nervou s Eu stace I an s wered , That ,

.
i s all !
He looked at me agai n a s if he expected me t o s ay some

,
thing more I remained s ilent He took a letter ou t of the

. .
brea s t pocket of hi s coat, and laid it on the table be fore

-
mejust where the C on fe ss io n had lai n be fore I de

s troyed it
I have had a letter t oo, thi s mo rn i n g, he s aid
, And I
.
,

Vale r ia have no secret s fro m you
,
.
I under s tood the reproach which my husband s l a s t w ord s
conveyed ; but I made no attempt to answer hi m .

D o you w ish me to read it ? was all I said, pointing to
the envelope which he had laid on the table .

I have already s aid that I have no secrets from you h e ,
r epeated Th e enve10pe i s ope n

.

See f or your s el f w hat i s
.

en clo s ed i n it .
I took it out n ot a letter , but a pr i n ted par ag raph, cut

from a S cotch news paper .
R ead it s aid Eu stace

,

.
I read as follow s,

S TR ANGE D O I NG S AT GLENI NCH A roma n ce i n r eal .
li fe s eem s to be i n cours e of progre ss at Mr Mac all an s .

country hou s e P r ivate exca vations are t aking placeif our

-
.
r eader s w ill pardon u s t h e unsavoury all usion at the dust .
h eap, of all place s i n t h e w orld ! S ometh ing has as s ur edly

b een dis covered ; but n obody kn ows what Th is alon e i s .
c ertai n For weeks pas t t w o s tr an ger s fr om London (s uper

,
i n ten d ed b y our res p ec ted f ello w

citi z en, Mr Pl aym or e) h ave .
WHA T EL SE CO UL D I D O 3
b een at w ork night an d day i n the library at Gl eni nc h with ,
the door locked Will the secret ever be reve aled ? And will
.
i t throw any li ght on a mys teriou s and shocking event whi ch

our readers have learnt t o ass ociate with the past hi story of
G l en i n c h ? Perhap s when Mr Mac all an returns he may be .

,
a ble t o an s wer these que s tion s I n the mean time we can.

,

only await event s .
I laid the newspaper sl ip on t h e table i n no very Chr istian ,
frame of mi nd towards the person s concern ed in producing it .
S ome reporter in search of new s had evidently been pryin g

about the grounds at Gl eni n ch and s ome busybody in the ,
neighbourhood had in all probabil ity s ent the published para

graph to Eustace Entirely at a los s what t o do I waited f or
.
,
my husband to speak He did not keep me in s u s pense h e

.
que s tioned me instantly .
D o you understand what it mean s Valeria ? ,

I an s w ered h one stlyI owned that I understood w hat it

m eant .
He wai ted again as i f he expected me t o s ay more I

,
s till kept the only ref uge left to methe ref uge of silence
.
Am I to know n o more than I know now ? he proceeded

,
after an interval
Ar e you not bound to tell me w hat is
.

going on in my own house ?
It i s a common r emark that pe 0 p1e i f they can think at all , ,
think quickly in emergencie s There was but on e way ou t of.

the emb arrassing position i n w hich my husband s last w or ds
had placed me My i nstinct s showed me the w ay, I s uppo s e
. .
At any rate I took it

, .
You har e promi s ed t o trust me I began ,

.
He ad mi t ted that he had promised .

I must as k you f or your ow n sake, Eus tace, t o t rust me
,
f or a li ttle w hi le longe r I w ill s ati sf y you i f you w ill only

.
,

give me time .
His fac e da rkene d

How mu ch lo n ger mu s t I w ait ? h e
.

ask ed
.
I sa wthat the time had come f or trying s ome str onger

form of persuas ion than words .

K iss me I said be fore I tell you
, ,
He hesitated (so li ke a h usband D And I per s isted .
(so like a wif e There was no choice for hi m bu t t o

yield Having given me my kiss (not over graciously) h e
.
-
insisted once more on kno wing h ow much lon g er I wanted

him to wait .

I want you to wait I answered until our child i s born, , .
He started My condition took him by surprise I gently

. .
pres s ed his hand and gave him a look He returned the

, .
look (warmly enough thi s ti me, t o satisfy me ) Say you

, .
consent I whispere d
,

.
He consented .
So I put off the day of reckoning once more So I .
gained time to consul t again with Be njamin and Mr .
P l aymor e .
While Eust ace remained with me i n the room I was ,
composed and capable of tal king to him But when he le f t

, .
,
me af t er a time to think over what h ad passed bet w een us

, , ,
and to remember how kindly he had given way t o me my ,
heart turned pityingly to those other Wives (better women,

some of them than I am ) ; whose husbands under similar
, ,
circumstances would have spoken hard words to them would

, ,
perhaps even have acted more cruelly still Th e contrast .
thu s suggested between their f ate and mine quite overcame

me What had I done to deserve my happiness ? What had
.
t hey done poor souls to deserve their miser y ?

, ,
My nerves
were overwrought I dare say af ter reading the dreadful con
,
I bur st out cryingan d I w as

,
f essi on of Eustace s rst wi f e

.
all th e better f or it a f terwar ds !

PAS T AND FU TURE .
41 5
C H A P TE R XLI X .
P A S T A ND F U TU R E .
I WRI TE from memory unassisted by notes or diaries and I

,
have no distinct recollection of the length of our residence

abroad It certainly exten ded over a period of some months
. .
Long a ft er Eustace was strong enough to take the j ourney to

London the doctors persiste d in keeping him in Paris
,
He .
h a d shown symptoms of weakness in on e of his lun gs an d ,
his medical a dvisers seein g that he prospered in the dry

,
atmosphere of Fr ance wa rned him to be c aref ul of breathing

,
too soon the moist ai r of hi s ow n country .
Thus it h a ppened th at we were still in Paris when I ,
r eceived my next news f r om Gl en i nc h .
This time no letters passed on either side

,
To my surprise .
an d delight Benjamin qui etly made his appearance on e

, ,
morning in ou r pretty French dra wing room He was so

,
-
.
pretern aturall y sm art in hi s dress a n d so incomprehensib l y

,
anxious (while my husband was i n the w ay) to m ake us

understand th at his reasons f or visiti n g P aris were holiday
reason s only th at I at once suspected him of having crosse d
,
the Channel in a double character say as tourist in search ,
of ple asure when thir d persons were present

, as ambassador
f rom Mr Pl aymor e, when he and I had the room t o our
.
selves .
Later in the day I contrived that we should be lef t

t ogether and I soon f ound that my anticipations had n ot
,
misled me Benj ami n h a d set out f or Paris at Mr Play

.
,
.

more s express request to consult wi th me as to the future
, ,
an d to enlighten me a s to the past He presented me w ith

.
hi s credentials, i n the shape of a little note from the la wye r .

41 6 TH E LA W AND THE LA D Y .
Ther e s ome f ew points (Mr Pl aymore w r ote) w hich

are

.
the recove ry of the letter does not s eem t o cl ear up I have .

done my best w ith Mr Benjamin s a ssis tance to nd the
, .
,
right explanation of thes e debatable matters and I have ,
treated the subj ect for the sake of brev ity i n the for m of
, ,
Questions and Answer s Will you accept me as interpreter

.
,
after the mi s take s I made when you consulted me in Edin

_
burgh ? Events I ad mit have proved that I was entir ely

, ,
wrong in trying to prevent you from returning to D exter

and partially wrong in s uspecti n g D exter of being directly ,
instead of indirectly answerable for the rst Mrs Eustace s

, .

death ! I frankly make my con f ession and leave yo u to tell ,
Mr Benjamin whether you think my new Catechism worthy

.

of examination or n ot .
I thought hi s n ew Catechi sm (as he called it) decide dly

worthy of examination I f you don t agree with thi s view

.

an d i f you are dying to be done with me and my n a rrative ,
pass on to the next chapter by all means !

Benjamin produced the Question s and An swer s an d read ,
t hem to me at my requ est in these terms

, ,
Que s tion s sugge s ted by the letter di s covered at Gl eni nc h .
Fir s t Group : Questions relating to the Diary First Ques .
tion I n obtaining access to Mr Mac all an s private j ournal .

,
wa s Mi serri m u s D exter guided by any previous knowledge of

it s contents ?

Answer I t i s doubt ful if he had any such knowle dge
-
.
Th e probabilities are that he noticed h o w care f ull y Mr Mac .

~
allan secured hi s Diary from obser vation ; that he in ferred

there from the existence of dangerou s domestic secrets in the
locked up pages ; and that he speculated on using those
-
secrets for hi s ow n purpose, w hen he caused the fals e keys t o

be made .

S ec ond q ue s tio n To w hat motive ar e we t o attribute
Miserrimus Dexter s interfe r e n c e with the sheri ff s o fcers, on

PAS T AND FUTURE .
the day w he n th ey s ei z ed Mr Macall an s D i ar y, al on g

.

w ith
his other papers ?

An s wer I h replying t o thi s question we mu st rs t do ,
justice to Dexter himself In famously as we n ow know h i m

.
to have acted the man was not a do wnright end That he

,
.
secretly hated Mr Mac all an as hi s successful rival in the

.
,
a ff ections of the wom an whom he loved and that he d i d all

he could t o induce the unhappy lady to desert her husband
are in thi s case f acts not to be denied O n the other hand
, , . .
it i s fairly to be doubted whether he wa s additionally capable

of permitting the friend who truste d him to be tried for
murder through hi s f ault w ithout making an e ff ort to save

, ,
the innocent man I t had naturally never occurred to Mr

. .
Mac all an (being gui ltless of his w ife s death ) to destroy his

Diary and his letters, in the fear that they might be used
aga nst him U ntil the prompt and secret action of the
i
.
Fiscal took him by s urprise the idea of hi s being charged

,
w ith the murder of hi s wi f e w as an idea which we kno w ,
from hi s ow n statement had never even entered his mind

, .
But Dexter must have l ooked at the matter from another

point of view In hi s last w andering wor ds (spoken whe n
.
his mind broke down ) he ref er s t o the Diary in thes e term s ,
If

Th e Diary will hang him I won t have him hanged

.
he coul d have found his opportunity of getting at it in time

or if the sheri ff s o fcers had not been too qui ck f or him

there can be no reasonable doubt that Dexter would have

himself destroyed the Diary f oreseeing the consequences of ,
its production in Court So s trongly does he appear to have

.
felt these considerations ,that he even resisted the o fcers in

the execution of their duty Hi s agitation when he sent .
f or Mr P l a
.
ymor e to interf ere was witnessed by that gentle
man and (it may not be amis s t o add) wa s genuine agitation
,
beyond di spute .

Questions of the Second Group : r elating to th e Wi f e s
Con fe ssio n . First Questio n What prevented Dexter from

E E
de stroying the letter when he rs t di scover ed i t und er t he

,
dead w oman s p i ll ow ?

Answer Th e same motive s which led him t o resist the

sei z ur e of the Diary and to give his evidence in t he pri
,
soner s favour at the Trial induced him to preserve the letter

, ,
u ntil the verdi ct w as known Looking back o n ce more at

.
hi s last w ords (as taken down by Mr Benj ami n) we m ay .

,
i n fer that i f the ver di ct had bee n G uilty he w ould n ot h ave ,
hesitated t o save the innocent husband by producing the

w i fe s co n fession

There are degrees in all wickedness
. .
Dexter was wicked enough to suppres s the letter whi ch ,
w ounded hi s vanity by reve aling hi m as an object for lo a thi ng
a n d contemptbut he wa s not wicked enough deliberately t o
let an innocent man perish on the scaff old He was capable .
o f exposing the rival whom he hated to the in f amy and tor
ture of a public accusa tion of murder ; but i n the event of ,
an adverse verdict he shrank before the direr cruelty of let

,
ting hi m be hanged R eect in this connexion on wh a t he

.
, ,
must have su ffered villain as he was when he rst read the

, ,
w i fe s conf ession He had calculated on undermining her

.
a ff ection f or her husband and whither had his c alculations
l ed hi m ? He h ad driven the wom a n whom he loved to the

last dreadful refuge of death by suicide ! Give these con
siderations their due weight ; and you wil l understand that
s ome l ittle redeeming virtue might sho w itsel f as the result ,
even of thi s man s remorse

.

S econd Question What motive inuenc ed Mi ser r i m us
D exter s conduct when Mrs (Val eri a) Ma c al l an in f ormed him

, .
that she proposed t e opening the inquiry into the poisoning at

-
G l em nc h ?

Answer I n all probability, Dexter s guilty f ears sug
ge sted to him that he might have been watched on the ,
m ornin g when he secretly entered the chamber in whi ch the

(
rst Mrs Eustace lay dea d Feeling no scruple s himsel f to

. .
,
r es train him from li s teni n

g at doors and looking through key
PA S T AND F U TURE .
holes , h e w oul d b e all

the more ready to su spect other people
of t he same practices With thi s dread in hi m it would
.
,
n aturall y occu r to his mind that Mrs Valeria might meet .
w ith the per ssn who had watched him and might he a r all ,
that t h e person had discovered unless he led her astray at

the outset o f her investigations Her o w n eal ou s s uspicion s .
of Mrs Beauly o ff ered him the chance of easil y doi n g this

. .
And he was all the readier to prot by the chanc e being him ,
sel f animated by the most hostile f eeling towards that lady .
He kne w her as the en emy who destroyed t h e domestic peace

,
of the mistres s of the house ; he loved the mistress of the
house and he hated her enemy accordingly Th e preserva ,

.
tion of his guilty secret and the persecution of Mr s Bea uly : , .
there you have the grea ter and the lesser motive of his con
duct in his relations with Mrs Eustace the second !
, .

Benjamin lai d down his notes and took off hi s spectacles , .

We have not tho u ght it necess a ry to go farther than thi s ,
he said I s there any point you can think of that i s s till

.
lef t unexplai ned ?
I reected There was n o point o f any impo rtance left un

.
explained that I could remember But there w as on e litt le .
m atter (su ggested by the recent all usions to Mrs Be a uly ) .
which I w ished possible) to have thoroug hl y cleared up .
Have you and Mr Pl aym or e ever spoken together on the

.
su bj ect o f my husb a nd s f ormer attachment to Mrs Be a uly ?

.
I asked Has Mr Pl aym or e ever told you w hy Eustac e did

. .
n ot mar ry her after the Trial ?

,
I put tha t question to Mr Pl aym or e myself said Benja .

,

min . He answered it easily enough Being your husb an d s .
condential f riend and adviser he was consulted when Mr ,

.
Eustac e wrote t o Mrs Beauly, after the Trial ; and h e .
Not e by t h e w ri ter of th e n ar r a t ve i Look b ac k f or a f ur th er

Ill ust r a t i on of his po in t of v ew i to th e B enj a m i n
ho se
t sc en e at s u
(Ch apt er w her e D e t er i n a

x , momen t of ung overn ab l e ag ita n
t ion , b etrays h is o wn sec r et t o V a l eria .

repeated the s ubstance of the letter at my re que st Would ,

.
you like to hear what I remember of it in my turn ? ,

I owned that I shoul d like to hear it Wha t Benjamin .
th er eupon told me exactly coincided w ith what Mi serri mus

,
Dexter had told me as related in the thirtiet h chapter of

my narrative Mr s Beauly had been a witness pf the publ ic
. .
degradatio n of my h usband Tha t was enough in itsel f to .
prevent him from marryi n g her He broke off with her .
for the same reason which had led hi m to separate hi ms elf

from m e . Existence with a woman who kne w that he had
b een tried f or his life as a mu r derer was an existence whi ch ,
he had not resol ution enough to face Th e two accounts .
agreed in every particular At last my jealous curiosity w as

. .
pacied ; an d Benj amin was free to dismiss the past from

further consideration and to approach th e more cri t ical and
,
more i nteresting topic of the f uture .
Hi s r s t inquiries related to Eustace He asked if my .
husband had any suspicion of the proceedings which had take n
p lace at G l en i n c h .
I told him what had happened and h ow I had contrived ,
t o put off the inevitable disclosure for a time .
My ol d friend s face cleared up a s he listened to me

.
This w i ll be good news for Mr Pl aym or e he said

.
O ur , .
excell ent friend the lawyer is sorely af raid that our d i s coveries
, ,
may compromise your position with your husband O n the .
on e hand he i s naturally anxious to spare Mr Eustace t h e

, .
distress whi ch he mu s t certainly feel i f he reads hi s rst ,

wif e s con fession O n the other hand it i s impossible in
.
, ,
j us tice (as Mr Pl aymor e puts it) to the unborn children of

.
your marriage to s uppress a document which vindicate s the

,
memory of their father from the aspersion that the S cotoll

Verdi ct might otherwise cast on it

.
I listened attentively In re ferrin g t o our future Benj amin

.
,
h ad touched on a trouble w hich w as s ti ll s ecretl y preying on

.
my min d .
EAS T AND FU TURE .
42 :
How does Mr Pl aymore pr opose to meet the di i cui ty l

.
'
I asked .
He can only meet it i n on e way, Benjamin replied

He
.
propose s to seal up the original manuscript of the letter, and

to add to it a plain statement of the circumstances under
which it w as discovered ; supported by your signed attesta
tion and mine as witnesses to the facts This done he must
,
.
,
leave it to you to take your husband into your condence at ,
your ow n time It w ill then be for Mr Eustace to decide

. .
whether he w ill open the enclos ure or whether he will leave

it w ith the seal unbroken as an heirloom to his children to
, , ,
be made publi c or n ot , at their discretion when they are of ,
an age to think f or themselves D o you consent to this, my .
deaf ? or would you pre f er that Mr Pl aym ore should see your .
husband, and act f or you in the matter ?
I decided without hesitation to take the responsibili ty on

, ,
myself Where the questio n of gui ding Eustace s decision

.

was concern ed I considered my inuence to be decidedly

,
superior to the in uence of Mr Pl aym or e My choice met . .

with Benjami n s f ull approval He arranged to write to .

Edinburgh and relieve the law ye r s anxieties, by that day s

,
post .
Th e one l a st thing n ow le ft to be settled related to our ,
plans for returning to England Th e doctors w ere the au t h o .
ri t i es on this subj ect I promi s ed t o consult them about it,

.
at their next visit to Eustace .

Have you anythi ng more t o s ay t o me ? Benjamin i n
quired as he O pened his writing case

,
-
.
I thought of Mi ser ri mus D exter and Ariel ; an d I i n

qui red i f he had heard any news of them lately My ol d .
f riend sighed and warned me that I had touched o n a painf ul

,
subj ect .
'
l he best thing that can happen to that unh appy man i s ,
l ik ely t o happen , he s ai d
Th e one change in hi m i s a
.

42 2 THE LA W AND THE LAD Y .
change that threaten s paralysi s You may hear of hi s death .

be fore you get bac k to England .
And Ariel I asked .

Quite unaltered Benjamin answered
Perfectly happy
,

.

so long as she is with the Master From all I can hear of .

her poor s oul, she doesn t reckon D exter among mortal

,

beings Sh e lau ghs at the idea of his dying and she waits
.
patiently, in the rm persuasion that he will recogn i se h er

again .
Benjamin s new s s addened and silenced me I left h i m t o

.
hi s letter .
CHAPTER L
.
TH E LA S T OF THE S T O RY .
IN ten days more w e returned to England accompan ied by ,
Benjami n .
Mrs Mac all an s house in London o ff ered us ample aecom

.

m odat i on We gladly availed ourselves of her proposal ,

.
when she invited us to stay with her until ou r child was born ,
and ou r plans f or the fu ture were arranged .
Th e sad news f rom the asylum (f or which Benj amin h ad

prepared my mind at Pa ris) reached me soon after ou r return
to England Mi ser r i m us Dexter s release f rom the burden of
.

li f e h ad come to him by slo w degrees A f ew hours bef ore

,
.
he bre athed his last he ra llied f or a whi le and recognised

, ,
Ariel at his bedside He feebly pronounced her name and .

,
looked at her and asked for me They thought of sending

,
.
for me but it was too late Bef ore the messenger could be
, .
despatched he said with a touch of hi s ol d sel f importance

, ,
-
S ilence all of you ! my brains are weary ; I am going to

He closed his eyes in slumber and never woke agai n

sleep .
,
.
S o f or this man too the end came merci f ully w ithout g rie f or ,
pain ! So that strange an d many s ided li fe w ith it s g uilt -

TH E LAS T OF TH E S TOR Y .
423
and i t s misery, i t s tf ul ash e s of poetry an d humour i t s ,
fantastic gaiety; cruelty and vanityran it s destined c o ur se,

,
a n d faded out like a dream
Alas f or Ariel Sh e had lived f or the Master what more

could she do now the Mas ter was gone ? Sh e could di e for
,
hi m .
They had merci ft all owed her t o attend the funeral of

Mi serr i m u s Dexteri n the h Ope that the ceremony might
avail to convince her of his death Th e a nticipation was n ot .
real i z ed ; s he still persisted i n denying that the Master
had lef t her They were obliged to restrain the poor creature
.
by f orce when the co fn was lowered into the g rave ; an d

,
they could only remove her from the cemetery by the same ,
means when the burial service was over From that time
, .
,
her lif e alternated f or a few weeks between ts of raving

, ,
delirium an d intervals of lethargic repose At the annual

, .
ball given in the asylum when the strict superintendence of

,
the patients was in some degree relaxe d the alarm was raised , ,
a little be f ore midnight that Ariel w a s missing

,
Th e nurse i n .
charge ha d left her asleep an d h ad yielded t o the temptation

,
of going downstairs to look at the danci ng Wh en t h e .
woman returned to her post Ari el w as gone Th e presence , .
of strangers and the confusion incidental to the f estival,

,
o ff ered her f acilities f or escaping whi ch would not have pre

sented thems elves at any other time That night the search .
f or her proved to be useless Th e next morning brought with

.
it the last touching and terrible ti di ngs of her Sh e had .
strayed back to the burial gr ou nd ; an d s he had been found

-
towards sunrise dead of cold and exposure on Mi serr i mus

, ,
Dexter s gr ave Faithf ul to the la st Ariel had followed t he

.
,

Master ! F aithful to the la s t Ariel had died on the Ma s ter s ,
g rave
Having w r itten the s e sad w ords, I tur n w ill i n gly t o a less

pai n ful th eme .
424 THE LA W AND THE LAD
Event s had s eparated me from Maj or Fitz David after th e -

,
date of the dinner party which had w itnessed my memorabl e

-
meeting w ith Lady Clarinda From tha t time I h eard little .

,
or nothi ng of the M ajor ; and I am ashamed to s ay I h ad
al most entirely forgotten hi m when I was reminded of the
modern Don J uan by the amaz ing appearance of wedding

,
cards addre s sed to me at my mother i n law s house Th e

,
- -

.
Maj or had settled in lif e at last And more wonderf ul still .

, ,
the Maj or had cho s en a s the la wful rul er of his hou sehold
and hi ms elf the future Queen of S ong ; the round eyed -
over dressed young lady with the strident sopran o voice

-
We paid our visit of c ongratul atio n in due f or m and we

really di d feel f or Maj or Fit z David -
.
Th e ordeal of marriage had so changed my gay and gallant

admirer of f ormer times that I hardly knew hi m agai n He , .
had lost all hi s pretension s to youth ; he had become hop e ,

.
lessly and un di sguisedly an ol d man S tandin g behind t h

, . e
chair on which his imperious young wif e sat enthroned he ,
looked at her submissively between eve r y two words that he

addressed to me as i f he waited f or her permission to open
,
his lips and speak Whenever she interrupted hi mand she

.
did it over and over again without ceremonyh e submitted

, ,
w ith a s enile docili ty and admiration at once absurd and ,
shocking to see .

Is n t she beautiful ? he said to me (in hi s w i fe s hearing l)

.
What a gure and what a voice Y ou remember her voice ?

,

It s a loss my dear lady an irretrievable loss to the operatic
, , ,
s tage ! Do you know when I think what that grand creature

,
m i ght have done I sometimes ask mysel f i f I really had any

,
right to marry her I feel upon my honour I f eel, as i f I

.
,
had committed a f raud on the public I

As for the f avoured obj ect of this quaint mixture of ad
mi rat i on and regret she w as pleased to receive me graciously
, ,
as an ol d f riend While Eustace was talk ing to the M ajor

.
,
the bride drew me aside ou t of their hearing and explained ,

TH E LAS T 01 TH E S TOR Y .
42;
h er motive s f or marryi n g with a ca ndour which w as po s

,
i
t i vel y s hamele s s .

You see we are a large family at home quite unprovid ed ,
for ! thi s odiou s young woman whispered in my ear

It s .
al l ve r y well to t alk about my b eing a Queen of S ong and

the rest of it Lord bles s you I have been of ten enough to
.
,
the opera and I have learnt enou gh of my music m aster

,
-
to know what it tak es to make a ne singer I haven t the .

patience to work at it as those foreign women do a parcel of

braz en faced Jez eb el s I hate them No ! n o ! between you
-
.
and me, it was a great deal easier to get the money by marry
ing the ol d gentleman Here I am provided for and there s
.
,

all my family provided f or too and nothing to do but to , ,
spend the money I am fond of my fa mily ; I m a good

.

daughter and sisterI am ! See h ow I m dressed 3 look at
t h e f urniture : I haven t played my car ds badly have I ?

,
It s a great advantage to marry an ol d man you can twist

him r ound your little nger Happy ? O h yes ! I m quite .

,

happy ; and I hope you are too Wh ere are you living now ?
, .
I shall call soon and have a long gossip with you I always
, .

had a sort of liking for you and (now I m as good a s you are)
,

I want to be friends .
I made a s hort and civil reply to this 3 determining i n

w a rdl y that when she did visit me she should get n o f a rther ,

than the house door I don t scruple to say that I was
.
thoroughly disgusted with her When a woman s ells hersel f .
t o a man that vi le bargain i s none the les s in f amou s (to my

,
mind) because it happen s t o be made under the sanction of

,
the Church and the Law .
As I s it at th e desk thinking the picture of the Major and ,
hi s wif e van ishe s from my m emoryand the las t scene in m

y
story co m es s lowly in to vie w .
Th e place i s my b edroom Th e person s (both, i f you w i ll

.
be plea s ed to excuse them) are myself and my son He i s

, .
already three weeks ol d 3 and he i s now lyi n g fast asleep by

his mother s side My good U ncle Stark w eather is comi ng t o
.
London to b a ptise hi m Mrs Mac al l an will be hi s god

. .
mother 3 and his god fathers wi l l be Benjamin and Mr Play .
m ore . I wonder whether my christenin g w ill pass off more

merrily than my weddin g ?
Th e doctor has just le ft the house i n s ome l ittle perplexity
,
about me He has foun d m e recli n ing as usual (la tterly) in

.
my arm chair 3 but on thi s particular day he has detected

-
, ,
symptoms of exhaustion which he nds quite un a ccountable

,
under the circumstances and whi ch warn hi m to exert h i s

,
authority by sending me back to my bed .
Th e truth is that I have n ot t ak en the doctor into my con

den c e There are t w o causes f or those signs of e x haustion
.
which have surprised my medical attendan t a n d the names

of them are Anxiety and S uspense .
O n thi s day I have at last summoned courage enou gh

,
to perfor m the promi se which I m a de to my husb a nd in

P aris He is in f ormed by this time how his w i f e s con
.
, ,

f essi on was discovered He k nows (on Mr Pl aym or e s au t h o

. .
rity) that the letter may be made the means i f he so w i lls it , ,
o f publicly vindi cating his innocence in a Court of Law .
And l a st and most important of all he is now aware th at the

, ,
Con f ession itself has been kept a sealed secret from him ,
ou t o f compassionate regard f or hi s ow n peace of mind, as
well as f or the memory of the unhappy w oman who w as once

h is wi f e .
These necessary disclo s ures I have communicated to my

husband not by word of mouth 3 when the time came I ,
shrank f ro m speak ing to him personally of hi s rst w if e but

by a written statement of the circumstances taken mainly ,
ou t o f my l etters received in Paris f rom Benja min and Mr

,
.
Pl aym or e He has now had ample time to read all that

.
I have wr itten to him and to reect on it in the r etiremen t

,
TH E LA S T OF TH E S TO R Y: 42 7
of hi s ow n s tudy I am waiting with the f atal lette r in my

.
,
handand my mother i n law i s wai t i n g in the next room to

- -
me to hear fro m his ow n li ps whether he decides to break

th e seal or not .
Th e minutes pass ; and still we fail to hear hi s f ootstep on

the stairs My doubts as to which way his decision m ay
.
turn affect me more and more une a sily the lon ger I w ait
, .
Th e very posse s sion of the letter in the present excited s tate ,
of my nerves oppresses and revolts me

,
I shrink f rom .
touchi ng it, or looki n g at it I move it about restless l y

.
from place to place on the bed and still I cannot keep it ou t ,
of my mi nd At last an odd f ancy s trikes me I li f t up

.
,
.
on e of the baby s hands, and put the letter under i t

and so associate that dreadf ul record of sin and misery

with s omethi ng innocent and pretty that seems to hallow and
to puri fy it .
Th e minutes pass 3 the half hour longer strikes f rom the -
c lock on the chi m ney piece 3 and at last I hear him !

-
He
k nocks sof tly and opens the door
,
.
He i s dead l y pale I fancy I can detect traces of tears on

hi s cheeks . B ut no outward signs of agitation escape him a s ,
h e takes hi s seat by my side I can see that he has waited

.
unt i l he could control himsel f f or my sake .
He takes my hand and k isses me tenderly ,

.
Valeria he s ays Let me once more ask you to f orgive

.
what I said and did in the b yeg on e time I f I understand

, , .
n othing else my love I understan d this

, , Th e proo f of m y -
i n nocence has been found 3an d I ow e it entirely to the courag e

and the devotion of my wif e
I wait a li ttl e to enj oy the full luxury of hearing him say
,
those w ordst o revel in the love and the gratitude that

moisten hi s dear eyes as they look at me Then, I rouse my .
resolution and put the momentous question on which our

,
future depends .
D o you wi sh t o s ee the letter, Eu stace i

Ins tead of an s wering di r ectly, he que s tio ns me i n hi s

t urn .
Have you got the letter her e 3

Yes .

S ealed
up ?
S ealed up

.
He waits a little con s ideri ng w hat h e i s going to s ay n ext

, ,
be f ore he says it .

L et me be sure that I know exactly what it i s I have
to decide he proceeds
S uppose I insist on reading the
, .

letter 1
There I interrupt him I know it i s my duty to re s trai n .
myself But I cannot do my duty

. .
My darling don t talk of reading the lett er ! Pray, pray

,

spare yoursel f
He holds up hi s hand for s i le n ce .
I am not thi nking of mysel f he s ays I am thinking of ,

.
m y dead wi f e I f I gi v e up the public vindicatio n of m y

.
innocence in my own li f etime i f I leave the seal of t h e

,
letter unbroken do you say as Mr Pl aym or e says that I , .

,
sh all be acting merci fully and tenderly towards th e memory

of my w i f e ?

Oh Eu s tace, t here cannot be the s hado w of a doubt
,

of it !

S hall
I be making s ome littl e atonement f or any pain
tha t I may have tho ughtlessly caused her t o s u ff er i n h er
li f etime ?
Yes yes !

And Valeria shall I please You 3
,

My darling you wi l l enchant me ! ,

Where i s the l et t er i
In your son s hand Eu s tace

, .
He goe s round to the other side of the bed and lif t s th e ,
baby s little pink hand to hi s lips For a w hile he wait s so,

.
,
i n s ad and s ecret communion w ith himsel f I s ee hi s moth er .

TH E LAS T OF TH E S TOR Y .
429
sof tly Open t h e door, and watch him as I am watch i ng hi m .
I n a moment more ou r s uspense is at an end

, With a heavy .

sigh he lays the child s hand back again on the sealed letter 3
,
an d by th at on e li t tle action s ays (as i f in w ords to hi s s on :

, ) ,
I leave it to You !

-
An d so it ended ! Not as I thought it w ould end 3 not

perhaps as you thought it would end Wh at do we know of .
our ow n lives ? What do w e know of the ful l ment of ou r

dearest w ishes ? God know s and that is best -
.
Must I shut up t h e paper ? Yes There is nothing mor e .
for you to read or for me to s ay

, .
Except thisas a postscript Don t bear hardly g eod

.
,
people on the follie s and the err ors of my husband s li f e

,

.
Abuse me as much a s you plea s e But pray t hink of.
Eustac e, my s ake .
THE END .
U NWI N B RO THERS , LTD

.
, R
P I NTE S, L ND R O ON AND w os m c .
C HATTO WI ND US
S
C HEAP PO PU LAR NO V ELS
B Y THE B ES T A UTHO RS .
B ou n d i n B o a r ds , TW O S HI LL I NG S ea c h .
BY EDMOND ABOUT B Y FRANK BARRETTcovzt z n u ed

'
. .
T h e F e lla h . T h e W oman of t h e I ron B rac e l e t s

T h e H a rdin g S c a n da l
BY MRS ALEX ANDER .
A M issin g W it ne ss
. .
M a i d, W i f e, or W idow ?
.
V a l eri e s F a t e

.
B Y BESANT ct RIDE .
B li n d Fa t e . R e a dy M on e y
-
M ort i b oy .
A L i f e I n t erest .
W it h H a rp a n d Cr ow n .
M on a s Ch oi c e T hi s S on o f V u l c a n

.
B y W oman s W i t
.
M y Li t t l e G i rl
'
. .
BY BRANT ALLEN .
T h e Case of M r Lu c raft . .
T h e G o l de n B utt e r y
S t ran g e S t or i es
.
B y C e l ia s A rb our
.
P hi l i st ia
.
T h e M on k s o f T h e l e m a
.
B a b y l on
.
T w a s i n T ra f a l g a r s B a y
.
T h e B eck on i n g Hand
.
.
T h e S e a m y S i de
I n Al l S ha des
.
T h e T en Y ea rs T enant
.
F o r M a i m i e s S ak e
.
Th e Cha pl a i n of t h e F l ee t
.
T h e D evi l s Di e
.
T hi s M ort a l Coi l .
B Y WALTER BESANT .
T h e T en t s o f S h e m .
All S ort s an d Con dit i on s of M en
T h e G re a t T a b oo .
T h e Ca pt a in s R o om

D umares q s Da ug h t e r
.

A ll i n a G a rde n F a i r
.
.
T h e Duc h e ss of P ow ysl an d
D or ot h y F orst er
.
.
B l o o d R oy a l U n cl e J a c k
.
I van G reet s M ast erpiec e

.

Chi l dre n o f G i b e on
.
T h e S ca llyw a g
.
T h e W or l dw e nt v ery w e ll t h en
.
A t M a r k e t V a lue
.
H err P a ulus
.
U n der S ea l e d O rders
.
F or F a i t h an d F reedom.
.
B Y EDWIN LES TER ARNOLD . T o Ca ll h er M in e .
Th e B e ll of S t P aul s
'
P h ra t h e P h ce ni c i an .
. .
T h e Holy Ros e .
B Y FRANK BARRETT .
Arm orel of L y onesse .
A R ec oi l ing V en g ean c e S t K a t h e ri n e s by th e T ow er

. . .
F or L ov e an d H on ou r . T h e I vo ry G a t e .
J ohn F ord ; an d Hi s H e lpmate . V erb e n a Ca m e ll i a S teph an oti s .
H on e st D a vi e . T h e R eb el Que en .
A P rodi g a l s P r og r ess B ey on d t h e Drea ms of Ava ri c e

. .
F o ll y M orri son . T h e R ev o l t o f M a n .
L i e ut e n an t B arna bas I n D e a c on s O r ders

. .
F oun d G ui lt y . T h e M ast er Cra ft sman .
F e t t ered f o r L i f e . T h e City of R e fug e .
B etw e en L i f e an d Death .
T h e S i n of O l g a Z a ssouli c h .
B YAMBROSE BIERDE .
L itt l e La dy L in t on . In th e M i dst of L if e .
London : CHA T TO 61 '

WI ND US , 111 S t . M ar ti n
'
s La n e, l/V. C .
T WO S H I LLI N G EP OP ULA R N O VE LS
-
.
B Y FREDERICK BOYLE. B Y WILK IE COLLINScon ti n ued .
Camp Not e s . H i de S e ek
an d .
S a vag e L i f e . T h e D ea d S e c r et .
Ch ron i c l e s of No M an s Land

-
. Q ueen o f H ear t s .
M y M i sce lla ni e s
B Y ROBERT BUCHANAN
.
.
The W oman i n W hi te .
T h e S h a dow of t h e S w ord .
The M oon st one .
A Chi l d of Na ture .
M an an d W ife .
G od an d t h e M an .
P oor M i ss F i n c h
An na n W a t er
.
.
M i ss M rs
or .
T h e N ew Ab e l ar d .
The New M a g dal e n .
T h e M a rt y rdom o f M ade l in e .
The F r oz en D ee p .
L ov e M e f or Ev er .
The L aw an d t h e La dy .
M a tt : a S t ory of 3 Caravan
. . .
The T w o D e st i n i e s .
F o x g l ov e M a n o r .
The Ha un t e d H ot e l .
T h e M ast er o f t h e M in e .
The F a ll e n L e aves .
T h e H e i r of L inne .
J e z eb e l s D a ug h t er

W om an an d t h e M an
.
.
T h e B l a ck R o b e .
Ra ch e l D e n e .
H e a rt a n d S c i ence .
L a dy K i l pa t r i ck .

I sa N o

.
B Y BUCHANAN AND MURRAY .

T h e v i l G e ni u s .
L it t l e N ove l s
T h e Ch ar l a t an
.
T h e L e g a c y of Cai n
.
B Y HALL CAINE . B l in d L ove .
T h e S h a dow o f a Cri me .
MORTIMER ct FRANCES COLL/NB .
A S o n o f H ag a r .
T h e D ee mst er S w ee t Ann e Pa g e .
T ra ns m i g ra t i on
.
B Y COMMANDER CAMERON .
F r o m M i dn i g ht t o M i dni g h t .
T h e Crui se of th e B l a ck P rin c e

.
A F ig h t w i t h F o rt une .
S w ee t an d T w ent y
B Y AUSTIN CLARE
.
.
F r an ce s .
For th e L ov e of a Lass . h e V i lla g e C o m e dy .
on P l a y M e F a l s e
BY MRS ARCHER CLIVE
.
B la ck smi t h an d S ch ol ar
. .
P a u l F err ol l .
W h y P a ul F erroll K i ll e dh i s W i f e BY M . J . COLQUHOUN .
B Y MACLAREN COBBAN .
Ev ery I nch 3. S ol dier .
T h e Cure of S oul s .
B Y 0 : EGBERT CRADDOCK
. .
Th e R ed S ult an
P ro ph et of th e S mok y M oun t ai n s
.
B Y 0 ALLS TON COLLINS

. .
B Y MATT CRIM
Th e B a r S i n i st er
.
Adv entures of a F ai r R e b el
B Y WILK IE COLLINS
.
A rma da l e .
BY 8 .M CROK ER . .
A ft er D a rk . P rett y M i ss N evi ll e .
No Na m e . P roper P r i de .
A Rog u e s Li f e A B ird o f P a ssa g e

. .
Ant on i na . D i ana B a rr in g t on .
B a si l

.

T o L et .
Lon don : CH A TTO 6

WI ND US , I n St . M a r t i n s La n e,
'
WC .
T WO S H I LLI N G P OP ULA R N O VELS
-
.
1
By B M CHOK ERw n t i n ued

. . . B YPERCYFITZ GERALD and Others .
A F a m i l y L i k e n e ss .
S tra ng e S e c r ets .
V i lla g eT al es & Jung l eT rag edi es .
T w o M as t e rs
B Y R E FRANCILLON
.
M r J ervis
. . .
. .
T h e R e a l La dy Hi l da .
O l ympi a .
M ar ri e d or S i n g l e P O n e b y On e .
I nt e r f e r ence .
Q uee n Coph etua .
A T hi r d P erson .
A R e a l Quee n .
K i n g or K n a ve .
B Y ALPHONSE DAUDET .
R o man c e s of t h e La w .
The Eva ng e l i st .
Ro es of S an d .
A og an d hi s S h adow .
B Y DICK DONOVAN .
T h e M an hun t er B Y HAROLD FREDERIC

-
.
.
Ca ug ht a t La st !
S e th B r ot h er s W i f e

s
T ra c k e d an d T ak e n .
L aw t on G i rl
.
W h o P oi son e d Het ty Duncan ? The .
T h e M an f ro m M an ch e st er .
A D e t e c t i v e s T r i umph s Pr efac ed by Si r H BARTLE FHERE

. .
.
I n t h e G rip of t h e L aw .
P an dur an g Hari
W a nt e d !
.
F rom I n f orma t i on R e c e iv e d .
B Y GILBERT GAUL
T ra c k e d t o D oom
.
.
L ink b y L i n k .
A S t ran g e M an usc ript .
S us pi ci on Aroused .
Da rk D ee ds .
8 Y CHARLES RIBBON .
Ri ddl e s R ea d i G ra y
ob n
.
Th e M yst e r y of J am a i c a T e r r a ce
.
F o r L a ck o f G o ld
.
Ch roni c l e s of M i ch a e l Dan evi t c h

.
W h at w i ll t h e W orl d S ay ?
B Y MRS ANNIE EDWARDES I n H on ou r B ou n d .
In L ov e an d W a r
. .
A P oint o f H onour .
.
Arc h i e Lov e ll F or t h e K i n g .
Quee n of t h e M e a dow
.
B Y EDWARD EGGLESTON . I n P ast ure s G ree n .
T h e F l ow er of t h e F ore st .
A H e a rt s P r ob l e m

.
BY G MANVILLE FENN
. .
T h e B r a s s o f Y ar r ow .
Th e New M i str ess .

T h e G o l de n S h af t .
W it n e ss t o t h e D ee d .
O f H i g h De s e .
Th e T i er L i l y .
T h e D e a d e ar t .
Th e i t e V i rg i n .
B y M e a d a n d S t rea m .
H e a rt s D e li g ht

B Y PERCY FITZ GERALD

.
F anc y F ree
.
B e ll a D onna
.
L ov i n g a Drea m
.
P o ll y
.
A H ar d K n ot
.
Th e S ec ond M r s T i ll otson
.
B l ood M on ey
. .
-
S even v e B rook e S treet

.
- .
N e ve r or g ot t en
B Y WILLIAM GILBERT
.
T h e La dy of B rant ome
.
.
Fata l Z er o . J ame s Duk e , Costerm on g er .
London : CHA TTO 6 WI ND US , III St . M ar t i n

s Lane, WC .
T WO S H ILLI N G P OP ULA R N O VE LS
-
.
B Y ERNEST GLANVILLE. B Y HEADON HILL.

T h e L ost H e i re ss . Z a mbra , th e Det ec ti v e .
T h e F ossi c k e r .
A F ai r Col oni st . B Y J OHN HILL .
T reason F e l ony -
.
B Y REV 8 BAR/NC GOULD. . .
Ev e . B Y MRS CASHEL HOEY . .
Red S pider .
T h e L ov er s Cre ed

.
B Y HENRY GREVILLE .
B Y MRS GEORGE HOOPER
. .
Nikan or . T h e Hou se of Raby .
B Y ANDREW HALL/DAY .
B Y MRS HUNGERFORD . .
Every Day P a pers

-
.
I n Dur an c e V i l e .
A M a i den a l l F o r l orn .
A M e n t a l S tru g g l e
B Y THOMAS HARDY
.
.
M arvel .
U n der t h e G re enw ood T re e .

A M o dern Ci r c e .
L a dy V e rn er s F l i h t

.
BY BRET HARTE . T h e R ed H ous e -

y st ery .
An H e i re ss o f R ed D o T h e T h ree G r a c e s .
T h e Lu c k o f R oar in g a mp .
An U nsa t i sfa ct ory Lov er .
Ca l i f o rn i a n S t ori es .
La dy P a t t y .
G a b ri e l Con roy .
N o ra C r ei n a .
Apr il s L a dy

F l ip .
P et er s W if e
.

M a ruj a .
.
T h e P r of e ssor s Ex periment

A P hy lli s o f th e S i erra s .
.
A W ai t o f t h e P la i n s .
A W ard of t h e G ol den G a te .
B Y MRS ALFRED HUNT
. .
T h e L e ade n Ca sk et .
B Y J ULIAN HAWTHORNE . S e lf Con de mn e d

-
.
G a r th .
T h a t Ot h er P erson .
E ll i c e Quent in .
S e b ast i an S trome .
B Y HARRIETT M Y .
D ust . The D ark Coll ee n .
F ort un e s F ool

. T he Quee n of Conn aug ht .
B e a t r i x R andolph .
M i ss Ca dag u a B Y MARK K ERSHAW .
L oveor a Na m e
.
.
Col on i a l Fa c ts an d F i c ti on s .
D a vi d P oin de x t er s Di sappe ar

an e. c B Y R ASHE K ING. .
T h e S pe c tre of t h e Cam era .

A D ra w n G a m e .
T h e W e ari ng o f t h e G reen

.
B Y SIR ARTHUR HELPS .

P a s si on s S l a ve

.
I van de B ir on . B e ll B a rry .
B Y 6 A HENTY . . . B Y EDMOND LEPELLETIER .
Ruj ub , t h e J ug g l er . M a da m e S ans G ene -

.
CH A TTO E II I ND U S , Si M a r l i i z : La m ,
'
WC
'
Lon don : r 1 11 . . .
T WO S H I LLI N G P OP ULAR N O VE LS
- .
B Y J OHN LEY
8 . B Y L T MEADE . . .
Th e Lindsa y s A S ol di er of Fortune .
B YE LYNN LINTON
. .
B Y LEONARD MERRICK .
P at r i c i a K emb all .
Th e M an w h o w as G ood .
T h e At onem ent of Leam Dundas

B Y J EAN MIDDLEMASS
.
Th e W o rl d W e ll L ost
.
.
U n der w hi c h L ord T ouc h an d G o .
W i th a S i lk en T h re ad .
M r D ori lli on
. .
T h e R e b e l o f th e Fami ly
B Y MRS MOLES WORTH
.
M y L ove I
. .
I on e . Hath er c ourt Rec tory .
P aston Car ew .
S ow i n g t h e W in d . B Y J E MUDDOCK. . .
Th e On e t oo M any . S t ori e s W e i rd an d W on derf ul .
Dul c i e Ev ert on . T h e D e a d M an s S e c re t

.
F r om t h e B osom of th e Deep .
B Y HENRY W LUCY
B Y D CHRISTIE MURRAY
. .
. .
G i deon Fl ey c e
A Life s Aton e ment
.

.

ose h s C oa t
BY J US TIN Mc CARTHY
.
al t ran g e
.
.
Dea r L a dy Di sda in .
A M ode l F a t h er
T h e W a t erda l e Ne i g h b ours
.
.
C oa l s o f F i re .
M En e my s Da ug ht er

.
H e a rt s .
A a i r S a x on . B y t h e G a te of t h e S ea .
L i n l ey R oc h f ord .
T h e W a o f t h e W o rl d .
M i ss M i san th rope .
A Bi t of uman Na t u r e .
D onna Qui x ot e .
F i rst P ers on S i ng ular .
T h e Com et of a S e a son .
Cyni c F or t une .
M ai d of At h e ns .
O l d B l az er s H ero
'
.
C a m i ola : a G ir l w i th a Fortune
. .
B ob M a rt in s L i tt l e G i rl

.
T h e D i c tat or .
T i m e s R eve ng es

.
R ed D ia m on ds .
A W as t e d C r i me .
T h e R iddl e R i ng .
I n D i rest P e ri l .
M ount D e spa i r .
B Y HUGH MacCOLL .
A Ca pful o Nai l s

.
M r S trang er s S e a l ed Pa c k et
.

.
B Y MURRAY AND HERMAN .
B Y GEORGE MACDONALD .
O ne T ra vell er R eturns .
Heath er an d S n ow . P a ul c u s s s A l i a s

.
T h e i sh ops B i b l e

B Y MRS MACDONELL
.
. .
Q uak er Cousins .
B Y HUME NISBET .
B ai l U p 1

B Y W H MALLOCK. . . Dr B e rna rd S t V inc ent

. . .
The New R epub l i c .
B Y W E NORRIS . . .
B Y BRANDER MATTHEWS .
S a i n t An n s

.
A S ecr et of t h e S ea . B illy B e ll ew .
Lon don : CH A TT O 6
WI ND US , In S t. M a r l i n

: Lan e, WC . .
6 T WO S H I LLI N G P OP ULA R N O VE LS
-
.
B Y GEORGES CHHET. 8 Y M ME8 PAYN c on t z n m d.

'
D oc t o r Ra m eau
A County F ami ly
.
A La st L ove
.
At H er M e
.
A W e i rd G i ft
A W oman s eng ean c e
.
.
C e c i l s T ry st

B Y MRS OLIPHANT . .
.
T h e Cl y ar ds of Cl y e
' '
W hi t el a di es .
T h e F a m i ly S c a eg rac e
.
T h e P r i m rose P at h
.
T h e F ost e r B r o e rs
.
T h e G re a t es t H ei ress i n Eng l and

.
T h e B e st o f Husb ands
.
BY OUIDA F oun d D e a d .
W a lt er s W ord
.

H e l d in B on da g e
.
.
Ha l ve s
S t ra t h m o re
.
.
F a ll e n F or tun es
C ha n dos
.
W h at He Cost Her
U n de r T w o F lag s
.
.
Hum orous S t ori e s
I da l i a
.
G w e n do l in e s H a rve st
.
C ec i l Cast l emai ne s G ag e
.

.
L i k e F a t h er, L i k e S on .
T ri c ot r i n .
A M a r in e R e si dence .
P uc k .
M a rri e d B ene at h Hi m .
F oll e Fa ri ne .
M i rk Ab b ey
A D og o f F landers
.
.
N ot W ooe d, b ut W on .
P a sc ar el .
T w o Hun dre d P oun ds Re w ar d .
S i g na .
L e ss B la c k t han W e re P ai nted

I n a W i nter City
.
y P r ox y
B
.
Ar i a dne
.
.
i l i g h S i ri ts
M ot h s
.
.
U n der ne R oof
F ri e n dship
.
Car l y on s Y ea r
.
P ipi st rell o
.
.
A Con de nt ia l Ag ent
B i mb i
.
.
S ome P r iva te V i ew s
I n M a re mma
.
.
A G ra f rom a T h orn
W an da
.
F r om x il e
.
.
F resc oe s .
K i t : A M e mory
P r inc e ss Na t a x in e
.
.
F or Cash On]
T w o L itt l e ooden S h oe s .
Th e C a n on s

a rd
A V ill ag e Commune
.
.
Th e T a l k of t h e T ow n .
O t h ma r .
H o li day T ask s .
G ui l der oy .
G l ow w orm T a l e s
-
.
Rui n o .
T h e M y stery of M i rb ri dg e .
S y r li n .
T h e B urn t M ill i on
S an ta B arb a ra
.
'
.
Th e W ord and t h e W i ll .
T w o O en der s .
A P rin c e of t h e B l ood
W i sdom, W i t , and Path os
.
S unny S t o ri es
.
.
A T ry i ng Pati ent
B Y MARGARET AGNES PAUL
.
.
G ent l e an d S imple .
BY MRS CAMPBELL PRAED . .
B Y JAMES PAYN .
Th e Roman ce of a S ta t i on .
LOSI: S i r M assi ng b erd . T h e S oul of C oun t e ss A dria n .
A P erf e c t T re asure . O ut la w and La w mak er .
B en tin c k s T ut or

. Ch r i st i na Ch ar d .
M urphy

s M ast e r . M rs T r eg askiss
. .
Lon don : CH A TTO 6 ' WI ND US , In St . M ar t i n

'
s Lan e, WC . .
T WO S H I LLI N G P OP ULA R N o VE LS
'
-
.
B Y RICHARD BRYCE . B Y W CLARK RUSSELLc on t i n u ed

. .
M i ss M a x w ell s A ec ti ons
'
.
A B o ok f or t h e Ha mm ock .
M y st e ry o f th e O c e a n S t a r

.
B Y CHARLES READE . T h e R om an c e of J e nny Ha rl ow e .
I t i s Nev er T 0 0 La t e t o M e nd .
An Oc e an T ra g e dy .
Ha r d Cash M y S hipm a t e L oui s e .
A l on e on a W i de W i de S ea
.
P eg W ofng t on .
.
C h ri st i e oh nst one .
Th e P h an t o m D e a t h .
T h e G oo d S hi p M o h o c k

G ri ft h a unt .
.
P ut Y ourse l f i n Hi s P la ce .
I s He t h e M a n P
T h e D oub l e M a rria g e .
H e a rt o f O a k .
L ov e M e L i tt l e, L ove M e L on g .
T h e Co n vi c t S hi p .
F oul P la y .
T h e T a l e o f t h e T en .
T h e Cl oi st er a n dt h e H e a rt h .
T h e L a st En t ry .
T h e C ours e of T rue L o ve
BY ALAN S T AUB YN
.
T h e A u t ob i o g ra phy of a T hi e f
. .
A F e ll ow o f T rin it y
.
A T erri b l e T e mpta ti on
.
T h e un i or D e an
.
Th e W an deri ng H e i r
.
ast er of S t B ene di ct s
.
The
A S i mpl et on
. .
T o H i s O w n M a ster
.
A W oman Ha t er -
.
O rch a r d Da m ere l
.
S i n g l eh ea rt an d D oub l e fa ce
.
I n t h e F a c e o f t h e W o rl d
.
G ood S t or i e s of M a n a nd oth er .
An i m a l s .
T h e T r eml et t D i a m on ds .
T h e J i lt.
B Y GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA
A P e r i l ous S e c ret
.
G asl ig ht and Day l ig h t

.
Rea di ana
.
B Y GEORGE R SIMS
B Y MRS J H
. .
RIDDELL
T h e Ri n g 0 B e ll s
. . . .
Her M ot h er s Da rl i n g
.

M a ry an e s M e m oi rs
.

.
T h e U n in h a b it e d H ouse .
M a ry an e M a rri e d
W e i r d S t o ri e s
.
.
T a l e s o f T o da y
F a i ry W a t er
-
.
.
D ra m a s o f L i f e
P r inc e o f W a l e s s G a rde n P a rt y
.

T i n kl et op s Cr i m e

.
T h e M y st e i n P a l a c e G a rden s
.
.
Z e ph : a Ci rcus S t ory .
T h e Nun s

urse .
M y T w o W i ve s
I dl e T a l e s
.
.
M e m oirs of a La ndl a dy .
S ce n e s f r om th e S h ow
W ROBINSON
.
BY F . . .
T h e T e n Co m m an dm ents .
W ome n a re S trang e . B a g o n e t Ab r o a d .
T h e Han ds o f J ust i c e .
R og ue s a n d V a g ab on ds .
T h e W oman i n th e Da rk .
B Y ARTHUR SK ETCHLEY .
B Y DORA RUSSELL .
A M at c h i n th e D ark .
A Coun t ry S w e eth eart .
B Y HAWLEY SMART .
B Y W CLARK RUSSELL.
.
W it h out L ove or L i c e n c e .
R ound t h e G a ll e F i re . T h e P lun g er .
B ea t r i c e a n d B en e di ck

O n t h e F o k sl e ea d . .
I n t h e M i ddl e W a t c h . L o n g Odds .
A V oy a g e t o th e Cape . T h e M as ter of Ra thk el ly .
Lon don ; CHA TTO 6

WI ND US , I I I M ai ti n : La n e,

WC .
8 T WO S H I LLI N G P OP ULA R N O VE LS
-
.
BY T . W . SPEIGHT . B Y MARK TWAINcont i n u ed .
T h e M yst eri es of H er on Dyke . Th e G i l ded A g e .
T h e G o l den H oop . H uc kl eb er ry F i n n .
B y D ev i ous W a ys . L i f e o n t h e M i ssi ssi pi .
H o o dw i n ked . T h e P r i nc e an d t h e a uper .
B a c k t o L if e . M ar k T w ai n s S k et c h es

.
T h e L o udw a t er T ra gedy . Ya n kee a t C ourt of K Art h ur . .
B u r g o s R o m an c e Th e B an k n ot e

-
. .
Q u i t t a n c e i n F ul l .
A H usb an d fr om t h e S ea .
B Y SARAH TY TLER .
Nob l esse Obl i ge .
B Y R A S TERNDALE . . . Ci t oyenn e Ja c queli n e .
T h e H ugu en ot F a m i l y
T h e Afg h an K ni f e.
.
W h at S h e Cam e Th r oug h .
B ea ut y a n d t h e B east .
B Y R LOU/8 S EVENSON T h e B ri de s P a ss

.
T .
S ai nt M un g o s Ci t y

.
New Ar a bi an Ni gh t s
.
.
Di sa ppear ed .
L a dy B el l .
B Y WALTER THORNBURY . B ur i ed D i a mon ds .
T h e Bl a c kb al l G h osts
T al es f or t h e M ari nes
.
.
B Y 0 0 FRASER "H ER
. .
-
.
B Y ANTHONY TROLLOPE
M i st r ess Judi th
.
W ay W e
.
T he Li ve Now .
M r S c a r b or ough s F a m i ly

B Y ALLEN UPWARD
. .
T h e G olden L i on of G r a ndpere
.
.
gi
T h e A me r i c an S en a t or .
The u een a gai nst O w en .
F r a u F r oh man n .
The r n c e of B a l k i sta n .
M a ri on F a y .
K ept i n t h e Da r k .
B Y ARTEMUS WARD .
T h e Lan d Lea g uer s

W ar d Compl et e
-
Art emus
.
B Y FRANCES E TROLLOPE . . B Y WILLIAM WE8 TALL .
Anne F um ess .
T r ust M on ey
-
.
M a b el s P r ogr ess

.
Li ke S h i ps upon t h e S ea .
B Y MRS F H . . . WILLIAMSON .
A Chil d W i dow .
B Y T ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE
. .
Di a mond Cut Di am on d .
BY J 8 . . WINTER .
Ca val ry Li fe .
B Y MARK TWAIN .
R egi mental L eg ends .
T om S aw yer
BY H F WOOD
.
A T ra m Ab r oa d
. . .
.
T h e S t o en W hi t e El e h ant . P a sseng er f r om S c ot l an d Ya r d .
P l ea sur e T r i p on t h e ont i n ent . En gli sh m an of t h e R ue Cai n .
Lon don : CHA T TO WI ND US , In S t . M ar l i n

'
: Lane, WC . .
k l l ph o
'
T e Addr eu Lonnou Te e ne No - 8624 CENTRAL.

ap
-
a
n
. .
A N A L P H A B E T I CA L CA T A L O G U E
O F B O O K S I N F I CT I O N A N D
G EN E R A L L I TE RA T U R E
PU B L I S H E D B Y
CHATTO WIND U S
1 1 1 S T M A RTI N S L A N E

.
C H A R I N G CR O S S
LO N D O N, WC . .
UU NE ,
A B C (Th e) of Cr i c ket : a B l a c k V i ew o t the

'
G a me . (26 I l l ust r a
ti o ns
. ) B y H U G H F I E L I NG D . D e m y 8 vo . : 3.
A da m s (W Da v e n po r t ) , W o r ks by .
ly l h l l ho of
.
L Di c t i o n ary of o
t h e Dram a : .
A G id u
f om t h
e to the P a
li
P ay w r i g t s, P aye rs, an
s. d P ay uses
V ol 1 (A t o G )
the U n i t e d K i n g d m a n d A m e r i c a, r e Ea r e st T un es t o t h e P re sen t
lo h l
. . . .
D e m y sv c . c t 6d n e t [S h o r t y
p O D o lo h l p
. . .
im ,
Q u i a a n d Q u i d di t i e s . S e le c t e db y V D AV E NP . RT A A M S P st avo , c t . 6d .
A l e x a n de r No ve l s b y . P o st 8 vo i l l ust r a t ed b o a r ds,
, 25 . ea c h .
M a i d. W i re . o r W i d w ? o l l B i n d P a t e.
Cr o w n 8 vo , c lo h 6d h ; po
t p o
eac st 8 vo , i c t u r e b ar ds , e ac h
o ho W om an
.
Fa t e
, .
Y a l er i e '
e . 1 A Li t I t
e t n er es . M n a 'e C i c e. By
'
s W it .
C o lo h 6d h
r w n av o , c t eac
o h hF
. .
T h e C at o f h e r P r i de . B b L dy
ar ar a. id dP a

s a an e er eu A Fi g t w i t a t e.
C i ht o p ot h
.
l G o l de n A u t u m n . M r s. r c C di t n s

re or . Th e S t e m er .
o
-
A Mi i g H ss n er .
Al l e n (F .
(i r ee n as G r a ss . C r o w n sv c . c l o t h , 3s 6d . .
P ost - P r a n di a l P h i l o ao p
cr o w n 8 v0 . c lo h t a te d o
b a rds, a: e ac h
ll o
.
B a b y l o n . : 2 I ust r ati n s T h e D u c h e s s o i P o w y s l a n d.
l oo o
.
S t r a n ge S t o r i es . B d R y al .
T h e B e c k o n i n H a n d. I v a n G r e e t s M a st e r i e o e.
l o r l a i m i e l ai m . Th e S c a l l y w a 2 4 1 ust a . .
P h i i i at i a . A t M a r k e t II n o.
I n a l l S h a de l .
T h e Te n t s oi Sh em . P OP U LAR E D IT I ON , m e di u m 8 v o , 6d .
A n de r s on (M a r y ) Ot h e l l o s Oc c u pa t i o n C r o w n 8 v c c l o t h

. 6d . , , .
A n dr e w s (E B e n j a m i n ) l h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n O u r Ow n Ti m e
'
. . .
I llb y H M PA G E T,
u st ra t i o ns 6d t 8 vo . i u st ra t e d b a r ds. ll o
ol o p OO D o lo h
. . .
Th e Co n s t a b l e o f S t . N i c h a s . W i t i Fr n t is i e c e b y S L W . . . Cr w n 8 v0 . c t .
s h t on Jo h n , ( ) W o r ks by .
B n t i i eh Ca r i c a t u r e an d S a t i re on Na p ol eo n the F i r st Wi t h u si ll ust ra t i ns. o "

Cr wno
8m, c t . 64 lo h .
.
S oc i a l Li te i n t h e R e i dri of Q u ee n A n n e . W i t h 8 3 i l ust rat i l o ns. o

Cr wn 8 vo, c lot h , 6d .
and t a l
i l ust r ati o ns.
2 C H ATTO s. W INDU S , P u b l i sh e r s. n i S t Mar t i n
.
'
s Lan e. Lon don , WC . .
l h x
c ot e t r a, 6d .
A lo
s a O U LA E D ON po B pi
P P R bo d ITI st vo . c t u re ar s.
B a c t e r i a , Ye a st F u n g i a n d A l l i c d S p e c i e s A S y n o ps
-
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t C o s lo h x
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W
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B a r ds l e y (Re v . C W ar ei ng
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ur c e s a n lo h 6d n c a t on s. r wn vo . c t
o N om l t lo h 6d , .
Cu r i si t i es oi P un an it C s en c a u re. ro w n vc , c t , .
J u st i e d ?
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. , . . .
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s. ac s. a n c on a r o u r o u s. ua n a n uh o t e r s.
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T e B r i t i s h E m pi r e
i
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,
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Wh o P o i so n e d B et t y D u n ca n
Cr o n 8 vo , c o h 6 d e ac h r
w l t l
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. .
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T h e A d v e n t ur e s o f T y l e r T a t o c k , P r i v a t e D e t e c t i v e . l
D e a c o n B r odi e ; o r . B e h n t h e M a sk i d
T a l es o f T e r r o r . .
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l i
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.
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D ar k Dee s C r o n 8v o . c o h i m p . 6 d p i c ur e c o h . at a c k .
x l
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.
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f ll t t l t
. I
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t t , . .
bac k . po s 8 vo . p i c u re b oa r s. 2 : c o h i mp . 6 .
Cr o w l t xt
8 vo . c o h e r a.
n e ac h
t I ll t t b y
.
A S o c i a l De p a r t u r e W i h u s ra i on s F T O WNS E ND
G t I ll t F Y WNS E ND : 5
. . .
A n A m er i c an i r l i n Lan do n W i h 80 us r at i o n s II

O
v F
.
Wi t h
J
. .
T h e S i m p l e A d e n t u r e s o t a
e m sa h i b. l
_ I
u st ra t i o n s by . H T O WNSENQ
.
E d w a r d s (E l i e z e r ) W o r d s Fa ct s a n d Ph r a s e s A D i c t i ori ar
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ur o u s. d O t i t h W y M tt
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E g e r t o n (Re v J C , S u s se x Fo l k a n d S usse x w y s
. . .
a .
Wi t h i t d ti b y Rev D H WA CE dF i ll t at i o s Crow S c l th x t
.
n ro uc on . r. . . an o ur us r n . n vo . o e ra .
8 C H A TTO 6t W I ND U S P u b l i sh e r s, M La n e Lo n don W

, Il l St . a r ti n s . , . C.
E g g le st o n (E d w a r d ) Ro x y : . A No v e l . P o s t 8 v o i l l u s t b o a r ds . .
. 25
Fa m i l i a r S h o r t S a y i n g s G r e a t M e n B y S A M U E L A RT H U R of .
A M F i ft h E di ti R i d d E l g d C
. . 8
o n, l th xt
e v se 6d an n ar e . ro w n vc . c o e ra, .
Fa r a d a y (M i c h a el ) W o r ks b y P o s t 8 vo c l o t h e x t r a 45 6d
, . .
f a C nd l e L t d li d b f
.
,
.
Th Ch m i e l Hi t e y ca s or J ml A d m O a : ec u re s e ve r e e o re a uv e e u e
b y W I LL I A M CR OO K E S F C S W i t h m I ll t ti nu e ro us u s ra ons
F d t h an R el m m '
. . . . .
0 th n V i e f N t
ar ou s or c es N o a u r e. a n .

\ V L l A M C R OO K E
iL F C S w m I ll t t i S, . . . . us ra ons .
Fa r r e r (J A n s o n ) W a r : T h r e e E ssa ys C r o w n 8 vo c l o t h I
. . .
, .
Pen n (0 M a n v i l l e ) No v el s b y. , .
C w 8 l th x t 6d
ro h p t 8
n i ll t t d b
vo . c o d h e ra. e ac os vo . us r a e oa s. x
l W i t e t t h D d I T h T i g r L ll y f l r l g W h i t e e g l
. .
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'
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A W o m an W r t h W i n i n g bl C
. .
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m g g S h ag:
o n y r o y 1M ou e unn n or o n n
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.
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.
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u F t a. or Du n e. c te Th M u ere ove o e an i
tl
.
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e o y K i g f th C ra O M ld Mi h i ef n o e as e. ne a

l sc
C m m d re J k
. .
o o o un Th e M te f t h e Cer e
. Th u m W i le as r o r
'
an s .
B l ac k B l oo d . m on i e s . I n J e o p ar dy .
Cr o n svc c o h g i rc p , e a c h. w l t lt
d
. ,
T h e B a g o f D i a m o n s. a n d T h r e e B i t s 0 ! P a st e .
R n n n l n A m o k : a S o r o f A ve n ure t y d t
b d Lf k S h m og
.
T h e Ca n e r w o r m : e i ng E p i so e s o f a Wo m an s i e
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.
g.
l Cr i m so n Cr i m e Cro n 8 vo . c o h . g i t o p , by w
p i c u r e c o h . a t
. l t lt . t l t b ac k.
Fi c t i o n , A C a t a l og u e of ,
I E H U ND R E D NOV ELS w i ll b
o ver N N , e
Fi n B ec Th e C u p b oa r d P
- .
d Di i g
an P t 8 l t h l i mp 6d
n n . os vo . c o ,
Fl r e w o r lE M a lt i n g Th e C o m p l e t e A r t o f ; or T h e P y r
-
, ,
T y B y T H O M A S K E NT I S H W i t h 67 I ll t t i
r easu r . C w 3m l t h 6d . 2 us r a on s. ro n . c o . .
Fi r s t B oo k M y B y WA LT E R B E S ANT AM E S P AY N W C L ARK R U
. ,
S ELL G R A NT A LLE N B A LL CA I NE G E O R G E R S I M S U DV A R D K PLl NG A C m mDo n

.
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M E B RA DDO N F W R O B I NS O N H R I D E R HAGGA R D R M B A LL A NTYN E I Z A NG W
. , . . . . .
,
. . . . . .
. . . . . IL
B e l l a D on n a .. Th e L dy a o f B r an t om e . T h e S e c o n d M r s . T l l l o t s on .
P ol l y . Nev er F or g ot t e n . S ev e n t y - v e B r o o k e S t r e e t .
U rania : A R o m a nc e . \ V i t h 8 7 I ll t t i us ra on s . Cr o w n 8v o . c o l th xt e ra . sr .
Re v A B C RO S ART D D
. . . . . . Cr o w
F o r b e s (Ho n M r s . . W a lt er R .
Du m b . Crow n 8 vo , cl .
, 6c
Q u e e n Co bh et u e . I Ol y m p i a . l Rom a n c e: 0 ! t h e Law . I K ing or K na ve
Fr e d e r i c (Ha r o l d ) , Nov el s b y . P o st 8 vo , c l ot h e x t ra , 35 6 d . ea ch
ll t t d b d
.
i us ra e o ar s 2 r . e ac h
L aw t o n Gi r l
.
B et h
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s B r ot h er s

W i le . I Th e .
i
CH A TTO W I ND U S , P u b l i sh e r s. III -
St . Mart in '
s La ne L o ndon ~W , . . C .
G a u l o t (Pa u l ) , B o o k s '
by :
Th e R e d S h i r t s : A T al e
T h e T e r r or
"
T r an s a e N DE V of

l t d by J O H I LL I E R S Wi th F a ro
by A LE Y t l t b k
.
OO
.
t l sp te c e ST N W D Cr o n
C r o n 8 vc . c o h , g i
6d p ic ure c o h . a t
e ac h
.
w
_ w l t lt . ac .
L L l t d b y L A R O CH E M A
.
ov e a n d ov er s of t h e Pa st . W i h a Fr on t i s pl c c e T r a n s a e C t
d t I ll t t F l
. . .
, .
A Co n s p i r a c y u n e r t h e T e r r o r . W i h u s ra i o n s a n d a c sim i e s .
G e l e m a n s Ma a z i n e
nt

Th e M on t h l y C o n t a i n s S t or i
A ti l p Li t t gi
15 .

. .
ph y d T a b l e T l k b y S Y L V A NU S U R B A N
,
r c es u Bi on e r a ur e , c e nc e . o g ra dA t , an r . an a

.
. 25. e
T h e D e a d H ea r t .
For L ac k of o d. G l
G i b n ey S e n t e n c e d l C r o w n 8 vo c l o t h
(S o m e r v i l l e ) 6d .
, , .
be r t s S ) O r i g i n a l P l a y s I n 3 Se r i e s po st 8 vo 2 5 6d e a c lt

k d W l d dG l t
. . . .
, .
Th F I R S T S E R I E S
e ti n T h W i Pyg m l i Ch i t y Th P i
c on a s e c e or a o n an a a ea ar -
e r n c es s
Th P l f T t h T i l b ) y l l th
t G r t l D l D T m C t
e a ac e o ru r a ur o an e.
T h S EC O ND S E R I E S B k E g g d Sw t h t '
e : ro en e ar s n a e ee ear s e c i en au r uc e o o
Pi f T h S T h Pi t f P
na o r e e orc e r e r e r a es o e n z an c e .
Th T H I R D S E R I E S C m d y d T g d F g g t y F i y R t
T h Y m f t h G d T h G d l i
d G il d
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: o e an ra e o er s a r ose n c r a n z u ens c rn
P ti P i a enc e R di g
r n c e ss a e a o u or e e eo en o e ua r o on o e rs
T h e M o un tb
e anks U t opi a .
lg b t O i gi l C m i c Op r w i tt b y w 5 G I L E RT T S
na o i ,d m y 8 l th 6
er a s r en B wo e r es e vo . c o
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.
t f T h Pi t
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,
l d T h M i k d
h i Th S Pi i P
th P t i P i

e ac e ST S c o n a ns : e o rc ere r na o r e e ra e s o e n z an c e
i l T i l by
.
o an e
D k
a e nc e y r nc e ss a e a o r a ur
T h S E CO N D S E R I E t d l T h G Th Y m G d
.
e i Th G i S c on a ns : f th e on o ers e ra n u e e eo en o e ua r
H i E x ll syU t pi Li m i t dR dd i g T h M t b k
c e e nc o t h W dd i g
a. e u or e e oun e an s a st e o t e e n
d S lli B i th d y B t ti f E y D y i t h Y l t
.
I
Th e G i l b t er k
an u van r a oo : no a ons or ve r a n e e a r , se e e
f m Pl y by W S G I L B E R
ro a sM i by S i S U LL IV A N C m pi l d b A WA T se t t o us c r o e y L I-2x
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l 0 1
R y l om l t h 6d
. . . .
o a r o. c o . .
G i l b e r t (W i l l i a m ) J a m es D u ke C o st e r m on g e r . P o st 8 vc .
i ll t t d b
,
us r a e d o ar s,
A F a i r Co l on ist W i t h a F ron t i spi e c e y S T A N

.
W OO D b LE Y .
Th e G l de n o b R oc k W i t h a F ro n t i spi e c e y S T A N
C w 8 l th x t 6d W OO D LE Y ro n vc . c o e ra ,
l Ya s C w 8 l t h 6d
. . .
K oo t r n ro n vo c o
l f m t h e V o i d W i t h T w l i ll t t i b y M NI S B ET C w 8 l t h 6d
. . .
Ta es ro e ve us r a o ns ro n vc c o
W i t h 8 i ll t t i b y J S C R O M PTO N R J L g w 8 l th
. . . . . .
M a x Th r t o n on us r a o ns ar e c ro n vc . c o g ll
l th g il t t p
. . . , . .
dge e s, c o . o .
G l e n n y (G e o r g e ) A Ye a r s W o r k i n G a r de n a n d G r e e n h o u.

P r acti l A d ica t t h M g m t ft h Fl w F i t d F m G d P t 8
v c e as o e l l ana e en o e o e r. ru . an ra e ar en . os vc . rs .
: c ot i ,
G o d w i n (W i l l i a m ) Li v e s o f t h e Ne c r o m a n c e r s P o st 8 v c c l . . ,
C H A TTO dr W I ND U S P tl b i i S II e p St M a r t i n s La n e L o n do n W C
'
lo , l l l . . . . .
G r e y (S i r G e o r g e ) Th e Ro m a n c e o f a P r o c o n s u l B e i n g t h .
P l Li f d M m i f S i G E O R G E G R E Y K G B By JAM ES M I LNE Wi th P t i t S E CO N
e rso na e an e o rs o r . . . . . or r a .
Ha i r , Th e : I t s Tre a t m en t i n H ea l t h W e a k ne ss , . a nd Di sea se . T r an
Eure k a .
Vol I O M LE E O E I A L
C P T P R A
T C M A I O RK
A ND D tt l l t
T C W S t t
W i h S ee p a e Po r r a i
'
O A R I G A
M O H EM I A A E R ME R I EGE
-
. . . .
II T H E L U CK O F R N C P B N P P S A C AN L ND.
A LE A E R K E H E
.
III T S O F T H E A R G O N A U rs E ST N S
'
TC S
G A R I EL O R O Y O R I E O E E OV EL
. .
1V B C N V ol V S T S C ND NS D N S. &c
A LE A I F I L O E
. . . .
.
VI; T S OF T H E P C C S P
A LE A I F I LO E t t by J O H E I E
u
it
.
ii W h Por r ai
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V II T S O F T HE P C C S P N P TT . R A
I I I A LE I E Y RE
. .
. .
V T S O F T HE P N AN D T H E C P S S.
U EYE
.
IX
1
B CK A ND CH A P P A R E L
A LE RA I L
.
O
.
X . T S OF T A ND T W N. & c .
P t i t f t h e A th 40 Hi ll :
'
or ra o u or and
lS CS.
"
Cr o w n Bvo, b uc k ral n.
t op. n et ; l th
oa e:
g il t dge es, n et .
I no .
h a do w .
G a b r i e l Co n r o y
ll t t i b y S T ANLE Y L W OO D
.
A W a i t o f t h e P l a i n s . W i h 60 I u s ra o n s t
G ld ll t t i b y S TA NLE Y WOO D
.
A W ard of t h e t
e n G a t e . W i h 59 i u s
.
o ra ons
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r 4

l th xt 6d h c o e ra . e ac
l W i t h F t pi d Vig tt b J A C H R I S TI E
. .
B u sy : A N ove ron l s ec e an ne e
W i t h 47 I ll st t i
.
d th
. . .
B al l y by W D L MO ND u ra o ns an o e r s.
T h e B e l l R i g e r o i A n ge l w i th I ll t t i b y D U D LE Y H A R D Y d th
. .

- n & s, c us ra on s an o er s
e : A St y f th A m i W i h Ei g h t i ll t t i b y A J U LE G OO D M A N
.
Cl a e r n c or o e e r c an ar . t u s ra o ns
W ith i ll t ti b A F O R E S T I E R PA U L H A R D Y &
. .
B a r k e r s L o lr a
u r e. us r a on s c.
D vi l s F r d &
.
Wl t h
.
. .

e o t i pi b
c.
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H O E R E NDa ron s ec e v~ V
T h e Cr s a d e o r t h e E c e l i or Wi t h F t i i b y I B E R N A R D P A R T R I DG E
.
v
. .
u
x s a ron sp e c e
y T H i ll W t h 8 I ll t t i by J G U L ICl i
.
t n e r s 3 r T h B ig S t i k
. .
Th ee P r ar H o e r e on e av r ee l u s ra o ns
W i th F t i pi b y G P 1 ACO M B HOO D
. . . .
Ta les f T il a d T w
o ra n o n . ro n s ec e . .
-
.
n e w Co n dens e d N el s : B u l e sq e
g ov l ll s.
C w 8 l th h ; pi t l th t b k
- o
ro n vc c o h e ac c u re c o a ac e ac
e l s Co d ed
, , , ,
.
T h e L o ok o f R a i n g C m p d S e n sa t i on N
o r a e an ov n ns
A S a p ph o of G r e e n B p m s l C l e l S t a r b t t l C l i en t
, .
l P o t e g e e f J ac k H u m l l n l
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r o on o e s
i ll t t i
. .
r With m 0
'
. nu e ro u s us r a ons.
P t b o il l t t d b o
e d h os v us r a e oa r s. or e ac
l Ca l i for n i a n S t or i e l
. . .
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. i
o o n .
P ts i l l t i at gd b o ds h : l th
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Mu n . i A P h y l li l oi t h e S i er r a s.
CHATTO W I NDUS , P u b l i sh e r s. I l l St . M a r ti n s La ue . L on don . W . C. l
Th e L es se r E vi l .
Ha r dy (Th o m as ) U n de r t h e G r e e n w .
e x tr 6d i ll ust t d bo a ds
a, c l o t h li m p
. 6d A ra e r . . .
-
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Th e A r t B eau t y . Wi th l
Co o ur e d r on spl e c e an d 9 : I us ra i ons S q uare 8 vc . c o h M s .
of 6: F ll t t l t
t l ll t t l th
.
Th e A rt of D
ec o r a t i o n . Wi h Co oure d F r o nt s p l ec e a n d 7 4 I us ra i ons S q Bvo . c o
t P l th
. .
Th e A r t o f D r e s s . Wi h 32 l ll ust ra t i o ns ost sva . 6d '

c o . : 3
h l t t v
. . .
f o r S c h o o s . W xt h t h e S o r y o f h i s T i m es a n d h is Wor k A Ne w Edi i o n. r e i se
.
C a u c er
t F t p l th
.
Wi h a r o n i s i e c e e m y 8 vo . c o 6d D
t ll t l w l t h xt
, . .
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Haw t h or n e (Ju l i a n )
Cro w n svc , c ol th 8va i ll t t
us r a e d b oa r ds. h eac
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u
Gar t h
. .
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I
ou r us
s D i s a p p e ar an c e
. .
F o r t u n e s F ool . D a v l d P o l n de x t e r '
.
Ca m e r a .
H m Oa dogn a . L o we a r a. N a me .
S e b a s t i a n Em m a. Cr own 8 vo . c l th
o , 6d.
ea l
Cr o
e c k e t h or n ( C .
L o n do n S o u ve n i rs
I v an de B i r on : A
He n de r so n (l sa a c ) . A g at h a P a g e : : A No ve l . Cr . 8 vo . c l .
, 35 6t .
l t
a ed H U R R A N S OM C w 8
b y ART l t h xt . ro n vo . c o e ra .
He sse - W a r t e gg (C h ev a l i e r Er n st vo
th e P pl eo e. Wi th 22 I ll t t i
us r a on s . Cr o w n 8 vo . c o l th ex tr
o l i da y , W h er e to f or By E P S H0 LL, S i r H M AXW EL
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oo k s (Th e o do r e) C h o i cHe H u m or ous W o r ks ;

i n c l u di n g h i s L u
A dv t
c r ous B M t P
e n u r es . x W i t h Li f d F t i p i
ons o s. un s. oa es . e an r on s ece. Cr 0 w n 8 v o , c o l th .
Ho p k i n s (Ti g h e ) N ov e l s b y .
F o r F r e e do m C w 8 l th 6 w . ro n vo , c o . .
Cr o n 8 vo c o . 6d ea c w l th h
L v th l v
. . .
Tw i x t

o e and b ut W i a Fr o n t i sp i c c e T h e I n c o m p et e A d e n t u r e r
g th ll t t G R GOR
.
l
.
Th e Nu e n t s o i Ca r r c o n n a . I N e l H a e n de n . W i 8 I us ra i o n s b y C E .

Ho r n e (R He n g i s t ) 0 r i o n
. . : An E pi c P o e m W i t h P h o t o g ra p
P t i t b S U M M E R S T t h E i ti l th xt
.
o r ra y . en d on . C ro w n 8 v o . c o e ra.
gi lt t o p,
Hu go (Vi c t o r ) Th e O u t l a w
. of Ic e l a n d (Ha n
lt
a ed b y S ir GI L B E RT CA MP B E LL C w . ro n Bvo . c o l th .
Hu m e (Fe r g u s No v e l s b y .
T h e L ad rom f
o w h e r e . Cr o w n l th
8v c . c o 6d pi t c u re c o l th (l a
w l th
, .
.
T h e M i l l o n a i r e M y s t e r y . Cr o n c o 6d
gLg w l th g i lt t p
. .
T h e W h ee l i n i h t C r o n 8 vo . . c o . o .
Hu n ge r f or d (M r s . ,
C w 8 ro l th x t
n r o. c o e ra,
l M a i de n A l l o r l or n . F
I n Du r a n c e Y i l e .
er el v .
A l o d e r n Ci rc e.
p l L
A r i s a dy .
Cr o n sy o . w c o l th xt e r a. 6d e ac h
g I Lo v i c e
. .
A n A n x i ou s M o m en t . I Th e Co m i n of Ch l o e . i A P oi n t of Co n sc i e n c e .
Hu n t (M r s A l f r e d) , Nov e l s b y
. .
C o w n 8 o c l o t h e x t ra
r 6d e a h p o t 8 c i ll ust ra te d bo ar ds
v c s v e ac h
Th e Le a d e r: Ca s k e t
. . . . . .
I S e l f Co n d e m n e d . Th a t - . O t h e r P e r so n .
I r e. Ju l i e t . Cr o w n 8vo . c o l th x t e ra . 6d .
ti o ns. Cr o w n 8 vo . c o l t h xt e ra. 6d .
Hy dr o p h o b i a An A cco un t o f M P A S TE U R S S yst e m T h e T ec h n i q u
'
N AU D
.
his M e th o d, a n d S t t i ti
a s cs . By R E S U Z O R. M E Cr o n 8 vc , c o e . . w l t h xt ra.
I m pr e s si on s (Th e) o f A u r e o l e P o st 8 v o c l o t h 2 s 6 d . , . . .
P a u pe rs C ro w n 8 vo I S cl ot h

I n do o r B y O NE O F T H E M
. .
, . . IS
l nman (H e r b e r t ) a n d Ha r t l e y A s p de n Th e Te a r of .
In M em or i a m : V e r se s f or e ver y D a y i n t h e Ye ar S e l e t ed c a
L U CY I DLE Y
.
a r ran g e d by R . S ma l l sq u a r e 8 vo . c o l th . 6d . ne t : l th
ea er, 6d net .
PE R C VA L G R AV
E P t 8 l t h l i m p 6dES . os vc . c o . 2r . .
I r v i n g (S i r He n r y ) A R e c o r d o f o ver Twe n t y Y ear s a t t he L yc e a

B P E R C Y F I T Z G RA LD
v W it h P t i t C w 8
E l t h 6d . o r ra . ro n vo . c o . .
Ja m e s o n (W i l l i a m ) My . De a d S e l f . P o st 8 vo, cl o th ,
25 . 6d .
Ja pp (A l e x . H . ,
Dr a m a t i c P i c t u re s. &c . C r 8 vc . c l o t h .
.
CHATTO 6t W INDUS , P u b l i sh e r s, I l l
'
St . M ar t i n s

La ne Lo ndon W C . . . .
t r3
Je ff e r i e s (Ri c h a r d) B oo k s by , .
Th e O pe n A i r P t8 l th M . os vo , c o . .

C w 8 h t l t h li h
r
b k m ro n vc uc ra e ac pos 8 vc , c o tn e ac
L o n do n L F i e l ds
. . .
Nat ur e n ea r . Th e to or th e .
A l
so . t h e L AR G E T Y P E F I N E P A P E R E D I T I ON of Th e L i te of t h e F i e l ds. P tto 8 vo, l th
c o
lt t p t ; l
g
.
ith o , ne ea
.
er. gi lt e dg e s. ne t .
T h e E l gy f Ri h u o o c ar d Je e r i e s. By S i r WA L I E R '
B ES ANI '
Wi t h Ph t a o og r a ph P t i t o r ra
C w 8 l th xt
. .
ro n y o, c o e r a.
Ho u s e h o l d H o r t i c u l t u r e : A G o ss i p b t Fl w
a ou o e rs I ll t t
u s ra e d.
Je C o u n t r y Li f e
l w
i se (Eti )
ardS c e ne s . a nd O c c u pa t i o n s of a .
5 8 vo , c ot l mp I , ar ..
Jo nso n s (B e n ) W o r ks W i t h No t e s Cri t i c a l a n a t o ry

. and E x pl an d
B i g ph i l M m i b y W I LL IA M GI FF O R D l U NN I N G H A M
.
a o ra ca Edi t
e o r e d b y Co one C l T h r ee Vo s l
w B l th x t h
. . .
c ro n vo . c o e ra . e ac .
K er sh a w (M8 a ri k ) . C o l on i a l Fa c t s and Fi c t i o n s : H u m oro u s

S kth
e c es . P t
os ll t t
vc , u s ra e db d oa r l t h 6d s. c o . . e
A Dr a w n Gam e . Cro w n 8vo . c o l th . 3r . 6d . p t8os vo , i ll t t d b

us r a e
'
o a r ds.
K nig ht (W i l l i a m , and Edw a r d, Th e

P a t i en t

s V a de M ec um How to G et Mos Bene t tf ro m M e di c a Ad i c e l v . Cr 8 v c
. . c o l th . 1: . 6d .
La m b (Ch a r l e s) Com p l e t e W o r k s i n P r o se a n d V e r se i n c l

s
P t y f Ch i l d Edi t d w i t h N t d I t d ti
,
d P i D by R H S H P

oe r or re n an r nc e o r us e o e s an n ro uc on . E
H E R D W i t h T P t i t d F i m i l f t h E y R t Pi g C w e l th
. . . .

wo or ra s an ac s e o e ssa on oas ro n vo . c o
T h e E ssa y s o f E l i P t 8 h lf l t h
. . .
a. os vc a c o 2 s.
Li t t l e E a y s : S k t h t b y C H AR L ES L A M B l t d f m h i L tt b y PE R CY
-
d Ch
. .
ss e c e s an a r a c e rs , se e c e ro s e e rs
R M AT .
I4 C HATTO a W I NDU S , P u b l i s h er s. I l l S t. M art i n '
s La ne Lo n do n W C
. . . .
Le h m a n n (R .
Ha r r y Fl u d er at C a m b r i dge , and Co n
v er sa t i on a l H i n t s f o r Y g Sh
ou n o ot e r s. I O W ll
'
8 y o. t um e d i n -
v
c o e r, c o l th . rs . 6d .
Le i g h (He n r y
C ar o l s of C oc k a y n e P r i n t ed ca b an a m a de -
p p
.
a er. b ou nd i n b ck
u ra m.
the F ren c h b y JO H N D E VI LL I E R S P t 8 . os vo . c o l th , 6d . pi t c ur e b o a r ds,
R h oda R o b er t s.
J u da h F y e c r of t , P ur i t an .
nt on E. (v Ly n n ) , W o r ks b
An Oc t a e of F r i e n ds . Cr o w n 8 vo . I o th , 6d .
Th e On e Too M an y .
Th e R eb e l of th e Fam i l y .
W it ch S t o r i e s.
E TI D I ON
, in o ur F Vl
o s , c r o n 8 vo , c o e r a. w l th xt
e a c h A n d t h e J B EE E T i U IL D I I ON w t h an
v t l l w l th x t h
. ,
A p e n di x o f E e n s t o t h e e n d o f 1 88 6 . i n T w o V o s a rg e c r o n 8 vo . c o e ra 7 r 6d e a c
f l th
. .
bl
.
D
. . .
f
.
A H s t o r y o f O u r O w n T i m e s , V ol V , rom 1 88 0 t o t h e ia m o n d Ju i e e IDe m y 8 vc . c o
xt l th
. . .
e ra. o r c r ow n 8 r o. c o
t h e Di am o n d Jub i l ee
,
A H i st o p O u r O w n T i m e s , Vol V I ,
of from 1 8 97 , t o th e A c c e ssi o n oi
w l th
. .
De my 8 y o , c o ,
,
K i ng E a r d V II
l th xt
Al so H EAP
.
A S h o r t H i s t o r y o f O u r O w n T i m e s . O ne V o l . c ro wn sr o , c o e ra, a C
P OP U L AR D I I ON p t l t
.
E T os 8 vc c o h IIIn p 23 6d
th P t t l th
. .
,
l
. .
R e m i n i s c e n c e s . Wi a or r ai T w o V o s de m y 8vo, c o ,
l th
. . .
T h e S t o r y o i a n I r i sh m a n De m y 8 V O . c o . [S h e r ri] .
h
.
d o ! mp 23 e ac u
Vi t h ll t ti
. .
\ 12 i us r a on s
S eas o n
Wit h I ll t t i
.
1 2 u s ra o ns.
it h a F t
o r u ne .
I T h e R i dd e R i n l g .
l th xt
c o e r a.
M c c a rt h y Ju st i n Hu n t IY) . W o r k s by .
Th e F v tt t bl F l d my 8 l t h
'
ch r en e i o n . (Con s i ue n Asse m y . 1 89 9 0
ol u t -
ou r Vo s e vo , c o eac h
l w l th
. ,
A n O t li
.
u ne o f t h e H i s t or y o f I r e a n d . Cr o n 0 Is c o 6d
la n d S i kth h t w 8w l t h
, . . .
I re n c e t h e U n i o n : S e c e s o f I r i s H i s o ry . 1 7 98 -
1 8 86. Cr o n o, c o .
li mp . t s.
CHATTO 6t W I NDUS , P u b l i sh ers. III S t M art i n
.

s La ne. Lo ndo n , W . C.. I
Ma c Do n a l d (G e o r ge , B oo k s by .
W o r k s o f F a n c y a n d I m a gi n a t i o n T V i 6 l t h g i l t e dg es i c l ot h ase an e n o s. , I I no . c o n c u
l t h t 6d h
. . . .
th V l m s m y b h d i G li
.
e o u e
p t l a e a se a ra e n ro er c o a e ac
I W I T H I N A ND W I T H O U T H E H I DD E N L I F E
. . .
V l
I I T H E D IS G I P La T H E G OS P E L W OM EN
o
B OO K O F S ONN E TS O R G A N S ON G S
. . .
I I I V I O L I N S ON GS S ON G S O F T H E D A Y S AND N[ C H I S A B OO K O F D R E A M S
-
. . .
ROAD S I DI
P O E M S P O E M S F O R CH I LD R E N
. . .
I V P ARA B L ES B A LL A D S S COT C H S ON G S
.
V V I P H A NT A S T ES A F i R m V l V I I T HE P O RT E N T
. . .
T H E G IA N T S H E AR T

ae r e o an c e o
V I I I T H E L I G H T P RI N C E S S S H A D O WS
. . : . . . .
'
I X C R O S S P U R POS E S T H E G O LD E N K EY T H E CA R AS O Y N L I TT LE D V LI G H T
. . .
X T H E C RU E L P AI N TE R T HE W o w 0 R I V V E N T H E CA S TL E
-
T H E B O K E N S WO R D S
. . . .
'
T H E GRA Y WO L F U N CL E CO R N E L IU S
-
. .
.
. .
? h a n t a st e s : F
A ae r i e R om an c e W i 2 5 I us r a i ons b y J B E th ll t t LL C w 8 l t h x t ro n vc c o e ra , 6d.
vl w l h xt p t 8 i ll t t d b d
. . . .
l e a t h er a n d S n ow A No e Cr o n 8 vo , c ot e ra . 6d os vo , us r a e oa r s.
ON D D I I N l th xt
. .
Idl i t h A R omanc e S EC E T O. Cr ow n Suo . c o e ra . .
M az r eg or (Ro b e r t ) P a st i m es . an d P l a y e r s : No t e s on F pu o
G P t e l t h l i m p 6d:
un e s. os vo . c o .
M g i c La n t e r n , Th e , a n d i t s M a n a g em e n t I n c l udi n g f ul l P r a c t i ca
g ti B T C H E PW O RT H
Ir a c o n s. W i th I
y . C wn 8
. r l th . 10 ro y o, I . c o . 6d .
M a l l oc k W o r ks b y .
Th e N e w R e u c p bli P t 8 l t h 6d ; p i t b d ; os vo . c o c ure oa r s
d V i gi i P iti vi m I l P
. . .
Th e Ne w P a u a n l d r n a : os s o n an s an . ost 8 vc . c l o t l I.
.
6d .
M a r l ow e
s W or k s . c
I n l u di n g h i s T ra n s l a t i o n s E di t ed, w i t h N t e o
t ti l CU NN I N G H A M w S l th xt
.
an d In r o duc o ns, b y Co l on e . Cr o n VO . c o e ra . 6d .
bo a r ds,
I6 CHATTO cr W I NDU S , P u b l i s h er s . I II St . M a rt i n s
'
La ne Lo ndon W C.
. . .
M e a de L T [ No v e l s by . . .
A S ol er o f rt u n e. C ro w n 8 vc . c o l th . 602 : po s 8 vc . i t ll tus ra t ed bo ar ds ,
An Ad ven t u r e s s.
In a n i ro n G ip r . Th e Bl ue Di a m on d .
Th e S ire n . A S t u m b l e b y t h e H ay
T h i s Tr o u b l e s o m e W or l d .
M e r r i c k (Le o n a r d) , No v e l s b y .
Th e M a n w h o w as G o o d P ost 8 p t ure b oa
. vo , ic r ds.
Th i s S t a ge of F oo l s .
Cr o w n 8 vc , l th g il t o e ac h
lP
c o
O n ly a N i gger
. .
. I h e B e l t o r t l c t Cu l b en .
h ex t 35 ra , .
S T A N L EY L W
Fa n n i n th F ti p i AN L Y L W OO D
.
R e n sh a n r {
s Q u est Wi a ro n s ec e b y ST E
ph
. . .
T h e Tr i um of l i e ry B l a c h l a n d .
eac h .
L . \ VOO D .
B av i l a n d s Ch u m . C ro w n 8 vc . c ol th , gi lt t o p.
M o]
33 .
M u r r a y (D C h r i s t i e ) , No v e l s b y
. .
C w a l th x t ro h p t 8 o i ll
n vo , c o e h
r a, eac os r t t
us r a e d bo a rds e ac
A M o de l F a t h e r s Li t t l e G i r l
. . .
B b M rt i o a n
'
s R ve ge s
. .
O l d B l a z e r s H er o Ti m

e e n
Cy n i c F o r t u n e
. .
F t p A W ast e d C i m e r on i s r
B y t h e Ga t
. . .
f t h e S ea I Di r e t P e r i l e o . n s .
He t s. A Bit f H um N t re Mo nt D a ir u u es
A C p f l pN a i l s
ar o an a
t P e so n S i g l
. .
Fi rs r n u a r. a u o .
T h e M a k i g o f a N o v e l i st : A E xp i m t i A t b i g ph y W i t h
n C ll ty p P t i t
n er en n u o o ra a o o e o r ra .
b k m
.
8 vo , uc 6d ra
t e m p r r i es i n Fi c t i o C w 8 b k m
. .
In C 6d n uc ra
H ?5 O w n G h o s t
on o a ro n vc
C w 8 l t h a 6d ; p i t l t h fi t b k
. . . .
. ro n vc , c o . r. . c u re c o , a ac ,
C w 8 l t h cd h
ro n vo c o e ac
T h i s L i t t l e W or ld M i l li
. , . .
I A R e f I Th e Ch u r c h o f H u m a n i t a c or o n s.
W it h F t i pi b y A RT H U R H OP K I N S
.
T al e i P o s e a n d V er se
s n r a ro n s ec e
A Ch f C tl B t h l d
. .
Y i l d i t h C im
'
. r on c e o as e a o an o e r ea .
D e s p a i r s L a s t Jo u r e y

n .
J se p h s C a t
o

P OP U L AR E D I T I ON m di m 8 6d
o . . e u vc . .
M u r r a y (D C h r i st i e ) a n d He n r y He r m a n No v e l s by
. , .
O e T a ve l l
n r R et s er ur n .
M u r r a y (He n r y ) , Nov e l s by .
Pos 8 vot c o l th cd h
e ac
G a m e of S on g
. . . .
A Blu . I A of S i x pe n c e.
C H ATTO a W I NDU S M a r t i n s La n e . Lo n do n , W

, P u b l i sh e r s . Il l St . . C. I
Mor r i s Re v.
( W . M e r e di t h ,
B r i t i sh Vi ol i n -M
C l a ssi c a l an d M de r n o . W it h nu me r o us P o rt r ait s, Il l u st ra t i o ns, a n d Fa c si m i l es o f L a be l s.
l l ddo c k (J S t o r i es by . C r o w n 8 vo , Cl o t h . 35 6d . . eac h .
Y W OO D
.
B as i e t h e l J e st er Wi t h F r o i pi
nt s ec e b y S T AN L E
o hi l ol d l
.
.
Y o u n g: L c n var. Th e G en I do .
T h e D e a d M a n s S ec r e t . I Fr om t h B om ! t h De oo o e e e p.
o
S t r i e s W e i r d a n d W n de r o fu l P o st 8 vo . i ll ust ra t e dbo d lo h d
ar s. c t 6
o o I ll io Y L W OO D o
. . .
M ai d M ar i a n a n d R b i n H od . Wit h : 2 u st r a t b y S AN
ns T LE . . Cr wn ar
Ni sb e t (Hu m e ) , B oo k s b y .
Ba ll
U p Cr w n 8 vo c t o lo h x e t ra . po svc ,
st
.
.
D r B er n a r d S t . V i n c en t
.
. P o st 8 vo . i ll u st r a t e d b
No r r i s (W . No ve l s b y . Cr ow n 8
i c t u re b oa r ds. e ac h .
ai n t Ann s

. B i l l y B el l e
M i ss W ent w or t h s I de a . Cr o w n 8 vo . c lo h t , o:
Oh n et (G e o r ge s) , No v e l s by . P o st 8 v o , i l l u s t r a t ed b oa rds. e ac h
D o to
c r a ea u. l A La st L o v e.
L o v e s D e t h p s. of li l y -t or y .
o lo h g il
, c t . t t op ,
Ol i ph a n t No v el s b y . P o st 8 vo il l ,
Th P r i m r se P a t h .
e o l Th e Gr ea
W h i t e l e dl e s . Cr w n 8 vo , o lo h i h I ll c t w t 12 ust r a t i o ns b y A RT
6d po st 8 vc . pi bo d c t u re ar
,
s.
o C o lo h 6d
.
Th e S r c er ess. 8r wn vc , c t , .
O r r o c k (Ja m e s) , Pa i n t e r , Co n n o i s
W EBB ER I n T w o H an ds m e u m es , S m a o i o , I ll o Vol ll f l
l po
.
P at es an d a p ro fusi on o f D r a w i n g s r e r du c e d i n
L I NT O N. P R I P r i c e i n b uc k r a m g i t , Te n G u i ne a s
. . . , l
A Dog of F l a n de r s . I n M a r em m e . W and
T r i c ot r i n P a s oa r e l . S i g n a. B i m bi .
h o h ho o h
.
Strat m r e C an T w o W o o de n S e s. F r e sc es. l O t m ar .
l
.
C e c i Ca s t l e m a i n e s I n a W i n t e r Ci t . P r i n c e ss N a p r a x i n e .
'
y l
.
U n de r T w o F l I. A r i a dn e . I F r e n dsh i p . G u i l de r o y . R u f n o.
Pu c k . I do l A V i age C m m u n e ll o T w o O f e n d e r s. f
Fo F oh l
.
l i o - ar i n e . M t s P l p l s t l e l l o o S a n t a. B a r b a r a .
P OP U
U n de r T w o l ags l F .
By r l ln Cr w n 8 vc c t , 6d o
p st 8 vc i c t u re c t lo h
a t b ac k i ust r a t e d b ar ds. o p lo h ll o
of lo h o
. . . . .
,
Th e W a t e rs E de r a Cr w n 8 vc c t 3r od i c t u r e c l o t li . a t b a c k 25
o h o l f o of U D YD Y
.
O
, .
W i s d m . W i t . a n d P a t s , se e c t e d r m t h e Wa r s
. , . .
O I A b y 14 S M R R IS
C
NE Po
l h x ED O i ll o . .
8 vo , c ot e t r a. San H EAP IT I N. ust r a t e d b a r ds,
Pa i n ( B a r r y ) El i z a .

s Hus
c lo h t . r s. 6d .
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o
I nt r du c t i o n an d N o tes b y T M C R I E D D. . . . P o st 8 vo . h lf l
a c o t h . 2x
ti o ns b y C R S YK Es . . . C row n
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6t W I ND U S , P u b l i sh e r s , I II St . M a r t i n s La n e Lo n do n W C , , . .
st 8 vo , i ll u st r a t e d b o a r ds. e ac h
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s H a r v es
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h T h e Ca n n y o
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M ar r i e d B en eat Him 3 ar d
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B e n t i n c k s T u t r . I W a t e r s or d. N ot W e d, B u t W o n .
A P e r e c t Tr e a s u r e . T w o H u n d r e d P u n d s R e w a r d. o
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F a e n F r t u n es K it l Mem r y . ll o o
ph lo o l
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B o rn e P r i v a t e V i e w s .
Wa lt er s

W a rd . P OP U LAR E D IT I ON , m e di um 8 v c , 6d .
Pe nn e l l - El m h i r s t (Ca pt a i n Th e B es t of t h e Fu n . Wi
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L . W ith 50 I ll u st r a t i o n s. o
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t g .
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l Ch i t i Ch W i t h F ron t lspiec e b y W
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ns B ER A B ER.
N u 'm n .
Pr i nc e ss Ol g a .
Radn a : A Novel ; Cr ow n 8 vo, c l ot h ex t r a ,
CH ATTO 6t Wl NDUS f P u b l i s b er s, " I S t Ma rt i n La n e , Lon don. W.C

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W i h m o i ll io lo
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nu e r us u st r a t ns C
r ow n 8
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Wo k C o
. .
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Ri c h a r dso n (Fr a n k) , No v e l s b y .
Cr o lo h
w n 8 vo , c h t e ac
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OWNE
.
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T h e B a y s vva t e r M i r a c e l .
,
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dde l l (M r s J No v el s b y
. . .
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6d
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s .
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u mes . c r h
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ea c .
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C i t it 3 W : 0. u a
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a er .
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u a lt i u o u r se n s ac
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. .
T h e C u r se o i Tr u e L v e N e v e r D i d R u n A T er r e e a n
h A S i m pl t o l
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T h e A u t o b i o r a b y o f a T i e ; ac 0! h f J k A W om H t an -
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a l l T r a de s an a m e s L a m b er t . S i n g l e h e a r t a n d D o u b l e i 'a c e
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i t , a n d t h e r S t r i es o o
lo lo
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T h e C i st e r a n d t h e H e a r t h . A Per i u s S ec r et . l R e a di a n a.
L AR G E T P E. Y FI E
N P A P E R E I T I NS P t t 8 vc , D O o c l ., gi t t l o l. ne t e a l h
eat g i t e dg e s l ne t I
is N e
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lo
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T h e C i s t er an d t h e H e ar t h . I
It v er Too L a t e t o M e n d.
P P L A R E I TI NS m e di u m 8 vc , 6d e a c O U D O h
lo o l Pi a
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,
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: . .
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e o n on . hl i ce y 6d
r nt e in z e v r st e. ca vo . la -
ur e ; 2s .
C lo i t t h ED ON m L U X i h ho o g
. .
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s er Han e 6 e ar d IT I a E w t 1 P t r a v u re an
h lf o I ll io by M S m ll lo h i l d g il
.
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t ne u st r a t ns AT T p a 4t o , c t i an t to re a
r n et
Al o i Fo Vol po i h o d o by S i W F o i pi
, . .
s n ur I s N
s t S vo , w t d an nt r uc t i n r A LTE R E S A T, an a r nt s ece
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B a r b ar a D er i n g. M a r i e l : A L ve S t r y o o .
o b i n so n Cr u
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GE O RG E C RU I K S H
W o r ks c l o t h ex t ra ,

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i r d s. l T h e P oet s B ea st s.
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l T h e P oe t s ' n ep t l l es. i sh es. m a i n-ect F
ao C H A TTO 6: W I ND U S , P u b l i sh e r s, J " St . M a rt i n
s La n e Lo n do n W . . . C .
R o b i n so n (F . No v e l s by .
W om e n are S t r a n ge . P t s
os i ll t t db d
vc u s ra e oar s.
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.
Th e H a n ds o f Ju s t i c e . ro n v o. c o e ra , 6d po s 8 v o i u s r a e oa r s, 2 :
W om a n C w 8 l th t ll t t d b d
.
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p os 8 v o i u s r a e . oa r s.
R o ss (A l b e r t) A S u g a r P r i n c e s s C r o w n 8 vc c l o t h 35 6 d
. . . , . .
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.
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or . d Ot h oui s se a n C m er se a o ec on o es e s, onun ru s, ]
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d C ll t i R dd l J k & Wi t h m I ll t t i
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A Co t r y S w eeth e
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w
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d G
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li oc k
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T h e Co n v i c t S h i p .
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a st E n t r y .
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b y G E R O B B RT S O
.
. .
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l t) x t 3 cd h p t 8 i ll t t d b d
.
,
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l l Fel l o w W i t h N t b y O L IVE R W E ND L I H O LME S d F ti
. .
f T i i ty o r n a o e E an a ro n s ie c e
di t s T H i Ow
. . .
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un r ean a er ne c o s n a s t er .
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. . .
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.
i n th Th e T r e m l t t

. e ac o
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Th e W oo i n g of M ay .
For t u n es Ga t e .
Mary U nw i n With 8
A
.
S ai nt J oh n (B a y l e ) . Le v a n t i n e Fa m i l y . Cr . 8 vc , cl o t h ,
6
S c o t l a n d Ya r d , P a st an d P r e se n t : E x pe r i e n c e s of Th ir ty -
se v en Yea
B y E x - Ch i e fI
-
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P os 8v o , i ll t t d b
us r a e o ar d s, c o l th ,
6d .
x t
E pe r i m en s i n D r a i ng -r oo m w or Wh i te M ag i c '
By W H C R EME R Wi t h gool l l u st ra t i o n s C ro
l t xt
.
. . . .
8 vc , c o h e ra . 6d .
S en ior S t r e a m a n d S e a P o s t 8 vo c l o t h
-
By . , . 6d .
S e r g e a n t (A d el i n e ) Nov e l s b y C r o w n avo c l o t h 6d ea ch
'
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n rP et e a se r n c e s. r. n c o x er en .
CH A TTO & Wi NDUS .Pu b l i s h ers ; I l l La ne Lo ndo n W C 2
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, , . .
S h e l le y s (P e r c y B y ss h e ) C o m p le t e W o r k s i n Ve r se a n d P r os e

Ed i t d P f ed d A t t d by R H E R NP S H E P H E R D Fi V l
re a c e an w 8 l t h 6d l
n no a e ve o s. , c r o n vo . c o e ac
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a o r n re e o s : l
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n ro uc
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on t e or : os u o us ra en s o ar a re c o so n e e
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d w i t h S t kd l ; T h W d i g j ; ()
.
s on e nc e M b with t h N t ; Al t oc a e e an er n ew ue c n a e o es as o :
li d d H l P m th U b d ; A d i &
.
d h P m ; R an ot er oe s o sa n an e en : ro e e us n o un o n a s. c
Th C i i J li Ty t ; T h Wit h
. .
11 L d Cyt l m eo n a n d M dd l ; c lli t th a : e el c ; u an a n a a o oo e r an e c
A tl Epi p y h i d i H ll
.
as s c on ; e as
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.
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ous oe s e as ue o na r c an o er e c e s.
P ros e
V l o . A R f e t
I ELLE
S h e r a r d (R .
R o g u e s : A No v e l . Cr o w n 8 vc , cl o t h , 6d
U n to th e . Th i r d G e n er a t i on .
S i d n e y s (S i r
P h i l i p) C o m p le t e P oe t i c a l W o r k s . With Por t r a
E di t d b y t h R e e V l e v.w 8 l th A . Ii h . C R OS A R T D D , . . T h ree o s . . c ro n vo . c o .
e ac .
S i g n b o a r ds T h e i r H i st o r y i n c l u di n g A n e c do t es o f Fa m o u s T a v e r n s a .
R m k b l Ch
e ar t B y JA CO L A R W OO D
a e d j o N CA M D E N H O TT E N W i t h C l
a r ac e r s. d F B an li o our e ro n
d 9 4 I ll t t i C w 8 l th x t
.
pi e c e an 6d
us r a o n s. ro n vo . c o e ra. .
Si
S t o r i e s.
Th e D a g o n e t R e c i t e r a nd Rea d e r s Rea di n g s a nd R e c i t at i o n s i n Pr o se an d V e r se .
Th e Ca s e ofl B a g n e t D i t t i e s (F m Th R f
Geo r g e ) Ca n d l mY e a s. o . ro e e er ee.
u n g M s Ca n d l e o r . .
H o w t h e P oo Li v e ; d H or r i b l e L d o W i th
r F t i pi b y F B A R NA R D an on n a r on s ec e
C w 8 l t h tt I D a g et D a m a s o i t h e Da y C w 8
. .
ro n vc ea e re e . : 3. on r ro n vc u
l th l t h t ba k
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u C w 8
n pi t a p t 8
n ro n vo. c o c u re c o a c os vc
ll t t d b d l t h li m p
. .
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i us ra e o ar s, c o , 2s .
l t h 6d Cr o w n 8 vo , c o e ac h .
W i t h 8 I ll t t i by C H A R LE G
. .
On c e u a Ch r i st m a s T i m en us r a on s S R E E N.
I n L n o s H e a r t A S t y f T d y Al l th b k d
.
o n

i pi t 3 or o o a so n c ure c o at ac A B l i n M a r r i a ge
.2 :
W i t h o t t h e Li m e l i g h t : T h t i l L if L d
.
.
u it i ea r c a e as s. Th e S m a l l -pa r t a y . ac.
B i ogr a p h s o f B by l Li f Pi t f L d M a on 3 e c u re s o on on s

o v mg S c ene s
W it 7 F i mi l
.
Am g My A t g on ph u o ra s. n o ac s e s.
S i st e r Do r a . By M . L O N S D A LE .
4 l l l u st s . D e m y 8 v o , 4d ; , c lo t h ,
6d
S l an g Di c t i o n a r y (Th e ) : E t y m o l o g i ca l , H i st or i ca l , a nd A nec do t a l
w l th x t
.
C ro n 6d
8 vo , '
c o e ra. .
S m a r t (Ha w l e y) No v el s b y .
C w 8 l th h p t8 pi t b dro n
,
vo , c o e ac os vo . c u re oa r s, e ac h
B e a t r i c e a d B e e d i c k I L o n g O d ds With o t L o Li c e
.
n n . . u ove r nce M a s t er of R a t h k el l y
T h e O u t si e r d
Th e P l u n ger . t
Pos Bvo , pi c t u re b d oa r s.
S o m e r se t (Lo r d He n r y ) S o n g s o f A d i e u S m a l l 4to Ja p v e l 6s . .
, . .
, .
S pe n s e r f o r C h i l d r e n B y M H l o w rt Y W i t h C ol our ed I ll ust r a t i on s

. . .
,
by \ V A LTE R J MO R GAN C w 4t l t h x t 6d . . ro n o, c o e ra , .
22 C H A TTO W I ND U S ; P ub l i s h er s, " I S t . M a r ti n
s Lan e. Lon don . W . C .
S pe i g h t (T . No v el s b y .
t
P o s 8 wo, il us r at e l t db d o ar s, e ac h.
T h e M y s t e r i e s o f H e r on D y k e . Th e ou L d
w a t e r Tr a g edy .
B y D e v i o u s W a y s. &c B u r g o s R o m a n c e.

d d F
.
H oo w i n k e ; S a n dy c r o i t M y st e r y .
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uit tan ce i n ull .
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l F ll K il l d hi Wif Rop
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a r oss c s er t
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28 H ATTO 6: W I NDU S
C , P u b l i sh e r s, I II St . M a r t i n s La n e , Lo n do n , W C . .
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d Ro b i Hoo d G ol d I dol
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u e u er N t uA R f an a ur e ac e or ns
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.
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a er s e ac e e r ra e .
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w t e n t ees ac an e re e ur n o n.
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C H ATTO 6: W INDU S , P u b l i s h e r s, I I] St . Ma r t i n
s La n e . Lo n do n , W . C . 2
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A an k ee a t t h e Co n
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32 CHATTG 6:
. P u b l i s h ers , III St . Ma r t i n
s La n e, Lo n do n . .
T w o S HI LLI NG N V E L S
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c on t i n u ed. S P E IO HT
f
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By C A L S H R E RE A D E .
Ba c k t o Li e
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l oo o B A L AN S T A U BY N
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A Terr i b e Tem t a t i n . A W man Ha t er -

Ne w Ar a b i an Ni g t s .
B y M r s J H R I DD E LL B y R O B E R T S U R TE E S
Wei r d S t o r i es o
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Handl y C o
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B y W A LT E R TH O R NB U R Y
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B y w C LA R K RU S S E LL
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Th e Lan d Le ag u e "
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G EO RG E A U G U S TU S S A LA
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Mi st r e ss J u di t h .
B y O EO RO E R S IM S
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Ti kl t C im
P W A D Que en ag a i ns t Ow eU R

r
n e o s e. u es an a a n s.
A LL E N .
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B y H AW L E Y S M A RT
ves .
B y WM W S TA L L Tr n st M n ey . E . - o
B y M r s W I LLIA M S N A C i d Wi de O hl
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of R h k ll Y l
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Th e M tas er at e Cava r y Li f e eg en e ends.

H F W OO D
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B A RT H U R S K ETC HLEY By
m S ot l d Y d
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NEW S ERI ES O F TW O S H I LL I NG NO VE LS -
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'
P E NN A C i m o C i m
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By 0 B y (I R S I M S r s n r e
B y P A U L 0 A U LO T r h B d S hi t
.
. .
Lo do
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l H t B
'
dV g b e e r s n n n s ea r a r n es a n

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B y F R A NK S TO C K TO N
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Th L k o f R o i C m d S ti o N o l B y S
t ensa n ve s
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g
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p R H Y E R Ci t o y J q li
.
In Hollow o f t h Hi ll I
a pp h f G S i g S Ae A T T L s oo r een r n s . enn e ac ue n
Colo l S t b t t i HCl iml it A LL E N U P W A R D Q g i

W A R D E N Jo t h C t
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F ER O U S H U M E Th L dy f o m Now h
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B J O H N S T R A NO W I NTE R
. e a r er e.
Li f : m t l L g d
.
B y E DM U ND M ITCH E LL C d R en a e
av e an e en s .
I Th T m pl B y LO U IS A NO W I L L
.
Pl ot t f P i
ers o f D th
ar s. e e e o ea
th C t l
.
Tow d t h Et l S ow
.
ar s A Ni t e y Mi er n a n s . n e een en ur r a c e.
U NWI N B RO H R S L O l a t er 27 Pi l g i m S t r eet Lond n T E . T .

, s. .
r , o .
RETURN CIRCULATIO N DEPA RTM ENT
TO 202 M a i n Li b r a ry
Al l BOO K S MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAY S

.
I m o n t h lo a n s m a y b e re n e w e d b y c a ll i n g 6 42 3405
- -
O m o n t h lo a n s m a y b e re c h a rg e d b y b r i n g i n g b o o ks t o Ci rc u la t i o n De sk
-
Re n e w a ls o n d re c h a rg e s m a y b e m a de 4 da y s p r i o r t o du e da t e
UNI V E RS I TY O FCALI FO RNI A BERK E ,
FO RM NO . 006 . bom , BE RK E LE Y CA 9 47 20,

ALL BOO K S MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAY S
I m o n t h lo a n s m a y b e re n e w e d b y c a ll i n g 6 42 3405
- -
O m o n t h lo a n s m a y b e re c h a rg e d b y b r i n g i n g b o o ks t o Ci rc u lo t i o n De sk
-
Re n e w a ls a n d re c h a rg e s m a y b e m a de 4 da y s p r io r t o du e da t e
DUEAS STAM PED BELO W
UNI V E RS I TY O F CALI FO RNI A BERK ELE ,
FO RM NO . DDo oom
, , BE RK E LE Y CA 9 47 20
,

Wilkie Collins' The Law and the Lady

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W I LK I E CO LL I NS S

T H E N E W MAG DA L E N MAN AND WI F E . .

C H ATTO WI ND U S S t M arti n Lan e, W C

THE TH EAT E F RANQA IS, PA IS

IN OF AD M I RATI ON F OR THE G REAT AC TOR

A FFE CTI ON F OR TH E TRU E F RI END .

IN o ff eri n g this book to you I have no Pre face t o wri t e

I have only to request that you will bear in mind certain

establi shed truths w hich oc c asmn al l y escape your memory

when you are reading a work of ction Be pleased then to

r emember (First ) : that the actions of human beings are not

invariably governed by the laws of pure reaso n (S econdly) :

that we are by no means alway s in the habit (especially when

fr i en ds (Thi rdly and Lastly) : that Cha racters whi ch may

not have appeared and E vents w hich may n ot have taken

place Withi n th e limits of ou r ow n individual experience

may nevertheless b e perfectly natural Characters and perfectly

III . RAMS G ATE S AND S 0 16

who trusted in G od adorned themselves being in subj ectio n

unto their ow n husbands ; even as S arah obeyed Abraham ,

well a n d are not a fraid with any am az ement

Concluding the Marriage S ervice of the Church o f E ngland

hi s book and looked at me across the altar rails with a hearty

expression of interest on his broad red face A t the same .

time my aunt Mrs S tarkweather standing by my side tapped

me smartly on the shoulder and sai d , ,

Valeria you are married

Where were my thoughts ? What had become of my at ten

at my new husband H e seemed to be almost as much b e

wildered as I was The same thought had as I believe

occurred t o us both at the same moment Was it real l y .

possible i n spite of hi s mother s O pposition to ou r mar

r i ag e that we were Man and Wi fe ? My A unt S tarkwe ather

T ak e his arm sh e Whispered in t h e ton e of a w oman who

I took his arm ,

Holding fast by my husband s arm I followed my uncle

an d the curate who had assisted hi m at the marriage .

in on e of the drear y quarters o f London situated between the ,

party worthy of the dreary neighbourhood and the dull day

No relatives or friends of my husband s were present ; h i s

family as I have already hinted disapproved of his marriage

E xcept my uncle and my aunt no other relations appeared on ,

my side I had lost both my parents and I had but f ew

friends My dear f ather s faithful ol d cl er k Benjamin at

tended the wedding to give me away as the phrase is He

h a d k nown me fro m a child and in my forlorn position h e , , ,

was as good as a father to me .

The last ceremony le ft to be per formed was as usual t h e

signing o f the marriage register In the con fusion of the

moment (and in the absence of any in formation to guide me )

opinion of evil to com e I signed my married instead of my

What cried my uncle in his loudest and cheeriest tones , ,

you have forgotten your ow n name already ? \ Vell ! well !

Try again V aleri a t ry again

With trembling n gers I struck the pen throu gh my rst e ff ort

When it came to my husband s turn

rise that h i s h and trembled too and t h at e produced a very

poor speci me n of his customary signature

My aunt, on being requested to sign , complied under pro ~

un fortunate signature wi t h the feather end of her pen I say -

with my husbandI hope you may n ot l i ve to regret it

E ven then in the days of my ignorance an d m y innocence