N I

3£ 121
01 .

M R S . J U L I U S P OL L OC K ,

”
A UTH OR or LISSAD EL .

D iffi cil e est satiram non scribere .

—JU V EN A L .

IN TH R EE V OL U M E S .

VNIL . IIL

ZLCHIDCHS

TINSLEY BROTH ERS 8, C X TH ERINE STREET, STRAND

, .

1876 .

! Right qf Tram l ation reserved by the Author ) .

 E U N I E .

C HAP TE R I .

Why sh oul d a m an, W h o seb l o o d is w ar m W t i hi n,

Sit lik e his g rand ir e

s cut in al ab aster .

M ER C H A N T or V EN IC E .

W I L L patientl y an d faithful l y
”
l abo ur for her s aid Harol d , ,

s ol emnl y I am content to
.

—
wait I will d o anything b ut I cannot give ,

You m ust—y ou
”
shal l ! said Sir Peter ,

in suppre s se d tone s and trying to p reserve

,

a grave col dnes s . It is not for y ou to

decide and I W il l not al l ow my daughter ,

a mere chil d to engage hers el f to a penni

,

V OL . III . 1
l e ss man one whose name
,
is s tained by
mercantil e fail ure and who ,
is not and
,

never is l ikel y to be in a condition to keep

”
her in decent comfort .

Harol d turned hot al l over at the s e

taunt s and bit his lip s to keep back burn
,

ing words .

I have onl y to repeat what I s aid l as t

”
evening s ai d , Sir Peter in bitter ,
dis dain ,

ou r rel ation s are at an end ; I m ust re

qu est y ou to l eave Grantl ey at once ; I

prefer yo ur not sl eeping another night
”
under my roof .

Harol d grew desperate .

Y ou have every right to turn me out o f

your hous e if y ou think proper ; b ut y ou

are m istaken if y ou think that I wil l

give her up . I wil l find means to see
”
her .

Ah I y ou threate
n1 ”

When we have nothing to hope for, we

 E UNICE .
3

have nothing to fear retorted the young

,

man sul l enl y

, .

A nd again
’
Z oun ds I can t be c al m I

the tempest of parental indignation rained

u pon Harol d in a hail storm o f obl oquy and
fury .

I wont give her up, wa s al l Harol d

said ,
y ; !he tho ught of his uncl e s
firml
’

l etter b ut co ul d not bring hims el f to men

,

tion it exc ept as a l ast resource ) .

We shall s ee whether y ou wil l or not

s he is nothing to y ou, and nev er shal l be .

Sir Peter was u nl ike hims el f there was ,

s o much decision in his watery bl ue eyes ,

and mob il e mouth . In truth he ,

w as trans
ported out of himsel f by his tutor s d aring ’

and obstinacy ; and do ubl y angry in conse

q u ence of having dis covered that E unice

s hared this s entimental fol l y to a degree he

wo ul d have d eemed impo s s ibl e in his chil d .

I do not expe ct y ou to give her to me

1— 2
q E UNICE .

b ut I
’
now . P ut me to any test can t and
”
I w ont give her u p, s aid Harol d setting ,

his teeth and showing his white determined

face . Why did y ou l et us be together if
y ou meant to b e so cr uel ? Did y ou think ,

’
because I was yo ur boy s tutor that I had ,

no feel ings — that I co ul d be with her and

”
not l ove her 9

Sir Peter was tou ched in sp ite of himsel f

’
by Harol d s evident s incerity ; apart fro m
this b usiness he had a real l iking and
respect for him .

I am —
disappointed I tho ught I coul d
tru st y ou ; in yo ur sel fish un derhand con
du ct another del usion has been dis pel l ed .

Y ou have not remembered that our firs t

”
duty is not towards oursel f .

I deserve your repro aches al l the hard

”
things y ou can s ay ,
said Harol d brokenl y ,
.

B ut it is t oo l ate now .

Y ou co ul d not have m ad e a more un

 E UNICE .
5

fo rtunate choice or more impossibl e

, .
! Th
”
chil dren are mad , s aid the Baronet ,

moodil y ) .

Harol d perceived the impression he had

made an d, in wil d hurried words as ked
pardon for his intemperance , entreating Sir
Peter not to l et it go agains t his suit .

B ut Sir Peter hardene d his heart ; it

woul d not b e doing j us tice to his chil d to

entertain the idea he knew how mu ch or ,

rather how littl e Harol d s flim sy hope s of

’

advan cement were worth

I may s eem hard ,
b ut it is the
greates t kindness I can d o y ou b oth .

I have spoken to E unice : she is mad ,

to o ! B ut we shall soon manage her when

”

y ou are gone she wil l grow wiser .

The young man groaned He fel t incl ined .

to throw every consideration of honour to

the winds and ,
induce her to el ope ; she
m ight go with him to C eyl on . And then
6 E UNICE .

he remembere d that he had no money ;

that his uncl e woul d certainl y not assist his
purpose and that firm s do not pay in ad
.

vance . Al though he s uffere d in a s evere

form from Eunice on the b rain he retaine d ,

j ust enough common s ens e to recognis e the

strength of these obj ections .

Harol d got up, wal ke d forward , and

stood cl o s e over Sir Peter .

”
!
It is my turn now , s aid he speaking ,

with sl ow d eterm ination now hear me .

This l etter from my uncl e offers me to go

abroad for a coupl e of years . It is a goo d
.

b usines s opening an d woul d l ead ,

in every

prob ability to my permanent empl oyment

in the firm . Y ou will s ee they hol d out a
prom is e . It woul d put me in a po s ition
to marry and ,
o ur wants are not ex trav a

gant . I will go ,
b ut onl y on one under
standing— that ou cons ent to our engage
y
ment ,
and that I marry her when I com e
 E UN ICE .

back ,
if I can show I have an income she
an d I deem sufficient .

Sir Peter read the l etter attentivel y and ,

not being one of tho s e comprehensive indi

v id ual s who can d o two things thoroughl y
at the s ame time he imperfectl y und erstoo d
,

Harol d s conditions
’
. He became quite
fatherl y . This propo s ed expatriation wa s
a gods en d— worthy of his acute friend ,

I congratul ate ou —
l this is the very
y
thing -
his tone full of b onhomie . Y ou

want compl ete change o f s cene to get this

nons en s e out of yo ur head ; it may b e the
turn ing point -
in yo ur care er yo ur tal ent s
”
are wasted here s aid , Sir Peter, with unin
tentional irony .

B ut I will not go unl s e s y ou cons ent

to our engagement ; on no other terms
woul d I b anis h mysel f s o l ong . If y ou

refuse I shal l d ecl ine this o ffer and shal l

, ,
8 E UN I CE .

stay in E ngl and , and see her sometim e s

!

”
U nl es s y ou mean to l ock her up, said
Harol d ,
fiercel y and I shal l consid er
anything I may do fair after yo ur treatment
”
of us .

Sir Peter s breas t again s urge d to b oil ing

’

pitch when the d oor opened and

, ,
Eunice

came in . Ariosto says

A w om an for the m ost par t rea sons b est

Up on a su dd en m oti on and u ntau gh t ;
For W ith th at sp ecial grac e the sex is b l est .

Instinct was busy in Eunice that her l over

required countenance and support ; a rest
l es s anx iety that broke thro ugh the natural
tim idity o f her social po sition brought her
flushed ,
frightened, but re s ol ute to her
,

father
’
s sid e .

This is no p l ace for y ou, girl ! Go to

”
yo ur room 1
B ut y ou must hear me firs t ,
fath er .

I will not have him sent away l ike

‘

this .
 E UN]CE .
9

I am engage d to him ; I have pass ed my

word and as ,
l ong as I l ive it sh al l be
bin ding as faras I am concerned .

Her words were b rave defiant eno ugh , ,

yet tears were very near the sweet dark

eyes an d she trembl ed viol entl y
,
.

Harol d l ook ed as if he co ul d eat her .

”
Stay where ou are sir I thundere d
y ,

Sir Peter as Harol d moved towards her

,
.

E unice flung hersel f on her knee s and ,

her s obs b urst forth .

Deares t father , y ou have never refus ed

me anything and will , y ou be unkind now
in the one thing that will m ake my happi
”
ness l

!
Y ou kno w nothing ab out —
it l wha t
”
s houl d chil dren know l

I know that I l ove him as I shall n ever ,

l ove any one el s e .

That I sho ul d have l ived to hear a chil d

of m ine make s uch an unbl ushing ass ertion !
S uch mean; und erhan d doings he ”
—and

gl ared at Harol d
. will come to no good !
Give up this fol l y ,
E unice : I can forgive
y ou
y ou are a baby— b ut for him — again
Sir Peter s ’

gl ance s aid things he co ul d

not trus t his tongu e to utter .

He is not to bl ame ; it is my faul t ,

s aid the girl reckl essl y ,

. I ought to have
tol d y ou before b ut we onl y s ettl ed it l as t
”
evening .

l —
Sett e d what l ”

— —
That that he to d me that we
l en

gaged o urs el ves ,

s aid s he ,
incoherentl y .

See — how wretched he l ook s ! It is

u nl ike y ou to be s o hard . O h ! b e kind to
us— to him .
”

Y ou wish me to forget my duty as ,

y ou have forgotten yours . I cannot give

y ou a farthing . What on earth do y ou

expect to support exis tence upon

We w ill wait —
he is ready to go away
 E UN]CE . II

and work — an d my thought s will go with

”
him ,
and stay with him till I d ie, s aid
E unice , passionatel y . I am engaged to
him , and I will nev er marry any o ne

el s e !
Sir Peter heard her with a surpris e that
mocks d es cription —he was petrifi e d at
this u nexpecte d reb el l ion of his meek
daughter whom he had ,
al ways cons id ered
to l ack force of character . He co ul d not
wink to make sure that he was awake ,
his
very eyel ashe s refus ing to perform their
office and momentaril y
,
hide his gl aring
vision . It was a pretty thing to be a
parent — to b ring chil dren into the worl d
for this — that she shoul d cul ininate years
of anxieties by figurativel y flying in the face

of her natural protector ! How the d euce

did al l this come ab o ut ? Sir Peter aske d
him sel f in a raging perpl exity . Hi s s en
s ibl e wife had b e en rig ht ; why had he not
t a E UNICE .

been guided by her and e s chewed l earning ,

!I fascinating instru ctors

He made an effort to as sume col l ected
ne ss ; he drew a l ong b reath ,
got up,

wal ked to the window ,

h ummed and
hawed and turned very re d
, . Then he
b urs t out

Harnage , y ou m ust go abro ad . I ask

I demand it o f y ou in j ustice to mys el f and
my chil d . This l ove o f which y ou prate s o
vol ubl y i s poor s tuff if it cannot s tand the
test o f ab s ence . C ome to me on yo ur
return and ,
if y ou are b oth in the s ame
”
m ind I will l end a will ing ear
,
.

”
Go abroad ! echoed E unice , and her
”
face bl eached ,
fo r ho w l ong 2

For two years ,

s aid Harol d ; b ut I
”
c annot go .

It i s a l ong time ,
s aid she faintl y,
.

”
N o, Sir Peter s aid Harol d resol utel y
, , ,

I wil l not go ,
except on the dis tinct
 E UNICE . 13

un derstand ing that she is promised to me

when I return ; and that we may write to
—
each other I must have something to
.

keep me al i ve .

!
I don t know what to d o
’
. Sir Peter
never said tr uer words . He l ooked at the
young man in his white heat and thought
,

that he had b etter temporiz e : this incon

v en ent i ly ardent l over mu st be got rid of ;

at any co s t he sho ul d l eave the country a ,

happy chance having pro v id ed the pp

o or

To dispo s e of him safel y for two years

was something many things might chance
!
moving accidents by flood and fi el d

m ight prove gri sl y al l ies — he remembere d

that the ol d —
adage those who go to s ea
mu s t —
vent ure had b een exempl ified of
l ate in a pec ul iarl y l ivel y manner . Per
haps the fevers incidental to tropical cl imes
wo ul d remove further troubl e . B ut the
14 E UN]CE .

great good to be gained by this step was

Tim e —Time woul d bring the girl to s ee
the error of her views though he began , to

real iz e her ob stinacy and her capability of

giving any amount of troubl e where her
aff ections were concerned F uture diffi

cul ties, however must be

,
i
sked to s ecure
r

the pre s ent b oon of his ab s ol ute departure

—it woul d never do to have him l urking
—
about Grantl ey the very idea l ifted his
hair until he l ooked an el d erl y porc up ine .

The restiveness o f the young l ady in

ad dition to her l over s mad e him incline to

’

p ursu e a tim id pol icy . Pyke had destroye d

his nerve and
,
al so cru el l y dis pel l ed his

belief in the infal l ibil ity of his own j udg

ment ; consequ entl y were the young peopl e
indirectl y in d ebted to that abl e financier

for s ubm is sions they wo ul d not other w is e

from
’
have pl uck ed the s tern father s
breast .
 E UNICE . 15

Harol d regarded him anxio usl y during

This is a b ol d tone to take ,

and his
own was mo difi e d ; b ut I suppo s e hot
head ed l overs must b e exc used . Go to
India— m ad nes s to re fus e s uch an offer— do
w el l ,
and if y o u can show me when y ou

return that y ou can keep her decentl y she ,

s hal l b e —
yo urs I do not wis h to b e mer
”
cenar
y .

And we may write to each other — ou

y
d on t know what I feel at going s o far away
’

— what may happen before I come b ack .

”

Ye s ye s , , y ou may write to her ,

tou ched by Harol d s despondent tone and ’

his cons cience smiting him wi th that

u nexpre ss ed wish for the active agency o f

Yel l ow Fever .
!
Y ou o ught to b e s atisfied
my conc ession s are enormo us . I co ul d not
have bel ieved when y ou came in here that
”
I shoul d have made them .
16 E UNICE .

I will not confine mysel f to u sel ess

”
thank s s aid Harol d earnestl y
, ,
.
!
I owe y ou
obligation s which whil e I ,
l ive , shal l not
”
b e forgotten .

Then y uare cont ent

o

C ontent is too a poo r word ; she is a

”
bl es sing from heaven I

Y ou might give me s ome credit for the

”
bl essing ,
said Sir Peter ,
in grim pl eas antry .

There — there — it is settl e d at l ast :

ou o —
t o morro w I suppo s e I am in your
y g .

way . That chil d s wil ful ness’

w il l make her
”
ill ,
and he hustl ed out of the room casting ,

a compassionate gl ance at Eunice

’
s p al e ,

tear stained face

-
.

Before Sir Peter was o ut of the room ,

Harol d was on his knees before her thank ,

ing and bl essing her for her goodnes s to

him . His dear brave girl ,
—how wel l

she had fo ught their b attl e

B ut what a price to pay s he sighed .
 E UN JC E . 17

’
I don t l ike y ou to go far aw ay y ou may
”
never come b ack .

I m ust come b ack . I feel invincibl e

now with y o ur dear arm s around me and

, ,

”
yo ur kind words .

”
B ut when y ou are far from b oth ?
You will write to me ,
E unice . I coul d
l ive upon your l etters and s oon I shal l
come b ack sweet and then we will b e
, ,

”
married .

It s o unds s trange ,
sai d s he s adl y ,
!
it
”
wi
ll never come to pass .

B ut y ou l ove me ,
E unice 7 Y ou wi sh
to b e my wife to ? live wi th yo ur Harol d
”
al ways 7 he asked anxio usl y ,
.

Ye s b ut it is too great happ ine ss we

are not intend ed to b e so happy in this
worl d ’
D on t go, Harol d . I feel that
some mis fortune will happen .

She became hysterical in her distres s and ,

he had to exert al l his influence to s oothe

V OL . 111 . 2
18 E UNICE .

the foreb o dings to which she s eemed a prey

o nl y the sight of his m isgivings made her at
l ast smother her s orrow .

Bel ieve t hat al l w il l be wel l for my

s ake ,
E unice anticipations have a trick of

ful fil l ing themsel ves .

Yes and I have

,
not time to cry now ,

dashing away her tears I will keep them

”
u ntil y ou are gone .

He fel t al most suffocated with his grief ,

his j oy and ,
his gratitu de . Human heart s
are better school ed by happiness than
misery —genero us and graceful virtu es are
the natural o ffspring of the firs t ,
whil st
bitterness and u nsocial pas sions are
born of wretchedness — he who is capabl e
of happiness is capabl e of virt u e. Harol d
fl
ov er ow e d with gratitude to Sir Peter for
his u nexpected cons ent to their engage
ment ,
and the s entiment re strained his
s el fi s h promptings to u rge a stol en mar
 E UNICE . 19

riage, and take her to C eyl on her l ove did

not shrink at Poverty s dre ad name ’

— b ut
’
shoul d he repay her father s kindnes s and ,

dis intere s te d affection by bringing his care

fii ll y nurtured darling to discomfort and
l
s e f reproach
- — he wanted his l ove to prove
her bl essing not her sorrow So he s ubd ued
, .

the fierce temptation and tried to make

,

l ight of the many thous and m il es that wo ul d

part them o f the months — nay years that
, ,

woul d probabl y el apse before they again met .

That night when he s aid ,

his prayers he ,

took a sol emn vow that he wo ul d ever

cherish E unice ; that b ehave a s she might
to him ,
he wo ul d forgive her and prove ,

her truest friend His heart swel l ed as he

thought o f her nobl e defence of him ,
of

her faithful ness — he wa s at once the

happ iest and wretchedes t of beings to have
to l eave her j us t when they were s o madl y
happy together .

2— 2
20 E UNICE .

He co ul d nt sl eep
o ,
and went o ut again
to hi s ol d seat u nder her windo w . There
wa s no l ight and he hoped she rested and
, ,

s o hoping he sl ept and dreamed that she

,

w as in his arm s his o wn sw eet wife

,
.
 C HAP T E R II .

Al a s wh at l aw s of how sever e a strain

, ,

A gai nst o urselves w e th ough tl essl y o r dai n .

E0 ! d ear ol d b oy — take care of

her ,
s aid Harol d al most wringing
,

Lionel s hand ’
off Don t’
l et her
b e w orried . I wil l come back— Death its el f
ul
s ho d not hol d me — to see after her . Be
very gentl e — M oor girl A nd he broke
.
y p
do wn s obbing with great tearl e ss s o bs
, as

they h urried him into the carriage .

”
C ontre fo rtune b on c oeur ,
said Lad y
Grantl ey kin dl y
, . It make me grief to
s ay the —
adie ux I y ou wish l e b on voyage .
”

The poor fell ow was al mo s t heart broken -

,

tho ugh E unice gave way mo s t and Harol d ,

had h im s el f to u cl a
n s p the cl inging ar ms
22 E UNICE .

that wo ul d not l et him go — It . was over

When and how wo ul d they meet again
They were in the hands o f Tim e g
the in

sidiou s destroyer of al l things animate and

inanimate the rul ing power of the uni

verse to which
,
al l in it are subj ect which
continu e s it s great work unceas ingl y nois e ,

l e ssl y changing the face of everything ;

al tering the heart diverting the affections
, ,

and yet al l s o quietl y from d ay to day

that its inroad s are perm itted b ecause they
are u nnoticed
Harol d b eing of a confid in
g dispo s ition ,

Sir Peter s
’
took compl iance at m ore than .

its worth .
—
That goo d natured despot was
cr u el l y perpl exed -
he real l y l iked the
yo ung man and finding , it b eyond him to
breas t the opposition o f two hot -
headed
and hotter hearte d yo ung peopl e he
-
,
fol

l owed the motion of his heart supported

,

by the b e s t of his j udgment in this cons ent

 E UNICE . 23

to Harol d s wis he s ’
. A b s ence was the onl y
h0pe of overcoming this m ispl aced affection
it wo ul d put a period to incl inations l ikel y ,

if unchecked, to terminate in the m is ery of

bo th p arties : ab s ence was the onl y cure ,

an d therefore cheapl y p urchas e d at the co s t

of any pres ent conce s sion —
it was more
than prob abl e that the fut ure wo ul d never
cal l u pon him to rans om his promis e s .

Mr Ral ph Harnage received the new s

.

his nephew s engagement with p l ayful

’
of

irony rather as if it were a j oke and l ittl e ,

likel y to ripen into a s erious affair . Harol d

w as depre ss ed by his banter ,
b ut tried to
his cl e s dis relis h for
’
hide it , knowing un

aught that savo ured o f s entim ent . O n the

pl ea of fatigue, he e s caped from his ncl e s
’
u

raill ery ,
b ut o nl y to be harass ed by a
s trange dream that h aunted him through
the night . E unice
’
s arm s col d and dank
,

a corp s e s yet with the franti c cl utch of

’
as ,
24 E UNICE .

the drowning cl ung around

,
him . He was
trying to uncl asp them al l night ; and he
coul d s ee nothing el s e — —
no fac e no form ,

onl y tho s e two deathl ike arms that hel d

him in their desperate embrace . He
The night
smil ed in rel ief on awakening .

hag had ridden to some purpose in his

breast taken ,
ful l revenge for that hurried
l ate supper the waste of waters he mus t
cro ss had cast it s shadow over his vis ions ,

and mingl ed with Eunice

’
s des pairing fare
wel l . Hi s darl ing was s afe and onl y he ,

woul d have to face the peril s o f wind and

Al ready he had tormenting fears — she

wa s not over res ol ute and tho s e surroun d
-
,

ing her were his enemies ; he regard ed

them as s uch feel ing them to be s ecretl y
,

oppo s ed to him in this one great affair .

They woul d s ay thing s to his disadvantage ,

and he woul d not b e at han d to d efend

 E UNICE . 2
5

h imsel f ; he deft his memory an orphan ,

as it were mute and friendl ess to be bat

, ,

tered by cal umny and hunted by the envy

of her l ittl e worl d O h ! cru el fate ! to take
him thous ands of mil es away l eavi ng her ,

y outh and ,
b eauty unguarde d by his care !
Lovers are noto rio usl y o f encro aching
dispo sition and ,
al ready Harol d repented
him o f the p rice he covenanted to pay for

Sir Peter s
’
consent . This two years sepa ’

—
ration coul d it not even now be avoided
—
H is onl y hope s uch a forl orn one he had
—
b een as hamed to mention it was his
m is erl y crabb ed ol d uncl e Matthew
, ,

Harnage ; a rel ative unknown to him and ,

who had s tudio usl y ignored his exis tence .

Hard and miserl y his uncl e m ight stil l ,

have compassion on him ; an d Harol d

res ol ved to pay him a visit on his way to
So uthampton ; he wo ul d try and intere s t
him in his s tory ! R a l ph Harn age was
.
26 E UN]CE .

quite hop el ess he wa s too ful l y impres s ed

by his own merit in obtaining Harol d

this po s t abroad to listen to any vacill ation ) .

R eport s aid ,
that the m is er b athed in

gol d . If he wo ul d onl y give him of hi s

—
abundance s et him up in s ome humbl e
fashion London where he might have a
in ,

—
chance of getting on and s ometimes b e
abl e to go to Grantl ey !
 C H A PT E R III .

Go ld ! Go ld ! Go ld ! Go ld !
Bright and y ell ow h ar d and c ol d
, .

Spurned b y the y oung b ut h ugg ed b y the ol d ,

T the very verg e f the ch urchyar d m ul d

o o o .

UTUMN , as if wish ful to make

amends for the indol ence of her
earl y days had awakened to a ,

sens e of her d evas tating respon sibilitie s

the l ast week had made giant stride s in the
b ackwar d w ork ; bl oom and b eauty had
b een s wept from the face of the earth by
the d es ol ating winds . Fl ed was the cheer
ful verdure of the fi el ds ; and the flowery
a e had re s igne d their delicate sum mer
r c

robe s an d hidd en their

,
diminis hed heads
for many a month to come — the col o ured
woods al one gave a richne ss to the l an d
28 E UN]CE .

s cape . There is a mockery in mid autum n -

,

l ike
A rich b ea uty w h en her b l oom is l ost ,

A pp ears w ith m o r e m agni fi c ence and c ost ,

s eeking to repair with art the ravages

nature has s ustained ; s o do the fal l ing
l eave s ,
gil t and painted in s pl en did hu e s ,

al l ur e the eye onl y to dis appoint the nearer

view .

The weather and the aspe ct of his ncl e s

’
u

surroun dings im messed Harol d a s omens

for the ill s uc ces s of his errand The wind
moane d s trangel y a s he wal ked up the
grass grow n road l eading
-
to Mis er Har
nage s abode It l ooked a G od fors aken
’
-

pl ace ; broken step s that l ed to nothing ;

thicket s of s tunted tree s stopped
,
l n their
growth by want of care ; and the path even ,

to the front door ch o

ked , ,
by a s el f pl anted
-

col ony of weed s which the infrequ ent s tep

of man had b een abl e to sub due
un . A few
 E UNICE . 2
9

sheep brows ed up to the very windows of

the hard s quare brick hou se evid entl y no

mean s o f turning an honest penny were
negl ecte d The flutter of the d ry l eave s on

the s al l ow gras s s eemed to mock his vain

footstep s . However determined to try
, his
fo rtune , Harol d went on ,
b ut with a fail ing
o age that was
c ur f urther dis turbe d by the
cl anging b el l which broke the still ness
harshl y .

”
I s your mas ter at home l he as ke d of

an ancient dams el who s e cro ss eyes an d ,

p uckered mouth pl ainl y intim ated that

vis itors were an innovation oppo s ed to the
e conomy of the ab ode .

My m as ter is asl eep an d cannot b e

, dis
”
t urb ed , s aid the abigail s nappishl y ,
.

Don t ’

y ou think y ou coul d manage it

for me ? I wont d etain him l o ng . I am
j ust o ff a j ourney an d have to go by the
,

next train to Southampton or I wo ul d not ,

 30 E UNICE ‘
.

b e s o pressing ,
s aid Harol d his coaxing ,

tone as siste d by a j udicio usl y adminis tere d

sil ver pas s ,
nor were his hands ome face and
sweet sm il e witho ut effec t .

!
Wel l a s s o b e
, y ou s eem civil s poken
! which no o ne about here bees ) I l l do what ,
’

tis
’
I can ; b ut I mis d oubt me as much as
”
my pl ace is worth .

A nd beckoning him in ,
they travers ed
some pas s age s which for dirt and darkne ss
m ight b e burro wing u nderground to some
anim al s l air the wind o ws
’
.
,
d im with the
u ndisturb ed cl o ud s of years al l owing o nl y
ob s c urity to penetrate the gl oomy interior .

Propell ed into a cavern of a room the ,

door shut an d de s erted by the friendl y

,

hand maiden Harol d found a hiatus , of

b o ards bl ack with dirt and age yawning

, ,

between him s el f and the inhabited portion

o f the apartment pro ducing the ,
l ike effect
of a youth growing out o f his firs t inex pres
 E UNICE .
3 1

sibl es . The smal l s qu are o f carpet that ,

had al l been swept away except where here

and there a wooll en tear mourned it s de
parted nap s urrounded the firepl ace where
, ,

burned sl owl y with cautio us economy a

’

tiny coke fire ,

its dul l red giving onl y a
mocking promis e of heat . O ver this four
square inche s o f red cind er s at h uddl ed a
—
h uman s p ider a l ean daddy l ongl egs s ort -

of ol d man . Tal k of having one foot in the

grave — he s eeme d up t o his armpits in

that debatabl e ground ,

as if o nl y the
greedy l onging in his restl e s s ol d eyes kept
him from toppl ing in head over ears .

A picture — the o nl y one that adorned the

wal l s was a s atire upon — an exact repl ica
,

of the mummy figure tha t b owed over the

hearthrug — a mi s er in Rembrandt s ’
l o om i
g
e s t styl e b end ing over a tabl e co unting
, ,

his hoard with ski nny eager fingers by the

3 2 E UN]CE .

He turned in his armchair on hearing

the door cl ose and the front view of a sk ul l
,

cap reve al ed a l ong sharp no s e with a ,

s quare tip that gave him the appearance

of a weas el — al ik eness enhanced by his
re d rimmed green eyes
- . H is u n d er l ip

protrud ed and pressed agains t the

,
u pper
in a way that is suppo s ed to indicate firm

nes s .

”
To what am I ind ebted for this honour l

said Mr Harnage h al f
.
,
ri sing and with a
how ,
a parchment smil e dis torting the
l eathery texture o f his visage which wore
,

a resentful l ook at the intrusion ; b ut his

m anners had a finish ,

and in their acme
of pol itenes s were dis concerting to his

vis itor .

I am your nephew, H arol d Harnage .

I am going to C ey l on , and s tart from

”
Southampton to night -
.

So my
,
fine Oxford nephew come at
 E UNICE .
33

l ast ! And mav I ask what motiv e has

”
induced y ou to l ook u
p yo ur ol d un cl e l

I wanted to see y ou before I sail ed .

H um ph A nd the reason for the w ish ?

P ure affection ,
Il l
’
be sworn ! We l ive in

a phil anthropic age Mr H face

’
. . arnage s

wore an express ion o f bitter iro ny and ,

when he smil ed d eep channel s became per

ce
pt ibl e ar oun d the mo uth .
!
B ut I am
forgetting that my afiecl zonate nephew m ust
’

need rest after the exercis e of his phil an

”
thropy ,
waving him to a chair .

Haro l d sat do w n on this invitatio n his ,

discompos ure at this ch ill ing recepti on

aggravated by the discovery that his seat
had cast its c astor and consequentl y ,
re

quired careful adj ustment to preserve its

equil ib rium .

An d y ou l ive here al l al one ,

uncl e
Al one yo ung sir—
,
my o w n choice A

man w ho is not a pauper and ,

has no
V OL . III .
34 E UNICE .

direct heirs can al ways command the

, so

ciet
y of his affectionate rel atives . B ut y o u

have not yet tol d me the reason of

y our

”
vis it l

Harol d winced un d er this pl ain ins ul t ,

given with the col d pol itenes s of a us urer .

He rose and reaching , ,

his hat from the
tabl e was abo u t to quit
,
his u nnatural rel a
tive ,
in do ubt whether to make the final

overture of a handshake before his exit .

E ven E unice wo ul d never be abl e to tou ch

s uch an ol d bear ; for her dear s ake he
woul d do anything— swall ow his pride ;
b ut this was simpl y a hopel ess enterp rise .

The m iser s eyes which never quitted

’

him for a moment appreciated the yo ung

,

man s annoyance and a s parkl e

’

, of real
pl easure rippl ed over his feature s .

A nd yo ur reason fo r coming nephew,

?

he persis ted Y ou did not visit me for

nothing ; y ou must not go without tel ling

 E UNICE .
35

yo ur errand . I am a man of work and l ike ,

”
to see work performed .

I came to ask your hel p ,

said Harol d ,

bl untl y . Y ou are my u ncl e tho ugh we

,

have never met before and I tho ught y ou

might have some kind feel ing for me . I

see y ou have not , and am s orry I intruded ,

”
and wil l go .

Wel l that sounds honest at l east

, . At

whose des ire then are , , y ou here — not 2

yo ur U ncl e Ral ph s ’
s aid Mr Harnage .
,

quickl y and with a vindictive gl are

,
. H e

”
wo ul d not have dared to s end y ou .

N0 ,
he kne w nothing o f my intention
”
nor shal l I tel l him .

!
Rest awhil e young ,
m an, said the
m is er brus qu el y ;
,
and tel l me what y ou

did come here for ? My powers are sm al l ,

and I make no prom is es ; b ut words cost

”
l ittl e ,
and I have l eis ure to l isten t o y ou .

There was s ometh ing in the sharpness ,

3 — 2
3 6 E UNICE .

a gl eam of kindl iness that encouraged

Harol d very ,
different from the pol ite ,

sneering col dness .

”
! l )
’
Wel l ,
wel l ! impatient y . Don t
ou hear l — tel l me abo ut it ; that can do
y
”
no harm ,
s canty promise in his short tones
and ferrety eyes b ut Harol d needed littl e
enco uragement to pou r o ut the story of the
l ast two months of his l ove his erl ex i
, , p p
ties and his co m ing exil e
,
. He coul d not
have bel ieved that he coul d speak so

u nres ervedl y of E unice to a l iving creature

b ut then he had never tried before and ,

now he found it a rel ief though he , had

chosen a curio us confidant for a l ove tal e -
.

He had fo und it impossibl e to speak of her

to his U ncl e Ral ph with his sneering
, , scof

fing manner b ut this dried u

-
p ol d mummy
appeared interested l eading him ,
on to tel l
the minutest partic ul ars by an adroit word
thrown in here and there .
 C H A PT E R IV .

irs c onv y m t the bl ck f sham e ;

C o m e,
’

s ,
e e o o o

Wr ng hath b ut w r ng and b l am e th d u f bl am e
o o , e e o .

R ICH A RD III .

ND s he is disinterested eno ugh

to care for y ou — to prefer ou to
y
fine titl ed l overs l — Y ou have tol d
her and her father that y ou have a rich o ld
”
u ncl e ,
of co urse 7 A nd Mr Harnage
. re

garded Harol d wi th a piercing s uspicion

that wo ul d penetrate the depths of a mental
E re bus .

I have never mentioned yo ur existence

”
to either of them ,
said Harol d prou dl y , .

To tel l the truth I did not remember it It .

was a s udden tho ught to come to y ou, in

the hope that y ou woul d h el p me to find
3 8 E UN JCE .

work at home . I do not l ike to l eave her

”
for such a l ong time ,
a quiver o f pain in

his voice — his heart was very sore thinking ,

of his poor girl and her st ream ing ey es

'

A pparentl y his uncl e bel ieved his sin

cerit
y . A bando ning that point he asked ,

A nd y o u start for India t o night -

”
Yes I must go , . I have no opt ion said ,

Harol d d espondingl y, ,
and tou ching his
pockets ,
I have empty h ungry monitors
,

here . Sir Peter will not hear o f my stay

”
ing ,
unl e ss my prospects are improved .

A nd I have no money if that ,

is what
y ou mean ,
s aid Mr . Harnage ro ughl y ,

turning in fury at this appeal — the most

direct Who says
Harol d had ventured .

D o I l ook it —this
’
I m rich tel l s l ie s .

— —
house this room this dress ! tearing his
sl eeve s in a s ort of frenz ied sel f dis dain ) -
.

The weal thy l ive in kings pal ace s I ve ’

,
’

heard an d are cl othed in purpl e

, .
 E UN JC E .
39

Harol d in his desire to be po l itic did his

bes t to keep the incredul i t y he fel t on the
questio n o ut of his face . The miser s ’

h um o ur changed ; he started to his feet ,

tottering and shaking in his indignati o n .

I will not be s ucked by any vampire

brood ! I will keep what I have earned
by hard l abo ur and harder sel f denial
,
-
. I
will do as I w ill w ith my ow n I w il l fo und

a ho spital endow a church and

, ,
so p urchase
ease for my soul ; and that will be a good
bargain ; and fol ks say I ,
like my money s ’

”
worth He sank back again in the wel l
worn l eathern arm chair exhausted by this
-

expo sition of his intentions .

Harol d co ul d not u nderstand his quick

variations ,
his s arcastic expressions l evell ed
at himsel f as m uch as at his auditor .

I am a phil osopher young man and , ,

phil osophers have no heart s — nothing so

foo lish A nd yet there is nothing fool ish
40 E UNICE .

that has not been esp ou sed by phil osophers .

Y ou have tol d me a —
story now I wil l tel l
ou one, and we shall be —
quits I
y
al ways discharge my debts —I can t afford ’

to do more . I have had my romance -

I ,

to o, was in l ove once . Y ou sneer young ,

sir he snarl ed .

Harol d discl aimed the smal l est intentio n .

You d id , sir , y ou d id ! The notion of

this ol d h unks — this dried up ol d fossil ”

,

! s eemingl y he took de l ight in l oa ding him

sel fwith il l names) ever having any feel ing

,

o f the ki nd am u ses B t withered as

‘

ou u
y .

I am the ,
m emory o f that time is green ,

the memory of m y w rongs is green .

A gain he started u p, and wal ked back

wards and forwards gesticul ating with
,
his

l o ng spid ery hands . A hidden flame l eapt

forth from the m an l ighting up his l ean harsh
,

feat ures and endowing the shabby ungainl y

,

figure with a certain maj esty of pas sion .

 E UNICE .
4:

The fossil iz ed being had become animated

by hot s corching passi ns o ,
—
hate j eal o usy
fury .

Y ou shal l hear s tory There were

!
my .

three yo ung men ; or, to be more correct ,

there w as one man whose l ot it w as never

to be yo ung and two veritabl e young
,

puppies ,
for whom life had ever been made
easy and pl easant . A doting mother took
care that her branche s were pampered whil e ,

i ndul ging the natural antagonis m of a step

mother to the ful l against the el dest born .

H er sons were handsome ,

liv el y ,
and
spent with an open hand winning gol den ,

opinions in return fo r the gol den guineas

they squandered The el dest was l eft out

in the col d no sweet home affectio n came

his way onl y sneers at his p l ain features
,

and money l oving -

nat u re . B ut Miser
Harnage as they dubbed
,
him even then in
their heartl ess sport was ,
no t sl ow t o res ent
42 E UNICE .

this treat m ent I have al ways l iked to

”
pay my debts ,
he reiterated with a satisfied,

l eer .

I was l eft to mysel f my education,

”
negl ected , hi s voice changing to a pathos
that spoke considerabl e sel f pity . H ow

o ften have I wep t al o ne in my littl e room ,

o v erwhel med by a bitter sense of l onel ines s

and inj u stice They were not heal ing tears

.

they fro z e and harde ned my nature . B ut

the l ess they cared for me ,

the more I was
determined to care —
for mysel f t o carve o ut

”
my ow n fortunes .

The fire that had animated his manner

sank ,
his voice became dreamy ,
and he
gaz ed before him vacantl y seeing onl y what
,

had been .

I was fifteen years ol der than Phil ip ,

and was in a position t o demand a partner

ship in the hou se of Harnage and Harnage ,

whil e he and Ral ph were yet mere l ads .

 E UN JC E .
43

My father did not w ish his partial ity to

appear and granted my request ;

,
in su b

stantial marks Cf regard he made us equal ,

b ut his sympathy ,
his affection were fo r his

handsome yo unger boys . They gre w to be

ea
j l o u s of thi s reward of my untiring in

d ustry ,
yet j eering me the wh il e for a
money gr ubber a
-
,
m achine for turning out

pounds shill ings and pence ; whil e I m ad e

, ,

no secret o f my contempt of the soul l ess

u nmeaning flattery that was their portio n .

A bitter ad
n gro wing sense of the inj u stice
of my treatment was a cankerworm eati ng
into my l ife ,
and s undering every year more
and more widel y characters original l y d if

ferent z the s ame roof covered me and my

brothers ,
b ut we went our several ways ;
there wa s nothing in common between us .

And I worked hard in my so ul s sol itude

’

thrown upon mys el f money getting became ,

-

my rel igion . M oney is p ow er— and I w anted

44 E UN]CE .

p ow er ! A nd the miser brought his

cl enched fist down u pon the tabl e with a
force that made the craz y l egs rattl e .

I w as determ ined to —
rise not to remain
the cru shed worm for my b utterfly brothers
to flaunt their gay col ours by contrast .

A nd I su cceede d I conqu ered the hard

cal l ous worl d : what wo nder if I became
hard and call o us in the process ! Harnage
and Harnage stood higher than it had ever
done my exertions hel ped the fond father
t o find funds for his Jo s eph s and Ben
’

j amin s extra vagances for a time A t l as t

’
.
,

Ral ph the younger and e v er the

,
hol d er

spirit of the tw o, carried his irregul arities a

l ittl e t oo far — yo uth s frol ics he gentl y
’

termed them — and fearing his father s ’

cen

s ure he appl ied to me ,

his rich steady ol d

Timon of a brother to hel p ,

him out o f the
sc rape . He reckoned witho ut his host .

N ot for them ,
nor s u ch as they had I toil ed
,
 E UNICE .
45

and borne the heat and burthen of the day ,

whil e they were sunning themsel ves in the

smil es of beauty and pl easure . A nd Ral ph

vowed revenge ; idl e words I deemed them ,

b ut the sequ el proved the bl ackness of his

hate . Y ou shal l hear young man , ,
and then
l aim has
’
say what C yo ur father s s on u po n
my pity .

A t l ength my ho ur came . I l oved !

I was no l onger yo ung and I l oved as those ,

can l ove w ho have not frittered away their

hearts on ev ery pass ing emotio n . Y ou

start nephe w
,
-
do y ou think y ou are going
to mo nopoliz e al l the tender p as sion I
concede I do n t l ook m uch l ike l oving
,
’
no w ,

b ut I did then spite the frosts ,

of forty
— —
winters summ ers had passed me b y I
had none of them til l she came . She w as

hal f my age ,
b ut I l o v ed her do ubl y ,
and

that squared the d ifference . She w as gentl e

and pretty and I poor fool , ,
! tho ught her
46 E UNICE .

perfect . I worshipped the gro und she tro d

u pon I was j eal ou s
,
of the very air she
breathed I wo ul d have poured o ut my l ife ,

my hopes my gol d before her

,
! I woul d
hav e starred her dark hair with p ricel ess
—
gems I, the man above such frivol ities
the m iser Words cannot tel l my infatua
tion for that girl ; and I bel ieved in her
”
truth impl icitl y . H is voice sank to a
quaver that might be the exhaustion of age
or feeling .

His nephew gave him cre dit for the l atter

state ; yet w ho wo ul d have suspected this
dried -
up o l d specimen o f a covert romance ,

in addition to his covert and mysterious

—
weal th not Harol d certes . His hard face
, ,

sh arp eyes and thin l ipped mouth with it s

,
-
,

c unning shifty smil e were

, ,
not s uggestive
of poetic al warmth of se ntime nt .

A dim shadow of l ong -

gone -
by tender
ness gave a charm to the meagre vis age
 E UNICE .
47

he w as transformed when thinki ng o f his

yo ung l ove . He saw the interest he had
roused an d continued the recital
,
of his
wrongs .

Let me h urry over what fol l owed A

’
quarter o f a century s striving has not

bro ught me forgetful ness tho ugh ,

al l the
”
actors save two are de ad . E l eanor ! Haro l d
start ed viol entl y at the name ) was not !

wel l and went to the Isl e of Wight : we

,

were engaged ,
b ut I saw her sel dom I was
a b usines s m an, and not my ow n master .

There a s erpent stol e into my E den

Ral ph m ad e her acquaintance and intro ,

d uced Phil ip to her in my absence ; Phil

— the A donis of o ur famil y the reverse
, o f

mysel f posses sed

,
of that ready grace that ,

winning confidence o f manner ,

directl y o
p

po sed to my shy reserv e . He fel l in l ove

with her ; b ut it was Ral ph who fanned his

treachery and mad e the road easy
,
fo r
4 s E UNICE .

them representing me in bl ack eno ugh

,

col ours . I was a morose j eal o us miser , ,

w ho
woul d make her yo ung l ife wretched They .

tol d her that I did not l ove her ,

and she
bel iev ed it ! Saints above ! I, who w or

shipped her every word and l ook ! A nd

it was the ol d —
story a yo unger Jacob ,

with smooth face and tong ue suppl anted

,

his el der brother . Well I went , o ne day

to find my paradise a dese — she had rt

el oped with yo ur father ! She dared no t

wait to tel l me o f her fal s ehood ; she l et

”
it b urs
t upon me l ike a thundercl ap
'

The shaking withered ,

m an spoke with
evident d iflicul ty . An instant after ,
d
an

fire again gl owed in his pal e eyes .

Ral ph was there ,

w aiting to ex ul t over
mc — Sneering d ev il ! I stru ck him a b l ow
in the face : had I carried a bl ade it sho ul d ,

”
have l eaped into his breast ! The pas
’
sionate mal ignity of the m is er s l ook and
 E UNICE .

words fro z e Harol d s bl ood coming from a ’

creature so feebl e gal vaniz ed into energy ,

onl y for the expression o f revenge it was ,

appal l ing .

Y ou need not wince I did . not become

—
a fratricide nothing so romantic . No ,
I
pocketed my inj ury and my woe ; b ut I
swore never to s ee him again never to for
,

give him ; and I never have — I never w il l .

He thr ust me b eyond the pal e of h uman

sympathy ; by his means the o nl y woman ,

in the whol e worl d for me was l ost to me

’
for ever . Don t I know that your father
was his weak in strument ; that instigated
by Ral ph s s ubtl e sarcas tic reaso ning he
’

, ,

checked every good imp ul s e ,

and cl osed his
heart to rel entings that he coul d not quite
”
s ub d u e N ow ,
yo ung s ir ,
with an abrupt
change o f tone ,
!
what wo ul d y ou have me
do for yo ur father s ’
so n l — he establ ished
a s ort of cl aim ou s ee on my forbearance
, y ,

v o n IIL 4
 5 0 E UNICE .

in a ght that concerns

u l ov e m atches
-
! his

ac cents col dl y meas ured) .

N othing , s aid Harol d who was over ,

whel med at these new idyl s of his parents .

I shoul d not have dared to come here had

I known this .

I co ul d have al most forgiven the theft ,

had he made her happy .

My mother died years ago ; b ut b oy,

”
as I was I knew she was not happy .

Yes ,
s aid Mr . Harnage ,
gl eeful l y ,

she wo ul d have do ne better had she taken

the miser with al l ,
his faul ts . Phil the ,

most un practical of men wa s al ways in

,

difficul ties ; a negl ectful ,

contempt uou s
hu sband he rev enged ,
his s pl een on his

faded wife . He stol e my treas ure and ,

then misused it grossl y ,

mi u s sed it . And

I the rej ected had my treas ure my con

, , ,

s ol ation .
—
I m ade money my god a divi
nity not wont to p l ay m en fal se . There
w as ex citement in the pursuit a tangibl e ,
 E UNICE .
5 1

real ity in the gol d pieces heaped up — his

l ea n finger s seemed to cl utch imaginary

coins . There is no artifice ,
no disappoint
ment no deceit about gol d
, ,
. Gol d is real
—gol d is power .
”

My father was poor eno ugh .

Yes he threw away

,
al l his advantages ,

and died a shameful wreck of a man maud ,

l in and m is erabl e ,
after he had worried his
”
wife into her grave ,
said Mr Harnage .
,

harshl y . Yo ung man , y ou may go I am

tire d Ill
’
—
give y ou a parting word of

advice . Don t trust yo ur

’
U ncl e Ral ph ; he
woul d sel l his o w n son ; he never yet w as

faithful to a fiiend or generous to a fo e ;

wil y and treacherous he l ive s b ut to betray

those w ho tru st him .

He may hav e repented his condu ct to

y ou , said Harol d apol ogeticall y ; ,

the
rain swol l en torrent given time may
-
,
run
”
its el f pure .
5 2 E UNICE .

N ever f — where t he s o urce is pol l uted

and springs from an evil heart : his nature
is dark . Hark ye another word of advice .

Take care o f yo ur young l ady ; y ou must

be content to wai t — there is natural l y a
l ittl e difficul ty in getting into paradis e
and bring her to see me when y ou come
back from that pl ace . A bride wil l be a
rare sight here . Gad ! how ol d Madge wil l
” ’
stare ,
and the ol d m an s tone w as quite
fris ky . Haven t ’

y ou her pict ure to show

Harol d ,
m o l l ified by the desire produced ,

a photograph of his bel o v e d .

Mr Harnage examined it attentivel y

. .

’
It is a bonnie face yo u re a l ucky dog !
A s y ou are l ikel y to have the original I can ,

keep this ’
twill serve to remind me o f my

niece el ect ,
p utting the card into his
”
pocket . Y ou can get another .

Harol d was agoniz e d .

 E UNI CE .
53

I cannot part with it indeed sir , , . I

have no other she gave it to me when we
”
said good -
by ,
and I sail t o night
-
.

M r Harnage regard ed his nephew in

.

t entl y from u nder his b ushy brows and ,

taking pity u pon him ,

withdrew the l ike
ness from his pocket and handed it
back .

I w ill get another for y ou said Harol d , ,

genero usl y .

No my me m ory i s good and wil l

!
, ,

”
—
s erve ! col dl y ) Good by Master H a
!
-
.
,

rol d l — is that your name ? I wil l not

”
waste more of your time . An d al most
witho ut a sh ak e of the hand Harol d fo und ,

him sel f dism issed from the inhospitabl e

ho use where he had not even been offered
,

a gl as s of wine after his jo u rney .

He tol d h imsel f that he had expected

nothing and was therefore
,
no t disap

pointed ; yet he kne w by the bl ank feeling

54 E UNICE .

he experienced that ,
u nacknowl edged to
himsel f ,
he had cherished a warm
hope that s omething wo ul d occur to do
away with the necessity for this exil e .

A nd now Poverty with her s kinny hand

drew a bl ack veil shutting ,
o ff every ray o f

hope . Matthew H arnage s heart was cl o s ed ’

against him ; nor coul d Harol d bl ame

him ; it was b ut nature and the worl d s ’

way . Our mean actio ns we haste to dis

miss from our memories we write them in
water— not in o ur tears b ut in shifty
,

pressionl ess water ; whil e the inj uries we

receive are to ute autre C ho s e ,
they are in

s cribed with an iron pen we desire no ,

erasure of them from our minds . He w on

dered that the ol d man had cared to hear

of his —
E unice his E unice He craved al

ready for a sight of her . He woul d go and

write to her ; it was not much ,

b ut it was
something happil y he had s aid nothing of
 E UNICE .
55

this un cl e she wo ul d not share the agony

of a vanis hing hope .

Latterl y Harol d ,
u nder the enervating
infl uence of l ove ,
had been a mere dreamer ;
b ut he pos s essed a determined and energetic
nature and he saw distinctl y that he must
,

rous e himsel f ,
and act and work . It w as

dreadful to l eave her ,

b ut he fo und conso
l ation in the bel ief that the bes t things are
mo s t diffic ul t to come by .

Matthew Harnage thought l ong on his

vis itor ,
b ut witho ut experiencingthe sl ightest

incl ination to p revent that same j o urney to

C eyl on . He was not a sl eepy ol d gentl e

man and over and over again he m uttered
,

l ike his father he s l ike

’
He is n t a bit ’

her —
he has her eyes I s eemed to see her
again in him Yet there s a l ook of Phil
’
.
,

to o , —
abo ut the mouth and brow shifty ,

weak treachero us Phil — this b oy , tho ugh ,

,

And
’
l oo ks firm and honest . he s going a
5 6 E UNICE .

l ong way and he l ove s

,
. Why d id he come
and tel l it to me ? Money ! money ! money !
They al l want money : it i s all they come
to me for . B ut I think I cured him of that
”
idea . And Mr Harnage chu ckl ed
. .

! ’
—
It s al l emptiness it s ’
al l weariness ,

sighed the ol d man drawing

, his chair
before the battered tea tray on which stood -
,

a sol itary cu
p and saucer and a l ittl e dry
toast . I heap up gol d ; b ut who shal l
s catter it Ah ! who 7
 C HAP T E R V .

T he m ountai ns l o ok on M ara th on,

A nd M ara th on l k
oo s on the sea — B Y RON .

WID E gap o f eighteen months

had been bridged over ; l ong

month s to many of ou r actors ,

b ut notabl y so to our impatient l overs .

The average number of births deaths , ,

and

marriages had occurred those momentou s ,

events not however affecting ou r particul ar

friends . O utwardl y things were much as
they were on Harol d s departure ; yet
’
not

quite the s ame ,

for economy now hel d strict
rul e at Grantl ey . The advent of this un

wel come potentate m ight b e traced directl y

to the agency of Mr Morel] Pyke and

.
,
in

directl y to the mis carriage o f that gentl e

5 8 E UNICE '
.

man s political career Lord E rrington had

’
.

speedil y ej ected his foe unhors ed him in ,

the neatest manner and quietl y possessed

,

him sel f o f the vacant —

s eat not a dissen
tient murmur was raised in Trenton the
,

l o udest Py keit es having sub s ided into

—
neuters not a few of the more energetic
spirits taking on an active voting for the
opposition .

No o ne knew better than Pyke Sir

Peter s innocenc e
’
good faith ! witnes s
and

his pl ucked condition and the steadiness ,

with which he had refused temp ting offers

to be enriched at the expens e of others ) ,

yet witho ut exactl y wishing to be unj ust ,

he made the Baronet bear the brunt of his

”
wounded s el f l ove -
. A rethus a Mine had
coll ap s ed ,
lik e many another l ove affair ,

l eaving not a wrack behind — vestige s of

broken heart s are intangibl e and make no

show in the account . Sir Peter had
 E UN ]CE .
59

weathered the storm in a fashion ,

b ut it l eft
him in wrecked condition shorn of his natu ,

ral defences before the l iquidations settl e ,

ment s and l iabil ities that po ured in which

, ,

wo ul d have tried the heal thiest banker s ’

book . At the tim e when it was most

do ubtful if he co ul d keep his head above
water when he wa s breasting the waves
,

of impec uniosity that threatened to eng ul f

him ,
Pyke offered to square matters if ,

E unice woul d consent to reward his de

v otion Her father referred him to the
'

yo ung l ady tol erabl y s ecure of her negative

,

tho ugh Pyke had become a great man — a

very great man — Sir Peter did not contem

p l ate s uch nm ol ation of
an ir his chil d for a

moment .

The fertility of this master genius had

proved a wel l of ever -
s rm
p m
g g riches ;

Pyke had grown into a C ol oss us of

Finance— was deemed the incarnation of
60 E UNICE .

b ul l ion . The address o f the man w as

marvel l ous ; it rose and as s erted its el f

u nder reverses that woul d have cru shed
a l ess bu oyant nat ure . The bursting of
the b ubbl e A reth usa Mine ,
his reb uff at
Trenton and s u ch
,
l ik e diffic ul ties seemed
o nl y a backbone on which he rais ed him sel f
to e m inence and an enviabl e notoriety . N o

l onger content to pl ay mi dwife to apocry

phal mines and imaginary rail ways he ,

no w

did b usines s on a l arge scal e iss uing l oans ,

to States in a bad way ; and the readiness

with which the B ritish p ublic responded to

his appeal s do ubl ed and quad rupl ed the

bol d originator s gains til l even he
’

,
w as

astonished at his s u cces s .

Al tho ugh Sir Peter recoil ed in dis gust

from P y ke s el igibl e offer he was greatl y

’

disquieted at the serious turn E unice s

’

entangl ement had t aken Time was pass ing ,

and yet neith er of the yo ung peopl e be

 E UNICE '
. 61

tray ed symptoms of inconstancy ; apparentl y

they had every intention of cl aim ing that
ras h promise o f his . He grew quite
desperate : what co ul d be done ? In ad

dition to his other embarrassment s was he -

to be further enc umbered with a pauper

so n -
in
-
l aw ?

We have al l our vario us parts to pl ay

in l ife ,
and the se v erel y determined and
the inflex ibl y mercenary were not those
original l y designed for Sir Peter . He
confessed that he made a poor show— that
his future on earth w as dimmed by the
ever rising mist of past errors : he had
al l owed this great gorging greedy Pyke
to fleece him mercil essl y ; whil e his hal f
meas ure s his ,
dip l omacy ,
on which he prided
him s el f woul d in
,
d ue t ime end in his girl ,

so s weet and good and pretty ! throwi ng

hersel f away on a tutoring —
fel l ow an
o bs c ure cl erk in a merchant s o ffice ’
Trade
62 E UNICE .

in al l its bearings was pecul iarl y offensive

to Sir Peter s aristocratic prej udices
’
. In
these days the Baronet sat in ashes :

he woul d not contempl ate breaking his

his word ; if Harol d returned and cl aimed
E unice ,
she m ust be his ; b ut he never
thought of the sacrifice witho ut a groan ;
Jephthah was comparativel y an enviabl e
parent ,
for Sir Peter had no religious
enthusiasm to s upport him .

Lady Grantl ey proved a val uabl e al l y to

the l overs . She had not been superior to

the I tol d y ou so ,
which we al l u tter
with s u ch z est to o ur overtaken friend b ut ,

havi ng u sed her triumph she had thrown ,

her infl uence— no ne the l ess that she was a

sil ent woman — into E unice
’
s s cal e . She
experienced none of the tru e maternal am

bit iou that E unice shoul d carry her wares

to the highest mart ; and probabl y as a ,

foreigner she had ,

al w ays betrayed an in
 E UNICE . 63

difference t o, or an ignorance of, those finer

r ad ations of co unty standing which is the
g ,

pied aterre
- -
of a co unty magnate s wife s ’ ’

creed
E unice ,
to uched by the transfo rm ing
finger of p assion ,
w as no l onger a chil d
caring onl y for the pl eas ure of the moment
she had become a patient l oving woman ; .

her voice was l ower her step quieter ,

she
s el dom l augh ed ,
b ut smil ed o ften . D uring
this time o f separation E unice ,
had a great
happiness the onl y happiness that
,
fil l s a
woman s heart the conscio usness that she
’

is l oved as she l oves whol l y and entirel y ,

.

She was l ift ed abo v e other j oys and griefs

she fel t a thing apart s anctified by H arol d s
’

l ove a mist divided her from al l b ut him ,

and she gl o ried in bel o nging to him al o ne .

The restrictio ns caused by the home

po v erty did not tro ubl e her she w as

al ways ready to soothe and to make the

64 E UN JCE .

best of everyt hing and was more than ever

,

the cheerful ministering spirit o f the ho us e .

She carried about with her a panacea for

al l vexatio ns — Harol d s l ast l etters

’
. Eunice

existed in her l etters What magi c l urks

within the quiet fol ds of an envel ope

what l ife -
renovating power ! E unice had
been wont t o st l e l etter w riting the pl agu e
‘ '

y
-

of one s l ife
’

,
b ut was a convert to the belief
they had their birth in l overs
’
pains she
to l d him everyt hing ,
and they never mi ssed
a mail . Sir Peter chafed ,
b ut in sil ence ;

he woul d not interfere in their corre

d
s on ence,
p for his word given he ,
w as in

capabl e o f fal sifying it .

 C HAP T E R VI .

B ut spi t e of all cri tici i ng lve

the s e s,

Th o se w ho w oul d mak e u f l m u t f el th em selv

s ee , s e es.

shal l best see how Harol d fared

in his tropical l ife by taking a ,

peep into his correspondence

M eeri ng , C ey l on .

Thanks my ,
ow n dear o ne, for yo ur
l etter ; each one is sweeter dearer than ,

the l ast for it b rings me

,
nearer t o y o u . I
am restl es s for two or three days before
the mail comes in
. I get anxio us oppressed ,

by fears of I know not what ,

u ntil I have
the b l essed as surance that all is wel l ,
and

hav e yo ur kind words to give me fresh

co urage . I read _m y l etter the l ast thing
b efore I sl eep and then I have happy
,

V OL . 111 . 5
66 E UNICE .

Wnice
‘
Eu !
’
t we
:
-
are t oge then
~

and at the word I wake ; and

I whisper
,

the l ight breaks col d and bare and my sweet ,

dream mel ts to air .

I cannot tel l y ou how I weary for y ou

in this s trange pl ace where there is nothing

,

to which the image of your beauty is l inked

the very trees and flowers I do not care to
see ,
for they are not as sociated with y ou .

The vegetation in this part of the isl and is

grand owing to the am o unt

,
o f moisture
i

that fal l s in the year . It is the hottest

season ,
b ut we are l ooking for the rains to
cool us ; some su ch operation is becom ing
nece s sary if there is a stirring of the
air ,
it comes s o hot a bl ast one imagines ,

its o rigin m ust be E reb u s .

The great excitement s here are el ephant

h unts ,
b ut I have not been t oa grand hraal

as yet ; the sporting does not troubl e me

much . I stay at Meering an d try to get ,
 E UN! CE . 07

thro ugh my work q uickl y to have a l ittl e

more to do than one has time to do it in

is I,
find , the best thing for me now ; and
I am never l ess al one than when al one . I
am getting on fam o usl y with my new novel ,

for y ou are the angel of my insp iration— if

it woul d o nl y bring me fame and rupee s !
I beginto s uspect that authorship is another
name not for genius b ut for ceasel ess
, ,

patience .

!
Will y ou make much of me ,
E unice ,

when I do come back and never te ase me , ,

an
d run away as y ou used to do in the , ol d

days 4
"

I sh al l have m uch to tel l :

y ou shal l
be the De sd emona to the thril l ing recital
of my adventures . I have done battl e o nl y
with smal l deer— the s corpions and huge
bl ack spiders that we often find in the
—
ho uses on the hottest day they make
my bl ood run col d ! What wo ul d gentl e
C o w per have said o f such intr uders into
5 — 2
68 E UNICE .

pl ace s sacred to repose ? The spiders are

harml es s eno ugh ,

b ut I cannot l ook u pon
them a s commendabl e bedfel l ows . I wil l
not afflict y ou by tell ing what I suffer from
mosquitoes ,
&C .
,
but merel y remark that
insect l ife is painful l y active here tho ugh ,

I have contrived to el ude the l eeches pretty

”
succes s ful l y so far .

9K 9K

D EA R E ST H A R OLD ,
—Y 0u ask me what
I do . I l ead the l az iest l ife . I roam the
garden til l I grow weary and then I read ,

and t al k to father ! who is m uch more at

home than he used t o be ) then drive with ,

—
Leo w e have o nl y o ne horse now we are ,

so poor ; b u t I d o no t m ind it one hit ,

it
wil l teach me not to be extravagant before
we begin our housekeeping .

After dinner my favo urite recreatio n is

,

to go to the school room and l o s e mys elf in ,

a reverie of what y ou are do ing and whether ,

 E UNICE . 69

y ou l ove me as well as on the day y ou first

to l d me ,
in the dear dingy ol d room that ,

yo ur troubl es ome p upil had crept into your

heart . I sit there sometimes for I know
no t how l ong ; and were it not fo r som e
cruel thoughts of the hard ne s s o f fortune
that keeps y ou away I sho ul d forg et there
,

is s uch a thing to b e done as goi ng to b ed

B ut tim e is passing and the s ummer ,

is

com ing ; when it comes this s everan

ce wil l ,

be over ; it wil l al l seem as nothing then .

A l re ad y the woods are a carpet o f yell ow

stars and y ou wil l be with us before they
are strewn with l eave s — remember Augus t ,

is the very l atest I give y ou, sir .

I have had another admirer ! for your

—
comfort I speak in the pas t tense ) a l ittl e
,

mel anchol y man whose mode s t rO o sal s I

, p p
easil y nipped . Father was very good abo ut
it ! that his e state adj oined o ur poor acres
is a tantal iz ing fact) and al so abo ut Mr ,
.
7° E UN ICE .

Pyke whom we do not often s ee

,
his mind

is s o taken up by l oan s and shares that how

I ever found roo m there is a mystery one

comfort is the next new s cheme will s oon

,

crowd me ou t again . I cannot tel l y ou

the repul sion that man inspires me with ;

spite his parade o f friendship I feel he , is

ans werabl e for my poor father s gl oom ’

.

I l ike your l ook of hair — su ch a boun

’

tecus curl ! I am not m inded to put it in

a l ocket ; I will have no col d gl ass between
it and me . Are y ou wel l ,
my deare st ?

Don t work
’
t oo hard even at the boo k
, .

I wis h I coul d sit at your el b ow and hol d

C opperfiel d
’
the pens ,
lik e s poor l ittl e

Dora —perhaps I shal l s ome day

Tel l me about the peopl e y ou are with
— what the women o f the co untry are l ike .

I want to know r thin — especial l y what

ev e y g
”
concerns y ou .

ir
s
 E UNICE .
71

Hurrah onl y two more months ,

and I
shal l see my E unice ! That tro ubl esome
business I came o ut for is in a fair way to

be set tl ed . Ward and Roberts are wel l

satis fied so far ,
and have promis ed me a
cl erkship at 5 00l . a year and a partnership
,

ere l ong . It is a humbl e destiny for my

pearl ,
b ut my l ove shal l l ighten it . So
the Ital ian has come to grief and , y ou cal l
yo ursel f an ignora m us . I wont have my
wife c al l ed u gl y names ; she is rich in
womanl y wis dom and in uns el fish devotion .

I will be her tutor in books and she shal l ,

teach me the practical l esson — goodnes s ,

and the inval uabl e o ne g

happiness so both
s hal l be benefited and b oth taught . I
know who will have the bes t of the
bargain .

Y o u ask abo ut the peop l e here they are

u ninteresting ,
b ut hospitabl e ; I get more
invitations than I care to accept . Al l
72 E UN ICE .

nations are represented and every variety

,

of compl exion and costum e there is a

b ut

m utual distrust between the natives and

the E uropeans ! who are p rincipal l y Eng
l ish ) l ike oil and vinegar they wont m ix
,
.

Tal king to an imp udent Pad dy yesterday ,

he l ikened E ngl and t o the upas tree saying ,

that her protecting arms were no t l ess

deadl y than its protecting branches ; that
his cl ear motherl and had been smothered
in her embrace India withered by her tou ch
, ,

and C anada bl ighted by her approach !

Poor Engl and ! bl ighting withering
, ,

smothering b ut we can bear it I s aid

—
‘

nothing ; in this heat I have onl y strength

,

to l ong for a certain l ittl e E ngl ish l ady to

picture a co ol E ngl ish home with pl enty of
l ove to warm it . When we meet the ,

s ummer wil l be gone and even the ghosts

,

o f the l eaves wil l be l aid to their rest In .

imagination I pict ure y ou as I shal l next

 E UN]CE .
73

see y ou amid the frosts and snows wal king

,

among the snowdrops ,

hersel f as modes t
’
and as p ure a s they .

I have finished my novel and send it ,

by this mail to Me s srs Grant and Whimper . .

ll —
I have ca ed it Fair Victory may it be ’

an omen of s ucce ss
—
So I tel l ou nothing ab out the
y
l adies here There are no ne s uch my ,

pet a few specimens o f barrack hacks hal f ,

mumm ies with the heat !an E uropean who

at tains the age of fort y is regarded in the
l ight a patriarch ) and as for the nativ e
of

fair a C ingal ese e numerating to me his mis

, ,

tre s s s charms s aid her eye s were l ike the

’

petal s of the bl ue manil l a her eyebrows ,

re

sembl ing the rainbow her hair vol um inou s ,

as the tail of a peacock her ,

l ips o f the
deepest richest coral ,
and teeth smal l and
cl osel y set as j essamine b uds and to sum

u
p her perfections ,
her no s e was l ike the
74 E UNICE .

bil l o f a hawk .
’
I here cut his el oqu ence
short and hope that
,
his highl y col oured-

portrait will answer your curiosity . I can

onl y think of —
one pair of dear eyes al as
far away . This exil e is hard to bear b ut

time is passing thank , G od ! and every

hour brings that bright futu re I s ee in my
dreams nearer ,
u ntil it be merged in a dis
tinct visibl e re al ity .

!
The scenery is enchanting when the rain ,

perm its one to see it b ut at present the

‘

flood s are out ,

’
and the atmosphere is a
steaming vapo ur When it rain s there is no .
,

mistake about it the hil l side s are a l egion

of ru nn ing streams
I broke off o n the disco v ery that a
s nake some three feet l ong wa s coil ed up

asl eep on my modest bookshel f . I thought

of
y ou , and it gave me the necessary spirit
for the enco unter and without al l owing ,

this phil osopher in disguise further to ex

 E UNICE .
75

b ibit his scientific propensities I l ent him ,

s uch a thwack with a quarto vol ume as

broke his back and enabl ed me to
,
finish

at my l eis ure this l over of l iterary secl u

sion . My friend was a Tic prol onga ,

said
to be a deadl y viper . Wearied with the
combat ! a l ittl e exertion goes a l ong way
in this vapo ur b ath) good night my ,

sweet . It is l ate ,
and I wo ul d rest and
dream o f y ou . S l eep consol es me I dream
.

that y ou are in my arm s . Al as ! I wake

to find mysel f 3 000 m il es from y ou !
 C HAP T E R V II .

The li on is not so rc
fie e as pai nted .

T came to pass in these days that

Miser Harnage died and was
b uried . That sturdy highway
m an Death had ru del y cal l ed Stand
and Del iver ,
and the money bags had
dropped from the col d nervel ess hands ,

that coul d no l onger cl utch them .

A nd when in d u e —
time hi wil l a brief
s
,

b usiness l ike
- —
doc ument w as read to the ,

meas urel ess s urprise o f al l concerned it was ,

fo und that he had l eft his accumul ated riches

at the s ol e dis posal of his nephew , Harol d
Harnage the son
,
of his first and o nl y l ove .

The news of this extrao rdinary piece of

 E UNICE .
77

good fortune was conveyed to the Grant

l eys in a l ong l etter from Ral ph Harnage to

Sir Peter in which he tendered

,
his affec

t ionat e congratul ation s to his niece el ect ,

whose disintere sted affection had b een above

al l praise —he s aid that he l ooked
for w ard to the connexion with p ride and
pl eas ure and onl y l ived to see
,
his dear
”
nephew in the enj oyment o f his happines s .

It was a beautiful l etter ; so soothing l ike ,

the purring of a cat o nl y there were

, no

u npl easant s uspicio ns of cl aws in the back

ground to disturb the effect .

The amount of the inheritance w as not

yet known ; rumo ur s aid hal f a mil lion which ,

practical peopl e instantl y h al ved b ut

dealing with such figu res ,

a hund red
tho us and po unds more or l es s was a matter
of l ittl e co nseq uence . Sir Peter s del ight ’

may be imagined ,
b ut no t described ,
d
an

his s el f grat ul ation

-
w as gre at that ,
he had -
78 E UNICE .

given his cons ent when Harol d was poor .

His cons cience pricked him touching that

same possibil ity of a watery death happil y
the stabs o f o ur monitor are s ecret for what ,

m an woul d l ike to be p ubl icl y accountabl e

for al l the thou ghts that come and g
o

b l ack phantoms of the troubl ou s night of

o ur fort unes The whol e thing was pro
v id ential that a mysterio us uncl e of whose ,

exis tence ! if he had heard of it it had not ,

l ived in hi s memory ) he was ignorant ,

shoul d drop from the skies ,

or rather it was
to be hoped ascend thither at the time of
his direst perpl exity ,
s m oothing every
difficul ty by hi s well seasoned and j udiciou s
-

’
exit . Sir Peter s fatherl y affection was
al ready unbounded ,
b ut E unice had changed
rel e s a s by magic the s uppl iant
,
o f yester
day was become the godde ss of to day with
-
,

power to dispen s e the bl essings of prosperity .

This stroke of good l uck made him a convert

 E UNICE .
79

to opt imism ; he forgot Pyke and his vi

cissit ud es, and in the bu sy l augh and spor
tive tongu e of his chil dren grew yo ung again .

Lady Grantl ey s satisfaction was onl y

’

’
s econd to her hu sb and s she knew the
famil y embarra ssments and h ail ed the pros
peet o f more pecunious times ; she al s o
cherished a kindness for Harol d and woman ,

l ike was interested that the co urse of true

l ove sho ul d smooth
°

run .

And E unice — she l ived in a whirl o f s oft

t umul tuous j oy . N ot that she cared much
for the money ; th ough it was nice every ,

one seemed to l ike it even Leo

, ,
b ut it
woul d b ring him home directl y . Mr Har .

nage had tel egraphed to Harol d and ,

re

ceiv ed a repl y ,
he mus t remain a week or
two to finish the work he undertook and ,

then for home as fast as the quickest vessel ,

”
and wind and tide woul d bring him .

Then came a l etter the l as t and deare st

,
80 E UNICE .

he wa s j ust going on board the A l batross .

A mad l etter ! he was evidentl y wil d with

spirits . He shoul d after ,
all ,
l ike the l ord
o f B url eigh ,
be abl e to cov er the head he
l oved best with pricel ess l ace ,
and t o shower
gol d and j ewel s into her l ap . There was
nothing t hat mind co ul d conceive or eye
desire that shoul d not be hers . If I l ive
til l next mo nth , he w rote ,
I shall see
y ou ! for very rapture I am al most frantic .

Al ready I s eem to feel the press ure o f your

head pon my breast I shal l l iv e once
'

u .

more ; y ou are the wanting hal f of my

soul my ,
E unice .

The l etter w as extravagantl y fond e v en ,

’
for a l over . N ot in E unice s Opinion ; she
thought it extremel y sensibl e and carried ,

it with her al ways that she ,

mi ght refresh
hersel f at l eisure by the perusal . Lionel
decl ared that he feared her bodil y dis
appe arance before Harol d s arrival ’

,
she
 E UNICE . Sr

floated about in s uch un canny fashion as

though she co ul d s carcel y keep the gro und .

This hone s t , u nsel fish ,

faithful l over

exul ted in his weal th onl y as it co ul d

benefit her and hers chequ e ! the . A l arge

first he drew ) went by the same mail to

his l aw yer with instru ction s that it shoul d

,

be appl ie d to the rel ief of Sir Peter s mo s t’

press ing necessities . He j udged from

E unice s l etters how grateful su ch hel p
’

might be to the poor o ld man : twenty

tho usand pounds was a mere nothing to
him now ; he neither hoped nor expected
to see it again ,
b ut it was to be dvanced
a

thro ugh Mr Sharpe ! Sir Peter s l awyer) as

.
’

a l oan as if from a stranger on interest in

, ,

Sir Peter s del icacy’

a formal way to Save , .

Mr . D od sw el l l ost no time in carry ing

o ut Harol d s ’
instructions ,
s eeking Sir
Peter s l awye r who read il y
’

,
undertook to
keep his cl ient in ignorance from whence
V OL . 111 . 6
82 E UNICE .

this gol den shower emanated . The Baronet

l o s t hims el f in conj ectures as to Mr Sharpe s ’
.

unl ocked for confi dingness ,

whose bark was
worse than his bite for the worthy man
,

had sol emnl y decl ared Grantl ey wo ul d not

c arry another fiv e tho usand . He accepted

’
however Mr Sh arpe s
,
. not very l u cid ex
pl anation took the goods the gods provided
, ,

and wa s th ankful .

The time of t he A l batross s expected

’

arrival drew near and ,

E unice ,
feveris h
with expectation coul d ,
not sl eep ; b ut

happy agitation never yet hurt any one ;

she l ooked bl ooming ,

for a gal l ant
was ever be fore her mind p l o ugh ,

ing the waves ,

and ever bringing him
nearer . N ot a misgiving shadowed
anticipation ; no s econd sight petrified her
vision with the co m ing woe ; no echoes of

dim far off events fell

-

D ee p in a darkl y b oding ear.

 C HAP T E R V III .

T he se lf am h av n
-s e e e

frowns o n m e, l k adl y up n h i m
oo s s o .

SH A K SPEAR E .

H R ISTMA S was not nearl y come ,

yet winter hel d its co urse day by ,

day s ail ing by in the col d parapher

’

nal ia of wind and frost and s now ; b ut the

gl oomy weather made no incongruou s ao

com
panim ent for the b right hope s that
kept E unice warm not a foreb od ing chill ed
her .

The white winged flakes were fal l ing

-

sl owl y ; then fast and faster yet ,

un til the
air thickened and a fairy carpet of s oft
,

feathers l ay on hill and dal e every tree ,

and shr ub sho wing a s il very o utl ine .

—
6 2
84 E UNICE .

E ven the hil l s are dressing themsel v es

”
in white for o ur b ridal ,
Harol d ,
said
Eunice and tho ugh she spoke onl y to her
own mirror it reflected a vivid bl ush
,
on

the happy face that breathed his name .

He must come soon ; he may be nearer

”
than we think .

B ut to meet or to remain s eparate does

not depend on man : the aff air s of this
worl d have a mysterio us crooked pro gress , ,

that it is impo s sibl e to cal cul ate . Destiny ,

be kind ! B ut Destiny cannot be moved ;

her dark chain is al ready s pun and it is ,

ding around u s al l .

E unice danced down to —

b reak ast a
f

meal on which Lady Grantl ey sel dom shed

the l ight o f her countenance . The crack
l ing flame went merril y up the chimney ,

s urpassing the sun in brill iancy ; the cosy ,

warm room more inviting than the w hite

mead ows and s kel eton trees . The extreme
 E UNICE . 85

co l d hel d eve n the q uick -

flow ing river in
its s taying power ; it no l onger ripp l ed on

its gl ittering co urs e ,

b ut l ay v oicel ess and
motionl ess ,
lik e a vast Titanic corpse .

What is the matter with the river ,

”
N icey ? is it dead ? inquired A drian ,

awe in his young voice . Why i s it so

q uiet and stil l
What do y ou know abo ut death chil d ? ,

repl ied his sis ter . The i

r ver has onl y
gone to sl eep : soon y ou wil l see it ru sh
”
al ong more merril y than ever .

Look at Rip ,
cried A drian . Oh ,

N icey ! see the wicked creature what he is

doing !
E unice stepped o ut on the l awn to where
that bol d bird p urs ued his amusements ,
his

bl acknes s showing in s tro ng rel ief against

the expanse of s now . She fo und the raven
dis gorging pebbl e after pebbl e which he ,

dropped with studied precision into a ho l e ,

86 E UNICE .

u ttering each time a s atisfied C arack

It was a toad that Rip was quietl y stoning

to death .

There is no end to Rip s cruel ty ’

. How
shal l we punish him Leo ,
s aid Eunice ,

having after s ome troubl e captured the fel l

destroyer and brought him indoors .

Pl ease yo ursel f ,
and y ou pl eas e me ,

s aid Lionel ,
indifferentl y .

He shal l expiate his sins by l earning a

”
new word ,
said E unice ,
determinedl y
s ay Harol d .
’

Rip hung his head on one sid e . Bl ack

as I am I have too mu ch regard
,
for my
character to say that, expre s sed in the l eer
of his beady eyes .

E unice persisted in her teaching hol ding ,

choice mors el s until the veteran bird beca m e

craz y with desire . He did not l ike it at
al l ov er and over again he went through
”
his whol e performance and ,
Choked to an
 E UNICE . 87

un heard -
of extent . Gravel was thrown at
him he wa s envel oped in a tabl ecl oth ; and
’

she vowed he sho ul d be s tarved and other

wis e ill -
treated unl ess he consented to add
,

”
Harol d to the l ist of his accomp l ishments .

How fond y ou are of that fell ow ,

E unice said Lionel hal f envio usl y

, .

”
I am fond of every one, said E unice ,

j oyo usl y . That is a l ittl e better ,

—
I l ove the whol e univers e I lik e even
”
Rip and I will ki s s
,
him . A nd in pur
’

suance of this m istaken tendernes s bl ood ,

was shortl y seen to sp urt from her coral l ips .

What do y ou mean to give me ,

’
Nice ,

when y ou come into yo ur kingdom Y ou

ow e me no end of gratitude I was a spl en :

”
did goo s eberry . Hereto fore Lionel had
observed a discreet sil ence on his achieve
ments in that branch o f hortic ul ture ; b ut

now his banter was endl es s on the s ubj ect

o f the fine l over who had proved s o con
88 E UNICE .

v en ent i a C roes us . I sh al l expect y ou to

tip me a first -
rate mount ; my o ld Sambo
is not up to my weight . Say you ll do it ’

for a fel l ow
Il l
’
give ou nothing — not even a new
y
raven .

N ot when y ou are destroying Rip s ’

constitution by yo ur experiment s ! Be
quick with the coffee here s the Gov ’

!
A nd the post ,
said Eunice ,
her father
entering the room bearing a handful of

those innocent l ooking missives which prove

-
, ,

however o ften powerful engines turning

, ,

s orro w into j oy co nfi dence into anx iety

, ;

dimpl ing w ith s mil e s one face cl o uding

,

another with despair .

!
N o l etter s for — —
me not one it is too

Ah Miss Impatience there ,

is no news
”
yet of Master Harol d
Take comfort chil d , ,
in the adage ,
Il l
 E UNICE . 89

news travel s post ,

b ut good news baits ,

said her father opening a s ucces sion of deep

,

bl ue envel opes directed in cl erkl y hand

, ,

with a cheerful nes s induced by being

in funds . It is v ery u nl ikel y y ou

will hear of the A l batross u ntil y ou see

Harnage hi m sel f . B ut I wil l l ook at the
”
shipping intel ligence .

O h that s tupid Tim es —it never tel l s

,

”
one anything one wants to know ,
said
E unice ,
appropriating the sheet in which
centres the l adie s pol itic s and s eeking the
’

col umn where the three principal events of

life j o stl e each other in the cl ose proxim ity

f G uido s pictured ugl y Fate s a startling
’
o

j uxtapo sition to remind us that death and

l ife go hand in hand that ,

from the cradl e
to the grav e it is b ut a step .

Sir Peter hel d his modic um of the paper

in tenacious grasp spite of E unice s l onging ,
’

gaz e . The way of a man with his news

9 0 E UNICE .

paper i s no bad index to his character and

tastes . The dabbl er in specul ation pas se s
by indifferentl y heavy l eader s ,
the
dul l movements of foreign Powers even the ,

exciting record of royal ty s actions to s can ’

with eager eyes the prices in wh ich he is

s pecial l y concer ned . His avidity for intel
l igence quenched in the C ity articl e Sir ,

Peter l aid dow n the rustl ing l eaves that

had brought him s mall comfort and ,
fil l ed

his mo uth with egg and rol l to try and

choke the sigh he coul d not quite suppress .

”
Lord Errington s
’
marriage i s in, I see ,

said E unice ,
po unci ng on the one oasis of
interest her l iterat ure presented . He
is real l y married to Miss Raikes hard and ,

fast by a b ishop and

,
an archdeacon ,
u ncl es
of the bride . Let me have the paper dear ,

such a fashionabl e wedding mu s t be

”
hono ured by a special notice .

Yo ur c urio s ity is omnivorous on the

 E UNICE .
9 :

s ubj ect of marriages ,

ob s erved Leo . B ut

y ou must not hope to compete with a

”
V isco unt in matrimonial dash .

A bright happy b l ush was hi s sister s ’

onl y answer .

There may be s ome mention of the

!

”
Al batross . Perhaps it has been signal l ed ,

said Sir Peter again taking ,

u
p the paper .

E unice sat l ooking at him her eye s ,

greedy for news yet with a quiet , ,

u nex

ectant —
heart the chances were s o smal l
p
there wo ul d be mention of the s hip .

Sir Peter p urs ued his gl eanings l eis urel y .

It was an u n us ual l y stirring record ; the

s cavengers of the worl d s highway had been ’

b usy ; and he stopped to note the piqu ant

detail s of the l ast scandal ; anon was ar
rested by the rumours o f war to ,
final l y

l ose him sel f in the detail s o f the s uicide of

some hope abandoned miserabl e

-
. The con

fus ion of s ubjects in a newspaper is singul ar

9 2 E UNICE .

to —
contempl ate pol itics and murder l ove ,

and theft vice and phil anthropy strange

, ,

cunning and stil l stranger —

simpl ici ty al l
,

huddl ed together in a grotesqu e fel l owship .

E unice had returned to her

; breakfast .

S uddenl y Sir Peter s ’

fingers cgu m pl ed the
paper convul s ivel y . Good G od ! he ex
cl aime d
What is it ,
father s aid Eu nice ,

affrighted by the change in his co untenance ,

and ru shing to his side .

—
The Al batross he fal tered .

Yes yes —
speak speak — wil l ou ? ”
, , y
she gasped .

C an y ou bear to hear bad news — his

l ips
very trem ul o us and crushing the paper ,

in his hands .

She became deathl y p al e .

N ot about Harol d — her voice al most

inaudibl e .

He no dde d
 E UNICE .
93

Giv e it to me ,
s aid she desperatel y
, .

”
I m ust s ee it !
Ye s read it my chil d
, , y ou m us t know ,

and he m ay be saved .

She made no repl y ; her eye s devoured

the fatal paragraph ,
and a darkne s s fel l
u pon her spirit that was to know no mo rn
ing . It was one o f
.
those brief anno unce
ments that are served u
p with our morning
meal c ome upon
,
us startling even the most
u nheedful for the minute and maki ng the ,

bl ood rec ede from the cheek of the most

—
heartl es s reader the col d ,
cut -
and dried
-

tell ing of a catastrophe that has hurried so

many poor creatures to eternity .

Huge l etters trum peted forth

!
D E STR UC TION O F TH E

STEA M ER
’
P . O . CO M P A N Y S A L B A TR OSS
BY FI R E .

The fol l owing l amentab l e tel egram has

j ust been received from Madeira
94 E UNICE .

am hip A l batr s d tr y ed b y fir n th
T he ste s o s es o e o e

l 0th f D ec mb r
o T w b a t l ft h r ; one nl y ha
e e . o o s e e o s

b n pick ed u p w i th si m n ab ar d ; th ir c mpani o ns
ee ,
x e o e o

di d f tarvati n ; o th er b oat ha n t b en h ear d of

e o s o s o e .

Th er i unhappil y n d ub t f the auth nticity

e s, ,
o o o e

o f thi i nt l l ig nc
s e T h r cu ed m en w i l l arriv at
e e
. e es e

S uthampt n in a f w day s wh n al l particul ar will b e

o o e , e s

kn wn Gr at h p ar ent r tai ned that the oth r

o . e o es e e e

b at ha ei th er b een pick ed up r ha m anag d t

o s ,
‘

o s e o

r ach land
e .
”

E unice read no further . As a mass o f

s now sl ips from its supporting bank as ,

sil entl y and al most as col d sl id , E unice

from her father s arms to the gro und ’

.
 C HAP T E R IX .

Fi x d in her si d e she feel s the p ai nful dart

e ,

T he d eadl y w eap on ra nk l es in her h eart .

SH A LL go —
mad I sh al l die
,

s aid the unh appy girl when she,

again opene d her eyes on this

tro ub l o us worl d and her breath came b ack
, ,

l ad en with s ighs and tearl e ss s obs . B ut

—
she did neither sorrow does not k ill so
easil y and tho ugh for days and weeks her
face l ooked whit e and scared she remain ed ,

in ful l
possession Of her sens e s rather they
became unnat ural l y ac ute The miser
.

”
abl e have no other medicine ,
b ut onl y hope .

She woul d not accept for a moment the

probabil ity that Harol d w as among those
who had peris hed — Providence had been so
96 E UNICE .

good to them this agony coul d

,
not be She
rej ected the idea with al l the forc e o f her
nature ; he was in the other boat and it ,

woul d yet be heard o f A nd the way she

—
pored over the newspapers the avidity
with which she devoured the heartrending
acco unts given by the rescu ed m en !

The facts were soon tol d . It was in the

broad joyful l ig ht of d ay that a terribl e
death had come and snatched into its dread

keeping more than a hrm d red soul s . O nl y

six m en s urvived the fearful hardships to

which they had b een exposed tossing about ,

in an Open boat without provisions for many

days to bring the t al e home and th
,
!

ril l the ,

nerves of the worl d by the recit al Of the

mi s erie s they had endured .

It was in the hottest p art Of the tropics ,

and the A l batross ,

al l her sail s set was ,

skimming the cal m s urface Of the waters ,

when towards s undown

, ,
fireb roke out in
 E UNICE .
97

the ship originating no one k new how The

, .

cre w to il ed and strove to extinguish the

flames ,
b ut spite their efforts the wind drove
the flames straight in on de c
k setting
,

fire t o the tw o foremost boats and th us ,

l essening the chances of escape .

The men tol d how the remaining boats

had been rushed at and overcrowded till ,

tw o sank before the eyes o f those stil l on

the ship that thei r boat and an other had

al one got Of ,
f both overl aden with h uman
life till their keel s were l ow in the water .

How night had com e on soon after they

l eft the ship ,
from whose b l az ing ,

c rackl ing timbers they had had time to

snatch nothing b ut a capacity to suffer .

H ow they had l ingered near the b urn

ing vessel til l dayl ight when ,
findi ng it
onl y a bl ackened h ul k ,
b urned down
al mo s t to the water s edge they m ov ed ff
’

,
o .

The other boat had not been seen ; it

VOL . 111 . 7
98 E UN JC E .

mi ght have drifted far away on the

tide .

E unice died a thousan d death s her tender

heart which wo ul d have bl ed
,
for the
meanes t man or woman there was tortured,

to think o f his s ufferings ,

for s he wo ul d no t

give u
p the hope that he l ived tho u gh the ,

time that had el apsed witho ut receiving news

of the missing boat made its fate al most
a certainty She s eemed to feel a conviction
.

that Harol d l ived and wo ul d yet return

, ;

and she cl ung to thi s hope for months with a

tenacity that prevented her from grv m g way
to utter despair She steadil y refused to b e
.

l ieve m the extremity of her woe and wo ul d ,

put on no o utward trappings of grief : b ut

in her worn white face which sometimes ,

l ooked quite wil d and in her heavy l anguid

,

s teps sorrow pl ainl y showed

,
.

Fl ed were the rosy dream s the gl owing ,

v isio ns on wh ich she had s urfeited ; and

 E UN Z CE .
99

Hope pal e and sic kl y

, ,
b ut l ingered to in

crease her m isery it ,

t oo, were better dead ,

tho ught her s tricken father than feeding ,

l ik e a s mothered fire on her heart ; better

at once s uffer deepest gl oom than be

mocked by its del us i v e ray . E ach time a

l etter a newspaper arrived so many
or ,

time s did Hope gl eam up from its crushed

and broken ruins onl y to darken into a
,

fresh agony O f disapp o intment .

They were very kind to her Lionel . w as

s obered for many a day and grew sympa ,

thetic even with A drian . Lady Grantl ey

put mourning ! bl ack did not become
on

—
her) she wished to pay the attention to
one who was quite by far the most proper
j e une A ngl ais she had known . As for Sir
Peter he reall y sorrowed as his
, ,
furrowed

cheeks and fail ing mind attested . He was

conscience stricken -
,
for he had sent the
young man away cool l y ,
disco unting the
—
7 2
1 00 E UNICE .

chances Of hi s never returning . A nd now

his evil wishes l ike curs es had come home
, ,

to roost they had had r ui nou s wicked

, ,
ful

fil m ent — Harol d al ive and weal thy wo ul d

have been his comfort pride s al vation
, , . He
fel t deepl y for his chil d ,
and was very
tender with her . Her father s ’
un fail ing
and evident strong sympathy was E unice
’
s
great comfort ; it ceme nted the affection
between them u ntil she fel t she co ul d do
anythi ng to pl ease him : for his sake she ,

tried to overcome her sorrow and he , al one

had power to win her to a s mil e .
 C HAP T E R X.

Th en b lack d e pair s ,

T he sha d w f a tar l
o o s nigh t w a thr o wn
ess ,
s

Over t he w or l d in w hich I m v d a l ne
o e o .

Y E AR went by and not a rumour

,

had been heard of the mi ssing .

boat from the Al batross . The

sickening suspens e the wasted hopes that
,

kept E unice ever on the rack died ,

o ut

peris hed from p ure inanition ; even she

ceased to think it possibl e that he yet
l ived B ut the ceasel ess watching month
after month for o ne who never came tol d
u pon her and she became s o nervo us that
,

she wo ul d start at a shadow and cry out at

any un wonted sound ; and as the l ong
cherished hOpe grad ual l y faded she sank ,
i nto apathy ; they o d interest her
C ul in

nothing she was l ike a flower deprived of

the sun . She ne v er mentioned him ; ou t

w ard l
y she was cal m and resigned b ut she
murmured and repined in secret that he
had no grave that he rested in no
, conse

crated spot o nl y in her heart was his spirit

e nshrined for ever .

If anything coul d have b ro ught her a sad

comfort it wo ul d have been the s udden

, ,

al most startl ing success Of Harol d s novel ’

.

Whether it owed its pop ul arity t o intri nsic

merit ,
or to its being a posthumous work ,

or to the hal o Of romance surro unding its

au thor s memory
’
— the young cl erk l ost in
the b urning ship on his w ay home to cl aim
”
u ntol d we al th Fair Victory was by the
m ighty v ox popul i the s uc cessful novel o f

the —
season an u ndoubted hit .

E unice wept till she coul d weep no more

if he co ul d o nl y have s een the real iz ation
 E UNICE . 1 03

of his dream s — b ut the tears that fal l fro m

patient gentl eness do not torture rather ,

they are a heal ing d ew . Mr Ral ph Har

.

nage
’
s l etters ,
t oo, sho ul d have hel ped to
co nsol e they were written to his Ol d friend
Sir Peter Grantl ey in the most fatherl y
to ne Of regret and abandonment to feeling
”
on !
their common l oss .
!
N ever was
there a young man who co ul d be l es s

spared swept away from his bereaved

rel atives — Resignation to the decrees
Of a Higher Po w er coul d al one reconcil e
”
him to the bl ow . When time had

somewhat heal ed the gaping wo und he ,

wished to vi s it Grantl ey to see the pl ace ,

where his poor nephew had fo und his

keenest — N he co ul d not
jy
o ot at p resent ,

bear the tri al their sharp regrets m ust be

”
first al l eviated by tim e .

The l etters were the more to uching that

Mr Harnage had s ucceeded to Harol d s
.
’
1 04 E UNICE .

l egacy as heir -
at -
l aw , a state of things
that was a moral on the way poor human
nature s prej udices and intentions are Often
’

mocked that Ral ph Harnage shoul d enj oy

the hardl y earned savings Of
-
his ill -
u sed
brother w as enough to make the m iser turn
in his grave . We heap u
p riches or

w hom f — ah ! w hom

A m id the wil derness of his crosses , Sir

Peter might be thankful for one mercy

the resul ts Of some more than u s ual l y fan
ci
ful creation Of financi al geni us had made
it a dvi sabl e that Mr Pyke sh oul d .
put the
ocean between himsel f and his country °

tho ugh accustomed to deep waters he had ,

sail ed a l ittl e too near the wind and ,

unsus

innocence was in a fair way to be

avenged . B ut though the wasp departed
’
to sunnier cl imes in the Baronet s case the
, ,

insect l eft his sting the rfi e torturer

; p
indeed was no l onger at hand to probe the
wo un d b ut he l eft his victim invol ved
,
in
 E UNICE . 1 05

debt and diffic ul ty ; Harol d s advance

’
of

twenty tho usand pounds proving a mere

so
p in the pan against heavy l iabil ities
,

”
from the !
Ar eth u sa Mine and other
specul ations .

Byke s l ast new scheme had fal l e n

’

—
thro ugh not quietl y b ut with the écl at in ,

d uced by proceedings in t he C rim in al

C o urts The gl y words fraud and em !

. u

b ez z l em ent were u sed freel y ,

and some
c urious matters were unearthed to p ubl ic
view . Worse still ,
his riches w ere d is

covered to have no firm basis ; and Pyke ,

aware that there is no Laz aru s so poor as

Dives fal l en recognised that

,
his sun had
set irrevocabl y in this hemisphere . The
h uge siz ed monster Of ingratit udes
-
,
forget

ting how s w eetl y it had Often danced to his

pipings wo ul d never again
, l is t en to the
charmer s tong ue B ut his
’
. star mi ght yet
shine in a new worl d .

The event justified his as pirations . He

1 06 E UNICE .

had taken his ingenious mind and l ittl e

el s e to A merica ,
and u nder a feigned name
was al r eady reported to be coining dol l ars
out of nothing b ut adv er
tisements and im

ud ence, —
with a sl eight Of hand and speed
p
-

that woul d put the ex ert est

p j uggl er to

shame .

Mr R al ph Harnage did
. not forget the
Grantl eys . True he did ,
not was te m uch
thought upon them he had said the right
thing and there the matter woul d have
,

prob ab l v ended ; the charm Of his new

we al th was stil l u pon him and s ummer,

friends cro wded thick to hel p to pas s the

warm days of his prosperity . The littl e

cel andines flowers ,

of earl y February were ,

j ust opening their p al e gol den petal s ,

and

sweet viol ets nestl ed on the frost bo und

-

banks when ,
rt chanced that a fe w days ’

hunting brought Ral ph Harnage into the

neighbourhood of Trenton and a curio sity ,
 E UIVI CE . 1 07

came o v er him to s ee the girl poor Harol d

had l ov ed so wil dl y . It wo ul d be pl easant ,

to o , to renew his friendship with o ld Peter

and o n the sp ur Of the mome nt he wrote to
Offer him sel f for a few days vis it ’
.

Sir Peter w as impressed by the bl and

manners of the wel l bred -
m an Of the worl d ,

and fel t a throb o f envy when he l ooked

on the grace and symmetry which spite ,
of

nearl y half a centu ry s wear Ral ph Harnage

’

—
stil l preserv ed flat t ering Opinions Of their
visitor which he did ,
not at once reciprocate .

”
Who wo ul d cal l this girl a beauty ?

Ral p h Harnage asked himsel f ,

conte m
pt u

o usl
y . This pal e girl with her l i stl ess
,

gait ,
ill -
arranged hair ,
and downcast eyes
Wait u ntil y ou see those drooping lids

raised and watch the tender

, ,
sad ,
b ut

l ov el y eyes l ighted up with feel ing and the ,

charming mouth dimpl e into s m il es

For E unice had again l earned to smil e .
1 08 E UNICE .

Young and heal thy peopl e — and E unice s

’

—
physical organiz ation was perfect have an
irresistibl e tendency to vanquish the ill s of
l ife Harol d s dreadful death had wrought
’
.

al l
’
mu ch change in her . In E unice s eyes
nature had been beautiful ,
l ife a meas ure
l ess good ; and in proportio n as all had
been un ul d y bril l iant and desirabl e now ,

everything seemed to her !

weary flat , ,

stal e ,
and u nprofitabl e for it is the san

guine temperament that su ffers most se

v ere ly fro m disappointment . She was
barel y twe ty tw o ,
n -
yet the carel ess irre ,

pressibl e joy Of youth was gone ; she was

mdifl erent to many of her Ol d p urs uits ,

b ut she was hea thy

l — and sometimes she
smil ed .

Mr Harnage skil ful l y spoke

. of Harol d
and his nobl e qual ities .
! It is wonderful
how high o ur att ributes grow if we hav e
the gra ce to remove o urs el ve s from this
 E UNICE . 1 09

sphere ,
l eaving a l arge personal ty to c om

fort s orro w ing re l atives ) . E unice shrunk

at the mention b ut prepos s essed in favo ur
o f Harol d s ’
un cl e ,
of whom he had e v er
spoken in kindness she first recognised his
,

right ,
and then mel ted s ensibl y un der the
warm praise . She l ooked at him kindl y
with her so ft eyes ,
un til Mr Harnage . re

vo ked his d ecision as to her want Of at trac

tions ,
and owned that he had been hasty ,

that there was a strange charm about the

girl .

Lady Grantl ey was confined to her room

by a sl ight indispositio n which threw ,

Ral ph more on E unice s

’
companionship to ,

his content . F orty eight ho urs sufficed to

-

reduce this el derl y A do ni s to l over l ike

-

conditions ; he took fire as eas il y as the

’
rawest recruit in C upid s army ; al ike to

his surprise and joy he fo und that his ,

pul s e coul d s till fl utter at the coming Of a

woman s step
’
. His satisfaction was no t

mixed ; that she had been his nephew s ’

un

affianced wife did not troubl e him , but he

feared that her finer s usceptibil itie s woul d
find it an ins uperabl e bar to his pretensions ,

though the unh appy termination of her

engagement by probabl y doing away with
,

the weakness ordinary to girl s for rom antic

yo ung l overs made it l ikel y that

,
he woul d
s

disregard disparity o f years .

Mr Harnage had considerabl e confidence

.

in his powers ; he un derstood women and ,

knew how to to uch her heart t oo wise to

trust to accompl ishing the work in his

proper person he borrowed a voice that

,

was dear to her and presented him s el f

, to

her notice un der a name that acted as a

tal isman

To h w an unf l t rr w i an office
s o e so o s ,

W h i ch the fal e m an d oes ea y

s s .
 C HAP T E R XI .

Fi na l r uin fi rc ly d ri
e e v es

H er pl ough hare
s o er
’
cr ea ti on. —Y OUN G .

IEU me pardonne Henri Bo l ton !

The excl amation rose t o Lady

Grantl ey s thin
’
l ips when she
first met Mr Harnage then was quickl y
.
,

and resol utel y s uppressed and she went ,

thro ugh the form of introd uctio n tho ugh ,

the startl ing intensity o f her gaz e and

nervou s dil atation of her nostril s str uck
even simpl e Sir Peter as pecul iar .

Mr Harnage on
. his part co ul d not pre
vent a sl ight start and
,
his wel l -
marked
brows were l ifted in evident s urpris e .

Have y ou met before I thought y ou

tol d me Justine that, , y ou had not yet
’ ”
made o ur guest s acquaintance .

”
m ab and cnne,
’
La force m uttered L ady
Grantl ey ,
and casting an appeal ing gl ance
at Mr Harnage
. .

— —
I thi nk I met yo ur wife abro ad ,

”
Grantl ey ; many years ago , said Mr .

Harnag e ,
sl owl y .

!
Oh ! in A rd eche . Did y ou know her
mother Madame De V a uban
,

Her mother — whom had she procured

!
to countenance the impost ure A s w ift
meaning l ook was exchanged between
Ral ph and the l ady .

Ah ! yes ; yes — a— a very charmi ng

”
person I hope she continues wel l with
.
,

a sarcastic gl ance .

My wife unhapp il y is now an orphan ,

said Sir Peter gravel y ; b ut we do our

,

be st to make her forget earl y sorrows in

the l and of her adoption I wil l l eave y ou .
 E UNICE . 1 13

to disc us s —
bygo nes I have some bu siness
”
matters ,
and with the sigh that word
al ways invoked he l eft the ro om .

Mr . H arnage s conduct became at once

pecul iar . He wal ked over and careful l y ,

cl osed the door : then he fl ung himself on

a sofa and indul ged
, in a l ow b ut hearty
l augh .

L ad y Grantl ey retreated to a windo w ,

her tal l figure drawn up to its ful l height ;

her teeth cl enched ,
and a fierce expre ss ion
came into her p al e eyes .

A m orett what in the name Of al l the

C up ids is the meaning of this meta
morphos is ? What hav e y ou been doing
for the l ast ten years
Monsieur —
Bol to n q uell e s urprise
N ot s o agreeabl e an one to y ou as to
”
me I fear
, ,
s aid Mr Harnage
.
,
an un

ly
usuar pl eased l ook on his hands ome
features .
!
I am enchanted to see y ou,

VOL . III . 8
1 14 E UNICE .

A m orett ou are ar
avir— quite l ike ol d
:
y
day s . B ut how is it I find y ou here
?
’
m arried I tho ught Hymen s bonds were
”
opposed to yo ur principl e s His manner .

was intimate ,
b ut the veneer o f deference
he general l y ass umed to cover th
e spirit of

sarcasm with which he real l y regarded

women wa s remarkabl y thin in this cas e
, .

His o
com
panron fel t it to be so .

!
Make not your j ests at me s aid she , ,

s ul l enl y . Why y ou come here ”

? Leave
’ 7
me .

That is not frien dl y with ,

one of his
col d smil es . By the merest happy chance ,

I dis cover a very Ol d acquaintance in my

hitherto invisibl e ho ste ss ; and she meet s
me with a reque st to depart . Before I
obey I must ask Grantl ey to satisfy my
,

con sumi ng curio sity on the subj ect of this

l ove -
match .

Y ou —
me reproach y ou man cruel and ,
 E UIVI CE . 11
5

had said Lady Grantl ey pas s ionatel y , ,

mais c est inutil e parl er a l ui ! in l ower

’ ”

to nes ) he is one s tone col d bl ooded

,
-
.

I have no wish to reproach seeing y ou

brings back p l easant recoll ections i
. Let us

be friends . I fear my French has s ome

what rusted ; b ut I s ee that y ou have been
g inrding at our j aw cracking to ng u
-
e . Be

l ie v e me I am charmed to find y ou ma ch ere

, ,

am ie s o wel l pl aced cherished by

, , al l the
worl d the idol Of an adoring h usband .

”
Trop de bontés ,
said she, u neasil y .

”
And yo ur l ittl e history ? s aid he ,

banteri ngl y and stil l l ol l ing,

on the s ofa .

Sare Petare a demandé ma main ,

said she in short , ,

u nwil l ing tones .

!
And y ou co ul d not refuse him the
honour . V ery right . I sho ul d have done
”
the s ame in yo ur pl ace ! softl y cl apping
his han ds) B ut I al ways said y ou were
.

a cl ever woman tho ugh a trifle exigeante

,

—
8 2
1 16 E UNICE .

and wil ful Y ou treated me very b ad l y ,

A m orett, ru nning away without l eaving

me your address . However ,
l et bygones
be bygones . I bear no mal ice .

Bont e divine ! v cu s m
’
im patient ez .

Pardon me ; al l ow me to crave your

patience . I am about to introduce a sub

ject of some d el icacv ,

said Mr Harnage .
,

rising and coming towards her . Y ou

have a charming step daughter who doubt ,

l es s in the sweetness o f her dispo sition

del ights to render the affection and duty
y ou co ul d s carcel y demand . Had I known
the do ubl e attraction Ol d Peter boas ted I ,

shoul d not have hel d ou t s o l ong against

”
his numerous invitations .

She did not repl y but continu ed to eye

,

him steadil y with a distru stful l ook .

”
She is a charm ing girl ,
said Mr Har .

nage again and heaving a l over

,
-
l ik e s igh ;
and has taken good ca Of your guest
!
re
 E UNICE . 117

d uring yo ur ill ness . My nephew was most

un fortunate to have mis sed his happiness .

Ah if I had o nl y twenty -
fiv e years
Mais v cu s ne l es avez pas . C
’
est
”
dommage po ur el l e ! ironical l y) .

A nd for me he rej oined in

!
,
unruffled

compl acency . Yet s uch l ittl e disparities

of age are not m uch i nthese times ; they
are even considered evidences Of good taste .

I can un dertake to smooth greater d iffi

cu l ties with s o abl e a coadj utor as your

”
l adyship .

!
Vat y ou mean ? I will have nothing
to do in it . N evare wil l y ou be the l over
”
o f Eunice !

A nd why I pray , y o u ?

I say not la phrase ’

—
d usage ell e est
aHarol d
”
mal heure use el l e est fid ele .

Y ou know as wel l as I do that proves

nothing ; the dead cannot be mourned
everl astingl y .
1 18 E UNICE '
.

Mais il y a un autre Obstacl e inv incibl e .

A nd wha t is this mountain o f your

”
aginaticn ? Speak .

Y ou are the uncl e of Harol d .

He took t hi s bl ow easil y .

A mol ehil l as I thought ; it adds to

,

the difficul ty no doubt b ut it shal l be an

exercis e of yo ur ingenuity to overcome it
for me . I l ike these contrarieties ; they
give piqu ancy to the p ursuit . Y ou kn
ow
”
that I never val ued what I won l ightl y .

Mon Dieu ! qu il est pol tron ’

Y ou are compl im entary ; b ut l et it

pas s . Besides my age ,
and rel ationship
wil l in a way benefit me . In her romance ,

s he woul d think it treachery to repl ace her

l over with one equal l y young el egant and , ,

han ds ome . My nd i s made

mi u
p, I cannot
renounce the hope of po s sessing such a
treas ure an angel , for a companion the ,

pure s t the mo st tend er

, . I have faith in
 E UNICE . 1 19

yo ur dipl omacy that has done s o wel l in

”
l es affaires d o occur
.

She coul d scarcel y endure his mocking

tones : her hands cl utched her neck chain -

s o tightl y that it snapped .

Don t break yo ur chain B ut I

’
su
.
p
pose gol d ornaments are cheap with y ou

now ; besides I shal l be happy to pre s ent

,

y ou with a substitu te for o ne broken in my

service . I have onl y confidence in a l ady s ’

hel p in an affair Of this nature . I am not

yo ngu . I am no l onger good l ooking -
,

therefore to win a beautiful young wife I

can afford to l ose no chances and I count ,

mysel f fortunate in being abl e to comm and

”
yo ur inval uabl e assi s tance .

”
!
A nd I
f re use it ! s aid Lady Grantl ey ,

with s udden expl osive rage . I w il l not

’
sacr
ificethe poor chil d Je n en ve ux pas .

Il faut renoncer a cc mariage l apsing ,

”

into her own tongu e to expre s s the energy

1 20

of her dissent . Ral ph s ’

Sneers kin dl ed her
scorn and overcame her fears .

Ha this is pl ain speaking . He came

nearer, and his bl ack eyes were sinistrous
in their gl are . Let me understand ; y ou

real l y wish me to tr ust entirel y to Sir

Peter s good O ffices with the young l ady
’

Why not y ou go your ways and l eave ,

me al one said the woman hel pl essl y , .

Y ou do me t OO mu ch honour . To l eave

y ou is an exertion far beyond my virt ue

but y ou may co unt u pon my friendl iness
”
and dis cretion .

There are men w ho ,

with heart s l ike
icicl es can be the
,
very m irror Of pol iteness
can stab the s oul w ith their cru el ty ,
and

yet at the same time as sure the victim Of

the perfect consideration in which he is
hel d
V at y ou do
DO nothing a mere b agatel l e ,
 E UNICE . 1 21

he answered ,
his col d s m il e worthy of

Satan .
!
I shall onl y seek from the b us

band the aid the wife refuses . I can Offer

him some interesting domestic particul ars as
”
the price of his infl uence with his daughter .

H is rel entl ess del iberate tone carried

,

conviction that he wo ul d be bad as his word .

Dieu si on avait nu p istol et Her l o ng

fing ers c l enched convul sivel y had a weapon
been near Ral ph s chances wo ul d have
,
’

been smal l .

Happil y for me ,
it is not the fashion in
this chill country for the fair sex to be
—
armed except with charms ,
”
s aid he in a
,

voice Of eas y gal l antry .

Grand D ieu ! c e st trop ’

. Mons ieur au
,

nom de C iel
How devo ut we have become ! he
sn eere d
His l aughing heartl essnes s go aded the
woman al mo s t to madness .
1 22 E UNICE .

Y ou come back in your tru e character ,

”
nobl e et d ésintére s s e .

Yes I am ,
t OO Ol d to change ; and we
men cannot compete with y ou for acting .

Y ou m ust pardon me that I have to o good

a memory and ,
t OO l ittl e gratitude mad ame ,

— I shoul d say my l ad y ,
. A defect in my
constitution will not al l ow my sens e Of p ast
fav ours to o utweigh my l onging for those
to come .

!
Scél érat ! gredin ! she hiss ed ,
sa

Fie ! it is gris ette to cal l nam es said

he m il dl y .

! u el l e indignit é Vat y ou t ak e me
for

For A m orett Barras ,

al ias Jus tine de
V auban ! t he aristocratic I think ) de ,
’

l atel y known as L ady Grantl ey of Grantl ey ,

”
Park ,
he repl ied smoothl y ,
.

! ue d eviendraij
e -
s e h asked wearil y,
.
 E UN JC E . 1 23

Think rather what y ou h ave been ;

the retrospect sho ul d arous e content .

Di s moi
- — N on ,
non What w o ul d I
dO— interroger cet homme quickl y inter
rupting hers el f .

!
We have strayed s ome way from the
”
b usiness in hand ,
said Mr Harnage tired .
,

of the pastime which had afforded him co n

sid erab l e amus ement . A dieu ! I shal l

go s eek mi ne host : it is al ways a pl easure
to be the first t o enl ighten a friend on the
”
subj ect Of his mistakes ,
wal king to the
door with an air of call o us re s ol ve .

! ue —
faire qu e dire ! Ah! s ave me
from the shame to bl ush at the eyes of my
”
h usband . It will him kil l .

N ot at al l we men are made of sterner

s tuff The e s cl andre woul d not be bene
ficial for y our son ,
certainl y .

The shot took effect ; she turned pal er

and trembl e d
1 24 E UNICE .

O C iel ! j
’
Ou b l ie l e pauvre enfant
Forget him no l onger . C onsider the
poor chil d and ,
his bl ighted name . Y ou

l ov e your chil d
!
Love him ?— l ove my A drien ? C
’
est
comme la manne du d esert a m on c oeur
aride ! Vat y ou wis h me to do A nd

for the first time she became s uppl icating .

A h ! now we are getting to be more

sensibl e . Y ou ,
a woman and ,
not know
how to comp ass your end and that end ,

”
matrimony I l ove Eunice !
”
You l ov e !

It is my caprice then— what ou will

, y
— to marry her . E unice is to be my wife
within six months . I am rich and ,
can

therefore make mysel f acceptabl e to the

father . It .
wil l be a good thing for her ;
a girl whose engagement has ended unfor

tunat el y , and who has no d ot, w ill not do

badl y in becom ing my wife .
 E UN ICE . 1 25

Y ou un derstand make the bargain ,

said Lady Grantl ey , s co rnful l y . Y ou

do wel l to make cheap what y ou wo ul d

1)
b uy .

No sens el e ss del ays remember ! , said

he sternl y In six —
months I giv e ou
,
.
y
not a day l onger — ou can easil y manage
y
”
that decrepit partner o f yo urs .

Pas un m ot contre l ui ! I not it hear .

”
C
’
est m on bienfaiteur .

A n invol untary one he had no idea o f

the extent o f the rehabil itation . My

amiabl e friend an revoir ! I rel ieve y o u of

my pre s ence . A nd waving his hand grace

ful l y ,
Mr Harnage terminated the inter
.

view .
 C HAP T E R XII .

H e m u st needs go t hat th e De vil d rives .

EFT al one ,
Lady Grantl ey stoo d
rooted to the spot gaz ing at the ,

door a s if she expected his re

appearance .

Demon ! Scoundrel ! Gredin ! C oquin !

She heaped on him every word she coul d

—
i

think of a , p i
ot po urr o f sel ect French and
E ngl i s h terms f
O opprobrium . Enfin il
est —
parti Je suis seul e ! Am I mad ? ”

striking her forehead . Is it a bad dream

to s ee again that man affreux ? to meet
him here— ici ! J éprouvais
’
dep uis un
,

quart d heure des mouvements de d epit

’

, et

de fureur . Vat to do U nhappy woman

 E UNICE . 1 27

—al l goes bad ; il ny

’
a qu e —
moi m oi seul e
u e la fortune sembl e po rs u ui vre — m eme
q
dans cc s éj our cal me et contente My head .

is a fire—je —
b rfil e I not ab l e to think .

That man has no pity ; do I not know it

wel l ? I mus t do as he say for the sake Of
my poor b oy . A nd —
Eunice I have pity
for her with this man terrib l e . Mon c oeur
pl eu re po ur toi petite,
.

She knew Ral ph Harnage and fel t a ,

sh uddering pity for the poor girl who must

be handed over to his tender mercies .

NO ,
I wil l not . I care not for mys e l f

he s h al l do his worst Yet he can ruin me .

my h
c d
il — Sare Petare — al l are in his

power . And he is ri ch to hel p our dis tress .

We have l o s t much with ces rentes— ces

chances fatal es . Et Sare Petare is good ;

he not me accuse that I rged aces

him u

”
spec ul ations . Mais ,
cl asping her hands as
thou gh addre ss ing a j udge ’
et ait d ab ord
’

,
c
 1 28 E UNICE .

dans l int ention l a p l us pure l a pl us l o uabl e

’

, ,

pour former une fort une pour mon A drien .

It is al ways l ike that — no us autres femm es ,

ce s cnt l es bonnes intentions q ui nous

perdent . Dieu ! l
’
on vient
Lady Grantl ey p urs ued her sel f com -

m union in the sanctity Of her room tho ugh ,

she al most feared to l ook steadil y at the

hues Of her ow n ide as . When they flitted

before her fancy l ike fearful masks arising

u ncal l ed for she strove to tear hersel f from
,

the contempl a tion o f th eir aspect to inter ,

pose between her inward eye and them

masses Of ordinary conceptions . She had
lied and schemed to escape a b ad l ife to

which she had been co ndemned when l ittl e

more than a ch
il d and succes s ful in her
,

schemes and her l ies she had tried faith ,

ful l y to do her duty in her new sphere .

The womanl y feel ing that remained to her

had b een cherished into stronger l ife by her

 E UNI CE . 1 29

q uiet honoured
,
l ife at Grantl ey and she ,

s hrunk from an expo s ure that wo ul d be

worse than death to her husband with his
sensitive pride .

She reflected until the ex igence s of her

po sition bl inded her to the cruel ty of press
ing this marriage ,
and expediency re

ass u med its regal sway . It was essential

that E unice shoul d m arry a m an of fort une ,

and why not this one ? Harol d gone she ,

st ood nearl y as fair a chance Of content wi th

Ral ph as with another . Besides however,

will ing h
s e mi ht b e probabl y her power
g
,

woul d not b e strong enough to bring thi s

union about ; at l east there coul d be no
h arm in l ending it her suppo rt and ,
in the

face of that s ucces sful or otherwis e even

, ,

s uch a w retch as Ral ph Harnage seeing her ,

sincerity wo ul d s carcel y wis h

, to b etray her .

L ady Grantl ey j oined her famil y al most

reconcil ed to the part cru el fate forced her
V OL . 111 . 9
1 30 E UN I CE .

to pl ay for al ready the pre s ence

,
o f her evil
genius was deadening the goo d that was in
her . It i s wonderful how untoward cir
cum st ances wil l warp the intell ect— ho w
capabl e the h uman mi nd is of subversion
l ike woody fibre submitted to the action o f

a petrifyi ng stream it gradu al l y assimil ates

,

the qu alities of its associates .

’
Ral ph H arnage s s entiment for Eunice

was the strongest and m o st pl easing he

had experienced for years and it increase d ,

a s he s aw more of her . Fall en spirit s

sometim es gl ance b ack with regret to the
heaven they have forfeited . Perhaps Mr .

Harnage l ooked u pon Eunice ,

in her
innocent sweetness ,
as one who coul d
renew for him the paradise of earl y days .

Tho ugh quick in deciding he was , firm

of p urpose and prompt to execute and

, ,

his c o ol j
u dgment and hab it of s teadil y

purs uing his pl ans generall y o v ercame

 E UNICE . 13 1

ob s tacl e s ,
and attained hi s ends . He
argued that the ,
first natural em b arrass
ment over ,
E unice wo ul d admit him to a
iendship
fr she woul d not dream of accor d
ing to a yo unger man . N or did he draw
this deduction without reason ; though if
E unice had suspected the source o f his
attentions she woul d have revol ted ;
,
b ut
‘

the poor chil d thought that his conside

ration ,
his devotion to her every word and
l ook , was from p ity at her bereavement ,

the o utpouring Of his fatherl y affection for

Harol d and this drew her sympathie s

,

towards him : she even took hersel f to

tas k for the rel ief she fel t at his depart ure ,

and decl ared her op inion to every one with

an u nnece s sary amo unt o f emphasis that ,

Mr Harnage wa s a rem arkabl y agreeabl e

!
.

man .

Mr Harnage was too

. w rse to purs ue
his succe ss b eyond the l imit s o f prudence ,

9 — 2
1 32 E UNICE .

and did not attempt to act the l over on

this visit ; b ut secure in Lady Grantl ey s ’

cc -
Operation ,
l eft his al l y to prepare the
ground b efore his speedy reappearance .

The confi dence was not m is pl aced ; having

once recognised the necessity o f the s acri
fice ,
she was not one to waver . She ap

roached the s ubj ect careful l y and at

p
l ei s ure .

V o us etes bien c hange ,

ma ch ere
enfant ; y ou l os e your good features with
this al ways fret . I cannot s ee her s o
troubl ed s o pal e sans pitié
, , ,
a
dded her
l adyship , as if to herself .

The s unl it eyes were indeed overcl oude d ,

and the ro sy l ips s el dom l aughed and no

l onger spoke the gl ad fancies o f youth .

The ready tears coursing down her cheek s

’
were Eunice s onl y answer .

It is u s el ess to fret for what is gone

”
past the hope ,
remonstrated her s tep
 E UNICE . 1 33

mother ,
kindl y . Y ou yo urself sho ul d
”
res ign to the will Of Heaven .

”
Oh ! cant Of c omfort ,
said E unice ,

inwardl y . I mus t be wretche d al l my

”
l ife .

A nd y ou still l ove that other one ,

”
petite ?

E unice fe l t mingl ed s urpris e an d anger

at these inquirie s . A s if she ever coul d
forgot her tender patient l oving Harol d !
, ,

”
Why do y ou as k ?

Becau s e y ou are admired which , y ou

sho ul d be ; and if y ou fret al ways your

beaux j o urs will go .

!
And l eave me on yo ur hands ! It is a
heavy b urthen that y ou mus t hear. I am
”
s orry for y ou , b ut it cannot be hel ped
She spoke b itterl y .

!
Mais ,
ma petite ,
I wo ul d s ee y ou

”
happy .

They mocked her . Harol d gone ,

it
1 34 E UN! CE .

was no l onger hers to give or to take

happine ss .

For your dear —

father for yo ur fam il y ,

y ou sho ul d m ake the effort . Here is a

man ri ch powerful good who l ove s ou to
, , , y
distraction . I give here de sage s conseil s ,

what I wo ul d take for mys el f . Monsieur

Ral ph Harnage
E unice fled from the room with a s ort
of breathl ess pass ionate murmur cutting
, ,

f
’
the thread o her stepmother s el oquence
s hort . However the ice had b een broken
, ,

the tiny see d pl anted ; careful watering

and attention woul d yet nouris h it into a
tree b earing good or evil fruit as the cas e
,

m ight b e .
 C HAP T E R X III .

Co m e f rth —and pa ss away ! Thi s is the great

o

co mm and o f N ature— n thi ng r emai n —

o nothing is nu
s

ch ang eab l e b ut ch ange — B EUZ EN R ERG

, . .

N this fr ee country no one is su

p
po s ed to be wed agains t her
will and we are apt at s peaking
,

in s cornful disapprobation of the arranged

marriages in vogu e with our continental
neighbours . There are s everal other ways ,

ho wever ,
of forcing peopl e into matrim ony .

than c oercion . Ridicul e , to o, is a po werful

cro ac hm ents, and reaso n beco mes paral ys ed ,

right and wrong mere words which convey

1 36 E UN ]CE .

thr
ows courag e and firmnes s to the winds
when it stoop s to the l ow dominion o f

rid icul e .

N one b ut a woman can measure the efli

cacy o f un cea
sing taunt s on fidelity to a
shadow— to a l over l ong dead ; the re

ro aches on the s elfi shn ess that woul d not

p
assis t a father and a brother . By bring
ing forward the goo d an d s uppress ing the
evil there
, is no l ine of action that may
not b e m ad e to appear de sirabl e . Lady
Grantl ey empl oyed every mean s in her

power . She painted in the darke st col o urs

the dis m al futurity before the famil y if

E unice refused her aid and worked ,

on the
’
girl s feel ings by dil ating
’
on Sir Peter s
'

failing heal th ,
caused by anxiety . And

she tried ,
b ut with smal l succe ss to gain ,

over her hus band and Lionel to j oin their

entreaties with hers to forward this match
Eunice
’
they un e s d r too d s rep ugnance to a!
 E UNICE . 1 37

marriage with a near rel ation of her l ost

l over and wo ul d not infl u ence her for or
!

against it .

Ral ph Harnage had come and gone

many times !L ad y Grantl ey took care
that he sho ul d have Opportunities to pl ead
his caus e) b ut his wooing did not s peed
E unice was firm in her refusal and,
t OO in

different and heartsick to hee d her step

’
mother s arguments .

Love s Labour s Lost

’ ’
not being a p l ay
to Mr . H arnage s
’
t aste he meditated
,
retir

ing al together from the fiel d He w as on

the point of rais ing the s iege ,
his onl y
d oubt whether in doing so he shoul d ,
in

Parthian fashion , discharge a pois one d

arrow s cattering des ol ation on Grantl ey
,

b y revel ations concerning it s mis tre ss when ,

another an d more powerful l ever than his

infl uence over Lady Grantl ey came into
his han ds .
1
38 E UNICE .

It will not be forgotten that Harol d s ’

firs t act on finding himsel f to be a man Of

property had been to advance on favourabl e

term s twenty thous and pounds to Sir
Peter Grantl ey . Mr . D od sw ell had waite d
patientl y u ntil any reas onabl e hope that
his cl ient s urvived w as over and now w rote
,

to inform Ral ph Harnage that the debt had

him
’
l ap s ed to ,
and inqurrm g Mr . H arnage s

pl easure whether it was his wish that Mr .

Sharpe shoul d b e pre ss ed for the money or ,

if he desired to continu e the l oan on the

s ame term s — The s mal l interes t exacted
.
,

arnage s inst ruc

’
according to Mr Harol d . H

tions had b een p unctual l y paid the Baronet

, ,

b eing s til l inignorance a s to the l end er .

Mr Harnage cl utched the l etter and

.
,

trium ph shone in his bl ack eyes . By

m eans o f that b it of paper he co ul d cru sh
th em al l ; he s eemed to feel Eunice in his

gras p ,
b ut there was l ittl e l over -l ike s oft
 E UNICE . 1 39

ne ss in his expression . He knew that

Grantl ey w as heavil y burthene d there w as

of Sir
’
not a chance Peter s being abl e to
rais e the sum . The next hour s aw him
in Mr . D odsw el l
’
s —
private room the next
train l anded him at Trenton .

Unnece ss ary to foll ow the u se Mr . H ar

nage del ayed not to make Of his new

ins trument ; he worke d it s kil full y an d
with a wil l N0 one coul d be more un

will ing to pres s an l d friend

O . If he might
b e al l owe d to hel p in extricating Sir Peter
from any l ittl e emb arrassments it was the ,

”
d eares t privil ege to assis t rel ations . Then
he adverte d warm l y to his affection for

Miss Grantl ey . Sir Peter coul d not com

pl ain of the manner or the matter and yet ,

he fel t as if he were caught in a trap . The

neces sity for payment w as not done away
with beca us e the deb tor u s ed forbearing
words—words that bore a cruel d o ubl e
1 40 E UNICE .

meaning . He coul d not blind him s el f to

the state o f the cas e . He owed a l arge
sum Of
money to this man ; he co ul d not
— —
pay ; and he was a ske d pol itel y b ut he
’

was asked for an equival ent which it was ,

in his power to hand over .

N0 hel p for it now Eunice mu st marry

Ral ph Harnage ; b ut it was —
hard life
al ways w as hard for him When hi s re

rets for —
Harol d were keenest when the
g
knowl edge Of
’
the young man s generous ,

d elicate as sis tance touched him deepl y his ,

hard fortune constrained him to this slight

of his memory compell ed ,
him to put a
pre ssure on his chil d s incl ination
’

True ,
it was desirabl e that Eunice s houl d
marry ; tru e al s o that a very j eremi ad
, ,

of l amentation woul d not bring the l o s t

man back to life ; true again that
, ,
Sir

Peter thought no ill of

Ral p h Had he
d one s o he woul d have
,
cut out his tongue
 E UNICE . 14 1

rather than ad vocate the marriage . Still ,

tho ugh he even had a l eaning towards

Ral ph as his ld
O friend and al s o strongl y
,

wished to s ee E unice provided for, this

worl d stained man and do ubl e the age Of
-
,

his sweet nnocent chil d

i , w as not one

whom he wou
l d have chosen . B ut Eunice

was twe ty two ,

n -
s he had no fortune cared ,

to go nowhere ; an d the gentl e sombre

depression which was her u ual
s state was
l ittl e likel y to attract suitors . Then there
was that l argest consideration — that twenty
thousand pounds which he coul d not pay !
Fate had settl ed everyt hing for him as
s al and as us ual s ettl ed it contraril y
u u ,
.

He tol d her al l ,
and l eft it for her
d ecis ion .

E unice w as more remarkabl e for sim

pl i an d tenderne ss than for her pas sion

cit
y
and subl im ity : cl annish attachment and
a s oft yiel dingness were the l eading trait s
1 42 E UNICE .

o f her character . She had thought s adl y

that the accidents o f l ife coul d no l onger
touch her ; b ut

One fire b ur ns out h r b urni ng

ano t e
’
s
,

O ne pai n i l s ess ened in anoth er s ang u i

’
s h .

If I were to coin my l ife s bl oo d I

’

coul d not find this money , her father had

said to her ,
his haggard sunken eyes fil l ed
My dear Mr Harnage is , .

inclined to b e very genero us to me to you , ,

to al l o f us It is a weary worl d b ut we
.
,

must make the b est of it . Y ou will want

a protector when I am gone . An d poor
Leo is not l ike other men he cannot work ,

”
for his l iving .

And then he had cried and m aundered

he was a wretched man ; he wis hed it

”
coul d have been different . And E unice

knew that he thought of Harol d and her ,

heart was s oftened for her father s trou ’

bl es and her
,
tears fell , too and , m ingl ed
 E UNICE '
. 1 43

with his ,
as she l aid her face on his
s houl der ,
and fal tered that ,
he co ul d
count u pon her doing in this and in al l
”
things according to his desire .

Loving and sensitive ,

an d easil y in

fl uenced through her aff ections ,

E unice

trusted in tho s e she l oved with a perfect

faith . U nconscio u s Of her ow n worth she
,

was read y to yiel d up her l ife if it woul d

benefit her father who had been s o good ,

to her and to Harol d . A nd s o tinsel l ed

over decked as it were in a s acrificial garb
,

of famil y affection ,
Eunice b ro ught hers el f
to contempl ate an un ion from which she
had recoil ed with what she deemed an
u nconqu erabl e rep ugnance and came to ,

think that po ssibl e which had seemed im

possibl e and al l owed hers el f to b e drifted

,

into a vortex o f mis ery that mus t swal l ow

Women are ri d dl e s s wayed al ternatel y

,
1 44 E UNICE .

by passion reas on caprice instinct ; per

, , ,

haps the l atter is their s afe st guide . Wel l

for E unice had she fol l owed her instinct ,

”
NO H
’
and said to Mr . arnage s s uit b ut

pas sion and caprice w ere de ad wi thin her

— were no l onger motive powers ; and
reason apparentl y the s urest co unsel l or
, ,

cl amoured that she o ught to accept him .

Our natur al reso urce when dis tres s ed and

l onel y is in —
phil osophy w e begin to ecu
s
p
l ate man and his destiny E unice s
’
On .

phil osophy ,
on which she had decl ined ,

taught her that the poor remnant of her

l ife was o f nothing worth ; it therefore
coul d signify littl e what became o f it how
,

it was passed ,
or into what c us tody she
gave it . The beauty of her life had de
p arted she was thrust
’
,
ou t from the garden
of Ed en , and woul d be a wanderer until
she died ; as wel l give the dregs Of her
j aded life to this one as to another she no
l onger hop ed for happiness in a worl d
 E UNICE . 1 45

where misery hel d its co urt where virt ue ,

was to be s ol d an d distres s bo ught .

She reas oned thus s triving the whil e to ,

sub due the rep ul s ion to Mr Harnage

.

which had s pru ng up at the first w hisper

of marriage . B ut in vain she school ed

hersel f with the remembrance that he had

for Harol d s
’
cared boyhood that he was to,

be the sal vation Of the Grantl eys in money

nothing b ut Ral ph H arnage

’
s tact coul d
have w on his wayward mi stress . He was
obl iged to make his advances careful l y ,

practising a grave reserve an ,

air o f cal m
indifference which by a progress
,
al most
imperceptibl e he managed to change into a
vag ue famil iarity . O ften his c urs es were
not l o ud , b ut deep ,
in the face of her
evident disl ike at times he al m o st hated
her ,
b ut the pers istence O f the m an wo ul d
not l et him resign her it shoul d never be
s aid that he w as b affled by a girl .

V OL . III.
1 46 E UN Z CE .

December wa s come again with its fro sts

and s nows and iron rul e and the ,
sun rose
chill and watery to l ook u pon E unice
’
s
wedding day -
. A fter weary month s of
s ol icitation enfeebl ed with mourning
,
for

the departed and aching with anxiety for

the l iving , s he had given a weep ing co l d
consent . She had b een firm that nothing
s ho ul d induce her to marry until the two
years were compl ete . A nd now twice
twel ve month s had pass ed s ince the
A l batross went d own a charre d and
bl ackened wreck into the wide bl u e waters
of the Pacific ; and more than four years
had gone by ! a l ar ge piece o ut of a girl s
’

l ife ) s ince Harol d went away to seek his

fort une ; and yet his face was b efore her ,

his voice was in her ears a s she made her

l ips u tter the words that bind u ntil death
”
do them part .

O h ! that there coul d b e in spiration at

 E UN ICE . 1 47

tho s e s upreme st moments o f o ur de stiny ,

when reckl es sl y u nthinking we sign our

ow n cond emnation ! A —
sound an omen
to s tartl e us into vigil ance to aro us e
,
o ur

sl umbering s ens es which al as are not dead

,

which will awake in ful l vital ity onl y to

be tortured

10— 2
 C HAP T E R XI V .

B ew ar f d p rate
e o es
’
p T h d ark t d ay
st e s. e es ,

L ive t i ll t m rr w
o- o o ,
wi l l have pa d a w ay
sse .

AM O ff presentl y to C hesney ,

and shal l not be back til l Thurs

day ,
”
said M r Harnage stirring
.
,

his coffee with a quick irritabl e movement ,

as he sat at breakfast opposite to his bride ,

ina dining room furnished by Jackson and

-

Graham regardl ess of expen s e the wal l s ,

adorned by costl y paintings and ol d carved

oak .

V ery wel l ,
repl ied E unice .

It ought not to be very wel l ,

s napped
her hu sband who thought he detected a
,

certain d egree of brightne s s in her as s ent .

If y ou were what a wife shoul d b e

 E UNICE . 1 49

I s ho ul d Obj ect to yo ur go ing ,

or insis t
u pon accompanying y ou

”
Exactl y .

Then l et me go ,
sai d Eunice ; b ut
spite her b est efforts the reques t spoke
l ittl e O f the energy of d esire .

No ; s tay where y ou are . I am going

on bus ine ss ,
and want no woman s ’

rubbis h .

It is of no consequence ,
s aid his wife ,

l is tl essl y . If I had onl y Rip I woul d ,

as
”
soon b e in Lond o n as anyw here el se .

If that devilish bird had not had the

taste to make his exit from this worl d with
his m aster I shoul d certainl y not have
,

al l owed him an entrance into a hous e of

”
m ine, s aid Mr H arnage who tho ught
.
,
it

no harm to a quaint c his wife with his

notions on subj ects now they were one .

A fres h grief had come to E unice .

Lionel , for who s e sake she partl y m ad e the

1 50 E UNICE .

s acrifice had been ki

l l ed not a month after
,

her marriage by a fal l from a d og cart an d -

s teadil y refus ed foo d and ,

w as one day
foun d dea d on Lionel s grave ’
.

Poor Rip ! his b rute cons tan cy to dear

!

Leo m ig ht have spared ou the troubl e of

y
”
decl ining his society ,
s aid Eunice , an d
b etraying s ymptom s o f tears .

Constancy is a virtue y ou affect I

,

”
know , s neered Ral ph . C rying again !
Why the woman s a ,
’
l iving watering pot ;
-

b ut I can t say I am revive d by the process

’
.

If I am not to b e perm itted to speak in

my own hous e without being swampe d
”
in tear s , it will put the cl imax to my error .

”
!
A cl imax indeed ! s aid
, Eunice , ironi

cal l y .

tell y ou what Mrs Harnag e my

, .
,

s pirits are not sufficientl y effer v es cing

that I can s tan d a companion w ho has your
 E UNICE . 1
5 1

s ex s accompl is hment
’
of shedding tears at
”
will in s uch perfection .

Why did y ou marry me

”
Why in deed ! Being a man o f the
worl d the question did not embarra ss him
Since y ou as k me ,
it was merel y to obl ige
yo ur father who poor s ill y moth had singed
, , ,

his wings on the Stock E xchange , u ntil it

w as an act of charity to hel p him for the

”
sake of ol d time s .

”
A pity ,
s aid Eunice , tersel y y ou

coul d have ass isted him witho ut encumb er

”
ing yourself with his daughter .

True ,
I m ight ; b ut the connexion gave
”
an air o f d el icacy to the trans action .

Having d el ivered himsel f of this s arcasm in

the s ubd ued tones pecul iar to goo d breed

ing Mr, . Harnage too k his fine pers on out

of the room with mu ch s tatel iness .

Life did not go s moothl y with E unice in

her new es tate hers w as a shadowy

152 E UNICE .

mockery of a marriage — as it must b e

when any great real ity i s dwindl ed into an
idl e sham . To the o utward eye her affairs
w ere flourishing ; she had hands ome hous es ,

s pl endid equipage s ,
obseq uious s ervants
if her husban d were a trifle negl ectful it
certainl y did not form one o f her griefs ,
for

to her dismay ,
she found that she hail ed
his depart ure with rel ief— his com ing with
a sinking heart— that a dislik e unaccount
,

abl e to her gentl e nature rather grew ,

in

spite of her s truggl e s to s tifle it . There was

no sym pathy b etween them . Thought an d
heart habit and l ife m us t be as one and
, ,
in
harmony to make a happy marriage there
must be a mutual forbearance and tol era
tion O f weaknes se s and those candidates
,

for wedded fel icity not dowered with this

,

admirabl e patience ,
had b es t foll ow St .

’
Paul s ad vice .

A s the great father of the C h urch and

 E UNICE . 153

matrimony Martin L uther s ays

,
It is
an eas y matter to take a wife ,
b ut to l ove
her witho ut change that ,
is God s gift ; and
’

who can do this ,

l et him thank God for it .

Mr Harnage fell l amentabl y short

. in pra e

tice o f this val uabl e precept not six months

married to the woman he had striven hard
to make his wife ,
and he treated her with
indifferen ce an d scorn . Eunice discovere d

that this co urtl y fair s eem ing man co ul d be

-

o rse and unk ind that when out Of temper

c a ,

he s et no b ounds to his remarks . She fel t

s ome res entment ,
b ut l ittl e dis appo intment ;

she had not hoped to find happines s ,

be

l ieving s incerel y that j oy for her was for

ever quenched in the b urning of the

A fl mtross — b ut she woul d have s triven

after meek iendl

fr y rel ations with her
el d erl y spo use had she found anything in

his character that she coul d l ove or esteem .

U nhapp il y, every day b rought s ome revel a

154 E UNICE .

tion of his worl dl y cynical disposition to

s hock her whil e he chill ed her gentl e
advances by sneers at her — —
her peopl e her
—
l ost l ove her religion ,
u ntil she was driven
to think of Harol d with a more bitter regret ,

a more intense s orrow .

Mr Harnage
. had s ome groun ds for com

pl aint in his wife s apathy and mel anchol y

’
.

E unice had fel t Lionel s death acutel y ; an d

’

her father broken down b y this l ast bl ow

, ,

was s carcel y removed from im b ecility an d ,

comp l etel y und er the dominion of his foreign

wife s he had nothing s he coul d no w cal l a
—
home no one to whom she co ul d appeal
however s ore her need ; and the vague
terror that she was fettered and hel pl ess in
the hands of this har d man changed her
whol e nature and she brooded in listl ess
s il ence on her withered hope s which l ay
.

hid den in the s ecrecy of her thoughts l ike

wreck s b eneath the s ea .
 E UNICE . 15 5

’
Mr . H arnage s connubial sentiment s were
compris ed in the two small word s in and
out . He had b een in l ove with Eunice b efore
marriage an d ,
out of l ove three month
s
after and s o thorough was the c ure that
,

not a vestige of tenderness remained to tel l

of the burnt -
out fire . Love i s diffic ul t to
i
d efine . N ot l ove ,
the p ure affection that
s eek s the good Of its obj ect and not s el fis h
,

gratification that l ove has onl y one face a,

—
divine one hol y tend er constant wid e , , ,

s preading and covering a mul titude of s ins

,
.

B ut l ove , the pas sion , is a very different

cherub or demon— v ariousl v compl exioned
, ,

ow ning endl es s vagarie s and inconsis tencies ,

an d in it s very e ss ence evane s cent .

Mr . H arnage s
’
passion had too compl etel y
died out for him to b e capabl e o f j eal ousy ,

E unice
’
yet he resented s fidelity to the
memory of a former l over whil e her ,
ind iffe

n
re ce to his frequ ent ab s ence s from home
1
5 6 E UNICE .

was another sl ight to his sel f l ove

-
. He
m ight dine at his cl ub night after night

even absent hims el f for d ays — she never

comp l ained The idea of punishing her for

this supinenes s by taking away carriag es ,

fine dre s s company amus ement s occurred

, , ,

to him ,
b ut was abandoned ; she cared not
’

for —
thes e l ux uries ergo the ,
z est for de
priv in
g her of them perforce expired In
the nineteenth century hus ban ds of the
h umbl er grad es have the advantage ; with
i
the f endl y ever
r -
to -
hand poker and the ,

fam il iar hob -

nail ed bo ot they ,
can and do

m ake their hel pmates feel the weight of

their displ eas ure , and in very s ens ibl e form .

Ral ph Harnage had no weapon b ut his

s arcasm that he co ul d b ring to bear an d ,

such was his wife s depl orabl e insensib ility

’

s he seemed s car cel y conscio us of its u se .

 C HAP TER XV .

rr r ! w ha t h ath he p erceived ?
O te o s

0j
o
y ! w h at d th he l k n? o s oo o
”

N a pl ea sant afternoon in A p ril ,

3.

man drove up to the doo r of the

Harnage town mansion in E aton

Square .

Wait ,
s aid he j umping l ightl y
, from

the hansom ; !
I shal l be onl y here a
few minutes I w ant to go . On to the
—
South We s tern s tation .

All ig
r ht yer honour
,
. The cabman s ’

face b rightened and he regarded ,

his fare

compl acentl y as he stood on the door steps -

,

impatientl y drumm ing his feet . The Lon

d on cab by at al l time s give s a wise
rence to m al e custome rs kno w ing that ,
15s E UNICE .

gentl emen are more s al l y wel l provided

u u
i

with those easy wanderers ,

florins and hal f
crowns . This one l ooked special l y pro
m ising . Witho ut b eing exactl y foreign ,

he bore a certain o utl andish air which pro

m ised wel l for the chances o f trebl e a
p y .

Evidentl y he had been r oasted in the

tropics his natural l y dark compl exion was
bronz ed al mo s t to the tint o f a Moor .

A bove m iddl e height and a good figure,

his face al l women woul d regard with

pl easure ,
s uch dark express ive eyes !

though his thirty years must have b een

busy to pl o ugh the deep furrows on the
broad l ow brow and aro und the mo uth ,

s till b eautiful with its firm curved l ip s .

There had been hurried attempts to adapt

his co stume to the E ngl ish regim e his hat
wa s irreproachabl e ,
b ut hi s tro us ers were
baggy and queer an d ,
his coat l oo s e -
fitting

an d of a thin al paca material , unknown

 E UNICE . 159

among the el ect of the metropol is and hi s

—
boot s b ut we had b est not gl ance at
them ; for eyes s ed to B l ob b mas ter
’
u s

p ieces the shock woul d b e severe .

”
Is Mr Harnage at home
.
? he asked
of the yo ung footman who at l as t answered
the door !the butl er was round the corner
as us ual ) .

C onfus e d b y his quick manner and

strange accent Jeames ,
m is took the que s
tion and imagining that his mi stress wa s
,

inquired for ,
repl ied in the affirmative .

”
What name sir ,
?

B ut the hal f articul ate d word was l o s t

-

as the stranger sprung l ightl y up the

Will y ou wait here ,

si
r, an d shutting
the door the s ervant withdrew to
, find
Mrs Harnage l eaving the visitor pl anted
.
,

in the gorgeous front draw ing room -

. The
young man gl anc ed around a dmiringl y ,
1 60 E UNICE .

at the satin co uche s , the vel vet curtains

heavy with embroidery and s oftened by
b road l ace ; at the Dre s den and S evre s
china that ornamented the wal l s in co stl y
profusion .

U ncl e Ral ph al ways knew how to spen d

”
money w hen he had it ,
thought the visitor ,

with an am used smil e b ut his taste has

refine d I am in l u ck to catch him at
home He sank into a l u xurio us settee ,

and fel l to contempl ating C ottier s

’
l ast

chef d oeuvre
-
’
on the ceil ing . Don t ’
l ike

s o m u ch col our up there ,

he c riticis ed ;
it make s one feel as if one were in a box
and the lid shut down I w ish he d come ’

an d getting up he took a few s teps forward

, ,

advancing nois el essl y on the thick c arp et ,

and s aw a vis ion that made his heart s tand

s till . Then his pul se bounded and a l ook ,

of rapturous expectation dawned on his

face .
 E UNICE . 1 61

The s etting sun was shining forth in

spl end our and ,

its sl anting b eam s fel l ful l

on a s ofa at the end of the back drawing

room the gol d en gl ory making a hal o
,
for

the figure that l ay there . E unice l ooked

exquisitel y fair her compl exion an d bright

b ro wn hair thrown into s trong rel ief by
her bl ack dre ss and the c rim s on vel vet Of

the c u o ch Her eye s were cl o s e d ,

for

wi tho ut actuall y sl eeping she trembl ed on ,

the b ord erl and of dreams .

The supreme moments of our l ife general l y

come upon us in s ob er commonpl ace fashion .

E unice d o z e d peaceful l y not a pass ing ,

thought flitt ed acro ss her sl umb er as warn

ing t hat the moment was at han d which
woul d for ever m ar her peace of mind ,

m ake ev en cal m re signation impo ssibl e ;

nay more ,
l ay her in the dust from which
she wo ul d n ev er ris e .

Eunice The gl ad e xcl amation burs t

V OL . 111 . 11
1 62 E UNICE .

al o ud from his l ips ,

witho ut paus e or

tho ught of preparation .

She started at once to her feet petrifi ed , ,

as though she had been cal l ed by a spirit

of another worl d and stood breathl e ss
,
th
wi

amaz ement her cheek pal e as death her

, ,

eye s fixed and staring — then a l ook o f

great j oy came into them as she saw that ,

it was indeed he in the flesh .

!
Harol d ! not d ead ! she cried with a ,

faint shriek and fel l ,

forward ins ens ibl e
into his arms .

He had —
not time to think why had he
found her here ! he onl y caught the ex
pres sion o f bewil derment al mo s t ,
fe ar— it s
quick tran sition to certainty and delight .

A sensation of intense happiness thril l ed

him ; this made amends for al l : his l ong
agony of patience bore fruit ; the meeting
he had dreamed of and thought
, of, .
and
prayed for, every day and night during
 E UNICE . 63

l ong years had become a real ity . A nd in

a tumul t of gl adness he strained her to ,

him ,
an d bore her to the s ofa s he had
j ust quitted : his firs t emotio ns were j oy
and wonder ,
b ut the won d er w as s wal l owed
in the j oy .

The happiest day of my life , he

m urmure d A h! now I l iv e : the pres ent
!

is for those who enjo

y
— the fut ure for tho s e
”
who suf
fer .

He kept his arms ro und her he did not

s eek for reme dies ; her sp irit mus t come
back to answer to his l ove . The bl ack
phantom of fear that s he mi ght have
c eased to care for him , which had l ong
oppressed him , vanished in the remem
brance of her face at his s udden coming .

She l oved him still — his faith ful girl !

”

He hung over her co vering her p al e fac e

,

with kiss es s tudying every l ine

, : s he w as

ad orabl y l ovel y and her mo uth bore

, as

1 1— 2
1 64 E UNICE .

rich a crim son as ever ; b ut they had not

taken care of her l n his absence ; she w as

thin and carewo rn . Perhaps she had

s orrowed for him ! A profo und emotion
stirred him . No matter ,
he had come
back at l ast— no more bl ack gowns and
s ober braide d hair — he wo ul d s oon have

the curl s that had so b ewitched him b ack

again . She was onl y twent y three ; she -

had a l ong b efore her and pl eas e God

life , ,

—
he woul d make it a happy one atone for
the sorrow she had s uffered thro ugh him ;

their blis s wo ul d be the greater for their

l ong trial ; he w as rich and there was
,

nothing to come between them now . He

l ooked at her with a p as sionate affection as
she l ay on his s houl der ; cl ear as the girl
had b een he l oved the thoughtful woman
,

yet more .

She ma
de an imperceptibl e move
ment .
 UNICE
'
E . 1 65

E unice sweet —d o not b e al arme d

, .

”
Sp eak to me .

She heaved a s igh; she was coming back

to her wretche dness and a spasm of pain ,

cro ssed her face .

E unice ! my o wn . I have come b ack to

y ou.
—
Look at me I want to s ee y ou .
”

Her eyes Opened wi de and full in a

b ewil dered s tare ; then she cowered cl o s er
to him hiding
,
her face .

”
Wont y ou speak to me ? s aid he ,

b es eechingl y an d in a vagu e al arm as he

, ,

fel t that
she shivere d great Heaven . A nd —

— —
was that coul d it b e a groan !
Startl ed he with drew his s upporting arm ;
,

enl ightenment flas hed upon him ,

and quick
as thought he s eiz ed her l eft han d which ,

hung do wn disregar d ed Why was she

here — in his u
’
ncl e s hous e Why this
d e spair — —
Go d coul d she b e married
L et m e die,
”
she mo ane d O h ! that
1 66 E UNICE .

I might die ! A nd her other hand went

s teal ing up to hide her wretched shame .

The firs t thing that caught his eye was

his ow
nring the hal f hoop
,
o f fo ur pearl s ;
it ha
d kept her tru e to him for four years
again the promis e had been kept to the
ear and broken to the hope . It w as the

onl y ring she wore except the f atal circl et

it guarded and h al f hid
He coul d not gras p the fact in it s ful l

horrors he fel t diz z y .

M arried — to whom — to m y uncl e ?

A l ow heart rending wal l

-
was her
answer ;

He withdrew from her stu

p efied ,
an d
s taggered to his feet . His mind refirsed to
recognise the ful l enormity o f this mar
riage his heart b eat viol entl y then s eemed ,

to stan d s til l he reel ed and onl y avoided

,

fall ing by cl u tching at a tabl e near .

Al l was a chao s of d espair an d mis e ry .

 E UNICE . 1 67

More than once he s wept his hand acro s s

his forehead ,
as if to cl ear away this amaz
ing revel ation . A s for her , age s might have
been counted on her heart in tho s e m inute s

l ong in agony . They were s il ent . H is

fac ul tie s were concentrated in the immov

abl e gaz e with which he regarded her as
s he sat hiding her bowed face in both hands ,

and knowing in the d arkness of her so ul

th at al l was l ost . In tho s e awful moments
everything s eeme d to have sl ipp ed away
—
from hini l ove trus t faith he s uffered a
, ,

moral earthqu ake al l was u proote d l — his

bel ief in her l ove and p urity on which he

,

had buil t in un shrinking confidence ; the

happy future he had pictured ; al l was
crumbl ed away — nothing remaine d b ut a
hid eo us d arkn ess , too bl ack to c ontem

Despair ,
l ike j oy takes no heed
,
of tim e .

He dash ed hims el f on a chair . He saw it

1 68 E UNICE .

all — it wa s al l that curs ed money ! H is

u ncl e had b ecome his heir and had b ought

,

her . If she mus t insul t his memory why ,

had s he not at l eas t chosen otherwis e

his own uncl e
He got up l ike an automaton an d turned ,

to l eave the room without speaking ; there

wa s nothing — there coul d be nothing to b e ,

s aid . She remained motionl e ss fear , con

geal ing her tears .

E unice heard him going . O h ! that she

co ul d have died If heart s wo ul d onl y
break ins tead of suffer she ,
mi ght have had
her wish .

Harol d speak to me
, . Don t go with ’

”
out a word y ou will kill me . She stood
up, p al e and trembl ing the s obs that had ,

'

no rel ief in tears al mo st sufl ocatin

g her .

He pa s ed u . What coul d she s ay— how

d efend hers el f ?

Ha r l —
o d stay ; hear me ,
her dry l ip s
 E UNIC E . 1 69

scarcel y abl e to articul ate . I thought

y ou — —
were d ead d ead oh s o l ong ago
”
and they m ad e me many him .

How Who m ad e y o u he as ke d in ,

fierce , hard s corn .

Al l of them ,
s he ans wered dis tract ,

edl y . I had no peace until I con s ente d

It w as that money y ou l ent to father . Dir .

Harnage wanted payment and we ,

had not
got it to give and I ,
m arried him ins tead
I thought it did not signify much what be

came of me . Hate d e sp is e me Harol d

, ,
I
have b een weak ,
m is tak en , b ut forgive me ,

”
my d ear my onl y l ove
, ,
ext nding her arms
e

p iteo usl y towar ds him . I have never

been untrue to y ou in tho ught . Pity me ,

”
fo r I am mo st wretche d
I may pard on , b ut I cannot forget

and his l ip s were as granite . I have pre

s erve d my faith in y ou p ure and un to uched ,

to find that y ou have vowed to l ove an d

179 E UNICE .

—
honour m y uncl e A ny pure s oul ed girl
-

woul d have recoil ed from su ch a de s ecration

”
o f our l ove ,
said he harshl y
,
. He cared
not for her pain ; an icy gras p s eemed to
have s eiz ed his heart paral ysing
,
al l feel ing .

H is dangers ,
his trial s ,
his l ove -
dreams ,
his
l ongings after happines s were ended they ,

—
had come to this and it was her hand
that pierced him there wa s the pain for ,

To b e wroth wi th one w e l ove,

D ot h w ork l ik e m ad ness in the b r ai n .

Her head drooped l ow in her s el f abas e -

ment . What had s he done She had

murdered his happiness as well as her own ;

s he was the wicked es t woman in creation .

Why did y ou never write never tell ,

”
me that y ou were saved ? she as ked ,

p as sionatel y . I onlv married fiv e month s

”
ago .

I c ul
o d not write B ut I forget ou
.
, y
know nothing . I floated away on a spar ,

and was pick ed u

p b y s om e nativ es, and
 E UN JCE . 1
7
1

taken to their isl and ; an d I have l ived

there al one with onl y s avage s for com

panions ever s ince hop ing again st hope
,

that a ship wo ul d pass and bring me home .

The bel ief in yo ur faithful ne ss al one kept

”
me from going mad . He came nearer ,

and stood over her l ike an avenging spirit ,

drawing his breath in quick short pants .

And I have come b ack for this Who

s h al l —
re store my l o st hope who give me
back the brightness y ou have de stroye d ?

My s oul has cheris hed b ut one dream ;

your shadow has been al ways on my heart .

O n the pal e s ea I have traced your form ;

in the hot stifling night , yo ur sp irit has

come at my c al l to give me patience and

—
renew my hop e And this is
for It too

She shrunk withering s ensibl y

,
lik e a
flower under his s corching words and dry
burning eye s .

Again he turne d to l eave the hous e .

1 72 E UNICE .

Where are y ou going Harol d ,

she
a sked humbl y , .

I am going home to burn my idol ,

s aid he bitterl y ,
.

Stay ! o nl y hear me ,
Harol d dear ,

Harol d . I am not al l to bl ame . I too

, ,

have suffered . I wo ul d not bel ieve that

y ou were dead . I refus ed to think heaven
coul d b e so cruel . For a whol e year I
expected an d watched for y ou . And then
”
I gave up hop ing and , pu t on this ,
to uch
ing her dre ss . I have never forgotten
y ou, or ceas ed to grieve . See ! I have
worn your in
r g and n o ne other ,
night an d
”
day since, y ou
put it on .

He forgave her from that moment ,

for

there w as truth in her wil d s ad accents .

H is face softened and he made a step nearer .

N one other, Eunice s aid he reproach ,

ful l y .
!
O h ! why did y ou do it his
v orce ful l of anguish
 E UN Z CE . 173

Forgive me Harol d , ,
s tretching her
arms toward s him . Y ou tol d me that he
had b een good and kind to y ou . Oh ! I
am the mo s t unh appy woman breathing !

her hands dropped nervel es sl y by her s ide ,

an d big tear s rol l ed down her pal e face .

What wo ul d y ou have me d o ,
E unice

his voice very tro ubl e d .

She went forward and knel t to him to

make her prayer . Say , E unice, I for
’
give y ou .

He rais e d her and took her in his arm s

hideous s in or not he mus t com fort his poor
s tricken girl and then he woul d go away
,

and never put him s el f in the temp tation of

s eeing her again .

They sat together an d he s troked , her

hair an d wiped her tears with his own
han dkerchief : s oon she l ooked at him , an
meflab l e j oy in her s oft haz el eye s and a ,

s mil e crept roun d the mo uth .

1 74 E UNICE .

Why do y ou s mil e ,
E unice
"
3 H ow

can y ou

Becaus e I am s o gl ad .

”
So gl ad !
Yes I am s o gl ad
, y ou are al ive . I
have had su ch dreams that , y ou were l ying
at the bottom of the sea s urround ed by ,

l oathsome creatures B ut y ou hav e a l ong

'

and happy l ife before y ou

”
—a prophetic ,

far s eeing l ook in her eyes

-
.

H appy — witho ut ou
y
This house is yours is it not ,
said
she sl owl y and — everything
,

”
He no dded I suppo s e so .

I want to as k y ou s omething .

What is it
Will ou give —
me a cottage anywhere
y
— where I can hide mysel f till I die ? I
”
’
can t go home ! s he shivered . Lady
Grantl ey is cruel ; s he mad e me marry
him . I sho ul d not mind b eing ind ebted
”
to y ou for a hom e .
 E UN Z CE . 1 75

This is your home ; do y ou think I

woul d take anything from y ou —he co ul d
s carcel y command his voice to speak .

”
A s y ou pl eas e ,
she an s wered meekl y , .

H e is kind to y ou , is he not asked

Harol d ,
su dd e
nl y .

—
I do not think he is not s ince he fo un d
that I did not l ike him . He is hard ; he
”
is not a g ood man though he is you r uncl e
, ,

she continu ed hurriedl y ,

. B ut that is

nothing . I prefer that he sho ul d not l ike

77
me .

Harol d fel t that he coul d not b ear it

mu ch l onger . The demon of revenge w as

knocking at his breast and mad e

,
him feel

m urderous .

When d o y ou expe ct him home

I do not know ; perhap s this evening .

He is a great d eal away at his country

hous e .

!
I will come in the morning , and see

him . Harol d ro s e to go a s add ened man , ,

1 76 .
E UNICE .

twenty years ol der than when he entered

the room .

A nd y ou are sure that y ou forgive me ,

Harol d she s aid wis tful l y

, .

As I hope to be forgiven my poor dar ,

l ing . Y ou are more sinne d against than

sinning .
 C HAPT E R XV I .

Th ree thi ng s a wi se m an w i not tru st , ll

T he wi nd the sunshi ne of an April
, d ay ,
A nd w om an s p ligh ted fai th
’
.

D still ,
daz ed by the bl ow
that had fal l en on him ,
passe d
o ut into the pl acid every day l ife -
.

He wal ked on sw iftl y obl ivio us ,

of the ill

u s ed cabman , who considered that an

ho ur s waiting at theatre and dinner going
’
-

tim e rather a st rong order . Bro ught to

b ay by the energetic Heig

hs and
’ ”
Look ye ere s irs , ,
Harol d gave the
driver a half s overeign
Hain t yer hono ur go ing to the Water
’

l oo Station
Harol d sighed a sigh that ,
w as more
V OL . 111
. 12
1 78 E UNICE ’
.

nearl y a groan as ,
if he woul d remove s ome
crushing weight from his chest .

”
N o, thank y ou no need .

N othing wa s to be gained by going to

Grantl ey he had found his l ady l ov
-

nearer and more easil y than he expecte d

He stal ked o n, scarce knowing whither
he w ent . A boy came up and begg ed of

him persis tentl y . Harol d threw him a

s hil l ing an d the chil d dashed
,
o ff without
thanks fearful perhap s that the gift might
,

b e recall ed or ,
in a hurry f
o del ight to ex
amine in some s ecl ud ed corner the extent
to which he had b een so u nexpectedl y en

riched .

I woul d rather be that barefooted out

cast ,
thought Harol d bitterl y , . A dark
ne s s of night was u pon him the castl e he ,

had erected with s u ch fond care wa s l aid

pro strate ,
and he s tood des ol ate among
its ruins . She had pl ace d an insurm ount
 E UNICE . 179

abl e barrier b etween them which not even ,

Death coul d d e stroy ; she was utterl y l o st

to him in hono ur he m ust avoid her a s he
w oul d a pestil ence .

In any over whel m ing grief or disappo int

ment the yearning de s ire

,
of the hum an
m ind is for compl ete annihil ation ; it is as

if re s t o bl ivion from trial s too heav y to be

,

hom e, mus t be p urchased at any co st .

Had a p is tol b een to his hand Harol d

,

wo ul d have been s orel y tempted to put it

to his heart and so
,
far as we know ended
its aching for ever . B ut where l ife is more
terribl e than d eath to dare to live b ecomes
,

the tru est co urage . H is anger again s t

E unice had al ready died o ut ; revenge he
co ul d not fee l — wo ul d he revenge m is take

and unh appine s s ? N o , his l ife wo ul d s till

have an obj ect he wo ul d watch over and
protect her from this —
robb er h r hu band ! e s

For whil e deepe s t p ity and s ol icitud e

—
12 2
1 80 E UN]CE .

for her fil l ed him these tender feel ings

,

merge d in con sum ing rage and hate as he

remembered R al ph Harnage and the
desire for vengeance b urned within him
l ike a fire ,
gathering fierceness, and u nfol d s

ing its el f into definite s chemes a s he p on

dered in passionate resentment on his

w rongs .

What co ul d he do — how mu ch were

they in R al ph
’
s power — did their whol e

capacity for sufl efi n come within the

g
hel l ish range f his enemy
"
o 3

A n unpl easant gl eam ing l ight shot into

his da
rk eyes for ans wer — he touched his
pocket s ignifi cantl y . He woul d have him
there . This man the perfection of b aseness
, ,

impenitent as a snake remorsel es s as a

,

tiger had
, one vul nerabl e point ; and he
shoul d find some one pitil e ss a s hims el f .

E unice l ay in a heap on the floor too ,

overcome by her wretchedness to a e

c r to
 E UNICE '
. 1 8x

move ; sunk in a s tupor she forgot the

,

flight o f tim e . A s ervant peepe d in and ,

dis creetl y withdrew un noticed to reco unt,

to Mam sell e Bl anche the strange sight he

’

had witness ed o f Mrs Harnage grovel l ing

.

on the floor of her gil d ed drawing room -

,

”
an d !
tal king to herself haw ful A t fir s t

E unice was s tunne d into —

numbnes s B ut
this stage never l as t s the mind active and ,

—
reas oning wil l reass ert it s powers inquir
,

ing into and recognising it s u nhappiness .

She sil entl y broo d e d on the pas t ; then ,

—
frenz ied at the pre s ent at what was to

come she broke

,
into disord ere d s peech .

For her d epl orabl e cas e there wa s no relief

—
b ut d espair ; no —
remedy b ut d eath .

Oh ! l et me die — l et me die !
”
h
s e

moaned again and again .

She execrated her ins ens ate fol l y ; this

marriage had b een s o u nnecessary , so
s perfl o s
u — Lionel d ead
u u ,
her father in
1 82 E UNICE .

b arrassm ents ,
the sacrifice made onl y evil ,

had come o f it . Her own act had s eparat ed

them for ever and not ,
al l the tears h
s e

coul d shed might wipe away the remem

b rance o f her u nnat ural conduct . S elf
reproach that keenes t to rmentor s tabb ed
, ,

her yet were her s o bs o f anguish mingl ed

with tumul tu ous bur st s of gl ad ness that
he l ived ! H is return to the worl d in

which she had ce ased to hope to s ee him ,

whil e it entail ed endl ess wretche dne ss yet ,

b rought a great j oy .

—
Mad ame est servie Mad ame n a pas .
’

fait sa toil ette ce s oir ,

s aid the smart
French l ady s maid driv en to the verge
’
-
, o f

her m is tress s
’
e nduran ce by prol onged
negl ect of the two mo s t important duties
in l ife .

E unice ro s e pal e and c hil l and staggere d

,

—
from the room s he mus t try to hide her

heavy cro ss .
 C HAPT E R X VII .

Sustai n m e in thi s tria l swe t p ati enc e and l ock up

,
e ,

the m em ory th at fill s the v essel of m y h eart wi th gall

s ,

and st amp s on sh am e the c ol o ur o f r evenge .

H AR N A G E S f m ind
’
s tate o

that night was no t conducive to

.

repo s e . Man is a compl icated

animal ; few of the species are abs ol utel y
good s till fewer be it said
, ,
fo r the hono ur
of poor human nature are al together evil ,
:

—in the nobl es t the cl oven foot will peep

o ut— for the bas e s t s ome ex cuse may b e

fo un d .

Ral ph Harnage to do him j us tice w as

, ,

horrifi ed — s hocke d at his nephew s re

’

appearance ; even h is iron compo s ure and

sel f control
-
w ere overthro wn b y this
1 84 E UN ICE .

l ooked for event

-
. He real l y liked Harol d ,

and had it not been for his unl ucky appro

riation o f E unice , he coul d —
even or he
p
tho ught he coul d— have wel comed him

home and yiel ded

, him his inheritan ce
without a pang . B ut however nepotic
’
one s tendencies ,
it is trying to have the
mo s t dearl y l oved rel ative re s urrectioniz ed
'

after over two years s uppo s ed adieu to

earthl y s cenes ; pecul iarl y s o in this in
—
s tance a man ! no l onger a b oy to b e
ut o ff with excus es ) cl aiming the fortune
p
he had s ecurel y d eemed his own ; an d
wors e still ,
d emanding with eyes of fire

an d white l ip s his prom is ed wife . He had

gathered al ready s o much in his interview

with E unice, that Harol d was faithful ,

inconve nientl y faithful ,

to his l ove .

And s he —how she gl ared at him !

and tol d him never to come into her sight
again She l ooked quite dangerous wit h
.
,
 E UNICE . 1 85

her small ,
white face and gl e am ing eyes .

He on
l y wished Heaven ! ! or rather histo

adj urations were directed to a hotter

s ituation
) that he had l eft the p ul ing
mil k and water chit
- -
al one : he had l ived

in a shower b ath -
o f her tears and ,
his
natural l y fine s p irits had b een unnatural l y
depre ss ed since the il l -
omened day of their
uni on .

Mr Harnage more than once in the

.
, ,

c u o rse of his ceas el es s ram bl e up and down

his room contempl ated the feasib ility
,
o f an

immediate flight to the C ontinent l eaving ,

Harol d m aster of the fi el d , without giving

him sel f the opportunity of u ttering a word
of d efence or exp l anation . B ut Ral ph , not
b eing a s hy or tim id man resol ved to ,

s tand his gro und : there w as much to b e

said in extenuation for his offence and ,

natural aff ection for one who had been in

the pl ac e o f a father to him ,
m ust al s o he ,
1 86 E UNICE .

reflected p l ead , his caus e powerful l y with

Harol d
These con s ol atory notions tho ugh ,
suffi

cientl him
’

y c al ming to procure an hour s

feverish repose avail ed ,
him l ittl e when he
fo und hims elf face to face with his nephew
next morning in the s ol itude of the cor
rectl
y furnis hed l ibrary . He stoo d b efore
the man who had ris en to confront and
confound him , a s pirit from the vas ty
”
deep ,
as in the presence of a wraith ; his
face bl anched and he s eemed to become
—
suddenl y withered and aged deep l ine s

in his forehoad and a drooping j aw . H is

—
eyes were cas t down he coul d not face
that b urned in Har ol d s
’
the intens e l ight

even a heart hard ened by sys tematic sel

fishness shrunk b efore the d es erved hatr ed

which gl owe d in that concen trated l ook of

Harol d rej ecte d his uncl e s

’
proffered hand
 E UNICE . 1 87

in col d scorn though he coul d have wept

, ,

or gnas hed his teeth in fruitl es s rage .

If the man had l ooked win s ome ,

if he
coul d have pl eaded the he adl ong wanton
ne ss of youth Harol d fel t that he might
,

have had pity he ,

m ig ht al mos t have for

given him ; b ut this was the del iberate

p urpo s e of a hoary s inner to attain his
wicked end He b reathed vengeance and
fury ,
yet o utwardl y he remained cal m s el f ,

po ss essed He school e d hims el f I will

be s tern as reas on pitil e ss as j ustice ; he
,

shal l hav e justice This man has taken my

E unice , my own my angel ,
! an d he d oe s
not even l ove her or ,
care for her happi
And Harol d s hands cl enche d at
’
n ess
the thought ,
his eyes flashed an d the veins ,

of his b row s well ed al mo s t to burs ting he

c ul
o d have sl ain him where he s tood and ,

fel t it justice — for had he not robbed him

of more than life—his

’
h eart s deares t trea
1 88 E UN]CE .

s ure ? he had dashed away the ful l cu of

p
happiness from his parched l ips . The deed
wa s done pas t recal,
Love an d hope were
gone for ever ! N ow to bus iness .

—
He rememb ered the m is er his spoil ed
life ; his mother wooed from another o nl y
to b e negl ected ; his E unice b etrayed an d
wretched and his heart w as as ic
e an d ,
his
reproaches sharp arrows that did not mis s
thei r mark — they shot home . The cul prit
cowered b eneath the fiery s hower of words
his character was reveal ed to him s el f in it s

native bl ackness he coul d not pall iate his

conduct .

Y ou have rai s ed the devil and mus t ,

face the d evil b ut at l east y ou are s pared

the tas k of giving the devil his d ue j us t
yet ,
said Harol d sneeringl y
, . Y ou will
o nl y have to refund al l that y ou have ap

ropriat ed of mine y ou mus t b e aware

p
t hat y ou are the l as t man on ea rth Matthew
 E UNICE '
. 1 89

Harnage intended shoul d enj oy a penny of

”
his money .

What is d one cannot be re call ed ,

s aid
Ral ph ,
gl oom il y . I have b een much to
bl ame ,
b ut the mis chief is not irreparabl e .

”
I will go away ; it will avoid dis turbance .

”
Y ou wil l be wis e .

Mr . Harnage regarded his nephew

anxiousl y .
!
I s ee how y ou are b o und
up in E unice , he went on diffid entl y .

Y ou have the prior cl aim . When she

to l d me l as t evening ofyo ur return she ,

s aid that s he hated —

me she coul d not
endure the sight of me . She has been
pining away ever since yo ur dis appear

ance ; and it
’
s my b el ief she s dying ’
for
”

y ou

Mr Harnage paus ed
. Are y ou attend
”
ing t o me ? I onl y see yo ur b ack .

”
I hear y ou , aid Harol d
s ,
l aco nical l y .

Mr Harnage paus ed again

. . Harol d still
19 0 E UN ]CE .

l ooked towards the window ,

his han ds
thrust deep down in his pockets . Mr .

Harnage went on in des peration , T ak e

her and go abroad
,
A b s ent yo ursel f for a
few m onths ; l eave the affair ambiguo us ,

”
and it will come right .

Harol d turned suddenl y an d gaz ed at his

uncl e steadfastl y .

Y ou mean that y ou woul d divorce her

to obl ige me s aid he quietl y , .

Mr Harnage
.
—
nodded an uneasy nod .

Harol d s hands rel ease d from his pocket s

’

were cl enched in an u npl eas antl y su

g

gestiv e manner as though fain

,
to s trike
s ome one .

”
Y ou know that I coul d not m arrv her !
Harol d burs t o ut .
!
A nd y ou couns el me
to bring dis grace and ruin on the woman I
l ove b etter than my l ife H is tone s were
raised : and he wal ked acro ss the room ;

then oming and s tanding cl o s e to

c his
 E UN Z CE . 19 1

u ncl e for the first ti me he

,
hissed between
his teeth I b el ieve that y ou are the
’
devil in man s shape to tempt me thus
'

to propose such a bargain . B ut that i s

”
your way ,
he continued with a sudden ,

gnashing fierceness . Y ou have bought

my wife with my ow n money and having ,

s ol d her body , y ou woul d compl ete yo ur

work by s el ling her s oul . Y ou are a demon !
b ut I w il l not l isten to y ou I no l onger
wonder there be s oul s weak or strong
enough to bel ieve in magic and the power
o f fi ends
— that she coul d have s unk s o
”
l ow as to b ecome if y our w e 1

H is uncl e s wickedness was s u ch Haro l d

’

marvel l ed that horns did not spro ut from

his forehea d and flame s iss ue from his

Harol d s wrath was fearfull y s cathing

’

the more so that he had it u nder control .

Ral ph
’
s face was dyed with the dusky
19 2 E UNICE .

red of s hame . The contrast b etween the

two men wa s great ; the one cowered l ik e
a b eaten hound ,
his grey hairs o nl y adding
to his degradation whil e Harol d threw
, his
head al oft and with
,
kindl ed eyes had al l

the maj esty of innocence and right . It is

f pas s ion l ight s
’
when the bl az e o up a man s ’

nature that we see the impre ss cl earl y we ,

hono ur in him the sign of a cel estial o rigin ,

or we weep the dis hono ur of a demi—

god .

This contempt wa s in Ral ph H

’
arnage s

opinion hard and un deserve d He wal ked

according to hi s lights , and to him virtu e
was an abstraction and honour merel y a ,

name he c onsidered moral ity another

term for cant ; that it depended upon ci
r

cum stances, and was framed by men onl y to

guard their own convenience The man was .

not without spirit and he woul d lik e to have

,

turned an d defie d his accus er ,

b ut he knew
Harol d s power ; he knew that he had not
’
 E UNICE . 19 3

a farthing he co ul d cal l his ow n, and he

fel t t oo ol d and enervated by his l ate
pro sperity to b egin the battl e for bread
al l over again . This con sideration kept
his tone servil e . E unice at l eas t wa s his

property ,
his one trump card ,
and he
mus t pl ay her to the be s t advantage .

I am o nl y anxio us to meet your views

in every way . Show me how I can make
reparation .
—
If by any sacrifice I do not
wis h to annoy E unice .

!
No fear ; y ou s hall not tro ubl e her ,

replied Harol d col dl y , . I have an argu

ment ou wil l not —
despis e self interest
y
-
.

This is o ur —
l ast meeting G od wil l ing I ,

wil l never s ee y ou —
again al l neces sary
b usiness can be transacted thro ugh my
l awyer . I request y ou to l eave Engl and

at once : y ou wil l receive four h undre d

pounds a year paid quarterl y at your ,

foreign abode . Sho ul d y ou infringe the

13
 19 4 E UNICE .

conditions or attempt,
in any way t o mol e st
your w if e by l etters or otherwise , y ou w il l

be immediatel y su ed for the whol e b ack

funds that y ou have enj oyed for the l ast

two years in which cas e a debtor s pris on ’

will rel ease her effectu al l y from your un

”
wis hed -
for presence .

Impotent rage flashed into Mr . H arnage s

’

night bl ack eye s

-
. How he hated Eunic e
,

the innocent caus e o f his humil iation !

These are hard terms . I think y ou
7)
o utstep your
I know my l egal i
r ghts ,
interr upted

his nephew in icy contempt ;

,
and if

driven to it sh al l not hesitate to enforce

,

them . I have come back to watch over

her : though I cannot be her husband I ,

w il l be a brother to protect her from ,

”
further wrong . And he l eft the room
wi thout bestowing another gl ance on the
wretched man .
 E UN ]C E
'

. 19 5

E unice waiting and l istening in her

gran d dining room fel t
-
,
his approach with
o ut se eing it his feet trod upon her heart
when as yet their s ound was unheard . She
waited in vain ; —
he pas sed on the front
d oor cl o s ed . He had gone without s eeking
to s ee her ! How she l onge d for d eath !
In her d es ol ation Death was her o nl y po s
,

s ibl e fri —
end the onl y hel p she had the
right to l ong for
.
 C H A PT ER XV III .

L es vive c s o ul e ur s
’ '

s efl acent , el l e l angui t ll , e e se

d esé che, b el l e t ete

et sa se p nch
e e, no p u
o n t
ve p lu s se

so u t enir —FE N EL ON
. .

OP EL ESS and miserabl e as wa s

the state of affair s ,
the great
arranger Time , ,
in the cours e o f

some d ays , shook even these perturbed

atom s into some degree of order .

Mr Harnage after having thoroughl y

.
,

ascertained the s tate of the home baro

meter b eing moreover
, , ,
a gentl eman of
some astutenes s who knew when he hel d,

the trump cards and when he ,

did not, had
betaken him s el f to the German bath s at ,

the advice o f his doctor he hav ing been

,

previousl y ad vis ed by the fam il y l awyer

 E UNICE . 19 7

that Harol d s was no vain b oas t ; that his

’

nephew coul d and w oul d act upon his

threat ,
if the d ebtor refuse d to disappear .

Ral ph now dislike d his wife s o heartil y ,

that it w as an additional motive for the

exil e ,
that he wo ul d be rel ieved from
seeing her wretche d l ittl e white face .

Why had he ever meddl ed w ith her ?

There was never a mis chief that a woman

w as not at the bottom of it .

Thu s a strange state of thing s came to

p ass . E un ice l ived al one in the s tatel y
mansion that s till o wned her as
,
m is tres s

and it w as her one com fort that Mr ,

.

Harnage had rel iev ed her of his pres ence .

He took no form al farewel l and she knew ,

not when he m ight return ,

for Harol d had
tol d her nothing he l eft ev erything to b e
,

inferred ; nor did she see him again for

more than a after their firs t

fortnight

meeting .
—
She wondered and waited the
19 8 E ! IN ! CE .

s
u ual rol e o f womankind— and a prey ,
to

t racting regret she each d ay, grew m or e

wan and mis erabl e To know he breath ed

the s ame air, w as s o near and yet never
,
?

came to see her wore her with a perpetual

,
‘

fretting . She did not exp ect mu ch , b ut

he ne ed not show s o pl ainl y that he had

ceas ed to care for her .

He was staying away poor fell ow ! ,

trying to s chool himself for their new

po sition . Hi s sl um b ering virtue w as

his ncl e s
’
ro u sed and strengt hened by u

b as e hint s ,
-
and he woul d not s ee her
again until he had endu ed his mind with
the fact that she coul d never b e anything
more to him than a d ear friend And he ,

too had tormenting d oubts whether

,
he

uncl e ; w oul d it not pl ace her in

q vo cal p osition
e ui ? B ut s e h had sai d that
 E UNICE . 1
99

s he coul d not l ive with Ral ph — Besides ,

his fierce desire for retal iation must have

vent ; and it satis fied him somewhat that
this robber shoul d be de spoil ed of his
ill gotten property
-
.

A t l as t he came . He l ooked v ery hand

—
s ome much more s o Eunice thought than , ,

even in the ol d d ays . There was a man

l iness in his b ronz ed face a sel f rel iance,
-
in

hismanner and a decis ion in his speech

, ,

which were in her opinion eminentl y

b ecoming ; and not Lord Erringto n s
’
s el f
c ul
o d have been habite d in more irre
roachabl e co stume If he wis he d to c ure
p .

E unice , the wis h did not take the form of

making him s el f personal l y un acceptabl e .

”
N ot gone out this fine afternoon ? s aid
Harol d ,
l ightl y, meeting her with a hand
sh ake and apparentl y not noticing
,
the

d eep flus h that for a mi u

n te hid the
2 00 E UN]CE .

I did not want to go out I thought .

”
ou might call she an s wered faintl y
y , , .

”
I have been very busy s aid he sitting , ,

d own at the impartial distance s al l y

u u

assumed by a morning cal l er . I am j us t

b ack from C he s ney it is a b eautiful
pl ace . London l ooks very hard and un
”
interesting aft er its verdant gl ades .

E unice coul d s carcel y speak . It was

evidentl y his pl easure that they shoul d
be mere fi iend s, and she b owed to it

meekl y .

Then y ou wil l not be in to wn l ong

That depen ds . I s uppose I mus t s tay

a s hort time . A t R ome one mus t d o as
’
the R oman s do ; one can t cut the s eas on
al together I met Mo s tyn this morning
’

.
,

an d he as ke d me to dine at his cl ub . I
for Aul d l ang
’
acce pted syne .

Eunice s
’
The r eady t ears started to
eyes .
 E UNICE . 2 01

Y ou have tol d me nothing ab out poor

”
Lionel ,
he went on ,
in a kinder voice ;
!
it m us t have b een a s ad bl ow to y ou,

”
and to your father .

It was ind eed ,

s aid she in s tifle d
tone s .

And Rip— he woul d b e a mourner I ,

am sure 7

Poor R ip ! he s oon die d . He refus ed

foo d, and s ome d ays afterwards he was
, ,

”
fo un d d ead on Lionel s grave ’
.

al s dis po sition wa s
’
I ways s aid Rip

whiter than his c oat . This gentl eman

in bl ack d evel oped then the rare virtu e
, ,

constanc
y. I give him all p rais e ; we
s houl d think highl y of nattainabl e
u

H is chil l ing l ook an d harsh words were

hard to b ear ; b ut she onl y as t an
c

impl oring gl ance at him , with pretty d e

precating humil ity in her l ov el y eyes .
z oz E UNICE .

Will y ou tell me Harol d she

hesitated over the name ; he was so col d
and u nbending , she feared to s ay it

how y ou were saved ? I have heard s o

”
l ittl e yet .

It was a dread ful time . I never

will ingl y recal it .

”
B ut tell m e, said she eagerl y , . Tel l
me al l — every particul ar .

He st oo ped his he ad ,
an d put

hand b efore hi s face .

N ot if it is too painful ,
she continued ,

N o, no ,
said he with an effort , . I
will tell y ou— y o u hav e a right to hear ;

b ut the memories are al l sad When I

—
think of my exul tant j oy that day it was
the l as t day of my youth — the cl ouds
have darkene d and cl o s e d in around me
hopel essl y ever since .

We had b een fiv e d ays at s ea and ,

 E UNICE . 20 3

were making way bravel y . The sun

l ooke d down from a cl o udl es s s ky with too

much fervour to b e al together pl ea sant ;

the heat b eing so gr eat that forenoon it ,

mad e the water is

r e in

whil e birds hovered overhead and d arted ,

through the rigging as we cut the waves

with a merry ru s hing s o un d an d coming ,

near ,
al l owed the sail ors to catch them ,

as if yiel ding to a fatal ity . Some said

it showed that w e w ere near l and ; one

an ol d s eaman shook his head

, ,
mutter
ing, they were il l -
omed v arm in, that
al w ays accompanied a doomed ship .
’

To w ards suns et a breez e sprung up, which

fres hened into a stiff wind and tempere d ,

the intol erabl e heat . It was an hour from

sundown ; I had gone to my cabin , and
was in my hammock when , I heard a l ow ,

growl ing s ound which mingl ed with an d

, ,

y et was quite distinct from the regul ar

2 04 E UNICE .

d um
r ming o f the p addl e wheel s
-
and then
u l —
a s dden w d cry Fire Fire !
i the ‘

s hip s on fire The yel l that fol l owed w as

’

appal l ing ; al l knew the signifi cance of that

cry I ran up on deck where the con
.
,

fus ion had al read y become indescribab l e .

Men pal e as as hes hurried hither an d

, ,

thither at the direction of the o fficers ,

impeded by the panic s tru ck pas sengers -

,

and to the accompaniment of the s hriek s

and groan s of the women and chil dren .

‘
The fire is raging in the s towage hol d ,
’

said the firs t mate to me ; a miracl e onl y

can s ave u s Go d onl y knows how it
.

’
originate d .

The engines had been stopped an d the ,

crew were al ready at the p umps ; b ut the

anarchy that had s et in with the danger
prevented any organiz ed means of trying
to check the flame s though al l the s ail ors
, ,

and m any of the pass engers did th eir ,

 E UNICE . 2 05

be st . I worked with desperation ,

for to

get the fire un der was cl earl y the onl y

hope . The wind had become our d e ad
l ie s t enemy ; it fann ed the fire, now

b urs ting up in great tongue s of flame ;

an d the smoke w as s o d ens e ,
that it

wrapped and hal f bl inded the men at

the p ump s ,
as we continued to pour
vol umes of water down the hol d . Spite
o f everything ,
the fire gathered in in

tensity and the ,

air w as fil l ed with the
roar o f the flames ! overpowering the
growl ing o f the engines which had s eeme d
,

to mock our efforts l ike a pris oned fiend) ,

and hiss ing un d er the water they l eaped ,

d efiantl y upwar ds encircl ing in their fatal

,

bands masts shro uds and s ail s

, , , .

The us el e ssness of our to il was apparent

al ready we had l ost two boats . And the
confusion an d hideo us outcry in the face of
the he p ess d eath b efore us
l l — pers ons in
2 06 E UNICE .

e very attitude o f frenz y ; none quie scent ,

none res igne d The remaining fo ur bo ats

had been guard ed by the captain s ord ers : ’

b ut any attempt at further dis cipl ine w as

u sel ess . The bo at s were s hed at as the

ru

on ly means of sal vation and torn down by

,

frantic hand s were crowded

, to exce ss be
fore they tou ched the water . On
e man , an
inval id ,
and suppo s ed to be in a dying state ,

in the excitement o f this fresh an d nearer

view of death , managed to pus h an d
struggl e into the bo at de spite the mortal
p al ene ss on his forehead Maddened by
fear ,
many were l ike raging animal s . In
vain the capt ain entreated and comm an ded ;
am id shrieks and groans the boats fil l ed

with teeming life un til they b ecame float

ing biers . O ne capsiz ed before it was wel l

l oo s ed from its davit s . A nother had sheered
off, b ut went d o wn at the very moment a
w oman cl utched at the side of the al read y
 E UNICE . 207

overl oaded boat strew ing the s ea with

, un

fortunate —
creature s some grasp ing the
crackl ing bul warks s ome dis appearing
with arm s thrown high catching , conv ul

siv el
y at air . N one attempted a res cue .

N ot the mo st fearf ul scene in Dante s ’

imagined Inferno equal s the horrors I then

s aw . Sometimes during the night I fancy ,

even now that I hear the rush

,
o f waters ,

and peopl e floating by cl inging to spars an d

c al ling for as s istance .

Harol d covered his face with b oth hand s .

E unice sat l is tening , p al e and mute ,

her
eyes distended with a painful eagernes s in

his recital .

!
B ut the other b oats h
s e asked ,
in

awe stricken tones

-
.

Two got off l ab ouring heavil y the k eel s

, ,

s o deep in the water that a rough wave ,

another man an d they too must have gone

,

to the b ottom — And the des pair of tho s e

2 08 E UZ VI CE .

l eft behind ! B ut the app al l ing s cene coul d

not l ast much l onger the burning cordage
and bl ackened canvas fell in showers on the
deck driving the
,
few l eft on board into
the tantal iz ing wave s . Men and women
who coul d not swim a stroke j um ped over
knowingl y choosing the speediest sol ution
,

”
of the horrors surrounding them .

B ut y o u were in the boat

—
N o not that my life was not dear to
”
me as to any struggling mort al there .

B ut y ou— what did y ou do asked

Eunice , her whol e s oul in the question and ,

pal e as marbl e .

O h ! I had b een very sel fish , he re

pl ied with a sad sm il e

,
. Love m ade me
cunning ,
and at the first al arm I managed ,

to s ecure a life -
b el t ; and y ou shal l hear
what a friend it proved to me . O nl y the
captain a pass enger and mysel f remained
, ,!

on deck and I l ash ed mys el f to a l arge

,
 E UNICE . 209

p iece of spar my companions foll owing

,

my exampl e . I j um ped into the s ea : it s

cool ne s s revived me and I s truck ,
out as
wel l as I coul d
Yes yes go on
, ,
.

Soon I rested on the spar content to ,

husband my strength and praying ferventl y ,

the tide might carry me to shore . The

cal am ity had come too suddenl y to as
certain our whereabouts ,
b ut it was po s
sibl e we were near l and or I might be s een
by a ship . Both forl orn hopes ; b ut the
dro w ning wretch is fain to catch at straw s
of comfort . It was an awful feel ing o f de
s ol ation al one on the oce an ,
and night
coming on . The wind moderate d ; and
the sun s et gorgeousl y dressing the deep ,

bl ue s ky in a shadowy embroidered garment

of opal es cent cl ouds ; the waves rippl ed
on b urying many a stout heart der their
un

d eceitful surface ; and the breez e swept

V OL . III . 14
2 10

bal mil y breathing fresh

,
l ife into my weary
l imbs . Then of a sudden the burning s ea ,

of l ight ov erhead darkened and at the s ame ,

moment the ,
l urid gl ow of the A l batross

s ubside d into bl ack col umn s of smoke that ,

floated away ,
u nheeded me ss engers of our

cal amity Where was the ship the crew ?

.
-

—the bitterne s s of death was past al l was

tranquil as the grave . I rested my head
on the s par making no attempt to direct
,

my cours e . I knew the tide was my master ,

and woul d carry me fur ther and faster than

my strongest effort s . A fter a time the ,

nois e of the water b oomed and b uz z ed in

my ears and parti col oured rays
,
-
of l ight

flashed acro ss my sight . I coul d scarce

breathe ; the p ul ses of my brain throb bed
as if they wo ul d b urs t . A s tup or of ex
haustion ,
which I thought the beginning
of death came over me,
my eyes which
,

had gaz ed on the sky as it appeared to me

 E UNICE . 21 1

for an interminabl e period saw , it no more

the agony of the present no l onger lived for
me .

P oor, poor Harol d I ejacul ate d E unice ,

in d eepest ,
tenderest pity .

The next thing I recol l ect is a copper

col oured face with beetl ing brows and bl ack
matted hair bending over me . I had b een
picked up by some native s of an isl and
near who were out fishing
,
in a canoe o f the

rudest m anufacture . S urrounded by those

bl ack faces with their gl eaming teeth and
, ,

b urning eyes gl aring into mine I tho ught ,

—
they were devil s that the dissol ution of

body and s oul had come and that I must ,

in tr uth have reached the infernal regions .

I had been for ho urs insen sibl e and fel t ,

weak and diz z y . My del iverers s eemed to

b e Magyars and did ,
not u nderstand the
few w ords o f H ind ost anee I had l earned in

C eyl on . I tried by signs to intere s t them

14— 2
212 E UNICE .

in my companions fate hopel es s to

’
it w as

make any impre ssion on their humanity ;

they hel d on their way ; and in time we

l anded . I th ril l ed with j oy as I put foot
on ground ; intense gratitud e that I had
es caped deathto s ee y ou again fil l ed me .
”

He paused and l ooked dreamil y at her .

She sat motionl ess ,

un conscious of his gaz e ,

her eye s al one reflecting the interest of his

,

narrative gave indications of l ife

, . He re

sumed with a sigh B ut how l ittl e did I

fores ee the weary l ength of waiting that I
shoul d have to endure . For two years
I existed there l eading a savage
,
life ,
eat
ing out my he art in vain attempts to l eave
the isl and . No vessel ever tou ched there
as far as I coul d hear .

”
H ow dreadful ! said E unice ,
and I
—
did not know I o nl y fel t that y ou l ived .

Y ou can imagine ,
Eunice , what I suf

fered ; the anguish of l ong waiting ; the

 E UNICE . 2 13

horrors of constantl y s triving to l eave the

isl and that had become a l oathsome pris on ,

which tho ugh teeming with

,
l ife ,
was a
vas t tomb for me . I l eft C eyl on with
b uoyant feelings ,
ful l o f enthus ias tic antici
pat ions of l ove ,
friend ship ,
genero sity ; with
a mul titude of s ens e s an d pas sions al l

prom is ing happines s in their pursuit and

gratifi cation . Wel l ! I had tim e to cool
down from these youthful imaginings .

The natives u sed to think me mad becaus e

I pas sed my days on the highe s t groun d
hoisting my poor s ignal s and l ooking ,
for

res cu e that never came . No s ail ever

bl es s ed my sight ; we were out o f the track
of vessel s . O nce I s tol e a canoe and went
off in the night, abl e to bear the suspense
no l onger ; b ut they fol l owed me . and
ma naging their b oat b etter overtook an d ,

bro ught me back . After that I was strictl y

watched an d cru el l y treated ; mo s t l ikel y
214 E UNICE .

they woul d have kill ed me had I l ooked a

worthier target to expend their arrows
upon ; as it was they were onl y con
t em ptuous of the forl orn creature who had
”
been cas t upon their mercies .

Were there any women on the isl and ?

N um bers , for, not in conformity with
Indian practice the fair or rather whity
, ,

brown portion of the community are

al l owed to l ive . They were my b es t
friends . The women are sl ave s to their
husb ands ,
and what is won d erful are con ,

tent with their l ot . It will prob abl y be

l ong b efore the emancipation of the s ex is

to be l ooke d for among the Magyars . We

l ived princip al l y o nfi h and
s roots ,
and to
this Pyt hagorean diet I attribute the
peaceabl e disposition o f the s e dark d e
scend ant s of Ham . After awhil e I earned
th eir respe ct by the skill with which I -

l earned to use their weapons an d ob tain ed ,

 E UNICE . 21
5

their goodwill by purs uing E ngl ish mode s

of treatment in their ill ne ss e s b ut my one
idea thro ugh it al l w as to get away . I
thought o f nothing el s e night an d day . At

l ength , d espairing of a ship coming to my

re scue and having crept
, in favour with the
chief I procur ed material s and began to
,

buil d a boat ,
o ne s tronger and more cal cu

l ated to b ear the el ement s than their frail

canoes . The chief pitying my eagerne ss ,

made his peopl e hel p me and s ped me on ,

my ente rpris e with ad v ice and provisions .

Al l w as read y and I prepare d to d epart

!

, ,

though I in dul ged s mal l hop es of ever

getting to Engl and Desperation an d the
thought of ou al one mad e me dare the
y
was te of waters in a rough ,
ill -
mad e b oat
which a s ingl e wave might up s et . I s tarted
in a cal m , an d it fr
ightened me to s ee what
a l ittl e w ay I m ad e . Then the l onged for

b reez e p
s rung up, and I set my tiny s ail .
2 16 E UNICE .

My courage rose . I had christened my

’
s ail E unice b ecaus e it was white and
p ure .

E unice shivered, and hid her face in her

hands .

I l ooked u pon it a s a goo d omen that

it al re ady s erved me wel l and I steered ,

my cours e as wel l ,
as I coul d make it out
’

b y the compass I had made ,

for the track
of ship s . Four d ays I s ail ed on and then I ,

s aw a s teamer . Great God what were my

emotions at the sight ! I shrieked an d
sho uted and waved a dea d branch l ike a
maniac . They took no notice an d pass ed ,

gal l antl y on their w ay , l eaving a poor

s truggl ing creature to his de spair . The

torture of that dis appointment ! After

awhil e I forgot my torments in sl eep a —

s weet sl eep I dream ed that I w as with
.

u that ou had re s cue d me and woke

y o , y ,

to find that I had b een obs erved by a sm al l

 E UNICE . 217

Du tch vessel They had s een my s ail and ,

b earing down perceived me and soon had

, ,

”
me on boar d B ut ,
with a quick change
of tone ou must be tired of l is tening to
, y
my story . I have made it l onger than I
intende d .

Tired , s aid she reproachful l y

,
. B ut

how did y ou get home ? how came y ou

—
here to this ho us e
That is very simpl e and easil y tol d .

The D utchmen were very kind and when ,

near Madeira trans ferred their waif and

s tray to a homewar d b o und British vess el ,

where I received every attention . They

fed and cl othed me ,
for civil iz ed pos s e ssions
I had none ; and they provided me with
money for my j ourney to London . I went
s traight to Me ssrs Ward and Robert s . . It
was the s ures t means to get news o f my
un cl e and through
,
him ,
tiding s of y ou . I
heard that he had s ucceeded to my pro
218 E UNICE .

perty— had of co urs e cut the C ity concern ,

and l ived in E aton Square . I waited for

no more an d came,
on here at once . Y ou
”
kno w the res t .

He got up and wal ke d to the window ,

and wa s apparentl y engro ss ed in the am us e

—
ment afforded b y the s quare a promis ing
game of l awn tennis enacted by s ome
s martl y dress ed damsel s in l arge Ruben s
hats .

Y ou have s ome pretty neighbour s ,

he
remarked ,
in a vo ice o f intere s t . Do y ou

know who they are

No ,
s he repl ied an d her heart died
,

within her at this trifling . They will not

”
b e my neighbours l ong .

H ow why quickl y turning to her .

—
Becaus e b ecaus e ,
N
trying to speak
firm l y in sp ite o f a choking s ob
I cannot ,

s tay here .
—
I have no right to d o so no
”
cl aim upon y ou .
 E UNICE . 219

E unice , will y ou s tay ,

if I ask it of

y ou , a s the one thing y ou can do for m e

—
to make m e to give me pl eas ure ? ”
said
he earnestl y .

It shal l b e as y ou wish . B ut y ou will

”
c ome and s ee me s ometim e s will , y ou not ?

s aid s he gaz ing , up at him b es eechingl y .

I w il l , Eunice , m y He checke d
abruptl y forbidd en word s that ro s e to his
l ip s . I m us t go no w . Good bye an d
-
,

”
take care of yours el f .

”
!
An d y ou will come ag ain s oon ? she
pers ist ed wistful l y, .

I have to go down to C he s ney again .

”
B etter not expect me till y ou s ee me .

And with a m ere handshake th ey part ed .

 C H A PT ER XIX .

Of all affl icti on ta ugh t a l v o er

y et,
’
Tis u
s re the har d e t ci enc e to f rg et
s s o .

WIS E man has said that l ove has

two chiefp l e asures — its beginning
and it s ending . For mysel f I ,

cannot b e t oo thankful that I have reache d

”
the l atter stage ,
said Mr Mo s tyn who s e
.
,

engagement to Mrs Bernard had come to .

a not premature concl usion in his opinion .

Mr . Mo styn had l ooke d up Harol d

Harnage mo s t determinatel y impel l ed not ,

s o much by that l ib eral ity of s entiment

which comm onl y ,
l ike the worl d it s ready ,

”
visit pays where fortune smil es ,
as b y a
s im il arity which he fancied to exis t b e
his o wn
’
tween and Harol d s blighted l ove
 22 !

pro spect s .
! The widow had thrown him
over at the l as t moment in favour of a
cous in in shameful fashion tho ugh he never ,

fail ed to profess him sel f grateful for the

e s cape ) .

Ye s there ,
is an unappreciated treasure
”
of affection in this breas t said Mr Mo styn , .
,

mo d estl y and tapping his protuberant shirt

,

front . S uch is the irony o f fate— the

perpetual contras t b etween our nature and

destiny — the tend erness that pro digal ,
-
l ike ,
I woul d have l avishe d upon one, find s now
an o utpouring in benevol ence to my fel l o w
creature s coul d not have come !he
. Y ou

had insis ted on finding his way into our

hero s cham b ers) to a man who knows
’

better how to parry the cru el strokes of

fate . I have fel t them al l .

A gain he attacke d his shirt front , b ut -

with greater energy .

”
!
I am b usy , said Harol d !
I am
2 22 E UN Z C E .

going to run down to C hes ney this after

”
noon .

Al one
Al one .

A m istake . E s chew s ol itud e , m an,

s aid Mostyn , continuing his w el l meant -

attempt s to cheer his moody companion .

Y ou have had too mu ch of it al ready ;

better see l ife ; boxed up in that infernal
hol e o f an isl and y ou are as verdant as if

ou had dropped from one of the C ape

y
V erdes ! See l ife — that is my prescri
p
.

It was one Mo s tyn acted upon he

’7
tion .

had done nothing el se and had thriven ,

and grown fat on it no wonder he recom

mended it . My d ear fel l ow no one can ,

pity y ou more sincerel y than F M . . Why ,

you ve been dead to the worl d s o l ong that

’

yo u re’
l ike a gho s t among the l iving By .

Jove ! y ou can enter into the s ensations of

Robins on Crus oe
 E UNICE . 22
3

I can; the veriest bore woul d then

have rel ieved me by his pres ence . I do my
”
b es t ,
Harol d went on thinking ,
his l as t

remark rather pointed . Time i s my b it

t erest enemy and it ,

is naturall y my chief
anxiety to kil l him . I s el ect the ordinary
mean s that p res ent them s el ves —amus e

ments fol l ies , .

That is a morbid way of putting it ,

s aid Mo s tyn waggling his head ,

in disap

proval . My friend ,
I am s orry for y ou .

Take my advice and fly over ,

E urope it is

the onl y thing to do in the s e cas es .

’
Harol d s dark eye s shot inexpress ibl e

dis dain .

What cases
m ind his visitor
’
Don t me , answere d ,

s oothingl y . I am behind the s cene s ;

besid e s I have b een thro ugh

,
it al l . B ut

when y ou have come to my age , y ou wil l

b e more phil o s ophical ; y ou will know that
2 24 E UN Z CE .

o ne woman is pretty mu ch the s ame as an

other . N ow there is that Mrs Wodehouse

.

— Miss D anecourt ou know —

! y ) , a widow ,

”
and all her money s ettl ed on hers el f .

”
Did her marriage turn out wel l ?

Il l — very ill — husband a victim to D . T .

‘

suicide out of the top floor front window ,

”
and s o forth
B ut the l ady o f the d ol l ars is equall y
in the condition of Hecuba . What s she ’

to us, or we to her that we shoul d weep,

”
for her ? s aid Harol d b itterl y ,
.

The V erscho
yl es s ay that she is seriously
’

p
e ris wi th y ou ,
’
s aid Mo s tyn resol ve d to,

bring his frien d down to more common

pl ace and common s ens e -
views . She
cherishe s a romantic admiration for your
”
feat in s aving her brother from the train .

”
Seriousl y ,
I am much flattered
Y ou must either travel or many , said
Mo styn with a degree
,
of contempl ation
 E UNICE . 22
5

that was assisted by his cigar I sho ul d .

choose the former as the safer and p l ea ,

santer al ternative ; b ut perhaps y ou have

”
had e no ugh in that l ine for the present .

I think I have .

And Mrs Wodehouse is

. the catch of

the seas on and ready to ,

drop into your
mo uth if y ou wil l b ut open it s easonabl y .

—
Yo ur advantages are so great a fell ow ,

who s e adventures have been l egion and ,

es capes in cre dibl y narrow .

!
I am not needy and she ,
is artificial ,

said Harol d col dl y , .

N ature is o ut o f fashion ,
s aid Mostyn ,

al mo s t o ut o f patience with this im pract i

cabl e s avage , and the worl d gets on to l e

rab l y well w itho ut her . B ut s ince y ou are
s o difficul t there ,
is that l ittl e Mis s Leigh
Warne the freshest thing
, out , well dow
ered and wel l favo ured . Indee d when I,

think o f it , y ou are right . I wo ul d give

V OL . III . 15
2 26 E UNICE .

her the preference .

—
Widows m v dear boy
-
widows are the deuce I ’
can t reco m
mend o ne .

It might be the exception to prove the

No ,
no ; ris ky . H ow is Mrs Har.

nage inquired Mostyn in terms of com ,

m iseration . I have not cal l ed there

l atel y . D o y ou know if it woul d be agree
”
abl e 7

I see Mrs Harnage v ery s el dom an d

.
,

cannot say whether your pre s ence woul d

”
be deemed a favour or not repl ied Harol d , ,

stiffly .

el f fl to the C ontinent directl y y ou

’

s o re
”
t uned ,
continued Mostyn who as , m o uth
piece o f society w as b ent up on gaining food
fo r its con sum ing c uriosity if possibl e .

N ot a matter of regret for his wife .

Peopl e do —
say b ut no , ,
I wont dis tres s
 E UNICE . 22 7

y ou with idl e gossip we men of the worl d

know how much importance is to be
attached to it . B ut , as I al ways tel l them ,

they do not know the true his tory of the

aff air . Any one co ul d see it wa s one of

tho s e marriage s o f convenience which

al ways turn o ut the mo s t inconvenient .

O bl ige me b y saying no more on a

”
s ubj ect y ou cannot possibl y u nderstand ,

s aid Harol d haughtil y and das hing into

, ,

his bedroom adj o ining . To have his

dearest most secret feelings probed thus
,

’
by s ociety s gaudy ,
u nthinking b utterfly ,

was unb earabl e .

Poor d evil ! he l oves her still ! anothe r

—
victim another coup m anque s ol il oqui z e d '

Mo styn adj u sting his hat to the hundredth

,

part o f an inch and drawing , on careful l y

his tight -
fitting primrose gl oves . This
is a severe cas e . Mine is good advice
travel is the thing ; Greece is an inval uabl e
15 — 2
2 28 E UNICE .

specific ; the banditti are co un t er irritants -

.

I must toddl e to my Lady V ersc hoy l e ,

and
tel l her that I ha v e fail ed to s e cure the ‘

newest l ion for her At Home to night ’

-
.

This l ittl e animal positivel y refus es to roar

at command . H ow his eyes gl eamed when
I spoke o f Mrs Harnage !
. I tho ught I
shoul d be bol ted on the spot . A romance
in re al l ife ! Sh
abby conduct of Mas ter
Ral ph
’
s — s uch an immac ul ate nicel y spoken -
,

gentl eman as he was ; gave good dinners ,

too ; and what wine s ! We have had the

”
l as tof them .

The retrospect wa s t oo painful and Mr , .

Mo styn departed not in peace with his kind .

No good can come of it he m ut

!
,

t ered , with a mixture of mel anchol y and

spite . I sho ul d advise our young friend s ’

cl osing his wonderful vicissi tudes by the

—
R oman virtue s uicide . It i s a graceful
en ding .
 E UNICE . 2 29

Society woul d no t have approved of this

extinction that capriciou s dame having
,

wel comed Harol d with extended arm s .

Al l doors flew open to this interesting man ,

whose adventures had given him a flavour

of romance ! to s ay nothing of hi s l iterary
triumphs ) in addition to the s ub tl e aroma
,

furnished by Miser H money b ags

’
arnage s .

It is fatal to be yo ung rich singl e an d, , ,

a genius Panderers gather aro und anxious

.
,

to devote themsel ves to his pl easures ,

and

to the r uin of his s o ul . B ut Harol d po s

s e ss ed safegu ards that sprang directl y from
his misfor tunes . No man co ul d come ou t

of such a trial the s ame in dispo s ition and

character . Distrus t o f al l mankind wa s in
his mind ; his inborn l ovingnes s remained ,

b ut it no l onger l eaped forth spontaneo usl y

it was cr usted with a col d re s erve l ittl e

l ikel y to be penetrated by the summer

friends who crowded ab o ut him . Deceit and
2 30 E UNICE .

frivol ity seemed to surround him ; he ceas ed

to believe in himsel f ,
for he had ceased to
bel ieve in E unice ,
his better dearer sel f ,

The worl d o f imagination had become a

bl ank his days a wearisome routine passed
, ,

in l istl es sness or in fal se excitement that

brought no re al enj oyment . It ceased to
be a satisfaction t o him that he had heaped
’

h u mil iation on his

he tol d him s el f
enemy
often that he cared for nothing—not
for her . If he coul d o nl y forget He mus t
—he w oul df g or et !

His restl essnes s and inactivity in purs uit

o f this praiseworthy end were sur rrsm
p g .

He was here ,
there ,
and e v erywhere .

’
Society at its wit s end did
, ,
not know
w here to have him ,
b ut perpetual l y
s tu mbl ed u pon him when l east expected .

He was general l y at ful l —

speed riding ,

driving ,
or w al king ; rapid l ocomotion ap

p eared his craz e . Society voted his eccen

t ricities charming forgave ,

his frequ ent
 22I

b rus que refus al s to its pet ent ert aim nent s

was equal l y read y to appl aud his mad

gai ety of one day ,
or admire his gl oomy
is ol ation of the next . A weal thy ! the
primary qualifi cation sho ul d be s tated first )
— good l ooking man po s se s sed of a s ubtl e
-
,

personal magnetism and to whom a story ,

a ttached was a choice morsel that even

,

s ated s ociety was inclined to val ue .

Harol d tried sincerel y to do the right

thing more for
,
E unice
’
s sake than virtue s ’
.

He co ul d not endure the tho ught that he

who intended to be her gu ardian angel
t hrough l ife sho ul d prove a rock of o ffence
—a s tumbl ing b l ock in her gentl e path
-
;

that peopl e shoul d tal k about her and ,

take her good name in vain— rather he

woul d vow never to see her again . He
l acked the co urage for this extreme mea
su re b ut he pu t a restraint upon him sel f ,

and went more and more rarel y to E aton

S quare . A nd to a certai n extent this sel f ,

23 2 E UNICE .

dis cip l ine was s uccessful he threw him s el f

into s ociety he l ooked after
,
his property ,

took frequ ent j ourneys to Che s ney ,

and
al together betrayed an aptitude for manag
ing his ow n affairs which was dis tressing

to his l awyer and steward and he began

to write an account o f his experiences
amo ng savage l ife .

Men can defy and trampl e on s orrows ,

they have aims and hope s o ut side the

home ‘

l ife ,
which ro und the angul ar l ines

of their l ot man must sweat toil endure , , ,

and overcome whil e it ,

is l eft for women to
drain the cu
p f o s uffering to the dregs ,
to
wear ou t their hearts in forl orn l ongings
there shoul d be more women in heaven ;
their p unishm ent mo stl y comes sharp and
ful l on earth .

A sense that she deserved her trou bl e

m ade E unice endure it meekl y ,
b ut her

ri f w as none the l e ss resis tl e ss that she

g e
 E UNICE . 2 33

bore it cal ml y . The mystery of l ife o

p
pressed her ,
and others better and wiser
than E unice have been tempted to think
its b urthens heavy and its fates u nequ al .

She l o nged w ith a sinful weak l onging to

see him ,
and wa s wil dl y anx io us to m ake
hersel f l ook fair . A nd her poor effort s
made she chafed because he did not com e
,
.

With a woman s unreaso n where her affec

’

tio ns are co ncerned she did ,

not recognise
that ,
in refraining from visiting her he ,

gave the stro ngest proof of his tru e deep ,

l ove . A nd when t hey did meet they tried

,

in vain t o find safe topics the one tho ught

u ppermost in the mind of each wo ul d start
up at every turn in the co nversation l ike a
ghost to scare them into sil ence . Scarcel y
a s entence coul d be said that did not

somehow recal the pas t and trench on

things forbidden .
 C H A PT E R XX .

H ad w e ne evrl ov
’
d sae kindl y ,

H ad w e n ver l
e ov
’
d sae b l i ndl y ,

v r m t r ne r par t d
Ne e e ,
o ve e ,

W ha d ne r b n b r k en h ear ted
e
’
e ee o .

OL D S ON G .

O M E days after M osty n s visit ’

Harol d paid one o f his rare c al l s

in E aton Square . He s tarted as
E unice came into the drawing room she -
,

had su ch a fragil e tr ansparent l oo k— bl u e

c ircl es round her eyes s trongl y marked ,

and a curious far -

Off expression as th ough ,

!
she were gaz ing with the eye s of her soul
after vanished happiness striving to recover ,

tracks of the fugitive that coul d never

retur n for her in this worl d . They began
several s ubj ects ; b ut: es say what they
 E UNICE . 23 5

woul d it proved a convers ational pitfal l

, ,

and he s oon rose to l eave .

Why do y ou wear this s till said he ,

tou ching her sl eeve . I have seen y ou in

nothing b ut bl ack . Pardon —

me I forget
it is for yo ur brother .

No ,
s aid E unice , her lips quivering ,

I wear it fo r my l o s t happine ss .

Y ou l ook pal e — have y ou been out

to -
day he asked with an abrupt change
,

o f tone .

No .

”
When did y ou go ou t l ast 7

I don t ’
remember— some days
s he answered vagu el y ,
.

Y ou shoul d drive every day the

”
weather is l ovel y . Good bye -
.

She gave him her hand .

A nd y ou wil l not come again for ever

so l ong . Why are y ou so c ol d and for

m al she whispered .
2 36 E UNICE .

What do y ou mean
Do not be s o hard u pon me ,
said she ,

piteousl y .

I do not wish to be hard — we have

become s trangers — ou to me and I to
y ,

1)
ou
y .

!
Yes strangers , ,
she repeated despair ,

”
ingl y ; quite strangers s ince , y ou say so .

Like a true l over he tho ught her yet ,

m ore l ovel y her head bent in grief l ike a , ,

l il y surcharged with raindrops . He had

forced him sel f to be col d ,
and now in a
revul sion of feel ing thought that he had
been .
hard — stern dutie s need not speak
sternl y .

'

C om e ou t for a wal k in the Park with

me ,
E unice : it is not far and , y ou want
air . Get on yo ur bonnet at once ,
l ik e a
good girl .

She b rightened and obeyed with a smil e

that bl inded him to every other cons id era
 E UNICE . 23 7

tio n
,
un til her ret urn in the daintiest l i ttl e
grey bo nnet into which Mam sel l e B l anche
,
’

had hastil y insinuated a red rose at her

s uggestion ! he did
m is tress
’
not seem to

approve her mourning ) .

He ofl ered hi s arm and they wal ked to

,

the Park entering it at

,
Al bert Gate ,
and
”
passing down the M il e ,
where a few car
riages o nl y straggl ed ,
for it was not yet
fashion
’
s ho ur . They tal ked b ut l ittl e ;

s ome un meaning remarks on the day the ,

pass ers by ; e ach feared to dis t urb me

mories o f the pa s t that were hidden for the

moment in the enchanted haz e of the

present ; word s were un necessary beyond ,

and beside the twofo l d consciousnes s that

they were al one and together .

They roamed into K ensington G ardens ,

’
down near the keeper s cottage and dul y ,

ad m i red his floral triumph The beech and

chestnut tree s fl e sh in their yo ung l eaves
238 E UNICE .

and feathery pink bl ossoms made a canopy ,

through which gorgeou s orange and p urpl e

cl ouds peeped their gl ories in the setting
sun ,
pre disposing to deliciou s reveries .

the
’
They were not ten minu te s wal k from
centre of London dissipation ,
and yet it
woul d be difficul t for two peop l e to be mo re
real l y al one .

It was v ery pl easant on the fine May day-

to be wal king w ith E unice in this quiet

s pot— so pl easant that Harol d began a
s el f inquisition
-
. Why was he here ?

what woul d come of it —why had he

all owe d her to be entrapped into a fal s e

”
position ? He s aw the face s o near his

sho ul der— the wistful eyes that met his

ow n, and he spoke accusingl y Why do

y ou l ook at me , E unice

Do I 2 1 021 11101 2hel p 11 .

B ut y ou must not it i s not right ,

he

s aid harshl y
,
.
 E UNICE . 23 9

N0 ? s aid she ,
inquiringl y and ,
her
eyes st ill l ifted to his face .

”
No it tempts me in a short sharp
!
, ,

voice as hal f in pain .

Her eye s were downcas t now and fill ed

with tears and a painful red b ur ned over
,

Is it that y ou are s o fond o f me ,

E unice s til l gaz ing at her as if fas cinated ,

agains t his will .

”
Yes ,
said she simp l y and
, ,
not rais ing
her eyes .

!
My Em iice— yes m ine said he in
,

so ft est tenderest tones

,
Yes l ook at .
,

—
me for y ou are mine and I am yo urs , .
”

The gardens w ere d esert ed save , for a

distant nursem aid and her charges ,
w ho
do ubtl e s s reaped the am usement general l y
furnished by a pair of l overs .

Harol d stopped and ,

framing her face in
both his hands gaz ed l ong at her with a ,
2 40 E UN]CE .

yearning al most pain uf

l to —
see a yearning
that wo ul d not be qu enched in the know
l e d ge of the barrier between them . She
s eemed draw n and enfol ded in that ful l
gl ance Then bending sl owl y he l aid
. his
l ips on hers with a l o ng kiss .

They wal ked un steadil y on . NO word

did they say : he l ooked straight before
him ; the chaos that reig ned in his heart
and mind woul d not al l ow of orderl y words .

They neared the entrance o f the gardens at

the head of the Serpentine and smart ,

carriage s rol l ed frequ entl y by ; the sight

recall ed to Haro l d the worl d and the
worl d s opinion which he s o greatl y dreaded
’

fo r her . He had been weak wrong , , and

he wo ul d never again b e drawn into

temptation ; he wo ul d watch over her w el

fare , b ut it must be from a distance .

”
!
Eunice, forgive me ,
said he in the ,

sl ow s erious voice of decisio n . I ask

 E UNICE . 24 1

yo ur forgiveness for I have behaved ,

un

pardonabl y to y ou . It has onl y taught me

—
what I knew before m y ow n weak nes s in
al l that concerns y ou . We must not meet
any more .

”
N ever 7 . s aid Eunice incredul ous of her
,

N ever is a l ong day ,

said he sadl y , ,

b ut I think we had better consider it

never at present . It is best we sho ul d not
see each —
other I m istru st mysel f .
”

E unice s heart died within her ; she fel t

’

as if she a warm s entient creat ure were

, ,

entering her tomb b ut she had no tho ught

of combating his resol ve virt ues and the ,

ideas and words that s ignify them s ubdue ,

more invincibl y th an battl e axes -

.

”
Y ou are right Harol d , ,
s aid she ,

firml y, her yo ung face ful l of tragic earnes t

ne ss .

A baro uche with yel l ow wheel s and b rown

V OL . 111. 16
242 E UNICE .

l iveries ,
with high -
stepping b l ack horses ,

came dashing al ong .

erschoy l es
’
There is the V carriag e !
s aid Harol d hastil y . Good bye
- —I will
,

l eave y ou ; y ou can easil y find your way

home from —
here G O that way .
”

She turned o ff at his bidding ,

and wal ked
hurrie l in the direction he pointed o ut ,

pu tting down her veil to hide the scal ding

tears of h um il iation and dismay : to her
inexperience his condu ct was s trained and
un reasonab l e She stru ck off across a
q ui et footpath away from the drive and ,

gl ancing back saw the V erscho l

’

, y es

carriage was stationary and that Harol d ,

l eaned into it tal king to two l adies .

 C H A PT E R XXI .

Say , w ha r
t emai ns w h en h o pe is fl ed ?

She answ er ed ,
Endl ess w eepi ng

he coul d onl y forget — a beaker

of the w at ers of Lethe m ust be

'

swal l owed — at any co s t he

w o ul d master the l es son of obl ivion that
is wont to come so easil y to the worl d s ’
.

—
tenants the l e ss on that every l aw o f the
uni verse demonstrates u ntiringl y ; l ight

s ucceeds to darkne s s ; winter to s ummer ;

the s torm exhaus ts its vehemence ,

and se
renity again reign s . And Harol d re s ol ved
that joy sho ul d yet rep l ace and bl ot out
his sorrow Ral ph s s uggestion was like
’
.

an evil spirit that s o ught to ne stl e in his

s o ul ; b ut he woul d not be l ured into

16— 2
244 E UNI CE .

hi
"

wrong ; ne v er by s means shoul d the

an gel who l oved him become one of
Passion s l ost daughters
’
.

If he coul d onl y forget ! Cl e arl y his

best hope was t o find a new —

obj ect if he
married it wo ul d be a safeguard for them
both ; it wo ul d s il ence go s sip ,
and enabl e
him to be a true val uabl e fl iend to her .

The s e stro ng incentives before him Harol d ,

went everywhere — except to E ato n Square ,

and onl y the shade of s tern sorrow that

s ettl ed on his face tol d what t hat exception
cos t him ; and he honestl y did his bes t to
second the exertions of more than one

aspiring bell e . B ut he found that his taste

had grown critical ; even where his eye
acknowl edged beauty no ,
fire was kindl ed
in his heart . U nhappil y his nature was
constant and habit
,
of tho ught had made
—
Eunice a part of his life of hi s rel igion .

After a time he gave up the proj ect of

 E UNICE '
. 24
5

provi ding her a rival ,

b ut not before his

name had been co upl ed with Mis s Leigh

had
’
Warne s ,
and a paragraph fo u nd its
way into the P ost .

E unice meanwhil e did not fare wel l .

Some nat ures do best in prosperity ; others

never show so brightl y as in gl oomy days .

Eu nice —
was a fair weather flower ; like a
sens itive pl ant she shrunk up, withered
under the chil l ing bl as t that m ight have
invigorated a more rob ust character . A

continual fever of shame and sel f reproach -

was ted her ; what hath been and ne v er

more can be w as pres ent with her al ways ,

poisoning her l ife w ith regrets . She

regarded everything connected with her
marriage remotel y
,
or otherwis e with a
,

hel pl e s s sh uddering dis gus t ; and it w as

her ow n handiw ork ! In this was her

greates t suffering that her ,
ow n act had

iveted her l ife s misery And the s hame

’
r .
246 E UN JC E .

was on her that he woul d not come to see

her because he mi strusted her he tho ught ,

her foolishl y wickedl y fond If anything

,
.

co ul d have c ured her it woul d h ave been ,

this humiliating conviction ; b ut it onl y

hel ped to weigh her to the earth — to mak e
her real i z e that her whol e being had been
crushed o ut in this one l ove .

A s t ime went on, she fel t shame ,

t o o, of

her equivocal position b efore the servants ,

w ho were however the quintes s ence

, ,
of

respect .
! Haro l d had managed to intim ate
that it was desirabl e to show her al l con

s ideration ) She went through the routine

.

of existence : eat ,
drank ,
and put her

raiment on . C ertainl y s e h did not sl eep

m u ch — the nights were worse than the
days . Lu ncheon w as the great trial ; she
had no appetite for the fine meal that was
dail y provide d and s crupul ous l y served ;

the l arge room struck a chil l as she entered

 E UM C E . 24 7

it feel ing a prisoner to the

,
servants — the
b utl er and footman who were in attendance ,

and w ho ob s erved her u ntil she fel t a

mouthful wo ul d choke her . Breakfast and
tea were comparativel y peaceful ,
for she
partook of them —
in so it ud e l ate dinner
l

she had earl y dis carded a s an u nnecess ary

ceremony .

The whol e staff of servant s were kept as

s al the o nl y
u u ,
one dismis sed b eing Mr .

H arnage
’
s ow n man . The respectabl e
housekeeper continued to d ischarge her

functions ,
and E unice was troubl ed by no
bil l s . O f course she knew who was
l ooking after her and ,
in a way it pl eas ed
her to be dependent upon him , tho ugh had
he given her bread and water she woul d ,

have been equal l y satis fied as l ong as it

came fl om him .

Personal news of any dear friend— one

in whom we are special l y intere sted ,
is
248 E UN]CE .

pretty sure to fil ter itsway quickl y to our

eager ears and Eunice In the sol itude of
,

her big ho use was no t l ong ignorant of the

rumour that Harol d was engag ed to Miss
Leigh Warne . He had not c al l ed s ince
their one wal k —this then was the reas on .

He o d
w ul no t even tel l her ,
b ut l eft her to

hear what concerned him so nearl y fl om

the indifferent .

Oh ! what shal l I do — where shal l I

”
go -
how end my wretched days ? she
asked hersel f ,
d espairingl y . Her l ove

dreams were cl osed her , life

’
s brief s tory
ended al l memories bel o nging to her were
swept u tterl y away into the chambers of

the past . A n unsel fi sh woman woul d wish

it ; she ought to rej oice . The past is
dead and gone for ever ,
she repeated
wearil y again and again . O h ! woul d
”
that I too, ,
m ight die !

She wanted to b e at re s t—away fl om

 E UNICE . 24 9

this ne v er ending mis ery

-
she was of no

u se in the worl d o nl y a drag upon Haro l d

,
.

To hope for a div iner l ife beyond the grave

is the boon granted to poor h umanity ,
and

the very darkne s s that hide s from us

the charm s of earth b eneficentl y displ ays

to ou r u pward gaz e the gl ory of the
heavens .

E unice gave orders she was at home to

no one she might have sp ared the troubl e

few cal l ed . It is diflicul t to imagine
any y m
or
g creature more friendl ess ,
w ho ,

yet in t he worl d was more cruel l y shut

,
of
f

fl om its sympathies . If the earth had

opened and swall owed him u
p ,
Ral ph
Harnage coul d not have dis appeared more
compl etel y from her life ; weeks months
,

went by ,
b ut he gave no sign of his ex is

tence . A co untry ir
g , l j ust introd uced
’
H
’
to s ome o f Mr . arnage s set , Eunice s
—
acquaintance s were few fliend s she had
 E UN Z C E .

no ne !
A nd she had not written of her
t ro ub l es t o Grantl ey it coul d do no good
t he idea her other s fal s e
’
of st e rri com
p
mi seration was abhorrent and her father ,

in his hopel essl y imbecil e s tate coul d no

l onger give or take comfort .

Midsummer had deepened into the hot

test editio n o f the d o

g
-
days ever known in
E ngl and ,
and Eunice fa ded gradual l y .

London wa s emptying fast beneath the

thinning influence of a s corching J ul y ,

and

Harol d thought he woul d g o away try the

,

air o f the E ngadine ,

which he u nderstood
wa s so braci ng that it woul d be impo s sibl e
to feel l ow -spirited . He mus t say good
bye to Eunice it was his duty to s ee that
she was wel l before he l eft E ngl and ; he
woul d a s certain her pl ans whether she ,
in

t ended to visit her father : and above

,
al l ,

there l urked in the backgroun d of his

’
mind that he woul d offer her hus ban d s
,
 E UNICE . : 5 1

return . He coul d not b ring himsel f to fac e

the idea bol dl y ; he tried vainl y to remem
her that it is divine to forgive inj uries ,

that we shoul d l ove the man even in the

m urderer ; vengeance stil l b urned within

him an u nsl aked thirs t nor co ul d he th ink
it wo ul d be for her happiness to re unit e
her to s uch a m an .

He went at noon wishing to make s ure

,

of finding her at home . He l ittl e knew

that she never went o ut , t hat the carriage
and horses s til l at her disposal had a sine
cure appointment the coachman who ,
had

come to regard the call ing for orders as a

mere empty form from which nothing re

su l t ed , having studiousl y kept his ex

’

periences in his own breast .

As Harol d rang the hel l , he thought Of

'

the sweet s m il e she al ways wore for him .

He s carcel y knew whether he mo s t hated

or l onged to see her which he coul d nev er
,
2
5 2

do wit hout a gnawing regret fo r the good

for ever l ost He was un expected and ,

fou nd her with e vident traces of tears . He

had not seen her for sev eral weeks and the
,

change in her appearance struck him for

cib l
y as she rose to greet him ,
her principal
c are to hide that she had been crying .

!
E unice — ou are ill —I am sure o f
y
it ,
he excl aimed retaining her hand in
,
his

anx iety .

N o no ; it is nothing
!
,
—
I am quite .

well she stam mered ,

I have not s een
‘

.
!

o u for so l ong ou have forgotten what I

y y ,

am like The change had come so

.
”

graduall y that she had no notion how ,

m uch she was al tered .

B ut y ou know why I have stayed

!

away E unice said he in his gentl est

, ,

voice an indes cribabl e pity softening his

,

dark face .

O h ! yes I know ; or I can guess

!
, ,
 E UNICE . 2
53

which is nearl y the same thing . Y ou hav e

come to tel l me the news . I am to con ra
g
”
tul ate y ou

Real l y — ou what
Yo ur engagement to Mis s Warne .

Y ou m ust m ak e a better gu ess ,

E unice

that one is wide of the mark . I heard

yesterday Miss Warne is to be the new
C o unte s s o f C l evedon . Money is a sun

casting shadows in which men s rep utations ’

are greatl y magnifi ed ; b ut y ou rate my

—
performances t oo high I cannot compete
with my Lord C l evedon .

And y ou are not — —

s orry not disap
”
point ed ? she hesitated s carcel y knowing
,

what to make of his manner .

a jot ; she has not ev en l eft me

N ot

the l uxury of a grievance I never had any .

pretensions ; it is the merest babbl e of

go s sip mongers
-
. B ut l et us tal k Of yo ur
”
se lf Why do y ou l ook so il l ?
2
54 E UN ICE .

Do I ? it must be the hot weather ;

London is rather trying .

Yes town is unbearabl e I am going .

a way and I want

, y ou to go to Grantl ey
”

g o home for a time .

”
N O, said she hastil y , ,
I cannot g
o

—
there I wil l never go there again .
”

Then what do y ou s ay to E a stbo urne

”
or Hastings ? said he ,
finding excuse for

her apparent want of natural aff ection in

the tho ught that Grantl ey woul d be painful

from its past happy memorie s . Do go ,

to pl ease me . Your friend, Mrs Grey I .

,

d aresay ,
co ul d accompany y ou .

Yes ,
perhap s she might ,
ass ented
Eunice indiflerentl y b ut I wo ul d rather
’

”
stay here I l ike it best
. .

A wi l ful woman Eunice ,

. B ut y ou

m u st at l east take more care o f yo urs elf .

Wo ul d y ou — l ike — me to —
s end for him
”
for Ral ph ? he continu ed after a paus e ,
.
 E UN]CE . 25 5

H is anxiety increased as he st udied her

l ooks .
!
I wil l do even that to pl ease
3)
ou
y .

N ot for the worl d it woul d kil l me to

s ee him again she excl aimed vehementl y ,

and turning deadl y p al e . I am so s ill y .

Y ou gave me a fright ; b ut ,
pl eas e never ,

mention it again .

”
V ery wel l ,
sai d he s oothingl y
, . B ut

if y ou wil l l o ok so ill y ou mus t have a

”
doctor .

no t ill
’
!
I am . Don t think of me . I
am a troubl e to y ou , to every one . I wish
I coul d hel p it — that I co ul d hel p mysel f ,

her dej ected tone s speaking her inward

wretchedness .

Y ou are never a troubl e to me ,

Eunice .

If I coul d o nl y s ee y ou bright and j oyous

ag ain I wo ul d con s ent to eternal e strange
,

”
ment .

Where do y ou mean t o go she asked ,

25 6 E UN JCE .

as he sat l ooking at her witho ut attempting

further conversation .

—
To to Chesney suddenl y
, s aid he ,

substituting his country hous e for the more - .

ambitiou s to ur abroad I have matters

there that require attention . I have been
busy getting my new book ready or I ,

s houl d have s een y ou before .

”
Will it be o ut soon ?

Al most immediatel y .

It i s s ure to be a succes s yo ur name

”
is made ,
said she confidentl y
, .

I daresay . As Sterne says o f the

decayed nobl eman tru e merit in my case
,

mus t be al l owed to have fought up again s t

its condition with great firm ness I l ike
’
.

to write he continu ed dreamil y ; it is

, ,

i —
good to have s ometh ng to do it prevents

Ye s ; that is where men are s o much

more fortunate than women . I have no
 E UN]CE . 25 7

thing to do . If I had my l iving to earn it

”
wo ul d be bet ter fo r me .

Y ou do not l ook very fit for hard work .

What wo ul d be best for y ou j ust now is a

l itt l e co untry air . I cannot go away unl es s
”
y ou will promise me to go to the s ea .

Perhaps y ou are right ; and indeed I

”
w il l go, s aid Eunice seeing his earnestnes s
,
.

”
C an I do anything in engaging rooms ?

”
O h no Mrs Grey wil l arrange that . .

A nd y ou wil l send for me if y ou want

yt hing s aid he stil l dist urbed about
,

her heal th .

Yes ,
s aid she mechanicall y
,
.

A nd then he went .

A whirl o f phy s ical exertion w as hi s o nl y

chance to drive away the pal e careworn ,

face that haunted him . He threw himsel f

into a han s om and drove straight to the
rail way resting not
,
till he fo und himsel f at
Chesney .

V OL . III .
 C H A PT E R XXII .

Th ugh th m i ll f G d grind l wl y y et they gri nd

o e s o o s o ,

e c x d ing mal l ;
ee s

T h u gh w i th pa ti nc e H
o ta nd w ai ti ng w i th e ac t
e e s s
,
x

n gri nd H al l —L ON G FEL L OW
ess s e . .

H E heat became more intense

s uch a hot s ummer had not been
know n to V is it o ur northern clime
w ithin the memory o f man . There seemed
to be no principl e of life in the suffocating
air which swept heavil y over the dusty
roads and pavement l ike a bl as t from a
furnace not a drop of rain had gl addened
weary Londoners for several weeks . One

s aw dust breathed dust l ooked du st

, , ,
u ntil
one fel t persuaded that London might com

pete with Sahara for du ty horrors s it wa s

so importunate in its dis comforts that it
b ecame engro ssing and the ,
m ind coul d onl y
 E UNICE . 25 9

dwel l on this infinit es imal misery which

was so great .

E unice from the window regarded wit h

mo urnful eyes the cl osed —

shutters s ome
e ncas ed —
in caref ul newspapers of her ah

sent neighbo urs . The d rawi ng -

ro om w as

cl ose and hot a s an oven with the fire j ust

withdraw n and she went , out , fancying she
s ho ul d gasp more freel y in the Square
garde n . B ut it w as a choice between stay
ing indoors to be s uffocated ,
or going out to
be activel y broil ed . All was ins ufferabl y
—
bright no sh ad e s hru bs and rass and
; g
flowers ,
al i ke dried up and arid had ass umed ,

a sab l e in pl ace of green hue ,

every bit o f

sweetness they once possessed choked u

p
in a smel l o f concentrated bl acks .

E unice l eft the s qu are wal ked do w n ,

A rabel l a R ow thro ugh St James s Park ’

. .
, ,

into P al l M al l The streets were a bl ank

e xcept for the cabmen who ,
weak b ut in

17— 2
2 60 E UNICE .

trepid s ad b ut unsubd ued still dared the

, ,

imminent sunstroke in the hope of getting

a fare . C arriages no l onger rol l ed the
ir
fashionabl e occupants on their various
.

errands ; the b usiness m an and thrifty

trade sman had al ike l oosed their chains
from this huge Babyl on the b usy mocking
spirits that give it l ife had fled to verdant
past ures — to the cool big sea forgetting ,

their crafty handiwork in an innocent d al

l ying with shell s and sparkl ing wave s .

It made E unice thirsty to think of the

sea a s she dragged her heavy l ang uid step s
-
she pictured s weet ,
refreshing syl van
scenes ,
u ntil she l onged for a sight o f the
country ,
for gl istening cool waters and the
shade of deep woods .

A t l ast she reached her destination .

The hosp ital was very quiet it was not an

’
ordinary visitors day and o nl y a medical
,

man or s ome hab itué of the pl ace intent on

,
 E UNICE . 26 1

good works moved sil entl y in and , o ut of

"
the l arge port al . E unice had Often vis ited
the women s side b ut al ways shirked the
’

men s wards ’
she co ul d not bear to s ee the
gaunt unshaven face s o f the stricken bread
winners and she foll owed a S is ter hurriedl y
,

pas t the l ong l ine of bed s .

Y ou received my l etter Mrs Harnage, .

”
Ye s .

I am gl ad y ou have come ,
said S is ter
Prudentia . Yo ung Robinson is so anx ious
to see and to thank y ou for yo ur kin dness ,

that I bel ieve it wo ul d affe ct his conv al es

”
cence if he were disappointed
And will he be abl e to work again ?

He is going to o ur pl ace in the co untry

to morrow
-
for a fortnight ,
and the doctors
pro m is e that he will return a perfectl y
”
sound man .

How gl ad
!
his wi fe and chil dren w il l

”
be I knew them wel l at Grantl ey .
2 62 E UIV I C E .

A dul l holl ow sound — coul d it be an

echo of her ol d name that she heard ? It
m ust be fancy . Her head was downcast ,

and a veil spite ,

o f the heat hid the sweet ,

—
face how u nl ik el y that she shoul d be

recognised .

E unice ! Miss Grantl ey ! moaned a

v oice from a b ed near .

She turned and ga z ed ,

for a moment
i ncredul o us o f her eyes . Was that wreck
of a m an, with the dews of pain on his

brow ,
and skin hanging l oosel y on the

fl eshl ess cheek s with dul l eyes and flaccid

,

m uscl es ,
and l arge gau nt hands cl utching at
the bedcl othes — Morel l Pyke
She went up to him .

”
Y ou know me ? he asked .

She l ooked sadl y at him as her l ip s

'

formed an affirm ative .

”
I am dying ! he s aid in a broken ,

’
v oice ; !
d ying a d og s d eath in th is d og s ’
 E UN JCE . 2 63

h o l e— dying o f that terribl e d isease that ,

spreading ,
gnawing ,
devo uring agony ,

cancer . C ome nearer ! Y ou are the first

ol d friend I have seen here . Y ou wonde r

to find me th us . B ut I was determined to
c ome home . What a com ing home — and
what a death after what a l ife ,
—to die by
”
bits of inches ! He panted o ut the words
in short sentences a s ,
his wasted l imb s

moved restl essl y .

C annot I do something for y ou ?

said E unice ,
gentl y . Have y ou no
”
friend s ?

said he al most fierce l y

"
N ot I
!
one ,
.

N ot one of those in s ects who fluttered in

the s uns hine of my weal th wo ul d come
near me now Serves me . ight
r — s erves me
right he repeated wearil y ,
. I have l ived
fo r the worl d and I hav e ,
ot
g my wage s .

I ot —
into troubl e o v er there the worst
g
mess I w as ev er in and
— I was fix ed to
2 64 E UN Z C E .

l eave that infernal country I hadn t a ’

.

”
s tiver and I worked my way over
,
. He
pl ucked continual l y at the bedcl othes as if ,

he found it impossibl e to keep quiet .

!
It
has done my b usines s — finished me . B ut

s erve me right the end —come — w il l —

s oon —”
and he l ay back exhausted on the
pil l ow .

Do not tal k ; it excites y ou ; y ou may

get be tter .

— —
N ever never I do —
not wi sh it .

—
Life is He l apsed into a sem i uncon
-

i
sc ousness, paral ysed by pain .

Eu nice was shocked at his p al pabl e

agonie s .

A hopel e ss cas e ,
whispered the S ister ;
it can b e onl y a matter o f days .

E unice visited Pyke again and again ;

it pl eased him to see her and she coul d ,

not refus e to s oothe one who suffered s o

 E UNICE . 265

terribl y . His comp l aint made rapid strides ,

and death seemed e v er at hand ,

and yet
del ayed to make the final step It woul d .

seem as if G od in His wisdom gives men

some foretastes Of punishment in these
‘

dreadful diseases that they may be al iv e

,

to its terrors and repent whil e there is yet

time .

E unice tol d hers el f that she wa s gl ad

Harol d had gone away ; b ut as the days
passed and not even a l ine came from him ,

she fretted and cried more unr estrainedl y

than ever and she began
,
to feel ill . Her
sol itary l ife interrupted onl y by
,
V is its t o

the hospital tended to depres s her vital

,

energies . There is no tyrant like habit or ,

one who more s el dom rel axes his power once

e stabl ished ; and E unice had thoro ughl y
contracted the habit o f being un happy .

The j e al o usy that had torn her d uring the

l ast two month s had been s et at rest by
2 66 E UN ICE .

H arol d s ass urance that she had no rival

’

yet her spirits did not recover their el as

t icity . She moved about in a nightmare ;

she no l onger seemed to be hersel f ; the

E unice she knew was gone and in ,
her

pl ace had come a shadow a wretched ,

bl ighted thing whose ca s e was beyond

,
al l

remedy .

She had meant to keep her promise and

go into the country ,
b ut Pyke impl ored
the charity of her presence and Mrs Grey .

ha d been cal l ed to attend a sick rel ative ,

and E unice l acked the co urage to l eav e

home al one ; so she stayed on and on in

London and soon she was too
,
ill to dream
of taking j o urneys . A great restl e ss nes s
came u pon her ,
and she wandered inces

santl over the l arge hou se u p stairs and

y ,

down as if seeking rest

, ,
b u t finding none
in the hot gl aring roo m s where the per
p et ual sunshine mocked her a ttempt s to
 E UNICE . 267

find darkness . A nd in the short nights ,

she tossed vainl y from side to side cal ling

,

on sl eep to return and give her bl es s ed for

etful ness
g .
 C H A PT E R XXIII .

Al one —t ha t w orn o ut w or d -
,

SO i d l y sp ok en and so c o l d l y
,
h ar d ; e

Y t al l tha t p t i ng and gri f ha th k now n

e oe s s
,
e ,

O f h p e l ai d w a te k n ll s in tha t w r d — Al ne !
o s s ,
e o o

B ULWER L YTT ON .

N the most favo ured corner of

the l ake country amid l ovel ines s ,

that baffles description ,

u pon
smooth shaven ground b uried in trees and
-
,

facing the bl u e l ake , stood the s uperb

ho use R al ph Harnage had p urchased in the

pride of his weal th .

Harol d s umm oned ompanions around

c

him ,
hoping in their gay converse to banis h
the pal e face that haunted him . Then
with thinl y veil ed excus es he as abru ptl y ,

dismiss ed them fiin the j oys and rel axa

fl
 E UNICE . 269

tions of C hes ney ; he wanted to be quiet ,

to think of her— when did he not think of

her ?
And now he had his wish . In the cl os
’
ing of the s ummer s day he wal ked al one
un der the shadow of the s tatel y trees
magnificent timber oaks that might b uil d
,

a navy . A nd he l ooked up at the hand

so me mansio n and down on the green val es
and sweeping woods ,
b ut they bro ught no .

pl eas ure for his hearth w as col d and empty

, ,

and his heart was fil l ed with t he im age of

o ne whom it was sin t o l ove . A nd Harol d

”
groaned ,
Why did I ever l eave her ?

This inheritance ,
for which her peopl e sol d
—
her into a bondage worse than death how
he hated it ! A tithe a twentieth part
,

given with an open hand before he went

to I ndia wo ul d have saved them both they
,

wo ul d never have been s eparated . The

m is er s gol d intended to ins ure their hap
’

,
2
70 E UrV I C E .

piness, had brought a c urse in s tead o f a

bl essing— had proved a direct agent in th eir
u ndoing .

Loaded with riches ,

his capacity to enj oy
t hem was gone . His l ast book had had an

immediate and extraordinary s uccess ; the

fame he wo ul d fiv e years ago h ave given
worl ds to secure was in ,
his grasp b ut the
eagerl y des ired flowe r tho ugh ,
in its first

bl oom ,
w as for him ahead y withered and
worthl ess as a dead l eaf . This mockery of

a spirations real iz ed o nl y fil l ed him with a

keener sense of desol ation his destiny was
accompl ished and yet unful fil l ed . H ow far
it had fall en short of his earl y imaginings
Sil ence and l onel iness have a power of

s ummoning the trackl ess phantom s of buried

thoughts . He d id not k now how it was ,

b ut this evening there came a res urrection

of things and time s for ever past and gone .

He saw E unice hal f chil d hal f woma n

-
,
-
,
 E UIVI C E . 2 71

s portive and merry and l oving —ah ! how

l oving to him ,
who had bro ught her no

thing b ut tro ubl e and m isery . A phantas

m agoria of his past l ife was co nj ured up in

the gl oaming m ade visi bl e by the magic of

a memory that wo ul d no t die some flashed

u po n him lik e fierce spirits and seemed to
,

gl are and threaten ; others more gentl e , ,

smil ed pitiful l y ; and no w a famil iar fo rm

floated before him ,
a figure in white with
s ad beseeching eye s and tangl ed h air and ,

with o ut stretched hands approached him in

the haz e o f twil ight . He started to meet

it and the vision d issol v ed into nothing
, .

W
as she ill ? He remembered her for

l orn cond ition . S urel y she had kept her

promis e and gone to the sea . He fel t

remorseful ,
u neasy abo ut her the s mo ul der
ing re s entment which he had tried to keep
al ive that it mi ght prove an incentive to
ri ght conduct was entirel y sub dued to pity
, ,
2 72 E UNICE .

and a gl ow o f repentant tenderness flushed

his dark cheek . He had been hard on her
—on his poor E unice . She was hi s yet
his very ow n in Spirit . H ow his l ove had
cl ouded her young l ife ! begun in deceit ,

no urished in secrecy ,
its sweetness had
turned to ashes bet w een his teeth it had
withered before ever it came to maturity .

He found her a chil d

'

,
beautiful ,
full of

j oyo usnes s and what was her l ife

,
now ?

His heart b l ed to think how desol ate she

—
wa s and he had l eft her
He began to qu esti o n whether the Po w er
which guides man thro ugh the age s was ,

after al l , guiding him aright . He was sure

that she was very u nhappy she l ooked so
that l ast day : p erhaps even now she
thought he had . ceased to care for her . He
stood sel f accus ed
,
-
of the veriest hard
heartedness . He wo ul d go up and see her
the v ery next day and he wo ul d comfort ,
 E UNICE . 2 73

her ,
and l et her s ee the truth that she
w as al l in al l to him as in the ol d days .

He was sick of this pretence o f friendship .

He had sworn to l ove and cherish her years

ago and he woul d keep
,
his oath against
any fatal ity : she w as his he had thought
of her as his wife for fiv e l ong years . It
came upon him l ik e a devo uring thirst that
he m ust s peak m ust hol d her ,
in his arm s ,

and feel her soft ch

eek against his ow n: and
he feare d no rep ul se ; he knew he reigned
supreme in that one breast . He did not
—
think of cons eq u ences b eyond he d ared
not .

A l iverie d servant came out of the ho use ,

and threade d the wal k s b ord ered by

flowering shrub s ,
cl ump s o f rose s and
fuchs ia -
tree s ,
festo o ned with woodbine ,

and stand ing l eisurel y on the chain bridge ,

gl anced inquiringl y aro und whil e the swans ,

hel d their graceful co urs e on the gentl y

V OL . 111
.
18
2 74 E UN ICE ’

fl owing water : then catching s ight of t he

Object of his se arch he wal ked forward , ,

and

his mast er saw that he hel d a l arge orange

col oured e nvel ope .

N othing al arming abo ut a tel egram in

these days yet Harol d fel t at once that

,
it
was from E unice ,
and W i th bad news ,
or s he

His fears were tru e prophet s . Dis

mis sing the serv ant he

!

,
o
pen ed it and
gaz ed on the message .

Fro nt
~ D r H al l , E aton S quare, L ond on, to H arol d
.

H arnage, E sa, Ch esne ,

y Westm orel and .

M rs H arnag e ry ill B ad form of l ow fever

ve Irr

gr ea t d ang r e C om at nc Sh a
e k s fo r ou
y o e e s .

There it was , short and concise : pains .

had be en taken t o stat e al l necess ary facts ,

and yet not exce e d the twenty words a

shil l ing woul d carry . A dmirab l e economy
—wh shoul d the intel l igence b e s oftened
y
 E UNICE . 2 75

for his benefit — he was not her h us band ,

and whether an aunt by marriage died or

not m ust be a very s econdary matt er .

He tore into the hous e ; ordered his

horse and in ten m inute s was on hi s way
to the s tation . N ever had that eight mil es
been travers ed so quickl y : the pas sers -
by

started aside at the so und of the cl attering

hoofs wondering at the
, m ad haste which
directed that reckl ess pace . He j ust
caught the up night mail

—
18 2
 C HAPT E R XXI V .

C hi am a, q u al chi m u r o e,

N on ha d a gire al ci l d al m nd a l tr
e o o
’
al e.

M IC H A EL AN GEL O .

D eath and lv
o e are the tw o w i ng s w hich b ear m an

from h to h eaven
eart .

RO SE ,
pearl l ike tint crept over
-

the east ,
cha sing the grey
shad ow s that s till l ingered in
the we stern sky when Harol d entered
London . That brief s ummer s ’
night had
b een l ong with agony ; he tried repeatedl y
to short en the minute s by prayer ,
b ut a
fearful tightness acros s his chest prevented
cons ecutive tho ught .

Daz ed and wo rn with a sinking h eart

, ,
 E UNICE . 2 77

and a face heavy with the worst antici

pations, he reached E aton Square .

Is she al ive were hi s firs t words .

”
Ye s .

The monosyl l ab l e bro ught inexpre ssibl e

relief : if life remained ,
his l ove shoul d
avail to keep it ,
her spirit woul d l is ten to
his entreatie s and stay to bl es s him .

In the ante room he met the doctor

-
.

How is she I s she very il l —his

dry l ip s s carcel y abl e to frame the inquiry .

Mrs Harnage is very

. ill she has b een
sinking steadil y every ho ur b ut s he l ives ,

and the del irium has pass ed .

B ut there is hOpe
—
I am s orry to say none she cannot
po ssibl y ral l y . She has evidentl y been
un happy and in my Opinion
, , ,
dis tre s s of
mind has l owered the system and s apped
its recuperative powers . Her de s ire to s ee
y ou has al one kept her al ive till now .
2 7s B OW G I E .

The professional man regarded Harol d

c urio usl y as he pas sed
,
o n, heartbroken ,

into the statel y chamber where ‘

E unice l ay ,

—
p al e and wasted her l arge ,
s unken eyes
fol l owing the s ervant s movements ’
as she
wal ked softl y about the room . The s heets
were scarcel y whiter than her face and her ,

dis ordered hair h ung in dark heavy rings ,

making the wan cheeks l ook lik e chisel l ed

m arbl e .

He went forward and fel l on his knees ,

with a gesture of u u n tterabl e anguish ,

kissing the hand she l anguidl y extended .

The nurse l eft the room cl osing the door ,

.

When we are s olitary we are on the road

,

to become companio ns of God ; and these

weeks of solitude and suffering had p urifi ed
—
Eunice face to face with that del iverer ,

Death she fel t

,
no fears She wore a serene
.

and peaceful l ook : the painful breathing

s oftened at the s ight of him ,
and a gl ow o f
 E UN ICE . 2 79

happiness transfigured her face her eyes

l ig hted u
p ,
and her l ips —
parted breathl es s
to speak l ast words o f l ove .

Harol d good boy to come ! she l oved

,

to prais e him ) I knew that y ou woul d

.

c ome tho ugh y ou have not l oved me l atel y

,

—not — as y ou u sed t o B ut y ou w il l for .

give me now that I am going away

, ,
said
s he sweetl y p l eading .

O h my E unice don t tal k

, ,
’
l ike that ,

it kil l s me ! —
Live l ive for my sake !
I l ove ou more than —
ever I cannot l ive
y
”
without y ou ! A nd he bent over her ,

—
agoniz ed his pall id comp l exion l ending a
darker sh ad e to his eyes wil d with mis ery
, .

She turned sl owl y and with difficul ty ,

.

”
Cl oser ,
she whis pere d .

Death is drawing nearer he is to uching

that pal e face ; he is b usy pinioning those
g ent l e hands ; b ut she weak l y tries to
O ppos e his power ,
and , l ov e tri umphing ,
2 80 E UNICE .

she raises them with a mi ghty effort and ,

H arol d s
’
p uts her arms round neck .

Take me in yo ur arm s Harol d ,

I
”
cannot raise mysel f . He obeyed : a smil e
pl ayed round her mouth and a s he kis sed
‘

her again and

'

again she s aid

,
in l ow tone s
I have my wish what I have prayed ,

for night and day s ince y ou came back ,

”
that I might die m yo ur arms .

”
Do not cry dearest s aid she presentl y
, , , ,

when I am gl ad of every thing . It is al l

”
over now .

The pain the sorrow an d the shame

, ,

were ;pa
ons
l t
y jy
o remained the dearer ,

that it had come after mu ch suffering .

Y ou will l eave me ,
E unice I mu st
”
part with y ou ? hi s words were the em
bo diment of sad hopel essnes s .

To l ive is to str uggl e and suffer wh il e ,

”
to die is rest and peace ,
she murm ured .

He spoke not — moved not b ut knel t

,
 E UN IC E '
. 281

there a statue in his despair ,

his hands
col d his l ips pal e a s the l oved one who s e
,

l ast l ife s hu e he watched fadi ng away

’
.

When she spoke again it was in an

exhausted voice .

B ury my ring with me — your ring ; it

is l arge for me now I have to be careful

’

to keep it on . Y ou wo ul d ceas e to l ove

me if I l ost it ; and I do not want y ou to
”
forget me . D O y ou know Harol d
, ,
s aid
she ,
mysteriousl y ,
I b urned the other
ring I am sorry — it was wicked . I onl y
have been to bl ame forgive him — Ral ph .

”
Say that y ou wil l .

—
He forced a smil e s uch a smil e ! I
w oul d do anyt h ing y ou asked of me . I
s ee that I have been revengef ul , ill adv ised
-
.

It woul d have been better for y ou had he

”
stayed here . Hi s voice s o poignant
s el f reproach
-
,
s eemed to p ierce the haz e
that gathere d ro und about her .
2 82 E UNICE .

”
NO ,
my dearest it ,
IS al l for the best ,

’
said she faintl y ,
. Don t grieve dearest , ,

when I am so happy .

Happy to l eave me ,
Eunice said he ,

al most choked by his sob s .

Mine coul d be o nl y a l iving death . I

mus t die to l ive your l ife wil l be

brighter and happier witho ut me . She

was sil ent and cl osed her eye s panting
, ,

feebl y .

He watched her he knew not for how

'

l ong ,
nev er taking his eye s fl om the dear
face that l ay on his sho ul der every ,
line im

p rint ed and b urnt into his m em or

y in tho s e

sa d minutes .

I shiv er —it grows dark . I cannot see

y ou wel l . Her voice had grown fainter;

and s ounded as if from a distance . B ut

beautiful im ages shine yond er brighter yet , .

—
There meet me there Harol d Opening , ,
”

her eye s wide on him . Her respiration

 E UNICE . 2 83

became feebl er and with a great effort

,

she said ,
G od for ever bl e s s y ou Heaven
”
t ake my soul .

He fel t her become heavier in his arms

her breath came more sl owl y and la

b o rio usl y for some min utes and the n , al l

w as over .

He was al o ne
The wandere r had reached the have n of
happiness — the re stl ess had found res t .

N o t as m an sees, seet hG o d ;
N o t as m an lv
o l v th H
es, o e e

W h en the e s s d r g tai n d l ip
-
e s are fai l i ng ,

Wh en the tear -sp ent y es are

e ve i li ng,

D aw ns eterni ty .

TH E EN D .