they fall in love with each other and form what this same world calls an attachment meaning a something fanciful and false like all the rest which if it took its own free time would break like any other bubble


but it may not have its own free timewill not if they are left alone and the question is shall we two because society calls us enemies stand aloof and let them rush into each others arms when by approaching each other sen sibly as we do now we can prevent it and part them i love my niece said mr haredale after a short silence


it may sound strangely in your ears but i love her


strangely my good fellow i clied mr chest ter lazily filling his glass again and pulling out his toothpick


not at all


i like ned tooor as you say love himthats the word among such near relations


im very fond of ned


hes an amaz ingly good fellow and a handsome fellowfoolish and weak as yet thats all


but the thing is haredalefor ill be very frank as i told you i would at firstindependently of any dislike that you and i might have to being related to each other and independently of the religious differences between us


and damn it thats importanti couldnt afford a match of this description


ncd and i couldnt do it


its impossible


curb your tongue


in gods name if this con versation is to last retorted mr haredale fiercely


i have said i love my niece


do you think that loving her i would have her flag her heart away on any man who had your blood in his veins you see said the other not at all disturbed the advantage of being so frank and open


just what i was about to add upon my honour


i am amazingly attached to nedquite doat upon him indeed and even if we could afford to throw our selves away that very objection would be quite insuperable


i wish youd take some wine


mark me said mr haredale striding to the table and laying his hand upon it heavily if any man believespresumes to thinkthat i in word or deed or in the wildest dream ever enter r tained remotely the idea of emma haredales fa


vouring the suit of one that was akin to you in any wayi care not what


ihe lies


he lies and does me grievous wrong in the mete thought


haredale returned the other rocking himself r to and fro as in assent and nodding at the fire its extremely manly and really very generous in you to meet me in this unreserved and handsome way


upon my word those are exactly my senti ments only expressed with much more force and power than i could use


you know my sluggish nature and will forgive me i am sure


while i would restrain her from all corre


spondence with your son and sever their intercourse here though it should cause her death said imr


haredale who had been pacing to and fro i would do it kindly and tenderly if can


i have a trust to discharge which my nature is not formed to un derstand and for this season the bare fact of there being any love between them comes upon me tonight almost for the first time


i am more delighted than i can possibly tell you rejoined mr chester with the utmost bland


ness to find my own impression so confirmed


you see the advantage of our having met


we i understand each other


we quite agree


we have a most complete and thorough explanation and we know what course to take


why dont you taste your tenants wine


its really very good


pray who said mr haredale have aided emma or your son


who are their gobetweens i and agentsdo you know all the good people hereaboutsthe neighbour shood in general i think returned the other with his most affable smile


the messenger i sent to you today foremost among them all


the idiott barnaby


you are surprised i ai m glad of that for i was rather so myself


yes


i wrung that from his a mother a very decent sort of woman from whom indeed i chiefly learnt how serious the matter had become and so determined to ride out here today and hold a parley with you on this neutral ground


youre stouter than you used to be haredale but youluook extremely well


our business i presume is nearly at an end said mr haredale with an expression of impatience he was at no pains to conceal


trust me mr chester my niece shall change from this time


i will appeal he added in a lower tone to her womans heart her dignity her pride her duty shall do the same by ned said mr chester restoring some errant faggots to their places in the i grate with the toe of his boot


if there is any thing real in the world it is those amazingly fine feelings and those natural obligations which must subsist between father and son


i shall put it to him on every ground of moral and religious feeling


i shall represent to him that we cannot possibly afford it that i have always looked forward to his marrying well for a genteel provision for myself in the autumn of life that there are a great many clamorous dogs to pay whose claims are perfectly just and right and who must be paid out of his wifes fortune


in short that the very highest and most honourable feelings of our nature with every consideration of filial duty and affection and all that sort of thing imperatively demand that he should run away with an heiress


and break her heart as speedily as possible said mr haredaledrawing on his glove


there ned will act exactly as he pleases re turned the other sipping his wine thats entirely his affair


i wouldnt for the world interfere with my son haredale beyond a certain point


the relationship between father and son you know is positively quite a hioly kind of bond


wvont you let me persuade you to take one glass of wine


welll as you please as you please he added helping himself again


chester said mr ilaredale after a short silence during which hie lhad eyed his smiling face from timeto tlmeintently you have the head and heart of an evil spirit in


all matters of deception


your health said the other with a nod


but i have interrupted you if now pursued mlr


haredale we should find it difficult to separate these young people and break off their intercourseif for instance you find it difficult on your side what course do you intend to take nothieg plainermy good fellow nothing easier returned the other shrugginghis shoulders and stretching himself more comfortably before the fire


i shall then exert those powers on whichl you flatter me so highlythough upon myword i dont deserve yous compliments to their full extentand resort to a few little trivial subterfuges for rousing jealousy and resentment


you see in shortjustifying the means by the end we are as a last resource for tearing them asunder to resort to treachery andand lying said mlr


hare dale


oh dear no


pie fie returned the other relishing a pinch of snuff extremely


not lying


only a little management a little diplomacy a little intriguing thats the word i wish said mr haredale moving to and fro and stopping and moving on again ihke one who was ill at ease that this could have been foreseen or prevented


but as it has gone so far and it is necessary for us to eact it is of no use shrinking or regretting


well i fhall second your endeavolrs to the utmost of my power


there is one topic in the whole wide range of human thoughts on which we both agree we shall act in concert but apart


there will be no need i htipe for us to meet again


are you goingl said ilr


chester rising with a raceful indolence let me light you down the stairs


pray keep your seat returned the other dryly i know the way


so waving his hand slightly and putting on his hat as hie turued upon his heel lihe went clanking out as he had come shut tihe door behind him and tramped down the echoing stairs


pah a very coarse animal indeed said mr chester composing himself in the easy chair again


a rough brute quite a human badger i john willetrand his friends who had been lius tening intently for the clash of swords or firing of pistols in the great room and had indeed asettled the order in whiclh they shsould rush in when summoned in which procession old john ihad carefully or ranged thet iheshould bring up the rearwere very much astnished to see mr haiaedale come down without a scratdh calltfor his horse and ride away thoughtfully at a footpace


after some considera tion it was decided that he had left the gentleman above for dead and had adopted this stratagem to divert suspicion or pursuit


as this conclusion involved the necessity of their going up stairs forthwith they were about to ascend in the order they had agreed upon when a smart ringing at the guests bell as if he had pulled it vigorously overthrew all their speculations and involved them in great uncertainty and doubt


at length mr willet agreed to go up stairs himself escorted by hugh and barnaby as the strongest and stoutest fellows on the premises who were to make their appearance under pretence of clearing away the glasses


under this protection the brave and broadfaced john boldly entered the room half a foot in advance and received an order for a boot jack without trem bling


but when it was brought and he leant his sturdy shoulder to the guest mr willet was ob


served to look very hard into his boots as he pulled them off and by opening his eyes much wider than usual to appear to express some surprise and disap


pointment at not findsng them full of blood


iie took occasion too to examine the gentleman as closely as ihe could expecting to discover sundry loopholes in his person pierced by his adversarys sword


finding none however and observing in course of time that his guest was as cool and unruf


fled both in iis dress and temper as lie had been all day old john at last heaved a deep sigh and began to think there was no duel fought that night


and now willet said mlr


chester if the rooms well aired ill try the merits of that famous bed


the room air returned john taking up a candle and nudging barnaby and hugh to accom pany them in case the gentleman should unexpect edly drop drown faint or dead from some internal wound the rooms as warm as any toast in a tank ard barnaby take you that olher candle and go on before hlugh follow up sir with the easy chair


in this order and still in his earnest inspection holding his candle very close to the guestnow making him feel extremely warm about the legs now threatening to set his wig on fire and con stantly begging his pardon with great awkwardness and embarrassmentjohn led the way to the best bedroom which was nearly as large as the chamber from which they had come and held drawn out near the fire for warmth a great old sepctral bed stead hung with faded brocade and ornamented at the top of each carved post with a plume of fea thers that had once been white but with dust and age had now grown hearselike and funereal


good night my friends said mr chester with a sweet smile seating himself when he had surveyed the room from end to end in the easy chair which his attendants wheeled before the fire good night i barnaby my good fellow you say some prayers before you go to bed i hope i barnaby nodded


he has some nonsense that he calls prayers sir returned old john officiously im afraid there ant much good in em


and hugh said mr chester turning to him


not lie answered


i know hispoint ing to barnaby theyre well enough he sings em sometimes in the straw


listen


hes quite a animal sir john whispered in his ear with dignity youll excuse him im sure


if ihe has any soul at all sir it must be such a very small one that it dont signify what he does or doesnt in that way


good night sir


the guest rejoined god bless you i with a fervour that was quite affecting and john beckon ing his guards to go before bowed himself out of the room and left him to his rest in the maypoles ancient bed


to be continued


fjtastser lutnpbrcl qltock


personal adventures of master humphrey


teub old curiosity shopciiapter xlix


kits mother might have spared herself the trouble of looking back so often for nothing was further from mr qnilps thoughts than any intention of pursuing her and her son or renewing the quarrel with which they had parted


he went his way whistling from time to time some fragments of a tune and with a face quite tranquil and composed jogged pleasantly towards home entertaining him self as he went with visions of the fears and terrors of mrs quilp who having received no intelligence of him for three whole days and two nights and having had no previous notice of his absence was doubtless by that time in a state of distraction and constantly fainting away with anxiety and grief


this facetious probability was so congenial to the dwarfs humour and so exquisitely amusing to him that he laughed as he went along until the tears ran down his cheeks and more than once when he found himself in a by street vented his delight in a shrill scream which greatly terrifying any lonely passenger who happened to boewalking on before him expecting nothing so little increased his mirth and made him remarkably cheerful and lighthearted


in this happy flow of spirits mr quilp reached tower hill when gazing up at the window of his own sitting room lie thought he descried more light than is usual in a house of mourning


drawing nearer and listening attentively he could hear several voices in earnest conversation among which he could distinguish not only those of his wife and mother in law but the tongues of men


ha i cried the jealous dwarf whats this


do they entertain such visitors while im away a smothered cough from above was the reply


he felt in his pockets for his latch key but had forgotten it


there was no resource but to knock at the door


a light in the passage said quilp peeping through the key hole


a very soft knock and by your leave my lady i may yet steal upon you unawares


soho t a very low and gentle rap received no answer from within


but after a second application to the knocker no louder than the first the door was softly opened by the boy from the wharf whom quilp instantly gagged with one hand and dragged into the street with the other


youll throttle me master whispered the boy


let go will you


whos upstairs you dog retorted quilp in the same tone


tell me


and dont speak above your breath or ill choke you in good earnest


the boy could only point to the window and reply with a stifled giggle expressive of such intense enjoyment that quilp clutched him by the throat again and might have carried his threat into execution or at least have made very good progress towards that end but for the boys nimbly ex tricating himself from his grasp and fortifying himself behind the nearest post at which after some fruitless attempts to catch him by the hair of his head his master was obliged to come to a parley


will you answer me said quilp


whats going on above you wont let me speak replied the boy


theyha ha ha


they think youreyoure dead


ha ha ha dead i cried quilp relaxing into a grim laugh himself


no do they l do they really you dog they think youreyoure drowned replied the boy who in his malicious nature had a strong infusion of his master


you was last seen on the brink of the wharf and they think you tumbled over


ha ha l the prospect of playing the spy under such delicious circumstances and of disappointing them all by walkingin alive gave more delight to quilp than the greatest stroke of good fortune could possibly have inspired him with


he was no less tickled than his hopeful assistant and they both stood for some seconds grinning and gasping and wagging their heads at each other on either side of the post like an unmatchable pair of chinese idols


i not a word said quilp making towards the door on tiptoe


not a sound not so much as a creaking board or a stumble against a cobweb


drowned elh mrs quilp drowned so saying he blew out the candle kicked off his shoes and groped his way up stairs leaving his delighted young friend in an ecstacy of sumomerets on the pavement


the bedroom door on the staircase being unlocked mr quilp slipped in and planted himself behind the door of communication between that chamber andthe sitting room which stauding ajar to render both more airy and having a very convenient hlink of which lie had often availed himself forpurposes of esplal and had indeed enlarged with hiis pocket knife nabled him not only to hear but to see distinctly what was passing


applying isis eye to this convenient plaee hle descried imr


brass seated at the table titl pen ink and paper and the case bottle of rumhis owr case bottle and his own particular jamaicacon venient to his hand with hot water fragrant lemons white lump sugar and all things fitting from which choice materials sampson by no means insensible to their claims upon his atten


lion had compounded a mighty glass of punch veeking hiot which he was at that very moment stirring up with a teaspoon and contemplating with looks in which a faint assumption of sentimental regret struggled but weakly with a bland and comfortable joy


at the same table with both her elbows upon it was mrs jiniwin no longer sipping other peoples punch feloninusly with tea


spoons but taking deep draughts from a jorum her own while her daughternot exactly with ashes on her hbead or sackclothon her back but preserving a very decent and becoming appearance of sorrow neverthelesswas reclining in an easy chair and soothing her grief with a smaller allow ance of the same glib liquid


there were also preo


sent a couple of waterside men bearing between them certain maphines called drags even these fellows were accommodated with a stiff glass a piece and as they drank with a great relish and were naturally of a rednosed pimplefaced convivial look their presence rather increased than detracted from that decided appearance of comfort which was the great characteristic of the party


if i could poison that dear old ladys rum and water murmured quilp id die happy


ah i said mr brass breaking the silence and raising his eyes to the ceiling with a sigh who knows but he may be looking down upon us now


who knows but he may be surveying of us fromfrom somewhere or another and contem plating us with a watchful eye


i


oh lor


i here mr brass stopped to drink half his punch and then resumed looking at the other half as he spoke with a dejected smile


i can almost fancy said the lawyer shaking his head that i see his eye glistening down at the very bottom of my liquor


when shall we look upon his like again never never i one minute we are hereholding his tumbler before his eyes the next we are theregulping down its con tents and striking himself emphatically a little below the chest in the silent tomb


to think that i should be drinking his very rum


it seems like a dream


with the view no doubt of testing the reality of his position mr brass pushed his tumbler as he spoke towards mrs jiniwin for the purpose of being replenished and turned towards the attendant mariners


the search has beenquite unsuccessful then bquite master


but i should say that if he turns up anywhere hell come ashore somewhere about grinidge tomorrow at ebb tide elh matel theother gentleman assented observing that he was expected at the hospital and that several pen sioners would be ready to receive him whenever lihe arrived


thenwe have nothing for it but resignation said mr brass nothing but resignation and ex pectation


it would be a comfort to havehis body it would be a dreary comfort


oh beyond a doubt assented mrs jiniwin hastily if we once had that we should be quite sure


with regard to the descriptive advertisement said mr brass taking up his pen


it is a melancholy pleasure to recall his traits


respecting his legs now p crooked certainly said mrs jiniwin


do you think they were crooked said brass in an insinuating tone


i think i see them now coming up the street very wide apart in nankeen pantaloons a little shrunk and without straps


ah i what a vale of tears we live in


do we say crooked i think they were a little so observed mrs quilp with a sob


legs crooked said brass writing as he spoke


large head short body legs crooked very crooked suggested mrs jiniwin


well not say very crooked maam said brass piously


let us not bear hard upon the weaknesses of the deceased


he is gone maam to where his legs will never come in question


we will content ourselves with crooked mrs jiniwin


i thought you wanted the truth said the old lady


thats all


bless your eyes how i love you muttered quilp


there she gutr again


nothing but punch this is an occupation said the lawyer laying down his pen and emptying his glass which veems to bring him before my eyes like the ghost of hamlets father in the very clothes that fhe wore on workajdays


his coat his waistcoat his shoes and stockings ihis trousers his hat his wit and humour his pathos and his umbrella all come before me like visions of myyouth


his linen said mt brass smiling fondly at the wall his linen which was always of a particular colour for such was his whim and fancyhow plain i see his linen now i you had better go on sir said mrs jiniwin impatiently


true maam true cried mr brass


our faculties must not freeze with grief


ill trouble you for a little more of that maam


a question now arises with relation to hiis nose


flat said mrs jiniwin


aquiline cried quilp thrusting in his head and stsiking the teature with his fist


aquiline you hag


do you see it do you call this flat


do yous eh ohlcapital capital l shouted brass from the noere force of habit


excellenti how very good he is l hes a most remarkable manso extremely whimsicali such an amazing power of taking people by snrprisel


quilp paid no regard whatever to these compli ments nor to the dubious ondfrightened look into thicltheo lawyer graduatlly subsided nor to the shrieks of his wife and motherinlaw nor to the latters running from the room nor to the formers fainting away


keeping hiis eye fixed on sampson brass he walked up to the table and beginning with his glass drank off the contents and went regularly round until he had emptied the other two when he seized the case bottle and hugging it under his arm surveyed him with a most extra rdinatry leer


not yet sampson said quip


not just yet i oh very good indeed cried brass recovering his spirits a little


hia ha hal


oh exceedingly good i


theres not another man alive who could carry it off like that


a most dificult position to carry off


but he has such alflow of good humour


i such an amazing flow good night said the dwarf nodding expres ively


good night sir good night cried the lawyer retreating biackwards towards thie door


this is a joyful occasion indeedextremely joyful


ha ha beal


oh very rich very rich indeed remarkalily so i waitlog until mr brasss ejaculations died away in the distance for he continued to pour them out all the way down stairs quilp advanced towards the two men who yet lingered in a kind of stupid amazement


have you been dragging the river all day gen tlemen said the dwarf holding the door open with great politeness


and yesterday too master


dear me youve had a deal of trouble


pray consider everything yours that you find upon the upon the body


good night


the men looked at each other but had evidently no inclination to argue the point just then and shuffed out of the room


this speedy clearance effected quilp locked the doors and still em bracing the case bottle with shruggedup shoulders and folded arms stood looking at his insensible wife like a dismounted nightmare


to be continued


chapter xii leave nlkolaiev


posthouses improve as we approach moscow


ellsavetgrad


prairie land


tumuli


boundless plains or steppes


the yamtchik


wayposts


rate of travelling in russia


waggons


russian words for directing the dri ver


nature of the country


we left nikolaiev about five oclock and soon after wards came to a bridge thrown over a small river that falls into the boug


here to our left we saw four dis mantled steamers which i recognised as the boats that used to carry the mails between constantinople and odessa they bore the blue flag with a red horn by which they were always distinguished


the com munication between those places being now interrupted


the dutch fllag has precisely the same colours but the order is different having the red first white next and the blue at the bottom


the christians of turkey say that the russians place the red below in order to imply that they keep the turks under


by our blockade the steamers were rendered useless and removed to this spot inland we proceeded through a perfectly flat country par tially cultivated for seventy versta about fortyseven miles counting three versta to two miles without meeting with anything worth notice


at halfpast twelve we reached a station where we resolved to remain until the morning so wrapping our cloaks around us we lay down to rest as we could


the posthouses along this part of the road do not afford accommodation to travellers but when within a cpuple of hundred miles of moscow where the traffic is greater we found the stations built upon a regular plan similar throughout having bedrooms and other necessary conveniences a pretty garden at tached to each and stabling for upwards af a hundred horses


we continued our way the next morning the th of june at about halfpast the roads were heavy and the weather unfavourable


about in the after noon we reached elisavetgrad


the general character of the vast tract we tra versed was that of prairielandrich and verdant meadows with here and there pieces of cultivated land along the road


the surface was everywhere flat not a single elevation occurring to afford us an ex tensive prospect


raised slightly above the ground in our carriage we could look over the level expanse as over the sea the horizon being unbroken except occasionally by distant grass covered tumuli which seemed to render the scene even still more lonely


these remains of days long past have been conjec tured by many to be of antediluvian origin


however this may be they are remarkable and inter esting as monuments fruitlessly raised by a people to commemorate their existence their names and his tory are now lost to the world for ever


it would be idle to form conjectures respecting these extraordinary remains nor will we stay to detail the various theories we built up as we contemplated the solitude and desolation to which they are reduced


once doubtless they were sur rounded by a teeming populationpossibly the fore fathers of the huns who afterwards overran europe and overwhelmed the south with the warriors from whom osmanli sprang


wherever these tumuli are opened they prove to have served as mausoleums and lately in one exca vated by mr calvert the english consul at the dardanelles in the plains of troy the interior was found to be built up with stones in a circular form enclosing a quantity of white dust some feet in depth supposed to be the calcined bones of men who had been sacrificed to the manes of the per son interred beneath and whose bones were found un consumed


the monotony of these boundless plains was not relieved even by the sound of the wheels as they rolled over the unbeated path where the grass grew as lux uriantly as elsewhere


the yamtchik or coachman seem to feel the lone liness of the scene and endeavoured to break the si lence by talking to his horses


on inquiring what was the purport of his address to his companions i was told that his monologue was to the following effect


assuming that the unpronounceable russian names of the horses may stand in english for faith hope and charity this would be the burden of his apostrophe well faith whats that charity which has been telling you


dont believe a word of it


come hope step out and dont be led by that faithless charity or i shall touch you up lass and so forth throughout the whole stage without intermission


at every verst there is a tall post nearly twenty feet high on which is inscribed the distance from the last stage and that to the next these posts are necessarily high as in the winter the ground is often covered with snow several feet deep and they afford a direction to the traveller who can see from one to another as he drives in his sledge which is esteemed a more agreeable mode of conveyance than wheeled vehicles


we have heard a great deal about the rapidity of travelling in russia which before railways were established was supposed to surpass every other in europe


for my own part i do not recollect having ever gone faster than ten miles an hour and generally seven sometimes even when the roads were bad still less


now and then we saw to the right or left of the road herds of cattle and horses apparently without a keeper and near the farmyards flocks of geese and sheep and droves of enormous pigs attended by such tiny children that i was surprised they were not at tacked by these huge and voracious animals


occasionally we met a few waggons loaded with wine or other provisions for the troops at odessa and drawn by bullocks at other times we passed them encamped at the side of the road giving their cattle time to repose and graze around them


each waggoner carries with him duplicate portions of his vehicle to guard against accidents


when traversing a country a traveller learns certain words by hearing them constantly repeated let the language of the people be ever so difficult


the word bakshish for instance resounds in the ears of every one landing at alexandria


another word is bookra tomorrow whatever


you want done is deferred till tomorrow


the words with the turks are inshalla if it please god and buccalum we will see in russia whatever request you make of a russian you are answered sei chas immediately but which you may infer to mean just the contrary as the people are most dilatory in their operations and often when rendered impatient by waiting i have re peated the words sei chas to express my feelings or when asked for anything i have withheld it echoing their exclamation sei chas


they have smiled to find i had discovered their inveterate habit of procrastination which is so peculiarly characteristic of orientals and which seems also to have pervaded the more northerly inha bitants of europe


when driving there are certain words with which it is very necessary to be acquainted for although there is a rule as to which side of a road a carriage should keepjust the opposite of our own but which is the same all over the continentrussian drivers do not appear always to conform to it for i used fre quently to hear our coachman call out to the carriages or waggons that we met na prava


to your right na leva


to your left


if a waggoner chanced to come too near or appeared to disregard the admonitions of this posthouse man who considered himself of no little importance as the driver of a government courier the latter would beat the man with his whip en passant or jump off the coachbox pursue him and lay it into him most unmercifully


nor did the men thus treated ever retort such being the subser viency to authority in russia


when however we came into poland on our return from st petersburgh this spirit of submission was not so apparent i observed that the driver did not give himself such airs to people below him


in one instance my companion mr sharman being vexed with a postboy boxed his ears upon which the latter turned upon him very indignantly and created a disturbance such as an english lad might be expected to raise on similar treatment


besides the abovementioned russian words which i could not help learning there are three more which are par ticularly useful to a traveller and which i will here record


priama go straight on


stoppi go on proceed


sti halt stop these are useful in directing the yamtchik or whipper of the horses


travelling in russia reminded me much of that in ireland where the ragged postboy always reserved a gallop for the avenue so it was with the russ who always contrived to go up at full drive to the posthouse sometimes much to the detriment of the carriage and giving our bones a terrific shaking over the paved way near the stations


at elisavetgrad we dined and resolved that on our departure we would take five horses instead of three as the roads were so heavy that the wheels sank eight or ten inches in the mud quite unimpeded by stones


it may seem almost incredible that the water which had fallen during the continuous rains of the last few days still lay on the ground the surface being so flat as not to allow of its running off


the alluvial deposit on each side of the road was of a black colour and consisted of a rich mould which required no manure


it was a remarkable circumstance that at a certain depth below the surface the ground was hard for the horses although wading through water did not seem to sink in it but only required the moderate exertion necessary to surmount the impediment of the mud in order to proceed on their way bakshish means present and little children that can scarcely walk are taught to shout bakshish


after the european passerby although they may not anticipate compliance with their boisterous requests


i have often fancied that they do it as much to vex and laugh at the frank as with the hopes of obtaining charity


in some flat plains and deltas particularly those of the rivers cydnus sarus and pyramus this is not the case and after rain the roads become impassable except to buffaloes whose great strength enables them to draw the carts or clumsy waggons of the country


an attack not easily repelledthe


em peror nicholas


it is said is overcome with the deepest melancholyand to make melancholy matters worse our brave allies in the crimea are likely soon to prove to him


that it u no such easy matter to drive away the blues


martin chuzzlewit


by c dickens esq


f continued from our laslj chapter xlii


has an influence on tiie foiitdnes of several peoivlk


mil


pecksniff is exhiditfd in tiie plenitude of roweb akdwiklcs the same with foiititode and magnanimity


ok the night of the storm mrs lupin hostess of the blue dragon sat by herself in her little bar


her solitary condition or the bad weather or both united made mrs lupin thoughtful riot to say sorrowful and as she sat nitb her chin upon her hand looking out through a low back lattice rendered dim in the brightest daytime by clustering vineleaves she shook her head very often and said dear me


oh dear it was a melancholy time even in the snugness of the dragon inn


the rich expanse of cornfield pastureland green slope and gentle undulation with its spark ling brooks its many hedgerows and its clumps of beautiful trees was black and dreary from the diamond panes nf the lattice away to tlie far horizon where the thunder seemed to roll along the hills


the heavy rain heat down the tender branches of vine and jessamine and trampled on them in its fury and when the lightning gleamed itshowed the tearful leaves shiver ing and cokcring together at the window and tapping at it urgently as if beseeching to be sheltered from the dismal night


as n mark of her respect for the light ning mrs lupin had removed her candle to the chimneypiece


her basket of needlework stood unheeded at her elbow her supper spread on a round table not far off was untasted and the knives had been removed for fear of attraction


she had sat for a long time with her chin upon her hand saying to herself at intervals dear met ah dear dear me she was on the eve of saying so once more when the latch of ihe housedoor closed to keep the rain out rattled on its wellworn catch and a traveller came in who shutting it after him and walking straight up to the halfdoor of the bar said rather gruffly a pint of the best old beer here


he had some reason to be gruff for if he had passed the day in a waterfall he could scarcely have been wetterthan he was


he was wrapped up to the eyes in a rough blue sailors coat and had an oilskin hat on from the capacious brim of which the rain fell trickling down upon his breast and back and shoulders


judging from a certain liveliness of chin he had so pulled down his hat and pulled up bis collar to defend himself from the weather that she could only see his chin and even across that he drew the wet sleeve of his shaggy coat as she looked at him mrs lupin set him down for a goodnatured fellow too


a bad night i observed the hostess cheerfully


the traveller shook himself like a new fouudland dog and said it was rather


theres a fire in the kitchen said mrs lupin and very good company there


hadnt you belter go and dry yourself


no thankee said the man glancing towards the kitchen as he spoke he seemed to knowtbeway


its enough to give you your death of cold observed the hostess


dont take my death easy returned the traveller or i should most likely have took it afore tonight


your health maam mrs lupin thanked him but in the net of lifting the tankard to his mouth he changed his mind and put it down again


throwing jlis body hack and looking about him stffly as a man does when he is wrapped uprandahas his hat low down over his eyes


hesaid what do you call this house


not the dragon do you


mrs lupin complacently made answer yes the dragon


why then youve got a sort of relation of mine here maam said the traveller n young man of the name of tapley


what i mark my boy i apostrophising the premises have i come upon you at last old buck this was touching mrs lupin on a tender point


she turned to trim the can dle on the chimneypiece and said with her hock towards the traveller nobody should he made more welcome at tbe dragon master than any one who brought me news of murk


but its many and many a long day aud month since he left here and england


and whether hes alive or dead poor fellow heaven above us only knows she shook her head and her voice trem bled her hand must have done so too for the light required a deal of trimming


where did lie go maam


asked the traveller tn a gentler voice


he went kaid sirs


lupin with in creased distress to america


he was always lenderiiearud and kind and per haps at this moment may he lying in prison under sentence of death for taking pity on some miserable block and helping the poor runaway creetur to escape


row could he ever go to america


i why didnt he go to some of those countries which are not quite barbarous where the savages eat each other fairly and give an equal chance to every one i quite subdued by this time mrs lupin sobbed and was retiring to a chair to give her grief free vent when the traveller caught her in his arms and she uttered a glad cry of recognition


yes i will i cried mark another one more twenty morel


you didnt know me in that hat and coal


thought you would have known me anywhere


ten more


so i should have known you if i could have seeu you but i couldnt and you spoke so gruff


i didnt think you could speak gruff to me mark at first coming back


fifteen more said mr tapley


how handsome and how young you look six morel the last half dozen warnt a fair one and must be done over again


lord bless you what a treat it is to see you


i


one morel


well i never was so jolly


just a few more on account of there not being any credit in it i when mr tapley stopped in these calcu lations in simple addition he did it not because he was at all tired of the exercise but because he was out of breath


the pause reminded him of other duties


mr martin chuzzlewits outside


he said


i left him under the cartshed while i came on to see if there was anybody here


we want to keep quiet tonight till we know the news from you and what its best fur us to do


theres not a soul in the house except the kitchen company returned the hostess


if they were to know you had come back mark theyd have made a bonfire in tbe street late as it is


but they musnt know it tonight my precioub soul said mark so have the house shutjand the kitchen fire made up and when its all ready put a light in the winder and well come in


one more i i long to hear about old friends youll tell me all about em wont you mr pinch aud the butchers dog down the street the terrier over the way and the wheelwrights and every one of em


when i firstcaught sight of the church tonight i thought the steeple would have choked me i did


oue morel wont you t not a very little one to finish off with f


youve had plenty im sure said the hostess


go along with your foreign manners


that aint foreign bless you


cried mark


native as oysters that is one more because its native


as a mark of respect for the land we live in


this dont count as between you and roe you under stand said mr tapley


i aint a kissin you now youll observe


i have been among the patriots im a kissin my country


it would have been very unreasonable to complain of tbe exhibition of his patriotism with which he followed up this explanation that it was all lukewarm or indifferent


when he had given full expression to his nationality he hurried off to martin while mrs lupin in a state of great agitation and excitement prepared for their reception


the company soon came tumbling out insisting to each other that the dragon clock wab half an hour too fast and that the thunder must have affected it


im patient wet and weary though they were mark and martin were overjoyed to see these old faces and watched them with delighted interest as they departed from the house nnd passed close by them


theres the old tailor mark


whis pered martin


there legoessirl a little bandyer than he was i think sir aint he


his figures so far altered as it seems to me that you might wheel a rather large barrow between his legs as he walks than you could have done conveniently when we knowtl him


theres sam a comiug out sir


ah to be sure


cried martin sam the hostler


i wonder whether that horse of pecksniffs is still alive t not a doubt on it sir returned mark


thats a description of animal as will go on in a bony way peculiar to himself for a long time and get into the newspapers at last under the title of singlor tenacity of life in a quadruped


as if he had ever becu alive in all his life worth mentioning


theres the clerk sir wery drunk as i see him i said martin laughing but my life how wet you ore mark


i am i what do you consider yourself sir oh not half so bad said his fellow traveller with an air of great vexation


i told you not to keep on the windy side mark but to let us change and change alout


the rain has been beating ou you ever since it hpgnn


you dont know how it pleases me sir said mark after a short silence if i may make bo bold as say so to heur you a going on in that there uncommon considerate way of yours which i dont mean to attend to never but which ever since that time when i was floored in eden you have shewed


ah mark sighed martin


the lebs we say of that the better


do i see the light yonder t thats the light cried mark


lord bless tier what briskness she possesses


now for it sir neat wines good bedb and firstrate entertainment for man or beast tbe kitchen fire burnt clear and red the table was spread out the kettle boiled the slippers were there the bootjack too sheets of ham were cooking on the gridiron halfadozen eggs were poaching in the fryingpan aplethoric cherrybrandy bottle was winking at a foaming jug of beet upon the table rare provisions were dangling from the rafters as if you bad only to open your mouth and something exquisitely ripe and good would be too glad of


an excuse for tumbling into it


mrs lupin who for their sakea had dislodged tbe very cook high priestess of tbe temple with her own genial hands was dressing their repast


it was impossible to help it a ghobt must have hugged her


the atlantic ocean and the red sea being in that respect all one martin hugged her in stantly


mr tapley as if the idea were quite novel and had never occurred to him before followed with much gravity on the same side


tblx mutinied


j


the mysteries of paris


continued


chapter ix


tihe tiger caged


next morning rodolphe


scarcely re covered from the effects of his late adven tures was sitting with a sad and careworn aspect in a large room hung with crimson with a table before him on which were lying two portfolios a chain to which was suspended a saint esprit of lapis lazuli a poniard and a pair of iron pincers


the black physician was seated on one side of the tablethe chourineur on the other


the maitre decole strongly bound was fastened to a large armchair in the middle of the room


no one else was present


rodolphe was calm fad and collected


lie was about to accmplish a solemn mission


aft r a profound silence during which nothing could he heard but the rain falling and dripping from the roof on the pavement rodolphe addressed the maitre decole escaped from the galleys of rochefort to which you were condemned for life for the crimes of forgery rohberyand


murder you are anselmo duresnel


it is false


let it be proved i said the maitre decole in an altered voice looking around him with a disturbed air


how cried the chourineur were we not together at rochefort


rodolphe made a sign to the chourineur to remain quiet and he continued


syou are anselmno duresnel you will acknowledge it byandby


you murdered and robbed a drover on the road to poissy


it is false l you will confess it directly


this night you have broken into this house to rob you have stabbed the master of the house


you proposed the robbery to me your self said the maitre decole recovering slightly his assurance i was attacked and i defended myself


the man you stabbed did not attack you


he was without armsi i proposed this to you it is true


i will tell you for what purpose


the evening previous after having stolen a pocketbook from a man and woman in the cit which pocketbook is now before me you offered to kill me for one thousand francs


i heard it cried the chourineur


the maitre decole cast on him a glance of savage hatred


rodolphe continued i knew you had escaped from the gal leye


you knew the parents of an unfor tunate being whose misfortunes were caused by your accomplice la chouette


i wished to get youhere under the pretence of a robbery the only means by which i could get you to come


once here i would have given you your choice either to be delivered into the hands of justice or to be sent out of france to a place of perpetual seclusion but on the condition that you gave me the information i required


you have been condemned for lifeyou have escaped from prison


by taking you by preventing in future the possibility of your doing harm i would serve the world at large and by your confessions i should find the means perhaps to restore to her family a poor creature more unfortunate than culpable


yesterday a provideitial revelation taught me your true name


it is false


my name is not duresnel


rodolphe took from the table the chain of la chouette and showing to the m iitre decole the little saint esprit of lapis lazuli said you have given to an infamous crea ture this holy relic


thrice holyfor your child had this pious gift from his mother and grandmother


the maitre decole stupified at this dis covery hung his head without answering


yesterday i learned that fifteen years since you took your son from his mother and that you alone possess the secret of ihis existence


this new crime was another motive for me to entrap you


yourcrimes demand an extraordinary reparation


you must die here


this will be an unlawful course but you are a wretch withoutthe law


in compassion to your wife and son i will save you the shame ot the scaffold


it will be supposed that you have fallen in your murderous attempt


prepare your self the arms are charged


the countenance of rodolphe was


im placable


like his fellows duresnel wasas cow ardly as he was ferocious


believing his last hour was come he shook convulsively his lips became blanched with a suffo cating voice he cried


pardon


i there is no pardon for you


i prefer the scaffold listen in pity to your wife your child i wish to


give you good advice


die to day


die


oh no no nob


do nottak back your promise i let me live life the most frightful the most hidious any thing but death


syou wish it t


oh yes yes i


and your sonwhat have you done with him i this friend of whom i have spoken had him taught bookkeeping so as to get him a situation in a bank in order that he might keep us advised of certainmatters


this was agreed between us


our object was that he should inspire confidence in the bankerto aid usand


oh i mon dieu


her sonher son l cried rodolphe concealing his face in his hands


but we didnt intend any forgery cried the brigand and besides when it was revealed to my son what was expected he refused


after a violent scene with the person who had brought him up he dis appeared


it is more than eighteen months since


we do not know what has become of him


you see there in my portfolio how he lhas been sought after for fear we should be denounced but all traces of him have been lost in paris


the last house he dwelt in was in the rue du temple under the name of francois getmain the address is also in my portfolio


you see i have told all


listen said rodolphe rising in a so lemn manner youhave criminally abused your strength i will paralyse it


the strongest have trembled before youyou shall in turn tremble beore the weakest i you have plunged the creatures of god into eternal darknessthe shadows of eternity shall commence for you in this life to night


your punishment at length will equal your crimes


far from being barren like death your chastisement ought to produce good fruit far from damning you perhaps it will reform you


after a long life consecrated to the redemption of your crimes your last prayer may yet be in sup plication to god to grant you the unde served happiness of dying between your wife and your sonias


he pronounced these last words itodolphe was visibly affected


after some moments of deep reflection rodolphe turned to the black and said david do not hesitate to perform what i have already told you


may god punish me alone if i am acting wrongly and he concealed his face with his hands


at these words the negro rang the bell


two men clothed in black entered


with a sign the doctor showed them the door of a small cabinet


the two men carried the chair on which the brigand was tied into this room


tie his head to the back of the chair with a handkerchief and place another over his mouth said the black doctor without entering the apartment


you are going to strangle me nowcried duresnel pardon and then nothing was heard but a confused murmur


my lord said the doctor once more to rodolphe in an interrogative manner


let it be done answered rodolphe without changing his position


david entered slowly into the cabinet


monsieur rodolphe i am terrified said the chourineur pale and tremblin i speak to me then i am afraid is it a dream


what is the negro going to do


david returned from the cabinet his lips were white


he again rang and the two men came in


bring back the chair


it was done


take off the bandage


it was taken off


you mean then to put me to the rack


cried duresnel with a tone of anger rather than grief t is it to torment me again that you have put all the lights out here as within


there was a moment of frightful silence


you are now blin i said david in a mournful tone


it is impossible to paint the stupor of the chourineur during this terrible scene his rude and rough features expressed com passion he approached rodolphe and said in a low voice monsieur rodolphe he has perhaps received what he deserved but never mind now heis blind


he weeps


thundersi it makes me feel bad


he cant see to walkhe may be crushed in the streets


will you let me conduct him home


good said rodolphe touched with this generosity and taking his hand good go


the chourineur approached and placed his hand on duresnels shoulder


the brigand trembled


the chourineur shrug ged his shoulders and said let us go


will you take me to your room chou rineur


es


and leaning on the arm of the chouri neur he left the house of the alles des veuves


a few days after the above occurrence the chourineur was again in the presence of rodolphe who was about to recompense him for his important services


at length it was decided that he should be sent to algiers and put in possession of a farm lately purchased by rodolphe


it is useless to attempt to describe the joy of the chourineur


no proposition could have suited better his character and natural impulse


the next morning the chourineur sailed for algiers


chapter


x tlle audience ciiamber


the house occupied by rodolphe in the alee des veuves was not the place of his ordinary abode


he dwelt in one of the largesthouses of the faubourg saint ger main


to avoid the honors due to his sovereign rank he had guarded a strict incognito since his arrival at paris


his charge dafftirs had announced that his master would return the indispensable official visits under the name and title of the count de duren


thanks to the usage so frequent in the courts of the north a prince can travel with as much liberty as ease and escape those ceremonies which from constant repetition become tiresome


notwithstanding his incognito rodolphe lived in great state


on the morning after the departure of the chourineur sir wal ter murphy was seated before a desk seal ingsome despatches


an usher opened the folding doors and announced his ex cellency the baron de graun


sir walter without desisting from his occupation saluted the baron with a ges ture at once familiar and cordial


monsieur charge daffaires said he smiling


i will be at your service in a moment


monsieur private secretary of his


so


rene highness i await your orders an swered the baron gaily making a profound bow to the worthy knight


the baron was about fifty years of age


his thin grey hair was slightly frizzed and powdered


he placed his hat on a chair and walked to the fireplace while murphy continued his work


shis highness must have been up all night my dear murphy for your corres pondence appears to be very voluminous


my lord did not retire until six oclock this morning


shall i await the levee of his highness to give him the information that i have obtained


no my dear baron


you will confide your information to mle and i will commu nicate it to his hlighness when he rises such are his orders


swell


his highness will be satisfied i believe with what have to tell him


is there anything whispered about our nrysterious adventures


they are completely unknown


since the arrival of my lord at paris they have become so habituated to see him very rarely that they believe he prefers soli tude and that he makes frequent excursions into the country so that with the excep tion of helen seyton and her brother and karl their tool no one knows of his dis guise


ah


my dear baron said murphy sighing what a misfortune that this cursed helen is a widow now i was she not married in or sin a little while after the death of that little girl who would now have been sixteen or seventeen years old and for whom my lord weeps every day without ever speaking of her


regrets easily to be conceived as his highness had no children from his second marriage


thus my dear baron i have thought that independent of the pity which the goualeuse inspired the interest that my lord felt for this unfortunate creature was above all created by the thought that the child he so bitterly regrets as much as be detests her mother would have been about the same age


it does appear like a fatality that this helen from whom we had thought our selves for ever delivered should just find herself free eighteen months after his high ness had lost the model of wives


helen seyton believes i am certain that she is favored by fate in this double widowhood


and her insensate hopes are stronger than ever notwithstanding she knows that my lord has for her the most profound aver sion


has she not been the cause


ah baron said sir walter this woman is a horror


god grant she brings us no more trouble


what can be feared from her my dear murphy


formerly she had over my lord that influence which a cunning and in triguing woman always has over a young man who loves for the first time but this influence has been destroyed by the dis covery of her unworthy maneuvres and above all by the remembrance of the fright ful event she caused


lower my dear de grannlower said the knight


alas i we are now in this fatal month and we draw near the date not


less fatal the th of january i always dread for my lord this fatal anniversary


yet if a fault can be forgiven by expia tion ought not his highness to be ab solved for pitys sake my dear de grann let us talk no more about it


i shall feel sad for the rest of the day


i say that this time the designs of helen are absurd the death of the poor child broke the last link which could attach my lord to this woman she is mad if she persists in her hopes


yes


but it is a dangerous madness


her brother you know partakes of her ambitious and headstrong imagination although this worthy couple have now as much reason to despair as they had to hope eighteen years ago


i hope so yet chance has prevented i do not know what proposition detestable without doubt that this woman wished to make to the maitre decolethis frightful wretch who now no longer in a condition to injure any one lives unknown perhaps repentant among some honest peasants of the village of sainte maude


but you bring me the information you have ob tained with the aid of the letteis found on the maitre dlcole and by the declarations made by la ohouette


here are the papers said the baron drawing them from his pocket


they are relative to the researches made concerning the birth of the young girl called la goua leuse and the actual place of residence of francois germaine son of duresnel


will you read me these notes my dear de grann


i know the intentions of my lord


i will see if the information is suf ficient


are you entirely satisfied with your agent


he is an excellent man flull of


intelli gence address and discretion


i am some times even obliged to moderate his zeal


and is he perfectly ignorant of the in ierest my lord has in all this absolutely


my diplomatic position serves as an excellent pretext for these in vestigations


m badinot that is his came has many agents and concealed correspon dents among all classes of society for merly a lawyer forced to give up practice from an abuse of confidence he has not lost sight of the position and fortune of his former clients he knows many secrets


which lie boldly boasts of having trafficked fori as long as his interest commands he belongs body and soul to him who pays he has no interest to deceive us besides i have him watched so that we have no reason to mistrust him


the information he has heretofore brought us was always very exact


he has probity in his manner


and i assure you my dear murphy that m badi not is the original type of one of those mysterious existences which are only met with and are possible at paris he would much amuse his highness if it was not ne cessary that he should have no communi cation with him


and he feels no shame for his employ ment


he


on the contrary he prides himself upon it he never fails inbringing me his reports to put on a most important air


the funny fellow pretends to believe they concern the state and to wonder at the hidden relations which can exist between the most adverse interests and the destinies of empires


yes he has the impudence to say to me sometimeswhat complications unknown to the vulgar in the government of a state


who would say monsieur baron but the notes i give you have without doubt their part of action in the affairs of europe


but these notes my dear baron


here they are almost entirely digested from the report of m badinot


i listen


de graun read the following note rela tive to fleur de marie


dyeino whiskerss ingular case


last week a curious chsrge was pre ferred before the magistrates at birmingham against mr starkey a dispensing chemist of tliat place


the complainant mr jessy parkes stated that having expressed to his barber a man named watson a wish to have his whiskers dyed he was introduced to the defendant starkey who applied to his clheeks a composition which he said would have the effect of turning his otherwise gray whiskers to a pair of brilliant black ones


half an hour after the operation and whilst mr parkes was in bed he experienced the most ex cruciating pain he ever did in all his hife


his cheeks appeared to be on fire and aftes a short time he being unable to endure the torture any longer got up and applied water to his face but no sooner had he done so than large pieces of flesh pealed off whiskers and all


i it was stated on the part of the defendant that he had succeeded in dyeing the hair of a great many in


dividuals and he never met with such an accident before and there must have been something in the composition of fwhichhe mr starkey was ignorant or perhaps the application of water by the complainant might have produced the effect described


chapter xvi


hoplow school


though margaret had been brief in what she said respecting liddy and her school it had been quite sufficient to give norman great uneasiness


this the more from perceiving that some thing wag held in reserve and during his little journey into kent that day various plans respecting his london life and his management of his darling child passed through his mind


the lodging question was at the root of all his trouble and the evils likely to result therefrom


ponder as he would he could see no method of extrication


his employers necessitated his residence in the neigh bourhood of his work and there rents were so high and the houses so densely crowded as to leave scarcely any choice


if he left the tadcastersif he took lodgings in another house of the same classthe evils he suffered from would only start up in a new form as the same set of causes were in existence turn which way he might


the men with whom he worked and those with whom he otherwise came in contact all said the same thing


give us more space said they and selfcontained houses however small and the evil we com plain cf wonk


almost wkoly cen e as it is there is little or no escape for us


there were moments when norman al most made up his mind to take up a more expensive lodging in a better class house but when he came to consider how much of his hardearned wages would be thus consumed in mere rent how little would be left to give education to his children or to lay by for pru dential purposes and how easy it would be under such circumstances to involve himself in debt he gave up the idea with a sigh


then again he thought he would resign his situation and take another even at less wages so that the privilege would be his of choosing his dwelling in what locality he pleased but this idea he likewise soon dismissed for he liked his masters was also well aware that such another place could not easily be secured and that if he worked onward patiently in the same service for a few years more there would probably be an opening for his younger boy


then as to liddy his doubts were still more perplexing and the only way he could solve them was by removing her to the country for a time


he found the old manerhouse where his work was to be for a time a far more charming place than even the descrip tion given by his fellowworkmen had led him to expect


no one was there except some servants left in charge as lady jane and miss north had gone for bathing to one of the seaports on the coast


but the former with her usual thoughtful goodness had left directions that a room be provided for messrs newbud and stopps foreman and that he should be supplied with such produce of the dairy and garden as he might need


as it was full afternoon when he reached the old house and quite evening by the time he had looked over it and seen what work he should begin with on the morrow he took the hour or two to spare for a stroll through the adjacent village to see if he could find a lodging that might suit his wife and liddy in case he sent for them


he was the bearer of a parcel from miss chloe to her relations but he deferred taking it till the morrow evening as the walk was a long one


lodgings however there were none in the village the people were all too well to do to care about letting their rooms and with the excep tion of a bed perhaps at the village inn a stranger had little chance of finding a home


but norman knew that country people must be asked if a service be needed of them so he made bold to knock at several farmhouse doors and stroll up cottage gardens to the sunny porch but the answer was always a negative


as there thus seemed no chance of a lodging norman made enquiry about a school


there was a village school he was told with a very good master and mistress and a grand new schoolhouse as he might have seen as he came up the village but it was for day scholars only


however there was hoplow school about a mile further on where the mistress sometimes took in boarders though she had not added many latterly as the trustees of the foundation objected to too large a number but that if he norman would call there he could learn particulars


so the road being pointed out he went onwards


it was a lovely summers evening and the way half woodland half meadows with a wealth of little trickling brooks and springs that enriched the exquisite landscape


on what were the extreme outskirts of the village norman reached a well sized old timbered cottage set in a garden of great extent and luxuriance and joined on one side by a large yard strewn with planks timber and other signs of a country carpenters and weel wrights trade


it arracted his notice by its charming situation and an air of welltodo comfort but at the first instant passing it he proceeded till the wood lands reached downwards to the road and cast in the waning light dense shadows over it


it was a lovely sweep of woodland opening here and there into glades of the most picturesque de scription varied by rivults and open plots of fernclad turf


in one of these latter and at no great distance from the road stood a small cottage much like a game or parkkeepers cottage but it appeared empty for a window which lighted a gable towards the road was shattered and there was otherwise an air about it which told norman that it was uninhabited


it is certainly some way from the manorhouse thought norman but if it were cheap or i could hire a room or two in it it would make a nice place for a few weeks for the children and their mother


thus thinking he opened a wicket and following the beaten path winding amidst clumps of fern and gorse bushes he reached the cottage


to be continued


trials of a housekeeper


from tales and sketches of new england life


by harriet beecher stowe


i have a detail of very homely grievances to present but such as they are many a heart will feel them to be heavythe trials of a housekeeper poll


says one of the lords of crea tion taking his cigar out of his mouth and twirling it between his two fingers what a fuss these women do make of this simple matter of managing a family


i cant see for my life as there is anything so extraordinary to be done in this matter of housekeeping only three meals aday to be got and cleared off and it really seems to take up the whole of their mind from morning till night


i could keep house without so much of a flurry i know


now prithee good brother listen to my story and see how much you know about it


i came to this enlightened west about a year since and was duly established in a comfortable country residence within a mile and ahalf of the city and there commenced the enjoyment of domestic felicity


i had been married about three months and had been previously in love in the most approved romantic way with all the proprieties of moonlight walks serenades sentimental billets doux and everlasting attachment


after having been allowed as i said about three months to get over this sort of thing and to prepare for realities was located for life as aforesaid


my family consisted of myself and husband a female friend as a visitor and two brothers of my good man who were engaged with him in business


i pass over the two or three first days spent in that process of hammer ing boxes breaking crockery knocking things down and picking them up again which is commonly called getting to housekeeping


as usual carpets were sewed and stretched laid down and taken up to be sewed over things were formed and reformed transformed and conformed till at last a settled order began to appear


but now came up the great point of all


during our confusion we had cooked and eaten our meals in a very miscellaneous and pastoral manner eating now from the top of a barrel and now from a fire board laid on two chairs and drinking some from teacups and some from saucers and some from tumblers and some from a pitcher big enough to be drowned in and seeing some on sofa and some on struggling beds and mattresses thrown down here and there wherever there was room


all these pleasant barbarities were now at an end


the house was in order the dishes put up in their places three regular meals were to be administered in one day all in an orderly civilized form beds were to be made rooms swept and dusted dishes washed knives scoured and all the et cetera to be attended to now for getting kelp as mrs trollope says and where and how were we to get it


we knew very few persons in the city and how were we to accomplish the matter


at length the house of employment was mentioned and my husband was dispatched thither regularly every day for a week while i in the meantime was very nearly dispatched by the abundance of work at home


at length one evening as i was sitting completely exhausted thinking of resorting to the last feminine expedient for supporting life viz a good fit of crying my husband made his appearance with a most triumphant air at the door


there margaret i have got you a couple at lastcook and chambermaid


so saying he flourished open the door and gave to my view the picture of a little dry snuffy looking old woman and a great staring dutch girl in a green bonnet with red ribbons with mouth wide open and hands and feet that would have made a greek sculptor open his mouth too


i addressed forthwith a few words of encouragement to each of this uncul tivated looking couple and proceeded to ask their names and forthwith the old woman began to snuffle and to wipe her face with what was left of an old silk pockethandkerchief preparatory to speaking while the young lady opened her mouth wider and looked around with a frightened air as if meditating an escape


after some preliminaries however i found out that my old woman was mrs tibbitts and my hebes name was kotterin also that she knew much more dutch than english and not any too much of either


the old lady was the cook


i ventured a few inquiries


had she ever cooked


yes maam satin she had lived at two or three places in the city of suspect my dear said my husband confidently that she is an experienced cook and so your troubles are over and he went to reading his newspaper


i said no more but determined to wait till morning


the breakfast to be sure did not do much honour to the talents of my official but it was the first time and the place was new to her


after breakfast was cleared away i proceeded to give directions for dinner it was merely a plain joint of meat i said to be roasted in the tin oven


the experienced cook looked at me with a stare of entire vacuity


the tin oven i repeated stands there pointing to it


she walked up to it and touched it with such an appearance of suspicion as if it had been an electric battery and then looked round at me with a look of such helpless ignorance that my soul was moved


i never see one of them things before said she


never saw a tin oven


i exclaimed i thought you said you had cooked in two or three families


they does not have such things as them though rejoined my old lady


nothing was to be done of course but to instruct her into the philosophy of the case and having spotted the joint and given numberless directions i walked off to my room to superintend the operations of kotterin to whom i had committed the making of my bed and the sweeping of my room it never having come into my head that there could be a wrong way of making a bed and to this day it is a marvel to me how any one could arrange pillows and quilts to make such a nondescript appearance as mine now presented


one glance showed me that kotterin also was just caught and that i had as much to do in her department as in that of my old lady


just then the doorbell rang


o there is the doorbell i exclaimed


run kotterin and shot them into the parlour


kotterin started to run as directed and then stopped and stood looking round on all the doors and on me with a woefully puzzled air


the street door said i pointing towards the entry


kotterin blundered into the entry and stood gazing with a look of stupid wonder at the bell ringing without hands while i went to the door and let in the company before she could be fairly made to understand the connexion between the ringing and the phenomenon of admission


as dinner time approached i sent word into my kitchen to have it set on but recollecting the state of the heads of department there i soon followed my own orders


i found the tin even standing out in the middle of the kitchen and my cook seated a la ture in front of it contemplating the roast meat with full as puzzled an air as in the morning


i once more explained the mystery of taking it off and assisted her to get it on to the platter though somewhat cooled by having been so long set out for inspection


i was standing holding the spit in my hands when kotterin who had heard the doorbell ring and was determined this time to be in season ran into the hall and soon returning opened the kitchen door and politely ushered in three or four fashionable looking ladies exclaiming here she is as these were strangers from the city who had come to make their first call this introduction was far from proving an eligible onethe look of thunderstruck astonishment with which i greeted their first appearance as i stood brandishing the spit and the terrified snuffling and staring of poor mrs tibbitts who again had recourse to her old pockethandkerchief almost entirely vanquished their gravity and it was evident that there were on the point of a broad laugh so recovering my selfpossession i apologized and led the way to the parlour


let these few incidents be a speci men of the four mortal weeks that i spent with these helps during which time i did almost as much work with twice as much anxiety as when there was nobody there and yet everything went wrong besides


the young gentlemen complained of the patches of starch granted to their collars and the streaks of black coal ironed into their dickes while one week every pocket handkerchief in the house was searched so stiff that you might as well have carried an earthen plate in your pocket the tumblers looked muddy the plates were never washed clean or wiped dry unless i attended to each one and as to eating and drinking we experienced a variety that we had not before considered possible


at length the old woman vanished from the stage and was succeeded by a knowing active capable damsel with a temper like a steel trap who remained with me just one week and then went off in a fit of spite


to her succeeded a rosy goodnatured merry lass who broke the crockery burned the dinner tore the clothes in ironing and knocked down everything that stood in her way about the house without at all discomposing herself about the matter


one night she took the stopper from a barrel of molasses and came singing off up stairs while the molasses ran soberly out into the cellar bottom all night till by morning it was in a state of universal emancipation


having done this and also dispatched an entire set of tea things by letting the waiter fall she one day made her disappearance


then for a wonder there fell to my lot a tidy efficienttrained english girl pretty and genteel and neat and knowing how to do everything and with the sweetest temper in the world


now said i to myself i shall rest from my labours


everything about the house began to go right and looked as clean and genteel as marys own pretty self


but alas


this period of repose was interrupted by the vision of a clever trim looking young man who for some weeks could be heard scraping his boots at the kitchen door every sunday night and at last miss mary with some smiling and blushing gave me to understand that she must leave in two weeks


why mary said i feeling a little mischievous dont you like the place


o yes maam


then why do you look for another i am not going to another place


what mary are you going to learn a trade


no maam why then what do you mean to do


i expect to keep house myself maam said she laughing and blushing


o ho said i that is it and so in two weeks i lost the best little girl in the world peace to her memory


after this came an interregnum which put me in mind of the chapter in chronicles that i used to read with great delight when a child where basha and elah and tibet and ztmri and omri one after the other came to the throne of israel all in the compass of halfadozen verses


we had one old woman who stayed a week and went away with a misery in her tooth one young woman who ran away and got married one cook who came at night and went off before light in the morning one very clever girl who staid a month and then went away because her mother was sick another who staid six weeks and was taken with the lever herself and during all this time who can speak the damage and destruction wrought in the domestic paraphernalia by passing through these multiplied hands


what shall we do


shall we give up houses have no furniture to take care of keep merely a bag of meal a porridge pot and a pudding stick and sit in our tent door in real patriarchal independence


mautn chuzlewit


by c uickekb esq


continued from our fart


cm after li


slnrmsrs toi pirch very much ami shows how certain conii dkkcks


iassed


ietween him


and his sister


it was llie next evening and torn and ills sister were bitting together before ten talk ing in tbeir usual quiet way about a great many things but not at all about lewsomes story or anything connected with it for john wf stlockreally john for so ycung n man was one of tbe most considerate fellowsin the world had particularly ad vised tom not to mention it to his sister just yet in case it should disquiet her


and i wouldnt tom he said with a little hesitation i wouldnt have a shadow on her happy face or an uneasy thought in her gentle heart for all the wealth and honours of the universe


iteally john was uncommonly kind extraordinarily kind


if lie had been her father tom said he could not have taken a greater in terest in her


but although tom and his sister were extremely convcrsaticinal they were lesb lively less cheerful than usual


tom had no idea that this originated with ruth but took it for granted that he was rather dull himself


in truth he was for the lightest cloud upon the heaven of her quiet mind cast its shadow upon tom


and there was a cloud oil little ruth that evening


yes indeed


when tom was looking in another directionher bright eyes stealing on towards his face would sparkle still more brightly than their custom was and then grow dim


whentomwas silent and looking out upon the summer weather she would sometimes make an habty move ment as if she were about to throw herself upon his neck then check the impulse iind when he looked round show a laugliiug face and speak to kirn very merrily


when she had any thing to give tom or liad any excuse for coming near him she would flutter about him and lay her little bashful hand on his shoulder and not be willing to withdraw it and would show by all such means that there was something on her heart which in her great love she longed to say to him but had not the courage to utter


so they were silting she with her work before her but not working and tom with i inni kaciiln liim lmt nnt


rpadin


when martin knocked at the door


anticipating who it was tom went to open it and he and martin came back into the room toge ther


tom looked surprised for in answer to his cordial greeting martin had hardly j spoken a word


rut also saw that that there was some thing strauge in tile manner of their visitor and raised her eyes inquiringly to toms face as if she was seeking an explanation there


tom shook bis head and made the same mute appeal to martin


martin did not sit down but walked up to the window and stood there looking out


hi turned round alter a few minutes to peak hut hustily averted his head again wiihout joicjr so


what has happened martin


tom anxiously inquired


my dear fellow uliat


news do you bring


oh tom


replied martin in a tone of deep reproach


to hear you leign mat interest in anything that happens to me hurts me even more than your ungenerous dealing


my ungenerous dealing


martini


my tom could get no further


how could you tom bow could you buffer me to thank you so fervently and sincerely for your friendship and not tell me like a man that you had deserted mel was it line tomi was it honest was it worthy of what you used to be of what i am sure you used tu be to tempt me when you had turned againstmeiulo pouring out lny heart


his tone was one of such strong injury ami yet of so much grief for the loss of a friend he had trusted iu it expressed such high past love for tom and so much sorrow and compassion for hi supposed uuwoithi ness that tom for a moment put his hand before his face and had no more power of justifying himself than if lie had been a monster of deceit and alsehood


i protest as i must die said martin that i grieve over the loss of what i thought you and have no anger in the re collection of my own injuries


it is only at such a time and alter ucli a discovery that we know the full measure of our old regard for the subject of it


and i swear little as showed it little as i know i showed it that when i had the least consi deration for you tom i loved you like a brotlier


tom was composed by this time and might have been the spirit of truth in a iiomely dress it very often wears a homely dress thank god when he replied to him martin he said i dont know what is in your mind or who has abused it or by what extraordinary means


but the means lire false


there is no truth whatever iu the impression under which you labnur


it is a delusion from first to last and i warn you that you will deeply regret the wrong you do me


i can honestly say that i have been true to you and to myself


you will be very sorry for this


indeed you will be very sorry for it martin i am eorry returned martin bbaiing bis head


i never knew what it was to be sorry in ray heart until now


at least said tom if had always been what you charge me with being now and hod never liad a place in your regard but bad always been despised by you and had always deserved it you would tell me in what you have found me to be treache rous and on what grounds you proceed


i do not entreat you therefore to give me that satisfaction as a favour martin but i ask it of you as a right


my own eyes ore my witnesses re urne martin


am i to believe them


nlmieu iuhij wiv ihey accuse me


but they never have ac cused me


whoever has perverted them to such a purpose has wrongcd almost ds cruelly liis calmness rather failed him here as you have done


i came here baid martin and i appeal to your good sister to hear me


not to her interrupted tom


pray do not appeal to her


she will never be lieve you


he drew her arm through his own as he said it


believe it tom


no no cried tom of course not


i said so


why tut tut tut


what a silly ittlc thinsr von are i


i never meant said martin hastily to appeal to you against your brother


do not think me so unmanly or unkind


i merely appealed to you to hear my decla ration that i came here for no purpose of reproach i have not one to vent but in deep regret


yon could not know in what bitterness of regret unless you knew how often i have thought of tom how long in almost hopeless circumstances i have looked forward to the better estimation of his friendship and how steadfastly i have believed and trusted in him


tut tut said tom stopping her as she was about to speak


he is mistaken


he is deceived


why should you mind


he is sure to be set right ut last


heaven bless the day that sets me right


cried martin if it could ever cornel it


ii l tnm anil it will t martin paused and then said iu a still milder voice you have chosen for yourself tom and will be relieved by our parting


it is not an angry one


there is no anger on my side


there is none on mine said tom


it is merely what you have brought about and worked to bring about


i say again you have cliosen for yourself


you ave made the choice that might have been xpected in most people situated as you are ut which i did not expect in you


tor liat perhaps i should blame my own ndgment more than you


there is wealth nd


favour worth having on one side and here is the worthless friendship of an ibandoned struggling fellow on the other


iou were free to make your election and ou made it and the choice was not difficult


but those who have not tbe courage to resist such temptations should have the courage to avow that uey have yielded to them and i do blame you for this tom that you received me with a show of warmth encouraged me to be frank and plainspoken tempted me to confide in you and professed that you were able to be mine when you had sold yourself to others


i do not believe said martin with great pinntinn


lipar me sav it from mv heart i camtat believe tom now that i am standing face to face with you that it would have been in your nature to do me any serious harm even though i had not discovered by chance in whose employment you were


but i should have incumbered you i should have led you into more doubledealing i should have hazarded your retaining the favour for which you have paid so high a price bartering away your former self and it is best for both of us that i have found out what you so much desired to keep secret be just said tom who had not icllluveu ui uim uc iiui juiliu o lake since ihc commencement of this last address he just even in your injustice martin


you forget


you have not yet told me what your accusation is


why hould returned martin waving his hand and moving towards the door


you could not know it tbe belter for my dwelling on it and though it would be really none the worse it might seem o me to he


no tom


bygones shall be lygones between us


i can take leave


f you


it this moment and ill this place u which you are so amiable and so good is heartily if not as cheerfully as ever


have done since we first met


all guod o with you tom


you leave ine so


you can leave me ao can you said tom


i you you have chosen for yourself tom


i


i i hope it was a rash choice martin faltered


i tbink it was


i am sure it was


good bye


and he was gone


tom led bis little sister to her chair and sat down in his own


he took his book and read or seemed to read


presently he said aloud turning a leaf as lie spoke he will be very sorry for this


and a tear stole down his lace and dropped upon the page


hutu nestled down beside him on her knees and clasped her arms about his neck


no tom


i no not be comforted dear tom


i am quite comforted said tom


it will he bet right such a cruel bad return t cried ruth


no no baid tom


ue believes it


i cannot imagiue why


but it will tie set right


more closely yet she nestled down alout him and wept as if her heart would bleak


dont


dont tom


whvdo


yon hide your face my dear


then in a burst of tears it all broils out at last


oh tom dear tom i know your secret heart


i have found it out you couldnt hide the truth from me


why didnt you tell me


i am sure i could have made you ionrr if vou had i


you love her tom so dearly tom made a motion with his baud as if he would have put his sister hurriedly awny but it clasped upon hers and all bis little history was written in the action


all iu pathetic eloquence was in the silent touch


in spite of that said ruth yon have been so faithful and so good dear in spite of that you have been so true and self denying and have struggled with yourself in spite of that you have been so gentle and bo kind anil eveniempereu mat x have never seen you give a hasty look or heard you say one irritable word


in spite of all you have been so cruelly mistaken


oh tom dear tom loved as no other brotlier can be will this be set right too


will it tom


will you always have this sorrow in your breast you who deserve to be so happy or is there any hope i


and still she hid her face from tom and clasped him round the neck and wept for him and poured out all her woman s heart and soul in the relief and pain of this disclosure


it was not very long before bbe ana lorn were bitting side by side and she was looking with on earnest quietness in tom s face


then tom spoke to her thus cheerily though gravely


i am very glad my dear that this bus passed between us


not because it assures me of your tender nffectioc for i was well assured of that before but because it relieves my mind of a great weight toms eyes glistened when he spoke of her affection and he kissed her on ibe cheek b lie continued in our next


the holy homes


by silverpen


continued from page


chapter xxiii


from gin to deeper sin


as the sequences and results of virtue may be calculated so may those of sin


allowing for variations begot by the col lateral differences of physical educa tional and social position there are in the descending scale of vice as in the ascending scale of virtue distinctive laws that never alter


from good to better from bad to worse are laws as positive as the more rigidly ascertained ones of experimental science


thus once a confirmed gindrinker nelly appleshaw in her sad career varied no way from the old rule


a sot a slat tern a spendthrift a brawler then came steps into a deep still lower


as soon as she was conscious that joe and her children knew her for a drunkard all at tempt to conceal her vice passed away


she went out when she liked came in when she liked sold what she pleased and soon the number of her daily drams was only limited by the extent of means to procure them


occasionally she would be sober for one day or two clean up her denuded rooms wash joe a shirt mend her own drabbled gownfor to that ex tent of wardrobe she was soon reduced sew some little garment for her miserable children or cook her husband a comfort able dinner then just as things appeared to be brightening into something better her unhallowed thirst would return ten times worse for the temporary restraint put on it


appeal or reproach was alike in vain and after the birth of her child her affection for joe and her firstborn seemed slowly to wane away


though not known at first the mistress of the somers town lodging had led her on wards in her fatal course


she was one of those gly drinkers that are always having a dram ana yet are not absolutely drunk


she sat binding shoes all day with a cup of gin beneath her work which she sipped and sipped with cau tious prudence and thus though her face was pallid her eyes bloodshot her way of speech confused she passed for a sober woman with common observers


at first nelly had kept away from her but by degrees their intimacy grew their gossip begot the ginbottle and thus the hours idle talk soon lengthened itself out in many spent to no other end than misery and degradation


if nelly had been the sole sufferer there would have beenin reckoning up resultsmuch less to lament over but she was not


the woe for her children was deeper than for herself


little jim was soon known to the police as a con firmed thief


one prison seemed to be preparative for another for he was no sooner out of it than he was in another the brief intervals being spent amidst the vicious companions he had chosen


to his miserable home he rarely came


never when his father was there


occa sionally he watched for his degrade mother by some tavern door and then sneaked home with her if there was any thing to cheat her of or to be got


hia little sisters would weep about him would in theii innocence hail his return a though he had never sinned but the boy was callous to their tenderness and when he had gained what he neepd of hist mother he went off without a word a thank a care as though he neither owned their name or blood


amidst these daily scenes of misery and temptation the eldest boy dick passed unscathed


his moral nature had been fashioned in a sterner mould and the result both to him and little ruth was only to beget a larger share of that oldfashioned sort of forethought and anxiety so pecdliar to the children of the poorer classes


poor dick had to leave school it being soon found impracticable to pay the weekly fees small as they were as his mothers vice and the shop and tally debts she contracted absorbed every available penny


thus to the boys great grieffor he was exceedingly fond of his bookhe had to keep at home to nurse the little sickly evercry ing baby and to help ruih in the sordid duties begot by poverty and neglect


if the father found a little scrap of fire a cup of coffee or a clean swept hearth it was too often the result of these poor childrens toil and management


they had talked the matter over with the gra vity of judges and got a little credit at the next huxters or the next coal shop or may be induced their mother whilst in a maudlin state of intoxication to let them have a penny or two if such an amount happened to be in hand


but as the months wore on still dai ker days came


from night till morning nelly would absent herself and in the mean while locking the door upon the children leave them for hours together without food or warmth


wearily such hours pass by for it was the depth of winter and their sufferings were extreme


they hushed the ailing baby as well as they might paced up and down to keep themselves warm and at last hud dling together would cry themselves to sleep


it was on one of such occasions that old madge came to see dick


he would not enter the room but he bid the boy go to the window and open it


then him self returning to the street he talked some time to his little friend


he had good news to tell


his own old friend the clerkenwell widow had left her lodgings and gone to live in a better sort of place and he had become her lodger


her fortunes had been also mended through the industry and cleverness of her blind boy to whom the organist he learnt of now paid some trifle weekly for assisting him in the church services


then old madge went on to say that if dick would like a place where he could be earning something and be likewise away from his drunken mother he could have one as old frigsby the finsbury bookseller was without a lad and would take him


im sure i should very much like to go ff it were not for leaving ruth and if id clothes which i aint


clothes said the old man surprised thou hacst a nice suit when thou wenst to frigsbys with me


ay


as nice a shirt as ever lad wore


the loss of his clothes had been a great trouble to dick so it was with tears that he told ttoe old man that his mother had pawned them then sold the ticket and all the money had gone for


well the sooner thee gets from such a home the better


as to fretting about thy little sister thee mustnt


if thee work bravely and mind thy book thee may in time get a home for her and take her there


frigsbys an odi man and as folks say miserly but he can be and is kind where he takes a liking


so if thee strive to please him and be honest thee dont know what may turn up for thee


but i shall be this way again by and by and will see thy father


the old man was as good as his word but joe appleshaw had not yet returned from work though past the hour at which he left off


nelly was home and compa ratively sober was lazily moving about her rooms with that vague indistinctness of purpose which the diseases of habitual intoxication beget


heedless of her screaming baby or little nells implora tirons for a bit of bread she was tidying the inner room in which dick and the lodger slept


though dirty and disor derly enough it was decently furnished for such a place and whilst the outer room which the appleshaws themselves occupied was denuded of almost every thing it was evident that the hand of spoliation had been restrained here


it might be the necessity to keep the lodger which caused nelly to show a care in this matter which she did in no other but the old man was a keen observer and did not like the look of this or several other things


as he sat with the children about hira dick turning over his satchel of books he hazarded the question as to whether the master was likely to be late


im sure i dunna know or dunna care spoke nelly with flippant indiffer ence he goes out and comes in when he likesand so do i for all that


im sorry to hear this said the old man quietly you and joe used to be a sort o nice couple


moreover it dont do for a woman to care nothing for her home or husband when there he children in the case


there keep your wisdom to yourself retorted nelly with coarse asperity ij dont ask you to come here to giv it


joe does as he pleases if he likes to make a home elsewhere he can


its naught to me


the old man saw that the demon of jealousy had already entered that un


i happy place


but taking no notice he replied that he was there as a friend and that his business related to dicks going to old frigsby


to know abodfe that you neednt wait for joe for i cant and wont spare him


hes got to nurse the baby and do a lot ot other things so he cant go


ill at any rate wait for the master


so madge saying no more amused him self with the children and stayed till appleshaws return


the lodger came in long before him and nelly bustled about to get him his supper with more goodwill than she exhibited towards any other of her duties


he was a great hulking fellow with nothing of joes good nature or good looks to redeem his coarseness and ignorance and though nelly in some degree repelled the course license of his manner she exhibited to wards his needs a care far beyond what his position warranted


when joe came in which he did by and by and found his lodger still at supper nelly increased this offensive show of partiality and it soon begot angry words between her and her hus band


its wonderful youre at home to sec what i do said nelly mr madge sees thee at home tonight but that aint often now a days


so its a pity thee didnt keep where thee mostly are


if i keep away missis what a made me and who a made me


love o drink and jealousy a grown together in thy heart and there be no more reason for th one than there wur afore thou took to tht other