he is evidently wandering and i fear will turn delirious in which case there is little hope


poor fellow said mr hayes and what will become of his poor family and how does mrs mortimer bear her trials


the excitement of the moment seems to bear her up replied mrs hayes but she is suffering intense anxiety as to the fate of her husband


her baby also is far from being well and no wonder considering what the mother has undergone


i shall go over in the morning said hayes and send a message to the office that i will be absent for a short time


i can do no good but still a friendly call may be cheering to mrs mortimer


he was as good as his word he visited mrs mor timer and found his worst fears confirmed


the further detail of the result must be left to the next chapter


marie antoinette on tie chevalier of the red house


continued from colonial times march j chapter xvii the famous thursday on which maurice mounted guard at length arrived


it wu in the beginning i of the month of june


the sky was of a deep blue i on which background the flags usually elected on nil new houses were drawn with their tall white staffs in distinct relief


people began to feel the approach of the dogdays the ancients representing them as ruled by a terrible animal whose tbirbt i was inextinguishable and which the pal isian rabble considered as well adapted for licking the streets


paris was everywhere as clean as a carpet and the odorous breeze fanning the trees and circulating around the flowers brought its perfumes to cause a sleepy forgetfulness to the inhabitants of the sanguinary vapouis of which smoked unceasingly on the public places


maurice had tq enter the temple at nine oclock


his colleagues were mercevault andagiicola


at eight oclock he was in the old street st jaques in grand costume as citizen municipal that is to say with a tricoloied scarf twined around his nervous and elastic frame


he came as usual on horseback to see genevive and during his journey he was greeted with flattering approbation by no means dissembled on the part of the good patriots who saw him pass


genevive was already dressed


she wore only a simple muslin dress a light kind of taffeta mantle and a small bonnet ornamented with the tricolor cockade


in this simple dress bhe was resplendent in her beauty


morand who as we have seen allowed himself to be muchpressed before he would go had doubtless to escape being suspected for an aristo crat resumed his cveryday dress


it was half citizen half artizan in character


he bad just returned home and his countenance expressed i great fatigue


he pretended that be had been oc supied the whole night with some pressing duty


i dixmer bad also gone out the moment his friend morand arrived


j well asked genevive bave you decided maurice how we shall see the queen


hear me said maurice


my plan is ar ranged


i shall arrive at the temple willi you


i willi recommend you to my friend loria who commands the guard then take my post and at a favourable moment i shall come in search of you


but asked morand where shall we see the prisoners and how will they see us


during breakfast or dinner if this is agree able and throvuh the glass door


perfectly so said morand


maurice then saw moraud approach the side board at the bottom of the room and hqstily swallow a glass of w ne


that circumstance sur prised him much morand was very sober audjin t general only drank coloured water


genevive saw mauiice observing the drinker with astonishment


look said she how this poor morand kills himself at his work


he has taken nothing since yesterday morning


ile did not dine here then asked maurice


no he has been making some experiments in town


genevive took altogether unnecessary precau tion


maurice like a true lover that is a selfish one had only reniai ked morands action with the superficial attention which amorous persons direct to everything that does not concern the woman they love


to the glass of wine morand added a morsel of bread which he also hastily swallowed


and now said he my dear citizen maurice ii am ready whenever you think proper to set out


maurice who had plucked the petals of a carna tion which he gathered as he passed presented his arm to morand and said let us go


they departed


maurice as so happy that he could scarce contain himself


he would have shouted for joy if he could have allowed himself to do so


in truth what more could he desire


not only did she not love morand of which he was sure but she loved him of which he had hope


god had granted him a splendid day


genevieves arm trembled in his as the public cries announced the triumph of the jacobins and the fall of brissot and his accomplices proclaiming the country saved


there are indeed moments during life when the heait of man b too narrow to contain the grief and joy concentrated within it


oh what a splendid day exclaimed morand


maurice turned with astonishment


that was the first involuntary ejaculation of pleasure he had ever heard escape from that spirit always wandering or retiring


oh yesl very beautiful said genevive al lowi g herself to lean on maurices arm j may it lemain pure and cloudless until night as it is now


maurice applied both the words and the happi ness to bimselt


morand looked at genevive through his green spectacles with an expression of gratitude


per haps he also had applied the expression


they passed the small bridge the street of the juvenc and the bridge of ntre dame


they then passed the place de lhotel ville rue bardu bec and the rue saint avoye


as they piogressed maurices footsteps became lighter whilst on the other band those of his companions lingered more and more


they had thus reached the street des vielles haudriettes when suddenly a flowergirl stopped the passage presenting her flat flower basket before them


what magnificent carnations i exclaimed maurice


rbeautiful indeed said genevive


it seems ns if those who reared them had no other occupation for these are not dead


this remark pioduccd a soft impression on maurices heart


ah


my fair municipal said the flowergirl buy a bouquet for the pretty citizen she is dressed in white these are superb red carnations white andpujple answer well together


she will put the bouquet oycr her heart and as her heart is very near your blue dress you will have the national colours


the flowergirl was young and pretty


she ad dressed her little compliment with peculiar grace


it was besides well chosen and might have been purposely made for j it could not have applied better to circumstances


the flowers were besides symbolical


uthey were carnations similar to those dead in the mahogauy case


yessaid maurice i will buy some from you because they are carnations do you under stand


i detest every other kind of flower


oh maurice said genevive itis useless


vic have so many in the garden


notwithstanding this refusal of the lips theeyes showed that she died to possess a bouquet


maui ice took the finest of the lot


it was besides that one which the flowergirl presented


the bouquet consisted of twenty carnations of an acrid liealtby odoui


in the middle towered like a king an enormous carnation


theie said maurice to the merchant throw ing on her basket an assignat note for five francs there is something for you


thanks my fair municipal five times thanks and she went towards a couple of other citizens in the hope that a day so well begun might continue


during this to all appearance simple scene lasting only a few seconds morand wavered on his feet and wiped his blow whilst genevievewas pale t and trembling


she took the bouquet from maurice and carried it to her head less for the purpose of breathing the odour than concealing her emotion


the remainder of the journey was made gaily at least as far as maurice was concerned


with genevive her gaity was constrained


as for morand his was made apparent in an odd manner viz by suppressed sighs by loud laughter and by formidable pleasantries scattered about like a shower of shot


at nine oclock they reached the temple


santerre called the roll of municipals among which was that of maurice lindey


here i am said maurice leaving genevive under morands protection


ah you are welcome said santerre hold ing out bis hand to the young man


j maurice took care not to refuse the offer


the friendship of santerre was certainly one of the most precious acquisitions of the epoch


on seeing the man who had commanded the celebrated beating of drums when the king wished to be heard on the scaffold genevive shuddered and morand grew pale who is this beautiful citizen asked santerre of maurice and what has she to do here


i it is the excellent dixmcrs wife


you must have heard citizen general of this excellent patriot


l


yes yes n master tanner captain of the chasseurs of the legion victor


the same


good good faith she is pretty i and that dirfy baboon to whom she gives her arm


that is citizen morand the husbands partner also chasseur in dixmers company


santcrrc approached genevive


good day citizen said he


genevive made an effort within herself


good day citizen general said she smiling


santcrrc was at once flattered by the title and smile


and what has brought you here fair citizen continued santerre


the citizen resumed maurice hasnever seen widow capet and she wishes to be gratified so far


i yes said santerre with an atocious grimace before she precisely coldly answered maurice


well said santerre only endeavour to prevent them seeing her enter the keep it would be a bad example besides i rely much on you


santerre again shook hands with maurice nod ded amicably and with the air of protector to genevive and went to fulfil his functions


after many evolutions of grenadiers and chas seurs after several maceuvres with artillery whose heavy reverberations they thought might produce a salutary intimidation in the neighbourhood maurice took genevieves arm and followed by morand advanced to the post where lorin was craning his neck to watch the manoeuvres of his battalion


good cried he there is maurice


peste


along with a woman who seems to me rather agreeable


is it possible the rascal will make any opposition to my goddess of reason


if it is so alas poor arthemise well citizen adjutant cried the captain


ah true


attention i cribd lorin


file to the left good day maurice


quick march


the drums beat the companies took their posi tions and when each was placed lorin ran to join them


the first compliments exchanged maurice pre sented lorin to genevive and morand then com menced explanation


yes yes i understand said lorin


you wish the two citizens to enter the keep


it is quite easy


i am about to plant the sentinels and i can tell them to allow you and your company to pass


ten minutes later genevive and morand entered after three municipals and took their places behind the glass door


to be continued


chapter vii


for nuer was


hoi v of more woe tlmn thii


shakspcrc


let us pass over two short years more


another span in he duration of human existence a lapse that we look forward lo as an age or look hack to as n dream


time in its changeless cycle moves on uilhstenby step though stealthily


to some how quick has been its flight


to others ho slow its progress


to somp the pomps and vanities of the world have rendered life an intoxicating torrent of continual revelry toothers ils every step hus been attended with the dull pressure of affliction ormark ed with the iron grasp of anxiety and doubt


to percival the time had been beneficial


he was rising in his profession nnd his nalh in life was smooth and changeless


wholly occupied in professional duties or sharing in the enjoyments of the do mestic circle his felicity was without those strong exacerbations of joy and grief that leave their imprint behind them lie moved on in the even te nour of his way


doing pood


when ever he had the opportunity feeling


abundantly repaid by the earthly re


words he received and looking for


ward to a distant period when that happiness should be rendered ever lasting


but there was one to whom those years were ages


ono whose very soul seemed consumed by the corrod ing canker of iuward misery and out ward guilt to whom days were as years nights almost endless and who felt everything embittered by the rank poison of sin thnt seemed lo have been circulated through every vein till her whole being was like a tree scathed li y lightning and left lo perish daily rolling and mouldering useless and neglected yielding at night time a ghastly phosphoric light to what she was and what she had been


she was now a living mould ering trunk n human ilryrot had attacked her body soul nnd spirit and she was now lingering without energy and without hope cursipg her existence and blasting with hor rid imprecantions the punishments entailed by a reckless abandonment lo infamy and vice


edith hamilton was on her dying bed in an unused closet of one of the vilest dens of iufamv that the dark ob bounties of london only can contain


thfretall unregarded anil alone racked with bodily torment and men tal misery till her brain whirled ountl with the maniac ferocity of un quenchable disease


with her dying cries hushed by brute f rce and the few comforts that might have softened death withheld by the wretched hands that sometimes tended her


there u victim to a life of wickedness lay the remains of the beauty


a sad spectacle even to those who tad wit inrascu wduficuness from mnir yoqid upwards


her long auburn tresses had been despoiled in an unseen mo ment of sleep her few articles of wornout apparel stolen ere she was dead and without a single human


bring to receive her last sigh or to recoil from her last curse there she lay dying slowly and fearfully with accumulated consequences of disease and neglect


yps


there was all that was mortal of ldilh hamilton


without one to innisten her parched lips without one to perform even the meanest offices for her without one lo receive her dying wishes and yet but a few short years before she had been the admired of all atimirers a few short years before sho had been bowed to and adored


the noble and wealthy contended for the honour of protecting her and pampered every wish of her heart until she had be come the petted child of follythe willing votary to illicit gratifications


here was the consummation of that life


abandoned to the care of thot god whoso mercy she so long had scoffed at


but there waa one near her who looked up to her as a mother and that one was a little child the off spring of a prostitute lo whom edith had been a friend in brighter honrs and who bequeathed her child to her care


the child looked up to her as a mother and running into the room such as it was awakened edith from a trenscient lapse of half sleeping rest which wornout nature had at last conceded


mummer mummer exclaimed the child look here pretty picter charley got


mummer kisscharley


edith turned to look upon be child


she had pitied an infant whom fortune had consigned to such a scene for stamping the first impressions of life ind as she turned die fell conscious that she had been long sleeping dreaming or insane


fceblv did she whisper to the child to felch a packet of letters from a drawer


and then she eagerly clutched them as if those memorials of the past could ease the pangs of death


she unfolded the let ter and seeking out one she sent the child for a pen and directed it to dr perciva


the child took it to the woman of the boose


she knew that edith bad seen better days she thought too that from its being a doctor it might bring some comfort to ibe honseor at least remove edith to a hospital to die


then the wo man thought of the funeral and she sent the letter lest edith should die first


tho letter wag sent nnd edith was again conscious she hoped that she might remain so till percival came


she knew he would come but he minutes seemed like hours


she would have prayed to god for help aui support but her tongue clave lo her moulh nnd her sorrows chokod her


then the hot scalding tears seemed dropping around her like liquid fire


she would have given bill she had nothing to rive so she did not gel it lint liad she possessed worlds she would have given them for j one cup of colxl waler lo cnul her pirched moulh


she could scarce speak anil her throat was hoarse with the cries which her tortures forced from her


a times when any one cme near her it was jmt lo curse her noise and violence nnd alter her moment of delirium she was sane again


then the minutes seemed endless


sim tlinnirht llint percival


too had forgotten her nnd she looked hank at the fierioil of her life when her path had been strewed thick with flewcrs


she felt heir thorns now and sho thought till a new lit of madness came and ngain she was worn out in vain attempts to break the cords that bound her


at last percival came


he had been from home but on the receipt of the summons he had st out and when he reached her bedside he could hardly believe thnt the worn and altered woman before him was ibe illfated beauty


at ihe sight of him her madness returned with three fold violence


she cursed everthing that was good every one that was near her and she intermingled her ejaculations with multerings about thoso who had forsaken her


perci val shuddered at the violence of her manner


he ordered those who had intruded to retire


he tried to open the window but in vain he bathed her temples with vinegar and sat by her for hoars


but no consciousness returned


during the early parl of ihe night she lay in a slate of insensi bility rocking her head backward and forward on the pillow without ceasing sometimes muttering names i that percival knew not at others sho would start up for a moment gnash her teeth and throw ihe bed clothes back then tear off her gar ments and with furious menaces sink down exhausted


then again she would laugh wild a wild hysteri cal chuckle hollow and forced a laugh worse than dreadful


percival knew that lifes fitful fever drew near a close


her pulse accelerated fits of madness followed in rapid succes sion her features grew horribly dis torted and muttered curses revealed to percirnl the horrid anguish of her being that even when uncontrolled by reason gave vent only lo curses


there were none in that haunt of reckless vice that cored to bestow a single thought upon the dying wo man


sometimes when a lapse of silence occurred percivul heard hose signs of concealed iniquity that are but liljlc seen by the casual rpnc inlnrs of ihe vicious nnd ileprnvcl jjoors opening at all hours of the nighl the stealthy steps of the slily cautious nian


ihe loud laugh of the intoxicated prostitute iho constant supplies of liijuor and lie lavish ex penditure of money lightly got and lightly gnne


after a while perci val perceived a moisture appearing on her forehead and lie argued it to precede a change


he hail scarcely ohserved il when he heard a heavy footstep ascending ihe stairs and ihe confused sound of voices ns if in op position or reproach


i will see lucy said a strong manly voice


do bo quiet fred exclaimed one


you cant see her


shes very bad said another


hes duccd wild when hes got a ilrop said a third


f tell you will see her repealed the man


so


you infernal old faggot


ill down with you if you dont let me pass


shes dying you brate sho is returned the woman


dying


ejaculated ho


you bo


its a cursed lie


its true fred interposed ono of the fainter voices


then by


i will see her


so move you confounded old


then arose more remon strances followed by a sefflue


per cival went lo the door just in time to hear a heavy fall a loud scream the cries of one or two women and the heavy step of some one rapidly as cending


keeping the door in his hand ho awaited the coming of the stranger


at first sight he recog nized fred now wildly and bru tally intoxicated degraded in man ners person and sentiment


who


are you was his first inquiry of dr percival


be silent said percival oalmly


she whom you seek is already in the hands of death


go away and let her diu in peaee


i snpposo youre the doctor are you relured fred


then i tell you what it is its all lies


luce luce


give us a kiss girl


youll be well soon


percival tried to turn him away but in vain


look here doctorhe exclaimed


when i first knew lucy i was as innocent as a child


she led me into vice i called it pleasure then


she helped me to spend more than i earned and for her sake i robbed my employers


for her i cheated my parents broke my poor mothers heart forged on my poor old father and all for her and yet you want to tnrn me out now she is dying


why doctor for her i have been dp graded from society mnde no associate with ouichsis and wretches


driven from goodlo bad bad lo worse from lliat lo the lust extremes of vice lill i am what you see me the bully of a brothel


doctor


dont lot her die


she mutt say god bless you fred


why i have given up nil


ihe world for her


luce


lure


percval perceived that it was use less lo attempt to slop ihe torrent of liis words


the reckless rnflian went up to imith and roughly awaked her


lucy say


edith slnrcil round her wildly returning consciousness seemed to awaken her lo hnso who were around her


fred is it yon v she inquired in a low voice


i am dying


no no


that


jsot up yet oil doctor


his it is


ravcil edith sud denly seized with delirium ns she stnrled up in bed


its all over fred i jt come ono song more


here she attempted lo sing


ah marden taught mo that marden hell fire seize him


percival i go lo marden


swear it


go to him nnd


damn him with all the damning curses hell ever taught roe


blast him with all the evil wishes that ever burned in a nmddencd brain


here she lore from her bed looked round with tlic fury of madness unrestrained and seizing percival by the band she took ibat of the suddenly sobered fred


fred she exclaimed forgive me


percival von told me this would end me


give my last curse to mar den


tell him be murdered me


tell him here with a fit of uncontrolled passion she sunk down exhausted


alter a few moments she recovered


fred exclaimed she i see hell nnd devils dancing round me andalheres my poor old mother trying to scare them off


ha theyll have me theyll have me


help help


tears were streaming down iho checks of the now sober frederic but he was awestruck with the death scene of her he loved


for a few moments idith was bushed all was still


the dim grey light had just begun to render the flame of the candle ghastly


the clock chimed four and again all wks repose


o god exclaimed edith vainly attempting to riie


god help and pardon me


father of mercy


fred fred look at me and repont


god of heaven


at this moment she fell down on the bed blood gushing from her mouth and nostrils ihcre was a faint gurgling hiccup a slight treinour of the flesh and ngain all was still


neither dr percival nor frede ric spoke a word


they were silent and dismayed humbled in spirit nnd j in heart at witnessing the last scene in the life of a heatily


i reader my talo is done


wonld to god that might have painted out llic deathbed of a rcnentanl sinner but irnlli must take the place of fic tion and i leave it lo ihe novelist to ponrtray what experience rarely sees


m y readers of the fair sex may chargo me with violating ihe duties of society in dragging forward the dark features i have outlined


alas


nearly onc t we


i fill portion of heir number in this great metropolis arc as lost as fallen as kdilh hnmillon


and iniisl the scenes of incarnate horror


the impenitent deathbeds tlie thou sands plunging into eternity williout one effort lo save them must all theso fcenes of awful wretchedness he veiled or ever


no lady the won


must be laid bare it must be prolicd and cauterized or it can never be hen led tho christian must light the lamp of active charily anil search diligently after the lost pieces of silver those souls lost in moral darkness nnd destitution


and vice too must be painted without the false sophistry of ihe novelist or it can never make the soul recoil with horror


i know well that there ex ists among women a great and insup erable prejudice against tho frail and erring sinner and least of oil men would i desire to weaken the


natural repugnance that a modest bosom must feel for scenes like those ray pen has sought to picture


rut i would teach them lo regard the outcast as still po


sessing a soul to ho saved and i would paint to woman the hallelujah choir of angels outpouring hymns of joy over one repentant soul


would tell ihcm that he came not lo call tho righteous hut sinners lo repen j tance that they that are whole


need not a physician butthey that are sick


and above all i would re j mind them that blessed are tho i merciful or lliey shall obtain mercy


i would tell them hat outof the hearts abundance the mouth speaketh


and if the tongue revile can the heart have mercy


no lady charity dwelleth in ihe heart and not upon the lips


look at the first step of vice then the last


to slop between is impossible and i must paint the end if i would guard any from the beginning


to readers of my own sex i need say little


on ihe se ducers head must one day recoil the lor litres of hia victim but lo those who minister to the support of such a career i lell them they are filling up a lava draught that sooner or later must fill ihe soul of woman with all j the fury of irrepressible rcmorsoh and should these pages happily meet


the eye of one frail sister of haautjm would entreat her pray hr


lo paflmtti


ihe past can never be rcclumpmhh the future may lie umentled ssshj may give place lo penitchce sifimjiy repentance


an atonement for liut mun weakness has been offered in the blood of him who perished on the cross and through him the bins that be as scarlet shall he whiter lhau snow


repent then


while there is life there is hope


there is a plaguespot upon society corroding and cankering its very vitals fostered by its indiilgencies and undiniinisheil by its punishments


the young and lovely wither beneath its iiligjit and all around ibein are conlasrjnaled by its influence


how few arc they who cannot lell of a daughter or u friend undone a son or a noighbour led inlo ruin by the fear ful fascination of some erring beauty


a ins that human nature should be so fallen


lul


so it is


the ruin of wo mans honour fills the earth with sin and hell with victims


legislation can afford no remedy


the only cor rcclive is in a moral education


i would teach every christian mother that she may weave around her child a bulwark more impregnable than steel that virtue as a principle of action will place around her cbhd a defence like a circlet of livingfire dismaying iho libertine and disarm ing the vicious


i would tell her that an empty mind can ill withstand the attacks of the tempter that in the long catalogue of female ruin but few are found who have been dis tinguished for moral or intellectual cultivation


i would have her teach her child that happiness is only compatible with goodness that a swerving from rectitude is a volun tary embracing of misery and death that vice is never so deadly as when arrayed iu the colours of vir tue and that the first moment when she can look on vice without detesta tion sho is lost for ever


i know my words may appear superfluous but when i look upon the thousands hur rying on in theircarcerof sin when i think how the daughter of a house is its honour and its grace when i think of the father and mother that loved her


the brother who made her his pride and the sister on whose bo som she slcptiow all of them are tilterly lost und dishonoured by a daughters degradation when i think of these things that am writing to assist the cause of womans redemp tion that am seeking to gather souls from among the lares that have choked them feel that i could dip my pen in everlasting fire and trace my thoughts in words of burning they would even then be far from ex travagant


that a record of truth may awaken ono to fargivenesshat it may lead many to follow him who condemned not but bade ihe sinner sin no more that it may affect the heart wiih something deeper than a mere passing influence is the earnest and unvary ing prayer of ion


bristol in rath at breakfast the liarl of bristol who was also hilnijiuf dcmj mt ncll and at triliuling it lo his noncompliance with his usual custom bathing blamed ji is domestic an irish giant of a valet a fellow ns muscular as he was tall who had been in his service many years and disclihrginohe du ties of waking him in ihe rttorning and waiting on him lo


ihe bath for not coiiiprllini him to bathe whether he wished it or not knowing that such nn net was cnndiisivc lo his masters health


teddy said he you know what benefit i have derived from bathing and you know very well when a man is inclined to sleep he will sa crifice anything lo enjoy his bed


another morning when you find me unwilling to rise lake mo up in your arms you arc strong enough and carry me to the bath i


very well


sir said teddy


ill remember


the following morning teddy true to his duly came inlo the earls chamber and awoke him to lake the bath but his master was as little in clined to rise on this occasian as be fore and moreover fell displeased at being so hastily summoned from a beautiful pantomime that was perform ing in the playhouse of bis brain


but teddy was not lo be put off or gol rid of and insisted on bis getting up


ell you i shall not rise this morning sir said the earl


but you must rise


must


get out of the room you rascal i


by ihe powers ill do no such ihing


am


i not your mister dont i know its for your lipjltli


i command you sir


yes but plase your grace you are cither not awake now ur youre not sensible of what youre saying and if i let you slspe now dont i know very well that at break fast youll be scolding me again as you did yesterday


so come along my lord tis no use kicking and bawling you must come and bathe yourself


saying which lie quietly took tho earl up in his arms as he would have done a lapdog and car rying him lo the tub plumped him in it


the latter knowing it was no use lo struggle in such a situation when the shock was over called for soap and towels retrospection of the stage


colsuidge tells a story of meeting a btrangcr whose silence during dinner lime and his attention lo what others said without interrupting them gave binua


jjivoiiralile impression of his mwiandlg till unfortunately on ihjbdnmmmifsome apple duaip impifhiijuf the re jhpwplbqu was dissipated by hkngevtsutldcnly exclaiming v


ijjtfjkhli doctor advertises in a dublin paper that ihe deaf may hear of him at his house in liflystreet where his blind patients may see him from ton till three


a true tale of australia ohapter iit


continued fromi our last


wnrile the object of his earliest and once sincere attachment was weeping in solitude over his neglect edward was in scenes of plea sire offering up his vows to another who he shortly intenited to lead to the altar


when he first arrtived in this colony his first wish was for the arrrival of jessy but as time passeed on that hope became less eager and eventually at the period of her arrival he trusted that she would never come


great then was his em barrassment when te heard of her arrival then selfishly thinking only of himself he hastened away from the town and regardless of the feelings of her who he once vowed to love and cherishl through life he left her unprotected and alone to combat with disappointed hope and blighted affection true that vow was not yet sanctioned by the nlws of man but in the presence of an all seeing god it had been given and faith and love had ratified the vow


and what had changed his sentiments


had his fickle love been given another or had the object of his early love become unworthy


no t evdn then some lingering better feeling of former love remained which callous and worldly as he had become gave him pain to subdue


during the uncertainty of jessys voyage edward had become engaged from in terested motives te another


while at home he belonged to a respectable middle class of life here le found that saume rank of people styling themselves the aristocrats of society and arro gating tle airs of leaders of ton and forming cliques from which they excluded all who did not move in their charmed circle


the facility with which formerly a man witlh a meie uominial capital became a gentleman wote liiniself esq sold a cask or two of rumi hiand thienwri clubbed a tiehrchut was adminra i jlfially the transfprm atiuon was cginplete wien nfi


elegiant villa and laulde


piperty


cill lii him master this was all very wellwhen p iulforiiigoldepn likuiesses of fler majesty oir dthle isult of icidustry anid uprii ght conduct but nort


so if iilperisliable pier


pautieswwlree givein


cairiages anda till kinds ofl luxury in rniu li


tinuntil the bubbly burst and all their great itess vnished into ani nosy thesesvety people woitd lhav


bet ain clmorc respectable hlidl li ey intattempted to be superior to wnhati nitli rind eal tion hald eves intented tlhip


smit jiio athome wonuld have ben styled a respecitabll grazier and as such beqen contented iiij his


ituition here becomes a gentleman li ivetdi ai of his business to superinten deiiis keepshlis carinage comnlences to build a tiiclouser and tiskcwie atiid daghltes


affect to bie fine ladiel perhiipstqfere


he has lived in hisf fiasion he iscorrmpele to let it pass into oilther handils in ordcr to pmy


the cost tormort


gagei orofteui esuch people li vq in an uncoinu forttild utifinished hpuse or in the wings the boily o f the domicile


eing incomplete


my dtirb sias mrs brown to her husband mrs somlfiti s has hea drawiing room furnishedso autifulirs cilly must olti like other people


uisiclfniif aslihutd of our pltcefoithwtitli one roond is cutinbercrd witlixpensifuinii ture the table eovered wi th bonoks ihich are


to lee looked at for their gay bitnding bitt als wall ias tilihe ftiiito ire orily for sliiow id coinpipnn unoi famihii use mrsw l iiodntas chirimlpagtie at a paty and forthwith mis t u mplmins lis it iat


ies t ititsmuch as the vulgar brown ipaty ditlilk their champaignie frbi


tttnbletrs hltiy mis tonipkins foaithwith sends for cliinm prineliisscsito out rival her tmiristbriowin gets a yeiis schooling andd ai piiiios iloes miss tornpkins


if ms birown hisi ianew


silkdress mrs


tomilikins m ast have iwosatii oaes apropos i believe itis a tfa vorite anusementof the ladies whenthey meet tbodisplay


their new finery to each otliher and to comjipare noteswho lhas the largest wardrobe it is i believe more of a country amusement tthin a town one it might be a gratification to those who boast an extensive wardrobe if they were to dress tip some poor people and hire them to walk about in the most public places iith a label on their backs stating to whom the apparel belonged theywould by this means save themselves much anxiety about displaying liheirclothes it may be truly said they sacrifice to dress their inward peace till hbousehold jos and comforts cease


ihdiv often have i seen the members of a filiiily emulois of a vulgar display while their abodes were destitute ofthat cheerfulness neat nessi and comfort whiclheven a plain trades mans home afford in our dear native land


thinking of display reminds me of an at teinpt at an evening party at which i was pre sent after many discuissions as to who were nud who were not eligible to mix with their aristocratic highnesses cards were issued for a quadrille party the military oflicers who decide the caste of the invitoer being of course invited tempus nlutantur i now see the people sitting at the table of the aristocralsheaven save the mark who severn years or so since i saw left to stand in the hall wealth has carried the day and they in their turn affect aristocravy though there is something far more respectable about the aboriginal aristocrats less of the mushroom as they assumed that rank when there were scarcely but two divisions i society here and sprinkled aumong them of later date from home you will find many liberal minded highly educated and refined but i allude to the parvenus


the tocsin of vanity and jealousy having been sounded in the form of invitations the im portant evening arrived the covers were taken off the chairs the piano thrown open and tell it not at almacks mould candles were visible though even a plentiful supply of them would have been preferable to the dim light which caused the guests to look as if they were sully or sea sickch supper time arrived and we were ushered into a long room which at the lirst coup dcoil impressed its with an idea that we lihad comne to an hoticultural show for nothing but roses and hollyhocks met our view on re


i movinb the flowery covering of one dish lo


the leg of a fowl met our view having duly de molished the contents of that dish viz


the leg we tried another and foutd perhaps the com panion leg wing or a few wafer slices of


ianm trusting the pastry would be better we found it composed of turnip and carrot tarts disguised with lemon and sugar seeing a fine china bowl in the centre of the table round which bowl was a muslin petticoat looped up with roses we opined as we could procure nothinlg to eat it might contain a trifle when imagine our disappoiunmentour bread and butter days having long pastto fiud it contained curdl and whey ini fact it was a supper like her mighty self four nothings on a plate of delf


we next applied our investigations


fi the portables the wines were good but scanty in supply some suspicious looking decanters which had the fragrant odour of rum were labelled brandy the latter being often thought indispensable at a supper table


imagine at a london real aristocratic rout a gentleman drinking brandy and water by the side of his fair partner or waltzing with her redolent of the perfume of the tobacco which he leaves the ball room occasionally to indulge in how the sup position would shock his nerves


one or two bottles of porter embellished the side board and having been emptied a call was made for more the papa called to one of


hiis sons who rejoiced in the euphonious name of bob sam or some such brief cognomen bob bob why dont you go to the cellar for some more ale


now bob had applied himself with suchlas siduity to the suspicious looking bottles that lie was rather oblivious of passing events bob said a gentleman to him do you not hear your father calling to you to get some more alelet him call said the dutiful son he knows well enough there is not a drop more ale in the house le is only gammoning


allow ne to propose a toast before the ladies retire said one of the partytlen followed thie usual flourish about the hospitality of the host his many virtues and iis health was drunk


the host then returned thanks in a speech whiich was spoken whenever that subject was introduced he then returned the sonmemr plinment to


his friend after whichlithetwoegeni tlemnn alternatoly proposed the healith of the respective menibers of rc itchlies faiily iiiifi the


nuliber was cxhausted swas


thepatietrqe of the hearers


ote geitleainn conimenced to sing drraw the sword of scotlatiido er i getiially tiat islihe flourished


cirving liuif e in lieui of scotias swordi e neai ly ctt of lhe riilets of a laduy seated ncxtto


im at instthe ladies were allowed to iretire


nd the gentlemen applied tlheniselves with suilol vigvor to


tlheo bottle that on iliei tre o tii t tiedriwing room t e igihts fwhi libefore thee was ia panuie now seemed nuiplied rieels ve ti


it i a r it t ro i


lliii ld


i


di scussing plintsof qui d ie i


esffeetsmg


p


t meo sif


hadich s a sotig otbect haiofimel siuiiikii o


a doe l thepp ty hiole up thiereb provig that ica can fie itia de aout pun qaitodpwi t r itny thits to hw the anrj i t gociety tlhrew sov


tit weakyc rnli oftener i ityihh


orut l p ci t a


r


our oi fuh s


i t i r a mi


hillt broiughlltl tol wil ng


i t ti cis mets f


mettrtof dagtes spiteeay pjcgys if uetciantizc


baiidr disliriin ill nfu l


se i op selalip i c itmenqeds ehi us t tu


o t his anie


b me


rtth


i fa tin re sellviy establishments


i fbormneri dees


nc dy pethobseii epapetr ho w i intle it bedt house said o


e mgn tikiffe i aibout flaiis e toa flounrishn giq qod dit es a isc otice th ills fooreot il l nttrations clrewcomptn


tiol s seouse ie bend declred tbahdit ter and tl cqired


liose ca alisicailen tel of


oseonencqj


t


t p lsr t mtthilts becaine a crtteciontof respectaitbit


those peisons who werets not invited to his blouse said ofcoturse mhnyi ll untured thaing abontlis extrasyigance and thlt if tiey wer notliceild tiey soot fougotuhtti


fot met ill will and declnred thllat aftei talihelhillvqcrwefvery niip


kind of people i j


i must do miss hill thle juseosy


she was not an unnmiabei r n been at first aware of edwardiira enae


ment she would not havereeelved his l dresses but after becoming nfie ai had not firmness of mindto r egs tn t its unworthy conudnet to another


iifd eery woman flatters herself that althlo i os to all the world her lover willbe truiii tierr z mr hill belonged to g thae tclue cy which it was edwards ambition to be leder and moreover miss hill was reporte ito ihave a fortune from her father such as would accord with his aspiring views agaill thougl jessy ws pretty genteel and perhaps better ednuated thti her rival yet he relembcred shellad not atn air of fashion snffient to


pronounee her a person of consequence


in fact ie liid cleft home with unsophisticated feeling but here te had become vicious and selfishi


on the morning after the ball thegoed clerr gyman of whoni i before spoke liaviig fulfill d his intention of calling on jessy to console


and advise her if needful now called oni elid to bring him if possible to a sense of justice bult in vain for selfreproach was mingled with siioe trace of better feeling


i feel said edward in reply that i have done wrong very wrong but still i cannot recall the affection i once had for jessy i cannot now minake her my wife for i am pledged to another and my marringe day is appointed i know she is every thing that is good and amiable


miss frazer said the clergyman earnestly entreats that you will see her if only for a few minutes that she may hear from your own lips the reason of your cruel desertion she says that she will not reproach you but only wishes to see you


once more i entertain serious fears for her health as her mind is a prey to the most distressing feelings your refusal to see her i think still more selfish than your unmatnily neglect after inducing her to leave her home for your sake


to be concluded tn our next


chapter ii


but his promises so lavish have no power her heart to ravish and his prospects are but slavish and his soul is in despair


though he tells her she is fairer than of gems the noblest wearer that her beauty is far rarer than the fairest of the fair that with her earths noblest highest could not venture to compare


yet his softest words are wasted upon air


j l forrest


leonora oneil went with mrs mark ham to australia


poor girl


she had hoped that connor would come even to the last moment but he did not and cruel time rolled round and brought the day of departure and yet no connor came


she was too timid to break off the engagement which her aunt had made and so her timidity soon put sixteen thousand miles between her and her dearest upon earth


arrived at sydney mrs markham took up her residence in a stately man sion in one of its fashionable suburbs and at once launched into society


being a kindhearted and generous woman she took pleasure in opening to her fair young governess all the scenes of enjoy ment which were at her command


her own daughters were mere children and so despite the remonstrances of horrified friends the good lady indefatigably cha peroned leonora at ball and theatres


when asked what she meant to be the end of this she answered with a laugh marriage of course miss oneil is a fit wife for the first gentleman in the colony


nora ignorant through her very sim plicity of this kindly meant but thought less plan was tired and sad amid all the endless succession of gaiety yet smiled her thanks to gratify her protectress


though she had not found in australia the superabundance of gold which her aunt had predicted yet she did speedily find the number of suitors of which she had spoken much to her annoyance


with quiet gentle dignity she succeeded in keeping all but one aloof


this one any other girl might have been proud to acknowledge for he was rich and hand some and withal noble and good and possessed kind mrs markhams favour as well


how came it then that nora avoided him and at last when he did succeed in obtaining an interview told him firmly though with a burst of her too ready tears that she was sorry but she never intended to marry


absurd


but how was it


why far away in ireland there was a ruddy faced lad with a laughing voice and a warm warm heart and between that heart and hers was a cord of true love that sixteen thousand miles had failed to break


upon her memory was written a celtic name that oceans had failed to efface or the winds of a new hemisphere were able to blow away and still nora oneil was true hopelessly helplessly but unfailingly true to connor oconnor


american notes for general circulation


by charles dickens


chapter i going away


i shall never forget the onefourth serious and threefourths comical astonishment with which on the morning of the third of january eighteen hundred and forty two i opened the door of and put my head into a state room on board the britannia steam packet twelve hundred tons burden per register bound for halifax and boston and carrying her majestys mails


that this stateroom had been specially engaged for charles dickens esquire and lady was rendered sufficiently clear even to my scared intellect by a very small manuscript announcing the fact which was pinned on a very flat quilt cover


ing a very thin mattress spread like a surgical plaster on a most inacces sible shelf


but that this was the stateroom concerning which charles dickens esquire and lady had held daily and nightly conferences for at least four months preceding that this could by any possibility be that small snug chamber of the imagination which charles dickens esq with the spirit of prophecy strong upon him had always foretold would contain at least one little sofa and which his lady with a modest yet most magnificent sense of its limited dimen sions had from the first opined would not hold more than two enormous portman teaus in some odd corner out of sight portmanteaus which could now no more be got in at the door not to say stowed away than a giraffe could be persuaded or forced into a flowerpot that this utterly impracticable thoroughly hopeless and profoundly preposterous box had the remotest reference to or connection with those chaste and pretty not to say gor geous little bowers sketched by a masterly hand in the highly varnished lithographic plan hanging up in the agents counting house in the city of london that this room of state in short could be anything but a pleasant fiction and cheerful jest of the captains invented and put in practice for the better relish and enjoy ment of the real stateroom presently to be disclosed these were truths which i really could not for the moment bring my mind at all to bear upon or comprehend


and i sit down upon a kind of horsehair slab or perch of which there were two within and looked without any impression of countenance whatever at some friends who had come on board with us and who were crushing their faces into all manner of shapes by endeavouring to squeeze them through the small doorway


we had experienced a pretty smart shock before coming below which but that we were the most sanguine people living might have prepared us for the worst


the imaginative artist to whom i have already made illusion has depicted in the same great work a chamber of almost interminable perspective furnished as mr robins would say in a style of more than eastern splendour and filled but not inconveniently so with groups of ladies and gentlemen in the very highest state of enjoyment and vivacity


before descending into the bowels of the ship we had passed from the deck into a long narrow apartment not unlike a gigantic hearse with windows in the sides having at the upper end a melancholy stove at which three or four chilly stewards were warming their hands while on either side extending down its long dreary length was a long long table over each of which a rack fixed to the low roof and stuck full of drinking glasses and cruetstands hinted dismally at rolling seas and heavy weather


i had not at that time seen the ideal present ment of this chamber which has since gratified me so much but i observed that one of our friends who had made the arrangements for our voyage turned pale on entering retreated on the friend behind him smote his forehead involuntarily and said below his breath impossible


it cannot be


or words to that effect


he recovered himself however by a great effort and after a preparatory cough or two cried with a ghastly smile which is still before me looking at the same time round the walls ha


the breakfastroom stewardeh we all foresaw what the answer must be we knew the agony he suffered


he had often spoken of the saloon had taken in and lived upon the pictorial idea had usually given us to understand at home that to form a just conception of it it would be necessary to multiply the size and furniture of an ordinary drawingroom by seven and then fall short of the reality


when the man in reply avowed the truth the blunt remorseless naked truth this is the saloon sir he actually reeled beneath the blow


in persons who were so soon to part and interpose between their else daily communication the formidable barrier of many thousand miles of stormy space and who were for that reason anxious to cast no other cloud not even the passing shadow of a moments disappoint ment or discomfiture upon the short interval of happy companionship that yet remained to themin persons so situated the natural transition from these first surprises was obviously into peals of hearty laughter and i can report that i for one being still seated upon the slab or perch beforementioned roared out right until the vessel rang again


thus in less than two minutes after com ing upon it for the first time we all by common consent agreed that this state room was the pleasantest and most face tious and capital contrivance possible and that to have had it one inch larger would have been quite a disagreeable and deplorable state of things


and with this and with showing how by very nearly closing the door and twining in and out like serpents and by counting the little washingslab as standingroom we could manage to insinuate four people into it all at one time and entreating each other to observe how very airy it was in dock and how there was a beautiful port hole which could be kept open all day weather permitting and how there was quite a large bullseye just over the look ingglass which would render shaving a perfectly easy and delightful pro cess when the ship didnt roll too much we arrived at last in the unanimous con clusion that it was rather spacious than otherwise though i do verily believe that deducting the two berths one above the other than which nothing smaller for sleep ing in was ever made except coffins it was no bigger than one of those hackney cabriolets which have the door behind and shoot their fares out like sacks of coals upon the pavement


having settled this point to the satisfac tion of all parties concerned and uncon cerned we sat down round the fire in the ladies cabin just to try the effect


it was rather dark certainly but somebody said of course it would be light at sea a proposition to which we all assented echoing of course of course though it would be exceedingly difficult to say why we thought so


i remember too when we had discovered and exhausted another topic of consolation in the circumstance of this ladies cabin adjoining our stateroom and the consequently immense feasibility of sit ting there at all times and seasons and had fallen into a momentary silence leaning our faces on our hands and looking at the fire one of our party said with the solemn air of a man who had made a discovery what a relish mulled claret will have down here


which appeared to strike us all most forcibly as though there were something spicy and highflavoured in cabins which essentially improved that composition and rendered it quite incapable of perfection anywhere else


there was a stewardess too actively engaged in producing clean sheets and table cloths from the very entrails of the sofas and from unexpected lockers of such artful mechanism that it made ones head ache to see them opened one after another and rendered it quite a distracting cir cumstance to follow her proceedings and to find that every nook and corner and individual piece of furniture was something else besides what it pretended to be and was a mere trap and deception and place of secret stowage whose ostensible pur pose was its least useful one


god bless that stewardess for her piously fraudulent account of january voyages


god bless her for her clear recollection of the companion passage of last year when nobody was ill and every body dancing from morning to night and it was a run of twelve days and a piece of the purest frolic and delight and jollity


all happiness be with her for her bright face and pleasant scotch tongue which had sounds of old home in it for my fellowtraveller and for her predic tions of fair winds and fine weather all wrong or i shouldnt be half so fond of her and for the ten thousand small fragments of genuine womanly tact by which without piecing them elabo rately together and patching them up into shape and form and ease and pointed ap plication she nevertheless did plainly show that all young mothers on one side of the atlantic were near and close at hand to their little children left upon the other and what seemed to the uninitiated a serious injury was to those who were in the secret as mere frolic to be sung about and whistled at


light be her heart and gay her merry eyes for years


the stateroom had grown pretty fast but by this time it had expanded into something quite bulky and almost boasted a bay window to view the sea from


so we went upon deck again in high spirits and there everything was in such a state of bustle and active preparation that the blood quickened its pace and whirled through ones veins on that clear frosty morning with involuntary mirthfulness


for every gallant ship was riding slowly up and down and every little boat was plashing noisily in the water gazing with a kind of dread delight on the far famed fast american steamer and one party of men were taking in the milk or in other words getting the cow on board and another were filling the ice houses to the very throat with fresh pro visions with butchers meat and garden stuff pale suckingpigs calves heads in scores beef veal and pork and poultry out of all proportion and others were coiling ropes and busy with oakum yarns and others were lowering heavy packages into the hold and the pursers head was barely visible as it loomed in a state of exquisite perplexity from the midst of a large pile of passengers luggage and there seemed to be nothing going on anywhere or uppermost in the mind of anybody but preparations for this mighty voyage


this with the bright cold sun the bracing air the crisplycurling water thin white crust of morning ice upon the decks which cracked with a sharp and cheerful sound beneath the lightest tread was irresistible


and when again upon the shore we turned and saw from the vessels mast her name signalled in flags of joyous colours and fluttering by her side the beautiful american banner with its stars and stripes the long three thousand miles and more and longer still the six whole months of absence so dwindled and faded that the ship had gone out and come home again and it was broad spring already in the coburg dock at liverpool


i have not inquired among my medical acquaintance whether turtle and cold punch with hock champagne and claret and all the slight et cetera usually included in an unlimited order for a good dinner especially when it is left to the liberal construction of my faultless friend mr radley of the adelphi hotel are peculiarly calculated to suffer a seachange or whether a plain muttonchop and a glass or two of sherry would be less likely of conversion into foreign and disconcerting material


my own opinion is that whether one is discreet or indiscreet in these particulars on the eve of a seavoyage is a matter of little consequence and that to use a common phrase it comes to very much the same thing in the end


be this as it may i know that the dinner of that day was undeniably perfect that it comprehended all these items and a great many more and that we all did ample justice to it


and i know too that bating a certain tacit avoidance of any allusion to tomorrow such as may be supposed to prevail between delicateminded turn keys and a sensitive prisoner who is to be hanged next morning we got on very well and all things considered were merry enough


when the morning the morning came and we met at breakfast it was curious to see how eager all were to prevent a moments pause in the con versation and how astonishingly gay everybody was the forced spirits of each member of the little party having as much likeness to his natural mirth as hothouse peas at five guineas the quail resemble in flavour the growth of the dews and air and rain of heaven


but as one oclock the hour for going aboard drew near this volubility dwindled away by little and little despite the most persevering efforts to the contrary until at last the matter being now quite des perate we threw off all disguise openly speculated upon where we should be this time tomorrow this time next day and so forth and entrusted a vast number of messages to those who intended re turning to town that night which were to be delivered at home and elsewhere with out fail within the very shortest possible space of time after the arrival of the rail way train at eustonsquare


and com missions and remembrances do so crowd upon one at such a time that we were still busied with this employment when we found ourselves fused as it were into a dense conglomeration of passengers and passengers friends and passengers lug gage all jumbled together on the deck of a small steamboat and panting and snort ing off to the packet which had worked out of dock yesterday afternoon and was now lying at her moorings in the river


and there she is


all eyes are turned to where she lies dimly discernible through the gathering fog of the early winter after noon every finger is pointed in the same direction and murmurs of interest and ad mirationas how beautiful she looks


how trim she is are heard on every side


even the lazy gentleman with his hat on one side and his hands in his pockets who has dispensed so much con solation by enquiring with a yawn of another gentleman whether he is going acrossas if it were a ferryeven he condescends to look that way and nods his head as who should say no mistake about that and not even the sage lord burleigh in his nod included half so much as this lazy gentleman of might who has made the passage as everybody on board has found out already its impos sible to say how thirteen times without a single accident


there is another pas senger very much wrappedup who has been frowned down by the rest and morally trampled upon and crushed for presuming to inquire with a timid interest how long it is since the poor president went down


he is standing close to the lazy gentleman and says with a faint smile that he believes she is a very strong ship to which the lazy gentleman look ing first in his questioners eye and then very hard in the winds answers unexpectedly and ominously that she need be


upon this the lazy gentleman instantly falls very low in the popular estimation and the passengers with looks of defiance whisper to each other that he is an ass and an impostor and clearly dont know anything about it


but we are made fast alongside the packet whose huge red funnel is smoking bravely giving promise of serious inten tions


packingcases portmanteaus carpet bags and boxes are already passed from hand to hand and hauled on board with breathless rapidity


the officers smartly dressed are at the gangway handing the passengers up the side and hurrying the men


in five minutes time the little steamer is utterly deserted and the packet is beset and overrun by its late freight who instantly pervade the whole ship and are to be met with by the dozen in every nook and corner swarming down below with their own baggage and stumbling over other peoples disposing themselves comfortably in wrong cabins and creating a most horrible confusion by having to turn out again madly bent upon open ing locked doors and on forcing a passage into all kinds of outofthe way places where there is no thorough fare sending wild stewards with elfin hair to and fro upon the decks on unin telligible errands impossible of execution and in short creating the most extraor dinary and bewildered tumult


in the midst of all this the lazy gentleman who seems to have no luggage of any kind not so much as a friend evenlounges up and down the hurricane deck coolly pulling a cigar and ns this unconcerned demea nour exults him in the opinion of those who have leisure to observe his proceedings every time lie looks up at the masts ol down at the decks or over the side they look there too as wondering whether he sees anything wrong anywhere and hoping that iu case he should he will have the goodness to mention it


what have we here


the captains boat and yonder the captain himself


now by all your hopes and wishes the very man he ought to be


a wellmade tightbuilt dapper little fellow with a ruddy face which is a letter of invitation to shake him with both hands at once and with a clear blue honest eye that it does one good to see ones sparkling image in


ring the bell


ding ding ding


the very bell is in a hurry


now for the shorewhos for the shore


these gentlemen i am sorry to say


they are away and never said good bye


ah now they wave it from the little boat


good bye


three cheers from them three more from us three more from them and they are gone


to and fro to and fro to and fro again a hundred times


this waiting for the latest mail bags is worse than all


if we could have gone off in the midst of that last burst we should have started tri umphantly but to lie here two hours and more in the damp fog neither staying at home nor going abroad is letting one down into the very depths of dulness and low spirits


a speck in the mist at last


thats something


it is the boat we wait for


thats more to the purpose


the captain appears on the paddlebox with his speaking trumpet the officers take their stations all hands are on the alert the flagging hopes of the passengers revive the cooks pause in their savoury work and look out with faces full of interest


the boat comes alongside the bags are dragged in anyhow


three cheers more and as the first one wrings upon our ears the vessel throbs like a strong giant that has just received the breath of life the two great wheels turn fiercely round for the first time and the noble ship with wind and tide astern breaks proudly through the lashed and foaming water


chapter ii


the passage out


we all dined together that day and a rather formidable party we were no fewer than eightysix strong


the vessel being pretty deep in the water with all her coals on board and so many passengers and the weather being calm and quiet there was but little motion so that before the din ner was half over even those passengers who were most distrustful of themselves plucked up amazingly and those who in the morning had returned to the universal question are you a good sailor


a very decided negative now either parried the inquiry with the evasive reply oh


i suppose im no worse than anybody else or reckless of all moral obligations an swered boldly yes and with some irri tation too as though they would add i should like to know what you see in me sir particularly to justify suspicion


notwithstanding this high tone of cou rage and confidence i could not but ob serve that very few remained long over their wine and that every body had an unusual love of the open air and that the favourite and most coveted seals were inva riably those nearest to the door


the tea table too was by no means as well attended as the dinnertable and there was less whistplaying than might have been expected


still with the exception of one lady who had retired with some precipitation at dinner time immediately after being assisted to the finest cut of a very yellow boiled leg of mutton with green capers there were no invalids as yet and walking and smoking and drinking of brandyand water but always in the open air went on with unabated spirit until eleven oclock or thereabouts when turning inno sailor of seven hours experience talks of going to bedbecame the order of the night


the perpetual tramp of boot heels on the decks gave place to a heavy silence and the whole human freight was stowed away below excepting a very few stragglers like myself who were probably like me afraid to go there


to our unaccustomed to such scenes this is a very striking time on ship board


afterwards and when its novelty had long worn off it never ceased to have a peculiar interest and charm for me


the gloom through the great black mass holds its direct and certain course the rushing water plainly heard but dimly seen the broad white glisten ing track that follows in the vessels wake the men on the lookout forward who would be scarcely visible against the dark sky but for their blotting out some score of glistening stars the helmsman at the wheel with the illuminated card before him shining a speck of light amidst the darkness like something sentient and of divine intelligence the melancholy sigh ing of the wind through block and rope and chain the gleaming forth of light from every crevice nook and tiny piece of glass about the decks as though the ship were filled with fire in hiding ready to burst through any outlet wild with its resistless power of death and ruin


at first too and even when the hour and all the objects it exalts have come to be familiar it is difficult alone and thought ful to hold them to their proper shapes and forms


they change with the wan dering fancy assume the semblance of things left far away put on the well remembered aspect of favourite places dearly loved and even people them with shadows


streets houses rooms figures so like their usual occupants that they have startled me by their reality which far exceeded as it seemed to me all power of mine to con jure up the absent have many and many a time at such an hour grown suddenly out of objects with whose real look and use and purpose i was as well acquainted as with my own two hands


my own two hands and feet likewise being very cold however on this particu lar occasion i crept below at midnight


it was not exactly comfortable below


it was decidedly close and it was impossi ble to be unconscious of the presence of that extraordinary compound of strange smells which is to be found nowhere but on board ship and which is such a subtle perfume that it seems to enter at every pore of the skin and whisper of the hold


two passengers wives one of them my own lay already in silent agonies on the sofa one ladys maid my ladys was a mere bundle on the floor execrating her destiny and pounding her curlpapers among the stray boxes


everything sloped the wrong way which in itself was an aggravation scarcely to be borne


i had left the door open a moment before in the bosom of a gentle declivity and when i turned to shut it it was on the summit of a lofty eminence


now every plank and timber creaked as if the ship were made of wickerwork and now crackled like an enormous fire of the driest possible twigs


there was nothing for it but bed so i went to bed


it was pretty much the same for the next two days with a tolerably fair wind and dry weather


i read in bed but to this hour i dont know what a good deal and reeled on deck a little drank cold brandyandwater with an unspeakable disgust and ate hard biscuit perseveringly not ill but going to be


it is the third morning


i am awakened out of my sleep by a dismal shriek from my wife who demands to know whether theres any danger


i rouse myself and look out of bed


the waterjug is plung ing and leaping like a dolphin all the smaller articles are afloat except my shoes which are stranded on a carpetbag high and dry like a couple of coalbarges


sud


denly i see them spring into the air and behold the lookingglass which is nailed to the wall sticking fast upon the ceiling


at the same time the door entirely disap pears and a new one is opened in the floor


then i begin to comprehend that the stateroom is standing upon its head


before it is possible to make any ar rangement at all compatible with this no vel state of things the ship rights


be fore one can say thank heaven


she wrongs again


before one can cry she is wrong she seems to have started forward and to be a creature actively running of its own accord with broken knees and failing legs through every variety of hole and pitfall and stumbling constantly


before one can say so much as wonder she takes a high leap into the air


before she has well done that she takes a deep dive into the water


before she has gain ed the surface she throws a summerset


the instant she is on her legs she rushes backward


and so she goes on stagger ing heaving wrestling leaping diving jumping pitching throbbing rolling and rocking and going through all these move ments sometimes by turns and sometimes all together until one feels disposed to roar for mercy


a steward passes


steward


sir


what is the matter


what do you call this


rather a heavy sea on sir and a head wind


a headwind


imagine a human face upon the vessels prow with fifteen thou sand sampsons in one bent upon driving her back and hitting her exactly between the eyes whenever she attempts to ad vance an inch


imagine the ship her self with pulse and artery of her huge body swollen and bursting under this mal treatment sworn to go on or die


imagine the wind howling the sea roaring the rain beating all in furious array against her


picture the sky both dark and wild and the clouds in fearful sympathy with the waves ranking another ocean in the air


add to all this the clattering on deck and down below the tread of hurried feet the loud hoarse shouts of seamen the gurg ling in and out of water through the scuppers with every now and then the striking of a heavy sea upon the planks above with the deep dead heavy sound of thunder heard within a vault and there is the head wind of that january morning


i say nothing of what may be called the domestic noises of the ship such as the breaking of glass and crockery the tum bling down of stewards the gambols over head of loose casks and truant dozens of bottled porter and the very remarkable and far from exhilerating sounds raised in their various staterooms by the seventy passen gers who were too ill to get up to break fast


i say nothing of them for although i lay listening to this concert for three or four days i dont think i heard it for more than a quarter of a minute at the expira tion of which term i lay down again ex cessively seasick


not seasick be it understood in the ordinary acceptation of the term i wish i had been but in a form which i have never seen or heard described though i have no doubt it is very common


i lay there all the daylong quite coolly and contentedly with no sense of weariness with no desire to get up or get better or take the air with no curiosity or care or regret of any sort or degree saying that i think i can remember in this universal indifference having a kind of lazy joyof fiendish de light if anything so lethargic can be dig nified with the titlein the fact of my wife being too ill to talk to me


if i may be allowed to illustrate my state of mind by such an example i should say that i was exactly in the condition of the elder mr willet after the incursion of the rioters into his bar at chigwell


nothing could have surprised me


if in the mo mentary illumination of any ray of intel ligence that may have come upon me in the way of thoughts of home a goblin postman with a scarlet coat and bell had come into that little kennel before me broad awake in broad day and apolo gizing for being damp through walking in the sea had handed me a letter directed to myself in familiar characters i am cer tain


i should not have felt one atom of astonishment i should have been per fectly satisfied


if neptune himself had walked in with a toasted shark on his trident i should have looked upon the event as one of the very commonest every day occurrences


onceoncei found myself on deck


i dont know how i got there or what possessed me to go there but there i was and completely dressed too with a huge peacoat on and a pair of boots such as no weak man in his senses could ever have got into


i found my self standing when a gleam of conscious ness came upon me holding on to some thing


i dont know what


i think it was the boatswain or it may have been the pump or possibly the cow


i cant say how long i had been there whether a day or a minute


i recollect trying to think about something about anything in the whole wide world i was not parti cular without the smallest effect


i could not even make out which was the sea and which the sky for the horizon seemed drunk and was flying wildly about in all directions


even in that incapable state however i recognised the lazy gentleman standing before me nautically clad in a suit of shabby blue with an oilskin hat


but i was too imbecile although i knew it to be he to separate him from his dress and tried to call him i remember pilot


after another interval of total unconsci ousness i found he had gone and recog nised another figure in its place


it seemed to wave and fluctuate before me as though i saw it reflected in an unsteady lookingglass but i knew it for the captain and such was the cheerful influence of his face that i tried to smile yes even then i tried to smile


i saw by his gestures that he ad dressed me but it was a long time before i could make out that he remonstrated against my standing up to my knees in wateras i was of course i dont know why


i tried to thank him but couldnt


i could only point lo my bootsor where ever i supposed my boots to beand said in a plaintive voice cork soles at the same time endeavouring i am told to sit down in the pool


finding that i was quite insensible and for the time a maniac he humanely conducted me below


there i remained until i got better suffering whenever i was recommended to eat anything an amount of anguish only second to that which is said to be endured by the apparently drowned in the process of restoration to life


one gentleman on board had a letter of intro duction to me from a mutual friend in london


he sent it below with his card on the morning of the head wind and i was long troubled with the idea that he might be up and well and a hundred times a day expecting me to call upon him in the saloon


i imagined him one of those castiron imagesi will not call them menwho ask with red faces and lusty voices what seasickness means and whe


ther it really is as bad as it is represented to be


this was very torturing indeed and i dont think i ever felt such perfect gra tification and gratitude of heart as i did when i heard from the ships doctor that he had been obliged to put a very large mustard poultice on this very gentlemans stomach


i date my recovery from the receipt of that intelligence


it was materially assisted though i have no doubt by a heavy gale of wind which came slowly up at sunset when we were about ten days out and raged with gradually increasing fury until morning saving that it lulled for an hour a little before midnight


there was something in the unnatural repose of that hour and in the after gathering of the storm so in conceivably awful and tremendous that its bursting into full violence was almost a relief


the labouring of the ship in the troubled sea on this night i shall never forget


will it ever be worse than this was a question i had often heard asked when everything was sliding and bumping about and when it certainly did seem difficult to comprehend the possi bility afloat being more disturbed with out toppling over and going down


but what the agitation of a steamvessel is on a bad winters night in the wild atlantic it is impossible for the vivid imagination to conceive


to say that she is flung down on her side in the waves with her masts dipping into them and that springing up again she rolls over on the other side until a heavy sea strikes her with the noise of a hundred great guns and hurls her backthat she stops and stag gers and shivers as though stunned and then with a violent throbbing at her heart darts onward like a monster goaded into madness to he beaten down and bat tered and crushed and leaped on by the angry seathat thunder lightning hail and rain and wind are all in fierce con tention for the masterythat every plank has its groan every nail its shriek and every drop of water in the great ocean its howling voiceis nothing


to say that all is grand and all appalling and horrible in the last degree is nothing


words cannot express it


thoughts cannot con vey it


only a dream can call it up again in all its fury rage and passion


and yet in the very midst of these terrors i was placed in a situation so exquisitely ridiculous that even then i had as strong a sense of its absurdity as i have now and could no more help laughing than i can at any other comical incident happening under circumstances the most favourable to its enjoyment


about mid night we shipped a sea which forced its way through the skylights burst open the doors above and came raging and roaring down into the ladies cabin to the unspeak able consternation of my wife and a little scotch ladywho by the way had pre viously sent a message to the captain by the stewardess requesting him with her compliments to have a steel conductor immediately attached to the top of every mast and to the chimney in order that the ship might not be struck by lightning


they and the handmaid before mentioned being in such ecstacies of fear that i scarcely knew what to do with them i naturally bethought myself of some restorative or comfortable cordial and nothing better occurring to me at the moment than hot brandyandwater i procured a tumblerfull without delay


it being impossible to stand or sit without holding on they were all heaped together in one corner of a long sofaa fixture extending entirely across the cabinwhere they clung to each other in momentary expectation of being drowned


when i approached this place with my specific and was about to ad minister it with many consolatory ex pressions to the nearest sufferer what was my dismay to see them all roll slowly down to the other end


and when i staggered to that end and held out the glass once more how immensely baffled were my good intentions by the ship giving another lurch and their all rolling back again


i suppose i dodged them up and down this sofa for at least a quarter of an hour without reaching them once and by the time i did catch them the brandyandwater was diminished by constant spilling to a teaspoonful


to complete the group it is necessary to re cognise in this disconcerted dodger a very pale individual who had shaved his beard and brushed his hair last at liverpool and whose only articles of dress linen not included were a pair of dreadnought trousers a bluejacket formerly admired upon the thames at richmond no stock ings and one slipper


of the outrageous antics performed by that ship next morning which made bed a practical joke and getting up by any process short of falling out an impos sibility i say nothing


but anything like the utter dreariness and desolation that met my eyes when i literally tumbled up on deck at noon i never saw


ocean and sky were all of one dull heavy uniform lead colour


there was no extent of prospect even over the dreary waste that lay around us for the sea ran high and the horizon encompassed us like a large black hoop


viewed from the air or some tall bluff on shore it would have been imposing and stupendous no doubt but seen from the wet and rolling decks it only impressed one giddily and painfully


in the gale of last night the lifeboat had been crushed by one blow of the sea like a walnutshell and there it hung dangling in the air a mere faggot of crazy boards


the planking of the paddleboxes had been torn sheer away


the wheels were exposed and bare and they whirled and dashed their spray about the decks at random


chimney while with crusted salt topmasts struck storm sails set rigging all knotted tangled wet and drooping a gloomier picture it would be hard to look upon


i was now comfortably established by courtesy in the ladies cabin where be sides ourselves there were only four other passengers


first the little scotchlady beforementioned on her way to join her husband at new york who had settled there three years before


secondly and thirdly an honest young yorkshireman connected with some american house domiciled in that same city and carrying thither his beautiful young wife to whom he had been married but a fortnight and who was the fairest specimen of a comely english country girl i have ever seen


fourthly fifthly and lastly another couple newlymarried too if one might judge from the endearments they fre quently interchanged of whom i know no more than that they were rather a mysterious runaway kind of couple that the lady had great personal attrac tions also and that the gentleman car ried more guns with him than robinson crusoe wore a shootingcoat and had two great dogs on board


on further con sideration i remember that he tried hot roast pig and bottled ale as a cure for sea sickness and that he took these remedies usually in bed day after day with astonishing perseverance


i may add for the information of the curious that they decidedly failed


the weather continuing obstinately and almost unprecedentedly bad we usually straggled into this cabin more or less faint and miserable about an hour before noon and lay down on the sofas to recover during which interval the captain would look in to communicate the state of the wind the moral certainty of its changing tomorrow the weather is always going to improve tomorrow at sea the vessels rate of sailing and so forth


obser vations there were none to tell us of for there was no sun to take them by


but a description of one day will serve for all the rest


here it is


the captain being gone we compose ourselves to read if the place be light enough and if not we doze and talk alternately


at one a bell rings and the stewardess comes down with a steaming dish of baked potatoes and another of roasted apples and plates of pigs face cold ham salt beef or perhaps a smoking mess of rare hot collops


we fall to upon these dainties eat as much as we can we have great appetites now and are as long as possible about it


if the fire will burn it will sometimes we are pretty cheerful


if it wont we all remark to each other that its very cold rub our hands cover ourselves with coats and cloaks and lie down again to doze talk and read pro vided as aforesaid until dinner time


at five another bell rings and the stew ardess reappears with another dish of potatoesboiled this timeand store of hot meat of various kinds not forgetting the roast pig to be taken medicinally


we sit down at table again rather more cheerfully than before prolong the meal with a rather mouldy dessert of apples grapes and oranges and drink our wine and brandyandwater


the bottles and glasses are still upon the table and the oranges and so forth are rolling about according to their fancy and the ships way when the doctor comes down by special nightly invitation to join our even ing rubber immediately on whose arrival we make a party at whist and as it is a rough night and the cards will not lie on the cloth we put the tricks in our pockets as we take them


at whist we remain with exemplary gravity deducting a short time for tea and toast until eleven oclock or thereabouts when the captain comes down again in a sou wester hat tied under his chin and a pilot coat making the ground wet where he stands


by this time the cardplaying is over and the bottles and glasses are again upon the table and after an hours plea sant conversation about the ship the pas sengers and things in general the captain who never goes to bed and is never out of humour turns up his coat collar for the deck again shakes hands all round and goes laughing out into the weather as mer rily as to a birthday party


as to daily news there is no dearth of that commodity


this passenger is re ported to have lost fourteen pounds at vingtetun in the saloon yesterday and that passenger drinks his bottle of cham pagne every day and he does it being only a clerk nobody knows


the head engineer has distinctly said that there never was such timesmeaning weather and four good hands are ill and have given in dead beat


several berths are full of water and all the cabins are leaky


the ships cook secretly swigging da maged whisky has been found drunk and has been played upon by the fire engine until quite sober


all the stewards have fallen down stairs at various dinner times and go about with plasters in va rious places


the baker is ill and so is the pastrycook


a new man horribly indisposed has been required to fill the plane of the latter officer and has been propped and jammed up with empty casks in a little house upon deck and com manded to roll out piecrust which he protests being highly bilious it is death to him to look at


news


a dozen murders on shore would lack the interest of these slight incidents at sea


divided between our rubber and such topics as these we were running as we thought n halifax harbour on the fifteenth night with little wind and a bright moonindeed we had made the light at its outer entrance and put the pilot in chargewhen sud


denly the ship struck upon a bank of mud


an immediate rush on deck took place of course the sides were crowded in an instant and for a few minutes we were in as lively a state of confusion as the greatest lover of disorder could desire to see


the passengers and guns and watercasks and other heavy matters being all huddled together aft however to lighten her in the head she was soon got off and after driving on towards an un comfortable line of objects whose vicinity had been announced very early in the disaster by a loud cry of breakersa head and much backing of paddles and heaving of the lead into a constantly de creasing depth of water we dropped anchor in a strange outlandish looking nook which nobody on board could recognise al though there was land all about us and so close that we could plainly see the waving branches of the trees


it was strange enough in the silence of midnight and the dead stillness that seemed to be created by the sudden and unexpected stoppage of the engine which had been clanking and blasting in our ears incessantly for so many days to watch the look of blank astonishment expressed in every face beginning with the officers tracing it through all the passengers and descending to the very stokers and furnace men who emerged from below one by one and clustered together in a smoky group about the hatchway of the engine room comparing notes in whispers


after throwing up a few rockets and firing signalguns in the hope of being hailed from the land or at least of seeing a lightbut without any other sight or sound presenting itselfit was determined to send a boat on shore


it was amusing to observe how very kind some of the passengers were in volunteering to go ashore in this same boat for the general good of course not by any means be


cause they thought the ship in an unsafe position or contemplated the possibility of her heeling over in case the tide were running out


nor was it less amusing to remark how desperately unpopular the poor pilot became in one short minute


he had had his passage out from liver pool and during the whole voyage had been quite a notorious character as a teller of anecdotes and cracker of jokes


yet here were the very men who had laughed the loudest at his jests now flourishing their fists in his face loading him with impre cations and defying him to his teeth as a villain


the boat soon shoved off with a lantern and sundry blue lights on board and in less than an hour returned the officer in command bringing with him a tolerably tall young tree which he had plucked up by the roots to satisfy certain dis trustful passengers whose minds misgave them that they were to be imposed upon and shipwrecked and who would on no other terms believe that he had been ashore or had done anything but fraudu ently row a little way in the mist specially to deceive them and compass their deaths


our captain had foreseen from the first that we must be in a place called the eastern passage and so we were


it was about the last place in the world in which we had any business or reason to be but a sudden fog and some error on the pilots part were the cause


we were surrounded by banks and rocks and shoals of all kinds but had happily drifted it seemed upon the only safe speck that was to be found thereabouts


eased by this report and by the assurance that the tide was past the ebb we turned in at three oclock in the morning


i was dressing about halfpast nine next day when the noise above hurried me on deck


when i had left it overnight it was dark foggy and damp and there were bleak hills all round us


now we were gliding down a smooth broad stream at the rate of eleven miles an hour our colours flying gaily our crew rigged out in their smartest clothes our officers in uniform again the sun shining as on a brilliant april day in england the land stretched out on either side streaked with light patches of snow white wooden houses people at their doors telegraphs working flags hoisted wharfs appear ing ships quays crowded with people distant noises shouts men and boys run ning down steep places towards the pier all more bright and gay and fresh to our unused eyes than words can paint them


we came to a wharf paved with uplifted faces got alongside and were made fast after some shouting and straining of cables darted a score of us along the gangway almost as soon as it was thrust out to meet us and before it had reached the ship and leaped upon the firm glad earth again


i suppose this halifax would have ap peared an elysium though it had been a curiosity of ugly dulness


but i carried away with me a most pleasant impression of the town and its inhabitants and have pre served it to this hour


nor was it with out regret that i came home without having found an opportunity of returning thither and once more shaking hands with the friends i made that day


it happened to be the opening of the legislative council and general assembly at which ceremonial the forms observed on the commencement of a new session of parliament in england were so closely copied and so gravely presented on a small scale that it was like looking at west minster through the wrong end of a tele scope


the governor as her majestys representative delivered what may be called the speech from the throne


he said what he had to say manfully and well


the military band outside the build ing struck up god save the queen with great vigour before his excellency had quite finished the people shouted the ins rubbed their hands the outs shook their heads the government party said there never was such a good speech the opposition declared there never was such a bad one the speaker and mem bers of the house of assembly withdrew from the bar to say a great deal among themselves and do a little and in short everything went on and promised to go on just as it does at home upon the like occasions


the town is built on the side of a hill the highest point being commanded by a strong fortress not yet quite finished


several sheets of good breadth and appearance extend from its summit to the waterside and are intersected by cross streets running parallel with the river


the houses are chiefly of wood


the market is abundantly supplied and provisions are exceedingly cheap


the weather being unusually mild at that time for the season of the year there was no sleighing but there was plenty of those vehicles in yards and byeplaces and some of them from the gorgeous quality of then decorations might have gone on without alteration as triumphal cars in a melodrama at astleys


the day was uncommonly fine the air bracing and healthful the whole aspect of the town cheerful thriving and industrious


we lay there seven hours to deliver and exchange the mails


at length having collected all our bags and all our passengers including two or three choice spirits who having indulged too freely in oysters and champagne were found lying insensible on their backs in unfrequented streets the engines were again put in motion and we stood off for boston


encountering squally weather again in the bay of fundy we tumbled and rolled about as usual all that night and all next day


on the next afternoon that is t say on saturday the twentysecond of january an american pilotboat came alongside and soon afterwards the bri tannia steampacket from liverpool eighteen days out was telegraphed at boston


the indescribable interest with which i strained my eyes as the first patches of american soil peeped like molehills from the green sea and followed them as they swelled by slow and almost imperceptible degrees into a continuous line of coast can hardly be exaggerated


a sharp keen wind blew dead against us a hard frost prevailed on shore and the cold was most severe


yet the air was so intensely clear and dry and bright that the tem perature was not only endurable but delicious


how i remained on deck staring about me until we came alongside the dock and how though i had had as many eyes as argus i should have had them all wide open and all employed on new objectsare topics which i will not pro long this chapter to discuss


neither will i more than hint at my foreignerlike mistake in supposing that a party of most active persons who scrambled on board at the peril of their lives as we approached the wharf were newsmen answering to that industrious class at home whereas despite the leathern wallets of news slung about the necks of some and the broad sheets in the hands of all they were editors who boarded ships in person as one gentleman in a worsted comforter in formed me because they liked the ex citement of it


suffice it in this place to say that one of these invaders with a ready courtesy for which i thank him here most gratefully went on before to order rooms at the hotel and that when i fol lowed as i soon did i found myself rol ling through the long passages with an involuntary imitation of the gait of mr t p cooke in a new nautical melo drama


dinner if you please said i to the waiter


when said the waiter


as quick as possible said i right away said the waiter


after a moments hesitation i answered no at hazard


not right away cried the waiter with an amount of surprise that made me start i looked at him doubtfully and re turned no i would rather have it in this private room


i like it very much


at this i really thought the waiter must have gone out of his mind as i believe he would have done but for the interposition of another man who whis pered in his ear directly


well


and thats a fact said the waiter looking helplessly at me right away


i saw now that right away and directly were one and the same thing


so i reversed my previous answer and sat down to dinner in ten minutes afterwards and a capital dinner it was


the hotel a very excellent one is called the tremont house


it has more galleries colonnades piazzas and passages than i can remember or the reader would believe and is some trifle smaller than bedford square


to be continued


confessions of a sportino man


j edited by sctltubiik chapter i when a maos heart is full and bis pocket empty he generally becomes exceedingly peni tent


mental reservation is the gright of tho wealthy confqssi n is tho luxury of tho poor


i should mend if i could butnrnfmuch too old todo so and asi still believe twothirds of mankind to be as bad as myself and infinitely moro mischievous they willlbein my dobt by the time i have finished ray revelations


i i have been seldom beat by philosophic specu lation some solution of the wildest problem always presented itself


i should like togratify the reader with the reason why i became a sport ing man


i confess my utter inability to do so


the motive strange to siiy i bol evo to have been vanitypersonal vanity but tho constitu tional first cause of that peculiar vanity i have nlwav been at a loss to discover


my father was a most respectable merchant of thecity of london his dinners and conduct were irreproachable


he was a poor man until


ho failed when like a phoenix from his ashes j he rose into greatness


he paid a trifle in the pound downright insolvency would have made


him eminent


he loved pictures olives with his wine his cup of coffee after dinner and his wife


would jnst ns soon have mounted a scaffold ns a horse and died rather suddenly of eating truffles to excess in black silk breeches diamond buckles and in d bt


my mother was a spoilt beauty and fond china monsters and old point


her heart v divided between tho curiosityshops in bondstreet and thejeuriositics with which t


i had presented my father at homo


wo ccrtaii had thc best half of it


a triter kinder mi loveable woman a woman in her weaknesses i well ns her virtues never lived


if shopping a failing tenderness truth devotionarc virtui and all thoso my motlier possessed


howov thora was nothing like sport in all this i nono of roy sportsmanship from my parents


tf in these confessions it were my intention foster tho weakness pf society instead of ct reeling its faults i should certainlyjhave beg with my greatgrandfather at least for t levpsons aro an old family that is os far any english families can bo old