BOOK IX. "Woe, woe: all things are clear. "--SOPHOCLES: OEd. Tyr. 754. CHAPTER I. THE privilege that statesmen ever claim, Who private interest never yet pursued, But still pretended 'twas for others' good. . . . . . . From hence on every humorous wind that veered With shifted sails a several course you steered. _Absalom and Achitophel_, Part ii. LORD VARGRAVE had for more than a fortnight remained at the inn atM-----, too ill to be removed with safety in a season so severe. Evenwhen at last, by easy stages, he reached London, he was subjected to arelapse; and his recovery was slow and gradual. Hitherto unused tosickness, he bore his confinement with extreme impatience; and againstthe commands of his physician insisted on continuing to transact hisofficial business, and consult with his political friends in hissick-room; for Lumley knew well, that it is most pernicious to public mento be considered failing in health, --turkeys are not more unfeeling to asick brother than politicians to an ailing statesman; they give out thathis head is touched, and see paralysis and epilepsy in every speech andevery despatch. The time, too, nearly ripe for his great schemes, madeit doubly necessary that he should exert himself, and prevent beingshelved with a plausible excuse of tender compassion for his infirmities. As soon therefore as he learned that Legard had left Paris, he thoughthimself safe for a while in that quarter, and surrendered his thoughtswholly to his ambitious projects. Perhaps, too, with the susceptiblevanity of a middle-aged man, who has had his _bonnes fortunes_, Lumleydeemed, with Rousseau, that a lover, pale and haggard--just raised fromthe bed of suffering--is more interesting to friendship than attractiveto love. He and Rousseau were, I believe, both mistaken; but that is amatter of opinion: they both thought very coarsely of women, --one fromhaving no sentiment, and the other from having a sentiment that was but adisease. At length, just as Lumley was sufficiently recovered to quithis house, to appear at his office, and declare that his illness hadwonderfully improved his constitution, intelligence from Paris, the morestartling from being wholly unexpected, reached him. From Caroline helearned that Maltravers had proposed to Evelyn, and been accepted. FromMaltravers himself he heard the confirmation of the news. The lastletter was short, but kind and manly. He addressed Lord Vargrave asEvelyn's guardian; slightly alluded to the scruples he had entertainedtill Lord Vargrave's suit was broken off; and feeling the subject toodelicate for a letter, expressed a desire to confer with Lumleyrespecting Evelyn's wishes as to certain arrangements in her property. And for this was it that Lumley had toiled! for this had he visited LisleCourt! and for this had he been stricken down to the bed of pain! Was itonly to make his old rival the purchaser, if he so pleased it, of thepossessions of his own family? Lumley thought at that moment less ofEvelyn than of Lisle Court. As he woke from the stupor and the first fitof rage into which these epistles cast him, the recollection of the storyhe had heard from Mr. Onslow flashed across him. Were his suspicionstrue, what a secret he would possess! How fate might yet befriend him!Not a moment was to be lost. Weak, suffering as he still was, he orderedhis carriage, and hastened down to Mrs. Leslie. In the interview that took place, he was careful not to alarm her intodiscretion. He managed the conference with his usual consummatedexterity. He did not appear to believe that there had been any actualconnection between Alice and the supposed Butler. He began by simplyasking whether Alice had ever, in early life, been acquainted with aperson of that name, and when residing in the neighbourhood of -----. The change of countenance, the surprised start of Mrs. Leslie, convincedhim that his suspicions were true. "And why do you ask, my lord?" said the old lady. "Is it to ascertainthis point that you have done me the honour to visit me?" "Not exactly, my dear madam, " said Lumley, smiling. "But I am going toC----- on business; and besides that I wished to give an account of yourhealth to Evelyn, whom I shall shortly see at Paris, I certainly diddesire to know whether it would be any gratification to Lady Vargrave, for whom I have the deepest regard, to renew her acquaintance with thesaid Mr. Butler. " "What does your lordship know of him? What is he; who is he?" "Ah, my dear lady, you turn the tables on me, I see, --for my one questionyou would give me fifty. But, seriously, before I answer you, you musttell me whether Lady Vargrave does know a gentleman of that name; yet, indeed, to save trouble, I may as well inform you, that I know it wasunder that name that she resided at C-----, when my poor uncle first madeher acquaintance. What I ought to ask is this, --supposing Mr. Butler bestill alive, and a gentleman of character and fortune, would it pleaseLady Vargrave to meet with him once more?" "I cannot tell you, " said Mrs. Leslie, sinking back in her chair, muchembarrassed. "Enough, I shall not stir further in the matter. Glad to see you lookingso well. Fine place, beautiful trees. Any commands at C-----, or anymessage for Evelyn?" Lumley rose to depart. "Stay, " said Mrs. Leslie, recalling all the pining, restless, untiringlove that Lady Vargrave had manifested towards the lost, and feeling thatshe ought not to sacrifice to slight scruples the chance of happiness forher friend's future years, --"stay; I think this question you shouldaddress to Lady Vargrave, --or shall I?" "As you will, --perhaps I had better write. Good-day, " and Vargravehurried away. He had satisfied himself, but he had another yet to satisfy, --and that, from certain reasons known but to himself, without bringing the thirdperson in contact with Lady Vargrave. On arriving at C----- he wrote, therefore, to Lady Vargrave as follows:-- MY DEAR FRIEND, --Do not think me impertinent or intrusive--but you knowme too well for that. A gentleman of the name of Butler is exceedinglyanxious to ascertain if you once lived near -----, in a pretty littlecottage, --Dove, or Dale, or Dell cottage (some such appellation), --and ifyou remember a person of his name. Should you care to give a reply tothese queries, send me a line addressed to London, which I shall get onmy way to Paris. Yours most truly, VARGRAVE. As soon as he had concluded, and despatched this letter, Vargrave wroteto Mr. Winsley as follows:-- MY DEAR SIR, --I am so unwell as to be unable to call on you, or even tosee any one, however agreeable (nay, the more agreeable the moreexciting!). I hope, however, to renew our personal acquaintance beforequitting C-----. Meanwhile, oblige me with a line to say if I did notunderstand you to signify that you could, if necessary, prove that LadyVargrave once resided in this town as Mrs. Butler, a very short timebefore she married my uncle, under the name of Cameron, in Devonshire;and had she not also at that time a little girl, --an infant, or nearlyso, --who must necessarily be the young lady who is my uncle's heiress, Miss Evelyn Cameron. My reason for thus troubling you is obvious. AsMiss Cameron's guardian, I have very shortly to wind up certain affairsconnected with my uncle's will; and, what is more, there is some propertybequeathed by the late Mr. Butler, which may make it necessary to proveidentity. Truly yours, VARGRAVE. The answer to the latter communication ran thus:-- "MY LORD, --I am very sorry to hear your lordship is so unwell, and willpay my respects to-morrow. I certainly can swear that the present LadyVargrave was the Mrs. Butler who resided at C-----, and taught music. And as the child with her was of the same sex, and about the same age asMiss Cameron, there can, I should think, be no difficulty in establishingthe identity between that young lady and the child Lady Vargrave had byher first husband, Mr. Butler; but of this, of course, I cannot speak. "I have the honour, etc. " The next morning Vargrave despatched a note to Mr. Winsley, saying thathis health required him to return to town immediately, --and to town, infact, he hastened. The day after his arrival, he received, in a hurriedhand--strangely blurred and blotted, perhaps by tears--this shortletter:-- For Heaven's sake, tell me what you mean! Yes, yes, I did once reside atDale Cottage, I did know one of the name of Butler! Has _he_ discoveredthe name _I_ bear? Where is he? I implore you to write, or let me seeyou before you leave England! ALICE VARGRAVE. Lumley smiled triumphantly when he read and carefully put up this letter. "I must now amuse and put her off--at all events for the present. " In answer to Lady Vargrave's letter, he wrote a few lines to say that hehad only heard through a third person (a lawyer) of a Mr. Butler residingsomewhere abroad, who had wished these inquiries to be made; that hebelieved it only related to some disposition of property; that, _perhaps_, the Mr. Butler who made the inquiry was heir to the Mr. Butlershe had known; that he could learn nothing else at present, as thepurport of her reply must be sent abroad, --the lawyer would or could saynothing more; that directly he received a further communication it shouldbe despatched to her, that he was most affectionately and most trulyhers. The rest of that morning Vargrave devoted to Lord Saxingham and hisallies; and declaring, and believing, that he should not be long absentat Paris, he took an early dinner, and was about once more to commithimself to the risks of travel, when, as he crossed the hall, Mr. Doucecame hastily upon him. "My lord--my lord--I must have a word with your l-l-lordship;--you aregoing to--that is--" (and the little man looked frightened) "you intendto--to go to--that is--ab-ab-ab--" "Not abscond, Mr. Douce; come into the library: I am in a great hurry, but I have always time for _you_. What's the matter?" "Why, then, my lord, --I--I have heard nothing m-m-more from yourlordship about the pur-pur--" "Purchase?--I am going to Paris, to settle all particulars with MissCameron; tell the lawyers so. " "May--may--we draw out the money to--to--show--that--that we are inearnest? Otherwise I fear--that is, I suspect--I mean I know, thatColonel Maltravers will be off the bargain. " "Why, Mr. Douce, really I must just see my ward first; but you shall hearfrom me in a day or two;--and the ten thousand pounds I owe you!" "Yes, indeed, the ten--ten--ten!--my partner is very--" "Anxious for it, no doubt! My compliments to him. God bless you!--takecare of yourself, --must be off to save the packet;" and Vargrave hurriedaway, muttering, "Heaven sends money, and the devil sends duns!" Douce gasped like a fish for breath, as his eyes followed the rapid stepsof Vargrave; and there was an angry scowl of disappointment on his smallfeatures. Lumley, by this time, seated in his carriage, and wrapped upin his cloak, had forgotten the creditor's existence, and whispered tohis aristocratic secretary, as he bent his head out of the carriagewindow, "I have told Lord Saxingham to despatch you to me, if there isany--the least--necessity for me in London. I leave you behind, Howard, because your sister being at court, and your cousin with our notablepremier, you will find out every change in the wind--you understand. And, I say, Howard, don't think I forget your kindness!--you know that noman ever served me in vain! Oh, there's that horrid little Douce behindyou, --tell them to drive on!" CHAPTER II. HEARD you that? What prodigy of horror is disclosing?--LILLO: _Fatal Curiosity_. THE unhappy companion of Cesarini's flight was soon discovered andrecaptured; but all search for Cesarini himself proved ineffectual, notonly in the neighbourhood of St. Cloud, but in the surrounding countryand in Paris. The only comfort was in thinking that his watch would atleast preserve him for some time from the horrors of want; and that bythe sale of the trinket, he might be traced. The police, too, were setat work, --the vigilant police of Paris! Still day rolled on day, and notidings. The secret of the escape was carefully concealed from Teresa;and public cares were a sufficient excuse for the gloom on De Montaigne'sbrow. Evelyn heard from Maltravers with mingled emotions of compassion, grief, and awe the gloomy tale connected with the history of the maniac. Shewept for the fate of Florence; she shuddered at the curse that had fallenon Cesarini; and perhaps Maltravers grew dearer to her from the thoughtthat there was so much in the memories of the past that needed acomforter and a soother. They returned to Paris, affianced and plighted lovers; and then it wasthat Evelyn sought carefully and resolutely to banish from her mind allrecollection, all regret, of the absent Legard: she felt the solemnity ofthe trust confided in her, and she resolved that no thought of hersshould ever be of a nature to gall the generous and tender spirit thathad confided its life of life to her care. The influence of Maltraversover her increased in their new and more familiar position, and yet stillit partook too much of veneration, too little of passion; but that mightbe her innocence and youth. He, at least, was sensible of no want, --shehad chosen him from the world; and fastidious as he deemed himself, hereposed, without a doubt, on the security of her faith. None of thosepresentiments which had haunted him when first betrothed to Florencedisturbed him now. The affection of one so young and so guileless seemedto bring back to him all his own youth--we are ever young while the youngcan love us! Suddenly, too, the world took to his eyes a brighter andfairer aspect. Hope, born again, reconciled him to his career and to hisrace! The more he listened to Evelyn, the more he watched every evidenceof her docile but generous nature, the more he felt assured that he hadfound at last a heart suited to his own. Her beautiful serenity oftemper, cheerful, yet never fitful or unquiet, gladdened him with itsinsensible contagion. To be with Evelyn was like basking in the sunshineof some happy sky! It was an inexpressible charm to one wearied with"the hack sights and sounds" of this jaded world, --to watch theever-fresh and sparkling the thoughts and fancies which came from a soulso new to life! It enchanted one, painfully fastidious in what relatesto the true nobility of character, that, however various the themesdiscussed, no low or mean thought ever sullied those beautiful lips. Itwas not the mere innocence of inexperience, but the moral incapability ofguile, that charmed him in the companion he had chosen on his path toEternity! He was also delighted to notice Evelyn's readiness ofresources: she had that faculty, without which woman has no independencefrom the world, no pledge that domestic retirement will not soon languishinto wearisome monotony, --the faculty of making trifles contribute tooccupation or amusement; she was easily pleased, and yet she so soonreconciled herself to disappointment. He felt, and chid his own dulnessfor not feeling it before, that, young and surpassingly lovely as shewas, she required no stimulant from the heated pursuits and the hollowadmiration of the crowd. "Such, " thought he, "are the natures that alone can preserve throughyears the poetry of the first passionate illusion, that can alone renderwedlock the seal that confirms affection, and not the mocking ceremonialthat vainly consecrates its grave!" Maltravers, as we have seen, formally wrote to Lumley some days aftertheir return to Paris. He would have written also to Lady Vargrave, butEvelyn thought it best to prepare her mother by a letter from herself. Miss Cameron now wanted but a few weeks to the age of eighteen, at whichshe was to be the sole mistress of her own destiny. On arriving at thatage the marriage was to take place. Valerie heard with sincere delightof the new engagement her friend had formed. She eagerly sought everyopportunity to increase her intimacy with Evelyn, who was completely wonby her graceful kindness; the result of Valerie's examination was, thatshe did not wonder at the passionate love of Maltravers, but that herdeep knowledge of the human heart (that knowledge so remarkable in thewomen of her country!) made her doubt how far it was adequately returned, how far Evelyn deceived herself. Her first satisfaction became mingledwith anxiety, and she relied more for the future felicity of her friendon Evelyn's purity of thought and general tenderness of heart than on theexclusiveness and ardour of her love. Alas! few at eighteen are not tooyoung for the irrevocable step, --and Evelyn was younger than her years!One evening at Madame de Ventadour's Maltravers asked Evelyn if she hadyet heard from Lady Vargrave. Evelyn expressed her surprise that she hadnot, and the conversation fell, as was natural, upon Lady Vargraveherself. "Is she as fond of music as you are?" asked Maltravers. "Yes, indeed, I think so--and of the songs of a certain person inparticular; they always had for her an indescribable charm. Often have Iheard her say that to read your writings was like talking to an earlyfriend. Your name and genius seemed to make her solitary connection withthe great world. Nay--but you will not be angry--I half think it was herenthusiasm, so strange and rare, that first taught me interest inyourself. " "I have a double reason, then, for loving your mother, " said Maltravers, much pleased and flattered. "And does she not like Italian music?" "Not much; she prefers some rather old-fashioned German airs, verysimple, but very touching. " "My own early passion, " said Maltravers, more and more interested. "But there are also one or two English songs which I have occasionally, but very seldom, heard her sing. One in especial affects her so deeply, even when she plays the air, that I have always attached to it a certainmysterious sanctity. I should not like to sing it before a crowd, butto-morrow, when you call on me, and we are alone--" "Ah, to-morrow I will not fail to remind you. " Their conversation ceased; yet, somehow or other, that night when heretired to rest the recollection of it haunted Maltravers. He felt avague, unaccountable curiosity respecting this secluded and solitarymother; all concerning her early fate seemed so wrapped in mystery. Cleveland, in reply to his letter, had informed him that all inquiriesrespecting the birth and first marriage of Lady Vargrave had failed. Evelyn evidently knew but little of either, and he felt a certaindelicacy in pressing questions which might be ascribed to theinquisitiveness of a vulgar family pride. Moreover, lovers have so muchto say to each other, that he had not time to talk at length to Evelynabout third persons. He slept ill that night, --dark and boding dreamsdisturbed his slumber. He rose late and dejected by presentiments hecould not master: his morning meal was scarcely over, and he had alreadytaken his hat to go to Evelyn's for comfort and sunshine, when the dooropened, and he was surprised by the entrance of Lord Vargrave. Lumley seated himself with a formal gravity very unusual to him, and asif anxious to waive unnecessary explanations, began as follows, with aserious and impressive voice and aspect:-- "Maltravers, of late years we have been estranged from each other. I donot presume to dictate to you your friendships or your dislikes. Whythis estrangement has happened you alone can determine. For my part I amconscious of no offence; that which I was I am still. It is you who havechanged. Whether it be the difference of our political opinions, or anyother and more secret cause, I know not. I lament, but it is now toolate to attempt to remove it. If you suspect me of ever seeking, or evenwishing, to sow dissension between yourself and my ill-fated cousin, nowno more, you are mistaken. I ever sought the happiness and union of youboth. And yet, Maltravers, you then came between me and an early andcherished dream. But I suffered in silence; my course was at leastdisinterested, perhaps generous: let it pass. A second time you cross mypath, --you win from me a heart I had long learned to consider mine. Youhave no scruple of early friendship, you have no forbearance towardsacknowledged and affianced ties. You are my rival with Evelyn Cameron, and your suit has prospered. " "Vargrave, " said Maltravers, "you have spoken frankly; and I will replywith an equal candour. A difference of tastes, tempers, and opinions ledus long since into opposite paths. I am one who cannot disunite publicmorality from private virtue. From motives best known to you, but whichI say openly I hold to have been those of interest or ambition, you didnot change your opinions (there is no sin in that), but retaining them inprivate, professed others in public, and played with the destinies ofmankind as if they were but counters to mark a mercenary game. This ledme to examine your character with more searching eyes; and I found it oneI could no longer trust. With respect to the Dead, let the pall dropover that early grave, --I acquit you of all blame. He who sinned hassuffered more than would atone the crime! You charge me with my love toEvelyn. Pardon me, but I seduced no affection, I have broken no tie. Not till she was free in heart and in hand to choose between us, did Ihint at love. Let me think that a way may be found to soften one portionat least of the disappointment you cannot but feel acutely. " "Stay!" said Lord Vargrave (who, plunged in a gloomy revery, had scarcelyseemed to hear the last few sentences of his rival): "stay, Maltravers. Speak not of love to Evelyn! A horrible foreboding tells me that, a fewhours hence, you would rather pluck out your tongue by the roots thancouple the words of love with the thought of that unfortunate girl! Oh, if I were vindictive, what awful triumph would await me now! Whatretaliation on your harsh judgment, your cold contempt, your momentaryand wretched victory over me! Heaven is my witness, that my onlysentiment is that of terror and woe! Maltravers, in your earliest youth, did you form connection with one whom they called Alice Darvil?" "Alice! merciful Heaven! what of her?" "Did you never know that the Christian name of Evelyn's mother is Alice?" "I never asked, I never knew; but it is a common name, " falteredMaltravers. "Listen to me, " resumed Vargrave: "with Alice Darvil you lived in theneighbourhood of -----, did you not?" "Go on, go on!" "You took the name of Butler; by that name Alice Darvil was afterwardsknown in the town in which my uncle resided--there are gaps in thehistory that I cannot of my own knowledge fill up, --she taught music; myuncle became enamoured of her, but he was vain and worldly. She removedinto Devonshire, and he married her there, under the name of Cameron, bywhich name he hoped to conceal from the world the lowness of her origin, and the humble calling she had followed. Hold! do not interrupt me. Alice had one daughter, as was supposed, by a former marriage; thatdaughter was the offspring of him whose name she bore--yes, of the falseButler!--that daughter is Evelyn Cameron!" "Liar! devil!" cried Maltravers, springing to his feet, as if a shot hadpierced his heart. "Proofs! proofs!" "Will these suffice?" said Vargrave, as he drew forth the letters ofWinsley and Lady Vargrave. Maltravers took them, but it was some momentsbefore he could dare to read. He supported himself with difficulty fromfalling to the ground; there was a gurgle in his throat like the sound ofthe death-rattle; at last he read, and dropped the letters from his hand. "Wait me here, " he said very faintly, and moved mechanically to the door. "Hold!" said Lord Vargrave, laying his hand upon Ernest's arm. "Listento me for Evelyn's sake, for her mother's. You are about to seekEvelyn, --be it so! I know that you possess the god-like gift ofself-control. You will not suffer her to learn that her mother has donethat which dishonours alike mother and child? You will not consummateyour wrong to Alice Darvil by robbing her of the fruit of a life ofpenitence and remorse? You will not unveil her shame to her owndaughter? Convince yourself, and master yourself while you do so!" "Fear me not, " said Maltravers, with a terrible smile; "I will notafflict my conscience with a double curse. As I have sowed, so must Ireap. Wait me here!" CHAPTER III. . . . MISERY That gathers force each moment as it rolls, And must, at last, o'erwhelm me. --LILLO: _Fatal Curiosity_. MALTRAVERS found Evelyn alone; she turned towards him with her usualsweet smile of welcome; but the smile vanished at once, as her eyes methis changed and working countenance; cold drops stood upon the rigid andmarble brow, the lips writhed as if in bodily torture, the muscles of theface had fallen, and there was a wildness which appalled her in the fixedand feverish brightness of the eyes. "You are ill, Ernest, --dear Ernest, you are ill, --your look freezes me!" "Nay, Evelyn, " said Maltravers, recovering himself by one of thoseefforts of which men who have _suffered without sympathy_ are alonecapable, --"nay, I am better now; I have been ill--very ill--but I ambetter!" "Ill! and I not know of it?" She attempted to take his hand as she spoke. Maltravers recoiled. "It is fire! it burns! Avaunt!" he cried, frantically. "O Heaven!spare me, spare me!" Evelyn was not seriously alarmed; she gazed on him with the tenderestcompassion. Was this one of those moody and overwhelming paroxysms towhich it had been whispered abroad that he was subject? Strange as itmay seem, despite her terror, he was dearer to her in that hour--as shebelieved, of gloom and darkness--than in all the glory of his majesticintellect, or all the blandishments of his soft address. "What has happened to you?" she said, approaching him again; "have youseen Lord Vargrave? I know that he has arrived, for his servant has beenhere to say so; has he uttered anything to distress you? or has--" (sheadded falteringly and timidly)--"has poor Evelyn offended you? Speak tome, --only speak!" Maltravers turned, and his face was now calm and serene save by itsextreme and almost ghastly paleness, no trace of the hell within himcould be discovered. "Pardon me, " said he, gently, "I know not this morning what I say or do;think not of it, think not of me, --it will pass away when I hear yourvoice. " "Shall I sing to you the words I spoke of last night? See, I have themready; I know them by heart, but I thought you might like to read them, they are so full of simple but deep feeling. " Maltravers took the song from her hands, and bent over the paper; atfirst, the letters seemed dim and indistinct, for there was a mist beforehis eyes; but at last a chord of memory was struck, --he recalled thewords: they were some of those he had composed for Alice in the firstdays of their delicious intercourse, --links of the golden chain, in whichhe had sought to bind the spirit of knowledge to that of love. "And from whom, " said he, in a faint voice, as he calmly put down theverses, --"from whom did your mother learn these words?" "I know not; some dear friend, years ago, composed and gave them to her. It must have been one very dear to her, to judge by the effect they stillproduce. " "Think you, " said Maltravers, in a hollow voice, "think you IT WAS YOURFATHER?" "My father! She never speaks of him! I have been early taught to shunall allusion to his memory. My father!--it is probable; yes, it may havebeen my father; whom else could she have loved so fondly?" There was a long silence; Evelyn was the first to break it. "I have heard from my mother to-day, Ernest; her letter alarms me, --Iscarce know why!" "Ah! and how--" "It is hurried and incoherent, --almost wild: she says she has learnedsome intelligence that has unsettled and unstrung her mind; she hasrequested me to inquire if any one I am acquainted with has heard of, ormet abroad, some person of the name of Butler. You start!--have youknown one of that name?" "I!--did your mother never allude to that name before?" "Never!--and yet, once I remember--" "What?" That I was reading an account in the papers of the sudden death of someMr. Butler; and her agitation made a powerful and strange impression uponme, --in fact, she fainted, and seemed almost delirious when sherecovered; she would not rest till I had completed the account, and whenI came to the particulars of his age, etc. (he was old, I think) sheclasped her hands, and wept; but they seemed tears of joy. The name isso common--whom of that name have you known?" "It is no matter. Is that your mother's letter; is that herhandwriting?" "Yes;" and Evelyn gave the letter to Maltravers. He glanced over thecharacters; he had once or twice seen Lady Vargrave's handwriting before, and had recognized no likeness between that handwriting and such earlyspecimens of Alice's art as he had witnessed so many years ago; but now, "trifles light as air" had grown "confirmation strong as proof of HolyWrit, "--he thought he detected Alice in every line of the hurried andblotted scroll; and when his eye rested on the words, "Your affectionateMOTHER, _Alice_!" his blood curdled in his veins. "It is strange!" said he, still struggling for self-composure; "strangethat I never thought of asking her name before! Alice! her name isAlice?" "A sweet name, is it not? It accords so well with her simplecharacter--how you would love her!" As she said this, Evelyn turned to Maltravers with enthusiasm, and againshe was startled by his aspect; for again it was haggard, distorted, andconvulsed. "Oh, if you love me, " she cried, "do send immediately for advice! Andyet; is it illness, Ernest, or is it some grief that you hide from me?" "It is illness, Evelyn, " said Maltravers, rising: and his knees knockedtogether. "I am not fit even for your companionship, --I will go home. " "And send instantly for advice?" "Ay; it waits me there already. " "Thank Heaven! and you will write to me one little word--to relieve me?I am so uneasy!" "I will write to you. " "This evening?" "Ay!" "Now go, --I will not detain you. " He walked slowly to the door, but when he reached it he turned, andcatching her anxious gaze, he opened his arms; overpowered with strangefear and affectionate sympathy, she burst into passionate tears; andsurprised out of the timidity and reserve which had hithertocharacterized her pure and meek attachment to him, she fell on hisbreast, and sobbed aloud. Maltravers raised his hands, and, placing themsolemnly on her young head, his lips muttered as if in prayer. Hepaused, and strained her to his heart; but he shunned that parting kiss, which, hitherto, he had so fondly sought. That embrace was one of agony, and not of rapture; and yet Evelyn dreamed not that he designed it forthe last! Maltravers re-entered the room in which he had left Lord Vargrave, whostill awaited his return. He walked up to Lumley, and held out his hand. "You have saved me from adreadful crime, --from an everlasting remorse. I thank you!" Hardened and frigid as his nature was, Lumley was touched; the movementof Maltravers took him by surprise. "It has been a dreadful duty, Ernest, " said he, pressing the hand he held; "but to come, too, from_me_, --your rival!" "Proceed, proceed, I pray you; explain all this--yet explanation! what doI want to know? Evelyn is my daughter, --Alice's child! For Heaven'ssake, give me hope; say it is not so; say that she is Alice's child, butnot _mine_! Father! father!--and they call it a holy name--it is ahorrible one!" "Compose yourself, my dear friend: recollect what you have escaped! Youwill recover this shock. Time, travel--" "Peace, man, --peace! Now then I am calm! When Alice left me she had nochild. I knew not that she bore within her the pledge of our ill-omenedand erring love. Verily, the sins of my youth have arisen against me;and the curse has come home to roost!" "I cannot explain to you all details. " "But why not have told me of this? Why not have warned me; why not havesaid to me, when my heart could have been satisfied by so sweet a tie, 'Thou hast a daughter: thou art not desolate'? Why reserve the knowledgeof the blessing until it has turned to poison? Fiend that you are! youhave waited this hour to gloat over the agony from which a word from youa year, nay, a month ago--a little month ago--might have saved me andher!" Maltravers, as he spoke, approached Vargrave, with eyes sparkling withfierce passion, his hand clenched, his form dilated, the veins on hisforehead swelled like cords. Lumley, brave as he was, recoiled. "I knew not of this secret, " said he, deprecatingly, "till a few daysbefore I came hither; and I came hither at once to disclose it to you. Will you listen to me? I knew that my uncle had married a person muchbeneath him in rank; but he was guarded and cautious, and I knew no more, except that by a first husband that lady had one daughter, --Evelyn. Achain of accidents suddenly acquainted me with the rest. " Here Vargrave pretty faithfully repeated what he had learned from thebrewer at C-----, and from Mr. Onslow; but when he came to the tacitconfirmation of all his suspicions received from Mrs. Leslie, he greatlyexaggerated and greatly distorted the account. "Judge, then, " concludedLumley, "of the horror with which I heard that you had declared anattachment to Evelyn, and that it was returned. Ill as I was, I hastenedhither: you know the rest. Are you satisfied?" "I will go to Alice! I will learn from her own lips--yet, how can I meether again? How say to her, 'I have taken from thee thy last hope, --Ihave broken thy child's heart'?" "Forgive me, but I should confess to you, that, from all I can learn fromMrs. Leslie, Lady Vargrave has but one prayer, one hope in life, --thatshe may never again meet with her betrayer. You may, indeed, in her ownletter perceive how much she is terrified by the thought of yourdiscovering her. She has, at length, recovered peace of mind andtranquillity of conscience. She shrinks with dread from the prospect ofever again encountering one once so dear, now associated in her mind withrecollections of guilt and sorrow. More than this, she is sensitivelyalive to the fear of shame, to the dread of detection. If ever herdaughter were to know her sin, it would be to her as a death-blow. Yetin her nervous state of health, her ever-quick and uncontrollablefeelings, if you were to meet her, she would disguise nothing, concealnothing. The veil would be torn aside: the menials in her own housewould tell the tale, and curiosity circulate, and scandal blacken thestory of her early errors. No, Maltravers, at least wait awhile beforeyou see her; wait till her mind can be prepared for such an interview, till precautions can be taken, till you yourself are in a calmer state ofmind. " Maltravers fixed his piercing eyes on Lumley while he thus spoke, andlistened in deep attention. "It matters not, " said he, after a long pause, "whether these be yourreal reasons for wishing to defer or prevent a meeting between Alice andmyself. The affliction that has come upon me bursts with too clear andscorching a blaze of light for me to see any chance of escape ormitigation. Even if Evelyn were the daughter of Alice by another, shewould be forever separated from me. The mother and the child! there is akind of incest even in that thought! But such an alleviation of myanguish is forbidden to my reason. No, poor Alice, I will not disturbthe repose thou hast won at last! Thou shalt never have the grief toknow that our error has brought upon thy lover so black a doom! All isover! the world never shall find me again. Nothing is left for me butthe desert and the grave!" "Speak not so, Ernest, " said Lord Vargrave, soothingly; "a little while, and you will recover this blow: your control over passion has, even inyouth, inspired me with admiration and surprise; and now, in calmeryears, and with such incentives to self-mastery, your triumph will comesooner than you think. Evelyn, too, is so young; she has not known youlong; perhaps her love, after all, is that caused by some mystic, butinnocent working of nature, and she would rejoice to call you 'father. 'Happy years are yet in store for you. " Maltravers did not listen to these vain and hollow consolations. Withhis head drooping on his bosom, his whole form unnerved, the large tearsrolling unheeded down his cheeks, he seemed the very picture of abroken-hearted man, whom fate never again could raise from despair. He, who had, for years, so cased himself in pride, on whose very front wasengraved the victory over passion and misfortune, whose step had trod theearth in the royalty of the conqueror; the veriest slave that crawls borenot a spirit more humbled, fallen, or subdued! He who had looked withhaughty eyes on the infirmities of others, who had disdained to serve hisrace because of their human follies and partial frailties, --_he_, even_he_, the Pharisee of Genius, --had but escaped by a chance, and by thehand of the man he suspected and despised, from a crime at which natureherself recoils, --which all law, social and divine, stigmatizes asinexpiable, which the sternest imagination of the very heathen hadinvented as the gloomiest catastrophe that can befall the wisdom and thepride of mortals! But one step farther, and the fabulous OEdipus had notbeen more accursed! Such thoughts as these, unformed, confused, but strong enough to bow himto the dust, passed through the mind of this wretched man. He had beenfamiliar with grief, he had been dull to enjoyment; sad and bittermemories had consumed his manhood: but pride had been left him still; andhe had dared in his secret heart to say, "I can defy Fate!" Now the bolthad fallen; Pride was shattered into fragments, Self-abasement was hiscompanion, Shame sat upon his prostrate soul. The Future had no hopeleft in store. Nothing was left for him but to die! Lord Vargrave gazed at him in real pain, in sincere compassion; for hisnature, wily, deceitful, perfidious though it was, had cruelty only sofar as was necessary to the unrelenting execution of his schemes. Nopity could swerve him from a purpose; but he had enough of the man withinhim to feel pity not the less, even for his own victim! At lengthMaltravers lifted his head, and waved his hand gently to Lord Vargrave. "All is now explained, " said he, in a feeble voice; "our interview isover. I must be alone; I have yet to collect my reason, to communecalmly and deliberately with myself; I have to write to her--to invent, to lie, --I, who believed I could never, never utter, even to an enemy, what was false! And I must not soften the blow to her. I must not uttera word of love, --love, it is incest! I must endeavour brutally to crushout the very affection I created! She must hate me!--oh, _teach_ her tohate me! Blacken my name, traduce my motives, --let her believe themlevity or perfidy, what you will. So will she forget me the sooner; sowill she the easier bear the sorrow which the father brings upon thechild. And _she_ has not sinned! O Heaven, the sin was mine! Let mypunishment be a sacrifice that Thou wilt accept for her!" Lord Vargrave attempted again to console; but this time the words diedupon his lips. His arts failed him. Maltravers turned impatiently awayand pointed to the door. "I will see you again, " said he, "before I quit Paris; leave your addressbelow. " Vargrave was not, perhaps, unwilling to terminate a scene so painful: hemuttered a few incoherent words, and abruptly withdrew. He heard thedoor locked behind him as he departed. Ernest Maltravers wasalone!--what a solitude! CHAPTER IV. PITY me not, but lend thy serious hearing To what I shall unfold. --_Hamlet_. LETTER FROM ERNEST MALTRAVERS TO EVELYN CAMERON. EVELYN! All that you have read of faithlessness and perfidy will seem tame to youwhen compared with that conduct which you are doomed to meet from me. Wemust part, and for ever. We have seen each other for the last time. Itis bootless even to ask the cause. Believe that I am fickle, false, heartless, --that a whim has changed me, if you will. My resolve isunalterable. We meet no more even as friends. I do not ask you eitherto forgive or to remember me. Look on me as one wholly unworthy even ofresentment! Do not think that I write this in madness or in fever orexcitement. Judge me not by my seeming illness this morning. I inventno excuse, no extenuation, for my broken faith and perjured vows. Calmly, coldly, and deliberately I write; and thus writing, I renounceyour love. This language is wanton cruelty, --it is fiendish insult, --is it not, Evelyn? Am I not a villain? Are you not grateful for your escape? Doyou not look on the past with a shudder at the precipice on which youstood? I have done with this subject, --I turn to another. We are parted, Evelyn, and forever. Do not fancy, --I repeat, do not fancy that there isany error, any strange infatuation on my mind, that there is anypossibility that the sentence can be annulled. It were almost easier tocall the dead from the grave than bring us again together, as we were andas we hoped to be. Now that you are convinced of that truth, learn, assoon as you have recovered the first shock of knowing how much wickednessthere is on earth, --learn to turn to the future for happier and moresuitable ties than those you could have formed with me. You are veryyoung; in youth our first impressions are lively but evanescent, --youwill wonder hereafter at having fancied you loved me. Another and afairer image will replace mine. This is what I desire and pray for. _Assoon as I learn that you love another, that you are wedded to another, Iwill re-appear in the world; till then, I am a wanderer and an exile. Your hand alone can efface from my brow the brand of Cain!_ When I amgone, Lord Vargrave will probably renew his suit. I would rather youmarried one of your own years, --one whom you could love fondly, one whowould chase away every remembrance of the wretch who now forsakes you. But perhaps I have mistaken Lord Vargrave's character; perhaps he may beworthier of you than I deemed (_I_ who set up for the censor of othermen!); perhaps he may both win and deserve your affection. Evelyn, farewell! God, who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, willwatch over you! ERNEST MALTRAVERS. CHAPTER V. OUR acts our angels are, or good or ill, The fatal shadows that walk by us still. --JOHN FLETCHER. THE next morning came; the carriage was at the door of Maltravers, tobear him away he cared not whither. Where could he fly from memory? Hehad just despatched the letter to Evelyn, --a letter studiously writtenfor the object of destroying all the affection to which he had so fondlylooked as the last charm of life. He was now only waiting for Vargrave, to whom he had sent, and who hastened to obey the summons. When Lumley arrived, he was shocked at the alteration which a singlenight had effected in the appearance of Maltravers; but he was surprisedand relieved to find him calm and self-possessed. "Vargrave, " said Maltravers, "whatever our past coldness, henceforth Iowe to you an eternal gratitude; and henceforth this awful secret makesbetween us an indissoluble bond. If I have understood you rightly, neither Alice nor other living being than yourself know that in me, Ernest Maltravers, stands the guilty object of Alice's first love. Letthat secret still be kept; relieve Alice's mind from the apprehension oflearning that the man who betrayed her yet lives: he will not live long!I leave time and method of explanation to your own judgment andacuteness. Now for Evelyn. " Here Maltravers stated generally the toneof the letter he had written. Vargrave listened thoughtfully. "Maltravers, " said he, "it is right to try first the effect of yourletter. But if it fail, if it only serve to inflame the imagination andexcite the interest, if Evelyn still continue to love you, if that lovepreys upon her, if it should undermine health and spirit, if it shoulddestroy her?" Maltravers groaned. Lumley proceeded: "I say this not to wound you, butto provide against all circumstances. I too have spent the night inrevolving what is best to be done in such a case; and this is the plan Ihave formed. Let us, if need be, tell the truth to Evelyn, robbing thetruth only of its shame. Nay, nay, listen. Why not say that under aborrowed name and in the romance of early youth you knew and loved Alice(though in innocence and honour)? Your tender age, the difference ofrank, forbade your union. Her father, discovering your clandestinecorrespondence, suddenly removed her from the country, and destroyed allclew for your inquiries. You lost sight of each other, --each was taughtto believe the other dead. Alice was compelled by her father to marryMr. Cameron; and after his death, her poverty and her love for her onlychild induced her to accept my uncle. You have now learned all, --havelearned that Evelyn is the daughter of your first love, the daughter ofone who adores you still, and whose life your remembrance has for so manyyears embittered. Evelyn herself will at once comprehend all thescruples of a delicate mind; Evelyn herself will recoil from the thoughtof making the child the rival to the mother. She will understand why youhave flown from her; she will sympathize with your struggles; she willrecall the constant melancholy of Alice; she will hope that the ancientlove may be renewed, and efface all grief; Generosity and Duty alike willurge her to conquer her own affection! And hereafter, when time hasrestored you both, father and child may meet with such sentiments asfather and child may own!" Maltravers was silent for some minutes; at length he said abruptly, "Andyou really loved her, Vargrave, --you love her still? Your dearest caremust be her welfare. " "It is! indeed, it is!" "Then I must trust to your discretion; I can have no other confidant; Imyself am not fit to judge. My mind is darkened--you may be right--Ithink so. " "One word more, --she may discredit my tale, if unsupported. Will youwrite one line to me to say that I am authorized to reveal the secret, and that it is known only to me? I will not use it unless I should thinkit absolutely required. " Hastily and mechanically Maltravers wrote a few words to the effect ofwhat Lumley had suggested. "I will inform you, " he said to Vargrave ashe gave him the paper, "of whatever spot may become my asylum; and youcan communicate to me all that I dread and long to hear; but let no manknow the refuge of despair!" There was positively a tear in Vargrave's cold eye, --the only tear thathad glistened there for many years; he paused irresolute, then advanced, again halted, muttered to himself, and turned aside. "As for the world, " Lumley resumed, after a pause, "your engagement hasbeen public, --some public account of its breach must be invented. Youhave always been considered a proud man; we will say that it was lowbirth on the side of both mother and father (the last only justdiscovered) that broke off the alliance!" Vargrave was talking to the deaf; what cared Maltravers for the world?He hastened from the room, threw himself into his carriage, and Vargravewas left to plot, to hope, and to aspire.