greed,
a
thing
of
rags
and
disease
,
old
in
sin
,
and
steeped
in
impurity
.
No
hand
of
redemption
or
blessing
had
ever
come
nigh
it
.
And
was
there
any
production
of
Nature
alone
so
complete
in
hideousness
?
To
be
suddenly
flung
out
of
the
blue
ether
into
the
abysses
of
death
;
to
exchange
the
feeling
of
Rupert
's
love
with
all
its
glowing
lights
and
hues
of
romance
,
as
softly
blended
as
the
prismatic
sheen
of
the
dove
's
neck
,
for
the
desolation
into
which
no
love
came
,
—
this
was
the
experience
which
Hippolyta
had
chosen
to
undergo
.
Her
existence
had
been
merged
in
his
;
they
two
were
all
the
world
to
one
another
,
and
their
life
had
taken
the
grandest
sweep
towards
the
Ideal
,
for
it
was
full
,
and
actual
,
and
unselfish
,
and
its
fulness
consisted
in
their
thinking
high
thoughts
and
sharing
in
the
most
exquisite
sentiments
together
.
Now
was
Hippolyta
to
see
how
differently
things
might
be
ordered
for
men
and
women
of
like
texture
with
herself
and
Rupert
.
The
one
great
,
astounding
,
miserable
fact
which
smote
her
in
the
face
wherever
she
turned
was
the
absence
,
the
utter
ignorance
on
all
sides
,
that
such
love
could
exist
.
The
genius
of
Dante
,
it
is
well
known
,
has
conceived
the
central
core
,
the
innermost
circle
,
of
his
Inferno
as
not
fire
but
thick-ribbed
ice
.
The
breath
of
Lucifer
freezes
;
it
does
not
burn
.
This
unexpected
and
most
awful
thought
,
containing
in
itself
more
than
the
poet
was
perhaps
aware
,
recurred
to
Hippolyta
many
,
many
times
during
her
pilgrimage
among
these
living
damned
.
She
had
expected
to
find
an
outburst
of
love
,
wild
and
exuberant
as
spring
on
the
plains
of
the
East
.
She
found
the
very
opposite
.
Instead
of
tropical
heat
and
the
quick
succession
of
sentiments
which
might
be
justified
in
the
poet
's
eyes
by
their
warmth
and
intensity
,
what
she
perceived
was
—
how
shall
I
express
it
?
—
a
cold
fury
,
a
chill
and
dreary
animalism
,
in
which
the
embers
of
himan
feeling
were
hardly
to
be
discerned
.
All
things
here
had
a
wan
,
spectral
appearance
,
not
inconsistent
with
murderous
impetuosity
or
the
frenzy
of
hate
and
desire
.
But
love
?
Ah
,
now
she
began
to
understand
what
a
solemn
and
sacred
word
it
was
,
how
little
to
be
confounded
with
the
instincts
which
,
having
full
sway
among
these
dreadful
simulacra
of
humanity
,
were
but
a
madness
added
to
the
rest
which
made
ascent
towards
the
light
impossible
.
Without
saying
it
to
herself
,
or
indeed
knowing
that
such
a
truth
was
becoming
luminous
to
her
,
she
felt
that
the
noble
conception
of
love
had
its
roots
in
the
reverence
and
reserve
,
in
the
great
all-surrounding
atmosphere
of
modesty
,
which
makes
the
distinction
between
true
refinement
and
barbarism
,
be
the
latter
never
so
gilded
.
Where
shame
is
wanting
,
love
cannot
exist
.
In
these
regions
there
was
no
such
thing
as
solitude
,
privacy
,
or
a
house
with
closed
doors
.
There
was
not
room
to
move
in
,
not
air
enough
to
breathe
.
The
confusion
of
ages
and
sexes
,
of
strong
and
feeble
,
even
of
good
and
bad
,
was
beyond
description
.
No
slave-ship
was
ever
more
crowded
than
the
miles
of
narrow
streets
through
which
Hippolyta
,
shuddering
and
sick
at
heart
,
was
forced
to
thread
her
way
.
For
those
who
dwelt
in
them
Nature
had
no
meaning
;
the
green
of
the
meadows
,
the
grace
of
field
and
forest
,
the
beauty
of
running
water
,
nay
,
the
very
lights
of
heaven
did
not
exist
for
them
.
All
they
knew
was
this
living
prison
of
human
bodies
which
hemmed
them
round
,
and
from
the
walls
and
roofs
of
which
came
incessantly
,
as
in
a
falling
shower
,
sounds
of
blasphemy
,
rage
,
cursing
,
pain
,
hunger
and
thirst
,
intoxication
,
insanity
,
and
murder
.
It
was
not
to
be
thought
that
love
could
unveil
its
shy
face
amid
such
horrors
.
The
charm
of
love
is
,
in
the
for
once
poetical
imagery
of
Swedenborg
,
that
it
draws
two
spirits
from
the
ends
of
heaven
to
meet
and
embrace
,
obeying
the
secret
laws
of
affinity
which
make
them
and
them
only
fit
for
one
another
.
How
preserve
such
transcendent
personality
in
the
thick
of
such
a
crowd
as
was
here
battling
for
life
and
trampling
the
fallen
into
a
gory
slime
?
It
was
a
strange
place
to
come
to
for
the
revelation
of
the
sacredness
,
the
singleness
,
so
to
speak
,
of
love
.
Yet
this
was
what
Hippolyta
learnt
;
and
on
her
first
meeting
with
Ivor
Mardol
she
put
her
experience
into
such
words
as
would
most
forcibly
express
it
.
They
were
together
again
in
the
committee-room
,
where
Hippolyta
was
waiting
for
the
arrival
of
Miss
Desmond
.
'
But
I
cannot
agree
with
you
,
Mr.
Mardol
,
'
she
continued
,
'
that
I
have
witnessed
the
evil
consequences
of
Free
Love
.
I
see
no
love
anywhere
in
this
frightful
chaos
.
'
'
It
is
exactly
the
same
thing
,
'
he
answered
,
not
at
all
as
if
uttering
a
questionable
saying
.
'
The
same
thing
to
love
,
and
not
to
know
its
meaning
?
You
are
bent
on
mystifying
me
,
I
perceive
.
'
'
Not
at
all
.
Both
are
forms
of
infinite
caprice
,
of
desires
not
brought
under
reason
.
Free
Love
and
unbridled
passion
will
ever
be
one
to
the
multitude
at
large
.
If
by
Free
Love
,
indeed
,
you
mean
the
choice
by
one
man
of
the
one
woman
in
all
the
world
that
Nature
destined
for
him
,
and
passing
by
all
others
as
objects
only
of
chivalrous
devotion
,
not
of
personal
attachment
,
do
you
know
what
star
will
rise
in
the
sky
of
humanity
?
'
'
Tell
me
,
'
she
said
,
with
great
earnestness
.
'
The
star
of
Duty
,
'
he
replied
.
'
There
can
be
no
rational
freedom
in
love
,
or
in
aught
else
that
belongs
to
our
nature
,
when
Duty
is
cast
out
.
'
'
And
is
it
a
duty
,
'
she
inquired
,
her
eyes
glowing
as
she
spoke
,
'
to
go
on
pretending
to
love
when
affection
is
dead
?
'
'
No
;
but
affection
which
has
once
taken
on
itself
the
yoke
of
duty
will
not
die
;
it
partakes
of
the
spirit
's
immortality
.
You
are
still
persuaded
,
I
see
,
that
instinct
passion
,
and
true
love
are
but
different
names
for
one
feeling
.
It
is
not
so
,
believe
me
.
The
human
element
which
transmutes
instinct
and
passion
to
love
is
the
will
lighted
up
by
reason
.
'
'
Then
love
is
never
spontaneous
,
and
your
philosophy
transforms
it
to
a
palace
of
ice
.
'
'
Nothing
was
ever
more
spontaneous
than
love
;
but
not
all
that
is
spontaneous
should
be
confounded
with
it
.
'
'
Ah
,
here
comes
Miss
Desmond
,
'
cried
Hippolyta
,
relieved
at
her
appearance
,
for
she
was
beginning
to
feel
a
vague
trouble
like
the
first
slight
symptoms
of
a
dangerous
illness
.
'
I
will
go
with
her
,
and
leave
you
to
your
abstractions
,
which
do
not
suit
me
at
all
.
I
am
sure
Miss
Desmond
is
not
a
Stoic
.
'
'
And
you
think
I
am
?
'
inquired
Ivor
with
his
usual
serenity
;
'
well
,
never
mind
.
Only
apply
what
I
have
been
saying
to
any
cases
you
may
meet
in
your
excursion
to-day
,
and
let
me
know
whether
the
idea
of
duty
is
not
a
key
to
unlock
even
a
larger
number
of
doors
than
your
idea
of
sacred
personality
,
—
with
which
,
observe
,
I
have
no
quarrel
.
But
we
should
beware
of
idols
,
and
look
life
in
the
face
.
You
will
pardon
my
unmannerly
presumption
.
'
He
went
away
,
convinced
that
Mrs.
Malcolm
would
not
let
his
words
fall
to
the
ground
.
She
had
that
within
,
he
felt
sure
,
which
prompted
her
to
find
a
solution
of
some
difficult
problem
closely
affecting
her
happiness
;
though
what
it
was
he
neither
asked
nor
desired
to
know
.
He
had
learnt
that
it
is
best
to
wait
until
people
begin
to
speak
of
their
own
accord
.
It
was
a
simple
word
,
Duty
,
but
an
infinite
idea
;
and
he
knew
how
far
it
had
led
him
on
the
path
he
was
pursuing
.
If
Mrs.
Malcolm
had
need
of
it
,
—
and
with
her
the
superstition
of
Free
Love
was
evidently
more
than
a
mere
opinion
,
—
she
would
be
reminded
forcibly
of
its
sacred
character
,
of
its
supreme
worth
,
by
the
contrast
of
so
many
myriad
lives
in
which
it
found
no
place
.
'
Freedom
,
'
he
murmured
as
he
went
along
;
'
yes
,
the
freedom
to
do
right
.
That
will
carry
us
a
little
farther
,
I
trow
,
than
the
freedom
to
destroy
a
man
or
an
institution
which
happens
to
stand
across
the
path
of
progress
.
'
He
was
not
mistaken
.
Hippolyta
dwelt
more
than
she
would
have
been
willing
to
confess
on
those
Stoic
aphorisms
,
as
she
called
them
by
way
of
lessening
their
importance
.
But
her
expeditions
into
a
strange
and
dismal
realm
,
these
dazzling
cross-lights
,
and
great
spaces
of
darkness
,
where
it
seemed
that
neither
Conservative
nor
Revolutionist
could
discover
a
pathway
,
inflicted
on
Hippolyta
the
sense
of
deep
disappointment
,
and
little
by
little
drew
the
clouds
over
her
sky
.
Was
it
so
very
hard
to
make
things
better
?
Miss
Desmond
,
though
faithful
to
her
task
day
and
night
,
evidently
thought
so
.
Ivor
Mardol
thought
so
.
Her
father
,
who
had
begun
with
an
impassioned
belief
that
the
progress
of
the
Revolution
meant
universal
happiness
,
had
grown
pessimist
and
saturnine
as
he
reckoned
up
how
little
had
yet
been
done
.
When
Hippolyta
spoke
in
the
old
eloquent
way
to
Mardol
of
reconstructing
society
from
summit
to
foundation
,
he
answered
sadly
that
the
creative
spirit
did
not
come
at
call
,
and
we
wanted
rulers
of
men
not
partisans
of
chaos
.
'
When
you
have
got
your
anarchy
,
'
he
said
with
a
melancholy
smile
,
'
what
will
you
do
with
it
?
'
Hippolyta
could
not
refute
his
doubts
.
She
had
lived
in
dreams
,
then
,
and
the
waking
reality
did
not
at
all
resemble
their
pliant
lovely
shapes
.
It
was
stern
,
cold
,
unmanageable
,
like
granite
which
has
been
melted
but
once
by
the
primeval
fires
and
can
never
be
moulded
again
by
the
forces
at
man
's
command
.
Colonel
Valence
's
daughter
became
at
times
unhappy
,
with
a
sensation
as
if
she
too
were
lying
under
anathema
and
had
brought
a
curse
,
she
knew
not
how
,
on
herself
and
the
miserable
creatures
whose
wants
she
was
endeavouring
to
supply
.
A
more
tangible
discomfort
was
the
impossibility
of
discovering
a
trace
of
Maurice
Regan
.
She
could
not
now
enjoy
the
leisure
which
had
been
hers
at
the
beginning
of
her
stay
at
Forrest
House
,
and
consequently
she
saw
Annie
Dauris
not
nearly
so
often
.
But
whenever
she
did
,
the
girl
cried
like
a
feverish
child
,
'
Can
you
tell
me
anything
of
Maurice
?
'
Hippolyta
had
consulted
Ivor
Mardol
;
and
by
his
advice
she
neither
called
on
Mr.
Philip
Regan
nor
told
Annie
that
she
would
do
so
.
Ivor
made
inquiries
of
the
clergyman
from
time
to
time
,
but
he
received
the
invariable
answer
that
Maurice
Regan
's
only
address
was
at
his
chambers
,
that
he
never
came
there
but
had
his
letters
sent
on
,
now
to
one
place
,
now
to
another
,
and
that
apparently
he
lived
a
wandering
life
and
was
not
to
be
met
in
London
.
Hippolyta
did
not
see
the
advantage
of
telling
these
things
to
Annie
;
they
would
only
make
her
restless
,
and
,
on
the
whole
,
if
,
as
time
went
on
,
Maurice
Regan
kept
out
of
her
sight
,
she
might
give
up
the
expectation
of
finding
him
,
and
resign
herself
to
the
life
in
her
mother
's
cottage
.
There
she
would
be
safe
whatever
happened
.
Mrs.
Malcolm
did
not
venture
to
express
her
more
painful
thoughts
to
the
gardener
's
wife
.
She
hinted
something
,
but
Mrs.
Dauris
was
very
ill
,
did
not
realise
what
she
heard
,
and
repeated
her
assurance
that
Annie
had
only
been
foolish
,
not
wicked
.
The
girl
herself
was
obstinately
silent
.
Thus
matters
stood
when
Hippolyta
,
after
a
hard
day
at
the
East
End
,
came
in
late
and
tired
.
She
made
a
light
dinner
,
and
lying
down
,
fell
into
a
deep
sleep
which
lasted
longer
than
usual
.
About
eight
next
morning
she
was
awakened
by
the
entrance
of
the
housekeeper
,
who
,
with
many
apologies
for
disturbing
her
,
announced
that
the
little
boy
,
Charlie
Dauris
,
was
in
the
hall
,
and
begged
earnestly
to
see
Mrs.
Malcolm
.
'
Does
he
say
what
it
is
about
?
'
inquired
Hippolyta
,
sitting
up
as
she
spoke
.
'
No
,
ma'am
,
'
replied
the
good
woman
;
'
I
asked
him
,
but
he
would
not
tell
.
He
was
crying
,
though
;
and
I
have
no
doubt
they
are
in
trouble
.
Perhaps
his
mother
is
worse
.
'
The
thought
startled
Hippolyta
,
who
remembered
how
delicate
Mrs.
Dauris
had
been
looking
lately
.
She
sprang
up
,
and
sending
Mrs.
Leeming
downstairs
,
said
she
would
come
in
a
moment
.
What
could
it
be
?
Making
a
hasty
toilette
,
she
ran
down
into
the
hall
,
where
Charlie
was
standing
,
his
eyes
fixed
on
the
ground
,
and
great
tears
rolling
down
his
cheeks
.
Hippolyta
kissed
the
boy
,
—
who
was
,
as
I
have
said
,
a
favourite
of
hers
,
and
of
a
very
feeling
,
affectionate
nature
,
—
and
took
him
into
the
dining-room
.
'
What
is
it
,
Charlie
dear
?
'
she
said
anxiously
.
'
Is
your
mother
not
so
well
?
'
'
Mother
is
very
ill
,
'
he
answered
;
'
but
it
is
not
that
.
It
is
Annie
.
Oh
,
Mrs.
Malcolm
,
'
he
said
with
a
fresh
burst
of
weeping
,
'
Annie
's
run
away
again
,
and
she
left
this
letter
for
you
on
her
bed
.
Mother
found
it
this
morning
when
she
went
to
call
her
.
'
And
so
saying
he
gave
a
sealed
envelope
into
Hippolyta
's
hand
.
She
went
towards
the
light
to
read
it
.
There
were
only
a
few
lines
,
hastily
scrawled
,
but
when
Mrs.
Malcolm
arrived
at
the
end
of
them
,
she
turned
deadly
pale
,
and
sat
down
like
one
about
to
faint
,
putting
her
hand
to
her
forehead
in
great
and
evident
distress
.
It
was
shocking
;
it
confirmed
her
worst
expectations
.
Annie
wrote
,
in
haste
and
agony
,
that
she
dared
stay
at
home
no
longer
.
She
reproached
herself
bitterly
for
not
being
so
frank
with
Mrs.
Malcolm
as
she
ought
to
have
been
.
The
story
she
had
told
her
about
Maurice
Regan
was
not
the
whole
truth
.
He
had
been
her
true
love
,
but
he
had
ruined
her
;
and
she
was
going
now
to
find
the
father
of
the
child
that
should
be
born
to
her
,
and
in
case
she
could
not
find
him
to
put
an
end
to
her
misery
.
She
would
never
,
never
come
home
again
.
She
begged
Mrs.
Malcolm
,
for
the
love
of
God
,
to
break
the
news
as
gently
as
she
could
to
her
poor
mother
.
'
It
will
be
her
death
,
'
were
the
concluding
words
of
the
letter
;
'
but
I
cannot
help
it
.
I
must
go
.
'
Hippolyta
did
not
know
which
way
to
look
.
She
was
dazed
and
confounded
.
While
she
had
been
endeavouring
to
rescue
strangers
at
the
other
end
of
London
this
unhappy
child
had
escaped
her
at
her
own
door
.
How
convey
the
fearful
news
to
the
mother
,
who
would
perhaps
die
of
a
broken
heart
,
or
to
the
father
upon
whom
Annie
had
always
so
unjustly
cast
the
blame
of
her
wicked
conduct
?
Oh
,
what
a
desolate
home
would
that
be
when
they
knew
the
reason
of
their
daughter
's
flight
!
The
boy
,
meanwhile
,
stood
looking
at
Mrs.
Malcolm
with
tear-filled
eyes
,
not
venturing
to
ask
her
what
his
sister
had
written
.
But
when
he
saw
how
she
began
to
cry
,
he
ran
to
her
and
put
his
arms
affectionately
round
her
neck
.
'
Poor
Charlie
,
'
she
said
,
pressing
him
to
her
,
'
you
have
a
bad
sister
.
Never
mind
,
we
must
do
what
we
ought
.
'
And
,
rising
up
,
she
hastily
poured
out
a
glass
of
water
and
put
it
to
her
lips
.
She
could
touch
none
of
the
breakfast
that
lay
on
the
table
.
Her
one
thought
was
to
go
immediately
to
the
cottage
and
do
what
she
could
to
comfort
Mrs.
Dauris
.
The
lady
and
the
child
were
soon
on
their
way
,
Charlie
holding
her
hand
fast
and
looking
up
to
her
from
time
to
time
as
with
panting
breath
they
hurried
along
.
Before
they
could
reach
the
gate
they
saw
Mrs.
Dauris
waiting
for
them
on
the
threshold
.
Hippolyta
keeping
the
letter
in
her
bosom
,
where
she
had
unconsciously
thrust
it
,
embraced
the
poor
invalid
with
overflowing
sympathy
,
and
led
her
without
saying
a
word
into
the
house
.
There
Mr.
Dauris
sat
expecting
her
in
the
arm-chair
by
the
window
,
his
head
bent
upon
his
breast
,
absorbed
in
painful
thoughts
.
Hippolyta
had
never
fulfilled
such
a
task
as
now
devolved
upon
her
.
To
acquaint
these
friends
whom
she
loved
and
pitied
with
their
daughter
's
dishonour
,
to
hint
at
her
probable
fate
unless
immediate
steps
were
taken
to
find
out
whither
she
had
gone
,
to
soften
their
despair
,
and
induce
them
to
master
their
grief
lest
it
should
prove
the
occasion
of
Annie
's
irremediable
ruin
;
—
and
to
do
all
this
,
knowing
that
she
could
not
appeal
to
religious
principles
in
which
she
did
not
believe
,
or
comfort
them
with
the
possibility
of
a
marriage
that
would
be
the
remedy
of
past
and
future
;
—
it
seemed
a
thing
beyond
the
strength
of
woman
.
But
Hippolyta
was
self-denying
to
an
heroic
degree
.
She
would
not
utter
what
she
did
not
believe
.
Nevertheless
with
tact
and
gentle
feeling
,
in
accents
wherein
all
the
tenderness
of
her
nature
found
expression
,
she
unfolded
to
them
the
story
of
shame
.
She
could
not
hinder
it
from
overwhelming
them
.
It
was
a
thunderbolt
that
smote
the
fabric
of
their
happiness
at
the
four
corners
and
brought
it
to
the
ground
.
In
comparison
with
the
sin
,
the
disgrace
,
the
horror
of
what
had
befallen
them
,
death
was
nothing
.
'
I
could
have
borne
to
see
her
die
,
'
said
Mrs.
Dauris
,
falling
back
on
her
couch
and
clasping
her
hands
wistfully
,
—
'
that
would
have
been
only
giving
her
back
to
God
from
whom
we
received
her
.
But
to
think
that
my
Annie
should
be
her
own
murderer
and
perhaps
her
child
's
.
'
She
could
say
no
more
.
'
God
's
will
be
done
,
'
said
her
husband
reverently
.
'
I
tried
to
bring
my
daughter
up
well
.
She
has
turned
out
perverse
,
and
now
we
must
bear
her
shame
.
'
Hippolyta
suggested
that
Maurice
Regan
might
yet
be
found
.
If
Annie
did
not
come
upon
his
traces
,
they
,
with
his
brother
's
assistance
,
perhaps
should
fare
better
.
'
I
doubt
it
—
I
doubt
it
,
'
replied
the
gardener
after
a
moment
of
sad
reflection
.
'
And
what
though
we
do
?
We
cannot
compel
him
to
marry
the
wretched
creature
he
has
ruined
.
'
It
was
impossible
,
in
a
house
where
the
new
ways
of
thought
had
not
penetrated
,
to
whisper
that
if
the
two
young
people
were
in
love
they
might
be
happy
together
without
marriage
.
To
her
intense
surprise
Hippolyta
felt
that
the
mere
suggestion
,
though
confined
to
her
own
breast
,
was
not
right
.
Would
not
perfect
reciprocal
affection
,
then
,
be
enough
unless
marriage
came
to
add
its
consecration
?
She
sat
thinking
over
it
.
When
a
little
while
had
passed
,
and
they
were
still
silent
,
considering
what
to
do
first
,
she
said
hesitatingly
,
'
But
I
cannot
help
believing
that
he
really
did
care
for
Annie
;
in
which
case
,
if
he
can
only
be
told
what
has
happened
,
he
will
come
to
her
rescue
.
'
'
Care
for
Annie
,
'
echoed
Mr.
Dauris
with
deep
disgust
in
his
tones
;
'
forgive
me
,
my
dear
lady
,
you
know
too
little
of
the
world
or
you
would
not
say
that
.
He
cared
for
her
as
much
as
he
would
for
a
wildflower
plucked
out
of
a
hedge
.
He
cared
for
himself
,
the
dastardly
villain
;
that
is
all
such
men
care
for
.
'
The
gardener
rose
and
went
to
the
door
.
'
It
is
the
old
story
,
'
he
said
very
bitterly
;
'
I
must
go
to
the
police
station
once
more
and
tell
them
to
make
inquiries
.
I
shall
soon
be
well
known
there
,
with
my
runaway
daughter
.
'
'
Oh
Annie
,
Annie
,
'
sobbed
the
mother
,
as
her
husband
went
out
,
'
how
little
you
thought
of
the
trouble
your
wilfulness
would
bring
on
us
all
.
See
what
it
is
,
'
she
continued
,
turning
to
Mrs.
Malcolm
,
'
not
to
have
any
rule
or
check
but
your
own
pleasure
.
It
means
misery
to
every
one
belonging
to
you
.
'
What
could
Hippolyta
say
?
She
was
stricken
dumb
.
But
there
was
little
occasion
for
her
to
say
anything
.
The
question
was
what
could
be
done
.
Mrs.
Dauris
became
so
affected
by
the
thought
of
Annie
's
past
misconduct
and
present
danger
that
she
went
from
one
fainting
fit
into
another
;
and
it
was
all
Hippolyta
could
do
to
attend
upon
her
while
Charlie
went
to
Forrest
House
to
fetch
Mrs.
Leeming
.
For
there
was
no
one
but
the
elder
boy
to
watch
over
his
mother
;
and
it
seemed
advisable
to
communicate
at
once
with
Ivor
Mardol
,
whose
address
Mrs.
Malcolm
fortunately
knew
.
He
was
well
acquainted
with
the
ways
of
underground
London
;
he
could
induce
Mr.
Philip
Regan
to
make
inquiries
for
his
brother
,
and
at
the
same
time
could
plant
scouts
in
the
neighbourhood
which
Annie
Dauris
had
been
wont
to
frequent
.
Hippolyta
,
therefore
,
made
haste
to
leave
Mrs.
Dauris
in
competent
hands
,
took
a
melancholy
meal
at
home
,
standing
up
in
her
desire
to
have
done
with
it
,
and
ordered
the
carriage
to
take
her
to
Mr.
Mardol
's
house
,
in
Grafton
Place
.
She
had
never
been
there
previously
,
nor
was
she
aware
of
the
trade
or
profession
,
if
any
,
to
which
Ivor
belonged
.
It
was
so
considerable
a
distance
that
the
coachman
,
surprised
,
repeated
the
address
to
make
sure
he
had
not
mistaken
.
She
bade
him
impatiently
drive
on
.
The
day
was
cold
and
the
air
brisk
.
To
make
sure
of
Mr.
Mardol
Hippolyta
had
despatched
a
message
by
telegraph
,
asking
him
not
to
leave
Grafton
Place
till
she
arrived
.
During
the
long
journey
,
wrapped
in
the
costly
furs
that
Rupert
had
presented
to
her
when
the
cold
set
in
,
Hippolyta
had
leisure
for
thinking
.
Her
thoughts
were
far
from
pleasant
.
She
blamed
herself
for
not
having
offered
better
advice
to
Annie
Dauris
,
whom
she
had
encouraged
,
it
now
seemed
to
her
,
in
making
sentiment
the
mainspring
of
all
her
actions
.
Why
not
have
shown
her
the
folly
of
such
ill-assorted
love
?
Why
,
at
least
,
not
have
put
by
the
side
of
her
wild
romantic
notions
the
stern
truth
which
even
at
that
moment
she
,
Hippolyta
,
was
learning
under
the
guidance
of
Ivor
Mardol
and
Miss
Desmond
?
Why
not
have
made
more
strenuous
efforts
to
elicit
her
secret
?
But
no
,
she
had
been
absorbed
in
self
,
eager
only
to
make
out
a
strong
case
for
that
yielding
to
impulse
which
was
the
cause
and
explanation
of
Annie
's
downfall
.
Oh
,
she
could
have
reviled
herself
bitterly
;
no
words
of
condemnation
could
be
too
severe
for
her
.
If
Annie
had
gone
to
such
a
friend
as
Miss
Desmond
,
how
differently
matters
might
have
fallen
out
.
Then
she
began
,
as
we
all
do
when
most
occupied
with
the
troubles
of
another
,
to
look
into
her
own
situation
.
It
was
no
longer
so
plain
to
her
as
it
had
been
.
True
,
she
had
wronged
nobody
,
had
brought
no
desolation
to
her
father
's
heart
,
nor
dishonoured
his
gray
hairs
.
What
she
had
done
and
was
doing
,
the
manner
of
life
to
which
she
had
given
herself
,
would
have
received
Colonel
Valence
's
approval
,
she
knew
quite
well
,
had
she
been
able
to
inform
him
of
it
.
Her
action
was
not
the
fruit
of
a
passionate
impulse
;
it
had
been
calm
and
deliberate
.
Nor
was
she
prepared
to
allow
that
society
had
the
best
of
the
argument
,
in
spite
of
Ivor
Mardol
's
demonstration
from
the
chaotic
deeps
of
life
.
It
did
not
touch
her
,
though
it
might
be
applicable
to
such
as
Annie
Dauris
.
For
all
that
she
could
not
resist
the
uneasiness
which
seemed
to
be
creeping
over
her
,
like
a
fog
which
makes
the
lights
indistinct
and
the
ways
uncertain
.
She
wished
—
and
yet
again
how
could
she
wish
?
—
that
Rupert
were
at
home
.
He
would
have
aided
her
to
think
as
she
ought
.
But
not
so
,
he
would
have
encouraged
her
scruples
,
for
he
desired
nothing
so
much
as
that
they
should
marry
like
the
rest
of
the
world
.
There
it
was
,
—
the
rest
of
the
world
,
the
hardness
,
injustice
,
cruelty
,
luxury
,
unmanliness
,
the
atheism
of
that
most
despicable
and
sordid
kind
which
consists
in
blinding
our
eyes
to
the
godlike
which
is
in
man
.
'
Ah
,
'
said
Hippolyta
more
than
once
as
the
carriage
bore
her
along
,
'
I
knew
well
it
was
the
heart
of
the
question
.
To
surrender
that
one
point
is
to
acknowledge
that
there
is
no
remedy
,
that
men
and
women
must
go
on
suffering
,
hating
,
despairing
,
trampling
down
others
,
or
being
trampled
on
themselves
.
I
will
not
believe
it
.
Free
love
may
be
an
impossible
dream
;
these
laws
of
marriage
are
a
real
and
present
slavery
.
'
But
again
she
asked
herself
whether
she
was
not
hurrying
forward
in
the
hope
of
finding
Maurice
Regan
and
persuading
or
compelling
him
to
marry
the
girl
whom
he
perhaps
had
ceased
to
love
?
'
What
a
tangle
life
is
!
'
said
Hippolyta
.
The
carriage
stopped
.
Mrs.
Malcolm
looked
out
and
saw
a
small
,
but
rather
quaint-looking
house
,
two
stories
high
,
with
a
clean
pavement
in
front
of
it
,
and
a
strip
of
open
ground
on
each
side
,
making
with
the
wall
of
the
adjoining
houses
a
sort
of
passage
leading
probably
to
some
enclosure
beyond
.
She
caught
a
glimpse
of
tall
wooden
beams
standing
upright
,
or
slanting
across
one
another
at
the
end
of
the
passage
,
and
making
that
appearance
against
the
sky
which
in
a
city
always
reminds
one
of
shipbuilding
.
It
was
,
in
fact
,
a
joiner
's
yard
,
with
saw-mills
attached
,
and
the
smell
of
fresh
wood
had
something
in
it
briny
and
sea-like
.
Hippolyta
alighted
,
and
at
that
moment
Ivor
Mardol
opened
the
door
and
bade
her
come
in
.
She
entered
after
a
word
to
the
coachman
,
whom
she
desired
to
wait
,
as
there
might
still
be
need
of
him
.
The
entrance-hall
in
which
she
found
herself
was
square
,
with
a
low
ceiling
of
some
ancient
woodwork
;
and
the
walls
were
hung
with
engravings
or
decorated
with
exquisite
specimens
of
carving
.
A
low
,
broad
staircase
,
dark
and
polished
,
with
massive
wooden
rail
,
led
to
the
upper
apartments
.
To
the
right
a
curtain
of
gilt
leather
hung
over
and
concealed
the
entrance
to
Ivor
's
workroom
.
Holding
it
aside
,
the
engraver
,
as
that
room
would
soon
declare
him
to
be
,
made
way
for
Hippolyta
,
who
was
so
tired
that
she
threw
herself
into
the
first
chair
she
saw
,
and
being
more
agitated
than
at
any
former
time
in
her
life
,
more
even
than
the
night
when
she
came
to
Rupert
's
studio
,
on
sitting
down
burst
into
tears
.
Ivor
was
alarmed
and
distressed
.
Ready
,
on
receipt
of
Mrs.
Malcolm
's
telegram
,
to
believe
that
something
had
happened
,
he
did
not
know
what
to
conjecture
.
But
he
had
seen
enough
of
the
lady
before
him
to
be
assured
that
she
was
of
a
high-strung
,
resolute
nature
;
and
the
fact
that
she
kept
her
residence
and
the
circumstances
of
her
life
a
mystery
,
not
only
from
himself
,
but
from
Miss
Desmond
,
indicated
that
there
were
reasons
for
doing
so
of
which
her
present
visit
to
him
might
be
the
consequence
.
However
,
though
Mrs.
Malcolm
wept
,
she
did
not
faint
.
In
a
little
while
she
recovered
;
and
begging
pardon
for
an
unseasonable
exhibition
of
feeling
,
which
,
as
she
said
,
could
only
add
to
the
trouble
,
not
lessen
it
,
she
proceeded
to
tell
him
the
story
of
Annie
Dauris
's
flight
.
To
Ivor
,
who
did
not
know
Annie
Dauris
,
but
saw
much
in
Mrs.
Malcolm
to
draw
forth
his
admiration
and
esteem
,
it
came
as
a
relief
.
He
had
feared
for
the
lady
herself
;
the
girl
's
case
,
though
pitiable
in
the
extreme
,
was
one
of
every
day
.
She
might
not
be
found
;
Maurice
Regan
,
even
when
found
,
might
decline
to
acknowledge
or
assist
her
.
But
Ivor
would
do
all
that
lay
in
his
power
.
He
thanked
Mrs.
Malcolm
for
coming
to
him
.
It
would
save
time
if
they
drove
at
once
to
Mr.
Philip
Regan
's
and
let
him
know
the
circumstance
under
which
his
brother
's
presence
was
immediately
required
.
Hippolyta
,
who
had
anticipated
all
this
,
offered
him
a
place
in
her
carriage
,
and
they
set
out
.
'
Shall
you
be
leaving
any
of
your
work
that
requires
to
be
finished
?
'
said
Hippolyta
as
soon
as
they
were
seated
.
'
I
forgot
to
ask
you
before
,
I
was
so
confused
.
Let
me
make
it
up
to
you
if
you
are
.
I
am
rich
,
'
she
added
,
smiling
rather
mournfully
,
—
'
richer
than
I
have
any
right
to
be
.
'
'
You
are
very
kind
,
'
said
Ivor
;
'
and
I
will
let
you
know
if
anything
of
the
sort
happens
before
we
have
found
Annie
Dauris
.
But
I
,
too
,
am
richer
than
I
ought
to
be
.
I
have
made
money
in
unexpected
ways
,
which
I
hoped
to
contribute
towards
the
expenses
of
the
"
movement
.
"
But
now
I
am
cut
off
from
the
rest
,
I
do
not
see
my
way
to
employing
it
profitably
.
'
'
Why
were
you
cut
off
?
'
asked
Hippolyta
;
'
believe
me
,
I
do
not
ask
in
a
spirit
of
feminine
curiosity
,
but
because
,
woman
though
I
am
,
my
relations
with
the
various
branches
have
been
extensive
,
and
I
might
be
able
to
help
you
towards
reinstatement
.
'
'
You
might
do
much
,
'
he
said
,
with
his
serious
playfulness
.
'
No
,
my
dear
lady
,
unless
a
great
change
comes
about
in
others
—
which
is
every
day
less
likely
—
nothing
can
be
done
.
If
I
could
disclose
the
nature
of
my
offences
you
would
agree
with
me
.
They
are
the
most
serious
,
short
of
betrayal
of
secrets
,
that
can
be
imagined
.
I
am
a
lapsed
heretic
,
'
he
went
on
half
to
himself
,
'
and
fit
only
for
the
stake
.
'
It
is
next
to
impossible
to
carry
on
a
conversation
in
any
vehicle
making
its
way
through
the
streets
of
London
;
and
but
few
words
passed
between
Ivor
and
Hippolyta
as
they
went
towards
St.
Audry
's
.
Their
interview
with
Mr.
Philip
Regan
was
brief
,
and
resulted
only
in
their
receiving
the
address
of
his
brother
Maurice
's
chambers
.
For
,
though
as
a
clergyman
he
was
properly
and
profoundly
shocked
,
he
seemed
to
take
it
as
a
matter
of
course
that
Annie
Dauris
had
been
the
tempter
and
Mr.
Maurice
Regan
the
tempted
.
He
was
too
well
acquainted
,
he
said
,
with
the
character
of
young
women
of
that
class
to
have
any
doubt
on
the
subject
.
It
seemed
to
Hippolyta
that
she
had
come
unexpectedly
in
contact
with
a
Pharisee
;
and
,
although
she
had
heard
of
his
kindness
to
the
poor
,
and
knew
he
spent
much
of
his
time
in
visiting
them
,
she
could
not
help
fancying
that
he
looked
on
himself
as
exceedingly
clean
,
and
on
those
to
whom
he
stooped
as
exceedingly
the
opposite
.
With
scornful
amusement
she
pictured
the
surprise
and
disgust
which
would
have
taken
hold
of
this
handsome
,
clean-shaven
,
scrupulously
fitted-up
ecclesiastic
,
had
he
learned
what
manner
of
woman
it
was
that
came
to
plead
the
cause
of
Annie
Dauris
within
his
gates
.
He
would
write
to
his
brother
,
certainly
;
but
he
trusted
that
Mrs.
Malcolm
was
quite
sure
of
the
facts
on
which
she
was
now
moving
.
Hippolyta
replied
immediately
,
'
I
am
sure
that
Annie
has
left
home
;
I
believe
she
is
a
ruined
girl
;
and
I
have
every
reason
to
think
that
she
has
gone
in
search
of
Mr.
Regan
.
All
I
ask
of
you
is
to
inform
that
gentleman
,
if
you
know
where
to
reach
him
,
of
the
contents
of
Annie
's
letter
.
I
suppose
,
'
she
added
with
some
bitterness
,
'
it
is
only
unbelievers
like
Mr.
Mardol
that
think
a
woman
as
well
worth
saving
as
a
man
.
'
The
clergyman
bowed
stiffly
and
led
them
to
the
door
.
He
gave
less
credit
to
Annie
Dauris
's
story
than
ever
.
CHAPTER
XXVIII
WRECKED
!
Such
was
the
first
of
her
weary
and
fruitless
journeys
,
undertaken
by
Hippolyta
during
that
day
and
the
next
two
or
three
,
in
search
of
her
lost
and
fallen
sister
.
Not
finding
Maurice
Regan
at
his
legal
address
—
but
,
of
course
,
they
had
not
expected
to
find
him
there
—
Ivor
sat
down
and
wrote
him
a
brief
account
of
Annie
's
disappearance
,
requesting
him
to
let
her
parents
know
if
he
was
acquainted
with
her
whereabouts
,
as
the
police
were
already
engaged
in
searching
for
her
;
and
if
he
were
not
,
to
take
such
steps
as
lay
in
his
power
towards
her
recovery
from
the
danger
into
which
she
had
plunged
.
The
next
point
was
to
visit
Charlotte
Fraser
,
who
either
could
not
or
would
not
give
them
any
information
,
except
the
names
of
certain
persons
,
lower
than
herself
in
the
social
scale
,
with
whom
Annie
had
been
wont
to
consort
.
The
places
where
these
women
abode
did
not
seem
fit
for
Mrs.
Malcolm
to
approach
.
Ivor
promised
that
he
would
make
all
needful
inquiry
,
and
let
her
know
the
result
.
She
begged
him
to
address
her
at
the
gardener
's
cottage
;
for
,
even
in
this
crisis
and
bewilderment
of
her
faculties
,
she
was
still
uncertain
whether
Rupert
would
wish
his
friend
to
know
that
she
lived
at
Forrest
House
.
So
far
as
Ivor
was
concerned
she
need
have
had
no
anxiety
.
He
was
ignorant
of
Rupert
's
connection
with
that
red-brick
mansion
,
as
of
the
extent
and
situation
of
his
property
altogether
,
except
that
of
the
house
in
town
at
which
he
had
once
stayed
.
They
were
three
long
and
miserable
days
,
while
a
bitter
east
wind
was
blowing
under
the
darkened
sky
,
and
in
Hippolyta
's
heart
there
was
a
sense
of
growing
distress
and
heaviness
which
she
could
not
account
for
,
even
when
she
thought
of
the
trouble
in
her
friends
'
home
.
Certainly
it
was
sad
to
look
on
Mrs.
Dauris
,
now
sinking
into
a
state
of
perilous
exhaustion
,
her
appetite
gone
,
and
a
severe
headache
and
racking
pains
in
the
chest
making
her
almost
insensible
to
the
cause
which
had
brought
her
low
.
Annie
's
father
was
still
more
to
be
pitied
.
At
times
even
his
religious
faith
threatened
to
give
way
;
he
sat
in
mournful
silence
,
or
broke
out
into
sharp
words
of
reproach
against
his
misguided
child
;
and
only
Charlie
's
affection
and
thoughtful
care
prevented
him
from
yielding
to
the
demon
which
always
lurks
at
such
a
season
of
misery
near
the
threshold
of
the
poor
.
It
was
the
boy
of
eleven
whose
gentle
earnestness
kept
the
grown
man
from
forgetting
his
sorrow
in
drink
.
But
he
had
set
his
children
a
good
example
of
which
he
was
now
,
in
Charlie
's
piety
and
devotedness
,
reaping
the
fruit
.
Mr.
Dauris
was
a
good
man
and
a
true
Christian
;
he
knew
that
he
must
not
yield
;
but
desperation
was
ever
whispering
that
he
might
as
well
yield
now
as
afterwards
.
'
You
see
,
'
he
said
,
'
Mrs
.
Malcolm
,
we
have
done
our
best
,
but
Annie
has
proved
too
much
for
us
.
Her
mother
will
die
;
and
what
does
it
matter
how
I
live
?
But
yes
,
'
interrupting
himself
,
'
it
does
matter
,
and
you
do
well
to
rebuke
me
with
your
looks
.
I
beg
your
pardon
.
I
ought
to
have
more
trust
in
the
goodness
of
God
.
'
Hippolyta
said
all
she
could
think
of
to
comfort
him
.
The
struggle
of
such
a
man
under
temptation
was
dreadful
to
see
.
Could
a
foolish
love
in
one
young
girl
's
bosom
work
so
great
harm
?
What
a
contrast
between
the
happy
,
peaceful
husband
and
wife
,
patient
in
spite
of
their
trials
,
as
they
had
appeared
on
her
first
knowing
them
,
and
the
shattered
home
where
every
divine
light
seemed
in
danger
of
being
quenched
!
The
shock
to
this
good
man
's
virtue
affected
Hippolyta
even
more
than
the
ruin
of
his
happiness
.
'
It
is
little
to
be
unhappy
,
'
she
thought
,
as
she
went
away
that
evening
;
'
one
may
be
unhappy
,
yet
endure
it
.
The
horrible
change
is
when
one
falls
from
the
ideal
and
is
willing
to
believe
in
universal
disorder
,
as
though
it
were
no
use
to
hold
by
what
is
good
.
'
She
dwelt
repeatedly
on
these
things
in
her
own
mind
while
going
to
and
fro
next
day
in
the
haunts
of
Annie
Dauris
.
She
called
on
Ivor
Mardol
,
hoping
there
might
be
some
fresh
intelligence
.
But
there
was
none
;
and
at
the
close
of
a
weary
afternoon
,
dismissing
the
cab
which
brought
her
to
the
bottom
of
Bransmere
Road
,
she
began
to
walk
towards
home
.
'
It
seems
very
late
,
'
she
said
to
herself
,
pulling
out
her
watch
.
It
was
just
half-past
seven
.
While
she
stopped
to
look
at
the
time
,
for
it
was
anything
but
a
bright
evening
,
she
noticed
that
a
number
of
persons
were
going
by
her
up
the
Hill
,
and
that
no
one
was
coming
down
.
She
looked
round
and
found
herself
in
the
midst
of
a
not
inconsiderable
crowd
,
all
going
apparently
the
same
way
.
Some
were
well-dressed
,
but
the
greater
number
,
both
men
and
women
,
belonged
to
the
labouring
class
,
and
many
of
them
were
thinly
defended
against
the
cold
.
Hippolyta
walked
on
with
them
,
wondering
,
in
an
absent
,
tired
fashion
what
could
be
taking
all
these
people
past
Forrest
House
.
But
her
wonder
ceased
when
she
came
to
her
own
gate
and
saw
that
they
were
entering
the
church
beyond
.
As
she
paused
with
her
hand
on
the
lock
she
heard
the
organ
rolling
out
its
solemn
music
,
and
perceived
a
dim
light
shining
through
the
stained
glass
windows
,
the
confused
emblems
of
which
she
had
tried
to
make
out
the
first
evening
when
Rupert
quitted
her
.
She
was
exhausted
with
the
long
day
's
work
.
The
sense
of
loneliness
and
uncertainty
which
for
some
weeks
past
had
been
gaining
on
her
was
now
at
its
height
;
and
she
felt
in
that
dangerous
mood
when
the
slightest
token
,
one
way
or
another
,
determines
a
nature
like
Hippolyta
's
to
make
an
experiment
with
the
unknown
,
in
the
hope
of
finding
what
has
been
sought
to
so
little
purpose
elsewhere
.
After
reflecting
for
a
moment
she
turned
from
her
own
gate
,
drew
her
furs
about
her
,
let
down
her
veil
,
and
followed
into
the
church
with
the
multitude
.
It
was
already
thronged
,
and
Hippolyta
had
some
difficulty
in
making
her
way
through
the
narrow
porch
and
past
the
still
narrower
doors
which
opened
inside
it
,
under
a
gallery
at
the
west
end
.
A
few
jets
of
gas
,
at
long
intervals
,
cast
their
uncertain
flickering
light
on
the
crowded
benches
at
which
the
people
were
already
kneeling
,
strings
of
beads
in
the
hands
of
most
.
They
were
engaged
,
as
it
would
seem
,
in
public
prayer
,
for
a
low
monotonous
hum
,
broken
only
by
the
click
of
the
beads
,
ran
from
time
to
time
through
the
building
.
Hippolyta
could
perceive
,
when
she
was
able
to
find
a
place
,
that
there
were
kneeling
forms
likewise
in
the
chancel
,
which
by
that
dim
light
seemed
to
be
a
great
distance
from
the
western
porch
.
And
they
,
too
,
from
time
to
time
,
murmured
something
of
which
she
could
only
gather
the
sound
without
being
able
to
understand
in
what
language
it
was
spoken
.
A
devout
woman
,
seeing
her
standing
up
,
made
way
for
her
at
the
end
of
a
bench
near
the
wall
;
and
Hippolyta
,
unable
now
to
move
in
advance
or
to
retreat
by
the
way
she
had
come
,
judged
it
prudent
to
kneel
like
the
others
lest
she
should
draw
their
attention
.
The
monotonous
prayer
ceased
;
the
people
stood
up
and
sang
a
hymn
;
the
jets
of
gas
were
turned
to
their
full
height
on
both
sides
of
the
central
aisle
;
and
Hippolyta
,
raising
her
eyes
,
saw
that
an
ecclesiastic
,
in
a
white
surplice
,
and
with
an
embroidered
scarf
over
his
shoulders
,
was
standing
in
the
pulpit
about
half-way
between
the
altar
and
the
west
end
of
the
church
,
waiting
in
silence
till
the
people
had
taken
their
seats
again
and
were
quiet
.
Now
that
the
church
was
lighted
up
Hippolyta
was
able
to
judge
of
its
extent
,
which
,
though
not
vast
,
like
those
of
the
immense
cathedrals
she
had
visited
on
the
Continent
,
was
considerable
and
imposing
.
It
was
built
in
a
pure
style
of
pointed
architecture
;
and
the
clustered
columns
,
with
their
slender
shafts
and
deeply-wrought
capitals
,
gave
it
an
air
of
loveliness
which
enhanced
the
beauty
of
its
proportions
.
On
either
side
were
chapels
with
lamps
burning
in
front
of
their
altars
,
while
a
profusion
of
statuary
under
niches
seemed
to
betoken
that
the
heavenly
citizens
were
come
down
to
dwell
with
their
brethren
on
earth
and
offer
them
protection
in
exchange
for
homage
.
There
were
pictures
here
and
there
on
the
walls
,
but
it
was
impossible
for
Hippolyta
to
make
out
the
subjects
.
At
the
extreme
end
of
the
church
a
solitary
lamp
glowed
crimson
within
the
chancel
.
The
stained
imagery
of
the
windows
,
luminous
outside
,
was
black
and
indistinguishable
viewed
from
within
.
Every
nook
and
corner
of
the
church
now
seemed
filled
with
people
like
those
Hippolyta
had
met
coming
up
the
Hill
.
It
took
them
some
little
while
to
be
seated
and
to
have
finished
coughing
.
Meanwhile
the
preacher
stood
still
with
an
open
book
on
the
desk
before
him
,
and
a
crucifix
in
his
left
hand
.
He
was
by
no
means
a
striking
figure
,
although
the
calm
decision
of
the
attitude
in
which
he
stood
betokened
something
not
quite
commonplace
.
He
seemed
of
about
the
average
height
,
or
a
little
more
,
with
dark
,
close-clipped
hair
and
beardless
face
,
very
dark
steady
eyes
,
and
the
worn
expression
of
countenance
which
is
so
frequent
in
Roman
Catholic
saints
of
an
ascetic
type
,
—
an
expression
to
be
rendered
by
some
such
phrase
as
'
fasting
from
earthly
joys
.
'
His
hands
were
thin
and
nervous
,
brown
rather
than
white
,
and
now
kept
motionless
,
one
resting
on
the
edge
of
the
pulpit
,
the
other
grasping
the
ebony
cross
on
which
glimmered
the
dead-pale
figure
of
ivory
.
Amid
a
hush
of
perfect
silence
he
stooped
,
took
up
the
book
,
and
gave
out
these
words
in
a
clear
low
voice
:
'
In
the
sixth
chapter
,
twenty-third
verse
,
of
his
Epistle
to
the
Romans
,
St.
Paul
has
written
,
"
The
wages
of
sin
"
—
he
paused
,
seemed
to
lift
the
crucifix
ever
so
little
,
and
to
let
it
fall
as
he
uttered
the
conclusion
of
his
text
—
"
is
death
.
"
'
There
is
nothing
,
there
is
everything
,
in
the
inflection
of
a
human
voice
.
Hippolyta
's
mental
wanderings
were
arrested
.
This
unknown
man
had
as
yet
pronounced
not
a
word
of
his
own
,
and
he
was
already
speaking
to
her
;
his
accents
came
close
round
her
heart
.
Was
there
likely
to
be
any
wisdom
with
which
he
was
conversant
and
which
she
had
yet
to
learn
?
Impossible
.
Nevertheless
she
seemed
to
say
to
him
under
her
breath
,
'
Speak
on
,
what
is
your
message
?
'
He
was
already
speaking
in
the
same
searching
,
musical
tones
—
slightly
foreign
she
thought
them
—
that
gathered
volume
as
he
went
on
,
and
rose
gradually
to
a
steady
height
at
which
they
seemed
to
float
over
the
assembly
.
Not
a
word
was
wasted
;
clear
and
distinct
each
of
them
fell
upon
the
ear
and
pierced
into
the
spirit
,
carrying
with
it
a
sense
of
truth
rather
than
of
passion
,
of
what
must
be
said
because
so
things
were
,
rather
than
of
rhetoric
framed
to
delight
or
to
hold
the
fancy
captive
.
Hippolyta
could
interpret
their
music
,
she
could
follow
their
eloquence
.
The
doctrine
,
abounding
in
brief
allusions
as
to
things
well
known
,
she
did
not
grasp
.
But
again
and
again
,
when
the
preacher
turned
a
swift
glance
to
the
crucifix
and
once
more
bent
his
eyes
on
the
audience
,
it
seemed
to
her
that
he
as
well
as
they
,
and
they
no
less
than
he
,
were
conscious
of
an
awful
presence
wherein
whatever
he
said
took
on
it
the
impress
of
eternal
,
absolute
truth
.
He
spoke
of
their
gathering
that
night
as
to
an
enrolment
on
the
eve
of
battle
.
They
were
to
range
themselves
under
a
standard
,
to
take
the
oath
of
allegiance
to
a
captain
,
and
to
look
the
campaign
in
the
face
on
which
they
were
entering
.
How
should
they
choose
if
they
knew
not
the
difference
between
the
contending
causes
?
Let
them
not
enrol
themselves
except
in
the
light
of
knowledge
and
as
prepared
for
the
extremities
of
war
.
They
must
be
ready
to
submit
to
the
event
,
for
it
was
not
here
as
in
the
battling
of
earthly
powers
,
where
quarter
was
given
,
prisoners
taken
alive
,
and
a
peace
made
at
the
end
.
Each
party
would
inflict
on
the
other
all
it
could
of
defeat
and
disaster
.
This
at
any
rate
was
sure
.
Would
they
ask
proof
at
his
hands
?
He
held
forth
the
crucifix
.
Such
,
he
repeated
in
grave
emphatic
terms
,
was
the
culminating
victory
of
the
powers
of
evil
,
which
they
wrought
upon
the
leader
of
the
hostile
array
.
They
stripped
and
scourged
Him
;
they
made
Him
an
open
shame
;
they
reft
Him
of
friends
,
followers
,
admirers
,
so
that
He
fell
down
wounded
and
alone
under
the
shadow
of
death
;
and
as
He
lay
a
helpless
captive
they
did
with
Him
what
they
would
,
flouting
and
mocking
His
pretended
majesty
with
the
purple
rags
of
kingship
and
a
crown
of
wild
brier
.
He
made
no
complaint
;
He
was
but
enduring
what
a
man
must
expect
from
his
enemies
.
It
was
the
fortune
of
war
.
Neither
did
He
beg
their
mercy
when
they
smote
Him
through
with
nails
and
fastened
His
dying
body
to
the
Cross
;
what
else
should
they
,
being
the
powers
of
darkness
,
do
with
one
that
could
never
own
their
dominion
or
be
their
friend
?
He
stretched
out
His
hands
to
the
hammer
which
drove
in
the
spikes
;
He
bowed
His
head
,
the
thorny
wreath
wounding
it
,
upon
the
pillow
they
had
made
for
Him
.
'
Was
that
all
?
'
asked
the
preacher
,
as
he
looked
round
upon
the
silent
audience
.
'
Was
the
cup
drained
to
the
dregs
?
Not
so
;
there
remained
a
bitter
draught
,
compared
with
which
all
bodily
pain
was
little
.
From
His
Cross
Jesus
,
opening
His
eyes
on
the
world
,
meditating
on
the
years
He
had
spent
,
saw
words
and
works
alike
frustrate
,
the
good
defeated
,
evil
triumphant
;
power
,
and
wealth
,
and
dominion
,
and
knowledge
,
and
religion
itself
,
in
the
service
of
a
lie
.
He
was
hanging
on
the
Cross
,
not
worshipped
on
the
throne
of
the
world
.
Why
?
Because
the
world
was
Satan
's
and
all
it
contained
.
Therefore
Christ
was
made
an
outcast
,
and
His
efforts
came
to
naught
.
Suffering
and
death
were
the
penalty
of
rebelling
against
the
dominion
of
crowned
and
sceptred
evil
.
In
this
sense
,
too
,
the
wages
of
sin
is
death
.
To
resist
sin
is
to
die
.
'
Hippolyta
listened
as
to
the
opening
bars
of
a
symphony
which
unlocks
the
feeling
and
brings
into
vivid
presentment
vague
thoughts
one
has
had
for
years
—
thoughts
that
have
wandered
formless
through
the
heavens
like
an
unseen
vapour
which
is
not
yet
capable
of
taking
the
appearance
of
a
rain-cloud
.
What
were
the
powers
of
evil
which
had
the
sovereignty
of
lower
things
?
Were
there
any
such
?
or
was
it
a
parable
for
the
unlearned
to
which
she
was
thus
giving
ear
?
The
preacher
,
who
seemed
to
be
uttering
thoughts
given
to
him
at
that
very
instant
,
resumed
.
With
the
passion
and
death
of
his
Master
he
bound
up
the
misery
,
degradation
,
pain
,
anguish
,
torture
,
disappointment
,
of
every
human
life
.
He
might
,
like
Hippolyta
,
have
been
dwelling
in
the
deeps
with
those
to
whom
light
and
hope
were
denied
.
His
voice
trembled
and
grew
husky
,
his
eyes
filled
with
tears
.
'
Sorrow
is
universal
,
'
he
cried
;
'
it
is
like
the
air
of
heaven
,
we
cannot
live
out
of
it
.
And
what
shall
we
say
?
Has
it
no
meaning
,
no
purpose
?
'
A
mild
light
kindled
in
his
eyes
.
'
Brethren
,
'
he
went
on
,
as
under
the
inspiration
of
a
loftier
spirit
,
'
it
has
a
meaning
and
a
purpose
.
Its
meaning
is
the
moral
of
the
Cross
—
the
wages
of
sin
;
its
purpose
is
the
triumph
of
the
Cross
,
it
is
redemption
.
'
And
soaring
up
into
the
unseen
,
which
alone
,
as
he
declared
,
is
true
and
everlasting
,
he
exalted
that
life
of
Christ
,
that
heavenly
existence
,
which
began
with
His
defeat
and
death
on
Calvary
.
'
Was
there
,
'
he
asked
,
'
any
other
way
of
winning
mankind
,
or
of
overcoming
the
powers
of
darkness
save
by
this
supreme
resignation
?
And
who
was
it
that
failed
and
suffered
loss
in
the
battle
which
cost
Jesus
of
Nazareth
His
life
,
His
earthly
honour
,
His
glory
,
nay
,
the
very
peace
of
His
human
soul
?
Was
it
Jesus
or
Satan
that
came
to
naught
on
that
day
?
'
Then
,
enlarging
on
this
strange
philosophy
,
he
showed
how
sin
,
the
one
absolute
disorder
,
brings
with
it
all
others
,
and
is
from
the
first
an
admission
of
defeat
;
how
it
untunes
the
universe
.
While
goodness
,
which
has
the
promise
of
life
in
itself
,
cannot
die
.
The
triumph
of
time
is
for
the
powers
that
have
no
dominion
beyond
it
,
but
can
only
look
for
a
certain
dreadful
coming
of
judgment
when
time
is
past
;
the
good
alone
does
not
,
cannot
perish
,
but
is
everlasting
.
And
again
he
asked
in
piercing
tones
,
with
his
eyes
on
the
emblem
which
he
seemed
to
study
as
a
book
,
'
Is
Jesus
dead
?
or
does
He
not
give
the
mightiest
token
of
life
by
making
all
those
live
that
believe
in
Him
?
They
conquer
themselves
by
His
indwelling
spirit
;
and
when
a
man
has
become
his
own
captive
,
he
has
subdued
the
world
.
Christ
reigns
in
hearts
innumerable
of
men
and
women
;
on
them
,
as
on
Him
,
sin
has
done
its
worst
;
it
has
inflicted
death
,
not
once
,
but
every
time
the
cup
of
pitiless
suffering
has
been
held
to
their
lips
.
But
can
it
do
more
?
The
pain
which
destroys
only
this
lower
happiness
has
become
,
for
such
,
redemption
without
end
.
'
Then
he
depicted
,
with
forcible
and
gloomy
eloquence
,
the
lot
of
those
who
,
shrinking
from
earthly
pain
,
have
chosen
sin
and
its
eternal
remorse
.
At
the
foot
of
Calvary
he
seemed
to
open
the
bottomless
pit
wherein
all
they
dwelt
to
whom
the
harmony
of
God
's
law
was
turned
to
discord
.
These
were
the
martyrs
of
evil
who
made
their
own
hell
;
no
God
made
it
,
but
they
themselves
,
lighting
up
in
their
own
breasts
the
fire
they
could
never
put
out
.
The
wages
of
sin
?
What
were
the
wages
of
hatred
,
envy
,
drunkenness
,
unhallowed
love
,
indulgence
of
self-will
?
And
was
there
any
principle
anywhere
that
could
so
change
the
nature
of
things
as
to
hinder
these
from
having
their
consequences
?
To
resist
sin
was
to
suffer
a
momentary
death
,
to
enter
heaven
,
like
St.
Laurence
,
through
a
curtain
of
fire
;
to
yield
to
it
was
to
take
into
one
's
bosom
the
seed
of
everlasting
death
,
and
to
dwell
in
the
world
of
horror
we
had
created
for
our
Paradise
.
Would
they
choose
Christ
with
His
Cross
or
Satan
with
his
fiery
crown
?
There
was
no
halting
or
being
neutral
on
this
battlefield
;
to
be
neutral
was
to
be
defeated
ere
a
blow
had
been
struck
.
For
a
long
while
,
Hippolyta
thought
,
the
voice
continued
in
this
strain
;
but
though
its
sound
fell
upon
her
ears
she
was
not
hearkening
.
She
had
heard
enough
.
Sitting
there
alone
,
unfriended
,
and
worn
out
with
her
three
days
'
searching
,
she
felt
like
one
that
,
watching
from
the
deck
of
a
deserted
vessel
,
beholds
the
dawn
breaking
over
a
wintry
and
wreck-strewn
sea
.
The
illusions
of
life
were
at
an
end
.
She
was
wounded
to
the
heart
's
core
.
Had
she
,
then
,
chosen
hitherto
the
service
of
darkness
,
imagining
that
it
would
usher
in
the
kingdom
of
light
?
She
remembered
the
text
of
her
own
gospel
,
taken
from
Goethe
,
Im
Ganzen
,
Guten
,
Schönen
fest
zu
