perhaps,
but
when
he
is
older
he
will
love
me
more
.
And
it
is
that
hope
which
reconciles
me
to
the
pain
which
refusing
to
indulge
him
costs
me
now
.
"
"
And
voluntarily
you
will
bear
the
pain
which
had
almost
brought
tears
into
the
eyes
of
the
severe
and
stoical
Mrs.
Hamilton
!
"
exclaimed
Eleanor
.
"
It
was
a
foolish
weakness
,
my
dear
Eleanor
,
for
which
my
husband
would
have
chidden
me
;
but
there
must
be
pain
to
a
mother
if
called
upon
to
exert
authority
,
when
inclination
so
strongly
points
to
indulgence
.
"
"
Well
,
if
ever
I
have
any
thing
to
do
with
children
,
I
certainly
shall
not
be
half
as
particular
as
you
are
,
Emmeline
.
I
really
can
not
imagine
what
harm
gratifying
myself
and
Percy
could
possibly
have
done
.
"
"
If
ever
you
have
children
,
my
dear
Eleanor
,
may
you
have
strength
of
mind
and
self-control
sufficient
to
forget
self
,
and
refuse
the
gratification
of
the
present
moment
for
the
welfare
of
future
years
!
"
Mrs.
Hamilton
spoke
impressively
,
and
something
,
either
in
her
words
or
tone
,
caused
the
blood
to
rush
into
Eleanor
's
cheeks
,
and
she
hastily
walked
to
the
window
;
then
,
as
abruptly
returning
,
she
kissed
her
sister
,
a
very
rare
token
of
affection
,
and
declaring
she
was
much
too
good
for
her
to
understand
,
quitted
the
room
.
The
following
day
,
dressed
for
her
visit
,
and
only
waiting
for
the
carriage
,
Eleanor
,
accompanied
by
Mrs.
Hamilton
and
her
little
boys
,
entered
the
same
apartment
.
Though
not
in
general
fond
of
nursing
,
Eleanor
had
taken
Herbert
in
her
arms
,
and
was
playing
with
him
with
unusual
fondness
;
Percy
,
who
had
not
seen
the
tempting
plaything
since
his
banishment
the
preceding
day
,
the
moment
his
eye
caught
it
,
to
the
astonishment
of
Eleanor
,
ran
up
to
his
mother
,
and
lisping
,
"
Me
no
touch
that
—
Percy
good
boy
now
,
"
held
up
his
little
face
lovingly
to
hers
,
and
with
a
very
pardonable
feeling
of
delight
,
Mrs.
Hamilton
lifted
him
up
and
covered
him
with
kisses
.
The
feelings
which
thrilled
through
Eleanor
at
that
moment
she
might
indeed
have
found
it
difficult
to
explain
,
but
she
was
so
conscious
of
a
change
of
countenance
as
to
hide
her
face
on
Herbert
's
head
.
It
might
have
been
obedience
and
disobedience
brought
so
suddenly
and
strangely
in
contrast
—
and
who
were
the
actors
?
an
infant
and
herself
.
For
a
minute
she
recovered
,
stricken
with
sudden
and
agonized
remorse
;
but
it
was
too
late
,
she
had
gone
too
far
,
and
the
announcement
of
the
carriage
was
a
relief
from
that
bitter
moment
of
painful
indecision
.
Placing
her
baby
nephew
in
his
nurse
's
arms
,
she
said
,
caressingly
,
"
Will
not
Percy
give
Lina
some
of
those
kisses
as
well
as
mamma
?
"
The
child
threw
one
little
arm
round
her
neck
,
and
the
other
round
that
of
his
mother
,
and
then
burst
into
a
merry
laugh
at
thus
seeing
himself
as
it
were
a
link
between
them
.
Never
had
it
seemed
to
Eleanor
that
she
had
loved
and
admired
her
sister
as
she
did
at
that
moment
;
all
the
neglect
,
unkindness
,
she
had
shown
her
,
all
the
sarcasm
and
satire
,
of
which
,
either
before
or
behind
her
,
she
had
so
often
made
her
the
victim
,
combined
with
an
intense
,
but
how
painfully
vain
longing
to
have
resembled
her
in
the
remotest
degree
,
rather
than
be
the
character
which
had
never
before
appeared
so
degraded
,
so
hateful
—
almost
overpowered
her
—
a
convulsive
sob
escaped
her
as
she
clasped
Emmeline
in
a
close
embrace
,
and
almost
choked
her
hurried
good-by
!
Lord
Delmont
and
Mr.
Hamilton
were
in
the
hall
,
and
the
former
was
surprised
and
delighted
at
the
warmth
with
which
his
usually
reckless
child
returned
his
kiss
and
farewell
;
the
carriage
drove
off
leaving
unusual
hope
and
cheerfulness
behind
it
.
Alas
!
in
one
short
fortnight
every
rising
hope
was
blighted
,
Emmeline
's
momentary
dread
fulfilled
,
and
Lord
Delmont
experiencing
,
in
all
its
agony
,
How
sharper
than
a
serpent
's
tooth
it
is
,
To
have
a
thankless
child
"
CHAPTER
V.
A
HEART
AND
HOME
IN
ENGLAND
.
—
A
HEART
AND
HOME
IN
INDIA
.
From
the
moment
Arthur
Hamilton
returned
to
Cheltenham
with
the
painful
intelligence
that
he
had
arrived
at
Leith
only
in
time
to
witness
the
departure
of
the
beautiful
vessel
which
contained
Captain
Fortescue
and
the
exquisitely
lovely
bride
who
had
,
it
seemed
,
turned
the
heads
of
all
the
usually
quiet
Scotsmen
who
had
seen
her
,
Lord
Delmont
gradually
sunk
.
The
agony
of
losing
her
forever
—
for
so
he
regarded
her
departure
for
,
and
residence
in
India
for
an
indeterminate
time
—
conquered
every
other
feeling
.
Her
conduct
had
caused
emotions
of
anguish
far
too
deep
for
the
relieving
sensation
of
anger
.
The
name
of
the
lady
from
whose
house
and
by
whose
connivance
she
had
eloped
,
he
was
never
heard
to
breathe
;
but
,
if
ever
casually
mentioned
before
him
,
every
feature
would
become
convulsed
,
and
he
would
instantly
leave
the
room
.
Often
and
often
he
accused
his
own
harshness
as
the
cause
of
driving
her
from
him
,
and
then
came
,
with
overwhelming
bitterness
,
the
thought
that
if
he
lately
had
been
harsh
,
surely
the
recollection
of
all
the
indulgent
fondness
he
had
shown
demanded
some
gratitude
in
return
.
If
she
had
but
written
,
had
but
expressed
one
wish
for
his
continued
love
,
one
regret
for
his
present
pain
!
But
no
letter
came
,
and
the
contending
but
all-depressing
emotions
so
completely
undermined
a
constitution
never
very
strong
,
and
already
worn
by
care
,
that
when
another
and
still
heavier
trial
came
,
he
sunk
at
once
beneath
it
.
Though
Eleanor
had
been
his
favorite
,
his
feelings
of
pride
and
hope
had
greatly
centered
in
his
son
,
whose
career
,
in
five
years
'
active
service
on
board
a
man-of-war
,
had
been
such
as
to
raise
him
already
to
a
lieutenancy
,
and
excite
every
gratifying
emotion
,
not
only
in
his
immediate
family
,
but
in
a
large
circle
of
admiring
friends
.
Mrs.
Hamilton
's
love
for
her
brother
had
naturally
increased
,
strong
as
it
always
had
been
,
even
in
childhood
—
and
the
visits
which
Charles
had
been
enabled
to
make
to
Oakwood
,
brief
in
duration
as
they
were
compelled
to
be
,
had
always
been
fraught
with
heartfelt
,
joyous
happiness
,
not
only
to
herself
but
to
her
husband
.
The
pain
and
anxiety
attendant
on
Eleanor
's
elopement
,
and
the
dread
of
its
effects
on
Lord
Delmont
,
had
for
two
or
three
months
been
the
sole
subject
of
thought
;
but
at
length
,
and
,
like
a
fearful
flash
bringing
a
new
sorrow
to
light
,
it
pressed
upon
them
that
it
was
long
after
the
period
that
intelligence
of
Charles
ought
to
have
been
received
.
Still
hoping
against
hope
,
not
only
the
Delmont
family
,
but
all
who
had
friends
and
relatives
on
board
the
Leander
,
imagined
that
she
might
have
drifted
from
her
course
,
or
been
engaged
on
some
secret
and
distant
expedition
,
but
that
intelligence
concerning
her
would
and
must
soon
come
.
Alas
!
after
months
of
agonizing
suspense
,
information
was
received
that
several
planks
and
masts
,
bearing
evidence
of
fire
as
well
as
water
,
and
some
sea-chests
,
bearing
names
,
only
too
soon
recognized
as
those
of
some
of
the
Leander
's
crew
,
had
been
cast
off
the
coast
of
Barbary
,
and
there
could
be
no
more
doubt
that
death
or
slavery
—
that
fearful
slavery
which
the
bombardment
of
Algiers
had
so
displayed
to
European
eyes
—
was
the
portion
of
all
those
beloved
ones
,
for
whom
so
many
aching
hearts
and
eyes
had
watched
and
wept
in
vain
.
It
was
a
trial
so
terrible
that
Mrs.
Hamilton
felt
at
first
as
if
even
submission
had
departed
from
her
;
and
she
could
almost
have
rebelled
in
spirit
against
the
inscrutable
decree
,
that
had
consigned
one
so
free
from
vice
and
evil
,
so
full
of
happiness
and
worth
,
to
a
doom
so
terrible
.
Much
as
she
had
loved
and
reverenced
her
husband
before
,
she
seemed
never
to
have
felt
his
worth
and
tenderness
till
then
.
It
was
his
sympathy
,
his
strength
,
that
recalled
her
to
a
sense
of
her
duty
,
and
gave
her
power
to
endure
,
by
a
realization
once
more
of
that
submissiveness
to
a
Father
's
will
,
which
had
never
before
failed
her
.
But
time
,
though
it
softened
the
first
anguish
,
had
no
power
over
the
memories
of
this
brother
,
not
even
when
the
increasing
cares
and
joys
of
maternity
so
fully
engrossed
her
,
that
the
present
and
the
future
of
her
children
appeared
to
have
banished
all
of
her
own
past
.
Lord
Delmont
did
not
survive
the
mournful
tidings
of
the
certain
wreck
of
the
Leander
above
two
months
;
but
his
released
spirit
did
not
meet
that
of
his
son
.
Charles
was
not
dead
.
He
toiled
as
a
slave
long
years
in
living
death
,
before
there
was
even
a
partial
amelioration
of
his
sufferings
.
But
no
tidings
of
him
ever
came
,
a
young
child
of
three
years
old
,
a
distant
branch
of
the
Manvers
family
,
became
Lord
Delmont
.
Years
rolled
on
,
and
Mrs.
Hamilton
's
lot
was
so
full
of
tranquil
happiness
,
so
fraught
with
the
innumerable
daily
joys
of
a
loving
wife
and
devoted
mother
,
that
her
prayer
was
ever
rising
for
guidance
,
and
gratitude
,
that
prosperity
might
not
unfit
her
for
the
dark
days
of
trial
and
adversity
,
when
they
should
come
.
That
she
had
cares
as
well
as
joys
could
not
be
otherwise
,
when
so
intensely
anxious
to
bring
up
her
children
with
more
regard
to
their
spiritual
and
moral
welfare
,
than
even
the
cultivation
of
their
intellect
.
She
was
one
of
those
who
thought
still
more
of
the
training
of
the
heart
than
of
the
mind
,
believing
that
were
the
first
properly
awakened
,
the
latter
would
need
little
incitement
to
exertion
.
Two
girls
had
been
the
sole
addition
to
her
family
.
One
other
wish
,
and
one
of
many
years
'
standing
,
Mrs.
Hamilton
had
it
in
her
power
to
fulfill
.
From
childhood
she
had
been
accustomed
to
think
of
Lucy
Harcourt
as
one
,
to
whom
it
might
one
day
be
in
her
power
to
return
the
heavy
debt
of
gratitude
she
owed
her
mother
;
she
had
been
accustomed
to
correspond
with
her
from
very
early
years
;
Mrs.
Harcourt
delighting
in
creating
a
mutual
interest
between
her
pupil
and
the
child
from
whom
circumstances
had
so
sadly
separated
her
.
When
therefore
an
event
of
a
very
painful
nature
to
Miss
Harcourt
's
individual
feelings
compelled
her
—
as
the
only
hope
of
regaining
peace
,
and
strengthening
her
for
the
arduous
duty
of
instruction
,
which
she
knew
,
as
a
single
woman
,
was
her
sole
source
of
independent
subsistence
—
she
had
no
scruple
in
accepting
that
friendship
which
Mrs.
Hamilton
had
so
warmly
proffered
.
A
very
few
days
of
personal
intercourse
sufficed
for
mutual
conviction
,
that
correspondence
had
not
deceived
in
the
favorable
impressions
of
either
.
Miss
Harcourt
found
,
indeed
,
the
friend
her
aching
spirit
needed
;
and
Mrs.
Hamilton
,
long
before
the
months
of
repose
which
she
had
insisted
should
forestall
the
commencement
of
exertion
were
over
,
rejoiced
in
the
conviction
that
the
daughter
of
her
beloved
and
regretted
friend
was
indeed
well-fitted
for
that
position
in
her
family
—
her
helper
in
the
moral
and
intellectual
training
of
her
daughters
—
which
her
vivid
fancy
had
often
pictured
as
so
filled
.
They
were
indeed
but
infants
when
Miss
Harcourt
arrived
;
but
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Hamilton
found
means
to
overrule
the
honorable
scruples
which
,
on
the
part
of
Lucy
,
seemed
at
first
against
their
plan
,
and
in
her
gradually
returning
health
and
peace
,
Mrs.
Hamilton
not
only
rejoiced
,
but
felt
gratefully
thankful
that
the
wish
of
so
many
years
'
standing
,
and
which
had
seemed
so
little
likely
to
be
fulfilled
,
was
absolutely
accomplished
,
and
she
could
prove
how
deeply
she
had
loved
and
mourned
her
truly
maternal
friend
.
It
is
astonishing
how
often
,
if
an
earnest
,
heartfelt
desire
for
the
gratification
of
some
good
feeling
or
for
the
performance
of
some
good
deed
be
steadily
and
unvaryingly
held
before
us
,
without
any
regard
to
its
apparent
impossibility
,
its
accomplishment
is
at
length
obtained
.
It
is
supposed
to
be
only
done
so
in
books
,
but
this
is
a
mistaken
supposition
,
arising
from
the
simple
fact
of
individuals
so
often
forgetting
their
own
past
,
and
failing
steadily
to
pursue
one
object
,
regardless
of
the
lapse
of
years
.
If
they
looked
into
themselves
more
often
and
more
carefully
,
if
they
sought
consistency
in
desire
and
pursuit
,
they
would
often
be
startled
at
their
connection
,
and
that
it
is
not
so
useless
to
wish
and
seek
,
when
both
are
of
such
a
nature
as
can
be
based
on
and
strengthened
by
prayer
,
as
it
may
seem
.
Human
life
presents
as
many
startling
connections
and
contingencies
as
romance
—
only
,
as
the
actors
not
the
observers
of
this
world
's
busy
scene
,
we
can
not
trace
them
as
we
do
in
books
.
The
thought
of
Eleanor
was
the
only
dark
shade
in
Mrs.
Hamilton
's
life
.
She
had
written
to
her
often
,
but
communication
with
India
was
not
then
what
it
is
now
,
and
her
letters
might
not
have
reached
their
destination
;
especially
as
being
in
active
service
,
Captain
Fortescue
was
himself
constantly
changing
his
quarters
.
Whatever
the
cause
(
for
Eleanor
's
letters
,
Mrs.
Hamilton
thought
,
might
also
have
miscarried
)
,
she
heard
nothing
of
her
till
the
hurried
epistle
commenced
by
her
sister
,
and
finished
by
Mr.
Myrvin
,
brought
the
startling
intelligence
that
she
was
a
widow
and
dying
,
unable
to
reach
Oakwood
,
where
she
had
hoped
at
least
to
have
sufficient
strength
to
bring
her
children
,
and
implore
for
them
protection
and
love
and
conjuring
Mrs.
Hamilton
to
come
to
her
without
delay
.
The
letter
,
imperfectly
directed
,
had
been
days
on
its
journey
,
and
it
was
with
the
most
melancholy
forebodings
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Hamilton
had
started
for
Llangwillan
.
But
though
it
was
not
till
many
years
after
Edward
and
Ellen
Fortescue
became
inmates
of
her
family
that
Mrs.
Hamilton
became
acquainted
with
all
the
particulars
of
their
childhood
,
it
is
necessary
that
our
readers
should
be
rather
more
enlightened
;
otherwise
the
character
of
Ellen
may
be
to
them
as
unnatural
and
as
incomprehensible
as
it
was
to
her
aunt
.
That
Eleanor
could
realize
true
happiness
in
a
marriage
entered
into
only
because
she
could
not
bear
the
torture
of
her
own
thoughts
,
and
her
constant
dread
of
the
world
's
contumely
,
was
not
likely
.
At
first
,
indeed
,
it
was
a
very
delightful
thing
to
find
herself
the
object
not
only
of
devotion
to
her
husband
(
whom
,
could
she
entirely
have
forgotten
Fitzclair
,
she
might
have
really
loved
)
,
but
a
still
more
brilliant
star
in
India
than
she
had
even
been
in
England
.
Though
Captain
Fortescue
was
often
engaged
in
marches
and
countermarches
,
where
Eleanor
sometimes
,
though
very
rarely
,
accompanied
him
,
still
there
were
intervals
of
rest
for
him
in
the
larger
cities
,
where
his
wife
ever
shone
pre-eminent
.
For
the
first
three
or
four
years
,
the
pride
he
felt
in
seeing
her
so
universally
admired
,
in
the
greater
attention
he
received
for
her
sake
,
compensated
for
,
or
concealed
the
qualities
,
which
,
as
a
soldier
's
wife
,
he
had
fondly
believed
she
would
possess
.
But
as
his
health
,
always
delicate
,
became
more
and
more
undermined
,
and
compelled
him
to
relinquish
society
,
at
least
in
a
great
measure
,
and
to
look
for
the
quiet
pleasures
of
domestic
life
,
he
found
,
and
bitter
was
that
first
awakening
,
that
his
wishes
,
his
comfort
,
were
of
no
importance
.
She
could
not
resign
the
pleasures
of
society
—
of
still
being
enabled
to
pursue
the
dangerous
amusement
of
her
girlhood
(
though
so
guardedly
that
not
a
rumor
against
her
ever
found
breath
)
,
for
the
dullness
of
her
home
.
Yet
still
he
loved
her
;
and
when
Eleanor
,
with
all
the
fascinating
playfulness
of
her
former
self
,
would
caress
and
try
to
persuade
him
to
go
out
with
her
,
and
not
sit
moping
at
home
,
and
that
if
he
would
,
she
would
behave
just
as
he
liked
,
and
if
he
did
not
care
to
see
her
surrounded
,
as
she
knew
she
was
,
by
red
coats
,
she
would
dismiss
them
all
,
and
devote
herself
to
him
—
but
indeed
she
could
not
stay
at
home
—
he
would
feel
that
it
would
be
cruel
indeed
to
chain
such
a
being
to
his
side
,
and
sometimes
make
the
exertion
(
for
which
he
was
little
fitted
)
to
accompany
her
;
at
others
,
with
kind
words
and
indulgent
love
,
permit
her
to
follow
her
own
wishes
,
and
remain
alone
.
But
little
did
he
think
the
real
reason
that
Eleanor
could
not
rest
in
quiet
at
home
.
The
recollection
of
Lord
Fitzclair
was
at
such
times
so
fearfully
vivid
,
that
the
very
agony
she
had
endured
when
first
told
of
his
fearful
end
would
return
in
all
its
intensity
;
the
thought
:
Had
her
father
really
cursed
her
for
her
disobedience
,
and
was
it
that
forever
hovering
round
her
,
preventing
any
thing
like
lasting
happiness
.
And
yet
,
by
a
strange
contradiction
,
while
the
idea
of
her
father
's
curse
shook
her
whole
frame
at
times
with
convulsive
sobs
,
pride
,
that
most
fatal
ingredient
of
her
character
,
utterly
prevented
all
attempt
on
her
part
to
communicate
with
her
relations
.
She
said
,
as
they
had
made
no
effort
to
conciliate
,
she
would
not
;
and
yet
the
longing
for
Emmeline
sometimes
became
actually
painful
.
Eleanor
was
never
intended
for
the
heartless
,
reckless
being
she
had
tried
to
become
.
It
was
a
constant
and
most
terrible
struggle
between
the
good
and
evil
parts
of
her
nature
,
and
though
the
evil
triumphed
—
in
the
determination
that
nothing
should
change
her
course
of
action
,
nothing
compel
her
to
acknowledge
she
had
ever
been
in
the
wrong
,
and
was
really
not
the
perfect
creature
which
flattery
was
ever
ready
to
pour
into
her
ear
—
the
good
had
yet
so
much
power
as
to
make
her
miserable
,
by
the
conviction
,
that
she
was
not
what
she
might
have
been
—
that
she
never
could
be
happy
—
that
every
pleasure
was
hollow
,
every
amusement
vain
.
Again
and
again
the
memories
of
Emmeline
's
gentle
,
sustaining
,
ever
active
piety
would
come
before
her
,
as
if
beseeching
her
to
seek
the
only
fount
of
peace
;
but
so
terrible
was
the
self-reproach
,
the
anguish
which
the
thought
called
up
,
that
she
always
turned
from
it
with
a
shudder
,
resolved
that
religion
was
never
meant
for
such
as
herself
,
and
that
its
restrictions
should
never
enter
her
mind
,
or
its
dictates
pass
her
lips
.
With
the
awakening
intelligence
of
her
son
,
however
,
there
seemed
one
pleasure
not
wholly
hollow
—
one
enjoyment
without
the
shadow
of
alloy
;
and
she
grasped
it
with
an
avidity
and
a
constancy
,
that
in
a
character
generally
so
wavering
and
inconsistent
was
almost
incredible
.
That
her
son
was
from
his
earliest
infancy
the
image
of
herself
,
might
have
added
strength
to
the
feeling
;
but
the
intense
love
,
almost
idolatry
,
she
felt
toward
him
,
increasing
with
his
growth
,
did
much
toward
banishing
the
unpleasant
feelings
of
remorse
and
home-sickness
.
She
devoted
herself
to
her
boy
,
not
judiciously
indeed
,
for
she
was
not
one
to
practice
self-denial
in
education
;
and
as
Edward
's
disposition
was
not
one
to
cause
her
annoyance
,
even
from
over-indulgence
,
there
was
not
even
the
check
of
his
ill-temper
or
rudeness
toward
herself
,
to
whisper
the
fearful
evil
she
was
engendering
.
What
was
the
emotion
which
had
so
riveted
her
to
her
son
,
it
might
have
been
difficult
to
ascertain
;
it
could
scarcely
have
been
the
mere
instinct
of
maternity
,
for
then
it
would
have
extended
to
her
daughter
;
but
as
complete
as
was
her
indulgence
to
Edward
,
so
was
her
neglect
of
Ellen
.
Colonel
Fortescue
(
for
he
had
gradually
attained
that
rank
)
had
borne
,
without
complaint
,
neglect
of
himself
;
nay
,
it
had
not
had
power
in
the
least
degree
to
diminish
his
love
,
though
it
might
have
awakened
him
to
the
consciousness
that
his
wife
was
indeed
not
perfect
.
Her
devotion
to
Edward
,
even
undertaking
the
toilsome
task
of
instruction
,
had
delighted
him
;
for
,
at
first
,
having
been
much
from
home
,
he
was
not
conscious
of
the
lonely
fate
of
his
little
girl
;
but
when
the
truth
became
evident
,
that
she
was
an
object
almost
of
dislike
—
that
she
was
left
entirely
to
the
tender
mercies
of
a
hireling
,
and
Eleanor
only
alluded
to
her
,
to
contrast
her
peevishness
and
stupidity
with
Edward
's
happiness
and
intellect
,
all
the
father
was
roused
within
him
,
and
,
for
the
first
time
,
he
felt
and
expressed
serious
displeasure
.
He
acknowledged
that
his
son
might
,
indeed
,
be
superior
in
beauty
and
talent
,
but
he
would
not
allow
that
Ellen
's
affections
were
less
warm
,
or
her
temper
less
capable
of
guidance
.
To
him
,
and
to
all
who
had
in
the
least
attended
to
childhood
,
Ellen
's
face
,
even
from
infancy
,
expressed
not
ill-temper
,
but
suffering
.
Continually
ill
,
for
she
inherited
her
father
's
constitution
,
the
poor
little
infant
was
constantly
crying
or
fretful
;
which
Eleanor
;
never
having
known
what
illness
was
,
attributed
at
once
to
a
naturally
evil
temper
which
annoyed
her
.
The
nurse
,
as
ignorant
as
she
was
obsequious
,
adopted
the
same
opinion
;
and
,
before
she
was
even
three
years
old
,
harshness
,
both
by
nurse
and
mother
,
had
been
constantly
used
,
to
make
Ellen
as
good
a
child
as
her
brother
.
In
vain
did
the
colonel
,
when
he
became
aware
of
this
treatment
,
remonstrate
that
it
was
the
illness
of
the
poor
child
—
neither
obstinacy
nor
ill-temper
:
his
wife
would
not
understand
him
,
and
at
length
he
sternly
and
peremptorily
declared
,
that
as
she
had
her
will
with
Edward
,
he
would
have
his
with
Ellen
,
and
that
no
chastisement
should
be
inflicted
.
If
she
did
wrong
,
he
was
to
be
told
of
it
,
and
if
necessary
he
would
reprove
her
,
but
he
would
allow
no
other
interference
.
Mrs.
Fortescue
made
not
the
least
objection
,
believing
that
as
her
husband
had
thus
taken
her
in
charge
,
she
was
exonerated
from
all
blame
if
she
left
her
entirely
to
him
.
Only
too
quickly
did
the
poor
child
discover
that
the
lovely
being
whom
she
called
mother
,
and
whom
she
loved
so
fondly
,
had
no
love
,
no
caress
for
her
.
Repeated
punishment
,
though
it
had
only
extended
to
her
fifth
year
,
had
completely
crushed
the
gentle
,
tender
spirit
,
that
had
required
such
judicious
nursing
;
and
combined
with
physical
suffering
,
instead
of
deadening
the
feelings
,
as
in
some
dispositions
it
would
have
done
,
had
rendered
them
morbidly
acute
—
an
effect
which
constant
loneliness
naturally
deepened
.
Her
father
's
love
and
caresses
had
caused
her
to
cling
to
him
so
passionately
,
that
every
word
he
said
,
every
request
he
made
her
,
was
treasured
and
thought
upon
,
when
he
was
away
from
her
,
with
a
tenacity
many
would
have
fancied
unnatural
in
a
child
.
He
taught
her
,
though
his
heart
often
bled
as
he
did
so
(
for
what
claim
had
her
mother
upon
the
feelings
he
sought
to
inculcate
)
,
to
love
,
honor
,
and
obey
her
mother
in
all
things
;
that
if
she
did
so
,
she
would
be
as
happy
as
Edward
in
time
,
and
Ellen
,
though
she
did
not
understand
him
,
obeyed
;
but
Colonel
Fortescue
little
imagined
the
evil
which
was
accruing
from
these
very
natural
lessons
.
Ellen
learned
to
believe
that
,
as
her
mother
never
noticed
her
,
except
in
accounts
of
anger
or
irritation
,
it
must
be
her
own
fault
.
She
longed
to
be
beautiful
and
buoyant
as
Edward
;
and
that
she
was
neither
,
marked
her
in
her
own
young
mind
as
so
inferior
,
it
was
no
wonder
her
mother
could
not
caress
or
love
her
.
Had
Edward
presumed
on
his
favoritism
,
and
been
unkind
or
neglectful
,
she
might
,
perhaps
,
have
envied
more
than
she
loved
him
;
but
his
disposition
was
naturally
so
noble
,
so
open-hearted
,
so
generous
,
that
he
always
treated
her
with
affection
,
and
would
share
with
her
his
playthings
and
sweets
,
even
while
he
could
not
but
believe
her
in
all
things
his
inferior
;
and
that
as
such
,
of
course
,
her
wishes
could
never
cross
with
his
.
Poor
child
,
she
scarcely
knew
what
it
was
to
wish
,
except
that
she
might
cling
to
her
mother
as
she
did
to
her
father
,
and
that
she
could
but
be
good
and
beautiful
enough
to
win
her
love
!
The
lesson
of
concealment
of
every
feeling
is
but
too
easily
and
too
early
learned
.
Tears
do
not
flow
even
from
childhood
,
when
always
rudely
checked
,
and
angrily
reproved
.
Affection
can
not
display
itself
unless
called
forth
;
and
so
the
very
outward
seeming
of
children
is
more
in
a
parent
's
hand
than
mere
superficial
observers
may
believe
:
and
Mrs.
Fortescue
blamed
and
disliked
the
cold
inanimate
exterior
which
she
had
never
tried
to
warm
.
Ellen
's
extreme
difficulty
in
acquiring
knowledge
,
compared
with
Edward
's
extraordinary
quickness
,
only
confirmed
her
painful
conviction
of
her
great
inferiority
,
the
impossibility
of
her
ever
winning
love
—
and
the
consequent
increased
intensity
of
her
affection
for
her
father
and
brother
,
who
loved
her
notwithstanding
.
That
the
child
herself
could
not
have
defined
these
sensations
is
true
,
but
that
they
had
existence
,
even
before
she
was
nine
years
old
,
and
that
they
influenced
many
years
of
her
after-life
,
causing
error
and
suffering
,
and
rendering
Mrs.
Hamilton
's
task
one
of
pain
and
difficulty
,
before
these
mistaken
influences
could
be
eradicated
,
is
equally
so
.
The
power
over
early
years
is
so
immense
,
its
responsibility
so
extensive
,
its
neglect
or
abuse
may
indeed
make
the
earnest
thinker
tremble
;
less
,
perhaps
,
for
the
actual
amount
of
general
evil
,
for
that
circumstances
in
after
life
are
sometimes
graciously
permitted
to
avert
,
but
for
individual
suffering
and
individual
joy
—
and
especially
is
this
the
case
in
the
training
of
girls
.
More
enduring
in
their
very
fragility
than
boys
,
they
may
be
compared
to
those
precious
metals
which
fire
and
water
and
pressure
have
no
power
to
break
,
but
simply
to
draw
out
to
a
thinner
and
thinner
thread
,
dwindling
more
and
more
,
but
to
its
last
spider-woven
fineness
capable
of
tenuity
and
vitality
.
While
boys
,
like
men
,
are
often
crushed
at
once
—
the
frame
of
the
one
and
the
spirit
of
the
other
equally
unable
to
endure
.
CHAPTER
VI
.
DOMESTIC
DISCORD
AND
ITS
END
.
The
displeasure
of
her
husband
,
his
reproaches
for
her
conduct
to
Ellen
,
by
causing
some
degree
of
annoyance
,
increased
Mrs.
Fortescue
's
feelings
of
dislike
toward
the
object
who
had
caused
it
,
and
this
was
soon
afterward
heightened
by
self-reproach
.
A
malignant
fever
broke
out
in
the
British
settlement
where
Colonel
Fortescue
was
stationed
;
his
wife
and
children
were
with
him
,
and
,
dreadfully
alarmed
,
Eleanor
determined
to
remove
with
her
children
to
some
less
unhealthy
spot
.
The
colonel
willingly
consented
;
but
before
their
hasty
preparations
were
concluded
Ellen
sickened
.
Alarm
for
Edward
,
however
,
so
engrossed
the
mother
,
that
she
appeared
incapable
of
any
other
thought
.
In
vain
Colonel
Fortescue
urged
that
his
son
would
be
safe
with
the
friends
who
had
promised
to
take
charge
of
him
,
and
who
were
on
the
point
of
leaving
the
city
;
that
there
were
none
on
whom
he
could
depend
so
to
tend
the
little
sufferer
as
not
to
require
a
guiding
head
,
and
she
knew
how
impossible
it
was
for
him
to
be
with
his
child
as
his
heart
prompted
.
He
urged
,
entreated
,
commanded
in
vain
,
Mrs.
Fortescue
was
inexorable
.
She
declared
that
the
idea
of
her
son
being
away
from
her
at
such
a
time
would
drive
her
mad
;
and
as
for
duty
,
one
child
demanded
her
care
as
much
as
another
;
that
her
husband
might
not
care
about
thus
exposing
her
to
infection
,
but
she
really
thought
,
for
Edward
's
sake
,
it
was
her
duty
to
take
care
of
herself
.
It
might
be
nothing
to
the
colonel
or
Ellen
whether
she
lived
or
died
,
but
to
Edward
it
was
a
great
deal
;
and
so
as
she
must
choose
between
them
,
she
would
go
with
him
who
loved
her
best
,
and
who
would
be
miserable
without
her
.
The
haughty
,
angry
tone
with
which
she
spoke
,
the
unjust
taunt
,
roused
every
indignant
feeling
,
and
Colonel
Fortescue
said
more
in
that
moment
of
irritation
than
he
could
have
believed
possible
.
But
it
only
awakened
the
cold
,
sustaining
pride
which
Eleanor
always
called
to
her
aid
when
conscience
smote
her
,
and
she
departed
with
her
son
,
hardening
every
better
feeling
,
and
rousing
anger
against
her
husband
and
child
to
conquer
the
suffering
of
self-reproach
.
But
when
many
miles
from
the
city
of
death
,
and
there
were
no
fears
for
Edward
,
anxiety
and
wretchedness
so
assailed
her
,
that
pride
itself
gave
way
.
To
communicate
with
the
infected
city
was
difficult
,
and
very
infrequent
,
and
again
and
again
did
she
wish
that
she
had
remained
.
During
the
continuance
of
Ellen
's
illness
her
father
's
anguish
was
indeed
terrible
.
Every
leisure
moment
he
spent
by
her
side
,
moistening
her
parched
lips
,
bathing
her
burning
forehead
,
and
listening
to
the
plaintive
accents
of
delirium
with
an
acuteness
of
suffering
,
that
injured
his
own
health
more
than
he
had
the
least
idea
of
.
The
attendants
were
really
both
kind
and
skillful
,
but
the
colonel
fancied
,
when
he
was
not
with
her
,
she
was
neglected
,
and
in
still
greater
suffering
;
and
the
struggle
between
his
duties
and
his
child
was
almost
more
than
he
could
bear
.
He
had
never
been
a
religious
man
—
never
known
what
it
was
to
pray
,
except
in
the
public
services
of
his
regiment
,
but
now
prayer
,
earnest
,
heartfelt
,
poured
from
him
,
and
the
thankfulness
to
God
,
which
so
overpowered
him
,
when
she
was
pronounced
out
of
danger
,
as
to
compel
him
to
weep
like
a
child
,
planted
a
sense
of
a
Father
's
infinite
love
and
infinite
compassion
within
him
,
which
was
his
sole
sustainer
the
short
remainder
of
his
life
.
Eleanor
's
letters
,
few
as
they
were
,
had
in
some
degree
softened
his
anger
toward
her
;
but
as
he
beheld
the
ravages
of
disease
on
his
poor
child
's
face
and
form
,
rendering
her
still
less
attractive
than
she
had
been
,
and
perceived
that
bodily
weakness
had
extended
to
her
mind
,
and
often
and
often
forced
tears
from
her
eyes
and
momentary
complainings
,
he
trembled
lest
Eleanor
should
find
still
more
to
dislike
and
reprove
;
and
often
his
heart
bled
as
Ellen
would
ask
with
tears
,
for
her
dear
mamma
,
adding
,
plaintively
,
"
Mamma
never
kisses
me
or
loves
me
as
she
does
Edward
;
but
I
like
to
be
near
her
,
and
look
at
her
dear
beautiful
face
,
and
wish
I
was
good
and
pretty
enough
for
her
to
love
me
.
Why
does
she
never
come
to
me
?
—
and
why
may
I
not
go
to
her
?
"
And
what
could
the
colonel
reply
,
except
that
her
mother
feared
Edward
would
take
the
infection
,
and
therefore
she
was
obliged
to
go
with
him
to
some
place
of
safety
?
And
his
child
was
satisfied
,
repeating
so
fondly
her
delight
that
her
dear
,
dear
Edward
had
been
saved
from
being
as
ill
as
she
was
,
that
her
father
clasped
her
closer
and
closer
to
his
heart
,
feeling
the
intrinsic
beauty
of
a
disposition
that
,
instead
of
repining
that
she
was
left
alone
to
suffer
,
could
rejoice
that
her
brother
had
been
spared
.
Colonel
Fortescue
obtained
a
few
weeks
'
leave
,
that
he
might
take
his
child
to
the
sea-side
as
recommended
,
ere
she
joined
her
mother
.
And
alone
with
him
,
gradually
regaining
a
moderate
degree
of
strength
,
Ellen
was
very
happy
;
but
such
bright
intervals
were
indeed
few
and
far
between
.
There
was
no
change
in
her
mother
's
conduct
toward
her
,
when
reunited
.
Her
heart
had
,
indeed
,
risen
to
her
lips
as
she
again
beheld
the
child
so
nearly
lost
;
and
had
she
followed
impulse
,
she
would
have
clasped
her
in
her
arms
and
wept
over
her
,
but
that
would
have
seemed
tacitly
to
acknowledge
that
she
had
been
wrong
,
and
had
suffered
from
it
;
and
so
she
refrained
,
causing
suffering
to
herself
,
anguish
to
her
child
,
and
pain
to
her
husband
,
all
from
that
fell
demon
,
pride
.
She
only
chose
to
remember
that
it
was
Ellen
who
had
been
the
cause
of
her
husband
's
anger
—
Ellen
,
the
constant
subject
of
contention
between
them
—
Ellen
,
always
causing
the
pang
of
self-reproach
:
and
so
how
was
it
possible
that
she
could
love
her
?
About
a
year
after
Ellen
's
dangerous
illness
,
when
she
was
nearly
ten
,
and
Edward
just
eleven
,
Colonel
Fortescue
was
ordered
to
take
command
of
some
troops
to
be
stationed
at
a
fort
,
whose
vicinity
to
some
hostile
natives
rendered
it
rather
a
post
of
danger
.
The
wives
and
children
of
the
officers
were
permitted
to
accompany
them
,
if
they
wished
it
,
and
,
except
in
the
colonel
's
own
family
,
there
had
been
no
hesitation
in
their
choice
.
The
colonel
was
strangely
and
painfully
depressed
as
with
some
vague
dread
,
and
all
his
affection
for
his
wife
had
returned
with
such
force
as
to
make
him
shrink
in
unusual
suffering
from
the
idea
of
leaving
her
;
and
conquering
reluctance
,
for
he
felt
as
if
she
would
not
accede
,
he
implored
her
to
accompany
him
,
confessing
he
felt
ill
and
unhappy
,
and
shrank
from
a
separation
.
His
wife
looked
at
him
with
astonishment
;
he
had
never
asked
nor
thought
of
such
a
thing
before
,
she
said
,
in
their
many
brief
partings
,
and
she
really
could
not
understand
him
.
The
place
was
decidedly
unhealthy
,
and
Edward
must
not
be
exposed
to
its
malaria
;
besides
which
,
she
had
promised
him
to
go
to
a
juvenile
ball
,
which
was
given
by
an
English
family
of
rank
,
in
a
fortnight
's
time
,
and
she
could
not
possibly
disappoint
him
;
and
why
her
husband
should
wish
for
her
in
such
a
place
she
could
not
imagine
,
but
she
knew
she
should
die
of
terror
before
she
had
been
there
a
week
.
Not
a
word
did
the
colonel
utter
in
reply
,
but
he
felt
as
if
an
ice-bolt
had
struck
his
heart
and
frozen
it
at
once
.
He
fixed
his
eyes
upon
her
,
with
a
strange
,
sad
,
reproaching
look
,
which
haunted
her
till
her
death
,
and
turning
from
her
,
sought
the
room
where
Ellen
was
preparing
her
lessons
for
the
joyful
hour
when
he
could
attend
to
her
.
As
she
sprung
toward
him
with
a
cry
of
glee
,
he
clasped
her
to
his
bosom
,
without
the
power
of
uttering
a
sound
,
save
a
groan
so
deep
and
hollow
,
that
the
child
's
unusual
glee
was
checked
,
and
she
clung
to
him
in
terror
;
and
when
he
could
tell
her
that
he
was
about
to
leave
her
,
and
for
an
indefinite
time
,
her
passionate
grief
seemed
almost
to
comfort
him
,
by
its
strong
evidence
of
her
childish
love
.
"
Let
me
go
with
you
,
papa
,
dear
papa
!
oh
!
I
will
be
so
good
—
I
will
not
give
you
any
trouble
,
indeed
,
indeed
I
will
not
.
Pray
,
pray
,
take
me
with
you
,
dear
,
dear
papa
?
"
And
she
looked
in
his
face
so
beseechingly
,
that
the
colonel
had
no
strength
to
resist
,
and
fondly
kissing
her
,
he
promised
that
if
Mrs.
Cameron
would
permit
her
to
join
her
little
family
,
she
should
go
with
him
:
and
,
to
Ellen
's
intense
thankfulness
,
the
permission
was
willingly
accorded
.
Mrs.
Fortescue
had
indeed
replied
,
when
her
husband
briefly
imparted
his
intention
,
that
he
certainly
must
intend
Ellen
to
be
ill
again
,
by
exposing
her
to
such
an
unhealthy
climate
;
and
that
if
she
were
,
he
must
not
be
angry
if
she
refused
to
go
and
nurse
her
,
as
it
would
be
all
his
weak
indulgence
,
and
no
fault
of
hers
.
The
colonel
made
no
answer
,
and
irritated
beyond
measure
at
his
manner
,
Eleanor
parted
from
her
husband
in
coldness
and
in
pride
.
The
fortnight
passed
,
and
Mrs.
Fortescue
felt
as
if
her
own
youth
were
indeed
renewed
,
the
longings
for
universal
admiration
again
her
own
;
but
now
it
was
only
for
her
son
,
and
her
triumph
was
complete
;
many
and
lovely
were
the
youthful
beings
called
together
on
that
festive
night
,
seeming
as
if
England
had
concentrated
her
fairest
and
purest
offspring
in
that
far
distant
land
;
but
Edward
,
and
his
still
lovely
mother
,
outshone
them
all
.
That
she
was
herself
admired
as
much
,
if
not
more
,
than
she
had
ever
been
in
her
palmy
days
of
triumph
,
Eleanor
scarcely
knew
;
her
every
feeling
was
centered
in
her
boy
,
and
consequently
the
supercilious
haughtiness
which
had
so
often
marred
her
beauty
in
former
days
was
entirely
laid
aside
,
and
maternal
pride
and
pleasure
gratified
to
the
utmost
,
added
a
new
charm
to
her
every
movement
and
every
word
.
She
heard
the
universal
burst
of
admiration
which
greeted
her
,
as
to
oblige
Edward
she
went
through
a
quadrille
with
him
,
and
never
in
her
whole
career
had
she
felt
so
triumphant
,
so
proud
,
so
joyous
.
During
the
past
fortnight
she
had
often
been
tormented
by
self-reproach
,
and
her
husband
's
look
had
disagreeably
haunted
her
;
but
this
night
not
a
fleeting
thought
of
either
the
colonel
or
Ellen
entered
her
mind
,
and
her
pleasure
was
complete
.
Tired
with
dancing
,
and
rather
oppressed
with
the
heat
,
Eleanor
quitted
the
crowded
ball-room
,
and
stood
for
a
few
minutes
quite
alone
in
a
solitary
part
of
the
verandah
,
which
,
covered
with
lovely
flowers
,
ran
round
the
house
.
The
music
in
the
ball-room
sounded
in
the
distance
as
if
borne
by
the
night
breeze
in
softened
harmony
over
the
distant
hills
.
The
moon
was
at
the
full
,
and
lit
up
nearly
the
whole
garden
with
the
refulgence
of
a
milder
day
.
At
that
moment
a
cold
chill
crept
over
the
heart
and
frame
of
Eleanor
,
causing
her
breath
to
come
thick
and
gaspingly
.
Why
,
she
knew
not
,
for
there
was
nothing
visible
to
cause
it
,
save
that
,
in
one
part
of
the
garden
,
a
cluster
of
dark
shrubs
,
only
partly
illuminated
by
the
rays
of
the
moon
,
seemed
suddenly
to
have
assumed
the
shape
of
a
funeral
bier
,
covered
with
a
military
pall
.
At
the
same
moment
the
music
in
the
ball-room
seemed
changed
to
the
low
wailing
plaint
and
muffled
drums
,
the
military
homage
to
some
mighty
dead
.
And
if
it
were
indeed
but
excited
fancy
,
it
had
a
strange
effect
,
for
Eleanor
fainted
on
the
marble
floor
.
That
same
afternoon
Colonel
Fortescue
,
with
some
picked
men
,
had
set
off
to
discover
the
track
of
some
marauding
natives
,
who
for
some
days
had
been
observed
hovering
about
the
neighborhood
.
Military
ardor
carried
him
farther
than
he
intended
,
and
it
was
nearly
night
,
when
entering
a
narrow
defile
,
a
large
body
of
the
enemy
burst
upon
them
,
and
a
desperate
contest
ensued
.
The
defile
was
so
hemmed
in
with
rock
and
mountain
,
that
though
not
very
distant
from
the
fort
,
the
noise
of
the
engagement
had
not
been
distinguished
.
Captain
Cameron
was
quietly
sitting
with
his
wife
and
elder
children
,
awaiting
without
any
forebodings
the
return
of
the
colonel
.
Though
it
was
late
,
Ellen
's
fears
had
been
so
visible
,
that
Mrs.
Cameron
could
not
send
her
to
bed
;
the
child
seemed
so
restless
and
uneasy
that
the
captain
had
tried
to
laugh
her
out
of
her
cowardice
,
as
he
called
it
,
declaring
that
her
father
would
disown
her
if
she
could
not
be
more
brave
.
Hasty
footsteps
were
at
length
heard
approaching
,
and
Ellen
started
from
her
seat
and
sprung
forward
,
as
the
door
opened
;
but
it
was
not
the
colonel
,
only
a
sergeant
,
who
had
accompanied
him
,
and
whose
face
caused
Captain
Cameron
to
exclaim
,
in
alarm
,
"
How
now
,
Sergeant
Allen
,
returned
,
and
alone
;
what
has
chanced
?
"
"
The
worst
those
brown
devils
could
have
done
!
"
was
the
energetic
reply
.
"
We
've
beaten
them
,
and
we
will
beat
them
again
,
the
villains
!
but
that
will
not
bring
him
back
—
captain
—
captain
—
the
colonel
's
down
!
"
The
captain
started
from
his
chair
,
but
before
he
could
frame
another
word
,
Ellen
had
caught
hold
of
the
old
man
's
arm
,
and
wildly
exclaimed
,
"
Do
you
mean
—
do
you
mean
,
pray
tell
me
,
Sergeant
Allen
!
—
Have
the
natives
met
papa
's
troop
,
and
have
they
fought
?
—
and
—
is
he
hurt
—
is
he
killed
?
"
The
man
could
not
answer
her
—
for
her
look
and
tone
,
he
afterward
declared
to
his
comrades
,
went
through
his
heart
,
just
for
all
the
world
like
a
saber
cut
;
and
for
the
moment
neither
Captain
nor
Mrs.
Cameron
could
address
her
.
The
shock
seemed
to
have
banished
voice
from
all
,
save
from
the
poor
child
principally
concerned
.
"
Stay
with
me
,
my
dear
Ellen
!
"
Mrs.
Cameron
at
length
said
,
advancing
to
her
,
as
she
stood
still
clinging
to
the
sergeant
's
arm
:
"
the
captain
will
go
and
meet
your
father
,
and
if
he
be
wounded
,
we
will
nurse
him
together
,
dearest
!
Stay
with
me
.
"
"
No
,
no
,
no
!
"
was
the
agonized
reply
;
"
let
me
go
to
him
,
he
may
die
before
they
bring
him
here
,
and
I
shall
never
feel
his
kiss
or
hear
him
bless
me
again
.
He
told
me
he
should
fall
in
battle
—
oh
!
Mrs.
Cameron
,
pray
let
me
go
to
him
?
"
And
they
who
knew
all
which
that
father
was
to
his
poor
Ellen
,
could
not
resist
that
appeal
.
The
sergeant
said
the
colonel
was
not
dead
,
but
so
mortally
wounded
they
feared
to
move
him
.
It
was
a
fearful
scene
.
Death
in
its
most
horrid
form
was
all
around
her
;
her
little
feet
were
literally
deluged
in
blood
,
and
she
frequently
stumbled
over
the
dusky
forms
and
mangled
and
severed
limbs
that
lay
on
the
grass
,
but
neither
sob
nor
cry
escaped
her
till
she
beheld
her
father
.
His
men
had
removed
him
from
the
immediate
scene
of
slaughter
,
and
tried
to
form
a
rough
pallet
of
military
cloaks
,
but
the
ghastly
countenance
,
which
the
moon
's
light
rendered
still
more
fixed
and
pallid
,
the
rigidity
of
his
limbs
,
all
seemed
to
denote
they
had
indeed
arrived
too
late
,
and
that
terrible
stillness
was
broken
by
the
convulsed
and
passionate
sobs
of
the
poor
child
,
who
,
flinging
herself
beside
him
,
besought
him
only
to
open
his
eyes
,
to
look
upon
her
once
more
,
to
call
her
his
darling
,
and
kiss
her
once
,
only
once
again
:
and
it
seemed
as
if
her
voice
had
indeed
power
to
recall
the
fluttering
soul
.
The
heavy
eyes
did
unclose
,
the
clenched
hand
relaxed
to
try
and
clasp
his
child
,
and
he
murmured
feebly
—
"
How
came
you
here
,
my
poor
darling
Ellen
?
are
friends
here
?
—
is
that
Cameron
's
voice
?
"
The
captain
knelt
down
by
him
and
convulsively
pressed
his
hand
,
but
he
could
not
speak
.
"
God
bless
you
,
Cameron
!
Take
my
poor
child
to
her
mother
—
implore
her
—
to
—
and
it
is
to-night
,
this
very
night
—
she
and
my
boy
are
happy
—
and
I
—
and
my
poor
Ellen
—
"
A
fearful
convulsion
choked
his
voice
,
but
after
a
little
while
he
tried
to
speak
again
—
"
My
poor
child
,
I
have
prepared
you
for
this
;
but
I
know
you
must
grieve
for
me
.
Take
my
blessing
to
your
brother
,
tell
him
to
protect
—
love
your
mother
,
darling
!
she
must
love
you
at
last
—
a
ring
—
my
left
hand
—
take
it
to
her
—
oh
!
how
I
have
loved
her
—
God
have
mercy
on
her
—
on
my
poor
children
!
"
He
tried
to
press
his
lips
again
on
Ellen
's
cheek
and
brow
,
but
the
effort
was
vain
—
and
at
the
very
moment
Mrs.
Fortescue
had
stood
transfixed
by
some
unknown
terror
,
her
husband
ceased
to
breathe
.
It
was
long
before
Ellen
rallied
from
that
terrible
scene
.
Even
when
the
fever
which
followed
subsided
,
and
she
had
been
taken
,
apparently
perfectly
restored
to
health
,
once
more
to
her
mother
and
brother
,
its
recollection
so
haunted
her
,
that
her
many
lonely
hours
became
fraught
with
intense
suffering
.
Her
imagination
,
already
only
too
morbid
,
dwelt
again
and
again
upon
the
minutest
particular
of
that
field
of
horror
;
not
only
her
father
,
but
the
objects
which
,
when
her
whole
heart
was
wrapped
in
him
,
she
seemed
not
even
to
have
seen
.
The
ghastly
heaps
of
dead
,
the
severed
limbs
,
the
mangled
trunks
,
the
gleaming
faces
all
fixed
in
the
distorted
expressions
with
which
they
died
—
the
very
hollow
groans
and
louder
cry
of
pain
which
,
as
she
passed
through
the
field
,
had
fallen
on
her
ear
unheeded
,
returned
to
the
poor
child
's
too
early
awakened
fancy
so
vividly
,
that
often
and
often
it
was
only
a
powerful
though
almost
unconscious
effort
that
prevented
the
scream
of
fear
.
Her
father
's
last
words
were
never
forgotten
;
she
would
not
only
continue
to
love
her
mother
because
he
had
desired
her
to
do
so
,
but
because
he
had
so
loved
her
,
and
on
her
first
return
home
this
seemed
easier
than
ever
to
accomplish
.
Mrs.
Fortescue
,
tortured
by
remorse
and
grief
,
had
somewhat
softened
toward
the
child
who
had
received
the
last
breath
of
her
husband
;
and
could
Ellen
have
overcome
the
reserve
and
fear
which
so
many
years
of
estrangement
had
engendered
,
and
given
vent
to
the
warmth
of
her
nature
,
Mrs.
Fortescue
might
have
learned
to
know
,
and
knowing
,
to
love
her
—
but
it
was
then
too
late
.
So
torturing
were
Mrs.
Fortescue
's
feelings
when
she
recalled
the
last
request
of
her
husband
,
and
her
cruel
and
haughty
refusal
;
when
that
which
had
seemed
so
important
,
a
juvenile
ball
—
because
not
to
go
would
disappoint
Edward
—
became
associated
with
his
fearful
death
,
and
sunk
into
worse
than
nothing
—
she
had
parted
with
him
in
anger
,
and
it
proved
forever
;
—
that
even
as
England
had
become
odious
to
her
,
twelve
years
before
,
so
did
India
now
;
and
she
suddenly
resolved
to
quit
it
,
and
return
to
the
relatives
she
had
neglected
so
long
,
but
toward
whom
she
now
yearned
more
than
ever
.
She
thought
and
believed
such
a
complete
change
would
and
must
bring
peace
.
Alas
!
what
change
will
remove
the
torture
of
remorse
?
Though
incapable
of
real
love
,
from
her
studied
heartlessness
,
it
was
impossible
for
her
to
have
lived
twelve
years
with
one
so
indulgent
and
fond
as
Colonel
Fortescue
,
without
realizing
some
degree
of
affection
,
and
his
unexpected
and
awful
death
roused
every
previously
dormant
feeling
so
powerfully
,
that
she
was
astonished
at
herself
,
and
in
her
misery
believed
that
the
feeling
had
only
come
,
to
add
to
her
burden
—
for
what
was
the
use
of
loving
now
?
and
determined
to
rouse
herself
,
she
made
every
preparation
for
immediate
departure
,
but
she
was
painfully
arrested
.
The
selfish
mother
had
fled
from
the
couch
of
her
suffering
child
,
and
now
a
variation
of
the
same
complaint
laid
her
on
a
bed
of
pain
.
It
was
a
desperate
struggle
between
life
and
death
;
but
she
rallied
,
and
insisted
on
taking
her
passage
for
England
some
weeks
before
her
medical
attendant
thought
it
advisable
.
The
constant
struggle
between
the
whisperings
of
good
and
the
dominion
of
evil
,
which
her
whole
life
had
been
,
had
unconsciously
undermined
a
constitution
naturally
good
;
and
when
to
this
was
added
a
malignant
disease
,
though
brief
in
itself
,
the
seeds
of
a
mortal
complaint
were
planted
,
which
,
ere
the
long
voyage
was
concluded
,
had
obtained
fatal
and
irremediable
ascendency
,
and
occasioned
those
sufferings
and
death
which
in
our
first
chapters
we
described
.
To
Edward
,
though
the
death
of
his
father
had
caused
him
much
childish
grief
,
still
more
perhaps
from
sympathy
with
the
deep
suffering
of
his
mother
,
than
a
perfect
consciousness
of
his
own
heavy
loss
,
the
manner
in
which
he
died
was
to
him
a
source
of
actual
pride
.
He
had
always
loved
the
histories
of
heroes
,
military
and
naval
,
and
gloried
in
the
idea
that
his
father
had
been
one
of
them
,
and
died
as
they
did
,
bravely
fighting
against
superior
numbers
,
and
in
the
moment
of
a
glorious
victory
.
He
had
never
seen
death
,
and
imagined
not
all
the
attendant
horrors
of
such
a
one
;
and
how
that
Ellen
could
never
even
hear
the
word
without
shuddering
he
could
not
understand
,
nor
why
she
should
always
so
painfully
shrink
from
the
remotest
reference
to
that
night
,
which
was
only
associated
in
his
mind
with
emotions
of
pleasure
.
In
the
tedious
voyage
of
nearly
six
months
(
for
five-and-twenty
years
ago
the
voyage
from
India
to
England
was
not
what
it
is
now
)
,
the
character
of
Edward
shone
forth
in
such
noble
coloring
as
almost
to
excuse
his
mother
's
idolatry
,
and
win
for
him
the
regard
of
passengers
and
crew
.
Captain
Cameron
had
impressed
on
his
mind
that
he
now
stood
in
his
father
's
place
to
his
mother
and
sister
;
and
as
the
idea
of
protecting
is
always
a
strong
incentive
to
manliness
in
a
boy
,
however
youthful
,
Edward
well
redeemed
the
charge
,
so
devoting
himself
not
only
to
his
mother
,
but
to
Ellen
,
that
her
affection
for
him
redoubled
,
as
did
her
mistaken
idea
of
his
vast
superiority
.
His
taste
had
always
pointed
to
the
naval
in
preference
to
the
military
profession
,
and
the
voyage
confirmed
it
.
Before
he
had
been
a
month
on
board
he
had
become
practically
an
expert
sailor
—
had
learned
all
the
technical
names
of
the
various
parts
of
a
ship
,
and
evinced
the
most
eager
desire
for
the
acquirement
of
navigation
.
Nor
did
he
fail
in
the
true
sailor
spirit
,
when
,
almost
within
sight
of
England
,
a
tremendous
storm
arose
,
reducing
the
vessel
almost
to
a
wreck
,
carrying
her
far
from
her
destined
moorings
,
and
compelling
her
,
after
ten
days
'
doubt
whether
or
not
she
would
reach
land
in
safety
,
to
anchor
in
Milford
Haven
,
there
to
repair
her
injuries
,
ere
she
could
be
again
seaworthy
.
The
passengers
here
left
her
,
and
Mrs.
Fortescue
,
whose
illness
the
terrors
of
the
storm
had
most
alarmingly
increased
,
was
conveyed
to
Pembroke
in
an
almost
exhausted
state
;
but
once
on
land
she
rallied
,
resolved
on
instantly
proceeding
to
Swansea
,
then
cross
to
Devonshire
,
and
travel
direct
to
Oakwood
,
where
she
had
no
doubt
her
sister
was
.
But
her
temper
was
destined
to
be
tried
still
more
.
The
servant
who
had
accompanied
her
from
India
,
an
Englishwoman
,
tired
out
with
the
fretful
impatience
of
Mrs.
Fortescue
during
the
voyage
,
and
disappointed
that
she
did
not
at
once
proceed
to
London
,
demanded
her
instant
discharge
,
as
she
could
not
stay
any
longer
from
her
friends
.
The
visible
illness
of
her
mistress
might
have
spared
this
unfeeling
act
,
but
Eleanor
had
never
shown
feeling
or
kindness
to
her
inferiors
,
and
therefore
,
perhaps
,
had
no
right
to
expect
them
.
Her
suppressed
anger
and
annoyance
so
increased
physical
suffering
,
that
had
it
not
been
for
her
children
she
must
have
sunk
at
once
;
but
for
their
sakes
she
struggled
with
that
deadly
exhaustion
,
and
set
off
the
very
next
morning
,
without
any
attendant
,
for
Swansea
.
They
were
not
above
thirty
miles
from
this
town
when
,
despite
her
every
effort
,
Mrs.
Fortescue
became
too
ill
to
proceed
.
There
was
no
appearance
of
a
town
or
village
,
but
the
owners
of
a
half-way
house
,
pitying
the
desolate
condition
of
the
travelers
,
directed
the
postboy
to
the
village
of
Llangwillan
;
which
,
though
out
of
the
direct
road
and
four
or
five
miles
distant
,
was
yet
the
nearest
place
of
shelter
.
And
never
in
her
whole
life
had
Mrs.
Fortescue
experienced
such
a
blessed
sensation
of
physical
relief
,
as
when
the
benevolent
exertions
of
Mr.
Myrvin
had
installed
her
in
widow
Morgan
's
humble
dwelling
,
and
by
means
of
soothing
medicine
and
deep
repose
in
some
degree
relieved
the
torture
of
a
burning
brain
and
aching
frame
.
Still
she
hoped
to
rally
,
and
obtain
strength
sufficient
to
proceed
;
and
bitter
was
the
anguish
when
the
hope
was
compelled
to
be
relinquished
.
—
With
all
that
followed
,
our
readers
are
already
acquainted
,
and
we
will
,
therefore
,
at
once
seek
the
acquaintance
of
Mrs.
Hamilton
's
own
family
,
whose
"
Traits
of
Character
"
will
,
we
hope
,
illustrate
other
and
happier
home
influences
than
those
of
indiscreet
indulgence
and
culpable
neglect
.
PART
II
.
TRAITS
OF
CHARACTER
.
CHAPTER
I
.
YOUTHFUL
COLLOQUY
—
INTRODUCING
CHARACTER
The
curtains
were
drawn
close
,
the
large
lamp
was
on
the
table
,
and
a
cheerful
fire
blazing
in
the
grate
;
for
though
only
September
,
the
room
was
sufficiently
large
,
and
the
evenings
sufficiently
chill
,
for
a
fire
to
add
greatly
to
its
aspect
of
true
English
comfort
.
There
were
many
admirable
pictures
suspended
on
the
walls
,
and
well-filled
book-cases
,
desks
,
and
maps
,
stands
of
beautiful
flowers
,
and
some
ingenious
toys
,
all
seeming
to
proclaim
the
apartment
as
the
especial
possession
of
the
young
party
who
were
this
evening
busily
engaged
at
the
large
round
table
which
occupied
the
centre
of
the
room
.
They
were
only
four
in
number
,
but
what
with
a
large
desk
piled
