”Mademoiselle
Hortense
,
casting
an
indignant
eye
at
the
glass
,
shakes
herself
perfectly
neat
in
one
shake
,
and
looks
,
to
do
her
justice
,
uncommonly
genteel
.
“
Listen
then
,
my
angel
,
”
says
she
,
after
several
sarcastic
nods
.
“
You
are
very
spiritual
.
But
can
you
res-tore
him
back
to
life
?
”
Mr.
Bucket
answers
“
Not
exactly
.
”
“
That
is
droll
.
Listen
yet
one
time
.
You
are
very
spiritual
.
Can
you
make
a
honorable
lady
of
Her
?
”
“
Do
n't
be
so
malicious
,
”
says
Mr.
Bucket
.
“
Or
a
haughty
gentleman
of
Him
?
”
cries
Mademoiselle
,
referring
to
Sir
Leicester
with
ineffable
disdain
.
“
Eh
!
O
then
regard
him
!
The
poor
infant
!
Ha
!
ha
!
ha
!
”
“
Come
,
come
,
why
this
is
worse
Parlaying
than
the
other
,
”
says
Mr.
Bucket
.
“
Come
along
!
”
“
You
cannot
do
these
things
?
Then
you
can
do
as
you
please
with
me
.
It
is
but
the
death
,
it
is
all
the
same
.
Let
us
go
,
my
angel
.
Adieu
you
old
man
,
grey
.
I
pity
you
,
and
I
des-pise
you
!
”
With
these
last
words
,
she
snaps
her
teeth
together
,
as
if
her
mouth
closed
with
a
spring
.
It
is
impossible
to
describe
how
Mr.
Bucket
gets
her
out
,
but
he
accomplishes
that
feat
in
a
manner
peculiar
to
himself
;
enfolding
and
pervading
her
like
a
cloud
,
and
hovering
away
with
her
as
if
he
were
a
homely
Jupiter
,
and
she
the
object
of
his
affections
.
Sir
Leicester
,
left
alone
,
remains
in
the
same
attitude
as
though
he
were
still
listening
,
and
his
attention
were
still
occupied
,
At
length
he
gazes
round
the
empty
room
,
and
finding
it
deserted
,
rises
unsteadily
to
his
feet
,
pushes
back
his
chair
,
and
walks
a
few
steps
,
supporting
himself
by
the
table
.
Then
he
stops
;
and
,
with
more
of
those
inarticulate
sounds
,
lifts
up
his
eyes
and
seems
to
stare
at
something
.
Heaven
knows
what
he
sees
.
The
green
,
green
woods
of
Chesney
Wold
,
the
noble
house
,
the
pictures
of
his
forefathers
,
strangers
defacing
them
,
officers
of
police
coarsely
handling
his
most
precious
heir-looms
,
thousands
of
fingers
pointing
at
him
,
thousands
of
faces
sneering
at
him
.
But
if
such
shadows
flit
before
him
to
his
bewilderment
,
there
is
one
other
shadow
which
he
can
name
with
something
like
distinctness
even
yet
,
and
to
which
alone
he
addresses
his
tearing
of
his
white
hair
,
and
his
extended
arms
.
It
is
she
,
in
association
with
whom
,
saving
that
she
has
been
for
years
a
main
fibre
of
the
root
of
his
dignity
and
pride
,
he
has
never
had
a
selfish
thought
.
It
is
she
whom
he
has
loved
,
admired
,
honored
,
and
set
up
for
the
world
to
respect
.
It
is
she
,
who
,
at
the
core
of
all
the
constrained
formalities
and
conventionalities
of
his
life
,
has
been
a
stock
of
living
tenderness
and
love
,
susceptible
as
nothing
else
is
of
being
struck
with
the
agony
he
feels
.
He
sees
her
,
almost
to
the
exclusion
of
himself
;
and
cannot
bear
to
look
upon
her
cast
down
from
the
high
place
she
has
graced
so
well
.
And
,
even
to
the
point
of
his
sinking
on
the
ground
,
oblivious
of
his
suffering
,
he
can
yet
pronounce
her
name
with
something
like
distinctness
in
the
midst
of
those
intrusive
sounds
,
and
in
a
tone
of
mourning
and
compassion
rather
than
reproach
.
CHAPTER
LV
.
FLIGHT
.
INSPECTOR
BUCKET
of
the
Detective
has
not
yet
struck
his
great
blow
,
as
just
now
chronicled
,
but
is
yet
refreshing
himself
with
sleep
preparatory
to
his
field-day
,
when
,
through
the
night
and
along
the
freezing
wintry
roads
,
a
chaise
and
pair
comes
out
of
Lincolnshire
,
making
its
way
towards
London
.
Railroads
shall
soon
traverse
all
this
country
,
and
with
a
rattle
and
a
glare
the
engine
and
train
shall
shoot
like
a
meteor
over
the
wide
night-landscape
,
turning
the
moon
paler
;
but
,
as
yet
,
such
things
are
non-existent
in
these
parts
,
though
not
wholly
unexpected
.
Preparations
are
afoot
,
measurements
are
made
,
ground
is
staked
out
.
Bridges
are
begun
,
and
their
not
yet
united
piers
desolately
look
at
one
another
over
roads
and
streams
,
like
brick
and
mortar
couples
with
an
obstacle
to
their
union
;
fragments
of
embankments
are
thrown
up
,
and
left
as
precipices
with
torrents
of
rusty
carts
and
barrows
tumbling
over
them
;
tripods
of
tall
poles
appear
on
hill-tops
,
where
there
are
rumours
of
tunnels
;
everything
looks
chaotic
,
and
abandoned
in
fell
hopelessness
.
Along
the
freezing
roads
,
and
through
the
night
,
the
post-chaise
makes
its
way
without
a
railroad
on
its
mind
.
Mrs.
Rouncewell
,
so
many
years
housekeeper
at
Chesney
Wold
,
sits
within
the
chaise
;
and
by
her
side
sits
Mrs.
Bagnet
with
her
grey
cloak
and
umbrella
.
The
old
girl
would
prefer
the
bar
in
front
,
as
being
exposed
to
the
weather
,
and
a
primitive
sort
of
perch
more
in
accordance
with
her
usual
course
of
travelling
;
but
Mrs.
Rouncewell
is
too
thoughtful
of
her
comfort
to
admit
of
her
proposing
it
.
The
old
lady
cannot
make
enough
of
the
old
girl
.
She
sits
,
in
her
stately
manner
,
holding
her
hand
,
and
,
regardless
of
its
roughness
,
puts
it
often
to
her
lips
.
“
You
are
a
mother
,
my
dear
soul
,
”
says
she
many
times
,
“
and
you
found
out
my
George
's
mother
!
”
“
Why
,
George
,
”
returns
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
“
was
always
free
with
me
,
ma'am
,
and
when
he
said
at
our
house
to
my
Woolwich
,
that
of
all
the
things
my
Woolwich
could
have
to
think
of
when
he
grew
to
be
a
man
,
the
comfortablest
would
be
that
he
had
never
brought
a
sorrowful
line
into
his
mother
's
face
,
or
turned
a
hair
of
her
head
gray
,
then
I
felt
sure
,
from
his
way
,
that
something
fresh
had
brought
his
own
mother
into
his
mind
.
I
had
often
known
him
say
to
me
,
in
past
times
,
that
he
had
behaved
bad
to
her
.
”
“
Never
,
my
dear
!
”
returns
Mrs.
Rouncewell
,
bursting
into
tears
“
My
blessing
on
him
,
never
!
He
was
always
fond
of
me
,
and
loving
to
me
,
was
my
George
!
But
he
had
a
bold
spirit
,
and
he
ran
a
little
wild
,
and
went
for
a
soldier
.
And
I
know
he
waited
at
first
,
in
letting
us
know
about
himself
,
till
he
should
rise
to
be
an
officer
;
and
when
he
did
n't
rise
,
I
know
he
considered
himself
beneath
us
,
and
would
n't
be
a
disgrace
to
us
.
For
he
had
a
lion
heart
,
had
my
George
,
always
from
a
baby
!
”
The
old
lady
's
hands
stray
about
her
as
of
yore
,
while
she
recals
,
all
in
a
tremble
,
what
a
likely
lad
,
what
a
fine
lad
,
what
a
gay
good-humored
clever
lad
he
was
;
how
they
all
took
to
him
,
down
at
Chesney
Wold
;
how
Sir
Leicester
took
to
him
when
he
was
a
young
gentleman
;
how
the
dogs
took
to
him
;
how
even
the
people
,
who
had
been
angry
with
him
,
forgave
him
the
moment
he
was
gone
,
poor
boy
.
And
now
to
see
him
after
all
,
and
in
a
prison
too
!
And
the
broad
stomacher
heaves
,
and
the
quaint
upright
old-fashioned
figure
bends
under
its
load
of
affectionate
distress
.
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
with
the
instinctive
skill
of
a
good
warm
heart
,
leaves
the
old
housekeeper
to
her
emotions
for
a
little
while
—
not
without
passing
the
back
of
her
hand
across
her
own
motherly
eyes
—
and
presently
chirps
up
in
her
cheery
manner
:
“
So
I
says
to
George
when
I
goes
to
call
him
in
to
tea
(
he
pretended
to
be
smoking
his
pipe
outside
)
,
‘What
ails
you
this
afternoon
,
George
,
for
gracious
sake
?
I
have
seen
all
sorts
,
and
I
have
seen
you
pretty
often
in
season
and
out
of
season
,
abroad
and
at
home
,
and
I
never
see
you
so
melancholly
penitent.’
‘Why
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
’
says
George
,
‘it
's
because
I
am
melancholly
and
penitent
both
,
this
afternoon
,
that
you
see
me
so.’
‘What
have
you
done
,
old
fellow
?
’
I
says
.
‘Why
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
’
says
George
,
shaking
his
head
,
‘what
I
have
done
has
been
done
this
many
a
long
year
,
and
is
best
not
tried
to
be
undone
now
.
If
I
ever
get
to
Heaven
,
it
wo
n't
be
for
being
a
good
son
to
a
widowed
mother
;
I
say
no
more.’
Now
,
ma'am
,
when
George
says
to
me
that
it
's
best
not
tried
to
be
undone
now
,
I
have
my
thoughts
as
I
have
often
had
before
,
and
I
draw
it
out
of
George
how
he
comes
to
have
such
things
on
him
that
afternoon
.
Then
George
tells
me
that
he
has
seen
by
chance
,
at
the
lawyer
's
office
,
a
fine
old
lady
that
has
brought
his
mother
plain
before
him
;
and
he
runs
on
about
that
old
lady
till
he
quite
forgets
himself
,
and
paints
her
picter
to
me
as
she
used
to
be
,
years
upon
years
back
.
So
I
says
to
George
when
he
has
done
,
who
is
this
old
lady
he
has
seen
?
And
George
tells
me
it
's
Mrs.
Rouncewell
,
housekeeper
for
more
than
half
a
century
to
the
Dedlock
family
down
at
Chesney
Wold
in
Lincolnshire
.
George
has
frequently
told
me
before
that
he
's
a
Lincolnshire
man
,
and
I
says
to
my
old
Lignum
that
night
,
‘Lignum
,
that
's
his
mother
for
five-and-for-ty
pound
!
’
”
All
this
Mrs.
Bagnet
now
relates
for
the
twentieth
time
at
least
within
the
last
four
hours
.
Trilling
it
out
,
like
a
kind
of
bird
;
with
a
pretty
high
note
,
that
it
may
be
audible
to
the
old
lady
above
the
hum
of
the
wheels
.
“
Bless
you
,
and
thank
you
,
”
says
Mrs.
Rouncewell
.
“
Bless
you
,
and
thank
you
,
my
worthy
soul
!
”
“
Dear
heart
!
”
cries
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
in
the
most
natural
manner
.
“
No
thanks
to
me
,
I
am
sure
.
Thanks
to
yourself
,
ma'am
,
for
being
so
ready
to
pay
'
em
!
And
mind
once
more
,
ma'am
,
what
you
had
best
do
on
finding
George
to
be
your
own
son
,
is
,
to
make
him
—
for
your
sake
—
have
every
sort
of
help
to
put
himself
in
the
right
,
and
clear
himself
of
a
charge
of
which
he
is
as
innocent
as
you
or
me
.
It
wo
n't
do
to
have
truth
and
justice
on
his
side
;
he
must
have
law
and
lawyers
,
”
exclaims
the
old
girl
,
apparently
persuaded
that
the
latter
form
a
separate
establishment
,
and
have
dissolved
partnership
with
truth
and
justice
for
ever
and
a
day
.
“
He
shall
have
,
”
says
Mrs.
Rouncewell
,
“
all
the
help
that
can
be
got
for
him
in
the
world
,
my
dear
.
I
will
spend
all
I
have
,
and
thankfully
,
to
procure
it
.
Sir
Leicester
will
do
his
best
,
the
whole
family
will
do
their
best
.
I
—
I
know
something
,
my
dear
;
and
will
make
my
own
appeal
,
as
his
mother
parted
from
him
all
these
years
,
and
finding
him
in
a
jail
at
last
.
”
The
extreme
disquietude
of
the
old
housekeeper
's
manner
in
saying
this
,
her
broken
words
,
and
her
wringing
of
her
hands
,
make
a
powerful
impression
on
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
and
would
astonish
her
but
that
she
refers
them
all
to
her
sorrow
for
her
son
's
condition
.
And
yet
Mrs.
Bagnet
wonders
,
too
,
why
Mrs.
Rouncewell
should
murmur
so
distractedly
,
“
My
Lady
,
my
Lady
,
my
Lady
!
”
over
and
over
again
.
The
frosty
night
wears
away
,
and
the
dawn
breaks
,
and
the
post-chaise
comes
rolling
on
through
the
early
mist
,
like
the
ghost
of
a
chaise
departed
.
It
has
plenty
of
spectral
company
,
in
ghosts
of
trees
and
hedges
,
slowly
vanishing
and
giving
place
to
the
realities
of
day
.
London
reached
,
the
travellers
alight
;
the
old
housekeeper
in
great
tribulation
and
confusion
;
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
quite
fresh
and
collected
—
as
she
would
be
,
if
her
next
point
,
with
no
new
equipage
and
outfit
,
were
the
Cape
of
Good
Hope
,
the
Island
of
Ascension
,
Hong
Kong
,
or
any
other
military
station
.
But
when
they
set
out
for
the
prison
where
the
trooper
is
confined
,
the
old
lady
has
managed
to
draw
about
her
,
with
her
lavender-colored
dress
,
much
of
the
staid
calmness
which
is
its
usual
accompaniment
.
A
wonderfully
grave
,
precise
,
and
handsome
piece
of
old
china
she
looks
;
though
her
heart
beats
fast
,
and
her
stomacher
is
ruffled
,
more
than
even
the
remembrance
of
this
wayward
son
has
ruffled
it
these
many
years
.
Approaching
the
cell
,
they
find
the
door
opening
and
a
warder
in
the
act
of
coming
out
.
The
old
girl
promptly
makes
a
sign
of
entreaty
to
him
to
say
nothing
;
assenting
,
with
a
nod
,
he
suffers
them
to
enter
as
he
shuts
the
door
.
So
George
,
who
is
writing
at
his
table
,
supposing
himself
to
be
alone
does
not
raise
his
eyes
,
but
remains
absorbed
.
The
old
housekeeper
looks
at
him
,
and
those
wandering
hands
of
hers
are
quite
enough
for
Mrs.
Bagnet
's
confirmation
;
even
if
she
could
see
the
mother
and
the
son
together
,
knowing
what
she
knows
,
and
doubt
their
relationship
.
Not
a
rustle
of
the
housekeeper
's
dress
,
not
a
gesture
,
not
a
word
,
betrays
her
.
She
stands
looking
at
him
as
he
writes
on
,
all
unconscious
,
and
only
her
fluttering
hands
give
utterance
to
her
emotions
.
But
they
are
very
eloquent
;
very
,
very
eloquent
.
Mrs.
Bagnet
understands
them
.
They
speak
of
gratitude
,
of
joy
,
of
grief
,
of
hope
;
of
inextinguishable
affection
,
cherished
with
no
return
since
this
stalwart
man
was
a
stripling
;
of
a
better
son
loved
less
,
and
this
son
loved
so
fondly
and
so
proudly
;
and
they
speak
in
such
touching
language
,
that
Mrs.
Bagnet
's
eyes
brim
up
with
tears
,
and
they
run
glistening
down
her
sun-browned
face
.
“
George
Rouncewell
!
O
my
dear
child
,
turn
and
look
at
me
!
”
The
trooper
starts
up
,
clasps
his
mother
round
the
neck
,
and
falls
down
on
his
knees
before
her
.
Whether
in
a
late
repentance
,
whether
in
the
first
association
that
comes
back
upon
him
,
he
puts
his
hands
together
as
a
child
does
when
it
says
its
prayers
,
and
raising
them
towards
her
breast
,
bows
down
his
head
,
and
cries
.
“
My
George
,
my
dearest
son
!
Always
my
favorite
,
and
my
favorite
still
,
where
have
you
been
these
cruel
years
and
years
?
Grown
such
a
man
too
,
grown
such
a
fine
strong
man
.
Grown
so
like
what
I
knew
he
must
be
,
if
it
pleased
God
he
was
alive
!
”
She
can
ask
,
and
he
can
answer
,
nothing
connected
for
a
time
.
All
that
time
the
old
girl
,
turned
away
,
leans
one
arm
against
the
whitened
wall
,
leans
her
honest
forehead
upon
it
,
wipes
her
eyes
with
her
serviceable
grey
cloak
,
and
quite
enjoys
herself
like
the
best
of
old
girls
as
she
is
.
“
Mother
,
”
says
the
trooper
,
when
they
are
more
composed
;
“
forgive
me
first
of
all
,
for
I
know
my
need
of
it
.
”
Forgive
him
!
She
does
it
with
all
her
heart
and
soul
.
She
always
has
done
it
.
She
tells
him
how
she
has
had
it
written
in
her
will
,
these
many
years
,
that
he
was
her
beloved
son
George
.
She
has
never
believed
any
ill
of
him
,
never
.
If
she
had
died
without
this
happiness
—
and
she
is
an
old
woman
now
,
and
ca
n't
look
to
live
very
long
—
she
would
have
blessed
him
with
her
last
breath
,
if
she
had
had
her
senses
,
as
her
beloved
son
George
.
“
Mother
,
I
have
been
an
undutiful
trouble
to
you
,
and
I
have
my
reward
;
but
of
late
years
I
have
had
a
kind
of
a
glimmering
of
a
purpose
in
me
,
too
.
When
I
left
home
I
did
n't
care
much
,
mother
—
I
am
afraid
not
a
great
deal
—
for
leaving
;
and
went
away
and
'
listed
,
harum-scarum
,
making
believe
to
think
that
I
cared
for
nobody
,
no
not
I
,
and
that
nobody
cared
for
me
.
”
The
trooper
has
dried
his
eyes
,
and
put
away
his
handkerchief
;
but
there
is
an
extraordinary
contrast
between
his
habitual
manner
of
expressing
himself
and
carrying
himself
,
and
the
softened
tone
in
which
he
speaks
,
interrupted
occasionally
by
a
half-stifled
sob
.
“
So
I
wrote
a
line
home
,
mother
,
as
you
too
well
know
,
to
say
I
had
'
listed
under
another
name
,
and
I
went
abroad
.
Abroad
,
at
one
time
I
thought
I
would
write
home
next
year
when
I
might
be
better
off
;
and
when
that
year
was
out
,
I
thought
I
would
write
home
next
year
when
I
might
be
better
off
;
and
when
that
year
was
out
again
,
perhaps
I
did
n't
think
much
about
it
.
So
on
,
from
year
to
year
,
through
a
service
of
ten
years
,
till
I
began
to
get
older
,
and
to
ask
myself
why
should
I
ever
write
?
”
“
I
do
n't
find
any
fault
,
child
—
but
not
to
ease
my
mind
,
George
?
Not
a
word
to
your
loving
mother
,
who
was
growing
older
,
too
?
”
This
almost
overturns
the
trooper
afresh
;
but
he
sets
himself
up
with
a
great
,
rough
,
sounding
clearance
of
his
throat
.
“
Heaven
forgive
me
,
mother
,
but
I
thought
there
would
be
small
consolation
then
in
hearing
anything
about
me
.
There
were
you
,
respected
and
esteemed
.
There
was
my
brother
,
as
I
read
in
chance
north-country
papers
now
and
then
,
rising
to
be
prosperous
and
famous
.
There
was
I
,
a
dragoon
,
roving
,
unsettled
,
not
self-made
like
him
,
but
self-unmade
—
all
my
earlier
advantages
thrown
away
,
all
my
little
learning
unlearnt
,
nothing
picked
up
but
what
unfitted
me
for
most
things
that
I
could
think
of
.
What
business
had
I
to
make
myself
known
?
After
letting
all
that
time
go
by
me
,
what
good
could
come
of
it
?
The
worst
was
past
with
you
,
mother
.
I
knew
by
that
time
(
being
a
man
)
how
you
had
mourned
for
me
,
and
wept
for
me
,
and
prayed
for
me
;
and
the
pain
was
over
,
or
was
softened
down
,
and
I
was
better
in
your
mind
as
it
was
.
”
The
old
lady
sorrowfully
shakes
her
head
;
and
taking
one
of
his
powerful
hands
,
lays
it
lovingly
upon
her
shoulder
.
“
No
,
I
do
n't
say
that
it
was
so
,
mother
,
but
that
I
made
it
out
to
be
so
.
I
said
just
now
what
good
could
come
of
it
?
Well
,
my
dear
mother
,
some
good
might
have
come
of
it
to
myself
—
and
there
was
the
meanness
of
it
.
You
would
have
sought
me
out
;
you
would
have
purchased
my
discharge
;
you
would
have
taken
me
down
to
Chesney
Wold
;
you
would
have
brought
me
and
my
brother
and
my
brother
's
family
together
;
you
would
all
have
considered
anxiously
how
to
do
something
for
me
,
and
set
me
up
as
a
respectable
civilian
.
But
how
could
any
of
you
feel
sure
of
me
,
when
I
could
n't
so
much
as
feel
sure
of
myself
?
How
could
you
help
regarding
as
an
incumbrance
and
a
discredit
to
you
,
an
idle
dragooning
chap
,
who
was
an
incumbrance
and
a
discredit
to
himself
,
excepting
under
discipline
?
How
could
I
look
my
brother
's
children
in
the
face
,
and
pretend
to
set
them
an
example
—
I
,
the
vagabond
boy
,
who
had
run
away
from
home
,
and
been
the
grief
and
unhappiness
of
my
mother
's
life
?
‘No
,
George.’
Such
were
my
words
,
mother
,
when
I
passed
this
in
review
before
me
:
‘You
have
made
your
bed
.
Now
,
lie
upon
it.’
”
Mrs.
Rouncewell
,
drawing
up
her
stately
form
,
shakes
her
head
at
the
old
girl
with
a
swelling
pride
upon
her
,
as
much
as
to
say
,
“
I
told
you
so
!
”
The
old
girl
relieves
her
feelings
,
and
testifies
her
interest
in
the
conversation
,
by
giving
the
trooper
a
great
poke
between
the
shoulders
with
her
umbrella
;
this
action
she
afterwards
repeats
,
at
intervals
,
in
a
species
of
affectionate
lunacy
:
never
failing
,
after
the
administration
of
each
of
these
remonstrances
,
to
resort
to
the
whitened
wall
and
the
grey
cloak
again
.
“
This
was
the
way
I
brought
myself
to
think
,
mother
,
that
my
best
amends
was
to
lie
upon
that
bed
I
had
made
,
and
die
upon
it
.
And
I
should
have
done
it
(
though
I
have
been
to
see
you
more
than
once
,
down
at
Chesney
Wold
,
when
you
little
thought
of
me
)
,
but
for
my
old
comrade
's
wife
here
,
who
I
find
has
been
too
many
for
me
.
But
I
thank
her
for
it
.
I
thank
you
for
it
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
with
all
my
heart
and
might
.
”
To
which
Mrs.
Bagnet
responds
with
two
pokes
.
And
now
the
old
lady
impresses
upon
her
son
George
,
her
own
dear
recovered
boy
,
her
joy
and
pride
,
the
light
of
her
eyes
,
the
happy
close
of
her
life
,
and
every
fond
name
she
can
think
of
,
that
he
must
be
governed
by
the
best
advice
obtainable
by
money
and
influence
;
that
he
must
yield
up
his
case
to
the
greatest
lawyers
that
can
be
got
;
that
he
must
act
,
in
this
serious
plight
,
as
he
shall
be
advised
to
act
;
and
must
not
be
self-willed
,
however
right
,
but
must
promise
to
think
only
of
his
poor
old
mother
's
anxiety
and
suffering
until
he
is
released
,
or
he
will
break
her
heart
.
“
Mother
,
'
tis
little
enough
to
consent
to
,
”
returns
the
trooper
,
stopping
her
with
a
kiss
;
“
tell
me
what
I
shall
do
,
and
I
'll
make
a
late
beginning
,
and
do
it
.
Mrs.
Bagnet
,
you
'll
take
care
of
my
mother
,
I
know
?
”
A
very
hard
poke
from
the
old
girl
's
umbrella
.
“
If
you
'll
bring
her
acquainted
with
Mr.
Jarndyce
and
Miss
Summerson
,
she
will
find
them
of
her
way
of
thinking
,
and
they
will
give
her
the
best
advice
and
assistance
.
”
“
And
,
George
,
”
says
the
old
lady
,
“
we
must
send
with
all
haste
for
your
brother
.
He
is
a
sensible
sound
man
as
they
tell
me
—
out
in
the
world
beyond
Chesney
Wold
,
my
dear
,
though
I
do
n't
know
much
of
it
myself
—
and
will
be
of
great
service
.
”
“
Mother
,
”
returns
the
trooper
,
“
is
it
too
soon
to
ask
a
favor
?
”
“
Surely
not
,
my
dear
.
”
“
Then
grant
me
this
one
great
favor
.
Do
n't
let
my
brother
know
.
”
“
Not
know
what
,
my
dear
?
”
“
Not
know
of
me
.
In
fact
,
mother
,
I
ca
n't
bear
it
;
I
ca
n't
make
up
my
mind
to
it
.
He
has
proved
himself
so
different
from
me
,
and
has
done
so
much
to
raise
himself
while
I
've
been
soldiering
,
that
I
have
n't
brass
enough
in
my
composition
,
to
see
him
in
this
place
and
under
this
charge
.
How
could
a
man
like
him
be
expected
to
have
any
pleasure
in
such
a
discovery
?
It
's
impossible
.
No
,
keep
my
secret
from
him
,
mother
;
do
me
a
greater
kindness
than
I
deserve
,
and
keep
my
secret
from
my
brother
,
of
all
men
.
”
“
But
not
always
,
dear
George
?
”
“
Why
,
mother
,
perhaps
not
for
good
and
all
—
though
I
may
come
to
ask
that
too
—
but
keep
it
now
,
I
do
entreat
you
.
If
it
's
ever
broke
to
him
that
his
Rip
of
a
brother
has
turned
up
,
I
could
wish
,
”
says
the
trooper
,
shaking
his
head
very
doubtfully
,
“
to
break
it
myself
;
and
be
governed
,
as
to
advancing
or
retreating
,
by
the
way
in
which
he
seems
to
take
it
.
”
As
he
evidently
has
a
rooted
feeling
on
this
point
,
and
as
the
depth
of
it
is
recognised
in
Mrs.
Bagnet
's
face
,
his
mother
yields
her
implicit
assent
to
what
he
asks
.
For
this
he
thanks
her
kindly
.
“
In
all
other
respects
,
my
dear
mother
,
I
'll
be
as
tractable
and
obedient
as
you
can
wish
;
on
this
one
alone
,
I
stand
out
.
So
now
I
am
ready
even
for
the
lawyers
.
I
have
been
drawing
up
,
”
he
glances
at
his
writing
on
the
table
,
“
an
exact
account
of
what
I
knew
of
the
deceased
,
and
how
I
came
to
be
involved
in
this
unfortunate
affair
.
It
's
entered
,
plain
and
regular
,
like
an
orderly-book
;
not
a
word
in
it
but
what
's
wanted
for
the
facts
.
I
did
intend
to
read
it
,
straight
on
end
,
whensoever
I
was
called
upon
to
say
anything
in
my
defence
.
I
hope
I
may
be
let
to
do
it
still
;
but
I
have
no
longer
a
will
of
my
own
in
this
case
,
and
whatever
is
said
or
done
,
I
give
my
promise
not
to
have
any
.
”
Matters
being
brought
to
this
so
far
satisfactory
pass
,
and
time
being
on
the
wane
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
proposes
a
departure
.
Again
and
again
the
old
lady
hangs
upon
her
son
's
neck
,
and
again
and
again
the
trooper
holds
her
to
his
broad
chest
.
“
Where
are
you
going
to
take
my
mother
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
?
”
“
I
am
going
to
the
town
house
,
my
dear
,
the
family
house
.
I
have
some
business
there
,
that
must
be
looked
to
directly
,
”
Mrs.
Rouncewell
answers
.
“
Will
you
see
my
mother
safe
there
,
in
a
coach
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
?
But
of
course
I
know
you
will
.
Why
should
I
ask
it
!
”
Why
indeed
,
Mrs.
Bagnet
expresses
with
the
umbrella
.
“
Take
her
,
my
old
friend
,
and
take
my
gratitude
along
with
you
.
Kisses
to
Quebec
and
Malta
,
love
to
my
godson
,
a
hearty
shake
of
the
hand
to
Lignum
,
and
this
for
yourself
,
and
I
wish
it
was
ten
thousand
pound
in
gold
,
my
dear
!
”
So
saying
,
the
trooper
puts
his
lips
to
the
old
girl
's
tanned
forehead
,
and
the
door
shuts
upon
him
in
his
cell
.
No
entreaties
on
the
part
of
the
good
old
housekeeper
will
induce
Mrs.
Bagnet
to
retain
the
coach
for
her
own
conveyance
home
.
Jumping
out
cheerfully
at
the
door
of
the
Dedlock
mansion
,
and
handing
Mrs.
Rouncewell
up
the
steps
,
the
old
girl
shakes
hands
and
trudges
off
;
arriving
soon
afterwards
in
the
bosom
of
the
Bagnet
family
,
and
falling
to
washing
the
greens
,
as
if
nothing
had
happened
.
My
Lady
is
in
that
room
in
which
she
held
her
last
conference
with
the
murdered
man
,
and
is
sitting
where
she
sat
that
night
,
and
is
looking
at
the
spot
where
he
stood
upon
the
hearth
,
studying
her
so
leisurely
,
when
a
tap
comes
at
the
door
.
Who
is
it
?
Mrs.
Rouncewell
.
What
has
brought
Mrs.
Rouncewell
to
town
so
unexpectedly
?
“
Trouble
,
my
Lady
.
Sad
trouble
.
O
my
Lady
,
may
I
beg
a
word
with
you
.
”
What
new
occurrence
is
it
that
makes
this
tranquil
old
woman
tremble
so
?
Far
happier
than
her
Lady
,
as
her
Lady
has
often
thought
,
why
does
she
falter
in
this
manner
,
and
look
at
her
with
such
strange
mistrust
?
“
What
is
the
matter
?
Sit
down
and
take
your
breath
.
”
“
O
,
my
Lady
,
my
Lady
.
I
have
found
my
son
—
my
youngest
,
who
went
away
for
a
soldier
so
long
ago
.
And
he
is
in
prison
.
”
“
For
debt
?
”
“
O
no
,
my
Lady
;
I
would
have
paid
any
debt
,
and
joyful
.
”
“
For
what
is
he
in
prison
,
then
?
”
“
Charged
with
a
murder
,
my
Lady
,
of
which
he
is
as
innocent
as
—
as
I
am
.
Accused
of
the
murder
of
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
”
What
does
she
mean
by
this
look
and
this
imploring
gesture
?
Why
does
she
come
so
close
?
What
is
the
letter
that
she
holds
?
“
Lady
Dedlock
,
my
dear
Lady
,
my
good
Lady
,
my
kind
Lady
!
You
must
have
a
heart
to
feel
for
me
,
you
must
have
a
heart
to
forgive
me
.
I
was
in
this
family
before
you
were
born
.
I
am
devoted
to
it
.
But
think
of
my
dear
son
wrongfully
accused
.
”
“
I
do
not
accuse
him
.
”
“
No
,
my
Lady
,
no.
But
others
do
,
and
he
is
in
prison
and
in
danger
.
O
Lady
Dedlock
,
if
you
can
say
but
a
word
to
help
to
clear
him
,
say
it
!
”
What
delusion
can
this
be
?
What
power
does
she
suppose
is
in
the
person
she
petitions
,
to
avert
this
unjust
suspicion
,
if
it
be
unjust
?
Her
Lady
's
handsome
eyes
regard
her
with
astonishment
,
almost
with
fear
.
“
My
Lady
,
I
came
away
last
night
from
Chesney
Wold
to
find
my
son
in
my
old
age
,
and
the
step
upon
the
Ghost
's
Walk
was
so
constant
and
so
solemn
that
I
never
heard
the
like
in
all
these
years
.
Night
after
night
,
as
it
has
fallen
dark
,
the
sound
has
echoed
through
your
rooms
,
but
last
night
it
was
awfullest
.
And
as
it
fell
dark
last
night
,
my
Lady
,
I
got
this
letter
.
”
“
What
letter
is
it
?
”
“
Hush
!
Hush
!
”
The
housekeeper
looks
round
,
and
answers
in
a
frightened
whisper
:
“
My
Lady
,
I
have
not
breathed
a
word
of
it
,
I
do
n't
believe
what
's
written
in
it
,
I
know
it
ca
n't
be
true
,
I
am
sure
and
certain
that
it
is
not
true
.
But
my
son
is
in
danger
,
and
you
must
have
a
heart
to
pity
me
.
If
you
know
of
anything
that
is
not
known
to
others
,
if
you
have
any
suspicion
,
if
you
have
any
clue
at
all
,
and
any
reason
for
keeping
it
in
your
own
breast
,
O
my
dear
Lady
,
think
of
me
,
and
conquer
that
reason
,
and
let
it
be
known
!
This
is
the
most
I
consider
possible
.
I
know
you
are
not
a
hard
lady
,
but
you
go
your
own
way
always
without
help
,
and
you
are
not
familiar
with
your
friends
;
and
all
who
admire
you
—
and
all
do
—
as
a
beautiful
and
elegant
lady
,
know
you
to
be
one
far
away
from
themselves
,
who
ca
n't
be
approached
close
.
My
Lady
,
you
may
have
some
proud
or
angry
reasons
for
disdaining
to
utter
something
that
you
know
;
if
so
,
pray
,
O
pray
,
think
of
a
faithful
servant
whose
whole
life
has
been
passed
in
this
family
which
she
dearly
loves
,
and
relent
,
and
help
to
clear
my
son
!
My
Lady
,
my
good
Lady
,
”
the
old
housekeeper
pleads
with
genuine
simplicity
,
“
I
am
so
humble
in
my
place
,
and
you
are
by
nature
so
high
and
distant
,
that
you
may
not
think
what
I
feel
for
my
child
;
but
I
feel
so
much
,
that
I
have
come
here
to
make
so
bold
as
to
beg
and
pray
you
not
to
be
scornful
of
us
,
if
you
can
do
us
any
right
or
justice
at
this
fearful
time
!
”
Lady
Dedlock
raises
her
without
one
word
,
until
she
takes
the
letter
from
her
hand
.
“
Am
I
to
read
this
?
”
“
When
I
am
gone
,
my
Lady
,
if
you
please
;
and
then
remembering
the
most
that
I
consider
possible
.
”
“
I
know
of
nothing
I
can
do
.
I
know
of
nothing
I
reserve
,
that
can
affect
your
son
.
I
have
never
accused
him
.
”
“
My
Lady
,
you
may
pity
him
the
more
,
under
a
false
accusation
,
after
reading
the
letter
.
”
The
old
housekeeper
leaves
her
with
the
letter
in
her
hand
.
In
truth
she
is
not
a
hard
lady
naturally
;
and
the
time
has
been
when
the
sight
of
the
venerable
figure
sueing
to
her
with
such
strong
earnestness
would
have
moved
her
to
great
compassion
.
But
,
so
long
accustomed
to
suppress
emotion
,
and
keep
down
reality
;
so
long
schooled
for
her
own
purposes
,
in
that
destructive
school
which
shuts
up
the
natural
feelings
of
the
heart
,
like
flies
in
amber
,
and
spreads
one
uniform
and
dreary
gloss
over
the
good
and
bad
,
the
feeling
and
the
unfeeling
,
the
sensible
and
the
senseless
;
she
has
subdued
even
her
wonder
until
now
.
She
opens
the
letter
.
Spread
out
upon
the
paper
is
a
printed
account
of
the
discovery
of
the
body
,
as
it
lay
face
downward
on
the
floor
,
shot
through
the
heart
;
and
underneath
is
written
her
own
name
,
with
the
word
Murderess
attached
.
It
falls
out
of
her
hand
.
How
long
it
may
have
lain
upon
the
ground
,
she
knows
not
;
but
it
lies
where
it
fell
,
when
a
servant
stands
before
her
announcing
the
young
man
of
the
name
of
Guppy
.
The
words
have
probably
been
repeated
several
times
,
for
they
are
ringing
in
her
head
before
she
begins
to
understand
them
.
“
Let
him
come
in
!
”
He
comes
in
.
Holding
the
letter
in
her
hand
,
which
she
has
taken
from
the
floor
,
she
tries
to
collect
her
thoughts
.
In
the
eyes
of
Mr.
Guppy
she
is
the
same
Lady
Dedlock
,
holding
the
same
prepared
,
proud
,
chilling
state
.
“
Your
Ladyship
may
not
be
at
first
disposed
to
excuse
this
visit
from
one
who
has
never
been
very
welcome
to
your
Ladyship
—
which
he
do
n't
complain
of
,
for
he
is
bound
to
confess
that
there
never
has
been
any
particular
reason
on
the
face
of
things
,
why
he
should
be
;
but
I
hope
when
I
mention
my
motives
to
your
Ladyship
,
you
will
not
find
fault
with
me
,
”
says
Mr.
Guppy
.
“
Do
so
.
”
“
Thank
your
Ladyship
.
I
ought
first
to
explain
to
your
Ladyship
,
”
Mr.
Guppy
sits
on
the
edge
of
a
chair
,
and
puts
his
hat
on
the
carpet
at
his
feet
,
“
that
Miss
Summerson
,
whose
image
as
I
formerly
mentioned
to
your
Ladyship
was
at
one
period
of
my
life
imprinted
on
my
art
until
erased
by
circumstances
over
which
I
had
no
controul
,
communicated
to
me
,
after
I
had
the
pleasure
of
waiting
on
your
Ladyship
last
,
that
she
particularly
wished
me
to
take
no
steps
whatever
in
any
matter
at
all
relating
to
her
.
And
Miss
Summerson
's
wishes
being
to
me
a
law
(
except
as
connected
with
circumstances
over
which
I
have
no
controul
)
,
I
consequently
never
expected
to
have
the
distinguished
honor
of
waiting
on
your
Ladyship
again
.
”
And
yet
he
is
here
now
,
Lady
Dedlock
moodily
reminds
him
.
“
And
yet
I
am
here
now
,
”
Mr.
Guppy
admits
.
“
My
object
being
to
communicate
to
your
Ladyship
,
under
the
seal
of
confidence
,
why
I
am
here
.
”
He
cannot
do
so
,
she
tells
him
,
too
plainly
or
too
briefly
.
“
Nor
can
I
,
”
Mr.
Guppy
returns
,
with
a
sense
of
injury
upon
him
,
“
too
particularly
request
your
Ladyship
to
take
particular
notice
that
it
's
no
personal
affair
of
mine
that
brings
me
here
.
I
have
no
interested
views
of
my
own
to
serve
in
coming
here
.
If
it
was
not
for
my
promise
to
Miss
Summerson
,
and
my
keeping
of
it
sacred
,
—
I
,
in
point
of
fact
should
n't
have
darkened
these
doors
again
,
but
should
have
seen
'
em
further
first
.
”
Mr.
Guppy
considers
this
a
favorable
moment
for
sticking
up
his
hair
with
both
hands
.
“
Your
Ladyship
will
remember
when
I
mention
it
,
that
the
last
time
I
was
here
,
I
run
against
a
party
very
eminent
in
our
profession
,
and
whose
loss
we
all
deplore
.
That
party
certainly
did
from
that
time
apply
himself
to
cutting
in
against
me
in
a
way
that
I
will
call
sharp
practice
,
and
did
make
it
,
at
every
turn
and
point
,
extremely
difficult
for
me
to
be
sure
that
I
had
n't
inadvertently
led
up
to
something
contrairy
to
Miss
Summerson
's
wishes
.
Self-praise
is
no
recommendation
;
but
I
may
say
for
myself
that
I
am
not
so
bad
a
man
of
business
neither
.
”
Lady
Dedlock
looks
at
him
in
stern
inquiry
.
Mr.
Guppy
immediately
withdraws
his
eyes
from
her
face
,
and
looks
anywhere
else
.
“
Indeed
,
it
has
been
made
so
hard
,
”
he
goes
on
,
“
to
have
any
idea
what
that
party
was
up
to
in
combination
with
others
,
that
until
the
loss
which
we
all
deplore
,
I
was
gravelled
—
an
expression
which
your
Ladyship
,
moving
in
the
higher
circles
,
will
be
so
good
as
to
consider
tantamount
to
knocked
over
.
Small
likewise
—
a
name
by
which
I
refer
to
another
party
,
a
friend
of
mine
that
your
Ladyship
is
not
acquainted
with
—
got
to
be
so
close
and
double-faced
that
at
times
it
was
n't
easy
to
keep
one
's
hands
off
his
ed
.
However
,
what
with
the
exertion
of
my
humble
abilities
,
and
what
with
the
help
of
a
mutual
friend
by
the
name
of
Mr.
Tony
Weevle
(
who
is
of
a
high
aristocratic
turn
,
and
has
your
Ladyship
's
portrait
always
hanging
up
in
his
room
)
,
I
have
now
reasons
for
an
apprehension
,
as
to
which
I
come
to
put
your
Ladyship
upon
your
guard
.
First
,
will
your
Ladyship
allow
me
to
ask
you
whether
you
have
had
any
strange
visitors
this
morning
?
I
do
n't
mean
fashionable
visitors
,
but
such
visitors
,
for
instance
,
as
Miss
Barbary
's
old
servant
,
or
as
a
person
without
the
use
of
his
lower
extremities
,
carried
up-stairs
similarly
to
a
Guy
?
”
“
No
!
”
“
Then
I
assure
your
Ladyship
that
such
visitors
have
been
here
,
and
have
been
received
here
.
Because
I
saw
them
at
the
door
,
and
waited
at
the
corner
of
the
square
till
they
came
out
,
and
took
half-an-hour
's
turn
afterwards
to
avoid
them
.
”
“
What
have
I
to
do
with
that
,
or
what
have
you
?
I
do
not
understand
you
.
What
do
you
mean
?
”
“
Your
Ladyship
,
I
come
to
put
you
on
your
guard
.
There
may
be
no
occasion
for
it
.
Very
well
.
Then
I
have
only
done
my
best
to
keep
my
promise
to
Miss
Summerson
.
I
strongly
suspect
(
from
what
Small
has
dropped
,
and
from
what
we
have
corkscrewed
out
of
him
)
that
those
letters
I
was
to
have
brought
to
your
Ladyship
were
not
destroyed
when
I
supposed
they
were
.
That
if
there
was
anything
to
be
blown
upon
,
it
is
blown
upon
.
That
the
visitors
I
have
alluded
to
have
been
here
this
morning
to
make
money
of
it
.
And
that
the
money
is
made
,
or
making
.
”
Mr.
Guppy
picks
up
his
hat
and
rises
.
“
Your
Ladyship
,
you
know
best
,
whether
there
's
anything
in
what
I
say
,
or
whether
there
's
nothing
.
Something
or
nothing
,
I
have
acted
up
to
Miss
Summerson
's
wishes
in
letting
things
alone
,
and
in
undoing
what
I
had
begun
to
do
,
as
far
as
possible
;
that
's
sufficient
for
me
.
In
case
I
should
be
taking
a
liberty
in
putting
your
Ladyship
on
your
guard
when
there
's
no
necessity
for
it
,
you
will
endeavour
,
I
should
hope
,
to
outlive
my
presumption
,
and
I
shall
endeavour
to
outlive
your
disapprobation
.
I
now
take
my
farewell
of
your
Ladyship
,
and
assure
you
that
there
's
no
danger
of
your
ever
being
waited
on
by
me
again
.
”
She
scarcely
acknowledges
these
parting
words
by
any
look
;
but
when
he
has
been
gone
a
little
while
,
she
rings
her
bell
.
“
Where
is
Sir
Leicester
?
”
Mercury
reports
that
he
is
at
present
shut
up
in
the
library
,
alone
.
“
Has
Sir
Leicester
had
any
visitors
this
morning
?
”
Several
,
on
business
.
Mercury
proceeds
to
a
description
of
them
,
which
has
been
anticipated
by
Mr.
Guppy
.
Enough
;
he
may
go
.
So
!
All
is
broken
down
.
Her
name
is
in
these
many
mouths
,
her
husband
knows
his
wrongs
,
her
shame
will
be
published
—
may
be
spreading
while
she
thinks
about
it
—
and
in
addition
to
the
thunderbolt
so
long
foreseen
by
her
,
so
unforeseen
by
him
,
she
is
denounced
by
an
invisible
accuser
as
the
murderess
of
her
enemy
.
Her
enemy
he
was
,
and
she
has
often
,
often
,
often
,
wished
him
dead
.
Her
enemy
he
is
,
even
in
his
grave
.
This
dreadful
accusation
comes
upon
her
,
like
a
new
torment
at
his
lifeless
hand
.
And
when
she
recals
how
she
was
secretly
at
his
door
that
night
,
and
how
she
may
be
represented
to
have
sent
her
favorite
girl
away
,
so
soon
before
,
merely
to
release
herself
from
observation
,
she
shudders
as
if
the
hangman
's
hands
were
at
her
neck
.
She
has
thrown
herself
upon
the
floor
,
and
lies
with
her
hair
all
wildly
scattered
,
and
her
face
buried
in
the
cushions
of
a
couch
.
She
rises
up
,
hurries
to
and
fro
,
flings
herself
down
again
,
and
rocks
and
moans
.
The
horror
that
is
upon
her
,
is
unutterable
.
If
she
really
were
the
murderess
,
it
could
hardly
be
,
for
the
moment
,
more
intense
.
For
,
as
her
murderous
perspective
,
before
the
doing
of
the
deed
,
however
subtle
the
precautions
for
its
commission
,
would
have
been
closed
up
by
a
gigantic
dilation
of
the
hateful
figure
,
preventing
her
from
seeing
any
consequences
beyond
it
;
and
as
those
consequences
would
have
rushed
in
,
in
an
unimagined
flood
,
the
moment
the
figure
was
laid
low
—
which
always
happens
when
a
murder
is
done
;
so
,
now
she
sees
that
when
he
used
to
be
on
the
watch
before
her
,
and
she
used
to
think
,
“
if
some
mortal
stroke
would
but
fall
on
this
old
man
and
take
him
from
my
way
!
”
it
was
but
wishing
that
all
he
held
against
her
in
his
hand
might
be
flung
to
the
winds
,
and
chance-sown
in
many
places
.
So
,
too
,
with
the
wicked
relief
she
has
felt
in
his
death
.
What
was
his
death
but
the
key-stone
of
a
gloomy
arch
removed
,
and
now
the
arch
begins
to
fall
in
a
thousand
fragments
,
each
crushing
and
mangling
piecemeal
!
Thus
,
a
terrible
impression
steals
upon
and
overshadows
her
,
that
from
this
pursuer
,
living
or
dead
—
obdurate
and
imperturbable
before
her
in
his
well-remembered
shape
,
or
not
more
obdurate
and
imperturbable
in
his
coffin-bed
,
—
there
is
no
escape
but
in
death
.
Hunted
,
she
flies
.
The
complication
of
her
shame
,
her
dread
,
remorse
,
and
misery
,
overwhelms
her
at
its
height
;
and
even
her
strength
of
self-reliance
is
overturned
and
whirled
away
,
like
a
leaf
before
a
mighty
wind
.
She
hurriedly
addresses
these
lines
to
her
husband
,
seals
,
and
leaves
them
on
her
table
.
“
If
I
am
sought
for
,
or
accused
of
,
his
murder
,
believe
that
I
am
wholly
innocent
.
Believe
no
other
good
of
me
;
for
I
am
innocent
of
nothing
else
that
you
have
heard
,
or
will
hear
,
laid
to
my
charge
.
He
prepared
me
,
on
that
fatal
night
,
for
his
disclosure
of
my
guilt
to
you
.
After
he
had
left
me
,
I
went
out
,
on
pretence
of
walking
in
the
garden
where
I
sometimes
walk
,
but
really
to
follow
him
,
and
make
one
last
petition
that
he
would
not
protract
the
dreadful
suspense
on
which
I
had
been
racked
by
him
,
you
do
not
know
how
long
,
but
would
mercifully
strike
next
morning
.
“
I
found
his
house
dark
and
silent
.
I
rang
twice
at
his
door
,
but
there
was
no
reply
,
and
I
came
home
.
“
I
have
no
home
left
.
I
will
encumber
you
no
more
.
May
you
,
in
your
just
resentment
,
be
able
to
forget
the
unworthy
woman
on
whom
you
have
wasted
a
most
generous
devotion
—
who
avoids
you
,
only
with
a
deeper
shame
than
that
with
which
she
hurries
from
herself
and
who
writes
this
last
adieu
!
”
She
veils
and
dresses
quickly
,
leaves
all
her
jewels
and
her
money
,
listens
,
goes
down-stairs
at
a
moment
when
the
hall
is
empty
,
opens
and
shuts
the
great
door
;
flutters
away
,
in
the
shrill
frosty
wind
.
CHAPTER
LVI
.
PURSUIT
.
IMPASSIVE
,
as
behooves
its
high
breeding
,
the
Dedlock
town-house
stares
at
the
other
houses
in
the
street
of
dismal
grandeur
,
and
gives
no
outward
sign
of
anything
going
wrong
within
.
Carriages
rattle
,
doors
are
battered
at
,
the
world
exchanges
calls
;
ancient
charmers
with
skeleton
throats
,
and
peachy
cheeks
that
have
a
rather
ghastly
bloom
upon
them
seen
by
daylight
,
when
indeed
these
fascinating
creatures
look
like
Death
and
the
Lady
fused
together
,
dazzle
the
eyes
of
men
.
Forth
from
the
frigid
Mews
come
easily-swinging
carriages
guided
by
short-legged
coachmen
in
flaxen
wigs
,
deep
sunk
into
downy
hammercloths
;
and
up
behind
mount
luscious
Mercuries
,
bearing
sticks
of
state
,
and
wearing
cocked
hats
broadwise
:
a
spectacle
for
the
Angels
.
The
Dedlock
town-house
changes
not
externally
,
and
hours
pass
before
its
exalted
dulness
is
disturbed
within
.
But
Volumnia
the
fair
,
being
subject
to
the
prevalent
complaint
of
boredom
,
and
finding
that
disorder
attacking
her
spirits
with
some
virulence
,
ventures
at
length
to
repair
to
the
library
for
change
of
scene
.
Her
gentle
tapping
at
the
door
producing
no
response
,
she
opens
it
and
peeps
in
;
seeing
no
one
there
,
takes
possession
.
The
sprightly
Dedlock
is
reputed
,
in
that
grass-grown
city
of
the
ancients
,
Bath
,
to
be
stimulated
by
an
urgent
curiosity
,
which
impels
her
on
all
convenient
and
inconvenient
occasions
to
sidle
about
with
a
golden
glass
at
her
eye
,
peering
into
objects
of
every
description
.
Certain
it
is
that
she
avails
herself
of
the
present
opportunity
of
hovering
over
her
kinsman
's
letters
and
papers
,
like
a
bird
;
taking
a
short
peck
at
this
document
,
and
a
blink
with
her
head
on
one
side
at
that
document
,
and
hopping
about
from
table
to
table
with
her
glass
at
her
eye
in
an
inquisitive
and
restless
manner
.
In
the
course
of
these
researches
she
stumbles
over
something
;
and
turning
her
glass
in
that
direction
,
sees
her
kinsman
lying
on
the
ground
like
a
felled
tree
.
Volumnia
's
pet
little
scream
acquires
a
considerable
augmentation
of
reality
from
this
surprise
,
and
the
house
is
quickly
in
commotion
.
Servants
tear
up
and
down
stairs
,
bells
are
violently
rung
,
doctors
are
sent
for
,
and
Lady
Dedlock
is
sought
in
all
directions
but
not
found
.
Nobody
has
seen
or
heard
her
since
she
last
rang
her
bell
.
Her
letter
to
Sir
Leicester
is
discovered
on
her
table
;
—
but
it
is
doubtful
yet
whether
he
has
not
received
another
missive
from
another
world
,
requiring
to
be
personally
answered
;
and
all
the
living
languages
,
and
all
the
dead
,
are
as
one
to
him
.
They
lay
him
down
upon
his
bed
,
and
chafe
,
and
rub
,
and
fan
,
and
put
ice
to
his
head
,
and
try
every
means
of
restoration
.
Howbeit
,
the
day
has
ebbed
away
,
and
it
is
night
in
his
room
,
before
his
stertorous
breathing
lulls
,
or
his
fixed
eyes
shew
any
consciousness
of
the
candle
that
is
occasionally
passed
before
them
.
But
when
this
change
begins
,
it
goes
on
;
and
by
and
by
he
nods
,
or
moves
his
eyes
,
or
even
his
hand
,
in
token
that
he
hears
and
comprehends
.
He
fell
down
,
this
morning
,
a
handsome
stately
gentleman
;
somewhat
infirm
,
but
of
a
fine
presence
,
and
with
a
well-filled
face
.
He
lies
upon
his
bed
,
an
aged
man
with
sunken
cheeks
,
the
decrepit
shadow
of
himself
.
His
voice
was
rich
and
mellow
;
and
he
had
so
long
been
thoroughly
persuaded
of
the
weight
and
import
to
mankind
of
any
word
he
said
,
that
his
words
really
had
come
to
sound
as
if
there
were
something
in
them
.
But
now
he
can
only
whisper
;
and
what
he
whispers
sounds
like
what
it
is
—
mere
jumble
and
jargon
.
His
favorite
and
faithful
housekeeper
stands
at
his
bedside
.
It
is
the
first
fact
he
notices
,
and
he
clearly
derives
pleasure
from
it
.
After
vainly
trying
to
make
himself
understood
in
speech
,
he
makes
signs
for
a
pencil
.
So
inexpressively
,
that
they
cannot
at
first
understand
him
;
it
is
his
old
housekeeper
who
makes
out
what
he
wants
,
and
brings
him
a
slate
.
After
pausing
for
some
time
,
he
slowly
scrawls
upon
it
,
in
a
hand
that
is
not
his
,
“
Chesney
Wold
?
”
No
,
she
tells
him
;
he
is
in
London
.
He
was
taken
ill
in
the
library
,
this
morning
.
Right
thankful
she
is
that
she
happened
to
come
to
London
,
and
is
able
to
attend
upon
him
.
“
It
is
not
an
illness
of
any
serious
consequence
,
Sir
Leicester
.
You
will
be
much
better
to-morrow
,
Sir
Leicester
.
All
the
gentlemen
say
so
.
”
This
,
with
the
tears
coursing
down
her
fair
old
face
.
After
making
a
survey
of
the
room
,
and
looking
with
particular
attention
all
round
the
bed
where
the
doctors
stand
,
he
writes
“
My
Lady
.
”
“
My
Lady
went
out
,
Sir
Leicester
,
before
you
were
taken
ill
,
and
do
n't
know
of
your
illness
yet
.
”
He
points
again
,
in
great
agitation
,
at
the
two
words
.
They
all
try
to
quiet
him
,
but
he
points
again
with
increased
agitation
.
On
their
looking
at
one
another
,
not
knowing
what
to
say
,
he
takes
the
slate
once
more
,
and
writes
“
My
Lady
.
For
God
's
sake
,
where
?
”
And
makes
an
imploring
moan
.
It
is
thought
better
that
his
old
housekeeper
should
give
him
Lady
Dedlock
's
letter
,
the
contents
of
which
no
one
knows
or
can
surmise
.
She
opens
it
for
him
,
and
puts
it
out
for
his
perusal
.
Having
read
it
twice
by
a
great
effort
,
he
turns
it
down
so
that
it
shall
not
be
seen
,
and
lies
moaning
.
He
passes
into
a
kind
of
relapse
,
or
into
a
swoon
;
and
it
is
an
hour
before
he
opens
his
eyes
,
reclining
on
his
faithful
and
attached
old
servant
's
arm
.
The
doctors
know
that
he
is
best
with
her
;
and
,
when
not
actively
engaged
about
him
,
stand
aloof
.
The
slate
comes
into
requisition
again
;
but
the
word
he
wants
to
write
,
he
cannot
remember
.
His
anxiety
,
his
eagerness
,
and
affliction
,
at
this
pass
,
are
pitiable
to
behold
.
It
seems
as
if
he
must
go
mad
,
in
the
necessity
he
feels
for
haste
,
and
the
inability
under
which
he
labors
of
expressing
to
do
what
,
or
to
fetch
whom
.
He
has
written
the
letter
B
,
and
there
stopped
.
Of
a
sudden
,
in
the
height
of
his
misery
,
he
puts
Mr.
before
it
.
The
old
housekeeper
suggests
Bucket
.
Thank
Heaven
!
That
's
his
meaning
.
Mr.
Bucket
is
found
to
be
down-stairs
,
by
appointment
.
Shall
he
come
up
?
There
is
no
possibility
of
misconstruing
Sir
Leicester
's
burning
wish
to
see
him
,
or
the
desire
he
signifies
to
have
the
room
cleared
of
every
one
but
the
housekeeper
.
It
is
speedily
done
;
and
Mr.
Bucket
appears
.
Of
all
men
upon
earth
,
Sir
Leicester
seems
fallen
from
his
high
estate
to
place
his
sole
trust
and
reliance
upon
this
man
.
“
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
,
I
'm
sorry
to
see
you
like
this
.
I
hope
you
'll
cheer
up
.
I
'm
sure
you
will
,
on
account
of
the
family
credit
.
”
Sir
Leicester
puts
her
letter
in
his
hand
,
and
looks
intently
in
his
face
while
he
reads
it
.
A
new
intelligence
comes
into
Mr.
Bucket
's
eye
,
as
he
reads
on
;
with
one
hook
of
his
finger
,
while
that
eye
is
still
glancing
over
the
words
,
he
indicates
,
“
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
,
I
understand
you
.
”
Sir
Leicester
writes
upon
the
slate
.
“
Full
forgiveness
.
Find
—
”
Mr.
Bucket
stops
his
hand
.
“
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
,
I
'll
find
her
.
But
my
search
after
her
must
be
begun
out
of
hand
.
Not
a
minute
must
be
lost
.
”
With
the
quickness
of
thought
,
he
follows
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
's
look
towards
a
little
box
upon
a
table
.
“
Bring
it
here
,
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
?
Certainly
.
Open
it
with
one
of
these
here
keys
?
Certainly
.
The
littlest
key
?
To
be
sure
.
Take
the
notes
out
?
So
I
will
.
Count
'
em
?
That
's
soon
done
.
Twenty
and
thirty
's
fifty
,
and
twenty
's
seventy
,
and
fifty
's
one
twenty
,
and
forty
's
one
sixty
.
Take
'
em
for
expenses
?
That
I
'll
do
,
and
render
an
account
of
course
.
Do
n't
spare
money
?
