orrather
a
vast
ravine
,
of
a
very
uncommon
formation
.
A
narrow
winding
rocky
combe
,
where
slabs
,
and
tors
,
and
boulder
stones
,
seem
pasturing
on
the
velvet
grass
,
or
looking
into
the
bright
trout-stream
,
which
leaps
down
a
flight
of
steps
without
a
tree
to
shade
its
flash
and
foam
;
this
narrow
,
but
glad
dingle
,
as
it
nears
the
sea
,
bursts
suddenly
back
into
a
desert
gorge
,
cleaving
the
heights
that
front
the
Bristol
Channel
.
The
mountain
sides
from
right
and
left
,
straight
as
if
struck
by
rule
,
steeply
converge
,
like
a
high-pitched
roof
turned
upside
down
;
so
steep
indeed
that
none
can
climb
them
.
Along
the
deep
bottom
gleams
a
silver
chord
,
where
the
cramped
stream
chafes
its
way
,
bedded
and
banked
in
stone
,
without
a
blade
of
green
.
From
top
to
bottom
of
this
huge
ravine
there
is
no
growth
,
no
rocks
,
no
cliffs
,
no
place
to
stay
the
foot
,
but
all
a
barren
,
hard
,
grey
stretch
of
shingle
,
slates
,
and
gliddery
stones
:
as
if
the
ballast
of
ten
million
fleets
had
been
shot
in
two
enormous
piles
,
and
were
always
on
the
slip
.
Looking
at
it
we
forget
that
there
is
such
a
thing
as
life
:
the
desolation
is
not
painful
,
because
it
is
so
grand
.
The
brief
noon
glare
of
the
sun
on
these
Titanic
dry
walls
,
where
even
a
lichen
dies
;
the
gaunt
desert
shade
stealing
back
to
its
lair
in
the
early
afternoon
;
the
solemn
step
of
evening
stooping
to
her
cloak
below
—
I
know
not
which
of
these
is
the
most
impressive
and
mournful
.
No
stir
of
any
sort
,
no
voice
of
man
or
beast
,
no
flow
of
tide
,
ever
comes
to
visit
here
;
the
little
river
,
after
a
course
of
battles
,
wins
no
peaceful
union
with
the
sea
,
but
ponds
against
a
shingle
bar
,
and
gurgles
away
in
slow
whirlpools
.
Only
a
fitful
moaning
wind
draws
up
and
down
the
melancholy
chasm
.
The
famous
"
Valley
of
Rocks
,
"
some
four
miles
to
the
east
,
seems
to
me
common-place
and
tame
compared
to
this
grand
defile
.
Yet
how
many
men
I
know
who
would
smoke
their
pipes
throughout
it
!
Thinking
so
much
of
this
place
,
I
long
wished
my
mother
to
see
it
;
and
finding
her
rather
stronger
one
lovely
April
morning
,
I
persuaded
her
forth
,
embarked
on
Mrs.
Huxtable
's
donkey
.
We
went
,
down
a
small
tributary
glen
,
towards
the
head
of
the
great
defile
.
The
little
glen
was
bright
,
and
green
,
and
laughing
into
bud
,
and
bantering
a
swift
brook
,
which
could
hardly
stop
to
answer
,
but
left
the
ousels
as
it
passed
to
talk
at
leisure
about
their
nests
,
and
the
trout
to
make
those
musical
leaps
that
sound
so
crisp
through
the
alders
.
Another
stream
meets
it
among
the
bushes
below
,
and
now
they
are
entitled
to
the
dignity
of
a
bridge
whereon
grows
the
maidenhair
fern
,
and
which
,
with
its
rude
and
pointed
arch
,
looks
like
an
old
pack-saddle
upon
the
stream
.
From
this
point
we
followed
a
lane
,
leading
obliquely
up
the
ascent
,
before
the
impassable
steep
begins
.
Having
tethered
our
quiet
donkey
to
a
broken
gate
,
I
took
my
mother
along
a
narrow
path
through
the
thicket
to
the
view
of
the
great
ravine
.
Standing
at
the
end
of
this
path
,
she
was
astonished
at
the
scene
before
her
.
We
had
gained
a
height
of
about
two
hundred
feet
,
the
hill-top
stretched
a
thousand
feet
above
us
.
We
stood
on
the
very
limit
of
vegetation
,
a
straight
line
passing
clown
the
hill
where
the
quarry-like
steep
begins
.
My
dear
mother
was
tired
,
and
I
had
called
her
to
come
home
,
lest
the
view
should
make
her
giddy
;
when
suddenly
she
stepped
forward
to
gather
a
harebell
straggling
among
the
stones
.
The
shingle
beneath
her
foot
gave
way
,
then
below
her
,
and
around
,
and
above
her
head
,
began
in
a
great
mass
to
glide
.
Buried
to
the
knees
and
falling
sideways
,
she
was
sinking
slowly
at
first
,
then
quickly
and
quicker
yet
,
with
a
hoarse
roar
of
moving
tons
of
stone
,
gathering
and
whelming
upon
her
,
down
the
rugged
abyss
.
Screaming
,
I
leaped
into
the
avalanche
after
her
,
never
thinking
that
I
could
only
do
harm
.
Stronger
,
and
swifter
,
and
louder
,
and
surging
,
and
berged
with
shouldering
stone
the
solid
cascade
rushed
on
.
I
saw
dearest
mother
below
me
trying
to
clasp
her
hands
in
prayer
,
and
to
give
me
her
last
word
.
With
a
desperate
effort
dragging
my
shawl
from
the
gulfing
crash
,
I
threw
it
towards
her
,
but
she
did
not
try
to
grasp
it
.
A
heavy
stone
leaped
over
me
,
and
struck
her
on
the
head
;
her
head
dropped
back
,
she
lay
senseless
,
and
nearly
buried
.
We
were
dashing
more
headlong
and
headlong
,
in
the
rush
of
the
mountain
side
,
to
the
precipice
over
the
river
,
and
my
senses
had
all
but
failed
,
and
revenge
was
prone
before
judgment
,
when
I
heard
through
the
din
a
shout
.
On
the
brink
of
firm
ground
stood
a
man
,
and
signed
me
to
throw
my
shawl
.
With
all
my
remaining
strength
I
did
so
,
but
not
as
he
meant
,
for
I
cast
it
entirely
to
him
,
and
pointed
to
my
mother
below
.
One
instant
the
avalanche
paused
,
he
leaped
about
twenty
feet
down
,
through
the
heather
and
gorse
,
and
stayed
his
descent
by
clutching
a
stout
ash
sapling
.
To
this
in
a
moment
he
fastened
my
shawl
,
(
a
long
and
strong
plaid
)
,
and
just
as
my
mother
was
being
swept
by
,
he
plunged
with
the
other
end
into
the
shingle
tide
.
I
saw
him
leap
and
struggle
towards
her
,
and
lift
her
out
of
the
gliding
tomb
,
gliding
himself
the
while
,
and
sway
himself
and
his
burden
,
by
means
of
the
shawl
,
not
back
(
for
that
was
impossible
)
,
but
obliquely
downwards
;
I
saw
the
strong
sapling
bow
to
the
strain
like
a
fishing-rod
,
while
hope
and
terror
fought
hard
within
me
;
I
saw
him
,
by
a
desperate
effort
,
which
bent
the
ash-tree
to
the
ground
,
leap
from
the
whirling
havoc
,
and
lay
my
mother
on
the
dead
fern
and
heath
.
Of
the
rest
,
I
know
nothing
,
having
become
quite
unconscious
,
before
he
saved
me
,
in
the
same
manner
.
We
must
have
been
taken
home
in
Farmer
Huxtable
's
butt
,
for
I
remember
well
that
,
amidst
the
stir
and
fright
of
our
return
,
and
while
my
mother
was
still
insensible
,
Mrs.
Huxtable
fell
savagely
upon
poor
Suke
,
for
having
despatched
that
elegant
vehicle
without
cleaning
it
from
the
lime
dust
;
whereby
,
as
she
declared
,
our
dresses
(
so
rent
and
tattered
by
the
jagged
stones
)
were
"
muxed
up
to
shords
.
"
Poor
Suke
would
have
been
likely
to
fare
much
worse
,
if
,
at
such
a
time
,
she
had
stopped
to
dust
the
cart
.
When
the
farmer
came
home
,
his
countenance
,
rich
in
capacity
for
expressing
astonishment
,
far
outdid
his
words
.
"
Wull
,
wull
,
for
sure
!
wuther
ye
did
or
no
?
"
was
all
the
vent
he
could
find
for
his
ideas
during
the
rest
of
the
day
;
though
it
was
plain
to
all
who
knew
him
that
he
was
thinking
profoundly
upon
the
subject
,
and
wholly
occupied
with
it
.
In
the
course
of
the
following
week
he
advised
me
very
impressively
never
to
do
it
again
;
and
nothing
could
ever
persuade
him
but
that
I
jumped
in
,
and
my
mother
came
to
rescue
me
.
But
his
wife
very
soon
had
all
her
wits
about
her
.
She
sent
to
"
Coom
"
for
the
doctor
(
I
begged
that
it
might
not
be
Mr.
Dawe
's
physician
)
,
she
put
dear
mother
to
bed
,
and
dressed
her
wounds
with
simples
worth
ten
druggists
'
shops
,
and
bathed
her
temples
with
rosemary
,
and
ran
down
the
glen
for
"
fathery
ham
"
(
Valerian
)
,
which
she
declared
"
would
kill
nine
sorts
of
infermation
;
"
then
she
hushed
the
entire
household
,
permitting
no
tongue
to
move
except
her
own
,
and
beat
her
eldest
boy
(
a
fine
young
Huxtable
)
for
crying
,
whereupon
he
roared
;
she
even
conquered
her
strong
desire
to
know
much
more
than
all
could
tell
;
and
showed
my
mother
such
true
kindness
and
pity
that
I
loved
her
for
it
at
once
,
and
ever
since
.
Breathing
slowly
and
heavily
,
my
poor
mother
lay
in
the
bed
which
had
long
been
the
pride
of
Tossil
's
Barton
.
The
bedstead
was
made
of
carved
oak
,
as
many
of
them
are
in
North
Devon
,
and
would
have
been
handsome
and
striking
,
if
some
ancestral
Huxtable
had
not
adorned
it
with
whitewash
.
But
the
quilt
was
what
they
were
proud
of
.
It
was
formed
of
patches
of
diamond
shape
and
most
incongruous
colours
,
with
a
death
's
head
in
the
centre
and
crossbones
underneath
.
When
first
I
beheld
it
,
I
tossed
it
down
the
stairs
,
but
my
mother
would
have
it
brought
back
and
used
,
because
she
knew
how
the
family
gloried
in
it
,
and
she
could
not
bear
to
hurt
their
feelings
.
One
taper
white
hand
lay
on
it
now
,
with
the
tender
skin
bruised
and
discoloured
by
blows
.
She
had
closed
the
finger
which
bore
her
wedding
ring
,
and
it
still
remained
curved
and
rigid
.
In
an
agony
of
tears
,
I
knelt
by
the
side
of
the
bed
,
watching
her
placid
and
deathlike
face
.
Till
then
I
had
never
known
how
strongly
and
deeply
I
loved
her
.
I
firmly
believe
that
she
was
revived
in
some
degree
by
the
glare
of
the
patched
quilt
upon
her
eyes
.
The
antagonism
of
nature
was
roused
,
and
brought
home
her
wandering
powers
.
Feebly
glancing
away
,
she
came
suddenly
to
herself
,
and
exclaimed
:
"
Is
she
safe
?
is
she
safe
?
'
"
Yes
,
mother
;
here
I
am
,
with
my
own
dear
mother
.
"
She
opened
her
arms
,
and
held
me
in
a
nervous
cold
embrace
,
and
thanked
God
,
and
wept
.
CHAPTER
XVII
.
When
the
surgeon
came
,
he
pronounced
that
none
of
her
limbs
were
broken
,
but
that
the
shock
to
the
brain
,
and
the
whole
system
,
had
been
so
severe
,
that
the
only
chance
of
recovery
consisted
in
perfect
quiet
.
She
herself
said
that
the
question
was
,
whether
Providence
wanted
her
still
to
watch
over
her
child
.
After
some
days
she
came
down
stairs
,
not
without
my
support
,
and
was
propped
once
more
upon
her
poor
sofa
.
Calm
she
appeared
,
and
contented
,
and
happy
in
such
sort
as
of
old
;
but
whenever
she
turned
her
glance
from
me
,
she
observed
with
starting
eyes
every
little
thing
that
moved
.
Especially
she
would
lie
and
gaze
through
the
open
window
,
at
a
certain
large
spider
,
who
worked
very
hard
among
the
woodbine
blossoms
.
One
day
,
in
making
too
bold
a
cast
,
he
fell
;
some
chord
of
remembrance
was
touched
,
and
she
swooned
away
on
the
couch
.
In
spite
of
these
symptoms
I
fondly
hoped
that
she
was
recovering
strength
.
She
even
walked
out
with
me
twice
,
in
the
sunny
afternoon
.
But
this
only
lasted
a
very
short
time
;
it
soon
became
manifest
,
even
to
me
,
that
ere
long
she
would
be
with
my
father
.
Unable
to
fight
any
more
with
this
dark
perception
,
I
embraced
it
with
a
sort
of
savage
despair
,
an
utter
sinking
of
the
heart
,
which
defied
God
as
it
sank
.
This
she
soon
discovered
,
and
I
fear
that
it
saddened
her
end
.
She
was
much
disappointed
,
too
,
that
we
could
not
find
or
thank
him
who
had
perilled
his
life
for
us
.
None
could
tell
who
he
was
,
or
what
had
become
of
him
;
though
the
farmer
,
at
our
entreaty
,
searched
all
the
villages
round
.
We
were
told
,
indeed
,
by
the
landlady
of
the
"
Red-deer
Inn
"
(
a
lonely
public-house
near
the
scene
of
the
accident
)
that
a
stranger
had
come
to
her
in
very
great
haste
,
and
,
having
learned
who
we
were
,
for
she
had
seen
us
pass
half
an
hour
before
,
had
sent
her
boy
to
the
farm
for
some
kind
of
conveyance
,
while
he
returned
at
full
speed
to
attend
those
whom
he
had
rescued
.
It
further
appeared
that
this
stranger
had
helped
to
place
us
in
the
cart
,
and
showed
the
kindest
anxiety
to
lessen
the
roughness
of
its
motion
,
himself
even
leading
old
"
Smiler
,
"
to
thwart
his
propensity
to
the
deepest
and
hardest
ruts
.
By
the
time
our
slow
vehicle
reached
the
farm
,
Mrs.
Huxtable
was
returned
from
the
Lower
Cleve
orchard
,
where
she
had
been
smoking
the
fernwebs
,
in
ignorance
of
our
mishap
;
and
our
conductor
,
seeing
us
safe
in
her
hands
,
departed
without
a
word
,
while
she
was
too
flurried
and
frightened
to
take
much
notice
of
him
.
Neither
could
the
woman
of
the
inn
describe
him
;
she
was
so
"
mazed
,
"
when
she
heard
of
the
"
vail
arl
down
the
girt
goyal
,
"
as
she
called
our
slide
of
about
fifty
feet
;
and
for
this
she
quoted
the
stranger
as
her
authority
,
"
them
's
the
very
words
as
he
used
;
"
though
,
just
before
this
,
she
had
stated
that
he
was
a
foreigner
and
could
not
speak
English
.
Knowing
that
in
Devonshire
any
stranger
is
called
a
foreigner
,
and
English
means
the
brogue
of
the
countryside
,
I
did
not
attach
much
weight
to
this
declaration
.
The
only
remaining
witness
,
the
lad
who
had
come
with
the
butt
,
was
too
stupid
to
describe
anything
,
except
three
round
O
's
,
with
his
mouth
and
eyes
.
But
it
mattered
little
about
description
;
I
had
seen
that
stranger
under
such
circumstances
,
that
I
could
not
fail
to
know
him
again
.
On
the
morrow
,
and
once
in
the
following
week
,
some
kind
inquiries
were
made
as
to
our
condition
,
by
means
of
slips
of
paper
conveyed
by
country
lads
.
No
name
was
attached
to
these
,
and
no
information
given
about
the
inquirer
.
The
bearer
of
the
first
missive
came
from
Lynmouth
,
and
of
the
second
from
Ilfracombe
.
Neither
lad
knew
anything
(
though
submitted
by
Mrs.
Huxtable
to
keen
cross-examination
)
,
except
that
he
was
paid
for
his
errand
,
but
would
like
some
cider
,
and
that
the
answer
was
to
be
written
upon
the
paper
he
brought
.
Whether
any
motive
for
concealment
existed
,
beside
an
excess
of
delicacy
,
or
whether
there
even
was
any
intentional
secresy
,
or
merely
indifference
to
our
gratitude
,
was
more
than
we
could
pretend
to
say
.
I
am
not
at
all
inquisitive
—
not
more
so
,
I
mean
,
than
other
women
—
but
I
need
not
confess
that
my
curiosity
(
to
say
nothing
of
better
feelings
)
was
piqued
a
little
by
this
uncommon
reserve
.
So
now
,
beside
the
engrossing
search
for
my
deadly
enemy
,
I
had
to
seek
out
another
,
my
brave
and
noble
friend
.
CHAPTER
XVIII
.
But
for
the
present
,
curiosity
,
gratitude
,
hate
,
all
feelings
indeed
and
passions
,
except
from
the
bled
vein
of
love
,
and
the
heart-rooted
fibres
of
sorrow
,
were
to
be
crushed
within
me
.
Evening
after
evening
,
my
dear
mother
's
presence
seemed
more
and
more
dreamy
and
shadowy
;
and
night
after
night
she
went
feebler
and
feebler
to
bed
.
In
the
morning
indeed
she
had
gathered
some
fragile
strength
,
such
strength
as
so
wasted
a
form
could
exert
,
and
the
breeze
and
the
fresh
May
sun
made
believe
of
health
on
her
cheeks
.
But
no
more
was
I
tempted
to
lay
my
arm
round
her
waist
,
and
rally
her
on
its
delicate
girlish
span
,
nor
could
I
now
look
gaily
into
her
eyes
,
and
tell
her
how
much
she
excelled
her
child
.
Those
little
liberties
,
which
with
less
than
a
matron
's
dignity
,
and
more
than
a
mother
's
fondness
she
had
so
long
allowed
me
,
became
as
she
still
expected
,
and
I
could
not
bear
to
take
them
,
so
many
great
distresses
.
Even
at
night
,
when
I
twined
in
its
simple
mode
her
soft
brown
hair
,
as
I
thought
how
few
the
times
my
old
task
would
be
needed
again
,
it
cost
me
many
a
shift
to
prevent
her
descrying
my
tears
in
the
glass
,
or
suspecting
them
in
my
voice
.
For
herself
,
she
knew
well
what
was
coming
;
she
had
learned
how
soon
she
must
be
my
sweet
angel
instead
of
my
mother
,
and
her
last
trouble
was
that
she
could
not
bring
me
to
think
the
difference
small
.
So
calmly
she
spoke
of
her
end
,
not
looking
at
me
the
while
for
fear
we
both
should
weep
,
so
gently
and
sweetly
she
talked
of
the
time
when
I
should
hearken
no
more
,
as
if
she
were
going
to
visit
a
garden
and
hand
me
the
flowers
outside
.
Then
,
if
I
broke
forth
in
an
anguish
of
sobs
,
she
would
beg
my
forgiveness
,
as
if
she
could
have
done
wrong
,
and
mourn
for
my
loneliness
after
her
,
as
though
she
could
help
forsaking
me
.
Looking
back
,
even
now
,
on
that
time
,
how
I
condemn
and
yet
pardon
myself
,
reflecting
how
little
I
tried
to
dissemble
my
child-like
woe
.
When
all
things
rejoiced
in
their
young
summer
strength
,
and
scarcely
the
breeze
turned
the
leaves
for
the
songs
of
the
birds
,
and
the
pure
white
hawthorn
was
calm
as
the
death
of
the
good
,
and
the
soul
of
gladness
was
sad
,
we
talked
for
the
last
time
together
,
mother
and
child
,
looking
forth
on
the
farewell
of
sunset
.
The
room
under
the
thatch
smelled
musty
in
summer
,
and
I
had
made
up
a
bed
on
the
sofa
downstairs
.
The
wasting
low
fever
was
past
,
and
the
wearisome
cough
exhausted
,
and
the
flush
had
ebbed
from
her
cheeks
(
as
the
world
from
her
heart
)
,
and
of
all
human
passions
,
and
wishes
,
and
cares
,
not
one
left
a
trace
in
her
bosom
,
except
a
mother
's
love
.
This
and
only
this
retarded
her
flight
to
heaven
,
as
the
sight
of
his
nest
delays
the
rising
of
the
lark
.
"
My
child
,
"
she
began
,
and
her
voice
was
low
,
but
very
distinct
,
"
my
only
and
darling
child
,
who
has
minded
me
so
long
,
and
laid
her
youth
,
and
beauty
,
and
high
courageous
spirit
,
at
the
feet
of
her
weak
mother
;
my
child
,
who
fostered
in
wealth
and
love
,
will
be
to-morrow
an
orphan
,
cast
upon
the
wide
world
"
—
here
she
fairly
broke
down
,
in
spite
of
religion
,
and
heaven
,
and
turned
her
head
to
the
pillow
,
a
true
daughter
and
mother
of
earth
.
I
would
fain
have
given
that
fortune
,
whose
loss
to
me
she
lamented
,
for
leave
to
cry
freely
with
her
,
without
adding
to
her
distress
.
In
a
minute
or
two
,
she
was
able
to
proceed
;
with
her
thin
hand
she
parted
the
hair
shaken
purposely
over
my
eyes
.
"
I
am
sure
that
my
pet
will
listen
,
with
kindness
and
patience
,
while
I
try
to
say
what
has
lain
so
long
at
my
heart
.
You
know
how
painfully
I
have
always
been
moved
by
any
allusion
to
the
death
of
your
dear
father
.
It
has
been
a
weakness
no
doubt
on
my
part
,
but
one
which
I
vainly
strove
against
;
and
for
which
I
trust
to
be
pardoned
where
all
is
pardon
and
peace
.
"
Her
voice
began
to
tremble
,
and
her
eyes
became
fixed
,
and
I
feared
a
return
of
the
old
disorder
;
but
she
shook
it
off
,
and
spoke
again
distinctly
,
though
with
great
labour
:
"
This
is
a
bitter
subject
,
and
I
never
could
bring
myself
to
it
,
till
now
,
when
it
seems
too
late
.
But
,
my
poor
love
,
I
am
so
anxious
about
it
.
For
the
rest
—
that
Providence
which
has
never
forsaken
us
,
repine
as
I
would
,
I
can
trust
that
Providence
still
to
protect
my
darling
child
.
There
is
one
thing
,
and
only
one
,
by
promising
which
you
will
make
my
departure
quite
happy
.
Then
I
shall
go
to
rejoin
your
father
,
and
carry
such
tidings
of
you
,
as
will
enable
us
both
to
wait
,
in
the
fulness
of
time
,
your
coming
.
"
"
Oh
,
that
the
fulness
of
time
were
come
!
"
I
cried
in
my
selfish
loneliness
;
"
for
me
it
is
empty
enough
.
"
"
My
precious
,
my
own
darling
Clara
,
you
sob
so
,
you
make
me
most
wretched
.
"
"
Mother
,
I
will
not
cry
any
more
;
"
neither
did
I
,
while
she
could
see
me
.
"
I
need
not
tell
you
,
"
she
said
,
"
what
is
that
promise
which
I
crave
for
your
own
dear
sake
.
"
"
No
,
ma'am
,
"
I
replied
,
"
I
know
quite
well
what
it
is
.
"
I
saw
that
I
had
grieved
her
.
How
could
I
call
her
then
anything
else
than
"
mother
"
?
"
My
mother
dear
,
you
wish
me
to
promise
this
—
that
I
will
forego
my
revenge
upon
him
who
slew
my
father
.
"
She
bowed
her
head
,
with
a
look
I
cannot
describe
.
In
the
harsh
way
I
had
put
it
,
it
seemed
as
if
she
were
injuring
both
my
father
and
me
.
"
Had
you
asked
me
anything
else
,
although
it
were
sin
against
God
and
man
(
if
you
could
ask
such
a
thing
)
—
I
would
have
pledged
myself
to
it
,
as
gladly
as
I
would
die
—
die
,
at
least
,
if
my
task
were
done
.
But
this
,
this
one
thing
only
—
to
abandon
what
I
live
for
,
what
I
was
born
to
do
,
to
be
a
traitor
to
my
own
father
and
you
—
I
implore
you
,
mother
,
by
Him
whose
glory
is
on
you
now
,
do
not
ask
me
this
.
"
Her
face
in
its
sadness
and
purity
made
me
bury
my
eyes
and
forget
things
.
"
Then
I
must
die
,
and
leave
my
only
child
possessed
with
a
murderer
's
spirit
!
"
The
depth
of
her
last
agony
,
and
which
I
believed
would
cling
to
her
even
in
heaven
,
was
more
than
I
could
bear
.
I
knelt
on
the
floor
and
put
my
hand
to
her
side
.
Her
worn
out
heart
was
throbbing
again
,
with
the
pang
of
her
disappointment
.
"
Mother
,
"
I
cried
,
"
I
will
promise
you
this
.
When
I
have
discovered
,
as
I
must
do
,
that
man
who
has
made
you
a
widow
and
me
an
orphan
,
if
I
find
any
plea
whatever
to
lessen
his
crime
,
or
penitence
to
atone
for
it
,
as
I
hope
to
see
my
father
and
mother
in
heaven
,
I
will
try
to
spare
and
forgive
him
.
Can
you
wish
me
to
rest
in
ignorance
,
and
forget
that
deed
?
"
"
Clara
,
"
she
answered
weakly
,
and
she
spoke
more
slowly
and
feebly
every
time
,
"
you
have
promised
me
all
I
can
hope
for
.
How
you
loved
your
father
!
Me
too
you
have
loved
I
cannot
say
how
much
.
For
my
sake
,
you
have
borne
poverty
,
trouble
,
and
illness
,
without
a
complaining
word
.
By
day
,
and
by
night
,
through
my
countless
wants
,
and
long
fretfulness
.
"
I
put
my
finger
upon
her
pale
lips
.
How
could
she
tell
such
a
story
then
?
Her
tears
came
now
and
then
,
and
would
not
be
stopped
,
as
she
laid
her
weak
hand
on
my
head
.
"
May
the
God
of
the
fatherless
and
the
poor
,
who
knows
and
comforts
the
widow
's
grief
,
the
God
who
is
taking
me
now
to
His
bosom
,
bless
with
all
blessings
of
earth
and
heaven
,
and
restore
to
me
this
my
child
.
"
A
sudden
happiness
fell
upon
her
,
as
if
she
had
seen
her
prayer
's
acceptance
.
She
let
her
arms
fall
round
me
,
and
laid
my
cheek
by
the
side
of
her
bright
flowing
smile
.
It
was
the
last
conscious
stir
of
the
mind
;
all
the
rest
seemed
the
flush
of
the
soul
.
In
the
window
the
night-scented
heath
was
blooming
;
outside
it
,
the
jessamine
crossed
in
a
milky
way
of
white
stars
,
and
the
lush
honeysuckle
had
flung
down
her
lap
in
clusters
.
The
fragrance
of
flowers
lay
heavy
upon
us
,
and
we
were
sore
weary
with
the
burden
of
sorrow
and
joy
.
So
tranquil
and
kind
was
the
face
of
death
,
that
sleep
,
his
half-brother
,
still
held
his
hand
.
The
voice
of
the
thrush
,
from
the
corner
laurel
,
broke
the
holy
stillness
.
Like
dreams
of
home
that
break
our
slumbers
,
his
melody
was
its
own
excuse
.
My
mother
awoke
,
and
said
faintly
,
with
no
gleam
in
her
eyes
:
"
Raise
me
upon
the
pillow
,
my
love
,
that
I
may
hear
him
once
more
.
He
sings
like
one
your
father
and
I
used
to
listen
to
every
evening
,
in
the
days
when
we
watched
your
cradle
.
"
I
lifted
her
gently
.
The
voice
of
nature
made
way
for
her
passing
spirit
.
"
Now
kiss
me
,
my
child
;
once
more
,
my
own
loved
child
,
my
heart
is
with
you
for
ever
.
Light
of
my
eyes
,
you
are
growing
dim
.
"
She
clasped
her
hands
in
prayer
,
with
one
of
mine
between
them
.
My
other
was
round
her
neck
.
Then
she
spoke
slowly
,
and
with
a
waning
voice
;
but
firmly
,
as
if
it
had
been
her
marriage-response
.
"
Thou
art
my
guide
,
and
my
staff
.
I
have
no
fear
,
neither
shadow
of
trembling
.
Make
no
long
tarrying
,
oh
my
God
!
"
The
bird
went
home
to
his
nest
,
and
she
to
that
refuge
where
all
is
home
.
Though
the
hands
that
held
mine
grew
cold
as
ice
,
and
her
lips
replied
to
no
kiss
,
and
the
smile
on
her
face
slept
off
into
stillness
,
and
a
grey
shade
crept
on
her
features
;
—
I
could
not
believe
that
all
this
was
death
.
BOOK
II
.
CHAPTER
I
.
"
Long-shadowed
death
,
"
some
poet
says
.
How
well
I
know
and
feel
it
!
the
gloom
before
him
deepening
as
he
comes
,
and
the
world
of
darkness
stretching
many
years
behind
.
I
once
dared
to
believe
that
no
earthly
blow
could
ever
subdue
,
or
even
bend
my
resolute
will
.
I
now
found
my
mistake
,
and
cared
not
even
to
think
about
it
.
On
the
morning
after
my
mother
's
death
I
wandered
about
,
and
could
not
tell
where
to
go
.
The
passionate
clinging
which
would
not
allow
me
,
during
that
blank
and
sleepless
night
,
to
quit
what
remained
of
her
presence
,
and
the
jealous
despair
which
felt
it
a
wrong
that
any
one
else
should
approach
,
had
now
settled
down
to
a
languid
heaviness
,
and
all
that
I
cared
for
was
to
be
let
alone
.
All
the
places
where
we
had
been
together
I
visited
now
,
without
knowing
why
,
perhaps
it
was
to
see
if
she
were
there
.
Then
vaguely
disappointed
,
I
thought
there
must
be
some
mistake
,
and
wearily
went
the
dreary
round
again
.
I
cannot
clearly
call
to
mind
,
but
think
it
must
have
been
that
day
,
when
I
was
in
the
corner
of
the
room
,
looking
at
the
place
whence
they
had
taken
dear
mother
.
Ann
Maples
and
Mrs.
Huxtable
came
in
,
followed
by
the
farmer
,
who
had
left
his
shoes
at
the
door
.
They
did
not
see
me
,
so
I
suppose
it
must
have
been
in
the
evening
.
They
were
come
to
remove
the
sofa
.
I
have
not
the
heart
to
follow
their
brogue
.
"
Yes
to
be
sure
,
"
said
Mrs.
Huxtable
,
looking
at
it
with
a
short
sigh
.
It
was
odd
that
it
should
strike
me
then
,
but
all
she
did
was
short
.
"
Get
it
out
of
her
sight
,
poor
dear
,
"
said
Ann
Maples
.
"
To
see
her
sit
and
look
at
it
!
"
exclaimed
the
farmer
's
wife
.
"
With
her
eyes
so
dry
and
stupid
like
!
"
returned
the
other
.
"
Poor
child
,
she
must
have
cried
herself
out
.
I
have
known
her
sit
by
the
hour
,
and
stare
at
the
bed
where
her
father
was
killed
,
but
it
was
a
different
sort
of
look
to
this
.
"
"
Ah
well
,
she
has
lost
a
good
mother
,
"
said
Dame
Huxtable
.
"
God
grant
my
poor
little
chicks
may
never
be
left
like
her
.
"
"
What
's
your
children
to
talk
of
along
with
Miss
Clara
?
"
asked
my
nurse
.
Mrs.
Huxtable
was
about
to
answer
sharply
,
but
checked
herself
,
and
only
said
:
"
All
children
is
much
of
a
muchness
to
their
mothers
.
"
"
Do
n't
tell
me
,
"
cried
Ann
Maples
,
who
had
never
had
any
.
The
farmer
came
between
them
,
walking
on
tip-toe
.
"
For
good
,
now
,
do
n't
ye
fall
out
at
such
a
time
as
this
here
.
What
's
our
affairs
to
speak
of
now
?
"
"
What
's
any
folks
,
"
asked
Mrs.
Huxtable
,
"
that
has
the
breath
of
life
?
"
"
And
goes
forth
in
the
morning
,
and
is
cast
into
the
oven
,
ma'am
,
"
continued
her
antagonist
.
"
Ah
,
bless
thee
,
yes
!
"
the
farmer
replied
,
"
I
'll
take
my
gospel
oath
of
it
.
It
's
not
much
good
I
am
at
parsoning
,
and
maybe
I
likes
a
drop
of
drink
when
the
weather
is
fitty
;
but
that
young
chestnut
filly
that
's
just
come
home
from
breaking
,
I
'd
sell
her
to
a
gipsey
,
and
trust
him
for
the
money
,
if
so
be
'
twould
make
the
young
lady
turn
her
face
to
the
Lord
.
Ca
n't
ye
speak
to
her
now
about
it
,
either
of
you
women
?
Doo'e
now
,
doo'e
.
"
"
How
could
I
possible
?
"
his
wife
exclaimed
;
"
why
,
farmer
,
you
must
be
mazed
.
A
high
young
lady
like
that
,
and
the
tears
still
hot
in
her
eyes
!
"
"
The
very
reason
,
wife
,
the
very
time
and
reason
.
But
likely
Mrs.
Maples
would
be
the
proper
person
.
"
"
Thank
you
,
sir
,
"
my
nurse
replied
,
"
Mrs.
Maples
knows
good
manners
a
little
.
Thank
you
,
sir
;
Mrs.
Maples
was
n't
born
in
Devonshire
.
"
"
I
ask
your
pardon
,
ma'am
,
"
said
the
farmer
,
much
abashed
,
"
I
humbly
ask
your
pardon
;
I
was
n't
taught
no
better
.
I
can
only
go
by
what
I
have
seen
,
and
what
seems
to
come
inside
of
me
.
And
I
know
,
in
our
way
of
business
,
when
a
calf
is
weaned
from
the
mother
,
the
poor
beastess
hath
a
call
for
some
one
else
to
feed
it
.
Maybe
it
's
no
harm
to
let
her
have
the
refusal
.
"
Therewith
he
opened
my
mother
's
Bible
,
and
placed
it
reverently
on
the
window-seat
.
"
Waife
,
do'e
mind
the
time
as
poor
Aunt
Betsy
died
,
over
there
to
Rowley
Mires
?
"
"
For
sure
I
do
,
but
what
have
her
got
to
do
with
it
?
Us
must
n't
talk
of
her
,
I
reckon
,
any
more
than
of
the
chillers
,
though
us
be
so
unlucky
as
to
be
born
in
Devonshire
.
Fie
,
fie
,
thee
ought
to
know
better
than
to
talk
of
poor
Aunt
Betsy
along
of
a
lady
,
and
before
our
betters
.
"
Here
she
curtsied
to
Ann
Maples
,
with
a
flash
of
light
in
her
eyes
,
and
rubbing
them
hard
with
her
apron
.
"
Well
,
well
,
"
replied
the
farmer
,
sadly
,
"
mayhap
so
I
did
.
And
who
be
I
to
gainsay
?
Mayhap
so
I
did
;
"
he
dropped
his
voice
,
but
added
,
after
some
reflection
,
"
It
be
hard
to
tell
the
rights
of
it
;
but
sure
her
were
a
woman
.
"
"
Who
said
her
were
a
man
,
thee
zany
?
"
Mrs.
Huxtable
was
disappointed
that
the
case
would
not
be
argued
.
The
farmer
discreetly
changed
the
subject
.
"
Now
,
if
it
was
me
,
"
he
continued
,
"
I
would
n't
think
of
taking
this
here
settle-bed
away
from
the
poor
thing
.
"
"
Why
not
,
farmer
?
"
asked
Mrs.
Huxtable
,
sharply
.
"
Give
me
a
reason
for
leaving
it
,
and
I
'll
give
you
ten
for
taking
it
.
"
"
I
ca
n't
give
no
reasons
.
But
maybe
it
comforts
her
a
little
.
"
"
Comfort
indeed
!
"
said
his
wife
;
"
breaks
her
heart
with
,
crying
,
more
likely
.
Come
,
lend
a
hand
,
old
heavy-strap
;
what
can
a
great
dromedary
like
thee
know
about
young
wenches
?
"
At
any
rate
he
knew
more
than
she
did
.
The
moment
they
touched
it
I
burst
forth
from
my
corner
,
and
flung
myself
upon
it
,
rolling
as
if
I
would
bury
myself
in
the
ecstasy
of
anguish
.
What
they
did
I
cannot
tell
;
they
might
say
what
they
liked
,
I
had
not
cried
till
then
.
The
next
day
I
was
sitting
stupified
and
heavy
,
trying
once
more
to
meet
the
necessity
of
thinking
about
my
mother
's
funeral
;
but
again
and
again
,
the
weakness
of
sorrow
fell
away
from
the
subject
.
The
people
of
the
house
kept
from
me
.
Mrs.
Huxtable
had
done
her
best
,
but
they
knew
I
would
rather
be
alone
.
The
door
was
opened
quietly
,
and
some
one
entered
in
a
stealthy
manner
.
Regarding
it
as
an
intrusion
,
I
would
not
look
that
way
.
"
Miss
Clara
dear
,
"
began
the
farmer
,
standing
behind
me
,
and
whispering
,
"
I
humbly
ask
your
pardon
,
Miss
,
for
calling
you
that
same
.
But
we
have
had
a
wonderful
fine
season
,
sure
enough
.
"
I
made
him
no
answer
,
being
angry
at
his
ill-timed
common-place
.
"
If
you
please
,
Miss
,
such
a
many
lambs
was
never
known
afore
,
and
turnips
fine
last
winter
,
and
corn
,
and
hay
,
and
every
kind
of
stock
,
a
fetching
of
such
prices
.
The
farmers
about
here
has
made
their
fortune
mainly
.
"
"
I
am
glad
to
hear
that
you
are
so
prosperous
,
Mr.
Huxtable
,
"
I
answered
,
very
coldly
.
"
Yes
fie
,
good
times
,
Miss
,
wonderful
good
times
,
we
do
n't
know
what
to
do
with
our
money
a'rnost
.
"
"
Buy
education
and
good
taste
,
"
I
said
,
"
instead
of
thrusting
your
happiness
upon
such
as
I
.
"
How
little
I
knew
him
!
Shall
I
ever
forgive
myself
that
speech
?
"
Ah
,
I
wish
I
could
,
"
he
answered
,
sadly
,
"
I
wish
with
all
my
heart
I
could
.
But
we
must
be
born
to
the
like
of
that
,
I
am
afeared
,
Miss
Vaughan
.
"
Poor
fellow
!
he
knew
nothing
of
irony
,
as
we
do
,
who
are
born
to
good
taste
,
otherwise
I
might
have
suspected
him
of
it
then
.
He
suddenly
wished
me
"
good
evening
,
"
although
it
was
middle-day
,
and
then
he
made
off
for
the
door
,
but
came
back
again
with
a
desperate
resolve
,
and
spoke
,
for
him
,
very
quickly
,
looking
all
the
time
at
his
feet
.
"
There
,
I
ca
n't
make
head
or
tail
of
it
,
Miss
Clara
,
but
wife
said
I
was
to
do
it
so
.
Take
the
danged
money
,
that
's
a
dear
,
and
for
good
now
do
n't
be
offended
,
for
I
cas'n
help
it
.
"
He
opened
his
great
hand
,
which
was
actually
shaking
,
and
hurriedly
placed
on
the
sofa
a
small
packet
tied
in
the
leaf
of
a
copy
book
;
then
suddenly
put
in
mind
of
something
,
he
made
a
dive
,
and
snatching
it
up
,
flung
it
upon
a
Windsor
chair
.
It
fell
with
a
chink
,
the
string
slipped
off
,
and
out
rolled
at
least
forty
sovereigns
and
guineas
,
and
a
number
of
crown-pieces
.
Peremptorily
I
called
him
back
,
for
he
was
running
out
of
the
door
.
"
Mr.
Huxtable
,
what
is
the
meaning
of
this
?
"
"
Meaning
,
Miss
!
Lord
bless
you
,
Miss
Clara
,
there
bai
n't
no
meaning
of
it
;
only
it
corned
into
my
head
last
night
,
as
I
was
laying
awake
,
humbly
asking
your
pardon
,
Miss
,
for
that
same
,
that
if
so
be
you
should
desire
,
that
the
dear
good
lady
herself
might
like
,
if
I
may
make
so
bold
,
meaning
that
it
is
n't
fitly
like
,
that
she
should
lay
nowhere
else
,
but
alongside
of
her
own
husband
,
till
death
do
them
part
,
Mr.
Henry
Valentine
Vaughan
,
Esquire
,
Vaughan
Park
,
in
the
county
of
Gloucestershire
.
There
I
be
as
bad
as
Beany
Dawe
.
"
He
repeated
his
rhyme
,
with
some
relief
,
hoping
to
change
the
subject
.
I
caught
him
by
both
hands
,
and
burst
into
tears
.
"
Do
n't
ye
now
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
thickness
in
his
voice
,
"
do
n't
ye
now
,
my
dearie
,
leastways
unless
it
does
you
good
.
"
"
It
does
me
good
,
indeed
,
"
I
sobbed
,
"
to
find
still
in
the
world
so
kind
a
heart
as
yours
.
"
Though
I
longed
to
look
him
in
the
face
,
I
knew
that
I
must
not
do
so
.
Oh
why
are
men
so
ashamed
of
manly
tears
?
Perceiving
that
I
could
not
speak
,
he
began
to
talk
for
both
of
us
,
making
a
hundred
blundering
apologies
,
trying
to
hide
his
knowledge
of
my
poverty
,
and
to
prove
that
he
was
only
paying
a
debt
which
extended
over
many
years
of
tenancy
.
He
was
not
at
all
an
imaginative
man
,
but
delicacy
supplied
him
with
invention
.
So
deep
a
sense
pervades
all
classes
in
this
English
country
,
that
want
of
money
is
an
indictment
,
which
none
but
the
culprit
may
sign
.
Poor
or
rich
,
I
should
not
be
worth
despising
,
if
I
had
shown
the
paltry
pride
of
declining
such
a
loan
.
The
tears
came
anew
to
my
eyes
when
I
found
that
what
had
been
brought
so
freely
was
the
savings
of
years
of
honest
toil
,
a
truth
which
the
owners
had
tried
to
conceal
by
polishing
the
old
coin
.
But
not
being
skilled
,
dear
souls
,
in
plate-cleaning
,
they
had
left
some
rotten-stone
adhering
to
the
George
and
Dragons
.
CHAPTER
II
.
Although
I
find
a
sad
pleasure
in
lingering
over
these
times
,
with
such
a
history
still
impending
,
I
cannot
afford
the
indulgence
.
Dear
mother
's
simple
funeral
took
me
once
more
to
my
native
place
.
Even
without
Mr.
Huxtable
's
generous
and
noble
assistance
,
I
should
have
laid
her
to
rest
by
the
side
of
the
husband
she
loved
so
well
.
But
difficulties
,
sore
to
encounter
at
such
a
time
,
would
have
met
me
on
every
side
.
Moreover
the
kind
act
cheered
and
led
me
through
despondency
,
like
the
hand
and
face
of
God
.
Caring
little
what
people
might
say
or
think
,
I
could
not
stay
at
a
distance
.
Nature
told
me
that
it
was
my
duty
to
go
,
and
duty
or
not
,
I
could
not
stay
away
.
And
now
for
the
last
time
I
look
on
the
face
and
form
of
my
mother
.
That
which
I
have
played
,
and
talked
,
and
laughed
with
,
though
lately
not
much
of
laughter
,
that
which
has
fed
and
cared
for
me
,
till
it
needed
my
care
in
turn
;
that
which
I
have
toddled
beside
,
or
proudly
run
in
front
of
;
whose
arms
have
been
round
me
whenever
I
wept
,
and
whose
bosom
the
haven
of
childhood
's
storms
;
first
to
greet
me
with
smiles
in
the
morning
,
and
last
to
bless
me
with
tears
at
night
;
ever
loving
,
and
never
complaining
—
in
one
word
for
a
thousand
,
my
mother
.
So
far
away
now
,
so
hopelessly
far
away
!
There
it
lies
indeed
,
I
can
touch
it
,
kiss
it
,
and
embrace
it
;
but
oh
how
small
a
part
of
mother
!
and
even
that
part
is
not
mine
.
So
holy
and
calm
it
lies
,
such
loving
kindness
still
upon
its
features
,
so
near
me
,
but
in
mystery
so
hopelessly
far
away
!
I
can
see
it
,
but
it
never
will
know
me
again
;
I
may
die
beside
it
,
and
it
cannot
weep
.
The
last
last
look
of
all
on
earth
—
they
must
have
carried
me
away
.
I
remember
tottering
down
the
hill
,
supported
by
a
stalwart
arm
.
The
approach
to
the
house
prevented
—
or
something
.
Two
children
ran
before
me
,
stopping
now
and
then
to
wonder
,
and
straggling
to
pick
hedge-flowers
.
One
of
them
brought
me
a
bunch
,
then
stared
,
and
was
afraid
to
offer
them
.
"
Nancy
,
I
'll
be
the
death
of
thee
,
"
whispered
a
woman
's
voice
.
The
little
girl
shrunk
to
me
for
shelter
,
with
timid
tears
in
her
great
blue
eyes
.
So
I
took
her
hand
,
and
led
her
on
,
and
somehow
it
did
me
good
.
At
intervals
,
the
funeral
hymn
,
which
they
sing
on
the
road
to
the
grave
,
fell
solemnly
on
our
ears
.
Some
one
from
time
to
time
gave
out
the
words
of
a
verse
and
then
it
was
sung
to
a
simple
impressive
tune
.
That
ancient
hymn
,
which
has
drowned
so
many
sobs
,
I
did
not
hear
,
but
felt
it
.
We
arrived
at
Vaughan
St.
Mary
late
in
the
afternoon
of
the
second
day
.
The
whole
of
the
journey
was
to
me
a
long
and
tearful
dream
.
Mr.
Huxtable
came
with
us
.
He
had
never
before
been
further
from
home
than
Exeter
;
and
his
single
visit
to
that
city
had
formed
the
landmark
of
his
life
.
He
never
tried
to
comfort
me
as
the
others
did
.
The
ignorant
man
knew
better
.
Alone
I
sat
by
my
father
's
grave
,
with
my
mother
's
ready
before
my
feet
.
They
had
cast
the
mould
on
the
other
side
,
so
as
not
to
move
my
father
's
coverlet
.
The
poor
old
pensioner
had
been
true
to
her
promise
,
and
man
's
last
garden
was
blooming
like
his
first
flower-bed
.
My
mind
(
if
any
I
had
)
seemed
to
have
undergone
some
change
.
Defiance
,
and
pride
,
and
savage
delight
in
misery
,
were
entirely
gone
;
and
depression
had
taken
the
place
of
dejection
.
Death
now
seemed
to
me
the
usual
and
proper
condition
of
things
,
and
I
felt
it
an
impertinence
that
I
should
still
be
alive
.
So
I
waited
,
with
heavy
composure
,
till
she
should
be
brought
,
who
so
often
had
walked
there
with
me
.
At
length
she
was
coming
for
good
and
all
,
and
a
space
was
left
for
me
.
But
I
must
not
repose
there
yet
;
I
had
still
my
task
before
me
.
The
bell
was
tolling
faster
,
and
the
shadows
growing
longer
,
and
the
children
who
had
been
playing
at
hide-and-seek
,
where
soon
themselves
shall
be
sought
in
vain
,
had
flitted
away
from
sight
,
perhaps
scared
at
my
presence
,
perhaps
gone
home
to
tea
,
to
enjoy
the
funeral
afterwards
.
The
evening
wind
had
ceased
from
troubling
the
yews
,
and
the
short-lived
songs
of
the
birds
were
done
.
The
place
was
as
sad
as
I
could
wish
.
The
smell
of
new
earth
inspired
,
as
it
always
does
,
some
unsearchable
everlasting
sympathy
between
the
material
and
the
creature
.
The
sun
was
setting
behind
me
:
suddenly
a
shadow
eclipsed
my
own
upon
the
red
loam
across
the
open
grave
.
Without
a
start
,
and
dreamily
(
as
I
did
all
things
now
)
,
I
turned
to
see
whence
it
came
.
Within
a
yard
of
me
stood
Mr.
Edgar
Vaughan
.
In
a
moment
the
old
feeling
was
at
my
heart
,
and
my
wits
were
all
awake
.
I
observed
that
he
was
paler
than
when
I
had
seen
him
last
,
and
the
rigid
look
was
wavering
on
his
face
,
like
steel
reflected
by
water
.
He
lifted
his
hat
to
me
.
I
neither
rose
nor
spoke
,
but
turned
and
watched
him
.
"
Clara
,
"
he
said
in
a
low
,
earnest
voice
,
"
I
see
you
are
still
the
same
.
Will
no
depth
of
grief
,
no
length
of
time
,
no
visitation
from
Him
who
is
over
us
all
,
ever
bend
your
adamant
and
implacable
will
?
"
I
heard
,
with
some
surprise
,
his
allusion
to
the
Great
Being
,
whom
he
was
not
wont
to
recognise
;
but
I
made
him
no
reply
.
"
Very
well
,
"
he
resumed
,
with
the
ancient
chill
hardening
over
his
features
;
"
so
then
let
it
be
.
I
am
not
come
to
offer
you
condolence
,
which
you
would
despise
;
nor
do
I
mean
to
be
present
when
you
would
account
the
sight
of
me
an
insult
.
And
yet
I
loved
your
mother
,
Clara
;
I
loved
her
very
truly
.
"
This
he
said
with
such
emotion
,
that
a
new
thought
broke
upon
me
.
Quick
as
the
thought
,
he
asked
,
"
Would
you
know
who
killed
your
father
?
"
"
And
my
mother
,
too
,
"
I
answered
,
"
whose
coffin
I
see
coming
.
"
The
funeral
turned
the
corner
of
the
lane
,
and
the
dust
rose
from
the
bearers
'
feet
.
He
took
his
hat
off
,
and
the
perspiration
stood
upon
his
forehead
.
Betwixt
suspense
and
terror
,
and
the
wildness
of
grief
,
I
was
obliged
to
lean
on
the
headstone
for
support
,
and
a
giddiness
came
over
me
.
When
I
raised
my
eyes
again
,
there
was
no
one
near
me
.
In
vain
I
wiped
them
hurriedly
and
looked
again
.
Mr.
Vaughan
was
gone
;
but
on
the
grass
at
my
feet
lay
a
folded
letter
.
I
seized
it
quickly
,
and
broke
the
seal
.
That
moment
a
white
figure
appeared
between
the
yew-trees
by
the
porch
.
It
was
the
aged
minister
leading
my
mother
the
last
path
of
all
.
The
book
was
in
his
hand
,
and
his
form
was
tall
and
stately
,
and
his
step
so
slow
,
that
the
white
hair
fell
unruffled
,
while
the
grand
words
on
his
lips
called
majesty
into
his
gaze
.
Thrusting
aside
the
letter
,
I
followed
into
the
Church
,
and
stood
behind
the
old
font
where
I
had
been
baptized
;
a
dark
and
gloomy
nook
,
fit
for
such
an
entrance
.
She
who
had
carried
me
there
was
carried
past
it
now
,
and
the
pall
waved
in
the
damp
cold
air
,
and
all
the
world
seemed
stone
and
mould
.
But
afterwards
,
on
the
fair
hill-side
,
while
the
faint
moon
gathered
power
from
the
deepening
sky
,
and
glancing
on
that
hoary
brow
sealed
the
immortal
promises
and
smoothed
the
edges
of
the
grave
,
around
which
bent
the
uncovered
heads
of
many
who
had
mourned
before
,
and
after
a
few
bounds
of
mirth
should
bend
again
in
mourning
,
until
in
earth
's
fair
turn
and
turn
,
others
should
bend
and
they
lie
down
—
beholding
this
,
and
feeling
something
higher
than
"
dust
to
dust
,
"
I
grew
content
to
bide
my
time
with
the
other
children
of
men
,
and
remembered
that
no
wave
can
break
until
it
reach
the
shore
.
CHAPTER
III
.
When
a
long
and
heavy
sleep
(
my
first
sleep
since
dear
mother
's
death
)
had
brought
me
down
to
the
dull
plain
of
life
,
I
read
for
the
first
time
the
letter
so
strangely
delivered
.
Even
then
it
seemed
unkind
to
my
mother
that
I
should
think
about
it
.
Mr.
Vaughan
had
placed
it
in
a
new
envelope
,
which
he
had
sealed
with
his
own
ring
,
the
original
cover
(
if
any
there
were
)
having
been
removed
.
The
few
words
,
of
which
it
consisted
,
were
written
in
a
clear
round
hand
,
upon
a
sheet
of
thin
tough
paper
,
such
as
we
use
for
foreign
postage
,
and
folded
in
a
peculiar
manner
.
There
was
nothing
remarkable
in
the
writing
,
except
this
,
that
the
words
as
well
as
the
letters
were
joined
.
It
was
as
follows
:
"
The
one
who
slain
your
brother
is
at
19
Grove
Street
London
.
You
will
come
in
danger
of
it
why
you
know
.
"
No
date
,
no
signature
,
no
stops
,
except
as
shown
above
.
In
short
,
it
was
so
dark
and
vague
,
that
I
returned
to
Devonshire
,
with
a
resolution
to
disregard
it
wholly
.
When
we
reached
the
foot
of
the
hill
,
at
the
corner
of
the
narrow
lane
which
leads
to
Tossil
's
Barton
,
and
where
the
white
gate
stands
of
which
the
neighbourhood
is
so
proud
,
a
sudden
scream
was
heard
,
and
a
rush
made
upon
us
from
behind
the
furze-bush
.
The
farmer
received
the
full
brunt
of
a
most
vigorous
onset
,
and
the
number
and
courage
of
the
enemy
making
up
for
their
want
of
size
,
his
strong
bastions
were
almost
carried
by
storm
.
To
the
cry
of
"
Daddy
!
Daddy
's
come
home
!
"
half
a
dozen
urchins
and
more
,
without
distinction
of
sex
,
jumped
and
tugged
and
flung
and
clung
around
him
,
with
no
respect
whatever
for
his
Sunday
coat
,
or
brass-buttoned
gaiters
.
Taking
advantage
of
his
laughing
,
they
pulled
his
legs
this
way
and
that
,
as
if
he
were
skating
for
the
first
time
,
and
little
Sally
(
his
favourite
)
swarming
up
,
made
a
base
foot-rope
of
the
great
ancestral
silver
watch-chain
whose
mysterious
awe
sometimes
sufficed
to
keep
her
eyes
half
open
in
church
.
Betwixt
delight
and
shame
,
the
poor
father
was
so
dreadfully
taken
aback
,
that
he
could
not
tell
what
to
do
,
till
fatherly
love
suggested
the
only
escape
.
He
lifted
them
one
by
one
to
his
lips
,
and
after
some
hearty
smacks
sent
all
(
except
the
baby
)
sliding
down
his
back
.
While
all
this
was
going
forward
,
the
good
dame
,
with
a
clean
apron
on
,
kept
herself
in
the
background
,
curtseying
and
trying
to
look
sad
at
me
,
but
too
much
carried
away
to
succeed
.
Her
plump
cheeks
left
but
little
room
for
tears
,
yet
I
thought
one
tried
to
find
a
road
from
either
eye
.
When
the
burst
was
nearly
done
,
she
felt
(
like
a
true
woman
)
for
me
so
lonely
in
all
this
love
,
though
I
could
not
help
enjoying
it
;
and
so
she
tried
to
laugh
at
it
.
For
a
long
time
after
this
,
the
farmer
was
admired
and
consulted
by
all
the
neighbouring
parishes
,
as
a
man
who
had
seen
the
world
.
His
labourers
,
also
,
one
man
and
a
boy
,
for
a
fortnight
called
him
"
Sir
,
"
a
great
discomfort
to
him
;
more
than
this
,
some
letters
were
brought
for
him
to
interpret
,
and
Beany
Dawe
became
unduly
jealous
.
But
in
this
,
as
in
most
other
matters
,
things
came
to
their
level
,
and
when
it
was
slowly
discovered
that
the
farmer
was
just
the
same
,
his
neighbours
showed
much
disappointment
,
and
even
some
contempt
.
It
was
not
long
before
the
thought
of
that
letter
,
which
had
been
laid
by
so
scornfully
,
began
to
work
within
me
.
Again
and
again
,
as
time
wore
on
,
and
the
deep
barb
of
sorrow
darkly
rusted
away
,
it
came
home
to
me
as
a
sin
,
that
I
was
neglecting
a
special
guidance
.
Moreover
,
my
reason
for
staying
in
Devonshire
was
gone
,
and
as
my
spirit
recovered
its
tone
,
it
could
not
put
up
with
inaction
.
Three
months
after
our
return
,
one
breezy
afternoon
in
August
,
when
the
heath
had
long
succeeded
the
gorse
and
broom
upon
the
cleve
,
and
the
children
were
searching
for
"
wuts
"
and
half-kerneled
nuts
,
I
sat
on
a
fallen
tree
,
where
a
break
in
the
copse
made
a
frame
for
one
of
our
favourite
views
.
Of
late
I
had
been
trying
to
take
some
sketches
in
water-colours
of
what
my
mother
and
I
had
so
often
admired
together
,
and
this
had
been
kept
for
the
last
.
Wild
as
the
scheme
may
appear
to
all
who
know
the
world
and
its
high
contempt
for
woman
's
skill
,
I
had
some
hope
of
earning
money
in
London
by
the
pencil
,
and
was
doing
my
utmost
to
advance
in
art
.
Also
,
I
wished
to
take
away
with
me
some
memorials
of
a
time
comparatively
happy
.
Little
Sally
Huxtable
,
a
dear
little
child
,
now
my
chief
companion
,
had
strayed
into
the
wood
to
string
more
strawberry
beads
on
her
spike
of
grass
,
for
the
wood
strawberries
here
last
almost
to
the
equinox
;
and
I
had
just
roughed
in
my
outline
,
and
was
correcting
the
bold
strokes
,
by
nature
's
soft
gradations
;
when
suddenly
through
a
cobnut
bush
,
and
down
the
steep
bank
at
my
side
,
came
,
in
a
sliding
canter
,
a
magnificent
red
deer
.
He
passed
so
close
before
me
,
with
antlers
,
like
a
varnished
crabstick
,
russet
in
the
sun
,
that
I
could
have
touched
his
brown
flank
with
my
pencil
.
Being
in
no
hurry
or
fright
whatever
,
he
regarded
me
from
his
large
deep
eyes
with
a
look
of
courteous
interest
,
a
dignified
curiosity
too
well
bred
for
words
;
and
then
,
as
if
with
an
evening
of
pleasant
business
before
him
,
trotted
away
through
the
podded
wild
broom
on
the
left
.
Before
I
had
time
to
call
him
back
,
which
,
with
a
childish
impulse
,
I
was
about
to
do
,
the
nutbush
where
he
had
entered
moved
again
,
and
,
laughing
at
his
own
predicament
on
the
steep
descent
,
a
young
man
leaped
and
landed
in
the
bramble
at
my
feet
.
Before
me
stood
the
one
whom
we
had
so
often
longed
to
thank
.
But
at
sight
of
me
,
his
countenance
changed
entirely
.
The
face
,
so
playful
just
before
,
suddenly
