’Idon’tknowwhatyoucallslow,MrCrawley。IwaseversomuchovertwohourscomingherefromBarchester。Hestumbledalmostateverystep。’
’Didhefallwhileyouwereonhim?’askedthemajor。
’Indeedhedid,sir。Youneversawsuchathing,MajorGrantly。Lookhere。’ThenMrThumble,turninground,showedthattherearportionofhisclotheshadnotescapedwithoutinjury。
’Itwaswellthathewasnotgoingfast,oryouwouldhavecomeontoyourhead,’saidGrantly。
’Itwasamercy,’saidThumble。’But,sir,asitwas,Icametothegroundwithmuchviolence。ItwasonSpigglewickHill,wheretheroadiscoveredwithloosestones。Isee,sir,youhaveagigandhorsehere,withaservant。Perhaps,asthecircumstancesaresoverypeculiar——’
ThenMrThumblestopped,andlookedupintothemajor’sfacewithimploringeyes。Butthemajorhadnotendernessforsuchsufferings。
’I’msorrytosaythatIamgoingquitetheotherway,’hesaid。’IamreturningtoSilverbridge。’
MrThumblehesitated,andthenmadearenewedrequest。’IfyouwouldnotmindtakingmetoSilverbridge,Icouldgethomefromthencebyrailway;andperhapsyouwouldallowyourservanttotakethehorsetoBarchester。’
MajorGrantlywasforamomentdumbfounded。’Therequestismostunreasonable,sir。’saidMrCrawley。
’ThatisasMajorGrantlypleasestolookatit,’saidMrThumble。
’Iamsorrytosaythatitisquiteoutofmypower,’saidthemajor。
’Youcansurelywalk,leadingthebeast,ifyoufeartomounthim,’saidMrCrawley。
’IshalldoasIpleaseaboutthat,’saidMrThumble。’And,MrCrawley,ifyouwillhavethekindnesstoleavethingsintheparishjustastheyare——justastheyare,Iwillbeobligedtoyou。Itisthebishop’swishthatyoushouldtouchnothing。’MrThumblewasbythistimeonthestep,andMrCrawleyinstantlyslammedthedoor。’ThegentlemanisaclergymanfromBarchester,’saidMrCrawley,modestlyfoldinghishandsuponhisbreast,’whomthebishophassentoverheretotakeuponhimselftemporarilytheservicesofthechurch,anditappears,thedutiesalsooftheparish。Irefrainfromanimadvertinguponhislordship’schoice。’
’AndyouareleavingHogglestock?’
’WhenIhavefoundashelterformywifeandchildrenIshalldoso;
nay,peradventure,Imustdosobeforeanysuchsheltercanbefound。I
shallproceedinthatmatterasIambid。Iamonewhocanregardmyselfasnolongerpossessingtheprivilegeoffreeactioninanything。ButwhileIhavearoomatyourservice,permitmetoaskyoutoenterit。’
ThenMrCrawleymotionedhiminwithhishand,andMajorGrantlyfoundhimselfinthepresenceofMrsCrawleyandheryoungerdaughter。
Helookedatthembothforamoment,andcouldtracemuchofthelinesofthatfacewhichhelovedsowell。Butthetroublesoflifehadalmostrobbedtheelderladyofherbeauty;andwiththeyounger,theawkwardthinnessofthelastyearsoffemininechildhoodhadnotyetgivenplacetothefulfilmentoffemininegrace。Butthelikenessineachwasquiteenoughtomakehimfeelthatheoughttobeathomeinthatroom。Hethoughtthathecouldlovethewomanashismother,andthegirlashissister。Hefounditverydifficulttobeginanyconversationintheirpresence,andyetitseemedtobehisdutytobegin。MrCrawleyhadmarshalledhimintotheroom,andhavingdoneso,stoodasidenearthedoor。MrsCrawleyhadreceivedhimverygraciously,andhavingdoneso,seemedtobeashamedofherownhospitality。PoorJanehadshrunkbackintoadistantcorner,neartheopenstandingdeskatwhichshewasaccustomedtoreadGreektoherfather,and,ofcourse,couldnotbeexpectedtospeak。IfMajorGrantlycouldhavefoundhimselfalonewithanyoneofthethree——nay,ifhecouldhavebeentherewithanytwo,hecouldhaveopenedhisbudgetatonce;but,beforeallthefamily,hefeltthedifficultyofhissituation。’MrsCrawley,’saidhe,’Ihavebeenmostanxioustomakeyouracquaintance,andItrustyouwillexcusethelibertyIhavetakenincalling。’
’Ifeelgratefultoyou,asIamsuredoesalsomyhusband。’Somuchshesaid,andthenfeltangrywithherselfforsayingsomuch。Wasshenotexpressingthestronghopethathemightstandfastbyherchild,wherebythewholeCrawleyfamilywouldgainsomuch——andtheGrantlyfamilylosemuch,inthesameproportion?
’Sir,’saidMrCrawley,’Ioweyouthanks,stillunexpressed,inthatyoucameforwardtogetherwithMrRobartsofFramley,tosatisfythenotunnaturalrequisitionofthemagistratesbeforewhomIwascalledupontoappearintheearlywinter。Iknownotwhyanyoneshouldhaveventuredintosuchjeopardyonmyaccount。’
’Therewasnojeopardy,MrCrawley。Anyoneinthecountywouldhavedoneit。’
’Iknownotthat;norcanIseethattherewasnojeopardy。ItrustthatImayassureyouthatthereisnodanger;——none,Imean,toyou。
Thedangertomyselfandthosebelongingtome,is,alas,veryurgent。
Thefactsofmypositionarepressingcloseuponme。MethinksIsuffermorefromthevisitofthegentlemanwhohasjustdepartedfrommethananythingthathasyethappenedtome。Andyetheisright;——heisaltogetherright。’
’No,papa;heisnot,’saidJane,fromherstandinggroundneartheuprightdesk。
’Mydear,’saidherfather,’youshouldbesilentonsuchasubject。Itisamatterhardtobeunderstoodinallitsbearings——evenbythosewhoaremostconversantwiththem。ButasthisweneednottroubleMajorGrantly。’
Afterthattherewassilenceamongthem,andforawhileitseemedasthoughtherecouldbenoapproachtothesubjectonwhichGrantlyhadcomehithertoexpresshimself。MrsCrawley,inherdespair,saidsomethingabouttheweather;andthemajor,tryingtodrawnearthespecialsubject,becameboldenoughtoremark’thathehadthepleasureofseeingMissCrawleyatFramley。’’MrsRobartshasbeenverykind,’
saidMrsCrawley,’verykindindeed。Youcanunderstand,MajorGrantly,thatthismustbeaverysadhouseforayoungperson。’’Idon’tthinkitisatallsad,’saidJane,stillstandinginthecornerbytheuprightdesk。
ThenMajorGrantlyrosefromhisseatandwalkedacrosstothegirlandshookherhand。’Youaresolikeyoursister,’saidhe。’Yoursisterisagreatfriendofmine。Shehasoftenspokentomeofyou。Ihopeweshallbefriendssomeday。’ButJanecouldmakenoanswertothis,thoughshehadbeenabletovindicatethegeneralcharacterofthehousewhileshewasleftinthecornerbyherself。’Iwonderwhetheryouwouldbeangrywithme,’continuedthemajor,’ifItoldyouIwantedtospeakawordtoyourfatherandmotheralone?’TothisJanemadenoreply,butwasoutoftheroomalmostbeforethewordshadreachedtheearsofherfatherandmother。Thoughshewasonlysixteen,andhadasyetreadnothingbutLatinandGreek——unlesswearetocountthetwelvebooksofEuclidandWood’sAlgebra,andsundrysmallerexercisesofthesamedescription——sheunderstood,aswellasanyonepresent,thereasonwhyherabsencewasrequired。
Assheclosedthedoorthemajorpausedforamoment,expecting,orperhapshoping,thatthefatherorthemotherwouldsayaword。Butneitherofthemhadawordtosay。Theysatsilent,andasthoughconscience—stricken。Herewasarichman,ofwhomtheyhadheardthathemightprobablywishtowedtheirdaughter。Itwasmanifestenoughtobothofthemthatnomancouldmarryintotheirfamilywithoutsubjectinghimselftoaheavyportionofthatreproachanddisgracewhichwasattachedtothem。Buthowwasitpossiblethattheyshouldnotcaremorefortheirdaughter——fortheirownfleshandblood,thanfortheincidentalwelfareofthisrichman?Asregardedthemanhimselftheyhadheardeverythingthatwasgood。Suchamarriagewasliketheopeningofaparadisetotheirchild。’Nilconsciresibi,’saidthefathertohimself,ashebuckledonhisarmourforthefight。
Whenhehadwaitedforamomentortwo,hebegan。’MrsCrawley,’hesaid,addressinghimselftothemother,’IdonotquiteknowhowfaryoumaybeawarethatI——thatIhaveforsometimebeen——beenacquaintedwithyoureldestdaughter。’
’Ihaveheardfromherthatsheisacquaintedwithyou,’saidMrsCrawley,almostpantingwithanxiety。
’Imayaswellmakeacleanbreastofitatonce,’saidthemajor,smiling,’andsayoutrightthatIhavecomeheretorequestyourpermissionandherfather’stoaskhertobemywife。’Thenhewassilent,andforafewmomentsneitherMrnorMrsCrawleyrepliedtohim。
Shelookedatherhusband,andhegazedatthefire,andthesmilediedawayfromthemajor’sface,ashewatchedthesolemnityofthemboth。
TherewassomethingalmostforbiddinginthepeculiargravityofMrCrawley’scountenancewhen,asatpresent,somethingoperatedwithinhimtocausehimtoexpressdissentfromanypropositionthatwasmadetohim。’Idonotknowhowfarthismaybealtogethernewtoyou,MrsCrawley,’saidthemajor,waitingforareply。
’Itisnotnewtome,’saidMrsCrawley。
’MayIhope,then,thatyouwillnotdisapprove?’
’Sir,’saidMrCrawley,’IamsoplacedbytheuntowardcircumstancesofmylifethatIcanhardlyclaimtoexerciseovermyowndaughterthatauthoritywhichshouldbelongtoaparent。’
’Mydear,donotsaythat,’saidMrsCrawley。
’ButIdosayit。WithinthreeweeksofthistimeImaybeaprisoner,subjecttothecriminallawsofmycountry。AtthismomentIamwithoutpowerofearningbreadformyself,orformywife,orformychildren。
MajorGrantly,youhaveevennowseenthedepartureofthegentlemanwhohasbeensentheretotakemyplaceinthisparish。Iam,asitwere,anoutlawhere,andentitledneithertoobediencenorrespectfromthosewhounderothercircumstanceswouldbeboundtogiveboth。’
’MajorGrantly,’saidthepoorwoman,’nohusbandorfatherinthecountyismorecloselyobeyedormorethoroughlyrespectedandloved。’
’Iamsureofit,’saidthemajor。
’Allthis,however,mattersnothing,’saidMrCrawley,’andallspeechonsuchhomelymatterswouldamounttoanimpertinencebeforeyou,sir,wereitnotthatyouhavehintedatthepurposeofconnectingyourselfatsomefuturetimewiththisunfortunatefamily。’
’Imeanttobeplain—spoken,MrCrawley。’
’Ididnotmeantoinsinuate,sir,thattherewasaughtofreticenceinyourwords,socontrivedthatyoumightfallbackonthevaguenessofyourexpressionforprotection,shouldyouhereafterseefittochangeyourpurpose。Ishouldhavewrongedyoumuchbysuchasuggestion。I
ratherwasmindedtomakeknowntoyouthatI——or,Ishouldrathersay,we,’andMrCrawleypointedtohiswife——’shallnotacceptyourplainnessofspeechasbetokeningaughtbeyondaconceivedideainfurtheranceofwhichyouhavethoughtitexpedienttomakecertaininquiries。’
’Idon’tquitefollowyou,’saidthemajor。’ButwhatIwantyoutodoistogivemeyourconsenttovisityourdaughter;andIwantMrsCrawleytowritetoGraceandtellherthatit’sallright。’MrsCrawleywasquitesurethatitwasallright,andwasreadytositdownandwritetheletterthatmoment,ifherhusbandwouldpermithertodoso。
’IamsorrythatIhavenotbeenexplicit,’saidMrCrawley,’butIwillendeavourtomakemyselfmoreplainlyintelligible。Mydaughter,sir,issocircumstancedinreferencetoherfather,thatI,asherfatherandagentleman,cannotencourageanymantomakeatendertoherofhishand。’
’ButIhavemadeupmymindaboutallthat。’
’AndI,sir,havemadeupmine。IdarenottellmygirlthatIthinkshewilldowelltoplaceherhandinyours。Alady,whenshedoesthat,shouldfeelatleastthatherhandisclean。’
’ItisthecleanestandthesweetestandfairesthandinBarsetshire,’
saidthemajor。MrsCrawleycouldnotrestrainherself,butrunninguptohim,tookhishandinhersandkissedit。
’Thereisunfortunatelyastain,whichisvicarial,’beganMrCrawley,sustaininguptothatpointhisvoicewithRomanfortitude——withafortitudewhichwouldhavebeenRomanhaditnotatthatmomentbrokendownunderthepressureofhumanfeeling。Hecouldkeepitupnolonger,butcontinuedhisspeechwithbrokensobs,andwithavoicealtogetherchangedinitstone——rapidnow,whereasithadbeforebeenslow——natural,whereasithadhithertobeenaffected——human,whereasithadhithertobeenRoman。’MajorGrantly,’hesaid。’Iamsorebeset;butwhatcanIsaytoyou?Mydarlingisaspureasthelightofday——onlythatsheissoiledwithmyimpurity。SheisfittogracethehouseofthebestgentlemaninEngland,hadInotmadeherunfit。’
’Sheshallgracemine,’saidthemajor。’ByGodsheshall!——tomorrow,ifshe’llhaveme。’MrsCrawley,whowasstandingbesidehim,againraisedhishandandkissedit。
’Itmaynotbeso。AsIbeganbysaying——orratherstrovetosay,forI
havebeenovertakenbyweakness,andcannotspeakmymind——Icannotclaimauthorityovermychildaswouldanotherman。HowcanIexerciseauthorityfrombetweenaprison’sbars?’
’Shewouldobeyyourslightestwish,’saidMrsCrawley。
’Icouldexpressnowish,’saidhe。’ButIknowmygirl,andIamsurethatshewillnotconsenttotakeinfamywithherintothehouseofthemanwholovesher。’
’Therewillbenoinfamy,’saidthemajor。’Infamy!ItellyouthatI
shallbeproudoftheconnexion。’
’You,sir,aregenerousinyourprosperity。Wewillstrivetobeatleastjustinouradversity。Mywifeandchildrenaretobepitied——becauseofthehusbandandfather。’
’No!’saidMrsCrawley。’Iwillnothearthatsaid,withoutdenyingit。’
’Buttheymusttaketheirlotasithasbeengiventothem,’continuedhe。’Suchapositioninlifeasthatwhichyouhaveproposedtobestowuponmychildwouldbetoher,asregardshumanaffairs,greatelevation。AndfromwhatIhaveheard——ImaybepermittedtoaddalsofromwhatInowknowfrompersonalexperience——suchamarriagewouldbeladenwithfairpromiseandfuturehappiness。Butifyouaskmymind,I
thinkthatmychildisnotfreetomakeit。You,sir,havemanyrelatives,whoarenotinlove,asyouare,allofwhomwouldbeaffectedbythestainofmydisgrace。Nooneshouldgotoyourhouseasyoursecondwifewhocannotfeelthatshewillserveyourchild。Mydaughterwouldfeelthatshewasbringinginjuryuponthebabe。Icannotbidherdothis——andIwillnot。NordoIbelievethatshewoulddosoifIbidher。’Thenheturnedhischairround,andsatwithhisfacetothewall,wipingawaythetearswithatatteredhandkerchief。
MrsCrawleyledthemajortothefurtherwindow,andtherestoodlookingupintohisface。Itneedhardlybesaidthattheyalsowerecrying。
Whoseeyescouldhavebeendryaftersuchascene——uponhearingsuchwords?’Youhadbettergo,’saidMrsCrawley。’Iknowhimsowell。Youhadbettergo。’
’MrsCrawley,’hesaidwhisperingtoher,’ifIeverdeserther,mayallthatIlovedesertme!Butwillyouhelpme?’
’Youwouldwantnohelp,wereitnotforthistrouble。’
’Butyouwillhelpme?’
Thenshepausedforamoment,’Icandonothing,’shesaid,’butwhathebidsme。’
’Youwilltrustme,atanyrate,’saidthemajor。
’Idotrustyou,’shereplied。ThenhewentwithoutsayingawordfurthertoMrCrawley。Assoonashewasgone,thewifewentovertoherhusband,andputherarmgentlyroundhisneckashewassitting。Forawhilethehusbandtooknonoticeofhiswife’scaress,butsatmotionless,withhisfaceturnedtothewall。Thenshespoketohimawordortwo,tellinghimthattheirvisitorwasgone。’Mychild!’hesaid。’Mypoorchild!,mydarling!Shehasfoundgraceinthisman’ssight;butevenofthathasherfatherrobbedher!TheLordhasvisiteduponthechildrenthesinsofthefather,andwilldosotothethirdandfourthgeneration。’
CHAPTERLXIV
TRAGEDYATHOOKCOURT
ConwayDalrymplehadhurriedoutoftheroominMrsBroughton’shouseinwhichhehadbeenpaintingJaelandSisera,thinkingthatitwouldbebettertomeetanangryandperhapstipsyhusbandonthestairs,thanitwouldbeeithertowaitforhimtillheshouldmakehiswayintohiswife’sroom,ortohideawayfromhimwiththeviewofescapingaltogetherfromsodisagreeableanencounter。Hehadnofearoftheman。
Hedidnotthinkthattherewouldbeanyviolence——nor,asregardedhimself,didhemuchcareiftherewastobeviolence。Buthefeltthathewasbound,asfarasitmightbepossible,toscreenthepoorwomanfromtheilleffectsofherhusband’stemperandcondition。Hewas,therefore,preparedtostopBroughtononthestairs,andtousesomeforceinarrestinghimonhisway,shouldhefindthemantobereallyintoxicated。Buthehadnotdescendedaboveastairortwobeforehewasawarethatthemanbelowhim,whosestephadbeenheard,wasnotintoxicated,andthathewasnotDobbsBroughton。ItwasMrMusselboro。
’Itisyou,isit?’saidConway。’IthoughtitwasBroughton。’thenhelookedintotheman’sfaceandsawthathewasashypale。Allthatappearanceoflow—bredjauntinesswhichusedtobelongtohimseemedtohavebeenwashedoutofhim。Hishairhadforgottentocurl,hisgloveshadbeenthrownaside,andevenhistrinketswereoutofsight。’Whathashappened,’saidConway。’Whatisthematter?Somethingiswrong。’
ThenitoccurredtohimthatMusselborohadbeensenttothehousetotellthewifeofthehusband’sruin。
’TheservanttoldmethatIshouldfindyouupstairs,’saidMusselboro。
’Yes;Ihaveapaintinghere。ForsometimepastIhavebeendoingapictureofMissVanSiever。MrsVanSieverhasbeenheretoday。’ConwaythoughtthatthisinformationwouldproducesomestrongeffectonClara’sproposedhusband;buthedidnotseemtoregardthematterofthepicturenorthementionofMissVanSiever’sname。
’Sheknowsnothingofit?’saidhe。’Shedoesn’tknowyet?’
’Knowwhat?’saidConway。’Sheknowsthatherhusbandhaslostmoney。’
’Dobbshas——destroyedhimself。’
’What!’
’BlewhisbrainsoutthismorningjustinsidetheentranceatHookCourt。Thehorrorofdrinkwasonhim,andhestoodjustinthepathwayandshothimself。Bangleswasstandingatthetopoftheirvaultsandsawhimdoit。Idon’tthinkBangleswilleverbeamanagain。Ohlord!
Ishallnevergetoveritmyself。ThebodywastherewhenIwentin。’
ThenMusselborosankbackagainstthewallofthestaircase,andstaredatDalrympleasthoughhestillsawbeforehimtheterriblesightofwhichhehadjustspoken。
Dalrympleseatedhimselfonthestairsandstrovetobringhismindtobearonthetalewhichhehadjustheard。Whatwashetodo,andhowwasthatpoorwomanupstairstobeinformed?’Youcamehereintendingtotellher,’hesaidinawhisper。HefearedeverymomentthatMrsBroughtonwouldappearonthestairs,andlearnfromawordortwowhathadhappenedwithoutanyhinttoprepareherforthecatastrophe。
’Ithoughtyouwouldbehere。Iknewyouweredoingthepicture。Heknewit。He’dalettertosayso——oneofthoseanonymousones。’
’Butthatdidn’tinfluencehim?’
’Idon’tthinkitwasthat,’saidMusselboro。’Hemeanttohavehaditoutwithher;butitwasn’tthatasbroughtthisabout。Perhapsyoudidn’tknowthathewascleanruined?’
’Shehadtoldme。’
’Thensheknewit?’
’Oh,yes;sheknewthat。MrsVanSieverhadtoldher。Poorcreature!
Howarewetobreakthistoher?’
’Youandsheareverythick,’saidMusselboro。’Isupposeyou’lldoitbest。’Bythistimetheywereinthedrawing—room,andthedoorwasclosed。Dalrymplehadputhishandontheotherman’sarm,andhadledhimdownstairs,outofreachofhearingfromtheroomabove。’You’lltellher——won’tyou?’saidMusselboro。ThenDalrympletriedtothinkwhatlovingfemalefriendtherewaswhowouldbreakthenewstotheunfortunatewoman。HeknewoftheVanSievers,andheknewoftheDemolines,andhealmostknewthattherewasnootherwomanwithinreachwhomhewasentitledtoregardascloselyconnectedwithMrsBroughton。
HewaswellawarethattheanonymousletterofwhichMusselborohadjustspokenhadcomefromMissDemolines,andhecouldnotgothereforsympathyandassistance。NorcouldheapplytoMrsVanSieverafterwithhadpassedthismorning。ToClaraVanSieverhewouldhaveapplied,butthatitwasimpossibleheshouldreachClaraexceptthroughhermother。
’IsupposeIhadbettergotoher,’hesaid,afterawhile。Andthenhewent,leavingMusselborointhedrawing—room。’I’msobadwithit,’saidMusselboro,’thatIreallydon’tknowhowIshallevergoupthatcourtagain。’
ConwayDalrymplemadehiswayupthestairswithveryslowsteps,andashedidsohecouldnotbutthinkseriouslyofthenatureofhisfriendshipwiththiswoman,andcouldnotbutcondemnhimselfheartilyforthefollyandiniquityofhisownconduct。Scoresoftimeshehadprofessedhislovetoherwithhalf—expressedwords,intendedtomeannothing,ashesaidtohimselfwhenhetriedtoexcusehimself,butenoughtoturnherhead,eveniftheydidnotreachherheart。Now,thiswomanwasawidow,anditcametobehisdutytotellherthatshewasso。Whatifsheshouldclaimfromhimnowthelovewhichhehadsooftenprofferedtoher!Itwasnotthathefearedthatshewouldclaimanythingfromhimatthismoment——neithernow,nortomorrow,northenextday——buttheagonyofthepresentmeetingwouldproduceothersinwhichtherewouldbesometendernessmixedwiththeagony;andsofromonemeetingtoanotherthethingwouldprogress。Butinthisdangerbeforehim,itwasnotofhimselfthathewasthinking,butofher。Howcouldheassistheratsuchatimewithoutdoinghermoreinjurythanbenefit?And,ifhedidnotassisther,whowoulddoso?Heknewhertobeheartless;butevenheartlesspeoplehaveheartswhichcanbetouchedandalmostbrokenbycertainsorrows。Herheartwouldnotbebrokenbyherhusband’sdeath,butitwouldbecomeverysoreifshewereutterlyneglected。Hewasnowatthedoor,withhishandonthelock,andwaswonderingwhysheshouldremainsolongwithinwithoutmakingherselfheard。Thenheopenedit,andfoundherseatedinalounge—chair,withherbacktothedoor,andhecouldseethatshehadavolumeofanovelinherhand。Heunderstooditall。Shewaspretendingtobeindifferenttoherhusband’sreturn。Hewalkeduptoher,thinkingthatshewouldrecognisehisstep;butshemadenosignofturningtowardshim。Hesawthemotionofherhairoverthebackofthechairassheaffectedtomakeherselfluxuriouslycomfortable。Shewasstrivingtoletherhusbandseethatshecarednothingforhim,orforhiscondition,orforhisjealousy,ifhewerejealous——orevenofhisruin。’MrsBroughton,’