Each other, blamed enough elsewhere, but strive
In offices of love, how we may lighten
Milton.
On the eventful night which had been passed by the earl and his companions above the clouds, the mourners in the vicarage had known but little of repose2. If oblivion came, it was in brief troubled snatches of slumber3, from which the fevered sleeper4 awakes with a start to feel an icy oppression on the mind,—slumber which has in it nothing of refreshment5.
All arose very early, with a vague yearning6 hope that tidings might come with the morning light, and the eager greeting when two of that anxious household met together was always, “Have you heard?—are there any tidings?”
Annabella would not appear at the breakfast table. Ida, pale as sculptured marble, scarcely able to swallow the nourishment7 of which she partook as a duty, sat beside her father, every sense absorbed in anxious listening. She heard the postman’s[235] step before she could see his form, and eagerly sprang forward to meet him, for it was possible—just possible—that he might be the bearer of news!
The man shook his head sadly when questioned; he had brought nothing but a parcel for the Countess of Dashleigh with the London post-mark upon it; and, with a sickening sense of disappointment, Ida bore it to the room of her cousin.
A strange gleam of hope flashed in the countess’s large hollow eyes, as, without noticing the post-mark, she tore open the little packet; it was followed by a strange revulsion of feeling. There lay before her, beautiful in its fanciful binding8 of violet and gold, its glittering edges bright from the hand of the gilder9, “The Fairy Lake, by the Countess of Dashleigh.”
There was a time when the youthful authoress would have gazed on the volume with delight, and turned over its pages with eager curiosity and pleasure! But now—there seemed written upon each a tale of wilful10 rebellion and insolent11 pride! Annabella flung her first book from her with an exclamation12 of anguish13, for was it not connected in her mind with the fearful fate of her husband!
Then, with a sudden resolution, she rose from her seat, and hastily opened that desk at which she had penned her fatal article for the —— Magazine. Annabella would make some reparation, such reparation as yet was possible, for the deed so deeply[236] repented14 of. The countess wrote, with a hand that shook so that she could scarcely form the letters, a note to her publisher in London, bidding him at once cancel the whole edition of her romance, prohibiting him from selling a single copy of the work which he had been hurrying through the press, and making herself responsible for his losses, whatever they might be. No earthly consideration would have induced the miserable15 wife to delay, even for an hour, the act by which she crushed the bud of hope, so long eagerly fostered, at the very moment when it burst into blossom! The young authoress, once soaring so high in the pride of literary ambition, was cutting the cords of her balloon!
Almost every family in the neighbourhood, whether rich or poor, called at the vicarage that day, impelled16 by friendship, curiosity, or pity, to inquire if any tidings of the lost balloon had reached the family of the Aumerles. No visitors, however, were admitted, as soon as it was ascertained17 that they had come to receive information, and not to give it. The sound of wheels, and of frequent rings at the gate, almost drove Annabella to distraction18! Ida and her father spent much of the time together in fervent19 prayer, but the miserable Countess of Dashleigh seemed too restless—too wretched to pray!
It was now the afternoon of one of the loveliest days in the loveliest of seasons. The soft tinkling20 of the distant sheep-bell, the low of the cattle in the[237] meadow, and the monotonous21 hum of the bee, came softly blended together to the ear. The bright mantle22 of sunshine fell on fruit-trees laden23 with blossom,—the hawthorn24 white with May’s perfumed snow, the fragrant25 lilac, the laburnum dropping its showers of gold! Annabella gazed from the open casement26 of her apartment upon a lovely and varied27 prospect28, but she had not the slightest perception of what lay directly before her eye.
Another loud ring! The countess turned her head with quick impatience29. A man was standing30 at the gate. Was there something in his manner that announced the eager bearer of tidings, or did the wife intuitively grasp the fact that he brought her news of her husband? Ida seemed to have had the same perception, for, with the breeze waving back her long dark tresses, she was at the gate almost before the tongue of the bell ceased to vibrate. Annabella saw her start, caught the uttered exclamation, and springing from her room, clearing the stairs almost at a bound, in less than a minute was at the side of her cousin. She was quickly followed by the vicar and Mrs. Aumerle, and every member of the household.
A telegraphic message had arrived from Augustine; yes, there was the precious little leaf, which, like the touch of a magician’s wand, changed the face of everything around, and flooded the dry, haggard cheek of sorrow with a torrent31 of grateful tears.
[238]
Cliff Cottage, B——, Devon.
“Safe, thank God! I shall send M—— home to-morrow. I remain here with the earl, who is attacked by brain fever. I have telegraphed to Exeter for Dr. G—— and a nurse.—A. A.”
“Temporary illness, I trust,—only temporary,” said the vicar, from whose heart the weight of a mountain seemed removed. “Augustine, thoughtful as he ever is, has already taken every human means to insure recovery.”
“My Reginald shall be left to no nurse; no, no, none shall rob me of one privilege,” cried Annabella. “I will be at B—— beside him to-night.”
“I will be your escort,” said Lawrence Aumerle.
“Oh, take me too!” exclaimed Ida, her dark eyes swimming in tears at the thought of seeing her sister.
“No, no,” interrupted Mrs. Aumerle, “numbers are by no means desirable where a man in brain fever is concerned. It is bad enough for your father to have to undertake a long journey, without the whole family hurrying off. You will stay here with me, my dear, and welcome back Mabel to-morrow.”
A short time before Ida would have rebelled against a decision so much at variance33 with her inclinations,—would have remonstrated34, or at least have murmured; but she had received too severe a lesson for its impression to be speedily effaced35, and[239] reproaching herself for the sigh which alone betrayed her disappointment, she hastened up-stairs to prepare a little parcel of necessaries to be taken to Mabel.
As Ida was putting up, with other articles, the Bible which she knew that her sister would especially welcome, she was unexpectedly joined by Mrs. Aumerle.
“You may leave that business to me,” said the lady, with more real kindness of intention than tenderness of manner; “your father says that it would be hard not to let you make one of the party, so you had better get ready for the journey at once.”
Joyful36 at the permission, Ida hastened to make her little preparations; and Mrs. Aumerle, as she packed Mabel’s parcel, informed her step-daughter of the arrangements which she had herself made for the convenience of all. A messenger had been promptly37 despatched to the nearest neighbour who kept a carriage, to ask the loan of the conveyance38 to carry the travellers to the nearest railway station. Nothing that could insure the comfort of the vicar was forgotten when his carpet-bag was packed by the hands of his careful wife; Ida received sundry39 injunctions to watch over the health of her father, and the good housewife took care that the travellers should not fast on the way.
When the carriage drove away from the door of the vicarage, with its eager, anxious occupants, Mrs.[240] Aumerle, following it to the gate, watched it from thence till it disappeared in a turn of the road. And thus the woman of sense soliloquised on events, past, present, and future:—
“How much trouble and misery40 has been caused by one act of selfish folly41! Because Augustine—too great a genius, I suppose, to judge like a sensible man—fancies to roam through the clouds, and take with him a wilful, disobedient child, while a petulant42 girl eggs on her husband to follow so absurd an example, a whole family must be plunged43 into terror, grief, and alarm! I felt convinced from the first that all would end happily enough. Augustine has easily guided the balloon; it has floated quietly down at its leisure to some quiet meadow in Devon; and but for the poor earl’s shaken nerves, the whole affair to those most concerned has been nothing but a party of pleasure! It is we who have had to suffer for the senseless folly of others. There’s Ida has been looking like a spectre; and my dear, excellent husband is first almost crushed with sorrow, and then hurried off, at half-an-hour’s notice, to escort that half frantic44 countess to a husband who will probably refuse to see her! Well, well, I believe that of all senses common sense is the most uncommon45!” and with a soothing46 conviction that a portion, at least, of the rare gift had been bestowed47 upon herself, Mrs. Aumerle quietly returned to her usual avocations48.
[241]
It was fortunate for Mabel that the morrow’s post brought to her stepmother’s hands the letter which the young girl had dropped from the balloon. Ida had left a request, that notes addressed to her might in her absence be opened by Mrs. Aumerle, and thus it was that that lady first became aware of some of the perils49 through which the travellers had passed. Mabel’s letter had been picked up in a field and posted by the farmer who had found it, and the touching50 lines of love and penitence51 which she had penned in the near prospect of a terrible death, softened52 in a very great degree the feelings of her step-mother towards her.
“She has had her share of suffering after all,” observed the lady, “and we must not be severe upon the poor child. She has had punishment enough for her fault, so I’m content to ‘let bygones be bygones.’”
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1
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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4
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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5
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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7
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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8
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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9
gilder
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| 镀金工人 | |
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10
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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12
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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13
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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14
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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16
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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19
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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20
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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22
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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23
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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24
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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27
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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29
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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30
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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32
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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33
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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34
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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36
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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37
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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38
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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39
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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40
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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41
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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42
petulant
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| adj.性急的，暴躁的 | |
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43
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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44
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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45
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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46
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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47
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
avocations
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| n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业 | |
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49
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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50
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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51
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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52
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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