"There is practically no limit to our fortunes, my boy," he said to Arthur; "the current will carry us on."
To which Arthur replied:
"I trust I shall not disappoint you, sir."
"I am satisfied as to that," said Mr. Temple. "My chief desire now is that you should choose a definite career. I do not wish to press you, but the sooner you enter public life the wider will be your experience and the greater your chances. Our name shall be a famous one in the country."
On his return to his town house, Mr. Temple, after a few minutes' conversation with his wife, proceeded to the library. He had been expected home the previous evening, and his correspondence for two days lay upon his writing-table. He looked over the letters hurriedly, and paused at one which seemed to give him uneasiness. It was brief and to the point.
"The writer of these lines, Seth Dumbrick by name, wishes for a personal interview with Mr. Temple, on a matter of vital importance to himself and the gentleman he addresses. He will call on Mr. Temple at eight o'clock this evening, and hopes not to be denied."
Mr. Temple glanced at the clock. It was a quarter-past eight. He struck a bell, and a servant entered.
"Is any person waiting to see me?"
"Yes, sir; he is in the hall."
"Giving any name?"
"Dumbrick, sir."
"Did he come yesterday?"
"Yes, sir, and was informed you would not return till to-night."
"What sort of a person?"
"A common person, sir--a very common person."
"Show him in."
The next moment Seth Dumbrick entered, hat in hand, and stood near the door. From his seat at the table, Mr. Temple desired him to come near. Seth Dumbrick obeyed, and the men faced each other.
"You are the writer of this note," said Mr. Temple haughtily5.
"I am, sir."
"Explain it, and briefly6. Stay--have I not seen your face somewhere?"
Seth Dumbrick made no immediate7 reply. He had no desire to recall to Mr. Temple's memory the circumstances of the unpleasant interview that had taken place between them many years ago. He himself had recognised Mr. Temple the moment he entered the room, his cause for remembrance being the stronger of the two. Mr. Temple had an unerring memory for faces, but his meeting with Seth Dumbrick lay so far in the past, and his life was so varied8 and full of colour, that he could not for the moment connect the face with the circumstance.
"Answer me," he said peremptorily9. "Have I not seen you before?"
"You have, sir."
"Where?"
"Years ago--at Springfield--when I, with two children, was taking a holiday in the country."
"Ah, I remember perfectly10. Our meeting was not a pleasant one."
"It was not my fault that it was not so."
"I remember also that you gave me the address of an inn at which you were stopping, and that I informed you I should call there. I did call, and you had gone. You ran away, I presume."
"I followed my course, being a free man, and not bound to wait for strangers."
"It is a matter of no importance. Two children! Yes; I should know them again, I think. One, a child, with a very beautiful face. Is she living?"
"She is, sir; as a woman, though she is scarcely yet out of her girlhood, she is more beautiful than she was as a child. I am here on her behalf."
"On her behalf!" exclaimed Mr. Temple, taking the note from the table. "You use the words 'vital importance.'"
"They are correctly used, as you will perhaps admit when you hear me."
"I will hear you. Of vital importance to yourself and to me?"
"That is so, sir."
Mr. Temple considered for a moment. His career had been one which necessitated11 rapid conclusions.
"Write your name, trade, and address on this paper."
Seth Dumbrick did as he was desired. His manner was closely watched by Mr. Temple, who expected to detect a reluctance12 to give the information. But Seth Dumbrick wrote unhesitatingly, and with decision.
"This is your true name and address?"
"I have no other. I am here to speak the truth."
"Say what you have to say."
"I must trespass13 upon your patience, but I will be as brief as it is possible for me to be. It is very many years ago--I cannot recall how many; the age of the child, if it can be ascertained15, will verify that--that a little girl was strangely and mysteriously brought into my neighbourhood by a man whom I never saw, and who remained in Rosemary Lane for probably not longer than a couple of hours. This stranger took a room in the house of acquaintances of mine----"
"Write on the paper, beneath your own name, the name of these acquaintances."
Seth Dumbrick wrote the name of Chester, which Mr. Temple did not glance at. He was more engaged in observing the manner in which the man before him submitted to the tests he demanded. Seth continued:
"The stranger took a room that was to let in the house, and paid, I believe, two weeks' rent in advance. The night that he took the room he disappeared from the neighbourhood, and was never more seen in it."
"Leaving the child?"
"Leaving the child. Not long after the occurrence the persons who occupied the house fell into misfortune, and the woman into whose care the child had been strangely thrown was compelled by circumstances to give up her house, and take a situation in the country."
"All this bears upon your errand to me?"
"Every word of it. The woman had a little girl of her own, a few years older than the foundling, who contracted an absorbing love for the deserted16 stranger. It is not necessary to relate how I, upon the breaking up of the woman's home, took upon myself the care of her child and the child whom the villain17--that is the correct word, in my opinion--deserted. These children have lived with me ever since, and under my care have grown to womanhood."
The talent Seth Dumbrick exhibited for condensation18 and clearness had its effect upon Mr. Temple, who knew how to appreciate the rare faculty19.
The child you have referred to for her beauty is the child who was deserted. Nothing is known of her parentage or belongings20. She has grown up amongst us, and is loved by all. To me, a childless man, she is as my own daughter, and I could not feel more deeply for her were she of my own blood. But it was a matter of remark from the first, and has continued so, that, from all appearance, she is superior in certain ways to those whom a strange fate has condemned21 her to herd22 with. You see, sir, that I do not rate myself and those of my order too highly. I have given her what education it was in my power to bestow23. She is in all respects a lady, and as beautiful a girl as this city contains. As is natural, so bright a being has attracted the attention of those in my station of life--I do not say in hers--who desire matrimony. But she has consistently declined to entertain their proposals, and has, so to speak, set her head above them--as she has done from the first, in every possible way. Whether this comes from her parents, who, for the credit of human nature, I hope are dead, it is beyond me to say. There are mysteries which we weak mortals are powerless to probe. I come now, sir, to that part of my story which most nearly touches the object of my visit to you.
"Before you proceed, favour me with the name of this child."
"I must ask you to receive it in all seriousness, sir. I am afraid that I am principally to blame for it, but it sprung out of a whimsical fancy, and in one of those moments of extravagance for which we are scarcely accountable. The child had no name; the villain who brought her into the neighbourhood, and deserted her, left none behind him; and in such a moment as I have spoken of, the name--if it can be called so--of the Duchess of Rosemary Lane was given her. It was undoubtedly24 wrong, but it has clung to her, and she bears no other."
"Go on now to the immediate purport25 of your note to me."
"As I have said, she has attracted the attention of many suitors in my station of life, but she has turned a deaf ear to all. She has attracted other attention--the attention of a gentleman moving presumably, nay certainly, in a higher position in society than that she occupies. Have you no suspicion of the point I am coming to?"
"None."
"The person I speak of," proceeded Seth, with a heavy sigh, "meets my child regularly, and has given her such gifts as only a gentleman could afford to give."
"An old story," interrupted Mr. Temple.
"Continue to hear me patiently, sir. I have but little more to say. This gentleman writes constantly to her, but not to the home in which she has lived from childhood. I am here to ask you whether it is possible that such an intimacy26 will result in a manner honourable27 to the girl whom I, an old and childless man, love with all the earnestness and devotion of which I am capable--for whose happiness I would lay down my life as surely as every word I have spoken to you is the honest and straightforward28 truth."
"And it is to this point you must come at once," said Mr. Temple, whose tone would have been arrogant29 but for the effect which the genuine pathos30 of his visitor produced upon him against his will. "What interest can I have in the name of this gentleman, who, seeing a pretty girl who is flattered by his attentions, follows her, and falls into the trap she lays for him----"
But if his speech had not trailed off here, it would have been arrested by Seth's indignant protest.
"Stop!" he cried, in a ringing voice. "Hear first the name of the man who is wooing my child, and who from your own sentiments--for nature transmits good and evil qualities from father to son--is seeking to entrap31 an innocent girl!"
At this moment these two men--the one so high in the world, the other so low--changed positions. It was Mr. Temple who cowered32, and Seth Dumbrick who raised his head to the light.
"Speak the name then," said Mr. Temple.
"Your son--Arthur Temple!"
A cold smile served at once to hide Mr. Temple's agitation33 and to outwardly denote the value he wished Seth Dumbrick to believe he placed upon his statement.
"And you," he said, with contemptuous emphasis, "have connived34 at this intimacy, and have come to me to place a price upon----"
Again he was interrupted indignantly by Seth.
"You mistake. I have never, so that I could recognise it, seen the face of your son; I have had no conversation with my child upon the subject, and she does not know of my visit to you. She has not confided35 in me."
"How then do you happen to be aware of the particulars you have narrated36 so fluently? How have you gained the knowledge of the letters and the gifts?"
"Having only the good of my child at heart, and being better versed37 in the villainies----"
"Be careful of your words."
"If your son has no honourable intention towards my girl, the word is in its proper place. Being better versed in the ways of the world than she, a young and inexperienced child, can possibly be, I exercised my rightful authority, and searched her trunk, to discover what she was concealing38 from me. I found the tokens there. The letters are written on paper stamped with a crest39, surrounded by Latin words which I do not understand."
Mr. Temple, in silence, handed Seth a sheet of notepaper.
"The crest and words," said Seth, putting on his spectacles to examine them, "are the same as these."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"All--with the exception that three nights ago I witnessed the meeting between your son and my child."
"How did you discover where he lives?"
"I followed him to this house, and learnt that it was yours."
"You would have made a good detective, my man."
"What I have done," said Seth simply, "has been prompted and guided by love."
Mr. Temple, shading his face with his hand, was silent a little. He could not doubt the truth of Seth's statement, and his desire was to save his san from awkward consequences which might result from his imprudence. He raised his eyes, and said, in a hard tone:
"Your price?"
Seth Dumbrick stared at Mr. Temple, and his frame shook with agitation.
"Your price," repeated Mr. Temple, "for those letters?"
"Are you asking me," said Seth, resting his hand heavily on the table to obtain some control over his words, "to put a price upon my child's honour?"
"I will have no insolent40 construction placed upon my question. You have heard it. Answer it."
"It should have blistered41 your tongue," said Seth, with bitter emphasis, "to utter it. Is that answer sufficient?"
"Quite," replied Mr. Temple, striking the bell with a fierceness he would have shown had it been human and his enemy. A servant entered.
"Turn this person from the house," he said sternly.
The servant stood before Seth Dumbrick, who knew that there was no appeal. But before he took his departure, he said sternly:
"If Divine justice be not a delusion42, you will live to repent43 this night. Into your home may come the desolation you would assist in bringing into mine."
He had time to say no more' for at a peremptory44 gesture from Mr. Temple, the servant forced him from the room.
Mr. Temple instantly touched the bell again, and another servant entered.
"Is Richards in?"
"Yes, sir."
"Send him to me immediately."
Almost on the instant, Richards made his appearance. A man of the same age as his master, tall and spare, with a manner so habitually45 watchful46 that, although he seldom looked a person in the face, not a movement or expression escaped his notice.
"A man is now being shown out of the house," said Mr. Temple hurriedly, "whom you will follow to his home. Lose not a moment. Ascertain14 every particular relating to himself, his life, and his domestic history. You understand?"
Richards nodded. He was a man not given to the wasting of speech.
"This is a secret and confidential47 service," said Mr. Temple. "Breathe not a word concerning it to a soul but myself--understand, not to a soul but myself--not even to my son. Hasten now, or you may miss him."
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1
prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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3
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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4
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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6
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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7
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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8
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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10
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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11
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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14
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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15
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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16
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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condensation
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| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
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19
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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20
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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22
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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23
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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26
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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27
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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28
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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30
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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32
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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34
connived
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| v.密谋 ( connive的过去式和过去分词 )；搞阴谋；默许；纵容 | |
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35
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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36
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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38
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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40
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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41
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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42
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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43
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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44
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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45
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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47
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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