fifteen minutes the maid came to the two doctors and told them her lady
demanded to see her husband; and if he were not in the house he must be
sent for immediately. This greatly disturbed Jaqui, and he turned pale
again. If he could have had his own way at that moment he would have put
the lady back in her box and locked the door of the little room. He did
not feel ready to tell the story he had to tell; but there was no help
for it: he must do it, and that immediately. 'Go in, Jaqui,' said
Dr. Paltravi; 'prepare her mind as well as you can, and then I will see
her.'
"'Hurry, please, sir,' said the maid; 'she is very impatient, and I
cannot explain to her.'
"Thus reassured, Jaqui followed the maid."
"The quick temper of Donna Paltravi reminds me of Edmond About's story
of 'The Man with the Broken Ear,'" said the Mistress of the House. "The
hero of that story was a soldier who had been preserved in a dried
condition for many years, and who proved to be a very bad subject when
he had been dampened and revived."
"I have read that novel," said John Gayther, considerably to the
surprise of both his hearers, "and it belongs to the same class as
mine,--of course you know all stories are arranged in classes,--but the
one I am telling you is much more natural and true to life than the one
written by the Frenchman."
"I am quite ready to believe that," said the Mistress of the House. "Now
please go on."
The Daughter of the House did not say anything, but she looked very
earnestly at the gardener; the conviction was forcing itself upon her
that John Gayther himself had a story, and she hoped that some day she
might hear it.
"Jaqui was very much surprised when he saw Donna Paltravi. He had seen
her face so often that he was perfectly familiar with it, but now he
found it had changed. In color it was not as lifelike as it had been in
the box. She was pale, and somewhat excited. 'My maid tells me you are a
doctor, sir,' said she. 'But why do you come to me? If I need a doctor,
and my husband is away, why is not Dr. Torquino here?'
"'Madam,' said Jaqui, his voice faltering a little, 'you will excuse the
intrusion of a stranger when I tell you that Dr. Torquino is dead.'"
"Rather abrupt," said the Mistress of the House.
"He could not help it, madam," said John Gayther; "it popped out of his
head. But it did not matter; Donna Paltravi had a quick perception.
'Oh,' she exclaimed, 'and I not know it!' Then she stopped and looked
steadfastly at Jaqui. 'I see,' she said slowly; 'I have been in one of
my trances.' Then she grew still paler. 'But my husband, he is not dead?
Tell me he is not dead!' she cried.
"'Oh, no,' exclaimed Jaqui; 'he is alive and well, and will be with you
very soon.' Donna Paltravi's face lighted with an expression of great
happiness; her color returned; and she looked almost as handsome as when
she had been lying in the box. 'Blessed be the holy Mary!' said she. 'If
he is well it does not matter what has happened. How long have I been in
a trance?'
"'I cannot say exactly,' replied Jaqui, very much afraid to speak the
truth; 'in fact, I was not here when you went into it: but--'
"'Oh, never mind, never mind!' she exclaimed. 'My husband will tell
me everything. I would much rather he should do so. But what
ugly-fashioned clothes you are wearing, sir! Does everybody dress in
that way now, or is it only doctors? I am sure I must have been asleep
for a good while, and that I shall see some wonderful things. It is
quite delightful to think of it. I can scarcely wait until my husband
comes. I want him to tell me everything.'
"When the greatly relieved Jaqui returned with this news he threw
Dr. Paltravi into a state of rapture. His wife knew what had happened;
she had not been shocked; she understood; and, above everything else,
she longed to see him! After all these forty years he was now--this
minute--to be with her again! She was longing to see him! With all the
vigor of youth he bounded up the stairs.
"Now," said John Gayther, "we will pass over an interval of time."
"I think that will be very well indeed!" the Mistress of the House said
approvingly.
"Not a long one, I hope," said her daughter, "for this is a breathless
point in the story. I have worked it out in my own mind in three
different ways already."
The gardener smiled with pleasure. He had a high regard for the mind of
the Daughter of the House.
"Well," said he, "the interval is very short; it is really not more than
twenty minutes. At the end of that brief space of time Jaqui was
surprised to see Dr. Paltravi reenter the room he had so recently left
in all the wild excitement of an expectant lover. But what a changed man
he was! Pale, haggard, wild-eyed, aged, he sank into a chair and covered
his face with his hands."
"I was afraid of that! I was afraid of that!" exclaimed the Mistress of
the House.
"And I, too," said her daughter, with tears in her eyes; "that was one
of the ways in which I worked it out. But it is too dreadful. John
Gayther, don't you think you have made a mistake? If you were to
consider it all carefully don't you really believe it could not be that,
at least not quite that?"
"I am sorry," said the gardener, "but I am sure this story could not
have happened in any other way, and I think if you will wait until it is
finished you will agree with me.
"For a few minutes the distressed husband could not speak, and then in
faltering tones he told Jaqui what had happened. His wife had been so
shocked and horrified at his appearance that she had come near fainting.
What made it worse was that it was evident she did not regard him as
some strange old man. She had recognized him instantly. His form, his
features, his carriage were perfectly familiar to her. She had known
them all in her young dark-haired husband of forty years before; and
here was that same husband gray-headed, gray-bearded, and repulsively
old! She had turned away her head; she would not look at him. As soon as
she could speak she had demanded to know how long she had been in her
trance, and when the matter was explained her anger was unbounded.
"Dr. Paltravi never told Jaqui all that she said, but she must have used
very severe language. She declared he had used her shamefully and
wickedly in keeping her asleep for so long, and then wakening her to be
the wife of a miserable old man just ready to totter into the grave. But
she would not be his wife. She vowed she would have nothing to do with
him. He had deserted her; he had treated her cruelly; and the holy
father, the Pope, would look upon it in that light, and would separate
her from him. With bitter reproaches she had told him to go away, and
never to let her see him again."
"She ought to have been ashamed of herself," said the Daughter of the
House. "I have no sympathy with her. Instead of upbraiding him she ought
to have been grateful to him for the wonderful opportunities he had
given her."
"But, John," said the Mistress of the House, "I do not believe the Pope
could have separated them. The Roman Catholic Church does not sanction
divorce."
"Not as a rule, madam," replied the gardener; "but I will touch on this
point again. There was a good deal to be said on her side, it is true;
but I am not going to take sides with any of the persons in my story.
She had driven away the poor doctor, and declared she would have nothing
to do with him; and so the unhappy man told Jaqui he was going back to
Milan, where he had been living, and would trouble his wife no more.
Then up jumped Jaqui in a terrible state of mind. Was he never to get
rid of this lady? He declared to Paltravi he could not accept the
responsibility. When she had been in the box it had been bad enough, but
now it was impossible. He would go away to some place unknown. He would
depart utterly and leave everything behind him.
"But on his knees Dr. Paltravi implored Jaqui to stay where he was, and
to protect his wife for a time at least. He would send money, he would
do everything he could, and perhaps, after a time, some arrangement
could be made; but now he must go. He had been ordered to leave, and he
must do so. It had not been two days since Paltravi and Jaqui had met,
but already it seemed to them that they were old friends. Strange
circumstances had bound them together, and Jaqui now found he could not
refuse the charge which was thrust upon him; and Dr. Paltravi departed.
"Donna Paltravi did not allow her anger to deprive her of her
opportunities. There were so many new things she wanted to see that she
set about seeing them with great earnestness and industry, and she
enjoyed her new world very much indeed. The news of her revivification
spread abroad rapidly, for such a thing could not be concealed; and many
people came to see her. She was beautiful and popular, and adopted new
fashions as soon as she learned them. Jaqui had nothing to say to all
this; he had no right now to keep people from seeing her.
"Very soon there came to her the fool-poet. Now Jaqui began to hope. He
had been assured by his priest that, under the circumstances, the church
would dissolve this young lady's marriage with Paltravi, and if Florino
would marry her Jaqui might look forward to a peaceful life. Now whether
the priest had a right to say this I will not take it on myself to say;
but he did say it: and so Jaqui did not feel called upon to interfere
with the courtship of the fool-poet. He decided that as soon as possible
he would go away from that house. He had a dislike for houses with three
floors, and his next habitation should be carefully selected; if so much
as a preserved bug or a butterfly in a box should be found on the
premises, that symbol of evil should be burned and its ashes scattered
afar.
"Jaqui had every reason to hope. Florino literally threw himself at the
feet of the fair Donna Paltravi; and she was delighted with him. He was
somewhat younger than she was, but that had been the case with her first
lover, and she had not objected. The two young people got on famously
together, although there was now a duenna as well as a maid on the
second floor. Jaqui was greatly comforted. He spent a good deal of his
spare time going about Florence looking for a desirable house with two
floors. The courtship went on merrily, and there was talk of the
wedding; and, while Jaqui could not help pitying the poor old man in
Milan, he could not altogether blame the gay young woman in Florence,
who was now generally looked upon as a lady who had lost her husband.
"It was nearly three weeks after the lady had come out of her box when a
strange thing happened: four days elapsed without Florino coming to the
house! Jaqui was greatly disturbed and nervous. Suppose the young man
had found some other lady to love, or suppose his parents had shut him
up! Such suspicions were very disquieting, and Jaqui went to see
Florino. He found the fool-poet in a fit of the doleful dumps. At first
the young man refused to talk: but, when Jaqui pressed him, he admitted
that he had not quarrelled with the lady; that she did not know why he
was staying away; that he had received several notes from her, and that
he had not answered them. Then Jaqui grew very angry and half drew his
sword. This was a matter in which he was concerned. The lady's husband
had placed her in his charge, and he would not stand tamely by and see
her deserted by her lover, who had given everybody reason to believe
that he intended to make her his own.
"But Jaqui put back his sword, for the fool-poet showed no signs of
fight, and then he used argument. Just as earnestly as he had formerly
tried to keep these two apart did he now endeavor to bring them
together. But Florino would listen to no reason, and at last, when
driven to bay, he declared he would not marry an old woman--that Donna
Paltravi had dozens of gray hairs on each temple, and there were several
wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. He was a young man, and wanted a
young woman for his wife.
"Jaqui was utterly astounded by what he heard. His mind was suddenly
permeated by a conviction which rendered him speechless. He rose, and
without another word he hurried home. As soon as he could he made a
visit to Donna Paltravi. He had not seen her for a week or more, and the
moment his eyes fell upon her he saw that Florino was right. She was
growing old! He spent some time with her, but as she did not allude to
any change in herself, of course he did not; but just as he was leaving
he made a casual remark about Florino. 'Oh, he has not been here for
some time,' said the lady. 'I missed him at first, but now I am glad he
does not come. He is very frivolous, and I have a small opinion of his
poetry. I think most of it is copied, and he shows poor judgment in his
selections.'
"That evening, sitting in his private room, Jaqui thought he saw through
everything. Up-stairs on the second floor was a lady who was actually
seventy-one years old! Her natural development had been arrested by
artificial influences, but as these influences had ceased to operate,
there could be no reason to doubt that nature was resuming her authority
over the lady, and that she was doing her best to make up for lost time.
Donna Paltravi appeared now to be about forty-five years old."
"This is getting to be very curious, John," said the Mistress of the
House. "I have often heard of bodies which, on being exhumed, after they
have been buried a long time, presented a perfectly natural appearance,
but which crumbled into dust when exposed to the air and the light.
Would not this lady's apparent youth have crumbled into dust all at once
when it was exposed to light and air?"
"I cannot say, madam," said the gardener, respectfully, "what might have
happened in other cases, but in this instance the life of youth remained
for a good while, and when it did begin to depart the change was
gradual."
"You forget, mamma," said the younger lady, "that this is real life, and
that it is a story with one thing coming after another, like steps."
"I did forget," said the other, "and I beg your pardon, John."
The gardener bowed his head a little, and went on: "Jaqui was greatly
interested in this new development. He made frequent visits to Donna
Paltravi, and found, to his surprise, that she was not the vain and
frivolous woman he had supposed her to be, but was, in reality, very
sensible and intelligent. She talked very well about many things, and
even took an interest in science. Jaqui lost all desire to put her back
in her box, and spent the greater part of his leisure time in her
company."
At this the Mistress of the House smiled, but her daughter frowned.
"Of course," continued the gardener, "he soon fell in love with her."
"Which was natural enough," said the Mistress of the House.
"Whether it was natural enough or not," cried her daughter, "it was not
right."
John Gayther looked upon her with pride. He knew that in her fair young
mind that which ought to be rose high above thoughts of what was likely
to be, which came into the more experienced mind of her mother.
"But you see, miss," said John Gayther, "Jaqui was human. Here was a
lady very near his own age, still beautiful, very intelligent, living in
the same house with him, glad to see him whenever he chose to visit her.
It was all as clear as daylight, and it was not long before he was in
such a state of mind that he would have fallen upon Florino with a drawn
sword if the fool-poet had dared to renew his addresses to Donna
Paltravi."
"I must say," remarked the Mistress of the House, "that although his
action was natural enough, he was in great danger of becoming a
prose-fool."
"You are right, madam," said the gardener, "and Jaqui had some ideas
of that kind himself. But it was of no use. She was an uncommonly
attractive lady now that her mind came to the aid of her body. He knew
that nature was still working hard to make this blooming middle-aged
lady look like the old woman she really was. But love is a powerful
antidote to reason, and this was the first time Jaqui had ever been in
love. When he thought of it at all, he persuaded himself that it did not
matter how old this lady might come to be; he would love her all the
same. In fact, he was sure that if she were to turn young again and
become frivolous and beautiful, his love would not change. It was
getting stronger and stronger every time he saw her."
"What I am thinking about," exclaimed the Daughter of the House, "is
that poor old gentleman in Milan. No matter what the others were doing,
or what they were thinking, they were treating him shamefully, and Jaqui
was not his friend at all."
"You may be right," said her mother; "but, don't you see, this is real
life. You must not forget that, my dear."
John Gayther smiled and went on, and the young lady listened, although
she did not approve. "Jaqui was a handsome man, and could make himself
very agreeable; and it is not surprising that Donna Paltravi became very
much attached to him. He could not fail to see this, and as he was a man
of method, he declared to himself one day that upon the next day, at the
first moment he could find the lady alone, he would propose marriage to
her. He had ceased to think about increase in age and all that. He was
perfectly satisfied with her as she was, and he troubled his mind about
nothing else.
"But early the next day, before he had a chance to carry out his plans,
he received a letter from Dr. Paltravi urging him to come immediately to
Milan. The poor gentleman was sick in his bed, and greatly longed to
see his friend Jaqui. The letter concluded with the earnest request that
Jaqui should not tell Donna Paltravi where he was going, or that he had
heard from the unfortunate writer. Jaqui set off at once, for fear he
should not find his friend alive, and on the way his emotions were
extremely conflicting."
"And very wicked, I have no doubt," said the Daughter of the House. "He
hoped that old man would die."
"There is some truth in what you say, miss," answered John Gayther, with
a proud glance at the Mistress of the House, who was not ashamed to
return it, "for Jaqui could not help thinking that if old Dr. Paltravi,
who could not expect any further happiness in this life, and who must
die before very long anyhow, owing to his age and misfortunes, should
choose to leave the world at this time, it would not only be a good
thing for him, but it would make matters a great deal easier for some
people he would leave behind him. In real life you cannot help such
thoughts as this, miss, unless you are very, very good, far above the
average.
"Jaqui found the old doctor very sick indeed, and he immediately set
about doing everything he could to make him feel better; but
Dr. Paltravi did not care anything about medical treatment. It was not
for that he had sent for Jaqui. What he desired was to make arrangements
for the future of Donna Paltravi, and he wanted Jaqui to carry out his
wishes. In the first place, he asked him to take charge of the lady's
fortune and administer it to her advantage; and secondly, he desired
that he would marry her. 'If I die knowing that the dear woman who was
once my wife is to marry you,' said the sick man, 'and thus be protected
and cared for, I shall leave this world grateful and happy. I can never
do anything for her myself; but if you will take my place, my
friend,--and I am sure Donna Paltravi will easily learn to like
you,--that will be the next best thing. Now will you promise me?' Jaqui
knelt by the side of the bed, took his friend's hand, and promised.
There were tears in his eyes, but whether they were tears of joy or of
sorrow it is not for me to say."
"It is for me, though," said the Daughter of the House, very severely.
"I know that man thoroughly."
The gardener went on with his story: "Jaqui remained several days with
Dr. Paltravi, but he could not do his poor friend any good. The sick man
was nervous and anxious; he was afraid that some one else might get
ahead of Jaqui and marry Donna Paltravi; and he urged his friend not to
stay with him, where he could be of no service, but to go back to
Florence and prepare to marry Donna Paltravi when she should become a
widow. As Jaqui was also getting nervous, being possessed of the same
fears, he at last consented to carry out the old doctor's wishes,--and
his own at the same time,--and he returned to Florence.
"In the meantime Donna Paltravi had been somewhat anxious about Jaqui.
She had conceived a high regard for him, and she could think of no
satisfactory reason why he should go away without saying anything to
her, and stay away without writing. She hoped nothing had occurred which
would interfere with the very agreeable sentiments which appeared to be
springing up between them. This disturbed state of mind was very bad
for a lady in the physical condition of Donna Paltravi. If I may use the
simile of a clock in connection with her apparent age, I should say that
worrying conjecture, had caused some cogs to slip, and that the clock of
her age had struck a good many years since Jaqui's absence.
"When he met her she greeted him warmly, plainly delighted to see him;
but for a moment he was startled. This lady was really very much older
than when he had left her; her hair was nearly gray."
"Served him right!" said the Daughter of the House.
"But when he began to talk to her," continued John Gayther, "his former
feelings for her returned. She was charming, and he forgot about her
hair. Her conversation greatly interested him; and now that his
conscience came to the assistance of his affection (for he was doing
exactly what Dr. Paltravi desired him to do), he was quite happy and
spent a pleasant evening. But in the morning, as he looked at himself in
the mirror, he remembered her gray hair."
At the word "conscience" an indication of a sneer had appeared on the
face of the young lady, but she did not interrupt.
"It was about a week after this that Donna Paltravi sat alone in the
little room on the second floor, and Dr. Jaqui sat alone in the little
room on the first floor. She was waiting for him to come to her, and
he was not intending to go. He believed, with reason, that she was
expecting him to propose marriage to her, and he did not intend to offer
himself. He was very willing to marry a middle-aged lady, but he did
not wish to espouse an old one--at least, an old one who looked her age;
and that Donna Paltravi was going to look her full age in a very short
time Jaqui had now no doubt whatever. Her face was beginning to show a
great many wrinkles, and her hair was not only gray but white in some
places. But these changes did not in the least interfere with her good
looks, for in some ways she was growing more handsome and stately than
she had been before; but our good friend Jaqui--"
"Not my good friend Jaqui, please," interrupted the Daughter of the
House.
"Said to himself," continued John Gayther, "that he did not want a
mother, but a wife. A few weeks before he would have supposed such a
thing impossible, but now a certain sympathy for Florino rose in his
heart. So he did not go up-stairs that evening, and the lady was very
much disturbed and did not sleep well.
"In a few days Jaqui got ready to go away again, and this time he went
to bid the lady good-by. She had heard he was about to take a journey,
and as he greeted her he saw she had been weeping but was quite composed
now. 'Farewell, my friend,' said she. 'I know what is happening to me,
and I know what is happening to you. It will be well for you to stay
away for a time, and when you return you will see that we are to be
very good friends, greatly interested in the progress of science and
civilization.' Then she smiled and shook hands with him.
"Jaqui went to Rome and to Naples, wandering about in an objectless sort
of way. He dreaded to go to Milan, because he had not heard that
Dr. Paltravi was dead, and it would have been very hard for him to have
to explain to the sick man why he had decided not to carry out his
wishes. Apart from the disappointment he would feel when he heard that
Donna Paltravi was not to have the kind guardianship he had planned for
her, the old doctor would be grieved to the soul when he heard his wife
had lost the youth he had taken from her, but which he had expected to
return in full measure. What made it worse for Jaqui was that he could
administer no comfort with the news. He could not sacrifice himself to
please the old man; promise or no promise, this was impossible. He had
not consented to marry an old lady. Again, from the very bottom of his
heart, did Jaqui wish there never had been a lady in a box.