THE STATUE.
The old woman led the way at a rapid pace towards Golden Lane, the
rector following her at a little distance.
Although there was nothing improbable in the tale which the hag had told
him, and nothing improper in the step which he was taking,--nevertheless
he experienced a vague and indefinable idea of doing wrong.
Something told him that he ought to retreat; and at the same time a
superior influence urged him onward.
And, therefore, he followed the old woman.
The wrinkled creature pursued her way, and at length turned into the
dark and dirty court with which the reader is already well acquainted.
"This is a strange place, you will say," observed the old woman, as she
pushed open the door of one of the houses in that court,--"this is a
strange place to contain such a treasure."
"And for that reason the treasure should not long be allowed to remain
here," answered the clergyman.
The hag chuckled:--the sound was between a hollow laugh and a
death-rattle; and it seemed horrible to the ears of Reginald Tracy.
The old woman then slowly ascended the narrow and dark staircase, until
she reached the landing, where she drew a key from her pocket, and
leisurely applied it to the lock of a door.
She fumbled about so long with the key, muttering to herself all the
while, that Reginald thought she would never open the door, and he
offered to assist her.
But at that moment the key turned in the lock, and the door was slowly
opened.
The hag beckoned the rector to follow her; and he found himself in a
tolerably large room, decently furnished, and with an excellent fire
burning in the grate.
There were no candles lighted; nor did the hag offer to provide
any;--but the contents of the apartment were plainly visible by means of
the strong glare of the fire.
Heavy curtains of a dark colour covered the windows: the floor was
carpeted; the chairs and tables were of plain but solid material; and a
large mirror stood over the mantel.
At the farther end of the room was a second door, which was now closed,
but evidently communicated with an inner chamber.
"I gave the poor artist the best rooms in my house," observed the hag,
as she placed a chair near the fire for the rector. "The statue stands
in the adjoining chamber; you can inspect it at once, while I----"
She mumbled the remainder of the sentence in such a way that it was
wholly unintelligible to the rector, and then left the room.
For a few minutes Reginald stood before the fire, uncertain what course
to pursue. He now began to think that the entire proceeding was somewhat
extraordinary; and the singular manner in which the old hag had left
him, inspired him with a feeling not entirely free from alarm.
But for what purpose could he have been inveigled thither, if it were
not really to behold the marvellous statue? and, perhaps, after, all,
the old woman had only left him in order to fetch the candles or to
summon the artist? Moreover, had she not informed him that the statue
was in the next room, and that he might inspect it at once? It was
therefore easy to satisfy himself whether he had been deceived or not.
Ashamed of his transient fears, he threw off his hat and cloak, and
advanced towards the door communicating with the inner chamber.
Even then he hesitated for a minute as his fingers grasped the handle;
but, at length, he boldly entered the room.
The moment the door was thrown open, he perceived by the light of the
fire which burned in the front apartment, that the inner one was a small
and comfortably fitted-up bed-chamber. It was involved in a more than
semi-obscurity; but not to such an extent as to conceal from Reginald
Tracy's penetrating glance the semblance of a female form standing upon
a low pedestal in the most remote corner of the room.
"I am not then deceived!" he exclaimed aloud, as he advanced nearer
towards the statue.
By this time his eyes had become accustomed to the obscurity of the
chamber, into which the glimmer of the fire threw a faint but mellowed
light. Still, in somewhat bold relief, against the dark wall, stood the
object of his interest,--seeming a beautiful model of a female form, the
colouring of which was that of life. It was naked to the middle; the
arms were gracefully rounded; and one hand sustained the falling drapery
which, being also coloured, produced upon the mind of the beholder the
effect of real garments.
Lost in wonder at the success with which the sculptor had performed his
work,--and experiencing feelings of a soft and voluptuous
nature,--Reginald drew closer to the statue. At that moment the light of
the fire played upon its countenance; and it seemed to him as if the
lips moved with a faint smile. Then, how was his surprise increased,
when the conviction flashed to his mind that the face he was gazing upon
was well known to him!
"O Cecilia, Cecilia!" he ejaculated aloud: "hast thou sent thy statue
hither to compel me to fall at its feet and worship the senseless stone,
while thou--the sweet original--art elsewhere, speculating perhaps upon
the emotions which this phantasmagorian sport was calculated to conjure
up within me! Ah! Cecilia, if thou wast resolved to subdue me once
more--if thou couldst not rest until I became thy slave again,--oh! why
not have invited me to meet thine own sweet self, instead of this
speechless, motionless, passionless image,--a counterpart of thee only
in external loveliness! Yes--there it is perfect:--the hair--the
brow--the eyes--the mouth---- Heavens! those lips seem to smile once
more; those eyes sparkle with real fire! Cecilia--Cecilia--"
And Reginald Tracy was afraid--he scarcely knew wherefore: the entire
adventure of the evening appeared to be a dream.
"Yes--yes!" he suddenly exclaimed, after having steadfastly contemplated
the form before him for some moments,--standing at a distance of only
three or four paces,--afraid to advance nearer, unwilling to retreat
altogether,--"yes!" he exclaimed, "there is something more than mere
senseless marble here! The eyes shoot fire--the lips smile--the bosom
heaves---- Oh! Cecilia--Cecilia, it is yourself!"
As he spoke he rushed forward: the statue burst from chill marble into
warmth and life;--it was indeed the beauteous but wily Cecilia--who
returned his embrace and hung around his neck;--and the rector was again
subdued--again enslaved!
* * * * *
* * * * *
"And you will pardon me for the little stratagem which I adopted to
bring you back to my arms?" said Cecilia.
"How can I do otherwise than pardon you?" murmured the rector, whose
licentious soul was occupied only with gross delights, and who would at
that moment have dared exposure and disgrace rather than tear himself
away from the syren on whose bosom his head was pillowed. "Oh! Cecilia,
I have had a violent struggle with my feelings; but I shall now contend
against them no more. No! from this instant I abandon all hope of
empire--all wish for dominion over myself: I yield myself up to the
pleasures of love and to thee! Sweet Cecilia, thou hast taught me how
ineffable is the bliss which mortals may taste in this world;--and after
all, the sure present is preferable to the uncertain future!"
"Reginald--beloved Reginald, didst thou imagine that I would resign thee
so easily as thou wouldst have resigned me!" said Lady Cecilia. "Oh! you
know not the heart of woman! There were but two alternatives for me--to
bring you back, or to avenge myself on you."
"Avenge yourself!" exclaimed Reginald, starting.
"Yes," replied the wily creature, purposely adopting this discourse in
order to enchain her lover in future; "a woman who fondly--madly loves,
as I love, Reginald--will not so willingly part with the object of her
affection! What,--could you suppose that I would surrender myself to you
one day to be abandoned the next? No--never, never would I permit myself
to be made the victim of a caprice! You wrote to me to implore me not to
seek to see you again: I requested one last interview--you refused me my
demand! Then I smarted sorely; but I said to myself, '_He loves me_';
and I added, '_I love him also_.' I accordingly resolved to attempt one
grand effort to draw the anchorite from his cell. Chance threw in my way
the old woman whom I sent to you, and in whose house we now are----"
"And what chance was that?" demanded Reginald, who entertained a strong
and yet unaccountable aversion for that old hag.
"I will tell you all, dearest Reginald," answered Cecilia. "The evening
after I received your cruel note desiring that all might end between us,
I was going out with the intention of calling upon _you_--yes, of
throwing myself at your feet----"
"Imprudent Cecilia!" murmured the rector, imprinting a kiss upon her
lips.
"Yes--I was on the point of leaving my own abode to seek yours,"
continued Cecilia, "when I heard a hoarse and ominous voice muttering
behind me. I looked round, and perceived that old wretch. She smiled--or
rather, leered significantly, and said, '_Happy, happy lady--to enjoy
the rector of Saint David's love!_'"
"She said _that_!" cried Reginald. "How could she divine what passed
between us?"
"She has since explained to me how she one evening saw you leave my
house--with a certain wildness in your manner----"
"True! true!" ejaculated the rector; "and the mind of the old woman
being perhaps naturally evil, she conceived evil of others on the
faintest suspicion."
"Exactly," answered Cecilia. "When she accosted me in that manner, I was
so wretched, so miserable at the idea of being separated from you----"
"Sweetest creature! I was, indeed, ungrateful in return for so much
love!"
"I was so unhappy that I was even glad to speak of thee to such a wretch
as that old creature. Then she uttered words of consolation, and we
talked together--talked for an hour in the cold, damp street----"
"Poor Cecilia!" murmured Reginald.
"What would I not dare for you?" said the wily woman, pressing him
warmly in her snowy arms. "And now you can guess the rest--how the old
woman proposed that some stratagem should be invented to bring the
recreant back to my arms----"
"And you have thus blindly confided yourself--not only _your_ secret,
but _mine_ also--to a perfect stranger? O, Cecilia--was this prudent?"
exclaimed Reginald in alarm.
"Does love know prudence?" asked the lady. "But fear not: gold will seal
the lips of our confidant; and better is it for her obscure dwelling to
be the scene of our loves than for our caresses to be exchanged at my
abode, where the intrusion of a servant at any moment----"
"True!" interrupted Reginald. "And yet upon what a fearful abyss does my
reputation now seem to tremble!"
"_Yours!_" ejaculated Lady Cecilia, almost scornfully,--for she was
resolved to put an end to these repinings on the part of her lover: "Oh!
can you be so selfish as to think only of yourself? Should you be
detected, you are ruined only in your profession, and not as a man--for
with the man there is no dishonour in illicit love;--but if I be
detected, am I not lost as a wife, and as a woman? Will not all the
wrath of an avenging society light upon me? For it is upon us--upon poor
woman--that contumely, and shame, and disgrace fall!"
"Forgive me, dearest Cecilia," murmured the rector, clasping the frail
beauty in his arms. "I have been unjust to you--I have thought only of
myself, unmindful of the immense sacrifice that is made by thee! But,
forgive me, I say--and never again shall the expression of my cowardly
alarms--my egotistical terrors impair our happiness! I love you--I love
you, my Cecilia: Oh! heaven knows how sincerely--how madly I love you!"
"And you will love me always?" whispered Cecilia.
"Always! for ever--and ever!" answered the rector, now
intoxicated--delirious with joy, and reckless of all consequences.
* * * * *
* * * * *
The barrier was now completely broken down; and the rector gave way to
the violence of the passion which hurried him along.
That man, so full of vigour, and in the prime of his physical strength,
abandoned himself without restraint to the fury of those desires which
burnt the more madly--the more wildly, from having been so long pent-up.
Day after day did he meet his guilty paramour; and on each occasion did
he reflect less upon the necessity of caution. He passed hours and hours
together with her at her abode; and at length he ventured to receive her
at his own residence, when his housekeeper had retired to rest.
But he did not neglect his professional duties on the Sabbath;--and he
now became an accomplished hypocrite. He ascended the pulpit as usual,
and charmed thousands with his discourse as heretofore. Indeed his
eloquence improved, for the simulated earnestness which displaced the
tone of heart-felt conviction that he had once experienced, seemed more
impassioned, and was more impressive than the natural ebullition of his
feelings.
Thus as he progressed in the ways of vice, his reputation increased in
sanctity.
But the moment he escaped from the duties of his profession, he flew to
the arms of her who had seduced him from his career of purity; and so
infatuated was he with her who had been his tutoress in the ways of
amorous pleasure, that he joyfully placed his purse at the disposal of
her extravagance.
Thus was Lady Cecilia triumphant in all points with regard to the once
immaculate, but now sensual and voluptuous rector of Saint David's.