TWO LETTERS.
Despard did not go back to the Grange for some days. About a week had
passed since the scenes narrated in the preceding chapter when one
morning, having finished his breakfast, he went into his library and sat
down at the table to write. A litter of papers lay all around. The walls
were covered with shelves, filled with books. The table was piled high
with ponderous tomes. Manuscripts were strewn around, and books were
scattered on the floor. Yet, amidst all this disorder, some order was
apparent, for many of these books lay open in certain places, and others
were arranged so as to be within reach.
Several sheets of paper, covered with writing, lay before him, headed,
“The Byzantine Poets.” The books were all in Greek. It was the library
of a hard-working student.
Very different was the Despard of the library from the Despard who had
visited the Grange. A stern and thoughtful expression was read in his
face, and his eyes had an abstraction which would have done credit to
Mr. Thornton himself.
Taking his seat at the table, he remained for a while leaning his head
on his hand in deep thought. Then he took up a pen and drew a piece of
paper before him to try it. He began to draw upon it the same figure
which he had marked with his cane on Mrs. Thornton’s carpet. He traced
this figure over and over, until at last the whole sheet was covered.
Suddenly he flung down the pen, and, taking up the paper, leaned back
in his chair with a melancholy face. “What a poor, weak thing I am!”
he muttered at last, and let the paper fall to the floor. He leaned
his head on his hand, then resumed his pen and began to make some idle
marks. At length he began to draw.
Under the fine and delicate strokes of his pen, which were as neat
and as exquisite as the most subtle touches of an engraving, a picture
gradually rose to view. It was a sea-side scene. The place was
Holby Beach. In the distance was the light-house; and on one side a
promontory, which protected the harbor. Upon the shore, looking out
toward the sea, was a beautiful girl, of about sixteen years of age,
whose features, as they grew beneath his tender touches, were those of
Mrs. Thornton. Then beside her there gradually rose another figure,
a youth of about eighteen, with smooth face and clustering locks, who
looked exactly like what the Rev. Courtenay Despard might have been some
seven or eight years before. His left arm was around her waist, her
arm was thrown up till it touched his shoulder, and his right hand held
hers. Her head leaned against him, and both of them, with a subdued
expression of perfect happiness, tinged with a certain pensive sadness,
were looking out upon the setting sun.
As soon as he finished he looked at the sketch, and then, with a sudden
impulse, tore it into a thousand small fragments. He drew the written
manuscript before him with a long and deep-drawn sigh, and began writing
with great rapidity upon the subject of the Byzantine Poets. He had just
written the following words:
“The Anacreontic hymns of John Damascenus form a marked contrast to--”
when the sentence was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Come in!” It
was the servant with letters from the post-office. Despard put down his
pen gravely, and the man laid two letters on the table. He waited
till the servant had departed, then seizing one of them, a small one,
addressed in a lady’s hand, he pressed it vehemently to his lips and
tore it open.
It was as follows:
[Illustration: “BOTH WERE LOOKING OUT UPON THE SETTING SUN.”]
“DEAR MR. DESPARD,--I suppose I may _never_ expect to see you again. Yet
I must see you, for yesterday I received a very long letter from Paolo
of so singular a character that you will have to explain it to me. I
shall expect you this afternoon, and till then, I remain,
“Yours sincerely,
“TERESA THORNTON.
“THORNTON GRANGE, Friday.”
Despard read this letter a score of times, and placed it reverently
in an inner drawer of his desk. He then opened the other, and read as
follows:
“HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, January 12, 1847.
“MY DEAR COURTENAY,--I was very glad to hear of your appointment as
Rector of Holby, your old home, and hope that by this time you are fully
established in the old Rectory, where you spent so many years. I was
there often enough in poor old Carson’s days to know that it was a fine
old place.
“You will see by this that I am in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My regiment was
ordered off here last November, and I am just beginning to feel settled.
It is not so cold here as it was in Quebec. There is capital moose
hunting up the country. I don’t admire my accommodations much; but it is
not a bad little town, considering all things. The people are pleasant,
and there is some stir and gayety occasionally.
“Not long before leaving Quebec, who do you think turned up? No less a
person than Paolo Langhetti, who in the course of his wanderings came
out there. He had known some extraordinary adventures on his voyage out;
and these are the immediate cause of this letter.
“He took passage early in June last in the ship _Tecumseh_, from
Liverpool for Quebec. It was an emigrant ship, and crammed with
passengers. You have heard all about the horrors of that middle passage,
which occurred last year, when those infernal Liverpool merchants, for
the sake of patting a few additional pounds in their pockets, sent so
many thousands to destruction.
“The _Tecumseh_ was one of these. It was crammed with emigrants. You
know Langhetti’s extraordinary pluck, and his queer way of devoting
himself for others. Well, what did he do but this: as soon as the
ship-fever broke out he left the cabin and took up his abode in the
steerage with the sick emigrants. He is very quiet about this, and
merely says that he helped to nurse the sick. I know what that means.
“The mortality was terrific. Of all the ships that came to Quebec on
that fatal summer the _Tecumseh_ showed the largest record of deaths. On
reaching the quarantine station Langhetti at once insisted on continuing
his attendance on the sick. Hands were scarce, and his offer was
eagerly accepted. He staid down there ever so long till the worst of the
sickness was over.
“Among the passengers on the _Tecumseh_ were three who belonged to the
superior class. Their names were Brandon. He took a deep interest in
them. They suffered very much from sickness both during the voyage and
at quarantine. The name at once attracted him, being one well known both
to him and to us. At last they all died, or were supposed to have died,
at the quarantine station. Langhetti, however, found that one of them
was only in a ‘trance state,’ and his efforts for resuscitation were
successful. This one was a young girl of not more than sixteen years of
age. After her restoration he left the quarantine bringing her with him,
and came up to the city. Here he lived for a month or so, until at last
he heard of me and came to see me.
“Of course I was delighted to see him, for I always thought him the
noblest fellow that ever breathed, though most undoubtedly cranky if
not crazy. I told him we were going to Halifax, and as he had no settled
plan I made him come here with me.
“The girl remained for a long time in a state of mental torpor, as
though her brain had been affected by disease, but the journey here
had a beneficial effect on her, and during her stay she has steadily
improved. About a week ago Langhetti ventured to ask her all about
herself.
“What will you say when I tell you that she is the daughter of poor
Ralph Brandon, of Brandon Hall, your father’s friend, whose wretched
fate has made us all so miserable. You know nothing of this, of course;
but where was Thornton? Why did not he do something to prevent this
horror, this unutterable calamity? Good God! what suffering there is in
this world!
“Now, Courtenay, I come to the point. This poor Edith Brandon, still
half-dead from her grief, has been able to tell us that she has still a
relative living. Her eldest brother Louis went to Australia many years
ago. A few weeks before her father’s death he wrote to his son telling
him everything, and imploring him to come home. She thinks that her
brother must be in England by this time.
“I want you to hunt up Louis Brandon. Spare no trouble. In the name of
God, and by the memory of your father, whose most intimate friend was
this poor old Brandon, I entreat you to search after Louis Brandon till
you find him, and let him know the fate of his friends. I think if
she could see him the joy of meeting one relative would restore her to
health.
“My boy, I know I have said enough. Your own heart will impel you to do
all that can be done for the sake of this poor young girl. You can find
out the best ways of learning information. You had better go up at once
to London and make arrangements for finding Brandon. Write me soon, and
let me know.
“Your affectionate uncle,
“HENRY DESPARD.”
Despard read this letter over and over. Then he put it in his pocket,
and walked up and down the room in deep thought. Then he took out Mrs.
Thornton’s note and studied it for a long time. So the hours passed
away, until at length two o’clock came and he set out for Thornton
Grange.
On entering the drawing-room, Mrs. Thornton was there.
“So you have come at last,” said she, as they shook hands.
“As if I would not come ten times a day if I could,” was the answer, in
an impetuous voice.
“Still there is no reason why you should persistently avoid the Grange.”
“What would you say if I followed my own impulse, and came here every
day?”
“I would say, Good-morning, Sir. Still, now that you are here, you must
stay.”
“I will stay, whether I must or not.”
“Have you recovered from the effect of my prayer-book yet?”
“No, nor ever will I. You brought the same one last Sunday.”
“That was in order to weaken the effect. Familiarity breeds contempt,
you know.”
“Then all I can say is, that contempt has very extraordinary
manifestations. Among other strange things, it makes me cover my paper
with that pattern when I ought to be writing on the Mosaic Economy.”
“Cosmogony, you mean.”
“Well, then, Cosmogony.”
“Cosmogony is such a delicious word! It has been the hope of my life to
be able to introduce it in a conversation. There is only one other word
that compares with it.”
“What is it?”
“I am afraid to pronounce it.”
“Try, at any rate.”
“Idiosyncrasy,” said Mrs. Thornton. “For five or six years I have been
on the look-out for an opportunity to use that word, and thus far I have
been unsuccessful. I fear that if the opportunity did occur I would call
it ‘idiocracy.’ In fact, I know I would.”
“And what would be the difference? Your motive would be right, and it is
to motives that we must look, not acts.”
After some further badinage, Mrs. Thornton drew a letter from her
pocket.
“Here,” said she, gravely, “is Paolo’s letter. Read it, and tell me what
you think of it.”
Despard took the letter and began to read, while Mrs. Thornton, sitting
opposite to him, watched his face.
The letter was in Italian, and was accompanied by a large and
closely-written manuscript of many pages.
“HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, January 2, 1847.
“MY SWEETEST LITTLE SISTER,--I send you my diary, as I promised you, my
Teresella, and you will see all my adventures. Take care of yourself,
be happy, and let us hope that we may see one another soon. I am well,
through the mercy of the good God, and hope to continue so. There is no
such thing as music in this place, but I have found an organ where I
can play. My Cremona is uninjured, though it has passed through hard
times--it sends a note of love to my Teresina. Remember your Paolo to
the just and upright Thornton, whom you love. May God bless my little
sister’s husband, and fill his heart with love for the sweetest of
children!
“Read this manuscript carefully, Teresuola mia dolcissima, and pray for
the souls of those unhappy ones who perished by the pestilence.”