A PAINFUL REMINISCENCE.
How few look back upon a past
Of spotless purity,--and who
Would dare absolve with prayer and fast
The deeds they've done--the deeds they do;
Whatever may be the prejudice existing against the customary shams,
deceptions and hypocrisies of society, certainly the sugar coating which
good breeding and etiquette throw over the many bitter and disagreeable
ingredients that go to make up our daily lives, is very palatable and
pleasing. Suspicions may be aroused; curiosity be on the _qui vive_,
anxiety and interest waging violent warfare in the human heart, yet the
restrictions and obligations of courtesy demand self-control and affable
manners, while gentle words make smooth many sharp and jagged corners in
life's mental conflict, that uncovered would oftentimes cause friction
and discomfort.
In vain the gossips looked and listened for some fragment of food for
their customary _menu_, but neither Mrs. Sinclair or Stella showed by
look or word that this particular reception was fraught with more than
the usual interest, and as to the long lost son, his sojourn among the
heathen nations of the earth, seemed to both foster and expand his
naturally courteous disposition. His meeting with his mother had been
cordial in the extreme. There was no time for lavish demonstration of
affection, as he only arrived a brief ten minutes before the earliest
guest. His presentation to his adopted sister, however, was marked by a
change of demeanor that was plainly observed by all, yet, no person
present, so far overcame the feeling of wonder that his manner
generated, as to even boast of an approximate guess regarding its cause.
The look that came into his wide, gray eyes when they first fell upon
the beautiful girl, was one of amazement, and the gossips instantly
concluded that beautiful women had been rare in his experience. Then a
lurid light gleamed in his eyeballs; the lines of his face became drawn
and tense, and hatred, and envy, were instantly ascribed to him. But as
he touched her hand in greeting, a look so plainly indicative of carnal
passion gleamed in every feature of his now diabolical face, that cold
shivers and sensations of horror, swept through the sympathetic natures
present, and doubtless, the maids and matrons, would have risen
_en-masse_ and called for their carriages, had not the sudden withdrawal
of Stella's hand, brought back, as if by magic, the winning smile to the
young man's countenance and transformed him again, in an instant, into
the hero of the evening.
The dowagers reasoned that their lorgnettes were dimmed and their
visions contorted thereby, while the maidens, serene in their innocence,
forgot in a brief time the glimpse they had, or fancied they had, into
man's inmost nature, and vied with each other in their efforts to win
the approval of so distinguished and withal so mysterious a parti.
Possibly a vague thought of this young scion's probable inheritance
brought favorable influence to bear upon the stricter morals of the
scheming mammas, as social position and wealth have heretofore and
probably always will weigh successfully in the balance against
questionable character and immorality.
Nevertheless, so strong was the momentary resemblance between this
fascinating young man and the numerous likenesses of the mythical
Beelzebub, that the Lady Van Tyne assured her family physician, in a
strictly confidential interview the next morning, that, "for an instant
it seemed as if the very curls of auburn hair stood up on his temples
like horns, and she was sure that almost countless numbers of hooked and
venomous claws protruded from his dainty patent leather boots, while as
to his face,"--here she shuddered with a convulsive, reminiscent spasm,
"it was the face of Satan himself!"
The good Doctor listened and sympathized; prescribed a pleasing tonic
and rendered a modest bill, but he was afterward heard to say to his
assistant, quite unprofessionally, of course. "It's wonderful what
champagne will do. If the ladies would only stick to Bass, now!"
The Lady Van Tyne and her family physician were on the very best of
terms, however.
It had been remarked by many that Dr. Seward was the only human being
whom the wilful lady feared or felt disposed in any particular to obey.
But both the physician and his proud patron still bore in undying
remembrance a little episode of early days, and for reasons of mutual
interest, their friendship remained firm and unimpeachable.
Thirty years before, Lady Van Tyne was a plump, pretty brunette of
eighteen, or rather, such was the charming Isabel Montfort, for the
wealthy Sir Casper Van Tyne had not as yet secured her for his bride,
and Dr. Seward was but a beginner in the fascinating science which later
brought him fame and fortune.
Now, whenever he saw the Lady Van Tyne, his thoughts involuntarily
wandered back to the summer day when, with consternation in her face,
Lady Montfort had called upon him with the vivacious Isabel to secure
his immediate and most careful services.
The good lady readily accepted his verdict and in all innocence prepared
her daughter for the immediate journey to America, which the imperative
physician prescribed.
Little did the good woman realize that all her elaborate preparations
were smiled at, more or less sadly, by her daughter and the clever
physician.
For, instead of the extended trip across the ocean, Miss Isabel betook
herself quietly to the private residence of the physician, and there for
three months she remained under the careful surveillance of doctor and
nurse.
The ruse was more than successful, inasmuch as Miss Isabel was restored
to her mother, and Sir Casper's eager arms, in rapidly improving health,
while the young physician's somewhat astounding fee was quietly paid by
a gentleman of excellent social standing who was, moreover, the husband
of one of the most charming and estimable ladies of Dr. Seward's
acquaintance.
The secret had been well guarded. Now and then a dull pang of
self-reproach was experienced by the physician when he remembered how
indifferent he had been to the fate of the child after he had secured a
home and guardianship for it. He watched it more or less interestedly
for about ten years, as he also watched that other boy so singularly
alike in feature but so widely different in parentage and social
prospects.
The boys, at ten and eleven respectively, were as near alike as
brothers, but from that time on there were changes in the adopted
parents mode of life, and the child of unsanctified love vanished from
his gaze forever.
Into the lives of all physicians there come many and varied episodes of
private nature, but probably of all the secret games indulged in by
unscrupulous human beings, that one is best remembered wherein they hold
so prominent a hand.
It was little wonder, in the light of such reflections, that Dr. Seward
evinced not only a slight irritability regarding his patient's
hallucination, but also a most extraordinary desire to see this young
man whose personal appearance was so suggestive of the Infernal Regions.