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Chain of Destiny-Bram Stoker · Romance Library

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one of the Chain of Destiny. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Read by Ben Tucker. The Chain of Destiny by Bram Stoker.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter one a warning. It was so late in the
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  Speaker 1: evening when I arrived as scarp, that I had but
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  Speaker 1: little opportunity of observing the external appearance of the house.
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  Speaker 1: But as far as I could judge in the dim twilight,
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  Speaker 1: it was a very stately edifice of seemingly great age,
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  Speaker 1: built of white stone. When I passed the porch, however,
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  Speaker 1: I could observe its internal beauties much more closely, for
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  Speaker 1: a large wood fire burned in the hall, and all
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  Speaker 1: the rooms and passages were lighted. The hall was almost
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  Speaker 1: baronial in its size, and opened on to a staircase
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  Speaker 1: of dark oak, so wide and so generous in its
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  Speaker 1: slope that a carriage might almost have been driven up it.
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  Speaker 1: The rooms were large and lofty, with their walls like
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  Speaker 1: those of staircase, paneled with oak black from age. The
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  Speaker 1: somber material would have made the house intensely gloomy, but
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  Speaker 1: for the enormous width and height, of both of size
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  Speaker 1: and warmth. The windows were set in deep embrasures, and
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  Speaker 1: on the ground story reached from quite level with the
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  Speaker 1: floor to almost the ceiling. The fireplaces were quite in
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  Speaker 1: the old style, large and surrounded with massive oak carvings,
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  Speaker 1: representing on each some scene from biblical history. And at
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  Speaker 1: the side of each fireplace rose a pair of massive
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  Speaker 1: carved iron fire dogs. It was altogether just such a
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  Speaker 1: house as would have delighted the heart of Washington Irving
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  Speaker 1: or Nathaniel Hawthorne. The house had been lately restored, but
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  Speaker 1: in affecting the restoration, comfort had not been forgotten, and
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  Speaker 1: any modern improvement which tended to increase the homelike appearance
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  Speaker 1: of the rooms.
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  Speaker 2: Had been added.
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  Speaker 1: The old diamond pained casements, which had remained, probably from
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  Speaker 1: the Elizabethan age, had given place to more useful plate class,
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  Speaker 1: and in like manner, many other changes had taken place.
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  Speaker 1: But so judiciously had every change been effected, that nothing
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  Speaker 1: of the new clashed with the old, but the harmony
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  Speaker 1: of all the parts seemed complete. I thought it no
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  Speaker 1: wonder that missus Trevor had fallen in love with Scarp
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  Speaker 1: the first time she had seen it. Missus Trevor's liking
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  Speaker 1: the place was tantamount to her husband's buying it, for
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  Speaker 1: he was so wealthy that he could get almost anything
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  Speaker 1: money could purchase. He was himself a man of good taste,
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  Speaker 1: but still he felt his inferiority to his wife in
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  Speaker 1: this respect so much that he never dreamt of differing
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  Speaker 1: an opinion from her on any matter of choice or judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Missus Trevor had, without exception, the best taste of any
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  Speaker 1: one whom I ever knew, and strange to say, her
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  Speaker 1: taste was not confined to any branch of art. She
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  Speaker 1: did not write, or paint or sing, but still her
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  Speaker 1: judgment in writing, painting, or music was unquestioned by her friends.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed as if nature had denied to her the
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  Speaker 1: power of execution in any separate branch of art in
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  Speaker 1: order to make her perfect in her appreciation of what
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  Speaker 1: was beautiful and true In all she was perfect in
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  Speaker 1: the art of harmonizing, the art of every day life.
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  Speaker 1: Her husband used to say, with a far fetched joke,
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  Speaker 1: that her star must have been in the house of Libra,
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  Speaker 1: because everything which she said and did showed such a
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  Speaker 1: nicety of balance. Mister and missus Trevor were the most
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  Speaker 1: model couple I ever knew. They really seemed not twain
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  Speaker 1: but one. They appeared to have adopted something of the
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  Speaker 1: French idea of man, that they should not be the
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  Speaker 1: less like friends because they were linked together by indissoluble bonds,
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  Speaker 1: that they should share their pleasures as well as their sorrows.
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  Speaker 1: The former outbalanced the latter, for both husband and wife
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  Speaker 1: were of that happy temperament which can take pleasure from
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  Speaker 1: everything and find consolation even in the chastening rod of affliction. Still,
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  Speaker 1: through their web of peaceful happiness ran a thread of care,
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  Speaker 1: one that cropt up in strange places and disappeared again,
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  Speaker 1: but which left a quiet tone over the whole fabric.
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  Speaker 1: They had no child, they had their share of sorrow,
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  Speaker 1: for when time was ripe, the still affection of the
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  Speaker 1: heart became an outward breathing type that into stillness, passed again,
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  Speaker 1: but left a want unknown before. There was something simple
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  Speaker 1: and holy in their patient endurance of their lonely life,
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  Speaker 1: For lonely a house must ever be without children. To
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  Speaker 1: those who loved truly, theirs was not the eager, disappointed
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  Speaker 1: longing of those whose union had proved fruitless. It was
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  Speaker 1: the simple, patient, hopeless resignation of those who find that
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  Speaker 1: a common sorrow draws them more closely together than many
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  Speaker 1: common joys. I myself could note the warmth of their
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  Speaker 1: hearts and their strong philoprogenitive feeling in their manner towards me.
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  Speaker 1: From the time when I lay sick in college, when
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  Speaker 1: missus Trevor appeared to my fever dimmed eyes like an
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  Speaker 1: angel of mercy, I felt myself growing in their hearts.
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  Speaker 1: Who can imagine my gratitude to the lady who, merely
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  Speaker 1: because she heard of my sickness and desolation from a
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  Speaker 1: college friend, came and nursed me night and day till
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  Speaker 1: the fever left me. When I was sufficiently strong to
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  Speaker 1: be moved, she had me brought away to the country,
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  Speaker 1: where good air care and attention soon made me stronger
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  Speaker 1: than ever. From that time I became a constant visitor
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  Speaker 1: at the Trevor's house, and as month after month roll by,
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  Speaker 1: I felt that I was growing in their affections. For
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  Speaker 1: four summers I spent my long vacation in their house,
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  Speaker 1: and each year I could feel mister Trevor's shake of
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  Speaker 1: the hand growing heartier and his wife's kiss on my forehead,
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  Speaker 1: for so she always saluted me, grow more tender and motherly.
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  Speaker 1: Their liking for me had now grown so much that
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  Speaker 1: in their heart of hearts, and it was a sanctum
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  Speaker 1: common to them both, they secretly loved me as a son.
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  Speaker 1: Their love was returned manifold by the lonely boy, whose
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  Speaker 1: devotion to the kindest friends of his youth and his
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  Speaker 1: trouble had increased with his growth in the manhood. Even
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  Speaker 1: in my own heart, I was ashamed to confess how
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  Speaker 1: I loved them both, how I worshiped Missus Trevor, as
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  Speaker 1: I adored the mother whom I had lost so young,
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  Speaker 1: and whose eyes shone sometimes even then upon me like
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  Speaker 1: stars in my sleep. It is strange how timorous we
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  Speaker 1: are when our affections are concerned merely because I had
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  Speaker 1: never told her how I loved her as a mother,
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  Speaker 1: because she had never told me how she loved me
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  Speaker 1: as a son, I used sometimes to think of her
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  Speaker 1: with a sort of lurking suspicion that I was trusting
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  Speaker 1: too much to my imagination. Sometimes even I would try
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  Speaker 1: to avoid thinking of her altogether, till my yearning would
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  Speaker 1: grow too strong. To be repelled, and then I would
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  Speaker 1: think of her long and silently, and would love her
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  Speaker 1: more and more. My life was so lonely that I
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  Speaker 1: clung to her as the only thing I had to love.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, I loved her husband, too, but I never
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  Speaker 1: thought about him in the same way. For men are
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  Speaker 1: less demonstrative about their affections to each other, and even
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  Speaker 1: acknowledged them to themselves less. Missus Trevor was an excellent hostess.
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  Speaker 1: She always let her guests see that they were welcome,
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  Speaker 1: and unless, in the case of casual visitors, that they
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  Speaker 1: were expected. She was, as may be imagined, very popular
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  Speaker 1: with all the c glasses. But what is more rare,
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  Speaker 1: she was equally popular with both sexes. To be popular
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  Speaker 1: with her own sex is the touchstone of a woman's worth.
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  Speaker 1: To the houses of the peasantry, she came, they said,
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  Speaker 1: like an angel, and brought comfort wherever she came. She
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  Speaker 1: knew the proper way to deal with the poor. She
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  Speaker 1: always helped them materially, but never offended their feelings. In
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  Speaker 1: so doing. Young people all adored her. My curiosity had
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  Speaker 1: been aroused as to the sort of place scarp was for,
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  Speaker 1: in order to give me a surprise. They would not
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  Speaker 1: tell me anything about it, but said that I must
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  Speaker 1: wait and judge it for myself. I had looked forward
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  Speaker 1: to my visit with both expectation and curiosity. When I
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  Speaker 1: entered the hall, Missus Trevor came out to welcome me
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  Speaker 1: and kissed me on the forehead after her usual manner.
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  Speaker 1: Several of the old servants came near, smiling and bowing
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  Speaker 1: and wishing to welcome Master Frank. I shook hands with
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  Speaker 1: several of them, whilst their mistress looked on with a
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  Speaker 1: pleased smile. As we went into a snug parlor where
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  Speaker 1: a table was laid out with the materials for a
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  Speaker 1: comfortable supper, Missus Trevor said to me, I am so
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  Speaker 1: glad you came so soon, Frank. We have no one
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  Speaker 1: here at present, so you will be quite alone with
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  Speaker 1: us for a few days, and you will be quite
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  Speaker 1: alone with me this evening, for Charley is gone to
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  Speaker 1: a dinner party at Westulm. I told her that I
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  Speaker 1: was glad that there was no one else at scarp
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  Speaker 1: for that I would rather be with her and her
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  Speaker 1: husband than any one else in the world. She smiled
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  Speaker 1: as she said, Frank, if any one else said that
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  Speaker 1: I would put it down as a mere compliment, but
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  Speaker 1: I know you always speak the truth. It is all
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  Speaker 1: very well to be alone with an old couple like
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  Speaker 1: Charley and me for two or three days, but just
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  Speaker 1: you wait till Thursday, and you will look on the
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  Speaker 1: intervening day is quite wasted. Why I inquired, Because, Frank,
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  Speaker 1: there is a girl coming to stay with me. Then,
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  Speaker 1: with whom I intend you to fall in love? I
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  Speaker 1: answered jocosely. Oh, thank you, miss Trevor very much for
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  Speaker 1: your kind intentions. But suppose for a moment that they
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  Speaker 1: should be impracticable. One man may lead a horse to
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  Speaker 1: the pond's brink the best laid schemes of mice and men. Eh, Frank,
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  Speaker 1: don't be silly. I do not want to make you
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  Speaker 1: fall in love against your inclination, but I hope and
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  Speaker 1: believe that you will. Well, I'm sure I hope you
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  Speaker 1: won't be disappointed. But I never yet heard a person
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  Speaker 1: praised that I did not experience a disappointment when I
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  Speaker 1: came to know him or her. Frank, did I praise anyone?
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  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 1: I am fain enough to think that you're saying that
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  Speaker 1: you knew I would fall in love with her was
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  Speaker 1: a sort of indirect praise. Dear me, Frank, how modest
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  Speaker 1: you have grown a sort of indirect praise. Your humility
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  Speaker 1: is quite touching. May I ask who the lady is?
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  Speaker 1: As I am supposed to be an interested party. I
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  Speaker 1: do not know that I ought to tell you on
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  Speaker 1: account of your having expressed any doubt as to her merits. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: I might weaken the effect of the introduction. If I
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  Speaker 1: stimulate your curiosity, it will be a point in my favor. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: very well, I suppose I must only wait, Ah, Frank,
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  Speaker 1: I will tell you it is not fair to keep
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  Speaker 1: you waiting. She is a misfothering, fothering fothering. I think
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  Speaker 1: I know that name. I remember hearing it somewhere a
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  Speaker 1: long time ago, if I do not mistake, where does
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  Speaker 1: she come from? Her father is a clergy in Norfolk,
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  Speaker 1: but he belongs to the Warwickshire family. I met her
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  Speaker 1: at Winthrop Sir Harry Blunt's place a few months ago
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  Speaker 1: and took a great liking for her, which she returned,
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  Speaker 1: and so we became vast friends. I made her promise
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  Speaker 1: to pay me a visit this summer, so she and
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  Speaker 1: her sister are coming here on Thursday to stay for
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  Speaker 1: some time, and may I be bold enough to inquire
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  Speaker 1: what she is like. You may inquire if you like, Frank,
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  Speaker 1: but you won't get an answer. I shall not try
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  Speaker 1: to describe her. You must wait and judge for yourself. Wait,
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  Speaker 1: said I, three whole days. How can I do that?
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  Speaker 1: Do tell me? She remained firm to her determination. I
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  Speaker 1: tried several times in the course of the evening to
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  Speaker 1: find out something more about Miss Fothering, for my curiosity
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  Speaker 1: was roused. But all the answer I could get on
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  Speaker 1: the subject was wait, Frank, wait and judge for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: When I was bidding her good night, missus, Trevor said
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  Speaker 1: to me, by the bye, Frank, you will have to
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  Speaker 1: give up the room which you will sleep in to night.
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  Speaker 1: After tomorrow, I will have such a full house that
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  Speaker 1: I cannot let you have a double bedded room all
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  Speaker 1: to yourself, So I will give that room to the
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  Speaker 1: Miss Fotherings and move you up to the second floor.
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  Speaker 1: I just want you to see the room, as it
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  Speaker 1: has a romantic look about it and has all the
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  Speaker 1: old furniture that was in it when we came here.
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  Speaker 1: There are several pictures in it worth looking at. My
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  Speaker 1: bedroom was a large chamber, immense for a bedroom, with
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  Speaker 1: two windows opening level with the floor, like those of
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  Speaker 1: the parlors and drawing rooms. The furniture was old fashioned,
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  Speaker 1: but not old enough to be curious, and on the
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  Speaker 1: walls hung many pictures portraits. The house was full of
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  Speaker 1: portraits and landscapes. I just glanced at these, and tending
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  Speaker 1: to examine them in the morning, and went to bed.
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  Speaker 1: There was a fire in the room, and I lay
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  Speaker 1: awake for some time, looking dreamily at the shadows of
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  Speaker 1: the furniture flitting over the walls and ceiling, as the
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  Speaker 1: flames of the wood fire leaped and fell, and the
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  Speaker 1: red embers dropped whitening on the hearth. I tried to
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  Speaker 1: give the rein to my thoughts, but they kept constantly
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  Speaker 1: to the one subject, the mysterious misfothering with whom I
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  Speaker 1: was to fall in love. I was sure that I
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  Speaker 1: had heard her name somewhere, and I had, at times
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  Speaker 1: lazy recollections of a child's face. At such times I
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  Speaker 1: would start awake from my growing drowsiness. But before I
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  Speaker 1: could collect my scattered thoughts, the idea had eluded me.
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  Speaker 1: I could remember neither when nor where I had heard
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  Speaker 1: the name, nor could I recall even the expression of
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  Speaker 1: the child's face. It must have been long, long ago,
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  Speaker 1: when I was young. When I was young, my mother
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  Speaker 1: was alive, My mother.
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  Speaker 2: Mother, Mother.
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  Speaker 1: I felt myself half awakening and repeating the word over
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  Speaker 1: and over again. At last I fell asleep. I thought
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  Speaker 1: that I awoke suddenly to that peculiar feeling which we
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  Speaker 1: sometimes have on starting from sleep, as if someone had
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  Speaker 1: been speaking in the room, and the voices still echoing
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  Speaker 1: through it. All was quite silent, and the fire had
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  Speaker 1: gone out. I looked out of the window that lay
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  Speaker 1: straight opposite the foot of the bed, and observed a
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  Speaker 1: light outside, which gradually grew brighter, till the room was
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  Speaker 1: almost as light as by day. The window looked like
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  Speaker 1: a picture, and the framework formed by the cornice over
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  Speaker 1: the foot of the bed and the massive pillars shrouded
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  Speaker 1: in curtains which supported it. With the new accession of light,
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  Speaker 1: I looked round the room, but nothing was changed. All
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  Speaker 1: was as before, except that some of the objects of
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  Speaker 1: furniture and ornament were shown in stronger relief than hitherto.
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  Speaker 1: Amongst these, those most in relief were the other bed,
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  Speaker 1: which was placed across the room, and an old picture
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  Speaker 1: that hung on the wall at its foot. As the
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  Speaker 1: bed was merely the counterpart of the one in which
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  Speaker 1: I lay, my attention became fixed on the old picture.
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  Speaker 1: I observed it closely and with great interest. It seemed old,
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  Speaker 1: and was the portrait of a young girl, whose face,
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  Speaker 1: though kindly and merry, bore signs of thought and a
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  Speaker 1: capacity for deep feeling, almost for passion. At some moments,
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  Speaker 1: as I looked at it, it called up before my
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  Speaker 1: mind a vision of Shakespeare's Beatrice, and once I thought
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  Speaker 1: of Beatrice Sincy, but this was probably caused by the
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  Speaker 1: association of ideas suggested by the similarity of names. The
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  Speaker 1: light in the room continued to grow even brighter, so
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  Speaker 1: I looked again out of the window to seek its source,
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  Speaker 1: and saw there a lovely sight. It seemed as if
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  Speaker 1: there were grouped without the window, three lovely children who
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  Speaker 1: seemed to float in mid air. The light seemed to
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  Speaker 1: spring from a point far behind them, and by their
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  Speaker 1: side was something dark and shadowy, which served to set
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  Speaker 1: off their radiance. The children seemed to be smiling and
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  Speaker 1: upon something in the room, and following their glances, I
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  Speaker 1: saw that their eyes rested upon the other bed there.
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  Speaker 1: Strange to say, the head which I had lately seen
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  Speaker 1: in the picture rested upon the pillow. I looked at
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  Speaker 1: the wall, but the frame was empty. The picture was gone.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Then I looked at the bed again and saw the
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  Speaker 1: young girl asleep, with the expression of her face constantly changing,
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  Speaker 1: as though she were dreaming. As I was observing her,
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  Speaker 1: a sudden look of terror spread over her face, and
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  Speaker 1: she sat up like a sleepwalker, with her eyes wide open,
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  Speaker 1: staring out of the window.
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  Speaker 2: Again.
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  Speaker 1: Turning to the window, my gaze became fixed, for a
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  Speaker 1: great and weird change had taken place. The figures were
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  Speaker 1: still there, but their features and expressions had become woefully different.
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  Speaker 1: Instead of the happy, innocent look of childhood, was one
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  Speaker 1: of malignity. With the change, the children had grown old,
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  Speaker 1: and now three hags, decrepit and deformed like typical witches
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  Speaker 1: were before me. But a thousand times worse than this
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  Speaker 1: transformation was the change in the dark mass that was
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  Speaker 1: near them. From a cloud, misty and undefined, it became
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  Speaker 1: a sort of shadow with a form. This gradually, as
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  Speaker 1: I looked, grew darker and fuller, till at length it
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  Speaker 1: made me shudder. There stood before me the phantom of
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  Speaker 1: the fiend. There was a long period of dead s
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  Speaker 1: in which I could hear the beating of my heart.
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  Speaker 1: But at length the phantom spoke to the others. His
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  Speaker 1: words seemed to issue from his lips mechanically and without expression.
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  Speaker 1: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, the fairest and the best.
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  Speaker 1: He looked so awful that the question arose in my mind.
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  Speaker 1: Would I dare to face him? Without the window? Would
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  Speaker 1: anyone dare to go amongst those fiends? A harsh, strident,
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  Speaker 1: diabolical laugh from without seemed to answer my unasked question
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  Speaker 1: and the negative. But as well as the laugh, I
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: heard another sound, the tones of a sweet, sad voice
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  Speaker 1: in despair, coming across the room. Oh alone alone, is
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  Speaker 1: there no human thing near me? No hope, no hope,
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  Speaker 1: I shall go mad or die? The last words were
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  Speaker 1: spoken with a gasp. I tried to jump out of bed,
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  Speaker 1: but could not stir. My limbs were bound in sleep.
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  Speaker 1: The young girl's head fell suddenly back upon the pillow,
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  Speaker 1: and the limp hanging jaw and wide open, purposeless mouth spoke,
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  Speaker 1: but too plainly of what had happened. Again, I heard
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  Speaker 1: from without the fierce, diabolical laughter, which swelled louder and louder,
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: till at last it grew so strong that, in very
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: horror I shook aside my sleep and sat up in bed, listened,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: and heard a knocking at the door. But in another
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: moment I became more awake and knew that the sound
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: came from the hall. It was no doubt mister Trevor
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: returning from his party. The hall door was opened and shut,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: and then came a subdued sound of tramping and voices.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: But this soon died away, and there was silence throughout
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: the house. I lay awake for long, thinking and looking
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: across the room at the picture and at the empty bed,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: for the moon now shone bright, and the night was
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: rendered still brighter by occasional flashes of summer lightning. At
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: times the silence was broken by an owl screeching outside.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: As I lay awake pondering, I was very much troubled
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: by what I had seen. But at length, putting several
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: things together, I came to the conclusion that I had
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: had a dream of a kind that might have been expected.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: The lightning, the knocking at the hall door, the screeching
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: of the owl, the empty bed, and the face in
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: the picture, when grouped together, supplied materials for the main
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: facts of the vision. The rest was, of course the
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: offspring of pure fancy and the natural consequence of the
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: component elements mentioned acting with each other in the mind.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: I got up and looked out of the window, but
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: saw nothing but the broad belt of moonlight glittering on
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: the bosom of the lake, which extended miles and miles
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: away till its farther shore was lost in the night haze,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: and the green sward dotted with shrubs and tall grasses,
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: which lay between the lake and the house. The vision
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: had utterly faded. However, the dream, for so I suppose
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: I should call it, was very powerful, and I slept
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: no more till the sunlight was streaming broadly in at
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: the window, and then I fell into a doze.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: End of chapter one.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: Chapter two of the Chain of Destiny by Bram Stoker.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Ben Tucker, Chapter two, more Lynks. Late in the morning,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: I was awakened by Parks, mister Trevor's man who always
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: used to attend on me when I visited my friends,
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: he brought me hot water in the local news, and
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: chatting with him, I forgot for a time my alarm
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: of the night parks was stayed and elder, and a
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: type of class now rapidly disappearing, the class of old
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: family servants who are as proud of their hereditary loyalty
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: to their masters as those masters are of name and rank.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Like all old servants, he had a great loving for
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: all sorts of traditions. He believed them and feared them,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: and had the most profound reverence for anything which had
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: a story. I asked him if he knew anything of
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: the legendary history of scarp He answered with an air
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: of doubt and hesitation, as of one carefully delivering an
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: opinion which was still incomplete. Well, you see, Master Frank,
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: that scop is so old that it must have any
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: number of legends. But it is so long since it
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: was inhabited that no one in the village remembers them.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: The place seems to have become, in a kind of way,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: forgotten and died out of people's thoughts. And so I
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: am very much afraid, sir, that all the genuine history
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: is lost. What do you mean by the genuine history,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: I inquired, Well, sir, I mean the true tradition and
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: not the inventions of the village folk. I heard this
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: sexton tell some stories, but I am quite sure that
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: they were not true, for I could see Master Frank
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: that he did not believe them himself, but was only
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: trying to frighten us. And could you not hear of
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: any story that appeared to you to be true? No, sir,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: and I tried very hard. You see, mister Frank, that
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: there is a sort of club held every week in
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: the tavern down in the village, composed of very respectable men, sir,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: very respectable men, indeed, and they asked me to be
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: their chairman. I spoke to the Master about it, and
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: he gave me leave to accept their proposal. I accepted
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: it as they made a point of it, and from
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: my position I have, of course a fine opportunity of
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: making inquiries. It was at the club, sir, that I
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: was last night, so that I was not here to
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: attend on you, which I hope that you will excuse
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: air of mingled pride and condescension. As he made the
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: announcement of the club was very fine and The effect
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: was heightened by the confiding frankness with which he spoke.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: I asked him if he could find no clue to
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: any of the legends which must have existed about such
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: an old place. He answered, with a very slight reluctance. Well, sir,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: there was one woman in the village who was awfully
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: old and doting, and she evidently knew something about Scarp,
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: for when she heard the name, she mumbled out something
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: about awful stories and times of horror and such like things.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: But I couldn't make her understand what it was I
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: wanted to know, or keep her up to the point.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: And have you tried often, Parks, Why do you not
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: try again?
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: She is dead, Sir.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: I had felt inclined to laugh at Parks when he
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: was telling me of the old woman. The way in
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: which he gloated over the words awful stories and times
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: of horror was beyond the power of discre It should
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: have been heard and seen to have been properly appreciated.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: His voice became deep and mysterious, and he almost smacked
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: his lips at the thought of so much pabulum for nightmares.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: But when he calmly told me that the woman was dead.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: A sense of blankness mingled with awe, came upon me.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: Here the last link between myself and a mysterious past
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: was broken, never to be mended. All the rich stores
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: of legend and tradition that had arisen from strange conjunctures
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: of circumstances, and from the belief and imagination of long
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: lines of villagers loyal to their suzerain lord, were lost forever.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: I felt quite sad and disappointed, and no attempt was made,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: either by Parks or myself to continue the conversation. Mister
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Trevor came presently into my room, and having greeted each
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: other warmly, we went together to breakfast. At breakfast, missus
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Trevor asked me what I thought of the girl's portrait
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: in my bedroom. We had often had discussions as to
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: characters and faces, for we were both physiognomists, and she
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: asked the question as if she were really curious to
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: hear my opinion. I told her that I had only
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: seen it for a short time, and so would rather
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: not attempt to give a final opinion without a more
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: careful study. But from what I had seen of it,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I had been favorably impressed well, Frank, after breakfast, go
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: and look at it again carefully, and then tell me
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: exactly what you think about it. After breakfast, I did
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: as directed and returned to the breakfast room where Missus
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Trevor was still sitting. Well, Frank, what is your opinion?
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Mind?
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: Correctly I wanted for a particular reason. I told her
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: what I thought of the girl's character, which, if there
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: be any truth in physiognomy, must have been a very
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: fine one. Then you like the face, I answered, It
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: is a great pity that we have none such nowadays.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: They seem to have died out with Sir Joshua and Gruse.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: If I could meet such a girl, as I believe
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: the prototype of that portrait to have been, I would
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: never be happy till I had made her my wife.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: To my intense astonishment, my hostess jumped up and clapped
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: her hands. I asked her why she did it, and
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: she laughed as she replied in a mocking tone, imitating
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: my own voice. But suppose for a moment that your
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: kind intentions should be frustrated. One man may lead a
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: horse to the pond sprink the best laid schemes O
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: mice and men. Eh, Well, said I there may be
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: some point in the observation. I suppose there must be,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: since you have made it, But for my part I
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: don't see it. Oh. I forgot to tell you, Frank,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: that the portrait might have been painted for Diana fotherin.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: I felt a blush stealing over my face. She observed
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: it and took my hand between hers as we sat
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: down on the sofa, and said to me tenderly, Frank,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: my dear boy, I intend to jest with you no
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: more on the subject. I have a conviction that you
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: will like Diana, which has been strengthened by your admiration
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: for her portrait, and from what I know of human nature,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: I am sure that she will like you. Charley and
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: I both wished to see you married, and we would
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: not think of a wife for you who was not
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: in every way eligible. I have never in my life
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: met a girl like Die, and if you and she
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: fancy each other, it will be Charley's pleasure in my
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: own to enable you to marry, as far as means
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: are concerned. Now, don't speak. You must know perfectly well
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: how much we both love you. We have always regarded
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: you as our son, and we intend to treat you
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: as our only child when it pleases God to separate us.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: There now think the matter over after you've seen Diana.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: But mind me, unless you love each other well and truly,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: we would far rather not see you married at all events.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Whatever may happen, you have our best wishes and prayers
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: for your happiness. God bless you, Frank, my dear dear boy.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. When
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: she had finished, she leaned over, drew down my head,
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: and kissed my forehead very very tenderly, and then got
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: up softly and left the room. I felt inclined to
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: cry myself. Her words to me were tender and sensible
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: and womanly, but I cannot attempt to describe the infinite
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: tenderness and gentleness of her voice and manner. I prayed
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: for every blessing on her in my secret heart, and
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: the swelling of my throat did not prevent my prayer's
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: finding voice. There may have been women in the world
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: like Missus Trevor, but if there had been, I had
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: never met any of them except herself. As may be imagined,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: I was most anxious to see miss Fothering, and for
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: the remainder of the days she was constantly in my thoughts.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: That evening, a letter came from the younger miss fathering
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: apologizing for her not being able to keep her promise
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: with reference to her visit on account of the unexpected
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: arrival of her aunt, with whom she was obliged to
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: go to Paris for some months. That night I slept
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: in my new room and had neither dream nor vision.
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: I awoke in the morning, half ashamed of having ever
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: paid any attention to such a silly circumstance as a
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: strange dream in my first night in an old house.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: After breakfast next morning, as I was going along the corridor,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: I saw the door of my old bedroom open and
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: went in to have another look at the portrait. Whilst
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I was looking at it, I began to wonder how
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: it could be that it was so like misfathering, as
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Missus Trevor said it was. The more I thought of this,
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: the more it puzzled me, till suddenly the dream came back,
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: the face in the picture, and the figure in the bed,
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: the phantoms out in the night, and the ominous words,
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the fairest and the best. As I thought of these things,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: all the possibilities of the lost legends of the old
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: house thronged so quickly into my mind that I began
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: to feel a buzzing in my ears, and my head
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: began to swim, so that I was obliged to sit down.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Could it be possible? I asked myself, that some old
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: curse hangs over the race that once dwelt within these walls,
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: And can she be of that race? Such things have
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: been before now. The idea was a one for me,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: for it made to me a reality. That which I
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: had come to look upon is merely the dream of
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: a distempered imagination. If the thought had come to me
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: in the darkness and stillness of the night, it would
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: have been awful. How happy I was that it had
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: come by daylight, when the sun was shining brightly and
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: the air was cheerful with the trilling of the song
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: birds and the lively, strident cawing from the old rookery.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: I stayed in the room for some.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: Little time, longer thinking over the scene, and as is natural,
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: when I got over the remnants of my fear, my
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: reason began to question the genuineness of versemblance of the dream.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: I began to look for the internal evidence of the
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: untruth to facts. But after thinking earnestly for some time,
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: the only fact that seemed to me of any importance
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: was the confirmatory one of the younger Miss Fathering's apology.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: In the dream, the frightened girl had been alone, and
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: the mere fact of the two girls coming on a
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: visit had seemed a sort of disproof of its truth.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: But just as if things were conspiring to force on
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: the truth of the dream, one of the sisters was
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: not to come, and the other was she who resembled
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: the portrait whose prototype I had seen sleeping in a
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: vision I could hardly imagine that I had only dreamt.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: I determined to ask missus Trevor she could explain in
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: any way Miss Fothering's resemblance to the portrait, and so
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: went at once to seek her. I found her in
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: the large drawing room alone, and after a few casual remarks,
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: I approached the subject on which I had come to
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: seek for information. She had not said anything further to
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: me about marrying since our conversation on the previous day,
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: but when I mentioned Miss Fothering's name, I could see
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: a glad look on her face. Which gave me great pleasure.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: She made none of those vulgar commonplace remarks which many
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: women find it necessary to make when talking to a
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: man about a girl for whom he is supposed to
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: have an affection, But by her manner she put me
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: entirely at my ease. As I sat fidgeting on the sofa,
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: pulling purposelessly the wooly tufts of an antimacassar, painfully conscious
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: that my cheeks were red and my voice slightly forced
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: and unnatural, she merely said, of course, Frank, I am
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: ready if you want to talk about Miss Fothering or
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: any other subject. She then put a marker in her
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: book and laid it aside, and, folding her arms, looked
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: at me with a grave, kind expectant smile. I asked
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: her if she knew anything about the family history of
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: Miss Fothering. She answered, not further than I have already
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: told you. Her father's is a fine old family, although
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: reduced in circumstances. Has it ever been connected with any
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: family in this county, with the former owners of scarp for.
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: Instance, Not that I know of. Why do you ask?
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: I want to find out how she comes to be
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: so like that portrait. I never thought of that. It
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: may be that there was some remote connection between her
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: family and the Kirks who formerly owned scarp. I will
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: ask her when she comes, or stay, let us go
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: and look if there is any old book or tree
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: in the lifebrary that will throw a light upon the subject.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: We have rather a good library now, Frank, for we
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: have all our own books, and all those which belong
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: to the scarp library.
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: Also.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: They are in great disorder, for we have been waiting
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: till you came to arrange them, for we knew that
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: you delighted in such work. There is nothing I should
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: enjoy more than arranging all these splendid books. What a
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: magnificent library. It is almost a pity to keep it
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: in a private house. We proceeded to look for some
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: of those old books of family history which are occasionally
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: to be found in the old county houses. The library
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: of Scarp, I saw was very valuable, and as we
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: prosecuted our search, I came across many splendid and rare volumes,
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: which I determined to examine at my leisure, for I
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: had come to Scarp for a long visit. We searched
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: first in the old folio shelves, and after some few disappointments,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: found it linked to large volume, magnificently printed and bound,
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: which contained views and plans of the house, illuminations of
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: the armorial bearings of the f family of Kirk and
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: all the families with whom it was connected, and having
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: the history of all these families carefully set forth. It
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: was called on the title page the Book of Kirk,
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: and was full of anecdotes and legends, and contained a
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: large stock of family tradition. As this was exactly the
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: book which we required, we searched no further, but having
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: carefully dusted the volume, bore it to Missus Trevor's boudoir,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: where we could look over it quite undisturbed. On looking
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: in the index we found the name of Fothering mentioned,
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: and on turning to the page specified, found the arms
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: of Kirk quartered on those of Fothering. From the text
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: we learned that one of the daughters of Kirk had,
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: in the year fifteen seventy three, married the brother of
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: Fathering against the united wills of her father and brother,
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: and that after a bitter feud of some ten or
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: twelve years, the latter, then Master of Scarp had met
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: the brother of Fathering and a duel, and had killed him.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: Upon receiving the news, Fathering had sworn a great oath
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: to revenge his brother, invoking the most fearful curses upon
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: himself and his race if he should fail to cut
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: off the hand that had slain his brother and to
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: nail it over the gate of Fathering. The feud then
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: became so bitter that Kerk seems to have gone quite
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: mad on the subject. When he heard of Fathering's oath,
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: he knew that he had but little chance of escape,
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: since his enemy was his master at every weapon. So
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: he determined upon a mode of revenge, which, although costing
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: him his own life, he finally hoped would accomplish the
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: eternal destruction of his brother in law Through his violated oath.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: He sent Fathering a letter cursing him in his race
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: and praying for the consummation of his own curse invoked
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: in case of failure. He concluded his missive by a
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: prayer for the complete destruction soul, mind, and body of
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: the first Fathering who should enter the gate of Scarp,
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: who he hoped would be the fairest and best of
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: the race. Having despatched this letter, he cut off his
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: right hand and threw it into the center of a
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: roaring fire, which he had made for the purpose. When
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: it was entirely consumed, he threw himself upon his sword,
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: and so died.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: A cold shiver went.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: Through me when I read the words fairest and best
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: all my dream came back in a moment, and I
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: seemed to hear in my ears again the echo of
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: the fiendish laughter. I looked up at Missus Trevor and
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: saw that she had become very grave. Her face had
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: a half frightened look, as if some wild thought had
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: struck her. I was more frightened than ever, for nothing
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: increases our alarms so much as the sympathy of others
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: with a regard to them. However, I tried to conceal
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: my fear. We sat silently for some minutes, and then
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: Missus Trevor rose up, saying, come with me and let
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: us look at the portrait. I remember her saying, thee
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: and not that portrait, as if some concealed thought of
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: it had been occupying her mind. The same dread had
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: assailed her from a coincidence, as had grown in me
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: from a vision. Surely, surely I had good grounds for fear.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: We went to the bedroom and stood before the picture,
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: which seemed to gaze upon us with an expression which
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: reflects at our own fears. My companion said to me,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: in slightly excited tones, Frank, lift down the picture till
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: we see its back. I did so, and we found
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: written in a strange old writing on the grimy canvas
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: a name and a date, which, after a great deal
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: of trouble, we made out to be Margaret Kirk fifteen
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: seventy two. It was the name of the lady in
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: the book. Missus Trevor turned round and faced me slowly,
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: with a look of horror on her face. Frank, I
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: don't like this at all. There is something very strange here.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: I had it on my tongue to tell her my dream,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: but was ashamed to do so. Besides, I feared that
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: it might frighten her too much, as she was already alarmed.
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: I continued to look at the picture as a relief
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: from my embarrassment, and was struck with the excessive griminess
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: of the back in comparison to the freshness of the front.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: I mentioned my difficulty to my companion, who thought for
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: a moment and then suddenly said, I see how it is.
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: It has been turned with its face to the wall.
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: I said no word, but hung up the picture again,
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: and we went back to the boudoir. On the way,
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: I began to think that my fears were too wildly
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: improbable to bear to be spoken about. It was so
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: hard to believe in the horrors of darkness when the
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: sunlight was falling brightly around me. The same idea seemed
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: to have struck missus Trevor, for she said when we
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: entered the room, Frake, it strikes me that we are
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: both rather silly to let our imaginations carry us away.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: So the story is merely a tradition, and we know
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: how report distorts even the most innocent facts. It is
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: true that the Fothering family was formerly connected with the Kirks,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: and that the picture is that of the miss Kirk,
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: who was married against her father's will. It is likely
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: that he quarreled with her for so doing, and had
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: her picture turned to the wall, a common trick of
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: angry fathers at all times. But that is all. There
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: can be nothing beyond that. Let us not think any
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: more upon the subject, as it is one likely to
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: lead us into absurdities. However, the picture is a really
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: beautiful one independent of its being such a likeness of Diana,
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: and I will have it placed in the dining room.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: The change was affected that afternoon, but she did not
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: again allude to the subject. She appeared when talking to
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: me to be a little constrained in manner, a very
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: unusual thing with her, and seemed to fear that I
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: would renew the forbidden topic. I think that she did
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: not wish to let her imagination lead her astray, and
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: was distrustful of herself. However, the feeling of constraint wore
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: off before the night, but she did not renew the subject.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: I slept well that night, without dreams of any kind,
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: and next morning, the third tomorrow promised in the dream,
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: when I came down to breakfast, I was told that
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: I would see Miss Fothering before that evening. I could
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: not help blushing and stammered out some commonplace remark, and then,
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: glancing up, feeling very sheepish, I saw my hostess looking
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: at me with her kindly smile intensified, she said, do
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: you know, frank? I felt quite frankly, and yesterday when
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: we were looking at the picture, but I have been
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: thinking the matter over since, and have come to the
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: conclusion that my folly was perfectly unfounded. I am sure
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: you agree with me. In fact, I look now upon
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: a fright as a good joke, and will tell it
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: to Diana when she arrives. Once again, I was about
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: to tell my dream, but again was restrained by shame.
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: I knew, of course, that missus Trevor would not laugh
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: at me or even think little of me for my fears,
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: For she was too well bred and kind hearted and
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: sympathetic to do anything of the kind. And besides, the
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: fear was one which we had shared in common. But
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: how could I confess my fright at what it might
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: appear to others to be a ridiculous dream? When she
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: had conquered the fear that had been common to us both,
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: and which had arisen from a really strange conjuncture of facts.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: She appeared to look on the matter so lightly that
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: I could not do otherwise. And I did it honestly
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: for the time. End of chapter two, chapter three of
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: the Chain of Destiny by Bram Stoker. This Lebrivox Recordings
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: in the public domain read by Ben Tucker. Chapter three,
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: the third tomorrow. In the afternoon, I was out in
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: the garden, lying in the shadow of an immense beech,
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: when I saw Missus Trevor approaching. I had been reading
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: Shelley's stanzas written in dejection, and my heart was full
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: of melancholy and a vague yearning after human sympathy. I
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: had thought of Missus Trevor's love for me, but even
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: that did not seem sufficient.
• 42:38
  Speaker 2: I wanted the.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: Love of some one more nearly of my own level,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: some equal spirit. For I looked on her, of course,
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: as I would have regarded my mother. Somehow, my thoughts
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: kept returning to miss fothering till I could almost see
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: her before me, and my memory of the portrait, I'd
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: begun to ask myself the question are you in love?
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: When I heard the voice of my hostess as she
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: drew near, huh Frank, I thought I would find you here.
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: I want you to come to my boudoir. What for,
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: I inquired, as I rose from the grass and picked
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: up my volume of Shelley Die has come ever so
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: long ago, and I want to introduce you and have
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: a chat before dinner, said she as we went towards
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: the house. But won't you let me change my dress?
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: I am not in correct costume for the afternoon. I
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: felt somewhat afraid of the unknown beauty when the introduction
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: was imminent. Perhaps it was because I had come to
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: believe too firmly in Missus Trevor's prediction nonsense, frank, just
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: as if any woman worth thinking about cares how a
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: man is dressed. We entered the boudoir and found a
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: young lady seated by a window that overlooked the croquet ground.
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: She turned round as we came in, so Missus Trevor
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: introduced us, and we were soon engaged in a lively conversation.
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: I observed her, as may be supposed, with more than curiosity,
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: and shortly found it she was worth looking at. She
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: was very beautiful, and her beauty lay not only in
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: her features but in her expression. At first, her appearance
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: did not seem to me so perfect as it afterwards did,
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: on account of her wonderful resemblance to the portrait with
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: whose beauty I was already acquainted. But it was not
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: long before I came to experience the difference between the
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: portrait and the reality. No matter how well it may
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: be painted, a picture falls far short of its prototype.
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: There is something in a real face which cannot exist
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: on canvas, some difference far greater than that contained in
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: the contrast between the one expression, however beautiful, of the picture,
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: and the moving features and varying expression of the reality.
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: There is something living and lovable in a real face
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: that no art can represent. When we had been talking
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: for a while in the usual conventional style, Missus Trevor said, die,
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: my love, I want to tell you of a discovery
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: Frank and I have made. You must know that I
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: always call mister Stanford Frank. He is more like my
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: own son than my friend, and that I am very
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: fine of him. She then put her arms round Miss
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: Fothering's waist as they sat on the sofa together, and
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: kissed her, and then, turning towards me, said, I don't
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: approve of kissing girls in the presence of gentlemen. But
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: you know that Frank is not supposed to be here.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: This is my sanctom, and who invades it must take
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: the consequences. But I must tell you about the discovery.
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: She then proceeded to tell the legend and about her
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: finding the name of Margarete kirk on the back of
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: the picture. Miss Fothering laughed gleefully as she heard the story,
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: and then said suddenly, Oh, I had forgotten to tell you,
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: dear Missus Trevor, that I had such a fright the
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: other day. I thought I was going to be prevented
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: coming here. Aunt Deborah came to us last week for
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: a few days, and when she heard that I was
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: about to go on a visit to Scarp, she seemed
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: quite frightened and went straight off to Papa and asked
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: him to forbid me to go. Papa asked her why
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: she made the request. So she told a long family
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: legend about any of us coming to Scarp, just the
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: same story that you have been telling me.
• 45:56
  Speaker 2: She said.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: She was sure that some misfortune would happen if I came.
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: So you see that the tradition exists in our branch
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: of the family too. Oh you can't fancy the scene
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: where was between Papa and Aunt Deborah. I must laugh
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: whenever I think of it, although I did not laugh then,
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: for I was greatly afraid that Auntie would prevent me coming.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Papa got very grave, and Auntie thought she had carried
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: her point when he said in his dear old pompous
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: manner Gabru Dianah have promised to pay Missus Trevor scarp
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: Or visit, and of course must keep her engagement. And
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: if it were for no other reason than the one
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: you have just alleged, I would stray a point of
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: convenience to have her go to scarp. I've always educated
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: my children in such a manner that they ought not
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: to be influenced by such vague superstitions, and with my will,
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: their practice shall never be at variance with the precepts
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: which I have.
• 46:43
  Speaker 2: Instilled into them.
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: Poor Auntie was quite overcome. She seemed almost speechless for
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: a time at the thought that her wishes had been neglected.
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: For you know that Aunt Deborah's wishes are commands to
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: all our family, Missus Trevor said, I hope Missus Howard
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: was not offended.
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: Oh oh no.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: Papa talked to her seriously and at length, with a
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: great deal of difficulty, I must say, succeeded in convincing
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: her that fears were groundless. At least he forced her
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: to confess that such things as she was afraid of
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: could not be I thought of the couplet a man
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: convinced against his will, was of the same opinion still,
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: but said nothing. Miss Fothering finished her story by saying
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: Auntie ended by hoping that I might enjoy myself, which
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: I am sure, my dear Missus Trevor, that I will do.
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: I hope you will, my love. I had been struck
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: during the above conversation by the mention of missus Howard.
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: I was trying to think of where I had heard
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: the name Deborah Howard, when suddenly it all came back
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: to me. Missus Howard had been miss Fothering and was
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: an old friend of my mother's. It was thus that
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: I had been accustomed to her name when I was
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: a child. I remember now that once she had brought
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: a nice little girl, almost a baby, with her to visit.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: The child was her niece, And it was thus that
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: I now accounted for my half recollection of the name
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: and circumstance. On the first night of my arrival at Scarp,
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: the thought of my dream here recalled me to Missus
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: Trevor's object in bringing Miss Fathering to her boudoir. So
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: I said to the latter, do you believe these legends?
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: Indeed I do not, Mister Stanford, I do not believe
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: in anything half so silly.
• 48:16
  Speaker 2: Then you do not.
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: Believe in ghosts or visions, most certainly not. How could
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: I tell my dream to a girl who had such
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: profound disbelief, and yet I felt something whispering to me
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: that I ought to tell it to her. It was
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: no doubt foolish of me to have this fear of
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: a dream, but I could not help it. I was
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: just going to risk being laughed at and unburden my mind.
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: When missus Trevor starting up after looking at her watch, saying,
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: dear me, I never thought it was so late. I
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: must go and see if any others have come. It
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: will not do for me to neglect my guests. We
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: all left the boudoir, and as we did so, the
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: gong sounded for dressing for dinner, and so we each
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: sought our rooms. When I came down to the drawing room,
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: I found a symbol the number of persons who adre
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: during the course of the afternoon. I was introduced to
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: them all and chatted with them till dinner was announced.
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: I was given Miss Fothering to take him to dinner,
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: and when it was over, I found that we had
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: improved our acquaintance very much. She was a delightful girl,
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: and as I looked at her, I thought, with a
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: glow of pleasure of missus Trevor's prediction. Occasionally I saw
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: our hostess observing us, and as she saw us chatting
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: pleasantly together, as though we enjoyed it, a more than
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: happy look came into her face. It was one of
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: her most fascinating points that, in the midst of gaiety,
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: while she never neglected any one, she specifically remembered her
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: particular friends. No matter what position she might be placed in,
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: she would still remember that there were some persons who
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: would treasure up her recognition at such moments. After dinner,
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: as I did not feel inclined to enter the drawing
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: room with the other gentlemen, I strolled out into the
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: garden by myself and thought over things in general, and
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: miss Fothering in particular. The subject was such a pleasant
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: one that I quite lost myself in it and strayed
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: off farther than I had intended. Suddenly I remembered myself
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: and looked around. It was far away from the house,
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: and in the midst of a dark, gloomy walk between
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: old yew trees. I could not see through them on
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: either side on account of their thickness, and as the
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: walk was curved, I could see but a short distance
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: either before or behind me. I looked up and saw
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: a yellowish luminous sky, with heavy clouds passing sluggishly across it.
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: The moon had not yet risen, and the general gloom
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: reminded me forcibly of some of the weird pictures which
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: William Blake so loved to paint. There was a sort
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: of vague melancholy and ghostliness in the place that made
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: me shiver, and I hurried.
• 50:42
  Speaker 2: On at length.
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: The walk opened, and I came out on a large
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: sloping lawn, dotted here and there with yew trees and
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: tufts of pompous grass of immense height, whose stalks were
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: crowned with large flowers. To the right lay the house,
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: grim and gigantic in the gloom, and to the left
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: the lake, which stretched away so far that it was
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: lost in the evening shadow. The lawn sloped from the
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: terrace round the house down to the water's edge, and
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: was only broken by the walk, which continued to run
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: on round the house in a wide sweep. As I
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: came near the house. A light appeared in one of
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: the windows which lay before me, and as I looked
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: into the room, I saw that it was the chamber
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: of my dream. Unconsciously I approached nearer and ascended the
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: terrace from the top of which I could see across
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: the deep trench which surrounded the house, and looked earnestly
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: into the room. I shivered as I looked. My spirits
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: had been damped by the gloom and desolation of the
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: yew walk, and now the dream and all the subsequent
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: revelations came before my mind with such vividness that the
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: horror of the thing again seized me, but more forcibly
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: than before. I looked at the sleeping arrangements and groaned
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: as I saw that the bed where the dying woman
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: had seemed to lie was alone prepared, while the other bed,
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: that in which I had slept, had its curtains drawn
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: all round. This was but another link in the chain
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: of doom. Whilst I stood looking, the servant who was
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: in the room came and pulled down one of the blinds,
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: But as she was about to do the same with
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: the other, Miss Fothering entered the room and seeing what
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: she was about, evidently gave her contrary directions, for she
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: let go the window string, and then went and pulled
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: up again the blind which she had let down. Having
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: done so, she followed her mistress out of the room.
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: So wrapped up was I in all that took place
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: with reference to that chamber, that it never even struck
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: me that I was guilty of any impropriety in watching
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: what took place. I stayed there for some little time,
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: longer purposeless and terrified. The horror grew so great to
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: me as I thought of the events of the last
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: few days, that I determined to tell Miss Fathering of
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: my dream, in order that she might not be frightened
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: in case she should see anything like it, or at
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: least that she might be prepared for anything that might happen.
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: As soon as I had come to this determination, the
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: inevitable question, when presented itself, the means of making the communication,
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: was a subject most disagreeable to contemplate. But as I
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: had made up my mind to do it, I thought
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: that there was no time like the present. Accordingly, I
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: was determined to seek the drawing room, where I knew
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: I should find Miss Fathering, and Missus Trevor, for of course,
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: I had determined to take the latter into our confidence,
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: as I was really afraid to go through the awful
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: you walk again. I completed the half circle of the
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: house and entered the back door, from which I easily
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: found my way to the drawing room. When I entered,
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: Missus Trevor, who was sitting near the door, said to me,
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: good gracious Frank, where have you been to make you
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: look so pale one would think you had seen a ghost.
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: I answered that I had been strolling in the garden,
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: but made no other remark, as I did not wish
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: to say anything about my dream before the persons to
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: whom she was talking, as they were strangers to me.
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: I waited for some time for an opportunity of speaking
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: to her alone, but her duties as hostess kept her
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: so constantly occupied that I waited, and accordingly, I determined
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: to tell Miss Fathering at all events at once, and
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: then to tell Missus Trevor as soon as an opportunity
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: for doing so presented itself. With a good deal of difficulty,
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: for I did not wish to do anything. Marked I
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: succeeded in getting Miss Fathering away from the persons by
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: whom she was surrounded, and took her to one of
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: the embrasures under the pretense of looking out at the
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: night view. Here we were quite removed from observation, as
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: the heavy window curtains completely covered the recess and almost
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: isolated us from the rest of the company as perfectly
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: as if we were in a separate chamber. I proceeded
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: at once to broach the subject for which I had
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: sought the interview, for I feared less contact with the
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: lively company of the drawing room would do away with
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: my present fears, and so break down the only barrier
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: that stood between her and fate. Miss Fothering. Do you
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: ever dream?
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: Oh?
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: Yes often, But I generally find that my dreams are
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: most ridiculous. How so well You see that, no matter
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: whether they are good or bad, they appear re in
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: coherent whilst I am dreaming them. But when I wake up,
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: I find them unreal and incoherent. When I remember them
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: at all, they are in fact mere disconnected nonsense. Are
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: you fond of dreams? Of course I am. I delight
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: in them, for whether they are since or gibberish, when
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: you wake they are real whilst you are asleep. Do
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: you believe in dreams? Indeed, mister Stanford, I do not.
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: Do you like hearing them?
• 55:25
  Speaker 2: Told?
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: I do very much when they are worth telling. Have
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: you been dreaming anything? If you have, do tell it
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: to me. I will be glad to do so. It
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: is about a dream which I had that concerns you
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: that I came here to tell you about me. Oh,
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: how nice?
• 55:42
  Speaker 2: Do go on?
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: I told her all my dream after calling her attention
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: to our conversation in the boudoir. As a means of
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: introducing the subject. I did not attempt to heighten the
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: effect in any way or to draw any inferences. I
• 55:55
  Speaker 1: tried to suppress my own emotion and merely to let
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: the facts speak for themselves with great eagerness, but as
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: far as I could see, without a particle of either
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: fear or a belief in the dream as a warning.
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: When I'd finished, she laughed a quiet, soft laugh, and said,
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: that is delicious. And was I really the girl that
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: you saw afraid of ghosts? If Papa heard of such
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: a thing as that, even in a dream, what a
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: lecture he would give me. I wish I could dream
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: anything like that. Take care, said I, you might find
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: it too awful. It might indeed prove the fulfilling of
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: the band which we saw in the legend in the
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: old book, and which you heard from your aunt. She
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: laughed musically again, and shook her head at me wisely
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: and mourningly.
• 56:38
  Speaker 2: Oh, pray, do.
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: Not talk nonsense and try to frighten me, For I
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: warn you that you will not succeed. I assure you,
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: on my honor, Miss Fathering, that I was never more
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: in earnest in my whole life. Do you not think
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: that we'd better go into the room, said she, after
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: a few moments pause. Stay just a moment, I entreat, you,
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: said I What I say is true. I am really
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: in earnest. Oh, pray forgive me. If what I said
• 57:05
  Speaker 1: led you to believe that I doubted your word, it
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: was merely your inference which I disagreed with. I thought
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: you had been jesting to try and frighten me, Miss Fathering.
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: I would not presume to take such a liberty. But
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: I am glad that you trust me. May I venture
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: to ask you a favor? Will you promise me one thing?
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: Her answer was characteristic, No, What is it that you
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: will not be frightened?
• 57:27
  Speaker 2: At anything which.
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: May take place to night, she laughed softly.
• 57:31
  Speaker 2: Again.
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: I do not intend to be but is that all? Yes,
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: Miss Fathering, that is all. But I want to be
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: assured that you will not be alarmed, that you will
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: be prepared for anything which may happen.
• 57:45
  Speaker 2: I have a.
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: Horrid foreboding of evil, some evil that I dread to
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: think of, and it will be a great comfort to
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: me if you will do one thing. Oh nonsense, Oh well,
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: if you really wish it, I will tell you if
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: I will do it when I hear what it is.
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: Her levity was all gone when she saw how terribly
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: in earnest I was. She looked at me boldly and fearlessly,
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: but with a tender, half pitying glance, as if conscious
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: of the possession of strength superior to mine. Her fearlessness
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: was in her free, independent attitude, but her pity was
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: in her eyes. I went on, Miss Fathering. The worst
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: part of my dream was seeing the look of agony
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: on the face of the girl when she looked round
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: and found herself alone. Will you take some token and
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: keep it with you till morning, to remind you in
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: case anything should happen, that you are not alone that
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: there is one thinking of you, and one human intelligence
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: awake for you, though all the rest of the world
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: should be asleep or dead. In my excitement, I spoke
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: with fervor for the possibility of her enduring. The horror
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: which had assailed me seemed to be growing more and
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: more each instant. At times, since that awful night, I
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: had disbelieved the existence of the warning, But when I
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: thought of it by nine I could not but believe,
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: for the very air in the darkness seemed to be
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: peopled by phantoms. To my fevered imagination. My belief had
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: been perfected tonight by the horror of the yew walk
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: and all the somber, ghostly thoughts that had arisen amid
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: its gloom. There was a short pause. Miss Fathering leaned
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: on the edge of the window, looking out at the dark,
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: moonless sky. At length, she turned and said to me,
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: with some hesitation, but really, mister Stanford, I do not
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: like doing anything for fear of supernatural things, or from
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: a belief in them. What you want me to do
• 59:37
  Speaker 1: is so simple a thing in itself that I would
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: not hesitate a moment to do it. But that Papa
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: has always taught me to believe that such occurrences as
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: you seem to dread, are quite impossible, and I know
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: that he would be very much displeased if any act
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: of mine showed a belief in them. Miss fathering, I
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: honestly think that there is not a man living who
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: would wish less than I would to see you or
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: anyone else disobeying a father, either in word or spirit,
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: and more particularly when that father is a clergyman. But
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: I entreat you to gratify me on this one point.
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: It cannot do you any harm, and I assure you
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: that if you do not, I will be inexpressibly miserable.
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: I have endured the greatest tortures of suspense for the
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: last three days, and to night I feel a nervous
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: horror of which words can give you no conception. I
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: know that I have not the smallest right to make
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: the request, and no reason for doing it, except that
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: I was fortunate or unfortunate enough to get the warning.
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: I apologize most sincerely for the great liberty which I
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: have taken, but believe me that I act with the
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: best intentions. My excitement was so great that my knees
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: were trembling, and the large drops of perspiration rolling.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 2: Down my face.
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 1: There was a long pause, and I had almost made
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: up my mind for a refusal of my request, when
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: my companion spoke again, mister Stanford, on that plea alone,
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: I will grant your request. I can see that, for
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: some reason which I cannot quite comprehend, you are deeply moved,
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: and that I may be the means of saving pain
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: to any one. I will do what you ask. Just
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: please to state what you wish me to do. I
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: thought from her manner that she was offended with me. However,
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: I explained my purpose. I want you to keep about
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: you when you go to bed some token which will
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: remind you in an instant of what has passed between us,
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: so that you may not feel lonely or frightened, no
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: matter what may happen.
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 2: I will do it. What shall I take?
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: She had her handkerchief in her hand as she spoke,
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: So I put my hand upon it and blessed it
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: I did this to fix its existence in her memory
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: by awing her slightly about it. This said, I shall
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: be a token that you are not alone. My object
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: in blessing the handkerchief was fully achieved, for she did
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: seem somewhat odd, but still she thanked me with a
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: sweet smile. I feel that you act from your heart,
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: said she, and my heart thinks you. She gave me
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: her hand as she spoke, in an honest, straightforward manner,
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: with more the independence of a man than the timorousness
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 1: of a woman. As I grasped it, I felt the
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: blood rushing to my face. But before I let it go,
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: an impulse seized me, and I bent down and touched
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: it with my lips. She drew it quickly away and said,
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 1: more coldly than she had yet spoken. I did not
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: mean you to do that. Believe me, I did not
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: mean to take a liberty. It was merely the natural
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: expression of my gratitude. I feel as if you had
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 1: done me some great personal service. You do not know
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 1: how much lighter my heart is now than it was
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: an hour ago, or you would forgive me for having
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: so offended. As I made my apologetic excuse, I looked
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: at her wistfully. She returned my glance fearlessly, but with
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: a bright, forgiving smile. She then shook her head slightly,
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: as if to banish the subject. There was a short pause,
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: and then she said, I am glad to be of
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: any service to you. But if there is to be
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 1: any possibility of what you fear happening, it is I
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: who will be benefited. But mind, I will depend upon
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: you not to say a word of this to anybody.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: I am afraid that we are both very foolish. No, no,
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: miss Fothering.
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 2: I may be foolish, but you.
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: Are acting nobly in doing what seems to you to
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: be foolish, in order that you may save me from pain.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: But may I not even tell missus Trevor, No, not
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: even her. I should be ashamed of myself if I
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: thought that anyone except ourselves knew about it. You may
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: depend upon me. I will keep it secret if you
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: wish do so until morning. At all events, Mind, if
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: I laugh at you, then I will expect you to
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: join in my laugh, I will, said I. I will
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: only be too glad to be able to laugh at it.
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: And we joined the rest of the company. When I
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: retired to my bedroom that night, I was too much
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: excited to sleep, even had my promise not forbidden me
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 1: to do so. I paced up and down the room
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 1: for some time, thinking and doubting. I cannot believe completely
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: in what I expected to happen, and yet my heart
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: was filled with a vague dread. I thought over the
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 1: events of the evening, particularly my stroll after dinner through
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 1: that awful you walk, and my looking in the bedroom
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: where I had dreamed. From these, my thoughts wandered to
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 1: the deep embrasure of the window where I had given
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: Miss Fothering the token. I could hardly realize that the
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: whole interview is a fact. I knew that it had
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: taken place, but that was all. It was so strange
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: to recall a scene that, now that it was enacted,
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: seemed half comedy and half tragedy, and to remember that
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: it was played in this practical nineteenth century, in secret,
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: with an earshot of a room full of people, and
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 1: only hidden from them by a curtain. I felt myself blushing,
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: half from excitement, half from shame when I thought of it.
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: But then my thoughts turned to the way in which
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: Miss Fathering had acceded to my request, strange as it was,
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: and as I thought of her, my blunder shame changed
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: to a deeper glow of hope. I remembered missus Trevor's prediction.
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 1: From what I know of human nature, I think that
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 1: she will like you. And as I did so, I
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: felt how dear to me Miss Fothering was already becoming.
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: But my joy was turned to anger on thinking what
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 1: she might be called on to endure, and the thought
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: of her suffering pain or fright caused me greater distress
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: than any suffered myself. Again, my thoughts flew back to
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: the time of my own fright, and my dream, with
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: all the subsequent revelations concerning it, rushed across my mind.
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 1: I felt again the feeling of extreme terror, as if
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: something was about to happen, as if the tragedy was
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 1: approaching its climax. Naturally, I thought of the time of night,
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: and so I looked at my watch. It was within
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: a few minutes of one o'clock. I remembered that the
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 1: clock had struck twelve after mister Trevor had come home.
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: On the night of my dream, there was a large
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: clockets scarp which told the hours so oh loudly that
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: for a long way round the estate the country people
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 1: all regulated their affairs by it. The next few minutes
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: passed so slowly that each moment seemed an age. I
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 1: was standing with my watch in my hand, counting the moments,
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 1: when suddenly a light came into the room that made
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: the candle on the table appear quite dim, and my
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: shadow was reflected on the wall by some brilliant light
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 1: which streamed in through the window. My heart, for an
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: instant ceased to beat, and then the blood rushed so
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: violently to my temples that my eyes grew dim and
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: my brain began to reel. However, I shortly became more composed,
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 1: and then went to the window, expecting to see my
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: dream again repeated. The light was there as formerly, but
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: there were no figures of children, or witches or fiends.
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: The moon had just risen, and I could see its
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: reflection upon the far end of the lake. I turned
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 1: my head in trembling expectation to the ground below, where
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: I had seen the children and the hags, but saw
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 1: merely the dark yew trees and tall, crusted, pompous tufts
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 1: gently moving in the night wind. The light caught the
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: edges of the flowers of the grass and made them
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: most conspicuous. As I looked, a sudden thought flashed like
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: a flame of fire through my brain. I saw in
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: one instant of time all the folly of my wild fancies.
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 1: The moonlight and its reflection on the water shining into
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: the room was the light of my dream, or phantasm,
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 1: as I now understood it to be. Those three tufts
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 1: of pompous grass clumped together were in turn the fair
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: young children and the withered leaves, and the dark foliage
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 1: of the eye beside them gave substance to the semblance
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: of the fiend. For the rest the empty bed in
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: the face of the picture, my half recollection of the
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 1: name of Fathering, and the long forgotten legend of the curse.
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: Oh fool, fool that I had been, How I had been,
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: the victim of circumstances and of my own wild imagination.
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: Then came the bitter reflection of the agony of mind
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: which Miss Fathering might be compelled to suffer by not
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: the recital of my dream. My strange request regarding the token,
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 1: combined with the natural causes of night and scene, produced
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: the very effect which I so dreaded. It was only
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: at that bitter, bitter moment that I realized how foolish
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 1: I had been, What was my anguish of mine to
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: hers for an instant I conceived the idea of rousing
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: Missus Trevor and telling her all the facts of the case,
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 1: so that she might go to Miss Fathering and tell
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 1: her not to be alarmed. But I had no time
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: to act upon my thought. As I was hastening to
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 1: the door, the clock struck one. A moment later I
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: heard from the room below me a sharp scream, a
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: cry of surprise rather than fear. Miss Fothering had no
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: doubt been awakened by the striking of the clock, and
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 1: had seen outside the window the very figures which I
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: had described to her. I rushed madly down the stairs
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: and arrived at the door of her bedroom, which was
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: directly under the one which I now occupied. As I
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 1: was about to rush in, I was instinctively restrained from
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 1: doing so by the thoughts of propriety, and so for
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 1: a few moments I stood silent, trembling with my hand
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: upon the door handle. Within I heard a voice, her
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: voice exclaiming in tones of stupefied surprise.
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 2: Has it come?
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: Then? She then continued, joyously, No, I am not alone
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: his token. Oh thank God for that, Thank God for that.
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 1: Through my heart at her words came a rush of
• 1:09:12
  Speaker 1: wild delight. I felt my bosom swell and the tears
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 1: of gladness spring to my eyes. In that moment, I
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: knew that I had strength and courage to face the
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: world alone for her sake. But before my hopes had
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: well time to manifest themselves, they were destroyed. For again
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 1: the voice came wailing from the room of blank despair
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: that made me cold from head to foot. Uh still there,
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: Oh God, preserve my reason.
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 2: Oh for some human thing near me.
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: Then her voice changed slightly to a tone of entreaty.
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: You will not leave me alone. Your token, remember your token,
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 1: help me, Help me now. Then her voice became more
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: wild and rose to an inarticulate, wailing scream of horror.
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: As I heard that agonized cry, I realized the idea
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: that it was madness to delay, that I had hesitated
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: too long already. I must cast aside the shackles of
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: conventionality if I wished to repair my fatal error. Nothing
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: could save her from some serious injury, perhaps madness, perhaps death,
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: save a shock which would break the spell which was
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: over her from fear and her excited imagination. I flung
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: open the door and rushed in, shouting, loudly, Courage, Courage,
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 1: you are not alone. I am here, Remember the token.
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: She grasped the handkerchief instinctively, But she hardly comprehended my words,
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: and did not seem to heed my presence. She was
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 1: sitting up in bed, her face being distorted with terror,
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: and was gazing out upon the scene. I heard from
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 1: without the hooting of an owl as it flew across the.
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 2: Border of the lake. She heard it also, and screamed
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 2: the laugh too.
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: Oh, there is no hope, even he will not dare
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: to go amongst them. Then she gave vent to a
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: scream so wild, so appalling, that as I heard it,
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: I trembled, and the hair on the back of my
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: head bristled up. Throughout the house I could hear screams
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: of affright, and the ringing of bells, and the banging
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: of doors, and the rush of hurried feet. But the
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: poor sufferer comprehended not these sounds. She still continued gazing
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: out of the window, awaiting the consummation of the dream.
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: I saw that the time for action and self sacrifice
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 1: was come. There was but one way now to repair
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: my fatal error, to burst through the window and try
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: by the shock to wake her from her trance of fear.
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: I said no word, but rushed across the room and
• 1:11:18
  Speaker 1: hurled myself back foremost against the massive plate glass. As
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: I turned, I saw Missus Trevor rushing into the room,
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: her face wild with excitement. She was calling out, Diana, Diana,
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: what is it? The glass crashed and shivered into a
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: thousand pieces, and I could feel its sharp edges cutting
• 1:11:33
  Speaker 1: me like so many knives. But I heeded not the pain,
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 1: for above the rushing of feet and crashing of glass,
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: and the shouting of both within and went out the room.
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 1: I heard her voice ringing forth in a joyous, fervent cry, saved,
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: he has dared, as she sank down in the arms
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: of Missus Trevor, who had thrown herself upon the bed.
• 1:11:50
  Speaker 1: Then I felt a mighty shock, and all the universe
• 1:11:53
  Speaker 1: seemed filled with sparks of fire that whirled around me
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: with lightning speed, till I seemed to be in the
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: center of a world of flame. And then came in
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: my ears the rushing of a mighty wind, swelling even louder.
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: And then came a blackness over all things, and a
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 1: deadness of sound, as if all the earth had passed away,
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 1: and I remembered no more. End of chapter three, Chapter
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: four of the Chain of Destiny by Bram Stoker. This
• 1:12:28
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Ben Tucker.
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: Chapter four afterwards. When I next became conscious, I was
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: lying in a bed in a dark room. I wondered
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 1: what this was for, and tried to look around me,
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: but could hardly stir my head. I attempted to speak,
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: but my voice was without power. It was like a
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: whisper from another world. The effort to speak made me
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: feel faint, and again I felt a darkness gathering round
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 1: me became I am gradually conscious of something cool on
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: my forehead. I wondered what it was. All sorts of
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: things I conjectured, but could not fix my mind on
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: any of them. I lay thus for some time, and
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: at length opened my eyes and saw my mother bending
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: over me. It was her hand, which was so deliciously
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 1: cool on my brow. I felt amazed. Somehow I expected
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: to see her, and yet I was surprised, for I
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 1: had not seen her for a long time, A long
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: long time. I knew that she was dead. Could I
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: be dead too? I looked at her again more carefully,
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: and as I looked, the old features died away, but
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: the expression remained the same. And then the dear, well
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 1: known face of Missus Trevor grew slowly before me. She
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 1: smiled as she saw the look of recognition in my eyes,
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 1: and bending down, kissed me very tenderly. As she drew
• 1:13:54
  Speaker 1: back her head, something warm fell on my face. I
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 1: wondered what this could be, and after thinking for a
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: long time to do which I closed my eyes, I
• 1:14:03
  Speaker 1: came to the conclusion that it was a tear. After
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: some more thinking, I opened my eyes to see why
• 1:14:09
  Speaker 1: she was crying. But she was gone, and I could
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: see that although the window blinds were pulled up, the
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 1: room was almost dark. I felt much more awake and
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 1: much stronger than I had been before, and tried to
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 1: call missus Trevor. A woman got up from a chair
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: behind the bed curtains and went to the door, said something,
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: and came back and seidled my pillows. Oh, where's missus Trevor,
• 1:14:32
  Speaker 1: I asked feebly, She was here just now. The woman
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 1: smiled at me cheerfully and answered, she will be here
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: in a moment, dear heart, but she will be glad
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 1: to see you so strong and sensible. After a few minutes,
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 1: she came into the room and, bending over me, asked
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: me how I felt. I said that I was all right,
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: and then a thought struck me, so I asked, oh,
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 1: what was the matter with me? I was told that
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 1: I had been ill, very ill, but that I was
• 1:15:02
  Speaker 1: now much better. Something I know not what suddenly recalled
• 1:15:06
  Speaker 1: to my memory all the scene of the bedroom and
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: the fright which my folly had caused. And I grew
• 1:15:10
  Speaker 1: quite dizzy with the rush of blood to my head.
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 1: But Missus Trevor's arm supported me, and after a time
• 1:15:16
  Speaker 1: the faintness passed away and my memory was completely restored.
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: I started violently from the arm that held me up
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: and called out.
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 2: Is she all right?
• 1:15:24
  Speaker 1: I heard her say, saved, Is she all right? Hush,
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: dear boy, hush, she is all right. Do not excite yourself.
• 1:15:31
  Speaker 1: Are you deceiving me? I inquired?
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 2: Tell me all I can bear it? Is she well?
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 2: Or no?
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: She has been very ill, but she is now getting
• 1:15:39
  Speaker 1: strong and well. Thank God.
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 2: I began to.
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: Cry, half from weakness and half from joy. And Missus Trevor,
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: seeing this and knowing with the sweet instinct of womanhood
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: that I would rather be alone. Quickly left the room,
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 1: after making a sign to the nurse, who sank again
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 1: to her old place behind the bed curtain. I thought
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: for long and all the time, from my first coming
• 1:16:00
  Speaker 1: to scarp to the moment of unconsciousness after I sprung
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 1: through the window came back to me as in a dream.
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: Gradually the room became darker and darker, and my thoughts
• 1:16:10
  Speaker 1: began to give semblance to the objects around me, till
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: at length the visible world passed away from my wearied eyes,
• 1:16:17
  Speaker 1: and in my dreams I continued to think of all
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: that had been. I have a hazy recollection of taking
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: some food and then relapsing into sleep, but remember no
• 1:16:29
  Speaker 1: more distinctly until I woke fully in the morning and
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 1: found Missus Trevor again in the room. She came over
• 1:16:36
  Speaker 1: to my bedside, and, sitting down, said, gaily, Ah, Frank,
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: you look bright and strong this morning. Dear boy, you
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: will soon be well, now, I trust her cool deft
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 1: fingers settled my pillow and brushed back the hair from
• 1:16:48
  Speaker 1: my forehead. I took her hand and kissed it, and
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: the doing so made me very happy. By and by,
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: I asked her how was miss Fothering better? Much better?
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 2: This morning?
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: She has been and asking after you ever since she
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 1: has been able, and to day when I told her
• 1:17:03
  Speaker 1: how much better you were, she brightened up at once.
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 1: I felt a flush, painfully strong, rushing over my face
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: as she spoke. But she went on, She has asked
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 1: me to let her see you as soon as both
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: of you are able. She wants to thank you for
• 1:17:17
  Speaker 1: your conduct on that awful night. But there I won't
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 1: tell any more tales. Let her tell you what she
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: likes herself to think. Me me for what, for having
• 1:17:29
  Speaker 1: brought her to the verge of madness or perhaps death,
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: or my silly fears and imagination. Oh, missus Trevor, I
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: know that you never mock anyone, But to me that
• 1:17:38
  Speaker 1: sounds like mockery. She leaned over me as she sat
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 1: on my bedside, and said, oh, so sweetly yet so firmly,
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 1: that a sense of the truth of her words came
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: at once upon me. If I had a son, I
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: would wish him to think as you have thought, and
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: to act as you have acted. I would pray for
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 1: it night and day. And if he suffered as you
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: have done, I would lean over him as I lean
• 1:17:59
  Speaker 1: over you now and feel glad as I feel now
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: that he has thought and acted as a true hearted
• 1:18:04
  Speaker 1: man should think and act. I would rejoice that God
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: had given me such a son. And if he should die,
• 1:18:11
  Speaker 1: as I feared at first that you should, I would
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: be a prouder and happier woman, kneeling by his dead
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: body than I would, and clasping a different sun living
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 1: in my arms.
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 2: Oh how my.
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 1: Weak, fluttering heart did beat as she spoke with pity
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 1: for her blighted maternal instincts, with gladness that a true
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: hearted woman had approved of my conduct toward a woman
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 1: whom I loved, and with joy for the deep love
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: for myself. There was no mistaking the honesty of her words.
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 1: Her face was perfectly radiant as she spoke them. I
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 1: put up my arms, it took all my strength to
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: do it round her neck, and whispered softly in her
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 1: ear one word mother. She did not expect it, for
• 1:18:53
  Speaker 1: it seemed to startle her, but her arms tightened around
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 1: me convulsively. I could feel a perfect rain of tears
• 1:18:59
  Speaker 1: falling on my upturned face as I looked into her
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 1: eyes full of love and long sought joy as I looked,
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: I felt stronger and better. My sympathy for her joy
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: did much to restore my strength. For some little time
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 1: she was silent, and then she spoke as if to herself,
• 1:19:15
  Speaker 1: God has given me a son at last. I think
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 1: thee O Father forgive me. If I have at any
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 1: time repined the son I prayed for might have been
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: different from what I would wish. Thou doest best in
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: all things. For some time after this, she stayed quite silent,
• 1:19:30
  Speaker 1: still supporting me in her arms. I felt inexpressibly happy.
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: There was an atmosphere of love around me for which
• 1:19:39
  Speaker 1: I had longed all my life. The love of a
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: mother for which I had pined since my orphan childhood
• 1:19:44
  Speaker 1: I got at last, And the love of a woman
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 1: to become far dearer to me than a mother I
• 1:19:48
  Speaker 1: felt was close at hand. At length, I began to
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 1: feel tired, and missus Trevord laid me back on my pillow.
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 1: It pleased me inexpressibly to observe her kind, motherly manner
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 1: with me. Now the ice between us had at last
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 1: been broken. We had declared our mutual love, and the
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: white haired woman was as happy in the declaration as.
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 2: The young man.
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 1: The next day I felt a shade stronger, and a
• 1:20:12
  Speaker 1: similar improvement was manifested on the next. Missus Trevor always
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 1: attended me herself, and our good reports of Miss Fothering's
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 1: progress helped to cheer me not a little. And so
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 1: the days wore on and many passed way before I
• 1:20:25
  Speaker 1: was allowed to rise from bed. One day, Missus Trevor
• 1:20:28
  Speaker 1: came into the room in a state of suppressed delight.
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 1: By this time I had been allowed to set up
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: a little while each day, and was beginning to get strong,
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: or rather less weak, for I was still very helpless. Frank,
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 1: the doctor says, you may be moved into another room
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 1: tomorrow for a change, and that you may see die
• 1:20:46
  Speaker 1: as may be supposed. I was anxious to see Miss Fothering.
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: Whilst I had been able to think during my illness,
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 1: I thought about her all day long, and sometimes all
• 1:20:55
  Speaker 1: night long. I had been in love with her even
• 1:20:58
  Speaker 1: before that fatal night. My heart told me that secret
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 1: whilst I was waiting to hear the clock strike, and
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 1: saw all my folly about the dream. But now I
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 1: not only loved the woman, but I almost worshiped my
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 1: own bright ideal, which was merged in her. The constant
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 1: series of kind messages that passed between us tended not
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 1: a little to increase my attachment, and now I eagerly
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 1: looked forward to a meeting with her face to face.
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 1: I awoke earlier than usual next morning, and grew rather
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 1: feverish as the time for our interview approached. However, I
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: soon cooled down upon a vague threat being held out
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 1: that if I did not become more composed, I must
• 1:21:35
  Speaker 1: defer my visit they expected. Time at length arrived and
• 1:21:39
  Speaker 1: I was wielded my chair into missus Trevor's boudoir. As
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 1: I entered the door, I looked eagerly round and saw
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 1: seated in another chair near one of the windows, a girl, who,
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 1: in turning her head round languidly disclosed the features of
• 1:21:53
  Speaker 1: miss Fathering. She was very pale and ethereal looking, and
• 1:21:57
  Speaker 1: seemed extremely delicate, but in my opinion, this only heightened
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 1: her natural beauty. As she caught sight of me, a
• 1:22:04
  Speaker 1: beautiful blush rushed over her poor pale face and even
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 1: tinged her alabaster forehead. This passed quickly, and she became
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 1: calm again and paler than before. My chair was wheeled
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: over to her and missus Trevor said, as she bent
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 1: over and kissed her, after soothing the pillow in her chair, Die,
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 1: my love, I brought Frank to see you. You may
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 1: talk together for a little while, but mine the doctor's
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 1: orders are very strict, and if either of you excite
• 1:22:31
  Speaker 1: yourselves about anything, I must forbid you to meet again
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: until we are both much stronger. She said the last
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 1: words as she was leaving the room. I felt red
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 1: and pale, hot and cold by turns. I looked at
• 1:22:45
  Speaker 1: Miss Fothering and faltered. However, in a moment or two
• 1:22:49
  Speaker 1: I summoned up courage to address her, Miss Fathering, I
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 1: hope you forgive me for the pain and danger I
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 1: caused you by that foolish fear of mine. I assure
• 1:22:57
  Speaker 1: you that nothing I ever did here, she interrupted me.
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 1: Mister Stanford, I beg you will not talk like that.
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 1: I must thank you for the care you thought me
• 1:23:06
  Speaker 1: worthy of. I will not say how proud I feel
• 1:23:09
  Speaker 1: of it, and for the generous courage and wisdom you
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: displayed in rescuing me from the terror of that awful scene.
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 1: She grew pale, even paler than she had been before
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 1: as she spoke the last words and trembled all over.
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: I feared for her and said, as cheerfully as I could,
• 1:23:27
  Speaker 1: don't be alarmed. Do calm yourself. That is all over,
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 1: now and past. Don't let its horrors disturb you ever again.
• 1:23:35
  Speaker 1: My speaking, although it calmed her somewhat, was not sufficient
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 1: to banish her fear. And seeing that she was really excited,
• 1:23:43
  Speaker 1: I called to missus Trevor, who came in from the
• 1:23:46
  Speaker 1: next room and talked to us for a little while.
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: She gradually did away with Miss Fothering's fear by her pleasant,
• 1:23:52
  Speaker 1: cheery conversation. She poor girl had received a sad shock,
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 1: and the thought that I had been the cause of
• 1:23:59
  Speaker 1: it gave me great anguish. After a little quiet chat, however,
• 1:24:04
  Speaker 1: I grew more cheerful, but presently feeling faintish, was wheeled
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 1: back to my own room and put to bed. For
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 1: many long days, I continued very weak and hardly made
• 1:24:15
  Speaker 1: any advance. I saw Miss Fathering every day, and each
• 1:24:19
  Speaker 1: day I loved her more and more. She got stronger
• 1:24:22
  Speaker 1: as the days advanced, and after a few weeks was
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 1: comparatively in good health, but still I continued weak. Her
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 1: illness had been merely the result of the fright she
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: had sustained on that unhappy night. But mine was the
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: nervous prostration consequent on the long period of anxiety between
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 1: the dream and seeming fulfillment, united with the physical weakness
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: resulting from my wounds caused by jumping through the window.
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 1: During all this time of weakness, Missus Trevor was indeed
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 1: a mother to me. She watched me day and night,
• 1:24:53
  Speaker 1: and as far as a woman could, made my life
• 1:24:55
  Speaker 1: a dream of happiness. But the crowning glory of that
• 1:24:58
  Speaker 1: time was the thought that sometimes forced itself upon me,
• 1:25:02
  Speaker 1: that Diana cared for me. She continued to remain at
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 1: Scarp by Missus Trevor's request, as her father had gone
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 1: to the continent for the winter, and with my adopted mother,
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: she shared the attendance on me day after day. Her
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: care for my every want grew greater, till I came
• 1:25:18
  Speaker 1: to fancy her like a guardian angel, keeping watch over me.
• 1:25:22
  Speaker 1: With the peculiar delicate sense that accompanies extreme physical prostration,
• 1:25:26
  Speaker 1: I could see that the growth of her pity kept
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 1: pace with the growth of her strength. My love kept
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: pace with both. I often wondered if it could be
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: sympathy and not pity that so forced all my wants
• 1:25:38
  Speaker 1: and wishes, or if it be love that answered in
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 1: her heart when mine beat for her. She only showed
• 1:25:45
  Speaker 1: pity and tenderness in her acts and words. But still
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: I hoped and longed for something more. Those days of
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: my long continued weakness were to me sweet sweet days.
• 1:25:56
  Speaker 1: I used to watch her for hours as she sat
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: opposite to me, reading or working, and my eyes would
• 1:26:01
  Speaker 1: fill with tears as I thought how hard it would
• 1:26:03
  Speaker 1: be to die and leave her behind me. So strong
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: was the flame of my love that I believed, in
• 1:26:10
  Speaker 1: spite of my religious teaching, that should I die, I
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 1: would leave the better part of my being behind me.
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 1: I used to think, in a vague, imaginative way that
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 1: no less powerful because it was undefined. Of what speeches
• 1:26:23
  Speaker 1: I would make to her if I were well. How
• 1:26:27
  Speaker 1: I would talk to her in nobler language than that
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 1: in which I would now allow my thoughts to mold themselves.
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 1: How as I talked, my passion and honesty and purity
• 1:26:38
  Speaker 1: would make me so eloquent that she would love to
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 1: hear me speak. How I would wander with her through
• 1:26:44
  Speaker 1: the sunny gladed woods that stretched away before me through
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: the open window, and sit by her feet on a
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 1: mossy bank, beside some purling brook that rippled gaily over
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 1: the stones, gazing into the depths of her eyes. Or
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: my future life was pictured in one long sheen of light.
• 1:27:00
  Speaker 2: How I would.
• 1:27:01
  Speaker 1: Whisper in her ear, sweet words that would make me
• 1:27:04
  Speaker 1: tremble to speak them, and her tremble to hear. How
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 1: she would bend to me and show me her love
• 1:27:11
  Speaker 1: by letting me tell her mind without reproof, And then
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 1: would come, like the shadow of a sudden rain cloud
• 1:27:17
  Speaker 1: over an april landscape. The bitter bitter thought that all
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 1: this longing was but a dream, and that when the
• 1:27:23
  Speaker 1: time had come, when such things might have been, and
• 1:27:26
  Speaker 1: I would most likely be sleeping under the green turf,
• 1:27:30
  Speaker 1: and she might perhaps be weeping in the silence of
• 1:27:33
  Speaker 1: her chamber, sad sad tears for her blighted love and
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 1: for me. Then my thoughts would become less selfish, and
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 1: I would try to imagine the bitter blow of my
• 1:27:43
  Speaker 1: death if she loved me, For I knew that a
• 1:27:45
  Speaker 1: woman loves not by the value of what she loves,
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: but by the strength of her affection. An admiration for
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 1: her own ideal, which she thinks she sees bodied forth
• 1:27:55
  Speaker 1: in some man. But these thoughts had always the visio
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: that the dreams of happiness were prophetic. Alas I had
• 1:28:05
  Speaker 1: altogether lost faith in dreams, still I could not but
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 1: feel that even if I had never frightened Miss Fathering
• 1:28:12
  Speaker 1: by telling my vision, she might nevertheless have been terrified
• 1:28:16
  Speaker 1: by the effect of the moonlight upon the flowers of
• 1:28:18
  Speaker 1: the pompous tufts, and that under providence I was the
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 1: instrument of saving her from a shock even greater than
• 1:28:24
  Speaker 1: that which she did experience, for help might not have
• 1:28:28
  Speaker 1: come to her so soon. This thought always gave me hope.
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 1: Whenever I thought of her sorrow for my death, I
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 1: would find my eyes filled with a sudden rush of tears,
• 1:28:37
  Speaker 1: which would shut out from my waking vision the object
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 1: of my thoughts and fears. Then she would come over
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 1: to me and place her cool hand on my forehead
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 1: and whisper sweet words of comfort and hope in my ears.
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 1: As I would feel her warm breath upon my cheek
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 1: and wafting in my hair from my brow, I would
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 1: lose all sense of pain and sorrow and care, and
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 1: live only in the brightness of the present. At such
• 1:29:03
  Speaker 1: times I would cry silently from very happiness, for I
• 1:29:07
  Speaker 1: was sadly weak, and even trifling things touched me deeply.
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 1: Many a stray memory of some tender word heard, or
• 1:29:15
  Speaker 1: some gentle deed done, or of some sorrow or distress
• 1:29:19
  Speaker 1: would set me thinking for hours and stir all the
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 1: tender feelings of my nature. Slowly, very slowly up again
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 1: to get stronger, but for many days more I was
• 1:29:32
  Speaker 1: almost completely helpless. With returning strength came the strengthening of
• 1:29:36
  Speaker 1: my passion. For passion, my love for Diana had become.
• 1:29:42
  Speaker 1: She had been so woven into my thoughts that my
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 1: love for her was a part of my being, and
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 1: I felt that away from her, my future life would
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 1: be but a bare existence and no more but strange
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 1: to say. With increasing strength and passion came increasing diffidence.
• 1:29:59
  Speaker 1: I felt in her present since so bashful and timorous
• 1:30:02
  Speaker 1: that I hardly dared to look at her, and could
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 1: not speak, save to answer an occasional question. I had
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 1: ceased to dream entirely, for such day dreams as I
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: used to have, seemed now wild and almost sacrilegious to
• 1:30:16
  Speaker 1: my sore, excited imagination. But when she was not looking
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 1: at me, I would be happy and merely seeing her
• 1:30:23
  Speaker 1: or hearing her speak, I could tell the moment she
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 1: left a house or entered it, and her footfall was
• 1:30:28
  Speaker 1: the music sweetest to my ears, except her voice. Sometimes
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 1: she would catch sight if my bashful looks at her,
• 1:30:35
  Speaker 1: and then at my conscious blushing, a bright smile would
• 1:30:38
  Speaker 1: flit over her face. It was sweet and womanly, but
• 1:30:43
  Speaker 1: sometimes I would think that it was no more than
• 1:30:45
  Speaker 1: her pity finding expression. She was always in my thoughts,
• 1:30:50
  Speaker 1: and these doubts and fears constantly assailed me, so that
• 1:30:54
  Speaker 1: I could feel that the brooding over the subject, a
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: matter which I was powerless to prevent, was doing me
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: an injury, perhaps seriously retarding my recovery. One day I
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 1: felt very sad. There had been a bitter sense of
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 1: loneliness come over me, which was unusual. It was a
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 1: good sign of returning health, for it was like the
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 1: waking from a dream to a world of fact with
• 1:31:18
  Speaker 1: all its troubles and cares. There was a sense of
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: coldness and loneliness in the world, and I felt that
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: I had lost something without gaining anything in return. I had,
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 1: in fact lost somewhat of my sense of dependence, which
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 1: is a consequence of prostration, but had not yet regained
• 1:31:37
  Speaker 1: my strength. I sat opposite a window itself in shade,
• 1:31:41
  Speaker 1: but looked over a garden that in the summer had
• 1:31:43
  Speaker 1: been bright with flowers and sweet with their odors, but
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 1: which now was let up only in patches by the quiet,
• 1:31:50
  Speaker 1: mellow gleams of the autumn sun, and brightened by a
• 1:31:53
  Speaker 1: few stray flowers that had survived the first frosts. As
• 1:31:57
  Speaker 1: I sat, I could not help thinking of what my
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 1: future would be. I felt that I was getting stronger,
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 1: and the possibilities of my life seemed very real to me.
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 1: How I longed for courage to ask Diana to be
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 1: my wife, and certainty would be better than the suspense
• 1:32:13
  Speaker 1: I now constantly endured. I had but little hope that
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 1: she would accept me, for she seemed to care less
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 1: for me now than in the early days of my illness.
• 1:32:22
  Speaker 1: As I grew stronger, she seemed to hold somewhat aloof
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 1: from me, And as my fears and doubts grew more
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 1: and more, I could hardly bear to think of my
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 1: joy should she accept me, or of my despair should
• 1:32:34
  Speaker 1: she refuse either emotion seemed too great to be borne today.
• 1:32:40
  Speaker 1: When she entered the room, my fears were vastly increased.
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 1: She seemed much stronger than usual, for a glow as
• 1:32:47
  Speaker 1: of health ruddied her cheeks, and she seemed so lovely
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 1: that I could not conceive that such a woman would
• 1:32:52
  Speaker 1: ever condescend to be my wife. There was an unusual
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 1: constraint in her manner as she came and spoke to
• 1:32:58
  Speaker 1: me and round me, doing in her own graceful way
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 1: all the thousand little offices that only a woman's hand
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 1: can do for an invalid. She turned to me two
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 1: or three times as if she was about to speak,
• 1:33:09
  Speaker 1: but turned away again, each time silent and.
• 1:33:12
  Speaker 2: With a blush.
• 1:33:14
  Speaker 1: I could see that her heart was beating violently. At length,
• 1:33:17
  Speaker 1: she spoke, Frank, Oh, what a wild throb went through me.
• 1:33:22
  Speaker 1: As I heard my name from her lips for the
• 1:33:24
  Speaker 1: first time. The blood rushed to my head, so that
• 1:33:27
  Speaker 1: for a moment I was quite faint. Her cool hand
• 1:33:29
  Speaker 1: on my forehead revived me. Frank, will you let me
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 1: speak to you for a few minutes, as honestly as
• 1:33:35
  Speaker 1: I would wish to speak, and as freely go on?
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 1: You will promise me not to think me unwomanly forward,
• 1:33:42
  Speaker 1: for indeed, I act from the best motives. Promise me.
• 1:33:48
  Speaker 1: This was said slowly, with much hesitation and a convulsive
• 1:33:52
  Speaker 1: heaving of the chest.
• 1:33:54
  Speaker 2: I promise.
• 1:33:56
  Speaker 1: We can see that you are not getting as strong
• 1:33:58
  Speaker 1: as you ought. And the doctor says that there is
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 1: some idea too much in your mind, that you brood
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: over it, and that it is retarding your recovery. Missus
• 1:34:07
  Speaker 1: Trevor and I have been talking about it. We have
• 1:34:08
  Speaker 1: been comparing notes, and I think we have found out
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 1: what your idea is.
• 1:34:12
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 1:34:12
  Speaker 1: Frank, you must not pale and read like that, or
• 1:34:15
  Speaker 1: I will have to leave off. I will be calm, Indeed,
• 1:34:20
  Speaker 1: I will go on. We both thought that it might
• 1:34:23
  Speaker 1: do you good to talk to you freely, and we
• 1:34:26
  Speaker 1: want to know if our idea is correct. Missus Trevor
• 1:34:29
  Speaker 1: thought it better that I should speak to you than
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 1: she should o. What is the idea hitherto? Although she
• 1:34:37
  Speaker 1: had manifested considerable motion, her voice had been full and clear,
• 1:34:42
  Speaker 1: but she answered this last question very faintly and with
• 1:34:45
  Speaker 1: much hesitation.
• 1:34:48
  Speaker 2: You are attached.
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 1: To me, and you are afraid I.
• 1:34:53
  Speaker 2: I don't love you.
• 1:34:56
  Speaker 1: Here her voice was checked by a rush of tears,
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 1: and she turned her head away. Diana said, I, dear Diana.
• 1:35:04
  Speaker 1: I held out my arms with what strength I had.
• 1:35:08
  Speaker 1: The color rushed over her face and neck. And then
• 1:35:10
  Speaker 1: she turned and, with a convulsive sigh, laid her head
• 1:35:12
  Speaker 1: upon my shoulder. One weak arm fell round her waist,
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: and my other hand rested on her head. I said nothing.
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 1: I could not speak, but I felt the beating of
• 1:35:23
  Speaker 1: her heart against mine, and thought that if I died,
• 1:35:26
  Speaker 1: then I must be happy for ever, if there be
• 1:35:29
  Speaker 1: memory in the other world. For a long, long, blissful time,
• 1:35:34
  Speaker 1: she kept her place, and gradually our hearts ceased to
• 1:35:38
  Speaker 1: beat so violently, and we became calm. Such was the
• 1:35:42
  Speaker 1: confession of our love. No plighted faith, no passionate vows,
• 1:35:47
  Speaker 1: but the silence and the thrill of sympathy through our
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: hearts were sweeter than words could be. Diana raised her
• 1:35:55
  Speaker 1: head and looked fearlessly but appealingly into my eyes, as
• 1:35:59
  Speaker 1: she asked me, oh, Frank, did I do right to speak?
• 1:36:03
  Speaker 1: Could it have been better if I had waited? She
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 1: saw my wishes and my eyes and bent down her
• 1:36:09
  Speaker 1: head to me. I kissed her on the forehead, and
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 1: fervently prayed, thank God that all was as it has been.
• 1:36:17
  Speaker 1: May He bless my own darling wife for ever and ever, Amen,
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 1: said a sweet tender voice. We both looked up without shame,
• 1:36:28
  Speaker 1: for we knew the tones of my second mother. Her face,
• 1:36:31
  Speaker 1: streaming with tears of joy, was lit up by a
• 1:36:33
  Speaker 1: sudden ray of sunlight through the casement. End of Chapter four,
• 1:36:41
  Speaker 1: End of the Chain of Destiny by Bromsdoker