A Terrible Temptation (Fiscle Part 3) by Charles Reade (motivational books for men TXT) 📖
- Author: Charles Reade
Book online «A Terrible Temptation (Fiscle Part 3) by Charles Reade (motivational books for men TXT) 📖». Author Charles Reade
"Poor Man! Richard, Death Reconciles Enemies. Surely You Can Forgive
Him Now."
"I Mean To Try."
Richard Bassett Seemed Now To Have Imbibed The Spirit Of Quicksilver.
His Occupations Were Not Actually Enlarged, Yet, Somehow Or Other, He
Seemed Full Of Business. He Was All Complacent Bustle About Nothing. He
Left Off Inveighing Against Sir Charles. And, Indeed, If You Are One Of
Those Weak Spirits To Whom Censure Is Intolerable, There Is A Cheap And
Easy Way To Moderate The Rancor Of Detraction--You Have Only To Die.
Let Me Comfort Genius In Particular With This Little Recipe.
Why, On One Occasion, Bassett Actually Snubbed Wheeler For A Mere
Allusion. That Worthy Just Happened To Remark, "No More Felling Of
Timber On Bassett Manor For A While."
"For Shame!" Said Richard. "The Man Had His Faults, But He Had His Good
Qualities Too: A High-Spirited Gentleman, Beloved By His Friends And
Respected By All The County. His Successor Will Find It Hard To
Reconcile The County To His Loss."
Wheeler Stared, And Then Grinned Satirically.
This Eulogy Was Never Repeated, For Sir Charles Proved Ungrateful--He
Omitted To Die, After All.
Attended By First-Rate Physicians, Tenderly Nursed And Watched By Lady
Bassett And Mary Wells, He Got Better By Degrees; And Every Stage Of
His Slow But Hopeful Progress Was Communicated To The Servants And The
Village, And To The Ladies And Gentlemen Who Rode Up To The Door Every
Day And Left Their Cards Of Inquiry.
The Most Attentive Of All These Was The New Rector, A Young Clergyman,
Who Had Obtained The Living By Exchange. He Was A Man Highly Gifted
Both In Body And Mind--A Swarthy Adonis, Whose Large Dark Eyes From The
Very First Turned With Glowing Admiration On The Blonde Beauties Of
Lady Bassett.
He Came Every Day To Inquire After Her Husband; And She Sometimes Left
The Sufferer A Minute Or Two To Make Her Report To Him In Person. At
Other Times Mary Wells Was Sent To Him. That Artful Girl Soon
Discovered What Had Escaped Her Mistress's Observation.
The Bulletins Were Favorable, And Welcomed On All Sides.
Richard Bassett Alone Was Incredulous. "I Want To See Him About Again,"
Said He. "Sir Charles Is Not The Man To Lie In Bed If He Was Really
Better. As For The Doctors, They Flatter A Fellow Till The Last Moment.
Let Me See Him On His Legs, And Then I'll Believe He Is Better."
Strange To Say, Obliging Fate Granted Richard Bassett This Moderate
Request. One Frosty But Sunny Afternoon, As He Was Inspecting His
Coming Domain From "The Heir's Tower," He Saw The Hall Door Open, And A
Part 3 Chapter 15 Pg 123Muffled Figure Come Slowly Down The Steps Between Two Women: It Was Sir
Charles, Feeble But Convalescent. He Crept About On The Sunny Gravel
For About Ten Minutes, And Then His Nurses Conveyed Him Tenderly In
Again.
This Sight, Which Might Have Touched With Pity A More Generous Nature,
Startled Richard Bassett, And Then Moved His Bile. "I Was A Fool," Said
He; "Nothing Will Ever Kill That Man. He Will See Me Out; See Us All
Out. And That Mary Wells Nurses Him, And I Dare Say In Love With Him By
This Time; The Fools Can't Nurse A Man Without. Curse The Whole Pack Of
Ye!" He Yelled, And Turned Away In Rage And Disgust.
That Same Night He Met Mary Wells, And, In A Strange Fit Of Jealousy,
Began To Make Hot Protestations Of Love To Her. He Knew It Was No Use
Reproaching Her, So He Went On The Other Tack.
She Received His Vows With Cool Complacency, But Would Only Stay A
Minute, And Would Only Talk Of Her Master And Mistress, Toward Whom Her
Heart Was Really Warming In Their Trouble. She Spoke Hopefully, And
Said: "'Tisn't As If He Was One Of Your Faint-Hearted Ones As Meet
Death Half-Way. Why, The Second Day, When He Could Scarce Speak, He
Sees Me Crying By The Bed, And Says He, Almost In A Whisper, 'What Are
_You_ Crying For?' 'Sir,' Says I, ''Tis For You--To See You Lie Like A
Ghost.' 'Then You Be Wasting Of Salt-Water,' Says He. 'I Wish I May,
Sir,' Says I. So Then He Raised Himself Up A Little Bit. 'Look At Me,'
Says He; 'I'm A Bassett. I Am Not The Breed To Die For A Crack On The
Skull, And Leave You All To The Mercy Of Them That Would Have No
Mercy'--Which He Meant You, I Suppose. So He Ordered Me To Leave
Crying, Which I Behooved To Obey; For He Will Be Master, Mind Ye, While
He Have A Finger To Wag, Poor Dear Gentleman, He Will."
And, Soon After This, She Resisted All His Attempts To Detain Her, And
Scudded Back To The House, Leaving Bassett To His Reflections, Which
Were Exceedingly Bitter.
Sir Charles Got Better, And At Last Used To Walk Daily With Lady
Bassett. Their Favorite Stroll Was Up And Down The Lawn, Close Under
The Boundary Wall He Had Built To Shut Out "The Heir's Walk."
The Afternoon Sun Struck Warm Upon That Wall And The Walk By Its Side.
On The Other Side A Nurse Often Carried Little Dicky Bassett, The Heir;
But Neither Of The Promenaders Could See Each Other For The Wall.
Richard Bassett, On The Contrary, From "The Heir's Tower," Could See
Both These Little Parties; And, As Some Men Cannot Keep Away From What
Causes Their Pain, He Used To Watch These Loving Walks, And See Sir
Charles Get Stronger And Stronger, Till At Last, Instead Of Leaning On
His Beloved Wife, He Could March By Her Side, Or Even Give Her His Arm.
Yet The Picture Was, In A Great Degree, Delusive; For, Except During
These Blissful Walks, When The Sun Shone On Him, And Love And Beauty
Soothed Him, Sir Charles Was Not The Man He Had Been. The Shake He Had
Part 3 Chapter 15 Pg 124Received Appeared To Have Damaged His Temper Strangely. He Became So
Irritable That Several Of His Servants Left Him; And To His Wife He
Repined; And His Childless Condition, Which Had Been Hitherto Only A
Deep Disappointment, Became In His Eyes A Calamity That Outweighed His
Many Blessings. He Had Now Narrowly Escaped Dying Without An Heir, And
This Seemed To Sink Into His Mind, And, Co-Operating With The
Concussion His Brain Had Received, Brought Him Into A Morbid State. He
Brooded On It, And Spoke Of It, And Got Back To It From Every Other
Topic, In A Way That Distressed Lady Bassett Unspeakably. She Consoled
Him Bravely; But Often, When She Was Alone, Her Gentle Courage Gave
Way, And She Cried Bitterly To Herself.
Her Distress Had One Effect She Little Expected; It Completed What Her
Invariable Kindness Had Begun, And Actually Won The Heart Of A Servant.
Those Who Really Know That Tribe Will Agree With Me That This Was A
Marvelous Conquest. Yet So It Was; Mary Wells Conceived For Her A Real
Affection, And Showed It By Unremitting Attention, And A Soft And
Tender Voice, That Soothed Lady Bassett, And Drew Many A Silent But
Grateful Glance From Her Dove-Like Eyes.
Mary Listened, And Heard Enough To Blame Sir Charles For His
Peevishness, And She Began To Throw Out Little Expressions Of
Dissatisfaction At Him; But These Were So Promptly Discouraged By The
Faithful Wife That She Drew In Again And Avoided That Line. But One
Day, Coming Softly As A Cat, She Heard Sir Charles And Lady Bassett
Talking Over Their Calamity. Sir Charles Was Saying That It Was
Heaven's Curse; That All The Poor People In The Village Had Children;
That Richard Bassett's Weak, Puny Little Wife Had Brought Him An Heir,
And Was About To Make Him A Parent Again; He Alone Was Marked Out And
Doomed To Be The Last Of His Race. "And Yet," Said He, "If I Had
Married Any Other Woman, And You Had Married Any Other Man, We Should
Have Had Children By The Dozen, I Suppose."
Upon The Whole, Though He Said Nothing Palpably Unjust, He Had The Tone
Of A Man Blaming His Wife As The Real Cause Of Their Joint Calamity,
Under Which She Suffered A Deeper, Nobler, And More Silent Anguish Than
Himself. This Was Hard To Bear; And When Sir Charles Went Away, Mary
Wells Ran In, With An Angry Expression On The Tip Of Her Tongue.
She Found Lady Bassett In A Pitiable Condition, Lying Rather Than
Leaning On The Table, With Her Hair Loose About Her, Sobbing As If Her
Heart Would Break.
All That Was Good In Mary Wells Tugged At Her Heart-Strings. She Flung
Herself On Her Knees Beside Her, And Seizing Her Mistress's Hand, And
Drawing It To Her Bosom, Fell To Crying And Sobbing Along With Her.
This Canine Devotion Took Lady Bassett By Surprise. She Turned Her
Tearful Eyes Upon Her Sympathizing Servant, And Said, "Oh, Mary!" And
Her Soft Hand Pressed The Girl's Harder Palm Gratefully.
Mary Spoke First. "Oh, My Lady," She Sobbed, "It Breaks My Heart To See
You So. And What A Shame To Blame You For What Is No Fault Of Yourn. If
I Was Your Husband The Cradles Would Soon Be Full In This House; But
Part 3 Chapter 15 Pg 125These Fine Gentlemen, They Be Old Before Their Time With Smoking Of
Tobacco; And Then To Come And Lay The Blame On We!"
"Mary, I Value You Very Much--More Than I Ever Did A Servant In My
Life; But If You Speak Against Your Master We Shall Part."
"La, My Lady, I Wouldn't For The World. Sir Charles Is A Perfect
Gentleman. Why, He Gave Me A Sovereign Only The Other Day For Nursing
Of Him; But He Didn't
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