A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by Edward Payson Roe (world of reading .txt) 📖
- Author: Edward Payson Roe
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As From The Innocent Spirit.
Having Laid Her Back In the Crib, And Arranged the Little Form As If
Sleeping, He Carried the Crib, With Aunt Saba'S Help, To The Room Where
Mr. Poland Had Died. Then He Told The Old Negress To Return And Remain
With Her Mistress, And That He Would Watch Over The Body Till Morning.
That Quiet Watch By The Pure Little Child, With A Trace Of Heaven'S Own
Beauty On Her Face, Was To Haldane Like The Watch Of The Shepherds On
The Hillside Near Bethlehem. At Times, In the Deep Hush That Followed
The Storm, He Was Almost Sure That He Heard, Faint And Far Away, Angelic
Minstrelsy And Song.
Haldane'S Unusually Healthful And Vigorous Constitution Had Thus Far
Resisted the Infection, But After Returning From The Sad Duty Of Laying
Little Bertha'S Remains By Those Of Her Father, He Felt The Peculiar
Languor Which Is So Often The Precursor Of The Chill And Subsequent
Fever. Although He Had Scarcely Hoped to Escape An Attack, He Had Never
Before Realized how Disastrous It Would Be To The Very Ones He Had Come
To Serve. Who Was There To Take Care Of Him? Mrs. Poland Was Almost
Helpless From Nervous Prostration. Amy Required absolute Quiet To
Prevent The More Fatal Relapse, Which Is Almost Certain To Follow
Exertion Made Too Early In convalescence. He Knew That If He Were In the
House She Would Make The Attempt To Do Something For Him, And He Also
Knew It Would Be At The Risk Of Her Life. Old Aunt Saba Was Worn Out In
Her Attendance On Bertha, Amy, And Mrs. Poland. Her Husband, And A
Stranger Who Had Been At Last Secured to Assist Him, Were Required in
The Household Duties.
He Took His Decision Promptly, For He Felt That He Had But Brief Time In
Which To Act. Going To Mrs. Poland'S Room, He Said To Her And Amy:
"I Am Glad To Find You Both So Brave And Doing as Well As You Are On
This Sad, Sad Day. I Do Not Think You Will Take The Disease, Mrs.
Poland; And You, Miss Amy, Only Need perfect Quiet In order To Get Well.
Please Remember, As A Great Favor To Me, How Vitally Important Is The
Tranquillity Of Mind And Body That I Am Ever Preaching To You, And Don'T
Do That Which Fatigues You In the Slightest Degree, Till Conscious Of
Your Old Strength. And Now I Am Going away For A Little While. This Is A
Time When Every Man Should Be At His Post Of Duty. I Am Needed
Elsewhere, For I Know Of A Case That Requires Immediate Attention.
Please Do Not Remonstrate," He Said, As They Began To Urge That He
Should Take Some Rest; "My Mission Here Has Ended for The Present And My
Duty Is Elsewhere. We Won'T Say Good-By, For I Shall Not Be Far Away;"
And Although He Was Almost Faint From Weakness, His Bearing Was So
Decided and Strong, And He Appeared so Bent On Departure, That They Felt
That It Would Hardly Be In good Taste To Say Anything More.
"We Are Almost Beginning To Feel That Mr. Haldane Belongs To Us," Said
Amy To Her Mother Afterward, "And Forget That He May Be Prompted by As
Strong A Sense Of Duty To Others."
As Haldane Was Leaving The House Dr. Orton Drove To The Door. Before He
Could Alight The Young Man Climbed into His Buggy With Almost Desperate
Haste.
"Drive Toward The City," He Said So Decisively That The Doctor Obeyed.
"What'S The Matter, Haldane? Speak, Man; You Look Sick."
"Take Me To The City Hospital. I Am Sick."
"I Shall Take You Right Back To Mrs. Poland'S," Said The Doctor, Pulling
Up.
Haldane Laid His Hands On The Reins, And Then Explained his Fears And
The Motive For His Action.
"God Bless You, Old Fellow; But You Are Right. Any Effort Now Would Cost
Amy Her Life, And She Would Make It If You Were There. But You Are Not
Going To The Hospital."
Dr. Orton'S Intimate Acquaintance With The City Enabled him To Place
Haldane In a Comfortable Room Near His Own House, Where He Could Give
Constant Supervision To His Case. He Also Procured a Good Nurse, Whose
Sole Duty Was To Take Care Of The Young Man. To The Anxious Questioning
Of Mrs. Poland And Amy From Time To Time, The Doctor Maintained the
Fiction, Saying That Haldane Was Watching a Very Important Case Under
His Care; "And You Know His Way," Added the Old Gentleman, Rubbing His
Hands, As If He Were Enjoying Something Internally, "He Won'T Leave A
Case Till I Say It'S Safe, Even To Visit You, Of Whom He Speaks Every
Chance He Gets;" And Thus The Two Ladies In their Feeble State Were
Saved all Anxiety.
They At Length Learned of The Merciful Ruse That Had Been Played upon
Them By The Appearance Of Their Friend At Their Door In dr. Orton'S
Buggy. As The Old Physician Helped his Patient, Who Was Still Rather
Weak, Up The Steps, He Said With His Hearty Laugh:
"Haldane Has Watched over That Case, That He And I Told You Of, Long
Enough. We Now Turn The Case Over To You, Miss Amy. But All He Requires
Is Good Living, And I'Ll Trust To You For That. He'S A Trump, If He Is A
Yankee. But Drat Him, I Thought He'D Spoil The Joke By Dying, At One
Time."
The Sentiments That People Like Mrs. Poland And Her Daughter, Mrs.
Arnot, And Laura, Would Naturally Entertain Toward One Who Had Served
Them As Haldane Had Done, And At Such Risk To Himself, Can Be Better
Imagined than Portrayed. They Looked and Felt Infinitely More Than They
Were Ever Permitted to Say, For Any Expression Of Obligation Was
Evidently Painful To Him.
He Speedily Gained his Old Vigor, And Before The Autumn Frosts Put An
End To The Epidemic, Was Able To Render Dr. Orton Much Valuable
Assistance.
Amy Became More Truly His Sister Than Ever His Own Had Been To Him. Her
Quick Intuition Soon Discovered his Secret--Even The Changing
Expression Of His Eyes At The Mention Of Laura'S Name Would Have
Revealed it To Her--But He Would Not Let Her Speak On The Subject. "She
Belongs To Another," He Said, "And Although To Me She Is The Most
Beautiful And Attractive Woman In the World, It Must Be My Lifelong
Effort Not To Think Of Her."
His Parting From Mrs. Poland And Amy Tested his Self-Control Severely.
In Accordance With Her Impulsive Nature, Amy Put Her Arms About His Neck
As She Said Brokenly:
"You Were Indeed god'S Messenger To Us, And You Brought Us Life. As
Father Said, We Shall All Meet Again."
On His Return, Mrs. Arnot'S Greeting Was That Of A Mother; But There
Were Traces Of Constraint In laura'S Manner. When She First Met Him She
Took His Hand In a Strong, Warm Pressure, And Said, With Tears In her
Eyes:
"Mr. Haldane, I Thank You For Your Kindness To Amy And Auntie As
Sincerely As If It Had All Been Rendered to Me Alone."
But After This First Expression Of Natural Feeling, Haldane Was Almost
Tempted to Believe That She Shunned meeting His Eyes, Avoided speaking
To Him, And Even Tried to Escape From His Society, By Taking Mr.
Beaumont'S Arm And Strolling Off To Some Other Apartment, When He Was
Calling On Mrs. Arnot. And Yet If This Were True, He Was Also Made To
Feel That It Resulted from No Lack Of Friendliness Or Esteem On Her
Part.
"She Fears That My Old-Time Passion May Revive, And She Would Teach Me
To Put A Watch At The Entrance Of Its Sepulchre," He At Length
Concluded; "She Little Thinks That My Love, So Far From Being Dead, Is A
Chained giant That Costs Me Hourly Vigilance To Hold In lifelong
Imprisonment."
But Laura Understood Him Much Better Than He Did Her. Her Manner Was The
Result Of A Straightforward Effort To Be Honest. Of Her Own Free Will,
And Without Even The Slightest Effort On The Part Of Her Uncle And Aunt
To Incline Her Toward The Wealthy And Distinguished mr. Beaumont, She
Had Accepted all His Attentions, And Had Accepted the Man Himself. In
The World'S Estimation She Would Not Have The Slightest Ground To Find
Fault With Him, For, From The First, Both In conduct And Manner, He Had
Been Irreproachable.
When The Telegram Which Announced mr. Poland'S Death Was Received, He
Tried to Comfort Her By Words That Were So Peculiarly Elegant And
Sombre, That, In spite Of Laura'S Wishes To Think Otherwise, They Struck
Her Like An Elegiac Address That Had Been Carefully Prearranged and
Studied; And When The Tidings Of Poor Little Bertha'S Death Came, It
Would Occur To Laura That Mr. Beaumont Had Thought His First Little
Address So Perfect That He Could Do No Better Than To Repeat It, As One
Might Use An Appropriate Burial Service On All Occasions. He Meant To Be
Kind And Considerate. He Was "Ready To Do Anything In his Power," As He
Often Said. But What Was In his Power? As Telegrams And Letters Came,
Telling Of Death, Of Desperate Illness, And Uncertain Life, Of Death
Again, Of Manly Help, Of Woman-Like Self-Sacrifice In the Same Man, Her
Heart Began To Beat In quick, Short, Passionate Throbs. Bat It Would
Seem That Nothing Could Ever Disturb The Even Rhythm Of Beaumont'S
Pulse. He Tried to Show His Sympathy By Turning His Mind To All That Was
Mournful And Sombre In art And Literature. One Day He Brought To Her
From New York What He Declared to Be The Finest Arrangement Of Dirge
Music For The Piano Extant, And She Quite Surprised him By Declaring
With Sudden Passion That She Could Not And Would Not Play A Note Of It.
In Her Deep Sorrow And Deeper Anxiety, In her Strange And Miserable
Unrest, Which Had Its Hidden Root In a Cause Not Yet Understood, She
Turned to Him Again And Again For Sympathy, And He Gave Her Abundant
Opportunity To Seek It, For Laura Was The Most Beautiful Object He Had
Ever Seen; And Therefore, To Feast His Eye And Gratify His Ear, He Spent
Much Of His Time With Her; So Much, Indeed, That She Often Grew Drearily
Weary Of Him. But No Matter When Or How Often She Would Look Into His
Face For Quick, Heartfelt Appreciation, She Saw With Instinctive
Certainty That, More Than Lover, More Than Friend, And Eventually, More
Than Husband, He Was, And Ever Would Be, A Connoisseur. When She Smiled
He Was Admiring Her, When She Wept He Was Also Admiring Her. Whatever
She Did Or Said Was Constantly Being Looked at And Studied from An
Aesthetic Standpoint By This Man, Whose Fastidious Taste She Had Thus
Far Satisfied. More Than Once She Had Found Herself Asking: "Suppose I
Should Lose My Beauty, What Would He Do?" And The Instinctive Answer Of
Her Heart Was: "He Would Honorably Try To Keep All His Pledges, But
Would Look The Other Way."
Before She Was Aware Of It, She Had Begun To Compare Her Affianced with
Haldane, And She Found That The One Was Like A Goblet Of Sweet, Rich
Wine, That Was Already Nearly Exhausted and Cloying To Her Taste; The
Other Was Like A Mountain Spring, Whose Waters Are Pure, Ever New,
Unfailing, Prodigally Abundant, Inspiring Yet Slaking Thirst.
But She Soon Saw Whither Such Comparisons Were Leading Her, And
Recognized her Danger And Her Duty. She Had Plighted her Faith To
Another, And He Had Given Her No Good Reason To Break That Faith. Laura
Had A Conscience, And She As Resolutely Set To Work To Shut Out Haldane
From Her Heart, As He, Poor Man, Had Tried to Exclude Her Image, And
From Very Much The Same Cause. But The Heart Is A Wayward Organ And Is
Often At Sword'S-Point With Both Will And Conscience, And Frequently, In
Spite Of All That She Could Do, It Would Array Haldane On The One Side
And Beaumont On The Other, And So It Would Eventually Come To Be, The
Man Who Loved her, _Versus_ The Connoisseur Who Admired her, But Whose
Absorbing Passion For Himself Left No Place For Any Other Strong
Feeling.
Chapter LIII
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