M ESTLESS HU AN HEARTS .

RICHARD F JEF ERIES ,

AUT H OR OF T HE AR E HA ’ SC L T S WL .

IN T H RE E VOLUMES .

V L II O . .

LON DON

TINS L E "B ROTHE RS 8 C ATHE RI T T AND. NE S . S R ,

1 8 75 .

Hi ll right"reserved "

M N H R RE STLE S S HU A E A TS .

H AP TE R I C .

ALTHOUG H Knoyleland s was barely four miles

of d iff distant , course Neville foun it very d er ent from what it had been in London . He could only see Georgiana at intervals . Pierce

Avonb o urn e bu t welcomed him at , still he felt t hat he could not intrude there at the present unfortunate time ; so that the onl y occasions on which he saw Georgie were when sh e Kn o l elan d s or came over to y , when they mi met by appointment . He ssed the ready and easy intercourse of London ; there was a void ; he could not look forward with cer

i or tainty to see ng Georgie in the evening , indeed even in any particular week . He had him brought his books and papers with , and at first he had deluded himself into the belief

VOL . II . B 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

that the quiet repose of a country mansion , only inhabited by himself, where he could indulge free of observation in each and every one of his own peculiar little ways and habits , would be favourable to study, and that he

H e m should really enjoy it . found hi self strangely mistaken . It was not that it was

u O . dull, or that he found its solit de ppressive What other people called dull had through life been a pleasure to him . He detested ex cit em ent , he hated parties , and everything appertaining to what is called amusement .

He never went to balls , suppers , dinners ; in " short, he never went anywhere fond as he was of music , he never went to a concert . Essentially Neville was a man who lived

on in himself ; not that he was selfish , but, th e contrary, foolishly generous with his money . Certainly he was polite and well — bred the reverse of the boorish recluse . He h ad no feeling of contempt or dislike for any other person ; he even sometimes began to wonder if it was not he himself that was worthy of contempt for this very love of soli d tude . The truth was, that he live in dreams ; E RESTL SS HUMAN HEARTS . 3

his mind was constantly occupied in weaving

can . visions, if that be understood They were not always mere fancies or imaginings ;

t ah hey were frequently hard calculations,

stract reasonings in mathematics , though often

enough purely and simply dreams , in which

u he constructed a state of things s blimated ,

t . as it were , from the actual reali ies of life In his own mind he had created an ideal world, and peopled it with innumerable

n beings , which were ta gible enough to him ; and amongst these he dwelt . The approach of other persons distracted these mental fa — brics they fell down and were destroyed before the jar of a coming footstep . It was

’ n of w like looki g at one s face in a basin ater . — So long as there is perfect stillness a com — plete absence of volition the surface of the l mobile iquid acts as a reflector, and mirrors every feature with distinctness but the slight

or n th e est jar shake , the trembli g of floor ffl caused by a heavy footfall, disturbs it, ru es th e w water with miniature aves , and the image is a blurred and shapeless distortion .

It required the most perfect repose , a total 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

immunity from the most minute irritation , to — enable the mind that extremely subtle and

— s o m mobile thing to settle and become s ooth ,

t o in as reflect upon its surface , clear to his

t of ernal sight, the image those thoughts and

dreams which arose in his soul . The very t iniest motion , the smallest sound, the very

f u aintest disturbance, immediately pset the

- fragile and delicately balanced mirror, and the image was in a moment a broken and dis

figured mass . Neville had grow n to enjoy the utmost pleasure in the perfection o f this ethereal

- wa s picture painting . It a species of mental

- opium eating . The noise of a fashionable

party, the incessant excitement, the constant

of o f succession fresh faces , the utter absence

anything approaching to repose , irritated his

t o nerves, and he could not settle down his w o wn internal amu sement . They ere con

st antl n web w y teari g his as fast as he ove it,

destroying its contour, and blotting its beau

an tiful colours . Solitude was to him only w w w other orld, filled ith creatures and ith shapes as far superior t o the realities of life 5 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . as the mind is to the matter which supports

u it . He welcomed the q iet and complete

Kno lelands retirement of y , as a place where he could indulge to the very utmost , and

th e of without least dread interruption , in this

- lotos eating . He dignified it to himself by

’ of st For all the name udy . a few days went as he expected ; the very driving of the rain

th e in of against w dow, and the rise and fall the wind as it howled around the house , pro duce d a somnolent complacency, particularly favourable to that species of reverie in which he delighted to indul ge . After a day or two he grew a little restless ; in a week he did nothing but walk up and down , and venture ou t o f doors till the ceaseless rain drove him in . It was not the solitude nor the dulness that made him thus ; it was the want of

not Georgie . Previously he had recognised what a large portion of the quiet enjoyment he had hitherto felt in life had arisen from

the constant intercourse he had had with her .

She had become necessary to him ; without — her he could settle down to nothing no t

even to dream . When Georgie did at last G RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

come and stay with him a few hours , he made

u s e w of the opportunity to persuade her, ith

all his powers, to join their fates and hands

for at once , he said that then they could be always together ; and he explained to her

how impossible it was to him to study, or to

old feel any pleasure in his pursuits, without

no t her presence . She could but feel an amount of pleasure in this eager desire for

her society, yet it terribly embarrassed her .

She had not yet perfected her plan, nor had sh e yet gathered sufficient courage to com

m unicat e . it to him, incomplete as it was Neville saw her depart without having suc

ce e ded one saw in moving her jot, and him self again reduced to the companionship of his books from between whose covers the soul that used to rise up to meet his glance t had fled, leaving nothing but cold dry le ters whose meaning he could not grasp . Have you never written an address upon

an envelope , while at the same time thinking

of something else, and then trying to read it, found it for a moment m eaningless ? The

t he letters convey no idea , not even idea of R E ESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS . 7 — a certain sound they are black splot ches nothing more . The printed lines of his books were thus to Nevill e . Suddenly it struck him that he would ask Noel down ; Noel would him w d cheer ith his talk , perhaps he woul even entice him out with a gun or on horse

a back . Neville had certain amount of love for field sports , but it halted at love ; it never arrived at action unl ess some one dragged him into it . Noel came only too willingly "he shoul d

— s e be near Heloise perhaps he Should e her . To him the last fortnight had been positive misery ; he had no resources, no books , no

- favourite studies, no day dreams to which to

o f t fly, when the events the hour lef him to him self. And we have seen that even these resources were of very little avail to studious

His Neville . more vigorous brother knew w knew not what to do . He andered about

s town like a spectre, re tless night and day . He began to have foolish ideas of going down

Avonbo urne into the country near , lodging

one at of the roadside inns, and walking daily

u ul in sight of Bo rne Manor . That wo d at 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . least be somet hing to do ; this waiting was

Ne maddening . Naturally he snatched at

’ vil le s invitation . w As Neville had expected , they ere speedily o ut o f doors on horseback together . By

or chance, by a mysterious instinct , they rode

’ old - close by the manor house , close to Pierce s

’

. N . garden Here, too , was eville s hope Thus f it came about that day a ter day, by common

t consent, hey passed that way ; always talking o f f the most indi ferent matters , each in his heart full of one shape and o ne well - beloved face . They never called ; but of course the proximity of two strange gentlemen could not long remain a secret . It became known at

e b ut Bourne Manor that not only Nevill , his

was Kno lelands and brother , staying at y , Pierce of course had already fathomed the attachment existing between Georgiana and

. wh o Neville Anxious to pleasure his guest, had been so kind to Heloise , Pierce , always

in ready to be hospitable , lost no time in vitin — g them to visit him , than which , of

. th e course , nothing was more natural On two first of these occasions it s o chanced that 9 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

n ot in t Heloise was visible ; ruth , She had purposely secluded herself, not from any feel

of i of ing shame or hum liation , but because the secret conscientiousness in her own heart ;

was but on the third Noel s aw her . This early in December, when Pierce asked them to join in a pheasant battue . With one of those singular inconsistencies which mark

of human nature, Pierce , the protector the — timid creatures in his garden the humane — and the gentle was passionately fond of field

or sports , be it hunting, shooting , fishing . His Shooting parties were acknowledged t o w be the best in the county , the preserves ere s o w s o ell stocked, and the host was courteous

en r a or t and so thoroughly pp with his friends . But this year Pierce had issued no general invitations ; the cloud that had overshadowed his house forbade anythin g approaching to a public entertainment . Th ere were only a few d old friends aske , and out of deference to i f G . o eorg ana, Neville and Noel The first f these disgraced himsel for ever . Beyond

ash - barking a few poles with his Shot, and

e erin p pp g a dog, poor Neville hit nothing that 10 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

w of he kne . Yet he handled his gun in true sportsmanlike fashion "he did not point it at

or of his neighbours, endanger the lives the

h eat ers . He came of a sporting stock , and the blood woul d Show even in this unbroken descendant ; but he hit nothing whatever .

dis Noel , on the contrary, a practised shot,

ish e d tingu himself beyond all others . He had had no shooting for some time "soon as he smelt the powder the old instincts rose in him savage and fierce ; he forgot Heloise

t of he forgot all , save the wild deligh de

’ struction , the maddening pleasure in one s o wn was th e skill . His Shooting superb ; old gamekeeper swore with an oath that he had seen nothing like it since he was a lad . Pierce w was delighted . Then , in the evening, hen Noel was feted and made much of as the

of of hero the day, his latent powers conver sation came out again as they had done when t Heloise unlocked his lips . She was hen ever listenin g to him ; what he spoke of now he had never alluded to before . Those tales that he had related to her were mere stories of un adventure , wild and picturesque, but 1 1 RESTLESS HUM AN HEARTS . stained with t h e blood of others than the beasts of the forest . — Now among men in th e company of those who had shared the brutal sport of the morning , who had dipped their hands with him in the blood of hundreds o f innocent and t t imid crea ures , who had thus partaken of ‘ ’ — fetish with him now the inner nature o f t h e o u t of his t . man came He told hem wars , o f the horrible deeds of the man - hunt ers o f Western America wit h whom he had lived a nd worked ; o f th e slow and patient foll ow

of t d ing the rail of the doomed In ian , the g radual concentration of the h eat er s in an

- e w ever narrowing circl , as a vast serpent slo ly a nd t silen ly glides after its prey, and then s d it urroun s within its gigantic folds . B ut why linger on these narrat ives ? It

t o di t n is enough in cate them, wi hout polluti g t h e page with blood . A fierce light shone in his eyes . Heloise had entered the room with a deadly paleness and trembling limbs . The s ense of guilt clung to her like t h e folds of a d wet garment , hampering and estroying her natural grace . The company amongst whom 12 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . sh e mingled were far t o o highly bred either to treat her with the extreme deference which

of is the common mode meeting misfortune , or to ignore her with the idea of putting her

wa at her ease . All that they did s to make her feel that to them sh e was still the Heloise

o f —a s the olden time welcome , as innocent, t and as well beloved . Never heless her shy

ness , her labouring awkwardness did not wear

off , for Noel was there . He had barely

touched her hand, he had but murmured the

simplest words demanded by courtesy, yet he ll had thri ed her to the innermost heart . She

could no longer meet him with t h e open brow

i o and the ready sm le , b ld in the innocence of

i of her m nd . The first pair in the Garden

s o Eden, soon as they felt the consciousness

of n guilt, hid themselves amo g the trees and

m an clothed themselves with leaves . In like ner Heloise faltered and recoiled ; the firm

t h e of ness, frank openness her mind was

gone . Even Georgie noticed this , but put it down to the remembrance of the elopement of

Louis and did not therefore wonder at it .

Neville too attributed it to the same cause . 1 3 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

But when Noel late in the evening began to ff al o . t k thus , her embarrassment wore The

- sound of his well remembered voice , the dear tones that had roused up the echoes of her

i and heart , passed l ke waves over her soul, washed away the weeds and choking sand banks that had begun to raise their heads above the waters . She forgot all but him .

She hearkened to him wonderingly . Her lips

n parted slightly, her cheek fai tly flushed , her eyes glittered . Why was it that Heloise , the gentle , the timid, listened thus with rapt attention to these tales of fiercest bloodshed ?

She never analysed the morality of his deeds . h is . They were deeds Their cruelty, their brut ality did not occur to her ; they were f mi glossed over by the eagerness o her nd . She felt as he felt the danger rose up before her and confronted her, and her mind fol lowed out his plans to escape from it with — thrilling interest . It was Noel not the blood he had Shed—that dre w her with unutterable interest . If any conception of the character of did these deeds ever pass across her thought,

was of w it only to give rise to a sense onder, 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

i his h is of marvelling del ght in prowess, terri ble arm , his unerring eye . The glamour of

of love was over her, and the sound his voice mingled that night with her feverish dreams .

f a b e nthu Pierce himsel , c rried away y the — siasm of the moment admiring the brilliant

of shooting his guest, and gratified by the — evident interest o f his friends overlooked

v the sa ageness , the inhuman ferocity of these

i n - off doings far lands, and forgot their true

’ character . Out of Noel s narrative there had sprung anecdotes and touches of observation

’ which h ad excited Pierce s interest . On the

u morrow he q estioned Noel and Noel, eager t o s o please Pierce , and to obtain a footing in th e house , bent his mind to recollect what he

’ had Seen of nature and nature s ways in the dense jungle of Africa and the primeval woods V e w I orld . of the N . This fascinated Pierce

of Ever a student nature , yet scarcely even having stirred from his own country, Pierce dwelt with intense interest o n the discoveries ofthis bold explorer . Aided by his questions , which suggested long - forgotten facts to his

CHAPTER II .

THERE came a time at last when Georgie ,

sh e was reluctant as was , compelled to give an answer to Neville ’s continual questionings

and persuasions . He could not be put off for ever . He was ready to agree to any proposal

s o she liked to make , to consent to anything that only She would be his . How sh e told him sh e never could remember, and Neville w as too much amazed to have any dis tinct recollection of the manner of the com m unica ion of t . But the matter it was plain

. i and evident enough It was glaring, startl ng, something which could not be misunderstood . She wanted him to inaugurate a new era by h f er . marrying for three years, and not for li e

sh e As it was impossible to do this legally, proposed that they Should take such steps to make the proceeding perfectly open and in

of so — the Sight all , that the contract though 7 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1

it might want the consecration of the priest — and the sanction ofthe State might neverth e less be a good and true marriage in the eye of w th e world . This was hat sh e at last conveyed

to him, with many circumlocutions and much

n was hesitatio and stammering, for she afraid t hat this extraordinary proposal would give

him cause to suspect her maidenly modesty .

But Neville never thought of that ; he was

simply overwhelmed with amazement . Then he began to rapidly controvert her ideas , and

a to Show the utter bsurdity of her design , besides its thorough opposition to all the r e c eived f canons o social relationship . This course at once put Georgie on her

o f . mettle , and gave her a full flow speech AS soon as it came to argument she was at home . Forgetting the personal application of the subject, She treated it as if it had con

off cerned some one afar and invisible . As to

of the mere novelty the thing, that she de clare d was not the slightest reason against it and as for the sensation it would cause in society, any rational being was of course quite ff indi erent to society . What on earth had

VOL . II . C 1 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ this intangible creation of men s minds , this

‘ ’ - define d vague and ill cloud called society, to do with her grand mission for the regenera

of sex ? r e tion her What prophet, what

of former, what great name the ages past had ever cared for ‘ society ’ ? Invariably ‘ society ’ — had been against them not only in words and remarks, but in hard and cruel deeds .

For facing these hard and cruel deeds, these tortures and these flames, these men had been dignified as martyrs, and were admitted to a

’ niche in the world s Pantheon . If they could w ithstand the fierce and biting fire , the scorching tongues of flame that licked up the glorious human form as if it had been a heap

u not sh e of dried leaves, co ld , in the con

sciousness of a great cause, face the mere t t carpe inquisi ions , the mere paltry sneers and criticisms of that miserably weak and childish

’ aggregate of effete particles called ‘ Society ?

" What had he e ver se en in her to indicate that She lacked stability of character or firmness o f purpose ? What she preached that She was

determined to practise , and openly before the

world . There were thousands and thousands RE S T L E ss HUMAN HEARTS . 1 9

‘ o f sex wh o her thought the same as she did, but whom the lack of stamin a and the force o f irresistible circumstances prevented from hi asserting themselves . She had all these t ngs . — S h e was firm and bold ready to dare and

h ad resolved to bear the consequences . She

suf an independent fortune , not large, but

ficient for her wants . Not a human being

could in any way hamper her proceedings . l Of fu l age, with special powers under her father ’s will exempting her from any control

u n of a sound and vigorous mind, entirely fettered by any prejudice—what better con ditions could there be for such an assertion of woman ’s rights and woman ’s independence She did not suggest they should sneak into this contract and hide themselves as if ashamed from the faces of their friends . Here her fair and excited face blushed a little . On the contrary, she wished it to take place openly, and with every accompaniment that could m ake the contract solemn and in every respect

sh w a true marriage . Very well e knew hat

sa — some people would y that, try how they t might, hey could never succeed in legalising 20 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

a or such a marriage ; it must still be illeg l , t rather unrecognised by the law . But ruth

was superior to law ; right was better than

- technical routine . Ill natured people would ‘ ’— say that sh e was a mistress let them s ay

o sh e s . Fully recognised all these disagree

sh e able, all these cogent objections ; and

was determined to override them all . It

was t her belief hat if two persons, man and

woman, solemnly met together and pledged

t th e of their roth in presence others , and with just suflicient ceremony to give a tangible l l rea ity to it , that man and woman were rea ly

and truly man and wife in the sight of Heaven . f ? A ter all , what were these laws They were certainly not inscribed on the tables that Moses took from the outstretched hand of

Deity . Though undoubtedly in their spirit

sanctioned by Heaven , the letter was purely a

human invention ; and sh e contended that the time had come when that letter should be

. S h e altered By taking this bold initiative , Should in o ne single step proceed farther on

th e road than hundreds and thousands of mere

t alkers co uld accomplish . The Fact would RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 1

w preach with irresistible force . It ould take r oot and Spread . On what did she ground her adherence to the three - year system o f mar riag e ? On the plainest and most straight — forward ground that in that time t h e parties c ould ascertain if they were fitted for e ach other and if their anticipations were realised

if s o ul n and , they co d then e ter upon the con

was t tract for life ; or if not, it infinitely bet er

d n e ces that they shoul d part . It was har ly sary for her to allude to those painful events which had only recently t aken place to ill us

t i for th e old , trate h s . As superstition about

t of the sacramen marriage , and its being a j uncture which no earthly power could de stroy, She laughed it to scorn . If both the parties were heartily and cordially agreed to

t c i live together, and to remain in hat ond tion of l sh e a ife in which they were , then cert inly

t was no t believed hat there ear hly power, no t ribunal or authority which could in any way

s o interfere with their right to do . That right was the very birthright of every human being .

In i s that l ght, and under such condition as

not these , the tie was sacred and could be 22 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

separated . But, on the other hand, when either party found that the other was un

or t nt suited , that heir a icipations had not

o r — s been realised, that not to particulari e — t the reasons there was a desire to part, hen

sh e held that no earthly power, tribunal, or authority had the right to compel them to

dwell together, or to continue to merge their — — legal identity . Others weak women talked

of this , and believed it, and sighed for it . of Thousands them sighed for it, for this reason " it would give such an impetus to — marriage . Hundreds and hundreds countless

—of numbers marriages would take place, if there was the certainty that in a reasonable

period, if disagreement arose , they could part .

n sh As it was , you g men were naturally y of w matrimony . No it was confessedly a lot

tery z her plan would reduce it to something

t o approachn rational investment .

w of no Neville , kno ing that it would be t avail to contradict her flatly, or to attemp to d raw her away from her conclusions, attacked her in detail . Suppose these parties married

u in s ch a system did not both agree in, quar

24 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . week after week ; till it seemed as if the con t roversy would lengthen into months . But it was in vain . And after a time , by the con

of stant reiteration her argument, aided by

h e t pertinent remarks that occurred to her,

sh e actually succeeded in making some im pression upon Neville . He was obliged to

admit her fundamental principles ; that was the worst of it ; that gave her such force, such

a standpoint to make way against him . Ac c e tin w p g , as he had al ays done, the political theory which centres in the one word ‘ Li

’ berty, he could not conscientiously attempt to controvert the premises upon which she built her edifice . So that in time it came to this he opposed her wishes u pon one ground

only ; and that was that as a man , as her

lover, and her husband, he could not endure t o or hear her conduct Spoken of slightingly,

made a subject for sneering criticisms . For

himself he did not care but for her . Out of

sh e this partly argued him , partly laughed l him , part y coaxed him . It is just possible t hat if in the first place he had given way to

and ff t her, o ered ? carry her whim into imme RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 5

th e diate execution , that before day came she would have wavered and paused . All this

er su a argument, all these discussions and p sions only acted as a spur to thoroughly rouse

nu up her energies , and to bend them with

fl i chin one n g determination upon this end . In the end it was her beauty that carried the

not sh day . Neville could resist her when e

mi o f resorted to the fe nine arts persuasion .

Finally he yielded conditionally, that the marriage ’ should be solemnised with every possible outward Show and ceremony that could make it a genuine on e in the eyes of t h H e h O e t e world . had a lingering p tha w it w hen came to la yers and settlements , and

th e o f t h e t t sh e all details subjec , tha would

recoil alarmed . Georgie readily assent ed to t t it w his condi ion ; was indeed her own ish ,

of s and part her original plan . So it was et tle d between them .

Georgie had , however , yet to stand the fire of t t those friends , hose immedia e and inti

dis mate friends , to whom the project was

closed . Pierce in his quiet gentle manner placed before her in striking colours the sin 26 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

gular position in which sh e would be placed . His calm manner had far more effect upon her than all the ardent language of Nevill e had f done . Heloise pleaded a fectionately, begging her dearest friend not to take so dangerous a

step . These two alone made any impression upon Georgie . They shook her a little . Her heart beat faster as sh e thought of them but

re though her senses might waver, her mind m ained unchanged , firm as before . This marriage now became the one topic f o Avonbourne . conversation at After a while , s o l much ta king, such constant consideration of the aspects of the matter had its natural ff it e ect upon them . They grew to look upon as not s o very much out of the way after all nothing s o extremely astonishimg and r e markable The angularities of the idea wore off , if such a phrase may be used, and the strong points rooted themselves in their minds .

It was spoken of as a topic no longer o f weight or moment , but j ust as if it was an

s ordinary event . This tended to rea sure

Georgie , and to fill her with spirit to carry

was one o ut her undertaking . There but 2 REST LESS HUMAN HEARTS . 7

’ now who opposed it . This was Philip, Pierce s — — brother the clergyman of the parish who

a lived in the adjacent house . Philip ce sed not day and night to do whatever he could to

n discourage this proceedi g . He argued against it ; he preached against it ; he produced au

h rities t o against it . Filled with all the tradi

z officious tions of his Church , ealous even to

one ness, he reproved them in breath , and endeavoured to persuade them in the other . In time they grew to be perfectly indifferent to him . Then in secret he chang ed his tac " tics he said no more , but he resolved to do what he could to make the ceremony as bind

ing as possible . In this matter he had a cor h dial t ough unpronounced friend in Neville . Between t hem they endeavoured s o to arrange m atters as t o give the affair an aspect at least of being sanctioned by authority, even if it was not really s o .

There had been a time , when in London, when Heloise had looked forward to her friend’s marriage with delight and anticipation . She

of of had talked the dresses , the bridesmaids , of the thousand - and - one details which ladies 2 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

alone can bear in mind . That was months ago .

But now that it was rapidly approaching, and in a most singular and exceptionable manner,

Heloise seemed to lose all interest in it . Even Georgie remarked this apparent coldness and

of indif Heloise , hurt at the idea seeming

’ fer ent to Georgie s fate , endeavoured to rouse herself, and fix her mind upon it . But Noel had been t oo potent . The very idea of a marriage brought up feelings which would not be controlled . This throbbing of her " heart would not be stilled . Ah , Noel, Noel what mischief he had caused It was at this time that Philip , the clergyman who had

on been in private the watch for these things ,

of produced a copy a London paper, in which the approaching event was alluded to in plain

‘ and not over - fl att ering terms " We hear that

r a remarkable mar iage , which will Signalise th e commencement of a new era in the annals

of matrimony, will be celebrated in the now

- fast coming season . This marriage will pre sent the novel and exceptionable peculiarity of being for three years only . As no such

a is ll m rriage recognised by the law, it fo ows R 2 9 RESTLESS HUMAN HEA TS . of course that the parties to this contract can l be under no binding engagement, and wil be practically free to leave each other the very next week . Under the specious pretext of

’ " forwarding women s rights, this new sensa " sation may captivate the novelty- seeking por tion of the public; but those who possess the power of penetrating beneath the surface of things will feel unfeigned regret at a pre cedent which may be made to let in a flood of

’ corruption .

Georgiana laughed at all this , except the

‘ ’ — specious pretext . That stuck by her it

sh e was always before her . It rose up when

was —it c alone confronted her, as the mysti writing on the wall confronted the astonished

‘ ’ king . Specious pretext " Was it j ust pos sible that sh e was deceiving herself ? But She

would not admit such a possibility . She shut

her ears , determined not to hear . And the

preparations went forward, and grew near

completion . A CH PTER III .

THIS was how the formalities were arranged . The lawyers had been busy at them for some time, and many were the consultations before all parties were agreed . Out of the chaos of numberless suggestions an order was at length

’ evolved . Georgiana s property consisted of

t Kno lelands the es ate at y , covering about e ight hundred acres, and a very fine dwelling house, lawns, and gardens . This was entirely her own ; she could devise it by will to whom

’ s h oever s e chose . Neville Brandon s sole estate was in Consols . It had o ri ginally been double that amount ; but he had never paid th e least attention to his moneta ry

ff or a airs, either to obtain a better interest, to retain what he possessed . He had spent fully o ne - and half of his fortune in his travels , in prosecuting scientific researches at a great

3 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . justice than the legal effect o f an ordinary marriage , that it was perfectly j ust to both parties . To provide for the possible advent o f u children , Neville exec ted a deed binding himself to allow a stated sum per annum towards the maintenance and education of

or the same , be they male female . Up to ten years of age both sexes were to remain with t h e mother ; after that the girls were to become , as it were , the absolute property ofthe mother and the boys of the father, who were each to be respectively responsible . To meet the contingency of either party dying Georgiana also executed a deed (which sh e could do, as, not being legally married, sh e did not incur legal disabilities) , leaving a proportion of her property to trustees for th e education and maintenance of children .

v l t Ne il e did the same . So that in fac the money for the maintenance of children was in reality placed in the hands of trustees .

Over and above this , it was, of course , com petent to either party to devise their estates to any or all o f the possible heirs ; but the above arrangement was adopted as one pro RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 3 3

teeting either party against any breach of

faith by th e other . In the event of there being no heirs at

o f the expiration the three years , or within

one year from that separation , these deeds

were to become null and void . It was then open to either party either to renew them or

to let them drop . The partnership could be

dissolved at any time ; but these other deeds held good for three years and the year of

of grace , which year grace was provided in order to meet a possible contingency which

will suggest itself to the reader . Practicall y this partnership and these pro visions for possible heirs were the only real bonds that all the ingenuity they exercised

could devise . There remained only the cere

w - mony . The la yers rather pooh poohed this

o f . part the matter It was quite superfluous ,

ff . quite useless , and of no e ect They might j ust as well go at once and reside together ; t here wa s no other step they could take that

would be of the least practical good . Georgiana and Neville both thought very differently As far as possible they were

D VOL . II . 3 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

determined to satisfy that traditionary r e quire m ent o f socie ty which demands that in all these great events of life t here shall be a — certain amount of ceremony an outward w Sho to exhibit the inner sentiments . Anti qu arians may say that this is a remnant of w the times when there were no records , hen the art of writ ing was in a bald and imperfect

of state . To preserve the memory an event as much ceremony as possible was gone

r through , and as g eat a crowd of persons

so collected together , that there might be many witnesses , and that the fact might be w In idely Spread and published . fact such a gathering answered exactly the same purpose as the modern announceme nt in the news papers .

T h e solicitors rather satirically remarked , f or they neither altogether relished these ir

if one regular proceedings , that thing was done away with they might as well do away with all . If they could do without the sanc t ion of theLegislature and without the sanction of wh h e so the Church , y anxious to secure the approbation of the public ? They m ight RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 3 5

l th e just as we l Sign the deeds, drive to rail

a off t o way, t ke their tickets , and start Paris

for the honeymoon at once . B ut Neville ’s idea was that more than a mere traditionary prejudice existed under the popular faith in a certain amount of pub licity and ceremony at these important events

of i H l fe . is idea was that these ceremonies

e w wer the tangible out ard signs, the mani

fe stations of the internal and unseen thought .

They, he and Georgie , might each sit apart in diff erent rooms and think over all those obligations towards each other which

they were about to incur ; and having s o thought rise up and meet and go forth to

t was gether into the world . But here no

responsibility about this ; no other person

was made acquainted with what their pro w mises towards each other ere . No one coul d be a witness to the fact that they had

made such promises . The ceremony might l in itse f be a very ridiculous thing, cousi

er s e dered p and in the abstract, but it was

a public declaration of responsibility . The law h ad in all times prescribed that no int en 3 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . t was ion complete till some act, often very t trifling in i self, had been gone through ;

deeds for instance had to be completed,

signed and sealed , before they had a legal

force . The mere act of affixing a paltry piece of sticking substance to a sheet of

parchment was in itself absurd ; but it was an outward act or sign of the intention of the

man . Therefore both he and Georgiana were resolved th at there should be some amount of

ceremony and some amount of publicity . By this time Neville had grown thoroughly i interested in the matter . Hav ng once given his consent he threw his mind ardently into

it . Since they were to do this thing they migh t as well do it in such a fashion as to set

t o an example all time , and to furnish a pre

cedent which others might follow . Together with Georgiana he set to work to compose a

new m arriage Service , adapted to the thought

of modern days , and in accordance with the theory that m an and woman were socially

of equal . It was in fact a draft a new mar

r iage service which future legislators might

. take as a model, and which they could alter RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 3 7 — or improve upon filling up the first imper feet outline with the light s and shadows of e xperience . First they agreed t hat the law o ught to be altered s o as t o gi ve gr eater facilities to w m arriage . The doc ument they dre up ran

w was as follo s , and afterwards to be published in the form of a pamphlet

‘ of The increasing population these isles ,

and the varying phases of public thought , demand that the social contract o f marriage should be greatly modified and simplified ; and the spread of education of late years

n of has bee so great, that many the cumbrous instr uments which were necessary in an age

of w ignorance , and of slo communication ,

m ay safely be removed . At present it is n ot considered that the age at which marriag e can be contracted by the simple will of the parties concerned should be reduced below

th e o f w - so age t enty one years, as to do would so largely interfere with t h e exist ing it laws respecting property . But is to be hoped that in th e future these laws will be so modified as to allow of marriages under that 3 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

age without the necessity of obtaining any con

as n sent, and at least early as eightee , since the

aforesaid higher education of this age must be held to make persons responsible agents

much sooner than formerly, and therefore to entitle them to an earlier immunity from

control . t In hese times, when almost every person

w t he a can read, and hen day is rapidly p " " p roaching when th e almost of this sentence w may be omitted ith truth , it behoves the legislature of the country to acknowledge this

f is altered condition o affairs . Every person w no aware , from the information disseminated by the public press , that persons committing bigamy or marrying within the prescribed

r deg ees, are either liable to severe punish ment or the contract is null and void . Those requirements which were necessary in bygone times to prevent the recurrence of these of fences are therefore now superfluous . Such — are the publication of balm s with the power

n and so of forbiddi g the same, stopping a marriage—and the statutes requiring residence in the parish over a given period . This latter

40 RESTLES S HUMAN HEARTS . that period when the feudal laws were in full

n force . whe the lord could interfere with

almost every step taken by his vassal ; and it seeks to confer upon parents and trustees ll powers similar to these . If it practica y fails d in this respect, it oes practically result in a

great hindrance and loss of time . Therefore both the publication of banns and the resi dence for a given number o f days in the

parish ought . to be done away with .

‘ There is indeed no reason , apart from the dogmatical prejudice handed down from gene

ration to generation, why marriage should not be as easy and as expeditious as the mere handing of a cheque for a sum o f money to

o f o r another and the cashing the same, of

any other banking process . The only canons that remain to be satis fie d are these (granted of course that both " parties freely consent) First, there should be

a certain amount o f publicity after the act .

Secondly, that there Should be some duly

authorised person to perform the ceremony, t Thirdly, that there Should be a registra ion

two th e s e ~ canons by the S tat e . The last of 4 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . canno t be satisfied in o ur case ; let us trust that they will be in the future . ‘ The principle of the proceeding having been thus cleared o f incumbrances and nar rowed down to its true proportions , there only remain the technical formalities to be it laid down . To arrive at these is necessary to amplify the bare canons alluded to above .

The authorised persons should be magistrates, lawyers, physicians , clergymen ; and, in Short all persons who hold a recognised position, a nd diplomas proving that they possess a

higher education than the mass of people . They should be empowered to solemnise mar

ria e g at any place and any hour, and should be required by Act of Parliament (magistrates particularly) t o do so between t h e hours of

eight in the morning and twelve at noon ,

without a n r vious notice wha t y p e ever . Other F hours Should be matters of arrangement . or such solemnisation they should demand the

s um of on e shilling and one shilling only ; and

. of this not as a matter remuneration , but as a recognition of the fact that a certain work

has been done and an act committed . 42 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

‘ In addition to the above authorised per

of sons, the registrars births, deaths, and mar

ria e s now g , appointed by Government, should

also have the same power . All marriages must be notified to the registrar at his office

- - t within four and twenty hours af er the event, and a fee o f one Shilling must be paid for re

istr a i n n otifi g t o . The neglect to make this

cation should be punishable . The registrar

of f should be required, by virtue his o fice , to insert a notice of the marriage in the next

issue of one local paper ; and ev ery local paper throughout the kingdom Should be compelled to insert such notice for t he sum of on e shil ling "this shilling must be paid by the par h ties to t e registrar . The whole amount of

t h e fees, therefore , should be three shillings ,

f an and neither more nor less . The form o n oun cem ent in the newspapers to be as fol lows

’ G T RE IS RAR S ANNOUNC EMENTS .

. P . 1 1 . J. June . . . By R E D Powell, Esq , ,

J . at his residence , Emily, daughter of as Far

of nell, aged nineteen , Bideford, county Devon, S 43 RESTLES HUMAN HEARTS .

' - of to John Frampton , aged twenty two, Bris tol , for three years . 1 June 2 . . . . By S . C Charles , M D ,

& c . of &c . at his surgery, Eliza, daughter for seven years . " Published by authority of

P Re is tr a r . WILLIAM THOM SON, g

‘ The ceremony to be performed before the authorised person should be of the simplest and shortest description . Standing before the

one on magistrate , either hand, the man should be first sworn upon the Testament , to tell the

n truth , the whole truth , and nothi g but the

u tr th , in the usual manner . The woman

u i w sho ld l kewise be s orn . By these means, all the old checks upon bigamy and illegal contracts will be superseded, since, after this oath , either party would become liable to a prosecution for perjury, if they wrongfully answer th e questions then to be put by the magistrate .

‘ ’ Af a zs tra te g (to the man) . What is your

n full and correct ame, your parish , your ? county, and your age 44 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

‘ Th e Al a n . My name is John Frampton i of . ff n of the parish St Mary Redcli e , Bristol, f the county o Bristol , and my age is twenty

two .

‘ ' Ma zs tra te g (to the woman) . "The same w question and the same ans er . " m Magis tr a te (to the man) . Is this wo an related to you in any of the prohibited de

or t grees , is there any o her legal impediment to your marriage ? "At the same time hand ing to him a printed card with the prohibited d egrees and legal impediments plainly dis played "

‘ The same question should then be put t o

the woman , and if their answers are in the negative the magistrate then presiding should

s ay

‘ Ma i tr a te Fo r m u g s . what period are you t u ally desirous of being joined together in m arriage ?

‘ a sa Having received their nswers, y for three years

‘ Magis tr a te (to the man) . Repeat these

w " . ords after me I, John Frampton am de

sirons of entering into the state of marriage RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 45

with thee , Emily Farnell "placing his hand in h ’ t e . woman s", for the period of three years ‘ m Altered so as to suit the fe mine gender, the same sentence sh ould be repeated by the woman . The magistrate Should then direct the man to take the ring and to repeat after him as follows

‘ I take thee , Emily Farnell, to be my wife for the space of three years ; and I place this ring upon thy finger in token that I accept all the responsibilities which the law of this realm

s o places upon me for doing .

‘ Then the woman shall s ay after the magis trate "

‘ t o I take thee , John Frampton , be my husband for the space of three years and I permit thee to place the ring u pon my finger in token that I also accept all the legal responsibilities of that position . ‘ They should then both write their names in a book provided to all magistrates and pro f ssion al e persons for that purpose , and the

w sa r e ceiv magistrate after ards Should y, after ing the shilling fee ‘ As the representative of the "ueen ’s ma 46 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

i jesty upon th s occasion, I pronounce ye man and wife for the period of three years .

‘ This should conclude the ceremony ; and it would then only remain for t h e magistrate to communicate with the registrar, by tear

off h is ing the duplicate form from book, pro perly filled up to correspond with the half he retains, and which should pass through the post free as a government document . Of course any magistrate or any person marrying par ties either of whom should be drunk or inca p acitat ed fr om understanding what was going forward should be liable to heavy punishment ; a nd any drunken person demanding marriage should be also liable to a severe penalt y ; as also persons attempting to occasion the mar r iage of an incapable or insane individual . The above is the outline of what we consider to be the only rational method of marriage , and as such suited to the requirements of our day . Therefore , so far as lies in our power, we are about to carry these principles into

f o r d e . u fect In case , being the first of the kin , we propose to Sign an additional document, m o f O aking a formal statement our pinions,

CHAPTER IV .

’ AT Pierce s own particular desire the mar

ia r g e was to take place at Bourne Manor . It was o f course impossible to hold it in any church ; the ceremony, such as it was , must

in be gone through a private house . It was hardly the thing to hold it in the bride ’s own

Kn o leland s residence at y , and they did not care to return to London . There was no de sire to shun the publicity that must ensue , but they did not wish a crowd of lookers - on the actual fact must be accomplished as

u l quietly as possible, whatever noise might i t l t m a e . y follow When the day drew near,

Philip , the clergyman , left them entirely,

n and came no lo ger to the place . He shunned it as accursed , and would not run the remotest risk of having it said that he sanctioned the unholy alliance by his presence . There was

some relief in his absence . However convinced RESTLESS H UMAN HEARTS . 49 t hey might feel in their own minds that they

n w but were doi g no rong, rather inaugurating a desirable state of thing s , yet it was not plea sant to have a man perpetually at your elbow w labouring to upset your views . Besides hich there was a certain amount of traditionary r e s of i ni pect, a halo ndefi te reverence , surround

o f ing the representative the Church , and this

of u caused j ust the faintest sense g ilt, as if t w hey ere engaged in desecration . So that they were cordially glad that he kept at a d istance . Heloise could not refrain fr om reflection on no w the coming event . Till , whatever had

u sh e been her passive g ilt in loving Noel , had at least not taken so decided a moral

i B ut step as to desire separation from Lou s .

’ this three years system , this marriage for a

t o r efl e c limited period, could not fail arouse tion . It reacted upon her . She could not help wishing that her marriage with Louis

so had been contracted on similar principles , t that she might, af er a little waiting, be free again . There was nothing in this unnatural ,

ff was and it is di icult to blame her, yet it the

VOL . II . E 5 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

first decided step she took on the downward

of road . It was the beginning the eager de sire which soon after rose in her mind to be completely and for ever separated from all W bonds and connection with Louis, who , hat

h u s ever he might be , was still her wedded

sh e band, whom had sworn to adhere to till death . Such a desire could not fail to let in other thoughts as actively mischievous as this was passive . Those who with Philip

’ will look upon this social marriage of Neville s with horror may trace in this its effect upon

Heloise a confirmation of their dislike . From this feeling Heloise grew to be excitedl y aux ious about the success of the design . How supine and indifferent sh e had hitherto been

sh e we have seen . Now became deeply inte

t Ge or rested, and spent her ime entirely with i gie , giving those del cate little attentions which

n none but a woma , and that woman a loving

n admiri g friend could give . Out of this evi dent interest grew up another eff ect upon

su Georgie, who , thus strengthened and p

o f ported , eased the tension her mind , and prepared for the event as if it was of Ordinary importance only . Noel held no share in the

of deliberations those preliminary days . In his heart of hearts he rather despised this di f Iettante method o procedure . If his brother and his lady really believed and felt what they alleged , why could not they quietly go off - in - s a arm arm , take the first train, and y no more about it If a man really loved he would not care

on . for marriage lease , with option of renewal He would wish to possess the object of his f a fection for ever, and through all the phases which existence may possibly assume after

. ul death He wo d not hesitate , nor she either, t o consider whether they were legally inde w pendent , or to take into consideration cob ebs of moral rights and wrongs . Such ideas never occurred to him with regard to Heloise . But he gave not t h e slightest sign of these his real sentiments . The greater the fuss and the more it. was necessary for Nevill e to be at

Bourne Manor, the better it was for Noel . It gave him almost daily chances of seeing H e loise . Literally seeing, for it was rarely that he got an opportunity to exchange a word 5 2 RE S T L E s s HUMAN HEARTS .

with her . She avoided him , not openly, but h with all t e tact of her nature . She rejoiced to feel that he was in the house with her — t hat he was near and yet hid herself with her

love from his view . The pretext of constant attendance on Georgie afforded her ample w means of concealing herself. These two ere

now constantly together . Georgie , with all her d strong nature , her rather masculine min and

l n firmness , c u g to the fragile creature now much as Heloise had clung to her in the com

m encem ent o f their friendship . Love Neville

sh e as might , and know him and his disposi

s o was un cer tion ever well , still there an tainty in the prospect of continual life with

him . Even to those who are about to enter

on old matrimony the and approved terms , with the sympathy of every one or at least

th e s en disapproval of none , there is to the sitive girl or more thoughtful woman a degree

of hesitation and uncertainty ; and we know that the mind fears the unknown dangers far

more t han those which are familiar . Georgie had none of the moral support ob t ained from ancient usage and the strong feel RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 5 3 ings of society ; sh e was not only about to en

ne w n sh e ter an entirely social relatio , but was flinging herself boldly in the very face of the world, possibly to be reviled and spit at ; at f o . anyrate to be the object criticism Naturally,

’ sh e — woma n s therefore , clung to Heloise to society—much as the sailors who accompanied Columbus must have strained their eyes upon those native shores from which they were speeding into the great Unknown . For hence forth how many women would acknowledge her ? In their secret hearts they m ight ap

sh e plaud her, and be glad that had broken the Spell that hung over the sex , confining them t o the feudal usages of a bygone time ; much as the Spells of the magicians in the fairy tale bound the princess in Sleep for a

hundred years , still clothed, when awakened, in the curious and gorgeous garments long

B ut since discontinued . outwardly would they not sneer and carp and cavil and ‘ run w ’ her do n, as the phrase is , to the full extent

of their nimble and bitter tongues , holding up their hand in utter failure even to compre hend that extraordinary creature who had 5 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

t o o " thus It was painful a subject, really Georgie had her misgivings that from the day sh e marked herself o ut in this way the doors o f society would be shut to her . It was all w very ell in her enthusiastic moods to declare ,

S h e as had done to Neville again and again , that She rose superior to the breath of depre — ciation and detraction far above the preju

of so dices society . And she did rise above

as those prejudices . But it w not in human nature , however firmly moulded , to utterly divorce itself from all fellow - feeling and want of sympathy from its kind . Especially is this hard to a woman, taught from her youth up to rever e the . usages of society as much or

r more than the precepts of the Church . Geo i gie , l ke Heloise, having lost her mother early, had not had all the advantages or disadvan tages of this training ; but sh e had had enough

o to leave an impression n her mind . Heloise was a great comfort to her in these days . The old house at Avonbourne contained a

th e really fine hall . It had been built when hall was a part of the daily life of the men and women of those t imes ; when the various

5 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

one d arch , as if stoo under the keel of an

n overtur ed ship , upheld on huge beams and

w s ne w polished rafters . There a o large indow w w at the estern end , here there was a court

t h e yard , but all length of the hall was only

- lighted from narrow arrow slits . The western

was extremity, overlooking a courtyard, safe

wa s from assaults , but the side wall an out

w . side all, hence the narrow windows This — western window, large and mullioned larger than would otherwise have been required in order to give as much light as possible —was full of stained glass in its lower panes . There

of o f was the rose the Tudors, and the arms many a knight and abbot . The panes above these were green , and some nearly yellow

t and wi h age . So that this vast lofty hall was full of a subdued light, a misty radiance ,

n th e an inta gible cloud, which hovered in

’ corner, but fled at one s approach and took refuge in the recesses ofthe roof. The eastern w t end, here the dais was, rising about two s eps

above the level of the floor, was thus always w in a t ilight, not dim enough in any way to

e ffi obscur the view, but su cient to soften down RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 5 7

the angles and reduce the colour . The floor had originally been paved with stone , but

Pierce had this removed, many slabs being i worn nto holes , and the damp rising through

n the joints . He laid down a solid foundatio of d s concrete impervious to amp , and on thi a mosaic , a facsimile of the pavement of an

ancient chapel he had seen ; th e lion of th e — — Bigods or griffin may it be called ? fig uring

upon each tile . This mosaic was not slippery .

It was glazed , but not highly so . It did not

’ e shine . Pierce s taste obj ected to both thes

— ni t hings slipperiness and a Shi ng surfac e .

f or They might do for an Alhambra, but not

such a hall as this . Long since the walls of this mighty cham

ber had been hung with lance and axe , match w lock and pike , shield and s ord, with a dusty

- - moth eaten banner beneath each arrow slit . t t There hey s ill hung untouched, frowning

upon those who passed, each instinct with its

tale of the turbulent old times . Swords were

at a there still , notched the edge ; xes Splotched

with great brown stains ; the chronicles of — w fierce strugglings man ith man . These very 5 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . w eapons, and the sense of rude savageness which they called forth , brought out into still greater contrast the picture which hung upon the eastern wall, high over the dais . It was

s o a very large painting, that the artist could

fi of represent his gures fully actual size , adapted to be hung at a height, and seen from

o f some little distance . The tarnished gilding

of the heavy frame spoke vanished time . It — was indeed by an old master it matters not — by whom a master who h as left fe w evidences of his power , but those enough to bear wit ness to his transcendent genius . It was a

o painting f Christ . His was the only human

figure in it . Not the dead Christ tenderly lifted down with loving hands from the cruel

i as . cross, nstinct it were with death Not the

Christ sitting at the table with the disciples, with John leaning on his bosom hearkening to the mysteries . Nor the injured, the insulted, yet divine Being quitting the Praetorium . This was the Naz arene as He might be m et

on upon the road, passing foot unnoticed from one village to another ; alone, communing with his e thoughts . The only accessories w re the 5 9 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

- of w i palm tree , and a few ears heat ndicating

- l a corn fie d . Else there was nothing but the dusty sandy track , with the print of his foot ’ d ‘ steps behind footprints, indee , upon the ’— sands of T im e nothing but the common road

n o dis and Him . He was in agony, no t ortion ; Simply walking slowly, thoughtfully, j ust as you might have met Him , just as th e wayfarers met Him in those wonderful days . But the Divinity shone out and irra diat e d n the very road , throwi g upon it a mystic and beautiful light, as the autumn moon would transform the white track to a

o f aint er h ad thing exquisite beauty . The p por f rayed Him after th e famous Letter of Len tulus , a description which , however the critics

' t h e may dispute it, heart at once accepts and t h e soul ratifies as t h e only possible human t ‘ impersona ion of Deity . He was a man of

of count e lofty stature , serious and imposing

as l nance, inspiring love we l as fear in those

h o w beheld Him . His hair was th e colour of w ine, straight and without lustre as far as t h e ears , but thence glossy and curly , flowing upon the shoulders and divided down the 60 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

o f centre of the head , after the manner the

was s e Nazarenes . The forehead smooth and w rene , the face ithout blemish , of a pleasant, slightly ruddy colour . The expression noble

en a o in ou of e r and g a o The nose and mouth P feet form . The beard abundant and of the same colour as the hair, parted in the middle .

The eyes blue and brilliant . He is the most

’ beautiful among the children of men . Out of this bald and meagre outline the painter had evolved the animation of the original giving it a life and a lustre beyond all words .

This was no mere mechanical carpenter, a man who sawed wood and yawned over it ; s wa . this an immortal , a god, a divine being

The man could not conceal the divinity ; the

flesh could not hide the immortal majesty . To stand before and gaz e upon this picture was to receive an unconscious elevation of the

soul ; it felt that it had imperfectly, and

through a glass darkly, seen the aspect of a

n w en heavenly existe ce, and soared up ard,

‘ lar e d of g in thought, to regions a heavenly

’ - ancestry . This was no square, bony chested ,

’ ae angular, medi val lay figure . When a man RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 6 1

of is full a grand and noble idea , when his l whole soul is fi led with a high aspiration, with

infl atus of the genius , does not his face Shine , ? his eyes glow, his whole form grow larger does not his humanity expand

T h e warrior goddess gives his frame t o shine ’ W t a e t e l a e and air v e i h m j s y n rg d di in .

s How, then , should it be otherwi e with

? H ow Him could the divine soul , busy with

of the thought a world redeemed, inflated with i the gen us of God, do otherwise than shine forth and Show itself ? Under this picture stood a great carved

on old oaken chest, standing four legs as the presses did, and bound with iron clamps . This was the muniment chest of the family . This was the altar before which Georgie had to stand . On it they had placed the antique family Bible open, its brazen clasps undone . The corners of the dais were filled with ferns and a profusion of those beautiful plants

with variegated leaves , interspersed with here and there exotic flowers and strange shrubs

- off and aloes from far lands, till it seemed a

recess in a tropical forest . They had filled 6 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

old the hall with chairs and seats , and these were crowded with the immediate friends of

the bride and bridegroom, behind whom stood

o r the servants of the house . A lane aisle t was lef up the centre , and this was laid

down with crimson cloth , as was the whole

of floor the dais . On the right of the dais was a low arched doorway leading into the

house ; this too was hung with crimson cur o tains The n velty of the event, and the

n in striki g scene , filled the audience with t ense interest, and they waited with impa

’ t ien c e . Precisely at eleven o clock , Neville , N accompanied by oel as best man , entered

the hall by the arched doorway near the dais , and walking rapidly to the steps that led u p

. to it, stood there awaiting Georgiana He was dressed in the only costume possible on

such occasions , a costume that did not become w him . He ould have looked better in a velvet

’ jacket and straw hat . Noel s brown face was

paler than usual, and occasional twinges of

pain passed across his brow . His arm was in

a sling ; the old Shot wound found out the A cold weather and the proximity of the von .

6 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

and Pierce came up the aisle , attended by

of of Verney, the firm Williamson , Verney dz T ell C o . ourn , for Georgiana, and by , of

T ou rnell T urnell o o C . , , , for Neville . Pierce d ascended the ais, and took his stand right in

of front and close to the muniment chest , li facing the body of the hall . The two so ci

o ne on tors ranged themselves each side , but

somewhat in the rear . Hardly had this ar rangement been completed when a general a gitation tokened the approach of the bride .

With a slow and stately step , her noble and w - t ell poised head held uprigh , not defiantly,

of - but with a certain sense self assertion ,

in di b u Georgie , all the ra ance of her ea ty,

of passed up the whole length the hall . She was w dressed in hite satin, trimmed with li antique lace, the train trai ng far behind her . She did not wear the traditional orange wreath nor the veil, but she carried a superb bouquet ;

in s of and above her forehead , the masse hair,

a shone and glittered a magnificent di mond star, by the Side of which was one large bell- Shaped white flower . Eight bridesmaids followed her "

f so there had been a di ficulty in selecting these , RESTLESS HUMA N HEARTS . 6 m ffi on t any pressed forward for the o ce , accoun f h o t e novelty of the whole thing . Neville met her half way, and together they went up o n n the dais, and stood faci g each other, one on of either Side Pierce . The bridesmaids ranged themselves, four upon each hand . ’ k Then Pierce , without a moment s delay, ta ing one w step for ard, swore each of them upon the Testament in the usual manner (he was a magistrate) . He showed them a document, t and asked if tha was their signature, and re c eivin a in aflirm ative g an nswer the , deli b er at el l di i t y read as fol ows, in a low but st nc

t of voice , audible at the far hest corner the

‘ G i We the undersigned, eorg ana Knoyle

’ ewl le n and N Bra don , desire to make this public statement in order that the step we are i i about to take may not be m sunderstood . Pr marily o ur reasons are that man and woman are socially equal ; and that they a re both

i of therefore entitled to equal l berty action .

By marriage in the ordinary way, the woman abjures her own identity, and the man pro mises to take upon himself responsibilities

VOL . II . E 6 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

which no human being can ever fulfil, while

at the same time both , but particularly the m wo an , incurs disabilities degrading, and con

t rar y to common sense . We therefore desire in this act to record a solemn protest against

- the retention of a semi feudal institution . The formalities we are ab out to go through li are estab shed by no recognised authority, but we prefer to thus publicly proclaim our

n o ut of of u ion respect for the esteem society,

and with the view of setting a precedent . Our other reasons are s et forth at length in a

document which we have composed together . Copies of this paper will be handed to every

person in this assembly, and it will afterwards

be printed . Pierce then took up a small manuscript

‘ book , and turning to Neville said, What is

your full and correct name , your parish , your

’ u ? co nty , and your age

N v l e i le. My name is Neville Brandon , of

B ramlei h g parish , county Surrey ; and my age i s thirty .

Pierce put the sam e question to Georgiana .

G eor ia na . a g My name is Georgian Knoyle , RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 6 7 of a e Knoyle parish , county H and my g

w - is t enty four .

P ier ce (to Neville) . IS this woman related to you in any of the prohibited degrees "or is there any other legal impediment to your marriage ?

N ville - e . She is not related to me , nor is there any legal impediment .

Georgiana answered the same question .

P i r o u e ce. For what period are y mutually desirous of being joined together in marriage d N i r . ev lle a n G eo gia na For three years .

P ierce (to Neville . ) Repeat these words " after me I , Neville Brandon, am desirous of entering into the state of marriage with thee

Georgiana Knoyle , for the period of three years .

ll s o G e or Nevi e did , and Pierce taking ’ i giana s hand placed it n his . Then he loosed

n sh e her ha d, and repeated the same state

in ment after him, and he put her hand again

’ Neville s .

Pierce. t Take the ring, and repeat af er me k I ta e thee , Georgiana Knoyle , to be my wife for the space of three years , and I place this ring upon thy finger in token that I accept all 68 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . the responsibilities which the laws of the realm

for s o place upon me doing . Georgiana repeated much the same for mula ; and then Neville placed the ring upon her finger . Up till now the ceremony had proceeded with such rapidity that the spe cta w tors had had no time to reflect . But hile placing the ring on her finger there was a

. s un pause for a moment In that pause , the

i shone out . It was only the weak February

sun, but it streamed through the narrow

- arrow slit, and fell in a long beam of light on

’ Georgiana s splendid golden hair, lighting it u p with a glow like a halo round her head,

on and then passing , rested upon the dusty sandy roadway in the picture at the feet of the

o f Christ . A murmur admiration arose ; one of those slight movements rather than sounds

by which a critical audience testifies its appro

bation ; but it was perhaps rather the artistic ff e ect than anything else that they applauded . Neville and Georgiana then wrote their

fl - names in the y leaf of the old family Bible , which in the absence o f any authorised regis

try they had chosen to take its place . Messrs . RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 6 9

Verney and T ourn ell (the solicitors) and Noel also signed it as witnesses, and Pierce added his own at the foot . He then rapidly turned, and said " I pronounce ye man and wife for

’ three years . This completed the ceremony .

’ Georgiana placed her arm in Neville s , and retraced her steps down the aisle, while

‘ at the same moment the strains of the Wed

’ ding March of Mendelssohn , that beautiful

of burst music, came pealing through the arched doorway from the organ in the library .

The spectators rose , as if by instinct, as the t pair passed, and watched them ill the folding doors were shut , and they had gone out of

Sight ; then they dispersed to prepare for the ’ d de euner . t o j With hat we have nothing to , t excep to remark that Heloise was not present,

th e of and that Noel excused himself, on plea

. his aching arm, and rode away abruptly

When a man is deeply, madly in love , it is

not a pleasant sensation to watch another , even

n if that other is his own brother, ta gibly

realising his happiness .

n In the afternoo , Neville and Georgie

departed for the Continent . 7 0 R ESTLESS HUMAN H EARTS .

That entry in the old family Bible, and t re heir signatures to it, was not the only

of sult this Singular proceeding . Philip the clergyman, who would not be present, no sooner heard that it had actually taken place , than he retired t o the vestry - room of his

- church, and taking out the old register book (the

of new ones admit no such entries) , he wrote o n one of the vacant pages at the end "

‘ F ebrua r 1 7 187 was y , This day con summated a very freak and imagination o f th e Evil Principle u nder the guise of s o called Progress ’ (Philip was fond of capital

offi letters) , my misguided brother acting as cia or n t . Neville Brando and Georgiana Knoyle were united in unholy Matrimony at his house , for Three years, Heaven save the

of mark, in the presence two solicitors and a

Ma cloud o f witnesses . y Heaven grant them

s e e grace to the error of their Ways, and to return, and be joined together by Me in this

of my Church , as the Rubrics the Establish ment do direct " And to this end will I bend my Prayers till this be happily accomplished . — ’ P G V ica r o Av nbourne . PHILI LESTRAN E , f o

2 7 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . — war dly always ready to exchange informa

e tion . The police will nev r accept a theory from the press ; they invariably s et to work t o disprove the theory started by the press , and just as invariably succeed in proving the very facts they denied with such fatuous compla

n . c e cy . But this press is a terrible police Its agents are everywhere ; they stand behind th e throne , and they chat amicably with the peas ant in his cottage . The very banker in his pri

vate country house , in his most secret study,

his surrounded with his telegrams in cipher,

eni enigmatical correspondence , and equally g m atical books of figures , is conscious that through the very walls , of even the ceiling

overhead, a power is watching him, listening

a to the scraping of his pen . You may call

of d exclud meeting your private friends, rigi ly in m n g the reporters , ad itti g only by ticket,

watching the door yourself; yet the next morn

th e e H ow is ing all proce dings are in print . this It is because everybody writes in this our — day clergy, lawyers, doctors , telegraph clerks, — - offic e and post people , literally everybody how can you tell which of your priy ate friends 7 3 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . may not conceal under his smiling face and dress - coat a fatal faculty for writing and a

? Avonb ourne strong memory At , of course , they all knew that the affair would be talked of and alluded to in the newspapers , but they did not dread that much . Most people of any social rank at all se e the ir names and their affairs in the newspapers once a year at least .

i e We live s o much in publ c nowadays . Tim was when only great potentates, such as the

o f am emperor of this , or the king that, and bas sador s o - and - s o had their private move ments recorded . But now Mrs . Brown or Miss Robin son no sooner arrives at the sea side than their names appear in the local

on e gazettes . Every gets so accustomed to it

e that nobody cares much about it, except som

of - the poor thin skinned ones, with an over

whelming sense of their own importance . So that they really never gave a thought about

the newsp apers . But some one must have been at that marriage party with a quick ear and a vigorou s memory ; for the very next morning the most enterprising of the morning papers

had two columns of large print and one of 7 4 RESTL ESS HUMAN HEARTS .

—first of small type , a description the whole w scene , painfully graphic , ith all the real

names o f the persons in any way concerned ;

t o f next, the tex of the formalities the mar ria e of g ; and, lastly, the text that document which Georgie and Neville had drawn up t o

t n gether . In addi io to this there was a lead — ing article upon the report one of those arti

cles for which that paper is famous .

It is the fashion , by the way, to sneer at the Da ily Telegr ap h; to point and gibe at the

t h e - classicisms, at the mixture of far fetched th analogy with e ready Slang o f the hour .

Considered in the abstract, in the calm retreat t h w of the study, wi the windo open, and a cool

e breeze fanning the brow, a scent of clov r, and

the hum of bees , all this criticism may be well

sit enough . Those who can and write thus, h surrounded with every pleasure, wit plenty

of time to pick and choose n ot only their

thoughts but their words, may find it easy enough to spot the ungrammatical expressions — the omission of a diphthong in the Latin

t or sen quota ions, to sneer at the tawdry

‘ en lace of tim t . But put them in the p the RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 7 5

— author of the despised article let th em be driven to minutes in which to compose ; let them have to rapidly scan a rough proof of some report, and then to reflect upon it and t o choose those reflections which will not only be most picturesque and amusing, but also best suited to a peculiar class of readers and where would be these same sneerers and ? w gibers then They ould write , if they wrote a nything at all, the most commonplace and l f o . dul est trash Without a doubt, it displays

n t an imme se genius, a capacity for adap ation , a plastic mind , to be able to compose such

o n th e of m t articles as these spur the mo en .

H ow t o o are admirably, , they suited to the — popular taste t h e t aste of a half- educated

t o f public , hat likes to be reminded its studies

‘ ’ o r m its cra s, and yet not be obliged to hunt

an out the tr slation for itself, but to see it

plainly indicated in the context ; that likes , t o o w - , the ell turned, sharp , epigrammatic

and o f periods , a seasoning anecdote fresh and unexpected . The poet is born and not made, and s o is the writer o f a Da ily T elegr ap h arti

t e cle . La t rly, this much derided and abused 7 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . paper has taken a stand which elevates it far

it s above wobbling crippled companions . It

th e has moved with age , and expanded its functions to suit the requirements of the social

of n life the times . Every one o w takes an in t eres t in science and in discovery . Every one reads the addresses of men like Professor

m en Tyndall, and the journeys of like Living stone . All take an interest, a deep and abid ing interest, in these things and this interest grows daily with the spread of education . People want to go further than these explorers have gone ; they long t o hear of the great work being carried on to its logical conso

quence and conclusion . If Livingstone went

t h e N very near source of the ile, the public feel an anxious desire to go still nearer ; if Sherard Osborne or Markham point o ut a channel by

w th e hich North Pole can be reached , the public desire to see some vessel start upon the adven i i turons voyage . But no one fulfils this leg t

w . mate, this even laudable public ish No millionnaire comes to the front and offers his superfluous gold to fit out an Arctic expedi

~ t of s olv tion , or to cons ruct a telescope capable RESTLESS HUMA N HEARTS . 7 7

b or ing the pro lems of space , to build a machine

l on that shall rea ly fly . What earth do they do with their money ? They cannot eat it nor

- drink it all, nor Spend it all on horse racing and yachting . Why does not some one or other of them come forward and endeavour to hi satisfy t s craving of the public mind, and at the same time cover themselves with honour ? Ar e they all blind and fatuous ? does the very fact of the possession of unlimited means close the eyes to the perception of h ow those means can be utilised and turned to the highest plea ? sure, besides popularity, and therefore profit

ul w For in our days pop arity is another ord,

ne ws a an equivalent, for profit, not only to p

pers, but to millionnaires and gentlemen . Years

succeed to years , and yet no one comes forward,

‘ and says , I will satisfy the curiosity and the w ’ laudable ishes of the people . At last the

Da ily T elegr ap h has stepped boldly into the

gap , and nobly intends to devote some portion of its gains to clearing up what human in genuity can of the obscurities which sur

round the Past and the Distant . It began by

sending the Assyrian student, Mr . Smith , to 7 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . the mounds at Koyunyik to search for more

No w leaves of the library of the old world . it is busy with an expedition into the centre and heart of Africa to set at rest the vexed ques t ion of the Nile source . A glorious triumph it would be indeed to j ournalism if the attempt

t on should succeed, af er failures every hand

o f failures by men talent, of armed forces, of

n ationS —if w kings, and even of , at last a ne s

a paper, despised newspaper, a common penny print, Should clear away the mystery . And a

u triumph not only for jo rnalism , but for all

now men of intellect , disgusted and tired with th e old trammels of routine . If the tone of newspaper writing is coarse, in bad taste, vul ? — if so No t of gar it be , whose fault is it the w riters, most decidedly, for there are those among them educated to the highest pitch , and possessing every refinement ; but the fault o f w w those for hom they write, to hose mental condition the articles must be adapted, just in the same way as they try to teach children to read through pictures in the primers . None of them at Avo nb o urne had antici a pated this fame . It came on them with rush,

8 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

casually made by one to another in a crowd

c on not meant to be heard farther . But this — versation is irresistible you must hear it .

"ou may just as well go and sit by the road

at . side once , and have it over They heard

e nough of it at Avonbou rne . There was a

h u m buzzing in the air, a overhead , like the

‘ ’ sound of the midsummer hum, the noise of myriads of invisible creatures mingling in an e ndless dance; The mammas and papas were especially

bitter upon this horrid innovation . So highly improper ; so immoral ; how could any wo

la d a ? man , any y, do such thing Dear me, d ear me "’ They had a sufficiently good reason for

disliking it . If t h e daughters only married

h ow for three years, many of them would come back ? A man would never get entirely

- rid of his olive branches . They would be per p etu ally returning lik e the traditional bad

halfpenny . The mammas had had too much

of t oo f experience their daughters, amiliar

acquaintance with their pets and tempers , w their secret faults, not to know full ell that RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 8 1 barely a t enth of the lot could be relied upon to remain . They dreaded the possibility of such an innovation as limited matrimony com ing into fashion ; therefore they turned the

of u vials their wrath and venom pon it, and called in the odium theologicmn to demolish its f o . s o merest chance success It was immoral, so

n " unscriptural . Dreadful , shocki g , horrid An awful Woman "They did not so much wonder

Wr et ch l at the Man, though he must be a

The clergy, one and all , agreed in carrying

u n scri t ur alit on this cry of immorality and p y .

They raged and foamed against it . They boiled over it . They got up indignation everywhere .

They, too, had a very good reason for all this ; they had vested interests to consider . So on t his point they all agreed Ritualist, Broad

o nconform ist Low, High , N , Methodist, Itin er ant - , the whole jing bang , as the Americans

‘ say, never ceased their cuckoo cry, Immoral , unscriptural The philosophers looked at it in another

’ light . They referred you to Sir John Lubbock s book and advised you to read about the conditions of social relationship among the

II . G VOL . 82 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

o f savages, as illustrating the primeval state

ff In a airs . this most primeval state , the sexes

only dwelt together s o long as fancy sug

gested .

Now , said the philosophers, see how the outcome of the highest civilisation bears the strongest analogy to the proceedings of the " darkest savagery Hence , behold the source where civilisation should go for its lessons

and it s inspir ations . It should study prime

and t val man , hen apply all the modern arts and discoveries to carry o ut these original

instincts to their grandest development .

The lawyers, like the clergy, were unani

mous in condemnation . They had a sharp

d w o r iscussion as to hether no Pierce , as a

magistrate, and sworn to uphold the laws of

was a ros e cution his country, not liable to p , or

a t t o o ff least be struck the list of magistrates,

for this daring step . They ridiculed the whole idea as wild and impracticable to the absurd

est extent . They pointed out what inj urious eff ects it would have upon the rights of pro w perty . They like ise had very good reasons

for their excitement . The new process was 83 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . s o simple and so natural that it q uite dis pense d with the necessity of employing legal gentlemen . People could manage their own ff a airs, a most undesirable state of things . But the bitterest critics of all were those very persons upon whose sympathy and cordial ap w m proval Georgiana counted, the o en , namely,

’ who called themselves advocates of woman s w rights , and ent about the country spouting and lecturing o n the same . They ran her down as having spoilt the cause in her over zeal ; in good truth they were jealous and envious , not only of the strong will which , in one single step , had done more than all the

n lot of them together in twe ty years , but jealous and envious t o o of t h e notor iety she had thereby gained . She stood out in a strong

u . light, and they were red ced to shadows This they could not bear ; for these s o - called strong minded women were the weakest and feeblest

t o of their sex , mean, envious, paltry the last degree .

’ Georgie s own private friends In London w f . o ere, after all, the most lenient First all 84 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

they heartily laughed at her, and revelled in the enj oyment o f a new sensation . Then they — felt an accession of vanity always a pleasur able sense— how infinitely superior they were to this eccentric individual . Lastly, they took

to pitying her, and it became the fashion in this select circle t o bitterly resent the news

r e paper attacks upon poor Georgie . They

solved, Since all the world ran her down , to

h er patronise , and make much of her, when

sh e L returned to ondon . She Should go with

them everywhere . In point of fact, they were anxious to appear different from any one else — olis tin ué . g To do them j ustice , there were one or t wo who really did take an interest in

this novel social experiment . After a while they began to long for the

of return this new lion, that they might pat it

ll a and pet it, and especia y th t other people

s e e n might them patting and petti g . But Georgie had at least one class of enthusiastic Al l champions . the young men in the country,

m an w . ithout exception , were hers to a They

lauded her to the skies . And the young T 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEAR S . 5

? ll h ladies We , t ey tossed their heads and

of u never read s ch things , not they ; and all

ou y could get out of them a simper, and Really now—now really l’ CHAPTER VI .

H OW refreshing it is to pick up Froissart or

’ Fl r n e even Machiavelli s o e c . Everybody had

n somethi g to do in those days, and if they

a ex eri did not alw ys enj oy doing it, they p

ence d of , at all events, a great deal genuine

emotion . This is just exactly what we never

’ no all s o get w. It is languid and smooth and

s o n all soft, delicate and refi ed, it passes over

li but like gossamers , tickling a ttle leaving no

n o ur impressio . What ever we shall do with selves in another half a century no one can il surmise . Possibly every one w l be dead of

ennui before t hen . But in the old Anglo

w ro rietors of Norman days , hen the very p p the land had to maintain their possessions by w sheer force , and were al ays on the alert lest

o r the serf should rise , a powerful neighbour

— in w invade , those days of arfare and rapine a they had something to do . It was wicked

8 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

in the chronicle o f their times . True it is that in our day we t oo have something to — — struggle for something to do b ut it is an incentive which does not touch the deeper,

of grander chords human nature . There is Money—the one object and aim of the mil

is lions . This something to do . But it does

o ut ; not bring the chivalry, the finer feelings

n ot n it does stir the heart and i tellect, and waken up all the courage and resolution of

the soul , like the trumpet blast of the knights

as they charged t o the battle . On the con

t rar dullS y, it gradually deadens and all the

one passions but , the most despicable of all ; l it centres the man in himself, and of himse f

n ennui he soon gets tired, and the comes .

i . Worse than this , it requires no real ty

Your old knight of steel could not put a dummy in the saddle and send that to the f . t u o charge He mus be there in person , f ll manly vigour and iron determination ; sh a

dows and shams were of no avail then . Now all the study and effort is to make a counter feit presentment pass for true and it is no

ffi n very di cult matter, Si ce all the world is RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 8 9

r agreed to accept shams, and to requi e no thing more than that they shall conform to t h e usages of the hour . If by any chance the sham is a novelty, if it is not in strict conformity, there is a great sputtering ; but provided it tallies with the shams that have

we preceded it and to which are accustomed, all is well . There is no reality in it . It is all w Paper and Credit . But these fello s in Flor ence were not satisfied with Shams or if they

it was did succumb to such things, as the c lever guise of a reality really deceived and

afi e c in not t g to believe .

t of OI‘ l l What, hen , has become all the g

’ nal energy o f man s nature ? Has the race — which n o w exist s none has it all vanished ? H ow hard people work at paring down and s o wn w ubduing their in ard vigour, both physical and mental ; how singularly hard t hey labour to reduce themselves t o lay

m a figures , passionless , purposeless , mere chines for eating and drinking and sleeping "

The slightest evidence o f an effort is enough t o condemn a man utterly as a rude being , a l barbarian, an uncivi ised savage . It is fash 90 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . ionable to be languid , delicate, refined ; to be

wn h ff a is . undecided and careless, indi erent, y

But pare away the natural energy, reduce the

as original vigour much as ever they may, still there remains an ineradicable vein of

se e restlessness . So that we , every now and then , society rush hither and thither in great waves , seeking in some new sensation to find

- an outlet for the pent up motion . What a curious system it is to teach

at us, not only at school, but home , and in

of o u r the early part life , ideas and feelings which we must afterwards spend years in

w we endeavouring to unlearn , hile meantime suffer no little deception and misery " Next after the alphabet and the primer, they teach

‘ ’ u s o r . , try to teach us, to be good That is to obey, to believe, to choose the right and w esche the wrong, to be conscientious, to fly

o ur to the help of the distressed , to subdue selves , and to consider others before us ; above all things to be truthful . Even the least im pressionable o f us cannot help but imbibe a certain amount of faith in these doctrines . Yet those wh o teach us must know very well 9 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

that we shall have to spend years unlearning w these lessons by bitter experience . Follo ? these instructions, and what is the result Dis e appointment, loss, d ceit, fraud ; we become

mere carcasses for the vultures to feed upon .

of ? As for the right , what avail is that The

technical invariably overrides equity, till we curse the very day in which we learnt to

trust a reed which broke and pierced us . So ,

n too, with another old traditio , the tradition

of Work ; that work we must, because the

is u ground cursed, and we m st eat bread in

of o ur the sweat brow . That work, moreover,

is ennobling and dignifying ; that it enlarges

’ man s nature and makes him nearer a god ;

that there is something grand about it . Also,

on more practical grounds, that by work alone

money can be made , and position and inde p enden ce assumed . All these are the merest

traditions, the sheerest fallacies . Society has found o ut long ago that it is by no means a matter of necessity to work in order t o eat bread ; for do n ot thousands who never lift their hands to their mouths revel in wine and

in i n ? sweetmeats, purple and fine l en As to 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

d work being ennobling and dignifie , look at the drunken mechanics and labourers . But

o f taking this as a piece Special pleading, look at the case of a man who really does work as

a man should, is it not a very sorry sight to s ee th e intell ect s o busy over a trifle ? That money can be made by work alone is a down

lie . A right , and nothing less stute society

has learnt long ago that in ninety - nine times

o ut of n com the hu dred, money is made by a

t calcu bina ion of circumstances, by luck, by

f v o b . lation , and most all Humbug Why,

all then , Should we be brought up in these antique and exploded beliefs—why should we all have to work o ur way through the experi ences and miserable disappointments arising from these fond and delusive hopes ? Why

t not ell us at once the bitter truth , and teach

u s to meet it in the beginning face to face, — ‘ ’ and hand to hand this hard hand - play of — the old Saxon poet so that we may be pre

i nis pared, and lose no time in following the g

a tuus s un ? f , and believing it to be the rising

We know so much nowadays . Everything

has been done . Everything has been thought . RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 93 Every possible emotion has been felt in every i imag nary manner . Every combination con c eivable of human relationship has been w orked out, and the quarry is empty . The

w wa s world has gro n so small . Time was (it a long time ago) when there was a Verge , an Edge, beyond which there was an unknown

f or Al l something man to seek . the continents are found now ; the geographers assure us that no more remains to be discovered . Ex ce tin p g only a few small spots , and these , too ,

u narrowing daily, the whole s rface of the earth has been surveyed and mapped out

. t o o and reduced to scale So , , it is with social

n w life . It is growing arro er hour by hour,

Simply from sheer exhaustion . There is no thing to do . All the emotions and pleasures have been surveyed and mapped o ut and r e

’ du ce d to scale . We know to a hair s breadth

we how much ought to cry, and how much

o n to laugh , every occasion ; nothing can possibly take us by surprise and shock u s into

o originality . We are a great deal worse ff

wh o than the Athenians, stood gossiping and crying for ‘ Something new for we do not 9 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . believe in the probability o f anything ne w ever turning up , and if it did it would make w us ya n as rather a bore . We got so refined

one and delicate at one time , that some started the idea of refreshment by means of mingling with the rude and uneducated .

- So everybody became a district visitor, and climbed up dirty staircases , and looked

at . crippled people, and smelt horrid smells — Then came t heRed Cross mania everybody became a nurse . But it was of no avail .

Simplicity itself was nothing n ew ; and a hor rible bore too . Was it not of Budha or some Oriental deity that they fable has to pass through every phase of existence , from the

u humblest insect p to man , and from man up to the angels , and in each existence to go through all the emotions and combinations possible to it , till finally, having completed w the hole round of life , he became merged in th e Deity ? In our t ime society has nearly done all t his ; but there is no Sign of the

a t . approaching po heosis It grows sandier,

t - duller, dustier, more deser like , year by year .

u As Heine said , translated by a tr e poet,

9 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . — time of Plato just then you drop your gaze, and it rests upon the row of boots under this

platform table . Boot s of all descriptions

s hining boots, dull boots, dusty boots ; big,

- d little , medium , square toed, narrow, broa , d — t boo s . splo gy, all sorts but Socrates and

a — Plato , Leonidas and C esar all the heroes

w or the gods too , alked with naked feet, in san ‘ f . o dz dals They knew nothing Day Martin ,

u of of gly squat earthenware bottles , a thick

of odoriferous liquid, of brushes , nor scrapers .

n Their feet were ope , free , unrestrained .

of Look at the feet the statues , how beau

tiful they are . But the feet in those boots

‘ ’ cabined, cribbed, confined, distorted . Some how there is something about these boots at

m 0 which y mind revolts . N man can be a h god in boots . They are t e very symbols of

ou r di rty macadamised times . Our very souls e w are getting macadamis d, laid do n , levelled,

-alled s o and met , that we may run in grooves for — ever smoothly, without the slightest h fear of seeing anything fresh . Everyt ing is

labelled now ; yo u can find it all in books

o f . reference What with dictionaries , gazet R 9 RESTLESS HUMAN HEA TS . 7

s o teers , concordances , indexes , guides , and forth , the universe can easily be packed in a — - moderately sized bookcase . Why study why

o r or learn botany, or geology, physiology, — any other science wh y exercise y o u r mind or memory ? Al l the memory requisite is to re collect the letters of the alphabet u nder which

t the subjec can be classed, and then turn to

re the inn umerable encyclopaedias . Original search is labour lost , especially as after it is found there is nothing new in it .

dr The men can swear , and ink and play ll bi iards, and back horses , and ruin them selves , and generally go to the devil ; very

u - u tame and sed p amusements , it is true , but still something to do . But the poor ladies what on earth a re they to do in the years to come ? With flirting a science— dressing a

— s mere mechanical imitation parties , ball ,

of visits , simply matters monotonous business — what a r e they to do ? Even illness is no excuse to avoid ennui ; for all the Spas are ex h au s t ed , and all the seaside resorts explored . The limits of human ingenuity appear to

we a d be reached, and cannot s yet a d a new

VOL . II . H 9 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

s o hemisphere to the brain , and discover

fl att est novel combinations . The and tamest

‘ ’ of all are the spirits who promised so much

t ou t as at firs , and turned to be dull as the

ennui- t most eaten mor al . Al l o f us go tramping round and round m like a horse turning a ill, each following in

’ th e other s footsteps ; and even in this there

o f is a little relief, for it saves us the trouble attempting to discover a new path only to be

disappointed . There never was a time when invention and discovery were at such a pre

n ew or mium . Witness a colour, for instance ,

rather a new shade , for the possible colours

w du sth ole ere all in the long , long ago . When gas tar was found to be so prolific a source of

for " new tints , what a rage there was them Everybody wore magenta within a month of

its discovery ; even the fearfully odious e au

de Nil took amazingly for a while . But the elder and more experienced are not satisfied

even with this . They have seen so many

n ew inventions, the charm has gone by ; it is impossible to feel once more the charm of

novelty . The worst of it is that we are

CHAPTER VII .

THERE was no society in Venice so they moved to Vienna Their idea was not t o conceal themselves ; in point of fact, their primary wish was to be the observed of all

th e observers . And y had their desire to the full . It was one o f the gayest winters ever known in the gay Austrian capital , and Car lotta was seen everywhere . She did not re strict herself to the fashionable plainness in

dress o f tamer London ; here She blazed forth in all that gorgeousness of colour which suited

- was her tulip like beauty . Her dress mag

nificent , her extravagance unequalled . This

is a sure way of attracting attention . The n ameless Americans who come to

n Paris , dati g from impossible places in the w estern wildernesses, without a pedigree ,

without a title, a reputation , or even a 1 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1

ad good face , make to themselves circles of mirers of , crowds spectators, Simply and solely by the power of the almighty dollar There is a fascination in watching a gambler at the r ou e- et- noir g table whose stakes are fortunes, wh o wins ten thousand or loses twice as much in a few minutes— there is a glamour about

' ecla t it . Carlotta obtained all the that the h most lavis expenditure could arouse . Where ? did she get the money from When sh e

’ received Horton s communication from her

of solicitor, she had revolved the necessity

i t w sh e tak ng plen y of cash ith her, for knew full well that without money Louis wo ul d

ni soon tire o f her . The mean detestable cy c would soon weary of charms for which he had

was to pay dearly . It absolutely necessary that She should have money with her . She reckoned up her resources , and found that — o ut of her o wn annual income the interest o n 100 000l w h . s e the , hich had thought her — own S h e had not o ne shilling left . Of the

S h e cheques received from Horton , over and

wa s 25 . 0l . above this, there about remaining w This as a mere bagat elle . She had her 102 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

and w S h e diamonds other je els it is true but ,

with the instinct of her type , clung to those l ornaments almost as close y as to life itself. Dimly and in the far distance She foresaw a time when they might be extremely useful to

r her . They must not be sold o pawned ; She

must find some other way of raising money . At last it occurred to her that as yet no one but Williamson , Verney , the soli citors , were aware ofher rupture with Horton . To the world sh e was still the wife of the

famous millionnaire , almost certain to succeed to his countless wealth . There still remained ’ t Horton s repu ation for wealth to trade on .

Carlotta i n her most off - hand and indifferent way wrote a note to one of those bill- discount ing firms with whom sh e knew Horton had

of large dealings . The head the house waited upon her obsequiously within half an hour of receiving it . With an air of contemptuous

sh e scorn for the mere commoner, handed him a slip o f paper on which was inscribed a w list of her debts, and ith a few words ex plained to him that sh e had inadvertently did exceeded her allowance, and not desire

1 04 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

as tossed him the piles of notes , as much to s a w y, This is nothing . It is wonderful hat a respect they have abroad for a Bank - of - Eng land note . They have as superstitious a vene ration for the oblong bit of paper as they have

s f Its ff al for the Ho t itsel . e ect is magic , far superior to solid gold . Imagine , then , the stu p efaction of the man to whom a lady brought t wo d t hun red and fif y all at once , and all for

fl e w a large amount . The story over the city in two hours it crept into the papers . Car

was lott a marked out in a moment . These dear Viennese are not so straitlaced

h of as we are in England . Wit the report her wealth there soon also flew about the equally interesting repor t of her elopement and of her rank . Instead of everybody turn

f was ing up their noses, the e fect precisely t h e reverse . They look upon these matters in a romantic way abroad ; or if they think

hiloso h i upon them seriously at all, it is p p

new cally, as students engaged in dissecting a f w phase o human life . They cro ded round her ; they feted her ; they invited her to their

and n houses , gave her grand receptio s . 0 RE STLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1 5

a An archduke , one very ne r the throne , let it be underst ood that he w as her de voted slave . Her beauty became the talk of the city In all this th ey left Louis quite out

o f . sight . Nobody ever thought of him . — He was but th e accessory the canvas on w hi i w m hich t s great art st orked , erely the horse which bore her burden ; quite out of t h e quest ion a shadow ; a sort of chaperon m nothing ore . Carlotta rose daily on the w breat h of popular ar dour . She ore her

i —an r saw d amonds a chduchess them , and

v en ied them .

The archduchess had many friends - a st rong and impregnable position ; but she had also many enemies . She imprudent ly

tt a t a t a . t a cked Carlo t Carlo ta sneered, and h t acked her in t urn . It became war to t e knife between t hem ; yet neither had ever

w t spoken a ord to the other . A fac ion formed w round each . Aft er a hil e these factions to ok

i u a pol t ical aspect . The archd chess became th e centre o f a purely Austrian circle ; Car

n lotta as a foreig er, and from England, natu rally attracted the Hungarian section . So 106 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . t hey ranged themselves one against the other . It s o happened that just at this time there t i were grea battles n the political arena . The Hungarians were pressing hard to obtain the

of recognition their independence . Eager to

n f o f t h e gai their point, the great chie s party

o t h e made use f Carlotta . On Continent — — women always beautiful women have played an import ant part in the rise and fall o f na tions ; a part prosaic England can never com

in prehend . These chiefs recognised Carlotta a

’ genius to their heart s delight . She was the very agent they wanted . Deak himself waited upon her . The archduchess, dying with envy

wh o and jealousy, had recourse to her family, were very powerful ; and they moved the t hrone for an order to invite her to depart . B ut at that moment the Austrian Govern ment wa s in a critical condit ion . The Bohe

t h e mians , Hungarians, the Czechs, the Slavs, were all in a ferment ; Roumania was in an unpleasant state all was in dangerous u nc er

n t e t ainty . Especially the Hungaria par y w re

domineering ; Carlotta was notoriously fa vou red bv them . Then they remembered

1 E 08 RESTL SS HUMAN HEARTS .

ff at the aspect of a airs, recognised Hungary as an independent State , and granted import ant privileges . At that ceremony Carlotta was present, not as a visitor and as a spec

n tator, but as a pri cipal actor ; and the Em

eror p himself, not a little curious over this

s o wonderful creature , of whom he had heard t much , paid her some lit le but marked atten tion . He dared not go any farther, though he

. wa of h s dying curiosity to converse wit her . He was too clo selv watched to leave t he palace

on sl . w the y Poor, retched creatures, these t emperors, mere stalled beasts, ended with

b ut al such reverent care . O , yes ; never l owed one moment of real freedom . Carlotta all the while was hard at work while the s un s sh e not hone . She knew very well could depend u pon Louis ; sh e watched him con s t antl unm is y, and detected a few Slight but

was t akable symptoms . It all very well while sh e could keep the balloon in the air ; but afterwards ? Therefore She made hay

while the sun shone ; the hay sh e made was th e admiration of men . This is not exactly

o ur the precise definition . Men in day are RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 109

much too clever to admire anything . They

s o have seen much , and been so terribly w icked in their time, that there is no genuine

emotion left in them . But there is a species of fashionable emu

lation which passes very well for emotion . Carlotta knew her power in exciting this

u n fashionable emulation , and she used it

on r sparingly . Specially She played the poo

be n archduke . These archdukes have never e famous for much wisdom since the great Na

oleon p gave them such a rapping on the head .

He woke them o ut of their slumber ; but he — hit them too hard the poor wretches have

never recovered it . This particular archduke

was was softer than most of his kind . He a good horseman ; a splendid figure ; he was really handsome in his full military costume .

If he could have been set up in a shop - window

- t in Regent street, dressed in that cos ume , and

o f slowly turned round , like a leg mutton before the fire , he would have made the

of fortune an outfitter . There it began , and there it ended . There was only one chance for this being—it was the chance of 1 10 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

his getting a handsome wife . He might then

h ave been useful in one way ; there might h ave ensued a perpetuation o f handsome peo

fiat ple . But they tied him up to an inane, — faced German woman a creatu r e about four

s ix feet high , and four feet in circumference

they who had the pick of all Austria, Hun

s a gary, and Bohemia, to y nothing of Italy

the and the eastern shore of Adriatic, famous

for beautiful women . So that he grew softer

and more useless than ever . He had begun

t o . saw drink, but not furiously yet Then he

Carlotta ; she intoxicated him quickly . As

was u the man a booby, and could not nder — s tand delicate flirtation a creature upon whom all the refined machinery o f titillation — was lost she allowed him certain familiarities f or wa s instance, he allowed to mumble her hand and once she even went so far as to m ake no objection to his kneeling down and

He r . kissing her foot , or ather her boot was

v f . ery far gone indeed, this poor ellow He

his r eally loved her in his way . He wished m wife at th e devil . He would have arried C arlotta with the greatest pleasure

2 1 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

for s s made some decisive step , the winter ea on

aw was rapidly dr ing to a close , and a certain

ni event grew inconve ently near . She looked round her ; the archduke had these to r ecom " mend him first his money, next his rank , t thirdly his stupidi y . He was sincere enough

sh e to really love her . Therefore loosened the reins a little with which She drove him, and patted him on the back . Thus encouraged he grew bolder, and at last asked her to come with him down to a quiet place of his in

Bohemia .

This hardly suited Carlotta just then ; so

too in She was virtuously indignant, but not dignant . Archduke grew more and more — ff pressing o ered to leave the country, and all his claims to distinction , to be with her .

This hardly suited Carlotta either . At last sh e consented to put him to the test . She would meet him in Venice quietly in three

’ months time ; if he still loved her, why per haps—The archduke rapturously kissed her

on n and then went his knees to beg pardo , and Carlotta kicked him . Now it s o happened that the very arch 1 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 3

d uchess over whom Carlotta had triumphed in w the Hungarian victory as herself unmarried .

in . She had a title , but nothing else particular These creatures are apt to turn out white h s . elephants , people are y of marrying them

—we l l This archduke wil cal him Leopold , to

was h is save trouble , though that not real — name was her cousin ; a nd sh e had had de

o n o f signs him, designs which Leopold was

utterly oblivious . She was disappointed at the paternal arrangements made by the Go

vernm en t ; but that was after all not his fault . — But this Carlotta this English la dy (she did

‘ ’ not use lady, but a very unflattering name)

w s a quite a different thing . She hated Car lotta as none but women wh o have had their whole lives subdued and screwed down can hate l

their more free sisters . She cared so little wh o saw it , and became so open in her enmity ,

was . that Leopold, stupid as he , noticed it The lout went straight to her and boxed her e w ars in the midst of a cro ded assembly, j ust as he used to do when they were children and

played together . The archduchess scratched h im in , and then fainted sheer Spite .

. II VOL . 1 14 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

Vienna rang with it . Carlotta was satis

fie d sh t ; e had made a r ep uta ion . She would w retire no for a little while . She took a country house in Styria and left Vienna , taking good care that Leopold Should not dis

was cover her whereabouts . A little event about to happen which it was very undesirable he should know anything about . That little event was the birth of a son , but not an heir, to

Louis . And Louis himself?’

n I l And the two hu dred and fifty OO . Bank of-England notes ?

1 16 T RES LESS HUMAN HEARTS .

reserved to adorn his triumph . His heart swelled with vanity an d conceit as he glanced over her with a critical eye .

Yes, She was faultlessly dressed, not a

doubt of that . Those who are a la m ode in London t o o often let themselves become dowdy and fl at so soon as the Continent receives

them, or else fly into the other extreme and

flare like hollyhocks .

Carlotta was an artist in dress . She could

of bear it for one thing . She was a species

canvas, which could be painted on as deeply as you liked ; you could not lay it on too

t . l hick She could bear it all . What wou d have sunk other women sh e carried off with h . s e conscious ease Not a colour could wear,

sh e not a tint could choose , but heightened the

effect of her own singular and striking beauty .

But then She had good taste , and never chose

n r anythi g out é. Artists in these things know very well that the real dress lies in the fit and

in the trimmings ; the material , the ground w i ork s only of secondary importance . Louis recognised in a m oment the fact that he carried with him a woman who could not be concealed ; RESTLESS HUMA N HEARTS . 1 17 sh e l wou d be safe to have a crowd round her . i Th s was just what he wanted . People wo uld

his envy him, wonder at fortune , and think what a devilish clever scamp that Fontenoy was An d s o — . the foreigners did for a time at all events, till they understood the man . Neville Brandon had a curious theory about the moon

sun s s and the , and in Short the whole solar y h tem . It was grounded on the doctrine o f t e

or for ce conservation of energy . The force that carries a bullet al ong in the air at an enormous speed is not lost when the ball

finally reaches the earth ; it is only transmitted

i and . to someth ng else , there stored up i So , said Nev lle , this great sun of ours has

‘ ’ r li been bu ning , baking, broi ng us for some

li o f ui few trifling mil ons years, but it is q te

in on s o certa that it cannot go for ever, and that it has not been going on so all through half

eternity . His idea was that, of the heat given

out s un by the , the earth and all the planets

s o were gradually absorbing a part, and grow

h of ing hotter and hotter , like a all iron before w a bright fire , while meantime the sun gre

t h e s un cooler and cooler . In the end would 1 18 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

be exhausted . and grow cold and habitable ; while at the same time the earth and the

and r e planets would become glowing suns , turn to the original sun the heat and light absorbed from it during myriads of centuries . There was nothing particular to support this idea beyond the prophecy that the earth should become a burning mass ; and the fact that the heat had already risen up as near to l the surface as ha f a mile . Neville had no seri o u s faith in this suggestion , still he threw it

of out . Louis had no knowledge astronomy, but he had an idea that if the multitude a d

e e t sh e - sun mired and f t d Carlotta ill became a , some part at least o f th e force thus generated would be transmitted to him . While she w gre more and more notorious in Vienna, and w people admired and cro ded about her, Louis w t smiled ith the utmos complacency, and me

all Bu t aph oric y patted himself on the back . t —it after a time took a long time to do this , — he was so crusted over with conceit h e began t o have uneasy feelings that he was left very much in the shade . This canker grew in his mind , and fed upon his life, till he becam e

12 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

t — hi flatness , a dull ameness just the very t ng he detested most of all . However, he managed

th e t w to pass time away hrough the inter, gambling a great deal . He fancied himself, as

n m n . the phrase is , at ga bli g In the low saloo s of America and E ur 0 pe he had learned every trick and dodge that the ingenuity of man had contrived with the object of cheating ; and some of these were s o extremely clever that not even the watchful eyes of the spectators in the Viennese saloons could detect them . For did Louis , though in no want of money, not hesitate to put in practice these cunning little

ou t of plans, not only of the pleasure winning, but because he really revelled in the enjoyment of B u in making hatfuls of money . t at last t oxicate d with success he lost his head . He left é é w cart , and such games here human skill is of e of some avail , and wh re the very charm the game consists in the perpetual struggle of the intellect against Chance , and attempted to carry

- o or the roulette table . Here there was no pp — ’ t unity to cheat at least not on the players

— it was Side was all blind chance, and he as much in the dark as any one . But possessed 1 21 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . with the true gaming mania he went eagerly

of t o work to stump the proprietors the table, utterly regar dl ess of the repeated losses he

was i sustained . His theory that the Sitt ng hi gamester sweeps the board, a maxim w ch

n him h as soo bid fair to ruin , as it ruined

w or scores of others . Fello s lose a note two ,

t ll sum and hen double , ti it makes a good , and

’ s a t " ll then y, O, we can t re reat we wi go on , in time our lu ck must change So they keep

nl on till all is lost . The o y way to win is to rise and leave the game the moment one b e

— n gins t o lose a apparent paradox . Put it in

’ o u t l practice if ever y ake to p ay, and don t be

n o r o ut li . s eered laughed of it, nor even bul ed

? Louis kept on till he lost th e whole of

won the money he had previously , and made serious inro a ds in th e sum he had brought

w . was ith him Excited as he , however, he had quite sufficient steadiness of mind left not to ruin himself. He did at last leave off and look round him . He reckoned up his

fi two or l t nances ; he had three hundred ef , a mere nothing . But he must curt ail his ex penses . Carlotta was an expensive article . 1 E 22 RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS .

The mean wretch left o ut of sigh t the fact that he had not spent a pound upon her . She

t t o knew bet er than come to him for money .

no w Louis, however, was in a reflective mind ; and he began to think over many things . What had he gained by this wild freak, as he called ? it to himself They did not m ake much of — him in Vienna quite the other way . He was

’ of a tired of Carlotta s style beauty, he wanted

had change . He anticipated much envy and much congratulation from the English ac quaint ance s whom he met in the saloons . But

t n n no such hi g . They rather shun ed him . They did not refuse to acknowledge his pre sence ; but they sidled away as soon as possible, and left him to himself . Not a word was said

was about his glorious exploit . There a dead

Silence on that . The fact was it fell flat . They it—it did not like revolted them . They were

- - a free and easy lot, none too strict in their w morals . Ifhe had run a ay with any other wo

’ man but his o wn wife s sister they would h ave laughed and joked, and crowded round him,

w was o ut and s ore it the best lark . But this m form of dissipation disgusted the . It was

1 24 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

wa s ? H e money gone should not keep her, that was certain . Altogether Louis made up his mind to be rid of her at the first favour able oppor tunity . So when Carlotta went into tyria o n pretence of her health (try ing above all things to hide from him th e

w s et real cause , hich she knew would him against her more than anything else) , he shrugged his shoulders and said he should re

. so main in Vienna Very well, said Carlotta ; they parted somewhere about th e latter end of t w of January , af er about nine eeks each

’ sh e other s company . When had gone , Louis felt rather dull for a while . Though he had

sh e ceased to care for her , yet had been some thing to occupy his mind . He felt the want

n of it . He did not care to return to E gland t yet . He was thoroughly disgusted wi h all Carlotta’s fine schemes of getting him divorced w fr om Heloise . No step hatever had been

n in take that matter, nor ever would be , said

of . Louis to himself, with one his hateful sneers

‘ She may hate me , and rail at me , but a woman thinks twice before She gives up a

’ t r " m an . How eager hey all are to ma ry He y RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 12 5

had very little money, that was another reason why he did not care to go back yet ; life would be intolerable in London without plenty of cash . Here he could dawdle about at all

n events ; so he dawdled about . Dawdli g about with Louis meant penetrating into all the odd

— h ol s o f corners all the dust e humanity . He ferreted his way through the burrows that the thieves and vagabonds had bored for themselves underneath the fair structures of the rare old Austrian capital . Some of these he had been in before Others were n ew to him . Meantime an Avenger was on his track .

’ When Carlotta s note reached him , Victor

st u efied i was p . He could not bel eve his eye i sight, st ll less comprehend that all this was

t o ff . rue , and not some trick played upon him

He rushed to her house ; she was out . This struck a chill into him . He rambled about — near h er mansion all day h e was too restless — to go in and wait calling at intervals, but always meeting with the same answer My

’

. was t lady is out She out all nex day, and th e next, and the next . A growing convie 12 H MAN E R 6 RESTLESS U H A TS . tion sprang up in his mind that the note was literally true , and that she had really gone . Then he s aw the paragraph in the papers

th e announcing flight of Carlotta with Louis . w He raged, and boiled ith hatred, j ealousy and excitement . Yet even then he did not

’ o r h r was blame doubt e . It all Louis s doings .

He read his note again, and the sense dawned — on him that he was disinherited cast o ff reduced to a poor paltry three hundred a year ; he wh o had always looked upon himself

of o ut as the heir millions , and had planned N h his life accordingly . V o could have be t ra e d him ? t y Withou a doubt it was Louis . His love for Carlotta actually increased now

t S h e tha had covered herself with infamy .

Till then there had been a certain amount o f

e reluctance , a secr t sense of guiltiness even in his wildest moods . No w that was gone ;

S h e h ad flung herself open , made herself fair w game , and he , the hunter, threw himself ith added ardour into the chase . To Venice , eh — She had gone to Venice ? To Venice went l . o w Victor He searched high and , but found no Carlotta . He made inquiries by the aid

1 28 R RESTLESS HUMAN HEA TS .

’ o r d . Victor never dreamt of Carlotta s going

ut o openly into the world . He felt sure sh e

was living in retirement . So he passed over the

’ ‘ ambassador s carriage without a glance . The

’ e w s e e old yes see hat they come to , as the

maxim goes ; and he had not come prepared

to se e her in this position . For a whole fort — night he watched and waited in vain ; Car lotta had departed for Styria at the end of the

fi s disa rst week . His money was now fa t p

u pearing , tho gh he half starved himself and

‘ ’ slept rough till he had a wild and haggard a of ppearance , still his clothes were those

a gentleman . He had reached his two last napoleons when he s aw Louis . Wild with r a ge , he rushed after him, followed him up t h e of steps a clubhouse , pushed past the t waiter, over ook Louis in the midst of a saloon c him rowded with gentlemen , and first tapped o n the shoulder till he turned round , and then felled him to the ground with one blow . If

n he had taken his time, and bee cool, he would have aimed at the face ; but he struck out

on th e . wildly, blindly, and hit Louis breast

The force of it threw him o ff his balance ; bu t 12 9 RESTL E SS H UMAN HEARTS .

he was not hurt or stunned . He sprang up

bu t d w instantly, before Victor coul rene his assault the gentlemen present had crowded

round and interfered . Victor was too furious

to explain himself ; the one word his parched lips could articulate was ‘ Carlotta "’

At this Louis faintly sneered , and some of

those present looked at each other . It was

n plai ly a case for a duel . Victor hearing that fatal word snapped at

‘ ’ it , Yes , yes , there must be a duel .

one Louis turned pale , and looked from Side to another to s e e if there was no way‘ o f

be an escape . Then he g to cast doubts upon

’ Victor s position , a mere nameless vagrant . But this the spectators would by no means

allow . Victor was well dressed, and he had

o f the unmistakable air a gentleman .

‘ ’ Very well, said Louis , with affected com

‘ osu r e — p , let it be at once, then this ‘ "’ This hour cried the aggressor .

for Louis asked a second . At this there w was an awk ard pause . They did not like him . At last a Russian gentleman stepped forward . Victor had to choose between

V OL . II . K 1 30 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

for on . several, they pressed their services him

o f They knew nothing the cause ofthe quarrel , but the popular feeling was against Louis . He had already bitterly repented his affected ff indi erence . The cabriolets were at the door ;

was n only two could be got, and as it rai ing

o ne hard , no cared to go on foot or horseback,

in especially as the evening was closing , and t wa s here every evidence of a stormy night . Victor insisted upon walking to the scene of action beside the cabriolet in which his second rode . The second remonstrated with him t old him the jar of walking would unsettle his nerves . Victor was in a burning heat and

out of fever, and he would not get the cooling rain . Thus he reached the chestnut grove perfectly saturated .

re ~ Louis, meantime , had reflected . He

s o covered himself a little . From mad a fellow as this little danger need be appr e

hended . All he had to do was to aggravate

Victor and m ake him lose his head ; he would

be sure to miss . Louis , like a true coward ,

h adim ade pistol - shooting a study ; he thought

m s was it ade him afe , and he really a splendid

13 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ a d t h e gr nte , Louis s hopes rose a little , for lower part of the handle of this umbrella was

th e made of metal , and so was the curve of handle, and he calculated he should be able to s o place it as t o possibly intercept a ball

on for speeding its way to his heart, he fired from his hip and not with outstretched arm .

a Victor, on whom all these minuti e had been totally lost, waited in a species of stupor to receive his pistol . At that moment his thoughts were far, far away. Through the drenching rain, through the thick grove , he saw m o f sh a e a for beauty, a p which had

was of stolen his heart . He full Carlotta,

n dreaming of that fatal woma , when they

placed the pistol in his hand . So the nephew of the fallen wife stood

opposite the seducer , armed with deadly

‘ ’

. " weapon , waiting the word to kill Fire ’ t As Victor s second had an icipated, the

’ u mbrella disturbed his principal s aim . Un

consciously it attracted his Sight . His ball was too high—it drilled a hole through the silk

’ x i ll m isse d ent rel . umbre a . Louis s fir st Shot y ‘ ’ e Aim low, whispered the s cond, as he 1 3 3 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . placed another pistol in his hand ‘ aim at

’ his legs .

s o Victor did , and a wild fierce pleasure rose in his head as he glanced along the barrel ; this time he felt sure . His ears strained themselves to catch the first letter of the — h Signal word . It came e pulled the trigger . ff Louis, with a violent e ort, had regained still more his equanimity ; he wound himself

v up to the highest pitch , and resol ed to wait till

Victor had fired, and then take a steady aim .

Victor pulled th e trigger ; there was a snap

ex lo as the hammer struck the cap , but no p

sion ; one drop ofrain had damped the ill - made

’ foreign cap . Louis s nerves, strung to the

highest pitch , heard that Sharp click, and in a moment divined that the pistol had missed

incon fire ; and in that same moment, too , so

ceivabl n y rapid is the gla ce of thought, he foresaw that if he did not fire at once he should have to wait in suspense and dread till h t e pistol was reloaded . His finger pressed the trigger almost simultaneously with the

’ of click Victor s hammer, and while the

seconds were in the very act to r ush forward . 13 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

There was a spurt of flame hissing through

n the rai , a little heavy smoke, and a form fell with a thud upon t h e eart h and dashed

t o up the mud and the water . They ran — him all who were there . But they did not

. e touch him A horror fell upon them . Ther hi was a round red spot in s forehead . He was

dead . The ball had gone straight to the brain . As if with one consent they made for th e

AS off . cabriolets, and hurried they neared Vienna Louis began to grow conceited with his

n o t . skill , and asked if he had made a good shot — i There was no reply t grated upon them . On the eve of the very day that Georgiana and Neville Brandon were m arried (after their o wn fashion) a still and silent form lay upon

t h e sk its back , staring up at black louring y with glaring lustreless eyes in the far - away

Austrian wood . The raindrops fell upon

or clOse . those eyes, yet they did not Shrink The subtle essence which gave the clay its

h ad power to feel fled .

Louis had escaped the Avenger this time ; but had he not piled up still another rock t o fall upon him in the hereafter ?

13 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

through him . He grew bolder, and only wanted an opportunity to take steps of which

In till now he had not even dreamed . love th e heart is a most sensitive thermometer ; the faintest encouragement, and the mercury t rises to an altogether dispropor ionate height, diffi o r on the other hand falls as low . The culty was to find an opportunity . Noel only s aw her at intervals, and then in the presence

an of Pierce , or some third person ; never by y

For m chance alone . a ti e he bore this with i tolerable equanimity, calm in the bel ef that if watched for an opening must at last occur ; but

out when weeks lengthened , and early spring came, his ancient restlessness returned . They were hunting hard and fast now . The sharp frosts had gone, the horses could jump without

of fear breaking their legs, and the scent laid beautifully in the damp dewy mornings . The southerly wind and the cloudy sky brightened up the last few weeks of a dull and dishearten m ing season . Therefore they ade the most

’ of it . The Duke s hounds met every day almost without exception , now here ,

and there, leaving no spot untried, all this RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1 3 7 enthusiasm led to some very splendid runs hi being ac eved . Noel was a bold rider ; he had ridden in more dangerous chases than

t of these ; and Pierce , passiona ely fond the

old sport, as he was , he missed no meet ; his f gray head, his beaming ace full of health and

of was a subdued Species joviality, to be seen day by day amongst the crowd o f horsemen

w di not ever elcomed heartily and cor ally, if loudly . They thought him an honour to the hunt . Noel made no friends among them .

He bowed distantly, nor sought any man . He never volunteered a remark ; he answered, and

was that all . There seemed nothing genial w t about him ; and his dark swarthy face, i h the t somewhat stern mou h and glittering eye , was

t o him barely English . They did not t ake kindly . It was not long either before they

h is envied him , not only superb horses , his reckless boldness , but above all things his

r 0 w wond ous good luck . G at hat he would

or w no t— it timber, stone, fence , water or hat was the same . He never fell . This was an

ff as unpardonable o ence . If a novice he had

or rolled over and crushed a hound two , or 1 38 RESTLE SS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ broke some one else s leg, it would have been

one forgiven , for every would have had a kind

" of - g fellow feelin3 , all had fallen in their time ,

a all might fall gain . But this unfamiliar good — fortune this inviolability, as it seemed , from — accident made an unfavourable impression .

wa It was a reproach to them . It s as much

‘ as s a of to y, I am not thine order and the disdainful manner of the man added not a little to the general discontent . They would have given hundreds to se e him roll in the

was - d fi e d dirt . There even a sort of ill e n conspiracy among them to unseat him if p os sible . When he appeared the hounds were t aken to th e worst and most impracticable d country . This , however, they soon aban oned , did for it not upset him , but it materially

of damaged many the others . If a chance occurred by which any of them could have cannoned Noel into a deep lime or chalk

n ot w wa s pit, one ould have missed it . Noel

o f unconscious all this . Really and at heart

was he was the reverse of being ungenial . He fond of the company of sportsmen and of men

’ of t o action ; he was ready to drink a glass,

1 40 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . views either for pleasure or in more serious

s o oh matters . Why, then, should the rest viousl ? - y avoid him It pained good natured ,

- simple minded Pierce . Never once did he suspect that Noel en t ert ained the slightest feeling towards Heloise ; how should he ? They were never t ogether ; t hey neither played , nor sang, nor rode, nor

’ in any way sought each other s company . The very absence o f Heloise from the room a rgued an utter indifference to his guest ; and

s o or blind was Pierce, that once twice he

hinted to her that it was uncourteous, and that She should show him a little more r e

s pect . — Noel grew more and more restless less

c ompanionable . It was a hard task to him

n o w even to make himself agreeable to Pierce . The old man was busy now with an idea that

had often occurred to him , but which he had never attempted to put into execution it was to form a garden entirely of wild

flowers . He was passionately fond of them — he had been so all his life and the thought had often occurred to him how sweetly pretty 14 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

mi they would look, and what pleasure he ght feel in having a garden completely occupied ffi with them alone . It was di cult to discover their retreats at any other time than in th e — spring it was h ardly late enough yet ; but he busied himself with the foundation of the scheme . He built a rocky mound for th e

of ferns, and beside it a pile great logs and

s root and stumps of trees, in which the tree ferns and mosses and the parasites might find

e a congenial soil . These he erected wher

s o some tall elms overshadowed the gardens , mi that they ght be sheltered from the heat , and grow in the coolness and the damp . Then he prepared a piece of ground for the plant s d delighting in a san y soil, and another strip

l o f ful chalk and rubble , and a third he laid down with the thymy turf from the downs .

a The idea, as he worked at it, gr dually grew

so upon him, and he ceased to hunt continu l o u s . y, and Noel went alone But just at this time an interruption

eu occurred . There came a letter in a blue velo e one p morning, addressed to Pierce , in the unmistakable handwriting of a soli 142 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

i or c t . He opened it, and an exclamation of a stonishment burst from his lips . Heloise glanced up from her coffee with a look of inquiry . Lord Henry is dead "’ ‘ Indeed "’

’ a The Lestrange est tes come to us now . " This was how it was Pierce Lestrange, o f Avonb o urne Bourne Manor, , was the re presentative and head o f the younger branch ofthe family—called younger by mere heraldic

fo r etiquette , for it had been a distinct family

fully two hundred years . The elder branch , which had taken the major part of the po s

of sessions the original founders , and had added very largely to them by intermarriages

with heiresses, had entirely separated from

a nd the younger, , as often happens , in the course of generations a void had sprung up

between them . They neither visited nor in any way spoke of each other except as utter

strangers . This Henry Lord Lestrange was

the last of the elder branch , and he had never

. s o married Since, however, the families had

l of a ong been separated, the idea possible

144 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

there was the property, the vast acreage , the

- u enormous rent roll, the numero s tenantry, these conferred an importance which could not be ignored . And all these . had fallen to an old m an busied with making a garden of m w w si ple ild flo ers . It was days before he

could realise the new position he occupied . Had there been any necessity for his attending ’ l Lord Henry s funera , had he been obliged

.

at or to be present the opening of the deeds,

of i anything that k nd, it would have been brought home to his mind ; but it so happened that the dead man had left particular instr u c t tions hat Pierce , if possible , was to be kept in utter ignorance till after he was buried .

S o wh o it was that Pierce , rarely read a news

o f paper, and never the list deaths, knew nothing of the matter till a fortnight after

the ph ysician was consigned to his tomb . There was no need for him to hurry away to

these new possessions in a distant county, to

assert his right or take formal possession ; di — i i t h s . there was no spute , no cavil was

did not ow But he hasten to seize it . N that

the truth had come home to him, now that H 1 5 RESTLESS HUMAN EARTS . 4

people drove up daily to congratulate him, Lord Lestrange (he had given strict injunc tions that no on e of his household should use the title , from which he shrank) was not alto gether elated in fact , he felt depressed . His was not a mind to quarrel with the decrees of

Heaven ; but as he cast his gaze backwards

n o f his alo g the course life , he could not but remember the many unfulfilled aspirations i the des re to travel, the natural longing to i see other climes ; and st ll more than this , the

ideas that had occurred to him, the great and

in glorious th gs he could have done , if only this Power—this money—had been his when

he was young and full of life and vigour, untrammelled by th e iron chains of age and

habit and accumulated circumstances . t was — a melancholy and depressing thought one

that he could not shake off at once ; so that

he did not hasten to seize his good fortune ,

but rather lingered and shrank from it . Had not this happened he might have died con

tented, but it awoke vain regrets even in his

- peaceful and well ordered mind . About a week after this Heloise came

O . V L II . L 146 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

rushing into his study, to ask if he had thought of Ella . ‘ ? ’ Of whom said Pierce , evidently quite in the dark .

’ Of Ella . Don t you remember Lord ’ — Henry s protégé e the Slight girl we saw with

- ? him once at the railway station O , papa, y o u must do something for her . She will be homeless ; perhaps sh e has gone already . I

’ ought to have remembered her before . And Heloise grew hot and flushed with the thought of her carelessness . Pierce was shocked at his own inhumanity . He wrote

s er at once, and despatched it by one of his vants, who was instructed to proceed express by railway—that would be quicker than the

h e post . They waited eagerly for t reply ; it

at of th e w came last, late in the evening follo w w d in . in g day These ere the or s, written a thin peculiar hand , very slightly flourished, not unlike the angular manuscript in the registers and documents of the seventeenth century

‘ n a Dear Lord Lestra ge , I h ve to thank

148 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . f o t or wishing t feel independen . I am glad

t s o Lord Henry lef it in her power to be . Perhaps we may even yet be o f some assist e ’ ance to her, d ar .

out of So Ella passed sight, and Pierce began to think at last of visiting his new estates . Heloise begged him to take her with him ; She dreaded s o much being left alone di with Noel . Pierce rea ly consented, and the i ‘ day was fixed for the r journey . La femme

’ ’ e t —a propose, l homme dispose man inter fer d e and upset the whole matter . It was the last day of the season " the meet was crowded . Pierce had delayed his departure on purpose to be present o n the

wa s o ut occasion . The Duke himself . The l fox broke cover wel , and raced away, as it

n . No w happened , for the dow s this , though it seemed the very best thing that could w happen at first, since everybody could follo where there were no hedges or ditches, yet soon turned o ut the very reverse ; for the

w an w brute ent straight away like arro , and the incessant hills pumped the horses , espe c ially as they had to cross Iniles of arable 149 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

land . The fox ran steadily on ; such a run

th e had been rarely known , but chase thinned

s a rapidly . In two hours there were but

in n seven the field, amo gst whom were the

Duke, who had changed horses once already, the huntsman , who had done the same , and

u di Noel . About half an ho r more sposed of the other five , and left Noel and the hunts

n man alone , speedi g along the springy down with a fierce rivalry ; for it was obvious that the fox could hold out but little longer ; h is brush drooped and Swept the grass, and he i had swerved from the d rect course, and was now making a sweep to the right, evidently

o f in search of the vale and a friendly copse . Noel had a general idea that the valley lay on the right, but he had no knowledge of the locality ; he guided his course therefore partly

of by the hounds, and partly by the motion

n the scarlet jacket o his left . It seemed to him that scarlet jacket was making a long d detour to the left, and in the wild esire to

— first—N forge to the front to be alone, the oel

gave way to his own impression, and wheel

off ing a little to the right , sought to cut a 15 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

corner by galloping through a field of beans . His weary horse u rged its way heavily through the beans snorting and plunging

fl e ck e d along , with foam and with a drooping head .

n Noel, looki g over his left Shoulder to w a s o o n atch scarlet j cket, was not much the look - out as he should have been ; so that it came on him like a horrible and frightful

—a apparition , snort and a sudden rearing of his horse as the animal tried to stop itself, and rose up almost upright upon its hind legs . ? The fore feet , where were they Reaching right over a precipice " In that moment of intense s ensation Noel s aw th e the distant vale , trees and woods, the

- fields pasture , the dim horizon , towns and

ll - m vi ages and church towers , blue smoke fro

—a the hamlets, windmills revolving panorama of landscapes . w It rushed up to meet him, he kne not — h o w ; the air rushed by his ears h e felt as if he was taking a tremendous leap . Then h there was a jar, a s ock, a Sharp pain, and

1 5 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

revenge ; for why had not the huntsman, the m an in the scarlet jacket, shouted and warned him ? Instinct told her that it was jealousy — hatred of a h older rider and a better steed — the outcome of that general feeling against

Noel .

The senseless body, jolted about for an hour and a half in a cart without springs , came to Bourne Manor just as the bell rang for dinner . Heloise, coming down the stair

S h e case , looked out of the window as passed — and s aw what made her heart stand still a i cart com ng up the drive , where no carts ever

in came, with a black heap it . At first She

u thought it was Pierce , for he had ret rned while She was dressing unknown to her . Then She heard Pierce at the foot of th e stairs

N sh e asking if oel had returned ; then fell, too, senseless on the landing , for it shot through her like a bullet . It was Noel in

was— ul the cart, and he dead, or he wo d not

s o ll . lie sti , heaped up in that ghastly way

They put him on a bed , and they sent

- for doctors in post haste . Thus it was that Pierce did not go to visit his estates as soon 3 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 15 a s he had arranged ; thus it was that when he did go, a week later —for the solicitors — urged him to h e left Heloise behind to se e to their unfortunate guest . CHAPTER X .

t n WHAT shif s , what i genious contrivances and innumerable excuses Heloise invented to be near and with Noel as he lay maimed and

u agonised, and at times insensible , pon his

" at bed That is first, for She imagined all the household were watching her ; but after a

sh e time her mind grew accustomed to it, and entered his room boldly and openly as a mat

of of ter right, as the mistress the mansion t looking after her guest, as a ma ron too , and not to be deterred by any ideas of false deli

sh e cacy . Who could analyse her heart, as s at sa w by that bedside, and y hich most pre dominated love or dread ; dread lest he should never recover ? For there were days w hen he seemed infinitely worse, and beyond the skill of man or the renovating powers of n ature . Yet sometimes a secret pleasure stole ’ — through H eloise s mind that She might now

1 N 5 6 RESTLESS HUMA HEARTS .

sh e bv him , feel him , and knew instinct whe

or ther he slept turned , if his eyes were open o r closed . It gave her a peaceful Slumberous sensation ; sh e seemed as if in this sick cham

e h d of ber sh a at last found a haven rest .

i n o Here her heart was qu et ; no doubts,

of torturing suspicions, no questionings con science ; nothing but peace, quiet, rest . It was Slumberous , it was happy and this while sh e wa s m wild at times, addened with alter

’ nate hopes and fears, as Noel s state varied . His most dangerous st ate was only j ust

i n beg nni g . His arm had been broken in the

s o very place where it had pained him long, just where it had imperfectly joined again after the matchlock bullet smashed it years ago .

The bone had cracked there like a pipe - stem

u snapped across instantly . He was br ised and shaken ; but the worst part was his head .

on l A flint had lain the road where he fe l , and had it not been for his hat his skull would have been crushed in much as a Spoon dashes

- through an egg Shell . As it happened, the

and hat intervened between the skull the stone,

h was and deadened t e blow . But it a terrible 1 RESTLESS HU MAN HEARTS . 5 7

place , not only from the gash and the bruise ,

th e but from horrible aspect it had, as if it was

o f indented , as the side a teapot might be .

’ H eloise s heart grew sick when sh e saw t his ; it acted upon her like violent medicine ; she

S h nearly fainted again . But e only s aw it once ; entering the room by mistake, when the doctor was there examining the wound . She had to lean against the wall when she got

i . outside . This fl nt had done the mischief

There was a stupidity about the patient . He

k o r seemed dazed when he awo e , rather when he opened his eves he appeared to be still

was in asleep ; the brain a state of torpor .

He could recognise no one ; he only uttered an inarticulate noise when he tried to speak . That strange g urgling sound went straight to

H eloi ’s se heart . Her blood stood still in the veins , her face paled, her knees trembled . Yet she would not quit her post—always by the

w w . windo , aiting Noel remembered nothing after that mo ment when he saw the landscape rise up to w in ards him, as it seemed , a violent convulsion of nature . All from that moment was a blank , IIE AR T . 1 5 8 RESTLESS HUMAN . till he slowly struggled back into conscious ness about eight days after they laid him o n the bed at Bourne Manor . His physical organisation had been awake , so to speak , long before that . The heart had beaten , the veins had flowed with blood , the pulse had throbbed ,

n d the lungs had i spire , the very eyes had

‘

was . opened . The material part alive But the mind was dead . He was not conscious that

tin h e a . his heart was g , or his lungs inspiring th It was like a deep sleep . At last came e painful awakening . It resembled the dawning of the morning .

Noel had a faint feeling of light ; such a feeling as the partially blind have he saw — a dim grey twilight as we s e e a greyness indicative of the coming dawn , early in the morning aft er the cocks have crowed the s e

For cond time . a while this was all ; all his consciousness was in his head . His soul seemed to be there alone ; he wa s n ot con scious that he had a body ; his soul was con w fined to that spot . But in t ime he gre to

o f o f s et feel the pain his arm, the ache the ting bone , the sharp twinge, as he moved in a

160 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

her face beaming , her lips quivering . He was better, he would recover, he had spoken ; and

set his first word was her name . It her heart in a glow . Almost involuntarily She laid her hand on his forehead . She had been sitting s o long in the window that sh e had grown cold ; her hand wa s cool and refresh

. t oo ing Then , , for the first time, Noel was aware of the intense heat which seemed to

surround him . The coolness of her hand sup plied the contrast—just as people who have been blind cannot j udge of distance till they

have found a fulcrum, some fixed spot, and learn h o w to correct the sight by the mental

powers . He moved uneasily ; but he did not

or moan cry out now . He had recovered his

consciousness ; he would not moan in the

n un deepest pain . It was only whe he was

conscious that he cried out . Now his mind

had returned, he subdued it . The moan only came when the physical organisation alone

existed ; directly the mind came into play all the old instincts of courage and fortitude r e

turned . Even the touch of her hand could

was i not keep him still , now that he consc ous RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1 6 1 o f on a the intense heat . It grew him the t m osph ere of the room seemed t o be made of wool s o sa , to y, through which no air could

in pass . He was a high fever, in fact . He would have rolled from side to side ; but the f w h pain o the ounded arm stopped im . He had to remain still in one place till that Spot

l o ne grew intolerable . How Shal any describe the horrors of fever 9 That night was a period of unutterable torture The feeble glim mer of the night - lights lit up what seemed to his dis tempered vision a hellish apartment used by the Inquisition . They were killing h im by heat . The air was rarefied and heated till it took away from him the power to breathe ; the atmosphere weighed upon him, laid on his breast as if it was a lump of ponderous lead . The ceiling pressed it down the whole weight of the house was on him . The clothes ff su ocated him , they clung to him, and stopped up every pore in his skin . Now his head

u swelled , till it felt like an enormo s vacuum a fil bed vast globe , ling the whole , and his soul and mind and sensation a mere tiny speck within it and then it fell in ; and a horrible

V OL . I I. M 1 62 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

of if his sense crushing came upon him , as

was head placed between two boards , and pressed together till the bones of the skull d bent . His eyes ache , as if they had been w open for weeks ithout closing . His hands

uff felt large, p ed up , as if the blood would burst through the veins . He could not keep

fid et e his feet still ; they g d perpetually . Then came a feeling as if his eyes would start o ut of his head . In vain he tried to Sleep . His mind was at work now ; and he recollected that probably if he could sleep he should be better ; he should escape this awful heat .

lie What he must do was to still, and close his eyes till Slumber came . He tried this he kept still till he felt he should be smothered ;

was then he moved again, and all his work at an end . Forgetfulness would not come . An d thus it went on, all through the dreary hours f O o the night . Still the same horrible ppress

— a ing heat heat which nothing could cool .

He was better in the daytime ; but the nights

- were an ever increasing misery to him . He

s ur a ce slept a little in the daytime , a restless, f

n unre sleep, waking at the least sou d ; an

1 64 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

- variation from that trance like state . She

w sh e bent do n , and fondled his hand ; bent lower, and her tears fell on his face ; still lower, till she kissed him on his lips . Then

S h e started back , not with guilt, as it seemed , but as if amazed Had sh e really heard ? aright ? Had he spoken Was it really a w low, almost inaudible hisper that had reached ? her ear The words were these , or seemed to be these

’

or . Air, air , I die

She bent her head down close again , and

was listened . Yes , it true ; he spoke ; he

whose voice had not been heard for four days , " how weak, how low it was now Heloise,

il ran w d with excitement, for the nurse, and begged her to assist in carrying him to the

window .

‘ ’ Window, ma am said that stolid crea

‘ ture . Why, the doctor ordered he should be

kept from draughts ; to catch cold would kill

’

h l m .

She would n ot do it . Heloise frantically n tried to drag the bed along . The urse calmly

s at on it ; and Heloise could not m ove her R 1 ESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 65

out of weight . Heloise rushed the room , with i her hands clasped, her eyes d lated, wild , to

one h r of find some to assist e . At the foot h the stairs s e met Pierce . She had tele graphed for him s o soon as Noel was in dan

er g . More by gesture than by words She m u d ade him nderstan , and begged him to

. i assist her Pierce looked grave, graver st ll

she when the nurse said, that if it was done should leave the room ; it should not be on li her responsibi ty .

‘ Whoever heard of moving a man to a

ou t of n window, and him only just a blazi g

a - fever, and dying

‘ Dying, you wretch screamed Heloise, ready to kill her for uttering the ominous ‘ ’ " word . He s not dying O papa, papa, do "’ help come, listen to him

sh e And dragged Pierce to the bed, and

’ him s made lean down , and listen at Noel lips . Sure enough , that was what the injured man begged for, repeating it slowly and con

st antl . y, with his eyes towards the light

Pierce hesitated . Heloise seized the bed, to pull at it . 166 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ ‘ Stay, said Pierce ; at any rate it cannot

’ hurt him to put the window open . h d A Heloise a it wide in a minute . draught of cool air, fresh from passing over April pas

a tures, rushed into the room , fanning the p

’ tient s w. pale bro His lips opened, his eyes glistened ; there was an expression in his face .

win He seemed to drink it in . They left the dow so for half an hour Then Heloise seiz ed

’ in Pierce s arm, and pointed, with terror her

’ N his eyes . oel s eyes were closed ; chin had h fallen ; s e deemed him dead . Pierce went

his . to him, felt side The heart beat very, very faintly . Just then the doctor came ; he

on looked at the patient, laid his hand his

o ut mouth , and beckoned them to come of the

. be room Heloise obeyed, ready to sink,

v lie ing that Noel was passing away from her .

Once outside, the doctor shut the door .

’ ‘ ’ He is asleep , he said . He will live . On her knees that night Heloise thanked the Almighty . Her tears flowed abundantly ;

in She bowed her head , even to the dust, in — t ense gratitude . For a fortnight while Noel — was in the balance She had not prayed ; her

CHAPTER XI .

T H E warm breath of spring and the genial

‘ sunshine have almost the power of the spirit ’— moving on the face of the waters brooding till the barren chaos grew instinct with life . The dark green mosses are full of tiny insects hastening hither and thither through this t o them enormous forest, and the blades of grass are bent down with the weight of creatures trying to crawl up into the sunshine . The — trees are awake they have not only opened their eyes, the buds, but have put forth their

of bright green leaves . How many shades " o ak green there are Even this tall , not yet

t z in full leaf, has a inge of a bron y green in its coppery boughs . Noel and Heloise were walking slowly

upon the sward in the sunny morning . The

tall pine - trees on their left emitted a resinous

n odour, sweet and Spicy, scenti g the warm A 9 RESTLESS HUM N HEARTS . 6

rr air, and high up in their branches the squi els

t h e . leapt, and hid themselves behind trunk

The ground beneath these pines was barren , covered with millions upon millions of brown leafl et s — le afl ets — w spiky slo ly decaying, and killing all vegetation in those shady recesses " so t hat by stooping they could see along the level earth far on among the trunks, and watch the rabbits running to and fro, and here and there a pheasant making a stately retreat . There is something exquisitely beauti

fir - i u ful about a tree . It r ses p so straight and

w and high , each branch sloping down ards, diminishing in regular proportion— shorter

o and less sloping as the t p is neared . They are beautiful, graceful trees , to my eye far superior to any other that grows on English m " ground . There is a mysticis about them they seem to typify something, though it is hard to define what , unless the cones are taken in the Assyrian sense as th e symbol of th e — t power of nature that recupera ive , reno vating power which even at that. moment was ’ i working in Noel s limbs , bring ng back to him

t t th e old li tle by lit le strength . He still 1 7 0 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

t on walked with a s ick , leaning it heavily, but his face had lost its sickly pallor . It was not yet as brown and healthy as of old ; but

it— w of there was a glow on the glo the air, — th e sunlight the reflection of the morning . Never in all the course of his life had he felt — — s o entirely peaceful s o much at rest so calm — f and so happy . There was much in this o th e returning vigour, but more still in the

and presence of Heloise . They spoke rarely, t on a e hen the most trifling topics, as they s un t er ed on n be slowly , but there was a feeli g tween them . This illness had done it . All did the barriers were broken down . They not attempt to conceal what they felt from them

selves nor from each other . They knew by instinct that each was aware of the other ’s — passion . Not a word passed no demonstra

tion , no reference ; but as they walked to

n gether beside the pinewood , breathi g the t scented air, they felt that heir love was

was mutual, full, and overflowing . So it that

o n ff they spoke rarely, and then indi erent l t . ma ters , for love is silent Nomina ly they — were at work for Pierce searching o ut wild

1 7 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . and watching it expand into the perfect leaf — itself a m arvel of beauty of design just as the mother watches her child grow and deve

in lop Size and proportion . Felt with the sun of and his warm , genial love the earth

i sk its l ving things , and with the y its brooding

— a beauty . It hung over the earth blue dome, painted here and there by the hand of a divine

of Michael Angelo, with flecks graceful cloud

. T h e floating along, the thistledown of heaven sun was the window in this granddome , through which the light of the u pper ether streamed

in upon the earth . She could feel with the squirrel on the topmost boughs of the fir

—sh e tree could enter into his pleasure, and

enjoy with him the sway, the gentle swing ing motion of the delicate branches yielding

to the breeze . Whatever living creature , be

on it plant or flower, animal or insect, which l her eyes rested, her sou seemed to enter into

sh e f its existence , and elt with and under

it . stood This delicate faculty of perception ,

this exquisitely sensitive organisation , which is

of in the attribute the true poet, gave her an

tense but indescribable delight . It was as if 1 3 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 7 her own enjoyment of the sunlight and the — Spring were multiplied a h undredfold as if her own identity were divided into innum er

‘ ’ an a able portions, each I, each b sking in the sunshine . She did not attempt to communi cate these feelings to Noel . Heloise was a poet by nature, but a poet to whom expres

was sion denied . Hers was the plastic nature , the delicate and sensitive organisation , upon which the words of th e singer acted as the

fir - w n it breeze upon the tree bough , s ayi g hither and thither, putting it into graceful

b e motion . Her soul rippled up like water w fore the wind , and glittered ith innumerable

n s un poi ts of light reflected from the . But — sh e could n ot speak could not originate

was . these impulses . She a passive poet Her being was that of a harp played upon by t nature, emitting the sof est, most enchanting sound, but originating nothing in itself. She

was could not play upon herself. So she silent .

Noel felt none of these refined plea

w of a th e sures ; the glo returning he lth , strength that stole through his veins and

n of alo g his limbs , with the delight watching 174 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

- her face, this was enough for him . It was — indeed a face to watch . Be not too harsh do not judge her too severely—this artless poet W child, who never could be in equity dealt ith as others should be . Noel watched her face , as She had watched his when he lay helpless

u in pain . Slowly there grew pon his mind a sense that he could not understand her . The radiance upon her countenance came from he knew not where ; the emotions that were r e fl e ct e d there were not such as he had known —they came from no source of which he had w w th e key . They flo ed up from a ell at A which he had never drunk . superstitious li fee ng, almost reverential, took possession of him "he felt as though he had been walking

of of one of by the side an immortal, those divine beings which in the old time came w t down to mortals , and brought i h them an indefinable Presence . His feelings towards her underwent a change . He had looked upon her as a child, as something weaker, lower than himself— something to be pro t e cted w and watched over . Now it da ned upon him that sh e was in re ality h igher and

1 7 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

o their unrestrained fulness . And s our wild

o f th e flowers the copse , meadows, and the downs have about each and all of them a

—an of human aroma odour the Past . They have with them the associations from o ur childhood, when we played amongst them , gathered them by multitudes in sport . They bring with them strange tales of centuries

S w i ince , hen kn ghts wore them on their hel

- a t h . mets , when ladies rode hawking over em

They have a history, or rather a mythology,

’ o wn of their . Pierce s instructions were that — they should not disdain the humblest not — even th e buttercup and the daisy and he

th e wanted, too , very grasses , each and all .

Noel, whose life had been spent in violence and in motion, marvelled at the infinite variety of the life that he had trampled under his feet

one and disdainfully passed away from . In — w — day one single alk Heloise gathered , or

five rather took up root and all, no less than

- t of and thir y varieties common grass . These Noel carried in a basket provided for th at pur pose . Heloise said there were nearly sixty dif fer ent grasses ; but th ey h ad mu ch more diffi 1 7 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 7

- five culty after the thirty . Some of them had n o t yet come up ; others only grew in distant

all o f spots ; were hard to find . But it was — the flowers that Heloise told him most of the monkish legends, the strange old superstitions

of w of the days gone by, all hich Pierce had t aught her in childhood . Day by day the garden grew ; and day by day the love that w n as in them grew stronger and stro ger .

Kno lelands Noel was at y now, but he rode over every day, usually before lunch , and stay ed there till late in the evening . Even then

Pr e he could barely tear himself away . t t quently he walked, in order hat af er he had

t t n lef the mansion he might s ill li ger near, w w watching for the light in her indo . His

w r w favourite spot was a ay f om the high ay .

t t w n t h e He lef his , and ent in amo g fields , and made a circuit t ill he stood near th e edge

th e - of garden under a great o ak tree . There he leant against the trunk— the sturdy iron — bound trunk with it s thick bark and gray

lichens . Overhead the innumerable stars

n th e b e shone dow , glittering through spaces

tween the branches . In th e south a great

V OL . II . 17 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . planet glowed like a ball of molten silve r till it paled as the full moon slowly rose over

n o ak the dow s , casting a huge shadow of the

of tree on the damp grass . Lines light clouds

i sk l ngered in the y towards the east, rippled lik e the sand at the edge of a pool where

n the ti y wavelets break, but these were rippled with the yellow light of the moon . The grass at his feet glistened and glittered

- with emeralds , the dew drops reflecting the h moonlight . Bourne Manor was in the s adow of the downs, dark and solemn, save and ex c e tin u p g the so thern gable, where the light

n o ut . o n fell, bringi g it into sharp relief Far

of the left this, and lower down , there shone — — o ut one pale lamp paled by the curtain and

’ this Noel knew as H eloise s chamber . She had chosen years ago this room, because its great window faced th e south and let in the sun as and the light, which to; her were meat and drink .

u How Should Noel , the r de and violent

’ trava zlleur soldier, the traveller, the over

— a o many deserts how should he , the man of f ? tion , analyse his thoughts and eelings How

180 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

A and softly cooed at inter vals . great black bird with his ‘ tawny bill’ splashed himself in

th cn a rill not three yards from their feet, and

sat on a bough , and plumed his feathers, and t ut ered his loud and defiant cry . The Shy kingfisher flew over them on his way to his

—a w m nest flying rainbo , glittering with cri — s on and blue a streak of azure passing across k s . the sight, as if he had been bathing in the y

They were so still and silent, so peaceful , that

s aw all nature it ; all these tiny creatures ,

these mice , and rabbit , and doves , and shy

s aw kingfisher, that it was a truce , that they

had nothing to fear, for these human beings

were in accord with them . But in the full

of on th e glare the sunlight, when it fell bare — sandy mound of the hedge behind them o u t — of sight, yet there lay coiled up a green and

spotted snake , basking in the heat . Noel knew not how his arm came round

— unr e her . She lay in his arms, as if asleep

th e Sisting, still, only he could feel heaving of

t . her bosom , the hrobbing of her heart Her

‘ ripe rich lips were a little open ; he gazed \ d at them ; he drew near ; h e fast ene upon 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 18

them . They did not move ; they did not

et t AS avoid him . Another, and y ano her th e mice and the doves were unconscious of of them , so they grew unconscious the

sun and the Sky ; unconscious of all but the

o thrill f unutterable love . The subtle tire t ran through hem ; their souls grew as one .

Her breath came in long deep gasps, till at

d h is last her lips ropped from , her head

bowed, and She buried it in his breast, hiding

a way her face . There he held her, gently

s n troking down the lovely hair, whose curli g

tendrils clung to his fingers .

o of The shadows m ved . The Spaces light

a nd o f of the spaces darkness, or the lack light, the shado w of the interlaced branches of the

c - o ut hesnut tree , moved round and farther

o f into the field, till the hot beams the early ll summer sun showered down upon them . Sti

sh e they moved not, Spoke not Only clung

—h e to him bent over her . The sunbeams

on glistened her glossy hair . She held his — hand no t the o ne that strayed among her — hair, but the other and her lips were wander

ing over it, he could feel her warm breath 1 82 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

upon it . The shadows moved . The topmost branches of a tall pine - tree intercepted the

s un rays of the , and the shadows fell across t ll them once more . S i they moved not,

s aw n spoke not . He and felt nothi g but her ;

h of s e felt him only . That sense each other was all ; and it was enough ; more would have been pain . The Shadows moved . One streak of sunlight lit up the lower extremity of her w — hair . One arm was thro n out the sleeve — had got drawn up and the soft white skin shone like marble in the sunlight . Then he became conscious of a warm stream trickling — down his hand his hand th at she had kissed

t t — It was her ears . Tha woke him then he

. ierc Spoke Hurriedly, passionately, in low p ing tones that stirred her very soul . He was pleading—She could not answer—pleading with her to go with him away, away, no matter li i . s where , but ever into the sunsh ne She tened and answered not ; till suddenly sh e

and started away from him, and rose up turned

' and h e followe d to go ; , silently rebuked, her But the fatal words had been spoken ; the

f n . atal seed sown , the idea impla ted Hence

CHAPTER XII .

WHILE Noel and Heloise were rapt in that

' long e mbrace beneath the horse - chestnut tree

of in its wealth blossoms, another pair were wandering side by side , but not hand in hand,

i . in the Bo s de la Cambre, Brussels They

of l had passed beyond the limit civi isation , wandered beyond the laid - out drives and

a llée cha us s ée walks notified to the visitors as , ,

on the direction - posts ; they had got away

from the sham lakes, from the noise of wheels

and the laughter of the gay pleasure - seekers

t o o away, , from the corks and broken bottles

of th e British t ourist . The smooth drives had vanished behind them ; t hey had gone in

among the beeches . The path was barely wide enough for them to walk side by side

a mere green tra ck strewn with th e beech - mast

of the previous autumn , entangled at times

\ with the long shoots thrown o ut by the RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 18 5

w no t briers, hose young prickles had yet h ad time to harden . The thick roofing of leaves was impervious to the sun , and they walked in a crypt of shadow ; but the warmth of the spring penetrated into the deep forest, and surrounded them with its genial glow .

u a The beech trunks rose p on either h nd, smooth and round, dotted here and there

o f with broad bands gray lichen, and clothed w at the foot ith green moss . Their boughs met overhead, forming a pointed arch , which

s ee extended as far as the eye could , till the

f of e fect perspective lessened its distinctness, and the path seemed to lose itself in a wall of leaves which receded as they advanced . w There was not a sound ; the ind was still,

nd n ot a a branch creaked nor a leaf rustled .

No Sportive rabbit crossed their path , no bird f h chat tered in the recesses o t e wood . Slowly — — they walked o n on into the depth o f the t gloomy shadow, till the path spli into two ,

one the diverging at an angle from the other, and each overarched in the same way with

t h e m eeting beech branches . At very spot

o f the divergence there was a broken trunk . 1 8 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

A great beech had grown unsound and rotten

th e of within , and blast the winter storms had — twisted it off snapped it about ten feet from — the ground an d the dead trunk lay across the path on the left hand, with its boughs

. crushed beneath it The stem stood upright,

t th e gaun and ragged at top, where a huge splinter pointed at the Sky . But the para

- sites, the green mosses , and the tree ferns had found their rooting - place already where

t the tree had been ro ten within , and long creepers were winding their way about the

u branches of the fallen trunk . There the ga nt stem stood, a sentinel in the way, challenging all who passed . Here there was an opening in the leaf- roof caused by the fall of this giant — — this pill ar of the blue dome of the sky and t the sunlight fell full upon the uprigh stem,

n bringi g it out into bright relief . Beyond it — the two pathways branched off caves o f dark — Shadow going no one knew how deep into

of sk the wood . There was a streak blue y overhead, and the earth was covered with moss . m Ella paused here . and took fro her com

188 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

n themselves (possibly even da gerous , despite a ll the precautions taken in their manufacture) , but they kill and destroy the natural covering

at fi e - - o f the head . Young ladies v and twenty

complain that their heads are growing bald, that the hair splits at the end and will not

it . out . grow, as often as they may The comb e of ach morning drags out a handful hair, which they look upon with dismay ; for each

morning diminishes the already scanty stock , an d no new springs up to supply its place .

t o ff or Then hey rush to the chemist, the bar

ber, who recommends some patent renovator, some marvellous balm and o il of Heaven w knows what, which ill produce a crop that m Absalom ight envy . The chemist knows

better than this ; but it is his interest to push

f or the sale, the profits are tremendous, the

demand ever increasing ; for the more that is

used the more will be wanted, for the simple reason that these oils and balms kill what little life still remains in the hair of the fool

For ish virgin who uses them . the hair is — P a alive ; it is a living growing thing plant,

o u m o f if y please ; it is a tube, as ost you RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 9

w s kno in the e days, of course . All young ladies have seen a microscope ; they have seen a hair magnified ; they know it is a tub e

— s a a plant with its roots , its p and juices , its oil exuding , but it never occurs to them w to apply this kno ledge . This is the great

of ou r fault days . Our forefathers had but few u facts to build pon , but they studied these facts and applied them till they had t w exhausted their uses . But we, wi h a ealth , an almost illimitable ocean of facts , pass them

t o by, throw them aside without a hought int

’ —it s a dustbin only a microscope , only a mag

’ nifie d w hair, a matter for a moment s onder

o a m re show got up for our amusement .

u Depend pon it, its Creator did not get that

a nd w slender delicate tube up for mere Sho , as a toy to look at in the microscope, as a fashionable amusement t o while away a mo m ent of ennui while the ices were being brought o r the champagne uncorked . It is

n t a real living thing, havi g its bir h , its life , and its death— as much a living thing as the

w t human being is that bears it about i h her . But why describe the physiological structure 1 90 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . o f what is familiar to every fashionable young lady ? This is how they treat this living crea ture the hair, the most delicate and sensitive

o f . so s o plants They comb it ; far good , provided the comb does not rake hard at the t s a r t . roots , and them, if not pull them up You may do as much harm by pulling a

fl o wer - flower half out of the pot, and kill it

as quite quickly, as if you had taken it clean

u . t p So hey comb at it, drag at it impatiently d o ut s ta r tin ragging scores , g scores more , snap ping off scores additional . Then the brush .

This does little harm if moderately used, and not on e of those horrid patent things war ranted to mesmerise or what not . Now

u comes the torture . Tie it up , twist it p , plait it up , bundle it up , crush it up , squeeze

u w it it p, screw it, ind it, thump it, drag , force it down by every unnatural means , till it occupies the least possible space ; in fact,

o ut of get it the way, conceal it in corners w w any here , make a mere ground ork and

’ foundation o f it to bear the weight of fashion s superstructure . Build up on it great masses of — a warm thick substance pads, horsehair,

1 9 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

wi — abso having, in fact, put on a g yes, an

w wi if in lute do nright g , the equivalent, not

f o ur shape , in e fect, of the disgusting things grandmothers u sed to wear ; having done this , they fasten it down with iron nails , with

- of hair pins artfully disposed and out sight , but there by dozens . A fashionable lady can easily dispose of three dozen hair - pins

. o n long strong pieces of iron wire her head , no light weight , these, in themselves . Many of t hese stick almost in the skin of the head others at first only just touch it, but by de

of grees, by the pressure the bonnet, they work down till the sharp points dig in , and then each motion of the head sways them to and fro and scrapes t h e skin till it is most ex i i u s t e and . q torture , and it grows red inflamed

s he f All the while bears a smiling ace, and w alks erect and proudl y . This horrible parody of the Creator ’s natural covering for th e head is put on at a comparatively early hour ; it is kept on never less than twelve

n r e hours, often much lo ger, and never once

or Now moved eased in any way . what is the ff ? e ect of all this The hair is a plant, at least RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 1 93

it may be called a plant for the convenience

n Now w of illustratio . what do plants ant ? first of all Why, air and light . These

thousands upon thousands of tiny tubes , these

ha ir t delicate organisms called , hus treated, k thus covered , never now what the impact of

’ air or light is from one year s end to another . The next thing a plant wants is room to grow

an d and expand, to put forth tendrils extend

itself. If you covered up a geranium with a

- ? door mat, could you expect it to flourish If you twisted twenty fuchsias t ogether and

s tied them with tight band , and held them

w n down ith chafi g iron pins , could you ex

e ct p them to bear blossom, and to charm your visitors with their graceful shape ? In one w — ff d ord , the hair is smothered su ocate . It

is like making a man lie in bed for ever, thickly padded down with blankets and mat

or . tresses , unable to turn stretch his legs What a pale emaciated creature he would be

— ' at the end of the year if he s urvive d so long " And so it is with the hair "it dies by thou

it o ut sands , comes by handfuls ; then in order t o encourage nature , when the young lady

V OL . II . 0 194 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

sh e grows alarmed , carefully sets to work to prevent its renovating power from replacing the dead tubes . This she does by washing it with oils and balms , which is about the same as pouring scalding water on grass with the

. e & c . idea of making it grow Thes oils, , stop up all the pores of the skin ; literally plug

. them Suppose a gardener sowed seeds , and then carefully covered the earth over with a

’ o f t - f - layer plas er o Paris . Some ladies heads are sheer surfaces of raw red skin in c onse

u ence ff q of this treatment, this su ocation, this deprivation of air and light, this check to all perspiration , this torture from prodding hair w . at pins It is night, hen the pads and fri — s ett es and the three dozen hairpins the half — d pound of iron are remove , that the smart is w d ‘ d ackno le ged , and O , my hea is so sore ;

’ my head is so h ot l is the order of the hour . How m any headaches may be traced to this

w ar e cause, for hich anxious mammas drench

’ ing the poor patient s stomach with pill and wd ' po er When the night does come , and the miserable hair is let free to wander away, t w ? and brea he if it can , then hat do they do

1 96 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

w his Claudius , alking behind her, raised

stick , and struck the frisette hanging from the brier far away high u p out of reach ; he kicked another that fell upon the ground into the nettles , while the hairpins went in a d shower among the moss . Ella smile , lifted

her hat, and shook her hair about her shoul

ders , till it surrounded her like a golden cloud .

‘ ’ ‘ Paint your hair, said Claudius ; if you

ou l m u o u can , y wi l ake your fort ne, for y will

’ paint sunlight .

She did not blush at this remark ; sh e did not resent his rude destruction of her

k on materials, but wal ed as before . Was this

- childishness , was it high bred ease or famili

arit ? l y Not the ast, certainly, but a mixture

of . the first two They were always together ,

u s yet never familiar . I e that word in its

worst sense . Their ideas were familiar to

each other, indeed ; their persons , their ways

sh e were not . Claudius watched her as

unmistak went before him with admiration ,

able admiration ; but it was calm, cool , cri

tical , as he might look at a picture in the

sh e n Royal Academy ; and , tur ing round and 1 RE S TLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 9 7

n his not or meeti g gaze , did blush even smile ,

but was as calm , as unmoved as he was . She

was very lovely . A slender figure , hardly up

embon oint to the usual height, not p enough for the Venus ; slender and graceful, with the gracefulness of a child . Her face was a de licat e oval, a low forehead, rather broad at the

not in in temples, but any way what is called

ll e u al H w t e ct . o so or high ( I hate a high ,

‘ ’ c alled intellectual forehead in woman " It

is . unnatural , looks strained ) Her brow was

smooth as polished marble, without a line,

without a wrinkle . The eyebrows were nar

th e row, distinct, and finely arched , eyes deep

blue , fringed with long eyelashes ; but these not being black did not Show so much as

might have been desired . Her nose was

s traight and delicate ; her lips perfectly cut,

l or but rather co d , not full red enough for l passion . Her hands were smal , taper , finer than even handsome women ' s hands usually

a re s . , and exqui itely white They seemed made

for the brush and the pencil ; true artist hands .

She looked more a child than a woman, dressed

- of in that pale blue silk , with the masses golden 1 98 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

hair flowing over her shoulders . "et she was

- one L twenty . This was the dead Lord e ’ é é strange s pupil and prot g e . He was but just h d s e . dea , yet was in colours She owed him

sh e everything , but did not look unhappy ;

of and still with all the colours her dress, and

u no t the smile pon her face , she did forget him . She was wandering in a Belgian forest

v with a man , a ery young man too, who was neither her husband, her lover , her brother ;

her who was only a friend . But he was friend ; and that was a distinction with a difference .

Claudius read while sh e sketched ; it was a book upon architecture, and he did not raise his eyes from the page to watch her as a lover

o would have done . He grew s absorbed in the mental reconstruction of the ruined temple described that he started when sh e called

im t o n to h come and look at her drawi g . Even then he did not come till he had made some notes in his pocket - book and inserted a m arker in th e page he was reading . Then he

‘ went to her, leaned over, and looked long and steadily at the sketch , comparing it with the — original with the gaunt and broken stem be

U 200 RESTLESS H MAN HEARTS . Claudius objected that the artist had some t thing more to do than to merely copy na ure, him as w . it were, ord for word To the can

vas looked flat, and the picture flat as the

canvas, unless there was an idea behind the

colours . Then the idea carried away the

mind, and the paint was paint no longer, but

saw reality . Without the idea the mind the t pain as paint, and flat ; when it received the

and the idea it cast a glamour over it, pic

No w a ture lived . this ide could never be produced by the most minute attention to de t ail ; it could not be copied from nature ; it

’ own must come from the artist s mind, must

n wi origi ate th him, and be transferred, put,

. n 1ct ures as it were, into nature La dseer s p ,

‘ ’ for instance, were paintings , rude , anything but well painted but the idea carried away fi the mind, lled it with glamour, and his pic tures lived, even without colour, as was shown by the popularity of engravings from t hem . This was the magic charm of the marvellous

Dore t , as distinguished from the stern minu e

of é was realisation Holman Hunt . Dor rude , r h is ma nner ough , almost grotesque in he 2 1 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 0

o ut his never worked the details , but pictures

n n were i sti ct with Mind, with Idea, and with

f so i Li e that the coarse l nes, the incomplete o har dnes s of utlines, the the sketch passed

unheeded, the glamour of the idea entered the s oul of the beholder and filled him with the

of was feeling the artist . This the true artist ;

or a in this power Ella was deficient, at le st

She had not cultivated it . Ella listened to every word and bowed

her head once or twice in acquiescence ; then i S lently put up her materials , bound up her

n . hair, and they slowly returned i to the city

In the Place Royale they shook hands calmly,

as acquaintances would . Ella passed on to o o the H tel de France , Claudius to the H tel de

’ - ta ble d hé te. Belle Vue , each to their separate Ella had said in her reply to Pierce that sh e

o n intended to travel the Continent, and this

h ow was she commenced it . An entai e estate held b an M must of l d , y M fal to him A . be m on W l . l g eno h mvided (0 0 no he n u ug , p ir

CHAPTER XIII .

V ‘ ’ T H E old coach for I at erloo came tootling and rattling through the Place Royale early on the bright May morning . Ella and Clau diu s had taken places over night . They were not rich enough to have a carriage to them l selves, and to drive through the love y beech

of th e of n n avenues forest Soig ies, pausing whe m they pleased to ad ire the scenery . Ella had th e 25 0i n . per annum long si ce made over to her by her patron ; b ut that was not much to travel on even when supplemented by the

20 i sh e 0 . had realised by her first picture in

for s the Academy, and carefully preserved thi very purpose . Claudius had something more than this . His mother had left him her own

i 4001. 3 00 . fortune, between and per year from land ; he had expectations , remote, but large .

of An entailed estate, held by an uncle , must necessity fall to him . provided he lived long

enough , provided too no heir intervened, for

- the uncle was seventytwo and infirm . From A RESTLESS HUMAN HE RTS . 203 t r e c e1ve d hi his source, at present, he not ng ; for the old man hated the boy as only a

- old u narrow minded man can hate, and ref sed s o much as to s e e him . This too was not

on s o much to travel , and Claudius, not fortunate as Ella or so clever , had not yet been able to supplement his income by the f o . u exercise his profession Nominally, Cla dius was a an architect ; in truth , he was sculptor . Hence t hey endeavoured to practise economy as far as possible ; instead of hiring a carriage from the well - known agent in the

Montagne de la Cour, and viewing the field of t Wa erloo in luxurious ease , they were perched

on t o up high the coach p , among the motley assembly who daily traverse the space be

- tween Brussels and the famous plain . They

on n rattled over the hard stony road , sto es which no amount of passing wheels can ever

t wi o ne wear smoo h , th a beech wood on Side

n and an open country o the other . The beech

was or d th e wood partly dead ying , and gaunt

‘ ’ trees looked as if the dun hot blast of war h ad only blown over them a week ago . Past

- and n - direction p osts branchi g lanes , directing 2 04 E RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS .

‘ ’ ‘ ’ th e traveller to ville Louise or ville this

‘ ’ a nd ville that ; through villages where the m en stood smoking in blue blouses and wooden ‘ t shoes at the doors , and where the girls, grea

w - u t gro n p girls, ran af er the coach chattering , a nd tucking their gowns between their knees

turned somersaults, to be rewarded by coppers a nd i - n ckel from the coach top , flung by grin

r ning boobies, who encouraged the mise able wretches in this sorry exhibition of clumsiness a nd immodesty . Out again into the broad

do - —a do - road and past a g cart literal g cart,

dr a not of wn by a large , but very large, dog

d on w a tawny colour, patiently plod ing ith a

o f heavy load potatoes, and his master Sing

of ing in the rear , totally oblivious coach and

e verything else . Ella wanted to sketch the

do - sh e g cart, the first that had seen , but the

o f motion the coach would not permit her . — On again But why go over the well - kno wn route ? A motley group they were on the

plain of Waterloo . There was a Russian, a di Yankee, two la es from Australia, a French

our g entleman, two English , and a sullen bf Spaniard . The lion on the top the monu

206 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . he neither went to church nor paid the vol u n t - v o ary church rate , nor subscribed to the lunt ar - count e y school rate , nor in any way n anced of of parish schemes relief, course the c lergyman and his two curates were dead

h e a gainst him . They feared was an infidel ; they were deeply concerned . The parson him s elf, backed by his parishioners, paid the peer

a visit . The peer, who was sitting at a late breakfast with a young lady pourin g o ut his c f o fee, and who did not trouble to rise, asked w the parson hat he had come for . Says the par s on ou t of - , courtesy, good will , and what not .

- Says the physician peer, that he wanted nei

- l t . her courtesy, good wi l, nor what not If the

parson came for subscriptions, he might go at

o i nce if he came to play a game at b lliards, w t he might stop . The parson bo ed and lef

in high dudgeon, and described the physician

as rude , boorish , an atheist, a gambler, and a man of loose morals all because he refused

to be intruded upon ; because he spoke of bil

liards , and had a young lady at breakfast

with him ; he , an unmarried man, and no

t aun or chaperone in the house . S RESTLES HUMAN HEARTS . 2 0 7

l urnival This young lady was El a F e . The

- physician , in his pre peerage days, had been called in by an old friend at the confinement of his wife . The mother died ; the physician only Saved the child by the exercise of all his

skill and constant attention ; then the old fr n ie d died, and Lestrange took the child and bred it up ; at first in Sheer charity, for there was no money ; then out of curiosity to s e e

o ut how it would turn ; lastly, out of love . Not

o f the love the sexes, not the passion or the sentiment of a man for a woman, but the love

of . a parent for his daughter For Lestrange , who was over Sixty and had no children , grew

u to look pon Ella as his daughter, and had

intended to make her his heiress, so far as w was in his power . The estate he kne must

go to Pierce , but he had a large amount of

personal property ; this he had intended for

. h ad Ella, and he actually during his lifetime

settled an annu ity on her ; but he delayed

o f t making his will, as men even the highes

wil . intellectual calibre l delay it, till too late A strange education Ella had received at his f . t o hands The primary par it, the very 208 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

wo foundation and ground rk , was a contempt s o deep as to amount to positive indiff erence

for the opinions or the remarks of society . She imbibed from him a calm determination t o do what sh e thought fit without the slight est concealment, without the slightest ostenta

so e tion , let it be never opposed to the gen

— sin ral custom let it be the greatest of all ,

sin s ub the against conformity . Lestrange stituted for the judgment of society the judg ment of her o wn soul . He taught her to

’ watch not the tone of other persons rude and often thoughtless and unmeaning conversa

a tion , but to perceive the slightest w rning in the delicate balance of her own mind and soul . Of the one sh e was to take no notice of the other s he was to be the devoted servant . This man , who repulsed the parson , yet sneered at — and reviled the men of modern science at the great anatomist (no matter what his name) who proved to his own s atisfaction that the thing (save the mark ") called a soul had no separate existence from the body and at the still greater man who discovered that matter was the origin of all things , and God, if there

10 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

world began trained to endurance , to labour and fatigue ; trained to be useful in a thousand ways ; and the result of this training is handed

down from generation to generation, till the

result is called an instinct . The mind has been at work too for these last six or eight

thousand years at all events , a proof of which is that we possess a wr itten history for that l period . Phi osophers have examined into the

of method the mind, and we have systems of

logic , codes of deduction and synthesis , deter

. minate canons of analysis But the Soul, the

grandest, the highest, the noblest, has never

yet received attention . What little attention

it has got has been by fits and starts, by

spurts, and after each of these it was neg

le ct e d for t or s o another housand years , till

- another great soul expounder, called a prophet,

m ade his appearance upon the earth . But

these spurts gave no real progress ; only just preserved the soul from relapsing into

For utter ignorance . the soul , like the mind

and body, was ignorant in itself and required t w to be taught, and the first step o ards that

e . teaching was an analysis of its lf Lestrange , RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 1 1

w in fact, ished to found , a science of the soul ;

not a s o - called psychological science o f mes

meric and magnetic and psychic force , and

of so forth , but a science the higher instincts ,

the higher perceptions and aspirations, which

we perceive by the abstract soul . With this view he had shut himself up in retirement to

o wn n study his soul . Thi s he had do e day

by day for forty years , never wearying, ever urged on by increasing pleasure in the pur suit, ever finding greater mysteries , greater beauties . All these he had noted down in his memoranda ; carefully written out in a plain

w in hand riting, plainly expressed . A record

’ deed was this " A forty years history of the l " sou It was only a man living by himself, in im silence and solitude , possessed of an

- mense power of self concentration , who could accomplish such a work . He shrank from publishing it, as he naturally might, during his lifetime ; but he had made arrangement s for its issue two years after his decease . In Ella he had seen early indications of an

of artistic spirit, high aspirations , of an ethereal

t o r nature , li tle clogged , if at all, with earthly 2 1 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEA RTS .

s animal pa sions . He had chosen her to be the

n i livi g exponent ofhis faith, and he had tra ned

it m t For her up in fro the earlies youth . this purpose it was nece ssary that sh e shoul d be a w sh e lmost constantly ith him, and in fact ’ l ’ never attended a girls schoo , or had a gover

of . ness, from the age twelve She was always w ith him, ever listening, ever imbibing . He

h er no t or but taught all ; by books lessons, by conversation , down even to the method of

interpreting the Assyrian inscriptions ; for he was a man o f varied learning and boundl ess

reading . But above all things , he showed her how to listen t o th e promptings of the soul within her ; to distinguish between the pseudo s oul and the true ; to choose between the promptings of passion and even the decisions

of the mind , and the still inner voice , the real revelation that came in silence and self

was m . com union This her Bible , her Koran , d her guide , her ju ge , her friend , her deathless

t sh e to Mentor . To his was to listen, this

was w u o f . follo , tterly heedless all else It par t of his theory that the excessive c ultiva

tion o f th e mind alone which distinguished

2 14 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

Claudius pointed out ; f o r the detail pr edo mi

n t d of a e . , that inherent defect the feminine mind w There was a time , long years ago , hen

even Lestrange , then a young man , had felt

a little of that passion which we call love ; and

it had been for a woman beautiful exceedingly, t who , for a time at least , showed a disposi ion to resign the follies of her class and to culti

r a l vate her e self. But it was for a time only ;

sh e " mm d saw Colonel Love , and left the for

’ t t h e the body, or ra her for body s clothing . The handsome military officer far outshone

’ the pale student . She was Claudius Lovel s ill m other . The Colonel was k ed in the Cri

o f mea ; his widow died consumption , leaving

n n Lestrange trustee to her s o . Lestra ge took

u him, bro ght him up , educated him as he was

ff nt doing Ella, but in a rather di ere way . He

of did not make such a companion the boy . He threw him out more into the world that t he might ga her hardness and experience , — knowledge of his fellow creatures for he deemed this needful to a man . Nevertheless

‘ he tutored him deeply ; t rained up the im pre ssionable mind in his own grooves . Clau M H RESTLESS HU AN EARTS . 2 15 diu s t oo of , , showed signs an artistic nature , but he did not take to painting . He com plained that the canvas and the millboard — always looked flat to him instead of standing o ut i or , the draw ng the picture appeared flat . He had not that perception of perspective and d light an shadow which Ella had . He drew it — beautifully, but was only in outline cor

fill - in rect, elegant ; but he could not the

o f shades . His idea beauty in form was more proportion than colour . So that he admired a superb piece of architecture more than a

w was picture , hen harmony reigned ; when it

so sa outline solidified, to y . But his passion

l a; was sculpture . This to him was divine . E l said that the statue , the cold marble, always l looked to her dead , the eyebal s vacant, the ff attitude sti , the whole thing stone , and no thing more . To Claudius , the harmony of

i . the outline , the proport on , gave it life He l dignified scu pture , worshipped it . Therefore he was t aught architecture as a profession ;

saidL estran e m for a man , g , even if removed fro

t o f w i l wan , and in prospect ealth , should st l know some means of gaining his bread ; and he

21 6 RE STLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

was taught sculpture as a pleasure . He , too , was initiated into the doctrine of the soul ; but he too frequently confounded it with th e

mind, with the highest exercise of the intellect, and looked upon that as inspiration which

was ll of . rea y the result thought These two ,

r Ella and Claudius, were of late much togethe

’ L s ran at e t g e s . They certainly did not look on one another as brother and sister ; certainly not either as strangers ; least of all as possible

o f lovers . The sentiment love never entered

’ L e stran e s e their minds . Their life at g forbad

or n it, rather prevented their thoughts dwelli g

upon such matters . Just as Agassiz

’ ander d awa awa W y, y,

W t Nat e th e ea old e i h ur , d r nurs , Wh o sang t o him night and day T h e rhym e s of th e universe ; And t ll as th e wa ew lo s i y gr ng, Or r t b e a t o a l his spi i s g n f i , S h e wo l a o e wo e l o u d sing m r nd rfu s ng, ’ Or t ell a o e wo e l tale m r nd rfu , so e these two wandered away, with Lestrang f or u of their g ide , into the mysteries nature ,

of n into the realms huma thought, ever seek di d w ing , ever fin ng, till they arrive , by slo degrees, at that almost divine state, the T 21 7 RE S L ESS HUMAN HEARTS . ohne hast ohne r a s t of , the star doing its God

sk e appointed work in the y, as their souls wer doing their God - appointed work upon the earth .

n Long before his death , Lestra ge had marked ou t for them a course of foreign

in travel , which they were to accomplish

t o company, together and yet apart . Ella

of old s study the works the masters, Claudiu the architecture and sculpture of our teachers

in in these things , and both to acquire that describable taste and tact in art matters which can only thus be obtained . He had taught them too much about the soul for them t o mourn his death in the hackneyed way . They left shortly afterwards for the Belgium capital ; they had seen Paris with Lestrange himself some time since .

They went to Waterloo out of the ineradic

able British patriotism (l) ; but they were sati

- ated with that one sight seeing expedition , and

s resolved upon no more . Next day Claudiu departed to study the H6tel de Ville and cathe

drals w of E ithin easy reach Brussels , and lla

th e - entered picture galleries . CHAPTER XIV .

U " of L SSES wearied even Circe . The great

sun enchantress, the daughter of the and

of friend the Sirens, who could turn men to

w one s ine, failed in this thing, like weaker women . She could not enchant the man wh o A lived always with her . y , but this Ulysses

was . pining for Penelope Very good, and

f or when he got her, how long did he care her ? Tennyson tells us he wait ed a year or s o , and then sailed away again with his friends

out far into the illimitable ocean , commencing

a voyage from which he never returned . It was not Penelope , therefore, who acted as the herb ‘ moly ’ to counteract the charms of

Circe . It was Circe herself. The very flowers

n spra g up as She walked upon them, ferns bordered her path , fruit hung over her, the warm rays of the sun were softened and s ub \ dued and fell in a radiance like a halo round

l th e pollen s ley dropped dour as of e the whi ten A 220 RESTLE S S HUMAN HE RTS .

of of tones her voice, the wave her exquisite

? s hand She sings, and lo the very cloud

sk s un move slowly in th e y, the pauses, the

t o trees forget wave and the wind to blow, the flowers droop , a hazy yellowy mist rises

and clothes all things in a slumbrous vapour,

o u t blotting the horizon , smoothing away all an gles and outlines, till the earth seems in a

nd dream . A still the voice floats through the

on t air, as a lark warbling from high , ill wi high heaven grows drowsy th the song . Bronzed with the iron blasts of the stormy t wind , beaten hither and hither by raging d seas, the victim of misfortunes of every kin , cast o ut from among men to die in wil der n — esses hither Ulysses comes , and sits under

- the shadow of this mighty lotos tree . The

circling year goes round unnoticed . The

Pleiades rise and set, are seen no more , and

once again come into view ; the starry Orion

s sk h span the y, sinks beneat the wave, and

s . s span it once again Then he wakes, thi

of man toils, and longs to leave her whose

merest word can m ake rude eart h a Paradise . Not even Circe can enchant the man who is

222 R RESTLESS HUMAN HEA TS .

at home . The trees were unnatural, they

did not grow s o large and full ; they looked w . i stunted, sleepy The hotels ere m serable ;

- half carpeted, cold, draughty, unhealthy . In one they were placed on the ground floor in

th e next, close to the sky, with the tiles over

u sk head, and the stars visible thro gh the y

light . Nothing was clean ; everything oily,

s o even the floors . People were rude, and

even indecent . The famous cookery was a

s o myt h ; the politeness equally . The railway

travelling was abominable ; their trains crept along slow as a caterpillar wit h a hundred

- of w legs, ninety eight hich are an eucum

brance . Even the dresses were a sham, for the women who wore them were horridly

dirty . The pictures were no better than

n o wn it those in E gland by our native artists, was only the name of the thing .

T h e Spas were the most wretched holes on — the face of creation lazar spots where all the bodily infirm and the morally crippled r e sorted ; where the population wa s composed of miserable invalids , feverish gamblers, cheating h landlords, and silly people who t ought they 22 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 3

did were fashionable . This not come all at

once ; the change from pleasure to discontent was slow and imperceptible . The first two months went smoothly, without a check . Each readily gave up little habits to the

other . Georgie was by nature an early riser

sh e invariably rose at seven in her own house ,

wet or breakfasted, and walked an hour, shine, ll before study. Nevi e had for years con tracted a habit of remaining in bed till nearly ill o ut . noon , and scarcely ever went t evening

was The moonlight better than the sunlig ht,

if if th e he said, you were in the country in l w town , the gas ight thre a glamour over the defects and deficiencies which the glaring sun

brought into too great prominence . His true — reason was his love of dreaming of solitary

- f t day dreams . He did not sleep a er nine , l though his eyes were closed . A vast mu ti

tude of images were passing through his

mind . By long practice he had arrived at that state when his mental vision could s ee

‘ of in those images Epicurus, composed of

finitely small atoms, which are constantly

’ was gliding about us like phantoms . It then 224 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

that he really lived . This sleep was really a

d a . h a h d waking existence It was , very no d oubt, for his mind ; it destroyed all sense of

s o reality, much so that he could hardly underst and the sense of what he had written o nce the pen was laid aside . While he was writing he knew because of the idea in his o wn mind ; let that idea once filter into words ,

and, although he could recall the idea, he

"could not gather any sense o r meaning from h t e black scrawl . His existence had in fact b ecome itself an abstract idea, and he could

n ot w i bear to be a akened from t . If he locked h is or desk, any other place which he wished

to be particularly secure , he never felt certain

un that he really had locked it . He would

lock it again to convince himself, then relock

se e it, lift it up to if the two parts held to

s ee gether , and even then return to it to that he had left no paper or document o ut on the

o f t able . He seemed to have lost all feeling — matter matter did not exist ; it was all ah

s tract ideas . From these he could not bear to be awakened and brought back to the material hi world . It jarred upon m ; he frowned and

22 6 R ESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ th e the paint or even the colour, but artist s idea ; till he saw the pict ure t h e artist had

t o — a tried paint voice , a word , the presence of another person instantly destroyed the

fl a t vision , and the canvas became and dead, ’ w t painty, hi e and black , red and blue . If he stood before a bust of the great Julius till the lines in t hat wondrous face deepened into a

v . th e was di ine anxiety, and mouth drawn ba ck with a more than mortal suspense ; till the blank eyeballs filled with a liquid orb , p iercing into the very heart, seeing throug h all disguise ; till the star on his forehead, the li cold marble star , lit itself up and g ttered and shone "till this Human Fate came into — life then the sound of a footstep, the lightest

was laugh , and the whole gone , and nothing remained but the dusty inanimate blank mar ble . He reposed upon the grass under the

a w w sun sh do of a tree , till the armth of the w w filled his veins ith a dro sy, slumberous ,

vita lit yet intense y, while the leaves danced in slow and intricate measure between him and th e o sky, and the clouds sailed nwards to their havens far away below the horizon . RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 2 7

The grass grew alive around him with count

of less numbers tiny living things , barely

e t w visible to the eye , y each ith its organs ,

its senses and sensations , its hopes and fears

l its and griefs , its ife , and hour of bitter death

o wn se a to come . He lost all sense of his p

r a te e xistence ; his soul became merged in t h e

h a life of the tree, of the grass, of the t ous nds

th e of insects, finally in life of the broad h m earth underneat , till he felt hi self as it

were a leaf upon the great cedar of existence .

all o f Then he lost sense joy or pain , of hope

or of fear, ambition , of hatred and jealousy,

in t even of love . He was merged the grea

t n It was soul that binds all hi gs together . — the Nirvana the extinction of existence , and

t . yet the entrance into true exis ence Time ,

all thought, feeling , sense , were gone , lost ; nothing remained but the mere grand fact, t t the exquisi e delight, the infini e joy of exist h . t e ence only Then a word, a noise , sound of his name awoke him . The sunlight lost its glamour , the dancing leaves moved no more in regular rhythm, but helplessly and pur

o sele ssl p y, the clouds became vapour only, 2 28 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

the azure only the result of extreme distance

and tenuity matter jarred on him again . He was unreasonably peevish at these inter

r uptions . So it was that in those journeys he had taken about the world he had invari

as ably started with Noel , and invariably parted from him the moment they arrived at

o f the verge the unknown, where he lay

down and dreamt, and the other sprang for

o f its ward and stripped the desert mirage,

of n its the forest its illusion , and the ocea of

infinity . So he had shunned society, dwell

ing much by himself, reading much , convers

ing little . Why then had he taken Georgiana to be with him always and ever ? Though

’ s o N he was fond of the abstract , yet eville s

body, his organs, and his senses were not

dead . The life in him loved her as other men love ; the abstract idealism o f the man clouded her round about with an atmosphere f o hazy splendour . His mind really admired

her . He was solitary ; he could find none

wh o understood him, who appreciated him, r even who could tolerate him 2 ce tainly none w he t o as hom could tolerate . He clung her

2 30 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

w t busy i h material things, with living beings

and t x n o t with the dead , wi h the abstract

of th e imagination . She had a deep fellow feeling wit h her friends and with human

— - nat ure at large a fellow feeling in which l Neville was a most entirely wanting . He had much more communion with an inanimate w tree , ith a tiny insect, with the senseless

w or wo and soulless sun , than ith any man

was in man . He not cruel, nor in any way h i umane , but he did not seem to real se that i other creatures had feelings . His ndiff er ence to suffering had shocked her many

wa h m . s u a n t times Georgie peculiarly , if hat w ord may be used in such a sense . She felt

t sex far more than the generali y of her , who surround themselves too often with dress and affectation till misery and death itself lose their real significance and become mere words

wa s alone . To her misery real , poverty a m ighty evil , death a reality, pain a visible and tangible thing . How tenderly she had devoted herself to rouse poor unhappy H e

h o w h ad r loise ; many, many times the poo h ad occasion to bless her ministrations " 2 3 1 RESTLESS HUMAN H E ARTS .

Neville rather shrank from the poor not

af that he disdained them , or that he had any

’ fect e d orcela init notions of p g, but because they t disturbed him ; their rags , their groans , heir very s mell banished th e halo which he wished to have always round him . He gladly gave them money, but the direst necessity could

His not draw him personally to their side . was the most idealised, etherealised , abstract selfishness that could be imagined ; b ut selfish

of ness it was nevertheless , and a character that nothing could ever modify fixed for th e whole term of life .

Georgiana never enjoyed anything alone ; even the assistance s h e gave t o the poor and wretched gave her no pleasure unless she had a companion ; not that she wished her good b deeds lazoned afar, but because it was her nature to be ever sociable . She had been

h er weak and womanish enough , with all

n mi d and penetration , to fondly delude her

self into the belief that when sh e married Neville s he should always have an appr e cia

sh e tive companion . She believed that could

' bring him to find a pleasure in accompanying 232 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

her in her missions of relief and kindness . She had the fullest faith that he would be to her an hourly companion . She looked for ward to hanging on his arm in those noble

o f cathedrals the Continent, and listening to — t h e conceptions of his mind a mind which — s h e revered and almost worshipped as a dis

, ci le p might listen to a master, till her soul w hi glo ed with s inspiration . She looked for ward t o standing by his Side on th e glacier

c e and at the edge of the fearful precipi e , f el ing with him the dread and yet at the same moment the pleasure of the immense and

sh e measureless height . With him should read and study, the same subject and the same book , his hand in hers, their eyes upon the same page . The very soul of this loving and noble woman clung to him . In a month ,

m o f in two onths, in the beginning the third m h ow ff onth , di erent from what she had so e ag erly longed for " How gladly would sh e — have accommodated her habits to his fore w gone her early meal , her early healthy alk her joy in the sunshine and the fresh air o f

\ the morning "Willingly She would have

3 4 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

dreams and imaginings . The old life reas s e rt ed itself, and he clung to it more and more . In the beginning of the third month they had ceased to occupy the same rooms .

’ G - eorgie rose for her seven o clock stroll , but

depressed and unhappy . Neville Slept till noon ; but even through his abstract ideas

there ran a thin streak of pain . He was

irritated with her for disturbing him , and yet at the same time angry with himself for not

appreciating her more than he did . But wisely and lovingly they said nothing of this

th e to each other . They blamed Continent

was and its ways . It in this mood they r e

turned to England very early in June . CHAPTER XV .

’ l I L L ay a level hundr ed they marry ou t-right ’ ll t . in ten mon hs , said Corney Vi iers

‘ ’ ’ I ll take it , said the Duke . ‘ Good— is it a bet ? ’ A nod from the Duke indicat ed that it

’ was ; and down went the record in Villiers

- red memorandum book .

These two were languidly reposing o n o ne

of those double - backed seats at the Royal

th e Academy, in front of one of pictures of

the season .

‘ ’ ‘ w n S ee For , said Villiers , if you a t to

’ ’ who s in town , sit here , and they ll all pass in .

’ f o review in the course o an hour or s . So they s aw Georgiana Brandon and her

husband standing before the said picture , and

the bet was the result . ’ — This picture was only a horse s head a — mere head and neck just such a design as

one sees every day in crayons hung up in, 2 3 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ s Miss This or Master That bedroom, framed as a trophy of school talent ; a mere tame design , lacking all spirit and soul . But it was the extraordinary finish o f detail that gave

it its success . The head itself, the ears , the

so mane , the eye , were all complete , minutely pe rfect that the picture s eemed to literally live and to stand out from the canvas . Espe

cially the eye ; it was looking as full at you

as animals ever do look . Save and except for

e or a mom nt, horse , dog, cat will not gaze

into your eyes . They shrink from it ; their

n s o s e e eyes tur away, that you can the eye

ball, but not direct into the mind of the

as is s ? Is creature, it were . Why thi it the

of of of innate sense inferiority, shame, or a

a s o fe r, even when most familiar But it is ; and the artist had faithfully reproduced the — peculiar sidelong glance half at you, half — away of a horse at which persons are in

t entl so o u y gazing, that, as y looked at this

th e picture , eyeballs, that at first appeared to

stare straight into your face , gradually turned ’ l away, as the living creature s wou d have

ne ou saw s n o f r do , and y the hee eflected light

23 8 H RESTLESS UMAN HEARTS . — detail appealed to crowded about it as the

sensation of the season . The picture was

‘ ’ signed in one corner Ella . It was at this Georgie and Neville stayed

to gaze . There Neville left her ; and Georgie ,

w n a trifle tired ith pacing the lo g galleries, sat down side by side with the Duke and w Villiers , who kne her story , but not herself

personally . Neville wandered away in a dawdling

listless manner, looking more at the crowd

at w w than the alls, for he kne that it was in vain for him to attempt to enter into the spirit of the artists in his own peculiar way in t the mids of that rustling assembly .

Georgie had sat there half an hour, now ’ mi dwelling on the horse s head, now exa ning

u n ow her catalog e , the dresses of those who — swept about her for Georgie , with all her

i wa s strength of m nd, not proof against a bonnet

’ No wo a e e oweve la e h er e a m n s y , h r rg h d, ’ - d e a P seu o P o e. C an p ass a bonn t or feather bed . p

Lady Clanbarris pounced on her while sh e A was absorbed in a fascinating polonaise . 23 9 RESTLESS HU MAN HEARTS .

th e - tall Scotch peeress , angular in cheek bone ,

ul — ang ar in her own will, but dressed to per

f c i - and e t on . There was much hand Shaking

inquiry, and why ever had not Georgie called on her

Georgie hesitated ; said they had only r e

s — turned four day , and and (she blushed ever

so Slightly) the circumstances were singular .

O , nonsense cried her lady ship , loud

‘ enough to be hear d across the room . We all

honour your courage , are all proud of you . h 9 ’ h ll Where is e By which s e meant Nevi e . ‘ 0 ’ , look , mamma, cried Sylvia Vane , who was a rather gushing girl of seventeen there ’s

that extraordinary Georgie Knoyle , I do de

" 0 l us ed clare , do come We to know her ,

. 0 u s s ee m e Cecilia , do, mamma, let her ; let

I m us t

‘ ’ "w Mr s . Hush hispered the Hon . Vane

‘ ’ she ll hear . I do not approve of such people .

‘ ’ But I take an interest in them , said Ceci

‘ lia, in a calm cool tone (as much as to say, My will is as sh e took a step towards the o h

n a the noxious perso . Cecilia was belle , if not belle of the hour ; a tall fine girl of nineete n ’ 240 RESTLESS HU MAN HEARTS .

- h cool as high pressure education , bot school and social, could make her, with a fortune of

80 000Z . . e n , , and heiress to a title She had b e

’ thoroughly well put up . If a boy is left heir l 3 0 000 . to a dukedom and , a year, as a mat ter o f course his trustees teach him the ex treme value o f money by making a lawyer of

— sh e him . This girl for girl was in years thoroughly Understood her position . She knew her chaperone , the Hon . Mrs . Vane, with this

so portionless , or nearly , daughter to marry, could not dispense with her services . All the

wh o men , you see , fluttered round the heiress could n o t marry her ; ten chances to one but somebody out of the lot would be smitten

h e i with a Vane . So t cool Cecil a calmly stepped up to the unconscious Georgie , and the Hon . Mrs . Vane had to make the best of it, w at the same time fro ning sideways at Sylvia .

‘ ’ You need not frown at me , mamma, said that pert young lady, thereby heating the ma t w - ernal rath to boiling point . ’ t A moment afterwards Mrs . Vane s softes tones were introducing the heiress to that ’ d creature . The heiress had har ly spoken to

242 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . next week ; the Duchess would be delighted ;

’ u told me Specially to look out for yo . Georgie had by this time recovered h er

- h e self possession . Fo r a moment s shrank from the position which her singular marriage had

placed her in , and hesitated . Then she cast a w h . s a t e . glance at Hon Mrs Vane , and that ’ w w woman s face orking ith mortified rage , and

in an instant she determined to accept . Villiers and the Duke took them through

w n w th e . sa the hole ra ge of rooms People this, and Georgiana in one short hour became the fashion .

’ ’ She s a fine woman , byJove , said the Duke t o Villiers as they parted at last and the two

’ ‘ drove off to Lord s Ground . A contrast to our

puny girls . Look at her waist "No w I hate a

’ waist yo u could put a bracelet round ; it s nu

’ ’ natural ; it s absurd . Fo r an hour or so Neville was proud of her

at the garden party by the Thames . Society gathered round her like wasps round a ripe

plum . Rank , title , wealth vied to exchange a — word with her She was not left a moment t o

herself. They would have killed her with ices, 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 43 drowned her in wine and cooling drinks ; it w h and she bore all so queenly, so calmly, it

such superb and natural grace , as if she had

. ut to been born to it, and it was her due Tr h say there was a little feminin e t riumph in her

h o w w ? heart, as indeed could it be other ise She remembered the spit eful things that had been written and said of her by these very — persons those fellow - labourers in the cause

from whom sh e had expected the heartie st — - T cc operation . hey had had this effect they

o wn had made her feel isolated, lowered in her

so . Now th e esteem, let it be ever slightly tide

u n ow was t had t rned, she above them , hey

would cower at her feet and cringe to her ; and H w wh y ? Because fashion was with her . o she detested and despised the whole band of we ak

wh o th e and fickle creatures, had impudence

to call themselves the e quals of men ; wh o even

hinted at their apostleship " Her beau ty had

was not a little to do with her success . It not t a drawing - room beauty ; it was a beauty na u t w t rally associated with boldness, resolu ion , i h

- h . At ene , the blue eyed maid of Homer There

— "e th m was something Homeric in her p ose son g 244

we re

up a fre s h

244 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

grand and even heroic in the style of her very

an d strai h tfor walk , in her very simplicity g

w r d a ness . The men especially crowded about

her . They admired her upright walk ; her total abstention from the mina uderie of the

day ; the freedom ofher movements ; her ease

and grace . It so chanced thatj ust then Glad stone and the Contemp ora ry had managed to draw a passing attention to Homer in t h e

fashionable throng ; s o the fellows dubbed her — La Athene sh e was s o call ed even in the — Mor ning P os t and John B ull that strange mix

of i i o dd ture rel g on and dress, and, despite the

o ne t h e mixture , of the best papers of day. With the women her success was more partial

n but more decided "they split into two factio s . The younger girls took her part—those that w ere marriageable, lively, and full of hopes . So did the married ones— those whose hopes w w . ere cro ned with fruition , who were settled B ut the widows and the elder dau ghters hated w her ith a venom peculiarly their own , and

’ assisted the clerical party to throw the odzum t/zeolo i wn ve r fact g c on her . This brought y \ u p a fresh reinforcement to her assistance . All 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 45

l the socia ists and reformers , all the atheists , se cret or pronounced, especially the secret ones ,

n whose number in our day is legio , rushed to

- f o . H her side , and made a battle cry her eaded w ’ by Ho ard, the Duke s brother, who , as the

n s on you ger of a peer, and consequently shut o ut th e from title , was a rabid republican , they went dash into Parliament, and put a bill upon the orders of motion for next session legalis in g such a method of marriage . Just then came o n the annual discussion over the de

’ ceased wife s sister , and Howard and his friends contrived easily to introduce the whole ques tion of marriage . The solid ranks of respecta bilit a w y, the vill people especially, ere alarmed

l n to t heir very centre . The pu pits ra g with denunciation ; the press t eemed with animad

a versions on either side . The more the vill peo m ple cried out against her, the ore the titled peo

for ple upheld her, there is an instinctive aver

w th e sion bet een two classes . These nameless r cs ec t abilitie s wh o w v l p d ell in il as , dotted by t housands round London , in Kent, Surrey, and such home counties , have taken a prominent

f o f th n part lat ely in the a fairs e ation . They 24 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . have grown conscious of their power and of their numbers . They possess a command of money in many cases far superior to that of the pure aristocracy, and their money is imme

diat el . y available It is not locked up in land , requiring months , and even years , to realise it w A w if anted . man may be orth half a mil

in lion land and yet want a thousand . Cash is not so readily lent on that security as some w people imagine . There is al ays a suspicion

o f mortgage about it ; and if it is entailed, and w w the o ner cannot sell, hat security has the lender that his capital will ever ret urn ? Even when an estate is sold the process is tedious in l the extreme . But these vi la folk have their

’ a c pital at their fingers ends ; in shares, stocks ,

m anufac consols , debentures , or at worst, in

tures , Ships, merchandise . They can get the

’ command of immense sums at a day s notice, ff l w because their a airs are we l kno n, and their

means of repayment estimated to a sovereign . t t w Into any movement, therefore , hey can hro

a monetary weight and influence unsurpassed by that of any class in the kingdom . In addi

t th e tion , hey have power that the employment

RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . some cases the seaside ; if he dies his widow is

y looked after . His wages are punctuall paid ;

IS r e he receives an annual rise . Then there the li iou s g organisation , chiefly evangelical, which issues books , pamphlets, tracts by the million ,

of and some these at least take root, and act

- like a bearing rein upon the masses . So it is that these merchants and manufacturers, these printers and sugar people and silk peo

so ple and draper people, and forth , who spend

i o ut n the r days in town, and go in the eveni g il to their v la ten, twenty, thirty miles from the metropolis, possess a power and an influence a w lmost irresistible . And bet een them and the aristocrats of birth and landed possessions there exists the bitterest antagonism ; far bit t er er than ever existed between the aristocrat

of and the proletarian . Indeed the patrician o ur time has almost come to h ob - nob with the t proletarian , and it is the villa class who exhibi

- hostility to mob rule . These villa people ,

or chiefly evangelical nonconformist, raged with boiling hatred against the innovation made by Georgie and Neville ; therefore the i m ore and l patricians sided with them more, til 9 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 24 their days became a round of fashionable

h ad amusement , till they more invitations than they could possibly have disposed of in half a i ? dozen years . And Georg e The woman was strong enough in her to make her throw her self into the vortex with a delight all the more intense that sh e had hitherto lived quietly o u t o f th e charmed circle . And Neville ? He watched her at first with satisfaction ; then he grew restless ; then he too yielded to the fas ci a ion of n t excitement . With a species of abstract astonishment he found himself on the stand at Ascot with th e

t — b ut Duke and Villiers , bet ing not heavily, — enough to make the game exciting on the

’ of t dark favourite , whom Villiers agen s had

t . given the best accoun He , the abstract ideal

was n ist, the transcendentalist, intent upo the

‘ ’ charge of the light brigade to success o r

failure . Georgiana was with the Duchess and her

’ t daughter at Madame Louise s . Such exquisi e bonnets "This was how the firm o f Knoyle and Brandon were engaged in June 1 87 CHAPTER XVI .

CLAUDIUS did not admire the famous stained glass window in St . Gudule . There was an ex

uisite i r o q finish , a del cate colouring , a noble p portion about it ; but it lacked the one essen it tial feature . Gaze at as long as you might, you never saw the mind of the artist rise up — before you . It was a picture nothing more

— h ad an not a thought . He a memory of w other window far a ay, on the edge of an

English county, buried in the obscurity of a

out wretched little town , or rather village, of the track of tourists or seekers after art .

This window fell flat on the eye at first . Taught to expect a sudden surprise by the

- a gossip of the country side , as the traveller p pr o ach e s it the eye wanders over it disap

d B ut pointed , dulle , and deadened . by and w by, ith silence and with steady gazing on this w windo , the grotesque legends grow into a

and grim life , and the figures move shriek and

E 25 2 RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS .

was delicate proportion , its exquisite colour,

— - tame and fl at a mere drawing room Sketch in

th e on copybook handwriting, like flourishes — the first page of the ciphering - book clever

n . un penmanship, but meaning nothi g The known artist wh o wrote his signature in t hese marvellous pictures upon the windows in the

n obscure Gloucestershire village had a meani g,

ft it n and has le . plai to all who choose to see it .

He was th e Doré of those days ; and in o u r time

what would be Dante t o us without Doré to

give form and shape to the ideas of the poet ? Ella listened to the music of his lips that lovely day in June as they stood in the gloom f ld o the vast o cathedral . Her mind was wrapped up in his words her cheek glowed a

little , her mouth slightly open , her eyes

wa s glistened ; to this girl art life itself, and i Claudius was art n human shape . What were those gods and goddesses who w alked upon the earth in the olden time , who et came down all glory and majesty, y subdued,

not that man might be afraid , who filled the very air with their sweetness and their beauty ?

t ar t it s S Were hey not in true hape , visible 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 5 3

o f ? divinity, the essence all loveliness Was

there no danger of Ella loving him, and lov

ing him too deeply for her o wn peace of mind ? The woman o f the world must sneer at this

im os si pair, and believe them utter myths , p bili i t e s . With such opportunities mischief

m us t have ensued . But mischief did not

For ensue . remember Ella had not been bred up as the daughters of men are usually

bred , tutored from morning to night in the i ff knowledge of evil . Here s a sco er and a

of liar, a traducer mothers and aunts , a slan derer of academies and seminaries ' Shriek — at him down with him " True it is that the

o f it _ very word of evil , the very existence , is — politely ignored there is no such t hing . A l carefu mamma once attacked a certainnovelist , abusing him for mentionn a certain class o f women in his books ; her child should no t

o f read them , she had never heard such crea tures, and had no idea that such could live .

‘ ’ ‘ sh e Then , madam , replied the novelist, has

’ th e never read her Bible . And mamma, over

‘ o f come , retreated under cover sacrilege and

’ ‘ profanation , and such similar cries . She 25 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . thinketh no evil such should be the words which o ur parents ought to be able to truth t fully say of heir children . Why then teach them so incessantly to be o n their guard

of th e w against the scandal society, ickedness of the men , the deceit of the world , the value of money, till the girl thinks of nothing else but evil ; not with the idea offollowing it, but for the purpose of avoiding it ? H o w can her mind be pure if she is taught day and night

o f t the wiles decei , in order that she may avoid them ? Till in th e end it comes to this "we

on e all , and all , little and great , agree in this one — thing only to mistrust each other, to disbelieve in th e existence of purity unless a c

w i. e . companied by its out ard Signs , the ring upon the finger . We have totally forgotten t h e H oni s oil qui ma l yp ense of our royal arms . Did she love him ? I cannot answer that question . Certainly no word oflove had ever passed between them . He had never pressed her hand ; their lips had never met . Day by

u day for hours and ho rs together, yet never had there been a mutual flash of the eyes ; n Ar t t w ever t h e sli g htest familiarity . hre her that to th e end

h at b than in th e c as e o f odily evil shall follo w? If t l t he long pro

lisa ti the eso t cess es o f civi r r no t a so to mate rial vio le ey l

t ne s le s bverin h o se men sho o f the se n i l , t g r uld

e e nu ne ro th e m arch o f ite llect , th mind , g i p

f th e a c atao o me annot ass tc the ho pe s o g c , c p

into sin ? Why sho ld even the tho ught 0 ? evil occur to the m T he th o ught o f e ll did no t occur to E lla

s the neither did it to Gladiu . "

s pent togethe r ; o fte The" 25 7 E nsu re s a n.

human mindm -pro phciu ; o f what is to co me to p ass ? T he pa tn rc hs and the pro phe ts

o s w e the ro hts of the bo the a o s t r er p p dy, p

of ma tte r ; and he ir pro phec ies a re pe r

’ h s f ap e ve n ur the r 6 fro m fulfilme nt than

h os of the ro lns of t he t e p p so ul. When sha we see men c a n as Antino s wo me n ll u ,

men not e fe t ht v e wo p r c , lo e ly e xc e dingly in th e b of e i y e s eauty th r . Th e day may yet

For ‘ Bl‘ e i 25 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

? m a without sin It y be now, and it may be

o f that to the end time , the animal passions may endure ; but is that any reason , any more than in the case of the enmity, that bodily evil shall follo w ? If the mind and the long pro cesses of civilisation can efface the resort to material violence , why can they not also efface this other mischief ? Why should we be for ever divided into two great armies, each resting in its separate camp, protected by — truce , but ever distrustful afraid to wander

wat chfire s away a mile from the , or out of call

of n the senti els, lest hovering horsemen should sweep away the stragglers ? Where is the

mind , the march of intellect, the genuine pro

t wo gress of our day, if creatures made in ’ w God s own image , educated with all the kno

of ledge the ages past, and inspired with all

the hopes of the ages to come, cannot pass to and fro on the earth together without falling

into sin ? Why should even the thought of evil occur to them ?

u o f v The tho ght e il did not occur to Ella, t it d nei her did to Claudius . Their ays they

spent together ; often their evenings also . They

2 8 E 5 RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS .

incorruptible ? do not these statues shadow

? u nder wh ose forth human perfection And Art,

n t two is shadowi g mantle hese children walked ,

n n n m ul daily teachi g and preachi g, telli g the titude to eschew the ugly and the dispropor tione d al es , just as the mor preachers tell it to

h e r chew t morally ugly o evil . While we pursue

so o ur the beautiful, long as souls are wrapped

s o up in the contemplation of loveliness . long is it impossible for us to commit sin There

a fore the artist builds about him temple , and carries it with h im as he walks . did — She love him . But marriage the thought of being joined together for ever by — the ceremonies of the Church never entered

sa sh e into her heart . Sooth to y had no idea of a time in which sh e should be apart from him . Therefore she went calmly on, never

n looking back , never attempti g to anticipate

. not the future , happy in the hour He had ’ — only taken the dead peer s place h e was not only to her patron , father, brother, family and all , but he had taken a place the peer had never occupied . She had no more idea of n frbm t h e sun ever parti g from him than , the RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 5 9

m air, and the sky . Nothing could part the

a but death . Of death I am afr id she never thought . To these artists, these pagans , who

i o n it l ve beauty, who worship and deify it, t and pursue it day by day, I fear the hought of of t h e death , the j udgment beyond grave,

t o u n never comes , unless indeed some poor

- fortunate drink sodden , outcast Bohemian .

Never to the prosperous, who dwell in the sunshine perpetually . They cannot conceive the non - existence of matter that is th e psychological reason . They have no idea of

- the non existence of beauty .

A thing of b eauty is a joy f or ever t hey shall never part from it . Their life is

of f l the life the soul , and the soul eels itse f t immortal ; the thought of dissolu ion , of an outer darkness , cannot enter into it . Change

n va there may be ; but cha ge is a pleasure , a riet one y from landscape to another, from one

garden to a distinct successor .

She did not know that she loved him .

Her heart did not beat quicker at his approach ;

her pulse was regular, her cheeks pale , her

eyes met his fully, and without hesitation . 260 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

n Her fi gers did not linger in his, asking for a

—sh e pressure . Her love was in this had no — idea of parting from him ; and in this the

intense enjoyment she felt in her art, working

with him .

Claudius never questioned himself. In

truth he loved her, but the consciousness of

ul it never occurred to him . How sho d it to either of them ? They had been so consta ntly

’ ’ in each other s society at L estrang e s that the

of of e cu thought anything unusual, any p

liarit y in the connection between them, never

on occurred to them . Yet they did not look

each other as brother and sister .

The world is sneering again . Could such a model young man as this exist to ramble

w - about ith a handsome , or at least good look

ing, girl, to be in love with her, and yet to refrain from the slightest familiarity ? But he

had not got to refrain ; the impulse did not

seize him . Claudius was a gentleman . He was no wild Bohemian in a velvet dress and

- smoking cap , a mere man of meerschaum ,

smelling always of smoke and paint ; he was

dis not the traditional artist wanderer, the

26 2 RESTLESS HUMAN HEA RTS .

wa e nd red about the room, and had the intense satisfaction of seeing scores of people stop

’ ping before Ella s marvellous piece of detail . Timidly she called Claudius ’s attention to the fact that his theory was not shared in by all persons ; here was a work in which detail was

— S h e t all , and yet see and nodded wi h a glow of natural pride in the direction of the head . Claudius granted that if success was a proof sh e ll ml was right, but he sti remained fir y fixed in his own belief that the idea was all in all in a painting . Discussing thus they had

w u drawn nearer to the spot here it was h ng, and thus overheard the criticisms of a party of

u friends . It was Georgiana, the D chess her inseparable companion , Cecilia, and Mrs . Vane , w who had brought ith them Noel Brandon, who was in London , to see this famous picture w h hic Royalty itself had paused to gaze on . No sooner had Noel glanced at it than he ‘ "’ exclaimed, My horse , my horse in tones that d rew all eyes upon him . They questioned him , and he said that it irresistibly reminded him of his favourite animal which had dashed

’ i clifl w th him over the . RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 63

? Who is the artist I will give anythin

’ for this, cried Noel in excitement .

‘ ’ I painted it, said Ella very faintly . Together they had drawn U p close to the group . These details need not detain us . Af ter a few days Noel bought the head for a l thousand guineas, and E la became the friend

O h er f Georgiana Brandon . Inquiring into

ri G f ends and relations, eorgiana found out the truth which Ella stated wit hout the slightest reserve . Georgiana become full of interest .

She tried to introduce Ella into the whirling circle of fashion in which her days were

w l it . passed, but society ou d not have h it The Hon . Mrs . V ane the mark for once

‘ ’ at least . You , my dear, said she , addressing G ‘ eorgiana in her most dulcet tones , you have a t least gone through some form of marriage ; —w but these two are wandering ell , I will not — s ay vagabonds without a tie upon each

’ other . w it Neither ould Ella have . She shrank even from the glitter and bustle of those few private friends to whom Georgie brought her .

She wished to be alone with Claudius . The 6 4 E 2 RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS . — very glimpse sh e caught of this life this in cessant whirl and crush—sent her back shiver ing, afraid lest ever it should be her lot to dwell thus in restlessness . Then came the m li dread, for the first ti e in her fe , that Claudius might be drawn into the vortex and separated from her . It was the first time that — the idea had occurred to her it frightened her ; sh e used her gentle influence to draw him n away . He was nothi g loth . Something of the same kind had passed through his

s o mind . No course could be happy as theirs

— so so ll no life entirely joyful , peacefu y deli cio us . Promising to keep up a correspondence

r e with Georgie , Ella left by herself, and

di h ad joined Clau us in Paris, whither he

n preceded her a few days . Findi g they were

' G eor iana wrote t o there , g Horton, and he called upon them . To Georgiana the spectacle of these two t " was doubly in eresting first, because in some degree it recalled her own experiment ; but chiefly because of the gnawing worm in her — heart the consciousness that Neville had tired of her society since their m arriage

2 6 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

Perhaps it would be better if the parties were not too great friends , or too closely connected —rather advantageous that they Sh ould be introduced to each other by the medium of advertisement, as travelling companions are now . Al l these details the experience of so c iet y could work out . To her mind there was nothing absurd or in any way difficult for a rational man and a rational woman to walk

ui together through the world, purs ng a mutual object, lending each other mutual a ssistance , cheering each other by company, and perhaps even preserving each other from ignoble pursuits by t hat very companionship . The grand beauty of it was that this plan pos

h a re cia sessed t at romance, that delicate pp

of — tion each other, which marriage even the — partial engagement of her own evidently de

l o n stroyed . She wrote very e arnest y t Horto about them .

And Noel was in London . CHAPTER XVII .

HELOISE had no peace ; Noel had destroyed it . She could have lingered about the fields and

w of woods , wandering ith him in a dream pleasure for ever and ever , had he not asked her to fly with him . Disguised as it might be under the softest and most Specious guise , the proposal, though barely more than hinted at, went full to her heart in all its naked evil . — It awoke her from her dream it dispelled th e pleasure—the fields and woods smiled no more ; for it brought to her mind the con

i n s c ous ess . of guilt She had never, as it were

Seen herself before . This proposal put a mir

saw w ror before her , and she the crime of hich sh e had been guilty, and the still more tre m endo us crime upon whose edge sh e had trembled . In the silence and solitude of her own chamber hot burning blushes sufl h se d t her cheeks . She fel the embraces Noel had 2 6 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . showered upon her in that lonely nook—they

sh e clung to her, and could not shake them off h e s w . , miserable as was ith shame Yet h underneath those very blushes , t at very shame , her heart beat faster and faster . An idea had been planted in her which grew and flourished and bid fair to occupy her whole

—an soul idea which , guilty and wretched as it was, promised her the most exquisite happi fl ness . Till by degrees the wild desire to y to rush away with him, even into outer dark — ness rose to an almost irrepressible strength

sh e sat w h and as by her open indow , watc ing w the shadows stealing over the do ns , her feet — longed to be away away over the hills . She could have almost started U p and run o ff by herself. The poor child was shaken with pas

be d sion . She would fling herself upon her , and clutch the pillow with hysterical excite

o f ment, and then burst into a silent fit weep ing till it seemed as if her very heart would

break . {She paced up and down her room

h sh e till her ead was giddy, then sat by the

an window d watched for him . She had given

’ o ut sh e sh e that was unwell , that had a head

2 70 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

t temptation . S range that She should dwell

t o wn upon his salva ion , not her . The truth

t w was, hough she ould not have owned it to

t . herself, hat she did not wish to be saved For her o wn sake was of no avail ; She dared — not trust to that it was too feeble t o o weak

‘ an inducement ; therefore sh e reiterat ed For his sake—for his sake "’ She must avoid him

sh e sh e had helped to save his life , must save

his soul now . And all the while her fingers

h er trembled , her knees would not support

weight in that firm unyielding manner of old ;

old they shook , she could not walk with her

of elasticity step . Her hands were constantly

ready to outstretch themselves , to save her

from falling . She was obliged to hold to the banisters as sh e descended the broad stair

w H o w sh e case ith its easy descent . Should

? o n s o avoid him She could go a visit, and

o f l escape the torture his daily ca l . She

almost made up her mind to do this ; but

so somehow there seemed many obstacles .

sh e so was First, had been at home long, there

a natural reluctance to leave the old pl ace .

She had never made many female friends . S RE TLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 2 7 1

She had aunts, but they had Shaken their

a he ds at the education Pierce gave his child,

wh sh e on and enever met them, lectured her

her ridings, her walks , her scampering ex

ions cur s . , her fishing , and her boating They — were detestable creatures, and since no mat h s e could . ter ; no, not go to them

wa s in But Georgiana London . Ge or

giana would be glad to se e her . But sh e was — too unwell for so long a j o urney the weather — was s o warm there had been such dreadful

l was s o railway accidents, and Georgie herse f

so good and grand, it would make her feel w small . These ere the reasons why sh e did

not leave Bourne Mano r.

Heloise , unhappy girl, was hard at work

t o deceiving herself. She clung the Spot ; her

t was hear there , and her body could not move

away from it . She must avoid him at home . H o w to do that ? At least sh e could plead

sh e was s o that indisposed, and escape walk in g out with him alone . She must see him

not in the house ; that could be avoided, with

out not absolute rudeness . Was there danger

— o u in that danger to him ? N . Noel wo ld 2 72 RESTLESS HU MAN HEARTS . — see that sh e was right h e would even come in time to bless her for her firmness And herself ? What danger could there be in the

? s tart house She could never, never with

him from the house , with Pierce within

' u 0 call ; her cheeks burnt at the tho ght . N ,

sh e was quite safe here . It was better too — — to face the temptation to conquer it to get

accustomed to it, till it had no power . And

then Noel ; she must gently persuade him o ut

H e of his infatuation . So for a whole week

loise remained within doors ; steadfastly r e

’ fusing Noel s hints, his praise of the weather, t his sugges ions of pleasant excursions , resist ing even when unconscious Pierce begged her

to go out . She plumed herself on this strength

sh s of resolution . After all e was not o very

n ot s o u . weak, very g ilty It was fortunate

n fo that sh e had ot gone r a visit . Then per haps she should have been always thinking of

him, always longing to be back home and near

sh e s aw him ; as it was, him daily, and no

harm ensued . Her heart grew calmer, more

n o sh e peaceful . There was danger ; was not

n o w w was afraid . Perhaps in time, hen Noel

274 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

’ was had its usual tone . But the man s heart w boiling with ildest passion, with fierce and

z fren ied rage , working and seething like the

’ veritable witches caldron . Mingling with the savageness of his love there came a growing feeling against Heloise—against her in this

him on— him way . She had led encouraged — allowed him to proceed ; then , just at the last f moment, when her own sa ety was concerned,

wn . 0 o she turned away from him , yes , her — safety her own good name ; these women

so were utterly selfish , they could love deeply,

tha t " passionately, up to , but no further ; pah he hated them . Had She really loved him , had those kisses S h e had showered upon him been real sh e would have clung to him

n ot begged him to take her . She was a c o

u ette—S h e q was worse . She loved artificially

- she could put a bound and fence to her

off passion ; rail it , as one might a garden .

He despised her ; he sneered at her ; he hated

. her He used this very contempt, this very

as hatred and rage, a justification of his own wicked and evil thoughts . Verily at that time ,

h er alone h e if he could have caught hold of , { S RESTLES HUMAN HEARTS . 2 75 would have attempted to drag her away bv sheer physical force . And he did watch for

in such an opportunity, but Heloise remained doors . Finding that he could not tempt her " forth , he tried fraud he gave out that he should be away for a day ; then he mounted h is horse , and hovered about within easy reach of the house, feeling sure that Heloise would ' come out ; and he determined to snatch her up in the saddle before him , and to ride away with her He even went so far as to telegraph to his yacht t o anchor in the road at the mouth of the river—the river which

’ ran at the end of Pierce s garden . The man was literally mad . But Heloise did not ven ture forth all that week . Then he raged against her inwardly still more , though out wardly polite and attentive when they met always in Pierce ’s presence—but with a de

ven mon in his heart , boiling to wreak his g e ance on the fragile creature whom his hand could cr ush as it m ight a delicate rose . By the end of the week his frenzy had so far s ub sided that he gave up the idea of carrying h e r o ff — by force . He would resort to fraud to 2 7 6 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . the s ame arts with which sh e had decoyed him

onward ; he would deceive her with a Show of

of his penitence , with a semblance regret for

wicked attempt ; then when sh e was once in

n ou—h e his ha ds, he would lead her would fascinate her as he had done in that shady

sh e unre nook , till reposed in his embraces

i in l It s st g y . was about this time that Heloise recommenced visiting her poor pensioners

and Noel at once seized the opportunity. One afternoon Pierce suggested that She

should visit Betsy Farmer, the bedridden ‘ ? ’ ‘ old lady at Wick . At Wick said Noel ; that

th e ? is down river, is it not Will you allow me to row you down ? ’ He said this in a

of deprecating tone voice . Heloise , little

of s t oo versed in the arts deception, trong

- in her new found armour against temptation , readily accepted the proposal ; and in an hour

they were slowly proceeding down the stream . N ’ There was Silence for a while . oel s heart was leaping wildly with eager hopes and

fierce anticipation of success . Heloise let her hand hang over the gunwale in the clear and

a z of w rm water, and averted her ga e, full a

— h he would lead he r o u h e would h e r as he had done in that sh ady she re pose d in his embraces unre It was abo ut thi s time tha t Helo ise

ced vis itin h er oo ens one s g p r p i r , a nd ioel at o n e se z e the O o tun c i d pp r ity . $0 afte rnoo n Pie rce suggeste d that she s ho d v s t Be ts Fa me th e be en i i y r r, dridd

‘ ’ ‘ o ld at Wi k t W ? sa By c . A ick id Noel ; that

is dwn th e ve r is it no t ? \V o u a ow ri , ill y ll

’ yo u do wn ? He said this in a

de t one o f vo e . He o se t e g ic l i , lit l

ve n in the a ts o f e e n st o n too d r d c ptio , r g

in hr ne w- fo n armo a a ns t tem ation u d ur g i m , re ady acce pte d the pm po sal ; and in an hour h s w r e n own s t lo ly p oc edi g d th e tream .

’ w or h s as s ilence f a w ile . Noe l

h e

H s e le h er fi anticipation of success . eloi t h h ang o ver th e gunwale in th e clear

wa wa e and a e t h er aze n t r, v r ed g , pleas ure sh e dared not own to it was that when the rive r pool - sha110 w but not mudd

taught Noe l the channe l to this

san bank now b the t ck we e d , y hi d

sha o w tt ea sib e w th ll bo om, cl rly vi l i

and its white nodul es of

and o ut t e eft , ill th y l A 2 7 8 RESTLESS H UM N HEARTS .

dark here because in shade . Tall reeds just beginm ng to push forth their feathery flowers hung over her, and the great bulrush was within reach . The green osiers, thick and

i h on impenetrable , l ned t em round three sides, m and almost shut them in co pletely, save for one narrow opening, through which every now and then a cool air blew intermittently from

l so h . h so the river T ey sat stil , silent, t at the fish dist urbed by the boat returned to their feeding grounds, where the air blew the insects off d w the osiers and the ree s into the ater,

r of n w and slight splashes , and a ci cle ti y ave

t lets now and hen , showed where the trout or perch had risen to the fly . The timid moor

o ut hen stole from the osiers, and swam to and fro in the mouth of this green cove , peck ing at the weeds floating on the surface of the water . Overhead the swallows fl itt ed through the clear blue sky, and the mono tonous cry of the coot sounded over the river .

‘ ’ Heloise .

u She turned and looked at him , the q ick

n h er blush risi g into her cheek . He took

280 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

masks to deceive themselves, to prevent the recognition of the true self.

‘ ’ I will, indeed, said Noel, returning the

of pressure her hands, and laying his other

Fo on ll . r hand her arm . I wi indeed, dear

n give me , darli g ; but I must tell you how I love you ; then you will do me justice ; you will see how hard it has been for me ; you

’ will pity me, Heloise .

out And he came near her, and poured — what I cannot write a low murmur of wildest

ll sh e passion and love and entreaty, ti sighed, and their lips met, and in a moment friend ship and companionship was thrown to the

’ winds , and they were fast in each other s em

of braces . She heard the loud thump his

as heart her face pressed against his breast, nestling there . She looked up , half smiling, and placed her hand there, and asked him why it beat so loudly ; and o f course he told her it was for her, and for her only . And

sh e . kissed the spot, and put her ear there , d and listene , and believed, till the tears came into her eyes . Then he kissed them away, and held her close , and murmured more wild E RESTLESS HUMAN H ARTS . 2 8 1

and love, played with her arm, and kissed and fondled it, and placed it over his shoulder

n and round his eck . Then he whispered words

r of again, and d ew a picture the walking for ever hand in hand through sunshine and

and over flowers, gradually brought it round to a foreign country, and drew descriptions of the beauty and the wondrous marvels he

0 sh e " had seen ; and , if had been with him

sh e till sighed , and clung to him , and deceived

by this But wait . It may be that if Noel

on had had patience, and gone thus long enough—if he could have repeated the game t day af er day for a month , and gradually

accustomed her mind to the idea, till it failed to alarm her and grew familiar—perhaps he

might have won easily. But women cannot

be taken all at once ; they must be prepared,

u w educated p to the desired point, by slo and

imperceptible degrees, but in the end they most eagerly desire the very thing they

dreaded a few weeks previously . Noel was

t o o t m impatient, and deceived by hose war arms clinging to him as he painted his pic

t o o ture, he ventured far, and once more 2 82 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . made the fatal proposal that sh e should fly w ith him . In an instant Heloise had started away

‘ ir " d s . Take me home , She sai , trembling ‘ — i and turning pale . Take me home this n stant—this instant I’ And She snatched at one of the oars ; and

out before he could prevent her, sent the boat of the cove into the pool ; and Noel glancing

s aw m an round a punt with a fishing, and cursed that punt bitterly in his own heart .

r e Then his wrath rose against her, and he

r o ach e d p her and raged against her, and called her evil and hard names, and swore , and de — — clared that he hated her hated her hated her .

n And she , trembling still, cried fai tly to h im to take her home ; trembling till the frail craft fairly shook . He seized the sculls, and forced the boat bumping and swaying and

s scraping over sandbank and stones and weed ,

w i - till they s ept nto the mid stream . Then sh e at put forth her hands , and pointed wildly th e Shore ; and he still cursing and raving ran

t it sh e n and the boat agains , and spra g out,

"V CHAPTER III .

IN a long - forgotten number of a magazine there once appeared a piece of the tr uest poetry with the saddest meaning that was

un ever written by human pen . It had an attractive title ; it was bar ely noticed in the

H o reviews ; it fell into total oblivion . w utterly fatuous it is to believe that a thing survives if it is but worth survival ' Look at those famous classics , for instance . Here,

is T h uc it true, are Plato and Xenophon , y dide s and Lucretius ; but are there not also

Martial , Catullus, and others, the only beauty of whose books is their learned lewdness ?

The fittest does not survive ; the noblest and

too the best often pass away utterly unnoticed, while some trashy gaudy thing works itself into the very heart of the public, and lives there for years .

s h ow e - Thi poem told a littl goose girl, a 2 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 5

m child who minded the geese on the co mon , ‘ went singing ’ along the road one fine day in 19 9 9 the year , and came to a school , where — the scholars girls and boys o f her own age instead of playing in their dinner time, were

n — hard at work studyi g reading, reading,

n — readi g ; poring, poring , poring till the bell

rang, and they returned to their forms , and pored and read in chorus as they had previ

ously done individually .

The school - children and their teachers were

- i horribly scandalised with the little goose g rl, who came along in the middle of the broad

l sun day id y Singing , slowly sauntering in the

light ; and they came round her and wanted

her to learn too , to read and write and pore ,

as they did , from morn till night, through

Spring and summer, autumn and winter, till w the face gre pallid and the shoulders stooped .

‘ ’ I do not know what you mean , said the lit

‘ tle goose -girl ; I live in the sunshine all the day

sk long , and I watch the clouds in the y, and

al listen to the birds singing, and I Sing too

’ ‘ ’ . w ways But this is very rong, the teachers

‘ - and the school children argue , for we must all 286 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

as work, work , work, and learn , learn , learn ,

hard and as long as ever we can ; still adding

for ever bod two to three , and three to five , y y does everybody through the whole of the land in that year 1 9 9 9 was learning and reading

and studying hard, hard, till their brows ached,

and their lives were shortened ; still they must learn . To do otherwise were wrong and evil .

‘ ’ - I do not know, said the little goose girl .

T h e ll of th e o S lowlv mi s g ds grind , nd x ll ’ B ut t e . e cee a h y gri ding sm .

She will have none of their teaching ; She can

it s not understand what matters , whether thi row of figures is added to that to - day or to l morrow ; to her, ife is not in books nor figures,

in sun it is n ot spent on a slate . Life is the and the sky, in the wind an d in the wood . So h i s e . w ll away, and have none of their teaching

T h e ll of th e o lowl mi s g ds grind s y, B ut they grind exceeding small ’ I w ll S it on th e bill s b th e o s ill i , y g d m s, ’ An d watc th e S low ato all h ms f .

S h e S So goes away into the unshine, and leaves the children and the teachers still n teaching, teaching, learning, pori g , reading ,

288 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

? A artificial labour y, but it must be done ; we cannot live without it ; we mus t learn and teach , these figures are essential to our modern

G u life . ranted that that is tr e , and is not this

t of the saddes part it all , that we cannot all — dwell in the sun and the S ky that these arti

fi cial un labours, these miserable , petty, real works should be necessary to our existence ?

of I once knew a gentleman , a man business , wh o declared and firmly believed that figures were everything ; you could do nothing with

out them , and everything resolved itself into

figures ; and he meant account - book figur es

- 1 2 3 ledger and day book marks , literally , , ,

4 5 so w , , and on . Poor fellow, hat an utter blindness must have possessed him "he forgot

- that man had a s oul. Now the little goose girl

was nearer the God of the soul than all the

- t eachers and school children ever would be .

n of m All these vast tow s our day, these illions

o f u upon millions houses, full of millions pon millions ofpeople—these whole provinces built

- s over what are they but great schoolhouse , w i in hich the men of money, the cap talists (I mean no reflection upon them) are as the 2 9 RES TLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 8

in as teachers the school, and the workers the scholars—all of these capitalists and workers

hard at it, poring, poring , poring for ever ;

i es t s un sk with the r ey shu to the and the y,

and for ever cast upon the wretched earth ,

- with its mud and moisture, its coal dust and l l " smoke . A arithmetic and no God The

- little goose girl upon her common , with the cackle of her geese coming down upon the

z w l of a bree e, ith the ight he ven upon her

on open brow, with the song her lips , was happier and far nearer the ultimate search of

h of all men than the w ole these .

we - But cannot all be little goose girls ,

and there is the sadness of it . We bless the l rai ways, and the manufactories, and the coal ,

and the iron , and the cotton ; and yet some times are we not tempted to think that the men wh o invented these things curse d their race more than the fatal crime of Adam did ? for they have caused the enormous population o f

of o ur time . There are millions upon millions

n human beings , each with a brai , a heart, and a so ul ; and yet not one in ten thousand has ever the chance to commune with Nature ,

V OL . II . U 290 H A A T RESTLESS UM N HE R S . to walk reverently in the temples She has built, and to know the mysterious awe which falls upon the mind in the near presence of it s

Creator . I know not what will be the end of it ; all I know is that nothing but evil and disaster can ultimately result from it .

And watch society, the faithful reflex of

of f the motions the great heart o the people .

t wn a Society, tha thinks it leads and lays do m for i is odel the people to copy, and wh ch in reality but the elastic representative, the

of or outcome the populace, rather the logos of

? Is the multitudes . What does it do it not ? ever restless, dissatisfied See how it runs to

o any new diversion . N w it is canoe travel li o ling, now it is Alpine c mbing, then polo, pige n

in r shooting, bicycl g, croquet, spi itualism (this

t of all the saddes of all) ; weary things, dis

satisfied with all ; artificially born, artificially bred, reared artificially, fed with artificial

mental pabulum , till it is incapable of under

n standing the natural, till it sees othing in

sun sk the and the y but space and a candle, and believes that the Whole Duty of Man is

of. Arithmetic . It is very miserable to think

2 92 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . he found it the fashion not to rest ; to be ever seeking new sensations — to rush hither and

- thither . He found it to be ultra fashionable

to do worse than this ; to languidly remain

and in one place , be ever bored , convinced

that nothing that may possibly turn up , how

ever well it may promise at first , can result in

m an anything but a bore at last . But being a

of who still retained his habit thought, though

people told him thinking was a bore , and acted

on their precept, he turned to those about

and him, began to inquire if there were no

remedy for all this vacuity . ‘ ‘ " Remedy said the Duke . By Jove

’ m — r unk the only re edy is to get d . That s

th e of Fe arf ll im long and the Short it . u y

l of of mora , degrading , and all the rest it,

course ; quite agree myself with all that .

ou But look here, y may safely bet that the experience of all the world goes farther than

o ur s ee mere maxims . And just what the d world does . The worl , my dear fellow, the

r An d - world ta kes its d op s . opium smoking is — ’ gaining ground in London fact ; I ve been

T h e l and seen it o ut of curiosity . fe lows look RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . 29 3

in a dream ; they are happy, they forget every nit thing . Depend upo , the only remedy is to

’ get drunk .

’ But the devil of it ith, said the Hon . Mr .

’ lis in t Vane , p g, I can t get intoxica ed ; I mean — — I I sth oo id ou alwa th get p , y know, but I y

’ kn w ’ dw n o I m u k .

‘ ’ ff o f se n E ect education, said the Duke t entiousl y .

‘ ’ ‘ ’ I think , said Billy (heir to a Viscount) , ‘ that the very best thing we could do would be to go to Ariz ona and hunt the Indians . Murder would be a new sensation you read in the novels and s e e that blood gives a peen I liar feeling . t would be rare fun potting the

’ bronzed beggars .

‘ ’ I think , said Neville , speaking in a

‘ - o ff dreamy, far manner, the very best thing for us all would be the discovery of a ne w

one one continent not like America, where c an get across it and find the s ea the other

—a side , but an illimitable continent forest, a plain, mountains, rivers, lakes without end stretching away for ever ; a continent into which men might wander day by day for ever 9 2 4 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS . and for ever, beginning in youth and going on w w till death came , straight a ay as the cro

n flies , and ever reach the other side ; a con tinent which hundreds o f generations o f men ’ — might take up each other s tracks as the o ne dropped the other taking up the journey and a rr ive w yet never , but be al ays travelling onwards, onwards , onwards . Then we should — have a resource somewhere to hide o ur

’ selves ; now the world is so small .

‘ ’ ’ n s a a There s somethi g in what you y, s id

‘ the Duke ; not that I can bring my mind t o believe that the world is s o small as o ur phy

’ sicis s s t define it . One s natural sense goe

against it ; one canno t understand the p os sibilit o f w y travelling round it in a fe months . It is quite true that all the calculations come right ; but then they say that s o they will if you treat the earth as a plane . I would rather

l n o f it was proved a p ane , for the it may be

t s u greater extent, and here may be , as you g

’ gest, more continents yet to be found . " w Where the icked cease from troubling , and the weary are at said the embryo

Viscount .

2 96 A RESTLESS HUM N HEARTS .

c of hopes and fears , in the petty cir le ideas that are crammed into the heads o f the girls o f the period , no doubt The Bonnet would have satisfied her t o o ; and sh e would have gone on to the end o f her life studying the

of n o f grand philosophy trimmi g, flowers and feathers, and occupied with the vital question as to whether heavy masses of fruit were or

n were not dis ti yué. But Georgiana had been

and accustomed for years to think , now that

wear off the novelty of their new life was n , the old habit of reflection returned to her .

She asked h erself if sh e was happy . A sigh was the reply . She had gone a good way

n through ature , She had walked in the forest and the field , though , to tell truth , it was a superficial deta il study ; and now she had — i. e. studied, lived among for true study means — to live among the ways of men and women the drift of the Gulf Stream of the world . Many hundreds of years ago certain valor o u s of l o ne men might, especia ly Pantagruel, much vexed in a deep and knotty question,

’ on d and n stepped shipboar , saili g over ocean s

u s s waste , sought in nknown land the famou U RESTLESS H MAN HEARTS . 29 7

of temple and the truthful oracle the Bottle .

They found this wondrous Bottle at last, and all the answer the oracle made to their in

‘ ’ ‘ uiries s a q was Buc , buc , or as we y Good,

’ - good, when we imitate the noise of port wine as we pour it out of the bottle into the decan — . s a ter That was all Buc , buc ; at least so y

eth that famous chronicler Rabelais . Now Georgiana had travelled the perilou s O road, the strait and narrow way, only pen l to the few and the se ect, which leadeth to this

deep and wondrous oracle of The Bonnet ; and the answer of the high priestess was what ? that strings were not s o becoming as no

. wa . s strings There it ended She weary, rest

di t . less, ssatisfied, like the res of them She drew away from them that evening the j est

of her grace had brought it to a point . She wished to be alone , and to think . From the window o f her room sh e could see over the

expanse of the Park , and the gathering gloom w hid a ay the houses at the horizon, and there

was nothing but a heavy, black , and thunder

o us cloud in the west ; and on the edge ofthat black and inky sullen vapour there glittered 2 9 8 RESTLESS HUMAN HEARTS .

of — a glorious planet, a ball white light Venus . w w as . ennui She eary, dissatisfied This , this

o f impossibility finding satisfaction , led to a — still greater mischief to doubt . After all , was she— with all her high ideas of her mis

of of sion , the equality women , their rights

— an and natural prerogative y better, wiser, n earer the truth and satisfaction than the rest

wh o of these butterflies , never stayed to think, but took things as they found them ? t Better far hat we should believe, even if

o ur a f ith be in a false idol . The devil has no instrument in all his arsenal that will blunt th e edge of o ur better nature like a want of

f - aith . When Chatterton , the boy poet, lost k faith in himself, he killed himself. The Boo

sa w does not y so in distinct ords, but does it not hint at it When the greatest Prophet of them all struggled forty days in the wilder

n was not of own ess , a doubt His mission did the devil leave tha t temptation untried ?

a No better than the feeble,we k, frivolous

c reatures sh e had despised ; no nearer the

r g reat goal , humanly still as low, he self even \ incapable of improvement ; no better than