" THE STOKY OF ODR LIVES FROM TEAR TO YEAR."—SHAKESPEARE. ALL THE TEAR ROUND. A WEEKLY JOURNAL. CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED HOUSEHOLD WORDS. N"- 407.] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1867. [PaiCE 2d, temperature of Mr. Carruthers's shaving-water, BLACK SHEEP! and the punctuality with which Mr. Carruthers's Br THB AUTHOE OF "LASD XT LA8I," "KlSGlSG THE Ron,' breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served. It £c. &c. had never occurred to his loving and dutiful wife that any alteration in this principle of life BOOK III. at Poynings conld possibly be effected, and thus CHAPTER rX. MOVING ON. the more superficial faults of the character of a UNCONSCIOUS of the inquietude of her genuinely worthy man had been strengthened brother and of her son, happy in a reunion by the irresponsibihty of his position until they which she had never ventured to hope for, still bade fair to overpower its genuine worth. But sufficiently weakened by her illness to be pre­ all this has changed now, changed In a fashion served from any mental investigation of "how against which there was no appeal. Mi-. Carru­ things had come abont," acquiescent and tran­ thers was no longer the first. His hours, his quil, Mrs. Carruthers was rapidly getting well. habits, his occupations, had to give way to the The hidehble alteration which her beauty had exigencies of a misfortune which struck him on sustained—for it was beauty still—tbe beauty of the most sensitive pomt, and which invested him a decade later than when George bad seen his with a responsibihty not to be trifled with or motlier through the ball-room window at Poy­ shared. It was characteristic of hira that he nings—had touched her morally as well as physi­ became excessively proud of his care of his wife. cally ; and a great calm had come upon her with The pomposity aud importance with wliich he the'silver streaks in lier rich dark hair, and the had been wont to *' transact his pubhc busi­ fading of the colour in her cheek. ness" was now transferred to his supermten- dence of his patient; and the survelhance and The relation beiween George's motiier and fusslness which had made hfe rather a burden­ her busband had undergone an entire change. some possession to the household and retainers Mr. Carruthers had been excessively alarmed of Poynings impressed themselves upon the when he first realised the nature of his wife's physicians and attendants promoted to the ilhiess. He had never come in contact with honour of serving Mrs. Carruthers. As they anything of the kind, and novelty of any were, in the nature of things, ouly temporary description had a tendency to alarm and discon­ inflictions, and were, besides, accompanied by cert Mr. Carruthers of Poynings. But he was remarkably Hberal remuneration, the sufferers not in the least likely to leave any manifest duty supported them imeomplainingly. undone, and he had devoted himself, with all the intelligence he possessed (which was not much), It was also characteristic of Mr. Carruthers and all the heart (which was a great deal more that, havm^ made up his mind to receive George than he, or anybody else, suspected), to the care, Dallas well, he had received him very well, and attention, and " humouring" which the patient speedily became convinced that the young man's required. From the first, Mrs. Carruthers had reformation was genuine, and would belastinf^. been able to recognise this without trying to Also, he had not the least suspicion how largely account for it, and she unconsciously adopted he was influenced in this direction by Mark the best possible method of dealmg with a dis­ Pehon's estimate of the youn^ man—an esti­ position like that of her husband. She evinced mate not due to ignorance either, for George the most absolute dependence on him, an almost had hidden nothing in his past career from his fretful eagerness for nis presence, an entire for- uncle, except his acquaintance with Clare Carru­ getfulness of the former supposed immutable thers, and the strange coincidence which con­ law which had decreed that the convenience nected him with the mysterious murder of the and the pleasure of Mr. Carruthers of Poynings 17th of April. Mr. Carruthers, like aU men who were to take precedence, as a matter of course, are both weak and obstinate, was largely in­ of all other sublunary thmgs. Indeed, it was fluenced by the opinions of others, provided they merely in a technical sense that, as regarded the were not forced upon him or too plainly sug­ little world of Poynings, these had oeen con­ gested to him, but that he was cmTcntly sup­ sidered sublunary. Its population concerned posed to partake or even to originate them. themselves infinitely less with the " prmcipalities He had no: said much to his wife about her son; and powers" than with the accuracy of the he had not referred to the past at all. irnT. •vvT^w 407 y^ lit) [February a, 18(17.] ALL THE YEAR KOUND. [Conducted by It was in his honourable, if narrow, nature to To a person of quicker perception than lb IcU her frankly that he had recognised his error, Carruthers, the fact that the invahd never spoki that he knew now that all his generosity, all of her faithful old servant would have had raucl the other gifts he had given her, bad not availed, signilicance. It would have impUed that sh{ and could not have availed, while George's so­ had more entirely lost her memory than othei ciety had been denied; but 1 lie cousigne was, features and circumstances of her condition in- "Mrs. Carrnthers must not be agitated," and dicated, or that she had regamed sufficient the gi-eat i-ule of Mr. Carruthers's life at present mental firmness aud self-control to avoid any­ was," that the conslgne was not to be violated. thing leading directly or indirectlv to the origm Hence, nothhig had been said upon the subject, aud source of a state of mental weakness of and al'icr the subsidence of her first agitation, which she was distressingly conscious. Bat Mrs. Carruthers had appcai-cd to take George's Mr. Carruthers lacked quickness and experience, presence very quietly, as she took all other and he did not notice this. He had pondered, things. in his stalely way, over Dr. Merle's words, md The alteration which had taken place in his he had become convinced that he must have beea wife had tended to allay that unacknowledged right. There had been a " shock." Bnt of what ill which had troubled Mr. Carruthers' peace, nature ? How, when, had it occurred ? Cleark, and exacerbated his teraj)er. The old feeling of these questions could uot now, probably coja jealousy died completely out. The pale, deUcate, not ever be, referred to Mrs. Carruthers. Who fragde woman, whose mind held by the past could tell him ? Clare P Had anytliing occurred now with so very famt a grasp, whose peaceful while he had been absent during the days hn- thoughts were ol' the present, whose quiet hopes mediately preceding his wife's illness ? He set were of the future, had nothing in common with himself now, seriously, to the task of recaUing the beautiful young girl whom another than he the cu*cumstauccs of ms return. had wooed and won. As slie was now, ris alone He bad been met by ^lare, who told fahi she wished to be, he was first and chief in her Mrs. Carruthers was not quite well. He had life, and there was uot a little exaction or gone with her to his wife's room. She wis temporary frctfulness, a single little symptom of lying in her bed. He remembered that she illness aud dependence, which had not hi it looked pale and ill. She was in her dressing- infinitely more reassuring evidence for Mr. gown, but otherwise dressed. Then, she hu CaiTuthers than all the obscn'ance of his not been so ill that morning as to have bea wishes, aud submission to his domestic laws, unable to leave her bed. If anything had which had formerly made it, plainer to Mr. occurred, it must have taken place after sliehftd CaiTuthers of Poyuhigs that his wife feared thau risen as usual. Besides, she nad not been seri^ vbat she loved him. ously ill until a day or two later—stay, untfl And, if it be accounted strange and bordering how many days ? It was on the morning after on the ludicrous that, at Mr. Carruthers's re­ Mr. Dalryniple's visit that he had been sum­ spectable a^e, he should still have bccu subject moned to his wife's room; he and Clare were at to the fecmigs tauntingly mentioned as the breakfast together. Yes, to be sure, he remem­ " vagaries " of love, it must be remembered that bered it all distinctly. Was the "shock" to be George's mother was the only woman he had ever referred to thai morning, then ? Had it only come cared for, and that he had only of late achieved in aid of previously threatening indispositioa? the loftier ideals of love. It was of recent date These points Mr. Carruthers could uot solve. that he learned to hold his wife more dear and He would question Clare on his return, anil precious than Mr. Carruthers of Poynings. find out what she knew, or if she knew any­ Ilewas notin the least jealous of George.