Charles Brockden Brown

“ This faltering perhaps it was that made me swerve somewhat from the fatal line: he was disabled by the wound, but not killed.
He lost all power of resistance, and was, therefore, no longer to be dreaded: he rolled upon the ground, uttering doleful shrieks, and throwing his limbs into those contortions which bespeak the keenest agonies to which ill-fated man is subject. Horror, and compassion, and remorse, were mingled into one sentiment, and took possession of my heart: to shut out this spectacle, I withdrew from the spot, but I stopped before I had moved beyond hearing of his cries. ”

“ What, however, was nearly banished from my waking thoughts, occurred in an incongruous and half-seen form to my dreams. During my sleep, the image of Waldegrave flitted before me. Methought the sentiment that impelled him to visit me was not affection or complacency, but inquietude and anger: some service or duty remained to be performed by me, which I had culpably neglected; to inspirit my zeal, to awaken my remembrance, and incite me to the performance of this duty, did this glimmering messenger, this half-indignant apparition, come. ”

“ To prolong his life would be merely to protract his misery.
"He can never be regarded with complacency by my wife; he can never be thought of without shuddering by Clarice. Common ills are not without a cure less than death; but here all remedies are vain. Consciousness itself is the malady, the pest, of which he only is cured who ceases to think."
I could not but assent to this mournful conclusion. Yet, though death was better to Clithero than life, could not some of his mistakes be rectified? ”

“ Repine not, my friend, at this unlocked-for reverse: think upon the merits and misfortunes of your brother's friend—think upon his aged father, whom we shall enable him to rescue from poverty—think upon his desolate wife, whose merits are probably at least equal to your own, and whose helplessness is likely to be greater. I am not insensible to the evils which have returned upon us with augmented force, after having for a moment taken their flight; know the precariousness of my condition, and that of my sisters—that our subsistence hangs upon the life of an old man. ”

“ I did not allow myself to meditate. The great object of my wishes was a dwelling where food and repose might be procured. I looked earnestly forward, and on each side, in search of some token of human residence; but the spots of cultivation, the well-pole, the worm-fence, and the hay-rick, were no where to be seen; I did not even meet with a wild hog or a bewildered cow. The path was narrow, and on either side was a trackless wilderness: on the right and left were the waving lines of mountainous ridges, which had no peculiarity enabling me to ascertain whether I had ever before seen them. ”

“ There is not the shadow of objection to your union: I know your scruples, Clithero, and am sorry to see that you harbour them for a moment; nothing is more unworthy of your good sense. I found out this girl long ago: take my word for it, young man, she does not fall short of you in the purity and tenderness of her attachment. What need is there of tedious preliminaries? I will leave you together, and hope you will not be long in coming to a mutual understanding: your union cannot be completed too soon for my wishes. Clarice is my only and darling daughter. ”

“ You had roved into Norwalk—a scene of inequalities, of prominences and pits, among which, thus destitute of the guidance of your senses, you could scarcely fail to be destroyed, or, at least, irretrievably bewildered. I painted to myself the dangers to which you were subjected: your careless feet would bear you into some whirlpool, or to the edge of some precipice; some internal revolution or outward shock would recall you to consciousness at some perilous moment: surprise and fear would disable you from taking seasonable or suitable precautions, and your destruction be made sure. ”

“ These were the evils which his malignant destiny had made the unalterable portion of Clithero; and how should my imperfect eloquence annihilate their influence? Every man, not himself the victim of irretrievable disasters, perceives the folly of ruminating on the past, and of fostering a grief which cannot reverse or recall the decrees of an immutable necessity; but every man who suffers is unavoidably shackled by the errors which he censures in his neighbour, and his efforts to relieve himself are as fruitless as those with which he attempted the relief of others. ”

“ Some miraculous chance may befriend you; yet this is scarcely to be hoped; it is a visionary and fantastic base on which to rest our security.
I cannot forget that my unfortunate temerity has created this evil; yet who could foresee this consequence of my intelligence? I imagined that Clithero was merely a victim of erroneous gratitude, a slave of the errors of his education and the prejudices of his rank—that his understanding was deluded by phantoms in the mask of virtue and duty, and not, as you have streanuously maintained, utterly subverted. ”

“ At these words Clithero started from the ground, and cast upon me looks of furious indignation.
"And come you hither," he muttered, "for this end—to recount my offences, and drive me again to despair?"
"No," answered I, with quickness; "I come to out-root a fatal but powerful illusion; I come to assure you that the woman with whose destruction you charge yourself, is not dead!" ”

“ Such are the subtile threads on which hangs the fate of man, and of the universe!
While engaged in these reflections, I perceived that the moonlight had began to fade before that of the sun; a dusky and reddish hue spread itself over the east. Cheered by this appearance, I once more resumed my feet and the road. I left the savage where he lay, but made prize of his tomahawk: I had left my own in the cavern, and this weapon added little to my burden. Prompted by some freak of fancy, I stuck his musket in the ground, and left it standing upright in the middle of the road. ”

“ Thou knowest my devotion to the spirit that breathes its inspiration in the gloom of forests, and on the verge of streams. I love to immerse myself in shades and dells, and hold converse with the solemnities and secrecies of Nature in the rude retreats of Norwalk. The disappearance of Clithero had furnished new incitements to ascend its cliffs and pervade its thickets, as I cherished the hope of meeting in my rambles with some traces of this man. But might be not still live? ”

“ What light has burst upon my ignorance of myself and of mankind! How sudden and enormous the transition from uncertainty to knowledge!
But let me recall my thoughts; let me struggle for so much composure as will permit my pen to trace intelligible characters. Let me place in order the incidents that are to compose my tale. I need not call on thee to listen. The fate of Waldegrave was as fertile of torment to thee as to me. His bloody and mysterious catastrophe equally awakened thy grief, thy revenge, and thy curiosity. ”

“ During this recital, I fixed my eyes upon the countenance of Sarsefield, and watched every emotion as it rose or declined: with the progress of my tale, his indignation and his fury grew less, and at length gave place to horror and compassion.
His seat became uneasy—his pulse throbbed with new vehemence. When I came to the motives which prompted the unhappy man to visit the chamber of his mistress, he started from his seat, and sometimes strode across the floor in a troubled mood, and sometimes stood before me with his breath almost suspended in the eagerness of his attention. ”

“ I had scarcely set foot within the barn-yard when I heard a sound as of the crying of an infant: it appeared to issue from the barn; I approached softly and listened at the door. The cries of the babe continued, but were accompanied by entreaties of a nurse or a mother to be quiet: these entreaties were mingled with heart—breaking sobs and exclamations of—"Ah, me! my babe, canst thou not sleep, and afford thy unhappy mother some peace? Thou art cold, and I have not sufficient warmth to cherish thee! What will become of us? Thy deluded father cares not if we both perish." ”

“ After an anxious pause, he continued:—"Since my arrival I have heard of an event which has, on many accounts, given me the deepest sorrow: I loved Waldegrave, and know not any person in the world whose life was dearer to me than his: there were considerations, however, which made it more precious to me than the life of one whose merits might be greater:—with his life, my own existence and property were, I have reason to think, inseparably united.
"On my return to my country, after a long absence, I made immediate enquiries after him: I was informed of his untimely death. ”

“ I know the bitterness of this sacrifice, I know the impatience with which your poverty has formerly been borne—how much your early education is at war with that degradation and obscurity to which your youth has been condemned—how earnestly your wishes panted after a state which might exempt you from dependence upon daily labour and on the caprices of others, and might secure to you leisure to cultivate and indulge your love of knowledge and your social and beneficent affections. ”

“ My intention to re-examine this cave, and ascertain whither it led, had for a time been suspended by different considerations: it was now revived with more energy than ever. I reflected that this had formerly been haunted by Clithero, and might possibly have been the scene of the desperate act which he had meditated: it might at least conceal some token of his past existence; it might lead into spaces hitherto unvisited, and to summits from which wider landscapes might be seen.
One morning I set out to explore this scene. The road which Clithero had taken was laboriously circuitous. ”

“ He looked at me with a strange expression of contempt.
"Come," said he, at length, "make out thy assertion to be true: fall on thy knees, and invoke the thunder of heaven to light on thy head if thy words be false! Swear that Euphemia Lorimer is alive, happy, forgetful of Wiatte, and compassionate of me! Swear that thou hast seen her, talked with her, received from her own lips the confession of her pity for him who aimed a dagger at her bosom! ”

“ His deeds were monstrous and infernal—his motives were sordid and flagitious: to display all their ugliness and infamy was not his province:—no, he did not tell you that he stole at midnight to the chamber of his mistress—a woman who astonished the world by her loftiness and magnanimity, by indefatigable beneficence and unswerving equity—who had lavished on this wretch, whom she snatched from the dirt, all the goods of fortune, all the benefits of education, all the treasures of love, every provocation to gratitude, every stimulant to justice. ”

“ I now suspected that I had taken a wrong direction; and instead of approaching, was receding from the habitation of men.
It was wisest, however, to proceed: the road could not but have some origin, as well as end. Some hours passed away in this uncertainty. The sun rose, and by noonday I seemed to be further than ever from the end of my toils: the path was more obscure, and the wilderness more rugged: thirst more incommoded me than hunger, but relief was seasonably afforded by the brooks that flowed across the path. ”

“ The only females in the family were my sisters: one of these had been reserved for a fate worse than death—to gratify the innate and insatiable cruelty of savages, by suffering all the torments their invention can suggest, or to linger out years of dreary bondage and unintermitted hardship in the bosom of the wilderness: to restore her to liberty, to cherish this last survivor of my unfortunate race, was a sufficient motive to life and to activity. ”

“ Arthur Wiatte (that was his name) had ever been the object of his sister's affection: as long as he existed, she never ceased to labour in the promotion of his happiness. All her kindness was repaid by a stern and inexorable hatred. This man was an exception to all the rules which govern us in our judgments of human nature: he exceeded in depravity all that has been imputed to the arch-foe of mankind. ”

“ In the hasty survey I had taken of this apartment, one object had been overlooked or imperfectly noticed: close to the chimney was an aperture, formed by a cavity partly in the wall and in the ground: it was the entrance of an oven, which resembled, on the outside, a mound of earth, and which was filled with dry stalks of potatoes and other rubbish.
Into this it was impossible to thrust my body: a sort of screen might be formed of the brushwood, and more deliberate and effectual execution be done upon the enemy. ”