Charles Heber Clark

“ If it was an offence to cover a pavement with ice upon such a morning, it was a bitter wrong to compel a little child so poorly clad to perform the work.
Before Jinnie had replaced her cloth in her bucket, Mrs. Tyke appeared in the doorway with anger in her face. She took hold of one of the child’s ears with her coarse fingers and pulled her into the hallway head foremost with as much force as if she had been shot out of a catapult. Then Mrs. Tyke, with a vigorous hand, boxed the ear that she had pulled, cuffed the other ear, impartially, knocking the child against the wall. ”

“ Weems reflected for a moment upon the painful lack of opportunities to rob banks with impunity and profit, and then said,—
“No; I am afraid not. I am a painter and must live by painting.”
“Just so; but why not paint pictures that can be sold readily?”
“There is no money in landscapes, still-life, or figure-pieces, unless a man has genius. A painter of ordinary powers has no chance.”
“But why not imitate genius, just as you imitate the old masters?”
“How do you mean?”
“Genius is apt to be eccentric. If you make a show of eccentricity, most persons will accept that as a sure token of genius. ”

“ She had real golden hair and the softest blue eyes, that stared and stared as though they were looking into some other surprising show-window over the way.
318 Jinnie trembled when she saw this marvellous doll. She had no idea that anybody ever wore such wonderful clothing as that. She had never dreamed that anything could be so beautiful. She thought she would be perfectly happy if she could stand there and gaze at it during the remainder of her life. Oh, if Kris Kingle would come and leave her such a doll as that! ”

“ The Professor was amazed.
“Yes!” exclaimed Sir Bleoberis, “it was he who persuaded the fair Ysolt to leap from the window; it was he who notified Sir Dagonet, and it is his wicked enchantment that held me here so that I could not fly to her succor. I cannot even get up now.”
“The man,” said the Professor to the Baron, “appears to be suffering from intellectual aberration. I can’t imagine what he means. Why don’t you rise?” ”

“ This mirthfulness appeared to have a very depressing effect upon Mr. Pullock, for whenever he observed it he assumed a look of deep mournfulness, as if it distressed him beyond measure that any one should have an impulse to indulge in levity in the presence of the unutterable woe which had made the life of his fair but heart-broken client simply a condition of hopeless misery. ”

“ It is the peculiar infamy of brutality to a child that the victim does not know how to sound the cry for the help that is almost always near to it. It accepts its lot as a thing of course; it does not know that there are perhaps within a few short steps of its house of suffering hearts that would stir with wrath for its wrongs, and that there is within reach a law which would bring retribution upon the head of its oppressor.
Jinnie believed that all childhood was a time of punishment and misery. ”

“ But, alas, human life is so full of mischances! As Ysolt neared the great oak behind which her lover sat, Sir Dagonet came riding carelessly across the lawn. Seeing her he spurred his horse forward, and, right before the eyes of Sir Bleoberis, he grasped her by the arm, tossed her to his saddle and dashed away across the country. ”

“ You know it, too.”
“Love,” said the artist, “means faith, trust, fair play, and candor, among other things, I have always thought.”
“What do you mean by that, Julius?”
“Well, I don’t want to be unkind, Leonie; but do you think that a woman who truly loved a man would misrepresent her age to him; or that she would be absolutely silent respecting previous engagements that she had contracted? How do I know that you care more for me than you did for Baxter and the others?”
“Mr. Weems,” exclaimed Leonie, indignantly, “this is cruel. It is worse,—it is shameful. ”

“ Achilles Smith, why, he didn’t tell me anything. I have not seen him.”
“Poor Major Dunwoody has had his arm shot off.”
“What! Not another limb lost! Why, the man is falling apart in sections.”
“And that’s not the worst of it.”
“Not the worst? Why, my child, what do you mean?”
“His other leg has been amputated.”
“Humph! Well, that’s agreeable news. No legs and only one arm. Pity they didn’t amputate his head at once. I suppose, of course, you will break your engagement?”
“Oh, mother! How can you be so unkind?”
“Pandora M’Duffy, you must be insane. Marry a man with only one limb. ”

“ What they would have done next, if they had been permitted to press forward through the breach, can only be imagined. For a moment it looked as if beneath that spire which idly pointed these men toward a better country, whence rage and hatred and all evil passions are shut out, and beneath the bell, whose function was to send vibrating through the tremulous air its summons to the temple of the Prince of Peace, there might be a hand-to-hand encounter, in which priest and people should assail each other with furious violence. ”

“ The female mind experiences the purest joy when there are bonnets to be trimmed, fabrics to be matched, dresses to be made, underclothing to be stitched212 and frilled, pillow-cases and sheets to be made up, towels to be fringed and marked, furniture to be selected, crockery to be purchased, and a general fitting-out to be undertaken. Mrs. Cowdrick soon had a dozen sempstresses employed, and every day she and Leonie, in a frame of exquisite happiness, made the round of the shops, gathering huge heaps of parcels. One single touch of alloy came to mitigate the intensity of their enjoyment. ”

“ The shrieks of the unhappy Ysolt penetrated to the castle, and at once the Baron ran out, followed by Sir Dinadan, Professor Baffin, and a host of the Baron’s retainers, all of them armed and ready for war. The first act of the Professor was to capture his expanded umbrella, which was being blown about wildly by the wind. Furling it, he proceeded to the place where Sir Bleoberis sat, trying to explain to the infuriated Baron what had happened.
“There!” said Sir Bleoberis, savagely, pointing to the Professor, “is the vile wretch that did it all! Seize him! He, he alone is to blame.” ”

“ Cowdrick. “I have been thinking that it is high time Leonie had found a husband. Let me see; how old is she now?”
“In her twenty-ninth year, really,” replied Mrs. Cowdrick; “but then, you know, she does not acknowledge more than twenty-five years to her friends. Leonie is an exceedingly prudent girl.”
“But, of course,” remarked Mr. Cowdrick, “she cannot keep that up forever. As she grows older she will have to allow a year or two, every now and then; and, after a while, you know, people will begin to count for themselves.” ”

“ There were wagons and horses, and miniature tea-sets, and pop-guns, and baby houses, and jumping-jacks, and railroad cars, and tin steamboats, and make-believe soldier caps; and these were mingled with clusters of glass balls of various colors, which glittered in the gaslight in a most wonderful manner. But the glory of the window was a huge waxen doll dressed as a bride, in pure white, with a veil and a wreath and the loveliest satin dress. ”

“ Not exactly a leech, Sir Dinadan; but it is my habit to try to know a little of everything.”
“Can you cast a lover’s horoscope?” asked Sir Agravaine, looking at Matilda.
45 “Young man,” said the Professor, sternly, “there is no such foolery as a horoscope; and as for love, you had better let it alone until you have more wit and a heavier purse.”
“I wish you and the Lady Tilly to come with me to the castle,” remarked Sir Dinadan. “My father will welcome you heartily if you can medicine the sickness of my mother; and she will be eager to receive your fair daughter.” ”

“ Weems with a renewed determination to discover in the morning if Mr. Cowdrick’s credit had been impaired.
“You believe, then, that love in a cottage is a possibility, do you, dear?” asked Leonie.
“Yes, darling; possible, but not fascinating. My observation is that love, upon the whole, has a better chance in a commodious mansion with all of the modern conveniences; with gas, water and a boy to answer the front-door bell. Love, darling, is like some other things in this world—it thrives better when it is comfortable.”
“Have you thought about our wedding, dear?” asked Leonie. ”

“ Sir Bleoberis arose without effort. Baron Bors stepped forward and said sternly:
“What, you, Sir Bleoberis, were doing here I do not know. I suspect you of evil purposes. But it is clear you had nothing to do with the seizure of my daughter, if, indeed, she has been carried off by Sir Dagonet. You may go. But as for you,” shouted the Baron, turning to the Professor, “I perceive that your devilish arts have been used against me and my family while you have been eating my bread. The world shall no longer be burdened by such a monster. ”

“ Leonie hesitated before answering, and then she said,—
“Yes, papa, there is!”
“I am glad to hear that! Who is it, darling?”
“You will not be angry with me, papa, if I tell you, will you? I have given my love to some one, and that some one is—is—Mr. Weems, the artist!”
“What!” exclaimed Mr. Cowdrick, in a voice that indicated mingled surprise and indignation. “Not Julius Weems, the painter?”
“You don’t mean to say you are actually engaged to be married to that young man?” said Mrs. Cowdrick, vehemently. ”

“ And yet we are certainly wide awake, and we are in the hall of a real castle, waiting for real people to come to us.”
“Sir Dinadan seems very real, too,” said Miss Baffin, timidly.
“Very! There can be no doubt about it.”
“And he behaves like a real young man, too,” continued Miss Baffin. “He proposed to me this morning.”
“What! Proposed to you! Incredible! Why, the boy has not known you more than an hour or two.”
“He is a man, pa; not a boy,” said Miss Baffin, a little hurt. “It was rather sudden; but, then, genuine affection sometimes manifests itself in that way.” ”

“ We cannot be too particular about these things in a world that is lying in wickedness.”
“Oh, excuse me,” said Leonie. “I had gotten the idea, somehow, that violet was the morning color for last Sunday, and red the evening color.”
“You are thinking of Quinquagesima Sunday, Miss Cowdrick,” said Father Tunicle, smiling gravely. “The color changes upon that day. You must study more carefully the little almanac I gave you. When the Church provides us with good books which may guide us to lives of earnest devotion, it is our duty to read them attentively.” ”

“ Julius is the only person who seems likely to want me, and certainly he is a great deal better than nobody.”
116 “Yes; but, my dear child,” observed Mr. Cowdrick, “a mere husband is nothing. The circumstances of the husband are everything.”
“And Mr. Weems is poor as poverty,” added Mrs. Cowdrick.
“Oh, no, mamma, you are mistaken,” said Leonie. “Julius is in very comfortable circumstances. He has a very profitable business.” ”

“ After being presented to the Professor, whom they regarded with not a little curiosity, Sir Bleoberis said:
“Holy father, the fair Ysolt was here and was taken away by the Baron, was she not?”
“Yes!”
“Alas!” said the Knight, “I see no hope. Whilst I am poor, the Baron will never relent.”
“Never!” chimed in Sir Agravaine.
“Is your poverty the only objection he has to you?” asked the Professor.
“Yes.”
“Well,” replied the Professor, “I can understand a father’s feelings in such a case. It seems hard upon a young man, but naturally he wants his daughter to be comfortable. ”

“ I will try,” replied the Hermit. And then, turning to the Professor he said, “It is Ysolt.”
“Ah!” said the Professor, “the Baron’s daughter. May I ask you, miss, what the old gentleman is so excited about? It is not one of the customs here for indignant parents to chase their children around the country, is it?”
“I had gone from the castle,” said the damsel, partly to the Hermit and partly to Professor Baffin, “to meet Sir Bleoberis at the trysting-place. My father was watching me, and as I neared the spot he rushed toward me with a drawn sword, threatening to kill me.” ”

“ It is important you should marry as speedily as possible.”
“Oh, papa!” said Leonie, hiding her face in her hands.
“To speak plainly, darling,” said Mr. Cowdrick, “your poor father’s affairs are in such a condition that a judicious matrimonial alliance is almost necessary to your future happiness. You understand me, of course; I am not at all sure of my financial future.”
“I am very sorry,” said Leonie.
“Of course you are,” replied Mr. Cowdrick, “but being sorry is not enough. ”

“ But what on earth do you want it for?”
“For two reasons I want it: first, because if I am to marry you I have a legal right to all of you; and, second, because my George Washington has been standing upon one leg beside the cherry-tree for268 three weeks now, for the reason that I can’t make a satisfactory study of his other leg.”
“Pandora, I will gratify you if human energy is equal to the task. The impulses of an undying affection, not less than a fervid regard for the interests of high art, shall nerve me to the work.” ”

“ But while a chance remained that Cowdrick was still alive and might return, the Colonel knew that it was the duty of persons upon whom it devolved to form public opinion through the instrumentality of the press, to be careful. He had learned from extended observation that an absent offender who has been roughly used as a warning against pursuance of the paths of vice, sometimes comes back, and, after gaining possession of power and riches, manifests a disposition to make things very uncomfortable for the eminent journalists who have used him as a basis for their denunciations of sin. ”

“ It has not often been our lot to present to our readers more striking proof than that which is found in our columns to-day of the fact that Satan makes hard bargains. It is now positively ascertained that Cowdrick the swindler, forger and thief, driven by desperation at the exposure of his awful crimes, and, let us hope, for the sake of human nature, by the stings of a conscience which could not hearken with indifference to the cries of the widows154 and orphans reduced at one fell blow to beggary, took his own life, and so ended a career of crime which honest men shrink from contemplating. ”

“ I am a man of the past. Everything I ever cared for and ever loved, excepting you, belongs to the years that have gone, and my affections belong to those years. I liked the people of the old time better than I do those of the new. ”