Eglanton Thorne

“ Did you hear that gentleman behind us say, when she had finished singing 'Home, sweet home,' that he should think she would make home sweet?"
"Humph," said her uncle slowly, in the tone of one who will not utter all his mind; "I daresay it seems very fine to you, my dear, but you speak in ignorance. Such women are far from being so happy as you suppose. You see the glamour and glitter, you hear the applause, but you do not know what lies behind—the heartache and jealousy and bitterness."
"Oh, of course there are drawbacks," said Juliet loftily; "but that is the kind of life I should like." ”

“ Why do you never come our way now? I began to think you wanted to drop my acquaintance since you have become so rich."
"What nonsense, Flossie! Who told you, pray, that I had become rich?"
"Never you mind. It's true, is it not?"
"I am not rich exactly; but it is true that I have inherited my uncle's property, and shall have a comfortable income of my own for the future," said Juliet, not without a sense of increased dignity.
"Oh, you lucky girl! How I envy you! If you knew how I have to beg and pray to get any money out of father. Things are horrid at home now, Juliet. ”

“ Her uncle looked at her in amazement for a moment; then he leaned back in his chair smiling, as one smiles at the quaint sayings of a child.
"You say that because you know so little about them, Juliet," he remarked.
"I know enough," she returned. "In books they always die young, and it is the best thing they can do."
"It would be a sad thing for the world if that were always the fate of the good young men," said her uncle, smiling. "You are talking nonsense, you foolish child, and you know it. Nothing is of so much importance as a man's character. ”

“ Mainprice preach about the heart's desire. It was very good. I wish you could have heard it."
"Don't wish that," said Juliet; "I do not like Mr. Mainprice, and I probably should not have liked his sermon."
"Not like Mr. Mainprice!" exclaimed her uncle, in astonishment. "You surprise me, Juliet. Why, he is one of the best men I know. Indeed, I do not know another young man like him—so good and earnest and strong in every way."
"He may be all that," said Juliet; "but I do not like good young men."
Yet it was not true that she disliked Mr. Mainprice, as in her perversity she chose to declare. ”

“ Home is the woman's true sphere."
"Oh, uncle, excuse me, but that is a terribly old-fashioned idea—quite an exploded one, in fact. A woman has as much right to make a career for herself as a man. For my part, I have no wish for a happy lot, if it must be a humdrum and commonplace one. I want to live."
"So you shall, Juliet, but not by acting or singing in public, I trust. You must be patient, and wait till the prince comes who shall reconcile you to a home life."
He turned to Juliet with a smile on his wrinkled, parchment face, and a merry twinkle in his eyes. ”

“ Only think, mother, how much better that would be than teaching brats, as Hannah wants me to do!"
"I don't agree with you, dear. The idea is not at all to my mind."
"But, mother, would you not like to have a daughter who could sing like Antoinette Sterling? Fancy, he said I might earn thirty guineas a night! Only think! We should soon be as rich as Crœsus!"
"I daresay," said Mrs. Tracy, with a faint smile; "but you are a long way from that at present, my child. I expect he only said it to flatter you. You must not dream of being a public singer, Juliet. ”

“ I am certain that a brilliant career lies before you, if you will enter on it. Nothing would make me happier than to serve you. I would watch over you and guard you from all harm. I would be content to take a secondary place, to stand behind you for ever, if only I could see you win your laurels as a queen of song. But I can only help you in one way. It would never do to suffer the least shadow to fall on your fair fame. Darling, cannot you trust yourself to me?"
Juliet trembled as she heard his words. ”

“ To her mother's eyes she had never looked prettier. Salome scrutinised her carefully from head to foot; but gloves, boots, gown, all were neat. Salome's disapproving glance fell on the unruly locks which showed in soft, flossy confusion beneath the wide Leghorn hat which so charmingly became the fair, young face.
"Can't you make your hair a little tidier?" she asked. "It seems frizzier than ever to-day."
"No, I can't," said Juliet, giving her head a shake which made the wayward golden curls stand out farther from her brow than before. "My hair is just part of myself, and I cannot alter it. ”

“ Flossie saw she had made a mistake.
"Well, I am sure your friends would be only too glad if he did. Algernon was saying yesterday how fitted you were to grace any position. He says he is glad for your sake; but he can't help feeling that he shall never see you now. You will forget your old friends."
"You do not know me, Flossie, if you say that," replied Juliet, with flashing eyes; "I never forget friends—I am faithful, whatever else I may be."
"Of course you are. That is what I told him. You are a darling, Juliet. There is no one like you. You are not to be tried by ordinary rules." ”

“ Her eyes had met Juliet's for a moment ere she turned. An uneasy sensation smote like a chill to Juliet's heart. Could it be that Miss Tucker had turned so quickly in order to avoid her? Though she had been such an unsatisfactory scholar, she had always regarded the head mistress with warm esteem, and she had believed that Miss Tucker liked her. Had she heard all, and did she condemn her late scholar so severely that she could not even vouchsafe her a greeting? Juliet's face burned with shame at the thought. ”

“ She hardly knew what he was saying as the train rattled along. She was too thrilled and excited to listen. There was something intoxicating for her in the idea that this clever, handsome man was in love with her, and depended on her for his happiness. It was delightful to feel that she had such power. The very thought of love made her breath come more quickly, and her pulses throb. How could she doubt that her heart responded to the sentiment she had inspired?
Juliet parted from Algernon Chalcombe hurriedly at the station where they alighted. ”

“ One lovely evening, the three were walking along the romantic cliff path at Lynton, which commands such a glorious view of sea and sky, and terminates at the Castle Rock. Juliet's quick steps had carried her a little in advance of the others. She was singing little snatches of song to herself, and was only half conscious of the beauty about her, for her mind was busy weaving golden visions of the future, when round a bend of the narrow path, she came face to face with a stranger so suddenly that she started and uttered a nervous cry. ”

“ But life was strong in her young frame, and she shrunk with horror from the thought of death.
She lay there feeling utterly comfortless, and filled with a vague wonder at the misery which had overwhelmed her. Could it be herself, Juliet Tracy, in whose good fortune she had always so firmly believed, to whom such sorrow and loneliness had come? Did she, who had dreamed of such a brilliant future, lie here in the dreary, close, foreign room beneath the baked roof? How she loathed the crimson velvet chairs, the gilding, the glare of everything about her! ”

“ As the hour at which the bazaar was to open approached, Juliet felt herself completely isolated by the other workers. No one praised the result of her efforts; no one displayed the least interest in her stall. She stood alone amidst her flowers, for Gwen and Gladys had been sent by their mother to stand near the door with their baskets of "button-holes."
The old spirit of defiance was stirring in Juliet's heart. Her face was almost as white as her frock, but her expression was one of proud and studied indifference. ”

“ What could she care now about the freshest millinery, the latest robes, the most rare and costly lingerie, or the latest eccentricities in trinkets? She felt no desire to make a purchase.
Could dainty gloves or costly trifles yield any pleasure to a girl who had been false to every dictate of duty, broken the closest bond of love, and deliberately forsaken all that made life worth living? Juliet shrank from every eye that rested on her as she went along. She felt as if all who looked on her must read the story of her wilfulness and ingratitude. ”

“ I think there is nothing I should like better."
"Then I am sorry to tell you, my dear young lady, that it is impossible."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Juliet, stung by the word. "Why, you have always told me I could do anything with my voice."
"I never said that you might become a public singer," he replied.
"Then I certainly understood you to say so," Juliet said, with pain and indignation in her tone.
He lightly shrugged his shoulders. "Your vanity misled you, my dear young lady. I am used to being misunderstood in that manner. It is wonderful to what illusions human vanity is prone." ”

“ She felt that she could never do enough to show her love to the mother who had received her again so lovingly, and not only forgiven her gross ingratitude, but put it utterly from her, as a thing to be consigned to everlasting oblivion.
Juliet could not so dismiss it. The more she was made to feel her mother's love, the more she hated herself for what she had done. In her bitter repentance and self-loathing, she would have felt it a relief if her mother had upbraided her, or in any way caused her to suffer for her wrong-doing. ”

“ Sometimes I despair of ever pleasing him."
"Oh, you must not despair," said Algernon; "his severity is just the highest compliment he can pay you. He is severe with you because he sees that you are worth taking great pains with. If you had only mediocre talent, he would be far less particular with you."
"That explanation is highly gratifying to my vanity," said Juliet, with a laugh. "I wish I could lay the flattering unction to my soul."
"You may indeed, for it is true," he replied. "I happen to know, for Signor Lombardi was speaking to me of you only the other day. ”

“ Juliet glanced at the children, and their blue, pinched faces seemed to confirm the mother's words. The girl's heart was touched. She drew out her purse and opened it. She hesitated but for a moment as she turned over its contents, then held forth to the woman's astonished gaze a glittering gold piece.
"Take this," she said hurriedly; "there, don't say anything, but just take it. You must spend it wisely, you know," she added, as she saw the delighted gleam in the woman's eyes. "Buy food for yourself and the children—food and warm clothes." ”

“ But though with the sight of Miss Mainprice's face and the sound of her voice there was a vivid renewal for Juliet of the sense of loneliness, despair, and shame which had been hers as she wandered desolate through the crowded streets of Paris, or lay sick in mind and body in her close room beneath the hot roof of the Hotel Rome, Miss Mainprice's greeting was so unfeignedly friendly, her manner so full of sympathy, that the painful feeling could be but momentary. ”

“ Is the girl's father really an actor?"
"Well, I do not know that he acts," said Hannah deliberately; "I think someone said that he was the lessee of a theatre at Bow. He has a son who sings at music halls."
"What people for Juliet to take up with!" exclaimed Salome, in a tone of disgust. "She will be wanting to become an actress next. There is no accounting for what Juliet will do. She seems to have no sense at all."
"Don't make her out worse than she is," pleaded her mother. "She knows nothing of the father and son, and I daresay the girl is not so bad; Juliet seems very fond of her." ”

“ Juliet, shivering, as she looked out of the cab, from the combined effects of excitement and the chill of the early morn, did not pause to reflect that she had never before looked at her home from the outside at that hour. The closed windows could suggest to her but one idea, and she turned deadly pale as she gasped out, "Oh, the blinds—the blinds are all down!"
"As they always are at this hour," said Salome, in her matter-of-fact way; "do you suppose we sleep with our blinds up?" ”

“ What a curious, unreal nightmare of a journey that was to Juliet!
It was early morning when they arrived in Paris, so early that the air was raw and chill, and Juliet shook with cold as she roused herself and followed Algernon along the platform. Everything which met her eyes added to the sense of unreality which possessed her mind. Her fellow-passengers, wan and dishevelled from their night's journey, the blue-bloused porters noisily vociferating, the officials in strange uniform, the foreign names and novel arrangements, all affected her with a vague feeling of discomfort. ”

“ I hope she has learned wisdom. She ought to know that she cannot escape the consequences of her wrong-doing."
"Of course she knows that," said Salome; "but I do think you are hard upon Juliet, Hannah. You forget that she is very sorry for what she has done."
"People generally are sorry when they have brought trouble on themselves," said Hannah coldly. "I am sorry if my words offend you; but for me black is black and white, white; and I can only regard Juliet's conduct in one way." ”

“ Adelina Patti is to sing. Oh, I should so like to hear her!"
"Have you never heard her sing?"
"Never. I have never heard anyone. I never go anywhere," said Juliet plaintively. "Hannah and Salome always think it wrong to take any pleasure and I cannot go to places by myself."
"Poor child! You are hardly used," said her uncle, with a merry twinkle in his eyes; "but now let me hear more about this concert. How would it do if I were to take you?"
"Oh, uncle! Will you really? How lovely! There is nothing I should like so much. Oh, it is good of you. ”

“ It is well for girls to have something definite to do," said Mrs. Campbell. She could sympathise with the elder sister in her embarrassment, but Juliet had still more of her sympathy. She was charmed by the girl's prettiness and amused at her audacity; but, as a governess, she put her out of the question at once. "Still, I think it a mistake to try to force inclination," she continued. "If your sister has no fancy for teaching, would it not be better for her to try something else? I am strongly of opinion that no one should attempt to teach who does not feel a true vocation for it. ”

“ Ah, and they were looking down on her home too—on her mother, who perhaps at this hour was praying God to bless her wayward child. A sob broke from Juliet at the thought.
"Oh," she murmured, scarcely above a whisper, "I am doing what is very selfish and wrong! Only evil can come of it."
"Nonsense, Juliet," Algernon responded impatiently. "This all comes of your puritanical bringing up. One must act for oneself in this life. For my part, I pity the man or woman who is not selfish. If you do not look after your own interests, it is certain no one else will." ”

“ And Juliet too passed a restless night, but the dreams which visited her broken slumbers were of another order. One gay scene followed another in her visions. There was laughter and singing and applause, and ever she was the gayest of the gay, the most admired of the admired, the cynosure of all eyes. She was singing before the Queen in Buckingham Palace, and the Princess of Wales was advancing to present her with a huge bouquet, when the postman's loud knock resounding through the house woke her to the consciousness that it was only a dream. ”