John Berwick Harwood

“ O, George, your eyes are better than mine!” said Emma, trembling, as she stood up for the tenth time to strain her gaze across the yellow flats.
“I see nothing,” answered I. “Stop, there is something in the distance, a dark object, but it cannot be a man and horse, it is so small, and so near the water, where no sane person would venture, with the tide coming in at such a rate. ”

“ Even a city-bred man can make out a warning in that,” said the conducteur, as he turned away to superintend the placing of the diligence under shelter in the remise. Maurice and I looked up, and beheld a semitransparent veil of white film thickening and darkening over the pure sky, and growing like the fatal web of the Destinies. The sun grew dimmer every minute, and the frightened chirp of the birds came shrill and often from among the budding fruit-trees. It was easy to guess that a storm was brewing.
Suddenly Maurice struck his forehead, and uttered what was almost a cry of despair. ”

“ I kept the yacht before the wind, and old Hemmings reluctantly obeyed. And I had my reward; for presently a flash of lightning clove the swarthy clouds, and the ladies shrieked as the thunder-peal rolled past, and the wind howled fiercely through the rigging. Down came the squall in its strength. Rushing before the wind came the black bank of clouds, the driving rain, the gusts that tore up the seething sea and made the water hiss and boil like barm. The first shock laid the Calypso on her beam-ends; the waves washed her decks ”

“ The landlord, and Diego, the coloured man. The latter had bared his muscular arms, dark as bronze, to the shoulder, and carried in his hand a long knife that glittered like silver, as a chance ray from the lamp fell upon it. The innkeeper was aimed with a heavy machete, one of those short swords of which the Mexicans are so fond. He looked pale, almost livid, but resolute, while the mulatto’s pointed teeth were displayed in a sort of grinning smile, like those of a snarling dog. Both were barefoot.
I crouched on the maize husks, ready for the worst. ”

“ I nudged Maurice with my elbow, and hurriedly whispered that if a guide were wanted, we had the very man before us. At first, when we proposed to the young peasant to accompany us in our perilous quest among the crags, the old farmer scouted the idea with absolute rudeness. But money will do anything with these hard-fisted dwellers among the high Alps, and money ultimately prevailed. The bribe was high, but Maurice was wild with passionate eagerness to depart, and, but for me, would have offered his last louis-d’or for a guide. ”

“ Will not the sea devour them? He struggles hard; the sailors set up an exulting cheer; he will save her yet, and I have been cheated of the price for which I have sold my soul to the demon.
Grinding my teeth, I lifted my pistol to fire, but as I did so another huge wave washed me from my feet, and my weapon dropped upon the deck. I rose, holding to the bulwarks. The men cheered again. Harold Langley, bruised, wet, and bleeding, was standing on the stony beach beyond the reef, safe, and with Lucy at his feet. ”

“ She loved me, I knew, but she gave no free expansion to her love. Good conduct met with no hearty praise, such as wins a child’s allegiance when judiciously bestowed; idleness and peevishness elicited no blame. My mother watched me as if I had been a young wild beast, tame indeed, and reared in silken captivity, but which might at any unguarded moment break out into the bloodthirsty fierceness of its savage stock.
She was not a Sherringham, and therefore I felt that she could not be as I was, for I had gathered from hints and morsels of talk that I was the true type of my race. ”

“ As for myself, I thanked Heaven that no other heart was linked to mine on that dark day, to suffer with my suffering, to die with my death. I was alone, a rough stranger in the land, and I was glad to be spared that extra pang which my comrade had to endure. Still, Tom, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Disguise it as we may, we all shrink from the black shadow. They neglected us in that jail, as usual in Mexico, and it was not till noon that a surly mulatto brought us a few beans fried in oil, and, what we valued more, a pitcher of water. ”

“ And now the Calypso was wedged between two rocks, and could move no more; but the waves lashed her, and threatened to tear her plank from plank. In my frenzy I shouted and cheered on the billows, as a huntsman his hounds. The sea washed clear over the deck. It was necessary to fasten the ladies to any woodwork or bolt that might keep them from being swept overboard. The seamen, encouraged by Hemmings, behaved well, but none dared venture where I stood, menacing and dangerous, pistol in hand. ”

“ We were often obliged to stop and gasp for breath, and by the guide’s advice we uncorked our brandy-flasks and drank enough to counteract the numbing effects of cold and lassitude. The cold was intense now in those high regions, and the wind was as sharp as a knife. A few lazy flakes of snow came whirling down. Suddenly we came out upon the broad carriage-road. The marks of sleigh-runners, of horses’ hoofs and men’s feet, were stamped into the white crust. Fritz fell on his knees, and examined the prints like a Red Indian on the war trail. ”

“ And in a moment we stood beside him, and could see the dark dots that represented men and horses, and the larger bulk of the travelling carriage, against the dazzling background of snow. They had apparently halted, or, at any rate, their progress was very slow.
“Holy Himmel!” muttered Fritz, “’tis the caravan; but how came they there? They must have missed the road, blotted out as it is with driven snow, and they have wandered off to the Odinthor, never knowing how dangerous—not one mountaineer among them! This way—quick! quick! If the wind rises, all are lost!” ”

“ A great change had come over the gay company. They were too frightened for sea-sickness, but they cowered and crouched, wet, miserable, with white faces and drenched garments. A few of the male guests were trying to quiet the fears of the terror-struck women. Langley was at Lucy’s side. We had to fetch a wide compass to clear Portland Bill, but the Calypso was a weatherly craft, and old Hemmings lauded her performance with all a seaman’s pride. ”

“ The name of this family was Digby,—it consisted of four persons. The parents were commonplace enough, worldly, pretentious people, who contrived to make a considerable display with a moderate fortune; a random, extravagant son, and a daughter,—Lucy. Despite the stern training which I have had in the school of misfortune, despite the self-discipline which has become a part of myself, it is hard to write her name calmly, and to discuss her attributes as I should do those of a stranger. How I loved her, and how fatal, to myself at least, that love has proved. ”

“ And now Vaughan, who had a leaning towards experimental agriculture, was right-hand man to a great Russian noble, deep in the interior, and was engaged to be married to the daughter of the Scotch superintendent of the prince’s cotton factory. Indeed the wedding-day had been fixed, and it was to invite me to be present at the ceremony that Vaughan had written. A long letter, such a one as no man would be justified in inflicting upon a friend, except at a time like that, when a new life, with all its novel cares, hopes, and joys, was about to begin. ”

“ By this time the ostler had arrived—a swarthy, broad-breasted fellow, with a red handkerchief twisted round his head, gold rings in his ears, and a jacket and calconcillos of dirty white cotton. His short hair was crisp and woolly, his eyes fierce and restless, and his teeth, being filed to a sharp point, gave him anything but an agreeable expression when he smiled, while his complexion was nearly African. ”

“ Hilton, who had finished adjusting his girths, angrily told the man to hold his tongue, gathered up his reins, and spurred off, waving his hand in adieu to Emma, and drily remarking that we gave ourselves a great deal of unnecessary anxiety about the safety of a person so insignificant as himself, but that the laugh would be against us, when we met at Avranches, by tea-time. So saying, he rode off at a brisk canter, splashed into the Couësnon, and, fording the shallow water with perfect ease, gained the opposite bank, and took his way across the sands. ”

“ Airolo was a capital place for work; my room had a good north window, and there was nothing to distract a painter’s attention from his canvas and colours. Besides, in my rambles among the spurs and offsets of the Alps, I came to many glorious bits of savage wintry scenery, and saw nature under a new aspect. Such glimpses of stainless snow and rifted ice are valuable to an artist, and my portfolio and my memory grew richer every day. ”

“ Another was quicker than I. His strong arm was round her, but the wave was too mighty, and both were hurried out into the boiling sea. Ha! yonder rises a human form out of the very jaws of death, clinging to the rock, but holding in a still firmer grasp something—an inert female form—Langley and Lucy again! ”

“ I turned sharply round, and saw the handsome, friendly face of Maurice Tindal, an artist, like myself, but one who, young as he was, already ranked high in his profession, and bade fair to be, with thought and study, one of the props of British art. I had a sincere liking for Tindal, and a thorough admiration for his talents; indeed, almost every one liked the youngster, though it is sometimes provoking to be outstripped by a junior. I knew that he had spent the winter somewhere in Italy, but not at Rome, for we had not met since our last sojourn in London. ”

“ And now the Portland rocks were left on the starboard beam, and though the gale was high, the gallant vessel rode the waves like a cork. She could buffet it out, with sea-room. Just then my eye rested on a line of breakers at the southern extremity of the island—a reef of dangerous sunken rocks, the “Grapples.” I could mark the black stones, coated with weed, showing their sharp points through the white froth of the waves. ”

“ A rich and titled bachelor is seldom harshly regarded. The club men with whom I lived voted me a good fellow, seeing that I neither won their money at cards nor refused a loan to an embarrassed friend, while my dinners disarmed criticism. Nor did ladies avoid me. Many bright eyes grew brighter at my approach; many musical voices described me to mutual friends as a dear, delightful, talented creature, so odd, and so fascinating. Few mothers would have objected to Sir Wilfred Sherringham as a son-in-law. ”

“ If I stop, I shall go mad,” cried Maurice, fiercely.
The young guide added “Amen!” and
“Ay, go, go!” cried the old farmer, who had probably heard more of the gossip of the crowd than I had; “five minutes more, and they will be holding you back by force. Go. An Uri man has but his word; the money is paid, and the work must be done; but, Fritz, child, remember thy old mother at home, and do not let me go back alone to the hills.” ”

“ At the best of times, the tricky, evasive character of the Muscovite had rendered it difficult for a proprietor to get his exact due, though his subordinates often took much more, and now that the stimulus of the stick had been withdrawn, there was no remedy.
“This is no longer the Russia you remember, sir;” said old Mr. Murray; “no longer the Russia in which I’ve striven to guide my way honestly, without fear or favour, these forty years. The old system is dead—the Crimean war killed it outright. It was a bad system, but we haven’t got much beyond chaos in its place. ”

“ Jealousy is a mean passion, and I do not think it would have taken root in my breast, had I been as others. I was not. A gnawing sense of my inferiority, in consequence of the accursed Heirloom, to the very clowns who tilled my estate, to the servants who did my bidding, made me morbidly sensitive on this score.
A nephew of Mrs. Digby’s, and of course a cousin of Lucy’s, had returned from India, and was a guest in the house. His name was Captain Harold Langley, and he had a high reputation for courage, ability, and honour. I must own that he deserved his reputation. ”

“ Why linger on the sad story? Suffice it that Emma’s frail health had not been able to endure the anguish of that hideous scene. A blood-vessel had given way, and she never spoke more, and before we reached Avranches she was dead. ”

“ Arthur was wild to go, and I, perhaps weakly, yielded to his wishes. We got under arms. A number of Indian peons loaded themselves with the silver, carefully secured in skin packages, with provisions for the two days’ march, and with the light tents which were to screen us from the dews and night air in our temporary encampment. The fighting part of the contingent consisted of four Cornishmen, besides their “captain,” a giant in stature, graver and more sober than any one in our employ, and whose cool courage and mighty thews had earned him the enforced respect of the Mexicans. ”