Mary Jane Holmes

“ Clayton took his seat upon the sofa at my side. I was talking to him of Anna, and from speaking of her, and poor Herbert’s death, it was an easy transition to Dell, of whom he spoke kindly, nay, even affectionately, as he told me of her last days; how much she suffered, and how gentle she became, never chiding him, in the least, for a thing unskillfully done, but seeming satisfied with everything, and loving him at last with a love which, had it been earlier born, would have shed happiness over his comparatively cheerless life. ”

“ With a bitter cry, he bent over the unconscious girl, who knew him not, for the light of reason was obscured and darkness was upon her vision.
“Can nothing be done? Is there no help?” he exclaimed wildly, and little Jessie, awed by his grief, answered, as she laid her soft, white hand on Rosa’s forehead, “God can help her, and maybe Uncle Dick can. I mean to go for him,” and gliding noiselessly from the room, she was soon on her way to Sunny Bank, looking, with her golden curls floating over her bare white shoulders, as is she were indeed an angel of mercy. ”

“ That night, in the solitude of his chamber the doctor penned two letters; one for Rose and the other for Richard. In substance, the contents of each were much the same, for he told them all he had heard from Rose, and how, though it broke his heart to do so, he had given her up. “Deal very, very gently with her,” he wrote to Mr. Delafield, “for never was there a purer, gentler being, or one more worthy of your love than she. Then take her, and when your cup is overflowing with happiness, think sometimes of one, who, henceforth will be a lonely, wretched man.” ”

“ Here, with a haughty toss of her head, Aunt Charlotte turned away and began talking in a low tone to Herbert, he being the only one who, she seemed to think, was at all worth noticing. It is strange how much constraint one person can sometimes throw over a room full. On this occasion, had an ogress suddenly alighted in our midst, we could not have been more silent or less at ease than we were with that Boston lady, sitting there so starched and stiff, her fat hands folded one over the other, and the tips of her satin gaiters just visible from beneath the ample folds of her rich silk dress. ”

“ Randall’s gate, I saw Mrs. Ross’s old plaid shawl and brown bonnet disappearing over the hill as fast as her feet could take them, but I had no suspicion that her destination was Captain Thompson’s! I did not know the world then as well as I do now, and when the next morning I met Dell Thompson, who stared at me insolently, while a haughty sneer curled her lip, I had no idea that she was jealous of me, little Rosa Lee, whose heart was lighter, and whose task seemed far easier on account of Dr. Clayton’s past and promised visit. ”

“ Quieted in a measure by the cool demeanor of his companion, Dr. Clayton, too, arose, and after hurriedly pacing 301the room, resumed his post, and there on each side of Rose they stood, those two men, the one with his fair handsome face stained with tears, praying earnestly that she might live; while the other, with dark, lowering countenance and wrinkled brow, stood with folded arms, and firmly compressed lips, struggling to subdue the evil passion which whispered, “Let her die! There will be a comfort in weeping over her grave, and knowing that she sleeps there in all her maiden purity.” ”

“ In the meantime, Anna had been with us for a few weeks, but greatly changed from the Anna of former times. Listlessly she moved from room to room—never smiling, never weeping, and seldom speaking unless she were first addressed. To her, everything was dark, deep night, and such a gloom did her presence cast over us all, that though we would gladly have kept her with us, we still felt relieved when she left us for a home in Boston, where little Jamie soon became the idol of his grandmother, whose subdued cheerfulness had ere long a visible effect upon Anna. ”

“ Thinking he would soon be there, I found my way to the public parlor, which for few moments I occupied alone. I had just removed my dusty bonnet, and was brushing my tangled hair, when the door opened, and I stood face to face with Ada Montrose, who started back, and for a moment evidently debated the propriety of recognizing me. Thinking she might do just as she pleased, I simply nodded, as I would to any stranger, and went on with my toilet, while throwing herself upon the sofa, she exclaimed, “Dear me, how tired I am! Do you live here?” ”

“ Clayton heard that this was a sure omen of death, and though he had ever laughed at it as an old woman’s whim, he shuddered now as he saw it in her, and bowing his head upon the pillow, he wept like a child. For a moment Richard Delafield stood gazing upon the apparently dying girl and the weeping man, who seemed wholly incapable of action; then rousing himself, he went in quest of the black women, commanding them in a voice they dared not disobey to come at once to the sick-room. ”

“ Lansing’s tears falling like rain on the face of the unconscious child, which she folded to her bosom as tenderly as if it had indeed been her own lost Jessie come back to her again. Upon Ada the arrival of the stranger produced a novel effect, overwhelming her with such a load of modesty that she kept out of Richard’s way nearly two weeks, and never once came to see me until I was sitting up in my merino morning gown, which she had embroidered for me herself. Ada has a very nice sense of propriety! ”

“ Over the New England hills the hazy light of a most glorious Indian Summer was shining, while the forest trees, in their gorgeous array of crimson and gold, lifted their tall heads as proudly as if they heard not in the distance the voice of coming sorrows, and the sighing of winter winds. The birds had flown to their southern home where I fondly hoped to meet them, for I was to be a bride—Richard’s bride—and the day for my bridal had come. ”

“ For a time the selfish nature of the man prevailed, and then there came a moment of calmer reflection: if Rose loved another, would it be right for him to mar her happiness by intruding upon her his affection? Should he not rather rejoice in knowing that she was happy with the man she had chosen, and if, henceforth, the world to him was dark and cheerless, might he not occasionally gather a gleam of comfort from knowing that no shadow was across her pathway! ”

“ Involuntarily, Anna gasped as if for breath, while she started quickly forward to stay the rash act; but she was too late, and with a faint moan of anguish, she turned away to hide her tears. One taste awoke the slumbering demon, and set his veins on fire; and when at midnight Mr. Watson came for us, he took the insensible man in his arms and placed him in the wagon, beside the weeping wife, whose fond hopes were now wrecked for ever. ”

“ It is true that years before, when she first came a weeping orphan to Cedar Grove, he had devoted himself to her entirely, feeling, perhaps, a little proud of his ward, to whom he sometimes talked of love, or hinted vaguely of the time when she would be his bride, as they wandered together beneath the whispering pines, which grew around his home, and once, when she was in Boston, he had actually made up his mind to offer himself immediately and take her to Sunny Bank as its mistress. ”

“ Alone in her room, however, she shed tears of anger and mortification as she saw us ride off together, and thought of the happiness from which she was debarred by a fancied blister, which had never come in contact with her flesh. But whether it drew upon her side or the fire-board, it in a measure wrought the desired cure, for seldom again did Ada attempt to deceive her guardian. Would it not be well if more of our modern young ladies should be blistered for the same disease that afflicted Ada Montrose. ”

“ By her side there is, I know, a vacant chair, and in her heart a lonely void, which naught on earth can fill; but while she lives, and I know that there is in the world for me a mother and a mother’s love, can I not feel that I have indeed a home, though it be not the spot where first she blessed me as her child? ”

“ I could not see him, but I absolutely pitied poor Ada, who began to realize that the way of the transgressor is hard. The tears started to her eyes, while with a look of dismay, she exclaimed, “Oh, Richard, how could you? I never was blistered in my life. It will kill me. I can’t do it,”—and she cried aloud.
Very gently, Mr. Delafield soothed her, telling her that so far from “killing her,” it would certainly “cure her,” he knew it would, and he insisted upon her trying it. ”

“ I knew, then, why Ada congratulated Herbert, and mentally chiding myself for my stupidity, I took the bundle of cambric and flannel in my arms, while Anna said, “We call him Jamie Lee, and we think he looks like you. Isn’t he a beauty?”
He did look like me, and knowing that, I wondered at Anna’s question; but where is the young mother who thinks her first born baby homely?—though his nose be flat—his forehead low—and his mouth extend from ear to ear! Not Anna, most certainly. ”

“ I am astonished at you, brother—astonished that a Delafield should stoop so low as to think of wedding a girl like Rosa Lee. You cannot, I think, be in earnest; but if you are, I am rejoiced that I have it in my power to tell you there is no hope. I have just left Miss Lee, who has made me her confident, asking if I thought it would be contrary to all rules of propriety for her to marry Dr. Clayton so soon after the death of his wife. ”

“ Lansing and Ada sat upon the piazza, panting for a breath of pure, cool air. At the side of each stood a negro girl, industriously fanning their mistresses, who scolded them as if they were to blame, because the air thus set in motion was hot and burning as the winds which blow over the great desert of Sahara. ”

“ Delafield, when I shall be fortunate enough to boast such an appendage to my household; and as a woman’s taste is supposed to be superior to that of men, I want your opinion. How do you like it? Do you think it would suit my wife, if I had one?”
Of course he meant Ada, and in fancy I saw her reclining upon the luxurious lounges, or gazing out upon the vine-wreathed piazza, and wealth of flowers, which greeted my view when I looked from the large bay window. ”

“ It is not strange, then, that I almost fancied myself in another world, when after a prosperous sea voyage I one morning went on shore at Charleston, and first breathed the soft, balmy air of the South. Dense and green was the foliage of the trees, while thousands of roses and flowering shrubs filled the air with a perfume almost sickening to the senses. From Charleston to Augusta was a wearisome ride, for the cars were crowded and dirty, and there was to me nothing remarkably pleasing in the long stretches of cypress swamps and pine barrens through which we passed. ”

“ One day Charlie, with his usual abruptness, said to me, “Rose, why didn’t you fall in love with Mr. Delafield. I should much rather have him than a widower?”
The hot blood rushed to my cheeks as I replied quickly, “He is engaged to Miss Montrose. They were to have been married this fall, Mrs. Lansing said, but the marriage is, I presume, deferred on account of their recent affliction. At least I hear nothing said of it.”
“If I am any judge of human nature,” returned Charlie, “Mr. Delafield cares far more for you than for Miss Montrose, even if they are engaged. ”

“ Greatly relieved at the absence of one whom she had in a measure dreaded as a rival, Ada began to hope that the conquest of her guardian would now be a comparatively easy matter, and as she knew the effect which a pretty face and a becoming dress had upon him, she had spent a great deal of time upon this evening’s toilet, and looked unusually young and handsome in her pale blue tissue, with her soft curls falling over her white uncovered neck. ”

“ Loud and shrill rose the wail of the negroes, increasing in violence when it was known that into another cabin the pestilence had entered, prostrating a boy, who, in his agony, called for Jessie and mas’r Richard, thinking they could save him. Late as it was, Mrs. Lansing, Ada, and Lina, were still upon the piazza, which was far more comfortable than their sleeping-room, where they supposed both Halbert and Jessie were safely in bed. ”

“ She was a woman, who, if essential to her own interest, could turn with every breeze, and though she was not pleased with her brother’s choice, she did not deem it advisable to provoke his anger by quarrelling about it, for when once roused, but few could cope with his resolute, determined spirit. Then, too, Rosa Lee was yielding and generous, and would not object even if her husband should bestow half his fortune upon his sister; so after all it might be better to have her the mistress of Sunny Bank than one like Ada, who was more selfish and wanted everything for herself. ”

“ As she said this, she looked me steadily in the face, as if to read my inmost soul. I felt provoked, for I now thought of my former affection for the doctor as something of which I was a little ashamed, and I did not much like to be reminded of it by his wife. So I ventured to say that “whatever I might once have felt for her husband, it was all over now, and I could think of no greater misfortune than that of being his wife!” ”

“ But this the woman failed to do as she was then at Sunny Bank, and Mrs. Lansing was about venturing to go in quest of her, when she appeared with her uncle’s message, saying, “she knew Miss Lee was dying, she looked so dreadfully.”
“Jessie—child,” screamed the affrighted Mrs. Lansing, shrinking from the little girl as if she had been a loathsome thing, “Have you been there—in the room?”
Without any attempt at concealment, Jessie told what she had done, and when her mother exclaimed, “You are a dead child,” she answered fearlessly, “I am not afraid to die.” ”

“ The moment they were gone Anna left the parlor, while I, frightened by the agonized expression of her face, soon followed her; but the door of our room was locked, and it was in vain I called on her to admit me, for she only answered in a voice choked with tears, “Go away, Rosa; I would rather be alone.”
So I left her and returned to the parlor, where I found Ada weeping passionately, while my aunt, who had not been present during the conversation which had so affected her, was trying in vain to learn the cause of her grief. ”

“ And though, perchance, the snows of many a winter may have drifted across the graves of the gray-haired man you called your father, and the mild-eyed woman who bore the blessed name of mother, can you not recall them to mind, as when with tears of joy and words of love, they welcomed their children home, thanking God that as yet not one of their household treasures was missing? ”

“ Delafield was a great admirer of beauty, and when he looked upon the exceedingly lovely face of the youthful Ada, and thought of her as a lonely orphan, his heart was touched, and he found no difficulty in promising to protect her, and also to make her his wife, if, upon a more intimate acquaintance, he found her all he could wish her to be. ”