Christine

“ I remember Christine—aye, God witness, I remember the day she came, the day she went. Her father was an Italian merchant of Zara; her mother was the daughter of a musician of Marseilles. They brought her to my city when she was a babe; she was seven years old when the fever struck them down and left her to the care of her half-brother, Nicolò Boldù. You have heard of Nicolò—nay, how should you have heard? He was one to be forgotten in his shame, a drunkard, and a lover of women. ”

“ Within the lighted doorway Queen Hild turned
To reach a helping hand, and, as she bent
To clutch the swooning maiden, well-nigh spent,
And drew her to the chamber, weak and faint,
Through her gold hair so rare a lustre burned,
It seemed to Christine that an aureoled saint
Leaned out from heaven to snatch her from the deep.
Then, dizzily, she sank upon the floor,
Dreaming that toil was over evermore,
And she secure in Love's celestial fold ”

“ As Christine read, her tears fell fast on Herbert's letter. She experienced a moment of agonising indecision. She loved passionately, but she was young and innocent, and love had not yet imparted to her pure soul the audacity that braves all things. The wise counsels heard in her father's house, uncle William's pious exhortations, the holy prayers she had learned from her infancy upwards, resounded in her ears; the Christ upon her wooden crucifix seemed to look at her; the beads of her rosary were still warm with the pressure of her fingers. ”

“ I was always afraid I might say something dreadful; something that would shock his wonderful goodness. But Christine seemed perfectly at home. How bright and lovely she looked! I will not allow evil thoughts to triumph over me. I will not be vexed simply because she eclipsed me, where no one ever did before. She is a dear, affectionate girl, and I made a vow before God to love her always, never to be to her as I was once."
A fervent prayer brought back to Ann all her former tranquillity, and she pressed a kiss upon Christine's forehead, full of repentant affection. ”

“ Seated on a tree trunk, surrounded by branches and beside the water, like Shakespeare's Ophelia, Christine was charming. But although young, beautiful, and beloved, deep melancholy was the characteristic of her features. Her companion, too, gazed mournfully at her, with eyes to which the tears seemed about to start.
"Herbert," said the young girl, stooping towards her lover, "Herbert, be not so sad! we are both too young to despair of life. Herbert! better times will come." ”

“ With questioning lips, about the love-bright maid.
Christine, unheeding, turned nor left nor right;
With lifted head and eager step unstayed,
She strode to Geoffrey, while he stood alone,
Radiant with wondering love--as one who sees
The light of high, eternal mysteries
Illume awhile the mortal shade that moves
From out oblivion unto night unknown,
Hugging a little grace of joys and loves. ”

“ The feeble mother with eyes full of tears, glancing thankfully toward Heaven, listened to Christine's wonderful story about the shoes and the twenty kreutzers. It seemed incredible. So much happiness in one day! And Christine's beautiful smile seemed to fill the squalid room with radiance when she thought of Sunday and the expected arrival of the shoemaker's bashful boy.
Her happiness increased day by day; for every Sunday Peter punctually arrived, always bringing some unusual delicacies with him, and accepting gladly Christine's consent to carry the violin. ”

“ But while I say this of the man, it is difficult to speak of the new Christine I found in the château of Jajce. Oh, she was changed beyond words, signor. Five months had made a woman of her; had robbed her of none of the graces of her childhood, yet had added other graces to them. She was always a tall child; but she had grown since I had seen her, and now stood up almost to the shoulder of the Count. Her new dress, brought from Vienna; her new manner of speech, for they had taught her much German; her pretty airs, like the airs of a little princess, all became her exceedingly. ”

“ After a short silence, she asked me whether I was certain that such a handsome young man would have her. That question gave me an insight into Christine's heart and feelings, and quieted all my sorrow, for I saw that I had not known her well. I answered that, beautiful as she was, there was no doubt of her being loved by everybody.
"It will be at dinner, my dear Christine, that my friend will examine and study you; do not fail to shew all the charms and qualities with which God has endowed you, but do not let him suspect our intimacy." ”

“ CHAPTER XXXV REMORSE Christine had a peculiar experience while at West Point. She saw on every side what would have brought her the choicest enjoyment, had her mind been at rest. To her artist nature, and with her passion and power for sketching, the Highlands on the Hudson were paradise. But though she saw in profusion what once would have delighted her, and what she now felt ought to be the source of almost unmingled happiness, she was still thoroughly wretched. ”

“ But Christine turned away without answering him, and approached Arwed. 'Thy spirit breathed upon me in the court room,' said she with strong emotion. 'For the kindness I met there, I am indebted to thy benignant heart. Tire not! I well know that we are not worthy of all you are doing for us; but you are accustomed to the performance of all that is good and great, and will of yourself consummate your work, for its own sake, regardless of the object. ”

“ Women bejewelled and begowned to the limits of splendour, pretty girls in the galleries, courtesans flaunting in the circles, cast their flowers to the stage. The glitter of the gems, the flash of the countless lights, the clamour of the people, the changing lustre of colour—these, excellency, blinded my eyes and deafened my ears. For two hours had I sat in my little box trembling as one with the palsy for the success of Christine. ”

“ Christine, I have just received orders to embark in one of his ships, sailing for Batavia."
A cry escaped Christine's lips, and her eyes, suffused with tears, devoured the subsequent lines.
"Your father places the immensity of ocean between [Pg 59] us; he separates us for ever. We are to meet no more! Christine, has your heart, since I last saw you, learned to comprehend those words? No, my adored Christine, we must live or die together! Your poor mother is no more; your presence is no longer essential to the happiness of any one. Your family is pitiless and without affection for you. ”

“ Christine kissed his hand in silence, and then leaned, weeping, against a tree.
'Yes! children are the gift of heaven!' said the old man to Arwed, 'and the joys they bring us are the best in life. But when they are given in anger, they become the most terrible scourges in his hands, through the sorrows they cause.'
He walked slowly towards the castle, and Christine suddenly approached Arwed, threw her arms passionately around him, impressed a burning kiss upon his lips, and sobbed, 'farewell, Arwed,--do not despise me! ”

“ After all, the decision rested with Christine. But it made things easier. A poor man would have had to wait. As to Christine, she was like a woman living in a dream. She heard me when I pleaded with her—for I did not give up without a struggle—but as she might have listened to the story of some one infinitely remote. She tried to grieve for both of us, but her own happiness was too great. I remember saying in my anguish for her:
"Have you ever thought what you will talk of together, day after day, year after year, you who haven't a word in common?" ”

“ More they could not afford to give, lest their liberality might eventually expose them to the same plight.
Christine beamed with happiness. When her song was finished, she quickly took out of her apron her gathered treasure, counting it with shining eyes. Twenty kreutzers—she counted them again and again. Her stiff little fingers could not hold all at once, but her eyes, wet with happy emotion, were fastened on each of them, and her heart leaped within her at the sight. So many she had never before earned. ”

“ But in a moment Christine's face changed, resuming, like a veil over its youth and bloom, the look of world-weariness. She bowed slightly to him, with a somewhat cool response to his pleasant morning greeting, and made haste to resume her walk homeward. ”

“ As Christine looked about her she felt a thrill of almost delight—the first sensation of the kind since that moment of exultation which Dennis had inspired, but which he had also turned to the bitterness of disaster and humiliation. She was keenly alive to beauty, and she saw it on every side. The Ludolph family had ever lived among the mountains on the Rhine, and the heart of this latest child of the race yearned over the rugged scenery before her with hereditary affection, which had grown stronger with each successive generation. ”

“ And more: if the only girl I ever loved, ever really loved—loved from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet—were here to-day, and Christine stood beside her, little plebeian with a big heart, by Heaven, I'd choose Christine. I can trust her, though she is a little liar. She loves, and she'll stick; and she's true where she loves. Yes; if all the women in the world stood beside Christine this morning, I'd look them all over, from duchess to danseuse, and I'd say, 'Christine Lavilette, I'm a scoundrel. I haven't a penny in the world. I'm a thief; a thief who believes in you. ”

“ Here's to Christine, the belle of the German court!" and he filled a slender Venetian glass to the brim, drained it, and then retired.
Christine, on reaching her room, muttered to herself: "He now knows all that I mean he ever shall. We are one in our ambition, if nothing else, and therefore our relations must be to a certain degree confidential and amicable. And now forget you have a conscience, forget you have a heart, and, above all things, forget that you have ever seen or known Dennis Fleet." ”

“ Those two words kept Christine uncertain and unhappy. She could not bear to think of Cluny’s forgetting her. Cluny had been part of all her nineteen years of life. Why must men be so one or the other? she asked fretfully. Why force her to an uncertain decision? Why was she so uncertain? Then she boldly faced the question and asked herself—“Is Angus Ballister the reason?” Perhaps so, though she was equally uncertain about Angus. ”

“ Few in this life are so guilty and wretched as not to have moments of forgetfulness, when the happier past comes back and they are oblivious of the painful present. Such a brief respite Christine enjoyed during part of her morning ride. The grand and swiftly varying scenery crowded her mind with pleasant images, which had been followed by a delicious revery. She felt herself to be a true priestess of Nature, capable of understanding and interpreting her voices and hidden meanings—of catching her evanescent beauty and fixing it on the glowing canvas. ”

“ In this world they would see each other no more, and he was sorrowfully shocked and touched by the change in the handsome woman, once so vibrant and full of life. Sometimes they had not been very good friends, but this white, frail image, stretching out hands full of pleasure and goodwill to him—this gentle mother of the beloved Christine, won in a moment all his best sympathies. ”

“ Christine was ten years older than her brother John. She had known much sorrow, but she had lived through and lived down all her trials and come out into the peace on the other side. She was sitting by the peat fire knitting, and softly crooning an old Scotch psalm to the click of her needles. She answered John's look with a sweet, grave smile, and a slight nod towards the little round table, upon which there was a plate of smoked goose and some oaten cake for his supper. ”

“ And now to speak of Christine’s relations with Count Paul. I have told you that she regards him as a father. She has reason to. He saved her life when she was perishing of hunger in the mountains. She thinks of him as a friend—it would be impossible for her to think of him otherwise, for he is twice her age—a gloomy man, living like a hermit in a house of gloom. It may be that she would have remained always at Jézero, but for the cruelty of the scoundrel Klun, who dragged her from her happiness that she might be his slave in this city. She was never a wife to him. ”

“ Christine asleep of a night in her little back bedroom, Christine of a day stepping about the house in one of Paulina's old gowns, became a part of their existence, and a part which was not far from the nature of a sweetness to their senses.
She still retained her mild shyness of manner, and rarely spoke unless spoken to. Now that she was warmly sheltered and well fed, her beauty became evident. She grew prettier every day. ”

“ A sorrow we have looked in the face, can harm us no more.
Perhaps Christine was not so brave as her father thought, but she had considered the likelihood of such a situation, and had decided that there was no dealing with it, except in a spirit of practical life. She knew, also, that in the long run sentiment would have to give way to common sense, and the more intimate she became with the character of Angus Ballister, the more certain she felt that his love for her would have to measure itself against the pride and will of his uncle, and the tyranny of social estimates and customs. ”