Dulcibel

“ But now since the trial, she hated her for herself. It was not so much on account of the prediction, as on account of Dulcibel's terrific arraignment of her. The accusation that her husband was her dupe and tool was, on account of its palpable truth, that which gave her perhaps the greatest offence. The charge being once made, others might see its truth also. Thus all the anger of her cunning, revengeful nature was directed against Dulcibel. [Pg 137]
And just at this time she heard from a friend in Boston, who sent her a budget of news, that Master Raymond had taken dinner with Captain Alden. ”

“ The mare did stand as composedly and peacefully as the most dignified minister could desire.
"You will remember that she has never been ridden by any one, man or woman, save her witch [Pg 155] mistress Dulcibel—Jezebel, I think would be a more fitting name for her, considering her wicked doings."
Here Master Parris took the bridle rein from John Indian and threw his right leg over the animal. ”

“ I love Leah Herrick's little finger better than your whole body with your Jezebel's bodice, and your fine lady's airs. You had better go now and marry that conceited popinjay up at Jo Putnam's, if you can get him."
With that he pushed off down the hill, and up the road, that he might not be forced to accompany her back to the village.
Dulcibel was not prepared for such a burst of wrath, and such an uncovering of the heart. Which of us has not been struck with wonder, even far more than indignation, at such times? ”

“ So you see they really do think the same as we do about it; only they do not always know it."
"You are a bright young man," Lady Mary replied pleasantly, "and I think almost good enough to wear such a sweet rose next your heart as Mistress Dulcibel." ”

“ She was never broken to harness; and no one, as I said, has ever ridden her but me. So that now if any other person, man or woman, attempts to do so, she will not allow it. She rears, she plunges, and finally as a last resort, if necessary, lies down on the ground and refuses to stir. [Pg 46] "Why, that is very flattering to you, Dulcibel," said Raymond smiling. "I never knew an animal of better taste."
"That may be," replied the maiden blushing; "but you see how it is that I shall never be able to sell Little Witch if I desire to do so. She is not worth her keep to any one but me." ”

“ It was unfortunate, for the maiden already had many who disliked her among the young people of the village. She was a superior person for one thing, and "gave herself airs," as some said. To be superior, without having wealth or an acknowledged high social position, is always to be envied, and often to be hated. Then again, Dulcibel dressed with more richness and variety of costume than was usual in the Puritan villages. This set many of the women, both young and old, against her. Her scarlet bodice, especially, was a favorite theme for animadversion ”

“ Cherry would perch on her finger and sing his prettiest strains on some occasions; and at others eat out of her hand. But his prettiest feat was to kiss his mistress by putting his little beak to her lips, when she would say in a caressing tone, "Kiss me, pretty Cherry."
After playing with the canary for a little while, Dulcibel sighed and put him back in his cage, hearing a knock at the front door of the cottage. And she had just turned from the cage to take a seat, when the door opened and two persons entered. ”

“ Standing at bay, among a pack of howling wolves, the heroic is a [Pg 125] womanly as well as manly quality; and the gun and the knife as feminine implements, as the needle and the scissors. Dulcibel had never reasoned about such things; she was a maiden who naturally shrank from masculine self-assertion and publicity; but, called to confront a great peril, she was true to the noble instincts of her family and her race, and could meet falsehood with indignant denial and contempt. How she had been led to utter those predictions she never fully understood—not at the time nor afterwards. ”

“ Men usually go contrary to expectations in such matters. [?]
And whether or no Dulcibel was able to give him all that he required, either in the way of heart or of intellect, he and she had been very happy together. The last seventeen years had gone by with smooth rapidity. ”

“ Marian said quietly.
Dulcibel almost smiled, then sighed.
“It’s easier to preach than to practice. If Leo would but come! Hush—is that the front door? Why doesn’t Nessie tell me she has seen him? Yes, it certainly is; and I can hear Leo’s voice. Something is wrong! Marian, go at once, please, and send him to me as quickly as possible. Don’t let him wait a moment.” ”

“ The light shines down from the rising sun in the heavens, and the mountain tops first receive the rays. The last new truth is always first perceived by the small minority of superior minds and souls. How indeed could it be otherwise, so long as truth like light always shines down from above?
"Have you communicated this view to your brother and sister?" asked Dulcibel.
"I have talked with them for a whole evening, [Pg 42] but I do think Sister Ann is possessed too," replied Joseph Putnam. "She fairly raves sometimes. ”

“ He is a powerful witch, and half a Quaker, besides."
"But do you really believe in witches, uncle Robie?"
"What do these deuced Barebones Puritans know about witches, or the devil, or anything else? There is only one true church, Mistress Dulcibel. I have sa mooch respect for the clergy as any man ”

“ The old man gazed into her face, at first wonderingly; then, with the instinct of old reverence and obedience, he handed the rapier to her, crossed his muscular arms over his broad breast, bowed his grisly head, and stood submissively before her.
"You can return now safely," Dulcibel called out to the constables. They came in, at first a little warily. "He is insane; but the spell is over [Pg 101] now for the present. But treat him tenderly, I pray you. When he is in one of these fits, he has the strength of ten men." ”

“ Dulcibel thought she had never met such a cultivated young man, although she had read of such; and he felt very certain that [Pg 43] he never met with such a lovely young woman. Not that she was over intelligent—one of those precociously "smart" young women that, thanks to the female colleges and the "higher culture" are being "developed" in such alarming numbers nowadays. If she had been such a being, I fancy Master Raymond would have found her less attractive. ”

“ And there was not much talking against Dulcibel after this, among that portion of the villagers.
Ellis Raymond had heard this speech as he walked silently out of the meeting-house with Joseph Putnam, and a grim smile flitted over his face. He felt prouder than ever of his beautiful betrothed. He was not a man who admired amazons or other masculine women, such, as in these days, we call "strong-minded;" he liked a woman to keep in her woman's sphere, such as the Creator had marked out for her by making her a woman ”

“ This was the first time that the accused had fully turned upon the accusers. It was a pity that it had not been done before; because such was the superstition of the day, that to have your death predicted by one who was considered a witch was no laughing matter. The blood ran cold even in Mistress Ann Putnam's veins, as she thought of Dulcibel's prediction; and the rest of the "afflicted" inwardly congratulated themselves that they had escaped her malediction, and resolved that they would not be present at her trial as witnesses against her, if they could possibly avoid it. ”

“ Jethro further testified that Mistress Dulcibel freely admitted to him that her horse was a witch; never speaking of the mare in fact but as a "little witch." As might be expected, the horse was a most vicious animal, worth nothing to anybody save one who was a witch himself. He thought it ought to be stoned, or otherwise killed, at once.
The Rev. Master Noyes suggested that if it were handed over to his reverend brother Parris, he might be able, by a course of religious exercises, to cast out the evil spirit and render the animal serviceable. ”

“ And remember, we don’t know yet with certainty whether this person is the mother. And, if she is, we do not know why she left the child, or what prevented her return.”
“It is all as plain as daylight to me,” said Dulcibel. “She is a cruel, heartless woman, and wanted to get rid of the little darling, and didn’t care whether she were drowned or not.”
“Women do occasionally jump by accident to a right conclusion,” said George calmly. ”

“ Who gives her away?" asked the minister.
"This maiden is Mistress Dulcibel Burton," said Master Raymond, taking her by the hand.
[Pg 388] "She is an orphan; but I give her away," added the Captain.
"Dulcibel Burton! the serpent witch!" exclaimed Master Mather. "What is that convict doing here? Has she broken jail?"
"Master Mather," said the Captain in an excited tone, "if you utter another word of insult against this innocent and beautiful maiden, I will have you flung overboard to the sharks! So take care of what you say!" ”

“ Dulcie there are two sides to the affair. One is the mother’s wrong-doing—folly—cruelty—call it by what terms you will. If she has forsaken the child, no words of condemnation can be too strong. Still there remains the other side of the matter. Little Joan is not to blame,—and if she should be one of the Master’s foundlings, I suppose he will wish some of his servants to give her food and shelter.”
“I knew you wanted to adopt her,” said Dulcibel resentfully. “I have known it from the first. I think philanthropy is a craze with some people. It is just encouraging wickedness. ”

“ And though Dulcibel's beauty went for nothing in their eyes, a young man's good looks and gallant bearing were something entirely different.
And so Abigail Williams, and Mary Walcot, and Mercy Lewis, and Leah Herrick, and Sarah Churchill, and Elizabeth Hubbard all had the same tale to tell with suitable variations, as young Ann Putnam had. They were certain that the face of the "spectre" was not the face of Master Raymond; but of some person they had never before seen. Mercy Lewis and Sarah Churchill, [Pg 278] in fact, were inclined to think it was the face of Satan himself ”

“ George Rutherford dwelt there still as master, and Dulcibel as mistress. No earthquake had shaken the foundation of Dulcibel’s being. They had lived on year after year, feeling themselves and things around to be always much the same; only of course everybody was growing a little older. And Joan was a daughter of the house—not the daughter, since they had a child of their own. Somehow Joan Brooke always took her stand as the eldest daughter, although of course the position belonged by right to her junior in years, Nessie Rutherford. But Nessie was not self-asserting, and Joan undoubtedly was. ”

“ An early start had to be made next morning, and Dulcibel was in one of her usual agonies of unreadiness. Some people never are in time for anything, no matter how early they begin to prepare; and Dulcibel’s supremest efforts after punctuality came always to the same impotent conclusion.
“Nessie, do make haste! Put those things into the portmanteau—no, not there—the other pile. Oh, dear, you have upset them all! Never mind—stuff them in. Where’s Joan? Not gone down stairs yet! She might have come to help me first.”
“Mother, here is Joan,” said Nessie, as the door opened two inches. ”

“ I have always found her a very sensible woman."
"Yes, my wife is a very remarkable woman if I do say it," replied Master Putnam. "Her plan is to send Master English and his wife off at once to Boston—that will save us all further trouble with them and their sailors."
"A capital idea! It shall be carried out this very day," said the magistrate.
"And she also suggests that the young witch woman, Dulcibel Burton, should be sent with them. That friend of my brother Joseph, is still staying around here; and Mistress Putnam does not exactly comprehend his motives for so long a visit." ”

“ No one but myself is to blame. I am Joan Brooke’s grandfather.”
“I don’t care whose grandfather you are; you had no right to come here!” cried impetuous Dulcibel. “Please leave us directly. I must get my husband indoors.”
Mr. Brooke would have apologized, but Dulcibel would not hear him; and he was turning away in dudgeon, when Joan appeared, glowing with her walk.
“Leo is just behind,” she began, “and Nessie—”
One glance at Mr. Brooke, another at George Rutherford, and all light and color died out of Joan’s face. She brushed past the retreating caller, and rushed to her father’s side. ”

“ But associations of early married life were strong in this place, and Dulcibel reverted to the term naturally; for they were back once more in the old Welsh hotel, close upon the wide Welsh moor, with its grounds and its avenue, and its fair surrounding hilly landscapes. The hotel had made some advances in refinement with advancing years: otherwise things were little changed.
Only people were changed. George and Dulcibel were bridegroom and bride no longer, but middle-aged man and wife; and the infant Joan had become a finished young lady; and Nessie took the place of the absent Leo. ”

“ But I pity him so much that I hesitate to [Pg 275] reveal it. I feel as if I would almost rather suffer myself, than accuse so fine a young man as he seemed to be of such wicked conduct."
"But it appears to me that it is your duty to expose him, Mistress Putnam," said Jethro Sands. "I know the young man whose spectre you saw, for he and that black witch of a mare seem to be making their nightly rounds together. They 'afflicted' me the other night the same way. I flung them off; and I asked him what he meant by acting in that way? And he said he was a lover of the witch Dulcibel ”