Ellenor

“ Perrin's religious life was a deep reality to him: he never spoke of it, but in it he moved, at home, in the conscious joy of the presence of God.
Every night, when his mother had gone to bed in her tiny attic, he knelt long beside the jonquière in the corner of the hearth: and every night he prayed for Ellenor, naming her softly after the beloved word "mother."
But this night. Ellenor was first on his lips. Why was she unhappy? Why was she so unkind to the father she loved? Ah, if one could see right through her dark eyes into her sorrowful heart, one might have a chance of comforting her! ”

“ Poor Ellenor! It is strange, Howard, in the course of so many years you should never have gained any intelligence, nor met with the least circumstance [Pg 66] from which you could judge of her destiny."
"It is strange, Talton. A few weeks back my nephew introduced a youth on board, whose appearance raised such emotions in my breast as I cannot attempt to describe. He was the exact resemblance of my Ellenor; his age too agrees with my son's, if living; but every hope was soon destroyed, his answers plainly proved he was not her child."
A sigh of regret here burst from the bosom of the Captain ”

“ Then, with slow, and as if involuntary, movement, her head nestled against his shoulder.
"That's right!" he said, "now you are a sensible girl. Let's be happy while we can. So you call Blaisette mine, do you! What a foolish Ellenor to be jealous of her. She's quite different from you, can't you see that she doesn't set a man's blood on fire like you do, witch?"
[Pg 16]
"That's all very well, Monsieur, but you told father to the veille that I would make a good servant and he thought perhaps you would wish to engage me for when you marry Blaisette, and I saw you with her on the jonquière!" ”

“ No, no, I can't meddle with him. His whole family has always been known to have dealings with the devil. Well, here we are to Les Casquets, let's go in and perhaps your mother will give me a cup of tea."
"Go in by yourself, if you like! As for me, I'm off, à bientôt, Perrin!"
Ellenor walked slowly in the direction which would lead her furthest away from the cottage. She wound in and out of low, prickly gorze bushes covering the moorland till she reached Pleinmont Point, then she ran down a gently sloping grass valley till she got to the sea. ”

“ The breakfast will be ready as soon as you're down."
Jean dressed in particularly old clothes, and Mrs. Cartier chose out the shabbiest skirt she possessed, for they were preparing for a day of hard work on the beach. But, to their surprise, when they came down to breakfast, Ellenor wore a pretty gown of dark red stuff. She explained, carelessly, that indeed she would not make herself a fright before all the countryside; and if the gown was spoilt, well, it couldn't be helped. Her parents said nothing, for Ellenor's temper was more uncertain than ever, and they dreaded an outbreak ”

“ She's a poor creature, and she can't be left alone. Who can tell when Cartier and I will be back!"
It was two o'clock before the men started to walk to Saint Pierre Port. It was brilliant moonlight at four o'clock, and the gusts of snow had died away with the wind; but the men searched, in vain, for any trace of Ellenor. As soon as it was dawn, the two parishes were roused, and those who were kind helped to look for the missing girl. The rest shrugged their shoulders and said that Christmas Day was not meant to be wasted in such a search, for such a queer wild girl as Ellenor Cartier. ”

“ But, for your sake, I buried my sorrows in my own bosom; enduring every species of behaviour studiously calculated to drive me to a separation; and, could I have been assured you would have enjoyed the property after her decease, I would not have hesitated a moment in my determination; but too well did I know her principles to place the power in her hands.
"The return of my Ellenor and her infant, increased the anxiety which preyed on my mind; though I trust, she will do justice to her brother, in believing his heart never for an instant coincided with the will of her father. ”

“ Accordingly, in the morning, he attended with Frederick; and the Captain, as soon as he beheld him, gave him his hand, saying with a smile—"I find, Sir Henry, I must be doubly your debtor: your assistance last night preserved my life and now to you I must look for those blessings which can alone render life desirable. To you, my [Pg 197] Ellenor, in her letter, refers me for intelligence: tell me then what fate she has hitherto experienced; for much I fear fortune may have in every respect proved unfavourable." ”

“ They proceeded to breakfast, and the Captain, at Ellenor's request, related the occurrences of his life, since their separation, and the little train of accidents which had conducted him to her. "And now, my Ellenor," he continued, "will you gratify my impatience, and explain a mystery, which for years has perplexed and rendered me unhappy?"
"As I live, there are Harland and Louise!" interrupted Sir Henry, as a carriage drove to the gate; and, hastening out of the room, he immediately introduced his sister and the Lieutenant. An exclamation of surprise escaped Mr. ”

“ Ellenor Worton! My God, what ideas does that name recall! Yes, far above my life I prized her: but those days are for ever fled! I am wretched, and she is [Pg 35] now a friendless fugitive in a merciless world!"
"What mean you, Howard?" asked Mr. Talton. "There is a mystery in your words I do not understand."
"Then I will explain them," returned the Captain. "Your friendship, your honour, I have proved; and when you hear my tale, you will not wonder why, on beholding the friend of my earlier days, instead of smiles, my countenance should thus wear the semblance of sorrow and regret." ”

“ The girl had such baffling contrasts of character, such slippery moods, such abundant fantasy that the young man—volatility itself—lost his footing, his fine sense of honor and made love to this sphinx of the ink-pot, was mocked and flouted but never entirely driven from her presence. More than any other woman, Ellenora enjoyed the conquest of man. She mastered Paul as she had mastered Arthur, easily; but there was more of the man of the world, more of the animal in the amateur, and the silkiness of her husband, at first an amusement, finally angered her. ”

“ Blond, where for seventeen years I lived secluded from the world. The occurrences which then drove me from Caermarthen, will be fully recounted in the narrative of our Henry."
"Thanks, my dear Ellenor," said the Captain, "for your part of these explanations. It indeed shows me, by what trifles the happiness or misery of life may be occasioned. For a farther and final explanation, Sir Henry, we must now refer to you."
"The task," said Sir Henry, "is indeed a painful one: as it must discover the vices of a parent—nature still forces me to love!" ”

“ The wedding accounts give the names of fifty distinguished Americans who came to pay their respects to Ellenora and her husband. Every distinguished foreigner came in person; besides these, there came many of the men who had known and loved Jefferson during all his years of service. Imagine all the horses that had to be fed, all the gigs and coaches and all the Negro servants who had to be quartered. No one is surprised that what the man had accumulated was fast disappearing with so much hospitality.
But Ellenora had her troubles upon arriving in Boston. ”

“ I cannot, however, experience ease in my present state, and must therefore seek it in a change of objects. What say you, Howard, to an excursion for a few weeks? Fortune, perhaps, may grant us intelligence of your Ellenor."
As his presence was not essentially necessary on board, the Captain readily [Pg 134] acceded to the proposal, and a few days after they set out for Caermarthen, accompanied by Frederick.
Fortune, however, favoured not their hopes; and, after three weeks spent in fruitless inquiries, they once more directed their course toward Dorsetshire. ”

“ In Adolphe women see nothing but Ellenore; young men see only Adolphe; men of experience see Ellenore and Adolphe; political men see the whole of social existence. You did not think it necessary to read the soul of Adolphe — any more than your critic indeed, who saw only Ellenore. ”

“ Without dwelling further upon details, I will quote here stanza 27 of the German ballad, which the reader can compare with the translated stanza:—
"Wie flog, was rund der Mond beschien,
⁠Wie flog es in die Ferne!
Wie flogen oben über hin
⁠Der Himmel und die Sterne!
"Graut Liebchen audi! Der Mond scheint hell!
Hurrah! die Todten reiten schnell!
⁠Graut Liebchen auch vor Todten?"
⁠"'O weh! Lass ruhn die Todten!'"
So far as I am aware, the first English rendering of Lenore appeared in the Monthly Magazine, done by William Taylor of Norwich, and entitled Ellenore. ”

“ Too cerebral to endure the philandering Paul, Ellenora Vibert is still in Philadelphia. She has little hope that her husband will ever make any sign.... After a time her restless mind and need of money drove her into journalism. To-day she successfully edits the Woman's Page of a Sunday newspaper, and her reading of an [Pg 140] essay on Ibsen's Heroines before the Twenty-first Century Club was declared a positive achievement. Ellenora, who dislikes Nietzsche more than ever, calls herself Mrs. ”

“ My uncle, notwithstanding his hurry, had so well calculated the relations between the train and the steamer that we had a whole day to spare. The steamer Ellenora, did not start until night. Thence sprang a feverish state of excitement in which the impatient irascible traveller devoted to perdition the railway directors and the steamboat companies and the governments which allowed such intolerable slowness. ”

“ Ellen was silent, though entering into the feeling of the words.
"Remember Him, dear Ellen; remember your best friend. Learn more of Christ, our dear Saviour, and you can't help but be happy. Never fancy you are helpless and friendless while you have Him to go to. Whenever you feel wearied and sorry, flee to the shadow of that great rock; will you? and do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am—yes, ma'am," said Ellen, as she lifted her lips to kiss her friend. Alice heartily returned the kiss, and pressing Ellen in her arms, said—
"Now, Ellen, dear, you must go; I dare not keep you any longer. ”

“ She almost forgot what the morrow would bring, in the exquisite pleasure of the instant, and hung upon every word and look of her brother as if her life were there.
"And in a few weeks," said Ellen, at length, "you will be in our own dear sitting-room again, and riding on the Black Prince! and I shall be here! and it will be——"
"It will be empty without you, Ellie! but we have a friend that is sufficient; let us love Him and be patient."
"It is very hard to be patient," murmured Ellen. "But, dear John, there was something else you wanted me to do? what is it? ”

“ Ellen unclosed her eyes and looked about her. She was in a wide gray country, such as she had never seen [53] before. Everything about her was gray, the trees, the grass, the streams and sky—everything; and not far away was a gigantic, shadowy gray castle.
Close to where the gander had alighted stood a little old woman with her hands clasped. She was looking at Ellen with wide, wondering eyes. Presently she came nearer, and timidly stretching out her hand she touched Ellen with her finger. "Are you real, or are you only a dream?" she asked.
"Why I'm real, of course," said Ellen. ”

“ Ellen's eyes sought the window again.
"You are thinking that it is hardly possible," said John, with a smile.
"I suppose it is possible," said Ellen, "but——"
"But lovely as this world is, Ellie, man has filled it with sin, and sin has everywhere brought its punishment, and under the weight of both the earth groans. There will be no sin there; sorrow and sighing shall flee away; love to each other and love to their blessed King will fill all hearts, and His presence will be with them. ”

“ Then a voice from the kinsmen spoke louder in scorn
'Twas the youth that had loved the fair Ellen of Lorn.
"I dreamed of my lady. I dreamed of her grief,
I dreamed that her lord was a barbarous chief;
On a rock of the ocean, fair Ellen did seem;
Glenara! Glenara! now read me my dream!"
In dust low the traitor has knelt to the ground,
And the desert reveal'd where his lady was found;
From a rock of the ocean that beauty is borne
Now joy to the house of fair Ellen of Lorn! ”

“ When you meet [Pg 117] strange men on the mountains and they say to you politely, “May I ask your name?” do you answer, “Why, I am Ellen”?’ I had forgotten that I had said that. I suppose I did look young, with my hair down and my brown dress that’s so much too short for me. ‘I came back to find a wonderful little girl; where is she?’ I answered,—and my heart was beating at my boldness,—‘She grew up while you were away.’ ‘Oh, Ellen, Ellen!’ he said to me, ‘those were the longest weeks in all the life I’ve lived, and it’s strange it should have been your aunt’s house that I should have come to. ”

“ No, Ellen: listen to me! I have conceived a deep—profound—a fervent affection for you——"
"Cease this libertine's jargon, Mr. Greenwood," interrupted Ellen. "You must know that your sophistry cannot deceive me as it has done so many—many others."
"Then in plain terms, Ellen, you shall be mine—wholly and solely mine—and I will remain faithful to you until death."
"I will become your wife, for the sake of my child: on no other terms will I consort with you. As surely as you attempt to force me to compliance with your will, so certainly will I unmask you sooner or later. ”