Rutland

“ Rutland, weeping. "If my daughter is taken from me, I shall not care to live!"
"In deep sincerity, then," said Dr. Daincourt, "I declare to you that you may be acting as your daughter's enemy instead of her friend if you do not open your heart and mind to me freely and without restraint. Relate as briefly as you can, without omitting important points, the story of her life."
It was a simple, touching story which Mrs. Rutland disclosed, fragrant with all that is sweetest in woman. The Rutlands have but two children, Mabel and Eustace, who came into the world within a few minutes of each other. ”

“ These Tasko Indians knew nothing of the history of civilisation. They felt only a keen pleasure as the white man played, and they gave vent to an occasional "Ah, ah," when something appealed to them more than usual.
It was late ere Rutland ceased and laid his violin aside. The Indians at once dispersed to their lodges, and silence brooded over the encampment. The moon rose big and bright above the mountains and cast its reflection down into the depths of the quiet lake. Rutland sat for a while watching the superb scene. Then he rose to his feet, and went to the lodge where Nance was lying. ”

“ She was a beautiful little maid, with wavy brown hair, rosy cheeks, and clear, dark eyes. Her plaid dress was neatly made, and her shoes were of a light-tan colour. At her throat was a small silver clasp-pin, with the one word "Nance" engraven upon it, which Rutland believed must be her name.
After they had strolled about for a while they returned to the lodge, where the Indian women were preparing breakfast.
"You stay here, little one," Rutland said. "These women will give you something to eat. I must go away now, but I shall come back soon." ”

“ Rutland, however, soon came to terms with Mary's government. He was made an admiral in 1556, and took part as a general of horse in the French war of 1557. After the loss of Calais he was on duty at Dover (cf. Froude, History, vi. 439) , and on 19 Jan. 1557–8 five hundred picked men raised in the city of London were ordered to serve under him. Rutland was a favourite of Queen Elisabeth,and had also, according to Lloyd, a certain reputation for learning. On 13 April 1559 he was nominated K.G., and on 10 May in the same year became lord-lieutenant of Rutland. ”

“ The sight of any of the house of York
Is as a fury to torment my soul;
And till I root out their accursed line
And leave not one alive, I live in hell.
Therefore--
Lifting his hand
RUTLAND O, let me pray before I take my death!
To thee I pray; sweet Clifford, pity me!
CLIFFORD Such pity as my rapier's point affords.
RUTLAND I never did thee harm: why wilt thou slay me?
CLIFFORD Thy father hath.
RUTLAND But 'twas ere I was born.
Thou hast one son; for his sake pity me,
Lest in revenge thereof, sith God is just,
He be as miserably slain as I.
Ah, let me live in prison all my days ”

“ One native, who seemed to be a leader, spoke a few words, and then all began to sing. Though he did not understand a word of the language, he recognised the tune of an old familiar hymn. He remembered how impressively they had sung it, and what fine voices they had. When they finished they all knelt down, and the leader prayed. A feeling of admiration swept over Rutland as he watched them. Then his own heart began to rebuke him for the first time since he left the Ministry. Here were these natives, children of the wild, putting him, who had taken such solemn vows upon himself, to utter shame. ”

“ Rutland sailed early in 1596 from Plymouth, and fassed by way of Paris to Switzerland and taly. In North Italy he had a dangerous illness (cf. Birch, Elizabeth, i. 428, ii. 26) . He seems to have been fond of learned men, and met Caspar Waser at Zurich (Zurich Letters, Parker Soc, ii. 326) . On 2 Feb. 1597-8 he was admitted member of Gray's Inn. As he had announced some time before his intention of joining Essex in his Irish expedition, he was made a colonel of foot in 1599. ”

“ Those eyes of thine from mine have drawn salt tears,
Sham'd their aspects with store of childish drops:
These eyes, which never shed remorseful tear,
No, when my father York and Edward wept,
To hear the piteous moan that Rutland made
When black-fac'd Clifford shook his sword at him; ”

“ Cable message from Air. Archibald Laing, U. S to Mr. Bainbridge, London.
"Miss Mabel Rutland has no sisters. She has only a twin-brother, Eustace, to whom she was passionately attached and devoted. This brother and sister and their parents comprise the family. Mr. Rutland is of an implacable and relentless disposition, impatient of contradiction, and obstinate to a degree. These qualities were exercised in my favor some years ago, when I paid court to Miss Rutland, in the hope of making her my wife. ”

“ Rutledge, with an almost imperceptible compression of the lips, as, bending forward, he startled the eager horses with a galling lash of the whip.
Grace was quite white with alarm as we reached the village.
"Mr. Rutledge, why do you drive so frightfully fast? I am terrified to death." ”

“ If you had, I could allure you by the promise that you should be proud of the position you would hold; those who have slighted you should look at you with envy—those who"——
"Oh, Mr. Rutledge do not talk of those things now—I have given them up forever; I shall never care again for the world—but—there is something else—I"——
"You relent!" he murmured, eagerly. "You will consent to forget the past—you will"——
"I must tell you one thing first; I must tell you something that I have told to no one else. Heaven have mercy on me if it is a sin, or if I am betraying what I should still conceal. ”

“ The line of light grew narrower and narrower, the cold grey shroud settled down lower and heavier, the lake and lawn grew more and more indistinct, the shadows thickened within, the darkness increased without, and imperceptibly night stole over us, and still I sat dreamily by the window, picturing to myself for the hundredth time, and as I did at all dreamy moments, Rutledge as it used to be—the halls filled with servants, the rooms with guests; carriages rolling to the door; music and laughter echoing through the house; Alice lovely and admired; Richard, with his refined, aristocratic face ”

“ Rutledge?"
"Miss Grace, I haven't given the subject enough thought."
"I would give worlds to know what you are going to wear, Mr. Rutledge!" exclaimed Josephine. "But I know I shall detect you instantly. I should know your step and carriage under twenty dominoes, and among a thousand people."
"Pretty high figures those, Joseph! Phil, I shall know you by your stride, and you couldn't disguise your voice if you practised a year, and that bow is 'Philip Arbuthnot, His Mark,' all the world over!"
"The best way to disguise our voices," said Capt. McGuffy, "is to speak French. ”

“ Rutledge started a little, and did not look very much pleased when he recognized me; but there was no help, so he sat down beside me at the table.
"Miss Emerson told me she should send some one to entertain me. I didn't know she meant to send you."
"Is there any one you would prefer? Mr. Arbuthnot, the captain, or your heavy adorer, Mr. Theodore Mason? You need not hesitate to tell me. I will resign in favor of any one you name."
I was too miserable to be angry at his tone; with a languid movement of my hand, I answered:
"If you are willing to stay, sir, there is no one I should like so well." ”

“ Reese, Captain McGuffy, Phil, of course, and any one else we may choose to ask. He is really very urgent, and begs we will not refuse to enliven the gloomy old mansion with our presence for awhile. He puts it entirely into my hands, and begs I will invite whom I choose."
"Delightful!" exclaimed Josephine. "Mamma, could anything be nicer?"
"Mr. Rutledge is 'a gentleman and a scholar,'" said Grace; "he ought to be encouraged. You'll accept, of course?" ”

“ Rutledge wants to know," said Grace, coming in from the piazza.
"Not I, for one," exclaimed Ella, throwing herself back on the sofa. "I'm going to save myself for this evening."
"And you, too, Josephine, dear," said her mother, "had better not tire yourself any more. You will be perfectly fagged if you go to drive, and you want to keep yourself fresh for the Masons."
"Aren't you made of sterner stuff?" whispered Victor. "Aren't you equal to a drive and a party in the same twenty-four hours? It is heavy work, I know, but your constitution seems a good one." ”

“ Rutledge's inquiry as to his errand.
"The body of a man, sir, has just been found in the lake. It has evidently been there a day or more. The men are down there, sir; I came immediately up to let you know."
Mr. Rutledge gave a hurried glance at me, as he said quickly:
"Possibly one of the laborers. I will go down with you at once."
Capt. McGuffy, with an I-told-you-so nod to Phil, snatched his hat, and, followed by the other gentlemen, hurried with Stephen toward the lake. The ladies, in a frightened group, clustered together on the lawn and watched them from a distance. ”

“ That was enough, and in a moment I was by the fire.
"What shall I read, sir?"
"Anything you fancy."
"You are the most provoking man," I thought, as I looked up and down the shelves in search of a book. I shrewdly concluded that I might as well please myself in the choice, as it was not probable that Mr. Rutledge would attend to three words of what I read, even if he did not go to sleep. So recognizing an old friend in "Sintram," I took it from the bookcase, and sitting down in the window-seat, opened its familiar pages with some pleasure. ”

“ But Josephine, chère, was too busy with collecting books, shawls, and bags, and loading the captain therewith, in anticipation of our arrival at the station, to vouchsafe an answer.
"Travelling all day is rather exhausting," said Phil, looking at his watch. "It's half-past six—a little behind time, but it won't hurt Mr. Rutledge to wait for us awhile. Ah! there's the whistle. We shall be at the station in another minute. Now, Aunt Edith, if you and Miss Wynkar will trust yourselves to me, I think the rest are provided for. Victor! what are you about? Don't you see we're here, man?" ”

“ Rutledge gave one, from his commanding and decided carriage, the impression of a much larger man. His dark hair was slightly dashed with grey, his eyes were keen and cold, the lines of care and thought about his brow were deep and strong. If his face could be said to have an attraction, it lay in the rare smile that sometimes changed the sternness of his mouth into winning sweetness and grace. ”

“ Rutledge turned away dazed by the reply to his heart's question. "There is no answer!"—as if he were a "Buttons" who had carried to her ladyship an inconsequential message which deserved no reply. He could not get his mind to comprehend the import of it; and he was walking back down the hallway with a vexed frown upon his face trying to untangle his thoughts, when Helen Phillips passed him and, seeing him in such a mood after his parting ride with Elise, prodded him with—
"None but heroes need apply, Mr. Rutledge. I warned you." ”

“ I lay quietly on the sofa where she had placed me, with no ungentle hand to be sure, but without the slightest relaxing of her blue lips, or the smallest indication of pity in her uncompromising eyes; and watched her as she pursued her plan of operations, steadily and energetically. She certainly knew what she was about, and for precision and promptness must have been a treasure in Mr. Rutledge's eyes. There was an incredible amount of work accomplished in that house within the next hour; rooms were opened, fires were lighted, beds were aired ”

“ Rutledge gave me some slight sketches, passing briefly by those that I knew he could have told me most about. But I turned admiringly back to the sketch that had so much taken my fancy.
"After all," I said, "this is the finest face among them."
Mr. Rutledge shook his head dissentingly, and looked sadly up at Richard's portrait.
"No indeed," I exclaimed, "that's not near so good a face as this; handsomer, perhaps, dreamy and poetical, but not so brave and spirited. Look at the impatient fire in those eyes! And his smile is truth itself. There is something so determined in the attitude too." ”

“ To others, I was only a gay young girl, revelling in her first flush of triumph, thoughtless, innocent and happy. God help all such innocence and happiness!
It was the last dance; the carriage was already at the door. Mrs. Churchill had limited us to five minutes; two or three were contending for my hand. Victor had hung around me all the evening, and I caught a gleam of his sad, expressive eyes. Josephine, on Mr. Rutledge's arm, passed us at the moment. Turning toward Victor, I said to the others with a smile, "Mr. Viennet says this will be his last dance in America. ”

“ Josephine and Ella took no pains to conceal their ennui, and Grace revelled in impertinence. The gentlemen—i.e. Phil, Captain McGuffy, and Ellerton—were shooting woodcock, and Mr. Rutledge had gone off on business, and it was possible, he had left word, that he might not return till late.
"Let's have a glorious nap," said Josephine, as we left the table. "It will be time enough to dress just before tea-time. They will none of them be back sooner than eight o'clock." ”

“ An alarming truth began to dawn on my mind, a vivid blush spread over my face, and Mrs. Roberts never once took her eyes off me.
"I fancied it, and Mr. Rutledge said I might have it," I stammered. Mrs. Robert's blue lips parted for an instant in a contemptuous curl; then, looking stonier than ever, she said:
"Yes, it is a good likeness; or was, at least, when he was a young man; he's sadly changed since then; he's an old and an altered man now, is Mr. Arthur Rutledge."
The housekeeper, saying this with emphasis, and having no excuse for staying longer, was obliged to withdraw. ”