第41章

Hisonevirtueconsistedofhisfondnessforhorses，andinthecarehetookoftheanimalsunderhischarge。Inaword，hewastoogoodagroomtobeeasilyreplaced，orhewouldhavequittedmyservicelongsince。OntheoccasionofwhichIamnowwriting，hewasreportedtomebymystewardasgrowingidleanddisorderlyinhishabits。Theprincipaloffenseallegedagainsthimwas，thathehadbeenseenthatdayinthecityofMetz，inthecompanyofawoman(supposedtobeanEnglishwoman)，whomhewasentertainingatatavern，whenheoughttohavebeenonhiswaybacktoMaisonRouge。Theman’sdefensewasthat“thelady“(ashecalledher) wasanEnglishstranger，unacquaintedwiththewaysoftheplace，andthathehadonlyshownherwhereshecouldobtainsomerefreshmentsatherownrequest。Iadministeredthenecessaryreprimand，withouttroublingmyselftoinquirefurtherintothematter。Infailingtodothis，Itookmythirdstep，blindfold，towardthelastactinthedramaoftheHostler’sDream。 Ontheeveningofthetwenty-eighth，IinformedtheservantsatthestablesthatoneofthemmustwatchthroughthenightbytheEnglishman’sbedside。JosephRigobertimmediatelyvolunteeredfortheduty——asameans，nodoubt，ofwinninghiswaybacktomyfavor。Iacceptedhisproposal。 Thatdaythesurgeondinedwithus。TowardmidnightheandIleftthesmokingroom，andrepairedtoFrancisRaven’sbedside。 Rigobertwasathispost，withnoveryagreeableexpressiononhisface。TheFrenchmanandtheEnglishmanhadevidentlynotgotonwelltogethersofar。FrancisRavenlayhelplessonhisbed，waitingsilentlyfortwointhemorningandtheDreamWoman。 “Ihavecome，Francis，tobidyougoodnight，“Isaid，cheerfully。 “To-morrowmorningIshalllookinatbreakfasttime，beforeI leavehomeonajourney。“ “Thankyouforallyourkindness，sir。Youwillnotseemealiveto-morrowmorning。Shewillfindmethistime。Markmywords——shewillfindmethistime。“ “Mygoodfellow！shecouldn’tfindyouinEngland。HowintheworldisshetofindyouinFrance？“ “It’sborneinonmymind，sir，thatshewillfindmehere。AttwointhemorningonmybirthdayIshallseeheragain，andseeherforthelasttime。“ “Doyoumeanthatshewillkillyou？“ “Imeanthat，sir，shewillkillme——withtheknife。“ “AndwithRigobertintheroomtoprotectyou？“ “Iamadoomedman。FiftyRigobertscouldn’tprotectme。“ “Andyouwantedsomebodytositupwithyou？“ “Mereweakness，sir。Idon’tliketobeleftaloneonmydeathbed。“ Ilookedatthesurgeon。Ifhehadencouragedme，Ishouldcertainly，outofsheercompassion，haveconfessedtoFrancisRaventhetrickthatwewereplayinghim。Thesurgeonheldtohisexperiment；thesurgeon’sfaceplainlysaid——“No。“ Thenextday(thetwenty-ninthofFebruary)wasthedayofthe“SilverWedding。“Thefirstthinginthemorning，IwenttoFrancisRaven’sroom。Rigobertmetmeatthedoor。 “Howhashepassedthenight？“Iasked。 “Sayinghisprayers，andlookingforghosts，“Rigobertanswered。 “Alunaticasylumistheonlyproperplaceforhim。“ Iapproachedthebedside。“Well，Francis，hereyouare，safeandsound，inspiteofwhatyousaidtomelastnight。“ Hiseyesrestedonminewithavacant，wonderinglook。 “Idon’tunderstandit，“hesaid。 “Didyouseeanythingofyourwifewhentheclockstrucktwo？“ “No，sir。“ “Didanythinghappen？“ “Nothinghappened，sir。“ “Doesn’tTHISsatisfyyouthatyouwerewrong？“ Hiseyesstillkepttheirvacant，wonderinglook。Heonlyrepeatedthewordshehadspokenalready:“Idon’tunderstandit。“ Imadealastattempttocheerhim。“Come，come，Francis！keepagoodheart。Youwillbeoutofbedinafortnight。“ Heshookhisheadonthepillow。“There’ssomethingwrong，“hesaid。“Idon’texpectyoutobelieveme，sir。Ionlysaythere’ssomethingwrong——andtimewillshowit。“ Ilefttheroom。HalfanhourlaterIstartedforMr。Beldheimer’shouse；leavingthearrangementsforthemorningofthefirstofMarchinthehandsofthedoctorandmywife。 XVI TheonethingwhichprincipallystruckmewhenIjoinedtheguestsatthe“SilverWedding“isalsotheonethingwhichitisnecessarytomentionhere。Onthisjoyfuloccasionanoticeableladypresentwasoutofspirits。Thatladywasnootherthantheheroineofthefestival，themistressofthehouse！ InthecourseoftheeveningIspoketoMr。Beldheimer’seldestsononthesubjectofhismother。Asanoldfriendofthefamily，I hadaclaimonhisconfidencewhichtheyoungmanwillinglyrecognized。 “Wehavehadaverydisagreeablemattertodealwith，“hesaid； “andmymotherhasnotrecoveredthepainfulimpressionleftonhermind。Manyyearssince，whenmysisterswerechildren，wehadanEnglishgovernessinthehouse。Sheleftus，aswethenunderstood，tobemarried。Weheardnomoreofheruntilaweekortendayssince，whenmymotherreceivedaletter，inwhichourex- governessdescribedherselfasbeinginaconditionofgreatpovertyanddistress。Aftermuchhesitationshehadventured——atthesuggestionofaladywhohadbeenkindtoher——towritetoherformeremployers，andtoappealtotheirremembranceofoldtimes。 Youknowmymothersheisnotonlythemostkind-headed，butthemostinnocentofwomen——itisimpossibletopersuadeherofthewickednessthatthereisintheworld。Sherepliedbyreturnofpost，invitingthegovernesstocomehereandseeher，andinclosingthemoneyforhertravelingexpenses。Whenmyfathercamehome，andheardwhathadbeendone，hewroteatoncetohisagentinLondontomakeinquiries，inclosingtheaddressonthegoverness’letter。Beforehecouldreceivetheagent’sreplythegovernessarrived。Sheproducedtheworstpossibleimpressiononhismind。Theagent’sletter，arrivingafewdayslater，confirmedhissuspicions。Sincewehadlostsightofher，thewomanhadledamostdisreputablelife。Myfatherspoketoherprivately:heoffered——onconditionofherleavingthehouse——asumofmoneytotakeherbacktoEngland。Ifsherefused，thealternativewouldbeanappealtotheauthoritiesandapublicscandal。Sheacceptedthemoney，andleftthehouse。OnherwaybacktoEnglandsheappearstohavestoppedatMetz。YouwillunderstandwhatsortofwomansheiswhenItellyouthatshewasseentheotherdayinatavernwithyourhandsomegroom，JosephRigobert。“ Whilemyinformantwasrelatingthesecircumstances，mymemorywasatwork。IrecalledwhatFrancisRavenhadvaguelytoldusofhiswife’sexperienceinformerdaysasgovernessinaGermanfamily。 Asuspicionofthetruthsuddenlyflashedacrossmymind。“Whatwasthewoman’sname？“Iasked。 Mr。Beldheimer’ssonanswered:“AliciaWarlock。“ IhadbutoneideawhenIheardthatreply——togetbacktomyhousewithoutamoment’sneedlessdelay。Itwasthenteno’clockatnight——thelasttraintoMetzhadleftlongsince。Iarrangedwithmyyoungfriend——afterdulyinforminghimofthecircumstances—— thatIshouldgobythefirsttraininthemorning，insteadofstayingtobreakfastwiththeotherguestswhosleptinthehouse。 AtintervalsduringthenightIwondereduneasilyhowthingsweregoingonatMaisonRouge。Againandagainthesamequestionoccurredtome，onmyjourneyhomeintheearlymorning——themorningofthefirstofMarch。Astheeventproved，butonepersoninmyhouseknewwhatreallyhappenedatthestablesonFrancisRaven’sbirthday。LetJosephRigoberttakemyplaceasnarrator，andtellthestoryoftheendtoYou——ashetoldit，intimespast，tohislawyerandtoMe。 RESPECTEDSIR，——Onthetwenty-seventhofFebruaryIwassent，onbusinessconnectedwiththestablesatMaisonRouge，tothecityofMetz。OnthepublicpromenadeImetamagnificentwoman。 Complexion，blond。Nationality，English。Wemutuallyadmiredeachother；wefellintoconversation。(ShespokeFrenchperfectly—— withtheEnglishaccent。)Iofferedrefreshment；myproposalwasaccepted。Wehadalongandinterestinginterview——wediscoveredthatweweremadeforeachother。Sofar，Whoistoblame？ IsitmyfaultthatIamahandsomeman——universallyagreeableassuchtothefairsex？Isitacriminaloffensetobeaccessibletotheamiableweaknessoflove？Iaskagain，Whoistoblame？ Clearly，nature。Notthebeautifullady——notmyhumbleself。 Toresume。Themosthard-heartedpersonlivingwillunderstandthattwobeingsmadeforeachothercouldnotpossiblypartwithoutanappointmenttomeetagain。 ImadearrangementsfortheaccommodationoftheladyinthevillagenearMaisonRouge。Sheconsentedtohonormewithhercompanyatsupper，inmyapartmentatthestables，onthenightofthetwenty-ninth。Thetimefixedonwasthetimewhentheotherservantswereaccustomedtoretire——eleveno’clock。 AmongthegroomsattachedtothestableswasanEnglishman，laidupwithabrokenleg。HisnamewasFrancis。Hismannerswererepulsive；hewasignorantoftheFrenchlanguage。Inthekitchenhewentbythenicknameofthe“EnglishBear。“Strangetosay，hewasagreatfavoritewithmymasterandmymistress。Theyevenhumoredcertainsuperstitiousterrorstowhichthisrepulsivepersonwassubject——terrorsintothenatureofwhichI，asanadvancedfreethinker，neverthoughtitworthmywhiletoinquire。 Ontheeveningofthetwenty-eighththeEnglishman，beingapreytotheterrorswhichIhavementioned，requestedthatoneofhisfellow-servantsmightsitupwithhimforthatnightonly。ThewishthatheexpressedwasbackedbyMr。Fairbank’sauthority。 Havingalreadyincurredmymaster’sdispleasure——inwhatway，apropersenseofmyowndignityforbidsmetorelate——IvolunteeredtowatchbythebedsideoftheEnglishBear。MyobjectwastosatisfyMr。FairbankthatIborenomalice，onmyside，afterwhathadoccurredbetweenus。ThewretchedEnglishmanpassedanightofdelirium。Notunderstandinghisbarbarouslanguage，Icouldonlygatherfromhisgesturethathewasindeadlyfearofsomefanciedapparitionathisbedside。Fromtimetotime，whenthismadmandisturbedmyslumbers，Iquietedhimbyswearingathim。Thisistheshortestandbestwayofdealingwithpersonsinhiscondition。 Onthemorningofthetwenty-ninth，Mr。Fairbankleftusonajourney。Laterintheday，tomyunspeakabledisgust，IfoundthatIhadnotdonewiththeEnglishmanyet。InMr。Fairbank’sabsence，Mrs。Fairbanktookanincomprehensibleinterestinthequestionofmydeliriousfellow-servant’sreposeatnight。Again，oneortheotherofuswastowatchathisbedside，andreportit，ifanythinghappened。Expectingmyfairfriendtosupper，itwasnecessarytomakesurethattheotherservantsatthestableswouldbesafeintheirbedsthatnight。Accordingly，Ivolunteeredoncemoretobethemanwhokeptwatch。Mrs。Fairbankcomplimentedmeonmyhumanity。Ipossessgreatcommandovermyfeelings。Iacceptedthecomplimentwithoutablush。 Twice，afternightfall，mymistressandthedoctor(thelaststayinginthehouseinMr。Fairbank’sabsence)cametomakeinquiries。OnceBEFOREthearrivalofmyfairfriend——andonceAFTER。Onthesecondoccasion(myapartmentbeingnextdoortotheEnglishman’s)Iwasobligedtohidemycharmingguestintheharnessroom。Sheconsented，withangelicresignation，toimmolateherdignitytotheservilenecessitiesofmyposition。Amoreamiablewoman(sofar)Inevermetwith！ AfterthesecondvisitIwasleftfree。Itwasthencloseonmidnight。UptothattimetherewasnothinginthebehaviorofthemadEnglishmantorewardMrs。Fairbankandthedoctorforpresentingthemselvesathisbedside。Helayhalfawake，halfasleep，withanoddwonderingkindoflookinhisface。Mymistressatpartingwarnedmetobeparticularlywatchfulofhimtowardtwointhemorning。Thedoctor(incaseanythinghappened) leftmealargehandbelltoring，whichcouldeasilybeheardatthehouse。 Restoredtothesocietyofmyfairfriend，Ispreadthesuppertable。Apate，asausage，andafewbottlesofgenerousMosellewine，composedoursimplemeal。Whenpersonsadoreeachother，theintoxicatingillusionofLovetransformsthesimplestmealintoabanquet。Withimmeasurablecapacitiesforenjoyment，wesatdowntotable。AttheverymomentwhenIplacedmyfascinatingcompanioninachair，theinfamousEnglishmaninthenextroomtookthatoccasion，ofallothers，tobecomerestlessandnoisyoncemore。Hestruckwithhisstickonthefloor；hecriedout，inadeliriousaccessofterror，“Rigobert！Rigobert！“ Thesoundofthatlamentablevoice，suddenlyassailingourears，terrifiedmyfairfriend。Shelostallhercharmingcolorinaninstant。“Goodheavens！“sheexclaimed。“Whoisthatinthenextroom？“ “AmadEnglishman。“ “AnEnglishman？“ “Composeyourself，myangel。Iwillquiethim。“Thelamentablevoicecalledoutonmeagain，“Rigobert！Rigobert！“ Myfairfriendcaughtmebythearm。“Whoishe？“shecried。 “Whatishisname？“ Somethinginherfacestruckmeassheputthatquestion。Aspasmofjealousyshookmetothesoul。“Youknowhim？“Isaid。 “Hisname！“shevehementlyrepeated；“hisname！“ “Francis，“Ianswered。 “Francis——WHAT？“ Ishruggedmyshoulders。IcouldneitherremembernorpronouncethebarbarousEnglishsurname。Icouldonlytellheritbeganwithan“R。“ Shedroppedbackintothechair。Wasshegoingtofaint？No:sherecovered，andmorethanrecovered，herlostcolor。Hereyesflashedsuperbly。Whatdiditmean？ProfoundlyasIunderstandwomeningeneral，IwaspuzzledbyTHISwoman！ “Youknowhim？“Irepeated。 Shelaughedatme。“Whatnonsense！HowshouldIknowhim？Goandquietthewretch。“