Reade_A_Terrible_Temptation.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
and when she said " am his mother," the voice turned tender all in a
moment.
were all paralyzed; and, absorbed in this strange revelation, did
not hear a tottering footstep: a woman, pale as a corpse, and with eyes
glaring large, stood among them, all in a moment, as if a ghost had
risen from the earth.
was .
sight of her, awoke from the confusion and amazement
into which had thrown him, and said, "--! , do you hear
what she says, that he is not our son? , then, have you agreed with
your servant to deceive your husband?"
gasped, and tried to speak; but before the words would
come, the sight of her corpse-like face and miserable agony moved
, and she snatched the words out of her mouth.
" is the use of questioning _her?_ knows no more than you do.
done it all; and done it for the best. lady's child died; hid that
from her; for knew it would kill her, and keep you in a mad-house.
done for the best: put my live child by her side, and she knew no
better. time went on, and the boy so dark, she suspected; but know
it she couldn't till now. lady, am his mother, and there stands
his cruel father; cruel to me, and cruel to him. don't you dare to
harm him; 've got all your letters, promising me marriage; 'll take
them to your wife and daughter, and they shall know it is your own
flesh and blood you are sending to prison. , am mad to threaten
him! my darling, speak him fair; he is your father; he may have a bit
of nature in his heart somewhere, though could never find it."
young man put his hands together, like an , and said,
" me," then sank at 's knees.
, himself much shaken, took his wife's arm and led her,
trembling like an aspen leaf, from the room.
the prayers of and the tears of his mother would alone
have sufficed to soften , but the threat of exposure to
his wife and daughter did no harm. three soon came to terms.
to be liberated on condition of going to by the next
train, and never setting his foot in that parish again. mother to
go with him, and see him off to . solemnly pledged herself
not to reveal the boy's real parentage to any other soul in the world.
being settled, called the constable in, and said
the young gentleman had satisfied him that it was a practical joke,
though a very dangerous one, and he withdrew the charge of felony.
constable said he must have 's authority for that.
message was sent to . came. prisoner was released,
and took his arm sharply, as much as to say, " of my
hands you go no more."
they left the room, , who was now master of himself,
said, with deep feeling, " poor boy, you can never be a stranger to
me. affection of years cannot be untied in a moment. see now
how folly glides into crime, and crime into punishment. this to
heart, and never again stray from the paths of honor. an honorable
life; and, if you do, write to me as if was still your father."
retired, but lingered, and hung his head.
wondered what this inveterate foe could have to say now.
last said, half sullenly, yet with a touch of compunction,
" , you have been more generous than was. have laid me
under an obligation."
bowed loftily.
" would double that obligation if you would prevail on
to keep that old folly of mine secret from my wife and daughter. am
truly ashamed of it; and, whatever my faults may have been, they love
and respect me."
". ," said , "my son must be told that he
is my heir; but no details injurious to you shall transpire: you may
count on absolute secrecy from and myself."
" ," said , faltering for a moment, " am very
much obliged to you, and begin to be sorry we are enemies.
-morning."
agitation and terror of this scene nearly killed on
the spot. lay all that day in a state of utter prostration.
put this and that together, but said nothing.
spoke cheerfully and philosophically to his wife--said it had been a
fearful blow, terrible wrench: but it was all for the best; such a son
as that would have broken his heart before long.
", but your wasted affections!" groaned ; and her tears
streamed at the thought.
sighed; but said, after a while, " affection ever
entirely wasted? love for that young fool enlarged my heart.
was a time he did me a deal of good."
next day, having only herself to think of now, could
live no longer under the load of deceit. told
had deceived him. " this," she said, "and see what your
miserable wife has done, who loved you to madness and crime."
looked at her, and saw in her wasted form and her face
that, if he did read it, he should kill her; so he played the man: he
restrained himself by a mighty effort, and said, " dear, excuse me;
but on this matter have more faith in 's exactness than
in yours. , know your heart, and don't care to be told of your
errors in judgment, no, not even by yourself. to offend an
authoress; but decline to read your book, and, more than that,
forbid you the subject entirely for the next thirty years, at least.
by-gones be by-gones."
eventful morning . called and proposed to .
declined politely, but firmly.
told . , and . told in a nervous way,
but his answer surprised her. said he was very glad of it;
could do better.
. could not resist the pleasure of telling .
went over on purpose, with her husband's consent.
asked to see . " all means," said
, graciously.
her return to , asked leave to go to the every
day and nurse . " will let her die else," said she.
assented to that, too. , for some weeks, almost
lived at the , and in this emergency revealed great qualities.
the malevolent small-pox, passing through the gentle cow, comes out the
sovereign cow-pox, so, in this gracious nature, her father's vices
turned to their kindred virtues; his obstinacy of purpose shone here a
noble constancy; his audacity became candor, and his cunning wisdom.
intelligence saw at once that was pining to death, and
a weak-minded nurse would be fatal: she was all smiles and brightness,
and neglected no means to encourage the patient.
this view, she promised to plight her faith to the moment
should be restored to health; and so, with hopes and
smiles, and the novelty of a daughter's love, she fought with death for
, and at last she won the desperate battle.
did 's daughter for her father's late enemy.
grateful husband wrote to , and now acknowledged _his_
obligation.
civil, mock-modest reply from .
this things went on step by step, till at last and
, at eighteen years of age, were formally betrothed.
the children's love wore out the father's hate.
love, so troubled at the outset, left, by degrees, the region of
romance, and rippled smoothly through green, flowery meadows.
showed her lover one more phase of girlhood; she, who had been
a precocious and forward child, and then a shy and silent girl, came
out now a bright and witty young woman, full of vivacity, modesty, and
sensibility. cured of his one defect. stopped
growing at fifteen, but went slowly on; caught her at
seventeen, and at nineteen had passed her by a head. won a
scholarship at , he rowed in college races, and at last in the
race on the .
stood, in peerless beauty, dark blue from throat to feet, and
saw his boat astern of his rival, saw it come up with, and creep ahead,
amid the roars of the multitude. she saw her lover, with bare
corded arms, as brown as a berry, and set teeth, filling his glorious
part in that manly struggle within eight yards of her, she confessed he
was not a boy now.
accepted no such evidence: being pestered to let them
marry at twenty years of age, she clogged her consent with one
condition--they must live three years at as man and wife.
" boy of twenty," said she, "can understand a young woman of that
age. must be in the house to prevent a single misunderstanding
between my beloved children."
young people, who both adored her, voted the condition reasonable.
were married, and a wing of the spacious building allotted to
them.
their sakes let us hope that their wedded life, now happily
commenced, will furnish me no materials for another tale: the happiest
lives are uneventful.
foreign gent recovered his wound, but acquired rheumatism and a
dislike for midnight expeditions.
galloped a year or two over seven hundred miles of colony,
sowing his wild oats as he flew, but is now a prosperous squatter, very
fond of sleeping in the open air. was not big enough for the
bold . does very well where he is.
died, and left his wife a little estate in the next county.
asked her hand at the funeral. married him in six months, and
migrated to the estate in question; for refused her a lease
of his farm, not choosing to have her near him.
new abode was in the next parish to her sister's.
set herself to convert , and often exhorted her to
penitence; she bore this pretty well for some time, being overawed by
old reminiscences of sisterly superiority: but at last her vanity
rebelled. "! and !" cried she. " you be like a cuckoo,
all in one song. would think had been and robbed a church. '
all very well for you to repent, as led a fastish life at starting:
_but never done nothing as 'm ashamed on."_
said one day to , " fellow, there is not a
worse poison than . has made me old before my time. what
does it all come to? might just as well have kept quiet; for my
grandson will inherit and , after all--"
" to the girl you would not ring the bells for."
and lead a peaceful life after all their
troubles, and renew their youth in their children, of whom is
one, and as dear as any.
there is a pensive and humble air about , which shows
she still expiates her fault, though she knows it will always be
ignored by him for whose sake she sinned.
summing her up, it may be as well to compare this with the unmixed
self-complacency of . .
men and women, who judge this , be firm, and do not
let her amiable qualities or her good intentions blind you in a plain
matter of right and wrong: be charitable, and ask yourselves how often
in your lives you have seen yourselves, or any other human being,
resist a terrible temptation.
experience is, that we resist other people's temptations nobly, and
succumb to our own.
let me end with a line of 's gentlest satirist--
" be merciful to us all, sinners as we be."