Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Volume 26 December, 1880. by Various None (smart ebook reader .txt) 📕

    Those Joys The World Holds Dear;

  Smiling I Said,  "To-Morrow'S Sun

    Will Bring Us Better Cheer."

  For Faith And Love Were One. Glad Faith!

  All Loss Is Naught Save Loss Of Faith.

  Ii.

  My Truant Joys Come Trooping Back,

    And Trooping Friends No Less;

  But Tears Fall Fast To Meet The Lack

    Of Dearer Happiness.

  For Faith And Love Are Two. Sad Faith!

  'Tis Loss Indeed,  The Loss Of Faith.

Mary B. Dodge.

Adam And Eve.

Chapter Xxxvi.

From The Day On Which Adam Knew That The Date Of Jerrem'S Trial Was

Fixed All The Hope Which The Sight Of Eve Had Rekindled Was Again

Completely Extinguished,  And,  Refusing Every Attempt At Consolation,  He

Threw Himself Into An Abyss Of Despair A Hundred-Fold More Dark And

Bitter Than Before. The Thought That He,  Captain And Leader As He Had

Been,  Should Stand In court Confronted By His Comrades And Neighbors

(For Adam,  Ignorant Of The Disasters Which Had Overtaken Them,  Believed

Half Polperro To Be On Their Way To London),  And There Swear Away

Jerrem'S Life And Turn Informer,  Was Something Too Terrible To Be Dwelt

On With Even Outward Tranquillity,  And,  Abandoning Everything Which Had

Hitherto Sustained Him,  He Gave Himself Up To All The Terrors Of Remorse

And Despair. It Was In Vain For Reuben To Reason Or For Eve To Plead: So

Long As They Could Suggest No Means By Which This Dreaded Ordeal Could

Be Averted Adam Was Deaf To All Hope Of Consolation. There Was But One

Subject Which Interested Him,  And Only On One Subject Could He Be Got To

Speak,  And That Was The Chances There Still Remained Of Jerrem'S Life

Being Spared; And To Furnish Him With Some Food For This Hope,  Eve Began

To Loiter At The Gates,  Talk To The Warders And The Turnkeys,  And Mingle

With The Many Groups Who On Some Business Or Pretext Were Always

Assembled About The Yard Or Stood Idling In The Various Passages With

Which The Prison Was Intersected.

One Morning It Came To Her Mind,  How Would It Be For Adam To Escape,  And

So Not Be There To Prove The Accusation He Had Made Of Jerrem Having

Shot The Man? With Scarce More Thought Than She Had Bestowed On Many

Another Passing Suggestion Which Seemed For The Moment Practical And

Solid,  But As She Turned It Round Lost Shape And Floated Into Air,  Eve

Made The Suggestion,  And To Her Surprise Found It Seized On By Adam As

An Inspiration. Why,  He'D Risk _All_ So That He Escaped Being Set Face

To Face With Jerrem And His Former Mates. Adam Had But To Be Assured The

Strain Would Not Be More Than Eve'S Strength Could Bear Before He Had

Adopted With Joy Her Bare Suggestion,  Clothed It With Possibility,  And

By It Seemed To Regain All His Past Energy. Could He But Get Away And

Jerrem'S Life Be Spared,  All Hope Of Happiness Would Not Be Over. In

Some Of Those Distant Lands To Which People Were Then Beginning To Go

Life Might Begin Afresh. And As His Thoughts Found Utterance In Speech

He Held Out His Hand To Eve,  And In It She Laid Her Own; And Adam Needed

Nothing More To Tell Him That Whither He Went There Eve Too Would Go.

There Was No Need For Vows And Protestations Now Between These Two,  For,

Though To Each The Other'S Heart Lay Bare,  A Word Of Love Scarce Ever

Crossed Their Lips. Life Seemed Too Sad And Time Too Precious To Be

Whiled Away In Pleasant Speeches,  And Often When Together,  Burdened By

The Weight Of All They Had To Say,  Yet Could Not Talk About,  The Two

Would Sit For Hours And Neither Speak A Word. But With This Proposition

Of Escape A New Channel Was Given To Them,  And As They Discussed Their

Different Plans The Dreadful Shadow Which At Times Had Hung Between Them

Was Rolled Away And Lifted Out Of Sight.

Inspired By The Prospect Of Action,  Of Doing Something,  Adam Roused

Himself To Master All The Difficulties: His Old Foresight And Caution

Began To Revive,  And The Project,  Which Had On One Day Looked Like A

Desperate Extremity,  Grew By The End Of A Week Into A Well-Arranged Plan

Whose Success Seemed More Than Possible. Filled With Anxiety For Eve,

Reuben Gave No Hearty Sanction To The Experiment: Besides Which,  He Felt

Certain That Now Neither Adam'S Absence Nor Presence Would In any Way

Affect Jerrem'S Fate; Added To Which,  If The Matter Was Detected It

Might Go Hard With Adam Himself. But His Arguments Proved Nothing To

Eve,  Who,  Confident Of Success,  Only Demanded From Him The Promise Of

Secrecy; After Which,  She Thought,  As Some Questions Might Be Put To

Him,  The Less He Knew The Less He Would Have To Conceal.

Although A Prisoner,  Inasmuch As Liberty Was Denied To Him,  Adam Was In

No Way Subjected To That Strict Surveillance To Which Those Who Had

Broken The Law Were Supposed To Be Submitted. It Was Of His Own Free

Will That He Disregarded The Various Privileges Which Lay Open To Him:

Others In His Place Would Have Frequented The Passages,  Hung About The

Yards And Grown Familiar With The Tap,  Where Spirits Were Openly Bought

And Sold. Money Could Do Much In Those Days Of Lax Discipline,  And The

Man Who Could Pay And Could Give Need Have Very Few Wants Unsatisfied.

But Adam'S Only Desire Was To Be Left Undisturbed And Alone; And As This

Entailed No Undue Amount Of Trouble After Their First Curiosity Had Been

Satisfied,  It Was Not Thought Necessary To Deny Him This Privilege. From

Constantly Going In and Out,  Most Of The Officials Inside The Prison

Knew Eve,  While To But Very Few Was Adam'S Face Familiar; And It Was On

This Fact,  Aided By The Knowledge That Through Favor Of A Gratuity

Friends Were Frequently Permitted To Outstay Their Usual Hour,  That Most

Of Their Hopes Rested. Each Day She Came Eve Brought Some Portion Of The

Disguise Which Was To Be Adopted; And Then,  Having Learnt From Reuben

That The Mary Jane Had Arrived And Was Lying At The Wharf Unloading,  Not

Knowing What Better To Do,  They Decided That She Should Go To Captain

Triggs And Ask Him,  In case Adam Could Get Away,  Whether He Would Let

Him Come On Board His Vessel And Give Him Shelter There Below.

"Wa-Al,  No," Said Triggs,  "I Woan'T Do That,  'Cos They As I'Se Got Here

Might Smell Un Out; But I'Ll Tell 'Ee What: I Knaws A Chap As Has In

Many Ways Bin Beholden To Me 'Fore Now,  And I Reckon If I Gives Un The

Cue He'Ll Do The Job For 'Ee."

"But Do You Think He'S To Be Trusted?" Eve Asked.

"Wa-Al,  That Rests On How Small A Part You'M Foaced To Tell Un Of,"

Said Triggs,  "And How Much You Makes It Warth His While. I'M Blamed If

I'D Go Bail For Un Myself,  But That Won'T Be No Odds Agen' Adam'S Goin':

'Tis Just The Place For He. 'T 'Ud Niver Do To Car'Y A Pitch-Pot Down

And Set Un In The Midst O' They Who Couldn'T Bide His Stink."

"And The Crew?" Said Eve,  Wincing Under Captain Triggs'S Figurative

Language.

"Awh,  The Crew'S Right Enuf--A Set O' Gashly,  Smudge-Faced Raskils

That'S Near Half Maltee And T' Other Lascar Injuns. Any Jail-Bird That

Flies Their Way 'Ull Find They'S All Of A Feather. But Here," He Added,

Puzzled By The Event: "How'S This That You'M Still Mixed Up With Adam

So? I Thought 'Twas All 'Long O' You And Reuben May That The Lottery'S

Landin' Got Blowed About?"

Eve Shook Her Head. "Be Sure," She Said,  "'Twas Never In Me To Do Adam

Any Harm."

"And You'M Goin' To Stick To Un Now Through Thick And Thin? 'Twill Niver

Do For Un,  Ye Knaw,  To Set His Foot On Cornish Ground Agen."

"He Knows That," Said Eve; "And If He Gets Away We Shall Be Married And

Go Across The Seas To Some New Part,  Where No One Can Tell What Brought

Us From Our Home."

Triggs Gave A Significant Nod. "Lord!" He Exclaimed,  "But That'S A Poor

Lookout For Such A Bowerly Maid As You Be! Wouldn'T It Be Better For 'Ee

To Stick By Yer Friends 'Bout Here Than--"

"I Haven'T Got Any Friends," Interrupted Eve Promptly,  "Excepting It'S

Adam And Joan And Uncle Zebedee."

"Ah,  Poor Old Zebedee!" Sighed Triggs: "'Tis All Dickey With He. The Day

I Started I See Sammy Tucker To Fowey,  And He Was Tellin' That Th' Ole

Chap Was Gone Reg'Lar Tottlin'-Like,  And Can'T Tell Thickee Fra That;

And As For Joan Hocken,  He Says You Wouldn'T Knaw Her For The Same. And

They'S Tooked Poor Foolish Jonathan,  As Is More Mazed Than Iver,  To Live

With 'Em; And Mrs. Tucker,  As Used To Haggle With Everybody So,  Tends On

'Em All Hand And Foot,  And Her'S Given Up Praichin' 'Bout Religion And

That,  And 'S Turned Quite Neighborly,  And,  So Long As Her Can Save Her

Daughter,  Thinks Nothin'S Too Hot Nor Too Heavy."

"Dear Joan!" Sighed Eve: "She'S Started By The Coach On Her Way Up Here

Now."

"Whether She Hath Or No!" Exclaimed Triggs In Surprise. "Then Take My

Word They'S Heerd That Jerrem'S To Be Hanged,  And Joan'S Comin' Up To Be

All Ready To Hand For 'T."

"No,  Not That," Groaned Eve,  For At The Mere Mention Of The Word The

Vague Dread Seemed To Shape Itself Into A Certainty. "Oh,  Captain

Triggs,  Don'T Say That If Adam Gets Off You Don'T Think Jerrem'S Life

Will Be Spared."

"Wa-Al,  My Poor Maid,  Us Must Hope So," Said The Compassionate Captain;

"But 'Tis The Warst O' They Doin'S That Sooner Or Later Th' Endin,  Of

'Em Must Come. 'Twould Never Do To Let 'Em Prosper Allays," He Added

With Impressive Certainty,  "Or Where 'Ud Be The Use O' Parsons Praichin'

Up 'Bout Heaven And Hell? Why,  Now,  Us Likes Good Liquor Cheap To Fowey;

And Wance 'Pon A Time Us Had It Too,  But That Ha'N'T Bin For Twenty

Year. Our Day'S Gone By,  And So 'Ull Theirs Be Now; And Th' Excise 'Ull

Come,  And Revenoos