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

Lousterin' For The Bit O' Bread They Ates,  And Live Quiet And Paceable,

As Good Neighbors Should. So Try And Take Heart; And If So Be That Adam

Can Give They Bailey Chaps The Go-By,  Tell Un To Come 'Longs Here,  And

Us 'Ull Be Odds With Any O' They That Happens To Be Follerin' To His

Heels."

Charmed With This Friendly Promise,  Eve Said "Good-Bye," Leaving The

Captain Puzzled With Speculations On Women And The Many Curious

Contradictions Which Seem To Influence Their Actions; While,  The Hour

Being Now Too Late To Return To The Prison,  She Took Her Way To Her Own

Room,  Thinking It Best To Begin The Preparations Which In case Of Adam'S

Escape And Any Sudden Departure It Would Be Necessary To Have Completed.

Perhaps It Was Her Interview With Captain Triggs,  The Sight Of The Wharf

And The Ships,  Which Took Her Thoughts Back And Made Them Bridge The

Gulf Which Divided Her Past Life From Her Present Self. Could The Girl

She Saw In That Shadowy Past--Headstrong,  Confident,  Impatient Of

Suffering And Unsympathetic With Sorrow--Be This Same Eve Who Walked

Along With All Hope And Thought Of Self Merged In another'S Happiness

And Welfare? Where Was The Vanity,  Where Were The Tricks And Coquetries,

Passports To That Ideal Existence After Which In The Old Days She Had So

Thirsted? Trampled Out Of Sight And Choked Beneath The Fair Blossoms Of

A Higher Life,  Which,  As In Many A Human Nature,  Had Needed Sorrow,

Humiliation And A Great Watering Of Tears Before There Could Spring

Forth The Flowers For A Fruit Which Should One Day Ripen Into Great

Perfection.

No Wonder,  Then,  That She Should Be Shaken By A Doubt Of Her Own

Identity; And Having Reached Her Room She Paused Upon The Threshold And

Looked Around As If To Satisfy Herself By All Those Silent Witnesses

Which Made It Truth. There Was The Chair In Which She Had So Often Sat

Plying Her Needle With Such Tardy Grace While Her Impatient Thoughts Did

Battle With The Humdrum,  Narrow Life She Led. How She Had Beat Against

The Fate Which Seemed To Promise Naught But That Dull Round Of

Commonplace Events In Which Her Early Years Had Passed Away! How As A

Gall And Fret Had Come The Thought Of Reuben'S Proffered Love,  Because

It Shadowed Forth The Level Of Respectable Routine,  The Life She Then

Most Dreaded! To Be Courted And Sought After,  To Call Forth Love,

Jealousy And Despair,  To Be Looked Up To,  Thought Well Of,  Praised,

Admired,--These Were The Delights She Had Craved And These The Longings

She Had Had Granted. And A Sigh From The Depths Of That Chastened Heart

Rendered The Bitter Tribute Paid By All To Satiated Vanity And Outlived

Desire. The Dingy Walls,  The Ill-Assorted Furniture (Her Mother'S Pride

In Which Had Sometimes Vexed Her,  Sometimes Made Her Laugh) Now Looked

Like Childhood'S Friends,  Whose Faces Stamp Themselves Upon Our Inmost

Hearts. The Light No Longer Seemed Obscure,  The Room No Longer Gloomy,

For Each Thing In It Now Was Flooded By The Tender Light Of

Memory--That Wondrous Gift To Man Which Those Who Only Sail Along Life'S

Summer Sea Can Never Know In all The Heights And Depths Revealed To

Storm-Tossed Hearts.

"What! You'Ve Come Back?" A Voice Said In Her Ear; And Looking Round Eve

Saw It Was Reuben,  Who Had Entered Unperceived. "There'S Nothing Fresh

Gone Wrong?" He Asked.

"No,  Nothing;" But The Sad Smile She Tried To Give Him Welcome With Was

So Akin To Tears That Reuben'S Face Assumed A Look Of Doubt. "'Tis Only

That I'M Thinking How I'M Changed From What I Was," Said Eve. "Why,  Once

I Couldn'T Bear This Room And All The Things About It; But Now--Oh,

Reuben,  My Heart Seems Like To Break Because Perhaps 'Twill Soon Now

Come To Saying Good-Bye To All Of It For Ever."

Reuben Winced: "You'Re Fixed To Go,  Then?"

"Yes,  Where Adam Goes I Shall Go Too: Don'T You Think I Should? What

Else Is Left For Me To Do?"

"You Feel,  Then,  You'D Be Happy--Off With Him--Away From All

And--Everybody Else?"

"Happy! Should I Be Happy To Know He'D Gone Alone--Happy To Know I'D

Driven Him Away To Some Place Where I Wouldn'T Go Myself?" And Eve

Paused,  Shaking Her Head Before She Added,  "If He Can Make Another Start

In Life--Try And Begin Again--"

"You Ought To Help Him To It," Said Reuben Promptly: "That'S Very Plain

To See. Oh,  Eve,  Do You Mind The Times When You And Me Have Talked Of

What We'D Like To Do--How,  Never Satisfied With What Went On Around,  We

Wanted To Be Altogether Such As Some Of Those We'D Heard And Read About?

The Way Seems Almost Opened Up To You,  But What Shall I Do When All This

Is Over And You Are Gone Away? I Can'T Go Back And Stick To Trade Again,

Working For Nothing More But Putting Victuals In Myself."

For A Moment Eve Did Not Speak: Then,  With A Sudden Movement,  She

Turned,  Saying To Reuben,  "There'S Something That Before Our Lives Are

At Any Moment Parted I'Ve Wanted To Say To You,  Reuben. 'Tis That Until

Now,  This Time While We'Ve Been All Together Here,  I'Ve Never Known What

Your Worth Is--What You Would Be To Any One Who'D Got The Heart To Value

What You'D Give. Of Late It Has Often Seemed That I Should Think But

Very Small Of One Who'D Had The Chance Of Your Liking And Yet Didn'T

Know The Proper Value Of Such Goodness."

Reuben Gave A Look Of Disavowal,  And Eve Continued,  Adding With A Little

Hesitation,  "You Mustn'T Think It Strange In Me For Saying This. I

Couldn'T Tell You If You Didn'T Know How Everything Lies Between Adam

And Myself; But Ever Since This Trouble'S Come About All My Thoughts

Seem Changed,  And People Look Quite Different Now To What They Did

Before; And,  Most Of All,  I'Ve Learnt To Know The Friend I'Ve Got,  And

Always Had,  In You,  Reuben."

Reuben Did Not Answer For A Moment. He Seemed Struggling To Keep Back

Something He Was Yet Prompted To Speak Of. "Eve," He Said At Length,

"Don'T Think That I'Ve Not Made Mistakes,  And Great Ones Too. When First

I Fought To Battle Down My Leaning Toward You,  Why Was It? Not Because

Of Doubting That 'Twould Ever Be Returned,  But 'Cos I Held Myself Too

Good A Chap In all My Thoughts And Ways To Be Taken Up With Such A

Butterfly Concern As I Took You To Be. I'D Never Have Believed Then That

You'D Have Acted As I'Ve Seen You Act. I Thought That Love With You

Meant Who Could Give You The Finest Clothes To Wear And Let You Rule The

Roast The Easiest; But You Have Shown Me That You Are Made Of Better

Woman'S Stuff Than That. And,  After All,  A Man Thinks Better Of Himself

For Mounting High Than Stooping To Pick Up What Can Be Had For Asking

Any Day."

"No,  No,  Reuben: Your Good Opinion Is More Than I Deserve," Said Eve,

Her Memory Stinging Her With Past Recollections. "If You Want To See A

Dear,  Kind-Hearted,  Unselfish Girl,  Wait Until Joan Comes. I Do So Hope

That You Will Take To Her! I Think You Will,  After What You'Ve Been To

Jerrem And To Adam. I Want You And Joan To Like Each Other."

"I Don'T Think There'S Much Fear Of That," Said Reuben. "Jerrem'S Spoke

So Freely About Joan That I Seem To Know Her Before Ever Having Seen

Her. Let Me See: Her Mind Was At One Time Set On Adam,  Wasn'T It?"

"I Think That She Was Very Fond Of Adam," Said Eve,  Coloring: "And,  So

Far As That Goes,  I Don'T Know That There Is Any Difference Now. I'M

Sure She'D Lay Her Life Down If It Would Do Him Good."

"Poor Soul!" Sighed Reuben,  Drawn By A Friendly Feeling To Sympathize

With Joan'S Unlucky Love. "Her Cup'S Been Full,  And No Mistake,  Of

Late."

"Did Jerrem Seem To Feel It Much That Uncle Zebedee 'D Been Took So

Strange?" Asked Eve.

"I Didn'T Tell Him More Than I Could Help," Said Reuben. "As Much As

Possible I Made It Out To Him That For The Old Man To Come To London

Wouldn'T Be Safe,  And The Fear Of That Seemed To Pacify Him At Once."

"I Haven'T Spoken Of It To Adam Yet," Said Eve. "He Hasn'T Asked About

His Coming,  So I Thought I'D Leave The Telling Till Another Time. His

Mind Seems Set On Nothing But Getting Off,  And By It Setting Jerrem

Free."

But Reuben Made No Rejoinder To The Questioning Tone Of Eve'S Words,  And

After A Few Minutes' Pause He Waived The Subject By Reverting To The

Description Which Eve Had Given Of Joan,  So That,  In case He Had To Meet

Her Alone,  He Might Recognize Her Without Difficulty. Eve Repeated The

Description,  Dwelling With Loving Preciseness On The Various Features

And Points By Which Joan Might Be Known; And Then Reuben,  Having Some

Work To Do,  Got Up To Say Good-Bye.

"Good-Bye," Said Eve,  Holding Out Her Hand--"Good-Bye. Every Time I Say

It Now I Seem To Wonder If 'Tis To Be Good-Bye Indeed."

"Why,  No: In any Way,  You'D Wait Until The Trial Was Over?"

"Yes,  I Forgot: Of Course We Should."

"Well,  Then,  Do You Think I'D Let You Go Without A Word? Ah,  Eve,  No!

Whatever Others Are,  Nobody'S Yet Pushed You From Your Place,  Nor Ever

Will So Long As My Life Lasts."

Chapter Xxxvii