Edleen Vaughan: or, Paths of Peril. A novel

Front matter

Or, PATHS OF PERIL. H BiHuH. BY CARMEN SYLVA (Her Majesty thc Queen of Roitmania), AUTHOR OF " THE WITCH'S CITADEL," " LEGENDS OF THE CARPATHIANS," 'THOUGHTS OF A QUEEN," "ROUMANIAN FAIRY TALES," " OUT OF TWO WORLDS," etc. , etc. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON : F. V. WHITE & Co., 31, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, W.C 1892. II.1NTED BY TILLOTSON AND SON, BOLTON LONDON, NEW YOKK AND BERLIN. CONTENTS. CHAP. PACE. I. — Once Upon a Time . . . . i II. — Nemesis 46 III. — At Heaven's Gate .... 90 IV. — At Rose Cottage . . . . 123 V. — Among the Graves . . . -156 VI. — How it Came to Pass . . . 186 VII. — From Winnie's Diary . . . 220 VIII. — Joined in Wedlock . . .

Chapter I. Once Upon

A TIME. Winnie was perched on a table before the chimney with a charming group around her, while the snow fell in thick dakes abroad, and the night was quickly closing in. Minnie and Daisy were huddled together on one low stool, while Lizzie stood at her brother Ned's knee, her golden locks flowing over his breast. Freddy was stretched at full length upon the ground, his chin in his hand, the firedight at play among his curls, the lively motion of his crossed feet accentuating his interest in what he heard. Missy had laid aside her work vol. hi. and was smoothing Gladys' hair, as that young lady sat on a chair beside her. Morgan leaned on the back of his father's chair, discussing a passage in Ecclesiastes with him ; the lampdight fell upon the open folio and shed a mild halo about the old and the youthful head bending over it.

Mrs. Gwynne lay back in an arm chair in the darkest part of the room and tried to read Morgan's face, which showed greater resemblance to his father's every day, especially as it had grown thinner and more manly in the course of the last few weeks. Robert, the sailor, was walking up and down, "on quarter deck," he said, but not losing a word of what was spoken near the hearth. The twins had made themselves comfortable on the Newfoundland dog, who raised his head from time to time to lick one of them, and beat the floor with his tail to express his satisfaction when they pushed their little hands in his mouth or under his shaggy ears ; and now and then he panted a little by way of hinting that he felt rather warm. Martyn had come in a few minutes before, from the cold and snow, and seated himself by Mrs. Gwynne's side, whence he could see and hear all that was going on.

" Once upon a time," said Winnie, " ever so long ago, there lived a great minstrel." " With a harp ?" asked Daisy. " And a long beard ?" added Lizzie. " Had he any children ?" said Minnie. " Minstrels have no children," put in Freddy, sententiously. "They love other people's children, that's enough for them." " Of course he had no children," continued Winnie. "You see!" said Freddy, nodding proudly at the company. "But he had a beard, and harps, a great many harps, and violins too, for he could play on anything." " They always can in fairy tales," remarked Freddy ; " things come easy to them." "He had a splendid house, too, by the sea. "And a pony?" asked Minnie " Oh, no, a big horse ; he was a grown-up man, you know." " I suppose he looked somewhat like Llewellyn," said Ned. " They all do," declared Freddy.

" Nothing of the kind," returned Winnie, opening her eyes very wide. " Haven't you seen those pictures of young minstrels with stockings to their knees, short cloaks, and big feathers fastened to their caps, carrying mandolins in their arms ? Did they look like Llewellyn ?" " Who knows whether they knew anything worth speaking of ! " said Freddy. "They didn't live so very long ago, either — fifteenth century," said Ned. " Of course ; but I only mean mine lived when people didn't know how to write music, and never sang more than one note at a time." " Do they sing two at the same time now ? " asked Robert, stopping in his walk. "/couldn't," opined Daisy. " Stupid!" said Winnie. " I'm speaking of choruses. In those days they didn't know that one might sing A, and another C sharp, or E, or the upper A." " Or C and F," said Freddy.

"Or C, D, and F sharp," continued Winnie. " But the minstrel looked at his instruments and wondered if it wouldn't be pretty to play something else on each of them." " If he had tried it," said Ned, drily, "he would have been surprised." " It would have sounded like the tuning of an orchestra, said Minnie. " Did you ever hear that ?" asked Lizzie, with secret envy. "Of course, I did; at the concerts, in London." "A concert is lovely, isn't it? " It's just as if you were in Heaven." " In Heaven, Minnie ? " put in Ned. " I can't fancy people wearing dress-coats and white cravats up there." They all burst out laughing, so that Gwynne looked up from his folio and smiled. " Well, the performers would look queer, too, in white garments and wings," said Lizzie. They laughed anew. " And so he walked about on the sea shore," Winnie went on, "and thought and thought how one could manage to make people sing and play different things, and find signs for them to let them know what to play.

And he thought and thought and thought." " I often think about things too ; but it's never any use," said Ned. " Well, but you needn't invent anything," said Freddy. "There are other people to do that." " Why shouldn't Ned invent something ? He's always carving and gluing things, studying chemistry, making powder, and glass, and ships, aren't you, Ned ? You want to invent things, don't you ? " said Lizzie. " And he walked so long on the shore, looking at the glittering sea, till he fell asleep. And then he had a strange dream." " Oh, if it's only a dream, it isn't a real fairy tale. Anyone can dream," said Freddy. " Have patience," said Daisy. " Wait till you hear what the dream was about." " I can guess." "Well, then, you tell," said Winnie, angrily. Freddy put his right leg over his left, and then his left over his right.

" I haven't quite come at it yet," he confessed at last. " That's always your way, Freddy," said Lizzie disapprovingly. Gladys was silent ; she did not seem to be listening as yet. "Go on, Winnie! Go on, Winnie!" cried the children. " All at once a sound echoed through the sky as of an immense trombone — a trombone at which earth and Heaven and everything shook. ' Now it begins,' thought the minstrel, fancying the Judg ment Day had come. But not at all. Suddenly the whole sky grew alive. The stars were all, all, all little angels, flying and skipping about, and bringing ladders, each of which had five rungs, and shone like everything else." " And didn't they get burnt ?" asked Freddy. " Do the stars get burnt ?" said Winnie ; "they shine, don't they? Well, so the ladders shone, and they hung them up, always one under the other, quite down to the earth, and then little angels came and sat down on them, each in its place, one with a trumpet, one with a violin, another with a violoncello, another with a flute and so on.

Of some of them one saw nothing but the heads, those were the semibreves ; of some also a leg, and they were the breves ; or a leg and a wing, standing for quavers ; or two wings standing for semi quavers ; and four wings for demisemi quavers, and so on." " And the crotchets ? " asked Daisy " The crotchets had dark faces, and stood on one leg. Some of them lay with their heads downward, and held their violin bows right under their chins ; those were the notes on the ledger-lines. And the whole sky was covered with them. The singers had extra ladders to themselves." " A strange child," said Missy to Gladys. " Yesterday she made me explain scores to her." " And then," continued Winnie, with radiant eyes, " they began to sing and play till the minstrel stood amazed ; he had never heard anything like it.

And down below the ocean made, ' Bump, whew, whew, whew! Bump, whew, whew, whew, bump, bump, shoo — oo — oo ;' that was the accompaniment of the trombones and double basses, for which there was no room left in the sky. And the minstrel was so glad, so glad ; for he saw how they might all sing and play together, if each were put in its proper place. And he drew with his finger in the sand what he saw in the sky, and the sand glittered like the sea, and the music looked just the same as it did in the sky. And he was so glad. And next morning he thought it had been nothing but a dream ; but then he saw the ladders, with the little heads and wings and legs drawn quite clearly in the sand at his feet ; and he was so glad, so glad. There, Freddy!" concluded Winnie, jumping lightly from the table.

" Winnie," said Morgan's voice, " what did your minstrel do then in his joy ?" " He offered the gods twenty thousand bulls and a hundred thousand sheep," said Winnie, undauntedly. " Well done," laughed the sailor, " I wish you joy of your pupil, Missy." "Winnie is growing big and clever," said Martyn softly to Mrs. Gwynne. " I'll give you a riddle," said Minnie. " There are a great many ladies running after one another, and yet not able to catch one another. What's that ? " " Ladies ? " asked Robert. " Perhaps the clouds ? " exclaimed Freddy. . " The stars ? " said Lizzie. " The stars don't run," said Winnie. " Don't they ? " smiled Ned. "At least, we don't see it," replied Winnie. " You say they are ladies ? " asked Robert. Minnie nodded. " They have long trains to their dresses, and white veils, and are always running, and we always see them."

" I know," cried Robert — " the waves ! " The little girl clapped her hands. " She's always making riddles," said Winnie, pensively. " Kathleen would never let Winnie tell fairy tales, so she used to relate them to Maggy and me," said her little sister. Morgan started, Gladys rose to her feet, and Mrs Gwynne came forward, saying it was high time for the children to go to bed. At this, the twins suddenly felt very hungry, whereupon it occurred to the others that they had also grown hungry again, and so milk and bread had to be procured, and the dog had to have a respectable share of it. But at last they gathered all around their father, to let his smile light up their hearts like a beautiful sunset. And then Mrs. Gwynne and Missy took the children away. Robert laid his arm around Morgan's shoulders and walked up and down with him, while the Vicar questioned Ned about the tasks he had to prepare against his return to school.

At this moment Gladys went over to Martyn. She had let week after week slip by with out carrying out her intention ; now she gathered up her courage. " I have long wished to beg your pardon, Martyn," she whispered. "My pardon — for what ? " " For my uncivil and unkind be haviour." " Nay, Gladys, it was I who was harsh and unkind, and trampled your flowers almost before they had blown." " The better for me. They were only thistles and venomous weeds, and I did not know it. Now I know ; I have known for some time, but I was ashamed of telling you and of saying, ' Forgive me ! ' ' When a beautiful girl sues for pardon, the man must be hard-hearted indeed who would not delight in granting it. "It was as hard for me to do my duty as a difficult operation would have been," he said; "and I should have begged your pardon if I had dared ; but your displeasure weighed me to the ground."

" Oh, I am so ashamed. I was so foolish." " No ; you were good and innocent, and would not believe what you might not see." "Temorah opened my eyes." " Temorah ! How is that possible ?" " Why, she is not mute ! " " But did she speak coherently ?" " No, but plainly, and showed me some things. In the end she took me for Kathleen, and turned upon me with flashing eyes, and then I ran away, like the heroic creature I am." "When and where?" "At the churchyard." Martyn looked down and kept silence. " And then I saw that your interference had been providential for me," Gladys went on ; "and that I could never thank you sufficiently that you saved me from an abyss. And so I reproach myself most bitterly to-day for my blindness and folly." " Leave off accusing yourself, Gladys, it is enough. We will forget, and begin life anew."

" Oh, I wish I could." " We might help each other." "We?" " Yes, it seems to me — " Martyn hesitated; "it seems to me that our ways in life lie as near together as two rivers on the point of meeting. Gladys trembled from head to foot. VOL. III. 4° "Oh, Martyn, Martyn! such a silly little brook as I am ! " " Streams are brightest near their sources, Gladys ; and if that little brook will trust itself to my current, let it flow with me !" And Gladys bent her fair head and sank upon his breast in tears of joy. The two brothers had joined their father and talked busily to him, without looking round ; only Ned and Robert exchanged a furtive smile. It was a beautiful picture — the Vicar with that far-away look of his, which seemed already fixed upon the things beyond this life, and his three sons standing around him as sturdy young trees stand round an ancient, weather-beaten oak.

Those two in the dark corner whispered softly to each other, and never emerged into the light until Mrs. Gwynne and Missy came back. Then Martyn put his arm round Gladys and stepped forward with her. "Father," he said gaily, "dear father, I don't know whether you will think it nice and maidenly, but the fact is, Gladys has just asked me to marry her, or offered to marry me, if that sounds better." " Horrid ! shameful ! " cried Gladys, the glittering drops still rolling from her lashes across her glowing, laughing cheeks. " Thus am I sold and betrayed ! He has not even waited for my consent ; for I haven't said anything, not the least little yes ! He doesn't yet know whether I will have him at all." " No, of course she couldn't say any thing when she fell sobbing into my arms directly ; she had no time to say yes."

" So you can unsay it still if you're quick," laughed Robert. Mrs. Gwynne folded her child in her arms, and did what was certainly most important and mother-like at such a moment — she wept. The parents both thought of their beautiful child under the turf, and yet they were thankful that another darling of theirs should have the good fortune of becoming the excellent Doctor's wife. Only it all seemed so sudden, so incredibly sudden to these two whom the previous year had brought nothing but sorrow. They had been accustomed to look upon Morgan and Gladys as the objects of their most anxious care, and now their hearts were suddenly to be set at rest, with regard to one of them at least. Gladys herself could hardly believe in her betrothal after so many months spent in tears and contrition. She was teased without mercy ; for the brothers bore witness that she had got up with a resolute air and gone to Martyn, who had blushed like a girl when she spoke to him.

She found it impossible to defend herself against the four young men, and finally took refuge upon her father's knee, hiding her face on his breast and imploring his aid and protection ; but she jumped up again directly, afraid of tiring him, and flew to her old governess. " Missy, they're too bad! You used to defend me against those horrid boys ! " It was a lovely evening, one of those times that pass through life like meteors and leave lasting traces in every heart. Another joy was in waiting for Gwynne. " Father," said Morgan, a few days later, coming into the study, which was bright with pleasant winter sunshine ; " father, I think I dare enter the Church after all, now." Gwynne felt his heart swell almost alarmingly ; but one can bear a great deal of joy without succumbing. " Indeed, my son ?

You have conquered ?" " Conquered, father ? Ah, I am sadly beaten, and my glowing enthusiasm has made way for duty in its plain grey garb. But I will no longer question the ways of Providence. I will be patient and try to grow faithful like you, and pray as the children do : ' Dear Lord, make me good, that I may go to Heaven.' May be that will avail me more than all my wild and useless struggles did." OO " But not with a weary heart, my son ?" " No, my weariness seems to be passing away with the rest ; I long for work." " And you can put your former self away from you like a faded garment ?" "Yes, father, I think I can." " God bless you, my child ; I thank Him that He has let me live to see this hour. Gladys and you. Una is in good keeping, already. But I had to pray a good deal for you and Gladys before your dear souls were saved."

" Yes, we were both mistaken ; and yet those mistakes were far, far sweeter than the reality is !" " There will come a time when you will say that no longer." " I will never say it again, father!" "Ah, I did not mean with your lips." The children received the news of Gladys' betrothal with various feelings. Freddy thought it all right, Daisy was delighted, Lizzie said, " Why, Gladys has always detested Martyn;" Minnie remarked she had thought Gladys would marry Llewellyn, and Winnie was grave and said nothing at all. One warm morning in February, Morgan entered his mother's room, but did not find her there. In her stead, Winnie was standing at the writing table, her chin in her hand, her eyes fixed on Una's portrait, her foot softly beating time to a very low melody. Morgan held his breath.

By and-by the low murmuring merged into words, and Winnie sang : — " Dear Una, do not feel so sad, I'll bring you snowdrops bright, To ring the spring upon your grave, They are no wedding bells. " Dear Una, birds are singing loud, The wood is gay with sound, They chirp and twitter round the church, They sing no marriage hymn. " Dear Una, laurels bloom and sloes, And almonds, plums and pears ; The smallest shrub is decked with bloom. But not the myrtle tree. " Dear Una, and a rime fell down Till all the ground was white, It lies so fair on tender grass ; It is no bridal veil. " Dear Una, I remember you, I think of you, and sing Before your image, by your grave, Oh, do not feel so lonely." She could hardly finish her song for crying. Suddenly she felt a friendly arm around her ; Morgan took her gently on his lap and said in a very low voice : " Surely the dead never feel sad or lonely any more, and smile at everything that is done on earth.

I don't think they know jealousy either, for they must feel so much happier than the happiest betrothed." " But how can Martyn go to Heaven and stand before Una ?" " I think Una will receive him and all of us with a happy smile, and no longer ask who has been husband and wife, brother and sister." " But that's so sad ! Why should it be sad ?" " When I have missed my parents for ever so long, and then they don't remember that I have been their child, instead of taking me on their lap and saying — ' my own little girl ! ' "They can do that all the same, and need not grieve if you have been married and loved your own children in the meantime. Your husband and children will make you forget them as little on earth as they will forget you in Heaven." Morgan was so strongly moved that he needed all his self-control to answer her judiciously.

There were all his doubts and questions on innocent and childish lips, and he saw she was not convinced but went on pondering. " On her deathbed Una placed Gladys' hand in Martyn's and said repeatedly ; ' Gladys and Martyn ! Gladys and Martyn ! ' So you see she felt like a heavenly angel even before she quitted the earth." "What did she say besides?" At this question Morgan remembered for the first time what she had said besides ; he looked at the child in his lap, and saw that the child was standing on the verge of maidenhood, while Kathleen ■he put his hand to his brow. " She said," he continued, feeling the necessity of saying something in answer to her searching glance, " she said our father would follow her very soon." " And must he die ? " 2S EDLEEN VAUGHAN. I fear so, dear WTinnie."

" My best friend !" sobbed the child, and there was no consoling her. She cried on Morgan's breast as if her little heart would break. Morgan let her weep ; he was so engrossed by his own sorrow at that moment that he had no consolation to offer her. But after a while he said : " Would my father be satisfied with his ittle daughter, the darling of his soul, as he calls you, if he saw you so inconsolable ? My father is fond of courageous Christians." " But he cannot leave us ! God must see that we cannot bear to lose him ! " " Child, child ! God knows very well what we can and what we cannot bear." " No, no, no ! " cried the child, frantically. "He did not know that my mother could not bear the life that wicked boy was leading her. He did not know that Kathleen ill-treated us. He did not know — " " If He did not why did He bring you here to our peaceful home ?

" " But my mother ? " " Perhaps He means to teach her to be strong." " There now, you see that He doesn't know things." "Why?" " She's growing weaker every day." " Oh, only in body." " You think so ? I'll tell you something, but you won't repeat it to anybody?" " No." " Not to Missy ? " " No." " Not to your mother ? " No, child." 3o EDLEEN VAUGHAN. " Nor to your father ? ' " But Winnie! When I promise not to do so." " Well, you know, he always comes at night, to avoid being seen." "Who?" " Why, Tom, of course. And she never sends him away ; she never says : ' Go away wicked boy !' Never. And the other evening he was here, quite late, and called me into the garden." "Who? Tom?" " Yes, Tom. Why do you grow so pale? Is he a robber?" asked, the child with dilated eyes. " Almost," said Morgan, between his teeth.

" Well, I was dreadfully afraid of him, too, for he rolled his eyes and said ' Our mother must die,' and when I cried, he shook me, and said, ' Hush, little -,' such an ugly word ! And then he wanted me to ask your mother for money for myself and then to give it him ; he threatened to carry me away into the forest and beat me till I would promise to do so, and as he spoke he wanted to put his handkerchief over my mouth, and I was so frightened that I promised him everything. Since then I cannot sleep for fear at night, and I dare not go into the garden at all. I fancy there's somebody hid behind every bush. Is he a robber, Morgan ? " Winnie had certainly tended to rouse her companion's sympathy, but the effect of her account upon him far surpassed her expections. The veins in his forehead swelled as if they would burst, he ground his teeth, and clenched his fists, and muttered words that were unintelligible to the child.

" I've prayed so much that God would show me what I ought to do, but He was quite silent." " Was He ? Has He not sent me here to-day, to tell you : do not be afraid, a promise extorted by violence is no promise. Let your conscience be at rest. And as to — that scoundrel, I shall make it my business to prevent him coming here again. So you see God has heard your innocent prayer, my poor child — my poor, poor little sceptic." Winnie felt elated to see Morgan so strongly moved at the thoughts which had secretly troubled her so much. "You will not be afraid now, will you, my child ? " " No, I'll try not. But now I've already got into the way of being afraid." " Oh, no ; you must only remember that God is always near and ready to protect you if you call to Him." "But suppose Tom had carried me off?"

"Did he?" " No, but he made me do a wicked thing. I promised what I did not mean to keep." " God will forgive you that falsehood, because you were so frightened at the time. For you never told stories before, did you, Winnie ? " " No ; but Kathleen was always telling stories and getting me into trouble without my fault. And Tom tells stories ; no, you can't think how untruthful he is. He'll declare he never dreamt of things which he has been saying two minutes before. We used but just to look at each VOL. III. other, Minnie and I, when he did so ; for mamma believed him, and not us. As to Kathleen, she didn't really believe him, you know ; but she was so crazily in love with him. She gave him everything, even her silk stockings, and took all our little trinkets away ; and then they said it was for poor people.

Kathleen is a very bad girl. How she used to beat me ! — and then she said she hadn't. She was a bad girl. And when Tom kissed her, she would forbid my telling anybody. I asked her why. And she said because he wasn't her own brother. Now, / kiss whom I please, and always tell ; I kiss you, and you're not my brother. But I like you a thousand, a hundred thousand, a million times better than Tom. But she knew very well that Tom was a wicked boy, and yet she kissed him. Won't he come again ? I'm a little afraid still, Morgan ; for if I have nothing to give him next time, he'll carry me off into the wood and beat me half-dead ! Yes, he will, Morgan ! — he really will ! " The child shuddered. " I cannot understand how he dared to come here at all." " Perhaps he had other robbers with him." Morgan smiled.

" No, robbers are not in the habit of roaming about as they do in the fairy tales. But tell me, does Missy permit you to walk in the garden after dark?" " I hadn't asked her." " There, you see, that was your punishment. And you think God does not see or guard you. Whenever we dc not obey His will, He punishes us." " Has He ever punished you ? " asked Winnie, dropping her voice, as if she were touching upon a profound secret. "Me? Oh yes, terribly." The words escaped him almost against his will, and he sat with bowed head, lost in thought. Winnie gazed at him with intense interest. " Had you been disobedient ?" she asked, after a pause. He started, and seemed but now to remember with whom he was speaking. " I ? Yes, I was disobedient. I did like you — I doubted His kindness and His power, and then He smote me, so that I could not recover from the blow for a long time afterwards."