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Show 28 RICIJ,\RD 11URDIS. well ns of heart. He wns temperate in l1is dcJJOrtmcnt, forbearing in his prC'judices, modest in corr~spond_cncc ·with his wm~t of originality, and earnest in his desire of 1mprovcmcut. ~l1s disposition was gentle and playful. He laughed too rcaclJ~Y· 11m· haps; and Ids confidence was quite ns free and unrcstran~nblc as his mirth. '\Vhilc my nature, helped by my c.xpcncncc, perhaps, made me j ealous, wntc!Jful, :md suspicious, his, on the other hrmd, t:wght him to bclim·c rcndily, to trust fc:u·lcssly, and to derive but lit tle value even from his own experience of injustice. ' V c were not unfit foils, and consequently not unseemly companions for one another. Carrington was seeking lands, and his intcnti_on was to be _nt tho lmul-snlc in Chocchumn, and to purc1Jasc wtth the first fitting opportunity. Having bought, he proposed to hurry b~ck to Marengo, marry, and set forth in the spring of the cnsumg year for his new home. llis plans were all marked out, and his lwppincss almost nt hand. Enuneline oflCred no oLjcetio_n to his anangemcnts, nml sl1owed no wom:mly weakness at Ins p reparations for dcpnrturc. She gave my lmnil a gentle pressure when I Lade her fnrewell, and simply begged us to take care of each other. I di<l not witness tl1e separation between the loYcrs, but I am convinced tlwt she exhibited far less, yet felt much more tlum ·\Villiam, and tl1at, after the parting, he laughed out nloucl much the soonest of the two. Not that he did not love her. lie loved quite ns fervently as it was in his nature to love i but Ids heart was of lighter make nml of less earnest tem11er than hers. lie could be won by new colors to a forgetfulness of tlic cloud wl1ich had dnrkened his spirits, and the moan of his nflliction was soon forgotten in gayer and newer sounds. Not so with her. If she did not monn aloud, she conld brood in secret, like the doYc upon the bhu;ted bough, over her own heart, nnd, watching its throbs, forget that the world held it no propriety towecll· Tim HOSTILE GRAPPLF:. 29 CIIAP'l'ER IV. 'filE HOSTILE OHAI'PLE. Olh•t!r. K now you Oefore wltom, 11id Orlat~do. Ay, IJcHcr thnu he I 11:11 before knows me. I know you nrc my clliCr IJrutltct·; JUtd, in the genL)Q emulition of lolood, you tthould so know me. The eom·tesy of nntil!llB nllowa you my bettcz·, iu tlwt you nz·e Ute first born ; !Jut lite sntttC trndition tnkcs not nwny my blood WHC tl tet·e twenty LI'Otlters loetwixt 1ts. llmve na much of my fathet· in me nt~ yon; nl iJeit~ I confl'l!S your· C011tiug bdure me is ncnre1· to ltiil t·cvcrenee. Oliver. Wltar, hoy1 Orla11du. Come, come, elder l)l'othet·, you nrc too young in tltis. Olh•e1·. WilL thou )tiJ lttuttls on me, villnin1 Orltwdo. I nm no villain: wer-t tltou ltOL my Lrotltet·, I woultl not tnke this hrtnd from thy tltront., till this oLhCl' hnJ pulled out t hy tongue for sny-ing so I .A11 J'o" Like Jr. 'rm-: time nppronched which had beeu appointed for our departure, nnd tl1e illcrensccl Lerlfing of my heart warned me of some tri:ll-sccnes yet to be umlcrgone. I knew that I should l1ave little clif1icu lty nt parti11g with my fnther, and much less with my more fortunate brotlJCr. 'l'he parting from my mother was a. different matter, as, knowing well the loYc which she bore me, I was nlready prepared for lter sonow, if not agony, when bidding rne fnrewell. Besides, resolving in my secret mind never to return, I had a feeling of COII1!lltllction fOr my meditated liypocrisy, which nddcd tl1e aunoynncc of shame to my own sorrow on t he occnsion. I did not think less of tho fimd separation from 1\lary Ensterby, but my pride schooled my hcnrt in reference to her. I resolved that she should sec me go without a. cliange of feature, without the qui,·ering of a single muscle. I resolved to sec her. A more prudent man would have gone nwny in silence and in secrecy. lie would have as resolutely avoided as I sought the interview. But I was not a |
