Rosa Lambert — page 267: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Ce ree ees ee ee nt Re ete Fe me et Btn ns re ett 256 —_—- ee oo ee ee ee + ee -- “T am so sorry we came,” whispered Felix softly, but also soothingly. “It really struck me that some fatality would happen. Promise me, dearest Rose, that for the future you will be guided by me andefollow my advice. Why do you not answer meP “For heaven’s sake speak! Your eyes seem to be gazing in wild vacancy e¢ “Oh, Felix!” I responded, “if you had caught the last look of that wretched young noble- man’s ghastly, distorted, horror-stricken counte- nance rs “For heaven’s sake do not think of it!” interrupted Felix, in a tone of the most earnest entreaty: “put it away from your memory— banish it from your imagination HM “I cannot—I cannot!” I answered with a shudder: “it will haunt me for a long, long time Never, never shall I forget the last look of that countenance which was upturned in the dying agonies of the drowning man !”’ But now it occurred to me that I must really exercise a power and control over my feelings—or else Felix Wellesley would begin to suspect that there was something beyond the mere horror of the scene which had thus affected me. I rose from the sofa—readjusted my dress—and drank some wine-and-water which Felix presented me. The wind was now blowing so strong that we were running back towards Dover; and the gallant little vessel was dancing over the rolling waves. The spray was beating upon the deck: but I longed for the fresh air, and insisted upon ascend- ing from the cabin, despite the earnest entreaties of Felix to the contrary. I could not however remain long on deck; and in order to avoid being wet through, descended again to the cabin. Williams and his friends presently came down: their looks were profoundly mournful. They drank some wine—but not a word was said of the collation: no one had any appetite under existing circumstances. ‘They all spoke of the incident as a frightful calamity; and I gathered from what they said that the unfortunate Marquis must have suddenly lost his balance when the vessel was struck by the sea which broke over it, and that he was hurled over the low bulwark before he could grasp the rope at which he clutched. We entered Dover harbour in safety; and sad indeed were the tidings which had to be commu- nicated to those persons who were upon the quay. | Wellesley and I hastened home to our lodgings ; and for the next few days I experienced so much of that sensation of awful solemnity which I have already described, that I began to fear I should never be able to shake it off. Amidst all my re- flections upon the subject, it was a matter of real consolation to think that only a few minutes before the dreadful tragedy occurred, I had assured the Marquis of Belmore that in his last dying agonies, whenever his time should come, he might rely upon my pardon. I say that it was a consolation, —because, though utterly guiltless of the young man’s death, there was notwithstanding a certain guilty or at all events painful feeling in my mind at the idea that my own prophecy and his fate should have been so intimately connected. Ina few days, however, my mind recovered its ordinary tone; but even when enabled to reflect more calmly upon the shocking scene I had witnessed, I experienced no revengeful satisfaction at its occur. : oe —— oe) =e Osha ee os _ ‘ ROSA LAMBERT. ed SURE rence. The body was washed on shore in the course of the week: an inquest was holden upon it—and a verdict was returned in accordance with the evidence adduced. The ducal father and other relatives of the deceased came down to Dover to fetch away the remains of the drowned one, and convey them elsewhere to receive the rites of osten- tatious sepulture. Before passing on to other matters, I must pause for a few moments to chronicle a reflection which at this period arose more than once in my mind, and which was only a natural sequence of the impression made upon me by the tragedy of the yacht. From three persons had I experienced an outrage similarly diabolical: two of these Had perished before my eyes, both dying miserably, and the last agony of their looks being revealed to my vision. The third remained alive: he was my cousin, Sir John Haverstock. Was he destined to experience a chastisement equally dreadful? and was I fated to become its witness? These were the questions I often and often asked myself during the first few days which followed Belmore’s death, and until the impression made by the tragedy gradually began to lose its vividness and become absorbed amongst the mass of other memories that had settled down into the cells of my brain. Ten days after the catastrophe at sea, we re- paired to London and took up our temporary quarters at an hotel. Then we busied ourselves in searching about the most agreeable suburbs of the metropolis for a suitable villa-residence. I preferred the outskirts on account of the oppor- tunities they afford for good exercise on foot or on horseback ; and Felix readily fell into my views, as he doubtless thought that by living a little way out of town we should have all the less chances of forming acquaintances and therefore be all the more together. Not that I wish it to be under- stood that his motives were selfish in thus agree- ing to my proposal to dwell in the suburbs: on the contrary, he did his best to gratify every wish of mine so long as it tended not to throw us into society or to separate us. To be brief, we found a suitable dwelling in the neighbourhood of Bays- water: we furnished 1% elegantly though not ex- | travagantly : Felix purchased carriages and horses; and in a short time the establishment was com- pletely appointed. As time passed on, I found it more and more difficult to assort my own temper, habits, and inclinations with those of Felix Wellesley. He would constantly be with me: I could scarcely move anywhere without being. accompanied by him. If leaving him in the drawing-room, IL stayed away too long (as he thought) in my own chamber, he would come to look after me ; and if I went shopping, he still insisted on being my companion. Now, there are times when a woman, with the very best views and intentions, chooses to be alone for a while in the house, and also to go alone to make purchases; and there~ fore the constant attendance of Felix Wellesley amounted almost’ to a persecuting supervision. It made me feel supremely ridiculous on occasions to be accompanied by Felix when visiting mercers’ shops; it made him too appear still more ludicrous —but he did not see it. And then, on the other hand, it was so difficult to make him comprehend that there were really and positively occasitns Se ee Se ee er ge te SEE SE 900 EOMIE