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~~ "PRANK LESLIE'S NEW YORK JOURNAL, = .
me to observe,” continued the speaker, where this
elysium—this Lethe—is situated to which you pro-
pose to convey my still suffering friend!’
«It is too humble to be honored by your visits !’”
Was the reply.
« Perhaps they have ceased to be agreeable to her
husband ?” said the lady. ia tes :
Alberto saw that a rupture was unavoidable, and
replied only by alow bow. 0: «.- a
«© Well, that is honest, at least!” exclaimed the
‘actress, “I like plain speaking—it places one so
auch at one’s ease! She sha’nt go!”’ .
“Madame!”
“‘Can’t you understand me?’ said his visitor ;
“she shall not go!” . :
. Who will prevent it?”
‘667 will? : . eu ca .
* “T am her husband!” observed the gentleman,
getting seriously an : :
gry. os :
“More the pity,” replied Miss Mellon, ina tone
of withering contempt, ‘‘that the fate of one so}:
gifted should be linked with such a being! | Spare
your grimaces, sir,” she added, *‘ and looks of indig-
nation! , Reserve them for those who do not under-
stand such trickery! I have been an actress all my
life, from the barn to Covent Garden!. Every phase
in the art is familiar to me—you can’t impose on
me! J can tell the difference between spangles and
pure gold!” “ieee be
. ‘The honesty both of speech and purpose in the
speaker completely disconcerted the heartless liber-
tine.. He saw that the struggle was likely to be
more serious than-he anticipated ; still he could not
comprehend the means by which his visitor hoped
to baffle him. -He had consulted a lawyer, and
ascertained that in England a husband’s authority
over his wife was absolute. doe. ,
~ “You said,” he began, after a pause,.“‘ that you
would prevent‘ the removal of .Madame Garrachi,
my wife, tothe country!” . .:
~The lady nodded in the affirmative.
_ “May Tinquire by what means?” ... | ,
* “Certainly!” replied Miss Mellon, with an iron-
ical smile; “nothing can be more just or reason-
able! Cards on the table, as you gentlemen say!
In the first place, I shall drive from here to the
office of the Secretary of State, and place before him
three cheques, drawn upon the house of Van Has-
salt, of Amsterdam, by Colonel de Lille, now a pri-
soner in Newgate, upon a charge of high treason,
drawn in your favor, and negotiated by you,” she
added, “ through the firm of Coutts and Company !”
“T can explain!” exclaimed the’ signor, turning
very pale. . Co 5 1!
_ “ Of course you can!” replied the lady ; “at least
to your own satisfaction ; but whether to that of the
government is another affair!’ , Fortunately,” she
added, “it is not with credulous women that you
will have to do, but with men who know the world,
its tricks and subterfuges, almost as well as you do
yourself!-’You can explain, you say! ‘Have you
calculated the consequences if you do not explain?
Bets are already ten to three. at the clubs, that. Col,
de Lille will be hanged within a month!”.
“The signor shuddered: he felt. that he was de-
feated. ‘The first draft he had received from the
colonel was for some important information he had
extracted from the unsuspecting confidence of one
. of the'clerks of the Foreign Office, whom he had
introduced behind the scenes at His Majesty’s The-
atre; the second, for repeating a conversation he
had overheard at a dinner party given by the private
‘ secretary of one of the ministers; and the third
Mademoiselle Cherini had obtained for him from
_ one of her admirers who.was connected with the
Admiralty... 0 * : :
ad he been really innocent, there would have
‘been nothing to fear; but conscience was his ac-
: euser, and he trembled at its voice.
It must not be supposed that a man so honorable
as the founder of the great house of Coutts, and
‘ Company possessed any proof of the Italian’s com-
' plicity with the colonel, whose cheques he had been
‘in'the habit of forwarding to his correspondents in|.
| Holland, as he did those of many noble emigrés who
. had succeeded in placing the wreck of their fortunes
‘there. His guilt being discovered, naturally led to
Am I to order my carria;
the suspicion that Alberto was no stranger to it.
“Well, sir!” said Miss Mellon, “your decision?
I geornot??.
“T should never pardon myself for giving you so
‘much trouble!” replied the gentleman, with a polite
, bow. Cs . :
alarm,
The actress smiled: she had succeeded. °, *
“ At your desire,” she continued, ‘I will postpone
my visit to the Home Office, then!” :
* Postpone it!” repeated the Italian, in a tone of
’ ' a se .
“For ten days! Let me see; the season closes
in six! Come, I will be generous with you, and
make it twelve! If after the expiration of that time
you are found in England, it will be at your peril!
ou understand me?” .
The detected spy: did understand her, and men-
tally cursed the accident which had placed him so
completely at her mercy. - . :
*T know,” continued the speaker, “ that as an
Englishwoman I'am wrong in allowing you to
escape; but hanging! There is something shock-
ing in the idea of sending a thing which once was
human to such a fate! Besides,’’ she added, with
withering scorn, “there is little danger that you
will do more mischief now! You were merely the
instrument—the colonel’s was the master-mind!
It is only the tiger or the wolf that ventures to
return to the thicket where it once was wounded ;
the cur, true to the instincts of its nature, avoids
it p _ . “8 . i
So completely was Signor Garrachi’ subdued by
the noble scorn and decision of the speaker, that he
even degraded himself—if further degradation were
possible—by thanking her for her forbearance, and
pledged himself not only to quit the country by the
time she proposed, but to remove at once from the
hotel, and inflict his presence upon the woman
whose happiness he had so ruthlessly destroyed ‘no
more, : : “ : ue
very day. .
“ And such are the beings we love!” exclaimed
Miss Mellon, with a sigh, as from the window of
the drawing-room, she saw. him drive off; “to
whom we commit our happiness—to whom we con-!
sign ourselves for life—who mar ‘or make our‘
future!- Are they stronger, wiser, or better than
we are? No! What, then, gives them the superi-
ority? Alas!” she added, “ our weakness consti-
tutes their strength, and their wisdom consists but
in the knowledge of our folly! I may live to have
a husband—but never a master! The chain which
fetters'my hand. must be of gold;.the one which
binds my heart, of friendship—not love—not love!”
Perhaps, even at that early period of her life, the
actress dreamed of the brilliant destiny which
awaited her—for she kept her resolution; but, if
her heart remained closed to the all-absorbing pas-
sion which destroys so many of her sex, it’ at least
was open to friendship, gratitude, and all the melting
charities of our ‘better nature. Her active benevo-
lence in after years might have redeemed the errors
of a-much worse head and heart.) ') 0) 0}. >
As soon:as Madame Garrachi:was sufficiently
which her husband intended to consign her, her dis-
veyed to a cottage close to her own villa, at High-
gate, which she had prepared for her reception. “It
was one of those charming retreats, in which sorrow
might find repose—the heart, jaded, worn by the
conflicts of feeling and passion, forgetfulness—a
shelter from the storms of life—a nest of content, if
not of happiness... ~ : : ote
.. By the influence of Mr. Coutts, whose connection
with the great financial houses of Europe: gave him
the means of interfering effectually in her interests,
the greater part of the fortune of Madame Garrachi
was remitted through Holland to England. The rest
was abandoned to her husband, now openly living
with Mademoiselle Cherini, the star of the Opera
House, in Paris. :. |: < : ty
‘“ Thank heaven, my dear friend,” said Miss Mel-
lon, as she announced the success of the banker’s
interference, in; her; affairs, “that the future -is
secured!?) jo ng pd ep ott ular,
“The future secured!” repeated the singer, ina
tone of irony; “I understand—I am not’ left to
starvel” tibet :
“You forget. your jewels!: Under any circum-
stances, they would have been safe!”
“True—true!” replied the unhappy woman,
searcely heeding her...07 --' | meet of
““Come—come! you promised to be calm!”
He kept his word, and took his departure that] -
strong to be removed, instead of the asylum to's
interested friend caused her and Fanny to be con-|'
“You are quite right!” observed the actress,
struck with admiration at the purity of tone and ex-
quisite expression in one so young; “ such talent
ought to be cultivated! It will amuse you—occupy
0
“Tt will!’ observed Madame Garrachi, with a
bitter smile. . *,
“And the poor child will love you!” added Miss
Mellon. :
« Love me!” ‘repeated the late idol of the Opera;
“she will do more than love me |”
“T do not comprehend ?”” nos
“ She will avenge mel” added her instructress,
between her clenched teeth; “ it.is for that I live!’
CHAPTER XXXV
O thievish might,
* Why shouldst thou, but for some felonious end,
In thy dark lantern thus close up the stars ‘
That nature hung in heaven, and filled their lamps .
With everlasting oil, to give due light
To the misled and lonely travellor?—MILTON. ~
Ir is not to be supposed that Miles, who had been
trained in the school of Peter Quin, would leave any
means untried to discover the abode of Martha,
whom he both hated and feared. Hated, for having
subdued and humbled him—and feared, from .the
power which her knowledge of his crimes had armed
her with. , . .
Still it was not without considerable misgiving
that he set himself to the task :-it was necessary to
proceed cautiously—for he knew that if his intended
victim obtained the least clue to his proceedings, or
entertained a suspicion of his design, she would
keep no terms with him. Many men—bunglers in
the trade of villany—would have commenced opera-
tions by setting on parties to watch; but Miles was
too cunning for that: the information which he _re-
quired he determined to obtain himself. .
- For this purpose, he became a regular frequenter
of a public-house in one of the narrow streets lead-
ing from the Temple to Blackfriars, which was well
known as the resort of the lawyers’ clerks and mes-
sengers; there, as he expected, he encountered Mr.
Griffiths... Had he known how bitterly the little
man resented the contempt with which Martha had
treated his advances, Miles would perhaps have been
more open to his overtures ; ‘as it was, he contented
himself by an occasional word or nod of recognition
—this game continued for several weeks...
At last he ventured upon’ what he considered a -
very decided move: he invited Mr. Foster’s clerk to
a game of cribbage, and lost it—not, like a bungler,
by such barefaced bad play that a child might have
een through his intentions—but by one or two pegs
only. - . . .
“You really play very well!” observed the pomp-
ous Mr. Griffiths—for out of the office he considered
himself a very important personage. ~ .
* “But you ‘play better!” replied his’ antagonist,
with the air of a man who did not altogether relish
his defeat; “I suppose. you will give me my re-
venge?? « a 4
“Willingly !” said the clerk, calling at the same.
time for a second glass of ale—as a general rule, he’
took but one. ws Coe
They played, and a second time he was a winner,.
‘This slight commencement gradually ripened into
a close acquaintance. Still the ruffian was com-|
pelled to proceed cautiously—for, with his quick
perception of character, he had discovered that his
new friend was just as suspicious of the intentions:
of others as he was himself.” “
In this manner months elapsed before he had an
opportunity of approaching the subject he was so
anxious to converse upon. © Do ,
“Ah, Mr. Griffiths,” he observed, one very. wet.
evening, on which they were the only two guests in
the little parlor ; “I wish I had been a lawyer!”
The clerk raised his head from the paper, and ,
looked at him as if astounded at the magnitude of
his ambition, © 9° : ue
..“I know,” continued the speaker, ‘that it re- ;
uires a long head and much larning ; but if I could
5
_ Tam calm!’ exclaimed Madame Garrachi, with
sudden energy ; ‘but it is the calm which precedes
the storm! Whilst the thunder is gathering, and
the lightning. tempering its forked fires in the
clouds, there is a stillness:in nature—it is so with
mi 5 oo
“IT do not comprehend you?” weladhes
“Listen!” said the still suffering invalid, “ and!
you will understand mel”: rota et
At that. moment the sounds of a voice, young,
fresh, and flexible as:the notes of the lark, came
from the adjoining room:, never had more delicious
harmony fallen upon the ear. !
It was Fanny, practising her daily lesson. |< i
have found some clever fellow, Jike yourself, to have _
taken me as'a'‘partner, I might bave found the ,
money, and you the brains !” So,
This time Mr. Griffiths did not think the ambition ,
of his vulgar acquaintance quite so preposterous. - .
“But I suppose,” concluded Miles, “that you
will be a partner in time?” co
| “It is not impossible!” replied the little man, in ,
a fretful tone; “but it all depends on the caprice of
a boy!” o ‘ So °
“A boy, sir?” . Do
.“ Yes!’ continued the gentleman ; “ my principal |
has an only son, whom he is anxious to bring up to
the profession! Though, heaven knows—of course
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