LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 587, 6 May 1876, Page 3

LITERATURE.

LORD MERVYN; OR, NOT IN Till

PEER AG E,

Chapter I - A Wrong Scent.

(Continued.) ‘ Too quick, gallant knight What were you to tell me ?’ ‘ How much I adore you. Darling Clara ! hear me Avhle I declare the heartfelt love 1 bear you. Will you be my wife ?’ At first she was not in the slightest moved, and even at the close of my address she only faintly blushed. It was the first time I had seen her do so. It was a favourable symptom. Alas ! little did I then realise what was the motive of that blush. But she did not answer me. Why ? 1 looked at her again anxiously, hopefully expecting that the faint flush of modesty musthave deepened into scarlet. Fool that I was! She was unmoved. The crimson had again subsided into the usual roseate hire of health. Her eyes followed the laughing waves, and smiled almost as saucily. I trembled. Could I have been mistaken ?

‘ Do you love me, adore me, worship me ?’ she said, with radiant eyes. ‘My whole soul is yours, angelic Clara — yours entirely!’ I exclaimed, quite innocently. ‘ Have you ever cared for another ?’ ‘ Never ! never !’

She revelled in her victory. 1 fancied, when I afterwards reflected on her manner, that she had purposely prolonged the scene, desiring that I should taste fully of the intoxicating draught before she dashed it from my lips. ‘ And your love will always be the same ? ‘ Always ! If I were torn from you this moment, and cruel fate forbade us ever to meet again, your presence would haunt me, your memory be enshrined in my heart as long as existence were mine.’ It was finished. She rose, her usual gay, vivacious demeanour unruffled.

‘ Come to night at seven,’ she said, I kissed her hand. She was gone.

The evening arrived. The clock of St Peter’s church was striking seven as I slowly wandered down to the castle. It was not a pleasant evening. The sea was covered with a dense vapour. The air was sultry. There was an oppressive stillness. I was there first. How familiar was the scene —the castle, the old notice-board, the wave-worn rocks! A quarter to eight. Strange she is not here, 1 thought. As the distant clocks chimed the hour of eight, 1 entered the ruins, and removed the stone, .there was a letter. It was this : | ‘if you were in earnest this morning, please think no more of me. It should have been evident that we were quite unsuited to each other. When you receive this, I shall have left Beacham for good. Farewell. — C. V.’ Chapter ll.—Treasure Trove. Professor Copernicus received me very kindly. He sympathised with me in my misfortunes, and invited me to pay him a visit. Nevertheless, he censured me strongly for omitting to call a second time at my aunt’s house, and observed that he supposed experience alone would avail to put young men on their guard against promiscuous flirtations at the seaside. From my description of her conduct, he considered that the jade was evidently a thoroughly heartless and contemptible coquette. He would advise me to banish her for ever from my thoughts, feeling well assured that she was an innately cruel, reckless woman, utterly devoid of conscience, and a mere type of bundle Is of others.

This was doubtless very sensible counsel, but, somehow, it did not operate as the Professor wished. I did not banish her from my thoughts, because I could not; so I moped and fretted, was silent and uncompanionable, lost my appetite, grew a beard, and expressed disbelief in everything, more especially in astronomy. At this the Professor seemed to really grow alarmed. I required change, he said—change of scene and society. He had an idea to propose to me. It was this-that I should take a voyage to Turkey for the double purpose of benefiting my health, and make observations for him during the approaching egress of Venus retarded by parallax. The idea was welcome. The change of scene would be agreeable. I consented; and before many days had elapsed, I was on board the Mediterranean steamship Sultan, bound for the ancient and beautiful city of Mosquehat. The important city of Mosquehat is most beautifully situated. It was this busy and opulent place we were now rapidly approaching. For some hours glittering pinnacles and gilded crescents had been visible from afar, and about six o’clock in the evening we put off steam just outside the harbour, where, m«ch to our annoyance, we were informed that, owing to an insufficiency of water on the bar, we should have to remain till the morning. The post-office officials, however, came on board and took off the mails in a small boat, and the company’s agent, avlxo left by the same opportunity, carried with him a list of the passengers for insertion in the Mesqvchat Herald, an English newspaper published that evening. The scene was very beautiful, and I remained on deck all night. There I sat and thought, and whilst I w n s thinking sleep closed my eyes, and I dreamt of what I had been thinking, A figure of a girl—a avclllembered form—seemed to rise from the blue Avater, and, coming near to me, laid its hand on my shoulder, and said, ‘ I am not what I seemed. You will never comprehend if you don’t knoAV human nature. Not cruel, not false.’ And as she descended iuto the Avaves echo repeated, ‘ Not cruel!—not false !’ And then there Avas a long stillness, and Avhen 1 awoke the beautiful scene Avas gone. It was daylight. I descended towards the saloon. ToAvards seven o’clock avc entered the harbour and anchored about a quarter of a mile from the shore. Through my cabin avuuloav I could see the commissionuaires of the various hotels crowding forwards up the ship’s la filer to secure as many of the new arrivals as possible for their respective establishments. Shortly afterwards there Avas a gentle l ock at my door, and a dark-complexioned face, with little back, heady eyes, looked in, saying, ‘Pardon, monseigneur ! Je snis ’• c unmusioi mire de I’Hotel d’Angletorrc ! Grand hotel! Superhe ! Char but at this stage of his oration I firmly closed the door, slipping the. bolt into its socket. In the meanwhile the rapping on the door and panels of my cabin recommenced, Avhilst threugh the ventilators various hotel cards, lists of criticisms, and approving notices were dexterously inserted in great profusion. The clamour Avas tremendous; so, having completed my preparations, I took my modest handbag and rug, and, opening the door suddcuH, Avas almost seized in the arms of a magnificent individual in a scarlet coat profusely adorned Avith gold lace ; Avliilst round his cap, in letters of Avhite on a gold 'round, Avas the impressive inscription, ■Grand Seraglio Hotel.’ I tried to extricate myself from his clutch and made a frantic plunge forwards to the staircase, but in Auxin. He clasped me firmly round the Avaist, whispering the while all sorts of seductive observations anent the Grand Seraglio and its attractions, Avith a vieAV to pacifying me. And iioav all control over the crowd seemed to be over. As their respective chances of securing my esteemed patronage diminished they greAV utterly reckless, one struggling violently for my bag, Avhile another Avonld claw bold of my rugs, and a third conceive a violent affection for my umbrella. At the same time a continuous hoAvling Avas going on, and cries of ‘ Hotel de Mosquehat !’ ‘ Grand Hotel de France !’ * Hotel Royal !’ ‘ Tres-bon !’ ‘ Charxrxant !’ ‘Sans egal!’ were dinned into my ears till deafness nearly supervened. Resigning myself to the scarlet coated one, I suggested to him that avc should make one more desperate attempt to gain the deck. He graciously assented, and ; his time met with more success. Leaning on the great man’s arm, preceded and folloAvcd by a mob of chattering stewards, I gradually mounted the companion, and made a kind of triumphal entry on deck. Hurried gently forward past the other passengers by my conductor, I descended the ship’s side, the captain politely taking off his cap to me, Avhilst many of the passengers looked over the bulwarks to see me roAved off in triumph, lounging luxuriosly in the special caique of the Grand Seraglio. At the landing-place a tall, smart man in black, with patent-leather shoes, and shiny black hat, Avhich he respectfully lifted as he helped me on shore, was in Availing, and handed me to a carriage and pair, in which I drove off from the midst of a small but admiring crowd to the hotel.

There was clearly some mistak e._ As we ascended the grand staircase I m ticed that there were many of the visitors in the hotel looking over the marble parapets with, apparently. nothing to do but to gaze at me. I determined to put things on their proper footing at once ; so, having duly surveyed the gorgeous gold-and-white apartments to which 1 had been conducted, I turned to my sable-clad attendant and inquired the price of the accommodation ; but the man, having ushered me in, had closed the door and retired, leaving me alone to muse over my strange reception at Mosquehat.

(To he continued.)