LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1460, 21 October 1878, Page 3

LITERATURE.

VALENTINES VIGIL.

A S'l'OllY OF TIIK DAY AND NIOIIT.

By W. W. Fbnn.

(Concludrd ) When the door wa3 upon us, } said, taking up, ' th? %tx\k where ho had left it:

' Kc> Mr Wynne, what I have to say will not keep. I am here by the authority of, and to represent the father of, the young lady to whom you are engaged, and I come to demand a fuller explanation than is <ontaiaed iu that letter of the circumsta'ices

which led you to write it. Moro than that : I demand to know how you propose to ac count for the suspicious fact that you, as it were oa the eve of your marriage, are in the habit of receiving evening visits in your chambers here alone from a l»dy '!' 'lt is useless for you to deny it: I saw you and the lady cocne out of these rooms but an hour an-1 a half ago. I had betn waiting on the stairs since eight o'clock with my eye upon your door, in the full belief that you were from home, as I was told. Whereas—'

' Sir,' he said angrily, ' by what right do you dare to tell me this ; by what right do yru presume to watch my movements ? ' Checking my temper, when I found I had misunderstood what it was that he was about to deny, I said. ' Now, Mr Wynne, let us not take this tone. If you look at the case frankly and dispassionately, I am sure you will see that I have a full right to demand an explanation.' And I then rapidly and briefly told him the circumstances under which I had become Mr Davenell's envoy —of his illness ; of the distress the letter had caused in conjunction with the suspicious and compromising news that he had brought home ; how I had volunteered at once to clear up the difficulty if possible : what my name was ; and so on. ' Now,' I continued, in conclusion, • I think you will see that I have some right on my side, and am justified in the step I have taken.' 'He put his hand to his forehead, walked away from the table against which we were standing, and which was covered with papers and account books ; paced to and fro at the further end of the room for a minut°, as if in doubt; then turned up the gas, which was burning dimly, stirred the smouldering remains of the fire ; threw himself into an easy chair in front of it, put his hand again to his head, heaved a deep sigh, and finally motioned me to a chair. The extra light which he had thrown upon the scene enabled me more plainly to discern his features, and I saw with pain that he was evidently suffering great mental distress. He looked worn and haggard, like a hunted hound ; but there was an expression of honesty and kindliness in his handsome face which at once touched me. Presently he said, in an entirely altered tone, 'Since this difficulty too has become known and has been so fearfully nmunderstood at Dalton gardens, and as it seems that any further concealment of my trials and troubles is impossible, and as I suppose I may believe your account of the circumstances which bring you here I may as well make a clean bre*st of it. But, Mr (Irey, allow me to say in one word that my conduct is entirely misunderstood by Mr and Mrs Davenell. It is open to the most complete explanation, I am happy to think;, though I did not wish to havo been called upon to make it. ' That unfortunate lady whose one or two visits here have created a dreadful suspic'on in their and your minds, is none other than the wife of my unhappy partner. She is left, through bis defalcations and knavery and by his flight from this country, with six young children in such distress as it has never been my lot to witness before Naturally anxious to conceal herself at this moment from the eyes of the world, she has been here to consult with me on her affairs by night instead of by day when I too could not have received her. That is the simple explanation of her visits, Mr (<rey, and it is very eauly proved. I have been endeavoring to by going over with her the books and papers there' (and he pointed to the table) 'if anything, and what, could be saved from the wreck. My own affairs are sufficiently complicated by his vi lany, but this did rot make me unmindful of her unprotected state. That is all, • Now when I wrote that l«tt°r to Mr Davenell the night before last, 1 had been aware of my partner's frauds and flight only a few hours, and I wrote it on the honest impulse of the moment, fully intending to-morrow to have gone to Mr Davenell's, and to show him plainly and honestly how I stood. I don't know that I should have thought it worth while even to have mentioned the wife's visits to me ; I never gave them a moment's consideration ; I could not have conceived it possible that they would have been so misinterpreted ; and how they can have come to his ears, or who can have been the slanderous mischiefmaker. 1 haven't a notion. lam a ruined man, Mr Grey. I cannot meet my engagements in the house- on the Stock Exchange. I mean—on the settling day next week. 1 am a bankrupt".; and as if this weie not bad enough, bringing with it, as it does, the wreck of all my hopes and my prospects of marriage—as if this was not enough, I say, I must be slandered —' ' The poor fellow here buried his face in his hauls, and groaned aloud ft was a sad and pitiful sight, Mrs Davenell, and I won't dwell on it. I think, however, before long I was able to shed upon it some bright ray of hope. 1 Seeing that Mr Wynne was sincere in all ho was saying, feeling convinced from his distress, his lx>k, hi 3 manner, and his words, that he was speaking the truth, I got him after a while to go into some details of his affairs. I got him to tell me by degrees exactly how much money would be necessary to tide him over and save his reputation, and I air happy to be able to tell you that that sum of money is now lodged at his bankers.'

'Ah, then, you, Mr tirey, have been his good ang"l ; 1 can see by your face!' exclaimed Mrs Davenell, with tears starting in her eyes, while Nina cast at the narrator of these events such approving looks as made him feel that he was more than, recornppnsod, ' Well ' he said, 'Jam happy to think I was able to, serve Mr Wynne. After all it wan not a very big sum, and the whola Blatter, except as regards his patiaer, is not so bad as it seemed at first; only he rather lost his head at the sudden aspect affairs presented; he was a little hasty, and took too gloomy a view of his impending dihculties. I went thoroughly into them. He will come or A t o'i them with pe'fectly clean hands,; whilst his sympathy and efforts on behaif of his partner's unhappy wife ware so earnest and sincere that he quite won my heart. He's a first-rate fellow, Mrs Davenell, and you may be propel of him as a son-in-law, I'll stake xuy life upon it.' ' 0, (how shall we ever be able to thank you !' chimed in the ladies together. 'But,' said th.o eider, 'it is so early in the day, you don't mean that that you have managed matters for him already ?' 4 0, dear, yes. We grew tremendous friends, as I tell you; we sat over his books and papers till dawn ; then he produced some breakfast, and without. wait ng at my rooms to do more t han get a letter which I expected by th<« morning's poat' (here Valentine looked very bard at Kin*), ' I went straight to my bankers', and, in short, got him the money; and be/e I am.' 4 I must «o at once aud tell Mr Davenell,' exclaimed that gentleman's wife ; 'thisgood news will be better than any doctor for him; it will make him quite well, lam sure. O, what a happiness, what a relief ! How good, how kind you have been, Mr (Jrey ! I Khali return directly ; but mind, don't let a word for the present escape you to i'mily, or Fanuy especially ; she must never know the distress we have b.eoa in, and the terrible mistake we f-il int\ liut it was very natural wasn't it? What could we thii\U ? O, (\( ar'me' I f-eel eo excited, I'm quite *A a whirl;' and the kind-hearted lit'&e lady bustled out of the room.

Directly she was gone turned to Nina, gating, • And now, Mies Baveaellf, may I claim my reward J

Sitae did not meet hi 3 look, but answered, with acarce a show cf hor old hauteur,

" ' \o\\ have beon very, very good, I admit; but I tout you must find your reward in the ooaeoiousness of having done a noble act '

' You estimate it too highly; it does not deserve such a eulogistic description ; but iS you really think well of what I have done, you know who net me. on, who. hinted at the prize. Miss Daveneli, in one word, that prize is you;- hand; give it me. aai let me call it miu? to keep.'

He took her hand ; she made no attempt to withdraw it; he kissed it fervently ; and just at that moment the door opening, the pair were in full view of the sharp eyes of Fanny aud Emily. With a wicked little burst of laughter the door was suddenly closed again. ' There,' said Valentine, 'it's too late now; we have been s^en.'

' You are very foolish, Mr Gray, and nnkind, to take advantage of my gratitude. I did not menn—'

' Possibly not; but I did from the first time I ever saw you, three years ago. I then meant to be—well, your Valentine, if you would take me. And it's part and parcel of the happiness and the luck which attend everybody c mnected with this house, that I should be able to offer myself on suoh an appropriate day—my birthday and my saint's,' Be you my saint for the future, and it will be your day as well as mine.' 'Ah,' she answered, 'I was sure you would attempt a joke about your birthday ; but this is a pretty one, and I forgive you. Still I did not think you would have condescended to have sent a valentine; it was quite bad enough for you to come yourself.' ' I send a valentine !' ' Yes. Here it is' (drawing a letter from her pocket) ; * don't deny it.' ' But I do ; and even if I don't, it was not worse for me to send one to you than for you to send one to me Look here 1' He produced the letter that he had called for at his rooms. '1 declare I did not send a valentine to

you !' ' I declare I did not send a valentine to you I' 'Then the whole thing is a mistake entirely.' ' O, I beg your pardon!' ' I beg yours !' Once more the door opened. ' May I come in ?' said Fanny. ' Yes, yes, certainly ; perhaps you can put matters straight,' cried Valentine, who was now minutely and suspiciously examining the handwriting on the envelopes of the two embossed and belaced missives.

1 Whose writing is this, Miss Fanny ? I say they are both by the same hand.' He looked hard at her as he spoke. She blushed.

' I believe I've found yon out,' he went

' And have you found nothing else out,' pray ?' she asked significantly. 'Ah yes; indeed I have,' he answered, turning to Nina. ' Well, then,' said that young lady, ' keep it to yourself. You kept your vigil nobly and faithfully ; keep my secret until I give you leave to speak. Here come my aunt and uncle.'

'But,' said Valentine, with an appealing look in his eyes, ' you won't make me keep it long, will you V

And as Mr and Mrs Davenell entered the room Nina whispered to him, in the softest tone he had ever heard from her lips, the simple word, ' No V