Such A Man! But Why Was She Out Of Spirits Now?
Rachel Sat By The Window Till She Heard The Carriage Which Brought Home
Madeleine, And Then Hurriedly Undressed And Went To Bed.
As Madeleine Was Driving Home The Carriage Stopped For A Moment In Front
Of The Club, While A Boy Spoke A Few Words To The Coachman.
The Driver That Evening Was Old Per Karl, Who Many Years Ago Had Come
From Denmark With A Pair Of Horses For The Young Consul. Both He And The
Horses Were Long Past Their Work; But Whenever He Could Get The
Opportunity, He Was Only Too Pleased To Get The Old Blacks Into The
Carriage, And Himself Upon The Box. This Had Been The Case This Evening,
When It Was Only The Good-Natured Miss Madeleine For Whom The Carriage
Was Going, And She Was Always Perfectly Satisfied, As The Old Jutlander
Well Knew, Even If The Pace Was Not Very Terrific.
Per Karl Now Turned Round And Said To Madeleine, "What Shall We Do,
Miss? Now There Will Be A Bother. Mr. Morten Is Going To Drive Out With
Us, And When He Sees We Have Got The Old Horses He Will Be Angry."
A Few Moments Afterwards Morten Came Out, And, After Many Apologies For
The Delay, Took His Place By Madeleine'S Side. He Said He Thought He
Would Go Out And See How Fanny Was, She Looked So Very Unwell; And
Besides, What A Lovely Moonlight Evening It Was For A Drive! He Sat
Himself Down Comfortably In The Carriage, And Had Just Taken A Long
Whiff Of His Cigar, When All At Once He Leant Forward And Said, "Stop!
What Was That?"
One Of The Horses Had Made A Slight Stumble, And The Jar Was Felt In The
Carriage.
"I Declare, It Is Those Old Horses And Per Karl!" Cried Morten, Partly
Standing Up. "What Is The Meaning Of This?"
"Oh!" Muttered Per Karl, Who Was Quite Ready To Defend Himself, "There
Is Nothing The Matter With The Old Horses; But, Of Course, If We Had
Known We Were Going To Have You In The Carriage, Sir--"
"Rubbish! You Know Perfectly Well The Old Horses Were Not To Be Used Any
More. I Will Tell My Father, And Have Them Shot To-Morrow, As Sure As
Chapter 12 Pg 88
Ever It Comes."
Morten Was Very Fond Of Horses; And Besides, He Was Just In That Excited
And Obstinate Mood In Which People Sometimes Are, When They Have Been
Dining At Their Club.
Madeleine Tried To Pacify Her Cousin, But It Only Made Him All The
Worse.
"Just Look How Lame That One Is--The Left-Hand One!"
"You Mean The Near One, Sir."
"Go To The Devil With Your Near And Off! I Mean The Left-Hand One, The
Mare; Both Her Fore Legs Are As Round As Apples. Why, I Saw That In The
Spring."
"Not Both Of Them," Answered The Old Coachman, Doggedly.
"Yes, They Are; But I Will Have This Looked To. I Will Have A Stop Put
To It, Once For All," Said Morten, Decidedly. He Was Just In The Humour
To Take Everything Very Much In earnest.
As Soon As They Arrived, He Scarcely Gave Himself Time To Help Madeleine
Out Of The Carriage, So Anxious Was He To Examine The Mare'S Fore Legs;
And She Heard The Voices Disputing And Wrangling Away In The Direction
Of The Stable, As She Went Into The House.
Madeleine'S Window Looked To The Westward, And When She Reached Her Room
She Found It Open. She Was Going To Shut It, But The Sea Looked So
Peaceful Down Below In The Clear Moonlight, That She Knelt Down On The
Window-Seat, And Remained Gazing At The Lovely Scene. The Moon Had Just
Reached The Point At Which It Began To Shine Upon Her Window, And The
Shadow Fell Obliquely From The Corner Of The House, Just Beyond The
Hedge Below, Thus Leaving A Triangular Space In darkness Close
Underneath. As Madeleine Leant Out She Could See That Miss Cordsen'S
Window Was Also Open. She Was Just Going To Call To The Old Lady, With
Whom She Was On The Most Friendly Terms, But On Consideration She
Thought It Would Be Nicer To Enjoy The Delightful Moonlight Evening
Alone.
In That Part Of The Garden The Paths Were To A Great Extent Overgrown By
The Spreading Trees. The Little Pond, Which Had Once Been Full Of Carp,
And Where Even Now Some Remained, Only No One Seemed To Notice Them, Was
Fringed With Tall Rushes. On The Other Side Was The Old Summer-House,
Almost Hidden Among The Shrubs, Which Were Now Never Clipped. The Fact
Is, That Part Of The Garden Which Was Now Most Cared For Was That Which
Lay Just In Front Of The House, And The Part We Are Now Speaking Of Was
Left Pretty Much To Itself. Along The Inside Of The Garden-Wall There
Stood A Row Of Aspen Trees, Whose Leaves Were Beginning To Turn Yellow
And Strew Themselves On The Paths. Almost All The Other Trees Still Kept
Their Foliage, Although It Was Already September. The Mountain Ash
Berries Were Beginning To Redden, And Shone In Heavy Clusters Among The
Leaves, While Here And There A Leaf Was To Be Seen Turning From Red To
Yellow. The Beech Trees, Which Had Been Planted In The Time Of The Young
Consul'S Grandfather, Spread Out Their Branches Far And Wide. The
Shining Dark Green Foliage Hung In Rich Festoons Nearly To The Ground,
Chapter 12 Pg 89
And The Long Shoots Were Fringed With Masses Of Tufted Beech-Nuts.
A Mysterious Silence Reigned In The Garden, While The Moonlight Came
Rippling Noiselessly Through The Leaves And Stealing Down The Trunks,
Forming Patches Of Radiance On The Grass, Which Were Sharply Defined By
The Edges Of The Dark Shadows. Goldfinches, Bullfinches, A Few Thrushes,
And Other Autumn Birds, Were Sitting In The Aspen Trees. They Were
Mostly Occupied In Quietly Pluming Their Feathers, And Only Some Of The
Young Birds, Which Had Been Hatched That Spring, Were Hopping About From
Branch To Branch. The Parents Sat Watching Them, Thinking, Doubtless,
How Delightful It Was To Be Young And Innocent. All Nature Seemed To
Have Reached Maturity, And The Restless Activity Of Spring Was
Forgotten. The Birds Were Now Calm And Sober Enough. The Cocks And Hens
Sat Peacefully Side By Side, No Advances Were Made Or Encouraged.
Love-Making, With All Its
