 Volume 1 Chapter 6 of The Last Man. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Monsbruh. The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Volume 1 Chapter 6. And now let the reader, passing over some short period of time, be introduced to our happy circle. Adrian, Idris and I were established in Windsor Castle. Lord Raymond and my sister inhabited the house which the foreman had built on the borders of the Great Park near Perdita's cottage. As was still named, low-roofed abode, where we too, poor even in hope, had each received the assurance of our felicity. We had our separate occupations and our common amusements. Sometimes we passed whole days under the leafy cover to the forest with our books and music. This occurred during those rare days in this country when the sun mounts its ethereal throne in unclouded majesty and the windless atmosphere. It's a bath of pellucid and grateful water, wrapping the senses in tranquility. When the clouds veiled the sky and the wind scattered them there and here, rending their wolf and strewing its fragments through the aerial plains, then we rode out and sought new spots of beauty and repose. When the frequent rains shut us with indoors, evening recreation followed the morning study, ushered in by music and song. Idris had a natural musical talent and her voice, which had been carefully cultivated, was full and sweet. Raymond and I made a part of the concert and Adrian and Perdita were devout listeners. Then we were as gay as summer insects, playful as children. We ever met one another with smiles and read content and joy in each other's countenances. Our prime festivals were held in Perdita's cottage. Nor were we ever wary of talking of the past or dreaming of the future. Jealousy and disquiet were unknown among us. Nor did a fear or hope of change ever disturb our tranquility. Others said we might be happy. We said we are. When any separation took place between us, it generally so happened that Idris and Perdita would ramble away together. And we remained to discuss the affairs of nations and the philosophy of life. The very difference of our dispositions gave the zest to these conversations. Adrian had the superiority in learning and eloquence, but Raymond possessed the quick penetration and the practical knowledge of life, which usually displayed itself in opposition to Adrian and thus kept up the ball of discussion. But other times we made excursions on many days' duration and crossed the country to visit any spot noted for beauty or historical association. Sometimes we went up to London and entered into the amusements of the busy Trong. Sometimes our retreat was invaded by visitors from among them. This change made us only the more sensible to the delights of the intimate intercourse of our own circle, the tranquility of our divine forest. And our happy evenings and the halls of our beloved castle. The disposition of Idris was peculiarly frank, soft and affectionate. Her temper was unalterably sweet, and although firm and resolute on any point that touched her heart, she was yielding to those she loved. The nature of Perdita was less perfect, but tenderness and happiness improved her temper and softened her natural reserve. Her understanding was clear and comprehensive, her imagination vivid, she was sincere, generous and reasonable. Adrian, the matchless brother of my soul, the sensitive and excellent Adrian, loving all and beloved by all, yet seemed destined not to find the half of himself which was to complete his happiness. He often left us and wandered by himself in the woods or sailed in his little skiff, his books his only companions. He was often the gayest of our party, at the same time that he was the only one visited by fits of despondency. His slender frame seemed overcharged with the weight of life, and his soul appeared rather to inhabit his body than unite with it. I was hardly more devoted to my Idris than to her brother, and she loved him as her teacher, her friend, the benefactor which secured her the fulfilment of her dearest wishes. Raymond, the ambitious, restless Raymond, reposed midway on the great high road of life, and was content to give up all his schemes of sovereignty and fame to make one of us the flower of the field. His kingdom was the heart of Perdita, his subjects and thoughts, by her he was loved, respected as a superior being, obeyed, waited on, no office, no devotion, no watching was irksome to her, as it regarded him. She would sit apart from us and watch him, she would weep for joy to think that he was hers. She erected a temple for him in the death of her being, and each faculty was a priestess vowed to his service. Sometimes she might be wayward and capricious, but her repentance was bitter, her return entire, and even this inequality of temper suited him who was not formed by nature to float idly down the stream of life. During the first year of the marriage Perdita presented Raymond with a lovely girl. It was curious to trace in this miniature model the very traits of its father, the same half-disdainful lips and smile of triumph, the same intelligent eyes, the same brow and chestnut hair, a very handsome type of fingers resembled his, how very dear she was to Perdita. In progress of time I also became a father, and our little darlings are playthings and delights called forth a thousand new and delicious feelings. Years passed thus, even years, each month brought forth its excessive, each year one liked the gone by. Truly our lives were a living comment on that beautiful sentiment of Plutarch, that our souls have a natural inclination to love, being born as much to love as to feel the reason to understand and remember. We talked of change and active pursuits, but still remained at Windsor, incapable of violating the charm that attracted us to our secluded life. Pariamo a ver cui tutto il ben raccolto, ce fra mortali in più parte si rimembra. Now also that our children gave us occupation we found excuses for our idleness, in the idea of bringing them up to a more splendid career. At Langtard tranquility was disturbed, and the course of events, which for five years had flowed on in hushing tranquility, was broken by breakers and obstacles that woke us up from our pleasant dream. A new Lord Protector of England was to be chosen. A hundred raiment's request we removed to London to witness and even take part in the election. If raiment had been united to Idris, this post had been his stepping stone to higher divinity, and his desire for power and fame had been crowned with fullest passion. He had exchanged a skeptor for a loot, a kingdom for Perdita. Did he think of this as we journeyed up to town? I watched him, but could make but little of him. He was particularly gay, playing with his child and turning to sport every word that was uttered. Perhaps he did this because he saw a cloud upon Perdita's brow. She tried to rouse herself, but her eyes were now then filled with tears, and she looked wistfully on raiment and her girl, as if fearful that some evil would betide them. And so she felt. A pre-sentiment of ill-hung over her. She leaned from the window looking on the forest and the turrets of the castle, and as these became hid by intervening objects, she passionately exclaimed, scenes of happiness, scenes sacred to devoted love. When shall I see you again? And when I see ye, shall I be still the beloved and joyous Perdita, or shall I, heartbroken and lost, wander among your groves, the ghost of what I am? Why, silly one, cried Raymond, what is your little head pondering upon, that of a sudden you have become so sublimely dismal? Cheer up, or I shall make you over to Idris, and call Adrian into the carriage, who, I see by his gesture, sympathizes with my good spirits. Adrian was on horseback. He rode up to the carriage, and his gaiety, in addition to that of Raymond, dispelled my sister's melancholy. We entered London in the evening, and went to our several abode's knee-hide park. The following morning Lord Raymond visited me early. I come to you, he said. Only half assured that you will assist me in my project, but resolved to go through it, whether you concur with me or not. Promise me secrecy, however, for if you will not contribute to my success, at least you must not baffle me. Well, I promise, and now, and now, my dear fellow. For what have we come to London, to be present at the election of a protector, and to give a yay or nay for his shuffling grace of... or for that noisy Rhyland? Do you believe, Verne, that I brought you to town for that? No. We will have a protector of our own. We will set up a candidate and ensure his success. We will nominate Adrian, and do our best to bestow on him the power to which he is entitled by his birth, and which he merits through his virtues. Do not answer. I know all of your objections, and will reply to them in order. First, whether he will or he will not consent to become a great man. Leave the task of persuasion on that point to me. I do not ask you to assist me there. Secondly, whether he ought to exchange his employment of plucking blackberries and nursing wounded partridges in the forest for the command of a nation. My dear Lionel, we are married men, and find employment sufficient in amusing our wives and dancing our children. But Adrian is alone, wifeless, childless, unoccupied. I have long observed him. He pines for want of some interest in life. His heart, exhausted by his early sufferings, reposes like a new-heeled limb and shrinks from all excitement. But his understanding, his charity, his virtues, want a field for exercise and display. We will procure it for him. Besides, is it not a shame that the genius of Adrian should fade from the earth like a flower in an untrodd mountain path, fruitless? Do you think nature composed his surpassing machine? For no purpose, believe me, he was destined to be the author of infinite good to his native England. Has she not bestowed on him every gift in prodigality, birth, wealth, talent, goodness? Does not everyone love and admire him? And does he not delight singly in such efforts as manifests his love to all? Come, I see that you are already persuaded and will second me when I propose him tonight in Parliament. You have got up all your arguments in excellent order, I replied, and if Adrian consent, they are unanswerable. One only condition I would make, that you do nothing without his concurrence. I believe you are in the right, said Raymond. Although I had thought at first to arrange the affair differently, be it so. I will go instantly to Adrian and if he inclines to consent you will not destroy my labour by persuading him to return and turn Squirrel again in Windsor Forest. Idris, you will not act the traitor towards me. Trust me, replied she. I will preserve a strict neutrality. For my part, said I, I am too well convinced of the word of our friend on the rich harvests of benefits that all England would reap from his protectorship to deprive my countrymen of such a blessing if he consent to bestow it on them. In the evening Adrian visited us. Do you cable also against me? said he, laughing. And will you make common course with Raymond in dragging a poor visionary from the clouds to surround him with the fireworks and blasts of earthly grandeur instead of heavenly raisiners? I thought you knew me better. I do know you better, I replied, than to think that you would be happy in such a situation. But the good you would do to others may be an inducement. Since the time has probably arrived when you can put your theories into practice and you may bring about such information and change as will conduce the perfect system of government which you delight to portray. You speak of an almost forgotten dream, said Adrian, his countenance slightly clouding as he spoke. The visions of my boyhood have long since faded into the light of reality. I know now that I am not a man fitted to govern nations. Sufficient to me if I keep in wholesome rule the little kingdom of my own mortality. But do you not see, Lionel, the drift of our noble friend, a drift perhaps unknown to himself but apparent to me? Lord Raymond was never born to be a drone in the hive and to find content in our pastoral life. He thinks that he ought to be satisfied. He imagines that his present situation precludes the possibility of a grandizement. Therefore, even in his own heart planned change for himself. But do you not see that under the idea of exalting me? He is chalking out a new path for himself, a path of action from which he has long wondered. Let us assist him, he, the noble, the warlike, the great in every quality that can adorn the mind and person of man. He is fitted to be the protector of England. If I, that is, if we propose him, you will assuredly be elected and will find in the functions of that high office scope for the towering powers of his mind. Even Peridita will rejoice, Peridita in whom ambition was a covered fire until she married Raymond. Which event was for a time the fulfilment of her hopes? Peridita will rejoice in the glory and advancement of her lord and coily and prettily not be discontented with her share. In the meantime, we, the wise of the land, will return to our castle and, since the net is like, take to our usual labours until our friend shall require our presence and assistance here. The more radiant reason upon this scheme the more feasible it appeared. His own determination never to enter into public life was insurmountable and the delicacy of his health was a sufficient argument against it. The next step was to induce Raymond to confess his secret wishes for dignity and fame. He entered while we were speaking. The way in which Adrian had received his project for setting him up as a candidate for the protectorship and his replies had already awakened in his mind. The view of the subject which we were now discussing. His countenance and manner betrayed irresolution and anxiety. But the anxiety arose from a fear that we shall not prosecute or not succeed in our idea and his irresolution from a doubt whether we should risk a defeat. A few words from us decided him and hope enjoyed sparkling in his eyes. The idea of embarking in a career so congenial to his early habits and cherished wishes made him as before energetic and bold. We discussed his chances, the merits of the other candidates and the dispositions of the voters. After all we miscalculated. Raymond had lost much of his popularity and was deserted by his peculiar partisans. Absence from the busy stage had caused him to be forgotten by the people. His former parliamentary supporters were principally composed of royalists who had been willing to make an idol of him when he appeared as the heir of the Earl de Maud Windsor. But who were indifferent to him when he came forward with no other attributes and distinctions than they conceived to be common to many of themselves. Still he had many friends, admirers of his transcendent talents. His presence in the house, his eloquence, address and imposing beauty were calculated to produce an electric effect. Adrian also notwithstanding his reclusive habits and theories. So adverse to the spirit of party had many friends and they were easily induced to vote with selection. The Duke of and Mr. Ryland, Lord Raymond's old antagonist were the other candidates. The Duke was supported by all the aristocrats of the Republic who considered him the proper representative. Ryland was the popular candidate when Lord Raymond was first added to the list, his chance of success appeared small. We retired from the debate which had followed on his nomination. We, his nominators, mortified. He dispirited to excess. Pelditar approached us bitterly. Her expectations had been strongly excited. She had urged nothing against our project. On the contrary she was evidently pleased by it. But its evident ill success changed the current of our ideas. She felt that once awakened Raymond would never return unrepining to Windsor. The habits were unhinged. His restless mind roused from its sleep. Ambition must now be his companion through life. And if he did not succeed in the present attempt she foresaw that unhappiness and cureless discontent would follow. Perhaps her own disappointment added a sting to her thought and words. She did not spare us and our own reflections added to our disquietude. It was necessary to follow up our nomination and to persuade Raymond to present himself to the electors on the following evening. For a long time he was obstinate. He would embark in a balloon. He would sail for a distant quarter of the world where his name and humiliation were unknown. But this was useless. His attempt was registered. His purpose published through the world. His shame should never be erased from the memories of men. It was as well to fail at least after struggle as to fly now at the beginning of his enterprise. From the moment that he adopted this idea he was changed. His depression and anxiety fled. He became all life and activity. The smile of triumph shown on his countenance determined to pursue his object to the uttermost. His manner and expression seemed ominous of the accomplishment of his wishes. Not so peredita. She was frightened by his gaiety for she dreaded a greater revulsion at the end. If his appearance even inspired us with hope it only rendered the state of her mind more painful. She feared to lose sight of him yet she dreaded the remark and a change in the temper of his mind. She listened eagerly to him yet tantalized herself by giving to his words meaning foreign to that true interpretation and adverse to her hopes. She dared not be present at the contest. Yet she remained at home a prey to double solicitude. She wept over her little girl. She looked, she spoke as if she dreaded the occurrence of some frightful calamity. She was half mad from the effects of uncontrollable agitation. Lord Raymond presented himself to the house with fearless confidence and insinuating address. After the due cover and Mr. Ryland had finished their speeches he commenced. Assuredly he had not conned his lesson and at first he hesitated pausing in his ideas and in the choice of his expressions. By degrees he warmed his words flowed with ease his language was full of vigor and his voice of appreciation. He reverted to his past life his successes in Greece his favorite home. Why should he lose this now that added years, prudence and the pledge which his marriage gave to his country ought to increase rather than diminish his claims to confidence. He spoke of the state of England the necessary measures to be taken to ensure its security and confirm its prosperity. He drew a glowing picture of its present situation. As he spoke every sound was hushed every thought suspended by intense attention his graceful elocution and chained the senses of the hearers. In some degree also he was fitted to reconcile all parties his birth pleased the aristocracy. His being the candidate recommended by Adrian a man intimately allied to the popular party caused a number who had no greater reliance either on the Duke or Mr Rylan to range on his side. The contest was keen and doubtful neither Adrian nor myself would have been so anxious if our success had depended on our exertions but we had egged our friend on to the enterprise and it became us to ensure his triumph. Idris who entertained the highest opinion of his abilities was warmly interested in the event and my poor sister who dared not hope and to whom fear was misery was plunged into a fever of disquietude. Day after day passed while we discussed our projects for the evening and each night was occupied by debates which offered no conclusion. At last the crisis came the night when parliament which had so long delayed its course must decide as the hour of 12 passed and the new day began it was by virtue of the constitution dissolved its power extinct. We assembled at Raymond's house we and our partisans at half past five o'clock we proceeded to the house Idris endeavored to compare Dita but the poor girl's agitation deprived her of all power of self command she walked up and down the room gazed wildly when anyone entered fancying that they might be the announcers of a doom I must do justice to my sweet sister it was not for herself that she was thus agonized she alone knew the weight which Raymond attached to his success even to us he assumed gaiety and hope and assumed them so well that we did not divine the secret workings of his mind sometimes a nervous trembling a sharp dissonance of voice and momentary fits of absence revealed to Perdita the violence he did himself but we intent on our plans observed only his ready laugh his joke intruded on all occasions the flow of his spirits which seemed incapable of ebb besides Perdita was with him in his retirement she saw the moodiness that succeeded to this forced hilarity she marked his disturbed sleep his painful irritability once she had seen his tears hers had scarce seas to flow since she had beheld the big drops which disappointed pride had caused together in his eye but which pride was unable to dispel what wonder then that her feelings were wrought to this pitch I thus accounted to myself for her agitation this was not all and the sequel revealed another excuse one moment we seized before our departure to take leave of our beloved girls I had small hope of success and entreated Idris to watch over my sister as I approached the latter she seized my hand and drew me into another apartment she threw herself into my arms and wept and sobbed bitterly and long I tried to soothe her I bade her hope I asked what tremendous consequences would ensue even on our failure my brother she cried protector of my childhood dear most dear Lionel my fate hangs by a thread I have you all about me now you the companion of my infancy Adrieness dear to me as if bound by the ties of blood Idris the sister of my heart and her lovely offspring this oh this may be the last time that you will surround me this abruptly she stopped and then cried what have I said foolish false girl that I am she looked wildly on me and then suddenly calming herself apologised for what she called her unmeaning words saying that she must indeed be insane for while Raymond lived she must be happy and then though she still wept she suffered me tranquilly to depart Raymond only took her hand when he went and looked on her expressively she answered by a look of intelligence and dissent poor girl what she then suffered I could never entirely forgive Raymond for the trials he imposed on her occasioned as they were by a selfish feeling on his part he had schemed if he failed in his present attempt without taking leave of any of us to embark for Greece and never again to revisit England he succeeded to his wishes for his contentment was the chief object of her life the crown of her enjoyment but to leave us all her companions the beloved partners of her happiest years and in the interim to conceal this frightful determination was a task that almost conquered her strength of mind she had been employed in arranging for their departure she had promised Raymond during this decisive evening to take advantage of our absence to go one stage of the journey and he after his defeat was ascertained would slip away from us and join her although when I was informed of this scheme I was bitterly offended by the small attention which Raymond paid to my sister's feelings I was led by reflection to consider that he acted under the force of such strong excitement as to take from him the consciousness and consequently the guilt of a fault if he had permitted us to witness his agitation he would have been more under the guidance of reason but his struggles for the shoe of composure acted with such violence on his nerves as to destroy his power of self command I am convinced that at the worst he would have returned from the seashore to take leave of us and to make us the partners of his council but the task imposed on Peredita was not the less painful he had exhorted from her a vow of secrecy and her part of the drama since it was to be performed alone was the most agonizing that could be devised but to return to my narrative the debates had hitherto been long and loud they had often been protracted merely for the sake of delay but now each seemed fearful as the fatal moment should pass while the choice was yet undecided unwanted silence reigned in the house the members spoke in whispers and the ordinary business was transacted with celerity and quietness during the first stage of the election the duke of had been thrown out the question therefore lay between Lord Raymond and Mr. Ireland the latter had felt secure of victory until the appearance of Raymond and since his name had been inserted as a candidate he had canvassed with eagerness he had appeared each evening impatience and anger marked in his looks scowling on us from the opposite side of St. Stephen's as if his mere frown could cost eclipse on our hopes everything in the English constitution had been regulated for the better preservation of peace on the last day two candidates only were allowed to remain and to obviate if possible the last struggle between these a bride was offered to him who should voluntarily resign his pretensions a place of great emolument and honour was given him and his success facilitated at the future election strange to say however no instance had yet occurred where either a candidate had had recourse to this expedient in consequence the law had become obsolete nor had been referred to by any of us in our discussions to our extreme surprise when it was moved that we should dissolve ourselves into a committee for the election of the Lord Protector the member who had nominated Ryland rose and informed us that this candidate had resigned his pretensions his information was at first received with silence a confused murmur succeeded and when the chairman declared Lord Raymond duly chosen it amounted to a shout of applause and victory it seemed as if far from any dread of defeat even if Mr. Ryland had not resigned every voice would have been united in favour of our candidate in fact now that the idea of contest was dismissed all hearts returned to their former respect and admiration of our accomplished friend each felt that England had never seen a protector so capable of fulfilling the arduous duties of that high office one voice made of many voices resounded through the chamber it zillabled the name of Raymond he entered I was on the highest I was on one of the highest seats and saw him walk up the passage to the table of the speaker native modesty of its disposition conquered the joy of his triumph he looked round timidly a mist seemed before his eyes Adrian who was beside me hastened to him and jumping down the benches was at his side in a moment his appearance reanimated our friend and when he came to speak and act his hesitation vanished and he shone out supreme in majesty and victory the former protector tendered him the oats and presented him with the insignia of office performing the ceremonies of installation the house then dissolved the chief members of the state crowded around the new magistrate and conducted him to the palace of government Adrian suddenly vanished and by the time that Raymond's supporters were reduced to our intimate friends merely returned leading Idris to congratulate her friend on his success but where was Peridita in securing solicitously an unobserved retreat in case of failure Raymond had forgotten to arrange the mode by which she was to hear of his success and she had been too much agitated to revert to this circumstance when Idris entered so far had Raymond forgotten himself that he asked for my sister one word which told of her mysterious disappearance recalled him Adrian Idris through had already gone to seek the fugitive imagining that her tameless anxiety had led her to the pearl use of the house and that some sinister event detained her but Raymond without explaining himself suddenly quitted us and in another moment we heard him gallop down the street in spite of the wind and rain that scattered tempest over the earth we did not know how far he had to go and soon separated supposing that in a short time he would return to the palace with Peridita and that they should not be sorry to find themselves alone Peridita had arrived with her child at Dothford weeping and inconsolable she directed everything to be prepared for the continuance of their journey replacing her lovely sleeping charge on a bed past several hours in acute suffering sometimes she observed the war of the elements thinking that they also declared against her and listened to the pattering of the rain and the glooming despair sometimes she hung over the child tracing her resemblance to the father and fearful lest in afterlife she would display the same passions and uncontrollable impulses that rendered him unhappy again with a gush of pride and delight she marked in the features of her little girl the same smile of beauty that often irradiated Raymond's countenance the sight of it soothed her she thought of the treasure she possessed in the affections of her lord of his accomplishments surpassing those of his contemporaries his genius his devotion to her soon she thought that all she possessed in the world except him might well be spared and they given with delight a propitiary offering to secure the supreme good she retained in him soon she imagined that fate demanded this sacrifice from her as a mark she was devoted to Raymond devoted to Raymond and that it must be made with cheerfulness she figured to herself their life in the Greek Isle he had selected for their retreat her task of soothing him her cares for the beauty of Clara her rides in his company her dedication of herself to his consolation the picture then presented itself to her in such glowing colors that she feared the reverse and the life of magnificence and power in London where Raymond would no longer be hers only nor she the sole source of happiness to him so far as she merely was concerned she began to hope for a defeat and it was only on his account that her feelings vacillated as she heard him gallop into the courtyard of the inn that he should come to her alone with it by storm careless of everything except speed what else could it mean than that vanquished in solitary they were to take their way from native England the scene of shame and hide themselves in the myrtle groves or the Grecian Isles in a moment she was in his arms the knowledge of his success had become so much a part of himself that he forgot that it was necessary to impart it to his companion she only felt in his embrace a dear assurance that while he possessed her he would not despair this is kind she cried this is noble my own beloved of fear not this grace or lowly fortune while you have your periodita fear not sorrow while our child lives in smiles let us go even where you will the love that accompanies us will prevent our regrets locked in his embrace she spoke of us and cast back her head seeking an assent to her words in his eyes they were sparkling with ineffable delight why my little lady protectorus said he playfully what is this you say and what pretty scheme have you woven of exile and obscenity what a brighter web a golden woven tissue if that which intrude you ought to contemplate he kissed a brow but the wavered girl half sorry at his triumph agitated by swift change of thought hid her face in his bosom and web he comforted her he instilled into her his own hopes and desires and soon her countenance beamed with sympathy how very happy were they how very happy were they that night how full into bursting was their sense of joy End of Chapter 6 Recording by Monsbruh Roslux Finland Volume 1 Chapter 7 Of The Last Man This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Recording by Philippa Willits The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Volume 1 Chapter 7 Having seen our friend properly installed in his new office we turned our eyes towards Windsor The nearness of this place to London was such as to take away the idea of painful separation when we quitted Raymond and Perdita We took leave of them in the Protectoral Palace It was pretty enough to see my sister enter as it were into the spirit of the drama and endeavour to fill her station with becoming dignity Her internal pride and humility of manner were now more than ever at war Her timidity was not artificial but arose from that fear of not being properly appreciated that slight estimation of the neglect of the world which also characterised Raymond But then Perdita thought more constantly of others than he and part of her bashfulness arose from a wish to take from those around her a sense of inferiority a feeling which never crossed her mind From the circumstances of her birth and education Idris would have been better fitted for the formulae of ceremony but the very ease which accompanied such actions with her arising from habit rendered them tedious While, with every drawback Perdita evidently enjoyed her situation She was too full of new ideas to feel much pain when we departed She took an affectionate leave of us and promised to visit us soon but she did not regret the circumstances that caused our separation The spirits of Raymond were unbounded He did not know what to do with his new-got power His head was full of plans he had as yet decided on none but he promised himself his friends and the world that the era of his protectorship should be signalised by some act of surpassing glory Thus, we talked of them and moralised as with diminished numbers we returned to Windsor Castle We felt extreme delight at our escape from political turmoil and sought our solitude with redoubled zest We did not want for occupation but my eager disposition was now turned to the field of intellectual exertion only and hard study I found to be an excellent medicine to allay a fever of spirits with which in indolence I should doubtless have been assailed Perdita had permitted us to take Clara back with us to Windsor and she and my two lovely infants were perpetual sources of interest and amusement The only circumstance that disturbed our peace was the health of Adrian It evidently declined without any symptom which could lead us to suspect his disease unless indeed his brightened eyes animated look and flustering cheeks made us dread consumption But he was without pain or fear He betook himself to books with ardour and reposed from study in the society he best loved that of his sister and myself Sometimes he went up to London to visit Raymond and watch the progress of events Clara often accompanied him in these excursions partly that she might see her parents partly because Adrian delighted in the prattle and intelligent looks of this lovely child Meanwhile all went on well in London The new elections were finished Parliament met and Raymond was occupied in a thousand beneficial schemes Canals, aqueducts, bridges stately buildings and various edifices for public utility were entered upon He was continuously surrounded by projectors and projects which were to render England one scene of fertility and magnificence The state of poverty was to be abolished Men were to be transported from place to place almost with the same facility as the princes Hussein, Ali and Ahmed in the Arabian nights The physical state of man would soon not yield to the beatitude of angels Disease was to be banished Labour lightened of its heaviest burden Nor did this seem extravagant The arts of life and the discoveries of science had augmented in a ratio which left all calculation behind Food sprung up so to say, spontaneously Machines existed to supply with facility every one of the population An evil direction still survived and men were not happy Not because they could not but because they would not rouse themselves to vanquish self raised obstacles Raymond was to inspire them with his beneficial will and the mechanism of society once systemised according to faultless rules would never again swerve into disorder For these hopes he abandoned his long cherished ambition of being enregistered in the annals of nations as a successful warrior Laying aside his sword peace and its enduring glories became his aim The title he coveted was that of the benefactor of his country Among other works of art in which he was engaged he had projected the erection of a national gallery for statues and pictures He possessed many himself which he designed to present to the Republic and as the edifice was to be the great ornament of his protectorship he was very fastidious in his choice of the plan on which it would be built Hundreds were brought to him and rejected He sent even to Italy and Greece for drawings but as the design was to be characterised by originality as well as by perfect beauty his endeavours were for a time without a veil At length a drawing came with an address where communications might be sent and no artist's name are fixed The design was new and elegant but faulty So faulty that although drawn with the hand of taste it was evidently the work of one who was not an architect Raymond contemplated it with delight the more he gazed the more pleased he was and yet the errors multiplied under inspection He wrote to the address given desiring to see the draftsman that such alterations might be made as should be suggested in a consultation between him and the original conceiver A Greek came a middle-aged man with some intelligence of manner but with so common place of physiognomy that Raymond could scarcely believe that he was the designer He acknowledged that he was not an architect but the idea of the building had struck him though he had sent it without the smallest hope of its being accepted He was a man of few words Raymond questioned him but his reserved answers soon made him tell from the man to the drawing He pointed out the errors and the alterations that he wished to be made He offered the Greek a pencil that he might correct the sketch on the spot This was refused by his visitor who said that he perfectly understood and would work at it at home At length Raymond suffered him to depart The next day he returned The design had been redrawn but many defects still remained and several of the instructions given had been misunderstood Come said Raymond I yielded to you yesterday now comply with my request to take the pencil The Greek took it but he handled it in no artist-like way At length he said I must confess to you, my lord that I did not make this drawing It is impossible for you to see the real designer Your instructions must pass through me Your instructions must pass through me Condescend, therefore, to have patience with my ignorance and to explain your wishes to me In time I am certain that you will be satisfied Raymond questioned vainly The mysterious Greek would say no more Would an architect be permitted to see the artist? This was also refused Raymond repeated his instructions and the visitor retired Our friend resolved, however, not to be foiled in his wish He suspected that unaccustomed poverty was the cause of the mystery and that the artist was unwilling to be seen in the garb and abode of want Raymond was only the more excited by this consideration to discover him impelled by the interest he took in obscure talent he therefore ordered a person skilled in such matters to follow the Greek next time he came and observed the house in which he should enter His emissary obeyed and brought the desired intelligence He had traced the man to one of the most penurious streets in the metropolis Raymond did not wonder that thus situated the artist had shrunk from notice but he did not for this alter his resolve On the same evening he went alone to the house named to him The dirt and squalid mystery characterized its appearance Alas! thought Raymond I have much to do before England becomes a paradise He knocked The door was opened by a string from above The broken, wretched staircase was immediately before him but no person appeared He knocked again vainly and then, impatient of further delay he ascended the dark, creaking stairs His main wish more particularly now that he witnessed the abject dwelling of the artist was to relieve one possessed of talent but depressed by want He pictured to himself a youth whose eyes sparkled with genius whose person was attenuated by famine He half feared to displease him but he trusted that his generous kindness would be administered so delicately not to excite repulse What human heart is shut to kindness and though poverty in its excess might render the sufferer untapped to submit to the supposed degradation of a benefit the zeal of the benefactor must at least relax him into thankfulness These thoughts encouraged Raymond as he stood at the door of the highest room of the house After trying vainly to enter the other apartments he received, just within the threshold of this one, a pair of small Turkish slippers The door was ajar but all was silent within It was probable that the inmate was absent but secure that he had found the right person our adventurous protector was tempted to enter to leave a purse on the table and silently depart In pursuance of this idea he pushed the door open gently but the room was inhabited Raymond had never visited the dwellings of want and the scene that now presented itself struck him to the heart The floor was sunk in many places the walls ragged and bare the ceiling weather stained a tattered bed stood in the corner there were but two chairs in the room and a rough broken table on which was a light and a tin candlestick Yet in the midst of such drear and heart-sickening poverty there was an air of order and cleanliness that surprised him The thought was fleeting for his attention was instantly drawn towards the inhabitant of this wretched abode It was a female She sat at the table One small hand shaded her eyes from the candle The other held a pencil Her looks were fixed on a drawing before her which Raymond recognised the design presented to him Her whole appearance awakened his deepest interest Her dark hair was braided and twined in thick knots like the headdress of a Grecian statue Her garb was mean but her attitude might have been selected as a model of grace Raymond had a confused remembrance that he had seen such a form before He walked across the room She did not raise her eyes merely asking in Romeic who is there A friend replied Raymond in the same dialect She looked up wondering and he saw that it was Evadny Zahimi Evadny once the idol of Adrian's affections and who for the sake of her present visitor had disdained the noble youth and then neglected by him she loved with crushed hopes and a stinging sense of misery had returned to her native Greece What revelation of fortune could have brought her to England and housed her thus Raymond recognised her and his manner changed from polite beneficence to the warmest protestations of kindness and sympathy The sight of her in her present situation passed like an arrow into his soul He sat by her He took her hand and said a thousand things which breathed the deepest spirit of compassion and affection Evadny did not answer Her large dark eyes were cast down At length a tear glimmered on the lashes Thus she cried Kindness can do what no want, no misery ever affected I weep She shed indeed many tears consciously on the shoulder of Raymond He held her hand He kissed her sunken tear-stained cheek He told her that her sufferings were now over No one possessed the art of consoling like Raymond He did not reason or declaim but his look shone with sympathy He brought pleasant images before the sufferer His caresses excited no distrust for they arose purely from the feeling which leads a mother to kiss her wounded child A desire to demonstrate in every possible way the truth of his feelings and the keenness of his wish to pour balm into the lacerated mind of the unfortunate As Evadny regained her composure his manner became even gay He sported with the idea of her poverty Something told him that it was not its real evils that lay heavily at her heart but the debasement and disgrace attendant on it As he talked he divested it of these Sometimes speaking of her fortitude with energetic praise then, alluding to her past state he called her his princess in disguise He made her warm offers of service She was too much occupied by more engrossing thoughts either to accept or reject them At length he left her making a promise to repeat his visit the next day He returned home full of mingled feelings of pain excited by Evadny's wretchedness and pleasure at the prospect of relieving it Some motive for which he did not account even to himself prevented him from relating his adventure to Perdita The next day he threw such disguise over his person as a cloak afforded and revisited Evadny As he went he bought a basket of costly fruits such as were natives of her own country and throwing over these various beautiful flowers bore it himself to the miserable garret of his friend Behold! cried he as he entered What birds food have I brought for my sparrow on the housetop Evadny now related the tale of her misfortunes Her father, though of high rank had in the end dissipated his fortune and even destroyed his reputation and influence through a course of disillute indulgence His health was impaired beyond hope of cure and it became his earnest wish before he died to preserve his daughter from the poverty which would be the portion he therefore accepted for her and persuaded her to accede to a proposal of marriage from a wealthy Greek merchant settled at Constantinople She quitted her native Greece Her father died by degrees she was cut off from all the companions and ties of her youth The war which about a year before the present time had broken out between Greece and Turkey brought about many reverses of fortune Her husband became bankrupt and then, in a tumult and threatened massacre on the part of the Turks they were obliged to fly at midnight and reached in an open boat an English vessel and a sail which brought them immediately to this island The few jewels they had saved supported them a while The whole strength of Evadny's mind was exerted to support the failing spirits of her husband The use of property hopelessness as to his future prospects the inoccupation to which poverty condemned him combined to reduce him to a state bordering on insanity Five months after their arrival in England he committed suicide You will ask me, continued Evadny what I have done since why I have not applied for succor to the rich Greeks resident here to my native country My answer to these questions must needs appear to you unsatisfactory yet they have sufficed to lead me on day after day enduring every wretchedness rather than by such means to seek relief Shall the daughter of the noble though prodigal Zaymi appear a beggar before her compares or inferiors superior she had none Shall I bow my head before them and with servile gestures sell my nobility for life Had I a child or any tie to bind me to existence I might descend to this but as it is the world has been to me a harsh stepmother Fain would I leave the abode she seems to grudge and in the grave forget my pride my struggles, my despair The time will soon come grief and famine have already sapped the foundations of my being a very short time and I shall have passed away unstained by the crime of self-destruction unstung by the memory of degradation my spirit will throw aside the miserable coil and find such recompense as fortitude and resignation may deserve This may seem madness to you yet you also have pride and resolution Do not then wonder that my pride is tameless, my resolution unalterable Having thus finished her tale and given such an account as she deemed fit of the motives of her abstaining from all endeavour to obtain aid from her countrymen have had no paused yet she seemed to have more to say to which she was unable to give words In the meantime Raymond was eloquent and aware of restoring his lovely friend to her rank in society and to her lost prosperity animated him and he poured forth with energy all his wishes and intentions on that subject But he was checked Evadny exacted a promise that he should conceal from all her friends her existence in England The relatives of the Earl of Windsor said she haughtily doubtless think that I injured him Perhaps the Earl himself would be the first to equip me but probably I do not deserve a quittle I acted then as I ever must from impulse This abode of penury may at least prove the disinterestedness of my conduct No matter I do not wish to plead my cause before any of them not even before your lordship had you not first discovered me The tenor of my actions will prove that I had rather die than be a mark for scorn Behold the proud Evadny and her tatters Look on the beggar princess There is aspic venom in the thought Promise me that my secret shall not be violated by you Raymond promised but then a new discussion ensued Evadny required another engagement on his part that he would not without her concurrence enter into any project for her benefit nor himself of a relief Do not degrade me in my own eyes, she said Poverty has long been my nurse Hard visits she is but honest If dishonour or what I conceive to be dishonour come near me, I am lost Raymond adduced many arguments and fervent persuasions to overcome her feeling but she remained unconvinced and agitated by the discussion she wildly and passionately made a solemn vow to fly and hide herself where he could never discover her where famine would soon bring death to conclude her woes if he persisted in his to her disgracing offers She could support herself, she said and then she shoot him how by executing various designs and paintings she earned a pittance for her support Raymond yielded for the present he felt assured after he had for a while humid herself will that in the end friendship and reason would gain the day but the feelings that actuated Evadny were rooted in the depths of her being and were such in their growth as he had no means of understanding Evadny loved Raymond he was the hero of her imagination the image carved by love in the unchanged texture of her heart seven years ago in her youthful prime she had become attached to him he had served her country against the Turks he had in her own land acquired that military glory to fight for their security yet when he returned then and first appeared in public life in England her love did not purchase his which then vacillated between Perdita and a crown while he was yet undecided she had quitted England the news of his marriage reached her and her hopes poorly nurtured blossoms withered and fell the glory of life was gone for her the rosy at halo of love which had imbued every object with its own color faded she was content to take life as it was and to make the best of leaden colored reality she married and carrying her restless energy of character with her into new scenes she turned her thoughts to ambition and aimed at the title and power of princess of Wallatia while her patriotic feelings were soothed by the idea of the good she might do her country when her husband should be chief of this principality she lived to find ambition as unreal a delusion of love her intrigues with Russia for the furtherance of her object excited the jealousy of the port and the animosity of the greek government she was considered a traitor by both the ruin of her husband followed they avoided death by a timely flight and she fell from the height of her desires to penury in England much of this tale she concealed from Raymond nor did she confess that repulse and denial as to a criminal convicted of the worst of crimes that of bringing the size of foreign despotism to cut away the new springing liberties of her country would have followed her application to any among the Greeks she knew that she was the cause of her husband's utter ruin and she strung herself to bear the consequences the reproaches which Agony extorted or worse cureless uncomplaining depression when his mind was sunk in a torpor not the less painful because it was silent and moveless she reproached herself with the crime of his death guilt and its punishments appeared to surround her in vain she endeavoured to allay remorse by the memory of her real integrity the rest of the world and she among them judged of her actions by their consequences she prayed for her husband's soul she conjured the supreme to place on her head the crime of his self-destruction she vowed to live to expiate his fault in the midst of such wretchedness as must soon have destroyed her one thought only was a matter of consolation she lived in the same country breathed the same air as Raymond his name as protector was the birthing of every tongue his achievements, projects and magnificence the argument of every story nothing is so precious to a woman's heart as the glory and excellence of him she loves thus in every horror Avadne reveled in his fame and prosperity while her husband lived this feeling was regarded by her as a crime repressed, repented of when he died the tide of love resumed its ancient flow it deluged her soul with its tumultuous waves and she gave herself up a prey to its uncontrollable power but never oh never should he see her in her degraded state never should he behold her fallen as she deemed from her pride of beauty the poverty-stricken inhabitant of a garret with a name which had become a reproach and a weight of guilt on her soul but though impenetrably veiled from him his public office permitted her to become acquainted with all his actions his daily course of life even his conversation she allowed herself one luxury she saw the newspapers every day and feasted on the praise and actions of the protector not that this indulgence was devoid of a company in grief Perdita's name was forever joined with his their conjugal felicity was celebrated even by the authentic testimony of facts they were continually together nor could the unfortunate Evadny read the monosyllable that designated his name without, at the same time being presented with the image of her who was the faithful companion of all his labours and pleasures they, their excellencies met her eyes in each line mingling an evil potion that poisoned her very blood it was in the newspaper that she saw the advertisement for the design for a national gallery combining with taste her remembrance of the edifices which she had seen in the east and by an effort of genius enduing them with unity of design she executed the plan which had been sent to the protector she triumphed in the idea of bestowing unknown and forgotten as she was a benefit upon him she loved and with enthusiastic pride looked forward to the accomplishment of her work of hers which, immortalised in stone would go down to posterity stamped with the name of Raymond she awaited with eagerness the return of her messenger from the palace she listened in satiate to his account of each word each look of the protector she felt bliss in this communication with her beloved although he knew not to whom he addressed his instructions the drawing itself became ineffably dear to her he had seen it and praised it it was again retouched by her each stroke of her pencil was as a chord of thrilling music and brought to her the idea of a temple raised to celebrate the deepest and most unutterable emotions of her soul these contemplations engaged her when the voice of Raymond first struck her ear a voice once heard never to be forgotten she mastered her gush of feelings and welcomed him with quiet gentleness pride and tenderness now struggled and at length made a compromise together she would see Raymond since destiny had led him to her and her constancy and devotion must merit his friendship but her rights with regard to him and her cherished independence should not be injured by the idea of interest or the intervention of the complicated feelings attendant on pecuniary obligation and the relative situations of the benefactor and benefited her mind was of uncommon strength she could subdue her sensible wants to her mental wishes and suffer cold, hunger and misery rather than concede to fortune a contested point alas that in human nature such a pitch of mental discipline and disdainful negligence of nature itself should not have been allied to the extreme of moral excellence but the resolution that permitted her to resist the pains of privation sprung from this too great energy of her passions and the concentrated self-will of which this was a sign was destined to destroy even the very idol to preserve whose respect she submitted to this detail of wretchedness their intercourse continued by degrees of adony related to her friend the whole of her story the stain her name had received in Greece the weight of sin which had accrued to her from the death of her husband when Raymond offered to clear her reputation and demonstrate to the world her real patriotism she declared that it was only through her present sufferings that she hoped for any relief to the stings of conscience that in her state of mind diseased as he might think it the necessity of occupation was salutary medicine she ended by extorting a promise that for the space of one month he would refrain from the discussion of her interests engaging after that time to yield in part to his wishes she could not disguise to herself that any change would separate her from him now she saw him each day his connection with Adrian and Pidita was never mentioned he was to her a meteor a companion-less star which at its appointed hour rose in her hemisphere whose appearance brought felicity and which, although it set was never eclipsed he came each day to her a bode of penury and his presence transformed it to a temple redolent with sweets radiant with heaven's own light he partook of her delirium they built a wall between them and the world without a thousand harpies raved remorse and misery expecting the destined moment for their invasion within was the peace as of innocence reckless blindness deluding joy, hope whose still anchor rested on placid but unconstant water thus while Raymond had been wrapped in visions of power and fame to entire dominion over the elements and the mind of man the territory of his own heart escaped his notice and from that unthought of source arose the mighty torrent that overwhelmed his will and carried to the oblivious sea fame, hope and happiness