Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 192: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

—+ => oo? Or 184 “Yes, yes,” * But the ring ?” “Subsequently, when the vile woman learnt how in you I had accidentally encountered the son of my grandfather’s enemy, and how you had promised to befriend me, she said that she must be paid her reward for having introduced me to one who was thus inclined to succour me; and she expressed her intention of keeping the ring as her recompense. Vainly did I remonstrate—vainly did I entreat and threaten: she threatened a thousand things in return—and I was compelled to yield. Then nearly two years passed away; and often and often when I thought of your gene- rosity and goodness in supplying the means of keeping my aged grandsire from starvation, I could scarcely begrudge Mrs. Chicklade the pos- session of the ring, although it had been my poor mother’s, as her reward for having been the means of introducing me to you. But on that memo- rable day when I met her in the bye-lane imme- diately after my interview with you, I beheld the ring upon her finger: she displayed it to me with a boastful triumph—and I implored her to suffer ine to repurchase it. I could not bear to see that ring which had belonged to my pure and good and virtuous mother, on the finger of that loathsome wretch! I had just received a handsome remune- ration from Miss Evelyn, of Sidney Villa, for some work I had done: but.it was money that ought to have lasted for upwards of a week in the mainhte- nance of my grandfather and myself. Yet I re- solved to make any sacrifice sooner than leave the ring with that vile woman. I therefore gave her the entire contents of my purse: I left myself penniless, inwardly resolving to dispose of part of my wardrobe to obtain the wherewith to adminis- ter to my grandsire’s comforts until fresh earnings should reward my hard toil. This, Mr. Dalham, 1s the history of the ring; and thereat Mr. War- dour hinted in his speech somewhat more plainly than I considered to be perfectly consistent with his promise to keep my history a secret.” “He did not violate your confidence,” replied Mr. Dalham; “for even if you had told him no- thing, his natural ingenuity would have helped him to some such solution of the mystery as that which he hinted at in court—and his reputation as a barrister compelled him to seize upon whatso- ever idea was suggested or pointed at by the very circumstances of the case itself. But why should you have been so particular in veiling that trans- action in such utter mystery P” “Oh! why was I particular in shrouding every- thing in mystery to the utmost of my power?” exclaimed Winifred. ‘‘ Because to have revealed a portion would have been to afford a clue to the discovery of everything; and I would sooner have perished—yes, I would sooner that yesterday’s verdict should have been the very opposite of what it was, than that the whole tale should have been made known! You yourself respected my secret when you first communicated with Mr. Wardour; for you simply told him that you had been introduced to me through the medium of Mrs. Chicklade, but that my virtue was unim- peachable. Ob, yes, Mr. Dalham! there were a thousand reasons for the course which I have been pursuing !—a thousand reasons for my silence in respect to everything which related to my tempo- 5 ee ee again said Mr. Dalham hastily.| rary connexion with that vile woman! I AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. Could I confess for what reason she had originally kept the ring? Who would have believed the tale that when I suffered her to introduce me to a gentle- man, I found in that gentleman a man of honour who scurned to take advantage of the circum- stances which had thrown mein his way? I[ would have died upon the scaffold sooner than mention your name yes, [ would have perished rather than have had it yesterday proclaimed in the court from Mr. Wardour’s lips that I had been thus introduced to a gontleman, and that this gentleman was Mr. Dalham, the son of my grand- gire’s opponent in the lawsuit! For, as I have before said, if your father knew that you had in any way succoured those who bear the hated name of Barrington, he would have discarded, disowned, and disinherited you—and your noble generosity to me and my poor old grandsire would have been the cause of your utter ruin !” “This magnanimous motive on your part, Wini- fred, I all along understood,” said Roderick Dal- ham; “and I knew that it was useless for me to remonstrate, for that you would remain firm to any resolution you had formed. Besides, I also felt that the whole secret connected with Mrs. Chicklade was your own, and that you had a right to deal with it as you thought fit.” “ Moreover,” continued Winifred, “there were other reasons which prompted me: I dared not suffer your name to bein auy way mentioned—I dared not allow it to transpire, because it would have killed my grandfather with grief if it had come to his knowledge that he had for nearly two years past been subsisting on your bounty, while believing that my own earnings were tho source of the comforts which he enjoyed. Thus, sooner than your name should have been mentioned, [ was prepared to sacrifice myself!” “Yes, yes—so I understood it, admirable girl that you are!” exclaimed Dalham: “but I was resolved to save you. Jor this purpose I so managed as to get upon the jury; and if that project had failed, I was resolved to stand up in the court and proclaim all I knew rather than that a hostile verdict should have been pronounced against you. You, Winifred, were prepared to encounter death rather than reveal those circum. stances which would have caused my father to cast me off for ever: I on the other hand was equally resolvea to bring all that ruin upon myself rather than that your innocent life should be sacrificed, Heaven knows how the wretched woman came by her death !—heaven knows who was her murderer! —but all the points of evidence which weighed strongly against yourself—the expressions which fell from your lips, and which were overheard by young De Vere—all could have been explained away by the revelation of the circumstances at- tending your antecedent knowledge of Mrs. Chick- lade. Admirable girl that you are!” repeated Roderick Dalham, “you would in the first in- stance have sold your virtue in order to procure bread for your grandsire;—and now you would have surrendered up your young life rather than ruin me with my father by proclaiming that for two years past I had been your friend!” There was a brief pause, during which Roderick Dalham contemplated Winifred with looks of warmest admiration; while her eyes were pen- comicbooks | |