The Soldier's Wife — page 207: what you’re looking at

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

+94 the fearful import of his words-—Lonsdale as- eured her that, when left to the solitude of that dungeon-cell, he modelled his thoughts as much as he was enabled towards making his peace with heaven; and that when the awful moment came, he should meet his doom with the firm- ness of a man, and the resignation of a Chris- tian, Poor Lucy laid her head upon his shoul- der, and vainly endeavored to stifle the sobs that were convulsing ber heart. Then, as Lons- dale held her clasped in one arm and his boy in the other, he was smitten with an appalling despair as he asked himself what was to become of them Oh! what was to become of them ? He feared that his poor wife would not long survive his death; and then, who would take charge of the boy ? who would rear him? who would be kind to him? who would even give him a home and food? As he asked himself _these questions, despair seemed to be turning into madness—afiliction rising into frenzy. “Oh, my God!” he exclaimed wildly ; “ what will become of you both # what will become of ou ?” “Hush, dearest Frederick !” said the poor wife, straining him still closer to her har- rowed and tortured bosom: “give not way to these dreadful thoughts. Oh, what can I do to impart consolation to your sou? Tell me, dear Frederick, what can I do? what can I say 2” But the unhappy Lonsdale was now unable tu give any response: he was once more con- vulsed with anguish—he was a prey to the wildest despair. Disengaging himself from the arms of his wife and son, he began pacing to gud fro in the cell; and poor Lucy was afraid to accost him with fresh entreaties that he would gather his fortitude to his aid—for she had no hope to give; and where is the consolation which is not based upon hope? Suddenly he stopped short-—and for a few instauts contem- plated his wife and his son with a look so pad Ob ! so sad—it was the dismalest and dreariest that ever appeared upon the buman eountenanee. For during those few moments myriads of agonizing thoughts swept through the brain of the unhappy man. He beheld the care-worn, haggard couritenance and wasted form of that wife, who was once so beautiful in the vigor of health and in the cheerfulness of her disposition: he beheld, too, the pale face and emaciated figure of the once blooming boy , and although at the instant no tears were trick- ling down the cheeks of the miserable man, yet inwardly his heart was weeping tears of blood. Never had the death-bed known such anguish— never had the churchyard seen such utter woe on the brink of the hollowed grave—as the af- fliction and despar which were experienced then in that dungeon-cell, And, oh! when memory winged its rapid flight beyond those irou bars and those massive walls, and flew. to the fair scenes in the neighborhood of Oakleigh, amidst which he had first known his Luey— where he had first learnt to love her—where they had been wont to meet by the stream in the grove—and where they had whispered the words of love,—Oh! what memory thus revisited those scenes, and when retrospection traveled rapidly over the incidents of those hap- THE SOLDIER'S WIFE. pier times, it was enough to drive him to mad- ness—to goad him into frenzy—as his mind, ree turning abruptly from the past, settled itself again upon the horrible present! During those few moments that he thas stood gazing upon his wife and child—and as these memories surged..up into his reeling, throbbing, bursting brain—the unhappy man endured entire worlds of torture—passed through the concentrated excruciatious of whole centuries Again did the tears gush forth from his eyes: again did the convulsing sobs escape from his half-suffe- cating throat ;—and snatching his wife and child to his arms, he covered them with passionate kisses—he bedewed them with his tears—he moaned and lamented over them as never man before or since moaned over the wife who was soon to become a widow, or over the child who ras soon to be left an orphan! The scene, as we said at the outset, tran- scended all power of description, There is no language competent to couvey an idea of the anguish and the mental agony endured within those four walls. Oh! for whatsoever offence Lonsdale might have committed, society and the world were already fearfully avenged | An hour passed; and at the expiration of that interval the door was opened again—and the soldier who appeared upon the threshold, was himself well nigh overcome with grief on bebolding the piteous leave-taking that now en- sued. Yes—piteous indeed was it: and yet these were not the last farewells that were spoken. It was believed that the executica would take place on the Saturday: this was only the Wednesday—there were two more clear days to intervene—two more visits for the wife and child to pay to arcondemned husband and father. If therefore this leave-taking was so fraught with crueifying anguish—if it were so profoundly characterized by feelings of de- spair—how would those poor creatures *paes through the ordeal of the das¢ farewell, when the Friday evening should come? Such was the thought which traversed the mind of the com- passionate soldier, as he stood upon the thresh- old of the ccil—and the tears trickled down his countenance: he too sobbed aloud. At length the almost heartbroken Lucy and the weeping boy issued forth from the dungeon ; and Lonsdale flung himself in despair upon his pallet. : On the following day—the Thursday—there was a repetition of the distressing scene which we have endeavored to deseribe ; and when the moment approached for another separation, Frederick summoned all his fortitude to his aid to whisper something in his wife’s ear. “To-morrow, my own dear Lucy,” he said, in a voice which despite all his efforts, was broken and tremulous with the emotions that were rending his heart, “ to-morrow will be the last time for us to meet in this world.” Lonsdale stopped short: for he felt his poor wife’s arms tightening convulsively round his neck—and_ he felt too that a strong spasmodia shuddering passed through her entire frame. Oh, how ineffable was her anguish, as her \ xart a rts SS SSS SSS SS band’s words | was smitten with the fearful import of ee iT (E(0) mire S) 900 -¢O “ ~™