The Soldier's Wife — page 222: what you’re looking at

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THE SOLDIER’S WIFE 20) gered man. Scarcely however had he possessed himself of a packet and a purse, when he CHAPTER XLIII. thought he heard footsteps approaching; and hastily dragging the body to the ditch, he low- CONCLUSION. ered itin. Then, turning off into the fielda, be sped across them for a considerable distance ; Tz eader will not be satisfied unless we fut till at length well nigh exhausted with loss of j nish him with a few particulars respecting the blood and the fatigues he had suffered durmg) most prominent characters that, having figured the day, he sat down to rest himself. There he|in our narrative, yet remain to be disposed of. examined the purse, and found that its contents| And first of Lucy’s father. We have already were ample enough to seem a perfect treasure stated that this man became a confirmed drunk- iu the eyes of a man who was penniless a short|ard, The habit of intemperangesgrew upon him time before. Next he opened the despatch;) with an inveteracy that at length it might be and by aid of the brilliant moonlight, he was literally said he was never sober. He took no enabled to read its contents. A reprieve for|note of what was passing in the world around Lonsdale who he had hoped was to be executed him — but abandoned himself completely to on the following morning! The vile heart of | strong liquor. It was not till nearly a month Bates bounded in his breast. With one blow / after his son-in-law’s execution that the cireum he had wreaked a_ two-fold vengeance,—| stance accidentally reached his ears: for Sarah vengeance against the Redburns— vengeance Bodkin, who lived with him as his housekeeper, against Lonsdale, for whom no reprieve should) studiously concealed the occurrence as long as come | she was able, for fear lest his heart, should be He was about to take the money out of the touched with remorse and melt towards bis purse, so that he might fling the purse itself |! daughter, in which case her own influcuce over away,—and he likewise contemplated tearing the wretched man might be destroyed. For up the despatch into fragments,—when he the same object did she intercept and suppress thought he beheld forms moving about at the) a touching and affectionate letter which Lucy farther extremity of the field in which he had) wrote to her sire about a week after the trage- paused to rest. Doubtless they were unly phan-| dy that deprived her of a husband and her son toms conjured up by the man’s guilty fears: but | of a father. Davis was too much lost to the they had the effect of making him resume his sense of external circumstances to be moved precipitate flight. Accordingly, having hastily | either to savage joy or remorseful pity, when seeured the purse and the despatch in hits pock- | he did at length hear of Lonsdale’s death; and ets, he sped across the meadows until he reached | he continued his inebriate habits as usual, Sa- a road, where be agaiu found himself so ex-| rah Bodkin, having first obtained an immense hausted that he was compelled to sit down.— | influence over him, ultimately endeavored to in- There it was that Reginald Herbert encountered duce him to make a will in her favor; and this and relieved him. Bates knew that the road led he agreed to do. But the woman fancied that away from Middleton, which place it was now he might yet live some years, during which a his object to avoid rather than to seek: and hej reconciliation with his daughter and the rever- dragged himself along as well as he was able.| sal of the will were things quite within the chap- Thus did he proceed a few miles, until he could| ter of accidents: so she thought of persuading go no farther. He was now in the immediate) him to sell out his money from the funds and vicinage of Clive Hall, which was kuown sulleagls it all in a strong-box at home. For this him: he crept into the shed, where he was sub: | she urged various reasons, which were of course sequently discovered, and lay down with the in-| unfounded enough, but quite sufficient to ope- tention of resting himself for a couple of hours,| rate as she desired on the embruted and atten- and then resuming his journey. But when sleep} uated mind of the wretched sot. He according- fell upon him, the cold paralyzed his limbs—/jly did as she suggested; and the transaction aud exhaustion through loss of blood, aided to| was effected through the medium of a solicitor prolong his slumber, which, deepening into total|at Coventry, where Davis resided. But not uncousciousness, would have speedily termi-|many days after the whvle amount was paid nated in death, had he not been found and|over to the miserable drunkard, Sarah Bodkin kindly treated in the manner already des-|endeavored to decamp with the strong-box. By cribed. a combination of circumstances, which we need ‘The preceding explanations were gathered|not pause to describe, she was detected and from him partially during the few hours thathe| stopped by some of the neighbors who had remaiued at Clive Hall after his restoration to| found out what was going on, When in prison, consciousness, and partially some weeks later, |she manifested an exceeding bitterness against when in the condemmed cell at Middleton, and| Davis, who had been persuaded to prosecute on the eve of expiating his crimes on the gal-| her, and who even kept himself moderately so- lows, he filled up whatsvever gaps had remained | ber for the purpose. In order to spite him, she in his previous avowals. Nou that he confessed) confessed that.she had committed perjury in the anything in the spirit of contrition: he remained| matter of the trial against Gerald Redburn, and hardened until the very last; and when he} that she had been suborved to do it by Davis spoke of his misdeeds, it was only to gloat over | himself. the wrongs he had made others experience,| ‘These facts came to the ears of Mr. Colycinth, and the vengeance he had consummated. who in the meanwhile had removed from Oak- leigh and settled at Coventry by aid of the five thousand pounds received from Sir SOKA COMMUC LOOKS (EO)