Thelma

M >> Marie Corelli >> Thelma


"A Roman," he murmured placidly to himself, between two large bites of
toast. "The girl is a Roman, and thereby hopelessly damned."

And he smiled again,--more sweetly than before, as though the idea of
hopeless damnation suggested some peculiarly agreeable reflections.
Unfolding his fine cologne-scented cambric handkerchief, he carefully
wiped his fat white fingers free from the greasy marks of the toast,
and, taking up the objectionable cross gingerly, as though it were
red-hot, he examined it closely on all sides. There were some words
engraved on the back of it, and after some trouble Mr. Dyceworthy spelt
them out. They were "_Passio Christi, conforta me. Thelma._"

He shook his head with a sort of resigned cheerfulness.

"Hopelessly damned," he murmured again gently, "unless--"

What alternative suggested itself to his mind was not precisely
apparent, for his thoughts suddenly turned in a more frivolous
direction. Rising from the now exhausted tea-table, he drew out a small
pocket-mirror and surveyed himself therein with a mild approval. With
the extreme end of his handkerchief he tenderly removed two sacrilegious
crumbs that presumed to linger in the corners of his piously pursed
mouth. In the same way he detached a morsel of congealed butter that
clung pertinaciously to the end of his bashfully retreating nose. This
done, he again looked at himself with increased satisfaction, and,
putting by his pocket-mirror, rang the bell. It was answered at once by
a tall, strongly built woman, with a colorless, stolid countenance,--that
might have been carved out of wood for any expression it had in it.

"Ulrika," said Mr. Dyceworthy blandly, "you can clear the table."

Ulrika, without answering, began to pack the tea-things together in a
methodical way, without clattering so much as a plate or spoon, and,
piling them compactly on a tray, was about to leave the room, when Mr.
Dyceworthy called to her, "Ulrika!"

"Sir?"

"Did you ever see a thing like this before?" and he held up the crucifix
to her gaze.

The woman shuddered, and her dull eyes lit up with a sudden terror.

"It is the witch's charm!" she muttered thickly, while her pale face
grew yet paler. "Burn it, sir!--burn it, and the power will leave her."

Mr. Dyceworthy laughed indulgently. "My good woman, you mistake," he
said suavely. "Your zeal for the true gospel leads you into error. There
are thousands of misguided persons who worship such a thing as this. It
is often all of our dear Lord they know. Sad, very sad! But still,
though they, alas! are not of the elect, and are plainly doomed to
perdition,--they are not precisely what are termed witches, Ulrika."

"_She_ is," replied the woman with a sort of ferocity; "and, if I had my
way, I would tell her so to her face, and see what would happen to her
then!"

"Tut, tut!" remarked Mr. Dyceworthy amiably. "The days of witchcraft are
past. You show some little ignorance, Ulrika. You are not acquainted
with the great advancement of recent learning."

"Maybe, maybe," and Ulrika turned to go; but she muttered sullenly as
she went, "There be them that know and could tell, and them that will
have her yet."

She shut the door behind her with a sharp clang, and, left to himself,
Mr. Dyceworthy again smiled--such a benignant, fatherly smile! He then
walked to the window and looked out. It was past seven o'clock, an hour
that elsewhere would have been considered evening, but in Bosekop at
that season it still seemed afternoon.

The sun was shining brilliantly, and in the minister's front garden the
roses were all wide awake. A soft moisture glittered on every tiny leaf
and blade of grass. The penetrating and delicious odor of sweet violets
scented each puff of wind, and now and then the call of the cuckoo
pierced the air with a subdued, far-off shrillness.

From his position Mr. Dyceworthy could catch a glimpse through the trees
of the principal thoroughfare of Bosekop--a small, primitive street
enough, of little low houses, which, though unpretending from without,
were roomy and comfortable within. The distant, cool sparkle of the
waters of the Fjord, the refreshing breeze, the perfume of the flowers,
and the satisfied impression left on his mind by recent tea and
toast--all these things combined had a soothing effect on Mr.
Dyceworthy, and with a sigh of absolute comfort he settled his large
person in a deep easy chair and composed himself for pious meditation.

He meditated long,--with fast-closed eyes and open mouth, while the
earnestness of his inward thoughts was clearly demonstrated now and then
by an irrepressible,--almost triumphant,--cornet-blast from that
trifling elevation of his countenance called by courtesy a nose, when
his blissful reverie was suddenly broken in upon by the sound of several
footsteps crunching slowly along the garden path, and, starting up from
his chair, he perceived four individuals clad in white flannel costumes
and wearing light straw hats trimmed with fluttering blue ribbons, who
were leisurely sauntering up to his door, and stopping occasionally to
admire the flowers on their way. Mr. Dyceworthy's face reddened visibly
with excitement.

"The gentlemen from the yacht," he murmured to himself, hastily settling
his collar and cravat, and pushing up his cherubic wings of hair more
prominently behind his ears. "I never thought they would come. Dear me!
Sir Philip Errington himself, too! I must have refreshments instantly."

And he hurried from the room, calling his orders to Ulrika as he went,
and before the visitors had time to ring, he had thrown open the door to
them himself, and stood smiling urbanely on the threshold, welcoming
them with enthusiasm,--and assuring Sir Philip especially how much
honored he felt, by his thus visiting, familiarly and unannounced, his
humble dwelling. Errington waved his many compliments good-humoredly
aside, and allowed himself and his friends to be marshalled into the
best parlor, the drawing-room of the house, a pretty little apartment
whose window looked out upon a tangled yet graceful wilderness of
flowers.

"Nice, cosy place this," remarked Lorimer, as he seated himself
negligently on the arm of the sofa. "You must be pretty comfortable
here?"

Their perspiring and affable host rubbed his soft white hands together
gently.

"I thank Heaven it suits my simple needs," he answered meekly. "Luxuries
do not become a poor servant of God."

"Ah, then you are different to many others who profess to serve the same
Master," said Duprez with a _sourire fin_ that had the devil's own
mockery in it. "_Monsieur le bon Dieu_ is very impartial! Some serve Him
by constant over-feeding, others by constant over-starving; it is all
one to Him apparently! How do you know which among His servants He likes
best, the fat or the lean?"

Sandy Macfarlane, though slightly a bigot for his own form of doctrine,
broke into a low chuckle of irrepressible laughter at Duprez's levity,
but Mr. Dyceworthy's flabby face betokened the utmost horror.

"Sir," he said gravely, "there are subjects concerning which it is not
seemly to speak without due reverence. He knoweth His own elect. He hath
chosen them out from the beginning. He summoned forth from the million,
the glorious apostle of reform, Martin Luther--"

"_Le bon gaillard!_" laughed Duprez. "Tempted by a pretty nun! What man
could resist! Myself, I would try to upset all the creeds of this world
if I saw a pretty nun worth my trouble. Yes, truly! A pity though, that
the poor Luther died of over-eating; his exit from life so undignified!"

"Shut up, Duprez," said Errington severely. "You displease Mr.
Dyceworthy by your fooling."

"Oh, pray do not mention it, Sir Philip," murmured the reverend
gentleman with a mild patience. "We must accustom ourselves to hear with
forbearance the opinions of all men, howsoever contradictory, otherwise
our vocation is of no avail. Yet is it sorely grievous to me to consider
that there should be any person or persons existent who lack the
necessary faith requisite for the performance of God's promises."

"Ye must understand, Mr. Dyceworthy," said Macfarlane in his slow,
deliberate manner, "that ye have before ye a young Frenchman who doesna
believe in onything except himsel'--and even as to whether he himsel' is
a mon or a myth, he has his doots--vera grave doots."

Duprez nodded delightedly. "That is so!" he exclaimed. "Our dear Sandy
puts it so charmingly! To be a myth seems original,--to be a mere man,
quite ordinary. I believe it is possible to find some good scientific
professor who would prove me to be a myth--the moving shadow of a
dream--imagine!--how perfectly poetical!"

"You talk too much to be a dream, my boy," laughed Errington, and
turning to Mr. Dyceworthy, he added, "I'm afraid you must think us a
shocking set. We are really none of us very religious, I fear, though,"
and he tried to look serious; "if it had not been for Mr. Lorimer, we
should have come to church last Sunday. Mr. Lorimer was, unfortunately,
rather indisposed."

"Ya-as!" drawled that gentleman, turning from the little window where he
had been gathering a rose for his button-hole. "I was knocked up; had
fits, and all that sort of thing; took these three fellows all their
time on Sunday to hold me down!"

"Dear me!" and Mr. Dyceworthy was about to make further inquiries
concerning Mr. Lorimer's present state of health, when the door opened,
and Ulrika entered, bearing a large tray laden with wine and other
refreshments. As she set it down, she gave a keen, covert glance round
the room, as though rapidly taking note of the appearance and faces of
all the young men, then, with a sort of stiff curtsey, she departed as
noiselessly as she had come,--not, however, without leaving a
disagreeable impression on Errington's mind.

"Rather a stern Phyllis, that waiting-maid of yours," he remarked,
watching his host, who was carefully drawing the cork from one of the
bottles of wine.

Mr. Dyceworthy smiled. "Oh, no, no! not stern at all," he answered
sweetly. "On the contrary, most affable and kind-hearted. Her only fault
is that she is a little zealous,--over-zealous for the purity of the
faith; and she has suffered much; but she is an excellent woman, really
excellent! Sir Philip, will you try this Lacrima Christi?"

"Lacrima Christi!" exclaimed Duprez. "You do not surely get that in
Norway?"

"It seems strange, certainly," replied Mr. Dyceworthy, "but it is a fact
that the Italian or Papist wines are often used here. The minister whose
place I humbly endeavor to fill has his cellar stocked with them. The
matter is easy of comprehension when once explained. The benighted
inhabitants of Italy, a land, lost in the darkness of error, still
persist in their fasts, notwithstanding the evident folly of their
ways--and the Norwegian sailors provide them with large quantities of
fish for their idolatrous customs, bringing back their wines in
exchange."

"A very good idea," said Lorimer, sipping the Lacrima with evident
approval--"Phil, I doubt if your brands on board the _Eulalie_ are
better than this."

"Hardly so good," replied Errington with some surprise, as he tasted the
wine and noted its delicious flavor. "The minister must be a fine
_connoisseur_. Are there many other families about here, Mr. Dyceworthy,
who know how to choose their wines so well?"

Mr. Dyceworthy smiled with a dubious air.

"There is one other household that in the matter of choice liquids is
almost profanely particular," he said. "But they are people who are
ejected with good reason from respectable society, and,--it behooves me
not to speak of their names."

"Oh, indeed!" said Errington, while a sudden and inexplicable thrill of
indignation fired his blood and sent it in a wave of color up to his
forehead--"May I ask--"

But he was interrupted by Lorimer, who, nudging him slyly on one side,
muttered, "Keep cool, old fellow! You can't tell whether he's talking
about the Gueldmar folk! Be quiet--you don't want every one to know your
little game."

Thus adjured, Philip swallowed a large gulp of wine, to keep down his
feelings, and strove to appear interested in the habits and caprices of
bees, a subject into which Mr. Dyceworthy had just inveigled Duprez and
Macfarlane.

"Come and see my bees," said the Reverend Charles almost pathetically.
"They are emblems of ever-working and patient industry,--storing up
honey for others to partake thereof."

"They wudna store it up at a', perhaps, if they knew that," observed
Sandy significantly.

Mr. Dyceworthy positively shone all over with beneficence.

"They _would_ store it up, sir; yes, they would, even if they knew! It
is God's will that they should store it up; it is God's will that they
should show an example of unselfishness, that they should flit from
flower to flower sucking therefrom the sweetness to impart into strange
palates unlike their own. It is a beautiful lesson; it teaches us who
are the ministers of the Lord to likewise suck the sweetness from the
flowers of the living gospel, and impart it gladly to the unbelievers
who shall find it sweeter than the sweetest honey!"

And he shook his head piously several times, while the pores of his fat
visage exuded holy oil. Duprez sniggered secretly. Macfarlane looked
preternaturally solemn.

"Come," repeated the reverend gentleman, with an inviting smile. "Come
and see my bees,--also my strawberries! I shall be delighted to send a
basket of the fruit to the yacht, if Sir Philip will permit me?"

Errington expressed his thanks with due courtesy, and hastened to seize
the opportunity that presented itself for breaking away from the party.

"If you will excuse us for twenty minutes or so, Mr. Dyceworthy," he
said, "Lorimer and I want to consult a fellow here in Bosekop about some
new fishing tackle. We shan't be gone long. Mac, you and Duprez wait for
us here. Don't commit too many depredations on Mr. Dyceworthy's
strawberries."

The reason for their departure was so simply and naturally given, that
it was accepted without any opposing remarks. Duprez was delighted to
have the chance of amusing himself by harassing the Reverend Charles
with open professions of utter atheism, and Macfarlane, who loved an
argument more than he loved whiskey, looked forward to a sharp
discussion presently concerning the superiority of John Knox, morally
and physically, over Martin Luther. So that when the others went their
way, their departure excited no suspicion in the minds of their friends,
and most unsuspecting of all was the placid Mr. Dyceworthy, who, had he
imagined for an instant the direction which they were going, would
certainly not have discoursed on the pleasures of bee-keeping with the
calmness and placid conviction, that always distinguished him when
holding forth on any subject that was attractive to his mind. Leading
the way through his dewy, rose-grown garden, and conversing amicably as
he went, he escorted Macfarlane and Duprez to what he called with a
gentle humor his "Bee-Metropolis," while Errington and Lorimer returned
to the shore of the Fjord, where they had left their boat moored to a
small, clumsily constructed pier,--and entering it, they set themselves
to the oars and pulled away together with the long, steady, sweeping
stroke rendered famous by the exploits of the Oxford and Cambridge men.
After some twenty minutes' rowing, Lorimer looked up and spoke as he
drew his blade swiftly through the bright green water.

"I feel as though I were aiding and abetting you in some crime, Phil.
You know, my first impression of this business remains the same. You had
much better leave it alone."

"Why?" asked Errington coolly.

"Well, 'pon my life I don't know why. Except that, from long experience,
I have proved that it's always dangerous and troublesome to run after a
woman. Leave her to run after you--she'll do it fast enough."

"Wait till you see her. Besides, I'm not running after any woman,"
averred Philip with some heat.

"Oh, I beg your pardon--I forgot. She's not a woman; she's a Sun-angel.
You are rowing, not running, after a Sun-angel. Is that correct? I say,
don't drive through the water like that; you'll pull the boat round."

Errington slackened his speed and laughed. "It's only curiosity," he
said, lifting his hat, and pushing back the clustering dark-brown curls
from his brow. "I bet you that sleek Dyceworthy fellow meant the old
_bonde_ and his daughter, when he spoke of persons who were 'ejected'
from the social circles of Bosekop. Fancy Bosekop society presuming to
be particular--what an absurd idea!"

"My good fellow, don't pretend to be so deplorably ignorant! Surely you
know that a trumpery village or a two-penny town is much more choice and
exclusive in its 'sets' than a great city? I wouldn't live in a small
place for the world. Every inhabitant would know the cut of my clothes
by heart, and the number of buttons on my waistcoat. The grocer would
copy the pattern of my trousers,--the butcher would carry a cane like
mine. It would be simply insufferable. To change the subject, may I ask
you if you know which way you are going, for it seems to me we're bound
straight for a smash on that uncomfortable-looking rock, where there is
certainly no landing-place."

Errington stopped pulling, and, standing up in the boat, began to
examine the surroundings with keen interest. They were close to the
great crag "shaped like a giant's helmet," as Valdemar Svensen had said.
It rose sheer out of the water, and its sides were almost perpendicular.
Some beautiful star-shaped sea anemones clung to it in a vari-colored
cluster on one projection, and the running ripple of the small waves
broke on its jagged corners with a musical splash, and sparkle of white
foam. Below them, in the emerald mirror of the Fjord, it was so clear
that they could see the fine white sand lying at the bottom, sprinkled
thick with shells and lithe moving creatures of all shapes, while every
now and then, there streamed past them, brilliantly tinted specimens of
the Medusae, with their long feelers or tendrils, looking like torn
skins of crimson and azure floss silk.

The place was very silent; only the sea-gulls circled round and round
the summit of the great rock, some of them occasionally swooping down on
the unwary fishes, their keen eyes perceived in the waters beneath, then
up again they soared, swaying their graceful wings and uttering at
intervals that peculiar wild cry that in solitary haunts sounds so
intensely mournful. Errington gazed about him in doubt for some minutes,
then suddenly his face brightened. He sat down again in the boat and
resumed his oar.

"Row quietly, George," he said in a subdued tone "Quietly--round to the
left."

The oars dipped noiselessly, and the boat shot forward,--then swerved
sharply round in the direction,--and there before them lay a small sandy
creek, white and shining as though sprinkled with powdered silver. From
this, a small but strongly-built wooden pier ran out into the sea. It
was carved all over with fantastic figures, and in it at equal
distances, were fastened iron rings, such as are used for the safe
mooring of boats. One boat was there already, and Errington recognized
it with delight. It was that in which he had seen the mysterious maiden
disappear. High and dry on the sand, out of reach of the tides, was a
neat sailing-vessel; its name was painted round the stern--_The
Valkyrie_.

As the two friends ran their boat on shore, and fastened it to the
furthest ring of the convenient pier, they caught the distant sound of
the plaintiff "coo-cooing" of turtle doves.

"You've done it this time, old boy," said Lorimer, speaking in a
whisper, though he knew not why. "This is the old _bonde's_ own private
landing-place evidently, and here's a footpath leading somewhere. Shall
we follow it?"

Philip emphatically assented, and, treading softly, like the trespassers
they felt themselves to be, they climbed the ascending narrow way that
guided them up from the seashore, round through a close thicket of
pines, where their footsteps fell noiselessly on a thick carpet of
velvety green moss, dotted prettily here and there with the red gleam of
ripening wild strawberries. Everything was intensely still, and as yet
there seemed no sign of human habitation. Suddenly a low whirring sound
broke upon their ears, and Errington, who was a little in advance of his
companion, paused abruptly with a smothered exclamation, and drew back
on tip-toe, catching Lorimer by the arm.

"By Jove!" he whispered excitedly, "we've come right up to the very
windows of the house. Look!"

Lorimer obeyed, and for once, the light jest died upon his tips.
Surprise and admiration held him absolutely silent.




CHAPTER V.

"Elle filait et souriait--et je crois qu'elle enveloppa mon coeur
avec son fil."--HEINE.


Before them, close enough for their outstretched hands to have touched
it, was what appeared to be a framed picture, exquisitely painted,--a
picture perfect in outline matchless in color, faultless in detail,--but
which was in reality nothing but a large latticed window thrown wide
open to admit the air. They could now see distinctly through the shadows
cast by the stately pines, a long, low, rambling house, built roughly,
but strongly, of wooden rafters, all overgrown with green and blossoming
creepers; but they scarcely glanced at the actual building, so strongly
was their attention riveted on the one window before them. It was
surrounded by an unusually broad framework, curiously and elaborately
carved, and black as polished ebony. Flowers grew all about it,--sweet
peas, mignonette, and large purple pansies--while red and white climbing
roses rioted in untrained profusion over its wide sill. Above it was a
quaintly built dovecote, where some of the strutting fan-tailed
inhabitants were perched, swelling out their snowy breasts, and
discoursing of their domestic trials in notes of dulcet melancholy;
while lower down, three or four ring-doves nestled on the roof in a
patch of sunlight, spreading up their pinions like miniature sails, to
catch the warmth and lustre.

Within the deep, shadowy embrasure, like a jewel placed on dark velvet,
was seated a girl spinning,--no other than the mysterious maiden of the
shell cavern. She was attired in a plain, straight gown, of some soft
white woolen stuff, cut squarely at her throat; her round, graceful arms
were partially bare, and as the wheel turned swiftly, and her slender
hands busied themselves with the flax, she smiled, as though some
pleasing thought had touched her mind. Her smile had the effect of
sudden sunshine in the dark room where she sat and span,--it was radiant
and mirthful as the smile of a happy child. Yet her dark blue eyes
remained pensive and earnest, and the smile soon faded, leaving her fair
face absorbed and almost dreamy. The whirr-whirring of the wheel grew
less and less rapid,--it slackened,--it stopped altogether,--and, as
though startled by some unexpected sound, the girl paused and listened,
pushing away the clustering masses of her rich hair from her brow. Then
rising slowly from her seat, she advanced to the window, put aside the
roses with one hand, and looked out,--thus forming another picture as
beautiful, if not more beautiful, than the first.

Lorimer drew his breath hard. "I say, old fellow," he whispered; but
Errington pressed his arm with vice-like firmness, as a warning to him
to be silent, while they both stepped farther back into the dusky gloom
of the pine boughs.

The girl, meanwhile, stood motionless, in a half-expectant attitude,
and, seeing her there, some of the doves on the roof flew down and
strutted on the ground before her, coo-cooing proudly, as though
desirous of attracting her attention. One of them boldly perched on the
window-sill; she glanced at the bird musingly, and softly stroked its
opaline wings and shining head without terrifying it. It seemed
delighted to be noticed, and almost lay down under her hand in order to
be more conveniently caressed. Still gently smoothing its feathers, she
leaned further out among the clambering wealth of blossoms, and called
in a low, penetrating tone, "Father! father! is that you?"

There was no answer; and, after waited a minute or two, she moved and
resumed her former seat, the stray doves flew back to their customary
promenade on the roof, and the drowsy whirr-whirr of the spinning-wheel
murmured again its monotonous hum upon the air.

"Come on, Phil," whispered Lorimer, determined not to be checked this
time; "I feel perfectly wretched! It's mean of us to be skulking about
here, as if we were a couple of low thieves waiting to trap some of
those birds for a pigeon-pie. Come away,--you've seen her; that's
enough."

Errington did not move. Holding back a branch of pine, he watched the
movements of the girl at her wheel with absorbed fascination.

Suddenly her sweet lips parted, and she sang a weird, wild melody, that
seemed, like a running torrent, to have fallen from the crests of the
mountains, bringing with it echoes from the furthest summits, mingled
with soft wailings of a mournful wind.