Northanger Abbey 12 страница

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but at that moment a sudden knocking at the door of the

room made her, starting, quit her hold, and the lid

closed with alarming violence. This ill-timed intruder

was Miss Tilney`s maid, sent by her mistress to be of

use to Miss Morland; and though Catherine immediately

dismissed her, it recalled her to the sense of what she

ought to be doing, and forced her, in spite of her anxious

desire to penetrate this mystery, to proceed in her dressing

without further delay. Her progress was not quick,

for her thoughts and her eyes were still bent on the object

so well calculated to interest and alarm; and though

she dared not waste a moment upon a second attempt,

she could not remain many paces from the chest.

At length, however, having slipped one arm into her gown,

her toilette seemed so nearly finished that the impatience

of her curiosity might safely be indulged. One moment

surely might be spared; and, so desperate should be

the exertion of her strength, that, unless secured

by supernatural means, the lid in one moment should

be thrown back. With this spirit she sprang forward,

and her confidence did not deceive her. Her resolute

effort threw back the lid, and gave to her astonished eyes

the view of a white cotton counterpane, properly folded,

reposing at one end of the chest in undisputed possession!

She was gazing on it with the first blush of surprise

when Miss Tilney, anxious for her friend`s being ready,

entered the room, and to the rising shame of having

harboured for some minutes an absurd expectation, was then

added the shame of being caught in so idle a search.

" That is a curious old chest, is not it? " said Miss Tilney,

as Catherine hastily closed it and turned away to the glass.

" It is impossible to say how many generations it has

been here. How it came to be first put in this room I

know not, but I have not had it moved, because I thought

it might sometimes be of use in holding hats and bonnets.

The worst of it is that its weight makes it difficult

to open. In that corner, however, it is at least out of

the way. "

Catherine had no leisure for speech, being at

once blushing, tying her gown, and forming wise resolutions

with the most violent dispatch. Miss Tilney gently hinted

her fear of being late; and in half a minute they ran

downstairs together, in an alarm not wholly unfounded,

for General Tilney was pacing the drawing-room, his watch

in his hand, and having, on the very instant of their entering,

pulled the bell with violence, ordered " Dinner to be

on table directly! "

Catherine trembled at the emphasis with which he spoke,

and sat pale and breathless, in a most humble mood,

concerned for his children, and detesting old chests;

and the general, recovering his politeness as he looked

at her, spent the rest of his time in scolding his daughter

for so foolishly hurrying her fair friend, who was absolutely

out of breath from haste, when there was not the least

occasion for hurry in the world: but Catherine could not

at all get over the double distress of having involved

her friend in a lecture and been a great simpleton herself,

till they were happily seated at the dinner-table, when

the general`s complacent smiles, and a good appetite

of her own, restored her to peace. The dining-parlour

was a noble room, suitable in its dimensions to a much

larger drawing-room than the one in common use, and fitted

up in a style of luxury and expense which was almost lost

on the unpractised eye of Catherine, who saw little more

than its spaciousness and the number of their attendants.

Of the former, she spoke aloud her admiration;

and the general, with a very gracious countenance,

acknowledged that it was by no means an ill-sized room,

and further confessed that, though as careless on such

subjects as most people, he did look upon a tolerably

large eating-room as one of the necessaries of life;

he supposed, however, " that she must have been used

to much better-sized apartments at Mr. Allen`s? "

" No, indeed, " was Catherine`s honest assurance;

" Mr. Allen`s dining-parlour was not more than half as large, "

and she had never seen so large a room as this in her life.

The general`s good humour increased. Why, as he had

such rooms, he thought it would be simple not to make

use of them; but, upon his honour, he believed there

might be more comfort in rooms of only half their size.

Mr. Allen`s house, he was sure, must be exactly of the true

size for rational happiness.

The evening passed without any further disturbance,

and, in the occasional absence of General Tilney, with much

positive cheerfulness. It was only in his presence that

Catherine felt the smallest fatigue from her journey;

and even then, even in moments of languor or restraint,

a sense of general happiness preponderated, and she could

think of her friends in Bath without one wish of being

with them.

The night was stormy; the wind had been rising at

intervals the whole afternoon; and by the time the party

broke up, it blew and rained violently. Catherine, as she

crossed the hall, listened to the tempest with sensations

of awe; and, when she heard it rage round a corner of the

ancient building and close with sudden fury a distant door,

felt for the first time that she was really in an abbey.

Yes, these were characteristic sounds; they brought to her

recollection a countless variety of dreadful situations

and horrid scenes, which such buildings had witnessed,

and such storms ushered in; and most heartily did

she rejoice in the happier circumstances attending

her entrance within walls so solemn! She had nothing

to dread from midnight assassins or drunken gallants.

Henry had certainly been only in jest in what he had told

her that morning. In a house so furnished, and so guarded,

she could have nothing to explore or to suffer, and might

go to her bedroom as securely as if it had been her own

chamber at Fullerton. Thus wisely fortifying her mind,

as she proceeded upstairs, she was enabled, especially on

perceiving that Miss Tilney slept only two doors from her,

to enter her room with a tolerably stout heart; and her

spirits were immediately assisted by the cheerful blaze

of a wood fire. " How much better is this, " said she,

as she walked to the fender--" how much better to find a fire

ready lit, than to have to wait shivering in the cold

till all the family are in bed, as so many poor girls

have been obliged to do, and then to have a faithful old

servant frightening one by coming in with a faggot! How

glad I am that Northanger is what it is! If it had been

like some other places, I do not know that, in such a night

as this, I could have answered for my courage: but now,

to be sure, there is nothing to alarm one. "

She looked round the room. The window curtains seemed

in motion. It could be nothing but the violence of the

wind penetrating through the divisions of the shutters;

and she stepped boldly forward, carelessly humming a tune,

to assure herself of its being so, peeped courageously

behind each curtain, saw nothing on either low window seat

to scare her, and on placing a hand against the shutter,

felt the strongest conviction of the wind`s force.

A glance at the old chest, as she turned away from

this examination, was not without its use; she scorned

the causeless fears of an idle fancy, and began with a

most happy indifference to prepare herself for bed.

" She should take her time; she should not hurry herself;

she did not care if she were the last person up in the house.

But she would not make up her fire; that would seem cowardly,

as if she wished for the protection of light after she

were in bed. " The fire therefore died away, and Catherine,

having spent the best part of an hour in her arrangements,

was beginning to think of stepping into bed, when, on giving

a parting glance round the room, she was struck by the

appearance of a high, old-fashioned black cabinet, which,

though in a situation conspicuous enough, had never caught

her notice before. Henry`s words, his description of the

ebony cabinet which was to escape her observation at first,

immediately rushed across her; and though there could

be nothing really in it, there was something whimsical,

it was certainly a very remarkable coincidence! She

took her candle and looked closely at the cabinet.

It was not absolutely ebony and gold; but it was japan,

black and yellow japan of the handsomest kind; and as she

held her candle, the yellow had very much the effect

of gold. The key was in the door, and she had a strange

fancy to look into it; not, however, with the smallest

expectation of finding anything, but it was so very odd,

after what Henry had said. In short, she could not

sleep till she had examined it. So, placing the candle

with great caution on a chair, she seized the key with a

very tremulous hand and tried to turn it; but it resisted

her utmost strength. Alarmed, but not discouraged,

she tried it another way; a bolt flew, and she believed

herself successful; but how strangely mysterious!

The door was still immovable. She paused a moment

in breathless wonder. The wind roared down the chimney,

the rain beat in torrents against the windows, and everything

seemed to speak the awfulness of her situation.

To retire to bed, however, unsatisfied on such a point,

would be vain, since sleep must be impossible with the

consciousness of a cabinet so mysteriously closed in her

immediate vicinity. Again, therefore, she applied herself

to the key, and after moving it in every possible way

for some instants with the determined celerity of hope`s

last effort, the door suddenly yielded to her hand: her

heart leaped with exultation at such a victory, and having

thrown open each folding door, the second being secured

only by bolts of less wonderful construction than the lock,

though in that her eye could not discern anything unusual,

a double range of small drawers appeared in view,

with some larger drawers above and below them; and in

the centre, a small door, closed also with a lock and key,

secured in all probability a cavity of importance.

Catherine`s heart beat quick, but her courage did

not fail her. With a cheek flushed by hope, and an eye

straining with curiosity, her fingers grasped the handle

of a drawer and drew it forth. It was entirely empty.

With less alarm and greater eagerness she seized a second,

a third, a fourth; each was equally empty. Not one was

left unsearched, and in not one was anything found.

Well read in the art of concealing a treasure, the possibility

of false linings to the drawers did not escape her,

and she felt round each with anxious acuteness in vain.

The place in the middle alone remained now unexplored;

and though she had " never from the first had the smallest

idea of finding anything in any part of the cabinet,

and was not in the least disappointed at her ill success

thus far, it would be foolish not to examine it thoroughly

while she was about it. " It was some time however before

she could unfasten the door, the same difficulty occurring

in the management of this inner lock as of the outer;

but at length it did open; and not vain, as hitherto,

was her search; her quick eyes directly fell on a roll

of paper pushed back into the further part of the cavity,

apparently for concealment, and her feelings at that

moment were indescribable. Her heart fluttered,

her knees trembled, and her cheeks grew pale. She seized,

with an unsteady hand, the precious manuscript, for half

a glance sufficed to ascertain written characters;

and while she acknowledged with awful sensations this

striking exemplification of what Henry had foretold,

resolved instantly to peruse every line before she attempted

to rest.

The dimness of the light her candle emitted made

her turn to it with alarm; but there was no danger

of its sudden extinction; it had yet some hours to burn;

and that she might not have any greater difficulty

in distinguishing the writing than what its ancient date

might occasion, she hastily snuffed it. Alas! It was snuffed

and extinguished in one. A lamp could not have expired

with more awful effect. Catherine, for a few moments,

was motionless with horror. It was done completely;

not a remnant of light in the wick could give hope

to the rekindling breath. Darkness impenetrable and

immovable filled the room. A violent gust of wind,

rising with sudden fury, added fresh horror to the moment.

Catherine trembled from head to foot. In the pause

which succeeded, a sound like receding footsteps and the

closing of a distant door struck on her affrighted ear.

Human nature could support no more. A cold sweat stood

on her forehead, the manuscript fell from her hand,

and groping her way to the bed, she jumped hastily in,

and sought some suspension of agony by creeping far

underneath the clothes. To close her eyes in sleep

that night, she felt must be entirely out of the question.

With a curiosity so justly awakened, and feelings in every

way so agitated, repose must be absolutely impossible.

The storm too abroad so dreadful! She had not been used

to feel alarm from wind, but now every blast seemed fraught

with awful intelligence. The manuscript so wonderfully found,

so wonderfully accomplishing the morning`s prediction,

how was it to be accounted for? What could it contain? To

whom could it relate? By what means could it have been

so long concealed? And how singularly strange that it

should fall to her lot to discover it! Till she had made

herself mistress of its contents, however, she could

have neither repose nor comfort; and with the sun`s first

rays she was determined to peruse it. But many were the

tedious hours which must yet intervene. She shuddered,

tossed about in her bed, and envied every quiet sleeper.

The storm still raged, and various were the noises,

more terrific even than the wind, which struck at intervals

on her startled ear. The very curtains of her bed seemed

at one moment in motion, and at another the lock of her door

was agitated, as if by the attempt of somebody to enter.

Hollow murmurs seemed to creep along the gallery, and more than

once her blood was chilled by the sound of distant moans.

Hour after hour passed away, and the wearied Catherine

had heard three proclaimed by all the clocks in the house

before the tempest subsided or she unknowingly fell

fast asleep.

CHAPTER 22

The housemaid`s folding back her window-shutters

at eight o`clock the next day was the sound which

first roused Catherine; and she opened her eyes,

wondering that they could ever have been closed,

on objects of cheerfulness; her fire was already burning,

and a bright morning had succeeded the tempest of the night.

Instantaneously, with the consciousness of existence,

returned her recollection of the manuscript; and springing

from the bed in the very moment of the maid`s going away,

she eagerly collected every scattered sheet which had

burst from the roll on its falling to the ground, and flew

back to enjoy the luxury of their perusal on her pillow.

She now plainly saw that she must not expect a manuscript

of equal length with the generality of what she had

shuddered over in books, for the roll, seeming to consist

entirely of small disjointed sheets, was altogether but

of trifling size, and much less than she had supposed

it to be at first.

Her greedy eye glanced rapidly over a page.

She started at its import. Could it be possible, or did

not her senses play her false? An inventory of linen,

in coarse and modern characters, seemed all that was before

her! If the evidence of sight might be trusted, she held

a washing-bill in her hand. She seized another sheet,

and saw the same articles with little variation;

a third, a fourth, and a fifth presented nothing new.

Shirts, stockings, cravats, and waistcoats faced

her in each. Two others, penned by the same hand,

marked an expenditure scarcely more interesting,

in letters, hair-powder, shoe-string, and breeches-ball.

And the larger sheet, which had enclosed the rest,

seemed by its first cramp line, " To poultice chestnut

mare" --a farrier`s bill! Such was the collection of papers

(left perhaps, as she could then suppose, by the negligence

of a servant in the place whence she had taken them)

which had filled her with expectation and alarm, and robbed

her of half her night`s rest! She felt humbled to the dust.

Could not the adventure of the chest have taught her

wisdom? A corner of it, catching her eye as she lay,

seemed to rise up in judgment against her. Nothing could

now be clearer than the absurdity of her recent fancies.

To suppose that a manuscript of many generations back

could have remained undiscovered in a room such as that,

so modern, so habitable! --Or that she should be the first

to possess the skill of unlocking a cabinet, the key

of which was open to all!

How could she have so imposed on herself? Heaven

forbid that Henry Tilney should ever know her folly! And

it was in a great measure his own doing, for had not the

cabinet appeared so exactly to agree with his description

of her adventures, she should never have felt the smallest

curiosity about it. This was the only comfort that occurred.

Impatient to get rid of those hateful evidences of her folly,

those detestable papers then scattered over the bed,

she rose directly, and folding them up as nearly as possible

in the same shape as before, returned them to the same

spot within the cabinet, with a very hearty wish that no

untoward accident might ever bring them forward again,

to disgrace her even with herself.

Why the locks should have been so difficult

to open, however, was still something remarkable,

for she could now manage them with perfect ease. In this

there was surely something mysterious, and she indulged

in the flattering suggestion for half a minute, till the

possibility of the door`s having been at first unlocked,

and of being herself its fastener, darted into her head,

and cost her another blush.

She got away as soon as she could from a room in

which her conduct produced such unpleasant reflections,

and found her way with all speed to the breakfast-parlour,

as it had been pointed out to her by Miss Tilney the

evening before. Henry was alone in it; and his immediate

hope of her having been undisturbed by the tempest,

with an arch reference to the character of the building

they inhabited, was rather distressing. For the world

would she not have her weakness suspected, and yet,

unequal to an absolute falsehood, was constrained to

acknowledge that the wind had kept her awake a little.

" But we have a charming morning after it, " she added,

desiring to get rid of the subject; " and storms

and sleeplessness are nothing when they are over.

What beautiful hyacinths! I have just learnt to love

a hyacinth. "

" And how might you learn? By accident or argument? "

" Your sister taught me; I cannot tell how. Mrs. Allen

used to take pains, year after year, to make me like them;

but I never could, till I saw them the other day in

Milsom Street; I am naturally indifferent about flowers. "

" But now you love a hyacinth. So much the better.

You have gained a new source of enjoyment, and it is

well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible.

Besides, a taste for flowers is always desirable in your sex,

as a means of getting you out of doors, and tempting you

to more frequent exercise than you would otherwise take.

And though the love of a hyacinth may be rather domestic,

who can tell, the sentiment once raised, but you may in time

come to love a rose? "

" But I do not want any such pursuit to get me out

of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh

air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more

than half my time. Mamma says I am never within. "

" At any rate, however, I am pleased that you have

learnt to love a hyacinth. The mere habit of learning

to love is the thing; and a teachableness of disposition

in a young lady is a great blessing. Has my sister

a pleasant mode of instruction? "

Catherine was saved the embarrassment of attempting

an answer by the entrance of the general, whose smiling

compliments announced a happy state of mind, but whose

gentle hint of sympathetic early rising did not advance

her composure.

The elegance of the breakfast set forced itself

on Catherine`s notice when they were seated at table;

and, lucidly, it had been the general`s choice. He was

enchanted by her approbation of his taste, confessed it

to be neat and simple, thought it right to encourage

the manufacture of his country; and for his part, to his

uncritical palate, the tea was as well flavoured from the

clay of Staffordshire, as from that of Dresden or Save.

But this was quite an old set, purchased two years ago.

The manufacture was much improved since that time;

he had seen some beautiful specimens when last in town,

and had he not been perfectly without vanity of

that kind, might have been tempted to order a new set.

He trusted, however, that an opportunity might ere

long occur of selecting one--though not for himself.

Catherine was probably the only one of the party who did

not understand him.

Shortly after breakfast Henry left them for Woodston,

where business required and would keep him two or three days.

They all attended in the hall to see him mount his horse,

and immediately on re-entering the breakfast-room, Catherine

walked to a window in the hope of catching another glimpse

of his figure. " This is a somewhat heavy call upon your

brother`s fortitude, " observed the general to Eleanor.

" Woodston will make but a sombre appearance today. "

" Is it a pretty place? " asked Catherine.

" What say you, Eleanor? Speak your opinion,

for ladies can best tell the taste of ladies in regard

to places as well as men. I think it would be acknowledged

by the most impartial eye to have many recommendations.

The house stands among fine meadows facing the south-east,

with an excellent kitchen-garden in the same aspect;

the walls surrounding which I built and stocked myself

about ten years ago, for the benefit of my son. It is

a family living, Miss Morland; and the property in the

place being chiefly my own, you may believe I take care

that it shall not be a bad one. Did Henry`s income depend

solely on this living, he would not be ill-provided for.

Perhaps it may seem odd, that with only two younger children,

I should think any profession necessary for him;

and certainly there are moments when we could all wish him

disengaged from every tie of business. But though I may

not exactly make converts of you young ladies, I am sure

your father, Miss Morland, would agree with me in thinking

it expedient to give every young man some employment.

The money is nothing, it is not an object, but employment

is the thing. Even Frederick, my eldest son, you see,

who will perhaps inherit as considerable a landed property

as any private man in the county, has his profession. "

The imposing effect of this last argument was

equal to his wishes. The silence of the lady proved

it to be unanswerable.

Something had been said the evening before of her

being shown over the house, and he now offered himself

as her conductor; and though Catherine had hoped to explore

it accompanied only by his daughter, it was a proposal

of too much happiness in itself, under any circumstances,

not to be gladly accepted; for she had been already

eighteen hours in the abbey, and had seen only a few of

its rooms. The netting-box, just leisurely drawn forth,

was closed with joyful haste, and she was ready to

attend him in a moment. " And when they had gone over

the house, he promised himself moreover the pleasure

of accompanying her into the shrubberies and garden. "

She curtsied her acquiescence. " But perhaps it might be

more agreeable to her to make those her first object.

The weather was at present favourable, and at this time

of year the uncertainty was very great of its continuing so.

Which would she prefer? He was equally at her service.

Which did his daughter think would most accord with her

fair friend`s wishes? But he thought he could discern.

Yes, he certainly read in Miss Morland`s eyes a judicious

desire of making use of the present smiling weather.

But when did she judge amiss? The abbey would be always

safe and dry. He yielded implicitly, and would fetch

his hat and attend them in a moment. " He left the room,

and Catherine, with a disappointed, anxious face,

began to speak of her unwillingness that he should be

taking them out of doors against his own inclination,

under a mistaken idea of pleasing her; but she was stopped

by Miss Tilney`s saying, with a little confusion, " I believe

it will be wisest to take the morning while it is so fine;

and do not be uneasy on my father`s account; he always walks

out at this time of day. "

Catherine did not exactly know how this was

to be understood. Why was Miss Tilney embarrassed?

Could there be any unwillingness on the general`s side

to show her over the abbey? The proposal was his own.

And was not it odd that he should always take his walk

so early? Neither her father nor Mr. Allen did so.

It was certainly very provoking. She was all impatience

to see the house, and had scarcely any curiosity about

the grounds. If Henry had been with them indeed! But now

she should not know what was picturesque when she saw it.

Such were her thoughts, but she kept them to herself,

and put on her bonnet in patient discontent.

She was struck, however, beyond her expectation,

by the grandeur of the abbey, as she saw it for the first time

from the lawn. The whole building enclosed a large court;

and two sides of the quadrangle, rich in Gothic ornaments,

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