 | Denzil place |  |
Next day an agèd dame, the housekeeper,
(Once Geoffrey's nurse,) knock'd gently at the door,
Said some half-dozen kind maternal words
About her health, then took the blotting-book
And lock'd it up, and Constance felt as tho'
A friend was gone. “Was Mr. Denzil well
“Before he left?” she ask'd the kindly dame,
“Yes, he seem'd well, but moody—he was odd—
“The Denzils all were odd in all their ways—
“Incomprehensible;—his father odd,
“Incomprehensible,”—(and here the dame
Mutter'd a homely Athanasian Creed
About the family she serv'd so long)—
“Before he left,” she said, “he wrote in here
“Near half the night; he made a kind of Will—
“(They are so strange!) and then he sent for me
“And told me what to do when he was dead—
“He gave me then two letters,—one for Prince
“(The country lawyer here) and one for you—
“He said, my lady, if I died before
“(As well I hope I may!) your letter then
“Was to be sent to Prince, and so to you,
“I think 'tis something touching the entail
“Of this estate; Sir John, you know, is heir
“To all that part his kinswoman brought in
“As dowry; but Sir John is likely soon
“To go, my dear, the way of younger men,—
“(Don't look down-hearted,) Mr. Roland then,
“If master does not marry, has it next,
“And this is something telling you of that—
“Maybe you'll never know if master lives,
“As aye I pray he may.” “I pray he may,”
Poor Constance echo'd.
(Once Geoffrey's nurse,) knock'd gently at the door,
89
About her health, then took the blotting-book
And lock'd it up, and Constance felt as tho'
A friend was gone. “Was Mr. Denzil well
“Before he left?” she ask'd the kindly dame,
“Yes, he seem'd well, but moody—he was odd—
“The Denzils all were odd in all their ways—
“Incomprehensible;—his father odd,
“Incomprehensible,”—(and here the dame
Mutter'd a homely Athanasian Creed
About the family she serv'd so long)—
“Before he left,” she said, “he wrote in here
“Near half the night; he made a kind of Will—
“(They are so strange!) and then he sent for me
“And told me what to do when he was dead—
“He gave me then two letters,—one for Prince
“(The country lawyer here) and one for you—
“He said, my lady, if I died before
“(As well I hope I may!) your letter then
“Was to be sent to Prince, and so to you,
“I think 'tis something touching the entail
“Of this estate; Sir John, you know, is heir
“To all that part his kinswoman brought in
“As dowry; but Sir John is likely soon
90
“(Don't look down-hearted,) Mr. Roland then,
“If master does not marry, has it next,
“And this is something telling you of that—
“Maybe you'll never know if master lives,
“As aye I pray he may.” “I pray he may,”
Poor Constance echo'd.
So, he thought of her
On that last ev'ning he had passed at home
Before his voluntary exile thence!—
This sacred chamber, where she sat and wept,
Knew all the secrets of that absent heart!
Here had he written to her—here, maybe,
Where she was standing now, a week ago
(One little week!) he stood, and had his thoughts
Wander'd to her above the fir-tree tops
Over the silent rooks? When all men slept
He was awake, and writing in this room,
And she, one little easy mile away,
Was waking too, at Farleigh Court alone,
Nursing the fatal secret of her love!
On that last ev'ning he had passed at home
Before his voluntary exile thence!—
This sacred chamber, where she sat and wept,
Knew all the secrets of that absent heart!
Here had he written to her—here, maybe,
Where she was standing now, a week ago
(One little week!) he stood, and had his thoughts
Wander'd to her above the fir-tree tops
Over the silent rooks? When all men slept
He was awake, and writing in this room,
And she, one little easy mile away,
Was waking too, at Farleigh Court alone,
Nursing the fatal secret of her love!
| Denzil place | |