AS soon as I had perused this
epistle I went to the master,
and informed him that his sister
had arrived at the Heights, and
sent me a letter expressing her
sorrow for Mrs. Linton's situation,
and her ardent desire to see
him; with a wish that he would
transmit to her, as early as
possible, some token of forgiveness
by me.
'Forgiveness!' said Linton.
'I have nothing to forgive her,
Ellen. You may call at Wuthering
Heights this afternoon, if you
like, and say that I am not angry,
but I'm sorry to have lost her;
especially as I can never think
she'll be happy. It is out of
the question my going to see
her, however: we are eternally
divided; and should she really
wish to oblige me, let her persuade
the villain she has married to
leave the country.'
'And you won't write her a
little note, sir?' I asked, imploringly.
'No,' he answered. 'It is needless.
My communication with Heathcliff's
family shall be as sparing as
his with mine. It shall not exist!'
Mr. Edgar's coldness depressed
me exceedingly; and all the way
from the Grange I puzzled my
brains how to put more heart
into what he said, when I repeated
it; and how to soften his refusal
of even a few lines to console
Isabella. I daresay she had been
on the watch for me since morning:
I saw her looking through the
lattice as I came up the garden
causeway, and I nodded to her;
but she drew back, as if afraid
of being observed. I entered
without knocking. There never
was such a dreary, dismal scene
as the formerly cheerful house
presented! I must confess, that
if I had been in the young lady's
place, I would, at least, have
swept the hearth, and wiped the
tables with a duster. But she
already partook of the pervading
spirit of neglect which encompassed
her. Her pretty face was wan
and listless; her hair uncurled:
some locks hanging lankly down,
and some carelessly twisted round
her head. Probably she had not
touched her dress since yester
evening. Hindley was not there.
Mr. Heathcliff sat at a table,
turning over some papers in his
pocket-book; but he rose when
I appeared, asked me how I did,
quite friendly, and offered me
a chair. He was the only thing
there that seemed decent; and
I thought he never looked better.
So much had circumstances altered
their positions, that he would
certainly have struck a stranger
as a born and bred gentleman;
and his wife as a thorough little
slattern! She came forward eagerly
to greet me, and held out one
hand to take the expected letter.
I shook my head. She wouldn't
understand the hint, but followed
me to a sideboard, where I went
to lay my bonnet, and importuned
me in a whisper to give her directly
what I had brought. Heathcliff
guessed the meaning of her manoeuvres,
and said - 'If you have got anything
for Isabella (as no doubt you
have, Nelly), give it to her.
You needn't make a secret of
it: we have no secrets between
us.'
'Oh, I have nothing,' I replied,
thinking it best to speak the
truth at once. 'My master bid
me tell his sister that she must
not expect either a letter or
a visit from him at present.
He sends his love, ma'am, and
his wishes for your happiness,
and his pardon for the grief
you have occasioned; but he thinks
that after this time his household
and the household here should
drop intercommunication, as nothing
could come of keeping it up.'
Mrs. Heathcliff's lip quivered
slightly, and she returned to
her seat in the window. Her husband
took his stand on the hearthstone,
near me, and began to put questions
concerning Catherine. I told
him as much as I thought proper
of her illness, and he extorted
from me, by cross-examination,
most of the facts connected with
its origin. I blamed her, as
she deserved, for bringing it
all on herself; and ended by
hoping that he would follow Mr.
Linton's example and avoid future
interference with his family,
for good or evil.
'Mrs. Linton is now just recovering,'
I said; 'she'll never be like
she was, but her life is spared;
and if you really have a regard
for her, you'll shun crossing
her way again: nay, you'll move
out of this country entirely;
and that you may not regret it,
I'll inform you Catherine Linton
is as different now from your
old friend Catherine Earnshaw,
as that young lady is different
from me. Her appearance is changed
greatly, her character much more
so; and the person who is compelled,
of necessity, to be her companion,
will only sustain his affection
hereafter by the remembrance
of what she once was, by common
humanity, and a sense of duty!'
'That is quite possible,' remarked
Heathcliff, forcing himself to
seem calm: 'quite possible that
your master should have nothing
but common humanity and a sense
of duty to fall back upon. But
do you imagine that I shall leave
Catherine to his DUTY and HUMANITY?
and can you compare my feelings
respecting Catherine to his?
Before you leave this house,
I must exact a promise from you
that you'll get me an interview
with her: consent, or refuse,
I WILL see her! What do you say?'
'I say, Mr. Heathcliff,' I
replied, 'you must not: you never
shall, through my means. Another
encounter between you and the
master would kill her altogether.'
'With your aid that may be
avoided,' he continued; 'and
should there be danger of such
an event - should he be the cause
of adding a single trouble more
to her existence - why, I think
I shall be justified in going
to extremes! I wish you had sincerity
enough to tell me whether Catherine
would suffer greatly from his
loss: the fear that she would
restrains me. And there you see
the distinction between our feelings:
had he been in my place, and
I in his, though I hated him
with a hatred that turned my
life to gall, I never would have
raised a hand against him. You
may look incredulous, if you
please! I never would have banished
him from her society as long
as she desired his. The moment
her regard ceased, I would have
torn his heart out, and drunk
his blood! But, till then - if
you don't believe me, you don't
know me - till then, I would
have died by inches before I
touched a single hair of his
head!'
'And yet,' I interrupted, 'you
have no scruples in completely
ruining all hopes of her perfect
restoration, by thrusting yourself
into her remembrance now, when
she has nearly forgotten you,
and involving her in a new tumult
of discord and distress.'
'You suppose she has nearly
forgotten me?' he said. 'Oh,
Nelly! you know she has not!
You know as well as I do, that
for every thought she spends
on Linton she spends a thousand
on me! At a most miserable period
of my life, I had a notion of
the kind: it haunted me on my
return to the neighbourhood last
summer; but only her own assurance
could make me admit the horrible
idea again. And then, Linton
would be nothing, nor Hindley,
nor all the dreams that ever
I dreamt. Two words would comprehend
my future - DEATH and HELL: existence,
after losing her, would be hell.
Yet I was a fool to fancy for
a moment that she valued Edgar
Linton's attachment more than
mine. If he loved with all the
powers of his puny being, he
couldn't love as much in eighty
years as I could in a day. And
Catherine has a heart as deep
as I have: the sea could be as
readily contained in that horse-trough
as her whole affection be monopolised
by him. Tush! He is scarcely
a degree dearer to her than her
dog, or her horse. It is not
in him to be loved like me: how
can she love in him what he has
not?'
'Catherine and Edgar are as
fond of each other as any two
people can be,' cried Isabella,
with sudden vivacity. 'No one
has a right to talk in that manner,
and I won't hear my brother depreciated
in silence!'
'Your brother is wondrous fond
of you too, isn't he?' observed
Heathcliff, scornfully. 'He turns
you adrift on the world with
surprising alacrity.'
'He is not aware of what I
suffer,' she replied. 'I didn't
tell him that.'
'You have been telling him
something, then: you have written,
have you?'
'To say that I was married,
I did write - you saw the note.'
'And nothing since?'
'No.'
'My young lady is looking sadly
the worse for her change of condition,'
I remarked. 'Somebody's love
comes short in her case, obviously;
whose, I may guess; but, perhaps,
I shouldn't say.'
'I should guess it was her
own,' said Heathcliff. 'She degenerates
into a mere slut! She is tired
of trying to please me uncommonly
early. You'd hardly credit it,
but the very morrow of our wedding
she was weeping to go home. However,
she'll suit this house so much
the better for not being over
nice, and I'll take care she
does not disgrace me by rambling
abroad.'
'Well, sir,' returned I, 'I
hope you'll consider that Mrs.
Heathcliff is accustomed to be
looked after and waited on; and
that she has been brought up
like an only daughter, whom every
one was ready to serve. You must
let her have a maid to keep things
tidy about her, and you must
treat her kindly. Whatever be
your notion of Mr. Edgar, you
cannot doubt that she has a capacity
for strong attachments, or she
wouldn't have abandoned the elegancies,
and comforts, and friends of
her former home, to fix contentedly,
in such a wilderness as this,
with you.'
'She abandoned them under a
delusion,' he answered; 'picturing
in me a hero of romance, and
expecting unlimited indulgences
from my chivalrous devotion.
I can hardly regard her in the
light of a rational creature,
so obstinately has she persisted
in forming a fabulous notion
of my character and acting on
the false impressions she cherished.
But, at last, I think she begins
to know me: I don't perceive
the silly smiles and grimaces
that provoked me at first; and
the senseless incapability of
discerning that I was in earnest
when I gave her my opinion of
her infatuation and herself.
It was a marvellous effort of
perspicacity to discover that
I did not love her. I believed,
at one time, no lessons could
teach her that! And yet it is
poorly learnt; for this morning
she announced, as a piece of
appalling intelligence, that
I had actually succeeded in making
her hate me! A positive labour
of Hercules, I assure you! If
it be achieved, I have cause
to return thanks. Can I trust
your assertion, Isabella? Are
you sure you hate me? If I let
you alone for half a day, won't
you come sighing and wheedling
to me again? I daresay she would
rather I had seemed all tenderness
before you: it wounds her vanity
to have the truth exposed. But
I don't care who knows that the
passion was wholly on one side:
and I never told her a lie about
it. She cannot accuse me of showing
one bit of deceitful softness.
The first thing she saw me do,
on coming out of the Grange,
was to hang up her little dog;
and when she pleaded for it,
the first words I uttered were
a wish that I had the hanging
of every being belonging to her,
except one: possibly she took
that exception for herself. But
no brutality disgusted her: I
suppose she has an innate admiration
of it, if only her precious person
were secure from injury! Now,
was it not the depth of absurdity
- of genuine idiotcy, for that
pitiful, slavish, mean-minded
brach to dream that I could love
her? Tell your master, Nelly,
that I never, in all my life,
met with such an abject thing
as she is. She even disgraces
the name of Linton; and I've
sometimes relented, from pure
lack of invention, in my experiments
on what she could endure, and
still creep shamefully cringing
back! But tell him, also, to
set his fraternal and magisterial
heart at ease: that I keep strictly
within the limits of the law.
I have avoided, up to this period,
giving her the slightest right
to claim a separation; and, what's
more, she'd thank nobody for
dividing us. If she desired to
go, she might: the nuisance of
her presence outweighs the gratification
to be derived from tormenting
her!'
'Mr. Heathcliff,' said I, 'this
is the talk of a madman; your
wife, most likely, is convinced
you are mad; and, for that reason,
she has borne with you hitherto:
but now that you say she may
go, she'll doubtless avail herself
of the permission. You are not
so bewitched, ma'am, are you,
as to remain with him of your
own accord?'
'Take care, Ellen!' answered
Isabella, her eyes sparkling
irefully; there was no misdoubting
by their expression the full
success of her partner's endeavours
to make himself detested. 'Don't
put faith in a single word he
speaks. He's a lying fiend! a
monster, and not a human being!
I've been told I might leave
him before; and I've made the
attempt, but I dare not repeat
it! Only, Ellen, promise you'll
not mention a syllable of his
infamous conversation to my brother
or Catherine. Whatever he may
pretend, he wishes to provoke
Edgar to desperation: he says
he has married me on purpose
to obtain power over him; and
he sha'n't obtain it - I'll die
first! I just hope, I pray, that
he may forget his diabolical
prudence and kill me! The single
pleasure I can imagine is to
die, or to see him dead!'
'There - that will do for the
present!' said Heathcliff. 'If
you are called upon in a court
of law, you'll remember her language,
Nelly! And take a good look at
that countenance: she's near
the point which would suit me.
No; you're not fit to be your
own guardian, Isabella, now;
and I, being your legal protector,
must retain you in my custody,
however distasteful the obligation
may be. Go up-stairs; I have
something to say to Ellen Dean
in private. That's not the way:
up-stairs, I tell you! Why, this
is the road upstairs, child!'
He seized, and thrust her from
the room; and returned muttering
- 'I have no pity! I have no
pity! The more the worms writhe,
the more I yearn to crush out
their entrails! It is a moral
teething; and I grind with greater
energy in proportion to the increase
of pain.'
'Do you understand what the
word pity means?' I said, hastening
to resume my bonnet. 'Did you
ever feel a touch of it in your
life?'
'Put that down!' he interrupted,
perceiving my intention to depart.
'You are not going yet. Come
here now, Nelly: I must either
persuade or compel you to aid
me in fulfilling my determination
to see Catherine, and that without
delay. I swear that I meditate
no harm: I don't desire to cause
any disturbance, or to exasperate
or insult Mr. Linton; I only
wish to hear from herself how
she is, and why she has been
ill; and to ask if anything that
I could do would be of use to
her. Last night I was in the
Grange garden six hours, and
I'll return there to-night; and
every night I'll haunt the place,
and every day, till I find an
opportunity of entering. If Edgar
Linton meets me, I shall not
hesitate to knock him down, and
give him enough to insure his
quiescence while I stay. If his
servants oppose me, I shall threaten
them off with these pistols.
But wouldn't it be better to
prevent my coming in contact
with them, or their master? And
you could do it so easily. I'd
warn you when I came, and then
you might let me in unobserved,
as soon as she was alone, and
watch till I departed, your conscience
quite calm: you would be hindering
mischief.'
I protested against playing
that treacherous part in my employer's
house: and, besides, I urged
the cruelty and selfishness of
his destroying Mrs. Linton's
tranquillity for his satisfaction.
'The commonest occurrence startles
her painfully,' I said. 'She's
all nerves, and she couldn't
bear the surprise, I'm positive.
Don't persist, sir! or else I
shall be obliged to inform my
master of your designs; and he'll
take measures to secure his house
and its inmates from any such
unwarrantable intrusions!'
'In that case I'll take measures
to secure you, woman!' exclaimed
Heathcliff; 'you shall not leave
Wuthering Heights till to-morrow
morning. It is a foolish story
to assert that Catherine could
not bear to see me; and as to
surprising her, I don't desire
it: you must prepare her - ask
her if I may come. You say she
never mentions my name, and that
I am never mentioned to her.
To whom should she mention me
if I am a forbidden topic in
the house? She thinks you are
all spies for her husband. Oh,
I've no doubt she's in hell among
you! I guess by her silence,
as much as anything, what she
feels. You say she is often restless,
and anxious- looking: is that
a proof of tranquillity? You
talk of her mind being unsettled.
How the devil could it be otherwise
in her frightful isolation? And
that insipid, paltry creature
attending her from DUTY and HUMANITY!
From PITY and CHARITY! He might
as well plant an oak in a flower-pot,
and expect it to thrive, as imagine
he can restore her to vigour
in the soil of his shallow cares?
Let us settle it at once: will
you stay here, and am I to fight
my way to Catherine over Linton
and his footman? Or will you
be my friend, as you have been
hitherto, and do what I request?
Decide! because there is no reason
for my lingering another minute,
if you persist in your stubborn
ill-nature!'
Well, Mr. Lockwood, I argued
and complained, and flatly refused
him fifty times; but in the long
run he forced me to an agreement.
I engaged to carry a letter from
him to my mistress; and should
she consent, I promised to let
him have intelligence of Linton's
next absence from home, when
he might come, and get in as
he was able: I wouldn't be there,
and my fellow-servants should
be equally out of the way. Was
it right or wrong? I fear it
was wrong, though expedient.
I thought I prevented another
explosion by my compliance; and
I thought, too, it might create
a favourable crisis in Catherine's
mental illness: and then I remembered
Mr. Edgar's stern rebuke of my
carrying tales; and I tried to
smooth away all disquietude on
the subject, by affirming, with
frequent iteration, that that
betrayal of trust, if it merited
so harsh an appellation, should
be the last. Notwithstanding,
my journey homeward was sadder
than my journey thither; and
many misgivings I had, ere I
could prevail on myself to put
the missive into Mrs. Linton's
hand.
But here is Kenneth; I'll go
down, and tell him how much better
you are. My history is DREE,
as we say, and will serve to
while away another morning.
Dree, and dreary! I reflected
as the good woman descended to
receive the doctor: and not exactly
of the kind which I should have
chosen to amuse me. But never
mind! I'll extract wholesome
medicines from Mrs. Dean's bitter
herbs; and firstly, let me beware
of the fascination that lurks
in Catherine Heathcliff's brilliant
eyes. I should be in a curious
taking if I surrendered my heart
to that young person, and the
daughter turned out a second
edition of the mother.
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