Lady's maids -- Fiction; Love stories; Wessex (England) -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
He next discovered that a pocket or portfolio was formed on the
underside of the cover. This he unfastened, and slipping his hand
within, found that it really contained some substance. First he pulled
out about a dozen tangled silk and cotton threads. Under them were
a short household account, a dry moss-rosebud, and an old pair of
carte-de-visite photographs. One of these was a likeness of Mrs.
Manston--‘Eunice’ being written under it in ink--the other of Manston
himself.
He sat down dispirited. This was all the fruit of his task--not a single
letter, date, or address of any kind to help him--and was it likely
there would be?
However, thinking he would send the fragments, such as they were, to
Graye, in order to satisfy him that he had done his best so far,
he scribbled a line, and put all except the silk and cotton into an
envelope. Looking at his watch, he found it was then twenty minutes to
seven; by affixing an extra stamp he would be enabled to despatch them
by that evening’s post. He hastily directed the packet, and ran with it
at once to the post-office at Charing Cross.
On his return he took up the workbox again to examine it more leisurely.
He then found there was also a small cavity in the tray under the
pincushion, which was movable by a bit of ribbon. Lifting this he
uncovered a flattened sprig of myrtle, and a small scrap of crumpled
paper. The paper contained a verse or two in a man’s handwriting. He
recognized it as Manston’s, having seen notes and bills from him at his
father’s house. The stanza was of a complimentary character, descriptive
of the lady who was now Manston’s wife.
‘EUNICE.
‘Whoso for hours or lengthy days
Shall catch her aspect’s changeful rays,
Then turn away, can none recall
Beyond a galaxy of all
In hazy portraiture;
Lit by the light of azure eyes
Like summer days by summer skies:
Her sweet transitions seem to be
A kind of pictured melody,
And not a set contour.
‘AE. M.’
To shake, pull, and ransack the box till he had almost destroyed it was
now his natural action. But it contained absolutely nothing more.
‘Disappointed again,’ he said, flinging down the box, the bit of paper,
and the withered twig that had lain with it.
Yet valueless as the new acquisition was, on second thoughts he
considered that it would be worth while to make good the statement in
his late note to Graye--that he had sent everything the box contained
except the sewing-thread. Thereupon he enclosed the verse and
myrtle-twig in another envelope, with a remark that he had overlooked
them in his first search, and put it on the table for the next day’s
post.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account