of forgiveness, and endeavour to reclaim the penitent. If Mr.
Stanfield had lived in these days, and been sufficiently before the
world, he would probably have had "ten thousand college councils" to
"thunder anathema" at him for daring to promulgate the doctrine that
"God is love;" but in the little retired parish where he lived, he
taught it because he believed it; and he felt that he had rather
fallen away from his standard in endeavouring to coerce his daughter
into giving up Charles Mitford.
So one morning, when Georgie came down to breakfast looking flushed
and worried, and very little refreshed by her night's sleep, instead
of calmly receiving the frontal kiss, as had been his wont during the
preceding fortnight, the old man's arms were wound round her, his lips
were pressed to hers, while he murmured, "Oh, Georgie! ah, my darling!
ah, my child!" and there was a display of _grandes eaux_ on both
sides, and the reconciliation was complete. At a later period of that
day Mr. Stanfield entered fully upon the subject of Charles Mitford,
told Georgie that if the scapegrace could be found, he should be
willingly received at the parsonage; and then the old gentleman
concocted a mysterious advertisement, to the effect that if C. M.,
formerly of Fishbourne, Devon, would call on Mr. Stevens of Furnival's
Inn, Holborn, London, he would hear something to his advantage, and be
received with hearty welcome by friends who had forgiven, but not
forgotten, him.
This advertisement, duly inserted through the medium of Mr. Stevens,
the lawyer therein named, in the mystic second column of the _Times_
Supplement, appeared regularly every other day during the space of a
month; and good old Mr. Stanfield wrote twice a week to Mr. Stevens.
inquiring whether "nothing had come of it;" and Mr. Stevens duly
replied (at three shillings and sixpence a letter) that nothing had.
It must have been two months after the concoction of the
advertisement, and one after its last appearance in the columns of
the _Times_, that there came a letter for Georgie, written in the
well-known hand, and signed with the well-known initials. It was very
short, merely saying that for the second time the writer felt it due
to her to leave her unfettered by any past engagement existing between
them; that he knew how he had disgraced and placed himself beyond the
pale of society; but that he would always cherish her memory, and
think of her as some pure and bright star which he might look up to,
but to the possession of which he could never aspire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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