The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 6, June, 1862: Devoted To Literature and National PolicyVarious
History
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 6, June, 1862: Devoted To Literature and National Policy
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Periodicals
'Overcome by the violence of his emotions, he buried his face in his
hands, and gave way to an outburst of Intense grief. Yielding, finally,
to my reiterated entreaties, he threw himself upon his bed, and, as I
had some private business to settle, I left him to the care of our
officious hostess, who was only too happy to find one on whom she could
display her self-acquired knowledge of the healing art.
'The next day, Arthur, though still feeble, was able to walk about his
apartments. Toward dusk, a letter arrived from Adéle. She announced her
safe arrival at Toluca, spoke in terms of praise of Pepito's devotion
and attention, and expressed herself agreeably surprised at the
hospitality she had received from his sister. The receipt of this letter
produced a marked improvement in my patient's health. In a postscript,
reference was made to an accident which had happened to poor Pepito, who
was prevented from being the bearer of this letter, by having sprained
his ankle. This would retard his return to the city for a day or two;
nevertheless, she begged her 'dear Arthur' not to be uneasy, as even
this delay, annoying as it was, might prove of advantage, as it would
give him time to recover from the effects of the excitement of the past
few days.
'After Adéle's departure, I again fastened up the door of communication,
and although I saw him at least once every day, to some extent I carried
out my determination of ceasing to be on such intimate terms with Mr.
Livermore. I fell back into my former course of life, and yet I felt a
certain envy of the colossal fortune upon which he had, as it were,
stumbled. Though I sincerely wished my poor sick neighbor might succeed
in his enterprise, I gradually grew restless and morose. The opal-mine
became a painful and distasteful topic of conversation, and as Arthur
invariably adverted to it in some way or other, I by degrees made my
visits of shorter and shorter duration.
'In vain I strove to divert my mind from this one absorbing idea. I
visited the theatres, attended cock-pits and bull-fights, in the hope
that the excitement would afford me relief from the fascinating spell:
but it was useless, I was a haunted man.
'One night, returning from the opera, at about ten o'clock, I was
stopped by a large crowd at the corner of the Calle Plateros. From an
officer near me, I ascertained that a foreigner, believed to be a
heretic, had been stabbed, and was either dead or dying.
'The next morning, in the _Diario de Gobierno_, which Donna Teresa
brought up with my chocolate, I learned that 'at about ten on the
previous night, an American, named Percival, recently arrived from
New-Orleans, was murdered in the Calle Plateros.' His watch and purse
were missing; it was therefore inferred that robbery and not revenge had
prompted the foul deed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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