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Leader (1850-1860), 23rd September 1854, Edition Country of 2, Page 20, Wia2E>£s£K2!!3SJi» < 8? 532a II. W& "^^"...

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      908 The Leader, [Saturday,

      908 THE LEADER , [ Saturday ,

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      We Should Do Our Utmost To Encourage The...

      We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encouragee itself . —Goethe .

      Wia2e>£S£K2!!3sji» < 8? 532a Ii. W& "^^"...

      Wia 2 E > £ s £ K 2 !! 3 SJi » 8 ? 532 a II . W & " ^^ " sorrv » indeed , " said John Smith , " that I can only tell the SMS * ory ° ^ *^ quiet ring in a -very condensed form . I came by it pBS strangely . I took it without leave ; it was given to me by a person | Jt | I never saw ; I have the best right to it of anybody ; and the only ^ challenge to my right that I have to fear would come from a Genoese priest . " And with this he was silent . The rest remained silent too , Mr . Jarrett continuing to survey the narrator with his unbroken air of hospitable satisfaction , the fair Amy and her companions perplexed , while Dutton ' s pale face was spiteful with mortification .

      " Oh ! Mr . Smith , " cried the hostess , " you do not mean that that is your 6 tory . Then you are a very unfair man . " " I am grieved to incur the displeasure of so fair a lady , but indeed the rest must not be told , at least for the present . I may require some advice touching nvf share in acquiring this small piece of property , and if I might venture to intrude personal affairs upon Mr . Jarrett , I know no man so capable of giving sound and kind counsel . " Jarrett bowed magnificently , and at once aided his guest by changing the conversation . > T > utton acknowledged that Smith was more of a man than he had taken him for . He believed indeed with Jarrett what Jarrett believed no longer—> but Dutton was apt to arrive at an opinion after bolder and more vigorous men had left it—that this development of Smith ' s character was recent . And instead of increasing his respect , it only exasperated his spite , and justified

      it ; for he took his own undiseovery of Smith's capacity for an act of treachery on the part of the clerk , who , like Junius Brutus , must have concealed his talents . Perseverance , therefore , was incited ; and Dutton recommenced his quest at once . He looked out for instruments , and saw one ready made in the confiding ^ but diffident Amy , trusting and jealous ; he paid her " attentions , " which she received with the grateful air of a neglected woman ; and Smith , who liked to see the gentle Amy appreciated , felt an unwonted benevolence towards the disagreeable Dutton . It turned out a delightful party for all engaged . Jarrett had enjoyed his own hospitality , and had forwarded his never-forgotten business by making bis partner know his place and encouraging his man . The gentle Amy carried home a new sorrow to spice the monotony of her quietude ; one of those sorrows which she kept in her reticule , for evenings , with her knitting-needles and her handkerchief . Dutton alone had made the least of his evening ; yet he had got a new impulse .

      JChe latent power that he had discovered in Smith confirmed his suspicion of treachery ; and his own supplanting now stared him in the face , unless he exerted himself to counteract it ; for lie could not conceive the existence of power , unless exercised for selfish objects . He resolved , therefore , to meet enmity with enmity , treachery with treachery : he made Smith ' s acquaintance personally . This enabled him better to watch his enemy , and accounted for his being occasionally found near Roncesvalles Cottages . He continued his attentions to Amy , and with wonderful celerity won her confidence ; for the woman who is not strong enough to keep up with her companion often falls into the demoralised condition of the straggler behind an army , and is content with any stray companion , especially a compassionate one . Nor do women take the time that most men allot to the task of gaining their confidence , for the motives of women are fewer than those

      of men ; and hence the latter over-calculate the outworks of the fortress . Amy , too , was suddenly exalted to a distinguished position . She had two admirers—was contended for : how quick the slowest woman is to discover that I One of her admirers was a person of distinction—one of the Buttons : how quick the tradesman was to disclose thatl He poised her admiration , for the fact helped to nail that coveted disgrace upon his spurious shield . How will some of us create a real part of our lives , a real portion of our objects and sensations , on some purely imaginary ground . For the first time in hia life Dutton waa " in love : " , a shadow of the passion penetrated his soul , as a ray of sun enters the lowest and darkest cellar . But no woman had ever before shown a real regard for him—certainly no woman -with Amy ' s pretensions to accomplishments and grace—though it waa Brixton grace . So what with bar sinister , tearsand secrosyso much as

      , , there was of heart in Dutton was called forth : and the man gained a new sincerity in his desi gns on Smith—a new , a " higher motive , " to crush and supplant a dreaded rival in business , Of course the astute Co . waa not to bo put off by the pretended story of the ring . His duty to Amy now called upon him " to unmask the villain . " Amy indeed , with the fidelity to bo expected from her purity , persisted in disbelieving any thing ill of John ; and Dutton , who would never have dai ' to tempt any woman ' s virtue , loft her in the admired possession of her truth " until he could fairly claim her . " r Jho happy pair really persuaded themselves by this time that they were wronged , wero self-donying , spotlessand Dutton really intended to marry her , at any rate . To sav nothing ol

      his lovo , he had observed tlmt mho was prudent and saving . So it was his settled enterprise to discovor a villany in Smith . To that old quest , newly sanctioned , he lent his best energies , though ho sacrificed to it an evening with hia Amy , or ciuno to business with a head-ache . Thero -was only one difficulty about it : he could not -walk nearly so fust as Smith . Ho had , indeed , no previous idea tlmt any private and respectable person could , habitually , execute the feats with which Smith daily battled him . He followed Smith to Clapham , the rise , ' notwithstanding , but could not reach Tooting ; ho waited at Clapham , and followed to Tooting—but Morton was too far ; ho stopped at Merton , but then the long Btretch to Ewell afforded neither shelter nor resting-place ; yot Smith dashed

      down the hill as if he had just left home . Many evenings were spent thus before the quick wit of genius suggested the going to Epson by rail , and waiting at the London road end of the sporting town . Alas ! Smith came not . He must stop , then , at Ewell ; and Dutton posted himself at Ewell ; but no Smith arrived . Dutton got a map of London and its envir & ns , but could not from that learn which road Smith branched off at . What , then , to do next . To walk further on towards London ? No , he must be recognised , thus exposed on a clear road ; besides , there were rough characters occasionally , and Dutton relished not a solitary road at night : a new reason why he hated Smith . Weeks rolled on—months .

      Further reason why Smith ' s hateful character came out in stronger relief : the fatigue wearied and jaded Duttorij although gentlemen stand fatigue better than plebeians ; but Smith grew manifestly stouter , readier in limb , hale in colour , quick in word and wit . Jarrett trusted him more and more . He ascribed Dutton's manifest watchfulness to jealousy ; and , as it amused him , fed it . Smith himself began to see a partnership in prospect , and Amy sighed to think that his heart was " hardening with success , as most men ' s do ; " but then Dutton was " a gentleman by birth , and , whatever people may say , that does make a difference . ' Weeks passed , and winter came ; but still , three times a week , if not four

      bmith trod the road , varying it occasionally with the railway . At last , although it was so hazardous and so expensive , Dutton indulged a longdesired coup , and took a Hansom cab to " follow that gentleman . " The result was , that half way between Merton and Ewell , the Hansom man declared himself damned if he could follow a J ack-o' -lantern . Nay , " as Dutton entertained a different view of the case , the man grew insolent ; it was dark , stormy , and solitary ; and the sparing Co . actually paid , not only the sovereign included in the guinea of which he denied half , but another sovereign in lieu of ¦ the shilling . He remembered this just as the cabman drove off and left him to find his way back to Merton , misanthropical , alarmed , and deeply detesting the lawless Smith .

      Winter passed , spring came ; loud sang Cuckoo ; and Dutton resumed ¦ those arduous journeys which Smith had never suspended . " How good of you 1 " sighed Amy , for they now reciprocated unreserved confidence . The circle of country whose circumference Dutton centripetally described , and with ^ whose centre Smith was familiar , was gradually contracting as the evenings lengthened , and the air grew less severe . This incident suggested to . Dutton the question whether he should not engage a companion to aid and guard him in his search ; but he would trust Jio man . At last he found the place where Smith left the main road , and by day he reconnoitred the country , which then looked cheerful enough , and presented , just in that part , few buildings that could distract his attention . He felt that he was drawing near to the end of his labour , which had indeed already acquired unexpected charms . So true it is that any active

      pursuit , especially if it involve danger , or supposed danger , strengthens the mind and gives new zest to existence . Already D uttoh , junior , in the eminent firm of Parkes , Jarrett and Co ., was in love , was beloved , and was adventurously braving the perils of a knightly quest in the dark to track a " villain . " He felt bold , imposing , worth something . His boldness ^ indeed sank into his boots one evening when , in the very solitude and silence of a windy night , a human being seemed suddenly to emerge from the silence and pass him ; but the passenger seemed neither to see nor hear him in the dusk and wind . Dutton was more keenly on the watch , and he recognised Smith . He had then tracked himjclose near to one of thxee cottages which stood near the fork of the lane , and presently he ascertained that one of them was not the cottage , for as he approached it he lost sight of the marked man . Next time he

      was still more startled by another man , whoso movements caused him some anxiety . It waa not very near the two cottages , not even far down the lane , and the stranger seemed to be awaiting some one . He was a slender , active man j might be in the army ; careless in manner , and in the dusk looked as if his handsome face was rendered sterner by board on the upper lip . Ho might be an Officer , or a member of the swell mob who had tracked the junior partner in Parkes , Jarrett , and Co . ? Or a spy set by Smith ? Dutton astutely passed by the lane without turning down it ; and afterwards returned straight back to Ewell , and so to town by rail , Next time the lane was a desert ; the night was calm and dark ; the moon , about to rise , sent out a vague light over the cloudless sky which guided the pursuer to the open space between the dark foliage already looking solid in the slender light . He went quietly and cautioualy . Ho neared the Uvo

      cottages . All was silent . He went boyond . He peered into every corner . The seeing nought did not baffle or weary him , ho should see something sooner or later . And he did * At a atile , which he had more than once gazed unon before vainly , the sight of two figures , more motionless than the shrubs ol the hedge , dawned upon his eyes , Ho kept in the shade and , cat-like , approached , only anxious that they should not hear his heart . Yes , at last ho liad his reward " . Seated on the stile was a woman ; the man standing by her waa Smith : so much Dutton soon made out . It was a youngwoman—a lady—more or less graceful ; that was the next series of facts descried by the lurking spy . Smith ' s arm must bo round her waist , his other hand held hers . It looked as if—yes , it was!—her other hand as on his shoulder ; her arm must bo round liis neck . They talked , and earnestly , but in whispers which only they could hear . Suspicious fact I Dutton remembered that Lord tiroughtunin a case of c . im . con . had pronounced

      , , silence , or whispering , to bo n very suspicious fact . There was no one , they must think , to hoar them , jind yet they whispered . Why do u people '' always whisper , oven when perfectly alone ? Is it because having dread e d eavesdroppers they contract the habit of concealment , and cannot break it . l < ooll ho did not know that whoro eavesdroppers cannot bo—whoro the boating lioart rings upon tho oar that listens at its walls—the voice is still in whispers ; partly perhaps from tho sense of rovoronco which sustains love —• partly from a willing surrender to power—partly not to break tho harmony of tho converse where tho voice is only one among other channels of interchanged thought , so that tho tongue shall not speak louder than tho pulse , or usurp the converse of tho eyes . But Dutton , thus profanely watching , was perplexed . Astounding as the

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 23, 1854, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23091854/page/20/