Mohun; Or, the Last Days of Lee and His Paladins.

by John Esten Cooke

  "All my forebodings and strange shrinkings were completely dissipatedat this instant. I was overwhelmed with happiness, and would not haveenvied a king upon his throne. With the hand of the lovely creature inmy own, and her eyes fixed upon me with an expression of the deepestlove, I experienced but one emotion--that of full, complete, unalloyedhappiness.

  "Let me hasten on. The storm is coming, my dear Surry. I linger on thethreshold of the tragedy, and recoil even now, with a sort of shudderfrom the terrible scenes which succeeded my marriage. _Tragedy_ is amild word, as you will perceive, for the drama. It was going to surpassAeschylus--and preserve the Greek 'unities' with frightful precision!

  "Half an hour after the ceremony, I led madam to my chariot; followedher into the vehicle, and making a last sign of greeting to the goodparson, directed the driver to proceed to Fonthill. Madam's excellentbrother did not accompany us. He declared his intention to remain onthat night at the parsonage. He would call at Fonthill on the nextday--on the day after, he proposed to continue his way to Georgia. Hiseyes were not a pleasant spectacle as he uttered these words, and Iobserved a singular pallor came to madam's countenance. But I was in nomood to nourish suspicion. At the height of happiness, I looked serenelydown upon all the world, and with the hand of _my wife_ in my own, wasdriven rapidly to Fonthill.

  "We arrived in the afternoon, and dined in state, all alone. Madam didthe honors of _her table_ with exquisite grace, but more than once I sawher hand shake in a very singular way, as she carried food or a glass toher lips.

  "After dinner she bade me a smiling courtesy, leaving me to find companyin my cigar, she said; and tripped off to her chamber.

  "Well, I lit my cigar, retired to the library, and seating myself in anarm-chair before the fire, began to reflect. It was nearly the middleof December, and through the opening in the curtains I could see themoonlight on the chill expanse of the lawn.

  "I had just taken my seat, when I heard a step in the passage, the doorof the library opened, and Nighthawk, as pale as a ghost, and with astrange expression in his eyes, entered the apartment."

  XIX.

  WEDDING ARRANGEMENTS.

  "I had recognized his step," continued Mohun, "but I did not move orturn my head, for I had not recovered from my feeling of ill humortoward the faithful retainer. I allowed him to approach me, and thensaid coldly, without looking at him--

  "'Who is that?'

  "'I, sir,' said Nighthawk, in a trembling voice.

  "'What do you want?'

  "'I wish to speak to you, sir.'

  "'I am not at leisure.'

  "'I _must_ speak to you, sir.'

  "I wheeled round in my chair, and looked at him. His pallor wasfrightful.

  "'What does all this mean?' I said, coldly, 'this is a singularintrusion.'

  "'I would not intrude upon you, if it was not necessary sir,' he said,in an agitated voice, 'but I must speak to you to-night!'

  "There was something in his accent which frightened me, I knew not why.

  "'Well speak!' I said, austerely, 'but be brief!'

  "'As brief as I can, sir; but I must tell you all. If you strike me deadat your feet, I must tell you all, sir!'

  "In spite of myself I shuddered.

  "'Speak!' I said, 'what does this mean, Nighthawk?' Why do you look likea ghost at me?'

  "He came up close to me.

  "'What I have to tell you concerns your honor and your life, sir!' hesaid, in a low tone.

  "I gazed at him in speechless astonishment. Was I the prey of somenightmare? I protest to you, Surry, I thought for a moment that I wasdreaming all this. A tremor ran through my frame; I placed my hand uponmy heart, which felt icy cold--then suddenly my self-possession andcoolness seemed to return to me as by magic.

  "'Explain your words,' I said, coldly, 'there is some mystery in themwhich I do not understand. Speak, and speak plainly.'

  "'I will do so, sir,' he replied, in the same trembling voice.

  "And going to the door of the apartment, he bent down and placed hisear at the key-hole. He remained in this attitude for a moment withoutmoving. Then rising, he went to the window, and drawing aside thecurtains, looked out on the chill moonlit expanse. This secondexamination seemed to satisfy him. At the same instant a light step--thestep of madam--was heard crossing the floor of the apartment, above ourheads; and this evidently banished Nighthawk's last fears.

  "He returned quickly to the seat where I was sitting; looked at me forsome minutes with eyes full of fear, affection, sympathy, fright, andsaid in a voice so low, that it scarce rose above a whisper:--

  "'We are alone, sir, and I can speak without being overheard by thesedevils who have betrayed and are about to murder you! Do not interruptme sir!--the time is short!--you must know every thing at once, in anhour it would be too late! The man calling himself Mortimer is probablywithin a hundred yards of us at this moment. The woman you have marriedis----his wife. Stop, sir!--do not strike me!--listen! I know the truthof every thing now. She talked with him for an hour under the big cedar,near the parsonage last night. He will see her again to-night, and inthis house--hear me to the end, sir! You will not harm him; you willcare nothing for all this; you will not know it, for you will be dead,sir!'

  "At these words I must have turned deadly pale, for Nighthawk hastenedto my side, and placed his arm around me to support me. But I did notneed his assistance. In an instant I was as calm as I am at this moment.I quietly removed the arm of Nighthawk, and said in a low tone:--

  "'How do you know this?'

  "'I overheard their talk,' he replied, in a husky voice, and looked atme with infinite tenderness as he spoke. 'I was coming to see you at theparsonage, where I thought you had gone, sir. I could not bear tokeep away from my old master's son any longer; and let him get marriedwithout making up, and having him feel kindly again to me. Well, sir,I had just reached the big cedar, when I saw _the lady_ come out of thehouse, hasten toward the cedar, and hide herself in the shadow, withina few feet of me. No sooner had she done so, than I saw a man come fromthe rear of the house, straight to the cedar, and as he drew nearer Irecognized Mortimer. Madam coughed slightly, as though to give him thesignal; he soon reached her; and then they began to talk. I was hiddenby the trunk of the tree, and the shadow of the heavy boughs, reachingnearly to the ground; so I heard every word they said, without beingdiscovered.'

  "'What was it they said?'

  "'I can not repeat their words, sir, but I can tell you what I learnedfrom their talk.'

  "'Tell me,' I said.

  "'First, I discovered that madam had been married to that man more thana year before you saw her.'

  "'Yes.'

  "'Before which she had been tried, convicted, and confined for sixmonths in a prison in New York, as a thief. You turn pale, sir; shall Istop?'

  "'No, go on,' I said.

  "'These facts,' continued Nighthawk, 'came out in a sort of quarrelwhich madam had with the man. He reproached her with intending to deserthim--with loving you--and said he had not rescued her from misery tobe thus treated. She laughed, and replied that she was only followinga suggestion of his own. They were poor, they must live; he had himselfsaid that they must procure money either honestly or dishonestly; and hehad fully approved of the plan she had now undertaken. _You_, sir--sheadded--were an "empty-headed fool,"--the idea of her "loving" youwas absurd!--but you were wealthy; immensely wealthy; had made a willleaving her your entire property;--_if you died suddenly on your weddingnight_, she and himself would possess Fonthill, and live in affluence.'

  "'Go on,' I said.

  "'At these words,' continued Nighthawk, 'I could see the man turn pale.He had not intended _that_, he said. His scheme had been, that madamshould induce you to bestow upon her a splendid trousseau in the shapeof jewels and money, with which they would elope. The marriage was onlya farce, he added--he did not wish to turn it into a tragedy. But sheinterrupted him impatiently, and said she hated and would have no mercyon you. She would have a
ll or nothing. Your will made her the mistress.What was a crime, more or less, to people like themselves! At thesewords he uttered a growl. In a word, she added, you were _an obstacle_,and she was going to _suppress you_--with or without his consent. Shethen proceeded to tell him her resolution; and it is a frightful, ahorrible one, sir! All is arranged--you are about to be _murdered_!'

  "'How, and when?' I said.

  "'This very night, by poison!'

  "'Ah!' I said, 'explain that.'

  "'Madam has provided herself with strychnine, which she will place inthe tea you drink to-night. Tea will be served in half an hour. _He_will be waiting--for she forced him to agree--and your cries willannounce all to him. You will be poisoned between eight and nine o'clockin the evening, sir,--at ten you will already be dying,--and at midnightyou will be dead. Then madam will banish every one from her chamber,in inconsolable grief--lock the door--tap on the window-pane--_he_ willhear the signal, and come up the back staircase--when madam will openthe private door for him to come in and take a look at your body! Do youunderstand now, sir?'

  "'Yes,' I said. 'Remain here, Nighthawk. There is the step of theservant coming to tell me tea is ready!'"

  XX.

  THE CUP OF TEA.

  "The door opened as I uttered the words, and my old major-domo--grayhaired, and an heir-loom, so to say, of the family--bowed low, andannounced that tea was served and madam waiting.

  "I rose and looked into the mirror above the fireplace. I was pale,but not sufficiently so to excite suspicion; and with a smile whichfrightened Nighthawk, took my way toward the supper-room.

  "Madam was awaiting me, as I suspected, and I had never seen her lookmore radiant. A single glance told me that she had made an elaboratetoilet in honor of--my funeral! Her dark hair was in shining braids;her eyes sparkled with joy; her parted lips showed her white teeth;--theonly evidence I saw of concealed emotion was in the bloodless cheeks.They were as white as the lace falling over her superb silk dress.

  "'You see you keep me waiting!' she said, with playful _naivete_, 'andyour tea is growing cold, sir--which is worse for me than for you, asyou do not care, but I care for you!'

  "And as I passed her, she drew me playfully toward her, dragged me down,and held up her lips. I touched them with my own; they were as cold asice, or the cheek my own face just touched in passing. I went to thetable; took my seat; and madam poured out the tea, with a covert glancetoward me. I was not looking at her, but I saw it.

  "A moment afterward, the old waiter presented me the small gilt cup,smoking, fragrant, and inviting.

  "I took it, looking, as before, out of the corner of my eye at madam.She was leaning forward, watching me with a face as pale as death. Icould hear her teeth chatter.

  "I placed the cup to my lips;--her hand, holding a spoon, trembledso that the spoon beat a tattoo on her saucer. She was watching me inbreathless suspense; and all at once I turned full toward her.

  "'The taste of this tea is singular,' I said, 'I should call it verybad.'

  "'Oh, it is--excellent!' she muttered, between her chattering teeth.

  "'The cup you send me is certainly wretched. Do me the _pleasure totaste it, madam_.'

  "And depositing it upon the waiter of the old servant, I said:--

  "'Take this to your mistress.'

  "He did so; she just touched it with her lips, her hand trembling, thenreplaced it upon the waiter.

  "'I perceive nothing disagreeable,' she murmured.

  "'Swallow a mouthful,' I said, with a bitter smile.

  "She looked at me with sudden intentness. Her eyes, full of wildinquiry, seemed attempting to read into my very soul.

  "'Perhaps you object to drinking after me, as the children say,' Iadded--this time with a species of sneer, and a flash of the eye, Ithink.

  "'Oh, no!' she exclaimed, with an attempt to laugh; 'and to show you--'

  "With a quick movement she attempted--as though by accident--to strikethe waiter with her elbow, in order to overturn the cup.

  "But the old servant was too well trained. The lady's elbow struck thewaiter, but the skilful attendant withdrew it quickly. Not a drop of thetea was spilled.

  "A moment afterward I was beside madam.

  "'I pray you to drink,' I said.

  "'I can not--I feel unwell,' she murmured, cowering beneath the fire inmy eye.

  "'I beg you to drink from this cup.'

  "'I have told you--I will not.'

  "'I beseech you to humor me, madam. Else I shall regard you as amurderess!'

  "She rose suddenly.

  "'Your meaning, sir!' she exclaimed, as pale as death.

  "I took the cup and poured the tea into a saucer. At the bottom wasa modicum of white powder, undissolved. I poured the tea into thecup again--then a second time into the saucer. This time nothingremained--and I proceeded to pour cream into the saucer, until it wasfilled. Madam watched me with distended eyes, and trembling from head tofoot. Then suddenly she uttered a cry--a movement of mine had caused thecry.

  "I had gone to the fire where a cat was reposing upon the rug,and placed the saucer before her. In two minutes its contents haddisappeared down the throat of the cat. Five minutes afterwardthe animal was seized with violent convulsions--uttered unearthlycries--tore the carpet with its claws--glared around in a sort ofdespair--rolled on its back, beat the air with its paws--and expired.

  "I turned to madam, who was gazing at me with distended eyes, andpointing to the cat, said:--

  "'See this unfortunate animal, madam! Her death is curious. She has diedin convulsions, in consequence of drinking a cup of tea!'"

  XXI.

  THE FOILS.

  "Up to this moment," continued Mohun, "madam had exhibited everyindication of nervous excitement, and a sort of terror. Had that arisenfrom a feeling of suspense, and the unexpected discovery of her intentby the proposed victim? I know not; but now, when all was discovered,her manner suddenly changed.

  "She glared at me like a wild animal driven to bay. Her pearly teethclosed upon her under lip until the blood started. Pallid, but defiant,she uttered a low hoarse sound which resembled the growl of a tigressfrom whom her prey has been snatched, and with a firm and haughty stepleft the apartment, glaring over her shoulder at me to the last.

  "Then her step was heard upon the great staircase; she slowly ascendedto her chamber; the door opened, then closed--and I sat down, overcomefor an instant by the terrible scene, within three paces of the deadanimal, destroyed by the poison intended for myself.

  "This paralysis of mind lasted only for a moment, however. I rosecoolly; directed the old servant, who alone had witnessed the scene, toretire, and carefully abstain from uttering a word of what had passedbefore him--then I leaned upon the mantel-piece, reflected for fiveminutes--and in that time I had formed my resolution.

  "Mortimer was first to be thought of. I intended to put him to deathfirst and foremost. It would have been easy to have imitated the oldseigneurs of the feudal age, and ordered my retainers to assassinatehim; but that was repugnant to my whole character. It should never besaid that a Mohun had shrunk before his foe; that one of my familyhad delegated to another the punishment of his enemy. I would fightMortimer--meet him in fair and open combat--if he killed me well andgood. If not, I would kill him. And it should not be with the pistol.I thirsted to meet him breast to breast; to feel my weapon traverse hisheart. To accomplish this was not difficult. I had often heard Mortimer,when at the parsonage, boast of his skill with the foils. I had a pairat hand. By breaking off the buttons, and sharpening the points, I wouldsecure two rude but excellent rapiers, with which Mortimer and myselfcould settle our little differences, after the fashion of gentlemen informer ages! As to the place of combat,--anywhere--in the house, or apart of the grounds around the mansion--it was unimportant I said,so that one of us was killed. But a moment's reflection induced me tochange my views. Under any circumstances _I_ was going to die--that wastrue. My character, however, must be thought of. It would
not do to havea stain rest on the last of the house of Mohun! Were I to kill Mortimerin the house, or grounds, it would be said that I had murdered him, withthe aid of my servants--that I had drawn him thither to strike him--hadacted the traitor and the coward. 'No,' I said, 'even in death I mustguard the family honor. This man must fall elsewhere--in some spot fardistant from this house--fall without witnesses--in silence--in fairfight with me, no one even seeing us.'

  "I had formed this resolution in five minutes after the departure ofmadam from the supper-room. I went straight to the library; calmlystated my resolution to Nighthawk; and in spite of his most obstinateremonstrances, and repeated refusals, broke down his opposition by sheerforce of will. It took me half an hour, but at the end of that time Ihad succeeded. Nighthawk listened, with bent head, and pale face coveredwith drops of cold perspiration, to my orders. These orders were to havethe horses put to the carriage, which was to be ready at my call; thento proceed with a trusty servant, or more if necessary, to a privatespot on the river, which I described to him; dig a grave of full lengthand depth; and when his work was finished, return and report the fact tome, cautioning the servant or servants to say nothing.