He replied by violent
language directed against herself, and by commanding her never to
open the doors again to Mr. Meeke; she, on her side, declaring
that she would never consent to insult a clergyman and a
gentleman in order to satisfy the whim of a tyrannical husband.
Upon that, he called out, with a great oath, to have his horse
saddled directly, declaring that he would not stop another
instant under the same roof with a woman who had set him at
defiance, and warning his wife that he would come back, if Mr.
Meeke entered the house again, and horsewhip him, in spite of his
black coat, all through the village.
With those words he left her, and rode away to the sea-port where
his yacht was lying. My mistress kept up her spirit till he was
out of sight, and then burst into a dreadful screaming passion of
tears, which ended by leaving her so weak that she had to be
carried to her bed like a woman who was at the point of death.
The same evening my master's horse was ridden back by a
messenger, who brought a scrap of notepaper with him addressed to
me. It only contained these lines:
"Pack up my clothes and deliver them immediately to the bearer.
You may tell your mistress that I sail to-night at eleven o'clock
for a cruise to Sweden. Forward my letters to the post-office,
Stockholm.
Pages:
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420