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Маргарет Олифант. Hester
PUBLISHER NOTES:
Chapter 1. Vernon's
Chapter 2. Miss Catherine
Chapter 3. The Vernonry
Chapter 4. A First Meeting
Chapter 5. Next Morning
Chapter 6. Neighbours And Relations
Chapter 7. Settling Down
Chapter 8. Nineteen
Chapter 9. Recollections
Chapter 10. A Lover
Chapter 11. Mother And Daughter
Chapter 12. An Indignant Spectator
Chapter 13. Catherine's Opinion
Chapter 14. Harry's View
Chapter 15. What Edward Thought
Chapter 16. Walks And Talks
Chapter 1. The Young And The Old
Chapter 2. A Family Party
Chapter 3. Confidences
Chapter 4. Roland
Chapter 5. Warning
Chapter 6. Dancing Teas
Chapter 7. The First Of Them
Chapter 8. A New Competitor
Chapter 9. A Double Mind
Chapter 10. Straightforward
Chapter 11. A Centre Of Life
Chapter 12. Was It Love?
Chapter 13. Christmas
Chapter 14. The Party At The Grange
Chapter 1. Business And Love
Chapter 2. A Speculator
Chapter 3. A Late Visitor
Chapter 4. Doubts And Fears
Chapter 5. A Discovery
Chapter 6. In The Labyrinth
Chapter 7. Alarms
Chapter 8. The Crisis
Chapter 9. Under The Holly
Chapter 10. The Hour Of Need
Chapter 11. A Night's Vigil
Chapter 12. Afterwards
Chapter 13. An Interruption
Chapter 14. The Settlement
Chapter 15. The End
PUBLISHER NOTES:
Disclaimer:
Table of Contents
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Margaret Oliphant
Edward Vernon, however, was not so fortunate in his family as in his affairs. He had two sons, one of whom died young, leaving a little daughter to be brought up by her grandfather; the other "went wrong." Oh, never-ending family tragedy, never ending, still beginning, the darkest anguish that exists in the world! The younger son went wrong, and died also in his father's lifetime, leaving a helpless little family of children, and a poor wife stupefied with trouble. She did her best, poor soul, to bring up her boy to ways the very opposite of those in which his father had stumbled and fallen, and it was supposed that he would marry his cousin Catherine Vernon, and thus unite once more all the money and prestige of the house. He too was John Vernon, and resembled the golden great-grandfather, and great things were hoped of him. He entered the bank in old Mr. Vernon's time, and gave every promise of being a worthy successor as long as the senior partner, the head of the house, lived. But when the old gentleman died and John Vernon became in his turn the head of the house, there very soon appeared signs of change. In the first place the marriage with his cousin never came to pass; things had seemed to promise fairly so long as the grandfather with whom she lived was alive. But after, there was an immediate cooling of sentiment. Whose fault this was nobody knew. She said nothing on the subject even to her dearest friends; nor did he say anything; but he laughed and waved aside all questions as a man who "could an if he would"——. His mother, for her part, said a great deal. She ran between them like an excited hen, shaking her tail-feathers and cackling violently. What did they mean by it? What was it for? She asked her son how he could forget that if Catherine's money went out of the business it would make the most extraordinary difference? and she bade Catherine remember that it would be almost dishonest to enrich another family with money which the Vernons had toiled for. Catherine, who was not by any means an ordinary girl, smiled upon her, perhaps a little sadly, and entered into no explanations. But her son, as was natural, scoffed at his mother. "What should you know about the business?" he said. Poor Mrs. Vernon thought she had heard enough of it to understand it, or at least to understand the intentions of those who understood it. But what is the use of a mother's remonstrances? The new generation will please itself and take its way. She scolded and wept for years after, poor soul, in vain, and yet could never learn that it was in vain, but began anew day after day weeping, entreating, remonstrating, falling into nervous crises of passion a hundred and a hundred times over. How much better for her to have held her tongue! but how could she help it? She was not of that placid and patient nature which can be wise. And gradually things began to go badly with John. He married a young lady belonging to a county family, but with no money to keep up her pretensions. He had his stables full of horses and his house full of company. "What is it all to come to?" cried his poor, anxious, angry, disappointed, despairing mother, seeking opportunities to have a few words with him, to speak to him seriously, to remind him of his duty. To be sure she did a great deal more harm than good. She drew many a blow upon herself which she might have escaped had she been content to allow that his life had passed far beyond her guidance; but the poor lady would not be taught. And it was quite true what John Vernon said. It would take a long time, he told her, before a few horses and pleasant company would affect Vernon's bank. As the head of that establishment he was expected to be hospitable, and keep almost open house; the country which trusted in him knew he could afford it. The Redborough people went further, and liked to see the confidence with which he spent his money. What could that do to Vernon's? He had never lived up to his income yet, he believed. So he told his mother, who was never satisfied, and went on till the day of her death always seeking a few words with him—an opportunity of speaking seriously to her son. Poor mother! nothing went very well with her; perhaps she was not clever either at managing her children or her money. The partisans of the Vernons said so at least; they said so of all the wives that were not Vernons, but interlopers, always working harm. They said so also of Mrs. John, and there his mother thought they were not far wrong. But none of her children turned out very satisfactorily; the girls married badly; Edward, her younger son, went into the Church, and never was more than a vicar, and their money matters would not go right. Certainly she was not a fortunate woman. But she died, happily for her, before anything material happened to realise her alarms in respect to John.
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"How much have you?" said the clerk in his trouble.
She ran to a pretty ornamental desk and opened it nervously.
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