Page:The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.djvu/279

217 THE P1CK.WICK CLUB. 217

" She had fainted one evening in her husband's arms, and he had borne her to the open window, to revive her with the air, when the light of the moon falling full upon her face, shewed him a change upon her features, which made him stagger beneath her weight, like a helpless infant.

himself beside her, covered his face with his hands, and burst into tears.
 * ' * Set me down George,' she said faintly. He did so, and seating

" * It is very hard to leave you George,* she said, * but it's God's will, and you must bear it for my sake. Oh ! how I thank him for having taken our boy. He is happy, and in heaven now. What would he have done here, without his mother ! '

" * You shall not die, Mary, you shall not die ;' said the husband, starting up. He paced hurriedly to and fro, striking his head with his clenched fists ; then reseating himself beside her, and supporting her in his arms, added more calmly, ' Rouse yourself, my dear girl — pray, pray do. You will revive yet.'

"* Never again George; never again' — said the dying woman. you leave this dreadful place, and should grow rich, you will have us removed to some quiet country churchyard, a long, long way off — very far from here, where we can rest in peace. Dear George, promise me you will.'
 * Let them lay me by my poor boy now, but promise me, that if ever

" ' I do, I do* — said the man, throwing himself passionately on his knees before her. ' Speak to me Mary, another word ; one look — but one — '

" He ceased to speak : for the arm that clasped his neck, grew stiff and heavy. A deep sigh escaped from the wasted form before him ; the lips moved, and a smile played upon the face, but the lips were pallid, and the smile faded into a rigid and ghastly stare. He was alone in the world.

" That night, in the silence and desolation of his miserable room, the wretched man knelt down by the dead body of his wife, and called on God to witness a dreadful oath, that from that hour, he devoted himself to revenge her death and that of his child ; that from thenceforth to the last moment of his life, his whole energies should be directed to this one object; that his revenge should be protracted and terrible; that his hatred should be undying and unextinguishable ; and should hunt its object through the world.

" The deepest despair, and passion scarcely human, had made such fierce ravages on his face and form, in that one night, that his compa- nions in misfortune shrunk affrighted from him as he passed by. His eyes were bloodshot and heavy, his face a deadly white, and his body bent as if with age. He had bitten his under lip nearly through in the violence of his mental suffering, and the blood which had flowed from the wound had trickled down his chin, and stained his shirt and neckerchief. No tear, or sound of complaint escaped him; but the unsettled look, and disordered haste with which he paced up and down the yard, denoted the fever which was burning within.

" It was necessary that his wife's body should be removed from the