mr. and mrs. covington remained for a week after hilda was installed with the purcells in their new home. to her the house with its garden and pretty pony-carriage and pony were nothing remarkable, but netta's enjoyment in all these things amused her, and the thought that she, too, would some day be able to talk and enjoy life as her companion did, greatly raised her spirits. her father and mother were delighted at hearing her merry laugh mingled with that of netta as they walked together in the garden, and they went home with lighter hearts and more hopeful spirits than they had felt since the child's illness began.
every three or four months—for a journey to hanover was a longer and more serious business in 1843 than it is at present—they went over to spend a week there. there could be no doubt from the first that the change was most beneficial to hilda. her cheeks regained their color and her limbs their firmness. she lost the dull look and the apathy to whatever was going on around her that had before distressed them. she progressed very rapidly in her study of german, and at the end of six months her conversations with netta were entirely carried on in that language. she had made some little progress in reading from her companion's lips and had just entered at herr menzel's academy. she could now take long walks with netta, and every afternoon, or, as summer came on, every evening, they drove together in the pony-chaise. with renewed health and strength there had been some slight improvement in her hearing. she could now faintly distinguish any loud sounds, such as those of the band of a regiment marching past her or a sudden peal of bells.[pg 41]
"i think that we shall make an eventual cure," dr. hartwig said. "it will be slow, and possibly her hearing may never be absolutely good; but at least we may hope that she may be able to eventually hear as well as nine people out of ten."
in another year she could, indeed, though with difficulty, hear voices, and when she had been at hanover three years her cure was almost complete, and she now went every morning to school to learn french and music. she herself was quite content to remain there. she was very happy in her life and surroundings, and could now read with the greatest facility from the lips, and indeed preferred watching a speaker's mouth to listening to the voice. it was a source of endless amusement to her that she could, as she and netta walked through the streets, read scraps of conversation between persons on the other side of the street or passing in carriages.
another six months and both the doctor and professor menzel said that they could do nothing more for her. she was still somewhat hard of hearing; but not enough so to be noticeable; while she could with her eyes follow the most rapid speaker, and the professor expressed his regret that so excellent an example of the benefit of his system should not be in circumstances that would compel her to make a living by becoming a teacher in it. netta was now a paid assistant at the institution.
the end of what had been a very happy time to hilda came abruptly and sadly, for three weeks before the date when her parents were to come over to take her home, miss purcell, on opening a letter that came just as they had finished breakfast, said, after sitting silent for a few minutes, "you need not put on your things, hilda; you cannot go to school this morning; i have some bad news, dear—very bad news."
the tone of voice in which she spoke, even more than the words, sent a chill into the girl's heart.
"what is it, aunt?" she said, for she had from the first used the same term as netta in addressing her.
"your father has had a serious illness, my dear—a[pg 42] very, very serious and sudden illness, and your mother wishes you to go home at once."
hilda looked at her with frightened, questioning eyes, while every vestige of color left her cheeks. "is he—is he——" she asked.
"here is an inclosure for you," miss purcell said, as she got up, and taking hilda's hand in one of hers drew her with the other arm close to her; "your mother wrote to me that i might prepare you a little before giving it to you. a terrible misfortune has happened. your dear father is dead. he died suddenly of an affection of the heart."
"oh, no, no; it cannot be!" hilda cried.
"it is true, my dear. god has taken him. you must be strong and brave, dear, for your mother's sake."
"oh, my poor mother, my poor mother!" hilda cried, bursting into a sudden flood of tears, "what will she do!"
it was not until some time afterwards that she was sufficiently composed to read her mother's letter, which caused her tears to flow afresh. after giving the details of her father's death, it went on:
"i have written to your uncle, general mathieson, who is, i know, appointed one of the trustees, and is joined with me as your guardian. i have asked him to find and send over a courier to fetch you home, and no doubt he will arrive a day or two after you receive this letter. so please get everything ready to start at once, when he comes."
two days later general mathieson himself arrived, accompanied by a courier. it was a great comfort to hilda that her uncle had come for her instead of a stranger.
"it is very kind of you to come yourself, uncle," she said as she threw herself crying into his arms.
"of course i should come, dear," he said. "who should fetch you except your uncle? i had to bring a courier with me, for i don't understand any of their languages, and he will take all trouble off my hands. now let me look at your face." it was a pale, sad little face[pg 43] that was lifted up, but two days of sorrow had not obliterated the signs of health and well-being.
"whiter than it ought to be," he said, "but clear and healthy, and very different from what it was when i saw you before you came out. you have grown wonderfully, child. really, i should hardly have known you again."
and so he kept on for two or three minutes, to allow her to recover herself.
"now, dear, you must take me in and introduce me to your kind friends here."
hilda led the way into the sitting room.
"i have heard so much of you and your niece, miss purcell," he said as he shook hands with her, "that i do do not feel that you are a stranger. you certainly seem to have worked wonders between you for my niece, and i must own that in the first place i thought it a mistake her being here by herself, for i had no belief that either her hearing would be restored or that she would ever be able to follow what people were saying by only staring at their lips."
"yes, indeed, hanover has agreed with her, sir, and it is only a small part of the credit that is due to us."
"i must differ from you entirely, madam. if she had not been perfectly happy here with you, she would never have got on as she has done."
"have you any luggage, sir? of course you will stay with us to-night."
"no, thank you, miss purcell. we have already been to the kaiserhof, and long before this my courier will have taken rooms and made every preparation for me. you see, i am accustomed to smoke at all times, and could not think of scenting a house, solely inhabited by ladies, with tobacco. now, if you will excuse me, i will ask hilda to put on her bonnet and take a stroll with me."
"i shall be very glad for her to do so. it is just getting cool and pleasant for walking, and half an hour in the fresh air will do her good."
it was an hour before they returned. general mathieson had gently told her all there was to tell of her father's[pg 44] death, and turning from that he spoke of her mother, and how nobly she was bearing her troubles, and erelong her tears, which had burst out anew, flowed more quietly, and she felt comforted. presently she said suddenly:
"what is going to be done here, uncle? i have been thinking over that ever since it was settled that i was to come home next month, and i am sure that, although she has said nothing about it, miss purcell has felt the change that is coming. she said the other day, 'i shall not go back to the apartments where you found us, hilda. you see, we are a great deal better off than we were before. in the first place i have had nothing whatever to spend, and during the four years the ridiculously liberal sum paid to netta and myself has been all laid aside and has mounted up to six hundred pounds. my pension of eighty pounds a year has also accumulated, with the exception of a small sum required for our clothes, so that in fact i have nearly a thousand pounds laid by. netta is earning thirty pounds a year at the institute; with that and my pension and the interest on money saved we shall get on very comfortably.' i should not like, uncle, to think of them in a little stuffy place in the town. having a nice garden and everything comfortable has done a great deal for miss purcell. netta told me that she was very delicate before, and that she is quite a different woman since she came out here from the town. you cannot tell how kind she has always been. if i had been her own child, she could not have been more loving. in fact, no one could have told by her manner that she was not my mother and netta my sister."
"yes, dear, i ran down to your mother before starting to fetch you to help in the arrangements, and she spoke about miss purcell. under ordinary circumstances, of course, at the end of the four years that you have been here the house would be given up and she would, as you say, go into a much smaller place; but your mother does not consider that these are ordinary circumstances, and thinks that her care and kindness have had quite as much to do with the improvement in your health as has the[pg 45] doctor. of course we had no time to come to any definite plan, but she has settled that things are to go on here exactly as at present, except that your friend netta will not be paid for acting as companion to you. i am to tell miss purcell that with that exception everything is to go on as before, and that your mother will need a change, and will probably come out here in a month or so for some time."
"does she really mean that, uncle?"
"certainly, and the idea is an excellent one. after such a shock as she has had an entire change of scene will be most valuable; and as she knows miss purcell well, and you like the place very much, i don't think that any better plan could be hit upon. i dare say she will stay here two or three months, and you can continue your studies. at the end of that time i have no doubt some plan that will give satisfaction to all parties will be hit upon."
hilda returned to hanover with her mother a month later. at the end of three months mrs. covington bought the house and presented the deeds to miss purcell, who had known nothing whatever of her intentions.
"i could not think of accepting it," she exclaimed.
"but you cannot help accepting it, dear miss purcell; here are the deeds in your name. the house will be rather large for you at present, but in a few years, indeed in two or three years, netta could begin to take a few pupils. as soon as she is ready to do so i shall, of course, mention it among my friends, and be able to send a few children, whose parents would be ready to pay well to have them taught this wonderful method of brightening their lives, which is at present quite unknown in england."
so it was arranged; but a few months after her return to england mrs. covington, who had never altogether recovered from the shock of her husband's death, died after a short illness, and hilda became an inmate of her uncle's house. since that time three years had elapsed, and hilda was now eighteen, and netta was over for a two months' visit.[pg 46]
the scene in the grounds of lady moulton's charming villa at richmond, a fortnight after the conversation between that lady and hilda, was a gay one. everyone in society had been invited and there were but few refusals; the weather was lovely, and all agreed that even at ascot the costumes were not brighter or more varied.
although the fête was especially on behalf of a charity, no admission fees were charged to guests, but everyone understood that it would be his duty to lay out money at the various picturesque tents scattered about under the trees. in these were all the most popular entertainers of the day. in one pavilion john parry gave a short entertainment every half-hour. in a larger one mario, grisi, jenny lind, and alboni gave short concerts, and high as were the prices of admission, there was never a seat vacant. conjurers had a tent, electro-biologists—then the latest rage from the united states—held their séances, and at some distance from the others richardson's booth was in full swing. the grenadiers' band and a string band played alternately.
not the least attraction to many was the gypsy tent erected at the edge of a thick shrubbery, for it soon became rumored that the old gypsy woman there was no ordinary impostor, but really possessed of extraordinary powers of palmistry. everything had been done to add to the air of mystery pervading the place. externally it was but a long, narrow marquee. on entering, the inquirer was shown by an attendant to a seat in an apartment carpeted in red, with black hangings and black cloth lining the roof. from this hung a lamp, all other light being excluded. as each visitor came out from the inner apartment the next in order was shown in, and the heavy curtains shut off all sound of what was passing. here sat an apparently aged gypsy on an old stump of a tree. a fire burned on the ground and a pot was suspended by a tripod over it; a hood above this carried the smoke out of the tent. the curtains here were red; the roof, as in the other compartment, black, but sprinkled with gold and silver stars. a stool was placed for the visitor close[pg 47] enough to the gypsy for the latter to examine her hand by the light of two torches, which were fastened to a rough sapling stuck in the ground.
hilda possessed every advantage for making the most of the situation. owing to her intimacy with lady moulton, and her experience for a year in the best london society, she knew all its gossip, while she had gathered much more than others knew from the conversations both of the dancers and the lookers-on.
the first to enter was a young man who had been laughingly challenged by the lady he was walking with to go in and have his fortune told.
"be seated, my son," the old woman said; "give me your hand and a piece of money."
with a smile he handed her half a sovereign. she crossed his palm with it and then proceeded attentively to examine the lines.
"a fair beginning," she said, "and then troubles and difficulties. here i see that, some three years back, there is the mark of blood; you won distinction in war. then there is a cross-mark which would show a change. some good fortune befell you. then the lines darken. things go from bad to worse as they proceed. you took to a vice—cards or horse-racing. here are evil associates, but there is a white line that runs through them. there is a girl somewhere, with fair hair and blue eyes, who loves you, and whom you love, and whose happiness is imperiled by this vice and these associates. beyond, there is another cross-line and signs of a conflict. what happens after will depend upon yourself. either the white line and the true love will prove too powerful for the bad influences or these will end in ruin and—ah! sudden and violent death. your future, therefore, depends upon yourself, and it is for you to say which influence must triumph. that is all."
without a word he went out.
"you look pale, mr. desmond," the lady said when he rejoined her. "what has she told you?"
"i would rather not tell you, mrs. markham," he said[pg 48] seriously. "i thought it was going to be a joke, but it is very far from being one. either the woman is a witch or she knew all about me personally, which is barely within the limits of possibility. at any rate she has given me something to think of."
"i will try myself," the lady said; "it is very interesting."
"i should advise you not to," he said earnestly.
"nonsense!" she laughed; "i have no superstitions. i will go in and hear what she has to say." and leaving him, she entered the tent.
the gypsy examined her hand in silence. "i would rather not tell you what i see," she said as she dropped the hand. "oh, ridiculous!" the lady exclaimed. "i have crossed your palm with gold, and i expect to get my money's worth," and she held out her hand again.
the gypsy again examined it.
"you stand at the crossing of the ways. there are two men—one dark, quiet, and earnest, who loves you. you love him, but not as he loves you; but your line of life runs smoothly until the other line, that of a brown man, becomes mixed up in it. he loves you too, with a hot, passionate love that would soon fade. you had a letter from him a day or two back. last night, as he passed you in a dance, he whispered, 'i have not had an answer,' and the next time he passed you, you replied, 'you must give me another day or two.' upon the answer you give the future of your life will depend. here is a broad, fair line, and here is a short, jagged one, telling of terrible troubles and misery. it is for you to decide which course is to be yours."
as she released her hold of the hand it dropped nerveless. the gypsy poured out a glass of water from a jug by her side, but her visitor waved it aside, and with a great effort rose to her feet, her face as pale as death.
"my god!" she murmured to herself, "this woman is really a witch."
"they do not burn witches now," the gypsy said; "i only read what i see on the palm. you cannot deny that[pg 49] what i have said is true. stay a moment and drink a glass of wine; you need it before you go out."
she took a bottle of wine from behind her seat, emptied the water on to the earth, half filled a tumbler, and held it out. the frightened woman felt that indeed she needed it before going out into the gay scene, and tossed it off.
"thank you!" she said. "whoever you are, i thank you. you have read my fate truly, and have helped me to decide it."
desmond was waiting for her when she came out, but she passed him with a gesture.
"you are right!" she said. "she is a witch indeed!"
few other stories told were as tragic, but in nearly every case the visitors retired puzzled at the knowledge the gypsy possessed of their life and surroundings, and it soon became rumored that the old woman's powers were something extraordinary, and the little ante-room was kept filled with visitors waiting their turn for an audience. no one noticed the long and frequent absences of hilda covington from the grounds. the tent had been placed with its back hiding a small path through the shrubbery. through a peep-hole arranged in the curtain she was able to see who was waiting, and each time before leaving said a few words as to their lives which enabled netta to support the character fairly. when the last guest had departed and she joined lady moulton, she handed over a bag containing nearly a hundred pounds.
"i have deducted five pounds for the gypsy," she said, "and eight pounds for the hire of the tent and its fittings."
"that is at least five times as much as i expected, hilda. i have heard all sorts of marvelous stories of the power of your old woman. several people told me that she seemed to know all about them, and told them things that they believed were only known to themselves. but how did she get so much money?"
hilda laughed. "i hear that they began with half-sovereigns, but as soon as they heard of her real powers,[pg 50] they did not venture to present her with anything less than a sovereign, and in a good many cases they gave more—no doubt to propitiate her into giving them good fortunes. you see, each visitor only had two or three minutes' interview, so that she got through from twenty to thirty an hour; and as it lasted four hours she did exceedingly well."
"but who is the gypsy, and where did you find her?"
"the gypsy has gone, and is doubtless by this time in some caravan or gypsy tent. i do not think that you will ever find her again."
"i should have suspected that you played the gypsy yourself, hilda, were it not that i saw you half a dozen times."
"i have no skill in palmistry," the girl laughed, "and certainly have not been in two places at once. i did my duty and heard jenny lind sing and parry play, though i own that i did not patronize richardson's booth."
"well, it is extraordinary that this old woman should know the history of such a number of people as went into her tent, few of whom she could ever have heard of even by name, to say nothing of knowing them by sight."
several ladies called within the next few days, specially to inquire from lady moulton about the gypsy.
"everyone is talking about her," one said. "certainly she told me several things about the past that it was hardly possible that a woman in her position could know. i have often heard that gypsies pick up information from servants, or in the country from village gossip; but at least a hundred people visited this woman's tent, and from what i hear everyone was as astonished as i was myself at her knowledge of their family matters. it is said that in some cases she went farther than this, and told them things about the present known only to themselves and two or three intimate friends. some of them seemed to have been quite seriously affected. i saw mrs. markham just after she had left the tent, and she was as white as a sheet, and i know she drove away a few minutes afterwards."[pg 51]
to all inquiries lady moulton simply replied:
"i know no more about the gypsy than you do. miss covington took the entire management of the gypsy tent off my hands, saw to the tent being erected, and engaged the gypsy. where she picked her up i have no idea, but i fancy that she must have got her from their encampment on ham common. she turned the matter off when i asked her point-blank, and i imagine that she must have given the old crone a promise not to let it be known who she was. they are curious people, the gypsies, and for aught i know may have an objection to any of the tribe going to a gathering like ours to tell fortunes."
some appeals were made to hilda personally; but lady moulton had told her the answer she had given, and taking her cue from it she was able to so shape her replies that her questioners left her convinced that she had really, while carrying out lady moulton's instructions, lighted on a gypsy possessing some of the secrets of the almost forgotten science of palmistry.
