"But I am, and have been, and shall, I trust, throughout my earthly time,
and what time thereafter may be needful, always be in Purgatory. I should
tremble at the thought of coming out of it a moment ere it had done its
part.
"One day, after my return home, as I unpacked a portmanteau, my fingers
slipped into the pocket of a waistcoat, and came upon something which,
when I brought it to the light, proved a large ruby. A pang went to my
heart. I looked at the waistcoat, and found it the one I had worn that
terrible night: the ruby was the stone of the ring Edmund always wore. It
must have been loose, and had got there in our struggle. Every now and
then I am drawn to look at it. At first I saw in it only the blood; now I
see the light also. The moon of hope rises higher as the sun of life
approaches the horizon.
"I was never questioned about the death of my twin brother. One, of two
so like, must seem enough. Our resemblance, I believe, was a bore, which
the teasing use we made of it aggravated; therefore the fact that there
was no longer a pair of us, could not be regarded as cause for regret,
and things quickly settled down to the state in which you so long knew
them. If there be one with a suspicion of the terrible truth, it is
cousin Martha.
"You will not be surprised that you should never have heard of your uncle
Edmund.
"I dare not ask you, my child, not to love me less; for perhaps you ought
to do so.
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