第30章

"Thebestthingthatcanhappentothatunhappymanislikelytohappen，"hesaid。"Theonechangeinhimisachangethatthreatensparalysis。YoumayhearofhisdeathbeforeyougetbacktoEngland。"

"AndAriel？"Iasked。

"Quiteunaltered，"Benjaminanswered。"Perfectlyhappysolongassheiswith’theMaster。’FromallIcanhearofher，poorsoul，shedoesn’treckonDexteramongmoralbeings。Shelaughsattheideaofhisdying；andshewaitspatiently，inthefirmpersuasionthathewillrecognizeheragain。"

Benjamin’snewssaddenedandsilencedme。Ilefthimtohisletter。

CHAPTERL。

THELASTOFTHESTORY。

IntendaysmorewereturnedtoEngland，accompaniedbyBenjamin。

Mrs。Macallan’shouseinLondonofferedusampleaccommodation。

Wegladlyavailedourselvesofherproposal，whensheinvitedustostaywithheruntilourchildwasborn，andourplansforthefuturewerearranged。

Thesadnewsfromtheasylum（forwhichBenjaminhadpreparedmymindatParis）reachedmesoonafterourreturntoEngland。

MiserrimusDexter’sreleasefromtheburdenoflifehadcometohimbyslowdegrees。Afewhoursbeforehebreathedhislastheralliedforawhile，andrecognizedArielathisbedside。Hefeeblypronouncedhername，andlookedather，andaskedforme。

Theythoughtofsendingforme，butitwastoolate。Beforethemessengercouldbedispatched，hesaid，withatouchofhisoldself—importance，"Silence，allofyou！mybrainsareweary；Iamgoingtosleep。"Heclosedhiseyesinslumber，andneverawokeagain。Soforthismantootheendcamemercifully，withoutgrieforpain！Sothatstrangeandmany—sidedlife——withitsguiltanditsmisery，itsfitfulflashesofpoetryandhumor，itsfantasticgayety，cruelty，andvanity——ranitsdestinedcourse，andfadedoutlikeadream！

AlasforAriel！ShehadlivedfortheMaster——whatmorecouldshedo，nowtheMasterwasgone？Shecoulddieforhim。

TheyhadmercifullyallowedhertoattendthefuneralofMiserrimusDexter——inthehopethattheceremonymightavailtoconvinceherofhisdeath。Theanticipationwasnotrealized；shestillpersistedindenyingthat"theMaster"hadlefther。Theywereobligedtorestrainthepoorcreaturebyforcewhenthecoffinwasloweredintothegrave；andtheycouldonlyremoveherfromthecemeterybythesamemeanswhentheburial—servicewasover。Fromthattimeherlifealternated，forafewweeks，betweenfitsofravingdeliriumandintervalsoflethargicrepose。Attheannualballgivenintheasylum，whenthestrictsuperintendenceofthepatientswasinsomedegreerelaxed，thealarmwasraised，alittlebeforemidnight，thatArielwasmissing。Thenurseinchargehadleftherasleep，andhadyieldedtothetemptationofgoingdownstairstolookatthedancing。

Whenthewomanreturnedtoherpost，Arielwasgone。Thepresenceofstrangers，andtheconfusionincidentaltothefestival，offeredherfacilitiesforescapingwhichwouldnothavepresentedthemselvesatanyothertime。Thatnightthesearchforherprovedtobeuseless。Thenextmorningbroughtwithitthelasttouchingandterribletidingsofher。Shehadstrayedbacktotheburial—ground；andshehadbeenfoundtowardsunrise，deadofcoldandexposure，onMiserrimusDexter’sgrave。Faithfultothelast，ArielhadfollowedtheMaster！Faithfultothelast，ArielhaddiedontheMaster’sgrave！

Havingwrittenthesesadwords，Iturnwillinglytoalesspainfultheme。

EventshadseparatedmefromMajorFitz—David，afterthedateofthedinner—partywhichhadwitnessedmymemorablemeetingwithLadyClarinda。FromthattimeIheardlittleornothingoftheMajor；andIamashamedtosayIhadalmostentirelyforgottenhim——whenIwasremindedofthemodernDonJuanbytheamazingappearanceofwedding—cards，addressedtomeatmymother—in—law’shouse！TheMajorhadsettledinlifeatlast。

And，morewonderfulstill，theMajorhadchosenasthelawfulrulerofhishouseholdandhimself——"thefutureQueenofSong，"

theround—eyed，overdressedyoungladywiththestridentsopranovoice！

Wepaidourvisitofcongratulationindueform；andwereallydidfeelforMajorFitz—David。

Theordealofmarriagehadsochangedmygayandgallantadmirerofformertime