The String of Pearls; Or, The Barber of Fleet Street. A Domestic Romance.
put into damp--I may say wet sheets. They were so damp that I could not
doubt but this was done on purpose. I am sure no negligence ever came to
anything so positive and so abominable in all my life. I got out of bed
and took them off, and then wrapped myself up in the blankets and slept
till morning, without awaking any one. When morning came, I inquired who
put the sheets there?
"'What do you mean, minx?' said my mother.
"'Only that somebody was bad and wicked enough to put positively wet
sheets in the bed; it could not have been done through carelessness--it
must have been done through sheer wilfulness. I'm quite convinced of
that.'
"'You will get yourself well thrashed if you talk like that,' said my
mother. 'The sheets are not damp; there are none in the house that are
damp.'
"'These are wet.'
"This reply brought her hand down heavily upon my shoulder, and I was
forced upon my knees. I could not help myself, so violent was the blow.
"'There,' added my mother, 'take that, and that, and answer me if you
dare.'
"As she said this she struck me to the ground, and my head came in
violent contact with the table, and I was rendered insensible. How long
I continued so I cannot tell. What I first saw when I awoke was the
dreariness of one of the attics into which I had been thrust, and thrown
upon a small bed without any furniture. I looked around and saw nothing
that indicated comfort, and upon looking at my clothes there were traces
of blood. This, I had no doubt, came from myself. I was hurt, and upon
putting my hand to my head, found that I was much hurt, as my head was
bound up. At that moment the door was opened, and the old servant came
in.
"'Well, Miss Mary,' she said, 'and so you have come round again? I
really began to be afraid you were killed. What a fall you must have
had!'
"'Fall,' said I; 'who said it was a fall?'
"'They told me so.'
"'I was struck down.'
"'Struck, Miss Mary! Who could strike you? And what did you do to
deserve such a severe chastisement? Who did it?'
"'I spoke to my mother about the wet sheets.'
"'Ah! what a mercy you were not killed! If you had slept in them, your
life would not have been worth a farthing. You would have caught cold,
and you would have died of inflammation, I am sure of it. If anybody
wants to commit murder without being found out, they have only to put
them into damp sheets.'
"'So I thought, and I took them out.'
"'You did quite right--quite right.'
"'What have you heard about them?' said I.
"'Oh! I only went into the room in which you sleep, and I at once found
how damp they were, and how dangerous it was; and I was going to tell
your mamma, when I met her, and she told me to hold my tongue, but to go
down and take you away, as you had fallen down in a fit, and she could
not bear to see you lying there.'
"'And she didn't do anything for me?'
"'Oh, no, not as I know of, because you were lying on the floor
bleeding. I picked you up, and brought you here.'
"'And has she not inquired after me since?'
"'Not once.'
"'And don't know whether I am yet sensible or not?'
"'She does not yet know that.'
"'Well,' I replied, 'I think they don't care much for me, I think not at
all, but the time may come when they will act differently.'
"'No, miss, they think, or affect to think, that you have injured them;
but that cannot be, because you could not be cunning enough to dispose
your aunt to leave you all, and so deprive them of what they think they
are entitled to.'
"'I never could have believed half so much.'
"'Such, however, is the case.'
"'What can I do?'
"'Nothing, my dear, but lie still till you get better, and don't say any
more; but sleep, if you can sleep, will do you more good than anything
else now for an hour or so, so lie down and sleep.'
* * * * *
"The old woman left the room, and I endeavoured to compose myself to
sleep; but could not do so for some time, my mind being too actively
engaged in considering what I had better do, and I determined upon a
course of conduct by which I thought to escape much of my present
persecution. It was some days, however, before I could put it in
practice, and one day I found my father and mother together, and I said
to her--
"'Mother, why do you not send me to school?'
"'You--send you to school! did you mean you, miss?'
"'Yes, I meant myself, because other people go to school to learn
something, but I have not been sent at all.'
"'Are you not contented?'
"'I am not,' I answered, 'because other people learn something; but at
the same time, I should be more out of your way, since I am more trouble
to you, as you complain of me; it would not cost more than living at
home.'
"'What is the matter with the child?' asked my father.
"'I cannot tell,' said my mother.
"'The better way will be to take care of her, and confine her to some
part of the house, if she does not behave better.'
"'The little minx will be very troublesome.'
"'Do you think so?'
"'Yes, decidedly.'
"'Then we must adopt some more active measures, or we shall have to do
what we do not wish. I am amused at her asking to be sent to school! Was
ever there heard of such wickedness? Well, I could not have believed
such ingratitude could have existed in human nature.'
"'Go out of the room, you hussy,' said my mother; 'go out of the room,
and don't let me hear a word from you more.'
"'I left the room terrified at the storm I had raised up against me. I
knew not that I had done wrong, and went up crying to my attic alone,
and found the old servant, who asked what was the matter. I told her all
I had said, and what had been the result, and how I had been abused.
"'Why, you should let things take their own course, my dear.'
"'Yes, but I can learn nothing.'
"'Never mind; you will have plenty of money when you grow older, and
that will cure many defects; people who have money never want for
friends.'
"'But I have them not, and yet I have money.'
"'Most certainly--most certainly, but you have it not in your power, and
you are not old enough to make use of it, if you had it.'
"'Who has it?' I inquired.
"'Your father and mother.'
"No more was said at that time, and the old woman left me to myself, and
I recollect I long and deeply pondered over this matter, and yet could
see no way out of it, and resolved that I would take things as easily as
I could; but I feared that I was not likely to have a very quiet life;
indeed, active cruelty was exercised against me. They would lock me up
in a room a whole day at a time, so that I was debarred the use of my
limbs. I was even kept without food, and on every occasion I was knocked
about, from one to the other, without remorse--every one took a delight
in tormenting me, and in showing me how much they dared do. Of course
servants and all would not treat me with neglect and harshness if they
did not see it was agreeable to my parents. This was shocking cruelty;
but yet I found that this was not all. Many were the little contrivances
made and invented to cause me to fall down stairs--to slip--to trip, or
do anything that might have ended in some fatal accident, which would
have left them at liberty to enjoy my legacy, and no blame would be
attached to them for the accident, and I should most likely get blamed
for what was done, and from which I had been the sufferer--indeed, I
should have been deemed to have suffered justly. On one occasion, after
I had been in bed some time, I found it was very damp, and upon
examination I found the bed itself had been made quite wet, with the
sheets put over it to hide it. This I did not discover until it was too
late, for I caught a violent cold, and it took me some weeks to get over
it, and yet I escaped eventually, though after some months' illness. I
recovered, and it evidently made them angry because I did live. They
must have believed me to be very obstinate; they thought me obdurate in
the extreme--they called me all the names they could imagine, and
treated me with every indignity they could heap upon me. Well, time ran
on, and in my twelfth year I obtained the notice of one or two of our
friends, who made some inquiries about me. I always remarked that my
parents disliked any one to speak to, or take any notice of me. They did
not permit me to say much--they did not like my speaking; and on one
occasion, when I made some remark respecting school, she replied--
"'Her health is so bad that I have not yet sent her, but shall do so by
and by, when she grows stronger.'
"There was a look bent upon me that told me at once what I must expect,
if I persisted in my half-formed resolve of contradicting all that had
been said. When the visitor went I was well aware of what kind of a life
I should have had, if I did not absolutely receive some serious injury.
I was terrified, and held my tongue. Soon after that I was seized with
violent pains and vomiting. I was very ill, and the servant being at
home only, a doctor was sent for, who at once said I had been poisoned,
and ordered me to be taken care of. I know how it was done: I had some
cake given me--it was left out for me; and that was the only thing I had
eaten, and it astonished me, for I had not had such a thing given me for
years, and that is why I believe the poison was put in the cake, and I
think others thought so too. However, I got over that after a time,
though I was a long while before I did so; but at the same time I was
very weak, and the surgeon said that had I been a little longer without
assistance, or had I not thrown it up, I must have sunk beneath the
effects of a violent poison. He advised my parents to take some measures
to ascertain who it was that had administered the poison to me; but
though they promised compliance, they never troubled themselves about
it--but I was for a long time very cautious of what I took, and was in
great fear of the food that was given to me. However, nothing more of
that character took place, and at length I quite recovered, and began to
think in my own mind that I ought to take some active steps in the
matter, and that I ought to seek an asylum elsewhere. I was now nearly
fifteen years of age, and could well see how inveterate was the dislike
with which I was regarded by my family: I thought that they ought to use
me better, for I could remember no cause for it. I had given no deadly
offence, nor was there any motive why I should be treated thus with
neglect and disdain. It was, then, a matter of serious consideration
with me, as to whether I should not go and throw myself upon the
protection of some friend, and beg their interference in my behalf; but
then there was no one whom I felt that would do so much for me--no one
from whom I expected so great an act of friendship. It was hardly to be
expected from any one that they should interfere between me and my
parents; they would have had their first say, and I should have
contradicted all they said, and should have appeared in a very bad light
indeed. I could not say they had neglected my education--I could not say
that, because there I had been careful myself, and I had assiduously
striven when alone to remedy this defect, and had actually succeeded; so
that, if I were examined, I should have denied my own assertions by
contrary facts, which would injure me. Then again, if I were neglected I
could not prove any injury, because I had all the means of existence;
and all I could say would either be attributed to some evil source, or
it was entirely false--but at the same time I felt that I had great
cause of complaint, and none of gratitude. I could hold no communion
with any one--all alike deserted me, and I knew none who could say aught