CHAPTER V.
The letter fell from Clifford's hands. He leaned over his desk, and covered his face with his hands. The tears streamed down his cheeks. Then he took the letter, pressed it to his heart, kissed it passionately, kissed the signature, read it all over again with dim eyes, pressed it to his heart again--and was made whole.
When he had recovered himself, he rang the bell, ordered the trap, caught the train to Waterloo, and ran up the stairs to Katharine's flat.
Katharine had come home rather earlier than usual from business. She had finished tea, and was standing by the window of her pretty drawing-room, watching the lights on the river. She was in one of her sad, lonely moods; she was feeling outside everything.
"Mercifully I have my work," she said to herself. "If any one had told me ten years ago that I should be thankful to go down to business every day at the same hour, I could not have believed it."
Some one had sent her Matthew Arnold's poems as a Christmas present. She took the volume now, and opened it at these words:--
"Yes, in the sea of life enisled, With echoing straits between us thrown, Dotting the shoreless watery wild, We mortal millions live alone. The islands feel the enclasping flow, And then their endless bounds they know."
She read them through again. Then she leaned against the mantelshelf and stared into the fire, still holding the book in her hand.
The bell rang. Katharine did not hear. The thought in those words was holding her. The door opened. Katharine did not hear. Gerda's Swedish song had suddenly come into her remembrance, "The lover whom thou lov'st so well, thou shalt reach him never."
She recalled the time when she had first heard it. She saw the great Gudbrandsdal spread out before her, and the hillside opposite the Solli Gaard, where Gerda was strolling, singing as she went. She remembered Knutty's words, "But that is not true for you. You will reach him; I know you will reach him." She remembered that when she turned round, she saw that Clifford had come back from over the seas.
Something impelled her to turn round now--and she saw him.
"Katharine, my belovèd," he said in a voice that thrilled through her, "I have only just had your letter."
And he folded her in his arms.
Long and silently they stood thus, whilst outside in the great world, the noise of the traffic went on unheeded, the barges passed down the river, the lights of Westminster shone out, Big Ben rang the hour of the evening, stars crowned the towers of the Abbey, the moon rose above the Houses of Parliament.
So they had found each other at last.
The lonely wilderness of their inner hearts became a fair and gracious garden.
And when their long embrace was over, and the moment for speech had come, they sat near together as lovers, friends, comrades of all time, talking frankly and fearlessly of the sad past which was to be gathered up with sane and tender understanding into the present and the future, talking of their love for each other: of their first meeting: of their separation: of their longings after each other: of their companionship in Norway: of this three months' desolation in England: of Knutty's impatient admonitions that they should break through all reserve and seek each other out: of Alan's love and trust restored and strengthened: of their new life, in which he would grow up to manhood in gladness and happiness: of Mrs Stanhope, made of no account by reason of their great joy: of Knutty's unselfish anxiety on their behalf: of her tenderness and all her dear quaint ways: and of Alan's criticism of Katharine, "She is not the sort of chum to break her word."
"And I will not break it," Katharine said joyously. "We can go together to-morrow and fetch him back."
Suddenly there came a loud knock at the hall-door. And when it was opened, an excited voice with a slight foreign accent asked impatiently for Miss Frensham.
Clifford and Katharine heard it. They looked at each other.
"It's Knutty!" they cried together; and they ran out into the hall.
"Knutty! Knutty!" they cried. "Welcome! welcome!"
"Dear ones," she answered, gasping. "Oh, what stairs! I hope I shan't die from apoplexy, but I feel very much like it now. Talk about sea-sickness indeed! Stair-sickness is much worse! Ak, ak! Give me some aqua vitae or some mysost instantly! Ak, ak, why did I ever come? Oh yes, I know why I came. No use writing and inquiring. Could have got no news out of an iceberg. So I came to see for myself. And what do I see? By St Olaf! I see daylight--full daylight! Gerda and Ejnar said I was not to interfere. Interfere! Of course I shall! It is the duty of every woman not to mind her own business! Oh, those stairs! I believe there were nearly a hundred of them! Dear ones, dear ones, what a happy old woman I am! If I don't die from apoplexy, I shall cry from happiness! What it is to be a Viking...!"
THE END.
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DESCRIPTIVE LIST.
A Book about the Garden. DEAN HOLE.
Dean Hole was chiefly famous as an expert rose grower; but in the present volume he gossips wisely and entertainingly about all the thousand and one things which appertain to the garden.
Culture and Anarchy. MATTHEW ARNOLD.
Matthew Arnold's most notable prose work, in which he expounds his philosophy of conduct and education. It contains that gospel of self-development and culture which is chiefly associated with his name.
Collections and Recollections (Second Series). (_Aug_. 1909.) G. W. E. RUSSELL.
Originally published under the title of "An Onlooker's Notebook," this work possesses the same qualities as the famous first series of "Collections and Recollections," also included in this library (see p. v). It is full of good stories, shrewd comments, and a kindly humour.
The Life of Frank Buckland. (_Aug. 1909._)
Frank Buckland was the most whimsical and original of modern naturalists, and delightful are the chapters which deal with his boyhood and youth when he pursued his hobby under many difficulties.
A Modern Utopia. (_Sept. 1909._) H. G. WELLS.
This is Mr. Wells's dream of an ideal future, and contains his famous sketch of the "Samurai," the new aristocracy which is to justify itself by social service.
With Kitchener to Khartoum. (_Sept. 1909._) G. W. STEEVENS.
Mr. G. W. Steevens was the greatest of all war correspondents, and his story of Lord Kitchener's Nile campaign has always been regarded as his masterpiece.
The Unveiling of Lhasa. EDMUND CANDLER.
A brilliant description of the romance of the "Hermit Land." A picture of Lhasa which lives long in the imagination. (_Oct._)
Life of Lord Dufferin. Sir ALFRED LYALL.
The life of the greatest of modern British diplomats. A story of high achievement and the revelation of a brilliant and fascinating personality. (_Oct. 1909._)
Life of Dean Stanley. (_Nov._) R. E. PROTHERO.
Stanley exercised an influence which is without parallel in modern ecclesiastical history. His friendship with Queen Victoria and with all the great men of the Victorian era makes his life a wonderful epitome of the history of his times.
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A selection approved by Mr. Birrell himself, and which may be taken as an anthology of his best work. There is no more delightful guide to a library than the author of "Obiter Dicta."
Idylls of the Sea. FRANK BULLEN.
Conan Doyle says of this book that there have been no finer pieces of descriptive work in our time. "If I had to choose a sea library of only a dozen volumes, I should certainly give Bullen two places."
The Reminiscences of Sir Henry Hawkins (Lord Brampton).
A fascinating record of a great legal career, and a mine of good stories and sayings.
The Simple Adventures of a Memsahib. SARA JEANNETTE DUNCAN.
As readable as any romance, and gives a genuine insight into the conditions of English and native life in India.
The Golden Age. KENNETH GRAHAME.
A classic of child-life which has had no rivals since "Alice in Wonderland." It is a work of positive genius in its insight into the mind of a child, and the world as it appears to the eye of childhood.
The Forest. STEWART EDWARD WHITE.
Of the new type of travel literature, written by men who live close to the heart of the wilds, "The Forest" is in many ways the best.
The Life of Gladstone. HERBERT W. PAUL.
By far the best short biography of this statesman. Not only good history, but from its charm of style an admirable piece of literary portraiture.
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Wild Life in a Southern County.
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The Psalms in Human Life. R. E. PROTHERO.
No modern book on a religious subject has enjoyed a wider popularity than this. It is the history of how the Psalms have consoled, inspired, helped, and solaced mankind through the ages.
The Memories of Dean Hole.
A delightful record of a busy and distinguished life, full of capital stories and shrewd comments on men and things.
Life of John Nicholson. CAPTAIN TROTTER.
The "man of destiny" of our Indian Empire. The story of his Indian career, culminating in his death at Delhi, is one of the romances of Empire.
The Great Boer War. A. CONAN DOYLE.
By far the most popular and picturesque account of the South African war.
Collections and Recollections. G. W. E. RUSSELL.
The present volume is G. W. E. Russell's best-known work, and no such miscellany of good stories and witty sayings is to be found in modern literature.
Scrambles Amongst the Alps. EDWARD WHYMPER.
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Astronomy for Amateurs. (_Nov. 1909._)
CAMILLE FLAMMARION.
An authorized translation of the most popular book on astronomy ever written.
Round the World on a Wheel. (_Dec. 1909._) J. FOSTER FRASER.
Mr. Foster Fraser is the prince of special correspondents and lightning travellers. He started on his bicycle from England in 1896, crossed Europe, reached Persia by way of the Caucasus, traversed India to Calcutta, then went by way of Burmah through the heart of China, then to Japan, and home at last by way of America, bicycling from San Francisco to New York. The tale of this wonderful journey is told in a series of brilliant impressionistic sketches.
Dream Days. (_Dec. 1909._) KENNETH GRAHAME.
The figures in this are the same as those in "The Golden Age" (see page iv), and the art is no less delightful.
The Making of Modern Egypt.
Sir AUCKLAND COLVIN.
A book without a dull page, and in which the complex story of Egyptian development is turned into a romance.
Life of Lord Russell of Killowen.
R. BARRY O'BRIEN.
As Lord Chief Justice, Lord Russell was the greatest figure on the modern bench. The book gives a wonderful picture of a dominant and massive personality.
Life of Alexander Hamilton. F. S. OLIVER.
To Hamilton on the intellectual and political side, as to Washington on the military, the American Union was mainly due. The book was hailed on its first appearance, three years ago, as one of the most remarkable and most important of political biographies. It is specially appropriate at the present moment in view of South African confederation.
From the Cape to Cairo. E. S. GROGAN.
An extraordinary journey, practically all on foot. The book is full of startling pictures, strange adventures, and the story of appalling hardships.
Transcriber's Notes:
Inconsistently-hyphenated words have been left as printed. The printed text used both "deucèd" and "deuced".
Minor changes to punctuation that do not affect the meaning have been made. Typographical errors have been corrected and are shown below. William in the original was referred to as 'Willy' and 'Willie' interchangeably. All instances of 'Willie' have been changed to 'Willy' to avoid confusion. Blank pages in the original were numbered.
'dynamite-look disappeared from Ejna's gentle face, and' 'dynamite-look disappeared from Ejnar's gentle face, and'
'That makes twelve pair for those brave English' 'That makes twelve pairs for those brave English'
'knew whether Herr and Fru Ebbesen could receive her.' 'knew whether Herr and Frue Ebbesen could receive her.'
'ever heard of in Norwegian lore. Don't be anrgy' 'ever heard of in Norwegian lore. Don't be angry'
'that she was unmericful, but only ignorant,' 'that she was unmerciful, but only ignorant,'
'Blomros (red nose), and Fjeldros (mountain rose) responded' 'Blomros (red rose), and Fjeldros (mountain rose) responded'
'"Tak!" they said, turning round and waving to her.' '"Tack!" they said, turning round and waving to her.'
'than the Scotch firs--"Grantraer," as the Norwegians' 'than the Scotch firs--"Grantraeer," as the Norwegians'
'saeter-girls (saeter-gjenter) were busily stirring the contents' 'saeter-girls (saeter-jenter) were busily stirring the contents'
'Every right-minded guests had the same desire when' 'Every right-minded guest had the same desire when'
'was not very jealous of her when my Ejnar began to' 'was not very jealous of her when my Enjar began to'
'She had been living her own personal life, focussing on' 'She had been living her own personal life, focusing on'
'platinum dishes, your carbon compounds, your assymmetric' 'platinum dishes, your carbon compounds, your asymmetric'