San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-01-16
The Master Of BalIantrse
By ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, Aa.
thor DIR. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
NNNo


"Ay, but if you were in my shoes would
you forgive him." asks my lord.
The suddenneSs of the attack a little gray
eled me. sit is a duty laid upon us strictly"
said l.
"Hutl" said he, these are expressions! Do
you forgive the man yourselfn
"Well-no!" said l. God forgive me, ]
do not"
"s,hake hands upon thstl" cries my lord
with a kind of joviality.
sit is an ill sentiment TO shake hands
upon," said |, for Christian people. think
| will give you mine on some more evangeli.
cal occasion"
This said, smiling a little; but as for my
lord. he went from the room laughing aloud
For my lords slavery to the child, | can
find no expression adequate. He lost himself
in that continual thought; business, friends
and wife being all alike forgotten or only re-
membered with painful effort, like that of
one struggling with a posset. 1t was most
notable in the matter Of bis wife. Since
had known Durrisdeer, she had been the bur
den of his thought and the loadstOne of his
eyes; and now, she was quite cast out.
have seen him come to the door of a room,
look round, and pass my lady over as though
Alexander no was seeking, and my lady knew
it we'll. | have heard him speak to her so
ruggedly, that nearly found it in my heart
to intervene; the cause would still be the
Same, that she had in some way thwarted
Alexander. Without doubt this was in the
nature of Judgment on my lady. Without
doubt she had the tables turned upon her as
only Providence can do it; she who had been
cold so many years to every mark of tender
ness, it was her part now to be neglected; the
moro praise to her that she playeu it we'll
An odd situation resulted: that we had
once more two parties in the house, and that
now was of my lady's. Not that ever lost
tho love bore my master. But for one
thing he had the less use for my society. For
another, could not but compare the case OF
Mr.. Alexander with that Of Miss Katharine,
for whom my lord had never found the least
attention. And for third, | was wounded
by the change he discovered to his wife
which struck me in the nature Of an infidel
ity | could not but admire besides the con
stancy and kindness shs displayed. Perhaps
her sentiment to my lord, as it had been
founded from the first in pity, WAS that rather
Of mother than wife perhaps it pleased
her, If may so say, t. behold her two chill.
dren 80 happy in each other, the more as one
had suffered so unjuStly in the past But for
all that, and though | could never trace in
hor ono spark of Jealousy, she must fall back
for society or poor, neglected Miss Katharine,
and |, on my part, camo to pass my spare
hours more and more with the mother and
daughter. 1t would be- easy to make too
much Of this division, FOR it was a pleasant
family as families go; still the thing existed.
whether my lord know it or not ! am in
doubt; do not think no did, he was bound
up 50 entirely in his son, but the rest of us
knew it and in manner suffered from the
knowledge
What troubled us most however was the
great and growing danger To the'child My
lord was his father over again; it WAS to be
feared the son would prove a second master
Time has proved these fears to have been
quite exaggerate. Certainly there is no more
worthy gentleman to-day in Scotland than
tho seventh Lord Durrisdeer. or my own
exodus from his employment, it does not be
come me to speak, above all in a memorandum
written only to justify his father
[EDToR's NorR-Five pages of Mr.. Mac
Eellar's MS are hero omitted have
2. thered from their perusal an impression
that Mr.. MacEellar, in his old age, was rather
an eIacting servant Against the seventh
Lord DurriSdeer with whom, at any rate we
have no concerl,D nothing material is alleged
--R.LSl
But our fear ~ the Inc was lest lie should
turn out, in the person of his son, q second
edition of his brother Ny lady had tried TO
intcrject some wholesome discipline; she bad
been glad to give that up, and now looked on
with secret dismay: sometimes she even spoke
Of it by hints; and sometimes when there was
brought to her knowledge some monstrous
instance of my lords indulgence, she would
betray herself in gesture or perhaps an ex
clamation. As for myself, | was haunted by
the Thought both day and night; not so much
for tho cbild's sake az for the fatbeTs Tn,
man had gone to sleep, he was dreaming
,ream. aad any rough Weakening must infalli
oily provo mortal That be should survive Id
leath WAS inconcedv able. and the fear Of il
hsAonar made mo cover nv facs
Il was ths continual pcsoccspatioa thai
screwed me up al last 30 q rsnsezrtTaaes-a
matter worthy 10 be narrated in 63tail Ny
lord and sat one day n the sanAs table rpou
soMls teiious business Of detail, | have said
that h. had lost his former intRresf in such
occupations. no was plainly isching " b.
ONE, an he looked frstfA, weary, and, nae
thoa ,ht older thaa had ever previously OBJ
served suppose II WAS the bagxarl tace
that put RE suddenly upon nay enterprise
NY lord, d" said |, with my head down, ami
egning to continue my eeeupatIsa
the" vt me- cHl you again by the nans oi
Hr. Henry, for I fear your S,gsr. and wa.t
you 70 think upon old timos"-
my good Mackellari I" said he and that in
tones % kindly that had near forsook my