XII While Miss Linton moped about the park and garden, always silent, and almost always in tears; and her brother shut himself up among books that he never openedwearying, I guessed, with a continual vague expectation that Catherine, repenting her conduct, would come of her own accord to ask pardon, and seek a reconciliationand she fasted pertinaciously, under the idea, probably, that at every meal Edgar was ready to choke for her absence, and pride alone held him from running to cast himself at her feet; I went about my household duties, convinced that the Grange had but one sensible soul in its walls, and that lodged in my body. I wasted no condolences on Miss, nor any expostulations on my mistress; nor did I pay much attention to the sighs of my master, who yearned to hear his ladys name, since he might not hear her voice. I determined they should come about as they pleased for me; and though it was a tiresomely slow process, I began to rejoice at length in a faint dawn of its progress as I thought at first. Mrs. Linton, on the third day, unbarred her door, and having finished the water in her pitcher and decanter, desired a renewed supply, and a basin of gruel, for she believed she was dying. That I set down as a speech meant for Edgars ears; I believed no such thing, so I kept it to myself and brought her some tea and dry toast. She ate and drank eagerly, and sank back on her pillow again, clenching her hands and groaning. Oh, I will die, she exclaimed, since no one cares anything about me. I wish I had not taken that. Then a good while after I heard her murmur, No, Ill not diehed be gladhe does not love me at allhe would never miss me! Did you want anything, maam? I inquired, still preserving my external composure, in spite of her ghastly countenance and strange, exaggerated manner. What is that apathetic being doing? she demanded, pushing the thick entangled locks from her wasted face. Has he fallen into a lethargy, or is he dead? Neither, replied I; if you mean Mr. Linton. Hes tolerably well, I think, though his studies occupy him rather more than they ought he is continually among his books, since he has no other society. I should not have spoken so if I had known her true condition, but I could not get rid of the notion that she acted a part of her disorder. Among his books! she cried, confounded. And I dying! I on the brink of the grave! My God! does he know how Im altered? continued she, staring at her reflection in a mirror hanging against the opposite wall. Is that Catherine Linton? He imagines me in a petin play, perhaps. Cannot you inform him that it is frightful earnest? Nelly, if it be not too late, as soon as I learn how he feels, Ill choose between these two either to starve at oncethat would be no punishment unless he had a heartor to recover, and leave the country. Are you speaking the truth about him now? Take care. Is he actually so utterly indifferent for my life? Why, maam, I answered, the master has no idea of your being deranged; and of course he does not fear that you will let yourself die of hunger. You think not? Cannot you tell him I will? she returned. Persuade him! speak of your own mind say you are certain I will! No, you forget, Mrs. Linton, I suggested, that you have eaten some food with a relish this evening, and tomorrow you will perceive its good effects. If I were only sure it would kill him, she interrupted, Id kill myself directly! These three awful nights Ive never closed my lidsand oh, Ive been tormented! Ive been haunted, Nelly! But I begin to fancy you dont like me. How strange! I thought, though everybody hated and despised each other, they could not avoid loving me. And they have all turned to enemies in a few hours they have, Im positive; the people here. How dreary to meet death, surrounded by their cold faces! Isabella, terrified and repelled, afraid to enter the room, it would be so dreadful to watch Catherine go. And Edgar standing solemnly by to see it over; then offering prayers of thanks to God for restoring peace to his house, and going back to his books! What in the name of all that feels has he to do with books, when I am dying? She could not bear the notion which I had put into her head of Mr. Lintons philosophical resignation. Tossing about, she increased her feverish bewilderment to madness, and tore the pillow with her teeth; then raising herself up all burning, desired that I would open the window. We were in the middle of winter, the wind blew strong from the northeast, and I objected. Both the expressions flitting over her face, and the changes of her moods, began to alarm me terribly; and brought to my recollection her former illness, and the doctors injunction that she should not be crossed. A minute previously she was violent; now, supported on one arm, and not noticing my refusal to obey her, she seemed to find childish diversion in pulling the feathers from the rents she had just made, and ranging them on the sheet according to their different species her mind had strayed to other associations. Thats a turkeys, she murmured to herself; and this is a wild ducks; and this is a pigeons. Ah, they put pigeons feathers in the pillowsno wonder I couldnt die! Let me take care to throw it on the floor when I lie down. And here is a moorcocks; and thisI should know it among a thousandits a lapwings. Bonny bird; wheeling over our heads in the middle of the moor. It wanted to get to its nest, for the clouds had touched the swells, and it felt rain coming. This feather was picked up from the heath, the bird was not shot we saw its nest in the winter, full of little skeletons. Heathcliff set a trap over it, and the old ones dared not come. I made him promise hed never shoot a lapwing after that, and he didnt. Yes, here are more! Did he shoot my lapwings, Nelly? Are they red, any of them? Let me look. Give over with that babywork! I interrupted, dragging the pillow away, and turning the holes towards the mattress, for she was removing its contents by handfuls. Lie down and shut your eyes; youre wandering. Theres a mess! The down is flying about like snow. I went here and there collecting it. I see in you, Nelly, she continued dreamily, an aged woman you have grey hair and bent shoulders. This bed is the fairy cave under Penistone crags, and you are gathering elfbolts to hurt our heifers; pretending, while I am near, that they are only locks of wool. Thats what youll come to fifty years hence I know you are not so now. Im not wandering youre mistaken, or else I should believe you really were that withered hag, and I should think I was under Penistone Crags; and Im conscious its night, and there are two candles on the table making the black press shine like jet. The black press? where is that? I asked. You are talking in your sleep! Its against the wall, as it always is, she replied. It does appear oddI see a face in it! Theres no press in the room, and never was, said I, resuming my seat, and looping up the curtain that I might watch her. Dont you see that face? she inquired, gazing earnestly at the mirror. And say what I could, I was incapable of making her comprehend it to be her own; so I rose and covered it with a shawl. Its behind there still! she pursued, anxiously. And it stirred. Who is it? I hope it will not come out when you are gone! Oh! Nelly, the room is haunted! Im afraid of being alone! I took her hand in mine, and bid her be composed; for a succession of shudders convulsed her frame, and she would keep straining her gaze towards the glass. Theres nobody here! I insisted. It was yourself, Mrs. Linton you knew it a while since. Myself! she gasped, and the clock is striking twelve! Its true, then! thats dreadful! Her fingers clutched the clothes, and gathered them over her eyes. I attempted to steal to the door with an intention of calling her husband; but I was summoned back by a piercing shriekthe shawl had dropped from the frame. Why, what is the matter? cried I. Who is coward now? Wake up! That is the glassthe mirror, Mrs. Linton; and you see yourself in it, and there am I too by your side. Trembling and bewildered, she held me fast, but the horror gradually passed from her countenance; its paleness gave place to a glow of shame. Oh, dear! I thought I was at home, she sighed. I thought I was lying in my chamber at Wuthering Heights. Because Im weak, my brain got confused, and I screamed unconsciously. Dont say anything; but stay with me. I dread sleeping my dreams appal me. A sound sleep would do you good, maam, I answered and I hope this suffering will prevent your trying starving again. Oh, if I were but in my own bed in the old house! she went on bitterly, wringing her hands. And that wind sounding in the firs by the lattice. Do let me feel itit comes straight down the moordo let me have one breath! To pacify her I held the casement ajar a few seconds. A cold blast rushed through; I closed it, and returned to my post. She lay still now, her face bathed in tears. Exhaustion of body had entirely subdued her spirit our fiery Catherine was no better than a wailing child. How long is it since I shut myself in here? she asked, suddenly reviving. It was Monday evening, I replied, and this is Thursday night, or rather Friday morning, at present. What! of the same week? she exclaimed. Only that brief time? Long enough to live on nothing but cold water and illtemper, observed I. Well, it seems a weary number of hours, she muttered doubtfully it must be more. I remember being in the parlour after they had quarrelled, and Edgar being cruelly provoking, and me running into this room desperate. As soon as ever I had barred the door, utter blackness overwhelmed me, and I fell on the floor. I couldnt explain to Edgar how certain I felt of having a fit, or going raging mad, if he persisted in teasing me! I had no command of tongue, or brain, and he did not guess my agony, perhaps it barely left me sense to try to escape from him and his voice. Before I recovered sufficiently to see and hear, it began to be dawn, and, Nelly, Ill tell you what I thought, and what has kept recurring and recurring till I feared for my reason. I thought as I lay there, with my head against that table leg, and my eyes dimly discerning the grey square of the window, that I was enclosed in the oakpanelled bed at home; and my heart ached with some great grief which, just waking, I could not recollect. I pondered, and worried myself to discover what it could be, and, most strangely, the whole last seven years of my life grew a blank! I did not recall that they had been at all. I was a child; my father was just buried, and my misery arose from the separation that Hindley had ordered between me and Heathcliff. I was laid alone, for the first time; and, rousing from a dismal doze after a night of weeping, I lifted my hand to push the panels aside it struck the tabletop! I swept it along the carpet, and then memory burst in my late anguish was swallowed in a paroxysm of despair. I cannot say why I felt so wildly wretched it must have been temporary derangement; for there is scarcely cause. But, supposing at twelve years old I had been wrenched from the Heights, and every early association, and my all in all, as Heathcliff was at that time, and been converted at a stroke into Mrs. Linton, the lady of Thrushcross Grange, and the wife of a stranger an exile, and outcast, thenceforth, from what had been my world. You may fancy a glimpse of the abyss where I grovelled! Shake your head as you will, Nelly, you have helped to unsettle me! You should have spoken to Edgar, indeed you should, and compelled him to leave me quiet! Oh, Im burning! I wish I were out of doors! I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I so changed? why does my blood rush into a hell of tumult at a few words? Im sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills. Open the window again wide fasten it open! Quick, why dont you move? Because I wont give you your death of cold, I answered. You wont give me a chance of life, you mean, she said, sullenly. However, Im not helpless yet; Ill open it myself. And sliding from the bed before I could hinder her, she crossed the room, walking very uncertainly, threw it back, and bent out, careless of the frosty air that cut about her shoulders as keen as a knife. I entreated, and finally attempted to force her to retire. But I soon found her delirious strength much surpassed mine (she was delirious, I became convinced by her subsequent actions and ravings). There was no moon, and everything beneath lay in misty darkness not a light gleamed from any house, far or near all had been extinguished long ago and those at Wuthering Heights were never visiblestill she asserted she caught their shining. Look! she cried eagerly, thats my room with the candle in it, and the trees swaying before it; and the other candle is in Josephs garret. Joseph sits up late, doesnt he? Hes waiting till I come home that he may lock the gate. Well, hell wait a while yet. Its a rough journey, and a sad heart to travel it; and we must pass by Gimmerton Kirk to go that journey! Weve braved its ghosts often together, and dared each other to stand among the graves and ask them to come. But, Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? If you do, Ill keep you. Ill not lie there by myself they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I wont rest till you are with me. I never will! She paused, and resumed with a strange smile. Hes consideringhed rather Id come to him! Find a way, then! not through that kirkyard. You are slow! Be content, you always followed me! Perceiving it vain to argue against her insanity, I was planning how I could reach something to wrap about her, without quitting my hold of herself (for I could not trust her alone by the gaping lattice), when, to my consternation, I heard the rattle of the doorhandle, and Mr. Linton entered. He had only then come from the library; and, in passing through the lobby, had noticed our talking and been attracted by curiosity, or fear, to examine what it signified, at that late hour. Oh, sir! I cried, checking the exclamation risen to his lips at the sight which met him, and the bleak atmosphere of the chamber. My poor mistress is ill, and she quite masters me I cannot manage her at all; pray, come and persuade her to go to bed. Forget your anger, for shes hard to guide any way but her own. Catherine ill? he said, hastening to us. Shut the window, Ellen! Catherine! why He was silent. The haggardness of Mrs. Lintons appearance smote him speechless, and he could only glance from her to me in horrified astonishment. Shes been fretting here, I continued, and eating scarcely anything, and never complaining she would admit none of us till this evening, and so we couldnt inform you of her state, as we were not aware of it ourselves; but it is nothing. I felt I uttered my explanations awkwardly; the master frowned. It is nothing, is it, Ellen Dean? he said sternly. You shall account more clearly for keeping me ignorant of this! And he took his wife in his arms, and looked at her with anguish. At first she gave him no glance of recognition he was invisible to her abstracted gaze. The delirium was not fixed, however; having weaned her eyes from contemplating the outer darkness, by degrees she centred her attention on him, and discovered who it was that held her. Ah! you are come, are you, Edgar Linton? she said, with angry animation. You are one of those things that are ever found when least wanted, and when you are wanted, never! I suppose we shall have plenty of lamentations nowI see we shallbut they cant keep me from my narrow home out yonder my restingplace, where Im bound before spring is over! There it is not among the Lintons, mind, under the chapelroof, but in the open air, with a headstone; and you may please yourself whether you go to them or come to me! Catherine, what have you done? commenced the master. Am I nothing to you any more? Do you love that wretch Heath Hush! cried Mrs. Linton. Hush, this moment! You mention that name and I end the matter instantly by a spring from the window! What you touch at present you may have; but my soul will be on that hilltop before you lay hands on me again. I dont want you, Edgar Im past wanting you. Return to your books. Im glad you possess a consolation, for all you had in me is gone. Her mind wanders, sir, I interposed. She has been talking nonsense the whole evening; but let her have quiet, and proper attendance, and shell rally. Hereafter, we must be cautious how we vex her. I desire no further advice from you, answered Mr. Linton. You knew your mistresss nature, and you encouraged me to harass her. And not to give me one hint of how she has been these three days! It was heartless! Months of sickness could not cause such a change! I began to defend myself, thinking it too bad to be blamed for anothers wicked waywardness. I knew Mrs. Lintons nature to be headstrong and domineering, cried I but I didnt know that you wished to foster her fierce temper! I didnt know that, to humour her, I should wink at Mr. Heathcliff. I performed the duty of a faithful servant in telling you, and I have got a faithful servants wages! Well, it will teach me to be careful next time. Next time you may gather intelligence for yourself! The next time you bring a tale to me you shall quit my service, Ellen Dean, he replied. Youd rather hear nothing about it, I suppose, then, Mr. Linton? said I. Heathcliff has your permission to come acourting to Miss, and to drop in at every opportunity your absence offers, on purpose to poison the mistress against you? Confused as Catherine was, her wits were alert at applying our conversation. Ah! Nelly has played traitor, she exclaimed, passionately. Nelly is my hidden enemy. You witch! So you do seek elfbolts to hurt us! Let me go, and Ill make her rue! Ill make her howl a recantation! A maniacs fury kindled under her brows; she struggled desperately to disengage herself from Lintons arms. I felt no inclination to tarry the event; and, resolving to seek medical aid on my own responsibility, I quitted the chamber. In passing the garden to reach the road, at a place where a bridle hook is driven into the wall, I saw something white moved irregularly, evidently by another agent than the wind. Notwithstanding my hurry, I stayed to examine it, lest ever after I should have the conviction impressed on my imagination that it was a creature of the other world. My surprise and perplexity were great on discovering, by touch more than vision, Miss Isabellas springer, Fanny, suspended by a handkerchief, and nearly at its last gasp. I quickly released the animal, and lifted it into the garden. I had seen it follow its mistress upstairs when she went to bed; and wondered much how it could have got out there, and what mischievous person had treated it so. While untying the knot round the hook, it seemed to me that I repeatedly caught the beat of horses feet galloping at some distance; but there were such a number of things to occupy my reflections that I hardly gave the circumstance a thought though it was a strange sound, in that place, at two oclock in the morning. Mr. Kenneth was fortunately just issuing from his house to see a patient in the village as I came up the street; and my account of Catherine Lintons malady induced him to accompany me back immediately. He was a plain rough man; and he made no scruple to speak his doubts of her surviving this second attack; unless she were more submissive to his directions than she had shown herself before. Nelly Dean, said he, I cant help fancying theres an extra cause for this. What has there been to do at the Grange? Weve odd reports up here. A stout, hearty lass like Catherine does not fall ill for a trifle; and that sort of people should not either. Its hard work bringing them through fevers, and such things. How did it begin? The master will inform you, I answered; but you are acquainted with the Earnshaws violent dispositions, and Mrs. Linton caps them all. I may say this; it commenced in a quarrel. She was struck during a tempest of passion with a kind of fit. Thats her account, at least for she flew off in the height of it, and locked herself up. Afterwards, she refused to eat, and now she alternately raves and remains in a half dream; knowing those about her, but having her mind filled with all sorts of strange ideas and illusions. Mr. Linton will be sorry? observed Kenneth, interrogatively. Sorry? hell break his heart should anything happen! I replied. Dont alarm him more than necessary. Well, I told him to beware, said my companion; and he must bide the consequences of neglecting my warning! Hasnt he been intimate with Mr. Heathcliff lately? Heathcliff frequently visits at the Grange, answered I, though more on the strength of the mistress having known him when a boy, than because the master likes his company. At present hes discharged from the trouble of calling; owing to some presumptuous aspirations after Miss Linton which he manifested. I hardly think hell be taken in again. And does Miss Linton turn a cold shoulder on him? was the doctors next question. Im not in her confidence, returned I, reluctant to continue the subject. No, shes a sly one, he remarked, shaking his head. She keeps her own counsel! But shes a real little fool. I have it from good authority that last night (and a pretty night it was!) she and Heathcliff were walking in the plantation at the back of your house above two hours; and he pressed her not to go in again, but just mount his horse and away with him! My informant said she could only put him off by pledging her word of honour to be prepared on their first meeting after that when it was to be he didnt hear; but you urge Mr. Linton to look sharp! This news filled me with fresh fears; I outstripped Kenneth, and ran most of the way back. The little dog was yelping in the garden yet. I spared a minute to open the gate for it, but instead of going to the house door, it coursed up and down snuffing the grass, and would have escaped to the road, had I not seized it and conveyed it in with me. On ascending to Isabellas room, my suspicions were confirmed it was empty. Had I been a few hours sooner Mrs. Lintons illness might have arrested her rash step. But what could be done now? There was a bare possibility of overtaking them if pursued instantly. I could not pursue them, however; and I dared not rouse the family, and fill the place with confusion; still less unfold the business to my master, absorbed as he was in his present calamity, and having no heart to spare for a second grief! I saw nothing for it but to hold my tongue, and suffer matters to take their course; and Kenneth being arrived, I went with a badly composed countenance to announce him. Catherine lay in a troubled sleep her husband had succeeded in soothing the excess of frenzy; he now hung over her pillow, watching every shade and every change of her painfully expressive features. The doctor, on examining the case for himself, spoke hopefully to him of its having a favourable termination, if we could only preserve around her perfect and constant tranquillity. To me, he signified the threatening danger was not so much death, as permanent alienation of intellect. I did not close my eyes that night, nor did Mr. Linton indeed, we never went to bed; and the servants were all up long before the usual hour, moving through the house with stealthy tread, and exchanging whispers as they encountered each other in their vocations. Everyone was active but Miss Isabella; and they began to remark how sound she slept her brother, too, asked if she had risen, and seemed impatient for her presence, and hurt that she showed so little anxiety for her sisterinlaw. I trembled lest he should send me to call her; but I was spared the pain of being the first proclaimant of her flight. One of the maids, a thoughtless girl, who had been on an early errand to Gimmerton, came panting upstairs, openmouthed, and dashed into the chamber, crying Oh, dear, dear! What mun we have next? Master, master, our young lady Hold your noise! cried, I hastily, enraged at her clamorous manner. Speak lower, MaryWhat is the matter? said Mr. Linton. What ails your young lady? Shes gone, shes gone! Yon Heathcliffs run off wi her! gasped the girl. That is not true! exclaimed Linton, rising in agitation. It cannot be how has the idea entered your head? Ellen Dean, go and seek her. It is incredible it cannot be. As he spoke he took the servant to the door, and then repeated his demand to know her reasons for such an assertion. Why, I met on the road a lad that fetches milk here, she stammered, and he asked whether we werent in trouble at the Grange. I thought he meant for mississ sickness, so I answered, yes. Then says he, Theres somebody gone after em, I guess? I stared. He saw I knew nought about it, and he told how a gentleman and lady had stopped to have a horses shoe fastened at a blacksmiths shop, two miles out of Gimmerton, not very long after midnight! and how the blacksmiths lass had got up to spy who they were she knew them both directly. And she noticed the manHeathcliff it was, she felt certain nobdy could mistake him, besidesput a sovereign in her fathers hand for payment. The lady had a cloak about her face; but having desired a sup of water, while she drank it fell back, and she saw her very plain. Heathcliff held both bridles as they rode on, and they set their faces from the village, and went as fast as the rough roads would let them. The lass said nothing to her father, but she told it all over Gimmerton this morning. I ran and peeped, for forms sake, into Isabellas room; confirming, when I returned, the servants statement. Mr. Linton had resumed his seat by the bed; on my reentrance, he raised his eyes, read the meaning of my blank aspect, and dropped them without giving an order, or uttering a word. Are we to try any measures for overtaking and bringing her back, I inquired. How should we do? She went of her own accord, answered the master; she had a right to go if she pleased. Trouble me no more about her. Hereafter she is only my sister in name; not because I disown her, but because she has disowned me. And that was all he said on the subject he did not make single inquiry further, or mention her in any way, except directing me to send what property she had in the house to her fresh home, wherever it was, when I knew it. XIII For two months the fugitives remained absent; in those two months, Mrs. Linton encountered and conquered the worst shock of what was denominated a brain fever. No mother could have nursed an only child more devotedly than Edgar tended her. Day and night he was watching, and patiently enduring all the annoyances that irritable nerves and a shaken reason could inflict; and, though Kenneth remarked that what he saved from the grave would only recompense his care by forming the source of constant future anxietyin fact, that his health and strength were being sacrificed to preserve a mere ruin of humanityhe knew no limits in gratitude and joy when Catherines life was declared out of danger; and hour after hour he would sit beside her, tracing the gradual return to bodily health, and flattering his too sanguine hopes with the illusion that her mind would settle back to its right balance also, and she would soon be entirely her former self. The first time she left her chamber was at the commencement of the following March. Mr. Linton had put on her pillow, in the morning, a handful of golden crocuses; her eye, long stranger to any gleam of pleasure, caught them in waking, and shone delighted as she gathered them eagerly together. These are the earliest flowers at the Heights, she exclaimed. They remind me of soft thaw winds, and warm sunshine, and nearly melted snow. Edgar, is there not a south wind, and is not the snow almost gone? The snow is quite gone down here, darling, replied her husband; and I only see two white spots on the whole range of moors the sky is blue, and the larks are singing, and the becks and brooks are all brim full. Catherine, last spring at this time, I was longing to have you under this roof; now, I wish you were a mile or two up those hills the air blows so sweetly, I feel that it would cure you. I shall never be there but once more, said the invalid; and then youll leave me, and I shall remain forever. Next spring youll long again to have me under this roof, and youll look back and think you were happy today. Linton lavished on her the kindest caresses, and tried to cheer her by the fondest words; but, vaguely regarding the flowers, she let the tears collect on her lashes and stream down her cheeks unheeding. We knew she was really better, and, therefore, decided that long confinement to a single place produced much of this despondency, and it might be partially removed by a change of scene. The master told me to light a fire in the manyweeks deserted parlour, and to set an easychair in the sunshine by the window; and then he brought her down, and she sat a long while enjoying the genial heat, and, as we expected, revived by the objects round her which, though familiar, were free from the dreary associations investing her hated sick chamber. By evening she seemed greatly exhausted; yet no arguments could persuade her to return to that apartment, and I had to arrange the parlour sofa for her bed, till another room could be prepared. To obviate the fatigue of mounting and descending the stairs, we fitted up this, where you lie at presenton the same floor with the parlour; and she was soon strong enough to move from one to the other, leaning on Edgars arm. Ah, I thought myself, she might recover, so waited on as she was. And there was double cause to desire it, for on her existence depended that of another we cherished the hope that in a little while Mr. Lintons heart would be gladdened, and his lands secured from a strangers grip, by the birth of an heir. I should mention that Isabella sent to her brother, some six weeks from her departure, a short note, announcing her marriage with Heathcliff. It appeared dry and cold; but at the bottom was dotted in with pencil an obscure apology, and an entreaty for kind remembrance and reconciliation, if her proceeding had offended him asserting that she could not help it then, and being done, she had now no power to repeal it. Linton did not reply to this, I believe; and, in a fortnight more, I got a long letter, which I considered odd, coming from the pen of a bride just out of the honeymoon. Ill read it for I keep it yet. Any relic of the dead is precious, if they were valued living. Dear Ellen, it beginsI came last night to Wuthering Heights, and heard, for the first time, that Catherine has been, and is yet, very ill. I must not write to her, I suppose, and my brother is either too angry or too distressed to answer what I sent him. Still, I must write to somebody, and the only choice left me is you. Inform Edgar that Id give the world to see his face againthat my heart returned to Thrushcross Grange in twentyfour hours after I left it, and is there at this moment, full of warm feelings for him, and Catherine! I cant follow it though(these words are underlined)they need not expect me, and they may draw what conclusions they please; taking care, however, to lay nothing at the door of my weak will or deficient affection. The remainder of the letter is for yourself alone. I want to ask you two questions the first isHow did you contrive to preserve the common sympathies of human nature when you resided here? I cannot recognise any sentiment which those around share with me. The second question I have great interest in; it is thisIs Mr.


Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil? I shant tell my reasons for making this inquiry; but I beseech you to explain, if you can, what I have married that is, when you call to see me; and you must call, Ellen, very soon. Dont write, but come, and bring me something from Edgar. Now, you shall hear how I have been received in my new home, as I am led to imagine the Heights will be. It is to amuse myself that I dwell on such subjects as the lack of external comforts they never occupy my thoughts, except at the moment when I miss them. I should laugh and dance for joy, if I found their absence was the total of my miseries, and the rest was an unnatural dream! The sun set behind the Grange as we turned on to the moors; by that, I judged it to be six oclock; and my companion halted half an hour, to inspect the park, and the gardens, and, probably, the place itself, as well as he could; so it was dark when we dismounted in the paved yard of the farmhouse, and your old fellowservant, Joseph, issued out to receive us by the light of a dip candle. He did it with a courtesy that redounded to his credit. His first act was to elevate his torch to a level with my face, squint malignantly, project his underlip, and turn away. Then he took the two horses, and led them into the stables; reappearing for the purpose of locking the outer gate, as if we lived in an ancient castle. Heathcliff stayed to speak to him, and I entered the kitchena dingy, untidy hole; I daresay you would not know it, it is so changed since it was in your charge. By the fire stood a ruffianly child, strong in limb and dirty in garb, with a look of Catherine in his eyes and about his mouth. This is Edgars legal nephew, I reflectedmine in a manner; I must shake hands, andyesI must kiss him. It is right to establish a good understanding at the beginning. I approached, and, attempting to take his chubby fist, saidHow do you do, my dear? He replied in a jargon I did not comprehend. Shall you and I be friends, Hareton? was my next essay at conversation. An oath, and a threat to set Throttler on me if I did not frame off rewarded my perseverance. Hey, Throttler, lad! whispered the little wretch, rousing a halfbred bulldog from its lair in a corner. Now, wilt thou be ganging? he asked authoritatively. Love for my life urged a compliance; I stepped over the threshold to wait till the others should enter. Mr. Heathcliff was nowhere visible; and Joseph, whom I followed to the stables, and requested to accompany me in, after staring and muttering to himself, screwed up his nose and repliedMim! mim! mim! Did iver Christian body hear aught like it? Mincing un munching! How can I tell whet ye say? I say, I wish you to come with me into the house! I cried, thinking him deaf, yet highly disgusted at his rudeness. None o me! I getten summut else to do, he answered, and continued his work; moving his lantern jaws meanwhile, and surveying my dress and countenance (the former a great deal too fine, but the latter, Im sure, as sad as he could desire) with sovereign contempt. I walked round the yard, and through a wicket, to another door, at which I took the liberty of knocking, in hopes some more civil servant might show himself. After a short suspense, it was opened by a tall, gaunt man, without neckerchief, and otherwise extremely slovenly; his features were lost in masses of shaggy hair that hung on his shoulders; and his eyes, too, were like a ghostly Catherines with all their beauty annihilated. Whats your business here? he demanded, grimly. Who are you? My name was Isabella Linton, I replied. Youve seen me before, sir. Im lately married to Mr. Heathcliff, and he has brought me hereI suppose, by your permission. Is he come back, then? asked the hermit, glaring like a hungry wolf. Yeswe came just now, I said; but he left me by the kitchen door; and when I would have gone in, your little boy played sentinel over the place, and frightened me off by the help of a bulldog. Its well the hellish villain has kept his word! growled my future host, searching the darkness beyond me in expectation of discovering Heathcliff; and then he indulged in a soliloquy of execrations, and threats of what he would have done had the fiend deceived him. I repented having tried this second entrance, and was almost inclined to slip away before he finished cursing, but ere I could execute that intention, he ordered me in, and shut and refastened the door. There was a great fire, and that was all the light in the huge apartment, whose floor had grown a uniform grey; and the once brilliant pewterdishes, which used to attract my gaze when I was a girl, partook of a similar obscurity, created by tarnish and dust. I inquired whether I might call the maid, and be conducted to a bedroom! Mr. Earnshaw vouchsafed no answer. He walked up and down, with his hands in his pockets, apparently quite forgetting my presence; and his abstraction was evidently so deep, and his whole aspect so misanthropical, that I shrank from disturbing him again. Youll not be surprised, Ellen, at my feeling particularly cheerless, seated in worse than solitude on that inhospitable hearth, and remembering that four miles distant lay my delightful home, containing the only people I loved on earth; and there might as well be the Atlantic to part us, instead of those four miles I could not overpass them! I questioned with myselfwhere must I turn for comfort? andmind you dont tell Edgar, or Catherineabove every sorrow beside, this rose preeminent despair at finding nobody who could or would be my ally against Heathcliff! I had sought shelter at Wuthering Heights, almost gladly, because I was secured by that arrangement from living alone with him; but he knew the people we were coming amongst, and he did not fear their intermeddling. I sat and thought a doleful time the clock struck eight, and nine, and still my companion paced to and fro, his head bent on his breast, and perfectly silent, unless a groan or a bitter ejaculation forced itself out at intervals. I listened to detect a womans voice in the house, and filled the interim with wild regrets and dismal anticipations, which, at last, spoke audibly in irrepressible sighing and weeping. I was not aware how openly I grieved, till Earnshaw halted opposite, in his measured walk, and gave me a stare of newlyawakened surprise. Taking advantage of his recovered attention, I exclaimedIm tired with my journey, and I want to go to bed! Where is the maidservant? Direct me to her, as she wont come to me! We have none, he answered; you must wait on yourself! Where must I sleep, then? I sobbed; I was beyond regarding selfrespect, weighed down by fatigue and wretchedness. Joseph will show you Heathcliffs chamber, said he; open that doorhes in there. I was going to obey, but he suddenly arrested me, and added in the strangest toneBe so good as to turn your lock, and draw your boltdont omit it! Well! I said. But why, Mr. Earnshaw? I did not relish the notion of deliberately fastening myself in with Heathcliff. Look here! he replied, pulling from his waistcoat a curiouslyconstructed pistol, having a doubleedged spring knife attached to the barrel. Thats a great tempter to a desperate man, is it not? I cannot resist going up with this every night, and trying his door. If once I find it open hes done for; I do it invariably, even though the minute before I have been recalling a hundred reasons that should make me refrain it is some devil that urges me to thwart my own schemes by killing him. You fight against that devil for love as long as you may; when the time comes, not all the angels in heaven shall save him! I surveyed the weapon inquisitively. A hideous notion struck me how powerful I should be possessing such an instrument! I took it from his hand, and touched the blade. He looked astonished at the expression my face assumed during a brief second it was not horror, it was covetousness. He snatched the pistol back, jealously; shut the knife, and returned it to its concealment. I dont care if you tell him, said he. Put him on his guard, and watch for him. You know the terms we are on, I see his danger does not shock you. What has Heathcliff done to you? I asked. In what has he wronged you, to warrant this appalling hatred? Wouldnt it be wiser to bid him quit the house? No! thundered Earnshaw; should he offer to leave me, hes a dead man persuade him to attempt it, and you are a murderess! Am I to lose all, without a chance of retrieval? Is Hareton to be a beggar? Oh, damnation! I will have it back; and Ill have his gold too; and then his blood; and hell shall have his soul! It will be ten times blacker with that guest than ever it was before! Youve acquainted me, Ellen, with your old masters habits. He is clearly on the verge of madness he was so last night at least. I shuddered to be near him, and thought on the servants illbred moroseness as comparatively agreeable. He now recommenced his moody walk, and I raised the latch, and escaped into the kitchen. Joseph was bending over the fire, peering into a large pan that swung above it; and a wooden bowl of oatmeal stood on the settle close by. The contents of the pan began to boil, and he turned to plunge his hand into the bowl; I conjectured that this preparation was probably for our supper, and, being hungry, I resolved it should be eatable; so, crying out sharply, Ill make the porridge! I removed the vessel out of his reach, and proceeded to take off my hat and ridinghabit. Mr. Earnshaw, I continued, directs me to wait on myself I will. Im not going to act the lady among you, for fear I should starve. Gooid Lord! he muttered, sitting down, and stroking his ribbed stockings from the knee to the ankle. If theres to be fresh ortheringsjust when I getten used to two maisters, if I mun hev a mistress set oer my heead, its like time to be flitting. I niver did think to see t day that I mud lave th owld placebut I doubt its nigh at hand! This lamentation drew no notice from me I went briskly to work, sighing to remember a period when it would have been all merry fun; but compelled speedily to drive off the remembrance. It racked me to recall past happiness and the greater peril there was of conjuring up its apparition, the quicker the thible ran round, and the faster the handfuls of meal fell into the water. Joseph beheld my style of cookery with growing indignation. Thear! he ejaculated. Hareton, thou willnt sup thy porridge toneeght; theyll be naught but lumps as big as my neive. Thear, agean! Id fling in bowl un all, if I wer ye! There, pale t guilp off, un then yell hae done wi t. Bang, bang. Its a mercy t bothom isnt deaved out! It was rather a rough mess, I own, when poured into the basins; four had been provided, and a gallon pitcher of new milk was brought from the dairy, which Hareton seized and commenced drinking and spilling from the expansive lip. I expostulated, and desired that he should have his in a mug; affirming that I could not taste the liquid treated so dirtily. The old cynic chose to be vastly offended at this nicety; assuring me, repeatedly, that the barn was every bit as good as I, and every bit as wollsome, and wondering how I could fashion to be so conceited. Meanwhile, the infant ruffian continued sucking; and glowered up at me defyingly, as he slavered into the jug. I shall have my supper in another room, I said. Have you no place you call a parlour? Parlour! he echoed, sneeringly, parlour! Nay, weve noa parlours. If yah dunnut loike wer company, theres maisters; un if yah dunnut loike maister, theres us. Then I shall go upstairs, I answered; show me a chamber. I put my basin on a tray, and went myself to fetch some more milk. With great grumblings, the fellow rose, and preceded me in my ascent we mounted to the garrets; he opened a door, now and then, to look into the apartments we passed. Heres a rahm, he said, at last, flinging back a cranky board on hinges. Its weel eneugh to ate a few porridge in. Theres a pack o corn i t corner, thear, meeterly clane; if yere feared o muckying yer grand silk cloes, spread yer hankerchir o t top ont. The rahm was a kind of lumberhole smelling strong of malt and grain; various sacks of which articles were piled around, leaving a wide, bare space in the middle. Why, man, I exclaimed, facing him angrily, this is not a place to sleep in. I wish to see my bedroom. Bedrume! he repeated, in a tone of mockery. Yahs see all t bedrumes thear isyons mine. He pointed into the second garret, only differing from the first in being more naked about the walls, and having a large, low, curtainless bed, with an indigocoloured quilt, at one end. What do I want with yours? I retorted. I suppose Mr. Heathcliff does not lodge at the top of the house, does he? Oh! its Maister Hathecliffs yere wanting? cried he, as if making a new discovery. Couldnt ye ha said soa, at onst? un then, I mud ha telled ye, baht all this wark, that thats just one ye cannut seehe allas keeps it locked, un nobdy iver mells ont but hisseln. Youve a nice house, Joseph, I could not refrain from observing, and pleasant inmates; and I think the concentrated essence of all the madness in the world took up its abode in my brain the day I linked my fate with theirs! However, that is not to the present purposethere are other rooms. For heavens sake be quick, and let me settle somewhere! He made no reply to this adjuration; only plodding doggedly down the wooden steps, and halting, before an apartment which, from that halt and the superior quality of its furniture, I conjectured to be the best one. There was a carpeta good one, but the pattern was obliterated by dust; a fireplace hung with cutpaper, dropping to pieces; a handsome oakbedstead with ample crimson curtains of rather expensive material and modern make; but they had evidently experienced rough usage the vallances hung in festoons, wrenched from their rings, and the iron rod supporting them was bent in an arc on one side, causing the drapery to trail upon the floor. The chairs were also damaged, many of them severely; and deep indentations deformed the panels of the walls. I was endeavouring to gather resolution for entering and taking possession, when my fool of a guide announcedThis here is t maisters. My supper by this time was cold, my appetite gone, and my patience exhausted. I insisted on being provided instantly with a place of refuge, and means of repose. Whear the divil? began the religious elder. The Lord bless us! The Lord forgie us! Whear the hell wold ye gang? ye marred, wearisome nowt! Yeve seen all but Haretons bit of a chamer. Theres not another hoile to lig down in i th hahse! I was so vexed, I flung my tray and its contents on the ground; and then seated myself at the stairshead, hid my face in my hands, and cried. Ech! ech! exclaimed Joseph. Weel done, Miss Cathy! weel done, Miss Cathy! Howsiver, t maister sall just tumle oer them brooken pots; un then wes hear summut; wes hear how its to be. Gooidfornaught madling! ye desarve pining fro this to Chrustmas, flinging t precious gifts oGod under fooit i yer flaysome rages! But Im mistaen if ye show yer sperrit lang. Will Hathecliff bide sich bonny ways, think ye? I nobbut wish he may catch ye i that plisky. I nobbut wish he may. And so he went on scolding to his den beneath, taking the candle with him; and I remained in the dark. The period of reflection succeeding this silly action compelled me to admit the necessity of smothering my pride and choking my wrath, and bestirring myself to remove its effects. An unexpected aid presently appeared in the shape of Throttler, whom I now recognised as a son of our old Skulker it had spent its whelphood at the Grange, and was given by my father to Mr. Hindley. I fancy it knew me it pushed its nose against mine by way of salute, and then hastened to devour the porridge; while I groped from step to step, collecting the shattered earthenware, and drying the spatters of milk from the banister with my pockethandkerchief. Our labours were scarcely over when I heard Earnshaws tread in the passage; my assistant tucked in his tail, and pressed to the wall; I stole into the nearest doorway. The dogs endeavour to avoid him was unsuccessful; as I guessed by a scutter downstairs, and a prolonged, piteous yelping. I had better luck he passed on, entered his chamber, and shut the door. Directly after Joseph came up with Hareton, to put him to bed. I had found shelter in Haretons room, and the old man, on seeing me, saidTheys rahm for boath ye un yer pride, now, I sud think i the hahse. Its empty; ye may hev it all to yerseln, un Him as allus maks a third, i sich ill company! Gladly did I take advantage of this intimation; and the minute I flung myself into a chair, by the fire, I nodded, and slept. My slumber was deep and sweet, though over far too soon. Mr. Heathcliff awoke me; he had just come in, and demanded, in his loving manner, what I was doing there? I told him the cause of my staying up so latethat he had the key of our room in his pocket. The adjective our gave mortal offence. He swore it was not, nor ever should be, mine; and hedbut Ill not repeat his language, nor describe his habitual conduct he is ingenious and unresting in seeking to gain my abhorrence! I sometimes wonder at him with an intensity that deadens my fear yet, I assure you, a tiger or a venomous serpent could not rouse terror in me equal to that which he wakens. He told me of Catherines illness, and accused my brother of causing it promising that I should be Edgars proxy in suffering, till he could get hold of him. I do hate himI am wretchedI have been a fool! Beware of uttering one breath of this to anyone at the Grange. I shall expect you every daydont disappoint me!Isabella. XIV As soon as I had perused this epistle I went to the master, and informed him that his sister had arrived at the Heights, and sent me a letter expressing her sorrow for Mrs. Lintons situation, and her ardent desire to see him; with a wish that he would transmit to her, as early as possible, some token of forgiveness by me. Forgiveness! said Linton. I have nothing to forgive her, Ellen. You may call at Wuthering Heights this afternoon, if you like, and say that I am not angry, but Im sorry to have lost her; especially as I can never think shell be happy. It is out of the question my going to see her, however we are eternally divided; and should she really wish to oblige me, let her persuade the villain she has married to leave the country. And you wont write her a little note, sir? I asked, imploringly. No, he answered. It is needless. My communication with Heathcliffs family shall be as sparing as his with mine. It shall not exist! Mr. Edgars coldness depressed me exceedingly; and all the way from the Grange I puzzled my brains how to put more heart into what he said, when I repeated it; and how to soften his refusal of even a few lines to console Isabella. I daresay she had been on the watch for me since morning I saw her looking through the lattice as I came up the garden causeway, and I nodded to her; but she drew back, as if afraid of being observed. I entered without knocking. There never was such a dreary, dismal scene as the formerly cheerful house presented! I must confess, that if I had been in the young ladys place, I would, at least, have swept the hearth, and wiped the tables with a duster. But she already partook of the pervading spirit of neglect which encompassed her. Her pretty face was wan and listless; her hair uncurled some locks hanging lankly down, and some carelessly twisted round her head. Probably she had not touched her dress since yester evening. Hindley was not there. Mr. Heathcliff sat at a table, turning over some papers in his pocketbook; but he rose when I appeared, asked me how I did, quite friendly, and offered me a chair. He was the only thing there that seemed decent; and I thought he never looked better. So much had circumstances altered their positions, that he would certainly have struck a stranger as a born and bred gentleman; and his wife as a thorough little slattern! She came forward eagerly to greet me, and held out one hand to take the expected letter. I shook my head. She wouldnt understand the hint, but followed me to a sideboard, where I went to lay my bonnet, and importuned me in a whisper to give her directly what I had brought. Heathcliff guessed the meaning of her manoeuvres, and saidIf you have got anything for Isabella (as no doubt you have, Nelly), give it to her. You neednt make a secret of it we have no secrets between us. Oh, I have nothing, I replied, thinking it best to speak the truth at once. My master bid me tell his sister that she must not expect either a letter or a visit from him at present. He sends his love, maam, and his wishes for your happiness, and his pardon for the grief you have occasioned; but he thinks that after this time his household and the household here should drop intercommunication, as nothing could come of keeping it up. Mrs. Heathcliffs lip quivered slightly, and she returned to her seat in the window. Her husband took his stand on the hearthstone, near me, and began to put questions concerning Catherine. I told him as much as I thought proper of her illness, and he extorted from me, by crossexamination, most of the facts connected with its origin. I blamed her, as she deserved, for bringing it all on herself; and ended by hoping that he would follow Mr. Lintons example and avoid future interference with his family, for good or evil. Mrs. Linton is now just recovering, I said; shell never be like she was, but her life is spared; and if you really have a regard for her, youll shun crossing her way again nay, youll move out of this country entirely; and that you may not regret it, Ill inform you Catherine Linton is as different now from your old friend Catherine Earnshaw, as that young lady is different from me. Her appearance is changed greatly, her character much more so; and the person who is compelled, of necessity, to be her companion, will only sustain his affection hereafter by the remembrance of what she once was, by common humanity, and a sense of duty! That is quite possible, remarked Heathcliff, forcing himself to seem calm quite possible that your master should have nothing but common humanity and a sense of duty to fall back upon. But do you imagine that I shall leave Catherine to his duty and humanity? and can you compare my feelings respecting Catherine to his? Before you leave this house, I must exact a promise from you that youll get me an interview with her consent, or refuse, I will see her! What do you say? I say, Mr. Heathcliff, I replied, you must not you never shall, through my means. Another encounter between you and the master would kill her altogether. With your aid that may be avoided, he continued; and should there be danger of such an eventshould he be the cause of adding a single trouble more to her existencewhy, I think I shall be justified in going to extremes! I wish you had sincerity enough to tell me whether Catherine would suffer greatly from his loss the fear that she would restrains me. And there you see the distinction between our feelings had he been in my place, and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I never would have raised a hand against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I never would have banished him from her society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I would have torn his heart out, and drunk his blood! But, till thenif you dont believe me, you dont know metill then, I would have died by inches before I touched a single hair of his head! And yet, I interrupted, you have no scruples in completely ruining all hopes of her perfect restoration, by thrusting yourself into her remembrance now, when she has nearly forgotten you, and involving her in a new tumult of discord and distress. You suppose she has nearly forgotten me? he said. Oh, Nelly! you know she has not! You know as well as I do, that for every thought she spends on Linton she spends a thousand on me! At a most miserable period of my life, I had a notion of the kind it haunted me on my return to the neighbourhood last summer; but only her own assurance could make me admit the horrible idea again. And then, Linton would be nothing, nor Hindley, nor all the dreams that ever I dreamt. Two words would comprehend my futuredeath and hell existence, after losing her, would be hell. Yet I was a fool to fancy for a moment that she valued Edgar Lintons attachment more than mine. If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldnt love as much in eighty years as I could in a day. And Catherine has a heart as deep as I have the sea could be as readily contained in that horsetrough as her whole affection be monopolised by him. Tush! He is scarcely a degree dearer to her than her dog, or her horse. It is not in him to be loved like me how can she love in him what he has not? Catherine and Edgar are as fond of each other as any two people can be, cried Isabella, with sudden vivacity. No one has a right to talk in that manner, and I wont hear my brother depreciated in silence! Your brother is wondrous fond of you too, isnt he? observed Heathcliff, scornfully. He turns you adrift on the world with surprising alacrity. He is not aware of what I suffer, she replied. I didnt tell him that. You have been telling him something, then you have written, have you? To say that I was married, I did writeyou saw the note. And nothing since? No. My young lady is looking sadly the worse for her change of condition, I remarked. Somebodys love comes short in her case, obviously; whose, I may guess; but, perhaps, I shouldnt say. I should guess it was her own, said Heathcliff. She degenerates into a mere slut! She is tired of trying to please me uncommonly early. Youd hardly credit it, but the very morrow of our wedding she was weeping to go home. However, shell suit this house so much the better for not being over nice, and Ill take care she does not disgrace me by rambling abroad. Well, sir, returned I, I hope youll consider that Mrs. Heathcliff is accustomed to be looked after and waited on; and that she has been brought up like an only daughter, whom everyone was ready to serve. You must let her have a maid to keep things tidy about her, and you must treat her kindly. Whatever be your notion of Mr. Edgar, you cannot doubt that she has a capacity for strong attachments, or she wouldnt have abandoned the elegancies, and comforts, and friends of her former home, to fix contentedly, in such a wilderness as this, with you. She abandoned them under a delusion, he answered; picturing in me a hero of romance, and expecting unlimited indulgences from my chivalrous devotion. I can hardly regard her in the light of a rational creature, so obstinately has she persisted in forming a fabulous notion of my character and acting on the false impressions she cherished. But, at last, I think she begins to know me I dont perceive the silly smiles and grimaces that provoked me at first; and the senseless incapability of discerning that I was in earnest when I gave her my opinion of her infatuation and herself. It was a marvellous effort of perspicacity to discover that I did not love her. I believed, at one time, no lessons could teach her that! And yet it is poorly learnt; for this morning she announced, as a piece of appalling intelligence, that I had actually succeeded in making her hate me! A positive labour of Hercules, I assure you! If it be achieved, I have cause to return thanks. Can I trust your assertion, Isabella? Are you sure you hate me? If I let you alone for half a day, wont you come sighing and wheedling to me again? I daresay she would rather I had seemed all tenderness before you it wounds her vanity to have the truth exposed. But I dont care who knows that the passion was wholly on one side and I never told her a lie about it. She cannot accuse me of showing one bit of deceitful softness. The first thing she saw me do, on coming out of the Grange, was to hang up her little dog; and when she pleaded for it, the first words I uttered were a wish that I had the hanging of every being belonging to her, except one possibly she took that exception for herself. But no brutality disgusted her I suppose she has an innate admiration of it, if only her precious person were secure from injury! Now, was it not the depth of absurdityof genuine idiotcy, for that pitiful, slavish, meanminded brach to dream that I could love her? Tell your master, Nelly, that I never, in all my life, met with such an abject thing as she is. She even disgraces the name of Linton; and Ive sometimes relented, from pure lack of invention, in my experiments on what she could endure, and still creep shamefully cringing back! But tell him, also, to set his fraternal and magisterial heart at ease that I keep strictly within the limits of the law. I have avoided, up to this period, giving her the slightest right to claim a separation; and, whats more, shed thank nobody for dividing us. If she desired to go, she might the nuisance of her presence outweighs the gratification to be derived from tormenting her! Mr. Heathcliff, said I, this is the talk of a madman; your wife, most likely, is convinced you are mad; and, for that reason, she has borne with you hitherto but now that you say she may go, shell doubtless avail herself of the permission. You are not so bewitched, maam, are you, as to remain with him of your own accord? Take care, Ellen! answered Isabella, her eyes sparkling irefully; there was no misdoubting by their expression the full success of her partners endeavours to make himself detested. Dont put faith in a single word he speaks. Hes a lying fiend! a monster, and not a human being! Ive been told I might leave him before; and Ive made the attempt, but I dare not repeat it! Only, Ellen, promise youll not mention a syllable of his infamous conversation to my brother or Catherine. Whatever he may pretend, he wishes to provoke Edgar to desperation he says he has married me on purpose to obtain power over him; and he shant obtain itIll die first! I just hope, I pray, that he may forget his diabolical prudence and kill me! The single pleasure I can imagine is to die, or to see him dead! Therethat will do for the present! said Heathcliff. If you are called upon in a court of law, youll remember her language, Nelly! And take a good look at that countenance shes near the point which would suit me. No; youre not fit to be your own guardian, Isabella, now; and I, being your legal protector, must retain you in my custody, however distasteful the obligation may be. Go upstairs; I have something to say to Ellen Dean in private. Thats not the way upstairs, I tell you! Why, this is the road upstairs, child! He seized, and thrust her from the room; and returned mutteringI have no pity! I have no pity! The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush out their entrails! It is a moral teething; and I grind with greater energy in proportion to the increase of pain. Do you understand what the word pity means? I said, hastening to resume my bonnet. Did you ever feel a touch of it in your life? Put that down! he interrupted, perceiving my intention to depart. You are not going yet. Come here now, Nelly I must either persuade or compel you to aid me in fulfilling my determination to see Catherine, and that without delay. I swear that I meditate no harm I dont desire to cause any disturbance, or to exasperate or insult Mr. Linton; I only wish to hear from herself how she is, and why she has been ill; and to ask if anything that I could do would be of use to her.


Last night I was in the Grange garden six hours, and Ill return there tonight; and every night Ill haunt the place, and every day, till I find an opportunity of entering. If Edgar Linton meets me, I shall not hesitate to knock him down, and give him enough to insure his quiescence while I stay. If his servants oppose me, I shall threaten them off with these pistols. But wouldnt it be better to prevent my coming in contact with them, or their master? And you could do it so easily. Id warn you when I came, and then you might let me in unobserved, as soon as she was alone, and watch till I departed, your conscience quite calm you would be hindering mischief. I protested against playing that treacherous part in my employers house and, besides, I urged the cruelty and selfishness of his destroying Mrs. Lintons tranquillity for his satisfaction. The commonest occurrence startles her painfully, I said. Shes all nerves, and she couldnt bear the surprise, Im positive. Dont persist, sir! or else I shall be obliged to inform my master of your designs; and hell take measures to secure his house and its inmates from any such unwarrantable intrusions! In that case Ill take measures to secure you, woman! exclaimed Heathcliff; you shall not leave Wuthering Heights till tomorrow morning. It is a foolish story to assert that Catherine could not bear to see me; and as to surprising her, I dont desire it you must prepare herask her if I may come. You say she never mentions my name, and that I am never mentioned to her. To whom should she mention me if I am a forbidden topic in the house? She thinks you are all spies for her husband. Oh, Ive no doubt shes in hell among you! I guess by her silence, as much as anything, what she feels. You say she is often restless, and anxiouslooking is that a proof of tranquillity? You talk of her mind being unsettled. How the devil could it be otherwise in her frightful isolation? And that insipid, paltry creature attending her from duty and humanity! From pity and charity! He might as well plant an oak in a flowerpot, and expect it to thrive, as imagine he can restore her to vigour in the soil of his shallow cares? Let us settle it at once will you stay here, and am I to fight my way to Catherine over Linton and his footman? Or will you be my friend, as you have been hitherto, and do what I request? Decide! because there is no reason for my lingering another minute, if you persist in your stubborn illnature! Well, Mr. Lockwood, I argued and complained, and flatly refused him fifty times; but in the long run he forced me to an agreement. I engaged to carry a letter from him to my mistress; and should she consent, I promised to let him have intelligence of Lintons next absence from home, when he might come, and get in as he was able I wouldnt be there, and my fellowservants should be equally out of the way. Was it right or wrong? I fear it was wrong, though expedient. I thought I prevented another explosion by my compliance; and I thought, too, it might create a favourable crisis in Catherines mental illness and then I remembered Mr. Edgars stern rebuke of my carrying tales; and I tried to smooth away all disquietude on the subject, by affirming, with frequent iteration, that that betrayal of trust, if it merited so harsh an appellation, should be the last. Notwithstanding, my journey homeward was sadder than my journey thither; and many misgivings I had, ere I could prevail on myself to put the missive into Mrs. Lintons hand. But here is Kenneth; Ill go down, and tell him how much better you are. My history is dree, as we say, and will serve to while away another morning. Dree, and dreary! I reflected as the good woman descended to receive the doctor and not exactly of the kind which I should have chosen to amuse me. But never mind! Ill extract wholesome medicines from Mrs. Deans bitter herbs; and firstly, let me beware of the fascination that lurks in Catherine Heathcliffs brilliant eyes. I should be in a curious taking if I surrendered my heart to that young person, and the daughter turned out a second edition of the mother. XV Another week overand I am so many days nearer health, and spring! I have now heard all my neighbours history, at different sittings, as the housekeeper could spare time from more important occupations. Ill continue it in her own words, only a little condensed. She is, on the whole, a very fair narrator, and I dont think I could improve her style. In the evening, she said, the evening of my visit to the Heights, I knew, as well as if I saw him, that Mr. Heathcliff was about the place; and I shunned going out, because I still carried his letter in my pocket, and didnt want to be threatened or teased any more. I had made up my mind not to give it till my master went somewhere, as I could not guess how its receipt would affect Catherine. The consequence was, that it did not reach her before the lapse of three days. The fourth was Sunday, and I brought it into her room after the family were gone to church. There was a manservant left to keep the house with me, and we generally made a practice of locking the doors during the hours of service; but on that occasion the weather was so warm and pleasant that I set them wide open, and, to fulfil my engagement, as I knew who would be coming, I told my companion that the mistress wished very much for some oranges, and he must run over to the village and get a few, to be paid for on the morrow. He departed, and I went upstairs. Mrs. Linton sat in a loose white dress, with a light shawl over her shoulders, in the recess of the open window, as usual. Her thick, long hair had been partly removed at the beginning of her illness, and now she wore it simply combed in its natural tresses over her temples and neck. Her appearance was altered, as I had told Heathcliff; but when she was calm, there seemed unearthly beauty in the change. The flash of her eyes had been succeeded by a dreamy and melancholy softness; they no longer gave the impression of looking at the objects around her they appeared always to gaze beyond, and far beyondyou would have said out of this world. Then, the paleness of her faceits haggard aspect having vanished as she recovered fleshand the peculiar expression arising from her mental state, though painfully suggestive of their causes, added to the touching interest which she awakened; andinvariably to me, I know, and to any person who saw her, I should thinkrefuted more tangible proofs of convalescence, and stamped her as one doomed to decay. A book lay spread on the sill before her, and the scarcely perceptible wind fluttered its leaves at intervals. I believe Linton had laid it there for she never endeavoured to divert herself with reading, or occupation of any kind, and he would spend many an hour in trying to entice her attention to some subject which had formerly been her amusement. She was conscious of his aim, and in her better moods endured his efforts placidly, only showing their uselessness by now and then suppressing a wearied sigh, and checking him at last with the saddest of smiles and kisses. At other times, she would turn petulantly away, and hide her face in her hands, or even push him off angrily; and then he took care to let her alone, for he was certain of doing no good. Gimmerton chapel bells were still ringing; and the full, mellow flow of the beck in the valley came soothingly on the ear. It was a sweet substitute for the yet absent murmur of the summer foliage, which drowned that music about the Grange when the trees were in leaf. At Wuthering Heights it always sounded on quiet days following a great thaw or a season of steady rain. And of Wuthering Heights Catherine was thinking as she listened that is, if she thought or listened at all; but she had the vague, distant look I mentioned before, which expressed no recognition of material things either by ear or eye. Theres a letter for you, Mrs. Linton, I said, gently inserting it in one hand that rested on her knee. You must read it immediately, because it wants an answer. Shall I break the seal? Yes, she answered, without altering the direction of her eyes. I opened itit was very short. Now, I continued, read it. She drew away her hand, and let it fall. I replaced it in her lap, and stood waiting till it should please her to glance down; but that movement was so long delayed that at last I resumedMust I read it, maam? It is from Mr. Heathcliff. There was a start and a troubled gleam of recollection, and a struggle to arrange her ideas. She lifted the letter, and seemed to peruse it; and when she came to the signature she sighed yet still I found she had not gathered its import, for, upon my desiring to hear her reply, she merely pointed to the name, and gazed at me with mournful and questioning eagerness. Well, he wishes to see you, said I, guessing her need of an interpreter. Hes in the garden by this time, and impatient to know what answer I shall bring. As I spoke, I observed a large dog lying on the sunny grass beneath raise its ears as if about to bark, and then smoothing them back, announce, by a wag of the tail, that someone approached whom it did not consider a stranger. Mrs. Linton bent forward, and listened breathlessly. The minute after a step traversed the hall; the open house was too tempting for Heathcliff to resist walking in most likely he supposed that I was inclined to shirk my promise, and so resolved to trust to his own audacity. With straining eagerness Catherine gazed towards the entrance of her chamber. He did not hit the right room directly she motioned me to admit him, but he found it out ere I could reach the door, and in a stride or two was at her side, and had her grasped in his arms. He neither spoke nor loosed his hold for some five minutes, during which period he bestowed more kisses than ever he gave in his life before, I daresay but then my mistress had kissed him first, and I plainly saw that he could hardly bear, for downright agony, to look into her face! The same conviction had stricken him as me, from the instant he beheld her, that there was no prospect of ultimate recovery thereshe was fated, sure to die. Oh, Cathy! Oh, my life! how can I bear it? was the first sentence he uttered, in a tone that did not seek to disguise his despair. And now he stared at her so earnestly that I thought the very intensity of his gaze would bring tears into his eyes; but they burned with anguish they did not melt. What now? said Catherine, leaning back, and returning his look with a suddenly clouded brow her humour was a mere vane for constantly varying caprices. You and Edgar have broken my heart, Heathcliff! And you both come to bewail the deed to me, as if you were the people to be pitied! I shall not pity you, not I. You have killed meand thriven on it, I think. How strong you are! How many years do you mean to live after I am gone? Heathcliff had knelt on one knee to embrace her; he attempted to rise, but she seized his hair, and kept him down. I wish I could hold you, she continued, bitterly, till we were both dead! I shouldnt care what you suffered. I care nothing for your sufferings. Why shouldnt you suffer? I do! Will you forget me? Will you be happy when I am in the earth? Will you say twenty years hence, Thats the grave of Catherine Earnshaw? I loved her long ago, and was wretched to lose her; but it is past. Ive loved many others since my children are dearer to me than she was; and, at death, I shall not rejoice that I am going to her I shall be sorry that I must leave them! Will you say so, Heathcliff? Dont torture me till Im as mad as yourself, cried he, wrenching his head free, and grinding his teeth. The two, to a cool spectator, made a strange and fearful picture. Well might Catherine deem that heaven would be a land of exile to her, unless with her mortal body she cast away her moral character also. Her present countenance had a wild vindictiveness in its white cheek, and a bloodless lip and scintillating eye; and she retained in her closed fingers a portion of the locks she had been grasping. As to her companion, while raising himself with one hand, he had taken her arm with the other; and so inadequate was his stock of gentleness to the requirements of her condition, that on his letting go I saw four distinct impressions left blue in the colourless skin. Are you possessed with a devil, he pursued, savagely, to talk in that manner to me when you are dying? Do you reflect that all those words will be branded in my memory, and eating deeper eternally after you have left me? You know you lie to say I have killed you and, Catherine, you know that I could as soon forget you as my existence! Is it not sufficient for your infernal selfishness, that while you are at peace I shall writhe in the torments of hell? I shall not be at peace, moaned Catherine, recalled to a sense of physical weakness by the violent, unequal throbbing of her heart, which beat visibly and audibly under this excess of agitation. She said nothing further till the paroxysm was over; then she continued, more kindly Im not wishing you greater torment than I have, Heathcliff. I only wish us never to be parted and should a word of mine distress you hereafter, think I feel the same distress underground, and for my own sake, forgive me! Come here and kneel down again! You never harmed me in your life. Nay, if you nurse anger, that will be worse to remember than my harsh words! Wont you come here again? Do! Heathcliff went to the back of her chair, and leant over, but not so far as to let her see his face, which was livid with emotion. She bent round to look at him; he would not permit it turning abruptly, he walked to the fireplace, where he stood, silent, with his back towards us. Mrs. Lintons glance followed him suspiciously every movement woke a new sentiment in her. After a pause and a prolonged gaze, she resumed; addressing me in accents of indignant disappointment Oh, you see, Nelly, he would not relent a moment to keep me out of the grave. That is how Im loved! Well, never mind. That is not my Heathcliff. I shall love mine yet; and take him with me hes in my soul. And, added she musingly, the thing that irks me most is this shattered prison, after all. Im tired of being enclosed here. Im wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart but really with it, and in it. Nelly, you think you are better and more fortunate than I; in full health and strength you are sorry for mevery soon that will be altered. I shall be sorry for you. I shall be incomparably beyond and above you all. I wonder he wont be near me! She went on to herself. I thought he wished it. Heathcliff, dear! you should not be sullen now. Do come to me, Heathcliff. In her eagerness she rose and supported herself on the arm of the chair. At that earnest appeal he turned to her, looking absolutely desperate. His eyes, wide and wet, at last flashed fiercely on her; his breast heaved convulsively. An instant they held asunder, and then how they met I hardly saw, but Catherine made a spring, and he caught her, and they were locked in an embrace from which I thought my mistress would never be released alive in fact, to my eyes, she seemed directly insensible. He flung himself into the nearest seat, and on my approaching hurriedly to ascertain if she had fainted, he gnashed at me, and foamed like a mad dog, and gathered her to him with greedy jealousy. I did not feel as if I were in the company of a creature of my own species it appeared that he would not understand, though I spoke to him; so I stood off, and held my tongue, in great perplexity. A movement of Catherines relieved me a little presently she put up her hand to clasp his neck, and bring her cheek to his as he held her; while he, in return, covering her with frantic caresses, said wildly You teach me now how cruel youve beencruel and false. Why did you despise me? Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of comfort. You deserve this. You have killed yourself. Yes, you may kiss me, and cry; and wring out my kisses and tears theyll blight youtheyll damn you. You loved methen what right had you to leave me? What rightanswer mefor the poor fancy you felt for Linton? Because misery and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heartyou have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. So much the worse for me that I am strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when youoh, God! would you like to live with your soul in the grave? Let me alone. Let me alone, sobbed Catherine. If Ive done wrong, Im dying for it. It is enough! You left me too but I wont upbraid you! I forgive you. Forgive me! It is hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands, he answered. Kiss me again; and dont let me see your eyes! I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murdererbut yours! How can I? They were silenttheir faces hid against each other, and washed by each others tears. At least, I suppose the weeping was on both sides; as it seemed Heathcliff could weep on a great occasion like this. I grew very uncomfortable, meanwhile; for the afternoon wore fast away, the man whom I had sent off returned from his errand, and I could distinguish, by the shine of the western sun up the valley, a concourse thickening outside Gimmerton chapel porch. Service is over, I announced. My master will be here in half an hour. Heathcliff groaned a curse, and strained Catherine closer she never moved. Ere long I perceived a group of the servants passing up the road towards the kitchen wing. Mr. Linton was not far behind; he opened the gate himself and sauntered slowly up, probably enjoying the lovely afternoon that breathed as soft as summer. Now he is here, I exclaimed. For heavens sake, hurry down! Youll not meet anyone on the front stairs. Do be quick; and stay among the trees till he is fairly in. I must go, Cathy, said Heathcliff, seeking to extricate himself from his companions arms. But if I live, Ill see you again before you are asleep. I wont stray five yards from your window. You must not go! she answered, holding him as firmly as her strength allowed. You shall not, I tell you. For one hour, he pleaded earnestly. Not for one minute, she replied. I mustLinton will be up immediately, persisted the alarmed intruder. He would have risen, and unfixed her fingers by the actshe clung fast, gasping there was mad resolution in her face. No! she shrieked. Oh, dont, dont go. It is the last time! Edgar will not hurt us. Heathcliff, I shall die! I shall die! Damn the fool! There he is, cried Heathcliff, sinking back into his seat. Hush, my darling! Hush, hush, Catherine! Ill stay. If he shot me so, Id expire with a blessing on my lips. And there they were fast again. I heard my master mounting the stairsthe cold sweat ran from my forehead I was horrified. Are you going to listen to her ravings? I said, passionately. She does not know what she says. Will you ruin her, because she has not wit to help herself? Get up! You could be free instantly. That is the most diabolical deed that ever you did. We are all done formaster, mistress, and servant. I wrung my hands, and cried out; and Mr. Linton hastened his step at the noise. In the midst of my agitation, I was sincerely glad to observe that Catherines arms had fallen relaxed, and her head hung down. Shes fainted, or dead, I thought so much the better. Far better that she should be dead, than lingering a burden and a miserymaker to all about her. Edgar sprang to his unbidden guest, blanched with astonishment and rage. What he meant to do I cannot tell; however, the other stopped all demonstrations, at once, by placing the lifelesslooking form in his arms. Look there! he said. Unless you be a fiend, help her firstthen you shall speak to me! He walked into the parlour, and sat down. Mr. Linton summoned me, and with great difficulty, and after resorting to many means, we managed to restore her to sensation; but she was all bewildered; she sighed, and moaned, and knew nobody. Edgar, in his anxiety for her, forgot her hated friend. I did not. I went, at the earliest opportunity, and besought him to depart; affirming that Catherine was better, and he should hear from me in the morning how she passed the night. I shall not refuse to go out of doors, he answered; but I shall stay in the garden and, Nelly, mind you keep your word tomorrow. I shall be under those larchtrees. Mind! or I pay another visit, whether Linton be in or not. He sent a rapid glance through the halfopen door of the chamber, and, ascertaining that what I stated was apparently true, delivered the house of his luckless presence. XVI About twelve oclock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights a puny, sevenmonths child; and two hours after the mother died, having never recovered sufficient consciousness to miss Heathcliff, or know Edgar. The latters distraction at his bereavement is a subject too painful to be dwelt on; its aftereffects showed how deep the sorrow sunk. A great addition, in my eyes, was his being left without an heir. I bemoaned that, as I gazed on the feeble orphan; and I mentally abused old Linton for (what was only natural partiality) the securing his estate to his own daughter, instead of his sons. An unwelcomed infant it was, poor thing! It might have wailed out of life, and nobody cared a morsel, during those first hours of existence. We redeemed the neglect afterwards; but its beginning was as friendless as its end is likely to be. Next morningbright and cheerful out of doorsstole softened in through the blinds of the silent room, and suffused the couch and its occupant with a mellow, tender glow. Edgar Linton had his head laid on the pillow, and his eyes shut. His young and fair features were almost as deathlike as those of the form beside him, and almost as fixed but his was the hush of exhausted anguish, and hers of perfect peace. Her brow smooth, her lids closed, her lips wearing the expression of a smile; no angel in heaven could be more beautiful than she appeared. And I partook of the infinite calm in which she lay my mind was never in a holier frame than while I gazed on that untroubled image of Divine rest. I instinctively echoed the words she had uttered a few hours before Incomparably beyond and above us all! Whether still on earth or now in heaven, her spirit is at home with God! I dont know if it be a peculiarity in me, but I am seldom otherwise than happy while watching in the chamber of death, should no frenzied or despairing mourner share the duty with me. I see a repose that neither earth nor hell can break, and I feel an assurance of the endless and shadowless hereafterthe Eternity they have enteredwhere life is boundless in its duration, and love in its sympathy, and joy in its fullness. I noticed on that occasion how much selfishness there is even in a love like Mr. Lintons, when he so regretted Catherines blessed release! To be sure, one might have doubted, after the wayward and impatient existence she had led, whether she merited a haven of peace at last. One might doubt in seasons of cold reflection; but not then, in the presence of her corpse. It asserted its own tranquillity, which seemed a pledge of equal quiet to its former inhabitant. Do you believe such people are happy in the other world, sir? Id give a great deal to know. I declined answering Mrs. Deans question, which struck me as something heterodox. She proceeded Retracing the course of Catherine Linton, I fear we have no right to think she is; but well leave her with her Maker. The master looked asleep, and I ventured soon after sunrise to quit the room and steal out to the pure refreshing air. The servants thought me gone to shake off the drowsiness of my protracted watch; in reality, my chief motive was seeing Mr. Heathcliff. If he had remained among the larches all night, he would have heard nothing of the stir at the Grange; unless, perhaps, he might catch the gallop of the messenger going to Gimmerton. If he had come nearer, he would probably be aware, from the lights flitting to and fro, and the opening and shutting of the outer doors, that all was not right within. I wished, yet feared, to find him. I felt the terrible news must be told, and I longed to get it over; but how to do it I did not know. He was thereat least, a few yards further in the park; leant against an old ashtree, his hat off, and his hair soaked with the dew that had gathered on the budded branches, and fell pattering round him. He had been standing a long time in that position, for I saw a pair of ousels passing and repassing scarcely three feet from him, busy in building their nest, and regarding his proximity no more than that of a piece of timber. They flew off at my approach, and he raised his eyes and spokeShes dead! he said; Ive not waited for you to learn that. Put your handkerchief awaydont snivel before me. Damn you all! she wants none of your tears! I was weeping as much for him as her we do sometimes pity creatures that have none of the feeling either for themselves or others. When I first looked into his face, I perceived that he had got intelligence of the catastrophe; and a foolish notion struck me that his heart was quelled and he prayed, because his lips moved and his gaze was bent on the ground. Yes, shes dead! I answered, checking my sobs and drying my cheeks. Gone to heaven, I hope; where we may, everyone, join her, if we take due warning and leave our evil ways to follow good! Did she take due warning, then? asked Heathcliff, attempting a sneer. Did she die like a saint? Come, give me a true history of the event. How did? He endeavoured to pronounce the name, but could not manage it; and compressing his mouth he held a silent combat with his inward agony, defying, meanwhile, my sympathy with an unflinching, ferocious stare. How did she die? he resumed, at lastfain, notwithstanding his hardihood, to have a support behind him; for, after the struggle, he trembled, in spite of himself, to his very fingerends. Poor wretch! I thought; you have a heart and nerves the same as your brother men! Why should you be anxious to conceal them? Your pride cannot blind God! You tempt him to wring them, till he forces a cry of humiliation. Quietly as a lamb! I answered, aloud. She drew a sigh, and stretched herself, like a child reviving, and sinking again to sleep; and five minutes after I felt one little pulse at her heart, and nothing more! Anddid she ever mention me? he asked, hesitating, as if he dreaded the answer to his question would introduce details that he could not bear to hear. Her senses never returned she recognised nobody from the time you left her, I said. She lies with a sweet smile on her face; and her latest ideas wandered back to pleasant early days. Her life closed in a gentle dreammay she wake as kindly in the other world! May she wake in torment! he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion. Why, shes a liar to the end! Where is she? Not therenot in heavennot perishedwhere? Oh! you said you cared nothing for my sufferings! And I pray one prayerI repeat it till my tongue stiffensCatherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed youhaunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me alwaystake any formdrive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul! He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a savage beast being goaded to death with knives and spears. I observed several splashes of blood about the bark of the tree, and his hand and forehead were both stained; probably the scene I witnessed was a repetition of others acted during the night. It hardly moved my compassionit appalled me still, I felt reluctant to quit him so. But the moment he recollected himself enough to notice me watching, he thundered a command for me to go, and I obeyed. He was beyond my skill to quiet or console! Mrs. Lintons funeral was appointed to take place on the Friday following her decease; and till then her coffin remained uncovered, and strewn with flowers and scented leaves, in the great drawingroom. Linton spent his days and nights there, a sleepless guardian; anda circumstance concealed from all but meHeathcliff spent his nights, at least, outside, equally a stranger to repose. I held no communication with him still, I was conscious of his design to enter, if he could; and on the Tuesday, a little after dark, when my master, from sheer fatigue, had been compelled to retire a couple of hours, I went and opened one of the windows; moved by his perseverance to give him a chance of bestowing on the faded image of his idol one final adieu. He did not omit to avail himself of the opportunity, cautiously and briefly; too cautiously to betray his presence by the slightest noise. Indeed, I shouldnt have discovered that he had been there, except for the disarrangement of the drapery about the corpses face, and for observing on the floor a curl of light hair, fastened with a silver thread; which, on examination, I ascertained to have been taken from a locket hung round Catherines neck. Heathcliff had opened the trinket and cast out its contents, replacing them by a black lock of his own. I twisted the two, and enclosed them together. Mr. Earnshaw was, of course, invited to attend the remains of his sister to the grave; he sent no excuse, but he never came; so that, besides her husband, the mourners were wholly composed of tenants and servants. Isabella was not asked. The place of Catherines interment, to the surprise of the villagers, was neither in the chapel under the carved monument of the Lintons, nor yet by the tombs of her own relations, outside. It was dug on a green slope in a corner of the kirkyard, where the wall is so low that heath and bilberryplants have climbed over it from the moor; and peatmould almost buries it. Her husband lies in the same spot now; and they have each a simple headstone above, and a plain grey block at their feet, to mark the graves. XVII That Friday made the last of our fine days for a month. In the evening the weather broke the wind shifted from south to northeast, and brought rain first, and then sleet and snow. On the morrow one could hardly imagine that there had been three weeks of summer the primroses and crocuses were hidden under wintry drifts; the larks were silent, the young leaves of the early trees smitten and blackened. And dreary, and chill, and dismal, that morrow did creep over! My master kept his room; I took possession of the lonely parlour, converting it into a nursery and there I was, sitting with the moaning doll of a child laid on my knee; rocking it to and fro, and watching, meanwhile, the still driving flakes build up the uncurtained window, when the door opened, and some person entered, out of breath and laughing! My anger was greater than my astonishment for a minute. I supposed it one of the maids, and I criedHave done! How dare you show your giddiness here; What would Mr. Linton say if he heard you? Excuse me! answered a familiar voice; but I know Edgar is in bed, and I cannot stop myself. With that the speaker came forward to the fire, panting and holding her hand to her side. I have run the whole way from Wuthering Heights! she continued, after a pause; except where Ive flown. I couldnt count the number of falls Ive had.