May I make the only atonement in my power? Take the cylinders and hear themThe first half-dozen of them are personal to me, and they will not horrify youThen you will know me betterDinner will by then be readyIn the meantime I shall read over some of these documents, and shall be better able to understand certain things He carried the phonograph himself up to my sitting room and adjusted it for meNow I shall learn something pleasant, I am sureFor it will tell me the other side of a true love episode of which I know one side alreadySEWARD'S DIARY 29 September-I was so absorbed in that wonderful diary of Jonathan Harker and that other of his wife that I let the time run on without thinkingHarker was not down when the maid came to announce dinner, so I said, "She is possibly tiredLet dinner wait an hour," and I went on with my workI had just finished MrsHarker's diary, when she came inShe looked sweetly pretty, but very sad, and her eyes were flushed with cryingThis somehow moved me muchOf late I have had cause for tears, God knows! But the relief of them was denied me, and now the sight of those sweet eyes, brightened by recent tears, went straight to my heartSo I said as gently as I could, "I greatly fear I have distressed you "Oh, no, not distressed me," she replied"But I have been more touched than I can say by your griefThat is a wonderful machine, but it is cruelly trueIt told me, in its very tones, the anguish of your heartIt was like a soul crying out to Almighty GodNo one must hear them spoken ever again! See, I have tried to be usefulI have copied out the words on my typewriter, and none other need now hear your heart beat, as I did "No one need ever know, shall ever know," I said in a low voiceShe laid her hand on mine and said very gravely, "Ah, but they must!" "Must! But why?" I asked "Because it is a part of the terrible story, a part of poor Lucy's death and all that led to itBecause in the struggle which we have before us to rid the earth of this terrible monster we must have all the knowledge and all the help which we can getI think that the cylinders which you gave me contained more than you intended me to knowBut I can see that there are in your record many lights to this dark mysteryYou will let me help, will you not? I know all up to a certain point, and I see already, though your diary only took me to 7 September, how poor Lucy was beset, and how her terrible doom was being wrought outJonathan and I have been working day and night since Professor Van Helsing saw usHe is gone to Whitby to get more information, and he will be here tomorrow to help usWe need have no secrets amongst usWorking together and with absolute trust, we can surely be stronger than if some of us were in the dark She looked at me so appealingly, and at the same time manifested such courage and resolution in her bearing, that I gave in at once to her wishes"You shall," I said, "do as you like in the matterGod forgive me if I do wrong! There are terrible things yet to learn of, but if you have so far traveled on the road to poor Lucy's death, you will not be content, I know, to remain in the darkNay, the end, the very end, may give you a gleam of shop peace

Ye?d better hold to me; I?m somebody, and can do something!? ?No, Mas?r,? said Tom; ?I?ll hold onThe Lord may help me, or not help; but I?ll hold to him, and believe him to the last!? ?The more fool you!? said Legree, spitting scornfully at him, and spurning him with his foot?Never mind; I?ll chase you down, yet, and bring you under,?you?ll see!? and Legree turned away When a heavy weight presses the soul to the lowest level at which endurance is possible, there is an instant and desperate effort of every physical and moral nerve to throw off the weight; and hence the heaviest anguish often precedes a return tide of joy and courageSo was it now with TomThe atheistic taunts of his cruel master sunk his before dejected soul to the lowest ebb; and, though the hand of faith still held to the eternal rock, it was a numb, despairing graspTom sat, like one stunned, at the fireSuddenly everything around him seemed to fade, and a vision rose before him of one crowned with thorns, buffeted and bleedingTom gazed, in awe and wonder, at the majestic patience of the face; the deep, pathetic eyes thrilled him to his inmost heart; his soul woke, as, with floods of emotion, he stretched out his hands and fell upon his knees,?when, gradually, the vision changed: the sharp thorns became rays of glory; and, in splendor inconceivable, he saw that same face bending compassionately towards him, and a voice said, ?He that overcometh shall sit down with me on my throne, even as I also overcome, and am set down with my Father on his throne How long Tom lay there, he knew notWhen he came to himself, the fire was gone out, his clothes were wet with the chill and drenching dews; but the dread soul-crisis was past, and, in the joy that filled him, he no longer felt hunger, cold, degradation, disappointment, wretchednessFrom his deepest soul, he that hour loosed and parted from every hope in life that now is, and offered his own will an unquestioning sacrifice to the InfiniteTom looked up to the silent, ever-living stars,?types of the angelic hosts who ever look down on man; and the solitude of the night rung with the triumphant words of a hymn, which he had sung often in happier days, but never with such feeling as now: ?The earth shall be dissolved like snow, The sun shall cease to shine; But God, who called me here below, Shall be forever mine ?And when this mortal life shall fail, And flesh and sense shall cease, I shall possess within the veil A life of joy and peace ?When we?ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining like the sun, We?ve no less days to sing God?s praise Than when we first begun Those who have been familiar with the religious histories of the slave population know that relations like what we have narrated are very common among themWe have heard some from their own lips, of a very touching and affecting characterThe psychologist tells us of a state, in which the affections and images of the mind become so dominant and overpowering, that they press into their service the outward imaginingWho shall measure what an all-pervading Spirit may do with these capabilities of our mortality, or the ways in which He may encourage the desponding souls of the desolate? If the poor forgotten slave believes that Jesus hath appeared and spoken to him, who shall contradict him? Did He not say that his, mission, in all ages, was to bind up the broken-hearted, and set at liberty them that are bruised? When the dim gray of dawn woke the slumberers to go forth to the field, there was among those tattered and shivering wretches one who walked with an exultant tread; for firmer than the ground he trod on was his strong faith in Almighty, eternal loveAh, Legree, try all your forces now! Utmost agony, woe, degradation, want, and loss of all things, shall only hasten on the process by which he shall be made a king and a priest unto God! From this time, an inviolable sphere of peace encompassed the lowly heart of the oppressed one,?an ever-present Saviour hallowed it as a templePast now the bleeding of earthly regrets; past its fluctuations of hope, and fear, and desire; the human will, bent, and bleeding, and struggling long, was now entirely merged in the DivineSo short now seemed the remaining voyage of life,?so near, so vivid, seemed eternal blessedness,?that life?s uttermost woes fell from him unharming All noticed the change in his appearanceCheerfulness and alertness seemed to return to him, and a quietness which no insult or injury could ruffle seemed to possess him ?What the devil?s got into Tom?? Legree said to Sambo?A while ago he was all down in the mouth, and now he?s peart as a cricket ?Dunno, Mas?r; gwine to run off, mebbe ?Like to see him try that,? said Legree, with a savage grin, ?wouldn?t we, Sambo?? ?Guess we would! Haw! haw! ho!? said the sooty gnome, laughing obsequiously?Lord, de fun! To see him stickin? in de mud,?chasin? and tarin? through de bushes, dogs a holdin? on to him! Lord, I laughed fit to split, dat ar time we cotched MollyI thought they?d a had her all stripped up afore I could get ?em offShe car?s de marks o? dat ar spree yet ?I reckon she will, to her grave,? said Legree?But now, Sambo, you look sharpIf the nigger?s got anything of this sort going, trip him up ?Mas?r, let me lone for dat,? said Sambo, ?I?ll tree de coonHo, ho, ho!? This was spoken as Legree was getting on his horse, to go to the neighboring townThat night, as he was returning, he thought he would turn his horse and ride round the quarters, and see if all was safe It was a superb moonlight night, and the shadows of the graceful China trees lay minutely pencilled on the turf below, and there was that transparent stillness in the air which it seems almost unholy to disturbLegree was a little distance from the quarters, when he heard the voice of some one singingIt was not a usual sound there, and he paused to shop listen

Fancy articles entirely?sell for waiters, and so on, to rich ?uns, that can pay for handsome ?unsIt sets off one of yer great places?a real handsome boy to open door, wait, and tendThey fetch a good sum; and this little devil is such a comical, musical concern, he?s just the article!? ?I would rather not sell him,? said MrShelby, thoughtfully; ?the fact is, sir, I?m a humane man, and I hate to take the boy from his mother, sir ?O, you do??La! yes?something of that ar naturI understand, perfectlyIt is mighty onpleasant getting on with women, sometimes, I al?ays hates these yer screechin,? screamin? timesThey are mighty onpleasant; but, as I manages business, I generally avoids ?em, sirNow, what if you get the girl off for a day, or a week, or so; then the thing?s done quietly,?all over before she comes homeYour wife might get her some ear-rings, or a new gown, or some such truck, to make up with her ?Lor bless ye, yes! These critters ain?t like white folks, you know; they gets over things, only manage rightNow, they say,? said Haley, assuming a candid and confidential air, ?that this kind o? trade is hardening to the feelings; but I never found it soFact is, I never could do things up the way some fellers manage the businessI?ve seen ?em as would pull a woman?s child out of her arms, and set him up to sell, and she screechin? like mad all the time;?very bad policy?damages the article?makes ?em quite unfit for service sometimesI knew a real handsome gal once, in Orleans, as was entirely ruined by this sort o? handlingThe fellow that was trading for her didn?t want her baby; and she was one of your real high sort, when her blood was upI tell you, she squeezed up her child in her arms, and talked, and went on real awfulIt kinder makes my blood run cold to think of ?t; and when they carried off the child, and locked her up, she jest went ravin? mad, and died in a weekClear waste, sir, of a thousand dollars, just for want of management,?there?s where ?t isIt?s always best to do the humane thing, sir; that?s been my experience And the trader leaned back in his chair, and folded his arm, with an air of virtuous decision, apparently considering himself a second Wilberforce The subject appeared to interest the gentleman deeply; for while MrShelby was thoughtfully peeling an orange, Haley broke out afresh, with becoming diffidence, but as if actually driven by the force of truth to say a few words more ?It don?t look well, now, for a feller to be praisin? himself; but I say it jest because it?s the truthI believe I?m reckoned to bring in about the finest droves of niggers that is brought in,?at least, I?ve been told so; if I have once, I reckon I have a hundred times,?all in good case,?fat and likely, and I lose as few as any man in the businessAnd I lays it all to my management, sir; and humanity, sir, I may say, is the great pillar of my managementShelby did not know what to say, and so he said, ?Indeed!? ?Now, I?ve been laughed at for my notions, sir, and I?ve been talked toThey an?t pop?lar, and they an?t common; but I stuck to ?em, sir; I?ve stuck to ?em, and realized well on ?em; yes, sir, they have paid their passage, I may say,? and the trader laughed at his joke There was something so piquant and original in these elucidations of humanity, that MrShelby could not help laughing in companyPerhaps you laugh too, dear reader; but you know humanity comes out in a variety of strange forms now-a-days, and there is no end to the odd things that humane people will say and doShelby?s laugh encouraged the trader to proceed ?It?s strange, now, but I never could beat this into people?s headsNow, there was Tom Loker, my old partner, down in Natchez; he was a clever fellow, Tom was, only the very devil with niggers,?on principle ?t was, you see, for a better hearted feller never broke bread; ?t was his system, sirI used to talk to Tom?Why, Tom,? I used to say, ?when your gals takes on and cry, what?s the use o? crackin on? em over the head, and knockin? on ?em round? It?s ridiculous,? says I, ?and don?t do no sort o? goodWhy, I don?t see no harm in their cryin?,? says I; ?it?s natur,? says I, ?and if natur can?t blow off one way, it will anotherBesides, Tom,? says I, ?it jest spiles your gals; they get sickly, and down in the mouth; and sometimes they gets ugly,?particular yallow gals do,?and it?s the devil and all gettin? on ?em broke inNow,? says I, ?why can?t you kinder coax ?em up, and speak ?em fair? Depend on it, Tom, a little humanity, thrown in along, goes a heap further than all your jawin? and crackin?; and it pays better,? says I, ?depend on ?t But Tom couldn?t get the hang on ?t; and he spiled so many for me, that I had to break off with him, though he was a good-hearted fellow, and as fair a business hand as is goin?? ?And do you find your ways of managing do the business better than Tom?s?? said shop Mr

I believed all I heardI am married, and all is overOnly forget,?it is all that remains for either of us And thus ended the whole romance and ideal of life for Augustine StBut the real remained,?the real, like the flat, bare, oozy tide-mud, when the blue sparkling wave, with all its company of gliding boats and white-winged ships, its music of oars and chiming waters, has gone down, and there it lies, flat, slimy, bare,?exceedingly real Of course, in a novel, people?s hearts break, and they die, and that is the end of it; and in a story this is very convenientBut in real life we do not die when all that makes life bright dies to usThere is a most busy and important round of eating, drinking, dressing, walking, visiting, buying, selling, talking, reading, and all that makes up what is commonly called living, yet to be gone through; and this yet remained to AugustineHad his wife been a whole woman, she might yet have done something?as woman can?to mend the broken threads of life, and weave again into a tissue of brightnessClare could not even see that they had been brokenAs before stated, she consisted of a fine figure, a pair of splendid eyes, and a hundred thousand dollars; and none of these items were precisely the ones to minister to a mind diseased When Augustine, pale as death, was found lying on the sofa, and pleaded sudden sick-headache as the cause of his distress, she recommended to him to smell of hartshorn; and when the paleness and headache came on week after week, she only said that she never thought MrClare was sickly; but it seems he was very liable to sick-headaches, and that it was a very unfortunate thing for her, because he didn?t enjoy going into company with her, and it seemed odd to go so much alone, when they were just marriedAugustine was glad in his heart that he had married so undiscerning a woman; but as the glosses and civilities of the honeymoon wore away, he discovered that a beautiful young woman, who has lived all her life to be caressed and waited on, might prove quite a hard mistress in domestic lifeMarie never had possessed much capability of affection, or much sensibility, and the little that she had, had been merged into a most intense and unconscious selfishness; a selfishness the more hopeless, from its quiet obtuseness, its utter ignorance of any claims but her ownFrom her infancy, she had been surrounded with servants, who lived only to study her caprices; the idea that they had either feelings or rights had never dawned upon her, even in distant perspectiveHer father, whose only child she had been, had never denied her anything that lay within the compass of human possibility; and when she entered life, beautiful, accomplished, and an heiress, she had, of course, all the eligibles and non-eligibles of the other sex sighing at her feet, and she had no doubt that Augustine was a most fortunate man in having obtained herIt is a great mistake to suppose that a woman with no heart will be an easy creditor in the exchange of affectionThere is not on earth a more merciless exactor of love from others than a thoroughly selfish woman; and the more unlovely she grows, the more jealously and scrupulously she exacts love, to the uttermost farthingClare began to drop off those gallantries and small attentions which flowed at first through the habitude of courtship, he found his sultana no way ready to resign her slave; there were abundance of tears, poutings, and small tempests, there were discontents, pinings, upbraidingsClare was good-natured and self-indulgent, and sought to buy off with presents and flatteries; and when Marie became mother to a beautiful daughter, he really felt awakened, for a time, to something like tendernessClare?s mother had been a woman of uncommon elevation and purity of character, and he gave to his child his mother?s name, fondly fancying that she would prove a reproduction of her imageThe thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife, and she regarded her husband?s absorbing devotion to the child with suspicion and dislike; all that was given to her seemed so much taken from herselfFrom the time of the birth of this child, her health gradually sunkA life of constant inaction, bodily and mental,?the friction of ceaseless ennui and discontent, united to the ordinary weakness which attended the period of maternity,?in course of a few years changed the blooming young belle into a yellow faded, sickly woman, whose time was divided among a variety of fanciful diseases, and who considered herself, in every sense, the most ill-used and suffering person in existence There was no end of her various complaints; but her principal forte appeared to lie in sick-headache, which sometimes would confine her to her room three days out of sixAs, of course, all family arrangements fell into the hands of servants, StClare found his menage anything but comfortableHis only daughter was exceedingly delicate, and he feared that, with no one to look after her and attend to her, her health and life might yet fall a sacrifice to her mother?s inefficiencyHe had taken her with him on a tour to Vermont, and had persuaded his cousin, Miss Ophelia StClare, to return with him to his southern residence; and they are now returning on this boat, where we have introduced them to our readers And now, while the distant domes and spires of New Orleans rise to our view, there is yet time for an introduction to Miss Ophelia Whoever has travelled in the New England States will remember, in some cool village, the large farmhouse, with its clean-swept grassy yard, shaded by the dense and massive foliage of the sugar maple; and remember the air of order and stillness, of perpetuity and unchanging repose, that seemed to breathe over the whole placeNothing lost, or out of order; not a picket loose in the fence, not a particle of litter in the turfy yard, with its clumps of lilac bushes growing up under the windowsWithin, he will remember wide, clean rooms, where nothing ever seems to be doing or going to be done, where everything is once and forever rigidly in place, and where all household arrangements move with the punctual exactness of the old clock in the cornerIn the family ?keeping-room,? as it is termed, he will remember the staid, respectable old book-case, with its glass doors, where Rollin?s History,1 Milton?s Paradise Lost, Bunyan?s Pilgrim?s Progress, and Scott?s Family Bible,2 stand side by side in decorous order, with multitudes of other books, equally solemn and respectableThere are no servants in the house, but the lady in the snowy cap, with the spectacles, who sits sewing every afternoon among her daughters, as if nothing ever had been done, or were to be done,?she and her girls, in some long-forgotten fore part of the day, ?did up the work,? and for the rest of the time, probably, at all hours when you would see them, it is ?done up The old kitchen floor never seems stained or spotted; the tables, the chairs, and the various cooking utensils, never seem deranged or disordered; though three and sometimes four meals a day are got there, though the family washing and ironing is there performed, and though pounds of butter and cheese are in some silent and mysterious manner there brought into existence On such a farm, in such a house and family, Miss Ophelia had spent a quiet existence of some forty-five years, when her cousin invited her to visit his southern mansionThe eldest of a large family, she was still considered by her father and mother as one of ?the children,? and the proposal that she should go to Orleans was a most momentous one to the family shop circle

He came away, fondly looking back over his shoulder at her as he came I left him in the drawing room, and told Van Helsing that he had said goodbye, so the latter went to the kitchen to tell the undertaker's men to proceed with the preparations and to screw up the coffinWhen he came out of the room again I told him of Arthur's question, and he replied, "I am not surprisedJust now I doubted for a moment myself!" We all dined together, and I could see that poor Art was trying to make the best of thingsVan Helsing had been silent all dinner time, but when we had lit our cigars he said, "Lord?" but Arthur interrupted him "No, no, not that, for God's sake! Not yet at any rateI did not mean to speak offensivelyIt is only because my loss is so recent The Professor answered very sweetly, "I only used that name because I was in doubtI must not call you 'Mr' and I have grown to love you, yes, my dear boy, to love you, as Arthur Arthur held out his hand, and took the old man's warmly"Call me what you will," he said"I hope I may always have the title of a friendAnd let me say that I am at a loss for words to thank you for your goodness to my poor dear He paused a moment, and went on, "I know that she understood your goodness even better than I doAnd if I was rude or in any way wanting at that time you acted so, you remember"--the Professor nodded--"you must forgive me He answered with a grave kindness, "I know it was hard for you to quite trust me then, for to trust such violence needs to understand, and I take it that you do not, that you cannot, trust me now, for you do not yet understandAnd there may be more times when I shall want you to trust when you cannot, and may not, and must not yet understandBut the time will come when your trust shall be whole and complete in me, and when you shall understand as though the sunlight himself shone throughThen you shall bless me from first to last for your own sake, and for the sake of others, and for her dear sake to whom I swore to protect "And indeed, indeed, sir," said Arthur warmly"I shall in all ways trust youI know and believe you have a very noble heart, and you are Jack's friend, and you were hersYou shall do what you like The Professor cleared his throat a couple of times, as though about to speak, and finally said, "May I ask you something now?" "Certainly "You know that MrsWestenra left you all her property?" "No, poor dearI never thought of it "And as it is all yours, you have a right to deal with it as you willI want you to give me permission to read all Miss Lucy's papers and lettersBelieve me, it is no idle curiosityI have a motive of which, be sure, she would have approvedI took them before we knew that all was yours, so that no strange hand might touch them, no strange eye look through words into her soulI shall keep them, if I mayEven you may not see them yet, but I shall keep them safeNo word shall be lost, and in the good time I shall give them back to youIt is a hard thing that I ask, but you will do it, will you not, for Lucy's sake?" Arthur spoke out heartily, like his old self, "DrVan Helsing, you may do what you willI feel that in saying this I am doing what my dear one would have shop approved