He believed in nothing where there
was no curtain visible. But even the grotesque are not good in vain. Many
an eye was wet round his dying bed, and many a tear fell upon his grave.
He made his final exit in the year of grace 1799. And I, who laugh at
him, would leave this world to-day to be with him; for I am tossing at
sea--he is in port.
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A straightforward character like Mabel's becomes a firm character with
years. Long ere she was forty, her hand gently but steadily ruled
Willoughby House, and all in it. She and Mr. Vane lived very happily; he
gave her no fresh cause for uneasiness. Six months after their return,
she told him what burned in that honest heart of hers, the truth about
Mrs. Woffington. The water rushed to his eyes, but his heart was now
wholly his wife's; and gratitude to Mrs. Woffington for her noble conduct
was the only sentiment awakened.
"You must repay her, dearest," said he. "I know you love her, and until
to-day it gave me pain; now it gives me pleasure. We owe her much."
The happy, innocent life of Mabel Vane is soon summed up. Frank as the
day, constant as the sun, pure as the dew, she passed the golden years
preparing herself and others for a still brighter eternity. At home, it
was she who warmed and cheered the house, and the hearth, more than all
Christmas fires. Abroad, she shone upon the poor like the sun.
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