William Falkner - The White Rose of Memphis

“‘Yes, Edward, I will answer all your letters.’

“After I had placed the ring on her finger, I again pressed her trembling hand against my heart.

“‘Lottie, it will be a long time ere we meet again, and I suppose you will be married to some distinguished man before my return?’

“A gentle shake of the head, and a slight jerk of the hand, was her only answer.

“‘Will you ever think of the boyish tramp who long ago claimed you as his little wife, after I am gone?’

“‘Yes, Edward, I never shall forget the halcyon days of old, for although we were poor, homeless wanderers, we were not unhappy.’

“‘Lottie, I loved that pretty little tramp devotedly then, and time has increased that holy passion, until it has filled my heart, my mind, my soul, my brain, my body, my thoughts, my dreams and my blood! Fortune has not lavished her favors on me, but that is not my fault. I know I am ignorant, green, poor and uneducated, doomed to occupy an humble sphere in life, while the blind goddess has been more liberal in the bestowal of her favors on you. Your beauty and your talent alone would have placed you on a plane far above my lowly valley; but when it is known that you are to be a great heiress, I feel as if it would be too presumptuous on my part to ask you to be mine. I know that I have a rough, ugly and awkward appearance – that I am not such a person as fine ladies love to look on; but I possess a large, fond heart, that holds an ocean of pure love for you. Lottie, why do you not say something; why do you turn your face away from me? Have I offended you by my presumption? If I have dared to talk of love to you, it does not necessarily follow that you are bound to give a favorable answer; in fact, I have no right to expect you to make such a one. If you cannot love me, say so, and I promise never to annoy you any more with my suit, but will endeavor to promote your happiness in every way I can. I profess to be a man of honor, and believe I possess a remarkable amount of pride – too much to annoy any lady about my love who cannot return my honorable passion.’

“Her body now began to tremble more violently than ever, shaking like a leaf stirred by the storm, but she still remained silent, and kept her face averted.

“‘Why do you not speak to me, Lottie? Am I to understand that the refusal is caused by the scorn you feel for my presumption, or is it because you hate to pronounce the doom which you know will consign me to a life of misery? In the name of those happy days of old – in the name of our dear, dead mother – in the name of the great ocean of love which this poor heart holds for you, I implore you to speak to me now!’

“A tear then fell from my eyes, and dropped on her hand, which I still held against my heart; that caused her to start up suddenly, and snatch her hand away. Then she gazed down at the tear which still glistened on her hand, and I saw another tear start from her left eye and roll slowly down her cheek – it trembled on her chin a second, and then fell right on the one that still sparkled on her hand. The two tears mingled into one, and as they did so her head suddenly fell against my heart, and then I knew that the great prize was mine. Looking up into my face with a gaze of unutterable sweetness, while tears were streaming from her beautiful eyes, she whispered:

“‘Eddie, I have always loved you more than language can express, or mind can imagine, and I was sure you knew it all the time. I have never thought of loving any one else; and I do not mean to allow you to slander yourself any more in my presence as you have done here this evening, for I think you noble-hearted, generous, intelligent and brave, and I know you are very handsome!’

“I was too full of joy to speak; and the man who never kissed the lips of a pure woman with a knowledge that her virtuous heart was all his own, cannot understand the indescribable bliss that was mine.

“‘Edward,’ she whispered, while her large, liquid blue eyes were rooted on me, ‘have you ever read “Romeo and Juliet?”’

“‘Yes, darling, very often; but why do you ask the question?’

“‘My love for you is like that which Juliet felt for Romeo. I gave you my heart long, long ago, and if I had it back again then I would borrow her sweet words which she employs in speaking to Romeo:

“‘The sentiment is very sweet, and the language appropriate and expressive, but I trust that our love will not end so sadly as did that of Romeo and Juliet.’

“In the midst of my great joy I did not forget to return my sincere thanks to the great Creator, for bestowing on me such a precious gem.

“‘Lottie, dear, I believe if you would try you could compose a sweet song suited to this occasion, and I hope you will do so, and sing it here every evening while I am far away. Make the effort, and I dare say you will compose one with sentiments as sweet as ever poet wrote; then fix an hour at which you will come to this very spot and sing it, and I will at the same hour steal away and commune with you in spirit, while I gaze on yonder bright star, and listen with my imagination to the sweet music my darling is making here for me.’

“‘Edward, I promise to make the attempt, and if I succeed, I will sing it here at this lovely spot every evening at precisely nine o’clock, when the sky is cloudless; and I will think of you while singing it.’

“‘And will my darling promise to be mine when I return, thereby making me the happiest man that ever walked on the earth?’

“‘If papa gives his consent, and if brother Harry is willing, and if you do not fall in love with, and marry, some beauteous Philadelphia belle, and if I do not die of loneliness while you are so far away from me, and if you do not withdraw the proposition, and if, upon reflection, you are willing to take me with all my imperfections, why, then, I reckon so.’

“‘Now there are a great many if’s contained in that answer, but let it rain if’s until I return, and I will surmount them all. If my path was sown thick with dragons’ teeth, and at every step producing armed men to oppose me, I would march on to secure my great prize!’

“‘Edward, can you not postpone the time set for you to start to Philadelphia for a few weeks?’

“‘Yes, and will gladly do so, for I must settle the question of the if’s before I go. I must know Mr. Rockland’s mind, as well as Harry’s in regard to our betrothal, before I leave Memphis.’”

“Well,” said Ivanhoe to Scottie, “what was it you wished to say to me?”

“Oh, I was dying of curiosity, you see, and I thought maybe you could save my life by telling me something. I declare, something strange is going to happen; and you must tell me what it is.”

“It would be an easy task to tell you all about it, if I knew anything about it myself; but as I happen to know nothing, how can I tell you anything?”

“Pshaw! You are no true knight, Sir Ivanhoe, else you would not let a lady die of sheer curiosity, without an effort to save her. You are not like the brave knight of Ivanhoe of Sir Walter Scott’s creation.”

“Show me an enemy who fights with steel, face to face, and then you’ll have cause to change your mind. By the by, what discoveries have you made about the black domino?”

“Very little, I assure you – just enough to keep me on the rack. But have you really unearthed no secret respecting the two seedy men?”

“Just enough to keep me on the rack, too.”