. 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 207B

 
 s 
 
 Z +*-1^t *. 
 
 NOVEL 
 
 BY 
 
 MORTON GRINNELL, M. D. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1899, 
 BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 JACK OSWALD was swearing gently at his white 
 tie, which declined to come together properly. His 
 rooms at the Beaverwyck were very comfortable 
 without being luxurious. Their arrangement 
 showed a cosmopolitan taste and gave evidence of 
 foreign travel. Family pictures were mingled with 
 those of footlight favourites. Over the divan hung 
 a Turkish canopy surrounded with odds and ends 
 of weapons from divers lands : An assegai from 
 South Africa with an axe from Lapland. A Jap 
 anese scimitar crossed a modern cavalry sword, and 
 groups of firearms were arranged on either side 
 of the fireplace. An Arabesque stand, with brass 
 tray, held an outfit for making Turkish coffee, and 
 on the side-table was a miscellaneous assortment 
 of pipes. A Chibouque from Constantinople, an 
 opium pipe from the Orient, and a Nargileh from 
 the banks of the Nile. All around and about were 
 evidences of bachelor carelessness regarding general 
 arrangements and clothes.
 
 2 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Jack Oswald was what in common parlance is 
 called a man about town, and his life was that of 
 many men of means and education. His father had 
 left him a generous fortune. His mother had died 
 when he was a child. Oswald had graduated from 
 Yale, and at college was counted among the most 
 popular men. He had sung on the Glee Club, had 
 been one of the Junior Prom. Committee and 
 played tennis and golf above the average. He had 
 made a senior society, and we find him four years 
 after graduation a member of the brokerage firm of 
 Oswald & Van Beuren. In the morning he would 
 appear at the office at a quarter before ten, go to 
 the Exchange for the opening and to execute his 
 orders, at one o clock he would go to the Down 
 Town Club, take lunch with Ernest Balford or his 
 partner, and after the board closed would either 
 walk up town or take the elevated road to Twenty- 
 third Street, thence stroll through Madison Square 
 to his Club. A drink or two, with a game of back 
 gammon or pool, brought the dressing hour and 
 dinner. 
 
 Oswald dined out four or five nights in a week, as, 
 owing to his bright and cheerful disposition and 
 attractive personality, he was a general favourite and 
 in great demand. When he was free from engage 
 ments he would dine at the Club, go to the theatre 
 with Van or Balford and afterwards come back for 
 a night cap and few or many games of backgam 
 mon. This was his scheme of life at the age of
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 3 
 
 twenty-six, when we take up the story. Some 
 months before the story opens, Oswald had met, 
 for the first time at a dinner dance at the Anson 
 Jones, a debutante of the year before, Clare Law 
 rence. She was at the time but nineteen years of 
 age, but had the repose and self poise of an older 
 woman. Mrs. Lawrence, her mother, was a widow, 
 and from both her husband and her father had in 
 herited a fortune sufficiently ample to enable her 
 to educate her only child in a most liberal way. 
 Since girlhood, Clare had been in French, German 
 and English schools abroad. She had studied 
 voice culture with Marchesi and drawing and 
 painting in Julian s studio in Paris. Educationally, 
 she was well rounded and a desirable catch from a 
 material point of view. Oswald was insensibly 
 attracted toward her from the first, and she was 
 mildly interested in him. As she had only returned 
 to America the year before, after eight years ab 
 sence, she knew nothing of him excepting that he 
 was widely popular, well born and educated and 
 possessed, to a marked degree, of what is ambigu 
 ously called personal magnetism. That he had an 
 income did not figure at all in her estimate of the 
 man. 
 
 He had from the first called regularly at the 
 Lawrence home in Forty-eighth Street. Of late his 
 calls had been quite frequent and a natural friend 
 ship, approaching tendresse, had gradually devel 
 oped. He was falling in love, without realising it,
 
 4 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 and she was, in the same way, becoming more 
 dependent on him. 
 
 Jack stood before the mirror and talked to the 
 reflection 
 
 " You re wasting your life, old man, you know you 
 are, and why do you do it ? What good purpose 
 are you accomplishing? You must brace up and 
 develop what is in you. It ought not to be a hard 
 task." 
 
 He was still talking to himself and, having com 
 pleted his toilet, had turned to his parlour to light a 
 cigarette, when a loud knock at his door broke up 
 his reveries. 
 
 " Come in." 
 
 " How are you, Jack? I dropped in to see if you 
 would make the fourth in a partie carrt to-night. 
 I have two seats at the Empire and have asked 
 Kitty to join us for supper after the show. I saw 
 her on Broadway and she says you never come near 
 her any more. What s up ? Kitty is making a big 
 hit and if I am not mistaken she won t play sou- 
 brette parts long." 
 
 " I can t do it, Ernest ; I am dining at the Law 
 rences." 
 
 " Can t you join us afterwards ? You told me 
 yesterday that you were going to dine at the Club 
 to-night. I have asked Alice to make the square." 
 
 " I forgot about the dinner when I said that, but 
 I don t think I had better join you." 
 
 " Look here, Jack, what s the matter with you
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 5 
 
 lately ? You are not going back on the old guard, 
 are you ? We are old pals. Are you really in the 
 toils?" 
 
 " Toils nothing. I like the family very much, 
 dinner s good and all that, but besides, Ernest, 
 Kitty St. Clair and I are not as good friends as we 
 were, some little row and I haven t seen nor 
 called on her for some time." 
 
 " I knew something must be up, but it s none of 
 my business. I ll tell you one thing, however, you 
 are falling in love, and, like the old ostrich, you 
 think no one sees it." 
 
 " I don t think I am." 
 
 " Yes, you are, and I ll bet an old hat you will be 
 engaged inside of three weeks." 
 
 " Have a drink, Ernest, I m late." 
 
 " Thanks, I ll take a peg. Awfully sorry you 
 can t come, though." 
 
 " Help yourself," and Oswald opened the door 
 in his sideboard, disclosing a miniature bar. 
 
 A few moments later he jumped on a Broadway 
 car and was hurried up town. 
 
 Ten days before the night in question, Miss 
 Lawrence and her mother had gone to Washington 
 on a week s visit, and Oswald, after a day or so, 
 making the excuse of seeing a Congressman cus 
 tomer, had followed them, and, naturally enough, 
 spent his two days at the Arlington, where the 
 Lawrences were stopping. Had the opportunity 
 offered, he would then have asked Clare to become
 
 6 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 his wife, but the constant presence of Madame M^re 
 had made this impossible. Mrs. Lawrence liked 
 Oswald immensely, but thought Clare too young to 
 think of marriage at present. 
 
 To-night Oswald entered the drawing-room a 
 good ten minutes ahead of time, and a very charm 
 ing picture presented itself as the young lady of 
 the house laid aside her book and rose to greet him. 
 She was looking remarkably well. Her gown was 
 of white crepe de Chine, which showed to the best 
 advantage her shapely figure. Her hair, full of soft 
 waves, was worn a. la Madonna and, in the light of 
 the room, had a golden-brown sheen. Her eyes 
 were violet and spoke more of a welcome than she 
 knew as she said in her low musical voice : " I am 
 so glad you could come, Mr. Oswald." 
 
 "But I am outrageously early, am I not?" an 
 swered Oswald, looking about. 
 
 " No, only a few minutes. I hope it won t prove 
 a mauvais quartre cThcure. How have you been ? " 
 
 " Oh, the same old routine, office, club, dfnner 
 and bed. I am getting sick of it all ; I hope I am 
 not getting blase, at my age. And how did you 
 enjoy your visit, Miss Clare ? " 
 
 " We had a lovely time : dinners with diplomats, 
 receptions at Senators houses and a lot of that kind 
 of thing. I met some charming men, mostly officers 
 of the army and navy and foreign attaches, but I 
 missed my New York friends and am glad to get 
 back. We had a rather unpleasant experience a
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 7 
 
 few days since, which quite upset dear Mamma. I 
 was to tell no one, but you are such an old friend, 
 that I shall risk Mamma s displeasure if you will 
 promise never to breathe it." 
 
 "I swear," smiled Oswald; "and I wager it s 
 about some man." 
 
 " It is," said Clare ; " but I know you couldn t 
 guess it, and, if I tell it at all, I must hurry, for 
 Mamma will be down in a moment and our other 
 guests will be here." 
 
 " Hurry, then ; I am all ears and curiosity." 
 
 " Let me see, it was last Tuesday night. We 
 went to a ball at the German Embassy, and, among 
 others, I was presented to a young and decidedly 
 handsome German Baron, one of the attaches. 
 During the evening I saw a great deal of the Baron, 
 We talked in German and walked through the con 
 servatory and I saw scarcely any other men. Be 
 fore going, he asked if he might call. I introduced 
 him to Mamma. On the following afternoon what 
 was our surprise to receive his card, sent to our 
 parlour, requesting an interview with Mrs. Lawrence. 
 Mamma went in to see him. He at once broached 
 the subject of marrying me, and said that he would 
 take me for ten thousand a year, though his figure 
 had always been fifteen. Wasn t that a com 
 pliment ! What did Mamma do? She rose to 
 flights of eloquence I never dreamed she possessed ; 
 I could hear her in my room. My poor, lost Baron 
 did not speak English well, but I feel sure that the
 
 8 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 How dare you s and What do you means were 
 more than half understood. He bowed himself out 
 rather precipitately and Mamma half shrieked, half 
 moaned for me to come to her. I laughed until I 
 cried, but Mamma s indignation has not yet worn 
 off. What do you think of the story? " 
 
 " The beastly little upstart ! Clare, I mean Miss 
 Lawrence, you wouldn t think of marrying for a 
 title, would you ? You will marry some true Ameri 
 can, won t you, dear, Clare, I 
 
 " Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Jones," announced the 
 butler in pompous tones. . . . 
 
 As Jack Oswald walked down the avenue three 
 hours later twirling his stick and humming one of 
 his favourite songs, he felt himself a new man. 
 Shadows temporary and fleeting would obtrude 
 themselves, but he ignored them and murmured to 
 himself, "She loves me, she loves me." He didn t 
 notice the light rain which had begun falling and 
 pattered on the crown of his silk hat. " She loves 
 me, she loves me," was the refrain the tiny drops 
 seemed to sing, as he entered the warm confines of 
 the club and asked the man at the door if Mr. Van 
 Beuren was in the building. 
 
 " Mr. Van Beuren is in the cafe, sir." He strolled 
 in and joined a party of four, two of whom were 
 engrossed in a game of backgammon. Van Beuren 
 was looking on and greeted Oswald with a " Hello, 
 Jack, you look as though you had just come from
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 9 
 
 the Klondyke, with a bushel of nuggets. What s 
 happened ? " 
 
 " Nothing, old man ; I feel quite fit to-night, that s 
 all, I suppose." 
 
 " Well, I m glad to hear it, and hope it will last. 
 We ve been worrying about you lately ; thought 
 Kitty had given you your congt or something 
 equally serious." 
 
 For a moment a cloud passed over Oswald s face, 
 but he forgot it in an instant and gave his order 
 and entered into a good-natured argument with 
 Charlie Haswell about the respective merits of the 
 Yale and Harvard football teams. Finally Balford 
 said : 
 
 " Have you heard about the nasty little affair in 
 the club this evening, Jack ? " 
 
 " No, what was it ? " 
 
 " Why you tell it, Van, I m playing." 
 
 " Well," said Van, " Charlie West and Fred Jones 
 were in a crowd of four or five taking a smile, when 
 Charlie said : Fred, who in the deuce were those 
 champagne blondes and things you had in the box 
 at the Casino last evening; you ought to be more 
 careful. Fred reddened and a second after called 
 West a dirty blackguard. In an instant blows were 
 exchanged, and, in another, they were separated 
 and both sorry, but a number of members over 
 heard the remark and saw the trouble, and the end 
 is yet to come. They will be disciplined in some 
 way. I hope it won t get out."
 
 io AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " By Jove, how unfortunate," said Oswald. 
 
 " Yes, but the worst of it was, that it seems Fred 
 had a kind of family party with him, out-of-towners, 
 you know, including his sister, and he was blowing 
 them off to an evening s amusement." 
 
 " Well, boys, I am going to turn in, I m tired," 
 and Oswald left the party and club. " She loves 
 me, she loves me," sang the drops as he walked to 
 his rooms, but the shadows would obtrude. 
 
 Oswald s character was a complex one. Up to 
 his college days his life had been uneventful. 
 Brought up in an atmosphere of refinement, his 
 tastes were clean and healthy and his sense of 
 right and wrong clearly defined. As a boy he 
 passionately loved to go into the woods and fields 
 and study the birds and flowers. This taste for 
 natural history and nature had early developed 
 and had been fostered by his father, who owned a 
 large farm within easy access to the city and where 
 young Jack spent all his vacations. He went to 
 college earlier than most boys, having prepared 
 under private tutors. Herein lay the source of 
 subsequent weaknesses. He was a follower rather 
 than a leader, and, when thrown in with groups of 
 boys prepared together at St. Pauls, Andover or 
 Groton, and in most cases older than himself, he 
 found himself in that deplorable position of being 
 always unable to say "No." His unusual amiabil 
 ity and evenness of temper contributed to increase 
 this weakness, and, whereas he was universally liked,
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. u 
 
 the respect he got from his classmates was tempered 
 by the knowledge of his failing. While not accom 
 plished, yet he could do many things fairly well. 
 Without working hard, he could keep up with his 
 class, he was a fair athlete and had played as sub 
 stitute on the University eleven. He had a clear 
 but untrained baritone voice, a voice with tears in 
 it, as some one once said. 
 
 He felt that he could do something creditable, 
 but he also knew that he never would, yet he had 
 perseverance and determination enough, and when 
 once fixed in an idea, good or bad, would stick to it 
 in face of all opposition. What he thought was 
 true could never be proved otherwise, by friend or 
 foe, on any evidence except the evidence of his own 
 ears or eyes. He was hail fellow with every one, 
 as much with the policeman on his beat as with the 
 club friend with whom he took his cocktail. With 
 women he was always a favourite. Polite and atten 
 tive, he seemed to take an interest in even the most 
 trivial affairs that interested them, and they instinc 
 tively made of him a friend with whom barriers of 
 conventionality were shortly broken down. He 
 was a combination of generosity and selfishness. 
 Of money he knew not the value. If he saw a 
 thing he wanted, or that some one else wanted, and 
 had the money, he would buy it. If any one 
 stopped him on the street with the usual tale of pov 
 erty and woe, his hand would instinctively go to 
 his pocket. Even when his father was giving him
 
 12 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 a generous allowance, he was always without funds, 
 always coming for a little more and unable to 
 account for the money gone. He was selfish only 
 in his stubbornness. It was almost impossible for 
 him to give up an idea once fixed ; regardless of how 
 he might bring distress to others, he clung to it 
 until he knew himself wrong. Whereas his obsti 
 nacy was dogged and brought an " ounce of pleas 
 ure with a pound of pain," it sometimes worked the 
 other way. 
 
 An example of this was shown once, when, in face 
 of circumstantial evidence which had convicted a 
 poor devil accused of petit larceny, he befriended 
 him, taking the man s word against all testimony 
 and followed the case with his time and money to 
 an upper court, before reaching which the real cul 
 prit was discovered, confessed and sentenced. 
 
 This was Oswald s character at the time he be- 
 came engaged to Clare Lawrence. She had the 
 pure, unselfish, trusting character of a good woman. 
 He was a man of average acquirements and consid 
 ered an all-round good fellow.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " MARGARET, hurry up, you will not be ready in 
 time and I am so anxious to see how Miss Lawrence 
 walks down the aisle, the girl who has had no expe 
 rience in life or society." 
 
 The speaker was Mrs. Anson Jones, the wife of a 
 wealthy stock broker living on Fiftieth Street. 
 Her conversation was addressed to her daughter. 
 Margaret Jones was standing in the middle of her 
 dainty boudoir. She was the spoiled child of the 
 fortune which all her surroundings betrayed. Ar 
 tistic to a degree, her little den was filled with 
 works of art and bric-a-brac from all parts of the 
 world. The daintiest piece of Dresden china in the 
 collection, however, was Margaret herself, with her 
 soft, dreamy, blue eyes, and little golden curls all 
 over her mignon head. Then her maid handed 
 her the parasol, which was the last touch of perfec 
 tion to her charming costume, and she started to 
 walk languidly to the adjoining room. Margaret 
 could never do anything in a hurry. Together she 
 and Mrs. Anson Jones passed down the stairs and 
 entered the well-appointed brougham at the door. 
 " Drive as quickly as possible to St. Thomas s 
 Church," said the mother, elaborately settling her 
 flounces as she spoke.
 
 14 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 It was just twelve o clock and the neighbouring 
 bells were clanging out the noon hour. Lines of 
 rosy-faced school-girls were hurrying home to lunch, 
 and the poor, dilapidated stages, relics of former 
 generations, went toiling by. Upon reaching the 
 church they pushed a hurried way through the 
 crowd of sight-seers on the pavement and were 
 met at the door by Ernest Balford, one of the 
 ushers. 
 
 " You are awfully late, and I couldn t save the 
 good places I had promised, but here is a corner 
 where you can see something of the bridal proces 
 sion." 
 
 At that moment the organ started the beautiful 
 Lohengrin wedding march. On the minute, the wed 
 ding party started up the aisle. First came the ush 
 ers, then the bridesmaids, many of them making their 
 first bow into society at the first great event of the 
 season. A hushed murmur ran through the church 
 as the bride appeared. How could a girl so young 
 walk, on such an occasion, with such self-possession 
 and grace ? Her breeding was shown in every 
 movement of her supple form. Her large eyes 
 looked with innocence straight ahead, and all her 
 movements and expression betrayed the uncon 
 sciousness of untarnished girlhood. Oswald met 
 her at the altar and, after a few short minutes, 
 they passed down the aisle, arm in arm, man and 
 wife. 
 
 The Lawrence home was resplendent in its floral
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 15 
 
 array of roses, chrysanthemums and autumn leaves, 
 and the reception was attended by every one in 
 New York worth knowing. At three o clock the 
 bride and groom disappeared up the avenue in the 
 Lawrence carriage with the usual accompaniment of 
 rice and slippers and with destination unknown. . . . 
 
 Four months had passed. Jack Oswald and his 
 bride spent a three weeks honeymoon at Washing 
 ton, the Hot Springs of Virginia and Fortress Mon 
 roe three very happy weeks. Everything was 
 forgotten save that they were together trusting and 
 trusted. Only once did a little cloud appear. 
 They had been walking on the long stretch of sand 
 at Fortress Monroe. The day was one of those 
 heavenly autumn afternoons, neither too hot nor 
 cold, best expressed by mellow. Behind them were 
 the woods and fields in their gorgeous dress of many 
 colours, in front, the blue waters of the ocean 
 stretched in limitless perspective, dancing and rip 
 pling in the sunlight. 
 
 They had seated themselves on a bit of old wreck 
 age, the silent witness of some bygone tragedy, 
 perhaps. 
 
 "Isn t it lovely, Jack?" 
 
 " Lovely, dear." 
 
 " Do you remember, Jack, in one of the old 
 Punch s, the picture of Angelina and Augustus?" 
 
 " No, dear, what was it ? " 
 
 "Why, don t you remember? Angelina and 
 Augustus were on their honeymoon and on the
 
 16 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 sands at fitretat, or Trouville or somewhere. An 
 gelina said : Oh, I wish some friend would come 
 along. Yes, replied Augustus, yawning, or even 
 an enemy. 
 
 Oswald smiled. " No, Clare," he answered, " for my 
 part I am enjoying every minute of our trip, aren t 
 you?" 
 
 " Yes, Jack Jack, it s strange how little, how 
 almost nothing, I know of your past life. You 
 know of my school days in Dresden and Paris, they 
 were very pleasant, as I look back, but my life only 
 really began a year and a half ago when I came 
 back and met you. Some day you must why, 
 Jack, what s the matter, do you know either of 
 those people ? What a horrid, vindictive face she 
 has. Surely you don t know her or that common- 
 looking man with her!" 
 
 " No, no, I don t, Clare, that is, I used to know 
 something about her. She is a very ordinary- 
 woman from New York." 
 
 " But, Jack, darling, you grew actually pale when 
 you first saw her." 
 
 "No, I didn t, Clare; it was your imagination. 
 Now let the matter drop, and let us go back to the 
 hotel." 
 
 " I wonder what she is doing down here, Jack? " 
 
 " Clare, if you don t let the matter drop I shall be 
 angry." 
 
 " I am sorry, dear; I did not mean to annoy you." 
 
 They walked along in silence, Jack cursing the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 17 
 
 chance that had brought Kitty St. Clair to Fortress 
 Monroe at this time. How much trouble was she 
 going to make for him ? 
 
 Meanwhile Clare, with dry tears in her eyes and 
 a heavy heart, walked by his side. That a vague 
 something had, even now, come between them she 
 felt keenly, though she could not analyse her feelings. 
 Only one thing she knew Jack had spoken crossly 
 to her. What had she done ? Yes, it was her fault ; 
 she had been too curious and had annoyed him. 
 
 " I m sorry, Jack," she said again. 
 
 " No, dearest, don t say that. I was a little quick 
 and I apologise." 
 
 " How horrid it is to be anything but the best of 
 chums, isn t it, Jack? lean understand now how 
 horrible loveless marriages must be." 
 
 They reached the hotel at dusk and went at once 
 to dress for dinner, that is, Clare did, while her hus 
 band promised that he would follow her in a few 
 minutes. He went directly to the register and 
 there, sure enough, in her clear masculine hand he 
 read : " Kitty St. Clair, New York City." He went 
 to the bar, had a cocktail, lit a cigarette and strolled 
 out on the walk. Two figures were approaching, 
 and, as they neared him, he recognised Kitty and 
 her escort. He touched his hat as he passed, but 
 heard his name called, as he did so, and turning, 
 met Kitty, who had for a moment left her com 
 panion. 
 
 " That was a very cordial greeting from an old
 
 1 8 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 friend, Mr. Oswald," said Kitty in her low, attrac 
 tive voice. 
 
 " Well, Kitty, I did not know the gentleman." 
 
 " No, and you wish you hadn t known me. See 
 here, Jack Oswald, do you think you have acted the 
 honourable gentleman towards me, you who put 
 honour and uprightness on so high a level. You 
 know what I told you before you left me. I am 
 not done with you yet. Good-evening." 
 
 Oswald stood looking after the retreating figure. 
 
 " A woman scorned " he thought to himself. Yet 
 he had not scorned her, he had been her best and 
 most generous friend, it seemed to him as he thought 
 it over. 
 
 In a most unhappy frame of mind he walked to 
 the hotel again and went to his rooms. 
 
 Four months had passed since on that golden 
 October day in the flower-embowered church in the 
 largest city in the land, and in the presence of the 
 best people of that city, Jack Oswald had promised 
 everything to the girl whom he called wife. Per 
 haps he should have laid bare the pages of his past 
 life to the young girl before he took her to the 
 altar. Yet how could he? How can nine out of 
 ten men ? He was no moralist. He was rather a 
 sophist. He thought he was a gentleman in the 
 highest sense of the term. Perhaps he was, perhaps 
 he was not. At any rate, he came back from his 
 honeymoon, and, after two weeks visit with Clare s 
 mother, they moved into their cosy little house in
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 19 
 
 Thirty-second St., where they were to spend the 
 Winter. 
 
 During the day time Jack was down town attend 
 ing to the not very onerous business of the firm of 
 Oswald & Van Beuren, and in the afternoon he 
 would follow his ante-marital habit of going to the 
 club at four-thirty or five to see his friends, and 
 play whist or backgammon for awhile. At first 
 Clare would frequently meet him at Tenth Street 
 or below and walk with him to their home, where 
 he would leave her and run over to his beloved club. 
 She never complained. She even urged him to go 
 out of an evening when they had no engagements. 
 She wished to give her husband the fullest liberty. 
 She reasoned, perhaps fallaciously, that she must 
 not expect him to give up all his past habits and 
 life, that he would love her more if she never made 
 requirements of him but simply made his small 
 home so cheerful and attractive that he would, by 
 preference, remain at her side. She was too large 
 hearted and unselfish to consider for a moment 
 what she had given up for this man, what every 
 woman gives up when she blots out all her previous 
 life, and in a moment takes up the new and untried 
 one. A lottery ? Yes, and with the odds much in 
 favour of Monsieur le Diable, 
 
 " Do you want to go anywhere this evening, 
 Clare," said Jack one evening, looking up from his 
 paper just before dinner. 
 
 Clare sat at the piano running her fingers softly
 
 20 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 over the keys and recalling her girlhood days in 
 some half-remembered melody. 
 
 " No, Jack, perhaps we can stay at home to-night 
 and have a really homey evening." 
 
 " Oh, all right, dear, but I want to run over to the 
 club to see Charlie Haswell for a minute about half 
 past nine. 
 
 An inaudible sigh, a little tearful sob, was sup 
 pressed almost before she knew she felt it, and Clare 
 answered cheerfully, 
 
 " All right, Jack, dear." 
 
 After dinner, at which Jack tried to make him 
 self unusually agreeable, he threw himself on the 
 divan and Clare, seating herself at the piano, played 
 for an hour. She played the things Jack loved 
 best, " Narcissus," " O mon Fernand " and bits from 
 Chopin and Mozart, ending with one of Jack s 
 especial pets, the " Marche Funebre " of Chopin. 
 
 Jack purled his cigar languidly and thought about 
 the coming trip in the club car to the football 
 game and was as comfortable as possible. He did 
 not know how happy he was. Like many men he 
 took many things for granted. He loved his wife 
 very dearly, but he never knew or thought how 
 many times daily Clare said to herself : 
 
 " Why does he not say so, I am hungering and 
 thirsting for it? Why does he not tell me that he 
 loves me better than any one, or anything, in this 
 great world?" 
 
 "Well, little girl, I ll be back shortly," and with
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 21 
 
 a light kiss Jack was off to the club. At a quarter 
 past one in the morning he came in to find Clare 
 seated in her little boudoir. Dressed only in her 
 light blue dressing gown, and with her hair in a single 
 braid, she looked sweet and girlish. The delicate 
 odour of violets was about the room and the beauti 
 ful face looked up happily as he entered. 
 
 "Why, Clare," cried her husband, "why in the 
 world didn t you go to bed ? I am sorry I am so late, 
 but I got into a game, and had no idea how the 
 time was going." 
 
 " It s all right, Jack, now you are here. I was get 
 ting a little anxious, you know, and I can t sleep 
 until you come home. Did you have a good 
 time?" 
 
 " No, not very, I lost five dollars at backgammon. 
 By the way, Clare," he added, " I have a fine chance 
 to go duck shooting. George Cornell has asked me 
 to go down to Havre de Grace with him. They 
 have a club on an island called Spesutia, or some 
 name like that ; fine shooting, they say." 
 
 " Well, you must go, dear, of course." 
 
 " No, I told him I didn t see how I could leave 
 you." 
 
 " Why, of course you must go, Jack. I can go to 
 stay with mother, or she can come to me." 
 
 " You are the dearest, most unselfish thing in the 
 world, Clare. I really would like to go if I could 
 arrange it." 
 
 " Why, you must go, Jack ; and think how fine it
 
 22 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 will be when you bring back a lot of canvas- 
 backs. ..." 
 
 On the following Tuesday, therefore, after an 
 affectionate farewell, Oswald left by the two o clock 
 train with gun and ammunition for a week on the 
 Chesapeake, having arranged that Mrs. Lawrence 
 was to come to spend the nights with Clare. Clare s 
 mother was a woman of the world. Thrown on her 
 own resources after the death of her husband, she 
 had learned to look on the world as it is, and while 
 being a sympathetic and womanly woman, she had 
 a large gift, latent until called into use, of common 
 sense. She had tried to counsel Clare before her 
 marriage as to many of the frailties and foibles of 
 mankind, and had, since that event, talked to her in 
 what she thought the best way. But the daughter 
 possessed an innate reserve, which made it impossi 
 ble for her to do more than listen. Life in certain 
 of its aspects had been an unturned leaf to her be 
 fore her marriage and her pride kept her from saying 
 anything after her new life had begun. She would 
 simply say to her mother that she was very happy, 
 that was all. At the ferry Jack met George Cornell 
 and they crossed and boarded the Washington Ex 
 press. Just after dusk they hurried off the train at 
 Havre de Grace, where the captain of the small 
 club steamer met them. 
 
 " Hello, Captain." 
 
 " How d ye do, Mr. Cornell."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 23 
 
 " Captain Smith, this is Mr. Oswald. What s the 
 prospect ? " 
 
 " Very good, Mr. Cornell ; the ducks are trading 
 in and out of the inlet and you can t drive them off 
 the places where we dumped the corn, no, not with 
 a club." 
 
 " Good enough ; then we ought to have some 
 sport." 
 
 " You ll have sport enough, and ducks enough, if 
 you can hit "em." 
 
 " Well, we ll try. Mr. Oswald is good on every 
 thing else and I imagine he can twist the ducks all 
 right. Black-heads, I suppose, mostly, aren t they ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, with a sprinkling of red-heads and now 
 and then a canvas-back. The canvas-backs are 
 mostly on the flats, though." 
 
 In a half hour the boat brought up at the little 
 pier and a few steps took the party to the commo 
 dious club house. There they met two other mem 
 bers; Cornell knew them and introductions followed. 
 They had been down for the shooting the day be 
 fore, and had made a good record of seventy-six 
 ducks. Dinner was presided over by Aunty Ruth 
 and a sable assistant, and, after a pipe was smoked 
 before the blazing logs of the open fireplace, the 
 party broke up to be called at four-thirty the next 
 morning. Lots had been drawn for position and 
 Oswald and Cornell, who were to shoot from one 
 blind, drew Land s Cove as their station. 
 
 Buckwheat cakes and home-made sausages, with a
 
 24 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 steaming cup of coffee, made a good beginning for 
 the day s pleasures, and long before light, Jim, the 
 faithful darkey, was rowing the men to their posi 
 tions. 
 
 Arrived at the blind, a floating one, the men, guns 
 and ammunition were transferred and Jim began 
 the arduous task of putting out the decoys, about 
 three hundred in number. Before this was com 
 pleted, the grey dawn was breaking. Way off to the 
 Eastward the sky was tinged with pink. " Down," 
 whispered Cornell, and then both men lay flat, as, 
 with a thunderous whirr of wings, a flock of thirty 
 odd black-heads checked themselves and attempted 
 to turn off. They had seen the stools and had come 
 in almost over Jim s head, as he was hard at work in 
 the icy waters. The guns belched fire in the dusky 
 dawn but only one duck fell. 
 
 "I was rattled, weren t you, Jack? " 
 
 "Yes, they came so suddenly, I shot at a shadow." 
 
 The sky had changed now to crimson and gold, 
 and the sun was tipping the trees on the shore. 
 
 " It s going to be an ideal day, Jack, cloudy and 
 the wind just right." 
 
 " Why, there s no wind and the sun is rising 
 clear." 
 
 "Yes, but don t you notice those clouds just 
 forming ? After a half hour we won t see the sun 
 again, I ll lay anything." 
 
 Jim had finished "putting out" and had gone 
 way below to the shore. There he sat in his boat
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 25 
 
 ready to gather dead birds or shoot cripples. The 
 day came on apparently all at once, and suddenly 
 the air seemed filled with ducks, " trading " in and 
 out, the beautiful canvas-back shooting high over 
 head in serried column. The birds coming on in 
 groups of from ten to forty decoyed well. Jack was 
 doing excellent work and Cornell was only a few 
 behind. Both kept tally on the boarded sides of 
 the blind. Soon the flocks were broken up, and 
 then the real sport began, as the birds came in two s 
 and three s or singly. Now and again a flock of pin 
 tails would shoot by overhead and entice a shot, 
 while the turkey buzzards far over on the land, 
 circling and wheeling with outstretched wings, 
 would rise or fall at will without seeming muscular 
 movement. It was interesting to watch Jim, who 
 was kept busy chasing wounded ducks all over the 
 bay. He was an old hand at this work. He would 
 row rapidly toward the wounded bird and, as it 
 dove, would pull hard fora moment, and then, drop 
 ping his oars, would seize his gun and, standing, 
 rotate his body from one side to the other with gun 
 at shoulder. The barrels covered the arc of a half 
 circle and the moment the duck appeared again, 
 for a second only, perhaps, the gun was discharged 
 and the bird at once retrieved. The hours went 
 fast and at eleven o clock the morning shooting was 
 practically over. Jim was signalled for and sent 
 back for some lunch. 
 
 " It s too far to walk, Jack," explained Cornell,
 
 26 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "and we re comfortable enough here, and from the 
 look of things I think the afternoon flight will be 
 early." 
 
 By four o clock they had killed ninety-six ducks, 
 and leaving Jim to bring home the birds, they were 
 rowed ashore and tramped to the club house. 
 There Oswald found a letter from his wife, just sent 
 down. Had he thought of her during the day ? 
 No, but he had been busy and excited. The letter, 
 the last he received from her for many a year, ran 
 thus: 
 
 " MY OWN HUSBAND : 
 
 " I am up almost at daybreak to write to 
 you. Oh, Jack, darling, there is no use in telling 
 you how fearfully lonely I was last night. What 
 do you think I did ? Now don t laugh I put your 
 picture under my pillow. Am I not a goose ? Oh, 
 Jack, come back soon to me. You are the breath of 
 my life. I love you, Jack." 
 
 "Your CLARE." 
 
 "I am sending Cecile out with this at seven 
 o clock. I hope you may get it to-day. C." 
 
 "God bless her pure soul," said Jack to himself, 
 as he closed the letter and put it in his pocket. 
 
 The next day was not a shooting one, and they 
 tried the snipe meadows with but indifferent suc 
 cess. Jack had a barrel of ducks shipped to Clare 
 and put in with the birds a little note of directions 
 as to whom they should be sent.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 27 
 
 The day following was devoted again to the 
 ducks, with rather poor results. Jack began to 
 wonder why he did not hear again from Clare. He 
 even sent the boat up to Havre de Grace to enquire 
 at the post-office. He seemed to have a fore-warn 
 ing of evil and gradually became so distrait and 
 unlike himself that George Cornell was neither sur 
 prised nor greatly disappointed when, that evening, 
 Jack said that he believed he would go back to 
 town in the morning. George wished to stop a 
 few days longer, so, early the next morning, Jack 
 Oswald took the train at Havre de Grace for home. 
 " Home," a name only henceforth for Jack Oswald.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OSWALD had been away for three days on his 
 duck-shooting trip. Clare was sitting in the pretty 
 alcove, which she had dignified with the name of 
 boudoir. 
 
 She was working industriously on a fancy worsted 
 waistcoat for Jack, and as she worked, she hummed 
 one of her favourite little French ballads, " Si tn 
 savais" and thought of the clear one far away. 
 
 The bell rang and in a few moments the maid 
 announced: " Mrs. Lincoln." 
 
 " Oh, send her right in here, Mary," and meeting 
 her friend at the door, they kissed each other. 
 
 " I knew, Clare, that if you were at home and 
 alone I could come right in." 
 
 " How sweet of you to come to-day, Marie, to 
 cheer me in my temporary widowhood." 
 
 " I hope it will never be worse than temporary, 
 Clare, dear." 
 
 " Oh, Marie, excuse me, how flippant and careless 
 I am." 
 
 Marie Lincoln had but recently lost her husband 
 after a short illness. They had been married ten 
 years and she was left with a five-year-old boy. 
 She was much older than Clare, but they had be 
 come fast friends and saw much of each other.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 29 
 
 " Now, Marie, take off your wraps and let us 
 have a good long talk. How is the boy? " 
 
 " Very well, except for a little cold. I thought it 
 better not to bring him with me in this raw Novem 
 ber air." 
 
 " November has always seemed a sad month to 
 me, Marie, until now, when all is changed. When 
 Jack s around I care for nothing else. You know 
 the magic of that word together, Marie." 
 
 Marie sighed and answered "Yes." Silence fol 
 lowed for a few moments, each busy with deep 
 thoughts of her own. 
 
 " What German said : Wenn blatter fallen ist der 
 Winter na/i, Clare?" said Marie presently. "I 
 always like to say that, though it s about the extent 
 of my knowledge of the language." 
 
 " I don t remember, but it is pretty and has the 
 merit of truth. Thank you, Cecile," as the maid 
 handed her a half-dozen letters on a tray. Clare 
 looked eagerly over the budget for the well-known 
 handwriting, but not finding it sighed lightly and 
 said to herself : " Poor fellow, he was too tired after 
 his day s shooting. I shall have some word to 
 morrow surely." Then, aloud, she said : 
 
 " The Anson Jones are going to give a large ball. 
 Margaret writes to ask if I will help her in finding 
 some unique favours for the cotillon." 
 
 " How they love to entertain. I wonder how 
 long before Margaret will become engaged. She is 
 very pretty, but a spoiled child."
 
 30 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "At the same time she has many good qualities, 
 and once in love and married she may make a very 
 superior wife and mother," replied Clare. 
 
 " It is funny, isn t it? I remember at least two 
 cases where girls I knew well had been accustomed 
 to stay a-bed until eleven o clock, have breakfast in 
 their rooms, and in many ways were spoiled and 
 petted, but once married, they dropped all this 
 would insist on breakfasting with their husbands, 
 and what s the matter? You haven t had bad 
 news, have you, dear?" 
 
 " No, no news to speak of, only a very puzzling 
 communication from some one I don t know and 
 asking for an interview." 
 
 " Woman ? " asked Marie. 
 
 "Yes," said Clare; "but no matter, it is some 
 poor woman, poor but proud, probably, who wants 
 to borrow money." 
 
 After Marie had left, Clare stood still in the mid 
 dle of the room, with the letter in one hand, while 
 the other rested lightly on her little writing desk. 
 A half-puzzled, half-frightened look had crept into 
 her beautiful eyes. She stood there for an instant 
 irresolute, and then, snatching up Jack s picture, 
 which stood there in its gay red frame, she ex 
 claimed : "No, no, Jack, darling, forgive even my 
 unformed thought ; you are true, you have been, 
 you always will be." But what could this letter 
 mean ? Try as she would she could not shake off a 
 heavy feeling which crept into her heart, an intangi-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 31 
 
 ble consciousness that something was about to 
 happen. The letter, in strong feminine handwrit 
 ing almost resembling a man s, read thus: 
 
 " West 24th St., Nov. 29th. 
 " MRS. JOHN OSWALD, 
 
 " DEAR MADAM : 
 
 " May I ask for an inter 
 view with you personally and alone ? It is about a 
 very private matter. This should be granted at 
 once. It is unnecessary for me to add that this is 
 neither blackmail nor a threat. 
 
 "Yours truly, 
 
 " KITTY ST. CLAIR." 
 
 Clare stood and thought, but to no avail. Her 
 first impulse had been to consign the communica 
 tion to..the fireplace, but she said to herself: " No, 
 I will wait until to-morrow, and a letter from Jack 
 will drive off these shadows in an instant." 
 
 Her mother came as usual about five o clock. 
 Clare said nothing of her letter. Had it been anony 
 mous she would not have hesitated about showing 
 and burning it. Clare seemed abnormally gay that 
 evening. Two or three young people dropped in 
 and they had some music and singing. The barrel 
 of ducks arrived and Clare was very proud. She 
 gave orders as to their distribution and was a little 
 disappointed that Jack had said so little in the note 
 that was tied on the one pair of canvas-backs in the 
 lot ; but it was his loved handwriting, perhaps a 
 little scrawly, but it told her that he loved her, and,
 
 32 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 when the chance offered, she excused herself and in 
 her room pinned the dear words near her heart. 
 After the guests had gone, her mother said to her : 
 
 " Clare, dear, I am so glad to see you happy. 
 You looked so glad to-night when you got Jack s 
 note. It made me feel young again. When is he 
 coming back? " 
 
 " He does not say, mamma, only that he is hav 
 ing fine sport. I shall not expect him for some 
 days yet. Good-night." 
 
 "Good-night, dear," and Clare went to her room. 
 She sat again thinking it all over, but could get no 
 comfort, and at last a dreamful sleep came to her. 
 
 By breakfast time the next morning Clare had 
 determined to send Cecile to West Twenty-fourth 
 Street to say that Mrs. Oswald would see Miss St. 
 Clair at eleven o clock. She was very nervous in 
 view of the meeting, but no one would have sus 
 pected it from her calm exterior. When at half- 
 past eleven the door-bell rang, she had completely 
 conquered herself and awaited her visitor with ab 
 solute composure. Kitty St. Clair was shown into 
 the drawing-room, and Clare went at once to her. 
 As she entered the room the first glance at the face 
 of her caller told her that she had seen her before, 
 when and where she had no time to think. 
 
 "Miss St. Clair, I believe?" 
 
 "Yes, and I am addressing Mrs. Oswald?" 
 
 "Yes, will you be seated?" 
 
 " Thank you, Mrs. Oswald, but what I have to say
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 33 
 
 is so private, and I may say, compromising, that, if 
 possible, I should like to speak where servants 
 could not overhear." 
 
 " We are quite safe here," answered Clare 
 coldly, her heart beating fast and a vague sinking 
 feeling coming over her. But her self-possession 
 never deserted her, she still clung to a hope, a 
 straw, that it might be simply an appeal for aid, or 
 that some dear friend of Jack s was involved. She 
 noted in an instant the tout ensemble of her guest. 
 She saw that she was very pretty. Her hair 
 showed the use of bleaching fluid, her complexion 
 was exquisite, but embellished somewhat by the 
 judicious use of the pencil and rouge. Her figure 
 was small but too rounded for perfect beauty. 
 Her dress was handsome, but pronounced, and the 
 hat, one of the large and much befeathered kind in 
 vogue. Her eyes were what arrested the attention 
 most. They were a deep hazel, captivating and yet 
 they had a ray of insincerity in them, the mirror of 
 an untrue soul to one who looked closely as Clare 
 did. 
 
 " Mrs. Oswald, your husband once loved me and 
 I loved him," began Kitty with horrible bluntnes.s. 
 
 In an instant Clare knew that all her fond theo 
 ries as to the cause of the visit were but chaff in a 
 wind. She controlled herself perfectly, however. 
 
 " Indeed ! " 
 
 " Yes," replied her caller, a little nettled at the 
 absolute calmness with which her first shot had
 
 34 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 been received, " I was his mistress for a number of 
 years." 
 
 " Is this what you have come to tell me ? " 
 answered Clare, rising from her seat. 
 
 "Yes, this is part of what I came to tell you, 
 the rest you shall have now. Your husband basely 
 deserted me when he became engaged to marry 
 you. I loved him and he was my sole support. 
 He is the father of my child and must support it." 
 
 At the first few words Clare had sunk again to 
 her seat, and with face of ashes gazed at the woman, 
 who, with blazing eyes and flushed face, completed 
 her accusation. 
 
 " It is false," said Clare, in a voice so low as to 
 be scarcely heard, but with an intonation of unut 
 terable woe. 
 
 " It is not false and here is my proof," cried she, 
 as she drew from her bosom a paper and passed it 
 to Clare, who mechanically took it. 
 
 " Read it, please," said the woman, almost 
 frightened at the effect of her words. With sight 
 blurred, not by tears, Clare read : " Health Board, 
 City of New York, Birth Certificate. John Oswald 
 St. Clair. Father s name, John Oswald. Mother s 
 
 name, Katherine St. Clair. Dated Sept. ." 
 
 Within a few days of her wedding their wedding! 
 She held out the paper in front of her mechanically 
 and then with a heart-rending, shuddering cry : 
 " Mother, Cecile," she sank slowly back and down, 
 and all was black.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 35 
 
 During the stillness of the night, she lay abso 
 lutely quiet but with staring eyes. She could not 
 think ; she was stunned, dull of thought and reason 
 ing. The moment had come to her as it has come 
 to many women, when she realised that her life 
 was a mistake. The one person she had thoroughly 
 believed in, trusted, to whom she had given her 
 life, soul and body, was false ! Her " golden image 
 with the feet of clay " had fallen shattered. A 
 horrid earthquake had torn her world apart, and 
 she stood on the edge of an abyss. Could she take 
 up the thread of her life again where she had left it 
 before knowing him ? No, she was no longer the 
 girl of four short months ago. A married woman 
 and at the age of nineteen, her life s romance was 
 done. She had loved as few women do. Unsel 
 fishness and self-abnegation were the main-springs 
 of her character. She had known but few men 
 well. Jack Oswald had entered her life and world, 
 had wooed and won her, and she had placed him 
 on a pedestal. " Innocent until proved guilty " 
 would have been her maxim had she been a man, 
 and was, as a woman, but the proof was so over 
 whelming, so convincing. If her husband had been 
 taken from her by death, like Marie Lincoln s, she 
 would still have memory, sacred memory. She 
 would have his pictures, letters, all to cherish now 
 the blackness of darkness. 
 
 Mrs. Lawrence knew at once that some blow had
 
 36 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 fallen upon her daughter and begged her to confide 
 in her, but in her pride Clare replied : 
 
 " Mamma, dear, I will tell you all some day. 
 Now I will only say that I cannot live with my 
 husband. It is my wish to go to you, to begin our 
 old life together again if possible, just you and I. 
 You will not ask anything more, I am sure." 
 
 " Of course, darling, I know your reasons must be 
 good, but you are taking so serious a step. It will 
 cause comment and possibly scandal. I am your 
 mother, the best friend you have in the world. 
 You have been a perfect daughter to me, and the 
 only real tie to bind me to life and happiness. I 
 will not force your confidence, but this determina 
 tion of yours should not be final if there is the 
 smallest loophole of escape. I have no object or 
 hope in life except your happiness, my darling 
 child." 
 
 Clare sat silent with hands locked close together. 
 Two great tears unheeded rolled down her cheeks. 
 No sound escaped her. She sat a picture of despair. 
 Finally she said in a hopeless voice: 
 
 " I cannot tell you, dearest mother, but it must 
 be as I wish." 
 
 Clare moved to her old home the same day. 
 She left her mother and maid to attend to the 
 moving, which really only consisted in packing her 
 clothes. When asked whether she wished her own 
 things she replied, " No, they are not mine now." 
 Then she wrote at once to Pierre Van Beuren, ask-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 37 
 
 ing him to come and see her at her mother s house. 
 She had thought of him as her husband s best 
 friend, and had determined to tell him in her own 
 way of the separation. On Friday afternoon Pierre 
 called without the least suspicion as to the cause of 
 Mrs. Oswald s request, but with the possible idea 
 that it had to do with some investments which Mrs. 
 Lawrence had had in mind for months past. 
 
 When Clare came down to the parlour, however, 
 he saw at once that something was amiss. She 
 greeted him brightly and with a smile, as always, 
 but something in her look, in her face, told him that 
 a crisis in her life had come. He sat perplexed, 
 waiting for his cue, while Clare began directly, 
 " Mr. Van Beuren, I sent for you to-day to tell you 
 that I have separated from my husband. He is, as 
 you know, absent from town, but I have come here 
 to live with my mother again, and for the rest of 
 my life. The reasons for this step, so far as I am 
 concerned, must remain a closed book. You will 
 use your own tact and judgment in speaking of it 
 when you are obliged to, I am sure." 
 
 Van Beuren, deeply distressed, answered : " Mrs. 
 Oswald, what you tell me grieves me beyond words. 
 I cannot express to you my astonishment. I see 
 that it is a very painful topic, and I do not ask for 
 an explanation, but I can heartily assure you of the 
 sympathy and respect of all Jack s I mean your 
 husband s friends. We have all learned to love 
 you and to consider you rather as one of us. Mrs.
 
 38 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Oswald, I can say no more, I am too unhappy to 
 say anything " and with a sob in his voice the big- 
 hearted fellow clumsily made for the door. 
 
 Clare watched him go without a word, then for 
 the first time she broke down and sobbed. She 
 buried her head in the pillows of the sofa and 
 moaned bitterly : " Oh, my husband, my husband. 
 You have broken my heart." 
 
 Clare had, as Van Beuren said, become immensely 
 popular with Oswald s friends. She was so full of 
 good comradeship, so interested in them and in all 
 their comings and goings. She was no prude and 
 preserved withal that charming womanly quality 
 which always appeals to men. 
 
 That day she had sent a letter to her husband. 
 She did not wish to see him. Yes, she yearned to 
 see him with a fierce, almost unconquerable, yearn- 
 ing, yet she stifled it, knowing that he was not 
 worthy. Had she learned only the first part of the 
 woman s story before marriage, she in her guileless- 
 ness would have drawn back. She never would 
 have married Jack Oswald. Learning only this 
 afterwards, she would have felt it keenly, but would 
 have excused it. Endowed with much of her 
 mother s common-sense, she would .have said: "I 
 have no part or parcel in his past ; our life com 
 menced to-day, our wedding day." But this fright 
 ful living present accusation nay, fact a child 
 his out of wedlock and the concealment and false 
 pretense of it all. No, better nothing than a sham.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 39 
 
 She could not see him, though she knew that he 
 would try to see her, try to effect a reconciliation, 
 if only for the sight of the outer world. So think 
 ing she sat and wrote : 
 
 " Under the circumstances, a separation is the 
 only course. I shall remain with my mother. 
 Should you wish it you may get a divorce. I will 
 not oppose it. Do not try to see me ; I shall not 
 willingly meet you again." She signed the paper, 
 sealed the envelope, and sent it to his house, hers 
 no more. This done she tried to forget tried hard. 
 Her mother had, from the first, an inkling of the 
 cause of her child s misfortune, but she left no 
 stone unturned to satisfy herself as to the correct 
 ness of her suspicions. She had had interviews 
 with both Van Beuren and Balford and had learned 
 enough of Jack s past to form a very correct esti 
 mate of the situation. From Clare she got no 
 enlightenment, nor did she blame her now for the 
 step she had taken. Her heart bled for her patient, 
 suffering child and her resentment toward Jack was 
 correspondingly severe. Clare took most comfort 
 in her music, and her voice, as she played and sang, 
 was something too sad and pathetic. It contained 
 the true feu sacre. . . . 
 
 Why describe the effect produced upon Oswald 
 on his return from his trip? It was as if a shot had 
 pierced his heart! His first impulse was to go to 
 Clare and tell her, but what could he tell her now ? 
 
 He had arrived at ten o clock at night, full of
 
 40 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 the anticipation, anxious to tell Clare of all his small 
 adventures and then, perhaps, run over to the club for 
 a little while. And so to his club he went and talked 
 like a fool and forgot everything until midday of the 
 next day, when he found himself lying on his own bed 
 dressed as he had come from the trip, with Pierre Van 
 Beuren by his side. Pierre had brought him back 
 from the club at three o clock in the morning. Os 
 wald s head was aching badly, but he sat up and gaz 
 ing stupidly about, muttered, " Where s Clare ? Oh, I 
 forgot, didn t she go somewhere, or something?" 
 
 " Lie down, old man, and take another nap," said 
 Van Beuren soothingly. " I ll bring you a cup of 
 coffee in a moment and you ll feel all right." 
 
 " No, Van, but wasn t something didn t some 
 thing happen? My God ! Has Clare left me? " and 
 the half-inebriated, half-crazed man fell back on his 
 pillow and broke into sobs.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CLARE OSWALD S life from now on was a blank. 
 She walked about like an automaton and attended 
 to the housekeeping which her mother had put in 
 her hands. She rarely went out. Her mother in 
 sisted on their driving in the Park every pleasant 
 day, but she would see none of the friends who 
 called save Marie Lincoln, but between them the 
 painful subject was never referred to. Marie had 
 been told by Mrs. Lawrence all the reasons for the 
 change in Clare s life which she herself knew, and 
 Marie was full of love and sympathy, but no ques 
 tion or word of curiosity ever escaped her. One 
 day, a month after Clare had left her husband, she 
 sat at the piano thinking, her hands quiet upon the 
 keys. The butler brought her a letter. " The boy 
 is waiting for an answer, Ma am," he said. The 
 writing was strangely familiar, but she was at a loss 
 to identify it. There was a suspicious musky smell 
 about the envelope that seemed to Clare to recall 
 something disagreeable, but she opened it mechan 
 ically and read : 
 
 "MRS. OSWALD, 
 
 " May I see you for a moment to-day or 
 to-morrow. I am afraid I may be too ill to go out 
 in a few days. This is important. 
 
 " KITTY ST. CLAIR."
 
 42 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 A look of horror overspread Clare s face as she 
 read, and the letter and envelope fell from her 
 hands as though she had been stung. Then she 
 recovered herself, and taking the dainty brass tongs 
 from the fireplace, lifted the paper to the flames 
 and watched it burn ; then with a deep sigh she 
 opened the door and said to the servant, who 
 was waiting, " Tell the messenger there is no 
 answer." 
 
 Poor girl! how white and thin she looked. In 
 her snowy gown, unrelieved by colour, her pale face 
 had an ethereal, angelic look in which resignation 
 as well as despair could be read. She was slowly 
 pining away, and both her mother and Marie Lin 
 coln could see what the end would be. It might 
 be years before she gave way completely, but they 
 knew that Clare was of the mould to love once and 
 for all. Doctor Swift was called in one day without 
 Clare s knowledge or consent. She knew him well, 
 and yielded with a pleasant smile to his cross ex 
 amination. Finally he said : 
 
 " I should advise you to go away, Mrs. Oswald." 
 
 " Where do you want to send me, Doctor? " 
 
 " Well, to some warm climate for the Winter, 
 preferably by sea, if you are a good sailor." 
 
 " I do not really care, Doctor, but, as far as the 
 sea goes, I am a good sailor." 
 
 "What do you say, then, to Cuba or the 
 Bahamas ? " 
 
 " Do you wish me to go, Mamma ? "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 43 
 
 "Yes, dear, if the doctor advises and it will do 
 you good." 
 
 " Very well, I will go. I will take Cecile and go 
 to Nassau." 
 
 "That will be just the thing," said Doctor Swift, 
 " and you could not very well go to Cuba just now, 
 as things are so upset there." 
 
 So it was arranged that Clare should go to Nas 
 sau, taking her maid with her, while Mrs. Lawrence 
 and Marie Lincoln would follow a little later to 
 come back with her in the early spring. 
 
 Doctor Swift had told Mrs. Lawrence that he 
 could find nothing radically wrong with her daugh 
 ter, but there seemed to be a general breaking 
 down of her nervous system, a condition which 
 would in time lead to a state of nervous exhaustion 
 and this would react on her general health. He 
 advised against Mrs. Lawrence going with Clare, as 
 he said she would then be too dependent, but if 
 thrown on her own resources the necessity of doing 
 for herself would take her thoughts from her great 
 sorrow. Then, too, a change in environment would 
 keep her mind and memory from becoming mor 
 bid. . . . 
 
 As the El Capitan of the Wall Line steamed 
 slowly down the bay, on a raw December day, Clare 
 Oswald stood as far astern as she could get, and, 
 with dry eyes and a bursting heart, saw the great 
 buildings of the city, the Brooklyn Bridge and 
 Statue of Liberty fade away in the gathering mist.
 
 44 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 She had not noticed her fellow passengers, and, 
 after the boat got outside of Sandy Hook, she re 
 tired to her stateroom on deck. She found Cecile 
 arranging her wardrobe, and wondering what she 
 should do with the wealth of flowers which made 
 the atmosphere heavy with their fragrance. 
 
 Her mother and Marie Lincoln had come to see 
 Clare off, and many others had sent remembrances 
 in the shape of fruit and delicacies. The deck 
 steward brought a package of letters and papers. 
 
 " Is this Mrs. Oswald ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Here are your letters, Ma am ; they were left 
 with the purser last mail, just as we cast off." 
 
 Clare looked them over. One envelope attracted 
 her attention. It bore a strange handwriting, and in 
 one corner was an underlined word, " Important." 
 It had been forwarded by the butler with the rest 
 from her home that morning. She opened it hur 
 riedly and found an enclosure. Another envelope, 
 addressed in that hated woman s handwriting, but 
 scrawled and half blotted, almost illegible. Clare s 
 impulse was to crush it unopened and cast it into 
 the sea, but the envelope enclosing it and marked 
 " Important " ! what could that mean ? 
 
 " Cecile, go down and see the head steward and 
 give him this money, and tell him who it is from, 
 and get me a quiet seat at the table, but near this 
 end of the saloon." 
 
 She handed her maid a bill as she spoke, and, as
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 45 
 
 soon as Cecile had gone, she opened the suspicious 
 letter. It was written in pencil and was evidently 
 the result of much physical effort. It was dated 
 on the day previous and read : 
 
 " For God s sake, Mrs. Oswald, come and see a 
 dying woman who wishes to confess her baseness 
 so that she may go into the next world with fewer 
 sins on her soul. I wish to tell and prove to you 
 that I am a liar and a forger. I want to bring you 
 back to your husband. What I have said about the 
 child was false. The certificate was forged. I have 
 never had a child. In the name of Heaven, come 
 for a few moments to-day or to-morrow." Here it 
 ended with an attempt at signature. The scrawl 
 fluttered from the pallid fingers to the floor. Clare 
 sat staring at the wall of her cabin. Long she sat 
 and looked. Her eyes would not close. Her body 
 felt numb. She could not raise her hands. A half 
 hour later, Cecile, having had her supper, came into 
 the cabin. There sat her mistress ; she might have 
 been marble. 
 
 " Why, Madame Oswald, qiiest ce que cest ? Are 
 you not well ? Let me get you some eau de vie." 
 
 " No thank you, Cecile," replied Clare, each 
 word coming slowly and measured. " I am 
 better now." 
 
 " But, Madame, you look sotrtsfe, so ill, have you 
 mat de mer perhaps ? " 
 
 " No Cecile but I want to lie down, I 
 feel faint and, slowly inclining forward with
 
 46 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 eyes set, she would have fallen to the floor but for 
 the strong arms of Cecile, who placed her mistress 
 on the sofa and then, loosening her collar and corsets, 
 bathed her white and bloodless temples with eau 
 de cologne. For the second time in her life Clare 
 had fainted. 
 
 Clare remained in her stateroom that night and 
 the following day. " What shall I do, what shall I 
 do," was the unspoken cry through that night and 
 day. She knew no one, could consult with no one. 
 It would be days before they came to port and 
 then, what ? What dependence could she place on 
 this woman, even if she were dying? Yet she read 
 the truth in every line. She must cable at once on 
 landing. She must take the next boat back, back 
 perhaps to Jack ! Oh ! God, she must not think of 
 that ! It could not be. Badly as she had been 
 treated by fate, that would be too heavenly. 
 
 She did not want to think of all the possibilities 
 in store for her, but unconsciously she was, after 
 twenty-four hours, becoming almost cheerful. That 
 Jack was innocent of what she had considered his 
 deepest sin was the greatest comfort to her; the 
 possibility that they might come together again 
 made her heart beat fast and furious. She began 
 to take a little interest in the other passengers. 
 She had been placed at the Captain s left. Her vis 
 vis was a Mr. DeForest from Philadelphia, and 
 next to her sat a Mr. Howe and his young sixteen- 
 year-old daughter, Belle. Next to Mr. DeForest
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 47 
 
 was a Mr. Alexander Stone of New York, a young 
 fellow of pleasing personnel, who was taking the win 
 ter trip for his health. A journalist, George Farr, 
 completed the number of those near by with whom 
 she became acquainted. Her sad, Madonna-like 
 face created a general interest in her, as was natural 
 on shipboard, and the surmise in the smoking-room 
 was that she was a young widow, though her dress 
 was not the garb of deep mourning, for though she 
 appeared always in dark or subdued colours, there 
 was no suggestion of crepe upon her costume. On 
 the third evening out, Mr. Stone asked her, after 
 dinner, if she would join a group made up mostly 
 of her immediate table companions. She had been 
 walking the deck as usual with Cecile, who oc 
 cupied the sofa in her stateroom, and was her con 
 stant and sole companion. The moon was at its 
 full and shining with cloudless brilliancy. The 
 night was mild, and the sea smooth. After a 
 second s hesitation Clare accepted the invitation. 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Stone, I should like to very 
 much." 
 
 " We wanted to have a little music, you know. 
 Do you sing, Mrs. Oswald ; you look as though you 
 might." 
 
 " Yes, I sing a little, but you must excuse me 
 to-night, Mr. Stone ; I haven t sung in so long a time 
 that I fear I should give you no pleasure, and bring 
 myself no credit." 
 
 They had reached the jolly laughing party, and
 
 48 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 the men all jumped to give Mrs. Oswald a chair 
 and place among them. Mr. DeForest had a 
 guitar on his knees and had been strumming some 
 chords. 
 
 " How strangely the moon looks to-night," said 
 Miss Howe. " It is quite clear, yet that enormous 
 ring or halo, don t you call it, makes it look 
 queer. I wonder what a real sailor would say it 
 meant? " 
 
 " If I was in dear old slow Philadelphia," answered 
 Mr. DeForest, " I should say that to-morrow would 
 be cloudy, perhaps a storm, but we are almost in 
 the tropics now and I won t prophesy." 
 
 "Give us a song, Mr. DeForest," said Stone. 
 
 " Well, what shall it be, sentimental or comic ?" 
 
 " What a question, with the Goddess of Night 
 trying to make us sentimental," spoke up Mr. Farr. 
 
 " Well, I ll sing Thou art so near and yet so far, 
 see ? " 
 
 As the laugh subsided he began, in his low but 
 thrilling baritone voice, Clare s favourite song, 
 " There is no star in Heaven to guide me " No one 
 saw the tears spring to her eyes. Huddled up in 
 her rugs she listened and looked up at the vaulted 
 sky, and as she gazed she thought of the lines : 
 "Watching those far-off lights, which see him, whom 
 I long to see." There is surely a comfort sometimes 
 even in misery, and as Clare listened, a quiet feeling 
 stole over her, and she was for a moment almost 
 contented. As the words, " While I have you,
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 49 
 
 sweetheart, beside me," died away on the still air, 
 some one, it was Stone, said softly : 
 
 " Won t you sing something ?" 
 
 He alone had noticed her emotion and he pitied 
 her. He knew nothing of who she was or why she 
 was there, but he saw, with unusual masculine per 
 ception, that she was unhappy and in need of 
 friends. 
 
 " Yes, I will try. Can you accompany me, Mr. 
 DeForest? I was going to sing Could I by 
 Tosti." 
 
 " No, I am afraid that is beyond me, but please 
 sing without accompaniment, Mrs. Oswald." 
 
 Clare began in her sympathetic voice : " Could I 
 but come to thee once, but once only, there as you 
 sit alone." She seemed to see only Jack before her. 
 She was oblivious to all surroundings. Every one 
 read the story in her voice, and, as she finished, no 
 one sat with dry eyes. 
 
 After a little further desultory conversation 
 Clare said : " I shall go to my stateroom now, Mr. 
 Stone, if you will escort me. I feel quite chilly." 
 
 " There s a heart-broken woman, I ll wager any 
 thing," said Farr, as she disappeared. 
 
 Clare could not sleep. She sat up and read for 
 awhile and then tried to write. She thought of the 
 cable she would send and wondered when she could 
 get an answer. They expected to reach Nassau at 
 eleven o clock on the following morning. Her 
 rooms at the hotel were already engaged. She
 
 50 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 must be up early. She was nervous and excited. 
 She heard footsteps on the deck outside. She put 
 out the light and looked out of the little window. 
 She saw DeForest and Stone pacing the deck. She 
 overheard DeForest say : 
 
 " If I didn t know it wasn t so, I should say we 
 were near shore now. Look at that ripple over 
 there ; wouldn t you say, up north, that that was 
 shoal water? " 
 
 Finally Clare lay down and tried to sleep. She 
 heard her friends say good-night, as the bells an 
 nounced eleven-thirty. At twelve, arid again at 
 one, she still heard the sailors getting the baggage 
 and freight from the hold for the next day s debark 
 ment at Nassau. She dozed off finally and knew 
 nothing until she was suddenly awakened by a ter 
 rific crash and grating sound. It was as though a 
 great chain was tearing the keel to pieces. Clare 
 jumped from her berth and listened. There was 
 silence for an instant, and then a confused murmur 
 of voices and a second shock worse than the first. 
 
 She opened the door of her stateroom and listened 
 again. She saw shadowy forms hurrying along the 
 deck. She noticed that the screw had stopped. 
 The great ship had a list and the stern was lower 
 than the bow. She called to a passing figure. 
 
 " Haven t we struck something? " 
 
 " Yes, mum, we are on a reef, I think," answered 
 the sailor as he hurried by. 
 
 She was not frightened now. She was startled
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 51 
 
 at first. She went back and began to dress. Cecile 
 was up and cried in terror : 
 
 " Mais, Madame, we will be drowned, pauvre 
 cherie, and it is raining, and you will catch cold. 
 Mon Difu, why did we leave New York ! " 
 
 Stone and DeForest both came to her cabin door, 
 and knocking, told her to hurry, as the boat was 
 slowly sinking. She finally appeared on deck com 
 pletely dressed, even to her coat and cap. Every 
 thing now was still. No one spoke. Then there 
 came some short, quick orders, and life preservers 
 were passed around. Then the life boats, too few 
 in number, were swung out. Two men took off 
 their life preservers, already strapped on, and placed 
 them about a woman and child who had none. The 
 Captain, who at first seemed to have lost his head, 
 finally ordered all the women into the life boats as 
 they hung on the davits. The ship was slowly but 
 surely settling. Then followed sad partings as 
 fathers and husbands bid their loved ones good-bye. 
 Mr. Howe placed his daughter in the boat, and lov 
 ing messages were exchanged for those at home, in 
 case either should be saved. 
 
 The El Capitan had run on a coral reef and the 
 danger was that she might slide off backwards into 
 deep water. Many of the men took to the rafts. 
 The women were all huddled together in the boats. 
 The rain was pouring down and the salt spray 
 dashed over them. From time to time a voice was 
 heard :
 
 52 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Water up to ports, sir." 
 
 " Water half-way up port holes, sir." 
 
 " Water above ports, sir." 
 
 The suspense was terrible and the silence made 
 it still worse. Clare felt intensely for those cowed 
 and frightened beings around her. The women 
 were all weeping, and an unconquerable desire to 
 cheer them took possession of her, and, from a sud 
 den inspiration, she began to sing old familiar bal 
 lads, such as all knew and loved. At first her voice 
 showed a slight tremor, then rang clear and sweet 
 out through the ship and deep into the rain and 
 mist, soothing and strengthening every heart that 
 heard it. Then the Captain gave orders to have the 
 boat lowered. The ship s stern was now level with 
 the water. Guns had been fired and rockets sent 
 up for the last hour. The Captain, knowing they 
 must be near land, decided to try and send the 
 women ashore. The night before he had looked in 
 vain for the beacon of the light-ship anchored at 
 the northerly extremity of the line of dangerous 
 reefs. Not seeing it, he had concluded that it was 
 out of order. As a matter of fact, he was twenty- 
 five miles out of his course. The first boat was 
 lowered with part of the women. The second officer 
 was in command, with four stokers to row. 
 
 Clare and poor shivering Cecile were in this boat. 
 They made but little headway and were shouting 
 back their last good-byes, when, to the horror of all, 
 the boat was seen to keel over abruptly, and then
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 53 
 
 capsize. In the glimmering dawn one person after 
 another appeared floating and wildly grasping the 
 air. Another boat was hurriedly emptied as it hung 
 on its supports, and rowed as quickly as possible 
 out into the darkness. They returned after half an 
 hour with but four of the ill-fated party, three pas 
 sengers found clinging to oars and flotsam, and one 
 of the crew. 
 
 No cries, no sounds were heard. The steamer had 
 settled on the rock and the Captain decided to wait 
 until dawn. When Cecile was restored to conscious 
 ness, she called and cried for her mistress, but in 
 vain. Clare Oswald was among the missing.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AFTER a few unsuccessful attempts to see and 
 have an interview with his wife, Jack Oswald gave 
 himself up to silent despair. His apartment was 
 closed and he took rooms not far from the club. 
 All New York soon knew that he and his wife had 
 separated, and many theories and conjectures were 
 advanced to explain it. His married life had, to 
 outward appearances, been quite ideal. His wife 
 had become immensely popular. " What a good 
 fellow she would have made had she been a man," 
 was the general estimate of her, by her men friends, 
 and could masculine approbation have said more? 
 
 At first Jack plunged into the dissipation of drink. 
 He had thought of suicide in his early frenzy, but 
 though weak in many ways, this had always seemed 
 to him nothing but cowardice. He had, one night, 
 taken up his pistol and fondled it and thought how 
 easy it would be to end all his sorrows by putting 
 the touch of the little toy upon his temple. 
 
 But the thought of his mother, whom he had not 
 knpwn, and his father, whose memory he revered, 
 came to him and stopped him. He knew that there 
 was no hope for him now that his own w r rong doing 
 and Kitty s wish for revenge had come between 
 them. He knew it all. He had never seen the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 55 
 
 child, he had not cared to, but he had heard that 
 Kitty St. Clair had been obliged to give up her en 
 gagement at the Empire for three weeks, back in 
 September, and that she was again ill and shut up 
 in her apartments. 
 
 He went to his business every day, but did his 
 work in the most perfunctory and mechanical 
 way. He usually dined at the club alone, or occa 
 sionally with Van Beuren or Ernest Balford. At 
 first his friends tried to interest him in things that 
 he had liked before marriage, but after awhile they 
 gave it up and allowed him to follow his own de 
 sires. The supports of his life had dropped out, 
 and the ruin, his own ruin, was all that was left. 
 
 One night, a month after the separation, he and 
 Van were dining together at the club. Toward 
 the end of the meal, Van said : 
 
 " I hope Mrs. Oswald will be benefitted by her 
 trip, Jack." 
 
 " What trip, Van ? " 
 
 " Why, I am told that she sailed day before yes 
 terday for Nassau on the El Capitan" 
 
 " I did not know it, Van. I hope she will be 
 better." 
 
 " Excuse me, dear boy, for speaking of it. I sus 
 pected you might not know it, and thought to tell 
 you in this way," answered Van, seeing the look of 
 hopelessness in his friend s face. 
 
 " Don t excuse yourself, Van, I know how deeply 
 you feel for me, but I deserve no sympathy."
 
 56 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Nonsense, Jack. You have had hard luck. 
 You have done nothing radically wrong, only had 
 hard luck. Curses on the women anyway." 
 
 " I ve killed my wife, that s all," said Jack; and 
 Van Beuren saw that he wished the conversation to 
 drop. 
 
 They went down to the cafe for their coffee, and, 
 on the way past the letter-boxes, Jack, from force 
 of habit, opened his. To his surprise, there was a 
 note. He glanced at it but the feminine hand 
 writing was unknown to him. As soon as he was 
 alone, he opened it curiously and read, written in 
 pencil : 
 
 " West 24th St. 
 " MR. JOHN OSWALD, 
 " DEAR SIR,- 
 
 " Miss St. Clair, who I believe is an old 
 friend of yours, is dying of consumption. She may 
 not live another twenty-four hours. She begs that 
 you will come to see her, as she has important 
 papers to give you. She is delirious much of the 
 while, and, at such times, talks of some crime she 
 has done and asks forgiveness from you. You can 
 judge for yourself as to whether you should come 
 or not. 
 
 " Respectfully, 
 
 "ADA COOK, Nurse." 
 
 Oswald sat for some moments holding the note 
 in his hand. What could it mean ? Pity or sym 
 pathy for the dying woman played no part in his
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 57 
 
 thoughts, but the words, " some crime she had 
 done," and " asks forgiveness." What crime could 
 she refer to unless that of foisting a child on him 
 which did not belong to him? What else could it 
 be for which she should ask forgiveness ? " Good 
 God ! " Oswald sprang to his feet. His only 
 thought was to go to her at once, for the suspense 
 of waiting would be unbearable and possibly fatal. 
 He went to the coat-room, and, a fc\v moments later, 
 was hurrying across the square. He turned into 
 Twenty-fourth Street and hurried westward. A 
 wet snow was falling, and, in his haste, he had for 
 gotten his overshoes and his patent leathers were 
 wet through before he had traversed a block. He 
 dodged an ambulance which went clanging up 
 Eighth Avenue, and the flying mud bespattered his 
 overcoat. 
 
 He reached the well-known number and leaped 
 up the steps. An almost hysterical excitement had 
 seized him. His temples throbbed and his mind 
 was not fully under control. He had never thought 
 to cross that threshold again, but now he knew that 
 he must see the woman who had ruined hishappiness, 
 before it was too late. He must wring from her an ex 
 planation of the words, " some crime she had done." 
 
 A coloured servant opened the door. 
 
 " I wish to see Miss Ada Cook, who, I believe, 
 is nursing Miss St. Clair." 
 
 " Yes, sir, but I don t think she can leave Miss 
 St. Clair ; she is very low, they tell me."
 
 58 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " You go and give my message ; say it is Mr. 
 Oswald," and he pressed a silver coin into her hand. 
 
 "All right, sir, I ll see." 
 
 A little whispered conversation could be heard at 
 the top of the stairs, and then the steps of some 
 one descending, and a sweet-faced woman, with 
 greyish hair, neat in her simple gown, with white 
 cap and cuffs, entered the little parlour. 
 
 " This is Mr. Oswald ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I am Miss Cook, the nurse of Miss St. Clair. 
 The patient is very low, Mr. Oswald, but I am going 
 to let you see her, for her sake, as the doctor has 
 consented. She may rally a little if she can get 
 this trouble off her mind, poor soul. Night and 
 day she is worrying over it. Will you follow me?" 
 
 The nurse led the way up to the second story 
 front room. In the dim light, as they entered, Jack 
 could see nothing at first. There was an odour of 
 medicine and disinfectants in the air. Gradually he 
 could make out the piano and the draperies of the 
 alcove, where the dainty brass bed stood. The 
 nurse parted the curtains and Jack started as he 
 looked at the figure lying there. Could that be 
 Kitty St. Clair ! He turned with the question almost 
 on his lips, but the nurse shook her head. Could 
 that object there on the bed be Kitty St. Clair! 
 She was breathing in short, catchy gasps her eyes 
 and lips half open, the lips dry and parched. Her 
 skin was very white and looked like parchment, so
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 59 
 
 tightly was it drawn over the cheek bones. Every 
 vestige of colour and flesh was gone. And this was 
 what was left of sparkling, laughing, beautiful 
 Kitty ! At first Jack could not believe it, but as 
 he gazed, she began to move and mumble some un 
 intelligible words. He leaned over her to catch 
 them. He thought he heard his own name. He also 
 caught the words "liar," " forgery" and " baby " 
 His heart was beating now like a trip hammer and 
 way up in his throat. 
 
 He turned with livid face to the nurse and said 
 slowly, but with a voice of such absolute command 
 as not to be disobeyed : 
 
 " Wake her and make her talk." 
 
 The nurse leaned over and, taking the skeleton 
 hand in hers, said gently : 
 
 " Kitty, Kitty, some one has come to see you." 
 
 The girl opened her eyes slowly, and fixed them 
 on Jack Oswald s face. She looked long and stupidly 
 and then the eyes slowly closed again, and a little 
 sigh of apparent contentment escaped the thin pur 
 ple lips. 
 
 " Make her talk," said Jack almost savagely, 
 grasping the nurse s wrist as in a vice. 
 
 " Kitty, Kitty," said she. " This is Mr. Oswald, 
 whom you wanted to see." 
 
 The eyes opened again and gazed at Jack. 
 Gradually a little intelligence seemed to come into 
 them. With a fearful effort Jack said : 
 
 " Kitty, do you know me Jack ? "
 
 60 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 The voice seemed to bring with it memory and 
 words, and she tried to say something, but her lips 
 and tongue would not articulate. The nurse 
 moistened her lips and the girl seemed to rouse her 
 self. Jack began again : 
 
 " Kitty, this is Jack Jack Oswald. Do you wish 
 to say something to me ? " 
 
 The slightest suspicion of a nod said " Yes." 
 
 " Take this, Kitty," said the nurse gently, as she 
 put the medicine glass, containing some aromatic 
 spirits of ammonia and brandy, to her lips. 
 
 Revived a little, she made as if to reach for Jack. 
 Divining her thought, he leaned low over the bed 
 to catch her whispers. In disjointed sentences and 
 with frightened eyes, she murmured : " False," " no 
 baby," " forgery," " revenge," and her head sank 
 further down in the white pillow, while a tiny gurg 
 ling sound was heard deep in her bosom. She 
 made another effort and with eyes staring up at the 
 ceiling she whispered: " Papers," " proof," "take 
 them," " go to wife," and as she spoke, her white, 
 almost transparent hand moved a few inches toward 
 her pillow. 
 
 " I know what she wishes, Mr. Oswald, a packet 
 of papers under her pillow." 
 
 The dying eyes wandered to the nurse, and a 
 wan effort to smile showed that the nurse had 
 guessed correctly. She handed the packet to 
 Oswald and again the eyes slowly said "Yes." 
 Oswald s breath came short and quick. He had
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 61 
 
 caught the spirit of the conspiracy against him of 
 which these papers evidently held the proofs. The 
 glassy eyes of the sick girl were fixed on his, then a 
 strange look came over the face, a little red froth 
 just showed at the corner of the mouth, and, with 
 one deep sigh of relief, poor Kitty was dead. 
 
 Oswald stepped at once into the parlour while the 
 nurse composed the stiffening figure, and without 
 delay tore open the bundle of papers. 
 
 The first paper was the birth certificate, which, as 
 Oswald looked wildly at it, seemed to bear the stamp 
 of genuineness duly signed, and endorsed " folio 
 466 ! " Pinned to it, however, was a sheet of note 
 paper containing Kitty s confession, as follows : 
 
 " This certificate with signatures is a forgery. I 
 paid Dr. Wm. Smith, of West Houston Street, one 
 hundred dollars for getting the printed blank from 
 the Board of Health and for making it out and sign 
 ing it. I represented to him that I wanted to use 
 it to bring a lover to terms and would destroy it. 
 Doctor Smith is now in New Jersey somewhere, 
 see other enclosures. He tried to blackmail me 
 and I kept the letter to prove what I say. I have 
 never had a child. As I hope for forgiveness in the 
 next world, I swear that this is the truth. 
 
 " KITTY ST. CLAIR." 
 
 " I also swear that I have never seen Mr. John 
 Oswald nor heard from him since the time he wrote 
 me his intention of getting married and sent me 
 money, six months before his wedding." 
 
 The next enclosure was a letter signed " W. S."
 
 62 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 and written on office paper bearing the name at the 
 top : " Wm. Smith, M. D. Office hours 8-1 1. Sun- 
 days by appointment." This was evidently a 
 blackmailing letter and read : 
 
 " Kitty St. Clair Send me to General Post Office, 
 Perth Amboy, New Jersey, one hundred dollars 
 cash, or I will see our gullible friend O. and tell him 
 a few things about you and the spurious kid." 
 
 This was enough ! Oswald was free once more 
 to ask Clare to come back. The proof that he had 
 been falsely accused was much clearer and more 
 positive than the story which had torn his wife 
 from his side. 
 
 He left the apartments for the last time and he 
 hurried back to his rooms. He was still too 
 excited to think clearly, as he sat in hislittle parlour 
 with the packet of papers in his hand. Suddenly he 
 remembered Van Beuren s words : " I was told 
 that she had sailed day before yesterday for Nassau." 
 How long, he wondered, would it take to get to 
 Nassau. He thought it was about a three-days trip. 
 He jumped to his feet, thinking to find Van at once 
 and find out what he knew. 
 
 It was now nearly midnight, but if Van had gone 
 to the theatre he would be quite likely to be at the 
 club at this time. Over there the hall captain told 
 him that Mr. Van Beuren had come in fifteen min 
 utes before and was still in the cafe". He walked 
 back and not only found Van Beuren but Haswell, 
 Balford, Jennings and Brown arguing over the foot-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 63 
 
 ball chances in the great game to take place on Sat 
 urday. 
 
 " They say that Yale is going to protest Bos- 
 worth," Haswell was saying. 
 
 " On what grounds?" asked Jennings. 
 
 " Well, he graduated la.st year and has taken a 
 post-graduate course, but only came back three 
 weeks ago, and some disgruntled Harvard substi 
 tute, it is reported, has informed the Yale men that, 
 under the rule, Bosworth is not eligible, but I don t 
 think anything will come of it." 
 
 "Yale has always been pretty square about such 
 things ; perhaps she felt that she had to take some 
 notice of the matter," answered Balford. 
 
 Jack leaned over Van s back and asked if he could 
 see him for a moment. Van had not seen Jack 
 enter, and started as he spoke and answered : 
 
 " Of course, old man." 
 
 " If you don t mind, Van, let s go up stairs where 
 we can be alone." 
 
 " All right." 
 
 In one of the smaller library rooms, they found 
 the desired privacy, and Jack began at once: 
 
 "Van, what do you know about my wife s sailing 
 for Nassau." 
 
 " Why, one of the fellows, I forget who, saw it in 
 the papers and showed it to me. I went up and 
 called on Mrs. Oswald s mother, and she told me 
 that your wife was not well and the doctor had
 
 64 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 ordered the change. She sailed the other day on 
 the El Capitan with her maid." 
 
 " How long does it take to go to Nassau, Van ? " 
 
 " About four days, I think. Let me see, she ought 
 to be there to-morrow some time." Van Beuren 
 was puzzled at the cross examination and felt sure 
 that something was coming. 
 
 " Van, it has all been a horrid mistake." 
 
 " What do you mean, Jack ? " 
 
 " I mean, Van, that that woman who separated 
 Clare and me is dead died to-night, and before 
 dying confessed a story of lying, forgery and base 
 ness which would be hardly credible had she not 
 also left the proofs." 
 
 Then Oswald told connectedly the story of the 
 message from Kitty and the interview. He showed 
 Van the forged birth certificate and the blackmail 
 ing letter. 
 
 " Good Heavens, Jack, this is strange and roman 
 tic, too. What do you propose doing? " 
 
 "I don t know, Van; I want you to advise and 
 help me. My first impulse was to go at once to 
 Nassau, or wherever Clare is ; then I thought it 
 would be better to send a long cablegram. It is all 
 so sudden that I can t think calmly." 
 
 Van Beuren sat for some moments in silence and 
 then said : 
 
 " Jack, I had better go to Mrs. Lawrence first 
 and explain the whole matter. I doubt even now 
 if she knows exactly what separated you and Clare.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 65 
 
 Then she and I can concoct a cable or letter, for 
 perhaps a letter will do. It depends on the sailings, 
 and you can follow the cable. I think the sailings 
 are on Tuesdays. Yes, a cable would be best." 
 
 " Thank~you, Van. That without doubt would be 
 the best thing to do ; can you say something from 
 me in the cable ?" 
 
 " By Jove, Jack, it does me good to see you com 
 ing back to yourself again, but you know I can t 
 see Mrs. Lawrence until morning, so you must go 
 home now and have a good sleep and quit worrying. 
 It looks to me as though daylight was breaking at 
 last for you both." 
 
 So the friends parted. Van Beuren called at the 
 Lawrence house at ten the next morning, but was 
 informed that Mrs. Lawrence would be out of town 
 until three o clock that afternoon. Jack received 
 the news with considerable disappointment, but the 
 prospect of having his dear wife and home once more 
 was so rosy, that he could not conceal his happiness. 
 The customers in the office, and fellow brokers on the 
 floor of the exchange, wondered at the change, but 
 no one knew the reason. Van Beuren said nothing 
 when questioned, excepting that he was glad 
 enough there was a change and that he hoped Jack 
 would soon be himself again. 
 
 Jack and Van went up town together that after 
 noon shortly after the closing. Oswald was most 
 impatient and insisted that Van should go at once 
 to call on Mrs. Lawrence while he would go to the
 
 66 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 club and wait there for news. So they parted at 
 Twenty-third Street, Van taking an up-town car and 
 Jack crossed to the club. 
 
 Oswald found a handful of members there, only a 
 few of whom he knew, so he took a paper and settled 
 himself in the corner furthest from the door. He 
 had become so reserved and silent of late that his 
 acquaintances, and even friends, left him alone. 
 He tried to read, but Clare s face would come before 
 the page. He ran over in his mind all about their 
 coming meeting. He knew that Clare loved him still. 
 Her respect for him had been shattered, her pride had 
 been fearfully offended, but he had no more doubt of 
 her loving him than of his existence at that moment. 
 
 A moralist would say that when respect goes, 
 love at the same time takes wing, but it is not so 
 with a woman who has thrown her whole life and 
 soul into one love. 
 
 As Jack read, two men entered the reading room, 
 whom he knew by sight merely. They sat on the 
 sofa near by, and rang for a waiter. 
 
 "That was a nasty accident off Nassau, Tom." 
 
 " Yes, if reports are true. How many were lost ? " 
 
 " The paper says six." 
 
 "It seems to have been criminal negligence on 
 some one s part. They say the steamer was twenty 
 odd miles out of her course." 
 
 " Yes, and no discipline, not enough life boats 
 nor men, only nine or ten men before the mast, and 
 an old reliable line like the Wall too ; it s amazing."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 67 
 
 At the first sentence Oswald lowered his paper 
 and listened. " Off Nassau " " Steamer " " Wall 
 Line." 
 
 A queer, creepy feeling began to run over his 
 body. He got up and walked over to where all the 
 papers lay. 
 
 He picked up the first edition of the Evening 
 Telegram. He looked feverishly at the headings, 
 but saw nothing. Rather than look further, he 
 walked over to the sofa and said : 
 
 " I beg your pardon, but I overheard one of you 
 say something about an accident to a Wall Line 
 steamer near Nassau. Do you remember her 
 name ?" 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Oswald, the ElCapitan" 
 
 An involuntary " My God," escaped Oswald s 
 lips, as he snatched the paper from the little table. 
 
 It was an " Extra " World. The great headlines 
 read : 
 
 " RAN ON A CORAL REEF SIXTY MILES OFF NASSAU." 
 
 "SIX LIVES KNOWN TO BE LOST." 
 "ONE CABIN PASSENGER AND FIVE CREW." 
 
 " NAMES OF LOST." 
 44 MRS. JOHN OSWALD." 
 
 Oswald uttered a deep groan. He reached for 
 support, but finding none, fell forward limp and 
 livid in a confused mass, carrying table and glasses 
 with him.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " WELL, what do you think of it?" 
 
 " Oh, it s all right and I am glad it s over. I had 
 very grave doubts at one time whether it would 
 really come to pass." 
 
 The first remark was addressed to Pierre Van 
 Beuren by Ernest Balford. They were speaking of 
 Jack Oswald s second marriage, which had just 
 taken place, his marriage to Katherine Lowden. 
 
 Five years had passed since the events described 
 in the previous chapters. 
 
 " Well, Jack will be happier and his new wife 
 seems fond of him." 
 
 " Yes, he was undergoing a process of dry rot, as 
 the carpenters say, but between you and me, I have 
 always thought that Miss Lowden was influenced 
 somewhat by a desire to get into society here." 
 
 " Who were they anyway the name is not a New 
 York one? " 
 
 " No, they came on here two years ago from 
 Cincinnati. Pere Lowden had made a fortune, a 
 big one, I believe, in pork or lard, and, as usual, the 
 ladies wanted a larger field for their social ambitions. 
 They didn t make a howling success of it at first, 
 but they have persevered and edged their way
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 69 
 
 along from one clique to another, until now they 
 have quite a calling list." 
 
 " The young woman is distinctly stylish, as they 
 say, and, but for a suspicion of loudness, would 
 pass muster anywhere." 
 
 "Yes, and the old man knows enough to hold his 
 tongue, but the mother would be a handicap any 
 where." 
 
 " Where are they going to live? " asked Ernest. 
 
 " They haven t decided yet, but I heard to-day 
 that Haswell is making up a party to go to the 
 Mediterranean on his boat for the winter. I m told 
 she is a beauty, and he has asked Jack and his bride 
 to join the party." 
 
 " Will he go, do you think ? " 
 
 " Will she go, you mean. Jack is to be a passive 
 personage in this new manage" 
 
 "You mean that she has a forceful character?" 
 
 "Yes," answered Van Beuren, "that is a nice 
 description, I think ; very choice diction. I don t 
 want to be uncharitable, but Jack introduced me 
 to her when he first became engaged, and, although 
 I am no mind reader, I think her general character 
 is, as you put it, forceful. " 
 
 " What a fearful tragedy his first marriage turned 
 out." 
 
 "Yes, it was a tragedy, sure enough. Events 
 heaped themselves together in such a short time, 
 and in such lurid fashion. Good Lord ! it was like 
 a melodrama."
 
 70 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Poor old man, he could scarcely be recognised 
 now as that merry Jack Oswald of five and a half 
 years back. Yet physically he is not much changed, 
 a tinge of grey at his temples and in his moustache, 
 and these only make him look more distinguished. 
 There comes Haswell now." 
 
 " Take something, Charlie ? " 
 
 "Thank you, I will. I hate champagne, and I 
 drank the health of the bride and groom and all the 
 Lowden family so many times this afternoon that 
 my throat feels as dry as a cotton gin." 
 
 " Well, a cocktail would be the proper antidote," 
 laughed Van Beuren. " By the way, I heard some 
 thing of a yachting trip, Charles ; no secret, I sup 
 pose?" 
 
 " No, that is partly what brought me out of my 
 way to the club. When a fellow starts at Sixty- 
 first Street to go to his rooms in Forty-fifth, and 
 takes a route via the club in Twenty-fifth, it must 
 mean something more than a drink." 
 
 " When you get entirely through with your pero 
 ration, let s have the story," said Balford. 
 
 " There is no story about it, but I want to know 
 whether, if I make up a party to go to Egypt on the 
 Ailsa, you two fellows will aid and abet with your 
 presence. We would start now in three or four 
 weeks, go by way of Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexan 
 dria, thence to Cairo, and up the Nile in a dahabeah, 
 and so on."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 71 
 
 " By Jove, Charlie, that is an awfully attractive 
 programme ; are you serious?" said Van. 
 
 " Well, I should say it is attractive," echoed Bal- 
 ford. 
 
 " What would it cost, Charlie ? " asked Van. 
 
 " Why, I have the boat and have already engaged 
 the dahabeah, so all you fellows would have to 
 spend would be what you wanted to lay out in 
 curios and clothes." 
 
 41 Holy smoke ! but I should love to go," said Bal- 
 ford ; "and you, Van, can you leave the whirl of 
 Wall Street for so long a time ? " 
 
 " I don t know about that, but I ll tell you fellows 
 a small secret, which may have a bearing on my 
 movements. Jack and I close our partnership on 
 the first of January. We decided to do so some 
 time since ; perfectly friendly, you know, but Jack 
 didn t want to stay in the Street, and I shall go on 
 alone. If we could liquidate a month earlier, I be 
 lieve I would seriously contemplate the trip. I can 
 start alone again in the Spring just as well." 
 
 " Good enough, and how about you, Ernest ; surely 
 you could arrange it with nothing to do but cut 
 coupons." 
 
 " I am going to try mighty hard. How long will 
 you give us to decide?" 
 
 "Will a week do?" 
 
 " Surely ; I can tell in two or three days," an 
 swered Balford. 
 
 " I shall have to consult Jack first," said Van.
 
 72 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " As far as Jack goes," answered Charlie, " I don t 
 think you need worry, for he is as anxious to have 
 you go as I am." 
 
 " Well, leave the invitation open for a few days, 
 will you ? " asked Van. 
 
 " Of course I will ; there will be a place for you 
 any way. Besides Jack and his wife, I have asked 
 Margaret Jones and Billie Brown and his sister. 
 You know Billie, a not very heavy intellect, but a 
 good boy who will run errands for the ladies and 
 dress for the whole party." 
 
 " Yes,. I know him. He is what you might call a 
 pretty boy, but with all his little weaknesses, he is, 
 au fond, a solid little chap," said Van. 
 
 " Sister is nice, too ; queer she never married. 
 She was a good catch and when younger must have 
 been passably attractive." 
 
 " Yes, she will be a good balance wheel when 
 something real devilish is proposed." 
 
 " When Billie calls for a lemon squash, for in 
 stance." 
 
 " I don t think Billie would ever take anything as 
 vulgar as that, do you, Van ?" said Balford. 
 
 " Well, then it s settled that you will both try to 
 fix it, and probably will," said Haswell. " Drop 
 me a line here, if we don t meet ; I m off to Boston 
 for a few days." 
 
 " All right." 
 
 Haswell had just received his beautiful steam 
 yacht A ilsa from the Clyde. Thorough American
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 73 
 
 though he was, he still held that, whereas no one 
 could build a sailing craft to equal the Americans, 
 yet he yielded the palm to the English in the mat 
 ter of steam vessels. He had spent a good deal of 
 time and trouble on her fitting out. Her design 
 had been left to Watson. On her trial she had 
 made seventeen knots, and she had arrived at the 
 Erie Basin only two days prior to the conversation 
 detailed above. Her length was two hundred and 
 twenty feet over all, with a nineteen-foot beam. 
 Haswell proposed to start about the tenth of De 
 cember, and, taking the southern route, stop at the 
 Azores, thence to Gibraltar, possibly Tangiers, and 
 then to Malta, and leaving his boat at Alexandria, 
 go to Cairo and do the Nile trip. He knew that he 
 would have no difficulty in finding guests, but he 
 wished the kind who would be most congenial. So 
 he had asked friends as unlike as possible. Jack, 
 of course, he knew well ; any one could get along 
 with him. Jack s wife was an unknown quantity. 
 Miss Jones was pretty, bright and harmless. In 
 case of an accident, she would have been of 
 less use than the ship s cat, but she was an old 
 friend of his, or her parents were, and as she was 
 always laughing, she would be good to drive off the 
 blues. Billie Brown would just suit Margaret 
 Jones. Miss Brown, her first name was Anne, not 
 Annie, was an old maid, a very nice old maid, but 
 prim and precise and easily shocked, and her 
 younger brother, aware of this failing, took every
 
 74 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 advantage of it. She was much older than he, 
 having turned forty, while Billie was but twenty- 
 five. Pierre Van Beuren was of the salt of the 
 earth. Every one loved him. He was not good 
 looking. His face sometimes had almost a comical 
 look in its smooth-shaven lines. But beneath his 
 unvarying bonhomie lay a stratum of seriousness 
 and unflinching integrity. He was respected by 
 all. He was a man to go to in trouble, for his 
 judgment was sound. He had had his meed of 
 success, too. He had never had an ambition to 
 shine as a business man, as an executive officer, or 
 as a philanthropist, yet he had been all of these, 
 and with success, since his business career had been 
 brilliant, and he had recently been, against his wish, 
 placed at the head of one of the great charitable 
 organizations of the city. He was unmarried at 
 the age of forty-two, yet had he married at twenty- 
 five he would have made a model husband. He 
 loved his friends, but only went into society when 
 he was obliged to do so. One might meet him oc 
 casionally at a dinner party at the home of a friend, 
 at alumni meetings, or functions connected with 
 corporations with which he was associated, but 
 never at the Patriarchs or Bachelors balls. He 
 was rather a man s man, but could make himself 
 very agreeable to the women as well. 
 
 Balford was of quite another type. He was very 
 handsome, and he knew it. He had a quiet and 
 unobtrusive way of saying things, which, aided by
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 75 
 
 a low musical voice, went far with the other sex. 
 He was born rich and had never worked hard, 
 though at the beginning of his career he had to sit 
 at a desk in his father s banking house and look 
 over the correspondence. He dressed in the height 
 of fashion and never did anything in excess. Al 
 together he was a good type of the idle New 
 Yorker, a class not large, but unfortunately increas 
 ing. 
 
 The host, Haswell, was a rollicking, jolly, two- 
 hundred-pound Harvard graduate, endowed with a 
 great, generous heart and a long purse. He loved 
 to see others enjoy his money. He loved the sea 
 and had owned a fine schooner yacht, but tiring of 
 it, had sold her. Now he had built the Ailsa and 
 was to make his initial trip in her. 
 
 Margaret Jones and Katherine Lowden were 
 great friends in spite of some disparity in years and 
 a great difference in temperament. While Mar 
 garet was a distinct blonde with delicately chiselled 
 features, pink and white skin, and petite figure, 
 Katherine Oswald, as she must now be called, was 
 tall, with jet-black hair and great, brown eyes. She 
 had so long used the latter in subduing or trying 
 to subdue unruly man, that the process had become 
 second nature with her. She was languid in man 
 ner and somewhat drawling in voice. Her com 
 plexion was not very clear, but its defects were 
 semi-concealed by the judicious application of 
 powder and other aids. She was but little younger
 
 76 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 than her husband and had seen much of the world 
 and of people, and this fact accounted in a large 
 measure for her marked influence over Margaret. 
 She seemed to know all that one should know, and 
 Margaret, an only child and closely guarded, was 
 awed by the depth of ^Catherine s wisdom. 
 
 She had told Oswald about this wonderful friend 
 of hers ; " so clever and bright," she would say, 
 " she knows everything." " That s rather a sweep 
 ing assertion, Margaret," Jack answered, " but I 
 would like sometime to meet this feminine paragon." 
 
 It was Margaret who brought them together. 
 She had decided that it would be a great thing to 
 make a match, and had told Katherine what a catch 
 Jack was a man who knew every one, rich and 
 with a most romantic history. 
 
 Katherine was at first languidly interested, but, 
 after meeting him, she was decidedly dpris. His 
 sad face and quiet demeanour impressed her. She 
 was a born flirt, and at once tried to make an im 
 pression. It was not easy at first. His studied 
 politeness discouraged her, and his apparent indiffer 
 ence to all her blandishments angered her and 
 stimulated her to her utmost. She had been accus 
 tomed to have younger men yield at once, and to 
 have this man almost snub her, made her determined 
 to bring him to her feet at all risk. She was a 
 good actress, and so at last her eyes and smiles 
 and purring proximity had the desired effect, and, 
 almost before he knew it, Jack had proposed and
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 77 
 
 been accepted. She had grown to like him im 
 mensely. He was so different from any man she 
 had ever met. She had no real love in her nature, 
 but he got all that was there. 
 
 On his side, he thought her a very superior 
 woman. She would preside at his table with dig 
 nity and would attract his friends to his home. 
 He thought that he loved her, not as he had Clare, 
 no, that was not possible, but with a mellow, whole 
 some affection, which would last and make life 
 brighter. He was a bit flattered, too, that this 
 attractive girl, with such a host of admirers always 
 about her, should have singled out an old fossil, as 
 he called himself, for a husband. He did not stop 
 to analyse her attraction to other and younger men. 
 He only saw that she was always the centre of a 
 group, a planet with many satellites. She had ac 
 cepted with enthusiasm the invitation to go on the 
 cruise of the Ailsa. The invitation was received 
 one afternoon some days before the wedding, while 
 she and Margaret were looking over and arranging 
 the presents, which had been placed in the billiard 
 room on the third floor of the spacious Lowden 
 mansion. 
 
 " Won t it be just ideal," began Katherine, " such 
 a romantic commencement of our honeymoon ? I 
 hope Mr. Haswell has asked some nice men." 
 
 " Then you decide at once to accept," answered 
 Margaret ; " how do you know that Jack will want 
 to go? "
 
 78 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " I fancy Jack will do about as I wish," with an 
 emphasis on the personal pronoun. 
 
 " Well, as long as the men are gentlemen, which, 
 of course, they will be, I don t suppose that you 
 care who they are. You would probably spend 
 most of your time behind the funnel, or mast, or 
 life boats, with your hand in your husband s." 
 
 " Indeed, I shall do nothing of the kind. When 
 one marries, one stops all that kind of thing and 
 becomes sensible. I might sit in some safe place, 
 and allow some one else s husband to hold my 
 hand. That would be more likely." 
 
 " Oh, Katherine, what a way to talk three days 
 before your wedding." 
 
 " I mean it though ; not anything wrong, you 
 know, but these mild flirtations, if properly regu 
 lated, add spice to life, and I don t see why, simply 
 because I m married, I am to put myself, or be put, 
 on the shelf." 
 
 " But if you love and respect your husband, I 
 shouldn t think you would care for the marked 
 attention of any one else." 
 
 " Well, our ideas differ. According to my code 
 of morals, there is nothing wrong in having a little 
 fun in this way. One can t eat beefsteak every day 
 in the year." 
 
 " Well, Katherine, I think a great deal of what 
 you say is mere talk, and you don t believe it your 
 self. As the cowboy says, you are talking through 
 your sombrero. Who sent you that lovely vase ? "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 79 
 
 " Ernest Balford. Wasn t he a dear, and isn t he 
 handsome ? I wish Mr. Haswell would ask him to 
 go along." 
 
 " Perhaps he has ; they are warm friends, you 
 know." 
 
 Just then Margaret s maid called for her. It 
 was quite dark and the days had shortened so much 
 that at five o clock the street lamps were already 
 lit. Margaret s maid had brought a note left at 
 her home by a messenger. It was marked " Answer." 
 She opened it at once, but before she read five lines, 
 she cried out in joy : 
 
 " Oh, Katherine, I am invited, too." 
 
 " Invited where ? " 
 
 " Why, to go on the cruise of the Ailsa. Mr. 
 Haswell writes let me see I have asked Mrs. 
 Oswald-to-be and Miss Brown, so there will be two 
 chaperones. The other guests probably will be 
 Mr. Van Beuren and Mr. Balford and young Brown, 
 all of whom you know. Now do persuade your 
 parents to consent. Consult also with Miss Low- 
 den. " 
 
 "What a perfect duck Charlie Haswell is," ex 
 claimed Katherine. " You must go, Margaret. I 
 will see your people to-morrow and represent to 
 them the immense benefit, both to body and mind, 
 in such a trip, a liberal education in itself. So Bal 
 ford has been asked. I hope he will go." 
 
 "And you will not follow out youryfw de sticle 
 ideas, will you, dear?" said Margaret.
 
 So AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Oh, I don t think we will come into any col 
 lision over Ernest Balford, but people are thrown 
 awfully close together on a trip of this kind." 
 
 "Well, dear, I will see you in the morning, and, 
 after you have talked with Jack, and I with papa 
 and mamma, we can make some definite plans. 
 How perfectly delightful it would be ! Good 
 night." 
 
 " Good-night, Margaret." 
 
 After Margaret had gone Katherine stood and 
 thought. " So Balford is going ; I wonder if Jack 
 is jealous. I can t live without a little flirting of 
 course, not just at first, but Balford is so handsome, 
 and then Jack is so slow ; persuade Jack to go 
 indeed ! Well, Kate Lowden, if you don t persuade 
 him before day after to-morrow, there will be no 
 wedding, that s all," and with a toss of her head 
 she went down to her room to dress. Jack was ex 
 pected for dinner, and she wished to see him before 
 her father and mother could learn the news.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE Ailsa lay at anchor off the foot of East 
 Twenty-sixth Street. For some days she had been 
 ready for her guests, and now at last, on Saturday, 
 December I2th, her steam was up, the luggage 
 aboard, and the living freight only was needed 
 before she should weigh anchor and slip down the 
 bay. She lay there like a great, white bird. It was 
 just noon and Captain Burt, the skipper, had 
 expected the party at eleven. He was anxiously 
 pacing the little bridge, when a megaphone order 
 from the shore stopped him : 
 
 " Captain Burt, send the launch to the landing." 
 
 " Aye, Aye, sir," he answered, and the mate was 
 sent for the party. 
 
 A little later the crew were busy with the wind 
 lass and finally came the call : 
 
 " Anchor aweigh, sir." 
 
 Then the screws began to revolve and the grace 
 ful craft pointed her nose toward the Brooklyn 
 Bridge and they were off. 
 
 The party were all very happy. Haswell was 
 exuberant to the last degree, and, in his elephantine 
 way, even tried to be funny. To Miss Brown s 
 exclamation : " Oh, I wish I could look on both 
 sides at once," he answers rather tenderly :
 
 82 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "What should you do with your eyes, Miss 
 Brown ? " Miss Brown blushed and answered : 
 
 "Why, Mr. Haswell, I don t know, I m sure. 
 What should I do ? " 
 
 " Dot them," laughs Haswell. 
 
 " Look here, Charles ; is that what you asked us 
 for, to work off your grey-haired jokes on us ? If so, 
 land me at Bay Ridge, though, for Heaven s sake, 
 don t take me at my word." 
 
 "Well, Ernest, I will land you if you say so, but, 
 speaking of eyes, why shouldn t you dot yours? 
 
 " Give it up, Charles." 
 
 " Why, because they are capital ones ! " 
 
 " Don t mind him, Miss Brown, and enjoy the 
 scenery, if you can after these antique witticisms. 
 I fear Mr. Haswell has been drinking." This sotto 
 voce as Haswell walks forward. 
 
 " Mr. Van Beuren, you don t really think that Mr. 
 Haswell drinks to excess, do you ? I have such a 
 horror of any one who indulges in alcoholic stimu 
 lation ; you know I am a member of the W. C. T. U. 
 and " 
 
 " Pshaw, Sister Anne, of course he has been 
 drinking, any one can see it, and I don t blame him, 
 on an occasion of this sort," said Billie, as he nudged 
 Balford. 
 
 " If that is true, William, I am sorry, very sorry, 
 for Mr. Haswell. I pity him and shall take my 
 first opportunity to talk with him. I shall give him 
 some of our pamphlets."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 83 
 
 An ocean steamer, the Teutonic, was just passing, 
 outward bound. 
 
 " Let s race them a little way," cried Mrs. Oswald, 
 who, having gone below immediately upon coming 
 on board, now reappeared in a most approved cos 
 tume with long plaid ulster and jaunty yachting cap. 
 
 "We can keep up with them just a bit here," 
 replied Haswell, who had rejoined the party, " but 
 once they get down below, good-bye." 
 
 " We take another course any way, don t we? " 
 
 " Yes, we strike off to the southeast, while they 
 go nearly east by north." 
 
 Lunch was announced by the steward. Mrs. 
 Oswald sat at Haswell s right, Miss Brown at his 
 left, " lest I might get too gay," as he explained 
 afterwards, when Sister Anne was taking her usual 
 siesta. Next to Katherine sat Balford, having Mar 
 garet at his right. Jack took the end opposite to 
 Haswell and Van Beuren and Billie occupied the 
 other two seats. 
 
 " How long does it take to the Azores ? " asked 
 Margaret. 
 
 " Well," answered Haswell, " that depends on the 
 weather and how fast we go." 
 
 "Why, you astonish me," said Balford ; " I didn t 
 think the speed had anything to do with it." 
 
 " Oh, let up, Ernest, and give me a chance to 
 finish my sentence. How fast we go refers to the 
 consumption of coal and the revolutions of the 
 screw."
 
 84 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " You got out of that all right, Charlie," said 
 Jack, speaking almost for the first time. 
 
 " Will it be very rough, Mr. Haswell ? " asked 
 Sister Anne modestly. 
 
 " I hope not, Miss Brown, and I trust divine 
 Providence will grant us a smooth passage. Why, 
 aren t you a good sailor?" 
 
 " Not very in rough weather." 
 
 "My sailing master tells me that on the way from 
 Tory Island to Sandy Hook, the boat behaved 
 beautifully. She does not roll, she acts as if on a 
 pivot, so with head winds she pitches somewhat." 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Balford, " one of those delight 
 ful motions, where, when her bow has been mostly 
 out of water, she dips her nose down into the sea 
 and you leave all your internal economy up in the 
 air somewhere." 
 
 After luncheon, all went on deck. The air was 
 unseasonably mild for the middle of December, 
 and the voyage was begun under most favourable 
 auspices. 
 
 "Wouldn t you like to see the arrangement of 
 the deck forward?" said Balford to Mrs. Oswald. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, this is almost the first steam yacht 
 I have ever been on. I have seen lots of sailing 
 boats, but my knowledge of steam yachts is very 
 rudimentary." 
 
 They sauntered forward. Jack sat back in his 
 comfortable chair, puffed his cigar and held a 
 desultory conversation with Haswell.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY., 85 
 
 " Well, old man," said the latter, " who would 
 have thought, a year ago, that we three fellows 
 would be here under these circumstances ? The 
 whirligig of time brings round strange things. 
 That is not a correct quotation but will do." 
 
 "Yes," replied Jack, " it is strange, and I tell you 
 that I have felt better, mentally and physically, 
 since we weighed anchor a few hours ago than in a 
 long time." 
 
 " I am delighted to hear you say so, Jack. If you 
 would get around again to your old self and take a 
 real, live interest in things, why, I d build a boat 
 twice the size of this, and we d circumnavigate the 
 globe." 
 
 "Thank you, Charlie, for your big-hearted friend 
 ship. Look at those porpoises. Funny, how close 
 they always come to steamers. I wonder if it s 
 play, or whether they take the keel of the boat for 
 some enormous leviathan. Hadn t we better call 
 the ladies to see them ? " 
 
 "Yes. Oh, Miss Jones, Miss Brown, come on deck 
 and see a school of porpoises." Then, as the ladies, 
 after a moment, appear : " What in the world were 
 you doing below, with the weather so fine ? " 
 
 "Oh, Miss Brown was writing letters home and 
 wanted to ask me the names of some of the dishes 
 we had at lunch." 
 
 "Writing home! " exclaimed Haswell, "good 
 ness gracious ! You won t see a mail box nor post
 
 86 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 office for two weeks or more. Miss Brown, you are 
 not homesick already, are you ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, but I want to remember all we do and 
 say," answered Sister Anne apologetically. 
 
 " Sister Anne is probably writing to father and 
 mother about my profanity : she overheard me say 
 ing damn* in my stateroom just now, when I 
 pinched my finger in one of those patent basins of 
 yours, Haswell," put in Billie, as he appeared in the 
 companionway dressed in a bicycle suit of rather 
 loud check with cap to match and rubber-soled 
 shoes. 
 
 " How do you think I look ? " 
 
 "Quite like a fashion plate, Billie, but where did 
 you get that cravat ; it would make Joseph s coat 
 blush with envy." 
 
 " Oh, that s the latest London agony. You can 
 put me on the bow at night for a headlight if you 
 want at ten dollars per night." 
 
 " Too expensive, and you might scare away the 
 fair weather." 
 
 " Where is Katherine ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " Why, she went forward with Balford a half-hour 
 ago to inspect the boat," answered Haswell. 
 
 " Here, Van, don t snooze in the day time ; wake 
 up, and go forward and bring Mrs. Oswald and 
 Masher Balford aft." 
 
 "Aye, Aye, sir," answered Van, as he touched 
 his cap, and, yawning and stretching, moved off. 
 He found the two leaning over the starboard rail,
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 87 
 
 behind one of the life boats, and apparently very 
 much engrossed in each other. It gave honest, 
 straightforward Van a little shock. He saw and 
 heard nothing to make him explicitly uncomfortable, 
 but the proximity of the two to each other, and 
 their looks, as he approached unseen, made him feel 
 uneasy. He coughed before coming very near and 
 Katherine and Balford stood suddenly further 
 apart. This was observed by Van. " Strange," he 
 soliloquized, " Ernest is too good a friend of Jack s, 
 too much of a man and gentleman, to stoop to 
 flirtation with his friend s wife ; no, I am mistaken, 
 he was probably showing her some of the trinkets 
 on his watch chain." So with a cheery voice he 
 hails them : 
 
 "Commodore Haswell has sent me to escort you 
 pair of runaways aft. Are you prepared to obey?" 
 
 " We come, we come," they answered, and all 
 three sauntered back to where the balance of the 
 party were seated. After a little badinage, the 
 conversation turned upon love affairs and Margaret 
 said : 
 
 " Oh, I say, Katherine, tell us something about 
 it." 
 
 " I don t know that I relish that remark," answered 
 Katherine. " Do you mean to imply that I am, 
 through experience, versed in such things ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, dear, but we all think that you may 
 have had one or two affaires du canr before Jack 
 came on the carpet ; don t we, Jack? "
 
 88 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "Yes," answered Jack, laughingly, " I am sure I 
 was not the very first ; nowadays the first love 
 rarely marries the girl." 
 
 " No," replied Billie, "the man is often a beau at 
 the receptions of her children, and sometimes mar 
 ries one of them." 
 
 " When did you first fall in love, Mr. Brown ? " 
 asked Margaret. 
 
 "At six years of age and I have never quite re 
 covered." 
 
 "How is that?" 
 
 " Why, I proposed in a cherry tree where my 
 sweetheart and I had been spending the morning. 
 She was so indignant that she pushed me off my 
 perch. I was never well balanced and I suppose 
 the cherries helped, but any way I fell and have 
 never been quite the same since." 
 
 "Well, Mrs. Oswald," said Balford, "as you do 
 not seem inclined to tell your experiences, I will give 
 you one of mine." 
 
 " Oh, do," echoed a number of voices. 
 
 " It was long, long ago," began Ernest ; " I was one 
 of a house party. There were a number of girls in the 
 party and of various types. There were tall and 
 thin ones and short and stout ones, blondes and 
 brunettes, but there was one who particularly im 
 pressed me. She was a pretty petite brunette with 
 large brown eyes. But it was not her beauty that 
 attracted me, it was a something about her that I 
 cannot explain, what the Italians call sympatica.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 89 
 
 As I look back, perhaps she did not encourage me, 
 but at the time I thought she did. I thought she 
 desired my company more than that of any of the 
 other men. I fell head over heels in love. It was 
 a delight to be near her, to touch her hand, even in 
 saying Good morning ; it sent a thrill through me." 
 
 " You must have been very young, Ernest," 
 interrupted Billie. 
 
 " Be quiet, little boy, you don t understand such 
 things. To make my story short, there was danc 
 ing one evening, and I had the happiness of dancing 
 with Nell. She danced beautifully and I just lost 
 my head and, in my frenzy, whispered in her ear, 
 Nell, darling, I love you. It was said. What 
 did she do? She stopped right there and said with 
 admirable sang froid : Why, Mr. Balford, don t 
 you know that I am engaged ? Engaged ! I ex 
 claimed, and you have never told me ! You have 
 treated me cruelly. I left her as soon as possible 
 and walked out into the night." 
 
 " Did you give her up ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " No, the next day the papers announced her 
 engagement to some man out West on a ranch. 
 She was to live there for the rest of her life. I tried 
 every means, fair and unfair, I must confess, to get 
 her. I did not know the other fellow, and felt that 
 since he had left temptation thus in my way, I had 
 some right to try my chances." 
 
 " How was it that you did not win her ? " came 
 in Katherine s low voice.
 
 90 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Well, she had some queer idea about honour. 
 At one time, I think I nearly won her. She had 
 not seen her fianc for nearly a year and I had al 
 most got her to promise to run away with me, when 
 a letter came to her one day from the ranch 
 man, saying he was just about to leave for the East. 
 That finished my little day-dream and you see I 
 have never married." 
 
 " You ve told us a good story," said Haswell, 
 " but you don t expect us to believe that you are 
 one of those story-book, disappointed-in-love, nevcr- 
 marry men, do you ? We are all sorry for you, 
 however." 
 
 " No, I shall never marry," sighed Ernest, lugu 
 briously. 
 
 " Your turn, Margaret." 
 
 " Oh, I have had no experience. Katherin* has 
 much more knowledge of such things." 
 
 " Miss Brown, you are shivering. Won t you have 
 some hot-scotch or brandy and water?" said Has 
 well, turning toward Miss Brown. 
 
 "No, Mr. Haswell, I am quite comfortable, thank 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, come, Sister Anne, take a little toddy ; I ve 
 no doubt it is just as good as you get at home." 
 
 " William, I have never taken liquor in my life 
 except under the doctor s orders and then only to 
 save it." 
 
 "Save what, the liquor or your life?" answered 
 Billie.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 91 
 
 " You know very well what I mean ; I am going 
 down stairs," said his sister with arctic austerity. 
 
 " You mustn t say that, say going below, " called 
 her brother after her as Miss Brown disappeared. 
 
 "Do you always tease your sister this way?" 
 asked Margaret. 
 
 " Oh, she doesn t mind it really, and it s great fun 
 to shock her; I am studying character from faces, 
 you know, and she is one of my most interesting 
 subjects," answered Billie. 
 
 "You re incorrigible, but please don t try it on 
 me." 
 
 " I should never dare to, Madam," answered Billie 
 elegantly. " I am a humble creature and I know 
 my place." 
 
 The following days passed uneventfully. The 
 sea was smooth and they made excellent time. 
 Shut in to themselves it was most natural that they 
 should become very well acquainted. 
 
 Miss Brown or Sister Anne, as they had all 
 learned to call her by this time, was very jolly, for 
 her, but spent a great deal of her time below, read 
 ing up the Nile trip and studying the history of the 
 temples and tombs of that wonderful valley. 
 Every one but Jack had noticed the intimacy which 
 had sprung up between Ernest and Katherine. If 
 either were wanted, the others always knew where 
 to find him or her, and if both were absent from 
 the family circle, they could always be found to 
 gether in some more or less secluded spot.
 
 92 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 One evening just at dusk, Jack, wishing to ask his 
 wife a question, and not finding her in the cabin or 
 in the usual sitting place on deck, started to search 
 for her. He walked the full length of both port 
 and starboard decks in vain, and began to get 
 anxious as to her whereabouts, when he thought of 
 going way forward. He had on his yachting shoes 
 and his step was unheard. He saw Katherine and 
 Ernest sitting on a coil of ropes near the anchor. 
 They were close together, very close, it seemed 
 to Jack, as he approached from behind. He dis 
 missed in an instant the ugly thought which flashed 
 across his mind, and, thinking to startle his wife 
 by putting his hands over her eyes, he drew nearer. 
 But as he came closer he saw that her hand was in 
 Balford s, and then Ernest raised it to his lips. 
 Jack stopped short as if a shot had pierced his 
 heart. He turned mechanically and walked away 
 into the gathering darkness unobserved. He almost 
 staggered to the companion way, like one dazed, 
 and then went below. As he passed the saloon 
 door Haswell hailed him : 
 
 " Come in and have a cocktail before dinner, 
 Jack." 
 
 " Thank you, I will." 
 
 " Been on deck ? " 
 
 " I took a turn or two looks a little squally." 
 
 " Yes, Captain Burt says we shall have a thunder 
 storm; funny in December, isn t it?" 
 
 " Oh, Charlie, would you mind asking the steward
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 93 
 
 to find my wife, and ask her to come down to our 
 rooms ? I ve mislaid something and she can find it, 
 I think." 
 
 " Certainly. Smith, find Mrs. Oswald ; she s on 
 deck somewhere, and tell her that Mr. Oswald would 
 like to see her." 
 
 " All right, sir." 
 
 " Jack, you don t look quite well to-night. Are 
 you feeling all right ? " 
 
 "About as usual, old man, thanks," and Jack 
 turned toward his own quarters. 
 
 Jack did not come to dinner. He sent word by 
 Katherine that he was not quite well. 
 
 "Yes," said Haswell, " I knew Jack was not him 
 self this evening; he didn t look right." 
 
 " Nothing serious, I hope, Mrs. Oswald ? " said 
 Sister Anne. 
 
 " Oh, I fancy he will be all right to-morrow; the 
 salad at luncheon may have disagreed with him. 
 I m sure it is nothing serious." 
 
 " You re not looking as though you would do a 
 song and dance either, Margaret," said Billie Brown. 
 
 " There you are again with your slang," answered 
 the girl. " Why can t you talk as other people 
 do?" 
 
 " You affect me very strangely. It s your fault." 
 
 " She doesn t affect your appetite," said Van 
 Beuren. 
 
 "Why so silent, Ernest?" asked Van Beuren, 
 presently.
 
 94 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " I was eating and thinking." 
 
 " Keep on with the first, but never think if you 
 can help it ; I don t," advised Van Beuren. " You 
 looked just now like old Diogenes hunting for an 
 honest man, or Sir Isaac Newton when he threw 
 his watch in the fire and held the egg in his hand." 
 
 Long after dinner Oswald went on deck alone. 
 The night was dark, and the wind, which had 
 freshened, blew the inky clouds above the Ailsa. 
 Jack had been walking for a long time how long 
 he did not know nor care. Katherine and he had 
 had a talk in their rooms. He had said harder 
 things than he thought he ever could say to a 
 woman. Now that his eyes were opened, her words 
 and actions all showed that she did not love him ; 
 nay, that it was not in her nature to love any man 
 truly and constantly. But Ernest ! his old friend- 
 how could it be? What did it all mean? Was he 
 born under an unlucky star? Was none of life s 
 happiness to come to his lot? 
 
 The wind was howling wildly, fiercely, about him 
 now. A damp mist began to sweep over the boat. 
 Every now and then, as a wave struck her, she 
 would shiver and shake as though about to be torn 
 asunder. Jack thought it must have been on just 
 such a night, five years ago, that poor Clare had 
 gone out of his life forever. 
 
 " I wonder if it felt like this? " as another wave 
 struck the Ailsa. "But she was brave through it 
 all. They told me so." Another howl of the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 95 
 
 freshening gale through the rigging. My God ! 
 could that be his name he heard called above the 
 fury of the gathering storm, and far off there in the 
 white foam? Did he see the boat capsize? Was 
 that Clare with outstretched arms calling for him to 
 come to her? A brilliant flash of lightning, a 
 thunderous clap, and all was in darkness again, and 
 Jack stumbled blindly below.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EARLY on the morning of the 2Oth of December, 
 with the sun trying to shine through a blinding 
 gale of rain and mist, the Ailsa sighted the Azores. 
 No one was on deck at the time, and none could 
 have remained there long, for the gale had in 
 creased almost to a hurricane and the decks were 
 awash most of the time. Captain Hurt s orders had 
 been to put in at Fayal, but this was now clearly 
 impossible and, after he had gone below and 
 consulted Haswell, it was decided to run on at 
 half speed for Gibraltar. Even through the mist 
 and rain, the Azores looked refreshing and wel 
 come. Rico was quite close, and while its rugged 
 peaks were out of sight in the clouds, yet lower 
 down, patches of vivid green showed cultivation, 
 and now and then a snowy cottage told that the 
 island was peopled. Toward afternoon the gale 
 moderated and, one by one, the party appeared in 
 the saloon. All were greatly disappointed at not 
 being able to visit Fayal, which they had heard was 
 so quaint and picturesque, and now they were again 
 on the broad ocean for five more days, with no 
 land in sight. At last on Christmas day, a balmy 
 sunny afternoon, they glided over the historic
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 97 
 
 waters of Trafalgar bay, rounded Cape Tarifa, and 
 neared Gibraltar. 
 
 " How strange to be passing so peacefully over 
 this great battle ground." 
 
 " When was that fight, Mr. Haswell," asked 
 Margaret. 
 
 " I am not sure, but I should say it took place 
 about 1805. It was at the time when Napoleon 
 was contemplating the invasion of England, and 
 when Nelson destroyed the fleets of France and 
 Spain, it ruined forever the Emperor s chances re 
 garding England." 
 
 "Why?" said Margaret. 
 
 " No frigates to protect his transports when tak 
 ing the soldiers over." 
 
 " What a lot of relics there must be under here, 
 skeletons, swords, guns and ammunition. What a 
 mine for a curio store if they could only be got up." 
 
 " There ! See, now you catch sight of the Rock 
 of Gibraltar," said Van Beuren. " The name 
 sounds as solid as the place itself, doesn t it? " 
 
 "And is that Africa over there to the right?" 
 asked Sister Anne. 
 
 "Yes, Morocco and Tangiers, on the northwest 
 point of the African coast." 
 
 " How narrow the opening to the Mediterranean 
 is." 
 
 " Only about eight miles, I believe," said Balford. 
 
 " If England wants to, she can just shut up the 
 whole sea. She has this place, and now practically
 
 98 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 owns the Suez Canal, and then a few fortified 
 places, coaling stations and so on, like Malta and 
 Cyprus." 
 
 " I should think England would collect toll from 
 every boat that goes through here," said Billie. 
 
 " Well, she may some day, but she will have to 
 have a few arguments like Trafalgar before she 
 does." 
 
 " I don t see how it is that England gets all 
 these strongholds," said Margaret. 
 
 " Well, you know the Moors, or Saracens, first 
 had the place, then Spain, and so back and forth, 
 until it was taken from Spain by the Dutch and 
 English fleets. If the French had won the battle of 
 Trafalgar, I suppose Gibraltar would have passed to 
 the French, after the English had held it just about 
 a hundred years." 
 
 " It is certainly very impressive," said Jack ; "it 
 looks impregnable." 
 
 By this time the yacht had run into the harbour. 
 The lights along the shore shone out like rows of 
 fire-flies in the darkening twilight. 
 
 " Let s give up our celebration on board and go 
 ashore and try to get up a Christmas dinner," sug 
 gested Haswell. " We can come back and have 
 supper afterwards." 
 
 "Capital idea. Are there any hotels in the place ? " 
 asked Van Beuren. 
 
 " Oh, dear, yes, three or four ; the Europa is the 
 best, I believe."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 99 
 
 So Smith was sent ashore in the launch to see 
 what he could do, while the party sat about and 
 conversed in the gathering gloom. They watched 
 the signal lights flash up here and there, and could 
 hear the bugle notes ring out on the still air the call 
 to mess. It seemed very weird, very unnatural to 
 most of them. The air was mild, mild as in mid- 
 May at home. Sister Anne was excited over the 
 expected mail, having carefully calculated that the 
 St. Paul would deliver her mail bags at Southamp 
 ton three days before their arrival at Gibraltar, and, 
 that having left New York three days after the Ailsa 
 she would bring the very latest news from home. So 
 she saved her voluminous epistles for the inevitable 
 P. S. Smith returned laden with a basket of oranges 
 and many papers, but no letters. He brought 
 word, too, that mine host of the Europa would have 
 a dinner ready for his guests at seven-thirty. 
 
 They were all somewhat excited over the pros 
 pect of being on land again, and Billie in his 
 exuberance and patriotism proposed to carry two 
 American flags with him to show their nationality. 
 The proposition was unanimously vetoed as being 
 absurd and vulgar as well as quite unnecessary, and 
 Billie felt hurt. 
 
 Four queer little carriages met them at the quay 
 and they rattled through the narrow streets up to 
 the Hotel Europa. The Spanish proprietor was 
 awaiting them and, with many bows and obsequious 
 washing of hands " with invisible soap in impercep-
 
 ioo AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 tible water," welcomed them to his hostelry. They 
 had a side table in the dining-room, which, though 
 not spacious, was clean, and they were introduced 
 to some new dishes, fresh sardines, boiled sweet 
 potatoes with syrup over them, which tasted for all 
 the world like maron glaa e, and many other new 
 delicacies. A great many bird cages hung about the 
 room and their occupants carolled out a Christmas 
 welcome to the strangers. Altogether the meal 
 was very jolly, and when it was proposed to walk 
 down to the boat afterward all acquiesced ; thus it 
 happened that Margaret and Billie went together 
 and, after stopping at innumerable shops, at last 
 found themselves lost. 
 
 " How stupid of you," exclaimed Margaret. " We 
 may have to ask some of these soldiers the way, 
 and they will take us for suspicious characters and 
 lock us up." 
 
 "I wouldn t mind much if we were together," 
 said Billie boldly. 
 
 " Well, / would, and if you want to retain a 
 spark of the friendship that I have for you, and 
 even that is rapidly cooling, you will take me to my 
 friends." 
 
 "You are a little severe, Margaret, but I know, 
 any idiot like me would know, that if we walk down 
 the hill, we will reach the water, while you, like the 
 Excelsior boy, seem to want to go higher." 
 
 " Well, then, you lead the way ; it is getting to be 
 positively immoral."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 101 
 
 " Follow me, then," and he started down the 
 steep street in a hurry. Nearing a corner he 
 turned to speak to Margaret, and came into violent 
 collision with some one, who at once seized him 
 roughly, and demanded in a deep basso voice : 
 
 " What do you mean, sir, by running into me ? " 
 
 The man was nearly six feet tall, but Billie 
 answered quickly : 
 
 "You blood-thirsty villain! I ll show you what 
 I mean. Come out here," moving to the middle of 
 the narrow street. Margaret, with a little shriek, 
 rushed between them, and, as they stepped into 
 the light at the corner, Billie saw in his opponent 
 none other than Van Beuren himself with the whole 
 party close behind him. 
 
 " What a bantam rooster you are, Billie. We 
 saw you coming and waited for you," said Kathe- 
 rine, after the laugh had subsided. 
 
 "Well, Margaret, I mean Miss Jones, insisted 
 that the ./4//.WZ was anchored on the top of that 
 hill, and I couldn t persuade her out of it." 
 
 " Did you try hard? " asked Balford. 
 
 " Yes, I did, but we don t get on together, 
 anyway." 
 
 " Come, let s go back to the boat," said Haswell ; 
 " we can do the town to-morrow. I have a letter 
 or two that I must present, I suppose, though I 
 hate to carry letters of introduction. They put a 
 man to the necessity of showing you some attention 
 and it doesn t seem fair."
 
 102 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Arrived at the boat, they immediately made 
 preparation for a welsh rabbit supper. Haswell 
 presided over one chafing dish, while Katherine 
 took charge of the other. 
 
 After supper Jack went on deck and paced to 
 and fro. Apparently the scene he had witnessed 
 on deck had been forgotten. He and his wife were 
 seemingly friendly, and in his heart he had for 
 given Balford. He knew Ernest s very impression 
 able nature and believed he was led to commit an 
 offense against his friend by the occasion and 
 evironment. He believed, too, that Ernest regretted 
 having been led so far as to appear disloyal to him and 
 subsequent events tended to show this, for Ernest had 
 rather avoided Mrs. Oswald lately, though he could 
 have known nothing of the husband s discovery of the 
 flirtation. . . . The night was still. There was 
 no moon, but the heavens were studded with bril 
 liant stars. As Jack leaned over the rail, he thought 
 of the exquisite words : 
 
 " The night has a thousand eyes 
 
 And the day but one 
 Yet the light of the bright day dies, 
 
 With the dying sun. 
 The mind has a thousand eyes, 
 
 And the heart but one, 
 Yet the light of a whole life dies 
 
 When love is done." 
 
 The following morning they started out sight 
 seeing. They chartered four carriages, and drove
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 103 
 
 first to Europa Point. Haswell and Katherine 
 occupied one carriage, while Miss Brown and Van 
 Beuren took another, the remaining vehicles being 
 filled, respectively, by Ernest and Jack, who wanted 
 to smoke, and by Margaret and Billie, who didn t. 
 These two had patched up their differences of the 
 night before, and were willing to sit together for a 
 little while, provided, Margaret stipulated, " Mr. 
 Brown would only speak when spoken to." 
 
 " What a melange of nationalities and dress," 
 exclaimed Katherine to Haswell. 
 
 " Yes, one sees Egyptian, Moors, Algerians, Jews 
 and Singalese then, of course, the various types of 
 English, Scotch and Irish soldiery. It s a great 
 place to study the nations. Very cosmopolitian, 
 isn t it?" 
 
 " Why do so many different races gather here ? " 
 
 " Why, I suppose because it is the great stopping 
 place for all ships entering or leaving the Mediterra 
 nean, and all these picturesque people are vendors of 
 some of the products of their native lands. They 
 are here for business, not health." 
 
 " Oh, look at that brilliantly dressed fellow, with 
 short, kilt skirt, which sticks out like a ballet cos 
 tume, and his curved sword and embroidered jacket 
 and queer cap. He is all in white." 
 
 " I think he must be a Greek or Macedonian. 
 Driver, is that a Greek?" 
 
 " Si, Seftor, he come far away," pointing toward 
 the East.
 
 104 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 They passed through the South Port gate and 
 began to ascend the hill back of the Alameda. An 
 old and dilapidated bus slowly toiled by. It con 
 tained three passengers, two Spanish peasant 
 women, and a red-coated Tommy Atkins, all half 
 asleep. 
 
 " Oh, look at the name on the bus," laughed 
 Billie, pointing to the yellow vehicle and unhappy 
 mule team. " Paciencia, that s Spanish for pa 
 tience. Isn t that good ? " and he called the atten 
 tion of Jack and Ernest to the appropriately named 
 stage. 
 
 "It reminds one of Fifth Avenue, doesn t it?" 
 asked Billie. 
 
 " That is better, though," said Margaret, as a 
 magnificent gold-laced officer galloped by on his 
 fine charger. 
 
 They all stopped to look at the Wellington mon 
 ument and enjoy the superb sea view. 
 
 The African coast was to be seen quite distinctly 
 and the sailing boats that dot the water everywhere 
 looked like toy craft as they skimmed, far below, 
 over the intensely blue and sunlit waters. 
 
 They resumed their slow ascent. They passed 
 the neatest little cottages, all embowered in flowers 
 and semi-tropical foliage, perched quaintly on the 
 steep side hill. The architecture was decidedly 
 English, and on the stone gate posts at the entrance 
 to each was the name of the place and occupant. 
 
 They passed, too, the mess houses and barracks at
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 105 
 
 the point, and turning, skirted the base of the great 
 rock. The road was partially cut from the face of 
 the precipice, and every now and again were seen 
 the ancient watch towers, batteries and battlements 
 of the Moors and the Spaniards, now all moss 
 grown, and grey, and crumbling. Though told that, 
 at this season, the monkeys are on the other side 
 of the rock, yet they dismounted and walked up 
 the narrow path to the monkey caves, and saw 
 where the simians should have been. 
 
 Afterwards they started back for the yacht and 
 lunch. On the way down, they looked at the big 
 guns pointed toward the African coast, eight miles 
 away. They passed two or three Spanish turkey 
 herders, men with long, light sticks driving flocks of 
 fowl ahead of them through the streets and street- 
 lets. When a native passer-by wanted to buy he 
 would seize a bird, feel it over, pay a few coins and 
 carry it off, or throw it down again into the flock in 
 disgust. 
 
 At lunch they decided to spend the afternoon in 
 inspecting the galleries, and to drive over to the 
 town of Algeciras in Spain. They also agreed to 
 start the next day at noon for Malta. Sister Anne 
 concluded not to make the afternoon trip, being 
 afraid that she could not do justice to so much nov 
 elty in one day, and Haswell, having seen it all 
 before, felt obliged to present his letters of intro 
 duction, so the other six started together. Smith
 
 106 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 had gone ashore immediately after luncheon to 
 engage a bus which would hold them all. 
 
 " I hope it won t be the Paciencia," said Van, 
 "don t you, Billie?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; that was the dirtiest looking con 
 veyance I ever saw and we should all probably be 
 obliged to disinfect before coming on board again." 
 
 " Careful, Billie, count ten now before you make 
 another remark," said Margaret. 
 
 " Well, I declare, is there no freedom of speech on 
 this boat?" 
 
 "Too much at times," said Sister Anne, as she 
 excused herself from the table. 
 
 The men were smoking their cigarettes over their 
 coffee and cr/nte de ment/te, and before they had 
 finished an animated discussion as to why England 
 was allowed to gobble up all the strategic positions 
 in the world, Smith reappeared to announce that he 
 had engaged the best bus in town for them. 
 
 They started slowly up the hill, admiring, as they 
 moved along, the ancient Moorish castle on its side. 
 Billie carried his camera, a bull s eye, and upon 
 alighting at the entrance to the galleries, sauntered 
 forward to take a picture of the ruin. As he was 
 diligently trying to get the picture straight in his 
 finder, a heavy hand descended on his shoulder and 
 a severe voice said : 
 
 " Is that a photograph machine, sir ? " 
 
 Billie turned angrily and saw a red-coated corpo 
 ral towering over him.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 107 
 
 " Yes, it is, and I want to know what you mean 
 by laying your dirty hands on my shoulder." 
 
 " I mean that you will go to the guard house if 
 you don t keep a civil tongue in your ead ; come 
 along to the sergeant." 
 
 Billie s patriotism and quick temper jumped to 
 the front, but when Jack and Balford came up, the 
 corporal, somewhat mollified, explained that the 
 taking of photographs on the rock by amateurs, 
 or others, constituted a penal offense. Billie calmed 
 clown and they all went before the superior officer. 
 Billie s excuse of ignorance went for naught, and 
 his precious camera was confiscated. His only con 
 solation, however, was that Haswell, through his 
 acquaintance with the officers of the post, might 
 have it returned to him. His captors told him that, 
 had he been English, he would have been locked up. 
 As it was, he would be watched during his stay and 
 another attempt at violation of the rules would be 
 serious. They entered the galleries and soon forgot 
 the trouble with the camera, in their wonder at 
 this stupendous work. 
 
 A soldier acted as guide and after a generous tip 
 became communicative and explained the guns and 
 their management. 
 
 "Ye see, sir, a orse and wagon can drive through 
 ere." 
 
 At intervals of twelve or fifteen yards were large 
 apertures, each with a muzzle of a great gun point 
 ing down on the bay, and, as in the ascent, they
 
 io8 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 rounded the corner were others commanding the 
 neutral ground and the town of Algeciras, the gate 
 way to Spain. 
 
 " And was all this tunnelled out of the solid rock ? " 
 asked Katherine. 
 
 " Oh, yes, mum, this is the lower gallery ; but look 
 through the port, way up yonder ; do you see the 
 holes winding way up to the top ? That s the hupper 
 gallery ; but strangers can t go there." 
 
 " Wonderful, isn t it ? " exclaimed Balford. 
 
 " Yes, the whole rock around is honeycombed," 
 answered Van. 
 
 They came back to the entrance and started 
 again. They drove to the neutral ground and 
 Spain. As they came to the English boundary they 
 were stopped by a sentry, spic and span in his red 
 coat, white cartridge and bayonet belt, and dark 
 blue trousers with small red cord. He wore a white 
 helmet and his boots were as bright as a mirror. 
 He allowed them to pass and they traversed the 
 intervening space, perhaps two hundred yards in 
 width, and passed the Spanish sentry, who was loll 
 ing on a bench. He was undersized, dirty looking, 
 and smoking a cigarette. 
 
 " What a difference," said Margaret, " between 
 these two men, and look! near each English sentry 
 box you see a well-groomed soldier pacing eternally 
 back and forth, but of all the six boxes on this side, 
 only one seems to be tenanted, and see how he is 
 guarding the frontier ! "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 109 
 
 They drove into the old town of Algeciras. The 
 road was filthy with refuse and garbage, and the 
 few soldiers were lying about asleep, or chatting 
 with the peasant women, who passed in and out of 
 the gates carrying their various wares to Gibraltar 
 and returning. The odours and general appearance 
 of the place were so uninviting that they soon 
 turned and drove back to cleanliness and thrift. 
 
 " Isn t what we have seen indicative of the two 
 races ? " said Jack. " Spain is no longer a factor in the 
 economy of nations. I doubt if she will ever come 
 up again. The mere fact that in every town, even 
 the size of this village, they must have their arena 
 and bull fights, is sufficient commentary on the na 
 tion, to my mind." 
 
 " For my part," answered Margaret, " I cannot 
 understand how women can go to those brutal ex 
 hibitions. I went once three or four years ago and 
 on Sunday, too. It was at San Sabastian. I didn t 
 faint, even though, within fifteen minutes, I had seen 
 three horses gored to death." 
 
 " Meanwhile the women were applauding and 
 having a fine time, I suppose," said Van Beuren. 
 
 " I suppose so. I came away or was taken away. 
 I shall never forget it. We only went, you know, 
 to say that we had been." 
 
 " Spain s decadence, I believe," said Jack, " is 
 due to their false idea of chivalry and honour. 
 They have failed to keep pace with modern prog 
 ress and civilisation. They are still in the middle
 
 no AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 ages, as it were. The great abyss between the 
 classes is as deep and marked to-day as it was at the 
 time of the Armada. Why, I ve been told that it is 
 exceptional to find a peasant who can even read or 
 write. Think of that, when you apply it to the 
 American farmer, or, now, even, to the Southern 
 negro ! Then, too, the priesthood are responsible 
 for a great deal." 
 
 When they got back to the boat, they found a 
 budget of letters. There was only one letter for Jack 
 and this from his lawyer, telling him of the death, 
 in California, of his uncle, Robert Oswald. This 
 uncle, his father s only brother, had gone to the 
 West as a young man. He had made a fortune and 
 now left about one-half of it to his only nephew, the 
 balance going to collateral relatives. The letter 
 also stated that Jack need be in no hurry to come 
 back on this account, as it would take some time to 
 appraise the estate and settle with the heirs. Jack 
 had never seen his uncle, so that his death was in 
 no sense a blow. He was mildly pleased that he 
 should come into possession of a large sum of 
 money, but he would have been about as happy 
 without it. 
 
 There was little news for the others to announce, 
 as the letters were but three days later than the 
 day of their departure. 
 
 After dinner they had some music. Margaret 
 played the piano well, and Billie his guitar, but 
 Jack complaining of hoarseness declined to sing.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. HI 
 
 Nevertheless, they had some good choruses and 
 Billie sang "Tommy Atkins," "Alabama Coon," 
 and other topical songs. 
 
 By noon the following day, they had finished 
 coaling, and the Ailsa started down the bay, 
 rounded Europa Point, and headed for Malta. 
 
 " Those are the pillars of Hercules, and the an 
 cients thought them the extreme western boundary 
 of the world," said Billie, as they left the gateway 
 to the Mediterranean astern. 
 
 "What guide books have you been reading?" 
 said Margaret saucily. 
 
 " Pshaw, any one who knows anything, knows 
 that Gibraltar on one side and Ceuta Point on the 
 other have always been called the Pillars of Her 
 cules, Miss Margaret, I am sometimes astonished 
 at your your poor memory you, who have trav 
 elled so much but pardon me, perhaps you were 
 too young." 
 
 " Perhaps I was young then, but I am older now, 
 old enough to box your ears if you go too far," 
 said Margaret, and Billie chaffed her no more for 
 the present.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " MAY I ask Mr. Oswald how long this is going 
 to last ; how long I am to be treated with this 
 studied politeness, which every one must notice and 
 comment upon ? " 
 
 The words were spoken to Jack Oswald by his 
 wife, in their rooms on board the Ailsa. They had 
 been allotted two spacious connecting cabins, one 
 of the largest suites on the boat. 
 
 " I was not aware that I had done anything to 
 attract attention or comment," replied Jack. 
 
 " Yes, you have. Ever since that night when 
 you say you saw Balford kiss my hand, you have 
 acted like a brute. I don t propose to stand it 
 longer. What did it amount to anyway ? A harm 
 less little flirtation. You ought to be glad that I 
 get a little attention from others, since I certainly 
 get none from you." 
 
 " Katherine, there is an old Latin quotation 
 which says: Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus, and 
 which, liberally translated, means that a husband 
 or wife who is faithless or untrue in one thing, 
 would probably stop at nothing." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that I am an immoral 
 woman?" flashed Katherine, coming to his door 
 and flashing her black eyes at him.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 113 
 
 " I said and meant nothing of the kind. I now 
 recognise the fact that you do not love me, did not 
 when I married you. I do not think there is any 
 possibility of love in your heart for any man. You 
 live on vanity and the attention you may get from 
 men, and you get attention by just such means as 
 those used with my friend Balford." 
 
 " After that insulting speech, I can see no course 
 for us but a separation. If you mean what you say 
 of my character, you can have no respect for me, 
 and I am very sure that I hate and despise you." 
 
 Katherine put all the venom of her nature into 
 the last words. Ever since that night when he had 
 discovered her flirtation with Balford, her husband 
 had been a changed man toward her. He had 
 tried to be natural, but found it impossible. On 
 her side, she was only afraid that the others might 
 notice the change, and her pride shrank back from 
 this thought. To-night she had determined to have 
 it out with him. 
 
 " I am more sorry than surprised to hear you say 
 that, Katherine, for, of necessity, we must remain 
 together for a time. We must appear to be at 
 least friendly, and I think you will see the force of 
 this necessity from whatever point of view you look 
 at it." 
 
 " Very well, but after what you have said, there 
 is no other course except a separation when we re 
 turn home. Meanwhile you can go your way 
 without let or hindrance and I will go mine."
 
 U4 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " It shall be as you say," answered her husband, 
 and left the cabin to go on deck. 
 
 They had been cruising now for two days along 
 the African shore. To Sister Anne, it seemed 
 safer to be within sight of land most of the time, 
 in case of collision or striking a rock. They passed 
 many vessels and steamers plying between Genoa, 
 Naples, Brindisi and the ports of Tunis, Tripoli and 
 Algiers. 
 
 " How sweet and considerate Jack is," said Mar 
 garet to Sister Anne, as they sat together one 
 balmy afternoon alone on the deck. Both were 
 engaged on some fancy work and the men were all 
 below or lounging on the deck forward. Katherine 
 was writing in her cabin. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, he is always thinking of others ; 
 what trouble he took this morning in marking out 
 the shuffle-board squares for us, and then didn t 
 play at all." 
 
 " He seems to see what you want and get it al 
 most as soon as you think of it." 
 
 " And yet," said Sister Anne, " Mr. Oswald does 
 not seem as happy or natural as at first." 
 
 " I have noticed that, too," answered Margaret. 
 " I am afraid that he and Katherine don t get on 
 very well, though I wouldn t say that to any one 
 else. Katherine seems to prefer Ernest Balford s 
 society, but he has rather avoided her of late, it 
 seems to me." 
 
 " Oh, I hope nothing so terrible as an estrange-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 115 
 
 ment could happen, Margaret. I should regret 
 having come at all." 
 
 "Well, I must say, Sister Anne, that I do not 
 like the way Katherine acts. Here is Jack now," 
 and Margaret turned to him. 
 
 " Do you remember that day, Jack, on Long 
 Island Sound the day we played you such a joke 
 about a fish? " 
 
 " While memory is with me I cannot forget it, 
 Margaret." 
 
 " Well, wasn t it just such a day as this ? I think 
 the Sound looked just as blue and the Connecticut 
 shore low-lying and hazy. I can close my eyes and 
 see it all. How Will Stanton and the sailing mas 
 ter enjoyed the joke ! " 
 
 "Tell me about it, Mr. Oswald, won t you?" 
 asked Sister Anne. 
 
 Jack laughed. 
 
 " I had been trolling for blue fish for hours," he 
 answered, "and had said I wouldn t give it up until 
 I caught something. I had thrown myself down on 
 the cushions and was nearly asleep ; in fact, I must 
 have dozed off. I was awakened by hearing the 
 wicked Margaret saying to the sailing master : Cap 
 tain, isn t that a school of fish? I opened one eye 
 and listened. It was so comfortable lying there in 
 the sunlight and light breeze. Why, yes. Miss 
 Jones, quite a lot in it, too. With that I raised on 
 one elbow and looked astern, and then leaping to 
 my feet I cried : By Jove ! I ve got one. and a big
 
 u6 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 one at last, and I began to haul in like mad. They 
 all gathered around me, and Margaret kept saying : 
 Isn t it a beauty ? You could see it splashing 
 through the water way astern. When I had it 
 nearly in I saw that it was a champagne bottle, and 
 empty at that ! They had fun with me for the bal 
 ance of the day." 
 
 " It was a most unkind practical joke, Mr. Os 
 wald, and I sympathise with you," laughed Sister 
 Anne. 
 
 " Well, salt-water fellowship makes even practical 
 jokes seem good," answered Jack. 
 
 That night they sat playing " hearts " in the main 
 saloon. It was a bright starlight night, cloudless, 
 but with no moon. Suddenly a whistle was heard, 
 then the engine bell rang out the signal to stop, 
 and then came three bells to back and there was 
 considerable commotion on deck. A sense of im 
 pending danger came suddenly over the party, and, 
 while the women looked at each other with blanched 
 faces, the men rushed to the deck. As Haswell, 
 in the lead, reached the door of the companionway, 
 a crashing, splintering sound was heard, and the 
 Ailsa careened over sharply, and then righted, as 
 the hull of a great, black vessel swept by them, 
 grating and scraping as she tore the paint and rail 
 from their fastenings, and floated off astern. With 
 an involuntary " Great God ! we are in collision," 
 Haswell grasped the rail and looked mechanically 
 after the disappearing lights of the great, black
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 117 
 
 monster. Suddenly a cry rang out up forward : 
 " Man overboard ! " and in another instant they 
 saw a form in the water almost beneath them. 
 Without an instant s hesitation Jack Oswald threw 
 off his coat, and shouting back : " Throw me a life 
 preserver," jumped into the sea and struck out 
 boldly for the struggling sailor. The Ailsa had by 
 this time come to a full stop, and the men in the 
 water were only a short distance astern. Two life 
 preservers were thrown out to them, and the life 
 boat was hurriedly lowered. The women rushed up 
 to the deck after the first fright had passed, and, 
 whereas Margaret and Sister Anne were on the 
 verge of hysterics, Katherine stood with impassive 
 face, rigid and erect. "Where is my husband?" 
 she called to the four men who had gone far astern. 
 " He is all right, Mrs. Oswald, or will be in a mo 
 ment," shouted back Balford. 
 
 The sailor in the water, though a good swimmer, 
 had been struck on the head and arm by a block 
 and was partially stunned. Still he was made of 
 good stuff, and, recovering slightly, had been able 
 to keep his head above water until Jack reached 
 him. The latter encouraged him, and, seizing him 
 in the armpit, held him up until he felt his own 
 strength giving way. 
 
 " Can you strike out now ? " said Jack. 
 
 " No, sir, my right arm is broken, I think." 
 
 " Can you keep up until I get that life-preserver? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, I think so, but don t mind me."
 
 n8 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Jack swam weakly toward the floating ring. He 
 was glad to get it himself, but by using his legs with 
 his remaining strength, for they were heavy with 
 the weight of his shoes and trousers, he was able to 
 propel the cork toward the sinking sailor. 
 
 "Cheer up, hold on; we are coming!" shouted 
 the men in the life-boat. 
 
 Jack heard it and held on, but his strength was 
 ebbing fast. He heard voices close to him and 
 then, with the name " Clare " on his lips, he lost 
 all consciousness of his surroundings. When he 
 opened his eyes again he saw Van bending ten 
 derly over him and heard his cheery voice. 
 
 " Now, old man, swallow some more of this elixir 
 of life, and tell us all about it." 
 
 Katherine Oswald stood at the side of the couch, 
 and, as Jack regained consciousness, she took his 
 hand, patted it, and said : 
 
 " Brave Jack." 
 
 Soon, with the aid of rubbing, hot bottles and 
 stimulants, Jack was quite himself again, but his 
 self-constituted physicians decided that he must 
 remain in bed for that night. They told him that 
 he had saved the life of one of the crew, and how 
 heroic he had been, but he met all their praise with 
 a deprecatory gesture, and soon, as he became 
 drowsy from the effects of his exertion and the hot 
 drinks they had given him, he was left alone. In 
 the saloon they discussed their narrow escape and 
 the rescue of the sailor.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 119 
 
 " What a glorious thing to do, to risk one s own 
 life in trying to save another," said Billie. 
 
 "Yes, but why should Jack Oswald risk his life 
 in trying to save a common sailor," asked Katherine. 
 
 " Ah, Mrs. Oswald, there is the nobility of the 
 whole thing. I am sure that what ran through 
 Jack s mind, beyond the quickness of thought, was 
 something like this: A fellow-man in danger of 
 drowning; I am a good swimmer. He must be 
 saved. He never thought, no, not for a second : 
 He is only a sailor, my life is worth more than his ; 
 what is the use? He just threw off his coat and 
 plunged in, and he didn t take long about it either, 
 did he, Ernest?" said Van. 
 
 " I should say not. I tried to stop him, I con 
 fess ; of course, I didn t know that Anderson had 
 broken his arm, and I remembered, Charlie, that 
 you once said, long ago, that you never would have 
 a sailor aboard who couldn t swim." 
 
 " It was the noble act of a noble man," said 
 Balford. " I have always admired Jack, but it takes 
 an occasion like this to show up the true nature of 
 a man." 
 
 " Well, if my hair isn t snowy white to-morrow 
 morning, I shall be surprised," said Margaret. " I 
 am so upset, I am trembling still." 
 
 " How can you be trembling still ? " said Billie, 
 trying to be facetious and as well to change the 
 line of their thought. " Trembling, in itself, implies 
 motion. How, then, can you be trembling still ? "
 
 120 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Mr. Brown, your witticisms are, to say the 
 least, ill timed," answered Margaret haughtily. 
 
 "Well, I don t see why we shouldn t all be jolly 
 now, do you ? We have had a collision, lost a man 
 overboard, saved him, and experienced no serious 
 damage ourselves." 
 
 " No, you have not. You haven t even disarranged 
 your necktie. We have lost a man overboard, and 
 tuf have saved him. Oh, the presumption of some 
 people ! " 
 
 " Well, if I have made you indignant, or angry, I 
 have accomplished something. You looked so 
 scared just now that I wanted to do something to 
 change matters." 
 
 Haswell had been sitting quiet for a long time. 
 He was very sorry for the accident, for he reasoned, 
 and rightly, that it would destroy all confidence in 
 his boat and its crew. Nothing, he felt, could be 
 said which would restore their trust. He was glad 
 that they would reach Malta the following evening, 
 and then on to Alexandria, where they would leave 
 the boat and be on shore for a couple of months, 
 by which time they would have forgotten the 
 untoward accident. 
 
 " I can t tell you," he said finally to his guests, 
 "how much I regret this unfortunate accident. 
 From my investigation, I cannot believe that it was 
 our fault, but what I most fear is that you may lose 
 confidence in the seamanship of my sailing master 
 and crew. We shall reach Malta to-morrow, I hope,
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 121 
 
 and from there to Alexandria is not far ; then we 
 shall be ashore for some time and I hope we shall 
 all forget this incident." 
 
 " Now, Charlie, don t take things hard. I feel 
 sure that I speak for all when I say, we feel that it 
 was an unavoidable accident, and as it has turned 
 out so harmless, we shall all forget it and sleep none 
 the less soundly to-night nor have any anxiety in 
 the future." So saying, Van Beuren raised his glass 
 and added : " I drink to our host and his gallant 
 guest, Jack Oswald." 
 
 " I am quite unstrung, Mr. Haswell, and I think 
 I will retire," said Sister Anne, making the first 
 start. And so the little party scattered for the night. 
 
 Toward sunset on the following day the Ailsa 
 entered the harbour of Malta. To most of the party, 
 the name Malta was full of mysticism ; an odour of 
 the middle ages and before was about it. And a 
 strange place it is, too. The old battlements, with 
 drawbridge and portcullis, built on a bleak and 
 barren rock, are there, with still a few quaint old 
 buildings amongst the new. Some of the old cus 
 toms and costumes persist yet and the sirocco from 
 the desert is always there in Summer, but Malta in 
 the Winter, once the ponderous fortifications are 
 passed, reminds one only of Italy. 
 
 On the morning following their arrival, Van 
 Beuren secured a boatman to carry them to the 
 landing. Once there, they took two landaus, which 
 looked as though they might have seen service dur-
 
 122 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 ing the Crusades, and drove up to the to\vn. The 
 women wished to buy some real Maltese lace and 
 the men to see the fortifications. So they divided, 
 Billie taking the three ladies, while Haswell, Jack, 
 Balford and Van Beuren made a tour of the town. 
 The language was a patois of Italian and Arabic, 
 and so any conversation with their driver, who un 
 derstood no English, was a difficult task. Therefore 
 this latter personage exercised his own untrammelled 
 will as to such points of interest as he thought his 
 party should see. He took them to the magnifi 
 cent cathedral, thence to the English church, from 
 the gardens of which they looked down upon the 
 fine land-locked harbour, dotted with English battle 
 ships, cruisers and torpedo boats, while the great 
 guns mounted on the ramparts all around gave 
 the place a stern and warlike aspect. 
 
 On the way back to the boat, they met the 
 ladies with their escort, and on reaching the At/sa, 
 the purchases of lace and filagree work were ex 
 hibited and admired. 
 
 " If Captain Burt can get his supplies this after 
 noon, what do you say to our pushing on to Alex 
 andria?" asked Haswell, as they sat at lunch. 
 
 All agreed to the proposal. As a matter of fact, 
 most of them were anxious to leave the boat for a 
 time. The accident two days before had made them 
 all a little nervous and Haswell had not failed to 
 notice it. In the afternoon most of the party went 
 ashore for another drive, only Haswell and Sister
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 123 
 
 Anne remaining on board. It had happened now, 
 quite often, that these two had been left together 
 alone. 
 
 After the others had gone, and he had finished 
 his writing, Haswell came up and joined Sister 
 Anne on deck. 
 
 " How industrious you are, Miss Brown," he said, 
 sitting down beside her. 
 
 " Yes, I always try to be busy. You know the 
 old saying about the devil and idle hands and mis 
 chief." 
 
 "Yes, perfectly, but I don t think the devil 
 could do any business on this boat, do you? " 
 
 " Oh, no, I did not mean to apply the old saying 
 to anybody or anything in particular, Mr. Haswell." 
 
 " You have never thought of marrying, have you, 
 Miss Brown?" 
 
 Sister Anne started convulsively. " It s coming; I 
 knew it would. Oh, why did I stay alone with him ! " 
 she thought. She was blushing now, and her fancy 
 work dropped at her feet. Haswell bent to 
 recover it for her. 
 
 "Because," added he lazily. " I have a delicate 
 matter of this kind on my mind and I would like 
 some friendly advice. A friend of mine, of mature 
 years, is head over heels in love. He does not 
 know what to do in the matter. He is very proud 
 and dislikes to bring a refusal upon himself, yet the 
 uncertainty is driving him wild." 
 
 " The poor fellow ! I did not know I had encour-
 
 124 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 aged him so much. I wonder if it will effect his 
 future life," thought Sister Anne. 
 
 " By the way, Miss Brown," continued Haswell, 
 " you know him, I fancy Fred Jones ; he writes me 
 a doleful tale all about his trouble." 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Miss Brown with a decided 
 touch of disappointment in her voice. 
 
 " Yes, I am violating no confidence in telling you 
 his name, as long as I say nothing of the woman in 
 the question. Fred, you know, wears his heart on 
 his sleeve, and is always more or less in love, but 
 now, at the age of forty or past, he seems to be 
 really hard hit." 
 
 " My experience, Mr. Haswell, in such matters is 
 limited, and derived mostly from books, you know, 
 but it seems to me that a man ought to be able to 
 tell whether the lady is partial to him or not, and 
 brave enough to ask the question and settle his 
 fate." 
 
 " Well, I imagine Fred wanted to talk or write to 
 some one, and probably felt better after it was 
 done. I shall wait awhile before answering his 
 letter. There come our people." 
 
 For two more days they skirted the low-lying 
 coast of Tripoli, now being out of sight of land and 
 again coming quite close close enough to make 
 out the graceful palm trees along the shore. On 
 the third day they could see in the offing the great 
 light-house at the entrance to the bay of Alexan 
 dria.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 125 
 
 " There is Egypt," shouted Haswell, as he took 
 down his marine glasses and handed them to Jack. 
 
 " Oh, yes," cried Margaret, " and that is the 
 modern Pharos of Alexandria. I wonder if the old 
 one stood there ? " 
 
 " There, or near there," replied Jack. " It was 
 an island in the old days, I think." 
 
 As they approached the long breakwater, a pecu 
 liar-looking sailboat approached them. It had the 
 short, stout mast well forward, with the long 
 slender boom balanced and lashed to it, and the 
 large triangular sail of all Egyptian boats. In the 
 stern and steering, sat the old white-bearded sheik, 
 with long black gown, white turban, and the red 
 tarbouche, or fez, showing in the centre. 
 
 "Doesn t that look biblical? The patriarchal 
 old fellow looks as though he were taken out of a 
 picture book. What does he want, Mr. Haswell ? " 
 asked Katherine. 
 
 " He is the pilot ; we shall have to stop and take 
 him aboard. The channel is very tortuous from 
 here to the pier, although the distance is short." 
 
 The boat came alongside and the pilot climbed 
 up the rope ladder with surprising agility for an 
 old man. Then the boat sheered off and the Ailsa 
 began to move again. 
 
 All the guests had been busy for hours previous 
 with their baggage, sorting winter from summer 
 clothing, and packing away what they would leave 
 behind. Soon they anchored close to the great
 
 126 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 stone quay and were quickly surrounded with fe 
 lucca crowded with swarthy Arabs, and repulsive- 
 looking Greeks, all with something to sell. It was 
 a very heterogeneous crowd. Suddenly a felucca, 
 much better looking than the rest, made its way- 
 through the boats. A handsome man stood in 
 the stern and laid about him, right and left, with a 
 stout hide whip which he carried in his hand. The 
 boats parted like magic. Like whipped dogs, the 
 natives scrambled to get out of reach. But it was 
 only Selim, the dragoman, who had been engaged 
 by Haswell to take charge of the party in Cairo and 
 up the Nile. 
 
 As the boat c^me closer, they could not help but 
 admire him. He was a Syrian, from Beyreuth, and 
 had received a liberal education in the American 
 College at that place. He spoke English excel 
 lently, and of course Arabic was his native tongue. 
 A smattering of French and of Italian made it possi 
 ble for him to go anywhere in Cairo and Alexandria 
 and make himself understood. As he stepped on 
 the deck, he was a striking picture. His costume 
 consisted of an electric-blue garment reaching to his 
 ankles, and elaborately embroidered with a darker 
 blue, fine silk braid, in a pattern somewhat military. 
 One side overlapped the other, and a silk sash of 
 many colours held it at the waist. His head was 
 covered with the ever-present red tarbouche, with 
 black tassel, and his legs were encased in highly 
 polished, tan-coloured top boots. His face was
 
 A>" 
 
 v r-r iiii-st :>: 
 -Is K-. H 
 
 * V ~L I 3T 
 
 * " I 3T jtmr 
 
 21 
 
 T ? nui. sr* 
 
 ODB 
 
 Y=s. sn- -trr ia^r brrr liillii^ ior y inr 
 ss rr irur isji. " 
 ATT rurr nanu a^mo is Cno* tans 
 
 ST" . 
 
 nx: ie Tinr rr 3it=: sane irnr -ws 
 szuf Ki^sm. 
 *" Tiff ZHn.ii: us 
 
 _ c rr>a. -mnm H^ Xdhaft Otem> TT 
 
 -
 
 128 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "Yes, my lady, I have just left them to come to 
 you. They are at the Ghezireh Palace Hotel." 
 
 " Good ! How long have they been there ? " 
 
 "They came from India on the Caledonia about 
 three weeks ago." 
 
 "And are the young ladies well ?" 
 
 " Yes, my lady ; Miss Ethel climbed to the top of 
 the pyramid a few days ago." 
 
 Two hours later they were speeding toward 
 Cairo. They had secured the large compartment 
 in the railway carriage, and all eight had crowded 
 into a compartment for six. 
 
 Until darkness came, they watched from the 
 windows the new and strange phases of life pre 
 sented to their view and in the various villages 
 through which they passed. At a few minutes after 
 seven, they were landed at the Central Station in 
 Cairo, and were thence hurried, amidst a bewilder 
 ing confusion of tongues and snapping of whips, to 
 that world-renowned caravansery, Shepheard s 
 Hotel.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THERE is Cairo the old and Cairo the new. 
 Cairo the old is the unchanged Cairo of a thousand 
 years. Cairo the new is a modern city ; Turkish 
 and arabesque in architecture, it is true, but 
 modern in its broad and watered streets, its well- 
 kept lawns, and in the general entourage of its resi 
 dences. The old and the new lie side by side, 
 separated by a partition, as it were the Esbekyeh 
 Gardens. Strictly speaking, however, we should 
 refer to New Cairo, Old Cairo, and Oldest Cairo 
 to the west of the city, the ancient fortress of 
 Babylon. 
 
 The party from the Ailsa ascended the broad 
 steps leading to the extensive terrace in front of 
 Shepheard s Hotel. Everything seemed too modern 
 to them at first. Many people were sitting at the 
 small tables, under the garish glare of a dozen 
 electric lamps, and, as they entered the hotel, the 
 smiling manager, dressed in the most approved 
 continental costume, met them. They did not 
 stop to remember that Shepheard s is the very cen 
 tre of European Cairo. It is as well, perhaps, for 
 one visiting Egypt for the first time to become dis 
 illusionized in this way. It prepares one for the 
 real after enjoyment of the novel sights and sounds
 
 130 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 of the real Egypt the Egypt that has never 
 changed and never will. 
 
 They passed up the spacious stairway, flanked on 
 either side by two statues of generously propor 
 tioned Nubian ladies in bathing costume, and, after 
 visiting their rooms, all assembled in the great hall, 
 and when the forces were marshalled, proceeded to 
 the restaurant. As they seated themselves, Haswell 
 looked about him. 
 
 "Really, isn t this room a revelation?" he 
 observed. " It is all so different from what I had 
 pictured in my mind." 
 
 " Indeed it is," answered Margaret ; " the room is 
 like any handsome restaurant anywhere in the 
 Egyptian style, and the waiters are all Europeans, 
 and the cooking French." 
 
 " Did you notice, though, the crowd of turbaned 
 and quaintly-dressed people on the sidewalk as we 
 came in ? " asked Balford. 
 
 " Yes, they looked like the supernumeraries in a 
 theatrical show." 
 
 " Well, we must not form our ideas of Egypt by 
 a superficial glance at Shepheard s Hotel, surely," 
 said Van Beuren. 
 
 " I m crazy to see a dahabeah, aren t you, Mar 
 garet ? " 
 
 "Yes, I am, Katherine ; the very name sounds 
 poetical and ancient." 
 
 "You ladies must not be too impatient. I want 
 to have our boat arranged in my own way before
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 131 
 
 you go aboard, and then we can change it to suit 
 the feminine idea, for you must remember it s to be 
 our house and home for two whole months." 
 
 " What s her name? " 
 
 " The Amtnon-Ra, Great King of all the Egyptian 
 Gods. I hope his divinity will keep good watch 
 and ward over us, and bring us back as good friends 
 as we are now, for it is a great strain on all the car 
 dinal virtues, you know, for people to be boxed up 
 so closely for so long a time." 
 
 "I won t quarrel with any one, I promise you," 
 said Billie. 
 
 " Nor I," echoed Margaret. 
 
 " Well, you two don t count anyway ; your bicker 
 ings are like a dash of tabasco to an unflavoured 
 soup," said Van. 
 
 "Thank ) r ou," answered Billie; "tabasco is posi 
 tive enough, so I take that as a compliment, don t 
 you, Margaret ? " 
 
 "Oh, yes, I suppose so. Mr. Van Beuren is so 
 old and prosaic that he needs some stimulation." 
 
 " Otherwise I shouldn t take any interest in your 
 childish amusements, I suppose," laughed Van. 
 
 After dinner they wandered out into the spacious 
 corridors, drank their coffee and smoked the deli 
 cious Egyptian cigarettes, and Jack brought them 
 the Gazette and Sphinx, from which they gleaned 
 the latest news of Cairo and the outside world. 
 Haswell met two Englishmen, one of whom he had 
 run across on some of his previous travels, and he
 
 132 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 brought them to the ladies and introduced them, 
 Mr. Villiers and young Lord Annersley. They 
 were on their way back from Somaliland, where 
 they had been hunting lions and elephants. They 
 were to go up the Nile, they said, in a few days, 
 with an English friend, Sir John and Lady Wilt 
 shire, or rather to meet them at Assiut, for the 
 party had already started. 
 
 Young Annersley seemed quite taken with Mar- 
 garet, and spent a full hour talking with her. At 
 last, however, Katherine suggested good-night as 
 it was getting late, and the women withdrew, while 
 the men adjourned to the American bar fora night 
 cap and a bite. 
 
 "So you are going up the river," said Haswell. 
 " I m glad to hear it. We expect to start in a week, 
 and we shall probably see a lot of each other. 
 Funny, my meeting you here, isn t it ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Villiers, " do you recollect where 
 we first met? " 
 
 " Perfectly ; it was in Japan, between Kobe and 
 Yokohama on the train. Yes, it was at Nagoya, I 
 remember now, by Jove! How furious we all were 
 about it. You wanted something to drink, soda or 
 something, and enquired of the guard, in alleged 
 Japanese, where to get it, and off you sauntered. 
 The train was held for about fifteen minutes for 
 you, and when you reappeared in the distance, 
 nothing could hurry you. You strolled back and 
 stepped leisurely on the train, as though it was 
 your own private conveyance."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 133 
 
 Villiers laughed. " I had forgotten all that." 
 
 " Well, it is just as he behaves now," put in An- 
 nersley ; " I can appreciate your feelings." 
 
 " We made a few very pertinent remarks that 
 day on the train, about you, I can swear to that." 
 
 " What s the name of your dahabeah, Mr. Vil 
 liers ? " asked Jack after a pause. 
 
 "The Ki nct-el-Nil ; Queen of the Nile, it means 
 in English." 
 
 " Oh, I have heard of her ; she belongs to some 
 Russian or private individual, doesn t she ? " asked 
 Haswell. 
 
 "Yes, I believe she was built originally for the 
 Khedive s mother, but was sold and passed through 
 a number of hands since. She is a fine boat of the 
 kind, I believe." 
 
 "Large party?" asked Billie curiously. 
 
 " No, no one but Wiltshire, his wife and a com 
 panion." 
 
 " What a jolly time you will have." 
 
 " Yes, we hope to. Wiltshire, you know, is very 
 fond of shooting, has his moors in Scotland, and all 
 that, and hopes to give us some sport, but I have 
 never heard of much of that kind of thing here, 
 have you? " 
 
 " Yes, they get ducks and snipe and quail in sea 
 son, I believe." 
 
 "Well, I m going to turn in," said Van, yawning. 
 " Good-night." 
 
 " It s time for all of us, isn t it ? " added Annersley, 
 and the party broke up.
 
 134 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 The next morning at nine o clock they all started 
 out to see the pyramids. Selim had engaged two 
 donkeys, one for Margaret and one for Billie. The 
 rest were content with two open carriages. The 
 names of the donkeys were Mary Anderson and 
 General Grant. Had English people bestrode them, 
 the names would doubtless have been changed at 
 once to Ellen Terry and Gladstone. The Egyptian 
 donkey boy is very adaptable. They passed up 
 Kamel Street and turned abruptly to the right 
 opposite the great monument to Ibrahim Pasha, 
 and then, after passing the English Embassy and the 
 Hotel Continental, they took the direct road, Kasr- 
 el-Nil, and brought up at the new bridge. Every 
 thing was modern on the way. But upon passing 
 over, the scene changed. Sitting clustered at the far 
 side they passed a dozen Egyptian Syce, men em 
 ployed as forerunners to the carriages, or traps, of 
 the richer inhabitants. Fine muscular fellows they 
 were, in a most picturesque costume. 
 
 Their legs were bare and brown. They wore 
 full, white Zouave trousers, with white shirts, the 
 latter covered by a Zouave jacket of brilliant red 
 or green, covered with gold or silver embroidery. 
 A red silk sash was wound about the forehead 
 holding the fez in place. Each Syce carried a white 
 wand or stick, and as they ran in perfect step, about 
 forty yards in front of the carriage, their sonorous 
 cries warned pedestrians, camels and donkeys to 
 move aside and allow Mr. or Mrs. Somebody the 
 right of way.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 135 
 
 As they passed to the second bridge, Katherine 
 exclaimed : 
 
 "Just look at that string of camels, there must 
 be thirty." 
 
 " Yes, and see how they are fastened one to 
 another with that loose rope. What are they 
 carrying in those net-work paniers? Why, it s stone 
 and bricks! How primitive !" 
 
 " How supercilious they look; they seem just as 
 though they were saying : You poor modern pro 
 ducts, look at us, we represent thousands of centu 
 ries, bygone ages more in years than days of your 
 life. " 
 
 " They have a most haughty bearing, haven t 
 they, Jack?" said Balfcrd. 
 
 " Yes, they haven t the appearance of being meek 
 and mild, and I think they must be ugly at times, 
 for you see some of them have plaited muzzles over 
 the nose." 
 
 " Our Billie won t suffer from liver complaint for 
 some time, I think," said Van. " Just see how 
 General Grant is shaking him up. Margaret s steed 
 is a rocking horse compared with the General." 
 
 "Oh, look, did you ever see anything so funny?" 
 cried Sister Anne, as she pointed to an enormous 
 bunch of freshly cut grass which was moving by 
 them. The head and ears of a patient donkey were 
 visible in front, four little mincing feet below, and 
 the suspicion of a tail behind. Contentedly squatted 
 on top of all was one of the fellaheen, in bright
 
 136 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 blue gown and white capote, industriously munch 
 ing a stick of sugar cane. 
 
 " Why, that lazy brute weighs as much as the 
 donkey," said Van as they looked after it. 
 
 "That s the way in Egypt ; the Pasha orders the 
 Bey about, the Bey beats the Effendi, and the 
 Effendi maltreats the fellah, and the fellaheen can 
 get square only by abusing their donkeys or camels. 
 If there were a society for the prevention of cruelty 
 to animals in Egypt, and they arrested all offenders, 
 there would be no work done in town or field, but I 
 believe it is not so bad as it was. In fact, I have read 
 somewhere that the foreigners have started a 
 society of this kind," answered Haswell. 
 
 " Look, look, there are the pyramids ! " and Kath- 
 erine, from the backseat, stood and pointed through 
 the acacia trees, and there, in the distant blue haze, 
 most of them had their first view of these symmet 
 rical sepulchres of the dead. They had now turned 
 into the long, straight five-mile road lined with 
 acacias and flanked on either side by fields of wav 
 ing grass and grain. 
 
 Dykes and ditches abound, and the white heron 
 and vulture were constantly flying across the road 
 in front, while the curiously coloured Egyptian crow 
 croaked out his hoarse welcome as they clattered by. 
 
 They decided to leave the carnages at the Mena 
 House, that comfortable and salubrious hostelry, 
 and walk or take camels up to the base of the great 
 pile. Billie and Margaret, surrounded by a horde
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 137 
 
 of Bedouin Arabs, had already gone on. As Selim 
 remained with the carnages, the Bedouins knew 
 themselves free from all restraint, and bothered the 
 young people with requests to buy the hundred and 
 one spurious relics which they produced from the 
 folds of their garments. Billie longed for the balance 
 of the party to join them, and it was not long before 
 all were standing together at the foot of the colossal 
 pile. Lost in wonder, they could say nothing. 
 They visited the Sphinx, too, that grim and silent 
 guardian of the plains. Billie secured his camera, 
 from Selim and, amid forceful threats and protests, 
 obtained some good pictures of Sister Anne on a 
 camel. 
 
 " They will sell well in New York," he said. 
 
 The rest of the party were convulsed with 
 laughter, for the picture of Sister Anne in her 
 quaint costume, with frightened face, perched high 
 in air on her dromedary, the pyramids as a back 
 ground, presented an opportunity which her 
 brother, who had a strong sense of the ridiculous, 
 was quick to seize. 
 
 Billie insisted on leading his donkey back and 
 making the third on a seat in the carriage, pleading 
 that considerable of his anatomy was hopelessly 
 gone and his internal economy shifted about so 
 that he felt his heart beat on the right side. 
 
 They arrived at the hotel at four o clock, and 
 found that the Clinton family had called during 
 their absence, but they telephoned to the Ghezireh
 
 138 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Palace Hotel and invited them all to take tea on 
 Shcpheard s verandah at five. The young ladies 
 accepted. Ethel and Mary Clinton were types of 
 New York girls of the period. Ethel, who was 
 three years the elder, had, at the age of twenty, a 
 very blasd and independent manner, and while un 
 deniably pretty, was of so positive a nature that 
 she made but few real friends. Her younger sister, 
 Mary, was only seventeen, but a very lovely, quiet 
 girl. Retiring always in favour of her sister, she 
 looked up to her as the embodiment of all that was 
 good and admirable. The elder was one to admire 
 from afar. The younger was one to fall in love with. 
 
 At five o clock the English band was playing in 
 the garden, and tea and cake was being served on the 
 terrace. The Haswell party had secured a good 
 table, and were watching the changing panorama of 
 people and things. A blue-gowned Arab held up 
 to view, from the sidewalk, a lot of donkey chains 
 in blue beads and tinkling brass coins. A black- 
 gowned Bedouin with snowy turban untied his 
 bandanna kerchief to exhibit his real scarabs at 
 only a few piastres each ! A troop of Indian fakirs 
 held up a slimy cobra and wanted to make a mangoe 
 tree grow from the sidewalk while you wait. 
 
 After fifteen minutes or so, a smart victoria 
 drove up. The coachman was clad in light grey 
 and wore a red tarbouche. Beside him on the box 
 sat the Clinton s dragoman and the two ladies on 
 the back seat were the Clinton girls.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 139 
 
 Van and Balford hurried forward to meet them, 
 and in a few moments the greetings were over and 
 conversation had dropped into the natural channel 
 of gossip and personality. 
 
 " Where are Mr. and Mrs. Oswald ; aren t they 
 with your party ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, they went shopping a little while ago ; 
 they ought to be back by this time," said Margaret, 
 
 All were invited out to the Ghezireh Palace for 
 the following afternoon, to hear the music and have 
 a cup of tea. At last, just as the lights began to 
 blink out on the soft, dry air, the Clinton girls said 
 good-night and drove off. 
 
 The following week was spent in seeing the 
 sights. They went up to the citadel and inspected 
 the great mosque of Mahomet Ali. They saw 
 where the Mamelukes were massacred. Then they 
 visited a dozen smaller mosques, less pretentious 
 but more antique. Selim took them through the 
 streets of old Cairo on foot and they walked the 
 full length of the Muski. On Tuesday they went 
 to see the dancing Dervishes and on Friday to see 
 the howling Dervishes. They drove to Heliopolis 
 and saw the obelisk. They spent two mornings at 
 the Gizeh Museum. They studied the mummies 
 of the Pharaohs. They saw the superb jewelry re 
 cently exhumed and Van remarked: 
 
 "Truly, there is nothing new under the sun." 
 
 " Except the safety bicycle and the telephone," 
 added Billie.
 
 I 4 o AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Well, how do we know that they didn t utilize 
 electricity ? " answered Van. 
 
 " How do you suppose they did these things, 
 this moving of immense masses of stone hundreds 
 of miles ?" 
 
 " It beggars thought," said Jack. 
 
 Saturday had been appointed as the day to visit 
 the dahabeah. At eleven o clock they all drove 
 over to Bulak, where the boat was. The Amman- 
 Ra had been towed out into the stream % a bit, so 
 they had to be ferried to her in small boats. 
 
 " And is that a typical dahabeah ? " asked Margaret, 
 as they approached her. 
 
 " Yes, a type of the dahabeah of to-day. Very 
 likely they were somewhat different in Cleopatra s 
 time," answered Haswell. 
 
 They clambered over the rail of the lower deck, 
 which occupied about a fifth of the forward part of 
 the craft, and they ascended a flight of stairs on either 
 side to the main deck and parlour of the boat. It 
 was completely canopied with bright Arabian hang 
 ings of every colour. The deck had been trans 
 formed into a most attractive room. The floor was 
 covered with soft rugs. An upright piano in one 
 corner, and two divans, with tables and chairs, and 
 palms and flowers, made the deck look most invit 
 ing and oriental. 
 
 The ladies were delighted, and when John, the 
 steward, had brought up some steaming tea and 
 cakes on a brass tray, and Ali, his assistant, had
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 141 
 
 opened the soda, they all voted that their future 
 home was a great success. A little later they went 
 down to inspect the sleeping rooms and main cabin 
 or saloon. These were all above the water. The 
 dining-room was the full width of the boat. It was 
 very large and fitted up in arabesque hangings and 
 furniture. The rooms were of good size, some en 
 suite and others single. 
 
 " Now, everybody, will you be ready to start up 
 the river on Monday at noon ? " asked Haswell. 
 
 " We will," answered the other voices. 
 
 " Then it is settled, Selim, that we lunch on 
 board, and start as soon after noon as possible. 
 
 " Very good, sir." 
 
 They all drove back to the hotel delighted with 
 what they had seen. Van and Balford, however, 
 were sent over to the Ghezireh Palace to ask the 
 Clintons to take tea on theAmmon-Rathe following 
 day, Sunday. 
 
 On Monday morning early, the crew of the Am- 
 mon-Ra, eleven in number, were busily engaged in 
 transporting the luggage and belongings of Haswell 
 and Company from the hotel to the boat, and at 
 one o clock the Ammon-Ra herself pointed her 
 nose up stream and, with a favourable but light 
 breeze, began to force her way against a three-mile 
 current at a three and one-half mile gait, and the 
 Americans had started for Assouan, five hundred 
 and eighty miles south.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "WELL, Miss Jones, I am glad to say that it isn t 
 broken." 
 
 So spoke Dr. Van Rennsalaer, as he held Mar 
 garet s pretty, swollen ankle in his hand, after a 
 long and presumably exhaustive examination of 
 her injury. 
 
 They had reached Abydos, or rather Balianeh, 
 the night before, and, after the Ammon-Ra had tied 
 up at the bank, Selim informed them that there was 
 another dahabeah, flying the American flag, directly 
 in front of their boat. Of course, this fact caused 
 them all to speculate as to the name of the boat, 
 and the identity of their countrymen. Selim was 
 sent ashore immediately after dinner, and soon re 
 ported that the boat was the Columbia, and the 
 party, a Mr. Carter and friends, including a doctor 
 somebody, all from Philadelphia. After dinner 
 Van Beuren, Jack and Balford started for a stroll 
 along the river bank, and in the darkness ran into 
 some people coming from the opposite direction. 
 The Nubian boatman and guide, carrying the lan 
 tern from the Ammon-Ra, had stumbled against 
 the boatman who was guiding a similar party from 
 the Columbia.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 143 
 
 It happened as they were crossing a shadoof 
 ditch, and both men had their lanterns broken and 
 extinguished. While the guides were swearing vig- 
 ourously at each other, the two parties became ac 
 quainted, and it not unnaturally followed that the 
 travellers from the Ammon-Ra were invited to go on 
 board the Columbia. Thus it came to pass that Van 
 Beuren, Oswald and Balford became acquainted 
 with Carter, White and Van Rennsalaer. 
 
 The morning following, Jack, Van and Ernest, 
 Margaret, Katherine and Billie, started for Abydos. 
 This was an eight-mile ride, and the donkeys were 
 proverbially bad. They had examined the wonders 
 of this but partially excavated ruin, and had taken 
 their lunch beneath its massive roof. They had 
 tried to picture the divine Harmachis in his agony 
 and desolation, as he saw the great God Osiris re 
 vealed to him. They had taken numerous pictures 
 of its interior and approaches, and were on their 
 way back to the boat, and not more than a mile 
 from their destination, when, while trying to race 
 on a narrow path, Margaret s donkey fell suddenly 
 to his knees, throwing his rider forward like a cata 
 pult. Billie checked his animal as quickly as pos 
 sible and, jumping off, ran back to aid his fallen 
 companion while his own donkey trotted off for 
 Balianeh and supper. When Billie reached her and 
 saw Balford with Margaret s head in his lap, while 
 she lay there quite white and helpless, a big sob rose 
 to his lips. In a few moments, however, she opened
 
 144 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 her eyes and attempted to rise, but, with a little 
 scream of pain, fell back faint. She soon became 
 herself again and asked for her donkey. Number 
 One, as he was called, was standing placidly by, and 
 Balford and Billie seated her on the side saddle, first 
 unlacing her high boot, as the ankle had already 
 swollen and was very painful. So the procession 
 started, Billie supporting Margaret in the saddle, 
 and Ernest leading Number One. Billie thought 
 that he was entirely responsible for the mishap, and 
 both he and Balford tried in their clumsy, masculine 
 way to comfort Margaret and distract her thoughts 
 from herself, by calling her attention to all kinds of 
 foolish things by the roadside. Jack, Van and 
 Katherine, who had been left far behind, now came 
 up and were very sympathetic. When they reached 
 the boat, two of the crew came up the bank and 
 carefully carried the invalid to her room. Sister 
 Anne and Katherine examined the poor foot and 
 found it much swollen and blackened, and, alarmed 
 at its appearance, called a consultation in the saloon, 
 where it was decided to send over to the Columbia 
 and see if Dr. Van Rennsalaer would come and 
 advise them. So it happened that we find the good- 
 looking young doctor holding Margaret s ankle and 
 speaking words of cheer to her. Billie instinctively 
 disliked the young Medic from the first, and when 
 he saw the deference and attention bestowed upon 
 him by the women of the party, and the time he 
 took in making his diagnosis, he hated him, and
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 145 
 
 took a drink of brandy and water and a cigarette 
 to comfort himself. 
 
 " Well, Doctor, how long will it be before I can 
 walk again ? " asked Margaret, after a pause. 
 
 " It is hard to say exactly. You have a badly 
 sprained ankle with rupture of some of the liga 
 ments ; to-morrow, when the swelling has gone 
 down, I can tell better." 
 
 " Oh, thank you very much, Doctor, but we won t 
 bother you to come again. All I have to do is to 
 keep quiet, use the lotion, and not use the foot, 
 you say." 
 
 "Yes, that s about all, but I had better see you 
 again in the morning. I will come in directly after 
 breakfast. We don t leave until noon." 
 
 After the doctor had left the stateroom, Marga 
 ret said to Katherine : 
 
 " Isn t he charming, so gentle and encouraging? 
 I like him immensely." 
 
 " He seems to know what he is about, and he is 
 very gentlemanly. You rather liked to have him 
 bang your foot about, didn t you ? " 
 
 " I didn t mind it much, but he seemed so inter 
 ested, and to know just how to handle a sprained 
 ankle. Will you get the applications ready, I mean, 
 tell John to?" 
 
 " Yes, dear," and off she went. As she passed 
 through the saloon, the doctor was just taking his 
 leave after promising to call in the morning. 
 
 " Nice fellow, that," said Van.
 
 146 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "Yes," said Jack, " seems to know his business." 
 
 " Well," said Katherine, as she passed through, 
 " he has made the deepest kind of impression on 
 Margaret ; do you believe in love at first sight, 
 Billie?" 
 
 " I can t see what you see to like in that popin 
 jay," answered that young man. " He thinks he 
 knows it all, and you sit around and just hang on 
 his words. I think he is a Philadelphia cad." 
 
 " How can you use such language, William ? " 
 said Sister Anne ; " the man was exceedingly polite 
 to all of us, and we ought to be grateful." 
 
 Billie was allowed to talk to Margaret through 
 the door, and apologised very humbly for what he 
 considered his own particular fault. 
 
 "Oh, I shall be all right in a few days," came 
 back to him through the panels. " The doctor is 
 coming again in the morning." 
 
 " Darn the doctor," thought Billie ; " here he can 
 come when he pleases, go to her bedroom, feel of 
 her ankle, look wise and all that, and I, who know 
 her a hundred times better than he, have to stand 
 and talk through the door. Darn the doctors, any 
 way," and Billie took another drink and went dis 
 consolately to bed. On the morning following, 
 Doctor Van Rennsalaer, as he had promised, came 
 again, and, after being closeted with Katherine and 
 Margaret for a half-hour, during which time Billie 
 heard peals of laughter issuing from the sick room, 
 he bade them good-bye, after giving out the bulletin
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 147 
 
 that the patient was doing as well as could be ex 
 pected. When Billie heard the hilarity in Room 
 No. 5, he fejt that he could stand it no longer, so 
 he jumped into the felucca, rowed fiercely for the 
 opposite shore, and plunged into the river for a 
 swim. He rather hoped that a crocodile or some 
 thing would drag him under. He wondered, if 
 such a thing happened, whether she would miss 
 him. 
 
 " Bah," he said to himself, " women are no good, 
 anyhow," and so he dressed and rowed back to the 
 boat. The Ammon-Ra and Columbia cast off at 
 about the same time, and they had a pretty race for 
 a little ; but the Haswell boat was much the better, 
 and soon distanced her competitor, much to Billie s 
 relief, who was fervently hoping the Columbia 
 would run on a sand-bar and stay there. Suddenly 
 the wind died down and the boat began to drift 
 back with the current, but the old reis ordered the 
 whole crew ashore to track, and over they tumbled. 
 A long hawser was fastened to the mast and carried 
 ashore, where each boatman had his individual loop, 
 which he quickly attached to the main cable, and 
 slipping the noose over the shoulders, the whole 
 eleven started along the tow path. It was slow 
 work, but better than lying still or drifting back, 
 and it gave the party a sense of oriental do Ice far 
 niente to loll back on the divans, while the boatmen 
 slowly tramped along far ahead, chanting some 
 wild song as they went. So they progressed until
 
 148 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 evening. Toward the Lybian Desert the sun was 
 slowly sinking like a great orange-coloured ball of 
 fire. The scattered cloudlets had taken on the 
 reflected glory of the setting sun and were in a 
 dozen shades of prismatic colouring brilliant ver 
 milion shading into delicate pinks and deep purples, 
 and to the greys and blacks of approaching twilight. 
 A single star glimmered faintly now, but with ever- 
 increasing brilliancy, through the fronds of the great 
 palm above the dark bank. The tree, with the slow, 
 ceaseless movement of its branches, and the stars 
 light coming and going, seemed like some living 
 monster, some grotesque form from a bygone age, 
 blinking sleepily down on the dahabeah, and sigh 
 ing at the new civilisation which enabled a thing so 
 modern to be there. A camel, with slow and super 
 cilious mien, tramped by. His ghost-like master, 
 like the uncouth beast, vouchsafed but a glance and 
 passed on. Sharply silhouetted against the evening 
 sky, they seemed strange and uncanny and as if they 
 had stepped out of a century long gone by. No 
 thing has been changed among this strange people 
 since the reign of the Rameses and the Ptolemies. 
 The dress, habits, customs, beast and boats, are all 
 as they were before the dawn of the Christian era. 
 On the surface of the broad river, it is true, one sees 
 an occasional tourist or mail steamer, and the sail 
 ing dahabeah is not quite the same as the silk-cano 
 pied, slave-manned craft, in which the love-sick 
 queen floated down in the arms of her favourite
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 149 
 
 Antony. But even the Ammon-Ra was weird in 
 her make-up. The long, pointed boom, balanced 
 on the foremast and standing always at an angle, 
 appeared to pierce both the heavens above and the 
 water below. The boatmen were now furling the 
 sail, and the Arab, way up at the point, seemed 
 among the clouds and was scarcely discernible, 
 while the others, ten in number, all embracing the 
 boom and hauling in and housing the sail at short 
 intervals along the stick, were merely small silhou 
 ettes against the darkening sky. 
 
 The stillness was solemn ; but there were sounds 
 to break it. From the neighbouring village came 
 occasionally the cries of children, softened by the 
 distance, and ever and anon, the mournful braying 
 of the ubiquitous donkey. The moon began to 
 silver the landscape, and powder the plains with 
 snow. A flock of honking geese crossed behind, 
 and though the blaze from the gun, which was 
 always kept on deck, scattered their horizontal bat 
 talions harmlessly, the phalanx was quickly 
 reformed. And now the quiet of the scene was 
 broken by the Arab crew, who, having finished 
 their frugal meal of black bread and meat stewed 
 together in a large earthen-ware vessel, squatted 
 contentedly around, while two of their number, pro 
 vided with primitive instruments, strummed out a 
 monotonous tune, while the others chanted a song 
 or prayer attuned to three or four notes, sounding 
 like nothing ever heard elsewhere.
 
 150 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 After an hour of music, the little drum notes 
 sank away into the sighing breeze. This evening 
 the Ammon-Ra tied up at Keneh, and after dinner a 
 walk was proposed. Four of the party started out, 
 Miss Brown and Katherine, Van Beuren and Bal- 
 ford. The moon was at its full. The air had lost 
 the heat of the day and a gentle breeze made it a 
 perfect night for a stroll along the path. 
 
 They had walked a half-mile or more, when it 
 was proposed to turn. On the way back Balford 
 found himself walking with Katherine, while Van 
 was some distance ahead helping Sister Anne across 
 the numerous shadoof ditches which intersected 
 their path at short intervals. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Balford, my shoe has come untied," 
 exclaimed Katherine, as they were passing a grove 
 of tall date palms, one of which had fallen close to 
 the bank, "would you mind tying it?" 
 
 " Certainly not. Is that right ? " answered Balford. 
 
 " Yes, thank you ; let us sit here for a few 
 moments. Isn t it heavenly?" 
 
 Ernest seated himself and they were looking out 
 over the broad swathe of dancing, rippling silver 
 which pointed from the full moon to them. Er 
 nest felt the lightest touch of a warm hand on his, 
 and then it rested there for a moment before it 
 closed tightly on his. Balford started to rise, but 
 Katherine raised his hand to her lips. 
 
 Balford, suddenly overcome, put his arm about 
 her waist and drew her to him. Katherine s head
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 151 
 
 sank on his shoulder, and he kissed her mouth, her 
 cheek, her hair and whispered words of passionate 
 tenderness. 
 
 Then, with a groan, he sprang to his feet and, 
 clenching his hands till the nails marked the flesh, 
 he said in quivering voice : 
 
 " Mrs. Oswald, are you ready to return to the 
 boat ? I shall have some letters from Keneh in the 
 morning, which will call me back to America, and I 
 shall take the postal boat to Cairo." 
 
 Katherine did not reply. She followed along the 
 path in silence and soon they were again opposite 
 the Ammon-Ra. One of the Nubian boatmen 
 came up the bank with a lantern to meet them, 
 and they went on board. Van stood at the head of 
 the stairs and called out : 
 
 " Well, where have you two been ? We were 
 beginning to get anxious, and were about to send 
 out search parties for you." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," called Margaret, who had been 
 carried up for the first time, and lay on one of the 
 divans, " we thought you had met with some 
 such adventure as Arthur Livingston and Belle 
 Hamlyn." 
 
 " No," answered Katherine quickly, " Mr. Bal- 
 ford lost his way for a few moments, but then we 
 got back into the narrow path." 
 
 " Selim tells me we shall get our mail by the 
 post boat early in the morning. Won t that be 
 fine ? " said Margaret to Katherine.
 
 152 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; I hope we shall all have good 
 news." 
 
 They were on deck ; Hasvvell and Jack were 
 engrossed in a game of backgammon, while Billie 
 was trying to strum out some music on the guitar, 
 but in reality furtively watching Margaret, who 
 was in the highest spirits over her emancipation 
 from the stuffy cabin. Sister Anne was working 
 over her embroidery, and though Balford insisted 
 that he must go below and write some letters, they 
 all insisted so strongly that he should not, he 
 finally stayed. Then the lights were put out and the 
 hangings raised, and in the bright, still moonlight, 
 the party sang some of the dear old home songs. 
 But two of the party were far from happy. Balford 
 was thoroughly out of spirits. A burning sense of 
 shame and disloyalty was upon him. He could see 
 no honourable course for him but to leave the 
 party. It would be a bitter disappointment, most 
 bitter, but he could not stay. He did not know 
 whether his friend s wife loved him or not. He 
 did not care, but he felt himself but human, and he 
 loved Jack. He would go, give up the pleasant com 
 panionship of his oldest friends, give up the wonders 
 of the upper Nile, of which he had dreamed as a boy, 
 but had never expected to see. He would doubt 
 less receive some mail in the morning, and could 
 make the proper and plausible excuses. 
 
 As for Katherine, her feelings were a mixture of 
 shame, wounded pride and anger. She it was who
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 153 
 
 had made the advances, and they had been repulsed. 
 Ever since that night on theAttsa, she had believed 
 the opportunity would come when she might bring 
 Balford to her feet. And to-night she had almost 
 won him. It was heartless coquetry in the begin 
 ning, but, in her great desire to humble him, she had 
 unconsciously fallen into her own trap. She had 
 come nearer loving Balford than ever she had come 
 to loving any man. And Jie, now that he knew her 
 secret and felt his power over her, had said that he 
 would leave her. No, he must not do that ! She 
 must have a word with him, even if she were forced 
 to the point of asking forgiveness forgiveness for 
 what ? How her nature recoiled from this. 
 
 "When shall we reach Luxor, Charlie ?" asked 
 Jack of Haswell. 
 
 " Day after to-morrow, with favourable winds, 
 Selim tells me." 
 
 " I havfc read so much about Luxor, Karnak and 
 Thebes, that it doesn t seem as though we would 
 ever really get there." 
 
 " I hope you have crammed up about Rameses and 
 Queen Hatasoo. Selim is an Egyptologist of no 
 mean acquirements, and will, if wanted, explain 
 every stone in the place." 
 
 " I shall be content on this trip with a mere 
 smattering of knowledge. I want to read it all up 
 afterwards, and then come again some time," 
 answered Jack. 
 
 On the following morning, toward daybreak, the
 
 154 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 postal boat from Cairo overtook them. Ernest had 
 not slept well, and when he heard the hurrying to 
 and fro on deck and the whistle of the steamer, 
 he arose and hurriedly dressed, and was on deck 
 just as Selim returned in the felucca with the little 
 white-sealed mail bag marked A>nmon-Ra t containing 
 a generous mail. Balford sat about, had a cup of cof 
 fee and a smoke, and waited for the others to appear. 
 Nervous and excited as he was, yet he had deter 
 mined upon leaving the party, and, before the others 
 had appeared, had asked Selim about the mail 
 boats going down the river. Selim told him that 
 the post boat down would pass them about two 
 o clock in the afternoon. 
 
 At breakfast, after the entire party were together, 
 Ernest told of having received a letter from his 
 lawyer, the contents of which meant a great deal to 
 him, and, he added, his lawyer thought he should 
 come back at once, to try to save a few dollars from 
 the wreck of a concern in which he had large inter, 
 ests. They were all astounded and refused to 
 listen to his going ; but he fabricated so plausible a 
 necessity, that argument was out of the question, 
 and at last it was arranged that he should be trans 
 ferred with his luggage to the postal boat, which 
 was due to pass them some time during the after 
 noon. 
 
 " Can t you manage to get back to us, Ernest," 
 said Haswell, " in time to cruise for awhile in the 
 Mediterranean ? "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 155 
 
 " I don t know, old man ; you see, I am quite in 
 the dark myself in this matter." 
 
 " How unfortunate it is, Mr. Balford ; it will spoil 
 the rest of our trip," cried Margaret impulsively. 
 
 " You are very kind to say so, but I should be 
 sorry to feel that such is the case. You must all 
 take copious notes and pictures, and when you come 
 back I can enjoy it all by proxy, as it were." 
 
 While Balford was speaking, Katharine sat silent. 
 Two bright red spots were on her cheeks, and now 
 and then she raised her eyes to look across at him. 
 No one but Jack, at the time, noticed that she took 
 no part in urging Ernest to stay. She was very 
 unhappy, but it is a question whether regret or 
 chagrin was the emotion uppermost in her mind. 
 
 A kind of pall fell over the party that morning. 
 They were, without exception, genuinely sorry to 
 lose their friend, and it seemed as though this might 
 be a bad augury. Balford was so suave and cour 
 teous always, and so handsome withal, that the gap 
 left in the little household would be keenly felt. 
 When at last, toward the end of luncheon, the shrill 
 whistle of the little stern-wheel postal boat was 
 heard, it was with almost a feeling of relief that the 
 party gathered about Balford for farewells. 
 
 She had been signalled by the Ammon-Ra and 
 soon had made a long sweep and turned her nose up 
 stream. 
 
 " God bless you, old fellow ; lots of kind messages 
 to every one at home."
 
 156 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Good-bye. I hope you will all have a delightful 
 time and come back safely," and with many wav- 
 ings of handkerchiefs and a few moist eyes, Balford 
 faded away in the distance, bound for he knew not 
 where, and but little dreaming that he should never 
 again see one face of the merry party waving to 
 him from the deck. 
 
 They had delayed so long at and near Keneh that 
 late in the afternoon they made out the Columbia 
 far astern. She seemed to be bringing wind to 
 them, for both her sails were set and drawing well, 
 while the Ammon-Ra was only just stemming the 
 tide. 
 
 " Oh, give me the glasses," cried Margaret. " Yes, 
 that must be the dear Columbia. I can see the flag ; 
 I wonder if they will catch up with us." 
 
 " Oh, yes, my lady, we will tie up together to 
 night," said Selim, who had come up to call atten 
 tion to the boat. 
 
 " Dr. Van Rennsalaer will be pleased with the 
 way my foot is doing. See, Billie, I can rest my 
 whole weight on it without the crutch at all." 
 
 " Yes, and it would have been just as well if the 
 Philadelphia!! hadn t touched it." 
 
 " No, those hot applications he advised and the 
 massage he gave it, did it lots of good, I m sure," 
 answered Margaret mischievously. 
 
 " That s a matter of opinion," said Billie. 
 
 " Well, it s my foot, and I know he helped it."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 157 
 
 "Yes, and that s your hand, and that doctor will 
 have that, too, if you don t look out." 
 
 " I fancy I am able to take care of myself, Mr. 
 Brown." 
 
 They had tied up and were waiting for dinner 
 time when the Columbia hove in sight around the 
 point, and was soon fast against the bank about 
 fifty yards behind the A mmon-Ra. She had scarcely 
 stopped when Carter and Van Rennsalaer jumped 
 ashore and came over to call. Margaret had an 
 ticipated the visit, and as an interesting invalid lay 
 on the sofa on deck. She looked very fetching in 
 her light blue tea gown, held in at the waist by a 
 broad belt of silver coins. An Italian rug was 
 thrown lightly over her feet, and her blonde, fluffy 
 hair, which would not keep confined, and her pink 
 and white face were set in a very pretty picture. 
 
 " How do you do, Miss Jones? How are you, 
 Mr. Haswell and Miss Brown? How is my patient 
 doing?" 
 
 "Splendidly, thank you; I can almost walk on 
 the foot." 
 
 "We were just sending Selim over with an invita 
 tion to all of you to dine with us," said Haswell. 
 
 " You are very kind, but it would be like the 
 plague of locusts if we all came," said Mr. Carter, 
 l< and besides, poor White is laid up with a kind of 
 intermittent fever." 
 
 " Oh, I am sorry ; nothing serious, I hope." 
 
 " No ; he went out to shoot pigeons the other
 
 158 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 day and stood in the fields for two hours under the 
 broiling sun. That evening he had a high fever 
 and it has clung to him ever since, but he is better 
 to-day," answered Dr. Van Rennsalaer. 
 
 " Well, will you two come, then ? "asked Margaret. 
 
 " Certainly, delighted." 
 
 " Mr. Van Beuren and Mr. Balford are well, I 
 hope." 
 
 " Why, you know, poor Balford has been called 
 suddenly home left this afternoon by the postal 
 boat for Cairo." 
 
 "You don t mean it ! How you must miss him." 
 
 "Yes, we shall. Mr. Van Beuren and the Os 
 walds are with us, of course. Oh, Jack! Van ! here 
 are some old friends. Come up," called Haswell, 
 through the half-opened ventilator over the saloon. 
 
 " Will you take a peg, gentlemen ? The ladies have 
 had their tea. John, bring some whiskey-soda. 
 John always understands this, you know, but if I 
 said to him, Bring some whiskey and soda, the 
 Lord knows what would appear." 
 
 After taking their refreshments the visitors re 
 turned to their own boat to dress. 
 
 " It will be nice to have them to-night," said 
 Jack, " we shall miss poor old Ernest so much." 
 
 At seven o clock they sat down to dinner. John 
 and AH served the meal, while Selim kept a general 
 superintendence and opened the wine. 
 
 "Have you killed a sheep yet?" asked Haswell 
 of Mr. Carter.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 159 
 
 " Why, no ; what do you mean ? " 
 
 "The old custom, which has prevailed for many, 
 many years, has been to kill a sheep for the crew 
 at certain stages of the journey up and down the 
 river. You will hear of it at Luxor ; they all expect 
 it. It need not necessarily be a sheep, but you 
 give so much money, and the crew buy a sheep or 
 a calf and slaughter it, and it is eaten for days, even 
 the bones themselves being utilized." 
 
 " It seems to me that Mahmoud said something 
 about this the other day, but I didn t understand 
 him, nor pay any particular attention to it ; don t 
 you remember, Van Rennsalaer?" 
 
 " No ; I have heard nothing about it, but I can 
 imagine the poor fellows would need something be 
 sides that rock-like black bread they stew up three 
 times a day. How many have you, Mr. Haswell, 
 in your crew ? " 
 
 " Seventeen all told eleven before the mast, as 
 it were, and the other six are the pilot or reis, the 
 steersman, four connected with the kitchen, dining- 
 room and laundry, then our dragoman, Selim." 
 
 "Our boat is smaller, I think. We have only 
 twelve, but even so there are plenty of mouths to 
 feed." 
 
 " How deliciously you cook your quail. I can t 
 get our people to do it right. They cook them to 
 death." 
 
 " That s the great trouble," said Margaret ; " we 
 only discovered the other day that they are dark
 
 160 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 meated and should be treated accordingly ; this is 
 the result." 
 
 " Have you tried shooting them yet ? " asked 
 Jack. 
 
 " No, we are not very ardent sportsmen. White 
 has a gun with him, but further than a few ducks 
 and pigeons, we have had no game of our own get 
 ting. Have you tried them at all? " 
 
 " Yes, Van Beuren and I have been out a few 
 times. It is so different from our methods of hunt 
 ing them at home that it is rather interesting. 
 You have a line of about twenty beaters and they 
 flush the birds by walking them up. They are 
 little chaps and not hard to hit, but excellent eat 
 ing, as you see." 
 
 " It s fun to try anything new," remarked Billie. 
 
 " That is a blase remark from one so young," 
 said Margaret with a twinkle in her eyes. 
 
 " From the look of your deck there must be 
 musical talent on board," remarked the Doctor. 
 
 " No talent, Doctor, but we all do chorus parts. 
 Mr. Brown also tells us in song about the Bowery 
 and other swell places in New York," answered 
 {Catherine. 
 
 " Yes, I am sorry to say, my brother s taste in 
 song is not as elevated as it might be," added 
 Sister Anne. 
 
 Billie had said almost nothing during the meal. 
 He had thought of drowning his sorrows in drink, 
 when he first heard that the Doctor was to come
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 161 
 
 to dinner, but, when assured by Margaret that this 
 was the only way they could pay him for his pro 
 fessional visits, he was somewhat mollified, so after 
 the meal was finished and they had all adjourned 
 to the deck, they had some jolly songs to both guitar 
 and piano, and Billie sang some of his specialties in 
 a very creditable manner. When the moon began 
 to tip the distant hills, all was quiet on the Am- 
 mon-Ra save the rhythmical breathing of the brown- 
 wrapped mummies on the lower deck and the 
 sighing of the breeze as it swished through the 
 rigging.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TOWARD evening on the following day they 
 came in sight of Luxor and Karnak. As they 
 neared the town, they were delighted to see their 
 country s flag floating from the top of a square 
 white building standing high over the river bank, 
 and, as they came opposite, two guns rang out on 
 the evening air. 
 
 " What is that, Selim ? " 
 
 " They are saluting your boat, sir. That is the 
 American Consul s house." 
 
 " Do you remember his name?" 
 
 " No, sir. He is an Egyptian appointed by the 
 American Consul at Cairo. You will see quite a 
 little of him while you are in Luxor, I think." 
 
 " Well, we ll give him two guns, anyway," and 
 Van Beuren slipped in a couple of cartridges and 
 fired into the air. 
 
 As they approached the bank beneath the town, 
 for there are no landing places on the Nile, they 
 observed a number of dahabeahs, and all along, in 
 groups of from five to fifteen, squatted the different 
 varieties of natives. Donkey boys, in blue gowns, 
 with their patient animals back of them, whose 
 noses were checked back to touch their throats, in 
 the effort to make them look attractive, Shikaris,
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 163 
 
 ready to tempt the lover of shooting into the sugar 
 cane for jackals, or the lentil fields for quail, sellers 
 of turkeys and fowl, their birds tied foot to foot, or 
 allowed to wander about under guard, then the 
 curio seller in various manifestations, all in blue or 
 black gowns with snowy turban or white capote. 
 
 The Ammon-Ra found a berth well up above the 
 town, and beyond the other boats. Every one stops 
 at Luxor for a week at least on the way up and 
 about the same time on the way down the river. 
 As they drifted into their position, they noticed 
 the handsome dahabeah Kinct-et-Nil, two boats 
 below them. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Haswell, isn t that the boat belonging 
 to the young Englishmen you introduced to us in 
 Cairo?" asked Margaret. 
 
 " Annersley and Villiers, you mean ? Yes, that is, 
 they were guests, as I understood it, of Sir Some 
 thing or other." 
 
 " When the Columbia comes we shall know quite 
 a number of people, won t we ? " said Katherine. 
 
 "As I remember it, Luxor was always the place 
 of greatest gaiety on the river, probably because 
 every one stops here long enough to get acquainted, 
 and there are enough Europeans to get up balls 
 and races and so on. Then, too, they always illumi 
 nate the boats at this place, have fireworks and all 
 that, you know," said Haswell. 
 
 " How jolly it must be," said Sister Anne. " I 
 wonder if they have churches here."
 
 164 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 "Yes, indeed, they do, an English church, a 
 Roman Catholic one, a hospital and all." 
 
 " I am so anxious to see Thebes and the tombs 
 of the Kings," said Sister Anne ; " they must be the 
 grandest relics on earth." 
 
 " Let me see," said Jack ; " there is Karnak to sec 
 funny, I never heard of Karnak until I came to 
 Egypt and Luxor on this side, with Thebes, and 
 all its temples and the tombs of the Kings, on the 
 other. Isn t that all, Charles? " 
 
 " Yes, I think so. It s ten years since my last 
 visit." 
 
 After dinner, Haswell and Van Beuren strolled 
 up to the Luxor Hotel and Gardens. The air was 
 heavy with the fragrance of the yellow acacia trees, 
 and the moon shone down through the feathery 
 fronds of the mimosa with a dimmed radiance. 
 
 " By Jove, Van, isn t she a beauty ? " exclaimed 
 Haswell, as two ladies, walking slowly, passed 
 them. 
 
 4< She is a stunner, but a kind of ethereal beauty ; 
 who does she remind me of? " 
 
 " The Lord knows ; but she has a most attractive 
 face Why, hello ! Villiers, how are you ? " 
 
 " How are you, Haswell, and Mr. - beg pardon, 
 but I have forgotten your name ? " 
 
 " Van Beuren." 
 
 " Ah, yes, thank you. It was a slight acquaint 
 ance, you know only met you once, I believe. 
 When did you come ? "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 165 
 
 " Just arrived and were taking a stroll up to the 
 hotel," answered Van. " Won t you join us?" 
 
 " Sorry, old chap, but we are with the ladies." 
 
 " Oh, all right, but tell me, who is that stunning 
 young woman with the older one? " 
 
 " Oh, that s Lady Wiltshire s companion ; odd 
 thing about her, quite a history, can t stop now- 
 come and see us, we shall be here two or three 
 days longer." 
 
 So they parted, and Haswell and Van went into 
 the quaint, rambling hotel, looked at the list of 
 guests, and started back again for the Ammon-Ra. 
 
 " By Jove, old man, that face bothers me. Who 
 in the devil does she resemble so much ? It makes 
 me feel creepy. I have certainly seen her before." 
 
 So they strolled leisurely down and joined the 
 others. They told of meeting Annersley and Vil- 
 liers, but nothing was said of the young woman. 
 
 Selim had engaged donkeys for the following 
 day, when the whole party were to start for Karnak, 
 that marvellous ruin, the most stupendous in the 
 world ! They spent three or four hours there. 
 They needed no local guide. Selim was a guide 
 book in himself. When they returned to the boat 
 for luncheon, Van looked up a number of data in 
 his Baedeker and Rawlinson, in order to substan 
 tiate or disprove some of Selim s statements, but he 
 found the dragoman exact in everything, dates, 
 hieroglyphics and all, and from then on they took 
 his word without question.
 
 166 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 In the afternoon they went to the temple of 
 Luxor, close to the water and still half buried in the 
 ruins of the old Roman dwellings, which cover and 
 partially protect a hundred temples in Egypt. 
 
 Just before dinner, the young English curate 
 called, in company with Mr. Slocum, the engineer 
 of the railroad which was slowly extending its lines 
 toward Luxor and Assouan. They brought invita 
 tions, in the shape of tickets, for the ball at the 
 hotel, and for the native races near the village, three 
 days later. The money obtained in this way was 
 to be devoted, so the curate informed them, to the 
 uses of the recently established hospital. They 
 took a number of tickets and promised to be pres 
 ent, at least at the races, which were to be of a 
 unique character, camel races, buffalo races, donkey 
 races and bishareen hurdle races. 
 
 " What a social centre Luxor seems to be," said 
 Katherineat dinner; " balls and races and all that." 
 
 "Well, you see, with this comfortable hotel a 
 good many invalids come and spend the whole 
 winter here. The climate is much more salubrious 
 than that of Cairo," answered Haswell. 
 
 The day following, the party started for Thebes. 
 They left the dahabeah at nine o clock and crossed 
 to the opposite side in their own boat. The don 
 keys, with AH and their lunch, went in separate 
 boats. Arrived on the other side, they found the 
 water so shoal that the boatmen had to carry them 
 ashore. Miss Brown refused, at first, to be a party
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 167 
 
 to so undignified a procedure, but finding that it 
 was the only means of landing, she was forced to 
 yield and was grabbed up by two brawny Nubians 
 and carried to the sand bar, amidst peals of laughter 
 from her comrades and frantic cries from herself. 
 Her fear of falling into the water caused her to 
 embrace her sable carriers hysterically, one of whom 
 had a severe fit of coughing after landing his charge, 
 as the result of her efforts at self-preservation. 
 
 Everything was soon forgotten, however, as they 
 galloped along over the sands and up to the higher 
 ground, where suddenly the wonderful Colossi of 
 Memnon came into view. How quiet and dignified 
 they looked sitting bolt upright, with their palms 
 flat on their knees ! The party verged off to the 
 right and visited the great Ramesium. 
 
 At one o clock they found themselves in the holy 
 of holies in the Medinet Abou, that great temple 
 and residence of the greatest of the Rameses. AH 
 had spread two large rugs, and had arranged seats for 
 the whole party with stones fallen from the temple 
 wall. It seemed so strange to them to be lunching 
 a rAmericain beneath the hieroglyphs and bas 
 reliefs carved in the stone five thousand years ago ! 
 To stop and think, how it must have looked in 
 those distant years, was to conjure up fairy-land, 
 but, as Haswell observed, it was better to see it to 
 day, for they, of five thousand years ago, were a 
 cruel, inhuman lot. There were but two classes, 
 the King with his satellites, and the people who
 
 1 68 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 were slaves, and these two were separated by an 
 immeasurable gulf. 
 
 After luncheon, they wandered about the ruins, 
 and finally decided to return to the boat. Margaret 
 was not with them to-day, but she expected to go 
 on all their future expeditions. 
 
 Billie had offered to stop on the boat with her for 
 company, but she had declined his offer, saying that 
 she would not have him miss seeing the temples for 
 anything. 
 
 The party had not been gone long, however, 
 before a caller was announced, and Dr. Van Renn- 
 salaer appeared. 
 
 "Why, Miss Jones, how do you do? I rather ex 
 pected to find you out with the rest." 
 
 " And is that why you called?" asked Margaret 
 saucily. 
 
 " No, I am a wicked prevaricator, but I ll tell the 
 truth now. I watched your boats going off, and, 
 not seeing you with the rest, I concluded that you 
 had remained behind, and so I came over." 
 
 " Well, that s better ; but why are you not sight 
 seeing to-day yourself? " 
 
 " I don t know, unless it was that I preferred 
 coming to see you." 
 
 "Why, you are making up for your first remark, 
 and with compound interest. Where did your party 
 go, and how is your patient, Mr. White ? " 
 
 " Every one on the boat, including White, went 
 to Karnak to-day."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 169 
 
 " Have you seen Egypt before, Dr. Van Renn- 
 salaer? " 
 
 "No, and I am immensely interested." 
 
 " Well, why under the sun didn t you go to see 
 ruins to-day, instead of coming to a little wreck 
 like me? " 
 
 " Why, I don t know. I wanted to see how your 
 foot was coming on." 
 
 " Are you always so conscientious about your 
 patients, Doctor? " 
 
 " No, that is, yes, but your injury was so peculiar, 
 that I became deeply interested, you know." 
 
 " Oh, look, there comes another dahabeah ; what 
 a lot of them there are here now." 
 
 Doctor Van, as they had begun to call him, was 
 already deeply in love with his little patient, and 
 the slightest encouragement at this time would have 
 precipitated matters at once. With a woman s 
 perception Margaret had seen this, but, knowing 
 that it would probably be but a fleeting feeling on 
 his part, and feeling sure she had no response to it, 
 sought to spare the young man any humiliation. 
 Therefore she skilfully changed the conversation 
 and summoned John with cool drinks and refresh 
 ments. The interlude brought the young man 
 back to mundane things, and shortly afterward 
 he took his leave. Shortly after three o clock Mar 
 garet heard the boatmen singing as they rowed, 
 and, looking over the side, of the Ammon-Ra, she 
 saw the party returning.
 
 i;o AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Well, you missed it this time, Margaret," called 
 Billie, as they came up to the side. 
 
 " Oh, I have had a very nice time myself, and 
 not alone either," answered Margaret. 
 
 " Why, have you had visitors ? " asked Van Beu- 
 ren. 
 
 "Yes, or no rather, not visitors, but a visitor and 
 a very nice fellow, too." 
 
 "Van Rennsalaer, I ll bet," said Billie to himself. 
 
 " Who was your caller, the curate ? " asked 
 Katherine. 
 
 " No, the cure aches," quickly answered the 
 young lady. 
 
 " Well done, Margaret ! I see it ! Van Renn 
 salaer! But look here, was it a tryst? This is 
 getting serious. You don t want to go to Phila 
 delphia to live, do you ? " said Haswell. 
 
 " I don t know ; New York is rather gay for me." 
 
 "And a doctor s wife, too ! " 
 
 " What was the matter with him ; why didn t he 
 go to explore ruins to-day ? " 
 
 " I don t know, I am sure, but he spent most of 
 the morning here, that I can vouch for." 
 
 All the rest of the party went to their rooms to 
 get the dust from their faces and clothes but Billie 
 lingered behind. 
 
 "Margaret, do you like Van Rennsalaer? " he 
 asked in an anxious tone. 
 
 " Why, yes, I like him very much, don t you ? " 
 
 " No, I don t ; I don t know why, but I can t stand
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 171 
 
 him. You don t like him very much, do you ? " and 
 Billie sat down in a chair near Margaret s head. 
 
 " Well, that depends on what you call very much," 
 replied Margaret, blushing in spite of herself. 
 
 " Well, I mean you you don t love him." 
 
 " Why, you foolish child, no, of course not ; I have 
 only known him a little while." 
 
 " Oh ! " 
 
 "You must know lots about a man before you 
 love him." 
 
 " Margaret, I hate to bother you, but I am I feel 
 that I must have a serious talk with you for I like 
 you very much Don t you see? I have fallen in 
 love with you, dear, and, if it sends me home to 
 morrow, I must tell you now, for I am so unhappy. 
 Just tell me to shut up, you know, and I will under 
 stand. I am half crazy, anyhow, but I am fearfully 
 in love, and what ! " 
 
 Margaret had flushed to her hair at the very first 
 words and was sure that she wanted to cry. She 
 reached out her hand and took Billie s in hers, and 
 then she buried her head in the pillow and began 
 to cry in earnest. Billie was frightened. He had 
 never seen a woman cry before. lie leaned forward 
 and kissed her lightly on the temple, and then fled 
 precipitately, not knowing whether he had been ac 
 cepted or rejected. Margaret recovered herself in a 
 few moments, and, in turn, wondered whether she 
 was engaged or not. She rather thought she was. 
 She had grown to be very fond of the merry, care-
 
 i;2 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 less, pugnacious boy. He was far from the ideal 
 she had pictured to her girlish fancy a few years 
 before, but she had long ago come to the conclusion 
 that the perfect man existed only in the story 
 books, and that Billie was one with as few faults as 
 the average, and was good enough for her, anyhow. 
 Their ages were nearly the same. Neither had been 
 seriously in love before and she felt that she loved 
 him dearly. 
 
 They did not meet again until dinner, each striv 
 ing hard to hide their embarrassment, and feeling 
 that, at the first opportunity, the subject would be 
 brought up again and settled. At the meal there 
 was none of the usual charring between them, an 
 occurrence so unusual that Jack observed: 
 
 " I think this is the first meal that we have sat 
 down to since we started in which you and Billie 
 haven t had at least one or two quarrels, Margaret. 
 For my part, I miss it ; it is like serving lettuce 
 with no dressing. Arc you pining for dear old 
 Balford, or thinking of the good-looking Medico?" 
 
 " I don t know, but I may be both, longing for 
 the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a 
 voice that is still sailing toward Cairo." 
 
 "The hand, then, referring to the Doctor s mas 
 sage, nest cepasl" laughed Jack. 
 
 " As for you, Sweet William, you looked just 
 now as though cruel Fate had taken away your 
 last friend," said Van.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 173 
 
 " Well, I wish you would change the subject, it s 
 too personal," said Billie testily. 
 
 " Why, William, that does not sound like you; 
 you are generally quite amiable," said Sister Anne. 
 
 " To-morrow s Sunday, who s going to church? " 
 said Haswell, wishing to relieve the evident embar 
 rassment of Billie ; " and remember that in this 
 country no one can say, Yes, if it don t storm. " 
 
 " I shall go," said Katherine. " When does 
 church begin ? " 
 
 " Ten-thirty ; suppose we have breakfast at nine." 
 
 "All right." 
 
 On the following morning Katherine and Jack 
 started for the Gardens of the Luxor Hotel, in 
 which the little English church is located. The re 
 lations between these two, while decidedly strained, 
 were still friendly enough in the presence of others. 
 Jack suspected the cause of Balford s sudden de 
 parture, but, knowing nothing with any certainty, 
 he said nothing, nor would he in any event, for he 
 had long since come to the conclusion that his wife 
 did not love him, and he suffered in silence, and 
 rarely entered into the conversation or the jollity of 
 the others. His unhappiness was eating his life 
 away. 
 
 They walked up the avenue of acacias toward 
 the hotel. It was a lovely tropical day. The air 
 was laden with the heavy perfume of the yellow 
 flowers, and the birds on every side were sounding 
 out their notes, in very gladness to be alive. The
 
 174 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 cry of the pretty crested hoopoe, the dreamy note 
 of the wood pigeon and the hoarser cawing of the 
 crows all formed a sleepy monotone. They crossed 
 by the corner of the hotel to the extensive gardens 
 in the rear. The superb Bougainvillea, climbing to 
 the very tops of the palms, hung down in graceful 
 festoons, covered with gorgeous flowers, and form 
 ing many a bower for the rustic seats beneath 
 them. Roses were there in profusion, the great 
 American Beauty, the Gloire de Paris, and about 
 and above them the gentle rustle of the waving 
 palm fronds, spoke of rest and peace. 
 
 As they turned into the main path leading to the 
 chapel, the little bell was tolling out the summons 
 to prayer. A lady dressed in black was sitting, 
 half screened by the foliage, on one side of the 
 path. She seemed to be reading, and, as they 
 came quite close, she lifted her face from her 
 book. 
 
 " Merciful God ! Clare ! " was the smothered 
 ejaculation from Oswald, as he staggered and 
 stopped. 
 
 His wife turned to see what had caused him to 
 halt. His face frightened her. It was colourless, 
 and his eyes were staring and fixed. He groped 
 for support. 
 
 " Oswald ! Jack, what is the matter ? " and she 
 followed his fixed eyeballs to the beautiful face 
 looking up at them in mild surprise. 
 
 " Nothing that is my heart something trouble*
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 175 
 
 me," and he would have fallen but for the support 
 of a strong arm from behind. 
 
 "Excuse me, Madame, is your husband ill?" 
 came a hearty voice. " Allow me to help you to the 
 hotel," and Jack permitted himself to be led away 
 with occasional frightened glances backward and 
 an effort to clear his eyes. He entered the house 
 and the kindly Englishman insisted on his taking a 
 little brandy and water. 
 
 He had soon pulled himself together, but desired 
 to be left alone. So they placed him on a sofa, and 
 all left him. Katherine went over to the little 
 church for a few moments. As soon as they had 
 left him, Jack sprang to his feet and began to pace 
 the small room. 
 
 "Clare! alive and here! My God! Can it be? 
 Can I be wrong ? It is Clare. She does not know 
 me or else she has heard of this marriage and scorns 
 me. I must see her. I must tell her of all this 
 horrid mistake. How can it be Clare? She was 
 drowned on that fearful night! They saw the boat 
 capsize. Oh, God be merciful," and with a groan 
 of unutterable anguish he sank to the sofa, only to 
 rise from it again, as he gasped : 
 
 " Clare s eyes, her mouth, it must be she ; I, her 
 husband, should know ; I will go and ask her, I will 
 tell her," and as he staggered, half crazed, toward 
 the door, it opened and the kindly Englishman 
 stood there, rotund and rubicund, with the lady in 
 black at his side. With a bound Jack was at her
 
 176 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 side, his hand upon hers, as he plead with her in 
 heart-rending tones. 
 
 " Clare, my darling, my wife, speak to me, speak 
 to Jack, your husband, who loves you." 
 
 "Here, here, young man, calm yourself; what 
 does all this mean?" and the bluff Englishman, 
 with serious face, took Jack firmly by the shoulders 
 and forced him back. 
 
 " Miss Grant, do you know this man ? " 
 
 " No, Sir John, I have never seen him before." 
 
 Jack started back at the voice her voice, too. 
 He gazed at her for a moment in dumb surprise, 
 then, as the door closed upon them, he gave himself 
 up to hopeless despair. 
 
 A few moments later, Katherine came to him, 
 and, after asking if he felt better, they left the 
 house and walked back toward the Amtnon-Ra. 
 
 Jack was dazed, stupefied. He wondered if he 
 could be in his right mind. Could this be an hallu 
 cination ? No, he was there, walking with Kathe 
 rine down the acacia-lined alley. He felt the hard 
 ground under his feet. He heard the birds. It 
 was himself. There could be no doubt on that 
 point. Who was she, then ? Clare Clare, his 
 heart told him Yet she denied him and she was 
 called Miss Grant. 
 
 Katherine spoke not a word. She knew that 
 some unexpected meeting had taken place, but 
 she had noticed in an instant that the recognition 
 was on one side only. The woman had simply a puz-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 177 
 
 zled, surprised look, but Jack s face she could never 
 forget. She would say nothing, she decided, but 
 would wait for some explanation from him. 
 
 Jack went directly to his room. He had deter 
 mined on one thing. He would go to the hotel as 
 soon as he could. He would look up this English 
 man and find out about Miss Grant. He must do 
 so. He could not rest, and if by some miracle it 
 should be Clare ! " Oh, God, give me strength," 
 he prayed. 
 
 On the following morning, after a sleepless night, 
 he made an excuse of illness and allowed the others 
 to make a second visit to Thebes. As soon as they 
 were gone, he started for the hotel. As he passed 
 up and along the bank, he noticed that one of the 
 dahabeahs had left, and in a moment he knew that 
 she was gone. The Kinet-el-Nil was no longer in 
 her previous position. Anxious beyond words, he 
 asked a passing dragoman what had become of the 
 boat. 
 
 " She has gone up the river in this morning early 
 to Assouan." 
 
 " Thank God," he murmured. 
 
 He felt the greatest relief at this, as now he could 
 see her again. He determined to proceed to the 
 hotel and find the curate, or some one, who could 
 tell him something of the party. He must talk to 
 some one who knew the Wiltshires and find out 
 the history of Miss Grant.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MONDAY night had been selected for the illumi 
 nation of the Ammon-Ra. All the morning the 
 boatmen were busy carrying great bundles of fresh 
 sugar-cane and palm fronds on board, and had tied 
 them gracefully along the sides and deck of the 
 boat. 
 
 Osier crates, filled with many coloured lanterns, 
 were brought up from the space under the deck, 
 and these were strung along the sides, in three rows, 
 and up the mast and great, pointed boom. The 
 colours alternated red, white and blue, and, at the 
 extreme point of the boom, was a deftly made 
 cluster, looking, when lit, like pendulous drops of 
 light. 
 
 When the party returned from Thebes that after 
 noon, everything was ready for the evening s dis 
 play, and the boat looked like a floating bower. 
 
 Selim had arranged to have her pulled out and 
 up the river for a half mile or more, and then to 
 float back with the tide past the town. This was 
 done while they were at dinner, and immediately 
 afterward they all stepped into the large felucca and 
 were rowed off some fifty yards, and then floated 
 down with the boat. 
 
 " Isn t it like a dream of fairy land?" exclaimed
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 179 
 
 Margaret ; " the water is like a mirror, and see, there 
 is the moon just coming up over the hills." 
 
 " It is the most beautiful sight I have ever wit 
 nessed," said Sister Anne enthusiastically. 
 
 Just then the crew began to chant a weird Nu 
 bian boat song, which added to the fascination of 
 the scene. None of them felt like conversation. 
 Billie and Margaret sat beside each other, and, as 
 the boat glided silently down the stream, Billie 
 slipped Margaret s hand into his own, and she left 
 it there. It gave her a little sense of protection, a 
 feeling that she was not so far from home after all. 
 
 "Look," said Haswell in a subdued voice, and in 
 the direction he pointed they could see the sombre 
 and majestic columns of the Luxor temple on the 
 river s bank. Grim and silent sentinels of the ages, 
 they stood, as they have stood, for thousands of 
 years. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Soon rock 
 ets and Roman candles began to be set off from the 
 Ammon-Ra. As this had been agreed upon as the 
 signal for them to return, they were rowed back. 
 As the great boat came nearer to shore, she passed 
 the other dahabeahs against the bank, and Mr. Car 
 ter called out to them from the Columbia : 
 
 " That was the most weird, and, at the same time, 
 beautiful display I have ever seen." 
 
 " Indeed it was," added the Doctor ; " we looked 
 for Cleopatra under the palm canopy." 
 
 " Won t you all come over and have a little re 
 freshment?" asked Carter.
 
 1 8o AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " Thanks, perhaps some of us will walk down." 
 
 Soon they reached their position again, and four 
 of them, guided by one of the boatmen, with a 
 large lantern, walked down the path. They were 
 welcomed by the party of the Columbia and re 
 paired to the upper deck. 
 
 "Couldn t your husband come down, Mrs. Os 
 wald ? " 
 
 " No, he has not been feeling well lately, and does 
 not go out at night." 
 
 " Have you made many acquaintances coming up 
 the river?" 
 
 " No, very few ; I think that you of the Columbia 
 and two Englishmen on the Kinet-el-Nil are the 
 only ones." 
 
 " Oh, did you meet that party ? " 
 
 " Only the two men ; they are old friends of Mr. 
 Haswell, and he introduced them in Cairo." 
 
 " The Doctor and I are much interested in that 
 party. You know they lay right behind us, and 
 just as we were about to see something of them, 
 they pulled up stakes and left." 
 
 " What a pity," said Margaret. " Was it the beau 
 tiful companion who excited your curiosity?" 
 
 "Yes, Miss Jones, it was. Will, here, saw her 
 once, and has been trying in every way to get ac 
 quainted, and only yesterday he had a chance and 
 met the men." 
 
 " How was that ? " 
 
 " We were over at Karnak, and so was this Wilt-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 181 
 
 shire party. It was late in the afternoon and they 
 had no guide or dragoman. As it was Sunday, I 
 suppose they hud just gone out for a walk, but, 
 at any rate, they got lost and had to enquire of us 
 how to get back. In this way we became acquainted 
 with the men, who were walking, and when later we 
 parted at the gate of the Luxor hotel, they asked us 
 to call on them. Then when we woke this morning, 
 presto, the ship had passed in the night, and Mr. Car 
 ter is broken hearted." 
 
 "And you didn t meet the ladies?" asked Billie. 
 
 " No, we got nothing but a Good-evening, as 
 they passed." 
 
 "Well, now that you have gone so far, tell the 
 rest," said Carter. 
 
 " There is not much left to tell, except that, later 
 in the evening, we met the men at the hotel and 
 had a drink with them, and discovered that the 
 beautiful companion is an American, with a charm 
 ing voice, and with some dark mysterious history. 
 Of course, this wove a veil of romance about the 
 lady, and has increased Mr. Carter s interest ten 
 fold." 
 
 " How exciting," said Katherine. 
 
 "We shall all be anxious to meet them up the 
 river," said Haswell ; "what you have said 
 interests me also, for I passed this same lady in the 
 Luxor Gardens one evening, and I have been per 
 plexed ever since in trying to think where I hav< 
 seen her before. Strong resemblances are common
 
 1 82 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 enough, but in this case, I have a feeling that I 
 have met her or beea in the same place with her 
 for some time." 
 
 " Are you going to the races to-morrow ? " asked 
 Billie. 
 
 " Yes, if White is well enough ; he has had 
 another set back, and has some fever again." 
 
 Billie had been very generous to-night. He had 
 yielded Margaret to the doctor at once, and the 
 latter had taken her aft to see how they kept their 
 live stock. They had been absent for ten minutes 
 or more, when a commotion was heard, then 
 groans, and presumably Arabic imprecations, fol 
 lowed by peals of merry laughter, and Margaret 
 and the doctor re-appeared. 
 
 " Oh, dear, you should have been there, the poor 
 old fellow ! He will have indigestion for a month. 
 I believe you were trying to make business for 
 yourself, Doctor." 
 
 " What s it all about ? " asked Carter. 
 
 " Why, the doctor wanted to show me your 
 turkeys and things, and as we came down from that 
 tank, or whatever it is, the doctor stepped or 
 jumped to help me, but what he took for a sack of 
 potatoes or a bench, was the poor old pilot asleep. 
 The doctor thought the deck was moving off, or 
 some old Egyptian God was after him, I think, and 
 in the midst of the confusion, poor Mr. White put 
 his head out of the window just below and wanted 
 to know what, in the name of Rameses, the row
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 183 
 
 was about. I think those were his words, were 
 they not, Doctor?" and Margaret and the whole 
 party went off again into peals of laughter. 
 
 " I didn t see anything so hilariously funny about 
 it," said Dr. Van Rennsalaer; "the old fellow got 
 hold of my leg and I thought he would draw his 
 knife. You can t tell what these people will do 
 when aroused." 
 
 " Yes, he certainly was aroused," said Haswell ; 
 " he was probably dreaming of home and the little 
 ones at the time." 
 
 " Yes, of how they would climb up to get the 
 first kiss, as papa entered the door, and then came 
 the rude awakening. I wonder where his nearest 
 family resides," said Billie. 
 
 " William, I am shocked," said HaswelL 
 
 " Well, it s a fact ; Selim told me that these boat 
 men have families all along the river, respectable, 
 well-behaved families." 
 
 "The old fellow thought the whole outfit was 
 descending upon him, avalanche style," said 
 Carter. 
 
 As they walked back toward the Ammon-Ra, 
 they heard strains of music proceeding from their 
 own deck. 
 
 " What in the dickens is going on? " asked Billie. 
 
 " Holy smoke ! look at the dancing girls, the 
 Gewase dance, as I am breathing, and what ! 
 Sister Anne aiding and abetting." 
 
 Sure enough, they could see from the bank two
 
 184 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 dusky dancers, all bedecked with spangles and tin 
 sel and doing their best in gyrations and poses, to 
 the music of two native performers. In front of 
 them, as spectators, sat Miss Brown, Jack and Van, 
 with Selim as master of ceremonies. Sister Anne 
 was evidently ill at ease, and, immediately the 
 others reached the deck, she exclaimed : 
 
 " Oh, Margaret, Selim has got these women to do 
 their religious dances. Isn t it interesting?" 
 
 There was a quick interchange of glances 
 between the men, and Billie was seized with a bad 
 coughing fit. They all sat down to look on. The 
 women redoubled their contortions, and after a few 
 moments Sister Anne went below, in order that 
 she might, while her impressions were still fresh, 
 write a full account of the novel sight to the Rev. 
 Mr. Everett, to be incorporated perhaps into his 
 new book, "The Various Forms of Religion as I 
 Have Seen Them." 
 
 " Is that really a religious dance ? " asked Mar 
 garet of Katherine, when they, too, had gone down 
 to the cabin. 
 
 " My dear, it is, as I understand it, the dance 
 that every one sees up the Nile, but in our country 
 and everywhere, except in the Orient, it is consid 
 ered quite immoral," answered Katherine. 
 
 "Oh, how frightful." 
 
 " It seems most vulgar to us, but it is one of the 
 things to see, and almost everybody docs see it 
 once."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 185 
 
 " Do you suppose that Sister Anne will really 
 write to Mr. Everett about it ? " 
 
 "Very likely, but it will never be quoted in his 
 book." 
 
 The afternoon following they all took donkeys 
 and started for the races. These were to be held 
 on the large plain a mile east of the town. On their 
 way they passed many natives, leading camels or 
 driving buffalo ahead of them. Few horses were 
 seen. Arrived at the grounds they found their 
 seats on the primitive grand stand. Crowds of 
 Arabs, Bishareens from the Soudan, Nubian boat 
 men, and nondescript Greeks, with a sprinkling of 
 Europeans, surrounded the lower end of the course. 
 The races consisted of flat races for donkeys, ridden 
 by natives, the same with camels and buffalo, 
 wrestling on donkey back by boys, Bishareen hurdle 
 and sack races, and so on. 
 
 Billie had brought his camera and stood out in 
 front to catch some pictures. The clerks of the 
 course were the Curate and the Engineer of the 
 railroad. It was interesting to watch the natives of 
 high and low degree making their books, and the 
 little boys laying hard-earned perquisites on their 
 favourites. 
 
 " Truly the spirit of gambling is inherent in the 
 human race," remarked Haswell to Miss Brown. 
 
 "Yes," said Jack, "it is fair to suppose that the 
 serpent, in the Garden of Eden, had a bet on the 
 result of his little apple trick."
 
 186 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " I have such a horror of gambling, though," 
 answered Sister Anne. 
 
 " Well, it s hard to say where gambling begins, 
 Miss Brown. For instance, I heard you, not long 
 since, making a bet of six pairs of gloves that you 
 were right in a quotation. Now that was equiva 
 lent to betting six dollars against six that your 
 opinion was the right one. Apply the same bet to 
 a donkey race, and you might call it gambling. It 
 seems to be merely a matter of degree," said Van 
 Beuren. 
 
 " No, gambling is when one bets on cards or 
 horse racing," answered Sister Anne. 
 
 " How about the football game, or the yacht 
 race ? "asked Billie. 
 
 " Don t let us discuss the subject further," said 
 his sister ; " go and take some more pictures." 
 
 " They re off," cried some one, and way up the 
 course they could see a cloud of dust, and soon six 
 unwieldy-looking objects lumbered down towards 
 them. It was the camel race, and the long undulat 
 ing gallop of the beasts, with their turbaned and 
 excited riders, belabouring the creatures merci 
 lessly as they came on, was a novel and interesting 
 sight. 
 
 Three of the contestants seemed to be neck 
 and neck, when suddenly, one camel becoming 
 fractious, veered off sharply toward the stand. 
 There was a cry of caution and considerable con 
 fusion, as the women tried to escape. The crea-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 187 
 
 ture ran obliquely from his course and struck one 
 of the uprights of the stand. Luckily, in falling, 
 the angry beast tripped and fell sidewise, but was 
 immediately seized and held by a number of Arabs, 
 not, however, before he had inflicted an ugly bite 
 on the shoulder of one of them, and had knocked 
 the breath out of another with his broad, flat feet. 
 
 This incident, though devoid of serious results, 
 made the ladies nervous, and they decided to wit 
 ness the next two races, which were scheduled as 
 the Bishareen hurdle and flat races, and then return 
 to the boat. 
 
 "Aren t they peculiar-looking creatures, Marga 
 ret ? " said Katherine, as a half-dozen men, with dust- 
 coloured sheets as clothes and enormous shocks of 
 hair, walked past. 
 
 " Those are Bishareen Arabs, Mrs. Oswald. Don t 
 you remember the fuzzy wuzzy of Rudyard Kip 
 ling ? Those are types." 
 
 " Oh, yes, but are they not straight and symmetri 
 cal and they have thin lips and fine features. Where 
 do they live, Mr. Haswell?" 
 
 " In the Soudan ; they look exactly like the 
 desert, don t they ? " 
 
 " They remind me a great deal of our Indians, 
 except for the hair," said Margaret. 
 
 There were four five-foot hurdles erected at inter 
 vals, and six tall young fellows essayed to contest. 
 They only knew that there were some English 
 shillings, or Egyptian piastres, at the last hurdle
 
 1 88 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 for the first one to get there, and, as they started, 
 they looked in the distance like some queer two- 
 footed beasts. 
 
 " How beautifully they jump," said Mr. Carter, 
 who had just joined them. 
 
 " I hope Mr. Brown can get some good pictures." 
 
 " He has had excellent results so far," said Jack. 
 
 " Look, look, that tall one must have been hold 
 ing back ; I noticed him almost the last, and now he 
 leads them all," cried Margaret. 
 
 " Bravo, the tall one has won ; he must have been 
 coached." 
 
 " They don t wear any more clothes in track 
 athletics than we do, do they ? " said Billie. " Then, 
 too, I watched them as they took each hurdle, and 
 the position in clearing them was exactly the same 
 as at our intercollegiate games." 
 
 "Well, when you analyse it, why shouldn t they 
 know as well, or better than we, how to save every 
 ounce of strength and use it to the best purpose. 
 They are, compared to us, what the lynx is to the 
 domestic cat or the wolf to the dog. They proba 
 bly depend somewhat on their natural gifts, 
 muscular and mental, for their livelihood." 
 
 " I think there is a good deal in what you say, 
 Van," added Jack. 
 
 " Well, what do you say, ladies, to our starting 
 back? The buffalo race is next on the programme, 
 and, although I don t apprehend any such accident as 
 the camel affair, yet you all expressed a wish to go."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 189 
 
 " I am ready," answered Margaret. 
 
 " Let us all go ; we ve seen the most interesting 
 part already." 
 
 They made their way to the entrance and, mount 
 ing their donkeys, were soon jogging back to the town. 
 
 The sun was shining down in its afternoon splen 
 dour. In front of them, as they moved along, lay 
 the squalid little town. They could see the obelisk 
 of Luxor temple in the distance. Between them 
 and it were the waving palms, with their ceaseless, 
 sleepy movement, the spider-web mimosa, and the 
 odds and ends of a faded grandeur, here a goat-headed 
 sphinx with body and legs all gone, there a hiero 
 glyph-covered slab half-buried in the sand, and all 
 round were mud walls enclosing a mud hovel, about 
 which, children, goats, chickens and donkeys 
 gambolled, slept, ate and lived in one heterogeneous 
 combination. What a contrast to the Egypt of old, 
 the Egypt centre of the world, the Egypt with its 
 million upon millions of inhabitants ! 
 
 It makes one wonder whether, within the next 
 few thousand years, civilisation, and all it implies, 
 will, still travelling westward, come around again to 
 this cradle of the nations, and then what ! 
 
 That night the ball at the Luxor Hotel took 
 place. 
 
 " Think of it," said Margaret, " a fancy dress 
 ball at Luxor." 
 
 Mr. Carter and Doctor Van called for them and 
 they all walked up to the hotel. Although none of
 
 190 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 them were in costume, they found the ball full of 
 all kinds of possibilities for pleasure. In the quad 
 rille, in which the Doctor and Margaret found 
 themselves, were Cleopatra and a donkey boy, a 
 Syce and a Pasha. 
 
 Billie was introduced to a young French girl who 
 was dressed as a fellaheen woman. He discovered 
 at once that she spoke little or no English. Here 
 was a rare opportunity to air his limited knowledge 
 of French. " Bon Soir " was easy enough, but when 
 she replied : " Bon Soir ; vous $tes etranger h Luxor, 
 nest ct pas ?" \\. was different. Billie thought for 
 an instant and then answered, " Our," thinking this 
 would be safe but inwardly praying that his partner 
 would dance and say no more. He saw, too late, 
 that he had gotten himself into trouble with his 
 foolish "Bon Soir" After a moment of embarrass 
 ing silence his partner said in an injured voice: 
 
 " Cest dommage de perdre cctte valse ? " 
 
 Billie was floored ! He looked helplessly about 
 him, and then the happy thought came that he had 
 said " Oui " the last time and that variety was called 
 for. So putting on his best Parisian accent, he 
 boldly said :" Non" His partner looked at him 
 with wondering eyes, and a moment later the floor 
 manager brought up a new comer and Billie, hot 
 and embarrassed, clumsily withdrew. 
 
 Katherine did not dance, and for most of the even 
 ing Mr. Carter was her cavalier, the curate and engi 
 neer filling in occasional gaps. Jack pleaded fatigue
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 191 
 
 and remained on the boat. He had been far from 
 well lately. A spirit of unrest had seized him and 
 had worked on both mind and body to a point where 
 he had been of little use to himself or those about 
 him. He knew this perfectly and made brave efforts 
 to shake off the depression. That face in the gar 
 den haunted him day and night, and he longed to be 
 gone from the place and follow. 
 
 When asked by Van he stated frankly that he did 
 not feel at all himself and thought the bracing air 
 of Assouan would help him. Van knew that some 
 thing, the exact nature of which he was ignorant, 
 was sapping the spirit, even the life, of his old friend. 
 His conjecture and that of Haswell was that he 
 was not happy in his second marriage, but further 
 than this general proposition, they were in the dark. 
 
 The following morning found them skimming 
 along with a favouring breeze toward Komombos. 
 Late in the afternoon, they were within sight of 
 the propylons of Edfoo temple. The sun was sink 
 ing, and the massive gateway had taken on the 
 brilliant purple-pink colouring so characteristic of 
 Egypt. The Ammon-Ra tied up at the bank, and 
 most of the party rode a mile inland to inspect the 
 grand old temple.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FIVE days later, the Amnwn-Ra approached 
 Assouan and the first cataract of the Nile. The 
 night previous, they had tied up near a small vil 
 lage a few miles below, not having been able to push 
 on further on account of the failing wind. 
 
 Almost as soon as the sun had dissipated the 
 darkness, Jack Oswald was on deck, nervous and 
 excited at the prospect of again coming in sight of 
 the Kinet-el-Nil. 
 
 Selim had told him that it would be noon before 
 they could hope to reach the island of Elephantine, 
 where all the dahabeahs lay moored. Jack sat on 
 one of the divans and gazed dreamily at the water 
 and shore as they coursed along, now so close as 
 almost to touch, and again following the channel 
 out to midstream. 
 
 On the bank above, as they sailed slowly by, stood 
 a solitary figure. A long black gown enveloped his 
 form. His head was incased in a snow-white turban. 
 In front of him lay a soft mat. His back was 
 toward the river. He was looking toward the grey- 
 yellow hills, which separate the Nile Valley from 
 the Arabian Desert. He was looking toward the 
 slowly rising sun. It was a Moslem at prayer. 
 Suddenly, with a graceful movement, he fell to his
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 193 
 
 knees. His head struck the mat in front, and he 
 remained for some moments in an attitude of entire 
 self-abasement. As suddenly again, and without 
 the use of his hands, he resumed the upright pose 
 and stood erect. Again and again he prostrated 
 himself. At last he gathered together his mat and 
 staff, and, with slow and solemn step and mien, pro 
 ceeded on his way. His prayer had gone forth to 
 God and Mecca. A group of the fellaheen, men, 
 women and children, went trooping by on the nar 
 row path at the river s edge. A string of camels, 
 two or three daintily stepping donkeys, and a couple 
 of jackal-looking dogs accompanied the party. The 
 women were clothed in long, black mantles, reaching 
 to the ground. Nothing was visible but the eyes. 
 Their feet were bare. One of them descended to 
 the water s edge and disclosed her brown, sturdy, 
 well-shaped legs. The boys were romping along in 
 light blue cotton gowns their only garment; a small, 
 white, close-fitting capote completing the costume. 
 It was a family proceeding to the day s work in the 
 field. As they trudged, they chanted some wild 
 Arab love song. The boys chased along the bank 
 and shouted, " Backsheesh, backsheesh, Howadje." 
 Jack did not feel like talking, but during the 
 morning the rest of the party seemed in the best of 
 spirits. As they approached the town, they noticed 
 the collection of white buildings along the river 
 front to the left, and the bugle note ringing out on 
 the still air called their attention to the dusky, red
 
 194 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 fezzed soldiers, on one of the parade grounds, of 
 what is becoming Egypt s formidable army. At 
 this moment, Selim came to Haswell and asked if 
 he could speak to him. They both went aft, and 
 soon Haswell returned. 
 
 " Jack, you ought to come and see what has hap 
 pened, but no, I will tell you. Do you remember 
 at dinner last evening, we heard a sudden jar just 
 before we tied up. Well, the tiller broke. You 
 know it s that unwieldy iron affair. They couldn t 
 fix it. The rudder post had gone down out of 
 sight in its socket, so the old pilot has kept a man 
 lashed down there ever since, to obey orders as 
 regards port and starboard, with two of those large 
 oars, also lashed to the old rudder. Selim says that 
 had there been any but a favourable breeze, we 
 would have been obliged to stay a few miles below 
 here, until a tug or steamer could have picked us 
 up." 
 
 " Why, he must have been in the water a good 
 part of the time." 
 
 " He was, but you know it only lasted from day 
 break until now." 
 
 They had almost reached their mooring. The 
 small forest of masts indicated the location of other 
 dahabeahs, and high on the hill beyond, the old 
 fort, relic of the Soudan war, looked down upon the 
 town, a sullen reminder of the bloody past. As 
 they neared the island, Selim called attention to a 
 bright-coloured, canopied boat which he told them
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 195 
 
 had just come through the cataract. The Nubian 
 boatmen were chanting a love song. The music 
 was wilder but more harmonious than anything 
 they had yet heard, and seemed to fit the rugged 
 scenery of their surroundings. They were told 
 that all crews of small boats, which are now almost 
 the only ones to shoot the cataracts, chant a thanks 
 giving at certain points of the rapids which are con 
 sidered more dangerous than others. 
 
 They glided softly to the bank. Jack strained 
 his eyes in vain. He could not see the Kinet-el- 
 Nil among the half-dozen boats. He turned to 
 Selim, and his question was answered before being 
 asked. 
 
 " The Kinet-el-Nil has gone up to the second cata 
 ract, sir." 
 
 " Oh, indeed," murmured Jack, disappointed. 
 
 " Haven t I read, Selim, that the great quarries, 
 from which the obelisks and statues were taken, are 
 near Assouan ? " asked Sister Anne. 
 
 " Yes, my lady, from over there under the look 
 out tower, and back in the desert. You will see 
 one obelisk there only half quarried, lying with two 
 sides shaved off, and the other two still part of the 
 rock." 
 
 " How interesting that must be. How did they 
 split the stone, I wonder." 
 
 " Just as they do to-day drill holes first, and then 
 drive in wooden wedges and pour water over them. 
 The wedges swell simultaneously and the rock
 
 196 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 cleaves apart," explained Van Beuren. " But the 
 most marvellous thing of it all is how they moved 
 them." 
 
 " I remember in the tombs at Beni-Hassan, don t 
 you, on the walls, the picture of thousands of men 
 pulling a great car, with a statue on it, the overseer 
 standing in the front part of the car with a long 
 whip? " said Billie. 
 
 "And we must remember," said Van, "that 
 these workmen were slaves. In every war in which 
 the Rameses, or Pharaohs, were successful, they 
 brought thousands of captives back, who were 
 made slaves and forced to work like beasts of the 
 field." 
 
 " Well, no matter how you try to account for 
 these gigantic works, the fact still remains that the 
 people quarried obelisks and other monoliths, 
 weighing thousands of tons and miles from the 
 river s bank, carried them in some way to the bank, 
 and transported them by a boat, or boats, down a 
 shallow stream hundreds of miles, and then placed 
 them upright on handsome pedestals, often some 
 miles back from the river again." 
 
 " I don t know," quoth Father Haswell, " that 
 any of you are old enough to remember what a fuss 
 was made over Commander Gorringc when he 
 brought our little Central Park Obelisk from 
 Alexandria. It is a small one, yet the bringing of 
 it safely to New York was considered a great piece 
 of engineering."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 197 
 
 At luncheon, which was late, on account of their 
 desire to remain on deck and see the town as they 
 approached it, Haswell suggested that they should 
 leave the boat the following day, and take the 
 small steamer at Shelal above the cataract, and go 
 up to Wadi-Halfa. 
 
 "The Prince Abbas leaves day after to-morrow 
 morning, Selim tells me. She is not full and we 
 would almost own her; the whole trip can be done 
 in six days." 
 
 " What is there to see above here ? " asked Mar 
 garet. 
 
 "The greatest, or rather the most marvellous of 
 all the temples, Abou Simbel. The scenery, too, is 
 quite different above the cataract. I have never 
 been above Philae, so I only speak from hearsay." 
 
 Finally, after a talk, they decided to go by the 
 little railroad to Shelal and visit Philae during the 
 day, sleep on the Abbas, and begin the ascent of 
 the river the following morning. During luncheon, 
 a row boat was seen approaching from the town, 
 and in a few moments Selim brought in a generous 
 assortment of mail. It was voted that no one 
 should open a letter until the meal was over. This 
 decision hastened the repast, and over their coffee 
 they began the delightful task, all too short, of 
 reading letters from home. An exclamation from 
 Haswell caused them to look up. 
 
 " No bad news, Charlie, I hope," said Jack. 
 
 " No, and yes ; Balford is engaged to be married ! "
 
 198 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 A chorus of "What," and "I don t believe it," 
 and " Who to," followed. 
 
 " He writes me, among other things, I received 
 word in Cairo from New York, which made it un 
 necessary to hurry back, so I have been here for 
 nearly three weeks, and now take pleasure in letting 
 you and all your party know, that I have fallen 
 from the high pedestal of bachelorhood on which 
 you and Van and I have so long stood, like three 
 male graces or scapegraces, and have become en 
 gaged to be married. You have all met the lady, 
 Miss Clinton the younger, Mary by name. We 
 expect to be married in New York in June, giving 
 you all ample time to get back and help me out. 
 
 While Haswell was reading, Katherine sat with 
 hands clenched, white face, and flashing eyes. 
 
 " I don t believe it," she said in a voice so 
 changed that every one looked at her. " If Mr. 
 Balford had really become engaged, he would have 
 written to me." 
 
 Haswell saw that the woman had forgotten her 
 self, and that the situation was becoming embar 
 rassing, so in his cheery voice he remarked : 
 
 " Oh, well, let us all go on deck ; we mustn t miss 
 an afternoon like this." 
 
 Katherine went to her room and was followed in 
 a few moments by her husband. His pride was 
 deeply wounded. His wife had revealed her feeling 
 toward Balford to the whole company and he felt 
 that he could not let it pass unnoticed. After
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 199 
 
 knocking, he entered her stateroom and closed the 
 door. He thought he saw traces of tears in her 
 eyes. 
 
 " I am very sorry that you had so little control 
 over your feelings as to show to all on board that 
 you are still in love with my friend Balford, Kath- 
 erine. As long as I am legally your husband, I 
 have some feeling, some rights, and a scene like 
 that at the table must not occur again." 
 
 Katherine did not look at nor answer him, and, 
 a moment later, after waiting in vain for some 
 shadow of repentance or remorse, he opened the 
 door and left the room. He reached the deck just 
 in time to join a party of four, Sister Anne, Mar 
 garet, Van and Billie, who were about to cross the 
 river to inspect the bazaars of Assouan. 
 
 Lying on the confines of Nubia and not far from 
 the Soudan, the bazaars at this place are very inter 
 esting. The articles of interest to the traveller, at 
 this day, are the weapons, many of them spurious, 
 but many relics of the Dervish rebellion, old flint 
 lock Arabian pistols, dervish and Bedouin guns 
 and every variety of sword and scimitar. Then, too, 
 there are the more primitive weapons, spears, asse 
 gais and lances, and aboriginal garments and orna 
 ments, both of shell and metal. The party wan 
 dered about the bazaars for an hour, immensely 
 interested in all they saw. Selim was with them 
 and kept the too importunate vendors at bay with 
 his short donkey whip. Margaret bought some
 
 200 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Soudanese baskets and costumes, and the men in 
 dulged in some old arms and instruments. When 
 at last they emerged from the bazaars and walked 
 over to the clean, white, well-kept little hotel, it 
 was a great relief to their eyes, ears and noses. 
 
 Selim made a signal across the river, and soon 
 the felucca from the Ammon-Ra appeared, and they 
 all returned to the boat. That night, after all the 
 others had gone below, Jack and Van sat smoking 
 alone. Van had been waiting for such an opportu 
 nity and now it seemed to present itself. 
 
 " Jack, old man, you worry me. Can t you take 
 a brace ? I think I understand part of the situa 
 tion." 
 
 " Van, I do try ; I try to do the right thing, but 
 when a man gets a facer like that at lunch, what can 
 one do? " 
 
 " That was a facer, sure enough. I had suspected 
 something of that kind. What are you going to do 
 about it? " 
 
 " Nothing ; what can I do ? We may have to live 
 apart when we go back. This is not the most 
 serious part of it, however." 
 
 "Why, Jack, what do you mean?" 
 
 " I mean," answered Jack, and he leaned closer, 
 and a distinct tremor came into his voice, " I mean 
 that I believe that my Clare is alive ! " 
 
 Van started up and gazed incredulously at his 
 friend. 
 
 At the first instant, he thought that Jack had
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 201 
 
 gone mad, then, quick as a flash, things and events 
 crowded into his mind, and he leaped from his 
 chair and began to pace silently up and down the 
 deck. He dropped again into the seat and in 
 slow and changed voice said : 
 
 " Jack, am I to understand " 
 
 " You are to understand," said Jack slowly, and 
 interrupting, " that I believe that my Clare is alive 
 and on board the Kinet-el-Nil ! " 
 
 "Good God, Jack, can it be so?" 
 
 " I met her in the Luxor Gardens. Van, I cannot 
 be wrong, but she did not know me. I spoke to 
 her, begged and pled with her, but she said I was 
 mistaken, she had never seen me before. Oh, Van, 
 I have longed for death since then." 
 
 " Jack, let us go slow and sift this matter. I see 
 now why I was so affected by the sight of this 
 lady, for I, too, met her in the Luxor Gardens." 
 
 " How can I, her husband, be mistaken, Van ? It 
 is out of the question. It is only five years ago. She 
 has changed, but not a great deal ; the eyes, the 
 voice, are just the same." 
 
 Then Van remembered what Haswell had told him 
 of the conversation on board the Columbia the 
 night of the illumination. The Englishmen had 
 said that she was an American, and had some 
 mysterious history, which they themselves did not 
 know. It made Van s heart beat faster to think of 
 it. Yet he could not reconcile many facts. Why 
 had she spurned Jack, if it was Clare? How could
 
 202 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 she have helped showing some recognition. He 
 remembered well the adoration she had had for her 
 husband in the old days. Even if she had heard of 
 his second marriage, could she control herself thus? 
 The friends sat long and talked, and when they 
 parted, Van was as much in the dark as ever ; but he 
 had silently determined to see the head of the party 
 on the Kinet-el-Nil and find out all he could. He 
 felt that it was his duty to do so. He was perplexed 
 beyond words. He had started that evening to 
 have a serious talk with Jack about his relations 
 with Katherine, which had become so openly 
 strained that every one noticed it, but this new 
 possibility was so overwhelming, that it swallowed 
 up all other thought. 
 
 In the morning they all went to Philae by rail. 
 They took just enough baggage to last them for the 
 week. At the end of the little road, at the little 
 village of El Shelal, they descended the bank and 
 got into one of the roomy boats which was waiting 
 for them, and they were soon ferried to the island of 
 Philae. El Shelal signifies, in Arabic, " the rapids," 
 and the contrast of the little hamlet of mud houses 
 on one side, and the massive grandeur of the eter 
 nal temples on the other, was picturesque and im 
 pressive. " The Kiosk of Trajan " or " Pharaoh s 
 bed chamber," as it is called, stands high on the 
 rocky shore. Its majestic size and perfect sym 
 metry make it one of the finest, though not among 
 the oldest, of Egyptian monuments. On one side
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 203 
 
 is a fine grove of drooping palms, and, as they ap 
 proached, a handsome dahabeah was seen moored to 
 the pebbly beach beneath. The temple could be 
 seen beyond, rearing its great propylons to the 
 skies. They spent the whole day at Philae. The 
 sky was, as always, a sapphire blue. No breath of 
 air was stirring. When they reached the south end 
 of the island, and looked up the row of colonnades 
 toward the great Pylons, they could not repress a 
 cry of wonder and delight, and when they entered 
 the great temple of Isis, they were wonderstruck at 
 the brilliance of the colouring of the roof and 
 columns, bright blue, green, reds and yellows min 
 gling in most artistic manner. In this hall they 
 found an artist engaged in transferring a group of 
 columns to his canvas. They fell into conversa 
 tion with him and his wife. It transpired at once 
 that he was an American and the owner of the 
 dahabeah moored to the shore. Haswell and his 
 party were invited to go on board in the afternoon, 
 and see the pictures and have tea. 
 
 So they moved from one hall to another, lost in 
 wonderment at the solid grandeur of the old ruin. 
 Finally they assembled in the Kiosk of Trajan 
 for luncheon, which had been sent up from the 
 Ammon-Ra. 
 
 After luncheon they sauntered off in various di 
 rections, and Margaret and Billie found themselves 
 sitting together on a fallen obelisk, seemingly in the 
 relation of artist and critic, for Margaret had taken
 
 204 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 her sketching pad and Billie was giving his opinion 
 of her efforts very freely. Engaged thus it became 
 necessary to come quite close together, and sud 
 denly Billie put his arm about her waist and said 
 boldly: 
 
 " Margaret, will you marry me when we go back 
 to New York ? " 
 
 "Yes, I will ; now let me finish my sketch." 
 
 " Not until we have sealed the bargain," said 
 Billie, and began to seal it, but during the process, 
 the head and face of Sister Anne turned the corner 
 near by, and, with a little frightened cry from 
 Margaret, the lovers sprang apart. The cry coming 
 from Sister Anne contained no suspicion of fear. 
 It was rather one of righteous indignation with a 
 flavour of scorn thrown in. 
 
 " I should like an explanation, Miss Jones, if one 
 were possible, for such unseemly conduct." 
 
 " There is no explanation, Sister Annc," t spoke up 
 Billie, made brave and independent in his great 
 happiness. " I was kissing Margaret, that was all." 
 
 " All ! " gasped Sister Anne, " and do you call it 
 nothing to act in a most improper manner toward a 
 young woman, and in public, too." 
 
 "No one saw us but Osiris and Isis and some 
 other of those old gods, and they didn t say any 
 thing until you came along and spoiled the fun." 
 
 " Miss Jones," spluttered Sister Anne excited and 
 almost ready to faint with shame at what she had 
 seen, " I had thought differently of you. I thought
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 205 
 
 you were a respectable, self-respecting girl, but now 
 my eyes are opened." 
 
 " Why, Sister Anne, for I must call you so now, 
 your brother and I have become engaged, and are to 
 be married when we get back to America. We had 
 intended keeping it a secret, but, now that you 
 have discovered us, we want you to be our ally and 
 friend." 
 
 " To be married ! Why, you are both too young 
 to think of such a thing," answered Sister Anne, 
 slightly mollified and somewhat flattered by their 
 enforced confidence in her. 
 
 " Why, Sister Anne," cried Margaret, " I am 
 twenty-five nearly, and if I go on much longer, I 
 shall be called an old I mean, I am quite old enough 
 to marry, and Billie is a year older at least." 
 
 Sister Anne had sunk down on a fallen pillar, and 
 was fanning herself violently with the pretty green 
 woven fan bought from one of the little children on 
 the bank. Finally she said : 
 
 " Well, it is such a surprise and shock that I must 
 think it over prayerfully before I can decide what 
 to do." 
 
 " I wrote home about it ten days ago, so you 
 needn t bother about that, Sister," said Billie. 
 
 This was a slight prevarication but it served its 
 purpose. 
 
 " Oh, that is a great relief, for I was thinking of 
 how I could break the news to Father and Mother." 
 
 " Well, it isn t a death or a funeral, Sister, and I
 
 206 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 am mighty happy," and with that he set another 
 impressive seal on Margaret s burning cheek. 
 
 " Well, where have you been ? " shouted the cheery 
 Haswell, as he clambered up the rocks from the 
 other side. " I have been hunting high and low 
 for you, Miss Brown- Aren t you all going to call 
 on the artist and his wife ? " 
 
 " Yes, is it time to go ? " 
 
 " Yes, we said about four, and it is now after 
 half-past." 
 
 "You had better come, too, Billie and Margaret," 
 said Sister Anne, in a significant manner. 
 
 " All right," said Billie with cheerful voice but 
 rueful face, and sotto voce to Margaret, as he helped 
 her down, "our fun is spoiled ; she has us now, and 
 we shall never be left alone if she can prevent it, 
 selfish old bird that she is." 
 
 " Hush, Billie ; we can wheedle her into lots of 
 things, if we try in the right way." 
 
 So they descended the hill by a flight of rough 
 steps, cut from the bank, and went on board the his. 
 
 They spent a delightful hour inspecting the ar 
 tistic boat and the art treasures it contained. As 
 the shadows of the Kiosk were lengthening across 
 the river, they went aboard their small boat and 
 were rowed to the Prince Abbas, which was to start 
 at eight o clock the following morning for Wadi- 
 Halfa. As Haswell had predicted, they found but 
 few passengers on board ; a party of Germans, 
 "personally conducted," eight or ten in number, 
 who, without exception, ate with their knives and
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 207 
 
 plunged their forks into each and every dish brought 
 on the table. 
 
 They sat at one end of the table, however ; an Aus 
 trian Baron and his wife, a Mr. Harrison, English, 
 and Herr Klein, a Swiss, making up the complement 
 of passengers. Katherine was placed next to the 
 Baron, and immediately began a conversation with 
 him in French. 
 
 The evening meal over, the party sat on deck in 
 the moonlight. They wondered at the great change 
 in the character of the scenery from that just below. 
 Here all was rocky and forbidding, while below the 
 valley was broad, flat and fertile. 
 
 Before most of the party were astir the following 
 morning, the Abbas cast off from Shelal, and soon 
 the island of Philae passed from view at a turn in 
 the stream. At breakfast they became a little 
 better acquainted with their immediate table neigh 
 bours. Katherine continued her conversation with 
 the Baron, to the evident annoyance of the Baron 
 ess, who sat alone, and could have no converse with 
 the knife-swallowing Germans below, and no chance 
 to talk with her husband, who, on his part, did not 
 notice his wife any more than if she had been a 
 stranger. There was one character, however, on 
 board, who deserves more than passing notice. 
 This was Herr Klein. Van Beuren had made his 
 acquaintance soon after they had started, but this 
 was cemented into strong friendship before they 
 parted six days later. Herr Klein was short, past 
 middle life, with grey hair, bleary eyes and poor
 
 jo8 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 complexion. He was an enthusiast about everything. 
 His eyes would fill with tears whenever he spoke 
 of a fine view, of a flower, or of an operatic selec 
 tion. 
 
 One day as he sat near, Margaret was humming 
 an aria from one of the operas, and immediately 
 Herr Klein joined in, in his poor little voice, then 
 with tears in his eyes, he exclaimed : 
 
 "Ach! I loaf that aria. I once hear Malten sing 
 him. I go every night. I send flowers. I write 
 Malten I loaf her, and one day I was invited to 
 meet her. I go. I was so excited. I say, Madame, 
 the honour is too great, so I cry, and go away to 
 tell my wife." 
 
 Each day Herr Klein had one of the crew in his 
 cabin for an hour, in order to learn Arabic. Then, 
 on landing, he would gather a crowd of children 
 about him, give a little backsheesh, and try to talk 
 with them in Arabic. It was most laughable to 
 see the little savages helping Herr Klein over the 
 ruins. One day just as they were leaving Kalabshe, 
 Billie said : 
 
 " Oh, Herr Klein, did you see that superb view 
 from the hill over there ? " 
 
 " Ach ! nein, was it then so grand ? I must see it. 
 I will get the pilot to wait," and with tears in his 
 eyes he started down to stop the boat. 
 
 At seven o clock one evening they came to Abou 
 Simbel, the grandest of all the monuments. The 
 sun had gone below the hills and the full moon 
 was just rising large and yellow.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 " PASS me my shawl, Clare, dear," said Lady 
 Wiltshire to Clare Grant, who sat near her on the 
 deck of the Kinet-el-Nil. 
 
 " Yes, Mother," and the young woman handed 
 her the light afghan. 
 
 The Kinet-el-Nil had been at Assouan now for 
 two days, and the influence of Sir John s adventur 
 ous spirit had caused them to arrange to go up the 
 cataract and river as far as their time would permit. 
 They had just entered the gateway to Nubia and 
 the Soudan, and all were on deck, Sir John and 
 Lady Wiltshire, Henry Villiers, young Lord Anners- 
 ley and Miss Grant. 
 
 The men were leaning over the side of the boat 
 and the dragoman was pointing out the cartouches 
 on the rocks, the nilometer at the further end of the 
 island, and the quarries on the other side of the 
 river, indicated by the rows of wedge-shaped marks 
 where the huge pieces of granite had been split 
 away. The breeze had sprung up lightly from the 
 south, and, it being quite early in the morning, the 
 wrap asked for by Lady Wiltshire was very wel 
 come. Lady Wiltshire was one of those whole 
 some, middle-aged English women, whose personal 
 ity draws one instinctively toward them. She was
 
 210 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 nearly sixty years of age, yet a picture of ruddy 
 health. She wore the conventional white cap, and 
 her hair was parted in the middle and brushed down 
 on either side, almost concealing her ears. Her dress 
 was of black silk, and she fitted perfectly the pic 
 ture of the English matron of John Leech of thirty 
 years ago. Her disposition was in keeping with 
 her sweet and kindly face. Her husband, Sir John, 
 was a bluff hearty man, a type of the English county 
 gentleman. He had been, up to five years back, 
 plain John Wiltshire, Esquire. He had, however, 
 represented his borough twice in Parliament, and, 
 having endowed a library and hospital from moneys 
 acquired in his manufacturing business, had been 
 knighted. He had a handsome country place near 
 Chippenham and was immensely popular at home. 
 
 Every one in the country spoke of him as " Sir 
 John," and, in fact, many of the country folk were 
 ignorant as to his last name. He had for some 
 years owned a large and handsome yacht, the 
 Czarina, which he kept at Cowes, and in which he 
 was accustomed to make more or less extended trips. 
 
 The Kinet-el-Nil slowly approached the island 
 called Sehel. To this place, the progress up the 
 cataract is easily accomplished. On the island, as 
 they neared it, could be seen nearly a hundred half- 
 dressed men and boys, waiting, under the commands 
 of a sheik, to take charge of the boat and pull and 
 pole her up the rushing stream. The dahabeah 
 had started early, in order to accomplish the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 211 
 
 passage of the cataract before sunset, for after this 
 hour, neither threats nor money would avail, and 
 the boat would be left wherever she might chance 
 to be. 
 
 From the time of leaving Assiut, weeks ago, the 
 party had been a quiet and comfortable one. The 
 men were old and very congenial friends. Sir John 
 was much older than Annersley and somewhat the 
 senior of Henry Villiers, but they were all three 
 Oxford men, and had met often at home, where 
 Annersley and Villiers had been guests at Laurie 
 Hall. The two had already met Miss Grant, but 
 had never become really acquainted with her. She 
 had been introduced as Lady Wiltshire s compan 
 ion, and, one night, the year before, immediately 
 after dinner, when the ladies had retired and the 
 sweet soprano voice was wafted to them from the 
 old baronial hall, Villiers had asked Sir John who 
 she might be. 
 
 " No\v, Villiers, you have me. Some day I will 
 tell you a very remarkable story, but not just now, 
 for my wife and I have decided to answer no ques 
 tions at present on the subject." 
 
 " Why, Sir John, you puzzle me. The lady looks 
 like some fair goddess or mythological character, 
 perhaps Andromeda rescued from the Rock, but, 
 to tell the truth, you do not quite fill my idea of 
 Perseus." 
 
 " Thanks, Henry; now you certainly will get no 
 information."
 
 212 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " How about me, Sir John?" quoth Annersley. 
 
 "Arcades Ambo," laughed Sir John. 
 
 So, when they met again on the Nile, the two 
 hunters from Somaliland were no wiser than before. 
 They were reintroduced, but, whereas Miss Grant 
 was invariably amiable and always ready to sing 
 for them, still there was a settled quietness of de 
 meanour, an apparent aversion to be led into con 
 versation or argument, which made her doubly in 
 teresting. Her handsome face and fine presence 
 would attract the eye anywhere. Her reticence, 
 her musical voice and self-contained manner, made 
 every one wish to know her better. She was an 
 excellent listener, and apparently took the deepest 
 interest in all the hunting stones and adventures 
 of young Annersley. This always flatters a man. 
 After a week or two, Annersley began to think that 
 she was interested in him, as much as in his stones. 
 He certainly began to be much interested in her. 
 He did not sing himself, but loved music, and when 
 ever he asked her to play she would do so. 
 He had not yet asked for a single ballad, English, 
 French or German, which she had not at once been 
 able to play and sing for him, and when she sang, 
 there was such a heartfelt, tender sadness in her 
 voice, that it almost brought tears to the eyes. 
 He unconsciously became deeply interested, and 
 one day at Komombos, when Villiers and Sir John 
 had gone off quail shooting, he found Lady Wilt 
 shire on deck alone and broached the subject to her.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 213 
 
 " Lady Wiltshire, I have waited for such an op 
 portunity as this to ask your advice," he began, in 
 a low voice. " You have always been so kind to 
 me, that I feel that you like me, and so I have no 
 hesitation in making a confidante of you. I wish 
 to ask you about Miss Grant." 
 
 " Well, Percy, what do you wish to know ? I am, 
 as you say, very fond of you, and will do a great 
 deal for you." 
 
 " Lady Wiltshire, I have become very much in- 
 terested in this young woman, more so than I have 
 cared to admit, but I never seem to get further 
 with her than the most ordinary acquaintance. I 
 do not understand her, and I wanted to ask you 
 what you know about her." 
 
 Lady Wiltshire sat quiet for some time. She 
 saw that the young man was much in earnest, and 
 she did not know exactly what to do. She could 
 see no harm, however, in view of Annersley s seri 
 ousness, in telling him what she herself knew, and 
 in risking the displeasure of Sir John. So she be 
 gan : 
 
 " Percy, I will tell you all that I myself know, 
 and you can be guided by what you hear. It is 
 now just five years since I first saw Miss Grant, as 
 we call her, for this is not her real name. I do not 
 know her name. Sir John and I were cruising off 
 the Bahamas in the Czarina. We were about 
 thirty miles from Nassau, when, one noon, our sail 
 ing master reported a deserted row-boat some two
 
 214 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 miles away. Through the glass, \ve could all make 
 it out. Sir John ordered Scott to sail over to it 
 and see what it was. As we came closer we could 
 make out that there was something in the boat. 
 It might have been a bundle of rags or a human 
 body. Our surprise was only equalled by our pity 
 when we ran alongside and they brought on board 
 the living but unconscious body of a beautiful 
 young woman. The boat was oarless, her bow 
 stove in, and she was a third full of water. Of 
 course, we did all we could for the young woman. 
 There was no name on the boat, and but one name 
 on the clothes of the cast-away. An embroidered 
 Clare appeared on a number of articles of her 
 underwear, but that was all. 
 
 " She had a cut and bruise on the left side of her 
 head. Gradually she regained consciousness, but 
 her memory of what had gone before was a blank. 
 In fact, she seemed like a child in intellect, while 
 she was so reduced physically that it was weeks and 
 weeks before she could sit up. I took full charge 
 of her. We ran into Havana and telegraphed to 
 the papers in both New York and London, but 
 from that day to this we have never discovered the 
 identity of Clare. I am not sorry, I must say, for I 
 have learned to love her as a daughter, and so has 
 Sir John. She is without doubt an American, for 
 many phrases she uses are peculiar to Americans, 
 and her intonation is not English."
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 215 
 
 Lady Wiltshire paused, and young Armersley 
 waited to hear the end of the remarkable story. 
 
 " I have said that Clare seemed like a child, and 
 so she did, mentally, but she had lost none of her 
 physical accomplishments, for, as soon as she was 
 quite herself again, she would sit at the piano and 
 her fingers would run over the keys, without her 
 knowing, seemingly, what she was playing, and so 
 with her voice ; she did not use words to fit the 
 music, but she sang weird snatches of song appar 
 ently without knowing that she was doing so. As 
 time went on she developed most marvellously. 
 Everything seemed new to her, yet now, five years 
 since her life began, as it were, she is the peer of 
 any woman of her age." 
 
 " Why, Lady Wiltshire, this all sounds to me like 
 a fairy tale. I knew that there was some deep 
 mystery about Miss Grant, but this exceeds any 
 thing I have ever heard. Have you ever consulted 
 a specialist ? " 
 
 "Yes, Sir William Hosmer told us that it was 
 not a unique case. He says that the accident, or 
 whatever it was, and the blow on the head, must 
 have reacted on her brain, in a manner to cause 
 loss of memory and mentality for the time, that all 
 memory for past events was driven away, and that 
 she actually began life again in our boat. How 
 ever, with all her past training and evident accom 
 plishments, she came back again, very quickly, to 
 her intellectual level. As far as a return of mem-
 
 216 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 ory and a remembrance as to who she was, and her 
 past life, the doctor could prophesy nothing, but 
 said there were cases on record where a second 
 severe mental shock had brought back the memory 
 of past events, and placed the patient exactly back- 
 in mind where he was when the first shock came." 
 
 " Extraordinary ! " ejaculated Annersley ; "but 
 tell me, Lady Wiltshire, have you ever noticed any 
 sign of mental weakness in her? " 
 
 " Quite the reverse, Percy ; she is extraordinarily 
 quick in everything. Her slight diffidence or em 
 barrassment at times is due, probably, to the fact 
 that for the first two and a half years after she came 
 to us, we kept her very much to ourselves. She 
 was, during this time, relearning what she had lost." 
 
 Percy Annersley thought for a moment, and then 
 said : 
 
 "Lady Wiltshire, I will respect your confidence 
 in me and never, except by your permission, shall I 
 mention what you have told me." 
 
 "Very well, Percy. But see, there come our 
 hunters." 
 
 "Well, what luck?" 
 
 " Oh, we bowled over a few, about forty, I think." 
 
 " Bravo, but what do the little beggars look like ? 
 Let me see one. Little chaps, aren t they? " 
 
 " Yes, but they can fly." 
 
 "Ah, Miss Grant, how have you been spending 
 this warm afternoon?" said Annersley, as Clare 
 Grant appeared.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 217 
 
 " You will think me very lazy, but I have been 
 lying in my stateroom, reading." 
 
 " It must have been a very fascinating book, to 
 have kept you below deck on such an afternoon." 
 
 " It was fascinating Paul Bourget s Antigone : 
 it is both sad and interesting." 
 
 " I have not read it. Will you let me have it 
 when you are through with it ? " 
 
 " Certainly. I am through with it now, and will 
 bring it to you at dinner." .... 
 
 As the Kinet-el-Nil came close to the island of 
 Sehel, a cable was thrown ashore, and soon dozens 
 of half-clothed Nubians were swarming over her 
 sides ; two climbed the mast and made fast a rope, 
 well up on the stick ; another hawser was fastened 
 at the bow, and, as the horde of blacks started to 
 tow, they were about equally divided on shore, in 
 the water and on the boat, and the din of their 
 voices as they shouted, chanted and called upon 
 all the saints in the calendar, was almost deafening. 
 
 So the boat made her way slowly up the current, 
 which became swifter and more turbulent at every 
 fifty yards. On almost every rock stood a number 
 of nude boys, each provided with a small log of 
 wood. As the boat approached, the logs were 
 tossed into the seething current and after them the 
 boys, like so many rats. It was wonderful to see 
 with what dexterity they would find the logs and 
 use them. The frantic appeals for backsheesh 
 were too much for Sir John, who threw innumer-
 
 218 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 able piastres and sixpences to the dusky divers. 
 Towards four o clock they could see Philae in the 
 distance, and, at sundown, they were anchored off 
 Shelal. The following day, with favouring wind, 
 they rushed up the river. The transformation from 
 below to above the first cataract of the Nile was a 
 very sudden one. The river banks were generally 
 precipitous and rocky, and the rocks were not the 
 great sheer faces met wiih occasionally below, but 
 rather the broken-up, Younded masses of brown and 
 black boulders, looking like the petrified, boiled-over 
 bubbles of a gigantic cauldron. There \vere many 
 islets of the same formation, and on them, where 
 soil had collected during the inundation, were 
 stunted trees, sycamore, mimosa and palms. The 
 small strips of sand along the river side were culti 
 vated in some sort of way, and not until they were 
 well up toward Wadi-Halfa was there any of 
 the luxuriant vegetation and groves of trees seen 
 below Assouan. 
 
 Percy Annersley, after his confidential talk with 
 Lad>* Wiltshire, was, more than ever, interested in 
 Clare Grant. The history of her short life had all 
 the flavour of romance and the doubt and surmise as 
 to who she really was, and what her past had been, 
 invested her, to an unlimited degree, with mystery 
 and uncertainty. As he found her to-uay, as 
 Villiers, with whom he had talked, saw her, she was 
 a superlatively attrwdive woman. Annersley s 
 growing love was so mingled with high respect and
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 admiration, that it was different from any feeling 
 he had yet experienced. 
 
 One night after dinner, Villiers and Anncnlcy 
 were walking along the river bank smoking: 
 
 " Remarkable woman that," *aid Villien; "can t 
 understand it at all. 1 lave asked Wiltshire, three or 
 four tinu-s; always the same, some mystery, gad, 
 I d give a five-pound note to know about it, and I 
 am not curious by nature, either." 
 
 " She s well born and bred, any one can fee that," 
 aruwercd Annersley, who would have cut off his 
 hand sooner than violate the confidence that had 
 been placed in him. 
 
 * If I were not a confirmed old bachelor, I tell 
 you, Percy, I d be in danger, and might make a fool 
 of myself, for I don t believe she is of the marrying 
 kind." .... 
 
 With favouring winds, they were able to get at 
 far at Abou Simbcl, but were obliged to give up 
 Wadi-Hulfa and the second cataract. The Kinrt^t- 
 A ;/ had been chartered for two monthi only, and 
 even now the dragoman was doubtful whether he 
 could reach Cairo within the prescribed limits. 
 Reluctantly they turned their boat down stream. 
 On the third day, about noon, they sighted the 
 Abbas coming up. As they neared each other, 
 there was the usual dipping of flags and saluting. 
 Those on the Kintt-cl-Nit waved to those on the 
 Al bas and vice versa. Villien stood at the rail 
 with his glass. They were passing quite close.
 
 220 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 " By Jove, Percy, there is Haswell and all that 
 Ammon-Ra party ; they must have left their boat at 
 Assouan." 
 
 " Jolly lot that, seem to enjoy life, forever chaff 
 ing each other ; that s a habit with lots of Ameri 
 cans." 
 
 One man on the Abbas sat way forward of the 
 saloon, which was on deck. He had looked for the 
 dahabeah since breakfast. On the plea of search 
 ing for crocodiles, he had kept his glass in use 
 almost unceasingly. 
 
 "Why, Uncle Jack," said Margaret to him, once 
 during the morning, " you don t look for crocodiles 
 miles ahead ; they tell me that they appear for all 
 the world like old logs lying against the sand bars." 
 
 " I know," answered Jack, " but I am locating 
 all the log-looking objects way ahead, for further 
 reference when we come closer." 
 
 As they approached the dahabeah, Jack could 
 hear his heart thump. He descried one woman s 
 figure on the deck, but it was not she. Yet, even 
 as he looked, another lady ascended to the deck 
 and seated herself near the first. The boats were 
 almost abreast. She was passing away from him 
 again ! With a strong effort he calmed himself and 
 gazed. He could see that she was engaged in some 
 kind of fancy work. He saw her look up and smile 
 at some remark made to her by one of the men, 
 then she walked over to the rail and looked in 
 their direction. Was she looking at him? He
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 221 
 
 lowered his glass and gazed, but in a moment she 
 had turned and had resumed her seat and sewing. 
 The Kinet-el-Nil passed far astern, and Jack s 
 hand and glass fell listlessly in his lap. 
 
 " Have I," he thought, "committed sins heinous 
 enough to merit this slow torture? How much 
 longer must I suffer and have this wound torn open 
 at every turn ? " 
 
 Reaction came to him, however, and that evening 
 he tried to be more companionable. He sat next 
 to Herr Klein at table, and he told some stories 
 which made the dear little Swiss both weep and 
 laugh at intervals. . . . 
 
 Moonlight at Abou Simbel is an event in one s 
 life ; sunrise is wonderful but moonlight is weird, 
 awe-inspiring, grand. Go alone, fifty yards below 
 the entrance, and sit and look. The temple is hewn 
 from the solid rock mountain. The entrance is 
 guarded by four colossal statues of Rameses, each 
 more than sixty feet in height. The figures are 
 seated in majestic repose. In the centre, with two 
 statues on either side, is the entrance. Above all is 
 a sort of frieze in relief, extending the full width of 
 the temple. The moon rises above the Arabian 
 hills directly opposite the faces of the statues. The 
 stillness is broken only by the occasional cries of 
 the boatmen, or Arab guides, or the uncanny cry of 
 the hyena. 
 
 The temple is not more than fifty yards from the 
 silent, shimmering river. Selim took his party,
 
 222 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 separate from the others, and entered the portals. 
 He ignited his magnesium wire, and a dozen giant 
 figures, with the face of Rameses, and the accoutre 
 ments of the God Osiris, rose Aladdin-like before 
 them. This was the main hall. On either side 
 were majestic aisles, with brilliantly coloured walls, 
 showing, in excellent bas relief, the deeds of the 
 great King, on both land and sea. Silent, and lost 
 in wonder at this work of the hand of man, they 
 followed their guide. His voice was all that was 
 heard, as it resounded through the empty corridors. 
 
 " And all this was hewn out of the solid rock, 
 these enormous halls, and side halls, and corridors, 
 these perfect statues, sixty feet high, and this mar 
 vellous writing and drawing I can scarcely credit 
 my senses ! " exclaimed Haswell. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Selim, "but you must see it at 
 sunrise, for then you will know how much they 
 thought of in those days. As the sun rises, it 
 shines for just ten minutes directly in at the great 
 entrance, and lights the temple up most beautiful." 
 
 As they went out again into the moonlight, 
 Katherine remarked : 
 
 "What would one not give now, to have seen one 
 day s ceremony in this place ! " 
 
 Billie and Margaret climbed to the foot of one 
 of the statues, and sat for a few moments on one 
 of Rameses great toes. Then they climbed labour- 
 iously the sand slide, at the right of the temple, and 
 tobogganed down on the warm, white sand.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 223 
 
 The Abbas pushed on to Wadi-Halfa the follow 
 ing morning. At this uninteresting place they saw 
 many of the prisoners of the late Mahdi rebellion, 
 and of the subsequent Dervish uprising. Every 
 prisoner was chained. A large, strong chain was 
 welded to both ankles and an iron shot attached. 
 The sight was a most pitiable one, indeed. 
 
 " It seems inhuman, in our enlightened times, to 
 see such cruelty," said Sister Anne. 
 
 "Ah, Miss Brown, but have you ever read Gen. 
 Gordon s letters, or, Ten Years Captivity in the 
 Mahdi s Camp, or Fire and Sword in the Soudan ? 
 
 " No, I have not." 
 
 " Well, if you liad, you would know that no pun 
 ishments could expiate the deeds of that blood 
 thirsty man and his followers." 
 
 " Yes, my lady," said Selim. " I was in the relief 
 expedition to save Gen. Gordon, and I saw most 
 terrible things. You see, every now and then here, 
 a prisoner with his foot gone, sometimes both feet. 
 They were cut off by the Mahdi, or his generals, 
 for some little mistake or disobedience." 
 
 Each gang of prisoners was under an Arab sol 
 dier, and they were working on the fort and build 
 ings which were in process of erection above the 
 town. At short intervals, the Nubian guard would 
 lash the prisoners over the shoulders with his stout 
 whip or strike them with his bayonet or gun-barrel 
 to expedite their movements. They were mostly 
 a scowling, ill-visaged lot, but now and then a face
 
 224 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 of higher type could be seen. One could not but 
 wonder where they had come from, what part of 
 Ethiopia, or Abyssinia or the Soudan, whether they 
 had fathers, mothers, wives or children. They were 
 life prisoners and were herded like cattle. 
 
 The German contingent started early on the follow 
 ing morning to visit the second cataract, on donkey 
 back, distant a few miles. Herr Klein started alone. 
 The Haswell party remained on board. It was very 
 cold. They were in the tropics, but the thermome 
 ter did not say so. Some days before, they had 
 crossed the Tropic of Cancer. Billie insisted, at 
 that time, that he felt the boat scrape as she went 
 over, and now he asserted, that, on account of the 
 lowness of the river, the boat had caught the tropic 
 and carried it way south to Wadi-Halfa, hence the 
 chilly weather! 
 
 The party returned from Abusir before noon, and 
 all except Herr Klein declared the trip a failure. 
 Herr Klein, however, came back with his pockets 
 filled with queer-shaped volcanic rocks. These he 
 distributed to the ladies of the Haswell party as 
 mementoes. He wept as he spoke of the view he 
 had had of the second cataract. At noon the Abbas 
 cast off and began her journey down the river. That 
 night they stopped at Abou Simbel and spent the 
 night, in order to see the sunrise again. The 
 journey down was very rapid, and they soon found 
 themselves once more at Shelal and Philae. They
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 225 
 
 had already engaged a cataract boat to take them 
 down the rapids. 
 
 As they drew in to their landing, Selim pointed 
 out the Kinet-el-Nil far below and just entering the 
 swift water. Their baggage was sent on to Assouan 
 by the little train, and at two o clock, after eating 
 a last meal on the Abbas, they pushed off, and 
 started on their two hours journey.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SIR JOHN and Lady Wiltshire, with Clare Grant, 
 Villiers and Annersley, had left the Kinet-el-Nil to 
 be guided down to Assouan again, and had also 
 hired a cataract boat in order to have the excitement 
 of shooting the rapids. They had first gone over to 
 Philae and explored its interesting precincts, and 
 were just descending the steep bank on its opposite 
 side, where their boat was awaiting them, when the 
 Haswell party shot by the point of the island. 
 Each boat was provided with eight Nubian boat 
 men and a pilot, or reis, and a small boy whose 
 duty seemed to be to pick his way up and down 
 the sides, and with an improvised mallet keep the 
 oar pins pounded firmly in their sockets. The 
 Wiltshire party followed about one hundred yards 
 behind. As the boat, propelled by the large, 
 unwieldy oars, approached the narrower part of 
 the river, one realised the irresistible force of the 
 current. 
 
 " It does not seem possible," said Van, " that all 
 the wealth of water one sees spread out below, 
 could come through this narrow gorge, and yet the 
 Nile has no tributaries." 
 
 " It must be very deep here to account for it," 
 said Haswell.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 227 
 
 " Oh, listen to the roar of the rapids. Is it quite 
 safe, Selim ?" asked Sister Anne. 
 
 " Oh, yes, my lady ; they used to have accidents 
 sometimes, long ago, when they used very small 
 boats, but now they are quite safe. Would you 
 like, sir," turning to Haswell, " to stop and see the 
 men jump into the rapids? We take this channel 
 to the right, and it is a little out of our way." 
 
 " Oh, no, I don t believe it is worth while." 
 
 Now they enter the dashing current. The men 
 ply their oars with might and main, and the old 
 reis, perched at the stern, looks like an eagle, as with 
 snapping eyes he watches the rocks and the race 
 ways between. Sometimes the bow is quite out of 
 water, again it plunges down into a maelstrom of 
 surging, roaring foam. The excitement is at a high 
 pitch. The men are shouting and straining every 
 muscle. Suddenly, with a snap like the crack of a 
 pistol, an oarlock gives way. The oarsman is precip 
 itated violently backward and striking his mate in 
 front, causes him also to lose his oar. Before the 
 reis can overcome the sudden veering of the boat, 
 from the loss of its equipoise, the current has swirled 
 the boat around, and she is swinging first sidewise, 
 then stern foremost, and shooting with fearful veloc 
 ity, and unmanageable, toward the rocks. In vain 
 the boatmen attempt to ward off the crash. On 
 she plunges, and, with a splintering, tearing sound, 
 she strikes a half-submerged boulder stern on. 
 There are wild shrieks from the women as the boat
 
 228 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 is pirouetted, spinning around. Katherine has been 
 sitting high on the little covered space behind, in 
 order to get the better view, and, as the boat strikes, 
 she is hurled into the water. The others cling to 
 the shattered craft. Jack leaps to his feet as his 
 wife disappears. In another second he is over and 
 struggling manfully in the foaming torrent to reach 
 the poor woman, who is being helplessly tossed at 
 the mercy of the stream. A hundred yards below, 
 the water is less rapid but Jack s strength is ebbing, 
 and he has been badly bruised. A group of boys, 
 waiting to show their dexterity, were clustered on a 
 large rock below. Three of them swim boldly out. 
 Two reach the floating object and soon tow it with 
 difficulty to a little sand beach. Another tries to 
 help the drowning man, and he too, exhausted, is at 
 last guided to a spot a few yards further down. 
 
 As the boat struck, the people of the Kinet-cl-Nil 
 were but a short distance astern. A cry of horror 
 escaped them, but the reis, in loud commanding 
 voice, bade his men row and keep their eyes in the 
 boat. He guided his craft toward the helpless but 
 floating boat, shouting orders to those left on board 
 of her. He was soon abreast of her but kept well 
 to one side. His crew had ceased rowing, and, as 
 they came up even, a rope was thrown, and, in a 
 moment, his eight stalwart Nubians were rowing 
 with the energy of despair toward the whirling 
 eddies and smoother water against the bank, which 
 at this point was less precipitous. As the boat
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 229 
 
 swung in, four of her crew leaped overboard and in 
 a few seconds both boats were safely beached. 
 
 When Clare Grant saw the beginning of the catas 
 trophe she sat with pallid lips and face, grasping 
 the sides of her seat and staring. Then, as Oswald 
 stood there for that second, she placed her hands 
 suddenly to her head, and then, as in a flash, the 
 cloud seemed to be torn asunder ; the sunshine of 
 memory flooded the innermost recesses of her soul, 
 and, with a shuddering sob, and the cry, " Jack, my 
 husband," she sank back and oblivion came to her. 
 In that awful moment of excitement, the memory of 
 her past came back to her and she saw the man she 
 knew to be her husband, the Jack Oswald of five 
 years ago, plunge into the surging waters and disap 
 pear. . . . 
 
 There were three patients to be cared for when 
 the boats had been made safe. The Englishmen 
 were by the side of Katherine Oswald in a moment. 
 She lay on the stony beach as one dead. Both Sir 
 John and Villiers had had experience with cases of 
 drowning, and in a moment they had raised the limp 
 body and were trying to empty the lungs of water. 
 A little brandy was forced down the throat, and 
 artificial respiration was resorted to. A fluttering 
 pulse could be detected, and friction of the surface 
 was tried. The sailors brought the canopy from the 
 uninjured boat, and made a cover from the sun s 
 fierce rays. Sister Anne was in a state of semi-col 
 lapse ; but Margaret rose to the occasion, and gave
 
 230 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 orders to the men in heroic fashion. She loosened 
 the clothes from her dying friend and rubbed her 
 limbs with brandy, while Villiers and Annersley 
 worked her arms above her head and back again to 
 try to revive the spark, which seemed fast dying out. 
 Meanwhile, Billie, Haswell and Van Beuren had 
 rushed below some distance, to where Jack lay un 
 conscious but breathing. Across his head, over his 
 eyes, was an ugly gash, and an Arab boy was striv 
 ing to staunch the flow of blood with a handful of 
 dry grass. They forced some brandy down his 
 throat, and, taking off their coats, made a pillow for 
 his head. . . . 
 
 As Clare Grant recovered consciousness, she saw 
 Lady Wiltshire bending tenderly over her. She 
 still lay on the carpeted bottom of the boat. As 
 she stared up into the kindly face looking down at 
 her, she murmured : 
 
 " Where is he ? Take me to him. " 
 "Yes, child, lie quiet, you are all right." 
 " No, where is he ? Take me to him," and her 
 hand went to her eyes as though to hide some 
 dreadful sight. Suddenly, she raised herself forci 
 bly to a sitting posture and gazed wildly about her. 
 " Oh, tell me where he is ! Is he drowned ? 
 Tell me," and she grasped Lady Wiltshire s arm 
 frantically. 
 
 " Calm yourself, Clare, dear. Who is it you want ? " 
 said Lady Wiltshire, thinking the shock had unbal-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 231 
 
 anced her reasoning power, but wishing to humour 
 her if she could. 
 
 " My husband, Jack, Jack Oswald. Is he dead ? " 
 she pleaded. 
 
 " Mr. Oswald was saved, dear," answered Lady 
 Wiltshire, now more then ever convinced that her 
 ward had lost her mind. 
 
 " Oh, I must go to him ; take me to him," and she 
 struggled to her feet. 
 
 Lady Wiltshire called her husband, and he came 
 at once. 
 
 " Take me to him, Sir John ; he is my husband ; " 
 and finally she became so insistent, that, supported 
 by Sir John and his wife, she staggered down to 
 where Jack lay. The moment she saw him lying 
 there, she broke away from them, and, throwing 
 herself down beside him, took his head in her lap 
 and stroked his matted hair, kissing his forehead 
 and murmuring tender, loving words to the uncon 
 scious man. As Van Beuren stepped back to make 
 room he looked at her. 
 
 " God in Heaven ! Clare Oswald ! Jack was 
 right." 
 
 After a moment Jack slowly opened his eyes and 
 looked into those of his wife. 
 
 41 Clare," he murmured, and his heavy lids closed 
 again. . . . 
 
 They worked for an hour over the wet, cold figure 
 of Katherine, but in vain. The pulse beat quicker 
 and fainter, then stopped, then fluttered for a few
 
 232 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 seconds, and, though they tried every expedient 
 suggested, at last they were obliged to desist, and 
 the conviction was forced upon them that Kathe- 
 rine Oswald was dead. They covered her body 
 with the awning and left two men on guard. 
 
 Their position now was a difficult one. The 
 broken boat was useless for passengers and the re 
 maining one too small to hold them all. At this 
 juncture, Selim suggested that they should send 
 runners across the narrow strip of land which di 
 vided the right and left channels, and try to stop 
 the Kinet-el-Nil. 
 
 This was done, and in half an hour the messen 
 gers returned with the news that they had caught 
 the boat about a mile below. Poor Katherine s 
 body was gently lifted and placed on the floor of 
 the small boat. Six men and the reis were to take 
 it down to Assouan, while Haswell and Selim went 
 as guards. They improvised a litter for Jack, who 
 still remained oblivious to his surroundings. Thus 
 the mournful party started slowly across the rough 
 country. The boatmen led the way, and following 
 them were four men carrying the litter. Then fol 
 lowed Sir John and Lady Wiltshire supporting 
 Clare between them. Van Beuren with Sister Anne, 
 Billie helping Margaret, and Annersley and Villiers 
 brought up the rear. They stumbled silently along 
 the narrow trail. No one spoke. After a full 
 hour s walk, and when the ladies were ready to 
 sink from exhaustion, they spied the masts of the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 233 
 
 Kinet-el-NU behind the rocks and some distance 
 ahead. After they had got on board with consider 
 able difficulty, Jack was hurried to Villiers s room 
 and put to bed. He had already developed a high 
 fever and muttered and talked in most unintelligi 
 ble fashion. Clare, too, had been taken to her room. 
 Sir John and Lady Wiltshire placed their boat at 
 Haswell s disposal. Sister Anne was in a pitiable 
 condition as the result of the nervous strain, and 
 Lady Wiltshire insisted on her taking some brandy 
 and ammonia and lying down in her stateroom. The 
 rest of the party sat in the saloon and conversed 
 in subdued voices about the terrible catastrophe 
 which had overtaken them. The startling recogni 
 tion of Jack by Clare puzzled and amazed the 
 English party, and now, in as few words as possible, 
 Van Beuren told them of her former life. He 
 thought it unnecessary to go into any explanation 
 as to why she was travelling to Nassau with her 
 maid only. Margaret, who had been present at 
 Clare s wedding, had never seen her since, until to 
 day. She had heard the companion of Lady Wilt 
 shire spoken of a number of times, generally in a 
 joking way, but had paid no particular attention to 
 what she had heard. She now said that, had she 
 seen her before, she would have discovered her 
 identity at once. 
 
 Altogether, the events of the day had been such 
 as no one could look at calmly nor without emotion. 
 When, in the course of an hour, the Kinet-cI-Nil
 
 234 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 reached Elephantine, the boat carrying the body of 
 Katherine had already arrived. The Wiltshires 
 insisted upon the ladies remaining over night on 
 their boat, and with the exception of Sir John, the 
 men all went over to the Ammon-Ra. Jack was in 
 a raging fever and the doctor was summoned from 
 the little hotel. He looked very grave and pro 
 nounced the trouble in all probability the beginning 
 of brain fever. He ordered ice from the Cook 
 tourist steamer, just in from Cairo, and directed 
 that it should be kept on the patient s head con 
 stantly. He also enjoined absolute quiet. It was 
 impossible, he said, to tell as yet exactly what 
 the trouble might be, but, from the history of the 
 case, his prognosis must be serious. At any rate, 
 convalescence would be slow. He would come 
 again in the morning and bring the doctor of the 
 Cook boat with him. Haswell and Van Beuren 
 were entrusted with the sad duty of cabling to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lowden, Katherine s parents in 
 New York. They also made arrangements for 
 a funeral service for the following day, as it seemed 
 necessary that the burial should take place at 
 Assouan. The body could subsequently be re 
 moved to America if deemed advisable. A court 
 of enquiry was at once formed to look into the 
 accident. The agent of the Cook boats at Assou 
 an was extremely anxious to sift the matter. The 
 two old cataract reis were also anxious to prove 
 contributory negligence on the part of the victim.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 235 
 
 And so a deep gloom fell upon the erstwhile 
 merry party ! None of the ladies could sleep that 
 night, though Lady Wiltshire had given all of them 
 doses of bromide from her private medicine chest. 
 This kind-hearted lady felt most keenly for her 
 dear child, Clare. She sat in her dainty cabin, and 
 holding her hand and smoothing her soft hair, won 
 dered if she should soon lose her. She, childless, 
 loved Clare as she would have loved her own daugh 
 ter. 
 
 Clare could say nothing at first. She lay quite 
 still in her little bed, and she would pass her hand 
 now and then over her face, as if to be sure of her 
 own identity, to find whether she lay there and not 
 some strange being with her body. 
 
 Finally, in a low, almost frightened whisper, as if 
 fearing a negative answer, she asked : 
 
 "Is it really so, Mother?" 
 
 " Yes, dearest, it is really so. Now remember that 
 I say that it is all really so, and you must try to 
 sleep." 
 
 With a sigh of contentment, the tired eyes closed, 
 and in a few moments the regular respirations told 
 Lady Wiltshire that Clare was sleeping, so turning 
 down the lamp she noiselessly closed the door and 
 rejoined the two ladies in the main saloon. 
 
 "Clare is sleeping," she said, "and I am going to 
 let her sleep as long as she will. Now, Miss Jones, 
 won t you tell me more about Clare s early life and
 
 236 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 her marriage ? I am, as you may suppose, deeply 
 interested." 
 
 So Margaret went back to Jack s courtship and 
 marriage, told of Mrs. Lawrence, whom she be 
 lieved had died since their departure from America, 
 told how ideal a marriage it had been considered at 
 the time, and what a noble fellow Jack Oswald was. 
 Then, without any particulars suggesting scandal, 
 how Mrs. Oswald had been obliged to take a trip to 
 the Bahamas for her health, how Jack had put her 
 in charge of friends, expecting to follow shortly, 
 when his business would permit. She told of the 
 wreck, and how nothing had ever been heard of 
 Mrs. Oswald or four of the crew. 
 
 Then she told of Jack s somewhat sudden mar 
 riage five years after, and she added that it had 
 not been an entirely happy venture, she was afraid. 
 Margaret had tried to put the whole story in a few 
 comprehensive words. 
 
 " Margaret, we must cable home, all of us, I 
 think," said Sister Anne. "The papers will have 
 this horrible accident at once, and I am sure out- 
 parents will feel easier to hear direct from us." 
 "Yes, we must talk to the men about that." 
 Just then Sir John came in and said to his wife : 
 " I have telegraphed to Cairo, and have arranged 
 to keep the boat two weeks over our time, my 
 dear; the doctor says that it would be very danger 
 ous to move Mr. Oswald for a week. I have also 
 had a long talk with the gentlemen of the Amman-
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 237 
 
 Ra t and, when it is thought advisable to start, we 
 will go at the same time and keep together down 
 the river. In this way we can divide our forces, 
 and you ladies can be more together, and we must 
 all try to be cheerful and help one another. How 
 is Clare doing ?" 
 
 " She is sleeping quietly, John, and I am not 
 going to disturb her." 
 
 On the following afternoon the burial service of 
 the English church was read with solemnity by Sir 
 John in the saloon of the Ammon-Ra. All were 
 present, with the exception of Lady Wiltshire, 
 Clare and Jack. Then followed a sad procession of 
 boats t<o the other side, below the town, and finally, 
 all that remained on earth of Katherine Oswald 
 was taken to the little enclosure, and, after the 
 reading of the committal service, she was placed 
 there, beneath the yellow sands and under a mi 
 mosa tree, whose feathery foliage made the sun 
 fleck the ground with little spots of brightness. 
 
 A temporary white wooden cross was set up to 
 mark the spot, and then the party returned sadly 
 to their boats, where Margaret and Sister Anne 
 were busy together for some time marking and 
 packing away the dead girl s belongings. 
 
 Fortunately, the ever-present anxiety over the 
 two patients occupied their minds so as to dim for 
 a time the horrors of poor Katherine s tragedy. 
 The two doctors had held a consultation, but it was 
 a very non-committal bulletin which they issued.
 
 238 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Jack s fever was not so high, but his delirium was 
 still present and he was doing as well as could be 
 expected. Lady Wiltshire was the self-constituted 
 nurse in Clare s case, and her report was more fa 
 vourable. Clare was quite calm and rational, had 
 taken nourishment willingly, and had wished to talk, 
 but had been prevented with the promise that, if 
 she continued to improve, she might sit up and ask 
 questions in a few days. 
 
 " I do not propose to have her excite herself or 
 become excited until I feel that she can without 
 danger bear what she must soon hear. As she is 
 now, she leaves nothing to be desired." 
 
 "You are quite right, my dear," said Sir John, 
 "and I can only say to the rest of you, who do not 
 know my wife as I do, that you can find no better 
 nurse nor physician than she this side of Cairo." 
 
 " I can readily believe that, Sir John," said Van 
 Beuren, "and I can imagine that it might be a real 
 pleasure to be ill, with such a nurse to care for one." 
 
 " That was most gallant, Van," said Haswell, "and 
 I assure you, Lady Wiltshire, that Mr. Van Beuren 
 is a man of few words, and what he says he means." 
 
 " It is very kind of him, I am sure," replied Lady 
 Wiltshire. 
 
 The doctor, on the following morning, found Jack 
 much improved. His fever had abated and his pulse 
 was stronger. His mind was still very cloudy, but 
 he no longer needed constant watching. For two 
 days he had been in a violent delirium, and it had
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 239 
 
 been necessary to restrain him a number of times 
 for fear that he might do violence to himself or 
 those about him. . . . 
 
 A week had passed away since the fatal accident 
 of El Shelal. Jack Oswald was decidedly better, 
 and the outlook was bright now for a quick recovery. 
 He had, as yet, seen no one but Van Beuren, Has- 
 well and Billie, who took turns in watching him and 
 in giving him his medicine and nourishment. This 
 latter had been of the simplest nature, and even this 
 he had at first refused ; he had therefore become 
 quite weak and emaciated. He was not allowed to 
 talk, but when he insisted on doing so, his sentences 
 were short, disjointed and devoid of coherent reason 
 ing. Each day, however, showed improvement, and 
 the doctor, after the eighth day, had told Sir John 
 and Haswell that it would now be safe for them to 
 start on their homeward journey in the way pre 
 viously suggested. One day, more than a week after 
 the disaster, Lady Wiltshire was sitting in her own 
 room with Clare, who had for the first time been 
 allowed to leave her cabin. She sat in an easy chair, 
 prettily dressed in a soft Japanese Kimono, with her 
 fair head resting on the pillow. The day was warm 
 and the windows were open, admitting the dry des 
 ert air, which played all kind of pranks with her 
 loosely tied, wavy hair. She sat looking dreamily 
 out over the waters, watching the goolah or grain- 
 laden boats floating down the river or trying to 
 make their slow headway against the stream.
 
 2 4 o AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Lady Wiltshire, though pretending to work at her 
 embroidery, watched unnoticed, with sad eyes, the 
 sweet face opposite. 
 
 Finally Clare turned her head toward her friend 
 and said : 
 
 " May I ask you something, Mother? " 
 
 "Yes, dear, but don t speak of painful things. I 
 do not want my girl to become excited, you know." 
 
 " I will be very good and stop when you wish me 
 to. I wish to know how he is." 
 
 " He is doing splendidly, dear. Every day shows 
 improvement." 
 
 " Has he asked for me?" 
 
 "Yes, dear; that is, he talks of you all the time, 
 but you know he has been very ill and delirious with 
 fever, but the fever is gone, and he begins to be ra 
 tional again, but it will be some time before he can 
 see any one but his nurses." 
 
 " How glad I am. You know I love him very 
 dearly, Mother. It is all so like a dream, but I can 
 see him now as he jumped bravely in. Tell me, 
 Mother, did he save her?" 
 
 " No, dear, he could not save her." 
 
 "Then she is dead! Oh, how dreadful! Poor 
 thing! Do you know who she was? " 
 
 " Yes, dear, but I think you had better not talk 
 any more, until you are a little stronger." 
 
 " Yes, I know, dear, but I have had such a strange 
 dream, and but I will be good, and you will tell 
 me all about it to-morrow, won t you ? "
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 241 
 
 " Yes, dear, if you will get very strong." 
 
 "And I want to see Mr. Van Beuren and Mr. 
 Haswell and Miss Jones ; I used to know them all 
 long ago, long, long ago it seems. How strange it 
 all is ! I have been in a long sleep, have I not ? " 
 
 " Now, Clare, you are not being good, and I have 
 a good mind to punish you by not allowing you to 
 have the quail I ordered for your dinner. In a very 
 few days I shall hope you may be able to join us all 
 on deck and everywhere." 
 
 "Oh, that will be fine! I am feeling almost 
 happy now." 
 
 " Dear little Clare," and Lady Wiltshire kissed 
 her tenderly. . . . 
 
 " Didn t I tell you there was some great mystery 
 about it all," said Villiers to Annersley one evening. 
 
 " Yes, you did, but, Mon Dieu, who could have 
 thought of this! It s one of those unheard-of cases, 
 and they tell me she was Oswald s wife five years 
 ago." 
 
 " There is a great deal that I don t understand 
 yet, perhaps never will, but as you say, it is a ro 
 mantic tragedy as it stands." 
 
 " Hard thing to say, but it looks as if it were lucky 
 that the other was lost." 
 
 " Yes, if this recognition had taken place without 
 the tragic ending, where and what would have been 
 her position ? " 
 
 " It is incredible ! I never would have believed 
 it if it hadn t happened under our eyes."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A FEW days had passed since the conversation 
 between Clare and Lady Wiltshire. They had 
 been floating down the river now for nearly a 
 week. The boats made slow progress. When the 
 boatmen rowed with their long clumsy sweeps, they 
 could make four or five miles an hour, but when 
 they stopped, the dahabeahs would swing around 
 and float sidewise or with stern foremost. They 
 prayed for a southerly breeze, but in vain. The 
 day came when it had been promised that Clare 
 should go on deck and meet the Ammon-Ra people. 
 She felt quite strong now, and when they had ar 
 ranged a chair for her with lots of pillows, in one 
 corner of the canopied deck, Sir John went below 
 to escort her up. All from the Ammon-Ra, the two 
 ladies, with Van Beuren, Haswell and Billie, had 
 come over from their boat, which was floating down 
 near the Kinet-el-Nil. 
 
 It had been agreed that they should be as jolly 
 as they could, and to make no reference to the ac 
 cident. Billie had brought his guitar, and was 
 playing some old plantation melodies, as Sir John, 
 with Clare on his arm, appeared. Clare was dressed 
 in a pretty white sailor costume, with white sailor 
 hat, and she looked quite like the Clare Oswald of
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 243 
 
 five years ago to Van Beuren, as he stepped for 
 ward to greet her. 
 
 "Why, Mrs. Oswald, I am delighted to see you 
 again ; you have changed very little." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Van Beuren," said Clare, as 
 she grasped the proffered hand ; " how delightful to 
 meet again, and there are Mr. Haswell and Miss 
 Jones." 
 
 Billie and Sister Anne were presented. Clare re 
 membered having seen them in New York, but had 
 never known them in the old days. 
 
 The excitement of it all had given Clare a pretty 
 colour, and her bright, happy eyes showed a keen en 
 joyment at the meeting of her old friends. They 
 sat and chatted for a half hour about the old days 
 in New York, but no reference was made to Jack 
 or Katherine, and another day passed without 
 Clare s knowing that her husband had made a sec 
 ond marriage. This was in accordance, first with 
 the firm request of Lady Wiltshire to Clare, who 
 had promised to ask no questions about the past, 
 and secondly, in accordance with the request of Sir 
 John to his guests before Clare s appearance. 
 
 Jack lay in his cabin below at the time, talking 
 with Annersley, to whom he had taken a great 
 fancy. He was so far recovered that, barring his 
 great weakness, he was quite himself again. He 
 had been allowed to see all the men of the party, 
 and now he was telling young Annersley about 
 Clare and his marriage, and her strange disappear-
 
 244 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 ance. Jack had already been told by Van the 
 story in all its details of the finding of C^re in the 
 open boat. 
 
 Jack was happy, very happy. He could not help 
 it. He put aside the gloomy part of the picture. 
 He had for days been begging that he might see 
 Clare, and had been promised that it would be very 
 soon. Annersley told him how well she was, and 
 that they were holding a great reception on deck at 
 the time. Jack was delighted. 
 
 " Isn t she a magnificent woman, Annersley?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed, Oswald ; you are a very lucky man 
 to have a wife like Mrs. Oswald, and, by the way, I 
 think both Villiers and I were more than half in 
 love with her, so your popping up, as you did, may 
 have saved bloodshed." 
 
 Just then Van Beuren appeared and told An 
 nersley that he was wanted on deck, so the old 
 friends were left together for a time. After a little 
 desultory talk Van said : 
 
 " Oh, Jack, I want to say something to you be 
 fore you see Clare." 
 
 " Well, what is it ? " 
 
 " You know she is, up to this time, ignorant of 
 the fact that you married again." 
 
 " I have thought of that, Van," answered Jack in 
 a troubled voice, "and want to ask you what you 
 advise about it." 
 
 " It will certainly be a great shock, Jack, but if 
 she is told in the right way, she will see it rightly.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 245 
 
 Sir John thinks that I should tell her the whole 
 story. I am sure, from my heart, that I want to 
 smooth out this last obstacle to the happy ending 
 of your troubles, but I do not think that I am the 
 best person." 
 
 " Yes, you are, dear old boy. Clare has always 
 thought the world of you and you have been our 
 best friend. I will trust you now." 
 
 "You must remember, too, Jack, that you will 
 have to be married again, at least it seems so to us, 
 and until then you two are or\\y Jianct c, as it were." 
 
 " I agree to anything," answered Jack after a 
 moment s reflection. " I am in the hands of my 
 friends and shall follow their advice." 
 
 " Well, Jack, I will then, as soon as it is deemed 
 advisable, see Clare and have a long talk. It should 
 be done, I think, before you see her again, don t 
 you ? " 
 
 Yes, Van, I suppose so, but you must know 
 that I am simply living that the time may come 
 when Clare and I can begin our life again." 
 
 " I will talk with her to-day if Lady Wiltshire is 
 willing." 
 
 So the friends chatted together, and soon they 
 heard the party on deck breaking up, then Billic 
 appeared to say good-bye to Jack, and Van Beuren 
 left them and went on deck. The latter excused 
 himself from going back to the Ammon-Ra with the 
 others, and, on the plea of wanting to see a little 
 more of his friend Oswald, asked Sir John to send
 
 246 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 him over later. The balance of the party returned 
 to their boat. 
 
 Van Beuren sought Lady Wiltshire and said to 
 her: 
 
 " You know, Lady Wiltshire, that we cannot keep 
 them apart much longer, now that Mr. Oswald is so 
 well, and I will, if you have no objection, prepare 
 Mrs. Oswald for her interview, and tell her all that 
 I know of Jack s life since they were separated. 
 This is Sir John s proposal, as you perhaps know." 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Van Beuren, I agree with Sir John 
 and you, but I must see Clare first and decide 
 whether to-day is the best time. If you will stop 
 here for a few moments, I will be back directly." 
 
 Van went over to where Sir John and Villiers 
 were sitting. They were talking about the relative 
 speed of the Kinet-el-Nil and the Ammon-Ra, Soon 
 Lady Wiltshire re-appeared and at a signal Van 
 Beuren joined her. 
 
 " I think you had better go now and talk to 
 Clare. She is in my room way aft and is expecting 
 you." 
 
 Van went below and a pleasant " Come in " an 
 swered his knock at the door of Lady Wiltshire s 
 spacious cabin. He began at once. 
 
 " Mrs. Oswald, I wish to have a little talk with 
 you before you see Jack again." 
 
 "Yes," said Clare, in a little questioning, sur 
 prised voice, and feeling that something unpleasant 
 was coming.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 247 
 
 " You know that when you parted five years ago, 
 there was some misunderstanding between you, but 
 after you had sailed, this was all cleared up. I my 
 self have proofs that Jack was falsely accused." 
 
 " I know," answered Clare quickly, " that it was 
 all a terrible lie ; I do not wish any other proof 
 than what my heart tells me now." 
 
 "Well, the months and years went by and Jack 
 continued to live an automatic, mechanical kind of 
 an existence. He took no interest in anything. 
 After a long time we, his friends, urged him to 
 marry again." 
 
 " Yes, yes," interrupted Clare in a quivering 
 voice ; " I have felt it ; do not go further, but tell 
 me, did he marry and is she alive ? " 
 
 " Yes, he did marry, but she is dead. She was 
 drowned in the cataract the other day." 
 
 "Good Heavens!" cried Clare, " can this be 
 true ? " Clare was gazing with great, wondering 
 eyes at Van Beuren, who hurried on : 
 
 "Yes, and I will, I must say to you at once, that 
 this alliance was a great mistake. She did not love 
 him, and he had lost any affection he may have had 
 for her. He was very unhappy, and we, who had 
 urged him to it, felt all the more keenly for him. 
 I hope and pray that you will see this in the light 
 that I do, and remember that, had you really been 
 lost, and could you have looked back and advised, 
 you would have said : If it will make him happier, 
 I hope heVill marry again. "
 
 248 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 Van Beuren paused. He felt that he had not 
 said enough, nor put his words in the best shape, 
 but he had been very nervous from the start as to 
 the effect of his announcement. Finally Clare, 
 after sitting for some moments, rose and walked to 
 the xvindow at the side of the stateroom and looked 
 out. Van Beuren saw the great tears roll down 
 her soft cheeks unheeded. A great pity came over 
 him. 
 
 " Clare," and he called her by her first name for 
 the first time, " Clare, I know that this is a shock, a 
 very serious shock, to you, but I wish to say that 
 Jack Oswald has always loved you. He worshipped 
 you alive, and cherished your memory when he 
 thought you gone, as something too holy and 
 sacred to be spoken of. He is my most intimate 
 friend, and I assure you, that the mainspring of his 
 existence, since you went from his life, has been 
 his memory of you, and the pure love you gave 
 him." 
 
 Clare turned, and with swimming eyes, looked at 
 Van Beuren ; then she held out her hand to him. 
 He took it, and holding it said : 
 
 " It will be all right, Clare, will it not?" 
 
 He felt that if he stayed longer, he, too, would 
 break down, and, as she sank into her seat and with 
 a poor little sob, said : 
 
 " Yes, I think so " he made a bolt for the door 
 and the deck. 
 
 In the saloon Lady Wiltshire met him.
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 249 
 
 "Well, Mr. Van Beuren, how did she take it?" 
 
 " Rather hard, I fear, but perhaps, when she has 
 had her cry, she will feel better." 
 
 " Poor little bird, what a life she has had, but I 
 believe the clouds have broken and sunshine is 
 struggling through." 
 
 " I do, too, Lady Wiltshire. She loves Jack and, 
 though this is a hard blow, I think she will not be 
 the worse for it. I have wondered whether she 
 ought to have been told, but of course she would 
 have known it very soon in any event." 
 
 " Is her mother living, Mr. Van Beuren ?" 
 
 " No, I have heard from America that she died 
 shortly after our departure last fall. I have said to 
 Haswell that it might be dangerous to tell Clare of 
 this at present. Mrs. Lawrence has been a con 
 firmed invalid for some years, in fact, ever since 
 her daughter disappeared, with heart trouble or 
 something of the sort, and I am now in great doubt 
 as to what to do. Clare has a number of near 
 relatives, however, and I shall urge Mr. Haswell to 
 communicate with them and tell them, or perhaps 
 wait until he returns. In short, I am in a quandary." 
 
 "It is a difficult question. One of the first things 
 Clare asked me was about her mother, and I told 
 her I would find out about her as soon as I could, 
 and that she must be prepared to hear anything, 
 but just now we must think only of those near and 
 dear to us and who need our attention." 
 
 Van told Lady Wiltshire, in a few words, what
 
 250 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 he had said to Clare and, after he had left the boat, 
 she went in to see her. She found her curled up in 
 her chair asleep, so she threw a light wrap over her 
 and left her there. 
 
 Clare had expected to come to dinner for the 
 first time that evening, but when she awoke she 
 was so unstrung that Lady Wiltshire thought she 
 had better take her meal in her stateroom, where 
 she was. There the two had their dinner together, 
 and Lady Wiltshire made Clare laugh more than 
 once, by telling her stories of her quaint experiences 
 in China and Japan. 
 
 On the following day, Clare and Lady Wiltshire 
 had a long talk, the result of which was, that Clare 
 was to be allowed to see Jack. Lady Wiltshire 
 also took the opportunity of telling Clare of her 
 mother s death. Clare received the news calmly, 
 though she cried a little as she told her benefactress 
 what a devoted and unselfish mother Mrs. Law 
 rence had been. She said : 
 
 "This has changed it all. Before I saw Mr. Van 
 Beuren I thought I was Jack s wife, but now I can 
 not feel that I am, and, though I love him as well as 
 ever, yet this terrible shadow will always come be 
 tween us and I feel that by and by we must be 
 married again." .... Three weeks later, the Am- 
 mon-Ra and Kinet-el-Nil spent the night at Assiut. 
 They had scarcely made fast to the shore, when a 
 tall, handsome man, guided by an Arab Effendi, 
 was seen descending the steep bank toward the
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 251 
 
 boats. The two dahabeahs were tied up side by 
 side, and all were on deck. Jack and Clare were 
 engrossed in a game of backgammon, and, as 
 Annersley, looking over the rail, called out : 
 
 " What a good-looking chap that is coming down 
 to the boat ; he doesn t look like one of Cook s 
 agents," Jack looked over the side, and then, leap 
 ing to his feet, and scattering the men hopelessly 
 over the board, called out : 
 
 " Hello, Ernest, you dear old boy. How are 
 you?" 
 
 " Hello, Jack. By Jove ! How well you are look 
 ing." 
 
 A moment later the friends were embracing each 
 other with great fervor. Meanwhile Clare had gone 
 below to allow the old friends a few moments alone. 
 
 " Why, where did you drop from, Ernest ? " asked 
 Haswell. 
 
 " I came up from Cairo by train to meet you, and 
 if I am invited, will sail back with you," answered 
 Balford. 
 
 " Do you want a written invitation ? " asked Jack. 
 
 "No, word of mouth will do, if I have witnesses." 
 
 " Then you are one of us," said Haswell. 
 
 That night they had a very jolly dinner. Prob 
 ably, during the meal, each one gave a thought to the 
 little yellow grave under the mimosa tree, way off 
 at Assouan, but the human heart and mind are 
 easily diverted from pain, and their present happi 
 ness obscured all else for the time being. Only
 
 252 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 afterwards when Balford, Van Beuren and Billie sat 
 alone, was the subject brought up and the details 
 of the tragedy repeated. . . . 
 
 In ten days they were all in Cairo. On the way 
 down from Assiut, Haswell had urged the English 
 party to become his guests on the Ailsa from Alex 
 andria to Brindisi, and they had accepted. Balford 
 had agreed to return to New York via Europe with 
 the Clintons. The Carter party had returned to 
 Cairo, and had gone on to Palestine, but letters left 
 at Cook & Son s for the Ammon-Ra party contained 
 the information that they would all meet somewhere 
 in Europe. Dr. Van Rennsalaer had written a 
 congratulatory letter to Margaret, in which he 
 stigmatized Billie as a very lucky devil. . . . 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-eighth of March, 
 the Ailsa, which had been completely overhauled, 
 sailed away from Egypt bearing a very contented 
 party. Five days later they passed into the land 
 locked harbour of Brindisi. Here the party broke 
 up. Sir John and Lady Wiltshire, Annersley and 
 Villiers, Jack and Clare, went direct to London by 
 the transcontinental mail. 
 
 It had been arranged that Jack and Clare should 
 be quietly married, early in April, in the little chapel 
 at Chippenham, and sail at once for America. Billie 
 and Margaret were to be married after they had re 
 turned to New York and had received parental 
 sanction. The Ailsa was to work around to South 
 ampton, where the party would leave her and return
 
 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 253 
 
 by the American Line. Jack and Clare would try 
 to join them on the same boat. . . . 
 
 The bell of the little brown church at Rye on Long 
 Island Sound was clanging out its noisy welcome. It 
 was the first day of June. The train had just pulled 
 out of the pretty station, and a stream of well- 
 dressed people were walking down the platform. 
 They all seemed to be acquainted. As they got 
 into the smart-looking traps waiting for them, Van 
 Beuren hurried up, gorgeous in frock coat and high 
 hat, and there were many handshakings and greet 
 ings. 
 
 " It s only a little way ; you can walk if you please. 
 That s the bell of the little church you hear. It s 
 not much bigger than a toy house, just the place for 
 Margaret and Billie to be married in." 
 
 The air was redolent with the perfume of lilacs, 
 and, as they passed, they caught glimpses of the 
 bright green lawns and pretty summer residences. 
 As they drove up to the church entrance, the happy 
 bridegroom rushed forward and greeted them and 
 helped Clare to alight. 
 
 " It s very unconventional, I know," he said, " but 
 I couldn t help it, and I know Margaret won t 
 blame me." .... 
 
 An hour later, they were all wishing the newly 
 made couple all manner of good things, and the 
 Jones country place resounded with the laughter 
 of a hundred voices. Dr. Van confessed to the 
 bride that he would never recover from the shock
 
 254 AN ECLIPSE OF MEMORY. 
 
 received upon first hearing of the engagement, and, 
 upon Billie s assuring him that there were just as 
 good fish in the sea as had ever been taken out of 
 it, he answered, very gallantly, that he didn t believe 
 it. ... 
 
 As Jack sat that evening on the spacious verandah 
 of their cottage at Rockaway, Clare came over to 
 him. She was dressed in a simple white lawn, with 
 just a bit of colour at the neck and waist. She sat 
 for a moment on the arm of his chair. The wealth 
 of honeysuckle behind made a fitting background 
 for the picture. She looked down into his eyes. 
 He had laid aside his paper, and leaning his head 
 back, looked into hers with a gaze of perfect 
 content. 
 
 THE END.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 NON-RENE 
 
 JAN 2 5 MS 
 DUE 2 WKS FROM OP 
 
 TERtCEIVED 
 

 
 A 000118710 3