?Perhaps,? said Miss Ophelia, ?it is impossible for a person who does no good not to do harm ?And what,? said StClare, speaking abstractedly, but with deep feeling, ?what shall be said of one whose own heart, whose education, and the wants of society, have called in vain to some noble purpose; who has floated on, a dreamy, neutral spectator of the struggles, agonies, and wrongs of man, when he should have been a worker?? ?I should say,? said Miss Ophelia, ?that he ought to repent, and begin now ?Always practical and to the point!? said StClare, his face breaking out into a smile?You never leave me any time for general reflections, Cousin; you always bring me short up against the actual present; you have a kind of eternal now, always in your mind ?Now is all the time I have anything to do with,? said Miss Ophelia ?Dear little Eva,?poor child!? said StClare, ?she had set her little simple soul on a good work for me It was the first time since Eva?s death that he had ever said as many words as these to her, and he spoke now evidently repressing very strong feeling ?My view of Christianity is such,? he added, ?that I think no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society; and, if need be, sacrificing himself in the battleThat is, I mean that I could not be a Christian otherwise, though I have certainly had intercourse with a great many enlightened and Christian people who did no such thing; and I confess that the apathy of religious people on this subject, their want of perception of wrongs that filled me with horror, have engendered in me more scepticism than any other thing ?If you knew all this,? said Miss Ophelia, ?why didn?t you do it?? ?O, because I have had only that kind of benevolence which consists in lying on a sofa, and cursing the church and clergy for not being martyrs and confessorsOne can see, you know, very easily, how others ought to be martyrs ?Well, are you going to do differently now?? said Miss Ophelia ?God only knows the future,? said St?I am braver than I was, because I have lost all; and he who has nothing to lose can afford all risks ?And what are you going to do?? ?My duty, I hope, to the poor and lowly, as fast as I find it out,? said StClare, ?beginning with my own servants, for whom I have yet done nothing; and, perhaps, at some future day, it may appear that I can do something for a whole class; something to save my country from the disgrace of that false position in which she now stands before all civilized nations ?Do you suppose it possible that a nation ever will voluntarily emancipate?? said Miss Ophelia ?I don?t know,? said St?This is a day of great deedsHeroism and disinterestedness are rising up, here and there, in the earthThe Hungarian nobles set free millions of serfs, at an immense pecuniary loss; and, perhaps, among us may be found generous spirits, who do not estimate honor and justice by dollars and cents ?I hardly think so,? said Miss Ophelia ?But, suppose we should rise up tomorrow and emancipate, who would educate these millions, and teach them how to use their freedom? They never would rise to do much among usThe fact is, we are too lazy and unpractical, ourselves, ever to give them much of an idea of that industry and energy which is necessary to form them into menThey will have to go north, where labor is the fashion,?the universal custom; and tell me, now, is there enough Christian philanthropy, among your northern states, to bear with the process of their education and elevation? You send thousands of dollars to foreign missions; but could you endure to have the heathen sent into your towns and villages, and give your time, and thoughts, and money, to raise them to the Christian standard? That?s what I want to knowIf we emancipate, are you willing to educate? How many families, in your town, would take a negro man and woman, teach them, bear with them, and seek to make them Christians? How many merchants would take Adolph, if I wanted to make him a clerk; or mechanics, if I wanted him taught a trade? If I wanted to put Jane and Rosa to a school, how many schools are there in the northern states that would take them in? how many families that would board them? and yet they are as white as many a woman, north or southYou see, Cousin, I want justice done usWe are in a bad positionWe are the more obvious oppressors of the negro; but the unchristian prejudice of the north is an oppressor almost equally severe ?Well, Cousin, I know it is so,? said Miss Ophelia,??I know it was so with me, till I saw that it was my duty to overcome it; but, I trust I have overcome it; and I know there are many good people at the north, who in this matter need only to be taught what their duty is, to do itIt would certainly be a greater self-denial to receive heathen among us, than to send missionaries to them; but I think we would do it ?You would I know,? said St?I?d like to see anything you wouldn?t do, if you thought it your duty!? ?Well, I?m not uncommonly good,? said Miss Ophelia?Others would, if they saw things as I doI intend to take Topsy home, when I goI suppose our folks will wonder, at first; but I think they will be brought to see as I doBesides, I know there are many people at the north who do exactly what you shop said

There was an unusual understanding of himself, which was unlike anything I had ever met with in a lunatic, and he took it for granted that his reasons would prevail with others entirely saneWe all five went into the room, but none of the others at first said anythingHis request was that I would at once release him from the asylum and send him homeThis he backed up with arguments regarding his complete recovery, and adduced his own existing sanity "I appeal to your friends," he said, "they will, perhaps, not mind sitting in judgement on my caseBy the way, you have not introduced me I was so much astonished, that the oddness of introducing a madman in an asylum did not strike me at the moment, and besides, there was a certain dignity in the man's manner, so much of the habit of equality, that I at once made the introduction, "Lord Godalming, Professor Van Helsing, MrQuincey Morris, of Texas, Mr He shook hands with each of them, saying in turn, "Lord Godalming, I had the honour of seconding your father at the Windham; I grieve to know, by your holding the title, that he is no moreHe was a man loved and honoured by all who knew him, and in his youth was, I have heard, the inventor of a burnt rum punch, much patronized on Derby nightMorris, you should be proud of your great stateIts reception into the Union was a precedent which may have far-reaching effects hereafter, when the Pole and the Tropics may hold alliance to the Stars and StripesThe power of Treaty may yet prove a vast engine of enlargement, when the Monroe doctrine takes its true place as a political fableWhat shall any man say of his pleasure at meeting Van Helsing? Sir, I make no apology for dropping all forms of conventional prefixWhen an individual has revolutionized therapeutics by his discovery of the continuous evolution of brain matter, conventional forms are unfitting, since they would seem to limit him to one of a classYou, gentlemen, who by nationality, by heredity, or by the possession of natural gifts, are fitted to hold your respective places in the moving world, I take to witness that I am as sane as at least the majority of men who are in full possession of their libertiesAnd I am sure that you, DrSeward, humanitarian and medico-jurist as well as scientist, will deem it a moral duty to deal with me as one to be considered as under exceptional circumstances He made this last appeal with a courtly air of conviction which was not without its own charm I think we were all staggeredFor my own part, I was under the conviction, despite my knowledge of the man's character and history, that his reason had been restored, and I felt under a strong impulse to tell him that I was satisfied as to his sanity, and would see about the necessary formalities for his release in the morningI thought it better to wait, however, before making so grave a statement, for of old I knew the sudden changes to which this particular patient was liableSo I contented myself with making a general statement that he appeared to be improving very rapidly, that I would have a longer chat with him in the morning, and would then see what I could do in the direction of meeting his wishes This did not at all satisfy him, for he said quickly, "But I fear, DrSeward, that you hardly apprehend my wishI desire to go at once, here, now, this very hour, this very moment, if I mayTime presses, and in our implied agreement with the old scytheman it is of the essence of the contractI am sure it is only necessary to put before so admirable a practitioner as DrSeward so simple, yet so momentous a wish, to ensure its fulfilment He looked at me keenly, and seeing the negative in my face, turned to the others, and scrutinized them closelyNot meeting any sufficient response, he went on, "Is it possible that I have erred in my supposition?" "You have," I said frankly, but at the same time, as I felt, brutally There was a considerable pause, and then he said slowly, "Then I suppose I must only shift my ground of requestLet me ask for this concession, boon, privilege, what you willI am content to implore in such a case, not on personal grounds, but for the sake of othersI am not at liberty to give you the whole of my reasons, but you may, I assure you, take it from me that they are good ones, sound and unselfish, and spring from the highest sense of duty "Could you look, sir, into my heart, you would approve to the full the sentiments which animate meNay, more, you would count me amongst the best and truest of your friends Again he looked at us all keenlyI had a growing conviction that this sudden change of his entire intellectual method was but yet another phase of his madness, and so determined to let him go on a little longer, knowing from experience that he would, like all lunatics, give himself away in the endVan Helsing was gazing at him with a look of utmost intensity, his bushy eyebrows almost meeting with the fixed concentration of his shop look

"What can I do?" asked Arthur hoarsely"Tell me, and I shall do itMy life is hers, and I would give the last drop of blood in my body for her The Professor has a strongly humorous side, and I could from old knowledge detect a trace of its origin in his answer "My young sir, I do not ask so much as that, not the last!" "What shall I do?" There was fire in his eyes, and his open nostrils quivered with intentVan Helsing slapped him on the shoulder"You are a man, and it is a man we wantYou are better than me, better than my friend John Arthur looked bewildered, and the Professor went on by explaining in a kindly way "Young miss is bad, very badShe wants blood, and blood she must have or dieMy friend John and I have consulted, and we are about to perform what we call transfusion of blood, to transfer from full veins of one to the empty veins which pine for himJohn was to give his blood, as he is the more young and strong than me--Here Arthur took my hand and wrung it hard in silence-"But now you are here, you are more good than us, old or young, who toil much in the world of thoughtOur nerves are not so calm and our blood so bright than yours!" Arthur turned to him and said, "If you only knew how gladly I would die for her you would understand?" He stopped with a sort of choke in his voice "Good boy!" said Van Helsing"In the not-so-far-off you will be happy that you have done all for her you loveCome now and be silentYou shall kiss her once before it is done, but then you must go, and you must leave at my signSay no word to MadameYou know how it is with herThere must be no shock, any knowledge of this would be oneCome!" We all went up to Lucy's roomArthur by direction remained outsideLucy turned her head and looked at us, but said nothingShe was not asleep, but she was simply too weak to make the effortHer eyes spoke to us, that was all Van Helsing took some things from his bag and laid them on a little table out of sightThen he mixed a narcotic, and coming over to the bed, said cheerily, "Now, little miss, here is your medicineDrink it off, like a good childSee, I lift you so that to swallow is easy She had made the effort with success It astonished me how long the drug took to actThis, in fact, marked the extent of her weaknessThe time seemed endless until sleep began to flicker in her eyelidsAt last, however, the narcotic began to manifest its potency, and she fell into a deep sleepWhen the Professor was satisfied, he called Arthur into the room, and bade him strip off his coatThen he added, "You may take that one little kiss whiles I bring over the tableFriend John, help to me!" So neither of us looked whilst he bent over shop her

The arrival of Van Helsing's telegram filled me with dismayA whole night lost, and I know by bitter experience what may happen in a nightOf course it is possible that all may be well, but what may have happened? Surely there is some horrible doom hanging over us that every possible accident should thwart us in all we try to doI shall take this cylinder with me, and then I can complete my entry on Lucy's phonograph MEMORANDUM LEFT BY LUCY WESTENRA 17 September, Night-I write this and leave it to be seen, so that no one may by any chance get into trouble through meThis is an exact record of what took place tonightI feel I am dying of weakness, and have barely strength to write, but it must be done if I die in the doing I went to bed as usual, taking care that the flowers were placed as DrVan Helsing directed, and soon fell asleep I was waked by the flapping at the window, which had begun after that sleep-walking on the cliff at Whitby when Mina saved me, and which now I know so wellI was not afraid, but I did wish that DrSeward was in the next room, as DrVan Helsing said he would be, so that I might have called himI tried to sleep, but I could notThen there came to me the old fear of sleep, and I determined to keep awakePerversely sleep would try to come then when I did not want itSo, as I feared to be alone, I opened my door and called out, "Is there anybody there?" There was no answerI was afraid to wake mother, and so closed my door againThen outside in the shrubbery I heard a sort of howl like a dog's, but more fierce and deeperI went to the window and looked out, but could see nothing, except a big bat, which had evidently been buffeting its wings against the windowSo I went back to bed again, but determined not to go to sleepPresently the door opened, and mother looked inSeeing by my moving that I was not asleep, she came in and sat by meShe said to me even more sweetly and softly than her wont, "I was uneasy about you, darling, and came in to see that you were all right I feared she might catch cold sitting there, and asked her to come in and sleep with me, so she came into bed, and lay down beside meShe did not take off her dressing gown, for she said she would only stay a while and then go back to her own bedAs she lay there in my arms, and I in hers the flapping and buffeting came to the window againShe was startled and a little frightened, and cried out, "What is that?" I tried to pacify her, and at last succeeded, and she lay quietBut I could hear her poor dear heart still beating terriblyAfter a while there was the howl again out in the shrubbery, and shortly after there was a crash at the window, and a lot of broken glass was hurled on the floorThe window blind blew back with the wind that rushed in, and in the aperture of the broken panes there was the head of a great, gaunt gray wolf Mother cried out in a fright, and struggled up into a sitting posture, and clutched wildly at anything that would help herAmongst other things, she clutched the wreath of flowers that DrVan Helsing insisted on my wearing round my neck, and tore it away from meFor a second or two she sat up, pointing at the wolf, and there was a strange and horrible gurgling in her throatThen she fell over, as if struck with lightning, and her head hit my forehead and made me dizzy for a moment or two The room and all round seemed to spin roundI kept my eyes fixed on the window, but the wolf drew his head back, and a whole myriad of little specks seems to come blowing in through the broken window, and wheeling and circling round like the pillar of dust that travellers describe when there is a simoon in the desertI tried to stir, but there was some spell upon me, and dear Mother's poor body, which seemed to grow cold already, for her dear heart had ceased to beat, weighed me down, and I remembered no more for a shop while

Miss Moseley, who came into the house to help to do the dress-making, acquired daily accessions of importance from the developments with regard to Miss Ophelia?s wardrobe which she had been enabled to makeIt was credibly ascertained that Squire Sinclare, as his name was commonly contracted in the neighborhood, had counted out fifty dollars, and given them to Miss Ophelia, and told her to buy any clothes she thought best; and that two new silk dresses, and a bonnet, had been sent for from BostonAs to the propriety of this extraordinary outlay, the public mind was divided,?some affirming that it was well enough, all things considered, for once in one?s life, and others stoutly affirming that the money had better have been sent to the missionaries; but all parties agreed that there had been no such parasol seen in those parts as had been sent on from New York, and that she had one silk dress that might fairly be trusted to stand alone, whatever might be said of its mistressThere were credible rumors, also, of a hemstitched pocket-handkerchief; and report even went so far as to state that Miss Ophelia had one pocket-handkerchief with lace all around it,?it was even added that it was worked in the corners; but this latter point was never satisfactorily ascertained, and remains, in fact, unsettled to this day Miss Ophelia, as you now behold her, stands before you, in a very shining brown linen travelling-dress, tall, square-formed, and angularHer face was thin, and rather sharp in its outlines; the lips compressed, like those of a person who is in the habit of making up her mind definitely on all subjects; while the keen, dark eyes had a peculiarly searching, advised movement, and travelled over everything, as if they were looking for something to take care of All her movements were sharp, decided, and energetic; and, though she was never much of a talker, her words were remarkably direct, and to the purpose, when she did speak In her habits, she was a living impersonation of order, method, and exactnessIn punctuality, she was as inevitable as a clock, and as inexorable as a railroad engine; and she held in most decided contempt and abomination anything of a contrary character The great sin of sins, in her eyes,?the sum of all evils,?was expressed by one very common and important word in her vocabulary??shiftlessness Her finale and ultimatum of contempt consisted in a very emphatic pronunciation of the word ?shiftless;? and by this she characterized all modes of procedure which had not a direct and inevitable relation to accomplishment of some purpose then definitely had in mindPeople who did nothing, or who did not know exactly what they were going to do, or who did not take the most direct way to accomplish what they set their hands to, were objects of her entire contempt,?a contempt shown less frequently by anything she said, than by a kind of stony grimness, as if she scorned to say anything about the matter As to mental cultivation,?she had a clear, strong, active mind, was well and thoroughly read in history and the older English classics, and thought with great strength within certain narrow limitsHer theological tenets were all made up, labelled in most positive and distinct forms, and put by, like the bundles in her patch trunk; there were just so many of them, and there were never to be any moreSo, also, were her ideas with regard to most matters of practical life,?such as housekeeping in all its branches, and the various political relations of her native villageAnd, underlying all, deeper than anything else, higher and broader, lay the strongest principle of her being?conscientiousnessNowhere is conscience so dominant and all-absorbing as with New England womenIt is the granite formation, which lies deepest, and rises out, even to the tops of the highest mountains Miss Ophelia was the absolute bond-slave of the ?ought Once make her certain that the ?path of duty,? as she commonly phrased it, lay in any given direction, and fire and water could not keep her from itShe would walk straight down into a well, or up to a loaded cannon?s mouth, if she were only quite sure that there the path layHer standard of right was so high, so all-embracing, so minute, and making so few concessions to human frailty, that, though she strove with heroic ardor to reach it, she never actually did so, and of course was burdened with a constant and often harassing sense of deficiency;?this gave a severe and somewhat gloomy cast to her religious character But, how in the world can Miss Ophelia get along with Augustine StClare,?gay, easy, unpunctual, unpractical, sceptical,?in short,?walking with impudent and nonchalant freedom over every one of her most cherished habits and opinions? To tell the truth, then, Miss Ophelia loved himWhen a boy, it had been hers to teach him his catechism, mend his clothes, comb his hair, and bring him up generally in the way he should go; and her heart having a warm side to it, Augustine had, as he usually did with most people, monopolized a large share of it for himself, and therefore it was that he succeeded very easily in persuading her that the ?path of duty? lay in the direction of New Orleans, and that she must go with him to take care of Eva, and keep everything from going to wreck and ruin during the frequent illnesses of his wifeThe idea of a house without anybody to take care of it went to her heart; then she loved the lovely little girl, as few could help doing; and though she regarded Augustine as very much of a heathen, yet she loved him, laughed at his jokes, and forbore with his failings, to an extent which those who knew him thought perfectly incredibleBut what more or other is to be known of Miss Ophelia our reader must discover by a personal acquaintance There she is, sitting now in her state-room, surrounded by a mixed multitude of little and big carpet-bags, boxes, baskets, each containing some separate responsibility which she is tying, binding up, packing, or fastening, with a face of great earnestness ?Now, Eva, have you kept count of your things? Of course you haven?t,?children never do: there?s the spotted carpet-bag and the little blue band-box with your best bonnet,?that?s two; then the India rubber satchel is three; and my tape and needle box is four; and my band-box, five; and my collar-box; and that little hair trunk, sevenWhat have you done with your sunshade? Give it to me, and let me put a paper round it, and tie it to my umbrella with my shade;?there, now ?Why, aunty, we are only going up home;?what is the use?? ?To keep it nice, child; people must take care of their things, if they ever mean to have anything; and now, Eva, is your thimble put up?? ?Really, aunty, I don?t know ?Well, never mind; I?ll look your box over,?thimble, wax, two spools, scissors, knife, tape-needle; all right,?put it in hereWhat did you ever do, child, when you were coming on with only your papaI should have thought you?d a lost everything you had ?Well, aunty, I did lose a great many; and then, when we stopped anywhere, papa would buy some more of whatever it was ?Mercy on us, child,?what a way!? ?It was a very easy way, aunty,? said Eva ?It?s a dreadful shiftless one,? said aunty ?Why, aunty, what?ll you do now?? said Eva; ?that trunk is too full to be shut down ?It must shut down,? said aunty, with the air of a general, as she squeezed the things in, and sprung upon the lid;?still a little gap remained about the mouth of the trunk ?Get up here, Eva!? said Miss Ophelia, courageously; ?what has been done can be done shop again