The girl- in whom a third time
lives the object of the old man's early choice- dwells with him alone,
and is loved by him with a most doting affection. He has now become
poor, and at length is reduced to keeping a shop for antiquities and
curiosities. Finally, through his dread of involving the child in
want, his mind becomes weakened. He thinks to redeem his fortune by
gambling, borrows money for this purpose of a dwarf, who, at length,
discovering the true state of the old man's affairs, seizes his
furniture and turns him out of doors. The girl and himself set out,
without farther object than to relieve themselves of the sight of
the hated city, upon a weary pilgrimage, whose events form the basis
or body of the tale. In fine, just as a peaceful retirement is secured
for them, the child, wasted with fatigue and anxiety, dies. The
grandfather, through grief, immediately follows her to the tomb. The
younger brother, meantime, has received information of the old man's
poverty, hastens to England, and arrives only in time to be at the
closing scene of the tragedy.
This plot is the best which could have been constructed for the main
object of the narrative. This object is the depicting of a fervent and
dreamy love for the child on the part of the grandfather- such a
love as would induce devotion to himself on the part of the orphan.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115