?O! they can get that read to them all they need ?It seems to me, mamma, the Bible is for every one to read themselvesThey need it a great many times when there is nobody to read it ?Eva, you are an odd child,? said her mother ?Miss Ophelia has taught Topsy to read,? continued Eva ?Yes, and you see how much good it doesTopsy is the worst creature I ever saw!? ?Here?s poor Mammy!? said Eva?She does love the Bible so much, and wishes so she could read! And what will she do when I can?t read to her?? Marie was busy, turning over the contents of a drawer, as she answered, ?Well, of course, by and by, Eva, you will have other things to think of besides reading the Bible round to servantsNot but that is very proper; I?ve done it myself, when I had healthBut when you come to be dressing and going into company, you won?t have timeSee here!? she added, ?these jewels I?m going to give you when you come outI wore them to my first ballI can tell you, Eva, I made a sensation Eva took the jewel-case, and lifted from it a diamond necklaceHer large, thoughtful eyes rested on them, but it was plain her thoughts were elsewhere ?How sober you look child!? said Marie ?Are these worth a great deal of money, mamma?? ?To be sure, they areFather sent to France for themThey are worth a small fortune ?I wish I had them,? said Eva, ?to do what I pleased with!? ?What would you do with them?? ?I?d sell them, and buy a place in the free states, and take all our people there, and hire teachers, to teach them to read and write Eva was cut short by her mother?s laughing ?Set up a boarding-school! Wouldn?t you teach them to play on the piano, and paint on velvet?? ?I?d teach them to read their own Bible, and write their own letters, and read letters that are written to them,? said Eva, steadily?I know, mamma, it does come very hard on them that they can?t do these thingsTom feels it?Mammy does,?a great many of them do ?Come, come, Eva; you are only a child! You don?t know anything about these things,? said Marie; ?besides, your talking makes my head ache Marie always had a headache on hand for any conversation that did not exactly suit her Eva stole away; but after that, she assiduously gave Mammy reading lessons Chapter 23 Henrique About this time, StClare?s brother Alfred, with his eldest son, a boy of twelve, spent a day or two with the family at the lake No sight could be more singular and beautiful than that of these twin brothersNature, instead of instituting resemblances between them, had made them opposites on every point; yet a mysterious tie seemed to unite them in a closer friendship than ordinary They used to saunter, arm in arm, up and down the alleys and walks of the gardenAugustine, with his blue eyes and golden hair, his ethereally flexible form and vivacious features; and Alfred, dark-eyed, with haughty Roman profile, firmly-knit limbs, and decided bearingThey were always abusing each other?s opinions and practices, and yet never a whit the less absorbed in each other?s society; in fact, the very contrariety seemed to unite them, like the attraction between opposite poles of the magnet Henrique, the eldest son of Alfred, was a noble, dark-eyed, princely boy, full of vivacity and spirit; and, from the first moment of introduction, seemed to be perfectly fascinated by the spirituelle graces of his cousin Evangeline Eva had a little pet pony, of a snowy whitenessIt was easy as a cradle, and as gentle as its little mistress; and this pony was now brought up to the back verandah by Tom, while a little mulatto boy of about thirteen led along a small black Arabian, which had just been imported, at a great expense, for Henrique Henrique had a boy?s pride in his new possession; and, as he advanced and took the reins out of the hands of his little groom, he looked carefully over him, and his brow darkened ?What?s this, Dodo, you little lazy dog! you haven?t rubbed my horse down, this morning ?Yes, Mas?r,? said Dodo, submissively; ?he got that dust on his own shop self

?It seems to me, mamma, the Bible is for every one to read themselvesThey need it a great many times when there is nobody to read it ?Eva, you are an odd child,? said her mother ?Miss Ophelia has taught Topsy to read,? continued Eva ?Yes, and you see how much good it doesTopsy is the worst creature I ever saw!? ?Here?s poor Mammy!? said Eva?She does love the Bible so much, and wishes so she could read! And what will she do when I can?t read to her?? Marie was busy, turning over the contents of a drawer, as she answered, ?Well, of course, by and by, Eva, you will have other things to think of besides reading the Bible round to servantsNot but that is very proper; I?ve done it myself, when I had healthBut when you come to be dressing and going into company, you won?t have timeSee here!? she added, ?these jewels I?m going to give you when you come outI wore them to my first ballI can tell you, Eva, I made a sensation Eva took the jewel-case, and lifted from it a diamond necklaceHer large, thoughtful eyes rested on them, but it was plain her thoughts were elsewhere ?How sober you look child!? said Marie ?Are these worth a great deal of money, mamma?? ?To be sure, they areFather sent to France for themThey are worth a small fortune ?I wish I had them,? said Eva, ?to do what I pleased with!? ?What would you do with them?? ?I?d sell them, and buy a place in the free states, and take all our people there, and hire teachers, to teach them to read and write Eva was cut short by her mother?s laughing ?Set up a boarding-school! Wouldn?t you teach them to play on the piano, and paint on velvet?? ?I?d teach them to read their own Bible, and write their own letters, and read letters that are written to them,? said Eva, steadily?I know, mamma, it does come very hard on them that they can?t do these thingsTom feels it?Mammy does,?a great many of them do ?Come, come, Eva; you are only a child! You don?t know anything about these things,? said Marie; ?besides, your talking makes my head ache Marie always had a headache on hand for any conversation that did not exactly suit her Eva stole away; but after that, she assiduously gave Mammy reading lessons Chapter 23 Henrique About this time, StClare?s brother Alfred, with his eldest son, a boy of twelve, spent a day or two with the family at the lake No sight could be more singular and beautiful than that of these twin brothersNature, instead of instituting resemblances between them, had made them opposites on every point; yet a mysterious tie seemed to unite them in a closer friendship than ordinary They used to saunter, arm in arm, up and down the alleys and walks of the gardenAugustine, with his blue eyes and golden hair, his ethereally flexible form and vivacious features; and Alfred, dark-eyed, with haughty Roman profile, firmly-knit limbs, and decided bearingThey were always abusing each other?s opinions and practices, and yet never a whit the less absorbed in each other?s society; in fact, the very contrariety seemed to unite them, like the attraction between opposite poles of the magnet Henrique, the eldest son of Alfred, was a noble, dark-eyed, princely boy, full of vivacity and spirit; and, from the first moment of introduction, seemed to be perfectly fascinated by the spirituelle graces of his cousin Evangeline Eva had a little pet pony, of a snowy whitenessIt was easy as a cradle, and as gentle as its little mistress; and this pony was now brought up to the back verandah by Tom, while a little mulatto boy of about thirteen led along a small black Arabian, which had just been imported, at a great expense, for Henrique Henrique had a boy?s pride in his new possession; and, as he advanced and took the reins out of the hands of his little groom, he looked carefully over him, and his brow darkened ?What?s this, Dodo, you little lazy dog! you haven?t rubbed my horse down, this morning ?Yes, Mas?r,? said Dodo, submissively; ?he got that dust on his own self ?You rascal, shut your mouth!? said Henrique, violently raising his shop riding-whip

He have always the strength in his hand of twenty men, even we four who gave our strength to Miss Lucy it also is all to himBesides, he can summon his wolf and I know not whatSo if it be that he came thither on this night he shall find meBut none other shall, until it be too lateBut it may be that he will not attempt the placeThere is no reason why he shouldHis hunting ground is more full of game than the churchyard where the UnDead woman sleeps, and the one old man watch "Therefore I write this in case? Take the papers that are with this, the diaries of Harker and the rest, and read them, and then find this great UnDead, and cut off his head and burn his heart or drive a stake through it, so that the world may rest from him "If it be so, farewellSEWARD'S DIARY 28 September-It is wonderful what a good night's sleep will do for oneYesterday I was almost willing to accept Van Helsing's monstrous ideas, but now they seem to start out lurid before me as outrages on common senseI have no doubt that he believes it allI wonder if his mind can have become in any way unhingedSurely there must be some rational explanation of all these mysterious thingsIs it possible that the Professor can have done it himself? He is so abnormally clever that if he went off his head he would carry out his intent with regard to some fixed idea in a wonderful wayI am loathe to think it, and indeed it would be almost as great a marvel as the other to find that Van Helsing was mad, but anyhow I shall watch him carefullyI may get some light on the mystery-Last night, at a little before ten o'clock, Arthur and Quincey came into Van Helsing's roomHe told us all what he wanted us to do, but especially addressing himself to Arthur, as if all our wills were centred in hisHe began by saying that he hoped we would all come with him too, "for," he said, "there is a grave duty to be done thereYou were doubtless surprised at my letter?" This query was directly addressed to Lord GodalmingIt rather upset me for a bitThere has been so much trouble around my house of late that I could do without any moreI have been curious, too, as to what you mean "Quincey and I talked it over, but the more we talked, the more puzzled we got, till now I can say for myself that I'm about up a tree as to any meaning about anything "Me too," said Quincey Morris laconically "Oh," said the Professor, "then you are nearer the beginning, both of you, than friend John here, who has to go a long way back before he can even get so far as to begin It was evident that he recognized my return to my old doubting frame of mind without my saying a wordThen, turning to the other two, he said with intense gravity, "I want your permission to do what I think good this nightIt is, I know, much to ask, and when you know what it is I propose to do you will know, and only then how muchTherefore may I ask that you promise me in the dark, so that afterwards, though you may be angry with me for a time, I must not disguise from myself the possibility that such may be, you shall not blame yourselves for anything "That's frank anyhow," broke in Quincey"I'll answer for the ProfessorI don't quite see his drift, but I swear he's honest, and that's good enough for me "I thank you, Sir," said Van Helsing proudly"I have done myself the honour of counting you one trusting friend, and such endorsement is dear to me He held out a hand, which Quincey took Then Arthur spoke out, "DrVan Helsing, I don't quite like to 'buy a pig in a poke', as they say in Scotland, and if it be anything in which my honour as a gentleman or my faith as a Christian is concerned, I cannot make such a shop promise

He give much talk to captain as to how and where his box is to be placeBut the captain like it not and swear at him in many tongues, and tell him that if he like he can come and see where it shall beBut he say 'no,' that he come not yet, for that he have much to doWhereupon the captain tell him that he had better be quick, with blood, for that his ship will leave the place, of blood, before the turn of the tide, with bloodThen the thin man smile and say that of course he must go when he think fit, but he will be surprise if he go quite so soonThe captain swear again, polyglot, and the thin man make him bow, and thank him, and say that he will so far intrude on his kindness as to come aboard before the sailingFinal the captain, more red than ever, and in more tongues, tell him that he doesn't want no Frenchmen, with bloom upon them and also with blood, in his ship, with blood on her alsoAnd so, after asking where he might purchase ship forms, he departed "No one knew where he went 'or bloomin' well cared' as they said, for they had something else to think of, well with blood againFor it soon became apparent to all that the Czarina Catherine would not sail as was expectedA thin mist began to creep up from the river, and it grew, and grewTill soon a dense fog enveloped the ship and all around herThe captain swore polyglot, very polyglot, polyglot with bloom and blood, but he could do nothingThe water rose and rose, and he began to fear that he would lose the tide altogetherHe was in no friendly mood, when just at full tide, the thin man came up the gangplank again and asked to see where his box had been stowedThen the captain replied that he wished that he and his box, old and with much bloom and blood, were in hellBut the thin man did not be offend, and went down with the mate and saw where it was place, and came up and stood awhile on deck in fogHe must have come off by himself, for none notice himIndeed they thought not of him, for soon the fog begin to melt away, and all was clear againMy friends of the thirst and the language that was of bloom and blood laughed, as they told how the captain's swears exceeded even his usual polyglot, and was more than ever full of picturesque, when on questioning other mariners who were on movement up and down the river that hour, he found that few of them had seen any of fog at all, except where it lay round the wharfHowever, the ship went out on the ebb tide, and was doubtless by morning far down the river mouthShe was then, when they told us, well out to sea "And so, my dear Madam Mina, it is that we have to rest for a time, for our enemy is on the sea, with the fog at his command, on his way to the Danube mouthTo sail a ship takes time, go she never so quickAnd when we start to go on land more quick, and we meet him thereOur best hope is to come on him when in the box between sunrise and sunsetFor then he can make no struggle, and we may deal with him as we shouldThere are days for us, in which we can make ready our planWe know all about where he goFor we have seen the owner of the ship, who have shown us invoices and all papers that can beThe box we seek is to be landed in Varna, and to be given to an agent, one Ristics who will there present his credentialsAnd so our merchant friend will have done his partWhen he ask if there be any wrong, for that so, he can telegraph and have inquiry made at Varna, we say 'no,' for what is to be done is not for police or of the customsIt must be done by us alone and in our own wayVan Helsing had done speaking, I asked him if he were certain that the Count had remained on board the shipHe replied, "We have the best proof of that, your own evidence, when in the hypnotic trance this morning I asked him again if it were really necessary that they should pursue the Count, for oh! I dread Jonathan leaving me, and I know that he would surely go if the others wentHe answered in growing passion, at first quietlyAs he went on, however, he grew more angry and more forceful, till in the end we could not but see wherein was at least some of that personal dominance which made him so long a master amongst men "Yes, it is necessary, necessary, necessary! For your sake in the first, and then for the sake of shop humanity

God helping me, I crossed on the ice; for they were behind me?right behind?and there was no other way!? ?Law, Missis,? said Cudjoe, ?the ice is all in broken-up blocks, a swinging and a tetering up and down in the water!? ?I know it was?I know it!? said she, wildly; ?but I did it! I wouldn?t have thought I could,?I didn?t think I should get over, but I didn?t care! I could but die, if I didn?tThe Lord helped me; nobody knows how much the Lord can help ?em, till they try,? said the woman, with a flashing eye ?Were you a slave?? said Mr ?Yes, sir; I belonged to a man in Kentucky ?Was he unkind to you?? ?No, sir; he was a good master ?And was your mistress unkind to you?? ?No, sir?no! my mistress was always good to me ?What could induce you to leave a good home, then, and run away, and go through such dangers?? The woman looked up at MrsBird, with a keen, scrutinizing glance, and it did not escape her that she was dressed in deep mourning ?Ma?am,? she said, suddenly, ?have you ever lost a child?? The question was unexpected, and it was thrust on a new wound; for it was only a month since a darling child of the family had been laid in the graveBird turned around and walked to the window, and MrsBird burst into tears; but, recovering her voice, she said, ?Why do you ask that? I have lost a little one ?Then you will feel for meI have lost two, one after another,?left ?em buried there when I came away; and I had only this one leftI never slept a night without him; he was all I hadHe was my comfort and pride, day and night; and, ma?am, they were going to take him away from me,?to sell him,?sell him down south, ma?am, to go all alone,?a baby that had never been away from his mother in his life! I couldn?t stand it, ma?amI knew I never should be good for anything, if they did; and when I knew the papers the papers were signed, and he was sold, I took him and came off in the night; and they chased me,?the man that bought him, and some of Mas?r?s folks,?and they were coming down right behind me, and I heard ?emI jumped right on to the ice; and how I got across, I don?t know,?but, first I knew, a man was helping me up the bank The woman did not sob nor weepShe had gone to a place where tears are dry; but every one around her was, in some way characteristic of themselves, showing signs of hearty sympathy The two little boys, after a desperate rummaging in their pockets, in search of those pocket-handkerchiefs which mothers know are never to be found there, had thrown themselves disconsolately into the skirts of their mother?s gown, where they were sobbing, and wiping their eyes and noses, to their hearts? content;?MrsBird had her face fairly hidden in her pocket-handkerchief; and old Dinah, with tears streaming down her black, honest face, was ejaculating, ?Lord have mercy on us!? with all the fervor of a camp-meeting;?while old Cudjoe, rubbing his eyes very hard with his cuffs, and making a most uncommon variety of wry faces, occasionally responded in the same key, with great fervorOur senator was a statesman, and of course could not be expected to cry, like other mortals; and so he turned his back to the company, and looked out of the window, and seemed particularly busy in clearing his throat and wiping his spectacle-glasses, occasionally blowing his nose in a manner that was calculated to excite suspicion, had any one been in a state to observe critically ?How came you to tell me you had a kind master?? he suddenly exclaimed, gulping down very resolutely some kind of rising in his throat, and turning suddenly round upon the woman ?Because he was a kind master; I?ll say that of him, any way;?and my mistress was kind; but they couldn?t help themselvesThey were owing money; and there was some way, I can?t tell how, that a man had a hold on them, and they were obliged to give him his willI listened, and heard him telling mistress that, and she begging and pleading for me,?and he told her he couldn?t help himself, and that the papers were all drawn;?and then it was I took him and left my home, and came awayI knew ?t was no use of my trying to live, if they did it; for ?t ?pears like this child is all I have ?Have you no husband?? ?Yes, but he belongs to another manHis master is real hard to him, and won?t let him come to see me, hardly ever; and he?s grown harder and harder upon us, and he threatens to sell him down south;?it?s like I?ll never see him again!? The quiet tone in which the woman pronounced these words might have led a superficial observer to think that she was entirely apathetic; but there was a calm, settled depth of anguish in her large, dark eye, that spoke of something far otherwise ?And where do you mean to go, my poor woman?? said Mrs ?To Canada, if I only knew where that wasIs it very far off, is Canada?? said she, looking up, with a simple, confiding air, to Mrs ?Poor thing!? said Mrs ?Is ?t a very great way off, think?? said the woman, earnestly ?Much further than you think, poor child!? said MrsBird; ?but we will try to think what can be done for youHere, Dinah, make her up a bed in your own room, close by the kitchen, and I?ll think what to do for her in the morningMeanwhile, never fear, poor woman; put your trust in God; he will protect youBird and her husband reentered the parlorShe sat down in her little rocking-chair before the fire, swaying thoughtfully to and shop fro