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Wil V. Srubar III Editor

Engineered
Living
Materials
Engineered Living Materials
Wil V. Srubar III
Editor

Engineered Living Materials

Editor
Wil V. Srubar III
Department of Civil, Environmental, and
Architectural Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Program, University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-92948-0 ISBN 978-3-030-92949-7 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92949-7

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland
AG 2022
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Contents

Network Formation of Engineered Proteins and Their Bioactive

Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Seunghyun Sim
Living Synthetic Polymerizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Austin J. Graham and Benjamin K. Keitz
Programmable Self-Assembling Protein Nanomaterials:
Current Status and Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Kelly Wallin, Ruijie Zhang, and Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
Engineered Living Conductive Biofilms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Lina J. Bird, Fernanda Jiménez Otero, Matthew D. Yates,
Brian J. Eddie, Leonard M. Tender, and Sarah M. Glaven
Photoswitchable Bacterial Adhesions for the Control
of Multicellular Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Fei Chen and Seraphine V. Wegner
Additive Manufacturing of Engineered Living Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lynn M. Sidor and Anne S. Meyer
Engineered Living Materials for Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Rollin J. Jones, Elizabeth A. Delesky, Sherri M. Cook,
Jeffrey C. Cameron, Mija H. Hubler, and Wil V. Srubar III

v
Network Formation of Engineered Proteins
and Their Bioactive Properties

Seunghyun Sim

Abstract Proteins are one of the main components of the extracellular matrix in
natural biological materials. They confer a unique advantage in creating engineered
living materials (ELM) because they can be genetically encoded and rationally
designed for constructing bioactive network structures. Advances in the design,
characterization, and engineering of protein networks have been an important
multidisciplinary endeavor and should be considered when designing ELM and
understanding their behavior. This chapter describes the network-forming behavior
of recombinant proteins, as these proteins, in principle, can be genetically
programmed and synthesized directly from living cells residing in ELM. There are
three major classes of protein network-forming mechanisms relevant to this topic:
(1) phase separation and aggregation-induced recombinant protein networks,
(2) self-assembling multi-domain artificial protein networks, and (3) chemically
cross-linked recombinant protein networks. We will begin by introducing protein
hydrogels and discuss their mechanism of network formation, which is a critical
element in designing functionalities and mechanical properties of ELM. After
introducing the network-forming mechanisms in protein hydrogels, we will discuss
examples of bioactive protein networks equipped with various functionalities before
concluding with future directions and remaining challenges in this field.

Keywords Protein engineering · Protein network · Protein hydrogel · Bioactive

protein network · Artificial extracellular matrix

1 Introduction

Natural biological materials have been a key inspiration in the broad scientific field
due to their unique ability to self-regulate, self-organize, self-heal, and respond to
complex environmental cues. We see this in bone, wood, skin, and biofilm, where

S. Sim (*)
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

W. V. Srubar III (ed.), Engineered Living Materials,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92949-7_1
2 S. Sim

living cells produce, regulate, and repair their own surrounding matrix. These
emergent properties result from the living cells functioning as an active component
in these materials and have yet to be demonstrated in man-made synthetic materials.
Inspired and motivated by this striking functionality and complexity of natural
biological materials, many efforts have been made in recent years to construct
engineered living materials (ELM) where living cells are the producers and modu-
lators of their surroundings. In nature, the main components of these networks made
by living cells are self-assembling proteins and exopolysaccharides. Although
exopolysaccharides produced by living cells are often the most abundant structural
component, engineering and production of designed networks are challenging as
they involve a variety of biosynthetic machinery that is not necessarily shared across
different species. Proteins, on the other hand, can be genetically encoded, rationally
designed for specific purposes, and ported between species. In addition, proteins are
an attractive building block for networks interfacing living cells from both functional
and structural aspects. They fold into a defined three-dimensional structure, can bind
specific partners even in a complex cellular environment, and form protein-protein
interactions. As a result, they can assemble into a higher-order network responsible
for the mechanical property of the ELM. Moreover, many functional protein motifs
are amenable to use in conjunction with structural units that undergo network
formation.
Self-assembled protein networks in the context of extracellular materials can be
classified as hydrogels, as they are extensively hydrated networks housing constit-
uent living cells. Therefore, throughout this chapter, we will use the terms “network”
and “hydrogel” interchangeably. Hydrogels are physically or chemically cross-
linked polymer networks that swell in water. Their ability to hold large amounts of
water stems from a delicate balance of good water solubility and interchain cross-
linking. Self-assembling proteins and aggregation-prone proteins constitute physi-
cally cross-linked hydrogel as they rely on the physical association of particular
structural motifs for the network construction. Proteins that form a covalent bond
between two separate domains upon association can serve as a building block for
chemically cross-linked hydrogels. Protein hydrogels have a significant advantage
over synthetic or bio-derived hydrogels in that one can rationally design protein
networks with specific functions and properties in mind, as protein structures can be
precisely engineered via genetic modification of DNA. For example, a protein
domain known to confer an appealing functionality can be rationally fused to
other protein domains that form a network. In addition, protein-based hydrogels
tend to be more biocompatible and biodegradable than synthetic polymeric
hydrogels. For these reasons, protein hydrogels have been extensively studied for
their utility in injectable delivery vehicles, implantable scaffolds for soft-tissue
engineering, and matrices for in vitro cell culture. Conformational changes of pro-
teins in response to temperature, pH, light, ligands, and mechanical force further
prompted the development of stimuli-responsive protein hydrogels with sensing
capability.
The main focus of this chapter is understanding the network-forming behavior of
proteins as a structural component in engineered living materials, as these proteins,
Network Formation of Engineered Proteins and Their Bioactive Properties 3

in principle, can be genetically programmed to be produced from living cells

residing in ELM. We identify three major classes of protein network-forming
mechanisms relevant to this topic: (1) phase separation and aggregation-induced
recombinant protein networks, (2) self-assembling multi-domain artificial protein
networks, and (3) chemically cross-linked recombinant protein networks. We will
begin by introducing protein hydrogels and discuss their mechanism of network
formation, which is a critical element in designing functionalities and mechanical
properties of ELM. After introducing the network-forming mechanisms in protein
hydrogels, we will discuss examples of bioactive protein networks equipped with
various functionalities before concluding with future directions and remaining
challenges in this field.

2 Protein Structure and Self-Assembly

Proteins are sequence- and length-controlled linear chains of amino acids joined by
peptide bonds. This well-defined linear chain is the most basic structure of proteins,
also known as the primary structure. Proteins are synthesized by a sequential
biological process. First, the genetic information stored in DNA is transcribed into
a messenger RNA (mRNA). The second step is the translation of mRNA by
ribosomal catalysis into a linear polypeptide chain, transferring genetic information
written in a nucleic acid sequence into a protein sequence. It is possible to produce
recombinant proteins with a varying production yield by modifying the DNA of host
organisms and harnessing their transcription and translation machinery. Innovation
in synthetic and chemical biology gave birth to many tools to manipulate this
process, such as engineered ribosomal binding sites, split RNA polymerase, and
mutant tRNA synthetase. Notably, advances in co-translational incorporation of
noncanonical amino acids have allowed the expansion of native functionalities of
proteins, for example, introducing bio-orthogonal reactive handles and photo-
reactive moieties into recombinant proteins (Link et al. 2003).

2.1 Protein Structures and Their Assembly

Proteins organize themselves into specific three-dimensional structures. The local

structural element of proteins with a regular arrangement of peptide backbone is
called secondary structures. Their regularity is maintained by the local conformation
of the peptide backbone arising from their rotational degree of freedom, hydrogen
bonding between amide moieties, and other supramolecular interaction between side
chains. The most well-known secondary structures are the α-helix and β-strand.
A typical α-helix structure is shown in Fig. 1a: The polypeptide backbone forms a
right-handed helix by regular intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Each backbone
carbonyl oxygen in an α-helix is hydrogen-bonded to the backbone amide hydrogen
4 S. Sim

Fig. 1 (a) A schematic illustration of an α-helix. It is a right-handed helix with 3.6 amino acid
residues per helical turn. Each backbone carbonyl oxygen in an α-helix is hydrogen-bonded to the
backbone amide hydrogen four residues down from it toward C-terminus. The side chains of the
amino acids (designated as R) extend outward from the helical backbone. (b) Schematic illustration
of a coiled-coil dimer and its helical wheel representation. Dimer formation is driven by hydro-
phobic interaction of residues at a and d positions. Residues at e and f positions can stabilize coiled-
coil dimers by electrostatic attractions. (c, d) Hydrogen-bonding networks between two β-strands to
form (c) parallel and (d) antiparallel β-sheet

four residues down from it toward the C-terminus, resulting in 3.6 amino acids per
one complete turn of the helix. While the amide backbone is hydrogen-bonded to
itself almost parallel to the helical axis, the side chains of each amino acid extend
outward from the backbone. The unique ability of α-helix presenting side chains of
its constituent amino acids in a regular fashion has attracted significant interest as a
model system for protein folding studies and a design template for creating protein
assembly. In particular, coiled-coil structures are formed when two or more α-helices
self-assemble (Fig. 1b). Depending on the relative orientation of helical axes, coiled-
coil forms either parallel or antiparallel arrangement. The primary structures of a
coiled-coil domain comprise heptad repeats—repetition of seven amino acids, often
represented as (abcdefg)n. In each helix in coiled-coil, hydrophobic amino acids,
including leucine and isoleucine, occupy every three or four residues (a and d ),
Network Formation of Engineered Proteins and Their Bioactive Properties 5

resulting in hydrophobic “face” of the helix. The interaction (burial) of these

hydrophobic faces is the major driving force for the self-assembly of coiled-coil
domains. The supramolecular interactions of amino acid side chains on each helix
affect a helical orientation, oligomerization state, and binding partner specificity of
coiled-coil domains. For example, ionic residues at e and g position can stabilize
coiled-coil by electrostatic attractions (Fig. 1b). Leucine zippers, a sub-type of
coiled-coil and also a common motif in DNA binding proteins, contain a series of
leucines spaced seven residues apart. Leucine zippers form coiled-coil structures via
paired contacts between hydrophobic faces on the constituent helices. It has been
shown that the oligomerization state of coiled-coil configurations in leucine zippers
can be affected by the packing characteristics of the hydrophobic residues at
positions a and d (Harbury et al. 1993). Examples of leucine zipper coiled-coils
with high association numbers have been studied, including a pentamer (n ¼ 5)
based on cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (Malashkevich et al. 1996) and a
heptamer (n ¼ 7) by engineering GCN4 leucine zipper (Liu et al. 2006). Other
minor forms of helix include the 310-helix and polyproline type II (PPII) helix. 310-
helix is similar to α-helix, but with three residues per turn. PPII helix occurs in
proteins with repeating proline residues. It is an extended left-handed helix distinct
from other helical secondary structures as it has no internal hydrogen bonding. It
adopts a more extended form, with a helical pitch of 9.3 Å per turn, compared to
5.5 Å in the α-helix, and has three residues per turn. The collagen triple helix, as it
consists of proline, hydroxyproline, and glycine, adopts a similar conformation to
the PPII helix. Examples of self-assembling structures of various helices in naturally
occurring protein materials include honey bee silk, collagen, and keratin.
The other common secondary structure is the β-strand. β-strands are domains
with a fully extended polypeptide chain, and multiple β-strands can laterally self-
assemble into β-sheets. Typically, alternating sequences of hydrophobic amino acid
and polar amino acid constitute hydrophobic and hydrophilic faces, which drive
lateral assembly of β-strands into β-sheets stabilized by hydrogen bonding between
carbonyl oxygens and amide hydrogens of adjacent β-strands. Similar to coiled-coil
domains, β-sheets are either parallel (same N- to C-terminal direction, Fig. 1c) or
antiparallel (opposite N- to C-terminal direction, Fig. 1d) depending on the relative
orientation of the constituent β-strands. Sequences containing many amino acids
with branched side chains, such as valine, threonine, and isoleucine, are known for
their propensity to form β-strands. β-strands can also form β-hairpins, in which two
β-strands are connected by a short loop and adopt an antiparallel arrangement, β-
spirals, or β-turns. Self-assembly and physical association of β-strands can be found
in natural structural proteins, including silk, resilin, and elastin.
The overall three-dimensional configuration of multiple secondary structures in a
single polypeptide chain is called tertiary structure. In other words, it refers to the
fully folded state of a protein, with three-dimensional arrangements of peptide
backbone and side chains. Therefore, it is closely related to a specific protein
function. The quaternary structure of proteins refers to a precise association of
more than one polypeptide chain. Non-covalent interactions via hydrogen bonding,
hydrophobic interactions, and ionic interactions are commonly found at the interface
6 S. Sim

of subunits. One of such examples is GroEL, a barrel-shaped molecular chaperone. It

consists of identical 14 subunits arranged into two heptameric rings that are stacked
onto each other. Each subunit is held together by elaborate salt bridges between polar
amino acids. Alternatively, in some cases, covalent bonding through disulfide bond
formation or enzymatic catalysis can be formed between protein subunits. Hemo-
globin is a notable example, comprising two pairs of α and β chains, where each
subunit is covalently linked to a heme molecule.
Recent advances in the de novo computational design of proteins have expanded
the toolbox for protein-based materials (Huang et al. 2016). Based on the hypothesis
that proteins fold into the lowest energy conformation of the defined sequences,
the computational approach using a set of physical principles has now advanced to
the point where we can accurately predict the folding of a prescribed sequence. The
major driving force for protein folding is the burial of hydrophobic residues away
from the solvent, typically water molecules. As a result, we are witnessing striking
examples of artificial proteins with sequences unrelated to naturally occurring ones.
One notable example is computationally designed multimeric, water-soluble, and
channel-forming coiled-coil α-helical barrel (Thomson et al. 2014). Another exam-
ple is Keating and colleagues’ work in developing a computational framework for
designing protein-interaction specificity (Grigoryan et al. 2009). They also reported
pairs of synthetic coiled-coils undergoing heterodimeric association called SYNZIPs
(Thompson et al. 2012). As discussed in the following section, well-defined inter-
actions between secondary structures have been extensively studied and employed
as cross-linking motifs for artificial protein hydrogels. An advanced modeling
algorithm, AlphaFold, based on artificial intelligence technology, has been shown
to accurately predict protein structures even when no similar structure is known
(Jumper et al. 2021).

3 Network Formation of Recombinant Proteins

Motivated by the structural role they accomplish in nature, natural proteins have
been examined as building blocks for biomaterials in the form of hydrogels, films,
and others. In particular, those derived from extracellular matrices, such as collagen
and gelatin, were extensively studied in the context of in vitro tissue culture. As our
understanding of protein structure, recognition, and self-assembly deepens with the
aid of computational frameworks, engineering recombinant proteins offers the
unique opportunity to control network structure and functionality. Protein network
formation is driven either by non-covalent interactions between domains or by
covalent linkages between specific residues. The non-covalent interaction of proteins
in a network can be further classified into molecular recognition (self-assembly) and
aggregation. Although hydrogels made with short synthetic peptides also constitute
an important class of biomaterials, this chapter will only describe recombinant
protein networks and the resulting biomaterials. Considering the relevance of protein
network in constructing ELM, three important categories of recombinant proteins
Network Formation of Engineered Proteins and Their Bioactive Properties 7

hydrogels, focusing on their network-forming mechanism and some of the physical

properties, will be discussed here: (1) phase separation and aggregation-induced
recombinant protein hydrogels, (2) self-assembling multi-domain artificial protein
hydrogels, and (3) chemically cross-linked recombinant protein hydrogels.

3.1 Phase Separation and Aggregation-Induced

Recombinant Protein Hydrogels

Elastin is one of the essential structural components in the extracellular matrix,

forming fibers responsible for tensile strength and elasticity of tissues. It is abundant
in organs that require constant elastic expansion and contraction as a part of their
function, including skin, lungs, and blood vessels. Structurally, elastin combines
with other proteins to form elastic fibers, for example, ropelike structures in liga-
ments. Exported tropoelastins, the elastin precursor protein, assemble with microfi-
brils comprising fibrillin 1 and are then further cross-linked to each other. Inspired by
the elastic mechanical property of organs conferred by elastin, there have been
attempts to isolate elastin protein from natural sources. However, the purification
of natural elastin poses a multitude of challenges due to its low solubility and
tendency both to calcify and aggregate with other structural components (Daamen
et al. 2007). Alternatively, the desired mechanical properties of elastin can be
recapitulated in recombinant proteins containing multiple elastin-like polypeptides
(ELP). ELP contains [VPGXG]n repeats where the X residue can be any amino acid
except proline. Notably, ELP proteins exhibit inverse temperature transition behav-
ior: At a lower temperature, ELPs are soluble and adopt random-coil conformation.
Upon increasing temperature, ELP proteins become less soluble and eventually
aggregate in coacervate phases above a critical temperature. The temperature
where this transition from soluble to an aggregated state occurs is called the lower
critical solution temperature (LCST), a well-known phenomenon often observed in
hydrophilic polymers, including poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). The LCST phenom-
enon is thermodynamically driven by entropy gained by losing the bound water
molecules to the bulk solution. It has been proposed that ELPs adopt a β-spiral
structure in higher temperatures above LCST (Urry et al. 1981). The LCST of an
ELP is a function of the protein length, concentration, hydrophobicity, and mole
fraction of the guest residues (Urry 1997; Meyer and Chilkoti 2004). Therefore,
varying the length and the guest residue composition of an ELP alters the protein’s
LCST behavior. Due to its LCST behavior, recombinant ELP proteins can be
purified via several rounds of temperature cycling and selective centrifugation
(McPherson et al. 1996). Temperature-sensitive phase transition leads to aggregation
of the more hydrophobic blocks above the LCST and drives the physical self-
assembly of ELP networks. Conticello and co-workers have described the physical
cross-linking of triblock ELP proteins comprising more hydrophilic mid-block
ELP, A, and more hydrophobic end-block ELP, B (Wright and Conticello 2002;
8 S. Sim

Wright et al. 2002). These sequences were selected based on their phase transition
temperature, with the LCST of B being lower than that of A. At temperatures above
its LCST, end-block B undergoes aggregation, while the hydrophilic mid-block A
remains solvated, yielding physical and thermoreversible protein hydrogels. The
critical temperature and other variables affecting sol-gel transition can be engineered
through sequence variation of the triblock proteins. In a study by Chilkoti and
co-workers (Betre et al. 2002), recombinant ELP without explicit “more hydropho-
bic” aggregation domain forms a gel-like coacervate at 37  C, above its LCST
(35  C). The ELP coacervate showed three orders of magnitude increase in the
complex shear modulus and dynamic viscosity and exhibited similar mechanical
properties of the gels that were formed with cartilage extracellular matrix compo-
nents, suggesting their potential utility for cartilage tissue engineering. As described
in Sect. 3.3, ELP hydrogels have also been formed by chemical cross-linking
methods after varying the ELP guest residue to incorporate reactive moieties.
Silk is another natural protein that features impressive mechanical strength and
extensibility. For example, spider dragline silk forms robust and elastic fibers and is
three times tougher than synthetic bulletproof material Kevlar (Rising and Johansson
2015). Silk protein contains a repetitive sequence rich in glycine and alanine, which
forms β-sheet crystalline domains responsible for high mechanical strength and
hydrophilic amorphous regions. Physically cross-linked β-sheet-rich protein
hydrogels can be produced from naturally derived silk, such as silkworm fibroin.
This process involves chemical and mechanical perturbations, including low pH
(Fini et al. 2005), high temperature (Kim et al. 2004), and sonication (Wang et al.
2008). However, harvesting native silk from natural sources faces multitudes of
challenges, such as batch-to-batch variation, impurities, and difficulties in farming
particular silk proteins, especially spider silk. Successful recombinant productions of
silk proteins have been reported using bacterial (Xia et al. 2010), plant (Scheller et al.
2001), and mammalian (Lazaris et al. 2002) hosts. Although a few studies have
demonstrated hydrogel formation of recombinant silk proteins (Rammensee et al.
2006; Schacht and Scheibel 2011), most of the efforts to create biomaterials with
recombinant silk have focused on processing them into fibers, films, and foams. An
alternative approach involves a chimeric recombinant protein containing tandem
repeats of the silklike sequence GAGAGS as well as ELP domain (Megeed et al.
2002; Nagarsekar et al. 2003). The addition of ELP reduces the degree of crystal-
lization of the silklike domain and introduces flexibility and solubility. These pro-
teins spontaneously form physically cross-linked hydrogels due to crystalline
domains comprising the silklike region and show ELP-like properties, such as
temperature responsiveness.
Network Formation of Engineered Proteins and Their Bioactive Properties 9

3.2 Self-Assembling, Multi-domain Recombinant Protein

Hydrogels

Coiled-coil associations have been extensively studied as network-forming motifs

for generating recombinant protein networks. In work by Tirrell and colleagues, a
telechelic triblock protein debuted as the first example of a rationally designed
recombinant protein that forms a hydrogel (Petka et al. 1998). This protein, namely,
ACnA, contains two leucine zipper end-blocks (A) separated by a protein spacer
mid-block comprising n-repeats of C unit (Cn) that adopts mostly random coil
geometry and is highly water-soluble. The leucine zipper forming sequence of A
comprises six heptad repeats. It is engineered based on the a/d residue pattern of the
Jun oncogene product and a database constructed with naturally occurring coiled-
coil proteins for determining residues at b/c/f position. Nine Glu and three Lys
residues occupy 12 e/g positions of the A sequence in order to solubilize the
coiled-coil structure and control their assembly with pH. The mid-block was based
on an alanine and glycine-rich sequence [(AG)3PEG]10. This telechelic multi-
domain protein, ACnA, forms a hydrogel by the physical association of A blocks,
while the mid-block linker [(AG)3PEG]10 remains fully solvated. Temperature and
pH affect the association of leucine zipper domains, and as a result, drive the sol-gel
transition of this protein. At low pH, the acidic residues at the e and g positions are
protonated, and the stability of coiled-coil aggregates increases. With increasing pH,
deprotonation of these residues and increased electrostatic repulsion between helices
destabilize the association of coiled-coil domains. At high temperatures, ACnA
behaves as viscous liquids due to the thermal unfolding of leucine zipper domains.
Although ACnA forms a physical protein network by the coiled-coil association of A
end-blocks, their low aggregation number (n ¼ 4) and the transient nature of
association resulted in a soft hydrogel that erodes rapidly in open solutions near
physiological pH. In addition, triblock telechelic proteins tend to form intramolec-
ular loops that do not contribute to network elasticity (Fig. 2a). Intramolecular loops
usually form an antiparallel association of the two end-blocks joined by a mid-block.
To overcome this limitation, the Tirrell lab showcased several different engineering
strategies. Carefully placing cysteine residues on the hydrophobic face of the helix in
order to preferentially stabilize intermolecular associations resulted in coiled-coil
aggregates that were stabilized via disulfide bond formation (Shen et al. 2005).
Extension of a mid-block, Cn, suppresses loop formation, and as a result, ACnA
with more extended linker regions were mechanically stiffer (Shen et al. 2007).
Similarly, loop formation is reduced in pH or ionic strength conditions that favor the
mid-block extension. Kopeček and co-workers designed a series of telechelic
triblock proteins, namely, ABA, CBA, ABC, and CBC, with a mid-block spacer B
as [(AG)3PEG]10 (Xu et al. 2005; Xu and Kopeček 2008). A and C block sequences
are (VSSLESK)6 and (VSSLESK)2-VSKLESK-KSKLESK-VSKLESK-VSSLESK,
respectively. Changing one valine and three serine residues from the A block to
lysine (underlined) resulted in the C block sequence. These added lysine residues in
10 S. Sim

Fig. 2 (a) Schematic illustration of coiled-coil domains. Intermolecular loop formation occurs and
competes with network formation in ACnA proteins that form antiparallel coiled-coil aggregates.
On the other hand, loop formation is suppressed in PCnP proteins with P domains that aggregates in
parallel orientation, as it requires chain stretching of the mid-block. (b) Shear-thinning and elastic
recovery of PCnP hydrogels. The shear storage modulus of PCnP hydrogels decreases upon
oscillatory strain and recovers to its original modulus within seconds (left). PCnP forms a shear-
thinning, yet self-supporting, gel (right). Reproduced with permission (Olsen et al. 2010). Copy-
right 2010, the American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic illustration of the mixing-induced,
two-component hydrogel (MITCH) where two domains in component 1 and 2 assemble via
molecular recognition. Reproduced with permission (Foo et al. 2009). Copyright 2009, the National
Academy of Sciences
Another random document with
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rose, Blanche, and
Violet, Volume 2 (of 3)
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
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you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Rose, Blanche, and Violet, Volume 2 (of 3)

Author: George Henry Lewes

Release date: January 11, 2024 [eBook #72681]

Language: English

Original publication: London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1848

Credits: Al Haines

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROSE, BLANCHE,

AND VIOLET, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) ***
 ROSE, BLANCHE,

AND

VIOLET.

BY

G. H. LEWES, ESQ.
AUTHOR OF "RANTHORPE,"
"BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY," ETC. ETC.

Il n'y a point de vertu proprement dite, sans victoire sur

nous-mêmes, et tout ce qui ne nous coûte rien, ne vaut rien.

DE MAISTRE.
 IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
——
1848.

London:
Printed by STEWART and MURRAY,
Old Bailey.

CONTENTS.

——

BOOK II.—(Continued.)

CHAPTER

XXI.—The Elopement Delayed

XXII.—How they went to London
XXIII.—Cecil's Jealousy
XXIV.—The Denouement
 BOOK III.

CHAPTER

I.—Rose Vyner to Fanny Worsley

II.—The Woman with a Mission
III.—What was said of the Walton Sappho
IV.—Prophecies Fulfilled
V.—The Astute Mrs. Vyner
VI.—Faint Hearts and Fair Ladies
VII.—Bold Stroke for a Lover
VIII.—Woman's Caprice
IX.—Consequences

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER

I.—The Boarding-House
II.—Inmates of a Suburban Boarding-House
III.—Happy Labour, Happy Life
IV.—How Mrs. Vyner was Beneficent
V.—The Curse of Idleness
VI.—A Sketch of Frank Forrester
VII.—Cecil's First False Step
VIII.—The Poetess in London
IX.—Husband and Wife

BOOK V.

CHAPTER
I.—Love Feigned and Love Concealed
II.—Doubts Changed into Certainties
III.—Declaration
IV.—The Tempest Lours
V.—Vacillation
VI.—The Trial
VII.—Father And Child
VIII.—The Crisis

ROSE, BLANCHE, AND VIOLET.

 BOOK II.
(Continued.)

CHAPTER XXI.

THE ELOPEMENT DELAYED.

Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds
Towards Phœbus' mansion; such a waggoner
As phaeton would whip you to the west.
Come, gentle night; come, loving black browed night
Give me my Romeo.
Romeo and Juliet.

Captain Heath and the postilion were not the only persons impatient at
the unexpected delay. Cecil leaning against a tree, watching with anxious
eyes the window of Blanche's bed-room for the signal, and counting the
weary minutes, as they dragged with immeasurable tediousness through their
course of sixty seconds, began at length to suppose that she would never
come.

Nor was the unhappy Blanche herself the least impatient of the four. The
whole mystery of the delay was the presence of Violet in her room. She had
repeatedly announced her intention of going to bed, but Violet gave no signs
of retiring, and their conversation continued.

It more than once occurred to her to place Violet in her confidence, but
certain misgivings restrained her. The fact is, Blanche had been uneasy at
Cecil's attentions to Violet, during the first period of their acquaintance with
him; an uneasiness which she now understood to have been jealousy; and
naturally felt reluctant to speak of her engagement to one who had almost
been her sister's lover.

It happened that Cecil's name came up during their conversation, and

Violet turning her large eyes upon her sister's face, said,—

"Shall I tell you my suspicion, Blanche? Cecil Chamberlayne is fast

falling in love with you: you colour; you know it then? perhaps return it?
Oh, for God's sake tell me that you do not return it!"

"Why should I not?" replied Blanche, greatly hurt.

"My poor Blanche!" said Violet, tenderly kissing her, "I have hurt you,
but it is with a surgeon's knife, which inflicts pain to save pain. If it is not
too late—if you are only at the brink of the abyss, not in it—let me implore
you to draw back, and to examine your situation calmly. Oh! do not waste
your heart on such a man."

There was an earnestness in her manner which only made her language
more galling, and Blanche somewhat pettishly replied,—

"You did not always think so. At one time you were near wasting your
heart, as you call it, upon him."

"I was," gravely replied Violet, "and a fortunate accident opened my eyes
in time. You, who seemed to have watched me so closely, may have noticed
that for some time I have ceased to encourage his attentions."

"Since he has ceased to pay them," retorted Blanche.

Violet smiled a scornful smile.

Neither spoke for a few minutes.

"I have a great mind to ascend the ladder," said the impatient Cecil to
himself, and see if it is only womanly weakness which detains her."
 "Can they have been detected?" Captain Heath asked himself for the
twentieth time.

"Blanche," said Violet at last, "you greatly misunderstand me; but what
is worse, you greatly misunderstand him. Listen!"

She then narrated the whole of her episode with Cecil: her first yearnings
towards him—her interest, and almost love; then the scene at the Grange; his
conduct in the affair with the bull; she recalled to Blanche the mutual
coldness which must have been observed until after Cecil's confession
respecting his cowardice, which so far cleared him in her eyes, that she was
amiable to him for the rest of the evening; she then told her of reflections
made that night when alone, and the result to which she had arrived, and
concluded by saying:—

"I am most willing to admit his fascinating manners, his varied

accomplishments, and some good qualities; but he is weak, selfish, and
capricious. He is not a proper husband for you, the more so as he is poor, and
has not the character which will enable him to battle with the world. Rich, he
would not make you a good husband; poor, he will be a curse to you, and
throw the blame of his misery upon you."

Blanche remained perfectly quiet during this dissection of her lover's

character, and not a change in her countenance betrayed that it had in the
least affected her. Nor had it. Perfectly incredulous, she listened to her sister,
seeing only the distortion of prejudice in her language.

"Have you finished, Violet?" she quietly asked.

"I have."

"Then give me a night to consider."

"Yes, consider it calmly; think of the man on whom you are about to
bestow your affections, and ask yourself seriously, Is he the man I ought to
choose?—— Good-night, Blanche!"

"Good-night. God bless you!" said Blanche, hugging her fervently,

which Violet attributed to the emotion excited by their conversation, but
which really was the embrace of parting.

A few minutes afterwards, Blanche was descending the ladder, a small

packet in her hand, and was received in the arms of her impatient lover.

CHAPTER XXII.

HOW THEY WENT TO LONDON.

How the old post-chaise rattled merrily along the hard road, as if
conscious of the precious burden which it bore! There was no moon: the sky
was overcast. Lights glimmered from the windows of distant houses at rare
intervals; and the watch-dog's lonely bark was occasionally heard—a sort of
mournful sound, which told how deep the night had gone.

With what wild passion—with what inextinguishable delight the lovers

pressed close to each other, in that rumbling chaise! The sense of peril and of
escape was mixed with the indescribable rapture of two beings conscious
that all barriers are borne down, and that they at length belong to each other.

Away! away! from home, with its restraints, its perils, and its doubts—
far into the wide world of love and hope!—from father, sisters, friends—
from luxuries and comforts, cheaply held by those who know not the reverse
—to the protecting bosom of a husband, dearer than all the world beside; and
with him to begin the battle of life, which love will make an everlasting
triumph!

Away goes the rumbling chaise! too slowly for its inmates, whose
impatience needs wings; too swiftly for the wretched man, who sits behind,
communing with his own bitter thoughts.

What a slight partition divided the delirious lovers from the unhappy
wretch who rode behind them—a partition which divided the joys of
paradise from the pangs of purgatory. The captain had not only to endure the
misery of unhappy love, but also the, to him, horrible torture of believing the
girl he loved had given herself up to a villain, who did not intend to marry
her.

"If I do force him to marry her," he said, "what happiness can she expect
from such a scoundrel? Her character will be saved; but her heart will be
broken ... If he refuses ... if I shoot him ... she will hate me ... will not less
revere his memory ... and will have lost her name!"

And merrily the chaise rattled on.

It reached London at last. There the captain got down, and, hailing a cab,
bade the driver follow the post-chaise, at a slight distance. It stopped at an
hotel. They alighted, and went in.

The captain followed them to the hotel. His first act was to write this
letter to Meredith Vyner.

(Don't read this aloud.)

"My DEAR VYNER,

"Before this reaches you, the flight of your daughter with Chamberlayne
will have been known to you. Make yourself as easy as possible under the
deplorable calamity; for I am in the same hotel with them, and will see them
duly married.

"You will be astonished to hear me talk of their marriage, and of my

forwarding it, instead of taking every step to prevent it. But, when I tell you
that marriage is now imperative—that it is, alas! what we must all now
eagerly desire—my conduct will be intelligible. Put your perfect trust in me.
You know my affection for your children, and my regard for the honour of
the family."

Great, indeed, was the consternation at the Hall, on the morning when
the flight was discovered. At first it was imagined Blanche had gone off with
Captain Heath; but when Cecil's absence was also discovered, the real state
of the case was acknowledged. But the captain's absence still remained a
mystery. That he should be implicated in the elopement, seemed impossible.
His known dislike to Cecil, and his great regard for the whole family,
contradicted such a suspicion. Yet wherefore was he not forthcoming?

This threw such a mystery over the whole affair, they knew not what
conclusion to form; some doubts began to arise as to whether it really was an
elopement. Such matters were not usually managed by three persons. And
yet the moonlight ramble by the three on the preceding evening did not that
look as if there were some understanding between them?

To this Rose objected, that as they had been willing to accept of her
company, it was evident there could have been nothing in it beyond a mere
ramble.

It was observable that the one who suggested and most warmly
maintained the probability of there being no elopement in the case, but only
perhaps some bit of fun, was Mrs. Meredith Vyner, who absolutely dissuaded
her husband from taking any steps towards pursuing the fugitives by this
reasoning:—

"Either they have eloped, or they are executing some joke. I incline to
the latter; but even admitting the former, you know dear,—it is perfectly
useless your following them, until you know what route they have taken, and
as yet we have got no clue whatever. While you are hurrying to Gretna, they
may be quietly housed in London, and so you have all the bother and
agitation for nothing."

Like all indolent men, Vyner was glad to have an excuse for sitting still
and doing nothing. But what was Mrs. Vyner's motive for dissuading him?
Simply this: she believed in the elopement, and was delighted at it. Not only
was there one daughter "off her hands"—one rival the less—but by the act of
setting her father's consent at defiance, gave him the power of refusing to
give any dowry, or even a trousseau, with something like an excuse for so
doing. Mrs. Vyner had already run her husband too deeply into debt, not to
keep a sharp eye on any means of economy that did not affect her comforts
or caprices; and money spent upon "her dear girls," was always considered
worse than lost.

On the arrival of Captain Heath's letter, all the mystery was revealed; and
great was the talk it occasioned!

CHAPTER XXIII.

CECIL'S JEALOUSY.
A husband's jealousy, which cunning men would pass upon their wives for a
compliment, is the worst can be made them; for indeed it is a compliment to their beauty,
but an affront to their honour.

WYCHERLEY: The Gentleman Dancing Master.

The captain had just sealed his letter when he saw Cecil leave the hotel
alone. He determined to profit by the opportunity, and seek Blanche. He
found her writing.

As she recognised him, she gave a low scream, and then springing up,
exclaimed:—

"Is my father with you? Oh! intercede for us. Gain his consent."

"I am alone, Blanche."

"Alone?"

"I came with you from Wytton. The same carriage brought us both; you
rode inside, and I behind."
 "What! .... is .... what! are you going to....?"

"To watch over you, dear Blanche, as a brother would. To force him to
marry you."

"Force! why, what do you mean? Cecil is but this instant gone for the
license."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Sure? He said so; and shall I doubt his word?"

"Why then did he bring you here? Why did he not take you to Gretna?"

"Because he feared we might be pursued, and they would be sure to

follow that route."

"Hm! Yes, it is possible. And till you are married?"

"I am to stay with an old lady—a relation of his. He will prepare her to
receive me this morning."

He sighed. So strange is human nature, that the idea of Cecil behaving

delicately and honourably in the transaction, was at first a disappointment
and an additional grief to him! He could not bear to think his rival less
contemptible than he had held him to be, nor could he with pleasure find that
his own services were not needed. Blanche wanted no protector.
Nevertheless, partly out of a lingering suspicion that all would not go on so
smoothly as it promised, and partly from the very want he felt to consider
himself of some use to his beloved Blanche, he refused entirely to credit her
statement of Cecil's intentions, and declared that he would remain to watch.

"At any rate, allow me to give you away," he said, "I shall then be sure
that all is right. Can you refuse me?"

She held out her hand to him by way of answer. He raised it respectfully
to his lips, gazed sorrowfully at her, and withdrew.
 When Cecil returned, and learned from her that the captain was in the
same hotel, that he had seen Blanche, and that she had consented to his
giving her away, he stormed with rage.

"Heath again! Is the viper always to be in my path, and imagine I shall

not crush him at last? What is the meaning of his thrusting himself between
us?" he asked her, with great fierceness. "What the devil is at the bottom of
it? What makes him so anxious to have you married? I am a beggar, and he
knows it; yet first one thing, then the other, he has nothing but schemes to
make me marry you. Wanted me to be a quill-driver, that I might be rich
enough to marry. Marry, marry, marry! By God! there is something in it
which I will discover."

"Cecil, dearest Cecil, you terrify me!"

He paced angrily up and down the room, without attending to her. A

horrible suspicion had taken possession of his mind: he thought that Captain
Heath had not only been her lover, but that his passion had been returned,
and that it was to conceal the consequences of their guilty love that a
marriage with any one seemed so desirable.

"I see it all," he said to himself, as he strode about the room; "they have
selected me as their gull. It is a collusion. From whom, but from her, should
he have known we had taken that moonlight stroll in the shrubbery? Why
should he take upon himself the office of sentinel? Why offer me a situation?
Why follow us up to town? How should he know we were to elope? Why
should he, in God's name, be anxious to have her married, when it is quite
clear he loves her, or has loved her, himself? He owned it last night—owned
that he loved her! I do believe, when he carried off the ladder, he knew I was
in the room, and adopted that mode of making me irretrievably commit
myself.—But it is not too late.—We are not married yet!"

How curiously passion colours facts! No one will say that Cecil had not
what is called abundant "evidence" for his suspicion, and the evidence was
coherent enough to justify to his own mind all that he thought. It is
constantly so in life. We set out with a presumption, and all the "facts" fit in
so well with the presumption, that we forget it is after all not the facts, but
the interpretation which is the important thing we seek and instead of
seeking this we have begun by assuming it; whereas had we assumed some
other interpretation, we should perhaps have found the facts quite as
significant, although the second interpretation would be diametrically
opposed to the former.

Had Cecil, instead of seeking for corroborative facts to pamper his own
irritable jealousy, just asked himself whether the characters of Blanche and
the captain were not quite sufficient of themselves to throw discredit on any
suspicion of the kind—whether, indeed, he ought to entertain such an idea of
such persons, unless overwhelmed by the most clear, precise, unequivocal
evidence—he would have saved himself all the tortures of jealousy, and
would not have desecrated the worship of his love by thoughts so debasing
and so odious.

Blanche, perfectly bewildered, sat silent and trembling, keeping her eyes
fixed upon the strangely altered bearing of her lover.

Stopping from his agitated walk, he suddenly stood still, folded his arms,
gazed at her with quiet fierceness, and said,—

"As Captain Heath takes so much interest in, you, perhaps he will have
no objection to escort you back to your father."

"Cecil! ... Cecil! ... In Heaven's name, what do you mean?" she said, half
rising from her chair; but afraid to trust her trembling limbs, she sank back
again, and looked at him in helpless astonishment.

"My meaning is very plain, very," he said, with intense coldness. "You
are free to return to your family, or not to return, if you prefer remaining
with Captain Heath. Perhaps," he added sarcastically, "as he is so partial to
marriage, he will marry you himself."

She strove to speak, but a choking sensation at the throat prevented her.
She saw him leave the room without having strength to recall him, without
ever making a motion to prevent him.

In mute despair, she heard his heavy tread upon the stairs, and like a
person stunned, felt no command of her faculties, scarcely felt anything
beyond a stupid bewildering prostration of the soul.
 With flushed face and heated brain, Cecil rushed into the street, and
wandered distractedly away. The fresh air somewhat cooled his burning
brow, and the exercise gradually enabled him to recover his self-possession.
He began to doubt whether he had not been rash in his suspicions.

"It is quite true that Heath has taken a most extraordinary part in the
whole affair; but I remember now, that, during our interview in my room, he
seemed by no means anxious I should marry her; indeed I taunted him with
wishing to get me out of the way. He offered me the secretaryship to enable
me to marry, and when I refused that he set his face against ... I have been an
ass! ...

"And yet his conduct is inexplicable. He loves her, and she knows it....
What a web entangles me! ... I will return and question her; she cannot
deceive me ... she is not altogether lost ... I will try her."

With this purpose he returned.

Meanwhile, Captain Heath had found Blanche weeping bitterly, under

the degrading accusation of Cecil's jealousy; and having extorted from her
some incoherent sentences, which made him aware of what had passed, he
said, "My dear Blanche, I am going to bid you have courage for an act of
fortitude. You must struggle with yourself—you must reason calmly for a
moment."

"Oh, tell me, tell me what to do. How shall I eradicate his suspicions?"

"You cannot do it. In one so weak and capricious—one who could think
so unworthily of you, and upon such ridiculous appearances—jealousy is
incurable. It will bring endless misery upon you. It will destroy all love, all
confidence. If he suspects you already, what is to secure you from his
suspicions hereafter? Blanche, you must quit this. Return with me to your
father's; he will receive you kindly."

"No, no, no," sobbed the unhappy girl.

"Yes, Blanche. It is a hard alternative, but it is the best. You ought to

rejoice in his injustice, because it displays him in his true colours. He tells
you what you have to expect."
 "I love him."

"Alas! I know it; but you see how he repays your love."

She only sobbed in answer.

"He will make you miserable for ever. Now, before the irrevocable step
is taken, release yourself from such a fate: return with me."

She wept, but could not speak.

Heath's arguments at last prevailed; and, in a tone of terrible despair, she

exclaimed, "Take me home, then."

A flash of joy passed over his sad face as he heard this heart-broken
phrase, which assured him that, however his beloved Blanche might suffer at
first, she was at least saved from the certain misery of becoming the wife of
Cecil Chamberlayne.

On reaching the hotel, Cecil ran rapidly up stairs, and on the first landing
stood aghast, at seeing Blanche coming down, leaning on the captain's arm.
She was weeping, and her face was hidden by the handkerchief with which
she wiped her eyes.

"Where are you taking her?" Cecil fiercely asked.

"Home," was the stern reply.

"Home! Whose home? yours?"

"To her father."

"And by whose authority?" he said, in a low, hoarse, almost suffocated

voice.

"Her own," was the crushing answer.

They passed on.

 Cecil, amazed, bewildered, could merely utter, in a tone of sad and
reproachful inquiry, "Blanche!"

A stifled, agonizing sob burst from her; but clinging closer to her
protector, she hurried him on.

Cecil leaned against the banister for support. As Blanche reached the
bottom of the stairs, she could not resist giving a parting look; and the
anguish of the face which then met her eye so completely changed her
feelings, that, forgetting all Captain Heath had said, she flew up the stairs
and threw herself into Cecil's arms, exclaiming, "My own beloved, you will
not send me from you?"

He pressed her frantically to his heart, and carried her back to their
apartment.

Captain Heath's face was contracted by a fearful spasm as he slowly

sought his own room. Once more were his hopes crushed; once more had he
to renounce the visions of exquisite bliss which filled his soul. On the point
of for ever separating Blanche from her unworthy lover, as he had imagined,
and with the opening which that separation made for his own future
prospects, he now again saw that the struggle was useless, and that Blanche
was irretrievably lost to him.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE DENOUEMENT.

Four days afterwards, Meredith Vyner received this letter:—

"They are married at last; and are now gone to Broadstairs for the
honeymoon. It is a sad affair; but it was inevitable. May she be happy!
 "I was to have given her away; but, from some caprice on his part, it was
not permitted; and the office was performed by one of his club friends, a
certain Mr. Forrester. I was present, however; though not invited. From one
of the side pews, I witnessed the ceremony. The last words of dear Blanche
were, that I should intercede for her with you; which, God knows, I would,
did I think that a father's heart needed the intercession! But your kind nature
is quite assurance enough to me.

"I am forced to go to Italy, to join my brother; and, as I have no time to

lose, Mrs. Vyner will, I dare say, excuse my taking formal leave. Pray, let my
trunks be packed, and forwarded to me, at Southampton, where I shall be to-
morrow.

"You shall hear further from me soon; now I am too busy to write more."

In the calm tone of this letter there is the same stoicism which always
enabled this brave man if not to conquer, at least to conceal his emotions.
Who could have suspected the misery which really lay concealed in those
few lines?

The adroitness with which he recommended Blanche to her father's

generosity, showed how affection will sharpen the wits, and make even the
most candid people cunning, to attain their ends. He knew that Mrs. Vyner
had too much need of money, not to grudge any bestowed upon the girls; and
that Vyner himself was little likely to suffer his regard for his child, such as
it was, to withstand his wife's persuasion. Therefore, to have pleaded in
Blanche's favour, would have been to call down certain defeat. Instead of
that, he adroitly assumed that Vyner could not need any intercession—could
not, as a father, do otherwise than pardon his daughter. To refuse the pardon,
would therefore be to act contrary to all expectation. The question was thus
not discussed, but settled.

The second point in his letter is, the journey to Italy: that needs only a
very brief comment: he hoped, in the confusion of foreign scenes, to distract
his thoughts from grief.
 Farewell, then, thou brave, honest, self-sacrificing man! May travel bring
oblivion! may time bring consolation to thy sad and noble heart!
 BOOK III.

CHAPTER I.

ROSE VYNER TO FANNY WORSLEY.

WYTTON HALL, 14th Oct. 1840.

MY DEAR FANNY,

Since poor Blanche's unfortunate marriage—and yet why should I call it

unfortunate? has she not married the man of her choice, and is not that the
great ideal we maidens all aspire to? However, as it is the fashion here to
speak of it as a "most unfortunate business," over which mama weeps (I
don't clearly see why) and papa storms, I have caught the trick, and called it
so to you.

To resume this broken sentence; or rather to begin it anew: since

Blanche's fortunate marriage, our days have passed equably enough; but
although not characterized by any "incidents," nor affording any "news,"
they have not been stupid. Life has not been stagnant. The slow growth of
passions has proceeded without interruption. Marmaduke Ashley has
become the devoted slave of Violet. I call him her Brazilian Othello. I made
her very angry yesterday, by telling her that she should be less cruelly
haughty to him, "for is he not," said I, "a man and a brother?" They would
make a superb couple, for although I tease her with references to gentlemen
of colour, and with congratulatory remarks respecting the chain being
"broken, and Africa being free," you must know that his complexion is not
really darker than that of a Spaniard. And you know how lovely she is—no
you don't, you have not seen her since she shook off girlish things, and
cannot imagine how she has altered.

Poor Marmaduke, although he has made some impression on her, will

have, I fear, to languish a long while ere the haughty beauty condescends to
step down from her pedestal. Almost as long as I shall have to wait before
the modest Julius will understand, without my being forced to tell him, that
he is not absolutely indifferent to a certain saucy girl at whom he makes
sweet eyes.

You can't imagine how, every day, my admiration deepens for the little
man. I am always finding some new illustration of his excellence; always
hearing something which confirms my opinion of his nobility of soul.
Yesterday, I found that he was studying hard for the bar, not because he was
without fortune, but because he would not consent to his mother being
poorer at the death of his father than she had been before. He was the heir to
all the property, except a jointure; but he refused to enter into possession
while his mother lived, and as every man ought, he says, to be able to gain
his own livelihood, he has determined to gain his at the bar.

He has recently been exerting himself to procure a good subscription list

to a volume of poems. Here is the title. "GLOOMS AND GLEAMS. By One
who has suffered."

I am as a weed
Torn from the rock, on ocean's foam to sail,
Where'er the wave or tempest's breath prevail.
BYRON.

The mysterious one—the one who has suffered (what not specified!) is a
newly discovered wonder—the Sappho of Walton—the daughter of a linen-
draper.

According to Julius she is really a clever deserving girl, a little wild in

her notions, but with all the generosity of genius, which redeems her
affectations and her follies. She is too poor to venture on publication herself;
and I have just found that Julius, unable to secure a sufficient sum by
subscription, has undertaken to pay the printing expenses. He stipulated that
this should be a secret; but her grateful father disclosed it to Mrs. Roberts
(our housekeeper) who disclosed it to me. Imagine the gossip there will be in
Walton over this publication! How the papas and mamas, the uncles and
maiden aunts will moralize over the corruption of the age, and the wild
audacious vanity of their townswoman! A poetess in Walton? Why a volume
of poems—(unless they were low church effusions or the inspirations of
"advanced Christians"—) is itself a rarity. You know how slightly tainted
with literature the small towns of England usually are? I doubt if any are so
colourless as Walton. Dickens penetrates here—where does not his genial
sunshine penetrate?—but no other name of those blown from the brazenly
impudent trumpet of fame has ever found an echo in Walton. A poetess is,
consequently, looked upon as something short of a sorceress: a fearful and
Appalling Illustration of the Reckless March of Intellect which Devastates
the World!

Julius has already secured her an influential patron in Sir Chetsom

Chetsom, and his brother Tom Chetsom. The baronet is possessor of the
Dingles, a fine estate within three miles of Walton, and is looked up to as
one of the great people of the county. Such a figure as he is! I must sketch
him for your amusement.

Sir Chetsom Chetsom is not without considerable daring, for with the
weight of six or seven and sixty years upon his shoulders, he makes a gallant
dash at thirty. His whiskers are miraculously black, always well-oiled, and
stiffly curled; his eyebrows are of another black in virtue of his inheritance
from nature; and his hair is of a third black in virtue of Truefit's well directed
efforts at wigmanity. This threefold darkness, unsuspicious of a gray hair,
overshadows a sallow, wrinkled brow and cheeks, upon which a hare's foot
imitates the ruddy glow of youth with a sort of Vauxhall-by-daylight-
splendour. Under the genuine eyebrows, float two colourless eyes, between
which a high and well-shaped nose rears its haughty form. Frightfully
regular teeth, without a speck, without a gap, fill up the gash which
represents his mouth. A well-padded chest, and well-stayed waist, ending in
shrunken legs and excruciatingly tight-booted feet complete the physique of
this Adonis. His dress is a perpetual book of fashions!
 Of the morale I know little, except that he never plays cards—flatters
himself he has not come to that yet—talks fluently of valtzing (particular
about sounding the w as v, as a young gentleman after his first German
lesson), adores Fanny Elssler, calls Grisi a naice leetle giarl enough, thinks
himself, and wishes to be accepted as, a remorseless Lovelace, and is always
afraid of talking too long with one woman, lest he should "compromise her."

This ferocious lady-killer, whom you will at once place amongst that
very terrific and numerous class of men which I have christened Murders,
has a brother, whom I wonder he does not disown, so frankly does that
brother bear his age. Tom Chetsom, "jolly Tom Chetsom," as he is called, is
"a tun of a man," with a bald, shiny pate fringed with straggling grey hair, a
rubicund face, a vinous nose, and a moist, oystery eye, rolling in rheum. Yet
this implacable exhibition of age in a younger brother is tolerated by the
baronet, who is blind enough, or stupid enough, not to be aware of the
comment it is on his own resplendent juvenility!

Tom Chetsom, careless bon vivant as he seems, and is, conceals beneath
that rubicund jollity an astute selfishness, and a real knowledge of life and
human nature, to which his elder brother makes great pretension. But that
which the elder seems to be without being it, the younger is without seeming
it, as Browning would say.

Well, these are the patrons selected for our Walton Sappho. They are to
launch her into the "great world." Sir Chetsom has permitted the dedication
of Glooms and Gleams to himself. He is to introduce the volume into the
"first circles," while Tom Chetsom is to bruit its fame in all the clubs.

I have not yet seen the poetess herself; but propose to fall in with the
general "rage," and pay a visit at the Grange some day when she is there. I
will give you a full description.

And there is an end of my budget.

 CHAPTER II.

THE WOMAN WITH A MISSION.

Ein starker Geist in einem zarten Leib
Ein zwitter zwischen Mann und Weib,
Gleich ungeschickt zum Herrschen und zum Lieben,
Ein kind mit eines Riesen Waffen
Ein Mittelding von Weisen und von Affen!
SCHILLER.—Die Berühmte Frau.

Marmaduke and Violet, "so justly formed to meet by nature," have not, it
may be supposed, remained insensible to each other's charms. The
elopement of Blanche gave him several opportunities of making eloquent
remarks on the superiority of affection—the riches of the heart—to mere
worldly wealth; and to utter several stinging sarcasms on those who gave up
the worship of a loving heart, for the trumpery advantages of an
establishment and a position.

These sarcasms were, of course, meant for Mrs. Meredith Vyner, who
accepted them in bland silence, or made vague defences, saying that women
were often misguided, because the whole of the facts were not known.

Violet so entirely responded to his sentiments, and, without knowing the

previous connection between him and her mother, so unhesitatingly applied
those sarcasms to her, that she became more and more attracted to him, from
the fact that they alone seemed rightly to have read her mother's character.

Mrs. Meredith Vyner saw, with strangely mingled jealousy and pleasure,
the growing attachment of these two. She did not love Marmaduke: she had
never loved him in any high or generous sense of the term. But he had filled
her girlish imagination, and he still exercised a certain fascination over her.
She admired his beauty; she delighted in the sense of power exercised over
so fiery and impetuous a creature; it was exquisite flattery. To see her place
occupied in his heart was, therefore, singularly irritating. His anger was an
avowal of his love. His threats of vengeance, much as she might dread them,
were the threats of one who suffered in his love. And so clearly did she
perceive this, that it occasioned no surprise to observe how, in the same
measure as his attachment grew to Violet, his anger seemed to abate, his
mind no longer to run upon its old topics of inconstancy and vengeance. No
surprise, but great jealousy!

Other feelings mingled with this. She could not but be delighted to think
that Marmaduke had ceased to harbour any schemes against her peace: the
tiger was pacified, or attracted by other prey. This was not all. She hated
Violet, and watched the development of this passion with curious eagerness,
because in it she foresaw two sources of misery to her daughter. If they
married, she thought they would be mutually wretched, and it was in her
power at any time to make Violet horribly jealous, by informing her of
Marmaduke's early attachment. That was one source; another was, with a
little coquetry and cunning on her part, to bring him once more at her feet,
which, she doubted not, she could still effect.

Under the "still life" of what seemed the most uneventful of country
residences, under the smooth current of every-day occupations, such were
the tempests rumbling in the deeps, and ready at an instant to burst forth!
The drama was really there; it seemed to be elsewhere. The development and
collision of passions, out of which the dramas of life are constructed, were
circumscribed within the walls of the Hall and the Grange. But it was
elsewhere that the noisy bustle of event—noisy because of its emptiness—
attracted the attention of spectators, and seemed, by the talk occasioned, to
have absorbed all the interest which could possibly lie in the elements
afforded by the neighbourhood.

But, first, a word respecting one of the principal actors. I mean Hester
Mason, the poetess. Had Rose's letter, in which, according to promise, she
doubtless gave a detailed description of the Walton Sappho fallen into my
hands, you should have been treated with her lively account of this important
personage: her womanly acuteness and observation would have assuredly
delighted you. As it is, my matter-of-fact pen must be the substitute.

Hester Mason was five and twenty, and still wrote Miss before her name;
not because adorers were backward, but because they were Waltonians. They
had no "spirituality;" they had no "imaginings;" they had no "mission." Life
to them had no "earnestness;" they lived without a "purpose." Cowards, they
humbled themselves before "conventionalities," and dared not tell society to
its face that it was a lie. They went to church; they called themselves
Christians, because they followed an antiquated routine, and did not
comprehend the later "developements" of Christianity necessitated by the
"wants of the age." Above all, they shuddered at the true doctrine of social
regeneration, that, namely, of the emancipation of woman, and thought that
marriage should be indissoluble. They were humdrums!

Not to one of those could she descend; her soul was too lofty, her
passions too "devouring," to waste themselves on such "clods." Indeed, had
she been less of a "priestess," she might have been equally exclusive; since
the Waltonians were utterly without taste for literature, philosophy, or art;
and were as ill looking as the inhabitants of small towns usually are. Hester
had been thrice on a visit of a few days to London; she had seen Hyde Park
and its brilliant company; she had walked down St. James's-street and Pall
Mall, and on the doorsteps of the clubs had seen men who were gods
compared with the dandies of Walton. She had feasted upon contemporary
literature, and had written burning letters of wild enthusiasm to Bulwer, in
imitation of his "Florence Lascelles." She had dreamed ambitious dreams, in
which she held a sceptre in London society, and awoke to find herself in
Walton!

Hester was handsome, but coarse-featured. Her black hair and eyes gave
a certain éclat to a face ornamented with a nose which irredeemably
betrayed her low birth, and surmounted by a forehead too high and large for
beauty. She was about the middle height, and had a magnificent bust. Her
hands were large and coarse; her legs were—to express them in one word, I
should say they were Devonshire legs! In her dress, gait, and manner you
saw something which, though not positively vulgar, was distinctly not
ladylike; a certain brusquerie, almost pertness, and a dogmatism, which is at
all times shocking in a woman.

About the time when Julius St. John first interested himself in the
publication of her volume of poems, Hester, worn out with awaiting her
"ideal," and almost despairing of ever reigning in London society, began so
far to humble herself in her own eyes, as to admit the attentions of the
surgeon's apprentice, newly arrived at Walton. True it is that James Stone,