MR. HINDLEY came home to the funeral; and - a thing that amazed us,and set the neighbours gossiping right and left - he brought a wifewith him. What she was, and where she was born, he never informedus: probably, she had neither money nor name to recommend her, orhe would scarcely have kept the union from his father.

She was not one that would have disturbed the house much on her ownaccount. Every object she saw, the moment she crossed thethreshold, appeared to delight her; and every circumstance thattook place about her: except the preparing for the burial, and thepresence of the mourners. I thought she was half silly, from herbehaviour while that went on: she ran into her chamber, and mademe come with her, though I should have been dressing the children:and there she sat shivering and clasping her hands, and askingrepeatedly - 'Are they gone yet?' Then she began describing withhysterical emotion the effect it produced on her to see black; andstarted, and trembled, and, at last, fell a-weeping - and when Iasked what was the matter, answered, she didn't know; but she feltso afraid of dying! I imagined her as little likely to die asmyself. She was rather thin, but young, and fresh-complexioned,and her eyes sparkled as bright as diamonds. I did remark, to besure, that mounting the stairs made her breathe very quick; thatthe least sudden noise set her all in a quiver, and that shecoughed troublesomely sometimes: but I knew nothing of what thesesymptoms portended, and had no impulse to sympathise with her. Wedon't in general take to foreigners here, Mr. Lockwood, unless theytake to us first.

Young Earnshaw was altered considerably in the three years of hisabsence. He had grown sparer, and lost his colour, and spoke anddressed quite differently; and, on the very day of his return, hetold Joseph and me we must thenceforth quarter ourselves in theback-kitchen, and leave the house for him. Indeed, he would havecarpeted and papered a small spare room for a parlour; but his wifeexpressed such pleasure at the white floor and huge glowingfireplace, at the pewter dishes and delf-case, and dog-kennel, andthe wide space there was to move about in where they usually sat,that he thought it unnecessary to her comfort, and so dropped theintention.

She expressed pleasure, too, at finding a sister among her newacquaintance; and she prattled to Catherine, and kissed her, andran about with her, and gave her quantities of presents, at thebeginning. Her affection tired very soon, however, and when shegrew peevish, Hindley became tyrannical. A few words from her,evincing a dislike to Heathcliff, were enough to rouse in him allhis old hatred of the boy. He drove him from their company to theservants, deprived him of the instructions of the curate, andinsisted that he should labour out of doors instead; compelling himto do so as hard as any other lad on the farm.

Heathcliff bore his degradation pretty well at first, because Cathytaught him what she learnt, and worked or played with him in thefields. They both promised fair to grow up as rude as savages; theyoung master being entirely negligent how they behaved, and whatthey did, so they kept clear of him. He would not even have seenafter their going to church on Sundays, only Joseph and the curatereprimanded his carelessness when they absented themselves; andthat reminded him to order Heathcliff a flogging, and Catherine afast from dinner or supper. But it was one of their chiefamusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain thereall day, and the after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at.The curate might set as many chapters as he pleased for Catherineto get by heart, and Joseph might thrash Heathcliff till his armached; they forgot everything the minute they were together again:at least the minute they had contrived some naughty plan ofrevenge; and many a time I've cried to myself to watch them growingmore reckless daily, and I not daring to speak a syllable, for fearof losing the small power I still retained over the unfriendedcreatures. One Sunday evening, it chanced that they were banishedfrom the sitting-room, for making a noise, or a light offence ofthe kind; and when I went to call them to supper, I could discoverthem nowhere. We searched the house, above and below, and the yardand stables; they were invisible: and, at last, Hindley in apassion told us to bolt the doors, and swore nobody should let themin that night. The household went to bed; and I, too, anxious tolie down, opened my lattice and put my head out to hearken, thoughit rained: determined to admit them in spite of the prohibition,should they return. In a while, I distinguished steps coming upthe road, and the light of a lantern glimmered through the gate. Ithrew a shawl over my head and ran to prevent them from waking Mr.Earnshaw by knocking. There was Heathcliff, by himself: it gaveme a start to see him alone.

'Where is Miss Catherine?' I cried hurriedly. 'No accident, Ihope?' 'At Thrushcross Grange,' he answered; 'and I would havebeen there too, but they had not the manners to ask me to stay.''Well, you will catch it!' I said: 'you'll never be content tillyou're sent about your business. What in the world led youwandering to Thrushcross Grange?' 'Let me get off my wet clothes,and I'll tell you all about it, Nelly,' he replied. I bid himbeware of rousing the master, and while he undressed and I waitedto put out the candle, he continued - 'Cathy and I escaped from thewash-house to have a ramble at liberty, and getting a glimpse ofthe Grange lights, we thought we would just go and see whether theLintons passed their Sunday evenings standing shivering in corners,while their father and mother sat eating and drinking, and singingand laughing, and burning their eyes out before the fire. Do youthink they do? Or reading sermons, and being catechised by theirmanservant, and set to learn a column of Scripture names, if theydon't answer properly?' 'Probably not,' I responded. 'They aregood children, no doubt, and don't deserve the treatment youreceive, for your bad conduct.' 'Don't cant, Nelly,' he said:'nonsense! We ran from the top of the Heights to the park, withoutstopping - Catherine completely beaten in the race, because she wasbarefoot. You'll have to seek for her shoes in the bog to-morrow.We crept through a broken hedge, groped our way up the path, andplanted ourselves on a flower-plot under the drawing-room window.The light came from thence; they had not put up the shutters, andthe curtains were only half closed. Both of us were able to lookin by standing on the basement, and clinging to the ledge, and wesaw - ah! it was beautiful - a splendid place carpeted withcrimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure whiteceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops hanging in silverchains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers.Old Mr. and Mrs. Linton were not there; Edgar and his sisters hadit entirely to themselves. Shouldn't they have been happy? Weshould have thought ourselves in heaven! And now, guess what yourgood children were doing? Isabella - I believe she is eleven, ayear younger than Cathy - lay screaming at the farther end of theroom, shrieking as if witches were running red-hot needles intoher. Edgar stood on the hearth weeping silently, and in the middleof the table sat a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping; which,from their mutual accusations, we understood they had nearly pulledin two between them. The idiots! That was their pleasure! toquarrel who should hold a heap of warm hair, and each begin to crybecause both, after struggling to get it, refused to take it. Welaughed outright at the petted things; we did despise them! Whenwould you catch me wishing to have what Catherine wanted? or findus by ourselves, seeking entertainment in yelling, and sobbing, androlling on the ground, divided by the whole room? I'd notexchange, for a thousand lives, my condition here, for EdgarLinton's at Thrushcross Grange - not if I might have the privilegeof flinging Joseph off the highest gable, and painting the house-front with Hindley's blood!'

'Hush, hush!' I interrupted. 'Still you have not told me,Heathcliff, how Catherine is left behind?'

'I told you we laughed,' he answered. 'The Lintons heard us, andwith one accord they shot like arrows to the door; there wassilence, and then a cry, "Oh, mamma, mamma! Oh, papa! Oh, mamma,come here. Oh, papa, oh!" They really did howl out something inthat way. We made frightful noises to terrify them still more, andthen we dropped off the ledge, because somebody was drawing thebars, and we felt we had better flee. I had Cathy by the hand, andwas urging her on, when all at once she fell down. "Run,Heathcliff, run!" she whispered. "They have let the bull-dogloose, and he holds me!" The devil had seized her ankle, Nelly: Iheard his abominable snorting. She did not yell out - no! shewould have scorned to do it, if she had been spitted on the hornsof a mad cow. I did, though: I vociferated curses enough toannihilate any fiend in Christendom; and I got a stone and thrustit between his jaws, and tried with all my might to cram it downhis throat. A beast of a servant came up with a lantern, at last,shouting - "Keep fast, Skulker, keep fast!" He changed his note,however, when he saw Skulker's game. The dog was throttled off;his huge, purple tongue hanging half a foot out of his mouth, andhis pendent lips streaming with bloody slaver. The man took Cathyup; she was sick: not from fear, I'm certain, but from pain. Hecarried her in; I followed, grumbling execrations and vengeance."What prey, Robert?" hallooed Linton from the entrance. "Skulkerhas caught a little girl, sir," he replied; "and there's a ladhere," he added, making a clutch at me, "who looks an out-and-outer! Very like the robbers were for putting them through thewindow to open the doors to the gang after all were asleep, thatthey might murder us at their ease. Hold your tongue, you foul-mouthed thief, you! you shall go to the gallows for this. Mr.Linton, sir, don't lay by your gun." "No, no, Robert," said theold fool. "The rascals knew that yesterday was my rent-day: theythought to have me cleverly. Come in; I'll furnish them areception. There, John, fasten the chain. Give Skulker somewater, Jenny. To beard a magistrate in his stronghold, and on theSabbath, too! Where will their insolence stop? Oh, my dear Mary,look here! Don't be afraid, it is but a boy - yet the villainscowls so plainly in his face; would it not be a kindness to thecountry to hang him at once, before he shows his nature in acts aswell as features?" He pulled me under the chandelier, and Mrs.Linton placed her spectacles on her nose and raised her hands inhorror. The cowardly children crept nearer also, Isabella lisping- "Frightful thing! Put him in the cellar, papa. He's exactlylike the son of the fortune-teller that stole my tame pheasant.Isn't he, Edgar?"

'While they examined me, Cathy came round; she heard the lastspeech, and laughed. Edgar Linton, after an inquisitive stare,collected sufficient wit to recognise her. They see us at church,you know, though we seldom meet them elsewhere. "That's MissEarnshaw?" he whispered to his mother, "and look how Skulker hasbitten her - how her foot bleeds!"

'"Miss Earnshaw? Nonsense!" cried the dame; "Miss Earnshawscouring the country with a gipsy! And yet, my dear, the child isin mourning - surely it is - and she may be lamed for life!"

'"What culpable carelessness in her brother!" exclaimed Mr. Linton,turning from me to Catherine. "I've understood from Shielders"'(that was the curate, sir) '"that he lets her grow up in absoluteheathenism. But who is this? Where did she pick up thiscompanion? Oho! I declare he is that strange acquisition my lateneighbour made, in his journey to Liverpool - a little Lascar, oran American or Spanish castaway."

'"A wicked boy, at all events," remarked the old lady, "and quiteunfit for a decent house! Did you notice his language, Linton?I'm shocked that my children should have heard it."

'I recommenced cursing - don't be angry, Nelly - and so Robert wasordered to take me off. I refused to go without Cathy; he draggedme into the garden, pushed the lantern into my hand, assured methat Mr. Earnshaw should be informed of my behaviour, and, biddingme march directly, secured the door again. The curtains were stilllooped up at one corner, and I resumed my station as spy; because,if Catherine had wished to return, I intended shattering theirgreat glass panes to a million of fragments, unless they let herout. She sat on the sofa quietly. Mrs. Linton took off the greycloak of the dairy-maid which we had borrowed for our excursion,shaking her head and expostulating with her, I suppose: she was ayoung lady, and they made a distinction between her treatment andmine. Then the woman-servant brought a basin of warm water, andwashed her feet; and Mr. Linton mixed a tumbler of negus, andIsabella emptied a plateful of cakes into her lap, and Edgar stoodgaping at a distance. Afterwards, they dried and combed herbeautiful hair, and gave her a pair of enormous slippers, andwheeled her to the fire; and I left her, as merry as she could be,dividing her food between the little dog and Skulker, whose noseshe pinched as he ate; and kindling a spark of spirit in the vacantblue eyes of the Lintons - a dim reflection from her own enchantingface. I saw they were full of stupid admiration; she is soimmeasurably superior to them - to everybody on earth, is she not,Nelly?'

'There will more come of this business than you reckon on,' Ianswered, covering him up and extinguishing the light. 'You areincurable, Heathcliff; and Mr. Hindley will have to proceed toextremities, see if he won't.' My words came truer than I desired.The luckless adventure made Earnshaw furious. And then Mr. Linton,to mend matters, paid us a visit himself on the morrow, and readthe young master such a lecture on the road he guided his family,that he was stirred to look about him, in earnest. Heathcliffreceived no flogging, but he was told that the first word he spoketo Miss Catherine should ensure a dismissal; and Mrs. Earnshawundertook to keep her sister-in-law in due restraint when shereturned home; employing art, not force: with force she would havefound it impossible.