ON the morrow of that Monday, Earnshaw being still unable to followhis ordinary employments, and therefore remaining about the house,I speedily found it would be impracticable to retain my chargebeside me, as heretofore. She got downstairs before me, and outinto the garden, where she had seen her cousin performing some easywork; and when I went to bid them come to breakfast, I saw she hadpersuaded him to clear a large space of ground from currant andgooseberry bushes, and they were busy planning together animportation of plants from the Grange.

I was terrified at the devastation which had been accomplished in abrief half-hour; the black-currant trees were the apple of Joseph'seye, and she had just fixed her choice of a flower-bed in the midstof them.

'There! That will be all shown to the master,' I exclaimed, 'theminute it is discovered. And what excuse have you to offer fortaking such liberties with the garden? We shall have a fineexplosion on the head of it: see if we don't! Mr. Hareton, Iwonder you should have no more wit than to go and make that mess ather bidding!'

'I'd forgotten they were Joseph's,' answered Earnshaw, ratherpuzzled; 'but I'll tell him I did it.'

We always ate our meals with Mr. Heathcliff. I held the mistress'spost in making tea and carving; so I was indispensable at table.Catherine usually sat by me, but to-day she stole nearer toHareton; and I presently saw she would have no more discretion inher friendship than she had in her hostility.

'Now, mind you don't talk with and notice your cousin too much,'were my whispered instructions as we entered the room. 'It willcertainly annoy Mr. Heathcliff, and he'll be mad at you both.'

'I'm not going to,' she answered.

The minute after, she had sidled to him, and was sticking primrosesin his plate of porridge.

He dared not speak to her there: he dared hardly look; and yet shewent on teasing, till he was twice on the point of being provokedto laugh. I frowned, and then she glanced towards the master:whose mind was occupied on other subjects than his company, as hiscountenance evinced; and she grew serious for an instant,scrutinizing him with deep gravity. Afterwards she turned, andrecommenced her nonsense; at last, Hareton uttered a smotheredlaugh. Mr. Heathcliff started; his eye rapidly surveyed our faces,Catherine met it with her accustomed look of nervousness and yetdefiance, which he abhorred.

'It is well you are out of my reach,' he exclaimed. 'What fiendpossesses you to stare back at me, continually, with those infernaleyes? Down with them! and don't remind me of your existence again.I thought I had cured you of laughing.'

'It was me,' muttered Hareton.

'What do you say?' demanded the master.

Hareton looked at his plate, and did not repeat the confession.Mr. Heathcliff looked at him a bit, and then silently resumed hisbreakfast and his interrupted musing. We had nearly finished, andthe two young people prudently shifted wider asunder, so Ianticipated no further disturbance during that sitting: whenJoseph appeared at the door, revealing by his quivering lip andfurious eyes that the outrage committed on his precious shrubs wasdetected. He must have seen Cathy and her cousin about the spotbefore he examined it, for while his jaws worked like those of acow chewing its cud, and rendered his speech difficult tounderstand, he began:-

'I mun hev' my wage, and I mun goa! I HED aimed to dee wheare I'dsarved fur sixty year; and I thowt I'd lug my books up into t'garret, and all my bits o' stuff, and they sud hev' t' kitchen totheirseln; for t' sake o' quietness. It wur hard to gie up my awnhearthstun, but I thowt I COULD do that! But nah, shoo's taan mygarden fro' me, and by th' heart, maister, I cannot stand it! Yahmay bend to th' yoak an ye will - I noan used to 't, and an old mandoesn't sooin get used to new barthens. I'd rayther arn my bitean' my sup wi' a hammer in th' road!'

'Now, now, idiot!' interrupted Heathcliff, 'cut it short! What'syour grievance? I'll interfere in no quarrels between you andNelly. She may thrust you into the coal-hole for anything I care.'

'It's noan Nelly!' answered Joseph. 'I sudn't shift for Nelly -nasty ill nowt as shoo is. Thank God! SHOO cannot stale t' sowl o'nob'dy! Shoo wer niver soa handsome, but what a body mud look ather 'bout winking. It's yon flaysome, graceless quean, that'switched our lad, wi' her bold een and her forrard ways - till -Nay! it fair brusts my heart! He's forgotten all I've done forhim, and made on him, and goan and riven up a whole row o' t'grandest currant-trees i' t' garden!' and here he lamentedoutright; unmanned by a sense of his bitter injuries, andEarnshaw's ingratitude and dangerous condition.

'Is the fool drunk?' asked Mr. Heathcliff. 'Hareton, is it youhe's finding fault with?'

'I've pulled up two or three bushes,' replied the young man; 'butI'm going to set 'em again.'

'And why have you pulled them up?' said the master.

Catherine wisely put in her tongue.

'We wanted to plant some flowers there,' she cried. 'I'm the onlyperson to blame, for I wished him to do it.'

'And who the devil gave YOU leave to touch a stick about theplace?' demanded her father-in-law, much surprised. 'And whoordered YOU to obey her?' he added, turning to Hareton.

The latter was speechless; his cousin replied - 'You shouldn'tgrudge a few yards of earth for me to ornament, when you have takenall my land!'

'Your land, insolent slut! You never had any,' said Heathcliff.

'And my money,' she continued; returning his angry glare, andmeantime biting a piece of crust, the remnant of her breakfast.

'Silence!' he exclaimed. 'Get done, and begone!'

'And Hareton's land, and his money,' pursued the reckless thing.'Hareton and I are friends now; and I shall tell him all aboutyou!'

The master seemed confounded a moment: he grew pale, and rose up,eyeing her all the while, with an expression of mortal hate.

'If you strike me, Hareton will strike you,' she said; 'so you mayas well sit down.'

'If Hareton does not turn you out of the room, I'll strike him tohell,' thundered Heathcliff. 'Damnable witch! dare you pretend torouse him against me? Off with her! Do you hear? Fling her intothe kitchen! I'll kill her, Ellen Dean, if you let her come intomy sight again!'

Hareton tried, under his breath, to persuade her to go.

'Drag her away!' he cried, savagely. 'Are you staying to talk?'And he approached to execute his own command.

'He'll not obey you, wicked man, any more,' said Catherine; 'andhe'll soon detest you as much as I do.'

'Wisht! wisht!' muttered the young man, reproachfully; 'I will nothear you speak so to him. Have done.'

'But you won't let him strike me?' she cried.

'Come, then,' he whispered earnestly.

It was too late: Heathcliff had caught hold of her.

'Now, YOU go!' he said to Earnshaw. 'Accursed witch! this time shehas provoked me when I could not bear it; and I'll make her repentit for ever!'

He had his hand in her hair; Hareton attempted to release herlooks, entreating him not to hurt her that once. Heathcliff'sblack eyes flashed; he seemed ready to tear Catherine in pieces,and I was just worked up to risk coming to the rescue, when of asudden his fingers relaxed; he shifted his grasp from her head toher arm, and gazed intently in her face. Then he drew his handover his eyes, stood a moment to collect himself apparently, andturning anew to Catherine, said, with assumed calmness - 'You mustlearn to avoid putting me in a passion, or I shall really murderyou some time! Go with Mrs. Dean, and keep with her; and confineyour insolence to her ears. As to Hareton Earnshaw, if I see himlisten to you, I'll send him seeking his bread where he can get it!Your love will make him an outcast and a beggar. Nelly, take her;and leave me, all of you! Leave me!'

I led my young lady out: she was too glad of her escape to resist;the other followed, and Mr. Heathcliff had the room to himself tilldinner. I had counselled Catherine to dine up-stairs; but, as soonas he perceived her vacant seat, he sent me to call her. He spoketo none of us, ate very little, and went out directly afterwards,intimating that he should not return before evening.

The two new friends established themselves in the house during hisabsence; where I heard Hareton sternly cheek his cousin, on heroffering a revelation of her father-in-law's conduct to his father.He said he wouldn't suffer a word to be uttered in hisdisparagement: if he were the devil, it didn't signify; he wouldstand by him; and he'd rather she would abuse himself, as she usedto, than begin on Mr. Heathcliff. Catherine was waxing cross atthis; but he found means to make her hold her tongue, by asking howshe would like HIM to speak ill of her father? Then shecomprehended that Earnshaw took the master's reputation home tohimself; and was attached by ties stronger than reason could break- chains, forged by habit, which it would be cruel to attempt toloosen. She showed a good heart, thenceforth, in avoiding bothcomplaints and expressions of antipathy concerning Heathcliff; andconfessed to me her sorrow that she had endeavoured to raise a badspirit between him and Hareton: indeed, I don't believe she hasever breathed a syllable, in the latter's hearing, against heroppressor since.

When this slight disagreement was over, they were friends again,and as busy as possible in their several occupations of pupil andteacher. I came in to sit with them, after I had done my work; andI felt so soothed and comforted to watch them, that I did notnotice how time got on. You know, they both appeared in a measuremy children: I had long been proud of one; and now, I was sure,the other would be a source of equal satisfaction. His honest,warm, and intelligent nature shook off rapidly the clouds ofignorance and degradation in which it had been bred; andCatherine's sincere commendations acted as a spur to his industry.His brightening mind brightened his features, and added spirit andnobility to their aspect: I could hardly fancy it the sameindividual I had beheld on the day I discovered my little lady atWuthering Heights, after her expedition to the Crags. While Iadmired and they laboured, dusk drew on, and with it returned themaster. He came upon us quite unexpectedly, entering by the frontway, and had a full view of the whole three, ere we could raise ourheads to glance at him. Well, I reflected, there was never apleasanter, or more harmless sight; and it will be a burning shameto scold them. The red fire-light glowed on their two bonny heads,and revealed their faces animated with the eager interest ofchildren; for, though he was twenty-three and she eighteen, eachhad so much of novelty to feel and learn, that neither experiencednor evinced the sentiments of sober disenchanted maturity.

They lifted their eyes together, to encounter Mr. Heathcliff:perhaps you have never remarked that their eyes are preciselysimilar, and they are those of Catherine Earnshaw. The presentCatherine has no other likeness to her, except a breadth offorehead, and a certain arch of the nostril that makes her appearrather haughty, whether she will or not. With Hareton theresemblance is carried farther: it is singular at all times, THENit was particularly striking; because his senses were alert, andhis mental faculties wakened to unwonted activity. I suppose thisresemblance disarmed Mr. Heathcliff: he walked to the hearth inevident agitation; but it quickly subsided as he looked at theyoung man: or, I should say, altered its character; for it wasthere yet. He took the book from his hand, and glanced at the openpage, then returned it without any observation; merely signingCatherine away: her companion lingered very little behind her, andI was about to depart also, but he bid me sit still.

'It is a poor conclusion, is it not?' he observed, having broodedawhile on the scene he had just witnessed: 'an absurd terminationto my violent exertions? I get levers and mattocks to demolish thetwo houses, and train myself to be capable of working likeHercules, and when everything is ready and in my power, I find thewill to lift a slate off either roof has vanished! My old enemieshave not beaten me; now would be the precise time to revenge myselfon their representatives: I could do it; and none could hinder me.But where is the use? I don't care for striking: I can't take thetrouble to raise my hand! That sounds as if I had been labouringthe whole time only to exhibit a fine trait of magnanimity. It isfar from being the case: I have lost the faculty of enjoying theirdestruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.

'Nelly, there is a strange change approaching; I'm in its shadow atpresent. I take so little interest in my daily life that I hardlyremember to eat and drink. Those two who have left the room arethe only objects which retain a distinct material appearance to me;and that appearance causes me pain, amounting to agony. About HERI won't speak; and I don't desire to think; but I earnestly wishshe were invisible: her presence invokes only maddeningsensations. HE moves me differently: and yet if I could do itwithout seeming insane, I'd never see him again! You'll perhapsthink me rather inclined to become so,' he added, making an effortto smile, 'if I try to describe the thousand forms of pastassociations and ideas he awakens or embodies. But you'll not talkof what I tell you; and my mind is so eternally secluded in itself,it is tempting at last to turn it out to another.

'Five minutes ago Hareton seemed a personification of my youth, nota human being; I felt to him in such a variety of ways, that itwould have been impossible to have accosted him rationally. In thefirst place, his startling likeness to Catherine connected himfearfully with her. That, however, which you may suppose the mostpotent to arrest my imagination, is actually the least: for whatis not connected with her to me? and what does not recall her? Icannot look down to this floor, but her features are shaped in theflags! In every cloud, in every tree - filling the air at night,and caught by glimpses in every object by day - I am surroundedwith her image! The most ordinary faces of men and women - my ownfeatures - mock me with a resemblance. The entire world is adreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that Ihave lost her! Well, Hareton's aspect was the ghost of my immortallove; of my wild endeavours to hold my right; my degradation, mypride, my happiness, and my anguish -

'But it is frenzy to repeat these thoughts to you: only it willlet you know why, with a reluctance to be always alone, his societyis no benefit; rather an aggravation of the constant torment Isuffer: and it partly contributes to render me regardless how heand his cousin go on together. I can give them no attention anymore.'

'But what do you mean by a CHANGE, Mr. Heathcliff?' I said, alarmedat his manner: though he was neither in danger of losing hissenses, nor dying, according to my judgment: he was quite strongand healthy; and, as to his reason, from childhood he had a delightin dwelling on dark things, and entertaining odd fancies. He mighthave had a monomania on the subject of his departed idol; but onevery other point his wits were as sound as mine.

'I shall not know that till it comes,' he said; 'I'm only halfconscious of it now.'

'You have no feeling of illness, have you?' I asked.

'No, Nelly, I have not,' he answered.

'Then you are not afraid of death?' I pursued.

'Afraid? No!' he replied. 'I have neither a fear, nor apresentiment, nor a hope of death. Why should I? With my hardconstitution and temperate mode of living, and unperilousoccupations, I ought to, and probably SHALL, remain above groundtill there is scarcely a black hair on my head. And yet I cannotcontinue in this condition! I have to remind myself to breathe -almost to remind my heart to beat! And it is like bending back astiff spring: it is by compulsion that I do the slightest act notprompted by one thought; and by compulsion that I notice anythingalive or dead, which is not associated with one universal idea. Ihave a single wish, and my whole being and faculties are yearningto attain it. They have yearned towards it so long, and sounwaveringly, that I'm convinced it will be reached - and soon -because it has devoured my existence: I am swallowed up in theanticipation of its fulfilment. My confessions have not relievedme; but they may account for some otherwise unaccountable phases ofhumour which I show. O God! It is a long fight; I wish it wereover!'

He began to pace the room, muttering terrible things to himself,till I was inclined to believe, as he said Joseph did, thatconscience had turned his heart to an earthly hell. I wonderedgreatly how it would end. Though he seldom before had revealedthis state of mind, even by looks, it was his habitual mood, I hadno doubt: he asserted it himself; but not a soul, from his generalbearing, would have conjectured the fact. You did not when you sawhim, Mr. Lockwood: and at the period of which I speak, he was justthe same as then; only fonder of continued solitude, and perhapsstill more laconic in company.