Crime & punishment > Peveril of the peak, or, The days of Charles II

PEVERIL OF THE PEAK.
Act II. 5
The Stranger (Christian,) enters from a sliding j
panel at the hack of the stage, and advances to-
wards Julian during his last speech.
Stran. By my faith, Master Peveril! your vani- j
ty must be extreme. Cannot the mighty interests j
of your family be arranged, but you must summon !
spirits from the vasty deep ?
Jul. You here! By what means are you thus j
enabled to follow, e’en as my shadow ?
Stran. Your shadow ! Wrong not my kindness; i
your shadow waits but on the sunny gleams of your
prosperity; I, more constant, track the path of your
adversity. The consequences are in your choice|
Comply with my demands,—I reinstate your fa-
ther, and give you Alice Bridgenorth—Deny me,— •
he dies, and she is lost to thee for ever.
Jul. Master Ganlesse, or by whatever name you ■
please to be addressed, these mighty promises you i
made before. At liberty, and ere I knew the ruin j
of my house, I spurned your offers; and now, t
though in captivity, I will not purchase freedom by i
a desertion of my trust. I have pledged my word,
and when was a Peveril known to break it ?
Stran. Ay, a Peveril—a Peveril of the Peak. A i-
name which has sounded like a war-trumpet in the '
land, but which has now sounded its last note.
Look, young man, on the darksome turrets of your ]
house, which uplift themselves on the brow of the
hill, as their owners raised themselves above the sons =
of their people. Think on your father,—a captive
—your light quenched—your glory abased—your J
fortune wrecked. Think that Providence has sub-1;
jected the race of Peveril to one whom, in their
pride of power, they held as a plebeian upstart—
Think, ere you again reject my terms. Here I am ,
master. Nay, start not. Weak and worthless as i