Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Get McMinn's Color Atlas of Lower Limb Anatomy 5th Edition Bari M. Logan Free All Chapters

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 53

Full download test bank at ebook textbookfull.

com

McMinn’s Color Atlas of Lower Limb

CLICK LINK TO DOWLOAD

https://textbookfull.com/product/mcminns-
color-atlas-of-lower-limb-anatomy-5th-
edition-bari-m-logan/

textbookfull
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Human Anatomy: Color Atlas and Textbook John A. Gosling

https://textbookfull.com/product/human-anatomy-color-atlas-and-
textbook-john-a-gosling/

Color Atlas of Pediatric Anatomy Laparoscopy and


Thoracoscopy 1st Edition Merrill Mchoney

https://textbookfull.com/product/color-atlas-of-pediatric-
anatomy-laparoscopy-and-thoracoscopy-1st-edition-merrill-mchoney/

ORTHOPEDICS OF THE UPPER AND LOWER LIMB 2nd Edition K.


Mohan Iyer

https://textbookfull.com/product/orthopedics-of-the-upper-and-
lower-limb-2nd-edition-k-mohan-iyer/

B D Chaurasia s Human Anatomy Regional Applied


Dissection Clinical Volume 2 Lower Limb Abdomen Pelvis
8th Edition 2019 Krishna Garg

https://textbookfull.com/product/b-d-chaurasia-s-human-anatomy-
regional-applied-dissection-clinical-volume-2-lower-limb-abdomen-
pelvis-8th-edition-2019-krishna-garg/
Atlas of Pelvic Anatomy and Gynecologic Surgery 5th
Edition Baggish Md Facog

https://textbookfull.com/product/atlas-of-pelvic-anatomy-and-
gynecologic-surgery-5th-edition-baggish-md-facog/

Color Atlas of Medical Bacteriology 3rd Edition Luis M.


De La Maza

https://textbookfull.com/product/color-atlas-of-medical-
bacteriology-3rd-edition-luis-m-de-la-maza/

The Lower Limb Tendinopathies Etiology Biology and


Treatment 1st Edition Giannicola Bisciotti

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-lower-limb-tendinopathies-
etiology-biology-and-treatment-1st-edition-giannicola-bisciotti/

Comparative Anatomy and Histology A Mouse Rat and Human


Atlas Piper M. Treuting

https://textbookfull.com/product/comparative-anatomy-and-
histology-a-mouse-rat-and-human-atlas-piper-m-treuting/

Weinberg’s Color Atlas of Pediatric Dermatology Neil S.


Prose

https://textbookfull.com/product/weinbergs-color-atlas-of-
pediatric-dermatology-neil-s-prose/
McMinn’s Color Atlas of

Lower Limb
Anatomy
This page intentionally left blank
McMinn’s Color Atlas of

Lower Limb
Anatomy
Fifth Edition
Bari M. Logan MA FMA Hon MBIE MAMAA
Formerly University Prosector, Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge, UK; Prosector, Department of Anatomy,
The Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, UK and Anatomical Preparator, Department of Human Morphology,
University of Nottingham Medical School, UK

David J. Bowden MA Vet MB MB BChir FRCR


Consultant Radiologist, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK

Original Photography by Ralph T. Hutchings


Photographer for Visuals Unlimited.com
Formerly Chief Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, UK

Regional Anaesthesia by:


Anand M. Sardesai MBBS MD DA FRCA
Consultant Anaesthetist
Sachin Daivajna MBBS MS MRCS
Specialist Registrar
A. H. N. Robinson BSc FRCS (Orth)
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK
© 2018, Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved.
© 2012 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
© 2004, Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved.
© 1996, 1982 Times Mirror International Publishers Limited.

The rights of Bari M. Logan, David J. Bowden and Ralph T. Hutchings to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek
permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements
with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency,
can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.

This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the
Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or
medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein.
In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety
of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
With respect to any drug or pharmaceutical products identified, readers are advised to check
the most current information provided (i) on procedures featured or (ii) by the manufacturer of
each product to be administered, to verify the recommended dose or formula, the method and
duration of administration, and contraindications. It is the responsibility of practitioners, relying
on their own experience and knowledge of their patients, to make diagnoses, to determine
dosages and the best treatment for each individual patient, and to take all appropriate safety
precautions.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors,
assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products
liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products,
instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

ISBN: 978-0-7020-7218-5

Printed in China

Last digit is the print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The
publisher’s
policy is to use
paper manufactured
from sustainable forests

Content Strategist: Jeremy Bowes


Content Development Specialist: Carole McMurray
Project Manager: Andrew Riley
Design: Maggie Reid
Illustration Manager: Amy Faith Heyden
Marketing Manager: Deborah Watkins
Contents

Dedications vii Popliteus muscle and knee joint capsule, from behind, and
Preface viii palpation of popliteal pulse 39
Professor R. M. H. McMinn viii
Leg and foot survey 40
McMinn’s Legacy of Illustrated Anatomy Books ix
Muscles and superficial vessels and nerves of the left leg and
Acknowledgements xii
foot 40
Terminology xiii
Preservation of Cadavers xiii
Orientation Guides xiv 3 Foot 43
Surface landmarks of the foot 44
1 Lower limb, pelvis and hip 1 From the front and behind 44
Sole of the foot 45
Lower limb survey 2
From the medial side 46
From the front 2
From the lateral side 47
From behind 4
From the medial side 6 Skeleton of the foot 48
From the lateral side 8 Disarticulated foot from above 48
Articulated foot from above and below 50
Pelvic viscera 10
Articulated foot with attachments marked 52
Male sagittal section 10
Sesamoid and accessory bones 53
Female sagittal section 12
Articulated foot from the medial and lateral sides 54
Gluteal region 14 Bones of the arches and joints 56
Sciatic nerve and other gluteal structures 14
Foot bones 58
Surface features 15
Talus 58
Left gluteal and ischio-anal region 16
Talus articulated with tibia and fibula 60
Right gluteal and ischio-anal region 17
Talus, tibia and fibula, ligament attachments 62
Hip joint 18 Talus, tibia and fibula, lower end 64
Bones from the front and radiograph 18 Talus, tibia and fibula, lower end, ligament attachments 66
Bones from behind and joint capsule from the front 19 Calcaneus 68
Axial section 20 Navicular, cuboid and cuneiform bones 70
Coronal section and radiograph 21 Metatarsal bones 72

Lower leg and foot 74


2 Thigh, knee and leg 23 From the front 74
From behind and axial section 75
Thigh 24
From the medial side 76
Front of thigh, femoral triangle 24
From the lateral side 77
Back of thigh, gluteal injection 25
Deep fascia from the front and the right 78
Inguinal and femoral regions and palpation of femoral pulse 26
Femoral vessels and nerves 27 Dorsum and sides of the foot 80
Lower thigh, from the front and medial side 28 From the front 80
Axial section 29 From behind and palpation of the dorsalis pedis pulse and
posterior tibial artery 81
Knee joint 30
From the medial side 82
Bones and ligaments from the front 30
From the lateral side 83
Magnetic resonance image (MRI) and joint from the front 31
Deep nerves and vessels 84
Bones from behind 32
Joints beneath the talus 86
Ligaments from behind and above 33
Coronal section 34 Sole of foot 88
Sagittal section I 35 Plantar aponeurosis 88
Sagittal section II 36 First layer structures 90
Sagittal section III 37 Second layer structures and lower leg 91
Popliteal fossa and surface landmarks 38 First layer of muscles 92

v
vi  Contents

Second layer of muscles 93 Thigh 126


Third layer of muscles 94 MRI anatomy of the thigh—coronal 126
Fourth layer of muscles 95 MRI anatomy of the thigh—axial 127

Ligaments of the foot 96 Knee 128


From above and lateral side 96 Plain radiographic anatomy 128
From behind 97 MRI anatomy of the knee—sagittal 129
From the medial side 98 MRI anatomy of the knee—coronal and axial 130
Ligaments of the sole 99 Arterial anatomy of the knee—DSA, CT 131
Arterial anatomy of the knee—CT, MRI 132
Sections of the foot 100
Sagittal section through the great toe 100 Lower leg 133
Sagittal sections through the second toe 102 MRI anatomy of the lower leg—coronal 133
Sagittal sections through the fifth toe 103 MRI anatomy of the lower leg—axial 134
Axial sections through the ankle joint 104
Ankle 135
Coronal sections of the ankle and foot 106
Plain radiographic anatomy 135
Oblique axial sections of the left foot 109
MRI anatomy of the ankle—sagittal 136
Coronal sections of the tarsus 110
MRI anatomy of the ankle—axial 137
Coronal sections of the metatarsus 111
MRI anatomy of the ankle—coronal and ultrasound anatomy 138
Great toe 112
Foot 139
Dorsum, nail, and sections of the great toe 112
Plain radiographic anatomy 139
MRI anatomy of the foot—coronal 140
4 Imaging of the lower limb 115 MRI anatomy of the foot—axial and sagittal 141
Vascular anatomy of the foot and ankle—CT 142
Lumbar spine 116
Paediatric anatomy 144
Plain radiographic and CT anatomy 116
MRI anatomy—sagittal 117
MRI anatomy—axial 118 Appendix 145
Pelvis 119 Skin 146
Plain radiographic anatomy 119 Muscles 146
Male and female pelvis, sacrum 120 Nerves 152
Developmental changes within the pelvis 121 Regional anaesthesia 155
MRI anatomy of the pelvis 122 Lymphatic system 165
MRI anatomy of the hip 123 Arteries 170

Arterial anatomy of the pelvis and leg 124 Index 172


MRA angiographic anatomy of the pelvis and leg 124
Arterial anatomy of the hip 125
Dedications

To Arlette Herzig and Robert Logan


- Bari Logan

Anna, Jack, George and my parents


- David Bowden

Anne, Sam and Isabel


- Ralph Hutchings

And

To the Memory of an Esteemed Colleague

Professor R. M. H. (Bob) McMinn


Preface

This fifth edition of McMinn’s Colour Atlas of Foot and Ankle to Imaging of the Lower Limb, using state-of-the-art technology.
Anatomy, heralds 35 years of publication and brings some Thus providing the opportunity to visualise key anatomical
significant changes and most immediate to note is the new structures as they appear in the living subject in comparison to
title, McMinn’s Color Atlas of Lower Limb Anatomy, which we the illustrations of bones and detailed anatomical preparations
feel reflects more truly the overall direction and content of the provided elsewhere in the book.
book. Bari Logan adds a scattering of nine new pages of annotated
Originally intended as an illustrated reference book for illustrations of anatomical preparations, with accompanying notes.
chiropodists and podiatrists in training, over the ensuing years it We hope that these new additions and overall review of the
has become equally popular with radiologists, physiotherapists, text will be appreciated and that the book will continue in its
sports injury consultants, vascular and orthopaedic surgeons. The popularity as an important contribution to medical education at
book has therefore become an accepted standard text on the both pre-clinical and postgraduate level.
subject and continues to fill an important niche on medical library
bookshelves worldwide, producing eight language editions: Bari M Logan
English, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Dutch, Russian and Siegershausen, Switzerland
Spanish. David J Bowden
For this fifth edition, a third co-author David Bowden joins the Cambridge, UK
team and adds his specialist clinical knowledge and expertise in March 2017
the field of radiology by adding a new 30 page chapter dedicated

Professor R. M. H. McMinn, MD (Glas), PhD (Sheff), FRCS (Eng)


[b. Sept 23, 1923 – d. July 11, 2012, aged 88]

Robert ‘Bob’ McMinn was a medical graduate of the University of Glasgow. After leaving
hospital posts and service with the Royal Air Force in Iraq and Africa, he began his
anatomical career as a Demonstrator in Anatomy in Glasgow in 1950. He became a lecturer
in the University of Sheffield and was later Reader and then Titular Professor at King’s
College, London. In 1970 he was appointed to the Chair of Anatomy at the Royal College of
Surgeons of England. Among his publications, ‘A Colour Atlas of Human Anatomy’, with
photographer R. T. Hutchings, was first published in 1977 and became a worldwide best
seller, with translations into over 25 languages; more than 4 million copies were sold.
For this and other later atlases his co-authors added the name ‘McMinn’ to the titles
in recognition of his contribution to anatomical teaching. He was editor of the eighth
and ninth editions of ‘Last’s Anatomy Regional and Applied’, which remains a standard
work for surgical trainees. He was program secretary and later treasurer of the
Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and was a founder member and first
secretary of the British Association of Clinical Anatomists. At the International
Anatomical Congress held in Cambridge in 2000, he received a Special Presentation
Ardfern – 5 April 2008 Award from the Anatomical Society for his teaching and research activities. His
research interests were in wound healing and tissue repair and on the association
between skin disease and the alimentary tract.
He retired in 1983 and moved with his wife back to their Scottish homeland settling
on the west coast in Ardfern, Lochgilphead.

viii
McMinn’s Legacy of Illustrated
Anatomy Books

Bari Logan entered the academic post of Prosector to the authorship, direction and content, although the name ‘McMinn’
department of Anatomy, The Royal College of Surgeons, of remains in the title for posterity.
England, London, in January 1977. At that time, ‘Bob’ McMinn
held the Chair as Sir William Collins Professor of Human and Following on from the enormous success of A Colour Atlas, the
Comparative Anatomy and Ralph Hutchings was the Chief Medical publisher Peter Wolfe approached ‘Bob’ McMinn and Ralph
Scientific Officer and departmental photographer. Hutchings in early 1979 with the idea of producing a new
In April of the same year, an evening reception was held at the illustrated text to suit the specific educational needs of dental
College for a group of distinguished medical fraternity by Wolfe students, for whom the Royal College of Surgeons ran popular
Medical Publications to launch a new book entitled A Colour postgraduate courses.
Atlas of Human Anatomy by the authors McMinn & Hutchings Wolfe’s proposal was timely because, within the College, the
who had spent the previous 2 years working on the project. renovation and reorganization of the Wellcome Museum of
Anatomy and Physiology, founded by the famous Australian
anatomist R. (Ray) J. Last in (1947), was well underway; a
particular pressing need, identified by Bari Logan, was to prepare
for display a range of detailed head and neck prosections and
1977 - ISBN 0-7234-0709-6 preparations, for which the collection was lacking.
2nd Ed—1988 Thus, the co-authorship trio of McMinn, Hutchings and Logan
3rd Ed—1993 was formed and within a two-year period produced their first
4th Ed—1998 book together in 1981.
5th Ed—2003
6th Ed—2008
7th Ed—2013

1981: ISBN 0-7234-0755-X


A Colour Atlas of Head and Neck
Anatomy
First Edition dust cover wrap
Wolfe Medical Publications:
McMinn/Hutchings/Logan
Designed for dental students
English, French, German, Italian,
Instantly considered by many to be a visually stunning
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
production, it was without doubt a pioneering book in the
2nd Ed—1994
field of human anatomy, having many novel concepts in both
3rd Ed—2004
composition and design that would later be adopted by other
4th Ed—2009
authors and become standard format in many new illustrated
5th Ed—2017
texts on the subject.
The book, 352 pages, was unusually large in size and contained
over 700 high quality colour photographs of almost natural size,
bones, detailed dissections (prosections), and exquisite anatomical
preparations depicting the entire human body taken of specimens Over the next 17 years, there followed a fairly rapid succession
hitherto unseen beyond the closely guarded confines of the of books, despite the retirement of Ralph Hutchings in 1981,
dissecting room and anatomical museum. Essentially designed as a ‘Bob’ McMinn in 1983, academic career move of Bari Logan to
general reference work for the medical profession, the book Cambridge in 1987 and further complications along the way of
rapidly became a best-seller, quickly producing 25 foreign various changes to publishers through company takeovers, each
language editions and attaining over 4 million copies in sales having additional authorship commitments on other new books.
worldwide, it won numerous awards and gained much Key to this speedy turnover was the ability to combine
international academic acclaim. individual talent in a very harmonious way, work to a logical
The book remains in print today, 40 years on and in its seventh regime and keep within a strict timeframe whilst always
edition (2013), but since the fourth edition, under entirely new maintaining an essential keen eye for detail.

ix
x McMinn’s Legacy of Illustrated Anatomy Books

1982: ISBN 0-7234-0782-7 1995: ISBN 0-7234-0967-6


A Colour Atlas of Foot and McMinn’s Functional and Clinical
Ankle Anatomy Anatomy
Wolfe Medical Publications: Mosby: McMinn/Gaddum-Rosse/
McMinn/Hutchings/Logan Hutchings/Logan
Designed for Podiatrists and Designed for medical students
Chiropodists English, Italian, Greek
English, Chinese, Dutch, Out of Print
French, German, Japanese,
Russian, Spanish
2nd Ed—1995
3rd Ed—2004
4th Ed—2012
5th Ed—2017 Lower Limb Anatomy

Functional and Clinical, included a fourth co-author, Penelope


1984: ISBN 0-7234-0831-9 Gaddum-Rosse, a distinguished physiologist, and work began on
A Colour Atlas of Applied Anatomy the project in 1987 as a text originally intended for the nursing
Wolfe Medical Publications: McMinn/ profession and appropriately entitled, Anatomy and Physiology
Hutchings/Logan for Nurses, with the publishers Wolfe.
Designed for clinicians (The anatomy However, following a takeover of Wolfe Medical Publications by
of approaches for surgical and clinical Mosby Year Book Europe, who already had an extensive nursing
procedures.) book list which included both, physiology and anatomy titles, the
English, Japanese manuscript was shelved for a number of years until a decision on
Out of Print its fate was finally reached in 1993 with the proposal for ‘Bob’
McMinn to re-edit the entire text and tailor it more to the
needs of pre-clinical and postgraduate medical students. ‘Bob’
completed the task in just under one year and, interestingly,
it is considered to be the best written of all the McMinn books.
1986: ISBN 0-7234-0911-0
Picture Tests in Human Anatomy Their final book together was published in 1998.
Wolfe Medical Publications: McMinn/
Hutchings/Logan
Designed for medical students
taking practical exams 1998: ISBN 1-874545-52-9
English, French, German, Japanese, The Concise Handbook of Human
Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish Anatomy
Out of Print Manson Publishing: McMinn/
Hutchings/Logan
Designed for sixth form students
entering a medical career
English, German, Portuguese
2nd Ed—2017
McMinn’s Concise Human Anatomy
CRC Press (Taylor & Francis)
1986: ISBN 0-7234-0958-7
Heylings/Carmichael/Leinster/Saada
The Human Skeleton: a Photographic
Manual in Colour
Wolfe Medical Publications: McMinn/
Hutchings/Logan
Designed for medical students (fold
down, full size skeleton pictures and
individual bones)
English, Danish, French, German,
Greek, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
2nd Edition—2007
McMinn’s Legacy of Illustrated Anatomy Books xi

‘Bob’ was the inspirational driving force behind each book and, Ralph spent infinite time setting-up lighting, establishing
from start of the project, would clearly outline overall content correct camera exposure settings and, by using full format colour
and specific illustrative requirements for each chapter producing film, produced images of exceptional quality and depth in detail.
rough sketches or photocopies with accompanying detailed lists of
all the most important anatomical structures needed to be clearly
seen in the resulting pictures.

Bari would interpret this information, produce his own notes and
drawings and carry out the various detailed prosections or
anatomical preparations working to the specific camera lens angle
and overall framed view required.

Bari M. Logan, Prosector

Ralph T. Hutchings, Photographer

Sporadic photographic sessions were held, often late evenings


and weekends, under the ‘eagle eye’ of ‘Bob’ who would advise Since the first publication, over the ensuing 36 years to date
on the camera angle and ensure that all the structures essential to (2017), the seven books produced by the trio, have thus far,
identify were displayed in their correct anatomical positions. created 17 English editions and 13 foreign language editions:
Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Serbo-Croation and Spanish, with
total sales exceeding well over 1 million copies worldwide.

Four of the books remain popular and still in print: Head & Neck,
5th edition; Foot & Ankle, 5th edition, now more appropriately
retitled Lower Limb Anatomy; Human Skeleton, 2nd edition; and
the Concise Handbook – 2nd edition, which now has a new
publisher and authorship, and to conform with the other
surviving publications ‘McMinns’ prefixed in the title.

Overall, a remarkable literary achievement in such a specialized


field and only made possible by the unique visionary authorship
and guidance of ‘Bob’ McMinn, whose legacy of Illustrated books
on the subject of human anatomy has not only made a significant
contribution to medical education in general, but also to the
grateful appreciation and applause of thousands of aspiring
students throughout the world.

Bari Logan and Ralph Hutchings


Professor R. (‘Bob’) H. McMinn, Anatomist June 2016
Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to the following: 2016); and on pages 34-37 from Human Sectional Anatomy–Atlas
of Body Sections, CT and MRI Images, 4th Edition, H.Ellis,
• Prof Adrian Dixon, Prof Harold Ellis and Dr Robert Whitaker for B.M.Logan, A.K.Dixon and D.J.Bowden (CRC Press 2015).
help and expert advice on lower limb lymphatics.
• Dr Ian G. Parkin, Clinical Anatomist, University of Cambridge
UK, for expert anatomical knowledge.
• Anand Sardesai, Sachin Daivajna and A. Robinson of Gluteal intramuscular injection on page 25 is reproduced with
Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge, for jointly providing
permission from McMinn’s Functional and Clinical Anatomy,
the excellent chapter on ‘Regional Anaesthesia for Ankle
R.M.H.McMinn, P.Gaddum-Rosse, R.T.Hutchings and B.M.Logan
and Foot’.
(Mosby 1995).
• Mel Lazenby, Lucie Whitehead and the late Martin Watson
(2008), Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge UK,
for the preservation of anatomical material.
• Adrian Newman, Ian Bolton and John Bashford, Anatomy Visual
Dissection/anatomical preparation credits
Media Group (AVMG), Department of Physiology,
The following individuals are credited for their skilled in
Developmental Neuroscience, University of Cambridge UK, for
preparing the following anatomical material illustrated in this
new edition photographs and digital expertise.
book:
Radiographs Mrs Carmen Bester: page 90A.
Bari M Logan: pages 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B, 10, 12, 14A, 16A, 17B, 20A,
• Dr Oscar Craig p.21B. 24A, 25B, 26A, 27C, 28A, 29B, 31D, 34, 35A, 36B, 37C, 38A, 40ABC,
• Dr Kate Stevens p.31C. 41DEF, 74A, 75BC, 76A, 77B, 78, 80A, 81B, 82A, 83B, 84, 86AB, 88,
92A, 93B, 94A, 95B, 96AB, 97C, 98A, 99B, 100A, 101B, 102A, 103B,
104ABC, 106AB, 108AB, 110AB, 111AB, and 112ABCDE.
Ms Lynette Nearn: pages 91B, 166.
Illustrations on pages 24–25 and 90–91 are reproduced with
Dr David H Tompsett: pages 30B, 33BC and 39D.
permission from Logan’s Illustrated Human Anatomy—A Pictorial
Introduction to Basic Form and Structure, B.M.Logan (CRC Press

xii
Terminology

The Greek adjective ‘peroneal’ is now replaced by the Latin Also note, Flexor accessorius is now known as quadratus
‘fibular’ for various muscles, vessels, nerves, and structures; For plantae.
example: Fibularis tertius instead of Peroneus tertius; Fibular
This terminology conforms to the International Anatomical
artery instead of Peroneal artery; Common fibular nerve instead
Terminology—Terminologia Anatomica—created in 1988 by the
of Common peroneal nerve; Inferior fibular retinaculum instead
Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) and
of Inferior peroneal retinaculum.
approved by the 56 Member Associations of the International
Again, for this new edition, to ease in the new terminology for Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). Stuttgart:
those used to working from older texts, the term peroneal is Thieme ISBN 3-13-115251-6.
included italicized in brackets, e.g., Deep fibular (peroneal) nerve.

Preservation of Cadavers

Long-term preservation of the cadavers, utilized for the majority The resultant working strength of each constituent is:
of anatomical dissections (prosections) illustrated in this book, was
by standard embalming technique, using an electric motor pump
Methylated spirit 55%
set at a constant pressure rate of 15 p.s.i. Perfusion was achieved
Glycerine 12%
through the arterial system via femoral artery cannulation of one
Phenol 10%
leg and return drainage of the accompanying vein.
Formaldehyde solution 3%
On acceptance of 20 litres of preservative fluid by pump, local
injection of those areas not visibly affected was carried out by
The advantages of using this particular preservative fluid are:
automatic syringe.
On average, 30 litres of preservative fluid was used to preserve (1) A state of soft preservation is achieved, benefiting dissection
each cadaver. techniques.
Immediately following embalming, cadavers were encapsulated (2) The low formaldehyde solution content obviates excessive
in thick-gauge, clear polythene bags and cold stored at a noxious fumes.
temperature of 10.6° C at 40 percent humidity for a minimum (3) A degree of natural tissue colour is maintained, benefiting
period of 16 weeks before dissection. This period of storage photography.
allowed preservative fluid to thoroughly saturate the body tissues, (4) Mould growth does not occur on either whole cadavers thus
resulting in a highly satisfactory state of preservation. preserved or their subsequent dissected (prosected) and stored
parts.
The chemical formula for the preservative fluid (Logan et al.,
1989) is:
SAFETY FOOTNOTE
Since the preparation of the anatomical material used in this
Methylated spirit 64 over proof 12.5 litres
book, there have been substantial major changes to health
Phenol liquefied 80% 2.5 litres
and safety regulations concerning the use of certain chemical
Formaldehyde solution 38% 1.5 litres
constituents in preservative (embalming) fluids. It is essential,
Glycerine BP 3.5 litres
therefore, to seek official local health and safety advice and
Total = 20 litres
guidance if intending to adopt the above preservative fluid.

xiii
Orientation Guides

Superior (proximal)

lane
nal p
Coro

Superior (dorsal)

ne
al pla ial) pla
ne
Sagitt se (ax
ver
Trans
Transverse (a
xial) plane

Posterior (proximal)

Anterior (distal)
l view
Media

w
al vie
Later
Coro Sagittal plane
nal p
lane
Inferior (plantar) Inferior (distal)

xiv
Lower limb,
pelvis and hip

Lower limb survey


From the front
2
2
Gluteal region
1
Sciatic nerve and other gluteal structures
14
14
From behind 4 Surface features 15
From the medial side 6 Left gluteal region and ischio-anal region 16
From the lateral side 8 Right gluteal region and ischio-anal region 17

Pelvic viscera 10 Hip joint 18


Male sagittal section 10 Bones from the front and radiograph 18
Female sagittal section 12 Bones from behind and joint capsule from front 19
Axial section 20
Coronal section and radiograph 21
2 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Lower limb survey


Bones, muscles and surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the front

2
2
2
1 3
25 25
29
6 28
7 8 9
4 26
5 10 27 28
30

31
32

11
33

32
34

35

34
14 35
12 13
14
36 12 14 13
15 16 15
20 36 16
17 21 17
40

37 40
41 37

18
18 22 18
27
38

19 19 23
23

24 39 19 23
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 3

1 Sacrum
2 Iliac crest • The main parts or regions of the lower limb are the gluteal
3 Ilium region (consisting of the hip at the side and the buttock at
4 Pubis of hip bone the back), the thigh, the knee, the leg, the ankle and the
5 Ischium foot. The term leg properly refers to the part between the
6 Rim of acetabulum knee and the foot, although it is commonly used for the
7 Head whole lower limb.
8 Neck • The hip bone consists of three bones fused together—the
9 Greater trochanter ilium (3), ischium (5) and pubis (4)—and forms a pelvic girdle.
10 Lesser trochanter of femur The two hip bones or girdles unite with each other in front at
11 Body (shaft) the pubic symphysis (p. 18, B33), and at the back they join the
12 Medial condyle sacrum at the sacro-iliac joints (p. 18, A7 and p. 19, C6), so
13 Lateral condyle forming the bony pelvis.
14 Patella • The femur (11) is the bone of the thigh; the tibia (18) and
15 Medial condyle fibula (22) are the bones of the leg.
16 Lateral condyle • The acetabulum (6) of the hip bone and the head of the
17 Tuberosity of tibia femur (7) form the hip joint (p. 18, A12 and 14, B18 and 20,
18 Body (shaft) C18 and 20).
19 Medial malleolus • The condyles of the femur (12 and 13) and tibia (15 and 16)
20 Head together with the patella (14) form the knee joint.
21 Neck of fibula • The head of the fibula (20) forms a small joint with the tibia,
22 Body (shaft) the superior tibiofibular joint. The inferior tibiofibular joint,
23 Lateral malleolus properly called the tibiofibular syndesmosis (a type of fibrous
24 Foot joint), is a fibrous union between the tibia and fibula just
25 Inguinal ligament above the ankle joint.
26 Inguinal lymph nodes • The ankle is the lower part of the leg in the region of the
27 Great saphenous vein ankle joint (pp. 60, 62, 64 and 66).
28 Femoral triangle, vessels and nerve • The lower ends of the tibia (18) and fibula (22) articulate with
29 Tensor fasciae latae the talus of the foot to form the ankle joint (pp. 60 and 62).
30 Sartorius • The body of a long bone is commonly called the shaft.
31 Gracilis • The adjective ‘peroneal’ (Greek, see p. 49) is now replaced by
32 Rectus femoris the Latin ‘fibular’ for various vessels and nerves, e.g., common
33 Vastus lateralis fibular nerve instead of common peroneal nerve. See notes
34 Vastus medialis on New Terminology on p. xiii.
35 Quadriceps tendon
36 Patellar ligament
37 Tibialis anterior
38 Extensor digitorum longus
39 Extensor hallucis longus
40 Gastrocnemius • For details of limb muscles, nerves and arteries, see the
41 Soleus Appendix:
Muscles—pp. 116–121, including Figs 2–7.
A Bones of the left lower limb, from the front Nerves—pp. 122–123, including Figs 8 and 9.

B Muscles of the left lower limb, from the front Arteries—pp. 136 and 137, including Figs 27 and 28.

C Surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the


front

(proximal)
Superior

Medial Lateral
(left)
Inferior
(distal)
4 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Lower limb survey


Bones, muscles and surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from behind

2 2

3 2 1 23
1

7
23
9 6 9
8 4
37
10 5
25

25
24
38
11
26

28
26
28 27
27 39
29

30
12 13
14 15
18
19 32 31
32 31

33
33
35

16 34
20

36

21 17
17 36
21
22
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 5

1 Sacrum
2 Iliac crest • The curved fold of the buttock (37) does not correspond to
3 Ilium the straight (but oblique) lower border of gluteus maximus
4 Pubis (23).
5 Ischium • The tendons of gastrocnemius (31 and 32) and soleus (33) join
6 Rim of acetabulum to form the tendo calcaneus (36), known commonly as the
7 Head Achilles’ tendon.
8 Neck • The muscles on the back of the thigh with prominent
9 Greater trochanter tendons—semimembranosus (27), semitendinosus (28) and
10 Lesser trochanter of femur biceps femoris (long head, 26)—are known commonly as the
11 Body hamstrings (see the note on p. 29).
12 Lateral condyle
13 Medial condyle
14 Lateral condyle
15 Medial condyle
of tibia
16 Body
17 Medial malleolus
18 Head A Bones of the left lower limb, from behind
19 Neck of fibula
20
21
Body
Lateral malleolus
B Muscles of the left lower limb, from behind
22
23
Foot
Gluteus maximus
C Surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from
24 Iliotibial tract behind
25 Sciatic nerve
26 Biceps femoris
27 Semimembranosus
28 Semitendinosus
29 Tibial nerve
30 Common fibular (peroneal) nerve
31 Medial head
of gastrocnemius (proximal)
32 Lateral head
33 Soleus Superior
34 Sural nerve
35 Small saphenous vein Lateral Medial
36 Tendo calcaneus
(left)
37 Fold of buttock (gluteal fold)
38 Hamstring muscles Inferior
39 Popliteal fossa (distal)
6 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Lower limb survey


Bones, muscles and surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the
medial side

1
13

2 15
14

12

16

17
25
3
6
18

8
17

6
4 16
5 18
6 19
20
7 8
16
8

19
21

9 20

9
22
10

24 23
16
10
10
22
11
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 7

1 Sacrum
2 Hip bone
3 Body
4 Medial epicondyle of femur
5 Medial condyle
6 Patella
7 Medial condyle
8 Tuberosity
of tibia
9 Body
10 Medial malleolus
11 Foot
12 Semitendinosus
13 Semimembranosus
14 Gracilis
15 Sartorius
16 Great saphenous vein
17 Vastus medialis
18 Patellar ligament
19 Gastrocnemius
20 Soleus
21 Saphenous nerve
22 Tendo calcaneus
23 Tibialis posterior
24 Flexor digitorum longus
25 Hamstrings

(proximal)
Superior

Posterior Anterior

Inferior
(distal)

• At the ankle the great saphenous vein (16), the longest vein in
the body, passes upwards in front of the medial malleolus
(10). At the knee it lies a hand’s breadth behind the medial
border of the patella (6). It ends by draining into the femoral
vein (p. 24, 12 and 18).

A Bones of the left lower limb, from the medial side


B Muscles of the left lower limb, from the medial side
C Surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the
medial side
8 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Lower limb survey


Bones, muscles and surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the
lateral side
1 1 1
23
23
22
3
2
22
4 24

6 24
5

25

7
25

26
26

27
10 10 8

36 28 13
8 9 36
10 15 15
35 35
11 16 16
13 12
15
33
16 33
29
32
29

14 32
31
17 30

19 34
18 29 31

30 34
20 18 18
21
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 9

1 Iliac crest
2 Sacrum • The common fibular (peroneal) nerve (28), the only palpable major
3 Hip bone nerve of the lower limb, can be felt as it passes downward and
4 Hip joint forward across the neck of the fibula (16).
5 Head
6 Greater trochanter
7 Body of femur
8 Lateral epicondyle
9 Lateral condyle
10 Patella
11 Knee joint A Bones of the left lower limb, from the lateral side
12 Superior tibiofibular joint
13 Lateral condyle of tibia B Muscles of the left lower limb, from the lateral side
14 Body
15 Head C Surface landmarks of the left lower limb, from the lateral side
16 Neck
of fibula
17 Body
18 Lateral malleolus
19 Inferior tibiofibular joint
20 Ankle joint
21 Foot
22 Tensor fasciae latae
23 Gluteus medius (proximal)
24 Gluteus maximus Superior
25 Iliotibial tract
26 Vastus lateralis
27 Biceps femoris Anterior Posterior
28 Common fibular (peroneal) nerve
29 Tibialis anterior Inferior
30 Extensor digitorum longus (distal)
31 Fibularis (peroneus) longus
32 Soleus
33 Gastrocnemius
34 Tendo calcaneus
35 Tibial tuberosity
36 Patellar ligament
10 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Male pelvic viscera and vessels


Seen on the right side in a sagittal section, after removal of most of the
peritoneum (serous membrane)

26

32 31
27

28

29

33 21 23
24
25
20 22

12

18
19
17
16
1
15
30
11

34
10
14 2

9
13 3
7
8
8 6 5 4
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 11

The section is mostly in the midline; small bowel, large


bowel and peritoneum (serous membrane) have been
removed but the whole of the anal canal and the
lower part of the left levator ani muscle have been
preserved to show the external anal sphincter (as in
the female section, p. 12).

1 Rectum 17 Left ureter


2 Cut edge of levator ani 18 Left ductus (vas) deferens
3 External anal sphincter covering anal canal 19 Right ductus (vas) deferens
4 Anus, above arrowhead 20 Inferior epigastric vessels
5 Perineal body 21 External iliac artery
6 Bulbospongiosus overlying corpus spongiosum 22 External iliac vein
7 Corpus spongiosum, the part of the penis containing the urethra 23 Internal iliac artery
8 Spongy part of urethra, within the corpus spongiosum 24 Internal iliac vein
9 Corpus cavernosum of penis 25 Ureter
10 Deep dorsal vein of penis, draining back to the vesicoprostatic 26 Body of fifth lumbar vertebra
venous plexus, the sponge-like tissue sectioned here in front of 27 Fifth lumbar intervertebral disc
the prostate 28 Promontory of sacrum
11 Pubic symphysis 29 Sacrum
12 Superior vesical artery 30 Coccyx
13 Corpus cavernosum of penis 31 Cauda equina within sacral canal
14 Prostate and prostatic part of urethra 32 Posterior wall of rectus sheath
15 Left seminal vesicle, cut in section 33 Rectus abdominis
16 Bladder, with urethral openings marked with arrows 34 Rectovesical pouch

• The ureters (17, 25) conduct urine from the kidneys to the
bladder (16) where it is stored until sensation of volume
dictates expulsion via the single tube of the urethra (8), the
extent of its full length seen here laying within the bisected
shaft of the penis (7).
• The single prostate gland (14) and the paired seminal vesicles
(15, left) are accessory secretory sex glands, which produce
most of the volume of seminal fluid.
• The prostate gland (14), normally the size of a chestnut, lies
just below the bladder (16) and opens into the urethra (8); the
seminal vesicles (15, left) open into the ductus (vas) deferens
(18, 19), which conduct sperm from the epididymis of each
testis to the urethra (8) on ejaculation.
• The rectum (1) is the terminal part of the large intestine
(colon) where faeces collect prior to defecation via the anus
(4), the opening and closing of which is controlled by the
muscles that form the external sphincter (3). The space
between the rectum (1), prostate gland (14) and seminal
vesicles (15, left) is known as the rectovesical pouch (34).

Superior

Anterior Posterior

Inferior
12 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Female pelvic viscera and vessels


Seen on the right side in a sagittal section, after removal of most of the
peritoneum (serous membrane)

26 27
28
31
29
35
19
18

34
16
20 17
22
32
21
33
38 36
23
15
37
14 30

24
11 25
1
9
13
10 2
12

8
3

4
7

6
5
Lower limb, pelvis and hip 13

The section is mostly in the midline; small bowel, large


bowel and much of the peritoneum (serous membrane)
have been removed but the whole of the anal canal
and the lower part of the left levator ani muscle have
been preserved to show the external anal sphincter
(as in the male section, p. 10).

1 Rectum 20 Right ureter


2 Cut edge of left levator ani 21 Internal iliac vessels and branches
3 External anal sphincter covering anal canal 22 Ovarian vessels
4 Perineal body (central perineal tendon) 23 Round ligament of uterus
5 Anus, above arrowhead 24 Vesico-uterine pouch
6 Labium majus 25 Recto-uterine pouch (of Douglas)
7 Labium minus 26 Body of fifth lumbar vertebra
8 Clitoris 27 Fifth lumbar intervertebral disc
9 Pubic symphysis 28 Promontory of sacrum
10 Urethra, surrounded by sphincter urethrae 29 Sacrum
11 Bladder, arrow points to right ureter 30 Coccyx
12 Vagina 31 Sacral canal
13 Cervix of uterus 32 Inferior epigastric vessels
14 Body of uterus 33 Peritoneum overlying rectus abdominis [see 32–33, p. 10]
15 Left ureter 34 Iliacus
16 Piriformis 35 Psoas major
17 Anterior ramus of S1 nerve 36 Right ovary
18 External iliac vein 37 Right uterine (fallopian tube)
19 External iliac artery 38 Right broad ligament

• The vagina (12) is the lower part of the female reproductive


tract and lies in a central position between, anteriorly, the
bladder (11) and, posteriorly, the rectum (1); superiorly, it
connects the lower end of the uterus (the cervix) (13) with,
inferiorly, the margin of the vaginal orifice and the labium
majus (6) and labium minus (7).
• The urethra (10) in the female is much shorter in length,
being only 4 cm, compared to that in the male, usually 18 cm;
from the bladder it opens into the vaginal vestibule a few
centimetres behind the clitoris (8). The space between the
bladder (11) and the uterus (14) is known as the vesico-
uterine pouch (24) and between the uterus (14) and the
rectum (1) the recto-uterine pouch (of Douglas) (25).
• The body of the uterus (14) is pear shaped and normally lies
over the bladder (11); from its sides the broad ligament (38,
right) extends to the lateral walls of the pelvis. These help to
keep the uterus in a central position.
• The ovaries (36, right) are suspended by part of the broad
ligament (mesovarium) close to the lateral walls of the pelvis
and are the main female reproductive organs; they produce
cyclic steroid hormones as well as ovum (egg cells). The open
ends of the uterine (fallopian) tubes (37, right) are positioned
close to the ovaries, thus enabling discharged ova to freely
enter them.

Superior

Anterior Posterior

Inferior
14 Lower limb, pelvis and hip

Gluteal region Sciatic nerve and other gluteal structures of the right side

Most of gluteus maximus (1) has


been removed (as have the veins
that accompany arteries) to show
the underlying structures, the
most important of which is the
sciatic nerve (14 and 15). The key
1 to the region is the piriformis
muscle (2): the superior gluteal
3 5 artery (3) and nerve (4) emerge
1 from the pelvis above piriformis,
while all other structures leave
4 the pelvis below piriformis. Apart
from the sciatic nerve (14 and
2 6 7
6 15), these include the inferior
22 gluteal nerve (6) and artery (22)
and the posterior femoral
5 cutaneous nerve (16).
2
21 9 9 1 Gluteus maximus
2 Piriformis
20 19 8 3 Superior gluteal artery
10 10 4 Superior gluteal nerve
5 Gluteus medius
18 15 14 11
16 6 Inferior gluteal nerve
7 Gluteus minimus
8 Greater trochanter of femur
11 12 9 Gemellus superior
10 Obturator internus
11 Gemellus inferior
17 12 Obturator externus
13 Quadratus femoris
14 Common fibular
(peroneal) part of sciatic nerve
1 13 15 Tibial
16 Posterior femoral cutaneous nerve
17 Ischial tuberosity
18 Sacrotuberous ligament
19 Nerve to obturator internus
20 Internal pudendal artery
21 Pudendal nerve
22 Inferior gluteal artery

Superior

Medial Lateral
(right)
Inferior
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
“Ach!” she went on, “you stare at me; you who are his cousin think
that I, who am his wife, am hard upon his lordship, but, mein Gott!
who can be hard upon iron? It is the iron is hardest, and hurts what
hits it. I say he is a terrible man.”
“Then,” asked Rupert solemnly, “why did you marry him?”
She looked up and down the great, lonely room lined with books,
into which none save the housemaids ever penetrated, and then at
the closed door behind her, and answered:
“I will tell you, Rupert, who are honest, who think as I do and
believe in a God and judgment. I am well born in my own country,
very well born, of an older and more distinguished family than any of
you, who made your money out of brewing but the other day. But
after my father’s death in the war we were poor, my mother and I, so
when that rich old Lady Hodgson, who was German born, you know,
and a friend of our family, asked me to come to live with her for eight
months of every year, and paid me well for it, why, I came. There I
met his lordship, who found out that I sent most of my salary home to
my mother, and that I thought otherwise than the fashionable English
ladies about many things—children, for instance, and after the death
of her first ladyship began to take much notice of me. At last one day
he proposed, and I said, ‘No,’ for I always doubted that man. Then,
oh! he was clever. What do you think he did? You see, he knew that I
am brought up religious, so he tells me that he is greatly troubled by
doubts, and that the real reason why he wants to marry me is that he
thinks that I would be able to give him peace of soul again, and to
bring him back into the fold of faith—yes, those were his words, ‘the
fold of faith.’ Him! that black lamb!” she added, with a gasp of
indignation, while Rupert burst out laughing.
“Ah!” she went on, “for you it is funny, but not for me. Well, he
over-persuades me, he tells me I shall be wicked if I turn a penitent
soul back from the door of life by refusing to have anything to do with
it, and so on, and so on, till, sheep’s-head that I am, I believe him:
Also my mother wish the marriage, and I liked to be noble in your
country as well as my own. So I marry him and find out. The fold of
faith! The door of life! Oh! the black goats live in that fold of his—the
black, left-hand goats—and the door he knocks at, it is the door of
hell. I find he believes in nothing, and when I reproach him, he tells
me that it was only his little joke—his little joke to make me marry
him, because he thought I should be a good, useful, domestic wife
and a fine, handsome mother for his children. Ach! Mein Gott, he
said it was a little joke—” and rising from her chair in her woe and
indignation, Tabitha held up her hands and turned her fair face to
heaven, with a look on it like that of a saint who has just felt the first
stroke of martyrdom. Indeed it was a very strange scene, and one
that impressed Rupert deeply.
“And what has been the end about his children?” she went on
tempestuously. “I have had how many—six, seven—oh! I do my duty,
I promise and I pay, but these children they do not live. How can they
live with that wicked man for father? The last—it lived some time,
and I beg him to have it christened—yes, I crawl about on my knees
on the floor after him and beg him let it be made a Christian, and he
mocked me and my ‘silly superstitions,’ and he say he will not have it
because the child will catch cold. And the child it do catch cold, the
cold of death, and now that poor little soul of his it must live on
unredeemed for ever, and perhaps, oh, perhaps suffer terribly
because of the sin of that wicked man.”
“Don’t say that,” said Rupert, “it’s a hard creed, and I won’t believe
a word of it. The innocent can’t be made to suffer for the guilty.”
“Ah! but I do say it, and I do believe it, for I was so taught, and I tell
you it torments me, and, Rupert, no child of mine will ever live! You
will be the heir of all these lands and drink-shops and moneys, and
may they bring you joy. As for me, I wish I were where her first
ladyship is. Oh! I know they say he murdered her, that poor Clara, or
drove her to death, and I daresay when I have no more children he
will do the same to me. Well, I care nothing. And now I have told you
and eased my heart, who have no friend but God since my mother
died, and I thank you for listening so patient to my sad story,
because I should like one of you to know the truth after it is all over—
the truth of what comes to women who are led away by false words
and the love of place and riches;” and once more throwing up her
arms, she uttered two or three dry, hard sobs, then to Rupert’s
infinite relief, turned and left the room.
It seemed to be his fate to receive the confidences of the wives of
Lord Devene, and Heaven knows he did not desire this second
edition of them. Yet his heart bled for the poor German lady who had
been beguiled to fill a place which, for all its seeming grandeur, was
to her a very habitation in Purgatory, since day by day she saw her
most cherished convictions trampled upon and scorned; while the
cruel articles of her narrow creed bred in her mind the belief, or
rather the mania, that the sin of the father was wreaked upon the
bodies of her children, and even had power to pursue and torment
their innocent souls. In its way, this tragedy was as great as that of
her whom she succeeded, the wretched woman who, in her lawless
search for relief from loveless misery, had found but death. Yet, alas!
upon the head of that one he had brought down the evil, and the
head of this one he was powerless to protect.
Nor, indeed, did Rupert wish to encourage such painful
conversations, confidences, and the intimacy that must result from
them. Therefore he was determined that he would get away from
Tabitha’s house as soon as possible. But first he must find an
opportunity of speaking to Edith and learn his fate. Indeed, after the
words which had broken from his lips that day, it was his duty so to
do. If only it could be accomplished this night, as it chanced he had a
good excuse for departing on the following morning, since he had
received a telegram from an old brother-officer, with whom he was
engaged to stay in Norfolk, shifting the date of the visit and begging
him, if possible, to come down on the morrow instead of that day
week.

As Rupert reflected thus, staring at the fire before which he stood,


he heard the door open and close behind him, and turned round in
alarm, thinking that Lady Devene had come back again. But it was
not Lady Devene, it was Edith already dressed for dinner in a
clinging robe of some soft white material, high because of the bruise
on her shoulder; a bunch of forced lilies of the valley at her breast,
her rich golden hair rippling upon either side of her small head and
twisted into a great knot behind, and for ornaments a close-fitting
necklace of fine pearls, Lord Devene’s latest gift to her, and Rupert’s
great blue scarabæus, a single and imposing touch of colour in the
whiteness of her dress.
“Oh,” she said, “I came to look for Tabitha. What an awful name
that is, it always sticks in my throat”—(this was a fib, because she
had passed Lady Devene on the stairs, but it served her purpose)
—“not to disturb your studies, my learned cousin. Don’t look so
alarmed, I will go away again.”
“Oh, please don’t,” he answered. “Sit down here, do, and warm
yourself. I was just—hoping to see you, and—behold! you glide into
the room like, like—an angel into a dream.”
“In answer to the prayers of a saint, I suppose,” she replied.
“Really, Rupert, you are growing quite poetical. Who taught you such
pretty metaphors? It must have been a woman, I am sure.”
“Yes,” he answered boldly, “that is, if it is pretty—a woman called
Edith.”
She coloured a little, not expecting anything so direct, but sat
down in the chair staring at the fire with her beautiful dark blue eyes,
and said, as though to turn the conversation:
“You asked about my shoulder, or if you didn’t, you ought to have
done. Well, there is a bruise on it as big as a saucer, all here,” and
with her first finger she drew a ring upon her dress.
“Confound him!” muttered Rupert.
“Him! Who? Dick or the cock-pheasant? Well, it doesn’t matter. I
agree, confound both of them.”
Then there came a pause, and Rupert wrung his hands as though
he were washing them or suffering pain, so that Edith could not help
observing how large and red they looked in the firelight. She wished
that he were wearing gloves, or would keep them in his pockets. It
would make matters easier for her.
“I’m awfully glad you have come,” he said awkwardly, feeling that if
he didn’t say something soon she would shortly go, “because I want
to speak to you.”
“What about? Nothing disagreeable, I hope. Has Tabitha been
making confidences to you? If so, please do not pass them on to me,
for they obliterate the romance and discredit the holy state of
matrimony.”
“Confound Tabitha,” said Rupert again, “and her confidences!” for
he was quite bewildered, and uttered automatically the first words
that came into his mind.
“Again I agree, but soon we shall involve all our relatives in one
universal condemnation, so let us drop that topic.”
Then wearying of this fence, desiring to get the thing over, to have
done with it, to see the doubtful bond signed, sealed, and delivered,
suddenly Edith sat up in her chair and looked at him. The blue eyes
opened wide, and there came into them a light which he had never
seen before, a splendid, dazzling light as though some veil of
darkness had been withdrawn, revealing a hid glory; as though at
last she suffered him to behold her soul. The face changed also,
upon it the mask of coldness broke as ice breaks suddenly beneath
the blaze of the sun and the breath of the western wind, disclosing,
or seeming to disclose, a river of pure love that ran beneath. For one
moment he resisted her as sometimes a moth appears to resist the
splendour of flame, not because he desired to fight against his fate,
but rather to let the wonder and the mystery of this sudden change
engrave themselves for ever on his heart. Then as the white lids
sank extinguishing those fires, till the shadow of the long lashes lay
upon her cheek, he spoke in a low and hurried voice:
“I am all unworthy,” he said, “I am not fit to touch your hand; but I
cannot help it. I love you, and I dare to ask—oh, Edith, I dare to ask!
—that you will give your life to me.”
She sat quite still, making no motion of acceptance or dissent. It
was as though she wished to hear more ere she spoke. But he, too,
was silent—frightened, perhaps, by her stillness—finding no other
words in which to recast the truth that he had uttered once and for
all. Again the white lids were lifted, and again the wide eyes looked
at him, but this time with no syren glance, for they were troubled—
almost tearful. Then whilst he wondered how he should read their
message, Edith rose slowly, and with an infinite deliberation raised
her hand and held it out towards him. At length he understood, and
taking that delicate hand, he pressed his lips upon it, then, greatly
daring, placed his arms about her, drew her to him, and kissed her
on the brow and lips.
“My shoulder,” she murmured faintly; “it hurts,” and full of contrition
he let her sink back into her chair.
“Do you love me? Say that you love me, Edith,” he whispered,
bending over her.
“Have I not said?” she answered, glancing at her hand. “Do
women—” and she ceased, and to Rupert this speech, and all that it
conveyed, seemed the most beautiful avowal that ever passed the
lips of pure and perfect maidenhood.
When the heart is too full for words, surely they are best left
untried. Another thought came to him—a painful thought—for he
moved uneasily, and turned red to the eyes, or rather, to the
puckered brow above them.
“I must tell you,” he said presently; “it is only right, and after you
have heard you must finally decide, for I will not begin our
engagement by keeping back anything from you whom I worship.
Only you will not ask for names.”
She lifted her head, as though in remonstrance, then reflecting
that it is always well to know a man’s secrets, checked herself. Also
she was curious. What could this saint of a Rupert have done that
was wrong?
“Once,” he continued, slowly and painfully, “I committed a great sin
—a love affair—a married woman. She is dead; it is all over, and,
thank God! I have nothing more to confess to you.”
Edith tried to appear grieved, but in reality, she was so intensely
interested—so astonished, too, that any woman could have betrayed
Rupert into an affaire galante—that to a dispassionate observer her
effort might have seemed unsuccessful.
“I don’t want to preach,” she said. “I have been told that men are
very different from what they expect us to be. Still, it was good of you
to tell me, and there is no more to say, is there, except—” and she
clasped her hands and looked up at him—“Oh, Rupert! I do hope
that it was not—lately—for I thought—I thought—”
“Great Heavens!” he said, aghast; “why, it was when I was a boy,
years and years ago.”
“Oh!” she answered, “that makes it better, doesn’t it?”
“It makes it less dreadful, perhaps,” he said, “for I lost my reason
almost, and did not understand.”
“Well, who am I that I should judge you, Rupert? Let us never
speak of it again.”
“I am sure I don’t want to,” he replied, with fervour; “but indeed you
are good and kind, Edith. I never expected it; I was afraid that when
you had heard you would turn your back upon me.”
“We are taught to forgive one another,” she answered, a little smile
that would not be suppressed trembling about the corners of her
mouth; and again she held out her hand—this time the left—and
suffered him to kiss it.
In fact, he did more, for drawing off the only ring he ever wore, an
ancient gold ring carved with a strange device—it was the throne-
name of a Pharaoh, which Pharaoh himself had worn for three
thousand years within the tomb—he put it on her third finger as a
sign and a token for ever.
“Another of those unlucky mummy things,” reflected Edith. “I wish I
could get clear of the Egyptians and everything to do with them.
They seem to haunt me.”
But she said nothing, only lifting the ring she touched it with her
lips, a sight that may have surprised the spirit of Pharaoh.
“Rupert,” she said, “don’t say anything of this to-night, except to
your mother, if you wish. You understand, Dick’s temper is so very
unpleasant, though,” she added, with emphasis, “I hope you
understand also that I have no confessions to make to you about him
or anybody else. I can’t help it if he has always—pursued me.”
“He had better give up his pursuit now,” grumbled Rupert, “or there
will be trouble.”
“Quite so. Well, I have no doubt he will, when he comes to know,
only, to tell the truth, I would rather he didn’t know while you are
here. I don’t want a scene.”
“Well, if you like, dearest,” said Rupert, “although I hate it, I can go
away to-morrow morning, and meet you in a few days in London,”
and he told her of his shooting engagement.
“That will suit very well indeed,” she said, with relief, “although, as
you say, it is horrid under our new circumstances, especially as to
catch that train at Liverpool Street, you will have to leave by eight to-
morrow. Well, you will be back on Saturday, so we must make the
best of it. Good gracious, look at the clock, the dinner-bell will ring in
two minutes, and you are not dressed. Go at once, dear, or—it will
be noticed. There, that is enough. Go, darling, my lover who will be
my husband, go.”
And Rupert went.
“It was not so bad as it might have been,” thought Edith to herself,
as rubbing her face with her lace handkerchief the while, she
watched the door close behind him, “and really he is very nice. Oh,
why can’t I care for him more? If I could, we should be happy,
whereas now, I don’t know. Fancy his telling me that story! What a
curious man! It must have been Clara. I have heard something of the
sort. Dick suggested as much, but I thought it was only one of his
scandals. That’s why Cousin George hates him so—for he does hate
him, although he insists upon my marrying him. Yes, I see it all now,
and I can remember that she was a very beautiful and a very foolish
woman. Poor innocent Rupert!”
Rupert came down to dinner ten minutes late, to find that
everybody had gone in. Arriving under cover of the fish, he took the
chair which was left for him by Lady Devene, who always liked him
to sit upon her right hand. Edith, he noted with sorrow, was some
way off, between two of the shooting guests, and three places
removed from Dick, who occupied the end of the table.
“Ach! my dear Rupert,” said Lady Devene, “you are terribly late,
and I could wait no longer, it spoils the cook. Now you shall have no
soup as a punishment. What? Did you go to sleep over that big book
of yours up in the library?”
He made some excuse, and the matter passed off, while he ate, or
pretended to eat his fish in silence. Indeed to him, in his excited state
of mind, this splendid and rather lengthy New Year’s feast proved the
strangest of entertainments. There was a curious air of unreality
about it. Could he, Rupert, after the wonderful and glorious thing that
had happened to him utterly changing the vista of his life, making it
grand and noble as the columns of Karnac beneath the moon, be the
same Rupert who had gone out shooting that morning? Could the
handsome, phlegmatic German lady who sat by him discoursing on
the cooking be the same passion-torn, doom-haunted woman, who
told him how she had crawled upon her knees after her mocking
husband for the prize of her infant’s soul? Nay, was it she who sat
there at all? Was it not another, whom he well remembered in that
seat, the lovely Clara, with her splendid, unhappy eyes full of the
presage of death and destruction; those eyes that he felt still
watched him, he knew not whence, reproaching him, warning him he
knew not of what? Was the gay and beautiful lady yonder, who
laughed and joked with her companions, the same Edith to whom he
had vowed himself not an hour gone? Yes, it must be so, for there
upon her finger gleamed his golden ring, and what was more, Dick
had seen it, for he was watching her hand with a frown upon his
handsome face.
Why, too, Rupert wondered, did another vision thrust itself upon
him at this moment, that of the temple of Abu-Simbel bathed in the
evening lights which turned the waters of the Nile red as though with
blood, and of the smiling and colossal statues of the first monarch of
long ago, whose ring was set upon Edith’s hand in token of their
troth? Of the dark, white-haired figure of old Bakhita also, who had
not crossed his mind for many a day, standing there among the
rocks and calling to him that they would meet again, calling to Dick
and Edith also, something that he could not understand, and then
turning to speak to a shadow behind her.

The meal ended at last, and as was the custom in this house,
everyone, men and women, left the table together to go into the
great hall hung with holly and with mistletoe, where there would be
music, and perhaps dancing to follow, and all might smoke who
wished. Here were some other guests, the village clergyman’s
daughters and two families from the neighbourhood, making a party
of twenty or thirty in all, and here also was Mrs. Ullershaw, who had
dined in her own room, and come down to see the old year out.
Rupert went to sit by his mother, for a kind of shyness kept him
away from Edith. She laid her hand on his, and with a smile that
made her grey and careworn face beautiful, said how happy she
was, after so many lonely years, to be at the birth of one more of
them with him, even though it should prove her last.
“Don’t talk like that, mother,” he answered, “it is painful.”
“Yes, dear,” she replied, in her gentle voice, “but all life is painful, a
long road of renunciation with farewells for milestones. And when we
think ourselves most happy, as I do to-night, then we should
remember these truths more even than at other times. The moment
is all we have, dear; beyond it lies the Will of God, and nothing that
we can call our own.”
Rupert made no answer, for this talk of hers all seemed part of his
fantastic imaginings at the dinner-table, a sad music to which they
were set. Yet he remembered that once before she had spoken to
him of renunciation when, as a lad, he lay sick after the death of
Clara; remembered, too, that from that day to this he had practised
its stern creed, devoting himself to duty and following after faith.
Why, now on this joyous night, the night of his re-birth in honest love,
did his mother again preach to him her stern creed of renunciation?
At least it was one in which that company did not believe. How
merry they were, as though there were no such things as sorrow,
sickness, and death, or bitter disillusionment, that is worse than
death. Listen! the music began, and see, they were dancing. Dick
was waltzing with Edith, and notwithstanding her hurt shoulder,
seemed to be holding her close enough. They danced beautifully,
like one creature, their bodies moving like a single body. Why should
he mind it when she was his, and his alone? Why should he feel
sore because he whose life had been occupied in stern business
had never found time to learn to dance?
Hark! the sound of the bells from the neighbouring church floated
sweetly, solemnly into the hall, dominating the music. The year was
dying, the new year was at hand. Edith ceased her waltzing and
came towards Rupert, one tall, white figure on that wide expanse of
polished floor, and so graceful were her slow movements that they
put him in mind of a sea-gull floating through the air, or a swan
gliding on the water. To him she came, smiling sweetly, then as the
turret clock boomed out the hour of midnight, whispered in his ear:
“I whom you have made so happy wish you a happy New Year—
with me, Rupert,” and turning, she curtseyed to him ever so little.
In the chorus of general congratulations no one heard her low
speech, though Mrs. Ullershaw noted the curtsey and the look upon
Edith’s face—Rupert’s she could not see, for his back was to her—
and wondered what they meant, not without anxiety. Could it be—
well, if it was, why should the thing trouble her? Yet troubled she
was, without a doubt, so much so that all this scene of gaiety
became distasteful to her, and she watched for an opportunity to rise
and slip away.
Meanwhile Rupert was enraptured, enchanted with delight, so
much so that he could find no answer to Edith’s charming speech,
except to mutter—“Thank you. Thank you.” Words would not come,
and to go down upon his knees before her, which struck him as the
only fitting acknowledgment of that graceful salutation, was clearly
impossible. She smiled at his embarrassment, thinking to herself
how differently the ready-witted Dick, whose side she had just left,
would have dealt with such a situation, then went on quickly:
“Your mother is preparing to leave us, and you will wish to go with
her. So good-night, dearest, for I am tired, and shan’t stop here long.
I shall count the days till we meet in London. Again, good-night,
good-night!” and brushing her hand against his as she passed, she
left him.
CHAPTER VIII.
EDITH’S CRUSHED LILIES
“Rupert,” said his mother, “I want you to give me your arm to my
room, I am going to bed.”
“Certainly,” he answered, “but wait one minute, dear. I have to take
that eight o’clock train to-morrow morning, so I will just say good-bye
to Tabitha, as I shan’t come back again.”
Mrs. Ullershaw breathed more freely. If there were anything in the
wind about Edith he would not be taking the eight o’clock train.
“Go,” she said; “I’ll wait.”
Lady Devene was by herself, since amongst that gay throng of
young people no one took much note of her, seated in a big oak
chair on a little dais at the end of the hall far away from the fire and
hot water coils, for she found the heat oppressive. As he made his
way towards her even the preoccupied Rupert could not help
noticing how imposing she looked in her simple black dress, which
contrasted so markedly with her golden hair and white and massive
face, set up there above them all, elbow on knee and chin on hand,
her blue eyes gazing over their heads at nothingness. In reality, the
miserable woman was greeting the New Year in her own fashion, not
with gaiety and laughter, but with repentance for her sins during that
which was past, and prayers for support during that which was to
come.
“Ach, Rupert!” she said, rousing herself and smiling pleasantly as
she always did at him, “it is kind of you to leave those young people
and their jokes to come to talk with the German frau, for that is what
they call me among themselves, and indeed what I am.”
“I am afraid,” he said, “I have only come to say good-night, or
rather good-bye, for I must go to town to-morrow morning before you
will be down.”
She looked at him sharply.
“So I have driven you away with my tale of troubles. Well, I thought
that I should, and you are wise to leave this house where there is so
much misery, dead and living, for no good thing can happen in it, no
good thing can come out of it—”
“Indeed,” broke in Rupert, “that is not why I am going at all, it is
because—” and he told her of the visit he must pay.
“You do not speak fibs well like the rest of them, Rupert; you have
some other reason, I see it on your face, something to do with that
dreadful Dick, I suppose, or his—ach! what is the English word—his
flame, Edith. What? Has she been playing tricks with you too? If so,
beware of her; I tell you, that woman is dangerous; she will breed
trouble in the world like his lordship.”
Rupert felt very angry, then he looked at that calm, fateful face
which a few hours before he had seen so impassioned, and all his
anger died, and was replaced by a fear which chilled him from head
to heel. He felt that this brooding, lonely woman had insight, born
perhaps of her own continual griefs; that she saw deep into the heart
of things. He who understood her, who sympathised with, even if he
did not entirely adopt her stern religious views, who knew that prayer
and suffering are the parents of true sight, felt sure that this sight
was hers. At least he felt it for a moment, then the unpleasant
conviction passed away, for how could its blackness endure in the
light of the rosy optimism of new-risen and successful love?
“You are morbid,” he said, “and although I am sure you do not wish
to be so, that makes you unjust, makes you pass hard judgments.”
“Doubtless it is true,” she replied, with a sigh, “and I thank you for
telling me my faults. Yes, Rupert, I am morbid, unjust, a passer of
hard judgments, who must endure hard judgment,” and she bowed
her stately, gold-crowned head as before the appointed stroke of
wrath, then held out her hand and said simply: “Good-bye, Rupert! I
do not suppose that you will often come to see me more—ach! why
should you? Still if you do, you will be welcome, for on you I pass no
hard judgments, and never shall, whatever they say of you.”
So he shook her hand and went away saddened.
Giving his mother his arm, for she was very infirm, Rupert led her
quietly out of a side door and down the long passages to her room,
which was next to his own at the end of the house, for stairs being
difficult to her, she slept on the ground floor, and he at hand to keep
her company.
“Mother,” he said, when he had put her in her chair and stirred the
fire to a blaze, “I have something to tell you.”
She looked up quickly, for her alarm had returned, and said: “What
is it, Rupert?”
“Don’t look frightened, dear,” he replied, “nothing bad, something
very good, very happy. I am engaged to be married to Edith, and I
have come to ask your blessing on me, or rather on both of us, for
she is now a part of me.”
“Oh, Rupert, you have that always,” she answered, sinking back in
her chair; “but I am astonished.”
“Why?” he asked, in a vexed voice, for he had expected a flow of
enthusiasm that would match his own, not this chilly air of
wonderment.
“Because—of course, nobody ever told me so—but I always
understood that it was Dick Learmer whom Edith cared for, that is
why I never thought anything of her little empressé ways with you.”
Again, Rupert was staggered. Dick—always Dick, first from Lady
Devene and now from his mother. What could be the meaning of it?
Then again optimism came to his aid, he who knew full surely that
Dick was nothing to Edith.
“You are mistaken there for once, mother,” he said, with a cheerful
laugh. “I knew from the first what she thought about Dick, for she
spoke very seriously to me of him and his performances in a way
she would never have done if there were anything in this silly idea.”
“Women often do speak seriously of the bad behaviour of the man
of whom they are fond, especially to one whom they think may
influence him for good,” replied his mother, with the wistful smile
which she was wont to wear when thinking of her own deep affection
for a man who had deserved it little.
“Perhaps,” he said. “All I have to say is that if ever there was
anything—and I know there wasn’t—it is as dead as last month’s
moon.”
Mrs. Ullershaw thought to herself that this simile drawn from the
changeful moon, that waxes anew as surely as it wanes, was
scarcely fortunate. But she kept a watch upon her lips.
“I am very glad to hear it,” she said, “and no doubt it was all a
mistake, since, of course, if she had wished it, she might have
married Dick long ago, before you came into her life at all. Well,
dearest, I can only say that I wish you every happiness, and pray
that she may be as good a wife to you as I know you will be husband
to her. She is lovely,” she went on, as though summing up Edith’s
best points, “one of the most graceful and finished women whom I
have ever seen; she is very clever in her own way, too, though
perhaps not in yours; thoughtful and observant. Ambitious also, and
will therefore make an excellent wife for a man with a career. She is
good-tempered and kind, as I know, for we have always got on well
during the years we have lived together. Yes, you will be considered
very fortunate, Rupert.”
“These are her advantages, what are her drawbacks?” he asked
shrewdly, feeling that his mother was keeping something from him,
“though I must say at once that in my eyes she has none.”
“Which is as it should be, Rupert. Well, I will tell you frankly, so that
you may guard against them if I am right. Edith likes pleasure and
the good things of the world, as, after all, is only natural, and she is
extravagant, which perhaps in certain circumstances will not matter.
Again, I hope you will never fall ill, for she is not a good nurse, not
from unkindness, but because she has a constitutional horror of all
ill-health or unsightliness. I have seen her turn white at meeting a
cripple even, and I don’t think that she has ever quite liked sitting
with me since I had that stroke, especially while it disfigured my face
and made the lower eyelid drop.”
“We all have failings which we can’t help,” he answered; “natural
antipathies that are born in us, and I am glad to say I am fairly sound
at present. So I don’t think much of that black list, mother. Anything
to add to it?”
She hesitated, then said:
“Only one thing, dear. It does strike me as curious that such a girl
as Edith should be so attached to men like Dick Learmer and Lord
Devene, for she is fond of them both.”
“Relationship, I suppose; also the latter has been very kind to her,
and doubtless she is grateful.”
“Yes, most kind; indeed, he was her guardian until she came of
age, and has practically supported her for years. But it isn’t gratitude,
it is sympathy between her and him. They are as alike in character,
mentally, I mean, as—as they are in face.”
Rupert laughed, for to compare the blooming Edith with the faded,
wrinkled Devene, or even her quick humour that turned men and
things to mild ridicule, with his savage cynicism which tore them both
to pieces and stamped upon their fragments, seemed absurd.
“I can’t see the slightest resemblance,” he said. “You are
cultivating imagination in your old age, mother.”
She looked up to answer, then thought a moment, and remarked:
“I daresay that you are perfectly right, Rupert, and that these
things are all my fancy; only, my dear boy, try to make her go to
church from time to time, that can’t do any woman harm. Now I have
done with criticisms, and if I have made a few, you must forgive me;
it is only because I find it hard to think that any woman can be worthy
of you, and of course the best of us are not perfect, except to a lover.
On the whole, I think that I may congratulate you, and I do so from
my heart. God bless you both; you, my son, and Edith, my daughter,
for as such I shall regard her. Now, dear, good-night, I am tired. Ring
the bell for the maid, will you?”
He did so, and then by an afterthought said:
“You remember that I have to go away. You will speak to Edith,
won’t you?”
“Of course, my love, when Edith speaks to me,” the old lady
replied, with gentle dignity. “But why, under the circumstances, are
you going?”
At that moment the maid entered the room, so he gave no answer,
only made a few remarks about the manner of his mother’s journey
back to town and kissed her in good-bye.
When the maid had left again Mrs. Ullershaw, as was her custom,
said her prayers, offering up petitions long and earnest for the
welfare of her beloved only son, and that the woman whom he had
chosen might prove a blessing to him. But from those prayers she
could take no comfort, they seemed to fall back upon her head like
dead things, rejected, or unheard, she knew not which. Often she
had thought to herself how happy she would be when Rupert came
to tell her that he had chosen a wife, yet now that he had chosen,
she was not happy.
Oh, she would tell the truth to her own heart since it must never
pass her lips. She did not trust this gay and lovely woman; she
thought her irreligious, worldly, and self-seeking; she believed that
she had engaged herself to Rupert because he was the heir to a
peerage and great wealth, distinguished also; not because she loved
him. Although her son was of it, she hated the stock whence Edith
sprang; as she knew now, from the first Ullershaw, who founded the
great fortunes of the family, in this way or that they had all been bad,
and Edith, she was certain, had not escaped that taint of blood. Even
in Rupert, as the adventure of his youth proved, it was present, and
only by discipline and self-denial had he overcome his nature. But
Edith and self-denial were far apart. Yes; a cold shadow fell upon her
prayers, and it was cast by the beautiful form of Edith—Edith who
held Rupert’s destiny in her hands.
Within a few feet of her Rupert also offered up his petitions, or
rather his paean of thanksgiving and praise for the glory that had
fallen from Heaven upon his mortal head, for the pure and beautiful
love which he had won that should be his lamp through life and in
death his guiding-star.

A while after Rupert had gone, half an hour perhaps, Edith,


noticing that Dick had left the hall, as she thought to see off the last
of the departing guests, took the opportunity to slip away to bed
since she wished for no more of his company that night. Yet she was
not destined to escape it, for as she passed the door of the library on
her way up stairs, that same room in which Rupert had proposed to
her, she found Dick standing there.
“Oh,” he said, “I was looking for you. Just come in and tell me if
this belongs to you. I think you must have left it behind.”
Carelessly, without design or thought, she stepped into the room,
whereon he closed the door, and as though by accident placed
himself between it and her.
“Well, what is it?” she asked, for her curiosity was stirred; she
thought that she might have dropped something during her interview
with Rupert. “Where is it? What have I lost?”
“That’s just what I want to ask you,” he answered, with a scarcely
suppressed sneer. “Is it perhaps what you are pleased to call your
heart?”
“I beg your pardon?” said Edith interrogatively.
“Well, on the whole, you may have reason to do so. Come, Edith,
no secrets between old friends. Why do you wear that ring upon your
finger? It was on Ullershaw’s this morning.”
She reflected a moment, then with characteristic courage came to
the conclusion that she might as well get it over at once. The same
instinct that had prompted her to become engaged to Rupert within
half an hour of having made up her mind to the deed, made her
determine to take the opportunity to break once and for all with her
evil genius, Dick.
“Oh,” she answered calmly, “didn’t I tell you? I meant to in the hall.
Why, for the usual reason that one wears a ring upon that finger—
because I am engaged to him.”
Dick went perfectly white, and his black eyes glowed in his head
like half-extinguished fires.
“You false—”
She held up her hand, and he left the sentence unfinished.
“Don’t speak that which you might regret and I might remember,
Dick; but since you force me to it, listen for a moment to me, and
then let us say good-night, or good-bye, as you wish. I have been
faithful to that old, silly promise, wrung from me as a girl. For you I
have lost opportunity after opportunity, hoping that you would mend,
imploring you to mend, and you, you know well how you have
treated me, and what you are to-day, a discredited man, the toady of
Lord Devene, living on his bounty because you are useful to him. Yet
I clung to you who am a fool, and only this morning I made up my
mind to reject Rupert also. Then you played that trick at the shooting;
you pretended not to see that I was hurt, you pretended that you did
not fire the shot, because you are mean and were afraid of Rupert. I
tell you that as I sat upon the ground there and understood, in a flash
I saw you as you are, and I had done with you. Compare yourself
with him and you too will understand. And now, move away from that
door and let me go.”
“I understand perfectly well that Rupert is the heir to a peerage
and I am not,” he answered, who saw that, being defenceless, his
only safety lay in attack. “You have sold yourself, Edith, sold yourself
to a man you don’t care that for,” and he snapped his fingers. “Oh,
don’t take the trouble to lie to me, you know you don’t, and you know
that I know it too. You have just made a fool of him to suit yourself,
as you can with most men when you please, and though I don’t like
the infernal, pious prig, I tell you I am sorry for him, poor beggar.”
“Have you done?” asked Edith calmly.
“No, not yet. You sneer at me and turn up your eyes—yes, you—
because I am not a kind of saint fit to go in double harness with this
Rupert, and because, not being the next heir to great rank and
fortune, I haven’t been plastered over with decorations like he has
for shooting savages in the Soudan because, too, as I must live
somehow, I do so out of Devene. Well, my most immaculate Edith,
and how do you live yourself? Who paid for that pretty dress upon
your back, and those pearls? Not Rupert as yet, I suppose? Where
did you get the money from with which you helped me once? I wish
you would tell me, because I have never seen you work, and I would
like to have the secret of plenty for nothing.”
“What is the good of asking questions of which you perfectly well
know the answer, Dick? Of course George has helped me. Why
shouldn’t he, as he can quite well afford to, and is the head of the
family? Now I am going to help myself in the only way a woman can,
by prudent and respectable marriage, entered on, I will tell you in
confidence, with the approval, or rather by the especial wish of
George himself.”
“Good Lord!” said Dick, with a bitter laugh. “What a grudge he
must have against the man to set you on to marry him! Now I am
certain there is something in all that old talk about the saint in his
boyhood and the lovely and lamented Clara. No; just spare me three
minutes longer. It would be a pity to spoil this conversation. Has it
ever occurred to you, most virtuous Edith, that whatever I am—and I
don’t set up for much—it is you who are responsible for me; you who
led me on and threw me off by fits, just as it suited you; you who for
your own worldly reasons never would marry, or even become
openly engaged to me, although you said you loved me—”
“I never said that,” broke in Edith, rousing herself from her attitude
of affected indifference to this tirade. “I never said I loved you, and
for a very good reason, because I don’t, and never did, you or any
other man. I can’t—as yet, but one day perhaps I shall, and then—I
may have said that you attracted me—me, who stand before you,
not my heart, which is quite a different matter, as men like you
should know well enough.”
“Men like me can only judge of emotions by the manner of their
expression. Even when they do not believe what she says, they take
it for granted that a woman means what she does. Well, to return, I
say that you are responsible, you and no other. If you had let me, I
would have married you and changed my ways, but though you were
‘attracted,’ this you would never do because we should have been
poor. So you sent me off to others, and then, when it amused you,
drew me back again, and thus sank me deeper into the mud, until
you ruined me.”
“Did I not tell you that you are a coward, Dick, though I never
thought that you would prove it out of your own mouth within five
minutes. Only cowards put the burden of their own wrong-doing
upon the heads of others. So far from ruining you, I tried to save you.
You say that I played with you; it is not the truth. The truth is, that
from time to time I associated with you again, hoping against hope

You might also like