Full Computational Epidemiology From Disease Transmission Modeling To Vaccination Decision Making Jiming Liu Ebook All Chapters
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Health Information Science
Jiming Liu
Shang Xia
Computational
Epidemiology
From Disease Transmission Modeling
to Vaccination Decision Making
Health Information Science
Series editor
Yanchun Zhang, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Editorial Board
Riccardo Bellazzi, University of Pavia, Italy
Leonard Goldschmidt, Stanford University Medical School, USA
Frank Hsu, Fordham University, USA
Guangyan Huang, Victoria University, Australia
Frank Klawonn, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Germany
Jiming Liu , Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Zhijun Liu, Hebei University of Engineering, China
Gang Luo, University of Utah, USA
Jianhua Ma, Hosei University, Japan
Vincent Tseng, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Dana Zhang, Google, USA
Fengfeng Zhou, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, China
With the development of database systems and networking technologies, Hospital
Information Management Systems (HIMS) and web-based clinical or medical
systems (such as the Medical Director, a generic GP clinical system) are widely
used in health and clinical practices. Healthcare and medical service are more data-
intensive and evidence-based since electronic health records are now used to track
individuals’ and communities’ health information. These highlights substantially
motivate and advance the emergence and the progress of health informatics research
and practice. Health Informatics continues to gain interest from both academia and
health industries. The significant initiatives of using information, knowledge and
communication technologies in health industries ensures patient safety, improve
population health and facilitate the delivery of government healthcare services.
Books in the series will reflect technology’s cross-disciplinary research in IT and
health/medical science to assist in disease diagnoses, treatment, prediction and mon-
itoring through the modeling, design, development, visualization, integration and
management of health related information. These technologies include information
systems, web technologies, data mining, image processing, user interaction and
interfaces, sensors and wireless networking, and are applicable to a wide range of
health-related information such as medical data, biomedical data, bioinformatics
data, and public health data.
Series Editor: Yanchun Zhang, Victoria University, Australia;
Editorial Board: Riccardo Bellazzi, University of Pavia, Italy; Leonard Gold-
schmidt, Stanford University Medical School, USA; Frank Hsu, Fordham Uni-
versity, USA; Guangyan Huang, Victoria University, Australia; Frank Klawonn,
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Germany; Jiming Liu, Hong Kong Baptist
University, Hong Kong, China; Zhijun Liu, Hebei University of Engineering, China;
Gang Luo, University of Utah, USA; Jianhua Ma, Hosei University, Japan; Vincent
Tseng, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan; Dana Zhang, Google, USA;
Fengfeng Zhou, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, China.
Computational Epidemiology
From Disease Transmission Modeling
to Vaccination Decision Making
Jiming Liu Shang Xia
Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science
Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University
Kowloon, Hong Kong Kowloon, Hong Kong
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This book is dedicated to all the people
around the world, who came together to fight
against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.
Jiming Liu and Shang Xia
Preface
The title of this preface may look a bit unusual for a research monograph.
Nevertheless, this was indeed the kind of questions that came to our mind when
we were writing it.
This book was born in a special time. As it was being written and published, the
world was enduring one of its greatest challenges in decades, if not in centuries. The
novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, had rapidly spread to around 200 countries
and territories in 6 continents (with only Antarctica untouched) within a few months,
resulting in more than 5 million people infected and over 300,000 deaths (as of
May 2020). All the people, no matter where they were and who they were, found
themselves caught right amid this most unprecedented global crisis, with devastating
casualties, country lockdowns, service/business shutdowns, and possible economic
meltdown.
The world is truly in a state of emergency, a time of great uncertainty and anxiety.
Yet, as in the history of human civilization, we all should be hopeful that
humankind will be able to learn and prevail in the end. There will be no exception
this time. One of the important lessons that we can probably learn from the
Mother Nature in this global fight against COVID-19 is that only by being
united as one, as humanity, working together to remove the barriers of races,
vii
viii Preface
who may study the book in the regular order of Chaps. 1–7 and then revisit Chaps. 2–
6 to extend some of the topics and problems.
xi
xii Acknowledgements
of the university, to make it the most conducive place for scholarship. He would
like to thank Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) for the funding support
over the years; a number of grants have been awarded to specifically support his
team’s research on understanding and solving epidemiological problems through the
exciting routes of computer science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Last but the foremost, he would like to express his deepest thanks to his wife
M.L. and his daughters I.Y.Y. and B.Y.X. for their long-lasting love and the most
wonderful time.
Shang Xia would like to express his sincere gratitude to Prof. Jiming Liu for his
enlightening, patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and profound knowledge. Without
his encouragement and persistence, this book could not be accomplished. He would
like to express his sincere gratefulness to Computer Science Department at Hong
Kong Baptist University (HKBU), where he acquired his PhD degree, benefited a lot
from the most inspirational guidance, and enjoyed a fulfilling campus life. For this
rewarding journey in Hong Kong, he would sincerely express his heartfelt gratitude
to Dr. Benyun Shi, Dr. Li Tao, and Dr. Yang Liu, from whom he benefited their
collaboration and support. The sincere thanks also go to Prof. Xiao-Nong Zhou and
the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases at Chinese Center for Disease Control
and Prevention for the great support for his academic career and research. Last but
not least, he would like to thank his family: his wife Yao Q.Q. and his daughters
Yoyo and Xiuxiu for their caring, love, and support in this wonderful life.
Both authors wish to express their special thanks to Dr. Yang Liu for his great
efforts in proofreading the manuscript and offering excellent editorial suggestions
and help.
1 Paradigms in Epidemiology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Methodological Paradigms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Infectious Diseases and Vaccination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Objectives and Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4.1 Modeling Infectious Disease Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.2 Modeling Vaccine Allocation Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.3 Modeling Vaccination Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4.4 Modeling Subjective Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Computational Modeling in a Nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Modeling Infectious Disease Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.1 Infectious Disease Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.2 Age-Specific Disease Transmissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Modeling Contact Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.1 Empirical Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.2 Computational Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3 Case Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.3.1 Hong Kong H1N1 Influenza Epidemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3.2 Age-Specific Contact Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3.3 Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.4 Further Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3 Strategizing Vaccine Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1 Vaccination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.1 Herd Immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.1.2 Vaccine Allocation Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2 Vaccination Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.3 Age-Specific Intervention Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.3.1 Modeling Prioritized Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
xiii
xiv Contents
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Abbreviations
xv
Notation
xvii
xviii Notation
Epidemiology deals with “the study of the occurrence and distribution of health-
related states or events in specified populations, including the study of the deter-
minants influencing such states, and the application of this knowledge to control
the health problems” [1]. As defined by MacMahon et al. [2], epidemiology is
interdisciplinary by nature, concerning the sciences of etiology, genetics, biology,
pharmacy, geography, ecology, as well sociology and human behavior. Epidemio-
logical studies motivated by combating infectious diseases mainly focus on four
aspects of challenges, as follows: (1) pattern analysis, by investigating the spatio-
temporal distributions of the observed disease occurrences; (2) causal inference, by
identifying and evaluating associated impact factors; (3) forecasting and prediction,
by evaluating the dynamics of infectious diseases with reference to different sce-
narios; and (4) policy analytics, by exploring and conducting effective intervention
measures.
Toward these ends, the pioneers in epidemiology have provided much useful
knowledge to guide efforts in infectious disease control. As pointed out by Merrill
[3], epidemiology has evolved from supernatural practices to research based on
scientific foundations, from ad hoc reports to systematic investigations of public
health events and problems, from ignorance of the causes of diseases to a scientific
understanding of their hidden factors, determinants, and outcomes, and from lacking
feasible means for solving public health problems to having effective approaches to
disease intervention.
Developmental milestones in infectious disease epidemiology can be dated
back to the work of Hippocrates (460–377 BC), who examined the influence of
environments and attempted to explain how diseases transmit and cause infection
in a group of host individuals [3]. Other early studies include the work of John
Graunt (1620–1674), who described disease mortality rates by applying statistical
and census methods [4], and Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689), who studied disease
distribution patterns, moving from an observational to an analytical perspective [5].
In the nineteenth century, John Snow (1813–1858) traced the sources of disease
outbreaks (e.g., cholera in Soho, London, in 1854) and thereafter pointed out the
associations of disease outbreaks with social and natural environments [6]. To
more formally describe the dynamics of disease transmission, Ross (in 1911) and
MacDonald (in 1957) developed a set of mathematical equations and proposed
a threshold indicator, named the basic reproduction number, to quantitatively
characterize the extent of disease transmission [7].
• Empirical Methods
The paradigm of empirical observation and investigation is well suited to the
early stage of epidemiological studies. As mentioned by Rothman et al. [9], it
typically involves (1) collecting observational data about disease transmission,
i.e., when, where, and who, and associated impact factors, e.g., the characteristics
of disease pathogens and host individuals at the microscopic scale, and of etiolog-
ical and meteorological environments at the macroscopic scale; (2) qualitatively
describing or quantitatively analyzing observational data to establish associative
1.1 Methodological Paradigms 3
or causal relationships between impact factors and disease transmission; and (3)
conducting further experiments or field investigations to test epidemiological
hypotheses, usually relating the proposed causes to the observed effects, the
findings of which may serve as the foundation for planning and implementing
disease intervention.
• Theoretical Methods
The theoretical paradigm in epidemiological studies involves the use of mathe-
matical tools, and is focused on generalizing and characterizing the processes of
disease transmission and their interrelationships with various impact factors [10].
Mathematical equations or models are typically constructed to quantitatively
describe the dynamics of disease transmission and estimate possible outcomes.
By evaluating different conditions under which the models reach convergent,
stable, or equilibrium states, public health authorities can potentially make long-
term projections and informed decisions on disease intervention. Theoretical
epidemiology sometimes draws on certain assumptions and simplifications about
the real processes of disease transmission. Meanwhile, it may also require
mathematical operations to derive model constructs of the behaviors of various
diseases, and use these to infer the disease dynamics and the corresponding
intervention measures.
• Computational Methods
With the developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics,
data mining, and geographic science and information systems, the computational
paradigm has rapidly emerged in epidemiological studies. Computational meth-
ods are aimed to better characterize and understand the real processes of disease
4 1 Paradigms in Epidemiology
The above-mentioned methods have been in vogue for several decades and have
been used to make great contributions to our understanding and ability to combat
infectious diseases. However, there remain a number of challenges. As schemati-
cally illustrated in Fig. 1.2, these challenges come from emerging and re-emerging
infectious diseases, which are significantly correlated with multiple impact factors
and their interacting effects, such as genetic mutation of disease pathogens/parasites
[12], human socio-economic and behavioral changes [13], and environmental and
ecological conditions [14, 15].
Fig. 1.2 Some interacting components (in circles) and their associated impact factors that can
affect the transmission of infectious diseases
1.2 Recent Developments 5
Now we examine influenza as an example. It has been shown that a wide range
of factors are involved in the dynamic processes of these outbreaks [16], which may
include the following: (1) pathogenic factors, such as viral genetic recombination
and the expression of pathogens; (2) host factors, such as the immunity of people
at different ages; (3) social and behavioral factors, such as people’s movement
or travel activities; and (4) policy factors, such as disease intervention measures.
Furthermore, these factors closely interact with each other. For instance, disease
pathogens are carried by humans as they travel, which accelerates the recombination
of different types of viruses. However, the implementation of disease intervention,
e.g., school closures, changes people’s contact behaviors, effectively cutting off the
route of disease transmission.
This highlights how various factors can interrelate and interact at various scales.
Crucially, the coupling and interactive relationships among those impact factors
can determine the intrinsic (yet possibly hidden) spatial, temporal, and social
mechanisms of disease transmission. These mechanisms can involve systemic
characteristics, such as feedback, saturation, bifurcation, and chaos, thus posing new
challenges for comprehensive epidemiological investigations [17].
Effective intervention measures rely on biomedical understanding of disease
pathogens/parasites, descriptive studies of spatio-temporal patterns of disease occur-
rences, and causal analysis of impact factors. In addition, predictive explorations
of the trends of disease transmission, i.e., the mechanistic interactions among
the components of the transmission process, are also key to understanding and
combating infectious diseases. For example, an early warning system for an
emerging infectious disease, like COVID-19, requires knowledge about the possible
geographic routes of disease transmission, such as human air-travel networks
[18]. The prevention of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, like COVID-19 and
malaria, requires both environmental and ecological changes of animal/vector
species to be addressed [19], as well as human migrant and mobile behaviors
[20]. Furthermore, the effectiveness of disease intervention measures depends on
the efficacy of resource allocation, compliance of targeted host populations, and
responsive feedback to environmental modifications.
In addition to the above-mentioned challenges, epidemiological studies also
face new opportunities in the present and future data-centric era, enabled by the
confluence of data from various sources and the development of modeling and
analytical tools in data science [21]. For example, a global disease surveillance
system connects the health agencies of its member countries and partners at
different levels, via local, regional, national, and international organizations [22].
This surveillance system can be used for managing and sharing historical records
and reports on when and where specific people have been infected by certain kinds
of diseases.
Other data sources are also helpful for analyzing and modeling potential disease
transmission. For example, remote sensing data from satellites can readily be
utilized for mapping the meteorological and ecological conditions of local or global
environments [23, 24].
6 1 Paradigms in Epidemiology
Faced with the threat of infectious diseases, implementing timely and effective
disease intervention measures is critical for preventing mortality and debilitating
morbidity, and reducing the socio-economic losses. Various types of intervention
measures have been widely studied and adopted for these purposes. For example,
immediate isolation/quarantine can prevent transmission during an influenza-like
epidemic [27, 28]. The mass prophylactic use of antiviral drugs can reduce the
vulnerability of susceptible individuals exposed to infectious diseases [29]. Inter-
ventions by social distancing (e.g., school closures and workplace shutdowns) can
lower the frequency of contacts among the host population and, hence, reduce the
probability of transmitting diseases between susceptible and infectious individuals
[30, 31].
Besides the above-mentioned intervention measures, vaccination has been
regarded as one of the most effective methods for preventing infectious diseases,
due to the effect of vaccine-induced herd immunity (i.e., immunizing a certain
portion of the host population provides indirect protection for the unimmunized
individuals [32]). That is to say, to prevent a potential outbreak, the vaccination
coverage in a host population needs to be above a critical level for inducing the
effect of herd immunity, known as herd immunity threshold. In practice, it remains
a continual challenge for public health authorities to achieve such a threshold of
vaccination coverage for preventing disease outbreaks.
The task is challenging due to a series of reasons. For one thing, although
significant progress has been made over the years in vaccine development, the
capacity for providing adequate and timely vaccine doses remains a concern,
especially when encountering emerging infectious diseases, e.g., 2009 influenza A
(H1N1) [33]. Supply restrictions can arise due to many factors, including the time
needed for finalizing vaccine compositions, to respond to the constantly evolution
of new disease strains [34], the limited capacity for vaccine manufacturing and
logistics [35], and the difficulties in access to and uptake of vaccines due to
poor delivery infrastructures and economic constraints, especially in developing
countries [36]. In such situations, public health authorities in charge of vaccination
1.4 Objectives and Tasks 7
programs face the question of how to allocate a finite number of available vaccine
doses to most effectively prevent disease transmission. For example, the World
Health Organization (WHO) has strongly suggested that each country should
respond to a possible shortage of vaccine supplies by deciding in advance which
groups should have access [37].
Furthermore, the public acceptance of a vaccination program will crucially affect
the actual level of vaccine uptake: any loss of confidence in vaccine safety and
efficacy will lead to huge gaps between the level of public vaccination willingness
and the level needed to contain disease transmission. Historically, societies have
experienced several events of vaccine refusal, e.g., the pertussis vaccine scare in
the 1970s [38], the decline of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake in
the 1990s [39, 40], and the rise and popularity of anti-vaccination movements [41,
42]. The rejection of vaccination and the subsequent decline of vaccine uptake have
brought about outbreaks of certain vaccine-preventable diseases that were thought
to no longer be threats to humankind [43, 44].
In view of this, an in-depth understanding of individuals’ voluntary vaccination
compliance is urgently required. It has been found that public acceptance of
vaccination, which amounts to individuals’ decisions on whether or not to take
vaccines, are affected by a mixture of cultural, behavioral, and socio-economic
factors. For example, the public may have doubts about vaccine safety and efficacy
due to scare stories around the adverse effects of vaccination [45, 46]. Or, behaving
in their own self-interest, individuals may be inclined not to get vaccinated if
enough other people have been vaccinated [47, 48]. The affordability and convenient
accessibility of new vaccines are also of importance for individuals considering
vaccination, especially in developing countries [49, 50].
Furthermore, the rapid emergence of online social media, e.g., Facebook and
Twitter, allows opinions, whether for or against vaccination, to spread broadly
and immediately among the population [51]. Therefore, social influences play an
increasingly important role in individuals’ vaccination decisions. In this regard, an
individual’s decision on whether or not to vaccinate himself/herself is no longer a
personal affair, but will affect the decisions of others, and collectively determine the
final coverage of a vaccination program.
Clearly, there exists an urgent need for more systematic studies of vaccination
at both population and individual levels, and thereby improve the efficacy of
vaccination programs for preventing the outbreak of infectious diseases.
The heterogeneity of the host population means that the disease-preventing effects
of vaccination in individuals of different ages can vary markedly. An immediately
related practical question is how to allocate a finite number of vaccine doses to
1.4 Objectives and Tasks 9
It has long been observed that the spread of awareness about an epidemic via social
media can affect individuals’ opinions and behaviors concerning an epidemic. In the
case of an emerging infectious disease, it can be difficult for individuals to become
informed about the disease and/or a newly developed vaccine prior to their decision-
making. In such a case, the spread of awareness about disease severity and vaccine
safety could affect individuals’ subjective perception about vaccination and, hence,
substantially affect their decisions [54].
To gain a better understanding of individuals’ voluntary vaccination, we develop
a belief-based decision model to evaluate the effect of the spread of awareness
on individuals’ decision-making and on the effectiveness of disease intervention.
Compared with the existing studies on modeling individual-level vaccination
decision-making, this belief-based model has the following unique properties:
• Unlike existing decision models that represent decision-making as a binary
problem, we consider the role of uncertainty in individuals’ vaccination decision-
making. Specifically, the situation in which an individual has made no firm
decision can be considered as a state of “yet to decide”, due to uncertainty. In this
regard, we introduce three belief variables to characterize the possible decision
response from an individual, namely that he/she will accept or reject the vaccine,
or has not yet decided.
• We further consider the fact that individuals’ decisions depend on their subjective
perception about whether or not vaccination is acceptable. Moreover, awareness
of disease severity and vaccine safety can spread from person to person—akin
to a disease itself—and will substantially affect their subjective perception of
vaccination.
• To model the spread of awareness, we utilize various real-world online social
networks to characterize the structure of individuals’ social relationships. There-
after, we further extend Dempster-Shafer Theory (DST) to computationally
model the propagation and evolution of individuals’ beliefs, as well as their
decision-making, having incorporated the awareness obtained from their socially
interconnected neighbors.
We investigate the effect of the spread of awareness on individuals’ vaccination
decision-making with respect to three considered impact factors, based on a series of
simulations of the 2009 Hong Kong H1N1 influenza epidemic. First, the reporting
rates of severe infection and adverse effects of vaccination are used to represent the
frequencies of these topics, which tend to draw public attention. Next, we consider
the coefficient of awareness fading, a parameter used to quantify the information
flows among individuals. Finally, we examine the effect of disease reproduction
number, which corresponds to the severity of an epidemic.
The simulation results show that the reporting rates will determine the number of
vaccinated individuals and the time at which they receive vaccination. A higher
fading coefficient will significantly reduce individuals’ vaccination willingness.
12 1 Paradigms in Epidemiology
1.5 Summary
One night—it was the very night on which this chapter opened—she sat
by his side absorbed in gloomy thought. The candle was flaring in the
socket. Everything was still. The dying man slept peacefully. With her
hands drooping upon her lap, she sat allowing her thoughts to wander; and
they wandered into the dim future, when, released from her tyrant, she was
once more a happy woman. Long did she indulge in that sweet reverie, and
when it ceased, she turned her head mechanically to look upon the sleeper.
He was wide awake: his dull eyes were fixed intently upon her; and a shiver
ran all over her body as she met that gaze!
Silently she sat by his side, communing with her own dark thoughts. He
slept again; slept soundly. She rose, and moved about the room; it did not
awaken him. She took courage:—crept down stairs, unfastened the door—
and fled.
Fled, and left her tyrant dying;—fled, and left him without a human
being to attend upon him—left him to die there like a dog; or to recover, if
it should chance so. She cared not; her only thought was flight; and, winged
with terror, she flew from the accursed home of guilt and wretchedness; and
felt her heart beat distractedly, as, a homeless, penniless wanderer, she
urged her steps along that dusty road under the quiet shining moon.
Ten days afterwards, Meredith Vyner received a long letter from his
wife, detailing the misery of her penniless condition, and imploring
pecuniary aid. The poor, old man wept bitterly over the letter, and again
reproached himself with having been the cause of her ruin. He could not
forget that he had loved her—had been happy with her. He forgave her for
not having loved one so old as himself; and wrote to her the following
reply:—
as our favourite says—not that the quotation is very good. But if you can
have patience, as I can have; if you can forget all 'incompatibilities,' and
live quietly and not unhappily with me, come back again, and all shall be
forgotten. I will do my best to make you happy, I promise that nothing of
what has passed shall ever be recurred to. You shall again be mistress of my
house and fortune.
"But I do not wish to force you even to this. If, on deliberate reflection,
you think you cannot live comfortably with me, I have given instructions to
Messrs. Barton and Hadley to remit you, wherever you may choose to
reside, eight hundred pounds a year. Upon this you can live in all comfort in
France. With every wish for your happiness,
This letter never reached Mrs. Vyner. Believing that her application had
been treated with the silent scorn it deserved, she left the town, and toiled
her way to a neighbouring town, where a young woman, formerly one of
her maids, kept a small magazin de modes, and offered a temporary asylum.
There she endeavoured to earn a subsistence by teaching English; and at
first, success crowned her efforts; but having been recognised by an English
traveller spending a few days there, the fact of her having eloped from her
husband became bruited about, and all her pupils left her.
She was forced to quit the place, and to seek refuge and oblivion in
Paris. What bitter humiliations, and what severe trials, she had there to
undergo may be readily conceived. A mystery hangs over her fate; she was
seen once on the Boulevard du Temple, miserably dressed, and so aged by
suffering, that every trace of beauty had disappeared; but nothing has since
been heard of her.
Concerning the other persons of this tale, I have few particulars to add.
Mrs. Langley Turner has married Lord ——, and now gives as many
parties as before, only they are fearfully dull: perhaps because so much
more "select;" for it is a very serious truth, that your high people are
anything but entertaining.
Frank Forrester has seen many ups and downs; but the last time I saw
him, his cab splashed me with mud as I lounged down St. James's-street.
Rose has two chubby children, who promise to have the spirit of the
mother; they keep the nursery in a constant uproar!
Violet has one large, dark-eyed, solemn boy, who, though not a
twelvemonth old, looks at you with such thoughtful seriousness, that you
are puzzled what to say to him; and I refrained tickling him under the chin,
lest he should consider it as unseemly trifling; and as to talking to him
about his tootsy-pootsies being vezzy pitty—that never could enter the
mind even of the most ignorant nurse.
Yes: such is the imperfection of poor human nature, that it cannot reach
the circulating library standard; with our best efforts to be forlorn and
disconsolate, we will accept of society and consolation; with the strongest
idea of the virtue of constancy, a loving heart cannot but love!
Blanche was embarrassed when she saw her lover again! and he, poor
fellow! was too modest to understand her embarrassment. In vain did they
ramble about the grounds together, not a syllable did he breathe of his love.
Blanche began to be almost fretful.
One morning they were playing with Rose Blanche together, and the
little toddler having climbed upon his knee, declared she intended to
"mazzy Captain Heath some day;" upon which her mama said a leetle
pettishly: "No, my darling, Captain Heath is not a marrying man. He is to
be an old bachelor."
Captain Heath made no reply, for he could not tell her why he was
condemned to be an old bachelor.
Yet, that very afternoon, as they were strolling through the wood
together, and the conversation turned upon her child, he was moved by
some mysterious impulse, to take her hand in his, and with a faltering voice,
to say,—
"Blanche ... dearest Blanche ... forgive me for what I am now going to
say ... refuse the offer if you will, but do not be offended with me for
making it ... Your child, Blanche, is growing up ... She will soon need a
better protector than even your love ... she ... I hope you will not
misunderstand me ... I know you cannot love me ... though I have loved you
so many years ... but I am grown used to that ... I have loved you, Blanche,
for years, scarcely ever with the hope of a return, and latterly, with the
certainty, that my love was hopeless ... But when I offer myself as a
husband ... as a protector to you, and to your child ... I do that which, if it
would not pain you, I feel to be right ... I want to have a husband's authority
for devoting my life to you. I do not ask your love...!"
Her head was turned away, and her eyes were filling with tears—tears
of exquisite pain, of inexpressible delight; as these words, "I do not ask
your love," thrilled through her, she suddenly turned and looked him full in
the face.
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