The Rescue

The Rescue is a tale about a serious man named Eustace Damier who receives a visit from an old family friend, Mrs. Mostyn. Damier and Mrs. Mostyn discuss wistfully the latter's late daughter and Damier's old paramour, who was beautiful but sickly. Suddenly, Damier finds out through a friend that Ms. Clara Vicaud is still alive, a stubborn survivor of terrible circumstances. Sedgwick writes a suspenseful love tale that will charm through the ages. Excerpt: «DEAR MR. DAMIER: I shall be very glad to see you tomorrow afternoon at four. I well remember Mrs. Mostyn; to hear of her from a friend of hers will be a double pleasure. Yours sincerely, CLARA VICAUD. It was like the evocation of a ghost to see this reality, emerged suddenly out of the dream-world where, for so long, he had thought of her, the young girl leaning on the chair-back in her flowing dress of silk. She was alive, and he was to see her that afternoon. Damier felt a chill overtake his eagerness. Was he not about to shatter a charming experience—one of the sweetest, most tender, most dearly absurd of his life?»