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diff --git a/34794.txt b/34794.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1bf0520 --- /dev/null +++ b/34794.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14387 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Englefield Grange, by H. B. Paull + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Englefield Grange + or Mary Armstrong's Troubles + +Author: H. B. Paull + +Release Date: December 30, 2010 [EBook #34794] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLEFIELD GRANGE *** + + + + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + ENGLEFIELD GRANGE + + OR, _MARY ARMSTRONG'S TROUBLES_ + + BY MRS. H. B. PAULL + + AUTHOR OF "EVELYN-HOWARD," "STRAIGHT PATHS AND CROOKED WAYS" + + + Warne's Star Series + + "The love of money is the root of all evil."--1 Tim. vi. 10 + + LONDON: + FREDERICK WARNE AND CO. + AND NEW YORK + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +I. BY THE SEA + +II. WHO SAVED HER? + +III. A SOCIAL DILEMMA + +IV. DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME + +V. AT THE REVIEW + +VI. BUCEPHALUS + +VII. FREDDY'S NEW SCHOOL + +VIII. ENGLEFIELD GRANGE + +IX. LOOKING BACK + +X. HENRY HALFORD'S NEW STUDY + +XI. OUR ANTIPODES + +XII. FIRST IMPRESSIONS + +XIII. A CHANGE OF OPINION + +XIV. AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY + +XV. A VISIT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES + +XVI. THE COMMEMORATION WEEK + +XVII. CHRISTCHURCH MEADOWS + +XVIII. MOTHER AND DAUGHTER + +XIX. HENRY HALFORD WRITES A LETTER + +XX. HUSBAND AND WIFE + +XXI. MOTHER AND SON + +XXII. PARK LANE IN JUNE + +XXIII. A DISCOVERY AND ITS RESULT + +XXIV. NEW ARRIVALS + +XXV. COUNTRY COUSINS + +XXVI. AT THE STATION + +XXVII. TEMPTED + +XXVIII. COUSIN SARAH + +XXIX. CONSCIENCE + +XXX. UNCONSCIOUS RIVALS + +XXXI. THE NEW CURATE + +XXXII. AT GUY'S HOSPITAL + +XXXIII. CHARLES HERBERT GIVES HIS OPINION + +XXXIV. REPENTANCE + +XXXV. A PANIC IN THE CITY + +XXXVI. GIPSY DORA + +XXXVII. AT MEADOW FARM + +XXXVIII. THE NEW RECTOR OF BRIARSLEIGH + + + + +ENGLEFIELD GRANGE + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +BY THE SEA. + + +The afternoon sun of early summer shone brightly on the arm of the sea +which joins the Solent at West Cowes, in the Isle of Wight. A few boats +were moored alongside the landing-place, but as the season had not yet +commenced, the boatmen were standing about idle, scarcely hoping for a +fare. + +Presently three ladies and a little boy were observed descending the +steps, and one of the men, with whom the ladies seemed acquainted, +hastily advanced, and touching his cap, exclaimed-- + +"Want a boat, ma'am, to-day? splendid tide!" + +The lady was about to reply, when her youngest daughter, a beautiful +girl of about eighteen, touched her on the arm, and exclaimed-- + +"Oh, mamma, look at the waves; is not the sea very rough to-day?" + +"Lor', no, Miss," replied the man, "that's only a little ripple, caused +by the fresh breeze; the boat 'ill sail beautiful if you're going up the +Solent, for she'll have wind and tide in her favour." + +Maria St. Clair looked above and around her as the man spoke, and truly +the sea presented a charming aspect of crested, tiny waves, rippling in +the breeze, and sparkling beneath the sun, shining in a sky of brilliant +blue. + +Her fears almost gave way at the sight, yet her sister's remark, +although it shamed her into silence, did not complete the cure. + +"Why, Maria, how can you be so foolish? If you had sailed to India and +back, as I have done, you would laugh at your fears of a sea like this." + +"You shall not venture, my dear," said her mother, who wore a widow's +costume, "unless you feel quite willing to do so." + +"Oh, thank you, mamma, but I would rather go with you. I want to conquer +this nervousness on the water; why, even on a steamer I always feel +afraid." + +While they talked the men were launching a prettily-rigged pleasure +boat, the colours of green and gold with which it was painted gleaming +in pleasant contrast with the rippling water; and over the seats in the +stern an awning was stretched to protect the ladies from the sun's rays. + +Mrs. St. Clair and her elder daughter, Mrs. Herbert, with her little boy +of four, were, however, safely seated in the boat before Maria could +make up her mind to follow them. + +At a part of West Cowes near this landing-place stood a row of private +houses, the back windows overlooking the sea, and the gardens reaching +down to it protected by a sea wall. As in Devonshire, the foliage of +this beautiful island in some part stretches down to the water's edge, +and gardens near the sea are often well filled with roses and other +summer flowers in profusion. + +In one of these gardens, and very near the boundary wall against which +the high tide dashed pleasantly, stood a gentleman earnestly watching +the embarkation of the party in the pleasure-boat. + +His dress was more like that of the yeoman of those days than the +seaside costume of a gentleman. The thick shoes and drab gaiters, part +of the customary garb of a farmer, were, however, concealed by the +garden wall, and when for a moment he took off the white, low-crowned +beaver hat, and rubbed his fingers through his hair, the face and head +were those of a handsome man of the intellectual type. Regular features, +clear olive skin, dark sparkling eyes, hair, eyebrows, and whiskers of +almost raven blackness, and a certain air of refinement, were certainly +not quite in character with his homely attire. + +"Where have I seen that face?" he said to himself, as Maria St. Clair +paused irresolutely with one foot on the prow of the boat. "It is very +beautiful." + +And the gentleman's reflections were not far wrong. Plainly, but +tastefully dressed, the lithe figure slightly bent forward in a +shrinking, yet graceful attitude, and the outstretched tiny foot were +attractive enough to excite notice. But the face truly deserved the +epithet bestowed upon it by the lounger in the garden. Fair at this +moment, even to paleness, the delicately-chiselled features, the +half-opened lips, expressive of fear, and exposing the pearly teeth, and +the long fair ringlets that fell on her shoulders made up a picture +which when once seen was not easily forgotten. Such a face is often +supposed to belong to a woman devoid of character or insipid, but from +this appearance it was saved by marked eyebrows darker than the hair and +violet eyes shaded by long dark lashes. + +While thus Edward Armstrong stood making a photograph of the young girl +on his memory, he recalled the fact that he had seen her at church on +the previous Sunday as one of the pupils of a ladies' school, and had +been attracted to notice her by her retiring timid manner, which to him +formed her greatest charm. + +He remained to watch till he saw her safely seated in the boat with the +other ladies, and then, as the rowers turned in the direction of the +Solent, he found himself observed by the ladies. At once, but not +abruptly, he left his post of observation, saying to himself, "I'll find +out the name of that fair lassie from my landlady; she has lived here +many years and knows everybody." At the garden door he met the very +person of whom he thought, and she at once opened the subject without +requiring him to "beat about the bush" for that purpose. + +"You've been watching the ladies embark, sir," she said; "it's a lovely +day for a row or even a sail, if they like. Mrs. St. Clair and her +daughter, Mrs. Herbert, often hires that boat for themselves, but it's +the first time I've ever seen Miss Maria on the sea, except in a +steamboat; she's very much afraid of the water." + +"Is Mrs. St. Clair a visitor?" he asked. + +"Well, sir, in one way she is, for she's visiting her daughter, Mrs. +Herbert, who resides here with her little boy. Her husband, Captain +Herbert, is in India, and she came over about twelve months ago, on +account of her health. + +"Mrs. St. Clair has a house near London, and she's a real lady, sir," +continued the old woman, glad to have for once an interested listener. +"She's one of the Elliots; they're a Warwickshire family, and she +married the Honourable Mr. St. Clair, a grandson of Lord Selmore's. He +wasn't very well off, sir--you know those younger sons seldom are--and +when he died, about five years ago, he left his widow a very small +income, and nothing for his three daughters." + +"And is Mrs. Herbert the eldest?" he asked. + +"No, sir; Miss St. Clair, when she was only twenty, married a rich +admiral fifty years of age, and now she's Lady Elston. But for my part I +can't understand how a woman can marry a man so much older than herself, +just for money and a title. Miss Helen, that's Mrs. Herbert, made the +best match. Captain Herbert's not much older than she is, and he's got +private property besides his pay. She was very high-spirited and +independent, and would go and be a governess, and I think Miss Maria, +that's the youngest, wants to do the same now she's left school, but her +mamma wont hear of it because she's so timid; all the young ladies are +very clever and accomplished. But I beg your pardon, sir, I'm keeping +you standing to listen to my gossip, and I daresay you want your tea." + +"Yes, if you please, Mrs. Lake, as soon as you like," and Edward +Armstrong turned into his parlour, forming a resolution in his mind that +by some means or other he would prevent the possibility of Maria St. +Clair ever becoming a governess. + +It had cost the timid girl a strong effort to enter the boat; she +tottered, and would have fallen more from fear than from the rocking of +the boat, had not the man held her firmly, and even when first seated, +she held on with both hands while the rowers brought the boat round, and +could not feel secure till they were rowing gently with the tide. + +After awhile her sister remarked, "This is pleasant now, is it not, +Minnie?" + +"Oh, yes, delightful," she replied, "and I'm so glad you and mamma +persuaded me to come, for I'm tired of being laughed at, and called a +coward; why, even little Charlie does not seem afraid!" + +"Not he, are you, my pet?" continued his mother, addressing her boy. + +"No, mamma, not a bit; I like it better than riding in a coach or a +train." + +For some distance they continued their course towards Ryde, till Mrs. +St. Clair, looking at her watch, and finding they had been out more than +an hour, expressed a wish to return. She had noticed also that the +breeze stiffened as the sun approached the west, and although no thought +of danger entered her mind, she was unwilling to wait for a rough sea to +alarm her timid daughter. The tide had turned, and therefore the return +would, she knew, be as free from difficulty on that score as on the way +out, but the wind would be against them, and create, of course, an +uneasy motion of the boat. + +It was as she expected. The removal of the awning became necessary, and +the rocking of the little craft during this performance so alarmed poor +Maria that she became completely unnerved, nor could all the efforts of +her friends and the boatmen reassure her. However, at times they were +sheltered, and although Maria felt a motion which thrilled through the +boat as it battled with the waves roughened by the wind, she was +becoming more at ease, and by the time they passed Osborne House, not +then a royal residence, and came in sight of the houses of West Cowes, +she was positively beginning to enjoy her trip, and could talk +pleasantly to her mother and sister. + +Meanwhile Edward Armstrong sat at his solitary tea-table wrapped up in +his own thoughts. Mrs. Lake came in to fetch the tea-things, but he did +not speak. She roused him, however, by one remark-- + +"The ladies have got a beautiful evening for their trip, sir," she said; +"they generally stay out two hours, but they started later than usual +this evening--I suppose because the days are getting longer, and they're +not back yet." + +"It is a beautiful evening," replied the young man, rising and going to +the open window; "I may as well have a stroll by the sea as sit here." + +"So I thought, sir," was the reply, "and that's why I mentioned it." + +Edward Armstrong smiled as he left the room, unprepared for the events +of an evening which for his whole life would never be obliterated from +his memory. + +When he reached the village street, and turned down by the landing-place +to the beach, the change from the costume of the afternoon to a suit of +black, and a black hat with a crape band, made his appearance entirely +that of a gentleman; there was nothing of the farmer's slouch in the +tall, well-built, erect figure, and manly carriage. + +He wandered on the beach for some time, enjoying the sweet freshness of +the sea-breeze and watching the rippling waves, over which the approach +of sunset threw a glow of crimson and gold; now and then, however, +casting glances in the direction of Ryde, with a hope of once more +beholding the face that had so completely enthralled him. The church +clock struck seven, and presently, as he stood at a point a little +beyond the battery from which royal salutes are now fired, he saw the +Southampton steamer coming round a point of land at a little distance. +He, with others, walked quietly on towards the landing-place, actuated +by the curiosity as to new arrivals which generally besets occasional +residents at the seaside. + +But his attention was quickly withdrawn from the steamer. In the +direction of Ryde he could see the green and gold of the pleasure-boat +as it approached, struggling against the wind, which made her progress +difficult and uneasy. + +The rowers were evidently making for the point from which the boat had +started, not very far from the spot where the steamer now lay, blowing +off her steam, yet easily reached without danger of being run down, even +if she moved before they could do so. + +But the steamer had already created a difficulty, for when the boat +entered the point where the waters unite, she encountered also the swell +made by the paddle-wheels. Steadily the men plied their oars, while the +boat, dancing and rolling on the surge, caused by the united effects of +the wind, the steamer, and the double currents, attracted the attention +of others besides Edward Armstrong. He could distinguish the ladies +clearly as the men neared the shore. He saw the pale face and the violet +eyes of Maria St. Clair fixed upon the steamer with painful intenseness; +he saw the little gloved hands clasped on her lap, as if by that violent +pressure she could prevent the steamer from moving. The men were bending +all their strength to the oars, as with rapid strokes they made for the +landing-place. Nearer and nearer came the boat till within fifty yards +of the shore. The spectators scarcely breathed as it passed under the +stern of the steamer, no one on deck seeming to notice it. Would they +reach the shore before it moved? + +"Is there any danger?" was eagerly asked. + +"No; boats like that would ride the wave safely--besides, the men are +becoming used to steamers now, and sailors can always avoid danger." + +Alas! not always. At this critical moment the steamer moved from the +pier, its paddle-wheels backing slowly to make the turn towards Ryde +more easily; from beneath them the foaming water rolled in eddying, +agitating circles, swelling the already disturbed waves. Upon one of +these the boat was lifted, and then to the terrified occupants appeared +to be sinking headlong into the trough of the sea. + +Edward Armstrong stretched out his arms as if to avert the impending +danger. He had seen the young girl rise from her seat, and as she +tottered from the consequences of this almost always fatal act, she +caught at her little nephew's arm, and the next moment they were both +struggling together in the surging water. + +There were screams on the shore--running to and fro--a cry for +ropes--the stoppage of the steamer, from which a boat was quickly +lowered; but unexpected help was nearer at hand. + +A gentleman on the beach was seen to throw off his coat and hat, and +plunge into the boiling waves. In a few moments he returned with the +little boy in his arms, for whom many hands were eagerly held out. He +paused not a moment, but struck out again towards the spot at which he +had seen the young girl fall overboard. + +The rowers had hastened on to the shore, in order to land the alarmed +mother and sister in safety, they then quickly proceeded to the spot +where the boat from the steamer had already arrived with ropes. + +Amongst the anxious spectators on shore stood Mrs. Lake, who, the +instant she saw Mrs. St. Clair and her daughter, rushed towards them, +exclaiming, "Oh pray, ladies, do not stay here, the gentleman is sure to +save Miss Maria, he's my lodger, and----" + +At this moment Mrs. Herbert started forward, she had seen her boy +carried from the water and ran to meet him. + +"Take the little boy to my house, Mrs. Herbert, pray do," cried the +excited landlady; "it's close by, and he'll want attention directly." + +Too bewildered to refuse, and anxious also to remove her mother from the +scene of excitement, for Mrs. St. Clair seemed ready to faint as she +stood, Mrs. Herbert took her arm, and together they followed the man who +carried little Charlie. + +"You know where it is, Tom," said Mrs. Lake to the man; "take the +ladies, I'll be there directly; I must stay and see if Mr. Armstrong +saves that dear young lady," she added to herself, as she turned back to +the shore. + +Meanwhile the men had cheered the stranger as he plunged a second time +into the waves, but he remained more than once so long under water when +diving, that fears were entertained for his own fate. There was a pause. +At last, amid the shouts of the spectators, he rose to the surface, but +so faint and exhausted that he had only sufficient strength to give up +the apparently lifeless body of Maria St. Clair to the men in one of the +boats. He would himself have sunk after doing so, had he not been +quickly seized by ready hands and dragged into the boat. + +A few moments brought them to shore, amid the cheers of the spectators, +who were, however, hushed to silence when Maria St. Clair and her +deliverer, both to all appearance dead, were lifted out of the boat. + +"Oh dear! oh, sir! Mr. Armstrong, and Miss Maria too!--oh, that I should +live to see this day!" + +"Hush! that outcry will do no good," and the voice of the doctor stayed +the useless complaints of Mrs. Lake. "Is there any house near to which +this lady can be taken?" + +"Oh yes, sir," she replied, "mine is close by; Mrs. Herbert's there now +with the little boy, and the gentleman's own apartments are at my +house." + +But Edward Armstrong had by this time so far recovered, that with +assistance he was able to leave the boat and follow on foot the bearers +of that lifeless form to his own apartments, with trembling steps and a +sinking at his heart. + +He was met at the door by Mrs. St. Clair and Mrs. Herbert. The former in +dismay at her daughter's appearance, could not utter a word, but Mrs. +Herbert, as he entered, held out her hand, and clasping that of her +child's deliverer, she exclaimed, "God bless you, sir, I can never repay +you for what you have done." He had no heart to reply, but he pressed +the hand he held, and turned towards his own bedroom with the painful +thought that all his efforts, even at the risk of his own life, had been +unsuccessful in the case of Maria St. Clair. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +WHO SAVED HER? + + +The question which heads this chapter was asked by many on that +memorable evening, long after it became known that the remedies and +prompt measures adopted by the doctors had been successful in restoring +Maria St. Clair to consciousness after hours of anxious suspense. + +The same question will occur to the reader, to whom, perhaps, the answer +may prove a disappointment. + +In a street near the most fashionable part of the West End of London, +stood a large and well-built house, the lower part of which bore the +appearance of a place of business, half-shop, half-office. Above it, in +large letters, appeared the words, "Edward Armstrong, Corn Factor." + +The handsome, intellectual-looking man who had so courageously +distinguished himself on the beach at West Cowes, could boast of no +higher position than that of a London tradesman, nor of any ancestors +more honourable than England's yeomen. For nearly two hundred years the +Armstrongs had been known as farmers in the neighbourhood of +Basingstoke. Only one direct branch of the family now remained, an aged +farmer still occupying Meadow Farm, and Edward Armstrong, his only +child. + +The boy early gave evidence that he possessed tastes very different to +those required in agricultural pursuits. On this account his mother, +who, like many mothers, wished her son to be more educated than his +parents, strongly encouraged the proposal that he should be sent to +boarding-school. That her boy should become what the country folks call +a "fine scholar," was her greatest ambition. + +Whether he obtained that title or not, it is certain that at school he +quickly developed intellectual tastes, and acquired a certain degree of +refinement, which made him quite unfit for association, except in the +corn market, with farmers who talked of their "'ay and their whoats, and +whate." For a few years, however, he remained at home, and acquired +sufficient knowledge of these said "whoats and whate" to be very useful +to him in his present position. After awhile, his father consented to +his going to London and establishing a business. + +Notwithstanding Edward Armstrong's taste for reading and other literary +pursuits, he was still a thorough man of business, and had succeeded so +well in his London undertaking, that at the age of thirty-three he found +himself master of a splendid business, a well-furnished house, known and +respected on the Corn Exchange, and still unmarried. + +Yet with all his literary and scientific knowledge--which was not a +little--with all his industry, energy, and business habits, he had +strong prejudices consequent upon early education; peculiar notions on +various subjects, and a will, as well as opinions, that would brook no +contradiction. + +Much of all this might have been softened down and removed by an early +and suitable marriage. + +But one of Edward Armstrong's peculiarities was shown in his +determination, when he did marry, to have a real lady for his wife--in +those days not a very easy matter for a man in trade. + +His appearance in the Isle of Wight was caused by having had to attend +the funeral of his mother, and he had been spending a fortnight at his +old home, and making arrangements for a cousin and his wife to manage +the farm, under his father's guidance, when business matters brought him +from Meadow Farm to the Isle of Wight. He had been detained at Cowes for +nearly a week when the alarming events described in the last chapter +made a hero of him, almost against his will. + +On reaching his bedroom on that eventful evening, he found doctors and +nurses ready to prescribe and attend to him. He was quickly stripped of +his wet clothes, hurried to bed, and made to take proper remedies in +spite of a great deal of self-willed opposition. Mrs. Lake had secured +the attendance of her own doctor, who divided his time between her best +room, occupied by Maria St. Clair, and that of her deliverer. Mrs. St. +Clair's medical attendant was also present during that terrible time, in +which the gentle spirit of her daughter, Maria, fluttered on the +confines of eternity. + +Edward Armstrong, however, could not compose himself to sleep; indeed he +openly refused to take a draught which the doctor had sent to enable him +to do so. Mrs. Lake, therefore, ventured to send for Dr. Freeman, hoping +that he might be better able to influence the refractory patient. + +"Doctor," said Edward, as the former entered the room, fully intending +to exert his professional authority, "I cannot and will not sleep till I +hear more favourable accounts of Miss St. Clair. Tell me at once if +there is any hope." + +"Hey-day, my friend, your energy gives me strong hopes for your own +complete recovery at all events, but you know well that we are not the +arbiters of life and death; we can only use all the means and trust to a +Higher Power for the result." + +"But _is_ there any hope?" persisted Edward. + +"Certainly, I cannot deny there is hope," he replied. "Dr. Anson also is +very sanguine respecting the result of our efforts; but, my friend, if +you will not take the sleeping draught, I must insist on your keeping +yourself warm and quiet, or the consequences of your sea-bath will be +more serious than you anticipate; and now I must return to Miss St. +Clair, who at the present moment requires all the attention we can give +her." + +"Send me word directly a change for the better takes place," said the +patient anxiously, as Dr. Freeman turned to go. + +"I will come myself," he replied, "on condition that you keep quiet and +try to sleep." + +"Well," thought the doctor, as with cautious steps he proceeded to the +young lady's room, "the man has not been in this place much more than a +week, his landlady tells me, or I should suppose he was Miss St. Clair's +lover by the way he goes on." + +Could he have been aware of Edward Armstrong's thoughts, as he lay with +closed eyes, but mentally awake, he would more readily have understood +the cause of his restless and wakeful anxiety. + +He had tried to save the life of a girl to whom he had been strangely +attracted, and after all, though he might mourn over the untimely death +which could blight such a lovely flower, still he had not even a right +to sympathise with her relatives, to whom he was a stranger. They might +certainly appreciate his sympathy, and be grateful for his efforts to +save her, but they could not know anything of the hopes which he had +within the last few days encouraged and fostered. + +And what were these hopes? he asked himself. Were they not founded on +impossibilities? Even if Miss Maria St. Clair recovered, and owed her +life to his energy, could he still hope to win her? Would the Honourable +Mrs. St. Clair consider a London tradesman, who owned a shop, a suitable +husband for the descendant of an Earl? for such her youngest daughter +truly was. Would saving her life create a debt of gratitude sufficiently +strong to break down the barriers of social prejudices and social +distinctions? Would the fact of his being able to support a wife in +comfort and luxury tempt the mother to give him her portionless +daughter? He found himself unable to answer these mental queries, and as +he turned from side to side in restless anxiety, poor Mrs. Lake longed +for good news from the best bedroom, as much for the sake of her lodger +as for the friends of the young lady themselves. + +When Dr. Freeman entered the bedroom from which he had been called to +Edward Armstrong, he saw at a glance that his colleague, Dr. Anson, was +more hopeful than ever. Every remedy used in cases of drowning had been +tried, but Dr. Anson evidently considered that the continued state of +unconsciousness, in which Maria St. Clair lay, was attributable to +another cause. To conquer the effects of this cause was now his aim; yet +half an hour passed before his efforts were rewarded with even a shadow +of success. Maria St. Clair lay still and nerveless on the bed. From her +pale face the golden curls had been pushed back, and lay scattered in +disordered profusion on the pillow. + +Although the summer twilight still lingered, the gas had been lighted to +assist the medical men in their efforts to restore life. Dr. Anson stood +with his fingers on the delicate wrist, and as his colleague entered he +made a sign for him to draw near the bed. + +On the opposite side near the head sat Mrs. St. Clair, holding the hand +of her daughter, Helen, in a convulsive grasp. The crisis had come, and +the mother and daughter were awaiting with painful intentness the result +of the doctor's efforts. Minutes passed, but they did not relax these +efforts. Presently Dr. Anson looked up suddenly; his sensitive fingers +had detected a slight vibration at the wrist. For a few moments there +was a pause, a breathless stillness had seemed to foreshadow the +approach of death. It was but the intensity of suspense--every eye +rested on the fair, pale face. Was it fancy? Did the eyelids really +quiver, and the lips tremble? Yes; for as the eyes languidly opened, the +lips parted and a breath like a sigh gave evidence of returning life. +Mrs. St. Clair rose hastily and clung to her married daughter, while the +doctor quickly administered a stimulant which, to his great joy, the +patient was able to swallow. Gradually the feeble breath became more +regular, the eyes more intelligent, and a faint colour overspread the +cheek. Again the doctor offered the stimulant, and this time it was +taken more easily, and the patient made an effort to speak. + +"Mamma, are you here?" were the faint, feeble words. + +"Yes, darling," said Mrs. St. Clair, coming round to the other side of +the bed with Mrs. Herbert, "and Helen is here too." + +"Where is little Charlie?" + +"Safe in bed and asleep," was the reply. + +"Mamma, who saved us?" she asked, after a pause. + +"You and Charlie owe your lives, under God, to a stranger who is lodging +here with Mrs. Lake," replied her mother. + +"Mamma, let me thank him. Where is he?" + +"In bed, and I hope asleep," exclaimed Dr. Freeman; "and, my dear young +lady, we must get you to sleep quickly, too, or there is no answering +for the consequences. You shall see our friend to-morrow and thank him +yourself." + +Maria St. Clair closed her eyes in token of obedience; readily she took +what the medical men prescribed, and after awhile, with many cautions to +the anxious mother, the gentlemen took their leave. On the way +downstairs Dr. Freeman remarked, "That poor girl was not long enough in +the water to so completely deprive her of consciousness. I believe she +fainted from terror when she found herself falling." + +"I have no doubt of it," replied Dr. Anson. "I know that Maria has +always had a natural dread of the water, and it was injudicious to +persuade her to enter a boat under any but absolute necessity. Had she +not recovered, her death would have been mainly attributable to the +shock received by the nervous system. Are you going to remain here +longer?" he asked, as Dr. Freeman stopped and held out his hand. + +"Only to see my other patient." + +"Is he all right?" was the next question. + +"I hope he will be after the draught I am going to give him," replied +Dr. Freeman; "he has had a narrow escape with life, but it is a mercy he +was there at all. No one could have acted more promptly and courageously +than he did." + +"I shall look in again on my patient this evening," said Dr. Anson as +they shook hands. "If no feverish symptoms supervene we shall soon have +the young lady quite well." + +"There is more danger of fever in this case," thought the doctor, as he +stood by Edward Armstrong's bed with his fingers on his pulse a few +minutes later, describing what had occurred, and telling him of Miss St. +Clair's hopeful condition. + +The effect, however, of this information, and the remedy which he did +not now refuse, were so beneficial that in less than half an hour after +the doctor left him to the care of Mrs. Lake, he was sleeping calmly. + +Yet potent as the medicine might be, it was not powerful enough to keep +Edward Armstrong asleep all night. More than once he awoke, and finding +Mrs. Lake watching in his room on the last occasion, he anxiously +inquired for Miss St. Clair. + +"Sleeping sweetly, sir, thank God," was the reply. "I've just been into +the room, and glad enough I am that the ladies are able to take some +rest. I only came in here to see if you were all right; and now I'm +going to take my place in Miss St. Clair's room, while they go and lie +down. Oh, sir, they're both so thankful to you for what you did last +night. But I'm not going to have you waking up and losing your rest; +whatever am I about, chattering like this?" And she cautiously drew the +curtains closer to shut out the early summer daylight. + +But Edward was too much under the effects of his draught to keep awake +long. He had understood sufficiently from Mrs. Lake's speech that Miss +St. Clair was in no danger, and even before she had ceased talking he +fell asleep. + +The morning sun, however, roused him, as he supposed, at his usual hour, +and he rose quite refreshed, and feeling very little the worse for his +exploits of the preceding evening. + +Dressing quickly, he descended to his sitting-room and found to his +surprise that the clock had struck nine. + +On the mantelpiece lay his watch, which had stopped as he plunged into +the water, and the hands pointed to half-past seven. Taking it up to set +it to the right time, he walked to the window and looked out across the +garden to the spot which had so nearly proved fatal to himself as well +as to another, and shuddered as he thought of what might have been if +his efforts had proved unsuccessful. + +While thus reflecting, Mrs. Lake entered with his breakfast. + +"Good morning, sir," she said, as he turned to greet her; "I'm that glad +to see you downstairs again, and all right, I hardly know what to say. +But do you really feel quite well, sir?" she added hastily, "for you're +looking pale." + +"I'm all right," he replied, smiling, "or at least I shall be after +breakfast, I hope, for that physic stuff has made my head ache." + +"I daresay it has, sir; them sleeping draughts always do, but you'll be +quite well after a cup of coffee." + +Edward Armstrong seated himself, nothing loth, while his landlady +continued to remain in the room by waiting upon him or dusting here and +there, or rearranging different articles on the table, in hopes of being +questioned. Her hopes were soon realised, for her lodger asked, "How is +the young lady this morning, Mrs. Lake?" + +"Oh! doing nicely, sir, and so is Master Charlie; he slept in my room +last night, and he's been awake I can't tell how long, asking heaps of +questions about the kind gentleman that took him and dear aunty out of +the water--and the ladies, sir, they've been asking for you, and they do +say Miss Maria is quite herself again this morning, and that she's going +to get up presently." + +Mrs. Lake was interrupted by a tap at the door, and without waiting for +a reply, it was opened, and Dr. Anson, the medical attendant of Mrs. St. +Clair, entered the room. + +"Yes, it is my friend Edward Armstrong," he exclaimed, as the gentleman +he addressed rose with surprise to receive his visitor. "I only learnt +the name of our hero from Dr. Freeman this morning; I had no idea that +the gentleman whose intrepidity and courage is the talk of the place was +the son of my good friend, Farmer Armstrong." + +Edward smiled as he shook hands with the friend whom he had known from a +boy, but there was a languor in his movements, and a pallor on the +cheeks, very unusual in the active man of business, which the doctor's +quick eye soon detected. + +"Are you feeling any ill effects from your exertions last evening?" he +asked. + +"No," was the reply; "unless a feeling of laziness and disinclination to +move may be ranked among ill effects." + +"Well, not exactly," said Dr. Anson, "although what you complain of is +no doubt caused by exhaustion and excitement. At all events, you must +extend your holiday and rest here for a day or two longer; such a +sea-bath as yours produces effects which are not so easily got over." + +At this moment the door was pushed open slightly, and through the +opening appeared a rosy face, brown curls, and a pair of dark eyes which +looked with curiosity at the two gentlemen. + +"Ah, Charlie," said the doctor, "is that you? Come in and say how d'ye +do to the gentleman that fished you out of the water yesterday." + +Little Charlie Herbert boldly advanced, and standing before Mr. +Armstrong held out his chubby hand and said, "Thank 'oo for saving me +from being drowned." + +Edward lifted the boy on his knee and kissed him, while the doctor +asked-- + +"Who sent you here, Charlie?" + +"Mrs. Lake," he replied, "and I've said what she told me to say to the +gentleman." + +The doctor smiled as he rose, and shaking hands with his friend he +said-- + +"I must leave you now to pay my visit upstairs. Edward, keep the boy +here for awhile; you cannot have better company." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A SOCIAL DILEMMA. + + +While Edward Armstrong was becoming better acquainted with the little +nephew of Maria St. Clair, Dr. Anson was attempting the cure of a +disease far more difficult to subdue than any in the whole catalogue of +the various "ills which flesh is heir to"--a mental disease called +pride. + +He found his patient in a fair way for complete recovery. Her restless +anxiety to thank the strange gentleman who had saved her, had made her +mother give way to her wish to be dressed, and she now sat in an +easy-chair, looking pale certainly, but apparently suffering only from +exhaustion. + +"Up and dressed? upon my word!" said Dr. Anson. "I was not prepared for +such a speedy recovery as this." + +"I feel almost as well as ever, doctor," she said, "only a little weak +and tired; but I cannot rest till mamma and all of us have thanked the +gentleman who saved me and little Charlie. Mrs. Lake says he is quite +well this morning, and talks of going back to London to-morrow, so if we +are to see him and thank him personally, it must be to-day." + +"All right, my dear," said the doctor; "there will be no difficulty in +asking my friend Mr. Edward Armstrong to visit you." + +"Your friend, Dr. Anson?" exclaimed Mrs. St. Clair, in surprise; "have +you known him long?" + +"Almost from his boyhood, and a more intelligent, well-informed man I +have seldom met with. I was not, however, aware till now that he +possessed courage and daring in addition to his other good qualities." + +"But who is he?" was the next question. + +"The son, indeed the only child, of Farmer Armstrong, who owns Meadow +Farm, about two miles from Basingstoke. The farm has belonged to +Armstrong's ancestors for nearly two hundred years. The old gentleman +has recently lost his wife, and the son came from London a few weeks ago +to be present at his mother's funeral." + +"Young Mr. Armstrong resides in London, then, I suppose?" remarked Mrs. +Herbert. + +"Yes; his tastes for intellectual pursuits and his education made him +dislike farming, and at last his father, with great reluctance, allowed +him to commence business in London as a corn-dealer." + +Mrs. St. Clair had listened to this plain straightforward description of +her daughter's and grandson's deliverer and his antecedents with very +conflicting sensations. She had hoped to be able personally to show her +deep sense of gratitude to this gentleman, who had risked his own life +for her child; but now, how could she do so? She had been brought up to +consider persons in trade far inferior to herself, and the doctor's +account seemed to place this stranger at such an immeasurable distance, +and yet how could she relieve herself from such a debt of gratitude? + +During the pause that ensued, Dr. Anson examined and questioned his +patient, and having received satisfactory answers, was about to take his +leave, when Mrs. St. Clair's voice arrested his movements. + +"Dr. Anson, we can never really repay this person the debt of gratitude +we owe him, but as he is in trade, do you think he would accept a sum of +money; something handsome, I mean! I am sure my son-in-law, Sir James +Elston, would readily advance it in such a case." + +"Mamma!" + +"Madam!" + +The words burst forth almost simultaneously from Mrs. Herbert and the +doctor. The former gave up her right to speak to the doctor, who +exclaimed-- + +"My friend Mr. Edward Armstrong is not only a man of large property, but +of refined and intellectual tastes, and can boast of an education far +beyond the generality of farmers' sons. I could not----" + +"Oh, pray pardon me!" interrupted Mrs. St. Clair, greatly surprised at +the doctor's vehemence, "but when you spoke of your friend as a man of +business, I supposed him to be what a tradesman generally is." + +"Mrs. St. Clair," said the doctor, "England is becoming proud of her +commerce, and the young people of the present age may live to see the +time when, like the ancients of old, 'her princes will be merchants,' as +well as men of intellect, refinement, and education. At all events, my +dear madam, give your daughters an opportunity to thank this gentleman +for risking his life on their behalf; personally, I am quite sure, he +will expect this, and consider it cancels all obligations. If you see +him you can judge for yourselves. Good morning, ladies. Don't excite +yourself, my dear," he continued, more gently, as he shook hands with +his patient; "your constitution has received a shock, and you must be +careful." + +"I will, doctor, I promise you," she said, "but I may go into the +drawing-room with mamma and Helen to receive the visitor?" + +"Of course--of course," he replied, "but remember, you are not to talk +too much." + +For some minutes after Dr. Anson left the room silence reigned supreme: +Mrs. St. Clair could not at once recover from the surprise at being thus +set down by her own medical man; indeed, she looked so disconcerted that +Helen could not resist the merry laugh that broke the silence. + +"Mamma, don't look so uncomfortable," she said; "of course you could not +be expected to know what would be the best means of showing our +gratitude to this stranger, for indeed we ought to be grateful----" + +"I know it, my dear," said Mrs. St. Clair, whose pride had received a +severe blow; "and now what are we to do?" + +"We have simply to adjourn to the drawing-room, ring the bell, and send +down our cards, with our compliments, and a request that Mr. Armstrong +will favour us with a visit." + +This advice was at once acted upon, and in a few minutes Maria found +herself comfortably seated in an arm-chair in Mrs. Lake's pretty +drawing-room, while her mother and sister awaited the appearance of +their visitor in formal state on the sofa. Even to Maria, Edward +Armstrong was an entire stranger, for although she had modestly shrunk +from his earnest gaze at church on the previous Sunday, and had seen his +face twice on the day of the accident, it was still unknown to her. + +They had not waited long when footsteps on the stairs announced his +approach; not alone, however, for as Mrs. Lake opened the door Edward +Armstrong entered, leading by the hand little Charlie Herbert. + +"Your little son has paid me a visit this morning, Mrs. Herbert," he +said, as he bowed to the ladies who rose to welcome him, "and I have +brought him upstairs with me to place him safely in your care." + +Mrs. Herbert gave him a grateful look as she placed a chair for their +guest. Then seating herself, she said-- + +"I hope Charlie has not been troublesome?" + +"Not in the least," he replied; "indeed, his childish prattle has done +me good." + +Mrs. St. Clair's surprise at the appearance of her visitor, who wore his +mourning suit, increased for a time the confusion of ideas produced by +the doctor's farewell speech. She was, however, a true English +gentlewoman, and before Edward could take the chair placed for him she +advanced, and holding out her hand, said with a warmth of manner not to +be mistaken for mere politeness-- + +"Mr. Armstrong, I have taken the liberty of asking you to visit us, +because I wish to join with my daughters in expressing my gratitude for +your kind and prompt energy yesterday, which saved the lives of my +daughter and little grandson. It is not possible to say all we feel on +the subject. I only hope you will believe in our sincere and grateful +appreciation." + +"Madam," replied Edward, to whom all this was really painful, "I am only +too happy to remember that I was on the spot, and able to be of service +to you." + +"A service we can never repay," said Mrs. Herbert; "but for your +exertions I should have lost my darling boy." + +"And I," exclaimed a gentle voice, "should have lost my life, Mr. +Armstrong, but for you; my best thanks are but a poor return to offer +you." + +"Ladies," said Edward Armstrong, "you do me too much honour. I am only +too thankful to have been made the instrument, in God's hands, to save +you from great sorrow, and the consciousness of this is all the reward I +ask. But allow me, Miss St. Clair," he said, hurriedly changing the +subject, "I hope you do not feel any serious effects from the great +danger to which you were exposed yesterday?" + +"Oh, no," she replied; "except a slight feeling of exhaustion, I am +otherwise as well as usual." + +The blush that tinted the pale cheek of Maria St. Clair, who, while she +spoke, was conscious of the earnest eyes so closely watching her, added +additional beauty to the fair face which Edward Armstrong so greatly +admired. With ready tact he turned to Mrs. St. Clair, and introduced +another subject of conversation. + +So pleasantly did an hour pass as they talked, that when the visitor +rose to go, the elder ladies each expressed a wish that he should visit +them at their own residences. But he unhesitatingly stated his anxiety +to return to business, promising, however, to call upon Mrs. St. Clair +at Richmond; and naming his own address in Dover Street, Piccadilly. + +Edward Armstrong's peculiar notions and obstinate prejudices, which we +shall hear more of by-and-by, were kept under violent restraint while in +the company of these ladies. Hitherto he had encouraged himself in a +kind of contempt for all social distinctions, but now that he had made +acquaintance with a family whose position, socially speaking, was above +his own, he crushed down the feeling, and when writing his address for +Mrs. St. Clair, he omitted the words "corn-dealer." + +Perhaps his radical notions would not have been restrained by any motive +less powerful than a growing attachment for the daughter of a lady who +could rank with England's aristocracy. And with the lady herself there +is little doubt that Edward Armstrong's apparent refinement in manner +and dress would have failed to make such an impression had not his +handsome face, manly carriage, and reputation for wealth been thrown +into the scale of opinion. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. + + +Edward Armstrong had parted from the family of Mrs. St. Clair without +even the slightest hint of those intentions which a more intimate +association had strengthened. But the three days during which he stayed +at West Cowes were not lost time. He had seen Maria St. Clair daily, and +made himself so truly agreeable a companion and escort, that the ladies +willingly accepted his invitation to accompany him for a drive more than +once in an open carriage which he hired for the occasion. + +They bade him farewell at last with regret, and influenced by her +daughters, Mrs. St. Clair expressed a hope that they should see him at +Richmond after their return home, which she expected would be in about a +fortnight. + +Edward Armstrong returned to London with his mind fully made up. He +possessed a determined will, and in spite of the misgivings which had +tormented him after the exciting evening at Cowes, he had too much +self-esteem to dread failure. + +The girl he loved might be the daughter of the Honourable Mrs. St. +Clair, and the great-granddaughter of an earl, and he knew that, in his +eyes at least, she was beautiful, but she was penniless; and the +gratitude she felt towards him for having saved her life was fast +growing into love. Added to this he had the money she lacked, and the +power to surround her with all the pleasant comforts and luxuries which +money can procure. He determined, however, notwithstanding this +confidence in himself, to wait until he had visited Mrs. St. Clair at +her own home, and become more acquainted with the real position of the +family to whom he wished to ally himself. + +Mr. Edward Armstrong's house in Dover Street, Piccadilly, had been +originally the London residence of a nobleman's family who during the +early part of the present century had made that part of London, then +called May Fair, their head-quarters. + +He had let the upper part of his house at a good rental, keeping only +for himself a bachelor's parlour behind the office, and a bedroom. + +On the first evening after his return from the Isle of Wight, these said +bachelor apartments wore a very meagre and desolate aspect. + +Hitherto business and money-making had so absorbed his thoughts that the +rooms he occupied had scarcely any interest in his eyes. So long as his +housekeeper prepared his meals regularly, and kept his apartments clean +and comfortable, he was satisfied. + +Now, however, he looked with a critical eye upon his domestic +arrangements, and on this evening of his arrival, while leaning back +after supper in his easy-chair, some such thoughts as these passed +through his mind-- + +"I could not expect any wife to be satisfied with such a dingy little +place as this for a sitting-room, and to think of bringing that fairy +girl, Maria St. Clair, to such a home is absurd. If I mean to win her I +must get rid of these people upstairs, and furnish my house in a fit +style to receive her. However, I must not give them notice to leave till +I am sure of success. Sure of success! what am I thinking about? 'Faint +heart ne'er won fair lady!' and Edward Armstrong is not the man to fail +when he once makes up his mind." + +Three weeks passed away, and on a warm, sultry morning in July, Maria +St. Clair stood at the window of a pretty drawing-room at Richmond, +looking out over the beautiful park upon a scene that has not its rival +in any suburb at the same distance from London. The noble trees that are +scattered over the greensward from the brow of Richmond Hill to the +silvery stream of the Thames, which flows at its foot, were luxurious in +summer foliage. Chestnut and oak, elm and birch, reared their noble +forms at varied distances, casting their broad shadows on the undulating +velvet turf, while the gentle deer browsed in safety beneath the +sheltering branches. + +Mrs. St. Clair sat at work near the open window, now and then glancing +at the fair face of her young daughter, which wore a thoughtful, pensive +look, in spite of its radiant loveliness. + +Maria had quite recovered the effects of her dangerous sea-bath, and the +word radiant is not too exaggerated a term to apply to the appearance of +the young girl as she stands gracefully, yet carelessly, leaning against +the window-frame. + +"Have you quite finished practising, Maria?" said her mother, at last. + +"No, mamma; but I could not resist another look at the dear old park. +After all, I don't think there is a prettier place than Richmond Hill, +even in the Isle of Wight; and although I have lived here ever since my +childhood, I declare it seems more beautiful to me every year." + +"That is because you are older, and more able to appreciate beautiful +scenery." + +"I suppose that is the reason," replied Maria--and yet while she spoke +arose a consciousness that this new appreciation of Nature at Richmond +owed its origin to a romantic and vivid description of the feelings the +scene had excited in the heart of one who now monopolised all her +thoughts. "He promised to come and see us," she said to herself, "and we +have been home a week and yet he has not made his appearance. Perhaps he +wont come, after all;" and then, feeling that she must throw off the sad +thoughts which were attracting her mother's notice, she suddenly rushed +to the piano, and struck the first chords of a piece with variations on +the air of "The Lass of Richmond Hill." + +But the composer's efforts were destined to come to a sudden end. The +young housemaid opened the drawing-room door, and as she ushered a +gentleman into the room, startled the ladies by exclaiming-- + +"Mr. Edward Armstrong, ma'am," at the same time placing that gentleman's +card in the hands of her mistress. + +Maria rose from the piano in hasty confusion. Much as she had thought +upon the gentleman, whom she called her deliverer, his appearance at +this moment was so totally unexpected that she was relieved to see him +advance first to her mother, who sat at a distance from the piano. She +had scarcely time to recover her self possession, however, before her +mother's words in reply to Mr. Armstrong's inquiries for her daughter +caused him to turn and approach her. + +As Maria St. Clair came forward to meet this man, to whom she owed, as +she thought, such a debt of gratitude, Edward Armstrong, in spite of his +own good opinion of himself, was conscious of a feeling of inferiority. + +The young girl before him in the simple white morning dress, had a +manner and bearing which seemed to place him at an immeasurable +distance. + +True, there was a modest timidity and a blushing confusion, which added +a charm to the beautiful face, as she held out her hand and answered his +inquiries for her health with lady-like ease. Yet Edward Armstrong was +some minutes before he could feel himself quite at home in the company +of these ladies. + +We are all liable to be influenced by externals, and therefore when +Edward Armstrong met Mrs. St. Clair and her daughter at their own +residence, the impression produced on his mind differed greatly from +what he had felt in the Isle of Wight. + +There he had been introduced to them in the sombre and old-fashioned +drawing-room of a lodging-house, but here everything spoke of refinement +and elegance. There was nothing pretensive or ostentatious about the +house or the noble entrance, even the drawing-room in which they sat had +a low ceiling, and the furniture was neither luxurious nor new. But it +bore the impress of refined taste, and like all articles bought for +their intrinsic value rather than for show, bid fair to last for many +years longer in good condition. + +Yet not even the antique cabinets, the curiously-wrought worktables, and +other valuable ornaments would have been sufficient to produce in Edward +Armstrong the impression referred to. It was the _toute ensemble_,--the +old-fashioned red brick house, the broad oaken stairs, with the centre +covered with Brussels carpet; the long, low drawing-room, its windows +opening to the ground on a balcony; the delicate chintz covering to +chairs and couches; the flowers, the music, the lace curtains, and the +presence of two gentle, lady-like women, one in her widow's dress +contrasting to her daughter's simple white, all intermixed with the +perfume of flowers, and finished by the glorious prospect stretched out +before the windows, made up a picture which Edward Armstrong never +forgot. + +"You must stay to luncheon, Mr. Armstrong," remarked Mrs. St. Clair, +after they had talked for more than half an hour over the still +absorbing topic of the boat accident at West Cowes. + +"I fear I shall not be able to remain," he replied, "as I have business +in Richmond which will detain me for some time to-day; but if it would +be agreeable, Mrs. St. Clair, I will spend an afternoon with you next +week on any day you may find it convenient." + +Mr. Armstrong's scruples about staying to lunch were, however, quickly +overcome by the promise that he should leave as soon as he pleased +afterwards; and the visitor departed that afternoon, more than ever +fascinated by Maria St. Clair, and fully determined to obtain her as his +wife. "Where there's a will there's a way," is an old adage which few +were more likely to carry out than Edward Armstrong. + +From this visit an intimacy arose between Edward Armstrong and Maria St. +Clair, which her mother found herself unable to prevent. She saw in her +daughter a growing preference for the man who had saved her life. She +perceived on his part plain indications, that the greatest reward he +could ask as a return for his courage and bravery, would be the hand of +Maria St. Clair; and yet she could do nothing to avert such a result +without ingratitude to the wooer, and perhaps pain to her daughter. + +"I suppose I ought to consult my sister Louisa," she said to herself, +"and Sir James, or wait till Herbert comes home from India. Helen is too +grateful about little Charlie to make any objection, I am quite sure, +but perhaps the colonel may disapprove;"--and then, as Mrs. St. Clair +recalled the character of her soldier son-in-law, and reflected on what +his gratitude would be towards the man who had saved his only son from +drowning, she felt how impossible it was for her to interfere. + +She could not forbid him the house, and all she could do was to wait for +him to explain his intentions, and then if Maria's affections were +really won, she must place the matter before Sir James and take his +advice. + +Mrs. St. Clair had not long to wait. + +One afternoon, towards the end of October, Edward Armstrong had +accompanied the ladies in a walk through the park, then glorious in its +colouring of red and golden brown, with which autumn had tinted the +noble trees. + +They were joined by a middle-aged gentleman of martial appearance, whom +Mrs. St. Clair greeted with pleased surprise. + +"Why, Colonel Elliot, is it possible," she exclaimed, as she shook +hands, "when did you arrive?" + +"The day before yesterday," he replied. "My wife sent me over to-day to +pay my respects, and as soon as I found you were here, I followed you." + +"And we are very glad to see you," replied Mrs St. Clair. Then turning +to her daughter, she said, "You remember little Maria, colonel? I +suppose you find her grown?" + +"Grown indeed! what a change six years have made," he replied, glancing +at her companion. + +"Mr. Armstrong--Colonel Elliot"--and Mrs. St. Clair observing the +glance, introduced the gentleman, adding, "We owe the life of Maria and +her little nephew, Charles, to this gentleman's bravery when they were +in danger of drowning." + +"I have heard the whole account from my wife," said the colonel, +quickly; and as Edward Armstrong raised his hat on the introduction, he +held out his hand, and added, "Mr. Armstrong, I am indeed happy to make +your acquaintance." + +"You must accompany us home to dinner," said Mrs. St. Clair, after a few +minutes of explanations respecting his arrival in England, and then they +turned towards home, the colonel walking by Mrs. St. Clair, and the +young people falling behind. The evening passed pleasantly, for Edward +Armstrong was always seen to greater advantage in the company of men, +with whom he could converse on almost any subject. + +He had the tact to conceal a certain want of that _something_ which +marks the man accustomed from childhood to refined society, and in this +he was assisted by a vast amount of self-sufficiency. Be this as it may, +when Colonel Elliot rose to go early, on account of his distance from +home, he cordially expressed his regret at leaving such a pleasant +companion. + +Mrs. St. Clair had remarked during dinner the deepened colour on the +cheeks and the bright look in the eyes of her daughter, but she was +scarcely prepared for Edward Armstrong's words when after tea in the +drawing-room Maria rose and left her mother alone with him. + +"Mrs. St. Clair," he said--and for once the voice of the self-possessed +Edward Armstrong trembled--"I could not venture to ask you such a favour +as I am about to crave, but for your kindness during the last few +months. You once requested me to tell you in what way you could show +your gratitude to me for what was after all a mere act of common +humanity." He paused, but Mrs. St. Clair did not speak, so he went +on--"There is no recompense on earth that could be to me a fraction of +the value of the gift which you can bestow in giving me your daughter. +Even in my efforts to save her life I was actuated by a growing love for +her, which has increased since you so kindly allowed us to become better +acquainted." + +He paused again, for his words had been hurried, and were at last almost +breathless. Too well he knew the social barrier existing between a +farmer's son and the great-granddaughter of an earl, and while he spoke +that barrier had arisen grimly before the mental vision of Mrs. St. +Clair. How could it be overcome? At last she broke the silence, which +was becoming oppressive-- + +"Mr. Armstrong, I feel honoured by your preference for my daughter. I +can never be sufficiently grateful for the courage which saved her life. +I believe you have won her love, and on my own part I would readily give +her to you without a moment's hesitation, but I must consider my family, +my sons-in-law, and my husband's relatives. What will they say if I +allow her to marry a----" + +"Do not hesitate, Mrs. St. Clair," exclaimed Edward, whose pride had +been roused by her words; "I know I am asking Miss Maria St. Clair to +marry a tradesman, but I can offer her a home with more of the comforts, +luxuries, and refinements than are often found among many persons who +are far above me in rank." + +His vehemence troubled Mrs. St. Clair; but after a few minutes' +reflection she said, "Mr. Armstrong, I am quite aware that in a money +point of view your proposal for my daughter is worthy of consideration, +but I cannot give my consent till I have consulted my relatives. Give me +a few days to lay the matter before them, and to ascertain the +sentiments of Maria, that is all I ask." + +"Madam," said Edward Armstrong, rising, "if your dear daughter's wishes +are duly considered in this matter, I have no fear as to the result. I +will wait a week for your decision." + +Mrs. St. Clair could scarcely restrain a smile at the self-appreciation +displayed in this speech, but she shook hands pleasantly and promised +that in less than a week he should hear from her. The result, however, +of Mrs. St. Clair's application to her relatives was in every case but +one favourable to Edward Armstrong. Her daughter Helen was ready to +ignore everything about him, but that he was respectably connected, able +to give Maria a superior home, and in himself handsome, well educated, +well informed, and without doubt brave and courageous, for had he not +saved her sister and her little son from death? + +Colonel Elliot stood out strongly in favour of the man who had made +himself so agreeable on that evening at Richmond; indeed all Mrs. St. +Clair's relatives who had heard the romantic story so well known in the +Isle of Wight were on the side of Edward Armstrong--more especially when +his increasing wealth was confirmed by men of business to whom he had +referred Mrs. St. Clair. + +Only from an old maiden aunt was the information received that "she must +not be expected to associate with people who kept a shop." Mrs. St. +Clair had very little trouble in discovering her daughter's real +sentiments respecting Edward Armstrong, and Sir James Elston's opinions +settled the matter. After hearing all the particulars respecting the man +who had asked his wife's mother for her portionless daughter, the bluff +old Admiral had remarked, "Ah, well, if Mrs. St. Clair marries her +daughter to a respectable tradesman who can support her in comfort, +instead of looking out for a sprig of nobility without a shilling in his +pocket, she will be a very wise woman." + +Some little of Edward Armstrong's character showed itself before the +wedding. Mrs. St. Clair wished her daughter to be married from Sir James +Elston's house in Portland Place, and at a fashionable London +church--but the bridegroom elect preferred the quiet of her own house, +and the seclusion of Richmond. + +Finding she could not succeed in having her own way with a gentleman +possessing such a determined will, Mrs. St. Clair appealed to her +daughter. But Maria, naturally gentle and yielding, was too anxious to +agree with the wishes of her future husband to become an ally with her +mother against him. So the gentleman had his way, and in the prettily +situated old church, Maria St. Clair plighted her troth to the man who +had been the means of saving her life. + +In the heart of this young girl there was no doubt too much of the +worship of the instrument and too little recognition of the Hand to +whose merciful Providence she owed her life. She had yet to learn that +in times of sadness, trial, and death, "vain is the help of man" without +the aid He alone can give. We shall find also as the story proceeds that +Edward Armstrong was not so willing to give up his prejudices for the +sake of his _own_ daughter, as he had been to oblige Mrs. St. Clair to +give up hers when he wished to obtain Maria St. Clair as his wife. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AT THE REVIEW. + + +"Miss Mary, dear, wake up," said a pleasant middle-aged woman, as she +gently shook the sleeper to whom she spoke; "it wants twenty minutes to +eight, and Rowland will be here with the ponies presently." + +A pair of large blue eyes opened languidly and stared at the speaker. +"What's the matter, nurse?" + +"Aren't you going to ride this morning, Miss Mary? you'll have to be +quick if----" + +But Mary's senses were roused now, and the young girl of thirteen sprung +out of bed, interrupting her nurse's speech. + +"I'll be ready, nurse, don't fear," she cried, as she began to dress +with her usual quickness. "What did you say was the time?" + +"Twenty minutes to eight," was the reply, "so you've twenty-five +minutes. Rowland is allowed to wait five minutes, I know." + +"Ah, yes," cried Mary, "but I wont keep him waiting at all, nurse," she +added, "you need not stay. I laid out my habit and all I wanted in +readiness last night." + +"To be sure, Miss Mary, you can be quick, I know, and no mistake; so +I'll get out of your way if you don't want me." + +True to her word, the little lady appeared at the door in a few minutes +after the groom arrived, and she was very soon cantering round the +Regent's Park in the full enjoyment of this healthful exercise. Drawing +rein as usual before crossing the New Road on her return towards home, +she walked her pony through the Crescent, intending to enjoy a good +canter up the broad thoroughfare of Portland Place. + +Scarcely had she reached the turning leading through private streets to +Piccadilly, when the sound of horse's hoofs coming rapidly behind her +caused her to turn her head, and the next moment pull up suddenly as a +large black horse trotted quickly to her side. + +"Why, Mary," exclaimed the owner of the horse, "I had no idea you were +such a capital rider. I saw a little lady cantering in front of me, but +I should not have known who it was had not Rowland touched his hat as I +passed; and what a clever little pony," he added, as he stooped low to +pat the smooth black head and long flowing mane. "How long have you had +him?" + +"Six months, uncle," she replied. "Papa bought him of Sir Henry Turner; +his boys all learnt to ride on Boosey, but they have grown too old and +too tall for such a small pony, so now he is mine." + +"What is the pony's name, Mary? It sounds peculiar." + +"Oh, Boosey, uncle," she replied, laughing. "Sir Henry's boys named him +after Alexander's horse Bucephalus; the groom shortened it to Boosey, +and we still keep up the name." + +"So he is a classical pony, eh?" said Colonel Herbert; "I suppose the +name was too much of a jaw-breaker for the stablemen. Boosey, however, +is rather a degradation for the bearer of such a title." + +"He's a military pony, too," laughed Mary, "for he can stand fire, +uncle. One morning the soldiers were at drill and firing in the Park as +I rode past, and Boosey walked by as quietly as possible. I did feel +half afraid till I remembered that Sir Henry was a field-officer and his +sons were often with him at reviews, one of them always riding the +pony." + +"Well, then, my dear, if Boosey is so well trained, would you like to go +with me to-day? There is to be a review at Hyde Park, and you can be +with me near the flagstaff--opposite the firing, you know. Are you sure +you have no fear?" + +"Not a bit, uncle, and indeed I should like it so much if papa will +allow me to go." + +"Suppose we ride home and ask him." + +The horses had been walking while they talked, and the colonel putting +his horse into a trot as he spoke, Boosey started off at full speed, +cantering as fast as his little legs would carry him to keep pace with +the colonel's tall black horse. + +They reached Dover Street in a very short time, and Mr. Armstrong, +seeing them approach, came out to welcome the colonel. The request for +Mary was soon made, yet she almost feared that the answer would be +unfavourable when her father said,--"Mary had not breakfasted yet, +colonel; and you know I object to my daughter being seen on horseback in +the neighbourhood of my business after nine o'clock." + +"Then let her ride home now to our house and breakfast with us," said +the colonel, quickly. + +To this there appeared no objection, and Mr. Armstrong readily gave his +consent, but Mary had not forgotten her mother's fears. + +"Oh, father," she exclaimed, "do you think mamma will mind my going? you +know how anxious she always is even when I ride quietly before +breakfast." + +Mr. Armstrong was about to say that his wife was not likely to oppose +his wishes, when the colonel exclaimed,--"I will go up and quiet her +fears about Mary's safety." + +He was not absent many minutes, but as he remounted his horse Mary knew +he had succeeded, for on looking up she saw her mother at the window +nodding and smiling at her as she rode off with her uncle. + +Rowland, who remained behind, stood for a few moments watching his young +mistress as she and her uncle rode towards Piccadilly. Then as he turned +to take his horse to the stables he said to himself,--"Master wont get +his way with that young lady, I can see, with all his queer rules about +what she is to do." + +Mary breakfasted with her aunt and uncle in Park Lane, and in less than +an hour after started to be present at the review. She certainly felt a +little nervous at first when she found herself among a group of officers +and ladies on horseback, or in carriages near the flagstaff, especially +when the soldiers were preparing for the first volley. + +But Boosey stood firm, and that gave her courage to sit and calmly watch +the varied performances of the men so easily seen from such an +advantageous point of view. + +Many questions were asked the colonel respecting the little equestrian, +who looked very attractive in her riding attire. The long curls falling +to the waist over the dark blue riding-habit would have been called +golden in these days; and a black beaver hat, with a drooping feather +and a broad brim, did not quite conceal the fair complexion and delicate +features of the really pretty child. When asked, "Who is your little +friend?" the colonel would merely reply, "My niece." No mention was made +of her name, or of the fact of her being a tradesman's daughter, for in +those days of exclusiveness it would have created a feeling of surprise. + +More than fourteen years have passed since Edward Armstrong became the +husband of the young girl who owed her life to his energy and courage. + +A marriage under such circumstances was not unlikely to be accompanied +with real affection on both sides, although a union of those who occupy +different positions socially is seldom truly happy. + +Notwithstanding the love that made Edward Armstrong gentle and indulgent +to his wife, there yet existed certain phases in his character which +jarred upon her love of refinement, and caused her great annoyance. His +eccentricities, his prejudices, and, at times when angry, a certain +coarseness of manner, were actual pain to his sensitive wife. But she +possessed a natural sweetness of temper that could "turn away wrath" by +a "soft answer" or silence. She had quickly discovered that his will was +law, and brooked no contradiction; and her love of peace as well as her +wifely love very soon taught her to give way to her husband in every +point. + +Besides, she had all the comforts and luxuries of a refined home, equal +in many respects to the homes of her sisters, although considered so +inferior in position; a loving and indulgent husband, and four children, +of whom Mary was the eldest and only girl. + +Her relatives had not cast her off because of her marriage; the occasion +of their first meeting, when Edward Armstrong had been the means of +saving their sister's life, rendered such an idea impossible. Added to +this, Maria's husband was unmistakably a man of intellectual tastes as +well as education, notwithstanding his eccentricities and peculiar +notions. Association with his wife, and mixing in the society he +sometimes met with at the houses of her sisters, had already increased +his refinement of manner, although nothing could as yet entirely +overcome the effects of narrow minded prejudices. + +The custom now so prevalent which enables a man of business to take a +house for his wife and children at a distance from London, was at the +time of which we write a novelty. Railways and omnibuses, by which +London is now filled in the morning and deserted in the evening, were in +a state of progression. Yet Mr. Armstrong could not be persuaded to take +a house out of town; it was a new-fangled notion, he would say, and +quite out of place in a man of business. Mrs. Armstrong's family, +therefore, could only get over the fact of her living above a shop with +her children by ascribing it to her husband's eccentricities. + +"My brother-in-law keeps horses, and he could easily ride or drive into +town every day if he chose, but we cannot persuade him to do so," said +Mrs. Herbert to a visitor on one occasion; "but I hope he will give way +at last, especially when his daughter is old enough to be introduced +into society." + +But if all these little matters troubled Mrs. Armstrong's family, her +husband felt himself also aggrieved on one point in which she was the +unfortunate cause. + +He had quickly discovered after his marriage that his loving and +accomplished wife was totally ignorant of domestic duties or of the +management of a household. + +She soon also became conscious of her deficiencies, and tried to acquire +the necessary knowledge by every effort in her power, but in vain; and +her husband, accustomed to the perfect order and regularity of his +mother's house, never appeared satisfied. + +This circumstance produced after a time, as their family increased, new +plans on the part of Mr. Armstrong. He engaged a suitable housekeeper, +to regulate the domestic arrangements of his home, and placed the +education of Mary in the hands of her mother, knowing well that no one +could be found more fit for that office. + +Gladly Mrs. Armstrong gave up the duties she felt so irksome, and +divided her time between the nursery and the schoolroom. In this way, +notwithstanding the fact that her drawing-room and dining-room were on +the floor above her husband's business, and in spite also of various +annoyances which his eccentric doings in the household often caused, the +years passed away in comfort and happiness, bringing the time in which +this chapter commences. + +Mr. Armstrong's next proposition, however, was by no means so +satisfactory to his wife. + +About six months before the meeting of Mary with her uncle Herbert +during her morning ride, Mr. Armstrong made his appearance in the +schoolroom, and finding his wife alone, he said apparently with an +effort,--"Maria, my dear, I want to make some little change in Mary's +educational duties; I suppose you have no objection?" + +"In what way?" she asked, with a dread in her heart of what her +eccentric husband might be about to propose. + +"Why, my dear," he replied, seating himself, "you know your own +deficiencies in domestic knowledge, but I am determined my daughter +shall never fail in that important part of a woman's education; you may +make her as accomplished as you please, I will take care that she is +made domestic." + +Mrs. Armstrong had been trained in those days when to stoop to domestic +duties, or to understand how to make a pie or pudding, was considered a +degradation to an accomplished young lady; and to her ultra refinement +there was something repulsive in the idea of her daughter learning the +duties of a cook or a housemaid. But when her husband expressed himself +in such a firm decided manner, she knew it was useless to offer any +opposition, so she merely said faintly,--"What do you wish Mary to do?" + +"Send for her, my dear," he replied, "there will be no objections on her +part, I am quite sure." + +In a few minutes Mary made her appearance, and listened to her father's +proposition, the subject of which will appear in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +BUCEPHALUS. + + +"Mamma, oh, do come to the window, there is such a dear little pony +standing at the door, and father is talking to the groom." + +Mrs. Armstrong advanced to the drawing-room window at her daughter's +request, and joined with her in admiration of the shiny black coat, and +long mane and tail of Bucephalus, whose purchase had on that morning +been completed. + +Some idea of the truth occurred to both mother and daughter when Rowland +appeared and led the pony away. In a very few minutes Mr. Armstrong +himself entered the room, startling Mary by the question,--"Well, my +daughter, how do like your new pony?" + +"Mine, father?" (one of Mr. Armstrong's peculiar fancies made him object +to be called "papa," considering it another form of "aping the gentry"). +How the blue eyes glittered and the face lighted up with pleasure and +astonishment as Mary spoke. + +"Yes, my dear, it is yours on the conditions I spoke of yesterday," +replied her father, seating himself and drawing his daughter to his +side; "will you be able to fulfil them?" + +"I will try, father," she replied, glancing at her mother. + +"Your mother will not object, I know," he said, noticing the glance; +"but now listen, and I will tell you more clearly what I expect you to +do, and your reward will be riding lessons for three months at the +Riding School, Albany Street, and the attendance of Rowland while you +canter round the Parks, any morning you like, before breakfast--hear me +out, Mary," he continued, interrupting her expressions of +delight--"Rowland will have orders from me to be here at seven in +summer, and eight in winter, and if you are not ready for your ride +within five minutes of the time, he is to take the ponies back to the +stable, and you will lose your ride." + +"Oh, I don't think that will ever happen, dear father," she replied. "I +am so delighted I hardly know how to thank you enough." + +"I don't want thanks, my child, if my gift make you an early riser, +which I am very anxious you should be; and you will not forget that I +wish you to spend two hours every morning in learning domestic duties." + +"Mary has done this already, Edward," Mrs. Armstrong ventured to remark. + +"I know it, my dear," he replied, "but not to the extent I wish. +Although she may never be in a position to require such knowledge, +excepting as the mistress of a house, yet those women make the best +mistresses who know the time, the labour, and the skill required in +every form of domestic work." + +"I think you degrade your daughter by this strange request," said Mrs. +Armstrong, whose opinions of what a lady might do without compromising +her dignity and refinement were thoroughly shocked. + +"Nothing done by a _lady_," replied Mr. Armstrong, with an emphasis on +the word, "will ever degrade her, if it can be done by a _woman_ without +_disgrace_." + +In spite of what were called his singular notions, there was no doubt +perfect truth in this remark. We are reminded by it of George Herbert's +lines:-- + + "Who sweeps a room, as in God's laws, + Makes that and the action fine." + +Mary seemed to have the same impression; for after a pause she +said,--"Father, I am quite willing to do as you wish, only----" + +"Only what, my child?" + +"I was going to say, it would take away the time from my studies, but I +must work all the harder, I suppose, and I don't mind if mamma does +not." + +And so in this, at that period unusual association of domestic duties +with refined studies, and the fashionable accomplishment of riding, Mary +Armstrong passed the next two years of her life. Then occurred another +phase in her father's opinion of what his daughter's education should +be. + +During the two years to which we have referred, partly as an additional +reward for her efforts to please him, he had provided her with masters +for French and music, and partly to relieve her mother, whose health had +lately been rather uncertain. Mary's young brothers were high-spirited +boys, and soon proved themselves too much for their mother's management. + +The two elder were sent to school early, and the youngest, now five +years old, was to accompany them after Midsummer. This was the +opportunity for which Mr. Armstrong waited. He at once put a stop to the +domestic duties, and took his daughter into his counting-house for two +hours daily to act as his clerk; her love of arithmetic he knew would +make this a pleasure to her. + +But now worldly opinion interfered. One or two business men connected +with the Corn Exchange, started with surprise at the appearance of a +young girl writing at the desk when introduced to Mr. Armstrong's +counting-house, and when alone with him spoke plainly on the subject. + +Not all the domestic work, nor it must be confessed, the occasional +coarseness of her father when angry, could counteract the influence of +her mother on Mary's manner and appearance. + +She was growing daily more like her, and the gentle graceful girl was in +every respect a lady, and far superior in manners and appearance to the +daughters of tradesmen in her father's position. Indeed, she knew +nothing of any society but that of her mother's relations. The words +which at last startled Mr. Armstrong were really needed to show him his +error. + +"Who is that young lady writing at the desk in your counting-house, +Armstrong?" + +"My daughter," he replied, proudly. "I wish her to acquire business +habits, and this is the only plan I can adopt for the purpose." + +"Then the sooner you discontinue it the better; nothing can be more +unwise. Do your clerks have access to your counting-house?" + +Mr. Armstrong was not without a certain degree of pride in his wife's +connexions, and he flushed high as he replied--"Mrs. Armstrong's +daughter is not likely to notice one of her father's clerks." + +His friend shrugged his shoulders as he said,--"Well, Armstrong, you +know best; but if I had such a beautiful girl for my daughter, I would +not degrade her by placing her in a position on a level with those whom +I considered her inferiors." + +Half offended as he was, Mr. Armstrong yet took the hint. He returned to +his counting-house and furtively examined the beautiful profile as Mary, +_con amore_, leaned over her task. Her auburn hair hung in massive curls +to her waist, and though braided on her forehead and thrown behind her +ears, the curls drooped over the lower part of her face even to the +paper on which she wrote. + +"She's growing more like her mother than ever," was the father's +thought. "I believe it is that profusion of hair which makes her so +attractive; suppose it were cut off or rolled up in some way, I could +insist----" He paused. "No; I should have mother, and aunts, and uncles +all against me. I've had my way in most things, I suppose I must give up +now and put a stop to this." + +And so ended Mary's days in the counting-house. The time came when also +for this short insight into business matters she could thank her +father's peculiarities. + +Mrs. Armstrong's sisters were, of course, duly informed of all these +eccentric arrangements on the part of her husband, but they knew it was +useless to interfere. They knew also that his influence over his +daughter was too great for them to attempt to counteract it. + +"Fancy, Helen," said Mrs. Armstrong one day to her sister, "Mary has not +only to make beds and dust rooms, but actually spends an hour in the +kitchen every morning learning to make pies and puddings, and even how +to roast and boil meat!" + +Mrs. Herbert shrugged her shoulders as she replied,--"Well, if all this +nonsense about teaching her the duties of servants and such degrading +employment does not eventually destroy all refinement of feeling and +manners in Mary I shall be very much surprised." + +But the two years passed, and the relatives of Mrs. Armstrong were +obliged to own that no such terrible result had happened to their niece. +She appeared at their social gatherings, she rode with her uncle and +cousin Charles on horseback, and drove round the Park with her aunts in +an open carriage, showing plainly both in person, dress, and manners, +that the study of domestic duties had not unfitted her for good society. + +Charles Herbert, the colonel's only child, was not only fond of his +cousin Mary, but also a great admirer of his uncle Armstrong. Although +scarcely old enough to retain a correct remembrance of the time when +this uncle had snatched him from a watery grave, yet his mother had +spoken of it to him so often that the impression made on his mind at +four years of age had never been effaced. He once encountered Mary +coming from the kitchen department with her curls tucked up beneath a +white handkerchief, a large coarse apron before her, and her hands +covered with flour. + +"Why, Mary," exclaimed the youth of nineteen, "what ever will you do? +there is mamma at the door in her carriage wailing to take you for a +drive!" + +"Come to the drawing-room, Charles, and wait for me," she said; "I will +be ready to go with you and aunt in five minutes." + +"Then you must be Cinderella," he replied, as he followed her upstairs +as far as the drawing-room, "and have a fairy to help you!" + +"So I have, and more than one," she replied, laughing, as she continued +her flight upward. + +Mary's fairies were Neatness, Quickness, Order, and Method. Therefore in +very few minutes more than the time she had named she presented herself +in the drawing-room ready for her drive. + +All fear that domestic duties would make Mrs. Armstrong's daughter +coarse or unrefined must have vanished at her appearance. She was simply +attired in a pale violet silk dress and cape, with close-fitting gloves, +lace collar and cuffs, and a broad-brimmed hat partly concealing her +face, but not the profusion of auburn ringlets that fell around her +shoulders. + +"How like you grow to your mother, my dear," said her aunt, as Mary, +with the softness and refinement of that mother's manner, advanced to +welcome her. And as she rose to accompany her niece to the carriage she +said to herself, "Well, perhaps after all Edward is right--a woman is +none the worse for understanding the management of household duties." + +One evening Mary was present at a family dinner-party at her uncle Sir +James Elston's house in Portland Place. Very little had been said to the +old sailor about what Mrs. Armstrong's sisters called the peculiar +manner in which Edward Armstrong was educating his daughter, but that +little had been met by him with a remark that silenced them-- + +"Making his girl domestic, is he? Wise man, wise man; that's all I can +say." + +On this family gathering, Mary, who was now in her sixteenth year, gave +sufficient proof that learning to be domestic had not prevented her from +becoming accomplished. A young French lady was present with whom Mary +conversed with ease in her own tongue. + +"You speak with a pure accent, mademoiselle," said the young lady; "have +you resided in France?" + +"No," was the reply; "but mamma was at school in Paris for years, and +she has spoken French to me from my infancy." + +In the course of the evening Mary was called upon to accompany her aunt +Herbert in a duet for the harp and piano, and in this she succeeded so +well as to gain approbation from every one present. + +Another unexpected success awaited her. She had attempted to copy on +ivory a miniature of her mother painted by Sir George Hayter. It was in +truth only the effort of a learner, and by no means so deserving of +praise as her studies of heads and landscapes; yet when Mr. Armstrong +produced it, framed and reposing in a velvet-lined morocco case, it +obtained for her great commendation. + +"Oh, papa," said Mary, blushing deeply when she saw it in his hand, "my +painting is not worth all that expense." + +"I have had it done to show my approval of your conduct, Mary," said her +father, in a low voice. + +The flush on her face deepened at the words. Mary Armstrong sought for +no greater reward than her father's approving smile. + +"Well, brother Armstrong," said Colonel Herbert an hour afterwards, when +the party were about to separate, "I must congratulate you on the +success of your plans. If you are as much satisfied with Mary's exploits +in the domestic line as we are with her in other respects, you have no +reason to complain of failure." + +And thus armed at all points but _one_ for contact with the world, Mary +Armstrong passed from girlhood to womanhood without a care for the +future. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +FREDDY'S NEW SCHOOL. + + +More than three years have passed since Mary's probation ended so +pleasantly, and they have very much changed her father. + +Perhaps we ought to say that the gentle influence of his wife and close +association with her family, had to a certain extent softened down the +rugged points of his character, and made him more amenable to the usages +of the society in which he moved. The very fact of his choosing for a +wife a woman of education and refinement proved that his tastes were +above his position, for in the days of which we write, the idea of +refinement in the wife of a tradesman would have been treated with +incredulity, if not contempt. + +During this period the death of Mrs. Armstrong's mother, Mrs. St. Clair, +was the only change that occurred in his wife's family. The house at +Richmond was given up, and Mary greatly missed the society of her dear +grandmamma, and the pleasant visits to her house; but she still +constantly associated with her aunts and uncles. + +Among the changes of opinion which had by degrees crushed down Mr. +Armstrong's prejudices and crotchets, were two important ones, not +perhaps in themselves, but in their results. He took a house for his +family at Kilburn, which was then a really rural suburb of London. + +Sometimes he would ride into town to his business, or take the newly +established omnibus which left that locality in time for business hours. + +This arrangement led to the less important change from an early to a +late dinner, and also to the choice of a school for his youngest boy, +Freddy, now in his eighth year. The child's health had always suffered +in London, and as, since their residence in the country, he appeared so +much better, Mrs Armstrong wished him to remain at home and go daily to +a school in the neighbourhood. + +It was not long before a circular found its way from Englefield Grange +School to Lime Grove, as Mr. Armstrong's residence was named, from two +magnificent lime-trees which stood as sentinels on each side the +entrance gate, in summer filling the air with their sweet fragrance. + +Mrs. Armstrong decided to call upon the principal, Dr. Halford, herself, +and with all a mother's anxiety talk to him about her boy. + +Her own health had wonderfully improved during the six months of her +residence at Kilburn. The open country--for houses then were few and far +between--the sweet fresh air, the pleasant walks, gave her, as it were, +new life, and last, but not least, the six o'clock dinner suited her +better than a late supper. Mr. Armstrong would sometimes tell her she +was growing young again, and it may be understood well how her relatives +rejoiced over the change in her husband's opinions which had brought +about such pleasant results. This improved state of health enabled Mrs. +Armstrong to array herself fearlessly in warm winter clothing, and +venture out in the cold frosty air a few weeks after Christmas, to call +upon Dr. Halford. The distance along the country road was very trifling, +and she had more than once noticed the large old-fashioned house which +stood back from the road, surrounded by playgrounds, orchards, and a +farmyard, all visible to the passer-by. + +The vacation was nearly at an end, and the house, with its large +dormitories and schoolrooms, in perfect readiness for the return of Dr. +Halford's pupils. Its clean and well-furnished appearance satisfied the +rather fastidious lady, although she had no intention of sending her boy +as a boarder. She had been conducted to a pleasant drawing-room +overlooking a beautiful prospect at the back of the house, and instead +of taking the chair placed for her she advanced to the window to admire +the view. While thus standing, she almost started as the door opened and +the doctor entered. + +A mildly speaking man, above the middle height, with silvery hair and +keen intellectual eyes, advanced to greet the visitor, who quickly +discerned that the schoolmaster, of whose erudition she had heard so +much, was truly a gentleman of the old school. The cavalier deference in +his manner to women, the old-fashioned courtesy with which he requested +Mrs. Armstrong to be seated, and addressed her as "Madam," were +essentially pleasing to that lady. They were soon quite at home on the +subject of education, and Dr. Halford added no little to the +prepossession he had created by listening to her anxieties respecting +Freddy's health with courteous interest. + +"You have children of your own, Dr. Halford?" said Mrs. Armstrong, in a +tone of inquiry. + +"I have two living, madam; a son and a daughter. My son is being +educated for the Church, but at present he assists me in my school." + +"And your daughter in the domestic arrangements, I presume," said the +lady, with a kind of wish to know whether other men were as anxious over +that point as her husband. + +"She was accustomed to do so before her marriage," he replied, "but she +has resided for several years with her husband in Australia. My son is +much younger than his sister. She is the eldest of seven, and he the +youngest." + +Mrs. Armstrong mentally reflected on the sorrowful loss of five +children, which must have caused such a terrible gap between the only +surviving son and daughter, for there had been a sadness in his tone +when he last spoke. Her own sympathies were too strong, and the memory +of the loss of two children since Freddy, too painful still to allow her +to continue the subject, so she said-- + +"When do you commence school again, Dr. Halford?" + +"On Monday, madam," was the reply. "Would you like to see the +schoolrooms and dining-rooms?" he added, "as your little boy is to dine +with us." + +Mrs. Armstrong gladly assented, and on her way to these apartments met +Mrs. Halford, with whom she was equally pleased to make acquaintance. +After a stay of nearly an hour, she at last took her leave of the doctor +and his wife, saying-- + +"I shall send my little boy on Monday week, Dr. Halford, not before, and +I feel sure he will make progress under your care, and be quite happy." + +The terms for so young a pupil were not of such great importance as to +justify Dr. Halford's pleasure at this addition to his numbers, but he +had been as quick to detect a gentlewoman in Mrs. Armstrong as she had +been respecting himself. Besides, he had heard rumours already of the +wealth and good connexions of the family at Lime Grove, and the latter +fact was more especially agreeable to him. + +A clergyman who is a schoolmaster and his wife are both often well born +and well connected though poor, and naturally they prefer to teach boys +who learn refinement and good breeding at home, to those who are perhaps +better paid for by parents who think everything, even intellect and good +manners, can be obtained for money. + +Mrs. Armstrong returned home at a quick pace; the pleasure she felt at +being able to place her delicate Freddy with such nice people, and the +fresh bracing air of the cold morning, invigorated her so greatly that +Mary, who met her in the hall, exclaimed-- + +"Why, mamma, you look quite young and blooming, and as happy as if you +had heard pleasant news!" + +"Well, dear, I think I have, for Dr. Halford is one of the nicest +schoolmasters I ever met with, rather of the old school in manners, but +not in the least pedantic, and I like Mrs. Halford exceedingly, there is +such a kind, motherly way about her, and they are both really well +bred." + +"So I suppose you intend Freddy to go there to school, mamma?" said +Mary. + +"Yes, indeed I do, my dear; and I am so pleased with the house and the +arrangements, that if the Grange were not too near home, I should like +to send Arthur and Edward as boarders. But I begin to feel rather tired, +darling," she added, throwing herself into an easy-chair, "although the +fresh bracing air seems to have given me new life." + +"Ah, yes, so it may," cried Mary, "but, mamma, I can see you are tired; +all the bright colour on your checks is beginning to fade already, so +you must sit quite still in that chair till luncheon time; it will soon +be ready, and I will take off your things and carry them upstairs while +you rest." + +The fairies of old are still Mary's attendants; gently and quickly she +removed her mother's bonnet and wraps, and running upstairs with them, +returned in a very few minutes with her head-dress, which she arranged +tastefully on the pale brown hair, still worn in side curls as in the +days of her youth. + +Mrs. Armstrong has not yet reached the age of forty, and the delicate +health of the last few years has only rendered her fair complexion more +delicate and her physical powers weaker, without adding age to her +appearance or a single grey hair to the shining curls which hang on each +side of her face. + +As Mary Armstrong stands by her mother, smoothing the soft ringlets, it +is plainly to be seen that the pretty child of twelve has developed into +a very beautiful woman. At the age of eighteen she resembles her mother +only in complexion, eyes, and hair. Her features, though as regular, are +not so delicately chiselled, they are larger and more marked; and in +this, as in an expression of calm decision, the resemblance to her +father is very striking. It is when she smiles, and her blue eyes light +up with pleasure and interest, that strangers often exclaim, "How like +you are to your mother, Miss Armstrong!" Mary has grown very little +since the time when her cousin named her "Cinderella," but she looks +taller, partly on account of her figure having fully developed into +rounded proportions, but principally because the curls have disappeared. +They have been tortured into plaits and massive coils at the back of her +head, but true to Nature they often rebel, and escape here and there in +the form of ringlets--often unnoticed by their owner, but when pointed +out to her they are unceremoniously pushed back. + +Mary is still influenced by the words of her father; he once said to +her, "Mary, can you not arrange your hair as other girls do? those long +curls are too childish at your age." + +From this moment, to her mother's great regret, she, as it was then +called, "turned up her hair" in the way we have described. + +Her aunts approved, because this arrangement was less singular and more +fashionable, which latter fact would have greatly surprised Mr. +Armstrong. At all events, they differed from him in one respect still. +When the rebellious hair would escape from the plaits in stray ringlets +while in the company of her aunts, Mary had at first attempted to reduce +them to submission, but she was quickly interrupted. "Leave your hair +alone, Mary," her aunt Herbert exclaimed; "why, those stray ringlets are +most effective, and quite an improvement to the appearance of your head. +Surely your father will not object to what is natural; if you curled it +in paper every night to produce an effect, then he might complain or +disapprove." + +Mary laughed, but when visiting at her aunt's she allowed Nature to act +as she pleased. Yet at home there seemed no happier task to the young +girl than to give way to every wish of her father, whether openly +expressed or slightly hinted at, no matter to what it referred. It was a +kind of hero-worship in the girl's heart. Her father was her hero, and +the fact that she did not love him with the same clinging fondness as +she loved her mother was quite unknown to herself. + +Mary Armstrong certainly obeyed the command, "Honour thy father and thy +mother;" yet in the family at Lime Grove there was still one thing +wanting, "the perfect love that casteth out fear." + +The principles of honour, rectitude, truthfulness, generosity, and other +moral virtues were cultivated in Mary's home, but the "charity, or +love," without which, St. Paul tells us, all our doings are as "sounding +brass and tinkling cymbals," was wanting. Love to God and love to man, +on which "hang all the law and the commandments," were known only in +theory. + +Mary Armstrong had yet to learn that to her Father in heaven she must +turn in trouble and sorrow, and in future days she might have said +almost in the words of Wolsey, "Had I but served my Father in heaven as +diligently as I studied to please my father on earth, He would not have +forsaken me now in my hour of sorrow." And yet for these days of trial +Mary at last could feel thankful. Christianity in her home had been an +acknowledged fact. Its outward duties, its moral principles, were all +inculcated; but when our daily life passes smoothly, untroubled, by +sorrow or poverty, which is, perhaps, the hardest trial of all to bear, +especially when accompanied by sickness and pain, we are apt to forget +the sweet principle of love to God and love to man which, St. Paul tells +us, "is the fulfilling of the law;" and Mary Armstrong's life hitherto +had known no trials more painful than those caused by her father's +eccentricities. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +ENGLEFIELD GRANGE. + + +More than thirty-five years before the period of which we write, James +Halford, who had been travelling tutor to the son of a nobleman, +commenced a school at Bayswater, then a pretty rural village. His +father, a country surgeon in good practice, had given his only son a +superior education, but the young man had no liking for his father's +profession. To send James to the university Mr. Halford felt would be +beyond his means, and the young man's wish to enter the Church was +therefore set aside, causing him great disappointment. Ultimately he was +engaged as tutor to the youth already spoken of, and while with him in +that capacity became acquainted with the governess of his sisters, Clara +Marston, whom he afterwards married. At the death of his father a small +but unexpected amount of money fell into his hands. He almost +immediately relinquished his engagement with the son of Lord Rivers, and +took a house at Bayswater. Trifling as the sum was, it still formed a +sufficient capital upon which to commence a school, and so well had he +performed his duty with his pupil that the high recommendation of the +young man's relatives soon gained him several pupils. Six months after +his father's death Clara Marston became his wife. For ten years they +continued to carry on their school most successfully, till bricks and +mortar had completely destroyed the countrified character of the place, +and obliged them at last to seek a home elsewhere. + +Armies of builders were already invading the beautiful fields and +meadows in the neighbourhood; long rows of small semi-detached cottages, +at rentals varying from 20_l._ to 50_l._ a year, sprung up as if by +magic. Worse still, when the long leases of many old red brick mansions +expired they were quickly demolished, and not only on their sites, but +in the midst of the beautiful gardens and pleasure-grounds belonging to +them arose piles of inferior buildings, bringing to their owners a quick +return for the capital expended. The same spoliation of Nature is still +going on around us, and in these days of utilitarianism how can it be +avoided? + +The loveliest of Nature's landscapes--the bright flowers of a well-kept +garden--the glorious old trees, from the tops of which is heard the +musical cawing of rooks--the red brick mansion with its many windows +glittering in the setting sun, and its colour contrasting picturesquely +with the green foliage--the stream of limpid water with the graceful +swans gliding on its shadowed surface,--all this is very lovely to see, +and belongs to the beautiful, but "will it pay?" is the question asked +now; and the practical man of business knows that _money_ not +"_knowledge_ is power," in these days of mammon-worship. So the +beautiful is sacrificed without regret if it can be replaced by +something that "pays better." + +This brick-building mania, however, hastened Mr. Halford's removal from +a house already too small for his increased number of pupils and rising +family. His gentle firmness with the former, and his wife's clever +domestic management, had made them very successful, and when they +removed to their present commodious residence all their pupils followed +them, and others were quickly added to their number. + +Many sorrows, however, had overtaken them during the twenty-five years +at Englefield Grange. Of their seven children two only survived, the +eldest and the youngest. + +Fanny Halford at the age of twenty had married, and accompanied her +husband to Melbourne about fourteen years before the time of which we +write. The youngest, Henry, a studious reading boy, was therefore the +only hope of his parents. Dr. Halford, remembering his own +disappointment about entering the Church, watched his boy anxiously, and +as he grew from childhood to youth discovered with satisfaction that his +wish to become a clergyman was as strong as his own had been. + +Indeed, the youth's tastes all tended to such a result. At eight years +old he commenced Greek; Caesar, Horace, and Virgil were the companions of +his play-hours, history an amusement, and poetry a delight. When these +talents developed themselves Mr. Halford could not control his regret at +a lost opportunity. Henry had not reached his seventh year when a friend +obtained for him a presentation to Christ's Hospital; but the mother, +who had followed so many children to the grave, could not spare her +youngest boy. Mr. Halford hesitated to press it, and so the opportunity +was lost. Now, however, she was ready to make any possible sacrifice to +help in carrying out his own and his father's wishes. + +When Henry Halford reached the age of sixteen it became necessary to +make some decision as to his future. He had his faults, as all young +people have, and they had been to a certain extent fostered by the +indulgence of his loving mother and sister. Fanny was twelve years older +than her brother, and knowing how he hated the restrictions of order and +neatness, she would, during his early boyhood, quietly set to rights +untidy rooms, carefully replace scattered books, and forgive his seeming +indifference to her kind attention. Even a certain irritation of temper +was passed over by mother and sister, for if he was hasty, was he not +quick to forgive? and who so penitent as Henry Halford after uttering an +angry or unjust word? Besides, they reasoned, studious and imaginative +people were often very irritable. After his sister's marriage, he had +another to spoil him in her place, of whom we shall hear more by-and-by. +And so the time passed on till his father felt it necessary to obtain +for his son suitable preparation for the university. + +One evening he broached the subject to his wife. "My dear," he said, +"there is no one to whom I could send Henry with so much confidence as +to Dr. Mason; he is a man of high standing, and his pupils scarcely ever +fail in passing for the professions in which he prepares them. He took a +first class at Oxford, and has had many years' experience." + +"Are not his terms a hundred a year?" asked Mrs. Halford. + +"Yes," was the reply, "but I have thought the matter over seriously; +Henry must be with Dr. Mason two years at least, and we can spare the +200_l._, Clara dear, don't you think so?" + +"Indeed, I do," she replied; "I would make any sacrifice rather than +interfere with the dear boy's prospects." + +"There will be no sacrifice," said her husband, "even if it should cost +the whole of the thousand pounds I have saved for him, to send him to +the university. Fanny has had her share, and if Henry is willing for his +portion to be spent on preparation for the Church we cannot object to +his wishes." + +"And is he willing?" asked the mother, who was ready to give up double +the sum named by her husband if by so doing she could gratify her son. + +"More than willing, he is most anxious. I never saw the boy look so +eager and delighted as when he found I could spare the money I had set +aside for him without inconvenience to myself. I explained to him the +whole cost--200_l._ for two years with Dr. Mason,--and, at the lowest +estimate, 600_l._ while at Oxford. Altogether, with coaching, private +tutor, ordination fees, and other expenses, a thousand pounds will just +about cover it." + +"You have set my mind at ease, James, about the boy," said Mrs. Halford. +"In six or seven years he will be ordained, and by that time, if our +school continues to be successful, we may still have something to leave +to our children after all." + +"And you forget, my dear, that if I should be laid up or unable to work, +Henry as a clergyman will be much more suitable to carry on the school +than myself, although I have a foreign degree. And after my death there +will be an income for him to fall back upon if he does not speedily +obtain a living." + +"Don't anticipate evil," said the hopefully proud mother. "God grant we +may both live to see our son a useful minister in the Church before we +die, whether as curate or rector." + +And in this happy prospect Henry Halford, at the age of seventeen, had +been placed with Dr. Mason to prepare for matriculation at Oxford. + +The breakfast parlour at the Grange was situated at the back of the +house, looking over the prospect so admired by Mrs. Armstrong. The sun +shining upon the front of the house during the summer afternoon made +this apartment cool and pleasant for tea, which was now prepared on a +table near the window. + +Close to it sat a lady past middle age, yet most attractive in +appearance. On her white silky hair rested a lace cap tastefully +trimmed; beneath the white hair and strongly contrasted with it were +dark eyes, eyebrows, and lashes, still reminding those who knew her in +youth of the bright and lively Clara Marston. The soft, patient face has +now lost its vivacity, but it is not the less pleasing on that account. +Her hand held a stocking, but it rested on her lap, her thoughts were +evidently far away. + +The door opened and Dr. Halford entered, followed by his niece, who +exclaimed-- + +"Aunt, I declare you have been mending stockings, but I mean to hide +that stocking-basket out of your sight; and now you are to make yourself +comfortable in your easy-chair while I pour out the tea." + +Mrs. Halford smiled, but she submitted quietly to her niece's +injunctions, gave up the stocking which she took from her passive hand, +and then drew her aunt's chair nearer to the table. + +Happy as they appeared, Mrs. Halford could scarcely, even after the +lapse of ten years, repress a sigh as she saw her niece take her absent +daughter's place. + +Perhaps she felt thankful at not being able to trace a likeness in her +brother's daughter to her own Fanny, who in features, eyes, and hair so +much resembled herself. But in truth Kate Marston was a great comfort to +her aunt and uncle. Plain and homely, with a fair skin and rosy cheeks +that betokened her north-country origin, she was yet active, methodical, +and industrious--a daughter in loving attention to her aunt and uncle, +and at all times good-tempered and cheerful. + +"Uncle," she said presently, "you need not hide your letter, I saw the +postman give you one this afternoon." + +Mrs. Halford looked up quickly. "Is it from Dr. Mason?" she asked. + +"Well, yes, it is," he replied. "I wanted to wait till we had finished +tea, but Katey is impatient, so I suppose I must read it at once." + +"Yes, uncle, of course you must; I saw the postmark when you took it in, +so no wonder I am impatient." + +We also need not wonder, for the orphan daughter of Mrs. Halford's only +brother had no hopes or interests beyond those of Englefield Grange; and +although she had long passed the ominous age of thirty she had no +thought of marriage. + +Dr. Halford took the letter from his pocket, and not even the mother's +eyes could be brighter with interest as she listened while her husband +read than those of Kate Marston. And this is what Dr. Mason wrote +respecting the dearly loved son and cousin:-- + + "MY DEAR SIR,--When you requested me to send you my opinion + respecting the abilities and character of your son Henry at the + end of one month, I feared it would be too soon to enable me to + form a correct judgment. + + "I might, however, have done so safely, for as I found him + during the first month he still continues; to even a + superficial observer his character and tendencies are plainly + distinguishable. I never met with a youth less reticent or more + transparent,--too much so indeed for contact with the world; he + is fearless of consequences, and careless of concealment. + + "I have been led to form this opinion from mere trifling + matters which have come under my notice. A want of order and + neatness, and a reckless disregard to rules, have made him + break them openly, and as if unconscious that by so doing he + was deserving of blame. I am inclined to think that Master + Henry's mamma and cousin are answerable for all this, for the + boy acts as if he had been accustomed to be waited upon hand + and foot. + + "He has a high proud spirit which will brook no insult; yet, + quick as he is to resent, he is equally quick to forgive, and + when he has given offence by a hasty or unjust remark he is + ready to acknowledge it and to apologise in a moment. He is + warm-hearted and generous to a fault, and a great favourite + with some of my best pupils, all older than himself. + + "Perhaps one great cause for this may arise from their + admiration of his talents. My dear friend, you did not prepare + me for such a genius as your boy. You have, no doubt, + instructed him well, but there is in him a natural love for the + acquirement of knowledge for its own sake, and indeed talents, + which if cultivated will one day make of him a great man. + + "Do not hesitate to send him to the university; and if he still + wishes to become a clergyman, encourage him by all means to + work for that end. + + "The power over his own language which he displays in his + translations of the Greek and Latin poets is wonderful in a + youth of his age. He never seems at a loss for a word to + express the true meaning of the original, and his English + themes are superior in many respects to those of my oldest + pupils. + + "The style wants training and pruning, like a plant of + luxurious growth, till it reaches perfection and beauty. Time + and experience will do this, and I have no fear for the result. + + "In mathematical studies, however, he is rather deficient, but + for these he appears to have no predilection. I shall not allow + him to give them up entirely, although I have no hopes of + making him a mathematician. My epistle is extending itself + beyond all reasonable limits, but I was most anxious to give + you my candid opinion of your son's character and abilities, + and I trust I have complied with your request in a satisfactory + manner. + + "With kind regards to Mrs. Halford and your niece, believe me + to be + + "Most faithfully yours, + + "M. MASON." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LOOKING BACK. + + +A few miles from Meadow Farm, the birthplace of Edward Armstrong, stood +a nobleman's mansion, which in spite of modern alterations and +adornments, gave numerous proofs of its antiquity. The building formed +three sides of a square, the fourth enclosed by iron railings and a +curiously carved gate, gilded escutcheons and coats of arms forming its +chief ornaments. The house stood on the brow of a hill, looking across +the town of Basingstoke, which lay beneath it at a distance of a few +miles. + +A streamlet, issuing in little rills from springs on the summit of the +ascent, fell in tiny cascades through woody glens and artificial +grottoes till it approached the house. Here it formed a miniature lake +on which the majestic swans sailed in stately pride. Continuing its +course, it passed under a rustic bridge, a limpid stream, in which the +speckled trout sported, fearless of the angler's line, beneath the +shadow of lofty elms or gracefully bending willows. + +Within, the house was equally attractive. A large hall occupied the +centre of the building, its lofty dimensions reaching to the roof, and +lighted by tall narrow windows which faced the entrance gates. From this +hall, doors and a noble staircase led to other apartments, the +dining-room and drawing-room occupying a similar space at the back. In +the former room, a few days after the marriage of Arthur Franklyn to +Fanny Halford, a family party were assembled at breakfast. From a deep +oriel window, with its lattice and diamond panes open to the sweet +perfumed air of spring, could be seen, not only gardens, shrubberies, +and a richly wooded park, but a distant prospect of hill and valley, +field and meadow, equalled, no doubt, but not often surpassed in our +fertile island. + +The furniture of the room, though suited to its antique architecture, +wore an appearance of brightness which the light though simple morning +attire of some of its occupants greatly increased. + +The party consisted of three ladies, a gentleman in the prime of life, +and a youth of sixteen. The eldest of the ladies, though pale and +delicate, appeared almost too youthful to be the mother of the two girls +of seventeen and nineteen who sat at the table by her side. + +The younger of them had the _Times_ newspaper in her hand, and appeared +to be deeply engaged in examining its first column. The elder presided +at the breakfast-table. + +"Well, Dora," said her father, "what have you found in the paper +interesting enough to make you oblivious to the fact that your breakfast +is getting cold?" + +"Why, papa," she replied, laughing, "I am not particularly interested, +but puzzled with the advertisement of a wedding. The house of the +bride's father has the same name as ours,--at least, not exactly; but +listen, papa. + +"'On the 6th instant, at the parish church, Kilburn, Arthur Leigh +Franklyn, Esq., solicitor, of Clement's Inn, London, and Brook House, +Clapton, to Frances Clara, only daughter of Dr. Halford, Englefield +Grange, Kilburn.'" + +"Halford's daughter married!" exclaimed the earl, for such he was; +"truly indeed time flies: it seems but the other day that he and I were +travelling together on the Continent, and studying men and manners." + +"Oh, papa, I remember now. Dr. Halford was your tutor. I thought I had +heard the name; but how came his house to be called Englefield Grange?" + +"A liberty rather, I should say," remarked the young heir to the title +and estate, Lord Robert, Viscount Woodville. + +"My _friend_ James Halford," said Earl Rivers, with a stress upon the +word, "intended it as a compliment, Robert, yet he waited for my +father's permission before he named his house Englefield Grange. My +conscience smites me for having neglected him so long. I must pay them a +visit this season while we are in London." + +"I have heard your mother speak of Dr. Halford," said Lady Rivers; "did +he not marry your sister's governess?" + +"Yes, Clara Marston. Why, it must be two or three and twenty years ago. +They lived at Bayswater for some time after their marriage, but I have +seen nothing of them since they removed to Kilburn." + +"And this daughter, papa," said Lady Dora, "did you ever see her?" + +"Well, my dear, I have some recollection of a little dark-eyed girl +named Fanny, to whom I was introduced in one of my visits at Bayswater. +She was then, I should say, about eight years old, and the Halfords have +resided nearly eleven years at Kilburn." + +"If the little girl was named Fanny, papa, she must be the same who has +just married, for the name in the paper is Frances. Oh yes," added Lady +Dora, after another glance at the _Times_, "and it says only daughter, +so this must be the bride." + +"You appear greatly interested in this young married lady, my dear," +said her father. + +Lady Dora blushed. Her interest was only that of girls of seventeen in +all ranks of society about brides in general, and one in particular if +her age, parentage, and antecedents are known. "I think I am interested +now," replied the young lady, "because you knew the bride when she was a +little girl, and her father was your tutor; but the name of Englefield +first attracted me in the newspaper. Papa," she continued after a slight +pause, during which no one spoke, "Englefield is a strange title for any +house, especially such a beautiful estate as this. Do you know how it +originated?" + +"From nothing very mysterious or romantic," said her father, +laughing,--"at least, none that I ever heard of. According to the +etymology of the word, however, we ought to be descended from the +gipsies, for Engle is evidently derived from the old Saxon word Ingle, +which signifies a hearth or chimney corner. Ingle or Engle in a field, +as the name of this estate implies, must denote a cosy, homelike +fireplace, in a meadow or on a common, such as only gipsies can invent. +But you must decide upon this matter yourself, Dora," continued the +earl, as he rose and looked at his watch; "I have no time for farther +discussion upon the origin of a name which belonged to this estate more +than four hundred years ago." + +"How very absurd you are, Dora!" said her elder sister, when the earl +had left the room, "just as if it mattered to us what originated the +name of an estate which has descended to papa through so many +generations. And why you should be interested about the marriage of a +schoolmaster's daughter I cannot imagine." + +"A schoolmaster's daughter!" repeated Lady Dora, "I did not know Dr. +Halford kept a school." + +"He does, my dear," said Lady Rivers, gently, "but Dr. Halford and his +wife are truly well-bred people, and their profession has never lessened +the respect and kind interest with which both your father and +grandfather have always treated them." + +Lady Mary Woodville shrugged her shoulders; she had been a frequent +visitor at her grandmother's, the Dowager Lady Rivers, and this lady's +influence and opinions had fostered in the heart of Lady Mary her +natural pride of birth, and a foolish contempt for those who had to work +for their living. + +"You have not much to boast of, Mary," said her brother, laughing, as he +rose from his seat and approached the window, "if, as papa suggests, we +are descended from the gipsies." + +"What nonsense you talk, Robert!" replied his sister. + +"Well, perhaps I ought to have addressed you, Dora, instead of Mary, for +with your brown face and your flashing black eyes you are an out-and-out +little gipsy;" but as the youth spoke, his glance of affection too +plainly proved that the "little gipsy" was a favourite sister. + +"I am like papa, Robert," she replied, good-naturedly. + +"Of course you are, my dear," said Lady Rivers, "and he has nothing of +the gipsy about him; but do not waste time in talking nonsense.--Robert, +I thought you asked Dora to ride with you this morning, and the sooner +you order the horses the better, for this bright April weather may not +continue all day." + +Lord Robert hastened to follow his mother's advice, while Lady Dora +gladly escaped from the room to prepare for her ride. + +This little peep into the domestic habits and manners of the family at +Englefield will give our readers some idea of the pleasant home in which +James Halford met his future wife, Clara Marston, in the years gone by. + +The present Earl Rivers, who had been Dr. Halford's pupil for three +years from the age of twenty-one, had reached his forty-fifth year at +the time of which we write. Well might Lady Rivers assert that there was +nothing of the gipsy in his appearance, in spite of the dark eyes and +hair in which, as well as in features, his youngest daughter so strongly +resembled him. Lord Rivers' tall, commanding figure, noble bearing, and +marked features belonged to the class which an Englishman designates +aristocratic. Yet he had no proud assumption of superiority on this +account. Although polished and refined, and a true English gentleman of +the olden times, his manners were simple and unobtrusive; and now, as he +rides his horse slowly through the park and along the road to the +station, he recalls with pain the fact that he has neglected his friend +Dr. Halford long enough for his little daughter Fanny, whose marriage is +in the _Times_, to grow to womanhood and become a bride. + +"I will pay them a visit next week," was his decision at length, as he +put his horse into a canter. + +April had fulfilled its proverbial destiny. It had passed away in +"showers" and sunshine, leaving behind as its trophies the "May flowers" +which were to gladden the earth with their beauty and fragrance in this +the first summer month of the year. + +One morning, while Kate Marston was busy in one of the rooms overlooking +the road, she saw a gentleman on horseback stop at the gate and alight. +She heard the peal of the gate bell, and then the question to the +man-servant who answered it-- + +"Is Dr. Halford at home?" + +The next moment the tall figure of a stranger to Kate approached the +house, and she could hear the footsteps ascending the stairs to the +drawing-room. + +"Some gentleman about pupils," said Kate to herself, as she returned to +her occupation. Yet she could not get rid of the idea that the visitor +was not exactly of the same stamp as those who generally presented +themselves at Englefield Grange. + +Meanwhile Dr. Halford's man-servant had placed a card in his master's +hand which made him rise hastily from his desk, leave the schoolroom to +the care of the assistants, and hasten upstairs to welcome his visitor. + +As the two gentlemen shook hands, so many recollections of the past +thronged to their memories that neither for a moment could utter a word. +Lord Rivers recovered himself first. + +"Doctor," he said, the old familiar title coming naturally to his lips, +"I am positively ashamed to meet you again after so many years of +neglect, but here I am at last, to plead for myself, and ask you and +your wife to forgive me." + +"Lord Rivers," replied Dr. Halford, "there is nothing to forgive. I know +too well what the demands upon the time of a man in your position must +be, and my old pupil will always be welcome at Englefield Grange;" and +as the gentleman spoke he placed a chair for his visitor and begged him +to be seated. + +"And this is the house you have named after Englefield," said the earl. +"Well, it is a charming spot; and what a splendid prospect from that +window!" he added, rising and approaching to obtain a more extended +view. "I feel myself honoured by your choice of a name for such a +residence." + +"It can scarcely be called an honour," said the doctor, "but this house +is a great improvement upon the one at Bayswater; do you remember it, +Lord Rivers?" + +"Indeed I do, to my regret. My last visit there must be nearly ten years +ago, and that reminds me--I will make my confession at once--I saw in +the _Times_ of last week a notice of the marriage of your only daughter. +I suppose the little Fanny I met at my last visit. The name of +Englefield Grange attracted my youngest daughter's notice, and when she +pointed it out to me I felt inclined to say, like the chief butler in +Pharaoh's court, 'I do remember my faults this day.'" + +"My dear Lord Rivers," began Dr. Halford, but the visitor stopped him. + +"I will not say another word on the subject, doctor. And now tell me all +about your daughter; whom she has married, and how many sons you have. +And one question I should have asked first--how is Mrs. Halford? I must +not go away without seeing her." + +Dr. Halford was at this time fourteen years younger than on the day when +Mrs. Armstrong called upon him to arrange about her little boy; a man +still in the prime of life, scarcely ten years older than his late +pupil, yet the parting with his only daughter had sprinkled the first +grey streaks in his dark hair, and already aged him in appearance. Lord +Rivers had brought to his memory the occasion to which his lordship had +referred. On that last visit at Bayswater, Fanny, the eldest, had not +been the _only_ girl: his family consisted then of five children; four +of these he had lost during a few succeeding years, and of the two boys +born since, his son Henry alone survived. + +The bereaved father felt that while the loss of his daughter Fanny was +such a recent event he must nerve himself before he could call up old +memories to enlighten his kind visitor. + +Lord Rivers, he knew, was actuated by the kindest interest in +questioning him on the past, and the earl's present ideas about Fanny's +marriage were formed on the supposition that it was a matter for +congratulation, and a time of joyful hopes. All this was evident to Dr. +Halford, and he gladly seized upon the opportunity offered by the +mention of Mrs. Halford's name to say-- + +"Lord Rivers, you will stay and lunch with us in our plain simple way; +you must not refuse, indeed you must not, for the sake of olden times," +he added quickly, as he noticed a look of hesitation in his friend's +face. + +"I do not mean to refuse," said his lordship, "but I was thinking about +the horses and my groom; if he could be told to take them to the inn for +an hour or so, and get provender for them and himself, I will gladly +remain with you to lunch." + +Glad of an excuse to leave the room and tell Mrs. Halford of the +arrival, Dr. Halford, with a hasty apology and a promise to send the +order of Lord Rivers to the groom, left the gentleman to himself. + +But Mrs. Halford, the Clara Marston of olden times, was more calm and +self-possessed in cases of emergency than her erudite husband. She had +heard from Kate of the arrival of a gentleman on horseback, and from +Thomas the name on the card. + +Giving orders at once for lunch to be prepared in the private +dining-room, she made some trifling addition to her dress, and waited +for a summons from her husband. + +As he left the drawing-room she met him on the stairs. + +"Lord Rivers is here, Clara," was his flurried remark. + +"I know it, my dear; everything is ready. Whither are you going?" + +"To send Thomas out to the groom about the horses. You go up to the +visitor; he is going to lunch with us." + +"Do not be long," she said, as she continued her way upstairs and +entered the room. + +Lord Rivers started forward with pleasure to receive her, and in a very +few minutes they were talking eagerly of old times at Englefield, when +the earl, then Lord Woodville, a youth in his teens, had been sometimes +a troublesome intruder on the school hours or music and drawing lessons +of his two young sisters, Miss Marston's pupils. + +Presently Dr. Halford joined them; he was more able to touch upon family +sorrows with his wife for an ally, and a great amount of the sad part of +the details was got over before the summons to lunch. + +In one point, however, Lord Rivers did some real good. + +Dr. Halford was expressing a kind of mournful regret that his daughter's +marriage should take her so far away from home, when Lord Rivers +interrupted him. + +"My dear doctor, you are not keeping pace with the times. In the present +day a voyage to Australia is not more distant as regards time than +America or even the Mediterranean in years gone by. And the wonderful +facility of communication by post unites friends personally separated by +thousands of miles as closely in these days of rapid travelling as those +who a hundred years ago merely occupied different parts of our own +little island." + +"Very true," replied Dr. Halford, "yet, still----" and he paused. + +"Not satisfied yet?" exclaimed Lord Rivers, cheeringly, as they +descended to the dining-room. "Are you more hopeful about your daughter, +Mrs. Halford?" + +"I am getting more reconciled to her loss," was the reply, "and perhaps +in time the interchange of letters and news of Fanny's happiness will +complete the cure." + +During luncheon the conversation became more cheerful, and Lord Rivers +was about to express his regret that he must leave such pleasant +society, when the door opened and a little blue-eyed boy of about eight +years old entered the room. + +"Ah," exclaimed the visitor, "this is your youngest child, doctor, I +suppose, of whom you were speaking just now.--Come here, my little man, +and shake hands with papa's friend." + +The boy advanced fearlessly and placed his little hand in that of his +father's old pupil, while he looked in the face of Lord Rivers with +bright, intelligent eyes, and that peculiar smile which even in +childhood added such a charm to the face of Henry Halford. + +"My only boy, Henry, and my only child now, I may say," was the remark +of the father, in a rather sad tone. + +"I see nothing in that fact calculated to make you speak sadly, doctor," +said the nobleman, pushing back the brown curls from the child's broad +white forehead. "There is room for any amount of knowledge here, I +should say. Are you fond of your books, my boy?" + +"I like reading history," replied Henry, simply--"all about those +wonderful Greeks and Romans, and the great Northmen that conquered so +many countries," and then the child paused suddenly, as if ashamed of +his enthusiasm. + +Lord Rivers, with a glance at the radiant face of the proud mother, drew +the boy nearer to him, and said-- + +"Go on, Henry, tell me what books you like best; have you begun to learn +Latin yet?" + +"Oh yes, sir," said Henry, "I've been all through my Latin grammar and +the Delectus, and now I'm learning Greek." + +"So you mean to be a learned man like your father, eh, Master Henry?" + +"I don't know, sir; but I should like to be a learned man very much." + +"And I daresay you will, if you study very hard." + +Lord Rivers glanced at his old tutor as he spoke, and said, "What do you +mean to make of this boy, doctor?" + +"Go into the schoolroom, Henry," said his father, "and ask Mr. Howard to +assemble the classes for afternoon school." + +Henry turned to obey. Lord Rivers detained him a moment. + +"May I?" he said, holding a sovereign in his hand, which could only be +seen by Dr. Halford. "Just a trifle to purchase any books he may choose, +and consider them my present." + +There was a silent acquiescence to this appeal, which Lord Rivers +quickly understood. + +Turning to the boy he placed the sovereign in his hand, saying, +"Good-by, Henry; there is something to buy you any books you wish for, +and you must call them my present." + +The child for a moment looked bewildered, then he turned to his father +with inquiring eyes. + +"Thank Lord Rivers for his kind present, Henry," said his father, "and +when you have delivered my message to Mr. Howard you can return here." + +"Thank you, Lord Rivers," said the child; and then with an earnest look +in the nobleman's face he asked, "Was papa your tutor once?" + +"Yes, my boy," said the earl; and as he stooped to kiss the bright, +intelligent face, he added, "And now go and deliver papa's message." + +With a quick movement the boy, turning to his father, placed the +sovereign in his hand, and hastily left the room. + +"What a splendid boy!" was the earl's remark as the door closed on the +child. "What do you intend to make of him? he has genius enough for any +position." + +"I hope to send him to the university," replied Dr. Halford, "and if I +find he has any predilection that way, I shall encourage him to take +orders." + +"Almost a pity, doctor, to bury such talents in the Church, and limit +the young man's income to 100_l._ a year as a curate." + +"I shall be guided by the boy's own wishes; but if I find he desires to +become a clergyman as earnestly as I did, I will not raise a single +obstacle in his path." + +"Well, no," said Lord Rivers, rising as Thomas entered with the +information that the horses were at the door. "I can quite understand +your wish that your son should not be thwarted in his hopes as you were; +and remember one thing--if in the years to come your son Henry should +become a clergyman, I have two livings in my gift, one of which shall be +his as soon as it becomes vacant after he is ordained." + +Before the delighted parents could express their warmest thanks for this +promise, the little boy made his appearance, and accompanied his father +to the gate with the visitor. + +The child's eager admiration of the beautiful high-bred animal which the +earl mounted, and indeed of the earl himself, was so enthusiastic that +it formed an epoch in his life never to be forgotten while memory should +last. + +Not more lasting and real was the earl's promise in the memory of the +doctor and his wife; and this promise, added to the fact that Henry +Halford's talents and wishes tended the same way, led to the results +which have been described in the preceding chapters of this history. + +Perhaps Dr. Halford, whose character was not hopeful, did not allow +himself to trust too much in the earl's promise. He remembered the +words, "Put not your trust in princes, for vain is the help of man." Yet +it influenced him to a certain extent, for he felt convinced that if his +old pupil lived, and the opportunity presented itself, Lord Rivers was +not likely to forget his promise. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +HENRY HALFORD'S NEW STUDY. + + +Mr. Armstrong's horse, a valuable and spirited chestnut, stood at the +gate of Lime Grove about ten days after Mrs. Armstrong's visit to +Englefield Grange. + +The family had just finished breakfast in a large room overlooking a +beautiful garden from its broad bay-window. The sun shone brightly on +the frozen gravel walks, and glittered in the rime that hung on the +branches of the leafless trees. Bare and cold as the January prospect of +winter might be, yet the clear air and bright sunlight had an +invigorating effect on youthful and healthy constitutions. + +"Pray wrap up well," said Mrs. Armstrong, as she saw Mary helping her +father with his great-coat, "you will have a cold ride this morning; and +take care Firefly does not slip." + +"No fear of that, Maria, he's a most sure-footed horse; and besides, the +ground is too hard to be slippery. And as to wrapping up," he added, +patting with his hand a thick shawl doubled across his chest and throat, +"I think I am wrapped up sufficiently to defy any kind of weather." + +"Not in Russia, papa" (the once objectionable title was tolerated now); +"your nose would be frozen, and icicles would hang on your eyelashes; I +learnt that in my geography at school." + +"Yes, there is no doubt about that fact, Freddy; but in England such +terrible results are not likely to happen; and that reminds me I hear +you are going to a new school, and I hope you will be a good and +attentive boy, and not give your mamma and sister any trouble about your +lessons or by being late; and I must be off too," he added, glancing at +the clock; "and, Freddy, you have only a quarter of an hour to finish +your breakfast and get to school." + +"I have finished now, papa," cried the boy, starting up as his father +left the room; and then coming over to where his mother sat in an +easy-chair by the fire, he put his little hand on hers and said--"Mamma, +will you go with me to school? I don't like going by myself the first +morning." + +Mrs. Armstrong put her arm round her boy and drew him to her side. + +"I am not well enough to venture out in the cold, Freddy," she replied, +"but Mary will go with you; and you need not be afraid of Dr. Halford, +he is most gentle and kind to little boys who are attentive and learn +their lessons, and I hope you will try to please him.--Mary, my dear," +continued Mrs. Armstrong as her daughter entered the room, "Freddy does +not like to go to school the first time by himself, will you take him?" + +"Oh yes, mamma, I should like the walk above all things on this bright +cold morning. I know the house, it is not far--come Freddy." + +Freddy kissed his mother, and then ran upstairs after Mary, and in a +very few minutes they were walking along the country road together, Mary +with elastic graceful step, and Freddy half walking, half running by her +side. + +The brother and sister were overflowing with health and spirits on this +clear wintry day, and stepped quickly on till they drew near their +destination; then Freddy subsided into a more sober pace. The first +visit to a new school has rather a depressing influence upon the boyish +feelings at eight years old. Freddy's manner excited Mary's sympathy, it +was therefore with a very demure look that she led her little brother to +the entrance and knocked. + +As they stood waiting for admission several boys older than Freddy +entered the gate, and passed round the house by a side way to the +schoolroom entrance. Of course such a proceeding would have been at that +moment too trying for Freddy's nerves, but he cast furtive, inquiring +glances at his future schoolfellows, which they returned fearlessly and +with interest. + +So intent was the child that the opening of the door startled him, and +he did not quite recover till he found himself alone with Mary in the +drawing-room of Englefield Grange. How often in after years Mary +recalled that visit! and how little she anticipated, as she stood +admiring the prospect which had so attracted her mother, that its +consequences would be interwoven with the whole thread of her future +life! + +Mrs. Armstrong had been unwilling to send her boy too soon after the +close of the Christmas holidays. More than a week had passed, and yet +the boarders were returning rather slowly. + +"School is all very well," they argued, "in summer, when we can have +cricket and games in the playground till bedtime." And we are quite +willing to own that winter evenings at school are a trial to a boy who +compares them with the warm carpeted parlour, the blazing fire, and the +freedom of home, with no lessons to learn. + +The arrangements at Dr. Halford's in winter were, however, very +homelike. The boys sat on winter evenings in a comfortable class-room, +with two fireplaces, not stoves, in which genial fires, protected by +wire guards, blazed pleasantly, and large gas burners increased the +warmth and created light and cheerfulness. + +Still, during the first week or two after the holidays the restless +boy-spirit often rebelled against the necessary restraint, without which +or the presence of a master the room would very soon have become a +modern Babel, or something worse, in noise and tumult. + +On this Monday morning Mrs. Halford was busy in the dormitory, +arranging, with the assistance of the wardrobe-keeper, the clothes of +those boys who had arrived during the preceding week. + +The door opened hastily, and Kate Marston entered. Mrs. Halford has +changed very little since we saw her at the tea-table some years before, +listening to Dr. Mason's letter. She looked up hastily and smiled as her +niece said, "Aunt, is the key of the wardrobe room in your key-basket? I +cannot find it anywhere." She advanced to the table on which the basket +lay, and began to turn over the contents. + +"I have the key, my dear," said her aunt, putting her hand into her +pocket. "I found it in the door last evening, and took possession of +it." + +"Oh! Harry, Harry," exclaimed Kate, laughing, "you are incorrigible; how +earnestly the dear old fellow did promise me to put the key back in its +place! I expect I shall find the drawers open and every sash of the +wardrobe pushed back." + +Mrs. Halford smiled. "No, my dear," she said, "I went in and put +everything to rights before I locked the door." + +The kind, loving mother had found doors and wardrobe open, and the usual +neatness of everything destroyed by her boy in his anxiety to discover a +missing vest, which after all was found in his own bedroom. + +Henry Halford has changed very little in character during the years that +have elapsed since the receipt of Dr. Mason's letters. He has made great +progress in his studies, and when he left Dr. Mason's care, about three +years before the Christmas-time of which we write, his father, who had +just parted with a classical assistant, found Henry quite capable of +supplying his place. + +Dr. Halford felt also the truth of Thomson's words-- + + "Teaching we learn, and giving we retain, + The birth of intellect, when dumb, forgot." + +And Henry Halford so thoroughly understood the advantage to himself that +he entered into his task with interest and zeal. Young as he was, he +soon gained the honour and respect of his father's elder pupils, who +were not slow to discover the real value of their young teacher's +knowledge. + +But Henry Halford at the age of twenty-two was far beyond that age in +appearance as well as knowledge. His figure, though tall and rather +slight, had a manliness of carriage seldom seen before twenty-five. The +clear olive complexion looked even fair by contrast to the thick dark +whiskers and eyebrows that adorned it. A beard and moustache were not +then, as now, considered necessary ornaments, or we might say useful +appendages for the mouth, neck, and throat. At all events, Harry Halford +was pronounced handsome by those who were sufficiently intimate with him +to observe the play of features, the mobile mouth, and the intelligent +sparkling of the deep blue eyes while conversing, although the former +was large and displayed want of firmness, and the nose scarcely escaped +being pronounced a snub. + +Such was the young tutor who now sat in the class-room of the Grange, +reading some Greek author, and quite oblivious to the unchecked noise +made by the early arrival of day pupils and the boarders in the room. + +He had a wonderful power of concentrating his mind on any one subject in +spite of surroundings which would have driven some students crazy. The +brass bands or a grinding organ might have paraded London streets in +peace so far as Henry Halford was concerned. And his sister and cousin +would often practise together for hours in winter, in a room close to +his little study, uncomplained of by him even when a boy. + +As he grew older, and after Fanny left home on her marriage, he would +often say to Kate Marston, "Why don't you practise, Kate? I assure you +it will not disturb me." + +But Kate, after his return from Dr. Mason's, seldom touched the piano +while he was in the house; her love of music was so true that she could +not understand the possibility of not being disturbed in any mental +employment by the _practice_, not the _perfect_ performance of a piece +of music. + +Well and correctly played, a beautiful air falls on the ear as melodious +harmony without disturbing any mental effort then occupying the mind; +but to a true musician every false note, every break of tune or measure, +jars upon the senses, and attracts other mental powers beyond the mere +sense of hearing, and totally breaks up for a time the disturbed train +of thought. + +But Henry Halford was no musician, and therefore not liable to +interruptions of this kind, nor indeed of any other, as his present +oblivion in the class-room plainly indicates. + +Even the opening of the door failed to disturb him, and it was only when +a sudden silence fell on the rebels that the voice of his father made +itself heard. + +Henry started from his seat, closed the book, and followed Dr. Halford, +who beckoned him out of the room. + +"Mrs. Armstrong is in the drawing-room, Henry. I suppose she has brought +her little boy. Will you go and see her? I fear she will detain me. The +clock has struck nine, and I will get these boys into order while you +are gone." + +Dr. Halford always took this "getting into order" upon himself; it was +one of the duties he could not delegate to his son. + +Dr. Halford had understood from the maidservant who admitted Mary and +her brother that _Mrs._ Armstrong had brought the little boy, and Henry +passed on to the drawing-room, prepared to be detained by a long story +of the requirements of her child and the injunctions of a fond mother. + +It must be owned he opened the door rather reluctantly, but it was to +start with surprise, and for a few moments to lose all self-possession. +A young, handsome, and elegant girl rose as he entered, and bowed also +with slight confusion. Her mother had described Dr. Halford as a tall, +pale, intellectual-looking man of sixty, with white hair and a slight +stoop. Who then could this be, with his erect bearing and youthful face? +Mary Armstrong could not control the deep blush that rose to her cheek, +but she quickly recovered her self-possession. Mary had been subject to +too many contrasts in life and was too really well-bred to allow of any +awkwardness. She took Freddy's hand and led him forward as she said, "I +have brought my little brother, Frederick Armstrong, to school; he did +not like to come alone on the first morning, and mamma was not well +enough to bring him herself." + +Henry Halford by this time had also recovered himself to a certain +degree as he stammered out-- + +"I will tell my father, Miss Armstrong; he is in the schoolroom at +present. He asked me to see--I thought Mrs. Armstrong----" and then +remembering his father's fear of being detained by that lady, and of his +own dread of her in consequence, he paused in helpless confusion. +Woman-like, this hesitation gave Mary courage. She could scarcely +repress a smile as the young man's words explained unintentionally the +cause of his evident surprise. He had expected a middle-aged lady, her +mother, instead of a young girl. Perhaps this was the studious son +spoken of by Dr. Halford to her mother. Bookworms were always awkward in +the company of ladies, especially young ones; and as these thoughts +passed rapidly through her mind, she said with her accustomed ease and +dignity--for Mary Armstrong could be dignified at times--"I need not +detain you, Mr. Halford, if you will kindly take my little brother to +the schoolroom and explain to Dr. Halford why mamma could not bring him +herself." + +"Certainly, Miss Armstrong," was all he could say, as he opened the door +and followed her with Freddy downstairs to the entrance. + +When they reached the door he opened it for her to pass out. + +"Be a good boy, Freddy," she said, as she stooped to kiss her brother, +then she bowed to Henry Halford and descended the steps. On the gravel +path she turned to give Freddy one more encouraging look. Henry Halford +still stood at the open door, holding Freddy's hand in a firm clasp. Of +course she could only bow to him again, but as she passed through the +gate into the high road she reflected that this young man who held the +child's hand so kindly would no doubt be kind to their little Freddy. + +But of the thoughts which had been passing through Henry Halford's mind +during that short interview Mary Armstrong was quite unsuspecting; +neither had she the least idea that he stood at the open door watching +her for some minutes, to Freddy's surprise, and until a movement of the +child recalled him to the duties of the hour. + +Hastily taking Freddy to the schoolroom and telling his father the +child's name, he brought his mind to bear upon the duties of his class +with his usual power of concentration. No sooner, however, had morning +school closed than he retired to his own little sanctum, but not to his +usual studies. A new object of study was occupying his mind, and he +threw himself into his chair, and folding his arms, thought over again +his adventure of the morning. How clearly every movement, every look, +even every article of dress worn by the visitor was photographed on his +memory! He could see again the tall graceful figure, the fair expressive +face, the large blue eyes, the bright auburn hair, one or two locks as +usual escaping under the hat. + +He recalled the blush which added brilliance to the face, and knew that +in action, word, and movement the young girl before him was a true +gentlewoman. Even the dress, so suitable to the season and the hour, +showed this--warm and dark and soft, only brightened by an ermine muff +and furs, and red ribbons in the hat. And the boy too, young as he was, +had more of the _savoir faire_ about him than many of the sons of rich +merchants who attended the school, and yet the father of these young +people was a tradesman. Henry Halford was puzzled. He had been brought +up with the foolish prejudice against trade then so prevalent. Both his +parents had been well born and were well connected. His father's sister +had married into a good family, although, like many of these old +families, they had little to boast of in the way of money. And then the +young student grew bewildered. Hitherto his books had so occupied every +thought that any idea of falling in love had never entered his mind. +Perhaps he had too much poetry and imagination in his heart connected +with the subject of marriage to allow him to do so easily. In him there +existed a refined and spiritualised sense of what a woman should be in +the different phases of her existence, as daughter, sister, wife, and +mother. Marriage to him was too holy, and the pure love of a woman too +ethereal, for either to be trifled with, or made the means of merely +obtaining a home or a settlement. + +As he thus reflected he began to wonder that the mere meeting with a +stranger could arouse in his mind such thoughts as these. Henry Halford +had certainly never given the subject such deep consideration before in +his life as now. He had met with many young ladies, sisters or relations +of the boys under his father's care, and also among his own relations; +but none had ever so struck him as Miss Armstrong. What and how did she +differ from others? Most certainly there was something about her he +could not define. + +These conflicting thoughts no doubt arose from ignorance of the world. +Perhaps also the mind, fatigued by teaching and study, required more +frequent relaxation. Indeed, his mother felt this necessary, and often +urged him to accept invitations which he had refused, but without +success. Be this as it may, before Henry Halford had been sitting an +hour in his little study the old habits asserted themselves. He started +up. "Well, I wonder if I am suffering from premonitory symptoms of +softening of the brain?" he said to himself. "What have I to do with +falling in love or marriage for years to come? Such thoughts, too, just +as I am about to succeed in my aims, and have matriculated at Oxford! +No, no, this will never do, Henry Halford;" and shaking himself as a dog +fresh from the water, he took up Seneca and buried himself in its pages +till the dinner bell rang. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +OUR ANTIPODES. + + +In direct contrast to the bright frosty day we have described in the +last chapter, the reader must be introduced to the clear atmosphere, +cloudless sky, and bright sunshine of a midsummer day at +Melbourne--almost England's antipodes. The inhabitants are enjoying a +long summer's day on this 29th of January, and the surrounding country +is presenting a verdant aspect and leafy foliage something akin to +England in July. Midsummer when we have Christmas. Cold and frosty +weather while we enjoy June sunshine; picnics and evening strolls in the +calm summer moonlight, while we are shivering by the fire, or preparing +for a Christmas party; midnight while we have noon, and short summer +nights when with us darkness sets in at four in the afternoon and +continues until eight the next morning. + +Such are some of the contrasts which astronomers tell us are the +consequences of the earth's varied movements on her own axis and round +the sun. But in neither country are the inhabitants conscious of these +differences, much less can they realise that we in England are walking +feet to feet with our brethren and sisters in Australia. At Melbourne, +indeed, with its broad streets, elegant shops, and noble buildings, +there is too much that reminds one of England to allow of any +consciousness of contrast. Cathedrals, churches, colleges, botanical +gardens, and other proofs of refined civilisation mark the progress of +Saxon energy and enterprise, which have already supplanted in large +territories of our globe the original inhabitants. + +The English are carrying with them not only civilisation and refinement, +but also the principles of that "knowledge of the Lord which shall cover +the whole earth as the waters cover the sea." + +True, the seed so scattered is mixed with the tares which settlers in +distant lands carry with them from Christian England to her shame. But, +like the grain of mustard seed, Christianity will grow and flourish into +a large tree wherever the seeds of the "kingdom of heaven" are sown, in +spite of the tares. + +In a large drawing-room, luxuriously furnished, and lighted by noble +windows overlooking a broad street more than a mile long, reclined a +pale, delicate-looking lady, about thirty-four years of age. Her sofa +had been drawn near the open window, and as she gazed upon the gaily +attired passengers passing to and fro on the broad pavements, or making +purchases in the shops, she sighed deeply. + +"What makes you sigh, mamma?" said a pretty little girl of nine years, +who sat reading in a low chair by her mother's side. + +"If I sighed, darling," she replied, "it was because this place reminds +me of England, and I could almost fancy myself in that broad street in +London that you have heard me speak of, Mabel." + +"Regent Street, you mean, mamma. Yes, I know, for I've heard papa say +Bourke Street reminded him of it. He says there are just the same sort +of beautiful shops, and lots of carriages, and ladies and children so +handsomely dressed. Oh, mamma, I should so like to go to England, and +see grandpapa and grandmamma, and uncle Henry. Do you think we ever +shall?" + +"Perhaps _you_ may, my dear, but go on with your book, Mabel. I cannot +bear talking." + +The child gladly obeyed; she was a great lover of reading, and never +more happy than when allowed to bring her book and her low chair, and +sit near her mother, ready to attend to her every wish. + +Mrs. Franklyn leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Some +recollections of England had during the past few months been very +painful to her from their contrast to the present time. + +She had left her home at Englefield Grange, and readily consented to +what appeared a sentence of banishment to every one but herself, for was +she not sure of happiness with the man of her choice, even at the other +side of the world to which they were going? + +None of her friends could deny the apparent suitability of the marriage +between the young lawyer, Arthur Franklyn, and Fanny Halford, the +schoolmaster's only daughter. Arthur had been one of Dr. Halford's +earliest pupils, and being an orphan and under the care of his aged +grandmother, he often remained at school during the holidays. The boy +soon became very fond of playing with the little Fanny, then nine years +younger than himself, and this childish acquaintance was kept up long +after he had left school to be articled to a solicitor. The almost +friendless youth paid frequent visits to his old schoolmaster, and was +always received with a kind welcome. + +To make Fanny Halford his wife had been the purpose of Arthur Franklyn's +heart for many years, but to mention the subject to her father until his +means were sufficient to maintain a wife he well knew would be useless. + +He had reached his twenty-ninth year, when the death of his grandmother +made him the possessor of about fifteen hundred pounds. Now the way +seemed open to him. But he had another scheme in view, which very nearly +caused him the loss of Fanny. Australia had for many years been the El +Dorado of his hopes; he had also distant relatives doing well at +Melbourne, who had often expressed a wish that he should join them, but +Fanny Halford had been the tie that bound him to England. + +The little girl had learnt to love her boy playfellow in childhood as +they grew older, and the young people, as if by mutual consent, seemed +to take it for granted that some day they should be husband and wife. +Although no word had passed on the subject either between them or to +Fanny's parents, Dr. Halford felt towards the young man almost as much +affection as for his own son, Henry Halford being at that time a mere +child. It was not till his grandmother's legacy had altered Arthur +Franklyn's position that his eyes were opened to the fact that the young +man and his daughter might be attached to each other. + +The good old gentleman, however, when once brought to understand the +case, readily agreed to Arthur's proposals; and Mrs. Halford, much as +she dreaded the loss of her child from her home, raised no objections. +Her daughter would still of course be at a visiting distance now +railways and omnibuses were becoming so general, and she could therefore +often see her. + +Arthur Franklyn's intimation, therefore, came upon them like a +thunder-clap. "Australia! Our antipodes! No, no, Arthur, the idea is +impossible, we cannot part with our child to such a distance," were the +doctor's words. But neither the father's objections nor the mother's +tears could influence Fanny, she would go with Arthur all over the +world; and so at last the parents were conquered by the pale face and +failing health of their only daughter, and they consented to the +marriage. + +To Arthur's legacy was added the 1000_l._ saved by Dr. Halford for his +daughter's marriage portion, and the young people sailed for Australia +with their own hopes for the future bright and glowing, and followed by +the earnest prayers of their reluctant parents. + +Fourteen years have rolled by since then, and what are Fanny Franklyn's +reflections as she now reclines on the sofa in her luxurious home? What +had she to complain of beyond the failing health and strength to which +we are all liable? She had a kind and loving husband, four healthy, +intelligent children, and every comfort and attention she required. But +all this was on the surface; only wife or husband can detect faults in +each other which are hidden from the world, unless those faults lead to +or produce consequences which eventually become matters of publicity. + +And a fear of this latter result had been the one bitter drop in Fanny +Franklyn's happiness, the bane of her married life. + +Arthur on arriving at Melbourne established himself as a solicitor, and +for a time with moderate success. Then he became restless and +dissatisfied. He wanted to make a fortune more rapidly, gave up his +profession, and commenced speculating. With this began Fanny's +anxieties. She had quickly discovered her husband's want of business +knowledge. She could see how differently he acted from her own parents, +to whose careful, saving habits she owed her marriage portion. +Fortunately for Arthur, his wife was thoroughly domestic, and more than +once she had warded off an impending blow by her economy and good +management. + +But as their family increased her anxieties became greater. The very +good nature, and pleasant unsuspecting sociability which had won them +all at Englefield Grange, proved Arthur's greatest danger. Sanguine to +the highest degree respecting the results of a new speculation, he would +recklessly act upon the mere hope of success, and involve himself in +difficulties, and so it had been going on; at times living in a style of +elegance and luxury, in consequence of a successful speculation, and at +others in obscurity and almost penury. + +No wonder poor Fanny Franklyn's health sunk in the midst of such +vicissitudes. + +While reflecting over the past which has been so briefly described, the +sound of a hasty footstep roused her, and presently her husband stood by +her couch anxiously questioning her. + +"How are you, darling?" he said gently as he stooped to kiss the pale +cheek. "I have been so much engaged all day, or I should have come in to +see you before this." And then, without waiting for her to reply, he +walked to the window and looked out on the gay and busy scene in the +street beneath. + +"You will soon get well in this lively place, Fanny," he said; "I cannot +tell you how anxious I have been to get you out of that dull cottage on +the hills, with nothing to look at but gardens and fields and trees." + +"Yes, but, papa," said little Mabel, rising from her seat and coming to +his side, "we were close to the Botanical Gardens and the park, and +mamma used to go out in a chair every day." + +"Well, so she can here, Mabel, and I should think you and Clara like +these large noble rooms better than those low ceilings and cramped +apartments at the cottage." + +"There are some rooms I should prefer far beyond those at the cottage, +or even these," said Mrs. Franklyn, gently. + +Mr. Franklyn smiled, and was delighted to see a smile and a slight tinge +of colour on his wife's face as she spoke. "Where are they, darling?" he +exclaimed. "I have only taken these for a month certain; we would move +directly if I thought it would do you good." + +"I'm sorry I expressed my thoughts aloud, Arthur," she said, "for you +must not incur any farther expense; but the rooms I mean are at +Englefield Grange." + +Arthur Franklyn became silent. He was longing to return to England +almost as much as his wife; but at that moment he had more than one +speculation in view, which he felt sure would make him a rich man; and +then to return to his native land and star it amongst his schoolfellows, +who had often scorned the penniless orphan, would be indeed a triumph. + +"I wish I could take you to England at once, dearest," said her husband; +"indeed, I should like to send you and the two girls now, and remain +here alone for a year or two; but I cannot allow you to attempt such a +voyage in your present weak state." + +"No, no, Arthur," she replied, "I will not leave you, I could not go +alone. Let us continue in this house as long as you like, rather than go +to greater expense. I hope I shall be better as the weather becomes +cooler." + +The appearance of the tea-tray put a stop to the conversation, and Fanny +consoled herself by the thought, "I cannot leave him of my own +free-will, and if God sees fit to remove me before he is able to return +to England, I can leave him and the dear children in His hands." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FIRST IMPRESSIONS. + + +Mary Armstrong returned home after leaving Freddy at school, quite +unaware of the disturbance her appearance had created in the mind of +Henry Halford; and indeed so perfectly indifferent, that after removing +her walking dress she entered the dining-room where her mother sat, and +said-- + +"I did not see Dr. Halford, mamma, he was engaged in the schoolroom, but +his son took charge of Freddy." + +"His son! Ah, yes, I remember he spoke of a son who was studying for the +Church. From Dr. Halford's description I should say this son was a man +of very studious habits." + +"Yes, mamma, and I am sure he must be, for he appears quite unused to +the society of ladies; he hesitated, and stammered, and seemed hardly +able to say a word: he did manage, however, to explain that he expected +to see Mrs. Armstrong. I set him down as a bookworm at once." + +Mrs. Armstrong glanced at her daughter; she was not one of those foolish +mothers who overrate the charms of their daughters, but a thought she +could not repress made her fear that this son of Dr. Halford's might be +a dangerous acquaintance. A kind of presentiment of evil made her look +at Mary intently as she took her German books from a side-table and +commenced studying the language just then coming into vogue. + +There was a look of perfect indifference on the face which Mrs. +Armstrong so carefully studied, and yet she could not help saying +suddenly, "What sort of young man is Dr. Halford's son in appearance, +Mary?" + +The sound of her mother's voice made Mary look up with a start from a +difficult exercise. "_Haben sie!_" she exclaimed aloud; and then, "Oh, +mamma, I beg your pardon, did you not ask me a question? I have such a +puzzling sentence here, and I quite forgot what Herr Kling told me about +it." + +"It was nothing of importance, my dear," said her mother, as carelessly +as she could speak; "I only asked you what sort of a young man Dr. +Halford's son is in appearance." + +"Handsome or plain, you mean, mamma," was the reply: "certainly not +handsome, and his hair looked as if, while poring over a book, he had +been pushing it up with his hands till it stood on end like pussy's tail +when she is angry." + +"My dear, what a comparison!" said her mother, with a laugh and a +feeling of satisfaction. But Mary felt ashamed of her description. + +"I ought not to speak in this way, mamma, I know; the fact is, when I +found young Mr. Halford so confused, I avoided looking at him; but he is +a gentleman, I could see that, and his hair is black. He appeared to be +careless about his dress and appearance, and that, added to his confused +manner, made me think he was a bookworm. You know, mamma, two or three +of papa's friends who are so wrapped up in science and literature fidget +me dreadfully when they dine here. Mr. Barnett, the great engineer, +often has his collar on one side, or a button off his boots, and they +all look as if they dressed in the dark, and without a looking-glass. So +I suppose young Mr. Halford will be just the same. Oh, mamma, please +don't make me talk any more," she added, glancing at the clock. "Herr +Kling will be here in half an hour, and I am not yet ready for him." + +Mrs. Armstrong was quite contented to remain silent. The easy and rather +satirical tone in which Mary spoke of Dr. Halford's son removed all +apprehension from her mind for the present. + +Mr. Armstrong she knew too well would harshly oppose marriage for his +daughter with any man who did not possess the means of making a handsome +settlement on his wife, and raising her to the position of her mother's +relations. Neither of Mary's parents wished her to marry young: the idea +of losing her was agony to Mrs. Armstrong, and a constant dread had now +arisen in the mother's heart lest this new position in a country home, +which had already drawn them into society, might lead Mary to form a +girlish attachment not in accordance with the conditions laid down by +her father. + +Mr. Armstrong, however, had no such fears; Mary's ready acquiescence in +all his wishes, and the evident respect she had always shown to his +opinions, caused him to overlook in his child a will as firm and +unbending as his own. + +Hitherto none of his requirements had been opposed to the deeper or more +sensitive feelings of her nature. Mary could overcome her repugnance so +long as her father's wishes only required the sacrifice of certain +conventional rules, and minor matters of opinion. But he could make no +distinction, and he was prepared to expect implicit obedience in every +point, even where her wishes were opposed to his. The thought that she +would ever fail in this obedience never entered his mind. + +Mrs. Armstrong understood her daughter's character more correctly than +her husband, with all his boasted superiority of intellect, and +therefore she dreaded a passage of arms between these two so near and +dear to her. + +The trial was more closely at hand than even she for a moment +anticipated. + +Little Freddy often brought home from school a full and particular +account of some incident that had occurred during the day, and in which +he had been greatly interested. + +These incidents were listened to by Mary only out of love to her little +brother; and although very often Mr. Henry Halford's name stood +prominent in these narrations, Mary's interest on that account was very +little excited. It gratified her, however, to find that the child was +treated with great kindness by both father and son, and to hear his +earnest declaration-- + +"Oh, Mary, I like Mr. Henry Halford so much, he is so kind to us little +ones in the playground; he plays at peg-top, and all sorts of games, +with us; and sometimes we go into the cricket-field, without the big +boys, and he teaches us how to play; isn't it kind of him?" + +All this was very pleasing to Mrs. Armstrong, more especially as she +could discern very clearly that Mary listened to it all as a matter of +course. No suspicion that this kindness to her brother could arise from +a wish to win the sister, or for her sake, entered her mind. + +Not so her mother; suspicions of this kind would intrude themselves at +times, only to be set aside by her daughter's evident indifference. + +Mrs. Armstrong, however, was wrong. Henry Halford's kindness to the +little boys arose from a natural love of children, and Freddy Armstrong +was not favoured more than others. All thoughts of the fair girl whose +appearance had so confused him on that cold January morning had been +banished with determination. After school duties ceased he became, as +usual every day, absorbed in his books, his only recreation a game at +cricket, or, as we have heard, the fun with the juniors, which gave him +the greatest pleasure. And so the weeks passed on, and brought with them +signs of the approach of spring. + +One afternoon, about a fortnight before Easter, Mr. Armstrong returned +from the City rather earlier than usual, to have a ride with his +daughter. He had on this account travelled to town and back by the +omnibus. + +"Give me half an hour's rest, Mary," he said, as she came in full of +pleasure to ask when he wished to start. + +"Yes, papa," she replied, "and there will be also time for you to have a +cup of tea with mamma; she generally has it about four o'clock." Away +ran Mary to hasten the refreshing "cup which cheers but not inebriates," +while Mr. Armstrong seated himself and began to talk to his wife. + +"I shall not be sorry to have a cup of tea," he said, "for I rode +outside the 'bus, and the roads are too dusty to be pleasant, whatever +the old proverb may say, and perhaps with some truth, that 'a peck of +March dust is worth a king's ransom.'" + +"If it is good for the gardens and the harvest to have a dry March," +said Mrs. Armstrong, "it is certainly worth while to bear the +inconvenience, and my health is always much better in dry, clear +weather. Your proverb about March dust will form another incentive for +patience when it troubles me while taking my daily walks." + +"How much improved your health appears lately, my dear Maria!" remarked +her husband, after a pause; "and you are looking almost as young as +ever. I am not a little pleased to find you in such good spirits, +because I want you to join me in accepting an invitation next week to +dinner at the Drummonds'; I suppose you have returned Mrs. Drummond's +visit?" + +"Oh yes, a few weeks ago; she is a most pleasant, lady-like woman, and +we were friends almost immediately." + +"Then you will raise no objection, my dear; indeed, I am sure the change +will be good for you. Mary is also invited, and I have my reasons for +wishing her to go. Drummond rode with me from town to-day, and I +accepted his invitation for Mary and myself at once, but for you +conditionally." + +"I shall be happy to go with you," replied his wife. "The Drummonds are +people I should wish Mary to know, and I am much more able to bear an +evening visit at this time of the year than in the depth of winter. You +must remember, Edward, that even when living in London I always regained +health and strength in the spring and early summer." + +"And here, of course, your health and strength are doubly sure to +improve in these seasons," he replied, laughing. "Ah, well, darling, I +am glad we made the change for your sake." + +The appearance of the tea put a stop to the conversation, and in a very +short time Mrs. Armstrong stood at the door watching her daughter as she +sprang lightly to her saddle, on a beautiful grey mare, her father's +latest gift. + +Bucephalus is not, however, quite discarded; sometimes in the morning +she will take him for a canter over the heath, or in the holidays join +her brothers, one of whom rides Rowland's pony, and the other +Bucephalus. Edward Armstrong is fifteen now, and has grown too tall for +Boosey; during the absence of the elder boys the pony belongs entirely +to Freddy, who is learning to ride under Mary's guidance. + +During their ride, Mr. Armstrong told Mary of the invitation to dinner +at Mr. Drummond's. "You will like to pay such a visit, I suppose," he +said, "and I have accepted the invitation for you as well as myself." + +"Will it be a large party?" asked Mary, timidly; she had no thought of +opposing her father's wishes, after hearing that he had accepted the +invitation for her, but she remembered her discomfort at her first +dinner-party, at which a large number of guests were present, some of +them not very refined, and certainly not well-bred. + +In fact, she could not help making comparisons between the noisy, and to +her, almost vulgar visitors at the table; or at the evening parties of +the rich in the neighbourhood, and the quiet refinement and dignity of +such gatherings at the homes of her mother's relations. + +Something akin to Mary's thoughts was passing through her father's mind +before he answered her question, and influenced his reply. + +"Mr. Drummond told me to-day that he did not expect more than six or +eight guests in addition to his own family. And, Mary," he continued, +"you need not fear meeting coarseness or vulgarity at Mr. Drummond's +table. Your mother has readily consented to accompany us, and that is a +sufficient proof that she considers the friends of Mrs. Drummond fit +associates for her daughter." + +"Oh, papa," said Mary, "I hope you do not think it was pride that made +me speak as if I did not wish to go, only I do dread a large number of +people; and papa----" But Mary paused; she hesitated, with the delicacy +of a refined mind, to speak of the coarse flattery to which she had been +subjected at one dinner-party by some of the gentlemen when they left +the dining-room. + +"And what, my dear?" said her father, gently. + +"I told mamma," she replied, "when I came home, but I only meant to ask +you whether some of the gentlemen at Mr. Ward's dinner party had not +taken too much wine." + +A flush of indignation rose to Mr. Armstrong's brow as he thought of +what, under such circumstances, some of them might have said to his +gentle daughter. Determining to ask her mother, however, he merely +said,--"I fear such was the case, Mary, but you are not likely to meet +with anything of that kind at the Drummonds'. The practice of staying +for hours after dinner, drinking wine, till men make themselves unfit +for the company of ladies, is happily becoming less frequent in good +society. And now," he added, looking at his watch, "we must canter for +awhile, or we shall be late for dinner." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A CHANGE OF OPINION. + + +Among the guests expected at Mr. Drummond's table on that memorable +occasion was a gentleman of great note in the scientific world, to whom +Mr. Armstrong had been very anxious to be introduced. Indeed, this wish +had influenced him greatly in his ready acceptance of the invitation. + +"My friend Professor Logan will dine with us on that evening," had been +Mr. Drummond's remark to Mr. Armstrong. "I suppose you have read his +address at the Royal Society on the inventions of the last thirty years? +It was correctly reported in the _Times_." + +"Yes, indeed, and there I saw it," was the eager reply. "Is Professor +Logan your friend, Drummond? It will be a great privilege to meet such a +man." + +"And he will be equally pleased with you," was the reply; "indeed, I +expect it will be quite a learned gathering, for I have asked three or +four other men of education to join us, and I almost fear the evening +will be dull for Mrs. Armstrong and your bright, lively daughter; but +Mrs. Drummond will be terribly disappointed if they do not come, and she +will make the evening as pleasant as possible for them. My nieces are +very musical, and----" + +"Oh, pray do not make the invitation more attractive than it is +already," interrupted Mr. Armstrong. "My daughter's tastes resemble my +own, and she has had advantages of education which I have not. I'm +afraid, Drummond, your friends will expect too much from a self-taught +man like myself if you have, as you say, placed me on the list of your +'learned' acquaintance." + +"Nonsense, Armstrong!" was the reply, as the omnibus stopped for that +gentleman to alight. "Mind," he added, as he waved his hand in farewell, +"we shall expect you all on Tuesday." + +Mr. Armstrong's close carriage arrived at Argyle Lodge only five minutes +before the hour appointed for dinner. In a very short time, therefore, +Mary found herself being conducted to the dinner-table by a gentleman +whose face seemed familiar to her, but whose name, when spoken by her +hostess, she had not caught. + +"I think I have had the pleasure of meeting Miss Armstrong once before, +when she brought her little brother to school," was the remark which +made Mary turn and look at her companion. + +There was a smile on the face she had called plain, but it did not now +deserve such an epithet. The rough, dark hair, which in its disorder she +had likened to a "pussy-cat's tail in a rage," was now arranged in +shining wavy curls across the broad forehead; the dark eyebrows almost +meeting over the nose gave character to the face, and a look in the deep +blue eyes, although Mary Armstrong had quickly recognised her companion +as Henry Halford, made her ask herself if she had really ever seen them +before. So changed was the face, so expressive the glance, so winning +the smile, that Mary could only stammer out with a blushing face-- + +"I beg your pardon, Mr. Halford; I did not at first recognise you, but I +do now." + +They entered the dining-room as she said this, and during the slight +commotion occasioned by placing every one with due regard to the varied +requirements which make the position of a hostess so difficult, Mary +could only recall with shame and wonder her satirical description of +Henry Halford. + +The silence that generally pervades the company at the commencement of +dinner enabled Mary to recover herself and look round for the home +faces. + +Her mother, who had been taken into dinner by Mr. Drummond, was seated +nearly opposite to her at his right hand. At the moment of this +discovery she observed her bow to some one on Mary's side of the table. +Her surprise at this caused her to lean forward slightly. What friend of +her mother's could be dining with Mr. Drummond? + +A gentleman with white hair, and a pale, handsome face, was returning +the recognition. Mary was fairly puzzled, but she had conquered the +confusion caused by Mr. Henry Halford's unexpected appearance, and when +the conversation became general she could talk to her companion with +ease and intelligence. + +Mary could hear her father's voice, but she could not see him, as he sat +at the same side of the table as herself by Mrs. Drummond. + +Presently Henry Halford spoke. + +"Are you acquainted with that gentleman at the head of the table on Mrs. +Drummond's left hand?" he asked, under cover of many voices. + +Mary shook her head. She had observed that he and her father were +already in earnest conversation across the table, but he was a total +stranger to her. + +"No, I am not," she replied; "all here are strangers to me, excepting +Mr. and Mrs. Drummond and my own parents." + +"Then you do not know my father, to whom your mamma bowed just now. I +saw you lean forward to discover who had been so honoured by Mrs. +Armstrong's notice." + +"Is that gentleman your father, Mr. Halford?" said Mary, simply. "I +think he is a very handsome old man; that silvery white hair always +looks to me beautiful when accompanied with dark eyebrows and eyes." + +"My father would feel extremely flattered if he heard your opinion of +him, Miss Armstrong," said Henry Halford. + +"I am not flattering," replied Mary, "I am only giving my opinion, and +you have not told me the name of that gentleman opposite. He looks +clever." + +"Why, really, Miss Armstrong, I shall begin to be afraid of your opinion +about myself if you are so quick at reading character. That gentleman is +Professor Logan, whose address at the Royal Society has made such a stir +in the scientific world." + +"Oh, I am so glad to meet him!" she exclaimed. "I know he must be clever +because papa is talking to him so earnestly, and I read his address at +the Royal Society in the _Times_." + +"Did you, indeed, Miss Armstrong?" said Henry, in a tone of surprise. + +"Certainly I did, and with very great interest. Is there anything very +wonderful in that, Mr. Halford?" + +Henry Halford hesitated to reply; he looked earnestly at the young lady +who could read an address on the most abstruse sciences with "great +interest." He had heard young ladies spoken of rather contemptibly as +"pedants" and "blue-stockings." Was this gentle, simple-speaking girl by +his side one of these? Or if not, did she belong to the frivolous, +half-educated young ladies, who think of nothing but dress, or lovers, +or husbands _in futuro_? Although Mary had spoken of him as unused to +ladies' society with some truth, yet he had seen and heard enough to +judge of them as belonging to a sex inferior in strength both mentally +and physically, and in those days of which we write his judgment was not +far wrong. + +"I will put a few questions to this young lady who expresses her +interest in abstruse subjects," he said to himself. "Perhaps after all +it is merely a smattering of knowledge which she possesses, and a wish +to be thought a 'blue.' Are you fond of scientific subjects, Miss +Armstrong?" he asked, with something akin to satire in the tone of his +voice. + +But Mary Armstrong did not detect it; she replied unaffectedly-- + +"I think I am, at least so far as I can understand them, and that is not +to a very great extent; but arithmetic is a science, is it not? and I am +very fond of that; and I like the study of thorough-bass quite as well +as the practical part of music." + +"I am rather surprised to hear a young lady say she is fond of +arithmetic," replied Henry Halford, rather amused, and doubtful still. +"How far have you penetrated into the mysteries of calculation?--to +Practice, perhaps?" + +Mary now detected a shadow of satire. + +"A little beyond Practice," she replied, with a smile. "I begin to feel +afraid to tell you how far, you appear so surprised that a girl should +learn boys' studies, but my father wished me to do so." + +Henry Halford flushed deeply. The straightforward simplicity of the +young lady whom he wished to prove a pedant or a "blue" baffled him, and +made him feel ashamed of his satire. + +"I beg your pardon, Miss Armstrong," he said. "It is such an unusual +thing in the present day to meet with young ladies who really care for +any studies beyond music and singing, and what are called the fine arts, +that I was a little incredulous; pray show me I am forgiven by telling +me what advance you have made in these studies, which you consider +belong to boys." + +There was an earnestness and sincerity in the young man's voice which +could not be mistaken. + +Mary replied candidly, but without the slightest appearance of +ostentation-- + +"Mr. Halford, papa himself taught me algebra after I had studied every +rule in arithmetic, and the first book of Euclid. That is the extent of +my knowledge--nothing so very wonderful, after all." + +"And the _pons asinorum_, Miss Armstrong?" + +"Yes," she replied, "even the _pons asinorum_." + +There was a look of respect, mingled with surprise, on Henry Halford's +face; for once he had met with a young lady who had evidently some +pretensions to mental strength without being proud of it. + +By degrees he managed to discover that, owing to her father's wise +decision, she had not been allowed to learn music without studying +thorough-bass, or drawing unless accompanied with the study of +perspective. But as, without asking direct questions, he contrived to +draw her out by adopting a conversational tone, he found to his delight +that this scientific young lady was far more deeply interested in poetry +and literature. + +Mrs. Armstrong watched the fair face of her daughter as it lighted up +with pleasure at the poetical remarks of her companion, who criticised +her favourite authors with so much clearness and justice. + +She was not sorry when Mrs. Drummond gave the signal for leaving the +table. She could read in the gentleman a growing interest and admiration +of her daughter, which made her uneasy; not a little increased by a +remark of Mr. Drummond's-- + +"Mr. Henry Halford and your daughter are getting on famously together. I +know that her education has been solid as well as accomplished, and he +appears to have found out that fact." + +"Is that Dr. Halford's son?" asked Mrs. Armstrong; she remembered her +daughter's description of him as plain, but the young man so earnestly +conversing with Mary on a favourite topic was as usual giving to that +face the flashings of intellect, the expressive smile, and, it must be +owned, a too evident admiration of the fair girl by his side, which made +him unmistakably handsome. + +"Yes; did you not know it?" was Mr. Drummond's reply. "And a really +clever fellow he is too; he has lately matriculated at Oxford. His +father wishes him to be a clergyman, and I have no doubt he will come +off with 'flying colours.'" + +No wonder Mrs. Armstrong was relieved when the signal came to remove her +daughter from such dangerous company. + +But Mary very soon restored her mother's peace of mind by the absence of +all consciousness when she referred to Mr. Henry Halford. + +On entering the drawing-room the mother noticed with anxiety the deep +flush that so generally made Mary's face too brilliant. She watched her +as she wandered alone to a distant table and took up a book, after +examining several, and seated herself to read. She walked over to her +and said, "You are interested in your book, Mary." + +"Yes, mamma; Mr. Henry Halford has been talking about Milton's 'Paradise +Lost,' and he has explained to me a great deal of those learned terms +and classical references which make some pages of the book so difficult +to understand, and I mean to read it through again; you know how fond I +am of Milton." + +"Yes, dear," said her mother, "but you cannot do so now in Mrs. +Drummond's drawing-room." + +"No, mamma, of course not; I was only glancing over a few pages to try +how much I could remember of Mr. Henry Halford's explanations. Oh, +mamma, you cannot imagine how clever he is." + +"No doubt, and I hear he is at Oxford studying for the Church. But, +Mary, do you remember your description of Dr. Halford's son? In my +opinion he is anything but plain, and his hair----" + +"Oh, mamma, pray don't refer to what I once said;" and Mrs. Armstrong +knew that the flush on Mary's cheek as she spoke arose from shame at her +foolish words, nothing more. "I hardly looked at him that morning, but +now that I have heard him speak with so much animation and cleverness I +consider Mr. Henry Halford handsome; don't you, mamma?" + +This simple admission satisfied the anxious mother; she agreed readily +with her daughter's remark, and a servant advancing with tea and coffee +put a stop to the conversation. + +Presently the gentlemen made their appearance. + +Mary noticed that her father and Mr. Henry Halford were eagerly +discussing scientific subjects with Professor Logan as they entered. + +Even as they stood with a cup of coffee in the hand of each, the subject +was being carried on with great earnestness. + +At last one of Mr. Drummond's nieces approached the piano, at her aunt's +request, and struck a few chords. + +A sudden pause, and then the rich tones of the singer hushed the +scientific controversy. Even those who had no natural appreciation of +harmonious sounds were attracted to listen; among these ranked Henry +Halford. + +To a singer with less confidence the silence would have been fatal, but +Edith Longford was not likely to fail from nervousness, and there is +nothing so calculated to steady the nerves of a performer in any subject +as a perfect knowledge of what he is about. + +As the soft melodious tones ceased, Henry Halford contrived to whisper +to Miss Armstrong a question, intended to try whether the young girl, +whose conversation had so interested him at dinner, could bear the +praise of another without jealousy. + +During the song he had not been able to resist the attraction of her +presence. Although really occupied with the subject of dispute as he +entered the room, Henry Halford's quick eye discovered at once the +whereabouts of Mr. Armstrong's daughter, and he had gradually moved +towards the table where she sat. + +"Miss Longford plays and sings well, Miss Armstrong," were the words +that made Mary start from a reverie. "I am quite ignorant of music +theoretically, and I have no natural taste for the harmonies; but you +can tell me whether my opinion is a correct one." + +"I, Mr. Halford!" said Mary, recovering herself; "Miss Longford is far +beyond me in music. I could not take the liberty of forming a judgment +upon her, excepting that I know she sings and plays far better than I +do." + +"Generous and candid," said the young man to himself as a gentleman +advanced to lead Mary to the piano. He followed them, and stood +listening with surprise to the simple English ballad which Mary sang +with real taste and feeling. + +Henry Halford when alone in his room that night made a decision in his +own mind on certain points; in some of these, had he remained firm and +unshaken, our story would have ended here. + +"Mary Armstrong is a very beautiful girl," were his first mental words, +"full of intellectual knowledge, far beyond any young lady I have ever +met. She is candid, plain-speaking, impervious to flattery, and generous +to a rival--at least if Miss Longford is a rival. For my part, I +consider Miss Armstrong's music far more pleasing. And then what a +talented man her father is! no wonder, with such a teacher, his daughter +should be so different from other girls. I have met many girls, but none +like Miss Armstrong." + +By a strange association of ideas, to which we are all subject, Easter +and Oxford presented themselves to his mind, and the involuntary sigh +that followed a recollection of the fact that in less than a week he +should be miles away from Mary Armstrong, changed the whole current of +his thoughts. + +"How absurdly I am allowing my mind to dwell upon this young lady!" he +said to himself. "A man so rich as her father will of course wish her to +marry a man of wealth, and one equal in position to her mother's +relations. I might lay claim to the latter qualification, but what shall +I be at the end of my three years at Oxford? an usher in my father's +school, or a curate with an income of perhaps 100_l._ a year or less. I +will think of her no more!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. + + +Whatever impression might have been made by Mr. Henry Halford's +cleverness on the mind of Mary Armstrong was destined to be obliterated +by the most unlooked-for occurrence. + +One evening, about a fortnight after Easter, Mr. Armstrong returned at +an unusually early hour, and entered the library, where Mary and her +mother were seated, with a look of anxiety on his face which surprised +them both. + +He held a letter in his hand, and his wife asked nervously-- + +"What is the matter, Edward? you have no bad news about the boys, I +hope." + +"No, no," he said hastily, "but I have had a letter from John Armstrong; +my poor father, he says, is sinking fast, and wishes to see me once +more." + +"Oh, papa, when are you going?" cried Mary, "can I pack your carpet bag, +or prepare anything for you? I suppose you will go this evening?" + +"I should have gone direct from London, after sending you a telegram," +he replied, "but my father wishes me to bring Mary; have you any +objection, my dear?" he added, turning to his wife. + +"No, indeed," she replied, "take her with you by all means; I remember +how pleased the dear old gentleman was with his little granddaughter +when we paid him a visit fifteen years ago." + +Mary, who had risen when she offered to assist in preparing for her +father's hasty departure, stood still during this conversation in silent +astonishment. Rapid thoughts passed through her mind. Was she really +going to see the dear old grandfather, of whom she had so often heard +her mother speak, and beautiful Meadow Farm, the home of her father's +childhood, and the house in which he was born? + +So bewildered did she feel at the sudden news, that her mother had to +say-- + +"Do you not wish to accompany your father, Mary?" + +"Oh yes, yes, mamma, but it seems too good to be true." + +"You must be quick, Mary, if you wish to go," said her father, looking +at his watch; "I have ordered James to have the brougham at the door by +half-past three, and the train starts from Waterloo at 4.30." + +In a moment all was bustle and excitement. Slight refreshment was +quickly prepared for the travellers. But Mary had still her useful +fairies at her elbow, and when her father summoned her from the +dining-room at the time appointed, she only detained him one moment to +cling to her mother's neck and kiss her fondly. + +Mrs. Armstrong stood at the door to see them off and wish them _bon +voyage_. Then she returned to the library to rest after the hurried +excitement, which fatigued her even more than a long walk. + +This hasty summons which her husband had received carried her memory +back to those early days of her married life when with her husband and +her little daughter Mary, she had visited Mr. Armstrong's paternal home. +She recalled the sweet country landscape, the apple-orchards in full +blossom, the fragrant hayfields, the leafy woods surrounding Meadow +Farm, then redolent with the delights of early summer. + +She saw and heard again, in imagination, the crowing of cocks, the +clucking of hens, the chirping chicks and lowing cattle, and the +occasional "quack, quack" of ducks and geese, all of which sights and +sounds greeted eye and ear from her bedroom window when she rose in the +morning. + +Even the journey by the old-fashioned stage-coach was not without +interest; and how well she remembered the pride of her mother's heart as +her little Mary, then scarcely three years old, excited the astonishment +of the passengers by spelling from the coach window the letters upside +down, which formed the name of the coach proprietor! + +Again she recalled their amusement at one of Mary's childlike speeches, +when they stopped to change horses on the road. Across the inn yard came +a man with a wooden leg, carrying a pail of water. The child, who had +never before seen this substitute for a human limb, almost screamed with +excitement as she exclaimed-- + +"Oh, mamma, mamma, do look; there's a man with one leg, and a piece of +stick for another!" + +Even now she could smile at the memory of the child's remark, but it was +soon lost as her thoughts turned to the time when she stood in the old +hall at Meadow Farm to receive the welcome of her husband's father, a +tall, noble-looking man, one of the olden times, whose dark eyes at the +age of sixty-seven had not lost their sparkling intelligence. These +eyes, with eyelashes and brows equally dark, contrasted pleasantly with +the silvery white hair; and the face with its winter-apple colour, +though bronzed by constant exposure to the weather, wore a refined +dignity of which his son Edward could scarcely boast. The welcome +awarded by this fine old yeoman to his son's wife had a mixture of +deference and affection which deeply gratified the well-born daughter of +the St. Clairs, and her father-in-law's love for his little fairy +grandchild completely won her heart. + +All this Mrs. Armstrong had described to Mary so vividly, that the young +girl felt as if she already knew every nook and cranny of the old farm, +as well as the face of the dear old gentleman who was her father's +father. And yet she had not the slightest recollection of the visit so +clearly remembered by her mother. + +Since that time Mr. Armstrong had more than once paid a visit to his +paternal home, but delicate health and an increasing family prevented +his wife from accompanying him, yet he never offered to take Mary. Once +her mother had proposed to him to do so, but he repudiated the idea. + +"No, Maria dear," he had said, "there are no women at Meadow Farm, or in +the neighbourhood, who are fit associates for your daughter. By-and-by, +when her manners are more formed, I shall have no objection." + +But Mrs. Armstrong was not deceived by these excuses; she knew that as +her husband's income increased, so did his pride. For eccentric persons +are always inconsistent, and his strange notions about his daughter's +education, and his refusal to allow her to ride on horseback after a +certain hour, with other objections to practices which he called "aping +the gentry," all arose from "the pride that apes humility." + +Meanwhile, quite unaware of her mother's reflections or her father's +opinions, Mary seated herself in a first-class carriage, her happiness +in the prospect of the coming journey only clouded by the fact that her +aged grandfather was approaching the borders of the grave. + +They were alone in the carriage as far as Slough, and as the express +train sped on the consciousness of this made her so uneasy that she +could not help breaking the silence by saying-- + +"Papa, do you think my grandfather will remember me?" + +"I think not, my daughter," he replied; "you were scarcely three years +old when he saw you last, and now you are a woman." + +"But I do hope he will be well enough to know who I am," she said. "I +have heard mamma talk of grandpapa so often that I feel sure I shall +recognise him when I see him, from her description." + +"Your mother does talk to you, then, about her visit to Meadow Farm?" + +"Yes, papa, often, and she says grandpapa was a fine, handsome old man +when she saw him fifteen years ago." + +There was a little feeling of gratification in Mr. Armstrong's heart at +this proof that his lady-wife could so think of his father; she had +often so spoken of him in conversation, but he had passed it by as the +loving words of a wife who wished to prove that she did not look down +with contempt on her husband's relations. + +But in her remarks to Mary there could be no such motives, and it was in +a tone of regret that he replied-- + +"Fifteen years will make a great difference in your grandfather's +appearance, Mary, and I expect you will find him decrepit, and infirm at +eighty-two years of age, and very much changed from the handsome old man +your mother describes." + +"I shall love him just the same, papa," she said firmly. + +The early spring evening was closing in as Mr. Armstrong and his +daughter drove to the gates of Meadow Farm. Mary could see, however, +that her father's face was pale with anxiety, as he hastily alighted +from the railway fly and turned to assist his daughter. + +At the same moment she heard a pleasant voice exclaiming-- + +"You have brought your daughter, Edward; I am very glad, for uncle is +longing to see her.--You are the image of your mother, Miss Armstrong," +continued the speaker, with a sudden deference, as the tall, graceful +girl held out her hand to the lady whom her father introduced as his +cousin Sarah. "The men will bring in your luggage, Edward," she added; +"come in at once and see uncle; he seems to have gained new life since +we sent for you and--Mary." + +The name came at last after a slight hesitation, for the bearing and +manner of Mary Armstrong, though perfectly free from pride, threw a +restraint upon her homely kinswoman, who remembered her only as a little +child of three years. + +Before they reached the house John Armstrong met them, and involuntarily +removed his garden hat, when his cousin Edward asked him if he +remembered his little playfellow Mary. + +"I hope you do, cousin," said Mary, pleasantly, to put him at his ease, +for this deferential treatment by her country cousins pained her +greatly. "I have often heard mamma speak of cousin Sarah and cousin +John, and I am so happy to be able to pay you a visit at last." + +As she spoke they entered the old farm kitchen. A space round the fire +was partially hidden by a screen. + +Mr. Armstrong led his daughter forward to the enclosed spot. + +"Who is come, Sarah?" said the quavering voice of an old man. + +"It is your son Edward. Father, how are you? This is my daughter, the +little Mary of whom you were once so fond." + +The old man looked up and grasped the hand of his son; then, as he saw +Mary, he made an effort to rise. + +"No, no, grandfather," she exclaimed, kneeling by his side and kissing +his cheek; "you must try to forget I am taller and older than the little +Mary you once knew." + +"Thank God that I have lived to see you, my child," said the old man, +laying his hand on her head, for Mary had thrown off her hat; "I thought +you wouldn't bring her, Edward," continued the old man, in the tearful +voice of excited old age. "But now you're come, my dear, we'll make you +happy. You're like your mother, child. Dear me, how the time flies! Ah, +well, I'm almost home now, and I feel like old Simeon, 'ready to depart +in peace,'" and the voice had a choking sound as he paused as if for +breath. Cousin Sarah approached. + +"You must be quiet for a little while, uncle," she said, "and not excite +yourself. I'm going to take Miss Armstrong upstairs for a few minutes +till tea is ready, and Edward would like to go to his room, I daresay." + +"Yes, yes, quite right, Sarah, I'll take care of myself," replied the +old man. "I'm only a little overcome at first." And as they left the +room he leaned back in his easy-chair and quietly watched the rosy +country servant as she covered the table with a profusion of good +things, such profusion as country people consider necessary to prove +their hospitality. + +Meanwhile Mary had followed cousin Sarah to a bedroom which, while it +lacked many of the elegant luxuries of her own room at home, charmed her +by its simplicity, cleanliness, and tasteful arrangements. The ceiling, +across which appeared a large beam, was low, the floor uneven and only +partially covered with a carpet. But through the lattice window the +moonlight fell in diamond patterns on the floor, only broken by the +shadow of the flickering rose-leaves that surrounded it. The dimity +curtains, the quilt, the bed furniture, and the toilet covers were of +snowy whiteness, and that peculiar fragrance of the country which is +often found in country bedrooms pervaded the room. + +Twilight still lingered, yet Mrs. John Armstrong carried a lighted +candle which flared and flickered in the draught from the open window. + +"I am sorry the window has not been closed, Miss Armstrong," she said, +as she shaded the candle in her hand, and advanced to fasten the +casement. + +"Please call me Mary, cousin Sarah," said the young lady, earnestly; +"and if you will put out the candle and leave the window curtains +undrawn, I shall prefer the moonlight. Oh, what a pleasant window!" she +added, as she looked out on the prospect so often described by her +mother. "Did mamma sleep here?" + +"No, your papa has the room in which she slept, it is larger than this; +but you shall see it to-morrow, the window overlooks the orchard." + +"Yes, I know," said Mary; "mamma has described it so often that I am +sure I shall recognise it." + +"Then Mrs. Armstrong remembers her visit to Meadow Farm?" + +"Indeed she does with great pleasure, and I have been so longing to come +here. I hope, however, that my coming has not excited dear grandfather +too much," she added, anxiously; "but I did not expect to find him up +from what cousin John said in the letter." + +"Oh, did you not? Why, uncle has never kept his bed a whole day yet; he +always comes down to dinner; strong, healthy men like he has been seldom +live long after once they take to their beds." + +Mary had been hastily making some slight alteration in her dress, and +emptying her carpet bag with a quickness which surprised cousin Sarah; +and seeing her ready they went downstairs together. + +Mary Armstrong had never before seen a real farm-house kitchen, and she +was not likely to forget the scene that presented itself as she entered. + +A large roomy apartment, containing two oriel windows, with leaden +casements and diamond window-panes. On one side a dresser and shelves, +covered with pewter plates, old china bowls, and various articles of +wedgwood and earthenware. + +Through an opposite door she could see another large kitchen lighted by +the blaze of a wood fire, in which servants were apparently busy, and +the voices of men and women could be heard. She noticed as she followed +her cousin to the screen that the window nearest the entrance door was +uncovered, and that the floor of the old kitchen appeared to be formed +of rough stones which she afterwards found was a mixture of lime and +sand. But for the moonlight, which passed through the uncovered window +and glittered like silver on the pewter plates, this part of the farm +kitchen would have had a very desolate aspect. Once, however, inside the +screen, how changed everything appeared! The portion enclosed was as +large as many a London parlour, and entirely covered with a thick +carpet. On the wide, open hearth lay a pile of coals and wooden logs, +that sent a blaze and a sparkle up the chimney, while the glowing heat +rendered the stone on which the carpet in front of the fire lay a far +warmer resting-place for a cold foot than the thickest hearth-rug ever +invented. + +On a large round table in the centre, covered with a snowy cloth, were +arranged china teacups of curious shape and rare value, the silver +teapot, cream-jug, and sugar-dish of most antique patterns, in which the +firelight gleamed and flickered, adding brightness to the good fare with +which the table was loaded. Above the high mantelpiece hung various +useful kitchen articles composed of tin, copper, and brass, all so +carefully and brightly polished that the light from a lamp and the +reflected blaze of the fire flashed from their surfaces with a glitter +that illuminated the enclosed portion of the kitchen, making the outer +part darker by contrast. + +In the most protected corner of this pleasant enclosure, and near the +glowing fire, sat old Mr. Armstrong with his son by his side, cheering +the old man by his pleasant conversation. Mary, as she entered, thought +she had never seen her father to so much advantage. The tender, +deferential manner of the son to the aged father was a new phase in his +character which charmed his youthful daughter. Mrs. John Armstrong took +her seat at the tea-table, while her husband rose with a native +politeness to place a chair for Mary, which made her forget that his +dress was the homely garb of a farmer. + +"Give up your seat to your daughter, Edward, and let Mary sit by me." + +The change was quickly made, and then the old gentleman said-- + +"Ah, my dear, I can see you more plainly now in the light of the lamp; +there is a look of the little child I remember so well, although you are +grown so tall and womanly." + +"Do you not think Mary is like her mother, uncle?" said cousin Sarah; +"and yet she has a look sometimes that reminds me of Edward." + +"Never mind whom she resembles," said the old man; "if my granddaughter +is, as I hear from her father, a dutiful and affectionate daughter, that +is of far more value than her personal appearance." + +How pleasantly that evening passed! Mary played a game of chess with the +old gentleman, whose mind was still clear, notwithstanding his +eighty-two years, and delighted him by her quick intelligence, and +perhaps not less by finding that he could beat her after a well-matched +contest. + +When Mary laid her head on her pillow that night in the pretty white +bedroom, as she called it, she felt that there could be found much more +real happiness in a country life than in all the gaieties and +frivolities of a London season. + +But Mary had yet to learn the real foundation of the peace and harmony +which seemed to surround the residents at Meadow Farm like a halo, and +even to make her sleep more sweetly in her white-curtained bed than she +had ever done even in the richly furnished rooms and luxurious couches +at her aunt Elston's, in Portland Place, after an evening spent in +gaiety and excitement. + +For the first time in her life Mary had knelt at family prayer. + +The old clock in the kitchen had scarcely finished striking nine when +cousin Sarah rose, and taking from a shelf a large old-fashioned Bible +and book of family prayers, placed them on the table before Edward +Armstrong. + +"Do you not read yourself, father?" he asked. + +"No, my son, I have not been able to do so for some years; John always +supplies my place; but now you are here you must officiate." + +To Mary all this was new. Except at church she had never seen her father +with a Bible in his hand, and she wondered whether he had been +accustomed to this in his childhood. + +Edward Armstrong possessed one accomplishment which is not always +sufficiently appreciated, he read well; and the beautiful chapter which +his father requested him to read sounded to Mary as something she had +never before heard--the 15th chapter of St. Luke, and the story of the +prodigal son. + +The prayer also which followed was new to her. It seemed so suited to +the time and place and persons assembled, that she could follow every +petition as if it came from her own heart. No wonder Mary Armstrong +after this could sleep peacefully. + +The sunbeams of an April morning aroused her at an early hour next +morning. She sprung out of bed and drew back the window-curtains. What a +charming prospect met her view! Close beneath her lay stretched a large +and well-kept garden, old-fashioned paths bordered with box, and +flower-beds of various geometrical shapes, in which crocus and snowdrop, +wallflower, and polyanthus spread themselves in picturesque confusion. + +Nearer the house the lilac buds were just bursting into flower, and +around her windows the monthly roses mingled their delicate pink leaves +with the dark green ivy that covered the wall. + +Beyond stretched field and meadow in early spring verdure. In the +furrows of an adjacent field men were already busily employed in sowing +seeds, and from a distance could be heard the lowing of cattle, the +clucking of hens as they led their chirping broods, the quacking of +ducks and geese, the peculiar note of the guinea-fowl, and above them +all Chanticleer's shrill but familiar crow. Mary turned from the window +with a hasty determination to obtain a closer inspection of these +pleasant rural sights and sounds. Dressing herself quickly she descended +the stairs, and found every one in the house up and busy except her +father and grandfather, although it was not yet half-past six o'clock. + +Mrs. John Armstrong came forward with surprise to greet the London lady, +who could leave her room at such an early hour. + +"What, up already, Mary?" she said, "I did not expect to see you till +nine o'clock." + +"I rise early at home always," she replied; "papa often leaves for +London at half-past eight, and I breakfast with him." + +"Ah, yes, I forgot that you live at some distance from London now, and +therefore our country manners and ways are not quite new to you." + +"It is very pleasant country where we live, but not so rural as this," +said Mary; and then, as she observed her cousin take some barley from a +bin in the outer kitchen, she exclaimed, "Oh, cousin Sarah, if you are +going to feed the chickens, do let me go with you, I am longing to see +the farmyard, and I can carry something for you." + +"Of course you shall go, my dear; I shall be glad to have you. Ned and +Jack are away at school now in Southampton, and I miss their help very +much." + +Mary was soon loaded with a basket containing provision for the farmyard +pensioners, and while they walked she asked many questions about her +cousins John and Edward, boys of eleven and fifteen, cousin Sarah's only +surviving children. But the strange farmyard scenes soon occupied all +Mary's attention. Never in her life had she seen so many geese, ducks, +chickens, and pigeons, and until they were all fed and satisfied nothing +else could be attempted. + +At length Mary was at liberty to look round her. The farmyard was +surrounded by barns, stables for horses and cattle, waggon-sheds, hen +and pigeon-houses, rabbit-hutches, and a pond in the centre, by no means +small, for the ducks and geese, near which stood their comfortable +nests. + +"The man is going to feed the pigs, Mary," said her cousin; "their sties +are at the back of the stables, opening into a field." + +She led the way from the farmyard as she spoke, and as they drew near +the spot Mary heard a most unmelodious sound, half-grunting, +half-squeaking, with which the little hungry animals greeted their +keeper. There appeared about a hundred little pigs in a portion of the +field adjoining the sties, and railed in from the other part by wooden +palings and hurdles. At intervals, close to the fence, stood troughs, +and the moment their keeper appeared in sight there arose such a perfect +yell and growl of grunting and squealing that Mary could not attempt to +speak. + +The little animals, who varied in age from six weeks to three months, +were beautifully clean and white, and when Mary saw them looking through +holes in the palings, and many of them standing on their hind-legs to +put their noses over, she could scarcely speak for laughing. + +"I thought pigs were such heavy, stupid things," she said at last, "but +these are lively enough." + +"They be lively enough when they be'es hungry," said the man, as he +entered the enclosure and drove them back into their houses while he and +his helper filled their troughs. + +"You can come and see them fed another morning," said cousin Sarah, "but +I must go in and prepare breakfast now. Will you amuse yourself in the +garden till you hear the bell ring, and gather some flowers for the +table?" + +"Yes, I should like it of all things;" and Mrs. John Armstrong led Mary +to the garden gate and left her. + +Mary wandered down the dew moistened paths, now and then gathering +flowers as she passed. In her mind, while looking at the ungainly little +beasts in the field, had arisen a memory of words in the parable she had +heard read the evening before--"and he sent him into the fields to feed +swine." Her knowledge of Oriental customs enabled her to understand the +deep degradation of such employment, not only to the Jew, but to the +natives of other Eastern countries. And yet, after all, the prodigal's +father received him again with open arms. + +She was walking still in deep thought when her father's step aroused +her. + +"What is the subject of my daughter's thoughts?" he said as he placed +his arm round her. + +Mary avoided a direct reply. Not even to her father could she open her +heart on the real subject of her thoughts. But she described with so +much vivacity the scenes she had lately visited, not forgetting the +greedy pigs, that her father was quite amused. + +The eight o'clock bell summoned the whole household to prayers, and when +Mary entered the farm kitchen she found the screen drawn back and about +twenty farm-servants, male and female, waiting to join in the morning +devotions. + +Her grandfather was absent, but her father conducted the service as on +the previous evening. And when she seated herself at the breakfast-table +the glow of health on her cheek was not brighter than the glow of +pleasure in her heart as she thought of a whole family kneeling and +asking God to guide and keep them through the day from danger and sin. + +Mr. Edward Armstrong was obliged to return to London on the day after +his arrival, and finding his father so much better than he expected he +did so with less regret. "You can leave your daughter for a few days +longer, Edward," said his father; "I have hardly had time to renew my +acquaintance with her, and it is not possible that I shall ever see her +again in this world." + +"Would you like to stay for a week, Mary?" asked her father. + +"Yes, papa, very much, if dear mamma can spare me for so long." + +"There is no doubt of that, my dear," he replied, "especially if she +thinks your stay will be agreeable to your grandfather." + +And so Mary Armstrong remained at Meadow Farm for a week, a period which +in after-life was never forgotten. The loving affection of the kind old +man was returned by her in attention to his every wish. So much, indeed, +had this visit cheered and revived him, that on fine afternoons, when +persuaded by Mary, he would lean on her strong young arm, and walk about +the garden and fields of the farm. + +On the Sunday he even ventured to the village church; and when +congratulated by friends who wondered at the elegant graceful girl on +whose arm he leaned, he would say with affectionate pride, "This is my +granddaughter, Edward's eldest child." + +In these walks the young girl opened her heart to the aged Christian, +who had had a long life's experience in the "ways of wisdom," and had +found her paths "paths of peace." + +From him Mary Armstrong learnt those truths which were to be her comfort +and guide in after days of sorrow and trial. + +When her father came for her at the end of the week she felt the parting +from her grandfather and cousins only softened by the thought that she +was returning to her mother so dearly loved. At parting the good old +gentleman gave her a Bible with marginal references, and a concordance, +which she received with many tears, for she felt that never again on +earth should she hear the loving voice that had first said to her, "This +is the way, walk ye in it." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A VISIT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. + + +During the evening at Mr. Drummond's there had been very little +opportunity for Mr. Armstrong to discover that the gentleman with white +hair was the head of the school at which his little Freddy attended as a +pupil. He had been greatly pleased with the gentle and refined manners +of Dr. Halford and his son, and felt at once that they were both men of +superior education. He had greatly appreciated their remarks on both +literary and scientific subjects after the ladies had left the +dinner-table; but, unfortunately, one of Mr. Armstrong's narrow-minded +prejudices made him judge schoolmasters and clergymen with anything but +Christian charity. Added to this they were proverbially poor, and +poverty in his eyes was becoming almost a crime. + +"What business," he would say, "has a man to educate his son to be a +clergyman if he has not independent means, or a living ready for him? or +even to be a schoolmaster, with fine notions about education, and not a +penny in his pocket? Better by far make him a carpenter or a shoemaker, +to work for his living without having to endure the torture of keeping +up a genteel appearance upon poverty." + +Mr. Armstrong had been unfortunate in his experience respecting +schoolmasters and curates; and with the unbending obstinacy of his +nature adhered to the opinion he had formed. The bare idea that Dr. +Halford could be a schoolmaster, or that his son was studying at Oxford +to become a curate, never occurred to him. His wife, who knew his +prejudiced opinions too well, would not enlighten him on the subject, +while speaking next morning of the great pleasure he had found in their +society, although she wondered that the name had not reminded him of +Freddy's school. + +Mrs. Armstrong congratulated herself, as she remembered that Mary's +father had been too much occupied at the dinner-table to notice the +gentleman who sat by her side. "If any unpleasantness should arise from +the attentions of that young man to my daughter," she said to herself, +"I shall have to remove my little Freddy from school, and he is so happy +there." + +One afternoon, after the Easter holidays, Freddy brought home a little +note, fortunately addressed to herself, containing the quarter's +account. The sum was comparatively trifling, and she sent it herself the +next day by Freddy. It had been made out to Mr. Armstrong; but she +feared to show him the bill on which the name of Halford stood so +conspicuously written. + +Mrs. Armstrong was giving herself unnecessary anxiety. Henry Halford was +already at Oxford absorbed in his books, and more than ever determined +to ignore even the existence of a certain young lady with large grey +eyes and bright brown hair, who had for a time dazzled his senses. + +And Mary, did a thought of that pleasant dinner-party ever pass over her +mind? Yes; for true to her promise she had read Milton's works with +greater interest than ever; she had made notes of the explanations Mr. +Henry Halford had given her so far as she could remember them, and +perhaps a little feeling of disappointment arose in her heart that he +had not sent the copy of "Paradise Lost," which he had offered to lend +her, and which contained notes in the margin. Mary Armstrong owned to +herself that she liked Mr. Henry Halford, both in manners and +appearance; and, above all, for being so evidently clever and +well-informed; but she was not likely to be easily won. The thought of +marriage, as a possible event at some future time, would sometimes occur +to her; but _falling_ in love implied a weakness, and the citadel of +Mary Armstrong's heart was so well guarded by constant and active +employment, a love of acquiring knowledge, and a mind well informed on +the best subjects, that it would need a strong siege to make the citadel +surrender. At present, therefore, Mary was free; and the spring months +passed away; and June, with its roses, its blue skies and balmy air, +arrived to gladden the earth. + +The health of Mrs. Armstrong had greatly improved since her residence at +Lime Grove. Freddy was also looking well and rosy; and letters from +Edward and Arthur were full of the anticipation of the happiness in +store for them during the Midsummer holidays. + +One morning early in June a carriage drove up to the gate of Lime Grove, +and to Mrs. Armstrong's great satisfaction she saw her sister, Mrs. +Herbert, preparing to alight. The colonel and his wife had been abroad +during the winter; and the sisters met in the hall with affectionate +pleasure. + +"Why, Mary," said her aunt, as her niece came forward to welcome her, +"you are grown quite a woman; and you and your mother look so well, I am +sure this place must agree with you." + +"Yes, indeed it does, aunt," replied Mary, leading her to a chair; "but +has it not made a change in mamma?" + +"Wonderful!" said the lady, as she seated herself. + +"Wont you take off your bonnet, Helen, and stay to lunch?" asked her +sister. + +"Yes, presently. I want a little talk first, and there is plenty of +time." + +"Let me send a message to the coachman to put up the horses, aunt," said +Mary; "it's a long drive from town, and they must want rest." + +Mrs. Herbert agreed to remain for an hour or two; the horses were safely +stabled, and the servants desired to give the two men their dinners; +all, indeed, was arranged according to Mary's wishes, for Mrs. Armstrong +gave up every household management to her active, energetic daughter. + +"Well, upon my word, Mary," said her aunt, after having been, as she +said, carried upstairs by force of arms to remove her bonnet and shawl, +and was now seated in a luxurious chair near an open window, "upon my +word you manage to have your own way very decidedly." + +"Perhaps I do," she replied, laughing; "but now, aunt, is it not more +comfortable to feel you have nothing to do but talk or listen, instead +of being obliged to interrupt a pleasant conversation to get ready for +lunch in a great hurry?" + +"Ah, yes, I daresay you are right, Mary; but now, before I tell you one +cause of my visit I must hear all the news. Do you like your house as +well as ever?" + +"Yes, quite; indeed I may say, better, for the garden is repaying the +money we laid out upon it last year, and we have obtained such a nice +school for Freddy." + +"Your flowers are beautiful, I can see so far," said Mrs. Herbert--and +so of one thing and another the ladies continued to talk, till at last, +after Mary's drawings had been examined, her German lessons described, +as well as the beautiful grey mare her father had given her--Mrs. +Herbert said, "When will Edward be at home, Maria?" + +"Not before five; we dine at six. If you wish to see him you must stay +to dinner." + +"I would rather not do so; it will make my return home so late. Do you +think I may venture to take Mary away for a week or ten days without +asking her father's consent?" + +"Oh, aunt, I'm afraid not," said Mary, "if you wish me to visit you in +Park Lane." + +"Only for a day or two, my dear. Your uncle and I are going to Oxford +for a week on a special invitation from Charles, and in his letter he +says I am to be sure and bring Mary." + +"It is no use to look so anxiously at me, my dear," said Mrs. Armstrong; +"I could not decide myself in such a matter; you must persuade your aunt +to stay to dinner, and then she can ask your father herself." + +"Would you like to go, Mary?" said her aunt. + +"Oh yes, above all things, aunt. I went to Cambridge once with papa, but +he says it is nothing to Oxford. We shall be able to visit the colleges, +and the museum, and libraries. I've read about them; and to visit such +ancient, antique places, will be a great treat." + +"Charles seems to think," replied her aunt, "that there is nothing so +likely to attract visitors to Oxford as the grand commemoration which +takes place once in three years, and is to happen this year. I suppose, +from what he says, that it will be a very gay and exciting time at +Oxford." + +"Can you manage without me, mamma?" asked Mary, suddenly. + +"Certainly, darling; I would not deprive you of such a pleasure for a +great deal." + +"Then if aunt cannot stay I'll ask papa myself, and perhaps he will take +me to Park Lane to-morrow, when he goes to town." + +"I should like to have a decision to-day, my dear, that I may write to +Charles and tell him when to expect us, so I suppose I must stay, for I +intend to take you back with me this evening, Mary; and as it is +daylight till ten o'clock, we need not mind being late." + +This decision gave pleasure to both mother and daughter; and after +luncheon Mary left the sisters to their pleasant afternoon chat, while +she went to pack a box with various articles which she knew she should +require for so long a visit. + +"I don't think my father will refuse to grant me this great pleasure," +she said to herself, "so I may as well have everything in readiness, and +not keep aunt Helen waiting when his consent is obtained. If he does +object to my going I can easily unpack my box again, and replace +everything." + +But Mary sighed at the prospect of a disappointment. + +She was, however, not doomed to such a result. Mr. Armstrong could not +resist the pleading eyes of his daughter when her aunt stated her wish, +and readily gave his consent. As quickly as possible after they had +dined, the carriage was brought to the door. Yet with all the delightful +anticipations of the visit in store for her, Mary could not part from +her mother without a feeling of regret which almost produced tears. She +had so lately left her to visit her grandfather for a week, and as she +kissed her she whispered--"Mamma, are you sure you can manage without +me, and shall you feel lonely?" + +"No no, dearest, don't be afraid, Morris will do all I require, and I +shall amuse myself by thinking of your happiness, and of all you will +have to tell me on your return." + +Mr. Armstrong seemed to participate fully in his daughter's pleasure, +and as he placed her in the carriage with her aunt, after kissing her +affectionately, a deep feeling of pride rose in his heart. Mary was all +he could wish her to be. He had superintended her education, and to +himself alone he attributed all the good qualities she possessed. + +"My daughter will attract notice in the society she meets at Colonel +Herbert's," he said to himself. "I wish her to marry well, both as to +position and money. She is not likely to make a foolish attachment. At +all events, should such a thing arise I have influence enough with her +to put a stop to it. Mary will not disobey me." + +Meanwhile Colonel Herbert's open carriage was bowling along on its +delicate springs towards London in the pleasant summer evening. + +For some minutes the present and anticipated enjoyment kept Mary silent. +At last her aunt made some remark which caused her to say--"I thought +cousin Charles was at Windsor with his regiment." + +"So he was a week ago, but he has taken advantage of leave of absence to +visit an old friend at Oxford, who has lately obtained a fellowship, and +he is so delighted with the place that he wishes us to participate in +his pleasure." + +"He is very kind to think of me," replied Mary, "and you could not have +proposed for me a greater treat. When do you intend to start?" + +"On Thursday, I hope, but I must write to Charles this evening that he +may secure apartments at the Mitre Hotel. I believe that during the week +of commemoration Oxford presents a very gay appearance, and every +available room in the town is quickly hired at a fabulous rent. I have +heard the scenes described, but while Charles was at the Woolwich +Academy the grand days there in which he figured were my greatest +attraction." + +"Oh yes, aunt, I can quite understand a preference for the places where +our own relations are studying. Those days when you took me to Woolwich +while cousin Charles was a cadet were delightful." + +And so the aunt and niece continued to talk till the carriage drove into +Park Lane, and Colonel Herbert appeared to welcome the arrival of his +niece. + +"Well done, Helen," he said, as his wife led Mary in. "So you have +succeeded in your expedition, and enticed the home bird from her nest?" + +"Not without waiting for permission from head-quarters," she replied. "I +was made to remain to dinner, for the young lady appeared resolute; she +would not stir without her father's sanction, which, however, was most +readily given." + +"Quite right, Mary, there can be no hope of future happiness in any +matter which opposes a parent's will." + +"Take Miss Armstrong to her room, Annette," said Mrs. Herbert to the +little French maid, who stood waiting to attend the young lady; and then +she added in English--"I am going to write to Charles at once, Mary. Go +with Annette, she will unpack your box, and do all you require." + +Mary followed the tastefully yet neatly dressed French girl to a +pleasant room overlooking the park, and soon delighted the young +foreigner in a strange land by addressing her with ease in her own +language. + +Mary, after arranging her dress, and allowing her beautiful hair to pass +through the agile fingers of the French girl, seated herself at the open +window to watch with eager amusement the varied groups who still +lingered or sauntered leisurely along in the cool evening air. + +The summons for tea took her to the drawing-room, and the evening passed +in listening to descriptions of her aunt's journey to the south of +France, and of the beautiful _chateau_ overlooking the blue waters of +the Mediterranean in which they had lived. + +"We often wished you and your mother were with us, Mary," said her +uncle, "all the reading in the world about these lovely spots can never +realise the scenes to the imagination of the reader in their full +beauty. They must be seen to be understood." + +"I hope I shall have that opportunity some day," said Mary. "Papa often +talks about spending a few months on the Continent, although he dreads +the thought of leaving the management of his business to others. But, +aunt Helen, I should think some of the scenery in Wales or Scotland, and +in England too, especially in the lake country, must be as beautiful as +any place in foreign lands." + +"England has a beauty of its own in its soft and picturesque scenery," +said her uncle, "but in the glorious south the sunshine, the luxurious +vegetation, and the clear air, which makes distant objects so sharply +defined, render the scenery very unlike that of a northern landscape. +Still, it is a fact that many English people go abroad to admire foreign +countries who know nothing of the beauties in their own native land." + +"I've heard papa make the same remark, uncle, and I shall always feel +thankful to him for taking me so many pleasant trips through England, +and if I ever have the good fortune to visit other countries I shall be +able to make comparisons, and I don't think dear old England will lose +much after all." + +"Quite right, Mary, stand up for your own native land, and be thankful +that you are not being suffocated with the heat in India, nor subject in +England to earthquakes, tornados, or storms, such as destroy cities, and +terrify so often the inhabitants of the torrid zone." + +"Indeed I am thankful already, uncle, for I have heard Aunt Helen +describe Indian storms, and the terrible heat, too often not to be glad +I have a dear English home. Is the scenery round Oxford beautiful?" she +asked after a pause. + +"It is rather flat, but very picturesque on the banks of the Thames, +which runs behind Christchurch Meadows, especially in summer. Have you +never been in Oxfordshire, Mary?" + +"No, uncle, but I have seen Windsor, that is the next county, so I +suppose there is a similarity in the scenery." + +"A little, perhaps, but I will leave you to judge for yourself. And now, +suppose you give us a little music." + +And thus the evening passed away, and we cannot wonder if in Mary's +dreams were mixed up various subjects which had made that day so +different to the quiet studious scenes of home. + +Next day they drove to the Kensington Museum, and afterwards spent a few +hours at the Exhibition of the Royal Academy, the latter always a +delight to Mary. And at a rather early hour she laid her head on her +pillow full of joyous anticipations of the morrow's journey. + +Could she have foreseen the result of this visit would she have shrunk +from it? We cannot tell. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE COMMEMORATION WEEK. + + +Brightly shone the sun over the towers and pinnacles of the glorious old +city as the train sped along between Didcot and Oxford. Down the High +Street towards the railway station two gentlemen were walking slowly, +one of them wearing the Master of Arts gown and the trencher cap; the +other, though in plain clothes, had the bearing and gait of a soldier. + +Except the bright dark eyes and the clear olive skin there is very +little in the tall manly figure and whiskered face to recall the Charley +Herbert whom Edward Armstrong saved from an untimely death. His +companion, who scarcely reaches to his shoulder, has no such personal +attractions as his friend, but the keen eye, broad forehead, and +intellectual, studious face, command at once respect and attention. + +"At what time is the train due?" asked Charles Herbert, taking out his +watch. + +"12.30," was the reply. + +"Oh, then we have plenty of time to drop in at Queen's and asked Maurice +about the boatrace. Hollo, old fellow, where are you going?" and the +young officer looked at the offered hand of his friend with surprise. + +"I ought not to intrude upon your friends on the very moment of their +arrival, Herbert, so I'll say good-by now." + +"Nonsense! I want you to know them; come, along, Wilton; you are not +going to escape me in this way; and here comes Maurice, the very man I +want. Who is that tall fellow with him?" he added hastily, in a low +tone, as the two undergraduates approached, one of them with a pleased +recognition of Charles and his friend. + +"I'll introduce you if you like," had been Mr. Wilton's reply, and as +the four gentlemen met and exchanged a friendly greeting, Charles found +himself returning the bow of the stranger, who was being named to him as +"Mr. Henry Halford, of Queen's." + +"I think we have met before, Mr. Herbert," said Henry, with a smile, "we +were fellow pupils at Dr. Mason's." + +"To be sure, I thought the name was familiar," exclaimed Charles, +holding out his hand, "but how was I to recognise our famous Grecian as +a tall undergrad. with whiskers; but I remember the face now." And then +the two gentlemen stood talking over olden times until Horace Wilton +reminded Charles Herbert that he had but a few minutes to spare if he +wished to reach the station in time to meet his friends, and persisting +in wishing him "Good-by," started him off. + +Hasty promises were made to meet on the morrow, hasty farewells uttered, +and then Charles Herbert found himself proceeding alone at a rapid rate +towards the station. + +He had, however, several minutes to wait on the platform before the +train slowly drew up, and then from a window of a first-class carriage +he recognised the bright, intelligent face of his cousin Mary. + +In a few moments the door of the carriage was opened, and a proud, fond +welcome from the son whom the mother had not seen for so many months +almost brought tears in Mary's eyes. + +"Are you tired? Shall we walk to the hotel, and leave the boxes for a +porter to bring?" were the eager questions readily assented to at last, +and then Charles Herbert, taking possession of his cousin's arm, led the +way to his hotel. + +Perhaps, to a stranger, no period of time at Oxford can be more fraught +with interest than the week in which the yearly commemoration is held. +The town no doubt appears more dull by contrast during the long +vacation, but in full term time the streets seem redolent of learning; +the grave don walking with stately step, as if conscious how far above +all other is the power conferred by knowledge and mental superiority; +the severe-looking proctor, with his black velvet-trimmed gown adding to +his appearance of stern, gloomy determination to be the punisher of +evildoers; the youthful freshman, who wears his new honours with shy +pride, contrasted with the careless indifference of his more experienced +companion, who, carrying a number of musty-looking volumes under his +arm, seems quite unconscious that his gown is in rags, or that the cane +is visible at one or more corners of his cap. + +The yearly commemoration at Oxford certainly presents a scene of +excitement scarcely equalled, from the peculiar features of the place, +the period, and the principal actors. + +It is preceded by that terrible time when the aspirants for honours, +shivering and pale, sit writing answers to questions of alarming +difficulty, or replying with painful nervousness to their seemingly +stern examiners, who sit or stand before them with covered heads. + +This is followed by sickening suspense till the list of names decides +their fate. Then the scene changes; books are laid aside, learning seems +for a time ignored. The long vacation is about to commence; all is +pleasure and gaiety. + +Happy fathers, proud mothers, brothers, sisters, and cousins, occupy +every habitable part of Oxford outside the college walls, submitting to +any inconvenience that they may be present during the exciting week. + +On the day of Mary's arrival with her aunt and uncle, several of the men +who had been going through a terrible ordeal in the schools might be +seen with pale and anxious faces wending their way to different +colleges. But as Mary entered the High Street at Magdalen Bridge, the +colleges on either side of the road, and the steeples in the distance so +occupied her attention that she scarcely noticed any other object. + +"What college is that?" she asked, as the beautiful but antique outline +of Magdalen first met her view. + +"I am not quite up in the wonders of Oxford yet," he replied, "although +I have been here a week; but I can tell you the names of those before +you. This is Magdalen College. A little higher on the right is Queen's; +the one opposite is University. That church with the spire is St. +Mary's, the University Church; close to it All Soul's College, and----" + +"Oh, stop," cried Mary, "if you have whole streets of colleges and +churches in Oxford to describe, you must let me learn their names a few +at a time, or I shall mix them all up together. Are those young men with +caps and gowns clergymen?" she asked, suddenly. + +"No, but what made you think so, Mary?" + +"Because they have white ties, and others in the same dress have not." + +"I am glad to be able to explain so far," he replied, laughing; "they +have been passing their examination in the schools, and at such an +occasion, I am told, the white tie is a customary appendage. But, Mary, +if you are bent upon understanding all the unusual things you see at +Oxford, I must provide you with a more experienced guide than myself. +And here we are at the hotel," he added, as he stopped to wait for his +parents, who were examining the buildings they passed with almost as +much eagerness and interest as Mary. + +They turned into the hotel together, and in a very short time, after +taking a hasty lunch, they sallied forth in the bright sunshine, bent +upon exploring the wonders of a city so famed in ancient lore. + +"We may as well begin with Magdalen College," said Charles, as they +walked down the High Street, but on reaching Queen's, he suddenly +paused, and saying, "Wait for me a moment," darted into the quadrangle, +and disappeared among the cloisters. + +In a few moments he returned in the company of a gentlemanly-looking +man, in cap and gown, whom he introduced to the colonel and Mrs. +Herbert. Then turning to his cousin, he said-- + +"Mr. Maurice, my cousin Miss Armstrong has been already asking me so +many questions about the manners, customs, and buildings of your famous +university, that I shall be glad to place her in the charge of a more +well-informed guide than myself." + +The young man, who wore a bachelor's gown with its large sleeves, gladly +but modestly accepted the charge so pleasantly made over to him. And +Mary, though at first a little reserved, soon found it pleasant to have +a companion who could answer her questions and give her unasked many +interesting particulars. In the course of the afternoon they were joined +by Mr. Wilton, Charles Herbert's friend, who proved himself a very +valuable addition to the party. + +And so Friday and Saturday passed away in sight-seeing, visits to the +colleges, or attending afternoon service at New College and Magdalen; +and yet Mary showed no signs of fatigue. Never in her life had she been +more deeply interested; and although as _Show Sunday_ approached, the +streets were filled with well-dressed people, her attention was not +easily diverted. Sunday arrived, a bright June day, and in the evening a +gathering took place in Christ Church meadows, singularly styled _Vanity +Fair_. Fair ladies are certainly present on these occasions, but who +would apply to them the term vanity, although they have literally come +out to see and to be seen? + +Show Sunday, as the Sunday before commemoration is termed, certainly +presents a show very seldom seen in any other locality in England. + +The most dignified of Oxford's learned magnates are there, accompanied +by the ladies of their families and distinguished visitors. + +Strings of gownsmen, arm-in-arm, parade the Long Walk, observing with a +sort of good-natured envy their more favoured fellows, on whose arms +lean some of the fairest and noblest of England's daughters. And in +almost every instance the promenaders of the gentler sex are attired in +that simple elegance of style which marks the well-bred woman of +polished society. Into this novel and attractive scene Mary Armstrong +was led by her cousin and Frank Maurice, upon whose arm she leaned. + +Her uncle and aunt had continued their walk to the water side, but +Charles and his friend detained her after the second turn in the Long +Walk for another stroll through the broad promenade beneath the lofty +elm trees. + +Charles Herbert felt proud of the slight, graceful figure, so becomingly +attired, by whom he walked. The simple, white dress, lace mantle, and +blue silk bonnet were attractive from their simplicity, and more than +one gownsman, who raised his cap to Frank Maurice, cast admiring eyes on +the fair, intellectual face and noble features of the young lady by his +side. Presently two gownsmen turned into the walk, and as they +approached, one of them said to the other-- + +"Why, Halford, here comes Wilton's tall friend with Maurice, and a lady +on his arm." + +The young man thus addressed started as his companion spoke; he had +quickly recognised the young lady whom he had twice met, and now as they +drew near, and Charles Herbert advanced to claim his acquaintance in a +friendly manner, his face became pale as death. It flushed, however, and +the consciousness of this restored his self-possession as Charles +introduced his cousin, Miss Armstrong. + +"I have met Miss Armstrong before," he said, with an effort; "my father +resides at Kilburn, at a very short distance from the Limes." + +For once Mary was at fault, so great was her surprise to see her +dinner-table friend, and her little brother's tutor, at Oxford, in the +costume of an undergraduate. But as the new-comers joined them in their +walk, and entered into conversation, with her companions, she recovered +herself, and took the first opportunity to address a few words to him. + +The bells began to toll for evening service, and Frank Maurice, excusing +himself to Mary and her cousin, wished them good evening and joined the +gownsmen with whom Henry Halford had a few minutes before made his +appearance. + +"Whither shall we go this evening, Mary?" asked her cousin. + +"I have no choice," she replied; "aunt talked of going to St. Mary's, +but where are uncle and aunt gone?" she exclaimed, looking round in +surprise. + +Charles Herbert hesitated for a moment, and then, as the sudden thought +occurred that Mary had met an old acquaintance, he said-- + +"Mr. Halford, if you will kindly take care of my cousin, I will go in +search of my runaway relatives." + +Henry Halford bowed, and as Charles quickly disappeared he offered his +arm to Mary, and led her slowly on in the direction taken by her cousin. + +For some minutes conflicting thoughts filled the minds of these two +young people so suddenly thrown into each other's society. + +"How very pale Mr. Halford looked when he met us just now!" said Mary +Armstrong to herself. "What could be the cause? How strange that I +should meet him here! and yet I remember now that mamma said Dr. +Halford's son was going to Oxford. How nervous he seems! and so +different from his manner at the dinner-table at Mr. Drummond's. Ah, how +clever I thought him then! and after a university education I should +feel absolutely afraid to talk with him. I expect he will end by taking +a fellowship like Mr. Wilton. These clever men never marry;" and then a +quick flash of thought that crimsoned the young girl's face passed +through her mind: "yet I should like my husband to be even more clever +and well informed than papa." The silence was becoming painful, and Mary +was glad enough to be able to say-- + +"Oh, here they come at last; do you know my uncle and aunt, Mr. +Halford?" + +Before he could reply, the colonel and his wife drew near, and Charles +quickly introduced the young gownsman, whom he had seen more than once, +and of whom he had heard favourable accounts. + +After a while Charles Herbert offered his arm to Mary, leaving his young +friend to make his own way with his elders, which he did so successfully +that they invited him to their hotel to dine on the following day. + +Charles made the most of his time during the walk home with his cousin. +He had a kind of brotherly affection for Mary, and her regard for him +had all the elements of sisterly love; there was therefore perfect ease +on both sides in their association with each other, which perhaps +induced him to say to her on this evening words which created in her +mind new ideas, and led to results he little anticipated. + +Charles Herbert himself had no thought of marriage at present, and +therefore never suspected that the trifling questions he put to Mary in +a joking way would lead to serious thoughts on her part. + +"So you and Mr. Halford are old friends. Mary?" + +"No, Charles, I have only met him twice; the second time, three months +ago at a dinner party." + +"Well, he appeared considerably discomposed when he met you. Do you +think uncle Armstrong would consider the future parson a suitable match +for his daughter?" + +"Oh, Charles, don't say such foolish things; does every young man want +to marry a young lady when he talks pleasantly to her? if I thought so, +I would never speak to any of them again." + +The young officer laughed heartily as he replied, "Well, Mary, I wont +tease you any more, but if Mr. Halford does take advantage of pleasant +talk with you, and should make you an offer, remember I warned you." + +Mary did not reply, and the conversation drifted into another subject. + +But her cousin's playful remarks had excited new ideas, and when alone +in her room that night she almost decided to avoid the society of the +young man in whom she felt herself already interested. In about two +years he would finish his terms, and with his acknowledged talents was +it likely he would fail to pass for his degree, and obtain ordination? +And then--he would be a clergyman, a curate perhaps with a hundred a +year,--would her father consent to such a match for her? Some such +thoughts as these for a time perplexed her, till at last she dismissed +them as absurd. Mr. Henry Halford had never by word or look given her a +right to imagine any such nonsense; and after all why should she allow +herself to be influenced by the jokes of her cousin Charles? + +But to dismiss thoughts of persons with whom we are constantly +associated is not an easy matter, as Mary quickly discovered. In an +early walk next day with her cousin and his friends they again +encountered Henry Halford. He accompanied them to the afternoon service +at New College, and soon proved himself as efficient a guide as Frank +Maurice. At dinner he completely won the good opinion of Colonel +Herbert, by making sensible remarks on various subjects with a modest +unobtrusiveness so pleasing in a young man to his elders; and when they +separated on that evening it was quite understood that Henry Halford was +to consider himself one of their party during this visit to Oxford. +Charles Herbert looked however in vain for any signs that these two +young people, Henry Halford and Mary Armstrong, were, as he called it, +"falling in love" with each other. + +They appeared on most friendly terms; Henry rather reserved, but kind, +attentive, and polite to the young lady, who treated him with easy +familiarity totally unmixed with self-consciousness. There was no +scheming to separate from the rest of the party, and Charles Herbert was +at length forced to admit that his joking remarks to Mary had been +ill-timed. + +And yet in the heart of Henry Halford a struggle had commenced, which he +could with difficulty maintain when in Mary's society. He also had +secretly communed with himself after meeting her so suddenly on the +Sunday evening in Christchurch meadows. His first impulse was to leave +Oxford and return home at once, rather than again meet the girl whose +presence had aroused all the former emotions which he had supposed were +completely crushed. He tried to reason with himself on the folly of +supposing that he could form a just estimate of a young lady's character +in scarcely two interviews; and even if he had now the opportunity +placed in his way of seeing her more frequently, could he venture to +offer himself to Mr. Armstrong as a suitor for his only daughter? But +this very hopelessness nerved him to remain in her society; he was not +coxcomb enough to suppose such a sensible girl as Mary Armstrong in any +danger from this association with him; and so he remained, firmly +guarding his words and actions, that not one might be mistaken as a wish +to gain her affections. + +Yet the days passed pleasantly: very frequently the three young people +sallied forth alone, Mrs. Herbert and the colonel not being able to +endure so much fatigue; at other times they were punted up the river to +Iffley, passing water-lilies and banks of forget-me-nots, while the +gaudy dragon-fly, with its green and gold feathers glittering in the +sun, flitted across from bank to bank. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +CHRISTCHURCH MEADOWS. + + +The morning of Commemoration-day dawned in full summer splendour. At an +early hour Mrs. Herbert and Mary were conducted by Henry Halford and the +captain to the ladies' gallery of the Sheldonian Theatre, which on these +occasions bears the closest resemblance to a flower-garden. + +Ladies in bonnets and dresses of every shade and colour are seated +closely together, no break occurring by the appearance of a figure in +black broadcloth, and a white tie, as from this gallery gentlemen are +entirely excluded. And here for many hours sat Mary Armstrong and her +aunt, enjoying with amused surprise the performances in the gallery +above them, where persons and subjects were named only to be received +with cheers or groans, as it best suited the ten or twelve hundred wild +spirits there assembled. + +Perhaps in the time of which we write these said wild spirits were more +under the control of their own good sense than others have been lately, +and therefore were not above submitting to the rules of the university. +Most certainly when the dons entered, and the business of the day +commenced, they did suppress the noisy shouting, and treat their +superiors, in learning at least, with some deference; and although now +and then there would occur a little outbreak of mirth and drollery, the +Sheldonian Theatre had not yet aspired, as it has lately, to the dignity +of a "bear-garden." + +Mary Armstrong therefore could listen with but little interruption to +the Latin oration and the delivery of the prize poem--the latter most +attractive to a girl of intellectual tastes. Indeed, all that took place +possessed for her the attraction of novelty, and tired as she felt, she +could not help saying to her aunt as they rose to leave the place-- + +"Oh, aunty, I'm sorry it's all over." + +"Why, my dear child, you must be tired to death; it is nearly three +o'clock, and we've been here ever since half-past ten." + +"Oh, aunt, have I kept you here all this time on my account? I'm so +sorry. I did not feel tired, and I forgot to think of you; why did you +not tell me?" + +"Nonsense, dear Mary! it is not likely I should wish to spoil your +pleasure. But see, here are the gentlemen, and they have got a carriage +for us to ride to the hotel. How very thoughtful!" + +Mary also acknowledged herself tired now the excitement was over, and +gladly seated herself in the carriage by her aunt, with a sense of +relief at not having to walk. + +Yet after a rest she was quite ready to accompany her cousin and Henry +Halford to the afternoon service at Magdalen. Mary felt she could never +be too tired to enjoy the sweet choral services at this and other +college chapels. + +After dinner the young people proposed a stroll in Christchurch meadows. + +"With all my heart," said the colonel, "if I am not expected to join +you. I don't think I ever felt more tired after a day's march than I do +now. Take care of Mary, Charles," he added, "she mustn't overdo it." + +"Oh, I don't feel tired, uncle," she replied, "at least, not +very--besides, this is our last day at Oxford, and I must have a +farewell walk." + +"A walk wont hurt her," said Mrs. Herbert, who was lying on the sofa; +"young people have a reserve force of strength which enables them to +recover quickly from fatigue." + +A very few minutes brought Henry Halford and his companions to the Long +Walk, in which many persons were already assembled. + +The sun, still in full brightness, was approaching the west, and his +slanting rays glittered like golden bands of light through the summer +foliage. But neither Mary nor her friends seemed inclined for +promenading in a crowd, so they sauntered slowly away from the company +towards the river side. Here they found a seat, and were presently +joined by Charles's friend Wilton. For more than an hour they sat +talking over the events of the day, and other matters connected with +university life, to which Mary had very little to do but listen with +great interest. + +Suddenly Horace Wilton rose, and exclaimed, "Here are my aunt and +cousin, Captain Herbert; will you allow me to introduce them to you?" + +Mary Armstrong and Henry Halford also rose as the ladies approached, for +they recognised Mrs. Drummond and her niece Edith Longford, whose +musical powers had been a matter of discussion between them at the +dinner party. + +A mutual and surprised recognition took place amidst sundry inquiries. +"How long have you been at Oxford?" "When did you arrive?" "What have +you seen?" and so on. + +At length Mrs. Drummond suggested that they should retrace their steps +to the chief entrance, as the evening was becoming cool. The whole party +therefore returned towards the Long Walk. + +As usual in such cases, each gentleman fell into companionship with the +one lady to whom at the time of moving he happened to be speaking. +Horace Wilton therefore led the way with his aunt, Charles walked by the +side of Edith Longford, evidently much pleased with her companionship, +and Mary found herself alone with Henry Halford. In this lingering +summer evening walk there was no occasion for a gentleman to offer his +arm to the lady who accompanied him moving slowly by his side. Mary +therefore felt herself free. She was, however, for some minutes silently +occupied in contemplating the calm beauty of the sunset, which threw +over the park-like enclosure of Christchurch Meadows a glow of crimson +and gold. Behind them the rippling waters of the Thames dashed their +tiny waves against the mossy banks. At a distance in front, the turrets +and grey walls of the college glittered through the trees with the gleam +of sunset. A thrush in a thicket close by was sweetly warbling his +evening hymn of praise; and the scent of new-mown hay filled the air +with its fragrance. + +Strollers like themselves were wending their way homewards to pass the +gate before Old Tom should sound out his one hundred and one sonorous +notes, and the meadows were almost deserted in the precincts of the +river. All this Mary noticed in silence on this never-to-be-forgotten +evening. + +Suddenly she exclaimed-- + +"Oh, Mr. Halford, I have left my book on the seat; is there time to go +back for it? I meant to leave it at the library as we passed." + +"I will fetch it for you, Miss Armstrong," he replied, "if you do not +mind waiting here alone for a few minutes." + +"Oh, not in the least; thank you very much;" and she turned towards the +river as he started at a rapid pace to fetch the book. Another summer +evening beauty presented itself to her delighted eyes. Across the river +glittered a silver band of light, and looking up Mary saw through the +trees the full moon casting shadows of the quivering leaves on the turf +beneath. + +Almost unconsciously she continued walking towards the river, and in a +few moments met Henry Halford returning hastily with the lost book in +his hand. After many earnest thanks from Mary they hastened to overtake +their companions, who were now out of sight; but some moments elapsed +before Henry could recover breath to speak easily after his rapid +movements. + +Strange to say, amidst all his firm resolves a strong impulse was at +this moment agitating every nerve, and seeming to impel him to discover +whether this young girl, his very _beau ideal_ of what a woman should +be, could return the love which he now knew was rising for her in his +heart. + +The twilight hour, the lonely walk, the expected separation on the +morrow, all tended to strengthen the impulse; yet he did not speak. Mary +walked on quickly, wondering at his silence, and anxious to overtake her +friends, yet evidently feeling fatigued. + +"You are tired, Miss Armstrong," he said at last; "will you take my +arm?" + +In silence Mary complied, and after walking rather quickly for a few +minutes they came to a turn in the road, and saw their companions at +some little distance before them. + +"Oh, there they are," exclaimed Mary, slackening her speed; "we need not +walk so fast now if we keep them in sight: I am so sorry you had to +return for the book, Mr. Halford. I am afraid----" + +"Don't, pray don't apologise, Miss Armstrong," was the reply that +interrupted her in agitated tones. "I should only be too happy to attend +to your every wish for my whole life, if I dared to encourage a hope +that such a result was possible." + +Was it true? Had she heard aright? What could he mean? What could she +say in reply? Nothing. They walked on slowly in silence. How sweetly it +accorded with her feelings at the moment! Those few words had shown her, +as by a flash of lightning, the state of her own heart. Did it not +re-echo the sentiments just uttered by her companion? Was it not +happiness to be near him, hanging upon his arm, and conscious from his +words of his thoughts respecting her? so talented, so clever, and so +good, or he would not wish to be a clergyman. + +During this visit to Oxford she had been conscious of a pleasure in his +society, and a satisfaction in observing how readily he won the +approbation of her friends; but now she could see more clearly the cause +of these feelings, and in the first moment of gladness she had no dread +of the future. Perfectly innocent of the world, she did not, as many +would have done, laugh off the agitated words as a mere compliment. She +had formed too high an estimate of the truthful character of Henry +Halford to doubt him for one moment. + +But Henry Halford already trembled at what he had done in a moment of +impulse. Silently he led his companion to her friends, who had stopped +at the entrance of the cloisters to wait for them. Together they crossed +the quadrangle, Henry now and then joining in the conversation, and at +last, to Mary's great delight, passed out at the gate as Old Tom sounded +the first of his hundred and one strokes at nine o'clock. + +No other words passed between these two till just before they reached +the hotel, where the rest of the party were waiting to wish them good +night. + +"I will not intrude upon your family circle this evening, Miss +Armstrong," said Henry Halford, "but I will call in to-morrow to say +good-by;" and he added quickly, "If I have offended you by what I said +just now, please forgive me and forget it." + +"I am not offended, Mr. Halford," was the almost whispered reply, which +caused the young man to press the little hand resting on his arm, and +then turn quickly away to bid farewell, with stifled feelings, to those +who stood waiting for him at the door of the hotel. + +Mary escaped to her room, and closing the door, turned the key in the +lock. To be troubled with Annette's French chatter at such a moment was +more than she could bear even to contemplate. + +Taking off her hat and gloves, she threw herself into the easy-chair and +began to reflect. Had she compromised her womanly dignity by allowing +Henry Halford to suppose she believed what might have been a compliment? +No--impossible; he was too honourable and truthful, and too agitated +while he spoke, to allow of such a fear. Besides, had he not, during the +last few days, given her evident proofs of his preference and notice, +made more apparent by the unmistakable efforts he made to conceal them? +More than this, was not her own admiration of his talents and character +leading to a feeling which made her listen for his footstep, and feel +happy in his society? And as the young girl thought thus her cheek +flushed even in her loneliness. + +"Ah, well," she continued to herself, "there is nothing to be ashamed +of; I know I should only be too proud if I am to be married some day to +have such a clever, intellectual, well-informed man for my husband. +Besides, he must be a good son to help his father as he does, especially +as he is going to be a clergyman." + +And so the young girl, who knew nothing of the world outside her own +home, and who, at the age of eighteen, had never read a novel, sat +raising an idol in her own heart to which she could offer that worship +which in characters like Mary Armstrong often leads to an infringement +of the first commandment. + +A summons to tea aroused her. Hastily smoothing her hair, and with deft +fingers making those little alterations which, as if by magic, add +neatness to a lady's dress, she descended to the private room they +occupied at the hotel. + +As she entered, the light of the gas dazzled her eyes, and she could +scarcely distinguish who were present. + +Not so Mrs. Herbert, who exclaimed-- + +"Why, Mary dear, how flushed you are! I hope you have not taken cold." + +"Am I flushed?" she replied, raising her hand to her cheek. "It is warm +this evening, aunt, and we walked home quickly." + +Her cousin Charles, who had observed the blush deepen as his mother +spoke, quickly made a remark that turned the subject. + +He had his own suspicions as to the cause of Mary's unusual colour, but +he had no wish for the cause of those suspicions to suggest itself to +others. + +By degrees the conversation turned pleasantly on the events of the week, +and the prospect of returning to her dear home with so much to tell her +mother for a time diverted Mary's thoughts from a subject which was +beginning to make itself all-absorbing. + +Charles accompanied them next day by train as far as Slough, from thence +he changed carriages for Windsor. Mary stayed with her uncle and aunt in +Park Lane that night, and next day was driven home to Kilburn to be +welcomed with the fondest expressions of love from her mother and +brother Freddy. Equally warm, yet less demonstrative, was her father's +greeting to his cherished daughter. How little he guessed that she was +nurturing in her heart any sentiment likely to turn her father's love to +a fierce anger, of which she had not supposed him capable! + +Mary Armstrong's education, on which her father so prided himself, had +been lacking in more ways than one. Among other mistakes in training +their daughter, her parents had kept her from the society of girls of +her own age. Pride on Mrs. Armstrong's part caused her to object to +allow Mary to visit often at any houses except those of her own +relatives. The same foolish pride of those days prevented those whom she +met at her aunt's from inviting the daughter of a tradesman, especially +while he resided at his place of business. + +She had only one cousin, Charles Herbert; and therefore at the age of +seventeen, when her father removed his family to Kilburn, she knew +literally nothing of female society, or indeed of any society but that +of her mother's relatives. + +True, she could and did feel her mother to be her best confidential +friend, yet it was not a favourable position for a young girl of her age +to be thrown into society with nothing but the knowledge obtained from +books to direct her conduct. + +Accustomed to be candid and truthful in every action, she knew nothing +of the conventional customs which would have condemned the readiness +with which she admitted and trusted Henry Halford's first attempts at a +more intimate acquaintance. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. + + +Henry Halford had intended to return home from Oxford by the 11.40 +train, but while saying a few hasty words of farewell to Captain Herbert +at the door of the hotel, he discovered that his party were purposing to +leave by the same train. He instantly decided to remain an hour or two +longer in Oxford. After what had passed that evening he felt it +impossible to meet Miss Armstrong's friends as if nothing had happened. + +No, he must wait till his return home, and then openly and honourably +place the matter before Mr. Armstrong. + +This gentleman was, as yet, in happy ignorance of the news in store for +him. He welcomed his daughter home with undisguised pleasure, and +listened to her lively and vivid descriptions of what she had seen and +heard, and of the wonderful and delightful places she had visited with +great interest. + +Not once, however, did the name of Henry Halford escape her lips. She +spoke in a general way of Charles Herbert's college friends who had met +them in their walks and shown them the lions of Oxford, but not one was +singled out for any particular description. + +Mrs. Armstrong watched her daughter's countenance as she talked, and +noticed a something in her manner and appearance that marked the change +from girlhood to womanhood--a certain reticence on some points, unlike +Mary's usual frankness and candour. + +"Something has occurred," said the gentle mother to herself, "and Mary's +wish to conceal it is painful to her natural frank truthfulness. But she +will tell me by-and-by when we are alone." + +Happy is the daughter who makes a confidante of her mother in preference +to one of her own age and sex, and thrice happy is the mother who feels +that she knows all that daughter has to confide--of course supposing +that mother to be one who is anxious for her child's happiness, and able +to give her good advice. + +Perhaps, after all, mothers whose only ambition is to see their +daughters married for the sake of riches and position, are not likely to +gain their confidence on any subject. + +Mrs. Armstrong would have been the very last to take an undue advantage +of the girlish confidence of her daughter, although she trembled at the +thought that what Mary might have to tell would be displeasing to her +father. + +With all Mr. Armstrong's habit of looking upon gentle, amiable women as +inferior in intellect and deficient in mental strength, he would have +been rather surprised to find that his wife understood his daughter's +character better than himself. + +Days passed, however, after her return from Oxford, before Mrs. +Armstrong had any opportunity for discovering Mary's secret, and then it +was only by accident that the truth came out. + +One fine afternoon in July Mrs. Armstrong, with Mary and her three +brothers, was returning home along the high road, in which stood their +own house and Englefield Grange. They had passed the latter, which was +less than a quarter of a mile from Lime Grove on the opposite side of +the road, when Freddy exclaimed-- + +"O mamma, here comes Mr. Henry Halford." + +And, regardless of ceremony, he started off at a rapid pace to meet him. + +Taking the hand of his little pupil, who literally danced along by his +side, Henry Halford advanced to greet Mrs. Armstrong and her daughter +with the easy self-possession of a gentleman. + +Yet there was a flush on his face as he shook hands with Mrs. Armstrong, +which changed to paleness when he greeted Mary, and spoke to the boys, +Edward and Arthur. + +The latter had heard so much of Freddy's school and the masters, that +they were earnest in their petitions to be allowed to stay at home and +attend with their brother at Dr. Halford's. They had heard from Mary of +Mr. Henry Halford's wonderful cleverness, and they now had eyes for no +one else as he stood talking to their mother. + +"Have you recovered from your fatigue at Oxford, Miss Armstrong?" was +one of his first questions. + +Mary saw her mother glance at her with surprise, but the commonplace +question had set her at her ease, and she replied--"Yes, quite, thank +you, Mr. Halford. It was a most delightful visit, yet I was glad to get +home again." + +While the two young people continued to talk of what had been seen and +heard at Oxford, Mrs. Armstrong would now and then make some remark, and +the boys listened with interest. + +Yet as she did so across the mother's mind passed the memory of the +dinner-party at Mr. Drummond's. + +Were her fears about to be realised? Had these young people met at +Oxford and formed an acquaintance fraught with disappointment to Mary +and pain to herself in consequence of her husband's displeasure? Still +as they talked she could see the clear grey eyes of the young tutor +light up with a pleasure which made Mary droop her own and blush beneath +his gaze. + +And then another recollection flashed upon her Mary had not mentioned +the fact of having met Henry Halford at Oxford. What did it all mean? + +In her anxiety Mrs. Armstrong looked at her watch. + +Henry Halford saw the action, and said, quickly--"I am keeping you +standing while we talk, Mrs. Armstrong." + +And then, to her astonishment, instead of taking his leave, he turned to +walk with them towards their home. + +Placing himself by Mrs. Armstrong's side, he continued to speak of +various subjects so agreeably that she forgot her fears and began to +account in her own mind for any attraction her daughter might feel to +his society. + +They had nearly reached home, when Mrs. Armstrong, hearing the sound of +horse's feet, looked up quickly, and saw her husband alight from his +horse and advance to meet them. + +He seemed to recognise the stranger in a moment, and as Henry lifted his +hat, Mr. Armstrong held out his hand. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Halford," he said, as the gentlemen shook +hands cordially. "I have often thought of our pleasant discussions at +Mr. Drummond's that evening. I hope your father is well. Are you staying +in our neighbourhood?" he added, scarcely allowing Henry time to reply +respecting his father's health. + +"I am a neighbour of yours, Mr. Armstrong," he replied, firmly. Henry +Halford had decided upon what course to pursue with this gentleman, and +was therefore prepared to act candidly and openly. + +"A neighbour, Mr. Halford? then why have you not paid us a visit before +this? I never give dinner-parties, but if at any time you and your +father will join our family dinner-table at six o'clock, we shall be +most happy to see you. Will you come in now?" he added, as Mrs. +Armstrong moved to open the gate. + +"Thank you, not to-day, Mr. Armstrong," he replied, "but I will not +forget your kind invitation." And merely raising his hat in farewell to +the ladies, and returning Freddy's warm adieu by lifting the boy and +kissing him, Henry Halford turned towards his own home, feeling greatly +elated. Was not this meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong full of +hopefulness as to the result of a project on which he had made up his +mind? + +Mary escaped to her room to dress for dinner with every nerve quivering +with excitement. + +What would be the result of this meeting? Why had Henry Halford forced +his company upon her mother? Was he going to ask her father about her, +as she had read in books was the custom of gentlemen? And the young girl +who had been kept so secluded from society, blushed at the recollection +that if Henry Halford meant what he said on that evening in Christchurch +Meadows, he must wish her to be his wife. + +Mary Armstrong had never been joked about sweethearts and flirtation; to +her mother there had always appeared a want of womanly delicacy and +refinement in making such things a subject for ridicule, and Mary had +grown to womanhood with the same innate refinement. She had no girl +friends of her own age to tell her their tales of love and conquest, of +discarded lovers, and contemptible treatment of honourable proposals, as +conduct of which a woman might be proud. She had gained her ideas of +love from poetry, and Milton's Eve before the fail was her _beau ideal_ +of what a woman should be-- + + "For contemplation he and valour formed, + For softness she, and sweet attractive grace; + He for God only, she for God in him. + ... Though his eye sublime declared + Absolute rule ... implied + Subjection, but required with gentle sway, + And by her yielded." + +No doubt poets describe ideal characters not to be found in these fast +days of practical utilitarianism. What is an ideal worth when compared +with the real earthly good which money can produce? Yet money cannot +produce happiness, with all its power; and the ruling god of the present +day has caused more unhappiness in domestic life by its presence than by +its absence. Mary Armstrong had formed her own _beau ideal_ of what a +husband ought to be, and certainly in the component parts of this ideal +money had no place. She had never known the want of money, and was +therefore ignorant of its value. She was to learn this lesson by bitter +experience. + +Very little remark was made at dinner on the evening of which we write +respecting the meeting with Henry Halford. + +Mrs. Armstrong avoided the subject as much as her daughter, but for very +different reasons; and her brothers, who had not been at home from +school long, were full of talk about their examinations and their +prizes. But with the dessert Freddy made his appearance, and as usual +took his place between his father's knees. + +Presently Freddy looked up. "Papa," he said, "isn't Mr. Henry Halford a +nice man?" + +"Ah, yes, I saw him kiss you, Freddy, as if you were old friends; when +have you seen him before to-day?" + +"Oh, often, papa, and he kisses the other little boys too when we're in +the playground, and he's so kind to us in the schoolroom." + +"Schoolroom! what schoolroom? Who are you talking about, Freddy?" + +"About Mr. Henry Halford, papa; he used to teach the little boys' class +at our school--Dr. Halford's, you know, papa, where I go at Englefield +Grange. Dr. Halford is Mr. Henry's father. He hasn't taught us since +Easter, because he's been to Oxford learning to be a clergy man." + +There was silence for a few moments. Mr. Armstrong glanced at his wife +and daughter. + +"Did you know this when we met the father and son at Drummond's?" he +asked his wife. + +"Of course I did," she replied. + +"Why did you not mention it to me?" + +Much as Mrs. Armstrong dreaded an angry word from her husband, she could +not utter an untruth. + +"I had my reasons," she said, calmly; "they cannot be explained now, I +will tell you when we are alone." + +"And did you know it, Mary?" asked her father, as he saw the flushed +face on which blushes had fixed a colour that made his daughter look as +if she were painted. + +"Yes, papa," she replied, "if you remember I took Freddy to school in +the winter, because mamma was not well enough to go herself." + +Mrs. Armstrong saw the gathering clouds on her husband's brow, and +turning to her boys, she said-- + +"Freddy, go up to the nursery, or into the garden, with your brothers +for half an hour. I will send Morris for you when it is time for bed." + +The boys obeyed, and Mary also rose to go, but her father stopped her. + +"Sit down, Mary. I want to know why I have been kept in ignorance about +these school people. Why did you and your mother hide the fact from me?" + +"I did not hide it, papa. I thought you knew from Mr. Drummond who these +gentlemen were. Why should I wish to conceal their names from you? I +knew nothing of them except as schoolmasters until I went to Oxford." + +"And how often have you met this young schoolmaster?" asked her father, +with suppressed anger. + +"Once when I took Freddy to school, and a second time when I dined with +him at Mr. Drummond's. Until I met him at Oxford with his friend Charles +Herbert he was a comparative stranger to me." + +"And you met him there often?" said her father, his tones slightly +softened by finding this schoolmaster a friend of his nephew Charles. + +"Every day." + +"Alone?" + +"Once, by accident." + +"And then he made love to you, I suppose." + +"Papa!" There was a mixture of sorrow, distress, anger, and indignation +in the tone in which Mary Armstrong repeated this word. + +And then her memory recalled the words Henry Halford had uttered, the +pressure of the hand, the inquiry whether he was forgiven. Was all this +making love? Perhaps it was--perhaps he wished by speaking and acting as +he did, to show her that he loved her. So tender was the young girl's +conscience that she was about to tell her father all that had passed +rather than feel conscious of having unwittingly deceived him. His angry +words checked her. + +"Well for you that this poverty-stricken schoolmaster has not dared to +make love to my daughter. Going to be a parson, is he? and wants her +money to make up the deficiency of a curate's pittance. No, no, Mary, no +such half-starved husbands for you; and if you ever dare to marry +without my consent, not a penny of money shall you have, even to save +you from the workhouse!" + +He rose as he spoke, his utterance inarticulate, and his features +distorted with rage; then he left the room, banging the door after him. + +Mrs. Armstrong leaned back in her chair, pale even to the lips; Mary had +risen in terror when her father left the room; she now hastened to her +mother, and leading her to the drawing-room, placed her in an +easy-chair, and then fetched her a glass of wine. The calm and loving +attention of her daughter restored quietness to her nerves, and then +Mary knelt at her feet, and burying her face in the folds of her dress, +she said-- + +"Mamma, I am afraid I have not been quite truthful in what I said this +evening. Mamma, I have wanted to speak to you about something ever since +I came back from Oxford; but I did not know how to begin, and I must +now. If--if a gentleman tells you he should be too happy to attend to +your every wish for his whole life, if he could only dare to hope such a +thing were possible, is that making love?" + +Mrs. Armstrong smiled, even in the midst of her fears; but as Mary did +not raise her head, she said-- + +"Well, my dear, it depends. Many men would make such a remark merely as +a compliment; but has any gentleman said this to you?" + +"Yes, mamma." + +"What gentleman, Mary?" How the mother dreaded the answer which she +already guessed! It came at last, clear and distinct, for Mary raised +her head to speak, but she did not look up. + +"Mr. Henry Halford." + +"Did you see much of him at Oxford, Mary?" + +"Yes, mamma, he dined with uncle and aunt at the hotel several times, +and they liked him very much." + +"Was he very attentive to you?" + +"No, mamma, not more than to other ladies." + +"Did you walk out often alone?" + +"Never but once, and that occurred because he went back to fetch a book +for me, and the rest got a long way before us." + +"Did nothing more pass between you?" + +"Not much; when we were getting near the hotel he asked me to forgive +what he had said and forget it." + +"And what was your reply to this?" + +"Mamma, I told him there was nothing to forgive." + +"Then of course he understands that you would like him to attend to your +every wish for your whole life--is that it, Mary?" + +"Yes, mamma," in smothered tones. + +"But you say this Mr. Henry Halford did not pay you more attentions than +to other ladies. What has made my daughter so easily won?" + +"O mamma!" and Mary raised her head now and looked fearlessly at her +mother, "Mr. Henry Halford has not tried to win me. I should have told +papa at once if he had asked me to be his wife; and I hope he wont now, +for I am sure I should learn to love him if he did. I suppose it is not +right to marry people who have no money, but, mamma, I could not marry +any man, if he were the richest in the world, unless he were as clever +and intellectual as Henry Halford, and I'm sure that's not very likely." + +Mrs. Armstrong sighed. There was no doubt now as the state of her +daughter's affections, or how it would end! + +The appearance of the boys at the drawing-room window, and the sound of +Mr. Armstrong's footsteps, roused mother and daughter. Mary, however, +had scarcely reached the door, for she felt unable to meet him, when her +father entered, and, as she tried to pass, caught her in his arms and +kissed her fondly. Then he advanced to his wife and apologised for his +roughness. + +"You know, Maria dearest," he said, "that I am only anxious to prevent +your clever and accomplished daughter from making an unsuitable +marriage." + +"I know it, Edward," replied his wife; "but we must be careful not to +make her unhappy for life, as I should have been had _my_ friends +objected to _you_." + +Mr. Armstrong made no reply. He knew too well the truth of his wife's +remark, and exerted himself through the evening to make Mary forget his +angry words. She appreciated and understood the effort, but he could see +by her swollen eyelids how much he had wounded and pained his hitherto +dutiful daughter. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +HENRY HALFORD WRITES A LETTER. + + +When Mr. Henry Halford parted from Mr. Armstrong and his family at the +gates of Lime Grove, he felt as if walking on air. After such a kind +reception and cordial invitation from the father of Mary Armstrong, +there could be nothing to fear of disappointment. + +He reached home in a very short space of time, and looked so bright and +joyous as he met his mother in the hall, that she said to him, "Why, +Henry, you appear as if you had heard good news; where have you been?" + +"Only for a walk, mother; but on my way home I met Mrs. Armstrong and +the young people, and they have given me a cordial invitation to come in +and see them as often as I like." + +"I thought you disliked going out to dinner and paying visits, Henry?" + +"So I do as a rule, but there is no rule without an exception; and Mr. +Armstrong's family forms that exception." + +Mrs. Halford stood for a moment contemplating her son's bright and +lively mood with real surprise. Truly he presented an exception to the +rule which generally governed him. For once the sedate, studious youth +had assumed a gay and lightsome manner, which completely changed his +appearance. Suddenly she remembered hearing Dr. Halford speak of the +young lady he and her son had met at Mr. Drummond's dinner-party--the +only and elder sister of little Freddy Armstrong. Determining to +question her husband respecting this young lady, she readily allowed +Henry to go on to his study without another word. + +But once seated in this sanctum, so exclusively his own, Henry Halford's +thoughts took a more serious turn. What he was about to do appeared more +formidable on reflection than during the first few minutes of his walk +home, when every difficulty seemed swept from his path. + +On his return from Oxford, although, if possible, more earnest in his +wish to obtain Mary Armstrong as a wife when he had made for her a home, +the wish seemed hopeless. He had met her father and mother but once; he +was not a visitor at their house, and till his terms at Oxford were +ended he had no profession, excepting that of usher in his father's +school. + +Report said the woman he loved would be rich; how could he ask for her +in his present penniless condition? So reasoned common sense. But then +arose a thousand arguments in favour of asking for her now. If Mary +Armstrong really loved him she would wait years for him. Might not he +ask her father's permission to discover if such were the case? After +all, it might be only for three years; and as soon as he was ordained +had not his father's old pupil promised him a living for his son? And +even if that failed, his father would make him a partner in the school, +which he knew would be his at his death. + +Thus reflecting he made up his mind to the venture, and seated himself +at his desk to commence a letter to Mr. Armstrong. + +But he found the task too full of difficulties to be hurried over. Two +sheets of paper had been filled and thrown aside as unsuitable, and the +summons to tea came before he had finished his third attempt. Carelessly +pushing the spoiled sheets into his desk and locking it, he arose to +join his friends at the tea-table, saying to himself, "I will write my +letter to-morrow; it must not be done in a hurry." With this resolve he +entered the little breakfast parlour, where we once heard a letter read +which so faithfully portrayed his own characteristics. Kate Marston, who +was pouring out the tea, looked at him earnestly. + +"Why, aunt Clara," she said, "Henry looks as grave as a judge. I +expected to see him come into the room like a sunbeam from your +description." + +"Well, Katey," said her cousin, "clouds must cover the sunbeams +sometimes; and have you forgotten the poet's words?--'O man, thou +pendulum betwixt a smile and tear.'" + +"You can defend yourself, at all events, Henry," she replied; "and you +know how completely you can silence me when you quote poetry. I never +could learn to repeat a line of poetry in my life." + +There was a pause, during which Henry, who sat opposite the window, +appeared to be absorbed in the prospect of garden, fields, and meadows, +thick summer foliage, and the distant blue hills of Highgate and Harrow +which met his view. But the eyes were not "with the heart, for that was +far away,"--in the meadows of Christ Church, Oxford, with a fair young +girl leaning on his arm. + +Persons who have the power of concentrating the mind on one particular +subject at a time are spoken of as absent, and many curious incidents +are related of talented men and their strange doings during these fits +of abstraction. But it is to this very power of concentration that we +owe our greatest statesmen, lawyers, poets, and warriors. The discovery +of the power of steam, the inventions in science, art, mechanics, and +medicine, which have given to the world its luxuries, its comforts, its +advantages, and its power of alleviating suffering and pain, can all be +attributed to that concentration of thought on one subject, which alone +can give the mind a power to grasp it in all its completeness. The +subject, however, so absorbing to Henry Halford might in one respect be +called trivial; and yet that subject which involves the future happiness +or misery of two individuals for life, can scarcely deserve such a name. + +The probable success of his letter to Mr. Armstrong was the least +important of his thoughts at this moment. Would it insure the happiness +of the girl he loved? and was he justified in proposing mere +possibilities as a basis for that happiness? were some of the questions +he asked himself. + +A smart blow with the palm of her hand on his shoulder, and his cousin +Kate's words, "Uncle has spoken to you twice, Henry. What are you +thinking about so deeply?" aroused him from his reverie. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," he exclaimed, with a flushed face, "did you +ask me a question?" + +"Yes, Henry; I asked where you met Mr. Armstrong yesterday." + +"Outside his own gate. He had just arrived from town on horseback. He +treated me most affably, and said he should be glad to see you and +myself to join their six o'clock dinner at any time without a special +invitation, as he never gives dinner-parties." + +There was a pause for some minutes, and then Mrs. Halford remarked-- + +"You met Miss Armstrong and her mother at Mr. Drummond's in March, +James?" + +"Yes, I remember the young lady's bright, intelligent face. Drummond +told me her father has interfered greatly in the education of his +daughter, teaching her the advanced rules of arithmetic, and even +algebra and Euclid, and other subjects most unusual in the education of +girls." + +"I should imagine such knowledge would deprive a girl of all softness +and refinement," remarked Mrs. Halford. + +"It has not done so in Miss Armstrong's case," said Henry, quickly; "I +saw enough of her at Mr. Drummond's to discover that." + +"And you have seen her since at Oxford?" said his mother. + +"Yes, almost every day for nearly a week; and I can assure you I never +met a more lady-like, accomplished girl in my life, in spite of what is +said of her father's eccentric plans in her education." + +Kate Marston noticed the rising colour as it deepened in her cousin's +cheek. She glanced at her aunt, and in that glance knew that the +mother's suspicions confirmed her own. + +"I think you told me, James, that Miss Armstrong's marriage portion will +be very considerable," remarked Mrs. Halford. + +"Something fabulous, according to Drummond's account; that is, if she +marries a man of whom her father approves;" and the father as he spoke +looked at his son. "Drummond told me that the ambition of Mr. Armstrong +is to marry his daughter to a man of wealth and position, but if both +are not attainable he will give her money enough to purchase the latter. +He heard him say once that such a girl as his daughter would be an +ornament to society in the highest circles in the kingdom." + +"Would Mr. Armstrong sacrifice his daughter's wishes to gratify sinful +pride and mistaken ambition?" asked Henry, indignantly; "it seems to me +an impossibility that any father could act thus." He drank off the +contents of his teacup and left the room without waiting for a reply. + +Again in his little study, he closed the door and locked it, opened his +desk with impulsive eagerness, took out a sheet of writing-paper, and +drew his chair to the table. + +"I cannot believe any man could be so cruelly unkind to his only +daughter," he said to himself. "Would he force her to marry a man she +did not love, even if by so doing he could make her a countess? Does the +acquisition of money so harden a parent's heart? I cannot, I will not +believe it. I will try Mr. Armstrong before I can credit anything so +base in human nature. He will no doubt answer my letter; and if he +refuses to allow me to address his daughter, he will of course give me +his reasons for doing so." + +And so the young heart, ignorant of the world, as is the case with most +men of studious habits, and with the trust in human nature which seldom +outlives a few years of worldly experience, commenced a letter to a man +who would, while reading it, sneer at the noble expressions of +true-hearted affection it contained, and perhaps treat the writer with +contemptuous silence. Nevertheless the letter was written and posted +before Henry Halford slept that night. + +We will follow it to its destination in London, and intrude upon Mr. +Armstrong's private room at his office in Dover Street, to which it was +addressed. + +Several letters were lying on the table when he entered the room on this +morning of which we write, followed by his clerk. Still talking to him +while opening them rapidly, he came upon the unknown hand and glanced at +the signature, pausing in the midst of an important commission to the +clerk to do so. "What could Mr. Henry Halford write to him about? +excepting----" and at the thought that followed he flushed with anger. +But a question from the gentlemanly young man who stood so patiently +waiting his commands, recalled him to the business in hand. Laying the +letter at a distance on the table, he opened the rest, and after a few +brief directions, yet still so clear as to leave no room for a mistake, +the clerk was dismissed. Then Mr. Armstrong, after writing in pencil +various notes on the business letters before him, pushed them on one +side and took up Henry Halford's long and closely written epistle. + +We will read it with him:-- + + "Englefield Grange, July 4th, 18--. + + "DEAR SIR,--Your very kind and cordial invitation this + afternoon makes it imperative on me to address you with + reference to a certain subject before I accept it. It is + probable that after I have candidly explained the cause of my + hesitation you may forbid me to enter your house, yet I should + prefer even that sentence to any clandestine or concealed + proceedings. + + "Since Mrs. Armstrong placed her youngest son under my father's + care I have had the pleasure of seeing your daughter several + times; only twice, however, until the week of her visit to + Oxford. + + "I will confess to my admiration of Miss Armstrong even on the + two former occasions, more especially while in her society at + Mrs. Drummond's; but many considerations made me resist the + inclination to call at your house and become better acquainted + with the young lady. + + "At Oxford, however, I met your daughter with my friend Captain + Herbert, who was my fellow-student some years ago at Dr. + Mason's, though older than myself. I was surprised to find that + my friend Charles Herbert was your daughter's cousin and Mrs. + Armstrong's nephew; Colonel Herbert kindly invited me to his + hotel during their visit to Oxford, and I there met your + daughter, and saw and conversed with her frequently during the + week of her stay. + + "I need not enlarge upon the personal attractions, the unusual + talents, and the sweet character which make Miss Armstrong so + charming, for these must be well known to yourself. But I ask + to be allowed to seek to win her affections with the sanction + of her parents and under their own roof. + + "I ask this with great hesitation, because I am not yet in a + position to offer your daughter such a home as I could wish, + and shall eventually obtain for her. In two years I hope to be + ordained, and my father's friend, Lord Rivers, has already + promised him a living for his son. + + "If I can succeed in gaining the affections of your daughter, + she will not mind waiting the time I have named. We are both + young, and I would wait as Jacob did for Rachel, so great is + the love I bear her. + + "I will only add that if you kindly grant me your consent, it + will give me increased energy to prepare for my profession, and + to make every effort to shorten the period of my probation, in + the hope that the great happiness of making your charming + daughter my cherished wife may eventually be mine. + + "I remain, dear Sir, + + "Very faithfully yours, + + "HENRY HALFORD." + +When Mr. Armstrong had read this letter hastily through, words cannot +describe the angry passions that raged in his breast. What! the +schoolmaster's son, an usher, a curate _in futuro_, with perhaps 80_l._ +or 100_l._ a year to live upon! "What!" he thought, "give up my precious +daughter to be a schoolmaster's wife, or rather drudge!--making rice +puddings, mending stockings and shirts, and slaving for other people's +children, and getting no thanks for it! Or perhaps in paltry comfortless +apartments waiting upon her husband the curate, for whom she is often +obliged to cook a dinner fit for him to eat, because the food obtained +with such difficulty is spoiled by the lodging-house cooking. I've heard +the misery of a curate's home described," continued the angry man, "less +wages than a mechanic, and yet husband, wife, and children have to +struggle to keep up appearances and to live in genteel poverty because +the husband is a clergyman!" + +Mr. Armstrong drew his desk towards him, and dashed off a coarse +insulting letter to the daring aspirant for his daughter's hand, and +with the effort the fierceness of his anger evaporated, conscience made +itself heard. "Why should you insult this young man for acting as you +did yourself?" said the stern voice; "he is a well-born, well-bred, +intelligent gentleman, which you were not when you married Maria St. +Clair." "But I had money," replied self, "and he has by his own account +nothing to call his own." "He or his father must have had money to pay +for a university education," suggested conscience; "besides, half of the +boasted fortune you talk of giving your daughter would establish these +young people for life, and make them happy if they love each other." + +"I don't believe they do," was the next suggestion, "or at least there +is no love on Mary's side. She is not one to give her affections so +easily; the young man's letter proves that he is not sure of her, for he +asks to be allowed to try and win her. Perhaps if the girl really loved +him, I might be inclined to give up some of the fortune in store for her +to make them happy. There's no harm done as yet on his own account, so +I'll say nothing at home about his letter, but I wont send this," and he +took up the sheet containing expressions of which in his cooler moments +Mr. Armstrong felt thoroughly ashamed, and tore it into minute shreds; +then lighting a taper, he reduced them to ashes in the fireplace. After +this he seated himself and wrote as follows:-- + + "Dover Street, July 4th, 18--. + + "SIR,--I have received your letter, and beg to thank you for + your kind and complimentary opinion of my daughter, but I + cannot favour your proposals. You are young to think of + marriage, especially as you have not yet completed the + profession which you intend to follow. + + "I do not approve of long courtships, and therefore the idea of + waiting an indefinite number of years for a living is out of + the question. Added to these objections, I have other plans in + view for my daughter, which I cannot set aside. + + "Thanking you for the honour you have done our family by your + proposal, + + "I remain, Sir, + + "Yours faithfully, + + "EDWARD ARMSTRONG." + +Mr. Armstrong sealed and addressed this letter with great inward +satisfaction. He had effectually put a stop to any farther trouble on +the part of Mr. Halford, who, he felt assured, was too honourable to act +in opposition to the wishes of Mary's father. + +Only one fear would at times during that day disturb Mr. Armstrong's +equanimity: "Was he sure about the state of Mary's affections. They had +been a week together at Oxford, had any unintentional word or look +revealed the secret to each other?" He could not answer his own question +satisfactorily, but he quieted his conscience by saying, "Ah, well, if +there is a little passing fancy for this young man in Mary's heart, it +will soon wear off; she has too much pride to encourage it when she +finds he keeps away, as I know he will after my letter." Mr. Armstrong +returned home in great good-humour, and made himself so agreeable that +Mrs. Armstrong and Mary were quite ready to forget the roughness of the +preceding evening. + +No reference of any kind was made to Mr. Henry Halford in Mary's +presence, but when Mr. Armstrong and his wife were alone, he said +quietly and gently, but with a firmness she well knew she could not +gainsay-- + +"Maria, my dear, I should like to send Freddy to school with his +brothers next quarter; he is getting quite well and strong enough to be +with older boys. I may as well tell you the truth," he added; "I don't +wish him to continue at Dr. Halford's, for many reasons which I need not +explain." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +HUSBAND AND WIFE. + + +"Mamma, you will be better and more quiet here than in that noisy Bourke +Street. I am so glad papa has taken such a pleasant house for us, and I +know you will soon get well." And little Mabel as she spoke shook and +arranged her mother's pillow and drew up the blind, that she might look +out upon the pleasant view over the waters of the Yarra. + +Mr. Franklyn had taken a house in a suburb of Melbourne noted for its +beautiful scenery and wild and picturesque landscapes. + +In this suburb at a walking distance, or reached easily by train from +Melbourne, are situated the Botanical Gardens, laid out in park-like +luxuriance. A beautiful stone bridge crosses the dark, deep waters of +the Yarra, while painted skiffs and gaudy pleasure-boats skim over its +smooth surface and add brightness to the scene. + +The country beyond resembles the south of France and the shores of the +Mediterranean; vines trained on poles, grapes hanging from verandahs, +the blue sky, the pure clear air, and the bright sunshine remind the +traveller of beautiful Italy. + +Added to this, at the spot we describe, grow trees that retain their +verdure during the whole year, white and green parrots and other birds +of gaudy plumage flit from branch to branch. Sunrise also in Australia +presents a sky of splendour never seen in England; even the colours of +the sea-weed which the Yarra brings inland in its course are rich and +varied. + +Not far from the window opening to the ground on a verandah, near to +which Mrs. Franklyn's couch had been drawn, spread what appeared to be a +large lake, nine miles in circumference, surrounded by pleasant walks +and shady trees. + +To strangers it has the appearance of an artificial lake, and they are +much surprised to hear that it is merely the reservoir from which the +city of Melbourne and the surrounding neighbourhoods are supplied with +water. + +Altogether this suburb of Melbourne on the banks of the Yarra is one of +the most beautiful spots in Australia. + +To the pale invalid in her chair, however, all earthly spots had lost +their charm, excepting one little island in the Atlantic, in which stood +the home of her youth; and as she looked out on the beauty of an +approaching Australian summer, and thought of the home she might never +see again, she answered her little daughter's words with a sigh. + +"Are you unhappy here, mamma?" asked the child. + +"No, darling," she replied, "it was merely a longing for home that made +me sigh. I know that heaven is the home on which my heart should rest, +and yet I should like to see your uncle Henry and my dear parents once +more." + +"Mamma," said the child, "I heard the doctor tell papa that if you got +stronger in this beautiful place, he could take you to England in March, +and then you would have no winter, for when we arrived in England it +would be midsummer." + +Mrs. Franklyn smiled at the prospect described by her child. Her husband +had mentioned this opinion of the doctor to her, and in his usual +sanguine way he had promised to make early arrangements for them to +leave in March. But she knew also that more than one of his speculations +had failed, and therefore, unless "something would turn up," as he +termed a successful speculation, he would be too much involved in debt +to attempt to leave Melbourne. + +A feeling of resignation had at length been granted to Dr. Halford's +daughter, only disturbed now and then by old memories which could not be +quite overcome, more especially as now, when the beauty of Australian +scenery was spoken of in her presence, her thoughts would revert to a +lovely English landscape--hill and dale, field and meadow, flowers and +foliage, which could be seen from the windows of her own dear home in +England. + +But Fanny Franklyn, as she now lay helpless on the couch, knew well that +for her was prepared a home in the skies, and that the dear friends for +whose presence she longed could only expect to meet her there. She +looked very lovely even now that Death had set his seal on those +delicate features. The dark eyes, though sunken, were still large and +bright; the pale face looked fairer by contrast to the dark pencilled +eyebrows and eyelashes; and the hectic flush on the cheek would have +reminded her brother Henry of some words of the great preacher Henry +Melvill. + +He had heard him once when quite a youth preach a sermon at a church in +London on behalf of the Brompton Hospital for diseases of the lungs, in +which the preacher, during one of his eloquent bursts of oratory, +exclaimed, "And consumption, that flings its brilliant mockery in the +mother's eyes." + +Poor mother, she had indeed heard of her daughter's serious illness, and +yearned with all a mother's love to be near her to tend to her slightest +wish. But half the globe stretched between them, and Mrs. Halford +consoled herself with the thought that Fanny had a kind husband and +loving children, who must be able to supply the place of a mother. But +Mrs. Halford did not know all. Fanny, while able to write, had concealed +from her mother the real nature of the disease which left no hope of +recovery. Yes, her husband was kind, gentle, loving, and earnest in his +endeavours to provide for all her wants; yet, as we know, there was in +his character a weakness of principle, and want of attention to +steadiness of purpose, which made his position always precarious. At the +birth of her youngest boy, eighteen months before the time of which we +write, he had made a venture in the mercantile world which had failed, +and for a time ruin stared them in the face. + +The anxiety Fanny suffered in her then delicate state of health, added +to a cold which attacked her at the time, was too much for a frame +already weakened by the relaxing climate of Melbourne. For with all its +bright skies and its clear atmosphere, Australian air is not suited to +those who require a bracing climate. It has its periods of scorching +heat, and the fair faces of Australian girls lack the roses which adorn +the cheeks of their sisters in England. + +Perhaps if Fanny Franklyn could have visited her home during the first +appearance of failing health her life might have been spared, but this +was not to be; and at last her husband had been aroused to the fact +that, although he could not spare her to go alone to her home in +England, he must spare her to God. + +Now that it was too late, Arthur Franklyn, acting as usual on impulse, +expressed to the doctor his eager anxiety to take his dying wife to +England. + +"Cannot I take her home before the autumn, doctor?" he said; "we should +arrive in England about April or May, just as the summer is beginning. I +could start next week even, if you think she is strong enough for the +voyage." + +"Too soon, my dear sir; Mrs. Franklyn must not be in England before May +at the earliest, and it is now the commencement of November. We must try +and help her through the Australian summer if we can, and then if all is +well you can start for England in February or March." + +But as the doctor left Mr. Franklyn, he said to himself, almost +angrily-- + +"What is the use of talking about going to England now? she'll never +live to see March again, or even February, it's too late. What's the man +been about not to see his wife's danger? I'm afraid he's got too many +irons in the fire to do much good." + +And yet when he now entered the drawing-room, and with gentle step +approached the couch, no voice could be more subdued, no words kinder. + +"I have been talking to Dr. Moore about taking you to England in the +autumn, darling; he says we can leave here in February so as to arrive +there about May. Does not the prospect make you feel better already?" + +Fanny raised her eyes to his and smiled, but she shook her head and said +faintly-- + +"I never expect to see England again." + +"Nonsense, dear! why, you are looking more like yourself to-day than I +have seen you for weeks. You must not give up, and Dr. Moore seems to +have greater hopes than ever. This is certainly a very pleasant spot," +he continued, turning to the window, quite unconscious that this sudden +announcement respecting a visit to England had agitated his wife. Her +thoughts went back to the old days at Kilburn, when, a bright and happy +girl, she had been wooed and won by one of her father's old pupils. + +She glanced at him now as his tall figure stood out in full relief +against the window, the strongly-marked profile clearly defined against +the light. At three-and-forty Arthur Franklyn might still be spoken of +as a handsome man; and although the light brown wavy hair had receded +from the temples, there was not a line of grey visible. The blue eyes +still twinkled with the humorous expression which spoke of +light-heartedness and a keen sense of the ridiculous. In truth, he was +one of those who are said to take things easy. Sanguine of success in +everything he undertook, disappointment never troubled him for long. He +could throw off the pressure of anxiety, and be as merry and +light-hearted as if nothing had happened, while his poor wife was +mourning in secret, or trembling for the consequences. She had quickly +discovered the weak points in her husband's character, and felt that it +could be said of him, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." + +The light-heartedness which made him a favourite in society caused him +also to drive away all anticipation of trouble from his mind. "Never +meet troubles half-way" was a proverb which he preached so unwisely, +that he not only had to meet troubles when they came, but actually +increased their magnitude by foolishly shutting his eyes to their +approach. + +So had it been with his wife's illness; he saw her wasting away daily +before his eyes, yet he closed them to the possibility that she might +die. And now that he had finally decided to take her to England in +February, her recovery seemed to him a certainty. He presently seated +himself by her side, and spoke gently and kindly of the voyage, and +recalled so many pleasant incidents of the old house at home, that in +spite of herself Fanny felt cheered. + +"I shall look in at Bevans' this evening, love," he said as he rose to +go out; "they know all about the English passenger ships, and I can get +every information I require." + +After transacting a little business at his office, Arthur Franklyn +walked on into Melbourne to call at his friends the Bevans, who were +always pleased to see him, and showed their liking for his company in a +manner most flattering to a man of his character. + +Hour after hour slipped away, and although a kind of uneasy feeling made +him prepare more than once to say farewell, he allowed himself to be +flattered into remaining to supper. His friends when inquiring for his +wife had been told with animation that she was better, and that Dr. +Moore had given his permission for her to go to England in February or +March, there was therefore every excuse for so kindly pressing him to +stay. + +The family of Mr. Bevan, a ship agent, consisted of himself, his wife, +two sons in the business, and two daughters. They were in the midst of +supper, and laughing heartily at one of Arthur Franklyn's jokes, when +the door of the dining-room opened, and the servant entered, and +advancing to Mr. Franklyn, offered him a missive not so well known then +as now in either England or Australia--a telegraph message in its +ominous-looking envelope. A sudden pause fell on those assembled round +the table, as Arthur Franklyn opened and read aloud-- + +"Clara Franklyn to Mr. A. Franklyn.--Come directly, mamma is dying!" + +He started up with impetuous haste, his face white even to the lips, and +was quickly surrounded by the family hastening his departure, and trying +to calm his agitation with words of hope. But like all those who are +wilfully blind to the approach of danger, Arthur Franklyn became +despairing and hopeless when it really arrived. Some one found a railway +time-table. + +"You will catch the 10.5, Franklyn, if you are quick," said one of the +young men, as, half bewildered, he turned to shake hands with his +friends. + +"No, no, we'll dispense with that for once," said the old gentleman. +"Good-by, keep up a good heart, it may not be so bad as you imagine;" +and so they hurried him away, Mr. Bevan saying hastily to his eldest +son, "Go with him to the station, Tom, he seems scarcely able to take +care of himself." + +"I hope he'll reach home in time," said Mrs. Bevan; "these sudden +messages are dreadfully alarming." + +While the train for which Arthur Franklyn was just in time is speeding +on over the short distance to his home, we will precede him thither. + +Fanny Franklyn, when her husband kissed her on that evening before +leaving home, although she felt that for her no journey to England would +ever be realised, was still unwilling to damp his hopes by her own +misgivings. The conversation had certainly excited her, but she did not +seem weaker than usual when her eldest daughter appeared to attend her +to bed. Clara Franklyn, during the decline of her mother's health, had +become a clever little housekeeper, while Mabel installed herself as +nurse. Fanny could not but feel a certain degree of comfort in Clara's +cleverness, yet the child of thirteen was already too precocious in +manners and character, and the position of housekeeper was calculated to +increase these characteristics. The mother also mourned over her own +inability to continue the education of her two girls, who had hitherto +never had any governess but herself. + +Many changes had taken place in their style of living during the +fourteen years of Fanny Franklyn's marriage. After a successful +speculation, instead of carefully laying up a reserve in case of losses +or disappointments, Arthur Franklyn not only lived to the full extent of +his income, but actually to the full amount of the money he possessed. + +"I have plenty to last us for two or even three years," he would say, +"and by that time I shall no doubt have another successful venture; so +it's all right, Fanny, don't you worry yourself. I mean you to have a +house and servants, and every appliance suitable to my means. There is +no other sure way of getting into society nowadays, and the more money +you appear to have, the more likely people are to help you in the +furtherance of your plans." + +And Fanny, during the early years of her married life, though not +convinced, submitted to be made a fine lady, to be waited upon by a +lady's-maid, to have a first-rate cook, housemaids, a nurse, and a +nursery-maid. They resided in a luxuriously furnished house, they gave +dinner parties, and soon drew around them a host of acquaintances who +were ready to become friends with the rising young colonist and his +family in the days of their prosperity. But this could not last long. By +an unfortunate venture they lost house, furniture, servants, and +sunshine friends, except some few who liked the genial company of the +thoughtless speculator, and respected his wife. One thing, however, +Fanny was firm in, she would engage no expensive governess for her +children, and from their earliest childhood she had taught them herself. + +After many ups and downs caused by her husband's reckless speculations, +which are, after all, a species of gambling, we find them now in a small +pleasant house, plainly furnished, with but two servants. One of them, +whose attachment to Fanny and the children still kept her in the +nursery, had, on the evening of which we write, assisted her dear +mistress to undress. + +Something in the appearance of Mrs. Franklyn made the faithful woman +call the two girls out of the room, and say-- + +"Don't leave your mamma, Miss Clara, I am going to put little Albert to +bed, and then I'll come and take your place." + +"I may stay too, nurse," said Mabel, "may I not? I've got an interesting +book to read, and we wont talk." + +"I do not intend to read," said Clara, in a tone of womanly importance. +"I have my work to do, and I can watch and attend to mamma at the same +time." + +"Ah, well," said nurse to herself, as she left the room, "you're a +sensible young lady after all, only a bit too precocious for your age, +Miss Clara. Oh dear!" she sighed, "to think they're going to lose their +mother, who has taught them to be so clever, and trained them in the +right way! And then for the master to be so blind, and not to see that +his wife is dying. Ugh! I don't like such light-hearted people; they +shut their eyes to trouble till it's close upon them. He's gone out +pleasuring to-night, and I don't like the looks of the dear mistress." + +And at this thought nurse hastened her steps to the nursery, for it was +past baby's bedtime, and she had left him in the care of the other +servant. + +Mrs. Franklyn watched her eldest daughter with a feeling of sadness, as +she placed herself where she could see her mother's face, and near the +window to obtain light for her work. The November evening of the +Australian spring was as light as with us an evening in May; and +although the sun was approaching the west, yet the venetian blind was +lowered to keep out his rays. + +Mabel, who had seated herself out of sight of her mother, soon became +absorbed in her book; and as the sisters did not speak, Mrs. Franklyn +was quite unaware of her presence. + +The mind of the mother rested with anxiety on the future of her eldest +girl. She knew too well that she must soon leave these dear ones to the +mercy of the world, and a careless though loving father. Her husband was +still in the prime of life, a man of personal and social attractions, +likely to marry again, no doubt a rich woman, ostensibly to obtain a +second mother for his children. James, a boy of eleven, now at school, +and Mabel, could be easily managed; about her baby Albert she had +written to her brother, Henry Halford, a letter, which in a great +measure influenced him in his future conduct. But Clara--high-spirited, +determined, self-sufficient, impatient of rebuke, and womanly beyond her +age in both manners and appearance--what would she be without the +loving, cautious guidance of her own mother? + +These painful reflections agitated the invalid. More than once a violent +fit of coughing had brought Clara to her side with a remedy. After +awhile she sunk into a kind of doze. Nurse came to summon Mabel to bed, +but the mother seemed to be sleeping so peacefully that the little girl +left the room without saying good night. + +Nearly an hour passed, and then the hall clock struck nine. Mrs. +Franklyn started at the sound, although it seldom disturbed her at other +times. + +"Clara," she said faintly. + +The child rushed to her bedside quickly. + +"What is it, mamma?" and the tones were loving and tender. + +"Is your father come home?" + +"No, mamma. Shall I send for him?" + +But instead of a reply a sudden and violent cough attacked the invalid. +Clara, as she had often done, placed her arm under her mother's head and +raised her gently. + +This time the movement hastened the catastrophe. In a moment the blood +burst from the invalid's mouth, covering quilt, sheets, and her +night-dress with its ghastly stains. + +Although ready to faint with terror, Clara laid her mother down gently +on the pillow, and rushing to the bell pulled it so violently that both +servants were in the room even before its tones had ceased vibrating. + +"Run for Dr. Moore, run for your life, Sarah," cried nurse, as she +approached the bed, and leaning over her mistress wiped the life-blood +from her pallid lips. The dark eyes opened and the lips parted with a +faint smile. + +"Don't speak, dear mistress," she said softly; "Dr. Moore will soon be +here." + +The reply was a gentle movement of the head, which nurse readily +understood to mean "too late." + +Nurse looked round as the door softly opened, for Clara had disappeared, +and saw Mabel in her dressing-gown hesitating to enter. She had been +startled from sleep by the bell, and became wide awake when her sister +entered with a candle, and opening her desk commenced writing on a +half-sheet of paper. + +"Clara, what is the matter?" and the startled child sat up in bed with a +terrified fear in her face. + +Clara turned her white face towards her. "Mamma is dying," she said, in +a calm tone, that told of deep agitation under restraint; "I am sending +a telegram to papa." + +Before Mabel could realise the words, her sister had left the room, and +meeting Sarah, she exclaimed-- + +"To Dr. Moore first, Sarah, and then to the railway station, and send +this telegram. Say it is immediate, a case of life and death; anything +to make them send it quickly." + +While she stood talking, Mabel in her dressing-gown and slippers flew +past them in her way to her mother's room, and entered as we have seen. + +Quickly as Clara followed, she found Mabel already on the bed by her +mother's side, holding her pale hand in hers, while nurse bathed the +invalid's forehead with eau de Cologne, and wiped the pale lips from +which the life-blood still oozed. + +A slight smile welcomed Clara, for Mrs. Franklyn's eyes were opened with +the brightness of death, and wandered round the room as if in search of +some one. Clara understood her. + +"Mamma darling, I have telegraphed for papa; he will soon be here." A +look of thankfulness passed over the pale face, and the eyelids closed +over the glistening eyes as if to wait in patience for her husband's +arrival. For a time all was still. To aid the sufferer's breath nurse +had left the door open, and the ticking of the hall clock could be heard +distinctly. Clara, to conceal her agitated feelings, knelt by the bed +and buried her face in the bedclothes. At length at the sound of the +doctor's knock she started up and took her stand by her mother's pillow. +Dr. Moore came prepared with stimulants. Sarah had told him what had +happened, but he no sooner cast his eyes upon his patient than he knew +her danger. No skill on earth could save her now. However, he +administered a few teaspoonfuls of his remedy, which seemed to revive +her as well as to stay the bleeding from the lungs. She seemed about to +speak, when the doctor said-- + +"Not a word, my dear lady, not a movement; there is nothing so important +now as quietness and rest." He placed his fingers on her pulse as he +spoke, and felt the feeble fluttering which so often betokens the +approach of death. For some time no one spoke. The invalid lay with +closed eyes almost motionless. Through the open window came the balmy +freshness of a summer evening air, and the sound of the rippling of the +waves, as the dark tide of the Yarra flowed onward towards the sea. + +Presently a loud, tremulous knock sounded through the hall, and in a few +moments, pale and trembling with emotion, the husband and father entered +the room. The state of the bed, the death-like face of his wife, and the +silence overpowered him so completely, that but for the doctor's arm he +would have fallen to the ground. "Is she dead?" he asked, for while in +the train he had brought himself to believe that his daughter's telegram +was merely caused by a child's fear and exaggeration; his wife's +death-like appearance, therefore, was a shock for which he was quite +unprepared. + +The invalid's eyes opened, and rested with loving pity on her husband. + +"I have lived to say good-by, darling," she said in a faint voice. +"Thank God--I must speak, doctor," she continued--"I have been saving my +strength for a few last words." + +"Fanny, my darling wife, I cannot lose you. Oh! I did not expect this, +doctor. Can nothing be done?" Clara had moved to allow him to approach +the pillow. He stooped and kissed the pale brow. Then seating himself on +a chair by her side, he took her hand in his and buried his face in the +pillow to conceal his agony. + +"Don't grieve, Arthur," said his wife, in whispered tones; "it has been +hard to think of leaving you and the dear children, but I have learnt +submission to our heavenly Father's will, and you must seek consolation +from Him." + +Mabel had slidden from the bed when her father appeared, and the two +girls now stood by him, as if by their presence they could console him +and share his sorrow. For a few moments there was silence, while their +mother lay with closed eyes. The sound of Mabel's hardly restrained sobs +aroused her. + +"Do not weep, darling," she said; "you have both a father on earth to +protect you, and a Father in heaven, more powerful than an earthly +parent, to guide and comfort you. Never forget the lessons I have taught +you of His love and tenderness to motherless children.--Arthur," she +continued, "if you do not care to return to England again yourself, send +my children to my home, will you?" + +"I promise you, darling, I will indeed," replied the stricken husband; +"Australia will be a spot of desolation after you are gone." + +Again there was a silence. The doctor administered another stimulant, +but no one spoke. + +Presently the nurse whispered, "Shall I take the young ladies away, +doctor?" + +Dr. Moore glanced at them, but the white stern face of Clara Franklyn +showed a power of endurance and strength to support her sister as well +as herself through the last trying scene. He shook his head, but the +invalid had heard the whisper. She opened her eyes and looked fondly at +her girls. + +"Let them stay, nurse. Dear James, I wish he could have been sent for. +Give him his mother's dying love, and----" But the voice failed. + +"Kiss me once more," she said, feebly, and the girls came near to kiss +the pallid face which would soon be hidden from them for ever. Mabel, +unable to bear the painful excitement, clung to nurse, who placed her +arm round the child and drew her from the bed. Mrs. Franklyn glanced at +her as she did so. + +"You will stay with my children, nurse, and take care of my little +Albert." + +"Trust me, dear mistress," she replied; but she could not say what her +heart dictated, that she would never leave them till they were grown to +be men and women. Her opinion of Mr. Franklyn made that impossible. +Clara, after giving her mother what she well knew was a farewell kiss, +felt her firmness giving way, and she clung to her father's arm and +leaned her head upon his shoulder to hide the tears. + +Dr. Moore was still unwilling to excite the invalid by sending the two +girls away, yet he felt that the scene was becoming too painful for +them. He stood at the foot of the bed, obedient to Mrs. Franklyn's +gentle words-- + +"Don't go, doctor." + +A long pause followed her words to the nurse, and for some moments it +seemed as if the dying mother had ceased to breathe. Suddenly the dark +eyes opened. + +"Raise me, Arthur," she said, faintly. + +With gentle hand he lifted her head and laid it on his breast. + +"Arthur, it has come. How dark it is! Dear husband, meet me in heaven, +it is all light there." + +One sigh, then all was still. + +Dr. Moore approached. Arthur turned upon him a startled look. + +"Is she gone?" he exclaimed. "Oh, darling wife," he continued, kissing +the pale face frantically, "oh, forgive me that I never loved you or +valued you as I ought." + +Dr. Moore removed his arm from the helpless head, and whispering, "Be +calm for the sake of your children," drew him gently from the bed. + +Arthur Franklyn glanced round the room. Nurse had led the weeping girls +away, he was alone; and hastily leaving the bed of death, he rushed into +the drawing-room, and, throwing himself on his knees, gave way to those +bitter tears which shake manhood to its very centre. His unchastened +spirit rebelled against God for depriving him of the wife of his youth +in this unexpected manner, forgetting that his own blindness and +thoughtless indifference had failed to discover what was plain to every +one else. Alas! there is no feeling more painful than remorse for +neglect or unkindness to those who are gone, because there can be no +recompense made, or regret and sorrow expressed to them on this side the +grave. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +MOTHER AND SON. + + +There is something in the old Saxon word "mother" which seems to convey +more of love and dignity, and to command a greater amount of respect, +than any of its substitutes in other languages. + +Perhaps its constant use in the old Saxon translation of the Bible has +thrown a halo of sanctity over the homely word, for no names in +Scripture have been more honoured than those of the mothers of holy men. +In our own biographies of great and good men, how often to the mother's +influence over her boy, from even the days of infancy, can be traced the +high principles, the noble character, and the great worth of the man! +Most truly has it been said that the future of a child depends upon the +training of the first five years of his life. It is therefore to mothers +that this period of a boy's history is by Nature entrusted, and upon +them chiefly rests the responsibility of laying the foundation of a +high-principled, noble, and truthful character. + +Another saying, that mothers love their sons better than their +daughters, is not always true, especially in such a case as Mrs. +Halford's, when only one son and one daughter live to grow up. + +And yet it is doubtful whether she would have parted so easily with her +son had he proposed to place half the globe between himself and his +family, for very dear was her clever and talented son to the almost +childless mother. + +The old adage-- + + "My son is my son till he gets him a wife, + My daughter's my daughter all the days of her life," + +seemed reversed to Mrs. Halford, for Fanny had been completely lost to +her mother since her marriage. + +She was also strongly impressed with the idea that Henry would continue +to assist in carrying on the school, even after his ordination, and then +marry some amiable girl who would live with them at Englefield Grange, +and to be to her as a daughter in the place of Fanny. + +Such were some of Mrs. Halford's castles in the air, greatly augmented +by observing with a mother's penetration that her son was admiring Miss +Armstrong. Even while her own good sense told her that the daughter of +Mr. Armstrong would never obtain her father's consent to a marriage with +her son, still she had hope that in some way or other such a result was +not impossible. + +August of the year which had already been so full of changes and events +had arrived. + +The pupils were returning to Englefield Grange after the Midsummer +vacation, and Mrs. Halford quickly noticed that little Freddy Armstrong +was not amongst them. + +She waited a fortnight, and then one afternoon at the tea-table spoke to +her husband on the subject. + +"Mr. Armstrong's little boy has not come back yet," she said, "had you +not better send a note, James? They have perhaps forgotten the day on +which the school reopened." + +"No, my dear, it is not necessary. I received a very polite note from +Mr. Armstrong in the holidays, telling me that he intended to send the +boy with his brothers this quarter, and enclosing a cheque for the +Midsummer amount." + +"Why did you not mention it, James?" she asked. + +"I did not think it necessary, for I supposed you and Kate would hear of +the new arrangement from Henry, as he is so friendly at Lime Grove." + +The mother glanced at her son. In spite of his utmost efforts he could +not conceal his agitation, yet he did manage to say-- + +"I have seen nothing of Mr. Armstrong's family for weeks, father." + +"No, Henry, I daresay not," said his mother, quickly, "you are studying +too closely to have time to spare for visiting. Besides, the loss of one +little pupil is not a matter of great importance to us." + +After a glance at Henry's pale face, Kate Marston took the first +opportunity of turning the subject, and though by so doing she enabled +her cousin to recover himself and join in the conversation, he very soon +left the tea-table. + +Mrs. Halford heard the door of his little study close on her son, but +that did not deter her from her purpose. As soon as the tea was removed +she rose and left the room. + +Henry Halford, after leaving the tea-table and locking the door of his +study, was for a few moments unable to touch a book. Resting his head on +his hands, he gave himself up to reflection. + +He had made a venture and failed; and deeply as he felt the +mortification caused by Mr. Armstrong's letter, yet in his cooler +moments he could clearly see that, in a worldly point of view, his +proposal would appear an act of presumption. + +He was still sitting in listless idleness, indulging in these painful +thoughts, when a knock at the door startled him, and he impatiently +exclaimed-- + +"Who is there?" + +"I, your mother, Henry. I want to speak to you." + +Without a moment's delay the lock was drawn back, and mother and son +stood together in the room. + +Mrs. Halford closed the door gently and locked it, and Henry, placing a +chair near the table for his mother, seated himself and looked +inquiringly at her. + +"Mother," he exclaimed, suddenly, "you have guessed my secret." + +"I know there must be something on your mind," she replied. "Close study +has never before made you listless and unhappy." + +"I fly to books to drown thought, they are my only relief." + +"Would it not relieve you to confide in your mother, Henry?" + +There was a pause. + +"You used to tell me all your troubles when you were a child, and why +not now?" + +He raised his head, and the words burst forth impulsively-- + +"Mother, if I had told you weeks ago, instead of acting on impulse as I +always do, I might have spared myself bitter mortification." + +"In what way, my son? Explain yourself." + +"You know I met Miss Armstrong at Oxford, mother, and on the evening +before she left I said something to her under an impulse I could not +resist, and now I regret it." + +"On what account?" + +"Because I have written to ask her father's consent to make her my wife, +and he has refused me. Don't tell me I am a fool," he added, seeing her +about to speak, "I know it now. What have I to offer as an equivalent to +a young lady with such superior attractions and accomplishments as Mary +Armstrong, setting aside the large fortune which her father can give +her?" + +"Does he write kindly?" asked the mother, whose heart ached for her son. + + +"Yes, and sensibly; here is the letter;" and he took Mr. Armstrong's +letter from the desk and handed it to her. + +She read it and returned it to him in silence. + +"You will not allow this disappointment to interfere with your future +intentions, Henry?" + +"No, indeed," he replied, "I am throwing off the memory of my folly by +degrees, and I own I am relieved by telling you all about it. I am not +vain enough to suppose that Miss Armstrong will be influenced by the +impulsive, unmeaning words I said to her, so there is no harm done. I +have no doubt little Freddy was removed to prevent the possibility of +any further intercourse. So ends my first and last dream of love." + +"Better so, my son, better so, both for your sake and Miss Armstrong's. +I quite agree with Mr. Armstrong about long courtship. You would not be +in a position to marry for three or four years at the earliest, and not +even then to such a girl as Miss Armstrong unless you had a living of +some real value." + +For nearly an hour Mrs. Halford remained with her son, listening to his +account of the pleasant days at Oxford, and their result, and when at +last she rose to go, he said-- + +"Please do not allow the subject to be spoken of by Kate, if you tell +her, but I should like my father to know, and by-and-by I may be able to +laugh over my folly as a thing of the past." + +"No reference shall be made, Henry, I promise you," said Mrs. Halford, +as her son rose to open the door for her with the family courtesy now so +seldom seen. + +He closed it after her, but without locking it. This little interview +had done him good. A painful secret loses more than half its bitterness +when it has been listened to with sympathising love by a true friend. +And who such a true friend as a mother? She had purposely said very +little to her son of her own opinion on the matter, but as she slowly +ascended the stairs to be alone in her own room for a time, she said to +herself-- + +"I will pay Mrs. Armstrong and her daughter a visit some day. I should +like to become acquainted with this girl who has so fascinated my son." + +And then, as she seated herself to reflect on what she had heard, her +thoughts reverted to her own only daughter, whom she had not seen for +nearly fifteen years. Mrs. Franklyn had written once only since the +birth of little Albert, and although she spoke of being weaker than +usual, and longing to visit England again and see them all, yet she was +careful not to alarm her mother. + +This reticence on Fanny's part, and her husband's lively and sanguine +letters, removed all fear of anything serious about the health of the +dearly-loved daughter. And yet at this very moment a letter from Fanny +was on its way to England, in which she touched gently on the +possibility that she might not live to reach England in the following +spring, and enclosing one to her brother to be opened in case of her +death. + +This letter, however, which did not arrive till the end of October, was +accompanied as usual by one from Arthur, written in good spirits, and +attributing Fanny's illness and gloomy letters to nervousness. + +But we must not anticipate the sorrowful news contained in our last +chapter, which will reach Englefield Grange all too soon, and be the +more bitterly mourned because almost unexpected. + +At this particular time of which we write, Mrs. Halford could think of +nothing but her son's disappointment, and the more she reflected on the +subject the more indignant she felt. + +On what could Mr. Armstrong base his objections to her son beyond the +fact that his daughter was rich and her son poor? After all, a +schoolmaster in Dr. Halford's position was at least equal to a +tradesman, as Mr. Armstrong undoubtedly was. And if his wife could lay +claim to good birth, she had been told that Mr. Armstrong was only the +son of a Hampshire farmer. Whereas her son, Henry Halford, could boast +that the ancestors of both his parents were quite equal in position to +those of Mrs. Armstrong. She had seen that lady, and could trace in her +not one spark of upstart pride, but the thorough good-breeding of a +well-born gentlewoman. Besides all this, would not her son in a few +years be a clergyman, and as such, to the honour of England be it said, +admissible, on account of his education and the sacredness of his +office, to any society? + +What else then could influence Mr. Armstrong's refusal but a love of +money and what it can buy? He had spoken in his letter of other plans in +view for his daughter, and these no doubt were attempts on the father's +part to purchase position for her, or to sacrifice her girlish +affections for riches and a title. + +So reflected Mrs. Halford, and she was not far wrong. + +Like many men of strong prejudices, Mr. Armstrong had only overcome +these prejudices to go into extremes. + +The peculiar ideas which influenced him during his early married life +had all disappeared with the increase of wealth. No talk now of "aping +the gentry." Money and education had raised him to their level, and +therefore far above schoolmasters and curates, or any such +poverty-stricken members of society. + +But Mrs. Halford's reflections were not made known to her son by even a +hint. Had she been only a fond and foolish mother, she would have openly +expressed her indignation at the treatment he had received, and aroused +in him wounded pride and angry resentment, which would have unsettled +his mind for his studies, and made him unfit to assist his father in the +schoolroom. + +Instead of this, her calm and quiet acquiescence in Mr. Armstrong's +letter strengthened the young man in his purpose of overcoming the past +and looking forward to the future. + +Yet Mrs. Halford had not set aside the idea of paying Mrs. Armstrong a +visit. For in her heart she did not despair of her son's ultimate +success with Miss Armstrong. If that young lady deserved the opinion +expressed of her by father and son, and was not quite indifferent +towards the latter--well, it would certainly be difficult to make that +discovery, however she would try. + +For some weeks nothing occurred to give Mrs. Halford the opportunity she +wished for, but it presented itself at last in a most singular manner. +She had been seeking a new under-housemaid, and one morning a girl +called upon her, whose manner and appearance pleased her so much, that +after a little talk with her she decided to call upon her late mistress +respecting her character. + +What was that lady's surprise when the girl gave her the address of Mrs. +Armstrong, Lime Grove! + +At once she saw the way open before her, and sent the young woman with a +message to ask if between twelve and one the next day would be +convenient for a visit respecting the character of a servant. + +Mrs. Armstrong had been very much interested in this young housemaid, +who was not, however, sufficiently acquainted with her business, and on +that account only she had parted with her. + +It so happened that when the girl brought the message Mrs. Armstrong was +engaged, otherwise she would have questioned her kindly respecting her +new situation. + +All, therefore, that could be done was to answer the message, which +merely asked if Mrs. Armstrong could see _a lady_ about Jane's character +at the time named. + +The reply in the affirmative gave Mrs. Halford the opportunity of paying +an unexpected visit so far as her name went, but of this she was not +aware when she presented herself next morning at the appointed time and +sent in her card. + +Mary and her mother were seated in the library, the former at the easel, +the latter at work, when the servant entered. + +"The lady about Jane's character, ma'am," she said, as she offered the +card to her mistress. + +Without reading it, Mrs. Armstrong laid it on the table by her side. + +The next moment Mrs. Halford was ushered into the room. + +Two of the three who then met so unexpectedly never forgot that meeting. + +Although inwardly agitated, Mrs. Halford had self-possession enough to +glance round the room as she entered. A young girl with bright golden +hair, dressed in deep mourning, rose from her easel and bowed +gracefully. She was about to reseat herself and resume her painting, +when to her surprise she saw her mother advance towards the visitor, +hold out her hand, and exclaim-- + +"How are you, Mrs. Halford? I am most happy to see you. Pray take a +chair. I was not prepared for this unexpected pleasure; my housemaid +told me it was a lady for the character of a servant. My daughter Mary," +she added, seeing that young lady still standing by her easel, and Mrs. +Halford looking earnestly at her. + +With outward ease Mary Armstrong advanced to shake hands with the +visitor, while every nerve quivered with surprise and excitement. + +A sudden paleness was followed by a deep flush, which did not fade from +her face while the interview lasted. + +All this passed in a very few seconds, and then Mrs. Halford seated +herself and referred to the object of her visit. + +"I have come to inquire into the character of your late housemaid, Mrs. +Armstrong, Jane Ford," she said. "I suppose she did not mention my name +yesterday, when I sent her to ascertain if to-day at this hour would be +convenient, but I sent in my card this morning." + +"I must really plead guilty to not having read it," replied Mrs. +Armstrong, "but I shall be glad to tell you all I can in Jane's favour, +perhaps with double pleasure now I know the lady by whom she is likely +to be engaged." + +The ladies then entered at once into the various and usual inquiries +made and replied to on such occasions. Well for Jane Ford that these two +ladies did not belong to the class of mistresses who forget that young +servants are human beings, endowed with the same feelings and tempers as +themselves, that they also have likes and dislikes, affections and +emotions, causes for joy or sorrow, all of which are apt to affect their +natures more strongly, because in childhood they are often ill-trained, +neglected, or exposed to bad example at home. + +At all events, what passed so influenced Mrs. Halford, that she decided +at once to engage the young woman of whom Mrs. Armstrong spoke so +kindly. + +During the conversation Mrs. Halford frequently allowed her eyes to +wander towards the spot where Mary sat painting near the window, her +beautiful profile defined in strong relief against the light. + +Conscious of the glances cast upon her, the colour on Mary's cheeks +deepened, but when Mrs. Halford rose and approached her to crave +permission to examine the drawing, there was no want of well-bred ease +in her manner of replies. + +The conversation became general, and touched on other subjects, in which +Mary joined readily; indeed, Mrs. Halford had introduced them to draw +out this young girl whom her son so admired. + +Nearly an hour passed, and then Mrs. Halford was reminded that she would +soon be wanted at home for the dinner-hour, by the pendule on the +mantelpiece chiming one o'clock. + +As she rose in haste to take her leave, the door opened and Freddy +entered. For a moment he did not recognise Mrs. Halford; but when she +exclaimed-- + +"Why is my little Freddy still at home?" he came forward at once, and +placing his little hand in hers, said, with childlike candour-- + +"Oh, Mrs. Halford, are you come to ask mamma to send me back to your +school! I should like it so much! Dear Mary teaches me now," he added, +with a look of affection at his sister, "but I've no boys to play with +now. Edward and Arthur are gone back to school, and I don't care about +playing alone." + +"I persuaded Mr. Armstrong to keep Freddy at home till Easter," said +Mrs. Armstrong in explanation; "he is rather too young to be with boys +so much older than himself, at least at boarding-school, and his papa +has a great objection to day schools as a rule." + +"Many parents have that objection," was the gentle reply. + +Mrs. Halford quite understood the apology for the removal of her boy +from Dr. Halford which the mother's words were intended to convey. But +she also by other signs made a greater discovery. Neither mother nor +daughter knew anything of Henry's letter or of its reception. + +"I hope Dr. Halford and your son are quite well. We have not seen Mr. +Halford lately; I suppose he is constantly engaged in study, and has no +time for visiting." + +Just as Mrs. Armstrong commenced this inquiry, Mrs. Halford had turned +to wish Mary good-by. She felt the hand she held quiver as the mother +spoke, and the telltale blush could not all be ascribed to the +suddenness of rising from her chair. She pressed the young girl's hand, +and then turned to the mother. + +"My husband and son are quite as well as usual, Mrs. Armstrong; and +Henry is more wrapped up in his studies than ever. Thank you very much +for so kindly inquiring for them, but Henry has given up all idea of +visiting for the present." + +And so the ladies parted, Mrs. Halford charmed with the young girl who +had won her son's heart; and Mary, after accompanying her visitor to the +door and giving her a last bow and smile as she passed into the road, +went to her room to prepare for lunch. + +Mechanically she made the necessary alterations, all her thoughts +occupied with the tall, gentle lady, who in manner and words and face so +strongly reminded her of her son, notwithstanding the silvery white hair +and difference of years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +PARK LANE IN JUNE. + + +Nearly a year has passed since Mrs. Halford's visit, but no farther +intercourse has taken place between the families at Englefield Grange +and Lime Grove. Henry Halford had listened eagerly to his mother's +description of that visit spoken of in a passing way at the tea-table in +the evening, but only once did he venture a remark. + +"Mrs. Armstrong and her daughter were in deep mourning," his mother said +in the course of conversation. "I was not aware they had lost a near +relative." + +"They are in mourning for Mr. Armstrong's father," said Henry; "I saw +his death in the _Times_ a few weeks ago, in his eighty-third year." + +This year of Mary's life had indeed been an eventful one. The first +meeting with Henry Halford, the second at Mr. Drummond's, the visit to +Meadow Farm, and the happy week with her dear old grandfather, that +never-to-be-forgotten time at Oxford, her father's angry suspicions and +threats, and a few weeks afterwards the hasty summons of his father's +death-bed--all these events, following each other so rapidly, were to be +also deeply impressed on Mary's memory by future results. + +To Englefield Grange in February of the following year came the +overwhelming sorrow caused by the news of poor Fanny's death. So +completely had Arthur Franklyn's light-hearted letters removed all +anticipation of danger, that the shock was the more terrible, and poor +Mrs. Halford's health for a time completely gave way. + +Mr. Armstrong's family also saw a notice of it in the + +_Times_ obituary, and Mary and her mother were both surprised when her +father suggested that a message of condolence and kind inquiry should be +sent to Englefield Grange. The messenger brought back a formal +acknowledgment, and also the information that Mrs. Halford was +dangerously ill. + +How Mary grieved over the conviction that she could not go and offer her +services to soothe and tend the mother of Henry Halford in her terrible +griefs! She had never heard of Kate Marston, Henry's cousin, who had for +so many years supplied to him and his parents the place of sister and +daughter. In spite of what appeared to Mary something like neglect and +indifference on the part of the schoolmaster's son, she would have been +glad to show him and his family that no proud or resentful feeling on +her part could raise a barrier between them as neighbours and +acquaintance. + +Mary Armstrong possessed a good share of what is called common sense. +She had reflected deeply on the occurrences at Oxford, and she reasoned +thus with herself:-- + +"I daresay Mr. Henry Halford is sorry for what he said to me at Oxford, +or perhaps he meant nothing but a compliment. He is sensible enough not +to think of being married till he is ordained, and so perhaps he keeps +away for fear I should learn to love him;" and the young girl blushed as +this thought arose in her heart, even when alone. "And besides, after +what papa said that night in his passion, I am very, very glad he has +not paid us a visit. I could not marry any man without papa's consent, +but I hope he wont ask me to marry any one else. I shall be twenty next +July, but that doesn't matter; I should like to stay at home always, and +there is nothing very dreadful to me in the prospect of being an old +maid." + +And so the young girl schooled her heart to try to forget that she had +met her _beau ideal_ of what a husband should be, and that her father +had forbidden her to associate with him or to notice the family until +their time of trouble called for neighbourly inquiries. How little poor +Mary guessed that her father had effectually put a stop to any farther +acquaintance, and that even this formal attention would have been +withheld had he not supposed her to be quite indifferent to this +schoolmaster's son who had presumed to ask him for the hand of his +daughter! Perhaps Mr. Armstrong would have been very much surprised had +he been told that another influence was at work in Mary's heart which +would prevent her from disobeying her father by marrying against his +wishes; an influence which had first made itself felt while listening to +the teachings of her grandfather, and which would prove her support in +the future through weary days of sorrow and trial. + +During this twelve months other changes had also taken place; Charles +Herbert's regiment had been ordered to Canada, and his mother in her +loneliness petitioned Mr. Armstrong for his daughter's company. Sir +James and Lady Elston had given up their house in Portland Place, and +were now residing in the south of France on account of the old admiral's +health. + +"You see, Edward, I am quite alone now," said Mrs. Herbert when asking +for Mary to be allowed to spend a month with them in Park Lane during +the season; "and Mary has seen nothing of society yet, you have made her +too much of a bookworm and a homebird." + +"Not a bit of it," cried the colonel; "and for my part I do not see the +necessity for Mary to acquire a knowledge of London society; however, we +shall be glad to have her with us, Armstrong, for a time, and I don't +think there is any danger of Mary's head being turned; she's much too +sensible." + +This conversation took place in Mr. Armstrong's office in Dover Street, +and he was ready at once to accept the invitation, even before +consulting the wishes of his wife and daughter. It was just what he +wanted; the niece of Mrs. Herbert was sure to attract suitors at the +house of Colonel Herbert, and soon put an end to this nonsense about the +young parson. For in spite of his confidence in these young people he +dreaded a chance meeting which might upset all his plans. + +A few days after this interview Mary Armstrong stood at the window of +her uncle's house in Park Lane, looking out over the Park, now radiant +in the glorious beauty of a June morning. There had been a strange +contest in Mary's heart at the proposal to spend a month with her aunt +in London. She was very fond of her aunt Helen, and ready to accept the +invitation with great delight. The house, the arrangements, the varied +appliances of taste and refinement which belong to society when composed +of the well-bred as well as the rich, were all congenial to Mary. At +home the influence of her father was still too strong to allow Mrs. +Armstrong to carry out her own refined tastes even at the dinner-table. +The early habits at a farm-house were not so easily overcome, and the +exquisite and tasteful style of Mrs. Herbert's table was not yet +tolerated at Lime Grove. Good, solid, and in profusion, but plain and +homely, and without flowers or other ornaments, was considered more +suitable for a dinner-table than what Mr. Armstrong called useless +trumpery or expensive nicknacks. + +And yet, with all that could satisfy her most refined tastes, Mary +Armstrong, as she stood at the open French window, sighed at the memory +of home. The country lanes which still remained near Lime Grove, the +broad high road which passed Englefield Grange as well as her father's +house, and along which she and her little brother Freddy had walked to +school on that cold morning that seemed now so long ago; the carriage +drive home after that fascinating evening at Mr. Drummond's, even the +meeting in the road when her father offered hospitality to Mr. Halford, +which he was never to accept--all this was connected with the rural +suburb surrounding her home. Still onward flew the rapid thoughts to a +pleasant hotel at Oxford, and all the happy hours of that +never-to-be-forgotten week, the strolls from college to college, from +chapel to chapel, the soul-stirring music of the choirs, the boat +excursions on the Thames beneath a June sky as bright as that now +casting a radiant but somewhat misty glow upon the Park, and that last +evening in Christ Church meadows beneath the moonlight, when those +trivial words were uttered which had stirred in her girlish heart +thoughts and feelings before unknown. + +Very lovely she looked as she stood in the reflected sunlight from the +Park. The pretty lilac-sprigged muslin, finished at the throat and +wrists with lace collar and wristlets, bows from the throat down the +front of lilac ribbon, and one of the same colour in her hair, were +truly becoming to the fair face and bright brown tresses. The only +ornaments she wore consisted of a silver brooch and the chain belonging +to her watch. + +So deeply were Mary's thoughts occupied, that her uncle and his friend +had reached the centre of the room before she was aware of their +presence. She started as her uncle said-- + +"Why, Mary, my dear, what a reverie!" + +"I beg your pardon, uncle, I did not hear your approach. Good morning, +Captain Fraser," she continued, turning to the visitor with a laugh, and +holding out her hand. "I am not in general so easily alarmed; did you +and uncle enter purposely on tiptoe?" + +The young officer cast upon the speaker a look of unmistakable +admiration, which deepened the flush on her cheek, but he did not +possess the tact with which to relieve the young lady and place her at +her ease with a retort as playful as her own. + +Colonel Herbert was, however, more ready. + +"Well, upon my word, Mary, you must have a very vivid imagination to +picture to yourself a stout old fellow like me tripping along the carpet +on tiptoe;" and her uncle's merry laugh restored Mary's self-possession +at once. "But now," he continued, "let me tell you the object which +brought us here. Would you like to join us in a canter this morning in +the Row? Captain Fraser and I have just been inspecting Daisy, she has +quite recovered from the effects of her journey by train, and I have +desired the groom to bring her round in half an hour; can you be ready?" + +"Oh yes, uncle, thank you, I shall be delighted, if aunt Helen +approves." + +"Aunt Helen is here to speak for herself;" and Mrs Herbert entered the +room as she thus announced her presence. + +"Of course I approve; go, darling, and dress quickly; an hour's ride +will do you good after such a long practice." + +"Mary was not practising when we entered the room," said her uncle, "but +lost in contemplation of our London landscape--quite a compliment to +Hyde Park I consider it." + +"I am afraid I was making comparisons in my mind not very complimentary +to the Park, uncle, but I shall enjoy my ride nevertheless." And the +young girl ran gaily out of the room without waiting for a reply. + +During the time the gentlemen had been in the room Captain Fraser had +not spoken; indeed, in reply to Mary he had only bowed a silent good +morning. Now, however, he entered into conversation with Mrs. Herbert, +showing that he could make himself in a certain sense agreeable as a +companion. + +Mary had met him twice already during the few days she had been in Park +Lane, but while the memory of a gentleman who could fascinate her with +his conversation on intellectual and poetical subjects was still fresh, +the style in which Captain Fraser made himself agreeable was not likely +to attract Mary Armstrong. + +"I'm afraid--aw--we alarmed--aw--Miss Armstrong this morning," said the +young man, pulling violently at his whiskers as he spoke. + +"My niece is not easily frightened, Captain Fraser." + +"No--aw--not exactly frightened, but startled I mean--aw--just for a +minute, and she turned it off--aw--and laughed as she spoke in such a +captivating manner that--aw--there was nothing left for a fellah to +say." + +"But you should say something, and not allow young ladies to have it all +their own way, Captain Fraser." + +"Oh dear me--aw--I couldn't possibly; besides--aw--Mrs. Herbert, I don't +think--aw--I ever saw a handsomer girl in my life--aw--than Miss +Armstrong; but now I don't mind telling you, she's so clever--aw--that +I'm half afraid to speak to her." + +"Ah, well, you can get better acquainted with her this morning during +your ride; she is perfectly at home on horseback, and a fearless rider." + +"I believe that Miss Armstrong is clever in everything that she does," +replied the young officer, with another firm tug at his whiskers. + +The appearance of the young lady in equestrian attire, and the +announcement that the horses were at the door, aroused the young man to +offer his assistance. He escorted Mary to the entrance, and was ready +and eager to be allowed to mount her; but he got so confused, and +appeared so awkward about the matter, that Mary felt afraid to place her +foot in his hand, and said quickly, "Thank you very much, Captain +Fraser, but I am so used to be mounted by my uncle, pray do not trouble +yourself to help me." + +He drew back instantly to give place to Colonel Herbert, and looked so +intensely miserable that Mary's kind heart pitied him, and she +determined during her ride to endeavour by her attention to him to +restore his self-appreciation. + +But Mary made very little progress towards the completion of her object. +She addressed her conversation almost entirely to him while walking +their horses; she tried various topics, but none proved of any interest +until a friend whom they met admired Mary's beautiful grey mare, who +pranced, and tossed her head, and curved her sleek neck as if she knew +that she carried her young mistress, and considered herself and her +rider the most attractive objects in the Park. + +This notice of Daisy by the colonel's friend loosened Captain Fraser's +tongue, and for the remainder of the ride he entertained his companion +with descriptions of the turf, and advice about the treatment of horses, +which to Mary were as incomprehensible as if uttered in Sanscrit. But +this subject, so familiar to the young officer, set him at his ease, and +by the time he reached home the shy awkwardness of the morning had quite +disappeared. + +When he joined them in the evening, Mary, whom he had taken down to +dinner, found his loquacity almost as painful to endure as his shyness. +The long drawn out words, the constant repetition of "aw, aw," and the +affected lackadaisical style of manner and speech, annoyed Mary even +while it amused her. Indeed, at last nothing but the recollection that +he was her uncle's guest could influence her to endure his society. + +Gladly did she hail her aunt's signal to leave the dinner-table, and had +she been alone would have openly expressed to Mrs. Herbert her opinion +of their visitor. But quietly leaning back in her chair while the elder +ladies talked, Mary Armstrong began to reflect. Had she any right to +despise this young captain because he had peculiarities and foibles? She +had heard her aunt say that Reginald Fraser had been motherless from his +birth, and to his father's neglect might be attributed much that was +disagreeable or affected in his manners, which in other respects she was +obliged to acknowledge were those of a gentleman. "Would my dear +grandfather have approved of my treating this young man with contempt?" +she asked herself. "With all his plain country manners he was a true +Christian gentleman, one of those who would not for the world say or do +anything to pain or mortify another. Again, how would Henry Halford +treat Reginald Fraser?" she asked herself. The answer was plain; she +knew how he would have acted, for Mr. Henry Halford would not forget the +advantages of his own happy home, and the careful training he had +received from his own mother. Thus reasoning, Mary Armstrong decided +that during her visit to Park Lane she would bear with this weak-minded +young man, and treat him kindly in spite of his foibles. + +But too much crooked policy exists in the world for straightforward +conduct and honest intentions to meet with a due reward. + +Mary's innocent, unsuspecting proceedings were mistaken by Captain +Fraser for a growing attachment to himself. + +During the month of her stay in Park Lane she had been associated with +many men and women belonging to the best society, and more than one of +the former had been attracted by the colonel's niece, and were ready to +offer her a position in society quite sufficient to satisfy her father's +pride. + +But there was something in the manner of Mary Armstrong which repelled +foolish flirtation, and completely prevented any attentions of a more +honourable nature. These gentlemen were too greatly superior to Reginald +Fraser for her to venture the kind of patronising notice she bestowed +upon the tall, effeminate young soldier. And yet in her innocent +ignorance of the world she was preparing for herself a bitter and +unexpected trial. + +On Mary's last evening at Park Lane no other visitor had been admitted +excepting Captain Fraser, and after playing and singing, _to him_ (as he +thought), all the evening, she felt tired of his exclusive attention, +and rose to retire, something in his manner of bidding her farewell made +her say to herself as she ascended the stairs, "Well, I am glad that's +over; I do not think I could endure Captain Fraser's society for another +day; and then to think that he should have the impertinence to squeeze +my hand! At all events, uncle and aunt can never accuse me of being rude +to their visitor." + +Poor Mary! had she been able to hear the conversation that took place in +the drawing-room on that evening, great would have been her surprise and +regret. Captain Fraser only stayed a few moments after Mary had left the +room, and when he was gone Colonel Herbert returned to his wife with a +serious face, and said-- + +"Well, Helen, what do you think Armstrong will say to this?" + +"Do you suppose the young man is in earnest, Charles?" was Mrs. +Herbert's reply in the form of a question. + +"No doubt about it; why, after dinner he became quite eloquent, talked +without any 'aw-aw,' and gave me quite a biography of himself and his +family." + +"I don't think Mary cares for him in the least," said Mrs. Herbert; "I'm +afraid that young man we met at Oxford is the favoured one; and +certainly, so far as intellectual and manly qualities are concerned, +Reginald Fraser is not to be compared with young Halford for a moment." + +"But, my dear Helen," replied her husband, "Charles told me before he +left England that this Halford was a schoolmaster's son, and even after +he has taken his degree can only hope to be a curate. Armstrong will +never sanction such an intimacy." + +"No, I'm sure of that: indeed, Mary has told me quite enough on the +subject of her father's opinion of schoolmasters and curates to prove +that she would have to relinquish all hope of being better acquainted +with the Halfords, whatever her own wishes might be. But my impression +is that she has no thought of marriage yet." + +"Reginald seems to think she has encouraged his attentions, and is quite +elated about it. Certainly, so far as money and position go, Armstrong +could not hope for a better offer for his daughter. Why, the man has +twelve thousand a year, and is the grand-nephew of a duke." + +"And what does he intend to do? has he said anything to Mary?" + +"No, I advised him not to do so until he had seen her father, and, poor +fellow, he seemed glad enough of the respite. He's good and amiable, but +not very wise, and he confessed to me that he dreaded popping the +question more than undergoing a six hours' drill." + +"Poor Mary," said Mrs. Herbert, "what a prospect for such a bright, +intelligent, sensible girl as she is! I'm afraid Armstrong will never be +able to resist the temptation of such an offer for his daughter." + +"Not he, you may be sure; and Mary appears so completely under her +father's control, that she will submit to his wishes without a word of +complaint." + +"And be miserable for life in spite of the money," said her aunt, with a +shrug of the shoulders expressive of pity. How little Mrs. Herbert +understood the character of Mary Armstrong will be seen in the sequel. +On the morning of the next day Mary rose with the feeling that an +incubus had been removed from her shoulders. At last she was set free +from the unpleasant necessity of listening to the frivolous conversation +of Captain Fraser. "How thankful I am that it is over!" she said to +herself, while busily engaged after breakfast in packing her boxes with +the assistance of Annette, who was _desolee_ at the approaching +departure of Mademoiselle Marie. + +Her task was scarcely finished when a message from her aunt summoned her +to the drawing-room. + +"Should you like to ride Daisy home to-day, my dear?" said Mrs. Herbert; +"your uncle has business at Harrow, and he can accompany you as far as +the Limes." + +"Oh, indeed, aunt, it would be delightful; I shall enjoy it beyond +everything. When does uncle propose to start?" + +"At about twelve o'clock." + +"I shall be ready, aunt dear; and will you send my boxes? Annette has +been helping me to pack them. Oh, aunt Herbert," she continued, "you +have been so kind, I shall never forget this pleasant visit." + +A few hours later Colonel Herbert parted from his niece at the Limes +after a hasty lunch, the latter quite unprepared for the consequences of +her kind and innocent attentions to Reginald Fraser. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A DISCOVERY AND ITS RESULT. + + +Reginald Fraser left Park Lane after the last evening of Mary +Armstrong's visit full of determination to call upon her father on the +following day. + +In spite of the effeminate and _nil admirari_ style of the young +officer, he had many amiable qualities, and was not quite deserving of +the title of a "good-natured fool," which his brother officers applied +to him. + +Motherless from his birth, an orphan before he had reached the age of +four years, the almost neglected child was placed by his grandfather at +a preparatory school for little boys. From this he passed to Eton, and +after studying at the Woolwich Academy entered the Guards, and at the +age of twenty-four obtained his company. + +At Woolwich he had formed an acquaintance with Charles Herbert, and this +young officer before starting for Canada had said to his mother-- + +"Mother, I wish you would look after that easy-going young fellow +Fraser, he's got more money than he knows what to do with, and the +sooner he finds a wife the better, or he'll get fleeced and no mistake." + +Mrs. Herbert remembered this request of her son's, and while in Park +Lane she encouraged the young officer to make their house his home. + +This report of his wealth had already made him a welcome visitor at the +houses of scheming mothers, and many well-born but worldly girls were +ready to _fall in love_ with his money and his possessions, while +secretly despising the owner for the shyness and indifference with which +he treated their advances to a better acquaintance. He had, however, +been introduced to very few families when Mary Armstrong made her +appearance at the house of his oldest friends, the Herberts, and it soon +became evident to every one but the young lady herself, that Reginald +Fraser, when he had summoned courage enough to do so, would offer +himself and his possessions to Mary Armstrong. + +Such indeed was his intention, or at least to make known his wishes to +her father, when he left Park Lane on that July evening; but on reaching +his quarters in St. James's Park, the official notice that his regiment +was ordered to Windsor on the morrow upset all his plans. + +Strange to say, he felt relieved at the thought of a few days' delay; he +dreaded the ordeal, although he had for hours been screwing up his +courage to make the venture, so painful to his natural shyness and +reserve. A few days would not matter; perhaps it was best to leave Miss +Armstrong to prepare the way for his visit by mentioning his name, and +so on. + +If Reginald Fraser could have foreseen what would happen during these +few days he might have recalled the proverb, "Delays are dangerous," in +time to escape a new and formidable difficulty. + +Mary Armstrong had arranged to return home in time for the commencement +of her brother's holidays. Not all the pleasant attractions in Park Lane +could have induced her to allow the anxiety and care which their +presence would cause, to devolve upon her mother. + +For three days, however--days which afterwards were never forgotten, +although their memory was rendered painful by contrast--Mary Armstrong +enjoyed the loving society of her parents alone. After an early +breakfast with her father, during the day till dinner she devoted +herself entirely to her mother, relieving her as usual of all domestic +supervision; sometimes walking with her, reading to her, or painting, +while she worked and talked. + +And yet how dissimilar were the causes which made both parents receive +their daughter on her return home with a proud affection which almost +surprised her! + +Not perhaps exactly at the moment of her return, but after the first +evening, when she described to them with sparkling eyes and eager +delight the scenes she had witnessed, the places she had visited, and +the company she had met. + +There was no reticence of manner now; persons and conversations were +spoken of with ease; and among other names, that of Reginald Fraser, +Charles Herbert's friend. + +"And what sort of a young man is Captain Fraser?" asked her mother. + +"Well, mamma, he is tall and rather handsome, but I am afraid not very +wise: he was at uncle's house every day, but he had scarcely ever a word +to say for himself, except once, when I happened to speak about horses, +and then his talk was far beyond my comprehension. I used to avoid him +at first, till aunt told me he had been motherless from his birth, and +was an orphan with few acquaintances in London, so I tried to amuse him +and make him talk because he was aunt Helen's guest, but I must confess +it was not a very pleasant occupation." + +"But why did this task fall upon you, Mary?" asked her father; "were no +other ladies present?" + +"Oh yes, often; but they soon appeared to get tired of his society. I +believe Captain Fraser is very amiable and good-tempered, but he is the +shyest man I ever met." + +"And who is this shy, reticent gentleman?" asked her father. "Is he +worth all the trouble he gives to young ladies in society?" + +"I suppose he is, papa, for aunt told me his great-uncle is a duke, and +his grandfather, who died about six months ago, left him a beautiful +estate in Westmorland, and twelve thousand a year." + +After saying this in a tone of voice that showed how utterly indifferent +she felt to the facts she had stated, Mary Armstrong without an effort +turned the subject to one more pleasing to herself--the new music and +songs she had brought home with her. + +While she sat at the piano playing and singing those on which she wished +to have her mother's opinion, thoughts were passing through the minds of +her parents of a very opposite character. + +"That young captain is no doubt the man I one day met riding with +Herbert," said her father to himself, "a fine aristocratic-looking +fellow. What a splendid match he would be for Mary! but I suppose it is +too much to expect such a man as that to marry a corn merchant's +daughter. How absurd all this nonsense is about high birth and good +connexions! This sprig of nobility, who is lucky enough to possess +riches in addition to his other attractions, will easily find a wife +among the 'upper ten' in spite of not being very wise." + +How different from these were the thoughts of the gentle mother! + +"My Mary is not spoilt by this little peep into the world of fashion; +and I doubt very much if even twenty thousand a year would tempt her to +unite herself to a man who requires to be amused and has nothing to say +for himself." + +And so for two days Mary had her mother's gentle love and her father's +unusually kind attentions all to herself. He had reasoned himself into +the conviction that the young officer had been attracted by his +daughter, although she was evidently not aware of it. + +"I'll get Herbert to introduce me some day," he said to himself, "and +then ask the captain down to dinner here. If such a position were +offered to Mary, I do not suppose she would be fool enough to refuse, +especially if supported by my authority. She seems to have forgotten +that sentimental affair with the schoolmaster. I am very glad I settled +him so completely in my reply to his letter. Maria tells me they have +seen very little of the family since, excepting when the mother came for +the character of a servant. And I can trust Mary; and--yes--well, the +man himself; they are both above anything dishonourable." + +Some such thoughts as these occupied the mind of Mr. Armstrong as he +mounted his horse and rode slowly to town on the second morning after +Mary's return to Lime Grove. How little he guessed that before they met +at dinner his power over his daughter would be weakened by a painful +discovery! + +Mrs. Armstrong during the warm weather generally put off her walk till +about four o'clock. The doctor had recommended walking exercise; and her +husband to encourage this had delayed the purchase of an open carriage +for his wife. The arrangement suited his purpose, and he was not far +wrong in adhering to the old-fashioned opinion that walking is more +truly conducive to health than driving. + +Mrs. Armstrong enjoyed the country walk with Mary on the afternoon of +which we write. The July day had been hot and sultry; but as they turned +their steps homeward a pleasant breeze sprung up which was very +exhilarating, and seemed to give Mrs. Armstrong additional strength. + +As they passed Englefield Grange the schoolroom clock struck five, and +almost at the same moment Mary saw coming towards them in an opposite +direction an invalid chair, which she knew belonged to Mrs. Halford. +More than once Mary and her mother had met the poor lady, now so +completely a wreck of her former self, accompanied by Kate Marston, who +in the midst of the tenderest care of her aunt could still manage to +glance at the fair girl who had so fascinated her cousin Henry with +genuine admiration. + +Hitherto a kind inquiry respecting Mrs. Halford's health had been +replied to by Kate with distant politeness; but to-day both mother and +daughter saw with troubled surprise, that instead of her usual +lady-friend, Mrs. Halford was accompanied by her son. Mrs. Armstrong +intended to bow and pass on, for she had not forgotten her husband's +angry remarks respecting the young man, nor her daughter's acknowledged +admiration of his acquirements and talents. + +To her astonishment, as they drew nearer, she saw the invalid lean +forward and speak, and in a few moments the chair stopped, and Mrs. +Halford held out her hand to Mrs. Armstrong, but her palsied head shook +and her voice trembled as she said, "I am so glad to be able to speak to +you again, Mrs. Armstrong; I am better, but I have been terribly shaken, +as you can see." + +All other emotions were lost in regret and sympathy, as Mrs. Armstrong +for the first time saw the painful change which illness had made in the +mother of Henry Halford; she pressed the offered hand, and spoke her +commiserations in a tearful voice. The invalid, while she retained Mrs. +Armstrong's hand, described her sufferings and sorrows, and spoke of her +daughter's death; and her listener noticed with pain that not only the +physical but the mental powers of Mrs. Halford had received a shock from +which it was scarcely possible they could ever recover. Presently, as +Mrs. Armstrong withdrew her hand and moved to glance at her daughter, +the invalid said-- + +"I have my son with me now; he came home from Oxford last week. He looks +pale, Mrs. Armstrong. Don't you think so?" + +Mrs. Armstrong turned and bowed to Henry Halford. + +She almost started at his white face and trembling lips as he raised his +hat and said-- + +"Good afternoon, Mrs. Armstrong." + +Then she turned and looked at her daughter. Never in her life had she +seen her so pale. + +Quickly recovering herself for the sake of the young people, she said in +a cheering tone-- + +"Mr. Halford is perhaps studying too closely, so we must expect him to +look pale and----" + +"Yes, yes," interrupted the invalid, "but that is not all; he has never +been well since your husband's reply to his letter about your daughter." + +"Mother, mother, hush! you forget.--Forgive her, Mrs. Armstrong," he +added, in a lower tone. "Her heart is broken about poor Fanny, she +scarcely knows what she is talking about." + +"But have any letters passed between you and Mr. Armstrong?" she asked +with painful eagerness. + +Mary had heard the invalid's words, and her pale cheeks flushed as she +listened for Henry Halford's reply. + +"One only from me," he said, "and Mr. Armstrong's answer, in which he +refuses----" he stopped abruptly, and then said hurriedly, "But it is +all past now. Pray excuse us, Mrs. Armstrong, it is time my mother was +at home." + +"Henry, I am very sorry, I did not mean it," exclaimed the poor +broken-hearted mother, as she saw by her son's face and manner that he +was painfully annoyed. + +Mrs. Armstrong saw it also. She took the trembling hand in hers and +said-- + +"Don't make yourself uneasy, my dear friend, it will all come right in +time. We must trust and hope." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Armstrong," said Henry, "you have helped me to trust +and hope. I will never forget those words." + +He took off his hat to the ladies as they turned to continue their walk, +while the pallor which had so startled them had given place to the flush +of hope which Mrs. Armstrong's words had excited. + +For some moments neither mother nor daughter spoke, both were reflecting +anxiously on what they had just heard. Mrs. Armstrong, although at first +taken by surprise, could quite understand her husband's wish to conceal +even from her the correspondence between himself and Henry Halford. + +Her indignation at the evident pain it had caused to both mother and son +made her utter those cheering words, which, however, she did not wish +unsaid. She knew too well how bitterly her husband could write on a +subject which irritated him, and she shrunk from the thought of what +insults that letter might have contained. + +But the daughter's feelings on the matter were far more intense and +painful, not because Henry Halford had offered and been refused, not +from any fear of what her father's letter might have said to cause pain, +but from surprise and distress at the concealment. + +Children whose parents are able to support parental authority have +generally the greatest faith in their knowledge, their opinions, and +their judgment. + +"My father says so," "My mamma knows best," are often uttered or thought +by young people; and on this account children who live entirely at home +grow up narrow-minded, and under the influence of certain opinions which +they consider right in contradistinction from all others. + +Mary Armstrong had very narrowly escaped from such an influence, still +her confidence in her father had been unbounded. He had taught her to be +open, candid, straightforward, and truthful; and now she had found that +while speaking of the schoolmaster as having forgotten the young lady to +whom he had been so polite at Oxford, and now and then indulging in a +joke about the impossibility of a student being able to love anything +but his books, he had known of this young man's love for his daughter, +and refused him without one word of reference to herself. + +She had yet to learn the hardening effects produced by a growing love of +money and the acquirement of wealth. + +They had nearly reached the gate entrance to Lime Grove, when her mother +said-- + +"Mary dear, what passed between you and Mr. Halford, while I was talking +to his mother?" + +"Only a few polite inquiries after my health, and remarks on the +weather; indeed, I could scarcely make a commonplace reply, for his +white face frightened me; but I understand it all now. Oh, mamma, I +cannot tell you how distressed I feel at the discovery we have made, +because it lowers my father in my estimation. Oh, if he had only told +me!" + +Mrs. Armstrong sighed as they entered the gate; she had tried for years +to believe that her husband was the soul of honour; and though she could +account for the concealment of Mr. Halford's letter from his daughter, +yet she knew too well that he was not the strictly honourable man in +many matters which he wished to appear. + +Mother and daughter entered the dining-room on that memorable evening +totally unprepared for the scene which was about to take place. + +Mr. Armstrong appeared in the most exuberant spirits; he joked with his +daughter, complimented his wife, and during dinner made himself +altogether so very agreeable, that Mary's anger against him was fast +fading from her heart, in which filial love had so long found a place. + +The cloth had been removed, and the wine and dessert of summer fruit +placed on the table in the style of olden times, before Mr. Armstrong +ventured to refer to the subject which had so raised his spirits. + +"I had a visitor in Dover Street to-day, Maria," he said, addressing his +wife, "and I have asked him to dine with us to-morrow." + +"Uncle Herbert, papa?" said Mary. + +"No, my dear, but a friend of his who inquired very kindly after you." + +"After me, papa? Who can it be? a lady or a gentleman?" + +"Is there any gentleman friend of your uncle's who you think would be +likely to inquire after you?" + +"Well, papa, yes; several I met at Park Lane would ask for me, I +daresay." Then suddenly she added, "Oh, perhaps it was Captain Fraser; +he told me he should pay you a visit some day." + +"Why did you not mention, this, Mary?" + +"I forgot it, papa, till your remark reminded me of it. I never cared to +remember Captain Fraser's sayings." + +"You are not kind then, Mary, for he speaks of you in the highest terms. +He has not forgotten you, most certainly." + +"I am very sorry, papa," she replied, "but I cannot appreciate his +praise as it deserves; he is so very effeminate and weak-minded, that +had he not been the guest of uncle and aunt Herbert I should scarcely +have been even civil to him." + +There was a bitterness in Mary's manner and speech, occasioned by the +discovery of the afternoon; for while her father spoke she could not +help comparing the two young men, with very great loss to the subject of +their present conversation. + +All at once to Mary's memory arose the teachings of her dear +grandfather. "I have no right to despise this young captain," she said +to herself; "it is not his fault that he is so inferior to others in +intellect;" and she was just about to speak kindly of his temper and +disposition, when her father said, in a tone that startled her-- + +"You will have to be more than civil to Captain Fraser to-morrow, Mary, +for he has asked me for the hand of my daughter, and I expect you to +accept him." + +"Father! What do you mean?" + +The tone of voice, the calm yet determined utterance, startled Mr. +Armstrong, yet he said firmly-- + +"I mean what I say, Mary. Here is a man connected with some of the +highest of England's aristocracy, and in addition to personal advantages +he possesses a noble estate and a rent-roll of 12,000_l._ a year. He +comes forward honourably, and offers to marry my daughter, and make her +mistress of all these honours and possessions, and she asks me what I +mean!" + +Mary did not reply, but with a will unbending as her father's she +resolved that nothing should induce her to marry Reginald Fraser. + +"Why do you not speak, Mary?" said her father at last, in a tone of +voice that Mrs. Armstrong knew betokened an outburst of passion. + +"Do not oblige Mary to decide to-night, Edward," said the gentle voice +of his wife; "give her a few hours to think over the advantages of such +a marriage, and----" + +"No, mamma," interrupted Mary; and while she spoke her face was pale and +her lips white, but her voice was clear and firm, "I do not require even +a few minutes to decide. I have been associated with Captain Fraser +daily for a month, and I could not marry him if he were fifty times more +rich or more well connected than he is." + +Mr. Armstrong rose from his chair, his face livid with passion. + +"Do you dare to oppose my wishes? Am I to be defied by my own daughter? +If you do not accept this gentleman who honours you by his preference, I +swear----" + +"Stop! stop, Edward!" and his wife's hand was placed on his arm, "why +should you wish to force your child in a matter so important as +marriage? Do not say anything now that you may afterwards regret." + +The effort caused the gentle wife to sink back in her chair, faint with +excitement. + +Mary flew to her mother, and standing by her, she turned to her father, +who said in a slightly subdued tone-- + +"I have a right to expect my own daughter to obey me when it is for her +future good." + +"No, my father," said Mary, who though deathly white was still calm, +"you have lost that right. If you had told me of Henry Halford's letter +to you openly and candidly, instead of concealing it and sending a +refusal without one word of reference to me, I would then have given way +to your wishes without a murmur, but now you cannot expect me to do so." + +She assisted her mother to rise as she ceased speaking, and they left +the room together in silence, Mr. Armstrong being too completely stunned +by Mary's speech to utter a word in reply. + +Surprise, not only at Mary's manner, but also at the discovery that she +had by some means heard of Mr. Henry Halford's letter respecting +herself, subdued for a time his rising anger, and presently he threw +himself into an easy-chair and began to reflect. + +Not for long, however, for Mary, after soothing her mother, and placing +her on the sofa near the window, that the sweet calm of the summer +evening might bring repose to her startled nerves, returned to the +dining-room. + +Mr. Armstrong scarcely noticed her approach till she threw herself on +her knees by his chair, and exclaimed-- + +"Forgive me, my father, I forgot myself just now; I ought not to have +spoken to you as I did; but why, oh! why did you not tell me of Mr. +Henry Halford's letter?" + +The words, the pleading tones for pardon, softened for a time the +violent passions of the father; he placed his arm round his daughter, +and said-- + +"My child, how could I consent to such a marriage for you, with nothing +but poverty to look forward to, whether as the wife of a schoolmaster or +a curate? The young man's letter proved that; and now you are mad enough +to refuse an offer that even a duke's daughter might envy; why is this?" + +"Papa, I could not marry to be ashamed of my husband; how could I honour +and respect him if I found him inferior in knowledge to myself? Papa, if +you intended me to marry only for money and position, why did you give +me such a superior education? How do you suppose I could be satisfied +with a man less clever than my own father? I know," she continued, +changing her tone, "that Captain Fraser is good, and gentle; and +amiable, but if you have seen him, and talked with him, you must know +how far inferior he is in every way mentally to Mr. Henry Halford." + +"And I suppose, then, you want me to consent to your marrying a man who +expects me to advance sufficient money as your marriage portion to +enable him to support his wife?" + +"No, my father, I will never marry without your consent, and I do not +expect you to give that consent to a man whom you treat as you would a +beggar; but I want you to understand how impossible it is for me to +accept any one else, even if he were as rich as Croesus. Ah, papa," +she continued, clinging to his arm, "suppose mamma's relations had +treated _you_ as you have treated Mr. Henry Halford!" + +"But I had money, child." + +"And can money make amends for the absence of everything else? are rich +people always happy? Oh, papa," continued the young girl, who knew not +with what a firm grasp the demon of gold had seized upon her father's +heart, "you were not always like this; only promise me that I shall not +be asked to marry a man just for money and position, and I shall not +care about being married at all. I would rather live at home with you +and dear mamma, for I am sure I shall never be happier anywhere else." + +The pleading voice, the consciousness that he had not acted rightly +respecting Henry Halford's letter, and that in many points his +daughter's remarks were correct, softened the father. He drew her +closely to his heart, and said-- + +"Mary, my child, although I cannot consent to your marriage with Mr. +Henry Halford, yet I promise you that you shall not be troubled with any +other suitors till you choose one for yourself of whom I can approve. +And now," he continued, rising, "let us go to your mother." + +But at this kindness on her father's part Mary felt her firmness giving +way. Hastily returning his proffered kiss, she rushed upstairs to her +room, and gave vent to her long-controlled feelings in a burst of tears. + +Meanwhile Mr. Armstrong was cheering his wife's heart by relating what +he had promised to Mary; and when she appeared on the announcement that +tea was ready, there was a look of calm happiness on her face in spite +of the reddened eyelids, which alone remained to bear testimony to the +tears which had relieved her over-charged heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +NEW ARRIVALS. + + +In a private room at an hotel near the London Bridge terminus of the +South-Eastern Railway sat a party of five at breakfast. + +The lady is a stranger, but we have met Arthur Franklyn and his two +daughters before. Clara and Mabel have grown since we last saw them +watching by the dying bed of their dear mother; indeed, Clara at the age +of fifteen has the appearance and manners of a woman. + +Between the sisters sits a boy of eleven, in whose dark eyes and +delicate features can be traced a much stronger resemblance to those of +his lost mother than in either of his sisters. + +Arthur Franklyn looks more aged during the two years that have elapsed +since his wife's death than might have been expected, and his face has a +careworn expression, which greatly changes his appearance. + +The door opens, and a respectable-looking woman enters the room, leading +by the hand a beautiful little boy of about three years and a half old. +The child runs towards his father, who lifting him on his knee, +exclaimed--"What, come to have breakfast with papa, Ally?" + +"Yes, papa; may I?" + +"No, let him go to nurse, Arthur," said a fretful voice; "he's too young +to breakfast with us after such a fatiguing journey. I wonder you wish +me to be troubled with all the children at once." + +Arthur Franklyn looked annoyed. + +"Anything for peace," he said, as he placed the boy on the floor; and +yet his heart misgave him as he saw the piteous look on the face of poor +Fanny's youngest born, as the little one struggled to keep back the +tears. + +"Ally shall have breakfast with Clara," said the young girl, rising from +her chair and casting a look of defiance at her stepmother; then lifting +the little boy in her arms, she added, "papa, please send my teacup and +plate by nurse," and she turned from the room as she spoke, little +Albert clinging to her neck, his bright curls mixing with her dark hair +in pleasing contrast. + +"I'll fetch a tray, sir," said nurse, as she followed her young mistress +to the stairs, and said-- + +"Oh! Miss Clara, I'm so sorry you've left the table; it will only make +matters worse, and cause unhappiness between your papa and Mrs. +Franklyn." + +"I could not help it, nurse. Why should she interfere, and it vexes me +so to see papa give way to her; he has a right to have his own children +with him, I should think." + +Nurse sighed; she had not forgotten her promise to the dying mother, +that she would take care of her little Albert, and Mr. Franklyn for once +was firm in opposing his wife's wishes to leave the nurse behind in +Australia. + +The first Mrs. Franklyn, soon after Clara's birth, had engaged as nurse +Jane Simmons, an emigrant, who had been delighted to find in her young +mistress the daughter of a gentleman who resided at Kilburn near her own +native home. For nearly fifteen years, therefore, she had been the +much-loved nurse of Mr. Franklyn's children, and during his widowhood +they were almost entirely under her care. + +Jane knew her master's character well; she was not surprised, therefore, +when he told her about twelve mouths after his first wife's death that +he intended to marry a lady of large property, and begged her to prepare +his girls for the change. It was not, however, a very easy matter; +indeed, Clara expressed herself in strongly rebellious terms, and Mabel +shed many bitter tears at the prospect of having a stepmother. + +A less sensible woman might have encouraged this rebellion, but Jane +reminded them of what their mother would have said--not only that it was +a duty they owed to their father to treat his wife with respect, but +also for the memory of their mother to endeavour to increase his +happiness. + +Under such influence the children of Fanny Franklyn were ready to +receive their stepmother with respect and even affection. But the lady +Arthur Franklyn had chosen to supply the place of his lost wife, +possessed none of her qualities to endear her to his children. + +A native of Australia, a childless widow, who at the death of her +husband became mistress of a large fortune, handsome, stylish, and +accomplished, whatever could Arthur Franklyn wish for beyond this. So he +thought with his usual impulsiveness, but he soon found his mistake. +Mrs. Franklyn was very unfit to manage a high-spirited girl like Clara, +and far too selfish and harsh in her treatment of the little gentle +Mabel, whom her father often found in tears of real distress. Altogether +Arthur Franklyn felt that he would have to pay dearly for the money +brought him by his second wife. + +He was at last obliged to humble himself to his eldest daughter to +obtain peace. + +"Clara," he said one day when he found her alone in the drawing-room, +"you appear to resent my second marriage; do you know that anxiety for +my children is the sole reason for my marrying again." + +"Oh! papa," said Clara, "how can that be? Mrs. Franklyn isn't in the +least like our own dear mamma, and I shall never be able to love her." + +"Clara," he said, "when I married your stepmother I was on the brink of +ruin; you and your brother and sister would have been turned out of +doors homeless and penniless; by my second marriage I obtained property +which has saved you all. Clara, cannot you love your father well enough +to forgive him for placing another in the position of your dear mother +for the sake of her children?" + +"Papa, O papa!" said Clara, "oh! I did not know all this;" and she threw +her arms round his neck as she said, "you must forgive me, papa, and I +will try to behave properly to my new mamma; I will indeed." + +"Thank you, my daughter," he replied, as he pressed her to his heart, +and thought with pain of her dead mother; "but, Clara, you must not +mention to any one what I have told you of my affairs." + +"Papa, I will not," she said, and Mr. Franklyn knew he could trust his +eldest daughter. + +This appeal to Clara, although not quite truthful, for a time brought +peace, but new troubles were arising to show her father that a deviation +from a straightforward and honourable path is sure, sooner or later, to +bring its own punishment. + +He had led the present Mrs. Franklyn to believe that his position was +that of a man of independent means, and the ready cash she had at her +bankers was given up to him with perfect confidence. But when he asked +her to touch her capital on the plea of wishing to obtain a partnership +in a lucrative business, difficulties arose which could only be overcome +by a visit to England. Mrs. Franklyn had never yet drawn any but the +interest of her money, and on examining her late husband's will it was +found that to touch the capital without the consent of her trustees was +out of her power. + +One of these trustees resided in England. Mrs. Franklyn would not allow +her husband to go alone. Indeed it would have been useless for him to do +so, but he was only too glad of an opportunity to take his children to +England and leave them in the care of their grandfather and uncle. + +While they were discussing the matter came the news that Mrs. Halford, +after several months of pain and suffering, had followed her daughter to +the grave; yet this did not deter Arthur Franklyn from his purpose. + +"There is Kate Marston still at Englefield Grange," he said to himself; +"and she is quite as clever a manager as poor Fanny's mother was. If I +get Louisa's money into my own hands, as I hope to do, I can pay the old +gentleman handsomely for my children; and they are better away from +their stepmother. I don't quite like parting with my little Al, but I +suppose I must," and the father sighed at the memory of early days at +Englefield Grange. + +And now they are in England and at breakfast at the hotel, where Mrs. +Franklyn's serenity has been disturbed by the appearance of little +Albert. + +"Clara will entirely spoil that child if you allow her to indulge him in +this manner, Arthur." + +"Never mind now, my dear," was the reply, "we have no time to discuss +the subject. What do you wish me to do about a house or apartments? that +is the first thing." + +"I thought you talked of taking a house furnished," she said. "I hope +not in London, however, it appears so noisy and crowded, and almost +sunless, even on a May morning." + +"There are some beautiful spots in the suburbs, Louisa, and I was going +to propose that we have an open carriage, and drive down to Kilburn if +you have no objection. We are sure to find furnished houses in that +direction, and I should like to be near the children's relations. We can +put off business till to-morrow." + +Mrs. Franklyn readily agreed to this arrangement. Certainly it was a +drawback to have all those children with her in the carriage, but that +would not be for long, and perhaps they would remain at Englefield +Grange, at least until Arthur had chosen a house. + +After this, breakfast was quickly finished, a carriage ordered, and the +young people, full of happiness, made hasty preparations for a +delightful ride through wonderful London, of which they had heard so +much. + +On entering the room with her little brother before starting, Clara +advanced to Mrs. Franklyn and said,--"Mamma, I did not mean to be rude +when I left the breakfast-table this morning, but I am so fond of my +little brother Ally, please forgive me." + +"It is of no consequence, Clara, if you prefer to breakfast in the +nursery you can always please yourself." + +Clara turned away without a reply. She had not lost her power of +self-control, yet she had great difficulty in repressing the tears or an +angry reply. A feeling of mortification that she had so humbled herself +for nothing arose in her heart. The time came when she remembered having +done so with thankfulness. + +What a delightful ride that was. Over London Bridge, with its crowds of +vehicles, and its continued stream of passengers. Omnibuses, waggons, +carts, carriages, every sort of conveyance delaying their progress +through King William Street, Cheapside, Holborn, and Oxford Street, till +they reached Hyde Park Corner, and turned up the Edgware Road. + +Yet the frequent delays had been an advantage to them, especially at the +Mansion House, with the Royal Exchange and the Bank in sight. Again +before entering Newgate Street, the view of St. Paul's and the Post +Office, and afterwards the grim prison itself, from which the street is +named. + +Arthur Franklyn could remember sufficient of London to enable him to +point out objects of interest as they drove on, although the Holborn +Viaduct and the Thames Embankment were not then in existence. But when +they at last approached Kilburn, so many recollections crowded upon him +that he became silent, scarcely replying to the eager inquiries of the +children till the carriage stopped at the gate of Englefield Grange. + +"I will go in alone first, Louisa," he said hurriedly. "I must prepare +my aged father-in-law for such a large party." + +He was gone before she could raise an objection, and in a few moments a +strange servant opened the door, and, startled by his pale face, showed +him into a small reception room, and went to call Mr. Henry. + +He stood listening to the old familiar sounds; the clock had just struck +twelve, and the eager voices in the playground at the back brought to +his memory the time when he had been as happy and as eager as those he +now listened to, and a little dark-eyed girl would stand watching for +him at the garden gate with a flower, or a bon-bon, or a something which +she had brought for "dear Arty." So deep, so painful were these +memories, that when the door opened, and he turned his white face to +meet his brother-in-law, the family likeness was so strong that he could +only hold out his hand and say, "Henry, I know it is Henry!" and then +burst into a violent fit of sobbing. + +At first Henry Halford felt quite bewildered. He had not reached his +eighth birthday when Arthur and Fanny sailed for Australia, yet a sudden +flash of recognition, added to the letter received from Arthur that +morning, recalled his brother-in-law to his memory. + +"It is Arthur Franklyn," he exclaimed; "my dear sister's husband," and +for a few moments Henry Halford was himself too much overcome to speak, +or do more than press the hand of his brother-in-law as he held it. + +"Everything here reminded me so strongly of _her_," said Arthur, at last +rousing himself, and already ashamed of the impulse, which, like all his +other impulses, was so evanescent. "My wife and the children are at the +door," he added. "How is the dear old father? I came in alone to prepare +him, and the old place and its memories knocked me over." + +"You need not fear bringing them in," said Henry, as Arthur rubbed at +his face and tried to remove all traces of his emotion. "My father is in +feeble health, but his mind and memory are clear. He will be overjoyed +to see the children." + +A few minutes longer, and then the greyheaded old man had fondly +welcomed his daughter's children, and kindly greeted her successor. + +Mrs. Franklyn showed herself at her best, and won the good opinion of +both father and son. + +It was arranged that they should all stay and partake of the schoolroom +dinner to give the horses a rest, and then Kate Marston made her +appearance. + +She was not slow to recognise Arthur, who was a few years younger than +herself. The sixteen years had changed them both, but Arthur more than +Kate Marston. + +Old Dr. Halford was the first to remark this with the plain-speaking of +age, which is almost childlike in its character. + +"You are as comely as ever, Arthur," said the old-fashioned gentleman, +"but you have changed more in the sixteen years than Kate." + +"No wonder, uncle," exclaimed Kate, "only think of all he has gone +through, besides having the care of these motherless children. I have +nobody to be anxious for but myself; no husband for me, thank you." And +while she spoke, with a deep blush on the still fresh complexion, and a +bright smile, Arthur could not help owning to himself that Time had +dealt very gently with Kate Marston. + +"She has been anxious enough about me and my dear lost wife," said the +old gentleman, in a querulous voice, "so you must not listen to Kate +when she lays claim to a selfishness she does not possess. But really, +Arthur, you are not looking at all well. You must comfort him, my dear," +he added, addressing Mrs. Franklyn. "So much can be done by a second +wife to soften down old memories in her husband's heart." + +"I hope I shall be able to do so," said the lady, in a gentle tone, +which pleased the old man, and made Arthur say-- + +"I am not afraid, father; Louisa has already proved herself a kind and +affectionate wife." + +He longed to add, "and a mother to my children," but at this moment a +summons to dinner made any further remark unnecessary. + +When they returned to the little breakfast parlour, in which the old +gentleman had dined alone, Kate Marston said-- + +"Arthur, if you and Mrs. Franklyn are going househunting, suppose you +leave the children here for a few days, they would like it, I suppose." + +"Oh yes, indeed we should," exclaimed Clara, answering for the rest, +whose bright faces confirmed what she said; "and I can take care of +Albert, and dress and wash him if I may." + +"If you stay longer than another day I will send nurse with your +clothes," said Arthur. + +"Oh, have you the same nurse here in England, of whom poor Fanny spoke +so highly in her letter to me?" said Henry. + +"Did she speak of a nurse?" exclaimed Arthur, concealing his surprise +that his brother-in-law should have had a letter about the boy; "then it +must be the same, for she has been with us more than fourteen years." + +"Then send her down here as soon as you like, for if you can spare the +children for a week we shall be glad to have them." + +To this Arthur readily acceded, and then, as the carriage was announced, +he said to Dr. Halford: "This has been such a hurried visit, Doctor, and +I have so much to hear and so much to tell; but we must come again as +soon as we have fixed upon a house and spend a long day with you all. +You have taken your degree at Oxford, Henry," he continued, turning to +the window where the uncle was amusing the little nephew who had been +left to his care by his dying sister; "and I suppose you are soon going +up for ordination?" + +"Not till Trinity," he replied. "You know I am obliged to be here as +much as possible now my father is disabled; I took up my Master's degree +in June last year." + +There were quick farewells and fond embracing of the children as they +rose to leave. "Good-by, papa--good-by, mamma," was echoed from one to +the other as the carriage drove off; and then Louisa Franklyn turned to +her husband and said, "Well, this is a comfort, Arthur: at last I shall +have your society all to myself for a week without the constant trouble +and anxiety of those children." + +But Arthur Franklyn's recollections of the past were too strong just +then to make him thankful to get rid of his children. "I'm afraid I +shall have to pay dearly for Louisa's fortune if I do get it," was his +very uncomplimentary reflection. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +COUNTRY COUSINS. + + +Mr. Armstrong was seated in his private room one afternoon two days +after the arrival of Mr. Franklyn and his family at Englefield Grange. + +So deeply was he absorbed in calculating the profit and loss of some +recent speculations that a knock at the door startled him, and he +answered, in an impetuous tone, "Come in!" + +The young clerk who obeyed the impatient command could only falter out, +"A lady wishes to see you, sir," and the very next moment a middle-aged +lady, with a youth of sixteen entered the room and stood before its +irritable occupant. + +Edward Armstrong rose from his chair too bewildered at first to +recognise his visitor, whose attire, though good and expensive, could +scarcely give her the right, in appearance to him at least, to be +described as a lady. + +"Cousin Edward, how glad I am to find you here," and Mrs. John +Armstrong, as she spoke, advanced and seized her relation's hand in the +demonstrative style he had learnt to consider a breach of good manners. +He flushed deeply, but in the midst of his false shame and proud +annoyance, he had presence of mind to return the warm hand-shake, and +lead his cousin to a chair. + +"I am very glad to see you, cousin Sarah. Sit down, my boy; why, is it +really Jack? How you are grown, lad! When did you arrive in London?" + +"About an hour ago," replied cousin Sarah, who detected beneath all +those courteous inquiries ill-concealed annoyance. "We have come to +London very unexpectedly on business, and at the Waterloo Station I felt +so lost and bewildered that I could only take a cab and ask the man to +bring us here; but if you will tell us where to find lodgings the cab is +still waiting and we can go directly." + +Now while cousin Sarah spoke there had been passing through Edward +Armstrong's mind the memory of many happy days at his old home, in which +the homely relative before him and her husband had loaded him with +attentions and hospitalities. Could he hesitate to invite her and her +son to his house at Kilburn? Had he any fear of the reception they would +meet with from his wife and daughter?--No, not for a moment. Before the +visitor had ceased speaking the foolish pride which exists so often in +those who have risen from an inferior position was crushed down, and he +said quickly and earnestly: "Sarah, what are you talking about? Do you +think I should expect you to take lodgings? No, no, you must go down to +Kilburn with me this afternoon, and then you can tell us the cause of +this unexpected visit to London. I will have no refusal," he added, +seeing her shake her head and attempt to speak. "Is your luggage in the +cab? Stay, I'll send the man away, and manage all that for you." He +sounded a gong as he spoke, and when one of the clerks appeared, he +said, "Have this lady's boxes brought into the office, and pay the cab, +Williams; it has come from the Waterloo Terminus." + +"There is one box and a carpet bag," exclaimed Mrs. John, rising in +haste. + +"All right, Williams will manage. You'll remember, Williams, a box and a +carpet bag," said Mr. Armstrong, as the young man turned away. + +"Yes, sir," was the reply; and then Mr. Armstrong, turning to his cousin +with a smile said-- + +"I'll find you apartments, Sarah, in my own house. What do you think +Maria and Mary would say if I shut you up in dingy London lodgings after +their pleasant visits at Meadow Farm? And now, tell me what has brought +you to London so suddenly." + +"Well, we've heard of a situation for Jack," she replied; "but, Edward, +do listen to me for a moment, I never meant to intrude upon your +lady-wife and fine house. Jack and I are too countrified and homely, but +it's very kind of you to ask us," and the tears stood in the eyes of the +sensitive woman as she spoke. + +"Not another word, Sarah, I am sure of the warm welcome you will receive +from my wife and Mary, and I should like to hear any one speak with +disrespect of my father's relatives." + +There was pride in the remark still, but Cousin Sarah passed it over, +and entered at once into the matter that had brought her and Jack to +London. + +Mr. Armstrong listened with interest, and promised to make all necessary +inquiries as to the standing and respectability of the firm in the house +of business in which Jack had been offered an appointment. + +"So you do not wish to be a farmer, Jack," said Mr. Armstrong, noticing +with pleasure the refined face and erect bearing of the dark-eyed youth. + +"No, sir," he replied, "I should prefer to be in a business." + +"He is fond of figures, and his master at school speaks of him as a +first-rate arithmetician," said the proud mother, "besides, Tom is just +the boy for a farm, and one son will be enough to help his father for +years to come, if he lives. Tom is a strong sturdy boy, who cares very +little for books. But I'm taking up your time, Edward," she exclaimed, +suddenly, "do you go to Kilburn every day?" + +"Certainly I do," he replied laughing, "I generally leave here about +five o'clock." + +"And you must have business matters to finish, and I've been hindering +you all this time; but if you will tell me how to get to Kilburn +by-and-by, I'll take Jack out in the meantime and show him a little of +London and the parks." + +"I have very little more to attend to to-day," he replied, "but if you +feel inclined to walk about for a while and return here by five o'clock, +we can start together and reach home in time for dinner. If you lose +yourselves call a cab and tell the man to bring you here." + +Mr. Armstrong accompanied his visitors to the street entrance, treating +them before his clerks with the most deferential and yet familiar +politeness. As he returned to his counting-house he called one of his +porters and said-- + +"Go to the livery stable, Milson, and tell them I shall leave Firefly +till to-morrow, and order a carriage and pair to be here at five +punctually, as I have friends who will accompany me to Kilburn this +evening." + +There was in Mr. Armstrong's manner a mixture of ostentatious pride with +a real anxiety to show his visitors every attention and set them at +their case. Plain and homely as they might appear in the eyes of his +clerks, his manner and actions were intended to show that he considered +these country cousins worthy of respect and attention. + +Mary Armstrong stood at the window of her mother's dressing-room on the +afternoon in which the arrival of visitors at Dover Street had caused +such a commotion. + +Nearly a year had passed since she made the discovery that her father +had refused one offer for her, and she had refused another. More than +once since then had the hand of the accomplished daughter of Mr. +Armstrong been sought by men of wealth and position, but while it pained +Mary to refuse them, she still held firm to her purpose. + +Her father's displeasure was at times very hard to bear, but her patient +and gentle endurance blunted the edge of his wrath, and often silenced +him for very shame. + +"You expect to induce me to give way at last, I suppose," he said one +day, angrily, "but I never will consent to your marrying that parson +fellow; you will be of age in a few months, I know, and then may do as +you like, but you will find your name erased from my will if you do." + +"Father, I will never marry without your consent, I have told you so +often, and you cannot mistrust my word," was the gentle but firmly +uttered reply, which silenced the angry father. + +With all these excitements and anxieties, we cannot wonder that the nine +or ten months which have passed away since she stood at the window in +Park Lane, have changed her appearance. + +Mary Armstrong, however, has lost nothing by this change. The face, +though slightly thinner, still retains its delicate oval. The eyes are +as large and bright, and the hair as glossy and luxuriant as ever. The +rich colour on her check is softened down to the bloom of a peach, and +the figure, though more fully developed, is still slender and graceful +in every movement. + +Mary Armstrong was happy in having a mother as her confidential friend; +she was not likely to + + "Let concealment like a worm i' the bud, + Feed on her damask cheek;" + +and she possessed too much good sense to allow herself to become the +victim of disappointed affection. She knew that the best remedy against +such a disease was active employment of mind and body--consequently her +books, her music, her studies were diligently followed, as well as more +active domestic duties. + +No day passed without a quick walk alone or a quieter one with her +mother. The books she read were principally those requiring deep +thought, and the study of languages was varied by scientific subjects. +Poetry for a time she set aside, it too often touched upon a tender +string, which she felt must not be allowed to vibrate, even her +favourite Milton lay unnoticed on the shelf, its pages awoke memories +too painful to be encouraged. Sometimes she would bring out her +"Algebra" or "Euclid," and induce her father to work a few sums or +problems with her during the evening. + +There was a sad gratification when after one of these occasions, her +father closed the book, and as she rose and wished him good night, he +drew her towards him, and said-- + +"Ah, if my daughter would only be guided by me in other matters, as she +has been in her studies, I should have nothing left to wish for." + +Poor Mary, the kind and gently expressed words cost her sleepless hours +of anxious thought while trying to satisfy her conscience that she was +acting rightly towards her father. Only at last, when she answered the +question, "Ought I to marry a man alone for the sake of money or +position?" with an emphatic "No," could she close her eyes in sleep. She +was ready to give up Henry Halford--her unselfish affection made her +hope not only that he was learning to forget her, but also that he might +soon meet with some one to supply the place of his dear mother in his +heart, but to marry any one else herself, she felt to be an +impossibility. + +More than once lately they had met and bowed to each other as mere +passing acquaintances. Often on leaving church on a Sunday Mr. Armstrong +had raised his hat to the amiable and stricken old man, who passed them +leaning on the arm of his son, but farther approach to intimacy was felt +to be impossible. + +And so the months had passed, and now the early summer was decking +gardens, orchard, and meadow with its sweetest blossoms. Through the +open window at which Mary stood on this May afternoon of which we write +came the fragrant perfume of lilac and May blossom. The birds were +tuning their little throats for a chorus of song, and a stillness in the +soft air seemed to produce a feeling in the heart of Mary of calm +submission to the will of "Him who orders all things in heaven and +earth." + +Suddenly she started; a carriage was approaching, and instead of passing +by as she expected, it drew up and stopped at the gate. + +"Mamma," she said, entering her mother's room from the dressing-room, +"there is a carriage at the gate, whose can it be?" + +Mrs. Armstrong joined her daughter at the window. They saw with surprise +Mr. Armstrong and a youth alight, and then turn to assist a lady. + +"Who can it be, Mary?" + +"Mamma! I can see her face, it is cousin Sarah; oh, how glad I am, shall +we go down and receive her, mamma, and I suppose that is one of her +sons." + +The ladies were in the hall to receive the guest, who forgot her +surprise at the appearance and style of the house, in her pleasure at +meeting Mrs. Armstrong and Mary. + +They both drew her into the drawing-room followed by Jack, who seemed +more surprised at the cordial and even affectionate welcome his mother +received from these elegant ladies than by the luxuriantly furnished +room into which they had been taken. In fact poor Sarah was quite +overcome by her reception, and when Mary offered to take her upstairs +and to show Jack into her brother Edward's room, she said, "My dear, I +never expected you would be so pleased to see such a homely old body as +I am." + +"But we are pleased to see you, cousin Sarah, and I don't forget how +very nice it is to be homely as you call yourself at Meadow Farm--and is +it Jack you have brought with you?" + +"Yes, my dear, he has been offered a situation in London, and that is my +reason for coming." + +"I am very glad something has brought you here at last, cousin Sarah, +and I'm sure mamma is also, we so often talk about you; but you want +your box, I daresay--Oh, here it is," continued Mary, opening the door +in answer to a knock; "and now I'll leave you, and when dinner is nearly +ready I'll come for you, it wants twenty minutes to six." + +Cousin Sarah, when left to herself, quietly opened her box, feeling glad +that she had brought a best dress, in which she might venture to show +herself amidst all this elegance. She glanced round the bedroom, so +luxuriously furnished, with large Arabian bedstead and silken hangings, +marble washstands, rich carpet, luxurious sofa, massive wardrobe and +numerous mirrors, and said to herself, "all these are bought with +Edward's money; but money does not bring happiness even to such a +charming girl as Mary Armstrong. She is as beautiful as ever, I can see +that, but there's a look in her sweet face that no young girl with all +these comforts and luxuries around her ought to have; I'll find out what +it means while I'm here, and see if I can't set matters straight." + +Cousin Sarah dressed quickly, and then found her way to her son's room. + +"I've put on my best suit, mother," he said; "why how rich cousin +Armstrong must be; I never was in such a fine house in my life. I hope I +shall behave properly at dinner." + +Cousin Sarah laughed, but finding her son ready she turned towards the +stairs and met Mary coming to fetch them. Mary Armstrong saw at a glance +that with all Mrs. John Armstrong's homeliness she had natural good +taste in dress. Her grey silk dress, though not very fashionable, was +well made, and of rich material; while the real lace of which cap, +collar and sleeves were made, might have excited the envy of a duchess. + +Jack, too, in his new black suit, was a son of whom a mother might well +feel proud, and Mary, passing by his mother, held out her hand, saying, +pleasantly, "I must shake hands with you, cousin Jack; I have often +heard cousin Sarah talk about you, but we never have met till to-day, +and now I hope we shall be friends." + +"There is no doubt of that," said his mother, coming to the rescue, for +Jack seemed unable to speak, such a fairy vision as cousin Mary, in her +pale blue silk and lace, was something new to the youth of sixteen, and +so different to the buxom damsels on his father's farm, that he was for +a time struck dumb. + +Mr. Edward Armstrong led his father's niece into the dining-room with no +little satisfaction at her appearance. + +Mary took the shy youth under her care so effectually, that in a very +short time his shyness had vanished, and he could reply to the remarks +addressed to him with intelligence and ease. + +She was amused to observe the strong likeness in the youth to her own +father, and greatly interested in finding that he possessed the same +mathematical and scientific tastes. This was discovered after dinner +when Mr. Armstrong examined the boy, and delighted cousin Sarah by his +commendations, not only of the correctness of his answers to various +questions, but also for the intelligence and modesty with which they +were given. + +Jack never forgot that happy evening, everything around him was new, +strange, and delightful. + +The nicely furnished dining-room, the table glittering with plate and +glass, the dinner itself, Mr. Armstrong's kind notice, the soft voice +and manners of Mrs. Armstrong, of whom he felt a kind of awe, his +fairy-like cousin, and last, but not least, the beautiful music and +singing with which she entertained them, all combined to make this +evening the happiest of the happy week he spent at Lime Grove. + +On Sunday cousin Sarah and her son accompanied the family to church, and +circumstances occurred which gave her the opportunity she sought in her +anxiety about Mary. + +Dr. Halford's boys occupied the two front seats in the gallery in front +of the organ, and on each side the clock, for the church was very +old-fashioned, Mr. Armstrong's family sat in a front seat of the side +gallery, and under that gallery was the private pew of Dr. Halford's +family. + +Henry generally sat with his father, the boys being always under the +supervision of two of the masters, but now the pew was occupied by poor +Fanny's children. + +On this Sunday, therefore, Mary saw with surprise and uneasiness, Mr. +Henry Halford seated at the end of a pew occupied by the boys, and only +one of the masters present. + +She could not avoid seeing him, and she knew that her parents must have +noticed him also. + +The presence of two strangers in Mr. Armstrong's pew attracted for a few +moments Henry Halford's looks towards them, to Mary's great +discomposure; but when the service began these two young people seemed +to remember that they were present to join in the sacred services of +God's house, and not to look about them. + +There was something in the manner, not only of Mr. Armstrong, but also +of Mary and her mother, which directed cousin Sarah's eyes more than +once to the gentleman seated with those superior-looking schoolboys, +many of whom appeared older than her son. Jack also seemed so fascinated +to watch them, that more than one glance from his mother was necessary +to remind him of the place and the hour. + +Altogether it was a most perplexing position, and Mary was glad to see +her father rise quickly when the service ended, as if anxious to avoid a +meeting with the schoolmaster and his son, but he failed in the attempt. + +Henry Halford, remembering that his nieces now required attention as +well as his aged father, left the boys to be marshalled home by the +assistant, and hastened to the lower door to meet them. + +Another surprise therefore awaited Mary. On reaching the church entrance +they met face to face Old Doctor Halford, supported on one side by the +arm of his son, and on the other by a tall handsome girl, apparently +about eighteen years of age. Mary did not at first notice another +younger girl, dressed in exactly the same manner, who walked behind Dr. +Halford and his supporters, with a boy nearly as tall as herself. + +The usual formal courtesies passed between them as they met; but the +sudden shock at seeing, as she thought, a strange young lady on such +friendly terms with the doctor and his son, deprived Mary for a moment +of self-possession. Recovering herself with an effort she returned the +notice of the gentlemen, and hurried on to join her mother with an +aching at her heart. + +Cousin Sarah had seen the fair face turn white even to the lips, and she +drew Mr. Armstrong forward, leaving Mary with her mother and Jack. + +"Who is that very pleasing looking young man, Edward?" was her first +question. + +"What young man?" was the half-irritated reply. + +"I am speaking of the gentleman we met just now, who was supporting, I +suppose, his aged father; Edward, he reminded me of dear uncle." + +Edward Armstrong winced. The good and intelligent old yeoman, his own +father, was in position and education far inferior to Dr. Halford, and +yet he despised the latter because he was a schoolmaster and poor. He at +last replied with an effort,--"Father and son are schoolmasters, and the +son is going to be a parson." + +"But they are as much gentlemen as your wife is a lady, Edward; I can +tell by your manner that you dislike them, but why?" + +"Why?" he asked impetuously, "because they are poor, and the son had the +audacity to ask me for Mary." + +"And you refused him." + +"Of course I did; do you suppose I was fool enough to give up to him the +money I have worked so hard for, as my daughter's marriage portion? and +no doubt that was all he wanted." + +"Does Mary know of this?" + +"Unfortunately she does, although I kept it from her as long as I could; +but it slipped out in some way." + +"Ah! then now I can understand what has changed her so much," said +cousin Sarah, quietly. + +With a startled expression Mr. Armstrong turned and looked at the +speaker. + +"What!" he exclaimed, but, before she could reply, Mrs. Armstrong, Mary, +and Jack joined them. Cousin Sarah noticed at a glance that Mary had +recovered her colour, but there was a quivering of the lip very painful +to see. + +On reaching home Mary hastily escaped to her room. She stood for a +moment, with her hands clasped and her eyes uplifted, asking for help +and strength; realising Montgomery's description of prayer:-- + + "The upward glancing of the eye, + When none but God is near." + +"I must expect it," she said to herself; "I ought to have been prepared. +How can I be so selfish--so dog in the manger like; I cannot be his wife +myself, and ought I to object to his choosing any one else? But ah! it +is very painful to think of," and then as she sunk into a chair the +restrained tears burst forth unchecked. + +In a few minutes she remembered the visitors; the tears had relieved +her, and hastily preparing for an early dinner she bathed her eyes, +controlled her feelings, and joined the rest in the drawing-room. So +like herself did she seem that no stranger would have discovered the +traces of tears, but the keen anxious eyes of the mother and cousin +Sarah were not to be deceived. Mrs. Armstrong, however, knew too well +what had happened to distress her patient and much loved daughter, and +for her sake made no remark on her looks. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +AT THE STATION. + + +The three years of Mr. Armstrong's residence at Kilburn had produced +great changes in this suburb which bid fair after a time to destroy its +rural aspect. The London and North-Western Company had opened a station, +and around it a town of bricks and mortar had risen with almost as much +rapidity as at Bayswater. Lime Grove and Englefield Grange, however, +were at least a mile from the station, and for the present, therefore, +safe from the invasion of the pickaxe and the hod. + +A few days after the arrival of cousin Sarah and her son at Kilburn, Mr. +Armstrong proposed that they should accompany him to town to make the +necessary arrangements for leaving Jack in London. Inquiries had been +made, and interviews had taken place with the head of the firm, who had +offered a situation to the youth, and his friends were as anxious to +place him in such a respectable house as the firm were to receive him. + +"Mary, my dear," said her father while at breakfast one morning, "you +can drive us to the station in the pony carriage if you like." + +"I should like to do so, papa;" she replied, and glancing at her mother +she added, "the ponies will not be too tired for mamma's drive when they +return, I suppose." + +Mr. Armstrong laughed. "Certainly not," he said, "after a mile to the +station and back, unless you intend to take them a twenty miles' +journey." + +"Twenty miles, papa! no, indeed, not more than four," she replied. + +"Six miles altogether; well, the sturdy little animals will manage that +I daresay without very great fatigue or inconvenience; so ring at once, +and order the pony carriage to be ready in half an hour." + +"I have not yet seen this pony carriage, Mary," said cousin Sarah. + +"No," she replied, "you have been such business people since you arrived +in London, going off in the morning by the omnibus, and returning with +papa in the evening, so I have had no opportunity to offer to drive you; +and even this morning you are going on matters of business." + +"I shall enjoy the drive all the same," said cousin Sarah, "and so, I am +sure, will Jack." + +"You can come and meet us at the station by the 5.20 train this +afternoon, Mary," said her father, with a smile; "another two miles wont +hurt the ponies. I have not yet ventured upon the expense of an open +carriage," he continued, addressing cousin Sarah, "principally because +the doctor advises walking exercise for Maria. Besides, till my elder +boys are out in the world I am unwilling to increase my expenses. I must +have a groom for the saddle horses, and Mary can drive a pony carriage +without the expense of coachman and footman." + +"A very wise arrangement," replied cousin Sarah, "but," she added, +rising, "I think it is time to get ready, if you will excuse us, Mrs. +Armstrong." She had not yet been able to address her cousin Edward's +lady-wife by her Christian name. + +Mrs. John Armstrong, while dressing for a drive on that pleasant May +morning, recalled a statement made by Mary that her father had bought +this pony carriage as a present to herself. + +"He is trying to bribe that dear girl into forgetting the superior young +man we met on Sunday, but she never will," was cousin Sarah's +reflection. + +The spirited white ponies and pretty low carriage attracted all eyes as +they trotted along the Kilburn Road lashing their tails and shaking +their fat sides as if eager to perform their work to the best of their +ability. After setting down her companions at the door of the station +Mr. Armstrong dismissed his daughter; and, although foolishly proud of +the admiring gaze cast upon her by passengers, he more than once +regretted not having listened to his wife's suggestion:--"Had you not +better let the groom drive you, Edward? I do not like the idea of my +daughter acting the part of coachman to a railway station; it is all +very well in country roads." + +Mr. Armstrong laughed at his wife's scruples, but he afterwards saw the +justice of her remark--at least in those days before young ladies had +acquired the habits of independence which so distinguish them in the +present day. + +One, however, of the party had greatly enjoyed his drive; Jack would +have felt no surprise at any admiration his cousin Mary excited. He +watched her as she skilfully turned her ponies out of the station-yard, +and then, while following his mother and Mr. Armstrong into the station, +he said to himself, "I don't believe there's another girl in London so +clever and so pretty as cousin Mary." + +Mrs. Armstrong was ready to join her daughter in her morning excursion +as she drove up to the gate, and when they were fairly off Mary said-- + +"Why, mamma, I believe these little animals are enjoying their work as +much as we shall our ride. I have to keep a tight rein to prevent them +from going too fast. No fear of fatigue on their part, I can see." + +"I suppose you have perfect command over them, my dear," said Mrs. +Armstrong, rather nervously. + +"Oh yes, mamma, I hope what I said in joke has not alarmed you; they are +the most docile little creatures in the world." And to prove her words +and calm her mother's fears she checked the rapid trot, and for some +distance allowed them to go at an easy pace. + +When Mrs. Armstrong regained confidence in her daughter, Mary loosened +her hold on the reins, to the great satisfaction of the spirited ponies, +and when the groom took charge of them on their return to the Limes, +they showed no signs of fatigue. + +It wanted a very few minutes to five when cousin Sarah and her son met +Mr. Armstrong at the Euston terminus. They were walking up and down the +platform waiting for the train, which was being shunted from a siding, +when they saw a lady and gentleman come hastily from the booking office. + +"You have hurried me for nothing, Arthur," said the lady, almost gasping +for breath, and yet angrily; "you see we are in plenty of time." + +"My watch must be fast," he replied, "and I knew how important it was +for us to catch this train in order to meet Mr. Norton at the appointed +time." + +"You might have waited till to-morrow," she said; "I cannot understand +the motive for all this haste. But see, the passengers are taking their +places; let us get into a carriage at once, for running so quickly has +exhausted me." + +Arthur Franklyn--for it was he--hastily assisted his wife into a +first-class carriage, already occupied by Mr. Armstrong, cousin Sarah, +and her son. Arthur placed his wife in the centre seat, and seated +himself next her, near the window, and opposite Jack. The other corner, +facing Mr. Armstrong, was the only vacant seat, the two centre divisions +being now occupied by Mrs. Franklyn and cousin Sarah. + +Kilburn was the first station at which this train usually stopped, and +for some minutes after it started, no one spoke. Arthur almost turned +his back on his wife, and looked out of the window with a very gloomy +face. He was, in fact, brooding over her remark. "She thinks I have some +motive for all this haste," he said to himself; "of course I have; does +she suppose I should have chosen a woman so utterly selfish and proud, +so unfit to be a mother to the children of my dear lost Fanny, if it had +not been for her money? Of course I have a motive. I cannot tell her of +my difficulties. And if I don't get a thousand pounds very quickly I +shall be a ruined man." + +Mrs. Franklyn on entering the carriage had thrown herself into the seat +and leaned back with closed eyes. Cousin Sarah was attracted to watch +her. The evident want of cordiality in the manner of husband and wife +towards each other, the pain the latter appeared to suffer from the +effects of hurrying to the station, and her husband's apparent +indifference, aroused the pity of the warm-hearted countrywoman. She was +about to ask her if she felt ill, when a sudden pallor spread over her +face, she stretched out her arms and exclaimed convulsively, "Arthur, +Arthur, save me!" + +There was a sudden rush forward of both gentlemen, but cousin Sarah, had +already caught the drooping figure in her arms as she exclaimed, "Open +the windows, stop the train, she is dying!" + +In the confined space of a first-class carriage little could be done; +Arthur, pale as death, offered to relieve Mrs. John Armstrong of the +insensible form which she supported on her bosom, but she refused to do +so. + +"Unfasten her dress," she exclaimed, "untie her bonnet." And while Arthur +obeyed with trembling, almost useless fingers, he called upon his wife +by name, lavishing upon her the most endearing terms in tones of the +bitterest woe--how bitter none but himself knew. Was she dying? would +she really die? Ah yes, Arthur Franklyn, less than five minutes have +elapsed since you were disturbed from your gloomy reverie, and the woman +whom you flattered into marriage for the sake of her money lies a +lifeless corpse in the arms of a stranger! + +Mr. Armstrong, who has been in vain endeavouring to attract the notice +of the guard, looks once more from the window, and exclaims, "Thank God +we are slackening speed, we are nearing the station;" but even as he +utters the comforting words to the apparently heart-stricken husband he +knows it is too late. + +Presently the train enters the station. Again he looks out. A porter +approaches running with the train. "A doctor! a medical man, quick!" he +exclaimed; "a lady is ill, dying." + +The train has come almost to a standstill. Mr. Armstrong jumps out even +at the risk of his life. There is a running to and fro of porters. A +crowding of passengers to the carriage door, and a general commotion as +the eager inquiries for a doctor are passed from lip to lip. + +"Go for Dr. White." "No, Dr. Harris is the nearest." But Mr. Armstrong +had been already successful. Within a few steps of the carriage he left +so hastily he came upon a gentleman alighting from the train, and +looking with eager inquiry at the confusion on the platform. + +"Dr. West! thank God you are here; come quickly, a lady is dying or dead +in our carriage." + +With hasty steps and a serious face the doctor followed Mr. Armstrong. +Scarcely two minutes had elapsed, yet the porters were preparing to +remove the lifeless burden from the arms of cousin Sarah, who still held +her tenderly, for the train could no longer be delayed. + +Roused from the shock which had at first stunned him, Arthur Franklyn +hastened to relieve Mrs. John Armstrong of his wife, and gently setting +aside the porters, he and Mr. Armstrong lifted her from the carriage to +the ladies' waiting-room, and laid her on one of the couches. + +The door was closed to all but the doctor and those who had been in the +carriage with Arthur Franklyn and his wife, and then Dr. West prepared +to examine the patient before uttering the so often dreaded words, "It +is all over." + +He saw the agonised look in the husband's countenance as he covered the +face and straightened the limbs of his dead wife, and placing his hand +on his arm he said-- + +"You are the husband of this lady, I presume?" + +Arthur could only silently assent. + +"My friend," he said gently, "nothing that I or any one else can do +would avail now, your wife's sufferings are over in this world." + +"Sufferings!" exclaimed Arthur, "in what way, doctor?" + +"Has not this lady been afflicted for some time with disease of the +heart?" asked Dr. West. + +"I don't know; she has never complained to me. I have only been married +six months." + +"I fear there must be an inquest, then," replied the doctor; "where does +your own medical man reside?" + +"In Melbourne," replied Arthur, in agitated tones; "we only arrived in +England last week. Doctor, will you do all that is necessary for me in +this terrible matter? here is my card; we were on our way to visit a +relative in Kilburn; you will find me at Englefield Grange tomorrow." + +"Englefield Grange!" exclaimed Dr. West, "are you related to our good +old friend Dr. Halford?" + +"He is the father of my first wife, and my children are with him now." + +"My dear sir," cried the doctor, "I will do my best for you in this sad +affair, but we must secure the help of my friend Armstrong and this lady +also," he added, turning to cousin Sarah, on whose cheeks tears of pity +and sympathy were quietly stealing. + +At this moment Mr. Armstrong, who had been called from the room by the +station-master, entered quickly, and advancing to Arthur he said +gently--"I am sorry to pain you, but it will be necessary to remove the +poor lady to the hotel before the arrival of the next train." + +"I must submit to whatever is necessary," he replied as the porters +entered the room; "I feel too bewildered to act for myself." + +Meanwhile Mary Armstrong, in obedience to her father's request, had +driven to the station, and drew up to the entrance three or four minutes +before the train was due. She heard it arrive, and looked for her father +and his companions among the numbers who passed out of the station much +too anxiously to notice the glances of admiration cast upon herself; and +yet the passengers seemed to linger, and some were conversing with great +seriousness, to judge by their faces. + +At length two gentlemen paused at a little distance from the pony +carriage, and Mary heard her mother's name mentioned, and then the +ominous words, "Death in a railway carriage." + +Too startled at first to decide what to do, Mary allowed the speakers to +move forward, so that the opportunity for questioning them was lost. +Then she checked her fears; she had only heard detached sentences which +might mean nothing; yet as the train moved out of the station, and a few +straggling passengers made their appearance, a dread of she knew not +what fell upon her. + +What could she do? To leave the ponies was impossible, and yet she must +ascertain what had happened. So painful had the suspense become that she +was about to send a boy for a railway porter, when she saw a gentleman +enter the station yard and advance towards her. + +He started and flushed as he recognised Miss Armstrong, and was about to +pass with the usual formal recognition, when, to his utter amazement, +she exclaimed-- + +"Oh, Mr. Halford, I am so glad to see you! there has been an accident or +something; I heard the passengers speak of a death in one of the +carriages. Papa and my cousins were to arrive by this train, and I have +been waiting here for them more than twenty minutes." + +"What do you wish me to do, Miss Armstrong?" asked Henry Halford, who +with the most intense pleasure at the prospect of doing anything for the +girl still so truly loved, yet shrunk from encountering Mr. Armstrong. + +Mary understood his hesitation. "If you would kindly make inquiries for +me, and if papa has arrived by this train, please tell him I am waiting. +I should feel so much obliged if you will do this, Mr. Halford." + +The earnest, anxious tones and the pleading voice were too much for +Henry Halford. Without another word he entered the station. + + * * * * * + +Meanwhile after starting the train the porters had obtained a covered +litter on which the lifeless form of Louisa Franklyn was carried from +the waiting-room, followed by Mr. Armstrong, cousin Sarah, Jack, and +Arthur Franklyn. + +To avoid the stairs leading from the platform the men turned towards a +side gate which opened nearer to the hotel. They had scarcely reached it +when a gentleman, evidently in a state of excitement, approached the +group and exclaimed-- + +"Pardon me, Mr. Armstrong, your daughter who is waiting for you in the +pony carriage has been alarmed by the remarks of passengers, and she is +becoming anxious on account of the delay in your appearance." + +For a moment Mr. Armstrong had looked at the speaker with almost +indignant surprise; but a flush of anxiety and shame spread over his +face at the thought that he had literally forgotten his daughter, and +allowed her to sit in her little carriage alone at a railway entrance. + +His hasty reply was cordial and polite. + +"Thank you very much, Mr. Halford; I am ashamed to say I had forgotten +that my daughter was waiting for us." + +"Come, Sarah," he added, "I must hasten to relieve poor Mary's fears; +this gentleman will excuse us, I know." + +"Oh, pray do not let me detain you," said Arthur, "but may I be allowed +to call and thank you and this lady for your great help and sympathy?" + +"Most certainly; here is my card," said Mr. Armstrong, hastily placing +in the hands of Henry Halford's brother-in-law the cardboard invitation +to visit his house, for which Henry would have given half he possessed. + +He had drawn back in mute surprise during the conversation between Mr. +Armstrong and Arthur, but no sooner had the movements of the former +gentleman and his companions discovered Henry Halford to the stricken +man than he started forward, and seizing his hand, told him what had +happened, in a voice so choked with sobs and tears as to be scarcely +audible. + +Henry led him away to the hotel, to which the body of his dead wife had +been carried, and calming down his excitement encouraged him to relate +all that had occurred. + +"And were Mr. Armstrong and his friends in the carriage with you?" asked +Henry, in astonishment. + +"Yes, we occupied all the seats but one, and the lady held my poor wife +in her arms with the greatest tenderness. Is she Mrs. Armstrong?" + +"No," exclaimed Henry, in a tone that savoured of indignation. "Mrs. +Armstrong is a very different person. This lady to whom you refer is no +doubt a relative from the country." He little thought that the relative +of whom he spoke was his best friend. + +After a while Arthur Franklyn became calm enough to walk with his +brother-in-law to Englefield Grange, dreading the ordeal in which a +detail of what had happened would involve him. Of other and more painful +consequences to him which would result from his wife's death he could +speak to no one, although he knew they would cause him a sleepless +night. + +Mr. Armstrong's first words as he and his two companions made their +appearance relieved Mary of a certain dread. She could not control her +fears that her father would be a little angry with her for sending a +message by Mr. Henry Halford. + +"My darling," he said, "I am so sorry! I forgot I had asked you to come +for us; have you been waiting long?" + +"Nearly half an hour; but, papa, what has happened?" + +"I will tell you presently, Mary; drive home quickly, your mother will +be getting anxious." + +The sad story was soon told in a few words during the drive, and Mary +became silent from awe and sympathy. + +Presently her father asked,--"What brought Mr. Halford to the station, +Mary?" + +"I had not time to ask him," said Mary, gently, "neither had I any right +to do so. The instant I saw him I begged him to go and find out what +detained you." + +"No doubt he came to meet his brother-in-law," said cousin Sarah. "I +heard the gentleman whose wife has died so sadly speak of his +father-in-law as Dr. Halford of Englefield Grange." + +Mr. Armstrong did not notice this remark, and the silence at last became +so painful to Mary, that she was about to break it by attracting notice +to her ponies, who seemed by their rapid movements to look upon a +journey of eight miles a day as merely an amusing pastime. + +Cousin Sarah diverted her from her purpose by a sudden remark. + +"Jack, my boy, you look pale; in the midst of the confusion and sorrow I +almost forgot you were present." + +"Oh, I'm all right, mother," he replied, "but I own I did feel queer at +the time." + +"Don't talk about the affair too strongly at home, Jack," said Mr. +Armstrong, "at least not in the presence of Mrs. Armstrong." + +At this moment Mary drew up her ponies at the gate. Mr. Armstrong and +his companions entered the house, the painful event of the last hour +occupying every thought, more especially from its connexion with the +residents at Englefield Grange. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +TEMPTED. + + +"Man is the creature of circumstances," is a remark that few will deny. +Those, however, who remember that "not a sparrow falls to the ground +without our heavenly Father's knowledge" name these said circumstances +"providences." If even a sparrow cannot fall unnoticed, will not the +great Creator trouble Himself about the movements and actions of His +creatures in a higher state of being, and for whom Christ died? + +It was a mysterious providence which in so sudden and painful a manner +removed the second wife of Arthur Franklyn from the evil to come, but it +led to important results, and influenced the future of more than one of +the persons mentioned in our story. + +The _pendule_ on the mantelpiece of the drawing-room pointed to ten +minutes to six on the day of this sad occurrence, and Mrs. Armstrong, +who had still some misgivings about Mary and her pony carriage, began to +feel very anxious. She rose and entered the dining-room, where the +parlourmaid was laying the cloth. "Margaret," she said, "I fear +something has happened to detain your master and Miss Mary. Where is +Rowland? send him at once to the station; they ought to have been home +half an hour ago." + +The girl turned to obey, but she had scarcely left the room, when Mrs. +Armstrong saw the pony carriage drive to the gate, and hastened out to +meet its occupants. "What has detained you? Oh, how glad I am to see you +here safe and well!" + +"Of course we are all safe and well," said her husband, in a cheerful +voice, as he led her to the drawing-room, "but the fact is, a lady was +taken ill in our railway carriage, and this caused some delay; so make +yourself comfortable, dearest, while we get ready for dinner; you shall +hear all about it by-and-by." + +Jack had recovered himself during the drive home, but he hastened at +once to his room, and remained there till he heard his mother go +downstairs, for he feared being questioned by Mrs. Armstrong after her +husband's caution to him. + +Although unaccustomed to give way to fine lady nervousness, Mr. +Armstrong knew that his wife had not quite lost the natural timidity +which once nearly cost Maria St. Clair her life. + +But Mary knew her mother best: after the rest had left the drawing-room +she placed her arm tenderly round her neck, and said, "Mamma darling, +you need not wait for 'by-and-by,' I will tell you the worst at once. A +poor lady who sat opposite cousin Sarah in the railway carriage was +taken ill on the journey and died before they arrived at the station." + +"Oh, how very shocking!" said Mrs. Armstrong. "Was she alone?" + +"No, her husband was with her, but he appeared too stunned to do +anything, so cousin Sarah held the poor dying lady in her arms till the +train stopped, and then papa went to find a doctor." + +"I am glad you have told me, my dear," said Mrs. Armstrong, "anything is +better than suspense, and I should have pictured to myself all sorts of +horrors." + +"Yes, mamma, I knew that, or I should not have told you, but I must go +and prepare for dinner; I have only three minutes, so it is well I +changed my dress before I started for the station." + +No one at the table noticed the effects on cousin Sarah of the shock she +had received; yet she was a woman of warm deep feelings, railway +travelling was a comparative novelty to her, and the terrible delay from +the impossibility of stopping the train, added to the awe she felt when +the poor woman died in her arms, had greatly shaken her nerves. + +Very little, however, was said on the subject during dinner, but in the +evening, when Mrs. Armstrong listened with painful interest to her +description of what had occurred, she could perceive how acutely cousin +Sarah felt the effects of the scene she had witnessed. + +By degrees the conversation turned upon the persons mixed up with these +sad circumstances, and then Mrs. Armstrong heard with surprise the name +of the messenger Mary had sent to look for her father, and his close +relationship to the husband of the lady so suddenly deprived of life. + +"Mr. Henry Halford had but one sister living when we first became +acquainted with his family," remarked Mrs. Armstrong, "and she died in +Australia two years ago." + +"This must be a second wife, then," said cousin Sarah, who had her own +reasons for wishing to know all that could be learnt respecting Mr. +Halford's family; "do you remember the name of Miss Halford's husband, +Mary?" + +"Here is his card," said Mr. Armstrong, looking up from his newspaper +and throwing the harmless missive on the table as he spoke; "you will +receive a visit from him to-morrow, no doubt; he asked to be allowed to +call and thank me for my kindness, and so forth; so you can accept these +thanks, cousin Sarah, they belong to you by right." + +"Franklyn," said Mrs. Armstrong, taking up the card and reading it, "is +that the name, Mary?" + +"Yes, mamma," she replied, in a quiet voice, for her father held his +paper on one side to look at her while she spoke. "I read a notice of +Mrs. Franklyn's death in the _Times_, and it also stated that she was +the daughter of Dr. Halford of Englefield Grange." + +Mr. Armstrong then continued his reading. Cousin Sarah had noticed the +look of fierce inquiry on his face as his daughter spoke, and recalling +Mary's troubled countenance and her father's remarks about the Halfords, +she felt more than ever determined to interfere. + +She made one remark, however, which brought a sudden flush to Mary's +face-- + +"This Mr. Franklyn told Dr. West in my presence that he and his wife had +recently arrived in England from Melbourne, and that they were on their +way to visit the father of his first wife, Dr. Halford, at Englefield +Grange, with whom his children were now staying, so no doubt this +gentleman was the husband of Dr. Halford's daughter, and the father of +the young people we saw on Sunday." + +In spite of a look of disgust which passed over the countenance of Mr. +Armstrong, his wife could not resist a few approving remarks about the +young people referred to, till at length Mr. Armstrong exclaimed, "Come, +Mary, give us a little music, we have heard quite enough of our +unfortunate fellow-passenger and his antecedents; if he comes to-morrow +you can treat him with politeness, and there the matter will end." + +Mary rose hastily to obey, she was glad to turn her back on those +present, for the explanation respecting the young visitors at Englefield +Grange had lifted a weight from her heart and made her eyes brighter, +and the colour on her cheeks deeper than they had been for months. Yes, +she could sing now; and as Jack listened, and remembered that this was +his last evening at the Limes, he inwardly resolved that when he was old +enough, and had made a fortune like Cousin Armstrong, he would marry a +wife exactly like Cousin Mary. + +Altogether it had been a day of excitement; and when Mary entered her +bedroom a feeling of hope--the foundation of which she could scarcely +account for--seemed to fill her heart. She lay awake for some time, +trying to realise certain causes from which this hope seemed to spring. +Her meeting with Henry Halford at the station--the absence of +displeasure in her father's manner, which she dreaded would follow her +sudden impulse to send him as a messenger--above all, the discovery that +she had mistaken one of Mr. Henry Halford's nieces for perhaps his +intended wife--and last, but not least, an impression that Cousin Sarah +was favourable to the Halfords, and in some way able to influence her +father--these reflections, added to the certainty in her own mind that +Henry Halford had taken his degree and would soon go up for ordination, +seemed so full of hope that they acted with a soothing influence on the +young girl's heart, till at length she slept. + +Very different from the innocent hopes of Mary Armstrong were the +reflections that haunted the chamber of Arthur Franklyn that night at +Englefield Grange. The painful event of his second wife's sudden death, +and the necessity for an inquest, had spread consternation over the +household, and excited great sympathy. + +To his surprise, no one sympathised with him more deeply than his eldest +daughter, for he remembered how openly she had resented his second +marriage. But to the memory of this resentment he now owed Clara's +sympathy; remorse for having been at times rude and unkind to the woman +who must have suffered so much to cause such a sudden death, filled the +young girl's heart. + +But even her gentle cares and attentions could not soothe the father's +sorrow till he observed that this apparently great grief for his second +wife created some little surprise among the relatives of Fanny Halford, +who was the mother of his children. + +On discovering this he roused himself, and as some excuse for his +sorrow, acknowledged the fact of his having hurried her to the train. + +"I feel almost as if I were Louisa's murderer," he said "for I remember +now how she gasped for breath when we reached the platform." + +"No, no, Arthur, do not think anything so painful," said Dr. Halford; +"she had never spoken to you of her heart being diseased, or I am sure +you would have been more careful, yet I can quite understand how the +circumstance troubles you." + +Troubled him! Yes, we must do Arthur Franklyn the justice to own that +the recollection pained him greatly, but what was that memory compared +to the fact that his wife's death before signing certain documents would +inevitably cause his utter ruin? + +He had that day obtained from his lawyer a document signed by the two +trustees of his wife's property, authorizing her to draw out 2000_l._ +for her husband's use. + +On the strength of this he had taken furnished apartments for three +months, and he and his wife were on their way to fetch the children from +Englefield Grange on the day which had ended so fatally. + +The lawyer, Mr. Norton, to whom Henry had introduced his brother-in-law, +resided at Kilburn, and an arrangement had been made for him to meet his +clients at the Grange and for Henry to witness Mrs. Franklyn's +signature. + +All this Arthur Franklyn remembered as he paced his bedroom long after +midnight, and knew that the fortune, to obtain which he had married a +second time, was lost to him for ever. + +Had he only secured for himself the 2000_l._ he might have been saved +from ruin, but now even that was denied him--that which had already cost +him so much. To obtain the consent of the trustees he had made false +statements of his position in Melbourne, and of the merchants whom he +affirmed were ready to receive him as a partner. + +Mrs. Franklyn had herself proved at first his greatest difficulty. She +was a woman who thought only of self; she had been a widow for six +years, and during that time had saved from her income several hundred +pounds, which in the first happy days of her marriage she had made over +to Arthur, and afterwards regretted the generous impulse. She had +concealed from him the fact that her property was vested in the power of +trustees, and when the hundreds in the Melbourne bank were being +transferred to her husband's name she had said laughingly, "There is +nothing to thank me for, Arthur, what is mine is yours now." + +Arthur Franklyn would never have made a good lawyer, even had he +continued to follow his profession; but he knew well enough that his +power over the property of his intended wife should have been secured +before their marriage, and this he dared not attempt to do in an open +and straightforward manner, because his own affairs were in a state of +hopeless insolvency. + +Not only so, but he quickly discovered that he had a rival in the +affections of the lady he wished to marry, and that rival was money. To +ask her the question whether her property was at her own disposal was +one he dared not venture upon. With his usual want of prudence, +therefore, he determined to chance it, and trust to his own power of +persuasion to obtain money when he wanted it, even should there be +trustees looming in the distance. + +And now, just as all difficulties had been overcome, and his most +sanguine hopes realised, comes this terrible destruction to all his +schemes. + +"Had Louisa only lived another day," he said to himself, "all might have +been well; but now--ruin, poverty, and disgrace are all that are left +for me and my children." Yet even at this critical moment, had he been +truthful and candid instead of trusting with his usual self-sufficiency +that he should overcome this difficulty as he had done others +before--had he made a confidant of his brother-in-law, and told him the +whole truth, what a terrible amount of sorrow and remorse he might have +been spared. + +But no, he could not so humiliate himself to his first wife's relations. +What! own his real position, and ask for help and sympathy after +boasting of the style in which he and Fanny had lived, and of the +superior education he had given his children? + +No, never! Something he must do to prevent this, but what? + +Is there an evil spirit at hand ready to answer such a question from the +man or woman who hesitates to follow the right path? + +Alas! too often yes. At least, it was so in the case of Arthur Franklyn; +at this moment an evil suggestion arose in his mind from which he +recoiled with a shudder. Ah! had he then fallen on his knees and prayed +for power to resist the fearful temptation that now presented itself, +that power would have been given him, and by peaceful sleep the nerves +which were overwrought after the exciting events of the day would have +been calmed and soothed. + +But Arthur Franklyn had yet to learn the weakness and treachery of his +own heart, through a fiery ordeal which he was now about to prepare for +himself. + +A gas burner projected from the wall on either side of the +dressing-table; one of these only he had lighted on entering, and +shrinking from the glare, he had lowered it nearly out while pacing the +room in an agony of thought. + +Now he approached the dressing-table, turned the one gas burner on full, +and lighted the other. Then he started back at the reflection of his own +face in the glass; pale and haggard, eyes aflame with excitement, and +lips reddened and parched with fever. For a moment fear made him +pause--only for a moment. Flinging sober thought to the winds, he drew a +chair to the table, pushed aside pincushion, toilet-cover, and +ornaments, and took from his pocket a pencil and two letters. + +For at least an hour he continued to write on scraps of paper torn from +his pocket-book. + +The dawn of a May morning was stealing through the staircase windows as +Arthur Franklyn descended cautiously to the hall. On a table, near the +entrance, as he well remembered, stood an inkstand and pens; these he +carried upstairs and re-entered his room, in which the gas still burnt +brightly, and closed the door carefully, to exclude the fast-increasing +light of day. He was white now even to the lips as he again seated +himself at the table, and drew from his breast coat pocket a document on +which he signed, two names with different pens. + +Even in the midst of his evident excitement his hand was firm. Then he +dashed down the pen, to the great detriment of the toilet-cover, turned +off the gas, and threw himself on the bed dressed as he was, to try and +lose in the sleep of forgetfulness for a time a memory of what he had +done. + +The old school-bell for breakfast woke him next morning from a heavy +sleep, and also awoke in him painful memories of olden times, when a +happy innocent lad, he had so often answered its summons. + +He rose hastily, bathed his face, and battled for a time with the +emotions that overpowered him. Strange to say, the memories of his +youthful days strengthened, his determination to carry out what he had +last night begun. + +"Could he allow the children of his lost Fanny to starve in poverty, or +to feel that their father could support them no longer?" + +No! impossible! he must carry it through--she, his second wife, would +have done it had she lived; no one would be injured, the money was his +morally, and if not quite legally, that was of no consequence. + +This decision produced a kind of calm, like the effects of an opiate, so +that when he appeared at breakfast the haggard look of excitement was +gone; the pale, calm face created a feeling of sympathy, more especially +in the warm heart of Kate Marston, whom Fanny's children had already +learnt to love. + +During the day when he attended the inquest he listened with almost +stoical indifference to a detail of the circumstances attending his +wife's death. He answered the questions put to him by the coroner calmly +and truthfully; not even the examination of the medical man, from whose +evidence he learnt that a _post-mortem_ examination had taken place, +could rouse in him the slightest interest. + +Yet the pale and sorrowful expression of his face excited the sympathy +of those present, especially while being questioned by the coroner. + +"You were then not aware that your wife was suffering from disease of +the heart, Mr. Franklyn?" + +"No," he replied, "not in the least; she never gave me reason to suppose +that such was the case, even by a hint." + +"And I believe you hurried to the station on the day of the occurrence?" + +A kind of spasm passed over the face of Arthur Franklyn, and his lips +quivered as he replied-- + +"I have reason to remember that we did so, owing to my watch being five +minutes too fast." + +"We will not pain you with any further questions, Mr. Franklyn," said +the coroner; and Arthur bowed as he moved to give place to Mrs. John +Armstrong, feeling conscious that he did not deserve the sympathy too +evident in the looks of those around him. + +What did they know of the terrible results to him of that hurried run to +the train? What could any one know of the one absorbing thought which +seemed to banish all others from his mind, and make him speak and move +like a man in a dream? + +Nothing, not a shadow of the truth; and yet, while conscious that, like +the somnambulist, he was steadily making his way to certain destruction, +all power to stop his downward progress seemed to have deserted him; he +had taken the first false step, and the result appeared inevitable. + +During that sad week, in the darkened rooms, with the coffin containing +the lifeless form of his second wife occupying the room which once +belonged to Fanny Halford, he still wore that look of forced submission +which is so much like despair. + +On the day of the funeral, when the playground voices at Englefield +Grange were silent and subdued, when the children of his first wife shed +tears of childish sorrow by the coffin of the second, when his +father-in-law and Henry looked with pitying eyes for the last time at +the shrouded form of Louisa Franklyn, still beautiful even in death, +Arthur showed no sympathy, no change in face or manner; not even when he +saw Kate Marston weeping over the little Albert, the motherless boy of +her lost Fanny. + +Indeed, Mrs. Halford's death had been too recent for any in that house +to look with indifference so soon after on the insignia and trappings of +woe. Arthur alone seemed callous and indifferent, while all around were +in tears. Yet although they pitied him, not one in that family circle +could have guessed his secret. + +In the midst of all these exciting events and mournful surroundings +Henry Halford did not forget that the appointed day for his ordination +was drawing near. He avoided all reference to it, however, although +Arthur Franklyn had more than once missed him, and knew that an +efficient substitute had been provided to take his place in the +schoolroom during his absence at the bishop's examination. + +A week's respite from school duties occurring at Whitsuntide, Henry had +previously promised to spend that time with his friend Horace Wilton. He +had hesitated, in consequence of recent events, to speak of leaving home +till after the funeral, and still felt reluctant to desert Arthur while +he remained at the Grange. From one of the children, however, the matter +became known to Arthur on the Friday evening before Whit-Sunday. Henry +had tempted his brother-in-law to a walk round the garden, and was +speaking to him of his approaching ordination, and other matters +connected with it, when they were joined by Mabel. + +The little girl had become very fond of her uncle, and as she clung to +his arm while they slowly paced the garden walk she listened to the +conversation between the gentlemen with great interest. + +Presently, in a pause, Mabel said-- + +"Uncle Henry, are you not going to Oxford tomorrow?" + +"Well, my dear," he replied, "I have not quite made up my mind; the +truth is, Arthur," he added, turning to his brother-in-law, "my friend +Horace Wilton has invited me to spend a few days with him during +Whitsuntide." + +"Then why not go?" said Arthur; "the change will be of benefit to you, +and brace up your nerves for the ordeal on Sunday week." + +"It seems so ungracious to leave you in your trouble for the +gratification of myself; perhaps, however, I may run down to Oxford +to-morrow and return on Monday." + +"No, Henry, pray do not shorten your visit on my account; I shall very +likely be in London nearly all next week--go in, Mabel," he added, +observing his little daughter's earnest face; and as she obeyed, Henry +replied earnestly to his remark: "Indeed, Arthur, you ought not to think +of leaving us yet--you require a week or two longer of perfect rest +before returning to business. I suppose there is nothing that requires +immediate attention?" he asked, without a shadow of suspicion that the +question would inflict a pang on the heart of his brother-in-law. + +Controlling himself, he replied, "Nothing more important than examining +poor Louisa's papers. I have put off the ordeal for a week, I had not +sufficient fortitude even to think of it. But it must be done very +shortly, and her desk and other matters are at our apartments in London. +I shall perhaps only stay a few days this time, but I must rouse myself +soon and return to business for the sake of my children." + +"Then shall I find you at the Grange on my return?" said Henry. + +"I shall no doubt remain in town at least a week," replied Arthur, +"therefore you need not put off your visit on my account; and there is +the summons to tea," he exclaimed as Mabel reappeared. "Your uncle and I +are coming presently, my dear; go in and tell Miss Marston," and then, +in a low hurried voice as soon as they were alone, he said: "Henry, pray +don't speak of my visit to London before your father or Kate; I could +not endure to discuss the subject with them." + +Henry promised to be silent, yet wondering at the request. To him no +relief could be greater than to unburden his heart to a true friend in +any pressing anxiety. But Arthur's anxiety was not of a nature to be +confided to another, and as they walked to the house he inwardly +resolved that he would escape as quickly as possible from the scrutiny +of the anxious eyes at the Grange, and from the memories which were +revived by its associations, and rendered more painful by recent sad +events. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +COUSIN SARAH. + + +Arthur Franklyn had not been in a mood to call upon Mr. Armstrong during +that sad week, nor, indeed, to pay visits anywhere. But he wrote an +appropriate letter, saying all that was necessary of grateful thanks for +the kindness and sympathy he had experienced, especially from Mrs. John +Armstrong. + +Perhaps, on the whole, this was a more satisfactory proceeding in Mr. +Armstrong's estimation, but Cousin Sarah was disappointed. She had been +introduced to Mr. Henry Halford at the inquest, by his brother-in-law, +and the half-hour during which she had conversed with him confirmed her +good opinion of his manners and character. + +Cousin Sarah was a few years older than Edward Armstrong; they had known +each other from children, and in spite of the pride which had grown out +of his increased wealth and aristocratic connexions, he had still a +great deference for cousin Sarah's opinions. She possessed that very +rare quality, plain common sense, and notwithstanding her homeliness she +had intellectual tastes sufficient to enable her to appreciate knowledge +and learning in its higher developments, as seen in her cousin Edward +and Henry Halford. That a man of such intellectual power as Edward +Armstrong could prefer for his daughter's husband the weak-minded +captain whose history had been told to her to the intellectual young +schoolmaster, because the former was rich and the latter poor, was to +her a mystery. + +Cousin Sarah, with all her good sense, had yet to learn the hardening, +withering effects on the human heart which a love of gold produces. + +She was brave, however, and she determined before she left Kilburn to +bring the matter face to face with Edward Armstrong, and plead the cause +of the young girl whom she was convinced by various signs was really +attached to the intellectual young schoolmaster. + +She had quickly discovered Mrs. Armstrong's opinion on the subject, and +when she mentioned her wish to be alone with cousin Edward, she found in +Mary's mother a strong ally. Soon after dinner, on this the last evening +of her visit, cousin Sarah found herself alone in the drawing-room at +Lime Grove, with a man who prided himself upon his indomitable will and +unbending opinions. + +But she was not daunted. There were two strong points in her favour, and +upon these she rested her hopes of success. One was Edward Armstrong's +love for his daughter, and the other his often acknowledged confidence +in cousin Sarah's judgment. She sat at work near the open window. May +was passing into June, and the open country which still held sway near +Lime Grove seemed redolent of summer. The sun, still high above the +horizon, was tinting the fleecy clouds that softened his brightness with +crimson and gold, and from myriads of little throats came the warbling +songs of joyous birds waking the echoes with their sweet melody. + +"So you leave us to-morrow, cousin Sarah," said Mr. Armstrong, laying +down his newspaper, and placing himself at the window near which she +sat. + +"Yes," she said, "and I do so with great reluctance; it has been a most +happy fortnight excepting that sad affair in the train, but I shall +never forget your kindness and your wife's." + +"I don't forget your care and attention to my poor father," he replied, +in a tone of deep emotion; "no kindness on our part can ever repay that, +Sarah." + +There was silence for a few moments, and then Mr. Armstrong spoke +again:-- + +"I suppose you will leave Jack with perfect confidence?" + +"Yes, quite; he seems very happy, and I think he will try to do well and +get on in his business. He is delighted at the prospect of spending his +monthly holiday here as you have proposed." + +"Yes, poor fellow, it will be a change for him; I am glad Maria thought +of it." + +With all cousin Sarah's bravery, she found some little difficulty in +commencing the subject uppermost in her thoughts, but there occurred +another pause, and then Edward Armstrong led the way to it himself. + +"Do you think Mary is looking well, Sarah?" he said, "you told me last +Sunday week that she appeared changed, but I have not yet had an +opportunity to ask you in what way." + +"I must tell you the truth, Edward; Mary is as pretty and graceful as +ever, but there is a delicacy of complexion, and at times a sad look, +which makes me fancy she is not quite happy." + +"They have been telling you a fine tale, I suppose, about my cruelty in +not allowing my daughter to marry a man who has not a sixpence to call +his own;" and as he spoke cousin Sarah could detect the old boyish +temper, and the will that would brook no opposition. "I thought the girl +had more sense," he went on; "why, she has refused offers that were +unexceptionable, all because of that boy,--you have seen him, Sarah." + +"I do not consider Mr. Henry Halford a boy, Edward," she replied, for +now the ice was broken the impetuous tone did not daunt her. "He told me +on Wednesday that he was going up for ordination on Trinity Sunday, the +rector of Kilburn having given him what he called a title to orders." + +"Yes, yes, I daresay; however, that is of little importance to me, but +what has been told you, Sarah, about this matter?" + +"Mary has told me nothing, Edward; Mrs. Armstrong certainly described +the splendid offers her daughter had refused, and acknowledged that her +refusals were no doubt caused by her attachment to Henry Halford;" and +cousin Sarah spoke in that calm, quiet manner which so often carries +weight with it. + +"Absurd nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Armstrong; "I thought my daughter was +above such lovesick foolery, to refuse a man with 12,000_l._ a year, and +the nephew of a duke, for a penniless schoolmaster, descended from +nobody knows who." + +"Have you no anxiety for your daughter's future happiness, Edward?" + +"Happiness! There's no happiness in the world without money." + +"Oh, Edward, how you are changed! money was not the source of your dear +father's happiness, you never learnt that opinion from him; besides, +your own wife was without fortune." + +"Ah yes, I had the money, and I chose Maria St. Clair for that sweet +character which has never changed; besides, she was well born and well +connected, which the Halfords are not." + +"Who gave you that information, Edward?" + +"Why, I formed the opinion from my own judgment. Who would be a +schoolmaster if he could help it?" + +"At all events a schoolmaster is equal to a tradesman in position, and +often far above one in education, but for once, cousin Edward, you have +failed in your judgment. Henry Halford, you must own, is a gentleman, +and a man of education, and I _know_ that both his parents are as well +born and as well connected as your own wife." + +"I may ask _you_ now where you obtained that information?" said Mr. +Armstrong, in a sneering tone. + +"You remember my father's farm, Edward?" + +"Of course I do," he replied wonderingly; "I am not likely to forget the +pleasant old homestead where you and John and I spent so many happy days +in our childhood." + +"And you remember Englefield, the beautiful estate of Lord Rivers, about +two miles distant from Holmwood Farm, which my father tenanted from his +lordship?" + +"You are bringing back childish memories, Sarah, that are painful yet +pleasant, but what has all this to do with the Halfords?" + +"Dr. Halford was tutor to the present Lord Rivers in his young days, and +from that circumstance he named his house at Kilburn, Englefield Grange. +I had a long talk with young Mr. Halford on Wednesday, when we were +waiting in the inquest-room at the hotel for you and the coroner. Mr. +Franklyn introduced us. I was speaking of the beautiful scenery between +Farnham and Basingstoke, and he asked me if I knew Englefield, and so +one thing led to another----" + +"But this has nothing to do with Mr. Halford's birth or connexions." + +"Indirectly it has, for during our conversation I discovered that Dr. +Halford's father was for many years and till his death a surgeon in +Basingstoke, with a first-rate practice; his two sisters are well +married, and his brother is an army surgeon in India." + +"You seem to have obtained from this young man the history of himself +and his connexions, Sarah,"--was the scornful remark of Mr. +Armstrong,--"rather an unusual topic for a gentleman to enter upon on a +first introduction." + +"It arose entirely from my remark about the country round Basingstoke, +but I will own that when he mentioned Englefield and Lord Rivers I drew +from him other facts for the sake of our dear Mary. I tell you candidly, +Edward Armstrong, that I admire your daughter's good sense in preferring +such a man as young Mr. Halford to one of those who think they can +purchase a wife with gold, feeling sure that she will be given up by her +parents to the highest bidder, like the articles in an auction-room." + +Edward Armstrong felt rather startled by cousin Sarah's plain speaking, +in which there was too much truth to be pleasant, yet he said in a kind +of deprecatory tone-- + +"I have promised Mary not to force her into the acceptance of any offer +again, and if she is determined to marry no one but the schoolmaster, +she must remain single all her life, for she has expressed her +determination not to marry him without my consent, and that she will +never have." + +"Mary possesses the real source of happiness," said cousin Sarah, "even +if you continue to withhold that consent. My uncle's teachings during +the week of her visit at Meadow Farm have not been thrown away." + +Again Edward Armstrong was startled. He had been surprised at the gentle +submission of his high-spirited daughter, and the unaltered love and +respect she had shown to the father, whose love of gold had blighted her +youthful hopes; but now he understood the cause, and across his memory +passed the words he had read at his father's knee long before the demon +of gold had hardened his heart-- + + "Godliness with contentment is great gain." + +After a few moments' pause he said in a softened tone, "I should be +glad, and so I know would Maria, to keep our only daughter at home with +us always, but it seems an unusual fate for a beautiful and accomplished +girl such as she is, and with 20,000_l._ which I could give her on her +wedding-day--I am sure I have no wish but for her happiness." + +"Then consent to her marriage with Henry Halford; I could tell by +certain signs when I mentioned her name that he still loves your +daughter. Wait till after his ordination, and than give the young people +10,000_l._ to enable them to live independently of the school till Mr. +Halford obtains a living." + +"Not much chance of that, I expect." + +Cousin Sarah smiled. + +"I have one more little piece of information to give yon, Edward," she +said; "when speaking of his ordination Mr. Halford told me that his +father's old pupil, Lord Rivers, had promised that the first vacant +living in his gift should be given to his tutor's son, if he took +orders, after his ordination. The young man, however did not appear to +put much faith in the promise, in consequence of the number of years +that had elapsed since it was made, he the only surviving son, being his +father's youngest child." + +The entrance of the tea-tray put a stop to the conversation, but Cousin +Sarah could observe in the manner of Mr. Armstrong towards his daughter +an unusual tenderness, and now and then a wistful look, as if conscience +were upbraiding him as the cause of the sad expression which at times +passed over her face. + +Mary Armstrong drove Cousin Sarah and her father to the station next +morning, for the first time since the sad death of Louisa Franklyn. +Warmhearted and loving farewells had taken place before leaving the +house, for Cousin Sarah had endeared herself to every one of the family, +servants included, by her gentle ways, and quiet yet unreserved manners. + +To Mrs. Armstrong she had become a true friend and comforter about Mary, +although no opportunity occurred for her to hear what had passed between +Cousin Sarah and her husband. + +A few words only on the morning she left, while dressing for her +journey, gave the loving mother hope. + +"I repeated to Cousin Edward all I had heard of Mr. Halford, of his +parents and connexions, and of his hopes about the Church, but I could +obtain no promise that he would alter his mind on the subject. I think +it would be unwise to say anything to Mary, and perhaps excite hopes +only to be disappointed." + +To this advice Mrs. Armstrong readily agreed, and when the elegant and +refined lady and her homely sensible cousin kissed each other with real +undisguised affection the latter said-- + +"We have done all we can, Cousin Maria, and we must leave the result to +God, He will order all things for the best." + +No word passed respecting the conversation which had taken place between +Cousin Sarah and Edward Armstrong. Not even to his wife could the +money-loving husband confess how much that conversation had roused his +conscience. + +And so the merry month of May gave place to leafy June, with its roses +and lilies, its long days and short nights, and the perfume of new-mown +hay. + +With the first Sunday in June came the Whit-Sunday which reminds us of +the day when the converts of early Christian times wore white garments, +after the first baptismal rite, as a token of purity--fit emblem of that +pure and holy Spirit which descended upon the apostles on the day of +Pentecost. + +The rector of Kilburn, whose long and faithful ministration had endeared +him to his parishioners, was on that day assisted by a stranger. Henry +Halford's place in the gallery with the boys being occupied by another +of the masters. + +Both these circumstances Mary noticed, but no idea arose in her mind +that they were connected with Mr. Henry Halford's movements. When they +left the church, however, Mary saw the gentleman, whom she now knew to +be Mr. Franklyn, supporting his aged father-in-law on one side, with +Clara on the other, and followed by Kate Marston and three other +children, the youngest a beautiful little boy nearly four years old. + +The dejected looks of the father, and the deep mourning worn by the +children, brought tears to her eyes. For Mary, in her innocence, could +only think of the second Mrs. Franklyn as a second mother to Fanny's +children, and to her mind, therefore, they were doubly motherless. + +Mrs. Armstrong had remained at home on the Sunday morning, and as Mary +walked towards the gate leaning on her father's arm, she was surprised +to see him leave her, and advancing towards the group accept the offered +hand of Mr. Franklyn. + +Not being aware of the slight acquaintance, Arthur turned to the old +gentleman and introduced his father-in-law, Dr. Halford. Mary could not +help noticing a certain dignity and reserve in his manner as he returned +Mr. Armstrong's recognition. But Arthur was slow to observe these shades +of manner, and quite ignorant of any motive for reserve, he introduced +his children by name, as well as Kate Marston, without discovering in +the least that he was making three of the party very uncomfortable. + +"We are walking too slowly for you and Miss Armstrong," said the old +gentleman gently, "I trust Mrs. Armstrong is well." + +"Not quite well enough to attend church this morning on account of the +heat, thank you," said Mr. Armstrong, glad of the opportunity to escape, +"but not otherwise indisposed." + +And then after the usual polite salutations, Mr. Armstrong and his +daughter left the mournfully attired group, and hastened towards home. + +"I must be polite to the people with whom I have been so unfortunately +mixed up, Mary," said her father, "and I feel for the poor man, left +with all those motherless children. I hear he is well off, besides +inheriting his second wife's fortune; otherwise it would be a sad burden +upon the poor old grandfather to have to support them upon school +keeping." + +"The youngest is a beautiful little boy," said Mary, quite unable to +reply to her father's speech. + +"Yes, I noticed a fat, rosy child, led by a lady in mourning; is she the +wardrobe-keeper?" + +"No papa," said Mary, and with all her efforts she could not restrain a +slight tone of indignation, "that lady is Mrs. Halford's niece." + +Mr. Armstrong would have questioned his daughter a week previously as to +the source of her information, but a recollection of Cousin Sarah kept +him silent. + +On the way home they overtook Mr. Drummond, and while he and her father +talked, Mary walked by his side meditating with surprise on the events +of the morning--the earnest looks of Mr. Franklyn's eldest girl, the +evident restraint in the manner of Kate Marston and Dr. Halford, and, +above all, the absence of Henry Halford. + +Suddenly a thought struck her--she knew he had taken his M. A. degree, +she had seen his name in the _Times_--was he gone up for ordination, and +where? All this was at present unknown to her, and she could only +console herself with the recollection that the _Times_ would have every +particular about the ordinations whenever they took place, and Henry +Halford's name was sure to be mentioned if he were among the candidates. + +Mary told her mother of the encounter in the churchyard, and the absence +of Henry Halford, without any comment. + +Mrs. Armstrong listened with interest to her description of the +children, and especially about the little boy. She thought well of this +meeting to a certain extent, but she said not a hopeful word to her +daughter. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +CONSCIENCE. + + +"I must rouse myself to attend to business, doctor," said Arthur +Franklyn, while at breakfast the morning after meeting Mr. Armstrong in +the churchyard. "I may be absent a week or more, can I leave the +children with you for that time? I shall feel such perfect comfort in +the reflection that they are under your roof, and managed so kindly by +Kate." + +"Of course they can stay, my dear Arthur," said the old gentleman +tremulously, "it is a great comfort to me to have dear Fanny's children +here. I have only one regret, that is, that her dear mother did not live +to see her grandchildren. Clara reminds me greatly of her grandmother;" +and he looked fondly at the young girl whose womanly appearance and +manners had so startled Mary Armstrong. + +"Would you like to stay with us a little longer, my child?" continued +the old man, laying his hand on Clara's shoulder as she sat in her usual +place by his side. + +"Oh yes, grandpapa, I should indeed, we all should be glad to stay;" and +she looked at her sisters and brothers as she spoke. Mabel assented +timidly; the gentle little girl was becoming daily more dear to Kate +Marston, who at the same time lavished upon her cousin Fanny's youngest +child, Albert, the tenderest fondness. + +Albert seemed to consider himself required in some way to answer Clara's +questioning look, so he said-- + +"Me too, grandpa, me stay with you and Kate." + +"Papa, am I to go to school in England?" asked James. + +"Yes, my boy, certainly, and if grandpapa consents you shall stay and be +a pupil at Englefield Grange." + +"Oh, jolly!" said the boy, "it's ever so much better being here than at +my school in Melbourne. Oh! I shall be happy, especially when uncle +Henry comes home." + +And so it was settled that during their father's absence his children +should remain at Kilburn under their grandfather's roof. + +"I must make a home for them as soon as I can turn myself round," he +said a few hours after, when talking the matter over with Kate Marston. +"I have to settle the business which brought me to England, and to +ascertain what claim I have on my wife's property." + +"What! did you not do so before you married her?" asked Kate, in +astonishment. + +"No," he replied, "she was very reticent on the subject, and I did not +like to question her, or indeed her friends--she appeared to have +perfect control over her property. However, she may have left a will. At +all events, I must go to the apartments I have taken for three months, +and look over her papers. Unfortunately, her lawyer is in Australia, and +he may have a will in his possession. But, dear Kate," he continued, +with a shudder, "her death is so recent, and the money subject too +painful to be talked about yet. I know you will take care of my +children, and that is a great relief to my mind." + +"Indeed, indeed I will," she replied in a tone of sympathy; the paleness +and the shudder had not escaped her. Had she known the pangs of +conscience which caused that shudder, horror instead of sympathy would +have filled her heart. + +And yet the conscience of Arthur Franklyn could only at times arouse him +to doubt the rectitude of his own conduct. By fallacious arguments, and +false reasoning with himself, he had acquired confused ideas of right +and wrong. He had still at times the appearance of being under the +effects of some powerful sedative; and at others the flashing eye and +the flushed face would have denoted the presence of some strong +stimulant to less unsuspecting people than the residents at the Grange. + +Arthur Franklyn with all his faults had never given way to intemperance, +therefore the brandy flask which he now carried in his pocket or kept +locked up in his bedroom was more potent in its effects, leaving behind +it, after the first moments of excitement, an opiate-like stupor and +stolidity of manner, very unlike that of the bright and fascinating +Arthur Franklyn of former times. + +When he left the little breakfast-parlour, in which we first met three +of the residents of Englefield Grange, Dr. Halford and Kate Marston were +alone. + +"Uncle," said the latter, "Arthur is very much changed since the death +of his second wife." + +"Well, my dear, perhaps he is, but it's very natural under the painful +circumstances in which she died. I cannot be surprised at his marrying +again; of course he wanted a companion, and a mother for his children. +The lady he chose appeared to me very pleasing and agreeable, and +perhaps her money was a great temptation, although I do not think a +marriage for money alone can ever insure happiness." + +Kate said nothing; she had seen enough of the second Mrs. Franklyn to +create a doubt respecting her suitableness to be a second mother to any +children, especially to one so high-spirited as Clara, and she could not +tell her uncle of the difficulties already in the way respecting Louisa +Franklyn's fortune. + +Arthur came in presently with his carpet bag in his hand, to wish them +farewell. + +"I have said good-by to the children, Kate; I am glad I sent nurse to +you; they are with her now, and seem quite happy; you will find her very +useful." + +"I have found her so already, Arthur," she replied, "and Clara manages +her little brother famously, so make yourself quite comfortable about +the children." + +"Arthur is going, uncle," she said gently, for the old gentleman sat +dozing in his arm-chair. + +"Eh? what?" he said, "Arthur going? Good-by my son; God bless you and +keep you in the right path." + +A few more hasty farewells, and then Arthur Franklyn started at a quick +pace to catch the four o'clock train to London, with the last words of +his poor Fanny's father--"Keep you in the right path"--ringing in his +tars. + +The sad and sudden death and the inquest on Mrs. Franklyn had appeared +in most of the daily and weekly papers, therefore when Arthur knocked at +the door of the house in which he had taken apartments, the landlady met +him with a doleful face. + +"Oh, sir, is it true? have you lost your dear lady as we read in the +papers?" + +"I am sorry to say it is true," he replied as he entered, "and it will +make a great change in my arrangements; however, you shall not be a +loser, Mrs. Mills; and now if you will bring me some tea I shall be glad +of a cup to refresh myself, I can't get over such a shock all at once." + +"No, sir, I should think not; and indeed you're not looking at all well, +and no wonder. Yes, sir," she added quickly, seeing a look of impatience +pass over his face, "I'll go at once and see about your tea, it will be +ready in no time." + +Very glad indeed was Arthur Franklyn when, the tea being removed and his +landlady's restless tongue banished from the room, he could feel himself +alone. He first drew the table near the window, which he closed +notwithstanding the heat; then he emptied his pockets of various +letters, and at length drew forth an ominous-looking document tied with +red tape, which he opened and spread on the table. Yes, there the name +stood, clear and distinct, in his wife's handwriting, "LOUISA ELLEN +FRANKLYN. Witness--HENRY HALFORD." + +For some minutes Arthur Franklyn seemed fascinated to the writing before +him. He turned the leaf and read the legally worded document through. +There was no hesitation necessary there, Louisa had intended him to have +this two thousand pounds, her trustees had consented and signed. Morally +it belonged to him if not quite legally; what moral law would be +transgressed by claiming it? None. Then for the sake of his own credit, +for the sake of his children, he was justified in this act. It would +injure no one; the bulk of his wife's fortune might go to another, and +virtually this two thousand pounds had been already taken from it and +placed in the bank till the document before him should be properly +signed. Yes, it was all right, and as he thus thought he folded it +carefully, re-tied it and placed it in his pocket-book. + +On a table near stood Louisa's desk--her keys had been given into his +hands, with her rings and jewels and a few other articles found in the +pocket of the deceased lady. He took the small bunch of keys from his +own pocket, but as he rose to fetch the desk, there flashed across his +memory the words of the old doctor, "God bless you, my son, and keep you +in the right path." + +Conscience awoke and made itself heard. "You are out of the right path +already, Arthur Franklyn," said the small still voice. "All your false +reasoning, all your absurd sophistry is vain; you have no right to that +money, and if you claim it on the document in your possession, you know +by what name the laws of your country will call you it you are found +out; and even if you obtain the money undiscovered, you will never know +another happy hour. Burn the paper, Arthur Franklyn, and throw off the +power of the evil spirit that entices you." + +The conscience-stricken man staggered to his seat; he drew the paper +from his pocket, and forgetting for a moment that it was summer-time, he +turned towards the empty fireplace. Then an impulse came upon him to +tear the document to atoms, and throw from his mind the fearful incubus; +but his hand was arrested by a sudden memory of his debts in Australia, +which if not paid must, he knew, end in the disgrace of bankruptcy. +Again the tempter reminded him of his children, his eldest daughter +growing into womanhood; poverty, disgrace for her portion. No, no, it +could not be, he must risk all. There was nothing to fear. He would +arrange all matters of business in England, a few days or a week would +suffice for that, and then he would return to Melbourne. Where he was so +well known he could easily get the papers cashed by paying a good amount +of interest. His children were safe for the present. He should be able +to send over payment for their board. Yes, this plan must be adopted, it +was the best and the only one; and with this resolution strong in his +mind conscience was crushed, its voice silenced for a time, and Arthur +Franklyn left to follow the downward road on which he had made the first +false step. + +He again rose to fetch Louisa's desk, and placing it on the table before +him, eagerly examined its contents. Letters from friends, a banker's +book, a cheque for seventy-four pounds which he had given her at the +time of the transfer of her ready cash to his name, about fifty pounds +in ready money, and at last a little packet of his own letters written +before their marriage, carefully and neatly tied together, several +little articles of jewellery, and others of no importance, but no will. + +Arthur Franklyn as he made this discovery knew that all hope of his late +wife's fortune was lost to him, unless she had left a will with her +lawyers in Melbourne, and this appeared another urgent reason why he +should return thither. + +The money he had found, with the balance of a few hundreds still lying +at the Australian bank in London, would pay his passage, and help him to +carry out his plans. He replaced the various articles in the desk +excepting the jewels and the money; her watch and chain he had left at +his father-in-law's for Clara. But as he placed his hand on the packet +of his own letters a pang of remorse shot through his heart, which +almost threatened him with another attack of conscience. He hastily drew +the flask from his pocket, and seizing a wineglass which stood on the +sideboard filled it nearly to the brim with the so often fatal +stimulant, and drank it off. + +For a time it produced a false courage which enabled him to finish his +search of the desk; and after closing and locking it he remained at the +table and proceeded to sketch out his future movements, made a list of +the boxes to be sent next day to Kilburn, and also of the articles he +wished to take with him on his voyage. By this time the twilight of a +June evening was fading into night; Arthur looked at his watch and rang +the bell, it was nearly half-past nine. The landlady herself appeared +with what she termed a nice little supper, to tempt Mr. Franklyn's +appetite. She lighted the gas and uncovered the tray for his inspection, +but the supper failed to produce the result she expected. Mr. Franklyn +could eat nothing but a biscuit, and she left the room in great distress +of mind to expatiate in the kitchen on the dreadful event which had "so +altered the gentleman upstairs and quite took away his appetite." + +Arthur Franklyn, totally unmindful of her sympathy, escaped to his +bedroom soon after the clock struck ten. But there was no thought of Him +on whom we are told to cast our burden. There arose in his heart no +prayer for guidance in the right path. It might be said of him at this +period of his life that "God was not in all his thoughts." To him in +this hour of fierce temptation there was no solace but the fiery spirit, +so valuable as a medicine, so dangerous as a stimulant. He took another +supply before seeking his pillow, and sunk at once into an unhealthy +sleep, from which he awoke in the morning unrefreshed and with a +throbbing headache. During the next three days Arthur Franklyn, with a +kind of unnatural energy, went through the tasks he had allotted to +himself. From the lawyer to the banker's; from the West End to the City, +in cabs and in omnibuses; to the shipping offices to secure a berth; to +the railway station to send boxes to Kate Marston and his daughter, and +to write letters in the evening--so passed the next three days. + +One discovery he made while at the lawyer's office. From a remark made +by Mr. Norton, to whom Henry Halford had introduced him, he found that +gentleman had made a mistake, and here he took the second step in the +downward path. + +After expressing his regret and sympathy, Mr. Norton said-- + +"You are fortunate in one thing, Mr. Franklyn; I hear that Mrs. Franklyn +signed her name to the document on the morning before she died at her +own lawyer's, so the two thousand pounds are yours to all intents and +purposes." + +"It may be so," replied Arthur, languidly; "but I have been so upset and +so full of business I have not had time to examine it." + +"Well, do so, my dear sir, when you get home; no doubt you will find it +all right." + +This mistake of Mr. Norton's, which will be hereafter explained, sent +Arthur from the lawyer's office in a tremble of excitement. He had +nothing to fear now; all would end well, and he should overcome every +difficulty. + +The fact that he had spoken falsely to Mr. Norton, and helped to mislead +that gentleman, he entirely overlooked. + +And so the time passed on, and the morning of the Friday on which he was +to sail for Melbourne rose in its summer brightness. + +But the excitement, the at times clamorous voice of conscience, and the +unusual amount of stimulant he took, were together combining to produce +fever of the blood and irritation of the brain in Arthur Franklyn. + +When he started in a cab from his lodgings his landlady remarked, "Well, +if this rushing about every day don't soon kill that poor gentleman, he +must be made of iron." + +No idea of the truth entered her mind. To conceal his intention of +leaving England it had been necessary for him to invent and prevaricate +and deceive in a way that twelve months before he would have shrunk from +with shame and disgust. But principles of truth, honour, and rectitude, +without the foundation of religion and the fear of God, are never to be +relied on. In the hour of fierce temptation they had proved to Arthur +Franklyn no stronger than a broken reed. + +He reached the landing-place just below London Bridge at about noon, +wishing to get on board early, as the vessel was timed to sail at seven +in the evening. + +He had been unable to resist another supply of the fiery fluid, early as +it was, consoling himself with the reflection, "When I am on board I +shall get over this unnatural craving for stimulants, and give up taking +it." + +But he had taken it once too often. His boxes were all on board, and he +carried in his hand a carpet bag, containing among other things the +fatal document which had already worked him so much evil. + +He alighted from the cab, paid the driver, and proceeded towards the +Australian packet, which lay alongside the wharf at a little distance +from the shore. A plank stretched across from the gangway of the vessel +rested on land, and men with boxes and other packages were passing to +and fro upon it. Arthur Franklyn waited till the way was clear, then he +placed his foot on the plank and approached the vessel. A very small +portion of this frail bridge passed over water, the shore end resting on +rising ground, and to a man with clear head and steady step there could +be no possible danger. + +But Arthur Franklyn's head was not clear, neither was his step steady, +and as he approached the middle of the plank many persons on the bridge +and about the wharf saw him totter and turn pale. + +Speechless from alarm, and fearful of hastening a catastrophe by a +warning word, no one moved or spoke as he raised his foot to go forward. +The next moment, amidst the screams and shouts of the lookers-on, Arthur +Franklyn lost his balance and fell with his carpet bag into the water, +which closed over him pitilessly, as if in his helpless condition every +effort to save him would be useless. + +There were running to and fro, cries for ropes, and many eager hands +stretched out when he rose to the surface; but the drowning man had +neither sense nor power to help himself or seize the offered aid. + +By this time more than one swimmer was in the water diving for the +drowning man. Minutes which seemed hours passed, and then amidst the +crowds of excited spectators Arthur Franklyn's apparently lifeless body +was drawn from the water, hastily placed in a cab, and carried off +across London Bridge to Guy's Hospital. + +But the carpet bag had sunk to the bottom, to be drawn up weeks after by +the Thames' searchers; while in one corner, soaked into a pulp by the +action of the water, lay the fatal document which had brought upon +Arthur Franklyn such terrible results. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +UNCONSCIOUS RIVALS. + + +June again at Oxford, and the year for grand Commemoration is again +attracting numbers to the famous old city. + +Three years have passed since Charles Herbert walked down the High +Street with his friend Horace Wilton on his way to the station to meet +Mary Armstrong. + +The Fellow of Balliol is now wandering in Christ Church meadows with +another very old friend, whom he is vainly trying to persuade to remain +at Oxford till after Commemoration. + +"You have seen so little of the place, Reginald," said Horace; "and if +you have decided to exchange into a regiment going to India, you should +not miss being present for once on such an occasion." + +"It's no use, Horace," was the reply, free from the "aw-aw" so +detrimental to Reginald Fraser's speech when addressing ladies, or +suffering from nervousness. "It's no use; I couldn't remain now after +all you told me last evening about Miss Armstrong's visit; perhaps she +may be at Oxford again this year, and I wouldn't meet her for the world. +How strange it seems that you should be acquainted with her." + +"It was scarcely a week's acquaintance," he replied; "and in all my +visits since to the home of my friend Charles Herbert, in Park Lane, I +have never met Miss Armstrong there, which is still more singular. But +do you really consider your case hopeless?" + +"Indeed I do, although, as I told you, Mr. Armstrong gave me every +encouragement." + +The young man paused, and then exclaimed, with a sudden effort-- + +"Wilton, I'll tell you all about it. I wanted to do so last night, but I +thought an old bachelor like you would not care to listen to a love +story." + +Horace Wilton stifled a sigh. The man of thirty-five was generally +supposed to be wedded to his books, and to avoid the society of women +from choice. + +The youthful undergraduates of the University would have wondered +greatly had they been told some little of the romantic history attached +to the erudite student's early days. Only a very few of his most +intimate friends, Charles Herbert amongst the number, knew any of the +circumstances. Yet, while reticent respecting his own experiences, his +manner with his friends excited confidence, and in none more readily +than Reginald Fraser, whom Horace had known from a child. + +"I am quite ready to hear the whole story," he said, with a slight +smile; "probably it will be a relief to you to confide in one upon whose +silence you know you can safely rely." + +"Indeed it will," said the weak-minded but amiable young officer. "You +know our fellows would chaff me awfully if I talked to them as I did to +you last night. But you know I felt sure of winning any girl if I could +only muster up courage enough to pop the question, because of my money +and all that. And when I'd got over what I thought was the worst bother, +it was hard to be refused." + +"And what was the worst bother?" asked his friend, with a smile. + +"Well, I hardly know, but I spoke to Mr. Armstrong first; he invited me +to dinner, and made me believe it was all right, and the next morning +came a letter from him, advising me to wait a few months, and then write +to Miss Armstrong. Oh, I say, old fellow, writing that letter was the +worst bother, and no mistake. I declare I'd rather face the enemy on the +field of battle than write another." + +"Of course the young lady answered you?" + +"Oh, yes; but I almost wish she hadn't, for her letter made me more +wretched than ever; I knew it was all over then. It is a kind letter, +though, and she tells me how sorry she is, and all that. You may read it +if you like, if only to show you how clever she is." + +And as he spoke he took the letter from his pocket-book. + +Horace Wilton would have refused to avail himself of similar confidence +from most of his young men acquaintances, but Reginald Fraser was +associated with many of his youthful memories, and he could not grieve +him by refusing. He therefore held out his hand for the letter which had +caused Mary Armstrong so much pain to write, as well as tears of regret. + +The character of the young girl with whom he had associated during that +week at Oxford three years before presented itself clearly to his mind +as he read--kind and regretful was the tone; yet the refusal, though +couched in gentle and courteous words, was too plainly expressed and too +decisive to admit of future change. + +"Well," said Horace, as he folded the letter and returned it to its +owner, "nothing can more completely destroy all hope of winning Miss +Armstrong than this letter, kindly as it is written. But, Reginald, take +my advice--do not grieve over what is inevitable. You are still young, +and the change you contemplate to a foreign land may eradicate a little +of that _mauvaise honte_ which places you at such a disadvantage in +society, in spite of your wealth and position. But come," he added, +rising from the seat they had occupied in Christ Church meadows, and +looking at his watch, "we had better wend our way homewards, it is +nearly five o'clock." + +For some little distance the gentlemen were silent. Reginald spoke +first. + +"Wilton, I'm so glad I've told you all; I feel more easy on the subject +already, and I hope, as you say, that going abroad will drive the +nervousness out of me. But please don't ask me to stay; I'm awfully +afraid of meeting any one acquainted with Miss Armstrong, for if her +name should be mentioned I am certain to betray myself." + +"You shall go to-morrow or the next day, if you wish, but on condition +that you neither think nor speak of the subject again while you stay +with me. When you were a little frightened boy at Eton, Reggie, you +always did as I bid you!" + +"Ah! yes, no wonder," he replied. "I have not forgotten the great boy +who pretended to make me his fag because the other fellows shouldn't +ill-use me. You were my best friend then, Wilton, and so you are now, +and I mean to take your advice." + +As the young man spoke Horace Wilton's memory flew back to the time when +a small delicate boy of ten was committed to his care by one of the +masters:-- + +"Wilton, I wish you would look after this little chap; he is evidently a +nervous, timid child, and much to be pitied. He has never known a +mother's care, and his father died about three years ago. I fear he has +been harshly treated and neglected at the house of his maternal +grandfather, who has never forgiven his daughter for marrying against +his wishes." + +The youth of seventeen had glanced at the fair, delicate child, who +looked up at him with awe, not unmixed with alarm, and in his heart he +formed a resolve that the boy thus placed in his care should be +protected from the overbearing oppression to which a fag at a public +school was in those days so frequently subjected. + +Perhaps the rougher discipline might have tended to harden and +strengthen the character of Reginald Fraser, and yet the cold neglect +and harsh treatment he received in the house where his mother had once +been the only and cherished daughter had increased the natural timidity +of the boy. The highly nervous temperament which he inherited from his +mother had developed into mental weakness and painful reserve, which +even the experiences of a public school could not eradicate. + +Some such reflections as these passed through the memory of Horace +Wilton, and caused him to pause ere he replied-- + +"I do not forget old days, Reginald, and I am glad we have had this +opportunity of talking over matters, but you must learn to rely upon a +higher strength than your own if you wish to gain the power of bearing +earthly disappointments with patience and submission." + +Reginald Fraser, in his dread of meeting Mary Armstrong, or any one who +knew her, evinced a nervous anxiety to leave Oxford by an early train +the next day, but this very anxiety defeated his purpose. + +It was increased by a letter from Henry Halford, which Horace on that +morning had received, stating that he hoped to reach Oxford by the train +which arrived there at 2.15. + +Reginald had put off so many little matters to this last morning that he +failed to be in time for the 12.30 express, and there was no other +alternative than for him to remain with the new arrival till the +evening, or leave by the 2.25. He chose the latter. + +A desire, for which he could not at first account, that the young men +should remain strangers to each other haunted Horace Wilton on that +Saturday morning. + +Suddenly, as the memory of a week so eventful to Mary Armstrong arose +before him, a thought flashed across his mind that Henry Halford might +be the successful rival who had unwittingly caused so much unhappiness +to Reginald Fraser. + +On reflection, however, he dismissed from his mind any apprehension of +awkwardness should the two gentlemen meet at the station, as each would +be quite unconscious of the position in which they stood to each other, +even if his own suspicions had any foundation. + +As they walked to the station Horace said-- + +"I should like to introduce you to Mr. Halford if there is time, +Reginald, but not against your wish." + +"I shall be glad to know any of your friends," replied the young man, +who was quite unacquainted with the fact that this friend of Wilton's +had been associated with Mary Armstrong during her visit to Oxford. "Is +this Mr. Halford an Oxford man?" + +"Yes, he took his degree about a year ago, and is going up for +ordination on Trinity Sunday. The rector of Kilburn had given him his +title to orders." + +"Kilburn!" exclaimed Reginald; "why, that is where Mr. Armstrong +resides. Is he acquainted with the family?" + +"I believe he has met some of them, but I do not imagine there is any +great intimacy," replied Horace, inwardly blaming himself for having +mentioned the name of Kilburn--"but here we are at the station." + +Only just in time, however, for as the two gentlemen reached the +platform, the train by which Henry Halford travelled came slowly into +the station. + +Amidst the numbers who alighted, Horace Wilton could not at first +distinguish his friend; but Henry's quick eye singled him out almost +immediately, and making his way through the crowd, he advanced towards +him. + +"How kind of you to come and meet me!" he exclaimed, as they shook +hands. "How could you relinquish your beloved books for such a purpose?" + +"I must not take more credit to myself than I deserve," he replied, with +a laugh. "The truth is, I had to welcome the coming as well as speed the +parting guest;" and as Wilton spoke he turned towards Reginald, who +stood at a little distance, and said, "My friend, Captain Fraser,--Mr. +Henry Halford." + +The former advanced and bowed, but Henry, while returning the +salutation, held out his hand, saying-- + +"I am sorry to hear you are a parting guest, Captain Fraser. I have +heard of you so often from my friend Mr. Wilton, that I should have been +glad of the opportunity to improve our acquaintance;" and while he spoke +the unconscious rivals shook hands warmly with each other. + +As usual when introduced to a stranger Reginald Fraser, though attracted +by the genial manner and pleasant smile of his new acquaintance, +suffered from an attack of nervousness which was greatly increased by +the sound of the five minutes bell announcing the approach of the train +for London. + +"I--aw--am sorry--aw--I must--aw--leave you so soon," he stammered out, +"but my train goes--aw--from the other side, and I--I have--aw--to cross +the bridge." + +"Oh, pray excuse me for detaining you," said Henry; "Wilton, do not +leave your friend on my account," he added; "I will wait here, or walk +on slowly while you see him off." + +"No, no--aw--I could not--aw--allow you to do so," cried the young +officer, with such painful nervousness that Henry Halford drew back in +surprise, and Horace Wilton came to the rescue. + +"We will not detain you any longer, Reginald," he said; "you have only +just time to cross the bridge. Good-by, good-by," he added, as they +hurriedly shook hands, while Henry, who had been taken aback by the +young officer's manner, merely raised his hat in token of farewell. The +two gentlemen stood for a few moments watching his progress till he was +lost to sight among the passengers on the opposite platform. Then Horace +Wilton took the arm of his friend, and as they left the station together +Henry remarked-- + +"Your friend's manner is peculiar; does it arise from pride or +nervousness?" + +"Pride!" exclaimed his companion, "what in poor nervous Reginald Fraser? +no, indeed, yet to-day he appeared worse than usual; I cannot account +for it." + +"This young officer, then, is identical with the timid child at Eton, of +whom I have heard you speak," said Henry. "He has evidently not outgrown +his nervous timidity. I hope I did not offend him by what I said." + +"No, indeed, he is as amiable as ever, and not easily offended. This +nervousness is constitutional, and is always less under control in the +presence of a stranger." + +"Will not this interfere with his duties as a soldier!" + +"I think not, for Reginald is far from deficient in physical courage. I +have told you of the harsh treatment he received in early childhood: I +wonder the boy was not made an idiot." + +"His grandfather intended to atone for this, I suppose, by leaving him +all his wealth; I have been told he has done so; is this a fact?" asked +Henry. + +"It is a fact which, after the early training of the boy, might have +proved a curse to his manhood instead of a blessing," and then to the +young officer's unconscious rival Horace Wilton detailed his history, +his position, his wealth, and all the circumstances with which the +reader is already acquainted, save and except his hopes and aspirations +respecting Mary Armstrong. + +But while Horace Wilton carefully preserved from Henry Halford the +secret which had been confided in him, he little imagined how much pain +one incautious word of his had occasioned to his nervous friend Reginald +Fraser. + +It is said with truth that one distinguishing mark between men and women +is that the latter possess quicker perception, and the former clearer +judgment. In the almost feminine character of Reginald Fraser existed a +keenness of perception which resembled what is termed instinct; and this +instinctive power often caused him great mental pain from his extreme +sensitiveness, more especially so because he concealed his opinions from +those with whom he associated, even while these opinions increased an +outward display of nervousness. + +Something of all this occasioned the strange manner which had so +surprised Henry Halford. The incautious mention of Kilburn by his friend +had been like a stone cast into the water; it caused a tumult in the +young man's mind which did not cease during the whole journey to London. + +The fact that Wilton's friend resided at Kilburn had aroused in his +heart new ideas, which had scarcely time to form themselves into a +tangible shape before he was introduced to Henry Halford. As he +encountered that genial, easy manner and smiling intellectual face, at +once like a lightning flash came the firm conviction that the man before +him was the cause of Mary Armstrong's refusal to himself. + +He had therefore, as we know, met him with painful nervousness. Like one +who walks in his sleep, he had crossed the bridge and waited for the +train. Still absorbed with the same conviction he chose an empty +first-class carriage, threw himself back on its cushions, and gave +himself up to an hour of mental torture. + +Mortification, regret, and a depreciation of his own qualities when +compared to Henry Halford agitated him much more strongly than a feeling +of jealousy, although this for a time so powerfully affected him that +even the tears rushed to his eyes. + +At length he regained control over himself. Other passengers entered the +carriage, gentler thoughts arose in his heart--yes, he would give up all +hope; if Mary Armstrong really loved another, could he not deny himself +to secure her happiness? + +Perhaps this young clergyman would have only his stipend as a curate to +live upon, and should he with all his wealth wish to deprive him, not +only of such a wife as Mary Armstrong would make him, but also of the +fortune which her father proposed to give her? + +No! The conflict was over, it had been a sharp discipline for the +amiable but weak-minded young officer, but it was necessary; it had not +only deepened the effect of Horace Wilton's advice, but when Reginald +Fraser left the train at Paddington, he felt like one who has passed +through a fierce conflict and gained strength by victory. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE NEW CURATE. + + +There is something in the calm of a Sunday evening in summer which seems +to cast a halo over the worshippers in a country church. The gradual +decline of daylight, the perfume of flowers which pervades the building +through open doors and casements, the slanting beams of the setting sun +shining through the western windows, radiant in crimson and gold, and +the joyous song of the birds chanting their evening hymn of praise, all +combine to impress the spirit with a sense of the presence of God, not +only among those who do not neglect the assembling of themselves +together to worship and to praise Him, but also in His "glorious works." + +On such an evening two days after the Friday which had been so fatal to +Arthur Franklyn's schemes, Mr. Armstrong proposed to accompany his +daughter to the old parish church at Kilburn, which was at that period +merely a country village. + +It was not often that Mr. Armstrong attended the evening service, +therefore excepting during her brother's holidays Mary was obliged to +remain at home also, for she could not go to church alone. Most readily +therefore she hailed the opportunity offered by her father, and hastily +arrayed herself in walking costume, a process by no means so troublesome +to a lady in summer as in winter. + +They had scarcely taken their usual places in their pew when the chimes +ceased and the single five minutes bell began to toll. + +Mr. Armstrong's pew was in the north gallery; therefore when the organ +pealed forth its introductory music, and the clergymen issued from the +vestry, Mary could see that one of them entered the reading desk and the +other within the communion rails, seating himself on the north side and +therefore hidden from their pew by the pulpit. + +She paid but little attention to this circumstance, except to feel glad +that the old rector would have help for this evening at least, the whole +of the preceding Sunday services having been performed by him alone. + +The fact of it being the first Sunday after Trinity suggested to Mary +Armstrong no cause for Henry Halford's absence from the boys' pew at +church. With all her cleverness in other subjects, she had very little +knowledge of clerical matters. The prayers used in what is called Ember +Week she had noticed and understood, but of their connexion with certain +Sundays in the year, among others Trinity Sunday, she knew nothing. + +Following the service as it proceeded with true devotional feeling, +neither Mary Armstrong nor her father was prepared for the surprise that +awaited them. + +During the singing of the hymn, and while standing in the pew, she could +see that as the rector left the reading desk to proceed to the vestry, +he was joined by a stranger; but only his white surplice was visible, +the vestry being on the same side as the gallery on which she stood, and +the entrance under it. + +Those were the days when clergymen changed the surplice for the black +academical gown for preaching. Mary, quite engrossed with the music and +the words of the last verse of the hymn, did not glance towards the +pulpit till the preacher raised his head from his hands, and faced the +congregation. + +He was very pale, this strange young clergyman, and as he laid his Bible +on the desk his hand trembled perceptibly. + +He had seen at a glance as he entered the pulpit the figure in white +standing by Mr. Armstrong in the gallery near him. The unexpected +appearance at the evening service of any of the family took him by +surprise, and it required all the self-control he possessed to bring +himself to a proper frame of mind by the time the congregation were +ready to listen to him. + +But the effort was successful, and as the full-toned young voice gave +out the text his natural power of concentration resumed its sway, the +glorious subject before him absorbed all his thoughts, and the natural +fluency with which Henry Halford expressed his ideas did not forsake him +now. + +He had determined, long before his ordination, that he would adopt +extemporaneous preaching, and as the subject he had chosen fired the +intellectual powers and Christian principles of the young clergyman, his +hearers sat mute with surprise and admiration. + +The sermon might have been styled an exposition of the thirteenth +chapter of the First of Corinthians, for not one of the attributes of +charity did he omit to notice; but his text contained only these +words--"The greatest of these is charity." + +For more than half an hour did the congregation sit in breathless +attention to the sound reasoning, the clear explanations, and the bursts +of eloquence which almost electrified them; and when they rose as he +finished his sermon, there was not one who did not feel sorry it was +over. + +But we are forgetting our friends in the front pew of the gallery. When +Mary Armstrong bowed her head in the short prayer before the sermon, she +had not particularly noticed the face of the new curate, as she supposed +him to be. The voice, at first low and indistinct, presently sounded +familiar. Yes, she had heard it before, but where? It ceased, and as she +rose from her knees and directed her attention to the preacher, she +recognised in the pale young clergyman before her, Henry Halford! One +glance at her father, and she saw by his returned glance, that he also +knew the name of the stranger who now as the servant of God stood forth +fearlessly as the instructor of the man who loved his money better than +his child's happiness. + +Mary in her startled surprise felt the colour forsaking cheek and lips, +and a tendency to faint; but with a strong effort she roused herself. To +be carried out of church fainting was an ordeal she dreaded, and +therefore struggled against with all her strength. + +More than once Mr. Armstrong looked at her anxiously, but she did not +flinch. No; she would stay and brave it all. + +The conduct of Henry Halford also tended to restore her self-possession, +and before long she as well as her father became too deeply interested +in the sermon and the subject to think much of their surprise at finding +who was the preacher. + +The attentive congregation, the summer evening associations to which +reference has been made, all had an influence upon the young girl's +mind, and for years after she never attended a summer evening service in +a country church without recalling this evening at Kilburn. + +But when they rose to leave the church, there was a dread at Mary's +heart of what her father might say or suspect. + +Mr. Armstrong, as we know, had a foolish prejudice about clergymen, and +although he attended church for the sake of appearances, and respected +the old rector because he could not help it, still he did not cultivate +his acquaintance, nor indeed the acquaintance of any families in +Kilburn, except the Drummonds and one or two others. + +But for this exclusiveness he would have heard not only that the rector +had parted with his late curate, but also that he had engaged another, +and that other the son of his old friend Dr. Halford. More than this, +had not the heat formed an excuse for Mr. Armstrong, and a reason for +his wife to remain at home on that Sunday morning, they would have heard +Henry Halford read the forms which are necessary at the introduction of +a newly ordained curate, and also the prayers as his first clerical act. + +"Did you know young Halford was going to preach this evening, Mary?" was +her father's first question as they proceeded homewards. + +"No, papa; I did not even know that Mr. Halford was ordained." + +Mr. Armstrong said no more, although while he asked the question he +suddenly remembered Cousin Sarah's information, and knew that Mary was +too truthful for him to doubt her assertion for an instant. The +remainder of the walk was continued in silence, both father and daughter +busied with their own reflections. + +"Cousin Sarah is right," said the money-loving father to himself; "there +is great intellect, and a wonderful power of language and argument in +that young schoolmaster, and he knows how to take up a text too, and +interest his hearers. Once or twice in his definition of charity I +fancied he was preaching _at_ me, and in truth his arguments were very +strong, although rather Utopian in theory. What would become of trade, +and commerce, and money-getting in England or elsewhere, if we were to +possess the 'charity that seeketh not her own, that thinketh no evil, or +that suffereth long and is kind?' Where are the men of business who seek +not their own? What would be thought of the tradesman who trusted those +with whom he dealt without suspicion of evil? How would such conduct +agree with the maxim, that 'every man is a rogue till you have proved +him honest?' Where is the man, even with thousands at his banker's, who +'suffers long and is kind' to a debtor, before he punishes him with +legal proceedings? And yet these are the words of the Bible, which we as +Christians profess to believe. There must be something wrong at the root +of _our_ Christianity, if it cannot carry out the precepts of its +Founder." And then the memory of Edward Armstrong presented to him a +real proof that the precepts he had that evening heard were not so +directly opposed to the spirit and tenor of good business habits and +conduct as he imagined. No example of the charity spoken of by St. Paul +more truly existed with active business habits than in the character of +his own father; and then by a common association of ideas he remembered +that in a few weeks Mary would be of age, and entitled to receive the +legacy of 1000_l._ left her by her grandfather. "Why, even that sum +would help her and the young parson to marry in comfort," he reflected. +"It would at least insure a partnership for him in his father's school, +and I have made Mary domestic enough, even for a schoolmaster's wife; +and after she is of age I shall have no right to interfere with her." +Mr. Armstrong sighed as the approach to his own gates put a stop to +these reflections, yet he could not help saying to himself, "It would be +a terrible downfall to all my ambitious projects for my daughter; I do +not think I can give my consent after all." + +The reader will understand what must have been the influence of Henry +Halford's first sermon, to produce such reflections in the mind of +Edward Armstrong. + +The secret thoughts of his daughter may be summed up in a few words. + +"Will my father change his mind now he sees how very clever Henry +Halford is?" said the young girl to herself, in the pride and joy of her +heart at his evident success in securing the attention of his hearers. +"Can he ever expect I could give him up, even for a duke with 50,000_l._ +a year?" + +And then as she followed her father in, and listened with surprise as he +described what had occurred to her mother, and even praised the subject +and style of the sermon, a new feeling of hope arose in her heart which +flushed her cheek and brightened her eye for the rest of the evening. +Mrs. Armstrong noticed the look of happiness on her daughter's face, and +when she wished her good night she whispered-- + +"You must tell me all about the sermon to morrow, darling." + +But there were others in a quiet pew under the gallery at church who +were really more personally interested in the first efforts of the young +clergyman than even our friends at Lime Grove. + +Kate Marston, Clara, Mabel, and James Franklyn were delighted listeners +to the sermon which had so roused Mr. Armstrong. But to the aged father +of Henry Halford came the memory of his dear wife's words, when they had +consulted on the means and advisability of educating him for the Church. +"We may hope to live to see our son a useful minister in the church," +had been the mother's words, and that privilege had been denied her. +Mrs. Halford had gone to her rest, and the old man's first words when he +reached home and shook his son's hand warmly were, "In the midst of my +gratification, Henry, I have only one cause for regret, and that is that +your mother did not live to see this day." + +"Better perhaps as it is, father," he replied. "You would not wish my +dear mother back, especially when such trouble has fallen upon Arthur." + +"No, no; ah, I forgot, you are right, it is all for the best, 'He doeth +all things well.'" + +Kate Marston stood by with tears of joy in her eyes; a true daughter and +sister was she in heart to the bereaved husband and only child of her +dear aunt Clara. + +They had scarcely seated themselves at the supper-table, when a ring at +the front gate startled every one, and presently the housemaid appeared +with a pale face, and beckoned Henry Halford from the room. + +"Oh, please sir, it's a telegraph boy, and he's brought this and he's to +wait for an answer." + +Henry closed the dining-room door as she spoke, and took the missive in +his hand, feeling almost as alarmed as herself. + +It was still twilight out of doors, and the hall gas not being lit, +Henry walked to the glass door entrance to read the telegram, dreading +he scarcely knew what. + +He gave one hasty glance at the words, and read-- + + "Dr. Gordon, Guy's Hospital, to Mr. Henry Halford, Englefield + Grange. + + "A gentleman, with the initials A. F. on his clothes, is here + dangerously ill; has asked for you. Come at once." + +In a kind of bewilderment he looked round the hall, and saw the boy who +waited for the answer. + +"There is no answer necessary, my boy," he said, "you need not wait." + +Then as the telegraph messenger sallied out at the still open door, +Henry Halford turned hastily to the housemaid:-- + +"Go in quietly and tell Miss Marston she is wanted, Rebecca." + +The girl obeyed, and presently that lady appeared with a startled look +on her face. + +"What is it, Henry?" she asked anxiously. + +"Something that must not be mentioned suddenly before my father or +Arthur's children," he replied; "read that, Kate." + +He placed the telegram in her hands, and lighted the gas that she might +read it. + +"Rebecca," he said, as the girl passed from the dining-room, "I can +trust to you, not to say one word to alarm any of the young people until +Miss Marston has given a reason for my absence. I am going to London +to-night; Mr. Franklyn is ill." + +"I wont say a word to any one, Mr. Henry, I promise you," she replied. + +"What can have happened?" said Kate Marston when they were again alone. + +"It is impossible to say," he replied, "but I must not delay a moment; +break the news gently to my father and the children, while I put a few +things together in a carpet bag." + +"But, Henry, you have had no supper, and after such a day of excitement +too; oh! I am very sorry, let me bring you a glass of wine." + +"No, no," he said, going upstairs two steps at a time, "I can get +something in London, but you may find Bradshaw if you will, Kate." + +Henry Halford was back again to the hall ready for his departure almost +as quickly as Kate with the time-table. + +"You have plenty of time," she said, "there, is a train at 9.40, and if +you miss that, another at 10.5." + +"Oh, thank you; all right, I can easily catch the 9.40. Good-by, Kate, +make the best of it till you hear from me." + +And so ended at Kilburn the Sunday on which Henry Halford entered upon +his duties as a clergyman. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +AT GUY'S HOSPITAL. + + +While the train is speeding on with Henry Halford to the Euston Station, +we will go back to the Friday afternoon when Arthur Franklyn was carried +in an apparently lifeless state to Guy's. + +When dragged from the water many voices were raised in eager haste. +"Send for a doctor!" "Carry him to the hotel!" "No use, the man is +dead!" "Nonsense, he hasn't been five minutes in the water." This and +other confusing advice was, however, set aside by the appearance of two +policemen with a cab. Putting back the crowd, they lifted in the +apparently drowned man, and bidding the driver make haste, jumped in +with him. + +The rapid movement produced an unexpected effect. Before they were half +over London Bridge the policeman who sat opposite to Arthur was startled +at seeing the eyes of the supposed dead man open suddenly, and after a +heavily drawn breath came the words, "My carpet bag! where is my carpet +bag?" The wild eyes, the unexpected recovery, and the firmly uttered +words took these officers of the law by surprise. + +"All right, sir, don't you go worritting yourself about carpet bags; +yours is all safe, I daresay," was all one of them could reply in a +soothing tone before the cab stopped at the hospital entrance, to the +great satisfaction of Arthur Franklyn's companions. + +The medical officers were quickly in attendance, but the shock of the +accident had so increased the feverish excitement of Arthur Franklyn, +that on being taken out of the cab he struggled with those who held him, +and exclaimed frantically, "I must go back! You shall not detain me! +Where is my carpet bag?" + +Regardless of his almost frenzied manner, which they judged to arise +from incipient disease, the attendants quickly relieved Arthur of his +wet clothes; he was placed in bed, and the remedies against the +consequences of a cold bath while in such a heated state vigorously +applied. + +But there were other causes at work in that excited brain at present +unknown to the hospital doctors, and before night the patient was +tossing from side to side of the bed in the alternate delirium and +stupor which attends brain fever. His clothes were eagerly searched to +find a letter or address which might give some clue to his friends, for +he was evidently a gentleman, but with no success. + +Arthur's great anxiety to conceal his name and his movements, now bid +fair to elude all attempts to discover his relations. He had booked +himself for the voyage under a false name, and the initials A. F. on his +linen were of very little use. + +In the midst of his delirium his words were so incoherent that none +could be distinguished but the constant cry for the "carpet bag." At +last, during the afternoon of Sunday, although still insensible to +surrounding objects, his muttered words became more distinct. + +Dr. Gordon was standing by his side listening anxiously to the wandering +expressions of the patient, when Arthur Franklyn half-rose in the bed +and exclaimed, "I must go to Kilburn! Ah! Henry Halford, what have I +done! And you will tell Fanny." He sunk back exhausted as he uttered +these words in a low piteous tone. + +But this was enough for Dr. Gordon. He went to the county directory and +quickly finding the name of Halford and Englefeld Grange, sent the +telegram at once. + +"I have telegraphed to the gentleman named by the patient," he said to +the nurse; "he cannot be here before ten at the earliest, I will return +by that time." + +It was within an hour after receiving the message that the cab taken by +Henry Halford at Euston Square reached London Bridge and drove to Guy's +Hospital. + +He was admitted at once to the presence of Dr. Gordon, who received the +gentleman, whose clerical dress denoted his office, with great +cordiality. + +"I presume this gentleman is my brother-in-law," was the young +clergyman's first remark, "by the initials A. F.; if so, his name is +Arthur Franklyn: is he too ill to recognise me?" + +"I fear so; he has been delirious ever since he was brought here, and +until to-day he has not uttered a name with sufficient distinctness to +be understood." + +"What is the nature of his complaint?" asked Henry. + +"Brain fever," replied the doctor; "and we have been obliged to have his +head shaved, so that perhaps you may find a great difficulty in +recognising him." + +"We have almost feared he would have some attack of this kind," said +Henry; "he has had a great amount of excitement during the last +fortnight, since the sudden death of his wife in a railway carriage." + +"What!" exclaimed Dr. Gordon, "are you referring to the case of Mrs. +Franklyn? Of course, yes, that was the name. I read an account of it in +the papers, and indeed such a painful occurrence was almost sufficient +of itself to produce irritation of the brain, if this gentleman is Mr. +Franklyn." + +"I have no doubt of it, doctor; but my brother-in-law had apartments in +London at the West End--how came he here?" + +"I cannot ascertain the correct facts, but it appears that our patient +was crossing a plank to go on board a steamer lying in the Thames at +London Bridge, and fell into the river. He was recovered from the water +quickly and brought to the hospital; a few minutes longer would have +proved fatal to him. I have no doubt he lost his balance from giddiness, +for this brain fever had been coming on for days." + +"I suppose we cannot remove Mr. Franklyn yet?" said Henry. + +"Remove him! my dear sir, no; impossible, till we can ascertain what +turn the disorder takes; but you shall see him and judge for yourself." + +Henry Halford followed the surgeon up the stairs in silence. He had +never before entered an hospital, and through the open doors of the +different wards as he passed, he caught glimpses of sufferers in the +various stages and forms of disease, which reminded him of Milton's +lines-- + + Dire was the tossing, deep the groans; despair + Tended the sick, busied from couch to couch; + And over them triumphant death his dart + Shook, but delayed to strike. + +Yet the cleanliness and calm of the place made him thank God in his +heart for these noble institutions, where the suffering poor can obtain +every comfort and care in times of sickness, as well as the most skilful +medical advice. On a bed separated by a screen from the other patients +lay Arthur Franklyn, but so changed in appearance that for a moment +Henry Halford could scarcely recognise him. + +The stricken man who lay tossing to and fro on the bed had nothing to +remind us of Arthur Franklyn but his features, and even these were drawn +and distorted. The shaven head, on which lay cloths steeped in vinegar; +the flushed and heated face; the wild, dilated eyes, from which mind and +soul had departed, leaving a blank look which seemed to mock their +brilliance--all presented to the pitying eyes of the young clergyman a +sight never to be forgotten. + +"It _is_ my brother-in-law, Dr. Gordon," he said at last; "but what a +wreck of himself! He does not appear to know me in the least." + +"Try what your voice can do," replied the doctor; "speak to him, Mr. +Halford." + +"Arthur! Arthur Franklyn!" he exclaimed, bending over the patient, "do +you know me?" + +The eyes turned towards him with a vacant look, but no recognition; and +presently the muttering of delirium again commenced, in which Henry +could now and then distinguish his own name and his sister's, as well as +those of his children and his second wife. + +"Is there any hope of his recovery, Dr. Gordon?" said Henry, almost in +tears. "He has four motherless children." + +"Well, I cannot deny that there is hope," he said; "for Mr. Franklyn has +a good constitution, and may perhaps battle with the disease, but his +recovery will be followed by a period of painful exhaustion. There is +evidently something on his mind in addition to the excitement caused by +the death of Mrs. Franklyn. He seems also to be in great trouble about +the loss of his carpet bag, which fell with him into the water, but has +not yet been recovered." + +Dr. Gordon had spoken in a low tone, yet the ear of the sufferer caught +the word. He started up in bed. + +"Where is Henry? Tell him to find the carpet bag. I'll tell him what is +in it. They cannot touch me; there's nothing they can prove. Ah, let me +go for it. I must save my children!" and he attempted to get out of bed, +but fell back, too much exhausted to resist the doctor in his firm +efforts to prevent him. + +"I can do no good by staying here, doctor," said Henry, after a pause; +"but if you will kindly describe the spot where the accident took place, +I can make inquiries about the carpet bag to-morrow. In the meantime, as +Mr. Franklyn cannot be moved, I am sure we may leave him safely here, +and pay whatever expenses are incurred for him while in the hospital." + +"If his friends wish to do so, it can be easily arranged," said Dr. +Gordon, as he and Henry descended the stairs; "and you may depend upon +having a telegram from me should a change for the worse take place." + +The two gentlemen parted at the door of the hospital, the one to wend +his way homeward after his arduous duties, and the other to find himself +in the streets of London on a Sunday night within half an hour of +midnight. + +He had left his own carpet bag at an hotel near Guy's, and here, after a +day of excitement and fatigue, he was at last able to take some slight +refreshment. Although almost without appetite he felt it as a duty he +owed himself to try to eat a little. + +"I must telegraph home and to the rectory in the morning," he said to +himself as he sought this pillow; "if I stay in London till to-morrow I +may perhaps hear something of this carpet bag which appears to disturb +poor Arthur's mind so terribly." + +Early next morning Henry was down at the wharf described by Dr. Gordon, +and, without acknowledging his relationship, questioned those on the +spot about the gentleman who had fallen into the water on the previous +Friday. + +Full particulars were soon obtained of the accident, and then his +informant remarked-- + +"I suppose you see'd an account of the haccident in the papers, master?" + +"No," he replied, almost with a start; "what paper is it in?" + +"Oh, pretty nigh all on 'em, for you see we thought for sure the +gentleman were dead; but he frightened the two bobbies that went with +him in the cab above a bit by jumping up and crying out about his carpet +bag. I suppose there was some valuables in that 'ere bag, but the Thames +searchers have been a-looking for it ever since, and they ain't seen +nothing on it yet." + +Henry gave the man a gratuity, which made him touch the brim of his hat +in token of approval. + +Henry turned again as he moved to go--"Do you know the men who are +searchers of the Thames?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir, I knows 'em well." + +"Tell them, then, that if they find this bag, and will send it to the +Terminus Hotel, London Bridge, I will take care they are paid well for +their trouble." + +"I'll tell 'em, sir, all right," said the man. + +Henry Halford returned to the hotel, and made an arrangement with the +waiter respecting the missing bag. + +"You can telegraph to me when it arrives," said Henry; "and if the men +refuse to leave it, tell them to bring it again in a few hours and wait +for me. Here is my card and address. You will be sure to attend to this, +for it is very important." + +"You may depend upon me, sir," said the man. + +And then Henry turned his steps once more to Guy's Hospital. + +Dr. Gordon was absent, but the house surgeon sent for Mr. Halford to his +private room. + +"I do not consider Mr. Franklyn worse or better," he said, in answer to +Henry's inquiries. "He is quieter to-day, but with no lucid intervals. I +think, however, that the disease is working itself out, and there is +nothing for us but patience. Will you see him?" + +"No, thank you, I think not to-day; but you will let me know when a +change takes place?" + +"Without fail, Mr. Halford, you may depend upon that." + +The gentlemen parted cordially, and Henry, calling a cab, was driven to +the Euston Station, almost dreading the return home, where he should +appear as the bearer of such painful tidings. + +While in the train Henry Halford reflected anxiously on what could be +deposited in this carpet bag to cause his brother-in-law such painful +anxiety. He had also not been able to discover to what steamer he was +proceeding when attempting to cross the plank. All he could ascertain +from the men about the wharf was that two or three steamers were moored +alongside each other, one of them being a large Melbourne packet. + +"Arthur could not have intended to leave England, or his children," said +Henry to himself, "without informing us of his intentions, or taking +leave of them." + +This idea seemed so utterly improbable that Henry dismissed it from his +mind as absurd. + +"I will say nothing to excite suspicion at home," he thought. "There is +real trouble enough in his illness without adding to it by conjecture of +evil. We must wait patiently, and hope and pray for the poor fellow's +recovery." + +Henry Halford did not know that Arthur's boxes had been carried on shore +from the Melbourne packet at Gravesend because the passenger whose name +they bore was not on board when the ship arrived there. But the name on +these boxes was not Franklyn. + +Henry's appearance at Englefield Grange was hailed with trembling +anxiety. + +"Oh, uncle Henry," exclaimed Clara, with pale lips, "how is dear papa? +We know all about the accident--it's in the _Times_." + +"Stay, Clara dear," said Kate Marston; "your uncle looks tired and +anxious. Only tell us one thing, Henry: have you seen Arthur, and is he +still living?" + +"Yes, Kate; he is in Guy's Hospital, and receiving every attention and +kindness, but he is indeed most seriously ill. Don't grieve, my dear +Clara," he continued, putting his arm round his niece as she burst into +tears at his words, and leading her into the little breakfast parlour; +"for grandpapa's sake, and your sister and brothers, keep up a brave +spirit. Your dear father is in God's hands, and we must pray and hope." + +Clara dried her tears and listened with painful interest to her uncle +Henry's description of her poor father's accident, and the illness from +which he now suffered. + +But her uncle's words had aroused her usual calm self-possession, and +she determined to subdue her own sorrow for the sake of those whom she +loved so well. + +Henry Halford, during the first few days of this sad week, was making +himself acquainted with his duties as a curate, and while thus engaged, +or busy in the schoolroom, he could banish from his mind the vague +suspicions about Arthur which still troubled him when unemployed. + +He was mourning over the impossibility of obtaining time to visit the +hospital more frequently, when he was one morning surprised soon after +breakfast by the appearance of Mr. Drummond and a gentleman whom he +introduced as his nephew, George Longford. + +On entering the drawing-room, Mr. Drummond came forward with eager +sympathy, and taking Henry's offered hand, he exclaimed-- + +"My dear Henry, I am indeed grieved to hear of these overwhelming +troubles which have fallen upon your family in such quick succession, +and I and my nephew are come to offer our services if agreeable." + +"Pray be seated," said Henry, placing chairs for his visitors. + +"Thank you, no; we have only a few moments to stay, and our business is +soon told. My nephew George, who is staying with us for a short time, is +walking the hospitals. He will be at Guy's every day, and will gladly +bring you news--good news, I hope--respecting Mr. Franklyn on his return +each evening to my house." + +"It is indeed a very kind proposal," said Henry, "I shall be most +grateful, for we have my brother-in-law's four children here, and the +elder ones are of course very anxious about their father. Unfortunately, +it is my first initiation into parish work this week, and as we are +within a fortnight of the midsummer vacation my presence is required in +the schoolroom almost constantly, and I cannot visit the hospital as +often as I could wish." + +"I had some idea of all these difficulties," said Mr. Drummond, "but my +nephew's reports will relieve you of this anxiety, so make yourself easy +on the matter." + +"You may depend upon me," said George Longford, as the gentlemen hurried +away after shaking hands warmly; "you shall have the latest information +every evening. I will call here on my way home." + +Henry Halford parted from the gentlemen with cordial and earnest thanks. +It would be a great mental relief to him as well as to Kate Marston to +receive daily information respecting Arthur. They already began to feel +the responsibility which the care of Arthur's children involved, not so +much on account of the additional expense, but from their motherless +condition. + +"I do hope poor Arthur wont die and leave these poor children fatherless +as well as motherless," said Kate Marston on the day Mr. Drummond had +called, "but I suppose there will be plenty of money to support them in +case of such a sad event." + +"No matter if there is not, Kate; my father would never forsake dear +Fanny's children. Neither would I, even if they were left penniless." + +"I know that well," she replied, her eyes filling with tears. "Uncle has +been a second father to me for half my life--since I was left an +orphan." + +"We must not anticipate evil, Kate," said her cousin. "I hope all will +end well with poor Arthur, although it would grieve you painfully to see +how he is changed. But where is the _Times_? I have not read the +paragraph Clara spoke of yesterday." + +Kate fetched the paper, and pointing to the paragraph, placed it in his +hands. + +Henry took it nervously. The mystery of the carpet bag still haunted +him, and seemed ominous of evil. He glanced hurriedly over the account, +which ran as follows:-- + +"DANGEROUS ACCIDENT.--On Friday afternoon a gentleman, in attempting to +cross a plank from the shore near London Bridge to reach a distant +steamer, lost his footing and fell into the water. With great difficulty +he was brought to land by the activity and energy of those around him. +He was immediately taken in a cab to Guy's Hospital, but recovering +animation before he reached there, he showed by evident signs that he +must have been under the influence of incipient brain fever, for he +called frantically for his carpet bag, which had fallen with him into +the river. He is now lying in a very precarious state at the hospital. +We understand from good authority that the gentleman who has had such a +narrow escape from drowning is Mr. Arthur Franklyn, whose wife died +suddenly in a railway carriage a few weeks since. His present state, and +the accident that preceded it, may therefore be easily accounted for +under such painful circumstances." + +"It is no more than I expected," said Kate, as her cousin threw down the +paper. "Arthur has looked dreadfully ill since poor Louisa's death. Do +you know, Henry, I fear he has no claim on her property after all." + +"What makes you think so?" asked Henry, in surprise. + +"Oh, the remark he made to me on the day he started for London after you +left. I understood him to say that he had taken no steps to ascertain +his position with regard to his wife's property before his marriage." + +"I had some suspicions that such was the case," replied Henry, "when he +asked me to recommend him a lawyer; and I believe he had been with Mrs. +Franklyn to call on Mr. Norton for the purpose of arranging for him to +witness certain signatures on the day of her sudden death. It certainly +will be a disappointment to Arthur if his second wife's property is all +lost to him; but from his own account of his position and means I do not +suppose he will feel it much--at all events we must hope so." + +Kate made no reply. She had seen more of Arthur Franklyn during his +visit than her cousin, and she could not get rid of the idea that a +great deal of the uneasy and perturbed state of mind so evident in his +manner and appearance was caused by anxiety about money. + +George Longford, according to his promise, brought to Englefield Grange +daily accounts of Arthur Franklyn's state--at times alarming, at others +hopeful. + +More than once Henry visited the hospital to obtain personally the +opinion of the surgeons, yet nearly a week passed before his +brother-in-law was able in a lucid interval to recognise him. + +But this recognition was attended with painful results. For a few +minutes the sick man spoke calmly to Henry, and listened to his kind and +hopeful words. Suddenly, as if stung by some painful recollection, he +exclaimed-- + +"Go, go; you are come to reproach me! O Fanny, Fanny, what have I done! +My children, my children! Don't revenge yourself on them, Henry, by +letting them starve!" + +Poor Henry was hurried away, and returned home agonised by the thought, +not only that his presence at the hospital might have hastened his +brother-in-law's death, but also by the terrible fear which his words +had suggested. What, oh! what had poor Arthur done? + +Nothing now remained but patience and hope, yet as week after week +passed by all hope seemed to die in the hearts of his children and the +loving friends in whose care they were placed. + +Not till the second week in July could Arthur Franklyn be pronounced out +of danger; and in this hopeful condition we will leave him, to return to +our friends at Kilburn. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +CHARLES HERBERT GIVES HIS OPINION. + + +Mrs. Armstrong had seen very little of her eldest sister for years, nor +of Mrs. Herbert since Mary's visit to Park Lane. Sir James Elstone, the +old admiral, still resided with his wife in the south of France. He was, +as we know from Mrs. Lake's information to Edward Armstrong before his +marriage, more than thirty years older than Louisa St. Clair, and was +now eighty years of age. Louisa, although she bore the title of Lady +Elstone, performed the office of a kind and faithful nurse to her aged +husband, who was fast sinking into the grave. + +Her sister Helen, Mrs. Herbert, possessed the good health and sunny +temper which made her society always welcome at the homes of her two +sisters. Maria had a family to care for, and she was naturally a home +bird; and besides, she had a sweet companion and comforter in her +daughter Mary. + +Mrs. Herbert, while her son was away, had no home ties, and the colonel, +who had spent more than half his life in India, preferred the beautiful +climate of the Mediterranean to the fogs and uncertain weather of +England. All these facts were turned into arguments in favour of her +request by Lady Elstone when she wrote and asked her sister Helen and +the colonel to join them at their _chateau_ on the shores of the +Mediterranean. This invitation arrived soon after Mary's visit to Park +Lane, and a year had elapsed since Mrs. Armstrong had seen her sister +Helen, who, however, kept up a constant correspondence with Mary. + +On the Tuesday morning, at the time when Kate Franklyn placed Monday's +_Times_ in the hands of her cousin, Henry Halford, Mary sat reading to +her mother a letter of many pages from her favourite aunt. She had +already on the previous day read and commented upon the paragraph +referred to with earnest sympathy. Not even her mother could guess the +longing in her daughter's heart to be able to show that sympathy to the +children of the suffering father, and the nieces and nephews of Henry +Halford. But another subject occupied her now. Charles Herbert's +regiment was on its way to England from Canada, and Mrs. Herbert in her +letter stated that they hoped to be in Park Lane to receive their son +before the end of July, and that Mrs. Armstrong and her daughter were to +expect a very speedy visit to Lime Grove after their arrival. + +"We were sorry to leave poor Aunt Louisa just at this time," wrote Mrs. +Herbert, "for the old admiral cannot last long. However, your uncle has +promised to go to her at a moment's notice, for at her husband's death +there will be too much for a woman to manage, especially with lawyers." + +All Mary's pity for her aunt Louisa could not serve to control her +pleasure at the prospect of seeing her aunt and uncle and cousin +Charles. + +"O mamma!" she said, as she refolded the crinkly sheets of foreign +paper, "is not this delightful news--at least all excepting that about +poor Aunt and Uncle Elstone? but Aunt Louisa is a much greater stranger +to me than Aunt Helen, she has lived abroad so long with uncle. But I +shall count the days till Aunt Helen comes; are you not pleased, mamma?" + +"Indeed I am," said Mrs. Armstrong; "but, Mary, if you are invited again +to Park Lane, are you prepared to accept the invitation?" + +"Not for longer than a day or two, mamma, and I don't think Aunt Helen +will ask me; she was too much annoyed about the consequences of my visit +last year; you remember what she said about it." + +"Yes, Mary; but, my child, you will be one-and-twenty next month; have +you made up your mind to remain single all your life?" + +"Yes, mamma," said Mary, with a merry laugh; "_I_ mean to be a useful +old maid, attending to my dear mother, and that 'blessing to mothers,' a +kind maiden aunt to the children of my brothers when they are +married----" + +"Unless----" said Mrs. Armstrong, with a smile. + +"Unless what, mamma? An impossibility?" + +"What is impossible, Mary?" + +"Why, for papa to change his mind. After he has once made a resolve he +adheres to it, even when he has been convinced that he is in error." + +"He considers that adherence to his resolve is a manly firmness of +purpose," said her mother. + +"Well, mamma, this firmness of purpose puzzles me sometimes, for a great +writer has said that the man who changes an erroneous opinion after +being convinced that it is wrong proves that he is wiser when he changes +it than he was when he formed it." + +"A little bit of philosophy, Mary," said her mother, smiling; "and so I +suppose you consider the _unless_ an impossibility?" + +"Indeed I do, mamma, so we will not talk about it;" and rising hastily +as if to strengthen her determination, she seated herself at the piano, +and commenced practising a somewhat difficult sonato of Beethoven's. + +The weeks passed away, and the morning of the 15th of July dawned in +summer glory, giving a promise that for once St. Swithin would be +propitious. There was a strange sense of happiness in Mary's heart as +she entered the dining-room, and looked out upon the distant hills of +Highgate and Harrow, which appeared almost transparent beneath the +purple haze that rested upon them. + +The source of Mary's happiness was a slight one, it is true, but it +augured better things, and was therefore tinted with the rainbow hues of +hope. She had driven her puny carriage to the station the evening before +to meet her father, who, having encountered Mr. Drummond on the +platform, invited him to take a seat in the carriage as far as the +Limes. + +The offer was accepted, and Mr. Drummond, quite unaware that he was +touching on dangerous ground, remarked, as soon as the carriage +started-- + +"What a narrow escape from death that young man, Arthur Franklyn, has +had! but he is so much better to-day, that they are going to remove him +to the Isle of Wight on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am heartily glad of it, +for the sake of those poor motherless children." + +"Yes, indeed, it would be a great burden and expense to their +grandfather to have to provide for four children, which I suppose he can +ill afford." + +"I don't know that, Armstrong, even if their father was not in a +position to make provision for their maintenance. Of course it would add +to his expenses, but not beyond his means. What made you think +otherwise?" + +"Oh!" replied Mr. Armstrong, who already began to regret having offered +his friend a lift, "well, schoolmasters are always poor as a rule, and +in some cases half-educated; but," he continued hastily, "Dr. Halford is +certainly an exception to the latter assumption." + +"Schoolmasters in provincial towns and villages are not as a rule men of +education; it was especially so when we were boys," said Mr. Drummond, +firing a shot at a venture, which made Mr. Armstrong wince; "but my +friend Dr. Halford is also an exception to your first assertion. Why, he +gave his daughter 1000_l._ on her wedding-day, and I know it has cost +him nearly another thousand to educate his son for the Church." + +"Was not that a waste of money, if he intended him to be a schoolmaster +as he now is?" + +"No, certainly not; with a university education, a man who has been +accustomed from his boyhood to teaching and school routine is beyond all +others most suitable to conduct a school. And besides," continued Mr. +Drummond, "what are the head masters of Eton and Harrow, or Rugby, but +schoolmasters and gentlemen? and how often have the masters of these +schools been chosen for the office of bishop! and some eventually have +attained to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury." + +"Well, I confess," said Mr. Armstrong, "I have been too much engrossed +in business matters to acquire a knowledge of these particulars, and +perhaps I have gained my ideas from my experience in youth, and from the +general opinion of business men. The idea that a schoolmaster could give +his daughter 1000_l._ on her wedding-day would have appeared to me years +ago an impossibility." + +"There are hundreds of educated clever men who are as successful as Dr. +Halford," replied Mr. Drummond, "and he only began with a small capital, +left him at his father's death, and with the recommendation of the late +Lord Rivers, father of his pupil, the present earl. He has good but not +exorbitant terms, his boys are all of the better class, the family live +in a comfortable but not extravagant style, and I know that the doctor's +income, not net of course, has averaged from two to three thousand a +year for many years." + +They were drawing near Lime Grove as Mr. Drummond spoke, and for a few +moments silence ensued, then he remarked suddenly-- + +"Setting aside the subject of schoolmasters, Armstrong, what do you +think of our new curate?" + +In spite of the firmness with which Mary had restrained the inclination +to glance at her father, who sat by her side during this conversation, +she could not resist doing so now. + +The movement of the head was, however, unnoticed by her father, who, +with all his foolish prejudices and stubborn will, had a keen sense of +justice. + +His answer came, spontaneous and candid-- + +"I consider Mr. Henry Halford a clever, intellectual, and gentlemanly +young man, and one of the finest preachers and readers I ever heard in +my life." + +"Well done, Armstrong, that is a testimony worth having, for you are a +good judge, and so are the people of Kilburn, for the old church is +filling tremendously; and now we are at your house. Thank you very much +for this lift on the road." + +"Let Mary drive you home, Drummond," said her father as the gentleman +alighted, "or Rowland can do so if you like," for Mary's old protector +in childish rides is still Mr. Armstrong's groom. + +But Mr. Drummond refused. "No, no," he said, "I shall like the walk +home, thank you, Miss Armstrong, all the same," for Mary sat still +holding the reins, waiting for his decision. + +He assisted her to alight as he spoke, and then after a pleasant +farewell Mr. Drummond turned towards home, and father and daughter +entered the house. + +Mary went upstairs to her room to prepare for dinner, with sunshine at +her heart. It had been pleasant to hear Mr. Drummond combat her father's +opinions with so much energy, but what was that compared to his +evidently truthful testimony respecting Henry Halford? + +How every word of that praise was echoed in her own heart! more +especially because she knew that her father would not have uttered such +an opinion in her presence had he not truly felt what he said. + +She had described the conversation and its delightful termination to her +mother, who smiled, but said nothing either to damp her joy or encourage +her hopes. + +But the word _unless_, and the remarks it occasioned, arose from what +had passed between Mr. Drummond and her father on the preceding evening. + +On the morning of the day on which her uncle, aunt, and Cousin Herbert +were expected, we left Mary standing at the window of the dining-room +and looking out on the summer landscape, while waiting for the urn to +make the tea and prepare breakfast as usual. + +During this meal the conversation naturally turned on their expected +visitors, who had promised to remain till Monday or Tuesday. + +"They called at Dover Street yesterday," said Mr. Armstrong, "to give +notice of their arrival, and to tell me not to expect them to-day till +about four o'clock. They will drive down in the open carriage, for Helen +says she means to explore the country with you, Maria; and the horses +can travel farther than Mary's ponies." + +"Aunt Helen does not know the capabilities of my ponies," said Mary, +laughing, "and three days will not give us time enough to do much. Poor +old Boosey, he is quite discarded now; but he does not appear in the +least jealous because the other horses work and he is allowed to be +idle." + +"Very likely not," said Mr. Armstrong, laughing; "but he must expect to +work all the harder when the boys come home." + +Mr. Armstrong rose at the sound of his horse's feet at the gate. He +still at times rode Firefly to town; he could not part with the horse on +which he had accompanied his daughter so often in her evening rides, +although the railway, when Mary drove him to the station, was a great +convenience. + +Mary's lively remarks about her ponies had produced a twinge of +conscience in her father; her manner reminded him of olden times, before +he had crushed her girlish hopes by refusing a young man of whom he knew +nothing, and without any inquiries as to his family and position, also +while under the influence of prejudices which Mr. Drummond had flung to +the winds. + +These foolish prejudices had induced Mr. Armstrong to place his two +elder boys at a public school, and Freddy with a lady who took little +boys under ten. But Mr. Drummond's remarks had proved that there existed +private schools, with masters equally clever and gentlemanly. He knew +also that the bright looks and cheerful tones of his daughter arose from +his clearly expressed opinion of Henry Halford the evening before. + +"I am afraid I shall have to give way at last," he said to himself as he +rode slowly along the Kilburn Road; "but it will defeat all my schemes +for my daughter's future. What a splendid match such a girl as she is +might have made but for this unfortunate acquaintance with the son of a +schoolmaster! However, the Herberts are coming by-and-by. I must get +Helen to talk to Mary. Mrs. Herbert's mother was proud and ambitious +enough about her daughters, and had I not had money"--and he paused as a +memory arose, and then added, "and the love and gratitude of Maria St. +Clair, I should have had but a poor chance." + +Such reflections as these always aroused conscience in Mr. Armstrong's +heart. He loosened Firefly's bridle, and the spirited though +well-trained animal started off at a trot towards town, scattering his +rider's painful thoughts with every movement. + +But Mr. Armstrong's hopes of gaining allies in his wife's relations were +very quickly crushed. + +When he returned home he found the colonel and his wife seated in the +drawing-room with Mrs. Armstrong, and Mary walking round the garden with +her cousin. + +"Come and show me the garden, Mary," had been the request of the captain +after she had laughingly joked him on his large black whiskers and +generally fierce appearance, and she had readily complied with his wish. + +"So you are not married yet, Mary," were his first words, as they stood +for a moment on the steps leading into the garden to admire the +prospect; "why, I heard such accounts from my mother of your conquests +and splendid offers, that I almost expected to find my pretty cousin a +duchess or at least a countess." + +"Oh, don't joke about these things, cousin Charles," she replied, with a +flush on her face and a quivering lip, "you cannot think what pain it +gave me to refuse these gentlemen who so kindly preferred me to others, +but I could not have married any of them." + +Charles Herbert observed the flush and the trembling lip, and for a +short distance they walked on in silence. "There is something hidden +under all this," he said to himself; "my mother wont tell me anything, +but I mean to find out." + +They continued their walk, now and then pausing to notice the beautiful +flowers that bordered their path. Mary, who had quickly recovered +herself, soon convinced her cousin that she knew more of botany than he +did. + +They turned into a pleasant walk bordered with shrubs and overshadowed +with trees, and reached the shrubbery. + +"Mary," said her cousin suddenly, "tell me the truth; I have a reason +for asking; is Henry Halford at the bottom of all this indifference to +wealth and position and that sort of thing?" + +Mary's eyes filled with tears; the presence of her cousin Charles had +recalled to her memory the happy week at Oxford, and the reminiscences +thus aroused were more than she could bear unmoved. She turned very +pale, but she had no wish to disguise the truth from her cousin, the +playmate of her childhood; and she said-- + +"I will tell you the truth, Charles. Henry Halford wrote to papa, but I +never saw the letter. Papa wrote a refusal without asking me, and I knew +nothing of these letters till nearly a year afterwards." + +"Who told you then?" + +"Poor Mrs. Halford. She became paralysed and weak-minded after the death +of her daughter, and used to be drawn about in an invalid-chair. One day +when I was walking with mamma we met her, and then in some way she +slipped it out. It was the very day that Captain Fraser called upon papa +and asked him for me." + +"And was this the real cause of your refusing Captain Fraser?" + +"I could never have married him, Charlie," she said. "You know what he +is; nor could I if he had been worth 50,000_l._ a year instead of +twelve; so I should have refused him at all events; but hearing about +Henry Halford's letter made me more decided. Oh, Charles, don't remind +me of that time; I never saw papa so angry in my life, but I kept firm." + +"And this Mr. Halford--do you think he is still attached to you?" + +"I don't know; don't ask any more questions, Charlie. I'm sure I've told +you quite enough." And Mary spoke with her usual vivacity: she had dried +her tears and decked her face with smiles, but her cousin had touched +upon too tender a string to be made the subject of cousinly +conversation. + +The sound of the dinner-bell happened opportunely at this moment, and +Charles entered the dining-room with his cousin on his arm, to receive a +warm welcome from the uncle who had once saved him from a watery grave. + +The conversation at dinner turned upon Mrs. Herbert's recollections of +her pleasant stay at Lady Elstone's on the shores of the Mediterranean, +but she very quickly gave place to her son. Her recent visit to the +Chateau de Lisle was not her first, but Charlie's description of Canada +and its inhabitants had all the freshness of novelty, and was listened +to with great interest. + +During dessert, however, as they sat trifling with the summer fruit, and +enjoying the sweet evening breeze that fluttered the muslin window +curtains, Charles made his first plunge. + +After what Mary had told him he had braced his nerves to expect an +outburst of anger from his irascible uncle, but he knew Mary too well to +fear a scene on her part. + +"So my friend Henry Halford is ordained, I hear," were the words that +covered Mary's face with blushes, and threw a silence on every one +present except Mr. Armstrong, who said with a flushed face and a look of +contempt-- + +"_Your_ friend, Charles? Ah, yes, I remember, I have been told you had +that honour." + +"It has not been a constant or intimate friendship," he replied; "but I +was a fellow-pupil with him at Dr. Mason's for two years while he was +preparing for the university. I did not at first recognise him when we +met at Oxford, but as the intimate associate of Horace Wilton I consider +the friendship of such a man as Henry Halford a very high honour." + +There was a pause, during which Mrs. Armstrong would have given the +signal for leaving the table, but she wished to hear what Charles had to +say, and she did not fear an outbreak on the part of her husband in such +company. + +"I have heard Charles speak of this young man while with Dr. Mason," +said the colonel; "he was then a youth of remarkable powers and +intellectual tastes; his relations are neighbours of yours, Armstrong?" + +"Yes; father and son are schoolmasters," was the curt reply. + +Edward Armstrong, finding all his preconceived notions and objections +slipping from under his feet, began to feel slightly irritable. + +Mrs. Armstrong saw it, and gave the signal, of which her sister and Mary +very gladly availed themselves, leaving the three gentlemen alone. + +"There is nothing detrimental in a man of education filling the place of +a schoolmaster," remarked the colonel, taking up the subject again after +the ladies had left; "besides, this young man is now a clergyman, and +admissible to the highest circles in the kingdom." + +"I've heard all that over and over again lately," replied Mr. Armstrong, +quietly; the presence of his daughter had been the chief cause of his +rising irritation. It appeared to him as if every one was endeavouring +to counteract in her mind the mean opinion which he wished her to form +of the man whom she placed in the way of her most brilliant offers. + +"The truth is, colonel," he continued, "I cannot deny the talents and +other estimable qualities of this young parson; he is good-looking, +gentlemanly, and a preacher of remarkable powers, but I cannot forgive +him for aspiring to the hand of my daughter, and preventing her from +marrying into a position which her talents, her education, and her +personal attractions would obtain for her, independently of the +15,000_l._ or 20,000_l._ I could give her as a marriage portion." + +"Well, if the young people like each other I'm very sorry for them, +that's all I can say; however, you know your own affairs best, +Armstrong, so we've nothing to object to on the matter." + +This acquiescence on the part of the straightforward old soldier did +more to shake Mr. Armstrong's stubborn will than a large amount of +opposition. The responsibility of securing his daughter's happiness or +misery for life rested now on his own shoulders, and he shrunk from its +weight; therefore when Charles ventured to say-- + +"I suppose, uncle, you wont object to my going to church to-morrow to +hear my friend preach?" + +"Of course not, my boy," was the reply, in a kind tone; "we attend the +parish church regularly, where Mr. Halford is curate." + +"Not a very wise plan, I should imagine," said the colonel, "to allow a +young girl to sit and listen to the eloquence of the man you wish her to +despise and forsake, and to know also that crowds of hearers are brought +to church to listen with breathless attention to the words of one who, +because he is not rich, is to be set aside for those that are, however +inferior in intellect or appearance." + +"I am inclined to think Mary has got over all her lovesick nonsense +about this young man. I'm her father, and she has from a child been +accustomed to give up her own wishes to mine; she has done so now, and +therefore I have no hesitation in allowing her to attend the church, +more especially as I know her religious feelings will enable her to +forget the reader and preacher in his subject." + +The colonel changed the topic of conversation; these fallacious +arguments of the self-willed, prejudiced man irritated him, and after a +short time a summons to coffee took them into the drawing-room. + +Next day at church, after the morning service, Charles Herbert renewed +his friendship with Henry Halford, the colonel and Mrs. Herbert also +warmly recalling the pleasant visit at Oxford, and expressing their +pleasure at meeting him again. + +Mr. Armstrong and Mary drew back after the distant bow which now formed +their only recognition of Dr. Halford and his family, but Henry was only +too glad to introduce his venerable father and his sister's children to +his friend Charles Herbert and his parents. + +Mr. Armstrong led his daughter forward till they were joined by the +colonel and his wife. + +"Charles is walking home with his friend," said Mrs. Herbert; "what a +clever young man Mr. Halford is! I observed that he preaches +extemporaneously." + +"There is no doubt of his cleverness," said Mr. Armstrong; and then they +discussed the subject and manner of the discourse, as members of a +congregation often do, without thinking of its application to +themselves. + +Charles Herbert accompanied the family of Dr. Halford to Englefield +Grange, and while talking to Henry about old days could not avoid a +glance now and then at the tall, handsome, self-possessed girl who +walked by her uncle's side. + +Henry pressed him to remain to an early dinner, but he excused himself +on account of being a visitor at Lime Grove: however, he promised to +call the next day, and after a friendly leave-taking turned away with +rapid steps to join his relations, whom he overtook at a short distance +from the garden entrance. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +REPENTANCE. + + +August at the seaside, its sultry sunbeams softened by a breeze from the +ocean, bringing health and vigour to worn-out frames, calmness and +relief to overworked brains, and rest to the toilers in the battlefield +of life. There is peace in the movement of the rippling waves, peace +even in the sound as they dash lazily on the shore, and a feeling of +rest in the aspect of the calm, smooth water, when its flowing tide is +scarcely perceptible, and boats with their white sails are mirrored in +its depths. + +In the afternoon of a sultry day in August two gentlemen might be seen +near the open window of a drawing-room in the Isle of Wight. + +One of them is lying on a couch drawn close to the window, his pale face +and delicate features plainly denoting a state of convalescence after a +severe attack of illness. The eyes are large and bright, and the hair +after a growth of six weeks just covers the head. The hands are thin and +delicate, and the whole appearance and attitude betoken great weakness. + +"Have you quite got over the fatigue of the journey, Arthur?" asks the +other gentleman, in whom we recognise Henry Halford. + +"Yes, quite," was the reply; "I am not so weak as I appear, Henry; I +walked on the beach for a long distance this morning, and that accounts +for my languid condition now. How are the little ones?" + +"Quite well and happy, Arthur, and all send their love to papa and +Clara. Where is she?" + +"I sent her out with the nurse, she is assiduous in her attentions to +me, and I am obliged to enforce the necessity of a walk sometimes. Dear +child, I used to fear she would grow up forward and pert as well as +precocious. These troubles seem to have sobered her, yet it very much +interferes with the formation of a girl's character when she looks so +womanly at sixteen as Clara does." + +While Arthur Franklyn spoke, Henry could not avoid comparing the style +of his present conversation to the light-hearted, jocular talk of olden +times, proving that trouble had sobered the father as well as the +daughter. + +"Shall I leave you to have a little nap before dinner, Arthur?" he said. + +"No, Henry, there are so many things on my mind that I wish to talk +about, and you would answer no questions nor hear anything I had to say +when we first arrived; but I have been here a week, and I feel so much +stronger and better, there can be no possible objection now." + +"I am half-afraid to allow you to excite yourself, Arthur; would it not +be wiser to wait another week?" + +"No, no, Henry, you cannot tell what a relief it will be to my mind to +unburden my heart to you. We shall not be interrupted, for I desired +nurse to keep Clara out till four o'clock; this anxiety retards my +recovery." + +"Well, my dear fellow, if it will really help you to get well I am ready +to listen and answer questions, but remember you are not to excite +yourself;" and Henry Halford drew a chair near his brother-in-law's +couch and seated himself to listen. + +"First then," said Arthur, "tell me one thing--did I rave about a carpet +bag in my delirium?" + +"Well, yes," said Henry, wonderingly; "I suppose it must have fallen +with you into the river." + +"Has it been found?" + +"It was not brought to Englefield Grange for weeks after your accident; +the bag and its contents are in a terrible condition from the action of +the water." + +"Were any papers amongst the _debris_?" + +"One, completely reduced to a pulp, the writing upon it scarcely +legible; it appeared quite useless, so I burnt it!" + +"Thank God!" and Arthur as he spoke closed his eyes, and clasped his +hands, showing that the words were not a mere commonplace expression, +but came direct from the heart. + +Henry Halford looked at him in surprised silence. Presently Arthur +startled him by rising suddenly and laying his hand on his brother's +arm. + +"Henry," he said, "don't shrink from me with horror; on that paper which +you have destroyed I had forged my dead wife's name after her death." + +"Arthur, my dear fellow," said Henry, "pray lie down and compose +yourself; I feared you would get excited. If you will lie quiet for +awhile we can talk about this paper by-and-by." + +"You think my brain is becoming disturbed again," said Arthur, lying +back quietly at Henry's bidding, "but indeed I am telling you the truth. +I have not yet dared to utter a word to anyone on the subject, and if +you will not listen to me I must carry the burden with me to my grave." + +Quite convinced by the calm tones and the earnest words, Henry Halford +placed his hand on the arm of his brother, and said, "Have you taken +your burden to God, Arthur?" + +"Ah, that is what dear Fanny would have said; but how could I venture to +take my trouble there, when it is caused by sin, and is therefore my +just punishment?" + +"Arthur," said Henry, "while you were a boy at my father's school, did +you not study your Bible sufficiently to know how ready God is to pardon +and forgive?" + +"I have forgotten Him for years, Henry, and He left me to myself to +fall. But let me tell you all the circumstances. That document in the +carpet bag, if I had taken it to Australia and negotiated it there, as I +quite intended to do, would have no doubt led to my conviction as a +forger; I can see it now clearly, and I must have been mad at the time +to suppose I could so act and escape. The truth is, I married my second +wife under false pretences; she supposed I was well off, and yet I had +no income, and my debts in Melbourne amounted to more than 1000_l._ I +could not, therefore, make any inquiries about Louisa's power over her +fortune, from a dread of questions from her friends about myself. After +our marriage she gave into my hands a few hundred pounds which she had +in the bank; but when I stated to her that I required more to obtain a +partnership in a firm, I discovered that her property was invested in +the power of trustees, one of whom resided in England. I gladly availed +myself of the opportunity for bringing over my children to visit their +mother's relations, and proposed that if Louisa would agree to advance +me 2000_l._ we could obtain the signature of her trustee in Australia, +and forward the document by mail to England, so as to be ready for +completion when we arrived. + +"On the morning of poor Louisa's death all necessary arrangements had +been made. Her trustee in England had signed the document, and her +signature only in the presence of a witness was needed to complete it. +Mr. Norton engaged to meet us at Englefield Grange on that evening to +witness the signature, and you will remember he called, but I was unable +even to speak to him." + +Henry silently assented, and Arthur went on. "I cannot describe to you +the agonies of that night. The 2000_l._, part of which was to pay my +debts, had slipped from my grasp; ruin to myself and my children stared +me in the face. I had a little flask of brandy in my pocket, which we +had brought with us on the journey. I am not accustomed to spirits, and +the brandy I drank that night first exhilarated and then almost maddened +me. In a kind of frenzy I sat for an hour imitating on scraps of paper +Louisa's writing, and that of another, whose name I need not mention. +And then, oh, Henry! I signed the two names on the document, and one of +them was, to all appearance, the handwriting of the dead! During that +dreadful week I kept up my courage with that fatal spirit. You all +attributed my stupefied and callous manner to the shock of Louisa's +death, and pitied and sympathised with me. I left you and came to +London, with the determination to sail as quickly as possible to +Australia, that I might obtain money on the deed, and turn it to account +in some speculation which would enable me to refund the money and +recover the document before it was sent to England. It was a wild +scheme, such a one as Satan often uses to lead on his victims to their +destruction. I can see that now; I was saved from farther sin by the +accident, and painful as my punishment has been, I trust I am thankful +for it." + +"But," said Henry, "why did you not carry the paper in your pocket +book?" + +"Henry, I dared not risk it; I seemed to have the presentiment of an +accident, and dreaded the discovery of the paper upon my person. When I +found myself falling on that day of sorrows, and felt the carpet bag +slip from my hand, I cannot describe my feelings; no wonder I raved +about it in my delirium." + +"It is a most painful history," said Henry, after a pause, "and you may +well be thankful for the accident which saved you from further sin, and +perhaps disgrace. I need not ask whether you have repented, Arthur, for +indeed your act was a breach of the laws both of God and man. It +was----" + +"Don't hesitate, Henry, call it by its right name, 'forgery.' Truly, +truly, have I repented in dust and ashes, and I can say like David, 'I +abhor myself.'" + +"Dear Arthur," said the young clergyman, as he saw the tears of real +contrition stealing down the cheeks of his brother-in-law, "if such is +your repentance, you can continue to use David's words in the Psalm, +'Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken +may rejoice.'" + +Henry Halford rose as he spoke, and gave the invalid a portion of the +mixture which stood on the table, and after awhile Arthur revived, and +could listen calmly to another subject. + +"If you wish to relieve your mind still farther of all anxiety, Arthur," +said his brother-in-law presently, "I have some letters in my pocket +addressed to you. Would you like to open them? they may contain good +news." + +"Yes, oh yes; where are they?" he exclaimed eagerly. + +Henry drew from his pocket three letters, and placing one in Arthur's +hand, said-- + +"Suppose you begin with that, Arthur." + +The invalid took the letter and opened it, Henry watching his +countenance half in fear as he saw the flush and look of astonishment, +and the rapid glance over its contents; but then laying it down he +closed his eyes, as if unable to understand what he had read. + +"Henry," he said presently, "read it to me; it is incomprehensible." + +"No, Arthur, not quite," he replied, as he took up the letter; "and +perhaps I can enlighten you. Mr. Norton called upon me a few days ago, +and stated that the trustees had come to a decision respecting the +payment of some money which you would have received had your wife lived, +and have only been waiting for the consent of all parties. Mr. Norton +wished me to inform you of their intention, but I advised him to write +to you on the subject. He has done so, and this is the letter. + +"Read it, Henry, read it; God has been too good to me in the midst of +all my sinful conduct if the contents of that letter are true." + +"He is wont to give us more than even we desire or deserve," said Henry, +as he opened the letter. + + "Lincoln's Inn, Aug. 12th, 18--. + + "MY DEAR SIR,--I am desired by the trustees of the late Mrs. + Louisa Franklyn's property to express their deep sympathy with + you in the great loss you have sustained by her death, and also + their hopes that you are recovering from the serious illness + which has followed your accident. + + "With respect to a deed which was not completed by Mrs. + Franklyn at the time of her lamented death, I am directed to + state that, in consequence of a certain clause in the will of + the late Mr. Howard, your late wife's first husband, you are + not entitled to claim any of her property, the heir-at-law + being Mr. William Lynn Howard, the testator's nephew. + + "In consideration of these circumstances the trustees of the + late Mrs. Franklyn are willing, with the consent of Mr. William + Lynn Howard, to make over to you the 2000_l._ which you could + have legally claimed had Mrs. Franklyn lived a few hours longer + to complete the legal document which only required her + witnessed signature. + + "On receipt of your reply accepting this proposal, the + necessary papers will be forwarded for your signature. + + "I remain, dear sir, faithfully yours, + + "E. NORTON." + +For a time there was silence between the two men, each being too much +overcome to speak. At length Arthur Franklyn exclaimed-- + +"Oh, Henry, if I had only confided my circumstances to you, and waited +and trusted, I might have been spared the recollection of this dreadful +fall from rectitude and honour, which will leave a blot on my conscience +to the end of my days." + +"Then it will serve as a beacon and a warning to you in your future +career, Arthur; when tempted and tried you will remember what this +downfall has cost you, and with less confidence in yourself you will +have to look to the 'Strong for strength.'" + +"And yet, Henry, I would give worlds to recall the past two months. Oh, +if I had only waited!" + +"There is nothing more trying to the Christian in his path through life +than being required to wait. 'Stand still' was the command of God to the +Israelites when the Red Sea stretched before them, the mountains on +either side, and Pharaoh's host was behind them. And in one place the +prophet exclaims, 'Our strength is to sit still.' We often forget the +truth of the poet's words, 'They also serve who only stand and wait.'" + +"Henry," exclaimed Arthur presently, "mine has been a frivolous, useless +life. I seem to have forgotten all the teachings of your dear mother in +my boyhood, but they are coming back to me now. Is there not a verse in +the Psalms about waiting? My dear lost Fanny would often remind me of +it, when instead of waiting patiently for steady success in any +undertaking, I put it aside and commenced something else. She would call +it 'making haste to be rich.' O Henry, since my illness the memory of my +carelessness about dear Fanny's health has caused me hours of bitter +remorse." + +"You must not indulge any longer in self-reproach, Arthur; it can do no +good to recall the past excepting as a warning for the future, and +mental anxiety will retard your recovery. The last two months have been +very dark, but we must remember the Indian proverb, 'The darkest part of +the night is just before the dawn.'" + +"What is the text in the Psalms about waiting, Henry?" + +"It occurs in the thirty-seventh--'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently +for Him; He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.' And now you +must try and sleep for a while till dinner is ready, and in the evening +I will write a letter for you to Mr. Norton, and you can sign it." + +Arthur obeyed; the conversation and the letter had produced excitement, +and great exhaustion was the result. Henry sat and watched him till he +fell into a calm and peaceful sleep, to which he had for months been a +stranger. + +A quiet step, a gentle movement, and as the door slowly opened Clara +Franklyn appeared. Her uncle placed his finger on his lips and pointed +to the couch. The womanly girl understood, and withdrew as noiselessly +as she had entered. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +A PANIC IN THE CITY. + + +Autumn of the year which had proved so full of changes to Arthur +Franklyn passed into winter, and frost and snow ushered in the time when +the angels sang their holy song of "Peace and goodwill to all men." + +The red breast of the robin and the holly berries gleamed brighten the +glistening snow, and the joyous notes of the sociable bird sounded clear +and melodious through the keen frosty air, heralding the birth of +another year. Winter gave place to the gentle and balmy air of spring, +and April found Mary Armstrong revelling in the country delights at +Meadow Farm, when the "sound of the singing of birds has come, and the +voice of the turtle is heard in the land." + +With all the firm will and patient endurance of Mary's character she had +not a constitution of iron. The alternation of hopes and fears, caused +by the various opinions expressed by others in opposition to her father +respecting Mr. Halford's family, were at last more than she could bear. + +Had the young people been entirely separated, Mary had strength of +character sufficient to school her heart to forget Henry Halford. But +Sunday after Sunday to have to recognise each other as mere distant +acquaintance, and to be required to sit and listen to him with +indifference, while others were never tired of showing or expressing +their admiration of the talented young clergyman, was indeed an act of +positive cruelty on the part of her father to which he seemed quite +oblivious. + +Mary appeared as submissive now as to his wishes in the past. She was +loving and attentive as usual to his requests and his comforts, at times +even gay and cheerful, and always contented. She might be a little +changed, as cousin Sarah said; but what of that? She was a woman now, +and not a child. Why should he notice such whims and fancies? So +reasoned Mr. Armstrong. But this strain on the nerves could not last. +One evening during dessert she suddenly fell back in her chair and +fainted away. Then Mr. Armstrong was aroused to a sense of danger. Dr. +West's opinion carried the day. + +"Send your daughter into the country for a month, she wants change of +air and scene; there is nothing the matter with her yet to cause alarm. +Has she anything on her mind, friend Armstrong?" added the doctor, +significantly. + +"Some silly love affair, I suppose you mean," was the reply; "my +daughter, Dr. West, is above giving way to such nonsense." + +"Possibly so," said Dr. West; "I know Miss Armstrong well enough to +understand that she possesses a strong amount of self-control; but, my +dear sir, a young girl's nerves are not iron, so the sooner you send her +into the country the better." + +The proposal that she should pay a visit to cousin Sarah was hailed with +such delight by Mary, that her father could not help saying to himself-- + +"I hope Sarah will not encourage any nonsensical talk about this young +parson who seems to be turning the heads of all the young people in the +parish, and the old ones too." + +But other circumstances were occurring at the time our chapter commences +which drew Mr. Armstrong's thoughts from his daughter's health to +matters, in his opinion, of equal importance. + +He had an office in the city now, as well as in Dover Street, and went +more frequently to the former. One morning, when Mary had been absent a +week, he was met on his arrival at the office by his head clerk with a +very rueful face. + +"Have you heard, sir, what has happened?" he asked. + +"No," was the hasty reply; "I've not seen the _Times_ yet. Is there +anything serious, Wilson?" + +"I'm afraid it is, sir; Overton and Boyd have stopped payment." + +Mr. Armstrong sank back into his chair as if a thunderbolt had fallen at +his feet, while every vestige of colour forsook his cheeks. + +"I am sorry I told you so suddenly, sir," said Mr. Wilson; "will it +affect you very greatly?" + +Mr. Armstrong, though for a moment surprised out of his usual +self-possession, quickly recovered himself and said, "Not to cause me +any serious injury; Wilson, but I have several thousands in the hands of +these bankers, and that is too much to lose." + +"Indeed it is, sir; but perhaps the reports have been exaggerated, and +there may be an official letter amongst your correspondence explaining +matters more correctly." + +Mr. Armstrong turned to his letters. + +"All right, Wilson, I daresay there is; don't wait, I'll call you if I +find that any letters require attention." + +Left to himself, Mr. Armstrong quickly opened letter after letter. Yes, +there it was, from Overton and Boyd. Obliged from a sharp run on the +bank to suspend payment; hoped to be able to recover themselves in a few +days, and so on. + +Edward Armstrong laid the notice on one side, looked over his other +letters, wrote a few particulars on each, then sounded the gong for Mr. +Wilson, who quickly made his appearance. + +"Answer these letters, Wilson," he said; "two or three have evidently +heard of this stoppage, and are alarmed for the safety of their money. I +have written cheques to the amount of the debts of these parties, which +you can enclose to them." + +The clerk took the letters and left the room, and then Mr. Armstrong put +on his hat and went out to ascertain the effect of this stoppage of +Overton and Boyd on the corn exchange and elsewhere. + +During the day many persons looked in at the office to ask the opinion +of Mr. Armstrong, and to give him details of the present and probable +consequences likely to result from this disastrous bank failure. Before +the hour came for closing the office it was evident that a panic had +arisen in the City, threatening destruction and ruin to more than one +long-established house of business. + +Mr. Armstrong, as he entered his splendidly furnished house at Kilburn, +felt thankful for the absence of his daughter. At the same time he +hastened to his dressing-room, anxious to remove, if possible, the pale +and haggard look of his face before meeting his wife at dinner. + +But the quick eye of affection was not to be deceived. Mrs. Armstrong +waited till the dinner was removed, and the wine and dessert placed on +the table. + +The April evenings were cold enough for a fire, and the wife, whose +mental powers her husband considered so inferior, soon proved herself a +true comforter. + +"Come and sit by the fire, Edward," she said, placing a tempting +arm-chair near it; "you look anxious, dearest, has anything happened in +the City to trouble you?" + +"I do not wish to annoy you with business matters, darling," was the +reply; "go and make yourself comfortable in the drawing-room, I will +come to you presently;" and her husband as he spoke placed his elbows on +the table and rested his forehead on his hands. + +Mrs. Armstrong rose and advanced to where her husband sat; placing her +arm across his shoulders she said-- + +"Edward, I am sure there is something wrong. I know I am not clever +enough to advise you in business matters, but if you will only tell me +what grieves you it will lose half its bitterness and relieve your +mind." + +"Maria my dearest wife," said Edward Armstrong, rising and throwing +himself into the easy-chair she had placed for him, "my troubles are +about money; do you care to hear about them?" + +"I care to hear anything," she said, "if telling me will relieve your +mind." + +"Then I will tell you the worst at once. Overton and Boyd have stopped +payment, and the 20,000_l._ which I placed with them was to have been +Mary's marriage portion." + +"And will she lose it all?" + +"I fear so. The bank talk of recovering themselves, but I doubt if they +will." + +"Do you think this will trouble Mary?" + +"I cannot say; at all events it will interfere with her future +prospects. She will have nothing but the 1000_l._ left by her +grandfather. What man worth anything would marry her with that paltry +sum for a marriage portion?" + +"You married me with less, Edward, and Mary is quite as attractive as I +was, and I know one to whom Mary's little dowry of a thousand pounds +would be a fortune." + +Mr. Armstrong did not reply, and his wife, thinking she had said enough, +rose and left him to himself. + +No greater trial could have happened to this man than the loss of money. +Year after year his wealth had increased; loss, at least to any great +amount, had been unknown to him. Arrogance, ambition, self-sufficiency, +and pride had grown with his growing wealth. His ambitious schemes for +his daughter had more of the ostentatious display of wealth than +paternal love. And now--now when he had treated with scorn the offer of +the young schoolmaster--now she had nothing for her dowry beyond a +paltry 1000_l._;--he had no hope that Overton and Boyd would recover +themselves. He could not, without some injury to his business, draw out +another 20,000_l._ for his daughter's marriage portion; and was it +likely, even if he gave his consent, that the young parson would be +anxious to marry his daughter with not more for her dowry than the young +man's sister had taken to her husband? No, it was out of the question. +So admired, so flattered and sought after, as the young curate of +Kilburn undoubtedly was, Mary with her paltry thousand pounds would +stand a poor chance. + +So reasoned the money-getting man of the world, while the deepest +mortification added poignancy to the loss he had sustained. + +"I can never give my consent now," he said to himself; "indeed, it will +never be asked when the loss I have met with is known. So hard as I have +worked all my life to enable me to purchase a position for my only +daughter, and this is the end!" + +And yet this 20,000_l._ was to Edward Armstrong but as a mere bauble +compared to the wealth which he really possessed. A love of money, a +thirst for wealth, grows upon the man of riches, till like the +horse-leech he cries "Give, give," and is never satisfied. + +The days of that anxious week passed away, but still the panic in the +City gained ground. One firm after another sunk under the crash. Only +men of ample means such as Mr. Armstrong could battle with the waves and +weather the storm, but even he had great difficulty in doing so. + +Reports spread respecting his losses, which, however, in the City did +not injure his credit. Westward their influence was felt with greater +results. + +He usually rode Firefly when proceeding to his office in Dover Street, +and on more than one occasion he had encountered those who had either +asked him for the hand of his daughter or courted his acquaintance. Now +they passed him by with scarcely a recognition. And so the time passed +on, till one morning about a fortnight after the reports that Overton +and Boyd had stopped payment. + +The affair had exceeded the time of the proverbial "nine days' wonder," +and it was only in the City or to those deeply interested that the good +news became really known. Overton and Boyd had recovered from the shock, +and were ready to meet all demands. + +Mary's fortune was safe, but the alarm and the changed manners of his +sunshine friends had taught her father a deep lesson. When the notice +arrived he was alone in the private room of his office in Dover Street. +He had been schooling himself to endure the loss of money and friends +patiently. More than once during that terrible fortnight the words he +had heard read by his father sounded in his ears, "Riches make +themselves wings; they fly away;" "The love of money is the root of all +evil." And now the certainty that he had, after all, lost nothing, +caused a revulsion of feeling scarcely endurable. + +He sat for some time resting his head on his hands, and his elbows on +the table, absorbed in thought. + +"Those sunshine friends," he said to himself, "who turned their backs +upon the corn merchant when they thought he was poor, shall never know +that my position is unaltered. And these are the men to either of whom I +would have given my cherished daughter! My losses are known at Kilburn, +no doubt, and the schoolmaster and his son are of course congratulating +themselves on the escape of the latter." And as Edward Armstrong thus +thought there passed over his mind recollections of the holy truths, tho +Christian principles, and the first sermon from 1st Cor. xiii. 13: "The +greatest of these is charity," which he had heard from the lips of the +schoolmaster's son. + +Was he different from these sunshine friends? could he possibly love his +daughter still, when, as was supposed, not only her fortune, but great +part of her father's wealth had disappeared with the commercial crash? + +It was impossible, he could not believe it. True, he had done so +himself, but then it was under most peculiar circumstances. There was +nothing of romance in the commencement of the acquaintance which had +arisen between young Halford and his daughter. Should he try him? should +he endeavour to find out whether it was money or Mary herself that he +sought for? Yes, he would do it, and if he proved that the latter alone +had actuated him to write that letter after Mary's visit to Oxford, then +he should have the 20,000_l._ after all. + +"Poor darling," he said to himself, as he thought of her patient +endurance and filial obedience, "she had nearly lost all I could give +her. It is not too late to make amends, at least if the young parson is +really worthy of such a superior and accomplished girl as my daughter. +Better secure the 20,000_l._ to her at once than risk its loss +by-and-by." + +Edward Armstrong had been roused from a false security in riches by a +prospect of their loss. He felt that he had been like the man in the +parable, who had said, "I will pull down my barns, and build +greater;--soul take thine ease." + +But from this he had been painfully aroused; he would endeavour to +discover whether the young people cared for each other still. The +glamour which the acquisition of wealth had thrown around the man of +business was removed. His ambition now appeared as mockery, his pride a +disgrace, and his conduct to his daughter refined cruelty. Well may the +awakening of the human heart from the influence of the god of this +world, who blinds the eyes of his votaries, be called in the Bible, +"arising from the dead." + +Time passed on, and Mrs. Armstrong received a letter from Mary +expressing a wish to return home the following week. "Something must be +done quickly if done at all," said Mr. Armstrong to himself as Rowland +drove him to the station in Mary's pony carriage on that morning. Not +even to Mrs. Armstrong had he given a hint of his intentions. + +During the day he received from the bank additional assurances that the +money in their possession was safe. Owing to the delay in the settlement +in some matter of business he left his office in the City rather later +than usual, and arrived on the platform of the station at Euston Square +just as the train was about to start. A porter rushed forward, opened a +first-class carriage, and assisted him to enter, even as the guard's +whistle sounded and the train moved. + +Mr. Armstrong, without noticing whether any other passengers were in the +carriage, seated himself next the door, feeling rather disturbed and out +of breath from his hasty movements. After wiping his face with his +pocket-handkerchief, for the April day was rather warm, he raised his +head and faced the only passenger in the carriage beside himself, who +sat directly opposite to him. + +A sudden flush rose to his brow almost as vivid as that which had +covered the face of his fellow-passenger at Mr. Armstrong's entrance. + +A bow of recognition was followed by a start of surprise, as Mr. +Armstrong held out his hand and said, "Allow me to shake hands with you, +Mr. Halford, once more, for the sake of old acquaintance." Henry became +pale with surprise; what could it mean? It was a moral impossibility for +him to resent the pride and neglect of the past three years in the +father of Mary Armstrong, yet he was too completely puzzled to feel at +his ease. + +Mr. Armstrong, however, asked so many questions respecting Arthur +Franklyn and the young people his children, with such real interest and +kindness, that he very soon found himself quite at home with a gentleman +who could, if he liked, make himself so agreeable. This train started +from Euston at the same hour as the one in which poor Mrs. Franklyn had +travelled on that fatal afternoon, and did not stop till it reached +Kilburn; Mr. Armstrong knew therefore that he and his companion would be +alone the whole way. Still there was no time to lose, and yet Mr. +Armstrong scarcely knew how to commence the subject for which there now +seemed such an excellent opportunity. At last he said, "You have missed +my daughter from church, Mr. Halford, I daresay?" + +"I have done so," he replied: "I hope Miss Armstrong is well;" and his +companion detected a want of steadiness in the voice when he spoke, for +in very truth Mary's non-appearance had made him anxious. + +"She was quite well when we heard from her last. She has been away for +change of air, which Dr. West thought she required, at my old home in +Hampshire with Mrs. John Armstrong, whom I think you met last summer." + +"I had great pleasure in making the acquaintance of that lady," said +Henry; "she spoke of persons and places connected with my father's early +days which greatly interested me." + +"Yes, so she told me;" and Mr. Armstrong glancing from the window saw +that they were nearing the station. + +"Mr. Halford," he exclaimed suddenly, "forgive me for being so abrupt, +but you once asked me for the hand of my daughter; are you still of the +same mind on the subject?" + +Astonishment, perplexity, added to a thrill of hope, for a few moments +deprived Henry Halford of the power of speech; at last he said in a tone +of deep feeling-- + +"Mr. Armstrong, nothing could ever change the love I bear for your +daughter." + +"My dear young friend," said the father, who noticed the painful +excitement under which he spoke, "believe me I do not ask from idle +curiosity; if my daughter is willing to listen to your proposals now I +will not say you nay, and you are at liberty to write and ask her. The +address is Meadow Farm, near Basingstoke." + +"I know not how to reply to you, Mr. Armstrong," said Henry, "but will +you allow me to say that in my regard for Miss Armstrong I am not +influenced by hopes of obtaining her fortune, which I hear is +considerable?" + +Mr. Armstrong placed his hand on the arm of the young clergyman, and +said-- + +"Have you heard the rumour of my great losses, Mr. Halford?" + +"I have heard something to that effect," he replied, "and I could almost +wish to find it true, that I might prove my love for your daughter." + +"Well, well, these reports are not _all_ true; just write to Mary, and +then we can talk about the other matter by-and-by. And here we are at +the station; shall I offer you a seat in the pony carriage? it is no +doubt waiting for me." + +But after this exciting interview Henry wanted to be alone; he +accompanied Mr. Armstrong to the station entrance, and then after a warm +hand-clasp the two whom money had hitherto separated, parted as close +friends. + +That evening, when Mr. Armstrong joined his wife in the drawing-room, he +seated himself in his easy-chair, took up the _Times_, and appeared for +a few minutes deep in its columns. + +Presently he looked over the top of the paper and said, "I met young +Halford in the railway carriage this afternoon, Maria, and I told him he +might write to Mary if he liked." + +"Edward! is it possible?" was the astonished reply. + +"Is what possible?" he asked; "I suppose you thought it was impossible +for me to change my opinion, but for once, dear wife, you are wrong; I +have learnt the lesson lately that riches can take to themselves wings +and fly away. In fact, I wanted an excuse to change my mind about that +young parson long ago, but pride kept me back from doing him justice +till now. I suppose there is no likelihood that Mary will refuse him +after all, Maria? I should be sorry to expose the young man to such a +result." + +"I do not think Mary is so likely to change her opinion as her father," +said Mrs. Armstrong, with a smile; "besides, she has right on her side." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +GIPSY DORA. + + +At some little distance from Englefield, in a contrary direction to +Meadow Farm, and closely bordering on Berkshire, can be seen from the +railway a picturesque town situated on a hill, overlooking a river. + +This part of Hampshire, lying to the north-east, is more varied by hill +and dale, wood and glen, than the low-lying ground near the Channel, and +not far distant from the rich and picturesque country which surrounds +Farnham, in Surrey. Odiham Castle stands on a hill in the neighbourhood, +and at a little distance the ruins of an old keep, called King John's +house. Odiham Castle was used as a prison in the time of Edward III.; +and David of Scotland, who was taken prisoner by Queen Philippa at +Neville's Cross, while Edward laid siege to Calais, was for eleven years +imprisoned in this castle. + +The town of Briarsleigh overlooks from its high situation woods and +meadows, and the extensively cultivated estates and parks of more than +one nobleman's seat. It is built on a kind of high table-land, along +which the old coach road runs for miles in both directions with only an +occasional dip. At one end of the town, however, a steep winding lane +leads down to the river. + +The town itself has nothing to boast of beyond the old-fashioned church, +which once formed part of a priory, built in the time of Henry I. Its +square tower surmounted by a small steeple and a vane, can be +distinguished for miles. The town hall, the modern literary institution, +one or two Dissenting chapels, and the High Street, with its principal +shops, differ very little from those of other similar market towns. + +Its principal wealth arises from its agriculture, and the farms in the +vicinity are remarkable for their rich pastures and produce. A stranger +arriving at the entrance to Briarsleigh on a spring evening, with the +sunset bathing the landscape in a golden misty sheen, would pause to +gaze on a scene so fair; but on the evening of which we write, the +bright landscape and the glowing sunset were unnoticed by the +inhabitants of Briarsleigh Rectory. The lowered blinds, the stillness, +and the absence of any living object near the picturesque building, told +too plainly that it was the abode of death. Presently might be seen +ascending the hilly lane towards the spot on which the church stood two +men, evidently respectable farmers, who had stayed later than usual in +the town on this the market day at Briarsleigh. + +As they approached the house, a glance at its quiet aspect and lowered +blinds diverted the thoughts of one from money and the market, and he +exclaimed-- + +"So the old rector is gone at last, Martin." + +"Eh! is he? How do you know?" + +"Why, look, the blinds are down; besides I heard of his death two hours +ago in the town." + +"Ah, well, it's what we must all come to one day, and rector has lived +out his time; why he must have been fourscore at least." + +"Eighty-six, so they say," replied Martin, "and I believe it, too; for I +can remember him all my life nearly, and that's forty year." + +"Has he been rector of Briarsleigh so long as that?" asked the other. + +"Ay, that he have, and a kind good parson he's been too. Lord Rivers +gave him this living a'most the first thing he did when he come to the +estate at the old lord's death, and that was afore I was born." + +"I'm afeard we shan't get such another as Parson Wentworth, whoever it +may be." + +"Well, he wasn't much of a preacher in his best days," was the reply, +"and the curate ain't much better, though he's a good young man, but his +sermons send me to sleep. You know there's lots of us go to the Wesleyan +chapel; you can hear sermons there that wake a man up, and no mistake, +though I like the Church prayers best, I'll own that." + +"I've been to them Wesleyans once or twice, and what their parson said +was very fine, but he made too much noise about it; and I don't like +their ways and their singing nohow." + +"Well, I like Church ways best too, and I assure you, Martin, it's made +me quite miserable lately when I've been at church to see such a lot of +empty pews. Why, if it hadn't been for my lord's family, and the +servants and labourers from Englefield, there wouldn't have been +twenty-five people in the church." + +"Yes, I know, and that's why I sticks to it. I'm only one, but if I go, +my wife and the children goes too, and so we make up half a dozen +amongst us. Poor old parson, the poor'll miss him, sure enough." + +"Well, Martin," replied his companion, whose education as well as the +number of his farm acres surpassed greatly those of his neighbour, "we +must hope that if the new parson gets the people back to the church, he +will be kind to his poor parishioners also." + +And then as farmer Martin turned into his own gate, his companion left +him with a friendly farewell, and stepped on quickly towards his own +home, which, though the neighbouring farm, was at least a quarter of a +mile farther by the road. + +From the rectory of Briarsleigh with its shrouded windows, and the +homely conversation of two of the parishioners, we must lead the reader +to a far different scene. + +On the evening of the second day after the death of the rector of +Briarsleigh, a family party were seated at dinner in the dining-room at +Englefield, to which we have introduced the reader in a former chapter. + +Of the five persons then seated at breakfast, two only are present now, +Lord Rivers and his youngest daughter, Lady Dora, now Lady Dora Lennard. +Lady Mary Woodville, who has married a Scotch nobleman, inherits her +mother's delicate constitution, and seldom visits Englefield. And that +mother, Lady Rivers, whose gentle loving character had endeared her not +only to her husband and children, but also to the lowliest worker on the +estate, has passed away from earth. Even now, after ten years, the +memory of the gentle lady lives in the hearts of those who could claim +no nearer tie to her than that of friend or servant. + +Lord Woodville, the heir, is in London with his brother-in-law, Sir +William Lennard, and thither his father and sister purpose following him +on the morrow. A few intimate friends and relatives by marriage are +present on this occasion, making a pleasant gathering of eight. + +Lady Dora is seated at the head of the table, opposite to the earl. She +has the same bright dark eyes and brunette complexion which made her +brother Robert once call her a gipsy. The face and form have a matronly +dignity and appearance very different from the lively girl of seventeen +who was so interested in the marriage of Fanny Franklyn; but the change +is a decided improvement, and at thirty-three Lady Dora Lennard is a +very handsome woman. + +And the earl has changed since he paid a congratulatory visit to his old +tutor on the marriage of his daughter; his hair is white as snow, but +his eyes have lost none of their dark lustre, and the finely cut +features still preserve their delicate outline, and even at the age of +sixty his form has lost none of its stately bearing. + +The dinner has been removed, and the dessert in its rich and delicate +china of green and gold has been placed on the table. The wine-glasses, +finger-glasses, and decanters; the silver knives and forks, the polished +damask of the tablecloth, and the prisms of the chandelier drops above +it, glitter and sparkle in the light of many wax tapers. In that sombre +yet noble room, with its carved oak panellings, its many and richly +draped windows, chairs of mahogany and ebony, and a thick handsome +carpet, beyond the bordering of which appears the oaken floor; the +dinner-table, the dresses of the ladies, and the men-servants in their +gay livery, form a dazzling spot of brightness by contrast. + +It would seem as if nothing could enhance that brightness, yet a few +moments proved the contrary. The door opened, and three children entered +the room--a girl of twelve, a boy of ten, and a little one of six, who +escaping from the hand of her nurse, and disregarding her elder sister's +remonstrance, bounded across the room to the side of grandpapa. + +"Well, Gipsy," said the earl, as he lifted the little girl on his knee, +"who sent for you?" + +"Mamma did," she replied; and then added quickly, "Grandpapa, I'm not a +gipsy; I saw real gipsies to-day, and they are ugly; they wear red +cloaks and old frocks, and the little girl gipsies have no shoes or +stockings. I don't be dressed like that." + +A general laugh followed this speech; most certainly the little fairy in +white lace, blue morocco shoes, and silk socks was very unlike the +children she described, at least in dress. But well might she claim the +pet title of "Gipsy Dora." The dark flashing eye, softened by its long +eyelashes; the clear brunette complexion, through which the damask rose +colour showed itself on the glowing cheek, and the long dark brown curls +that fell round her dimpled shoulders, made her far more deserving of +the name than her mother had ever been. + +The sisters were dressed alike, but May, the elder, differed greatly +from Dora in appearance; tall and slight, with blue eyes and fair hair, +her gentle manner and delicate face showed a striking resemblance to the +late Lady Rivers. The boy, who stood by his mother, his blue velvet +tunic contrasting with her light silk dress, appeared a manly, spirited +little fellow, yet neither so gipsy-like as one sister nor so fair as +the other. So far as the change of conversation is concerned, we need +only have introduced Gipsy Dora, excepting to add brightness to the +picture in the earl's noble dining-room, which children on such +occasions so often do. + +"Papa," said Lady Dora, presently, "talking about gipsies reminds me of +that morning so many years ago, when I read the notice of Miss Halford's +marriage in the paper at Englefield Grange, and you gave me an imaginary +cause for the origin of the word Englefield." + +Lord Rivers smiled, but he did not reply. + +"What was it, Rivers?" exclaimed an old squire, who with his wife and +daughter were guests at the table. "I have often wondered myself at the +singular title." + +"Most likely from Engle, or angle, a corner," said the earl, demurely, +"the corner of a field being no doubt the earliest possession of my +ancestors." + +"Papa, that is worse than your other definition," cried his daughter; +and then with her usual vivacity she related the conversation in which +Lord Rivers had suggested that his family were descended from the +gipsies. + +"At all events, Mary and Willie are not gipsies," said the earl, +quietly. + +He was thinking of the other subject referred to by his daughter--the +marriage of Fanny Halford; and while those round the table were +discussing the gipsy question with Lady Dora, his memory recalled the +sad events that had occurred since that time in his own family, as well +as in that of his old tutor. Many years had passed after the visit of +congratulation which he had paid to the residents at Englefield Grange +on the occasion of Fanny's marriage, before the earl visited Dr. Halford +a second time. The health of Lady Rivers had rendered it necessary for +her to reside in the south of France for years before her death, and on +the return of Lord Rivers to England after that sad event he could not +for a long period visit the friends of his youth who so well remembered +the fair, gentle lady who became the earl's bride. He answered Dr. +Halford's sympathising letter, but it was not till he read in the +_Times_ the notice of Fanny Franklyn's death that he visited his old +tutor again, and witnessed with sincere regret the effects of sorrow in +the change and wreck of the friend of his boyhood, Clara Marston. + +Henry Halford was on this occasion absent at Oxford, and the earl +renewed his promise that the first living in his gift that fell vacant +should be his. Of Mrs. Halford's death he had been informed in a letter +from the bereaved husband; since then, in the very midst of the +excitement occasioned by the tragic end of the second Mrs. Franklyn, an +account of which appeared in the papers, he had also read Henry +Halford's name in the list of ordinations by the Bishop of London. +Rapidly all these memories passed through his mind, and he started +almost perceptibly when Squire Hartley exclaimed-- + +"You've heard of Parson Wentworth's death, I suppose, Rivers?" + +Opposite to the squire sat another guest, a bluff old colonel, also a +neighbour of the earl's, who exclaimed-- + +"Heard of a living in his gift having become vacant, squire! What an +unnecessary question! Why, man, the parson died on Sunday, and this is +Wednesday! I for one shouldn't like to have to read all the letters on +the subject, which Rivers has no doubt by this time received." + +The earl glanced at his daughter. Lady Dora rose, and, accompanied by +the ladies and her children, left the three gentlemen to themselves. + +Then the squire made another attempt to introduce the subject so +abruptly interrupted, by saying-- + +"I suppose the living of Briarsleigh is not already given away?" + +"No indeed," was the reply, "although you are correct in your surmises, +colonel, respecting the letters I have received; but I never decide +hastily on such matters. Come, squire, help yourself, and pass the +decanter," added the earl, in a tone far less serious; "and tell me how +you have arranged about Henley's farm." + +This reference stirred up the squire to descant on a personal matter +with great gusto, and changed the subject. + +The gentlemen did not delay to join the ladies in the drawing-room; +indeed, very little time elapsed before the visitors had taken their +departure. A drive of four or five miles is not very pleasant after ten +o'clock on a cold spring night even in a close carriage. And yet how +often is a visit of this kind followed by a drive home of even more than +ten miles during a night in winter! + +Lady Dora had taken leave of her guests, and finding herself alone in +the drawing-room with her father, she approached him as he stood with +his back to the fire in true English fashion, and said-- + +"Papa, I believe I understand why you dismissed me so suddenly from the +table this evening." + +The earl smiled as he replied-- + +"Well, my daughter, and what is it you understand?" + +"Your intentions, papa. You mean to give the living of Briarsleigh to +the son of your old tutor." + +"I have some thoughts of doing so, Dora--at least of making him the +offer, although I have had more than one letter on the subject." + +"Has Dr. Halford written to you?" + +"No, my dear, he is not a man likely to do so; yet I know the doctor's +son is ordained. I saw his name in the list of ordinations. The old +rector of Kilburn has given him a title." + +"Is this son the clever little boy you became acquainted with when you +visited Dr. Halford after his daughter's marriage?" + +"Yes, his youngest and only surviving son, and I have no doubt clever +and talented as a man." + +"Is the living of Briarsleigh a valuable one, papa?" + +Again the earl smiled. + +"Why, Dora, you are taking as much interest in this young clergyman as +you did in the marriage of his sister so many years ago." + +Lady Dora did not blush as she had done when, at seventeen, her father +had remarked her girlish interest in Fanny Halford's marriage, but she +replied-- + +"Papa, this is a very different matter. I have heard enough of late +years to make me feel the greatest sympathy for curates. It seems quite +shocking to think of a gentleman with refined manners and a university +education being obliged to support himself and perhaps a wife and +children on a less income than a mechanic, who has no appearance to keep +up." + +"Too true, Dora; and if you were to read the letters I have received +from friends on behalf of curates situated as you have described, you +would understand the difficulties in which owners of Church livings are +placed. These gentlemen are equally talented, and as truly well born and +bred as Dr. Halford's son, but I cannot give the living to all of them, +and my promise to my old tutor is binding. I must not go from my word. I +hope to pay the family a visit next week, and make the young man an +offer of the living personally. I do not suppose he will belie the +promise of his boyhood. And perhaps I may contrive to hear him preach at +Kilburn on Sunday." + +"I am very glad to hear your decision, papa," replied Lady Dora; "and at +all events one curate will be saved from poverty and starvation." + +"Well," replied the earl, laughing, "that is scarcely true in Henry +Halford's case: he could still follow the profession of a schoolmaster, +and secure a good income; but I do not think a clergyman can +conscientiously perform both duties well or with comfort to himself." + +"And what income will he have as rector of Briarsleigh?" she asked +again. + +"Seven hundred a year, Dora. And now, my dear, as we have to travel +to-morrow, perhaps we had better say 'Good night.'" + +And so, while Mr. Armstrong was mourning the loss of his daughter's +marriage portion, the young "parson" he despised was about to obtain an +income of his own. But of this good fortune neither he nor his young +companion knew anything when they met in the train on its way to +Kilburn. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +AT MEADOW FARM. + + +Clear and bright rose the sun on the morning of the earl's dinner-party, +and Mary Armstrong, who stood at the window looking out over field and +meadow, orchard and garden, belonging to Meadow Farm, was conscious of a +sense of happiness to which for months she had been a stranger. There +are few in this cold, dark world of ours who have not experienced at +times such a feeling, although unable to account for it, and yet at no +period is it more likely to occur than in the season of spring. + +As Mary Armstrong now gazed upon the scene before her, the dewdrops on +field and meadow sparkling like diamonds in the sunshine, the delicate +green foliage trembling in the morning breeze, orchard and garden +fragrant and lovely with flowers, buds, and blossoms, the fleecy clouds +streaking the pale blue of an April sky, and amid and around all, the +song of joyous birds, the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, and +other familiar sounds that betoken a farmyard; in the young girl's heart +arose a calm feeling of happiness and trust, for she could say with the +poet-- + + "My Father made them all." + +Presently she saw cousin Sarah making her way as usual to the farmyard, +and although this locality had ceased to be a novelty, she hastily +descended the stairs to join her. + +"Why, Mary dearest, you are looking quite blooming this morning. I shall +be afraid to spare you next week for fear of a relapse." + +"Oh no, cousin Sarah, you need not fear; besides, I mean to come again +very soon if you will have me." + +"That I will, dearest, whenever you like; but come, there is the bell +for prayers, and you must want your breakfast." + +The morning of this day--to be so long remembered--passed away in +watching, and sometimes helping cousin Sarah or the dairymaids in making +butter or bread, pies or cakes, or in the garden till dinner. + +"You promised me one more walk to Englefield," said Mary, as they rose +from the early dinner; "we could go this afternoon, the weather is so +delightful, almost like summer--unless you are busy." + +"No, dear Mary, not too busy for a walk," she replied; "we can start at +three o'clock if you like, and that will give us plenty of time to +return before tea." + +The sun was still high in the heavens when cousin Sarah and her young +companion left the farm, and took the pathway across the fields, with +the intention of returning home by the road. + +Under the shadow of lofty trees in delicate spring verdure, which now +and then separated other fields from the pastures of Meadow Farm, +through narrow lanes bordered with hedges of budding May blossom to the +boundary of Englefield Park, which joined more than one of the farm +meadows, Mary and her cousin walked, talking pleasantly of past days. +Not a word, however, nor a reference to cousin Sarah's interference with +Mr. Armstrong on Mr. Henry Halford's behalf passed that lady's lips. + +Mary, also, was equally reticent; the subject was connected with too +much pain to be spoken of lightly. In fact, she was endeavouring, with +the calm determination of a strong will, to overcome the faintest signs +of hope, and to banish for ever the memory which that hope kept alive in +her heart. + +Just before crossing the stile which led to the old coach road, they +came upon a break between the trees, through which could be seen the +rising ground of the park, and on the hill at a distance the imposing +facade of Englefield House. Mary Armstrong had seen it on many former +occasions, but she did not the less feel inclined to stand still and +gaze on its noble aspect and picturesque surroundings. + +"It is a lovely spot, cousin Sarah," she said, after a few moments' +silence. "And is Lord Rivers still living? I remember meeting him on +horseback once when I was walking with dear grandfather. He stopped to +speak with him, and they talked so pleasantly for several minutes; and +when he heard who I was he asked so kindly after mamma and papa! Oh, +look, cousin Sarah! there are some ladies and children on the terrace." + +This terrace to which Mary directed her cousin's attention formed one of +the modern additions to the right wing of the house. It was approached +from the side windows of the drawing-room, and sheltered by a verandah, +from the roof and supports of which hung a magnificent westeria, with +its drooping flowers like bunches of grapes. + +It was too far distant to distinguish the faces of the children, but as +the little ones flitted about on the terrace it could be seen that they +were following the movements of a white shaggy dog, whose sharp, shrill +bark of pleasure sounded faintly across the park. + +"They are the children of Lady Dora Lennard," said cousin Sarah, as they +turned to continue their walk; "I heard that she was staying with the +earl for a few days till they go to London for the season." + +"Then Lord Rivers, whom I met two years ago, is still living, and these +are his grandchildren, I suppose?" + +"Yes, the children of his youngest daughter, who married Sir William +Lennard, and retains her own title of Lady Dora. Lord Rivers is still a +fine old man at the age of sixty." + +"Is he so old as that, cousin Sarah? Why, he did not appear older than +papa when I met him two years ago." + +"And yet, Mary, he has aged considerably since the death of Lady Rivers +about ten years ago. I have heard uncle say that in his young days he +was one of the finest men in the county." + +"He has a son to inherit the title and estates, I suppose?" said Mary. + +"Yes, Lord Woodville; and another daughter, who has been married several +years to a Scotch nobleman. She inherits her mother's delicate health, +and seldom visits Englefield." + +Thus talking the ladies walked on till they reached the stile, over +which Mary stepped with the lightness and activity of youth, and then +turned to assist her cousin; neither of them, however, was prepared for +the surprise that awaited them. + +To explain this surprise we must carry our readers to the station at +Basingstoke. The coach road, which has been continued on to that station +for the convenience of passengers, passes round a hill rising just above +the line. On this hill stands the ruins of an old abbey, forming a +picturesque and attractive object to travellers by rail. + +One of these, a gentleman who had just left the station, paused for some +moments to examine the singular appearance of the old ruins, and while +thus engaged a voice at his elbow startled him. + +"Curious old place, sir." + +"Yes," was the reply; "what does it belong to?" + +"It be the remains of an old abbey, sir, as was built in the time of +Henry VIII. It were partly destroyed by Cromwell's armies," continued +the old man, who had a cottage near, and often picked up a gratuity for +his information from passengers. "There's nought but the ruins of the +chapel left, and they seem strong enough to stand again wind and weather +for hundreds of years to come. Why, sir, I remembers that there arch +with all the moss and ivy a-covering it when I was a boy, and I'm nearly +fourscore now." + +"What was the name of the old abbey?" asked the gentleman. + +"I don't know, sir; but them ruins are part of the chapel called the +Chapel of the Holy Ghost. It's a wonderful name." + +For nearly ten minutes the gentleman listened with great interest to the +old countryman's account, then suddenly remembering the object of his +visit in this part of the world, he looked at his watch, and exclaimed-- + +"I fear I must be satisfied with what I have heard for the present, for +I have still some distance to walk. Pray excuse my leaving you so +suddenly," he added, as he placed a silver coin in the old man's hand, +"and thank you very much for your information." + +The gentleman raised his hat to the homely countryman with such true +politeness, that the old man stood with uncovered head for some moments +while the wind scattered his white locks, watching the stranger's +departure. + +"He be a true genelman, he be; us doan't get much o' they foine manners +hereabouts, 'cepting wi' the reel gentry." + +At a turn of the ascent leading from the station to the coach road +appeared a board fastened to a tree, and upon it the representation of a +hand with the finger pointing, and the words "To Meadow Farm." This +information was at the time of which we write very little needed to tell +the residents in the locality the whereabouts of the old homestead, yet +it still remained in its half-decayed state, fastened to the trunk of a +tree. + +Decayed as it might be, it was very useful to the railway traveller, +who, following its friendly finger, turned into the high road a few +minutes after Mary and her cousin Sarah had entered it from the fields +by climbing the stile. + +At a bend in the road the gentleman came suddenly in sight of the two +ladies as they advanced towards him--not near enough, however, for him +to discover whether they were strangers or acquaintances. + +Perhaps the change from winter to spring attire in Mary Armstrong's +dress, and her unexpected appearance at such a distance from Meadow +Farm, caused an impression that the younger lady was a stranger, and of +the elder he had no recollection. + +Yet a something familiar in their appearance made him look at them +earnestly, and as they drew nearer neither the plain cotton gown nor the +coarse straw hat could disguise the graceful movements and dignified +carriage of Mary Armstrong. It seemed as if the recognition was +simultaneous, for at the moment the stranger made the discovery, Mary +exclaimed, with a deep flush, "Cousin Sarah, there is a young clergyman +coming towards us exactly like Mr. Henry Halford!" And the nas the flush +faded to paleness, she added, in a suppressed voice, "Cousin Sarah, it +_is_ Mr. Halford." + +Even as she spoke Henry advanced hastily to meet them--not, however, +with his usual self-possession. + +"Mrs. John Armstrong," he exclaimed, as he held out his hand to that +lady, and bowed nervously to Mary, "I am glad to have met you. I am on +my way to pay a visit to Meadow Farm." + +"I am very happy to hear such good news, Mr. Halford; we will turn and +walk back with you." + +"Oh, pray do not let me deprive you of your walk," he replied, glancing +at Mary, who was too greatly surprised and mystified to speak. + +"We have had our walk," said cousin Sarah, "and were thinking of +returning home by another road, which is longer than the way we came. It +will be pleasanter for you than the dusty road, Mr. Halford, to return +through the fields, and Mary is looking tired already." + +"Miss Armstrong appears to me much improved in health," he said, placing +himself by cousin Sarah as they turned with him to retrace their steps, +and looking inquiringly at Mary, as if asking her to confirm the truth +of his remark. + +With an effort at self-control to steady her voice, she said with a +smile, "Appearances are not fallacious in my case, Mr. Halford; my +health is much better than when I left home." + +Yet the efforts of the young people to regain their accustomed ease +signally failed. Mary was confused and agitated by Henry Halford's +presence in that locality, and he from his eager anxiety to account for +it. + +He turned to cousin Sarah, and plunged at once into the object of his +visit. + +"When I had the pleasure of meeting you, Mrs. Armstrong, last summer," +he said, "you kindly expressed a hope that I would visit you at Meadow +Farm. I travelled yesterday in the train with Mr. Armstrong, and as he +entrusted me with a message for his daughter, I thought that instead of +writing I would take advantage of your kind invitation, and bring the +message myself." + +"We are most happy to see you, Mr. Halford," replied cousin Sarah, "and +I hope you will be able to spend a few days or a week with us now you +have found your way here." + +"I fear not," he replied, "but if the result of my message is +favourable, I shall gladly remain with you till to-morrow." + +"Are they all well at home, Mr. Halford?" said Mary, in a constrained +voice, and addressing him to conceal the emotion which his mysterious +words excited. + +"I believe so, Miss Armstrong; from your papa's replies to my inquiries +for his family, my impression is that Mrs. Armstrong and your brothers +are quite well." + +Just at this moment the gable roofs of Meadow Farm appeared in sight in +the distance, and cousin Sarah endeavoured to break through the +restraint under which the young people were evidently trying to disguise +their feelings, by calling their attention to surrounding objects. + +The attempt was successful, Mary's unnatural reserve vanished when in +sight of the old farm. She could point out the varied features of the +landscape, direct Henry Halford's attention to the fields and meadows +surrounding the farm, now in their delicate spring verdure, and excite +his interest by explaining that Meadow Farm obtained its name from these +rich cornfields and pasture-lands through which they passed. + +Before they reached the pleasant homestead Mary had to a certain degree +recovered her self-possession; while Henry, when shown to his room to +refresh himself after his journey, felt his hopes of a favourable +reception of his message raised to almost a certainty. Mary at once +escaped to her room. Much as she loved her cousin Sarah, she could not +open her heart to her as she did to her mother, and she longed to be +alone. + +What could this visit mean? What message could her father possibly have +to send to her by such a messenger? + +He and Mr. Halford must have been on very friendly terms in the railway +carriage to talk about _her_, or even to talk on any subject. Could it +be possible that her father had changed his mind respecting Mr. Halford? +And at the thought, the blush that covered the young girl's face would +have relieved that gentleman from any further anxiety, had he seen it, +and known the emotions from which it arose. + +Cousin Sarah, although at first surprised at the appearance of the young +clergyman on his way to the farm, had no such perplexing doubts. She +recalled her conversation with Mr. Armstrong, and therefore readily +accounted for this visit. "Mr. Halford can only have been sent for one +purpose," she said to herself, "and I must contrive an opportunity for +him to deliver his message to Mary before we meet at the tea-table; +until that is done the young people will not be at ease in each other's +society." Full of this determination, she hastily removed her walking +dress and descended the stairs; yet with all her quickness Henry Halford +had found his way down before her, and now stood looking out over garden +and orchard to the distant prospect from the garden entrance. + +He turned quickly at the sound of footsteps, and as Mrs. John Armstrong +advanced he said-- + +"This is truly a country landscape, Mrs. Armstrong, and your gardens and +orchards promise great things from their present appearance." + +"Are you too tired to walk through the garden?" she asked. "Our spring +flowers are in great profusion this year." + +"No, indeed," he replied, "it will be a pleasure to do so." + +But as they passed down the steps cousin Sarah saw him cast a hasty +glance behind him, as if hoping for and expecting another companion. + +She opened the gate for him to pass through, and then said-- + +"Will you excuse me one moment, Mr. Halford? I can soon overtake you if +you walk on slowly." The next moment he was alone. Hastily returning to +the house, she ascended the stairs to Mary's bedroom. Her knock brought +Mary to the door. + +"My dear," she said, "Mr. Halford is in the garden alone, pray do not +allow him to feel himself neglected; will you join him while I tell +cousin John and the boys that he is here, and get the tea ready." + +"Certainly I will, cousin Sarah," she replied, with a slight blush as +she followed her cousin downstairs, feeling ill-concealed agitation at +the prospect of being informed of her father's message. On entering the +garden she saw the tall, manly figure, slowly pacing the centre path in +front of her, as if in deep thought; yet the usually self-possessed Mary +Armstrong had not the courage to hasten her steps. + +Presently, however, her dress was caught by a currant bush, and the +rustling sound caused the gentleman to turn, expecting to see cousin +Sarah. A few steps brought him to her side, and then Mary's natural ease +came to her aid. + +"My cousin is detained by household duties, Mr. Halford; she has sent me +to supply her place, and to show you the wonders of Meadow Farm." + +He greeted her with one of those smiles which so greatly improved his +features as he replied-- + +"I am glad of any circumstances which have obliged Mrs. Armstrong to +send me such a substitute." + +For a few moments they moved on side by side in silence, each too +agitated to speak. At length Henry Halford determined to plunge at once +into the matter. Why should he hesitate? Was there a possibility that +after all he might be mistaken? The thought gave him courage. If such a +possibility existed, it must be discovered quickly, for to remain at +Meadow Farm under the ban of a refusal was out of the question. + +"Miss Armstrong," he said, "do you remember the subjects we discussed +when we met three years ago at Mr. Drummond's dinner-party?" + +He! Henry Halford remembered that day. How the heart of the patient, +enduring, and obedient daughter bounded with joy at the thought! but she +did not reply, for her companion gave her no opportunity, as he +continued-- + +"We have a very different and far more pleasant subject to discuss now, +and we need not refer to the past. I am well aware that your father with +his great wealth could reasonably expect a splendid settlement for his +only daughter, and therefore I was not surprised when he refused the +offer of a man in my position, and without even----" + +"Oh, pray do not go on, Mr. Halford," said Mary, interrupting him. "I +cannot endure to think that----" She paused suddenly, and added, +"Forgive me, I must not presume to pass judgment on the conduct of my +own father." + +"I entreat you to excuse me for referring to it," he said; "not for +worlds would I utter a word to pain you; and, indeed, Mr. Armstrong has +made ample amends for any pain his refusal may have cost me; he +yesterday gave me not only permission unasked to write to his daughter, +but also promised to agree to whatever her decision might be. I could +not wait for an answer to a letter, so I have come myself to plead my +own cause." + +There was a pause, and the two walked on in silence for some moments. +Although in a measure prepared for the object of Mr. Halford's visit, +Mary Armstrong was taken by surprise at hearing of this wonderful change +in her father. Henry Halford, in referring to his letter, and the +refusal which followed, had touched upon a tender string. Shame, regret, +and a loss of confidence in her father, had resulted from her discovery +of the circumstances, and to hear it spoken of by Henry Halford caused +her double pain. She was about to say, when she so abruptly paused, "I +cannot bear to think that he has acted so cruelly to you," but the +reflection that by so saying she should not only too openly show her +interest in himself, but blame her father, made her conclude her reply +as we have described. + +The contrast presented to her by Henry Halford's description of her +father's behaviour to him now, also added to the confusion of her ideas, +and she literally had not power to speak. + +"You are silent, Miss Armstrong," he said at last. "Do you remember what +I once said to you in Christchurch Meadows at Oxford? Nearly three years +have passed since then, and I am quite as ready now to devote my life to +your future happiness as then. Only answer me one question: shall I go +back to Kilburn at once, and tell Mr. Armstrong that I have asked his +daughter to be my wife, and that her decision is 'No'?" + +"I am not prepared to decide yet, Mr. Halford," said Mary, with an +effort controlling herself, "for after all my father's objections, this +sudden change has taken me by surprise." Yet as she spoke, with the +consciousness of those earnest eyes looking into her face, her voice +faltered, and the changing colour and tightened breath too plainly +evinced deep emotion. It gave the young man courage as he gazed, he +raised her hand and placed it on his arm, saying with a smile and a +gentle pressure of the captive hand-- + +"And now Mr. Armstrong's objections are all removed, do any remain on +the part of his daughter?" + +Another pause, and then the straightforward candid character of the +young girl asserted itself. She glanced modestly in the face of her +companion, and said with a smile-- + +"I did not suppose you would think such a question necessary, Mr. +Halford." + +A summons to tea interrupted the conversation, and as they turned to +retrace their steps, he could only say as he pressed the hand that +rested on his arm--"My darling, you have made me so happy." + +Cousin Sarah met them at the garden gate, and said-- + +"We have made no stranger of you, Mr. Halford. Mary is always so happy +in the portioned-off corner of our farm kitchen, that I think you also +will prefer it to the best parlour." + +"Indeed I shall," was the reply. + +"Perhaps you will be as well pleased with this apartment as with the +beauties of the gardens and orchards," she added, with a smile. + +"I fear I have monopolised Miss Armstrong's attention too much on +another subject," he replied, smiling also, "but as I am about to accept +your kind invitation to remain till to-morrow, I shall hope to become +better acquainted with this pleasant spot before I leave." + +When Mary seated herself at the tea-table, cousin Sarah required no +words to tell her what her father's message had been. It was not so much +the brilliant colour in the young girl's cheeks, or the brightness of +her eyes which attracted notice, as the expression of calm happiness +which had replaced a sad, and at times a constrained look in her face, +showing to those interested in her how firm a control she had exerted +over herself. + +All this had disappeared, and yet the memory of the past increased +Mary's happiness. She had submitted to her father's wishes, and subdued +her own will to his. Neither by word or thought had she disobeyed him, +except in refusing to marry those whom she could neither respect nor +love. And now unasked he had given his consent from, as she fully +believed, his own unbiassed opinion of Henry Halford's real character +and real worth. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +THE NEW RECTOR OF BRIARSLEIGH. + + +The summer of the year which had brought such happiness to Mary +Armstrong was fading into autumn. At the door of the parish church at +Kilburn appeared a goodly array of carriages, the coachmen wearing white +favours indicating a wedding, and attracting a crowd of lookers-on. + +A stranger passed, and observing the police endeavouring to force a +passage though the crowd for the bride and bridegroom, whose carriage +stood at the gates, also remained as a spectator, and inquired of those +around him the name of the bridegroom. + +"It's our curate, sir," said a respectable woman who stood near; +"leastways he was our curate, but he's got a church of his own now down +in Hampshire; it's been given him by a great lord. And the lady, sir, +she's the daughter of a rich gentleman as lives here at Kilburn, and +he's given her I can't tell how many thousand pounds for her fortune, +and here they come, sir," she added, as the bells rang out a merry peal, +and the congregation, hastening from the church, increased the crowd +outside. + +In a few minutes the bride appeared leaning on her husband's arm, the +folds of her white satin dress swaying gracefully as she moved, and the +bright hair glinting beneath the lace veil and orange blossoms, while +the brilliant colour on her cheeks made more than one exclaim, "Doesn't +she look beautiful!" + +Henry Halford's tall, manly figure, dignified carriage, dark hair, and +full whiskers formed a pleasing contrast to his fair bride, heightened +not a little by his pale face. In fact the young clergyman could not yet +realise his happiness and good fortune, but felt as if in a dream from +which he must shortly awaken to the realities of life. + +And yet the scene at the church was too real and too attractive in its +surroundings to be mistaken for a vision by commonplace individuals who +are not afflicted with vivid imaginations. Edward Armstrong could not +conceal a feeling of exultation as he contemplated the brilliant company +who had assembled to do honour to his daughter on her marriage. + +As carriage after carriage drives up to receive them we will point out +those whose names appear in our story. + +Colonel Herbert and his son, their uniform contrasting with the +bridesmaids' dresses of white and blue, while assisting them into the +carriages form one great point of attraction to the crowd. Among the +bridesmaids we can distinguish the womanly figure and handsome features +of Clara Franklyn, to whom Charles Herbert is very attentive. She is +accompanied by her sister Mabel, whose gentle and delicate features bear +the same childlike expression, although she has reached her fifteenth +year. Kate Marston and Arthur Franklyn are assisting the venerable Dr. +Halford into another carriage. His health has, to a certain extent, +improved since the happy results described in the last chapters have +completed the happiness of his son, and placed him in a position even +beyond his father's brightest hopes. He is now on his way to Lime Grove, +to be present at the wedding breakfast, and with dear grandpapa and Kate +Marston in the carriage are James and little Albert Franklyn, the +latter, in his blue velvet dress and golden curls falling over the +lace-collar, has attracted general admiration. James, a steady, quiet +youth of thirteen, is looking forward to the time when he shall leave +school, and become a clerk in his father's office. Quite as worthy of +notice as any present are the two brothers of the bride, Edward and +Arthur Armstrong--the former a manly youth of nineteen, whose dark eyes +and hair and strongly marked features made his resemblance to his father +very striking. In the latter, whose fair delicate face and tall slight +figure prove that he is growing beyond his strength, can be too surely +seen that a powerful intellect is chafing the slight frame which +encloses it. The boy's studious habits had been encouraged by his father +till he one day expressed a wish to enter the Church. Mr. Armstrong, at +that time irritated with the discovery of his only daughter's +predilection for a "parson," harshly forbade the boy to speak to him +again on the subject. + +That objection had been during the last few months removed, but with the +father's consent came the doctor's cautious prohibition-- + +"Mr. Armstrong, your son's mind must lie fallow for a few years, till he +has ceased growing and regained his strength. He is scarcely seventeen +yet, time enough when he reaches twenty-one to send him to the +university." And with a promise from his father that his wishes should +then be gratified, Arthur was learning to wait patiently. + +These two were making themselves popular among the ladies by their +active and polite attentions, yet not more so than the gentleman who now +lifts his little Albert into the carriage and kisses him fondly. + +Arthur Franklyn, while escorting the various lady visitors through the +crowd, has lost none of the pleasing, attractive manner which made him +so courted and flattered in Melbourne. And yet those who knew him in his +gay and thoughtless days, can detect a calm steadiness of purpose in the +still handsome face indicating a change, not, however, to his +disadvantage. Arthur Franklyn had risen from his bed of sickness humbled +and subdued. By the advice of his first wife's friends he devoted a +portion of the 2000_l._, which so unexpectedly became his legally after +his wife's death, to the liquidation of his debts in Melbourne. + +Released from debt, and, above all, from the tortures of conscience and +the consequences of his sin, he quickly recovered his health and +spirits. + +The remainder of the 2000_l._ he invested in a partnership with a rising +firm in the city, and so steadily and cleverly have his business habits +and tact been carried out, that the prospects of the firm are brighter +than ever. + +With relief from debt, that foe to peace of mind, a quiet conscience, +and hopes of prosperity in business, his constitution, though greatly +shaken, has recovered its elasticity, and the glow of health adds no +little to the changed appearance of Arthur Franklyn. + +He and his children still reside at Kilburn, indeed, now that they are +about to lose Henry, neither Kate Marston nor her uncle can endure the +thought of parting with them, and the children cling to her as to a +second mother. Kate is still supreme manager of the domestic +arrangements, in which she is willingly assisted by Clara, when not +occupied with her sisters at their usual studies. A graduate of the +university has been engaged to supply the place of Henry Halford, and +the old Grange will subside into its usual routine when the bustle +caused by this wedding shall be over. + +Three carriages are still waiting for their occupants--Mr. Armstrong's +and two others. + +One of them bears on its panels the coronet of an earl, and on another +may be seen the mitre of a bishop. + +Mr. Armstrong's carriage is the first to draw up, and he himself appears +in a vainly suppressed state of elation and excitement. His morning +costume is faultless, and although a large sprinkling of white is +observable in his dark hair, yet he bears his fifty-four years well. He +had failed in his attempts to form an alliance with the aristocracy +through his increasing wealth by the marriage of his daughter. Yet had +he carried his point, such a marriage could scarcely have been attended +with greater _eclat_ than on the present occasion. This Mr. Armstrong +now understood and acknowledged to himself without reservation. The +bishop who had just married his daughter to Henry Halford, had been +vice-principal of the young man's college at Oxford; the nobleman who +had presented the living to his son-in-law--were both to be his guests +at the wedding breakfast. + +Lord Rivers had known the name of Armstrong from his boyhood. And the +purse-proud merchant, who had been almost ashamed to acknowledge cousin +Sarah before his clerks in Dover Street, stood back in surprise while +the earl assisted that lady into his own carriage, where he had already +placed Mrs. Armstrong. He then entered himself, and the carriage drove +off on its way to Lime Grove. + +Mr. Armstrong's own carriage was quickly filled with a party of young +people; two juvenile bridesmaids, with their aunt Edith Longford, soon +to be Mrs. Maurice, and Arthur and Freddy Armstrong, now a merry +laughter-loving boy of eleven. There remained now only three gentlemen +to accompany the bishop in his drive to Lime Grove, the rector of +Kilburn, Horace Wilton, Henry's best man, and Mr. Armstrong. Perhaps the +latter's foolish prejudices about clergymen were never more completely +shaken than when he found himself seated in the bishop's carriage with +that high church dignitary and the two gentlemen we have named. In fact, +he wondered at himself that he could feel proud of the position. And now +what can be said of the wedding breakfast, laid out in Mr. Armstrong's +splendidly furnished dining-room? For this occasion Mrs. Herbert had +obtained _carte blanche_ from her sister to make any alterations she +pleased, and the introduction of flowers and other ornaments, according +to that lady's taste, had greatly improved the elegant appearance of the +table and satisfied the hired waiters, who succumbed to that lady's +superior knowledge at once and without a demur. + +And what shall we say of the numerous yet select party who assembled +around that elegant table? It was like all other wedding breakfasts, a +medley of smiles and tears, of joyful hopes and sad regrets, painful +memories and bright prospects. And yet there was something in the +gathering round Mr. Armstrong's table which made it differ from similar +associations. The preponderance of the clerical element did not cast a +damper on the young and buoyant spirits then present. The bishop's +genial, yet dignified manner, resembled that of the lamented Dr. +Wilberforce. The rector, an old man approaching his eightieth year, +belonged to the class of polished and refined gentlemen of olden times, +who would take off their hats to the meanest of their female +parishioners, or enter bareheaded the humblest cottage in the parish. + +Horace Wilton, as we know, had not learned to regard with a cynical eye +the happiness which he had himself so nearly grasped, and Frank Maurice +found himself taking lessons in the present ordering of an event which +was so soon to be realised in his own experience. As to the bridegroom, +who, strange to say, is very often looked upon as the least important +person present on such an occasion, an overflow of happiness kept him +silent. It was not till called upon to return thanks in the name of his +bride and himself, that the natural powers of eloquence and oratory +possessed by Henry Halford astonished and delighted the wedding guests. + +The speech scarcely occupied five minutes. His words were well chosen, +and to the point; his allusions pleasant and in good taste; his +quotations, in one or two instances classical, were suitable and +attractive; while through all could be detected the oratorical powers of +the speaker, although subdued and restrained to suit the room and the +occasion. When the clear young voice ceased there was a burst of +applause, hushed, however, in a moment, as Lord Rivers rose and +exclaimed-- + +"Thank you, Mr. Henry Halford, for showing me that I have not made any +mistake in my choice of a rector for Briarsleigh." + +But the wedding chapter is extending itself beyond the prescribed +limits. We must pass over the speeches and the toasts which followed. +We, who know the love of mother and daughter in that hour, now so joyous +with the voices and symbols of happiness, can understand how both are +dreading the hour of parting. + +It came at last; and when Mary, accompanied by her bridesmaids, hastened +to the room to prepare for her journey, Mrs. Armstrong followed her +upstairs, and seating herself in her own room waited nervously till her +daughter was ready. + +She heard the door open, and the young voices in gay conversation as +they approached. Then she rose and stood near the door, to be quickly +observed by her daughter. + +"Mamma! oh, I'm so glad. Wait a few minutes, Kate and Clara." Then she +turned, and throwing herself on her mother's bosom, she exclaimed, +"Mother, dearest mother, how can I leave you? Who will take care of you +when I am gone?" + +The mother's arms closed around her child, and for some moments neither +spoke, but the tears were silently flowing from Mrs. Armstrong's eyes, +as she listened to the scarcely restrained sobs of her daughter. + +A tear dropped on Mary's forehead; she raised her face quickly-- + +"Mamma, I am causing you unnecessary pain; pray forgive me. I cannot +help it; I shall miss you so much." + +"No, darling," said the mother, with a smile, as she wiped the tears +which she tried to restrain; "you belong to your husband now; he will +more than supply my place to you; besides, we shall not be so very far +away from each other after all, and Martha will take care of me." + +"That I will Miss--Ma'am, I beg your pardon," and the faithful old +servant entered hastily as she spoke; "They are calling out for you, +Mrs. Halford; the carriage is waiting." + +"Once more, darling mother, good-by," said the young bride, who had +started with a smile at the matronly title; and after one more kiss and +fond embrace, the mother and daughter descended the stairs together. +Mrs. Armstrong had nerved herself to witness her child's departure. + +One more ordeal awaited Mary. + +After kisses and farewells from the bridesmaids, and more formal adieus +to the visitors, Mary turned to her father. Mr. Armstrong clasped his +daughter to his heart, and as he fondly kissed her, whispered, "Forgive +me, darling, for all the sorrow I have caused you." Controlling her +emotion, she playfully placed her gloved hand on his lips, and +exclaimed, "Hush, papa, it has made my happiness all the greater." + +In a few moments the lawn beneath the lime trees was glittering with +tarlatan, lace, and ribbons, as the juvenile portion of the company +followed Mary and her husband to the gate. At length, after one last +kiss had been given to the bride, to be succeeded by another, the rector +of Briarsleigh's carriage drove off amid a shower of old slippers, only +one of which reached its destination. + +That evening, when alone, and reflecting on the events of the day, +Edward Armstrong discovered that with all his self-confidence in his own +superior judgment, he had during his life made more than one mistake. + +In all his successes he had forgotten God, and worshipped riches and +position. He had despised those possessing high, noble, and intellectual +qualities, because they lacked those advantages which he so highly +valued. + +His prejudices and his pride had made him unkind to his only daughter, +and only when at last alarmed by discovering that "riches can take to +themselves wings," did he allow these foolish prejudices to be set +aside. To his surprise he was now obliged to admit that the honours this +day conferred upon him arose from his daughter's alliance with the +family he had once despised for their profession and supposed poverty. +To them he owed the presence of the bishop and the earl as his guests. +While the family he had despised had been honouring God, he had been +honouring gold; and as these facts became clear to his mind, the words +of a text he had read when a child at his mother's knee came back on his +memory with full force--"Them that honour Me I will honour, and they +that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Englefield Grange, by H. B. 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