liggs said mrs varden faintly and with svmptonms of approaching incoherence is attached to me and that is sufficient to draw down hatred upon her in this house


she is a comfort to me whatever she may be to others


sthes no comfort to me cried gabriel made hold by despair


shes the misery of my life


shes all the plagues of egypt in one


shes considered so i have no doubt said mrs varden


i was prepared for that its natural its of a piece with the rest


when you taunt me as you do to my face how can i wonder that you taunt her behind her back


and here the inco


herence coming on very strong mrs varden wept and laughed nod sobbed and shivered and hie coughed and choaked and said she knew it was very foolish but she couldnt help it and that when she was dead and gone perhaps they would be soery for itwhich really under the circumstances did not appear quite so probable as she seemed to think with a great deal more to the same effect


in a word she passed with great decency through all the ceremonies incidental to such occasions and being supported upstairs was deposited in a highly spassmo die state on her own bed where mliss liggs shortly alterwards flung herself upon the body


the philosophy of all this was that mrs varden wanted to go to chigwell that she did not want to make any concession or explanation that she would only go on being implored and entreated so to do and that she would accept no other terms


accord


ingly after a vast amount of moaning and crying upstairs and much damping of foreheads and vise


garing of temples and hartshorning of noses and so forth and alter most pathetic adjurations from riggs assisted by warm brandyandwater not over weak and divers other cordials also of a stimulating quality administered at first in teaspoonsful and afterwards in increasing doses and of which tiss miggs herself partook as a preventive measure for fainting is infections after all these remedies and many more too numerous to mention but not to take had teen applied and many verbal consolations moral religious and miscellaneous had been super added thereto the locksmith humbled himself and the end was gained


ii its only for the sake of peace and quietoess father said dolly


urging him to go upstairs


oh doll doll said her goodnatured father


if you ever have a husband of your own dolly glanced at the glass


well when you have said the locksmith never faint my darling


more domestic unhap piness has come of easy tainting doll than from all the greater passions put together


remenmber that my dear if you would be really happy which you never can be if your husband isnt


and a word in your ear my precious


never have a miggs about you


with this advice he kissed his blooming daughter on the cheek and slowly repaired to llrs


vardens room where that lady lutng all pale and languid on her couch was refreslng herself with a sigiit ol her last new bonnet whlch lmiggs as a mieans ol calming her scattered spiutts disjlaed to the bust advantage at her bedside


slheres master mini said miggs


oh what a happiness it is when man and wife conme round again


oh gracious to think that him and her should ever base a wort together i lii the energy of these senliients which were uttered as an apostrophe to the heavens io general miss lggs perched the bonnet on the top of her own head and folding her hands turned on her tears


i cant help it


cried aligs


i couldnt if i was to be drownded in em


she has such a for givinig spirit


shell forget all that has passed and go along with you siroh if it scas to the worlds end shed go along with you


amrs


varden with a faint smile gently reproved her attendant for this enthusiasm and reminded her at the same time that site was far too unwell to venture out that day


oh no youre not mim indeed youre not said mliggs i repeal to master master knows youre nut rim


the hair and motion of the shay will do you good mim and you must not give way you must not raly


she must keep up musnt she sir for all our sakes


i was telling her that just now


site must remember us even if she forgets herself


master will persuade you mim im sure


theres miss dollys a going you know and master and you and all so happy and socomfotable


h cried miggs turning on the tears again previous to quitting the room to great emotion never see such a blessed one as she is for the forgiveness of her spirit i never never never did


nor more did master neither no nor no onenever


for five minutes or thereabouts mrs varden remained mildly oplposed to all her husbands prayers that sbhe would oblige him by taking a days pleasure but relenting at length she suffered herself to be persuaded and granting him her free forgiveness the merit whereof site meekly said rested with the manual and not wtthl her desired that miggs might come and help her dress


the handmaid attlended promptly and it is but justice to their joint exer tions to record that


when the good lady came down stairs in course of time completely decked out for the journey she really looked as if nolthing had ihappened and appeared in the very best health imaginable


as to dolly there sihe was again the very pink and pattern of good looks in a smart little cherry coloured mantle wilth a hood of the same drawn over her head and upon the top of that hood


a little straw hat trimmed with cherrycoloured ribbons and worn the merest trifle on one sidejust enough in short to make it the wickedest and mnost provoking head dress that ever mulhcious milliner devised


and not not to speak of thie manner in which these cherry coloured decorations brightened her ees or vied with her lips or shted a new bloom on her face she wore such a cruel little muff and suchl a heartrending pair of shoes and was so surrounded and hlemmed in as it were by ageravations of all kinds that when mrl tapperts holding the horses head saw her conme cut of the house alone such impulses came over him to decoy her into the chaise and drive off like mad that he would unquenstonably ihave dane it but for certain uneasy doubts besettoag him as to the shlortest way to gretna green whether it was up the street or down or up the righthand turning or the left and whether supposing all the turnpikes to be carrsed by storm the blacksmith in the end would marry them on credit which by reason of his clerical olice appeared even to his excited imagination so unlikely that he hesitated


and while lie stood hesitating and looking postchaises andsis at dolly out came his master and his mis tress and the constant miggs antd the opportunity was gone for ever


for now the chaise creaked upon its springs and mrs varden was insidoe and now it creaked again


and more than ever and the lock smith was inside and now it bounded once as if irats heart beat lightly and dolly was inide and now it was gone and its place was empty and he asd that dreary liggs were standring into the street together


tlhe hiearty locksmith was in as good a humnour as if nothing had occurred for the last twelve months to put him out of his way lally was all smiles and gracea and mrs vurden was agreeable beyond all precedent


as they jogtged thirough thie streets talk tug of this thing and of thiat who should be descried upon thre pavement but that very coacihmaker looking so genteel that inobody would have believed itha id ever had any thing to do with a coach but riding in it anl bowing like any nobleman


to be sure dolly was coifused when she bowed again and to be sure the chlorrycoloured ribbons trembled a little when she met hit mournful eye which seemed to say i have kept my word i have begue the bust


ness is going to the devil and youre the cause of it


there he stood rooted to tile groundas dolly said like a statue and as mrs varden said like a pump till they turned tho corner and when her father thought it was like his impudence and her mother wondered what hie meant by it dolly blushed again till her very lhood was pale


but on they went not the less merrily for this and there was the locksmith in tile incautious fnlness of his heart pullingup at all manner of places and evincing a most intimate acquaintance with all tihe taverns on the road anrd all the landlords and all the landladies with whom indeed the lihtle horse was on equally friundly terms for he kept on stopping of his own accord


never were people so glad to see other people as these landlords and landladies were to behold mr varden and mrs vardenl and miss varden and wonldnt they get out said one atnd they really must walk up stairs said another and she would take it ill and he quite certain they were proud if they wouldnthave a little tasteof something said a third and so on that it really was quile a progress rather than a ride and one continued scene of hospitality from beginning to end


it was plea sant enough to ie held in such esteem not to mention the refrestments so mrs varden said nothing at the time and was all affability and delightbut such a body of evidence as site collected against the unfortunate locksmith that day to be used thereafter as occasion might requnte never was got together for matrimonial purposes


in course of timeand in course of a pretty long time too for these agreeable interruptions delayed them not a littlethey arrived upon the skirts of the forest and riding pleasantly on among the trees came at last to the maypole where the locksmiths cheerful yoho speedily brought to the porch old john and after him young joe both of whom were so transfired at sight of the ladies that for a moment they were perfectly unable to give them any welcome and could do nothing but stare


it was only for a moment however that joe for got himself for speedily reviving he thrust his drowsy father aside to mr willets mighty and inexpressible indignation and darting out stood ready to help them to alight


it was necessary for dolly to get out first


joe had her in his arms yes though for a space of time no longer than you could count one in joe had her in his arms


here was a glimpse of happiness


i it would be difficult to describe what a flat and commonplace affair the helping mrs varden out afterwards was but joe did it and did it too with the best grace in the world


then old john who entertaining a dull and foggy sort of idea that mrs varden wasnt fond of him had been in some doubt whether site might not have come for purposes of assault and battery took courage hoped site was well and offered to conduct her into the house


this tender being amicably received they marched in together joe and dolly followed arm in arm happiness again and varden brought up the rear


old john would have it that they must sit in the bar and nobody objecting into the bar they went


all bars are snug places but the maypoles was the very snuggest rosiest and completest bar that ever the wit of man devised


such amazing bottles in old oaken pigeonholes such gleaming tankards dangling from pegs at about the same inclination as thirsty men would hold them to their lips such sturdy little dutch kegs ranged in rows on shelves so many lemons hanging in separate net and form ing the fragrant grove already mentioned in this chronicle suggestive with goodly loaves of snowy sugar stowed away hard by of punch idealised beyond all mortal knowledge such closets such presses such drawers full of pipes such places for putting things away in hollow window seats all crammed to the throat with eatables drinkables or savoury condiments lastly and to crown all as typical of the immense resources of the establish


ment and it defiances to all visitors to cut and come again such a stupendotus cheese


it is a poor heart that never rejoicesit must have been the poorest weakest and oust watery heart that ever best which would not have warmed towards the maypole bar


mrs vardens did di rectly


she could no more have reproached john willet among those household gods the kegs atnd boaltjs lemons pipes and cheese than rshe could have stabber him with his own brilbt carvingkntle


ihe order fur dinner tooit ight have sootlhed a saivage


a bit of fish said john to the cook and some lamb chops breaded with plenty of ketchup and a good salad and a toast spring chiclen with a dish of sausages and mashed pota trtes or something of that sort


something of that sort


the resources of these inns


to talk care lessly about dishes which in themselves were a firstrate holiday kind of dinner suitable to ones wedding day as something of that sort meaning if you cant get a spring chicken any other trdlle in the way of poultry sll dosuch as a peacock perhaps


the kitchen too with its great broad cavernous chimney the kitchen where nothtlrg ton the way of cooking seemed inmpossible where you could believe ins anything to eat they chose to tell you of


mrs varden returned from the contempla


tion of these wonders to the bar again with a head quite dizzy and bewildered


her housekeeping capacity was not large enoutgh to comprehend them


she was obliged to go to sleep


waking was pain in the midst of such immensity


dolly to the meanwhile whose gay heart and head ran upon other matters passed out at the gar den door aid glanting back now and then but of course not wondering whether joe saw her tripped away by a path across the fields with which she was well acquainted to discharge her mission at the warren and this deponent iath been informed and verily believes that you might have seen many less pleasant objects than the cherrycoloured mantle and ribbons as they went fluttering along the green meadows in the bright light of tile day like giddy things as they were


to he continued


crimetto severest pang of which a sensitive and proud cature can be conscious is the perception of its own debasement


the sources of misery in life are many vice is one of the surest


any human creature tarnished with guilt will in general be wretched a mnan of genius in that case will be doubly so for his ideas of excellence are higher his sense of failure is more keen


the settler chapter iv


lomtimud jrom october ifi but the most striking feature in this embryo city ol the south was the number of elegant equipages which appeared to tlie handys to be out of all proportion to tlic extent of the population in iheupper classesofsocioty the two principal thoroughfares george street and pittstreet beingliterallycroirded wilh them from the dashing fourinhand down to the humble gig and each of them to a practised eye denoted tlie rank of its proprietor


the familycoach with four wellbred bays belonged cither to a member of council or wealthy settler tlie barouche and pair to a merchant the plitcton and pair to a shopkeeper or government officer the tandem toa youngsettler or asurveyor the dennelt to a publican or butcher there were also numerous equestrians consisting chiefly of modest settlers collectors of bills and clerks of public offices for sydney was soon discovered to be a hotbed of spe culation and excitement and no one above the rank of the lowest artran could think of walking


notwithstanding the irregu larity in the architecture of the houses there were many that would not disgrace the first cities in europe being built of wrought freestone and three stories high but these were chiefly occupied as shops and auction rooms some of the former being fitted up with a degree of splendour that would be creditable to regentstreet in london particulary those in the drapery line all of which appeared to be pretty well filled with customers for the system of credit was at iu climax


of the private houses the most handsome teas one belong ing to an opulent merchant standing within a garden opposite one part of the governors domain


it was just such a house as would be suitable for regents park in london with the exception of being contrasted with an immense stnre on one side and unpaved streets on both its fronts


of the buildings appropriated to public purposes the most conspicuous were those erected by governor macquarie with whose name they were adorned reminding rue of the number of ns with which the louvre and one of the bridges in paris were deco rated at the time the allies entered in iifi


the greatest effort of taste on the part of governor macquariearehiiect stems to have been bestowed on the council chambers and general hospital in macquariestreet which have just escaped being handsome buildings


they arc of stone two stories high and oroamcdted at each story by a colonnade intended to be greek but which are of no recognised order


hyde park barracks st jamess cliurch and the military barracks with several other build ings of lesser note are all monuments of the great macquaries penchant for the princely occupation of architecture


being rather fatigued with their first walk after so long a confinement on board ship they deferred their examination of the suburbs until they should have completed their disembarkation and become settled in the lodgings which it was proposed the family should occupy while handy went in search of itis land


as soon as they were installed in tlieir furnished lodgings in a house near the jettv wlicre they first landed handy sallied forth lo attend at tbe several offices where emi grants should apply for information relative to the primary object of their emigration viz land first to the colonial secretarys office next to the treasury where he tran sacted his business without much difficulty


he then went to the surveyor generals where he was taken completely aback for on enquiring for his land ho was told he must make his own selection


when he asked what was vacant on hunters river of which he had heard favourable accounts he was shown a map marked all over in squares and coloured like a harlequins jacket


putting his linger upon a green spot as one on which the eye naturally re poses he was told that was a reserve lie then tried a yellow one that belongs to the church


well here is something red said he what is that


that is reserved for a township


at length abandoning the co loured spots he enquired if he might have a piece of the white upon which there ap peared some hieroglyphic in pencil


oh no that is rented with a view to purchase under sir thomas brisbanes regulations looking further on to the immense map that was spread before him lie observed written over about a hundred square miles barren rocky scrubby ranges


this is all highly satisfactory lie remarked i was told that i would obtain every information at the surveyorgenerals office sure enough i have obtained information but i annot see what use i can make of it


is there nothing to show what arable land is available


no sir you must make your own selection all that we have got lo do is to report to the governor whether the selection is unobjectionable


so then said handy after have made my selection you may find some objection to it


in this case i do not see much chance of being scttlad lhe next three months


you will be fortunate indeed replied the official if you get settled in three months


at this handy grew furious not settled in three months


what is to become of my family


in lodgings all the time and i detest the very atmos phere of a town what am i to do in tlie meantime


oh amuse yourself look about the town and tlic environs pick up infor mation but take care you dont get new chummed


by jove replied handy if i am ever to he taught patience new south wales will be my school


the old archdeacon was right i had better have staid in our comfortable cottage at bean field notwithstanding the taxes


and with this he went grumbling away to the office of the principal superintendent of convicts nearly opposite where he was received with great politeness and told that as soon as he had obtained possession of his land the government would assign four convicts to his service


yes but the difficulty is to obtain possession observed handy for i have just left the surveyorgenerals office where each item of information i hare ob tained appears to be an obstacle in the way of settling


my good sir replied the official you cannot be so unreasonable as to expect that all the land in new south wales is packed up in boxes in that little office over the nay


your course is to make up your mind to the part of the co lony that you think will suit you and then satisfy yourself by a careful personal exami nation of the country in which you may perliapa derive some uibujuicu frura tin surveyor employed in the district whose duty it is to afford information as to the lands that are located or reserved then you return to sydney and notify your selection meanwhile the expenses of your family in sydney will not be near so heavy as in lon don and they will enjoy the climate which at this season of the year is really agreeable


as to the climate observed handy as far as i can judge from our very short resi dence it is heavenly the atmosphere so clear not a cloud to be seen and the mornings and evenings are so delightfully cool


on the way back to his lodgings handy had an opportunity of observing the habits of the lower class of the inhabitants all of whom appeared to be at their case and all smoking short dirty pipes


tbe mason working with his mallet the farrier shoe ing his borse the shingler hammering at the roof and the convict crawling at the hand cart had each his short pipe which appeared to be essential to his very exis tence although there was nothing ia the climate to account for this singular passion no fogs as in holland no pestilential swamps as in trincomalee nor ipise frosts as in russia but neveri


tlie short pipe is the indispenf finlsil of a certain class of peffc in new soutb wales


during handys short btay in sydney be visited several institutions and public and private establishments in the neigh bourhood


of those the benevolent asy lum and the school of industry were the principal they are supported entirely by voluntary contributions and are well con ducted the former is for men who from age and infirmity are past laborious em ployment and the latter for girls prepa ratory to their obtaining situations as do mestic servants


in the mechanics institute he was much disappointed having expected to find there a repository of models similar to those of london and paris whereas it was a mere lecturing school upon abstract sciences and abstruse theories but both he and all the family were highly delighted with the botanical gardens beautifully situated on ground of varied surface washed by the waters of port jackson and fanned by most refreshing breezes from the northeast being sheltered from the south hie cold wind of the southern hemisphere by higher ground and by trees


the garden is most tastefully laid out contains specimens of native and exotic plants to an immense extent from the lordly palm lo the bumble but fragnant violet


the addition of a museum of na tural history would render this delightful garden one of the most attractive resorts in this part of the world but it appears that the expense of the requsite buildings for such an establishment is the only ob stacle to its formation as there are no funds available for the purpose


of the private establishments that of elizabeth bay a short distance east of the town was the most attractive


its situation is somewhat similar to that of the botanical garden but backed by bolder ground and the collection of plants as well as the adaptation of the road to the varied surface reflect great credit upon its possessor both as a man of science and of taste


with respect to the suburbs handy at once pronounced that they disgraced the original projectors of this great town who instead of making such reservations for


public convenience as would have rendered i their names honored by future generations fl lavished away the lands on importunate i favorites and those very lands that have i remained from tlie beginning of the world


without the slightest vestige of improve meat would under judicial reservations


have yielded a revenue to the government and have contributed much to the conve


nience of this rising city


i tobeomtimud


i


tinm roman catholic festivai in i noxtiraimm


on sunday last a must novel i bpeetncle for this country was witnessed in tbe town of nottingham on occasion of the cele bration of the festival of corpus cliruti by tlie llomon catholic body in tlieir new and matr nificenhdlcb of st barnabas oa the derby road in the presence of many thousands of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood


an immense expense bad lieen incurred in de corations gorgeous dresses and beautifying the altar and interior of tbo church calculated to excite the admiration of a gazing throng and to moke a deep impression on their minds


the lloman catholics having of late years been making nnny converts in nottingham seize on every opportunity to demonstrate lheir growth and importance and took cure some lime ago to announce their intention of cele brating the festival of corpus christi with all the pomp and splendour their gorgeous cere monies were calculated to afford


at the time appointed ingb mass was performed the ele vation of tbe host as in catlmlie countries took place and a splendid canopy was erected under which appeared the bishop and his cle rical brethren arrayed in rich robeb and brilliant zirel


every part of the building as fur as eye could reach itas adorned with garlands of flovrereand evergreens tastefully arranged wreaths and festoonb twined round each pillar or depended from every part of the roof and clotna of silver and gold of gorgeous mag nificence glittered in every direction


the approach to tlie altar was marked by fourteen arge jars of flowers of rare beauty and palm eaves circling over them and unnumbered lights glittering in the centre cast a rich glow over the splendid scene


the procession usual in foreign countries was dispensed with but took place as far as possible in tbe interior


the assembled crowd were requested by mr g rifsn a priest either to kneel or stand up as the procession passed them and all eyes to be directed to the host as tbe lloman catholic forms ordained


he remarked that young children would take part in the ceremony so young as to be quite incapable of forming an opinion on tbe tenets of religious worship but these children were intended to represent their parents end being pure and spotless were more likely to be acceptable to god and there fore had been chosen


a canopy would also cover tbe iiuly sacrament which would be borne by the priebt beneath it and lest any one should deem it blasphemous he stated that it was invariably the custom in roman catholic and in eastern countries to have a canopy to pro tect them from any unseasonable weather


tbe robes had all been mode in accordance with tbe rights of human catholic authority


the procession be said was no idle pageant but was regarded by all roman catholics as devout and holy in the eyes of god


at the conclusion of tne address of which tlie above is a mere epitome the organ pealed forth its notes the choir elevated their voices aud tlie procession iu the fallowing order emerged from the chancel and walked round tbe aisles two absistanipriests iu black cassocks caps and white bauds witb silver crosses lei the wy


a youth habited in crimson and white bearing a splendid lighted candelabra followed


then came ten girls the eldest nine years of age habited in white frocks blue cashes with garlands of white flowers round their heads and long sweeping veils each bearing a basket of flowers and strewing diem nlongr the aisles


a purple silk bauner with i u s in the centre and trimmed rouud the edges with gold fringe of great value tlio whole of the ban ner being studded with french fleurdelis was tlion borne by a younp man nuired iu a sjilcudid crimson silk roue trimmed with gold tlie tassels being carried by two children seven years of age clothed in crimson and gold and led by youth in a tightfitting coat reaching down to his ankles


twelve boys the cldestnine years of age each beariog a lighted wax taper and habited in white cloaks trimmed with crimson followed and preceded a beautiful banner of red satin edged with cluth of gold and having a white lamb in the centre two children in red cloaks trimmed with gold the same as before bearing the tas sels and an attendant in a tightfitting long coat of silk


fourteen assistants to the priests in black and white came next and then the i choir in black cassocks and white sashes i singing hymns in latin


eight officials in black cobbocks with crosses abd wands r lowed and then came the holy bibkjj by a youth dressed in crimson si r fii robes of white satin t


vl nnmr velvet immediately rt js drrk of tlekrl of shrewsbury


jsfnbbyfotiroftheclueft of the eon itstion dressed in crimson robes like those tsea by corporations trimmed with ermine


the poles were of thickly gilded brass the crosses at the top of gold and numbers of hells were suspended from tlkm


beneath the ca nopy tbe priest with the host walked sup ported on each side by the other priests ach being habited in satin robes with crimson velvet capeb gorgeously decorated with gold lace and each gazed devoutly on the crucifix


tbe procession closed with a train in black and white


the aisles were crowded with hundreds of children each with a wax candle uiealur was lit up with hundreds of wax lights which reflected on the red velvet background gave a splendid appearance to the sceue the whole congregation either standing or kueehng


the procession pasbed from the chancel down the nave tbelorge hell tolling tuedeep toned organ playing and the choir singing at interval


on each side were incensebearers swaying their incense pots as they walked with the procession


tbe whole turned up the north aislo totiealur of fit


michael and st mary where the sacra ment ws also administered and then down tie south lusle and returned up the centre to the liigb altar where a third time tbe sacra ment was uartaken of


after prayer the whole filed off to the cloisters behind


the whole of tbe morning service with the procession occu pied nearly three tours and aiafyw a secret is like silence you cannot talk about it and keep it it ii like moueywjien once


vou know there is any concealed it is ball discovered


my dear murphy said an irishman to liis friend why did you betray the secret that i told you t is ft betraying vou call


itf


sure when i found i wasnt able to keep it myself didnt i do well to tell it to somebody that could t


good bberdinogood breeding i the result of nature end notof education it may be found in a cottage and mined m a palace


it ib a general regard for tbe feelings of other uiat springs from an absence of mm a competent witkbssa lawyer who waa recently testifying inone of the new york court of iiistioe in re alion taa mans sanity jt iffls


tno doubt of the old mitow being perfectly ane st tbe time referred to


i recollect that be refused to pay roe my cosu erst leatjm mode me strike several items off


iotbe chinese urn oue of the grounds on which a husband may divorce bis wile


being given io too much am


children should be taught lo feel dele ronce not to practice submission


la uijcestonrtatea tmtliiss sualonay wureliouie in urfuaneuml ion uld tuiimmt omixr


chapter ii


the search for lodgings


the normans and their household goods reached london that same evening


the morrow was saturday and by nine oclock in the morning robert norman was to present himself at the counting house of messrs newbud and stopp the well known cabinetmakers and uphol sterers of winpolestreet with whom he had obtained regular work


as he would not commence his duties till the following monday there would be time enough after his interview with his new masters to make search with his wife for a home


leaving their goods accordingly at the railway station they obtained beds for the night at a neighbouring coffeeshop of decent appearance


some time before nine oclock on the following morning norman had found nis way into that mass of quiet streets which lie between cavendish and man chester squares eminently suited by theil quietude i might almost say dulness tc the tastes and habits of the intellectua classes and by their old fashioned aristo eratic air to the feelings of many of th nobility


it is here that old trading firms have settled down for years au execute without ostentation or advertisini promises an amount of business tha would seem incredible to many


the have never been guilty of a single advet tisement in theirperhapscentury c business yet they often balance thei ledgers by bankers cheques for thousands know through long practical duties hal the mansions and palaces of the lane and execute a gorgeous window for a church a suite of renaissance furniture for a drawingroom or a library paint the frescoes of a garden house with masterly effect engrave the signet gem or supply the table with foreign porcelain or foreign dainties with as few outward signs of wealth or capability as lt is possible to conceive


high intellect has equally pro duced great things without ostentation in this quiet neighbourhood


here it was hallam wrote his constitutional history here elizabeth barret browning j penned poetry of the name here turner painted landscapes on which lie the blushes of aurora


messrs newbud and stopp were partners in a firm such as we have de scribed


the house lay on the sunny side of the street and as norman ap proached it on the other and read the name of the firm simply painted above a long shop window in which stood a few articles of furniture and rolls of carpeting i he doubted with his simple country notion that display was allied to wealth if the firm was either so rich or so crowded with business as was said in the country town he had left but his opinion soon changed


the house though old and not very large had been substantially and lately renovated the windows above the shop were of plate glass and protected sunblinds luxuriant plants decked the verandah not a particle of dust or old paint was to be seen anywhere and on a private door which opened from a small hall was a shining brass plate with mr newbud engraved thereon


entering the counting house which with the shop lay quite apart from the pjrivate entrance eobert norman found himself in the presence of an elderly man large rosy and very whitehaired and precisely dressed


not a ring or chain disfigured his comely person but a large seal dangled from a black ribbon and a heartshaped brooch studded with pearls was stuck in the midst of an old fashioned shirtfrill of spotless cambric


it was mr newbud


naturally a man of few words and engaged with letters of that mornings post he nodded his head as a sign ftt the artizan to speak


as briefly as pos sible norman told mr newbud his main business and the appointment he kept


the old gentleman read the lutter to the end and then laying it down on a pile of others just perused turned up his spectacled face to the countinghous clock and then as if not cfutte satisfied with its accuracy he drew a large gold watch from his fob as if like greenwich time its accuracy was irrefragable


ten minutes to nine he said the time set i think was nine


j the answer was in the affirmative


f very good take a seat mr stopp has not yet come


then he went on reading halfadozen etters or so but pausing now and then to observe his new workman with whose appearance be seemed greatly pleased


you are married i think was a question at the close of one of these in direct examinations and have chil dren


yes sir i have four children


two i have brought with me and one i have left in the country it is delicate and with its grandmother


humph


and the fourth he is my eldest sir a lad about fif teen


i gave him a good education and a gentleman that i worked for in the country got him a situation in a mer chants office in mincing lane


very good very good and mr new bud went on with his letters


precisely at halfpast ninefor such was his hourmr stopp came in


he lived at clapham and walked to and fro for his health


very commonplace very authoritative to his inferiors profusely reverent to his superiors very fond of rings


albert chains and studs such was mr stopp


he would have been as soon seen in a frilled shirt as in a shroudyet nevertheless he was an excellent man of business and in his way a good mas ter


well was his address you are come


in this case i hope you will answer our expectation


it is a place of great trust


if capable you will be foreman over those of our men who may be work ing in town houses perhaps occasionally in the countryyou will therefore as you see have invaluable property in trusted to your care as well as have ac cess to the property of those who employ us


i have gentlemen replied robert respectfully though a little wounded by the tone in which mr stopp spoke sent you up my character as given by several gentlemen the rector and surgeon of our town amongst the number if however this is not sufficient


i will quite sufficient my good man in terrupted mr newbud


mr stopp


this latter name was uttered exclama tively and conveyed so decided a mean ing that mr stoppstopped


encouraged by mr newbnds kind though demonstrative demeanour nor man took occasion to ask a question that he had much at heart


gentlemen he said i have one question to ask that is will you object to my residing at a distance from my work


i hear that there is much difficulty in meeting with decent lodgings cheap enough for a man of my station and means and that if i would go as far as islington or kentish town i might we decidedly object interrupted mr stopp as he shook his albert chain with great vehemence


our men reside con veniently to our work


if men take it it must be subject to our termsthat is decisive


as for the nonsense talked about and written in the newspapers in regard to scanty accommodation for lodg ing the artizan and lower classes i not only think it untrue but absurd


men that work for their daily bread cannot expect to lodge in palaces


now in a mile from this street i would answer to find a hundred lodgings within an hour suited for every purpose that you may require


in this world it does not do to be toofastidious or to look too carefully into the morality of every acquaintance


but i care sir replied the artizan somewhat sternly for the moral and re ligious welfare of my children


i neither desire that they should mingle with the corrupt and irreligious nor be witness to scenes unfitted for them


in that case replied mr stopp still more authoritatively you must please yourself


to mr newbud and myself it is a matter of indifference


we have several on the list who would suit the place you applied for and mr stopp


the exclamative word came again and there was peace the good man is quite right in being thus careful


now please see what are his capabilities


then turning to the arti zan he added be quite at rest norman


with ordinary care and circumspection you will be free from the evils you dread


it is necessary as you will find that ou r men live near and your wife being aware of these things must be vigilant and cir cumspect


alas


it was in this respect that liddys mother would be found wanting as the artizan partly knew easytem pered indulgent unsuspecting she would be the last to perceive an evil till it had gathereduncontrollable strength


thus in morals as in all other causes and effects it is not the greasest agent that is alone active in giving effect


countless minor causes assist its full development and it is often the least of these that aids the greater


thus in this important question of better houseaccommodation for the masses as in all others of a social moral or political kind a wide range of causes must be considered and the gene ralisation shown to be one of many effects


it is by this method only that the many determining agents of a widespread evil can be analysed or anything worthy of the name of a remedy be elicited


the moralist can no more draw a true judg ment from a narrow generalisation than can the politician


first ringing a bell above his desk and bidding norman follow mr stopp led way from the countinghouse


return ing in some halfhour or so he reported to mr newbud that norman was fairly acquainted with the class of work it would be his duty to undertake and that with practice he would answer their pur pose well


he then suggested that thirty shillings be his weekly wages


thirtytwo suggested mr newbud


decidedly not spoke his partner it is best my dear sir to guage a quality before we reward it


it is easier to raise than to lower an amount meditating the question over for a few moments mr newbud who usually de ferred to his partner in questions of this sort nodded assent and added that he liked the artizan s appearance exceed ingly and considered that they had met with a worthy servant


not so sanguine of the good in human nature as his partner mr stopps only answer was a doubtful shrug


norman who had waited outside the counting house was now called in and informed of his engagement which was to com mence on the following monday morning at six oclock a m thanking the gentlemen norman was making his egress from the counting house when it was for a moment stayed by the entrance of a fine young man with the fresh look of the countrv about him


from his likeness to mr newbud you saw at once that he was a relation


but this point had other demonstration for the mans first exclamation was how are you uncle


well thankee my dear josh and hows your mother and hows kitty


charmingly kittys like a rosebud these june days


but wheres aunt chloe


here are some geraniums for her say ing this he held up a nosegay of magni ficent blooms he carried in his hand


chloe will be delighted my boy


now go to her i hear her toot on the stairs for she always seems to know your com ing by magic


so the young man pre ceding the artizan went round to the private door


as norman passed the little hall he saw this opened by a grey haired gentlewoman who on a smaller scale was an exact facsimile of mr new bud


she had taken the flowers and the tall young man was stooping to kiss her


it was miss chloe newbud whose coun tenance and manner were like a glimpse of sunshine to the artizan


hastening back to the coffeeshop where his wife and liddy waited norman soon told them of his engagement and his great liking for mr newbud


when this had been discussed and liddys questions answered they set off in their search for lodgings


the parents hearts yearned to see their boy william who had now been in london six months but as he had written to them before they had left the country that it would not be permis sible to visit him during business hours they deferred their purpose till after five oclock


reaching that densely crowded district of artizan life which forms an oblong square bounded on the north and south by the new road and oxford street and on the east and west by tottenham court road and portland place the normans accompanied by their two children com menced their search for lodgings


as anyone who has been an observer of lon don life well knows saturday was the worst day in the week for this preliminary wi view


some houses were being cleaned others were in their worst condition of dirt


wherever squalor and disorder ordinarily reigned on this day both were at their height


but few of the more de eent class of lodgings were to let and where there were the prices startled the thrifty artizan


per an num was respectivelylasked for the bare rooms of the second floorthese usually two in number and small in size and with the necessity that the occupier should drag the scanty supply of water up sixty stairs or more carry down all refuse b obliged to buy coals in small quantities at the worst places and at the dearest price because there was no other recep tacle in which to store them than a nar row chamberclosetsometimes not even that


in addition was the monster nuisance of a staircase common to all goers and comers this more than the rest made domestic privacy impossible and where anything like the means of moral contamination existed whether through the agency of the tongue the eye the ear these were made the more certain of effects by the very familiarity and acquaintanceship begot from day to day


the young are always trustful and a kind word or look unanalysed as to motives is almost sure to win confi dence


it is argued by a few that con struct houses as you might that this selfcontinued evil of a common stair case and the moral contingencies an nexed must continue to exist but it is forgotten that even so far as domestic architecture in regard to the masses of population has yet advanced every house or as it may be better expressed aggre gate of apartments is selfcontained


it has dustshafts oven water and other accommodation secured in entire privacy and use to itself


in this case the com mon staircase becomes no other than a mere thoroughfare for passing to and fro with its necessary contingent evils re duced to a minimum


it has the freedom of the public street without its dangers and with as much privacy annexed as seems possible under a given class of circumstances


but as practical means develope themselves as this noble class of architecture advances in the hands of thoughtful men as the more fitting material of iron supersedes that of stone as the inveterate orthodoxies of the builders heart give way to the fresh spk ness of new ideas that will spring actaeon jp


like out of new resolutions of the most rigid mathematical inductionswe be lieve the margin of even this given class of evils will contract


for evil in essence is contractivegood expansive and whatever may be new and great in archi tecture will rigidly administer to this divine law


not be it understood that we desire elemosynary palaces for the labouring classes or reason from the ground that such if even built and fairly let to occupiers would in themselves be productive of all the moralities and de cencies of human life


one particular may assist but never effect a wide gene rality


on the contrary shylocklike we desire value for value shilling for shilling


experience has proved to us that unpaidfor advantages are neither valued at their just sum nor give back much that is profitable in effect


we believe most earnestly that all efforts to improve the condition of the homes of the masses must to be effective and re munerative be based on the widest plans of commercial speculation and commer return that in a word every penny shall have its due per centage


not only this we believe that the commercial return and the moral advantage will be found coexistant running side by side and only under such circumstances coexis tant for the parallelism between morality and advantage is greater than is sus pected


the masses must pay for what ever advantages they reap from more de cent homes such being one of the many means for elevating their moral religious and intellectual condition


to this one need as to many others capital must minister and there can be little doubt but that the balance when struck will be found just on either side


let capital and intellect combined erect improved homes and honest labour will be found both glad and willing to pay for the advantages as well as reap the indirect blessings which will abundantly arise


to be continued


t holg pomes


by ilvebpen


continued from page


chapter ix


the journey into kent


cyhus loxwood believed in the great truth that beauty and utility when com bined act favourably on each other


thus in devoting life and genius to the elaboration of a class of architecture which including the principles of cheapness easiness of construction and durability would meet the crying need for a better houseaccommodation in towns he saw that after the wants of the lowest social section were metthat section which had unfortunately to learn the worth of privacy decency and clean linessbeauty must in some measure aid utility or failure would be the result


in the first and widest section there was to absolutely create the very conditions themselves in which beauty could in the least degree take root and thrive whilst in the class beyond that of the artizan it was necessary to minister to to elevate to increase tastes more or less existing


viewed in this way it was desirable to elaborate two j distinct conditions from the same primary j elements the first leading to and creating the second the second destined


to make advances of its own


i considered therefore under one wide and comprehensive scheme as respected the essential conditions of warmth light ventilation and durability cyrus lox woods proposals in architecture bore reference to an undecorated as well as a decorative scheme


not that the first was to be devoid of beauty its very simplicity extent and power as implied by apparent strength and durability gave the idea of beauty in some degree but it was the second that would have the aid of the other arts as supplement to its own resources


in relation therefore


to what might be styled his decorative purposes his holy inclination to surround common do mestic life with such graces and effects as might tend to elevate and refine it young loxwoods visit to mr wroxeters country house had been productive of the most important results


it was often re peatedfresh introductions took place as valuable to cyrus in their way as those of his first visit to mr danehill and m lou vain and thus as the winter wore away no small share of sympathy and good feeling had arisen between him and the wealthy merchant


fortunately for his peace of mind his mother had kept silence with respect to mr wroxeters gift


she knew his stern sense of independence and the hindrance she might place in the way of this valuable friendship were her son con scious of pecuniary obligation she therefore laid the little sum by for future use either when some emergency might occur or the time arrive when she might tell cyrus whose gilt it had been


on his part as well mr wroxeter did not make further presents he saw the worthy character of those he had to deal with and that whatever assistance he might render it must not take a pecuniary shape


but he found many other ways of generous assistance


he let cyrus a yard and premises in the vicinity of blackwall at a rent merely nominal he procured him various kinds of iron at contract prices and sought out practical workmen whose knowledge of improved ventilation as well as several kinds of decorative work might be useful


assistance in one aitistic branch wa still wanting


some one who combining the handicraft of the glazier with a knowledge of stained glass might assist in eliciting the harmony of its effects in relation to the dark tones of decorative ironwork


a few such men there were but their services were not to be procured except in connexion with the wealthy firms which employed them though it was said that an old man named gray who wandered about the country with a grandson a youth ot fourteen and earned his subsistence by casual repairs to church and cathedral windows possessed extra ordinary skill in relation to decorative glass


him cyrus had long sought in vain for his wanderings were most strange and erratic in their character to seek and fail in finding him had been the cause of major balls abrupt visit to his old friend canon maydew but now spring broadening out into full beauty fresh tidings came that old gray was again at wock in kent whereupon the good major set forth anew to rochester


here he learnt that the old man and his grandson to assist was at work upon a window in canterbury cathedral so he repaired hither with due haste


taking up his lodging at an inn and bidding the corporal order a good dinner for that worthy accompanied his master on this particular occasion the major set forth to the cathedral willing to judge with his own eyes if the bird which had so often flown were really there


it was but the old man and the lad were mounted up an immense height upon some scaffolding the lad shaping out what seemed small pieces of glass whilst the old man sat apart quietly regarding some effect in the window before him


of course major ball with all his alacrity could not mount such a height so he reverently sat down on a step i leading to the choir and looked on


he had a sort of feeling that if he did rot watch the ladder the bird would again fly thus he resolved to patiently wait as long as might be consistent with the advent of dinner and the humour of the corporal


presently to avoid a draught he moved his seat to a still more beauti ful point of view and sat lost in wonder at the richness of the manytinted glory which poured down upon him from above


as he sat a young girl and a schoolboy manifestly so by his dress approached the same place and qui tly took their seats


the girl was very pretty and by a bunch of spring flowers which lay on the top of a small basket she carried and by her dusty shoes she seemed as though she had walked in from the country that morning


major ball was greatly struck with her appearance and her tenderness to the schoolboy for presently she made him lay his head down upon her lap and there he slept


in a little time a verger sauntered up


a fine day miss he said a fine holiday afternoon for boys


the young girl said it wasthat she and the boy had been into the meadows togetherand that he was tired


then taking the flowers from the reticule she gave them the old man


these are from our garden at home


i gathered them myself before i set off to walk to canterbury


thank you miss they are very charming and my old dame will put fhem i am sure in her best bowpot


but yours has been a long walk miss


yes our horses are all busy this spring weather and mamma had to take the pony we drive in another direction


so for once i had to walk but i shall ride back with our village doctor


as she spoke she kept pressing down her small hand tenderly upn the boys sleeping face


ay miss said the verger who from the nature of his duties was a little given to soliloquising a boys well off that has got a mother or sister to think of him in his school days


when they have such to think of em it saves em from many a sin


mamma says so that is why we come every wednesday when fine to see frank then occasionally we come here to sit or walk in the cloisters for it is so very noisy at the house where he boaids with other boys when not at school well miss youll always find it a sweet aod holy spot and be sure if you ever need any little service when here ask it and it shall be yours


saying this he bent respectfully and was about to pass on when he addressed the young girl again


when you heard last how was that pleasant gentleman and little gentle woman that came here last year


oh uncle newbud anjaunt chloe they are well i thank you


i only re turned from seeing them in london a few days since


a nice gentleman soliloquised the verger


then recollecting the half crown the rich london tradesman had slipped into his hand he raised his wand and gown with great dignity and passed on


his steps were few for they were stayed by major ball


how long will the old man the glazier be he asked and he pointed to old gray who still sat contemplating the effects in the noble window before him


i am sure sir i cannot tell you


he has never a fixed time for beginning or finishing anything that i know of


he may finish in an hour or not till long after the cathedral has closed


you see he is not a regular workman but only occasionally employed when there is some doubt about repairs as he has a great name for knowledge in suh things


if i call will he come no sir nothing moves him from his work


hes a strange old man sir a youll find


with this the verger again lifted iris gown and wand and passed on


perhaps liking his appearance the young girl watched major ball with great interest and when the schoolboy awoke from his brief sleep and they both rose to go she approached him


if you need sir old gray or his grandson gabriel she said and fail to speak with him here he will be in a village about live or six miles from where i live and she named the place some time this week or next


a very good lady who resides in those parts has been building a new schoolhouse for the agricultural papulation and gray is to put in the windows


so you will be sure to find him


the major had risen for he felt honoured by the address of such a bright and happy looking little human flower and now as he spoke he bent his steps slowly along the aisle with those of the young girl


thank you


i do not want to speak to him on my own account but on that of a gentlemau named loxwood


loxwood interrupted the young girl i have heard my uncle and aunt chloe mention the name


he has a mother sir hsnt he and they live at chelsea


yes and yourname is newbud


kitty newbud


this is ny younger brother frank


i have but two


it was clear that little budding kitty had great confidence in the majors kind looksfor she spoke to him as to an old friend


well i am glad to have met with you young lady for mrs loxwood has taken a great fancy to your aunt and uncle and my friend canon maydew speaks kindly of your mother for he is rector i think of your parish


now ill wisb you goodday as i remain here a while longer


with this he was going away when he asked again the name of the village where the old man would be at work she told him


if you forget ask any one where lady jane verdun lives and that will be correct


she is a sweet lady and every one in these parts reverences her


then still further kitty hesita tingly added if you should come near our farmhouse sir mamma and joshua will be glad to see you and mr loxwood


we have a sweet old bowery garden full at this time of spring flowers and we have cream in our dairy though the strawberries are not yet in bloom


she smiled as she spoke and wet iner way


the major looked after her


a spring flower herself said the old man as sweet a primrose ay daffodil aa my eyes ever saw


i wish i had had such a one in my young days to wear at my heart


well well regret is vain now


he turned and walked long up and down the noble aisle but old gray did not descend from the scaffolding or heed any signs that were made so the major took his way to the hotel to dinner


in the hall stood three persons who had been evidently awaiting hi return one was the landlady in the fullest lustre of black satin and her best cap behind her came the head waiter thirdly the cook who was fat red and cleanly aproned


all three wore the grimmest looks imaginable


sir said the landlady curtseying i think you have a servant


yes madan corporal crab


a good servant a better soldier but a little in clined to go sideways like his name sake the landlady affected a faint smile but it soon faded into grimness


a little illtempered sir


you do not know the man


he has been into the kitchen where he had no right to go and quar relling with my respected cook here mrs wiggs actually threatened to assault her with the largest basting spoon she had


next sir he put him self out of temper with furbish the waiter here a most respected man as to the method of laying a cloth and when sir i the mistress of the house interfered he was most impertinent


if major bull ever affected a rever ential bow he did at this moment madam


he said im sorry the corporals temper is what it is more especially when a body of your kindness and good looks is in the case but for the sake of the master you must bear with the man


as the scotchman said of his dog his bark is wur than his bite so please let your good mrs wiggs dish up the result of her excellent cooking let furbish give me a bottle of the best wine and leave the corporal to me


no one knows how to punish him so well as saying this the major adjourned to the parlour the landlady retired to the bar perfectly mollified for what woman is not so by praise of her charms and the cook retreated to her eanctiiary of pots and pans well content for she read a douceur in the majors kindly eyes


when the latter entered the parlour the oorporal was effecting some reform in relation to the laying of the dinner table


corporal he said with a severity somewhat habitual to men used to the command of others thought i told you when you left home to leave one thing behind you


the corporal did not venture upon an answer but went on smoothing the salt in the saltcellar


that was your unsufferable temper as you have not


beg your pardon major pleaded the corporal penitently and conscious at the same time of his masters weak point if youd only seen how that woman calling herself a cook here the corporal smiled sardonically was pre paring a fowl for the spit without breadcrumbs pepper or butter in its insideif you had only seen how the waiter was laying the cloth


thats no excuse crab we must take all things in this world with a grain of salt


if i took offence at every illcooked linner thats set before me when away from admirable becky or at every slovenly table i should be at perpetual warfare


the worlds full of bad cooks and illmanaged domestic machinery


so keep the peace corporal or youll march literally not figuratively


have a march in store for you


as pleasant a one asever you had in your life but this youll not go or any other if ive cause for displeasure again


now ring the bell and let me have this bird such as it is


the dinner came proved excellent and peace being thus restored the major took a nap sipped his coffee and wrote a letter to his dear boywithin it he placed a bank note for five pounds veiling the cause for sending under some pretext so tender and full of goodness as made the one who received it only love the old man more and more


the day but one following cyrus came hut by this time old oiay and his grand son had finished their work in the cathedral and taken their way from the town so waiting till he should be employed upon the schoolhouse windows the major and cyras passed the interval in visiting every nook of the cathedral other portions of the ancient town and much of the country adjacent


then the day arriving some refreshments were placed in a haversack on crabs shoulders and they set forth


it was lovely weather at the close of april


the leaves were richly come upon the trees the copses the heath paths the hedgerows were full of vernal flowers the grass in the pastures luscious and verdant for the lowing kine


they walked on till noon stopping occasionally to look at some little rustic church some shallow sedgy pool lying like a crystal mirror amidst the emerald green ness of the flowerclad fieldsat the rich fringe of copses that led away to ancient woodsand liked their path the better when some little brooklet purled on beside their footsteps its ceaseless song


at last after passing a heathy tract of great beauty and con siderable extent the ground began to bear a parklike aspect old trees singly and in clumps varied its undulating surface the uplands were crowned by ancient woods aird the road on either side was bounded by the ordinary sunk fence and ditch


presently they met a countryman leading some plough horses and they stopped to speak to him


yes this be a park he answered civilly bure park


the place you want be five miles off leastways by the road here but nigher much by the path


cross through under the old gateway there and youll strike into the right path


may we


yes my lord aint at home if he was you mightnt go for ro one must pass nigh the house when thats the case


now if so be you meet a keeper and just say that youre going over to lady janes new schoolhouse hell let you pass civilly too


they thanked the man and entered the park


soon approaching the house an old pjizabethan mansion of great size and placed on rising ground


some what like pensliurst they noticed that it wore much more the appearance of a place never inhabited than one occa sionally visited and dwelt in ty its owner


with the exception of one turret wing and the parterres about it little cost or care seemed to have been bestowed for years though the beauty of the trees and shrubs the velvet richness of the sward and the breadth of the grand old terraces sweeping here and there took away from the air of solitude and desolation which otherwise would have been so apparent


mistaking their way and passing round by these well kept borders which were divided from the rest by a slight wire fence a young fawn came running towards them looked wistfully about laid its nose upon the fence and bleated piteously


major ball coaxed it tenderly made crab unstrap the haversack took a biscuit thence and fed it


whilst doing this a gardener came towards them


he had a quantity of dead leaves and withered fieldflowers in his hands that looked as though gathered some weeks before casting these into a barrow he stopped to answer major balls question


yes sir the fawn misses some one its used to though itll soon have a new friend i daresay here he gave a sardonic grin and be so good if you pass through the park at any future time to go the ordinary road my lord is peremptory as to this part being kept private


the major apologised and finishing his kindly task took the direction the gardener pointed out so that he and cyrus soon reached a road much shadowed by old trees and following this came forth in due time into a scattered village of great sylvan beauty for lying amidst a wooded heathy tract it had all the picturesqueness of a forest scene


yet it was not without pastoral accompanimentsmeadows dipped into the woodland and little streams wound about blossoming orchards like silver threads


though in a sequestered part of the village the schoolhouse was easy to find yet to the intense disappoint ment of those who had come so far the old glazier was not there indeed no one was within though the newly hung doors stood open and workmens tools lay scattered round


i certainly shall go no farther said the major rather testily for like the corporal he could be occasionally a little queer without some lunch for knighterrantry and an empty stomach have certainly no natural alliance


crab go and find the inn if there be such a thing order the best they have and try the ale if both be passable keep the haversack close and produce neither wine nor fowl for it is best even in trifles to show tenderness to human nature


reqpllect this crab come to warfare with neither mistress nor maid and when lunch be ready send a lad to summons us


the corporal promised the major taking off his hat sat down on a workmans bench and cyrus pacing up and down examined with great interest the finelyshaped room and others leading from it


presently he came and laid his hand upon the old mans shoulder


the proportions of this place he saidr are singularly fine though the workmanship be a little rough


indeed in my recollection i never saw a finer adaptation of means to ends the builder if he have little culture has at least the eye of a geometrician and wrought out hi ground plan most efficiently both as to effect and use


excuse me do you really think so if so i am sincerely glad


cyrus for the previous moment whilst speaking to the major was conscious that some one had ridden on to the green outside the door dismounted and come in now looking he saw it was the same young man he had previously seen in the bermondsey ragged school


i do and as cyrus loxwood spoke he could but regard with interest the youth and handsome presence of the young stranger who though robust and tall had not probably seen more than nineteen summers


his face was kindlyr generous and intelligent if not evincing as his own did that lofty order of intellect whose power is essentially creative


yet even with more interest than cyrus looked on him he looked on cyrus


your words said the young man please me more intensely than i can tell you because having previously seen you and having learnt afterwards who you were i know their value


you are the mr loxwood i think who takes so much interest in the great question of a better houseaccomodation for the people


i am realiy delighted at the accident which thus introduces us


cyrus simply replied that such was his name and then in conjunction with the major related what had brought them there and how disappointed they wer in not finding the old glazier


like yourselves said walter verdun i came here to speak to gray indeed but for the sake of seeing him i should have returned to oxford last evening instead of this but most likely he is not far off this we shall learn in a few minutes as i have sent my groom up to the clerks to hear if possible where he is


in the meanwhile will you let me fehow you the schoolhouse


i am rather fcroud of it as my aunt lady jane aiid i have built it at our own cost and as we are not rich people it has been at some little amount of selfsacrifice


i shall also the more gladly show it to yoii as its plan and workmanship are those bf no regular and scientific builder biit of a selftaught workman riamed edge faiond who rents and works a quarry on my uncles estate


i certainly furnished him with the details as to the amount and kind of accommodation that would be requiredthis combining some modern improvenlentsbut the rest is his own


and excellent it is as far as it goes


i should like to see the man as i am not eo wedded to my own ideas as to be unwilling to gather knowledge at any source especially at that of originality


indeed as any great and really effective scheme of architecture for the masses can only be wrought out by an incorpo ration of talent as well as of capital i shall be willing to bring together as much of the former as i can provided the chance arises of a monetary power to effect that end


edgemond lives some miles frofri here but you tsould see him were you to remain a day or two


saying this mr verdun led the major and cyrus over the building


as they were returning back into the room where they had met the groom brought the information that old gray and his grandson had gone ove to a village about three miles distant whither the former had been sent for to effect some slight repairs in the church windows


at the nanie of the village the major recollected that it was the one pretty kitty newbud had named


well cyrus he said well go there there are some people i should like you to see beside the glazier so well lunch and go


saying this he told mr verdun that his servant had gone on to the village inn to order luncheon


if slich be the case replied walter well walk on to the inn and if you can be ready in halfanhour or so i will return and leaving my horse go round with you by the meadows to the village


it is the most beautiful walk i know and i shall be able to show you hoplow schoolan old elizabethan building of great beauty though now in a sad state of decay


some dozen girls of the poorer class are bioarded and educated there and the mistress adds to her scanty income by taking in a few boarders of the same class


but the school is badly managed though as the trusteeship must byandbye come into my hands i hope to effect a thorough reformation


to be continued


chapter iv


or should the desperados sudden steel or fatal poison now the blood congeal of them we love


anon


some three weeks before the circumstances recorded in our last chapter had occurred the amiable inmates of rivulet hall were making preparations for the reception of henry elverton whose return from the continent was hourly expected


letters had been received to inform them of his arrival in london and of his intention to be at home onthe very day two years from his departure


the morning of that day dawned the family and domestics looked with eager waiting for the growth of the day


harriet was the first to perceive him as he appeared at the angular point of the road where two years ago she had seen him disappear


oh mamma


he is here she joyfully exclaimed as she snatched her hood to run and meet him


in a few moments she was hanging about his neck and loading him with caresses


a servant quickly ran and took his horse and he was immediately in his mothers embrace


if the writer of these pages were to adopt the ordinary novel stvle he would lere detain the readwitli descripiipnof the improvedmanliness and address ofr the relurnedi tourist r he wouldv expatiate on thibecnngnridv of mother and spealr of the sparkling yi of


hatriet asi she learisr pni the shoulder of her dear brother whilst seated lie recounts his con tineiital adventures and


delights but he chooses rather to allow his readers imagi nation to fill up these parts of the narra tive and proceed


not many days after his arrival the lively harriet wished to see henrys journal but the lbvestrickeri henry somehow or other would defer it loath to refuse but scarcely willing to obey


he never had any intention to keep it back and yet when it was requested his heart palpitated for he remembered how in the simplicity of his mind he had filled it here and there with thoughts on maria


his father however one day addressed him on the subject henry said he why will you not favor us with your journal


shall i sus pect you have some love affair in it


come henry i have too much confidence in you to suppose for a moment that you could mix up in anything of a dishonourable cha racter andl think you ought to have as much faith in your father as to know that he can dulv appreciate all transactions of lonour


let it be forthcoming henry


at rivulet hall mr elvertons will was aw and yet these terms scarcely express dur meaning they seem to carry the idea if coercion but the feelings which resulted tom his commands were more like those which accompany the lessons given by an affectionate and influential teacher


it was therefore the spontaneous expression of the feeling in which henry had been bred when he answered dear father i never bad the slightest intention to withhold it that is up to the period when it was re quested and do indeed beg pardon for the seeming unkindness but an indescrib able emotion came over me when harriet first expressed her desire


it does indeed contain what your penetration has already discovered


i go at once for it and to punish myself for the refusal i will sit by whilst harriet reads


the journal created an interest but an interest of a different kind in each of the headers


harriet was delighted and ap proved of such a brother mrs


elverton glanced at her husband and mr elverton was grave whilst henry waited anxiously to hear what his father might say


that willdo my love said mr elver toriwhsn harriet had read about an hour


and nblfprtheicrhmerit on the text so far my idearturning to mrs elverton what think you of your gallant son


was he not soon caught


he writes as if he had


been in fairyland


i suppose it willnecessary to go


a little farther into tkis matter


you need not blush at these remarks henry if the object is worthy i shall not oppose you and if she is as you describe her miss mildred will suffer nothing from enquiry


my dear you will venture us an opinion


on this matter


well my love answered mrs elver ton i have not much inclination to con sider it quite so fairylike as you may imagine it


i do this moment remember the day i first saw you my love and i assure you there is nothing in henrys case which did not happen just as he describes it his thoughts on the situation of the young lady to me appear quite natural and indeed they command my sympathy


if you think proper my love we will invite the cousins to rivulet hall we cannot wish for miss mildredb company but i have no doubt we shall in them have a type of much that is in so dear a friend as the young lady seems to be


wisdom to the letter my dear said mr elverton so be it harriet you may write to your cousins


father said henry immediately would it not be preferable for the young ladies to have an escort


allow me to go and i will make all possible despatch


rienry lookea at nis motner


well henry but for your long absence from us i could not object replied mr elverton but what says your mother


you see your son said he smiling is grown quite a man


could you possibly consent to his request


indeed my love replied mrs elverton i should be exceedingly pained if henry were to leave us so soon after his tour which kept him two whole years from us but i leave it with you my love


mr elverton saw that henry would take an opportunity of seeing miss mildred and therefore found it necessary to caution him as to what he might say or how he might act should he meet with the uncle of this lady for a false step observed he might prove a serious disadvantage to a young heiress yet under age


i plainly see the propriety of your re marks father said henry more especi ally so from an impression i have as to the


rnyatery of mies mildreds circumbtancea


he then relatedji the conversation


hehad wjththesoldgardenerandthemeetingwittv his son jandxmentioried some i points of information which he had learned by letter r from his cousins as to the


conductofi marias uncle i iv i


r r


m may i see that letter henry


henry left the room and soon returned with several


i


on reading them mr elver ton said v henry these letters advance me


a step in favor of thisryoungijladyj and


ex cite somewhat rnd curiosity and


my sympa thies


we must see


the oldnnan and learn his historyv haves you his confideoceidoi you suppose v lai v i think so replied henry


consent was given for the trip to dublin and in a few days henry arrived at his uncle mhattons the cousins were de lighted to see him and more so when pre parations were directed to be maderto ac company their cousins to england


he remained with them but one day and then set out on horseback to ascertain from per sonal observation the situation of maria


to be continued


ht scotland


in the debate on the jewish disabilities bill sir


inglis demanded that the further proceeding with the bill should be postponed till after the recess in order to give time to the country to express its opinion on the subject of it and to give vent to the indignant evangelism of the nation


this challenge to agitation was accepted


edinburgh had tested public opinion by a crowded public meeting una nimously in favour of the government measure


the portland guardian and normanby general advertiser


published every monday wednesday friday


to protect our rightsnot to infringe upon those of others


wednesday october th adventures and observations in australia


by alister macalister gent


chapter i preliminary notifications


my father was the second son of a high land gentleman and was intended for the law


he was sent to edinburgh for his legal education and in due time passed his examination for advocate at the scottish bar


somehow or other he was not long in obtaining a brief certainly in a case of little or no importance but it was a bona fide brief notwithstanding


this brief was the first and the last my father ever held


in his pleadings even with all the advantage of the promptings of senior council he fairly broke down


he got confused contradicted himself talked in short uriant nonsense and appeared to his brother advocates to be a much greater ass than he had been previously considered


as soon as he could leave the court he hurried to his lodgings which were airily situated up six pairs of stairs in the can nongate packed his trunk paid his land lady and cursing the whole tribe of lawyers from the lord president down wards bade farewell to edinburgh for ever


i know that my father was never a graceful or fluent speaker and i have been credibly informed that his knowledge of law was neither precise nor comprehensive and that his disgraceful failure was only what might have been reasonably expected


the truth is his heart never was in his profession


during the few years he re sided in the capital he had not been alto gether idle


he had assiduously and suc cessfully courted the good graces of a fair amiable and accomplished girl


his attachment however absurd it might be in the needy and doubtful circumstances of his position was i am fully persuaded perfectly disinterested


the object of his choice was a poor orphan entirely depen dant upon the bounty of some rich relations who regarded her more as an incumbrance than an ornament


when my father made his precipitate retreat from edinburgh he left nothing behind him that he cared for except the lady of his affections


he was then in too great a perturbation either to see her or write to her but arrived at the first stage in his flight he was somewhat more composed and able to send her a short note


that note is before me now


it is old and faded but still in its hand writing and contents bears unmistakeable evidence to the agitation of the writers mind


it has neither superscription nor subscription of place or date and runs thusemmai have left the city of cursed law and lawyers never more to return


it contains nothing to admire excepting your sweet self


let our loves be unchangeable


you will hear from me soon


till death yoursdonald mac alister


in little more than a year after this crisis my father through the death of his mother came into the possession of a small estate in the island of skye


the estate was not of much moneyvalue but was quite sufficient with ordinary prudent management to maintain a family in some measure of respectability


the old house on the property which had been long neglected was put into a state of thorough repair and a considerable portion of the wormeaten furniture was removed to give place to articles of more modern date


in a word the house was made not only habitable but really comfortable


after this work was completed my father was married at greenock to emma not with out the willing consent of guardians and bore his lovely bride in triumph to his highland home


my gentle and noblehearted mother must have felt a great and strange differ ence when she first exchanged the refined society of edinburgh for the rude solitude of skye


but she loved my farther dearly with all his faults


she was a woman intelligently pious


she had sources of enjoyment independent of the world


and hers was a nature patiently to bear and not to indulge in useless complaint


the island of skye is included in the county of inverness and lies on the north west coast of scotland


it is the largest of the hebrides


it is separated from the mainland by a channel nine miles broad though at glenelg it is not more than half a mile from land to land


it is very irre gular in its form


its greatest length is fiftyfour miles and it varies in breadth to from thirtyfive to three miles


out of three hundred and fortytwo thousand four hundred english acres the measurement of the island only thirty thousand are arable


the remainder consists of mountain and hill pasture lakes morasses rocks and waste land


the inlets of the sea are so many and so deeply indented that there is no spot in the island four miles distant from salt water


agriculture was prose cuted to a very small extent and to that extent was of the most wretched descrip tion and the population amounting to eighteen thousand were chiefly employed upon grazing farms


in this wild bleak and sterile island l first saw the light


l understand that there were great rejoicings at my birth


that there was an immense and welcome gathering from a circuit of many miles and that an incredible quantity of whiskey was drunk which had not been dishonored by paying duty to the king


nay it is said that the supervisor of excise was present on the grand occasion and was so polite and considerate as not to put any troublesome or vexatious questions but danced with the livliest to the stunning sound of the pipes till fatigue or strong drink or both at last laid him quietly prostrate


i grew up a healthy hardy fearless boy


at a very early age i was a bold crags man could ride the most unruly horse and swim like a duck


till my ninth year my mother was my sole teacher


i had no brother or sister to divide her love and all the overflowings of her warm heart centred in myself


i was an apt scholar for her watchful tenderness was irresistible and she had an excusable pride in her beau tiful and talented boy for i had once when she thought me absent overheard her describe me thus to my father who very seldom took any interest either in my studies or amusements


indeed my sweet and gentle mother had few living objects to call forth her kindly affections


she did not cultivate an intimacy with the neighbouring gentry and they seldom visited at her house and she disliked the ignorant sycophantic highland servants who addressed her with fair words but were in the habit of lamenting among themselves that the laird should have been so foolish as to marry an english madam


when i had completed my ninth year i was put under the care of a tutor to be in doctrinated in the rudiments of latin


he was a course rawboned young man who had been three sessions at the university of aberdeen and aspired to be a parish minister


i soon discovered that this gen tleman was grossly vulgar and very eccen tric and i did not scruple to make him the subject of many harmless tricks


he was however a good creature and a faithful and diligent instructor


he attended me for six months during the recess of college for four successive years and i owe him a debt which i can never pay


during the six months of the year that my tutor was at his classes i had occasional lessons from a neighbouring minister


but the divine who had the reputation of being a great scholar was more fond of showing off than of communicating his learning and i derived small benefit from his erudition


i was now between thirteeen and four teen years of age and declared fit for college but my father had determined in his own mind whether rightly or not that no boy should enter a university before his fifteenth year and he proposed during the interval to read with me himself


this proposal was exceedingly gratifying to my mother who evidently felt though she endeavoured to conceal the feeling that he had been hitherto neglectful in parental duty


my father was a well read man but he had been soured at the world and was by no means particularly fitted to give honest and wholesome instruction to a youth


besides classical reading we began a course of history and young as i was i frequently ventured to controvert his remarks


at times when i did so he would smile bitterly without making any reply


at other times he would calmly answer that when i knew the world half as well as he did i would form more correct sentiments


i had promised myself no com


mon pleasure in this companionship but l am sorry to say that it proved the very reverse and i deeply regretted that it had ever been entered upon


but my punishment for punishment it had become came to an end at an earlier day than i had anticipated


my father who had entered with much zeal on his selfimposed task first began to neglect it and soon abandoned it entirely leaving me at perfect liberty to pursue my studies and amusements according to my own discretion


one day shortly after my emancipation having bribed a shepherd to accompany me i set out on a secret journey of a few miles with the laudable intention of robbing an eagles nest


the nest was situated near the top of a cliff perhaps one hundred and fifty feet in height which projected over a narrow and deep inlet of the sea


it could only be approached from above but we had provided ourselves with ropes and were quite confident of accomplishing our purpose


arrived at the spot i was being cautiously let down over the brow of the precipice by my compa nion when suddenly his strength began to fail and the line rapidly descended below the coveted nest


i remember that i experienced for a moment a confusion of vision and a strange ringing in my ears but i remember nothing more


i had been plunged headlong into the deep water


i must have perished to a certainty had not providentially a fish ingboat been at the time sheltered in the little creek or bay


two men who were in charge of the boat beheld the fearful accident and were the means of rescuing me from an oceangrave


i remained long insensible and only recovered consciousness to lose it again under the pressure of a violent fever which threatened my life but through care and a good constitution i was slowly restored to health


my first recollections during the progress of this severe illness were wondering why i was in bed and seeing my mother on her knees with her head rested on my humble couch supplicating the throne of grace doubt less on behalf of my unworthy self


i dis tinctly heard some parts of my mothers petition but my mind was so weak that i could not follow out the meaning of a single sentence


when she rose she bent over and looked wistfully in my face and i feebly articulated the endeared name mother


she started


her pale sad countenance brightened with an heavenly radiance as clasping her hands and lilting up her eyes she said with deepest earnestness thank god


time wore on


a few weeks previous to my departure for college my father sum moned me to his own private room or study


i felt uncomfortable at the message as this was the first of the kind i had ever received


i of course obeyed wondering not a little why i was so honoured and what disagreeable subject was to be made the matter of our conversation


when i entered he was in his armchair and before him a number of books and papers


he pointed to a similar chair at the opposite side of the table and requested me to be seated


he had never so far condes cended towards me on any occasion


i sat down and with a sort of impatient fear waited his pleasure


he addressed me nearly in the following words my son you are now past fifteen years of age and must soon leave for the university


in all liklihood your mother has already acquainted you with my wishes


i replied in the negative and he proceeded well it is seldom that she acts with so much prudence


it is proper that you should know first from myself the university you are to attend


i do not approve of aberdeen which i am told not only bestows degrees upon asses a practice common to all our universities but even upon horses which is certainly going out of the ordinary course


of st andrews i know so little that i can neither approve nor disapprove


edinburgh is a place of trifling where there is no compulsive stimulus to acquire knowledge and the town itself is conceited idle and abominable


glasgow from all accounts maintains the strictest dis cipline and the blackstone examination secures that the students must advance or re tire from the ranks of the togati


i have therefore determined my son that you shall go to glasgow


i nodded assent and he went on economy is highly commendable in the young and living is cheap in glasgow


i am informed that the two students at portree get lodgings at halfacrown aweek you must endeavour to do the same


i will send with you a firkin of salt herring half a barrel of salted beef and a few cheeses which will almost supply the whole of your wants during the session


you will receive from the minister a letter of introduction to one of the gaelic ministers in glasgow as i wish you to attend the church regularly which cannot do you much harm and may keep you out of worse places and i would lastly and specially enjoin upon younever forget that you are a highland gentleman


the day of my departure at last arrived and i left portree by the steamer for glas gow with a sorrowful heart


it was the first time that i was to be absent from home for more than a single night and now i was about to exchange the kindly and ever wakeful attentions of the best of mothers for the cold and careless services of strangers


was it unmanly to weep


i arrived at my destina tion in due season without meeting with any thing particularly deserving of notice


to be continued


ittcature


the mysteries of paris


continued


chapter iv


the maitre decole and la ciiouette


the man who went out after having


re quested


the ogresse to ldok after his plate and cup now returned acecompamnied by another person withbroad shoulders and powerful frame


the chourineur whispered to rodolphe pointingto the newcomer there is going to be a storm heis a constable look out


the two men of whom we have spoken exchanged arapid glance raised themselves from the table and made a rush for the door the two officers sprang on them with a peculiar cry


a terrible conflict ensued but other officers entered and outside could he see a troop of gendarmes


taking ad vantage of the tumult the charbonnier ad vanced in the doorway and catching a look from rodolphe he placed on his lips the forefinger of his right hand


rodolphe with


a hasty gesture commanded him to retire and then turned to observe what was passing before him


one manuttered cries of rage three men could hardly restrain him


his companion made no resistance but held out his handsto be manacled


the ogresse accustomed to such scenes remained seated in her bar with her hands in the pockets of her apron


what have these men been doing my good borel


she askedof one of the offi


cers whom she knew


t


they have murdered an old woman who lived in the rue st christophe that they might rob her house


before she died the poor creature said she had bitten one of them in the hand after the departure ofthe party rf police theogresse said it is lucky for the maitre decole that he wasnt here


hold


speak of the wolf and you see his tail she added at the moment a man and woman entered the tavern here are the maitre decole and his wife


a sort of shuddering spread among the guests and rodolphe himself could not re press aslight emotion at the sight of this redoubtable brigand whom he regarded for some moments with a curiosity mixed with horror


sthis man whenhbe escapedfrom the gal leys had horribly mutilated himself in order to escape identification


the woman who accompanied him was old she was decently clad in a red and black plaid and wore a white bonnet


rodolphe seeing her profile her green and round eye her


crooked nose her thin lips her extending chin her wicked and cunning physiognomy thought of the description of la chouette


he was about to mention this tolagoualeuse when he sawher turn suddenly pale she seemed to look with in tense interest at the companion of the mlaitre decole


at length seizing the arm of rodolphe with a trembling hand she ssaid to him in a low voice la choiette mon dieula chouette la borgnesse


at this moment the maitre decole ex schanging some words in a low tone with one of the inmates of the tapisfranc ad yanced slowly to the table where rodolphe was seated with la goualeuse and the chourineur and addressing fleur de marie in a deep and hoarse voice said i say my pretty blonde you must leave these two fellows and come with me


la goualeuse made no answer


hut moved closer to rodolphe her teeth chat tering with fear


ahl


i ah i now dont you understand me


said the monster advancing as for you with the mustachoes addressing rodolphe if you dont throw me that girl over the table ill tear


mon dieu


defend met cried la goux leirse to rodolphe joining her hands then reflecting that she was exposing him to danger she added in a low voice no no don t stir if he approaches ill cry for help and for fear of a noise that will attract the police the ogresse will take my part


be quiet my girl said rodolphe you are at my side and as that hideous animal there makes you sick as well asmyself i shall throiv him into


the street


syou i said the maitre decole


si answered rodolphe rising from the table


the maitre decole retreated one step at the frowningaspect ofltodolphe


fleurde mlarieand the chourineur were also struck by the expression of rage which at this mo nent contracted the noble traits oftheir toomrpanion he became unrecognizable


in this contest with the chourineur he had shown his contempt and scorn but face to face with the maitre decole hie seemed possessed with an intense hatred his dilated eyes sparkled with a savage vivacity


cer


tainexpressions of countenance have an irresistible power which terrifies those under their influence and which they can not avoid


rodolphe seemed endowed with this faculty and his antagonist made ano ther retreating step he no longer seemed toerely onhis vaunted strength but sought under his blouse for the hahdie of his po niard


a murder might have stained the floor of the tavern if la chouette had not seized him by the arm crying


stop assassin let me say one word


you ehall have your revenge byandby they shant escape for some time she had been regarding fleur de marie with attention as if endea


vourisg to recall something to memory at length she no longer had any doubt she recognized la gounaleuse and exclaimed is it possible


this is pegriotte the thief of mny barleysugar


where in the world do ytmu comie irom


then shaking herfist at the young girl she added ah i you shall come again under my clutches dont bo afraid i shant pull any more teeth that


revehge would not last long enough


ahl to torment you ill just let you know that i have found out your parents


the maitre decole saw at the galleys the man who gave you to me when you where a child


he told him the name of your mother


ohbi they are rich people your parents


my parents


you iknow them


cried fleur de marie


yes my man knows them but ill tear out his tongue before he shall you


your nother cared nothing about you sne would like to have heard thatyou were dead be assured


but


no matterif you knewher name you could make hler pay iiicely


eh i you cry pegriotte


well youi shall not knw your niotherr you shall not know her


i would rather she would think me dead said flour de marie


rodolphe attentively listened to this re cital and appeared much interested


during this time the brigaind no longer under the influence of the eye of rodolphe had taken courage he could not imagine that this slight young man could stand against him sure of his own herculeanstrength he drew nearer and said to lachouette in an an thoritative manner


enough of this talk


i want to spoil the beautyof this popinjay and pluck his fea thers


with one bound rodolphejumped over the table


tlaike care of my plates said the ogresse


the maitre decole put himself in an at titude of defence but at the moment ro dolphe was about to jump at him the door of the tavern was opened violently the charbonnier of whom we have spoken rushed into the room pushed the maitre decole rudely on one side and approach ing rodolphe whispered in english


mly lord the seytons are at the end of the street at these mysterious words rodolphe made an angry movement


cast a louis on the tounter and ran towards the door


the maitre decole endeavoured to obstruct the passage but rodolphe turned for a moment and gave him two such blows that the bully staggered and fell heavily across one of the tables


vive la cnarte cried the chourineur