Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Edmund William (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖
- Author: Edmund William Edmund William
Book online «Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Edmund William (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖». Author Edmund William Edmund William
Telling Tom The Great Love And Admiration He Felt For Miss Barton, Whom
He Had Frequently Met In devonshire As Well As In London, And That He
Had Vanity Enough To Believe That His Love Was Reciprocated, And
Declared His Intention On Julia'S Arrival To Decide The Affair By Making
Her An Offer Of His Hand And Heart, And Finished By Requesting Tom To
Forward His Views To The Best Of His Ability.
To This Tom Readily Assented. "The Sly Little Puss," He Continued, "Not
To Mention A Word Of It Even To Me. But I Suppose It Is Not Considered
By The Fair Sex Quite The Thing To Speak To Any One On So Delicate A
Subject Until After The Gentleman Has Popped The Question." Shortly
After, He Took His Departure For His Chambers At Lincoln'S Inn, And It
Was Noticed That Doctor Ashburnham And Mr. Tom Barton Were Seen More
Frequently Together Than Had Hitherto Been The Case.
Miss Barton Arrived, As Had Been Expected By Her Relatives In Harley
Street, And The Physician From Cavendish Square Called There Every Day,
Although There Was No Illness Or Epidemic In The House, Save That Known
As The Heart Disease, And So Earnestly Did The Doctor Press His Suit
That Julia Must Have Been Hard-Hearted Indeed To Have Refused To Add To
His Happiness By Encumbering Him With A Wife, And Ere She Returned To
Devonshire, It Was Finally Settled That The Wedding Was To Take Place At
The End Of The Following Month, And A Very Dashing Affair It Proved. The
Lawn Sleeves At Saint George'S, Hanover Square, Were Called Into
Requisition On The Occasion. There Was A Great Display Of White Corded
Silk, Lace Orange Blossoms, Muslins And Wreaths Of White Roses. Gunter,
Of Berkly Square, Was Called Upon To Supply A Wedding Breakfast, Which
Was Partaken Of At The Cotterells', And After Some Champagne Had Been
Drank, And The Speeches Usual On The Occasion Made, The Happy Pair
Started On Their Wedding Tour Through The South Of England, Calling, Of
Course, At The Willows On Their Way. After Visiting Scotland They
Returned To London, And Settled Comfortably Down To The Humdrum Of
Every Day Life In The Doctor'S Handsome Establishment In cavendish
Square, Which Had Been Re-Decorated And Furnished For Them During Their
Absence.
Not Many Months Elapsed Before The Happiness Of Our Young Friends Was
Somewhat Over-Shadowed By The Death Of The Worthy Old Couple At The
Willows, Who Expired Within Two Months Of Each Other. Mr. Barton Died Of
Old Age, And His Wife From Influenza, Caught While Attending Church To
Hear The Funeral Sermon.
Horace Barton Not Being Expected In england For Some Time, The Willows
Was Let On A Short Lease, And Emily Came Up To London To Reside With Her
Aunt In Harley Street, Occasionally Spending Several Weeks With Her
Sister, Mrs. Ashburnham.
Our Young Lawyer Was Slowly But Surely Increasing His Practice. He Had
Used All His Powers Of Persuasion To Induce Kate To Allow Him To Lead
Her To The Altar On The Same Day That His Sister Was Married, But In
Vain, For That Young Lady Declared That She Would Rather Take A Second
Class Character In The Interesting Tableau This Time, With The View Of
Being Better Able To Sustain The Role Of The Principal Actress In a
Similar Pageant At Some Future Time. With This Decision Tom Had To
Remain Satisfied For The Present And Attend To Business. But In The
Course Of Time Circumstances Transpired Which Prevented Him From
Attaining Any Eminence As A Lawyer. A Distant Relative Of Mr.
Cotterell'S And Godmother To Kate, Departed This Life, Leaving Her
Godchild The Very Comfortable Sum Of Six Hundred Per Annum, Secured In
The Four Per Cents., And After Wearing Mourning For A Suitable Period,
Kate Took The Initiative By Announcing To Tom, Very Much To His Surprise
And Delight, That She Was Both Ready And Willing To Become His Wife On
The Following Conditions, Which Were, That He Should Give Up Practising
Law, Take A Snug Cottage In devonshire, And Turn His Attention To
Haymaking, Shooting, &C, And Retire From London Life Altogether, For She
Said That In The Country They Could Live Very Comfortably On Six Hundred
A Year And Be Thought Somebodies, But They Could Scarcely Exist In
London On That Sum And Then Be Thought Nobodies.
If Our Young Lawyer Had Any Scruples On The Score Of Giving Up His
Profession And Thereby Losing All Chance Of Ever Attaining To The
Dignity Of Lord Chancellor, He Certainly Kept Them To Himself, For He
Had No Wish To Run Counter To The Inclination Of Kate, Or He Might Find
Himself In The Position Of The Dog In The Fable, Who Had Thrown Away The
Substance To Endeavour To Grasp The Shadow. Tom, In Reality, Had Never
Liked A London Life, And Had A Constant Hankering After Field Sports,
Shooting And Fishing; And Now He Believed He Could Indulge In These To
The Top Of His Bent. They Could Live Very Comfortably On Their Joint
Income, For He Had Received A Certain Sum On The Death Of His Parents,
And Likewise Made Something During The Past Few Years By His Profession,
Which He Had Increased By Placing It Out At Interest. Moreover, He Knew
Exactly Where To Find A House And Grounds That Would Suit Them; The Very
One That Kate Had So Admired During Their Strolls Around Vellenaux. It
Was Picturesquely Situated In a Shady Dell, Through Which Ran A Flowing
Brook Which Deepened And Widened As It Flowed On Towards The Sea, And
Was The Favourite Resort Of The Angler And Amateur Fisherman--About An
Equal Distance From The Willows And The Rectory, And But A Short Walk
From The Woods And Park Of Vellenaux. There Were Horace'S Grounds To
Shoot Over, And Although Sir Ralph Coleman Was Not A Neighbour Best
Suited To His Taste, Yet He Felt Certain That He Would Not Object To His
Occasionally Using His Preserves, Or Bagging A Few Brace Of Birds On His
Turnip Fields. All This, Together With A Pretty Little Loving Wife For A
Companion, Was, To Tom'S Notion, Something Worth Living For, And A
Position He Would Not Exchange For All The Gaieties Of London Life With
A Seat On The Woolsack Into The Bargain.
Again No. 54 Harley Street Was Thrown Into A State Of Bustle And
Confusion. Millinery Girls, With Innumerable Band Boxes, And Oddly
Shaped Parcels Were Continually Arriving. In The Drawing Room There Was
Assembled Daily A Sort Of Joint High Commission, Consisting Of A Bevy Of
Pretty Maidens With One Or Two Handsome Matrons, Who Were Engaged In
Deciding On The Colour, Material, And Cut Of Certain Wearables
Appertaining To The Wedding Trousseau Of Miss Cotterell. There Were
Continual Visits Made To The Fashionable Emporiums Of Silk, Lace &C., In
Oxford And Regent Streets, And Other Parts Of The Metropolis. The
Wedding Day At Length Arrived. A Considerable Distance Up Harley Street
Was Lined With Carriages Of Various Descriptions, The Coachmen And
Footmen Of Which Appeared In Holiday Costume And Wearing White Satin
Favors, And There Was Quite An Excitement In The Immediate Vicinity To
Witness The Arrival And Departure Of The Wedding Party To And From
Church. Kate Cotterell, Attended By Her Six Bridesmaids All Looking Very
Lovely In Toilettes Befitting The Occasion, Created Quite A Sensation
Among The Spectators As They Stepped From No. 54 Into The Carriages That
Were To Convey Them To Hanover Square.
After A Very _Recherche_ Breakfast, Served In Gunter'S Best Style, In
The Handsome Drawing Room Of The Cotterells', In Harley Street, Tom And
His Fair Bride Took Their Departure _En Route_ For The Continent. They
Were To Make A Tour Of Several Months Through France, Germany And
Switzerland, Likewise Enjoy Several Weeks On The Banks Of The Beautiful
Rhine.
Mr. Cotterell Undertook To Arrange Matters Concerning The Purchase Of
The Cottage So Much Admired, Which He Intended To Present To His
Daughter As A Marriage Gift, And Aunt Sarah, Emily, And Mrs. Ashburnham
Took Upon Themselves The Responsibility Of Furnishing The Said Cottage,
And Otherwise Rendering It In every Way Suitable For The Reception Of
The Happy Couple, And Thus Enable Them To Commence Housekeeping
Immediately On Their Return To England.
The Various Events And Proceedings Were Duly Recorded And Forwarded From
Time To Time For The Information Of Horace And Pauline Barton, In Their
Eastern Home On The Banks Of The Hoogly; And Edith, Who Still Kept Up A
Correspondence With Kate And Julia, Received A Full Account, Descriptive
Of The Wedding Trousseaus And Paraphernalia Incident To Both Ceremonies,
And Followed Up By A Delicate Enquiry As To When She Intended To Return
The Compliment By Favouring Them With The Details Of An Indian Wedding,
Which They Supposed Must Soon Take Place, And Would, No Doubt, Prove A
Gorgeous And Magnificent Affair In True Oriental Style. So Wrote The
Happy Girls To Their Old Friend And Companion In calcutta, For,
According To Pauline'S Account, She Had No End Of Suitors Among The
Wealthiest In The Land.
To All Those Enquiries Edith'S Usual Reply Was That The Time Was
Somewhat Distant When She Could Indulge In dreams Of Happiness. Her
Position Was Somewhat Changed, Thus, Probably, The Event They So Often
Alluded To Might Never Take Place, And The Reader Must Remember, That
Although Edith And Arthur Were, Beyond Doubt, Devotedly Attached To Each
Other, The Word That Would Have Made Them Both Happy Had Not Yet Been
Spoken; There Was No Engagement, Or In Fact, Any Advance Towards One,
Yet Both, In Their Heart Of Hearts, Realized The Great Love They Felt
For Each Other. But Prudential Motives Had Kept Arthur Silent. Edith
Knew This And Was Content To Wait For The Developments Of The Future. In
The Meantime She Did Not Hesitate To Participate In The Amusements And
Enjoyments Which Offered, And Which Were Continually Pressed Upon Her By
Her Kind Friends, The Bartons.
Chapter 9
The Capital Of Bengal Was A Very Gay City. What With Balls And Public
Breakfasts At The Governor General'S, Brilliant Assemblages Given By The
Civil Service Granders, With No End Of Picnics, Theatricals, Cricket
Matches And Races Improvised By The Military And Naval Officers, For The
Especial Benefit (At Least So They Said) Of The Beautiful, Gay
Butterflies That Condescended To Grace, With Their Presence, Such
Assemblages; And Pauline Barton Never Allowed These Occurrences To
Transpire Without Inducing The Beautiful Miss Effingham, As She Was
Usually Styled, To Accompany Her, For Pauline Was, Indeed, Very Popular
In Chowringee And Around Its Vicinity, And Her Bungalow Was A Constant
Lounge For The Gallants Of All Services. Horace Was No Niggard In His
Hospitality, But Preferred The Ease And Comfort Of His Own Sanctum To
The Gay Rattle That Was Continually Going On In His Pretty Little Wife'S
Drawing Room Or Verandahs. And Arthur Was Again, For A Fourth Time Since
His Arrival In The Country, In calcutta. He Had Contrived To Get
Appointed One Of A Committee For The Purchasing Of Troop Horses For His
Regiment And This Would Detain Him At The Presidency For A Couple Of
Months. This Was A Source Of Much Pleasure To Edith, For Sometimes
Accompanied By Mrs. Barton, But More Frequently Alone, Would Arthur And
Edith, Either Driving Or On Horseback, Wend Their Way Through The Shaded
Avenues That Crossed The Midan, Along The Strand By The River Side To
Garden, Reach And Loiter In The Botanical Gardens; This Being
Considered By The Grandees The Most Fashionable Resort For A Canter In
The Early Morn Or A Pleasant Drive About Sunset.
It Never Entered The Head Of Pretty Mrs. Barton That There Could Be Any
Serious Love Making Between Her Friend And The Handsome Lieutenant. She
Knew That They Had Been Brought Up Together From Childhood And Were More
Like Brother And Sister Than Lovers, And Had Such An Idea Been Suggested
To Her By Any Of Her Friends, She Would Have Pooh Poohed It As Mere
Moonshine. She Knew That It Was Out Of The Question For A Subaltern To
Enter The Matrimonial Arena; Besides The Brilliant Beauty Of Miss
Effingham Must Command A Suitable
Comments (0)