Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
Book online «Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖». Author Mrs. Henry Wood
Primroses! And The Grey, Drifting Cumuli With Gaps Of Blue, And The
Cinnamon And Purple Woods, Broken With Yellowish Poplars And Pale
Willows, With Red Farms, And Yellow Gorse Lighted Up By The Sun!!! The
Oaks Just Beginning To Break Out In Yellowish Tufts, [_Sketch._] I
Can't Tell You What Lovely Sketches I Passed Between Aldershot And
Redhill!
On To Brighton I Took Charge Of A Small Boy Being Sent By A Fond
Mother To School. When I Mention That He Was Nine Years Old,--And
Informed Me--That He Had Got "A Jolly Book," Which Proved To Be _A
School For Fathers_, That His Own School Wasn't _Much Of A One_, And
He Was Going To Leave, And Ate Hard-Boiled Eggs And Crystallized
Oranges By The Way--You Will See How This Generation Waxes Apace!!
_Ecclesfield_. May 27, 1872.
... The Weather Is Very Nice Now. I Stayed Till The End Of The Litany
In Church Yesterday, And Then Slipped Out By The Organ Door And Sat
With Mother. I Sat On The Boy's School Side Of The Chancel, Where A
Little Lad Near Me Was Singing _Alto_ (Not A "Second" Of Thirds!)
Strong And Steady As A Thrush In A Hedge!! The Music Went Very Well.
The Country Looks Lovely, _But For The Smoke_. If It Had But Our Blue
Distance It Would Be Grand. But The
"Wreathed Smoke Afar
That O'er The Town Like Mist Upraised
Hung, Hiding Sun And Star,"
Gets Worse Every Year! And When I Think Of Our Lovely Blue And Grey
Folds Of Distance, And Bright Skies, And Tints, I Feel Quite
_Ruskinish_ Towards Mills And Manufactories.
To C.T. Gatty.
_X Lines, South Camp, Aldershot._
August 10, 1873.
My Very Dear Old Charlie,
Don't You Suppose Your Sister Is Forgetting You. Two Causes Have
Delayed Your Drawings.
1. I Have Been Working--Oh _So_ Hard! It Was Because Mr. Bell
Announced That He Wanted A "Volume," And That For The Xmas Market One
Must Begin At Once In July!
Such Is Competition!
He Had An Idea That Something Which Had Not Appeared In Any Magazine
Would Be More Successful Than Reprints. _So_ I Have Written "Lob
Lie-By-The-Fire, Or The Luck Of Lingborough," And You Will Recognize
Your _Cockie_ In It! I Have Taken No End Of Pains With It, And It Has
Been A Matter Of Seven Or Eight Hours A Day Lately. I Mean The Last
Few Days. Rather Too Much. It Knocked Me Off My Sleep, And Reduced "My
Poor Back" To The Consistency Of Pith. But I Am Picking Up, Partly By
Such Gross Material Aid As _Bottled Stout_ Affords! And Any Amount Of
Fresh Air Blowing In Full Draughts Over My Bed At Night!!
2. I _Have_ Been At Work For You, But I Get So Horribly Dissatisfied
With My Things. No; I Must Do Some Real Steady _Work_ At It. One Can't
Jump With A Little "Nice Feeling" And Plenty Of Theories Into What Can
Give Any Lasting Pleasure To Oneself Or Any One Else. I Will Send You
Shortly (I Hope) A Copy Of One Of Sir Hope Grant's Chinnerys, And
Perhaps A Wee Thing Of Ecclesfield. The Worst Of Drawing Is, It Wants
Mind As Well As Hands. One Can't Go At It _Jaded_ From Head Work, As
One Could "Sew A Long White Seam" Or Any Mechanical Thing!...
When D---- Was With Me, We Went To A _Fete_ In The North Camp Gardens,
And I Was Talking To Lady Grant About The Chinnerys, And The "Happy
Thought" Struck Her To Introduce Me To A Mr. Walkinshaw. They Live
Somewhere In This Country, And Mrs. Walkinshaw Came Up Afterwards To
Ask If She Might Call On Me, As They Have A Chinnery Collection
(Gathered In China), And Mr. Walkinshaw Would Show Them To Me!... Itheyencil. Send Over To The Rectory The First Thing In The Morning. And,
Hedges--"
At This Moment A Slight Noise Was Heard Within The Room Like The Sound Of
An Extinguisher Falling; As, In Fact, It Was. Lord Hartledon Turned
Towards It.
"Who Is There, Hedges?"
"I--It's No One In Particular, Sir--My Lord."
What With The Butler's Bewilderment On The Sudden Change Of Masters, And
What With His Consciousness Of The Presence Of His Visitor, He Was
Unusually Confused. Lord Hartledon Noticed It. It Instantly Occurred To
Him That One Of The Ladies, Or Perhaps One Of The Women-Servants, Had
Been Admitted To The Room; And He Did Not Consider It A Proper Sight For
Any Of Them.
"Who Is It?" He Demanded, Somewhat Peremptorily.
So Hedges Had To Confess What Had Taken Place, And That He Had Allowed
The Man To Enter.
"Pike! Why, What Can He Want?" Exclaimed Lord Hartledon In Surprise. And
He Turned To The Room.
The Moment The Butler Left Him Alone Mr. Pike's First Proceeding Had Been
To Cover His Head Again With His Wide-Awake, Which He Had Evidently
Removed With Reluctance, And Might Have Refused To Remove At All Had It
Been Consistent With Policy; His Second Was To Snatch Up The Candle, Bend
Over The Dead Face, And Examine It Minutely Both With Eye And Hand.
"There _Is_ A Wound, Then, And It's True What They Are Saying. I Thought
It Might Have Been Gossip," He Muttered, As He Pushed The Soft Dark Hair
From The Temple. "Any More Suspicious Marks?" He Resumed, Taking A Rapid
View Of The Hands And Head. "No; Nothing But What He'd Be Likely To Get
In The Water: But--I'll Swear _That_ Might Have Been The Blow Of A Human
Hand. 'Twould Stun, If It Wouldn't Kill; And Then, Held Under The
Water--"
At This Moment Mr. Pike And His Comments Were Interrupted, And He Drew
Back From The Table On Which The Body Was Lying; But Not Before Lord
Hartledon Had Seen Him Touching The Face Of The Dead.
"What Are You Doing?" Came The Stern Demand.
"I Wasn't Harming Him," Was The Answer; And Mr. Pike Seemed To Have
Suddenly Returned To His Roughness. "It's A Nasty Accident To Have
Happened; And I Don't Like _This_."
He Pointed To The Temple As He Spoke. Lord Hartledon's Usually
Good-Natured Brow--At Present A Brow Of Deep Sorrow--Contracted
With Displeasure.
"It Is An Awful Accident," He Replied. "But I Asked What You Were Doing
Here?"
"I Thought I'd Like To Look Upon Him, Sir; And The Butler Let Me In. I
Wish I'd Been A Bit Nearer The Place At The Time: I'd Have Saved Him, Or
Got Drowned Myself. Not Much Fear Of That, Though. I'm A Rat For The
Water. Was That Done Fairly?" Pointing Again To The Temple.
"What Do You Mean?" Exclaimed Val.
"Well--It Might Be, Or It Might Not. One Who Has Led The Roving Life I
Have, And Been In All Sorts Of Scenes, Bred In The Slums Of London Too,
Looks On The Suspicious Side Of These Things. And There Mostly Is One In
All Of 'Em."
Val Was Moved To Anger. "How Dare You Hint At So Infamous A Suspicion,
Pike? If--"
"No Offence, My Lord," Interrupted Pike--"And It's My Lord That You Are
Now. Thoughts May Be Free In This Room; But I Am Not Going To Spread
Suspicion Outside. I Say, Though That _Might_ Have Been An Accident, It
Might Have Been Done By An Enemy."
"Did You Do It?" Retorted Lord Hartledon In His Displeasure.
Pike Gave A Short Laugh.
"I Did Not. I Had No Cause To Harm Him. What I'm Thinking Was, Whether
Anybody Else Had. He Was Mistaken For Another Yesterday," Continued Pike,
Dropping His Voice. "Some Men In His Lordship's Place Might Have Showed
Fight Then: Even Blows."
Percival Made No Immediate Rejoinder. He Was Gazing At Pike Just As
Fixedly As The Latter Gazed At Him. Did The Man Wish To Insinuate That
The Unwelcome Visitor Had Again Mistaken The One Brother For The Other,
And The Result Had Been A Struggle Between Them, Ending In This? The Idea
Rushed Into His Mind, And A Dark Flush Overspread His Face.
"You Have No Grounds For Thinking That Man--You Know Who I Mean--Attacked
My Brother A Second Time?"
"No, I Have No Grounds For It," Shortly Answered Pike.
"He Was Near To The Spot At The Time; I Saw Him There," Continued Lord
Hartledon, Speaking Apparently To Himself; Whilst The Flush, Painfully
Red And Dark, Was Increasing Rather Than Diminishing.
"I Know You Did," Returned Pike.
The Tone Grated On Lord Hartledon's Ear. It Implied That The Man Might
Become Familiar, If Not Checked; And, With All His Good-Natured
Affability, He Was Not One To Permit It; Besides, His Position Was
Changed, And He Could Not Help Feeling That It Was. "Necessity Makes Us
Acquainted With Strange Bedfellows," Says The Very True Proverb; And What
Might Have Been Borne Yesterday Would Not Be Borne To-Day.
"Let Me Understand You," He Said, And There Was A Stern Decision In His
Tone And Manner That Surprised Pike. "Have You Any Reason Whatever To
Suspect That Man Of Having Injured, Or Attempted To Injure My Brother?"
"_I_'Ve Not," Answered Pike. "I Never Saw Him Nearer To The Mill
Yesterday Than He Was When He Looked At Us. I Don't Think He Went Nearer.
My Lord, If I Knew Anything Against The Man, I'd Tell It Out, And Be
Glad. I Hate The Whole Tribe. _He_ Wouldn't Make The Mistake Again,"
Added Pike, Half-Contemptuously. "He Knew Which Was His Lordship Fast
Enough To-Day, And Which Wasn't."
"Then What Did You Mean By Insinuating That The Blow On The Temple Was
The Result Of Violence?"
"I Didn't Say It Was: I Said It Might Have Been. I Don't Know A Thing, As
Connected With This Business, Against A Mortal Soul. It's True, My Lord."
"Perhaps, Then, You Will Leave This Room," Said Lord Hartledon.
"I'm Going. And Many Thanks To Your Lordship For Not Having Turned Me
From It Before, And For Letting Me Have My Say. Thanks To _You_, Sir," He
Added, As He Went Out Of The Room And Passed Hedges, Who Was Waiting In
The Hall.
Hedges Closed The Door After Him, And Turned To Receive A Reprimand From
His New Master.
"Before You Admit Such Men As That Into The Most Sacred Chamber The House
At Present Contains, You Will Ask My Permission, Hedges."
Hedges Attempted To Excuse Himself. "He Was So Very Earnest, My Lord; He
Declared To Me He Had A Good Motive In Wanting To Come In. At These
Times, When One's Heart Is Almost Broken With A Sudden Blow, One Is Apt
To Be Soft And Yielding. What With That Feeling Upon Me, And What With
The Fright He Gave Me--"
"What Fright Did He Give You?" Interrupted Val.
"Well, My Lord, He--He Asked Me Whether His Lordship Had Come Fairly By
His Death."
"How Dare You Repeat The Insinuation?" Broke Forth Lord Hartledon, With
More Temper Than Hedges Had Ever Seen Him Display. "The Very Idea Is
Absurd; It Is Wicked; It Is Unpardonable. My Brother Had Not An Enemy In
The World. Take Care Not To Repeat It Again. Do You Hear?"
He Turned Away From The Astonished Man, Went Into The Room He Had Called
Sacred, And Closed The Door. Hedges Wondered Whether The Hitherto
Sweet-Tempered, Easy-Mannered Younger Brother Had Changed His Nature
With His Inheritance.
As The Days Went On, Few, If Any, Further Particulars Were Elicited As To
The Cause Of Accident. That The Unfortunate Lord Hartledon Had Become
Partly, If Not Wholly, Disabled, So As To Be Incapable Of Managing Even
The Little Skiff, Had Been Drifted By The Current Towards The Mills, And
There Upset, Was Assumed By All To Have Been The True History Of The
Case. There Appeared No Reason To Doubt That It Was So. The Inquest Was
Held On The Thursday.
And On That Same Morning The New Lord Hartledon Received A Proof Of The
Kindness Of His Brother. A Letter Arrived From Messrs. Kedge And Reck,
Addressed To Edward Earl Of Hartledon. By It Percival Found--There Was No
One Else To Open It Now--That His Brother Had Written To Them Early On
The Tuesday Morning, Taking The Debt Upon Himself; And They Now Wrote To
Say They Accepted His Responsibility, And Had Withdrawn The Officer From
Calne. Alas! Val Elster Could Have Dismissed Him Himself Now.
He Sat With Bent Head And Drooping Eyelids. None, Save Himself, Knew How
Bitter Were The Feelings Within Him, Or The Remorse That Was His Portion
For Having Behaved Unkindly To His Brother Within The Last Few Hours Of
Life. He Had Rebelled At His State Of Debt Becoming Known To Dr. Ashton;
He Had Feared To Lose Anne: It Seemed To Him Now, That He Would Live
Under The Doctor's Displeasure For Ever, Would Never See Anne Again,
Could He Recall His Brother. Oh, These Unavailing Regrets! Will They Rise
Up To Face Us At The Last Day?
With A Suppressed Ejaculation That Was Like A Cry Of Pain, As If He Would
Throw From Him These Reflections And Could Not, Lord Hartledon Drew A
Sheet Of Paper Before Him And Wrote A Note To
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