L I E) RAR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVLR^SITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 8Z5 
 B455s 
 V.A
 
 (\^ 
 
 SANDRON HALL, 
 
 THE DAYS OP QUEEl^ AISTNE. 
 
 THE HON. GEANTLEY BERKELEY, M.P. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON : 
 ' HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1840.
 
 LONDON : 
 F.SHOBERr-.JUN., PRINTER, 51, RUPERT STREET. HAYMARRET
 
 823 
 
 V. i 
 
 SANDRON HALL 
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 How few can be of grandeur sure ! 
 i-j * The high may fall, the rich be poor. 
 
 '^^ The only favourite at Court, 
 
 To-morrow may be Fortune's sport ; 
 
 For all her pleasure and her aim 
 
 Is to destroy both power and fame. 
 
 Dr. Sheridan. 
 
 Ir was at Sandron Hall, in the county of 
 
 Berks, at the commencement of April, in the 
 
 <:::^x3year one thousand seven hundred and two, or 
 
 x^hereabouts, just as the earth was beginning to 
 
 d
 
 2 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 cast off her russet hue, and to don the merrier 
 garb of Spring, that, at an early hour of a 
 bright morning, Charles Sandron threw open 
 his casement and gazed forth on the domain of 
 his fathers. 
 
 It was yet so early that the trees cast long 
 westward shadows over the dewy park, and, in 
 some places, upon the still slumbering deer, 
 while in the more open vistas small detach- 
 ments from the dappled herds might be seen 
 strolling forth to crop the newly-sprung and 
 nutritious grass. Avenues of oaks and chest- 
 nuts, with myriads of aristocratic rooks caw- 
 ing and clamouring around their newly-made 
 nests, shewed that for some centuries, at least, 
 no gambler or spendthrift had plied the pro- 
 perty with the needy axe ; while the sleek ap- 
 pearance of cows, turkeys, pigs, and poultry, 
 which came forth, or stood around their care- 
 fully-allotted places of rest, combined with the 
 vicinity of paddocks, well stocked with fine
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 3 
 
 brood mares, and surrounded with hayricks, 
 gave to Sandron Hall an air of comfort, soli- 
 dity, and wealth, which is no where so aptly 
 illustrated as in the well found country-seat of 
 an old English gentleman. 
 
 We must now say something of the owners 
 of this residence ; there are but few of the 
 same stamp left in the present day — it would 
 be better for England were there more. Sir 
 Stamford and Lady Sandron were far advanced 
 in years, though at the time of which we speak 
 age seemed to sit lightly on the good old 
 knight, for he looked almost as hale and hearty 
 as in his most vigorous youth. Their only son, 
 Charles, had reached his nineteenth year, and 
 was now about to quit home for a sojourn in 
 London, having been hitherto tied, as it is the 
 fashion to express it, to his mother's apron- 
 string, or, perhaps, more properly speaking, to 
 the hunting-belt and bootlash of his father. 
 The following morning was fixed for his de-
 
 4 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 parture : but, to make our readers more inti- 
 mately acquainted with the hero of the tale, let 
 us return to his open casement. 
 
 Charles had thrust his handsome countenance, 
 shadowed by his dark hair, between the stone 
 stanchions of the gothic window, and having 
 amused himself sufficiently with the prospect, 
 he exclaimed, without turning his head, to an 
 attendant in the room : — 
 
 " Ho, boy ! give me my fowling-piece ; there's 
 a crow within shot." 
 
 The gun was quickly handed to him by a 
 page, and he proceeded to take aim at the bird, 
 surrounded, as it was, by the more valuable 
 poultry. 
 
 ''Don't shoot. Master Charles," exclaimed 
 the lad from within ; '' if ye do, sir, ye'll shoot 
 Sir Stamford's favourite gamecock." 
 
 " Hold your peace, sirrah ; do you think I do 
 not know what I am about !" then, as if ad- 
 dressing the bird mentioned, Charles continued.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 5 
 
 *' One step more, old blackbreast, and you are 
 sufficiently out of the line. Oh, rare ! — a 
 single bird sitting alone is a mark for a tyro 
 sportsman ; but when surrounded by others 
 which are to be cunningly missed, then there 
 is some skill displayed in picking him off." 
 
 Bang went the gun ; away, though crippled, 
 flew the crow, and over fell the gamecock, 
 while a host of smaller fowls ran screaming off* 
 to plume their ruffled feathers. 
 
 Charles looked upon the field of battle with 
 an eye in which mirth at his mistake was 
 blended with disappointment and regret ; how- 
 ever, like a spoiled child, he coolly drew in his 
 head, kicked his page, and began to dress. 
 His toilet being accomplished, on the ringing of 
 the bell for breakfast, he descended to the par- 
 lour, when the following scene was presented 
 to his view. At the head of the table, in the 
 starched, stiff" dress of that period, sat his 
 mother, very much disconcerted and in tears ;
 
 6 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 while, with hands buried to the very rufFs 
 in his embroidered waistcoat-pockets, impa- 
 tiently chinking in either some keys or some 
 pieces of money, his invariable wont when any- 
 thing annoyed him, stood Sir Stamford ; his 
 bluff, hale countenance expressing as much 
 wrath as could be contained beneath the neat 
 little rows of white curls which, from his perri- 
 wig, graced his temples. The father did not 
 immediately address the offending son, but, 
 looking first at his leathers and heavy riding 
 boots, as if for a moment meditating a kick on 
 somebody, he continued to divide his angry 
 glances between the culprit, the housekeeper, 
 and the defunct gamecock, whose body had 
 been borne into the room on a tray. 
 
 The instant Charles observed his mother in 
 tears, he advanced and kissed her, while his 
 father, motioning the gamecock's funeral from 
 the room, seized a knife and fork, and, turning 
 to a side table, lustily attacked a cold round of
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 7 
 
 beef. Breakfast passed in silence, and at its 
 conclusion Charles was about to quit the par- 
 lour, when the old knight thus called him to 
 return : 
 
 '' Charles, come hither, boy, and sit down. 
 You are to leave us to-morrow, and I would 
 sooner give you some advice now, than put 
 it off till the last moment : no, no ; as a man 
 is better able to bear the melancholy duty 
 of making a will when he is in full pos- 
 session of health and spirits, than he is when 
 oppressed by sickness and on the eve of death, 
 so can I more reasonably speak my mind now, 
 than at the moment when I am about to part 
 with you. You have shot — damn the game- 
 cock ! — I do not care for it otherwise than it 
 provides me with an illustration which may 
 regard some more serious act of your future 
 life ; you have, in this instance, missed your 
 mark, and let it be a timely warning to you, 
 never to attempt to strike the guilty where, by
 
 8 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the misdirected or too hasty blow, the innocent, 
 the gallant, and the good, may suffer. Never at- 
 tempt to expose a villain if your efforts in so 
 doing are likely to injure those who have been 
 the unsuspecting dupes of his artifice. Never 
 wager a larger sum than you carry in your 
 pocket. Never shake hands with a man if you 
 are not really glad to see him. Never forget, 
 when you meet, to recognize your friends, and 
 be even more careful to offer your salutation to 
 those that are poor, or who may have been in 
 any way distressed, whether in mind, purse, or 
 prospects, than you are to your more affluent 
 acquaintance; for rest assured that they will 
 feel your neglect more acutely than either your 
 equals or superiors — superiors I need not say, 
 for a gentleman ought to have none, unless it 
 be the family on the throne. Never run ex- 
 travagantly into debt, for it is the bye-path 
 which leads to moral destruction, and grows at 
 last into the great high road to irremediable
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 9 
 
 ruin. Some parents would tell their sons never 
 to run in danger, or engage wantonly in love- 
 afFairs.'* Here Lady Sandron, in anticipation 
 of what might follow, rose and quitted the apart- 
 ment. 
 
 Sir Stamford continued — " But, egad ! I 
 remember my own youthful days, and I am 
 well aware that such advice is useless. Never 
 quarrel, at least without a sufficient cause — 
 a cause which you cannot overlook ; but if it 
 be necessary that you do take up a quarrel, then 
 see that quarrel firmly to an end. When prin- 
 cipal in an affair, be ever on the fighting side ; 
 when second, then cudgel your brains how, in 
 strict honour, you can stay the effusion of blood. 
 Be ever careful in whom you repose your honour, 
 if a duel is in view ; select your friend for his ap- 
 proved courage, his wisdom, and for his weight 
 in society, and if you know not a man of this 
 sort (they are rarely to be met with), in that 
 case, come to me, and I will find a sword to 
 
 b5
 
 10 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 back your's. Seek not such dangers, but never 
 shun them when they seek you. Never betray 
 confidence of any kind, more particularly the 
 confidence of a woman : never be boastful of her 
 favours, but, at the risk of life, so far as in you 
 lies, maintain her purity and honour. 
 
 '' I was about to add, never drink ; but I fear 
 me it will be difficult for you, in some societies, 
 to refrain ; if you should find it so, and cool 
 chairs and clean glasses are thrice called for. 
 Nay, I know not whether it mayn't be better in 
 such an extreme case to drink till you are dumb, 
 than, as honest Will Shakspeare says, to let men 
 ' put an enemy in your mouth to steal away 
 your brains.' I could go on with the nevers 
 for an hour yet, but I see you are anxious to 
 depart ; go, then, my boy, and take your father's 
 blessing with you ; you have never been out in 
 the world ; but a good horseman, a good swords- 
 man, and a good shot — never mind the ac- 
 cursed affair of the gamecock — and a tall.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 11 
 
 handsome, manly fellow, well schooled by my 
 excellent and reverend friend, the Doctor Mar- 
 maduke, ought to make his way anywhere.'* 
 
 Charles had risen to depart, when his father 
 once more arrested him with : 
 
 '' Stay, boy, I conclude you are going to the 
 Rectory." 
 
 Here the good old man threw a degree of 
 solemnity into his voice and manner, which was 
 very unusual. 
 
 '^ D'ye hear me, Charles ! do not trifle with 
 Louisa — she loves you ; you have been, as it 
 were, bred up together ; she has no mother ; 
 and I would not have her first and best affec- 
 tion placed on any one who did not know how 
 to value it." 
 
 At this last injunction Charles coloured to the 
 eyes, when his heart being too full to find relief 
 in words, he pressed his father's hand, and 
 hastened from the room. 
 
 Shortly after this interview, Charles arrayed
 
 IS 
 
 his handsome figure with, if possible, more care 
 than usual, mounted his horse, and set off at 
 an easy canter down one of the stately avenues 
 of trees which led to the residence of Doctor 
 Marmaduke. 
 
 Behind him there rode a groom, whose 
 portly figure did honour to the ale in the cel- 
 lars of the ancient Hall. He bestrode a long- 
 tailed black horse ; was accoutred in an ample 
 frock, hunting-cap, powdered wig, and pig- 
 tail, while he bore in his hand a large black, 
 silver-clasped whip, resembling those in size 
 and shape which are used in the present day 
 for propelling pigs on the highway. 
 
 Having emerged from the park, the master 
 and man arrived in sight of an old-fashioned and 
 substantial house, where the young squire dis- 
 mounted, and ordered his groom to return with 
 the horses to their stables. The building before 
 him was surrounded with a neatly-kept gar- 
 den, containing many square- cut walks and
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 13 
 
 lawns, a wilderness, and a labyrinth of horn- 
 beam, and raised its front directly opposite a 
 venerable and ivy-covered church. Our hero 
 struck into a bye-path, leading through an 
 orchard or two, and was approaching the domi- 
 cile ; when, before he had proceeded far, a white 
 doe came bounding down the close, and soon 
 after there appeared a creature full as buoyant 
 and graceful, but adding to the gifts of nature 
 the more exalted perfections of the intellect. 
 It was Louisa Marmaduke ; on her face was 
 written that purity of mind and body which 
 is only to be found in those whose lives have 
 passed in healthful seclusion, and in the fear and 
 knowledge of their Creator ; whose only anxiety 
 spring from a desire to relieve the poor, and to 
 assuage affliction ; and whose single hope has 
 been to fulfil each christian duty. 
 
 Late hours, false lights, faint perfumes, and 
 constant dissipation, had neither dimmed her 
 lustrous eyes, paled her cheek, or perverted the
 
 14 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 laughing expression of her lips ; her beautifully 
 rounded form had not faded beneath an over- 
 heated and oppressed atmosphere, or been 
 forced out of proportion by the distorting 
 ligatures of Fashion ; but, like the deer which 
 bounded before her, she tripped along the path 
 in all natural and graceful perfection ; in full 
 freedom from every restraint, save that of 
 maidenly propriety, and in absolute possession 
 of those inestimable but too fleeting gifts — 
 youth, health, innocence, and beauty. 
 
 The light coif which she had placed on her 
 head to protect her from the air flew off as she 
 playfully advanced to meet Charles, when her 
 rich auburn tresses, shadowed occasionally with 
 a touch of gold as the sun caught the luxuriant 
 curls, streaming back, disclosed a countenance 
 beaming with all that could add a fascination 
 to the most regular features. She ceased not 
 in the speed of her approach till she had taken 
 Charles's proffered hand ; and then, being aware
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 15 
 
 that this might be his last visit ere he left her 
 on his journey to London, she led him, according 
 to her mode of expressing it, to take leave of his 
 country friends and favourites. Doves, poultry. 
 Jujube and Fairy — a favourite horse and spaniel 
 — were all, in their turn, visited ; and Charles 
 and Louisa at last found themselves seated in 
 a summer-house, in training the shrubs and 
 flowers around which he had often assisted. 
 
 '* Well, Charles," she said, '' you will write 
 me word all that happens to you, an d tell 
 me of the new acquaintances you make, who 
 they are, and how you like them ; and when you 
 return, I hope you will bring some of them to 
 see me. Mind, tell me all about them ; I shall 
 never tire of your letters ; your friends shall 
 still be my friends, although I have never seen 
 them ; and in the beautiful words of Ruth will 
 I say, ' Where thou goest I will go, and where 
 thou lodgest I will lodge, and where thou diest 
 I will die, and there will I be buried.' How
 
 16 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 happy and amused you will be by all you see 
 and hear, after the quiet scenes and homely 
 people in which, and with whom, it has been 
 your lot, as well as mine, so long to dwell ! I 
 wonder if you will meet with any one you like 
 
 better than those you have been accustomed 
 
 to !" 
 
 As she said this there was a pause, a blush, 
 and a slight cadence in her voice, which, however, 
 was not of a moment's' duration, and she re- 
 sumed her usual tone and manner. Too inno- 
 cent herself to entertain a serious idea of the 
 seduction the world ever places at the feet of the 
 handsome, the youthful, and the rich, or of the 
 dangerous and fascinating ordeal through which 
 Charles was about to pass, she, when the mo- 
 mentary cloud, induced by the thought of sepa- 
 ration from one so intimately known, had vanish- 
 ed, felt as excited and as happy as he did, at the 
 thought of his approaching journey. The vivid 
 imaginings of the mind of both crowded too fast
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 17 
 
 upon each other to permit the palette of the 
 brain to receive a sober colour ; and the small 
 still voice of Reason was lost amidst exalted and 
 fervent anticipation. 
 
 " Well, dear Louisa," responded Charles, " and 
 when I return, will you be as happy to receive 
 me as you have ever been, and will you take 
 the same interest in my favourites, my hounds, 
 my horses, and all my pets, as you do now ?'* 
 
 *' No ; I will beat them all till you come back 
 again." 
 
 As she said this, an old favourite park or deer 
 dog came into the summer-house, and, with the 
 freedom of a licensed favourite, laid his long 
 sharp muzzle on her lap ; she stooped her head 
 till the animal's crest was enveloped in her 
 glossy hair, and when she looked up again her 
 eyes were filled with tears. Charles observed it, 
 and, ere she could help herself, one arm encircled 
 her waist, and he had kissed every vestige of a 
 tear away. It was the first time he had ventured
 
 18 SANDRON HALL^ OR 
 
 a caress of any sort since they had been ab- 
 solute children ; they had lived together for years, 
 and had felt like a brother and sister ; but now, 
 at the moment of parting, and through this one 
 caress, there seemed to be open before them a 
 field of affection, as sweet as it was novel : in 
 short, as often has happened, as often happens, 
 and as often will happen, at the moment the 
 lovers were about to part, they, for the first 
 time, became aware of the true situation of their 
 hearts. At this juncture a footstep was heard 
 approaching ; and her father came in sight. 
 
 Doctor Marmaduke was far down in the vale 
 of years, yet, as we often see the last fine day in 
 autumn, though about to be closely followed by 
 all the rigours of winter, remind us of — or, for 
 a space, even make us forget the beautiful 
 weather we have for ever lost — the precise 
 and venerable appearance and mild expres- 
 sion of this good man banished the reflection that 
 his earthly career was well nigh sped. In his
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 19 
 
 gait he was as straight and unhesitating as the 
 path which he had pursued through life. Erect 
 as a dart, clean, neat, and scrupulously sedulous 
 in his clerical appearance, his dress became him 
 as a man and as a minister, while his striking 
 features expressed neither the intolerant bigotry 
 too often maintained by the dignitaries of the 
 high church party of that day, nor a pompous 
 pride in his own situation. 
 
 Liberally inclined in his political and religious 
 principles, he was looked upon as a man likely 
 to be advanced to the first vacant see in the 
 power of the Whigs to bestow. His life had 
 been spent in doing good ; and, in the earlier 
 part of his existence, in essaying to become that 
 which so many of the protestant clergy are but 
 too apt to forget — a good parish priest. He not 
 only preached, but he practised, and in his doc- 
 trines he studied to lay down such rules as he 
 knew to be in the power of man to follow. 
 
 By example, and by suiting his discourse to
 
 20 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 his audience, did this really useful divine endea- 
 vour to lead his flock by gradual and easy steps 
 to that goal at which he wished them to arrive. 
 Never setting his face against innocent re- 
 creation, he endeavoured to impress upon his 
 hearers that the way to God was one of natural 
 pursuit and cheerful emulation, rather than a 
 thorny and difficult path of miserable existence 
 and privation ; thus did he in many instances 
 lead on and calmly cultivate many a stubborn 
 mind, which otherwise, from its natural obsti- 
 nacy, might have rebelled against the sharper 
 restriction, and been hardened and debased for 
 ever. 
 
 He was an excellent scholar, as, indeed, who 
 would not have been, who had received the ad- 
 vantages that he had in his younger day, of 
 studying under the great author of Paradise 
 Lost ; when Milton, on his return from his 
 travels, resided in Aldgersgate Street in London, 
 and employed his time in the superintendence
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 21 
 
 of a limited number of pupils. He was one, 
 also, of the very few who then regarded osteo- 
 logy and the study of the fossil remains of the 
 antediluvian world as a science well worthy 
 the pursuit of man, and calculated to throw an 
 awful though a distinct light on the vast and 
 mysterious secrets enclosed in the cavemed and 
 rocky bosom of the earth. 
 
 Louisa rose when she beheld her father, and, 
 throwing herself into his arms, burst into tears. 
 The three were soon again seated ; when, like 
 the momentary showers attendant on the time 
 of year, Louisa's grief quickly passed away, 
 and she even smiled that she had wept. At a 
 glance the meaning of the scene had been read 
 by her father, and, taking a hand of each, he 
 seated himself between them. 
 
 " Charles," he said, " I am happy in this 
 opportunity of addressing you ; I feel for you as 
 a father, for your mind has been taught by me, 
 in the limited manner which my own attain-
 
 2,^ SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 rnents permitted, and you have been bred up 
 with my only daughter, who, I feel assured, 
 loves you as she would a brother. You are now 
 about to seek your fortunes in the world ; by 
 that I do not mean that you are in pursuit of 
 wealth, for you have sufficient, and you are heir 
 to the noble domains of the Hall ; but you are 
 on the eve of carving for yourself a place in 
 the estimation of your fellow-creatures, an ho- 
 nourable distinction or otherwise in the mind of 
 man. Your station in society and your abili- 
 ties fit you for the highest situations in the state ; 
 may you never disgrace the one, or neglect the 
 other ! That you will not do so I am confident. 
 I have long desired to see you the representative 
 in parliament of this county ; and, if ever that 
 happy day arrives, I hope you will remember 
 my doctrines sufficiently to assert that neither 
 the christian religion, nor natural religion, nor 
 any thing else that ought to be called religion, 
 can subsist under tyrannical governments.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 23 
 
 '' In your advocacy of the Whig interest, and 
 of the desires of the low church party, you will 
 find many, if not most, of the powerful families 
 against you, and a degree of acerbity in the 
 Protestant high church leaders, which I would 
 not have you adopt against them ; for though 
 he who strikes with a sharp weapon with the 
 like may be equally assailed, yet, where the in- 
 terests of the church are at stake, I would have 
 the controversy carried on, not unmindful of the 
 commandment : — ' that ye love one another/ 
 God is raised far above the reach of our kind- 
 ness, our malice, or our flattery ; he derives in- 
 finite happiness from his own infinite perfec- 
 tions ; nor can any frail power or action of our's 
 lessen or improve it. Religion, therefore, from 
 which he can reap no advantage, was instituted 
 by him for the sake of mankind, as the best means 
 and strongest motive to their own and mutual 
 happiness ; and by it men are taught and ani- 
 mated to be useful, assisting, forgiving, kind
 
 M SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 and merciful one to another. But to hurt, 
 calumniate, or hate one another /or his sake, and 
 in defence of any religion, is a flat contradiction 
 to his religion, and an open defiance of its Author : 
 and to quarrel about belief and opinions con- 
 scientiously adopted and maintained, because 
 we think they do not lead to practical virtues 
 and social duties, is equally wicked and absurd. 
 It is to be wicked in behalf of righteousness, 
 and to be cruel out of piety. A religion which 
 begets selfishness and partiality only to a few, 
 and its own followers, and which inspires hatred 
 and outrage towards all the rest of the world, 
 can never be the religion of the merciful and 
 impartial maker and judge of mankind. 
 
 '^ I have never loved my good and excellent 
 friend William Penn the less, because he ap- 
 proached his God by a different but equally con- 
 scientious path from myself, nor do I think less 
 righteously of him ; indeed, if you should ever 
 want the advice of an old head on most sub-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 25 
 
 jects, to him would I recommend you to ap- 
 
 ply- 
 
 ''My dear Charles, uphold the Protestant 
 church with a firm yet a liberal hand, and, where 
 you think it wrongfully approached, lose your 
 right arm rather than let its constitutional 
 strength be shaken ; yet, in doing this, take 
 care that your zeal does not convert your re- 
 ligion into a deadly and unnatural engine, to 
 increase and defend that pride and power which 
 Christianity abhors. Freedom has done more 
 for the Protestant religion, than freedom will 
 ever do against it. Look at the good effected 
 by the Reformation ; all the great free states, 
 except Poland, and most of the small free 
 states, became Protestants. Thus the English, 
 Scotch, and Dutch, the Bohemians, Sweden and 
 Denmark, the greatest part of Switzerland, 
 with Geneva, and all the Hans towns which 
 were not awed by the Emperor, threw off tli£; 
 popish yoke. No one will deny but that in 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 26 SANDRON HALL. OR 
 
 King James's time we owed the preservation of 
 our religion to our liberties, which both our 
 clergy and people almost unanimously concurred 
 to defend, with a resolution and boldness worthy 
 of Briton's and free men. As the cause and 
 blessings of liberty are still better understood, 
 its spirit and interest will daily increase. 
 
 " Look at the situation of the good Doctor 
 Burnet ;* there was a triumph to turn the dis- 
 solute Rochester into a sincere penitent, and to 
 convert him to Christianity ; look at his endea- 
 vours to promote the legal toleration of dis- 
 senters ; and, though an enemy to pluralities, his 
 strenuous efforts to benefit the condition of the 
 poorer clergy. I grant that he is too much of a 
 bigot, and inclined to inveigh with too much 
 asperity against popery ; still, he had the respect 
 of the people, and I know him now to be one who 
 esteems religion as the balm of life, and the 
 sure passport to a happy immortality. 
 * Bishop of Salisbury.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 27 
 
 '' I fear, my dear boy, I have been irksome to 
 you, but I should not have been satisfied unless 
 I had expressed myself thus fully ; I am an old 
 man, and God only knows if we may ever meet 
 again. But, come, the air is chill, let us adjourn 
 to the rectory." 
 
 In the house as well as in the grounds the 
 same neat and clerical appearance prevailed ; in 
 a double sense, ' his house was always in order,' 
 and in the excessive neatness of Louisa's bou- 
 doir might be seen the mirror of her mind ; 
 every thing was tastefully arranged, beautifully 
 selected, and thoroughly feminine, and, while 
 music, drawing, and ornamental needlework 
 were obviously favourite recreations, there were 
 work-boxes, and a more homely work-basket, 
 which contained evidences that useful and bene- 
 ficial applications were not neglected. 
 
 We will now pass over the remainder of the 
 day, until the great bell at the Hall was ringing 
 for supper. In the eating parlour of that an- 
 
 c2
 
 28 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 cient edifice, and in the same dress he wore in 
 the morning, stood, or rather fidgeted. Sir Stam- 
 ford, and sat Lady Sandron ; the latter endea- 
 vouring goodnaturedly to beguile her husband 
 of his impatience, and to do away with every 
 angry sign, as was her wont on all such occa- 
 sions. Sir Stamford continued to walk up and 
 down the room to the tune his boots were playing ; 
 they seemed absolutely to share the wearer's im- 
 patience, and to creek more loudly than ever, 
 while his hands, as usual, were playing a sort of 
 chinking accompaniment with the contents of his 
 waistcoat-pocket. 
 
 '' Where is the boy ?" he exclaimed ; *' I hate 
 to be kept waiting !" 
 
 *^ He will come directly, dear ; he is always 
 punctual," replied her ladyship. 
 
 '' Tut — tut — my lady — he is ever late ; the 
 last time we hunted, the lad was not out of bed 
 till six, and we had fourteen miles to ride to 
 cover, hounds thrown in at eight. I cannot eat 
 if I expect a person every moment."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 29 
 
 We will now fly back to the orchard at the 
 rectory. Beneath the trees, their hands clasped 
 together, stood Charles and Louisa ; he had been, 
 and was still, speaking of love. 
 
 " God bless you, then, Louisa !" he continued ; 
 " believe me I shall never love another ; you 
 shall always be my dearest, as you have been 
 my first love, and I will constantly write to prove 
 that you are never for a moment forgotten. The 
 lock of hair which you have given me, and which 
 I will retain nearest to my heart, shall be kissed 
 every day a thousand times. Bless you, sweet 
 love ! — adieu !" 
 
 At last he tore himself away, the orchard was 
 crossed in a moment, and the ladder-stile cleared 
 almost in a bound ; the deer in the park were 
 scared by his hasty passage, and nothing brought 
 him up but the ample waistcoat of the old grey- 
 haired butler, who was peering from the door in 
 search of the very person who was doomed so 
 nearly to throw him down. Leaving the butler
 
 to his fate, Charles passed on, when, having 
 threaded a row of Hveried and well-powdered 
 domestics, from the under-butler to the coach- 
 man and postilions, who were all drawn up in 
 the Hall in battle-array, and who would not 
 move till the young squire had arrived, he pre- 
 sented himself to his anxious parents. The rage of 
 his father evaporated in an explosive " Pshaw f 
 and they seriously sat down to supper, where — 
 as it is a most excellent way of concluding either 
 a day or a chapter — we will for the present leave 
 them.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Oh ! rather give me commentators plam. 
 Who with no deep researches vex the brain ; 
 Who from the dark and doubtful love to run. 
 And hold their ghmmering tapers to the sun ; 
 Who simple truth with nine-fold reasons back. 
 And guard the point no enemies attack. 
 
 Crabbe. 
 
 On the following morning Charles Sandron 
 arose with the sun, it being his determination to 
 be in London early that afternoon. Breakfast 
 finished, and with a letter of introduction to 
 Lord Orford in his pocket, amidst the adieus of 
 his father, mother, housekeeper, butler, and other 
 innumerable household functionaries, he mounted 
 his horse, having determined to ride the distance, 
 rather than be jolted throughout, in what he
 
 32 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 irreverently was pleased to term the family-barn. 
 You see him, then, reader, pacing down the 
 avenue leading towards the London road, not on 
 a skittish, thin-legged, thorough -bred, hack, but 
 on a good, substantial, high-crested, round-quar- 
 tered, round-barrelled, short-legged, hunterlike- 
 looking horse, possessing a tail of full dimen- 
 sions, though at that moment tied up in a huge 
 knot, the better to keep it from the mud. 
 Behind him, mounted on a taller horse, and one 
 more fitted for the purposes of draft, sat John 
 Hardcastle, the same portly groom we have be- 
 fore described, poising his long black whip like 
 a colour- staff proudly on his thigh, and bearing 
 in his face the importance of his trust, for he 
 was to look after his young master, as well as 
 overlook the stable. He could have ridden down 
 fifty of the lackeys, and have buttoned up in his 
 waistcoat a hundred of the half- starved stinted 
 cubs who cling to the cabs of the present day. 
 As they passed through the little village, its
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 33 
 
 whole population, save those who were at work 
 in the fields, turned out to see the young squire 
 ride to London, and many were the " God bless 
 ye, sirs 1" of the old people as they took leave of 
 him where he entered on the great high road. 
 More than once Charles turned his head to look 
 at the high elm-tree which towered above the 
 rest, and which he knew had its root in the rec- 
 tory garden ; nor did he cease from such occa- 
 sional occupation till the prancing of his horse 
 on the turf of Maidenhead Thicket made it 
 necessary for him to regard more immediate 
 matters. He had not proceeded far when the 
 sound of a horse's foot advancing at a con- 
 siderable pace met his ear, and he soon after be- 
 held a stranger emerge from some thick trees, 
 and ride straight towards him, as though their 
 business led in the same direction. 
 
 "Good morrow to ye," said the new comer, 
 "I am fortunate in meeting with a gentleman who 
 appears to be journeying towards Hounslow." 
 
 c5
 
 34 
 
 '^I am equally fortunate," replied our hero, 
 pleased with the stranger's ofF-hand and careless 
 manner ; " for I have a long ride before me, 
 terminating in a place whither I have never yet 
 been for many days together ; and one, like your- 
 self, who probably knows the local better than I 
 do, would be able to confer both benefit and 
 pleasure by giving me his society. I am bound 
 for the great city." 
 
 " Ha — to London — that emporium of all that 
 
 is delightful, and you have never been there be- 
 
 Jbre ? But," continued the stranger, interrupting 
 
 himself ; " we know each other not yet — whom 
 
 have I the pleasure of addressing ?" 
 
 " Charles Sandron, of Sandron Hall, at your 
 service." 
 
 " Upon my life, a lucky meeting," said the 
 stranger, evidently pleased with the information, 
 " and that I may be known to you, I beg to tell 
 you that I rejoice in the name of Surface, Simon 
 Surface, at your service."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 35 
 
 We will now describe Master Surface's ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 In age, he might be thirty or more, with a 
 countenance which, though decidedly good-look- 
 ing, betrayed in its pale cheek and bloodshot 
 eye an intimate acquaintance with late hours 
 and various excesses ; his voice was deep and 
 mellow, but occasionally touched with the Scot- 
 tish accent. Of the middle stature, and inclined 
 to be clumsily made, there was still a rakish 
 ease and elegance about him, with a total ab- 
 sence of an approach to diffidence, which proved 
 that he had not lived all his life in country 
 places, while the manner of his address bespoke 
 him conversant, at least, with good breeding. 
 His garments were well made, but, to use an ex- 
 pressive term, a little too flashy in their appear- 
 ance 'j it was evident that he set some store by 
 fashion, while, to a degree, either from an error 
 in judgment, or from intention, he surpassed its 
 eccentricities.
 
 36 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " And you are journeying for the first time to 
 London, my very good sir," said Master Surface, 
 " well stored with cash and good advice, both ex- 
 cellent things in their way, and, like a pair of 
 good coach- horses, equally fast in their paces ; 
 though the one is apt to work more than the 
 other. To what coffee-house or tavern have you 
 despatched your things ?" 
 
 " To the Hercules' Pillars, ^ kept by an old 
 dependant of my family," replied Sandron. 
 
 '' The Hercules' Pillars ! What in Heaven's 
 name made you choose such a suburban domicile 
 as that ? Why you will have an augean task be- 
 fore you, like the grim hero who gives the inn 
 his name, if you intend to walk backwards and 
 forwards every day to the realms of civilized so- 
 ciety : out upon it, man ! the old fellow who 
 keeps it will be in constant communication with 
 your very worthy parents, and will send them a 
 particular and exact account of every light o' love 
 
 * Situated about where Apsley House now stands.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 37 
 
 you have. It will not do, depend on't; you 
 shall, however, judge for yourself, it being my 
 duty, as your sworn ally, to submit divers places 
 of entertainment for your selection." 
 
 " I shall be very much obliged to you for your 
 advice and assistance, though my father has 
 given me a letter of introduction to Lord Orford."" 
 
 '' To Orford," said Master Surface, musing 
 for a moment ; " a very proper man ; but one 
 too much engaged in his own affairs, in the po- 
 litics of the day, and in providing for his defence 
 against the impeachment of the Commons, to 
 be of much service to your pleasure. Take my 
 advice ; before you present that letter to his 
 lordship, see a little of the amusements in town, 
 and learn some of its peculiarities ; he will value 
 your acquaintance the more if you rub off the 
 rawness of the country. By my life ! so does 
 my heart yearn towards you, I feel much in- 
 clined to dub myself your private tutor. Lo I 
 see yonder blue smoke, curling up from that
 
 38 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 brake of furze and hawthorn ! 'tis the camp of 
 a cunning gipsy, and therein will I prove to you 
 that even in the country, and under your very 
 nose, there exists more than is dreamed of in 
 ' thy philosophy.' We will look into yonder 
 tent. What, ho ! Sir Squire, I know not your 
 fellow's name, take charge of our horses, and 
 tarry here till our return." 
 
 So saying, our travellers dismounted, and pro- 
 ceeded to the weather-beaten encampment. 
 
 In a little dell, sheltered from the winds on 
 either side by the bushes and inequality of the 
 ground, were placed two tents ; while between 
 them, at the foot of each, suspended on a stick 
 above a considerable fire, boiled a capacious 
 kettle. The entrance to one of the tents was 
 secured by an old red cloak, while from the 
 other protruded the naked legs of a man. 
 
 " What, ho, here !" exclaimed Master Sur- 
 face, advancing to the latter ; " what ! art asleep 
 with the kettle boiling ! I'll bet a mag* there 
 * A farthing, in the slang of the day.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 39 
 
 are some of Sir Stamford's pheasants in it, and 
 thou hast been up all night to catch them ; let's 
 see ;" he continued fishing at the same time with 
 his whip in the boiling liquor, and enumerating 
 the ingredients as they rose to the surface ; " the 
 head of a cock, the leg of a goose — " What 
 other information the kettle might have afforded 
 was here put an end to by the lad with the 
 naked legs^ who, starting up, thrust the whip 
 back, while Surface accosted him thus : 
 
 '^ Where is Smith, thou varlet ?" 
 
 '' Smith r' echoed the young gipsy, grinning 
 in some amazement ; '^ he's left us/' 
 
 *' He has done no such thing," replied his 
 interrogator ; " he is in yonder tent, and I must 
 see him/' Saying this, he advanced, and was 
 about to lift the cloak from the entrance, when 
 the sturdy gipsy once more interposed his mus- 
 cular frame. 
 
 '* Fool ! what a suspicious bonnet* thou art ; 
 are there any stains in the moon ?** 
 * All accomplice.
 
 40 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 At this extraordinary question, the young 
 gipsy made a grimace of acknowledgment and 
 obedience, and, putting his mouth to the en- 
 trance of the closed tent, he addressed its in- 
 mate in his, to those who stood by, unintelli- 
 gible jargon. A female voice was heard in 
 reply, and the owner of it, shortly afterwards 
 making her appearance, riveted at once the 
 interest and admiration of our hero. From 
 the tent, wretched, squalid, as it was in exter- 
 nal appearance, crept forth a girl of surpassing 
 beauty. 
 
 In years she had scarcely reached the prime 
 of life, yet her figure was in full perfection — no- 
 thing could be more lovely 3 her hair, which, 
 from the hasty summons she had received, was 
 hanging down her back, was so long as to reach 
 nearly to the ground, while her large black eyes 
 rolled and sparkled beneath a jetty fringe, which 
 in vain endeavoured to conceal their fire. The 
 tint on her cheek might be compared to the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 41 
 
 bloom on the russet apple, and it seemed as if 
 the rich crimson hue which mantled beneath the 
 skin was enhanced rather than impaired by the 
 wholesome brown shadow which tempered its 
 brighter colour. 
 
 " Good morrow, my lord !" she exclaimed, as 
 she came smiling up, and disclosing a brilliant 
 set of teeth ; " does this good gentleman wish 
 his fortune told ? — here are the broads,"" holding 
 in her hand some cards ; " let him cross my 
 palm with a bit of silver, and from Ms will I 
 read his future destiny j he is born to be lucky, 
 and there's a fair young lady, and one that is 
 neither dark nor fair, who — " 
 
 " Peace, Corah !" interrupted Master Sur- 
 face ; " none of this nonsense ; the gentleman's 
 fortune is made already, as your's would be but 
 for your own folly. I came but to shew my 
 friend your beauty, and to ask him if he did not 
 agree with me, that it was a thousand pities 
 your charms should be thrown away on a man
 
 42 SAXDRON HALL, OR 
 
 who does not know how to value them. Where 
 is Smith ?" 
 
 '' He is at the fair, my lord ; do you wish him 
 to be sent for?" 
 
 " No, Corah, no ; I came but to see you,*" re- 
 plied Surface ; when, taking her by the arm, he 
 led her some steps from the spot where their 
 companions were standing, yet not so far but 
 that Sandron could catch the burthen of their 
 conversation. 
 
 " Well, Corah,"" said Surface, " have you 
 thoroughly reflected on my offer ; and will you 
 leave your husband, come to London with me, 
 and be made a lady of, ride in your coach, and 
 have servants to attend you ?" 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 *' A handsome house," the tempter continued, 
 " instead of that ragged tent, a dozen necklaces 
 of precious stones instead of those strings of 
 black and red berries around your pretty neck, 
 with linen as w^hite as driven snow : how much
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 43 
 
 more lovely you would look in such array ! 
 Come, Corahj leave the coarse wretch with 
 whom you are at present mated, and who seems 
 to have enslaved your better reason, who beats 
 you, too, on the slightest provocation, and come 
 and associate with one who understands and 
 can appreciate your merit."" 
 
 The only part of this address which seemed to 
 have the slightest effect upon her to whom it 
 was delivered was the allusion made to the 
 blows ; for a moment, perhaps, a shght struggle 
 with her resolution was manifest, but it passed 
 away, and she replied in a firm, yet respectful 
 voice, "Never." 
 
 *' Well, then, Corah," he rejoined, " promise 
 me still to pause on the offers I have made ; 
 weigh them well in your mind, and reflect on 
 the usage you now receive, on your wandering 
 and degraded condition, and, when you wish to 
 better your situation, you have only to fly at 
 once to me."
 
 44 SANDROI^ HALL, OR 
 
 " No, my lord, no,'' she cried, motioning 
 with her hand as if she flung the temptation 
 from her ; " I will not even think of your pro- 
 posal ; the gipsy may wander, the gipsy may 
 steal, as you term it, and sleep in her ragged 
 tent 5 her state in life may appear degraded ; 
 but while her heart is pure and the stars pro- 
 pitious, while her affection, misplaced though it 
 may be, is unsullied by deceit (she thinks it no 
 crime to follow the life of her forefathers, and to 
 take the birds and beasts, which she believes 
 were intended for all alike) ; there is happiness 
 for her even on the lonely common. The song 
 of birds, the murmurs of the brook, the sighs of 
 the sweet wild wind, are her music ; while the 
 flowers and the foliage, the hill and the valley, 
 are her pleasant pictures; they are not de- 
 pendant on the caprice of man or on the folly 
 of fashion. If the gipsy's heart is glad, and it 
 cannot be so if she is dishonest to her mate, there 
 is happiness, and sufficient to content her on the 
 face and in the bounties of creation."*'
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 45 
 
 As she thus spoke, there was a dignity in her 
 manner, and an elegance and facility of ex- 
 pression in her language, which, though Master 
 Surface put himself into a theatrical attitude of 
 raillery, did not fail to strike Sandron. 
 
 " Well done. Corah," exclaimed the former ; 
 " faith you must have been studying in some of 
 the shows at the fair, or have been at a iield- 
 preaching, to have learned such a lofty strain. 
 Still you must have money ; gold is as pleasant 
 to your hand as it is to the grasp of a well- 
 housed sinner." 
 
 *' True, my lord ; and for it, Smith, as well as 
 myself, have often done your bidding; ay, when, in 
 one instance, my conscience and your command 
 were at variance. But, gipsy as I am, struck 
 by the hand of the man who should protect me ; 
 scorned, reviled, driven from place to place ; at 
 times, denied by my fellow-creatures the shelter 
 of a bush ; you cannot move me from the 
 Gipsy-law, or win me to your way with gold.
 
 4t> SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Here, Jem," she cried, addressing the lad, and 
 tying up her long black hair at the same time, 
 '' take ofF the kettle and we will break our fast." 
 
 This was said evidently with the sole view 
 of ending the conversation ; and Surface, turn- 
 ing on his heel in an angry and disappointed 
 manner, beckoned our hero to follow him ; and 
 they proceeded to their horses. 
 
 The interview we have thus recounted made 
 some impression on Charles Sandron ; and, in 
 the first place, he felt an inclination to condemn 
 the conduct of his companion, but, like many 
 other better emotions of the youthful breast, the 
 inclination lasted but for a brief season. 
 
 It is wonderful how good intentions fail, when 
 bared as a butt for the pointed shafts of ridicule, 
 how they vanish when opposed by bad example. 
 Many a young man in the onset of hfe hears and 
 sees things which, in his heart, he censures and 
 condemns ; but with which, after a time, he be- 
 comes familiar.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 47 
 
 The first impropriety committed is ever at- 
 tended with painful regret ; but it is astonishing 
 to see how soon the mind becomes deaf to the 
 reasonings of virtue. Thus, in some measure, 
 was it with the hero of the present tale ; had he 
 followed the dictates of his conscience, and at 
 once and openly condemned the overtures made 
 by his companion to the gipsy, and have shaken 
 off his new acquaintance at the first moment of 
 dislike, he might, for a time at least, have 
 held at arm's length the contamination of the 
 age in which he lived. Instead of this, he now 
 regarded Master Surface as a gallant of the 
 fashion of the day, and as an example for a 
 young man of spirit to follow. He admired his 
 manners, and a certain reckless air of liber- 
 tinism, which sat gracefully upon him, while, 
 at the same time, he shrank from his ridicule. 
 Thus our hero had not travelled many miles 
 from home, when there had been made upon 
 him a new and dangerous impression.
 
 48 SANDRON HALL, OB 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 But the Green-Man shall I pass by unsung. 
 Which mine own James upon his sign-post hung? 
 His sign, his image — for he once was seen 
 A squire's attendant, clad in keeper's green ; 
 Ere yet with wages more, and honour less. 
 He stood behind me in a graver dress. 
 
 Crabbe. 
 
 Charles Sandron and Master Surface had 
 mounted their horses and proceeded some way 
 in the direction of Maidenhead ere either of them 
 broke silence ; the latter at length exclaimed : 
 
 " By my soul, that girl is an extraordinary 
 creature, and how she could be persuaded to 
 link her fortunes to those of a half gipsy and 
 whole rogue to me is incomprehensible, the more 
 so, as in the earliest years of her life she was
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 49 
 
 by an old lady purchased from her tribe, and 
 educated : impatient of restraint, however, she 
 fled from the rod, and returned to her tent on 
 the first opportunity." 
 
 " She is beautiful," replied his companion ; 
 " but, by the by, you have a new title, she 
 dubbed you lord ; wherefore did she so .'*" 
 
 Had Charles Sandron possessed that quick- 
 ness of eye and shrewd comprehension of man- 
 ner which nothing but constant communion with 
 man and observation of woman can bestow, he 
 might have perceived that even the well-tutored 
 countenance of his friend was for an instant 
 marked by some strong emotion, as, with an 
 affected carelessness, he replied : 
 
 " Faith, she always dubs me lord, because she 
 pretends to read my destiny in the stars, and 
 that one day or other a coronet will grace my 
 brows;*' then, changing his subject, he con- 
 tinued — '* We shall arrive in town at a bustling 
 time. Men are now trimming their sails to catch 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 50 
 
 the breeze which blows from a new quarter of 
 the heavens : the queen is the word in the mouth 
 of every man, whether he loves her or not, and 
 the world is vexed with exultation and dismay. 
 The Dutch are ready to curtail the width of 
 their garments through sheer consternation ; 
 France rejoices like mad ; while exulting Rome, 
 forgetful of all stateliness and decorum, so scan- 
 dalizes Cardinal Grimani as to send him horror- 
 struck to remonstrate with the Pope. The 
 Whigs in England affect to be pleased, and 
 laugh that they may not cry, while our queen 
 gives to their opponents, the Tories, an un- 
 doubted preference. It will not do for you, my 
 good sir, to stalk through the saloons in Lon- 
 don big with your family principles, if you ex- 
 pect to catch a smile at court : no, no ; rather 
 take an example from the fashion of the times, 
 filch a feather from the tail of the twin stars of 
 the political hemisphere, as Corah would call 
 them, and let the member for Wotton Bassett*, 
 ♦ St. John.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 51 
 
 and his friend Harley, set you a safe ex- 
 ample.'* 
 
 " What ! are you, with all your predilection 
 for gipsies and knowledge of their slang, con- 
 versant with state affairs ?" asked Sandron, 
 amused and surprised with the volubility of his 
 friend on such a subject. " Now I should have 
 guessed you to have been one who made pleasure 
 his sole object of pursuit."" 
 
 " And you would have guessed me rightly/' 
 said his companion ; " but learn this, my very 
 good friend, to obtain pleasure men are often- 
 times obliged to do unpleasant things ; for in- 
 stance, to gain the affections of a woman it is 
 frequently necessary to be a hero in capacities 
 foreign to one^s nature. Some ladies love their 
 cavalier to be sentimental, full of soft sonnets, 
 moonlight melancholy, and Arcadian reveries, 
 while others delight to paint him, seated on the 
 summit of abstruse literature, sailing in com- 
 mand on the stormy sea, or ruling midst the 
 
 d2
 
 52 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 clash of swordsj or the roar of cannon ; all like 
 the lord of their affections to be distinguished in 
 some public capacity. Love is gregarious ; if a 
 man has the character of a gar9on de bonne for- 
 tune, women will love him simply because he 
 has been beloved ; if you wish, therefore, to be 
 high in favour of the dames, make yourself 
 singular. Believe me, I know as much of the 
 court as I do of the gipsy's camp ; give me but 
 an object, and to obtain it I will work through 
 fire and water. Gods !" he exclaimed, striking 
 his spurs into his steed, and forcing him to 
 bound forward as if to clear some wide obstacle 
 in his way, " life would be a blank without ex- 
 citement, and not worth the purchase of a single 
 hour. The very time in which we live is an era 
 of excitement, and what signifies it whether the 
 spirits of men are stirred to action by one reason 
 or the other — the beauty of the lion lies not 
 in his slumber, but in his wrath. Tournaments 
 and imprisoned damsels have all passed by ; po-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 53 
 
 litical mania is the order of the day, and suc- 
 cessful intrigue the solace of the statesman's 
 life." 
 
 " I have lived in the country," replied San- 
 dron, " and of course am not a judge of such a 
 state of things ; indeed my father never told me 
 to expect to find society so situated." 
 
 " Nor could he have done so, because, having 
 lived detached from active life so long, his infor- 
 mation has not kept pace with his existence," 
 said Surface ; " at the present time, party- feeling 
 and political hatred run so high that the defeat 
 of a ministry is followed by the impeachment of 
 its members. The Tories have a majority, and 
 their insolence has no bounds ; Portland, Somers, 
 Orford, and Halifax, are coming in for their 
 share of persecution ; and the Tory faction are 
 endeavouring to teach the people to forget the 
 decided conduct of the Whigs in the late reign, 
 at a time when their decision alone could have 
 saved the country."
 
 54 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " And why is our gracious queen, whose man- 
 ners I am told are so amiable and popular, and 
 whose disposition is so kind, why is she so de- 
 cidedly averse to a liberal government?" 
 
 ''It is thus," replied Surface : " she has been 
 taught to look upon the Whigs as a party hold- 
 ing and promulgating tenets utterly at variance 
 with monarchy, subversive of the church, and de- 
 structive to the Protestant religion 5 these are 
 her public grounds for disliking them : privately 
 she is moved against them because they opposed 
 the settlement upon her of a revenue suited to 
 the expectations she entertained. During the 
 time that the Whigs were thus in opposition to 
 her wishes, the Tories were strenuously befriend- 
 ing her, not from any great attachment to her 
 person, but simply because, in espousing that 
 side of the question, they gratified their feelings 
 of hostility towards William/' 
 
 " Is the queen likely to continue her coun- 
 tenance to the high church party, then, in
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 55 
 
 defiance of the wishes of her people?" asked 
 Sandron. 
 
 '' Why, if you demand my opinion," replied 
 his companion, " I think a Tory government 
 cannot last, although they threaten to make a 
 majority in the upper house sure by the creation 
 of four new peers ;* besides this, as the constant 
 dropping of water will in time make an impres- 
 sion on the hardest rock, so may the counsels 
 and unceasing assiduity of Lady Marlborough, 
 who, in opposition to her husband, is the stanchest 
 friend the Liberals have, induce the queen to 
 alter her politics : the royal inclination and affec- 
 tion to that favourite must be immeasurably 
 strong, or the party wisdom of the Tories would 
 have removed her long ago. But, come, we 
 have had enough of state affairs, and of a verity 
 we are approaching that excellent hostelry of 
 Colnbrook, known by the name of the Green 
 
 * These were afterwards selected from the most violent 
 speakers and partizans in the lower house.
 
 56 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Man, where, I understand me, you have a relay 
 of horses ; a Uttle refreshment would do us no 
 harm ; let us enter, then, eat, drink, and share 
 the humours of an inn."" Saying this he jumped 
 from his horse, and, followed by Sandron, en- 
 tered the parlour. 
 
 While they were doing justice to the viands 
 placed before them, the conclusion of a chorus 
 of rough voices from the public room or tap 
 reached their ears, " Bravo, bravo, bravo !" 
 shouted several voices. '' Come, Widow Wilson, 
 fetch us more drink, and see that the lip of thy 
 chaste pitcher dallies not with the wave of the 
 Coin." 
 
 This was evidently said by no rustic boor, 
 and, as if by common consent, Surface and San- 
 dron rose and repaired to the public room whence 
 the voice proceeded. Seated at a table were 
 several persons, among them a respectable- look- 
 ing man in the undress of a soldier, and by his 
 side a handsome -looking woman, who, from her
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 57 
 
 manner and method of speech, seemed to have 
 seen better days. The only other persons worthy 
 of remark were a young man about twenty years 
 of age, who, from his genteel appearance and 
 manners, had evidently joined the party more 
 for amusement than anything else, and an ath- 
 letic, ill-looking, though well- formed person, 
 who seemed to be half gipsy and whole house- 
 breaker. This respectable personage was hold- 
 ing a ballad in his hand, which he was about to 
 read for the benefit of the company, and which 
 seemed to be an elegy on a chimney- sweeper 
 who had lately suffered at Tyburn for his crimes. 
 It run as follows : 
 
 At last thy roguish reign is ended. 
 And thou deservedly suspended : 
 Where art thou now, thou reprobate. 
 Who jested at a future state. 
 And said the place the devils kept 
 Was sooty, wanted to be swept ? 
 And they consulting did agree 
 To send express away for thee : 
 And so thou'rt gone the Tyburn road, 
 The nearest way to their abode. 
 
 d5
 
 58 
 
 } 
 
 But yet 'tis thought that there are store 
 Of thy sly trade gone there before ; 
 Witness the bacon, beef, and tongue. 
 Which in the cliimnies reeking hung. 
 Till by thy tribe were swept away. 
 For which they now severely pay. 
 Methinks I see the sulph'rous shore. 
 Where clouds of thieves sent there before 
 The welcome give with dismal roar. 
 Did'st think the fiends there would be civil. 
 Because they're known to love what's evil? 
 Make but thy outside like appear. 
 Thy intellects already are : 
 So put thy sweeping garments on, 
 'Twill make each devil think thee one; 
 Or cause this proverb after all. 
 Ha ! like to like, says the Devil to Hall. 
 If every rogue throughout the nation 
 Should die, like Hall, by s uffocation. 
 Some now in coaches would in carts 
 At Triple-Tree receive deserts; 
 Lawyers, physicians, courtiers, jaolers. 
 Would march in troops, and all the tailors. 
 
 The reader had only proceeded thus far when 
 the woman, fixing her eyes on Master Surface, 
 uttering a shriek, fainted, or affected to faint, 
 away. At the moment on which their glances
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 59 
 
 met. Surface himself seemed to recognize a dis- 
 agreeable acquaintance, for he endeavoured to 
 twitch his black riding- wig more over his brows, 
 and to turn as if for the purpose of quitting the 
 room. However, now that he had been recog- 
 nized, he seemed as anxious not to lose sight of 
 the female, and he therefore busied himself in 
 assisting in her resuscitation. 
 
 With the permission of the landlady the wo- 
 man was removed by her husband, the man in 
 the undress of a soldier, to a private apartment, 
 and thither Surface followed, our hero remaining 
 in the public room. 
 
 '* Ho, ho 1"" exclaimed the well-dressed young 
 man, addressing himself to Sandron, " your 
 friend and the lady seem to have seen each other 
 before." 
 
 *' An old pal,'' grunted the gipsy-looking per- 
 sonage ; " his lordship is better known than he 
 cares to be." 
 
 '' His lordship !" said Sandron artfully ; " I
 
 60 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 have known my friend some time, but I cannot 
 at this moment remember his title ; how do you 
 call it?" 
 
 The well-dressed young man and the gipsy 
 exchanged looks, when the latter replied, " Why 
 you did not think he was a lord, did you ? well, 
 that would have been a go I ' Lord,' sir, is a 
 good travelling name, it brews good liquor, fur- 
 nishes chambers, quickens tapsters, and makes 
 surly folks civil : bless your eyes, I only called 
 him a lord to please our hostess !" 
 
 " Smith," cried a voice from the adjoining 
 chamber, which our hero knew to be that of 
 his newly- made friend. The gipsy rose, and 
 after an absence of a few seconds returned, and, 
 telling Sandron that Master Surface was wait- 
 ing for him in the parlour to which they had 
 been in the first place admitted, our hero, not 
 much liking his present companions, joined him 
 immediately. 
 
 " Well,'' exclaimed Surface, as Sandron en-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 61 
 
 tered the room, " here is an unfortunate contre- 
 temps ; who the devil ever thought of meeting 
 Mistress Hayes in these parts ?" 
 " And who is Mistress Hayes ?" 
 '' She is, or rather was, an uncommonly 
 pretty woman, whom I met with at Great Om- 
 bersley in Worcestershire ; after that she went 
 to service with a farmer in Warwickshire, whose 
 son it seems she has contrived to marry : he en- 
 listed as a soldier, but has since obtained his 
 discharge, and they are now on their way to set- 
 tle in London. It is unlucky, but, my dear 
 friend, such things will happen to thoughtless 
 fellows like ourselves ; having recognized me, 
 she threatens wild disclosures as to the follies of 
 bygone days, unless I let her have some money ; 
 my purse at the moment is low — prithee lend me 
 a few gold pieces till we arrive in town ?" 
 
 Sandron at once complied with the request, 
 and Surface quitted the room. Many minutes 
 had not intervened when he returned, and,
 
 62 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 having announced that the horses were ready, 
 they once more proceeded on their journey. 
 
 At a short distance from Colnbrook they over- 
 took the ill-looking gipsy, Smith, whom Surface 
 now pointed out as the husband of the beautiful 
 girl they had seen on Maidenhead Thicket ; and, 
 shortly afterwards, they in their turn were over- 
 taken and joined by the well-dressed young man 
 they had left at the inn, now followed by a ser- 
 vant whom he frequently and familiarly addressed 
 by the name of Jack. 
 
 " Well, Master Butler," exclaimed Surface, 
 '^ what good deed are you about now; — any 
 pigeons to pluck, or fawns to be run down, that 
 you and Jack are acting master and man ?" 
 
 " No," replied the one so addressed, looking, 
 at the same time, both angry and discontented -, 
 " I have no pigeons in view, but there is a neigh- 
 bour of mine who is very busy with a Berkshire 
 calf.'' 
 
 Sandron, at the moment, was riding a few
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 63 
 
 paces in advance, too far from the speakers to 
 hear distinctly what was said. Surface now 
 addressed him — 
 
 " Sandron, I pray your attention — you wish, 
 doubtless, to be in the best society — let me in- 
 troduce the worshipful Master Butler, famed, 
 far and near, for his liberal principles, his incli- 
 nation to the appropriation of church property 
 and other persons' purses. Nay, be not angry, 
 Master Butler ; hear me out — to the general 
 good and the benefit of mankind." 
 
 During this introduction. Master Butler laid 
 his hand on his sword, and made many angry 
 signs, but Surface heeded them not ; and, when 
 he ceased speaking, the former had recovered 
 his good humour. The conversation now turned 
 on the merits of their respective horses, and they 
 proceeded leisurely along till they were passed 
 by another equestrian, who looked like a travel- 
 ling merchant 5 the latter personage taking a 
 turn to the right, leading over the Heath, in the
 
 64 
 
 direction of Hampton Court, had not left them 
 five minutes, when Master Butler, making a sign 
 to his servant, turned his horse across the open 
 ground and departed in the same direction. 
 
 He had scarce turned his back, when Surface 
 remarked to Sandron thus : — " If that honest 
 traveller who passed us just now wishes to ar- 
 rive at the end of his journey as rich as he was 
 when he commenced it, he will not let Butler 
 come up with him." 
 
 " How !'* exclaimed Sandron — " you do not 
 mean to say that the gentleman who has just 
 left us will take a purse ? — you could not have 
 known it when you spoke to him and introduced 
 him to me ; but, if you think that he will do so, 
 let us after him and bring him to justice." 
 
 '• Nay, nay," said Surface, " you mistake me. 
 I do not exactly mean that he will stop this man, 
 though he is even suspected of having done such 
 things ; but there are other ways of easing the 
 incautious of their loose cash. Butler is a keen
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 65 
 
 hand, and, if he does not cheat the unwary or 
 take purses, he must have made a compact with 
 the evil one, for his pockets are always full of 
 money. * 
 
 " Well, then/' replied Sandron, " I am glad 
 you have put me on my guard ; for a more gen- 
 tlemanly-looking, open-browed, young man I 
 never saw : but, by my soul, I will have none of 
 his society." 
 
 " Nonsense, my good friend, you take these 
 things too seriously," rejoined Surface ; " if one 
 was to bring to justice or to refuse the society of 
 all rogues, we should have more fighting and 
 less amusement than would render life agree- 
 able ; in the best societies are tolerated knaves, 
 who pander to the superiors of fashion, and a 
 useful villain of this description often gets the 
 entree of leading houses denied to the noble and 
 highborn gentleman." 
 
 " Then," replied Sandron, '^ I would sooner 
 live in retirement all my life, than be the wel-
 
 66 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 come guest of those who can either need or enjoy 
 services of that description/' 
 
 " Well, well, you shall choose for yourself, 
 most rigid moralist ; but, in the mean time, we 
 are fast approaching the little city." 
 
 They had passed Hammersmith some dis- 
 tance, and the houses on either side of the road 
 were again becoming of more frequent occur- 
 rence, when in a little time they arrived at the 
 Hercules' Pillars, where, having taken apart- 
 ments only till they could procure others, they 
 proceeded to dine and pass the earlier hours of 
 the afternoon.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Where sacred order, fraud, and force confound ; 
 Where impious wars and tumidts rage around. 
 
 It was nearly eight o'clock, when Surface pro- 
 posed to Sandron to send for a coach, in order, as 
 he said, that they might see some of the secrets 
 of the town. " It is too late," he continued, 
 " to go to either of the theatres,* or any place 
 of public amusement, but we will proceed to 
 Lockett's — learn if there are any merry fellows 
 there — taste his wine — and sally forth into the 
 streets, where it is odds but we meet with an 
 adventure. What ho, there, tapster ! — call a 
 coach to the door, and apprize us of its arrival." 
 
 * Drury Lane, or the one in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
 
 68 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 In a few moments a heavy rumbling sound, 
 intermixed with the cracking of a whip and the 
 geeings and hissings of the human voice, an- 
 nounced, in a natural and audible manner, the 
 arrival of the cumbrous machine. The two 
 friends having abandoned themselves to its dingy 
 enclosure, Surface ordered the driver to set them 
 down at the Greyhound Tavern in the Strand. 
 Having jolted round the purlieus of St. James's, 
 on proceeding up Pall Mall, Sandron was in- 
 formed by his companion that they were then 
 passing the spot where Stern and Borosky were 
 executed, about twenty years before, for the 
 murder of Thomas Thyn ; known, for his riches, 
 by the name of Tom of ten thousand. 
 
 Having arrived at the tavern and discharged 
 the coach, they entered the coffee-room, where 
 many gentlemen were assembled at different 
 tables; some were drinking, some reading the 
 papers of the day, it was no place for business, 
 all seemed bent on recreation and refreshment.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 69 
 
 Among the company there were several whom 
 Surface seemed to be acquainted with^ and San- 
 dron fancied there was a marked difference in 
 the reception which his friend met with^ ac- 
 cording to the rank and bearing of the party 
 he addressed. For instance — the wild, rakish- 
 looking young men appeared to hail him as a 
 boon companion in a tavern ; while the elder 
 personages, or the men of more staid and courtly 
 manners, replied to his greeting with a cold re- 
 serve and a stiff inclination of the head, as much 
 as to say, " we are acquainted with you, but 
 your society is in no way desirable." 
 
 This cold reception was particularly observable 
 in the manner of the Lord Warwick, whom Sur- 
 face pointed out to Sandron, remarking that 
 some years before the same peer had been en- 
 gaged in a duel, owing to a quarrel in that very 
 house, tried and acquitted of the murder of Mr. 
 Coote, the party who fell, but found guilty of 
 manslaughter ; from the consequences of which
 
 70 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 judgment he escaped by pleading the privilege 
 of his order.* Having finished a bottle of wine. 
 Surface proposed that they should go forth into 
 the Strand, by way of amusement, cautioning 
 Sandron, at the same time, to take care of his 
 pockets ; for, miserably lighted as the streets in 
 those days were, and almost totally neglected by 
 the watch or constables, of whom nearly all 
 were in league with the thieves, robbery and 
 violence were of almost hourly occurrence.-f 
 
 * State Trials, 1689. Mr. French was the personal 
 antagonist of Mr. Coote ; the former was also dangerously 
 wounded, as was Lord Warwick slightly, in endeavouring 
 to part them. There were two seconds on each side, 
 and they all seem, more or less, to have interfered. 
 They fought in the dark, in Leicester fields, between one 
 and two o'clock on a Sunday morning, on the 30th of 
 October. 
 
 t And now it is the general complaint, that people are 
 afraid, when it is dark, to come to their houses, for fear 
 that their hats and wigs should be snatched from off their 
 heads, or their swords taken from their sides, or, that they 
 may be blinded, knocked down, cut or stabbed ; nay, the 
 coaches cannot secure them, but they are likewise assaulted, 
 cut and robbed, in the public streets. — The City Marshal's 
 account of Jonathan Wild.
 
 TI^E DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 71 
 
 They had not proceeded far, when, as if to 
 prove that the caution given to Sandron by 
 Surface was far from unnecessary, three or four 
 people, males and females, ran up against them, 
 one of the latter clasping her arms round San- 
 dron 's neck, while a man pushed rudely by. To 
 disengage himself from the unwelcome embrace 
 and to strike at the male person was, with San- 
 dron, the work of a moment, at the same time 
 he observed that Surface had knocked a man 
 down ; the whole party with whom they had 
 come in contact, then, without seeming to think 
 the rough treatment they had experienced at all 
 extraordinary or unmerited, disappeared in the 
 surrounding darkness. 
 
 *' Pickpockets, every soul of them !" exclaimed 
 Surface : "are you all safe, Sandron, or do you 
 miss any thing?" 
 
 ** It was but the work of a moment," replied 
 our hero; *^yet, stay — my watch — my pocket- 
 book — by heavens, a locket which I wore in my
 
 72 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 breast — all, all, are gone 1 This way, I know the 
 direction in which they retreated — ^by my soul, 
 I'll cut the throat of every villain I meet, but I 
 will regain the locket !" So saying, and followed 
 by Surface, who was endeavouring to stay him 
 by assurances that pursuit was useless, Sandron 
 rushed up the pavement in the direction he Sup- 
 posed the robbers had taken. His course, how- 
 ever, was not destined to be of long duration, 
 for he soon found himself buried in the laced 
 waistcoat and embraced by the muscular arms 
 of a sturdy personage, who met him as a rock 
 might be supposed to do a stormy wave. 
 
 " Surrender in the queen's name," cried a 
 rough hoarse voice, the reply to which was a 
 desperate struggle, but Surface, luckily arriving 
 at the moment, put an end to all further dispute. 
 
 '' What, Jonathan Wild," he exclaimed, "why 
 thou hast missed the heron and caught the hawk ; 
 loose this gentleman, he is a friend of mine, 
 and was in pursuit of thieves when he plunged
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 73 
 
 SO forcibly into thine embraces. Thou alone 
 canst aid us in this matter." 
 
 '^ My lord," replied Jonathan, in some sur- 
 prise, letting go his hold upon our hero, '' I 
 never expected to meet you here ; surely there 
 are safer places for the deer than the path of the 
 hunter?" 
 
 *' Peace, good Jonathan, and lord me no 
 more ; there is no safer place for me than in thy 
 society, and in that of thy master, the City 
 Marshal, which I will explain to thee this very 
 night over a bowl of mulled wine and a devilled 
 kidney ; but first, I pray thee, aid me to discover 
 the lost treasures of my friend; he has been 
 robbed of his pocket-book, containing money, 
 of his watch, and, what visibly concerns him 
 more, of a golden locket which he wore around 
 his neck." 
 
 '* I will attend to these matters to-morrow — 
 to-night I am busy," replied Wild. 
 
 " What, bound on a visit to thy loyal subjects 
 
 VOL. I. ^
 
 74 
 
 — going thy rounds ? We will go with thee ; 
 by my life, thou shalt take us with thee l"" 
 
 '' No/' rejoined Wild, with some hesitation, 
 '' I know not this gentleman : who is your pal ? 
 — may he be trusted ?" 
 
 " Ay, with your life ; he will hear and see, 
 but say nothing; so on, and we follow thee, 
 thou prince of pickpockets and punisher of 
 iniquity." 
 
 '^ One thing, then, gentlemen, I must insist 
 on ; you are to walk a few paces behind me, 
 and seem not of my company, for I am very 
 shortly to meet the Marshal, and I know not 
 what may be his humour.*" So saying. Wild 
 passed on in the direction of Temple Bar, fol- 
 lowed by the two friends, and in a little time 
 they discovered the functionary alluded to, the 
 City Marshal, standing under a solitary lamp. 
 
 He, as well as Wild, was a stout, powerful 
 man, with broad, weather-beaten features, and 
 a nose to which intemperance and cold air had
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 75 
 
 added a purple or bluish hue. Surface, who 
 seemed to be equally well known to the Marshal, 
 soon explained the loss his friend had so recently 
 experienced, and after having, by the aid of 
 Sandron, in some measure described the appear- 
 ance of the woman who had clasped the latter 
 round the neck, the Marshal declared that he 
 thought he knew the parties, and that for five 
 guineas the book, the watch, and locket, might 
 again be restored to the rightful owner. San- 
 dron jumped at the proposal ; and the city func- 
 tionary, requesting the two young men to abstain 
 from all interference, consented that they should 
 accompany him in the search he was about to 
 make. 
 
 This being arranged, the whole party pro- 
 ceeded to several brandy- shops and ale-houses, 
 at all of which the landlords complimented the 
 Marshal and his man Wild with liquor, at the 
 same time offering their services and calling the 
 former their worthy protector. The Marshal 
 
 E 2
 
 76 SAND RON HALL, OH 
 
 made them very little reply, but accepted some 
 of their proffered attentions and refused others 
 with a very cavalier air, addressing himself 
 chiefly to the squalid and vicious-looking wretches 
 of both sexes who thronged the benches, and 
 who in many instances seemed to be drowning 
 remorse, misery of mind and body, in deep and 
 delusive potations. 
 
 " You," he said, addressing the landlords of 
 the houses, " I require nothing from you further 
 than such information as you may obtain in re- 
 gard to any robberies, but from you (turning to 
 the females), I expect more; you who pick 
 pockets and render their contents to your pals, 
 unless henceforth you deliver all stolen property 
 to me, take my word for it, you shall all be sent 
 to Bridewell;' 
 
 After inspecting many of these houses in vain, 
 the Marshal and Wild declared that they w^ould 
 now proceed to a house known as the chief resort 
 of the trade. On their way thither, the two
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. ')7 
 
 friends were greatly amused by the nimble way 
 in which the thieftakers dashed into dark corners 
 and seized starved-looking lads, and in some 
 instances well-dressed men, accusing them of 
 picking pockets, and then not paying their re- 
 spects to their chief. One of these delinquents, 
 on being asked by the Marshal whither he had 
 been, boldly replied, '' Over Moor-fields and to 
 the Blue Boar, where you told me you would 
 give me a meeting/"' 
 
 Each of these pickpockets so seized, the Mar- 
 shal did not even search, but loosed them again 
 with the following caution : " Mind, if you oblige 
 any one but myself or my man with pocketbooks 
 or any other goods,, you shall swing for it." 
 
 They had now arrived at the back of St. 
 Paul's, where, turning into some wet and dirty 
 lanes, where the cold east wind and the dark 
 red fog seemed to sigh, and settle down more 
 gloomily and densely than anywhere else, they 
 stopped at the door of a brandy-shop, the small
 
 78 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 dingy windows of which were running down 
 with unwholesome moisture, occasioned by the 
 heated fumes within. The Marshal applied his 
 ear to the door, and then, whispering some di- 
 rections to Wild, opened it suddenly and intro- 
 duced his party. The door behind him being 
 closed, the Marshal, with his back against it, 
 commenced a scrutiny of the curious conclave 
 offered to his view. It was a fit receptacle, that 
 room, for the people who occupied it, and in 
 close character with the abominable practises it 
 fostered, and the liquid and destructive fire 
 which the degraded of both sexes assembled 
 nightly to pour down their wasting throats. 
 Low, smoked, and unseemly, was it from ceiling 
 to floor, and far different from the gin -palaces 
 of the present day, for, with the march of in- 
 tellect, vice seems to have kept an equal pace, 
 and that which was used to be done in uncom- 
 fortable places, in secret, or at least without 
 .ostentation, now assumes a flagrancy of allure-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 79 
 
 merit as attractive as glaring lights and gaudy 
 furniture can make it. 
 
 The moment the portly figures of the Marshal 
 and his man appeared within the door, there was 
 some little bustle, succeeded by a dead silence, 
 and lastly by the business-like question from 
 several voices at the same time, of " Who's 
 wanted ?" 
 
 " I want the Dasher," calmly replied the 
 Marshal. 
 
 '' She an't here,'' was the reply. 
 
 " She is here, for I heard her voice before I 
 entered/' resumed the Marshal. "Wild, see 
 who that is in the corner." 
 
 Wild advanced, and seizing a young woman 
 by the arm, who had been endeavouring to hide 
 herself, dragged her forth into the light. At 
 this moment, two fighting dogs, either set on by 
 their masters purposely to create a disturbance, 
 or aroused by the noise and struggle of Wild 
 and his prisoner, commenced a furious battle
 
 80 
 
 beneath the table; the women screamed and 
 jumped on the benches; the men swore, and 
 lastly, the table itself, lights and all, was upset 
 in the general uproar — the red embers in the 
 fireplace only casting a dim and insufficient 
 glare on this, to Sandron, most extraordinary 
 scene. The moment the row commenced, the 
 Marshal cried to his man, as well as to Sandron 
 and Surface, to *' draw their swords and keep 
 the door." 
 
 '' Oh, burn their swords ! down with the 
 devils !" shouted several voices together. 
 
 '' Devils !" roared the Marshal, making him- 
 self heard above the babel which raged around 
 him ; " I'll make some of you devils, by the 
 way of Tyburn, if you do not come to your 
 senses in a jiffy. Listen ; I know enough to 
 hang half of you ; but I am come to do a pal 
 a service." 
 
 There was then a general silence, save the 
 fierce growling of the two bulldogs, who were
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 81 
 
 struggling in the arms of their respective pro- 
 •prietors. The Marshal continued — 
 
 '* I know what the Dasher has got ; she must 
 give it up on being tipped sufficiently." 
 
 The landlord of the house, who seemed to 
 wish to shew that he had nothing to do with 
 the rebels against authority, now made his 
 appearance with a lamp, and the table being 
 raised, and the other lights once more replen- 
 ished, the party seemed more likely to come to 
 an amicable arrangement. 
 
 " You ungrateful wretches," resumed the 
 Marshal, " to attempt to do me out of this 
 slight request ; there ! old Nick may trade with 
 you in future, for I will not." 
 
 He now whispered something to Jonathan 
 Wild, who drew the woman on one side, and 
 some offer seemed to be made her, for she re- 
 plied, though still in a low voice, sufficiently 
 loud for Sandron to catch the purport of her 
 rejoinder : 
 
 e5
 
 82 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " Unconscionable bilk ! when he gets at 
 least five or ten guineas, not to bestow above 
 five or ten shillings upon us unfortunate 
 wretches ; however, rather than go to the Comp- 
 ter, I'll try what can be done." Approaching the 
 Marshal, she said, ^' There were fifteen guineas 
 in the pocket-book ; how much may I pouch, if 
 I return the ticker and the locket ?" 
 
 Sandron here joined them, and addressing 
 the Marshal earnestly, bade him let the woman 
 keep the money if she would only return the 
 watch, which was a gift from his mother, and 
 the locket, by which he set considerable store. 
 The Marshal pushed him hastily aside, and 
 then said to the woman, but still in a key which 
 reached the quick ears of our hero : ''A guinea, 
 1*11 let thee keep a guinea ; but the rest must be 
 restored to me ; thou hadst better be content 
 with that, or to Newgate thou shalt go of a 
 certainty." 
 
 " It can't be done," replied the woman ; " my
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 83 
 
 eyes ! but you are the shabbiest crimp I ever 
 knew ! The ticker and locket are pawned for 
 forty shillings, and if you don't advance me the 
 money for their redemption, why you can't 
 have 'em, that's all." 
 
 " Well/* said the Marshal, '' thou shalt have 
 thirty shillings." 
 
 Here their voices sunk into so low a whisper, 
 that Sandron could not hear the conclusion of 
 the bargain ; the woman shortly afterwards disap- 
 peared, but returned again, and placed a small 
 parcel in the Marshal's hand, which he, having 
 minutely examined, secured in the bosom of his 
 vest, when, beckoning to his party, they, to 
 Sandron's great delight, retired from this den 
 of vice. 
 
 ''Have you recovered my property?" ex- 
 claimed Sandron, the moment they were in the 
 street. 
 
 " I have, my master; but, faith ! young sir, it 
 lias not been without some cost. I have obtained
 
 84 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the watch and locket, but as for the shiners, 
 they are whistled away I know not whither." 
 
 Master Surface laughed. 
 
 ''And what are you laughing at, friend?" 
 said the Marshal, stopping short, and drawing 
 himself up with an air of offended dignity. '* I 
 say that I have been obliged to give up the 
 money, or I could not have obtained the watch 
 and locket." 
 
 " Oh, nothing, nothing," replied Surface. " I 
 was only thinking what a rouse we'll have to- 
 night. Come, Marshal, let us back to the 
 Greyhound Tavern ; you can return the pro- 
 perty to my friend more safely there than in 
 the street, the more so as he, being unused to 
 the ways of London, might be eased of it again 
 between this and the Hercules' Pillars." 
 
 So saying, the party repaired to the tavern, 
 and having ordered some broiled bones and a 
 bowl of mulled wine to be taken to a private 
 apartment. Surface introduced Sandron to two
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 85 
 
 showily-dressed young men, whom they found 
 joking with the host and his daughter in the 
 bar, by the names of Sir Charles Matchem and 
 Mr. Brown. These two gentlemen they also 
 invited to join them at their supper. 
 
 The broiled bones were pronounced excellent, 
 and peppered to perfection ; bowl after bowl of 
 the mulled wine speedily disappeared ; the mirth 
 of the party rose in proportion, and Surface 
 began to indulge in a vein of humour peculiar 
 to himself. He seemed to be possessed of the 
 power of teazing every one without the possi- 
 bility of their retorting on him by similar means, 
 and to know the weak points in their characters. 
 Jonathan Wild had arrived at the ripest state 
 of perfection to receive such impressions ; the 
 good wine having washed off the false colouring 
 of custom and restraint, and left him natural. 
 Beyond that point, wine and wassail could not 
 degrade him 
 
 '* Come, Jonathan!'' exclaimed Surface;
 
 86 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " give me thy cup ; let me fill thee a bumper 
 to the health of all true lasses, not forgetting, 
 though in her absence, the prosperity of thine 
 own affectionate helpmate, Mistress Mary Milli- 
 ner, as impertinent folks still persist in desig- 
 nating her. Why, egad ! what care she takes 
 of thy dress ! why, thou art bedizened with as 
 much lace upon thy clothes as would serve a 
 dozen women ;* would that I lived near Crip- 
 plegate Church ! Too bad of thee, though, 
 naughty Jonathan, to put the litter-mark on 
 thy faithful benefactress, and in thy love to 
 cut off her whole ear instead of clipping it.t 
 
 * Wild accumulated money so fast that he considered 
 himself as a man of consequence, and to support his imagi- 
 nary dignity he dressed in laced clothes, and wore a sword. 
 He first exercised his martial instrument on the person of 
 his accomplice and reputed wife, Mary Milliner. — Life and 
 Trial of Jonathan Wild. 
 
 t Sportsmen were, and are, in the habit of cutting a 
 notch in the ears of peculiar puppies, so that they may 
 know them again from others. Wild having laken offence 
 at some point of his wife's conduct, swore that he would 
 mark her, and with his sword lopped her ear completely oft".
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 87 
 
 What sayst thou ; is she true to thee still, thou 
 man of lace and a long sword ?" 
 
 Wild grew furious at this allusion to his do- 
 mestic concerns, and replied — '* Mind thine 
 own matters. Master Malapert ; / married no 
 wife against her ivill ; let not thy wit run a tilt 
 against Jonathan, or he'll shew thee the 
 length of his tongue, as well as the blade of his 
 sword." 
 
 " Hey-day !" exclaimed the other, reddening 
 in his turn, but recovering his composure admi- 
 rably ; ^' why, thou swaggering swash- buckler, 
 thou talkest of fighting ! An it were not for the 
 presence of thy master here, I would crop thy 
 ear to make it match with the one at home ! ' ' 
 
 Up jumped Jonathan Wild, throwing down 
 his chair as he did so, and at the same time 
 drawing his sword, which he brought to a level 
 with Surface's breast. " Thou diest I" he cried, 
 " and they cannot hang me for it.'''' 
 
 '' Strike, strike !" said Surface, with the
 
 88 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 most imperturbable coolness ; " strike, good 
 Jonathan, an thou darest !" 
 
 Sandron rose to interfere, and had half drawn 
 his sword ; the rest of the party, convulsed with 
 laughter, seemed to treat it all as a very good joke, 
 but the Marshal thought it time to interpose. 
 
 ''Come, come, Jonathan," he said, at the 
 same time thrusting his burly person between 
 his man and Master Surface, and putting aside 
 the sword ; '' no brawling here ; we are met in 
 good fellowship, and his lor — that is, I meant 
 to say — hup — the gentleman — intended no 
 offence — no offence — none whatever" (with a 
 drunken shake of the head). 
 
 " Oh !" said Wild, " if he intended no offence, 
 why, there's an end on't ; I'm the last man to 
 quarrel with a gentleman — blow me !" 
 
 '' Well, old boy, here's to thee, then," said 
 Surface good-naturedly ; when, turning to the 
 Marshal, who had resumed his place at the 
 table, he continued ; '•' faith ! how lucky we
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 89 
 
 are in having such a peace-maker present ! But, 
 you have omitted, worthy sir, to restore my 
 friend his watch." 
 
 " No !" exclaimed Sandron ; '' he gave me my 
 property the moment we entered the tavern." 
 
 '' What, guineas and all?" 
 
 '' No ; I do not mind the money ; he has 
 been obliged to let the thieves keep that, or I 
 should have lost all." 
 
 " The thieves — the thief, you mean — the 
 greatest thief among them. By the by, friend 
 Marshal, were it not well that we should look 
 into the intricacies of thy dress, and see if out 
 of affection to thy person some few of the lost 
 guineas may not have placed themselves in 
 thy unconscious pocket ! ' ' 
 
 " What d' ye mean?" shouted the Marshal, 
 seizing his cocked hat, and sticking it the wrong 
 way on his head. '' I defy you — " 
 
 '^ Come, come ; help us here gentlemen all," 
 cried Surface, catching the Marshal by the col-
 
 90 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 lar ; '' by all that's glorious ! we'll search the 
 civic dignitary." With these words. Surface, 
 Sir Charles Matchem, and Master Brown seized 
 on, and fell with the Marshal to the floor. 
 Wild jumped up and interfered, when the 
 young men, after making a pretence that they 
 were in earnest, ceased from their attempt, and 
 the whole party became once more seated. 
 
 '' Thou shalt pay for this," said the Marshal, 
 out of breath ; '' hup, thou shalt pay for this. 
 Master Surface, ere long." 
 
 '^I pay! yes, as the old song says, 'with 
 never a penny of money.' " 
 
 '' A song, a song ! he has quoted the words, 
 and therefore must sing them out ! ' ' exclaimed 
 Sir Charles and Brown together. ^' Come, 
 Surface?" 
 
 The one addressed, nothing loth, then sung 
 
 as follow^s : 
 
 " We be soldiers three, 
 Pardonnez moi je vous en prie, 
 Lately come from the low country, 
 With never a penny of money.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 91 
 
 Here, good fellow, I drink to iliee, 
 Pardonnez moi je vous en prie. 
 To all good fellows who ever they be, 
 With never a penny of money. 
 
 And he that will not pledge me this, 
 Pardonnez moi je vous en prie. 
 Pays for the shot, whatever it is, 
 With never a penny of money. 
 
 Charge it again, boy, charge it again, 
 Pardonnez moije vous en prie. 
 As long as there's any ink in thy pen. 
 With never a penny of money." 
 
 " Bravo, bravo I" cried the Marshal in perfect 
 ecstasies, " 'tis a very excellent ditty — halloo — 
 I thought I had but just emptied my cup, and 
 lo, here it is full again.'* 
 
 Surface had shly helped him. The latter per- 
 ceiving that he was now in a fit state to be 
 communicative, thus addressed him : — " Well, 
 Marshal, my noble commander, I am happy to 
 have had the opportunity of introducing you to 
 my friend Sandron, the more so as you have 
 been able to do him some service. You are a
 
 92 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 gentleman. Marshal, of vast information ; you 
 have studied, sir, not so much in polite letters as 
 in the wider field of nature, and the propensities 
 of man." 
 
 " I have studied, hup," replied the civic func- 
 tionary, now very far gone in liquor ; " I have 
 studied — but, craving your pardon, fair sir, hup, 
 I am well acquainted with letters, bless you, I can 
 turn them inside out, and never break the seal : 
 as for informations, as you truly say^ I have laid 
 more informations, hup, than any man, ay, even 
 than my honest friend Jonathan, so you see I 
 ought to have a good store in hand. I have 
 rectified more mistakes than any man before me." 
 
 " You have — you have — there 's no doubt of 
 it, Marshal, but there be some silly- pated fools 
 who know no better, who ask — how it is possible 
 for you to carry on your trade of ' rectifying 
 mistakes,' as you term it, restoring stolen goods 
 as they call it, without your being in league with 
 robbers."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 93 
 
 The Marshal's heart was open ; when, calling 
 Wild a fool for winking at him, and in total dis- 
 regard of sundry kicks beneath the table which 
 that worthy colleague bestowed upon him in the 
 way of cautious admonition, he thus delivered 
 himself. 
 
 '* My acquaintance, hup, my acquaintance 
 among thieves is vastly extensive, hup — I '11 
 thank you, Mr. Wild, if you are a gentleman, hup, 
 to keep your legs to yourself, and your shoes off 
 m yshins. To resume, hup — you see — sirs — 
 when I receive information of a robbery, I make 
 all possible inquiry after the suspected parties, 
 and " (laying his finger on the side of his nose) 
 '' leave word at proper places, that if the goods 
 are deposited where I appoint, the reward shall 
 be paid, and, hup, no questions asked. Surely, 
 surely, kind sirs, no imputation of guilt can fall 
 on me, for I hold no interviews with the rob- 
 bers, nor are the goods given into my posses- 
 sion."
 
 94 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 "Hear, hear, hear!*' exclaimed all the party 
 except Jonathan Wild ; '' a most correct expo- 
 sition ! Why, Marshal, thou art a logician." 
 
 Up to this time Sandron had taken scarce any 
 part in the conversation, and, though amused, 
 he had not hitherto seemed to enjoy the coarse 
 wit and boisterous humour of the party. Now it 
 became otherwise : the wine — the example — 
 had taken full effect; his laugh became the 
 loudest, his song the most frequent, and, though 
 unable to jest as broadly as the others, yet pro- 
 priety of expression was now banished from his 
 lips. Jonathan Wild was the soberest of the 
 party, and he suddenly seemed to take a mali- 
 cious pleasure in the unguarded avowals of his 
 superior, as if through them he saw the means 
 of displacing the Marshal, and of succeeding to 
 the city office. He might have had an eye to 
 the gold which the latter had in his pockets, for 
 he continued to ply him with wine, till the 
 Marshal, in endeavouring to rise, slipped from his
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 95 
 
 chair, lost his balance, and fell to the ground, 
 where he lay without sense or motion, muttering 
 a well-known epitaph among thieves, which had 
 been written on the chimney-sweep alluded to 
 in a preceding ditty, who had suffered at Ty- 
 burn : — 
 
 " Here lies Hall's clay. 
 Thus swept away." 
 
 This seemed a signal for the party to break 
 up ; therefore, leaving Wild to take care of his 
 superior, coaches and chairs were ordered, when, 
 in one of the former, Sandron and his newly- 
 found friend. Master Surface, proceeded to the 
 Hercules' Pillars.
 
 96 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Clouds turn with every wind about. 
 They keep us in suspense and doubt. 
 Yet, oft perverse, like woman-kind, 
 Are seen to scud against the wind : 
 And are not women just the same ? 
 For who can tell at what they aim ? 
 
 Dr. Sheridan. 
 
 It was late the next morning when Sandron 
 awoke from a fitful and unrefreshing slumber. 
 On opening his eyes he stared about him with 
 an air of vacancy, for all objects in the chamber 
 were strange to him, and he could not immedi- 
 ately call to mind the circumstances of his 
 situation. By degrees the true state of things 
 regained its dominion, and with returning re- 
 collection the throbbing of his oppressed brow,
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 97 
 
 and a feverish thirst forcibly reminded him that 
 temperance had not attended at his supper- 
 table. With that reflection, came the know- 
 ledge of with whom and how the night had 
 been spent, and a bitter remembrance of the loss 
 of the locket, the money, and the watch. The 
 false spirit of wine no longer elated him, or lent 
 its aid to the coarse jokes, which still seemed 
 ringing in his ears ; his brain was exhausted, 
 and nothing remained of the midnight revel but 
 a sensation of weariness and disgust. In pro- 
 portion to the very excess of mirth to which his 
 potations had raised him, he now felt that 
 downfall of the spirit which is ever fostered by, 
 and attendant on, unnatural excitement, and 
 which comes with a never-failing stride to 
 trample down the maddened imagination of the 
 drunkard. 
 
 He leaned forwards to look at the watch, a 
 treasured gift from his mother, lying in a chair 
 by the bedside, and in so doing his eye rested 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 on something which glittered near it, lightly 
 touched by a feeble ray of the sun, which had 
 that moment struggled through the foggy at- 
 mosphere still brooding heavily over the town. 
 He recognized the golden locket, which con- 
 tained Louisa's hair, and a blush of shame suf- 
 fused his handsome countenance. It was not 
 long ere the hand was stretched forth to bring 
 the locket nearer to his lips, but in effecting this 
 he became aware that the ribbon belonging to it 
 had been soiled and broken, and that the sweet 
 perfume, which had attached itself to the fasten- 
 ing, reminding him of the neat and beautiful 
 workbox where he had so often seen it lying, 
 had passed away. Light and trivial as the fact 
 may appear, faint and scarcely perceptible as the 
 perfume on the locket was, still it had been 
 sufficient to speak through the senses to the 
 affections of his heart, and he felt its loss most 
 deeply. To the finely-strung and hitherto all- 
 tuneful sensations in his youthful breast, there
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 99 
 
 was much that was remorseful in the thought, 
 that the gift of Louisa — a lock of hair from 
 the brow of one — the most beautiful — the most 
 innocent of creation, should have been in the 
 possession and clasped in the rude hands of the 
 most abandoned. The locket, hastily torn from 
 the stained ribbon, was pressed to his lips ; it 
 was opened, its glossy treasure gazed upon, and 
 bitterly did he regard his own unworthiness, 
 when he called to mind the pain the giver of 
 that lock of hair would have experienced, could 
 she have known that he had participated in the 
 scenes of the past evening. He was on the eve 
 of forming resolutions, perhaps only to have 
 broken them again, when the door opened, and 
 Master Surface stood before him. 
 
 '' Why, thou art a sluggard, Charles !" he ex- 
 claimed, '' or has the good liquor of last night 
 made thee slumber, and amused thee by beatific 
 visions ? Up, up ! by the Lord, thy doors are be- 
 sieged by a legion of tradesmen anxious for thy 
 
 f2
 
 100 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 commands, and ready to repair the egregious 
 blunders which country botchers have withal 
 cumbered thine attire : a breakfast awaits thee, 
 too, which shall put to flight all uneasy sensa- 
 tions of the last night's rerel ! Ho ! — ho ! — it 
 was rare fun to drink the Marshal under the 
 table !" 
 
 So saying. Surface quitted the room. Sandron 
 dressed himself, and, in the course of some time, 
 breakfast being over, the tradesmen, all of 
 whom had been recommended to our hero by 
 his friend, were desired to attend. Out of the 
 many who received orders, we will only notice 
 Master Felt, the hatter. He was a short, dapper, 
 hump-backed, bustling little man, conceited, as 
 most very little hump-backed men are : having 
 made his bow, and presented his card to San- 
 dron, he proceeded to arrange a regiment of 
 hat-boxes on the table, talking all the while, 
 and explaining the merits of his goods, as well 
 as his own, with most officious volubility.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 101 
 
 " I hope, sar, to be honoured, sar, with your 
 name, sar, on my new list of country gentlemen 
 who are leaving off the hunting for the military 
 cock of the hat ; strange to say, sar, the effect 
 of the peace, sar, the effect of the peace. Here 
 it is, sar," (showing a hat) " this is quite the 
 thing. Indeed, I have a variety of shapes and 
 patterns with me, for, in my opinion, the great 
 secret of hat-making is, at present, but little un- 
 derstood. Vulgar fellows are but too apt to 
 think that if they cover the head of their cus- 
 tomer, it is all they have to do ; but, sar, your 
 more enlightened artist should consider the in- 
 side of the head as well as the out, and suit the 
 external decoration of the cranium to the mental 
 resources of the patient. I call all my customers 
 patients, sar ; the calibre of the mind should 
 determine the fashion of the hat, not the head 
 of the man. Thus, sar, you shall see, I have 
 cocks of the hat for every sort and description 
 of person, and for all heads making figures in
 
 102 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the annals of Great Britain, descriptive of their 
 powers and faculties. Thus, you see, sar, here 
 is a cocked hat for men of law and physic ; the 
 cock is very slight, you see — it but just ascends 
 to give a leetle life to their sagacity, while here 
 you detect a military hat ; it glares full in the 
 face of all beholders : the rest, sar, are not dis- 
 tingue, but are prepared with familiar easy as- 
 cents to suit all good companions between the 
 two extremes." 
 
 '* Upon my life," exclaimed Sandron, laughing 
 heartily, " you are a clever hatter ; have the 
 goodness to explain which of them you intend for 
 me." 
 
 '^ Let me see, sar," said Master Felt, survey- 
 ing our hero from top to toe ; " fine form, 
 athletic appearance, slight moustache, tall, up- 
 right, undaunted — oh ! my very good sar, the 
 military inclination is the one best suited to your 
 profile." 
 
 Sandron then ordered two or three hats of
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 103 
 
 different regulations, and the little hatter with- 
 drew, with many bows of complacency. A gentle- 
 man's dress, in the days of which we are speaking, 
 was capable of being worked up to great cost 
 and value ; indeed, a rich or extravagant gentle- 
 man might be recognized by his attire, for he 
 might, in the words of John Taylor, 
 
 "Wear a farm in shoe-strings edged with gold. 
 
 And spangled garters worth a copyhold ; 
 
 A hose and doublet which a lordship cost ; 
 
 A gaudy cloak, three mansions' price almost; 
 
 A beaver band, and feather for the head. 
 
 Prized at the church's tythe, the poor man's bread." 
 
 How different has been the fashion of later 
 years ; how it has descended, till the youth of 
 some of England's proudest houses have modelled 
 their garments after the manner of stage- coach- 
 men ! 
 
 In the reign of Anne, the dress ran much as 
 follows. — Fine- laced neckcloth, gold-laced hat 
 with or without feathers, square-cut coat, waist- 
 coat with long flaps and pockets, hanging so low
 
 104 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 as to meet the stockings, which came high enough 
 to conceal the breeches, though they were gar- 
 tered below the knee. The cufFs of the coat 
 were huge, and hanging, garnished with laced 
 ruffles, while its skirts were stuffed, and stiffened 
 with wire or buckram, from between the fronts 
 of which was visible the hilt of the sword. The 
 stockings were of blue or scarlet silk, with 
 gold or silver clocks ; the shoes square-toed, with 
 small buckles and high red heels ; add to these 
 articles a formally curled peruke, and the dress 
 is completed. Boots were also much worn, both 
 in the morning and evening; but, about this 
 time, by the good taste and assiduity of Beau 
 Nash, they were excluded from most of the full- 
 dressed assemblies. 
 
 After the various tradesmen had been dis- 
 missed, in much such dresses as we have de- 
 scribed, the two young men prepared to lounge 
 through the Mall, and seek for some companions 
 to join them at dinner.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 105 
 
 During their walk, and while they visited the 
 various places of fashionable resort, Sandron still 
 thought that he observed among many of the 
 leading class of society a marked dislike to the 
 familiar approaches of his companion ; yet such 
 power had Surface obtained over him, and so 
 much pleased and amused was he with the spirit, 
 wit, and humour, and extreme or apparent good 
 nature of his friend, that he felt no inclination 
 to inquire into the cause ; nor, indeed, if he had 
 been so inclined, had he the power to have ob- 
 tained such information, for the very good reason, 
 that he was a stranger in the town, and knew 
 not to whom to apply. In the course of the day, 
 they again met Sir Charles Matchem and Master 
 Brown, who, though they did not seem as friendly 
 with Surface in the crowded street as they were 
 in the private room at Lockett's, did not hesitate 
 to accept an invitation which Sandron gave them, 
 to dine with him that afternoon, at the Grey- 
 hound Tavern. 
 
 f5
 
 106 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 It is astonishing what gentlemen, even with 
 money in their pockets, will do for a dinner. It 
 has been said that the way to an Englishman's 
 heart is down his throat ; and if one looks upon 
 the people who are tolerated in the best society, 
 simply owing to the frequency of their dinners, 
 and the celebrity of their cook, any man who 
 thinks twice upon the subject must be fain to 
 admit that there is much foundation for the 
 degrading assertion. In the instance we are re- 
 lating, though Sir Charles Matchem and Master 
 Brown evidently did not think that Surface was, 
 to say the least of it, a desirable companion in 
 the eyes of the world, yet, though they knew 
 that he was to be present, the chance of their 
 thus being brought to a more intimate acquaint- 
 ance with him had not power to turn them 
 away from the prospect of a dinner. 
 
 The party dined early, and repaired to the 
 theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, to witness the 
 famous comedy of Love for Love, with which
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 107 
 
 that theatre had opened some years before ; after 
 which entertainment they again adjourned to 
 Locketts to supper. What with the potations of 
 the previous night, the atmosphere of the theatre, 
 and the excitement attending the novelty of his 
 present mode of life, Sandron found himself over- 
 heated, and with a thirst which nothing seemed 
 capable of allaying. The more he drank the 
 more he required, till all vestiges of the better 
 resolutions, the formation of which he had com- 
 menced, on being awakened in the morning, 
 vanished before the artificial stimulus of the brain. 
 He talked loudly, boasted of the beauty of her 
 whom he alluded to as his affianced bride, opened 
 the locket she had given him for the inspection 
 of the company, pronounced that name which 
 ought to have been held sacred, and finally en- 
 gaged in the game of whist, about which he 
 knew nothing, and lost to his friend and com- 
 panions a considerable sum of money. He arose 
 from the card-table in considerable ill-humour,
 
 108 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 ready to take offence at, or to quarrel with, any 
 one, when on proceeding down stairs an oppor- 
 tunity was soon given him of venting his ill- 
 humour. 
 
 A gentleman was standing at the bar in the 
 act of drinking a glass of wine ; in passing rudely 
 by him, Sandron struck his elbow, and threw the 
 contents of the glass into the bosom of his 
 vest. The stranger paused good-naturedly for 
 an apology, but, on finding that none was offered, 
 stepped quickly up to Sandron, and angrily in- 
 quired ' if he was aware of the rudeness he had 
 been guilty of.' 
 
 " Not at all," replied the latter ; '' I could not 
 stand in a corner all night, while you were 
 smelling to your wine : you should have drunk 
 it, man.'* 
 
 " Then, sir," rejoined the stranger, " I am to 
 infer that you did it intentionally, and if so, sir, 
 you must give me satisfaction." 
 
 Sandron, who was ripe for violence of any
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 109 
 
 kind, immediately seized the stranger by the col- 
 lar, when Surface, Sir Charles Matchem, and 
 other bystanders, interfered . High words passed 
 on both sides, and the principals in the affair 
 were for at once settling the business with their 
 swords by torch-light, in Leicester Fields ; but 
 this was overruled by Sir Charles Matchem, who 
 threatened to send for a file of musqueteers, un- 
 less they postponed the arbitration of their quarrel 
 till morning. After much trouble this was 
 agreed to, when, having given their respective 
 addresses, (the stranger naming himself as Cap- 
 tain Cawthorne) Surface and Sandron repaired 
 to a coach which had been waiting for them at 
 the door. 
 
 " Now," exclaimed Surface, " to soothe your 
 angry mood, Charles, and to fit you for a course 
 of reason to-morrow, for on my word you have 
 been too hasty in this affair, I will take you to 
 a friend of mine who shall look and sing you 
 into terrestrial paradise.''
 
 110 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 He then gave private orders to the coachman, 
 who soon after drove up to the door of a house 
 in a small street leading from the Strand. They 
 rang at the bell, and the door was opened by a 
 maid-servant, when, without waiting for an- 
 nouncement, and, followed by Sandron, Master 
 Surface strode deliberately up stairs and entered 
 a smart little apartment, where, seated on a sofa 
 and elegantly dressed, was a singularly beautiful 
 girl. She arose on their entrance, with the words 
 — " You are late, Simon.'* But her exclamation 
 was cut short by Surface's introduction of our 
 hero. 
 
 " I have brought my friend, Susan, to hear 
 you sing ; he is somewhat out of tune at present, 
 but if you cannot harmonize his wrangling mood, 
 I know not who can." 
 
 " He does not look out of tune, discord can- 
 not lurk beneath such features as his," she re- 
 plied, scanning the expression of his countenance, 
 and looking more boldly into his face than our
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. Ill 
 
 hero was led to expect from her modest and 
 feminine appearance : " faith he is a very hand- 
 some friend, and I hope he will, at least, if he 
 admires my singing, come and hear me very 
 often." 
 
 **Come, come, Susan," exclaimed Surface a 
 little petulantly, " you are wonderfully civil ; it 
 is your voice in singing I wish him to hear, not 
 in love-speeches and folly. Sing him that song 
 which you sang to me but a few nights since ; a 
 plague on it ! it has been running in my mind 
 ever since, but I forget the name," 
 
 '* I know which you mean, but I dare say your 
 friend has heard it better sung ; however, I will 
 trust to the good nature of his heart, which his 
 eyes so eloquently express, to pardon every 
 error.'' 
 
 She then seated herself with her guitar, and 
 sang the following song, during which Sandron 
 had full opportunity to gaze on her to his heart's 
 content.
 
 112 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Sweet his tongue as the throstle's note. 
 
 Quick in dance as thought can be. 
 Deft his tabour, cudgel stout — 
 Oh, he lies by the willow-tree. 
 My love is dead. 
 Gone to his bed. 
 All under the willow-tree. 
 
 Hark, the raven flaps his wing 
 
 In the briered dell below. 
 Hark ! the death-owl loud doth sing 
 To the nightmares as they go. 
 My love is dead. 
 Gone to his bed. 
 All under the willow-tree. 
 
 Hereupon my true-love's grave 
 
 Shall the barren flowers be laid. 
 Not one holy saint to save 
 All the sorrow of a maid. 
 My love is dead. 
 Gone to his bed. 
 All under the willow-tree. 
 
 She sang the song with great taste and feeling, 
 in addition to which her voice was very sweet, 
 and had evidently been taken much pains with ; 
 at the conclusion of the third verse, Sandron, who
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. US 
 
 thought he had seldom or never seen a fairer 
 creature, observed that her large and languish- 
 ing brown eyes filled with tears ; but, if they did 
 so fill, all trace of sorrow was in a moment ba- 
 nished, and laying down the instrument, in a 
 bantering tone she exclaimed — 
 
 *' Now, sir stranger, if you do not call on me 
 very frequently for a song, I shall hold that you 
 either contemn my performance, or that your 
 soul belies your countenance, and that sweetness 
 of disposition and harmony of thought dwell 
 not in your composition." 
 
 Surface evidently did not relish this general 
 invitation to his friend, and Sandron saw that it 
 annoyed him ; however, so full of admiration 
 was he for the fair songstress, and so heated by 
 wine, as well as chafed in spirit from his late 
 encounter with Captain Cawthorne, that he 
 cared but little for the wishes of any man, and 
 was warm in his assurances of again visiting her. 
 After some further conversation, some spiced
 
 114 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 wine was handed round by the maid- servant, 
 and Surface, addressing Sandron, told him that 
 if he would proceed home in the coach then 
 waiting at the door, he would speedily follow 
 him, as he had another visit to pay ere he could 
 retire for the night. 
 
 Sandron, having sat some time longer, took 
 his leave ; but, as he was about to step into 
 his coach, he was met by a young lady splen- 
 didly dressed, apparently entering the house he 
 was quitting. With an exclamation of surprise 
 and pleasure, she caught him by the arm, saying 
 at the same, " Take me with you ;" then pausing 
 and looking for a moment into his face, and at a 
 glance catching the astonishment expressed by 
 his features, she burst into tears. 
 
 " Good heavens !" exclaimed Sandron, being 
 at the time ready to have fought the battles of 
 the whole female sex, " what has happened ? 
 how can I serve you, madam ? you may com- 
 mand me."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 115 
 
 '^ Take me with you/' she cried ; *' under the 
 protection of a gentleman I may at least find 
 temporary refuge ; alas, I have been turned from 
 my home by a cruel step-mother, and if you 
 have not compassion for me, I must perish in the 
 streets/' 
 
 Sandron hesitated ; he had heard that London 
 was full of dissimulation, and alive with snares 
 for the unwary ; he knew not what to do. 
 
 " Take me with you !" the lady once more ex- 
 claimed, sobbing at the same time as if her heart 
 would break ; *' let me but have shelter for the 
 night — a room to sit in — and you will be doing 
 an act of mercy ; you cannot refuse a distressed 
 damsel, can you, sir?" 
 
 As she made this appeal, she regarded San- 
 dron with such a sweet expression of feature, 
 almost smiling through her tears, as to banish 
 all hesitation on his part ; the more so as several 
 passers-by had stopped to witness their inter- 
 view, and had already indulged in coarse remark.
 
 116 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Taking pity on her forlorn situation, as well as 
 to save her delicacy from the rude gibe of the 
 bystanders, Sandron assisted her into his coach, 
 and ordered the coachman to drive them to the 
 Hercules' Pillars. On their way thither, the 
 young lady continued her pitiable tale, and, 
 when the coach stopped, Sandron found that her 
 appeal to his humanity, added to the spiced 
 wine he had drank at the house he had just 
 quitted, had made wonderful impressions both 
 on his head and heart, and confirmed his reso- 
 lution of protecting her from all harm. 
 
 Having arrived at the tavern, and assisted her 
 to alight, Sandron knocked at the door, and 
 presently after mine host was heard carefully 
 undoing the chain which secured it, the hour 
 being so late that all the rest of the inmates, 
 tapsters, -lodgers, and guests, had retired for the 
 night. The door opened by degrees, and the 
 countenance of the host peered cautiously round 
 the edge, when, on seeing Sandron, he admitted
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 117 
 
 him, but, with an exclamation of surprise and 
 displeasure, banged the door to again in the face 
 of the distressed damsel, saying, at the same 
 time, '^ No, no, madam." 
 
 " S 'death, thou insolent varlet," cried Sandron, 
 " what hast thou done ? open thy portal, I tell 
 thee, or I flay thee alive ! Yonder is a distressed 
 lady — of rank, for aught I know — and I have 
 pledged my word to protect her. I tell thee, 
 open thy inhospitable door ! " 
 
 " Never, sir,'"* said the host, buttoning the key 
 up in a breast-pocket ; '^ never shall my old 
 master's son keep such strange company under 
 my roof." 
 
 " Villain, art thou mad or drunk V* shouted 
 his fierce interrogator ; ** what strange com- 
 pany ? By my soul, if thou dost not open thy 
 infernal door, I'll beat thee to a mummy !" 
 
 With these words, Sandron seized the tavern- 
 keeper by the collar, and threw him on the 
 ground ; nevertheless, the sturdy old man folded
 
 118 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 his arms firmly over the key, and Sandron's 
 most vigorous efforts failed to wrench them 
 asunder. Giddy with wine, and out of breath, 
 Sandron seized on a chair, and, placing it upon 
 the body of his fallen adversary, the cross-bars 
 of which fitted closely into his neck and the 
 small of his back, effectually keeping him pri- 
 soner, drew his sword, sat himself in the chair, 
 and thus addressed him. 
 
 '' Thou stony-hearted publican and sinner, 
 thou unfeeling vender of the most acheful liquor, 
 here will I sit at my leisure, and prick thee into 
 repentance !'* 
 
 The noise of the scuffle, the exasperated and 
 continued rapping at the door and clamour for 
 payment of the coachman, had by this time 
 aroused the whole house, and nightcaps and 
 nightwigs of every shade and variety were to be 
 seen peering over the balustrades of the stair- 
 case, one above the other, according to the dif- 
 ferent altitude of their respective dormitories.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 119 
 
 In the meanwhile, one or two tapsters and waiters 
 danced round about the vicinity of the bar^ but 
 seemed disinclined to offer their unprotected per- 
 sons to the point of a naked sword ; for Sandron 
 not only pricked his prostrate foe, but, whenever 
 a tapster ventured near for the relief of his mas- 
 ter, he plied his weapon in each direction with 
 such good will as effectually to keep them all at 
 bay. This state of things had lasted some mi- 
 nutes, when the coach was heard to drive away ; 
 a diflFerent knock then assailed the door, accom- 
 panied by the voice of Surface. 
 
 *' What ho, I say ! is Pandimonium broken 
 loose, that such an infernal din is kept up in 
 this tavern as to prevent the solicitation of its 
 frequenters for their lawful admittance from 
 being attended to ?*' 
 
 On hearing his friend's voice, Sandron per- 
 mitted the landlord to rise ; and, the door being 
 opened, Surface alone stood before them. San- 
 dron rushed into the street, but the coach, the 
 lady, and all, had disappeared.
 
 120 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " Why, landlord," exclaimed Surface, " what 
 has been the matter? has the house been on 
 fire that I see an army of nightcaps on the stairs, 
 or have you been patronizing your own liquor?" 
 
 "No," replied the landlord; "but Master 
 Sandron has been boozing somebody else's liquor, 
 or he never would have served an old servant of 
 his family in this way." 
 
 The affray was then explained ; and, making 
 multifarious assertions that he would quit the 
 house on the following day, Sandron was at 
 length prevailed on by his friend to retire to 
 rest.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 1^1 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Our hero, as a hero, young and handsome. 
 Noble, rich, celebrated, and a stranger. 
 Like other slaves, of course must pay his ransom. 
 Before he can escape from so much danger 
 As will environ a conspicuous man. Some 
 Talk about poetry, and, *' rack and manger," 
 And ugliness, disease, as toil and trouble ; — 
 1 wish they knew the life of a young noble. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 On the following morning Sandron was hastily 
 awakened by his friend. '' Up, up 1'" he cried, 
 " by my life, you take things easily ; here has 
 Sir Charles Matchem arrived with a message 
 from Captain Cawthorne ; you surely were not 
 so much mystified by wine as to have forgotten 
 your quarrel and assault on the little gentle- 
 man ?" 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " No, no/' replied Sandron, '' I have not alto- 
 gether forgotten it, though my recollections in 
 the matter are not over-clear. I fear me I have 
 been in the wrong; my honour is in your 
 hands; if I have been wrong, I am ready to make 
 such an apology as a gentleman may; but, if 
 ever so little in the right, why then, away goes 
 the scabbard, and let Captain Cawthorne mind 
 his doublet." 
 
 Thus empowered. Surface, all circumstances 
 being taken into consideration, had nothing left 
 for it but to consent that his friend should make 
 an ample apology ; for, to the rude act, in the 
 first instance, of knocking the wine out of the 
 captain's hand, Sandron had further added to 
 the difficulty of his situation by committing a 
 direct assault, which nothing could excuse but 
 the plea of insobriety. 
 
 Matters were, after considerable difficulty, 
 arranged ; for, however much a man may regret 
 the act, and however much he may express his
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 123 
 
 sorrow, still, seizing the collar of a gentleman 
 amounts to a blow, an offence which Captain 
 Cawthorne said could scarce be atoned for save 
 with the effusion of blood. 
 
 This more serious matter had scarce been dis- 
 posed of, ere the coachman of the previous night 
 arrived with a charge for his hire, including 
 his journey back, when he drove the lady 
 home. 
 
 *' Drove the lady home !" said Sandron ; " did 
 they let her in, my good man ?" 
 
 " Oh yes, sir, but she said as I was to go to 
 you for payment. '^ 
 
 Sandron settled the man's claim and sent for 
 the landlord, to whom he expressed his sorrow 
 at having used him so roughly, which brought 
 tears into the old servant's eyes, who quitted 
 the room saying, '* he did not niind his bruises, 
 as he had done his duty in opening his young 
 master's mind to strange company/' 
 
 Sandron was then left alone, when, throwing 
 
 g2
 
 124 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 himself upon his bed, he gave way to the most 
 bitter, but wholesome reflections. 
 
 In the space of two nights he had transgressed 
 much of the advice received from his father. 
 He had picked up an acquaintance and asso- 
 ciated himself with a man who appeared to be a 
 gentleman, certainly, but of whose familiar ap- 
 proaches men of undoubted pretensions to the 
 best society seemed to be peculiarly shy. That 
 he was a gambler Sandron also knew, for he had 
 s en him win considerably of others, as well as 
 of himself; and to this he added an inclination 
 to share in, as well as power to bear, the most 
 extravagant intemperance : that his morals were 
 sufficiently lax he had evidence beyond the pos- 
 sibility of doubt. Most humiliating, then, it 
 seemed to him, to have been found brawling in 
 a tavern at night, only to apologize in the 
 morning, the sole excuse for the reception of 
 that apology being the plea of degrading in- 
 toxication. There was yet a more bitter pang
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 125 
 
 for him in store — the open state of the locket, 
 and the twisted ribbon, reminded him that he 
 had publicly alluded to, that he had boasted of 
 Louisa's love, and made her hallowed name a 
 jest for the ribaldry of his companions. This 
 latter reflection filled his soul with disgust and 
 his eyes with tears; nothing which he could 
 urge to himself offered the smallest palliation of 
 his fault, nay, the only excuse which he really 
 had, that of inebriety, but added still further to 
 his moral degradation. 
 
 He remembered the words of his father, 
 " that it would be better to drink himself speech- 
 less, than to let men put an enemy in his mouth 
 to steal away his brains;"" he also found how 
 dangerous the literal pursuit of such advice was, 
 for, in the intermediate moments between reason 
 and its total loss, there existed a doubtful and a 
 deceitful twilight, like the close or commence- 
 ment of day, showing sufficient palpability on 
 the road to make its fairer portions visible, and
 
 126 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 yet not enough to enable the traveller to avoid 
 the holes and declivities which yawned in the 
 jmore obscure places. Having been a prey to 
 such reflections for some time, he came to the 
 wise resolution of withdrawing himself from the 
 society of Master Surface ; but how was this to 
 be effected, and what reason was he to assign 
 for such a line of conduct ? Too good-natured 
 to do any thing harshly, he determined to drop 
 his acquaintance by degrees, and for this jf)urpose 
 he ordered his servant to repair to the Strand, 
 or its immediate vicinity, and to secure for him 
 a single lodging, while he himself would pay his 
 father a visit at the Hall. Little did our hero 
 know how difficult it was by fair and quiet 
 means to shake off the acquaintance of a man, 
 who for selfish reasons is resolved to fasten 
 his society in a particular quarter. A relay of 
 horses being also ordered in advance as far as 
 Colnbrook, Sandron was dressed for his journey 
 when Master Surface entered his room.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 127 
 
 " Holloa/' exclaimed the latter, " booted and 
 spurred ! why, whither art thou bound?" 
 
 " I intend to pay my father a visit/* simply 
 replied Charles. At this juncture a servant 
 entered bearing a letter for Sandron, from Lord 
 Orford ; it stated that Sir Stamford had apprized 
 him of his son's residence in town, and contained 
 an appointment for an interview on the day after 
 the morrow. 
 
 " Soho, friend/' cried Surface, when he knew 
 the contents of the letter, " no visit, then, to 
 Sandron Hall P' 
 
 '' Yes," rejoined Charles, " I will go there, 
 if but for a day ; after the heat and bustle of 
 the town, the fresh air of the country will be 
 acceptable.*' 
 
 '' Faith," said Surface, " an excellent notion ; 
 I have a little business in the neighbourhood 
 and you shall take me with you ; I long, also, 
 to make the acquaintance of the fine old hearty 
 knight, your father."
 
 128 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 *' But," replied Sandron, with some little hesi- 
 tation, " my father will be unprepared for a 
 guest " 
 
 " Nonsense, my dear fellow," interrupted his 
 friend ; " my presence can make no difference in 
 such household arrangements as those at the 
 Hall. I will be in no one's way, but walk about 
 the grounds and amuse myself, while you act 
 the dutiful son." 
 
 Sandron thus found himself obliged to say 
 that he should be happy in his friend's society, 
 and it was therefore settled that they should 
 visit the Hall together. Nothing worthy of 
 record chanced upon the road ; Surface was 
 more civil and obliging, more agreeable and 
 entertaining, than ever ; and when they arrived 
 at their destination, Charles had recovered his 
 usual tone and spirits. 
 
 The reception given to the acknowledged 
 friend and companion of their only son was 
 flattering in the extreme; it seemed as if Sir
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 1^9 
 
 Stamford and his lady vied with each other in 
 excess of civility, concluding their open-hearted 
 protestations with a pressing and general invi- 
 tation to Master Surface, that, as he said busi- 
 ness sometimes brought him into that neighbour- 
 hood, whenever such shbuld again happen, he 
 would do them and their son the favour to make 
 the Hall his home. 
 
 When Charles witnessed the affectionate soli- 
 citude of his parents, made manifest and ap- 
 parent as it was by their marked attention to 
 his friend, a sensation passed through his breast 
 which pained him considerably, and he would 
 have given worlds to have made his father ac- 
 quainted with the true state of things, and par- 
 ticularly to have recalled the general invitation, 
 of which he felt sure Master Surface would avail 
 himself. To have thus acquainted his father, 
 he must have made the disagreeable acknow- 
 ledgment that he had introduced a questionable 
 character to the sanctity of his home, and that 
 
 g5
 
 130 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 he had been saddled with the society of a man 
 of whom his heart did not entirely approve. 
 Such acknowledgments as these tell much against 
 the vanity of a young man, and run so counter 
 to the grain of the human disposition, that we 
 may observe men of long standing in the world, 
 and of asserted and approved sagacity, shrink 
 from such confessions of momentary weakness. 
 We must not wonder, then, that Charles San- 
 dron sorrowed, but was silent. 
 
 Our hero and his friend had but just finished 
 their late dinner, when there was a slight bustle 
 in the entrance-hall, accompanied by a bounding 
 sound by the window, and a short, plaintive cry, 
 as if ?ome animal was that moment separated 
 from the object of its affections; at the same 
 instant the door of the dining-chamber opened, 
 and Louisa, a little out of breath, and with a 
 heightened colour, made rather a hasty entrance. 
 The hue on her beautiful cheek, always lovely, 
 but in the present instance still more so from
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 131 
 
 the haste with which she had reached the Hall, 
 grew, when she became aware of a stranger's 
 presence, to a deep crimson, and she hesitated 
 in her advance, as if she judged it more expedient 
 to repass the door. 
 
 " Come in, come in, my love," exclaimed the 
 good old knight, as Charles Sandron and his 
 friend rose from table, the one to meet her, the , 
 other to await the expected introduction — "come 
 in, my love, you will be as anxious and happy 
 to welcome this friend and companion of my son 
 Charles, as we have been ; know him, my love, 
 as Master Surface." 
 
 As Louisa acknowledged the low reverence of 
 the guest, in her usual graceful and unembar- 
 rassed style, Charles thought he had never seen 
 her appear more lovely ; and when, in addition 
 to his own sensations, he observed the eyes of his 
 friend filled with admiration, he felt proud in- 
 deed of the consciousness that he possessed her 
 first and best affection.
 
 1S2 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Dr. Marmaduke shortly afterwards arrived, 
 and the evening passed off pleasantly enough. 
 One thing alone more particularly struck Charles 
 Sandron's observation ; it was the change that had 
 come over the manners and bearing of his friend 
 Master Surface, and the vast power he seemed 
 to have over his inclinations and actions. Tnis 
 night, though the rich old wine of the Hall 
 might have tempted the most temperate man 
 to an approach to excess, Master Surface drunk 
 of it so sparingly as to incur a rallying on that 
 score from his hospitable host. Though Charles 
 had good reason to know that his friend was 
 an ardent admirer of female perfection, and 
 though he had observed that Surface had been 
 forcibly struck by Louisa's beauty, he scarcely 
 spoke to her the whole evening ; in fact, he 
 seemed almost unconscious of her presence. 
 
 Surface addressed his conversation to Sir 
 Stamford on hunting and farming affairs, till 
 the old knight fell asleep in his arm-chair j he
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 133 
 
 then engaged Dr. Marmaduke on religious 
 matters. All this was done to the thorough 
 edification of Lady Sandron who was the best 
 audience in the world, as well as to the unmi- 
 tigated surprise and pleasure of the Doctor 
 himself, whom Surface incontrovertibly im- 
 pressed with the idea that he had at last met 
 with a young man of fashion, uncontaminated by 
 the vice and folly which hourly surrounded him. 
 
 Dr. Marmaduke and his daughter slept at 
 the Hall that night ; and, as Charles Sandron 
 found the latter as pure and beautiful, as en- 
 gaging and affectionate, as when he left her on 
 his journey to London, the circumstance of his 
 having so improperly alluded to her engage- 
 ment with him passed from his recollection. 
 
 On the following morning before breakfast, 
 Charles Sandron and Louisa were walking in the 
 garden, and visiting all sorts of pets, the white doe 
 bounding before them in her usual lively and 
 graceful manner ; at a turn in the grounds they
 
 1S4 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 encountered Master Surface. He was dressed 
 richly, and with the utmost care, so as to set off 
 his face and figure to the best advantage, but at 
 the same time he threw into his manner an air of 
 surprise at the rencontre, saying, with a low bow 
 to Louisa, that he had not the slightest idea of 
 meeting with anything half so agreeable at that 
 early and unusual hour. They then repaired to 
 the Hall, where they found the whole household 
 assembled round Dr. Marmaduke for the morn- 
 ing prayer. 
 
 Towards the middle of the day, Master Sur- 
 face pleaded some business in the neighbourhood, 
 and, promising to return on the following morn- 
 ing in time sufficient to accompany Charles to 
 London, he took his departure. 
 
 The moment he had left the Hall, Charles 
 found his mind considerably relieved ; for though 
 he could not bring himself to speak on the sub- 
 ject to others, yet he felt much repugnance to 
 Master Surface's society, when that society was
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 135 
 
 to be shared with his nearest and dearest friends 5 
 it was only then that he enjoyed his return 
 home in uninterrupted felicity. 
 
 It has often been suggested that if men were 
 wise, if they were imbued with a little true phi- 
 losophy, they would invariably, as the phrase 
 runs, " let well alone.'* It may also have been 
 asked, why a young man, possessed of all he 
 ought in reason to desire, should be sent forth 
 into the world to fight or feel his way among 
 friends and foes, and to risk the reaping of a 
 harvest of discontent with that which had once 
 sufficed his proudest wishes. Why should he, 
 virtuous and open-hearted, be thrown among 
 the vicious, and thus, as it were, be sent to run 
 a chance of catching those diseases of the mind 
 from which he had hitherto remained free ? 
 Charles Sandron was rich, was contented, and 
 happy ; he was known to a sufficient circle of 
 friends to have exchanged with them every 
 courtesy of his day, and he possessed tlie afFec-
 
 136 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 tions of a young and beautiful girl, whom, of 
 his own observation, through the whole course 
 of her inoffensive life, he had known, and 
 knew to be as pure as the first snow that falls 
 on the glacier's frozen brow. It may be stated 
 that men would be happier were they to confine 
 their ideas, their hopes and expectations, to a 
 liniited sphere, or to their family fireside. But 
 if they did, if each man considered his own 
 immediate comfort more than the well-being of 
 the community, if hearts no longer responded 
 to the shout of public praise, or beat in noble 
 emulation of the glorious passages of former 
 years, how selfish, how insignificantly degraded, 
 humanity would soon become ! 
 
 Charles Sandron had all these blessings we 
 have enumerated, and yet he wished to see a 
 little of the world ; whether that which he did 
 see tended to increase his happiness, or whether, 
 on seeing, he selected well, can only be ex- 
 plained in the sequel of this history.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 137 
 
 The day on which Master Surface left the 
 Hall was spent by Charles in the society of his 
 betrothed ; it passed, as all such sunny days must 
 ever pass, with the celerity of wings : and when 
 he rhounted his horse the next morning to com- 
 mence his solitary ride to town (for his friend, 
 Master Surface, had not returned), it seemed 
 to him that his visit had been but of an hour's 
 duration. He reached his lodging in the Strand 
 in time to keep his appointment with Lord 
 Orford.
 
 138 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " When first you courted me, I own 
 
 I fondly favoured you ; 
 Apparent worth and high renown 
 
 Made me believe you true. 
 Each virtue, then, seem'd to adorn 
 
 The man esteemed by me ; 
 But now the mask's thrown off^ I scorn 
 
 To waste one thought on thee." 
 
 Having exchanged his riding-dress for one 
 more suited to the occasion, Charles Sandron 
 repaired at once to Lord Orford, who, though 
 impeached by the Commons, was not arrested for 
 high treason. He found that nobleman seated 
 at a table on which were arranged a number of 
 papers and other documents, some of which bore 
 relation to the treaty of 1698, while on others
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. J 39 
 
 appeared the name of the celebrated pirate, Cap- 
 tain Kidd. Lord Orford held out his hand and 
 received him kindly, when Charles presented him 
 with the letter of introduction from Sir Stamford . 
 
 " And why, my young friend, did you not pre- 
 sent me with this letter before V asked Lord 
 Orford. 
 
 Charles felt the blood rise to his temples, as 
 he replied, " that he had heard his lordship was 
 too much engaged to receive it." 
 
 Lord Orford fixed his eyes on him and re- 
 joined, " No, no, not a bit of it j I am never too 
 much engaged by my own affairs to forget or 
 neglect the interest of my friends. My mis- 
 fortunes, or rather those of my country — for it 
 becomes a national evil when a majority can be 
 found in the House of Commons, so cursed by 
 party- spirit as to make the conscientious acts of 
 a preceding ministry the grounds of an impeach- 
 ment of high treason — even now leave me time 
 to attend to Sir Stamford's request. By the
 
 140 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Lord ! the Tories, though they set us bad ex- 
 ample in many instances, have never done so as 
 to the not backing of their friends, for when do 
 they throw place or promotion away, or leave a 
 single soul in office who is not their proselyte ? 
 What acquaintances have you in town ? whom 
 have you seen, and who was it that acted as 
 your adviser in your late aflPair with Captain 
 Cawthorne ? You see I know something of your 
 movements." 
 
 Charles replied, " that his friend, on that 
 occasion, was Master Surface." 
 
 " Do you know any thing of that gentleman 
 who introduced him to you ?" 
 
 Sandron confessed that he was a chance ac- 
 quaintance. 
 
 " Then," continued Lord Orford, ^^ you only 
 know him according to his own introduction; 
 but I suspect that he bears another name or two 
 besides ; at all events, I advise you to be as little 
 in that gentleman's company as possible.*'
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 141 
 
 Sandron then informed him that he had taken 
 a single lodging for himself in the Strand, and 
 that he would endeavour to follow Lord Orford's 
 advice, indeed, he had parted with Master Sur- 
 face in the country. Lord Orford did not ask 
 him whet'e he had parted from his friend, if he 
 had, Charles felt how painful would have been 
 the acknowledgment that he had left him in the 
 bosom of his family. 
 
 Sandron was now kindly assured by Lord 
 Orford that, during his residence in town, he 
 would ever find a vacant chair at his table, and 
 that he would also introduce him to some of the 
 leading men in his own rank of life, who would 
 be delighted to shew him the most fashionable 
 places of resort. In return for this," continued 
 Lord Orford, *' your father is aware that I am 
 going to ask a favour of you." 
 
 Charles replied, that he should be but too 
 happy to attend to any commands. 
 
 " It is thus, then, my good young friend ; you
 
 14a SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 must know that, in preparing my defence against 
 the impeachment of the House of Commons, I 
 have to refer to papers, and to a correspondence, 
 the greater part of which I feel reluctant to sub- 
 mit to the perusal of a hired secretary. In your 
 faith and honour, and in the friendship which 
 has so long and so happily subsisted between our 
 houses, I can safely rely ; will you, therefore, 
 undertake to make such abstracts and copies 
 from various letters and documents as I may 
 think it necessary to point out T* 
 
 Sandron felt proud of the proffered confidence, 
 and expressed himself willing to undertake the 
 task, wheuj in a short time, he found himself sur- 
 rounded by papers, and writing according to the 
 dictation of his noble friend. ' We must leave 
 him there in his new and laborious occupation, 
 and return to the Hall of his father. 
 
 Charles Sandron had not left home on his re- 
 turn to town for more than a hour, when Master 
 Surface arrived there. Having expressed his
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 143 
 
 sorrow to Sir Stamford and Lady Sandron at 
 the unavoidable delay of some business, which 
 prevented his return in time to have joined their 
 son, Surface accepted a renewed invitation to 
 remain at the Hall till the following morning ; 
 Louisa also remained to dinner, and, at the re- 
 quest of Lady Sandron, continued with them till 
 it was time to depart for the night ; she was 
 then to repair to the rectory, where her father was 
 confined from a slight indisposition, brought on 
 by a recent and unremitting attendance on one 
 of his parishioners, who was on his death-bed. 
 During that evening, the attentions of Master 
 Surface, where Louisa was concerned, were of the 
 most distant yet attentive and deferential de- 
 scription ; and when she arose for the purpose of 
 walking to the Rectory, under the care of a female 
 attendant, he also proffered his services as an 
 escort, when, as he seemed most civilly resolved 
 to take no denial, she, with the hearty concur- 
 rence of Sir Stamford, accepted them.
 
 144 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 During their walk Surface spoke of her betrothed 
 with a sigh, certainly, yet in tones of praise and 
 sincere attachment ; and, on taking his leave at 
 the gate, expressed a wish to be permitted to 
 visit the Rectory, as he had frequently admired 
 from a distance its well arranged and venerable 
 appearance. Louisa said she should be but too 
 happy to shew it to him, when it was agreed 
 that he should present himself there the follow- 
 ing morning. 
 
 The morrow found him true to his appoint- 
 ment. Louisa, who received him alone. Dr. 
 Marmaduke being still too much indisposed to 
 quit his chamber, was first made aware of Master 
 Surface's approach by the bounding away, from 
 the lawn, of her favourite doe, who, though she 
 did not usually betray any remarkable timidity 
 at the vicinity of a stranger, seemed to have 
 taken an especial dislike to the appearance of 
 this gentleman. 
 
 '* Can I be the bearer of any commands to
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 145 
 
 town ?'* inquired Master Surface on his entrance ; 
 " have you no message or letter to be delivered to 
 our mutual friend, Charles ? he will, or at least 
 he ought to be, most anxious to hear from you." 
 
 This was said with a sigh ; Louisa replied 
 that she had a note which she would trouble him 
 to deliver, and accordingly presented him with 
 one for that purpose. 
 
 Master Surface continued : — 
 
 "How different Charles must find his new 
 situation in London, to the quiet, secluded, and 
 delightful life he used to lead here ! And if he 
 dislikes London as much as I do — its vices, its 
 follies, and its hours — he will soon wish himself 
 back again with a companion so fair and virtuous 
 as you are." 
 
 Louisa bowed to the compliment, and, inviting 
 Master Surface to accompany her, led the way 
 into the garden. 
 
 " I know not," she said, in the course of con- 
 versation, *' what it is that oppresses me, but, 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 14}6 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Master Surface, I have been so low-spirited all 
 last night and this morning, that at one time I 
 thought I should not have had the courage to re- 
 ceive you. Philosophers may affect to laugh at 
 such a sensation, but there is an indefinable 
 dread of some misfortune about to happen to 
 me, which no power that I am mistress of can 
 dispel. I confess I think it possible that Heaven, 
 in its inscrutable ordinances, may have given 
 some secret power of this description to the 
 human mind, in order that we may be pre- 
 pared for or forewarned of inevitable danger. 
 Animals, birds, and even plants, have an innate 
 perception of the coming storm, why, therefore, 
 should not we be gifted in a similar degree ?*' 
 
 '^ A philosopher would combat you thus, fair 
 lady," replied Master Surface ; " he would say 
 that he could account for the knowledge of an 
 approaching storm being conveyed to the instinct 
 of animals and plants through atmospheric in- 
 fluepces, but he would doubt any revelation of
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 147 
 
 the same description being made to man on the 
 proximity of misfortune ; indeed, the Scotch, 
 who are gifted seers in all such matters, say, 
 that if you see a person in unusual and remark- 
 ably high spirits, it is but too often the precursor 
 of death. The depression, sweet lady, which you 
 complain of, may arise from some trifling indis- 
 position, or from the knowledge that one so long 
 and so dearly known to you as our mutual friend 
 Charles has been, is so lately cast forth into the 
 wicked world, at his age and inexperience, to 
 face more dangers and temptations than could 
 have beset the path of that parent of the desert. 
 Saint Anthony." 
 
 " You seem, sir, to have but a poor opinion of 
 the gay world/' replied Louisa, " but yet I may 
 not think that it is so bad as you represent it, 
 else why do people flock there ? I have several 
 friends in London, on whose esteem I set the 
 highest value, and they reside there for the 
 greater part of their lives, by choice." 
 
 H 2
 
 148 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " They may have near and dear relatives 
 engaged in the business of life," said Surface, 
 " and they therefore wish to be near them : 
 could I have my own way, I would never set 
 foot in London again. Oh, I have seen the best, 
 the most virtuous young men ruined by a few 
 hours' introduction to its vicious ordinations." 
 
 " But that," rejoined Louisa, " must have 
 only been when their hearts were predisposed to 
 prefer evil to good, and not when the mind had 
 been well arranged and refined by precept and 
 example." 
 
 " Yes/* continued Master Surface, " I assure 
 you I have seen young men of the brightest 
 promise so dazzled by the novelty of temptation 
 — so besotted, if I may use such an expression, 
 with the sin that surrounded them, as in Q.few 
 hours to turn their backs on the doctrine of 
 years ; ay — and even to forget their earliest 
 hopes and affections. '"* 
 
 " Well, but. Master Surface," exclaimed
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 149 
 
 Louisa, her lovely features alive with the in- 
 terest she began to take in the conversation, 
 " now suppose we take our mutual friend, 
 Charles ; I should declare it impossible for such 
 a heart and disposition as his to be corrupted or 
 even contaminated by the guilt of other people ; 
 nay, more — that seeing the plague-spot on others 
 would only confirm him in all righteous rela- 
 tions, and tend to keep him healthful and un- 
 touched. Oh ! I know the beauty of his mind 
 so well — his honour — his high and chivalrous 
 
 feeling — he could not be degraded by the force 
 
 of example." 
 
 " He ought not to be, but still he miffht be so 
 
 estranged." 
 
 " He might — it is impossible ; but how is 
 
 this ? *' exclaimed Louisa, in much anxiety ; 
 
 " you shake your head, look sad, and sigh ; 
 
 surely, surely you do not mean to insinuate that 
 
 in this short time Charles has fallen a prey to 
 
 the wickedness you describe ?'*
 
 150 
 
 Surface cast his eyes on the ground and was 
 silent. 
 
 '' Speak," cried Louisa, gasping for breath — 
 " your silence, sir, alarms me ; he cannot — must 
 not — oh, he has not had time to lose the recol- 
 lection of his home — of — of — oh, do not hint at 
 things so dark, if he has been entrapped to do 
 or think that which is wrong — speak out, Master 
 Surface, I conjure you, in a tone which may be 
 understood by me, and have power to recall him 
 from the yet scarce trodden path/' 
 
 " Lady," replied Master Surface, meekly fold- 
 ing his arms upon his breast, " when I came to , 
 take leave of you this morning, I little thought 
 that you would have drawn my secret from me ; 
 I love Charles Sandron, as you are aware — I 
 would risk my life to save him — I would have 
 guided him — I would have pointed out the dan- 
 gers of the world — but, alas ! he has thrown off 
 all restraint. Because I ventured to remonstrate, 
 he has quitted the decent house of the old servant
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 151 
 
 of his family and taken a lodging in the Strand, 
 that he may the better escape my well-intentioned 
 caution, the surveillance of one whom he thinks 
 might report to his father, and be nearer to the 
 haunts of vice and folly." 
 
 Louisa paused for an instant in her walk, her 
 eyes fixed upon the ground ; suddenly she raised 
 them, and beheld her companion intently gazing 
 at her. She approached him, and, laying her 
 hand emphatically on his arm, inquired, " Have 
 you told this to Sir Stamford? — have you told 
 it to his mother?" 
 
 " Nay, lady," replied Surface, " reflect — you 
 have drawn my secret from me ; it was with no 
 premeditated intention that I imparted to you 
 the news, and I have now one favour to crave 
 of your generosity, as it is more on Charles 
 Sandron's account than on my own, I am sure 
 your goodness will not hesitate to grant it. The 
 favour I allude to is — that as I yet hope to wean 
 our friend from the dangerous fascination, the
 
 152 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 species of witchcraft to which he has yielded — 
 
 the power which she But you are ill, sweet 
 
 lady, let me lead you to a seat." As he said 
 this, Louisa reeled as if his words had pierced 
 her brain. 
 
 " No, no," she exclaimed, resisting his offer, 
 and momentarily recovering herself — " proceed, 
 sir ; let not your kindness for others prevent 
 your finishing the sentence. You spoke, but 
 now, of a third person?" 
 
 " I did so, lady, but I regret it, as it seems to 
 have inflicted so much pain on you." 
 
 " You mistake me. Master Surface, it was but 
 a passing headache to which I am subject; I 
 beseech you to resume and tell me all." 
 
 " Well then, lady," continued Surface, " if it 
 must be told — and perhaps, as I have unwittingly 
 alluded to so much, the rest had better be dis- 
 closed — know then that Charles has hastily and 
 unfortunately formed an attachment to a lady of 
 some notoriety, whom he wished to place under
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 153 
 
 the roof of his father's servant, at the Hercules' 
 Pillars, had not the honest indignation of the 
 worthy man frustrated his intentions. I have 
 here a letter in proof of what I say, this is from 
 the man who keeps that coffeehouse, it is ad- 
 dressed to me, and runs thus : — 'I hope that 
 your honour will intercede for me with my young 
 Master Sandron, for I fear that in my zeal for 
 his welfare and the honour of my good old mas, 
 ter's house, in shutting my doors against the 
 lady he was anxious I should receive, I may 
 have offended him ; he has left me for a lodging 
 in the Strand."* " 
 
 Master Surface paused — Louisa's eyes were 
 filled with tears, and, in spite of all her efforts, 
 her mind gave way, and she suffered him to con- 
 duct her to a seat in that very summer-house 
 where she had so often sat with Charles, and 
 where she had listened while her father bestowed 
 upon him a parting admonition and a blessing. 
 
 Surface did not attempt to sit beside her, but 
 
 H 5
 
 154 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 remained at a respectful distance, wrapped, as" 
 it were, in silent sorrow. He now proceeded to 
 fold the letter, and, drawing from his bosom some 
 others with which it seemed to be his wish to tie 
 it up, a piece of pink ribbon slipped as if acci- 
 dentally from his hand, and fell at the feet of 
 Louisa. There was a peculiar knot in that ribbon, 
 and to it her attention became riveted ; — it used 
 to sustain the locket she had hung round Charles's 
 neck, and was the fastening which, when stained, 
 he had torn from its post of honour and cast 
 away. With eyes open, and at the moment tear- 
 less, she exclaimed, as she raised it from the 
 floor, " How came you by this ribbon?" Sur- 
 face seemed embarrassed, but made no reply. 
 She continued — " This ribbon, sir, was once 
 mine. I ask — nay, I command you to tell me 
 how it came into your possession ! ^' 
 
 " Forgive me, lady ; as you ask it, I must tell 
 the truth," replied Surface — " if, in doing so, I 
 i ncur your displeasure, you will, I trust, bear in
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 155 
 
 mind that I ofFend not intentionally. That rib- 
 bon was attached to a locket containing a beau- 
 tiful lock of hair — that it was your's I knew, 
 from hearing poor dear Charles proclaim as much 
 to the guests at a supper-table. He wrenched 
 the locket from its fastening, and threw the 
 ribbon from him, when I, thinking that even a 
 ribbon which had once belonged to so matchless 
 a creature as he to us described ought never to 
 be lightly cast aside or touched by unhallowed 
 hands, caught it ere it reached the ground, and, 
 unseen by him, deposited it in the bosom of my 
 vest, where it has remained to this hour.'* 
 
 Louisa flung the ribbon from her in marked 
 disdain, when, though Surface followed it with 
 his eyes and with a visible expression of a wish 
 to possess it again, he dared not pick it up. 
 There was then a long and painful silence, which 
 was at length broken by Master Surface, who, 
 kneeling at her feet, thus addressed her : — 
 
 " Lady, I fear me I have done wrong, but, 
 if I have, it has been unintentionally. I came
 
 156 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 not here with a wish to divulge the secrets of 
 my friend, or to pain you, who love him, with 
 such degrading disclosures, I have long made 
 up my mind to be silent when I could not praise, 
 yet, though I am a man of the world, your inno- 
 cence, your beauty, and your wrongs, have over- 
 come the cold and cautious policy of my heart ; 
 and I, who would have given worlds to have 
 made you happy, have been the means of suf- 
 fusing those lovely eyes with tears, and of lower- 
 ing the friend, w^hom I yet love better than my- 
 self, in your estimation." 
 
 " Rise, Master Surface," exclaimed Louisa, 
 quitting at the same time her seat — ^." blame not 
 yourself, if any one is in fault, I am, for having 
 drawn your secret from you ; your feelings do 
 honour to your heart. You will acquaint Sir 
 Stamford with that which you have told me, 
 and my father shall know it when sufficiently 
 recovered to bear such disclosures ; — to be ac- 
 quainted with the evil tidings, in his present 
 debilitated state, would h'^ wore than he could
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 157 
 
 endure. Rise, sir — Master Surface — I en- 
 treat ! " 
 
 " No, lady, I will not rise till you pledge me 
 your word that the conversation which has passed 
 between us shall, for the present, be held sacred 
 from all others, for the sake of our poor friend, 
 Charles, dear to us still." (Louisa made a scorn- 
 ful inclination with her head.) '' At least, dear 
 as he is to me, I would not for worlds acquaint 
 his parents ; it would render his mother mise- 
 rable, and anger Sir Stamford sufficiently to 
 make him adopt some hasty and ill-advised 
 measure tending to confirm and establish Charles 
 more deeply among the vicious set with whom he 
 is now surrounded. No, no 5 I beseech you, lady, 
 as you once loved him — for the sake of his family 
 — for the sake of bis faithfully attached friend, 
 who has thus been betrayed into a communica- 
 tion of which his heart disapproves, let the pub- 
 lication of his first false step, for the present, go 
 no further j but let me try by gentle means to
 
 158 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 reclaim him, and to bring him back to worship 
 at that shrine, which, in his better moments, he 
 must prefer to all the world besides. (Master 
 Surface rose.) You will promise me, then — I 
 read it in your eyes?" 
 
 Louisa held out her hand and assented ; bend- 
 ing his knee gracefully, he kissed it — and had 
 retired a few steps on his way to the garden- 
 gate, when he stopped, turned round, and drew 
 forth the letter which she had entrusted him to 
 deliver to Charles. He held it aloft for her to 
 see, and with some hesitation in look and man- 
 ner asked — " if he was still to deliver it?" 
 
 " No, sir," replied Louisa ; " and yet, stay — 
 yes, you may deliver it ; it is, perhaps, the last 
 communication he may ever have from me." 
 
 Master Surface placed it in his bosom, bowed 
 low, and retired; when, as he left the garden, 
 the doe, being relieved of the presence of the 
 object of her dislike, came bounding joyfully in, 
 and joined her weeping mistress.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 159 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Let's sing to the Ministry's pvaise. 
 With hearts most thankful and glad, 
 
 For the statesmen of these our days 
 Are the wisest that ever we had. 
 
 But not to wander too far 
 In the maze of their endless merit, 
 
 I '11 give you one instance most rare 
 Of their vigilance, wisdom, and spirit. 
 
 Old Whig Ballad. 
 
 We must now return to Charles Sandron, who 
 had been engaged all the forenoon in copying- 
 out and in arranging the papers of the friend of 
 his father. Charles dined with Lord Orford, 
 and in the evening their party was joined by 
 the young Lord Grimston, who, though he dif- 
 fered in politics, was on the most intimate
 
 160 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 terms with the house of Orford. Dinner being 
 over, the two young men agreed to repair to 
 the House of Commons to hear a debate, though 
 none of any great importance were expected to 
 come on, and there being room, they obtained 
 very good seats immediately behind the chair 
 allotted to the sergeant-at-arms. 
 
 Many of the leading members of either party 
 were in their places, and there was a pretty good 
 attendance in point of numbers, both on the 
 Whig and Tory side. Sir John Prosemont, a 
 man of some property, an ultra-liberal of the 
 day, and a supporter of the Whigs, was about to 
 ask leave of the House to introduce some mea- 
 sures as ridiculous in their object as their ten- 
 dency was wild and mischievous, and which the 
 best men of each party had determined to crush 
 at the very onset. The galleries, as usual, both 
 above and below, were filled with strangers, 
 among whom were many ladies. Underneath the 
 Stranger's Gallery, in the seats permitted to the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 161 
 
 peers, sat Lord Godolphin and the Duke of 
 Buckingham, both members of the administra- 
 tion, the upper house, for the time being, having 
 adjourned. The Speaker, Mr. Harley, member 
 for New Radnor, was in the chair. Sir John 
 Prosemont had been called on, and had for some 
 time commenced his address, facetiously rather 
 than otherwise, as it appeared to strangers from 
 the inclination to merriment more than deliber- 
 ation which pervaded the House. He con- 
 tinued as follows. 
 
 " But now, sir, one word in sober sadness ; 
 I am of opinion that gentlemen's being wanting 
 to themselves, is the decay of their estates, and 
 lowering of their rents.* (' Hear, hear !' from 
 both sides of the House.) Now, in order to 
 their bringing them to the same rate and value, 
 if not to a better than they formerly were, I 
 humbly propose that these several particulars 
 following, which can only be done by act of Par- 
 
 • See Proposals to Parliament, 1673. Harleian Mis- 
 cellany.
 
 162 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 liament, (cries of ' We know it ! Order, order ! ' ) 
 may be enacted as laws. First, I propose, that 
 a stop be put to any further buildings in or 
 about the cities of London and Westminster, 
 Borough of Southwark, or in any place within 
 the weekly bills of mortality, (laughter) the 
 head being already too big for the body, (con- 
 tinued laughter.) The untimely mirth of gen- 
 tlemen opposite shall not deter me from stating 
 in continuation (increased laughter and ironical 
 cries of ' Hear ! ' ) that a year's value of all houses 
 built upon new foundations shall, by the owners 
 of such houses, be paid to the queen, towards 
 the liquidation of public debts, (whispers 'Of 
 his own, too,') which would advance above three 
 hundred thousand pounds, (vehement cheers 
 from seven dingy-looking gentlemen on the 
 ultra-liberal benches, who seemed pleased at the 
 mere mention of an advance of funds.) 
 
 *' Secondly. That all the nobility and gentry 
 of England, who have estates in the country, and
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 163 
 
 are not obliged — yes, sir, I say it — are not 
 obliged to attend on her Majesty by reason of 
 their offices, be enjoined with their families to 
 live where their estates do lie so many months 
 in each year, as to the wisdom of Parliament 
 shall seem meet. (Cries of ' Oh, oh !' from all 
 respectably-dressed members who had country- 
 houses, answered by cheers from dingy-looking 
 members who had none.) 
 
 '' Thirdly. That an act for a general natu- 
 ralizing of all foreign Protestants be passed, and 
 an assurance of liberty of conscience given to 
 all that shall come over into England, and place 
 themselves and families amongst us : and that 
 the same privilege be given to her Majesty's 
 subjects at home. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 " Fourthly. That the act for the prohibition 
 of the importation of Irish cattle be repealed, 
 (cries of ' We want none of them here !') and a 
 trade between the two kingdoms established ; 
 whereby her Majesty's revenue of customs w ould
 
 164! SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 be advanced above eighty thousand pounds a 
 year. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 " Fifthly. That brandy and rum, coffee and 
 tea, be prohibited, and coffee-houses suppressed, 
 ('Oh, oh!') which may be done without any 
 diminution of her Majesty's revenue of excise, 
 ('Oh, oh, oh!') 
 
 " Sixthly. I fear I shall tire the House. 
 (Cheers, and ' Hear, hear, hear ! No, no !' and 
 ' Go on !') 
 
 '' Seventhly. That the multitude of stage- 
 coaches and caravans now travelling upon the 
 roads, be all or most of them suppressed, (' Oh, 
 oh ! ' ) especially those within forty or fifty miles 
 of London, where they are no way necessary, 
 ( ' Hear, ' and ' Oh ! ') and yet most numerous and 
 mischievous, ('Oh, oh!') and that a due regula- 
 tion be made of such as shall be thought fit to be 
 continued. (Cries of 'Oh,' and cheers.) Now, 
 sir, in order to convince the House, ('No, no !') 
 No, no ! I say, sir, yes — yes ! in order to
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 165 
 
 convince the House of the necessity of prohibit- 
 ing any further buildings in and about London 
 and Westminster, and of the gentry's being 
 confined to live some part of the year upon 
 their estates in the country ; good heavens ! I 
 desire every serious, scientific, sagacious, and 
 considerate person that knows London and West- 
 minster, and the suburbs thereof forty or fifty 
 years ago, when England was far richer and 
 more populous than she is now — (* Hear, hear !') 
 The Honourable Member for Sarum may cheer 
 ironically, but I state the fact. (Cheers, and 
 ' Oh, oh, oh ! ' ) I ask that Honourable Member — 
 I ask any honourable member, whether by ad- 
 ditional buildings upon new foundations, the 
 said cities and suburbs since that time are not 
 become at least a third part bigger than they 
 were, (cheers) and whether in those days they 
 were not thought and found large enough to 
 give a due reception to all persons that were fit 
 or had occasion to rest therein, or to resort
 
 166 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 thither ? (' Hear, hear ! ' ) Why, (turning round 
 triumphantly to the seven dingy gentlemen who 
 sat immediately behind him) even in those days 
 all further buildings on new foundations were 
 prohibited. (Loud cheers from the party so 
 immediately addressed.) In the face of these 
 startling facts, nevertheless, above thirty thou- 
 sand houses, great and small, have been since 
 built, the whole whereof are well worthy the 
 serious consideration of the House. (Cheers.) 
 These houses are all inhabited : considering, 
 then, what multitudes of whole families, formerly 
 dwelling in and about the said cities, were cut 
 off by the two last dreadful plagues, as, also, by 
 the war abroad and at home, by land and by 
 sea, and how many have transported themselves, 
 {' Hear, hear '!) or been transported (Laughter). 
 Honourable members need not laugh if they 
 would hear me out — into our foreign planta- 
 tions ; it must naturally follow, that those who 
 inhabit these new houses, and many of the old
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 167 
 
 ones, must be persons coming out of the country, 
 which makes so many inhabitants the less there, 
 where they are the most needful and wanting. 
 (Cheers.) The occasion of the rents of lands 
 falling every year, arises not so much from land 
 growing worse, as because of the want of tenants 
 with good stock to manage the farms they take. 
 (Cheers.) I shall reserve further argument on 
 this head for a future occasion, and proceed to 
 comment for a very few moments (' Hear, hear, 
 hear ?) on the sixth proposal. Now, sir. That 
 the multitude of stage-coaches and caravans now 
 travelling upon the roads, may all, or most of 
 them, be suppressed, especially those within 
 forty or fifty or sixty miles of London, where 
 they are no way necessary ; and that a due re- 
 gulation be made of such as shall be thought fit 
 to be continued. (Cries of 'Ho, ho !' and * Hear.') 
 I maintain, sir, that these coaches and caravans 
 are one of the greatest mischiefs that hath hap- 
 pened of late years to the kingdom, mischievous
 
 168 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 to the public, destructive to trade, and prejudi- 
 cious to land. ('Oh, oh !' and cheers.) 
 
 ** First, by destroying the breed of good horses, 
 the strength of the nation, and making men care- 
 less of attaining to good horsemanship, a thing so 
 useful and commendable in a gentleman (' Hear, 
 hear!'). Secondly, by hindering the breed of 
 watermen (cries of ' What, what ! Hear !' and 
 laughter). I repeat it, sir — hindering the breed 
 of watermen, who are the nursery, the seeds, as 
 it were, of seamen (laughter), who are the bul- 
 wark of the kingdom. {' Hear, hear !') Thirdly, by 
 lessening her Majesty's revenues. ('Hear!') I will, 
 sir, undertake to shew, at the proper time, that 
 stage-coaches mainly prevent the breed of good 
 horses, destroy those that are bred, and effemi- 
 nate her Majesty's subjects (' How ?'). How I an 
 honourable member asks how. Why, those who 
 use themselves to travel in them never attain it 
 themselves, or breed up their children to good 
 horsemanship, whereby they are rendered inca-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 169 
 
 pable of serving their country on horseback, if 
 occasion should call for the same. By riding in 
 a coach they become weary and listless, and in- 
 capable of bodily exertion, unable to endure 
 frost, snow, or rain, or to lodge in the fields. 
 (' Hear, hear !') Is there any member who will 
 venture to get up in his place, and declare that 
 the sole reason for their incapability to bear hard- 
 ship does not arise from their using themselves 
 thus tenderly, by riding in stage-coaches? ('Hear, 
 hear !') Again I appeal to the House : what en- 
 couragement hath any man to breed horses whilst 
 these coaches are continued ? If a man does 
 continue to breed, it must be to please his own 
 fancy ; unless it is for his fancy, he will do as 
 most breeders have already done — ^give over his 
 employment. (* Hear, hear !') Will any man keep 
 a horse for himself, and another for his servant, 
 all the year, merely to ride one or two journeys, 
 while, when he has occasion, he can slip to any 
 place where his business lies, for two, three, or 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 four shillings, if within twenty miles of London, 
 and so proportionably to any part of England ? 
 (cheers.) No; there is no man who would do 
 so, unless it may be some noble soul, who scorns 
 and abhors being confined to so ignoble, base, 
 and sordid a way of travelling as the coaches 
 force him into, and who prefers a public good to 
 his own ease and advantage. (Cheers from all 
 parts of the House.) 
 
 " Will the House believe it ? there are forty 
 horses only employed, between London and 
 York, to draw a coach to and fro, holding six 
 persons, thrice a week ; now, take it for granted 
 that all those persons so carried from London 
 are the same that are brought back, yet are 
 there nine hundred and eighty- six passengers 
 carried by forty horses ; whereas, were it not 
 for these coaches, at least five hundred horses 
 would be required to perform this work. (' Hear, 
 Ijear, hear !') But enough for the present of this ; 
 let us look to the breeding of watermen (laugh- 
 ter). I maintain, sir, in spite of the untimely
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 171 
 
 merriment of those opposite, that coaches hinder, 
 if not totally put an end to, the breeding of 
 watermen (continued laughter), and that they 
 discourage those that are bred ; for, there being 
 stage-coaches set up unto every little town upon 
 the river Thames, or both sides of the water, 
 from London as high as Windsor and Maidenhead, 
 and so from London Bridge to and from Graves- 
 end, these are the conveyances for all letters, 
 little bundles, and passengers, which before were 
 carried by water, and kept watermen in full em- 
 ployment, occasioning their increase, whereof 
 there never was greater occasion than now 
 (cheers.) If I have not done so already, I will, 
 at a future stage of the bill, prove to the House 
 that, if these coaches were down, watermen 
 would be up, would have work, and be encou- 
 raged to take apprentices, whereby the breed 
 would greatly be increased. (Laughter, and 
 cries of ' Question.') One word more, sir ; I will 
 not detain the House two minutes, as I see it is 
 
 i2 
 
 / 
 
 X
 
 172 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 growing impatient. (Loud cries of * Hear,' and 
 other noises, during which the honourable mem- 
 ber continued his address in dumb show ; at last 
 he threatened to adjourn the House, when silence 
 was at length obtained.) 
 
 '* These coaches and caravans are also de- 
 structive of the trade and manufacture of the 
 kingdom ; they have impoverished and ruined 
 many thousands of families, whose subsistence 
 depended on the manufacturing of wool. Yes, 
 sir J we have lost leather (roars of laughter) . 
 Oh ! I wish the people of old England could 
 see this ! I wish the poor, suffering, starving 
 trades, the failing mother and the famished 
 child, could see how a description of their 
 wrongs was received by their assembled par- 
 liament ; a liberal one, too, as it affects to call 
 itself (cheers, and cries of ' Oh ! oh !'). I say it in 
 the teeth of those who wish to cry me down, 
 that we have lost (laughter), in the manufactory 
 of wool and leather, two of the staple commo- 
 dities of the kingdom. Before these coaches
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 173 
 
 were set up, travellers rode on horseback ; men 
 had boots, spurs, saddles, bridles, saddle-cloths, 
 riding-suits, coats and cloaks, stockings and hats, 
 whereby the wool and leather of the kingdom 
 was consumed, and the poor people kept at work 
 in carding, combing, spinning, knitting, weav- 
 ing, and fulling, and your cloth -workers, drapers, 
 tailors, saddlers, tanners, curriers, shoemakers, 
 spurriers, lorimers, and felt-makers, had a good 
 employ. Now, by means of these coaches, these 
 trades, and many others depending on them, are 
 become almost useless, or are cast upon their 
 different parishes (* Hear, hear !'). One word more 
 ( * Question, question,' and vast uproar) ; the 
 girdlers, sword-cutlers, gunsmiths, trunk - makers, 
 are all involved in the common ruin. Gentlemen, 
 before they travelled in coaches, used to ride 
 with swords, belts, pistols, holsters, portmanteaus, 
 hatcases (*Oh, oh!' and confusion), while, in 
 these coaches, they have little or no occasion for 
 them. When they journeyed on horseback they
 
 174 
 
 rode in one suit, and carried another to wear at 
 the journey's end, or at places where they tar- 
 ried by the way ; but now, in coaches, a silk 
 suit and an Indian gown, with a sash, silk stock- 
 ings, and a beaver- hat, is sufficient, because they 
 escape that dirt which, on horseback, they could 
 not avoid. I therefore beg to move — " (Here 
 the noise of members going in and out of the 
 House, and crossing from one side to the other, 
 was so great as to overwhelm every thing else ; 
 but, on the motion being read by the clerk, the 
 Speaker, having obtained order, asked, '' Who 
 seconds the motion ?**"* 
 
 Mr. Ascuvot then rose, and spoke as follows : 
 " In offering myself, sir, as the seconder of the 
 motion just made by my honourable friend, and 
 to press upon the House its very great impor- 
 tance, I should feel great diffidence, but that the 
 eloquent speech we have just heard — a speech not 
 more remarkable for its temper, moderation, and 
 perspicuity, than for the immense mass of mat-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 175 
 
 ter it contains — has swept away with augean 
 force many of those obstacles that, at first sight, 
 might have seemed to have encumbered the path 
 (cheers). So little do the stagers themselves 
 object to being put down (cries of Name, name !' 
 and 'Which, the men or the horses?') — I will 
 name; I am come here prepared to grapple 
 with the facts, and boldly do I assert that all 
 concerned are ready to agree to the measure, 
 except those of Exeter, Salisbury, Dorchester, 
 Bristol, Southampton, Dover, Norwich, Lincoln, 
 York, West- Chester, Worcester, and Shrews- 
 bury (laughter, and cries of ' Any more ?'), who 
 all dignify themselves with the name of stage- 
 coachmen of the grand roads of England. Sir, 
 I do tell the House that there is not one of these 
 objecting owners of coaches but hath other ways 
 to live, provided they were prohibited from 
 driving ; they are all either innholders, harness- 
 makers, carriers, or licensed coachmen in Lon- 
 don ; and they may, in the event of their stage-
 
 176 
 
 coaches being put down, live in the same ease 
 and affluence as the rest of the hackney-coach- 
 men in London now do. (* Hear ! ') Sir, I do not 
 deny that it may be argued on the other side, 
 that these objecting coachmen have laid out all 
 their stock in their present employment ; that 
 they must, if put down, be undone ; and that they 
 constitute a body of at least two thousand souls. 
 (* Hear, hear !') But what of that ? of two evils 
 we must choose the least. (* Hear, hear !') Have 
 they not, as my honourable friend has so ably 
 proved, already destroyed very many thousand 
 families ? ' as well to take my life as steal the 
 bread by which I live* (cheers). Will not the 
 continuing of these coaches utterly ruin many 
 thousands more ? Is the interest of these surly, 
 rude, and depraved coachmen to be weighed 
 against the balance of the general good ? oh, no, 
 it cannot, cannot be (cheers) . Fully do I concur 
 in the object of my honourable friend ; and, if 
 stage-coaches are to be permitted at all, then
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 177 
 
 limit them to one to every shire town in Eng- 
 land, let them start once a week, backwards and 
 forwards, and work through the journey with the 
 same horses they set forth with, and not travel 
 above thirty-five miles a day in summer, and 
 twenty-five in winter, shifting their inns every 
 journey, to the just diffusion of an equal trade 
 (cheers). These coaches, so limited, would be 
 sufficient to carry the sick and the lame, that 
 the enemies of the measure pretend cannot tra- 
 vel on horseback. Being thus regulated, they 
 would do little or no harm, more especially if all 
 be suppressed within forty or fifty miles of Lon- 
 don, where they are no way necessary, and yet so 
 highly destructive." 
 
 The honourable member sat down amidst 
 cheers from all parts of the House ; but whether 
 the applause was occasioned by the method 
 of his delivery, or from the rejoicing of the 
 House that his speech was over, our hero could 
 not very well understand. On the question 
 
 i5
 
 178 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 being put, " that leave be given to bring in the 
 bill/' the ayes were very faint, the noes loud and 
 prolonged ; consequently, the Speaker, in direct 
 opposition to the evidence of his senses, declared 
 that *' the ayes had it ;" when several members, 
 with greater truth, replied that " the noes had 
 it ;" and strangers were ordered to withdraw, 
 that the House might be counted. 
 
 It was not always the custom, at the period 
 of which we are writing, to clear the House 
 of all strangers, unless they happened to sit 
 in such places as to be intermixed with the 
 members of the legislation ; such clearance 
 being only with a view to avoid mistakes in 
 counting the numbers, and not with any inten- 
 tion of secrecy ; and, as it was not easy to 
 mistake the head-gear of a woman for the Iiat 
 of a man, females were never ordered to with- 
 draw. 
 
 It seemed that, on this evening. Sir John 
 Prosemont had invited many of his private friends
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 179 
 
 to be present ; and, the Speaker supposing, 
 perhaps, that the unusual number of male 
 strangers might interfere with the division, had 
 ordered the gallery to be entirely cleared : this 
 seemed to give Sir John and his supporters great 
 offence, and, in order to shew their spleen. Cap- 
 tain Johnstone of the Navy, commonly called 
 Governor Johnstone, rose, and insisted that all 
 strangers (including the ladies of course) should 
 withdraw.* This ungallant and unusual pro- 
 ceeding was the cause of much altercation. Many 
 members insisted that the ladies had a right to 
 remain, while others held a contrary conclusion ; 
 high words were the consequence : members in- 
 terrupted each other — lost their tempers ; and 
 many of the more timid ones indulged in violent 
 expressions and martial insinuations, because 
 they well knew that the authority of the Speaker 
 
 * Captain Johnstone was the first person who moved 
 their expulsion from the House See Hatsell's Prece- 
 dents.
 
 180 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 would be exercised to prevent any absolute breach 
 of the peace. 
 
 The House resounded with cries of '' Order, 
 order I " and " Chair, chair ! " during which 
 the ladies, who had risen from their seats, re- 
 mained uncertain of the course they should pur- 
 sue, and unwilling to give up what they had 
 long considered as their peculiar privilege. This 
 scene of confusion and altercation lasted for two 
 hours, when it was at length determined that 
 the House should be cleared of all strangers, 
 and the ladies were obliged to submit.* 
 
 The House was then counted, when there ap- 
 peared, for leave to bring in the bill, nine, tellers 
 included ; against it, one hundred and fifty -three ; 
 and this, the honourable member. Sir John 
 Prosemont, called, dividing the House. An 
 order was then issued by the Speaker, that none 
 but the male strangers might be allowed to re- 
 turn ; however, more than one or two ladies 
 * See Hatsell's Precedents.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 181 
 
 did contrive to gain admittance to the galleries, 
 and, without coming very forward, were peeping 
 over the shoulders of the gentlemen, when the 
 Speaker, looking up and applying his glass 
 to his eye, good-naturedly exclaimed, '* What 
 borough do those ladies serve for?" 
 
 Governor Johnstone, with much coarseness, 
 replied, " They serve for the Speaker's cham- 
 ber."* 
 
 *' Perhaps," rejoined Sir John, who had that 
 moment entered the House, '' Mr. Speaker may 
 mistake them for gentlemen with fine sleeves, 
 dressed like ladies." 
 
 ''No ; I am sure I saw petticoats," reiterated 
 the Speaker, amidst much laughter ; " ladies 
 must withdraw." 
 
 From that period, with the exception of their 
 appearances in the ventilator in the old House, 
 
 * This was previously said by Sir William Coventry, on 
 a somewhat similar occasion, on the first of June, 1675. 
 — See Gray's Debates.
 
 182 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 to the present day, ladies have never again been 
 admitted, although, according to Hatsell, at the 
 time of their first exclusion, " many of the 
 highest rank made powerful efforts to obtain the 
 former indulgence, but without effect/' 
 
 The Commons of England constitute the only 
 legislative assembly in the civilized world where 
 ladies are denied admittance. In France, in 
 Holland, in the United States — in all — as well 
 as in our own House of Peers, they are per- 
 mitted to grace the assembly with their presence, 
 and we have never yet heard a single valid 
 objection why they should not do so. 
 
 After the debate, Charles Sandron and his 
 friend, Lord Grimston, repaired, on the invita- 
 tion of the latter, to Button's Coffee-House, 
 where used to assemble many of the leading wits 
 of the day. On entering the coffee-room, the 
 floor of which was strewn with sand instead of 
 being richly carpeted, as it would have been 
 now. Lord Grimston introduced our hero to the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 183 
 
 great Addison, then the oracle of the party who 
 used to make that house their rendezvous ; also 
 to Ambrose Phillips, Dillon Ashe, Steel, and 
 Colly Gibber. This latter personage had not 
 then been aroused from the lethargic and vicious 
 trance into which he had fallen, or been shaken 
 from his slavish dependence upon the great and 
 fashionable, by the galling hand of Pope, who, 
 according to Warburton, *' nailed him up by 
 way of terrible example to other vermin," and, 
 by the severity of his remarks in the Dunciad, 
 elicited '' the Apology for Gibber's Life." 
 
 '* Well, my Lord Grimston," said Addison,* 
 '' here we are again assembled for the feast of 
 reason and the flow of soul, political feeling 
 nearly buried in oblivion, and party animosity 
 forgotten ; no drinking to the health of Sorrel,t 
 or to the little gentleman in velvet ; X we toast 
 
 ♦ Addison was remarkable for moderation iu politics. 
 
 t The horse from which the king received his fall. 
 
 t The mole who raised the hill over which the horse fell.
 
 184 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 nothing but wit and our lady's beauty, as Colly 
 there well knows, and can assure you, if he can 
 make himself heard from between the folds of 
 that voluminous wig. But whom have we 
 here ? — the mad parson once more, by my life.*" 
 
 As thus he spoke, a sombre, but commanding- 
 looking person entered, with broad dark eye- 
 brows, and who at once riveted the attention 
 of the whole room. Placing his hat on a table, 
 he proceeded to walk backwards and forwards 
 at a brisk pace, with his hands behind him, and 
 in a musing mood, apparently unconscious 
 of the presence of others. At length he made 
 a sudden pause, exactly opposite a gentleman, 
 who, by his appearance, boots, and the cut of his 
 garments, was certainly a resident of the country, 
 probably a gentleman-farmer of the best de- 
 scription. 
 
 '' Sir," exclaimed the mad parson, addressing 
 the country gentleman in a very abrupt man- 
 * See Memoirs of Swift.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 185 
 
 ner, '* pray, sir, do you remember any good 
 weather in the world ?" 
 
 The person thus addressed having stared at 
 the singularity of manner in his interrogator, as 
 well as at the oddity of the question, replied : — 
 
 " Yes, sir, I thank God I remember a great 
 deal of good weather in my time." 
 
 '* That is more," replied the mad person, 
 ** than I can say ; I never remember any 
 weather that was not too hot, or too cold, too 
 wet, or too dry ; but, however God Almighty 
 contrives it, at the end of the year 'tis all very 
 well." 
 
 Having said this, the eccentric personage, 
 without uttering a syllable more, took up his 
 hat and was proceeding from the room, when he 
 was met by a gentleman at the door, who seized 
 him by the hand, and appeared delighted to see 
 him. 
 
 '* Why ?" whispered Dillon Ashe, making a 
 sign, with his head towards the door, *' only
 
 186 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 observe ; the great Mister Congreve grieves 
 not to associate with the bewildered Divine ; who 
 the deuce can he be ?* 
 
 All further remark was then prevented by Con- 
 greve's walking up to Addison, taking hold of 
 the arm of the eccentric person, and introducing 
 him to the company by the name of Swift. t 
 Swift was but little known at the time of his 
 introduction to Addison ; Sir William Temple, 
 Congreve, and a few others, were aware of his 
 talents, yet he had then only published, anony- 
 mously, ''The Battle of the Books," and «'The 
 Contests and Dissensions in Athens and Rome." 
 There was always an indescribable something 
 which drew personal attention upon Swift, and 
 Addison seemed to be remarkably struck with him 
 
 * Mr. Dillon Ashe was, as has been before remarked, 
 a most incorrigible punster of his day. 
 
 t Addison afterwards presented his Travels to Swift, 
 thus — " To Dr. Jonathan Swift, the most agreeable com- 
 panion, the truest friend, and the greatest genius of his 
 age." — Scott's Memoirs of Swift.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 187 
 
 from the moment of his introduction, entering 
 into conversation with him, and appearing to be 
 delighted with the caustic humour of his re- 
 marks. Charles Sandron was highly pleased 
 with his new acquaintances ; and while he was 
 amused by the wit and repartee of the party, 
 coarse as the nature of it sometimes was, as 
 much from the license of a coffee-room as from 
 the custom of the times, yet, when they argued 
 on more lofty subjects, there was a wide field 
 of speculation opened before him, which afforded 
 ample food for the enlargement and improve- 
 ment of his mind. 
 
 Political discussions at these convivial meet- 
 ings were generally avoided, and the lighter and 
 more personal matters of the hour chiefly dis- 
 cussed ; the era of the stage, then and about that 
 time, perhaps, in its most brilliant ascendant, 
 supported by the combined talents of Congreve, 
 Vanburgh, Farquhar, Gibber, Wilkes, Booth, 
 Doggett, Betterton, and Mistresses Oldfield,
 
 188 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Porter, Barry, and Bracegirdle, forming a never- 
 failing topic of conversation. ' 
 
 On this evening, however, there seeming 
 to have been a lack of entertainment elsewhere, 
 many of those assembled had attended the House 
 of Commons, and the conversation turned on the 
 motion made by Sir John Prosemont. 
 
 " By the Lord," exclaimed Sir William Con- 
 greve, '* what an ultra ass that man made of 
 himself ! he does not want for talents either, 
 and he speaks w^ell enough, with a flow of words 
 and a fair address ; what could have induced 
 him to have brought forward so wild a 
 scheme ?" 
 
 ''Vanity," replied Swift, ''all vanity, vex- 
 ation, froth, and worldliness." 
 
 *' How — vanity — my dear sir?" said Addison ; 
 *' a man may do what is clever from vanity, but 
 why be a fool for the same reason ?" 
 
 '* Simply thus," replied Swift, drawing down 
 the arches of his dark eyebrows, so as to render
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 189 
 
 them nearly straight ; '' many men are vain of 
 notoriety, when, like this Sir John, to be 
 notorious, and to gain the sweet voice of an un- 
 washed and ignorant multitude, they will risk 
 their own reputation, and all that renders life 
 and its institutions either respectable or valuable. 
 Sir John Prosemont is a man of property and 
 rank ; but because he knows that his rank and 
 income will last his own life, he cares not 
 what injurious seeds he may plant in the poli- 
 tical garden of mankind to poison its future 
 productions. In the House of Commons, as it 
 is at present constituted, there are a number 
 of men vastly his superiors in useful knowledge 
 and capability, who, as they are of readier parts 
 and quicker adoption, are so much the more 
 apt to undertake all practical measures before 
 the other even comprehends their nature or ex- 
 tent. A man of second-rate ability, if he wishes 
 to distinguish himself, albeit unenviably, finds 
 that he is forced to appear as the advocate of
 
 190 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 some measure ultra, unreasonable and imprac- 
 ticable, as to the success of which he may be 
 neither sanguine nor over-sedulous — ^the chief 
 end, of being brought into notice by it, having 
 been acquired. There are many men, also, 
 who sit in the House without the shadow of a 
 view to public utility, but merely for self-aggran- 
 dizement ; such men as these you may hear 
 declare (in proof as they think of their own dis- 
 interestedness, when they bring forward some 
 ultra measure, by the command of the worst or 
 most thoughtless portion of their constituents) 
 that they care not which government is in 
 power ; such men as these would advocate the 
 cause of Satan himself, if they thought that by 
 so doing their own seats would be secured." 
 
 " A lamentable state of things, my dear sir, 
 and a dangerous,'* replied Addison. 
 
 '' Dangerous !'* cried Swift, *' not so in the 
 least ; the people soon get tired of these tem- 
 porary and inefficient demagogues ; familiarity
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 191 
 
 in such cases ever brings contempt. I should 
 say that the best place for an ultra mis- 
 leader of the multitude is our Commons* House 
 of Parliament. It is a fine pool of water, in 
 which to test the political drops of humanity ; 
 those who are the most beset by the leaden sin 
 are' sure to sink the deepest, till they become 
 neglected and forgotten, while the man of real 
 merit and sound constitutional policy, ever 
 buoyant from true principle, maintains a lofty 
 and graceful position as honourable as it is just/* 
 The conversation then became general, when, 
 after a rational evening, far different from those 
 which he had spent in the society of Master Sur- 
 face on his first introduction to London, our 
 hero took leave of his new-made friends and 
 withdrew.
 
 192 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Oh, Fancy, parent of the muse. 
 Thy spirit o'er my soul diffuse ; 
 Sometimes, sweet nymph, thy vot'ry lead 
 To myrtle orrove or flow'ry mead. 
 Where youths and soft-eyed virgins meet. 
 And lightly trip with nimble feet. 
 Sometimes forsake the haunts of Folly, 
 To woo the pensive Melancholy; 
 Dejected maid — with tearful eye. 
 That loves to fold her arms and sigh." 
 
 The moment Master Surface quitted Louisa, 
 all that fortitude and self-possession which pride 
 had enabled her to maintain during the recited 
 delinquency of her betrothed at once deserted 
 her ; when, like a beautiful flower bowed down 
 and broken by a thunder-storm, she threw her- 
 self on the seat in the summer-house, and gave 
 way to floods of bitter tears. Each fond hope —
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 193 
 
 each tender tie that had sweetened existence 
 and been the solace of her lonely hours seemed 
 crushed or rent asunder : the airy castles which 
 her youthful and ardent imagination in its dreams 
 of summer had raised on blooming foundations 
 for the future, with the noble picture she had 
 delighted to draw of the man whose affections 
 she had every reason to suppose were her's, had 
 all fallen, or, at a single interview, been defaced 
 by the designs of an artful villain. The lovely 
 girl, who but an hour before was smiling in 
 blissful content, was now reduced to that worst 
 state of existence — the desolation of the heart. 
 Alas ! how easy it is for cool and meditated de- 
 traction to colour the slightest fault — the merest 
 shadow of impropriety — the heedlessness of a 
 few hours — with the blazonry of premeditated 
 sin ; and, by its noxious breath, to raise a cloud 
 of overwhelming, blinding dust, from the merest 
 dirt, which would not otherwise have soiled the 
 foot of the passer-by. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 After giving herself up to an agony of grief, 
 Louisa raised her streaming eyes and gazed 
 round the summer-house, as if to assure herself 
 that it was not the effect of some horrid dream ; 
 but, as she did so, her favourite deer, attracted 
 by her mistress's change of position, looked up 
 in her face, while it held in its pretty mouth, 
 gathered up from the floor, the piece of ribbon 
 which had once sustained that which she now 
 knew to be the discarded locket. A servant 
 from the Rectory at this moment arrived, and, 
 with looks of consternation, summoned Louisa 
 to the bedside of her father. 
 
 An hour had scarcely intervened since she had 
 quitted that apartment with an assurance from 
 the sufferer that he was better ; danger had not 
 then entered the mind of any one, but at a 
 glance she read more than its presence now. 
 Death had indeed swept its inevitable hand over 
 the features, and left there those awful traces 
 never to be mistaken by the most unpractised
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 195 
 
 observer. The daughter knew that the father was 
 about to die. His hand lay open on the edge of 
 the bed ; she knelt down and laid her forehead in 
 the palm. 
 
 " My child," said the sufferer, turning his lan- 
 guid eyes towards her, *' I have sent for thee to 
 give thee my blessing; a more affectionate, a 
 more dutiful daughter never cheered the heart 
 of a parent, or made manifest the goodness and 
 majesty of Heaven : bless thee, my child, bless 
 thee ! It has pleased the powers above to call 
 me to the reckoning up of a life which I humbly 
 trust has not been spent in vain ; I have done 
 my best here, and, if I have fallen short of the 
 divine commandment, through inability to un- 
 derstand and dispense its inscrutable ways, still, 
 there is mercy even for a wilful sinner. The 
 little I have in this world is thine : this, added 
 to the fortune which, when thou art of age, tliou 
 wilt in thy own right possess, will be more than 
 sufficient for every justifiable desire ; to our kind 
 
 K 2
 
 196 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 friends at the Hall, and to thy aunt. Lady Monk- 
 ton, now the only relative left thee in this wide 
 world, have I entrusted thee and thy worldly 
 affairs ; may Heaven prosper all their under- 
 takings, and keep thee in its safe custody, my 
 own, my affectionate child 1" 
 
 The good old man now sunk on his pillow, 
 exhausted from the efforts he had made, when, 
 after some little time, his mind seemed to wan- 
 der to his favourite pursuits and studies ; among 
 them, to the study of fossil osteology and ante- 
 diluvian remains. 
 
 " I had hoped," he continued, " to have lived 
 to have seen the study of organic remains in a 
 state of further advancement and advantage ; it 
 is but in its earliest infancy now, and has to 
 struggle through the ridicule of the ignorant, 
 who ever sneer at abstruse matters above their 
 limited comprehension. Oh, how happy should 
 I have been to have assisted in the finding the 
 fossil remains of man, if not interspersed with,
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 197 
 
 still in coeval preservation and surrounded by 
 the same diluvian testimony as those of the ani- 
 mal kingdom, which we know to have been 
 destroyed with the then existing world. When 
 the researches of man shall have discovered that 
 fact, and the earth have yielded up the vast re- 
 sources of her hidden caverns to illustrate the 
 revelations of Scripture even to the satisfaction 
 of the meanest and most heretical understanding, 
 how will the mist of sceptical doubt and delusion 
 fade away before the all- explanatory tomb of 
 nature 1 '* 
 
 While he spoke thus, his eyes were lit up with 
 an unearthly fire ; and, at that moment, Sir 
 Stamford, who had been sent for, entered the 
 room : he was recognized — something approach- 
 ing to a smile played for an instant over the 
 sufferer's lips — it was as if the Rector saw and 
 greeted death in the society of his friend, rather 
 as a welcomed guest than as an enemy whom 
 he feared ; when, taking a hand of Louisa, and
 
 198 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 placing it in that of Sir Stamford, he sunk on 
 his pillow and closed his eyes for ever. 
 
 Sir Stamford carried Louisa from the apart- 
 ment to her own chamber — she was too ill to be 
 taken to the Hall — but Lady Sandron arrived 
 and watched by her during the weary night, 
 and with the morning came Lady Monkton. 
 
 The day after our hero's visit to the House of 
 Commons he was sitting in his new lodging, 
 when Master Surface was announced. That 
 gentleman entered with his accustomed ease and 
 carelessness of manner, exclaiming — " Behold 
 the winged messenger of Love ;" then, having 
 placed Louisa's letter in his friend's hands, he 
 turned coolly to the window during its perusal. 
 The communication was eagerly scanned by 
 Charles Sandron ; it was full of gentleness and 
 first affection, and reached him in the haunts of 
 men as the perfumed land-breeze may be sup- 
 posed to do the mariner becalmed on the tropical 
 ocean, when, for a length of time, his senses had
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 199 
 
 known no other than the fumes of the ship or the 
 exhalations of the sluggish sea. Each word — 
 each gentle expression contained in that letter 
 seemed like the vivid colouring in one of the best 
 pictures of a beautiful landscape — so tempered by 
 propriety, so chastened by delicacy, so blended, so 
 harmonized, that not a colour, not a declaration 
 stood forth too prominently from the rest, and 
 yet the impression conveyed by the whole was a 
 scene illumined by sunshine, rest, and love. 
 
 Little did Charles Sandron imagine, when he 
 pressed those fair characters to his lips, that they 
 were the last he was doomed to receive from the 
 hand which traced them ; or that the villain stood 
 before him, who had, by a single seed of hemlock 
 artfully sown, poisoned the freshest flower of his 
 garden. Charles placed the letter in his bosom, 
 
 " I was sorry, my dear Sandron," said Surface, 
 " that I could not reach the Hall in time to ac- 
 company you on your return to town ; however, 
 it is an ill wind which blows no good, the late-
 
 200 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 ness of my arrival made your excellent father 
 insist on my company for the night, and on the 
 following morning I was entrusted with that 
 letter." 
 
 Charles was about to reply, when a messenger 
 was announced who brought the tidings of the 
 demise of Doctor Marmaduke, and of Louisa''s 
 consequent indisposition. Greatly shocked at 
 such unexpected intelHgence, Sandron hastily 
 despatched a note to Lord Orford acquainting 
 him with the circumstances, and then prepared 
 for an immediate journey to his home. How- 
 ever, ere his departure, the messenger returned 
 with a reply from Lord Orford, which, though it 
 fully entered into his feelings, nevertheless beg- 
 ged him to be absent from London not a moment 
 longer than was absolutely necessary ; he being 
 so advanced in the arrangement of the various 
 papers necessary for that nobleman's defence, a 
 serious delay and loss might arise were his ser- 
 vices to be rendered unavailable. Charles re-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 201 
 
 turned an assurance that nothing that lie was 
 aware of could keep him in the country for more 
 than a few hours, and that he would resume 
 his occupation, at the latest, on the following 
 morning. 
 
 This matter having been arranged, forgetful 
 of the presence of Master Surface, who still lin- 
 gered in the apartment, he hastened down the 
 Strand in the direction of his stables, when his 
 passage was suddenly arrested by a mercantile- 
 looking man, whom, at the moment, he never 
 remembered to have seen before. This person 
 placed himself immediately across the path, ex- 
 claiming, in a loud voice, " I charge you, in the 
 Queen's name, to surrender !" then, calling upon 
 the bystanders to assist him in securing a rob- 
 ber, he seized Charles Sandron by the collar. 
 Though roughly and indignantly shaken off and 
 knocked down, the man again renewed the attack, 
 assisted by a crowd of people, till Charles 
 was eventually overpowered and hurried to tlie 
 
 k5
 
 202 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Compter. Placed before the Worshipful Master 
 •Childers, the official then in attendance, he was 
 accused of having been in the company of four 
 other highwaymen, on Hariington Common, or 
 in the vicinity of Hounslow Heath, and having 
 by his presence aided and assisted in robbing the 
 accuser while journeying to Hampton. 
 
 As the merchant was making this charge, 
 Charles recollected that he resembled the tra- 
 veller who passed him on the road in his first 
 ride from Colnbrook to London, while in the so- 
 ciety of Master Surface and the smartly dressed 
 young man, who had been introduced to him by 
 the name of Butler, and concerning whom 
 Master Surface had indulged in some very ex- 
 traordinary remarks. 
 
 When it came to our hero's turn to speak, he 
 protested strongly against his arrest, declaring 
 that, though he remembered the afternoon in 
 question, and acknowledged to have been in 
 company with four other persons, still he had
 
 The days of queen anne. 203 
 
 never left the London road, as his own servant, 
 as well as a gentleman who accompanied him, 
 were well able to prove. 
 
 " Don't tell me," said Master Childers ; '^look 
 at his boots, he looks like a highwayman ; you 
 may smile, sir. Officers, take that dreadful- 
 looking sword from his side, we'll have none of 
 Her Majesty's subjects murdered here. Where 
 is this gentleman ? send for him, sir — I should 
 like to see him — and perhaps you will let your 
 lackey attend likewise." 
 
 This was said in a tone intended to create a 
 laugh among the admiring crowd, and a faint 
 *' He, he, he P' consequently followed. 
 
 " Silence, there V said the justice, with an 
 assumption of dignity, and as if \\q had not 
 expected that the crowd would laugh. ''Now, 
 sir, there's pen and ink, of course, all gentlemen 
 can write ; send for your friend, I sit here to 
 administer justice, and the meanest man in the 
 realm shall have it." The worshipful func-
 
 204 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 tionary again surveyed the crowd, and called 
 forth a murmur of servile approbation. 
 
 Charles Sandron made "no reply whatever to 
 the mistaken insolence of the magistrate, but 
 wrote a note to Master Surface, requesting his 
 attendance, directing it to the Greyhound Tavern, 
 to be forwarded immediately, and the same mes- 
 senger was also desired to command the atten- 
 dance of his servant. Our hero was then re- 
 moved from the public office to a private room 
 adjacent, till the reply to his note was returned. 
 He had not to wait long, for the messenger 
 arrived at the Greyhound Tavern at the moment 
 when the landlord was in conversation with the 
 gentleman he sought: the answer given by 
 Master Surface was as follows. — 
 
 '' I have just received your note, my dear 
 friend. I can do you no good, besides which, it 
 would be highly inconvenient to me, at this mo- 
 ment, to have my name in the public prints. 
 No inconvenience, save an hour's delay, can
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. S05 
 
 happen to you; write at once to Lord Orford, 
 and he will send some one to effect your imme- 
 diate liberation. I know old Childers, he is the 
 most impartial magistrate before whom you 
 could have appeared, for he commits himself 
 oftener than he does those who are brought be- 
 fore him. 
 
 " Ever your's, 
 
 '' S. S." 
 Charles felt much annoyed at this selfish re- 
 ply ; for, young and unused as he was to oppose 
 the malice of fortune with the consciousness 
 of rectitude alone, he felt ill at ease under even 
 the suspicions of an ignorant and vulgar magis- 
 trate, and he longed to free himself from the 
 shadow of imputation. To a message from the 
 magistrate, asking if he was ready with his wit- 
 nesses, he replied that he was waiting for one 
 other communication, when he would be fully 
 prepared to enter on his defence. A letter was 
 then despatched to Lord Orford. Having waited 
 a short time longer, the man in authority ordered
 
 S06 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Sandron to be again placed at the bar, when he 
 commenced his further interrogal^ons thus. — 
 "So, sir, your friend, the gentleman, is not 
 
 forthcoming, nor your lackey " at this instant 
 
 a slight bustle in the office was heard, and the 
 portly figure, respectable face, and handsome 
 livery of Sandron's servant, John Hardcastle, 
 was seen pressing forward, closely followed by 
 Lord Orford's legal adviser, who, at once making 
 his way to the magistrate, placed in his hands a 
 letter. The magistrate read, looked naturally, 
 and, therefore, like a fool, coughed, blew his 
 nose, and tried to resume his manner of impor- 
 tance, but in vain ; when, in a far different voice 
 from that in which he had formerly accosted him, 
 he informed Sandron that he might depart, the 
 evidence of his servant being all that was re- 
 quired. A constable then cleared the way, 
 handed him his sword, and, in another instant, 
 John Hardcastle having brought the horses with 
 him to the door of the office, our hero, unac-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 207 
 
 companied by his servant, was soon hastening 
 on his road. 
 
 It was late that afternoon ere he reached the 
 Hall ; his parents had just returned from their 
 attendance on Louisa, who continued incon- 
 solable, and apparently absorbed in heavy afflic- 
 tion. With the intention of beguiling the sub- 
 ject of her grief, they had named Charles, 
 announcing his expected arrival, and recom- 
 mending an interview ; but to their overtures 
 she only replied by burying her face in her 
 hands and sobbing more convulsively. Having 
 consulted what was best to be done, it was re- 
 solved to announce Charles's actual presence, 
 and that he should request an interview, either 
 for that evening or the following morning, for 
 which purpose a messenger was despatched. To 
 this application a decided negative was returned, 
 through Lady Monkton ; and Charles Sandron, 
 with some reason, felt that he had been harshly 
 treated.
 
 S08 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 '^ She might have sent me one kind message, 
 at least," he exclaimed ; " she must know that 
 my grief, if possible, equals her's ; and even if 
 my good old friend had not been to me a second 
 father, loving her as fondly as I do, that which 
 brings sorrow to her is equally distressing to 
 me.'* Such were the thoughts that occupied 
 our hero's mind, as his steps involuntarily led him 
 across the park, in the direction of the Rectory. 
 It was now nearly dark, and the birds were pour- 
 ing out a flood of melody from every grove, as if 
 in celebration of the retreat of winter. It was 
 with a sensation of deep melancholy, and with 
 a step far less buoyant than when he had last 
 listened at that season of the year to the same 
 voice of Nature which now surrounded him, that 
 he entered the Rectory grounds. 
 
 Passing dejectedly onwards, he stopped on the 
 little lawn, where he could command a view of 
 Louisa's bedroom- window ; the curtains of that 
 were closely drawn, while, a little further on, on
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 209 
 
 the same site, though the shutters were partly 
 closed, one window appeared open, and in that 
 chamber reposed the remains of him who had 
 taught the lessons of his infancy. 
 
 As he stood thus in contemplation, Louisa's 
 favourite doe, who was lying on the lawn, be- 
 neath the window of her mistress, became aware 
 of Charles's presence, and springing up with an 
 air of affectionate recognition, the graceful crea- 
 ture bounded to his side and nestled her face in 
 his hand : tears came unbidden to his eyes, and, 
 for the first time since the sad news had reached 
 him, he wept like a very child. He would have 
 given worlds to have seen Louisa, to have kissed 
 her tears away, or to have mingled them with 
 his, and together to have mourned the loss of her 
 father and their earliest friend. At one moment 
 he had nearly resolved to enter the house and 
 present himself at her door, in her hour of afflic- 
 tion to have claimed a share of her sorrows as 
 he once had participated in her smiles, but he
 
 210 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 was prevented from doing so by the chilling re- 
 flection that she had not even sent him a kind 
 word or done justice to those feelings which, 
 from the knowledge she had of his heart, she 
 must have known were in possession of his 
 bosom. 
 
 He turned from the Rectory and sought the 
 Hallj resolved on retracing his steps that night 
 to London.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 211 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Earth, thou hast hues of beauty. Oft I gaze 
 
 On the bright sunset's ever mingling rays — 
 
 Gaze on the woods, whose thousand dyes unfold 
 
 Tint after tint, from green to palest gold, — 
 
 View night's blue arch, whose fires unnumber'd shine, — 
 
 And own the pencil of a hand Divine. 
 
 Earth, thou hast sounds of beauty. Who has heard 
 
 The early matins of the morning bird, — 
 
 Mark'd the musicians of the woods arise. 
 
 And pour forth notes in raptured ecstacies, — 
 
 Nor own'd, that even here is concord given. 
 
 To train Earth's pilgrims for the peace of Heaven ? 
 
 It was with no small wonder, and many 
 " pshaws " of impatience, that the good old Sir 
 Stamford Sandron listened to his son's deter- 
 mination of returning to London that night. 
 
 '' Does Orford think that my boy's a clerk
 
 212 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 by profession, that he keeps him quill-driving 
 at his desk all day ; by my faith ! I think his 
 breast is narrower, and his shoulders more bent 
 than when he left me !" exclaimed the testy 
 old knight, as he paced up and down the room 
 where Charles was having some refreshment ere 
 he mounted his horse. '' Faith ! my lady, you 
 keep looking at the lad as if you loved him ; 
 but why don't you make him stay with us ?" 
 
 *' Do, my dear child," urged Lady Sandron, 
 thus appealed to ; ''do stay with us till to- 
 morrow morning ; consider the cold air, and the 
 robbers — *' 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! my lady," interrupted Sir 
 Stamford ; " cold air, cold fiddlestick ; do you 
 want to make my son a milksop ! Robbers ! 
 Gad ! is he not a match for any robber on the 
 face of the earth ? Go, my boy, go, go, Or- 
 ford has need of you ; fortify your inward man 
 with a glass of good old wine, and bid defiance 
 tothed— /V
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 213 
 
 "Oh! Sir Stamford, pray!" in her turn 
 exclaimed her ladyship, when, a servant enter- 
 ing to announce his horse, Charles rose, and, 
 taking leave of his parents, was soon trotting 
 along the level greensward of the park. 
 
 In these times highway robbery was a matter 
 of common occurrence ; and, as Maidenhead 
 Thicket, as well as Bagshot and Hounslow 
 Heaths, had been often the scene of an abduc- 
 tion of purses, Charles gathered up his reins, 
 shook himself in his saddle, and twitched the 
 handle of his sword a little more to the front, that 
 it might be ready to his hand in case of need. 
 His frame of mind, induced by the reception, 
 or rather non-reception he had experienced from 
 Louisa, was not one calculated to urge him to 
 excess of speed ; so, by the time he had reached 
 Maidenhead Thicket, he was pacing along the 
 hollow-sounding turf as absent in mind and as 
 slow in motion as if he had been soliloquizing 
 on the safest and sunniest road imaginable.
 
 214 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Indeed, it was a night for contemplation ; 
 the sky deep blue, and effulgent with innu- 
 merable stars, shone forth in unclouded ma- 
 jesty ; while the light airs which swept beneath 
 seemed like the dreaming sighs of the infant 
 Spring, warm and sweet from a bed of prim- 
 roses and violets, though freshened by the dew 
 of the cornfield and meadow, over which they 
 passed. The only sound which interrupted 
 the profound stillness of night was the occa- 
 sional bleating of the lamb in the distant fold ; 
 and even this, when it ceased, only rendered 
 the repose of nature more distinct. 
 
 Our hero's arms were folded on his breast, 
 and the reins lay on the neck of his horse, who, 
 as his head was turned from his well-known 
 stable, seemed little inclined to take advantage 
 of his liberty. At this moment Charles felt 
 the arm of a man thrown round his neck, when, 
 as the owner of the limb had sprung up from 
 the ground to fix it there, and now added the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 215 
 
 force of his weight to the impetus which the act 
 had given him, ere Sandron could help himself, 
 he, and, from the effect of the curb, even his 
 horse, were pulled together violently to the 
 earth. By the light of the stars Charles could 
 perceive that not only the face of the man who 
 held him was blackened, but also that the faces 
 of two others who stood by shared in the same 
 disguise. A pistol was now presented to his 
 temple, and his money demanded, when, in addi- 
 tion to rifling his pockets, one of the robbers 
 roughly tore open his vest, and was endeavour- 
 ing to rend away the treasured locket. Charles 
 had been stunned by his fall, and, from his offer- 
 ing no resistance up to this time, the robbers 
 apparently deemed that he was too much terri- 
 fied to attempt it ; for that reason the pistol was 
 removed from his head, and their grasp on his 
 person relaxed. With his senses, however, re- 
 turned resolution and strength ; by a sudden 
 effort he threw back the man who was stooping
 
 216 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 over him, gained his feet, and, drawing his 
 sword, severely wounded one of his assailants. 
 The other villain snapped the pistol at his breast, 
 which luckily missed fire ; when, now, while 
 his fellows kept Sandron at bay, the same man, 
 making use of many imprecations, proceeded to 
 reprime and hammer the flint of his weapon. 
 
 Again was the hand raised to take aim, but 
 at that moment it was struck up by the beauti- 
 ful gipsy-girl, to whose tent Sandron had paid 
 a visit with Master Surface. The pistol ex- 
 ploded harmlessly in the air, and, as Charles 
 had set his back against a tangled thicket of 
 thorns, there was no immediate way of getting 
 rid of, or of rushing within, the point of his 
 trusty sword. 
 
 '* Curse thee! Corah,'' exclaimed the ruf- 
 fian who had fired the pistol, aiming a blow 
 with the but-end of it at the same time at her 
 head ; " I'll do for thee yet." 
 
 But the blow and the thrust were alike un-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 217 
 
 availing ; for, with the activity of a deer. Corah 
 sprang beyond the reach of immediate harm, 
 exclaiming, at the same time — 
 
 '' You may kill me, you may wreak your 
 vengeance on me^ but you cannot hinder my 
 proclaiming to the young squire, as he stands, 
 the names of his assailants, by which he will 
 bring you all to the scragging-post ;* let him 
 go, I bid thee let him go ; thou knowest I have 
 power with one who can do thee some service. 
 Gigger ! Slasher ! stand back ! (addressing 
 herself to the others) the gentleman shall not 
 notice what has passed, rejoin your pals and 
 leave me to settle the matter." 
 
 There was a hesitation in the manner of the 
 men, which induced Sandron to speak. 
 
 *' Villains !" he exclaimed ; ''what more do 
 
 you want? you have my money (they had 
 
 rifled his pockets of all but some smaller coins); 
 
 by my soul ! if it is my life you seek, it shall 
 
 • Gallows. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 1^18 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 be dearly bought ; and if any one of you lift a 
 hand against that girl, he dies on this sword, 
 even should my death quickly follow. Choose, 
 then, let me go my way, while you go your's, 
 and be content with the booty you have already 
 gained." 
 
 The men now whispered together for a mo- 
 ment, when the ruffian with the pistol gave a 
 low whistle ; this was replied to from a little 
 distance, and shortly afterwards a ragged urchin 
 of the gipsy tribe appeared, leading Charles's 
 horse. 
 
 *' Follow me," exclaimed Corah; ''I will 
 lead you in safety from the Heath." 
 
 Charles Sandron looked at her, and then at 
 the place where his assailants had stood, but 
 they had disappeared ; he paused for an in- 
 stant whether he should quit his vantage ground 
 on the invitation of the girl, for he scarce knew 
 what faith to place in her assurances, but her 
 fine and expressive features left him not long
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 219 
 
 in doubt. Dark as the night still was, by the 
 flashing of her beautiful eyes, indignant at the 
 suspicions which she read, he perceived how 
 unmerited, how ungenerous was a moment's 
 hesitation ; two steps placed him at her side, 
 and having taken the rein of his horse, he, 
 with his extraordinary guide, proceeded across 
 the Heath. In silence they reached its extreme 
 verge, when Sandron accosted her thus : — 
 
 " Do not come with me further. Corah ; I 
 conclude that here I am beyond the reach of 
 thy sway, and, therefore, have my sword alone 
 to trust to ; how shall I requite thee for the 
 service thou hast this night rendered? my 
 purse is already with thy tribe, therefore, gold 
 I have it not in my power at present to offer." 
 
 *' Gold !" she exclaimed, with an accent of 
 the most haughty contempt ; " gold ! dost 
 thou think that gold could purchase the risk of 
 my life, or move me to intercede for thine ? 
 No, no, sir, thou little knowest the feelings of 
 
 L 2
 
 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 my breast, or the lesson I have gleaned from 
 the face of Nature. You, who are skilled in 
 books, and taught by writings which have been 
 handed down to you, as you say, by the will of 
 God, are apt to despise the wandering tribes of 
 whom you know but little, and to abrogate all 
 the better virtues to yourselves ; I have served 
 you 7iot for money." 
 
 As she said this she cast her large dark lus- 
 trous eyes on the ground with an expression of 
 countenance so meek, and so little like the fiery 
 archness of its usual look, that Sandron could 
 scarcely believe that she whom he had heard 
 repel so firmly the overtures of Master Surface, 
 and seen interpose between a levelled pistol and 
 a drawn sword, could be the same person who 
 now stood before him. 
 
 '* But, Corah, dear Corah, what shall I do to 
 manifest my deep sense of gratitude ; is there 
 no way I can be useful to you, no way in which 
 I can render your life more comfortable ? Surely
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 221 
 
 one possessed of your beauty, of your high tone 
 of feeling, cannot be happy in the society of 
 such ruffians as those from whom you have but 
 now rescued me." 
 
 ''One of those ruffians," she replied, ''is 
 my husband ; I tell you so because I know that 
 for my sake you will not deliver him up to jus- 
 tice." 
 
 " Your husband. Corah ! I thought I recog- 
 nized his figure ; he is no real gipsy, though he 
 follows your wandering life; but dear, dear. 
 Corah, say, you cannot love him, then why sub- 
 ject yourself to his brutish violence?" 
 
 "We are taught," she replied, "by the 
 gipsy-law, that obedience and fidelity to a hus- 
 band, and truth in all dealings with our tribe, 
 are the first of our bounden duties ; with all 
 your wisdom, in spite of all your written reve- 
 lations, you, the housed, the learned, and the 
 rich, are weaker in your faith than we are. 
 Your women are more assailable to gold and
 
 2mJ2 sandron hall, or 
 
 flattery, money with them can purchase a con- 
 stant succession of various gratifications, while 
 with us it could not go beyond the necessary 
 food and covering. You covet houses, acres, 
 political position ; we need not the one, we 
 should tire of the other, and for the last-men- 
 tioned power we desire it not, as rules were 
 given by our forefathers, more wise than any 
 we could frame, by which we are willing to be 
 guided/' 
 
 '^ Strange,*' rejoined Sandron, '■ that one so 
 far above her associates should still desire to 
 live so miserable a life as her's must be ;" such 
 were his thoughts, and he uttered them aloud. 
 
 Corah replied : — ''I do not associate with 
 them ; true, 1 sleep in the tent, I have food 
 warm from the same fire, but my heart — my 
 mind — are, and have ever been, my own. I have 
 not sought, I never expected to find a recipro- 
 city of idea with those among whom my lot 
 has been cast, but I have turned my whole soul
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 
 
 to that God who lives in and has spoken to me 
 through the voice of Nature : in the stars I 
 have read my duty, in the glorious sunshine have 
 I seen his approbation, and from the mildness 
 of the summer moon have I drawn solace for my 
 humbled soul. Hush," she cried, raising her 
 hand gracefully, and pointing at the same time 
 to an adjacent thicket, whence the earliest 
 nightingale of the season was pouring forth its 
 mellow song; ''there. Nature's sweet voice is 
 enough to lead me on my pilgrimage and pro- 
 mise peace in Heaven ; I need no counsel from 
 my fellow-man." 
 
 ''Well, then. Corah," said Sandron, " with 
 every sense of being your debtor, I must leave 
 you ; but if a time should come when my ser- 
 vices may be useful, oh, then, dear Corah, fly 
 to me in your hour of tribulation and distress, 
 and I will succour you." 
 
 He pressed her hand, she would have raised 
 his respectfully to her lips, but, on the impulse
 
 224 
 
 of the moment, and before she could prevent it, 
 if such had been her wish, he imprinted a kiss 
 upon her forehead, and, praying God to bless 
 her, vaulted on his horse, and galloped down the 
 road. 
 
 Having reached London without further ad- 
 venture, in the silence of his chamber he recurred 
 to and thought over the passages of the day ; and 
 the more he pondered on the conduct of Louisa 
 Marmaduke, the more at a loss was he to ac- 
 count for her apparent coolness. To assure him- 
 self that he had once possessed her affections, he 
 felt in the bosom of his vest for the note delivered 
 to him by Master Surface, which he had de- 
 posited there ; the locket had escaped the hands 
 of the robber, but the more recent evidence he 
 sought for had vanished : either in the scuffle, 
 or by the rude hands of the ruffian, it had escaped 
 or been stolen, and with a heavy heart our hero 
 sought his pillow.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 His morns he passed in business — which, dissected. 
 Was like all business, a laborious nothing. 
 That leads to lassitude, the most infected 
 And Centaur Nessus garb of mortal clothing. 
 And on our sofas makes us lie dejected. 
 And talk in tender horrors of our loathing 
 All kinds of toil, save for our country's good — 
 Which grows no better, though 'tis time it should. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 The following morning found Charles Sandron 
 once more busied in sorting and arranging Lord 
 Orford's papers, and for two days he was thus 
 constantly engaged. Little was talked of now 
 but the approaching coronation of the queen, 
 which was fixed to take place on St. George's 
 day. She had won all hearts since her ascension 
 to the throne, for, however bigoted a man may 
 
 l5
 
 226 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 be to a political creed, however attached he may- 
 be to the regal line he may think the most legi- 
 timate to rule the nation (and there were many 
 warmly attached to the House of Stuart), still it 
 is impossible for the most obdurate not to shrink 
 from violent measures, when such are to be 
 directed against the happiness of a female sove- 
 reign. In addition to this, the queen had made 
 a powerful impression by her noble bearing and 
 demeanour, and particularly by the solemn and 
 interesting manner in which she had pronounced 
 her first speech to Parliament, where, although 
 she had uttered the precise words which her 
 father had made use of in his first speech : — " I 
 know my own heart to be entirely English ; you 
 shall always find me a strict observer of my 
 word," &c.; still so sweet and persuasive were her 
 accentuation and delivery, that there was not a 
 soul who heard her, of either the one political 
 party or the other, who did not feel that she at 
 least intended to keep her promise to the nation,
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 227 
 
 although some affirmed that that same promise 
 had been but little regarded by her father. 
 
 Charles Sandron might now be almost said to 
 be domiciled in the house of Lord and Lady Or- 
 ford, who, having no children, treated him as 
 their son, introducing him to the best society in 
 London. It was now that he was advised that 
 the funeral of Doctor Marmaduke was to take 
 place on a particular day, and, consequently, ac- 
 companied by his servant, with pistols in his 
 holsters to guard against the chances of the 
 road, he once more turned his back on London in 
 a journey to the Hall. On reaching Maiden- 
 head Thicket, he desired his servant to precede 
 him, and announce his arrival to Sir Stamford, 
 when, feeling much interested in his dark-eyed 
 and extraordinary acquaintance of the Heath, he 
 directed his steed in search of the gipsy's abode. 
 He soon reached the place where the encamp- 
 ment had been, but the tents were struck, and 
 not a vestige of the inhabitants remained, save a
 
 228 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 tattered rag or two suspended from the thorns, 
 and on the ground the dark grey ashes ©f their 
 fires. In vain he perambulated the Thicket, and 
 explored each likely and sequestered corner ; not 
 a gipsy was to be found : concluding, therefore, 
 that the male part of the community, mistrusting 
 Corah's power of preventing the robbery being 
 inquired into^ had deemed it the safer expedient 
 to shift their quarters, and avoid the dangerous 
 proximity, Charles leaped his horse over the 
 boundary of the common, and took the shortest 
 way to the Hall. 
 
 Sir Stamford was not within, but our hero 
 found his mother seated at her embi'oidery- 
 frame, vvith two or three of the tenants' daughters, 
 to whom she had been giving lessons in different 
 sorts of needlework. On his entrance the girls 
 were desired to leave the room, with which order, 
 after casting many a furtive, and it might be ad- 
 miring look on the handsome young squire, they 
 complied. Left alone with her son, Lady Sandron
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 229 
 
 made many inquiries as to London, seeming, by 
 the number and volubility of her queries, as if 
 she wished to put off some disagreeable question 
 which might be asked of her ; it was but useless 
 evasion, for, at the first pause, Charles inquired 
 after Louisa. 
 
 It was with no little astonishment, then, that 
 he beheld his mother shake her head in a mourn- 
 ful and ominous manner, as she replied : ** Louisa 
 was more composed when I last heard from 
 her." 
 
 '^ Heard from her ! my dearest mother, is she 
 not here ?" exclaimed Charles. 
 
 " Alas, no," replied Lady Sandron ; " she 
 sent for me the day after you were here, when, 
 clinging round my neck, and sobbing as if her 
 heart would break, she informed me that, now 
 she was bereft of her father, she felt it would be 
 improper, in her peculiar circumstances, to re- 
 main under our roof ; therefore, with the acqui- 
 escence of Lady Monk ton, they were to repair
 
 230 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 together to London, whence she would write, as 
 soon as they had fixed on a residence. 
 
 Louisa had, according to the promise given to 
 Master Surface, concealed the real worm which 
 was feeding on her heart, and blighting what 
 ought to have been, at that moment, the sweetest 
 and most solacing bud of promise. Where, save 
 in the bosom of her affianced husband, should 
 she have been so well able to have sought refuge 
 and repose, or whence so likely to have filled up 
 the blank which the death of her father had oc- 
 casioned ? 
 
 Had Lady Sandron possessed the shrewdness 
 and penetration of some ladies, she would soon 
 have observed that there was more in Louisa's 
 hasty resolution to depart, than was occasioned 
 by the common etiquette of the day. Neither 
 Sir Stamford nor her ladyship discovered the real 
 state of things, the former contenting himself 
 with a triple number of his accustomed pshaws 
 at the whole school of what he was pleased to
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 231 
 
 term " nonsensical fiddle-faddle," while the lat- 
 ter lamented and wondered at the loss of Louisa's 
 society, for which she herself could assign no 
 sufficient reason. 
 
 The hour at which the funeral of Doctor Mar- 
 maduke was to take place arrived : the poor of 
 the parish lined the gravel walk from the Rectory 
 to the church, a path they had so often seen their - 
 kind old pastor tread when bent on his religious 
 duties ; and the yeomanry and tenantry on the 
 Sandron estate, headed by Sir Stamford and his 
 son as chief mourners, formed the procession ; 
 there was not a dry eye on the occasion. 
 
 The funeral was over ; the concourse of per- 
 sons assembled to pay the last tribute of respect 
 to long tried and departed worth had separated ; 
 the white doe, who had been scared from the 
 premises by the unusual assemblage of people, 
 had returned, and was browsing quietly on the 
 lawn, and the premises wore the same quiet and 
 venerable aspect as usual. Like the face of a lake,
 
 232 
 
 a moment ruffled by the cast of a stone, but 
 which closes over the annoyance as calmly as 
 ever, Nature smiled in the afternoon sun as if to 
 show how little the life or death of the best of 
 men could effect her mysterious serenity. 
 
 The more Charles considered the cool and ex- 
 traordinary conduct adopted by Louisa, the 
 more at a loss was he to account for it : that 
 one so gentle, so affectionate, who had been the 
 partner of his earliest hopes and fears, his joys 
 and sorrows — v»rho had parted from him in the 
 fairest and fullest faith and confidence, should 
 so suddenly and inexplicably have neglected and 
 shunned him, was beyond the power of his com- 
 prehension ; and all he knew was, that he did not 
 deserve such conduct at her hands. Nettled 
 and stung to the quick, in a frame of mind 
 dangerous to one so young and ardent, he re- 
 turned to town, resolved to affect a careless- 
 ness which he did not feel, and in a reckless 
 pursuit of pleasure to blunt, if he could not
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEExV ANNE. USS 
 
 entirely banish, the bitter edge of his disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 On his arrival at Lord Orford's, he found that 
 nobleman engaged to meet a large party of po- 
 litical friends and admirers, at a dinner given to 
 him at the Greyhound Tavern, to which Charles 
 Sandron was also invited. It was a large party, 
 from thirty to forty sat down to dinner ; among 
 them, the Dukes of Newcastle and St. Alban's, 
 Lords Berkeley, Portland, Hahfax, Haversham, 
 Herbert, Ossulston, Byron, North, Dorset, Sir 
 Richard Vivian, and the eccentric Swift. 
 
 When the dinner was over, toasts were given, 
 and the bottle pushed merrily round, till, the 
 hour waxing late. Lord Orford, with most of the 
 elder part of the company, and all the divines, 
 with the exception of Swift, withdrew. Charles 
 Sandron, with many young men of his own 
 standing in hfe, still kept a party together. 
 Swift, by the toasts which he proposed, and the 
 tone of his conversation, proved himself to be
 
 234 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 more of a Whig than his bigoted attachment to 
 some of the abuses existing in the Protestant 
 church establishment might have led men to 
 suppose; and nothing occurred to disturb the 
 harmony of the meeting, which at length broke 
 out in song. 
 
 " Listen," cried the chairman, '' while I give 
 you, to a good old tune, the sentiments of the 
 Tories at the present time. 
 
 Now, now, the Whigs shall all go down. 
 
 The Tories up and ride ; 
 The genuine sons of Church and Queen 
 
 On both shall get astride. 
 We'll damn those stiff republicans. 
 
 As low as low may be ; 
 And, whip and spur, we'll seize the reins ; 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we. 
 
 We'll broach our tubs and principles. 
 
 Of October's passive growth ; 
 And, till our clubs and bottles fail. 
 
 Will stand and fall by both. 
 With these we'll rout their boasted cause 
 
 Of legal liberty : 
 Pretend the church, lo break the laws ; 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 235 
 
 Their meeting-houses we will gut. 
 
 And then, as we were wont. 
 We'll swear 'twas a fanatic plot. 
 
 And the rogues themselves have done't ; 
 With French and Papists we will join. 
 
 To show our loyalty ; 
 Set Perkin up with right divine ; 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we. 
 
 We'll send our fool the country round. 
 
 His way for to prepare, 
 With trumpet, pipe, and flag, and drum. 
 
 Like cavalcade of bear : 
 The church's danger to advance. 
 
 Though in such a tool as he, 
 Will serve till better come from France, 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we. 
 
 We'll pray and curse, address and swear. 
 
 Pro-con the revolution, 
 With Hanover confound the heir 
 
 Of passive institution. 
 The legal right to weaken thus. 
 
 Our interest 'twill be : 
 For Per /(in then comes next in course ; 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we. 
 
 To bring this blessed change about, 
 
 We'll jumble and confound 
 Whig politics, and credit rout. 
 
 And so the wheels go round.
 
 236 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Till having run our rope's full reach. 
 
 With mirth and merry glee. 
 We find 'twill hold as well as stretch. 
 
 Then, hey, boys ! up go we.* 
 
 This song was received with much applause ; 
 many others followed, when Charles Sandron, 
 adhering to a previous determination of never 
 again indulging too deeply in the pleasures of 
 the table, took an opportunity, when his com- 
 panions were loudly and warmly engaged in dis- 
 cussing the merits of some new parliamentary 
 measure, to rise and leave the room. 
 
 Although he quitted the dinner-table long ere 
 the wine had infected his brain, or infringed on 
 the firmness of reason, still its influence had ob- 
 tained some sway over the animal passion, and 
 disposed and excited him to seek adventure. 
 He had that evening no engagements of any 
 sort, when idleness being not only the most dan- 
 gerous, but the most disagreeable companion a 
 man can have, to shake off its thraldom, and to 
 * Old Whis Ballad.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. ^37 
 
 get rid of its presence, he determined to avail 
 himself of the invitation given to him by the 
 pretty Susan Snell, to whom he had been intro- 
 duced by Master Surface, and with whose singing 
 he had been so much charmed. 
 
 In arriving at this resolution, there was a 
 something rankling in his mind near akin to a 
 sensation of disappointment, arising at what he 
 very naturally considered to be the unfeeling line 
 pursued, with regard to him, by Louisa Marma- 
 duke. There was perhaps, likewise, a bitterness 
 of purpose infused into his mind by that insi- 
 dious demon who ever sits at the elbow of the 
 young and quick, to whisper and prompt the 
 sweetness of revenge. Alas, how often does 
 man, mistaken, erring man, attempt to revenge 
 himself on what he conceives to be the unde- 
 served slights of Virtue, by flying to, and striking 
 up, an alliance with ever-complaisant Vice ; and 
 how frequently are the creatures of this world 
 lost for ever from the bright and lofty highway
 
 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 of life, by a single step into the by-paths which 
 at every hand are placed to distract or invite 
 their attention ! 
 
 The resolution to pay this visit once formed, 
 Charles was in no frame of mind to repent of it, 
 and accordingly he presented himself at her 
 door ; it was ajar, there were one or two articles 
 of furniture in confusion in the little hall, and 
 the matting had been removed from the stairs. 
 He was about to retire from the place, sup- 
 posing that the person whom he sought no 
 longer resided there, when a dreadful and heart- 
 rending shriek from the apartment immediately 
 above, accompanied by a heavy fall, arrested his 
 attention, and caused him with the speed of 
 light to ascend the stairs and explore the cause. 
 
 He flung wide the door, and discovered in the 
 once luxuriantly furnished but now naked apart- 
 ment an extraordinary and wild-looking but 
 powerfully-formed young man, with a knife in 
 his hand, standing over the body of the unhappy
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. S39 
 
 girl, whom, in her supposed affluence and beauty, 
 Charles had arrived to visit. 
 
 At the moment of our hero's entrance the 
 man seemed contemplating a second blow on his 
 bleeding victim, but Charles, without an instant's 
 delay, rushed upon him and hurled him to the 
 opposite side of the room ; he then drew his 
 sword, and with his left arm raised Susan from 
 the floor, placing her on the coverless sofa, the 
 only article of furniture which the room con- 
 tained. 
 
 Though she had received a severe blow, and 
 though blood stained the side of her dress, yet 
 she recovered from the immediate effects of the 
 shock, and, appealing to Charles, exclaimed — 
 
 *' Save me, save me, from his violence !" 
 
 '' Doubt it not," Charles replied ; " but first 
 tell me are you badly hurt — has he seriously in- 
 jured you ?''"' 
 
 " No," she said, " I know — I feel I am not 
 seriously injured."
 
 240 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 During these brief questions and replies, the 
 man remained as if stupified by the unexpected 
 succour which had so opportunely arrived, or 
 overcome by some other sensation less apparent. 
 Charles crossed the room, and, closing the door, 
 thus addressed him : — 
 
 ** You are now my prisoner ; lay down your 
 weapon, submit yourself, or by my soul I run 
 you through the body !" 
 
 " Never will I submit," cried the man ; 
 " what ! and to him who has brought my mis- 
 fortunes upon me, who has poisoned my ex- 
 istence, robbed me of her whom I loved better 
 than the world, and consigned me for months 
 to a madhouse ! never, never ! Thus will I rush 
 upon your sword, and if I fall it shall be by 
 the same hand which has already robbed me of 
 a wish to live.*' 
 
 As he said this he rushed upon Charles, bran- 
 dishing his knife, as if determined to slay as 
 well as be slain ; and, had not the point of the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 241 
 
 sword been instantly dropped, his fate would 
 have been inevitable. Instead of its point he 
 received a blow from the pomel which stretched 
 him on the floor, when Charles, placing his foot 
 on his breast, possessed himself of the knife, 
 which had fallen from his now passive hand. 
 
 " George ! George ! this is not the person you 
 suppose him to be/' exclaimed Susan, kneeling 
 by the side of her prostrate assailant, "you 
 have done this gentleman wrong, on my soul, 
 you have done him wrong ; but he will forgive 
 you, I am sure he will forgive you for my sake, 
 and the more readily will he do so when he 
 knows in what relation we once stood to each 
 other. Arise, George, see, you are at liberty, 
 and God be for ever praised that your attempt 
 upon my life has failed !" 
 
 The young man raised himself on one hand, 
 looked up in her face as she knelt at his side, 
 when, as if some scene of other and milder days 
 passed over his heated imagination, and cooled 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the fever of his brain, he became meek as a 
 child, and burst into tears. 
 
 " You will pardon him," she exclaimed ; " for 
 my sake, let him depart — he is calm now and 
 the fit is over.'' 
 
 Charles Sandron drew back a pace, and the 
 young man rose. ^^ Go, George," she continued, 
 "you have liberty to depart ; repair to your home 
 — it may be happy yet — and forget that I am 
 in existence." 
 
 As Susan said this, the young man, with that 
 tacit obedience which often sways those whose 
 brains have been affected, even when commanded 
 by less powerful creatures than themselves, arose 
 from the floor, when, without exchanging ano- 
 ther word, and as if unconscious of the presence 
 of others, he retired from the apartment and left 
 the house. 
 
 Susan Snell, now throwing herself on the 
 sofa, gave way to an agony of grief. In vain 
 did Charles attempt consolation; not even the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 243 
 
 tracing with his hand the extent to which her 
 dress had been perforated with the knife re- 
 called her attention from the heavy weight which 
 oppressed her mind, and for a time she was 
 totally incapable of words. 
 
 Fortunately, the knife, in meeting with some 
 opposition from her apparel, had glanced in a 
 slanting direction from her side and had merely 
 raised the skin. At length she recovered from 
 her tears, and addressed Charles thus. 
 
 " You arrived at a fortunate moment, when I 
 little expected help from any human being ; alas ! 
 like myself, in seeking pleasure you have found 
 but misery ; though we do not resemble each 
 other either, for I have merited the latter, while 
 you, perhaps, came here merely for the sake of 
 beguiling time. Oh, bitterly am I rewarded for 
 having listened to the persuasions of a villain. 
 He who led me from my father's fireside, be- 
 guiled me from the fondest mother, from the 
 most peaceful home, and from the society of my 
 
 M 2
 
 S44 
 
 sister ; for whom I sacrificed the honest feelings 
 of the man who has this instant left the room; 
 nay, his very reason, and for whom I lost all 
 good that the world had in its power to bestow, 
 has now deserted me, and left me an outcast, 
 despised and miserable, a thing for whom pity 
 even blushes to shed a passing tear."" 
 
 " Nay, calm yourself, Susan," replied Charles, 
 greatly moved by the forlorn and desolate con- 
 dition of the poor girl ; " I will befriend you, I 
 will care for you, though all the world should 
 turn away." As he said this he took her hand 
 which, white as snow and delicate and graceful 
 as it was possible to be, lay listlessly by her side ; 
 she snatched it hastily away, exclaiming — 
 
 " Touch not my hand, its clasp is pollution !" 
 Saying this, she dashed it against the hard edge 
 of the sofa till it was bruised, and even marked 
 by blood ; Charles seized her wrists, and forced 
 her to be still, at the same time begging her to 
 be more composed, and to tell him exactly how
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 245 
 
 she was situated. The circumstances were soon 
 explained. Surface had obtained her affections, 
 and deserted her by design, or froitt inability to 
 continue the connection; she had become in- 
 volved in debt, and her furniture, even the bed 
 from under her, had been seized by remorseless 
 creditors. 
 
 " What — ^where shall be my home now ?" she 
 continued. " How am I to procure maintenance 
 and support, or where find refuge from my 
 miseries, save in a plunge from London Bridge, 
 and in the bosom of the dark waters which roll 
 beneath ?'' 
 
 " Hush ! my poor girl," whispered Charles, 
 the heat of wine, and the feverish inclination to 
 mischief having evaporated before the misery 
 thus presented to his view ; " hast thou not 
 spoken of thy parents ? hast thou not alluded to 
 other than human assistance, in the hour of thy 
 need ? do not again outrage Heaven by thinking 
 on self-destruction, but repair home, ask forgive-
 
 246 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 ness of those who love thee, and it will not be 
 denied." 
 
 With almost a shriek, she replied — " Oh ! no, 
 no, no ! Mention them not ; the thought is 
 madness, and the sight of my father and mother 
 would kill me. No, no ; I will go anywhere — 
 die — rather than encounter their frown, or be 
 refused the companionship of my younger sister, 
 as unfit to share in her innocent affection." 
 
 " Yet listen to me/' rejoined Charles ; '^ you 
 tell me you have been lured to your present fall 
 by a villain ; it has been, perhaps, your first and 
 only fault ; you say your parents are affectionate 
 and kind. If you repent of your fault, if you 
 really sigh for a return to those scenes from 
 which you have been thus betrayed, your parents 
 cannot turn their backs on the only chance there 
 is of redeeming their child from lasting perdi- 
 tion. I — I will undertake your reconciliation." 
 
 She stooped her head, and, with her hands 
 spread and pressed before her eyes, with her
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 247 
 
 long luxuriant black hair lying in dishevelled 
 masses on her neck and shoulders, continued 
 sobbing as if her heart would break. 
 
 Charles resumed. " Tell me," he cried, 
 ^' where was your home ? where do your parents 
 reside? what is their station in society, and 
 where may I seek them ?*' 
 
 Susan Snell could not speak — words were at 
 the moment denied her — ^but, turning to a port- 
 folio, she took from it a single drawing, beauti- 
 fully executed, and placed it in his hand. It 
 represented a picturesque but small farm-house, 
 marked by all the attributes of ease and comfort, 
 and situated in a well-wooded eminence, com- 
 manding the view of a majestic river, while be- 
 neath it was written — " The Grove Farm, near 
 the village of , Kent." At last she com- 
 posed herself sufficiently to speak : 
 
 '' That was my home ; the greedy agents of 
 the law have seized my other drawings, and 
 would have taken this, but that I clung to it,
 
 ^48 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 and begged so hard, that, I believe to get rid of 
 my importunity rather than out of pity, they 
 suffered me to retain it. Often," she continued, 
 gazing on the drawing as Charles held it in his 
 hand, " has that picture, in my wildest moments, 
 brought the tear to trickle down my cheek, and 
 made me loathe my situation. It was a linnet 
 which he gave me that first prompted me to 
 make that sketch ; when I was alone, its sweetest 
 notes, as it sung to me from its cage, brought 
 with them so many recollections of the voice of 
 Nature I had so often listened to at home, that 
 when I closed my eyes, I could almost fancy my 
 mother was seated at my side/' 
 
 ^' You have assumed another name," said 
 Charles ; " now, tell me that of your parents ?" 
 
 ^' Linden,'* she replied, blushing deeply as 
 she spoke ; " and the village in which they re- 
 side is Cheanhurst." 
 
 '' It is known to me," said Charles, " I have 
 passed it more than once in company with my
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 249 
 
 father when journeying to Chatham. I will seek 
 your parents ; you shall accompany me ; we will 
 proceed there on horseback the first day I have 
 at my disposal, and doubt not but that we meet 
 with success." 
 
 Susan rose from her seat, and, casting herself 
 on the floor before him, knelt at his feet, and, 
 hiding her face on his knees, sobbed forth her 
 thankfulness. Charles replaced her on the sofa, 
 and having given her directions to repair to a 
 respectable lodging, as well as the means of 
 providing for all immediate exigences, he called 
 a coach to the door, and having handed her to it 
 and desired the coachman whither to drive, he 
 himself prepared to return to his own lodgings. 
 Just as the coach drove away, Sandron was aware 
 that some one passed on the opposite side of the 
 street, muffled in a cloak, whose height and 
 manner closely resembled that of Master Sur- 
 face ; however, as the figure made no sign of 
 recognition and seemed anxious to escape obser- 
 
 M 5
 
 250 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 vation, Charles took no further notice. Ponder- 
 ing over the event of the evening, and feeling 
 that moral sense of conscientious approbation 
 which none experience save those internally 
 convinced of the purity of their intentions, he 
 reached his own lodgings.
 
 ^HE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 But why so vainely doe I time bestow. 
 The foule abuse of th' wretched world to chide. 
 Whose blinded iudgemeiit eu'ry howre dow show 
 What folly weake mortalitie doth guide ? 
 Wise was the man that laugh'd at all thy woe. 
 My subiect still more sorrow doth prouide. 
 And this late peace more matter still doth breed. 
 To hasten that which quickly must succeed. 
 
 Michael Drayton. 
 
 When the all-absorbing affliction, attendant 
 on the loss of a father, would permit Louisa 
 Marmaduke to recur to her last interview with 
 Master Surface, she could scarcely induce herself 
 to believe that it was other than a creation of 
 her own bewildered mind, harassed and dis- 
 tressed as it had been of late. But when, after
 
 252 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 a time^ all the circumstances were recalled one 
 by one to her recollection, when she reflected, 
 too, that the information she had obtained was 
 drawn from a person who appeared to be a re- 
 luctant witness, rather than from one wishing to 
 traduce her betrothed^ she felt, in spite of any 
 latent inclination, forced to give credence to the 
 news. Besides, the letter of the person who 
 kept the tavern, which was shewn her by Master 
 Surface, was an evidence not to be disputed, as 
 also was the chance production of the ribbon that 
 had once suspended the locket containing her 
 hair. 
 
 On reviewing the whole of the circumstances, 
 then, she decided that Charles Sandron had 
 been guilty of the grossest impropriety, as well 
 as the most unfeeling conduct in regard to her, 
 and, in a jealous mood, she determined that 
 henceforth he should be banished from all fa- 
 vourable consideration. How often have people 
 made similar resolutions, how often have they
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 253 
 
 supposed that they had driven all kinder re- 
 miniscences of a particular passion from their 
 brain, and how frequently have they found 
 themselves deceived ; and that instead of 
 emancipation from the particular bondage, in- 
 stead of having eradicated it, they had only 
 bowed it down by the weight of an accumulation 
 of trivial circumstances, and that the root of 
 the fancied evil was as firmly fixed and flourish- 
 ing as ever ! 
 
 Louisa had promised Master Surface not to 
 mention the subject in any way to Sir Stam- 
 ford or Lady Sandron. Even if she had not so 
 pledged herself, not only consideration for their 
 feelings, but also her own pride and delicacy, 
 would have prevented her from such a step ; to 
 Lady Monkton, however, she opened her whole 
 heart. That lady, had she been so inclined, 
 might have elucidated the mystery ; but, alas ! 
 private disinclination to the match, worldly and 
 sordid reasons, induced her to take an opposite
 
 ^54 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 course and to widen the breach by all the means 
 in her power. 
 
 There had existed for many years a feud 
 between the Monktons and the Sandron family, 
 and in the earlier days of the life of the present 
 Lady Monkton, that feud had been renewed by 
 Sir Stamford with her husband, from out of 
 which the latter did not come with untarnished 
 laurels. In addition to this. Lady Monkton had 
 been bred up in the very hotbeds of high church 
 principle and Tory politics, and taught to deem 
 it an imperative duty, under all circumstances, 
 to abridge the means, or lessen the importance 
 of the opposite party, as well in their public as 
 in their private relations of life. To her, there- 
 fore, it was a pleasing task to prevent the ample 
 fortune of Louisa from enriching the Whig 
 coffers, and it was with no little satisfaction that 
 she listened to an account of Charles Sandron's 
 ill conduct. 
 
 Seeing how necessary it was to prevent ex-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. ^55 
 
 planation, lest the case against Charles should 
 have been over-stated, or too highly coloured, 
 she at once advised Louisa to retire with her 
 from the vicinity of the Hall, strengthening that 
 advice with remarks which she well knew would 
 weigh with a young and sensitive mind, point- 
 ing out, that if her niece did not do so — to use 
 a vulgar phrase — people might say, that under 
 any circumstances she was ready to fling herself 
 at the head of the young squire. Upon such 
 advice Louisa consented to a hurried removal, 
 and Lady Monkton assigned publicly that the 
 delicate situation in which her young friend stood 
 with regard to her betrothal to Charles Sandron, 
 rendered the step, as to her immediate residence, 
 one strictly in accordance with the accustomed 
 etiquette on such occasions. 
 
 Almost unconscious of the step to which she 
 had consented, overwhelmed with a thousand sen- 
 sations of regret, and a prey to that sinking of 
 the spirit, which seems like the forebodings of
 
 256 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the more etherial part of our nature, Louisa was 
 assisted to her carriage, and;' under the super- 
 intendence of Lady Monkton, she arrived in 
 London, at a house in the vicinity of Pall-Mail. 
 They had not been more than a day in their new- 
 residence, when Master Surface was announced 
 as one anxious for an interview with Lady 
 Monkton. 
 
 Arrayed with great care — for he well knew 
 with whom he had to deal — he had laid aside 
 his rather swaggering gait and flashy style of 
 dress, and appeared in handsome garments cer- 
 tainly, but in those befitting a gentleman of a 
 staid, quiet, and perhaps religious turn of mind. 
 On Lady Monkton's entrance. Surface advanced 
 with much gravity and stateliness of manner, 
 and, placing a sealed packet in her hand, spoke 
 as follows. 
 
 " I have done myself the honour of calling on 
 your Ladyship, to request that you will take 
 charge of this little parcel for Miss Marmaduke,
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 257 
 
 to whom alone, under any other circumstances, 
 I should have presented it." 
 
 '' Are its contents a secret ?"" said Lady 
 Monkton, receiving the packet rather gravely. 
 " I am now the only relative in the world to 
 whom Miss Marmaduke can look for advice or 
 consolation.'* 
 
 " No, hy no means, there is no secret in the 
 matter, provided the lady to whom it is addressed 
 sanctions its publicity," replied Master Surface. 
 '' The letter in the packet belongs to Miss Mar- 
 maduke, and I am but anxious to restore it to 
 her ; aware of the affliction with which it has 
 pleased Heaven to overwhelm her, I approached 
 your ladyship as the most fit and proper person 
 through whom a communication of the sort could 
 be made." 
 
 Lady Monkton smiled graciously, and assured 
 him that she would deliver the packet to Louisa. 
 
 Master Surface continued : 
 
 '* Has our young friend Charles Sandron
 
 258 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 paid his respects to your ladyship of late ? he is 
 becoming one of the gayest young men about 
 town." 
 Lady Monkton drew up, and replied coldly, 
 
 '' that she had seen and heard nothing of him."' 
 " Indeed !" said Master Surface with well 
 affected surprise, '' but his friends must pardon 
 his apparent neglect, for in addition to the dis- 
 sipation around him, he is working night and 
 day in defence of Lord Orford and the Whigs, 
 whose ranks he has joined in the most ultra and 
 revolutionary manner." 
 
 This news was received by Lady Monkton 
 with a bitter smile, and when Master Surface 
 turned to depart, in her most civil manner she 
 informed him, that when Louisa had recovered 
 from the depression natural to her circumstances, 
 she would be most happy to thank him in person 
 for the trouble he had taken. Surface then, 
 with many civil protestations, withdrew.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. , 
 
 Is there not rest within our cottage dwelling ? 
 
 Is there not rest beneath its trellised shade ? 
 Where viewless birds with wild glad notes are swelling 
 
 The echoes by the murmuring river made. 
 That laves our garden foot ; still shedding round 
 
 A dewy freshness through the calm profound. 
 
 Is there not rest for one, whose best affection 
 Is deeply shared by him on whom bestowed ; 
 
 Whose smile has still the power to chase dejection 
 From this our calm — our beautiful abode : 
 
 In strife and turmoil, lies the world around ; 
 But here, oh ! surely here, may rest be found. 
 
 Aftee the interview with Susan Linden, as 
 we must now call her, described in a former 
 chapter, Charles Sandron was so occupied by 
 his engagements of business and pleasure, that
 
 260 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 he had not an hour to devote to her service. 
 However, on the third day the desired oppor- 
 tunity oflPered, when, taking her with him, and 
 attended by his groom, they set out on horseback 
 for the Grove Farm, in Kent. They had not left 
 the streets of London when a carriage passed 
 them containing two ladies, but, as Charles, with 
 his hand resting on the mane of Susan's horse, 
 was at the moment leaning over and earnestly 
 entreating his companion to compose herself 
 and to rely on his endeavours, he did not observe 
 who those ladies were ; his servant^ John Hard- 
 castle, however, recognized them, for he pulled 
 off his cap with the lowest possible reverence. 
 
 Under Charles's repeated assurances of success 
 Susan regained her composure, and as the day 
 was bright and beautiful, the exchange from 
 the confined and foggy atmosphere of London to 
 the salubrious breezes and glittering prospect in 
 the vicinity of Shooter's Hill could not fail to 
 have a beneficial effect on her mind ; when, for a
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 261 
 
 time, she seemed to be beguiled of her unhappy 
 situation. By degrees, as the termination of 
 her journey drew near, she again became thought- 
 ful ; and when some tall trees, crowning a hill 
 in the distance to the left of the road, met her 
 sight, she tremulously exclaimed as she pointed 
 to them : "Yonder is the farm where I was born !" 
 It now required all Charles's attention to keep 
 up her self-possession, for with the approach of 
 home seemed to return the modest timidity of her 
 early days, and she shrank from the merited 
 indignation of her parents. They stopped in 
 the village, and, having left their horses at the 
 little inn unrecognized by any, proceeded on foot 
 in the direction of the farm which was situated 
 in the vicinity of Northfleet. Charles could feel 
 her arm tremble as it pressed his, and even hear 
 the throbbings of her anxious heart. Winding 
 down a retired lane, a short walk brought them 
 to a thicket, whence Susan pointed to the 
 chimneys of a house which could be seen between
 
 262 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the stems of the tall trees that shadowed them, 
 and exclaimed almost in a whisper, " That was 
 my home." 
 
 Bidding her wait where she was, Charles ad- 
 vanced alone, nor was he sorry that the distance 
 yet to be measured gave him time to arrange his 
 thoughts. A turn of the path he was pursuing 
 brought him in front of the building, which com- 
 bined all thestabilityof a comfortable moderately- 
 sized farm, with the neatness of a villa. The 
 grey stone front and pointed gables, shaded by 
 a neat thatch, was almost entirely overgrown 
 with ivy, jessamine, and China roses, whilethe 
 wooden porch which projected a few feet, and 
 contained a seat on either side, was crowned 
 with a luxuriant honeysuckle. 
 
 In front of the house was a neat little garden, 
 ornamented with beds of the snowdrop, crocus, 
 and violet, and containing several hives of bees, 
 before which flourished bushes of thyme and 
 rosemary. Beyond this again, and through
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 263 
 
 which Charles was now passing, was a thickly- 
 planted and verdant cherry orchard, then in its 
 earliest indication of bloom. 
 
 The comfortable farmyard, filled with straw, 
 among which cows and poultry idly amused 
 themselves, was at the back of the house ; and 
 all air of loneliness was removed from the picture 
 by the racing and frisking of the lambs round a 
 small fish-pond in the orchard, and the bleating 
 of the sheep, as they watched their offspring 
 disappear in the moving flock. The clamorous 
 cries of the rooks in the adjoining trees also added 
 to the merry sounds of the season of the year. 
 Charles had scarcely attained the garden-gate 
 when a very pretty, blue-eyed, dark- haired girl, 
 followed by a respectable-looking dame, in a 
 clean white cap and with spectacles on, came 
 forth, the former bearing some work, and the 
 other a bible, and took possession of the seats in 
 the humble porch. 
 
 As Sandron opened the garden-gate they arose :
 
 264 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 " Mistress Linden, is it not ?" he asked, advan- 
 cing to the house. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; do you want my good man?" 
 '•' No, no ; at least, not just at this moment," 
 he replied ; '' you seem to have a beautiful farm 
 here, Mistress Linden ; one would think that the 
 peace and contentment of the world had fixed on 
 this as its residence." 
 
 " Ah ! sir," said the old dame, " we have many 
 things to be thankful for ; but," she continued, 
 taking up her bible, and laying it down again, 
 " we are told that happiness in this world is not 
 for us ; indeed the bitterness of life, as our good 
 curate says, has found us out here and my old 
 eyes have had their share of tears." Then, ob- 
 serving that Charles's glance was fixed on her 
 daughter, struck as he was by the strong family 
 likeness to her whose cause he came to plead, 
 she continued : '' Go, Mary — go in doors and 
 look that the kettle boils for your father's tea ; 
 he will be home soon."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 265 
 
 " Nay, my good dame,"" exclaimed Charles, 
 perceiving her reason for this, *' do not send your 
 daughter away on my account ; why should you 
 do so?" 
 
 '' She is best in doors," replied the good old 
 lady, drily ; '' fine gentlefolks, fine clothes, and 
 great sounding words, are not a fit study for a 
 decent young woman ; God help me ! — I have 
 reason to say so," 
 
 " What ! has she ever given you cause to be 
 uneasy on that head ?" inquired Charles ; *' ex- 
 cuse me, it is not an idle question ; your ap- 
 pearance, your manners, have interested me 
 much, and without annoying you by impertinent 
 questions, I would fain make your better ac- 
 quaintance." 
 
 " What, Mary, sir ? No, no, dear child, she 
 has never made me sorrowful ! had it not been 
 for her I believe both my good man and myself 
 would have broken our hearts, for he used to say 
 to me : — ' Dame,' said he, * I cannot go out to 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 ^66 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 SOW my land now, the larks rise so merrily and 
 sing so sweetly, that they make me think of the 
 day when Susan was walking at my side, and 
 following their flight with her beautiful brown 
 eyes : ah, sir, she used to watch the larks and 
 the swallows, and wonder whence the latter came 
 from, and whither they flew, while we were only 
 thankful that they were here. While our eyes 
 were on the earth, and our minds occupied with 
 its soil, her's were roving hither and thither, and 
 dreaming of worlds she had but read of in music- 
 books and rhyme ; unfit, I am sure, as such 
 things are for us poor farming people. But — 
 it was my fault, I did her the injury ; I had her 
 taught to read, to dance, to play music, ay, and 
 to look down upon her equals, for there is the 
 misery." 
 
 '' Is your eldest daughter not with you now, 
 then?" asked Charles. 
 
 " No, sir, she left us. She was beautiful as the 
 day — she looked into her glass, and she knew it ; 
 all the young men in our neighbourhood told her
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 267 
 
 SO, and they always voted her the queen of May. 
 Lord Darnley danced with her, and told her she 
 ought to be a lady, and then, in the pride of my 
 heart, I loved to see her better dressed than her 
 neighbours, and at the steward's, playing and 
 singing at the harpsichord, when none of the 
 other girls knew how to touch a note. Ah, sir, 
 her loss is a judgment upon me for setting my- 
 self up above my rank in life, and for teaching 
 her to look down on all the young men who 
 would have made her fitting mates." 
 
 Here the old lady burst into tears as she 
 continued : — " She could not bear the addresses 
 of her neighbours, but when they came to a 
 merry-making with us she would retire to her 
 own room, or if in summer, to the wood hard by, 
 with a book of harmony nonsense, or poetry I 
 think they call it, and a better name for it too, 
 for there can't be much harmony in that which 
 sets folk against their own relations and friends. 
 Well, there she would sit, and read and dream 
 
 N 2
 
 268 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 that all she read was true. It was in one of 
 these sad hours that she met with her deceiver, 
 and oftentimes, when we thought she was alone, 
 she was walking in the wood with that wicked 
 young man, or Lord it may be, for we have 
 heard various reports about him." 
 
 Farmer Linden himself, a hearty-looking old 
 man, with white hair, now made his appearance, 
 when, addressing Charles, he asked if he had 
 kept him waiting ? then looking at his wife he 
 continued : 
 
 " I see my dame, sir, has been amusing you 
 with our family affairs, for nothing makes her cry 
 but that subject. Come, come, dame, learn to bear 
 your misfortunes yourself, and do not load the 
 shoulders of others ; but there — 't is no matter, 
 the gentleman won't care for the sorrows of such 
 as you and me." 
 
 " Indeed, I do care, my good friend," ex- 
 claimed Charles, " I have been deeply interested 
 in the recital, and believe me, he that has mixed
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. ^69 
 
 with the yeomanry, nay, with the industrious 
 poor, and has seen the many virtues they possess, 
 and the innumerable hardships they occasionally 
 submit to without a murmur or complaint, cannot 
 but feel acutely when they are heavily afflicted. 
 Do you know where your child is, and is there no 
 hope of snatching her from her present situation?" 
 "Hope, sir?" repHed Linden, ** what should 
 we do with her now ? she is like the straw when 
 parted from the grain, only fit to be cast out 
 from the barn to be trampled on by beasts. She 
 has no heart — she never had a heart to feel for 
 us. Bless you, she quitted her home without as 
 much as a thought for any thing she left behind 
 her. There was her pet lamb, that would not 
 feed from any hand but hor's, it was left to 
 starve ; her linnets, too, the sheep-dog tliat 
 loved her better than any one else was locked 
 up from her puppies, and she had not left so 
 much as a line to say where the key was to be 
 found. There, if I saw her kneeling at my feet
 
 270 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 at this moment, I would not raise her up or 
 contaminate my honest hand by touching such a 
 jade." 
 
 " Nay, nay, Farmer Linden, '^ said Charles, 
 '* I will not think so ill of you as you would have 
 me do. Heaven sets us an example of forgive- 
 ness, wide-stretched to a far greater magnitude 
 than any we can aspire to attain, and shall we 
 render ourselves unworthy of the boon — when at 
 the approach of death it is needed in the highest 
 degree — by having refused the little in our power 
 on earth to bestow, craved as it would have been 
 in this instance by our own flesh and blood? 
 No, no, I think better of you, my good friend, 
 than to suppose you could be guilty of such an 
 error. When she left you, had she no suitors in 
 her own rank of life ?" 
 
 "Ay, sir," replied Linden, "there was not a 
 young farmer in the country-side who would not 
 have given his right hand to have kept her com- 
 pany ; our curate, too, honest man, he 'd bring
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 271 
 
 his flute and play to her for hours, and it grieved 
 me to the soul when she used to laugh at what she 
 called * the funny faces ' that he made in breath- 
 ing on his instrument ; she used to say ' he was 
 a mild imitation of Eolus,** or some such gen- 
 tleman. He it was who taught her many books, 
 and when 1 saw him leaning over her for hours, 
 it used to glad my old heart to think that she 
 was not altogether unworthy to be the minister's 
 wife. Presumption, sir, wicked presumption ! 
 Farmers should teach their daughters useful 
 work, such as netting, plain sewing, the making 
 of puddings, cheese, and butter, otherwise they 
 look down on the coarseness of an honest calling, 
 shudder at the unrefined approach of a toil- 
 stained hand, and stroll away to foreign flum- 
 mery.'' 
 
 *' Did the curate take her desertion much to 
 heart?" 
 
 " He did indeed, sir," replied Linden. " I 
 mind his coming with his flute and finding
 
 272 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 Susan gone. Bless you, he was struck dumb like 
 one who had seen a ghost, and when his speech 
 returned, he counted up how many months he 
 had known her, and yet could never find in his 
 heart to speak of love, save when he once made 
 a distant allusion to the pairing of Robins, but 
 which she did not seem at the moment to com- 
 prehend. This was of the Friday; on the Sunday 
 following he ascended the pulpit to read the 
 lessons in his black gown, and, when commen- 
 cing his sermon, he broke off in a strange invec- 
 tive against gingling spurs, tall plumes, and 
 long swords, giving out that Satan was abroad 
 in the shape of a handsome cavalier. Ah, sir, 
 he talked of Satan ; but if he had given the 
 gipsies a hand in it, he would have been nearer 
 the mark ; there was an encampment at that 
 time in our lane, and, if ever there was a crea- 
 ture blighted by the evil eye, and if ever people 
 and cattle were bewitched, my child and my 
 flock were cursed together. Oh that I might
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 273 
 
 once more set eyes on that dark gipsy girl ! she 
 was seen to give papers to my daughter, and to 
 turn the brightest blackest glances on my cows ! 
 I lost in my drove and flock that year more than 
 I ever lost before in ten. She was the only 
 gipsy that Quick, my sheep-dog, would not bark 
 at. Oh that I had her once upon the ducking- 
 stool r 
 
 " Had your daughter any other lovers ?" asked 
 Charles j *' I mean any who had declared them- 
 selves?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, our neighbour's son,*" replied Linden, 
 " young George Nutton, abetter farmer, a bolder 
 man never backed a horse or held a plough ; he 
 was the best rider to hounds in our hunt, and as 
 clean grown a youngster as any you might see 
 at a fair. He, poor lad, took her desertion so 
 much to heart, that they were forced to confine 
 him in a madhouse, and he has never been him- 
 self since ; but then, what signifies it talking ? 
 'drat it, dame, dry your eyes, and you, Mary, 
 
 N 5
 
 274 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 don't sit sobbing there behind the door, but 
 draw a tankard of ale ; the gentleman must be 
 adry.'' 
 
 Charles accompanied them into the house, 
 where, as he entered, the farmer pointed to a 
 little table with some embroidery on it, standing 
 with a chair in the corner of the room apart 
 from the rest of the furniture, and said in a 
 voice which, spite of his endeavours to the con- 
 trary, manifested the deepest emotion, "that, 
 that was her table ; she sat at it the morning she 
 left us, it has never been touched since." 
 
 " 'Drat thee. Quick," he continued, addressing 
 himself now to a large sheep-dog who came bark- 
 ing and bouncing into the room in the most wildly 
 joyful manner, '' 'drat thee, lay down I say 1" 
 
 The dog, however, unmindful of the well- 
 known command, after racing round the room, 
 and leaping over the chairs, quitted the house 
 in the same way she entered it, and her hilarious 
 tongue was heard in the garden and the orchard,
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 275 
 
 amidst the bells of the startled sheep, and the 
 objurgations of their attentive shepherd, who 
 seemed in vain endeavouring to recall Quick to 
 her accustomed duty. 
 
 The ale having been done honour to. Farmer 
 Linden now asked what business had procured 
 him the pleasure of a visit from our hero. 
 
 ** No absolute business, my worthy friend ; I 
 only came to see your farm, and to talk to you 
 about " 
 
 Here the conversation was interrupted by the 
 appearance of the shepherd, who arrived to 
 say that he thought Quick was gone mad, or that 
 she was bewitched, as the cattle had been in the 
 preceding year ; she had driven a sheep into the 
 pond, and was gone off again, flouncing, bound- 
 ing, and barking, at such a rate, no one knew 
 whither. 
 
 At Farmer Linden's request Charles then ac- 
 companied them into the garden, on their way to 
 the farmyard. Having turned the corner of the
 
 276 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 house, they proceeded down a path, sheltered by 
 thick hazel hedges on either side, and came to a 
 little plot of ground, which seemed once to have 
 been taken much care of, though now the traces 
 of a long neglect were visible. The old man 
 stopped abruptly, and exclaimed : " Why, who 
 has touched this garden? some one has been to 
 the violet-bed; nay, Mary, why there is your 
 foot upon the mould \" 
 
 " Indeed, papa,*' replied the girl, looking with 
 much astonished curiosity at the foot-print, " I 
 have not been to Susan's garden ; you forbade 
 any one to go near it." 
 
 The loud barking of the shepherdess dog was 
 again heard in their immediate vicinity, and 
 Quick once more made her appearance, wild with 
 the most extravagant delight, leaping and bound- 
 ing, now here, now there, and at last rushed 
 beneath some thick lilac-trees which sheltered 
 one side of the little garden, where her loud 
 barkinojs were hushed into low but continued
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 277 
 
 murmurs of strange excitement. Possessed with 
 the idea that his sheep-dog was bewitched or mad, 
 Linden seized a heavy iron rake, and dashing 
 forward in pursuit, was about to strike. Far dif- 
 ferent from the sight which he expected was 
 that which met the father's eye — he beheld his 
 lost child upon her knees, one hand spread be- 
 fore her tearful face, while with the other she 
 endeavoured to subdue the extravagant caresses 
 of the faithful animal, who, very soon after her 
 arrival, had detected her presence and had now 
 clasped her round the neck with its fore-paws. 
 The old man let fall the rake, and locked his 
 daughter in his arms. 
 
 It was with the deepest, the most gratifying 
 sensation of delight, that Charles beheld the 
 scene he had occasioned : his flowing eyes shewed 
 how deeply he shared in the emotion around 
 him, and in that one moment, he felt a more 
 exalted pleasure than the world had hitherto 
 bestowed upon him. There is so much unal-
 
 278 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 loyed satisfaction in the success of high-souled, 
 charitable, and virtuous measures, that it is a 
 wonder the world is not more given to their 
 practice. Men feel a temporary, even a bril- 
 liant gratification in the attainment of a difficult 
 object, however guilty its pursuit may have been, 
 but they cannot know that approbation of the 
 heart, the offspring alone of rectitude, which, like 
 a visitant from Heaven, will in after-times 
 steal to their midnight pillow, and soothe the 
 feverish hour, unless their conscience refers to 
 deeds unsullied by a stain . When the mind and 
 body of man are ailing, when, from the infir- 
 mities of nature, sin assumes the terror and pro- 
 portion, the hideous distortion of a distempered 
 dream, and clothes itself in the glaring and 
 heated dies, the colours ever attendant on re- 
 morse and soul-awakened despair, then, at such 
 a time, to look back on a good action is as the 
 olive branch was to the ark, a signal of assured, 
 salvation. When, either haunted by the anti-
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 279 
 
 cipations of their own prophetic imagination, 
 or shrinking on the eve of death, how many of 
 the happiest, most brilliant years of their lives, 
 would not some men give for the recollection of 
 one single day devoted to the service of their 
 God ? Charles Sandron/e/^ that he had done a 
 good action, and to feel it was to reap a more 
 than ample reward. 
 
 From the garden the happy party adjourned 
 to the house ; the news soon spread among the 
 farming people that their young lady, as they 
 used to term her, had returned, when one over- 
 zealous and mistaken friend ran forthwith to the 
 manse, and, having abruptly acquainted the 
 curate with the news, asked permission to ring 
 the bells in the church. That estimable divine 
 was greatly moved by the tidings, yet, though 
 he was, to use his own expression, " somewhat 
 uplifted of heart," he retained sufficient dis- 
 cernment to be aware that such a proceeding 
 as the ringing of bells would not be consonant
 
 280 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 with the staid and decent propriety which the 
 nature of the circumstance seemed to require ; 
 therefore he refused the service of the bells, but 
 to atone for the lack of their harmony, he him- 
 self sat up flute in hand, to a late hour of the 
 night, vying with the nightingale in the yew- 
 hedge beneath his window, who should produce 
 the most pleasing, yet melancholy modulations. 
 The gratitude of the old people to Charles 
 Sandron, as the restorer of their lost child, knew 
 no bounds. Farmer Linden pressed him to eat 
 and drink, as if he thought that through the 
 appetite of his guest alone could be testified his 
 due reception of the thankful homage he him- 
 self was anxious to offer ; while his youngest 
 daughter, Mary, looked at Charles with such 
 soft, bright, blue eyes, that our hero felt much 
 difficulty in repressing an inclination to assume 
 another line of character in another drama, and 
 to run away with her. Time (oh, that man 
 might chain its hurrying foot !), sped on, and the
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 281 
 
 hour for our hero's return to London arrived. 
 His horses were ordered to the door from the 
 village inn, and his groom, John Hardcastle, re- 
 freshed with a foaming can of ale, when, amidst 
 the blessings of all, he mounted, and, giving 
 many promises that he would again return to 
 the Grove Farm and pay them a longer visit, 
 he proceeded on his way. In a pleasing reverie 
 he arrived at his lodgings in the Strand, and 
 then, as he prepared to dismount for the first 
 time remembered that a carriage had passed 
 them in the morning before they had left Lon- 
 don, to which, or rather to the ladies in it, 
 his groom had doffed his cap. 
 
 " John," he asked, " who was in the carriage 
 that passed us this morning, while I was speak- 
 ing to Miss Linden ?" 
 
 " Lady Monkton, sir, and our young lady from 
 the Rectory.**'
 
 282 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 And now to business. Oh, my gentle Juan ! 
 Thou art in London — in that pleasant place 
 Where every kind of mischief's daily brewing, 
 Which can await warm youth in its wild race. 
 'Tis true, that thy career is not a new one ; 
 Thou art no novice in the headlong chase 
 Of early life ; but this is a new land — 
 Which foreigners can never understand. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 Lady Monkton and Louisa Marmaduke were 
 driving out in their carriage for an airing, when 
 they passed Charles Sandron in the street, at the 
 commencement of his journey to restore Susan 
 Linden to her friends. At the very moment of 
 their passing, he, with his hand resting on her 
 horse's neck, and with his handsome features 
 brightening up under the best feelings of his
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 283 
 
 heart, was recommending and endeavouring to 
 establish the self-possession of his fair charge, 
 as well as to calm her fears by the kindest as- 
 surances of success. Louisa, with that quick 
 perception ever attendant on affection, waning 
 though such affection may be (for the eye of 
 woman is equally sharp when seeking for con- 
 firmation to her jealous fears, as it is when bent 
 on finding fresh cause for admiration in the ob- 
 ject of her love) was the first to observe Sandron 
 occupied as we have mentioned. Lady Monk- 
 ton's attention was also aroused on the same 
 subject, by her niece's casting herself suddenly 
 back in the carriage and turning deadly pale. 
 One glance from the window was sufficient to 
 put Lady Monkton in full possession of the cir- 
 cumstances ; chance had thus placed powerful 
 means at her disposal of widening the breach 
 between the lovers, and the opportunity of doing 
 so was not lost. 
 " Dreadful !" — exclaimed her ladyship ; '' that
 
 284 SANDRON HxVLL, OR 
 
 unhappy young man seems dead to every sense 
 of propriety ; change of affection with him is 
 as easy as the putting off and on of a garment, 
 he no sooner tires of one than he adopts another. 
 I dare venture to say that that is the creature for 
 whom he professes so lively an attachment as to 
 set the usages of society at defiance." 
 
 Louisa only answered by tears, and Lady 
 Monkton continued . 
 
 ** My dear child — however painful this sub- 
 ject may be, I cannot resist such an opportunity 
 of reverting to it ; use your own good sense, 
 and discard that dissolute young man for ever 
 from your recollection. If any thing further 
 were wanting than the proofs contained in that 
 packet so lately left in my hands for you by 
 Master Surface, in which was contained your 
 last letter to this Charles Sandron — gathered, 
 as Master Surface informed you, from a public 
 floor, where it had been cast contemptuously 
 away — you have ample ocular demonstration 
 now.""
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 285 
 
 This letter, the reader will recollect, was lost 
 during the robbery of Sandron by the gang of 
 gipsies, on Maidenhead Thicket. 
 
 " You saw with whom he was riding, and you 
 must have observed his devoted manner ; de- 
 pend upon it, the kind-hearted Surface out of 
 respect for your feelings, and in consideration 
 of his friend, has not imparted to us half of the 
 misdeeds of this wild young man. Take my 
 advice, break off all communication, command 
 Sandron to return to you the lock of hair you 
 gave him, and banish him forth of your society 
 for ever." 
 
 " I fear me you are right, my dear Lady 
 Monkton," replied Louisa, drying her tears, and 
 breaking through the abandonment of grief with 
 some shew of resolution. " I mil think of him 
 no more. It costs me much to come to this de- 
 cision, for I had thought, oh, so differently of 
 Charles — of Master Sandron ! We were bred 
 up together, I used to admire his noble, gene-
 
 286 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 rous disposition, and chivalrous nature, indeed 
 he was once all, more than all to me. Remem- 
 brance, however, is now idle ; he treats me with 
 contempt. My dear Lady Monkton, do as you 
 please, I renounce him now and for ever." 
 
 " It delights me," exclaimed her companion, 
 '* to find that you have arrived at so proper, so 
 just a resolution ; it will now become my duty 
 to write a formal breaking off of your engage- 
 ment to Lady Sandron ; how or in what terms 
 that object can best be effected, we will take an 
 hour to consider/' 
 
 '* Nay, not so soon,'" said Louisa ; '* I know 
 that dear old Lady Sandron will be deeply hurt 
 at the proceeding, and I would have nothing 
 done either hastily or harshly. Wait, then, but 
 a few days at least, or till other circumstances 
 shall have thrown a still stronger shade on her 
 son's more apparent worthlessness ; then, then 
 you shall have my full concurrence in all steps 
 you may think it requisite to take."
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 287 
 
 The day following the restoration of Susan 
 Linden to her friends brought with it the usual 
 routine of business and pleasure ; Charles had 
 been introduced to all the best society in London, 
 and began to find his level among the young 
 men of fashion. Handsome, high-spirited, ac- 
 complished and rich, he soon met with admiring 
 friends. No one dressed better, few danced so 
 well, and in singing, drawing, and other light 
 ^ accomplishments, he was also a proficient. In 
 the study of foreign languages, and of the most 
 approved modern and ancient authors, he took 
 much delight, but while thus improving his 
 mind, he still found time to excel in athletic 
 exercises, and to a reputation for all other out- 
 ward accomplishments, he added the character 
 of one of the best swordsmen of the day. 
 
 He had been to court, and it was thought no 
 mean feather in his cap, when, on his presenta- 
 tion to her Majesty, she asked, struck, as it 
 seemed, by his handsome and graceful deport-
 
 288 SANDRON HA.LL, OR 
 
 merit, a second time who he was, and from what 
 family he was descended, while Lady Marl- 
 borough* desired Lord Godolphin, who smiled 
 familiarly on Charles Sandron as he passed, to 
 bring him up to her for an introduction. 
 
 Day after day sped swiftly on ; her Majesty's 
 coronation had been performed with great so- 
 lemnity ; the street from the Hall to Westmin- 
 ster Abbey being lined with blue cloth, and her 
 Majesty carried in a low open chair, so that she 
 might be seen by her loyal subjects. The cere- 
 mony had lasted from eleven in the morning 
 till half-past eight in the evening, and bonfires 
 and illuminations had been kept up throughout 
 the night. 
 
 Soon after the coronation, the trial of the 
 Lords Somers, Halifax, and Ormond had also 
 been proceeded with, and the Commons, failing 
 in their allegations, the several lords so arraigned 
 were acquitted, and Charles Sandron was once 
 * Then keeper of the privy purse.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 289 
 
 more left at leisure to attend to his own imme- 
 diate affairs. 
 
 From the day on which he had been noticed 
 at court, and introduced to the all-powerful 
 Countess of Marlborough, Charles's race in the 
 realms of fashion might be said to have com- 
 menced ; from that time every temptation to 
 excess assailed him. Luxury opened her many 
 suductive doors. Beauty, either from the dic- 
 tates of passion, or from the colder but almost 
 as powerful persuasions of public notoriety, ex- 
 hausted all her blandishments to allure the 
 youngest as well as the handsomest and most ac- 
 complished man of fashion, as Charles Sandron 
 was then accounted, within the pale of her glit- 
 tering vassalage. 
 
 Turn where he would, success, flattering, 
 clothed in its spring-tide hue, unshadowed, un- 
 dimmed as yet by too frequent repetition, waited, 
 nay watched for an opportunity to greet him. 
 Still, in the midst of his mental intoxication in 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 the glittering palace, in the public theatres, 
 would his mind suddenly revert to the quiet Rec- 
 tory, and to his first, and, as it then seemed, 
 only for a time forgotten love. In the very 
 moment of gratified ambition, in the most splen- 
 did hour of fashionable triumph, the gentle 
 image of Louisa broke upon his remembrance 
 as the meek but beautiful lily of the valley 
 steals through the thickly-clustered and darker 
 leaves of the ground-ivy, which had overgrown 
 and but for a time disguised the existence of 
 the fairer flower, and, by the contrasting purity 
 of her own life, cast all other things in deeper 
 shadow. 
 
 Charles Sandron knew not the reasons for 
 the conduct pursued by his betrothed. Gene- 
 rous of heart, and noble in nature, misrepresen- 
 tation and calumny from others never once en- 
 tered his mind, and judging alone from appear- 
 ances, he resolved to drown regret, and to 
 banish every early and long-cherished affection
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 291 
 
 from his breast. Henceforth to plunge reck- 
 lessly into that vortex of pleasurable dissipa- 
 tion, which circumstance and situation had out- 
 stretched before him. This resolution once 
 formed, he soon became noted for his conquests 
 among the fairer portion of the fashionable 
 world, and for his passion for intrigue. Though, 
 under these circumstances, all good people really 
 blamed him, and all bad people affected loudly 
 to condemn the course which he pursued, and 
 many of his companions fearing and hating 
 him as a rival, lost no covert opportunity of 
 detracting from his character, still, as Lord 
 Byron so aptly describes the climax to which 
 our hero had attained, there was a sort of glo- 
 rious blame, a kind of general character for 
 wild and devoted gallantry to the fair sex at- 
 tached to his conduct, which, though apparent 
 enough to invite censure, was not in those days 
 considered of sufficient magnitude to merit a 
 heavier or more marked visitation. 
 
 o2
 
 292 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 One morning, in the very zenith of this his 
 first plunge into the vices and follies of the 
 day, a note was put into his hands. The cha- 
 racter of the address was familiar to him ; it 
 was from Louisa Marmaduke, when, in spite 
 of his resolution to the contrary and determi- 
 nation to forget his first affection, the colour 
 came to his cheeks, sent there unbidden, warm 
 and tinted by the true and generous impulses 
 of the heart. 
 
 The letter ran as follows : 
 
 '* I have taken this step on the maturest re- 
 flection. I write not to upbraid you with breach 
 of faith, or with the loss of those feelings of 
 honour for which I once thought you remark- 
 able, but simply to request the return of a 
 locket containing my hair; it is valueless to 
 you now, and you cannot wish to retain it ; may 
 you forget that you ever had it in your posses- 
 sion ! 
 
 '' P.S. I have little doubt but that vou will
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 293 
 
 relinquish each token — each remembrance of 
 me, with the same ease as I, from this moment, 
 banish you from all favourable consideration. 
 Let us be strangers to each other henceforth 
 and forever." 
 
 No sooner had Charles Sandron read this 
 letter than his pride flew up in arms. '' So !" 
 he exclaimed; ''without an attempt at or a 
 wish for explanation, without even the shadow 
 of an expression of regret, she can at once fling 
 me from her and believe in my dishonour. Oh ! 
 by my soul ! fair lady, you shall have an an- 
 swer." Saying this, he thrust his hand within 
 the vest of his bosom as if in search of some 
 love-token worn next his heart, but, pausing for 
 some moments, he remained a prey to conflicting 
 emotions. For a time he thus stood as if un- 
 determined what course to pursue, and then, 
 striding angrily across the chamber, he opened 
 a desk and, selecting from it a private drawer 
 which contained several locks of hair as well as 
 
 o3
 
 S94 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 other trinkets, he proceeded to pack it with its 
 glossy contents carefully up, when, having di- 
 rected it with a note also to Louisa Marma- 
 duke, he sent it by a servant to her residence. 
 This done, he threw himself on a sofa, and 
 buried his. face in his hands, in which situation 
 we will leave him, in order that we may ac- 
 company his despatch to the house of Lady 
 Monkton. 
 
 Louisa Marmaduke was alone when a ser- 
 vant entered and delivered a parcel ; she knew 
 the character of the direction, and with a 
 trembling hand, proceeded to undo the fasten- 
 ings ; the first article she opened was the note, 
 it ran thus. 
 
 '* Master Charles Sandron hastens to comply 
 with Mistress Louisa Marmaduke's commands, 
 but having placed the locket containing the 
 hair to which she refers among others, many of 
 which are the same shape, as in some instances 
 their contents are of the same colour, he feels
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 295 
 
 himself unable, at the present moment, to dis- 
 tinguish which is her's, therefore he sends them 
 all, begging that she will select the right one." 
 
 The note fell from her powerless hand upon 
 the floor, not a syllable escaped her lips, she 
 did not weep ; the insult was so glaring that 
 it lost much of its effect, or rather all its 
 softer influences ; it had nothing to do with 
 tears, but it paled her cheek and her lip with 
 anger, in which perhaps was mingled some 
 strong shadows of contempt. She sat motion- 
 less with the hateful packet containing the as- 
 sembled locks of hair and lockets on her knee, 
 while her beautiful eyes were bent on the in- 
 sulting letter which lay at her little foot, like 
 an adder exhausted of its angry venom. 
 
 At this moment Lady Monkton entered, 
 when, observing that something was the mat- 
 ter, she possessed herself of the letter, and 
 having read its contents while she coloured to 
 the eyes, with but a single glance at her niece.
 
 296 SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 she seized the parcel from her lap and threw 
 it behind the fire. 
 
 " Let every thought connected with that de- 
 graded young man thus perish!" exclaimed 
 Lady Monkton, pretending to be greatly ex- 
 cited. '' Of all the insults ever offered to wo- 
 man, this exceeds any that ever reached my 
 ears : he is worthless, utterly worthless, de- 
 scended beneath all hope of redemption. How- 
 ever it is better that it should be thus, for, 
 you will excuse me, love, little short of an act 
 like this would have sufficed to have opened 
 your eyes to his depravity." 
 
 ''It is strange," replied Louisa ; ''and you 
 will think me wanting in that spirit proper to 
 my sex, but even now the whole thing seems to 
 me to be some wild dream — some unaccountable 
 delusion ; I cannot bring my mind to believe • 
 that we are not the slaves of hateful decep- 
 tion. You have heard of witchcraft, people, our 
 wisest judges have believed in it, even now they
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 297 
 
 condemn offenders in the black art to be burned 
 at the stake, then why might not my prospects 
 be thus bhghted !'' 
 
 " Witchcraft is an art generally believed in," 
 said Lady Monkton, scarcely able to repress her 
 anger ; '' but, though there certainly are cases 
 where dealings with spirits of darkness have 
 been proved, yet the belief in such mystery has 
 led to many abuses, and aged innocence often 
 has suffered, as that able writer on these sub- 
 jects. Master Scot, has said — ' Young Igno- 
 rance and old Custom ' are the chief abettors 
 of the belief; besides, if you believe in these 
 invisible powers do you not also credit the re- 
 medy ; we have still (with some contempt in her 
 manner) the horse-shoe on our door ?"* 
 
 "1 know not what possesses me, my dear 
 Lady Monkton," said Louisa ; '' but in spite of 
 the evidence of my own eyes, for all the 
 
 ♦ Most houses of the west-end of London have the horse- 
 shoe on the threshold. — Aubrey.
 
 298^ SANDRON HALL, OR 
 
 thought that you may despise me for my weak- 
 ness, I do not think Charles Sandron so base 
 as he appears.'^ 
 
 *' I have no patience, my dear," exclaimed 
 her ladyship, ''with your supineness on this 
 point ; as to witchcraft and other mysteries, 
 the limited state of the human mind is but too 
 apt to attribute to supernatural agencies that 
 which is above its comprehension ; but as to the 
 conduct of this young man, the baseness, the 
 ingratitude of it is as open as the face of day. 
 You say that your prospects are blighted ; it is 
 a humiliating confession, and a fact which a 
 woman of spirit ought never to admit. Come, 
 come, my dear child, I, who am so much more 
 experienced than yourself, look upon the cir- 
 cumstance in a very different light. I hold that 
 you have had a very happy escape, that a better 
 existence is about to dawn upon you ; you will 
 have hosts of admirers at your feet when it is 
 known that you are free to choose ; your beauty.
 
 THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE. 299 
 
 your fortune entitle you to the best offers, and, 
 believe me, with but trifling exertion on your 
 own part, you will soon forget the existence of 
 this hateful Master Sandron." 
 
 " I will try my best to do so, my dear Lady 
 Monkton," replied Louisa; ''but where we 
 have been brought up with one whom our 
 friends, as well as our natural impulses, taught 
 and recommended us to love ; with one whose 
 many apparent good qualities of head and heart 
 seemed to stamp him as a creature far superior 
 to the generality of mankind ; it is difficult, 
 very difficult to rend asunder each early and 
 long-treasured association. As a vine or other 
 creeping plant is trained to embrace either the 
 stem of a tree or the outline of a fabric, as its 
 youthful and pliant tendril is directed to cling 
 around the object intended for its future sup- 
 port, so have my earliest and best affections 
 been taught to entwine themselves with the 
 destiny of Charles. Remove the object around
 
 300 SANDRON HALL. 
 
 which the vine has grown, it still will bear the 
 fashion of its education, and to force it other- 
 wise might mar its verdure, perhaps for ever ; 
 thus — thus it is with me. I am wretched, 
 very wretched, and though I feel the necessity 
 of the line of conduct you point out, I own that 
 I have not the power to fulfil it ; to God in his 
 own good time will I pray that I may be blessed 
 with better resolution." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 F. SHOBERL, JUN., PRINTER, 51, RCPERT STREET, HAVMARKKT.