'^y»^K:yyin»i,^vJiu-,Vf'v:—- ' ^ A ''--^^'<^■«*3x*Ki•V<--■■'!'^'- '■'■'-'-' -v'^^^^ Hm^E I f"^'/. y^vv/ > 'yy-i^ , '^ ^, . ^/i^ . ^x ^ ■^ '^ '■«^Atf((^ii^-<* * V ,K-U^' / i V A NOBLE NAME: 3 ^Toi^el. By B. H. BUXTOX AUTHOK OF "JEXXIE OF THE TRINCE'?," ETC. AND W. ^\. FEXX AUTHOH OP "HALF-HOURS OK BLIND MAX'S HOLIDAY," "THK PALETTE AND THE TEN," ETC. WITH OTHEE STOEIES By W. W. FEXX. ly THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : F. V. WHITE & Co., 31, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STEAND. 188-,. Printed by Kelly & Co., London & Kingston. ^^ i ^ B38Gn PEEFACE. To me -it has been a true, albeit a somewhat sad pleasure, to prepare for repubhcation " A Noble Name," the tale with which these volumes open. It was written, alone of all the stories here brought together, in conjunction with Mrs. B. H. Buxton, author of " Jennie of the Prince's." She had made her mark some time before our acquaintance began, and al- though she had always ample employment for her clever pen, she was never too busy during the period of our brief friend- ship, to aid me with her bright suggestions and willing hand. Coming one day upon the early chapters iv. PBEFACE. of this tale, she msisted on our workmg on it together ; I gladly consented : for when and under what circumstances does not a blind man welcome real help and sympathy ? She entered warmly into the scheme, and so, after many a pleasant evening's labour, " A Noble Name " was completed, —with what success others must decide. But only a few days after the last words in the last chapter were penned, the busy brain and tender heart of my kindly, genial fellow-worker were at rest. On the evening of the 30th of March, 1881, with- out pain, without warning, spared all sorrowful farewells, she passed, in a moment, away. A more sympathetic friend it would be hard to find, and in our home she leaves a blank which my wife and I shall never cease to feel. I have only to add that the short PREFACE. V. stories contained in these volumes are similar in character to those which have found such favour with the readers of " Half-Hours of Blind Man's Hohday." W. W. Fenn. Great Mahlborougii Street, January, 1SS3. CONTENTS. HAP. PAGK I. — A Catastrophe ..... i II. — A Letter from Exglaxd ... 19 III. — After Seve.v Years , . . -38 IV.— Misgivings ..... 56 V. — Homeward Bound . . , . .81 VI. — First Impressions .... lOO VII. — Under-Currents . . . . .119 VIII. — Art Progress . . . . .136 IX. — Heart Progress . . . . .167 X. — On the Heigjits of IIampstead . . 194 XI. — The Course of True Love does Run Smooth . 224 XU. — Revelation and Disaster . . , 264 F. V. WHITE & CO.'S SELECT NOVELS Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. each. The following Volumes of the Series a'-e now ready : — MY SISTER the ACTRESS. By Florence Markyat. '" My Sirter the Actress," is the best novel wc have bad the pleasure of reading from the pen of Miss Marryat.' — John Bull. THE DEAN'S WIFE. Bv Mrs. Eiloart. 'Any reader who wants a good story thoroughly vvcil told cannot do better than read " Tlie Deans Wife." '—John Bull. A BROKEN BLOSSOM. By Florence Marryat. ' A really charming story, full of delicate pathos and quiet humour ; ple»isant to read and pleasant to remember.' — John Ball. TWO MEN AND A MAID. By Harriett Jay. 'Compared with the former works of tne authoress of ''The Queen of Conuaught," this novel must be prono meed ^econd to none.' — Oraphic. SWEETHEART AND WIFE. By Lady Constance Howard. 'The story from first to last is attractive, and cannot fail to command wide favour.' — Whitehall Review, A NOBLE NAME. CHAPTER I. A CATASTBOPHE. " r^LOEIOUS ! positively glorious ! The only suggestions of discord, in the harmony of peace and beauty, are the shrill voices of those children at play below. Poor little imps ! Perhaps noise is as essential to their happiness as perfect tranquilHty is to mine ! " Arriving at this charitable conclusion, Hubert Northcroft sighs profoundly; but he does not look at all sad as he stretches himself at full length upon the elastic carpet provided by generous Dame Nature, and leisurely proceeds to VOL. I. A Noble Name, fill and light his long china-bowled pipe. He is a good-looking man ; indeed, he may fairly be described as handsome, and though far on the road to forty, is evidently in his prime. He wears a loose coat of brown velveteen, and a broad-brimmed Tyrolean hat is set on his head with a nonchalant air, which suits the man admirably. His bright blue eyes betray a mirthful spirit, which oddly enough is at variance with a melancholy note in his musical voice. His utterance is slow and deliberate; he has a habit of sighing profoundly, and yet he is of a contented nature, and thoroughly cheerful disposition. It is time, not trouble, which is leaving silver traces in his thick brown beard and curly hair. The first part of the speech above A Catastrophe. 8 recorded is addressed to Nature, who certainly merits the apostrophe, for she is showing herself at her brightest and fairest here. The grumbling addendum is intended for the sympathetic ear of Hubert's wife, who sits on the grass by his side, plying her knitting-needles with an amount of energy that bespeaks an active temperament. Mrs. Northcroft is decidedly a handsome woman still ; though not much younger than her husband. She also has " worn well." Her soft brown eyes are clear and bright, her hair is plentiful, and, as yet, without a trace of the snowy passage of Time. Mrs. Northcroft is energetic by nature ; Hubert is indolent. She acts, while he pauses to reflect, and her promptitude and rapid decision invariably come to aid his more deliberate method of thought and action. B 2 A Noble Name. Most travellers are familiar with the scene on which this pleasant-looking couple are gazing. The picturesque village of Meyringen lies just below the grassy knoll on which they have seated themselves. It is a lovely evening towards the end of June, 1850, and the setting sun is already sending a rosy flush to warm the dazzling whiteness of the eternal snow-peaks on the horizon. The shrill voices of the children play- ing on the slope below are the only sounds that jar upon the sense of universal peace and quiet ; for the distant thud-like echo of the great Eeichenbach Fall, and the occasional tinkle of cow and goat-bells harmonize so pleasantly with time and place, as to create no disturbing element., " It's that small creature with the yellow hair, the baby of the party, that makes- .4 Catastrophe. the greatest noise," observed Mrs. North- croft, after an interval of silence. She has been eagerly watching the merry group beneath her, and this is the conclusion she arrives at. " Look, Hugh ; is she not a little dar- ling, I wish she would come up here. Her hair is just the colour of Lina's. I wonder if her eyes are brown, too." " I wish our Lina was as active as that pretty romp," says Hubert, sending the blue tobacco smoke upwards in delicate cloudlets, and leaning over to get a better view of the children below. " What a contrast that nimble fairy presents to the rest of the vulgar brats," he says. " This Canton is justly famed for the squat ugliness of its female popu- lation, and that makes a golden-haired baby a welcome and delightful exception A Noble Name. to an odious rule. I often pondered on Nature's want of generosity to the Swiss girls, when I was painting here as a student years ago. I little dreamt then that the time would come when I should have a lovely wife and daughter of my own. Heigho ! " Hubert's customary sigh ends his complacent oration, and his blue eyes rest on his comely wife with exceeding tenderness. " I suppose we had better go in and see after our own baby now,"' he adds, puffing more smoke into the air, and evidently most reluctant to move, though he suggests the desirability of doiiicr so. " What would I not give to see Lina as merry and active as that child below. Do you think she is really better for the change, wife ? " The sigh that follows this question in due course is fraught with a certain anxiety this time. A Catastrophe, and something that might be a tear ghtters in Hubert's eyes. " I hope so," says his wife, promptly, and reassuringly. " Lina's health, I think, has improved every day, since we have settled in this glorious mountain air. I fancy she seems to benefit by every breath she draws up here. Do not let us hurry home just yet, Hugh. You know how attentive and devoted nurse is, and I am anxious about you, my dear. I want you to glean fresh inspiration from this magnifi- cent sunset. Take a good long look at it. I confess to being a little disappointed that you have not even begun a sketch this afternoon ; but now if you wish it, I will pack up your ' traps ' and we will hope for as fine a day to-morrow. Then I think you ought to accomplish something." " Che sara sara^' says Hubert, dubiously, A Noble Name. and his wife busies herself in collecting the sketching paraphernalia which litters the grass. " Thanks, my dear," he re- marks, presently, quite content to leave all exertion to his wife, " I knew I should do no good this afternoon ; I might just as well have left all my traps at home. Painting out of doors is very troublesome. You must be thoroughly at your ease and undisturbed to do any good work at all." Looking at Hubert, it seems impossible that he is ever otherwise than at his ease, aud the excuse for idleness appears un- tenable. While Mrs. Norther oft is en- gaged with her packing, her husband's attention wanders from the wide land- scape back to the children below, who have formed a ring and are dancing around the fair-haired child standing in the centre. The game evidentl}^ entitles her to some A Catastrophe. show of adulation ; for her companions bow the knee hke courtiers, while she stands in calm superiority, until the pantomime of the others leads to a little merry burst of song from her. Her sweet child-voice rises pure and clear in the still air, and to Hubert the piping treble of the Swiss melody sounds delicious. " When you have done packing, Letty, I wish you would go and catch that musical fairy and bring her up here. I should like to know what that song is about, and I should like to see if she is as picturesque as she appears at this distance. Perhaps I might paint her. I think she would make a pretty picture if I took time and trouble about it, and I have nothing particular to do here. What a ruddy contrast to our pale maiden at home, eh, wife?" 10 A Noble Name. This time again Hubert's sigh is regret- ful ; fur his only child, as has been hmted, is very delicate and causes her parents constant anxiety. Mrs. North- croft, conscious of the gloom settling on her husband, hastens to divert his atten- tion by obeying his behest. She is lithe of limb, strong and active, and runs nimbly down the slope to where the childish party is assembled, and after a short confabulation with the eldest of them, she returns, leading the " fairy " by the hand. Hubert has watched all her proceedings, with a lazy patient air of interest, so she leads the little girl towards him, he raises himself, and leisurely taking his pipe in one hand, he stretches the other towards the small child, whom he welcomes with a beam- ing smile, and addresses in perfect Ger- A Catastrophe. 11 man. He lias spent so many years of his life abroad, that he has mastered many continental languages. " What fine games you have been playing all this long sunny afternoon, little one,'' he says pleasantly. "Do you think you can give me a kiss now, to thank me for not scolding you when you made such a terrible noise down there ? You disturbed me so much that I could not w^ork at all. Are you not sorry ? " The child laughs saucily. '• You must play too," she lisps. " All work makes Peter discontent!" Hubert is intensely amused by this gravely delivered speech. "This is Miss Precocious," he says to his wife in English. " Speak ee-ze Engliss," announces the " fairy." She has a sweet, merry face, 12 A Noble Name. and looks very kissable. She stretches up her small hands now and begins to play with the great bunch of seals and trinkets attached to Hubert's Avatch-chain. He regards her attentively the while, and says to his wife, " She is a juvenile Hebe. What limbs she has, and what a bonnie face. Pity soap seems an unknown quantity in her toilette arrangements. I should like to see her properly groomed, her hair is as silky as Lina's and quite as bright ; but what a tangle ! " "I am sure she has no mother to look after her, poor mite," says Mrs. North- croft, with ready compassion. " I shall go into the village and inquire about her belongings. How old art thou, Hebe KleineV " I am three years old to-day ; that is why I was made into a birthday queen," A Catastrophe. 13 says Kleine, with an air of conscious im- portance. " Just Lina's age," remarks Hubert, pon- dering. " And where dost thou live ? " he asks, presently. " Why down there ! " she says, promptly, and points to an isolated chalet beyond the village beneath them. " Is that your parents' house ? " asks Hubert. " Father's house," says the child ; " dear mammy's gone away to heaven." The little lip quivers and sudden tears cloud the bright eyes. •^Tlie tear down childhood's cheek that flows Is like the dew-drop on the rose ; A\'hen next the summer breeze comes by, And shakes the bush, the flower is dry." " You were right, as usual, wife," says Hubert, and stoops again to kiss the pretty blonde head. 14 A Noble Name. " And what is your name, Kleine ? " " 'Lisbeth Freundlein," says she, nothing loth to answer questions, while she is permitted to play with those marvellous trinkets on the watch-chain. " 'Lisbeth Freundlein — Freundlein — Freundlein," repeats Hubert, making the harmonious syllables into a phrase of song. "It is a quaint euphonious name," he says to his wife, and she replies " It suits the dainty maid exactly." Hubert has lifted the child on his arm now, and her head nestles against his shoulder with the ease of perfect confi- dence. " Adieu, Hebe 'Lisbeth, Hebe, Hebe Kleine, 'Lisbeth Freundlein," he whispers. " It is time to go home now. Will you run down to your friends, birthday queen ? " As he A Catastrophe. 15 speaks he glances at her playfellows on the lower slope. But what is happening there? A sudden stampede has occurred. The children are rushing away in all directions, scurrying down the further slopes as fast as their feet will carry them. Away, away towards the road which traverses the valley and leads to the Grimsel Pass. Along this path a man is running at full speed. He shouts vociferously, he waves his arms, and seems carried on by a very whirlwind of excitement. " 'Lisbeth must run too," cries the child decisively, and slipping out of Hubert's arm she in her turn scuds away, down one slope after another. "What can have happened to cause all this commotion ? " says Mrs. Northcroft anxiously, and both she and her husband 16 A Noble Na me. watch the proceedings of that eager, excited messenger, who is gesticulating fiercely as he tells his tidings to the interested villagers in the street below. The men, when they have heard him, disappear within their houses, only to return a few minutes later, laden with poles, ropes, and ladders. Thus armed, eight or ten of them return with the herald of danger, and in a body they hurry away towards the Grimsel Pass. The women and children follow at greater or less speed. Hubert has taken the burden of traps from his wife's willing hand. " Let us go and inquire what has happened," he says ; but it is the lady who sets forth at a brisk pace, while he follows leisurely. " I do hope it is nothing very dreadful," she says, looking grave. " You follow. A Catastrophe. 17 Hugh, dear. I must hasten to see if I can be of any use." " Some of those fool - hardy climbers come to grief again, no doubt," says Hubert, sighing in commiseration. "What a deplorable mania people have for getting a-top of every mountain they see. And it all looks so much better and is so much more satisfactory from a reasonable dis- tance. I should like to put a chain round their legs when they talk of . . . ." Hubert, who had been soliloquizing in his usual meditative fashion, now perceives that his wife is already quite out of ear- shot, and actually prepares himself to catch her up by quickening his easy stride. They reach the long, narrow street, the one street of the village, just as the last rays of the setting sun fade from the sur- rounding snow-peaks, leaving them pale VOL. I. c 18 A Noble Name. and ghastly, like dead embers of the great crimson fire, which but a moment ago had expired on their crests. The grey shades of evening are creeping upwards from the valley, and approach the sides of the mighty mountains tenderly. But the peace which usually settles down upon the homes of the frugal Switzers at this hour, is wanting to-night. The villagers are met in the street, the women's voices sound shrill and eager, wild exclamations and sharp replies rise above the murmur of the expectant crowd, and at the entrance to the courtyard of their hotel, the Northcrofts find that the hubbub is greatest, and opine that here at last the nature of the catastrophe will l)e revealed to them. CHAPTER II. A LETTER FROM ENGLAND. TN crossing the Grimsel, one of a party of adventurous climbers had fallen over a precipice. That is all the news the Northcrofts manage to obtain on their return to the hotel. The guide, who had been sent down to the village for assist- ance had not stayed to give any details. He reahzed the urgency of what was re- quired of him too thoroughly to lose any time in explanations, and he may have been animated by the conviction that the practical aid he carried to those in distress would avert fatal consequences after all. Hours must elapse before the reUef party c 2 20 A Noble Name. could return to Meyringen and bring more detailed accounts of the calamity which had befallen one of the travellers. Mrs. Northcroft, having brought little Lina to father for a good-night kiss and blessing, expressed an earnest desire to sit up in the nursery all night, so that she might be dressed and ready to help whenever the sufferer should be carried home ; but Hubert vehemently opposed this " folly," and, by dint of quiet coaxing, persuaded his energetic wife to go to bed and leave philanthropy to others on this occasion. Hubert slept soundly all night ; but his wife listened anxiously for the footsteps that never came. Towards morning she fell into an uneasy slumber and dreamed she was back in her cosy artistic home in Munich again, and that she rushed to the rescue only just in time to catch little Lina A Letter from England. 21 in her arms, who was falling out of the nursery window. Mr. and Mrs. Northcroft had journeyed to Switzerland by easy stages and with a double purpose. The old doctor recom- mended mountain air for delicate Lina, and Alpine scenery was the one thing needful (so he said) to make Hubert attack his work with renewed vigour again. During the previous spring and summer he had painted some admirable landscapes in Tyrol ; but the autumn and winter were spent in making plans, and his wife ardently desired to see these visions assume a more tangible shape at last. The happy trio had but lately arrived at Meyringen, and so early in the season there were but few tourists abroad. Thirty years ago their number, at the most crowded part of the year, was far less 22 A Noble Name. than in these days of mountain railroads and easy locomotion, and it was quite possible • to enjoy peace and quiet, even at the principal hotel of this, one of the chief starting-points for Alpine . climbers. No further news of the accident reached Mrs. Northcroft in her room, and when she went downstairs she was glad to hnd that she and her husband w^ere the sole occu- pants of the large salle a manger ■; for Karl, the active kellnei\ would be able to devote himself to them and could surely tell them all the news of which he was the chief purveyor. " A letter, wife ! " cries Hubert, in evident astonishment, as he takes up an envelope that lies beside his breakfast plate. " A letter from home — my old home, I mean, and forwarded from Munich by Schmidt." A Letter from England. 23 " A letter from your brother Stephen ? " asks Mrs. Northcroft, surprised in her turn, but not pleasantly, and as she speaks there is a slight compression of her full, sensitive lips. " What can he want from you, Hugh, after these years of silence ? ' ' " You were going to say neglect, wife," remarks Hubert, with his easy smile and deliberate tone of conviction. " Well, if he has neglected me, voila the amende honorable. Behold ! one, two, three sheets, six pages, and all clearly written. Dear wife, take pity on me. I hate reading letters, as you know. I wonder what could have induced Stephen to take so much trouble. Do you think it was done to give me trouble in my turn ? " " Hardly," says Mrs. Northcroft, smiling pleasantly at her husband's appeal, and the melancholy look which accompanies it. 24 A Noble Name, " Take your coffee, Hugh, and I will read you the wonderful epistle, while mine cools. " Pine ridge Priory, Torshire, "June Pith. " Dear Hubert, — Yesterday, I read in the Torshire Chronicle with strangely mixed feelings, an account purporting to be ex- tracted from the Cologne Gazette, Avhich gives an elaborate description of a land- scape painted by you and now said to be publicly exhibited in Munich. 1 repeat, I read this account with mixed feelings, but I must at once admit that I was not agreeably impressed. For though the critic quoted spoke in such laudatory terms of your work that 1 could not fail to be somewhat gratified, 1 certainly should have desired that our name might never be publicly associated with any such A Letter from England. 25 labours as yours ; indeed, it caused me a pang to think that the editor of our lead- ing county paper should have the power to draw the eyes of the world to this derogatory fact — here, on my very thres- hold. I still maintain, as I have ever done, that one descended from so proud a line of ancestors as ours, is degraded by pursuing the trade of a painter. Diplo- macy, the Army, or the Church, can alone afibrd such opportunities for distinction as betit a younger son of the Xorthcrofts. However successful you may eventually be in the calling you have chosen to adopt, I shall never cease to regret that your tastes should have led you to so lowly — I may even say so unworthy a pursuit." Mrs. Northcroft pauses, and that odd compression of her lips is more evident 26 A Noble Name. than before. " Am I to read any more of these insults, Hugh?" she asks, her fine eyes flashing and an angry frown con- tracting her brow. " If you please, my dear," says Hubert, with a weary sigh and an amused smile. ^' There must be some motive for so much brotherly display of interest. Let me hear the rest of the good wishes and back- handed compliments." With an impatient gesture, Mrs. North- croft continues — " As you certainly have made some mark, however, I thought I should be wanting in that courtesy which I esteem my first duty to friend and foe, if I failed to acknowledge what you no doubt con- sider a triumph. I cannot honestly say that I congratulate you ; but I wish you A Letter from England. 27 to know that I am aware of your ^ucce,ss, such as it is. I address my letter to Munich ; but as I have not heard from you since you wrote to tell me of your marriage, and the subsequent birth of your daughter, it is doubtful whether this epistle will ever reach you. I hope it may do so, however; for I shall be glad to hear that you and yours are well, and I also wish to assure you that if you at any time feel inclined to return to England, a welcome and a suite of rooms are ready for you in the old home. That at least is unaltered. It looks much as it did in the life-time of our honoured parents. I always objected to change, as you know, but in these levelling days it requires a strong will and a resolute hand to ward off the baneful spirit of innovation. " You will be sorry to hear that 1 can 28 A Noble Name. give you no better account of my son's sight. Indeed, tlie first prediction of the oculists consulted in his infancy is realised ; he is absolutely blind now. This is a source of infinite trouble to me, for he is a handsome intelligent boy, and in course of time might have become a credit- able lieir to the high position his name entitles him to take. But alas! what chance is tliere for him > He has to be educated through his sense of hearing, and his fingers are his eyes. Instead of being taught to use the cricket-bat, or ride to hounds, he will grow up as help- less and useless as a baby, and even a daughter might eventually be better able to manage these great estates, and to up- hold our noble name in the county, than my unfortunate son will ever be. He does not appear to suffer any pain, or to A Letter from England. 29 be personally distressed by his affliction. This seems the more extraordinary to me, as I find his helplessness and inactivity a continual source of o-rief and vexation. Let me hear from you soon, and believe me, " Your affectionate brother, " Stephen Nokthceoft." " A very affectionate brother, eh, wife ? " says Hubert, setting down his empty coffee- cup, and sighing as he smiles ; " and lie actually wrote all that because the sight of my name in a newspaper reminded him of my existence ; well, well ! " " I think it is bad — bad," says Mrs. Northcroft, sharply. " He has surely lived long enough to know better. WJry does he not enlarge his cramped provincial ideas? Why does he not learn that painting is a noble and elevating pursuit? 30 A Noble Name. Why does he . . ? . . . Why does he not love and pity that poor dear blind boy of his ? " Hubert interrupts her with more eager- ness of speech and mind than he is wont to show. " Why ? Because Stephen Northcroft is as little able to understand and sympa- thise with his son and his affliction as with his brother the artist, and with an artist's aspirations. Diplomacy? A fine diplomatist I should have made, indeed. You know, Letty, what a capital hand I am at managing my own affairs. Eh ? " '• Yes ; I know," she answers, laying a caressing hand on his. " You have not even learnt to check your own bills yet, and if I did not look after you, you would always pay anything that anybody asked you." A Letter from England. 31 " So long as I had the money, I certainly should," says Hubert. " It would save a lot of trouble in the end and avoid all sorts of discussion. " The alternative your generous brother suggests is hardly a suitable one either,"^ says the loving wife, looking proudly at her husband. " Your figure would never have appeared to such advantage in a shell jacket as it does in your painting coat." " I cannot fancy myself in a cut-throat collar, either," says Hubert, putting his hand under his beard and grasping the bare muscular throat which rises above the artistic turn-down strip of linen. " I fear this aristocratic, high and mighty Sir Stephen will have to make the best of his noble name being dabbled in paint, after all," says Mr<. Northcroft^ 32 A Noble Name. and with some bitterness she adds : " Your brother writes as if you Avere a house- painter, instead of ranking you among the first of living landscape painters." " Ah ! there's no knowing what 1 may do with a fond, encouraging wife to pat me on the back," says Hubert, chuckling ; *' but there is little doubt that Stephen does consider a picture painter, and a putty and glazier chap as very nearly akin. Well, wife, if we ever do make up our minds to go to England, we will stay at the Priory, and convert this in- artistic heathen, but that won't be for some time yet." At this moment, Karl, the dapper little kellner^ makes his appearance to clear away the breakfast things. The Herr- schaften were too much engaged with their correspondence to heed him when he A Letter from England. 33 brought the coffee ; but now he has a chance of imparting the news he has just heard in the courtyard. "The Herrschaften will be grieved to hear," he says, speaking in his own tongue, " that the bad news brought last night was only too true. A life was lost on the pass, but not the life of one of the strangers ; it was a guide who was killed." And then, with exceeding volubility and lively pantomime, Karl relates the tragedy as he has just heard it. " It was in saving the life of a reckless — alas ! a too fool-hardy Englishman that the brave guide was killed. The gentle- man had set his heart on plucking a spray of edelweis, which only grows at a certain altitude, and perceiving the flower in question, he determined to defy the cautions of his guide, and risk crossing a VOL. I. D 34 A Noble Name. certain ledge which he was told was dangerous. When he had reached the spot where the flower grew, he saw a finer specimen beneath him and he bent over to seize that also ; but the place was a horrible one — quite a precipice they tell me. I do not know, I never visit these traps for human lives myself. Of course this obstinate Englander lost his head and he became too terrified to move. His guide, seeing his distress, made haste to go to his rescue ; but the ledge of rock is narrow, and there is not room for two upon it. Then the guide, who was a brave noble spirit — ah ! I knew him well — he was full of a great courage — balances himself on a sharp point of overhanging rock — a piece like a knife, they say — ugh ! and he leans over, holds a helping hand to the traveller, and so A Letter from England. 35 saves him ; but as he himself turns, his foot slips. Ah ! . /' Here Karl pauses for a moment, noting the effect he produces with critical appre- ciative eyes. *' And he falls ? " cries Mrs. Norther oft, whose face has become very pale. " That would not have mattered, not at all, Madame," says Karl, enjoying her emotion ; " for, of course, the poor fellow is tied by a rope around his waist. But, ah ! the rope is rotten, and the jerk he gives it when he almost loses his balance breaks it in two, and he falls, falls thou- sands of feet — down, down, only to be picked up, crushed — bleeding — dead." " Mamma, mamma, why are you so frightened ? " lisps a small voice at Mrs. Northcroft's elbow, and loving arms are lifted to the mother's neck. It is little D 2 36 A Noble Name. Lina who has crept into the salle-a-manger unperceived, and who knows too little German to follow the patois in which Karl relates his tragic history. "The guide, he leaves a poor little girl — a pretty child with hair like your little Fraulein's there," says Karl, sorrow- fully. " And now that poor orphan is all alone in the world." "What was his name, poor fellow — poor fellow ? " asked Hubert, compassion- ately. " Oscar Freundlein," answers Karl. " A friend of mine, and a noble man in his life — good, brave, and true ; indeed he deserved a better fate. And now that little orphan is without kith or kin, and almost friendless in the world." " Not friendless, surely, while we can help," says Hubert to his wife in English. A Letter front England. 37 And as though reahzing the lonehness of the orphan child, he takes his own little daughter in his arms and briefly tells her the story ; then he kisses her tenderly and adds, " We will be the lonely maiden's friends, won't we, Lina darling ? " And Lina, with her gentle smile and her old-fashioned grave manner, answers : " We will do whatever you think best, dear father." -m CHAPTER III. AFTK1{ 8EVKX YKAIiS, nPHE fame of the great picture painted by Hubert Northcroft, a faint echo of which had reached England, and the ears of his brother Stephen, was but the first of a series of triumphs. Cheered and encouraged by the reception of more ambitious efforts on his part, Hubert con- tinued to paint and exhibit with repeated and increasing success. Some record of his achievements always found its way into the TorsJiire Chronicle now, and thus came under the notice of the owner of Pineridge, and was remembered, if not remarked upon, by that austere person- After Seven Years. 39 age. Having broken the ice of estrange- ment by recognising his brother's existence in the letter received at Meyringen, Sir Stephen felt that he had amply fulfilled the requirements of that courtesy which he made a point of practising towards " friend and foe." Hubert responded to this considerate advance on the part of the county magnate by a short letter in which he stated that his time was fully occupied by the pursuit of that profession which was now a joy as well as a necessity to him. For the present he said he could neither spare the time nor the money required for a journey to England. In the course of a few years, however, he hoped to re-visit his old home and would then thankfully avail himself of his brother's proffered hospitality. To write a letter required a far greater effort than Hubert 40 A Noble Name. at any time felt himself equal to ; but that useful help-mate of his was as ready Avith her pen as with any other assistance required by her indolent and exacting lord in all practical matters. He was always at work now ; he painted all day and every day. What more natural than that she should undertake all other duties for him ? Sir Stephen was inclined to resent the fact that Hubert dictated his letters instead of writing them ; but then the elder brother always cavilled at the short-comings of the younger. He read the frequent accounts of Hubert's artistic successes in the same deprecating spirit in which he received the first mention of his brother's name in print. The fact that a JSTorthcroft had turned painter was in itself derogatory ; but the younger Northcroft's distinction in his profession made the thought of it less dis- After Seven Years. 41 tasteful after a time. In some measure Hubert's success now began to atone for the years of idleness, the careless Bohemian existence he had led during his protracted stay on the Continent. To the grave owner of Pineridge, the time his brother spent abroad appeared recklessly dissipated, and he never anticipated any but bad results from it. It was that laudatory paragraph in the Tor shire Chronicle which first opened his prejudiced eyes to the fact that some sort of distinction might be obtained even by a painter. The subsequent ac- counts of Hubert's reception at the court of Bavaria, and of visits paid to his studio by Serene Highnesses, Titled Excellencies, and other exalted personages, served to reconcile Sir Stephen still more to the pro- fession his brother had adopted. But even in these pleasing details the proud senior 42 A Noble Name. found a source of shame and annoyance ; for they were followed by statements of the important commissions undertaken by the artist, and the high prices he now obtained for his work. To Sir Stephen the fact that his brother actually worked for money, was paid for the labour of his brain and hands, Avas intolerable. It appeared a positive degradation, and painting seemed even less dignified than trading. In the latter case a merchant simply handled money ; in the former, he actually worked for it like any mechanic. Time, the universal healer, and Hubert's continued prosperity, served, in due course, to overcome the first violence of Sir Stephen's displeasure, and finally he came to allude to " my brother the artist," or " my brother's successful pic- After Seven Years. 48 ture," with something approaching satis- faction. It was twenty years now since young Hubert, in a fit of desperate rebellion against his exacting father and prim dictatorial elder brother, had fled from his home and his country, and sought refuge from the tyranny which bound him hand and foot, in the delightful freedom of the laisser-aller existence led by art students on the Continent. The news of his father's death and his brother's inheritance of the title and property did not tempt Hubert to return to England ; but the small ])atrimony he now inherited as younger son enabled him to live in comparative comfort, and to pursue with ease the profession to which his taste and inclination led him. The monetary arrangements were con- 44 A Noble Name. ducted by Sir Stephen's solicitor and bankers in London, and their agents in Paris, and there was little or no com- munication between the brothers for years. It was the announcement in the Times of Sir Stephen's marriage, with the daughter of a neighbouring landowner and J. P. of Torshire, that brought a letter of congratulation from Hubert, and soon after this epistle had been answered, the artist again broke the silence which was lengthening into estrangement, by the announcement of his own marriage to Letitia Bryant, the daughter of a retired English officer, who lived in Munich on half pay. This communica- tion was followed a year after by another letter in which Hubert, proud and exult- ing, informed the head of the family that a daughter had been born to the After Seven Years. 45 house of Norther oft. As Sir Stephen answered but coldly to these ebullitions of feeling, a fresh silence ensued, and all the brothers knew of one another's doings were the important facts that both were married and each had a child. Joy in the advent of an heir at Pineridge however had been damped at once by the sad revelation that baby Philip, whose birth had cost his mother her life, was likely to lose his eyesight before he could know what eyesight was. The next news that the wanderer Hubert received from England was in the letter which we have read, and which followed him on his Swiss tour, and contained those left-handed congratu- lations which provoked the ire of high- spirited Letitia. Formal as it was, that 46 A Noble Name. epistle had certainly narrowed the breach between the brothers ; and during the six years following its receipt, letters occasionally passed between them. Those six years had been spent by Hubert in ceaseless and arduous work ; for though he lost much time in theo- rising, and more still in grumbling amiably, he managed to work as well. The holiday he spent in Switzerland seemed to have given him fresh impetus, and the cheering companionship of his high-minded, energetic wife encouraged him to persevere now, where he would erst have yielded to his natural indo- lence. He was thoroughly acclimatized in Munich by this time, and it was from this quaint home of Teutonic art that the Englishman sent forth those pictures to the exhibitions in Paris, Vienna, and After Seven Years. 47 other Continental centres, which, in time, secured for him an European reputation. It is a bright, clear, January morning, between six and seven years since we first saw our friends on the slopes at Meyringen. It is frosty, keen, and in- spiriting out of doors, snug and comfort- able within the capacious light studio, heated as it is by the china-tiled stove in the far corner. Close by the fire, Mrs. Northcroft is sitting, busy with her knitting as usual. (How many pairs of socks has she made since first we beheld her thus occupied among the Swiss mountains ?) Hubert, palette and mahlstick in one hand, brush in the other, stands before the large, half- covered canvas to which he devotes every hour of the now precious day- light. 48 A Noble Name. " This clump of firs in the foreground, and the path that leads away towards the stream, always remind me of Torshire," he says, as he examines his work. " When I was a small boy, I used to go fishing in a brook something like that, which is within a mile of the Priory." "I wonder if I shall ever see your old home, Hugh," says his wife, smiling up at him ; " I know you would like me to visit all your old haunts with you." " Indeed I should, wife," said he, straight- ening himself and adjusting his palette ; " and there are times when the thought of my brother all alone in that great house with his poor blind boy, makes me quite melancholy. It does seem sad that Stephen and I, brothers as we are, and the only two representatives left out of a once large and united family, should be permanently After Seven Years. 49 estranged. He, living in England in soli- tary grandeur, I, leading a busy, happy life in the home made so cheerful for me by you, wife, and our Fairy. I really think it is quite time now that we should take some active steps towards a reconcilia- tion, and since Stephen has offered us hospitahty in the old home, let us accept it. I think I can manage to get away this year, and as soon as I receive the money from Graf von Stein for this commission, I should like to try my hand at English land- scape for a change. Let us settle to leave Munich in May, wife. Lina will enjoy the journey, too, and her bhthe companionship is sure to be a pleasure and comfort to that unfortunate bhnd lad. It positively makes my heart ache to think of him." This speech is followed by a profound sigh, of course, and Hubert's blue eyes turn VOL. I. E 50 A Noble Name. towards his wife in wistful appeal. There is more white hair on his head and in his beard, and a slight increase of emhoniDoint and wrinkles, but there is also the same neglige style of attire, and quite as bright and kind an expression on the pleasant face as ever. " I fear you and your brother are not at all likely to agree, after all these years," says Mrs. Norther oft, anxiously. " Your views on all subjects seem so dissimilar now." " They always were, my dear," says Hubert. "And upon my word it is only natural," he adds with a laugh, " that Stephen should be horrified with my mode of life. The sole aim of his existence has always been to keep up the dignity of the Northcroft family, and my erratic existence and devotion to a profession have outraged After Seven Years. 51 his fine old provincial prejudices, of course. It was trying for him no doubt that I, his only brother, should prefer a continental life and the society of slovenly artists, with long beards and short pipes, to the stilted respectability of the county folks with whom it is his ' pride and pleasure ' to associate. Oh ! Letty, what a stupid lot those provincial magnates seemed to me ! Never a word to say except about horse- racing, fox-hunting — scent, coverts, coveys, turnips, or partridges ! Can human in- genuity devise a more terrific ordeal of boredom, eh ? " " And you are willing to expose yourself to such suffering again, Hugh, and all for your aristocratic brother's sake ? " Mrs. Northcroft looks up with a questioning smile, and her husband goes near to where she is sitting and possesses himself of her E 2 ,Y OF lUlfiUU 52 A Noble Name. hands to the serious detriment of her knitting. "I long to show you the old home, the old ancestral home of the North crofts, as Stephen so proudly calls it," he says, and looks tenderly into the quiet earnest face of the woman he honestly loves and respects ; "it certainly was a wise dis- pensation of Providence," he says medi- tatively, " that gave Stephen the priority in our distinguished family. He is the right man in the right place. The title and the estate both fit him admirably. Eesponsibility is the salt of his serious life. I could never have kept the place up properly, or the tenants, or the accounts, in proper order ; but I admire the man who can, and who does do all these things, and I really believe that he is mollified about my Bohemian tendencies, since people have After Seven Years. 53 begun to make such a fuss about my pictures. We shall get on better now than ever before, my dear anxious wife. And I should like you to write to Stephen this very day, and propose our visit to him. Letters are no trouble to you, are they ? " " If I do write, I had surely better explain the whole truth to him, Hugh," says Mrs. Xorthcroft, with a rapid glance towards her husband, which looks almost like entreaty. " Tut, tut, my dear," says he promptly. " What is the use of bothering. You don't know the man, or you would never suggest any sort of explanation. Leave well alone ! " "Ah! but will it be well?" queries Mrs. Northcroft, and this time the sigh — and a very deep one — is hers. "Here is our darling, our Fairy and 54 A Noble Name. Sunshine ! " exclaims Hubert, evidently- relieved as he hears the patter, patter of Lina's little feet on the polished floor of the corridor without. *'And how went school, and the lessons, and the pastors, and masters, and mississes ? " he asks the little one, whose rosy cheeks glow with health and frost, and who jumps into his arms with all a child's glad abandon at a real home- coming. " My darling — my sweet little Lina," he says, kissing her fondly. "Tell me, would you like to go a long journey with mother and father — a journey to old England?" " Oh ! yes ; yes ; yes ; " cries the child, dehghted. All children love change and look forward to it with happiest anticipa- tions. Of the trio in the studio at After Seven Years. 55 Munich, Mrs. Northcroft is the only one who thinks of the journey to England with unspoken, but ever-increasing doubts and fears. M^f CHAPTER IV. MISGIVINGS. A LTHOUGH Sir Stephen Northcroft received the announcement of his brother's intended visit to the home of his fathers with more complacency than might have been expected some years previously, the subsequent telegram, which told of Hubert Northcroft's safe arrival in Dover, produced considerable trepidation in the well-balanced mind of the baronet. A meeting between brothers so long separated, and whose parting had been by no means amicable, could not fail to agitate a person with so profound a re- gard for conventionalities. Sir Stephen, after much hesitation and with many mis- Misgivings. 57 givings, had resolved to acknowledge his brother's success in that derogatory pro- fession of his ; but the general invitation to the Priory, with which he had wound up more than one of his " courteous " letters of late, had been but an expres- sion of polite consideration, and he was greatly surprised and not a Httle per- plexed, when, after a lapse of years, he found that invitation cordially accepted, and heard to his dismay that the Hubert family would probably appear at Tor- chester station on a certain day in the approaching June. Had Sir Stephen ever seriously contemplated the actual arrival of these unwelcome relations, he would certainly have been more guarded in his expressions of hospitable intent. Now, as the telegram told however, they had set foot on English soil, and no alternative 58 A Noble Na me. was left to the baronet but to meet his self-exiled brother as pleasantly as possible. The prospect was in no sense an agree- able one. Indeed, Sir Stephen mentally- shuddered as it so closely confronted him. He had exposed himself to receive and to entertain these strangers for an indefi- nite period perhaps, who certainly could have nothing in common with him person- ally ; nor with any of the county people who were his usual associates. The habits, manners, and customs of these quasi savages would be utterly distasteful to him, of course. They would offend against his rigid notions of decorum every hour. Hubert had always been utterly regardless of appearances m the old days, and the unsettled manner of life he had led was not likely to have improved him in any way. He never could be brought Misgivings. 59 to pay that deference to the small pro- prieties of daily life, which to Sir Stephen had become as precious as religious obser- vances. If he was a harum-scarum fellow when he lived with gentlemen in a re- fined home, what would he be now after associating for years with those rebels against the social code yclept artists? Sir Stephen was absolutely horror- struck as he contemplated the proximate invasion of his stately home by these ill- mannered savages. They would probably expect to dine at mid-day, and would regard the choice evening repast by which the master of Pineridge set great store as — supper. Atrocious ! And they would have dis- gusting German notions anent the prepar- ation of those dishes for which the baronet's cuisine was justly famed through- 60 A Noble Name, out the county. They would add sugar to their cutlets perhaps, and vinegar to bread sauce. The dinner-hour, which was wont to be a very welcome one in the baronet's monotonous life, was now likely to turn into a social martyrdom, and the presence of a lady at his table, which ordinarily afforded pleasure to the courtly Sir Stephen, was now anticipated with misgivings akin to dread. For w^hat man- ner of person was Mrs. Hubert likely to be? An English woman by birth, yes ; and the daughter of an officer ; but then she had probably spent the greater part of her life in Germany, and the fact of her accepting so uncouth a husband as Hubert spoke little in favour of her refinement, according to Sir Stephen's views. At best she would turn out an unpresentable Misgivings. 61 haus frau., having foreign predilections for sauer-kraut and black bread, and addicted to the frequent exercise of do- mestic and even menial occupations. These were favourite pursuits among the female Teutons, and they actually prided themselves on rivalling their cooks. Mirahile dictui Would Mrs. Hubert think it a part of her duty to go down into the kitchen, to interfere with the maids, and, perhaps, even to dictate to the for- midable Mrs. Euskett herself? Mrs. Euskett was housekeeper at Pine- ridge, and, having managed matters entirely to her own satisfaction for many years past, was little likely to brook any interference with her prerogatives now. She, at all events, would be quite able to hold her own, thought Sir Stephen, with a deprecat- ing shrug of his shoulders. The question 62 A Noble Name. was whether he should succeed as well vis-a-vis with this strange sister-in-law of his. And how about the ladies in the neigh- bourhood — the wives and daughters of his friends ? They would be sure to call upon this Mrs. Hubert. Women are always so meddlesome and inquisitive — what sort of impression would the strangers make upon them? A faint perspiration broke out on the high white forehead of the aristocratic master of Pineridge as he conjured up these terrors in his well-regulated mind, and then he bethought himself of Hubert's daughter Lina, an unkempt little brat, no doubt, as German in her manners as her name sounded. How old was she now? About four years younger than Philip, and he was just fourteen. They would be playfellows, these cousins ! Misgivings. 63 At the remembrance of this relationship. Sir Stephen came to a sort of halt in his dreary reflections. It was quite distressing to think that this little foreigner, child of an unknown mother, could claim blood relationship with the sole heir of the Northcrofts. Perhaps this girl might turn out a very doubtful associate for the lad. But then, alas! nothing mattered much where helpless, useless Philip was concerned. His keen dislike to society, and inability to join in its ordinary pursuits, always kept him entirely in the background. Such was the tenor of Sir Stephen's per- plexing thoughts as he realized the now approaching consequences of his ill-con- sidered offers at hospitality. His brother's telegram had been handed to him in his- dressing-room, and he had to make quite an effort to conceal the agitation with 64 A Noble Name. which the sudden announcement had filled him. It had taken away all appetite for his breakfast ; and, as he entered the oak-panelled morning-room in which it was laid, he was still too pre-occupied by the contents of the pink paper he carried in his hand to heed or reply to the gentle " Good-morning, father," which came from the occupant of a chair at the further end of the table. There was a slight acceleration in Sir Stephen's long, slow steps, and perhaps there was a degree less steadiness in the measured footfall ; for, after a moment's attentive pause, Philip, who had been listening anxiously, asked — "Are you not well, father, or are you troubled ? " This gentle inquiry immediately recalled the baronet to himself, and with a peremp- Misgivings. 65 toiy movement, which seemed to indicate displeasure, he answered, " Don't talk nonsense, Philip. I wish you would not give way to such ridiculous fancies. Of course I am quite well, and there is nothing whatever the matter." Philip was silenced, but not convinced ; and the stress his father laid upon his last words confirmed the sensitive lad's previous impression. Sir Stephen then rang the bell for prayers ; and while the servants, led by imposing Mrs. Euskett the housekeeper, assemble in due form, a few words about the head of this well-organized household and his son, may not be out of place. Sir Stephen's marriage, like most of the actions of his decorous life, was an affair of keen reflection and ample consideration. His bride elect was an only child, heiress TOL. I. F 66 A Noble Name. to an old and wealthy landowner, and herself by no means in the first flush of youth. Aware that the head of the house of Northcroft had married her chiefly with a view to perpetuating the time-honoured noble name, Lady North- croft soon began to fret at the non-fulfil- ment of her grave husband's hopes, and he did not scruple to reproach her for the chagrin this disappointment caused him. Proportionately great was the joy mani- fested at Pineridge when, after some years of weary waiting and ceaseless disappointment, I^ady Xorthcroft dis- covered that there was at last a chance of her presenting Sir Stephen with an heir, and greater still was the rejoicing with which a son was welcomed in the '-an- cestral halls of his fathers" — (this was Sir Stephen's favourite formula). But, alas ! his Misgivings. 67 arrogant satisfaction was but of short duration; for Nature resented the cares of maternity which came so late in hfe upon Lady Northcroft, who only survived the birth of her boy a few weeks, and was fortunately saved from hearing the terrible doubt whispered by the nurse and doctors as to her little one's eyesight. The best skill that London could afford was sought to bring the light of science and experience to bear upon those sight- less orbs. Many experiments were made, many hard names were pronounced in diagnosing the disorder, but the result was ever the same. The child's sight was failimr him alreadv, and in course of time he was doomed to be blind. This verdict plunged the unhappy widower into the depths of despondency, and, in addition to his ordinarily morose F 2 68 A Noble Name. qualities, he now exliited a futile but bitter resentment, the brunt of which fell upon the luckless boy who was its innocent cause. For a time proud Sir Stephen re- fused to believe that he, the head of the house of Northcroft, could be subjected to so cruel a subversion of all the laws which govern existence; and when the fact was brought home to him by the vacant star- ing of those wide-open sightless baby eyes, he still thought that money — omnipotent money — could surely exempt so wealthy a man as himself from the afflictions to which less distinguished mortals are liable ; and he was fairly astounded (as well he might be) that in the nineteenth century the resources of science were powerless when brought face to face with this par- ticular form of the grave affliction of blindness. Misgivings. 6t) Sir Stephen's secret but growing resent- ment at the mysterious ordinations of Pro- vidence unfortunately merged into cold indifference towards his unlucky son. He*. soon taught himself to regard the blindf boy as a nonentity, and at times seemed scarcely aware of his existence. It was unnatural, and pitiable at the same time... to note the cruel indifference which Sir- Sir Stephen showed to the child who so^ patiently endured a lasting loss which nothing could replace, and which would surely have entitled him to universal com- passion and the sympathy of all his fellow- creatures. But the child's affliction har- dened the father's heart instead of soften- ing it. He was too dignified, and far too courteous a person to manifest the resent- ment slumbering within him by any out- ward harshness of speech or manner. The 70 A Noble Name. owner of Pineridge was always too much on his guard to speak harshly, and would as soon have thought of getting into a tliird-class railway carriage as into a pas- sion. He contented himself with evinc- ing his disgust passively only, but often and often he wished that the boy lay buried beside his mother, and ^vished it with a concentrated passion that would have amazed himself had he realised its intensity. If Philip were dead his father would be free to wed again, and then a son after his own heart might be born to him. But neither words nor wishes kill, and Philip, having been tenderly nursed during his infancy by a healthy foster-mother, grew stronger year by year ; and, while Philip was alive, he, and he only, could be the heir to the baronetcy. Misgivings. 7 1 Sir Stephen stands prepared now to read prayers to the domestic circle, who have gathered around him in so quiet and orderly a fasliion. The bright morn- ing sunshine, which streams straight into the room, throws his tall, well set-up figure into strong relief against the back- ground of dark oak-panelHng. The lines of his face are as hard and firm as those of his form, and neither relenting nor yielding seem possible to either. His features resemble those of Hubert, but are cut clearer, and with more decision, and he is like his plastic brother in no other respect. He wears no beard, for he belongs to the old school, which deems a moustache foppish, and condemns a beard as the sign of a rufiian. He cul- tivates the precisely cut mutton-chop whisker, however, as emblematic of the 72 A Noble Name. English gentleman, and he has never dis- carded the high-collared coat and satin stock, which dates back to the Eegency of " the First Gentleman in Europe." Serious of aspect, unbending in manner, the master of Pineridge receives the Family Bible and Prayer Book from the hands of Mrs. Euskett, the housekeeper, and he reads the comforting words of the simple service in a hard mechanical voice that robs them of half the thrilling meaning they are intended to convey to those 'Svho have ears to hear." Has the true import of such words as " Yea, like as a father pitieth his children even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear Him," which he has been read- ing, ever occurred to this cold, cruel man ? Prayers over. Sir Stephen makes but a Misgivings. 73 poor pretence at breakfasting. He is alone with his bUnd son ; but he does not neglect to make a clatter with knife, fork, and spoon, in order to deceive the lad, who has reminded him of the acuteness of his hearing by the pertinent inquiry with which he received his father this morn- ing. Philip shall not be allowed to suspect the agitation which possesses the dignified head of the house, who rather overdoes that clatter and rattling, and who, wdien ]ie does speak, uses a louder tone than usual. This raising of the voice, when addressing blind persons, is a mistake constantly made by the unsympathetic, as well as the vulgar, who seem to think that loss of sight is accompanied by loss of hearing also. Philip's father, who neither understood nor compassion- ated the affliction of the blind boy, 74 A Noble Na nie. certainly did all tliat most jarred upon his sensitive feelings this morning. Or- dinarily reserved and taciturn, he now souglit to cover his perturbation by loud and lengthy speeches, delivered in much the same style as those he addressed to the prisoners brought before him in his magisterial capacity. Philip, whose in- stincts (by the law of compensation) are unusually keen, is by no means deceived by his father's exaggerated attempts to appear at his ease, and sits lost in silent wonder as to what all this covert excite- ment portends. He is not left long in doubt. " You will be surprised to hear that your uncle Hubert is coming to see us at last," says Sir Stephen, breaking a prolonged silence witli this jerky announce- ment. " I have read you extracts from the Chronicle occasionally, as you no doubt Misgivings. 75 remember, extracts about — about his pic- tures — you know. He is a painter by profession (deprecatingly), but he has had an enormous success, and that reconciles me to the fact of his being an artist." PhiHp vaguely wonders if artists, as a race, differ from other men and deserve contempt as a class. He knows very little of men or their pursuits, poor lad ; for no one has ever taken the trouble to teach him the general facts of life. To his rustic nurse, the fostermother who saved his life as a baby, he owes such knowledge of the people and things about him as helps him to struggle through daily life with his crook-handled stick. His father's peremp- tory tone encourages no questions this morning, and Philip therefore resigns him- self to wait for any further information that may be forthcoming. 76 A Noble Name. " My brother Hubert and I have not met for many years," resumes Sir Stephen, after another thoughtful pause, " and you may imagine the gratification his advent will cause me. He will arrive with his wife and daughter this afternoon, and of course we shall all dine tof]:ether at eig-ht o'clock. I thought I would tell you the news in order that you might be pre- pared." Having delivered himself of this weighty piece of information, Sir Stephen rises from the table, and pulling his chair over to the open window, he establishes him- self there, unfolding his newspaper with considerable rustling, to impress upon Philip that he is reading, and does not wish to be disturbed. The poor blind boy stifles a sigh and resigns himself to circumstances, which in Misgivings. 11 this case mean hunger. The breakfast methodically prepared for him by the butler, who emulates his master in the austere gravity of his demeanour, has not sufficed to stay the cravings of the grow- ing lad's hearty appetite. His father has offered him nothing, and has just inti- mated that he does not wish to be asked for anything either. Philip now uses his long delicate fingers, hoping to find some further provision within his reach. His liands have never been browned or hard- ened by handhng an oar or a bat, but their gentle, sensitive touch often stands him in very good stead. He now feels about his empty plate in vain, and without putting his cup to his lips he knows as he poises it on his finger- tips that it will not yield another drop of tea. And he is so thirsty ! 78 A Noble Name. He leans liis head on one side, listening eagerly for any sympathetic crackle of that engrossing newspaper ; but there is not a sound. His father is still intent on the news, and must not be asked to lend a helping hand as yet. Disappointed, Philip again tries to place his hands on the toast-rack or milk-jug, but failing to find anything more satisfactory than a loaf and a sardine tin, he rises, and guiding himself carefully by the edge of the table, he finds the corner in which his crook-stick is resting, and eagerly seizes this guiding friend. A bright ray of sunshine gilds his waving chestnut hair as he crosses the w^indow, and brino-s tlie golden oleams hidden in its brown shadows to liglit. He is but a stripling as yet, slim and lithe ; his well-knit , frame, and lono- hands and Mi^ijiviiujs. 79 feet, give promise of height, however, and the bright colour in his pretty young face speaks of sound health. He presents an amazing contrast to his hard-looking, austere father ; for the lad's appearance is gentle, almost to girlishness, and the un- usual length of his hair, which no one seems to think of cutting for him, adds to this impression. In watching him as he cautiously moves along in blind helpless- ness a feeling of intense compassion would possess most beholders, but to his father he is an eyesore only, and the servants in the house, taking tlieir cue from tlie master, treat his poor son with scant courtesy and very little consideration. It is the general immobility of the lad's face which suggests his blindness ; not tlie eyes themselves, for tliey are Avide open, and bear no outward sio-n (jf the cruel infir- 80 A Noble Na me. mity which has rendered them useless. As he reaches the door of the breakfast- room, PhiHp tarns towards the window once again, and hstens wistfully for some detaininiT word or sisfn. But his father is still absorbed in that interesting news- paper, and the boy leaves the august presence with less notice than a dog might receive. ^^MS CHAPTER V. HOMEWARD BOUND. TT7HEN once the journey to England was definitely settled on, it be- came the all-absorbing topic of conversa- tion in the happy little artistic home in Munich. Lina was to leave the German Jay-school she had regularly attended for the last four years, and would hence- forth be taught entirely by her devoted mother. This was a task the latter undertook very gladly, as the child's English had been somewhat neglected. This had been a matter of regret to 'Mrs. Northcroft, and she was pleased to think that under her own tuition this great need in her child's education would be VOL. I. G 82 A Noble Name. rectified. The lessons were commenced with additional zeal now that a visit to England was in prospect ; for Lina was most anxious to meet her new cousin on equal terms. About this cousin the child asked about a thousand questions. Father had told her that Philip was blind. Blind ! What did that sad sounding word, so gravely spoken, really mean ? It was blind in English, and blind in German ; but the sound conveyed no definite impression to the anxiously- inquiring Lina. Wondering, and seri- ously perplexed, the child consulted her mother on the subject so entirely pre- occupying her. And Mrs. Northcroft, with patient seriousness, explained the sad nature of PhiUp's affliction. Full of sorrow, and keenly sympathetic, Homeward Bound. 83 the little girl resolved on teaching her- self practically what she found it so difficult to realize from the descriptions given her. She tied a handkerchief over her eyes, and thus blindfolded she felt her way about the rooms, stumbling often on her experimental journey. Once she tried to dress her doll with the bandage over her eyes ; but finding herself quite at a loss, she jumped up in a state of mind bordering on despair, and flinging the toy on one side, refused to play or to be pacified. " It is dread- ful, too dreadful," she cried. On another occasion she endeavoured to eat her dinner with her eyes closed ; but she suddenly burst into a flood of tears, and, sobbing, exclaimed, " Oh, my poor dar- ling cousin Philip, how unhappy you must be. 84 A Noble Name. After this final and convincing experi- ment Lina tried no others. The sad reality had come home to her with a grievous shock ; the child's sensitive nature suffered under it. Her next ab- sorbing idea was to find out how she would best be able to help her cousin, and with this end in view she studied English, reading so diligently that before she left Munich she could manage to read, page after page, of any easy book fluently and with little or no foreign accent. "And how can he do his lessons, mother ? " she asked one day : " Should I be able to teach and help him with them ? " Mrs. Northcroft explained the mystery of the embossed letters, &c., and subse- quently took her daughter to the blind Homeward Bound. 85 school, where she beheld the practical teachmg of the afflicted ones, and wondered greatly at their skill, and at the cheerful way in which they spoke. " Do you think Philip will be happy, and laugh as they do, mother ? " she asked, wistfully, and mentally resolved to do all she possibly could to please and amuse that poor dear cousin, who could not see the bright sunshine, the birds, the trees and flowers, nor even the faces of those about him. When the actual preparations for the long and anxiously anticipated journey were commenced in right earnest, Lina had less time to ponder on the all- engrossing subject of her afflicted cousin ; and the child's high spirits and natural vivacity caused her to find endless amusement in the trouble and discomfort 86 A Noble Name. attendant npon the break up of a home. It had been settled by Hubert (who on this occasion displayed unwonted energy and decision) that the studio and " flat " in the old house in Munich should be let to an artist and his family for one year certain. Hubert had actually made up his mind to reside in England for twelve months at least ; if not with his brother, at any rate in some separate establishment. At the end of that time he would be in a better position, no doubt, to arrive at a further decision. Mrs. Hubert, who never opposed her husband when she found him resolved on a point, yielded, as usual, though with inordinate misgivings. But she wisely refrained from obtruding these upon her easy- going lord, and as he was more than usually occupied just now in finishing a Homeward Bound. 87 pet picture, which he was bound to deUver within a certain time, she had the more leisure to devote to Httle Lina, whose marked intelligence and sensitive temperament were a source of lasting pleasure and interest to the high-minded, simple-hearted mother. She influenced Lina's every thought, and fostered the child's natural spirit of unselfishness with tenderest care. She never repressed the exuberance of Lina's child-like gaiety ; nor did she check the high spirits which made her a very sunshine in her present home. Hubert, who was of a calm, equable temper, as we know, was not likely to display much emotion as the time for migration arrived ; but though outwardly quiet and indifferent, as usual, he was in reality more per- turbed than he cared to let his wife 88 A Noble Name. know. A variety of novel sensations were at work within him, and he scarcely knew himself whether he was most glad or sorry at the thought of revisiting the home of his boyhood. By the time the family party was fairly en route, he, who was never very talkative, lapsed into a silence that in another man would have seemed sullen. And the placidity which was his chief characteristic disappeared altogether as soon as he set foot on English soil. His wife noted these odd changes of mood in her calm and hitherto unim- pressionable lord ; but she was too wise a woman to trouble him about them. She knew if she left him " to work his way round " unmolested, he would the sooner return to his normal condition of cheerful content, and she gladly re- Homeward Bound. 89 signed herself to bide her time. Mean- while she really had little leisure to think about her husband's vagaries ; for Lina's eager excitement grew with every passing hour. It was with the greatest difficulty, and only " to please dear mother," that the child could be made to sit still. In the train, on the steamer, and also in the carriage that met the party at Torchester station, her constant impulse appeared to be to jump out of the window, and run to the goal of the long tiresome journey. Pineridge Priory is pleasantly situate in that part of Torshire where the trees from which it takes its name abound. And as the carriage enters the outer gate of the plantation which leads on to the home park, Mrs. Hubert realizes the accuracy of the descriptions her 90 A Noble Name. husband has so often given her of his old home. " Oh, pine trees ! Christmas trees ! " cries Lina, inhahng the hiscious scent of the plantation through which they were driving^. " There is no smell I like better than that. It is so sweet and so strong too, and it makes me remember " The bright childish face is lifted, the delicate nostrils inhale the grateful per- fume with delight, and into the large thoughtful eyes there comes a longing, dreamy look — a look so full of tender recollections as to be almost sorrowful. She says, " Tanneiihaum ! " as German children utter the magic word which is so pregnant of Christmas delight to them. Her life among tlie fair-haired Teutons seems to have made her one of them. Instead of responding to her delighted Homeward Bound. 91 exclamations with cheerful encouragement, Hubert, who is decidedly " odd " to-day, shakes his head and frowns. " Tut, tut, tut !" he says, in what sounds almost like reproof, " Don't be so ro- mantic, Lina, and pray don't talk non- sense. We have come into a land of prose and matter of fact, where my pic- tures and your reminiscences w^ill not be appreciated at all." He laughs, but the laugh is a forced one, and sensible Lina feeling herself rebuked, becomes silent. Mrs. Northcroft glances uneasily from father to child, and again a shade of anxiety clouds her frank, handsome face. Hubert perceiving it, takes an extra long whiff from the pipe he has just lighted. " Hugh, dearest," says his wife, entreat- ingly, " pray put your pipe out of sight. We shall be at the house in a minute. 92 A Noble Name. and you really must show a little con- sideration for your brother's prejudices. What will he think if you arrive smoking in that way ? In Eome you must do as Eome does, surely. Wliat is accepted in Germany may, perhaps, seem atrocious here." She speaks with the utmost gentleness, but Hubert does not like the implied reproof. He shrugs his shoulders im- patiently, and his sigh is decidedly petu- lant. He adopts his wife's suggestion nevertheless ; and having knocked the glowing tobacco out of the obnoxious pipe, he endeavours to hide it in the breast-pocket of his coat. But the stem which is long, persists in protruding, and it is Lina's ready little hand which care- fully hides it under the broad collar of the brown velveteen garment. Mrs. Hu- Homeward Bound. 93 bert is now becoming nervous in her turn. She cannot conquer a certain dread of the consequences of the meeting between brothers so long estranged. Personally she has no pleasure in the idea of spend- ing weeks — months, perhaps, under the roof of prim, prejudiced Sir Stephen; but now as ever, her husband's will is law to her, and she is determined to do all she can to add to the harmony of the meet- inof. When the brothers come to know one another better, all is sure to go well. The overbearing spirit of the elder, the wild impulse and passionate action of the younger, are all matters of the past now, and the present will surely be productive of that kind and cheerful intercourse which Letitia, who is a true, loving woman, deems essential to the well-being of those about her. She is quick-sighted 94 A Noble Name. too, this clever Avife of Hubert's, and fully aware of the value of first impressions. Therefore she is doubly anxious that a good one shall be made now. Sir Stephen hears the carriage wheels upon the gravel drive, with an amount of trepidation that dismays him. He calls himself an idiot in the faintest of whispers, and mastering his agitation by a strong effort, he leaves his library with a feeling akin to sickness which makes his pale face livid. " Courteous " he must ever be, that is his creed, and it demands that he shall receive these unwelcome guests with every outward show of hospitality. He meets them on the threshold, and so accurately times his movements that he holds out welcoming hands just as Hubert and his wife pass in between the footmen, who open the wings of the old-fashioned Homeward Bound. 95 oak door. Mr. Grind, the butler, is at his master's back, and the whole ceremony is made as imposing as possible. Mrs. Euskett, from a distant point of observation, is also taking stock of the strangers, whom she angrily dubs " intruders," and a crimson flush dyes her round face as she comes to the conclusion that Mrs. Hubert North- croft is a lady. " Leastwise she behaves herself as such." This is the housekeeper's confidential verdict, whispered to austere Mr. Grind later in the evening. The first glance at his brother convinces Sir Stephen that, beyond looking older, Hubert is Hubert still, to all intents and purposes, unchanged. But the baronet is agreeably surprised to find that his sister- in-law is an elegant, lady-like woman, who wears her simple but well-made travelling 96 A Noble Name. dress with grace, and bears herself as though quite accustomed to the honour of shaking hands with a county magnate. His quietly observant eye falls on the child too, and he is struck by the bright beauty of the intelligent little face, though the slight trace of a German accent some- what jars upon his sensitive ear. They all stand at the foot of the broad oak staircase unconsciously absorbed in taking stock of one another, while they utter vague remarks upon the length of the journey, the beauty of the weather, the country, etc., etc. Suddenly, with a cry of pity and alarm, Lina darts from Sir Stephen's side, and before any one has ascertained the cause of her distress, she is bounding uj) the stairs two steps at a time, to where Philip, with slow caution, is commencing his descent. Homeward Bound. 97 He holds the bakistrade with one hand and his crook-stick in the other. " Oh ! let me guide you ; pray, let me help you ; mind you don't fall," cries the eager little maid, and she lays her cares s- insr hand on his arm with the utmost o tenderness. " You are my dear, dear cousin," she whispers close to his ear, '• and I am going to stay with you and help you in everything, just as much as ever I can. Mother has told me many things I can do for you, and you will always let me try to be useful to you, won t you : Poor Philip stands quite still ; he is first startled, then amazed. The sweet, strange childish voice close to his ear, the gentle pressure of those tiny fingers on his, and above all, the electric sympathy which thrills him as he becomes conscious of VOL. T. H 98 A Noble Name. lier loving presence ; all these new sensa- tions bewilder him. He stands waiting irresolute. He is dazzled, poor lad, by the first sunny ray of the love which lights up the double darkness of his sad young life ; but it soon produces a dehcious sense of warmth and animation within him, and he clasps that soft tiny hand closely, firmly with his long supple fingers. " I shall be so glad and so thankful if you will help me a little, my dea?^ cousin," he says eagerly, and, as he speaks, a flush of shyness steals slowly up into his pretty, refined face. "He looks like a sorry angel," she tells her mother, by-and-by. Meanwhile she leads him gently, step by step, down to the lofty hall, where his kind-hearted uncle clasps him fondly in his arms. Philip feels that this is a day of glorious revel- Homeward Bound. 99 ation for liim, and that sucli happiness may be in store for him yet, as he, with his sightless eyes, could never have ventured to anticipate. B 2 CHAPTER VI. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. nPHE Master of Pineridge, a little impa- tient of the demonstrative greetings bestowed upon his son, leads Mrs. Xorth- croft into the library, and the rest of the party follow. Presently a gong sounds. "We dine in half an hour," says Sir Stephen ; " so I suppose we must separate for a time. Grind will wait upon you, Hubert, and Mrs. Euskett has told off a maid to attend to the ladies. Shall we adjourn?" " You are not expecting any guests to- night, are you, Stephen?" asks Hubert, with evident anxiety. First Impressions. 101 " Guests ? J^o. Is there any one you desire to meet ? " Stephen speaks in a tone of protest, as though accused of neglecting a duty. " Xot in the least, my dear boy ; not in the least," answers Hubert, with a sigh of relief; "and that being so," he adds eagerly, " there will be no occasion for me to dress, eh ? " "Do just as you please, brother, just as you please," says the host ; but, though his words are amiable, his tone is by no means encouraoino- — there is a rino; of cold dis- pleasure in it which does not escape the quick ear of Letitia. " If you dress, Hubert will do the same," she says, glancing at Sir Stephen and bowing her pretty head. "I invariably dress for dinner," he says in his most pompous tone. " With me it 102 .4 Noble Name. is a matter not of inclination, but of prin- ciple. A change is requisite after a day's exercise, and it is the rio^ht thini? to do. It is impossible to keep up the dignity of your position if you do not impress your servants. If you make it a rule to dress for dinner, your valet is kept up to the mark, and you reduce your butler to his proper level. If you neglect appearances the man who waits upon you is apt to look down upon you in every sense. But pray do not let my rules interfere with your convenience, Hubert. Do just as you please, I beg of you." " He might have spared us that oration," the artist mutters below his breath, and turns appealingly to his wife. " You are afraid you cannot lay your hand upon your dress clothes, dear," she says, with her pleasant smile ; " but I can First Impressions. 103 unpack them for you in two minutes. I know exactly how they were stowed away. Come, let us make haste." She puts her hand on his arm, and so compels him to leave the room with her. " What a confounded nuisance ! " he mutters, as soon as the door is closed be- hind them. " This is the sort of penance expected and dreaded all along. Stephen is just the same stilted prig as ever. He- preaches about manners and morals ad nauseam, and he practises " " Hush, Hugh, hush, dearest," whispers his wife in a tone of entreaty. "Well, it is disagreeable, deuced dis- agreeable," says he, by no means pacified. "I have not had a dress coat on for months and months. The livery of society ! Ugh ! I hate society, its liveries, and the rest of its shams. The idea of wearing a coat 104 A Noble Na me. that lias not even a pocket for one's pipe in it ! If Stephen chooses to dress and to be a humbug, let him ; but why should I be bothered ? I shall pretty soon get tired of him and all his dignity, I know. I'm sorry I came; and I most certainly shall not stand this sort of thing very long." " Konsense, my dear old grumbler," says his wife, cheerily ; " your vexation is actually making you eloquent. I have not heard so lengthy a speech from you since " " Since I proposed the health of our dear old Eeuter at that jolly festival of artists ; eh, Letty ? Yes, I certainly did make a good speecli that day." "A splendid speech !" she replies, gaily. She has diverted his thoughts from a dis- agreeable topic, and she has succeeded First Impressions. 105 in laying all the things needful for his toilette, ready to his hand. When Mr. Grind knocks at the door of the dressing-room to offer his services, he is considerably startled to find that "artiss chap " looking as much like a gentleman as his own dignified master does. Before descending Hubert presents him- self at the door of his wife's room for inspection and approval. "If it were not for a whiff of something rather like smoke you would be perfect, my dear," she says, smiling, and begins to sprinkle some lavender water on his coat, while she adds : " Dare I paraphrase Moore for your benefit, and suggest : *•' You may wash, you may comb the beard as you will; But the scent of tobacco, it lingers there still ' ? " Hubert is always docile under his wife's management, and her sweet temper and lOG A Noble Name. ready wit have driven all storm-clouds from the domestic horizon as usual. He himself is amazed at his personal trans- formation, of which he becomes suddenly- aware, as he enters the drawing-room, and beholds a good-looking, well-groomed Hubert in the long glass which faces the door. " I had no idea I was such a presentable fellow," he whispers to Letitia, and she nods smilingly in confirmation. Hubert feels a little disappointed to find that Sir Stephen forbears to make any comment on the favourable change in his appearance. The host is agreeably impressed by the conces- sion his brother has made to the customs of the house ; but he is far too dignified to remark on the transformation. Personal comments in any case show a want of breeding, and familiarity, even towards a First Impressions. 107 brother, would have been detrimental to that stately courtesy on which Sir Stephen especially prides himself. " Philip usually dines in the middle of the day," says the host, in answer to an anxious question from little Lina, " but to- night he shall join us, as you will be with us also, and his cover shall be laid beside yours, as you wish." " Thank you, dear uncle," cries the child eagerly, and she put up her rosy face for a kiss. She is the only one of the party who is not overawed by the op|)ressive dignity of the host ; indeed, she is far too much engrossed in watching and attending upon her cousin to spare a thought for herself or any one else. But that evening, when she had said her prayers, and Mrs. Xorthcroft bent over to e^ive her the last o-ood-nio-ht kiss, the child whispered the impression her 108 A Noble Nil me. new relations had made on her. " Uncle Stephen is a grand, fine gentleman," said this acute observer, " but he is a little too proud of himself. Don't you think so, mother ? ■" " And what do you think of your poor cousin ? " asks Mrs. Northcroft, smiling. " Oh ! Philip is a darling." Hubert, who sits opposite the children at dinner-time, watches them with a smile of happy content upon his pleasant face. " That's right, Lina, take care of your cousin," he says approvingly. " Arrange his plate like the face of a clock, cut every- thing up very small, put the meat at six, the potatoes at twelve, and the peas at nine. There, that's capital ! Now, Phil, you will very soon find your way." " Nurse taught me the clock face," whis- pers Philip, shyly, to Lina. First Impressions. 1('9 He lives in constant dread of a sliarp silencing word from his father But the baronet makes no audible sign of disap- proval, though he raises his eyebrows and curls his lips. These random suggestions of Hubert to the blind boy sound like non- sense to the unsympathetic parent, who is quite unable to appreciate the practical value of his brother's remarks. But to Lina and Phihp both those lightly spoken words present a feasible hint, and the clever, observant little maid arranges the viands on her cousin's plate as if it were the face of the clock as her father has proposed. Then she guides the hand that holds the fork, and points successively to meat, potatoes and peas. Philip endea- vours, with the quick sensitiveness of touch and apprehension which are given as a merciful compensation for the sad no A Noble Name. absence of siorlit, to seize on his uncle's suggestion as still another of those won- drous revelations with which this strange and delightful day seems fraught. And so useful is the simple method indicated, that the blind boy, with his cousin's kind assistance, easily finds out and distinguishe s the various contents of his plate, instead of floundering hopelessly with his knife and fork among the unsorted food. He pre- sently begins to eat his dinner with nearly as much facility as though he can see what he is doing, and as they rise from the ceremonious feast, to which the pre- sence of the children has given its sole redeeming feature, Philip glides his hand gently under Hubert's arm, and whispers gratefully — "Thank you so much, my dear uncle. I shall know how to manage my meals First Impressions. Ill much better now, and I shall think of you whenever I have my dmner." Then, led by Lina, he follows his aunt into the drawing-room, and the brothers are left to their port and their confidences. Mrs. Xorthcroft is tired, and seats her- self in a lounging-chair by the window that opens on to the broad stone terrace She is content to rest now, for the ordeal of the first stately dinner is over, and has been passed satisfactorily. This bodes well for the future peace of the establishment, and Hubert's wife is thankful for his dear sake. "Do let us go out into the garden," says Lina, placing her hand on Philip's arm, "and pick some flowers for mother while she is resting. She loves roses, and so do I." The cousin assents, and they wander forth together out of the 112 A Noble Na me. open window, across the terrace, and down the broad flight of steps that leads to the well-kept paths of the flower garden. "Will you sit here and wait for me while I get the roses ? " says Lina. And {she establishes Philip on a bench. Having gathered a bunch of early roses, Lina looks across at the blind boy, and stands still, eagerly watching him. He has re- lapsed into his usual attitude, which is one of profound melancholy. It is only when he is spoken to or interested that he rouses himself. Noav his chin has sunk upon his breast, his hands hang listlessly by his side. Lina is transfixed by an impulse of intense pity, of overwhelming tenderness. Tears fill her eyes. Oh! would that she might give him the sight she has never valued until now! Poor, First Impressions. 113 sad, and much-to-be-pitied Philip! How good, how very, very patient and good she must be to him always — always. How hard she will strive to brighten his dreary days! "I am coming, cousin," she cries, brush- ing her tears away, and making an effort to speak gaily. She is immediately re- warded. A smile, so sweet and bright as to gladden her heart thoroughly, is his response, as he rises, stick in hand, and guides himself to meet her, following the sound of her gentle voice. She lays her hands on his shoulders when she meets him, and, putting her sweet child's face up to his, kisses his lips. " I want to promise you, cousin Philip, to promise you faithfully, dear, that I will always love you, and always be good to you, if I can. I want to take care of VOL. I. I 114 A Noble Name. you and help you, more than I want anything else m all the wide world." Thus earnestly, solemnly, the child Lina sets her seal to the bond between them, which in the time to come holds her through storm and trouble, through misfor- tune and trial, steadfast, devoted, and true. The impulse in the child's heart, though it throbs on earth, is prompted by a spirit Divine, for it is dictated by a pure and perfect love. * * * * * A great sense of peace and content steals into the hearts of the children as they walk onward, hand in hand. They are silent, but their hearts are lull to overflowing ; tears stand in Lina's eyes, tears of a holy and infinite compassion, and two glittering drops roll slowly over Philip's cheeks. His heart is melted with- First Impressions. 115 in him. The dawn of a new Hfe of bright and beautiful days seems to him to be beginning with this sunset hour — the hour in which words of devotion, of precious promise, have been spoken to him, the hour in which gentle hands have guided him cautiously, and the sweet pressure of a small child's hps upon his own has revealed the first glimpse of a new and wonderful world to him — the bright world of love. "Let us go back to mother, and ask her to play us soft music," says Lina, at last. The prolonged silence is be- coming painful to her. She has no clue as yet to her companion's thoughts, and whenever he is silent she fears he is unhappy. Music is always soothing and dehghtful. Philip surely loves music too, and mother plays so sweetly ! I 2 IIG A Noble Name. When the children return to the draw- ing room, they find the gentlemen there. Lina lays her roses on her mother's lap, and makes her petition, " Phihp would like it so much," she says, " and you and I will teach him to play ; won't we, mother ? " The fine old Broadwood, that has scarcely been used since Lady North- croft's death, is readily opened by Hubert for his wife, and the baronet looks on at all these innovations with considerable surprise, but without any protest. In truth he finds his brother's wife admir- able and is not inclined to quarrel wdth anything she does. And she plays ex- ceedingly well. She abstains altogether from musical fireworks, but her touch is exquisite, and she renders some lovely melodies with a grace and purity whicli First Impressions. 117 even Sir Stephen appreciates, and which lead him to signify his approval. Philip sits perfectly silent, far away in a corner by the window. It is only when Lina, in obedience to her mother's behest, begins to sing that he creeps slowly, cautiously' across the room, until he stands by her side. She sings in a clear, childish treble, and the ditties she has learnt are simple German volhslieder ; but to Philip it seems as if heaven has opened, and her voice is the voice of an angel. " How happy you are all making me to-day ! " he whispers to his uncle, as he bids him good-night. " I have thought it very hard to be blind at times, but I shall never think so again if you will all stay here and make life glad and bright for us." 118 A Noble Name. " Will you come down at six and walk in the garden with me, cousin ? " asks Lina, as she turns to follow Mrs. Northcroft out of the room. "It is so beautiful out of doors in the early morning." " I shall not sleep at all, for fear of being later than you are," says he, smiling ; and thoroughly satisfied, they all take leave of one another for the the night. 1, CHAPTER VII. UNT)EE-CUHIIEXTS. nPHE first few hours of his intercourse with his newly arrived relatives were sufficient to lift a great weight from Sir Stephen's mind, and to relieve him of the growing anxieties which he had spent the last day or two in con- juring up to his own torment. Like many imaginary evils, these disappeared the moment they were confronted in the flesh, and his first interview with his relatives over, Sir Stephen breathed freely again. Hubert was certainly still the same easy-going pipe-smoking Hubert as of yore ; but even he was improved in many respects. Matrimony had certainly 120 A Noble Name. had a highly beneficial influence upon him. It was evident that he was ready to submit with a good grace to the practical suggestions of his discreet wife, and though himself as reo^ardless of les convenanres as of yore, he obeyed her well-timed directions without much pro- test. As to Mrs. Hubert herself, Sir Stephen was fairly amazed, and pondered Avith increasing surprise on the startling fact that so refined and well-bred a lady should have condescended to marry so harum-scarum an individual as his artist brother. The owner of Pineridge felt almost inclined to pity his sister-in-law ; but as she was evidently quite content with her lot, and very much attached to her erratic husband, compassion was out of place : a shrug of the shoulders, a curl of the thin lips, and a muttered Under- Currents. 121 " unaccountable beings are women, " sufficed to express his astonishment. That Lina showed signs of great pro- mise, and was in every respect a charm- ing counterpart of her mother, was natural. The excellent influence of the latter was already visible in all the child said and did. Sir Stephen regretted that so foreign- sounding a name had been given to his niece, and he hoped that in the course of time she would overcome the slight German accent with which she spoke her native language. But what faults he had to find were all due to Hubert's eccen- tricity, as he had already ascertained in questioning his brother during their first confidential post-prandial chat. Hubert had insisted on the child's havingr a Ger- man nurse during her infancy, and Hubert had chosen the objectionable German name, 122 A Noble Name. because it belonged to his first love — a dear little German maid he had met as a student, and whom he would have married, had she not died. " And does your wife know all this romantic folly ? " asked Sir Stephen, pois- ing his wine-glass daintily between his long slender fingers. " My wife knows the true story of my hfe," answered Hubert, with a deep sigh. "She was thankful to find that so heed- less a fellow as her artist husband was capable of a lasting and grateful memory. It seemed a guarantee of my constancy in the future. Letty is a very sensible — perhaps a remarkable — woman, Stephen; when you know her better, you will find out that I have had the good fortune to draw a prize in the great lottery called marriage." Under-Currents. 123 ''I have arrived at that comfortable con- clusion already," said Sir Stephen pom- pously. He seemed to think that his approval put the necessary hall-mark upon what without it would have been but a poor imitation. Hubert hid a smile under his beard as he responded to some further laudatory comments on "that exceptionally charming woman, my sister-in-law ! " " He evidently forgot that she had to be my wife before she aspired to that honour," thought Hubert ; but he drank his wine m silence, and was content to know that his Letty was appreciated at head-quarters, even if he wqre still disapproved of. Of Phihp's delight at the coming of his kind relations there could be no doubt. So great was his happiness, poor lad, that he really could not sleep ; but, as the thoughts crowding one after another into 124 ^1 Xohle Name. his active brain were essentially pleasant ones, he rose quite refreshed in the morn- ing, and awaited the chiming of the great hall clock, whicli would proclaim the hour six, with intense eagerness. There was neither dawn nor rousing morning sun for him ; but a new day was shining in his heart, and he longed for a repetition of the sweet experience of that bright yesterday. He felt sure that he should fmd all he was seeking? as soon as he was in Lina's presence again, listening to the musical sounds of her soft speech, feeling the encouraging pressure of her small guiding hand, knowing that at last he had found some one to care for — to love him, some one who thought it a pleasure to come to his aid, and v/ho would pity rather than condemn him for his help- lessness. Under-Cur rents. 125 But there was another and a very im- portant personage m that oddly assorted household, on whom the arrival of the Hubert Xorthcrofts had by no means so tranquilising an effect. This was Mrs. Sarah Euskett, the houseke^^.per. On the death of her late mistress, Lady J^orth- croft (fourteen years ago), Mrs. Euskett had assumed the reins of government as far as the domestic establishment at the Priory was concerned, and no one had questioned her absolute authority in the shghtest degree ; but the advent of Mrs. Hubert filled her suspicious soul with instant and insurmountable misgivings. Who could tell the upshot of that lady's arrival at the house of her brother-in- law? She was sure to be of the interfering inquisitive sort. And a former experience of the housekeeper warranted 126 A Noble Name. her in dreading the power of female relations where bachelors or widow^ers were concerned. They always made a point, those " benevolent " ladies, of peer- ing into the private affairs of their lonely relatives, which was apt to result in all sorts of unpleasantness. For the devoted housekeeper had done her very best for the bereaved gentleman, " that she had." The chances were that Mrs. Hubert would discover some flaws in Mrs. Kuskett's domestic management ; or, at all events, she would make a point of saying that matters were not as they should be. "It's always the way with those ladies that come interfering in other people's houses," thought anxious Mrs. Sarah, wearily. And then she w^ondered if Mrs. Hubert would have the bad taste to con- Under- Currents. 127 fide her disapproval to the master of the house, when she felt herself more at home there. She seemed to be quite at her ease with Sir Stephen already, and his high and mighty manner, which chilled most people, had evidently not had the effect of subduing that lady, or that forward little child, who seemed to have taken the most wonderful fancy to the blind boy from the first, and who showed no more fear of the haughty baronet than she did of his silly, helpless son. There was no knowing where all this wonderful friendliness and sudden intimacy might lead. Mrs. Northcroft might actually go so far as to question the extent of the household expenditure. She might even presume to interfere in this sacred matter personally, or worse still, to suggest the 128 A Noble Na me. propriety of doing so to the austere master of the Priory. The thought of that forward Miss Lina, was a terrible thorn in the flesh to the greatly perturbed housekeeper. The lad was still very young, and the girl a mere child ; but he was heir to the baronetcy, to all his father's wealth too, and she was evidently a very knowing young lady. Perhaps she had actually been taught to play her cards already ; much as Mrs. Euskett had taught a similar lesson to her own daughter, black-eyed, bouncing, loud-spoken Miss Isabel. Was this fair- haired, soft little cousin about to inter- fere in schemes so ambitious, so fraught with exceeding importance, that Sarah Euskett herself hardly dared to confront them in all the possible magnitude of their results ? Under- Currents. 129 Like lago she might have whispered — " 'Tis here ; but yet confused — Knavery's plain face is never seen till used." That she had made wondrous plans for the future of her only child was an un- doubted fact. She was educating Isabel up to some destiny far beyond what her present position implied, and to further her ambitious views, now that the girl had turned fifteen, she had sent her to a ladies' school at Brighton, where a heavy fee entitled her to share the lessons of those who socially were immeasurably her superiors. Mrs. Euskett was determined that, come what might, Isabel should at least be capable of holding her own, both as regards manners and accomplishments, with any real-born lady in the world. Now the sudden and unwelcome advent of these bothering relations of her master VOL. I. K 130 A Noble Name. seemed to act as a check on the house- keeper's covert aspirations, and she could not subdue the fear that their visit, if prolonged, would prove detrimental to her Isabel, who was only about eighteen months older than Mr. Philip. Some years ago this girl had been allowed to play with him occasionally. Sir Stephen would not have sanctioned the constant companionship of his son with Mrs. Euskett's daughter, but, under the cir- cumstances, there was no valid objection to her taking the place of his guide and attendant at times. The girl, however, who was naturally selfish and hot-tempered, found no pleasure in a task which, above all else, required gentleness and patience, and she fiercely resented her mother's constant behest to go and look after Master Philip. She certainly did not add Under-Currents. 131 much to the poor lad's comfort or happi- ness while she was a resident at Pineridge, and yet his affectionate nature and sad helplessness had taught him to cling to and depend upon her to a great extent. And when her mother despatched her to the boarding school at Brighton, Philip fretted considerably, and often lamented her absence. This parting had taken place at the end of the last Christmas holidays, just a few months before the arrival of Lina. The only other individual who to any extent was concerned in ministering to the wants of Philip after Isabel's departure was a Mr. Blunt, who came over twice a week from the School for the Blind at Torchester. He taught young Northcroft to read by the aid of embossed letters, and otherwise educated him as far as the K 2 132 A Noble Name. schoolmaster's very limited powers per- mitted him to do. For the greater portion of his long lonely days, poor Philip was left to his own devices entirely, and it was an optional matter with coach- man, housekeeper, or butler to allow one of the lower servants to take the son of the house for his walks abroad. If their services were required by their superior officers, neither footman nor groom was allowed to attend to the blind boy, and he was far too gentle and resigned to his hard fate to rebel openly against the decrees issued from the housekeeper's room. Sir Stephen never took the slightest trouble about his boy, beyond ostenta- tiously leading him in and out of church every Sunday, and this he did as if he would say to the admiring on-lookers, Under-Currents. 133 "Behold the devotion of the greatest among you to one hopelessly afflicted, who would be helpless but for this con- descension !" When he and the boy were alone he scarcely rendered him any assist- ance whatever ; but (if the butler were present) he would occasionally read scraps of news aloud from the morning papers, or in the evening would pretend to listen to a chapter from the Bible, which the blind boy was at such infinite pains to fumble out with puzzled and weary fingers on the embossed pages. Sir Stephen had come to regard his son as a useless en- cumbrance only, and it never occurred to the selfish, inconsiderate elder that other resources than those of field sports were available to the blind boy. Had it been possible to send Philip to a ]jublic school, the father would have 134 A Noble Name. deemed distinction in the cricket field or with the oar far beyond any academic success. His ambition had been that his son should grow up and follow in his own footsteps. Prowess in those sports, identi- fied with the typical gentleman of pro- vincial England, ranked above " book learning " in the narrow mind of the baronet. It was probably the deplorable fact that Philip was considered a nonentity at Pineridge which first suggested an amaz- ing scheme for his future subjection to Mrs. Euskett. But, however events might turn, a " first-class education " could not do otherwise than redound to her own and her daughter's credit in the years to come. It was on this account she had resolved to invest a portion of her con- siderable savings (?) in procuring Isabel's Unde7'-Cur rents. 135 admission to the fashionable school of the Misses Pruce, of Adelaide Square, Brighton. Had Mrs. Euskett foreseen the possibility of Lina's advent on the scene she would most assuredly not have sent her daughter out of the way at so critical a juncture. But that young lady was already learning to ape her betters and wear her new handsome dresses with infinite arrogance, when simple, affection- ate Lina arrived at Pineridge. Meanwhile this sweet-natured child devoted herself solely to her afflicted cousin from the first hour of their meeting, and she soon became eyes, hands, and feet, to him. The light of her love brought sunshine into his existence now, and with every passing day he felt the sorrow of his benighted state less acutely. CHAPTER VJII. ART PROGRESS. TTUBEKT'S unquenchable love for his art revives, and begins to show itself strong as ever a very few days after his arrival at Finer idge. The character- istics of the English scenery attract and fascinate him. He wanders away into the open, sets up his easel and camp- stool, and goes to work with his usual undemonstrative enthusiasm and concen- trated energy. He soon completes some happy sketches and studies of foreground and bramble, sandbank or rural road. The running brook up beyond the plan- tation makes a charming " bit," and especially delights admiring Lina. The Art Progress. 137 baronet regards his eccentric brother's proceedings with mild deprecation. There is no harm in this mania, and it does not interfere in the least with any of Sir Stephen's farming occupations, and, as most of the county families are away in London at this time of the year, he has nothing to fear from their criticisms of his brother's undignified and trivial pur- suits. Hubert had established his reputation chiefly by the portrayal of foreign scenery, and now he was determined to prove to his admirers that he could deal with the peculiar beauties of his native land as successfully as with other subjects. His desire was to paint a notable picture in Torshire this year, which he might after- wards send or take to Munich, and thence forward to other continental exhibitions. 138 A Noble Name. Philip displayed the keenest interest about this sketching and painting of which he heard his uncle talk, and asked a thousand questions of Lina on the subject. He felt all the brushes, the palette, the cleaning knife, the colour tubes, canvas and mahl-stick. The whole procedure was a subject of profound interest to him. "You shall come out sketching with father to-day," says Lina, one morning when Hubert had just declared his inten- tion of taking up some outdoor work. " I often went with him when we lived abroad, and now we will both go. We will sit behind him very quietly, we won't disturb him a bit, and I Avill tell you all he does in a whisper. That won't worry him. I will tell you all he does, and what colours he uses. When you are tired of hearing all about that — and its only the same Art Progress. 139 thing over and over again, but just with a different colour now and then — I shall read you a pretty story. Mother says I can manage almost any book now. What have you heard, and what would you like best?" " I don't know," says Philip, with a deprecating movement of head and hand. " I don't think I have ever heard any real stories." " What ! has no one ever read you Andersen's lovely Fairy Tales, or Grimm's, or the stories from Shakespeare ? "' Phihp listens to her eager questions in evident dejection. " I know none of them," he says, " but I remember some one once told me I ought to hear Sir Walter Scott's novels. Have you ever read those, Lina ? " " Not all of them," she answered, pleased 140 A Noble Name. to confess that she also is ignorant, since this will reconcile him to his want of information, "but I know 'Ivanhoe' and ' The Talisman ; ' mother read them to me : they are such beautiful stories ; and I have read part of them again to myself since. I have the books, and we will take one of them out with us, and I will try and read it to you ; won't that be nice ? How very glad I am that you have never heard them ! You will like them so much, I am sure — only they are very long, and some of the words are very hard. You will not mind my being rather slow in pronouncing them, I hope, dear cousin ? " " I shall indeed like to listen, and I will be very patient, I promise you," says Philip ; " I have never heard any story read steadily through from beginning to AiH P?^ ogress. 141 end yet. Martin, the groom, once began to read me a book called ' The Old Eng- lish Gentleman,' but that was all about horses and dogs and farms. I did not care much about it, because I could not under- stand it. I begged him to read ' Eobinson Crusoe ' to me, and I gave him all my pocket money, for I dearly wanted to hear that story ; but he said it was rubbish, and only fit for babies. If I wanted to read that sort of stuff, he said, I had better get it in the print I could understand myself. He thought it might be done in embossed letters ; but it turned out that nothing really worth reading was ever printed in them except the Bible. It appears Mr. Blunt gave him this infor- mation when he drove him over from Torchester one morning, and Mr. Blunt has certainly never got me any book 142 A Noble Name. except the Bible, and oh, how often have I been thankful for that ! " Lina looks wistfully at the boy ; her large, loving eyes fill with tears. The compassion she feels for him grows with each passing hour, there are moments when she feels as if she must take some instant and forcible revenge on the cruel, cruel people who have so long and so terribly neglected this patient, uncom- plaining sufierer. But he shall not know that his trouble makes her cry. She brushes her tears away hastily, and clears the choking sob in her throat as she says with admirable cheerfulness — " So much the better, Phil dear, there will be all the more for me to read to you. I can tell you ' Robinson Crusoe ' right off; I have that in German and English too ; you will like it, and we can Art Progress. 143 act it ! We will play at it in the garden, and fancy we are wrecked on the grass- plot. What fun we shall have ! But besides our games we will do all sorts of learning too. I mean to teach you Ger- man, and mother and I together are going to give you splendid music lessons. We both know how you love music, and so we are sure that will be a very great pleasure to you. My only fear is that we shall never find time for half we want to do." " Oh ! dear yes ; " says Philip wearily. " The days are very, very long and I never know what to do with myself when Mr. Blunt has gone, for I learn the little lessons he sets me very quickly ; but I cannot manage my music alone. That vexes him, he cannot understand why I should be so stupid, he says." Then the 144 A Noble Name. patient boy bows his head in sore dejec- tion, and the profound sigh he breathes comes from a very heavy heart. As yet he has not realized the possibility of any one taking a lasting and active interest in him, his sorrows and his needs. That Lina intends to be so devoted a slave to him, as to render time short, and weariness a thing unknown, is a benefit beyond his powers of conception, and his smile still has a tinge of sadness in it, which lapses into absolute melancholy when he is left alone to ponder on his helplessness. But when Lina appeals to, rouses and encourages him as now, he turns so bright and happy a face upon her, that she feels no sacrifice on her part can be too great if it secures such cheer- ful satisfaction on his. The unselfish little maiden has no notion of calling her simple, Art Progress. 145 pleasant duty by so grand a name as a sacrifice ; but such it decidedly is. And her total self-abnegation and sweet sub- jection to her helpless cousin is a bright example that many of us might be proud to follow in the service of our friends. The first sketching expedition proved so pleasant to all concerned that it was followed by many others. The cousins set forth hand in hand, gaily following genial, even-tempered Hubert to the spot selected by him as suitable for artistic purposes. Lina did all and more than all she had originally promised. She told Philip accurately how the painting pro- gressed, and she read him the stories of the great Magician and many others — indeed she seemed fairly on the road to the bright climax of her ambition ; for even now she often made Philip forget VOL. I. L 146 A Noble Name. that he was bUnd, and she certainly had a way of shortening the hours so effect- ually that he began to wish there were more of them in each quickly passing day. Hubert JN'orthcroft and his wife watch- ed Lina's devotion to her cousin with intense sympathy and profound interest. It was a subject of constant rejoicing to them that this bright little maid should prove herself as steadfast and thorough as she was fascinating. Her sweet unselfishness more than fulfilled their ardent wishes as to her moral strength, and there were moments when their pleasant impression seemed to cast rays of hght upon the undefined disc of the distant future. As years went by it seemed more than probable that Lina would become daily of greater use and service to her cousin, and thus, in due Art Progress. 147 course, each would find a willing and able helpmate at hand. What more natural or more satisfactory for all concerned than such a sequence of events ? A couple of months had been spent at Pineridge before either husband or wife dared to speak openly of the thoughts thus preoccupying them. Meanwhile the children had become constant and insepar- able companions, and it would have been strange indeed if the strongest affection had not grown up in Philip's warm heart for all his newly-found relatives. Their unfailing solicitude for his welfare and the ceaseless trouble they took on his account evoked the utmost gratitude from him. His uncle, absorbed as he was in his painting, was never " too busy " to reply to the boy's eager questions, and though never talkative, seemed always inclined to afford l2 148 A Noble Name. Philip some information which would in- terest or amuse the attentively listening boy. His aunt had a special claim on his affection and gratitude, because she per- sonally superintended the music lessons which Lina now gave him every day. Music held the blind lad enthralled. His aunt's playing and Lina's singing were the chief dehghts of his life, and the promise that he also should play with perfect ease some day led him to practise very patiently whenever he had the chance of doing so. It was very, very hard work, painfully wearisome and discouraging at times, both for pupil and teacher ; but both Aunt Letty and Lina were too well aware of the pleasure which would reward the lad's perseverance to suffer him to yield in face of the first difficulties. The matutinal hour spent at the piano, by her cousin's side, Art Progress. 149 every day, was probably the greatest test of Lina's affection and patience ; but she bore herself bravely, and by degrees the hardship of tuition was lessened. Every- thing had to be fumbled out by finger and ear ; but the fingers were acutely sensitive, and so was the sense of hearing. And it was so pleasant to watch his evi- dent improvement in the art which roused him more thoroughly than anything else he tried to do. But best of all was it to see the smile of perfect content which gladdened his gentle face if, after ceaseless repetition, he at last managed to render a difficult phrase accurately. That was Lina's reward ; she cared for little else now, so long as Philip was happy. Thus days went by, making weeks, and weeks months, and three of these had 150 A Noble Name. brought and taken the bright summer with them, and still the Hubert North- crofts were staying on at Pineridge, and any suggestion of their departure was instantly and peremptorily silenced by Sir Stephen, who was more than reconciled to their presence now, and regarded it with calm but lasting satisfaction. The concessions which under his wife's firm guidance Hubert made to the formalities of the house had overcome all Sir Stephen's objections, and he had taken an early opportunity of presenting him to the neighbouring families, who at the close of the London season returned to their country houses. Hubert could not forbear to comment on the absurd fashion which kept the grandees prisoners in town during the sweetest and brightest months of the year, and sent them flocking back to the Ai^t Progress. 151 country just as the glory of summer was on the wane and autumn tints began to show upon the falhng leaves. To Sir Stephen routine was the Alpha and Omega of social existence, and the idea of Hubert questioning the decrees of fashion appeared unseemly, not to say irre- verent. But, then, Hubert always was so painfully unconventional. The artist worked away, absorbed in his progress, and heeding outsiders or their comments not at all. He had used his time and the fine weather to the best possible advantage. He was already well forward with a large picture, and had successfully completed two smaller ones. Anxious to finish all the work begun on the spot, the painter willingly acquiesced in his brother's repeated invitations for his prolonged stay at the Priory, and made himself thoroughly 152 A Noble Name. at home there. The only grievance Sir Stephen now had against Hubert was anent that absurd apparatus, that gipsy-hke tent whicti the painter had erected on a con- venient mound close to the entrance of the home park. It would be positively em- barrassing when the county people began to call on their return to have them gazing at Hubert as he sat at his work out of doors. There really seemed to be very little difference, the baronet thought, in the labour of an artist and of ordinary painters who came to renovate houses, and brought ladders and scaffolding with them. Still for the sake of charming Mrs. Hubert and her pretty child, Sir Stephen resolved to put up with his brother's vagaries, and devoutly hoped that his friends would do the same. Art Progress. 158 Little Lina, whose sunny influence was felt by all who came in contact with her, was gaining a remarkable ascendency over her seemingly forbidding uncle. He sel- dom met her on the stairs or in the passages without a smile or a word of recognition, he kissed her paternally night and morning, and when he drove to Tor- chester he mostly brought some souvenir home to the bonnie maid. Far beyond all this overt recognition of her amiable spirit was the profound in- fluence of the child on her austere relative, for he was at last, though but slowly, awakening to his son's needs. One day he remarked to little Lina, " It is very kind and most civil of you to give yourself so much trouble about Philip, and to take pains with him as you do, but I really must protest against your incon- 154 A Noble Name. veniencing yourself. Mr. Blunt is a very able instructor ; I informed myself ac- curately upon that head before engaging him, and I am fully persuaded he does all that can be done." He always addressed the child with that pompous, magisterial air of his, but that was a sign of his courtesy, and by no means implied reprimand. " Dear uncle," she answered promptly, " I quite believe Mr. Blunt is a good teacher, but he is only a stranger, and he does not love Philip. I do ; so it is no trouble to me to try and help him — indeed, it is the greatest pleasure I have." This ingenuous rejoinder fell like a ray of light on to the baronet's dull intelligence, and he began to observe Philip and that charming guide and companion of his with quite a new interest. One day he actually Art Progress. 155 commented on his son's manifest improve- ment by this surprising speech — " I declare you are making quite a bright boy of him, Lina. He is as different from the dull lad you found him when first you came as day is from night." On another occasion he repeated his satisfaction at the change effected by Lina's presence, and added — "I could not possibly agree to your parents taking you away from us yet. The old house would be but a sorry abode if our bright fairy departed from it." Mrs. Hubert heard this auspicious speech, and rejoiced exceedingly over its import, which she at once confided to her husband, and wlien the baronet, referring to it him- self, suggested a compromise, by asking them all to stay over Christmas, and begin the new year at the Priory, Hubert, bearing 15G A Noble Name. his work in mind, assented cheerfully to his brother's gracious proposition. By the end of January the great picture would certainly be completed, and if the artist himself could not take it over to Munich, as he desired to do, it was quite possible to send it. Mrs. Northcroft, who always gave the decisive vote on questions regarding the well-being of her family, was inclined to ac- cept her brother-in-law's invitation, which had been repeated with unusual warmth this time. She herself had no particular desire to return to the old quasi-i3ohemian existence in Munich. She was a practical woman, and a comfortable existence in a well-appointed home Avas thoroughly to her taste. She had perfect faith in her husband's genius, had clear-seeing Letitia, and the conviction that his work could not Ai't Progress. 157 fail to fetch very high prices in England (when once he was duly recognised there), may have influenced her decision. From a business point of view, wealthy England was certainly preferable to impecunious Germany. And then there was Lina's future to be considered. A return to Munich would certainly not further the plans steadily growing in Mrs. North croft's mind, plans which assumed strength and importance with each passing month. Hubert himself was cheerful and contented anywhere, so long as he could work in peace and was not bothered about practical affairs. He abhorred " business " and responsibility of all kinds, and invariably handed over any mental burdens thrust upon him to his willing wife. She was brave and strong, and assumed them with perfect goodwill. 158 A Noble iV< ame. " How would it be to send this picture to the Eoyal Academy, and give up the idea of sending it to Germany, Hugh ? " This was Letitia's pregnant suggestion one morning, after a long and critical study of her husband's most ambitious painting. It certainly was an admirable picture. The effect of the sunset on the sturdy pine trees which formed the foreground of the landscape was marvellous. The naturally brilliant hue of the straight stems was intensified by the mellow light of the sinking orb, in which they literally glowed again, while the purple hills in the distance were sharply silhouetted against a golden sky. Hubert was very comfortably established in a large disused room in the old wing of the Priory, which his wife had converted Art Pi^ogress. 159 into a convenient studio. The small-paned window duly facing north was enlarged to a light of artistic dimensions, a good heat- giving stove was procured from Torchester, and fitted into the old-fashioned fireplace, rugs were spread here and there upon the stained floor, and all the appHances re- quired by the painter were provided for him by that clever, thoughtful helpmate of his. Settled in this comfortable studio, Hubert felt very much at his ease, and he worked with surprising diligence through- out the short winter days, appreciating and doing full justice to the precious day- light hours. That well-considered proposition of his wife's anent his last and greatest effort roused the artist's dormant ambition. To have painted a Torshire landscape in Eng- land and to send it straight to London for 160 A Noble Name. exhibition was indeed a happy and inspiring thought ; and with that end in view Hubert's remarkable zeal and freshly- aroused energy grew in proportion to the lessening number of days left him for completing his masterpiece. Thus all went brightly and prosperously at the Priory, until a sudden gloom was cast over the inhabitants by the severe in- disposition of cheerful Mrs. Hubert. The winter was most inclement, and in her frequent visits of charity to some of the old and sick in the village, the kind- hearted lady had caught a severe cold, which led to rheumatic fever, and pros- trated her completely. She kept her bed throughout the month of January, and when she at last reappeared at luncheon Sir Stephen expressed himself profoundly shocked by the change in her appear- Art Progress. 161 ance ; indeed he displayed the greatest concern about her, and solemnly adjured Hubert to get better advice. The easy- going artist was suddenly amazed and alarmed. No anxiety had hitherto pene- trated his great love for his wife. He had a vague impression that nothing could ever ail her or seriously interfere with the manifold services she rendered him. But when his brother drew his attention to the fact that Mrs. Hubert was undoubtedly very ill still, and that the doctor from Torchester could not have understood her case, then Hubert instantly desired to consult the first phy- sician in England. Was not Sir Joseph Barry a great authority, might he not be telegraphed for at once ? The great physician speedily answered Hubert's urgent summons. He arrived VOL. I. M 162 A Noble Name. at Torchester by the express train that afternoon. " There is no immediate danger," he said, compressing his thin hps and knit- ting his brows mysteriously, " and there was certainly not the shghtest necessity for a telegram, a letter would have been as effective, and spared me a consider- able amount of inconvenience." The master of Pineridge apologized with the greatest courtesy for his brother's " inconsiderate precipitancy," and blamed himself for leaving Hubert to do anything on his own account. He was bound to blunder whenever he attempted to follow his rash impulses. " There are no grave symptoms at present," repeated the oracle, when he had paid a second visit to the patient, who had retired to her room again, and Art Progress. 16i was seated in an arm chair by the fire there. Sir Joseph Barry had been mentally and physically refreshed by a few hours' rest and an excellent dinner, and he evidently took a more cheerful view of things in general. " At the same time," he continued, fixing Hubert with that solemn penetrating gaze for which he was famous, " at the same time I am bound to tell you that your wife requires the greatest care and attention. It appears to me "' — and here the grave physician became doubly impressive, — " it appears to me that the lady has some mental preoccupation, some occult anxiety which weighs on her spirits and deprives her of the tranquillity so essen- tial to her perfect recovery. Are you aware of any reason whatever for the mental distress I apprehend ? " 164 A Noble Name. Hubert declared himself quite ignorant of any such disturbing influence in his dear wife's case, and the doctor, per- ceivinof her loving husband's evident trouble, changed his portentous tone, and briefly repeated certain directions as to the patient's present treatment. " I will see her again in a week or two," he said. " I wish it were possible for you to bring her up to London for a time. I could form a more decided opinion if I saw her frequently. Meanwhile keep her from fretting. She must have no anxiety, no brooding. That is a sine quel non for her ultimate recovery. After so severe an attack of rheumatic fever, we may always fear for the heart. A cheerful mental condition is the safest and surest antidote. Care kills more folks thnn statisticians have ever heard of." Art Progress. 165 Poor Hubert ! it was not destined that he, more than the rest of mortals, should lead an untroubled existence. He com- plained bitterly of the " terrible things " that were always happening to some- body. There was poor old Stephen, who had a blind son ; now there was dear •' useful Letty " a helpless invalid. Why should people have so much bother in this troublesome world ? Why could not he at least be left to paint in peace ? But what was the use of fretting and worry? Meanwhile he contrived to get rid of his particular share in the world's troubles by issuing tremendous sighs and volumes of tobacco smoke ; and what was far more effectual in dispersing the clouds of perplexity which so suddenly 166 A Noble Name. overwhelmed him, he worked on with unremitting assiduity, and actually suc- ceeded in completing his great picture within the time he had allowed himself. A move should be made to London, and — at once, if it were only for the sake of proximity to the skilled physician who had undertaken to watch Mrs. Hubert's perplexing case. CHAPTER IX. HEART PROGRESS. 'TnHE picture was sent to the Eoyal Academy, and, strange as it may seem for those days (being " only a landscape "), it was well hung. More than that, it brought a crowd of fresh com- missions to the painter. Letitia's foresight was gratefully acknowledged by improvi- dent Hubert, and the thought of return- ing to the Continent finally abandoned. A house, with a good studio as annexe^ was secured on the breezy, and then thoroughly rural, heights of Hampstead, and as this house had been built and furnished by a painter, who was taking his work and his family abroad for 168 A Noble Name. some years, the Northcrofts found their new home thoroughly suitable in every respect. The change was evidently bene- ficial to Mrs. Hubert, whose health soon showed signs of improvement, and though a strange languor and a striking pallor remained to tell of the shock her system had received in the course of that prolonged, wearing illness, she was gradually returning to her former condition, and soon managed to fulfil her onerous duties with the old zealous spirit, if not with her wonted activity. " Peace of mind, cheerful society, no fretting, no brooding, " repeated Sir Joseph Barry, again and again, and he always looked at Hubert with that grave, penetrating gaze which was more eloquent even than his impressive words. He was constantly assured that there was Heart Progress. 169 nothing, nothing indeed, to disturb his patient's security ; but there was an air of incredulity in the shake of his vener- able head, and his reply was the fre- quent repetition of his first warning to Hubert — " Keep her mind at ease, and above all else remember that any sudden excitement, or any severe mental shock, might bring about the most disastrous consequences." Hubert heard ; but his was not an anxious disposition, and he thought he could see no cause for alarm, while his dear Letty herself endeavoured to assure him that she was getting on splendidly, that she had never been better, and that doctors always liked to make a fuss, of course, or else their skill in curing people would not be sufficiently appreciated. The parting between the cousins was 170 A Noble Name. a terrible grief to them both, and the sorrow consequent upon it was lasting. All the elders did their utmost to com- fort the children, and repeated promises were made as to Philip's coming to stay at the new house in London, and Lina's speedy return to the Priory on another long visit with her parents. But the blank she left in the lad's life completely prostrated him for a time. The sad helplessness of his condition was a thou- sand times more painful to him now than it had ever been before. As a child he had borne his affliction with a patient and not uncheerful docility ; but Lina's tender care and patient devotion had aroused all the responsive faculties of his nature, and these loving instincts refused to be quelled now. He positively rebelled against the terrible pain Lina's Heart Progress. 171 absence gave him, he cried out about his suffering as though it were causing him absolute physical pain. What was to become of the studies on which they had so earnestly entered together ? Were all the numerous pursuits and occupations to come to a sudden end ? Those happy pastimes, in which Lina had lent him her eyes, her hands, and the most watchful attention, until he often forgot that he was not as others were ; was he to give up all that made life worth living, all that compensated him for the beauties of nature, the delights of study, and the relaxation so necessary to the young ? Oh ! it was sad, sad, terrible, not to be endured. The only resource left him was his music, and even there Lina's sudden absence checkmated his efforts. How could he go on working, improving. 172 A Noble Name. vsince he was deprived of her watchful surveillance? So morbid, so profoundly melancholy, was the lad, that it was well the thought of suicide never pre- sented itself to him. In his condition of mental desolation death would have seemed preferable to life without Lina. "What comfort he did find, poor fellow, was in the diligent perusal of his pre- cious Bible, the comforting truths of which had become better appreciated by him since Mrs. Northcroft had had many a loving, serious, but hopeful talk with him on matters she deemed of the highest importance herself, and which she firmly believed necessary to the peace of mind of every human being. She was indeed a truly religious woman, and her life was an embodiment of that sweet charity which she so urgently and Heart Progress. 173 persistently strove to inculcate in every one about her, and which she herself practised faithfully, often under the most adverse circumstances. Sir Stephen, a little more alive than of yore to his son's sad condition and innumerable needs, condescended to argue with him on tlic subject of his exaggerated grief. He had caught a glimpse of the poor lad one day, as he sat in the old attitude of helpless dejection, his head bowed low upon his breast, his hands hanging listlessly at his side. This pitiable sight inspired the father with a sense of compunction ; for it brought to his mind the time when Philip was always dull, and also reminded him of the extent of the change Lina had wrought in that sadly isolated life. 174 A Noble Name. " You know, Philip, that it is per- fectly preposterous your giving yourself all these airs of desolation," says Sir Stephen, suddenly entering his son's room, after he had stood on the thres- hold awhile, making mental notes on his dejected appearance. As he looked, a sense akin to ipitj animated him ; but when he addresses the boy his manner is as forbidding, his tone as hard as ever — " You surely are old enough by this time to comprehend the fitness of things to some extent? How can you possibly expect that Lina is always to be at your beck and call ? " Phihp makes a deprecating movement with his long expressive hands, and his head sinks lower and lower upon his breast ; but he gives no audible re- joinder to his father's tirade. Heart Progress. lib There is a pause — pensive on one side, threatening on the other, and after a while the latter ends in these sharply spoken words — '' You are both unreasonable and absurd in supposing that you can treat your cousin like a hired servant, a professional reader paid so much an hour for services rendered. Why, even Mr. Blunt would rebel at the multifarious duties you ex- pected Lina to fulful at your bidding." An extraordinary change comes over Philip's face while his father is speaking. He turns gradually but awfully pale, and as he rises and moves a step toward his parent he is visibly trembling. " A servant, father ? How can you suggest that I expected menial services from my kindest, dearest and best friend ? Can you for one moment suppose that any 176 A Noble Name. paid person would do for me what Lina did? I am shocked, and hurt too, at the view you take of her — and of me." "Do not excite yourself, do not talk nonsense, boy, and, before all else, have the goodness to remember to whom you are addressing yourself. Is that the tone befitting a son who appeals to his father ? " Sir Stephen is fairly taken aback. He can hardly trust his own power of hearmg. He had never struck the latent steel in his boy's soul, and had deemed him utterly incapable of any sort of fire. But that quivering lip, the trembling hands, and the defiant attitude plainly show how efiectually Philip is roused at last ; and when his father realizes the full extent of the conflagration he has brought about, he feels somewhat alarmed. " Sit down, my boy," he says, in a Heart Progress. Ill pacifying tone. " I perceive that you are not aware yourself of the impropriety of speech into which excitement has betrayed you. Let us speak quietly, comfortably together, and devise some method by which you can be interested and amused in future. Your recent loneliness has evidently preyed upon your spirits. You are quite morbid to-day." Sir Stephen pauses for the encourage- ment of a reply ; but he is disappointed. Philip sits silent and motionless. He offers neither apology for his past rudeness nor further protest. He listens passively to the next proposition made to him — " I have resolved in any case to put some person entirely at your disposal as reader, guide, and secretary," says Sir Stephen ; " and, as you evidently incline to female companionship, you shall be VOL. I. N 178 A Noble Name. humoured in that respect also. Mrs. Eus- kett tells me that she has struggled hard to give her daughter a good education, and the girl is about to return home after two years' residence in a high-class boarding-school. An exemplary parent a worthy woman that Mrs. Euskett— under the circumstances — no better or more useful servant could possibly be found for you than this Isabel. I will consult the housekeeper on the spot. I am sure my proposal will meet with her approbation. She is devoted to our family, and it will gratify her to think that, while she is serving the head of the house, her daughter is able to attend upon the heir-apparent." Sir Stephen actually attempts to be jocular. He enunciates the last words with a humorous intonation, but riiilip is Heart Progress. 179 in no mood to smile at jokes or to appreciate unwelcome favours. There is a resentful curve about his lips, as he re- lapses into his former attitude of passive endurance. He by no means approves of his father's suggestions ; but he is too weary, too sick at heart, for further pro- test of any kind. Mrs. Euskett, who had laboured under incessant anxiety that those " 'Uberts " would interfere in her plans, Avas im- mensely relieved at their unexpected and most welcome departure. " Good riddance of bad rubbish, in- deed ! " she remarked to Mr. Grind, and they both enjoyed a glass of fnie old port as they drank to the " long stay away of those meddlesome relations of the master's." " I shall have my child back from N 2 180 A Noble Name. school now," said Mrs. Sarah, smacking her lips, " and we'll soon see if a high- spirited English lady, who has had the best of education at a first-class boarding school, can't hold her own with Master PhiUp quite as well, or a deal better, most likely, than that yellow-haired Miss Lina, who made up to lier poor cousin in the most bold-faced manner, and took every advantage of his being blind, and consequently at her mercy ! " In pursuance of the deeply-laid plan of her own, Mrs. Euskett awaited a favourable opportunity to make certain suggestions to her austere master, and one day when she found him alone in the library, she had ventured to inform him of the intended return of her daughter from school, and added some information as to the excellent education .Heart Progress. 181 she had managed to give that young lady. " I am most anxious to find her some suitable occupation," the wily house- keeper added, pleadingly. " Her school- ing has cost me far more money than a poor woman like me is well able to afford ; but now the dear girl must try to pay me back by earning a little some- thing on her own account." And then she warily proceeded to suggest that Master Phihp would be lonesome-like now Miss Lina had gone, and that such help and companionship as he required, her daughter would be quite able and most delighted to offer him. " My poor child tried hard to be of service to the young gentleman when both of them were children," she urged, "and of course she could do 'undreds of 182 A Noble Name. things now that she had never dreamt of before her education was complete." At this extensive assertion Sir Stephen smiled just a little, and Mrs. Sarah began to feel very hopeful about the success of her scheme. " There's only one thing I am afraid of in making this proposal to my kind master, Sir Stephen," the woman added pleadingly, as she was about to leave the room. " And that is ? " he asked, pleased by her extreme deference. " Things may be changed now both is older," she said ; " but years ago Master Philip did not take to my poor child at all, and that went nigh to break her heart, the darling, for she is of a loving and amiable turn is my Isabel." A sup- pressed sob pointed this speech, and of Heart Progress. 18)) all these words and signs Sir Stephen took special heed. A few dull, monotonous days followed that amazing demonstration of passion on Philip's part before his father ventured to allude to the subject of their discussion again, and then he quietly announced that he had definitively settled and arranged all matters with Mrs. Euskett now, and that the girl Isabel would arrive at Pineridge, and be prepared to commence her duties as reader and amanuensis on the Monday following. But, instead of being grateful to his father for this most considerate propo- sition, the lad received it with evident disgust ; indeed, he resented the notion of Isabella Euskett's service with an indig- nant protest, and solemnly declared that he could never^ never^ never! derive the 184 A Noble Name. smallest comfort or consolation from so unpromising a scheme. He was, how- ever, powerless to prevent his elders from carrying out what they chose to consider essential to his comfort, and the very morning after Isabel's arrival at the Priory her mother settled her in "Master Philip's study," and bade her read aloud to the " poor dear young gentleman." This brought Philip's rising rebellion to a climax. He burst into a torrent of wild words and passionate irritation. He fled from the study, and trembling in every limb, presented himself, white in face, wild in manner, before his astonished father. " That girl's reading is too dreadful, it hurts me, it hurts me, I cannot bear it," cried the unhappy boy, and then he tried to explain to his indignant parent Heart Progress. 185 the suffering caused to him by Isabel's affectation, her strident tones, her mincing articulation, her utter disregard of all punctuation, and her wilful emphasis on every substantive. The contrast between this creature's tone of voice, her obstruc- tive presence, and her affected manner, and Tina's gentle, sympathetic companion- ship, was too terrible ; and Philip, smart- ing painfully under the infliction, declared he could bear no more of it. "I would ten thousand times rather be quite alone and never hear another word read to me at all," cried the boy, stand- ing before his father and wringing his hands in despair as he made his pro- testation. "I cannot listen to that dread- ful girl again ! " Philip's former passion had warned Sir Stephen that a second outbreak might 186 A Noble Name. be expected, and yet he was taken by surprise again at the lad's angry vehe- mance. He called him imdutiful, un- grateful, disobedient, unfilial, and heaped up one opprobrious epithet on another, but without any appreciable result. It was not until more than a month of alternate reproof, threat, and persuasion had made the blind boy feel himself a martyr, and cruelly persecuted, that he was at last reduced to a state of some- thing like quiescence. Mrs. Euskett acted the part of presiding genius, and seized upon the first favour- able moment in Avhich there seemed a chance of again inducting her daughter as companion to the heir apparent. Wearied by prolonged resistance, gentle Philip suffered the girl's occasional presence in silence, if not in patience ; but that Heart Progress. 187 he did suffer was very evident, and his moral depression soon acted detrimentally upon his health. The old languor over- came him with tenfold vigour. He even hated the hours with Mr. Blunt now, which once were welcomed so eagerly as breaks in the long monotonous days ; and, worse still, his music lessons ceased to have any charm in them, since they brought Lina's absence more vividly and painfully to his mind than aught else. Mr. Blunt, though uncultured, was not without feelino^, and after watchinof his pupil with considerable anxiety for a couple of months, he became seriously alarmed about his morbid condition. At last the tutor actually summoned up courage enough to hint at tlie nature and extent of his uneasiness to the autocratic master of Pineridge. This was a niaurais 188 A Noble Name, quart-cTheure for both men, but it had an excellent result for the innocent cause of their discussion, who was soon told that Mr. Blunt, before very long, was to take him to London to spend a few weeks at his uncle Hubert's new house. That news wrought a sudden but won- derful change in the lad. Languor and indifference vanished as heavy clouds do before the rising sun. The mist of sorrow was dispersed, and joy — the joy of bright anticipation^ — asserted its hopeful sway. Even Isabel was endured in the study now, for the ice of displeased reserve was broken, and Philip was in a measure thankful to have some one near him to whom he might talk of the prospect before him. He was actually willing to take Isabel's arm now, and to go for walks with her through the garden and Heart Progress, 189 shrubberies. And sometimes tliey went lip along the high road, and the lanes which led to the great pine wood on the borders of Tor and Westshire, for as they were walking they could talk, and a month's visit to London paid to a friend by Isabel just after she left school formed a theme of incessant discussion between them. Miss Euskett had spent the time of her stay in the metropolis with a cousin who was a dresser at one of the principal theatres, and from this person (Jane Hopkins by name) the girl had obtained much theatrical information as to life behind the scenes, together with many passes for the pit on various occasions. To Philip, whose active mind had been freshly aroused by the promise of going to town so soon, Isabel's lively accounts of the wonders of the metropolis presented 1.90 A Noble Xame. a new and engrossing subject of interest. He now asked far more questions than even Miss Euskett felt inclined to answer. And yet she was flattered by the intense satisfaction with which Sir Stephen's son hstened to her whom, a few week's ago, he had treated with such scant consideration. She felt sorry the young gentleman was blind, because he could not see her. It seemed a shame that her "wicked black eyes," which had brought her no end of compliments already, should be invisible to him, and so deeply did she commiserate his inability to admire her new silk dress (the one with a train to it) that she gave him the most elaborate description of its fit, texture, and appearance. He was wondering while she spoke whether Lina's dresses were likely to be made in a similar fashion, and earnestly IleaiH Progress. 191 strove to picture the general effect of such costume and colours with his mental vision, and then he asked his companion for further details as to her personal appearance. Xow Isabel was quite in her element, and the portrait she painted of herself in glowing words would have done honour to Terbourg himself, so elaborate were its details, so loving the lingering touches on the glossy, black hair, the brilliant complexion, and " wicked eyes." PhiUp listened in wondering patience. An earnest desire to improve his know- ledge of the appearance of things around him kept him silent and attentive, and he was striving to make mental com- parisons, while Miss Euskett discoursed of her beauty with wondrous volubility. " You are dark, then ?" asked Philip, 192 A Noble Name. having arrived at some conclusion at last, " and my cousin is wliat they call fair ?" "Yes," answers Isabel viciously. My ma told me Miss Lina was one of your quiet deep sort, and they have never much to boast of in looks or colour either. Your cousin, from all I have heard, must be just as different from me as day is from night." " I am sure of it," says Philip with startling emphasis, and mentally con- tinues, " Thank God that is so !" Miss Euskett resents the tone of his assertion, and takes the trouble to explain to him that a brilliant night with " lots " of lamps, gay dresses, and plenty of music, such as she beheld at a fete on the London stage, is far more attractive to those who can see than any daylight scene could ever be. ''And that is just Heart Progress. 193 the difference there is between a dashing sort of girl like me and one of the fair, goody-goody sort such as your cousin seems to have made you think she is." "I quite understand you," says PhiHp quietly. In his heart he adds, '* and the more I know you, the less I like you ; but I loved Lina better and better day after day, and since I am to be so soon with her again, and quite happy, I can listen even to you in patience now." w^ 'M VOL. 1. CHAPTER X. ox THE HEIGHTS OF HAMPSTEAD. TN 1859 Ilampstead Heath was still an eminentl}^ rural tract of country, and when Hubert took possession of the com- fortable, old-fashioned red-brick house vacated by the brother artist of whom he was to rent it, he found himself tho- roughly at his ease there. The studio, which had but lately been built as an annexe, had every modern convenience, and the views from the upper windows and from the heath beyond the garden were full of suggestions to the painter's mind. Mrs. Hubert was decidedly better and stronger for the change ; her husband thoroughly content, and not a little On the Heights of Hampstead. 195 pleased to be his own master once more and free from the supervision of his ceremonious brother. Lina was the only one of the trio who did not delight in their change of abode. She missed her blind cousin every hour in the day ; even the visits of her daily governess, and the lessons of Herr Lirtz, her singing-master, failed to supply the vacuum in her life which her constant care for Philip had so abundantly filled. Sometimes she wrote him a letter, but that after all was scant consolation to either, for the letter would have to be read aloud by some unsym- pathetic third person, who neither felt with, nor for, the enthusiastic correspon- dent. How could she pour out the inmost thoughts cf her young loving heart, the thousand questions, hints, and suggestions dictated by her intimate knowledge of o 2 196 A Noble Name. his wants, wishes, and likings, while the chilHng conviction that alien eyes would read her words before they reached his ears, checked her at every sentence? Oh ! if she could but print all she longed to tell him in the regulation embossed letters, — and, if then she could be sure that he, and he alone, would unravel the loving words she so ardently longed to say to her afflicted darling ! She pined visibly, poor little maid. This enforced absence from one who had ab- sorbed her every thought, and required her constant and ceaseless attention, changed the happy current of her un- selfish life, and she ceased to find pleasure or contentment in anything. Indeed she was but a degree less impatient than poor Philip himself at their protracted separa- tion. For though Sir Stephen had pacified Oil the Heights of Hampstead. 197 his son by the promise of a speedy visit to London, week after week, and month after month, actually went by before there were any signs of the realization of the meeting to which the cousins so anxiously looked forward. The summer waned, autumn tints appeared upon the trees and shrubs on the heath at Hampstead, and in the gardens of Pineridge. Philip, though bitterly disappointed at the pro- tracted delay of his journey, still firmly believed in its ultimate possibility, and, as we have seen, when it was once defi- nitely settled on, through the friendly intercession of Mr. Blunt and Sir Stephen, consoled himself, after a fashion, by dwell- ing on the delights which it would yield and by accepting with wliat grace he could the assistance and companionship of Isabel Euskett. 198 A Noble Name. Hubert Northcroft and his wife were by no means unobservant of the change in their precious Lina, and began to speak to one another more openly than they had hitherto done, of the future result of the profound and lasting, though as yet childish and unacknow- ledged love of the young cousins. Sir Stephen occasionally wrote a letter to his brother, and of course he alluded to the blank caused in his son's life by Lina's absence, and the perplexities which this had produced in his (the baronet's) mind. But he still made very light of the blind boy's grievances, and dwelt at some length on the admirable plan that had been adopted for his assistance. " Mrs. Euskett's daughter now fills the onerous post of reader and servant to my son, to the perfect satisfaction of all On the Heights of Hampstead. 199 concerned." This was Sir Stephen's off- hand fashion of disposing of Philip's troubles and difficulties, but clear-sighted Letitia was not deceived by his tone, and felt as ever the keenest pity for her lonely, afflicted nephew. Philip, himself, from time to time dictated letters to his aunt or his cousin ; but these were mostly written by the matter-of-fact Mr. Blunt. Once, and once only, was Miss Isabel's pen pressed into this service, for Philip shrank intuitively from doing any- thing which appeared to associate that young person with his sweet Lina. The letter was addressed to Miss Northcroft, but so far from giving her pleasure, it filled her with sorrow and misgiving. In- stead of treasuring it in the little sandal- wood work-box in which the rest of Phihp's variously written epistles were 200 ^1 Noble Name. safely locked up, she tore this last letter into shreds, flung them out of the open window of her little chamber at the top of the house, and watched the pieces Avhirling and eddying like autumn leaves on the back of the north wind, away away, and away — out of sight. Out of mind she hoped. From the day she received that letter, Lina hated mauve ink ; and the pointed writing suggestive of pins, which, in those days, was deemed " elegant " in young ladies' schools, became her lasting aversion. The difficulty which hampered poor Lina in her desire to correspond with her cousin, appeared to him more than trebled in his own case. How could he dictate to any outsider the tender little confidences meant for her loving ear alone ? How could he confide to any On the Heights of Hampstead. 201 third person his intense longing for the renewal of their happy and satisfactory companionship? She understood him thoroughly. That he knew well, and it gave him strength and comfort. But others ? . . . . All others w^ould sneer if he bade them write exactly what he wished to tell her. His father would probably bid him write sense, if he wrote at all, and ask him not to deliver himself of the farrago of sentimental nonsense with which his brain teemed whenever he thought of his Lina. Mr. Blunt would suggest a concise and matter-of-fact form of expression, and would certainly con- strue " My own darling Lina," into " Dear Cousin ! " No, Phihp could not, and would not, be satisfied with this vicarious mode of expressing his inmost 202 A Noble Name. sacred feelings. And so it came to pass tliat liis letters grew few and far be- tween, until he suddenly wrote (per Mr. Blunt) tliat it was now positively ar- ranged that that gentleman, who was going to spend his Christmas hohdays in London, should bring his pupil up to Hampstead en route. " So I shall, after all, be with you before this miserable year comes to its sad end," was the concluding sentence of tlie boy's dictated letter. "And on the picturesque heights above London, of which dear Aunt Letty has given me so vivid a picture, I shall hope to get over the weary loneliness of the wretched months I have spent since all you bright people deserted Pineridge. " Your loving " Philip." On the Heights of Ilampstead. 203 When the day and hour of her cousin's arrival had been finally settled, Lina's unnatural apathy was changed into eager excitement, as by the wave of a magi- cian's wand. Her previous indifference gave place to tumultuous delight, and she could scarcely restrain her exuberant spirits within the bounds of decorum even during the solemn lesson hours which she gleefully anticipated Philip would, ere long, share with her again. She pro- posed walking to the station to meet liim. And failing to obtain her mother's consent to this adventurous exploit, she implored permission to run down steep Haverstock Hill to meet the cab on its upward climb. " But you must miss it in the dusk, my darling, and that would never do," suggested Hubert, smiling in placid 204 A Noble Name. wonder at the child's excitement. So, poor Lina had perforce to content her- self with the ancient panacea that affords isuch scanty consolation to any young soul — patience ! patience ! Nevertheless, at intervals she danced to and fro with wild ectasy on the gravel walk within the old iron gates, and now and then she escaped and ran a yard or two along the high road beyond. At last! Yes, at last wheels are heard slowly advancing, and the cumbersome luggage- laden cab stops, with Mr. Blunt and Philip inside, while the driver commences a hoarse inquiry in which the name " Northcroft " alone is intelligible. "Yes, it is all right. Stop ! It is here! here!" cries Lina, jubilant. And in an- other instant, regardless of father, mother. On the Heights of Hamp.stead. 205 tutor, or driver, the child has seized the handle of the cab door, which she opens with the utmost alacrity. " I'll help you, I'll hold you — only one step. Take care, Philip, my dear, my dearest, my darling cousin ! " The boy and girl are locked close in one another's arms. Tears are runninof over their cheeks, joy is beating wildly in their happy young hearts — the long, bitter ordeal of separation is over, they are united once more, and wholly content. The happiness of the simple liousehold at Hampstead was completed by the ad- vent of " dear cousin Philip." The original proposition was that he should spend Christmas with his beloved relatives ; but he stayed on and on. First, '• to see the New Year in," then to await more 206 A Noble Na me. settled weather, after the breaking of an unusually prolonged frost, and finally because he was a welcome and delighted guest, for whose protracted stay no rea- son wns needed beyond the indispensable facts, that he was happy to be with his good friends, and that they rejoiced to see him in their midst. The success wdiich had attended Hubert as an exhibitor the previous year, in the Eoyal Academy, was sufficient encourage- ment for his sending still more important work this following season of 1860. The excitement, the hurly-burly, which attends the commencement of the London Art-year, was much the same twenty years ago as it is in these days ; for history repeats itself, and the opening of the Eoyal Academy, in Trafalgar Square then, was a very similar occasion to the opening 071 the Heights of Hanipstead. 207 of the great picture show in Piccadilly now. In his way, blind Philip loves pictures, and of course he must pay a visit to the Exhibition. Hubert and Lina have so far trained him that he follows their detailed descriptions with keenest interest, and in the studio he feels his way to a knowledge of the subject on the easel, by having his forefinger carefully guided over the out line of composition and by pausing to reflect as each succeeding point is minutely described to him. Hence, an expedition to the Eoyal Academy, during the month of May, becomes one of the most marked episodes in the life at Hanipstead, and althouo^h Hubert and his wife have been to the private view, the former consents, somewhat reluctantly, to go again, and act as escort to his daughter and 208 A Noble Name, nephew. Eeluctantly, be it said, because the artist has the greatest objection to the heat, dust, and hubbub of the crowded rooms, and grudges even an hour of the bright summer weather spent away from his own airy abode. The first novelty which produces a vivid impression on PhiKp, on the occasion of his first visit to the Academy, is the sound of the sentries reheving guard in front of the National Gallery. The soldiers' mea- sured tread, the clank of arms, the des- cription of their appearance, all combine to arrest Iiis attention, and Lina has to answer questions innumerable before Philip lias made himself thorougldy acquainted with this unexpected phenomenon. When he is sufficiently instructed on that head, he relapses in puzzled silence, and as the trio make their way up the broad stone On the Heights of Hampstead. 209 steps, and enter the crowded rooms, Philip listens eagerly to the stray words and comments so rapidly bandied from right to left. It is not long before Hubert begins to grumble cit the terrible heat, the stifling dust, and the troublesome, pushing people. The blind lad is exceed- ingly anxious to ascertain the exact posi- tion of his uncle's pictures, and is evidently gratified when he finds his fingers placed upon the frames of two which hang upon the line. "As for the third, Phil," says the artist, laughing, '• the Academicians have thought that far too precious for the vulgar gaze, so they have considerately skyed it — hoisted it out of sight, you understand — and whoever Welshes to see it must use an opera-glass or a teles- cope." VOL. I. P 210 A Noble Name. While Lina explains this bit of her father's facetiousness to her cousin, a friend of the former touches him unex- pectedly on the arm. The stranger is an artist, and Hubert hails his advent as a blessed relief, for he has come to the end of his patience, though Lina, who is intensely interested in the novelty of the sights presented to her, shows no signs of weariness as yet. " I particularly want your opinion on that landscape of Dove's, Northcroft, " says Beech, the friend. " There is quite a whirlwind of discussion about it amonc: the E. A.s generally, and the outsiders in particular. I, for my part, contend it is not true. You just come and look at it with me ; I am sure the sky is several tones too low." " Ah, well ; I hope it's not far off," On the Heights of Hampstead. 211 says Hubert wearily ; " for to tell you the truth Beech, I am sick of pictures, and tired to death by the crowd, the worry, and the noise." " It's in the farthest room, unluckily," says Beech ; " but I am personally in- terested in it, and I have faith in your judgment, so do come, it won't take you a minute." " Oh ! of course ! " sighs Hubert, with a comic air of resignation. " Can you find me a seat here, while they go on, Lina ? " whispers Philip ; " my head begins to ache with the noise and heat. I will wait for you : don't say you are going to stay with me, because I should prefer your seeing all you possibly can : this may be your only chance." Lina demurs. p 2 212 A Noble Nt ame. " Can I leave you ? " she says doubtfully." " Set me down near the entrance," he says, "where I can get a little air. I shall be quite safe, and then you must take a good look round those rooms we have not been into, and come and report progress to me. I do want you to see as much as possible for my sake." " Well, have you settled it between you, my dears, who comes and who stays ? " asks Hubert ; " we shall not take ten minutes over the business of inspection, I promise you, for I cannot stand any more of this crowd." Lina establishes the blind lad comfort- ably on a bench near the head of the stairs, as he had suggested, and, with a loving pressure of his hand, she On the Heights of Hampstead. 213 leaves him, while she follows the two artists, who saunter slowly on, absorbed in talking " shop " to their hearts' content. ♦ * * * * " Good gracious me, Mr. Philip, who ever would have thought of seeing you here ! Why, at first I could hardly be- lieve my eyes ! " says a shrill voice close to his ear ; and the owner of the voice possesses herself eagerly of the hand that lies on the blind lad's knee. Philip recognises Miss Euskett's tones at once, but the knowledge that she has seated herself by his side affords him no kind of satisfaction. " What has brought you to town, Isabel ? " he presently asks, after an awkward pause. " Ah ! you may w^ell be surprised, Mr. 214 A Noble Name. Philip," she answers with that affected laugh which she has copied from a cer- tain burlesque actress. "I came up partly on business and partly on pleasure ; but I want to hear all you have been do- ing ; tell me something about yourself, now do. Ma will be pleased to think I have met you. She did wish me to call up at Hampstead ; but that's such a long journey, and I never seem to have a minute to spare as it is. I am staying with Mrs. Hopkins — cousin Jane, you know, I told you all about her — do you remember?" Philip nods assent and vaguely wonders how he ever could have listened to this uncultured girl with anything like interest or amusement. She certainly bores him ex- ceedingly now. "Is your cousin with you today?" he asks, pining for rehef. On the Heights of Hampstead. 215 " Oh, dear, yes," says Isabel, laughing aloud again ; she is standing waiting for me ; and now she is making signs to me to come away. Ha, ha ! She's cross because she thinks I'm wasting her time while I'm up to my larks, flirt- ing with a handsome young stranger. She knows my ways by this time ; though she has no idea that you can't even see whether I'm pretty or plain." Here follows the stage laugh, and Phihp is thankful that Lina had left him before this demonstrative young lady appeared upon the scene. No wonder that her voice falls discordantly upon his sensitive ear, while Lina's gentle tones are still vibrat- ing in his memory. "Don't fidget," says Isabel sharply, see- ing him inclined to edge away from her side ; " I have heaps of things to say to 216 A Noble Name. you. It seems a year since we had a regular good chat together. But perhaps you don't care to talk to me now, since you have been used to the company of Miss Lina ; pretty care milady seems to take of you too — my word ! nice con- siderate people you've got to look after you. Fancy their leaving you all by yourself in such a crowd as this ! shameful, that's what I call it ! " Some latent personal grievance lends emphasis to Isabel's protest ; but Philip can bear no more. "My friends have placed me here by my own request," he says angrily. " You must not suppose — I will not allow you to question their conduct in any way. They are always kind, gentle, and con- siderate to me." " Oh ! I'm sure I beg your pardon very On the Heights of Hampstead. 217 humbly, Mr. Philip," says Isabel, with a Avild attempt at satire ; " I quite forgot ! of course, whatever Miss Lina does must be right. I stand corrected ; I might have remembered that she is perfect in your ideas is that mysterious young lady Avhom I never manage to get a glimpse of. When she was at the Priory I was away, and vice versa, as they say in the classics ! Still, I do wonder at her leaving you here by yourself. I thought she was so extra careful of you. My ma always said that when Sir Stephen was by, there was never an end to her billing and cooing. Perhaps that was for the benefit of your pa. There, there, don't look so grumpy, Mr. Philip. It's only my chaff of course. You ought to know me better than to be cross at my nonsensical chatter. 218 A Noble Name. She moves closer to him, and pats his arm with her fan, as she whispers : " But now I do wish you'd tell me whatever you came here for ? Fancy a blind young gentleman coming to see the pictures. Oh ! Jane, this is a joke ; just come here,—" Isabel beckons to Mrs. Hopkins, who approaches slowly and makes a warning sign to her relative to curb her tongue and her laughter ; for the passers-by linger, looking and wondering at the bold, black-eyed girl who has laid her yellow- gloved hand on the arm of that gentle, melancholy lad, who seems to appreciate her attentions so little. "Jane here can tell you that not seeing the pictures is no loss," continues Isabel, subduing her tone somewhat, but informing her cousin in an audible aside, — On the Heights of Hampstead. 219 "It's Mr. Philip, Sir Stephen's son and heir, he's quite bhnd, don't you know?" " Lor ! " exclaims Mrs. Hopkins, and being good-natured, adds, "No, indeed, sir, the pictures are no loss I can assure you; it makes my head whirl to look at them. We came to see the people, and they ain't much to look at neither ; so you needn't fret sir, I'm sure." " Oh ! I love a crowd," remarks Isabel, " and we are going to the play to-night. Have you been to the theatre yet, Mr. Philip ? " He shakes his head. "We had better be going, my dear," here interposes Mrs. Hopkins ; " orders are not admitted after seven, and we must go over to the Waterloo road first, and that's a good step from here. I want my tea, too, I'm that thirsty." " Well, I suppose I must say good-bye, 220 A Xohle Name. then, Mr. Philip," says Isabel, hastily; " it won't do to be late at the Kaleido- scope. That's the style of theatre / like. Such handsome dresses ; such cheeky girls. One gentleman, a friend of mine, who belongs to the company, says I should do well if I joined them. I have just the right face and figure, and should be sure to get on. I shall wait and see. Don't you say a word to ma, please, Mr. Philip, but I have half a mind to try my luck on the stage." " Come along, Isa, do," urges Mrs. Hopkins. "I know we shall be late." " I should have liked to wait and see that goody-goody cousin of yours," re- peats Miss Euskett as she rises. "The most considerate young lady who brings you to see the pictures — ha ! ha ! — and then leaves you all by your poor bhnd On the Heights of Hampstead. 221 self. Ta-ta, or au revoir, as Ma'amselle taught us to say for politeness. Give my respects — ahem — to Miss Lina, and tell her to look after you better in future, or I must go and stay at Hampstead and divide the duty with her." Yes ; she has really gone at last. The rustle of a stiiF crinoline, the clank of high-heeled boots, the obtrusive motion of a crackling fan, are all lost in the surging crowd which carries them away. And PhiHp, intensely relieved, finds him- self alone once more. He dreaded Lina's return while that noisy girl was beside him, holding his hand, and laughing in his face. He begins to long for the sound of the sweet familiar voice which has made all others sound unmusical to him. 222 A Noble Name. " Dear Phil," that voice whispers pre- sently, close to his ear, "have we been very long away? Mr. Beech had so much to say, and father stood talking, talking too. I was in despair at last, and begged leave to run back and see after you. Philip, dear, are you vexed?" Lina's quick eyes, accustomed to note every movement of his face and hands, at once detects that something has dis- tressed him. But a strange feeling seals the boy's hps. He hates the thought of mentioning the name of Isabel to his cousin ; he knows, though he can- not say why, that she would not like to hear it. " Oh, I am only a little tired of all this noise and bustle, " he answers, wea- rily. " Is uncle ready ; may we go out into the fresh air now ? " On the Heights of Hampstead. 223 " So you have had enough of the Academy, too, have you, Phil ? " asks Hubert, cheerily. He has overheard his nephew's last words. " Sensible lad, " he adds ; " let us get out at once under God's pure sky, and leave the be- nighted rabble behind us." CHAPTER XI. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE DOES RUN SMOOTH. T)HILIP had come to Hampstead to stay two montlis and actually re- mained more than a year. A bright, prosperous, and happy year that, which in the days to come he looked back upon as the one pleasant spot of ver- dure in the desert of his barren life. Twice in the course of those twelve months his uncle and Lina went home to Pineridge with him ; but Mrs. North- croft preferred to remain at Hampstead, and welcomed her " truant trio " back Avith evident delight. She seemed to dread the brother-in-law now, who had at one time inspired her with so little True Love Does Run Smooth. 225 awe. Perhaps this nervous apprehension was due to her more susceptible condi- tion of mind and body ; perhaps she had learnt in the course of years to understand the exceeding hardness of his character, and the deep-seated prejudice of his convictions, more thoroughly than on the pleasant occasion of her first visit. Lina and her stern uncle were excellent friends still ; the bright girlish nature was not easily quelled, and her light- hearted prattle and laughter seemed to lift the sombre cloud of severity from Sir Stephen's brow. The tie between Philip and Lina was evidently becoming nearer and dearer as the days and months grew into years. Mrs. Euskett's ambitious plans were for the nonce checkmated by this increas- ing attachment, and the frequent inter- VOL. I. Q 226 A Noble Na me. change of visits between the cousins. Isabel, who had found Pineridge exceed- ingly dull, was delighted when she ob- tained prolonged leave of absence from her "Ma," and continued to sojourn in London with infinite satisfaction. She took up her residence with Mrs. Jane Hopkins entirely, who found her an agree- able and useful companion, for Mrs. Hop- kins let lodgings to people engaged at the theatre, and Isabel was always ready to assist in looking after the lively boarders, whom she considered as quite the most delightful people she had ever met. Thus time went on, and she stayed on, knowing no greater pleasure than a surreptitious peep hehind the scenes of the Kaleidoscope Theatre, where Mrs. Hop- kins still filled tlie post of dresser to the leading ladies of the ballet. It had now True Love Does Run Smooth. 227 become the height of Miss Euskett's ambition to figure in a burlesque some day, and she felt confident that thus, and thus only, could she obtain the full meed of admiration due to her dashing appearance and those wicked black eyes which the "gentlemen lodgers" in the Waterloo Eoad were never tired of prais- ing. Mrs. Euskett had most reluctantly re- signed herself to the conviction that nothing was to be done with the " heir- apparent," during his repeated absences in London. Still it gratified her to know that her daughter remained within easy reach of him. Better times might come yet ; but for the present she could only play a waiting game. She therefore resolved to offer no opposition to her daughter's residence in the metropolis. Q 2 228 A Noble Name. She was safe with Mrs. Hopkins, and her services to the lodgers paid for her board. Besides, the girl liked a town life ; and that was a delightful fact, for anything was better than to have her wasting her time at the Priory, a useless occupant in the housekeeper's room, grumbling from morning till night, and causing dissension between the house- keeper and the upper servants, who all objected to that fine lady daughter of hers. And so the years went swiftly by — un- eventful, tranquil years these, to the chief actors in our domestic drama. But the mere passage of time must effect some changes, and when, after a lapse, we note its results, they seem startling, though during its actual progress we heed none of these evolutions. True Love Does Run Smooth. 229 The four years that have passed have given Lina the prestige of blooming seven- teen, while Philip has reached the eve of his majority. During the many happy months ' he has spent under his uncle's hospitable roof at Hampstead, he has learned to appreciate the nature of the tie that binds him to his cousin, and Lina and he have acknowledged their true love for one another, and have resolved to spend their happy future to- gether as man and wife. Her parents are delighted at the prospect, towards which all their hopes have so long tended, and Sir Stephen, after considerable hesitation, has at length condescended to yield his consent to the engagement of the cousins. His reluctance has been very evident, and caused the young peo- ple much heart-aching anxiety ; but that 230 A Noble Name. is as it should be, Sir Stephen thought. Juniors should be taught patience and submission to their elders. The baronet did not at all approve of the new-fangled notions which encouraged young people to follow their own foolish ideas, and to carry them out with a reckless disregard of all the proprieties. He admired and strove to model himself after the pattern of some such stern parent as Sir Anthony Absolute, and he succeeded, but without that Avorthy's noisy scenes of passion and abuse. Sir Stephen upheld decorum above all things, and his anger was of the quiet, incisive kind, which made itself felt more effectually than any violent bluster would have done. He disapproved of the marriage of re- lations on principle, and Philip's resolve to wed his cousin aroused his father's True Love Does Run Smooth. 231 ancient grievance and disappointment anent ]iis son's deprivation. If the youth had been as others were, he might liave chosen a bride among the leading families of the county, as his position certainly entitled him to do ; but, owing to his helplessness, he liad to content himself with the patient cousin, who was Avilling to accept him and his needs. Oh ! that curse of blindness I Sir Ste- phen gnashes his teeth Avith rage as he reverts to the aggravating subject. How it has hampered him at every step ! What a miserable sort of education it compelled him to give to the heir of Pineridge! He had really been thankful to get the lad out of his house ; to know him in the safe custody of his aunt and her daughter. Pretty training this for a landowner I 232 A Noble Name. Music his chief delight, his only accom- plishment ; read to, sung to, pampered and cossetted by a pair of compassionate women. Letitia was amiable, true, generous, and upright ; but she was only a woman, and her every-day Hfe was moulded and guided simply by her o^v^n feminine notions of duty and right. How was it possible that she could obtain any knowledge tluis, which would fit her, or her blind pupil, to cope with the world and its disciples ? And yet, what career was there that Philiji could follow? How could he, for instance, have been trained for any diplomatic post ? How could he fulfil any public duties ? His terrible infirmity unfitted hnn entirely for any but the most in- significant pursuits. Lina's devotion to her cousin, and her True Love Does Run Smooth. 233 perfect comprehension of his manifold wants, were certainly points in her favour. And it might have been difficult to find another girl of such charming manners and appearance ready to sacrifice herself and her future to a bhnd man. Lina would certainly be a credit to the house of Northcroft, and there was consolation in the fact that its noble name was hers by inheritance. Philip had gone home with an attend- ant to Pineridge to plead his cause, and that of the girl he loved, in person ; and when he had finally obtained his father's long-deferred consent, he returned to Hampstead, where he was received with more than usual rejoicing. The lovers young, radiant, hopeful, looked happily towards the future now, which they were to spend together. The chief, 234 A Noble Name. indeed the only, trouble of their past had been the periodical partings, rendered necessary by the fact of their separate homes. Xow, all this would be changed, the young couple would take up a per- manent residence at the Priory, and there were times when Sir Stephen him- self smiled at the prospect of having a handsome young lady as mistress of his establishment again. She was a little youthful still, and perhaps wanting in that reticence and dignity which Sir Stephen considered a sme qua non, but he would undertake her training person- ally, and who could doubt its admir- able result ? Lina herself was unspeak- ably happy, because she saw Philip so glad, and it seemed to the grateful girl as if Providence was too good to her. True Love Does Run Smooth. 285 Had she not the best, kindest, most generous parents? Had not her life been all brightness and peace ? and now was not the last and most ardent wdsh of her heart to be gratified also ? "I get frightened when I realize my intense happiness," she said to her mother just after Philip liad brought the good news of his father's consent. " I feel as if something dreadful will happen ; the course of true love is not supposed to run thus smoothly, is it, mother dear ? " " I hope and pray that your joy is blessed^ my poor darling,*' cries Mrs. Northcroft, with intense fervour, " for it is unselfish. You have chosen the better part ; you intend to devote yourself, all your hopes, pleasures, and ambition, to the undivided care of a blind man. If you fulfil the hard task you have under- 236 A Noble Name. taken conscientiously, surely, surely no evil will come to you." Mrs. Xorthcroft flings her arms wildly around the girl, and breaks into passion- ate sobs. " God grant that you may be kept free from any suffering but such as you deserve yourself, my precious, precious child," she cries, and suddenly relaxing her grasp, she falls back, panting, ex- hausted, deadly white. Lina, alarmed, and a good deal per- plexed too, by her gentle mother's amazing vehemence, does all she can to restore her to her usual equanimity, and when she sees her settling down to a peaceful sleep, the girl steals quietly away to her lover. " Mother is so strange," she says ; " she almost fainted just now, and she is look- True Love Does Bun Smooth. 237 ing very ill. She Avill not acknowledge it, but I am positive that it is the idea of going to the Priory which always upsets her now. The fact of 3'our father's con- senting to let our wedding take place in Torshire will necessitate mother's oroino' O CD down, of course, and I am sure the thought of staying at Pineridge has made her ill again. She was not herself when last we were all down there, you know, and we could not even persuade her to go at all after tliat." " It will be different soon, my own darling," whispers Philip with happy con- viction. " Of course dear aunt Letty cannot feel happy, or at her ease while my father is all alone in his chill glory there. You wait and see how soon we shall change all that. When once you are mistress of the gloomy old home, my 238 A Noble Nc ame. sweet, bright sunshine, — gladness, peace, and content will flow within the ancient walls, and then we shall welcome our dear mother, and she will be happier at the Priory with her children than any- where else in the world." Lina accepted her lover's comforting words with hopeful eagerness, and thought less about her mother's excitement than she would have done at another time. But that touching scene had sobered the loving girl, and her buoyant anticipations were checked by the fear that Sir Stephen's courteous invitation would prove injurious to Mrs. Northcroft. Every thing in connection with his un- fortunate son was without precedent, thought the baronet ruefully, and there- fore the fact of his marriage taking place at Pineridge, instead of from the house True Love Does Bun Smooth. 239 of the bride, was but another item in the whole course of the unconventional con- duct of affairs, and must be accepted, like all else that was cruelly inevitable. Philip had insisted on a very quiet wedding, and here also his father had been compelled reluctantly to yield, and having done so, Sir Stephen suddenly re- solved to make the best of matters, and sent his brother a very cordial invitation to spend the next month at Pineridge, and to see the young couple comfortably installed there, before he returned to Hampstead and the work awaiting him for the next year's Exhibition. Mrs. Northcroft bore the journey and the change of residence uncommonly well, and Lina rejoiced accordingly ; but Hubert, who generally accepted all the arrangements made for him in a cheer- 240 A Noble Name. ful and contented spirit, proved fractious on this occasion, and seemed possessed by an unwonted uneasiness and responsi- bility, which he was incapable of shak- ing off. Now, to add to this, it so happened that he would have to be followed into Torshire by an emissary from his princi- pal patron, the Graf von Stein, who resided in Munich. This fact annoyed and preoccupied the artist. He was fully aware of Sir Stephen's unabated objection to all the details of his profession, and it worried him to bring these so clearly en evidence by the visit of the Count's major-domo, who brought a damaged picture with him. Hubert had always manacled to lauorh at his brother's absurd prejudices, but he resented them all the same, and had taken more pains than True Love Does Run Smooth. 241 even his wife gave him credit for, not to run counter to them too frequently. The Graf von Stein had a fine picture gallery, on which he prided himself, and it really contained an admirable collection of modern paintings. Among these was the famous " Pine Forest " picture on which Hubert Northcroft had reason to pride himself. The Count had seen it at the private view of the pictures in Tra- falgar Square, more than four years ago, and had then purchased it. This gener- ally admired landscape had lately been much injured by the falling in of a portion of the glass roof of the gallery, and Graf von Stein was overwhelmed with grief at the mischief which had befallen it. The picture had received a blow in the excitement which ensued on tlie breaking of the roof, some of the VOL. I. R 242 ^1 Noble Name. paint was scraped off, and daylight was now actually visible through the canvas. All this news, and move to the same effect, had been received in a letter from the noble Graf, a day or two prior to the departure from Hampstead, where Hubert had managed to proh^ng his tenancy. Graf von Stein was elderly and fidgety ; he set a great store by his collection of pictures, and was in despair at this untoward accident. " But it fortunately happens," wrote his Excellency to the artist, " that my confidential servant is journeying to England next month. He is a thorough- ly reliable person, and I feel inclined to let him take charge of the picture, since I have determined that no hand but your own shall restore it. Will it be possible for you to undertake this True Love Does Run Smooth. 243 matter at once, as Wolfgang's stay in England is limited, and I cannot permit liim to return without my favourite ]ncture ? " Such was the gist of Graf von Stein's elaborate epistle, in which flourishes, verbal and caligraphic, played an im- portant part. Hubert had answered '* yes " to all inquiries. Xow, however, that his daughter's marriage and his brother's gracious hivitation would take him to Pineridge, nothing remained for him but to request the confidential servant of his Excellency to follow him to Torshire with the extensive packing- case containing the precious work of art in question. It was a " terrible bother," of course ; but artists were always being bothered, and he must submit like the rest. k2 244 A Noble Name. Lina made many a joke about " papa and his artistic retinue," and when " the German gentleman, with the picture," was announced, a day or two after the party had arrived at Pineridge, and the quiet preparation for the nuptials were at their height, the girl's merry laugh reached the ears of the grumbling artist, as he wended his way to the studio above. This had been left just as Mrs. Northcroft first arranged it, now more than six years back. " The German gentleman " rose with evident empresse- ment as Hubert entered the studio, and, bowing, he tlius delivered himself in florid German : ~ "I have been desired, sir, by his Ex- cellency, the Herr Graf von Stehi, to place this picture upon your easel with my own hands, and I have pledged my I'rue Love Does Run Smooth. 245 honour that no further ]iarm sliall happen to it ; therefore have I ventured to com- mence the unpackmg immediately, but oh I sir! — and here the wizen-faced little foreigner threw hammer and screw-driver aside, and spread out his arms as if about to clasp the amazed artist to his heart — " it is more than anxiety about that picture which causes my emotion,"" he goes on ; " it is the thought that now, after so many years, I should have the happiness to see you once again! You, Meinherr, who to all appearance have not changed at all, though you have made so great a name for yourself, and are so famous already, while I, alas ! fill a sphere but little superior to that in whicli I had the honour of waiting upon you — why, it must be quite fourteen years ago ! " 246 A Noble Name. Hubert, looking puzzled and uneasy, waits patiently for the end of this elaborate speech, quietty wondering the while if tliis droll little man had had sunstroke, and what all his strange excitement por- tends. " Does the Gnadige Herr thus entirely fail to recoo^nise his most humble, most obedient servant, Karl Wolfgang? Has the Herr no recollection of being at Meyringen in past days ? Perhaps it is the length of time which has elapsed since then, which somewhat obscures the Herr ]N"orthcroft's memory. With some persons the power of recollection is strong, with others weak. I think, though there is little I can Avith justice pride myself upon, that in this matter of memory I am not easily to be surpassed," continues Mr. Wolfgang, with that peculiar assur- True Love Does Bun Smooth. 247 ance Avhich so often characterizes small, fussy men. "Will the gracious Mr. Painter allow me to recall to liim a certain catastrophe wliich happened near Mey- ringen just at the time when the Herr, his lady, and tlieir dear little daughter were at the liotel? And when those kind visitors proved themselves so very bene- volent towards the poor orphan child of a guide, who was so brave and yet was so cruelly killed?" Hubert suddenly begins to stuff his pipe with unwonted energy, and while Karl Wolfgang at length takes the damaged picture out of the packing-case and care- fully places it upon the easel, the painter looks on with eyes that see not. Indeed, he feels like one in a dream ... Is this the hand of fate? Of all the mvriad inhabitants of Ger- 248 A Noble Name. many, why should this prying individual have been selected to come on this mis- sion to England? "Father," says Lina, entering hurriedly, " mother bade me ask you what answer we are to send to this letter? Shall we accept the invitation, or decline it? The messenger waits for a reply." As Lina crosses the studio to offer the letter to her father, she perceives the stranger, who is on his knees still, gather- ing up the straw and shavings belonging to the packing-case. He springs to his feet now and stares at the astonished girl Avith widely-opened eyes. " Herr Gott in Himmel !" he exclaims, clasping his hands. " I beg your pardon !" says Lina, gently inclining her head as she moves towards IVae Love Does Run Smooth. 249 the door, and finding the stranger about to address her, she glances nervously back at her father, Avhose silence per- plexes her. " Eun away, Lina, run away ! cries the artist with sudden asperity. " What do you mean by interrupting me when you know I am so busy ? Don't bother me about anybody's letters ; leave me in peace, do." He has risen in sudden haste and holds the door wide, so that she shall the more speedily make her exit. ***** " Something has happened to father," says Lina, rejoining Philip, whom she has left at the piano in the drawing room. "He spoke quite crossly to me. I never knew him so strange and angry before." 250 A Noble Name. She tries to laugh, but her father's extraordinary behaviour has sorely per- plexed her, and she is suddenly silent. '• You ai-e not troubled about dear old uncle's odd manner, surely, my darling ?" asks Philip tenderly, and he draws her down to the chair by his side. " Why, I, even, have found out by this time that artists are wholly unaccountable people ; they laugh when others cry, they bemoan what causes rejoicing to outsiders." " Of course, dear," answers Lina gently, " it was all my fault ; I interrupted father's seance with his patron's am- bassador, by asking stupid questions about an invitation to dinner." " Oh ! is the German ambassador in the august presence?" asks Philip. " He is, my dear, and he is the most extraordinary little fellow ; he stared riie Love Does Run Smooth. 251 at me in the rudest, oddest manner, as if he knew me, or as if I had been a ghost. I assure you I felt quite un- comfortable." " Oh, those foreigners never know their places, not the best of them don't," re- marks Mrs. Euskett, with a virtuous sniff of indignation. She has just brought two vases filled with fresh flowers, and lingers there talking, much to the annoy- ance of the cousins, who resent the spirit of surveillance which leads the house- keeper to be present on one pretext or another, whenever they are enjoying a tete-d-tete in the drawing room., "My daughter Isabel is taking lessons in music and singing from one of those foreigners, now, Mr. Phihp," continues the loquacious old lady, enjoying the knowledge that her presence is unwel- 252 A Noble Name. come, but that neither of the young people dare to bid her leave the room. She resents the betrothal of the cousins with exceedhig bitterness, and revels m the chance of causing " the young pair of fools " any sort of annoyance. " There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," she adds, lifting down a precious bit of china from the mantel-shelf, and dusting it with elaborate attention to its minute crevices. " There's never any knowing what may happen in this changeful world, as I often say to my Isabel, and so I often tell her to make the most of her chances. We are but dust, and who can foretell what a day may bring forth to them that are ashes !" ''Play me that last bit of the scherzo over again, dearest, you have not got it quite right yet," whispers Tina, leaning True Love Does Run Smooth. 253 over her cousin, and placing his fingers back on the keys. . Phihp speedily takes the hint, and begins to play with such spirit and so much vigour that Mrs. Euskett finds her further speech unintelligible, and retires in dudgeon. •' Won't let me have my little say, now, won't she ? And is jealous of my even mentioning my Isabel, too, that's very evident. And so the little foreignei- stared at her as if he knew her, did he? What does that mean ? She looked quite *ot, and seemed awfidly put out like. And her father was cross, was he ? I wonder if there's anything amiss ? If there is, it will not be long before / find it out, that's certain, trust me for that, or my name is not Sarah Euskett. I'll invite the German gentleman to have a chop 254 A Noble Name. and a glass of port in my room, and I'll find out the reason of his staring. Perhaps he's seen her with some lover the forward minx picked np in London, and now her father is on the scent, she's frightened, and so she takes time by the forelock, and gets Mr. Philip to hear her side of the story first. Ah I she's that artful, is Miss Lina ; just like the rest of those fair- haired girls, quiet and deep she is, real wicked deep, I believe. London is an awful tempestuous place for young ladies, that Pm quite sure of, and if it weren't for this botheration of a wedding, I'd get my girl home, and keep her safe under my eye, that I would. But now to hear what this foreigner's staring means. There's more than meets the eye, I can tell that by young Miss's flurry." Thus Mrs. Euskett soliloquizes as she True Love Does Run Smoolli. 255 slowly traverses the liall, and makes her way back to her own apartments. Before another hour is over, she has given Mr. Wolfgang meat and wine, and has been so startled by that illustrious foreigner's conversation, that she actually requests a private audience of her austere master, who, surprised, and by no means w^illingly, grants her the ten minutes she asks for, as she intercepts him on his return from hunting late that after- noon. Lina and Philip meanwhile continue their practice at the piano, play their duets, sing their songs, and occasionally forget all about the music in tlieir sweet lovers' talk of the happy future now coming nearer and nearer. ** Before this week is over you will be my wife, Lina; my own, own, precious 256 A Noble Name. darling wife," says Philip, and he takes her soft little hands into his long ding- ing pressure, and then he draws her bodily into his close embrace. " My love, my sunshine," he says, " how good God has been to us ! How happy and grateful we ought to be ! You love me, all blind and helpless as I am, and you do know at least that I can never fail in absolute devotion to you. Your pleasure must be my law, for I can never know any other. As you lead me I am bound to follow ; as you bid me I must perforce obey. And it will be my joy, and pride, and delight, to prove myself your most obedient slave. Your nature is so tender, too, my darling, that my affliction gives me an additional claim on your generous love, and every day that passes proves to me, more and True Love Does Run Smooth. 257 more thoroughly, how well we are suited to one another. Is not this true?" She is standing by his side now, her arm laid lovingly around his neck; her earnest eyes seem gazing far, far, into the distant but surely happy future. They make a charming picture, these happy lovers. He with his slender hands upon the keyboard, his head uplifted, the sight- less eyes closed instinctively, for he is listening to the last faint echo of the final chord he has just played. She, tall, supple, and gracefully formed, with an air of dignity and courage in her aspect, as she stands wondering and waiting, what her heart's lord may please to say or require next. Lina has now grown to perfect woman- hood, and she presents a picture of purity but seldom seen in this last decade, which VOL. 1. S 25S A Noble Name. has been rampant with " girls of the period," " professional beauties," " society startlers," &c. Our Lina cannot be accounted as strictly beautiful, an irre- gularity of feature prevents that ; but there is a combination of everything that is true, honest, and good, in the ex- pression of her mobile, sensitive face. If lovely can be construed as lovable, then Lina decidedly merits the pleasing adjective. " Play me that introduction again, dearest, " she says, placing his fingers upon the keys, " I feel I could sing the prayer now. The daylight is dying, and ' Leise, leise,' is most appropriate." Philip plays the opening chords of the famous recitative that ushers in the well- known prayer of " Der Freischtitz," and is followed by the grand air of the opera. True Lot'". Does Run Smooth. 259 This scena Lina sings better and more effectively than any of the others that constitute her well-selected repertoire. Herr Lirtz had always spoken of his pupil's renderinof of this lovely *' Freischiitz " music with enthusiastic approbation, and had even told Miss Northcroft that she could hold an audience spell-bound if she would ever thus sing in public. But Philip is all the audience Lina desires, and his delighted approval is worth far more to her than the plaudits ol a muhitude of strangers could ever be. Now her voice rises, clear, full, melodious, and she delivers the difficult passage at the end of the recitative with masterly clearness and precision that does all honour to the able teaching of Herr Lirtz, as well as to the musical ability of his favourite pupil. 260 .4 Noble Name. Then she breathes the softly inspired notes of the prayer, and all uncon- sciously she clasps her hands in entreaty. "Lina, your voice is what one dreams the voice of an angel must be," cries Philip, rising at the conclusion of the andante and flinging his arms tenderly about his betrothed. " Darling, we must certainly journey to the Ehineland to- gether, and the Black Forest, too. I always associate the sombre shades of that mysterious Schwartzwald with all the weird doings of Kaspar, Paidolf, and the incantation scene. Shall we go abroad next spring ? Do you think my young wife will be able to undertake the diffi- cult charge of so troublesome a burden as her husband will be to her ? " And so they prattle, and play, and sing in happy alternation; light-hearted True Love Does Bun Smooth. 261 and content, knowing no evil, fearing none. It is Mr. Grind's entry with the lamp which first warns Lina of the passage of time ; for she suddenly becomes aware that twi- light has deepened into darkness. " Has Sir Stephen returned from hunt- ing ? " she asks the butler. And when he has replied in the affirmative, "I must hurry away to help mother to dress for dinner," she says to Philip, " and I shall be late too." " We were so taken up with our music, we never heard the gong," he replies in half apology to the butler, whom he fears to some extent. " We certainly did not heed it," says Lina, unabashed. She quails as little before the butler as before his austere master. " Take my arm, Philip," she says, " let me lead you upstairs." 262 A Noble N< a me. They cross the hall arm in arm, and when they reach tlie upper landing — " Give me my good-night's kiss now, darling," pleads Philip ; " you know I never get any but a formal salutation when my father and the rest of them are present." " Well then, good-night, sweetheart, good-night," she says earnestly. "Mean- while I hope you will enjoy your dinner none the less for receivins^ your crood-nio-ht kiss beforehand." " Good-bye, sweetheart, good-bye ! " — answers Philip, singing the words ; but just as he is turning away in the direction of his room, a sudden impulse of over- whelming tenderness possesses him, as he stands waiting, his arms outstretched. " Lina, my own love, my life, my wife ! " he cries as he snatches her close to his throbbing heart, and then, with a strange, rue Love Does Run Smooth. 263 anxious expression, " You will never leave me, never forsake me, my precious trea- sure ? " he whispers. His voice sounds almost as thouorh there is a sob in it. c "Thy people shall be my- people, thy God my God!" she answers, and the sweet lips pressed upon his seem to set a fresh seal upon the lasting bond between them. Do presentiments exist ? are subtle Avarninsfs criven to mortals of the evils advancins: towards them ? Was there not something more than the lover's ardour beating unrecognised in Philip's anxious heart, as he clasped his betrothed in his arms again and again, and seemed so loth to let her