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 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD.
 
 PRINTED BY M'lLLIAIH BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBCKGH.
 
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 (/ Vollpaae,270. 
 
 1854.
 
 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWAED BEUCE HAMLEY 
 
 CAPTAIN R.A. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 EDINBUEGH AND LONDON 
 
 MDCCCLIV
 
 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN BLACKWOOD's MAGAZINE.
 
 
 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 One of the most charming features of a fairy tale is 
 the vagueness of the date of its events and characters. 
 -^ There is a magic about the phrase " Once upon a 
 - time/' investing subsequent ogres, genii, fairies, flying 
 chariots, moralising mice, and booted cats, with a de- 
 lightful harmony and probability. For this reason I 
 have always considered the reign of Haroun Alraschid, 
 gorgeous and romantic as it is, infinitely less interest- 
 ing than that of the young king of the Black Isles, 
 whose royal body was half of flesh, half of marble ; 
 and not to be compared for a moment with the his- 
 tories of those other misty potentates Prince Camar- 
 alzaman and King Beder ; while the glory of Pippin 
 
 VOL. I. A
 
 2 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 faded from my infant mind, like the unsubstantial 
 pageant of a vision, the moment he was discovered to 
 have been an authentic monarch of France. 
 
 This early predilection for what may be called the 
 No-man's-Land, or Tom Tidler's ground, of chron- 
 ology, has caused me to regard those authors who 
 commence their narratives with such phrases as " to- 
 wards the close of the last century,'" or " about the 
 middle of George the Second's reign," as acting on a 
 mistaken principle. It is not only unnecessary, but 
 is also impolitic, as wilfully depriving the production 
 of what might have been its solitary charm. It is as 
 if a rejuvenated spinster were voluntarily to pull off 
 her wig, spit out her false teeth, walk out of her 
 crinoline, and, standing before the world, bald, tooth- 
 less, and shameless, proclaim herself fifty-five. 
 
 Once upon a time, then, (to guard against this 
 error), there was assembled in a room at the Heronry, 
 the residence of Lady Lee, a goodly company — goodly, 
 not so much in point of numbers as in personal ap- 
 pearance. Three ladies were there, all young, and 
 none of them plain. 
 
 Lady Lee was a young widow, the handsomest since 
 Dido. Her face was pale and oval, her eyes magnifi- 
 cent, but somewhat languid. Her hair formed a splen- 
 did framew'ork to her face, being of the richest and 
 darkest chestnut, scattered with ruddy, golden gleams,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 3 
 
 dancing on its innumerable ripples. It formed a 
 sort of natural diadem, but was now, unfortunately, 
 hidden by a close crimped widow's cap. 
 
 Orelia Payne was a tall dark beauty, with a nose 
 strongly arched, a curved and somewhat severe mouth, 
 a cleft chin, and straight dark eyebrows surmounting 
 black sparkling eyes. 
 
 Rosa Young was a plump fair little thing, with a 
 face of a quaint and somewhat comic cast. Her nose 
 turned up slightly, and was obsequiously followed by 
 her upper lip, thus displaying the least glimpse in the 
 world of very white teeth. Her complexion was very 
 fresh, and would, perhaps, have been too ruddy, if the 
 red had not been of such a delicious colour that you 
 decided, at a glance, it was impossible to have too 
 much of such a good thing ; besides, if your eye wanted 
 relief, there was the white of her neck or the blue of 
 her eyes to turn to. Her hair was carried off above 
 her ears and dressed plain, or at least intended to be 
 so ; but stray tresses were perpetually breaking out of 
 bounds, and wandering in libertine curls about her 
 cheeks, ears, and neck, requiring to be caught and 
 pinned up in a supplementary fashion, till the number 
 of these truants increased to such an extent that the 
 whole structure had to be remodelled. Only two little 
 curls, like those on a drake's tail, were authorised to 
 appear, one on each cheek, near the ears.
 
 4 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Orelia was standing with palette and brush be- 
 fore an easel. She had already chalked on the can- 
 vass the proportions of Lady Lee's face and figure. 
 Her ladyship sat at a little distance, and by her 
 side stood her little son, Julius Lee, about four years 
 old. 
 
 " I am puzzled as to what characters to draw you 
 in," said Orelia. " Venus and Cupid — there's that 
 plaguy Rubens and Titian have used up the myth- 
 ology; then, for a Scriptural subject, Hagar and 
 Ishmael wouldn't suit you — you are too English, and 
 Juley's too fair.'' 
 
 *' Why can't you paint them in their own char- 
 acters ? " said Rosa. " They are not such bad char- 
 acters, are they ? " 
 
 " It's so flat and prosaic," returned Orelia, "to paint 
 things just as they are. No ; we'll have something 
 classical. What do you think of Virgilia and the 
 young Coriolanus ? " 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " laughed Rosa. " Virgilia in a widow's 
 cap ! Why, Coriolanus was all alive, wasn't he ? We 
 must take it off," said Rosa, stealing behind Lady Lee 
 and loosening the strings, " and I wish you'd never 
 put it on again." 
 
 " Yes ; pull it off," said Orelia. " A horrid thing 
 it is. She would look four years younger without it — 
 yes, five. It gives her a respectable look that's quite
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 5 
 
 frightful. A widow's cap/' continued the grand 
 Orelia, sententiously, " is a species of suttee." 
 
 Lady Lee, after an unsuccessful attempt to catch 
 the cap with both hands as it was being plucked off, 
 glanced at it with a sigh. 
 
 " Poor Sir Joseph ! " she said. 
 
 " Oh, you fright ! " shrieked Rosa, who, having put 
 the cap on her owa head, had got on a chair to look 
 at herself in a mirror over the mantelpiece. " 
 you ugly little thing ! '' holding up both her hands at 
 her own reflection. "Ill die a maid,'' continued Rosa, 
 descending from the chair ; " for I never could live a 
 widow — at least, not with this thing on my head." 
 
 " I'd rather have * sacred to the memory ' printed 
 on my forehead in capital letters," said Orelia. 
 
 "I'd rather be married again in the first week of my 
 widowhood than wear it," said Rosa, positively. 
 
 " Madcap versus mobcap," said her ladyship, smil- 
 ing at Rosa. " Come, give it me." 
 
 " Never ! " cried Rosa, who, having hung the cap 
 on a chandelier, was now performing a sort of Indian 
 scalp-dance round it. " She's got a dozen of 'em in a 
 box up-stairs, Orelia, but we'll bum 'em all." 
 
 " I believe I should be more comfortable without 
 it," said Lady Lee, smoothing her hair ; " but what 
 would the world say ? " 
 
 " I thought you didn't care a pin what the world
 
 6 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 said," Kosa replied. " Aren't you always boasting of 
 your independence?" 
 
 *' True/' said lier ladyship ; " I don't know why I 
 should care. Well, I'll think about leaving off the 
 cap." 
 
 " And you had better think of leaving off some other 
 things at the same time,"' said Rosa. " For instance, 
 you might leave off shutting yourself up in this house, 
 like an old hermit with a beard and a hair shirt ; and 
 you might leave off treating young men so coldly, who 
 want to love you, and to come and visit you — that is, 
 you may do so when Orelia and I are not here, for 
 we don't want them ; and we're all very happy at pre- 
 sent, aren't we, Keley ? and it's only for your good I'm 
 speaking." 
 
 " You ought to mix in society, and to travel, and 
 see the world," said Orelia. " heavens ! if I were 
 as rich as you " (" She's as rich as a Jew," muttered 
 Rosa), " I'd see everything that was grand and excel- 
 lent in nature and art. I'd go," said Orelia, flourish- 
 ing her portcrayon, " to all the great cities of Europe ; 
 I'd make studies in the Vatican and the Pitti Palace 
 — I'd sit on the Bridge of Sighs and read ' Childe 
 Harold' — I'd go to Constantinople and fall in love 
 with a Giaour — I'd see Palestine — I'd cross the Desert 
 on a dromedary — Fd visit the bright East and the far 
 West — and, when these were exhausted, Fd come back
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 7 
 
 to the Heronry again, to sit on the daisies and think of 
 all I had seen." 
 
 " Dear me," said Lady Lee, " you remind me, my 
 dear, of fancies of my own that I used to have before 
 I was married. You remember, Orelia, how romantic 
 I was in my maiden days. I used to sit in the porch 
 of that old parsonage reading a novel or a play, and 
 every now and then dropping the book on my lap, 
 while I would follow out a romance of my own, con- 
 jured up by some passage that struck me — visions 
 of charming friendships, where I, a female Damon, 
 underwent unheard-of sacrifices for a Pythias of my 
 own sex- — of love, too, where I was wooed by an in- 
 finity of lovers, all made after the same perfect pattern, 
 until these ended in Sir Joseph Lee.'' 
 
 " Sir Joseph wasn't romantic, was he ? " asked Rosa. 
 " At least, I should think not, judging from his pic- 
 ture in the library." 
 
 " He was better than romantic, Kosa," said Lady 
 Lee, gravely ; " he had a kind heart. But no — you 
 are right, my dear ; he was not romantic. Ah, 
 heavens ! to think of the difference between the 
 ideal and the real ! Not but that Sir Joseph was 
 an excellent and kind man, but it was very hard to 
 learn to look upon him as a lover." 
 
 " How did you manage it ? " asked Orelia. 
 
 " To say the truth, my dear," said her ladyship.
 
 8 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 "I did not surrender my cherished visions either 
 easily or suddenly. But you, Orelia, know what 
 were the unfortunate circumstances of my family at 
 that time, though you can scarcely imagine the full 
 extent of our trials ; however, a fond father, suffering 
 at once from disease and debt, the entreaties of rela- 
 tives, and the promptings of gratitude (for Sir Joseph 
 had assisted my father most generously), — these mo- 
 tives, joined to a due sense of Sir Joseph's good and 
 liberal nature, will perhaps account sufficiently for 
 my marriage." 
 
 Tears of pity came into Rosa's eyes — she was a 
 very sympathetic little thing. She went to seat her- 
 self on the sofa by Lady Lee, and squeezed her hand. 
 
 "But, now," said Rosa presently — '* now that 
 you've been free to follow your own fancies these 
 three years, why don't you do so ? '*"' 
 
 Lady Lee laughed. " I have not yet met with 
 my ideal hero," she said ; " and if I did, I really don't 
 think I should admire him. My taste for romance is 
 dreadfully impaired. A Bjronic hero at my feet 
 would excite ridicule rather than S3rmpathy. And 
 so, seeing that love without romance is a very hum- 
 drum affair, and that I have lost my capacity for 
 seeing things in ' the light that never was on sea or 
 shore,' the thought of love or matrimony never entei's 
 my head."
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 9 
 
 " If I were a man," said Orelia, " I'd make you 
 love me. I'd do something chivalrous that should 
 compel your admiration in spite of yourself; and 
 then, after dragging you at my chariot-wheels for a 
 while, till you were completely subdued, I'd run away 
 with you." 
 
 " And if I were a man,'"" said Rosa, " I'd beg and 
 entreat you to love me. Td follow you about, telling 
 you how beautiful, how clever you were (for you are, 
 and you know it), and how all your beauty and 
 cleverness is running to waste from mere don't-care- 
 ishness ; and how, by loving me, they would both of 
 them suddenly bloom and brighten, till they were 
 as bright as — as bright as anything," said Rosa, not 
 finding any more brilliant or exact simile after her 
 pause ; " and Td never leave telling you, and begging 
 you, till you yielded, half from pity for me, half from 
 consideration to yourself." 
 
 Lady Lee smiled, and called her a foolish little 
 thing, and for that time the conversation dropped ; 
 but it was renewed again that night by Orelia and 
 Rosa. They slept, by their own desire, in the same 
 room. Orelia, who used rather to tyrannise over her 
 companion in this dormitory, inhabited a large square 
 four-poster, with a heavy carved tester, and curtains 
 which she would let down all round her at night, and 
 become invisible as the man in a Punch's show;
 
 10 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 while Rosa occupied a little French bed that fitted 
 into an alcove at the end of the room, and was cover- 
 ed by a chintz curtain hanging from a pole that stuck 
 out of the wall, in which nest she would chirp herself 
 to sleep like any wren. 
 
 Rosa had been delivering some sentiments respect- 
 ing Lady Lee similar to those in her last speech, just 
 recorded. 
 
 " Bless me ! " cried Orelia, " and how did you get 
 so learned in matters of the heart, you pert absur- 
 dity ? Has anybody been teaching you ? Just let 
 me catch you having a lover without letting me 
 know." 
 
 " No, no," said Rosa, blushing in the dark like her 
 namesake of Lancaster ; " I haven't got one, and I 
 don't want one. I couldn't be more brilliant than I 
 am.'' 
 
 " Oh, quite impossible ! " quoth the sarcastic Orelia. 
 
 " I don't mean that I am particularly bright, but 
 that a lover wouldn't make me any brighter. But 
 there's Lady Lee withering away like — like any- 
 thing," said Rosa, recurring to her favourite simile 
 of all-work, "and all for want of watering. She 
 don't care much about anything. She's the best- 
 natured dear creature in the world when her good 
 nature's woke up ; but it goes to sleep again in a 
 minute. So does her cleverness, which just keeps
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 11 
 
 awake long enough to show us what it could do if it 
 wasn't such a sluggard. It's my belief she could 
 write a beautiful novel or poem whenever she chose 
 — just see what letters and charades and songs she 
 writes — but she don't choose. She could have any 
 clever man at her feet if she chose, but she don't 
 choose. And she'll go on wasting her herself," said 
 Rosa, ^'till she's a stupid old dowager, and then no- 
 body will care about her." 
 
 " Don't you know she can't marry, except under 
 conditions?" said Orelia. "Just listen, and as Tm 
 not particularly sleepy, 111 tell you about it." 
 
 " Do," said Rosa, throwing back the curtain over 
 the head of her bed for the convenience of hearing 
 better. 
 
 " You must know, then,'' said Orelia, " that the 
 late Sir Joseph, though very fond of his wife, was 
 very much ruled by his uncle. Colonel Bagot Lee, 
 who is expected here in a day or two. Sir Joseph 
 was, I believe, a good sort of weak man, and easily 
 ruled, and Colonel Lee is a knowing, and, as IVe 
 heard, somewhat overbearing man of the world. He 
 was a great oracle with Sir Joseph on all points, and 
 had some hand, I fancy, in the concoction of his will, 
 by which Lady Lee is to have a handsome income so 
 long as she remains unmarried, or, afterwards, if — if, 
 mind you — she marries with Colonel Lee's conserrt.
 
 12 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 If she marries without it, she forfeits most of her 
 income, part of which goes to Julius, part to Bagot, 
 who also, in that case, becomes guardian to the 
 child." 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Rosa, " how stupid of Sir 
 Joseph ! What did he do that for ? '* 
 
 " Partly, I believe, because of the superlative idea 
 he entertained of Bagot 's judgment and discretion, 
 which he thought might be useful to such a young 
 -widow, for she was only twenty when he died — 
 partly, perhaps, from a sort of posthumous jealousy 
 of his successor." 
 
 "A wretch!" cried Rosa; "I always suspected 
 him of being a stupid useless sort of creature, and 
 now I positively hate him." 
 
 " So do T," said Orelia, yawning. " But I'm 
 getting sleepy now. By the by," she resumed, after 
 a pause, during which Rosa was pondering what she 
 had just heard, "youVe quite sure nobody's been 
 making love to you ? " 
 
 " Oh, quite ! " said Rosa, hastily. 
 
 " And — you don't know — you don't know of any- 
 body you like better than the rest?'' said Orelia, 
 sleepily. 
 
 " Nobody, upon my word," said Rosa. But I don't 
 think Orelia heard the reply, having just dropped off 
 into a slumber.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 13 
 
 And here we will take the opportunity to add a 
 few general particulars to Orelia's information. 
 
 Lady Lee had been, when Hester Broome, a poor 
 clergyman's daughter, full, as she described herself, of 
 feeling, of sentiment, of romance, and of bright hopes 
 for the future ; but these did not make up her cha- 
 racter, for her dreams were dreamt amidst the reali- 
 ties of household occupations, and the acquisition of 
 various accomplishments, and much solid information. 
 Unfortunately for Hester, she had a dash of genius in 
 her composition — she was not merely imaginative, 
 but original and spirited in her imaginations. A 
 talent for summoning up charming reveries of angels 
 with wings, lovers with beautiful black whiskers, and 
 life all sunshine and no clouds, is very abundant in 
 boarding-schools, watering-places, and elsewhere, end- 
 ing, sometimes consistently, in Gretna Green and the 
 divorce courts ; sometimes inconsistently, in corpulent 
 content with humdrum connubiality. But Hester's 
 visions were the results of her own fancy, guided only 
 by her own tastes, and it was proportionably hard to 
 abandon them. 
 
 Sir Joseph Lee was a baronet of good property — 
 good-natured, as she said, but also, as she did not 
 say, though she must often have thought it, a very 
 weak man. He was so exceedingly inane, that when, 
 during his courtship, he left off spectacles, and took
 
 14 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 to an eye-glass, it was positively a new feature in his 
 character, and, conjoined with his abandonment of a 
 white hat and gaiters, hitherto his constant wear, 
 produced such a change, that you would hardly have 
 known him for the same man. His family seat, his 
 property, his baronetcy, had been to him what office 
 was to the late Whig ministry — giving him, as their 
 occupant, a casual identity and reputation. 
 
 Bagot Lee, his uncle, formerly a lieutenant-colonel 
 in the Guards, was about eight-and-forty ; very know- 
 ing, very dissipated, and very extravagant. He had 
 impressed his nephew with a wonderful respect for 
 him. Sir Joseph saw him plunging familiarly into 
 horse-racing, chicken-hazard, acquaintance with opera- 
 dancers, and other vortices, floating and revelling there 
 as if he enjoyed it, while the baronet shivered, and 
 feebly shouted on the brink. He saw him, when he 
 came down into the country, treat the magnates of the 
 county with a coolness which he tried in vain to imi- 
 tate, and to which they seemed obliged to submit. 
 He had seen him whisper before the race to the jockey 
 who rode the winner of the Derby. He had seen him 
 terrify a steward of whom Sir Joseph stood in great 
 awe, and cause him to prove himself a cheat. 
 
 In fact. Sir Joseph's estimate of Bagot's capacity 
 was formed on a principle that half the world uncon- 
 sciously adopt. Seeing Bagot's superiority in matters
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 15 
 
 of which he (the baronet) was capable of judging, he 
 gave him credit for the same superiority in other 
 matters of which he was not capable of judging. How 
 could a man who could make such a capital betting- 
 book — who was so skilful a billiard-player — be other- 
 wise th^n a safe guide in the affairs of life — be sur- 
 passed as an adviser on all difficult points ? Bagot's 
 sharpness seemed to Sir Joseph to include all excel- 
 lence whatsoever. He would not have been at all 
 surprised (though many other people might) had Bagot 
 showed himself a great general, a great author, or a 
 great statesman, nor would his respect for him have 
 been thereby at all increased. And pray, sir, do you 
 never judge of your acquaintances in this way ? Nay, 
 more — do you never carry the principle farther, and 
 conclude that all those, with whose reported merits 
 you cannot sympathise, must necessarily be impostors? 
 Ah, heavens ! — how often does one see, and hear of, 
 genius clipped and pared and shorn down to the mental 
 standard of some Procrustes with an inch of intellect — 
 some pert or solemn owl, who thanks God for his igno- 
 rance, and, as the most hard-hitting of doctors said, 
 " has a great deal to be thankful for.'' 
 
 About a year after his marriage, Sir Joseph found 
 himself dying of a consumption. Of course, he could 
 not depart comfortably from the world, nor make his 
 final arrangements, without the assistance of Bagot.
 
 16 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " Bagot/' said the sick man, " Fm off. I shan't 
 last long. I've done what I thought you would like 
 about the — the document, you know, with regard to 
 Lady Lee and the boy ; take care of him — take care 
 of both of ''em, Bagot ; IVe put you down for 
 ten thousand." 
 
 " You were always a good fellow, Joe," said Bagot, 
 " and if you were really going to give us the slip, I 
 should be confoundedly grieved. I should, by gad," 
 (which was true enough, for the baronet was a com- 
 fortable annuity to him.) " But 1 hope to see you at 
 Ascot yet." 
 
 " No," said Sir Joseph, " no more Ascot for me. 
 They've as good as told me it's all up with me. The 
 Kector's been over here pra3n.ng with me. Do you 
 think it's any good, Bagot ?" 
 
 Bagot was rather puzzled at being consulted as a 
 spiritual adviser. " Why," said he, " putting the case, 
 you see, that a fellow was really going off the hooks 
 — not that I believe it, you know, for you're looking 
 twice the man you did yesterday — but just suppos- 
 ing it, for the sake of argument, the thing might 
 be decent and comfortable. If I found myself the 
 easier for it, of course Td do it." 
 
 "Hester brought him," said Sir Joseph. "Poor 
 Hester ! I've been very fond of that girl, Bagot — 
 fonder than I ever was of an3rthing, I think. She
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 17 
 
 was too good for me ; but I think she liked me, too. 
 Nobody seems so sorry about me as she does/' 
 
 "Have you put any restriction," said Bagot, "on her 
 marrying again ? I mean in case of anything happen- 
 ing, you know ? " 
 
 " No," said Sir Joseph ; " I never thought about 
 it. I have left her the income and the use of the 
 house unconditionally/' 
 
 "Ah," said Bagot, musingly, "she's young — devilish 
 young — and women take strange fancies sometimes. 
 There will be no end of fellows after her. I shouldn't 
 like, Joe, my boy, to see her making a fool of herself 
 
 with some infernal nincompoop, after your in case 
 
 of anything happening, you know." 
 
 " Do you think it's likely ? " said {Sir Joseph, 
 
 eagerly. " Do you know of anybody that ? Bagot ! 
 
 if I thought that, I'd—" 
 
 " No, no," replied Bagot ; " I don't know anything 
 of the sort. I was merely talking of what might be. 
 It would be deuced painful to me, you know ; and its 
 a sort of thing I might easily stop, if I was authorised ; 
 if not, of course I shouldn't meddle." 
 
 Bagot's idea was, that, in the event of his nephew's 
 melancholy anticipations being fulfilled, the young 
 widow's next choice might possibly fall on one very 
 unlike Sir Joseph. It might fall on a man totally
 
 18 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 averse to Bagot's pursuits — nay, even to his society; and 
 thus (the Cclonel reflected) that pleasant retreat, the 
 Heronry, might be closed to him altogether, or, at any 
 rate, rendered a much less eligible abode ; and these 
 contingencies he now exerted himself to guard against. 
 
 Sir Joseph's was a mind in which, when an idea 
 did enter, it got plenty of elbow-room, and was in no 
 danger of being jostled by other ideas. All that 
 night he beheld nincompoop successors ruling at the 
 Heronry, and effacing his image from the memory 
 of Lady Lee. The next morning he again spoke to 
 Bagot on the subject. 
 
 " I've been considering what you said," Sir Joseph 
 began. " But don't you think 'twould be hard to tie 
 her down in any way ? — she's been a good wife to me. 
 Wouldn't it be fair to let her please herself next time? 
 Perhaps she didn't last time, when she married me. 
 I've sometimes thought so." 
 
 " Do as you like,'' said Bagot ; " I merely advised 
 what would be best, in my opinion, for the interest of 
 all parties. 'Tis no more than other husbands — fond 
 husbands, too, Joe — constantly do ; and it's natural, 
 too. I can only say (as a bachelor), it seems to me 
 that the thought of my wife talkiug over my errors, 
 in confidence with another fellow who mightn't un- 
 derstand me the least — ripping up my peccadilloes — 
 revealing little nonsensical connubial secrets that
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 19 
 
 had no great harm in 'em, perhaps, though the idea 
 of anybody else knowing "em makes a fellow feel 
 deucedly foolish — like having your letters read to 
 the court in a breach-of-promise case — by gad, Joe, 
 I can only say, the thought of it would keep me walk- 
 ing till the day of judgment/' 
 
 " Yes, true — there's a good deal in that," said Sir 
 Joseph. " It would make me feel more comfortable 
 to know that was prevented. But then it seems wrong, 
 Bagot, that I should be giving myself comfort at the 
 expense, perhaps, of her wishes." 
 
 "But it won't be at her expense," said Bagot — 
 " how the deuce will it ? She would be much happier 
 with a proper person — such as you would yourself 
 approve of — and you'll be happier in the thought 
 of it." 
 
 " Besides," pursued Sir Joseph, "I doubt if Hester, 
 in case of her taking a fancy to anybody, would be 
 much influenced in her attachment by money con- 
 siderations. Hester's not mercenary, Bagot." 
 
 "Try another dodge, then," said Bagot (who was 
 beginning to forget that he ought to appear feeling, 
 and talked as coolly as if Sir Joseph were a third per- 
 son, not particularly interested in the question of his 
 own decease). " In case of her marrying without my 
 approval, make over the guardianship of Juley to 
 somebody else."
 
 20 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " But it would seem so distrustful — so cruel/' urged 
 Sir Joseph. 
 
 " Cruel only to be kind," said Bagot. " It's all for 
 her good. But this is but dismal talk, Joe. I shall 
 live to see you burn the will yet. Begad ! you shall 
 burn it on the day Juley comes of age." 
 
 Sir Joseph shook his head. Some feeling, more 
 powerful even than his confidence in Bagot, thrust 
 aside the hope which his words sought to convey. 
 That day he sent for his man of law, and altered his 
 will, which eventually ordered matters in accordance 
 with Bagot's advice, as Orelia had told Rosa. 
 
 Sir Joseph prophesied truly that there was to be 
 no more Ascot for him. A few days afterwards he 
 died quite calmly, as people generally do, notwith- 
 standing the quantity of descriptive power that has 
 been lavished on death -bed scenes. As Mrs Quickly 
 would say, " 'A made a- fine end, and went away, an 
 it had been any christom child.'' Holding Bagot's 
 hand, as if he might thus keep himself en rapport 
 with the busy, club-going, betting world in which he 
 had lived, Sir Joseph's feeble spark went out.
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Rosa, constitutionally an early riser, used to be al- 
 ways up before Orelia in the morning, until tbe latter 
 took it into ber bead to bave a sbower-batb fitted up 
 in the closet that opened from their room. Into this 
 she would enter every morning with great majesty, 
 and pull the string with no more hesitation than if 
 she had been ringing the bell for her maid, and would 
 subsequently emerge, all calm and fresh and shining. 
 But not content with indulging in this luxury herself, 
 she would also insist upon getting it filled again for 
 Rosa ; and that was the reason why Rosa, who pre- 
 ferred performing her ablutions in a less terrible man- 
 ner, began to be lazy of a morning — pretending to be 
 sleepy — to be interested in a book — and other devices 
 to while away the time, till Orelia would come and 
 pull her out of bed. Then the little thing, all shrink- 
 ing and shivering, with her hair drawn into a tight 
 knot at the back of her head, would be driven, in a
 
 22 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 sort of tottering run, towards the dreaded deluge by 
 her imperious task-mistress — balancing herself on the 
 rim of the bath before entering — and then, trem- 
 blingly, would stretch her hand towards the cord, in 
 which one might suppose, from her trepidation, she 
 had been ordered to hang herself. Then she would 
 beg to be allowed to draw the curtains of the bath, 
 which Orelia would by no means permit, suspecting 
 she might in some way evade the ordeal, unless strictly 
 watched. Then she would pretend to recollect some- 
 thing particular to tell Orelia, who, not to be baffled 
 in that way, would sternly order her to tell her by and 
 by, and to pull the string without further nonsense ; 
 and poor Kosa, thus detected, would get up a little 
 shivering laugh, broken short off by the prospect of 
 her impending and inevitable doom; and, shutting 
 her eyes and mouth so tight that those features be- 
 came mere threads in her comical little face, and 
 putting her plump little shoulders considerably above 
 her ears, she would hold her breath, and fumble 
 blindly for the string, till Orelia, out of all patience, 
 would give the fatal twitch, when a strangled shriek 
 might be heard in the descending rush like that of a 
 caught mouse, and Rosa would emerge all pink and 
 palpitating, and glad it was over. 
 
 The maid, Kitty Fillett, who came in next morning 
 to assist at their toilet, asked if they had any objec-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 23 
 
 tion to her taking a holiday. Doddington Fair — a 
 fair famous throughout the country — was to take place 
 that day, and Harry Noble the groom had offered to 
 drive her and two other fortunate domestics to see the 
 shows, and to eat gingerbread. Rosa Young thought 
 she would like to go too. 
 
 " What low tastes you have, Rosalinda," said the 
 grand Orelia. (Rosa, by the by, was known by some 
 fifteen or twenty appellations — Rosamunda, Rosalia, 
 Rosetta — answering, in fact, to almost anything be- 
 ginning with an R.) " I suppose you would like to 
 play thimble-rig too, and to see the dwarf and giant, 
 and follow Punch, and to ride in the roundabout.'' 
 
 Rosa confessed a desire to see the giant and dwarf, and 
 Punch she acknowledged to be quite a passion with her. 
 
 " And there's the soldiers. Miss Rosa," said Fillett, 
 " with the beautifullest regimentals ! — gold hats with 
 horse tails, handsomer than the Fire Brigade's ; and 
 coats — oh, such coats ! — they say the officers' cost 
 hundreds of pounds!" Fillett was enthusiastic on 
 the subject of the military. 
 
 Here was an additional inducement for Rosa, who 
 had never seen dragoons in her life ; and accordingly, 
 in spite of the certainty of undergoing Orelia's con- 
 tempt, she resolved, as she left the apartment on her 
 way to the breakfast-room, to be present at the fair, 
 if she could possibly manage it.
 
 24 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Rosa Young's mode of perambulating the house and 
 grounds was will-o'-the-wispish — eccentric as if in pur- 
 suit of an imaginary butterfly — bringing her some- 
 times into contact with staid persons — butlers, house- 
 keepers, clergymen, and the like, coming composedly 
 and unsuspectingly round corners, from whose bodies 
 she would rebound violently ; and she had been car- 
 rying about with her, for some days, a plain impres- 
 sion of a heron with a fish in his claw (the device of 
 the Lees) on her left temple, in consequence of rush- 
 ing with her head right into the footman's waistcoat, 
 as he was coming out of the room with the breakfast 
 things, sending the contents of the sugar-basin into 
 his open mouth, and those of the cream-jug into his 
 waistcoat-pocket. Also, she had more than once in 
 the garden, when appearing unexpectedly and swiftly 
 from behind apple-trees, knocked the gardener into 
 his own wheelbarrow. 
 
 These accidents never occurred to Orelia, whose 
 style of progression was stately and imposing, as if 
 she had two pursuivants, a gold stick in waiting, and 
 a great nobleman carrying her crown, all marching in 
 procession in front of her ; so that, though they left 
 their chamber together, Rosa danced into Lady Lee's 
 presence in the breakfast-room at least seventeen 
 seconds and a half before Orelia entered. 
 
 This room was one of the prettiest breakfast-rooms
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 25 
 
 in England, so that, besides breakfasting, one would 
 have had no objection to lunch, dine, and sup there also. 
 It was octagonal, being situated in one of the turrets. 
 Three sides of the octagon were occupied by fresco 
 designs of a comic and graceful character; — fairies 
 fled before Bottom with his ass's head, danced before 
 Titania, made merry with Puck. This latter per- 
 sonage, indeed, was positively ubiquitous, flying along 
 the wall on royal errands, popping his quaint ugly 
 face out from behind oak-leaves, lurking under mush- 
 rooms, and subsequently performing somersets on the 
 ceiling. Two sides were occupied by the door and 
 fire-place, two by a double-faced bow-window, filled 
 with diamond panes of glass set in stone. Through 
 these panes you looked on a landscape outlined by a 
 different hand — Dame Nature's own, with the design 
 filled up by some happy touches of her scholar man. 
 A few paces from the house, the ground sloped so 
 rapidly that the descent was marked j^only by the 
 diminishing tops of the pine trees which clothed it, 
 sinking fast, one below another, till they disappeared ; 
 then far below — so far that many a broad acre inter- 
 vened — a grassy meadow came out beyond the crest 
 of the pine wood, the cows that grazed there looking 
 quite small in the distance as they lay among the 
 daisies, or walked out into the clear brown water of 
 the river, which ran there in a semicircle, dividing
 
 26 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 this from another lawn, where stood the old country- 
 house of Monkstone. Behind this house ran a road 
 losing itself among trees, but whose course was marked 
 by a village that peeped shadily from amidst openings 
 in the foliage — the parsonage-house standing prim 
 and white in the midst of the green glebe, with a 
 quickset round it, like a duenna, to keep the other 
 houses from being too familiar. By this time the eye 
 ceased to take in any more details, seeing only gentle 
 slops flowing upwards from each other, till the sky 
 rose blue behind. 
 
 But to come in-doors again. Lady Lee was generally 
 attired in some light-coloured muslin of a morning, 
 and accompanied, while she arranged the bouquets on 
 the breakfast-table, by Blanco, a white pointer, to 
 which she had taken a fancy when he was a pup in 
 Sir Joseph's time, and by Julius, either seated in an 
 arm-chair of suitable dimensions, with his cat Pick in 
 his lap, or in pursuit of that associate — for the boy 
 and his cat were seldom far apart. Pick, though in the 
 main a good-tempered animal, would sometimes be 
 exasperated out of all bounds by being lugged about 
 with his head and fore-paws under Julius's arm, and 
 his tail dragging on the ground, till he was half- 
 strangled; and, extricating himself with a violent 
 struggle, would make off, waving his tail in a wrath- 
 ful and majestic manner as he sat grimly under chairs,

 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 27 
 
 sofas, ladies' dresses, and other places of retirement, 
 into which Julius would follow on all fours, and, 
 seizing him by leg, ear, or any other prominent part 
 of his person that came to hand, bear him growl- 
 ing away, with his fur and his temper alike ruffled 
 and rubbed against the grain. 
 
 When Orelia and Rosa appeared. Pick's wrongs, 
 however, were presently avenged. They would make 
 at Julius, and hug him like a pair of boa-constrictors 
 that had made prey of a young antelope. Between 
 them, this wretched child led a terrible life of it. 
 Besides those kisses which he was bribed to give with 
 sugar-plums, promises of having fairy tales told to 
 him, of being allowed to see picture-books, and the 
 like allurements, he was incessantly snatched from 
 the ground, and caressed into a state of high floridity, 
 without any assignable cause whatsoever. The ordi- 
 nary feminine propensity to lavish endearments on 
 all available young children seemed to flourish greatly 
 in the bosoms of these young ladies, and to be all 
 concentrated on Julius. They wouldn't have dared 
 to treat one of their size so. It was really enough to 
 excite the sympathy of any man, with a human heart 
 in his breast, to see Rosa fling him down among the 
 sofa cushions, with his head in Orelia s lap, and, while 
 the legs of the little victim kicked convulsively in the 
 air, and his hands pulled down the tresses of his tor-
 
 28 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 mentor, so as to screen the two faces beneath it, then 
 and there, deliberately proceed to bite his chin, pinch 
 his ears and his nose, and practise many other cruel- 
 ties; while Orelia, by insidious ticklings, would convert 
 his shrieks into laughter. I can only say, I wouldn't 
 have been in his place myself on any account. 
 
 Lady Lee kissed Kosa, and asked her how she had 
 slept ; repeated the greeting to Orelia, and they sat 
 down to breakfast. 
 
 At this meal, it was edifying to see the accuracy 
 with which Miss Payne would cut her muffin into 
 little squares, salting each carefully before putting it 
 in her mouth; while Eosa Young fed on a great 
 breakfast-cupful of bread and milk, and an egg, giving 
 Julius (who was supposed to have breakfasted before) 
 alternate spoonfuls of the former, and afterwards ad- 
 ministering to him the top of her egg, which he al- 
 ways expected as his lawful perquisite. Then he 
 would post himself at Orelia's side, watching till she 
 had finished ; for she always plastered the last square 
 of muffin thickly with jam, as if it were a brick which 
 she was going to build into a muffin wall, and, bidding 
 Julius shut his eyes and open his mouth, which he did 
 with blind confidence, would therewith choke him. 
 
 Now, this morning Julius's imagination had been 
 greatly excited by Kitty Fillett, who had come to visit 
 Juley's personal retainer (an elderly personage whom
 
 29 
 
 he called Wifey) while he was undergoing, at her 
 hands, the operation of dressing, and had delivered a 
 glowing and exulting account of the delights she an- 
 ticipated in Harry Noble's society at the fair. Julius's 
 ideas of fairs were picked up from the illustrations of 
 the Pilgrims Progress^ a work he was greatly de- 
 voted to from the number and appalling character of 
 the prints it contained, among which was that of 
 Vanity Fair. He had no doubt whatever that Chris- 
 tian and Hopeful would be present on this occasion in 
 person — together with Pickthank, Mr Facingboth- 
 ways, and many other personages of that famous 
 allegory ; nay, he was by no means free from an aw- 
 ful misgiving that Giant Despair, and even Apollyon 
 himself, might be lurking somewhere in the neighbour- 
 hood of the festive scene. This had, at first, caused 
 him to beg Fillett, for whom he had a great regard, 
 very earnestly not to go — and, finally, to cry so pa- 
 thetically at the idea of her being entrapped and eaten 
 by Pagan and Pope, or shut up in Doubting Castle by 
 the formidable giant (both which fates have of late 
 befallen many more noted persons than Kitty), that 
 she was at length obliged to dispel his fears by some 
 assurances more substantial than such generalities as 
 " No, no. Master Julius, they won't eat Kitty ; " and 
 became, in pacifying him, so minute in her description 
 of the shows, caravans, and other charms of the fair.
 
 30 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 that Julius was now as anxious to accompany as lie 
 had before been to prevent her. 
 
 Accordingly, on finding that his mamma, to whom 
 he first broached the matter, entirely disapproved of 
 his going, he began to ascertain the sentiments of 
 Orelia and Rosa on the subject, as soon as those young 
 ladies had done pulling him about. 
 
 " Miss Payne,'' said he, as Lady Lee was pouring 
 out the tea, " do you know any giants ?" 
 
 " No," answered Orelia ; " not one." 
 
 "Nor dwarfs, that live in little wee houses, with 
 holes to ring bells out of?" said Julius. 
 
 Miss Pa3rQe assured him that no such persons were 
 among her acquaintance. 
 
 " Nor elephants with noses ever so long that they 
 can pick up shillings with? — nor lions with great 
 teeth? — nor blue monkeys? — nor white bears that 
 live in snow houses ? — nor Peruvian nightingales ? — 
 nor flying griffins ? " pursued Julius, adding his own 
 fabulous recollections to Kitty's catalogue of wonders 
 in his eagerness to inspire Orelia with desires similar 
 to his own. 
 
 " None of these were entered on her list of friends," 
 Orelia said. 
 
 " Ah," said Julius, nodding his head, " but you'd 
 like to know 'em. Miss Payne ; and so would Rosa — 
 wouldn't you, Rosa ? "
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 31 
 
 " Yes, my darling emperor Julius/' said Eosa ; 
 " Rosa would like to see them very much, and she 
 would like her Juleypuley to see them too/' 
 
 " Don't be putting nonsense in the child's head," 
 said Lady Lee : " Julius knows he's not to go." 
 
 " But it's not nonsense, mamma,'' said Julius ; 
 " and all Kitty's cousins are going ; and there are 
 beautiful spangled jugglers, and yellow caravans with 
 people living in them, and — and — please, mamma, I 
 do so want to go," said poor Juley, abandoning argu- 
 ment for entreaty with a suddenness that was quite 
 pathetic. But his hard-hearted parent desired him 
 to be quiet, threatening him at the same time with 
 the sugar-tongs ; and this rebuff, combined with the 
 long-expected instalment of muffin from Orelia, stopt 
 his mouth for that time. 
 
 However, neither he nor Rosa had the least inten- 
 tion of so patiently abandoning their point. Rosa, as 
 before said, wished to go on her own account ; but, 
 even if she had not, the sight of Julius's anxiety 
 would have been sufficient to make her his warm 
 advocate. Accordingly, the two spent the morning 
 in practising a number of devices for melting Lady 
 Lee's heart. For instance, after one or two rehearsals 
 in the lobby, the door was flung open, and Julius 
 rushed, or rather toddled, with distracted aspect, into 
 the apartment. Taking with his short legs such
 
 32 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 Strides that it was a wonder he didn't split in two, 
 and, rapping his palm against his jutting forehead, 
 he went up to where his mother sat, and, clasping his 
 hands and kneeling down, said, " Great queen, listen 
 to my prayer ! " And when Lady Lee, calling him a 
 plaguy monkey, asked him what he wanted, he said 
 pathetically, "Take, oh take me to the fair!" after 
 which a suppressed laugh from the inventor of the 
 drama was heard behind the scenes. Then Rosa, 
 entering, took him on her lap to tell him a story — 
 how there was once a little boy, who was a very good 
 little boy, and had a young female friend who loved 
 him very much, and how they lived together in great 
 felicity — at least they would have lived so, only the 
 little boy had a cruel mamma, who never let them 
 do anything they wanted ; and how they gradually 
 pined away and died, and were covered with leaves 
 by robin redbreasts, while the cruel mamma, who 
 was sorry for her conduct when it was too late, was 
 borne away by a flying dragon ; and that the name 
 of this unnatural parent, who received this signal 
 punishment, was Lee — at which interesting point the 
 sublime allegory was interrupted by Lady Lee laugh- 
 ing and calling them two silly creatures, while Orelia 
 threw a magazine she was trying to read at Rosa, and 
 asked her how she could be so absurd ! 
 
 The confederates ended, as they usually did, in
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 33 
 
 gaining their point. It was at length agreed that the 
 party should attire themselves in the very worst clothes 
 they had, in order to appear as little conspicuous as 
 possible in a scene not probably remarkable for re- 
 finement ; and that they should call upon Dr Blossom, 
 the chief physician of Doddington, either to escort 
 them himself into the scene, or to provide a substitute 
 — as if the Doctor had been a militia-man ; and to 
 Doddington accordingly they drove. 
 
 Kosa, in a straw bonnet and blue muslin frock, 
 looked very like a pretty villager out for a holiday ; 
 and the character was further sustained by a little 
 basket intended to hold fairings for Julius. But Lady 
 Lee, also in a straw bonnet and plain dove-coloured 
 shawl, looked as much like a fine lady as ever ; while, 
 as for Orelia, the only difference in her was that you 
 would now have taken her for a potentate in disguise. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 They had a pleasant drive to Doddingtou. The 
 lower part of the quiet country town seemed more de- 
 serted than ever, as they walked up the street accom- 
 panied by the Doctor. The few people whose business 
 tied them down to their shops looked as if they would 
 gladly have forsaken them to partake the pleasures of 
 the fair ; with the exception of a Methodist draper, 
 who stood at his door with his arms straight down his 
 sides and his nose in the air, revelling in the idea that 
 he was not as other men are, fair-goers and sinners, 
 and occasionally casting a stern glance up the street 
 leading to the busy scene, as if he considered it the 
 broad way that led to destruction. The stationer's 
 shop, which Julius always entered with delighted ex- 
 pectation, and wandered with rapture through the 
 treasures of toys and picture-books it contained, seem- 
 ed a doleful every-day affair to him compared with 
 the delight he anticipated in the region of the fair, 
 whither he was now all eagerness to arrive.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 35 
 
 This was a broad macadamised portion of the main 
 street, having houses on one side only, the other being 
 bordered by a field known as Luxon's Meadow, from 
 the name of the proprietor of it, who kept a public- 
 house hard by. None — not even the oldest inhabi- 
 tant — could possibly, without having previously been 
 present at a Whitsun Fair in Doddington, have re- 
 cognised the street and meadow for the same. Both 
 were glorified. The street contained within itself a 
 smaller street made by covered stalls, whose proprie- 
 tors invited the attention of passengers to heaps of 
 toys, confectionary, and the like congenial wares, in- 
 termingled with more utilitarian stalls, where boots 
 and shoes (for the manufacture of which Doddington 
 was famous all over the country) were sold, hanging 
 in strings like onions, and so numerous, that you would 
 have fancied the people of that region must have been 
 centipedes at the very least. Looking through the 
 space left between one of these stalls, and another 
 containing an inviting display of sweetmeats, Luxon's 
 Meadow was seen — no longer the barren, somewhat 
 dismal-looking field, more remarkable for the flourish- 
 ing crop of dock-leaves and nettles it exhibited than 
 for anything else ; but a gorgeous pleasure-ground, 
 where, amid wheelbarrows of nuts, families of jugglers, 
 painted swings, and yellow peep-shows, rose proudly 
 a travelling theatre, known as PowelFs Pavilion, where
 
 36 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 the actors, after appearing inside in melodramas which 
 occupied about a quarter of an hour in the perform- 
 ance, came out upon the stage in front, in their 
 magnificent dresses, and dazzled the populace by walk- 
 ing about there in pairs. Julius beheld with great 
 wonder a drunken countryman, who had stuck fast in 
 a crevice of the stage, assisted down the ladder to 
 terra firma by a courteous warrior in a brass scaly 
 surcoat of proof and a tin helmet. 
 
 In the street, opposite the meadow, was a long low 
 show made of canvass, with an ornamental front and 
 stage, whereon a merryandrew was delighting the po- 
 pulace. This merryandrew was the very Methusaleh 
 of merryandrews : he was so old that he had long 
 since lost his teeth ; and his mouth, having fallen in, 
 left so little space between his nose and chin for the 
 painting of his lips, that the lower one extended some 
 little distance down his throat. Notwithstanding his 
 advanced age, this patriarch showed some considerable 
 agility, elevating occasionally in the air a pair of legs 
 that seemed the very abode and stronghold of rheu- 
 matism, and walking on his hands. He wore a ruff 
 round his neck, and rosettes in his shoes ; and one 
 might almost have fancied that, having adopted these 
 articles of costume when a youth in Elizabeth's time, 
 he had stuck to them ever since. Besides being a 
 green old age, his was also a motley old age, for he
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 37 
 
 wore a particoloured doublet and tight hose, painted 
 in squares, so that, if he had been put in a mangle, 
 and rolled out flat, you might have played chess on 
 his thighs. And so, with many quips, conjuring tricks, 
 and comical grimaces, this old gentleman was literally 
 tumbling into his grave. On this stage extremes 
 seemed to meet, for a' child about Julius's age and 
 size, dressed in a spangled doublet and white drawers, 
 tumbled thereon, with a sad and serious aspect, in 
 imitation of his aged associate. 
 
 Passing through these enchanted regions, a hoarse 
 voice saluted the visitor — and a fat, red-faced, and 
 red-whiskered man might be seen, standing on the 
 front of his wooden van, which, turning down on 
 hinges and resting on props, formed a stage whereon 
 he exhibited hardwares of every description, produced 
 from the interior of the vehicle, which was fitted up 
 like a shop. This was the celebrated Cheap John, a 
 man who, besides his character for brilliant imagination 
 and wit — faculties patent to any observer who chose 
 to stand within hearing of his jokes for a minute — 
 enjoyed a shadowy but vast reputation as a pugilist, 
 though it was evident, from his corpulence, that a single 
 tap on the stomach from an antagonist must have 
 caused him to burst like an egg. Like Orpheus, he 
 charmed the very clods. Bumpkins who merely went 
 to enjoy his facetiousness, found themselves, on depart-
 
 38 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 ing, hampered with various sorts of hardware, which 
 they didn't exactly know what to do with, and which 
 they certainly never intended to buy. Few were proof 
 against the magic of his eloquence, which drew, if not 
 golden, yet copper, and occasionally silver opinions, 
 from most of his listeners. 
 
 From the spot occupied by this orator, a glimpse 
 might be caught of the greater splendours of the fair. 
 Music from the brass band of the wild-beast show 
 broke upon the ear, and the fluttering of vast pictures, 
 elevated, like sails, on masts, caught the eye — indis- 
 tinct, yet still imposing in the distance, and revealing, 
 on closer view, wonders that presently deprived the 
 spectator of all hope of peace of mind, till he had 
 satiated his curiosity with a survey of the internal 
 marvels of which they were the outward sign. In 
 these works of art the lion Wallace fought the six 
 dogs at Warwick ; a white bear devoured a hapless 
 polar navigator, whose tarpaulin hat was visible be- 
 tween the animal's stupendous and inexorable jaws ; 
 the authentic portrait of the wonderful Fat Boy 
 smiled, in bland obesity, on that of the French Giant 
 in the opposite caravan, who was represented as look- 
 ing down from a great altitude on a wondering gen- 
 tleman in a blue surtout and brass buttons, whose 
 shirt-frill reached about the giant's knee, and who was 
 supposed to be a person of fashion who had paid his
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 39 
 
 money for the pleasure of seeing him. The swelling 
 of the canvass of these great pictures in the breeze 
 imparted to the objects painted thereon a slow and 
 solemn motion, which, giving a sort of unearthly life 
 to their grim faces and steadfast attitudes, made 
 them appear to Julius very awful. 
 
 Everyiihing was charming to Julius. If the fairies 
 he was so fond of hearing about had carried him in a 
 winged chariot to their own country, he could scarcely 
 have been more delighted. His friend Rosa had pro- 
 vided him with an immense painted trumpet, which 
 had taken his fancy, and had also held him up to 
 look in at the glass of a peep-show. This had merely 
 whetted his appetite for sight-seeing ; and imme- 
 diately on arriving in front of the rows of caravans 
 where the wild beasts were stationed, he became 
 clamorous for a sight of them. 
 
 They did not, perhaps, come up to his ideal. He 
 was a little disappointed at finding the lion so plac- 
 able, for he merely winked at them as they passed in 
 front of his den ; the polar bear also declined show- 
 ing any more than the rear of his person ; while the 
 Peruvian nightingale remained mythic as the phoenix, 
 although Julius applied earnestly to a keeper in cor- 
 duroy shorts and ankle-boots to help him to a sight 
 of that singular bird. The man laughed, and, saying 
 "Look here, master!" pointed to a pelican; but
 
 40 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Julius knew all about pelicans, and not only convicted 
 the keeper of the attempted imposition, but gave him 
 a short digest of pelican history from Buffon. Here 
 we will leave him, making acquaintance with the 
 monkeys, charmed at recognising the ostriches, and 
 outrageous at not being permitted to ride on the 
 zebra, while we look after other characters of our 
 history. 
 
 Kitty Fillett, after being introduced by Mr Noble 
 to all the shows, was refreshing herself, in that gentle- 
 man's society, in a neighbouring booth. Mr Noble, 
 after having been very agreeable and attentive all 
 the day, was now in a most unchristian and desperate 
 state of mind. This was caused by the presence of a 
 good-looking corporal of dragoons, who had lounged 
 in, after frequently passing and repassing before 
 them, apparently thinking much more of the too 
 favourable and admiring glances which Kitty cast on 
 him, than of the ire that was flashed to wither him 
 from the eyes of Noble. The corporal was a tall, 
 slender fellow, of a somewhat roue and dissipated 
 aspect ; his forage-cap was set jauntily on one side of 
 his wavy black hair, his mustache was evidently nur- 
 tured like some rare exotic, and he had a waist, as 
 Kitty said, like an hour-glass. 
 
 Miss Fillett's conduct was certainly aggravating. 
 She had begun by whispering to Noble remarks on
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 41 
 
 the uniform and general appearance of the object of 
 his wrath, and, totally regardless of the gruff and 
 short replies vouchsafed, had taken occasion to en- 
 large on the charms of military people in general, and 
 dragoons in particular. 
 
 " There's a hair about thim," said Kitty, mincing 
 her words to suit the subject — " there's a hair about 
 thim not met with out of the army. Their manners 
 is generally ixquisite, and their — oh, did you ever see 
 such a white hand, now he's took his gloves off?'" 
 
 " D— n his hand ! " muttered Noble. 
 
 " No gentleman's is whiter," pursued Kitty ; " and 
 his eyes — law, how they do sparkle ! — don't they, 
 Harry ? " 
 
 " Do they ! " said Harry, shortly ; then, sotto voce, 
 " I should like to bung 'em up." 
 
 " And isn't his jacket beautiful ?" whispered the 
 enthusiastic Fillett. " Look at the lace on the front." 
 
 " P'raps you may see it laced on the back present- 
 ly," growled Noble, savagely grasping his stick, and 
 unable longer to repress his displeasure. But Kitty 
 pretended to think he was joking. She made non- 
 sensical remarks, and then laughed loudly at them, 
 to attract the attention of the Corporal, and establish 
 an understanding with him ; while he, switching his 
 boot with his cane, glanced at her with a coolly critical 
 air, as if he was used to that sort of thing.
 
 42 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 How long Harry Noble's wrath might have taken 
 to boil over, under these circumstances, is doubtful. 
 Just as he was revolving in his mind some plausible 
 reason for stepping up to the Corporal, and inviting 
 him into the next field to settle their claims, Lady 
 Lee's party came in front of the booth, stopt for a 
 moment, in their way down the street, by the crowd 
 gathered round a huge bumpkin, who, incited thereto 
 by ale and approbation, was performing a hornpipe 
 in hobnailed shoes, leaving deep impressions of the 
 nails in the road at every step. 
 
 This disciple of Terpsichore, finding his efforts well 
 received, had procured a partner whom he had danced 
 into breathless exhaustion, and he was now looking 
 round for a suitable fair one to supply her place. In 
 his exalted mood, Orelia's style of beauty appeared 
 to him most likely to do him credit, and he accord- 
 ingly pranced up, with the grace and vigour of one of 
 his own plough-horses, and seized her hand. Orelia 
 snatched it away. 
 
 "Wretch!" cried she, looking at him like an 
 insulted queen — "Begone !" 
 
 " The fellow's mad ! " cried Dr Blossom — " get 
 away, sir ! Call a constable !" quoth the Doctor, 
 authoritatively, to the crowd in general, on seeing 
 the man persist in his design. 
 
 The dragoon Corporal, leaving his contemplation
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 43 
 
 of Miss Fillett, had lounged to the front of the booth, 
 where he stood coolly scanning the ladies. He now 
 stept forward, and, interposing between the flushed 
 and angry Orelia and her pertinacious assailant, 
 seized the man by the collar, and hurled him vio- 
 lently back. 
 
 The countryman was fully three stone heavier than 
 the trim soldier, and, recovering himself, rushed at 
 him in full confidence of utterly annihilating him 
 with one swashing blow of his great fist. His brother 
 bumpkins, unanimously indulging the same expecta- 
 tion, encouraged him by crying out, " Gi' ut un, Joe ; 
 d — n thee, gi' ut un !" and were proportionably 
 astonished when the Corporal threw himself into an 
 easy attitude, and, by what appeared to their unscien- 
 tific eyes the mere straightening of his right arm, sent 
 his big antagonist to the earth like a slaughtered ox. 
 
 A tremendous row ensued. Some comrades of the 
 CorporaFs, who were near, set to at once with a cor- 
 responding number of the countryman's friends, all 
 actuated by a unanimous impulse. Two or three 
 officers, seeing the red jackets gleaming fitfully 
 amidst overpowering masses of corduroy and fustian, 
 cast themselves into the fray, and were reinforced by 
 a couple of Oxford men on a visit to their friends in 
 the town, who, expecting to be ordained shortly, and 
 to be debarred from the comfort of combating barge-
 
 44 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 men in future, embraced the present opportunity with 
 grateful promptitude. Amateurs of Doddington were 
 equally ready to exert their prowess — showmen were 
 affected by the contagious example — harlequins, de- 
 scending from their stages, ranged themselves against 
 rival Pantaloons, while Columbines screamed after 
 them in vain ; and the proprietor of the French 
 Giant took the opportunity of settling a private and 
 long-festering grudge with the owner of the Albino 
 Lady. 
 
 The Corporal showed himself a paladin in courtesy 
 no less than in valour. He carefully interposed his 
 person as a shield to the ladies, and the fray streamed 
 away on each side as from a rock. Still, they might 
 have been sadly jostled, had not the venerable merry- 
 andrew before mentioned hurried down his ladder, 
 at the imminent risk of snapping his unfortunate 
 old legs, and handed them up to his stage, out of 
 harm's way. 
 
 Harry Noble, burning to avenge his wrongs on the 
 dragoon, was meanwhile forcing his way through the 
 crowd towards that redoubted personage, intending 
 forthwith to disfigure permanently, by the bunging- 
 up of eyes, loss of fore-teeth, and flattening of nose, 
 the face that Kitty Fillett had found so charming. 
 Whether these fell designs would have been executed, 
 or whether Harry, coming for wool, might have
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 45 
 
 gone home shorn, is not known, for the duel did 
 not take place. Just as Harry's furious face, glar- 
 ing on the Corporal within a couple of yards, met 
 the eye of the latter, and admonished him to look 
 out for a fresh foe, a couple of horses' heads came 
 between them. 
 
 " Hi ! hi ! '' shouted the corpulent coachman, who 
 drove the Lightning royal mail. "By your leave 
 there ! — make a lane, will ye ? Give 'em a note, 
 Jim'' (to the guard). 
 
 The guard sounded his horn, and then flourished 
 it, shouting, " Room for the mail ! — make way there !" 
 evidently lost in wonder at the effrontery of any 
 person or persons daring to delay for an instant 
 his Majesty's mail ; while a passenger, who sat on 
 the box-seat, said, "Drive into the infernal scoun- 
 drels!" 
 
 The coachman was by nature a choleric person, 
 and his choler had been fed for many years with 
 brandy-and-water, like a lamp. He could ill brook 
 hindrances of any kind, and was scarcely to be stopt 
 even by such decisive impediments as loss of linch- 
 pins, impassable snow-drifts, and the like dispensa- 
 tions of Providence. Accordingly, having to choose 
 between suppressing his wrath (which would certain- 
 ly, by inducing apoplexy, have caused him to drop off 
 his perch like an over-fed goldfinch) and venting it
 
 46 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 forthwith, he chose the less fatal alternative, and 
 touched up his leaders. Those noble animals, sidling 
 and curvetting, with the traces over their backs, 
 pushed on, and did great execution, terminating 
 several pugilistic encounters with a suddenness that 
 the most active Middlesex magistrate, assisted by the 
 rural police, might have tried in vain to emulate. 
 The warrior in the tin helmet, before alluded to, 
 and a pugnacious harlequin who had attacked him, 
 were prostrated in opposite directions. Harry Noble 
 was sent reeling into the very arms of Kitty Fil- 
 lett, who was shedding tears like a watering-pot ; 
 and other less eager belligerents quietly agreed to 
 a cessation of hostilities, and cleared the way for 
 the mail. 
 
 The Lightning was beginning to exchange its 
 slow walk through the crowd for a slow trot, and the 
 coachman's face was returning from deep ultra- 
 marine to its natural lake tint, when Lady Lee, 
 casting her eyes upon the coach, called aloud, " Oh, 
 Colonel Lee ! Colonel Lee ! " 
 
 The passenger on the coach-box turned, and, in- 
 stantly recognising her ladyship perched on a stage 
 within a yard or two of him, in company with her 
 son, two young ladies, a merryandrew, and a juvenile 
 tumbler, he did what all the people in the fair proba- 
 bly couldn't have done, for, by a word and a touch on
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 47 
 
 the arm, he caused the coachman to pull up while he 
 descended ; and, further, that impetuous charioteer, 
 before proceeding on his way, respectfully touched his 
 hat to him, as did the guard. 
 
 Bagot's first exclamation, on ascending the stage, 
 was " God bless my soul ! '' • Then, shaking Lady 
 Lee's hand, and motioning with his head towards 
 the aged merryandrew, he said, "You haven't join- 
 ed the profession, have you, Hester?" — for Bagot 
 was a man who could be pleasantly facetious with 
 ladies. 
 
 " I'm so glad you're come," said Lady Lee ; " you 
 can take care of us as far as the hotel, and go home 
 in the carriage. My dears, this is Colonel Lee ; 
 and these are my friends. Miss Pa3nae and Rosa 
 Young." 
 
 The Colonel, taking off his white felt hat, made a 
 bow — rather a slang bow — to each, and then shook 
 hands, first with Orelia, who gave him hers as if she 
 expected him to go down on his knees and kiss it, 
 and then with Eosa. He diffused round him a pal- 
 pable halo, as it were, of brandy-and-water. He was 
 dressed in the white hat just mentioned, a green 
 neckcloth with white squares, a Newmarket cutaway, 
 with a white greatcoat over it, and trousers buttoned 
 at the ankles over drab gaiters. He had evidently 
 been a good-looking man before his nose grew so
 
 48 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 swollen, his forehead so flushed, his eyes so open and 
 watery, and his under lip so protruding and tremu- 
 lous. His hair was somewhat long at the sides and 
 back, and grizzled to iron grey, as were his volumin- 
 ous whiskers and the tuft on his under lip. 
 
 The Colonel, having shaken hands with them as 
 aforesaid, and also with Julius, who plucked him by 
 the skirts, and called him " Uncle Bag,'' said, " Sup- 
 pose we imitate Miss O'Neil, and retire from the 
 stage " — which they accordingly did, after acknow- 
 ledging substantially the civility of the ancient mer- 
 ryandrew, who stood bowing before them, while the 
 fixed smile painted on his spotted face entirely con- 
 tradicted his deferential attitude, and gave to the 
 spectators the idea that he was openly making fun of 
 the whole party. 
 
 As they passed down the street to the hotel, Bagot 
 frequently stopt to shake hands with people of all 
 classes who came up to greet him. Farmers, whose 
 grounds he sometimes shot over, held out their horny 
 hands; Peter Pearce, a convivial shoemaker, left 
 his stall, and danced a short distance down the 
 street in front of them, to testify his satisfaction at 
 the Colonel's arrival ; Tom Jago, a wool-comber, who 
 cared more for field-sports than for his trade, came 
 up, touching his hat, to tell of some trampers having 
 lately been seen netting the river for salmon ; and
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 49 
 
 Mrs Susan Golightly, the buxom wife of an inn- 
 keeper, cast a merry glance from her black eyes as 
 she welcomed the Colonel back to Doddington, — all 
 of whom Bagot treated with a gracious and jocular 
 familiarity, that fully maintained for him his position 
 in the popular esteem. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 Bagot's visits to the Heronry were, for the most 
 part, regulated by sporting events. He was a regu- 
 lar attendant at all great race meetings, and spent 
 here the intervals, especially if his funds were low. 
 The state of these funds was almost entirely depen- 
 dent on his adroitness or good fortune in betting or 
 at play, for Sir Joseph's legacy had dwindled down to 
 a minute fraction on the settling day of the very first 
 Derby after the testator's death. 
 
 On the occasions of these visits, he and Lady Lee 
 had always been entirely independent of each other. 
 He had his own rooms, where he entertained his own 
 companions, ordered his own meals, and led a free- 
 and-easy bachelor life of it. He made himself useful 
 by regulating the stable economy, and bringing the 
 steward to book, as he termed it. 
 
 On the evening of his arrival, Bagot walked over 
 to Monkstone, the house already described as stand-
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 51 
 
 ing across the river, within view of the windows of 
 the Heronry ; and, as Bagot was not accustomed to 
 pay visits of ceremony or friendship, we may state at 
 once that he had an object in view. 
 
 Monkstone had been purchased by an old gentle- 
 man, who, rising from low beginnings to considerable 
 wealth, had conceived a wish, in his old age, to be- 
 come the founder of a family. As he was an old 
 bachelor, and had no intention of marrying, he cast 
 about among his relatives for a suitable heir. Having 
 selected a nephew, he took him into his house, and 
 brought him up to consider himself the future succes- 
 sor to Monkstone ; and, dying a few years after, left 
 him his sole heir. 
 
 Mr Jonathan Dubbley, this fortunate inheritor, 
 had been considerably neglected both by nature and 
 education. He was far from bright originally, and 
 the dull surface of his mind was covered, when his 
 uncle adopted him, with many years' rust. At his 
 uncle's death, his estate and income were such as to 
 give him consideration in the county, and he suddenly 
 found himself a prominent character in scenes to 
 which he was totally unaccustomed. He was a grand- 
 j ar3Tiian — he was a magistrate and J. P. His tenantry 
 made him a man of consequence at elections ; and, to 
 crown his greatness, he had this year been chosen 
 High Sheriff. 
 
 f\f \U-
 
 62 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 On one point he now began to feel his deficiency 
 more strongly than all the rest — he wanted a well- 
 bred wife — he wanted to marry a woman who should 
 possess qualities to form a light agreeable background 
 to his own solid merits — one who should, as Mr Ten- 
 nyson expresses it, set herself to him "as perfect 
 music unto noble words '' — the noble words being, in 
 his case, four thousand a-year. After casting about 
 among the eligible spinsters of his acquaintance, and 
 taking counsel with the landlord of the Dubbley 
 Arms and his own gamekeeper, he at length fixed 
 upon Lady Lee as the most suitable match he could 
 discover. She was known to be a woman of talent 
 and striking address ; anybody who had eyes could 
 see she was handsome ; and, moreover, she would be 
 by no means a dowerless bride, a circumstance that 
 weighed powerfully in the calculations of Squire 
 Dubbley, who had been taught fully to appreciate 
 the value of money, and who was both tolerably 
 acute and very obstinate where his own interests 
 were concerned. The grand obstacle to a declaration 
 of his wishes was an insuperable bashfulness with 
 which the Squire became afflicted when in the com- 
 pany of ladies of high degree, but which did not, 
 however, affect him in his intercourse with the sex 
 generally. 
 
 Squire Dubbley had a very great respect for
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 53 
 
 Colonel Bagot Lee — greater, perhaps, than for any- 
 other person — not altogether because Bagot was a 
 sharp fellow, for there were fellows sharper than 
 Bagot, of whom the Squire thought but little. In 
 general, Mr Dubbley disliked people who showed any 
 superiority to himself, which had the effect of narrow- 
 ing his circle of esteemed friends considerably. When 
 men shone, in his company, on subjects which he 
 did not understand, he would abuse them dreadfully 
 behind their backs — say to his intimates that people 
 might call such-a-one clever, but he was a cursed bad 
 shot — couldn't hit a hay-stack ; or that he had no hand 
 on a horse, and rode like a tailor ; with divers other 
 slanders. But Bagot's sharpness evinced itself in 
 pursuits congenial to the Squire's tastes — in field- 
 sports, in skill on the turf, and in knowledge of the 
 dark corners of London life, to which he had last 
 year introduced Dubbley, piloting him into various 
 haunts, where the inexperienced Squire would pro- 
 bably have fared but ill in purse, person, and reputa- 
 tion, but for the protection of Bagot, who walked 
 through all these fiery furnaces like a moral sala- 
 mander. Bagot, too, had furnished him with many 
 valuable hints for his conduct in his new sphere, and 
 for the management of his property. These merits, 
 added to a sort of jovial overbearing good-humour of 
 Bagot's, caused the Squire, as before said, to regard
 
 54 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 him with a much greater respect than he would have 
 felt for a more respectable person. 
 
 He had not failed to hint to this potent ally (though 
 in a somewhat distant and sheepish way) his admir- 
 ation for Lady Lee. Bagot had at first laughed at 
 him, but, finding the Squire's affections to be more 
 seriously engaged than he had imagined, he began to 
 consider in his own mind how he could best turn the 
 circumstance to account. It was with the view of 
 executing the result of his meditations that he now 
 visited Monkstone, on the first day of his coming down 
 into the country. 
 
 He found Mr Dubbley, just returned from rabbit- 
 shooting, taking off his half-boots and gaiters in the 
 hall. He was a good-looking man, about five-and- 
 thirty, rather bald, with a cunning eye and an imbe- 
 cile half-smile. On seeing Bagot come up the steps, 
 the Squire ran towards him in his worsted stockings, 
 with the knee-strings of his corduroy breeches dan- 
 gling about his calves. 
 
 " Ton my life, Colonel," said Mr Dubbley, " I 
 never was so glad to see anybody. I was just think- 
 ing how the devil I was to get through the evening. 
 Your presence quite survives me.'' The Squire meant 
 revives, but his language was sometimes even less 
 clear than his ideas. 
 
 "Dubbley, my boy, how goes it?" said Bagot.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 55 
 
 "Been working the rabbits, eb? You look sound, 
 wind and limb."" 
 
 "Sound as a bell," said Squire Dubbley, "and 
 most particular hungry. Just you go into the dining- 
 room, Colonel, and wait while I wash my hands. Ill 
 order another plate to be laid." 
 
 Bagot accordingly entered the dining-room. He 
 did not fail to remark several alterations in the apart- 
 ment. Some French (very French) prints had been 
 removed. The extremely plain furniture of old Mr 
 Dubbley 's time was replaced by the productions of a 
 London upholsterer. Some books, too — rare objects 
 at Monkstone — in very grand bindings, lay scattered 
 about Bagot took up one — it was an illustrated Life 
 of Napoleon. Presently the Squire entered at an- 
 other door, bearing a cob-webbed bottle in each hand, 
 and another under his arm. 
 
 " I stick to my old rule,'' said the Squire — " always 
 go to the cellar myself Why, a tippling butler might 
 knock off the head of a bottle, and drink it up any 
 time, if he had the keys. Colonel ; and how should I 
 be the wiser? — unless," added the Squire, thought- 
 fully, " unless I was counting the bottles all day 
 long." 
 
 " You re a sharp fellow, Dubbley,'' said Bagot, who 
 wanted to put him in good humour. " 'Twould be a 
 clever butler that could do you."
 
 56 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 The Squire chuckled. " Yes," said he, " I'm pretty 
 sharp. Yes, yes — sharp enough, by George ! I get 
 done sometimes, though. Ah, Colonel, I wish' you 
 had been here a little while ago. Ton my life, I 
 never wished so much for anybody. Do you remem- 
 ber Sally Perkins ? " 
 
 " What — the good-looking housemaid !"" said Bagot. 
 " Yes — deuced fine girl ; you rather admired her, 
 didn't you?'' 
 
 " I gave her warning," said Mr Dubbley, " because, 
 instead of minding her work, she spent most of her 
 time going about to fairs and merrymakings ; and I 
 told her I should only give her half the wages we'd 
 agreed upon, because she turned out so good-for- 
 nothing. What do you think she said to that, now ? " 
 
 « Don t know," said Bagot. " What did she say ? " 
 
 " Why, she said," returned the Squire, " that if I 
 didn't pay her double, she'd summon me, and swear 
 that I had refused her her money out of revenge be- 
 cause she wouldn't let me make love to her." 
 
 "Oh! "said Bagot, drily. 
 
 " And I told her to go to the devil ; but she went 
 to a lawyer " — 
 
 " Quite a different course," said Bagot. 
 
 "And, by George!" said the Squire, "she made 
 him believe her story. I'd have kicked against it — 
 yes, I'd have gone to jail first — for the jade used to
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 57 
 
 skylark with half the parish, though she'd have no- 
 thing to say to me ; but I wanted to keep the thing 
 quiet, and I gave in. Certain people," said the Squire, 
 laying his finger on his nose, and winking at Bagot, 
 " might have heard of it." 
 
 " Certain people?" said Bagot, interrogatively. 
 
 " Ah," said the Squire, " these things sound queer 
 to ladies. I might have felt ashamed before some- 
 body we know — somebody you and I know," said the 
 Squire, looking idiotically wise. 
 
 "Where did these books come from?" inquired 
 Bagot, pretending not to notice the Squire's drift. 
 " You don t mean to say you ever read anything now. 
 What made you get that life of Napoleon ?" 
 
 " Ah,"' said Mr Dubbley, " great traveller, Napo- 
 leon ! Yes, I've begun to read. I felt my deficience. 
 I've felt it a good while, but it has come plainer upon 
 me lately. Last time I was in town I gave a book- 
 seller an order to fill my shelves."" 
 
 " Who selected your library ? " asked Bagot. *' Had 
 the gamekeeper anything to do with it ? " 
 
 " I left it to the bookseller," replied Dubbley. " I 
 gave him the size of the shelves to an inch, and youll 
 find 'em quite full. They're all bound alike, too." 
 
 " Why, it must have been rather expensive," said 
 Bagot, looking towards the volume. " All bound in 
 Russia, eh ?"
 
 58 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " Russia ! No, d — n it, no," said the Squire, " they 
 were all bound in London, every one of 'em ; and I 
 had to come down for 'em handsomely, as you say. 
 You see," said the Squire, as they sat down to dinner, 
 " one must read to have something to say in ladies' 
 society. If 'twasn't for that, curse me if I'd ever look 
 at a book." 
 
 "Which are you reading up for?" asked Bagot — 
 " the housemaid or the cook ? By gad, I expect, Dub- 
 bley, to see you marry the scullery-maid yet ! " 
 
 " Eh — what ? " said the Squire, changing colour (for 
 he had much more confidence in Bagot's opinion than 
 his own, even on such a point). " No, hang it, don't 
 say that ! Scullery-maid ! — no, by George ! nor dairy- 
 maid neither,'' he muttered. " No, no, I thought you 
 knew my mind better than that." 
 
 " I'll tell you what it is, Dubbley, my boy," said the 
 Colonel, laying down his knife and fork, and looking 
 at him, " if you don't mind what you're at, some sharp 
 woman or other will take you in — some pretty ser- 
 vant-maid, whose sense of propriety is proof against a 
 five-pound note. I'd engage to make any good-looking 
 girl in the parish marry you before Christmas, if she'd 
 only follow my instmctions." 
 
 " For God's sake don't talk like that ! — the thing's 
 beyond a joke ! Come, Colonel, you wouldn't be so 
 unfriendly?" said Mr Dubbley, pushing away his plate,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 69 
 
 and rubbing his bald forehead nervously with his 
 napkin, as he thought of the Colonel's unbounded re- 
 sources, all brought to bear upon his unfortunate self. 
 
 Bagot laughed. "If you're such a confounded 
 spoon that you can't trust yourself, Dubbley," said he, 
 " why don't you put yourself out of harm's way ? 
 Why don't you marry some respectable woman that 
 would do you credit and keep you out of scrapes ?" 
 
 " The very thing," said Dubbley, " the very thing 
 I intend. I've been thinking of it this long while. 
 What d'ye think now of a certain person — a certain 
 person not very far off? Any chance for me, eh?" 
 
 " The very thing," said the Colonel; "nothing could 
 be better. Handsome, accomplished, rich — what 
 could be better ? But there go two words to that 
 bargain. You know that, don't you?" 
 
 "What — mine and hers, eh?" said the Squire, 
 looking wise. 
 
 "Mine, I fancy, is more important than either," 
 said Bagot, gravely. 
 
 "Why, I know you've great influence with her, 
 Colonel. But, then, I always thought you a friend 
 of mine." 
 
 " Well," said the Colonel, " you're not a bad fellow, 
 Dubbley, I believe — though you did refuse to lend 
 me that two hundred I wanted the last time I was 
 down."
 
 60 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " Hadn't got it, upon my soul — couldn't have raised 
 it without a mortgage, I'll take my solemn oath/' said 
 Mr Dubbley, with great warmth and some confusion ; 
 for he lied, and Bagot knew it. 
 
 " Pooh," said the Colonel, " I know, to a penny, the 
 amount of the rents you had then lying in Doddington 
 bank. But never mind ; you're right to be sharp. 
 Every man for himself, and God for us all ! But I've 
 something more to say to hq,r ladyship's marriage than 
 my mere relationship gives me a right to say. You 
 know, if she marries v^ithout my consent, she forfeits 
 her income and the place." 
 
 " But it won t do you any good to say no," said the 
 Squire. 
 
 " Won't it, indeed ! If she marries without my 
 consent, part of what she forfeits comes to me," said 
 the Colonel. "And you don't think me such a con- 
 founded fool as to give all this away to a man who 
 looks so close after his own, and cares so little about 
 his friends, as you ! " 
 
 The Squire looked blank. He really didn't know 
 what argument to set against these forcible ones. 
 Bagot helped him to one. 
 
 " Now, on the other hand, there's this to be said : 
 If she never marries, I shall be no better off than I 
 am. I may keep her single, but that will do me no 
 good. We shall be disobliging each other."
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 61 
 
 Mr Dubbley, after a minute's intense thought, got 
 into this new position. 
 
 " And therefore," Bagot went on, " if I could find 
 a man who would make it worth my while to say yes, 
 why, perhaps yes would be said." 
 
 "What do you call worth your while ?" asked the 
 Squire. 
 
 " Ah," said Bagot, ^' that would be a point for future 
 consideration. There are a good many preliminaries 
 to be gone through before we come to that. For in- 
 stance, I suppose her ladyship doesn't dream of you 
 as a suitor yet. What d'ye think, now ? — does she ?" 
 
 " Why, no," said the Squire, " no — that is, I can't 
 say. I call there now and then. I've sent her a good 
 deal of game." 
 
 " You won't get on very fast without a little help, 
 I suspect," said Bagot. "If Lady Lee was a chamber- 
 maid, now — but she's a devilish well-bred, exclusive, 
 superior sort of person, with deuced high notions." 
 
 " Yes, by George ! " said the Squire. " I know 
 that ; I'm as moute as a muce — I mean as mute as a 
 mouse — in her company. But I should get over that. 
 However, give me a lift, and — and we'll see about the 
 two hundred. Colonel," he added. 
 
 Bagot shook his head. 
 
 " Two hundred might have been all very well when 
 I asked you," said he, "but twice two hundred wouldn't
 
 62 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 serve me now. The fact is, I'm infernally dipped — 
 let in at that cursed Spring Meeting." 
 
 The Squire fidgeted in his chair, and glanced ner- 
 vously at him. Presently he rose, and, unlocking his 
 writing-desk, took out some slips of paper — pro- 
 missory notes of Bagot's — and began to enumerate 
 them. 
 
 " Fifty last December twelvemonth," said he — " a 
 hundred more in April — a hundred and seventy-five 
 more, up to last Christmas — making, with interest — " 
 
 "Interest, be hanged!" roared Bagot. "Put up 
 paper ! I vow to heaven, you look like some infernal 
 Jew money-lender preparing to foreclose. As to the 
 otber five hundred, Dubbley, I wouldn't trouble you 
 on any account. Young Crackenthorpe of Kosemead 
 will lend it me in a minute. He's a trump, that fel- 
 low, when he can serve a friend." 
 
 " Ah," said the Squire, packing up his bills, much 
 relieved, " I'm sure he will, with pleasure. He's a 
 rich fellow, Crackenthorpe ; and if he says he hasn't 
 the money, don't you believe him. I heard him brag- 
 ging the other day that he had a loose thousand or 
 two to invest." 
 
 " Yes," said Bagot, " a regular trump ; a devilish 
 creditable sort of fellow, too, to be connected with. I 
 hear he's been casting his eyes in a certain direction 
 lately. Her ladyship might do worse than take a fine
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 63 
 
 gentlemanly young fellow like that, with good expec- 
 tations."'' 
 
 Verhitm sapientibus sufficit If Mr Dubbley had 
 been the wisest of men, a word could not have better 
 sufficed him. He felt that Bagot had a screw on him, 
 and was turning it. 
 
 " By the by," he stuttered, " now I think of it, I 
 wouldn't advise you to have any dealings with Crack- 
 enthorpe. No, no. Colonel, don't go to him for money ; 
 they say he's got cursed stingy lately — no getting a 
 sixpence out of him. Why, 'pon my soul, I'd rather 
 lend you the money myself, if I possibly could, than 
 let you go to the fellow. Just wait while I look at 
 my banker's book " — which he pretended to consult 
 accordingly. 
 
 " Good, by Jove ! " said Bagot to himself, rolling 
 his red eye after him, with an inward chuckle. " If 
 he parts with five hundred so easily, I foresee he will 
 be a very pretty annuity to me. Good, indeed ! — 
 better than I expected." 
 
 And as he rode homeward that night, slapping the 
 pocket that contained Mr Dubbley 's check for the five 
 hundred (in exchange for which another promissory 
 note had been added to the little roll of them already 
 in the Squire's writing-desk), he repeated to himself, 
 " Better than I expected."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The next morning, Bagot, who was, when in the 
 country, a tolerably early riser, issued forth from the 
 house before breakfast, on his way to the stables. 
 
 The sun had been up two hours before, and was 
 now looking warmly over some tall drooping ash-trees 
 on to the southern entrance. Bagot stood and basked 
 for a minute there. 
 
 It was a fresh still morning. There had been a 
 shower in the night, and a rustling might be heard 
 amid the grass of the lawn, as of drops penetrating. 
 Thrushes were piping busily in the shrubbery. May- 
 flies were on the wing amid the grass, butterflies hov- 
 vered above the old-fashioned flowers, — heart's-ease, 
 stocks, lilacs, and gillyflowers — whose mingled fra- 
 grance came fresh and cool upon the sense. Bagot 
 contributed his mite to the general perfume by 
 smoking a cigar, and exhaling with the smoke an 
 odour of brandy; for he was very shaky in the
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 65 
 
 morning until he got his dram, and would sometimes 
 cut his chin dreadfully in shaving. 
 
 The beauty of the morning was in great measure 
 thrown away upon Bagot. He knew no more about 
 the witchery of the soft blue sky than Peter Bell. 
 The verdure that gave him most pleasure, next to 
 that of the race-course, was the green cloth of the 
 billiard-table. The voice of the marker calling, " Red 
 plays on yellow," was more musical to him than the 
 carol of all the thrushes that ever piped. He stood 
 there in the sunlight like a night-lamp that had been 
 left unextinguished, murky and red, in the eye of the 
 golden and scented morning. 
 
 He glanced around him as he stood smoking, 
 with his hands in his flapped skirt-pockets — ^looked 
 upward at the brick front of the house, with its pro- 
 jecting turrets, its deep diamond-paned, stone-framed 
 windows, and balustraded parapet — looked around at 
 the thick shrubbery, where the uppermost laurel- 
 leaves glanced yellow amid their dark-green, glossy 
 brethren, as the morning light slanted in — and fol- 
 lowed some outward-bound rooks in their flight over 
 the lawn, and across the river, where a solitary fly- 
 fisher was wading to his middle, till they reached the 
 village, where other rooj^s of congenial temperament 
 came out from the trees and joined them. And 
 
 VOL. 1. E
 
 66 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 having looked thus with his outward eyes, without 
 seeing much of it with his inner — for his busy head 
 was now, as generally, occupied with other matters — 
 he walked along two sides of the house, and through 
 the shrubbery, to the stables. 
 
 Harry Noble and a boy were busy here about the 
 horses ; and Kitty Fillett had stolen away from her 
 mistress to try and soften Mr Noble, whom she had 
 found steeled against all her wiles and attempts at 
 mollification on the previous evening. 
 
 Bagot caught Kitty by the chin, as she started at 
 his footstep, and attempted to make off; and, holding 
 the chin between his finger and thumb, he stood 
 looking at her simpering face, not saying anything to 
 her at first, by reason of his continuing to retain his 
 cigar between his teeth, while his lips separated in 
 an approving smile. 
 
 " Baggage ! " quoth the Colonel, presently, taking 
 his left hand from his coat-pocket, and removing the 
 obstructive cigar without relinquishing his hold of 
 the chin with the right — " how the deuce d ye think 
 men are to do their work with that handsome saucy 
 face of yours looking at them ? Can't you let the 
 fellows alone for five minutes together ? — ha, slut !" 
 
 " Indeed, sir, I don't wan^ no fellows," said Miss 
 Fillett, primly ; " I merely kim to look at the horses." 
 
 " Horses !" roared Bagot, with a laugh, " you never
 
 ''.■a,/deJ.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 67 
 
 looked at a horse in your life if he hadn't a man on 
 his back — you know you didn't. By the bye, I saw 
 you yesterday at the fair, Kitty — here's a fairing for 
 you — something to buy ribbons with." 
 
 Kitty dropt a curtsey as she pocketed the brace of 
 half-crowns. 
 
 " How does your mistress pass the time ngw ? " 
 asked Bagot. " What's the new dodge ? Is she 
 chemical, or botanical, or geological, or what ?" 
 
 " WeVe been a little astromical lately," said Miss 
 Fillett. " But my lady's a deal more lively now since 
 the two young ladies kim. They're always together." 
 
 " Always together ! " thought Bagot ; " that won't 
 do. How am I ever to get in a word if she always 
 has these others at her elbow to back her up ? That 
 won't do at all ;" (then aloud,) " What are the young 
 ladies like, Kitty?" 
 
 "Very nice young ladies," said Kitty. "Miss 
 Payne gave me a beautiful silk dress last week, as 
 good as new ; and, o' Wednesday, Miss Rosa — " 
 
 " Hang your dresses ! " quoth Bagot ; " I didn't 
 ask what they'd given you, but what they were like. 
 Have they got any fun in 'em ? " 
 
 "Indeed, they have plenty," said Miss Fillett, 
 nodding her head four distinct times. " They're as 
 lively as kittens, and that's the truth." 
 
 " Does your mistress ride now?" asked Bagot.
 
 68 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " Not since the young ladies have been here, sir. 
 They don't ride, and my lady stays with 'em for 
 company." 
 
 " I must look to this," said Bagot to himself, as, 
 resuming his cigar, and releasing Miss Fillett, he 
 entered the stable. " And, oh ! " (calling after Kitty) 
 " tell her ladyship that, with her permission, I'll have 
 the honour of breakfasting with her.'' 
 
 The stable was not so well filled now as it had 
 been in Sir Joseph's days. Bagot cared little for 
 hunting. Stalls labelled "Valiant," " Coverley," 
 "Bob," and "Bullfrog," were vacant, and the place 
 of those hunters knew them no more. But the 
 brown carriage-horses, Duke and Dandy, still stood 
 side by side ; Lady Lee's grey thoroughbred, Diana, 
 turned her broad front and taper muzzle to look at 
 the comer, and several others were ranged beyond. 
 
 Noble was polishing some harness, and a boy near 
 was removing a bucket from a stall, where he had 
 been washing the feet of a brown cob. 
 
 " "Who's that ? " inquired Bagot of Noble, pointing 
 at the boy. 
 
 "The gardenej's son, sir," said Noble, pausing in 
 his occupation tu touch his cap ; " he's been here 
 these three weeko." 
 
 " Lift that near hind-leg, boy," said Bagot, point- 
 ing at the cob. The boy obeyed. 
 
 J
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 69 
 
 "D'ye call that dry?" said the Colonel. "Don't 
 you know it's enough to give greasy heels to a horse 
 to leave him in that way, you careless young villain ? 
 Now look you," pursued the Colonel sternly, but 
 quite calmly, "I'm a good deal about the stables, 
 and if ever I see you leave a horse that way again, 
 I'll lick your life out. How's her ladyship's mare, 
 Noble ? " 
 
 " She's a little sore in the mouth, from the boy 
 taking her out with a twisted snaffle," said Noble, 
 " but she'll be all right to-morrow. The boy's getting 
 on — he'll do better soon, sir," said Noble, good- 
 naturedly, seeing the Colonel's eye fixed fiercely on 
 the boy. 
 
 " He'd better," said the Colonel grimly. " I'll put 
 a twisted snaffle in Jiis mouth.'' And here I may 
 remark that Bagot, in his care and affection for that 
 noble animal, the horse, regarded stable-boys gene- 
 rally as a race of Yahoos, upon whom any neglect 
 towards the superior creature they tended was to be 
 instantly visited with unsparing severity. Accord- 
 ingly this morning saw the commencement of a series 
 of precepts, threats, and veterinary aphorisms, which 
 continued during Bagot's stay, and nearly drove the 
 unfortunate boy out of his senses, but which, it is 
 justice to add, had the effect of improving the 
 economy of the stable wonderfully.
 
 70 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 "And this is the filly, eh?" said Bagot, strolling 
 up to a loose-box, and looking at a well-bred, hand- 
 some, somewhat leggy bay, that stood therein. " How 
 does she go?" 
 
 "Rather hot and fidgety," said Noble, "but her 
 paces first-rate, sir. Canters like an arm-chair, and 
 walks fast, when you can get her to walk." 
 
 " Wants a light hand, eh ?" said the Colonel. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Noble, " I should say she'd go well 
 with a lady." 
 
 " Put the saddle on her and bring her out," said 
 Bagot, casting away the end of his cigar. " I'll try 
 her now. It wants half an hour to breakfast." 
 
 Lady Lee and her friends assembled at the usual 
 hour in the breakfast-room. 
 
 " We must wait for Colonel Lee," said her lady- 
 ship ; " he is going to join us this morning." 
 
 " Why wasn't he at dinner, yesterday ? " inquired 
 Rosa. 
 
 "You mustn't expect to see much of him," said 
 Lady Lee ; " that is, unless you are anxious for gen- 
 tlemen ""s society, and tell him so." 
 
 " And if we are," said Orelia, putting out her lip, 
 " what would he be among so many ?" 
 
 " His coming down to the Heronry never makes 
 much difference to me," said Lady Lee. " The Col- 
 onel cares as little for flowers and literature as I do 
 
 J
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 71 
 
 for race-horses and Cuba cigars, so that we haven't 
 much in common. But here he comes." 
 
 Bagot entered with his usual swaggering bow and 
 betting-ring courtesy. 
 
 " Ladies, I salute you," said Bagot, putting his fin- 
 gers to his lips and waving them in the air, as a salu- 
 tation general. Bagot tinselled over his natural 
 groundwork of coarse humour with scraps of theatrical 
 politeness, when in ladies' society. "Gad," he con- 
 tinued, as he drew a chair to the breakfast-table, "I'm 
 reminded at this moment of a nunnery I once visited 
 in Spain ; the lady abbess was young, and not unlike 
 Hester — but, by Jove, the nuns couldn't boast so much 
 beauty among the whole sisterhood as I see before 
 me "' (bowing to Orelia and Rosa, with his hand on 
 his left waistcoat-pocket). " Luckily, I miss here, 
 too, the dolefulness of aspect that characterised the 
 poor things." 
 
 " Dear me V said the sympathetic Kosa, " why did 
 they look unhappy ?" 
 
 "Probably for the love of heaven," said Orelia, 
 sarcastically. 
 
 " Yes, the elderly ones, my dear Miss Payne ; but 
 the young ones, probably, for the love of man,'' re- 
 turned Bagot, with a nod and a chuckle. " Ah, young 
 ladies, 'tis the same all the world over ; you may shut 
 yourselves up in convents or in country houses, but
 
 72 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 you can't keep out the small boy with wings — he's 
 about somewhere at this moment, I've no doubt," 
 lifting the lid of the mustard-pot, as if he expected 
 to find a cupid hidden there, but it was only to make 
 his devilled bone a little hotter. 
 
 " You'll hardly believe us,'' said Lady Lee, " when 
 we tell you that the subject of love has scarcely once 
 been mentioned among us." 
 
 " God bless me! — how silent you must have been!" 
 said the facetious Colonel. " But that's wrong ; you 
 should always tell one another your love secrets ; 
 bottled affection is apt to turn sour." 
 
 ^' Now what can you know of the tender passion. 
 Colonel ?" said Lady Lee ; " and yet, my dears, you 
 hear how he philosophises about it, as if he were 
 really acquainted with the sentiment." 
 
 Bagot reddened. He always suspected her lady- 
 ship of feeling for him a disdain which she did not 
 care to conceal, and which, perhaps, really did exist, 
 though the display of it was unintentional. It oozed 
 out so unconsciously to herself, that, in a less clever 
 person than her ladyship, he would probably have 
 failed to notice it ; but believing that she possessed 
 satirical power, and feeling that there was no great 
 congeniality between them, he frequently detected a 
 latent disparagement in speeches which, coming from 
 any one else, he would have taken either in a playful
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 73 
 
 or a literal sense. So, after a minute's silence, dur- 
 ing which he was struggling with choler, which he 
 felt it would be unprofitable to exhibit, he changed 
 the subject. 
 
 "Fm sorry to find you've left off riding lately, 
 Hester," said he. " Diana is getting as fat as a 
 Smithfield prize pig, and I wonder you're not just 
 the same. What exercise do you take ?" 
 
 " We walk," said Lady Lee, " and drive." 
 
 ^*Walk and drivfe!" quoth Bagot. "Women crawl 
 like spavined snails along the terrace, and get into a 
 carriage that goes as easy as an arm-chair, and call 
 that exercise. Eiding is the only thing to keep ladies 
 in health and condition. Besides, there are lots of 
 places worth seeing around here too far to walk to, 
 and inaccessible to a carriage ; but how pleasant it 
 would be to ride there ! '' 
 
 " But Orelia and Rosa have never ridden in their 
 lives," said Lady Lee. 
 
 "Time they should begin," answered Bagot. "Fve 
 been trying the bay filly this morning, and I'm con- 
 vinced she would carry Miss Payne (who, I'm sure, 
 has capital nerve) to admiration. I'm going over to 
 Doddington to-day to see Tindal, the major of the 
 dragoons there, an old friend of mine, and 111 ask him 
 to let his rough-rider come over and give your young 
 friends a lesson. What d ye say to that, young ladies V
 
 74 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Both Rosa and Orelia were charmed at the pros- 
 pect, and began to think Colonel Lee a very pleasant 
 person. So it was agreed they should all drive over 
 to Doddington, where the ladies had some shopping 
 to do, and that the Colonel should then arrange with 
 the Major about their riding lessons.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The detachment of dragoons stationed in Dod- 
 dington was assembled at a dismounted parade that 
 morning, to listen to an oration from the command- 
 ing officer, Major Tindal. 
 
 Other people were assembled there besides the 
 troops. The yard of the principal hotel, where the 
 parade was held, was thronged with admiring spec- 
 tators. A week's familiarity with the cavalry had by 
 no means bred contempt in the minds of the inhabi- 
 tants of Doddington. Their hearts still thrilled to 
 the sound of the stable-tiTimpet ; at the march of the 
 squadron through the streets, on its way to exercise, 
 customers were neglected and business at a stand- 
 still, until the last horse-tail had disappeared round 
 the corner of the Butter-market ; and soldiers, ap- 
 pearing singly in the town, became each the nucleus 
 of a small reverential crowd, swelling in magnitude 
 like a snowball as it advanced. Their spurs, their
 
 76 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 mustaches, the stripes of their trousers, were objects 
 Avith the sight of which the populace found it im- 
 possible to satiate itself. 
 
 Accordingly, the troops were now the centre of a 
 large circle, formed by apprentices who had deserted 
 their trades ; master-workmen, who, coming to look 
 for them with fell intent, had forgotten their wrath, 
 and " those who came to scold remained to see ; " 
 servant maids, who, running out on errands, with in- 
 junctions to be quick, had heard the trumpet, and 
 been drawn as by magical power within its influence ; 
 ostlers and waiters, utterly reckless of their duty to- 
 wards their neighbour ; truant schoolboys in cordu- 
 roys, with Latin grammars, geographies, and books of 
 arithmetic slung at their backs, and whose pockets 
 bulged with tops and green apples ; young milliners, 
 all curls and titter and blush ; and paupers receiving 
 out-door relief, who, quitting the spots where they 
 usually basked away their time, like lazzaroni, came up, 
 some with crutches, some without, and having a blind 
 man in their company, to satisfy their military ardour. 
 
 The Major came slowly on parade, his hands crossed 
 behind him, his spurs and scabbard clanking, his face 
 stern. The crowd made a larger circle, and some little 
 boys fled from his path — one or two, who stumbled 
 in their haste, not pausing to rise again, but grovel- 
 ling out of reach upon their hands and knees, expect-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 77 
 
 ing notliing else than to be immediately decapitated 
 or run through the body. The spectators were pre- 
 pared for anything of a martial nature, and when he 
 called the parade in a short sharp voice to "Atten- 
 tion/' they half expected to see him draw his sword, 
 and go through the cuts and guards — a proceeding 
 which, far from appearing singular to them, would 
 greatly have enhanced their respect. However, the 
 Major didn't do anything of the sort. Standing in 
 front of the line, with his left hand on his sword-hilt, 
 he commenced his address, which may be considered 
 a pretty fair specimen of military oratory. 
 
 " Men," said he (and as he spoke you might have 
 heard a pin drop), " you — that is, some of you — have 
 been acting disgracefully. You were sent here to 
 preserve order, and you have been the first to set an 
 example of disorder. You have abused my indul- 
 gence in allowing you to partake of the amusements 
 of yesterday, and you have brought infernal discredit 
 on the King's service in the eyes of the inhabitants. 
 If I can discover who began the affray yesterday, in 
 the fair, let them look out ! — 111 make an example of 
 them ! If I can't discover them. 111 punish the 
 whole detachment — I will, by G — d ! " 
 
 There was a momentary pause, and the Major was 
 about to recommence, when the Corporal of whom 
 we have made mention stept to the front.
 
 78 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " I was the man, sir/' said the Corporal, with mili- 
 tary brevity. 
 
 " I'm sorry to hear it. Corporal Onslow. You are 
 under an arrest — fall in, sir. Officers," said the 
 Major, touching his cap, and the officers, touching 
 theirs, fell out ; — " Sergeant-major, dismiss the 
 parade.'' 
 
 The Corporal saluted, and fell back. A whisper 
 passed about among the populace — they were about 
 as well informed as civilians generally are on points 
 of military justice ; and if the Corporal had been 
 forthwith blindfolded with a handkerchief, caused to 
 go on his knees, and then and there shot, it would 
 perhaps have excited more awe than surprise. 
 
 During this scene, the party from the Heronry had 
 been looking on from the balcony of the inn ; and 
 Bagot Lee, seeing the parade was over, chose this 
 time to go up and greet his friend the Major. 
 
 Rosa Young had recognised the Corporal immedi- 
 ately as Orelia's defender, and heard the Major's 
 words with horror. Orelia, however, was much too 
 magnificent a personage to recognise a man in the 
 Corporal's station of life, however good-looking he 
 might chance to be. 
 
 " Orelia, did you hear — did you hear ?" cried Eosa ; 
 " you're not going to allow them to punish him, are 
 you, Orelia?"
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 79 
 
 " What did he say?" asked Orelia, who had been 
 surveying the scene with a superb air, as if all the 
 soldiers were hers, and brought there to be re- 
 viewed by her, before marching away to die in her 
 cause. 
 
 " Why, they're going to punish him because he 
 beat the man who wanted to dance with you yester- 
 day, in the fair ; — oh, if you don't stop them, I shall 
 go myself/' cried Rosa, preparing to rush down into 
 the yard. 
 
 " Stop ! " cried Orelia, " this mustn't be, — 111 go 
 myself. Of course, it must be explained and stopt," 
 and she marched off. 
 
 Rosa watched her as she walked across the yard, 
 and noticed the look of surprise on the Major's face, 
 as his conversation with Bagot was interrupted by 
 the approach of the stately young lady. He listened 
 courteously to her for a minute, and then called out, 
 " Corporal Onslow 1" 
 
 The Corporal came up with the same unconcerned 
 air as before, and saluted. 
 
 " I'm glad,'' said the Major, " to find that your 
 good character, far from being forfeited, is rather 
 heightened, by the circumstance that took place : 
 the lady you protected desires to thank you ; — you 
 are released, of course." 
 
 " And, with my thanks, may I beg you to accept
 
 80 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 this?" said Orelia, holding out a hand in which gold 
 was heard to chink. 
 
 The Corporal bowed low over the hand, but did not 
 offer to touch it. " It was enough reward for him," 
 he said, " to have been of the slightest service/' 
 
 Orelia pressed it on him without effect. " I must 
 study how to reward you in some other way,'' she said 
 at length. 
 
 " It would be easy," the gallant Corporal replied ; 
 
 " a single word " ; and then, as if remembering 
 
 the Major's presence, he drew himself up, saluted 
 and walked off, leaving his reply unfinished. 
 
 "A strange sort of fellow that," said the Major as 
 he departed ; " we can make nothing of him. A 
 capital soldier, and the best rider, by far, in the regi- 
 ment, — but queer, very queer. He has nothing to 
 say to the rest of the men, when off duty — never had 
 a comrade ; — and the fellow's language and manners 
 are really deuced good, and quite above his station." 
 
 "Kideswell, does he?" said Bagot; "perhaps he 
 would suit my book. I was going to presume on our 
 old acquaintance to prefer a request, in behalf of this 
 and another fair young lady, for one of your men to 
 give them a little instruction in riding." 
 
 " The very man," said the Major ; " and he'll be 
 glad enough of the employment," he added, in a low 
 tone, to Bagot ; "for, between you and me, I believe
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 81 
 
 the fellow is some wild slip of good family, and he'll 
 be delighted to get away from the barrack-yard, which 
 doesn't suit him at all." 
 
 " That sort of thing is more frequent than people 
 fancy," returned Bagot. " I remember, when I was 
 in the Guards, we enlisted a sprig of nobility once ; 
 but our honourable friend turned out a shocking 
 vagabond, and we were under the painful necessity 
 of flogging him. Your Corporal is certainly rather 
 a striking-looking fellow.'' 
 
 " I saw him just after he was enlisted," said the 
 Major. " He looked uncommonly gentlemanlike, 
 and wore deuced well-made clothes, though, I fancy, 
 there wasn't much in the pockets of them. He shall 
 attend the ladies whenever you think proper. And, 
 upon my honour,'' added the gallant Major, turning to 
 Orelia, " I envy the fellow his employment. I wish 
 I was a rough-rider myself, Lee," — whereat Bagot 
 chuckled. 
 
 These few words of the Major's served to invest 
 the Corporal with a sudden romantic interest in the 
 eyes of Orelia. The service he had done her the 
 day before, little thought of when supposed to have 
 been rendered by an inferior, and capable of being 
 rewarded by money, appeared in a new and graceful 
 light as the act of an unfortunate gentleman. And 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 82 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 the difficulty of expressing her gratitude, in a man- 
 ner suitable either to his apparent or his supposed 
 quality, made her rate the favour above its value, 
 and caused her thoughts frequently to recur to him. 
 
 Meanwhile the dragoon officers looked on, envying 
 Tindal, who, in this infernal stupid hole of a country 
 quarter, had made the acquaintance of such a splen- 
 did-looking girl. They followed her with their eyes 
 as she walked away, and watched her as she came 
 out on the balcony and rejoined Rosa and Lady Lee 
 there ; and, while they stroked their mustaches, they 
 uttered opinions on the party much warmer and more 
 favourable than the customary nonchalance and poco- 
 curantism of military criticism would have sanctioned. 
 
 "Magnificent girl, certainly," said Captain Sloper- 
 ton, a handsome exquisite ; " but I prefer that pale 
 one, with the chestnut hair, — so deuced thorough- 
 bred, you know." 
 
 " Oh ! deuced thoroughbred ! " echoed Cornet Suck- 
 ling, who, in his eagerness to propitiate, would agree 
 with anybody. 
 
 " Fine points about them, no doubt," said Lieu- 
 tenant Wylde Gates, " but they're in too grand a 
 style for me. Hang me if I should know what to 
 say to either of 'em. Give me that plump, little, 
 rosy beauty, for my taste." 
 
 "Right, old fellow," said Harry Bruce, Mr Gates'
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 83 
 
 particular associate ; " she's a charming little thing ; — 
 but there, they're going, — you may put away your 
 eye-glass, Sloperton. By Jove 1 I feel as if the drop- 
 scene had fallen at the opera/' 
 
 Though the parade had broken up, the crowd still 
 lingered. Some sanguine spirits, perhaps, were yet 
 of opinion that justice was about to be done on the 
 ofifending Corporal. Some were unable to tear them- 
 selves away from the contemplation of the officers, 
 as they remained chatting in a group. Nobody 
 thought of leaving, so long as a vestige of gold lace 
 or a single spur was to be seen. The royal mail had 
 driven up to the hotel, and stopt to change horses, 
 but the ostlers had decamped to look at the military, 
 and the guard was obliged to harness the abandoned 
 team with his own august hands ; while the stout 
 coachman, instead of finding an obsequious stable- 
 boy ready to catch the reins, and an admiring mob of 
 idlers waiting on each oracular word that fell from 
 his inspired mouth, stood actually alone, in his top- 
 boots and broad-brimmed hat, in the porch of the 
 hotel, bursting with suppressed wrath. During the 
 next stage he touched up a lazy wheeler with the 
 double thong so effectually, that the astonished 
 animal took the whole draught of the coach upon 
 itself for a league or two ; but he never uttered a 
 word for five-and-forty miles. At the end of that
 
 84 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 space, being then nearly through the next county, 
 he turned his head half round, and said to the 
 guard — 
 
 " Here's a pretty go, Jim ! — what the blazes shall 
 we come to next 1 " after which, he uttered a short 
 derisive laugh ; and the guard, who, from long tra- 
 velling that road, was better acquainted with his 
 character and trains of thought than most people, 
 knew that he was referring to the desertion of the 
 ostlers and loungers at Doddington, and expressing 
 his contempt for their military enthusiasm, and pity 
 for their vulgar taste.
 
 CHAPTEK VIL 
 
 Before noon on the day of the first riding lesson, 
 Bagot came into the drawing-room and announced 
 the arrival of the Corporal. In expectation of him, 
 Rosa and Orelia were already equipped for the 
 saddle. 
 
 " By Jove ! " said Bagot, " either that riding-habit, 
 Miss Payne, or the hat and plume, or both, are 
 amazingly becoming to you. Stick to the costume. 
 Miss Payne, stick to it by all means, whenever you 
 are bent on conquest. '" 
 
 The opinion was just. Orelia certainly looked 
 magnificent as she descended the oak staircase, hold- 
 ing her whip and the folds of her gathered skirt in 
 her left hand. The hat and plume suited well the 
 style of her face, and made her look like a graceful 
 brilliant cavalier. 
 
 The steeds were ready in front of the house, the 
 bay filly fretting a little, and impatient of the bit.
 
 86 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 The Corporal had dismounted, and was holding his 
 troop-horse by the bridle. As the ladies appeared, 
 he took off his forage-cap, and bowed with a great 
 deal of grace. 
 
 " Now then, Miss Pa3nie," said Bagot, going up to 
 the filly, and patting her, " don't be frightened." 
 
 Frightened ! — frightened indeed ! as if she ever 
 could be frightened ! Such was the meaning conveyed 
 in the scornful look that Bagot got in reply to his 
 speech of intended encouragement. She placed her 
 foot in Bagot's right palm, as if she had been tread- 
 ing on the neck of her man Friday. The filly snorted, 
 backed, trod on Noble's toe, but Orelia, with a spring 
 and a lift, was in the saddle ; and the filly, her nose 
 compressed by Noble's hand, stood fast while the stir- 
 rup was being adjusted — an operation that afforded 
 desultory glimpses to the lower world of a perfectly 
 enchanting leg, and gave Bagot such satisfaction 
 that he needlessly prolonged it, (not the leg, nor 
 the stirrup, but the operation.) 
 
 Kosa had mounted Lady Lee's favourite, Diana, 
 without difficulty, though the little lady was some- 
 what nervous. Then the Corporal was about to vault 
 on his trooper, when Bagot called out to stay him. 
 " We'll find you a better horse than that. Corporal," 
 said he ; then whispering Orelia — '^ 'tis just as well, 
 before intrusting him witli so valuable a charge, to
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 87 
 
 find out if he's qualified to take care of it. Fetch 
 out the Doctor, boy. Did you put the curb on him V 
 said he to Noble. 
 
 " All right, sir," said Noble ; " you couldn't push a 
 straw under it, 'tis so tight. He'll be a good un, sir, 
 if he sits him,"' said Noble, grinning somewhat mali- 
 ciously at the thought of seeing his rival unhorsed. 
 
 The Doctor, a somewhat cross-made but powerful 
 chestnut, made his appearance from the stables at a 
 smart trot, lifting the boy, who ran beside him hang- 
 ing at the reins, nearly off his legs, and switching his 
 tail and snorting. 
 
 " Now then. Corporal ! " said the Colonel. 
 
 The Corporal glanced at the curb, which he saw 
 the horse wouldn't endure, and put his finger on it. 
 
 " Up with you ! " cried Bagot, with an impatient' 
 jerk of the head. 
 
 Without a word, the Corporal was in the saddle — 
 not through the medium of the stirrup, but by a light 
 vault that placed him at once in his seat : the stir- 
 rups had purposely been left too short. 
 
 " Quit his head, boy ! " said Bagot. 
 
 The boy let go, and swiftly retreated several paces, 
 for he anticipated mischief The Doctor had such a 
 notorious prejudice against a curb, that nobody at all 
 acquainted with him ever thought of even showing 
 him any other bridle than a snaffle. In a moment
 
 88 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 he was in the air, executing a great variety of feats, 
 of a nature much more curious to a spectator than 
 gratifying to riders in general ; but the dragoon was 
 " demi-corpsed "" with his steed, and sat him, though 
 without stirrups, as if on parade. 
 
 Presently the brute paused, with his fore-legs out 
 and his ears back ; then, without warning, he rose in 
 the air on his hind-legs. For a moment he stood 
 poised, perpendicularly ; and the Corporal employed 
 that critical moment to slip his left foot in the stir- 
 rup, and to throw back his right leg over the saddle, 
 thus standing upright, side by side, with the horse 
 in the air, holding by the cheek of the bridle. For 
 a moment it was doubtful which way they would fall. 
 Eosa shrieked, and even Orelia turned a little pale ; 
 while a shrill scream was emitted by Miss Fillett, 
 who was looking on, privily, from behind a window- 
 curtain : then, after a paw or two, the Doctor sunk 
 forward on his fore-legs, and at the same moment 
 the Corporal, recrossing his saddle, was in his seat 
 before the animal's feet touched the ground. 
 
 " Hell do ! " cried Bagot. " Off with the curb, 
 boy." 
 
 The boy sprang forward, and unhooked the links 
 of the offending chain. In a moment the Doctor 
 stood like a lamb. 
 
 In his excitement at the scene, Noble had quitted
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 89 
 
 the bay filly ; and the filly, in emulation of the Doc- 
 tor's proceedings, became unruly. Bagot jumped to 
 catch her head ; but she bounded out of his reach, 
 and, feeling no check from the loose reins, made off 
 at half-speed down the lawn. 
 
 Orelia did not scream in this, to her, novel predi- 
 cament, nor lose her own head, though she had lost 
 the filly**s. She sat far steadier than could have been 
 expected, and even succeeded in catching her reins. 
 But the filly was away ; and in front was a ha-ha — a 
 broad ditch faced with brick, dividing the shrubbery 
 from the lawn — and for this she made. 
 
 " Curse the brute ! '' cried Bagot, making two fran- 
 tic steps after the runaway ; and then, stopping short 
 in despair, " Shell fall — shell fall, as sure as fate ! " 
 — a prophecy that was dismally echoed by a shriek 
 from Bosa. 
 
 But a potent auxiliary was at hand. The Corporal, 
 gathering up his reins, had struck his long-rowelled 
 dragoon spurs into the Doctor, and gone off at speed. 
 Orelia was close by the ditch when he reached her ; 
 he had hoped to catch her rein, and turn her steed 
 from the dangerous obstacle — but it was too late. The 
 filly sprung, and cleared the ditch, but the shock un- 
 seated her inexperienced rider, who, thrown on her 
 horse's neck, must evidently, at the next stride, have 
 come violently to the ground. But the strong arm of
 
 90 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 the Corporal was, at that critical moment, passed 
 round her waist, and restored her to her seat. He 
 had cleared the ditch almost at the same moment 
 as herself; and, now catching the filly's rein, before 
 she had recovered from her own astonishment at per- 
 forming such a feat, he checked her pace to a walk. 
 
 " Bravo ! '' roared Bagot : " the fellow's a Centaur. 
 Tip-top riding, by Jove ! Boy, open the gate, and let 
 'em. back. One jump of that sort's enough." 
 
 Orelia was a little pale when they rode back, but 
 kept her nerve unshaken. 
 
 " Dear Beley," said the trembling Rosa, " you 
 mustn't ride that creature — oh, you mustn't. Get off, 
 my dearest Eeley." 
 
 " Don't be silly/' said Orelia, coldly. " Come, sir " 
 (to the Corporal), " shall we begin our ride ?" 
 
 " Game, by gad !" said the admiring Bagot — " game 
 to the backbone. Yes, yes, go on — we can trust you 
 with him. Take up the martingale rein — so ! — show 
 her how. Corporal. A pleasant ride to you." And 
 Bagot flourished his white hat after them, as they all 
 three went down the road, and then returned to the 
 house, to have a little talk with Lady Lee. 
 
 She was seated at the piano, playing and singing 
 a song of her own writing and composition. Bagot 
 had not much ear for music, nor was his soul tuned 
 particularly to harmony ; but he felt a sort of plea-
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 91 
 
 sure, at first, in hearing her magnificent voice pour 
 forth the melody, and considerately waited near till 
 it was finished ; not very patiently, however, for he 
 cleared his throat several times loudly, and shuffled 
 with his feet impatiently on the hearth-rug. 
 
 Having finished her song. Lady Lee did not sing 
 any more, but went on playing. This sort of uncon- 
 scious disregard of him ("treating him, begad," as 
 he said, " as if he was nobody") had frequently an- 
 noyed Bagot, and the irritation he felt gave his 
 thoughts a somewhat bilious hue. 
 
 In the conversation which he presently opened, he 
 had two objects in view, both suggested by his late 
 successful interview with Mr Dubbley. 
 
 He wanted to induce Lady Lee to receive that 
 gentleman's visits, with so much toleration as should 
 suffice to impress the Squire with a belief that he 
 might eventually succeed in his suit. At the same 
 time, he did not wish her to give Mr Dubbley enough 
 encouragement to elicit a proposal from him, as it 
 would certainly be followed by a refusal, and conse- 
 quent loosening of Bagot's influence with that gen- 
 tleman, when thus reduced to despair. 
 
 Secondly, Bagot considered that Dubbley was not 
 the only man in the world who might be inclined to 
 give value for his countenance in the matter ; that it 
 would, therefore, be necessary, as a preliminary to the
 
 92 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 forming of sucli lucrative acquaintances, to induce her 
 ladysliip to go into society. Lovers would, no doubt, 
 appear — would be given to understand that Bagot's 
 consent was necessary, and would, of course, as men 
 of the world, see the necessity of propitiating him. 
 If she should take a fancy to a man who was not dis- 
 posed to be liberal, Bagot might always withhold his 
 consent, and thus, in the event of her marriage, richly 
 indemnify himself. 
 
 This may seem to many persons who are unused 
 to the society of knowing men, trained to sharpness 
 in the same school as Bagot, a somewhat heartless 
 calculation. But Bagot was so imbued with the spirit 
 of p. p. bets and Jockey Club rules, that, though far 
 from an ill-natured man, he looked on all matters in 
 which he had any interest in a sort of turf and bil- 
 liard-room light. If he held honours, why shouldn't 
 he count them ? If his adversaries played badly, or 
 didn't know the game, that was their look-out. His 
 business was to win if he could. 
 
 Such certainly was, in plain language, the sub- 
 stance of the thoughts that influenced him. But no- 
 body thinks in plain language, and hence comes half 
 the error and misconduct in the world. If we could 
 but think in words, how many a shadowy plausibility 
 would fade to nothing — how many a veiled iniquity 
 take shape repulsive and shameful ! Bagot, accus-
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 93 
 
 tomed to look straight at his own interest, which he 
 could always see a long way off, dropt out of sight the 
 dirty roads that led to it. 
 
 "You look paler, Hester," said he, "than when I 
 was down last. You shut yourself up too much. How 
 do you pass your time ? — pleasantly V 
 
 "Oh, very pleasantly," said Lady Lee, in a half- 
 absent way, as was natural to her of late, when not 
 conversing on topics, or with people, that much in- 
 terested her. "That is " (waking up), "just as usual." 
 
 " And when is this seclusion to end ? As I said, 
 you shut yourself up too much. To be sure, I'm not 
 a woman — thank goodness, no " {sotto voce) ; "but I 
 can only say, a month of this sort of life would play 
 the very deuce with me. Suppose, now, you were to 
 begin to see a little company. What d'ye say to a 
 ball — or a fete in the grounds — or some way of col- 
 lecting your friends about you ? " 
 
 Lady Lee elevated her shoulders wearily, and put 
 out her lip at the idea. 
 
 "You really ought," said Bagot, "to make an effort 
 to break through these quiet habits. Hang me, if 
 you mightn't as well be a fly, and stick to the ceiling, 
 as live in this way. What's the use of your accom- 
 plishments, if nobody knows them ? What's the use 
 of your reading, if you bottle it all up? Besides, 
 there are those two young friends of yours dying, I
 
 94 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 daresay, poor things, for a little society and amuse- 
 ment. Ton my soul, I really don't think it hospi- 
 table to keep the unfortunate girls here, and allow 
 them no diversion." 
 
 " I am much mistaken," said Lady Lee, " if more 
 society would make them any happier here, or if 
 the wish for it ever enters their heads. You have 
 no idea how pleasantly the time passes with us. I 
 only wish I had half their faculties of enjoyment, 
 and freshness of feeling.'' 
 
 " Extraordinary ! " said Bagot. " As I said before, 
 I'm not a woman ; but, 'pon my life, what you can 
 find to do here — what earthly excitement there is for 
 you, is beyond my conception." 
 
 " Tiresome man ! " thought Lady Lee, execut- 
 ing a difficult run on the keys ; " how can I stop 
 him ? " — " Would you have us excite ourselves," 
 said she, "with betting, and with brandy-and-water 
 and cigars?'' 
 
 "Oh, curse your sneers," thought Bagot, an ad- 
 ditional flush stealing over his nose ; then aloud, 
 " Women have their excitements, I suppose, as well 
 as men. They can try, at least, to be sociable, and so 
 give more pleasure to themselves and their friends." 
 
 "They can," said Lady Lee, leaving the piano and 
 coming up to him — "they can be sociable in con- 
 genial society, but the difficulty is to get it. People's
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 95 
 
 tastes differ so, and then some are so hard to please. 
 You, I fancy, Colonel, are not fastidious. You should 
 be more indulgent to those who are." 
 
 Again Bagot reddened, suspecting sarcasm, though 
 Lady Lee did not intend just then to be sarcastic, 
 but was only expressing her thoughts. 
 
 " I choose my society, as I've a right to do, accord- 
 ing to my own pleasure," said Bagot; "and 'gad, 
 madam, though it mayn't suit your high notions, I 
 think it better than moping.'' 
 
 " I didn't mean to offend," said Lady Lee, laying 
 her finger on Bagot's arm, but immediately removing 
 it, afraid of a tobacco taint. " Fastidiousness, far 
 from being a merit, or a thing to be proud of, is a 
 positive curse. I would give the world to be able to 
 take people for what they are worth, and to be blind 
 to spots, which catch my eye sooner, unfortunately, 
 than merits. Insight, believe me, may mislead one 
 more than dulness." 
 
 Bagot didn't understand her in the least, for he 
 was by no means of a metaphysical turn. 
 
 "I know some clever women," said the still un- 
 mollified Colonel, " as clever, perhaps, as any of my 
 acquaintance — yes, any — but who don't think them- 
 selves above the rest of the world. They show their 
 cleverness in surpassing their friends, not in shunning 
 them."
 
 9& LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 Lady Lee looked quietly up at him. . 
 
 "Excellent/' said she, "a good thought well ex- 
 pressed. You improve, Colonel." 
 
 "Yes," said Bagot, exhilarated by this unaccus- 
 tomed applause, " women who have head enough for 
 prime-ministers, and yet have some life in 'em, 
 madam. Why, the wife of a friend of mine carried 
 an election last year by her canvassing. Never was 
 such a popular woman ; and I've seen her make 
 points at whist that 'twould puzzle Talleyrand or 
 Major A. to beat. That's what I call a clever wo- 
 man, now," said Bagot, looking triumphantly at Lady 
 Lee, as he finished this clinching illustration, and 
 rather surprised that she didn't seem to appreciate it. 
 " And besides the advantage to yourself," Bagot went 
 on, " don't you think it might be as well for me to 
 have some little civility shown to my friends? — for 
 I've got friends here, though you mayn't have any. 
 But you never think of that," he added bitterly. 
 
 " Now, my dear Colonel, I really must 'be par- 
 doned for not knowing that we had any friends in 
 common.'' ( " Ah, another fling, madam ! " thought 
 Bagot). " But you are right, and I have been very 
 wrong not to think of that. Are there any in par- 
 ticular with whom my mediation might be of service ! 
 I can hardly think so." 
 
 " How do you know ? " returned Bagot ; " why
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 97 
 
 should you hardly think so? My interests may be 
 different from yours — ^you don't seem to have any, 
 for that matter. The family interests, too, are all 
 going to the deuce ; and when the boy comes of age, 
 hell find himself, at this rate, a stranger, begad, in 
 the land of his fathers." And Bagot paused for a 
 moment, to let the pathos of this image take effect. 
 " There's Dubbley, now, over at Monkstone (a good 
 fellow as ever breathed, and one that I'm under obli- 
 gations to) ; a little attention to him would be very 
 acceptable to me, and useful too. But no ! you'd 
 see me at Jericho first ! I know that — I know 
 that!" 
 
 " Oh, heavens ! " said Lady Lee, " you know the 
 man's a hopeless noodle, positively silly. You 
 wouldn't ask me, surely, to encourage his visits. 
 Consider the tax it would be on any rational crea- 
 ture. Besides, the poor man always seems so con- 
 fused and bashful whenever I meet him, that he 
 would certainly rather be let alone." 
 
 "No, he wouldn't," said Bagot. "He mayn't be 
 very bright, perhaps, but he's fond of ladies' society. 
 Why, for all you know, he might take a fancy to Miss 
 Payne or the other one ; and he's rich enough to be 
 a good match ; you can't deny that." Lady Lee 
 smiled at the thought of Mr Dubbley's chance of suc- 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 98 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 cess with either of them. " At any rate, as I said, I 
 shall be obliged to you to be civil to him when he 
 comes." 
 
 Lady Lee was anxious to atone to Bagot for the 
 unintentional offence she had given him, and from 
 which his manner showed him to be still smarting. 
 So she at once promised to tolerate Mr Dubbley, and 
 to be as agreeable to him as she possibly could, 
 whenever he came to the Heronry.
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Meanwhile, the riding party had passed through 
 the lodge gates out into the lane that ran in front of 
 them. The Corporal rode between the two ladies, 
 initiating them into the minor mysteries of the 
 manage. 
 
 "Little finger dividing the reins, if you please. 
 Miss Pa3me. Feel the filly's mouth gently. Sit a 
 little more upright, Miss Young, but not stiffly ; you 
 lean forward rather too much ; and pray don't touch 
 the reins with your right hand." 
 
 " Dear me," said Rosa, " how very stupid of me ; 
 you told me that twice before. Tm afraid you find 
 me very troublesome, Mr Corporal." 
 
 " Impossible ! " said the gallant rough-rider ; " I 
 wish to heaven my other duties were half as much to 
 my mind." 
 
 " Tm sorry you don't like them," said Rosa, " but 
 I had always imagined — (you'll excuse me, Mr Cor-
 
 100 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 poral, for I'm quite ignorant of military matters, and 
 the idea was certainly ridiculous) — I had always 
 imagined that corporals were taken from among the 
 common soldiers." 
 
 " So they are," said Onslow. 
 
 " And do you mean to say," said Orelia, fixing her 
 eyes on him with surprise, " that you were once a 
 common soldier ? '' 
 
 " I feel' honoured by your doubting it,'' said the 
 Corporal, bowing, with a smile ; " but I certainly 
 was." 
 
 " Dear me,'' thought Orelia, " the officers in this 
 regiment must be princes of the blood at the very 
 least ! " 
 
 " But the common soldiers in the cavalry are not 
 ail gentlemen, are they ? " asked Rosa. 
 
 " Gentlemen ! — no," said the Corporal, " nothing 
 of the kind. Have the goodness to slacken your off 
 rein a little — you are pulling your horse round." 
 
 For some little time they rode on in silence. How 
 were they to treat this gentlemanly Corporal ? Both 
 glanced at him, — Rosa shyly, Orelia steadily. There 
 was as little of the trooper in his face as in his man- 
 ners. A handsome aquiline nose, short upper lip, 
 round chin, wavy black hair, and somewhat dissipated 
 look (as before mentioned), were the components of 
 a very thoroughbred countenance. But whatever
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 101 
 
 embarrassment they might have experienced, he 
 certainly felt none, but wore precisely the air of a 
 gentleman in the company of his equals ; and such 
 Orelia did not in the least doubt him to be. Nay, 
 not content with coming to that conclusion, she men- 
 tally decided that he was a much finer gentleman 
 than any of her acquaintance ; and how far she may 
 have been influenced in this opinion by his good 
 looks, his prowess, and the danger from which he 
 had so gallantly rescued her, I leave my lady readers 
 to determine. 
 
 Presently the strangeness of the situation wore off, 
 and, forgetting his uniform and the stripes on his 
 arm, they found it very agreeable to have a com- 
 panion in their riding-master. They observed that 
 he never volunteered a remark or opinion, avoiding 
 all appearance of presuming on his position with 
 them ; but whenever he was appealed to on any sub- 
 ject, he replied with perfect ease, good breeding, and 
 correctness of expression. And so they rode on, the 
 two young ladies chatting unreservedly, and the dra- 
 goon occasionally joining in the conversation, till he 
 began to forget his character of instructor, and, not 
 troubling them with many hints or equestrian pre- 
 cepts, seemed to enjoy the ride as much as they. 
 
 Not far from the park gates, on their return home- 
 ward, they overtook a yellow caravan, travelling from
 
 102 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Doddington fair to some other scene of festivity. On 
 Hearing it, Rosa recognised in the driver, who walked 
 beside it, the venerable merryandrew who had invit- 
 ed them up to his stage out of the tumult. It struck 
 Rosa that she might at once requite his civility, and 
 afford the highest pleasure to her friend Julius, by 
 inviting the old gentleman to favour them with a 
 private performance at the Heronry, and she resolved 
 to accost him accordingly. 
 
 Mr Holmes (that was the merryandrew's name) 
 appeared to entertain some delusive conceits respect- 
 ing the appearance of his legs ; for, not content with 
 exhibiting them to the public in the tight-fitting 
 hose already spoken of (which might have been 
 justified on professional grounds), he wore in private 
 life black velveteen breeches and worsted stockings, 
 with laced half-boots. He had also a calf-skin waist- 
 coat, with long flaps, worn rather bald in some parts, 
 and fastened with a row of blue glass buttons; a 
 green shooting-jacket, with brass buttons ; and a hat, 
 with the narrowest brim ever seen on human head, 
 except that of the Duke of Wellington, as represent- 
 ed in the authentic portraits of Mr Punch. The 
 venerable man walked beside his horse with all the 
 alacrity that might be expected from so experienced 
 a tumbler, while his family travelled inside the yellow 
 caravan.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 103 
 
 " Good morning to you/' said Rosa, as they passed 
 him. " Are you going far ? "" 
 
 Mr Holmes turned round, and seeing the young 
 ladies, he stopped, brought his stockings together, 
 till they formed but one perpendicular line, with the 
 half-boots diverging in opposite directions at the 
 bottom of it, and taking off his narrow-brimmed hat, 
 he made a very flexible and elastic bow, without 
 much apparent effort, though Orelia afterwards de- 
 clared she heard his spine creak. 
 
 " Young ladies, your most obedient, "said Mr Holmes, 
 in a thin reedy voice, cracked partly with age, partly 
 with continually playing Punch. " We are going, Deo 
 volente, to Brixham, which is seven miles off." 
 
 " And are you in a great hurry ? '' asked Rosa. 
 
 " Now, what earthly business can that be of yours, 
 you little gossip ? " said the austere Orelia. " Can't 
 you let the good man alone ? " 
 
 "Why, he might come and perform to us, now 
 he's so close," whispered Rosa, "and Juley would 
 like it so much. Don't you think, Mr Showman, 
 you could stop at this house you see between the 
 trees here, and favour us with a performance? and 
 we'll endeavour to repay your trouble." 
 
 "Time," said the gallant though aged comedian, 
 " is only valuable to me for the purpose of obliging 
 the ladies."
 
 104 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 "And you are sure it won't put you out of your 
 way ? " asked Eosa. 
 
 " Not at all/' said Mr Holmes ; " I'm accustomed to 
 perform to the aristocracy, and I always prefer a 
 discriminating audience. I shall attend you with 
 pleasure, ladies/' 
 
 " There now, Keley," said Rosa, triumphantly ; 
 "you see I'm not always wrong. Please to follow 
 us, Mr Showman." 
 
 " I expect to see you a columbine yet," said 
 Orelia, as they rode on. 
 
 So it came to pass that Lady Lee, looking out of 
 her window to see them arrive, beheld with surprise 
 the yellow caravan with the green door, and Mr 
 Holmes marching with a feeble stateliness of gait 
 beside it, approaching her residence, and asked Mr 
 Dubbley — who, encouraged by his conversation with 
 Bagot, had taken an early opportunity of coming to 
 call — what could be the meaning of it ? The Squire, 
 thus appealed to, left his seat in the background, 
 and came to the window with such nervous haste, 
 that her ladyship expected to see him go head fore- 
 most through the panes into a laurustinus bush on 
 the lawn ; but he was unable, though he rubbed his 
 bald forehead till it shone again, to account for the 
 phenomenon, otherwise than by considering it to be 
 a piece of most particular impudence on the part of
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 105 
 
 the trampers, entitling them to pains and penalties, 
 which he, as a magistrate, was ready, in his ardour to 
 oblige Lady Lee, forthwith to inflict. But Rosa's 
 entrance cut short these hostile designs, for, at her 
 explanation, Lady Lee confided Mr Holmes and his 
 family to the hospitality of the housekeeper, and 
 decided that the performance should take place 
 immediately after lunch, which was now waiting 
 for the equestrians. 
 
 While the two girls were slipping off their riding- 
 dresses, they had a debate, principally conducted by 
 Rosa, on the subject of the puzzling, mysterious, 
 gentlemanly Corporal. Rosa was of opinion that he 
 could be nothing short of a disguised nobleman, 
 though she did not settle his precise rank in the 
 peerage. Orelia said little, but, like the silent parrot, 
 perhaps she thought the more. 
 
 Mr Dubbley was attired in his choicest raiment for 
 the visit, and smiled incessantly, frequently begin- 
 ning sentences, and then leaving off in the middle, 
 thus destroying any small chance his hearers might 
 otherwise have had of divining his meaning, and 
 hurriedly rubbing the bald part of his head, as if he 
 were very hot, which indeed he seemed to be. But 
 after a glass or two of wine he became more confi- 
 dent and coherent. 
 
 "Fine day for riding," said he to Orelia; "uncom-
 
 106 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 mon fine — never saw a finer. Southerly wind and a 
 cloudy sky. They say, you know, that when the 
 wind is in the south, it blows the bait into the fish's 
 mouth." 
 
 " And, therefore, 'tis a favourable day for riding, 
 eh, Dubbley ?" quoth Bagot, smiling on the ladies. 
 " My friend Dubbley's allusions are, perhaps, a little 
 obscure sometimes." 
 
 The Squire, though he didn't understand Bagot's 
 speech, perceived the intention to make fun of him, 
 and rubbed his forehead with a yellow silk pocket- 
 handkerchief, till, between friction and the moisture 
 produced by nervous agitation, it attained a very 
 high degree of polish. 
 
 "How can people say Mr Dubbley 's not bright?" 
 whispered Orelia to Lady Lee. " I can see my own 
 reflection in his forehead as plainly as in that dish- 
 cover before him." 
 
 "Are you going on with your improvements at 
 Monkstone, Mr Dubbley ?" asked Lady Lee. 
 
 Mr Dubbley, at the moment the question was put, 
 happened to be drinking some bottled ale, and, in 
 his hurry to make reply, the fluid went the wrong 
 way, and ran out again, partially through his nose. 
 
 "Going on capital well, my lady,'' answered the 
 Squire, as soon as he had done choking. "There's 
 one thing I think you'd like most particular — a
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 107 
 
 summer-house on the plan of a Grecian pagoda, with 
 a turpentine walk leading up to it, that takes you all 
 round by the cabbage-beds, and along by the back of 
 the stables." 
 
 " Are all your improvements confined to the ex- 
 terior of Monkstone?'' asked Lady Lee. 
 
 "By no means," answered the Squire ; "some of 
 them are going on in the shrubbery. Your lady- 
 ship's no conception what money IVe spent on plants 
 and bushes lately. I got a good many hints from 
 Dixon, Sir Christopher's head-gardener. There's no 
 better agriculturist than Dixon ; and if ever he leaves 
 Sir Christopher, Til get him to come to me. I'm no 
 great hand myself at fancy gardening, though I'll 
 grow marrowfat pease and early cabbages against 
 any man for a ten-pound note." 
 
 " We re going to have a little conjuring presently, 
 Mr Dubbley," said Rosa. " Are you fond of that 
 kind of amusement V 
 
 "Mr Dubbley can't do any juggling, I know,'' 
 said Julius, who was perched on a chair by his friend 
 Rosa, with his eyebrows on a level with his plate. 
 
 " How do you know that ? " asked the Squire, 
 smiling on him. 
 
 " Because I heard Uncle Bag say yesterday that 
 you were no conjuror," said Julius. 
 
 " Silence, you villain ! " said Bagot, shaking his
 
 108 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 fist at him. " Little boys should be seen, and not 
 heard." But Mr Dubbley took the insinuation quite 
 literally. 
 
 "Very true," said he, " Fve no turn for that sort 
 of thing ; I'm all plain and above-board. But I 
 don't mind seeing jugglers, though some of their 
 tricks do make one think that they've sold them- 
 selves to the — to the old gentleman,'' said the Squire, 
 adopting the most elegant periphrasis he could think 
 of for the unmentionable word he had blundered on. 
 
 " Come," said Eosa, " as we've all finished, we'll 
 go to see the performance." 
 
 Accordingly, they adjourned to another room, 
 having a curtain drawn across one end, which being 
 lifted, revealed the venerable conjuror attired in the 
 same magical costume he was accustomed to appear 
 in at fairs. Before him stood a box covered with a 
 cloth, and, the audience being seated, Mr Holmes 
 proceeded to execute sundry feats of legerdemain. 
 But first he made a speech, cautioning them by no 
 means to allow their attention to be withdrawn by 
 any conversation he might address to them while 
 executing his sleight-of-hand, as his remarks would 
 be all made with a view of more easily deceiving their 
 eyes, while their minds were thus distracted by his 
 eloquence. This charming candour had a great effect 
 on the audience, impressing them with a profound
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 109 
 
 idea of the magician's perfect good faith, and dispos- 
 ing them to be alert for the detection of his tricks, 
 while they were more than ever convinced that their 
 alertness must be baffled. 
 
 There was nothing particularly new, or especially 
 marvellous, in the performance, the feats being the 
 same that Mr Holmes had been in the habit of 
 exhibiting for the last half-century ; nevertheless, 
 seldom had he performed to a more attentive or 
 interested audience. The only people inclined to 
 make any disturbance were Julius, who, seated in 
 Rosa's lap, broke out into shouts of delight, and 
 struggled to rush behind the curtain after each feat 
 that took his fancy ; and Miss Fillett, who, being 
 nervous and somewhat superstitious, occasionally 
 shrieked, as she stood behind among the other ser- 
 vants, and then giggled hysterically. 
 
 Among other feats, he borrowed a shilling from 
 Mr Dubbley, and also his hat, which the Squire sur- 
 rendered not without misgivings ; and, putting the 
 shilling under the hat, requested that gentleman to 
 remove the hat, when a guinea-pig appeared, to his 
 great surprise and pleasure. Then the conjuror pre- 
 tended not to know what had become of the shilling, 
 till, perceiving that Mr Dubbley was getting uneasy 
 at the non-appearance of the coin, he directed him 
 to look in the heel of his shoe, where it was found.
 
 no LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " Ton my life," said Mr Dubbley, *' 'tis quite in- 
 credulous ! I couldn't have believed it if I hadn't 
 seen it."" 
 
 Afterwards he drew a circle on the floor with a bit 
 of chalk, and requested Mr Dubbley — whom he ap- 
 peared to consider a suitable neoj^hyte — to place 
 himself within it. But the Squire stood secretly in 
 great awe of witchcraft, and had once seen Der Frey- 
 schutz at the London opera ; consequently, he hung 
 back, dimly expecting that, in the event of his com- 
 pliance, the room might suddenly be darkened, and 
 himself surrounded by evil genii, summoning him to 
 surrender his soul to the enemy of mankind. 
 
 "No, hang it, no \" said the Squire, wiping his 
 forehead, and affecting to laugh knowingly, as the 
 magician solemnly beckoned to him ; " no, no, none 
 of those tricks — one never knows what those fellows 
 may be at." But looking round, and seeing a half 
 smile on Lady Lee's face, while Julius at the same 
 time nearly struggled himself out of Rosa's arms, in 
 his eagerness to be subjected to the magical influ- 
 ence, the Squire, saying " Eh ! well, never mind ; 
 but are you sure 'tis all right 1 — no humbug, you 
 know," advanced lingeringly, and took up the posi- 
 tion assigned him, with one foot at a time, amidst 
 a suppressed chuckle from the servants; while Orelia, 
 with her under lip a little protruded, and her mouth
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. Ill 
 
 and nostril curved, looked at him with superb scorn. 
 The only person who seemed to S3rmpathise with him 
 was Miss Fillett, who uttered two little shrieks as 
 he entered the magic ring. Then the necromancer 
 desired him to drink some wine-and-water from a 
 charmed goblet, which he at first declined to do, till 
 Mr Holmes himself sipped a little of it, assuring him 
 'twas veritable wine-and-water, such as he had drunk 
 at lunch, when he was persuaded to take it ; and 
 muttering, " No tricks ! damme, I'm a justice of the 
 peace," swallowed the contents. Then Mr Holmes 
 took a bit of wood like a ruler, which he handed 
 round for inspection. " No deception, ladies," said 
 he ; and, applying it to various parts of the Squire's 
 person, proceeded to draw from his ear, his elbow, 
 and the bald part of his head, as if he had been a 
 barrel, the wine-and-water they had just seen him 
 drink, receiving it in the goblet, and subsequently 
 offering it to any person inclined to be sceptical. 
 He was proceeding with some more tricks when Mr 
 Dubbley darted out of the circle, feeling his ear, and 
 looking at the elbow of his coat, while exclaiming — 
 " No, hang it, 'tis somebody else's turn now — one of 
 you try ! " 
 
 After some more feats, Mr Holmes set up Punch's 
 theatre, and performed the drama of that personage's 
 life, with some variations invented by himself The
 
 112 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 dog Toby, a small grizzled cur with a white face, 
 misbehaved on this occasion, attacking Pick, Julius's 
 cat, who had followed his master into the room ; but 
 the valiant Pick, accustomed to lord it supreme over 
 all the dogs of the household, received him with such 
 a scientific one, two, on the nose and eyes, that the 
 dog Toby retreated howling, but presently returned 
 to the charge, notwithstanding the formidable ap- 
 pearance of his antagonist, who suddenly swelled, 
 tail and all, to double his ordinary size ; whereupon 
 Julius, slipping out of Rosa's arms, rushed to the 
 rescue, and administered a kick that caused Toby 
 to relinquish his hostile intent of reprisal. 
 
 The last part of the performance was the intro- 
 duction of Mr Holmes's little grandchild, about 
 Julius's age, who was brought in by his mother, 
 a slatternly resigned -looking woman. The child, 
 who was of a pale and serious aspect, was dressed in 
 short drawers, pink hose, rosettes in his shoes, and 
 a spangled doublet and girdle. He commenced by 
 letting his legs slide out under him till they formed 
 but one horizontal line, touching the floor ; next, 
 resting on his heels and hands, he bent backwards, 
 and picked up pins with his eyelids ; shouldered 
 one leg like a musket, and, turning both over his 
 back, hopped on his hands like a frog — all with 
 much sadness and solemnity. Julius was enchanted.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 113 
 
 and whispered to Rosa that he should like to be 
 able to do that, and to wear a spangled coat ; but 
 Rosa said she thought he had better stick to his own 
 line, which was the legitimate drama ; for Julius 
 could repeat, " My name is Norval,'' " To be or not 
 to be," and "Is it a dagger?" with good emphasis 
 and discretion, and with appropriate gestures, — ac- 
 complishments which Rosa seized the opportunity 
 to cause him at once to exhibit, while Mr Holmes 
 looked on with a patronising air. Then Lady Lee, 
 calling Julius to her, desired him to fetch some of 
 his playthings, which, together with a large plum- 
 cake, he was to bestow on the little boy — the poor 
 little boy who had nobody to give him playthings ; 
 and Julius forthwith endowed his young friend with 
 the same, who received them without a smile, and 
 handed them to his mother, who placed them under 
 her shawl, and told him to thank the little gentle- 
 man. 
 
 " I suppose that's your daughter ? " said Lady 
 Lee to Mr Holmes. 
 
 " My daughter-in-law,'' said Mr Holmes, bowing. 
 
 " Does she perform in any way V inquired Lady 
 Lee. 
 
 Mr Holmes shrugged his shoulders with a some- 
 what contemptuous grimace. " No talent,'' said he ; 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 114 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " we tried her as a columbine at one time ; but the 
 dress — 'tisn't every one that can dress in tights" 
 (looking down with great pride on his own drum- 
 sticks), and then added in a whisper, laying his 
 finger on his nose, " Thick, beefy, clumsy ! " 
 
 "And the poor little boy?" said Lady Lee; "he 
 looks sickly. Isn't he well ? " 
 
 " Not strong enough for the profession, I'm afraid,'' 
 said Mr Holmes ; " talent, but no stamina." The 
 pale mother sighed, and pressed the boy's hand. 
 Rosa noticed the action. 
 
 " Why do you allow him to do these tricks if he 
 is not able?" said Rosa to the mother; "it seems 
 quite cruel." But the woman gave her to under- 
 stand it was quite against her wishes and prayers 
 that the despotic Mr Holmes persisted in training 
 the boy, notwithstanding a child of hers had pre- 
 viously died under the discipline. 
 
 " Dear, how dreadful ! — and such an old man 
 too ! How old are you ? " asked Rosa aloud of Mr 
 Holmes. The woman hastily whispered to her that 
 he didn't like to be reminded of his age ; and Mr 
 Holmes affecting not to hear the question, the sub- 
 ject dropped. 
 
 Mr Holmes, having now been rewarded so liber- 
 ally as to call forth his very finest bow, and thanks 
 in a set speech, prepared to depart. But first he
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 115 
 
 was taken aside by the Squire, who had conceived 
 the idea that some insight into the art of conjuring 
 might raise him greatly in the estimation of society 
 in general, and particularly in that of Lady Lee. 
 
 "Is it pretty easy, now?" said the Squire, taking 
 Mr Holmes confidentially by the lapel of his coat 
 — " is it pretty easy, now, to learn those tricks of 
 yours ? 
 
 " That,"' returned Mr Holmes, " depends very 
 much on the natural capacity of the pupil." 
 
 " Oh ! '' said the Squire, who was somewhat doubt- 
 ful of his own talents for acquiring anything not of 
 a sporting nature ; " and did you ever teach any- 
 body ?'' 
 
 " Did I ever teach anybody ? "' repeated Mr 
 Holmes, gravely. " You are not then aware, sir, 
 that legerdemain is an extremely fashionable pur- 
 suit?" 
 
 " Never heard of it before," said the Squire, 
 baffled by the long word. " I'm talking of those 
 tricks you've been showing us." 
 
 " That is legerdemain," said Mr Holmes, loftily. 
 " I have had the honour, sir, of instructing some 
 of the first noblemen in the land in the art." 
 
 " God bless me ! " cried the Squire ; " who would 
 have thought it ? And are your terms pretty 
 reasonable V
 
 116 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Mr Holmes rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and his 
 nose also, for he could not easily rub one without the 
 other. " Lord Thoroughpin" (a nobleman well known 
 in sporting and fashionable circles) "was my last pupil, 
 and he paid me two guineas a lesson?" said he. 
 
 " And did he learn it all in one lesson ? '' asked 
 the Squire. 
 
 " In three lessons, and with a good deal of private 
 practice, he mastered one trick," answered the show- 
 man. 
 
 " Six guineas for one trick ! " cried the Squire ; 
 " but you'd do it cheaper in the country, wouldn't 
 you ? Hang it, no. I'll give up the idea," he 
 thought — " too expensive." 
 
 Bagot stept out, when the performance was over, 
 to have a little talk with Miss Fillett, whose co- 
 operation he was anxious to secure in his design 
 upon Mr Dubbley. 
 
 " Come here, Kitty," quoth Bagot, beckoning her 
 into the breakfast-room ; " you can be a sharp girl, 
 if you like — deuced sharp. Now, if you'll just fol- 
 low my advice, and say nothing about it to any of 
 your gossips (the tongue, by Jove, is a devilish deal 
 the worst part about you women) — if you 11 be mum, 
 and do as you're told, I'll make it worth your while. 
 This shall be the first instalment, Kitty," displaying 
 a five-pound note.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 117 
 
 Kitty stood before him primly, with her hands in 
 the pockets of her apron. 
 
 " I wish to ask one question, if you please, Colonel 
 Lee,'' said Miss Fillett. " Is it anything that's not 
 proper for a respectable young female to do?" 
 
 " Bother ! " said Bagot ; " you know Mr Dubbley 
 of Monkstone, who's up-stairs now ?" 
 
 " I should think I did," said Miss Fillett, " and a 
 saucy gentleman he is. I shall tell him a piece of 
 my mind, the next time he winks his eye upon me." 
 
 " No, don't mind him," said the Colonel, grinning ; 
 " he don't mean any harm : he comes here to make 
 love to your mistress." 
 
 " Ho, ho ! " said Kitty, scornfully tossing up her 
 head ; " what'll he take for his chance, I wonder ? 
 Dubbley, indeed ! Ho, ho ! — the idea's perpister- 
 ous, Colonel." 
 
 " Of course it is," returned the Colonel ; " but I 
 don't want him to know that. For certain reasons 
 of my own, which don't matter i>o you — perhaps 
 I've got a bet about it, perhaps I haven't — but, for 
 reasons of my own, I want him to think he's got 
 a chance ; and he'll never think so if you don't put 
 it in his head. You can do that if you like." 
 
 Kitty nodded. " I could persuade him anythink," 
 said she ; " why, he ain't got the wit of a child in 
 some things."
 
 118 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " Of course you could," said Bagot. " Well, just 
 you put it in his head, every now and then, that his 
 courtship is going on swimmingly/' 
 
 "Hexcellent!" exclaimed Miss Fillett; "Til en- 
 gage to puff up his conceit so, that he'll make a hoffer 
 in a week, if necessary." 
 
 " Ah, but it's not necessary," said Bagot ; " don't you 
 see, he'd get such a reply as would prevent him from 
 trying his luck here any more, and there would be an 
 end of the business. No ; you must tell him to wait 
 for your instructions, Kitty, as to the proper time for 
 doing that. Play with him, Kitty. Tell him of remarks 
 her ladyship has passed upon him, and make them 
 warm or cold, as required ; and the deuce is in it if you 
 don't make something handsome out of him, besides 
 what I shall give you ; to say nothing of the fun of the 
 thing. You love a little bit of mischief, Kitty, eh ? " 
 
 Miss Fillett did not disown the soft impeachment, 
 but rather confirmed it by at once entering into 
 Bagot's views, and accepting the bank-note as a 
 retaining-fee, promising herself diversion as well as 
 profit in the business. 
 
 Mr Holmes having resumed the costume of ordi- 
 nary life, and packed his stage-property into his 
 caravan, together with his relations, now left the 
 grounds, to disappear for some time both from the 
 neighbourhood and from our story.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Bagot having, as he considered, done penance the 
 greater part of the day in ladies' society, resolved 
 to indemnify himself by a snug dinner in his own 
 quarters. 
 
 These were situated at the back of one of the 
 wings of the house, and were fitted up in conformity* 
 with the taste of the inhabitant. The furniture was 
 comfortable, and adapted for lounging; no infernal 
 humbug about it, Bagot said. You might throw 
 your leg over the arm of the chair, when you chose 
 to adopt that position, without fear of a crash ; and 
 the legs of the table were not likely to give way if 
 any one sat on it, or even if a convivial gentleman 
 performed a war-dance thereon after dinner, as had 
 happened once or twice during Bagot's occupancy. 
 Some wine-glasses and tumblers stood on a shelf 
 against the wall, together with a case of bottles, so 
 that there was no necessity to summon a servant
 
 120 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 whenever lie wanted a dram, which was fortunate for 
 the servant. There were some pictures on the wall, 
 recording various racing events, on one of which 
 Bagot had made what he called a " pot of money/' 
 Whips and spurs were plentifully scattered about, 
 with here and there a stray running-rein, bit, or mar- 
 tingale. For literature, there were a sporting news- 
 paper and a scurrilous one, and two or three volumes, 
 one of which contained the memoirs of an illustrious 
 woman, who has confided her love affairs to the 
 public, and who, though never included in the list 
 of popular authoresses, may justly be considered as 
 belonging to the number. Bagot had known this 
 Messalina in his youth, and used to hint that he 
 considered himself deuced lucky in not having his 
 name stuck in the memoirs; though it is difficult 
 to see how that could have affected his character. 
 
 To this retreat Bagot had directed a snug dinner 
 to be conveyed — mullagatawny soup, grilled turkey, 
 and a saddle of mutton — intending to get through 
 the evening as well as he could in his own society, 
 which was to him, of an evening, a dreadful affliction. 
 He used to say that, though Bagot Lee was a deuced 
 good fellow, he didn't know a more infernal bore to 
 be alone with after dinner. On opening the door he 
 was, therefore, pleased as well as surprised to see a 
 figure seated in an easy attitude before the fire.
 
 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 121 
 
 This unexpected visitor was a thin, wiry, rather 
 tall man ; he had hollow cheeks, an aquiline nose, 
 and a bronze complexion. His eye was greenish in 
 colour, small, and open, so that you saw the full 
 circle — and was unsoftened by eyelashes, for he had 
 none. The thin lips, being habitually drawn back, 
 had created in his cheeks two rigid lines, reaching 
 from his nostrils to below his mouth, and more 
 strongly chiselled than his age, which was about 
 thirty, warranted. He had a thin crop of hair, and 
 a prominent skull-like forehead. The expression was 
 one of indomitable assurance, self-confidence, and 
 recklessness, giving one the idea that he was excel- 
 lently well-pleased with himself, without having any 
 great reason to be so. 
 
 Mr Seager — that was his name — was a fast man ; 
 so fast, that he had long ago outrun the constable, 
 that functionary having for many years toiled after 
 him in vain. He betted a good deal, and generally 
 won; but his winnings, like the winnings of most 
 knowing men, never seemed to enrich him. He 
 lived altogether in public — at clubs, billiard-tables, 
 and race-meetings — and thus possessed an enormous 
 circle of acquaintance, at least two-thirds of whom 
 were rather shy of him. But this state of social 
 difficulty, where he had, as it were, to hold on to the 
 edge of society with both hands to keep himself in
 
 122 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 position, gave him far more pleasure, by employing 
 his prevailing qualities of impudence and vigilance, 
 than he could possibly have found in a life of ease 
 and popularity. 
 
 However, there were some who considered him not 
 a bad fellow in general, and, moreover, to be respect- 
 ed for his knowing qualities. " Cool hand, that fel- 
 low ! " " Devilish hard to get over him,'' — such was 
 the style of encomium passed on him by his pane- 
 gyrists, of whom Bagot was one, though without 
 any great reason ; for if, among the numerous mis- 
 chievous spirits that accompanied poor Bagot in 
 his career through life, any one was especially en- 
 titled to be called his evil genius, that one was 
 Mr Seager. 
 
 Bagot looked up to Seager for the same reason 
 that Dubbley looked up to Bagot' — on account of his 
 superior sagacity in sporting matters. Not but that 
 Bagot 's intellect was just as acute as Seager 's, but he 
 had drawbacks which Seager had not. For instance, 
 Bagot was fond of the society he frequented, for its 
 own sake. He was rather popular in it, and would 
 have been sorry to risk his popularity by any act 
 likely to lower him in the estimation of the world 
 he lived in. In fact, though he had no very strong 
 sense of honour, he had the fear of public opinion, 
 which is perhaps, with the majority, its not ineffi-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 123 
 
 cient substitute. Seager was careless of the good 
 opinion of his associates, and only required their 
 toleration, thus widening considerably his field of 
 action ; for there are numerous acts on which the 
 world, whether the sporting, the fashionable, or any 
 other world belonging to our social system, may see 
 fit to express a negative disapprobation, without 
 passing positive sentence on the offender. Bagot 
 would sometimes lend money to a needy acquain- 
 tance who applied to him, not so much because he 
 was really good-natured, as because he wished to 
 possess the reputation of being so. Nobody ever 
 detected Seager in the commission of any such error. 
 In fact, Bagot, in all his transactions and habits, 
 was under an influence that Seager, going among 
 his fellow-men antagonistically, as a spy enters an 
 enemy's camp, did not acknowledge ; and so it was 
 that the latter, strong in his concentrated selfish- 
 ness, seldom met with his match in his own pecu- 
 liar walk. 
 
 " Hillo ! where did you come from, old chap ? 
 What the deuce brought you here ? " was Bagot's 
 greeting. 
 
 "I thought I should astonish your weak mind," 
 said Mr Seager, holding out his left hand, without 
 rising. " 'Tis rather a good joke, my coming to a 
 place like this. Sit down and I'll tell you all about it.
 
 124 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Don't give yourself any trouble. I told them to lay 
 the table for two." 
 
 " Well, never mind telling me what brought you 
 here now/' said Bagot ; " keep it till after dinner. I 
 hate any bother just before dinner ; here you are, 
 and that's enough. Gad, Seager, I thought I was in 
 for a solitary evening." 
 
 Mr Seager laughed a little hard, grim laugh, and 
 after a pause repeated it. 
 
 " Excuse me, Lee, but I was thinking what you 
 would do if you ever had the misfortune to be clapt 
 into jail at any time — (and not so very unlikely, you 
 know.j Four bare walls, a bed, and your own society. 
 Damme, Lee, you'd go stark staring mad in a fort- 
 night's solitary. Ill take you seven to four you'd 
 be a lunatic in thirteen days." 
 
 " Stop that ! " said Bagot, from the inner room, 
 where he had gone to wash his hands ; " I shall 
 be obliged to you to find something pleasant to 
 talk about;" and he growled out something not 
 very flattering to Mr Seager's tact in his choice of 
 topics in general, but which was lost in the noise he 
 made in the washing-basin. " What sort of a book 
 have you made for the next event ? " 
 
 " Capital ! " said Seager, with another little hard 
 laugh. " I may win seven thousand, and I can't lose 
 more than a pony, let things go as bad as they like.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 125 
 
 Good men, too ; — Broughton gave me fifty to one 
 in twenties against Titbury when he was an out- 
 sider." 
 
 " Lucky beggar ! '' said Bagot, arranging his coat 
 and sitting down, as the dinner was placed on the 
 table. " If I could afford it, I'd give you a thousand 
 a-year to make my book for me — and I don't con- 
 sider myself a bad hand, either. And how about 
 the match with my lord ? " 
 
 " Beat him, of course," said Seager ; " 'twas the 
 best of eleven games, you know. Now, I think, out 
 of the eleven I could have won nine if I chose, but I 
 let him run away with five, and only won the match 
 by a run of thirteen off the balls ; consequence is, 
 he's all anxiety for another trial.'' 
 
 " In which, of course, you won't gratify him on any 
 account," said Bagot, chuckling. 
 
 " I'm affecting shy at present," said Seager. " Told 
 him 'twas all luck, and he could give me points. I 
 really shouldn't wonder if I got odds from him in the 
 end. His conceit of his own play is ridiculous, you 
 know." 
 
 " If you don't take that out of him, he's incura- 
 ble," said Bagot. "Did you make a pretty good 
 thing of it ? " 
 
 "Pretty well," returned Seager. "He paid up 
 like a trump, and not before 'twas wanted, I can tell
 
 126 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 you, for I was precious hard up. By the by, Lee, I'm 
 afraid I must dun you for that hundred and fifty/' 
 
 " Can't you be quiet till after dinner ? " growled 
 Bagot, laying down his knife and fork, highly dis- 
 gusted. " I vow to gad 'tis enough to convert one's 
 victuals into poison, to be reminded of such infernal 
 matters just when one is beginning to feel a little 
 comfortable." 
 
 " Quite right, old fellow — I apologise. "We will, 
 as you say, postpone the sulbject, especially as that 
 wasn't the only cause of my coming. You must 
 know I was considering the other night, at the club, 
 what part of the country I should favour with my 
 presence for a few weeks ; for, owing to certain rea- 
 sons, town was getting too hot for me ; and, happen- 
 ing to take up the paper, I stumbled on a paragraph 
 stating that the — th dragoons were coming to Dod- 
 dington. Now, I knew the regiment some years 
 back, when they used to shake their elbows a little," 
 (imitating the motion of rattling a dice-box), " and it 
 struck me I might live at free quarters with you, 
 and perhaps do a little business with the bones" 
 {Anglice, dice) " at the same time. So here I am 
 for a day or two, at any rate — and, to-morrow well 
 knock up those fellows' quarters." 
 
 " A deuced good move," said Bagot, " and one I 
 was intending to make myself. I dine with them
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 127 
 
 to-morrow, and so shall you. Take some sherry, 
 my boy ! " 
 
 When dinner was removed, both drew their chairs 
 up to the fire, and helped themselves to a few glasses 
 of wine, by way of formality, before setting into 
 serious drinking. Both lit their cigars ; but first 
 Bagot rose, and, unlocking a drawer, came back 
 with a bundle of notes, some of which he selected, 
 and handed them across to his companion, saying — 
 " There's your money ; now let's have no more cursed 
 dunning." 
 
 Mr Seager was pleasantly surprised, for he had 
 not expected such prompt and satisfactory payment. 
 His inquiries drew from Bagot (who was rather 
 proud of his own shrewdness, and anxious for the 
 approbation of so good a judge as Seager) an account 
 of the mode in which he had obtained the supply. 
 
 Seager sat for a little while silent, smoking vigor- 
 ously. Bagot had presented him with a congenial 
 subject for thought. Presently he asked — "Is this 
 the only time youVe tried the dodge ? " 
 
 "Why, 'tis the only chance I've had," answered 
 Bagot. " One doesn't meet with rich greenhorns 
 like Dubbley every day." 
 
 " You must trot her ladyship out a little," quoth 
 Seager. " By Jove, old fellow, with such cards in 
 your hand, you ought to make a good thing of it ;
 
 128 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 but youll want a friend to help you. A man like 
 Dubbley may be managed single-handed, but two 
 will be better another time. I'm your man. In the 
 first place there must be a little puffing — rich widow, 
 great beauty, and all that sort of thing, in the George 
 Robins style — which you couldn't do yourself with 
 decency. As I said, I'm your man, and you must 
 do as much for me another time. When I want a 
 man to pull the strings and set the machinery going, 
 I shall look to you." 
 
 Bagot made no direct reply, not caring to enter- 
 tain the subject, which (though Seager's suggestions 
 harmonised exactly with his own ideas on it) wore, 
 certainly, rather a dirty aspect, when deliberately 
 discussed. However, he thought there was, after 
 all, no greater harm in borrowing money on these 
 grounds than on any other ; for Bagot, like all men 
 living beyond their means, who are not downright 
 swindlers, in all his borrowings and extravagance 
 had some dim hazy notion of a grand settling-day, 
 when everything was to be made square, though 
 he never succeeded in realising very distinctly the 
 mode in which it was to be done. 
 
 " What sort of a woman is this Lady Lee ?" asked 
 Seager, presently. 
 
 " Why, between you and me, as friends," returned 
 Bagot, " I may say that I dislike her confoundedly —
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 129 
 
 I always did. I think I should have disliked most 
 womei] in her place, but I've special objections to 
 her." 
 
 "Why should you dislike any woman in her 
 place ? '' asked Seager. 
 
 " Why," almost shouted Bagot — "why? Because 
 when my poor nephew, Joe, married, he cut me 
 out of the chance of the estate. If he hadn't mar- 
 ried, he couldn't have had an heir.'' 
 
 " Decidedly not," said Seager, with a grin. " So 
 there's a boy, is there ? Good constitution, eh ? " 
 
 " Strong as a lion," said Bagot ; " and I'm glad 
 of it. He's a good little chap, and I don't wish him 
 any harm ; but you must admit 'twas enough to 
 try a fellow's temper to find one's-self cut out for- 
 the sake of a mewling soft-faced thing in petticoats. 
 'Twas done while I was in France, or I should 
 have tried to stop it. However, Joe was so much 
 younger than me, that I never expected to outlive 
 him. Tis since the poor fellow's death that IVe 
 been most vexed by the thought of what I've been 
 done out of" 
 
 " Gad ! " said Seager, " after that, you needn't 
 trouble yourself to state your special objections to 
 her. If she was the finest woman that ever stept, 
 I consider it your duty to hate her like the devil." 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 130 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 " Besides," said Bagot, " she's as proud as Lucifer, 
 and deuced sarcastic. You've no idea what I have 
 got to put up with from her. If I wasn't a good- 
 tempered fellow, I should tell her my mind pretty 
 plainly. As it is, I can hardly help flaring up 
 sometimes." 
 
 "Don't do anything of the sort," said Seager ; 
 "you can do much better by keeping on good terms 
 with her. If I were in your place, now, every time 
 she offended me I'd put it in my pocket, and con- 
 sole myself with the thought of paying her off in 
 a more profitable fashion than quarrelling. How- 
 ever, I'm glad to find that you'll be quite justified 
 in considering your own interest only in connection 
 with her. Damme, Lee, if I think she's entitled 
 to the smallest consideration." 
 
 Bagot shook his head revengefully, and breathed 
 hard. Between Seager 's speeches and his own pota- 
 tions, he saw his wrongs through a more inflam- 
 matory medium than usual. His wrath seemed to 
 make him thirsty, too, for his tumbler now began 
 to be refilled with great frequency. Presently 
 Seager proposed a hand at ecarte — and they ac- 
 cordingly commenced playing. 
 
 Bagot, when his head was quite clear — which it 
 seldom was at this hour of the evening — played 
 very well; but he was never a match for Seager,
 
 ■'6J6U. 
 
 0^1 cZ-^^-^l cS^^^^^^ ol/- ScaA^. 
 
 Voi.I.pagtl2>0.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 131 
 
 all whose soul, or instincts rather, were absorbed 
 in the game. There was something feline in the 
 expression of his hard unwinking eye, so round 
 and bare of eyelashes, as it darted from his own 
 cards to those which his adversary played out on 
 the table ; while his mouth was retracted, and fixed 
 in a grim half-smile. Winning or losing, his face 
 wore the same watchful look — whereas Bagot's frown 
 would deepen to a scowl over a bad hand ; and, when 
 fortune favoured him, he would rap down a succession 
 of winning cards with somewhat boisterous exultation. 
 
 At length Bagot's potations, which were not in the 
 least interrupted by the game, rendered the cards some- 
 what misty and obscure to his sight. After having 
 twice discarded his best trumps, and forgotten to 
 mark the king, he threw down his hand, and pushed 
 his chair away from the table. 
 
 " Come, one game more ! " said Seager. 
 
 " No, sir ! " said Bagot sternly ; " no, sir ! IVe had 
 enough of it, sir ! " 
 
 Seager perceived that Bagot had reached the turn- 
 ing-point in his drink, and was passing into the 
 ferocious and quarrelsome stage, as he was always 
 pretty sure to do after losing. 
 
 " Well, leave it alone, then ! " said Seager. 
 
 "I shall leave it alone, sir, or I shall not leave 
 it alone," said Bagot thickly, and with increased
 
 132 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 sternness and dignity. " I shall do exactly what I 
 see fit, sir. Understand that I shall exercise my 
 own discretion on that point, sir ! and on every 
 other, sir — every other, sir ! " 
 
 " Well, don't be savage, old fellow," said Seager. 
 
 " I shall be savage, sir, or I shall not be savage, 
 as I shall consider best 1 '' returned the uncompro- 
 mising Bagot, letting his voice slip into falsetto at 
 every other syllable. " You've won your money, sir, 
 and that's enough for you ! Never mind, sir ! " 
 
 " You're a pleasant old boy,"" said Seager, settling 
 himself comfortably in his arm-chair. " I think I'll 
 smoke a cigar." 
 
 Bagot mixed another tumbler of grog, breathing 
 hard all the time. Seager was accustomed to his 
 little irregularities of temper about this hour of the 
 night, and didn't take much notice of him. Pre- 
 sently Bagot commenced again. 
 
 " Old boy ! " repeated Bagot, slowly, and with 
 utterance not the most fluent ; " will you have the 
 goodness, sir, to inform me who you called old boy ? 
 Might I request information on that point, sir ? " 
 The dignity with which this question was put was 
 not to be surpassed. 
 
 "Never mind, old fellow," said Seager, puffing 
 away at his cigar, " you shall be as young as you 
 like."
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 133 
 
 " No, sir," said Bagot, rapping slowly on the table 
 with his knuckles, and glaring at the stopper of the 
 decanter before him as if it were the offending party. 
 " No, sir — excuse me — I shall not be as young as I 
 like ; I shall be no younger than I am, sir, at your 
 bidding, nor at any other person's — not an hour, sir I 
 — not an hour, sir ! " repeated Bagot, in every sen- 
 tence remaining longer in the treble before descend- 
 ing to the bass, and slowly bringing his gaze round 
 till it rested grimly on his guest. " Your conversa- 
 tion, sir, is unpleasant, and your manner is quarrel- 
 some. I regret, sir, to be compelled to leave you ; " 
 and poor Bagot rose with difficulty, and made un- 
 steadily towards the door of his bedroom. Having 
 with some difficulty opened it, he paused a moment* 
 on the threshold, and, glaring on Seager, said — 
 "You shall hear from me, sir, through a friend, in 
 the morning '" — after which he disappeared, and was 
 presently heard snoring heavily. 
 
 " Shocking old fool when he's screwed,'' said Sea- 
 ger, throwing his cigar into the fire, and going off to 
 his bedroom, where he slept comfortably and quietly ; 
 while poor Bagot, the victim of a troop of night- 
 mares, puffed and gasped the livelong night, through 
 his hot, parched, open mouth, in a slumber that 
 looked not very unlike strangulation. 
 
 The next morning Bagot submitted rather sulkily
 
 134 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 to Mr Seager's not very refined badinage on the sub- 
 ject of his intemperance on the previous night. They 
 went over the stables together — afterwards rode out; 
 and, on returning, played billiards, and drank cold 
 brandy-and-water till it was time to dress and proceed 
 to Doddington, to dine with the dragoons — whither 
 they went in a dog-cart, and enjoyed themselves as 
 will appear in the next chapter.
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 No dragoons had been seen in Doddington within 
 the memory of the oldest inhabitant, unless the re- 
 miniscences of that ancient and shadowy personage 
 could extend back to Monmouth's rebellion, when 
 Feversham's horse had marched through. And 
 when it is remembered what a conspicuous feature* 
 her Majesty's troops, especially the mounted and 
 mustached portion, form in societies long habitu- 
 ated to their presence, it may be supposed that the 
 sensation they created in this secluded spot was im- 
 mense, and only to be paralleled by the commotion 
 which those ancient cavalry the Centaurs caused at 
 Pirithous' wedding. 
 
 They had been detached to Doddington from the 
 nearest garrison town, in consequence of disturbances 
 in the surrounding district. All the place was agog 
 to see them march in. It happened to be a very 
 rainy day, and instead of a splendid, dazzling spec-
 
 13G LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 tacle, they presented to the sight a long row of be- 
 draggled figures in red cloaks, which half-covered 
 their splashed horses, and which quite concealed the 
 glories of their uniform, trotting in none of the best 
 order along the slippery and puddled street. But 
 two days afterwards, the weather being propitious, 
 they shone forth unclouded on the gaze of the in- 
 habitants, and produced a great revolution in Dod- 
 dington. The town was never very important in a 
 commercial point of view, but now you would abso- 
 lutely have supposed that the only remunerative pur- 
 suit that people of any trade or profession whatsoever 
 could engage in was looking after the dragoons. 
 Servant-maids were discharged at a moment's warn- 
 ing, only to be replaced by others just as love- 
 stricken and inattentive. The millinery business, so 
 far as making anything except love went, was at a 
 stand-still ; and the members of it went down in 
 public estimation towards zero, exactly in the same 
 proportion as they rose in favour with the officers. 
 Slander was busy with the names of the prettiest, 
 and even an ordinary countenance was no protection. 
 Miss Bonady, who had superintended the education 
 of young ladies in the art of bonnet-making for full 
 twenty years, found her time-honoured good name in 
 a fair way to be blasted ; for a jury of matrons had 
 been impanelled, and was now sitting on her char-
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 137 
 
 acter. Country lovers, who, up to the advent of the 
 soldiery, had been progressing charmingly with their 
 Dulcineas, suddenly turned green or yellow in colour, 
 and savage in disposition, and took to poaching, 
 or enlisted for soldiers ; and, between agitation and 
 tight-lacing, a vast number of children came prema- 
 turely into the world, many of whom, of both sexes, 
 were reported to have been born with mustaches. 
 
 The beer trade began to thrive wonderfully in 
 Doddington. It was not merely that the soldiers 
 consumed a good deal themselves, but the inns where 
 they were billeted were filled every night with those 
 convivial operatives who came to enjoy military com- 
 pany and conversation ; while their wives either 
 stood resignedly, like mournful caryatides, outside 
 the doors, waiting for their lords and masters, or else 
 disturbed the harmony of the meetings, by entering 
 and forcibly carrying off their truant spouses from 
 the society that so enthralled them. Dissenting 
 ministers grew more energetic in their denunciation 
 of all pomps and vanities, especially such as apper- 
 tain to men of the sword, as their flock diminished in 
 number, — for many of their young female disciples 
 had of late ceased altogether to wrestle with the 
 spirit ; and many an anxious old lady might be seen, 
 after dusk, inquiring if anybody had seen her Jenny, 
 the said Jenny being at that time probably loitering
 
 138 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 in some shady lane, having round her waist an arm 
 in a scarlet sleeve. 
 
 The officers had established their mess in a large 
 room of The Bush, the principal hotel of Doddington. 
 Here, at seven o'clock in the evening, the various 
 individual streams of ennui, imprecation, and desire 
 for excitement, that had meandered wearily through 
 the solitary and uncongenial region during the day, 
 were received into one pond, .thus fulfilling the great 
 object of that important military institution, the 
 mess, where warriors, who have been all day trying 
 unsuccessfully to kill time in single combat — attempt- 
 ing to ride him down — poking at him with billiard 
 cues, and the like feeble efforts at discomfiting him 
 — are enabled to join forces, and fall upon their 
 enemy in a body. 
 
 First at the dinner-hour came Tindal the Major, 
 who lived in the inn. Smart, tight-built, and stand- 
 ing on the hearth-rug with his legs apart, as if there 
 were a horse between them, one could almost swear, 
 even when seeing him on foot, that he was a good 
 rider — an accomplishment by no means so common 
 as might be presumed in the British cavalry. Tindal 
 was a man who liked to live in a large garrison-town, 
 with crack regiments in it, among whom might be 
 got up steeple-chases, wherein he might distinguish 
 himself, with a pack or two of foxhounds within
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 139 
 
 reach, a well-appointed mess, and a rubber of whist 
 afterwards, with dollar points, and a fellow sitting 
 by to bet about the odd trick. These tastes, it was 
 pretty clear, would not be gratified in Doddington, 
 and the Major accordingly cursed, in a calm, delibe- 
 rate sort of way, the hour in which he was sent there. 
 Enter to him Cornet Suckling, who has not been 
 long in the service, and whose upper lip looks like a 
 fragment of the body of a young gosling. The Cor- 
 net, having heard much of the Major's steeple-chas- 
 ing exploits, and being (though a weak-minded youth) 
 addicted to hero-worship, has in secret a great ven- 
 eration for him, and, while speaking of him in his 
 absence as "Tindal," or "old Tindal," or "that fellow 
 Tindal,"** shows considerable uneasiness as he ap- 
 proaches the hearth-rug, whereon the formidable 
 Major is planted, and throws himself into wonderful 
 and unnatural attitudes, in his attempts to appear at 
 ease. First, he seats himself on the top rail of the 
 back of a chair, and, tilting it over on two legs, rocks 
 himself to and fro, in a manner nervous to behold ; 
 then he pauses, and punches the pattern of the car- 
 pet with his spur ; then stooping his long awkward 
 form, till his elbow rests on the mantelpiece, he puts 
 his splay foot on the fender, thereby upsetting it, 
 and bringing all the fire-irons clattering down upon 
 Tindal's heels, who, as he shifts his position, damns
 
 140 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 him internally for a stupid young mufif. Tindal 
 doesn't like him, and seldom says much to him, ex- 
 cept on parade, where he *' pitches into '' the unfortu- 
 nate Cornet (who has a fretting charger, and doesn't 
 know how to ride him) in a way that would render 
 him desperate, if he had spirit enough to become so. 
 
 Presently hilarious voices are heard laughing their 
 way up-stairs, and after a short delay, occasioned 
 by their meeting with a chambermaid on the land- 
 ing-place. Lieutenants Wylde Gates and Harry Bruce 
 make their appearance. Without much in common, 
 except an immense flow of spirits, these two are 
 generally together. Both of them are sharp lads, 
 and though their method of enjoying life is some- 
 what riotous, yet they do enjoy it, and will be 
 capital fellows by and by, when the effervescence 
 has subsided, and the liquor has got mellow. In 
 the mean time, they are worth a gross, either of 
 languid, irreproachable endurers of existence, or of 
 fast men with low tastes, for they are a pair of 
 gentlemanly scamps. Gates has a florid face, half 
 hidden in shirt collar, in which he affects to imi- 
 tate his deceased parent, who was a noted sporting 
 character, and broke his neck in riding over a 
 dining-table after dinner for a wager, leaving to 
 Gates, junior, a sorely diminished patrimony and 
 a sporting reputation — two things scarcely suscep-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 141 
 
 tible of simultaneous improvement. Bruce is hand- 
 some and dark, with brown curly hair and brown 
 eyes, and a face expressive of good-humour and 
 intelligence. They immediately communicate the 
 adventures of the day to Tindal, who listens with 
 g^im approval ; while Suckling, brightening up, 
 hovers round the outskirts of the conversation, and 
 occasionally fills up an interval with an interjection 
 or an admiring laugh. 
 
 " There's a queer old boy coming to dine with 
 me. Major," said Bruce. " I picked him up to-day 
 as I was poking about an old tower in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the town. He had found a large frag- 
 ment of stone, with an illegible inscription on it, 
 and being a great antiquary, was staggering home* 
 under his prize, when I offered to carry it for him. 
 In return, he afforded me such a quantity of curious 
 information about the antiquities of the place, that 
 we became quite friendly on the spot." 
 
 As he spoke, Mr Titcherly was announced, and 
 a little old gentleman entered, in an antique suit 
 of black, with shoe-buckles and a brown wig. Mr 
 Titcherly was the literary lion of Doddington ; he 
 was, as Bruce said, of the Dryasdust fraternity, and 
 had devoted his long life to collecting information 
 regarding the antiquities of the town, diving into 
 ancient chronicles, deciphering the inscriptions on
 
 142 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 old tombstones, and occasionally filling up gaps 
 very ingeniously with theories of his own. In this 
 way he had compiled a complete chronicle of Dod- 
 dington, from the earliest times down to his own, 
 statistical, descriptive, biographical, and historical, 
 with plates, notes, and a voluminous appendix, for 
 which he had begun to collect materials in his 
 early youth, and had got it finished by his sixty- 
 fifth birthday, and of which five copies had been 
 sold in thirteen years. 
 
 Then came Bagot, bringing with him, according 
 to previous notice to Tindal, his friend Seager. The 
 latter leers at each officer to whom he is introduced 
 as if he had some secret understanding with him, 
 and stares at little Mr Titcherly, as if he were some 
 curious fossil ; but Tindal being a sporting man, 
 and as there exists a free-masonry among sporting 
 men, he and Seager understand one another at the 
 first glance. 
 
 The soup was brought in by the head-waiter of 
 the Bush, a man of dignified deportment and mature 
 years — a man who had waited on peers of the realm, 
 county members, judges of assize, sheriffs, and the 
 like, with perfect composure and considerable cre- 
 dit, but who had, within the last week, been fre- 
 quently informed that he was a muff, an impostor, 
 a precious slow old coach, with other vituperative
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 143 
 
 epithets, tending greatly to stagger his self-confi- 
 dence. 
 
 " We won't wait for the other fellows," said 
 Tindal, as they sat down to table. " Fane sel- 
 dom favours us with his company, and Sloperton's 
 always late. I believe he takes a couple of hours 
 to dress. Gad, sir, life's too short for that sort of 
 humbug, in my opinion.'" 
 
 " By the Lord," said Bagot, " if I was sure of 
 living to the age of what's-his-name (that old beg- 
 gar, you know), I wouldn't spend a minute more 
 in that way than I do at present, and that's not 
 much. And yet I know some old swells (fellows a 
 precious deal older than me) who get regularly made 
 up by their servants two or three times a-day, and 
 actually think they put their clocks back that way." 
 
 " Take some sherry, Lee," said Tindal ; " you'll 
 find it deuced bad, Tm afraid." 
 
 "Infernal stuff! " said Wylde Gates. 
 
 "They say," said Bruce, "that good wine needs 
 no bush, but the Bush is terribly in need of good 
 wine. Shall we try a glass together, Mr Seager ? '' 
 
 Here an odour of various compounded perfumes 
 heralded the approach of Sloperton, who bowed to 
 the strangers as he took a chair. Captain Sloperton 
 possessed a face and figure that no young female of 
 the middle or lower ranks could look upon without
 
 144 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 presently loving him to distraction. The first time 
 the barmaid of the hotel set eyes on him, she put 
 soy instead of sherry into the soda-water compound 
 she was mixing, and handed it to a thirsty bagman, 
 who, in consequence of drinking it, was very angry 
 at the time, and very sick afterwards. Avenues of 
 ringlets shot out of the doors and windows whenever 
 the captain passed down the street, so that he might 
 almost have fancied himself surrounded by the tend- 
 rils of a vineyard. From the number of compli- 
 mentary epistles in verse and prose he received, one 
 might have supposed that all the valentines written 
 that year in Doddington, after lying in the dead- 
 letter office since the 14th of February, had now 
 been forwarded to him in a body. Some of these 
 he exhibited at mess, and thereby excited consid- 
 erable envy in the bosom of Cornet Suckling, who 
 would have given his ears for a correspondence of 
 the kind one-tenth as flattering and voluminous. 
 However, the Cornet, thanks to the prestige of his 
 uniform, made more conquests than ever he had 
 done before, and flattered himself he was becoming 
 a Lothario. 
 
 " Shut the door, waiter,"" said Wylde Gates, as the 
 Captain entered, " or we shall have a rush of love- 
 stricken females after him. How did you give 'em 
 the slip, Sloperton ? "
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 145 
 
 " 'Tis a wonder they didn't run into him," whis- 
 pered Bruce, " for the scent's breast-high. What a 
 bore it must be, Sloper, to be so adorable." 
 
 Sloperton took quizzing very calmly, setting it 
 down in general to envy. If he had not been so 
 good-looking, it is probable he would have made a 
 much better figure in the world, for he was by no 
 means deficient in intellect. But the admiration so 
 promptly accorded him by that portion of the fair 
 sex who judge chiefly by the eye, had given a con- 
 firmed bent to his ideas, and he had sunk irrevocably 
 into a clever trifler. 
 
 " Is Fane coming to mess ? " asked Bruce of 
 Sloperton. 
 
 " Don't know, really," said Sloperton, pulling 
 down his wristbands ; " I'm not in his confidence." 
 
 " One of yours ? " inquired Bagot. 
 
 " Yes ; a captain of ours,'' said Gates. " A good 
 fellow. Fane, but infernally superior — deuced deal of 
 reading and information, and all that sort of thing. 
 IVe been told he reads two or three hours a-day. 
 You wouldn't guess it though, for he's a capital 
 judge of a horse." 
 
 " He's a great favourite, too, with the women, if 
 he only knew it," remarked Sloperton, speaking 
 slowly, and with a graceful lisp. " I've known some 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 146 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 of 'em quite spooney on him. If he only took the 
 trouble to follow up his advantages, and would be- 
 stow a little more pains in dressing himself, I don't 
 know anybody that I should consider a more formid- 
 able rival." 
 
 "Well, sir," said Seager, impatient at the Cap- 
 tain's conceit, and going on with a story he had 
 begun before his entrance, " the night before the 
 race. Tommy came to me. ' Mis'r Seager,' says he, 
 ' you and I have done a little business together many 
 a time, and I'd as soon do you a friendly turn as any 
 man. Well, I ought to know something about that 
 'ere boss, but I don't say nothing, only hedge ! 
 Hedge ! ' says Tommy, holding up his forefinger, 
 and giving me a warning look. 'You're a trump, 
 Tommy,' I said, ' and hedge I will, for I never knew 
 you wrong yet ;' and hedge I did. Gad, sir, 'twas 
 lucky I did so, or I should have been two thousand 
 to the bad — as it was, I netted a hundred and fifty. 
 The favourite wasn't even placed." 
 
 "Nothing like a friend at court in these cases," 
 said Tindal. 
 
 "Ah, you're right, Major," said Seager; "and I 
 flatter myself no man has more useful acquaintances 
 of that sort than I have. It's astonishing what 
 an effect a little condescension, and an occasional 
 tip judiciously administered, has among fellows of
 
 147 
 
 that sort, when it comes from somebody who knows 
 the tricks of the trade. A greenhorn, now, might 
 give twenty pounds to an understrapper in a stable 
 for a bit of information, and the fellow would pocket 
 it, and put his tongue in his cheek and laugh at him 
 for a confounded fool — while a knowing one, by 
 bestowing five, might get a hint worth a thousand." 
 
 " YouVe been a good deal on the turf, eh ? " said 
 Wylde Gates, who venerated men who had been a 
 good deal on the turf. Seager grinned, and said he 
 should rather think he had. 
 
 "Do you know Dakins?'' asked Gates. Seager 
 said he knew him well. 
 
 "Ah," said Gates, "he's a great friend of mine. 
 Good fellow, Dakins." 
 
 " Splendid fellow," said Cornet Suckling, plunging 
 head over heels into the conversation, and eager to 
 boast his intimacy with the redoubted Dakins. " Do 
 you remember a bay colt of his by Cocktail ? " 
 
 " Bay, with white fore-legs ? " said Seager. " Yes ; 
 I remember him." 
 
 " I bought him," said Suckling, with ill-suppressed 
 exultation. " Deuced fine horse — dam by Grville." 
 
 "Dam by Grville," repeated Mr Seager. "Ah, 
 indeed ; I shouldn't have thought he was ever worth 
 a dam." 
 
 Mr Suckling feebly attempted to join in the laugh
 
 148 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 that followed Mr Seager's sally, and muttering " Fine 
 horse now — greatly improved since he was a colt," 
 retired precipitately from the dialogue. When he 
 reappeared, it was in a desperate attempt to retrieve 
 his position in the eyes of Seager, by calling th'e 
 unfortunate head-waiter a " lubber,'"* as that hapless 
 functionary placed a decanter before him. Then, in 
 a reassured tone, he called out " Seager, a glass of 
 wine." 
 
 " Horrid beastliness ! " said Suckling, setting down 
 his glass after drinking it, and imagining he was 
 quite safe in abusing the wine as everybody else 
 had already condemned it. 
 
 " I m sorry you don't like it, young gentleman," 
 said Bagot, majestically. " It has been liked by 
 good judges. Tis some I brought over from the 
 Heronry, Tindal — hope you'll excuse the liberty, 
 old fellow ; but I knew the kind of article that was 
 to be got here." 
 
 Snub the second for Mr Suckling, whose forehead 
 broke out into copious perspiration, while he felt a 
 horrid sensation all over his body, as if his flannel 
 waistcoat and drawers had been suddenly converted 
 into sandpaper. Wylde Gates added to his dis- 
 comfiture by telling him he didn't believe he knew 
 cider from Johannisberg. 
 
 " Superb sherry," said Sloperton, sipping it ; "and
 
 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 149 
 
 rather different from the medicinal compound we've 
 been in the habit of imbibing here. Waiter ! " 
 
 " Sir," said the waiter, darting to the rear of the 
 speaker. 
 
 "Tell the landlord,'' said Sloperton, "with my 
 compliments, that his sherry ought to be labelled 
 ' Cholera, two years in bottle.' " 
 
 The waiter attempted to smile ; but, seeing the 
 perfect gravity of Captain Sloperton s face, he coughed 
 and said, "Very good, sir." He was frequently 
 charged with messages of this description, but was 
 in the habit of suppressing them. 
 
 " I hope, Tindal," said Bagot, leaning back in his 
 chair in the intervals of dinner, with his hands stuck 
 
 m 
 
 in the pockets of his somewhat gorgeous waistcoat-— 
 "I hope that this infusion of young blood which 
 you've brought to Doddington will put a little life 
 in the old town and neighbourhood." 
 
 " 'Twouldn't come before 'twas wanted," responded 
 Tindal ; " for really, Lee, really, now, 'pon my life, 
 I was prepared for something confoundedly slow, 
 but this is too bad — too bad." And the Major frowned 
 and shook his head, as if slowness in a town was a 
 high crime and misdemeanour, and, moreover, a per- 
 sonal injury. 
 
 " 'Twasn't always so,'' said Bagot. " I remember 
 it a cheerful place enough, twenty or thirty years
 
 150 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 ago. Many a jolly dinner have I eaten in this very 
 room, at elections or assizes, or when the militia was 
 out. But I don't know how it is, all the people 
 who had any life in 'em seem to have died off or 
 left the place. I hardly ever come down now— can't 
 stand it, by Jove." 
 
 " How is it," remarked Bruce, " that wherever one 
 goes — at least I find it so — the inhabitants always 
 talk as if life and spirit had passed away from their 
 native places ? I could almost fancy a troop of aged 
 ghosts, in pigtails, pantaloons, and hessians, mourn- 
 ing over the decline of any place I happen to be 
 quartered in." 
 
 " Doddington's not what it was when I was a 
 boy," said Mr Titcherly, waking up, and joining for 
 the first time in the conversation on the introduction 
 of this congenial theme. " And, when I was a boy, 
 old people used to say the same thing ; and when 
 those old people were boys, other old people, doubt- 
 less, said so too. Perhaps the present generation will 
 tell their grandchildren, forty years hence, that the 
 old town has degenerated sadly since they were young." 
 
 " It almost reconciles me to the shortness of exist- 
 ence," said Sloperton, putting his shoulders into his 
 ears, "to know that we probably shan't be here to 
 participate in the regrets of the said grandchildren 
 for the lost excitements of their dissipated ancestors."
 
 151 
 
 " Doddington," said Mr Titcherly, hastily bolting 
 a half-masticated morsel, in his eagerness to enlarge 
 on his favourite theme — "Doddington was once a 
 place of consequence. It had a cathedral and many 
 churches — it had a convent of Grey Friars — it had 
 a priory. It had a charter granted by King John. 
 There are parish registers here extending back to 
 Elizabeth's time. I've read 'em all through many 
 times, and they are worth their weight in gold." 
 
 "What a precious old maggot !" whispered Gates 
 to Bruce. "What decayed nut did you pick him 
 out of?" 
 
 But Bruce rather enjoyed the old gentleman's 
 reminiscences. The roystering propensities which 
 caused him to fraternise with Gates lay only on the 
 surface of his nature, while far stronger and more 
 characteristic sympathies slumbered, almost unknown 
 to their possessor, underneath. So he encouraged 
 Mr Titcherly to resume the subject. 
 
 " I remember the convent I mentioned well," he 
 went on (warming to his work, as Gates said). " It 
 was in excellent preservation when a parcel of mo- 
 dernising meddlers pulled it down, to make way for 
 a new assize-hall — a place, gentlemen, that no hu- 
 man being, except a lawyer, could take an interest in. 
 While they were digging the foundation, I picked up 
 a jawbone, which, I believe, undoubtedly belonged to
 
 162 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Friar Treverton, who flourished in Doddington about 
 four hundred years ago, for the spot where I found it 
 tallies precisely with the place of his burial, men- 
 tioned in an old manuscript in my possession." 
 
 Once started on this subject, it was not easy to 
 stop Mr Titcherly, and he proceeded to enlarge on 
 the antiquities of Doddington, quite unconscious that 
 he and his topics were alike uninteresting to most of 
 his hearers. The very last audience an antiquary 
 should select is one composed of fast men, who have 
 enough to do to look closely into the present, extract- 
 ing therefrom all the amusement and excitement it 
 will afford them, and mourning over that portion of 
 it which they are debarred from enjoying, without 
 troubling themselves about the past. Fast men, too, 
 are extending their ranks — the term must be widen- 
 ed, so as to include all the most successful and 
 notorious characters of our time. We have fast spe- 
 culators, fast statesmen, fast clergymen, who have 
 left the slow Church of England far behind — even 
 history is written nowadays by fast historians, only 
 to show us how incomparably superior the fast pre- 
 sent time is to the past, and their works are lauded 
 by fast readers and fast reviewers accordingly. And 
 he who does venture to look back with regret or 
 respect is an obstructive, a dreamer, a fit object for 
 scorn to point its slow and moving finger at. How,
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 153 
 
 then, could humble Mr Titcherly, who could find in- 
 terest even in the mortal remains of a long-defunct 
 Friar Treverton, hope for attention ? 
 
 The truth is, I'm afraid, that the fast men of the 
 time don't take much interest in anything — whether 
 it is that the objects which engross them are not such 
 as to call for much enthusiasm, whether they think 
 the expression of it vulgar, or whether they haven't 
 got any to express, I leave to the observant reader to 
 determine. 
 
 " Without going quite so far back as all that," said 
 Bagot, "you, Mr Titcherly, must remember when 
 Doddington was more alive than it now is — when 
 the society was better. You remember Squire Old- 
 port, and General Chifney, and Parson Hardbottle, 
 and old Jack Petrock, the little king of Doddington, 
 who carried the corporation in his pocket, and a 
 dozen other jolly fellows who would have been hand- 
 and-glove with their military visitors in two days." 
 
 " To be sure,'' returned the old gentleman, chuck- 
 ling and rubbing his hands. " They were my 
 contemporaries; I was at school with 'em all, and 
 now they are all gone — some dead, some living 
 elsewhere. No wonder the place seems duller to 
 me." 
 
 " I confess. Colonel Lee," said Sloperton, " I don't 
 so much resfret the absence of the excellent old
 
 154 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 persons you mention, as of their female descendants. 
 I haven't made acquaintance with a single young 
 lady above the rank of a postmaster's daughter. 
 By the by, may I ask, Colonel, who those ladies 
 were that we saw with you a day or two since ? '' 
 (Sloperton knew perfectly well, having made most 
 minute inquiries on the subject from the waiter.) 
 
 " My niece-in-law, Lady Lee," answered Bagot, 
 " and two friends of hers. Fine women, sir. She's 
 the widow of my poor nephew, Sir Joseph Lee." 
 
 "Baronetcy of 1600," murmured Mr Titcherly; 
 " one of James's creation — see appendix." 
 
 " A charming trio, indeed," said the Captain. 
 " Not many of the sort down here, I'm afraid." 
 
 " Well, there's one comfort in a quarter of this 
 sort," observed Seager to Sloperton, who sat next 
 him — " you can wear out all your old clothes, 
 and so get a pull upon your tailor. 'Twould be 
 throwing pearls before swine to bring the new cuts 
 down here." 
 
 "Yes, that's one advantage," answered the Cap- 
 tain ; " and another is, the chance of picking up 
 some country beauty with a lot of money — some- 
 thing unsophisticated, you know, for one gets sick 
 of your knowing women ; one sees so plainly what 
 they're at, you know — that is, any one who under- 
 stands them. A sharp woman, with her clever de-
 
 155 
 
 signs upon one's heart, always reminds me of the 
 what-d'ye-call-em bird — the flamingo, I think — that 
 puts its head in the sand, and thinks the hunters 
 can't see him. Now, one would like to have an 
 affair with something simple and innocent, if it 
 were only for a change ; and if there was money 
 enough with it, why, one might be induced to — a — a 
 — sacrifice one's-self on the altar of Hymen." 
 
 " What an infernal puppy ! '' thought Mr Seager. 
 " Lucky fellow that gets Lee's niece,'' said he aside 
 to the Captain. "Lots of money, lots of beauty, 
 and lots of good-breeding — no mistake about that. 
 Lee knows what she's worth, and looks precious 
 sharp after her, I can tell you." 
 
 "More fool he, I should think," said Sloperton. 
 " What business has he to look after her ? " 
 
 Seager winked, and gave him a poke with his 
 elbow. " I'll tell you all about it by and by," he 
 said ; " wait till we get an opportunity.'' 
 
 This did not offer itself till after they had left 
 the table. But first a variety of topics were dis- 
 cussed, of the same nature as those decided in the 
 answers to correspondents of sporting newspapers. 
 Then there were some arguments conducted after 
 the true mess fashion — that is to say, remarkable 
 rather for confident assertion, tenacity of opinion, 
 and bold denial, than for learning, logic, or deli-
 
 166 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 beration ; and in the course of which it was defin- 
 itively settled by the majority, that the Prussians 
 got deuced well thrashed at the battle of Blenheim ; 
 that Sheridan was saved from going to prison by 
 selling his poem of the Ra'tnbler to his landlady 
 for fifty pounds ; that Sitwell of the Rifles won the 
 Grand Military in an orange cap, and not in a white 
 one ; and that brandy-and-water, as hot as you could 
 drink it, was a capital thing for gout in your stom- 
 ach. This last curious medical fact was decided 
 in the bar, where they stopt for a few moments on 
 their way to the lodgings of Mr Wylde Gates (Mr 
 Titcherly having taken his leave), to exchange a 
 few compliments with the young lady who presided 
 there, and to charge the waiter to follow them forth- 
 with with a supply of wine, brandy, soda-water, 
 and cigars. 
 
 Wylde Gates and Bruce jointly occupied apart- 
 ments in the house of a Dissenting grocer, somewhat 
 disposed to asceticism in his religious views, and who 
 was sorely troubled how to reconcile the harbouring 
 of these reprobates beneath his roof, with his alle- 
 giance to the tabernacle he frequented, and of which 
 he was an important pillar. He partially satisfied 
 his conscience for his toleration of them, by assuring 
 his wife in private that the young men were workers 
 of iniquity, and, to his certain knowledge, would
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 157 
 
 eventually be broken to pieces like a potter's vessel ; 
 while the wife, who, from a natural softness of dis- 
 position, did not take the same religious pleasure in 
 contemplating the perdition of her fellow-creatures, 
 attempted to excuse them by saying they were 
 "great sperits/' On the first day of their taking 
 possession, the good woman had greatly diverted 
 the youngsters by coming up, about three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and asking them at what hour 
 they would like their tea. " Gad, Bruce," said Mr 
 Gates, " fancy us fellows drinking tea, like a couple 
 of old washerwomen — good idea, isn't it ? " Gn the 
 present occasion the grocer had caused his wife to 
 sit up for their lodgers, and she, opening the door 
 at their knock, was horrified at seeing the two " great 
 sperits'' attended by seven other sperits, evidently 
 not come there for the purpose of sleeping, and 
 making such a noise in their passage up-stairs that 
 they woke the grocer, who, before he went to sleep 
 again, consoled himself by a pious vision, wherein he 
 saw the whole party undergoing the fate of Dives. 
 
 The sitting-room the youths occupied had a snug 
 respectable air about it, rather at variance with the 
 character and pursuits of the occupants. The chairs 
 and sofas were of a hardness and neatness rather cal- 
 culated to mortify the flesh than to invite repose. 
 A print of the Rev. John Styles over the mantel-
 
 158 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 piece, with no shirt-collar, a guileless face, and a 
 collarless coat, appeared somewhat out of place be- 
 tween two favourite works of art belonging to Mr 
 Gates—" The Pet of the Ballet," and " Taking a 
 Kasper ; " and it really seemed marvellous how the 
 reverend gentleman could preserve such a bland 
 saintliness of aspect, with an opera-dancer of mere- 
 tricious appearance, pointing her toe indelicately 
 at him on one side, and a reprobate in a red coat 
 riding furiously towards him on the other. 
 
 Immediately on the arrival of the waiter with a 
 supply of liquor and a punch-bowl, Mr Gates pro- 
 ceeded to compound scientifically that seductive 
 liquor called claret-cup, after a valuable and unique 
 receipt bequeathed to him by his departed father ; 
 while Bruce, stripping the covers from half-a-dozen 
 packs of cards, arranged a table for whist. 
 
 " What's this ? " inquired Sloperton, taking up a 
 pamphlet in a brown paper wrapper from a table, 
 between his finger and thumb. " It smells con- 
 foundedly of bacon." 
 
 " That's a tract," said Mr Oates, with intense 
 disgust, "left here by our precious prig of a land- 
 lord." 
 
 " He leaves 'em regularly twice a-week," said 
 Bruce, " and they certainly do smell of the shop 
 in a double sense. The last one was called
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 159 
 
 A Finger-Fost to Heaveriy and this is The Saintly 
 Stoker. I didn't wish to be rude to him, as he 
 probably means it for civility, so I told him I was 
 afraid I must defer the perusal of them for the 
 present, being engaged in reading the Vicar of 
 Wakefield, which book I mentioned on account of 
 its decorous title not being iikely to shock his pre- 
 judices ; but he turned up his eyes and told me 
 ' he feared that vicars were little better than whited 
 sepulchres/" 
 
 " Infernal canting humbug ! " said Bagot. "He took 
 <^20 for his vote last election, to my knowledge. 
 Where do you hang out. Captain Sloperton ? "' 
 
 " Why,'' answered Sloperton, " IVe had consider- 
 able bother about my lodgings. I was obliged to 
 leave a house on the second day, after paying a 
 week in advance, because the family were addicted 
 to onions ; and I was expelled from a second lodg- 
 ing, otherwise comfortable enough, by a crying 
 baby. I give you my word, sir, 'twas a perfect 
 cherub, and continually did cry. Imagine my feel- 
 ings, on getting settled a little in a third place, at 
 detecting the servant-maid — a maid whose face and 
 hands actually shone with grease, and who, in fact, 
 had a person altogether perfectly glutinous — fancy 
 my feelings at detecting her in the very act of 
 using my hairbrushes. She did, by Jove, sir ! "
 
 160 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Here Sloperton took Seager aside under pretence 
 of getting advice about some turf business, but in 
 reality to renew the subject of Bagot's connection 
 with Lady Lee ; and Seager managed so well for 
 Bagot's interest, that he left Sloperton impressed 
 with a due sense of the importance of the Colonel's 
 countenance and friendship, to any one who should 
 entertain matrimonial designs upon her ladyship, 
 as an indispensable preliminary to success. 
 
 " Would it be easy to get an introduction there ?" 
 asked the Captain, stroking his mustache. 
 
 " Ask Lee, there ; he's the keeper of the seraglio. 
 Here, Lee," called out Seager, " here's an applicant 
 for a ticket of admission to the Heronry.'' 
 
 " Oh, demmit," quoth the Captain, " don't put 
 it in that way. But really. Colonel, I should take it 
 as a great favour if you would authorise me to call." 
 
 " To be sure ! " cried the Colonel ; " come over 
 to lunch on Wednesday — come all of you — and I'll 
 get up an expedition into the country somewhere. 
 Nothing like a riding -party for making people 
 acquainted with each other."' 
 
 Tindal was delighted with the prospect of the 
 visit, and took Bagot aside. 
 
 " That Miss Payne, now, that I saw with you, 
 Lee," said he — " do you know much about her 
 family and prospects, and so forth?"
 
 IGl 
 
 " Nothing at all," said Bagot ; " but I can easily 
 find out, if 'twould oblige you." 
 
 " Oh ! don't trouble yourself," returned the Major, 
 affecting indifference ; " I merely asked from curi- 
 osity. Splendid woman!" he went on; "I don't 
 know when I've been so struck with the appear- 
 ance and manner of any one/' 
 
 " Take care ! " said Bagot. " I always observe 'tis 
 a serious thing when a man past his verdant days 
 takes a fancy to a girl. He always thinks himself 
 so infernally knowing, that he won't take advice, 
 whereas a young one sometimes will. You should 
 have seen her take her first lesson in riding yester- 
 day, Tindal. Gad, sir, you'd have been enchanted 1 '' 
 
 " Yes ! " said Tindal, eagerly — " Yes ! How did , 
 she get on ? " 
 
 " Never saw such pluck in my life — ne-Yer saw 
 any girl so thoroughly game. By Jove, Tindal, I m 
 half in love with her myself ! " And Bagot related 
 with great zest, and much to the admiration of the 
 deeply interested Major, the events which attended 
 the commencement of Orelia's first lesson. 
 
 The claret-cup, pleasant and insidious as that of 
 Circe, was partaken of with much devotion by all, 
 except Bagot and Tindal, who, being older stagers, 
 and knowing that present nocturnal pleasure would 
 
 vol* I, L
 
 162 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 be purchased at an exorbitant amount of morning 
 headache in imbibing that bewitching liquor, stuck 
 to their brandy-and-water. It was when the whist 
 came to a conclusion, and the effects of the exhi- 
 laratinof bowl became evident in increased rashness 
 in betting, desire for chicken-hazard on the part of 
 Gates, coupled with impatience at the non-appear- 
 ance of supper, that Mr Seager took occasion to 
 enlarge on the merits of a little English mare he 
 had lately purchased — a perfect marvel of a trot- 
 ting mare, considering, as he said, that she was 
 English. " I don't know what she can do,^' said 
 Seager, " for I forget to time her ; but I fancy 
 she took me something like seventeen miles within 
 the hour." 
 
 " Take care, my boy ! "' said Bagot. " Are you 
 sure of that ? I don't know any English mare that 
 can trot seventeen miles an hour." 
 
 " Bet you an even fifty she won't do it again," 
 said Wylde Gates. 
 
 " Well, it's my opinion she can,'' said Seager, 
 " and I don't mind backing my opinion." 
 
 " I wouldn't bet about time," said Sloperton, who 
 was somewhat flustered from drinking ; " but I have 
 a horse that I rather fancy can gallop a bit, and I 
 don't mind making a match with you." 
 
 " No,'' said Seager, " she can't gallop, she's a trot-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 163 
 
 ing mare. But I'll back her to trot half a mile 
 while your horse gallops three quarters, if you'll 
 give me fifty yards." 
 
 This proposition was discussed in a variety of 
 forms and modifications. Seager was secure of his 
 mare's powers ; and Sloperton, besides being some- 
 what excited by his share of the claret-cup, was 
 anxious to produce a favourable impression on Bagot, 
 by making what he fancied a judicious sporting 
 bet. Next to his reputation as a man of fashion, 
 Sloperton piqued himself on his judgment in bet- 
 ting, and luckily he was rich enough to indulge 
 this propensity without so much imprudence as sport- 
 ing men occasionally exhibit. So Wylde Gates, 
 having risked his fifty against Seager's, and the. 
 latter being drawn, with what looked like rashness 
 (though that was the last infirmity which Seager 
 could ever be accused of), to offer to back his mare 
 for a thousand, to do one mile more — i. e., eighteen 
 in the hour — Sloperton took him up ; and after some 
 discussion the wager stood in a double form, as 
 entered in Mr Oates's betting-book, thus : — 
 
 " Slop, bets Seag. o^500 the horse Bouquet gal- 
 lops three-quarters of a mile before the mare Gos- 
 hawk trots half-a-mile, less twenty-five yards — to 
 come off within two months." 
 
 "Ditto bets ditto c^'lOOO, said mare. Goshawk,
 
 164 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 does not trot eighteen miles within the hour — also 
 within two months." 
 
 Bagot, too, made an entry to the same effect — though 
 that was needless, for circumstances afterwards caused 
 the bet to impress itself strongly on Bagot 's memory. 
 
 After a little more betting, the waiter from the 
 hotel was heard knocking at the door, and demand- 
 ing to know when they would like supper ? and 
 Wylde Oates, putting out his head, delivered an 
 order for a variety of stimulative delicacies forthwith, 
 winding up with " a devil, and lots of broiled bones.'' 
 
 " Broiled bones ! " ejaculated the grocer, beneath 
 the bed-clothes — "ah, little do the poor lost creatures 
 think whose bones are predestined to be broiled; and 
 a devil too — why, it's quite prophetic ! " and the 
 grocer smiled as he turned drowsily on his pillow. 
 
 It was near morning when the dog-cart was brought 
 out, and Seager and Bagot mounted into it, the for- 
 mer taking the reins, for the Colonel was hardly fit 
 to drive, especially as there were some sharp turns in 
 the road. Then, bidding their military friends good- 
 night, they rattled off, the silent street echoing hol- 
 lowly as they sped along. 
 
 "Not a bad night's business," said Seager; "I look 
 on the fifteen hundred and fifty as safe — the mare 
 can do it easy. In a day or two, you and I will go 
 down quietly and have a look at her."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The ladies had, as Bagot knew, projected an expe- 
 dition on horseback into the country. Telling them 
 of the invitation he had given to his military friends, 
 of their wish to be introduced at the Heronry, and 
 reminding the ladies of the obligation they were un- 
 der to Tindal in the matter of the riding lessons, he 
 found no difficulty in getting them to admit the dra- 
 goons to join the riding-party. Rosa's eyes sparkled 
 at the idea — Orelia gave her imperial sanction — la 
 reine le veut — and Lady Lee, though rather indis- 
 posed to the forming of new acquaintances, was un- 
 willing to disoblige Bagot. The latter, moreover, in 
 order, as he said, that every Jack might have his Jill, 
 had recruited a couple of young ladies from a neigh- 
 bouring country-house to join the party. 
 
 These were the two Misses Clumber, daughters of 
 Sir Christopher Clumber, Bart., and were (consider- 
 ing they were sisters) remarkably different in char-
 
 166 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 acter. Trephlna, the eldest, was afflicted with such a 
 perpetual thirst for information, that she applied for 
 it at all founts that offered, without much considering 
 what the quality of the supply might be; and, accord- 
 ingly, she had imbibed some curious facts, such as are 
 not generally imparted to a young lady. The other, 
 instead of improving her mind, which was naturally 
 so weak as not to be susceptible of much improve- 
 ment, devoted all her time to the adornment of her 
 person, which was pretty, but not so pretty as she 
 fancied it. They were to join the cavalcade as it 
 passed their lodge-gates. 
 
 The Wednesday on which the riding-party took 
 place was one of the last days of May. 
 
 The month of May, — the words are hawthorn- 
 scented, causing the most unimaginative reader to 
 dream of green fields and fresh flowers and a warm 
 sun. Poets, since first there sprang such a race in 
 England, have conspired to deck May with sunshine 
 and freshness, and garlands plundered from her 
 neighbour June ; and notwithstanding the too often 
 sad realities of east wind and rain — notwithstanding 
 the numbers of betrayed and unfortunate persons 
 who, having, in the trustfulness of their poetic tem- 
 peraments, been seduced into going a-Maying, return 
 with damp dresses and shivering frames, and colds in 
 their heads — still the people, steadfast in their illu-
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 167 
 
 sion, blindly believe in the delights ascribed to their 
 favourite month, and, spite of wind and weather, in- 
 vest her idea with the sweets of Paradise, — she is the 
 pleasant, the merry month of May. 
 
 The fact is, the month — naturally an asthmatic, 
 chilly month — has been padded into shape. Every 
 succeeding writer who has occasion to mention her 
 name adds his mite of a flower or a gentle breeze, 
 and thus, insolvent as she is in pleasantness and sun- 
 shine, her credit is sustained by a paper-currency. 
 
 The May morning that shone on the riding-party 
 was, however, one of the old poetical kind, quite re- 
 storing one's confidence in Chaucer — warm, sunny, 
 fresh, musical. The few white clouds that floated 
 across the blue depths were soft and vapoury, melting 
 at their edges into thin grey tissues. There was breeze 
 enough to dissipate and convey abroad the heavy 
 perfumes of the furze on the common and the honey- 
 suckles in the lane, but not enough to scatter the 
 unseen multitudes that filled the air with their hum- 
 ming. Voices from low-lying distant fields came 
 with plain intonation on the ear ; so did the cawing 
 of the rooks around the elms in the village across the 
 river, and the rumble of the waggon traversing the 
 bridge. 
 
 Rosa, looking forth from the window of the break- 
 fast-room, fresh as one of the roses that bloomed be-
 
 168 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 side and around her, saw the cavaliers approaching, 
 their sleek horses glistening in the sun. 
 
 Tindal and Sloperton rode first — the former with 
 a slight scnijpgon of the jockey in his costume ; the 
 latter, after deliberating so long over his multifarious 
 wardrobe that the others were on the point of start- 
 ing without him, had decided upon a very quiet 
 though exquisitely-cut suit — grey trousers and waist- 
 coat, black riding-coat and neckcloth, simply relieved 
 by white gloves — for the Captain was fond of affect- 
 ing a great sedateness both of dress and aspect ; — 
 and having thus, unassisted by foreign or adventitious 
 aid, made the desired impression, would subsequently 
 come forth in full radiance, and carry all before him. 
 As he approached the house, he straightened himself 
 in his saddle, drew his knees a little back (for he was 
 a bad rider, and they would slip forward out of 
 place), lowered his heels to riding-school trim, and, 
 taking in the whole front of the mansion in one rapid 
 furtive glance, feigned to be unconscious that any- 
 body was looking at him. His position in the saddle, 
 he flattered himself, was admirable ; and on reaching 
 the gravel sweep before the entrance, he rode a little 
 in front of his companion, in order that nothing 
 might obstruct the view of his symmetrical propor- 
 tions, but was sorely disturbed in mind and seat when 
 Bruce and Gates came dashing alongside at a gallop,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 169 
 
 and caused his horse Bouquet to curvet unpleasantly, 
 thereby affording great delight to Mr Gates, who 
 whispered to Bruce that " Nobby was deuced near 
 split/' 
 
 Bagot was in the hall teaching Orelia to play bil- 
 liards, and, hearing their approach, he came out to 
 the door with a cue in his hand. 
 
 " Glorious day, boys ! " said he ; " dismount and 
 come in.'' 
 
 " Deuced nice house," thought Sloperton, looking 
 round the lofty hall, which reached as high as to 
 the second storey, with a balcony round the upper 
 part, and was, so spacious that the billiard-table 
 looked quite small in the midst of the tesselated 
 pavement. Near the table stood the majestic Grelia, 
 holding her cue something after the fashion of a 
 sceptre. 
 
 " I needn't introduce Major Tindal," Bagot said to 
 her, as the Major advanced, so much abashed by 
 Grelia's queenliness that his habitual formality stif- 
 fened into an almost awkward shyness as he greeted 
 her; while the self-complacent assurance of Sloperton, 
 and the too-easy confidence of Mr Wylde Gates, re- 
 bounded from it ineffectually. " Now then, boys, 
 what d'ye say? — beer, after your ride? — capital home- 
 brewed — glass of sherry ? — no ! then come along to 
 the drawing-room."
 
 170 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 *' I don't think I mentioned to you that I've the 
 honour to be connected with Lady Lee," said Sloper- 
 ton to Bagot, as they walked up the broad staircase — 
 " a sort of cousinship." 
 
 In fact, Sloperton's father was her mother's first 
 cousin ; but the Sloperton family had been so much 
 scandalised at her mother's marrying a country clergy- 
 man, that they considered it due to their own dignity, 
 and to the demerits of the offender, to drop all inter- 
 course with her forthwith. Sloperton had reserved 
 the fact of the relationship, in order that he might 
 judge whether the style of her ladyship's house and 
 society would render such a disclosure advisable or 
 not ; and we may safely aver that, had these matters 
 not proved to his taste, he would have kept the " sort 
 of cousinship " a profound secret. 
 
 *' God bless me ! " said Bagot, " you don't say so. 
 I didn't know I was bringing you a relation, Hester," 
 he continued, as they entered the drawing-room. 
 " Your cousin, Captain Sloperton." 
 
 Lady Lee looked rather surprised. Probably, if 
 she had met the Captain anywhere but in her own 
 house, she would not have acknowledged him, for 
 she happened to know how affairs had stood between 
 her mother and the Sloperton family. But as he 
 appeared as her guest, she took the hand which the 
 Captain proffered for a cousinly shake with sufficient
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 171 
 
 civility, though without any warmth. " Ah/' thought 
 the Captain, " I see — proud, and a little indignant ; 
 well bide our time." And, merely expressing his 
 sense of good fortune at having made the acquain- 
 tance of such a relative, the Captain, with his most 
 bewitching bow, relinquished the hand he held, and 
 stood aside to let his friends make their obeisances. 
 
 Perhaps the calm indifference which marked her 
 ladyship's reception of them was as little calculated 
 to encourage the strangers as the stateliness of Orelia. 
 But Rosa's manner was enough of itself to set all 
 at their ease ; she never thought about herself or 
 her own dignity, but received each in a smiling 
 friendly fashion that disarmed all criticism, and 
 caused Mr Gates to eulogise her to Bruce, in a 
 whisper, as "a jolly little girl." Bruce and Rosa 
 were friends at the first glance ; they were both of 
 them so open, genial, and unembarrassed, that the 
 slight circumstance of their never having met before 
 in their lives, was altogether lost sight of within 
 a quarter of an hour after the introduction. 
 
 " Now, then," quoth Bagot, bustling about, " we'll 
 decide where to go, and then to horse forthwith. 
 You must know, gentlemen, that the ladies, before 
 they were aware they were to have the pleasure 
 of your company, had each proposed a different point 
 to ride to ; and how they'd have settled it without
 
 172 
 
 us I don't know. I'll just read to you, from these 
 slips of paper, what each had to say in favour of 
 her own choice, and then we'll put the matter to 
 the vote ; " and uplifting his double gold eye-glass, 
 he took one of the three slips from the table, and 
 stooping over it, and moving his head, like an anti- 
 quary spelling out an old tombstone, as he followed 
 each line, read the contents slowly. 
 
 " First we have The Skyrock, one of the moun- 
 tain ranges you see from the northern windows/' 
 (Here Bagot motioned with the double eye-glass in 
 a northerly direction, and then resumed his read- 
 ing.) " It towers above the others, and from its top 
 you look on three counties and on the sea. There 
 are no trees except some stunted pines and a moun- 
 tain ash or two ; it holds a small lake in the hollow 
 of its hand, as it were, in whose grey steely surface 
 are inverted the dark beetling crags, and the sky, 
 and the clouds. There are no small insignificant 
 beauties to fritter away the attention ; all is grand 
 and savage desolation/' 
 
 It needed not Bagot s friendly wink to inform 
 Tindal that this was Orelia'^s choice. 
 
 " Dairy," Bagot read again, from the next paper, 
 " is the dearest little old-fashioned farm-house in the 
 world — as you will say, when you first catch sight 
 of the corner of its white wall and thatched roof
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 173 
 
 among the apple-blossoms. There are wide low 
 meadows all around with plenty of flowers and cows, 
 giving promise of such nice cream — and they keep 
 their promise, I can tell you — and the river runs 
 at the margin of them, with islands of yellow gravel 
 parting its clear brown streams, and willows fringing 
 the opposite bank. All round are woods, ancient 
 enough and majestic enough to please even some 
 of our grand and lofty-minded acquaintances." (" Per- 
 sonal, by Jove,'' interpolated Bagot, and Orelia shook 
 her riding-whip at Rosa, who tried to look demurely 
 unconscious, while Bruce smiled at her intelligently.) 
 " And it is undoubtedly a pleasanter and more 
 cheerful scene, to anybody of proper taste and feel- 
 ing, than those horrid solemn crags.'' 
 
 " No ex 'parte statements of that sort ought to be 
 allowed," said Orelia. 
 
 " Certainly not," said Tindal. 
 
 "Nor such low appeals to vulgar tastes, as pro- 
 mises of cream," said Orelia. 
 
 " I've a particularly vulgar taste, and like cream 
 excessively," said Bruce. 
 
 " The White Fall " (so ran the third paper) "is a 
 cascade shooting out of the rift of a mossy rock, 
 whose faces are all wet with its spray. It is caught 
 in a basin bordered thickly with ferns, from which 
 it drops successively into other basins, till it flows
 
 174 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 away out of sight. Ascending by slippery steps cut 
 in the rock, you come suddenly on a ruined abbey 
 standing in front of dark massive woods. The scene 
 unites the sentiments of the grand and antique, with 
 those of the picturesque and familiar." 
 
 " There/' said Bagot, dropping his glass ; " most 
 votes carry it.'' Having collected them, he de- 
 clared the state of the poll to be in favour of the 
 last proposition, which had emanated from Lady 
 Lee ; and for the White Fall they started forth- 
 with. 
 
 Bagot marshalled the cavalcade. Lady Lee, dis- 
 posed to be agreeable to her companion, Captain 
 Sloperton, glanced at him, to try and guess what 
 style of conversation was likely to suit him. " Dear 
 me, what a handsome man ! " she thought, at the 
 first glance ; then, after a second, " what a pity the 
 expression was forgotten when that face was de- 
 signed." Sloperton, aware he was being scrutinised, 
 looked over his horse's head with a face preter- 
 naturally composed, as if he were sitting for his 
 portrait, saying nothing; not because he wanted 
 conversation, but for fear of breaking the charm. 
 " Let her look," said Sloperton to himself ; " it's only 
 your confounded ugly fellows that are forced to go 
 off at score with the conversation." So he sat per- 
 fectly still, except that he turned his profile a trifle
 
 175 
 
 to the left, so as to bring the outline of his nose 
 into more favourable view. 
 
 Presently Lady Lee broke into a smile. " Has 
 it no voice, I wonder," thought she, " this military 
 statue of Apollo ? " And she waited a little longer 
 to see what time might bring forth ; but it brought 
 forth nothing, except the removal of a speck of dust 
 from the Captain's shirt-front with the point of his 
 little finger. 
 
 " An amusing piece of sculpture ! '' thought her 
 ladyship ; — " he must have escaped from some wax- 
 work establishment/' — " Captain Sloperton," she said, 
 " I'm sure you must be fond of angling." 
 
 The Captain turned towards her a face illumined 
 with a smile ineffably sweet, which he suffered to 
 steal gradually over the composure of his aspect. 
 He had known that smile do him yeoman's service 
 ere now, going right through the eyes of a hitherto 
 obdurate lady, till it quivered in her very heart. 
 
 " Angling ! Why so ? " asked the Captain, in his 
 sweetest, softest tone, studying her face in return 
 through his large melancholy black eyes. 
 
 " Because Izaak Walton calls it ' the contemplative 
 man's recreation,' and you appear to be a contem- 
 plative man," said Lady Lee. " Do you generally 
 pursue your meditations in company or alone ? " 
 
 " You allude to my silence," said the Captain, with
 
 176 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 another smile, this time of bewitching frankness ; 
 " but the fact is, I never presume to offer any remark 
 at the commencement of an acquaintance, unless I 
 think it worthy of the hearer. I believe, in this 
 instance, I might have waited till doomsday — and, 
 in fact, I was just beginning to despair, when you 
 spoke. Confess now," said the Captain, gracefully 
 extending his right hand with the palm uppermost, 
 and inclining his head a little to one side, inter- 
 rogatively as it were, "would you not have consi- 
 dered it an insult to your understanding, if I had 
 begun by remarking, it was a fine day, as if I were 
 an almanac ?"* 
 
 " On the contrary, I should have agreed with the 
 observation very heartily,'' said Lady Lee. " Do 
 you suppose I expect to find mankind in general 
 carrying the admiration of their hearers by a coup- 
 de-main, instead of opening the trenches in form ? — 
 like Mr Burke, of whom it was said, that nobody 
 could stand with him under a door-way in a shower 
 of rain without finding him out to be an extraordi- 
 nary man." 
 
 "Burke was an extremely clever fellow,'' said the 
 Captain, "undoubtedly, but he laboured under a 
 great disadvantage. I believe, from a portrait I have 
 seen of him, that his idea of dress was perfectly ridi- 
 culous ; in fact, his dress was by no means equally
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 177 
 
 imposing with his address ; and who could listen, yon 
 know, to a sage in a disreputable coat or a cravat like 
 a poultice ? — the idea's absurd/' 
 
 Lady Lee laughed heartily at the idea of an ac- 
 quaintance with Stultz being indispensable to the 
 success of a philosopher. 
 
 "It is not very long ago," continued the Captain, 
 following up the impression he considered he was 
 making, "since I heard a person who was dining with 
 a friend in the next box to me in a French eating- 
 house, talk so cleverly and amusingly, that I got quite 
 interested in him. I figured to myself, of course, a 
 remarkably well-bred, agreeable person, dressed with 
 unimpeachable taste. At last, after a most capital 
 story, told with charming humour, my curiosity to see 
 him became so great, that I got up in the middle of 
 my dinner (the greatest bore in the world, you will 
 admit) and made an excursion across the room to the 
 bell, expressly to look at the clever unknown. You'll 
 hardly believe me. Lady Lee, when I tell you he had 
 the impudent bad taste to be witty in a — what do 
 you think, now ? " 
 
 *' Carter's frock and hobnailed shoes?" guessed her 
 ladyship, chiming in with his humour. 
 
 "Nothing of the kind," said Sloperton. "He wore 
 a brown satin waistcoat with yellow stripes, and a 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 178 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 bright-blue coat with brass buttons, while his hands 
 were like huge slices of beet-root, with carrots at the 
 end for fingers. I naturally lost all interest in him 
 at once, — his jokes, after that, were all tinged, to my 
 fancy, with the vulgarity of his attire. That, now, is 
 a case exactly in point" 
 
 Again Lady Lee condescended to smile. The Cap- 
 tain's foibles were new to her, and his ultra-dandyism 
 amused her by its strong contrast with the calm mel- 
 ancholy of his aspect. So she continued to give him 
 her attention — and that he always considered as the 
 natural prelude to a woman's giving him her heart 
 — and went on with increased confidence, till he 
 branched off into the flattering and sentimental vein, 
 in which she thought him decidedly tiresome, though 
 he fancied he had been unusually brilliant. 
 
 The Major, riding beside Orelia, with the Corporal 
 at her near rein, to which station she had summoned 
 him, surveyed her with a grave and courteously 
 critical air. 
 
 " Upon my word,'' he said, " either Onslow must 
 be a capital instructor in female equestrianism, or he 
 must have met with a singularly apt pupil. I don't 
 know when I've seen a lady sit so easily and well." 
 
 " Pray, give all the praise to Mr Onslow," said 
 Orelia ; " and permit me, at the same time, to thank 
 you for giving us such an excellent master."
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 179 
 
 " Allow me to hope," said Tindal, with the air of 
 one who requests where he may command, "that 
 to-day you will permit me to be your riding-master. 
 We will dispense with Corporal Onslow's services, 
 and—" 
 
 "By no means," interrupted Orelia; " I prefer the 
 present arrangement infinitely. That is " (observing 
 the sudden dark flush that overspread the Major's 
 countenance), " I have great confidence in Mr Onslow 
 — and besides, nobody, you know, can serve two 
 masters. Your systems might clash, though both are 
 no doubt excellent. So " (turning to Onslow), " pray 
 remain with us/' 
 
 Onslow listened to the Major's proposition for dis- 
 missing him, and to Orelia's detainer, with the same 
 calm expression which he usually wore when his su- 
 periors in rank asserted at all imperiously the distinc- 
 tion between them, and without the slightest appear- 
 ance of discomposure. It was the expression of one 
 who, knowing well his superiority to the station he 
 filled, felt no irritation at being reminded of it ; and 
 this demeanour appeared, in Orelia's eyes, far more 
 dignified than the most tragical exhibitions of wrath, 
 and most magnificent frettings on the curb, could 
 have been. " Confound the fellow ! " thought the 
 Major, glancing at his handsome, easy subordinate, 
 " I wish he'd take himself off." But he affected to
 
 180 
 
 smile, as he bowed his acquiescence to Orelia, saying, 
 *' her wishes were law to him, and Corporal Onslow 
 should certainly remain — " at all which, a smile 
 might have been noticed, by a keen observer, to 
 dawn on Onslow's face. 
 
 From this moment the Major quite ignored the 
 Corporal's presence, trying to converse as if there 
 were no such person within hearing, or in existence : a 
 mode of proceeding which was rendered somewhat 
 difficult by the frequent appeals which Orelia made 
 to Onslow, for his opinion on matters they conversed 
 of — deeply outraging the Major's sense of military 
 etiquette, of which few had stricter notions than him- 
 self But of military etiquette Orelia knew but 
 little ; in fact, being, as we have elsewhere hinted, 
 somewhat of a self-willed young lady, she did not 
 permit etiquette of any kind to rule her conduct 
 farther than she pleased ; and, accustomed to see in 
 her riding-master one who possessed the manners and 
 language of a gentleman, she had almost dropt out of 
 sight the fact of his real position. 
 
 " The filly suits you admirably," said the Major 
 presently to Orelia. "I should think her a little 
 too hot to be pleasant to the generality of riders 
 — but you, Miss Payne, have a particularly light 
 hand." 
 
 " So Mr Onslow tells me," said Orelia, " though,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 181 
 
 to say the truth, I don't exactly know what a light 
 hand is." 
 
 The Major frowned — Onslow again ! and Mister 
 too! "You've brought your sketch-book, I see/' said 
 he, after a pause — " may we hope for the pleasure of 
 seeing it employed to-day ? " 
 
 "Certainly," said Orelia. "I always sketch during 
 my rides/' 
 
 " Might I be permitted a glance ? " asked Tindal, 
 extending his hand towards the book. Orelia handed 
 it to him. 
 
 " Beautiful ! " cried the admiring Major, turning 
 the leaves as the book rested on the pommel of his 
 saddle. " Most masterly, and evidently done with 
 great ease and quickness. If I might venture to say 
 which I prefer, it is this one — principally on account 
 of that group of figures in the foreground." 
 
 "You are right, Major Tindal," returned Orelia; 
 " those figures are excellent. I wish I could hope to 
 rival them." 
 
 "Dear me, are they not yours?" said the Major, 
 vexed at his blunder. 
 
 " They are some that Mr Onslow was so good as 
 to put in," replied Orelia. " Do you not recognise 
 his rather uncommon style ? " 
 
 " Indeed ! — ah, I was not aware," said the Major 
 coldly — and, muttering something about "fine dis-
 
 182 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 tances — bold outline — warm skies/"' he closed the 
 sketch-book, and returned it to the fair proprietor. 
 
 " This now," said the Major, presently, pointing 
 with the but-end of his whip at the landscape before 
 them, " allow me to suggest, is a fine subject for a 
 sketch. This clump of trees in the foreground — that 
 white cottage beyond, with the river and those hills 
 in the distance, would in your hands. Miss Payne, 
 make a very beautiful picture." 
 
 "So I think," said Orelia; "but Mr Onslow prefers 
 the same view from a point we have just passed. I'm 
 glad to have a champion on my side — ^pray discuss 
 the matter with him. Major Tindal, and I will abide 
 by the result of the argument." 
 
 "Really,'' said the Major, reddening and frowning, 
 " I am — a — a — not accustomed to — a — you must ex- 
 cuse me. Miss Payne — " and reining suddenly back, 
 on pretence of the narrowness of the road, he rode 
 by himself, much chafed in temper, at some distance 
 behind. 
 
 " Your kind notice of me is most flattering," said 
 Onslow, in a low voice, to Orelia — " and, believe me, 
 I feel it deeply. But will you pardon me for saying, 
 that I anticipate consequences which may cause me 
 to regret the display of your goodness." 
 
 Orelia turned her face severely and scornfully upon 
 him. " It is I," she said, " who have reason to regret
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 183 
 
 that I should have bestowed any notice on one who 
 is capable of such an anticipation as fear on his own 
 account. I could not have imagined any one guilty 
 of such a mean feeling. You have shown me my 
 error, and you shall certainly have no cause to fear 
 a repetition of it." 
 
 Most men would have been abashed at the scorn 
 with which Orelia turned her face from him as she 
 concluded her speech ; but Onslow, smiling, said, 
 " You mistake me, indeed. I would not weigh any 
 consequence to myself against your lightest word. 
 But what I do anticipate is, that the Major, in his 
 evident displeasure, may deprive me of the oppor- 
 tunity of further enjoying the society I have found 
 so" — (he did not say what) — "and may thus," he 
 added, sadly and half-absently, " close suddenly for 
 me the brief vision of paradise that has opened on 
 the dull reality of my life/' 
 
 Orelia coloured a little at this warmth of expression. 
 " Pardon me,'' she said ; " I was too hasty, and did 
 you wrong. I should indeed regret to be deprived of 
 the benefit of your instructions. We will mollify this 
 doughty chief of yours, and cause him to forget his 
 wrath." And accordingly reining up, and summon- 
 ing the Major to her, under pretence of showing him 
 some interesting feature in the scenery, she conde- 
 scended, in a somewhat haughty indifferent way, to
 
 184 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 smooth his ruffled plumes, and, giving him no further 
 cause for ire, except once or twice, when she forgot 
 herself, and dragged Onslow into the conversation, 
 succeeded to a miracle. 
 
 Bruce and Eosa rode together in great harmony, 
 followed at a little distance by Wylde Oates and 
 Letitia Clumber. This latter young lady, besides 
 being naturally stupid, and a very uncongenial 
 spirit for the rattling Mr Oates to encounter, was 
 now particularly indisposed to make herself agree- 
 able, in consequence of pining after the society of 
 Sloperton, for whom she had, at first sight, conceived 
 a warm admiration, which, she was satisfied, wanted 
 only opportunity to become mutual. So at last, Oates, 
 after giving her a description of a steeple-chase which 
 she scarcely even pretended to listen to, and catching 
 her yawning while he was telling her of a wager he 
 had lately won, wherein he had displayed great saga- 
 city, rode on with her to join the pair in front. 
 
 " Hang it, Bruce !" he whispered, as he came along- 
 side ; " fair play, you know. Deuce take me, if I can 
 stand that simpering doll any longer, and there are 
 you chatting away with that jolly little thing like a 
 couple of magpies, and not caring a curse about me. 
 Turn about''s fair play. You let me ride with her for 
 the rest of the way out, and you shall be her com- 
 panion all the way back." And Bruce, acknowledging
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 185 
 
 the justice of this arrangement, went accordingly to 
 do penance with Miss Letitia, while Rosa cast after 
 him a glance of regret, which Mr Gates would have 
 thought anything but flattering to himself if he had 
 seen it ; for Rosa had discovered that Bruce's senti- 
 ments on most matters were entirely identical with 
 her own — that they had the same tastes in pictures 
 and books and scenery — at least, he had always 
 agreed warmly with her expressed opinions — and, 
 in fact, they had got on very pleasantly together. 
 
 Bagot was the most ill-matched of the party. Poor 
 old Bagot, having paired off the others to their sa- 
 tisfaction, had good-naturedly undertaken Trephina 
 Clumber, who, with her usual desire for information, 
 had put him, as he termed it, "through his facings" on 
 the subject of the history of horse-racing — its origin, 
 progress, &c., with incidental questions on the feeding 
 of horses and rules of the turf. And Bagot, who had 
 never, even on this his favourite subject, troubled 
 himself with any historical retrospect, was sorely puz- 
 zled to reply, and, answering at hazard, communicated 
 to her a fund of information on these heads more 
 curious than correct, as may be seen to this day in the 
 pages of Miss Trephina's journal, where she was ac- 
 customed to note down at night all the treasures of 
 knowledge acquired during the day ; in which are 
 chronicled, among others, the not generally known
 
 186 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 facts, that the first King's Plate was run for in the 
 time of Oliver Cromwell, and that Old King Cole 
 was one of the earliest patrons of the turf 
 
 The cascade was reached and duly admired — not on 
 horseback, of course, but the steeds were fastened to 
 trees, while their riders walked along the rocky path 
 that led to it. And the fountain below the cascade 
 was a wishing-well, with a legend attached to it, which 
 Lady Lee related, and afterwards they dipt their 
 hands in it and wished silently ; and it came to pass 
 that some of them, in the fulness of time, had their 
 wishes granted, and some had not. 
 
 When they dismounted, the Corporal prudently 
 turned his horse's head and rode homewards. 
 
 Leaving the fountain, they ascended the steps of the 
 rock, and found lunch, which Noble had brought in a 
 spring-cart, awaiting them under an oak ; and after- 
 wards the lady artists produced their sketch-books. 
 Trephina Clumber, without any natural taste or talent 
 for drawing, practised the art with a wonderful perti- 
 nacity. She had studied innumerable books on light 
 and shade, and colour and perspective, and the human 
 form, and the anatomy of animals, and, in fact, per- 
 haps muddled herself with her researches in art, for 
 they resulted in productions quite unlike anything in 
 nature. She seated herself under a tree, and sent 
 Bagot to fetch her some water in a tin cup, while she
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 187 
 
 arranged her colour-box and brushes alongside. 
 Then she made a sketch, and all the time she was 
 so employed she lectured the Colonel so learnedly on 
 keeping, and aerial distances, and mellowness, and 
 warm effects, and handling, that he felt very little 
 doubt that Trephina was a very great artist, and was 
 somewhat ashamed of himself when, on looking at 
 the drawing afterwards, he took a remarkable cloud 
 in her sky for a wooded mountain — and her own 
 horse, which she had introduced in the foreground, 
 for a goat — mistaking the crutches of the side- 
 saddle for the animal's horns. However, her fami- 
 liarity with the terms of art quite blinded Bagot 
 to these little defects in her practice, and caused 
 him to regard her as a female Claude. And many 
 gTeater reputations than Trephina's are constantly 
 established on precisely similar foundations. 
 
 Lady Lee, perhaps not finding Captain Sloperton's 
 conversation in harmony with the scene, sauntered 
 away by herself towards the margin of the stream 
 above the cascade. Before her lay a broad pool, 
 where the stream, though swift, was silent, and which 
 was crossed by large stones at irregular intervals. 
 Between these the water poured smoothly, and flowed 
 rippling out of sight. In the broken water below the 
 stones a fly-fisher was planted, assiduously practising 
 his art. Up the stream the water darkened to deep-
 
 188 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 est brown, as it passed beneath overhanging willows. 
 Lady Lee remembered that, by crossing to the other 
 side, a new and pleasing point of view was obtained, 
 and she accordingly began stepping from one stone 
 to another. 
 
 When about half-way across, a stone rolled over 
 and sunk, just as she was in the act of quitting it, 
 and a little extra agility was required to attain the 
 next one. Congratulating herself on escaping with- 
 out a dip in the water, she stood here, as on a 
 pedestal, admiring the view, which was at this point 
 much more expanded than on the bank she had just 
 cjuitted, enabling the observer to trace the stream 
 through many a winding, and showing new undula- 
 tions in the surface of the woods. Having suffi- 
 ciently enjoyed it, she turned to retrace her steps — 
 and then, for the first time, perceived that the dis- 
 placement of the stone had rendered this a difficult 
 task. The provoking pebble lay just beneath the 
 surface, with a sharp corner uppermost, rendering it 
 quite unsafe as a support, and the interval to the 
 next one was too wide to be attempted. She was 
 unwilling to call for assistance, partly because the 
 situation seemed to her to involve a little absurdity ; 
 secondly, because she dreaded being the object of the 
 gallant efforts which the cavaliers would be sure to 
 make for her rescue. So she began plumbing the
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 180 
 
 stream with her riding-whip, and, after poking un- 
 successfully to replace the faithless stone, gathered 
 her dress round her, and half meditated a spring. 
 
 She made up her mind to it seven times, and 
 seven times her heart failed her, leaving her pre- 
 cisely where she was. How often the process might 
 have been repeated is doubtful ; but just then she 
 heard a splashing in the water close at hand. The 
 fly-fisher, perceiving her dilemma, was wading to her 
 assistance. 
 
 This fly-fisher was by no means an ordinary kind 
 of fly-fisher. He was a handsome, noble-looking man 
 about thirty, with a light mustache, and was as un- 
 mistakably a gentleman in his tweed shooting-jacket 
 and wide-awake hat, as if he had been dressed in a 
 coronet and robes. Now, if he had considered a 
 moment, he might have rendered the necessary ser- 
 vice to her ladyship by replacing the stone in its old 
 position. Perhaps if Lady Lee, instead of appearing 
 to him more charming than any nymph that ever 
 haunted a stream, had been a respectable old lady 
 with black mittens and a brown wig, he would have 
 done so ; perhaps it did not occur to him ; perhaps 
 he preferred taking his own course ; — however, with 
 no other preliminaries than a bow and a few words 
 of apology, half lost in the murmur of the waters, he 
 took her ladyship in his arms. One would have
 
 190 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 thouglit it would have been quite sufficient to cany 
 her to tlie next stone, and leave her to pursue her 
 way — ^and it is believed she did make a representa- 
 tion to that effect ; but her speech, like his, was lost 
 in the noise of the stream, and he only relinquished 
 his fair burden (which perhaps he liked) when landed 
 safely on the bank. Then, with a few words express- 
 ing his sense of " his own good fortune in being of 
 the slightest service," and a rather confused offer of 
 thanks from her ladyship, he, with another bow, went 
 back to his fishing, and her ladyship rejoined her 
 friends, to whom, for some reason or other, she said 
 nothing of her adventure. 
 
 They lingered, admiring, chatting, and sketching 
 about the wooded slopes above the cascade, until 
 evening began to shadow the landscape, and to show 
 the broken arches and ruined walls of the abbey 
 strongly relieved against the sky, which gleamed 
 purply through the spaces left originally by the 
 builder, and those made since by Time the unbuilder. 
 Orelia looked on it in an artistic light, and admired 
 the breadth and softness of the shadows, the still 
 brown depths of the river, with a grey glassy gleam 
 where the sky was reflected — the golden scatterings of 
 light where the sunset still lingered on the woody hills, 
 and the clouds just beginning to put off their evening 
 robes of orange and crimson and gold, as the ruler of
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 191 
 
 the day descended out of sight. Lady Lee looked at 
 it in a sentimental point of view, thinking of the old 
 monks who had seen the sun set behind those slopes, 
 who had wandered through those woods, and had 
 dreamed away their lives in those shattered cells ; 
 feeling a sort of sadness mixed with the beauty of 
 the scene, as imaginative people do, when the depart- 
 ing day looks on the ancient abodes of departed 
 beings. And Rosa, who was neither sentimental nor 
 artistic, felt a pleasure she did not seek to define in 
 the stillness and freshness and clearness of air, earth, 
 and sky, and chirped forth her gladness unconsciously 
 and unrestrainedly as the nightingale who was giving 
 life to the neighbouring woods. 
 
 Bagot experienced a mixed feeling, compounded 
 of a desire for brandy-and-water and billiards, and a 
 fear that the dewy grass was a bad thing for the 
 gout ; so he managed to get them to horse, and to 
 proceed homeward ; and when they reached the 
 Heronry, they had a sort of meal compounded of 
 dinner and tea — too informal for the first, and too 
 solid for the last ; and then, after some music from 
 the ladies and Sloperton, who sung to the guitar 
 with a clear and sad, though utterly unmodulated 
 and inexpressive voice, the dragoons rode home, all 
 of them well pleased. 
 
 Tindal was pleased, because he had latterly found
 
 192 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 Orelia's manner and conversation entirely to his 
 taste ; for the sUght haughtiness, and occasional 
 symptoms of imperious temper that she displayed, 
 had of themselves a certain charm for him, harmonis- 
 ing well, perhaps, with the main chords of his own 
 character. Moreover, he purposed putting an effec- 
 tual stop to the CorporaFs lessons immediately. 
 
 Bruce and Wylde Gates were both pleased, be- 
 cause they had found in Rosa exactly what her face 
 promised, and their respective shares of her society 
 had been apportioned on the most equitable prin-. 
 ciples. 
 
 Sloperton was pleased, because he considered he 
 had been particularly charming. " Fm a little past 
 thirty," said the Captain to himself, " and the variety 
 of these love affairs is getting fatiguing. IVe been 
 thinking for some time of settling down quietly 
 whenever I could find a proper person — and yester- 
 day I discovered a white hair in my right whisker. 
 Gad, I may turn grey or bald, and my chances will 
 be diminished twenty per cent." So the Captain 
 resolved to fascinate Lady Lee, and viewed the de- 
 sign with the calm confidence of a powerful mes- 
 merist about to set to work upon a subject of nervous 
 and susceptible temperament.
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 On regaining his quarters on the evening of the 
 riding-party, Onslow, in spite of the nonchalance 
 which marked his general demeanour, displayed in 
 his manner some degree of agitation- 
 He was billeted at the "Grapes'' — a cosy, snug, old- 
 fashioned hostelry, hid away up a by-lane, which was 
 entered from the main street of Doddington by an 
 arch at one end, and which had no passage through 
 at the other — a rambling old building full of dark 
 passages, with steps in the darkest parts, causing those 
 who traversed them swiftly and unsuspectingly to 
 receive shocks extending from the soles of their feet 
 to the crowns of their heads, and making their teeth 
 chatter violently, unless the tongue happened to be 
 interposed between them, like the passengers' bodies 
 between two fast trains running into each other on a 
 railway. The kitchen was always illumined by a sort
 
 194 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 of comfortable twilight, partly tlie result of a higli 
 wall opposite the windows excluding the sun, partly 
 from the steams of soups, roast meats, mulled beer, 
 and wines, and coffee, that hovered incessantly over 
 the hospitable region. When the eye got accustomed 
 to the place, a stout form might generally be espied, 
 seated in the thickest of the clouds by the fireside. 
 This was the landlord of the " Grapes,'' who, under 
 the firm impression that he was diligently carrying 
 on the business, and acting as the prop and main-stay 
 of the establishment, spent most of his time by the 
 fireside in an easy-chair, diversifying the somewhat 
 limited prospect by an occasional stroll out under the 
 archway to look at the weather. A life of this sort, 
 though well adapted to the purposes of a jpate defoie 
 gras, would not, at first sight, appear favourable to 
 the healthy operations of the animal economy ; 
 nevertheless, it seemed to agree with the host of the 
 " Grapes," if one might judge from the rosy complexion 
 that appeared in the midst of a white fringe of hair 
 and whisker, and the regularity and unfailing zest 
 with which he responded to the call to dinner. That 
 meal took place in a little glass-walled room, like a 
 gastronomic conservatory, looking into the kitchen, 
 presided over by a pretty young lady, the future heiress 
 of the " Grapes," for mine host, like Polonius, had 
 " one fair daughter and no more." Her attractions, of
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 195 
 
 which her reputed expectations formed perhaps not 
 the least, drew numerous gallants to the bar of the 
 "Grapes/' who vied with each other in drinking vari- 
 ous spirituous compounds mixed by her fair hands, and 
 seemed to imagine that their success would be pro- 
 portionate to the frequency and recklessness of their 
 orders for drink — an impression which caused all but 
 suitors of very strong head and constitution to retire 
 from the contest, after probations of more or less 
 duration. 
 
 Before the dragoon entered, two admirers were 
 signalising their devotion to the fair spirit of the bar, 
 the upper half of whose person only was visible, as 
 she dispensed the potables which formed her peculiar, 
 charge through a portion of the glass frame of her 
 shrine that slid back, leaving a space wherein the 
 worshippers might lean their elbows and deposit their 
 glasses. One of these was an attorney's clerk — a very 
 dashing personage, with a bushy head of hair, and a 
 hat stuck rakishly thereon ; the other a young farmer, 
 who had lately spent more time at the "Grapes" than 
 in agricultural pursuits : he wore a white hat, a brown 
 cut-away with basket buttons, and a blue satin stock, 
 with a great pin sticking in the folds of it. These 
 rivals had held a sort of wordy tilt of sarcasm on 
 each other, in which the clerk's astuteness gave him 
 ♦ a decided advantage over the other admirer; but the
 
 196 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 latter drank most, appending to his demand for each 
 successive glass the words " damn the expense," indi- 
 cative of wealth and a liberal spirit ; and he was, 
 moreover, the better-looking of the two. On which- 
 ever side the balance of fascination might have been, 
 the ministering angel of the bar did not, however, 
 betray any preference, but filled their glasses, and 
 listened to their speeches, with the most laudable 
 impartiality. 
 
 While she was in the act of squeezing a lemon 
 into the rum-and-water of the incipient attorney, a 
 clanking step was heard outside, approaching from 
 the archway. The fair bar-maid gave a little start, 
 and spilt some of the hot mixture on her hand. This 
 served to excuse the blush that overspread her plump 
 face as the Corporal entered. 
 
 " Good evening, Mr Onslow," said the pretty bar- 
 maid, in a tone, and with a bright smile, that would 
 have induced either of the two rivals to drink himself 
 into insensibility on the spot, and have thought it 
 cheap too. But the dragoon, nodding at her in an 
 absent way, and merely replying, "How d'ye do, 
 Susan ? " strode to the fireplace, and planted himself 
 there, with his back to the fire. 
 
 Now, the landlord did not admire the dragoon, 
 though his wife and daughter did. The landlord 
 was a man of great weight and consideration with
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 197 
 
 those who frequented his inn, and always exacted a 
 full measure of respect from them, never permitting 
 even those who might be called his cronies to venture 
 on any undue familiarity. But this dragoon, though 
 civil enough, in a condescending sort of way, to the 
 landlady and her daughter, showed no more respect 
 for his portly host than if he had been a stable-boy. 
 Accordingly, that dignitary, with a grunt indicative 
 of displeasure and defiance, drew back his chair a foot 
 or two, and scowled at the dragoon over his pipe. 
 He might have scowled at the warming-pan that 
 glittered on the wall beyond with about as much 
 effect. Onslow, his legs apart, his back to the fire, 
 his look bent on the floor, thoughtfully whistled an 
 opera tune, as if no such person as the landlord of 
 the "Grapes" were in existence. 
 
 Opposite the landlord was seated a lodger of much 
 consideration and long standing in the " Grapes.'' He 
 was a bachelor, with a small annuity, which he spent 
 principally in rum-and-water — a hard-featured, red- 
 faced man, with a couple of marks like gashes ex- 
 tending from his nostrils deep down each cheek. 
 From his long residence at the " Grapes,'' his habits 
 were so well known that he never had occasion to 
 give an order; and, being of taciturn habits, this 
 was a great comfort to him. Between breakfast and 
 dinner he always had three glasses of rum-and-water;
 
 198 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 between dinner and supper, six ; and after supper 
 his tumbler was replenished, till he was carried off 
 to bed on the waiter's back. 
 
 This gentleman had finished his eighth tumbler 
 about five minutes before, and the landlady — a fat 
 good-tempered woman, with a face and figure very 
 like the reflection of her daughter's, as seen in the 
 convex surfaces of the shining dish-covers hanging 
 to the wall (i. e., considerably widened and shorten- 
 ed) — glanced at the clock, and brought him his ninth, 
 or last before supper. 
 
 " We don't see much of you now, Mr Onslow," 
 said the landlady, standing before him, after she had 
 set down the lodger's glass on the table. 
 
 The landlord uttered a short derisive chuckle. 
 He was a man of few words ; but the laugh indi- 
 cated that, in his opinion, it was very little matter 
 whether they saw anything of him at all or not. 
 The dragoon, softly whistling, twirled his mustache 
 absently, and did not notice either the remark or 
 the laugh. 
 
 "You're certainly in love, Mr Onslow," said the 
 landlady. " You used to be the politest man — and 
 now one never gets a word from you." 
 
 There was a giggle from the daughter in the bar ; 
 but still the trooper made no answer, till the lodger, 
 who had a chivalrous respect for the landlady, touched
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 199 
 
 the dragoon's sleeve with the stem of his pipe. 
 Onslow stared at him, and drew back from the con- 
 tact, when he motioned with the pipe towards the 
 landlady, to signify that she had done him the 
 honour of addressing him. Then the dragoon lifted 
 up his eyes, and, appearing to perceive the landlady 
 for the first time, nodded to her, bid her good even- 
 ing, and strode through the kitchen on his way to 
 his own room. " He's certainly in love,'' said the 
 landlady : " I never saw a man so changed." 
 
 He had scarcely disappeared, when the daughter, 
 taking a letter from a shelf in the bar, said, " Law, 
 mother, I forgot to give Mr Onslow his letter — 111 
 just take it to him ; " and, leaving the young farmer 
 and the incipient attorney to entertain one another, 
 she tript after the dragoon. 
 
 " Come in,'" said Onslow, when she tapt at the 
 door, and she entered. The room, thanks, probably, 
 to the young lady's partiality for the handsome 
 lodger, was a very comfortable one — a nice little 
 bed, with dimity curtains, washing-stand, toilet-table, 
 all complete, with some pictures on the walls. 
 
 " Here's a letter come since you were away," said 
 the pretty bar-maid, handing it to him. 
 
 "Thank you, Susan,'' said Onslow, "much ob- 
 liged," and immediately broke the seal, which was 
 a large one, with a coat of arms.
 
 200 
 
 The landlady's daughter was dying to know who 
 the correspondent with the great seal could be, so 
 she lingered, under pretence of brushing the dust 
 off the furniture, till he had finished reading it. 
 
 " No bad news, I hope, Mr Onslow ? " she said, 
 when he had refolded and laid it on the chimney- 
 piece. 
 
 " Quite the contrary, Susan ; it assures me I have 
 still a friend, and that's good news," said Onslow, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Oh, gracious ! I'm sure, Mr Onslow, you might 
 have plenty if you liked — it's your own fault if you 
 haven't," said the pretty bar-maid. 
 
 Onslow had relapsed into thought, and did not 
 respond to this complimentary opinion. 
 
 " I got the book of poems " (I'm afraid the pretty 
 bar-maid pronounced the word pomes) "you were 
 wishing for the other day," she said, still lingering. 
 " I borrowed it from Miss Parkins, over the way." 
 
 " Thank you, Susan, 'twas very kind and thought- 
 ful of you," said Onslow, flinging his caj) into a cor- 
 ner, and himself into a chair. 
 
 There were some flowers in a glass on the chimney- 
 piece, which the pretty bar-maid had placed there 
 with her own hands. "Perhaps," she said to her- 
 self, "he'll think the chamber-maid put 'em there, 
 if I don't tell him." So she walked up to the fire-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 201 
 
 place, and, arranging them anew, said, "You like 
 moss-roses, don't you, Mr Onslow ? I've brought you 
 some nice ones." 
 
 " You're a good little girl, Susan, and a great deal 
 kinder than I deserve," he replied, running his hand 
 impatiently through his black curls without looking 
 at the roses. 
 
 All this was rather up-hill work for poor Susan ; — 
 there was so little encouragement to stay longer, 
 that, with every wish to prolong the conversation, 
 she turned away, and, after announcing her intended 
 departure with two or three little coughs, softly 
 closed the door. 
 
 Onslow took up the letter and read it over again ; 
 then he opened a desk near, and began to write as 
 follows : — 
 
 "My dear Vernon, — Thanks for your renewed 
 and friendly offers of assistance. 
 
 " From among all my former associates I selected 
 you as my single confidant, when I placed my foot 
 on the lower step of the social ladder, to the 
 bottom of which folly and ill-fortune had hurled me. 
 Of all, you were the only one who, I felt, could 
 appreciate my motives, when, after enlisting as the 
 only alternative of absolute want, I formed a firm 
 resolve to fulfil all the irksome duties of a soldier,
 
 202 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 and to work my way upward uncomplainingly, till 
 I could prove myself able, unaided, to retrieve my 
 position. If I failed in this, I, at least, anticipated 
 the pleasure and pride of knowing that I had done 
 much to expiate my follies, and to assure myself that 
 I possessed more firmness and perseverance than the 
 world I lived in of old would give me credit for. 
 
 " But, ah, Vernon ! who can boast himself of to- 
 morrow? Already I am half resolved to abandon 
 the path I have followed, sternly enough, these three 
 years. Not because I flinch from the burden I have 
 fastened on myself: I have carried it, let me say, 
 with constancy, with a good heart, and even, perhaps, 
 not without dignity. Use had lightened it, and ad- 
 vancement in the service promised to make it still 
 lighter, till a commission, fairly earned, should re- 
 store me outwardly to the rank of a gentleman. 
 
 " Why then quit it ? you say. Ah, Vernon, thou 
 know'st my old weakness — my besetting infirmity. 
 Already you spy the hem of a female garment in the 
 distance. Even so — my firm resolves have melted, like 
 the wings of Icarus, beneath the glance of a pair of 
 black eyes. Could you but know what I have felt, 
 thrown by chance into frequent contact with one to 
 whom, but for my own folly, I might have aspired 
 without presumption — one who, of all the women I 
 have ever seen, has alone gone deeper than to touch
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 203 
 
 my fancy — who, proud and high-bred as she is, conde- 
 scends to recognise my native self beneath the dragoon's 
 jacket, and to show her recognition in but too flatter- 
 ing fashion. By heaven, Yernon ! the struggles I have 
 had with a mad desire to throw myself at her feet, tell 
 her who I was and am, and what I feel for her, are 
 such as have taxed my self-restraint to the utmost ! 
 
 " Knowing me as you do, you can well understand 
 how the feeling of degradation, before but little 
 noticed, has grown almost unbearable. Should the 
 temptation become too strong — should I rashly be- 
 tray myself — there are two prospects before me, both 
 simply damnable. ' Look you upon this picture, and 
 on this ; ' the one shows presumption withering be- 
 neath a glance — (such an eye she has, Yernon !)— me, 
 poor, proud, snubbed, and crushed back into my cor- 
 poral's jacket. The other — is it my vanity only that 
 draws this one more flattering to itself ? — but, in any 
 case, what a scoundrel must I be to ask the woman I 
 love to share such fortunes as mine, or to stoop and 
 raise me ! No, no ! thank God I have some of the 
 ancient pride yet, and should forgive myself in neither 
 case. 
 
 " But I feel the conflict get perilous ; therefore, 
 Yernon, I adjure you, by our ancient alliance, to be 
 ready, on getting notice from me, to put the neces- 
 sary machinery in motion with the powers that be,
 
 204 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 for my release from this painted thraldom. Fear not 
 for me — where there's a will there's a way — the world 
 shall be mine oyster, though not to be opened with 
 a cavalry sabre ; and a word from your potent rela- 
 tive at the Horse Guards will again let me loose on 
 it. So never waste advice or remonstrance, but, like 
 a true man, let that word be spoken when I request 
 it. Thine as of old.'' 
 
 This epistle Onslow folded, and addressed to " The 
 Hon. M. Vernon, Ditting Hall, shire," and seal- 
 ed it with a seal-ring he wore on his little finger. 
 Then he put it carefully away, and, lighting a cigar, 
 stretched his spur-clad heels across the fender, and 
 smoked himself into a state sufficiently calm to 
 justify his retiring to bed with a fair prospect 
 of sleeping. 
 
 Orelia's head was filled that night with thoughts 
 of the mysterious dragoon. The more she meditated 
 on the incongruity between his manners and position, 
 the more she was puzzled, and the more her curiosity 
 was stimulated. He was like a well-written charade. 
 In his person violent contradictions were reconciled 
 so smoothly, and all seemed so fair and plain, that 
 solution appeared an easy task ; yet there he was, 
 day after day, defying her ingenuity as imperturbably
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 205 
 
 as ever. As curiosity and uncertainty were feelings 
 that this impetuous young lady suffered with extreme 
 impatience, she resolved to endeavour, during the 
 ride of the next morning, to lead the conversation 
 in a direction which might tend to the solution of 
 the riddle. 
 
 Accordingly, the next day, when the hour for the 
 riding lesson was at hand, she descended the stairs, 
 her head filled with cunning designs for entrapping 
 Onslow into revealments of his early life and educa- 
 tion, and reasons for enlisting in the army ; and flat- 
 tered herself that, by the exercise of these wiles, and 
 a little imaginative skill to connect the scraps of 
 information thus obtained, she might succeed in 
 " plucking out the heart of his mystery." 
 
 The horses were at the door, and Kosa was mount- 
 ed, but in place of the Corporal there stood a huge 
 bulky dragoon, with high shoulders, a round face, 
 and a wide mouth, who stared at her, as he saluted, 
 with eyes about as expressive as his boots. 
 
 " Tindal has sent a note," said Bagot, " to say he 
 is sorry that Onslow cannot be spared ; but he thinks 
 Sergeant Cumbermare will be found equally service- 
 able."" In fact, Tindal had discovered that some 
 of his young hands were terribly in want of riding- 
 drill, and that nobody but Onslow could adminis- 
 ter it.
 
 206 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Orelia bestowed on the unhappy Cumbermare a 
 glance so full of scorn, that Rosa expected to see 
 that warrior wither away and sink down into his 
 boots. Then, putting out her lip, she said, " I shall 
 not ride to-day ; " and, sweeping round majestically, 
 she re-entered the house ; while Rosa, in order that 
 the Sergeant's feelings might not be injured, set out 
 upon a solitary ride.
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 If Lady Lee had been that exceedingly disagree- 
 able character, a perfect pattern of a woman, so often 
 met with in the pages of romance — so seldom, fortu- 
 nately, in real life — I need hardly say these portions 
 of her history would never have been chronicled. 
 She had a vast number of charming little womanly 
 failings — would give way to pique, vanity, prejudice- 
 was liable to be influenced by all manner of unrea- 
 sonable reasons, such as rank high in the feminine 
 code of logic, though they could not stand for a 
 moment against Archbishop Whately — was petulant, 
 sometimes wilful, and perhaps capable of bestowing 
 affection without first inquiring whether the object 
 was deserving of it, being quite as likely to be influ- 
 enced by her taste as her judgment. So I would 
 warn those readers who, with their tastes depraved 
 by a long course of didactic fiction, expect to find her, 
 perhaps, a model for the Widows of England, that
 
 208 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 she has none of those pernicious excellences which 
 would qualify her for the honour. Any of those 
 approved and respectaljle heroines who so often 
 refrigerate the reader with visions of unattainable 
 merit, and make him shudder at the idea of the pos- 
 sibility of taking such a bundle of virtues to his 
 bosom, would have found her full of blemishes. 
 Dear Lady Lee ! like England, with all thy faults 
 I love thee still — neither of you are the worse for 
 a little uncertainty of atmosphere. Yet how should I 
 have been forced to nip and prune thee, and cocker 
 thee up, hadst thou been that responsible being, the 
 heroine of a tale with a moral ; but, thank Heaven ! 
 mine has none that I know of. Moral I God bless 
 you, sir, Tve none to tell ! And I'm not sorry for 
 it, either — though I observe that writers, nowadays, 
 think so much of their moral, that, when they have 
 not sufficient leisure or art to embody it, they tack 
 on an essay to the beginning or end of a chapter for 
 fear they should miss their aim — where it looks like 
 a red elbow or horny toe protruding through the 
 finery that clothes the rest of the design. For this 
 reason many devoted novel-readers have begun to taste 
 fiction of late with a mixture of longing and distrust — 
 from the same cause which makes us, for many years 
 previous to adolescence, suspect a latent dose in every 
 spoonful of pleasant insidious raspberry jam.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 209 
 
 Lady Lee had sorrowed sincerely for Sir Joseph. 
 She was affectionate by nature ; and the baronet had 
 been so dotingly, so reverentially fond of her, and 
 had displayed his fondness in so many acts of gene- 
 rosity and thoughtfulness, that she must have been 
 both hard-hearted and ungrateful to have speedily 
 forgotten him, whereas she was far from being 
 either. 
 
 But since her marriage she had undergone a great 
 change — superficially at least. She no longer showed 
 the bright enthusiasm, the repressed hopefulness, 
 that had characterised her of yore. Jumping too 
 quickly, as ladies sometimes do, at a conclusion, 
 she had long ago settled it in her own mind that, 
 having failed to realise in her husband the hero of 
 her imagination, that ideal personage must be an 
 absurd nonentity, to be banished for ever from the 
 precincts of her thoughts. In her early widowhood 
 she mourned for Sir Joseph in a calm religious way, 
 and took to going to church many times a-week, 
 bought up all the sermons that she saw advertised 
 for publication (doing horrible violence to her taste 
 by persisting in perusing them), and became a 
 Lady Bountiful to the villagers. Then she dropped 
 down gently from religion to science, and studied 
 chemistry, geology, and botany, though none very 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 210 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 deeply; — shuddered over the Vestiges of Creation^ 
 revered Hugh Miller, and pretended to admire Doc- 
 tor Paley, whose Natural Theology she found en- 
 tirely convincing on points of which she had never 
 entertained any doubt. In fact, she knew quite as 
 much about science as, some people think, a woman 
 need or ought — enough to give her a new interest 
 in the world she lived in, and to enable her to talk 
 agreeably, though superficially, on the subjects of her 
 studies. She didn't think much for herself on these 
 subjects — few women do, perhaps ; and when they 
 do, they had better have let it alone in nine cases 
 out of ten — (no offence, ladies I) — but she was quite 
 capable of appreciating and appropriating the best 
 thoughts of others. Thus she had gone on accumu- 
 lating ideas and knowledge, which gave solidity to 
 her more exclusively feminine accomplishments, and 
 had qualified herself for being eminently companion- 
 able. There was something extremely piquant in 
 hearing the same voice that had just charmed you 
 with the brilliant delivery of a difficult song, or the 
 exquisite grace of a simple one, discourse most excel- 
 lent music on the Old Ked Sandstone and primary 
 formations. But shortly before the opening of our 
 story she had abated in zeal for these matters ; she 
 had become rather indolent, and given to speculate 
 on why she was born, and what was her business in
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 211 
 
 this world, and the like Improving themes, cus- 
 tomary with dissatisfied philosophers. If I might 
 venture to guess at the cause of this dissatisfaction, 
 I pronounce it to be the emptiness of her heart. 
 All sorts of loving capabilities, fit to make an inex- 
 haustible paradise for a lover worthy of them, were 
 running to waste, and caused her daily amusements 
 to sound hollow to the ear of her fancy. 
 
 But it must have been her own fault, you will 
 say, when I tell you she had had lovers enough 
 since Sir Joseph's death. There was Sir Christopher 
 Clumber, also a baronet and a widower, who, keep- 
 ing his eye on her, and suffering a decent time to 
 elapse before he made his proposals, then urged 
 them in a calm, dogged, confident way, that seemed 
 to defy even the bare idea of refusal ; — meeting with 
 which, he could never be persuaded of her being in 
 earnest in her rejection of him, but persisted for 
 many years in considering it a mistake. Then there 
 was an ancient roue of a nobleman, who saw her 
 accidentally as he passed through Doddington, and 
 whose capacity for admiration, at least, still survived 
 — this lover lived three weeks at the hotel, and pro- 
 cured an introduction, and two or three interviews 
 with her ladyship, after the last of which he sud- 
 denly ordered post-horses and departed, notwith- 
 standing he was threatened with gout. And there
 
 212 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 was a rich manufacturer of the neighbourhood, who 
 resolved to indemnify himself for the sacrifices he 
 had so long offered up on the- altar of trade by a 
 little domestic felicity with the woman of his choice ; 
 but the choice falling, unfortunately for him, on 
 Lady Lee, who wouldn't listen to him, he thence- 
 forth bestowed his undivided energies on the less 
 romantic pursuit that had hitherto engrossed them, 
 and grew disgustingly rich. 
 
 These rude attempts upon her heart, instead of 
 making the task of opening it any easier, only 
 damaged the lock. She became almost misanthropic 
 — was prepared to think ill of mankind in general, 
 like a female Timon, and could be severely epigram- 
 matic on matrimony. She began to fancy herself 
 blasee, and spoke of herself to Orelia and Rosa as if 
 she were an old and experienced matron, who had 
 discovered that all was vanity and vexation of spirit ; 
 and, while unconsciously brimful of romance and sen- 
 timent, she affected to look on life with as little 
 sense of its poetry as a Free-Trader. She languidly 
 continued her dabblings in science — read a good deal 
 in general literature, under the guidance of a discri- 
 minating friend who shall appear presently — and 
 took charge of Julius's education, which was accord- 
 ingly conducted after a desultory fashion, moral and 
 intellectual; for she sometimes let him have his
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 213 
 
 head, sometimes suddenly took Mm up sliort in the 
 curb, in a way that, joined to the spoiling he got 
 from the other two, might have gone far to ruin him, 
 had he not been a little fellow of an extremely good 
 and generous temper. 
 
 And here, by the by, this mention of the other 
 two reminds me that I have a couple of young ladies 
 in the narrative whose presence is as yet unaccounted 
 for; and as critics are often a sort of people who 
 would by no means permit young females, however 
 charming, to stray unprotected, and without charac- 
 ter and pedigree duly attested, about the precincts of 
 a story, we will have a little explanation on that 
 head forthwith, Mr Critic. 
 
 Orelia Payne had been a great friend of Lady' 
 Lee's, in the latter's maiden days, and their ac- 
 quaintance chanced in this way : Near the par- 
 sonage-house of Mr Broome, Hester's father, stood 
 an ornamented cottage, with very pretty grounds 
 surrounding it. It had been the property of a ma- 
 jestic old lady, who dwelt therein in great state ; 
 and after the old lady's death, it continued to be 
 kept in good preservation. 
 
 To the garden and conservatory, both well filled, 
 Hester, who had taken it into her head to study 
 botany, frequently went, during the time the house 
 was unoccupied after the old lady's decease. Ru-
 
 214 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 mours there were of a new possessor, and of orders 
 being sent to keep everything in trim ; but no occu- 
 pant arrived for some time, and Hester attained such 
 supremacy that no alteration was made in any of the 
 horticultural arrangements without her concurrence. 
 
 About a year after the death of the majestic old 
 lady, a young lady, her god-daughter and heiress — 
 selected for those united honours, perhaps, because 
 she was a majestic young lady — came to live at the 
 cottage. Hester, ignorant of the arrival of the new 
 possessor, continued her visits, greatly to the im- 
 provement and instruction of the head-gardener ; for 
 she knew more about botany than he, though his 
 salary was about double that of some curates. When 
 Orelia (for she was the new possessor) heard from 
 him that a young lady who understood plants par- 
 ticular well was in the habit of coming there, she 
 experienced a desire similar to that which George 
 III. felt when he heard that Doctor Johnson was 
 a frequent visitor to the royal library, and, like that 
 monarch, gave orders that she might be apprised of 
 the next advent of the illustrious stranger. 
 
 So Hester, poking about among some newly- 
 arrived orchids, heard a rustling of female garments 
 behind her, and turning, found herself face to face 
 with Orelia. The latter held a book open in her 
 hand, and on her head was a straw hat, such as
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 215 
 
 young ladies do not often appear in beyond the pre- 
 cincts of their own private territories — so that Hester 
 had no difficulty in guessing that the handsome girl, 
 with her eye and face of the falcon type, and a figure 
 straight and elastic as steel, — who looked twenty, 
 though only seventeen, — was a resident in the house, 
 and might perhaps think her an intruder. No fear 
 of that, however. Orelia read in Hester's beautiful, 
 high-bred face, and large, soft-shadowed, hazel eyes, 
 the promise of what she principally wanted to make 
 her comfortable and happy in her new abode — viz., a 
 companion. Walking straight towards her, and un- 
 heeding the overthrow of a couple of exotics, pots 
 and all, which stood in her line of march, she 
 said, in a steady tone, as if to an old acquaintance' 
 whom she had long expected, "Im so glad you're 
 come. I've been waiting in for you all the morning.'' 
 In about a week from this, they were all but in- 
 separable. Orelia's only other companion was an 
 elderly governess, who never attempted to dispute 
 her will, and therefore, like some other docile rulers 
 whom the world has seen, would seem to have en- 
 joyed a title rather at variance with facts. On 
 Saturdays her father, a rich banker (not, however, of 
 the firm of Smith, Payne, and Smith), used to come 
 down to spend Sunday with her, going back on 
 Monday morning. If by any chance the two girls
 
 216 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 didn't meet early in the morning, you would be 
 pretty sure, if you happened to be traversing the 
 road between the parsonage and Orella's cottage, 
 either to meet Hester posting to the latter, or Orelia 
 rushing in the direction of the former; and some- 
 times, actuated by this common impulse, they met 
 -half-way between the two mansions. They read the 
 same books, and talked them over together; they 
 told each other their thoughts — (luckily they had 
 some to tell, which is not invariably the case on 
 these occasions, as I am informed) — in fact, they 
 were fast friends. And, though ascetic and male- 
 volent old bachelors (fellows who have been jilted, 
 probably, and have a spite against the sex) do say, 
 that female friendships springing up thus rapidly, 
 and cemented with passages from Byron, Moore, and 
 Madame de Stael, are sometimes rather fanciful than 
 sincere, and are apt to fall to decay with marvellous 
 celerity, yet this was an honourable instance of the 
 stability of female alliances ; it continued during the 
 period of Lady Lee's married life, and, since her 
 widowhood, Orelia had been a frequent visitor at 
 the Heronry. 
 
 Her ladyship^s acquaintance with Rosa was of 
 more recent date ; and as the account of its origin 
 involves the introduction of a new character in our 
 story, we shall discuss it in another chapter.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Not very far from the Heronry — perhaps half a 
 mile from the gates — stood the little village of Lans- 
 cote. This was not the village described in a former 
 chapter as in view from the windows of the house, 
 But was situated on the hither side of the river. A 
 trim but somewhat steep lane, descending shadily 
 between high banks, led to it. Looking through a 
 long vista of overhanging hawthorn, the wayfarer 
 saw before him, just at the point where a sharp turn 
 would bring him in sight of the village, the white 
 gate of the parsonage. Arriving, at this gate, and 
 standing in the cross-road, the view suddenly ex- 
 panded ; — on each side stretched a perspective of 
 four or five miles, while, beyond the parsonage, the 
 prospect was closed by the foliage of trees clothing 
 the steep bank of the farther side of the river. 
 
 Here dwelt Josiah Young, curate of Lanscote, and 
 here he had dwelt for two or three years previously.
 
 218 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Some time before the opening of our story, it had 
 occurred to him that the presence of his sister Rosa, 
 who had been, when he last saw her, a merry school- 
 girl, but was now grown into a young lady of near 
 eighteen, would agreeably enliven his solitude. He 
 pondered the idea of procuring a visit from her for 
 some time, and at length resolved to broach the 
 project to his housekeeper, Jennifer Greene. 
 
 If the Eeverend Josiah had possessed the slightest 
 turn for diplomacy, he never would have done any- 
 thing of the sort, but would have locked the idea 
 securely in his own breast till it was ripe for exe- 
 cution. Jennifer Greene was by no means the sort 
 of housekeeper likely to regard the establishment of 
 young ladies in the household with a favourable eye. 
 She was a widow, about thirty, trim, neat, black-eyed, 
 sharp of look and voice, and as fond of power as Lord 
 John Russell. As she stood on the other side of the 
 breakfast-table, with the tea-caddy in her hand, mea- 
 suring out, according to custom, the number of spoon- 
 fuls required for the Curate's breakfast, he began to 
 feel the impracticability of his project dawning on 
 him. Up to that moment, it had seemed to him 
 a simple, matter-of-fact sort of thing, easy of arrange- 
 ment, and sure of her concurrence; but now, as, 
 sitting in his easy-chair, he glanced nervously over 
 his book at her closed lips — firmly closed as they
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 219 
 
 always were, as if to keep in a retort struggling to 
 burst out before it was required — lie really wanted 
 words to begin. It suddenly seemed to bim a favour 
 be bad no right to expect, and be felt tbat Jennifer 
 would be justified in tbe outburst tbat would be 
 sure to follow. Tbe Curate was a nervous man. 
 He experienced a sort of guilty sensation, as be 
 often did wben preferring requests to tbe despotic 
 Jennifer — sucb as be bad felt lately wben be tbougbt 
 of asking ber to cbange bis dinner-bour to a more 
 convenient one, but couldn't make up bis mind to 
 it. He balf resolved to express bimself on tbe present 
 subject in a note, wbicb be could leave bebind, after 
 departing on feigned urgent business for a day or two. 
 Wbilebewas tbus considering, tbe bousekeeper,baving 
 finished measuring tbe tea, put tbe caddy on the table. 
 
 "You couldn't make it convenient to spend the 
 day somewhere to-morrow, Mr Young?'' 
 
 " To-morrow, Mrs Greene. Why so ? " 
 
 " I want," said the housekeeper, " to clean up the 
 bouse. This carpet must come up, and — " 
 
 " Wouldn't brushing it do ? " suggested the Curate, 
 glancing at the lanes of books, which, having over- 
 flowed the pair of bookcases that stood in two niches 
 of the apartment, were now meandering in laby- 
 rinthine confusion over the floor — ponderous tomes ; 
 ancient volumes, solidly bound and solidly written ;
 
 220 
 
 and modem works, lighter in structure, certainly, on 
 the outside at least — all wandering, side by side, 
 over chairs, tables, and window-seats ; for the Curate 
 was an insatiate and insatiable reader. " Wouldn't 
 brushing it do ? " 
 
 "No, it wouldn't, sir," said Jennifer, shortly. 
 " There's heaps of dust " (pretending to cough) " in 
 this carpet, only it's kept down by the books. There's 
 nothing so bad as books for hoarding the dust ; and 
 wherever there's dust there's spiders — and where 
 there's spiders there's cobwebs" (glancing sternly 
 at a thread of gossamer swaying from the ceiling, 
 that would have escaped a less vigilant eye, as she 
 propounded this entomological axiom). " And there's 
 the spare bedroom's getting quite mouldy — if it isn't 
 aired, I wouldn't be the next person to sleep in it — 
 not for fifty pound — " 
 
 "We must see to that," said the Curate, "for 
 it may be wanted." 
 
 "Sir?" said Jennifer, inquiringly. 
 
 "I was thinking," said the Curate, stammering 
 with nervousness, "I was thinking — that is — I haven't 
 seen my sister for a long time, Mrs Greene." 
 
 "Well, sir?" said Mrs Greene. 
 
 "And — and — I've been thinking of asking her 
 to come and see me ; and of course she'd have to 
 sleep in the spare bedroom, Mrs Greene."
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 221 
 
 Jennifer's side was towards him, and, as she tossed 
 up her head now, her sharp eyes glanced sideways 
 on his face, so that the right one looked at him 
 across the point of her nose. 
 
 " Oh, sir,'" said Jennifer. " Very good, sir ! " 
 
 That was all. The Curate did not know how she 
 looked as she departed, for he did not dare to glance 
 at her; but he remarked that her step was rather 
 quick, and the door made a good deal of noise in 
 closing. 
 
 " Dear me,'' said he, drawing his chair to the 
 table, and pouring out the tea, " I feel quite relieved. 
 Really it is very good of Mrs Greene to be so ac- 
 commodating." 
 
 The Curate went on devouring his book and his 
 toast unsuspectingly in this deceitful calm. He had 
 finished a chapter of the former, and was buttering 
 a second round of the latter, when the door was 
 again opened, and Jennifer entered. 
 
 " There, sir," said she, flinging down on the table 
 a bunch of keys — " there, sir, you'll find everything 
 correct to the last pin." 
 
 " Mrs Greene ! " said the astonished Curate ; 
 " dear me, what's the matter ? " 
 
 "Three years come June I've lived here," con- 
 tinued Jennifer, gazing at a point in the wall over 
 the Curate's head, and keeping time to her words
 
 222 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 with her foot on the floor, " and if anybody can 
 say there's been so much as a pin wasted, let 'em 
 say it. IVe toiled and moiled, high and low, up 
 stairs and down, like any slave — IVe been a good 
 servant to you, sir/' 
 
 " Excellent, my dear Mrs Greene ! " said the 
 Curate, who suddenly began to believe Jennifer the 
 pink and pattern of all housekeepers, and himself 
 an ingrate and a tyrant — " invaluable, Mrs Greene — 
 who says otherwise ? " 
 
 " IVe been a good servant to you, sir," continued 
 Jennifer, " and would have so been, as was my duty 
 and pleasure, but for spies being set over me." 
 
 " Spies ! " said Mr Young ; " bless me, who talked 
 of spies ? " 
 
 " Yes, spies ! '' continued Jennifer, pressing her 
 hands very tightly on her bosom, and nodding at 
 the wall, with inflated nostrils. " They may be 
 called sisters, or they may be called visitors, but 
 there's only one name for them. And my mind's 
 made up." 
 
 " But; my dear Mrs Greene ! surely it's very natu- 
 ral that I should wish to see my sister," said the 
 Reverend Josiah, apologetically, "and she needn't 
 interfere with you — she wouldn't wish to, I'm sure." 
 
 " Wouldn't she ! Oh, sir, you may think so, per- 
 haps, in the innocence of your heart, but you don't
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 223 
 
 know 'em. It is one thing to look after gentlemen, 
 and another thing to be looked after by ladies. I 
 haven't refused the many good situations I might 
 have had, to be overlooked now — and so, sir, as I 
 said, my mind's made up, and — and" — (here a 
 cloudiness about the eyes betokened a coming shower, 
 while the tapping on the floor was louder than ever) 
 — " and I hope you'll get somebody to " (sob, sob) — 
 " please, please you" (sniff, sniff) — " better than me." 
 
 Mr Young sighed, and was troubled. Perhaps (he 
 thought) he had been very wrong to speak about it. 
 Housekeepers had their feelings and points of honour 
 like other folks, and were entitled to have them in- 
 dulged. The idea of her really going away, and 
 leaving him to look out for a fresh housekeeper, who 
 didn't know his ways, and would give him no end of 
 trouble, was not to be entertained for a moment — so 
 he decided to relinquish his project, and go home for 
 a week instead ; and, applying himself to soothe the 
 wounded prejudices of Jennifer, prevailed upon her, 
 as a great favour, to resume the seals of office, in con- 
 sideration of his submission. 
 
 We are all of us henpecked — husbands by their 
 wives, bachelors by housekeepers, washerwomen, and 
 other females with whom they come in contact : none 
 of us can plume ourselves upon the intact perfection 
 of our plumage, for the marks of the pecker are over
 
 224 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 US all ; and the Keverend Josiah Young, with his 
 neck quite denuded, and his tail-feathers sorely be- 
 dragled, cowered like a plucked capon in the pre- 
 sence of his housekeeper, who began to wear a comb 
 and crow like a cock. 
 
 Immediately after his defeat, the Reverend Josiah, 
 hastily concluding a breakfast for which he had no 
 appetite left, lit his pipe and went out into his garden. 
 
 Every flower there was a personal friend of his, — 
 he knew, not only the history of its race, but the bio- 
 graphy of the individual. To this lonely, silent man 
 the woods and lanes and fields opened their hearts, 
 and became great storehouses of interest. — Primroses 
 spoke to him when they came out in the spring ; 
 harebells chimed an audible music; the moss and 
 the heath and the fern disclosed to hina their hidden 
 virtues. The tinted ornaments of the earth were not 
 more lavish of their sweetness to the roving bee, than 
 to this plain, black-coated, white-cravated Curate. 
 
 I say plain, for, open as was the Curate's soul to 
 forms of grace and sounds of harmony, his person was 
 not remarkable for beauty — he was rather plain than 
 otherwise, with light, very light hair and eyebrows, 
 and his pale pink complexion inclined to run into 
 small excrescences about the nose, cheeks, and chin. 
 Ah ! to think that the fairest minds sometimes elude 
 the observer behind warts and pimples ! Had I the
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 225 
 
 management of the world, the Curate should have a 
 skin of satin, and a halo like an angel. 
 
 So he walked carefully through the paths of his 
 little garden, stooping to take each flower between 
 his two first fingers, and upturn its face to his, while 
 the sun, glancing through his light frizzly hair, made 
 it look like hay. And, sometimes espying a cater- 
 pillar, earwig, or other bandit and free companion, 
 mutilating his favourites, he would pour on the felo- 
 nious insect clouds of tobacco smoke till it became 
 insensible, and, carefully transferring it in a state of 
 coma to a leaf, would convey it beyond the boundary 
 of his garden. A paddock across the road was the 
 convict establishment, and was quite a preserve of 
 banished vermin and reptiles. 
 
 He was gazing fondly on the countenance of a 
 blue anemone near the gate, when a very gentle tap 
 or poke on the shoulder from the point of a parasol 
 caused him to start and turn round, — Lady Lee 
 smiled at him over the palisades, and the image of 
 the anemone faded from his mind. With his pale 
 pinkness of complexion become celestial rosy red 
 (for, like all nervous, studious men, the Curate had a 
 sad trick of blushing), he hastened to open the gate, 
 and she and Julius entered, while the white pointer 
 crouched outside in the sun. 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 226 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " How I envy you your interest in your flowers ! If 
 I could read the book of the earth like you, I would be 
 content to turn a sort of a philosophic nun, and con- 
 secrate myself to its worship," said her ladyship. 
 
 " So would men lose one of their objects of wor- 
 ship," said the Curate, gallantly ; but he spoiled the 
 compliment by hesitating in its delivery. 
 
 " Your interest seems always so fresh," she con- 
 tinued, not heeding his speech. " You seem to turn 
 to each object as unweariedly as if it were your first 
 glance — the bloom is renewed for you, while I — " 
 
 "While you find novelty in perpetual diversity,^' 
 said the Curate. ^' It shows your mind to be many- 
 sided, your sympathies wide.'" 
 
 " No," said Lady Lee, dropping on the stone seat 
 at the gate, and poking absently in the flower-bed 
 with the point of her parasol ; " it shows me fickle, 
 unstable, unsatisfied. I am occupied for the time ; 
 but in the intervals I sit listlessly, and hear the earth 
 creaking wearily on its axle." 
 
 The Curate gazed at her with wonderful sympa- 
 thy ; he absolutely winked with earnestness. "Ah,'' 
 he said, " could I but have the happiness of knowing 
 how to fill up these chinks of fancied weariness — for 
 fancied it must be, since to be wearied of yourself 
 seems an impossibility" (this he muttered to himself) 
 — " I could be content indeed."
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 227 
 
 " And have you not done great things for me ? " 
 said she. " I don't know any one to whom I owe so 
 much. It is you who have directed my studies and 
 widened my views. Before, I was a desultory de- 
 vourer of books, reading much but meditating little ; 
 walking through the world like a peasant girl at a 
 fair, wondering and ignorant. You have led me 
 within the portals of those fairy lands of science 
 where you walk at your ease, and where I might 
 follow, but for an indolence and apathy which I have 
 spirit enough to regret but not to conquer." 
 
 "Perhaps I could wish you a little more zealous 
 in your pursuit of knowledge," rejoined the Curate ; 
 " your powers of observing and judging are too rare 
 to be allowed to rust ; and yet I don't know whether 
 there isn't something more engaging to the fancy in 
 your present mode of straying only among the flowers 
 and avoiding the dust of these pursuits. To saunter 
 is more feminine and graceful than to plod." 
 
 " Flatterer ! " said her ladyship, shaking her para- 
 sol at him : " you certainly have the art of putting 
 me in a better humour with myself; whether by your 
 words or example, I don't know. Bless me, Juley," 
 she said, jumping up from the bench and looking at 
 her watch, " we must be off. We are going to visit 
 some people in the village, Juley and I." One 
 would no longer have known her bright face for the
 
 228 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 clouded listless one of a moment before — tlie 
 remembrance of her weariness had vanished. But 
 the Curate was not so versatile, and he stuck to his 
 subject 
 
 " I was in hopes," said he, " that I should shortly 
 have given you a new subject of interest — ^my sister 
 Rosa, of whom you have heard me speak — but I am 
 vexed to find she can't come to me." 
 
 " And why not ? " asked Lady Lee. 
 
 The Curate was rather ashamed to confess the 
 obstacle, but, by skilful cross-examination, her lady- 
 ship elicited that Jennifer was the opposing party. 
 
 " Wretched woman ! " said Lady Lee to herself, 
 apostrophising the offending Jennifer ; but presently 
 a thought seemed to strike her. " What is Rosa's 
 address ? " inquired she ; " I must write to her, and 
 say how sorry I am she can't come ; and so we may 
 become acquainted, at least on paper." And having 
 obtained the address, she bid the Curate good morn- 
 ing, smiling, and departed. 
 
 Standing on tiptoe, his hands grasping the tops of 
 the gate-rails, his neck outstretched into the lane 
 till his chin projected inches and inches out of his 
 white cravat, the Curate watched Lady Lee till she 
 was out of sight. Then, drawing a long breath, he 
 shortened his neck, straightened his body, and sunk 
 upon his heels. He rubbed his heels — he muttered
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 229 
 
 to himself, smiling — lie looked up and laughed aloud, 
 and then, breaking suddenly off, gazed around to see 
 if anybody had overheard him. Presently he laughed 
 again — he bent his body courteously forward as if 
 explaining something — he waved his hand argumen- 
 tatively — ^he raised it deprecatingly — he brought the 
 palms together. " He's certainly acting a play,'' said 
 Jennifer to herself, looking out of the window at him 
 as she dusted the books. 
 
 Nothing of the kind, however. He was merely 
 continuing in imagination the conversation he had 
 just terminated with Lady Lee. He was saying bril- 
 liant things to her — he was greatly distinguishing 
 himself in the imaginary conference — he was taking 
 that share in it which he would have taken in the 
 real one if he had had a little less bashfulness — a 
 little more presence of mind. 
 
 A few days afterwards, he got a note desiring his 
 presence at the Heronry. Before he had well entered 
 the hall, a pair of arms were cast round him — 
 
 " Tm come, Josiah," whispered Kosa to her aston- 
 ished brother, "to stay with Lady Lee, and I'm to 
 visit you every day." 
 
 Thus it was that Kosa Young became domiciled 
 at the Heronry, and, henceforth, the Curate's visits 
 there were made on a more familiar footing. 
 
 Hitherto his admiration and friendship for Lady
 
 230 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 Lee had been of a very respectful kind ; and not even 
 her frank and sisterly treatment of him had been able 
 to diminish the awe with which her beauty, refine- 
 ment, and a certain loftiness that mingled even with 
 her frankness, inspired him. She had been a holi- 
 day figure in his imagination, to have contemplated 
 which too often and familiarly would have appeared, 
 to the Curate's mind, a kind of unholy revelry. 
 
 But Rosa's presence now formed a connecting 
 link between them. That "things which are fami- 
 liar with the same thing are familiar with one 
 another," is an axiom as true as any in Euclid. 
 Not that I mean to insinuate, however, that be- 
 cause both the Curate and Lady Lee were in the 
 habit of occasionally kissing Rosa, they ever kissed 
 each other. I should be truly sorry to stain my 
 pages with the chronicling of any such enormity, 
 which would deservedly call down on my devoted 
 head the wrath of all the aged and exemplary female 
 critics in England (old ladies, as I judge from inter- 
 nal evidence, being the authors of four-fifths of the 
 most profound criticisms of the day); and I have 
 quite enough to do, as it is, to avoid treading on the 
 corns of those estimable persons. No, no : all I mean 
 to say is, that Lady Lee, when seeing Rosa skipping 
 round the Curate, putting a neater bow on his white 
 cravat, brushing the dust off his coat, and calling him
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 231 
 
 Josiah, would sometimes, in a half inadvertent way, 
 call him Josiah also ; for, indeed, it was not easy to 
 be ceremonious with him. And the Curate's heart 
 would thereupon give a lively jump of delight, send- 
 ing his blood leaping not only into his face, but right 
 up to the crown of his head, and filling his soul and 
 his eyes with a wonderful gratitude and complacency ; 
 inspiring him, at the same time, with such an ardour 
 to make some return for this delightful familiarity, 
 that he would have been charmed to rush off at a 
 moment's notice to the extremities of the earth to 
 fetch her pocket-handkerchief. But no such sacri- 
 fices were required at his hands ; and the calling of 
 him by his Christian name grew more frequent, till 
 " Mr Young " was almost banished from the pre- 
 cincts of their conversation ; and, when the appella- 
 tion did creep in, it caused him to feel a kind of mild 
 and sorrowful resentment. 
 
 Then, what could be more charming than to sit 
 with them in the spacious library, with its hollow 
 carved ceiling, its deep bay-windows with the dia- 
 mond panes, its velvet - covered easy -chairs, and 
 shelves filled with books, many of them of his own 
 selection; and there to expound to them some botani- 
 cal or geological theory or system, or read aloud from 
 some author whom they had hitherto been unac- 
 quainted with, either from his being so very ancient
 
 232 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 or SO very new. And a new and hitherto unsuspected 
 peculiarity began to develop itself in the Curate — he 
 became extremely cunning, and, under pretence of 
 giving brotherly advice to Rosa, would direct all 
 sorts of moral and didactic batteries upon Lady Lee. 
 For the benefit of the latter, too, though under the 
 same pretence, he would advance sentiments and 
 opinions on intimate and confidential subjects, all 
 having remote reference to her ladyship ; but when- 
 ever she expressed her dissent from any of these, he 
 would immediately abandon them, and shamelessly 
 go over, with the utmost facility, to her side of the 
 question. 
 
 He showed a great deal of art, too, in the gradual 
 approaches he made towards calling her Hester. If 
 she had been simply Miss Lee, he would have seen 
 his way clearly enough ; for he might first have called 
 her Miss Hester, and then gradually have dropt the 
 formal prefix. Now, to convert Lady Lee into Hes- 
 ter was no such easy process. But Rosa, by her 
 ladyship's own desire, always addressed her by her 
 Christian name ; and when she said to her brother, 
 " Josiah, Hester says so and so," the Curate would 
 repeat after her, " Oh, Hester says so and so, does 
 she?'' and then would tremulously and furtively 
 glance at her ladyship, to see how she took it ; and, 
 finding this pass, as a matter of course, he grew
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 233 
 
 bolder ; and when Kosa said, " Hester and I are 
 going to work/' he would say, " Well, if Hester and 
 you are going to work. 111 read to you;'" which 
 devices he considered as the climax of human inge- 
 nuity and tact. 
 
 Instead, too, of any longer keeping the image of 
 Lady Lee under a glass-case, as it were, and only 
 indulging himself occasionally with the contempla- 
 tion of it, it now began to intrude itself between him 
 and his flowers, to take shape, and ascend in the 
 smoke of his meerschaum — nay, to cause the pages 
 of the very sermon he was writing for delivery on 
 the ensuing Sunday to grow dim and confused be- 
 neath the celestial radiance ; totally obliterating, 
 perhaps, some eloquent paragraph he had just com- 
 posed on the vanity of all human affections. And 
 then, waking up, he would wave away the vision 
 impatiently, take a fresh dip of ink, square his 
 elbows resolutely, and write, " Thirdly, my Christian 
 friends, let us consider — '' and, sinking back in his 
 chair, the poor Curate would consider nothing more 
 to the purpose than how Lady Lee had looked or 
 spoken when he last saw her. And he carried on 
 with her, while alone in his elbow-chair at the 
 parsonage, more imaginary conversations than ever 
 Walter Savage Landor wrote, and would thirst for 
 the next visit, that this airy eloquence of his might
 
 234 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 take actual sound, and receive audible replies. And 
 he used to be so brilliant, so lively, so irresistible, in 
 argument, in these ideal interviews, that he would 
 sometimes, at the conclusion of a real one, wonder 
 why he should depart with a sense of having acquit- 
 ted himself in a manner so inferior to his thought. 
 
 Let no impatient lover, sighing like furnace, and 
 burning like one, taking no note of time, and wish- 
 ing it annihilated till the moment shall come to give 
 him all he wishes — let none such imagine that the 
 Curate's passion made him anxious or unhappy. 
 Study and reading and philosophy had made his 
 life so full before, that no empty hours were left 
 wherein to originate those ardent hopes that give a 
 man no peace till they are smothered in possession. 
 So far as mere beauty affected him, the Curate might 
 have been chaplain to a seraglio, without ever falling 
 in love with the fairest Georgian of them all. He 
 would have simply admired her, as he did one of 
 those gorgeous beetles or painted butterflies with 
 which his hat and pockets overflowed after a morning 
 walk. He would never have gone an inch out of his 
 way to look for an object of worship. But how could 
 he help falling in love, poor unsuspicious Josiah, 
 when love lay directly in his accustomed paths ? 
 And never did captive dwell more contentedly at 
 the bottom of his pitfall. A new and bright element
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 235 
 
 had been introduced into a busy, peaceful life, lend- 
 ing it a fresh charm, but producing no violent dis- 
 placement of the habitual trains of thought. And 
 the Curate was so happy, that, if these pleasant 
 relations had continued just as they were, without 
 growing either more or less intimate, he could have 
 passed on thus, even to old age, without a murmur. 
 And his life, thus gently rippled, was flowing on 
 shadily and pleasantly, when its placid surface was 
 further broken by the reappearance of an old ac- 
 quaintance of his (though a new one to the reader), 
 as occurred in the following manner.
 
 CHAPTEE XY. 
 
 It was a wet evening — cold, though in June, and 
 more comfortless than a stormy winter twilight, 
 when the idea of the cheerful fire illuminating the 
 inner world of home is pleasant to the drenched and 
 shivering victim of weather. The Curate was re- 
 turning from a visit to an invalid in the village ; his 
 black trousers, saturated with the moisture of the 
 long rank herbage, mostly fern and dock-leaves, that 
 fringed the lane, stuck closely as gaiters to his ankles, 
 while his umbrella rattled again with the showers of 
 drops it shook down in its passage underneath the 
 hawthorn bushes. There was a little pool in the 
 latch of the garden-gate as he put his forefinger in 
 it : the white palings gleamed wetly in the gloom ; 
 the garden itself was drenched and dismal ; and the 
 window of his sitting-room, which, in a winter's 
 evening, glowed out on his returning figure like the 
 portal of a brighter world, looked black and sullen as
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 237 
 
 a cave. " I'll liave a fire/' said the Curate, " if Mrs 
 Greene has no objection ; and 111 have some tea ; 
 and 111 finish the other volume of that capital book." 
 The Curate was a great sensualist in his way. 
 
 Forgetting to scrape his shoes before entering, and 
 sticking his wet umbrella upright against the wall, 
 from the ferrule of which forthwith meandered a 
 dark sluggish stream along the passage (both high 
 crimes and misdemeanours in the Jenniferian code), 
 he rubbed up his hair, and entered his sitting-room. 
 He was groping his way to the bell, to order a fire to 
 be lit, when he saw a tall dark figure standing in the 
 shadow of the window-curtains. The Curate at first 
 thought it an optical delusion, and waved his hand 
 towards it, in order to dispel the vision ; but his 
 fingers encountered the lapel of a veritable coat. 
 " A robber ! " thought the Curate, and instantly 
 grappled the intruder. "Who are you, sir? and 
 what are you doing in my house ? " queries which 
 the mysterious person responded to by grappling him 
 in return, and forcibly causing him to seat himself 
 in his easy-chair. The Curate, however, still resisted 
 valiantly, till his antagonist, who had been struggling, 
 not only with him, but with a laugh that threatened 
 to become uproarious, suddenly quitted his hold, 
 giving hearty vent to his merriment. 
 
 " I should know that voice,'' said the Curate ;
 
 238 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " who on earth is it ? " The sound had conjured up 
 a vision of the Curate's youth. 
 
 Just then Mrs Greene entered with the candles. 
 The light showed the figure of a tall man in undress 
 cavalry uniform, with a handsome face and a light 
 mustache, beneath which his teeth gleamed whitely 
 in his mirth. He held out his hand to the Curate. 
 "The same old boy," said he, "as ever — the same 
 old Josey," 
 
 The Curate, with his head thrust inquiringly for- 
 ward, his mouth open, stared in his face, and dubi- 
 ously took his hand. " Not Fane,'' he said — " not 
 Durham Fane ? " The other nodded, smiling. 
 
 The Curate, instantly tightening the grip of his 
 right hand, seized Fane's arm above the elbow with 
 his left, and worked at him as if the house had 
 sprung a leak, and his visitor were the pump on 
 which he depended for safety. 
 
 " Not forgotten, Durham ! — never forgotten in all 
 the long years since we were companions ! — always 
 remembered as my earliest friend. I may almost say 
 my only one ; for I have never had one of the kind 
 since. And where have you come from ? — and what 
 are you doing with that mustache ? — and how did 
 you find me out ? Have you had any dinner ? " 
 
 " Ha, ha 1 — the same muddle-headed old boy as 
 ever, with his ideas, called suddenly in from wool-
 
 239 
 
 gathering, pouring forth in breathless disorder," said 
 Fane. *' First, Josey, I come from Doddington, 
 where my troop is quartered at present. I had been 
 out for an afternoon ride, when, struck by the ap- 
 pearance of your parsonage, I asked a girl who was 
 passing whose it was ? — more for the sake of speak- 
 ing to the article, who was pretty, Josey, than be- 
 cause I cared to know. ' The Reverend Josiah 
 Young ? "* — the name electrified me — it was threat- 
 ening rain ; so I tied my horse to the gate (from 
 whence he has since been transferred to the stable) 
 and entered. A glance round the room, and at the 
 backs of the books, would have assured me who 
 was the inhabitant, even without the autograph on 
 the fly-leaves. Burton — Gilbert White — Camden — 
 Evelyn — Jeremy Taylor — Kenelm Digby — the anti- 
 quated brotherhood would have been sorely incom- 
 plete without old Josey Young, the most old-fashion- 
 ed of the fraternity, to consort with them. So I sat 
 here patiently, while the rains descended and the 
 winds came, waiting till you should make yourself 
 manifest.'' 
 
 " Not altered, Fane, in speech or spirit," said the 
 Curate smiling — " the same irreverent fun on the 
 surface — ^the same strong sense and kindliness, doubt- 
 less, underneath. "Well have such a glorious evening ! 
 — for you won't leave me, I'm sure. Mrs Greene !
 
 240 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Mrs Greene ! " (Enter Jennifer.) " My friend here is 
 going to stay the evening — he has had no dinner — 
 couldn't you, that is, would it trouble you much to — 
 a beefsteak, you know, or something of that sort, and 
 some of your excellent mashed potatoes — and a bottle 
 of beer — and I'll just have my tea at the same time/' 
 
 The countenance of Jennifer was gloomy in the 
 extreme ; under-done steak and half-mashed potatoes 
 were written thereon very legibly, to the despairing 
 glance of the Curate, who knew that she didn't like 
 to be put out of her way by mipromptu visitors. 
 Fane stepped forward. 
 
 " Excellent Miss Greene," he said, " don't mind 
 what my hospitable friend says. Some bread and 
 butter, cut by your own fair hands — some tea, such 
 as you administer to him — are all I shall trouble 
 you for. I know, my pretty Miss Greene, what a 
 bachelor's household is." 
 
 Mrs Greene's feelings were touched — she liked 
 being called Miss Greene, because it made her think 
 she looked young. She liked the politeness of the 
 handsome officer — she liked his consideration for a 
 bachelor's housekeeping, while she felt a pride in her 
 own resources. She smiled and curtsied pleasantly 
 as she withdrew. Fane sent a shot after her. 
 
 " What a handsome housekeeper you've got, Josey. 
 What does the bishop say, you sly dog ? "
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 241 
 
 " Is Mrs Greene handsome ? '' said Josiah. " I 
 really never noticed her looks." 
 
 Fane laughed. "Now, if anybody but you had 
 said that," said he, clapping the Curate on the 
 shoulder, " were he the most venerable of archdea- 
 cons, or an archbishop, I should have thought him 
 an arch humbug. But I believe you, Josey. You 
 were always a virtuous old boy, by nature and habit 
 as well as principle ; and I'll be sworn you don t even 
 know the colour of your housekeeper's eyes." 
 
 "And now answer me, thou naughty varlet,'' said 
 the Curate, drawing his chair to the fire ; "what hast 
 thou been doing these ten years ? " 
 
 "We soldiers, Josey," replied Fane, "spend our 
 time pretty much as Satan spends his, according to 
 the Book of Job — in passing to and fro on the earth, 
 and walking up and down on it." 
 
 "Can't you let Job alone, and answer for your- 
 self?" returned Josiah. "I trust your life only re- 
 sembles Satan's in a perambulatory point of view. 
 And how does it suit you? Is it what you could 
 wish ? Have you read much ? — you used to be a 
 great reader? Have you seen a great deal of the 
 world ? Has it prospered with you ? " 
 
 " Why, yes," said Fane ; " in the ordinary sense I 
 have been prosperous. Health — promotion rapid 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 242 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 enough — pleasant, though seldom quite congenial, 
 associates — a stirring Indian campaign, out of which 
 I came sound, wind and limb — and, for the rest, a 
 soldiering, sporting, love-making life, with snatches 
 of better things. Such has been the tenor of my 
 course. Judge you of its congeniality." 
 
 " Not satisfactory, Durham — not what I had pre- 
 figured for you. Though, as a boy, you were impe- 
 tuous, impatient, impulsive " 
 
 " In fact, everything that was impish," said Fane. 
 
 "Yet I knew there was ballast enough to steady 
 the vessel. But I fear the good ship has been drift- 
 ing aimlessly." 
 
 " Too true,'' said Fane — " too true. But my pro- 
 spects have changed. Three years ago, I was serving 
 in India, exemplifying how happy the soldier is who 
 lives on his pay, when I unexpectedly received a 
 communication from my mother's eldest brother. 
 This old gentleman had never forgiven my mother 
 for marrying my father, a poor subaltern, nor ex- 
 changed word or letter with her to the day of her 
 death. I had consequently nothing to expect from 
 him, especially as he had adopted my cousin, Langley 
 Levitt, and was bringing him up as his heir. But 
 Langley, by some acts of disobedience and extrava- 
 gance, had mortally offended him, and was cast adrift 
 without a penny. My uncle now offered me the
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 243 
 
 vacant place in his affections, and proposed an imme- 
 diate exchange to a regiment at home. 'Twas a 
 grand offer for such a poor devil as me. I was sick 
 of India, and gladly consented. The old gentleman 
 behaved very liberally — got me an exchange to a 
 cavalry regiment, and gives me a handsome allow- 
 ance. So here I do now walk before thee, Josey, 
 captain of dragoons, and heir-apparent to some thou- 
 sands per annum, on condition of good behaviour." 
 
 " I'm delighted at your good fortune, Durham," 
 said the Curate, getting up to pat his friend on the 
 shoulder. "But the poor cousin — what became of 
 him?" 
 
 " Nobody knows," replied Fane. " I have caused , 
 diligent inquiry to be made for him — secretly, for my 
 uncle won't hear his name mentioned — but without 
 success. From all I can hear, he is chargeable with 
 nothing worse than imprudence, though my uncle did 
 once hint at something of a darker nature. I believe 
 he was a general favourite; but I never saw him." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " said the sympathetic Curate. 
 " You must find him, Durham, and take care of 
 him. But has this change of life been for the 
 better ? Has your prosperity brought any clear pro- 
 spect of worthy occupation with it ? " 
 
 " Was ever such an atrocious kill-joy ! — as if it 
 were not enough occupation for an unfortunate men-
 
 244 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 dicant like me to revel in the glories of his new 
 position, and go pleasantly to the devil. But no, 
 Josey ; my conscience has smitten me for leading 
 such a useless life, and I said so to my uncle. I 
 told him I had looked on long enough at the world, 
 and wished to play a part in it. 'You want to 
 leave dragooning ? ' said he. ' I do,' said I. * Marry,' 
 said he, in his usual laconic fashion. * Whom ? ' asked 
 I. ' Anybody that's respectable,' was the avuncular 
 rejoinder. * What atrocious hypocrisy ! ' thought I ; 
 ' I'll expose it immediately.' ' What d'ye think, sir, 
 of Miss Podder?' I said — 'pretty, agreeable, and 
 with the prospect of a grand cotton concern as her 
 heritage.' ' Eascal ! ' thundered my uncle, going as 
 near the verge of apoplexy as an elderly gentleman 
 with safety can — ' how dare you mention the infernal 
 cotton-spinning name ?' 'Miss Standish,' I suggested, 
 — 'good breed — regular Church-and- State family.' 
 * She hasn't a second idea,' said my uncle, ' and I 
 wouldn't have you marry a fool, Durham.' 'The 
 only other eligible person I can think of,' said I, ' is 
 our neighbour, Miss Kindersley.' ' Would you marry 
 a death's-head ? ' thundered my relative (and the 
 lady is somewhat gaunt and grim, Josey), 'or do 
 you think I wish to see my niece-in-law grin at 
 me ? ' The upshot was, that as nothing was to be 
 found near home, I was to try my fortune elsewhere.
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 245 
 
 Married or not, at the end of a year I exchange 
 life military for life bucolic ; but I hardly dare show 
 my nose at home without a wife. Do you know 
 anybody, Josey, that would suit me ?" 
 
 Why did the Curate redden at the question ? Was 
 it that he did know somebody to the purpose ? And 
 if so, why not name her ? Poor Josiah ! a spark 
 of jealousy shot sharply along that simple honest 
 heart, as he thought how well Durham Fane would 
 match with Lady Lee. 
 
 Before he had time to grapple with the thought, or 
 to reply, a rattling as of plates, knives, and forks 
 in the passage was heard ; and presently a savoury 
 odour preceded Jennifer into the room. A tender 
 steak, done to a turn, a well-made omelet, and a 
 little pjrramid of mashed potatoes, of a charming 
 shade of brown, appeared on the snow-white cloth, 
 with a bottle of beer standing sentinel over the whole. 
 The Curate's heart was filled with gratitude to Jen- 
 nifer. 
 
 " Bad policy. Miss Greene," said Fane, drawing 
 a chair toward the well-spread tray, "to make my 
 dinner so inviting. I shall be coming too often." 
 
 " Really, Durham, I don't know what spell you've 
 cast over Mrs Greene," said Josiah, as she retired 
 simpering primly. " She is really in a charming 
 humour."
 
 246 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 It did the Curate good to mark the affectionate 
 ardour with which Fane threw himself on the steak. 
 He liovered round his guest, plying him with pepper, 
 ketchup, a browner portion of potato — uncorked his 
 beer and poured it foaming creamily into the tum- 
 bler — drew the loaf and butter more within his 
 reach — put a fire-screen before him, and then, 
 somewhat inconsistently, poked up the fire ; after 
 which, he sat down opposite him, smiling in the 
 intervals of sipping his tea. 
 
 " And how has the time passed with you, Josey ? " 
 inquired Fane, looking up from his plate; "doubtless, 
 as of yore, in a state of dreamy activity. I always 
 considered yours the most wonderful case of som- 
 nambulism ever known. You eat, drink, and walk 
 about like other men, while your mind dwells for 
 ever in pleasant dream-lands. I would lay a wager 
 that you do not now see me in my true light, as 
 a very ordinary mortal dropt in unexpectedly on 
 an old friend, but as an Orestes brought by good 
 spirits to rejoin his Pylades. Life and its incidents 
 were always to you, in reality, what they are to other 
 men only in the illusions of memory or of hope. 
 And I would lay another wager, Josey, that if thou 
 shouldst get thee a wife, she, to ordinary eyes a mere 
 chronicler of small beer, and a mender of cotton stock- 
 ings, will be, in yours, a peerless and perfect dame,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 247 
 
 more than half angel, even though she should waddle 
 before thee with no more waist than a soda-water 
 bottle, and with chins all the way down to her sto- 
 macher." 
 
 " Do you think I have that faculty ? "^ said the 
 Curate, thoughtfully. '•'• Why, it never struck me — 
 perhaps I have, though — perhaps I have. But I 
 don't remember ever forming a very lofty opinion, 
 such as you mention, of any woman, except one — 
 and she deserves it. Anybody would say so. You 
 will say so yourself when you see her." 
 
 " No, Josey, no. I lack the vision and the faculty 
 divine. I am as much over-critical as you are the 
 reverse; and it has enabled me to walk scathless 
 through the hosts of sirens and Circes that beset a 
 man in the earlier stages of his pilgrimage. Why, 
 most reverend and simple Josey, you, with one half 
 my temptations, would have been hopelessly wedded 
 years since to some remorseless female, who, with 
 no more sympathy with your pursuits than my horse, 
 would have invaded your sacred leisure and beloved 
 ease at the head of a troop of imps, whom you would 
 secretly have hated all the worse because you be- 
 lieved yourself their father. And for this lady without 
 peer that you speak of — why, 'tis ten to one, Josey, 
 that I find her some dowdy, or perchance some stupid 
 lay figure which your warm imagination has " —
 
 248 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " Durham ! " said the Curate, seriously — " Dur- 
 ham ! " 
 
 "Why, Josey, a thousand pardons," said Fane, 
 looking up and pausing with a piece of steak on his 
 lifted fork. " Why, the old boy looks as grave as 
 a judge — the sort of look you used to assume, Josey, 
 when I played tricks on our revered head-master 
 at the old vicarage school. But I will look at her, 
 Josey, through your spectacles, and, whatever may 
 be my secret thoughts of this piece of Eve's flesh, I 
 will say nought except in praise of her ; nay, more, 
 without seeing her, I pronounce her " — 
 
 " Say nothing till you have seen her, Durham," 
 interposed the Curate, " and then say just what you 
 honestly think." 
 
 " But you have roused my curiosity, Josey. Who 
 or what is she ? What is her name among men ? " 
 
 " She is called Lady Lee," said the Curate ; ^' and 
 her christian name is Hester." 
 
 " Lady Lee ! '' repeated Fane — " then she is mar- 
 ried, eh ! and you are admiring your neighbour's 
 wife, most virtuous Josey ? " 
 
 " No,'' said the Curate ; " she's a widow." 
 
 " A widow ! " cried Fane. " Why, there you have 
 shivered to pieces at a Avord all the high imagi- 
 nations with which I was labouring to come up to 
 your description. There are two sorts of widows —
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 249 
 
 one, fat, contented, red-faced, looking out for prey 
 among mankind with tlie calmness of a proficient 
 in the art of man-stealing — the other, wizened, sharp- 
 nosed, querulous, and mighty prolific, as a train of 
 ugly little copies of the dear departed bear witness. 
 Which does her ladyship belong to, Josey ? " 
 
 " I'll talk to you on the subject when you're in 
 a better frame of mind," said the Curate. 
 
 " But, seriously now, Josey, and in sober truth, 
 would there not be something truly formidable in 
 the idea of marrying a widow ? To step, not merely 
 into a dead man's shoes, but to put your head in 
 his very nightcap — to have a ghost for a rival — to 
 have base comparisons drawn between yourself and 
 an apparition — to find that her taste inclines towards* 
 dark men (the complexion of the deceased having 
 been of a fine deep bronze, while yours is of angelic 
 fairness) — to know that, when you keep her waiting 
 for dinner, or venture to be drowsy when she wants 
 you to be lively, she is thinking of a dear first hus- 
 band who never committed these crimes. Ah, Josey, 
 do not all these sentiment -defying considerations 
 lurk within the close-crimped circle of a widow's 
 cap?" 
 
 While delivering these remarks. Fane was too 
 busy with his knife and fork to observe that they 
 caused the Curate to fidget nervously in his chair.
 
 250 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 At the conclusion of them the latter hastened to 
 change the subject, taking advantage of the allusion 
 Fane had made to their school-days to talk of those 
 vanished times with wonderful zest and glee. 
 
 At length, after prolonged and youth -restoring re- 
 view of past times. Fane rose, looking at his watch. 
 " Josey, I must be off. " 
 
 "Not at all," said the Curate, starting hastily 
 from his chair ; " you must stay here to - night. 
 Don't you hear the rain ? " 
 
 " But 'twill put you out of your way," urged Fane. 
 
 "Not in the least — not in the least,'' said the 
 hospitable Curate. He had been revolving in his 
 mind the chances of Jennifer permitting the sanc- 
 tuary of the spare room to be profaned, and had 
 resolved not to run the risk of giving her a distaste 
 for Fane at this, his first visit, by taxing her amiabi- 
 lity too much, as that might render his future ones 
 unpleasant. Therefore the Curate had arranged that 
 Fane should occupy his own bed, that he should 
 himself sleep on the sofa, and that Mrs Greene need 
 not know anything about it. 
 
 So when they had talked their fill, the Curate 
 took a candle to show him the way. But first they 
 went out to the stable, where Fane, with his own 
 hands, groomed his charger, fed him (for Josiah, 
 though he had no horse of his own, was always pre-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 251 
 
 pared to entertain the steeds upon which his brother 
 clergymen came to visit him), and littered him down, 
 Josiah holding the candle. Then they proceeded 
 up-stairs, at the top of which Josiah halted, and cau- 
 tioning his friend to step lightly that he might not 
 awake Mrs Greene, whose door he would pass, whis- 
 pered "Good night,'' and, watching him disappear 
 and shut the door of the chamber, descended softly 
 to his sitting-room, where, taking off his coat and 
 shoes, he slumbered peacefully on the sofa, with his 
 best surplice and a green baize table-cloth for bed- 
 clothes.
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 When Jennifer entered the next morning, to 
 glance her sharp eyes round the sitting-room and 
 direct the labours of the housemaid (a young villager, 
 whom she kept in a state of complete subjection), 
 she Avas startled at seeing her master extended on 
 the sofa, slumbering, as aforesaid, peacefully beneath 
 the surplice and the table-cloth — for the Curate, 
 rendered restless by the many thoughts which the 
 presence of his friend had conjured up, lay tossing 
 long after midnight, and had failed to wake so early 
 as he designed in order to evade detection. Jennifer 
 drew herself up and looked at him with austere sur- 
 prise ; but presently guessing the true state of the 
 case, she turned to her young assistant, who stood 
 behind her with broom and duster, and commanded 
 her to go softly into the Curate's bed-room and bring 
 her word who was sleeping there. Presently the 
 maid returned, saying it was the strange officer, and
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 253 
 
 Jennifer's features relaxed into a stern smile as 
 slie thought of the supremacy she had established 
 over the Curate, driving him to adopt such devices 
 in his own house. Sweet is the evidence of our own 
 power — far sweeter to natures such as Jennifer's 
 than proofs of affection. And, sending the maid 
 elsewhere, she closed the door softly, and went away. 
 But even that soft closing of the door roused the 
 Curate. He opened his eyes, looked for a moment 
 wonderingly about him, and then recalling the event 
 of the evening, he sat up on the sofa, rubbed his 
 eyes, and stole gently out from under the shelter 
 of his ecclesiastical bed-clothes. Congratulating him- 
 self on the perfect success of his manoeuvre, he ar- 
 ranged the table-cloth on the table, put by his 
 surplice where he had found it, shook and thumped 
 the sofa-cushions to remove the traces of his occu- 
 pancy, and, throwing his coat and waistcoat across 
 his arm, stole gently out into the passage, intending 
 to finish his toilette in his own room before waking 
 his friend, and to instruct him to feign that he. 
 Fane, had dropt in to breakfast after having slept 
 elsewhere. But these machinations were dissolved 
 into thin air at the sight of Jennifer, who con- 
 fronted him in the lobby. The Curate started 
 like a guilty thing surprised, stared, and then said 
 feebly, " Good morning, Mrs Greene."
 
 254 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " I'm afraid, sir, youVe not slept comfortably," 
 said Jennifer ; " but I must say 'twas your own fault, 
 Mr Young. Wasn't there the spare room for your 
 friend, if you had only let me know ? " 
 
 The Curate was overpowered by Jennifer's good- 
 ness, and murmured something about " not wishing 
 to give her trouble." 
 
 "And pray, sir, when did I complain of trouble 
 when I could make you or your friends comfortable?" 
 asked Jennifer, reproachfully. " Would the Captain 
 like tea or coffee for breakfast, sir ? — or there's cho- 
 colate, if he would prefer it ? " 
 
 " Anything, anything you like, my good Mrs 
 Greene — my friend's not particular,"' said the Curate, 
 quite embarrassed with his gratitude, and running 
 hastily up-stairs. 
 
 This condescension to meet the Curate's wishes 
 was a great stroke of policy on the part of Jennifer. 
 She felt that it was of no use to strain the reins too 
 tightly without an object, and that an occasional re- 
 laxation of them might better answer her ends — for 
 ends, and very definite ones, Jennifer had, even from 
 the first day of her establishment at Lanscote Par- 
 sonage. She had soon perceived the Curate to be as 
 helpless, as she phrased it, as a child, in his domestic 
 concerns — and who could manage them better than 
 she ? And, having established this fact, she had once
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 255 
 
 absented lierself on a week's leave, for the purpose of 
 letting the Curate feel how necessary she was to his 
 comfort ; and, on returning, had the satisfaction of 
 hearing him confess that everything had gone wrong 
 in her absence. Then, was she not good-looking ? — 
 was not her family respectable ? And if she had 
 lowered herself before, in consequence of reduced 
 circumstances, by marrying a small shipmaster, why, 
 that was all the more reason she should do better 
 next time. And, in fact, the shipmaster having been 
 disposed of, by drowning, some years before, Jennifer, 
 in her innermost heart, cherished the design of sup- 
 plying his place with the Curate. And what was 
 there, she thought, so unlikely in it ? Their relation 
 would be but little altered by such a step — in fact, 
 she should care even better for his interests then 
 than now — and so Jennifer, with the patience of a 
 sharp, calculating, cat-like nature, set herself delibe- 
 rately to watch for the unsuspecting, unwary Curate. 
 
 Excellent was the breakfast to which the Curate 
 and his friend sat smilingly down that morning — so 
 excellent, that Fane could not help eulogising it. 
 
 " Why, Josey," he said, "what a precious old sen- 
 sualist you must have grown since we parted ! Not 
 content with bread and toast, you must have hot rolls 
 too — and (shade of Apicius !), as if marmalade were 
 not sufficient, here are two sorts of jam — and this
 
 256 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 trout is superb, and so is the coffee — Josey, I must 
 really borrow Mrs Greene for a short time — won't 
 you lend her to me, you clerical gourmand?" And 
 the Curate, submitting cheerfully to the charge of 
 gourmandising (which was,'however, quite unmerited, 
 for he did not often get such breakfasts), smiled 
 gratefully on Jennifer, who, in her smartest cap, was 
 pouring out the coffee with an air of prim satisfaction. 
 
 " I enjoy this wonderfully," said Fane, as he sat 
 after breakfast on a wooden seat fixed against the 
 hedge that bounded the Curate's garden, having a 
 canopy of lilacs and laburnums, while around were 
 thickly scattered yellow wall-flowers, with a bee feed- 
 ing on the red heart of each, and humming as it fed, 
 mingled with many a balsam, and stocks purple and 
 white — " I enjoy this wonderfully,'' said Fane, look- 
 ing up from a great volume that lay on his lap, and 
 addressing the Curate, who, pipe in mouth, was bend- 
 ing among his flowers ; — " more than you, Josey, 
 for this is your daily life, and familiarity with these 
 pleasant sights and sounds and scents must have bred 
 a certain indifference towards them. But hours like 
 these steel in enchantingly in the intervals of a busy 
 or a struggling life, such as mine has mostly been, and 
 as I hope it will be." 
 
 " You are mistaken," said the Curate. " You are 
 one of those who love strong contrasts, and can
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 257 
 
 scarcely appreciate even the peaceful blue of the sky 
 unless it peers in streaks through thunder -clouds. 
 But the key of my taste is pitched lower, and I find 
 in these quiet scenes a daily beauty, as lago says — 
 (by the by, where did such a villain as lago come by 
 that delicious phrase, Durham ?) And if I did find 
 my pursuits staling by custom, why, a slight fillip, 
 such as the presence of an old friend, suffices to 
 restore their lustre. To-day the garden looks almost 
 gaudy, Durham." 
 
 "You're a good simple old boy, Josey," said Fane, 
 " and IVe half a mind to envy you. There are two 
 classes in the world who seem to me to come nearer 
 happiness than any others — gardeners and painters. 
 Both are brought into incessant contact with th§ 
 wonders, the glory, and the variety of nature, and 
 are thus secure against satiety. Both are engaged 
 in a struggle, not with their fellows (which leads to 
 emulations, envyings, and the rest that you wot of, 
 Josey), but with the secrets of the outer world — and 
 both receive sufficient encouragement to lead them 
 onward in infinite search. Lastly, Josey, both find 
 perpetual rewards in the sympathy and pleasure 
 which their success excites in others. And, there- 
 fore, could I but discern in myself any artist-power 
 of expression, I would turn my sabre-tasche into a
 
 258 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 palette, fill my holsters with camel-hair brushes, and 
 (leaving gardening out of the question, because it 
 would make my back ache, and is, moreover, of the 
 earth, earthy) devote myself to placing on canvass 
 the essence of something now lying unthought of in 
 nature'*s treasury. Thus might one give the world 
 assurance of a man who could listen to its din with- 
 out wishing to join in the struggle or the shouting." 
 
 " A little momentary enthusiasm, excited by pre- 
 sent peaceful enjoyment, Durham," said the Curate, 
 smiling. " You are meant to cast a broad and gene- 
 ral glance upon the world, not to peer microscopically 
 into its minuter, though still infinite wonders. Trust 
 me, Durham, you would never learn to hang your 
 morrow's expectations, as I do, on the unfolding of a 
 bud, or the breaking of a germ through the soil." 
 
 "Long may you continue to flourish in your para- 
 dise," said his friend. " It only wants one thing to 
 complete it — such as I now see coming down the 
 road, sending rays before her, as Dante says of his 
 advancing angel, J ike the morning star. An Eve, 
 Josey, approaches, in a fringed parasol and straw 
 bonnet — and, by Jove, she's coming in at the gate ! " 
 
 The Curate, somewhat short-sighted as he was, re- 
 cognised the celestial apparition before it lifted the 
 latch — he always knew Lady Lee a long way off. In 
 his haste to greet her he made a spring over the
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 259 
 
 central flower-bed, instead of going round it, and, 
 over-estimating his agility, decapitated two gorgeous 
 tulips. Her ladyship, however, displayed none of this 
 haste, waiting patiently with the open gate in her 
 hand to admit Julius, who had overshot the goal in 
 breathless pursuit of a butterfly. 
 
 " I am so glad you have come this morning ! " 
 said the Curate (as if his illuminated countenance 
 and eager haste did not sufficiently express this). 
 " I am so glad you have come, for there is an old 
 friend of mine here whom I should like you to 
 know." 
 
 To say the truth, Lady Lee's face did not assume 
 any appearance of warm interest in this friend, nor 
 of great anxiety to make his acquaintance. In fact, 
 when the Curate had occasionally before introduced 
 her to friends of his, whom he had warmly eulogised, 
 her quick-sighted ladyship had perceived in a mo- 
 ment that they owed their merits principally, if not 
 altogether, to the Curate's imagination acting through 
 his warm heart, being, in fact, the merest stupid re- 
 spectabilities imaginable. So she walked with the 
 Curate amid the flower-beds towards the bench where 
 Fane was seated, in full expectation of finding there 
 some clerical gentleman clothed inside and out in 
 dinginess, and whose talk was of tithes. 
 
 Accordingly she lifted her eyes somewhat languidly
 
 2 GO LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 as Fane rose at her approach ; hut they immediately 
 opened into an expression of interest on encountering 
 the glance of the earnest, thoughtful, intelligent pair 
 that met them. Certainly, there was nothing of the 
 personage she had prefigured in the tall, well-made 
 form, clad in a handsome uniform, that bent towards 
 her as the Curate named "his friend. Captain Fane." 
 
 Fane, too, finding that he was in the presence of 
 the peerless dame who had illuminated the Curate's 
 conversation the night before, and knowing from old 
 experience that Josiah's swans often appeared merely 
 geese to the public eye, did not feel his curiosity 
 much excited till he caught that after-glance of hers, 
 contrasting so flatteringly with her first indifferent, 
 somewhat supercilious look, as to appear like an in- 
 voluntary compliment. 
 
 The Curate stood by, watching the interview, and 
 gently rubbing his hands as he glanced from one to 
 the other. He had always thought each of them 
 handsome — but they looked handsomer than they 
 ever had before, to his eyes, as they stood opposite to 
 each other, their faces reflecting interest. And then 
 a strong sense of his own personal identity flashed 
 suddenly on him, as if he could stand apart from the 
 group, and see himself making the third in it, with 
 his plain face and form, his ungraceful attitude, and 
 his dingy dress, contrasting strongly with the grace.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 261 
 
 easy strength, and picturesque attire of liis friend. 
 The Curate was little accustomed to think about his 
 own appearance, and could not account for the sud- 
 den access of egotism. 
 
 " Come, don't be ceremonious ; shake hands," said 
 the Curate. " I'm sure you'll be friends." 
 
 Fane held out his hand — "He should think the 
 better of himself, henceforth, for Josiah's prophecy." 
 A sensation, as of guilt to be atoned for, came over 
 him as he looked at Lady Lee, and thought of his 
 blasphemy about widows on the previous night. 
 
 Now Lady Lee's second glance had satisfied her of 
 the truth of a suspicion which the first had communi- 
 cated to her mind — viz., that she had seen Captain. 
 Fane before. He was, however, quickest in remem- 
 bering where, because she had, on the occasion of 
 their meeting, been attired very much as at present, 
 whereas his uniform made a difference sufficient to 
 puzzle one who had only seen him in a shooting- 
 jacket and wide-awake hat. Presently, however, she 
 recognised the hero of the adventure at the stepping- 
 stones — the more easily, perhaps, because his face 
 had once or twice risen uncalled for to her mental eye 
 during the interval ; and, remembering the mode in 
 which he had got her out of her difficulty, she very 
 ungratefully intrenched herself in a double allowance 
 of reserve and coldness. So she merely put the tips
 
 2G2 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 of her fingers in his extended hand, and turned to 
 the Curate. 
 
 "She and Juley," she said, "were taking their 
 morning walk, and she had looked in to say that 
 there was an arrival at the Heronry very interesting 
 to the Curate — a packet of new books, which he must 
 come and inspect, and which Rosa was now unpack- 
 ing." This was one of her ladyship's methods of 
 obliging the Curate, for, knowing that his slender 
 income was entirely inadequate to appease his liter- 
 ary voracity, she used to order regularly all the most 
 expensive works connected with his pursuits, though 
 she never looked into the half of them herself 
 
 The Curate's eyes glistened, and he rubbed his 
 hands vigorously in anticipation. "Now we shall 
 see the great illustrated Ornithology," said he ; "glo- 
 rious ! glorious ! they say the drawings are like life.'' 
 
 "And that's exactly what they ought to resemble," 
 said Fane, who had seated himself again on the 
 bench with his book open on his knee. "Always 
 take care, Josey, that in your ardour as a naturalist 
 you don't lose sight of nature. For, do but listen 
 now to a passage I had just lighted on in old Gilbert 
 White." And he read as follows — "Echo has always 
 been so amusing to the imagination that the poets 
 have personified her, and in their hands she has been 
 the occasion of many a beautiful fiction. Nor need
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 263 
 
 the gravest man be ashamed to appear taken with 
 such a phenomenon, since '^ (mark you, Josey), '^ since 
 it may become the subject of philosophical or mathe- 
 matical inquiries." " Strange now," went on Fane, 
 "that to this old gentleman, a lover of nature, it should 
 appear that nature was made for science, not science 
 for nature; that he should fancy his partiality for 
 having his imagination stirred by echo needed a 
 scientific excuse ! " 
 
 " But that was only his printed and published 
 opinion,"'' said Lady Lee, who listened with interest. 
 " Trust me his private one was very different, and, 
 often when shouting like a schoolboy to wake an 
 echo, the idea that pleased him was neither mathe- 
 matical nor philosophical, but poetical — that of an 
 invisible inhabitant of the solitude." 
 
 " Good ! " said the Curate, rubbing his hands ex- 
 ultingly. " Ah, you shall find no boy's play here, 
 Durham. But the truth is, that naturalists are some- 
 times matter-of-fact people, incapable of seeing a 
 double meaning in the great book they study, and 
 in talking to them we must use their language. 
 White was writing to some utilitarian friend, who 
 could better understand his sympathy with science 
 than with nature. And if — " 
 
 The Curate paused abruptly, for he became aware 
 that Jennifer was standing at a little distance from
 
 264 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 him, with an expression primmer even than usual, 
 and holding his surplice thrown over her arm. 
 " What is it, Mrs Greene ? " 
 
 " There's a couple that was to have been mar- 
 ried at ten, sir — and now it's half-past — the clerk's 
 come to say they're waiting," answered Jennifer. 
 
 " Bless me ! " cried the Curate, " I had forgotten 
 all about it ; quick, good Mrs Greene " (as Jennifer 
 helped him on with the surplice, looking all the 
 time as resentful as if it were her wedding that was 
 delayed). "You see what you have to answer for, 
 between you," said he, hastening through the gar- 
 den, out of the gate, and down the road, with his 
 surplice streaming behind him as if he were the 
 bearer of a flag of truce. 
 
 " It's one body's work to look after him," said 
 Jennifer, as she re-entered the house. 
 
 " Come, Juley," said Lady Lee, finding herself 
 left alone with the Captain, bowing to whom she 
 took her departure. 
 
 Fane looked at his watch, and, finding his pre- 
 sence would shortly be required on parade, went 
 to the stable, saddled his horse, and walked down 
 the road leading him by the bridle. And as his 
 homeward road was the same as Lady Lee's, and 
 as he walked faster than she and Julius, he, in 
 the natural course of things, overtook them, and
 
 
 o^^^ C/^C/UC^^ ^S^^^^^^' 
 
 VoLI.piui6S6'i
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 265 
 
 slackened his pace to tlieirs, and the subject of the 
 conversation he then opened was one in which they 
 had common interest — their friend the Curate. Pre- 
 sently Julius, becoming clamorous for a ride, was 
 lifted into the saddle. There was no such thing 
 as preserving a cold demeanour to one so frank, 
 easy, and clever as Fane — and her ladyship found 
 herself gradually forgetting the origin of their ac- 
 quaintance, conversing with him nearly as freely as 
 with the Curate ; and she felt almost sorry when 
 they halted at the lodge-gate of the Heronry ; and 
 Julius being with some trifling resistance dismounted, 
 Fane got into the saddle, took his leave, and they 
 separated. After riding a short distance, he turned 
 and looked back. Lady Lee, too, was looking back, 
 perhaps after Julius, for, immediately calling to the 
 boy to come along and not be troublesome, she 
 walked onward to the house, and the trees hid 
 her from his sight.
 
 CHAPTEE XVIL 
 
 Day was just breaking on a wide common, distant 
 from London about three hours by the rail. The 
 spirit of improvement had left this heath unenclosed, 
 because, barren as it was, it was more profitable in its 
 present form than if it had waved with golden har- 
 vests, for it contained a second-rate race-course ; so 
 that enclosures, stealing up as near as they dared, had 
 been made to keep their distance in time to secure 
 ample space for trial ground, morning gallops, and 
 spectators, besides the course itself; though cultiva- 
 tion had come so nigh that the plover, once familiar 
 denizen of the heath, had almost forsaken it, and 
 whistled his wild tune elsewhere. On the skirts 
 of this common, and connected with it by a row 
 of pollards, stood a small village ; and towards a 
 stable, situated at the end of the village nearest 
 the common, Bagot and Seager wended their way 
 in the grey of the morning. They had come to 
 prove the mare Goshawk.
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 267 
 
 The stable-door was padlocked when they reached 
 it, and would have appeared untenanted but for an 
 occasional snort and rustle of the straw within. Sea- 
 ger tapt on the door with his stick, when a small 
 wooden window was opened in the wail above, and 
 a groom who slept in the loft within put his head 
 out. Not a handsome head — indeed, rather vil- 
 lanous in expression naturally, and by no means 
 improved by the small-pox. 
 
 " Tis me, Jim," said Seager. " Look alive — open 
 the door." 
 
 " All right, Mr Seager," responded Jim, who forth- 
 with descended the ladder to the ground-floor, and 
 unbarred the door with such promptitude as to lead, 
 inevitably to the conclusion that he slept in his 
 clothes, for, the door being opened, there he stood 
 in long grey stable-jacket, blue spotted neckerchief, 
 and wide corduroy breeches and gaiters. 
 
 " How's the mare ? '' was Mr Seager's first ques- 
 tion. 
 
 The groom looked at Bagot, chewing a straw the 
 while. " Friend of yours, Mr Seager ? '' 
 
 " All right," said Seager. " Speak up, you beg- 
 gar — how's the mare ? '' 
 
 The groom, thus pleasingly exhorted, drew him 
 aside into the stall next to that in which the mare 
 stood. '' Why, she seems right enough now, but
 
 268 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 she's been queerish, Mis'r Seager, and that's the 
 truth. She pulled up a little lame o' Wednesday 
 after exercise — hows'ever, as I say, she seems right 
 enough since." 
 
 Seager uttered a long " Ha a ! Which leg ? " 
 
 asked he. 
 
 " Near fore," replied Jim. 
 
 " Take her out," said Seager. " We must see 
 to it. Did anybody see her come in that morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 "Think not," replied Jim, who seemed of a la- 
 conic turn of speech. 
 
 Bagot was standing in the stall looking at the 
 animal, from whose loins he had thrown back the 
 clothing. " Bless my soul, what a quarter ! " said 
 Bagot ; " and a stifle you might hang your hat on ! " 
 Then, walking forward, he passed his hand slowly 
 down both forelegs, and, pausing on the fetlock of 
 the near one, muttered, " A little heat here." 
 
 " Take her out, Jim,'' said Seager. 
 
 Jim led her out into the yard in front of the 
 stable, and walked her up and down. There was 
 no sign of lameness. 
 
 " All right so far," said Seager. " Trot her down." 
 The mare trotted as sound as she walked. 
 
 " Jim," said Seager, " you were either drunk or 
 dreaming last Wednesday. Put her in the trap ;
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 269 
 
 the Colonel and I want to time her. We'll walk 
 on, and you can drive after us." 
 
 " You seem to keep her pretty quiet," remarked 
 Bagot, as they left the stable and walked out upon 
 the common. 
 
 " I'm forced to,'' said Seager. " She's done a 
 match or two already, and she's getting a name. 
 They tried to physic her the first time, when she 
 
 was stabled down at , but Jim was too sharp 
 
 for 'em, and the second time I was on my guard ; 
 and hearing some fellows had been looking after her 
 on the sly, and inquiring about her, I sold them 
 a splendid bargain." 
 
 " How was that ? " inquired the Colonel. 
 
 " I'll tell you," returned Seager, chuckling : " I sent 
 Jim to the vet" (Anglicey veterinary surgeon) "a 
 couple of nights before the match, when I knew some 
 friends of the other party would be with him, for 
 a lot of cough medicine. Cough medicine for Sea- 
 ger ! this made 'em prick up their ears ; and Jim 
 made such a confounded mystery about getting it 
 into the stable as set 'em all on the look-out. Sure 
 enough, that night a fellow was seen lurking about 
 the stable, trying to listen at the door. I knew 
 he'd be back again next night, so what d'ye think 
 I did, Lee? — got a horse with the most infernal 
 cough you ever heard, and popt him quietly into the
 
 270 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 stable without way one seeing him. Back comes 
 my friend again that night to listen ; hears coughing 
 enough to satisfy him, and carries back the report 
 to his employers that the mare was in a bad way, 
 and no mistake. Next morning they were ready, 
 of course, with any odds against her; my friends 
 were on the look-out to take 'em up for me ; the 
 mare came to the post in splendid condition, won 
 easy, and I made a very pretty thing of if 
 
 As he concluded this anecdote, Jim, mounted in 
 a light vehicle like a tea-tray on tall wheels, drove 
 the mare gently past them. 
 
 " Pull her up this side of the stone, Jim," cried 
 Seager. "Now, Lee, you time her from the white 
 stone there. She shall turn at the half-mile." 
 
 Seager walked up and gave the word to the groom, 
 who moved gently to the white stone ; and Seager, 
 warning Bagot to be ready, called out, " Off ! " as she 
 came abreast of it. At the word, Jim gave a pecu- 
 liar whistle, hauling tight on the reins, and the mare, 
 like some engine set going, started at a surprising 
 pace, while Bagot, watch in hand, stood marking her. 
 True as a line she went; no wavering or swaying 
 from side to side ; hardly any motion of back or 
 head ; all steady, except the four legs and feet that 
 struck out like regular and powerful machinery. 
 Round went Jim at the half-mile, coming by a small
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 271 
 
 circuit into his old tracks ; down the course again at 
 unfaltering speed, and, by another small circuit, pass- 
 ing again between Bagot and the starting-point. 
 
 " Three — seventeen ! '' cried the Colonel, as she 
 came abreast of him, Jim leaning back at a tremend- 
 ous angle, with his feet planted against the footboard 
 in front, and his arms drawn by the tight reins to 
 their full extent. 
 
 "She can do more than that," said Seager. "Speak 
 to her, Jim.'' 
 
 Jim shouted, and there was a manifest increase in 
 the rapidity with which the four horse-shoes glit- 
 tered between the retiring wheels, like the balls 
 which a juggler sends round his head. 
 
 " Three — ten ! " called Bagot, as she came round 
 again. 
 
 " That'll do," said Seager. " Keep to that, Jim.'' 
 
 At the fourth mile Seager called to Jim to pull 
 up. 
 
 " Twelve minutes fifty-eight seconds," said Bagot. 
 " No mistake about her pace, if she can hold it." 
 
 "Just look at her," said Seager, walking to the 
 spot where she had pulled up, and now stood with 
 her respiration scarcely accelerated by her perform- 
 ance. " There's a pair of bellows for you. Splendid 
 wind, sir. Take her in quietly, Jim. What d'ye 
 think now, Colonel — booked to win, eh ? "
 
 272 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 As she trotted gently away, Bagot's quick eye 
 detected a perceptible alteration in her gait. He 
 directed Seager's attention to it. 
 
 "Bring her back, Jim." Yes, it was so. She 
 was slightly lame on the leg Jim had indicated, 
 though it could not be detected when she was going 
 full speed. 
 
 " Unlucky business,'' said Bagot, as Seager felt 
 the ailing fetlock. 
 
 " Well, there'll be time enough to see about curing 
 it, that's one comfort," returned Seager, after a 
 volley of curses on his ill-luck. " One thing you 
 may take your oath of, and that is, that if she's 
 got legs to pull her through it, do it she shall, if 
 I have to shoot her next day. Mind, Jim, not a 
 word!" 
 
 Jim winked intelligence, and drove slowly off to 
 the stable. 
 
 Bagot looked very grave. " But if she can't do it 
 — ^if you have to pay up — why, God bless me, fifteen 
 hundred pounds is no joke." 
 
 "Time enough to think about it when the time 
 comes," said Mr Seager, who was not prone to antici- 
 pate misfortune, nor to be depressed by presentiments 
 of evil. "In the mean time, I shall stay here for a 
 while to look after her, and get a vet to see her quietly.
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 273 
 
 You can go home ; and if she gets all right in a few 
 days, I'll come and look at you again." 
 
 So they returned to the village, which was now 
 beginning to be astir. After comforting himself with 
 a little breakfast, Bagot departed by the next train 
 on his way to the Heronry, while Mr Seager remained 
 at the inn to look after the welfare of Goshawk. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 What with playing billiards by day and whist by 
 night, and making betting-books with the dragoons, 
 and watching what progress Sloperton might make 
 with Lady Lee, and studying that young man's cha- 
 racter, with a view to turning him to future account, 
 Bagot's hands were full of business. And therefore, 
 though he took, as we have seen, the liveliest interest 
 in the mare Goshawk, yet he would not allow even 
 that consideration to separate him long from his 
 friends at the Heronry. Nevertheless, that interest, 
 as aforesaid, was of the liveliest — not so much on 
 account of any abstract sympathy with the gains 
 and losses of his friend Seager, as for the following 
 reason — viz.. That he had lost more of late to Mr 
 Seager than he could conveniently pay, and he had 
 a shrewd idea that the degree of pressure for prompt 
 payment of this would depend altogether on the 
 state of his creditor's exchequer. For Seager's
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 275 
 
 friendship extended thus far, that he would not dun 
 a particular friend so long as he didn^t want the 
 money — if he did, why, of course the friend must 
 pay up. 
 
 Life at the Heronry now began to assume an 
 aspect somewhat similar to that which it had borne 
 in Sir Joseph's bachelor days. Stalls that of late 
 stood empty were now generally occupied by officers' 
 chargers ; the clicking of billiard-balls was incessant 
 in the hall ; and there were more riding parties. 
 The Colonel was of course alwa5^s charmed to see 
 the dragoons, and they were equally delighted to 
 escape from Doddington. And though these visits 
 were ostensibly made for the most part to Bagot, 
 yet what could be more natural than that, once in 
 the house, they should wish to pay their respects to 
 the fairer portion of its inhabitants ? Thus it hap- 
 pened that there were few mornings when the mili- 
 tary visitors did not, on some pretence or other, find 
 their way to the drawing-room. In the evening 
 Bagot would either go over to dine at their mess at 
 the Bush, or some of them would stay and share his 
 bachelor s cheer in the snug apartments he tenanted 
 in the Heronry, on which occasions Orelia and Rosa 
 and Lady Lee, traversing distant corridors on their 
 way to bed, would sometimes be startled by " a sound 
 of revelry by night,"' and, pausing, flat candlestick
 
 276 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 in hand, would listen for a moment to a wild chorus, 
 led probably by Mr Gates, and wherein Bagot' sbass 
 took a prominent part, to which distance and rever- 
 beration gave a somewhat unearthly character, like 
 the chorus with which Don Juan descends to his 
 infernal destination. 
 
 But, notwithstanding these nocturnal orgies, by 
 day all was decorum. Even Mr Gates lost all his 
 boisterous confidence as he entered the presence of 
 the ladies, growing quite tame, almost bashful, and 
 sometimes, when suddenly addressed, blushing to 
 deep pinkness between his extensive shirt -collars. 
 And he would envy Bruce for the flowing ease and 
 openness with which he conversed with Rosa, as well 
 as for the interest and friendliness with which she 
 returned it : for Mr Gates himself, when he had with 
 great effort and manoeuvring obtained a place at 
 Rosa's side, and saw her face turaed towards him 
 with the best-humoured smile in the world, would 
 find himself quite unable to enjoy the advantage of 
 the position he had taken such pains to secure, and 
 would wonder why on earth he wasn't able to chat 
 away with her like Bruce. The consequence of this 
 was, that at length the friendship which had subsisted 
 between him and Bruce was threatened with dissolu- 
 tion ; Gates becoming rude and sometimes sarcastic 
 towards his associate, and thus rendering the joint
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 277 
 
 occupancy of the grocer's lodgings less smooth and 
 pleasant than before. 
 
 Tindal could not flatter himself that he made any- 
 great progress with Orelia ; on the contrary, she re- 
 ceived all his attempts to propitiate her with a cold- 
 ness amounting to incivility, and would sometimes be 
 not at home when he called. Bagot, perceiving this, 
 would good-naturedly decoy Orelia down to the hall, 
 to get a lesson in billiards, whenever he knew Tindal 
 was coming, and the Major, entering unexpectedly, 
 and receiving a stately and frosty greeting from the 
 young lady, would look on, admiring her attitude as 
 she bent over the table, applauding her skill when 
 she cannoned or made a hazard, and sometimes ven-^ 
 turing to instruct her how to form a better bridge, by 
 elevating her knuckles and stretching out her thumb, 
 while the contact into which his fingers were neces- 
 sarily brought with that soft hand, gave the grim, 
 undemonstrative Major very considerable pleasure. 
 
 *' Come and finish this game for me, Tindal," the 
 friendly Colonel would then say ; " I must be off" to 
 the stables." And the Major, with grim alacrity, 
 would seize Bagot's abandoned cue ; and nobody 
 could possibly have recognised the stern martinet, 
 whose glance had made the whole parade thrill, or 
 had caused the heart of some hard-drinking dragoon 
 culprit to quail within him in the orderly room an
 
 278 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 hour before, in the alert, courteous, somewhat sub- 
 dued cavalier, who now hovered round the queenly 
 Orelia. 
 
 "Allow me. Miss Pajme — if you strike your ball so 
 as to hit this one on the side just where the light falls 
 — and gently, if you please, very gently — you will go 
 into that middle pocket." 
 
 " Excellently done ! " he would resume, as Orelia 
 made the hazard he recommended. "Now you have 
 an easy cannon on the balls. Hit the red hard and 
 full, and strike your own a little on the side so as to 
 screw, and youll come oJBf that top cushion and can- 
 non. Why, there now — beautiful ! Really, Miss 
 Payne, if you go on in this way, you must give me 
 points." 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, the Major did not make 
 much progress with her imperial highness. "I'm 
 afraid I've offended Miss Payne," he said to Bagot — 
 " I don't seem to get on with her." 
 
 " Gad, sir, a strange girl that ! " responded Bagot ; 
 " deuced high and noli me tangere when she likes. 
 But that makes her the more enchanting when she 
 does unbend — ha, Tindal ? " To which the Major 
 unhesitatingly assented. 
 
 " Can't you get up some show with your men ? " 
 suggested Bagot presently : " girls like that sort of 
 thing."
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 279 
 
 " The very thing," said Tindal. *^ A review in the 
 grounds — eh? Full-dress review, with manoeuvres? 
 By Jove, 111 propose it to her at once/' 
 
 Accordingly he did so ; said the ground was exactly 
 what he wanted for a good morning's drill ; was sure 
 the men would acquit themselves better than usual 
 under the influence of the ladies' bright eyes ; and, if 
 Orelia would promise to sanction the display with her 
 presence, he would forthwith entreat permission of 
 Lady Lee to carry the project into execution. He 
 was delighted to hear Orelia express her approval 
 in a more cordial tone than he was accustomed to ; 
 and, secretly applauding the generalship of Bagot, he 
 made arrangements for the review to take place in a, 
 few days. 
 
 The more Sloperton saw of his new-found relation 
 Lady Lee, the more he became confirmed in the 
 opinion that she would, whenever he should think 
 proper to make his proposals, do credit to his taste in 
 the eyes of all the world. Her ladyship always re- 
 ceived him hospitably, and sometimes seemed amused 
 at his conversation ; and he had bestowed so much 
 attention in attiring his person to the best advantage, 
 on the occasions of his visits, and displayed such in- 
 exhaustible varieties of harmonies and contrasts of 
 cut and colour, in the selection of cravats, waist- 
 coats, trousers, and topics of discourse, that he felt
 
 280 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 assured of always appearing to the very best ad- 
 vantage — which, in the opinion of the conquering 
 Captain himself, was synonymous with being irre- 
 sistible. 
 
 The only thing he didn't altogether approve of 
 was, that Fane — who seldom troubled himself to pay 
 visits, and, when he did, still seldomer crossed Slo- 
 perton's path — had once or twice come into the 
 drawing-room at the Heronry, and interfered with 
 him sadly, by turning the conversation to matters 
 which the handsome exquisite knew nothing about, 
 and took no interest in, though Lady Lee had imme- 
 diately brightened up to a degree of animation which 
 he had never seen her display before. There was 
 also a Parson — a fellow with no manner, and not the 
 slightest idea of dress — who came sometimes with 
 Fane, sometimes alone, and bored one with talk 
 about books and philosophy. On the last occasion, 
 indeed, when those two had come there together, 
 Sloperton, who was also present, and in full flow when 
 they entered, had never, from the moment of their 
 appearance, been able to command the least atten- 
 tion, but had sat like a handsome well-dressed figure 
 by Madame Tussaud. And he might possibly have 
 felt uneasy about this, had he not luckily received 
 next morning a parcel of clothes from his tailor in 
 town, and immediately rode over to the Heronry in
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 281 
 
 such an exquisite waistcoat as, lie felt assured, must 
 place Hm at once beyond all rivalry. 
 
 To many ardent young assertors of the supremacy 
 of intellect, the divinity of the female sex, and the 
 like doctrines, these expectations of Captain Sloper- 
 ton may seem presumptuous, and impossible to be 
 gratified. The habitual romance-reader, too, know- 
 ing that Lady Lee is of more value than many Slo- 
 pertons, and that poetical justice must be done 
 though the heavens totter, growls incredulity. But 
 if we look at the sources whence romances should in 
 their essence be drawn — if we look at life and reality 
 — where, then, is the improbability of a cultivated, 
 imaginative, nay, gifted woman, linking herself "with 
 joy, revel, and applause," as Cassio has it, to some 
 half-souled lump of humanity, who, perchance, shall 
 not even possess the perfections that please the eye ? 
 Contented, nay proud^ in the possession of her "most 
 filthy bargain " — seemingly unconscious that all who 
 are capable of appreciating her are wondering at her 
 choice — a choice made apparently for no better reason 
 than because she would not say no — she flings away, 
 without any audible sigh, all hope of marital conge- 
 niality, letting her affection hang on the object of it, 
 like a rich garment on a rusty nail. 
 
 If each of those who form the natural aristocracy 
 of the sex were resolved to uphold the dignity of her
 
 282 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 order, choosiDg rather " to live a barren sister all her 
 life " than to wed one whom she could not honestly, 
 and in her soul, acknowledge for her lord and master 
 — taking for her motto palmaTn qui Tneruit ferat — 
 " I am for him who deserves me " — what a lure were 
 here for emulative man ! How would blue ribbons, 
 peerages, thanks of both Houses, fade into insignifi- 
 cance before this Legion of Honour, apparently insti- 
 tuted by Nature herself! What were droves of 
 oxen, and brazen armour, and long-haired captives 
 to Achilles, while his Briseis was yet in the tent of 
 "dog-faced, deer-hearted'' Agamemnon? And, per- 
 haps, the emulative man aforesaid figures to himself 
 such a fair prize — feels that he will try to deserve it 
 — dreams of it, and is cheered by the vision — at 
 length sees his ideal — but sees it only to find this 
 Titania, queen of the fairies, enamoured of some 
 Bully Bottom, whom, while kissing his "fair large 
 ears," and decking his sleek head with musk roses, 
 she lovingly apostrophises as " her gentle joy." 
 Therefore, let no ambitious, amorous numskull des- 
 pair merely because he is a numskull ; he may yet 
 live envied of the gifted of the earth, and pass from 
 this world never suspecting that he has, through life, 
 at bed and board, entertained an angel. 
 
 And yet. Lady Lee, if you, untaught by experience, 
 should twice profane that hand and heart of yours —
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 283 
 
 what hope or sympathy were then for you ? What 
 word could you say in arrest of judgment, ere the 
 Fates decree, either that such marriage-bed shall be 
 to you a Procrustes-bed, whereon your mind and 
 tastes and sympathies shall be dipt to the level of 
 those of your companion ; or else, that you shall wear 
 away your life, filled with a contempt which must 
 never be spoken ? 
 
 But the proverb says a cat may look at a queen ; 
 and animals, not much higher in the scale of creation 
 than cats, and lower than the Slopertons, may aspire 
 to the Lady Lees. 
 
 This truth the reader may find illustrated in the 
 next chapter, where we shall see who this wooer is 
 who now comes riding to the Heronry, and whom we 
 have lost sight of for many chapters.
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 Squire Dubbley was sitting all alone in Monk- 
 stone, after breakfast, trying to wile away tlie time 
 till a suitable hour should arrive for mounting his 
 steed and cantering over to the Heronry to prosecute 
 his suit with Lady Lee. 
 
 Since his conversation with Bagot, the Squire's 
 intentions, heretofore very vague and uncertain, had 
 taken shape and substance. So long as the idea of 
 making love in that quarter had been confined to his 
 own breast and brain, it had floated there in a misty, 
 desultory fashion, sometimes more distinct, some- 
 times fading almost to nothing, but always appearing 
 rather as something that might be, than as what cer- 
 tainly would be. But now that Bagot had talked 
 over the subject with him in a business-like manner, 
 and had, moreover, brought it fairly within the limits 
 of plain matter-of-fact by the little pecuniary transac- 
 tion between them, the Squire, with the facility of a
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 285 
 
 weak brain, considered the matter as settled, all but 
 a few necessary preliminaries. These he had resolved 
 to pomplete forthwith, chuckling to himself, with a 
 sort of imbecile exultation, at the thought of making 
 his declaration of love, and being accepted without 
 the mediation of Bagot, who fancied himself so essen- 
 tial an auxiliary. So he tried, somewhat impatiently, 
 to wile away the time, till the hour of his visit should 
 be at hand. 
 
 This operation of wiling away the time was a task 
 of peculiar difficulty to the Squire — in fact, perfectly 
 herculean. The poor Squire, when he could not 
 shoot or hunt, had no more resources within himself 
 than a kitten deprived of its tail. Books he looked 
 upon not merely with indifference, but with positive 
 disgust, as if they had been sentient and superior 
 beings, personally hostile to him, and repelling his 
 advances with calm disdain. This he had resented 
 in early life by filling such as were thrust upon him 
 with blots and dog's-ears, and tearing them up to 
 paper kites with ; and, later, by using them for gun- 
 wadding and cigar-lights. But since his advancement 
 in life had caused him to feel his deficiencies, he had 
 begun to look on learning with a secret respect, as 
 being immediately and constantly connected with his 
 interests. At first, he was ashamed to make his ignor- 
 ance public by applying for instruction, but at last he
 
 286 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 bethought himself of having recourse to a person 
 whose poverty would render the purchase of his 
 secresy easy, while he possessed the necessary quali- 
 fications for the office of preceptor. 
 
 This person, Mr Kandy, was clever, and had been 
 well educated, but had not flourished in the world 
 owing to his incurable habits of conviviality. Situa- 
 tion after situation had slipt jovially away from him ; 
 whenever he met with a piece of good fortune, he 
 seemed to mistake it for care, for he immediately 
 drowned it in the bowl — till he had been employed 
 as an usher in the grammar-school at Doddington ; 
 and this post, also, he had forfeited, having twice pro- 
 faned that temple of Minerva, by entering it in a 
 state of inebriety. Subsequently he supported him- 
 self by giving private lessons in classics and mathe- 
 matics, and reading up with university men who 
 wanted to cram in the vacations, and spent the money 
 thus procured in the company of some congenial 
 acquaintances in his favourite taproom at the Grapes. 
 
 So, at certain hours of the day and night, there 
 might have been seen in the little room at Monk- 
 stone, which the Squire called his study, the curious 
 spectacle of a gentleman, of considerable property 
 and mature years, taking lessons in the rudiments 
 of education from a seedy, snuffy individual, in a 
 rusty, musty suit of black.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 287 
 
 The Squire looked out of his window and whistled. 
 It wanted yet two hours of noon — two mortal hours 
 lay in dreary desert expanse before him, with a 
 glimpse of green country beyond. He knew it was 
 in vain to attempt to study by himself, having tried 
 it once or twice, and found his attention wandering 
 off beyond recall every half minute, in spite of all 
 his efforts to fix it ; for the Squire could not govern 
 his own mind in the least, notwithstanding it was 
 such a weak one. He would have liked to amuse 
 himself by cleaning his gun, and oiling the locks ; 
 but then that was his servant's business, and he did 
 not choose to pay servants for doing nothing. One 
 little green spot in the desert had offered itself since 
 breakfast — and that was when he went to his cellar, 
 and drew himself a foaming tumbler of strong Octo- 
 ber ; but the flavour of this had died away, and he 
 dared not drink another, for fear of muddling him- 
 self before the interview with Lady Lee. 
 
 With more complacency than usual, therefore, the 
 Squire beheld the portly debauched figure of Mr 
 Raiady approaching the house — a tall figure, with 
 thin arms and legs, a large paunch, over which was 
 buttoned, with difficulty, a threadbare black surtout, 
 and wearing a black stock, worn at the edges, be- 
 neath which was visible a portion of what was pro- 
 bably a flannel waistcoat, and which was overhung
 
 288 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 by his brown, flabby cheeks. Dignity and growing 
 infirmity struggled together in his gait, which was at 
 once majestic and tremulous. 
 
 The Squire tapt on the window-pane to attract Mr 
 Bandy's attention, and put his finger on his lips, to 
 intimate that he wished his approach to be silent 
 and secret; and Mr Randy, with a nod of intelli- 
 gence, exchanged his crunching walk over the gravel 
 for a stealthy tripping pace, like a corpulent fairy, 
 and came warily up the steps of the porch, as if there 
 were a herd of deer in the lobby which he intended 
 to stalk. The Squire was behind the door, holding 
 it softly ajar for him — affording him so little space 
 for entering, that his portly person was somewhat 
 jammed and crushed before he effected his ingress, 
 the lower button of his black surtout, long injured 
 at the roots, being torn right out of the cloth. 
 
 " Softly," said Mr Dubbley, motioning him towards 
 the study ; " don't let these confounded servants 
 hear you. If any of them should come in, we'll talk 
 about the same business as before." Mr Dubbley 
 felt so much shame at being engaged, at his time of 
 life, and with his property, on the business of his 
 education, that he kept the object of Randy's visits 
 a profound secret from the household, and when 
 interrupted by any of the domestics during his 
 studies, had, with great ingenuity, feigned to be con-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 289 
 
 versing on some matter of an entirely different 
 nature. 
 
 " I won't offer you anything to drink after your 
 walk/' said the Squire, as they sat down at the 
 table ; " because, if I see you drinking, I shall drink 
 myself, and I've reasons for keeping clear this morn- 
 ing; but when Tm gone. 111 leave out the spirit- 
 bottles for you/' 
 
 Mr Randy bowed gravely in token of his acqui- 
 escence. "What shall we study to-day?" he in- 
 quired, putting on a pair of brass-mounted spec- 
 tacles. 
 
 " That's just what I pay you to settle," said the 
 Squire ; " isn't it ? Here I am in want of teaching 
 — here you are in want of money ; we'll make a fair 
 exchange, and you can't expect me to do any of your 
 work for you." 
 
 Randy coloured at the coarseness of the Squire's 
 speech ; he would have resented it, as he was fre- 
 quently tempted to do, only he could not afford 
 resentment, but was accustomed to revenge himself 
 privately at night with his companions of the tap- 
 room, by showing the Squire up for their entertain- 
 ment, and pouring forth floods of eloquent invective 
 on the ignorant upstart, who, by virtue of his dirty 
 acres, " dared to insult a scholar and a gentleman." 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 290 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " Our object," began Mr Eandy, lowering his head, 
 and looking at the Squire through the space between 
 the tops of his spectacles and the points of his bushy- 
 eyebrows, and rattling his r's very much — "our 
 object is, to impart as much general information as 
 we can, without going into the tedious rudiments of 
 scholastic learning. We wish to be conversant with 
 the topics of the day — to bear our part in general 
 conversation with credit — to form and deliver an 
 opinion on points of public interest, without falling 
 into any grievous or ridiculous blunders." 
 
 The Squire nodded. 
 
 " Having, therefore, in our previous studies, run 
 through the geography of the most prominent and 
 important countries, with slight sketches of their 
 previous histories, we will now recall and apply 
 our recollections to some of the leading topics of 
 the day." 
 
 " Hang me, if I haven't forgotten every word of 
 it," muttered the poor Squire. 
 
 " Patience, my good sir, patience. Rome was not 
 built in a day ; nor can Squire Dubbley be qualified 
 to shine in society in a week or a month. Many 
 centuries ago, a philosopher and man of science, -with 
 whom we shall, by-and-by, I hope, become ac- 
 quainted, told a great monarch who, like other great 
 men, was somewhat impatient,'' (here Mr Randy
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 291 
 
 chuckled facetiously,) " that there was no royal road 
 to geometry. Learning is one of those things/' said 
 Mr Kandy, with the conscious dignity of a possessor, 
 " that no power can command, nor wealth purchase." 
 " Then what the deuce am I throwing away my 
 money for with you ? " asked the Squire. " Perhaps 
 I should get on faster with some other instructor." 
 
 "Patience, my good sir," again urged the pre- 
 ceptor ; " money may do much, though not all ; it 
 may provide us with the means, if we only make 
 a right and diligent use of them. Here, now, is the 
 newspaper of the latest date ; we will see what the 
 world is talking about, and we will apply what we 
 have already acquired to the matters thus brought, 
 under our notice." 
 
 So Mr Randy sat and read the newspaper — an 
 occupation he took great pleasure in — and expounded 
 portions of it to the Squire. After the latter had lis- 
 tened for some little time attentively, he rose, and, say- 
 ing it was dry work, produced a case of bottles from 
 a cupboard, and a couple of tumblers; and these 
 latter being filled with a refreshing compound of 
 rum, water, lemon-juice, and sugar, Mr Randy's 
 countenance, after a long pull at the same, bright- 
 ened perceptibly, and he read all the columns of 
 Foreign Intelligence, and descanted on our foreign 
 relations as if he had been the private and confiden-
 
 292 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 tial friend of Lord Palmerston. The Squire, how- 
 ever, began to relax in his attention — he was think- 
 ing about his approaching visit to the Heronry, and 
 how he should deport himself there. 
 
 " You're a sort of fellow that knows everything," 
 observed the Squire presently. " What should you 
 say, now, was the kind of conversation to take a fine 
 lady? — an accomplished person, you know." 
 
 Mr Randy always answered every question the 
 Squire thought proper to propound (some of them 
 nonsensical enough) with a composed and grave 
 promptitude, as if it had long employed his thoughts. 
 He laid the newspaper across his knees, took off and 
 wiped his spectacles, and hemmed thrice before 
 answering. 
 
 "That,'' said Mr Randy, "would depend on cir- 
 cumstances : first, on the degree of impression 1 
 wished to produce ; secondly, on the age, character, 
 and disposition of the lady, and the degree of inti- 
 macy I was favoured with.'' 
 
 " Well, suppose you were regularly in love," said 
 the Squire, " and the lady was young and handsome, 
 and deuced clever and all that ?" 
 
 " In that case," returned Mr Randy, " I should 
 evince my partiality by glances, sighs, pressure of the 
 hand, and all those understood tokens of passion " — 
 and, by way of illustration, Mr Randy leered at the
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 293 
 
 Squire from under his shaggy brows, with a pair of 
 eyes so muddy and watery that it was difficult to say 
 where the pupils ended, and the whites, or rather the 
 yellows, began ; emitting at the same time a sigh 
 that filled the apartment with many cubic feet of 
 vapourised alcohol. "Having thus established an 
 understanding, I should gradually, and by delicate 
 degrees, approach the subject of love, by broaching 
 collateral and kindred topics/^ 
 
 " Kindred topics ! " repeated the Squire. " What ! 
 praise her relations, eh ? " 
 
 " Not at all," said Mr Randy, inwardly making a 
 note of the Squire's mistake for the benefit of his 
 friends at the " Grapes '' that night, to whom he 
 would serve it up with some sauce piquant of his 
 own. " I should become by degrees sentimental — 
 converse of poetry, of romances, of which love was 
 the subject.'' 
 
 " But I don't know a line of poetry," muttered the 
 Squire, "except some songs. I know some capital 
 songs — * Old Towler,' and * Nancy Dawson,' and 
 * A-hunting we will go ; ' but perhaps she wouldn't 
 care about them.'" 
 
 " Never mind," said Mr Randy ; " talk of nup- 
 tial felicity — paint to her the delights of a union 
 where — " 
 
 " But suppose she knows all about that better than
 
 294 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 me," interrupted the Squire, "in consequence of hav- 
 ing been married before ? " 
 
 "Oh, indeed — a widow!" said Randy; "that 
 simplifies the matter immensely. In that case, I 
 should be much more direct in my approaches, and, 
 after a few short indications of partiality, should pro- 
 pose at once." 
 
 **It's veiy clear. Randy," said the Squire, "that, 
 though you talk so glibly about it, you never tried it 
 yourself — at least, not with the kind of person I'm 
 speaking of: if you had, you'd know, that, for all it 
 seems so easy, yet, when it comes to the point, there's 
 a kind of cursed feeling comes all over one as if you 
 were going to be hanged, and drives everything you 
 had to say out of your head; and she, instead of 
 helping you out of the mess, looks all the while 
 so cool and innocent that it makes you worse than 
 ever." 
 
 Mr Randy considered for a minute. " If I found 
 my powers of speech desert me, from bashfulness," 
 said he, " I should convey my wishes in a letter/' 
 
 "Capital ! " thought the Squire; "I never thought 
 of that. 'Twouldn't be half so nervous a thing to 
 slip a letter into her hand as to sputter it all out by 
 word of mouth. Come, now," said the Squire, put- 
 ting a sheet of paper and a pen before his adviser, 
 " let's see what you can make of it— just out of curi-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 295 
 
 osity/' added the cunning Squire, " not that I want 
 anything of the sort for myself." 
 
 So Mr Kandy refilled his tumbler, and by its assis- 
 tance concocted such an epistle as Dr Johnson might 
 be supposed to indite if he had fallen in love with an 
 empress ; and having read it aloud to the Squire, the 
 latter seized upon it, and, saying it might be useful 
 some time or other, put it away in his desk. 
 
 He now affected to be particularly busy, in order 
 to get rid of Eandy, whose departure he further 
 facilitated by locking up the spirits ; and that gentle- 
 man, seeing no prospect of getting any more punch, 
 having at length departed, the Squire sat down, and, 
 having made a fair copy of the love-letter, posted 
 away to the Heronry.
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 Lady Lee was seated in the drawing-room in 
 company with Julius, who was in disgrace, and un- 
 dergoing punishment at the hands of Dr Watts, one 
 of whose pious poems he had been condemned to 
 commit to heart. The offence which had called 
 down this visitation on his head was a personal as- 
 sault upon Miss Fillett. Julius, on seeing Rosa and 
 Orelia prepare to set forth on their ride, became per- 
 fectly outrageous to accompany them, and, having 
 rushed down stairs in defiance of orders, had been 
 captured by Kitty just as he was in the act of pulling 
 Sergeant Cumbermare's horse by the tail ; but, far 
 from feeling gratitude to her for saving his brains 
 from being kicked out, he at once proceeded (as she 
 expressed it) to make his teeth all but meet in the 
 back of her hand, and to kick her shins into all the 
 colours of the rainbow. This description of her 
 wrongs, far from melting Julius, as she intended,
 
 297 
 
 only excited his curiosity, and, being partial to rain- 
 bows, he privately resolved to watch her when she 
 pulled off her stockings. So, having obstinately 
 declined to apologise, he Avas now seated on a low 
 stool near his parent, with Dr "Watts in his lap, 
 swelling with indignation, and glancing furtively at 
 his cat Pick, who was polishing his face with his paw 
 on the hearth-rug; and instead of committing to 
 memory the masterly distinction drawn by the ami- 
 able Doctor between the line of conduct to be pur- 
 sued by Christian children, and that excusable in 
 dogs and bears and lions, he was thinking how plea- 
 sant it would be to steal behind Pick, and, clasping 
 him round the neck, to draw him into his lap, and 
 kiss him behind his whisker, and on the top of his 
 head, and subsequently tickle him into fury, till he 
 growled and bit and clawed with his fore legs, and 
 spurred with his hind ones. 
 
 Lady Lee was reading Pope. Her taste in poetry 
 had, of late years, undergone an entire revolution — 
 and whereas, in her spinster days, nothing was too 
 romantic, high-flown, and enthusiastic for her, she 
 had now begun to condemn everything not capable 
 of being brought within the strict rules of plain com- 
 mon-sense. And the best of it was, that she really 
 persuaded herself she enjoyed the melodious worldly 
 wisdom of the little Queen Anne's man ; though,
 
 298 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 between you and me, reader, she had no more taste 
 for worldly wisdom than she had for playing at leap- 
 frog. 
 
 However, she went on reading, sometimes pausing 
 to repeat a terse couplet to herself, and wondering 
 how the man could manage to pack all that sense so 
 neatly into two lines, and fancying she liked it, till 
 she was roused by Julius poking her on the elbow 
 with his book. 
 
 " Can you repeat it, you shocking child ? " 
 
 Julius nodded, putting out his lip at the epithet. 
 
 " Go on, then." 
 
 Julius commenced, casting a wistful glance at Pick. 
 " Let cats delight to bark and bite — '' 
 
 " Cats, sir ! " said Lady Lee, returning the book to 
 him, after tapping his cheek with it. " Go back to 
 your stool," whither he accordingly retired ; and his 
 mamma was resuming her study of Pope, when Miss 
 Fillett, walking into the room on her prismatic legs, 
 announced Mr Dubbley. 
 
 Mr Dubbley came in rubbing his forehead, and 
 very nervous. He had started for the Heronry in a 
 state of great elevation : exhilarated by punch, and 
 the letter he had in his pocket, proposing seemed to 
 him the easiest thing in the world ; he laughed as he 
 thought of his previous failures. But his spirits had 
 gradually evaporated as he approached the house —
 
 ^^ryt^ty Wa^ .
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 299 
 
 they went off more and more rapidly as he followed 
 Kitty up-stairs — and when he entered Lady Lee's 
 presence, not even the dregs remained. 
 
 " Charming day/' said Mr Dubbley, polishing his 
 temples till the small tufts that grew thereon threat- 
 ened to disappear altogether ; and, nothing else oc- 
 curring to him, he then said, " Splendid day ! " and 
 at last grew quite enthusiastic about the day. " Never 
 saw such a fine day,"' said Mr Dubbley. 
 
 The Squire, not having any other remark at hand, 
 took to his old resource of polishing his skull, and 
 looked round the room. There was a refinement 
 and luxury about its arrangements that caused him 
 to feel as if in a foreign country. Pieces of un- 
 finished embroidery and crochet-work were scattered 
 about ; books that he did not understand the names 
 of, in rich bindings; little mysterious articles of 
 papier-mache, and ivory, and filigree, whose use he 
 could by no means conjecture ; and Lady Lee her- 
 self, as she rustled to her chair in a dress revealing 
 masses of rich lace at the bosom and sleeves, while 
 amid the latter glittering bracelets peeped out, tended 
 to strengthen the idea, which now began to transmit 
 itself through the Squire's somewhat obtuse per- 
 ceptions, that she lived in quite a different atmo- 
 sphere, and at immeasurable distance from him. 
 
 "Pray, take this chair, Mr Dubbley," said Lady
 
 300 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 Lee ; " you will be more comfortable than in that " — 
 for Mr Dubbley, having put his hat in a low chair 
 usually appropriated to Rosa as a lounging-chair, 
 had, in his confusion, sat down on the top of it, 
 and it being a pretty stiff and solid beaver, remained 
 unconsciously perched thereon till it suddenly gave 
 way, and the Squire's knees came rather violently 
 in contact with his nose as he leant forward in a 
 courteous posture. 
 
 " Bless my soul ! " cried Mr Dubbley, starting up and 
 looking ruefully at the crushed hat ; " there's quite 
 a fate about my hats; this is the second I've sat 
 upon this year. However, that's of no consequence," 
 said the Squire, recollecting himself; "lots more 
 hats to be bought. 'Twould have been worse if it 
 had been my head." This was indisputable, though 
 it was not easy to see how Mr Dubbley could crush 
 his own head by sitting down on it. 
 
 " Do you find Monkstone solitary ? " asked Lady 
 Lee presently, to divert his thoughts from the calamity. 
 
 " Monstrous solitary, 'pon my life," said Mr Dub- 
 bley ; " it gets worse every day." (' Now why should 
 she ask that,' he thought, ' if she didn't mean some- 
 thing by it ? ') " If there was somebody else there," 
 he added, " it wouldn't be half so solitary." 
 
 "And will nobody come to see you, then, Mr 
 Dubbley?"
 
 301 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the Squire ; " a good many might 
 like to come if I asked 'em ; but it isn't every one 
 I would ask. If some people that I know would 
 come for better for worse," and the Squire looked 
 wonderfully arch as he repeated, " for better for worse, 
 you know — I'd rather than a thousand pounds." 
 
 "Dear me,'' thought Lady Lee, "Mr Dubbley 
 has certainly fallen in love with somebody; who 
 can it be? Then why don't you ask them," said 
 she, smiling, "and ascertain their wishes on the 
 subject?" 
 
 " Why, so I will," said the delighted Squire, who, 
 feeling certain that he had made his meaning per- 
 fectly obvious, and that he was meeting with the 
 most charming encouragement, began to fumble in 
 his pocket for the letter. " Faint heart never won 
 fair lady," he muttered to himself. " Take time by 
 the fetlock, you know." 
 
 " I wish you all success in your wooing, Mr Dub- 
 bley," said Lady Lee, " and hope shortly to con- 
 gratulate you on the result." 
 
 " Now, what can she mean by that ? " thought the 
 Squire, letting the letter slip back into his pocket. 
 " I mustn't be rash — hang it, no ; I must feel my 
 way." And the Squire's warm feelings, suddenly 
 condensed by the chill, broke out over his forehead 
 in little beads like morning dew.
 
 302 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 "Delightful thing the married state," said the 
 Squire presently, remembering Mr Randy's instruc- 
 tions. " Charming state of things, when two hearts 
 that have long beat for one another are joined to- 
 gether in holy matrimony, and nothing to cut their 
 love in two." Mr Dubbley paused, rather breath- 
 less after this eloquent flight, in which he had 
 mingled the form of publishing the banns of mar- 
 riage with his recollections of a valentine he had 
 once written to a bricklayer's daughter. 
 
 " Why, you speak like one inspired by his sub- 
 ject," said her ladyship. " But take care, Mr Dub- 
 bley ! if you indulge such bright visions before mar- 
 rying, you may be disappointed afterwards." 
 
 " Not the least afraid of that," said the Squire ; 
 " we understand one another too well for that. What 
 should prevent me and — and her that I'm talking 
 of, from being as happy as the day's long ? " 
 
 "Nothing that I know of," returned her ladyship, 
 " provided there is no striking disparity of any kind." 
 "Ah, she's thinking about my income, now," 
 thought the Squire ; " I'm all right there. I ought 
 to have mentioned something about it in my letter." 
 And again the Squire dived up to his elbow in his 
 breast-pocket. "No objection on that score," said 
 he ; " no mistake about my property ; all safe and 
 sure, and rents regularly paid."
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 303 
 
 " Tiresome, absurd man ! "" thought Lady Lee ; 
 "what does he suppose I care about his property, 
 or his rents, or his love-affairs ? But there are 
 other disparities," she said, "more fatal to nuptial 
 felicity than that of income — disposition, for instance 
 — age — tastes — pursuits — intellect/' 
 
 At the mention of this last item, the Squire once 
 more let the letter fall back into his pocket. 
 
 " She's got cleverness enough for both," said the 
 Squire. " Perhaps she's a very accomplished person, 
 and perhaps I may be the same too in time — who 
 knows ? I daresay you don't know that I've been 
 getting up a good deal of general information lately ? " 
 
 Lady Lee " had not heard of his process of mental 
 culture," she said. 
 
 " Wait a bit ! '' said the Squire, with a knowing 
 look ; " perhaps I may disappoint those who think 
 me a fool yet. I'm rubbing up my learning — all for 
 your — I mean her sake too. She's the only person 
 in the world I'd take the trouble for." 
 
 "What a devoted attachment yours appears to 
 be ! " said her ladyship. " It certainly merits suc- 
 cess." And she smiled so pleasantly and encourag- 
 ingly that the Squire dived once more into his 
 pocket, and this time brought the letter fairly out, 
 and put it in the crown of his hat, ready for delivery 
 at the next favourable moment.
 
 304 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 He was several times on the point of going down 
 on his knees and presenting it, and as often baffled 
 by some chilling remark from the unconscious object 
 of his admiration, and by his increasing sense of her 
 unapproachableness. The quick alternations of hot 
 and cold fits that he experienced were so trying, that 
 he made up his mind to yield next time to the im- 
 pulse, and declare himself like a man. But the im- 
 pulse came, and was nipt like its predecessors ; and 
 the poor despairing Squire felt a load taken off his 
 mind when the door opened, and Rosa and Orelia 
 entered, full of conversation for Lady Lee. So he 
 rose ; and, muttering to himself that his chance was 
 over for that day, took his leave, with the impression 
 that he had left his intentions as profound a secret 
 as ever. 
 
 The Squire was riding off in some small agitation 
 of spirits, when Miss Fillett suddenly popt out from 
 behind a laurel bush in the shrubbery, and beckoned 
 him to ride aside from the path ; and an inter- 
 view with Kitty being more to his taste than one 
 with her mistress, and one in which he played his 
 part with far more ease, he obeyed with alacrity. 
 
 " Well, sir, and how have you got on with my 
 lady ? " asked Kitty, pertly enough. 
 
 " Eh, what ? " said Mr Dubbley. " What have 1 
 to do with your lady ? "
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 305 
 
 " Ho ! you think a person has no eyes, I suppose ; 
 as if I couldn't read in a minute when a gentleman's 
 in love — or a lady either, for that matter," added 
 Miss Fillett, meaningly. 
 
 " Or a lady either ? " repeated the Squire. " What I 
 has your mistress been showing any — any testi- 
 monials of affection ? any partiality for anybody, my 
 girl?" 
 
 "Perhaps she has, perhaps she hasn't,'' said 
 Kitty. " But I'll defy her to like anybody without 
 me knowing. Bless you, sir, she couldn't keep her 
 parshalities from me if she wished ever so." 
 
 *' And what d'ye think about my chance, eh ? 
 Come, don't be tormenting ! Amazing pretty girl, 
 upon my life," muttered the Squire in a stage whis- 
 per, intended, to melt Kitty's heart. 
 
 Miss Fillett pursed up her mouth into a round 
 aperture, and, glancing sideways at the Squire, shook 
 her head till the lappets of her smart cap vibrated — 
 intending thereby to express, that she could unfold 
 a tale if she chose. 
 
 " Oh, hang it ! if you're so fond of your secrets, 
 you may keep 'em," said the Squire. " I'll find out 
 for myself. I was very near finding out this mom- 
 ing." 
 
 "Take care!" said Kitty, holding up her finger 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 306 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 witli a warning look ; " take care what you do, sir ! 
 Don't be precipitous." 
 
 "What! you think I've no chance then?" said 
 Mr Dubbley, hastily. 
 
 " I didn't say so/' said Miss Fillett. 
 
 " Then, what the deuce do you mean V asked the 
 Squire, with great impatience. 
 
 " Just this — don't you be rash, sir. Leave me to 
 tell you how my lady's disposed to you ; and when I 
 say Wait, wait — and when I say Propose, propose." 
 
 " What a dear girl you are 1 " said the Squire, 
 gallantly stooping from the saddle to bestow a salute 
 upon Miss Fillett ; but she eluded him, and desired 
 him to behave himself. " Take care, sir, or I shall 
 let my lady know." The Squire making a second 
 attempt, his hat fell off, and the letter which he had 
 placed therein dropt on the ground. Miss Fillett im- 
 mediately picked it up, and, looking at the super- 
 scription, at once divined its nature. 
 
 " Ho, ho 1 a love-letter," she said, looking at the 
 Squire. Mr Dubbley nodded. "'T was a providence," 
 she continued, solemnly, "that you didn't give it 
 yourself to-day. I wouldn't — no, sir — I wouldn't 
 have answered for the consequences. Til take care 
 of it now, and when I see the right time's come. 111 
 deliver it." 
 
 Mr Dubbley perceived that this would save him an
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 307 
 
 infinity of embarrassment and trouble. " Ton my 
 life," said he, " youVe a great deal cleverer than me 
 at these matters. I'll leave it to you, then. Good- 
 by ; shake hands, you know ;" and Kitty bestowing 
 hers, the cunning Squire drew her towards him. But 
 Kitty struggled, and pinched him on the arm, and 
 then saying, " There's my lady's bell ; come to the 
 white gate to-morrow evening," broke away, and van- 
 ished, holding up her finger once before disappear- 
 ing, to impress on the Squire the necessity of attend- 
 ing to her advice. 
 
 "By George, what a jolly girl she is!" said the 
 Squire before he rode off. "Tm not sure I don't 
 like her best after all." 
 
 Kitty saw the Squire's admiring glance as she 
 turned to look back for the last time, and her wily 
 head was forthwith famished with an ambitious idea, 
 which she put by for future consideration. This idea 
 she did not think it necessary to communicate to 
 Bagot that evening, when she reported progress to 
 that chief conspirator ; nor did she tell him that she 
 had been unable to resist the temptation of reading 
 Mr Dubbley's love-letter before putting it in the fire ; 
 but so much as she did confide to the Colonel, called 
 forth his warm approbation.
 
 CHAPTEE XXL 
 
 It was on a bright sunshiny morning in June that 
 the dragoons, three abreast, their helmets and accoutre- 
 ments glittering, their red coats in brilliant relief 
 against the verdure and foliage around, passed 
 through the lodge-gate of the Heronry, and formed 
 on the ground which was to be the scene of their 
 manoeuvres. 
 
 A row of carriages, containing most of the ladies 
 of the neighbourhood, was drawn up in a favourable 
 position, and there were also plenty of spectators on 
 foot. There was Lady Lee driving a small double 
 pony-carriage, with Orelia seated by her side, and 
 Eosa and Julius behind. There was Sir Christopher 
 Clumber in a great lumbering coach as big as a dili- 
 gence, with his two daughters and a maiden aunt. 
 There was the little old Earl of Castle-comical, with 
 his brown wig curled in the Prince-regent fashion, 
 up to a peak on the top of his head, with Brummel-
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 309 
 
 lian cravat and coat, and with opera-glass ready for 
 observation. There was Mr Hobbes, a neighbouring 
 mill-owner, with his fat wife, who had fed herself to 
 such a size that Orelia christened her Hobbes's 
 Leviathan. There was Squire Dubbley, mounted on 
 his best hunter, talking to Bagot, who paid very 
 little attention to him. There was the Curate am- 
 bling easily along on Diana, not the most graceful seat 
 in the world. There was Mr Seager, who, growing 
 tired of his lonely supervision of Goshawk, had run 
 down to refresh his mind by contact with Bagot's for 
 a day or two. And in the background appeared a 
 long row of tables, at which the warriors might, like 
 Homer's heroes, refresh themselves after their toils 
 and dangers, and a tent containing similar arrange- 
 ments for the behoof of the officers and ladies. 
 
 Leaving his officers and men drawn up in order, 
 the Major galloped up to pay his respects to Lady 
 Lee. And the little Earl got out of his carriage, 
 and, requesting to be introduced to Major Tindal, 
 courteously presented a view of the curious arrange- 
 ment of the curls on the top of his wig to the Major, 
 who bowed his plumed head over the saddle. And 
 the populace looked on with great admiration at this 
 meeting of Nobility and War. 
 
 Then, after a little preliminary chat, the Major 
 requested Lady Lee's permission to begin, and
 
 310 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 straightway galloping to the front, called his men to 
 attention, and prepared to march past. No Roman 
 consul, marching in triumph with captive generals 
 following him, ever felt prouder than the grim Major, 
 in front of his well-drilled detachment. There was 
 a little red flag planted at a small distance in front 
 of the row of carriages, close to which the Major, 
 after saluting, took up his position, while the troops 
 went past at a walk, the officers likewise saluting as 
 they passed the flagstaff. And as Captain Sloperton 
 gracefully lowered his sword, Letitia Clumber was 
 heard to exclaim that he, the Captain, was " a divine 
 man;" and many other young females, as also fat 
 Mrs Hobbes, quite agreed with her on the divinity 
 question. They came round, then, at a trot and at a 
 gallop — bits, stirrups, and scabbards jingling, swords 
 flashing, plumes waving, and horses champing and 
 tossing their heads- — all very martial and imposing — 
 at least all except Cornet Suckling, whose charger, 
 becoming unruly, manifested a desire to dash through 
 the ranks in front of him ; his afflicted rider, with 
 his helmet hanging down his back, the chin-scales 
 nearly strangling him, while his plumes, like Lord 
 Cranstoun's after Deloraine had charged him, " went 
 scattering on the gale," looking dreadfully unhappy 
 and undragoon-like, to the great wrath of his choleric 
 commander, who growled some improper expressions
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 3 1 1 
 
 between his ground teeth at the sight of him. In 
 spite of the popular sympathy which Sloperton's 
 appearance elicited, Rosa, in a whisper to Orelia 
 over the back of the carriage, asked, " If she didn't 
 think Mr Bruce looked better than any of them ?" 
 
 Then they charged in troops, and in divisions, and 
 in line — and threw out skirmishers, who fired their 
 carbines and galloped in upon the main body — and 
 they changed their front, and wheeled, and deployed, 
 and formed close column, and opened out again, all 
 to the great delight of the uninitiated. And then, 
 the review being over, they dismounted and picketed 
 their horses, while the tables were being spread for 
 the gallant riders. 
 
 ^' A beautiful sight you have afforded us," said the 
 little Earl, as the Major rode up. " The ladies are 
 enchanted." 
 
 " Why, I think the men were tolerably steady,'' 
 said Tindal, taking off his helmet, and resting it on 
 the pommel of his saddlOj while he wiped his fore- 
 head. The Major, while he spoke thus indifferently, 
 secretly thought they had been pre-eminently smart, 
 and wished Lord Cardigan could have been there to 
 see. 
 
 One group of chargers, picketed beneath an oak, 
 looked so very picturesque that Orelia was desirous 
 of sketching them, and sent into the house for draw-
 
 312 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 ing materials. Seated in a chair in front of them, 
 she began her sketch ; and during its progress she 
 called to the dragoon Onslow, who happened, quite 
 unaccountably, to be standing near the horses, to 
 come and look at it. 
 
 Now, it happened that Mr Seager had just stepped 
 up, in his usual familiar, not-to-be-snubbed kind of 
 fashion, to speak to Orelia, whom he always took 
 particular pleasure in addressing, because he saw she 
 couldn't endure him. Casting his eyes on Onslow as 
 he drew near, Seager stared for a moment in his face, 
 and called out, " Ha ! the devil ! why it's — " 
 
 The dragoon looked up at the sound of his voice, 
 and instantly put his finger to his lips. " Are you 
 not mistaken ? " he said ; and then, going up to 
 Seager, drew him a short distance apart. Orelia, 
 witnessing this strange encounter mth great amaze- 
 ment and curiosity, noticed that Seager had sud- 
 denly grown very pale. 
 
 "What brought you back? I thought you were 
 out of this long ago,'' Seager said. 
 
 " Don't trouble yourself to ask questions," replied 
 Onslow. " You see what I've come to — many thanks 
 to you for it. Now, listen. Nobody knows me here 
 but you, nor do I wish to be known ; therefore do 
 you be silent. If you are not, why, you know me 
 of old ; and, be assured, I shall, if you disregard
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 313 
 
 my warning, settle all scores with you at once without 
 hesitation." 
 
 " If that's all, don't be afraid," said Seager, ap- 
 parently relieved at hearing this, and drawing a 
 long breath, " I'll keep it quiet ; and more, if you 
 ever want money to get away, you'll find me good 
 for a twenty-pound note." 
 
 " Many thanks, my generous friend," returned the 
 dragoon, smiling ironically. "In the mean time, I 
 shall only trouble you to hold your tongue." So 
 saying, he passed on ; and Seager, muttering to 
 himself, while his face resumed its natural bronze, 
 " D — d unlucky ! — I never thought he would have 
 turned up again," turned away in the opposite 
 direction, which led him past Orelia, who was sit- 
 ting on the pins of curiosity, as a Persian poet might 
 express it. 
 
 "Do you know Mr Onslow?" she asked, with 
 a look that inquired deeper than her words. 
 
 "Not at all," returned the brazen Seager, who 
 was never more at home than when telling a he ; 
 " never saw him before, though he's very like a 
 friend of mine, for whom I mistook him. Quite 
 a mistake." And Orelia, altogether disbelieving him, 
 but afraid of betraying too much interest in the 
 dragoon, was obliged, sorely against her will, to for- 
 bear further questions.
 
 314 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " Lee/' said Tindal preseDtly, walking up to the 
 carriage containing her ladyship and Rosa, beside 
 which Bagot was stationed, "there's a pretty bit 
 of ground there for a small steeple-chase — don't you 
 think something of the kind might amuse the 
 ladies ? '' 
 
 " A deuced good idea ! " returned Bagot ; " and 
 you might ride in your uniforms, which would be 
 a novelty in the annals of steeple^chasing. 'Twill 
 have a good effect — eh? You might start on that 
 bit of turf, over the ditch and rail, down the slope 
 to the hedge, cross the meadow, and charge the- 
 brook ('tisn't over twelve feet there), round through 
 the quickset, then over those low fences and that 
 rasper (the only nasty jump of the lot), down the 
 meadow, and across the brook again, back over 
 the rail and ditch, and finish vdth a straight run 
 in to the oak tree yonder/' 
 
 " Capital — couldn't be better,'' assented the Major, 
 impatient to show his merits as a jockey, which, 
 as before stated, were of a high order. "Now for 
 the riders. Gates, you'll make onCj and Bruce an- 
 other ? " Both assented willingly. 
 
 " Fane, you're wanted for a steeple-chase," shouted 
 the Major. " Come here." 
 
 Fane was cantering past at a little distance, with 
 Julius seated on the holsters, which position he had
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 315 
 
 been clamorous to attain, while Lady Lee watched 
 him with secret anxiety. As he turned and came 
 towards them, Seager whispered to Bagot, " I say. 
 Colonel, what would you give him now to let the 
 boy drop ? He'd be the best friend you ever had 1 " 
 and Mr Seager grinned. But Bagot did not seem 
 to relish the joke, frowning, and muttering something, 
 which sounded like a curse for Seager. 
 
 "I shall be happy to form another leaf in your 
 chaplet, Tindal," Fane said, when the plan was 
 communicated to him. " Major Tindal,'"* said Fane, 
 turning to the ladies, " is sure to win." 
 
 " One, two, three, four of you," said Bagot, count- 
 ing. " Who else ? " Sloperton excused himself, on 
 the plea of his horse Bouquet being engaged for the 
 match with Goshawk; and Suckling said his horse 
 was a bad jumper, never could get him over the 
 second fence — which was quite true, for Mr Suck- 
 ling invariably tumbled off at the first. 
 
 "Til tell you what/' said the Colonel; " I've 
 got an old horse up there in the stable, which I 
 shouldn't mind backing for a trifle, if there was 
 anybody to ride him. But he's a diflicult horse, 
 and Noble's got no head, though he sits well enough. 
 By the by, there's that rough-rider of yours, Onslow ; 
 let him ride for mOj and the thing shall come off 
 after lunch." And without waiting for the Major's
 
 316 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 approbation of the arrangement, Bagot immediately 
 set off to speak to Onslow on the subject. 
 
 "All right, Tindal," he said presently, coming 
 back again ; " he says he'll ride him, I'll have 
 the ground marked out directly.'' 
 
 Bagot was not long about this congenial em- 
 ployment ; and when he came back, they went into 
 the tent to lunch, which went off very successfully. 
 After it, the Earl of Castle-comical, seated beside 
 Lady Lee, rose and proposed the British army, with 
 some remarks about its valour, loyalty, and achieve- 
 ments, which, if not entirely novel and original, were 
 quite as much applauded as if they had been. And 
 the Major, returning thanks in a short, grim, de- 
 termined sort of speech, begged to propose the ladies, 
 which called up Captain Sloperton, by universal 
 acclamation, to return thanks, who proved himself 
 a doughty champion of the sex. And as, when that 
 sort of thing once begins, nobody knows where it 
 will end, they might have gone on proposing toasts 
 till nightfall, if Bagot, anxious for the steeple-chase, 
 had not seized an opportunity of adjourning to the 
 scene of action. 
 
 Thither, accordingly, the company repaired, and it 
 was not long before the jockeys were ready. Then the 
 Major, complaining of the want of a prize, begged 
 Bagot to procure one of Orelia's gloves, which he did,
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 317 
 
 and hung it on a branch of the oak which officiated 
 as winning-post, to incite the competitors to deeds 
 of high emprise. Bagot had privately backed the 
 Doctor, his own horse, pretty heavily, being readily 
 taken up by Gates and the Major. " Win if you 
 can,"' said he to Onslow. The dragoon nodded. 
 "All ready V inquired Bagot, standing in front of 
 the line of horsemen, handkerchief in hand. " Yes ! " 
 answered all. " Off! " and away they went. 
 
 Mr Gates, determined to earn distinction, however 
 shortlived, led off at score. Gver the ditch and rail 
 he went at a tremendous pace, blundering somewhat 
 at the latter, but righting on the other side ; and he 
 succeeded in overcoming the obstacle which Suckling 
 always found so insuperable, viz. the second fence. 
 But his hopes of victory were swallowed up in the 
 brook, in the midst of which he disappeared with a 
 great splash, and from which a pair of heels, with 
 long spurs, were presently seen to emerge, subse- 
 quently replaced by a helmet ; and when he and his 
 steed struggled through to the bank, the rest were 
 hopelessly ahead. 
 
 Victory was still doubtful, as they went over the 
 low fences in the meadows. All kept well together j 
 but Fane and Bruce, both large men, had little 
 chance with their lighter opponents. At the rasper, 
 the latter got a rattling fall, and, though he went on
 
 318 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 again like a good one, yet his chance was gone ; 
 Fane's weight, too, began to tell as they came up the 
 slope towards home, and he gradually dropt behind. 
 
 " Drive down to the fence, and see 'em come 
 over," cried Bagot, in great excitement, to Lady Lee ; 
 and accordingly the pony carriage, with its fair occu- 
 pants seated therein, as before, took up a position 
 near the last leap in the race. 
 
 Tindal and Onslow were very close together, both 
 lifting their horses along. The Major saw with de- 
 spair that the Doctor was still going strong, while he 
 felt his own horse losing ground — 
 
 " A ten-pound note if you let me win ! " said the 
 Major, forgetting he had a bet on the race, in his 
 eagerness to avoid the shame of defeat. 
 
 The dragoon smiled and shook his head. The 
 Doctor gained a few inches every stride. 
 
 Ah, Lady Lee! why did you drive down to the 
 fence ? For now the horses are nearing it, and the 
 Major, his soul wrapt in the struggle, does not look 
 at the fair trio, nor knows they are there. But On- 
 slow glances aside at the carriage. Was it that mo- 
 mentary distraction from the business in hand that 
 snatched victory from him ? Perhaps so ; at any 
 rate the Doctor, taking the fence in advance, caught 
 the rail with his hind-legs, and came down on the 
 opposite side of the ditch on his head, throwing the
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 319 
 
 dragoon beyond him, and then rolling over him, 
 horse and man mixed up for a moment in frightful 
 confusion, during which Onslow cast one glance at 
 Orelia, and then lay still. 
 
 In a second, Orelia was out of the carriage, and 
 while Rosa and Lady Lee shrieked for aid, cast her- 
 self on her knees, and, picking up the head of the 
 prostrate and senseless dragoon, placed it in her lap. 
 It was a pleasant sight for Tindal, who, having 
 snatched down the glove, emblem of victory, was 
 now riding up, all flushed, to receive her congratu- 
 lations. What is that she is saying to. his defeated 
 opponent? — "Why doesn't he speak to her? — only 
 one word?*' Tindal reined sharply up, crumpled 
 the glove in his hand, and cast it under his horse''s 
 feet, then, pale as a grim statue, sat looking at the 
 Colonel 
 
 Help was speedily brought, and the dragoon carried 
 away to the lodge, which was close at hand. And 
 this accident, joined to a shower that was beginning 
 to fall, dispersed the assembly.
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 The carriages had driven off ; the spectators on 
 foot had followed, such provident and fortunate ones 
 as had brought umbrellas rejoicing underneath the 
 shelter of them. The dragoons, unstrapping their 
 long red cloaks from their saddles, had filed off the 
 grounds and down the road with their officers. Only 
 the Major lingered behind to speak a word to Bagot. 
 
 Taking him aside, he clutched his arm with a grip 
 like a vice's — " Did you see ? " he muttered between 
 his teeth, not looking at Bagot, but straight for- 
 ward into vacancy — " Did you see ? — did you hear 
 her?" 
 
 Bagot was frightened at his manner and the 
 whiteness of his face — " Pho ! '' said he, " a girFs 
 fancy, if anything — nothing more ; a bit of silly ro- 
 mance. The hero of it seems pretty well settled for 
 the time, at any rate" (glancing at Onslow as he was 
 borne away towards the lodge), "and that ought to
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 321 
 
 be some comfort. She'll forget him in a week, old 
 fellow, and you shall cut in." 
 
 "And the disgrace of it, too," continued Tindal, 
 more attentive to his own thoughts than to Bagot's 
 words — " cut out ! not by one's equal, but by— — 
 No, I never could forget that in any case-^never — 
 never ! " 
 
 " Then forget her, my boy," said Bagot; "and that, 
 perhaps, after all, will be the simplest plan." 
 
 "I wish to heaven I could," said Tindal. "Ill 
 try — I will — I will ! " (the words coming ground to 
 fragments from between bis teeth, while the grasp on 
 Bagot's arm had tightened to such an extent that he 
 was rather anxious to be rid of it). 
 
 " Walk a little slower," said Bagot, out of breath 
 from being hurried along at something over five 
 miles an hour. " I'll talk to her, and find how the 
 land lies. Pluck up your spirits, and don't be cut up 
 till you hear from me. Ill talk to her myself, and 
 so shall Hester.'' 
 
 When the Major had taken his horse from the 
 orderly who held him, and ridden him off, Bagot, in 
 fulfilment of his promise, went into the house to talk 
 to Orelia. He found her in the drawing-room, alone 
 — her bonnet and walking-dress still on. Bagot put 
 on a pleasant propitiatory look as he accosted her, for 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 322 LADY lee's widowhood. 
 
 he felt, in some slight degree, in awe of the imperious 
 young lady. 
 
 " My dear Miss Payne,'' said Bagot, assuming a 
 manner combining the paternal with the gallant, 
 "you'll excuse an old fellow like me, who takes an 
 interest in you, for saying that your conduct was a 
 little — what shall we call it ? — imprudent/' 
 
 No answer from Orelia, except a downward ten- 
 dency of the comers of the mouth. 
 
 "The time is past, my dear girl," continued Bagot, 
 waxing confidentially affectionate, " for putting way- 
 ward young ladies under lock and key, or really I 
 should almost feel inclined to recommend a few days' 
 solitary confinement in your case. What d'ye think, 
 now, of your own room, bread and water, and a 
 volume of sermons for a week ? " and Bagot smiled 
 in a way at once facetious and conciliatory, to show 
 that he was not inclined to take a harsh view of the 
 matter, but had plenty of indulgence for frailty, 
 especially when its name was young woman. How- 
 ever, the only answer he got was an increased 
 downward curve of the mouth and projection of 
 the under lip. 
 
 " One thing is particularly fortunate," he went on, 
 " and that is, that nobody observed anything of the 
 affair, except what I may call our own family — for 
 Rosa Young we may consider one of us — and one
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 323 
 
 other person, who certainly won't talk of it. Really, 
 all things considered, I hardly regret its having hap- 
 pened, for we shall now be able to reason you out of 
 your folly." 
 
 " What folly ? " asked Orelia, turning sharply 
 round, with a steady glance of the black eyes. 
 
 " Why, what name would you have me give to the 
 extraordinary display of interest you have made for 
 this dragoon?"' quoth Bagot, impatiently. "You 
 are about the last young lady I should have suspected 
 of such want of pride as to feel, far less to betray, a 
 partiality for a low-born, low-bred fellow like that." 
 
 " Low bred ! " cried the indignant Orelia. " Have 
 you no eyes or ears ? Can't you see in every look 
 and word his infinite superiority to those whom 
 chance has set over him? And I believe you are 
 equally mistaken in calling him low-born." 
 
 " Bless my soul, what extraordinary infatuation ! " 
 said the Colonel. " Why, deuce take it, I knew that 
 girls were apt to take absurd fancies, but I never 
 did suspect you of being one of that sort, or of being 
 capable of persisting in such nonsense. I'll admit 
 the fellow's good-looking, and that he rides well ; 
 now, will you have the goodness to tell me if you 
 think these sufficient reasons for a young lady of 
 beauty, education, and good expectations, to fall in 
 love with him ? "
 
 324 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " I ought to have known," said Orelia, with great 
 scorn, "that you were incapable of perceiving his 
 merits. To do that requires, possibly, some refine- 
 ment of taste." 
 
 "Ah, that's right," said Bagot, reddening ; "pitch 
 into me ! Well, take your own way — it's no business 
 of mine — but you 11 find out soon what other people 
 think of it. I only hope your conduct hasn't quite 
 lost you the good opinion of a man who did admire 
 you, and whose admiration was worth having." 
 
 "You mean your friend Major Tindal?" said Orelia. 
 
 "And if I did," returned Bagot, "isn't it worth 
 while to think twice before losing such a man ? 
 Good family, good fellow, and heir to three thousand 
 a-year — 'gad, young lady, I don't know what more 
 you expect." 
 
 " And do you suppose that, with all these advan- 
 tages, and the friendship of Colonel Lee besides, he 
 is worthy to be compared with this unfortunate Mr 
 Onslow?" 
 
 " Oh, by Jove ! " muttered Bagot, " she must be 
 mad, you know — stark, staring — Hester," he con- 
 tinued, as Lady Lee entered, " come and talk to this 
 headstrong young lady ; I can make nothing of her." 
 
 Her ladyship did not come into the room in her 
 ordinary composed way, but with a hurried step, 
 while her usually pale face was slightly flushed.
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 325 
 
 " I am sure," she said quickly — " I am sure that 
 Orelia needs no talking to bring her to a sense of her 
 misconduct. My dear, what could you mean ? — you 
 must have been infatuated." 
 
 At this address Orelia turned impatiently away, 
 with a slight stamp of her foot, and walked towards 
 the window. 
 
 " I am hurt, surprised, confounded ! " continued 
 Lady Lee. " Of all my acquaintance, the last whom 
 I should have suspected of forgetting her own self- 
 respect was my friend Orelia Payne."" 
 
 " Exactly what IVe just told her," said the Colonel, 
 nodding assent from the hearth-rug — " exactly." 
 
 ** I'm really at my wit's end," her ladyship went 
 on ; " between surprise and distress, I hardly know 
 what to say. If you would condescend, Orelia, to 
 give me some answer — to repose in me some confi- 
 dence — to say what could have induced you to lower 
 yourself so — or, best of all, to say you are grieved 
 and ashamed — then my course would be clearer." 
 
 Vouchsafing no answer, Orelia swept majestically 
 round and marched out of the room, and up-stairs to 
 her own chamber. From it she did not again emerge 
 that day. Dinner-time came, but she did not appear. 
 Fillett went to tell her they were waiting for her, and 
 found the door locked ; and the only reply she got 
 from Orelia was, that she didn't want dinner. Rosa
 
 326 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Young was dreadfully disquieted, and couldn't eat 
 anything for sympathy. She selected a plate of what 
 she thought Orelia would like best (if the reader is 
 anxious to know what, we will tell him ; — it was three 
 slices of the breast of a young duck, with green peas 
 and butter, and new potatoes ; which I mention just 
 to show that my heroines don't live on air like most 
 heroines, but are nourished by their victuals), and, 
 carrying it up-stairs herself, whispered through the 
 keyhole — " Reley, 'tis me, Kosa — won't you open 
 the door? I've brought you some dinner." No 
 answer. " Dear Reley, how can you distress me so ? 
 Please open the door, like a dear good Reley " — still 
 no answer. " Reley " (sob), " you make me so un- 
 happy ! " (sob, sob) ; " only speak one word." " Go 
 away, and don't plague me," was the reply from 
 within ; and Rosa, sorely distressed, slowly carried 
 her plate down stairs again, stopping now and then 
 on her way to wipe her eyes with her frock. 
 
 Julius, too, paid her a visit of condolence. That 
 any one should voluntarily go without their dinner, 
 and decline green peas such as he had seen Rosa 
 put on the plate, was incredible to him, except on 
 the supposition that Orelia was very ill. So, by way 
 of showing his interest in her health, he drummed 
 and kicked at the door, and, afterwards going down 
 on his hands and knees, tried to peep underneath,
 
 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 327 
 
 when it was suddenly opened, and Orelia, taking 
 him up and kissing him, drew him inside. He 
 staid with her some time, and after he came out, 
 went and told Kosa that Miss Payne had been cry- 
 ing — which Rosa was, on the whole, glad to hear, 
 considering it a symptom that she was becoming 
 more tractable. 
 
 However, when she went up-stairs to bed, she did 
 not find her friend much softened. Rosa crept to 
 the chair, where she was seated in her dressing- 
 gown, and put her arm round her neck. Very few 
 people, I should hope, could have felt Rosa's soft 
 cheek rubbing against theirs, and heard her gentle 
 whispers of condolence, without returning the caress ; 
 but the patient was obdurate; The only sign of 
 emotion was when Rosa whispered that " he was not 
 so much hurt as had at first been thought — the doc- 
 tor thought he would soon get over it," — when there 
 was a tumultuous heaving of the upper folds of the 
 dressing-gown. So Rosa, finding her consolations 
 rejected, at length undressed sorrowfully and went 
 to bed. 
 
 She did not go to sleep, however, though she 
 pretended to do so, but all the time two soft blue 
 lines might be seen between the eyelashes. Thus 
 she continued to watch Orelia, till the latter sudden- 
 ly and unexpectedly turned round and fixed her two
 
 328 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 piercing eyes on the pretended slumberer, who there- 
 upon, colouring up to the edge of her nightcap, 
 feigned to sleep harder than ever, and even got up a 
 little snore. Presently Orelia extinguished the light, 
 and Rosa thought she was going to bed, but instead 
 of that she came suddenly to Rosa's bedside, threw 
 herself down there, and, clasping her round the neck, 
 began to rain warm tears down upon her cheek. 
 
 It would be something entirely new in female 
 hydrostatics, if one woman could cry over another 
 without meeting with a copious supply of fluid in 
 return. Accordingly, there straightway ensued such 
 a pluviose duet of sobbing, murmuring, sighing, and 
 blowing of noses, that nobody hearing this meeting 
 of the waters would have ventured into the room 
 without a waterproof cloak and goloshes — except, 
 perhaps, a Deal boatman or a Newfoundland dog. 
 
 " I don't mind talking to you about it, Rosa," 
 whispered the stately penitent in a lull of the 
 tempest, " because you don't lecture me like a great 
 school girl, nor look horrified at me, as if I had 
 committed a crime. And I'm sorry I was sullen to 
 you, for you're a good little thing.'' 
 
 " Yes, indeed, I'm not a bad little thing," sobbed 
 Rosa ; " and Fd comfort you if I could." 
 
 So Orelia, after a fitful, gusty fashion, proceeded 
 after this little preamble to unbosom herself — half-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 329 
 
 confessing that she " loved this bold dragoon ;" that 
 she was sure he was, as Rosa also must well know, 
 a high-bred gentleman in reality ; that he loved her, 
 as she firmly believed, in return, but was deterred 
 from saying so by an honourabfe scruple of entangling 
 her with one ostensibly so far below her station in 
 society ; that she expected, with his talents, he could 
 not long remain in his obscure position, but would 
 emerge again into the world in his proper character, 
 when she should be proud to acknowledge him ; but 
 that, if this expectation proved false, she should still 
 prefer him to all men, being convinced that it was by 
 no fault of his he had fallen so far below himself. 
 
 *' But you must wait till he does appear in his own 
 character," said Rosa, " before you have anything 
 more to say to him. And you'll not offend Hester 
 and the rest, will you, by showing any interest in 
 him in the meanwhile ? and I'll take care to let you 
 know how he's getting on." 
 
 On this point, however, Orelia was stubborn. 
 " She should neither unnecessarily show an interest 
 in him, nor conceal it — it was nothing to be ashamed 
 of; if people thought so, it was nothing to her, for 
 she paid very little regard to what people might 
 think of her." 
 
 "And some day you'll be married to him, perhaps," 
 said Rosa, "Orelia Onslow ! — 0, 1 Heavens ! " said
 
 330 LADY lee's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Rosa, " to think I should have a friend whose initials 
 will be like a pair of spectacles ! " 
 
 This made Orelia laugh — and, relieved by her con- 
 fessions, she now kissed Rosa, wished her good-night, 
 and withdrew to her own bed.
 
 CHAPTEK XXIII. 
 
 The Curate was now at the summit of human 
 felicity. To have suddenly raised him to a bishop- 
 ric would have been a mere distracting impertinence. 
 Ah, would Time now but stand still, satisfied with 
 his work, and content to rest on his scythe and look 
 at it ! For the summer was come, warm and glo- 
 rious — and the Curate was as full of out-door plans 
 and pursuits as the fields were of flowers, the trees of 
 singing-birds, the grass of creeping things ; — pursuits 
 which he need not enjoy without full sympathy, for 
 they were shared by his friends male and female ; 
 and the Curate was never visited by an idea that was 
 not communicable to one or other of them, or both. 
 Since Fane had come, his happiness was complete. 
 Though so different, they had much in common ; and 
 the Curate's reflective mind derived great benefit 
 from contact with the masculine one of his friend. 
 Communion with a too gentle and complying nature
 
 332 
 
 is like walking on a feather-bed, but from a firm un- 
 compromising spirit you bound with vigour. 
 
 Fane, too, felt these new scenes in charming con- 
 trast with the life he had hitherto led, which had been 
 too changeful and eventful for much reflection. 
 
 " I never did believe, Josey,"" he said one day at 
 the parsonage, " that these enervating influences 
 could ever have gained such power over me. I find 
 myself constantly impelled either to visit that Castle 
 of Indolence, the Heronry, or else this smaller branch 
 or offshoot from it — this Sleepy Hollow, of which you 
 are the Archimage. Masculine attire is a reproach 
 to a man who leads this sort of sauntering life : next 
 week you will see me in robes and a chaplet." 
 
 In fact, there was something seductive about the 
 atmosphere of the Heronry which it was difficult for 
 any but very strong-minded people — i. e., the petri- 
 factions of humanity — to resist. Setting aside the 
 enchantresses whose abode it was, and whose fascina- 
 tions, I trust, I need not enlarge upon at this time of 
 day, the place itself had a touch of dreamy enchant- 
 ment about it ; so that although there never was a 
 house in the world where less of constraint was exer- 
 cised, yet those who went there often found it very 
 difficult to go away. As you entered the grounds the 
 busy world seemed to recede, and its humming to 
 grow faint and insignificant — the forms and cere-
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 333 
 
 monies and struggles of life seemed the merest vani- 
 ties ; while you, divested of work-a-day thoughts and 
 cares, stept at once into the Georgian era. 
 
 In spite of modem inventions, and rare shrubs and 
 plants unknown to the horticulture of the ancients, 
 the gardens and shrubberies had an antique air — 
 owing partly to some remnants of the taste of former 
 days in dipt yew and box trees, and pleached alleys, 
 partly to the venerable presence of many mossy 
 ancient gods and goddesses, whose time-worn figures 
 lurked amid the bushes and fountains — but most to 
 their prevailing air of shelter and seclusion. That 
 garden which was Lady Lee's favourite, and where 
 she spent a good deal of time in fine weather, had so 
 much of these qualities, that you might easily miss 
 it altogether, unless previously acquainted with its 
 whereabout. It was sunk in a kind of ravine, the 
 shady slope of which was covered with grass and 
 wildflowers, the sunny one with strawberry plants, 
 while above stood a sheltering grove. All sounds 
 finding their way in here were dull and remote, 
 except the songs of the thrushes and blackbirds in 
 the neighbouring trees. Passing along the middle 
 path, a flight of steps led up to a turf walk, bordered 
 by a row of yew trees, looking like a rich cathedral 
 aisle, beyond which appeared a more extensive and 
 less sequestered garden, having at one end a row of
 
 334 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 greenhouses. Curious and expensive plants flourished 
 there ; — rare ferns from Australia ; brilliant tropical 
 flowers, maintained in life and lustre by artificial 
 heat ; water-lilies, whose ancestors grew by the Nile, 
 floated on the surface of tanks, with gold-fish darting 
 underneath the broad leaves ; — in fact, the ends of the 
 earth sent tribute to that compendious conservator)^. 
 
 No wonder that the Curate enjoyed his visits here, 
 and thought himself in Paradise — no wonder that 
 Fane felt attracted to the Heronry — no wonder that 
 Lady Lee felt a shock given to her acquired poco- 
 curantism. 
 
 Intellectual women sympathise more with ambition 
 than with content, and value a strong mind above the 
 finest disposition in a man. They like something to 
 lean against, with assurance of finding firm support; 
 they like a nature round which their own may twine 
 upward. Many gentle, worthy ladies could have 
 loved the Curate, while they would have shrunk 
 timidly from the more independent nature of his 
 friend, that broke through conventionalities, and 
 thought for itself : to them, contact with such a 
 nature would have seemed perilous. But Lady Lee, 
 loving the Curate as her good and wise brother, 
 had not found in him much of shelter or support ; 
 while the less reverential and more aspiring mind of 
 Fane had touched her long-dormant sympathies, and
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 335 
 
 renewed the youth of her heart. Pope stood, now, 
 once again unopened on the book-shelf, and Madame 
 de Stael reigned in his stead. 
 
 One evening the two friends were seated together 
 on the grassy bank above the garden already de- 
 scribed, in company with Kosa and Lady Lee — the 
 latter conversing with them, the former preferring 
 the society of Julius — Fane had been talking of his 
 Indian campaigns. 
 
 " What would you say, peaceful, philanthropic 
 Josey," he said, after describing a sanguinary affair 
 he had taken part in, " if I were to tell you that I, 
 all pacific and amiable as I sit here, have felt, in the 
 heat of conflict, an actual thirst for blood — a desire 
 to slay ? — such as filled those whom history execrates 
 as ' sparing neither age or sex ' — or as ' putting all to 
 the sword, old and young ? ' " 
 
 " Why, of course, I should not believe you, 
 Durham." 
 
 " Fact, nevertheless,'' said Fane. " I wish I could 
 flatter myself that 'twas Milton's 'deliberate valour' 
 that I breathed ; but, unfortunately, it was something 
 altogether more tiger-like : It is a phase of human 
 nature bordering, I'm afraid, on the diabolical side." 
 
 " Happy are we," returned the Curate, " who can 
 walk among these peaceful scenes, knowing nothing 
 of such terrible feelings.""
 
 33G LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 "Now, there, I think you are wrong," returned his 
 friend. " If there are such hidden corners in our 
 souls, 'tis as well to be aware of the fact. If we have 
 still connections on the infernal side, why should we 
 disown our kindred? To have experienced such feel- 
 ings even makes me more tolerant and humane ; for 
 while you look on sackers of cities, and perpetrators 
 of the accompanying horrors, as so many incarnate 
 demons, I see in them merely brethren given over to 
 their natural passions." 
 
 "IVe no desire to look into such black abysses," 
 quoth the Curate. " Finding plenty of pleasant 
 chambers in my nature wherein to enjoy myself 
 peaceably, I should deserve the fate of Bluebeard's 
 wives if I sought to pry into forbidden corners. 
 Why, I could be content," Josiah went on, "to sit 
 here as we are now, and look upon this landscape till 
 the world had struggled itself into the next half- 
 century — till our beards grew to our waists, and 
 Eosa's and Hester's hair to their feet, like the Sleep- 
 ing Beauty's." 
 
 "IVe no fault to find with the landscape," said 
 Fane ; " in fact, 'tis quite after my own heart — and 
 the figures in the foreground are unimpeachable " 
 (with a side-glance at Lady Lee). " But, considering 
 the useless life IVe led of late, I don't feel as if I 
 had earned the right to enjoy the scene."
 
 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 337 
 
 " But to leave one^s-self no time for reflection or 
 enjoyment is a worse error than the other/' said Lady- 
 Lee. " I pity those who have no duties or incentives 
 to action " (with a sigh) ; " but I pity more those 
 who rush through a pleasant world with their eyes 
 always fixed on something in front. There are some 
 who, in their eagerness for turning everything and 
 every moment to practical account, grudge even liba- 
 tions to the gods as wasteful." 
 
 " Of the two courses our friend Josey's is the more 
 seductive, and I even think the more respectable,'" 
 returned Fane. " But how one's sense of tranquil 
 enjoyments would be heightened, if they came to 
 refresh us after the excitement of a bustling cam- 
 paign or a stormy session ! " 
 
 " But if we of simple tastes can relish nature with- 
 out your sauce piquante, Durham ? — and as for 
 action and the struggles of life, why, we can read 
 about them. When I want excitement, can I not 
 plunge into the -world of books — history, poetry, 
 romance, what not ? After reading a well-written 
 book," said the reverend Josiah, taking a short flight 
 from the subject in hand (for a literary quarry would 
 always lure him away from any other), " the halls of 
 my brain are thronged with a goodly company. I 
 wish I could bid them stay, and make that house 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 338 LADY LEE S WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 their home ; but in a short time they depart, as from 
 the roof of a stranger, and the place thereof knows 
 them no more. It is these transient visits from the 
 children of genius that gives me such a respect for 
 genius itself. I cannot help reverencing and envy- 
 ing spirits which can, almost at will, evoke images of 
 such grace and power that a mere glimpse of them 
 suffices to make a humbler nature happy/' 
 
 " You are the most enviable of ecclesiastics," said 
 Fane, "and I wish I could imitate you ; but I can't. 
 Inaction is to me a perpetual reproach." 
 
 Contrasts of sentiment like these were, to Lady 
 Lee's mind, rather unfavourable to the Curate. Full 
 of goodness, simplicity, and a certain mild wisdom, 
 his mind, contrasted with Fane's, seemed character- 
 ised by an inglorious softness. In him was wanting 
 the power that most of all allures an imaginative 
 woman — the power to excite and interest her imagi- 
 nation. The Curate was amiable, excellent, worthy 
 of all esteem ; but she could include him, and see the 
 boundary of all the tracks of his thoughts, while 
 Fane's seemed to lead boldly out into regions such as 
 Bunyan saw in his dream, peopled with tremendous 
 forms. Under other circumstances, and in other 
 days, the Curate might have made a patient and 
 excellent martyr, but he would never have been a 
 leader or discoverer. Fane's capacities of thought
 
 LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. 339 
 
 and enjoyment lay more in the regions of the un- 
 known and untried, and therefore it was at once less 
 easy and more exciting to follow him. 
 
 Then, if we consider the difference of outward 
 form in the two men — Fane tall, robust, upright, 
 with a far-seeing glance — the Curate somewhat loose, 
 shambling, given to supine attitudes, and with his 
 reflective look turned to the earth — Ah, Josiah, what 
 evil spirit brought your friend to Lanscote, or fixed 
 your simple heart on Lady Lee ? 
 
 As they walked back to the house in the cool of 
 the evening, the sight of the lodge, near which they 
 passed, reminded Lady Lee that she intended to 
 ask Fane concerning the previous history and cha- 
 racter of the dragoon Onslow, who lay sick there, 
 in order to discover, if possible, some clue to the yet 
 unaccountable fancy of Orelia. 
 
 In reply to her questions. Fane said that Onslow 
 had, from the first, particularly attracted his notice. 
 
 " Without being at all morose,'' said Fane, " he 
 has always kept aloof from the rest of the men — 
 ' among them, but not of them.' And, though this 
 kind of demeanour, implying conscious superiority, 
 is exactly what would most have roused their re- 
 sentment and excited ill feeling, if shown by one 
 whose pretensions were unfounded, yet he always 
 seems to have commanded a remarkable degree of
 
 340 LADY LEES WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 respect. His manners and language are singularly 
 good, and there is a good deal of pride about him. 
 In the last town we were quartered in, his appear- 
 ance had so fascinated a rich widow, that her par- 
 tiality for him, which she took no pains to conceal, 
 became quite notorious, and she did not scruple to 
 acquaint him with it. But though she was not only 
 rich, but by no means wanting in beauty, he, in his 
 usual easy half-scornful way, rejected her offers as 
 if she had been an old applewoman, or he a million- 
 aire. I intend to look in presently, and see how 
 he is getting on, for I confess I am greatly interested 
 in him.'' 
 
 Lady Lee did not know whether to be glad or 
 sorry at receiving this information. On the one 
 hand, she rejoiced to find that Orelia's taste had 
 not gone so far astray as had at first appeared ; on 
 the other, she feared that it might prove something 
 more than a mere passing fancy which the young 
 lady had conceived for this conquering dragoon. 
 
 Fane, on reaching the lodge on his homeward 
 way, entered. As it could not be seen from the 
 Heronry, nor the Heronry from it, there had been 
 no occasion to build it in any particular style. Ac- 
 cordingly, it was a long, low, somewhat irregular 
 cottage, with an overhanging thatched roof, and deep 
 casement windows clustered with flowers; looking
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 341 
 
 very pleasant and snug, with its background of foliage, 
 as you approached the arched ivy-covered gateway. 
 Onslow lay in an inner room, on a sofa, drawn 
 close to the open window. He was reading, and 
 laid down his book on the window-seat as Fane 
 entered. 
 
 " Well, Onslow,'' said Fane, seating himself on 
 a chair close by, " how are you getting on ? Well, 
 I hope." 
 
 " This is very kind of you, Captain Fane," re- 
 turned Onslow. " Yes, I am almost well, I think ; 
 nothing ails me now but weakness." 
 
 " 'Twas an ugly tumble," said the Captain. " I 
 was close behiijd you and saw it. Tm not sure, 
 though, whether I wouldn't undergo just such 
 another, to be picked up in the same way you 
 were." 
 
 The dragoon flushed a deep red, and turned his 
 eyes from Fane's; he seemed to have heard some- 
 thing of the scene that followed his mishap. 
 
 " However," said Fane, " you will, I see, be shortly 
 on your legs again, and I hope, in a few days, you 
 will be fit to resume your duty." 
 
 " I shall never resume my duty," said Onslow. 
 " I am no longer a soldier. Not half an hour ago, 
 I received a notification of my discharge from the 
 service."
 
 342 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 " On what grounds ? " asked Fane, with sur- 
 prise. 
 
 " By my own desire/' returned Onslow. 
 
 " I am sorry for this/' said Fane. " We shall lose 
 a good soldier. And it seems a pity, too, when you 
 were rising fast, and might have looked forward 
 to a position more worthy of you : for I have long 
 been of opinion that, whatever may have been your 
 motives for enlisting, you quitted your proper place 
 in society, and must, in your present one, have suf- 
 fered most disagreeable constraint.'' 
 
 The ex-dragoon did not reply. 
 
 " Without wishing to intrude into your affairs, or 
 pry into your secrets, I will hope," Fane went on, 
 " that you are either about to resume your proper 
 station, or else that you are exchanging your late 
 path to it for a more promising one." 
 
 The dragoon shook his head. " So far from that 
 being the case," he said, " he had as yet formed 
 no plans for the future." 
 
 " Onslow," said Fane, after a pause, " I frankly 
 own that you have excited in me much interest and 
 esteem ; and therefore, if I can be of service to you, 
 as I probably can, you may command me. And I 
 say this not as an empty form — but if you will ac- 
 cept an advance of a sum which I can very well spare, 
 to the extent of purchasing you a commission in a
 
 LADY lee's widowhood. 343 
 
 regiment where you might renew your career under 
 better auspices, you shall have it at a word." 
 
 The dragoon's nerves were probably shaken by 
 his illness, for his eyes filled, and his voice was un- 
 steady, as he answered. 
 
 " Captain Fane," he said, " it is a noble offer. 
 But though there is not a man in the world whom I 
 esteem more than yourself, you are the very last 
 from whom I would accept a favour." 
 
 "That's puzzling," said Fane. "But I will not 
 take an answer now; you shall have time to think 
 of it. In the mean time, is there anything I can 
 send you ? — books, or comforts of any kind ? " 
 
 Onslow was amply supplied, he said, with all, 
 by the kindness of Lady Lee. 
 
 The dragoon's hand that lay on the edge of the 
 sofa had a signet-ring on the little finger. Fane, 
 noticing this, could not help glancing curiously at 
 it. It was shield-shaped, of white cornelian, and 
 having a crest cut deeply on it ; but at that distance 
 Fane could not distinguish the device. Onslow, 
 catching the direction of his eye, quietly turned the 
 stone inward on his palm, 
 
 " Well," said Fane, smiling as he rose, " I see you 
 are resolute in your secresy. Heaven forbid I should 
 be impertinent, even in my wish to serve you. I 
 will leave you now to think over what I have said."
 
 344 LADY LEE's WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 The dragoon warmly pressed the hand that was 
 extended to him. " Again I thank you," he said, 
 " but it is impossible." 
 
 " Proud fellow that," thought Fane, as he wended 
 his way homeward. " I will devise something to do 
 him good in spite of himself." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.
 
 [^ BOUND BY ^